Danielle's Beauty Blog

Generally speaking, I’m a fan of matte neutral shades so the Morphe Brushes 35N 35 Colour Matte Palette (£15.95) is right up my alley! The size of the palette does remind me of those giant ones you would ask for at Christmas and practically have to dig into to get any colour payoff but thankfully this isn't anything like that! The shadows are so pigmented and don’t kick up too much dust when you put your brush in them! I haven’t noticed any creasing with these either and they stay as vibrant from when I put them on in the morning to when I take them off at night! The packaging is sturdy but there is no mirror which doesn’t bother me as I never use the mirrors in palettes anyway! The only negative I would say is that there are obviously a lot of shades I won’t use in there but at £15.95 for the entire palette it doesn’t worry me too much!

The first column as you will see from the pictures of the palette and the swatches are very light mattes that could be used as a base colour or matte highlight. The palette then moves into a few warmer shades with oranges and pinks which won’t get a lot of use from me but I can imagine people who are a bit more daring with their makeup using these! The palette then moves into the darker colours and a few purple shades which I can’t wait to use in a smoky eye! I have mainly been using this in the daytime with the browns in the last two columns along with the black shade in the very top corner as a shadow liner! Pigmentation varies a little through the palette with the most noticeable shades for me being the grey/black beneath the corner black and the grey at the top of the third column, I can’t get very much payoff from those at all but the rest have a really lovely smooth feel to them!

I also picked up a couple of brushes to try out. As you can never have too many blending brushes I got the M330 Blending Crease Brush (£4.75). The bristles are slightly longer than I’m used to which makes it a little bendier than my other blending brushes but nonetheless it’s soft and I like it! Probably the one brush I’m missing in my collection is a fan brush so I also ordered the B8 Badger Deluxe Fan Brush (£4.75). Again this is really soft and I’m enjoying applying highlighter with it as an extra step in my routine! I couldn’t find anywhere that stated Morphe Brushes were cruelty free so I sent them an email asking and they replied with “we work with many different factors that purchase their bristle from suppliers that are certified cruelty free”. 

My order was dispatched really quickly and arrived a few days later packaged really well! Beauty Bay also have free delivery on orders over £15!

I definitely want to try a few more things from Morphe especially more of their brushes and some other palettes like the blush one! Do you have any recommendations? Have you bought anything from a brand you haven’t tried before recently?

Danielle xx

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If you have read my Manicure Essentials post you will know that I usually forego coloured nail polish on my fingernails and save it for my toenails. This is because I cannot stand chipped nail polish or more likely, my obsession with then picking the rest of the polish off! This stuff however is on a whole other level and the little nail combination I have been using has ensured this is the longest lasting manicure I’ve ever had, lasting a good four days before chipping which is a lifetime for me!

As usual, I apply my OPI Nail Envy as a base coat, this is the most amazing nail polish ever and I often wear this on its own because it gives the most amazing shine to my nails and really strengthens them. Nail Envy was actually the only OPI nail polish I had tried prior to getting this one but I have a feeling this will change as I love the formulation of the two I have so much!

I first saw OPI My Very First Knockwurst on my friend at works nails about a month ago and had to know what it was! She couldn’t remember and wrote it down for me that evening and I had it ordered before break time at work the next day! It is the most perfect nude-y, pinky, pastely, chic, sophisticated shade of nail polish I have ever owned and I am obsessed with it! I mentioned that I have been so impressed with the wear time which could be down to the top coat I've been using (I haven’t tried it without).

Now I know Seche Vite hasn’t got the best ingredients in it but boy does it dry fast! Gone is the endless flapping of my hands to try and dry my nails quicker only to hit something by accident and smudge my whole nail anyway! Overall, this has become my nail dream team and I can’t stop wearing it!

What nail colours have you been loving recently? Do you like this one or is it too nude for you?

Danielle xx

Eucerin AQUAporin Active SPF 25 UVB + UVA Protection* RRP £16.50

As a big fan of Eucerin skin and body products I was excited to give this a try when it arrived a few weeks ago! It promises to provide deep 24 hour hydration to dehydrated, sensitive skin. This is right up my street this time of year when my usually oily/combination skin starts to play up with the change in weather/heating etc. and dry patches pop up! I recently took a reaction to a face tanner I used and my skin got really dry and flaky and none of my usual moisturisers were working so I gave this a whirl and have been so happy with the results! At first, although this moisturiser has SPF I though it would be too rich for me during the day but since my skin was so dry I piled it on anyway and was surprised by how well it soaked in, soothed and smoothed my skin. I didn’t use a primer and felt it gave a good base for my makeup too! I love the fact it has both UVA and UVB protection and will definitely be taking this on a short trip away next month (thank God for hold luggage)! There is a whole scientific explanation as to how this hydrates involving the skins aquaporin’s which you can read about here. The Eucerin range can be found at Boots, Look Fantastic, Escentual, Feel Unique and some independent pharmacies!

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask RRP for 100ml is £23

I got this in a set last Christmas and its one of the first Origins products I've tried and loved. The activated charcoal in it is meant to act like a magnet to draw out anything clogging your pores like dirt and pollution through daily life. I like to use this about once a week for a real deep clean and my skin always feels amazing afterwards! It really softens it and seems to draw out any impurities by drying up spots and blackheads! Plus I love how quickly it dries in! I like to rinse this off just in the sink with my hands, I found when I used a facecloth it stained really badly and didn’t come out in the wash but other than its great! I’ll then follow up with a moisturiser like the Eucerin one I’ve mention above as I find it can dry my skin out a bit but it’s totally worth it!

Avene Triacneal RRP £23

This has become my Holy Grail spot product! It’s pricey at £23 but it lasts ages! The product itself is a yellow paste that is not greasy in the slightest and helps eliminate severe imperfections. I use this over active spots at night where it helps to dry them out and also over old acne scars which I find it helps to fade. I have a funny feeling this is being discontinued as unfortunately as it’s out of stock on a lot of sites, this seems to have happened to a lot of products I love over the past few months! Avene did just bring out a new product called Triacneal Expert and their Cleanance Expert is also targeted towards spot prone skin so they would work well too!

Alpha H Liquid Gold RRP £33.50

This is one of my favourite treatments and I have gone through various bottles of it! It’s an overnight chemical exfoliator and I bloody love it! It claims to resurface the skin and help to diminish wrinkles, pigmentation and sun damage. I totally bought this because of the hype and its one I’m happy to say completely delivers on its claims! I can’t quite put my finger on it but my skin just looks better the morning after I’ve put this on. It’s clearer, more even, and plumper and my old acne pigmentation doesn’t look as pronounced. Couldn’t be without this now! Available at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty and Look Fantastic among others!

Have you tried any of the products I've mentioned? What are your skincare saviours?

P.S. I also just got Twitter and Instagram and they are embarrassingly empty at the minute but links are below if you feel like saying hello :) 

Danielle xx

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Ultra Matte Lip in Donut

This is a bright peach colour that is a lot brighter/neon than what I was expecting! This is definitely more of a night out colour for me but to be honest I find the formula so drying on my lips I don’t know if I could get make it out the door with this! It’s the quickest drying of any matte cream formula of lip product that I’ve tried so it’s got that going for it but I just could not get on with it! I did try putting a little Carmex over it like I do with a lot of matte lipsticks to make them more wearable for me but this did not agree with that at all and turned into a bit of a gloopy mess!

Lippie Stix in Crunch 

This is one of my favourites! It’s a peachy coral colour that lasts a long time on my lips keeping them nicely moisturised and it really brightens up my complexion! I am completely in my comfort zone with shades and formulations like this and it did not let me down! It’s sheer but it’s buildable and I absolutely love it!

Lippie Stix in Lumiere

Another ColourPop lip product I am obsessed with! This is a dusty mauve pink created by Kathleen Lights who I actually never really watch on Youtube but this shade was so hyped I had to try it for myself! I’m so glad I did, it’s like nothing else I own and although I don’t usually get on too well with matte products this one is a different story! It’s creamy and it doesn’t dry my lips out or accentuate dry patches (although I always use a lip scrub before applying lipstick for the day!). This lasts ages on me before I start getting a tell-tale outline around my lips and have to reapply! I love the size of the nib of the lippie stix too as I can be more precise when applying!

Super Shock Cheek Blush in Birthday Suit

This is a neutral pink colour with a satin finish and I actually struggled with this in the beginning because I couldn’t get a brush that would pick up enough product for me! Since upgrading my old No7 blush brush to the newer version I have been having more luck with this and love the flush of colour and healthy sheen it gives me. The formulation of this, the bronzer and eye shadows is absolutely amazing and like nothing give ever felt before! It’s so soft and malleable and just a dream to touch!

Super Shock Cheek Bronzer in Skinny Dip

ColourPop describe this as  a warm tan bronzer which I think is very light and perfect for me to contour with when I have no tan on, it’s very natural looking and I love it! I don’t find it overly warm either and I think it would be impossible to go overboard with it!

The super shock shadows were where I think I made a few rash decisions! I was in a rush so had about ten pages of google images of swatches laid out in front of me and decided to go with all mattes because I wear them every day. To-a-T is a mid-tone warm brown that looks pretty much identical on my skin tone to Intoxicate from the Rumer Has It Collection (not available anymore). Mittens is a deep warm brown with a red violet undertone. Now when it comes to eyeshadows I like them cool and taupey/brown/grey so these are slightly on the warm side for me for everyday wear! I do have blue eyes so by rights they should suit me and I think they will if I have lots of liner and mascara on to balance out the warmth of the eye shadows so all is not lost! They are so inexpensive too I’m not that upset I panic bought and didn’t read the descriptions properly before buying!

I went with the photos on ColourPop’s website which I found really helpful as they show the shades on fair, medium and dark skin tones but maybe should have looked up some more close up swatches and read the descriptions or I would have stayed away from the warmer tones! Sometimes swatches can be deceptive!

The stars of the show for me were definitely Crunch, Lumiere, Birthday Suit and Skinny Dip! Have you tried anything from Colourpop before? Or have you seen anything you like? I hope they get shipping to the UK sorted soon!

 Danielle xx

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