My New Blog - Francesca Does Makeup

Hello everyone, today I am introducing you to my brand new blog... Francesca Does Makeup! 
I didn't like where this blog was going so I've decided to try something fresh and new. On Francesca Does Makeup you can find swatches, and makeup and nail art inspiration only. I hope you all check it out and thank you for the feedback on this blog :) :D xo

http://francescadoesmakeup.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12315363

Spring Nights Eye Makeup

I'M BACK! Radiant Orchid FOTD

Hello everyone, sorry I have been away for so long, life was a bit crazy, but now its back on track and I'm doing what I love again :)

Anyways this was my face of the day from the past week inspired by the colour of the year Radiant Orchid.

What I used:
Eyes:
Nyx White Eyeshadow Base
Sleek Ultra Matte V1 I Divine (Pink eyeshadow)
Sleek Del Mar I Divine (Purple eyeshadow)
MUA Eyebrow Pencil - Blonde
Beauty UK Brow Kit
Collection Gel liner - Black
MUA Glitter Liner - Sequin Queen
Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara
Look Beauty Long Last Liner - Eye Brightener



Face:
Max Factor Facefinity 3 in 1 foundation - Warm Almond
Sleek Blush By 3 - Pink Lemonade (Icing Sugar)
MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder

Lip:
Look Beauty Lip Liner- Babydoll
Look Beauty Double Hit Lip - Berry Blast ( Lipstick side, Purple)
Look Beauty Loud Lips Lipstick- Babydoll

17 'Bashful' Cheek Stamp Blusher Review And Swatches

Hello everyone, today I am bringing you a review of a fab new product from 17, their Cheek Stamp, a powder blush with a sponge stamp applicator. They retail for £4.99 and are available in Boots.

At first I wasn't sure about the whole stamp concept, but the more I use this, the more I fall in love. Bashful is a beautiful matte peachy bronze shade, and on my skin tone it comes up very peachy, which I LOVE. Bashful is perfect for brightening your complexion, and warming it up. Personally I find the best way to use this, is to stamp it on your cheeks and then blend it out with a brush. They blend seamlessly, and last around 6 hours before they start to fade, but even at the end of my 13 hour day it was still visible. The packaging is really nice and compact, I love how there is a mirror on the top so perfect for on the go use, my one and only criticism is that the shade name is only on the box, not on the actual product. 

Here is a swatch of  one layer on my cheeks, picture was taken in natural light

Bottom Line:

Price- 10/10 £4.99 is a bargain for such a great blush

Packaging- 10/10 Small compact, like the fact that the colour on the outside, co-ordinates with the blush colour, love the mirror

Pigmentation- 9/10 Just the right amount of pigmentation to give colour, whilst being sheer enough to build intensity.

Texture- 8/10 Soft, smooth

Lasting power- 8/10 6 hours before starting to fade, great for the price!

My Top 5 Spring 2014 Nail Polish Picks

Hello everyone, spring is in the air, one of my favourite seasons not only because of all the beautiful flowers, but also because it is the season of pastel colours. So I thought I would share my top 5 spring nail polishes with swatches, enjoy :)

 The first is Revlon Minted nail enamel. A straight up mint, beautifully glossy with opacity in 2 coats

Next is Essie We're In It Together. A gorgeous baby pink with micro silver and blue glitter. Two coats gives a nice coverage whilst still letting some of your natural nail shine through ( as shown in the picture), three coats gives complete opacity.

 The third, is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Yellow Kitty. A baby yellow, that just screams Daffodils. Again two coats is a nice coverage with natural nail shining through, and complete opacity is achieved with three coats.

 Fourth is Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Pure Silver. As the name suggests it is straight up silver, looks gorgeous when it catches the light, is opaque in 1 coat but I prefer to add 2.

Last of all is Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme in Lovely Lilac. A pastel blue toned lilac. Super glossy finish and opaque in 2 coats.

Revlon Colorstay Normal/Dry Skin Review And Swatches

Hello everyone, today I am bringing you a review of the oh so famous Revlon Colorstay foundation. It retails for £12.49 and is available in Boots and Superdrug.
I HATE this foundation, it is one of the worst I have ever used. I put on the tiniest amount and it was immediate cake face, I hate the fact that it doesn't have a pump, it clung to my dry patches, dried out my skin, transferred onto everything, and never seemed to set in place. The worst thing was that instead of covering my redness it made it even worse, and all of imperfections were bought out. Despite all this I managed to fight the erg to take it off immediately and test it out through the day, about 3 hours in and it was slipping and sliding all over my face and settling into random patches, I looked a mess and finally took it off. This really shocked me as my skin isn't even oily, and for a foundation that is supposed to be formulated for dry skin, I would expect it to moisturise instead of drying it out. I really don't understand the rave about this foundation, I have had better performing £3 ones !

The blended swatch is very misleading, as on my arm it looked great, just not when I put on my face.

Bottom Line:

Durability- 1/10 Absolutely rubbish!

Coverage- 1/10 instead of covering, it bought out all my imperfections

Colour Range- 7/10 It comes in a wide variety of shades, probably the only good thing about this foundation

Price- 0/10 I wouldn't even pay 50p for this, completely not worth £12.49

Smell- 3/10 Chemically

Cakeyness- 0/10 COMPLETE CAKE FACE!

Packaging- 2/10 No pump but alright 

Look Beauty Triple Hit Eyeshadow Trios Review And Swatches

Hello everyone today I am bringing you a review of the Look Beauty Triple Hit Eyeshadows, they retail for £7.50 and are available in Superdrug or on the Look Beauty website.
I really like these shadows, they are super shimmery, smooth to the touch, blend like a dream, and everything you need to create a smokey eye in one compact! I would recommend using a base underneath to get the most out of the pigmentation, and also to avoid creasing; as I do find they crease after 3-4 hours. The packaging is very bulky and quite heavy for an eyeshadow, however this doesn't bother me too much as the shadows themselves are so beautiful plus you get a massive 10g of product.

The first trio is Sexy Smoke. This trio contains a deep satin charcoal with micro shimmers, a mid tone neutral tan- not the most pigmented but nice for a natural look, and a frosty white.

This is an example look  I created using Sexy Smoke, with no primer or base. I used the charcoal and white on the lid and the tan along the lower lash line.

The next trio is Party Fever. I find it really hard to find a good purple eyeshadow anywhere, and these are truly amazing. This trio includes a pale frosty lilac, a cool mid tone lavender, and a deep warm violet.

This is an example look I created using Party Fever with no primer or base. I used the lilac on the inner corner and lower lash line, the lavender on the lid, and the violet in the outer corner and crease.

Bottom line:

Pigmentation- 8/10 good 

Texture- 8/10 smooth

Fallout -7/10 quite a bit, but easily fixed by doing your eyes first

Price- 10/10 excellent when considering you get a whopping 10g of product

Packaging- 7/10 bulky 

NOTW !

GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick Review And Swatches

Hello everyone today I am bringing you a review of the GOSH Velvet Touch Lipsticks, they retail for £6.49 and are exclusively available in Superdrug.
I feel very mixed about these lippies, the formula seems to vary across all the colours, and I find it hard to achieve an even application with some (as shown and talked about in the photo swatches below). They smell faintly of vanilla, and don't taste too nice. However, they do glide on easily, I like the glossy finish, they don't dry out the lips at all, and the packaging is super sleek and compact. I just think these are very middle of the road, nice to have but nothing to get too excited about.

The first shade is Romance, one of their new spring shades. It's a sheer, buildable, pale blue toned pink. I find it hard to get an even application, the wear time is 1-2 hours,and the finish is super glossy.

The next shade is Precious, again one of their new spring shades. A satin, super glossy mid tone blue pink. I think it's a more wearable version of something like MAC's Candy Yum Yum, as it's not so in your face. However, it's really hard to achieve an even application, and again the wear time is only about 2-2 1/2 hours.

The next shade is Kitten Pink. An opaque, creamy, coral-pink. I really like this shade, I think the colour will be very flattering on a lot of people, and for me is the perfect pinky coral. The wear time is 2-3 hours, and there are no problems with application.

Last is my favourite of the bunch, Flirty Orange. A bright, red toned orange. I find the formula of this one to be AMAZING, it glides on like a dream, is super opaque, and last 4-5 hours.

                                                            

Bottom Line:

Smell- 6/10 Faint vanilla 

Texture- 9/10 Soft, smooth

Pigmentation- 6/10 Varies from sheer to opaque

Packaging- 10/10 Sleek, handbag friendly

Price- 5/10 £6.49 Not bad for drugstore, but I feel that they are better lipsticks available for a lot less

Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara Review And Swatches

Hello everyone, today I am bringing you a review of the Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara , this retails for £10.99 and is available in Boots and Superdrug. I like this mascara a lot, it fans out the lashes brilliantly, adds length, definition and keeps a curl all day. When this has completely dried on the lashes, they still feel soft which is amazing, as most mascaras make lashes feel crispy, it lasts all day without flaking yet comes of easily with makeup remover, and it does what is says on the tin, and keeps the clumps away! This is a great buy, and has become one of my staple mascaras.

As you can see the brush has two sides, a flatter side at the top, and a rounder fuller side at the bottom. I like to use the rounder side first to add curl, and length, and then go through the lashes with the flatter side to help fan then out.

Bottom line:

Clumpyness- 9/10 Keeps the clumps away!

Separation- 8/10 Fans and separates the lashes well

Curl- 10/10 Holds a curl all day

Volume- 6/10 Lengthens more than it volumises

Lasting power- 10/10 Lasts all day without flaking off

Brush- 9/10 Easy to use, effective

Smudging- 10/10 No smudging visible

Price- 7/10 quite expensive for drug store, but entirely worth it!

MUA Single Eyeshadows Review And Swatches

Hello everyone, today I am bringing you a review of yet another amazing MUA product, their single eyeshadows. These retail for £1 each and can be found in Superdrug or on the MUA website. These are amazing eyeshadows, they are soft, easy to work with and extremely pigmented. I can't get over how good they are for the price, not to mention that there is a huge colour selection. On me they last all day without any fading, and crease after 6 hours with no primer, which amazing for my oily lids!

From left to right- shade 11, shade 2, shade 31, shade 5, shade 26, shade 4, shade 9, shade 10

Shade 11 is a frosty chocolate brown, with champagne shimmer.

Shade 2 is a satin cream

Shade 31 is a bright blue shimmer

Shade 5 is a bright lime/acid green with yellow shimmers

Shade 26 is a beautiful mix of a turquoise ocean blue, and gold shimmer, this looks stunning on the lids.

Shade 4 (my favourite) is a frosty pinky-purple with a silver sheen.

Shade 9 is a duo-chrome violet / dark blue

Shade 10 is a duo-chrome of deep velvet blue, navy, and purple, with blue and red glitter

Bottom line:

Pigmentation- 9/10 Amazing!

Texture- 10/10 Buttery smooth

Fallout- 8/10 There is some, but nothing major

Price- 10/10 you can't beat £1

Packaging- 9/10 Simple, I like how you can see the colour inside

EOS Lip Balms: Are They Worth The Hype?

Hello everyone, now if your like me and watch a lot of American YouTube beauty guru's or read a lot of American beauty blogs then you know that EOS is seriously hyped up and loved over there; so much so that I was desperate to get my hands on one, as according to all these beauty gurus they are an incredible lip balm. If you live in the UK then it's pretty hard to get these, I know they sell them in Selfridge's and Ebay, but even then your paying around £7 for this one little lip balm. So is it worth it? The answer being, absolutely not. I honestly do not see what everyone raves about, this is one of the worst lip balms I have ever used, my lips were dryer after using this than they were before I put it on! The balm just sits on the lips and doesn't ever seem to sink in, whilst at the same sucks all the moisture out. I do admit that they smell gorgeous but truly that is the only good thing about this product. The shape makes them hard to store, and they are just awful all round. If your going to get a lip balm I recommend Nivea or Burt's Bees, just stay well clear from EOS !

Max Factor Facefinity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation Review and Swatches

Hello everyone today I am bringing you a review of the Max Factor Facefinity 3 in 1 foundation. This liquid foundation claims to be a concealer, primer and foundation in one, and cost £12.
This foundation is amazing, I find that it's best applied with a buffing brush, but also looks nice when using a Beauty Blender. It is medium to full coverage without looking cakey, it covers all my redness, dark circles, and blemishes, so I don't need to use a concealer when I use this. It lasts for ages on the skin, at the end of my 11 hour days it still looks good which is incredible. It feels very light on the skin and gives a nice demi-matte finish. This foundation truly does live up to it's claims and is really nice and well worth the price.

 Bottom line:

Durability- 9/10 last for ages, stays put in heat, some transfer in my oily areas

Coverage- 9/10 Medium- full

Colour range-  6/10 If your super fair or have dark skin then you may struggle to find a match, the shade I picked up Light Ivory is the lightest available

Price- 10/10 great quality at a great price

Smell- 7/10 Average foundation smell, a bit chemically but fades when on the skin

Cakeyness- 10/10 no caking at all 

Packaging- 8/10 bulky and heavy, however I love that it comes with a pump.

Would I buy this again - YES !

B. Vibrant Lip and Cheek Colour Review and Swatches

Hello everyone today I am bringing you a review of the new B. Vibrant Lip and Cheek Colours. B. is a fairly new discovery for me, and is an ethical brand, they don't test on animals, and are vegan and vegetarian safe. When looking across the B. stand in Superdrug I stumbled across these AMAZING lip and cheek crayons. They are £7.99 each so on par with the new Revlon matte and lacquer balms, except these are unbelievably high quality. When I think of a lip crayon I think of something slightly sheer, however, these are full pigment lip colours with all the moisture of a lip balm, in one narrow, easy to use crayon!  There are 5 shades available, all very vibrant and perfect for summer, I only picked up 2 but there is no doubt in my mind that I will be getting the rest ASAP. The formula is super creamy and glides on with ease, you don't need to apply a lot pressure to get an intense colour. The lasting power is amazing, I applied these at 8am and by 1pm they still looked good, no smudging, no fading, fresh looking,and my mind was blown, I have never had any lip product which looked that good for that long before, I only had to reapply once in a 13 hour day! On the cheeks they are really nice, easy to blend, and give a nice demi-matte finish that lasts for 5-6 hours before fading.

 The first shade is Prom, a mid tone blue pink, throughout the day the colour got slightly darker, but is still beautiful.This for me is the perfect everyday colour.

Next is Alecia, a beautiful orangey coral, it comes out darker than it is in the tube, and throughout the day I notice it leaves a slightly more pinky coral stain, either way it's a stunning colour.As you can see from the photo, it gave my skin a little bit of a white wash with flash, but it doesn't bother me too much.

Bottom line:

Smell- No detectable scent

Texture- 9/10 Buttery, creamy, soft

Pigmentation- 10/10 intense

Packaging- 8/10 simple, twist up

Price- 9/10  £7.99 Good value for money

Beauty UK High Brow Eyebrow Kit Review + Swatches

Hello everyone, today I am bringing you a review of the Beauty UK Eyebrow kit. This is an amazing product, which features three brow powders, a wax, a double ended brush and a pair of tweezers, all in one nifty little compact for the mere price of £4 ! I love, love, love this kit, the lightest shade is perfect for blondes and the darker colours would suit a wide variety of people, not to mention that they last all day, are extremely buttery to the touch, apply really nicely and evenly, and are just perfect brow powders. The wax has very impressive staying power and keeps the hairs down and neat for a good 6 hours. The brush included isn't the best, however it does the job, I like to use the angled side for powder and the flat side for the wax; the tweezers are very good quality and do the job nicely. This is a good all rounder and has become one of my makeup staples, I would recommend this for girls on a budget, looking for good quality, at a great price!

The powders have been swatched clockwise as they are in the compact.
The first shade is a versatile warm blonde to lightest brown. I have found that when I use my brow pencil underneath this shade becomes darker, but is still blonde, and looks natural.
Next is the darkest shade of the bunch, and although it appears black in the pan it is actually very dark brown, so perfect for achieving a natural look.
The last shade is a mid to dark warm brown, and works well on a lot of people.

Bottom line:

Price- 10/10 £4 is a steal

Packaging- 9/10 compact and travel friendly, simple

Pigmentation- 10/10 enough to give colour without looking fake

Texture- 9/10 soft and buttery

Fallout- 10/10 absolutely none