I've never been a fan of primers, if i'm being totally honest. I didn't see the obsession of them, and when I tried one (a Maybelline one, I believe) I failed to notice any difference in how my makeup sat on my face/ how long it stayed put, so that kind of put me off them. However, upon recommendation from a few beauty bloggers, I decided to try again, picking up yet another drugstore primer, in the form of the "Rimmel Stay Matte Primer". The main reason that I wanted a primer was because it was my sixth year prom, and of course I wanted my makeup to last the night! At the very affordable price of £5.99, (although I believe I got it on a 3 for 2 offer, Boots are always doing these!) I wasn't expecting much, i'll be truthful. I was actually really quite surprised!

First up, being an art student, packaging is quite important to me, and this didn't excite me. I definitely didn't pick it up based on looks. It's not offensive, or disgusting, it's just boring. Sometimes simplicity is good, but in my opinion, not this time.
Anyway, that's not the important part, the product itself is! It's quite a thick consistency, and it took a bit of rubbing until it was completely absorbed. It also felt a bit plastic, but I don't think that's a bad thing. One major plus is that it didn't smell of anything, as I am not a fan of makeup that smells. i feel like it's an added ingredient that could be bad for my skin, so I was glad to see none of that.
It also dried really quickly, which meant I didn't have to wait ten minutes to apply foundation, I could do it almost instantly.
The main positive to this primer is how much of a difference I noticed. As I said earlier, I wasn't expecting much from this, but I was really surprised at the difference in my skin! My pores were visibly smaller, and my face felt smoother, and it just generally looked healthier. Sometimes I wear this primer on it's own, for those days when i'm not wearing makeup, just to give my skin a 'pick me up'.
Another thing is that it made my usually oily spots stay dry for longer, which really surprised me, as usually i'll be needing to reapply concealer halfway through the day- not anymore!
It definitely made my makeup sit better on my face, and applying foundation was so much easier. It's hard to explain my love for this primer, but all I can say is give it a chance. It's affordable, it's only a mere £5.99 in comparison to some of the more hyped up primers that are closer to the £20/25 mark.
I would give this primer a 4.5 /5, I really love it.

Thanks for reading! Until next time.

Guess who's back? Sorry for the absence, I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last posted! If you read my last post, you'll know i've moved away to university! I had a lot of worries I said in that post, but thankfully, most of them were really silly, and i'm loving it so far! (However, I haven't actually started classes yet, and i'm in pretty much 9-5 every day, so lets see how much I enjoy university life after the classes start!) Anyway, I have another review for you, and it's all about a new staple in my skincare routine, the "De-Stressing Aloe Vera Mud Mask" from Superdrug.
The packaging is simple, but really clean and modern looking.  I  really like it, and can't fault it at all. I am a huge fan of the mint green colour as well.
As it is an aloe-vera mud mask, I expected it to be very soothing on the skin, and I was not disappointed. It was so cool, and felt so nice on my skin.
The application itself is reasonably easy, but a little bit messy, as I find all face masks are. The first time I put this on I put it too close to my eyes, so it really stung, but the second time it worked a dream.
This mask has to be left on for between 12-15 minutes, and it hardens. Unlike most hardening face masks, this was really easy to get off after with a face cloth, and my face felt so smooth. I was so impressed. The only downside was that my face was super red, but that died down within an hour or so. The next day, I felt like my skin looked more awake, and surprisingly, my blemishes were reduced quite significantly.
It's a bargain at only £2.50 (yes, really) and I will most definitely be repurchasing this once mine runs out, as it really is great, especially for the price. (I can't afford to be forking out on expensive face masks now that i'm a student!) I would 100% recommend this for anyone and everyone. I have sensitive combination skin and it worked perfectly fine on me. Has anyone else tried any of Superdrug's face masks? Let me know!

(sorry for the lighting/my face!)

Ever since I saw Vivianna raving about this, I knew I had to pick it up, as she always has great recommendations. After trying it out for the past few weeks, it's safe to say i'm thoroughly impressed.
First, lets chat about my favourite bit of any product- the packaging. I really love this packaging, it's simple, sleek, and stylish. It's also really easy to just slip into a handbag, and the bright colour means it's easily visible. (I'm always losing my lipsticks in my bag if they have dark packaging!) The packaging gets a huge thumbs up from me!
The formula of this product is quite creamy, and wet, but it dries completely matte. What I do is put a layer on my lips, blot it off, and then apply another layer, and within a couple of minutes it's completely dry, with only the tiniest transfer. It's really pigmented, and it lasts for ages. I went out for a meal, and I didn't need to top it up once. These also do not dry out my lips at all. The longest i've had it on is around 5 hours, and even towards the end of the night, my lips felt fine, which is a huge plus!
One downside is that they aren't the easiest to apply, because they are, well, liquid. Definitely take your time applying these, or they will look awful!
They have a nice selection of colours, and I chose "Frambourjois", which on hindsight, I maybe shouldn't have gone for. I never wear pinks, and I wanted to try something different, but i'm s till not sure it suits me? (As you can see from the photo above)
These retail in the UK for £8.99 (get it here) and i'll definitely be checking out more colours in this range!
Have any of you tried out these? What did you make of hem? Let me know!

Hey everyone, so i'm back from my holiday! It was a great two weeks away, so relaxing, I managed to read a tonne of books, and I met so many amazing people! I'm quite sad to be home, but at least it's nice weather in Scotland! I'm back with a review of a product i've been reaching for quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, and it became an absolute staple on holiday! It's the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist.

I've struggled with my eyebrows for years. They're really quite bushy, but quite sparse in areas. One eyebrow is also a little bit higher than the other, which makes them always look uneven. I've been using the Beauty UK High Brows Kit, but i'm still not 100% happy with the result. I heard the hype surrounding the Soap and Glory Brow Archery kit, but it's been sold out in my local Boots for weeks and weeks. I'd read that the Sleek version was pretty similar, so I picked it up just before my holiday, as I really didn't want to be fussing about with a powder, and a brow gel, and an eyebrow brush, I wanted all this together (read: i'm lazy), and that's exactly what I got!

I absolutely love the packaging of this product, it's really light, compact, simple, and (ahem) sleek! I just love Sleek packaging in general, in my opinion, the simpler the better.
Despite having really dark brown hair, I chose to go with the shade medium, as in the past, the 'dark brown' shades have been too dark for me. I was glad I picked this colour, as it's honestly the perfect match for me!
The wax needs warmed up a little bit before the product is visible, but once it's warmed up, it glides on my brows beautifully. The angled end makes it super easy to get a really nice brow shape. I like to use it flat for the front of my brows, and use the point to get finer strokes for the ends of my brows.
The little spooly (is that how you spell it?) is great. I use it before I do my eyebrows to get all the hairs going the right direction, and I also use it after i've applied the product to blend it out and make it less harsh.
The product itself lasts a really long time. I've used it in Menorca, where it's usually around 30 degrees Celsius, and it didn't sweat off my face! I didn't even use a brow gel, so I was surprised it lasted so long! Another good thing was that I went in the sea one day, and I had my brows done, and it stayed put on my eyebrows.
I'm so impressed with this product, it's made doing my eyebrows really really easy, and it now only takes me the best part of a minute to do them, in comparison t a good five minutes before!
I honestly can't rave about this product enough, it's absolutely amazing, and if you're like me, and struggle with your brows,  would 100% recommend this product!
It's also really affordable, as it's only £5.99! An absolute bargain! You can purchase it here if you're interested.

So i'm back today with a review that i've been meaning to do for ages, but only just got round to it. Unless you've been living under a rock i'm sure you'll have heard that British blogger and vlogger Tanya Burr has released her own range of lip glosses and nail polishes. I decided to treat myself to one item, and I chose this gorgeous nail polish in "Little Duck".
First of all, I think the packaging is absolutely beautiful. I think the pink heart on the lid just adds a little bit of personalisation to it, and I think it goes really well with the black. One little thing that annoyed me a bit with the packaging is that because it's rectangle, you have to twist it to an exact point, so that the two rectangles from the lid and bottle line up. For mine to line up, I have to twist the lid super tight.
I also find that the nail polish takes quite a while to thoroughly dry, which for someone as impatient as me, it can prove to be a small issue. Aside from that, there is no other negatives.

Left- After just one coat, Right - Two coats

The formula itself is lovely, not to runny, but not really gloopy that it doesn't glide on your nails. After two coats my nails were the exact colour of the bottle, and they lasted for around 5 days without any major chipping, which for an affordable nail varnish is brilliant in my opinion.
These retail for around £5.99, which is great for a drugstore nail polish that could easily be mistaken for a high end product.
If I was to rate this out of five, I would give it a four. Well done Tanya! I will definitely be picking up more from your collection!