*Closed* Win a Real Techniques Core Collection Brush Set | 1700 Follower Giveaway

So not too long ago I realised I had reached 1700 followers on Bloglovin for my blog. That's crazy because when I started my blog I only hoped to get to 1000 followers and I never thought that I would pass it. Thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog or watch my videos. It really means a lot. Anyway, to celebrate, I decided to hold an International Giveaway to give you the chance to win a Real Techniques Core Collection makeup brush set. 

I've owned one of these sets for a while now and I love the brushes it comes with so much. The buffing brush is my go-to brush for applying my foundation and I love the contour brush for contouring. I think I've even done a giveaway with one of these sets before because I just think it is an amazing prize. Here is a link to my full review of this makeup brush set. (Bare in mind that I wrote the review in 2014 so the pictures aren't great). This brush set retails at €28.99.

Real Techniques Core Collection Review

Hey guys! Today am I reviewing the Real Techniques Core Collection. This set is one of my favourite brush sets. Now onto the review:

This set contains four brushes and a travel belt. The travel belt fits the four brushes and also has room for two more. It is really lightweight and easy to throw into a handbag or suitcase in a hurry so that your makeup doesn't have to suffer on the go. It also can be arranged in such a way that it can act as a stand to hold your makeup brushes on your desk while you are doing your makeup.

The first brush in the set is my favourite brush, the buffing brush. This brush buffs liquid and powder foundations onto your skin to give you a flawless finish. It's bristles are so soft and it is just the right size the blend your foundation perfectly. It's small enough to get into hard to reach places but big enough that you can blend your foundation out quickly and you makeup doesn't take all day. Also, none of these brushes seem to shed at all and haven't as I've been using them over the past year.

The next brush is the contour brush. This brush is super soft just like the buffing brush and is the perfect size and shape for both contouring and highlighting. Because it is quite a small contouring brush, it is really easy to do precise contouring to really make your cheekbones stand out, and it also can help to create a much more relaxed contour look because it is quite fluffy and easy to blend out with.

The next brush is probably my least favourite and underused brush in the set. It is the pointed foundation brush. I don't really use this, mostly because I love the buffing brush so much and mostly because it is quite small and would take ages to do your foundation with. It makes quite a good concealer brush however, because it can get into the creases underneath your eyes and the area around your nose to build a high coverage.

The last brush is the detailer brush. This brush is also great for concealing but I really love this brush as a lip brush. It is a great size and shape for defining and filling in your lips to create the perfect lip shape. This is definitely one of my go to brushes when trying to achieve the perfect red lip.  

So those are all the brushes in the set. One of the best things about the set is that is is really inexpensive for makeup brushes. It's about €28.99 for the set in Boots whereas most MAC brushes that are about the same quality are €30 for just one brush. It's also even cheaper on Amazon for about €22. I hope you liked this post and I'll talk to you soon.

International Giveaway: Real Techniques Core Collection (CLOSED)

Hey guys, today, I'm excited to announce that I will be holding an International Giveaway to win a Real Techniques Core Collection brush set in celebration of getting to 400 subscribers on my YouTube channel and 800 followers on my blog. Thank you all so much for continuing to read my blog and watch my videos. Now on to the giveaway. 

Today's giveaway is for a Real Techniques Core Collection brush set. I love these brushes, especially the buffing brush, it's amazing!! As I said already, the giveaway is International, and also you must be at least 16 to enter. The set retails at €28.99 just in case you were wondering. It comes with four makeup brushes and a small travel belt. The four brushes are the buffing brush, the contour brush, the detailer brush and a pointed foundation brush. Here is a link the the Real Techniques website if you want to find out more information about each brush. Also, this is not a sponsored giveaway. 

You can enter the Giveaway in the below Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All entries will be verified to keep the giveaway fair. The winner will be chosen by a random generator using the rafflecopter widget so please don't be mad at me if you don't win.The giveaway will be open from the 9th of November and THE CLOSING DATE IS THE 9TH OF DECEMBER 2014. The winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of the giveaway’s closing, and I will also do an update blog post to let you all know who the winner is. Good luck to everyone who enters :)

Giveaway Winner!!

Hey guys, so my international giveaway of a Real Technique Starter Set and Rimmel eye shadow quad has just ended and the winner is.....

  Ciara M.

Congratulations to Ciara. I have also sent her an email to notify her and to get her postal information so I can send the prizes to her as soon as I hear back.

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway, and if you were unsuccessful this time around, make sure to enter other giveaways that I do in the future. 

Rimmel Quad Makeup Look Using Real Techniques Brushes + International Giveaway (CLOSED)

Hey guys! So because there are only a few days left in my international giveaway of a Real Techniques Starter Set and Rimmel eye shadow quad in smokey brun, I decided to show you an eye makeup look that you could create with them using ones I own myself.

(The look is more pigmented in real life.)

Here is what I did:

1. Use the brow brush to do your eyebrows with whatever colour you use normally (the colours in this quad wouldn't be good for brows because they are too shimmery)

2. Take the champagne colour on the left and put it all over the lid with the base shadow brush.

3. Use the same brush to take the goldish colour on the right of the quad and put it through the crease and on the outer half of the lid. (you can also use the deluxe crease brush for this but I prefer to use it for concealer.)

4. Then take the dark brown colour at the top on the same brush again and put it in the outer corner and move it towards the crease. Then bring in under the eye on the same brush or the brow brush.

5. You can then use either the base shadow brush or the deluxe crease brush to take the lightest colour at the bottom to highlight the brow bone by bringing it just under your brow. (you can wipe the base shadow brush on a tissue before doing this so you don't have any of the brown still on the brush)

6. Also put the lightest colour in the inner corner using whatever brush you used in the last step.

7. Use any black pencil eyeliner to line your water line and tight line.

8. Use the pixel-point eyeliner brush to line the top lash line. I used an essence gel eyeliner to do this.

9. Curl your lashes and use whatever mascara you like.

I hope you liked this post. If you want to enter the giveaway to win a brand new Real Techniques Starter Set and Rimmel eye shadow quad click here. Good luck to everyone!

Real Techniques Starter Set Review + Giveaway (CLOSED)

Hey guys, today I thought that I would give a review of the Real Techniques Starter Set because I am doing an international giveaway of it at the moment and I also have one myself and absolutely love it. The set comes with five brushes which are each supposed to be used for doing your eye makeup but you can also use them for other things. The set also comes with a handy brush belt for travelling which while holding all the brushes is very light and so easy to take around with you. I have traveled to a few places with this set and have even included it in my travel beauty essentials because I just think that the Real Techniques brushes that come with a brush belt like this one are so light and convenient to bring anywhere with you and I love travelling with them. Now on to the brushes:

                                                             The Deluxe Crease Brush

I just love the deluxe crease, but not necessarily for what it's meant to be used for, I don't really like to use it in my crease because I find that it is just too big for my eyes (which are fairly small) and doesn't blend right. On my sister's eyes however, which are a lot bigger than mine, it would fit perfectly into the crease and work well. I myself, prefer to use this brush as a concealer brush and it is my ultimate favourite concealer brush. It is so soft and fluffy that it helps to blend your concealer in really gently without rubbing most of it off like other brushes can do. I use this every time I do my makeup and it has really become a brush that I couldn't live without.

The Base Shadow Brush

This is another "can't live without brush", so much so that I have already given it an entire review to itself on my blog which you can read here. My favourite thing about this brush is that it is like having two brushes in one, one for applying product and one for blending, I really love it. I also like to use this brush to highlight and do my inner corner.

                                                                   The Brow Brush

The brow brush is my last can't live without product in this set. I use it every time I do my eyebrows and I just think that the shape of it makes it so easy to use. This product makes it so simple to fill in your eyebrows and keep them looking full so you don't have any bald patches. I also like to use this brush to put some colour under my eye when I am doing my eye makeup and it helps to smoke out that colour if you don't want it too defined. 

                                                         The Pixel-Point Eyeliner Brush

The pixel-point eyeliner brush can be used to apply gel or liquid eyeliner. It works well but not if you want a really thin line. This brush works better at creating thick cat eye lines than really precise thin ones. I don't use it everyday for my gel eyeliner because I feel that my Sigma E65 small angle brush is better at getting an exact line and I am a lot more used to using it. I do however, like to use this brush for using a dark eye shadow as eyeliner to create a really smokey-eyed look or just if I don't feel like having such a dark makeup look with jet black gel eyeliner.

                                                                 

                                                                 The Accent Brush

                           

The accent brush is the smallest brush in the Real Techniques Starter Set. It is made to help you do really precise eye makeup looks. You can also use it to line your eyes, or to darken the outer V of your eye and then blend out with the base shadow brush to give any look more definition. 

So that is the entire set. I really love these brushes and use them all the time. You can buy this set in Boots for €28.99 or If you don't live near a Boots you can buy it online on Amazon or on the Real Techniques Website. If it is before midnight on the 25th of January 2014 you can still ENTER MY INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY FOR THIS BRUSH SET + a Rimmel Eye Shadow Quad and get it completely free if you win. Good Luck to everyone who enters! Make sure to check back with my blog during the week because I will be doing an eye makeup tutorial using these brushes and the Rimmel quad that I am having in the giveaway also.

International Giveaway (CLOSED)

Hey guys, I'm so excited to do my first ever giveaway today. This giveaway is to thank you all for continuing to follow my blog and for leaving lots of lovely comments and also to celebrate my blog getting 100 followers on bloglovin a month ago yesterday. I promised you all a giveaway after I returned home from France and once Christmas was over so here it is. I wasn't really sure what to get you because all of things I was thinking about putting in the giveaway are sold out after Christmas but I finally decided on the Real Techniques Starter Set because I have it myself and love it and I also decided to add in a Rimmel shimmery neutral quad, that I love the colours in, so that you can use the brushes to create a gorgeous natural makeup look. The Rimmel eye shadow quad I got is the colour 002 smokey brun. I also bought one of the same quads myself and I am going to do a eye makeup tutorial for it using my Real Techinques starter set so that you can see what the brushes can do with this gorgeous neutral quad that I will be posting in the next week or two while the giveaway is still open. You can also click here to read my review on the base shadow brush that comes in the RT starter set and where I also mention why I love some of the other brushes in the set.

All entries will be verified to keep the giveaway fair. The giveaway will be open for three weeks having already started at midnight on the 4th of January 2014 and ending midnight on the 24th January 2014. This  is not a sponsored giveaway, all prizes have been bought with my own money.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of the giveaway’s closing, and I will also do an update blog post to let you all know who the winner is. Good luck to everyone and thanks for reading my blog in 2013, I hope that you will continue to follow it throughout 2014.

Friday Favourite #16 Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush

Hey Guys! Good news, I've finally gotten internet here in France!!! So there will actually be a Friday Favourite today :) Today's Friday Favourite is the Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush. The main reason that I love this brush, and use it all the time, is that not only is it great for applying eye shadow but it's also great for blending too. It's like having two brushes in one :) I'd much prefer to use this brush over any normal flat eye shadow brush any day of the week.

I got it in the Real Techniques Starter Kit for €20 in my Amazon Haul. This set contains five other brushes including some that are my other favourites to use (like the brow brush). The set also comes with a Deluxe Crease Brush to be used for blending, but I prefer to use it as a concealer brush so I like that I can use the Base Shadow Brush for blending as well as for applying eye shadow.

It's also fairly small so that you can take it anywhere with you, either with the rest of the brushes in the travel belt that comes with them or just on its own, thrown into your handbag. I also love that it's purple and really cute looking. I really like all the brushes in the Starter Kit but my three main favourites, and the ones I uses the most, are the Base Shadow Brush, The Brow Brush and The Deluxe Crease Brush. Unfortunately, you can't buy this brush separately but it comes with the starter kit. If you are interested in getting this kit, you can buy it here on Amazon for around €20, which is really good value because the brushes are really good quality and you get five for €20.(as well as a travel brush belt)

Hope you liked this post :) I'm glad to finally have my blogging back on track again and not trying to rush it in an Internet Cafe :P Even though I only didn't have internet for like five days, it felt like forever and I really missed my blog and doing blog posts. I have a couple of posts planned for this week so make sure to check back to see them or follow my blog on bloglovin' or GFC to see when I put up new posts :)

My Travel Beauty Essentials

Hey Guys! As ye know I love makeup... a lot, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to narrow down my makeup to everything that I need to bring with me to France for four months. Even though I did in fact narrow it down, I still think that I managed to pick a lot of things to bring because I'm going for quite a long time and didn't know what kind of things I would need. So I narrowed it down to two brush belts of Real Techniques brushes, two eye shadow palettes and a fairly big makeup bag of all the other makeup I need and a few of my favourite Sigma brushes.

I know this looks like quite a lot but you have to remember that this has to do me for four months, If I was only going for a couple of days or a week or something I wouldn't take half as much.

The first must have that I needed to take was makeup brushes, I picked the Real Techniques starter set, the core collection, stippling brush and blush brush. I also decided to take the Sigma F30 large powder brush (for powder and bronzer), the Sigma E40 tapered blending brush (because it's good for blending out my eye shadow and creating a smokey eye), the Sigma E30 pencil brush ( to use when highlighting my inner corner or to bring the shadow under the eye) and the Sigma E65 small angle brush which is my favourite brush for eye liner. If I was only going away for a couple of days I would only bring the RT starter set, stippling brush and blush brush like I did when I went to Paris in May.

The next essentials I picked were face products. I chose the moisturiser Bright Here, Bright Now from Soap and Glory to make my skin look more radiant. I chose Benefit's The Porefessional as my primer, Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation and Bourjois' Délice de Soleil Bronzing Powder. I then decided to bring loads of concealers (I don't know why), which were Soap and Glory's Trick or Treatment, a limited edition Mac Hello Kitty one, Rimmel's Wake Me Up one and Benefit's Erase Paste. I didn't add any powder because my Rimmel Stay Matte powder fell and shattered so I might just buy one over there.

The next few things I chose were eye makeup. I first chose a few brow products like a Sigma shadow to fill them in (It's called Scarlett but it's a lightish brown colour), a pair of tweezers and some Catrice brow gel. Then some eyelash curlers and They're Real mascara, followed by a number of different colour eyeliner pencils, an Essence eyeliner pen and Essence gel liner in black. I also decided to bring a tube of Urban Decay's Primer Potion to make my eye shadow last longer.

Next onto the eye shadows that the primer is making last longer :P I'm taking the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes because they are great for everyday eye shadows, which is what I think I need mostly for college classes and day trips and things, but there are also some darker colours for night time. I decided to leave my Mac 15 eye shadow palette at home because I didn't want to risk losing it or shattering any of the eye shadows while travelling but it gives me a good excuse to use my Naked palettes a bit more again.

I decided to bring only two blushes which are my favourite two, Sugarbomb and Coralista which I'm just thinking now are both very summery blushes *adds 17's Blush in the colour First Kiss to bag :P I'm sure I'll still wear the Benefit ones anyway because I love them.

I chose to bring a lot of lip products because I usually choose a lipstick by however I feel on the day. I thought that bringing a lip balm would be a good idea for winter in case my lips get chapped. Then I chose number 7's Classic Rose, L'Oréal Caresse Lipstick (101 tempting lilac), Soap and Glory's The Missing Pink, Mac's Viva Glam V, Mac's Shy Girl and an Essence Lip Liner in the colour red blush (to go with Viva Glam V). I though those were a wide range of lip colours for every occasion and mood. It has now occurred to me that I should have taken the pictures with the lipsticks open and the colours showing but for some reason I didn't think of it when I took them and now they're all packed away. I will probably do some kind of lipstick post in the future anyway so you can see them or just update this when I get to France. I also decided to bring another lipstick last minute and added it to my handbag because I was watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Khloé was wearing a gorgeous bright orangey/red lip which reminded me of my No 7's gay geranium. (which I original didn't pack because I thought I wouldn't be bold enough to wear it and that it mightn't look that nice anyway)

UPDATE: L-R Classic Rose, Tempting Lilac, The Missing Pink, Viva Glam V, Shy Girl and Gay Geranium.

Lastly, I chose to bring some nail varnishes. I chose Bourjois' So Laque Nail Varnish in the colour Beige Glamour, Not SO Bora Bora-ing Pink from O.P.I., Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Blue Plum and another Bourjois So Laque but in the colour Abricot Ouaté. I just like them all and use them fairly often so chose them to bring.

So that was my travel beauty essentials :) Hope you liked this post. It's now 3 in the morning because I was working today, trying to pack and was exhausted when I came home from work so it's a couple of hours later than I intended it to be posted but I prefer to write at night anyway :) The next time I post I'll probably be in France, and hopefully it will be in the next few days once I get my internet sorted and everything. Good Night xx