Stepping it up: Makeup Geek, Morphe and Mac Eyeshadow Haul

Hi all! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!! Apologies in advance- this is going to be quite a long post! If you are a regular reader you will know that I never wear eyeshadow and haven't featured any on my blog before... Mascara is about as much as I have experimented with when it comes to eye makeup for a few reasons: 

1. I'm not trying to look like someone punched me in the face- this is the result I have obtained anytime I have tried to wear the stuff. 

2. It looked like way too much effort 

3. I don't have anywhere that special to go to for me to bother :D

Recently I've been a bit bored with all the lip products I seem to have acquired and really wanted to step up my makeup. Aside from contouring, this is the main thing I have never been able to master so I decided to get some eyeshadow and start practicing! I did a lot of research into palettes for 'beginners' etc and a few people recommended the Warm or Cool neutrals palette from Mac, the Morphe 35 palettes and Sleek I-Divine palettes . In the end I decided to make my own palette with colours that I actually liked. Don't get me wrong, the ready made palettes can be very cost effective and I have since bought a few but I just kept thinking I wouldn't wear all the colours so it seemed a little excessive. 

As I mentioned, I did a lot of research before buying the shades that went into this palette. I watched so many YouTube videos.. (Shout out to The Fancy Faced, Jackie Aina, Nikkie Tutorials), googled swatches and asked for recommendations. Many people I spoke to recommended Makeup Geek and Mac for the best shadows in terms of pigmentation. I started looking for Makeup Geek shadows on Ebay but Beauty Bay started selling them which made them much easier to get hold of! The palette is mainly comprised of Makeup Geek and Morphe pans with one pan from Mac. I also bought an empty magnetised Morphe palette  as a cheaper alternative to a Mac palette. Unlike the common Z palettes used to house Makeup Geek shadows it has a mirror and is a little more sturdy in my opinion.

All in all, I was looking for Mac dupes, I swatched quite a few Mac shadows in store and I knew which ones I wanted, mainly Red brick, Swiss Chocolate, Carbon, Antiqued and Atlantic blue but I was not about to pay the Mac price so I searched for Makeup Geek and Morphe shades that were really similar. 

Makeup Geek pans £4.95/ $6

Morphe pans £1.95/ $2.29

Mac pans £10/$10 (you can sometimes get these for £9.50 from Debenhams) 

First of all I must say that all the shades are super pigmented, the Makeup Geek shades a little more so than the Morphe ones but they all still pack a punch. Most of the shades are super smooth and easy to apply.  I experience some fall out with them, particularly with Corrupt and Peacock, however it isn't not too much of a hassle to wipe away. With a primer these stay on my eyelid for the whole day, even though I always forget I'm wearing eyeshadow and rub my eyes! We all know I do not know anything technical about eyeshadow so I can't really say much more!

The shades (left to right)

Row 1 

Makeup Geek: Peacock (matte deep teal blue) comparable to Mac Plumage  

Makeup Geek: Envy (frost- shimmery deep green)

Morphe: Sapphire ES49 (frost- cobalt blue) comparable to Mac Freshwater 

Makeup Geek: Neptune ( matte true blue) comparable to Mac Atlantic Blue 

This row was definitely the experimental row! I have seen some amazing looks created with Mac Atlantic Blue so I knew I had to get Neptune. It really packs a punch, so bright and shocking! It applies very smoothly and looks great smudged along the waterline. I found Peacock to be a bit powdery but it is still a lovely matte shade that becomes more workable with a primer. Envy and Sapphire are lovely frost shades- perfect for night looks. Envy reminds me of Christmas, the shimmer is not too excessive and I can imagine it looking amazing with a little glitter on top! Sapphire is super smooth and very vibrant -I think it pairs really well with Neptune. 

Row 2

Makeup Geek : Morocco ( matte burnt orange) comparable to Mac Red Brick 

Makeup Geek : Mocha (deep matte brown)

Makeup Geek : Cocoa bear (matte reddish brown) comparable to Mac Brown Script

Mac: Swiss Chocolate (muted reddish brown)

After hearing many Youtube MUA's  talk about the importance of transition shades I knew I needed to include some great ones in my palette. A few MUA's who are of a similar skin tone to me used Red Brick and Swiss Chocolate a lot as transition shades particularly when creating smokey eyes. Morocco is pretty much identical to Red Brick but I couldn't find anything that looked like Swiss Chocolate. I just went ahead and purchased Swiss Chocolate and I don't regret it! It is smooth and blends really easily, it also matches my skin tone really well so I find it great to give my lids an even tone as well as using it as a general transition shade. Annoyingly it isn't magnetic so I have to be really careful when opening the palette because it has fallen out a few times! Mocha and Cocoa Bear are both described as reddish brown but I think Cocoa Bear is more fitting to the description. Cocoa Bear is a great crease shade particularly for a brown smokey eye but I find it works well for blending Swiss Chocolate with a black shadow for a dramatic smokey eye. I haven't quite figured out how to use Mocha correctly! I find it a little chalky  but I imagine it can be built up for added depth to your crease. 

Row 3

Morphe:  Burlesque ES74 (copper shimmer) comparable to Mac Antiqued

Morphe: Blackberry ES25 (burgundy with red shimmer)

Makeup Geek : Galaxy (metallic gunmetal) comparable to Mac Knight Divine

Makeup Geek: Corrupt ( intense matte black with subtle sparkle) comparable to Mac Carbon 

This row has my favourite colours! Burlesque is so pretty- it applies very smoothly and it's the one I have used the most so far! If you love warm neutrals this is a great shade, the shimmer is perfect. Since purchasing these I have also bought one of the Mac x 9 palettes in Burgundy which has Antiqued in it and the shades are basically identical! Blackberry is a little powdery but still quite pigmented, like Peacock above it is more workable with a good primer. I got Corrupt because the common feature of most palettes is a matte black shade and as it is more intense than Carbon I figured it was a great investment. There's quite a bit of fall out with Corrupt but it's not too annoying to wipe away. Galaxy is gorgeous! Amazing colour pay off and applies smoothly.

Swatches (no flash)

Swatches (with flash)

Things I've learnt:

1. My eyelids are minimal :( I need some tips on how to make the shadow stand out a bit more when my eyes are open. I think I should make an effort to learn how to apply lashes because my lashes do not stand out enough for dramatic looks :(

2. Primer! The eyeshadow kept creasing :'( I recently bought the Urban Decay Primer potion which has made a big difference.

3. Brushes! I need to invest in a good full set of eyebrushes if I want this to work for me. I have been using the amazing Sigma E30 pencil brush a lot and some brushes I was gifted from L.A.B.2* at a recent Bloggers Hangout event but I would love a complete set. What set would you recommend??

4. Practice! My initial fears are confirmed- this really is a lot of effort but I'm going to keep trying, and because I do not believe in arm swatch posts I have put pictures below of a couple of my practice runs where I am using some of the shades in the palette:

Transition shade: Swiss Chocolate and Morocco

Crease: Cocoa Bear and Mocha

Lid: Corrupt

Inner Tear duct: Light shimmer shade from the sleek Au Naturel palette 

Transition shade: Swiss Chocolate

Crease : Embark (from Mac Burgundy x 9)

Lid: Blackberry 

Inner tear duct : Honey Lust (from Mac Burgundy x 9)

I strongly encourage feedback on my attempts! Where do I need to improve? I can take criticism don't worry lol Comment below :)

'Be your own kind of beautiful' 

*Disclosure - Any items marked with an asterix (*) are either PR samples/gifts. All the opinions written about the products are my own. Not sponsored. 

2016: I know there's gonna be GOOD TIMES!

Wow... Where has the year gone?! I'm so grateful to everyone who has taken the time out to read my blog this year.. I appreciate every single comment and suggestion! I have been seeing lots of 'Blog goals' posts and contemplated doing one but in the end I decided against it. My only real blog goal is to continue trying to create good content that people actually want to read and to enjoy doing it! Instead of a goals post I'm just going to use this post to offer a few words of encouragement.

You may not have had the best year... There will probably have been some ups and down.. But you are alive! Believe that in 2016 there's going to be GOOD TIMES! (Word to Jamie Xx) I think it's so easy to adopt an attitude of dejection, so easy to complain and worry but I am urging us all to adopt an attitude of gratitude... Choose happiness...! If you read my I Define Me post you will know that I had heart surgery last year which completely changed my attitude towards life.. I truly believe that happiness is a choice- yes bad things may happen to you but bad things do not have to defeat you! Keep on pushing to achieve your goals and adopt an attitude of gratitude, encourage others, be kind and believe that there will be GOOD TIMES!

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR! God bless.



'Be your own kind of beautiful' 

Christmas Giveaway Winner(s)!

Merry Christmas guys!!! This is just a really quick post to announce the winner of my giveaway!!

The Rafflecopter selected : BONITA SAMUELS!! Congratulations!! ... but because I am just so happy to be alive right now I went ahead and asked it to select a few more... ALEX ROOKE and CHIAMAKA LIV IWUNZE will also be receiving something in the post (you guys might have to wait a few more days lol because I haven't decided what it is going to be yet). Please send me your addresses to yveschild@gmail.com,  I'll send you all an email soon regardless xx 

I really wish I could send you all something but I hope to do many more giveaways in the future so keep your eyes peeled!

I hope you all have a FANTASTIC day and a happy new year!

God bless x 

'Be your own kind of beautiful' 

Christmas Giveaway 2015!

I've been putting this together for a very long time and I am excited to announce that it's Christmas Giveaway time! I wanted this to be bigger and better than the one I did last Christmas and I hope you really like the items I've picked out! 

Every item was chosen and bought my me over a few months :) I tried to choose a range of summer/autumn shades that should suit any skin tone. I didn't want to open them up so please google the shades! The giveaway includes:

Zoeva Smoky Palette

Nanshy 7 piece Eyebrush Set 

Burberry Lip Cover (Cameo Pink)

Stila Colorbalm Lipstick( Evangeline)

Burberry Light Glow Blush (No. 10 Hydrangea Pink)

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate (No. 48)

Barry M Nail Varnish (Nightshade and red wine)

Burberry Nail Varnish (Pink Peoney)

Kiko Velvet Mat Lipstick (No. 605)

Kiko creamy Colour Lipliner ( No. 305 and 315 

Chocolate!

How to enter:

UK Entries only :( 

Fill in the Rafflecopter below and the winner will be picked by RANDOM by the RaffleCopter. 

The giveaway ends at midnight on Christmas Eve and the winner will be announced on Christmas Day :) The winner will be notified by email and the items will be posted on Tuesday 28th December

There are no entry requirements for this giveaway. If you would like to leave a comment on any of my blog posts or social media accounts please feel free :D I love reading all the comments people have left me on my posts :) 

Twitter

Instagram 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Be your own kind of beautiful"

Review: The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation

I'm sure you know by now that I live for my Lancôme foundation! However,  seeing as I'm living a student life again I cannot be using £29.50 foundation on a daily. Unfortunately, I don't really like any of the formulas of the other foundations usually found in Boots i.e. Maybelline, L'Oréal etc. so I was quite excited when The Body Shop released this range a few months ago in the price range I was aiming for! The ladies in the The Body Shop store I went to were so lovely, probably the best customer service I've had in a while actually! Shout out to The Body Shop in Romford!

The product

The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation SPF 15

Shade Range: 16 shades-  It seems like there are 4 shades with varying undertones for the following skin tones: 

Fair: Chelsea Porcelain, Bora Bora Tiare Kyoto Blossom, Bali Vanilla

Medium: Hawaii macadamia, Fiji Sand, Sahara Light, Yorkshire Rose 

Olive- Tan: Santorini Sunset, Atlas Dunes, Sicily Amber, Yucatan Honey

Deep: Andalusia Almond, Seychelles Cinnamon, Caribbean Mahogany, Tuscany Chestnut 

Claims: Enriched with hydrating rose water, skin is left beautifully moisturised for up to 24h and protected with SPF15. With a semi-matte finish, all our 16 shades mimic the look of fresh natural skin with a nude glow

Price: £15 for 30ml

It's a bit of a shame that the range doesn't include more deep tone shades, however when I think of the shade ranges, available at Boots, from the other brands it's not the worst. The Body Shop are also selling Shade Adjusting Drops for £10 which you can use to lighten or darken the foundation if you do not find a shade that fits you. I know many people will have mixed opinions on the shade adjusting drops. On the one hand it is an extra cost and if you add the price of the drops to the foundation price you could buy a high end foundation that actually matches your skin tone. On the other hand you don't always get a perfect match from any brand and it could actually save you money in the long run. You can use it with any of your foundations, particularly when your skin gets lighter/darker in Summer/Winter as well as adding them to make custom highlight and contour shades. I picked up the darkening drops even though I don't really have much use for them right now *covers face* I'll give you an update when I use it! I know the drops have been compared to Cover FX's Custom Cover Drops . I wouldn't say that they are exactly the same, although the Cover FX drops can alter the shade of your foundation, their main marketed purpose is to allow you to sheer out your foundation or make it full coverage. It does have more shades available but at £36 it is much more expensive!

One pump of the Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation (10 minutes after application)

I got the shade Tuscany Chesnut, which is the darkest shade available, and i'm actually quite happy with the match. It comes with a pump and is housed in a standard glass bottle. I usually go for completely matte foundations because I really don't like the shiny look I tend to get with dewy foundations. This is a semi- matte finish and I actually really like the way it looks when it is freshly applied- it gives a really natural glow but it's not shiny. Even though I do like the way it looks on it's own I haven't been brave enough to wear it without powder. It is a light to medium coverage foundation so it definitely doesn't cover all my blemishes and scars, however it can be built up to full coverage but will not feel as light and natural if you do. Above is one pump of the foundation applied with my Sigma F80 brush. Below is two pumps with concealer, powder and the whole shebang.  I have been using this for over a month now and I think it has quite good wear time- I wouldn't go as far as saying it lasts 24 hours as I normally have to touch up the powder half way through the day but apart from that it's reasonable.

Fresh Nude Foundation with Esteé Lauder Double Wear Concealer and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark Deep

Verdict

Ok so I won't be abandoning Lancôme any time soon (Who do I think I am wearing Lancôme every day anyway lol!)  but this is definitely a good offering for an everyday foundation, particularly if you haven't had much luck with other drugstore foundations.  If you like the natural glow look this might be a great foundation for you to try. It's comfortable and light weight and would probably be quite a good summer foundation too. These are available in stores so definitely go and get matched and test them out before you commit to buying!

p.s my eyebrows look useless in these pics.. and seriously who knows a good Invisalign specialist?! lolz

"Be your own kind of beautiful"

I Define ME

That doesn't, he/she doesn't, they don't , you don't... I define ME. 

I was on a popular Youtube personality/blogger's Instagram the other day and I saw a comment that said "open your eyes... There's something so wrong with this picture... She's not happy" I just thought how do you know Sherlock? 

It got me thinking about what I put out on my blog and what 'Be your OWN kind of beautiful' actually means and why I use the quote at the end of every post. I use it because I truly believe that you are the only one truly capable of defining your self... Not Jim and Bob or Mary the psychoanalyst turned keyboard warrior who sits behind her laptop ... YOU..

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been contemplating doing a post about my scar but in the end I decided that it didn't warrant an extensive description. My scar is from heart surgery. I won't go into too much detail but I have a condition called Marfan Syndrome and I had a main valve replaced with plastic in order to prevent an often fatal aortic aneurism. Having the operation was the scariest thing I've ever experienced... Lol they had to sedate me before the anaesthetic because I was seriously freaking out.

Fast forward and it was thankfully successful and I was left with this scar. When taking pictures for my blog posts I normally stand far away from the camera so it can't be seen but I am so over that! I mean.. really Christine?! You went through all that...10 hours,  10inch incision, breastbone cracked open, infections and you're worried about how awful the scar looks?! I am not about letting this syndrome or scar define me.. I'm healthy. Point blank and the period (word to Tamar Braxton) I'm going to start saying 'sorry is the sight offending you' to the strange people who stare at it on the train lol...

The point I'm trying to make is "Be your own kind of beautiful" doesn't have anything to do with psychical beauty.. It's about you being yourself and owning what you know you have to offer... scars and all... Not giving anyone the time of day who makes you second guess yourself or your standards... Loving yourself... Not filtering yourself... I mean..If someone unfollows me because my 'black' and 'Jesus' tweets make them uncomfortable... it's alright babes, I don't mind... Lol DO YOU BOO! To the bloggers, members of the YouTube community and anyone who gets negative comments on a daily,  Mary the psychoanalyst turned keyboard warrior's comment is irrelevant and will not define you. 

"Be your own kind of beautiful"

First Impressions: NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick

More lip products I know! I just cannot help it *sigh* ... I'm going to try and make this a really quick post because I am sure you had more than enough of my lips from my last post!

The product

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick

Shade Range: Life's a beach, Tea & Cookies, Pink Lust, Kitten Heels, Cherry Skies, Vintage, Orange County, Sway, Amethyst, Sandstorm, Soft-spoken and Stone fox

Claims: 'NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick glides on and drys into a striking matte finish. Velvety soft and waterproof, this long lasting lippie creates a positively polished look with every swipe.'

Price : £6.50

I own quite a few of the NYX Round lipsticks and I absolutely adore their lipliners so when I heard about these Liquid Suede lipsticks I obviously wanted to try them out! Unfortunately, all of my usual NYX Ebay Sellers either never had the colours I wanted or they were charging double the price :( Selfridges and Very, who have been selling NYX for a few months now, also didn't have the range! Finally, Boots started stocking them online a few weeks ago and I grabbed four colours.

I ended up getting the four shades that I thought were the most wearable, if you have seen these, you will know that some of the shades in the range are a little outlandish. I ended up getting Vintage: A dusty plum with a mauve/brown undertone, Kitten Heels: A bright red with blue undertones, Sandstorm: a nude brown and Cherry Skies: A deep wine red.

I can't decide how I feel about these to be honest. On one hand the colour pay off is incredible! I am particularly in love with the vibrancy of Cherry Skies and Kitten Heels. Although it takes more than a few swipes to achieve full opacity, the colours still pack a punch! On the other hand, I find the formula a little strange.  They are not too liquid and they do feel very 'velvety' on application, however they dry to nothing more than a semi- matte finish. I find it a bit frustrating because they look quite matte on the lips but they never fully dry that matte finish it claims.

Unfortunately, these lip creams do transfer quite a bit when eating and drinking and I have to reapply every couple of hours or it starts to look a little patchy.  It is also quite easy to make a mess out of the application, however I feel like this is the case for most liquid lipsticks so I won't hold this against NYX.  However, unlike most liquid lipsticks, this is not very drying on the lips and does actually feel almost suede like. I have swatched the shades I got without a lip liner so you can see the true colour, I would definitely advise a liner with Sandstorm, particularly if you are of a deeper skin tone like myself.

Cherry Skies

Kitten Heels

Vintage

Sandstorm

Verdict

I love the vividness of the colours, all the shades in the range are really stunning albeit not all being necessarily everyday-wearable. If you don't mind the fact that they are not completely matte and transfer free I think that they are an OK offering for the price. If you do not mind the drying feeling and are after a completely matte look, their Soft Matte Lip creams may be a better option for you in the same price range or a more durable high end version from another brand entirely- i.e. ABH, The balm, Stila etc. I am not sure if Boots will be selling these in stores any time soon so unfortunately you won't be able to swatch them. If you really want to try these out I suggest doing a bit more research by looking at all the colours online and reading a few more reviews before you commit to purchasing!

Thank you for reading!

*My scar is from heart surgery.. I am thinking about doing a post about it but i'm not too sure yet - I am just way over trying to hide it in pictures lol xx

'Be your own kind of beautiful'

First Impressions: Sleek Matte Me

Recently I've really been feeling like my photography is just unsatisfactory?! I mean, I have photographed these Sleek lip creams more than four times and each time I have hated the photos. I shouldn't even call this a 'First Impressions' as I have had these for over six months *hangs head in shame* I've finally just gone ahead and uploaded a version that I am marginally happy with. Important life lesson: everything can't be perfect! Next time I think I will just upload the post the first time round!  

The Product

Sleek Matte Me

Colour range: Birthday Suit, Petal, Brink Pick, Fandango Purple, Rioja Red and Party Pink 

Claims: 'Matte Me is a matte finish liquid lipstick that glides on in one smooth application, with no need for a second coat.'

Price: £4.99 each

Alongside the mass influx of highlighters to the beauty market is the barrage of liquid lipsticks. They are everywhere and, pretty much, every brand has it's own version of these stay in place matte beauties. With the most famous offerings being from high end companies like  Kat Von D, Anastasia Beverley Hills and LimeCrime, I was super excited to see an affordable version in Boots. Plus,  I have always preferred matte lips over glossy so I went ahead and picked up all the shades they had on offer in the store.

I picked up; Petal, a pale pastel pink, Rioja Red, a blue toned bright red, Birthday Suit, a brown based nude and Fandango Purple, a bright fuchsia. I was most excited about trying Rioja Red as I absolutely adore bold red lips!  The lip creams look really glossy on the applicator but once applied dry to a completely matte finish. I find it quite difficult to control the amount of product on the applicator as the opening of the tube is quite big. I have to scrape a lot of the excess on the side of the tube in order to be left with a manageable amount of product. 

In all honesty, the application is not as easy as I would have hoped for. I find that moisturising my lips with a lip balm, five minutes before application, helps the process. I find that I definitely need more than one swipe to reach full opacity and have to tidy up any mistakes before it dries. However, I really do like the finished result of some of the shades, once it dries it is completely matte so, for the price, I would say it is worth it if you can nail the application. 

Once applied, these offer quite good wear time (4-5 hours), however the formula is really quite drying and not the most comfortable to wear, it also tends to emphasise any cracks or deep lines you may have in your lips. I find that i need to remove it completely after a couple of hours and reapply it on top of a fresh layer of balm to stop my lips becoming too dry.  I normally just vigorously wipe it off but it is smarter to use an oil based makeup remover to avoid irritation. 

I have swatched all the shades without a lip liner so you can see the true colour, but I would not advise wearing Birthday Suit and Petal without one if you are of a deeper skin tone like myself.  I have sort of disowned Petal as I think it looks too pale and milky on me.  However, If you like this sort of shade, I would suggest pairing it with a dark berry liner, like MAC Nightmoth or NYX Deep Purple, and creating an ombre effect if you have a deeper skin tone. Alternatively, a brown lipliner like MAC Chesnut will mute it out a little. Weirdly, the darker colours - Rioja Red and Fandango Purple, were easier to apply than the lighter ones hence, these are my favourites. I also think the vibrancy suits me a lot more than the pinks. Rioja Red is definitely my favourite out of the four shades, it's a true red that's perfect if you love bold lips.

Rioja Red

Fandango Purple

Birthday Suit

Petal

Verdict

Overall, I really like the vibrancy and intensity of the shades. Once dry, the formula is completely matte and for the price, it is a good offering if you don't want to spend triple the price on high end versions. The formula is a little tricky to work with and definitely needs a couple of layers in order for it to be fully opaque. I would suggest going to swatch these in store( Boots or Superdrug) before you commit to buying them to see if you like the formula before you purchase!

As always, thank you for reading!!

'Be your own kind of beautiful'  

Shea'd up: Mini Shea Moisture Review

Hi everyone! This post is a break from my normal beauty posts. This is review on some products from the Shea Moisture: Raw Shea Butter line that I have been loving recently!! I won't lie... I did not have any kind of epiphany or clarifying moment when I decided to go natural. In fact, I think I will put it down to laziness. I didn't want to go and buy a new box of relaxer so I just went to town with a pair of scissors.  Since then, I have probably texted each one of my friends numerous times, while washing my hair, declaring that 'I'm so getting a relaxer again!'. My hair actually gives me anxiety. Cue the naturalistas with the ' you just need to be patient with it' and the 'how can you not know how to take care of your natural hair' *Yawn*.

I know I need to be patient but guess what... I'm not a patient person so there! I have been natural now for about two - three years (Unfortunately,  I didn't do the customary marking of the date on my calendar so excuse my lack of accuracy). If you believe in the hair type and curl pattern malarkey then I am probably a 4C. My hair is very dry with little definition and is damn near impossible to comb without heaps of product. I've think I've tried every oil under the sun alongside many creams and conditioners. My standard is to spend an entire day washing and conditioning my hair, putting it into four plaits and reaching for my closure wig. 

Enter SHEA MOISTURE!

The great thing about Shea Moisture is that there is a line of products for EVERY hair problem and hair type. Fine hair, frizzy hair, dry hair you name it! It also doesn't have any sulfates and is certified organic. I have used the Curl Enhancing Smoothie from Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus line (Thick/Curly hair) before however, I found it a little to light for my hair so I was really keen to try some products from their Raw Shea Butter line which is specifically for dry, damaged hair. Although you can normally find  Shea Moisture products in UK stores, they normally don't have the full range. Luckily, Shea moisture will be launching some of their lines in Boots this month, so you should hopefully have no trouble getting them over here wherever you live. I bought these when I went to America a few months ago. Target pretty much had every product in the line and after much deliberation I picked up the Restorative conditioner and the Extra- Moisture Detangler.

This stuff is INCREDIBLE! I partly finger- detangled my hair before proceeding to wash my hair with the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo before applying the conditioner. All I can say is that my hair has never felt so loved. The conditioner is rich, thick and creamy and instantly allowed me to comb out most of the tangles and knots in my hair.  I twisted up my hair and left it to sit for 10 minutes before rinsing it out. This stuff left my hair feeling so soft it's unreal. I then left it to air dry a little before combing it out with the Extra- Moisture Detangler and re-twisting it with a little pure shea butter. As we know, I lack patience so I ended up taking the twists out after two hours  and here is the result:

Please understand that my hair has never ever looked or felt like this! The best thing about this is that once my hair had completely dried I was able to comb it! Combing my hair whilst it is dry is something I have NEVER been able to do so I was so impressed that this allowed me to do so.  I wore my hair out like this for a week and it was so easy for me to re-twist it every night. I now know that it really is all about finding the right products and I will definitely try to be more patient with my hair, yes naturalistas you win.

I met the UK Shea Moisture team at the Blogger Hangout event a couple of weeks ago and i was gifted this Strengthen, Grow and Restore Leave- in Conditioner*. I can't wait to try it and see if I get similar results! If anyone from Shea Moisture reads this : THANK YOU! I am so gutted that I can't attend the launch event this week ( Oct 8th/9th 2015) but can't wait to go to any other events you are holding. Wishing you all the best :)

As I always say, please do your research about any product before you go spending your money. Yes it worked for me, but you may find another line or product works better for you. Here is a list of some of the main Shea Moisture lines and the hair type/problem it targets to help you out a little:

Superfruit Complex - Dull lacklustre hair [Available soon in Boots UK]

African Black Soap - Dry/Itchy and flaky scalp 

Coconut & Hibiscus- Thick/Curly hair  [Available soon in Boots UK]

Raw Shea Butter - Dry Damaged Hair [Available soon in Boots UK]

Yucca & Plantain - Frizzy, Split and breaking hair 

Jamaican Black Castor Oil - Chemically processed, colour treated or heat styled hair [Available soon in Boots UK]

Shea Moisture will be bringing other lines to Boots UK in due course but for now you can get a lot of the lines on Amazon if you don't want to wait. 

Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored. The two products blogged about were paid for with my own money. Items marked with an asterisk are PR samples/gifts. 

'Be your own kind of beautiful'

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade

Disclaimer: It's your prerogative to post your views, whether they are truthful or not. Only you know the truth. This post is not bashing any beauty bloggers :) 

I'm petrified of being indoctrinated into what I call The 'Beauty Blogger Cult' aka BBC. I don't want to force myself to like a product that deep down I know I hate. I mean, If you do not like the Pumpkin Spiced Latte or the Magic Foundation you should feel free to say so! Likewise, if you genuinely love them express yourself. On a serious note, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to discern whether people truly love a product or they are just playing up to the hype because of other bloggers. 

I'm naming the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade BBC Culprit No. 1. The reviews of this smudge and water proof pomade are out of this world! I went to America a couple of months ago and I finally persuaded myself to pick it up as it was $18 in Sephora which made it slightly cheaper than it would have been if I bought it in London (RRP £15).  

The product

Colour range: Dark Brown, Blonde, Taupe, Soft Brown, Medium Brown, Chocolate, Ash brown, Ebony, Granite, Auburn and Caramel 

Price: $18/£15

Claims: A Smudge-free waterproof pomade formula that performs as an all-in-one brow product

The colour range and the amount of product in the pot stand out as the biggest positives to this product in my opinion. I've been using this product everyday since I got back in August and I  have hardly made a dent in it! It will probably last me a long time so overall I think it is good value for money.  Furthermore, most brow products only seem to be available in Light, Medium and Dark so the fact that there are 11 shades to choose from means you will most likely be able to find one you like.  I picked it up in the shade Ebony, in hindsight I probably should have got Dark Brown or Chocolate because Ebony is much darker than it looks in the pot. It requires quite a bit of effort for me to achieve a wearable everyday look with this colour, however if  you prefer very dark brows, Ebony or Granite are probably the colours for you.  I'm yet to see these in any stores in the UK so you can't really try the colours out. If you want to try this, your best bet is comparing pictures on-line to your existing brow products and getting the one you think matches. You can, however, vary the outcome of the colour on your brows by pressing harder or lighter with an angled brush so you have some leeway if you get a colour that is slightly too dark for you. 

The pomade works best with an angled brush. I have been using a Sonia Kashuk angled brush alongside two Elf brow brushes that I also bought in America. You need to dip the brush in the product very gently as a little goes a long way.  If you press too hard you will probably get quite a bit of build up on the brush making the application process much more difficult. The gel formula glides on quite easily but it is really easy to go overboard with the darker colours.

Dipbrow Pomade v Natural brows

I start of by combing my brows through, I haven't threaded my eyebrows in three months so they are literally all over the place. I then use a heavy hand to create the shape I want and then use light stokes to fill in any sparse bits. Finally, I brush the product through many times in order to get a more natural look as the colour is little too dark for me. It sounds really simple but believe me, this process is time consuming and actually quite tricky to master. If, like me, you have been using pencils to quickly fill in your brows this will be quite a big step up in your makeup routine. After two months use I have nailed the timing to less than eight minutes but when I first started using this it was taking me up to 20 minutes to make this look reasonable!

To clean up my brows, I use the MAC Studio Finish Concealer (NC50) or my foundation (Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H) depending on how dramatic I want them to look.  I blend it out with my MAC 226/224 brush and then apply my face powder using the Real Techniques Buffing brush (Core collection).

Tip*  If you touch your brows soon after application, they will smudge! I learnt this the hard way whilst trying to test out the smudge free theory. If this happens you pretty much have to wipe it off and start again. You need to do all the combing and blending of the product before it dries as its really hard to work with after that. Once dry, the product does have good staying power and will come off with a good makeup remover or a few wipes. I don't believe anything is completely smudge proof but if you are not touching your brows you should get a full days wear out of this.

Adding a little more foundation so I do not end up with a unibrow. My Shellac peeled off my thumb :( 

Pros: 
Great colour range
Very pigmented- A little goes a long way
Smooth consistency

Cons:
Need to invest in a good brow brush to apply it
Popular colours are hard to obtain
Time consuming
Can cause a lot of product build-up on brush if not washed everyday

Verdict:
Overall, I think this product is ok but I don't love it unconditionally. You can probably get similar results with the dupes that have popped up ( NYX Tame & Frame, Maybelline 24H Colour Tattoo), but if you want that sculpted 'eyebrows on fleek' look I would say this is a good place to start. I am, however, going to go back to a pencil for weekday use as I just do not have the time for this in the mornings!

I know this post has been quite long, but I wanted to give you a comprehensive view of the product. Everything I have written is my honest opinion and it is such a shame that UK customers have nowhere to try this product out before they buy it. Generally, I think it's really important that you go out and try products for yourself whenever you can! This is why my blog motto is 'Be your own kind of beautiful'. Only you know what works for you and what you like and dislike. Don't be easily swayed. You will save yourself a lot of money trust me!!

What are the other BBC culprits? Let me know and I might review them next!

'Be your own kind of beautiful'