High End Lusts; Contour

I have been wanting to start contouring for ages, but everytime I've tried it always just looks awful, but yesterday I tried it and I finally think I've mastered how to contour! This obviously meant that I had to go and find a few high end beauties that I'm dying to try! Being pale makes contouring unbelievably hard and I always think it looks harsh on me but then again I'm probably contouring with a product that's way too dark for my skintone. 
1. Hoola Bronzer by Benefit - If you haven't seen this product before you've been living under a rock. It's everywhere, everyone raves about it, but it's also a bronzer that I think could be too orange toned for my skin, so I'm slightly unsure on this purchase just yet. I've seen it work for so many pale people, but I'd really like to try it a few times before I buy to make sure the colour is just right.
2. Hollow Cream Pigment by Illamasqua - Cream products are amazing for contouring, I think they blend so much easier than powder products do, so it's hard to get contouring wrong with them! Hollow is a gorgeous pale nude brown colour, which is good for contouring on pale skin, but it can also be used as an eyeshadow, so it's a multi use product, I guess I can justify buying it if I can use it as eyeshadow if I can't get contouring right with it.
3. NARS Contouring Blush - This is a product I haven't actually seen before, but after looking at a few swatches and blog posts it's really caught my eye. I'm yet to try anything from NARS and I'm completely stuck on where to start really, but this duo is something ideal as theres two shades, one for a highlighting contour on higher parts of the face, and one for a more defining contour. 

What's your favourite contouring product?

Ami xo

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Meet Bailey - Devon #2

As most of you know, I spent all of my summer in Devon at my grandparents, it’s my second home and I wish I could live down there; I have such a different life. Over the summer I’ve been able to ride and help with four gorgeous horses, but two of them especially.  The first one is called Bailey, she’s a three year old chestnut mare, and she’s also a red head that has the temper that comes with it.

It all started as a woman was feeling lonely on her yard, so I gave her some company. Bailey was being shown in hand at Honiton Show and I did some practice with her before to make sure she was safe and controllable, after that it turned out that I showed her at Honiton and we did very well. We came away with a first, two reserve champions and overall local champion in the Show Hunter classes.

It was such an amazing experience for me as that was my first proper show, it was unbelievable how good she was and how much the judges liked her. Since then, we’ve been to Dorset County Show together. We actually entered her in classes that weren’t suited for her, to make sure we had the right class for her, which proved we did because she came away with third in the Sports Horse Class and fourth in the Riding Horse Class. Even the judge said “If this was a Show Hunter Class I would’ve given her supreme champion, I hope you show her under saddle next year she’ll be a real winner” It was amazing to hear that feedback, that really topped the day off. We were also told to get to a qualifier for HOYS because she is definitely in contention for that.

Now we have even bigger dreams for next year. She’s been backed and now turned away for the winter; I can’t wait to bring her back into work next year and finally get to ride her. The next aim is to get her out to a few small shows under saddle and get her used to the atmosphere whilst being ridden. 

After that, who knows, the main aims are to get her to as many shows as possible and to have her jumping by the end of the season, and obviously to qualify for HOYS. Anything else will be a massive bonus. I’m not quite sure how I’ll cope over the winter when I hardly see her, it’s not a quick trip to the yard, it’s a three hour train journey.  Next year is going to be one of the most amazing experiences and I just hope it hurries up; I’m dying to ride her!

By the start of next year I would've bought about 20 pairs of cream jodhpurs, if you ride you'll understand that they never stay cream, ever. 

Ami xo

MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter

I'd never actually tried a highlighter before this product, yes I know real newbie over here, but I just never needed to, I used eyeshadow to highlight my browbone, inner corner and cupids bow, that's all I really thought I needed.

After receiving this product in a beauty package swap, I've found the true meaning of highlighting. A quick sweep of this product across the top of your cheekbones can add a perfect shimmer and really highlight your cheekbones, making them stand out more.

From the swatch, you can tell this is a pink based highlighter, which is something I never thought could work for me as I just don't do pink, but it adds a perfect highlight. It makes my skin look healthy and glowing, it can really brighten up your skin on a dull day, which seems to be everyday for me. You can probably also tell it's not very pigmented, so you have to use a little bit more product but it's so buildable. 

I haven't worn this product long enough to really test the wear time, but as it fades it still leaves a gorgeous natural shimmer so I never feel the need to reapply. The look of this product in the pan is lovely, I really like how it's not all flat, it makes it look more expensive. The only downside of this product to me is the packaging is plasticy and a little tacky, but for £3 what more would you expect? The product is perfect, so who cares about the packaging for that price.

Ami xo

High End Lusts; Eyeliner

Gel and cream eyeliners are literally my holy grail product right now, I could not apply eyeliner without them now. I can't believe how much time I wasted using liquid and pen eyeliners because I could never get them right, so these three eyeliners are perfect for me.

1. Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner - I'm drawn to this product because of the wear time, this product supposedly lasts all day without budging at all. If that's the case, I need to get my hands on this little beauty asap as my current gel eyeliner creases like mad. I also love how sleek the packaging is.
2. Urban Decay Intense Waterproof Cream Eyeliner - Again, there's not much more I could really be attracted to a cream eyeliner by because I already love them, but the fact this one is waterproof makes it stand out a little more. Also, knowing how long Urban Decay eyeshadows last, makes me think this will be similar.
3. Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner - Seeing as I'm a massive fan of the They're Real Mascara, I think it would be a crime if I didn't try this product. I like the idea that the brush and product are as one, but this also leads me to the conclusion that this will dry up super fast if you're not careful. You know when you're eyeliner brush needs washing and it's all clumpy? That's what I can imagine this product doing if you're not careful, but once again I love the mascara so I have to get my hands on this.

Ami xo

Wet n Wild Palettes

I've been wanting to try Wet n Wild palettes for ages and I finally got my hands on some in my latest beauty package swap, which you can read here! I just love the style of these palettes, they give you a mini tutorial, but you can also mix and match the colours to achieve the look you want.

This palette is going to be used a lot throughout autumn, it creates a gorgeous natural brown eye look that I am going to be creating a lot for college. It's just beautiful. The shadows in this palette are highly pigmented and very easily to blend. There is a little fallout when applied, but they're shimmery shades so that can be expected. I haven't completely tested the wear time, but they definitely last at least 6 hours as I wore them for around that time and they hadn't budged at all, with the help of eye primer. 

I can see this palette being a statement for me, when I get brave enough to wear the left side of the palette out in public. I love both looks this palette creates, but I also love mixing and matching these shades as they all go perfectly together, to achieve some gorgeous looks. I adore the green shades in the left side, but as I'm quite new to eyeshadow colours being anything other than neutral, it may take me a while to gain the confidence to wear it out. 

The left definer shade is so interesting, it's a fiery reddish brown with a blue tint, I love it run across the waterline for a pop of colour. The right side creates a neutral look, similar to the first palette. Again these shadows have the same pigmentation and weartime as the other palette, I love how easy it is to blend these shadows.

Ami xo

MAC Collection

You’re probably thinking; “why is she showing us her MAC collection she has like 4 things?!” but I’ve recently bought a few MAC products and I wanted to show you, so this is a tiny collection post. I’ve had other products in the past but I’ve sold them on as they didn’t suit me or I didn’t like them, but I’ve finally found some products that are perfect for me. 

I have a paintpot; Bare Study, and three lipsticks; Impassioned, Rebel, and Diva

Over the summer, Impassioned was my go to colour. It’s a bright fuchsia pink, which is so wearable because you can apply it full on or dab it in to your lips to achieve a more wearable pink tint.

Rebel and Diva are my all-time favourite autumn winter lipsticks, although I haven’t actually had them in these seasons, they’re the perfect dark vampy colours that I love to wear. Rebel is a bright plum colour, that looks completely different on the lips than in the bullet, as it looks like a harsh purple in the bullet. Diva is a deep burgundy wine colour, and it’s a matte finish which is my favourite as they don’t budge at all and I hardly ever have to reapply.

The formulation of all three lipsticks is perfect, they all have a long staying power, and due to their high pigmentation they all leave a wearable tint on your lips when they do start to fade.

The paintpot was a risky buy for me, as I’ve bought the Maybelline colour tattoos in the past and yes I loved them but I hardly ever used them. I bought this paintpot in the shade Bare Study as a spur of the moment thing, and because I really loved the champagne gold colour of it. I’m so glad I bought it as it makes such a beautiful base for eyeshadow acting as a primer, or it looks amazing on its own too. I will definitely be buying more paintpots, they’re so quick and easy to use and the Maybelline colour tattoos have nothing on them.

L-R
Impassioned, Rebel, Diva, Bare Study

Ami xo

High End Lusts; Blush

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush
MAC Mineralize Blush in Dainty
Clinique Cheek Pop in Peach Pop
Nars Blush in Deep Throat

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush - All the hourglass blushes look absolutely incredible, I would buy every shade if I could, just to look at them. Luminous Flush is a gorgeous pinky coral colour, which I love because I just can't do plain pink, they just don't suit me. For £28 these blushes are a bit steep on the price, but I'm sure they're 100% worth it.
2. MAC Mineralize Blush in Dainty - Mineralize blushes are my favourite kind of blush, they give such a natural glow without using a lot of product at all. Although this shade is quite pink, it's a got a coral tint to it, I just love the look of this shade even though it may not be right for my skin. I'll have to go swatching soon to find a MAC mineralize blush perfect for me.
3. Clinique Cheek Pop in Peach Pop - I love this shade, I really do love peachy shades at the moment. This one is perfect, the packaging is sleek and pretty too which is always a bonus. Clinique makeup is something that I've never tried, but this blush is just too nice to say no.
4. NARS Blush in Deep Throat - I know this isn't the normal Orgasm blush that everyone raves about, but I prefer Deep Throat as a shade, it's a corally peach colour which just gives my skin such a beautiful glow, whereas Orgasm is way too harsh and pink for my skin as it's already quite pink.

Ami xo

Covergirl Outlast Foundation

If you read my most recent Beauty Package Swap post, you’ll see that I was sent this foundation, it’s a foundation that is raved about in the US and I really wanted to try it to see what I was missing out on. I was worried that the shade I selected would be too dark, even though it’s the lightest shade, because most high street foundations are too dark and their colour range is appalling. I was pleasantly surprised by the colour range of this foundation, as the lightest shade is a perfect match for my skin tone.

This foundation has a medium coverage but it’s very buildable to high coverage too. It creates a matte finish on the face, which I absolutely love; dewy finishes just look awful on me. It blends into the skin well but I’ve found that it can also sit on top of my face in places, and then rub off my face easily leaving patches. I think this could be a combination of my primer and powder though, so I’ll looking into it more as I really do love the finish this foundation gives. The lasting power is great too; I never feel the need to touch up, except when I’m having a day where it decides to rub off. 

The shade range of this foundation looks great, I think there’s something for most skin colours, but more light than dark as most high street foundations are. If you can get your hands on this foundation, I would, but you may have to experiment what you use under and over it to get that perfect lasting finish.

Ami xo

Garnier Micellar Water

After this product being featured on everyone's blogs/instagrams/twitters I finally caved in and bought it, and as I'm running out of my L'Oreal Micellar Water a lot faster than expected I decided to try something new.

First of all, I really like the packaging of the bottle, it's so simple and easy to understand. I also love that you squeeze the product out of the bottle rather than pour it out as this means that I can choose how much I want rather than pouring it and hoping I don't pour too much out, which has happened many times.

As I used this to take my makeup off, I was shocked by how easily it removed my makeup. It removed it in seconds, it's so easy and effective to use. This product has shortened the time it takes me to take my makeup off massively. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and smooth, and it really does feel like it's clean, not just makeup free.

I will definitely be repurchasing this product to remove my makeup when I start to run out, but I can see this bottle lasting me a few months as you only need to use a little bit and it's quite a big bottle.

The only downside to this for me is the size of the bottle actually, it'd be great if they made a travel size one as I stay at my boyfriends quite a lot and my bag isn't very big and this bottle takes up quite a lot of room! Other than that, this micellar water is amazing and great for the price of £4.

Ami xo

A/W Boots

Recently I took a trip to Primark to just have a look around and see what they were bringing in for their a/w collection, but they hadn't brought in their clothing yet! As I was looking around the shoes, I fell in love with about 5 pairs of boots! Primark really have got it spot on with footwear this year. After trying on all the shoes and boots I wanted, I gradually narrowed it down to two pairs which are perfect for a/w. 

The first pair is a suede pair of chunky chelsea boots, I have been dying to get a pair like these for ages but I didn't really like the style/look of the chelsea boots released last year. I'm so glad I waited to find a pair because these are gorgeous, and they don't remind me of my riding boots like the normal style of chelsea boots do. I love how the top of the boots isn't all the same height and they're so comfortable and easy to walk in. For £15 these were a bargain!

I just had to show you a closer look at the snakeskin print on the second pair of boots! I really love this style too, they're a half leather style, half snakeskin style boot with a smaller heel than the other pair. Being blonde meant it took me a while to realise the zip on the outside is just for show, and there's a zip on the inside too. I think these are going to be great for everyday wear to college etc. Again, these were a complete steal at a price of £18!

You really can't go wrong with Primark, I can't wait to see their a/w clothing collection.

Ami xo

High End Lusts; Lipsticks

Rather than picking certain shades for this post, I decided to pick a type of lipstick because there are many shades that I want and if I wrote about all of them I'd be here all day! I'll mention shades that I'm dying to get though!

1. YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick - The main attraction to these lipsticks is the packaging, I love anything gold and I'm more likely to buy something if it looks pretty. From the lipsticks I've swatched the colour pay off and wear time is pretty good too, but I'm not sure they're worth paying £25 for yet.
2. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick - I've seen these around the blogging world a few times and I must admit they look really good lipsticks, the pigmentation of all of them is perfect and the range of colours is great too. I'd love to try Shame, a deep berry colour.
3. MAC Lipstick - who doesn't want a MAC lipstick? They're my favourite lipsticks, the formulation and wear time is amazing, the same with the pigmentation. The next two on my list are Creme Cup and Russian Red, I need that perfect red.
4. Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lipstick - anything with the word matte in its name is a major lust for me, I love anything matte, the name really sells this lipstick to me a velvet matte just sounds like a perfect combination. The packaging is so sleek too, I'd love shade 37, a gorgeous coral hot pink.
5. YSL Rouge Pur Couture - Again the packaging really sells this lipstick to me, but after looking at swatches I'd love to try shade 24, a lovely pale pinky nude.

Whats your favourite high end lipstick and what shade?

Ami xo

August Favourites

How is it already September?! I start college in two weeks, ahh scary! This year is literally flying by, I can't believe how quick it's going, it'll be Christmas before we know it!

I've never done a favourites post before, but during August I fell in love with so many products so I just had to share them with you!

Firstly, the L'Oreal Micellar Water; before I picked this up I used makeup wipes to remove my makeup, I don't think you can get much worse than that. My skin always felt dirty and horrible, but since using this to remove my makeup my skin feels fresh and clean which is exactly what I love!

If you read my Beauty Package Swap #2 post you'll see that I was sent the Covergirl Outlast Foundation, as soon as I received this I could not wait to try it, as soon as I tried it I fell in love. I was looking for a new foundation as Rimmel Match Perfection wasn't doing me any favours, and I think I've found the replacement. This foundation covers everything and makes my skin look radiant without being dewy. I will be reviewing this properly so keep checking back for that!

The next product is actually something that I tried about a year ago and hated, it's the Benefit They're Real Mascara. I tried this when it was in Elle Magazine and I didn't get on with it at all, but after buying it as a spur of the moment thing, I haven't looked back. This mascara ticks all the boxes, it makes my lashes so long and doesn't clump them together which is something I've struggled to find.

I reviewed this elf Baked Blush a few days ago, so I won't go into much detail and you can read that post here, but this blush has been on my face everyday this month.

I've only just bought this item, but it's made its way straight into my favourites! This MAC Paintpot in the shade Bare Study is so easy to use, it's great on its own all over the eyelid or as a base to improve wear time of eyeshadows. It's a gorgeous champagne gold colour which looks so natural.

What's your favourite product been this month?

Ami xo