Products I Regret Buying #2 The Make-up Edition

Hey guys :)

So since I did a 'Products I Regret Buying' for skin-care (see here) I thought it was only fair to do a make-up edition one :)

Real Techniques Powder Brush (£12.99)
I absolutely love Real Techniques brushes but I regret buying this because I don't have a use for it anymore. A year ago I had much more oilier skin so a powder brush like this was needed, it's dense so will add a lot of product which was what I needed to keep those oils at bay. Now I actually use the Real Techniques blush brush to apply my powder and I love it, it adds enough powder to stop oiliness without looking too powdery - it's the perfect brush to use when setting make-up too. If you have really oily skin and are in need of a powder brush then go for this one - I loved it a year ago but it's been a long while since I have used it and the blush brush now is perfect what my skin needs.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Very Black (£4.99/12.5ml)

So this isn't the first time I have mentioned this mascara (see here for full review). I bought it because it was supposedly a cult favourite and regretted it instantly. I have the most puniest eyelashes ever, they are short, flat and grey so they need revamping in almost every department. Great Lash gives you great length and separation it's actually amazing for that, but it doesn't hold a curl for me so I end up with long flat lashes. I just really need more from my mascara and I like one that does it all, so if you like length, thickness and the ability to hold a curl I would head more towards The Falsies by Maybelline which honestly is amazing and I regret straying from it.

Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara (£17.50/8.5g)

Since we are on the whole mascara bandwagon, this one by Benefit I didn't get along with either, it actually acted a lot like the Maybelline Great Lash but this one but gives more of a fluttery effect which would have looked great on naturally curled eyelashes. If you have that then this would be great, it doesn't clump and adds tons of length. It just really weights down my lashes so again I end up with long flat lashes that can't be seen. Luckily I had the sample size so I didn't have to pay an extortionate amount, but if you do have thick and naturally curled eyelashes I would seriously go for this.

Bourjois Contour Clubbing Eyeliner in Purple Night (£4.99/1.2g)

I bought this last summer because I got really into coloured eyeliner and this was the only colour that I just never wore. I have no problem with the wear, texture or even the constancy of it but just finding how to wear it proved to be the most difficult. I wish I didn't buy it because it has basically been untouched for just under a year and now I'm trying to find ways to wear it which is good but I know I am doing it so I don't feel as guilty.

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream (£12.00/25ml)

This was another summer purchase, you know that BB trend? I wanted to jump on that bandwagon and so I bought this. I do like it but I just don't understand it. BB is supposed to stand for Beauty Balm and I actually have no idea what benefits this has for the skin at all, it doesn't even contain SPF! It doesn't specify on the website or the bottle any benefits so to me this is a tinted moisturiser and not a BB cream and that's not what I wanted. I regret buying it because I wanted something that will just help my skin on a daily basis and The Body Shop should really not advertise this as a BB cream. If you want a drug-store tinted moisturiser this is a nice one because it colour adapts and adds a bit of coverage, I would also recommend this to drier skin types because it's quite heavy on the moisturisation. I usually use it if I'm not really going out but still want something on my face - I need to use powder with it so oiler skin-types beware.

So that is all the regrets that I have! I hope you have enjoyed this two part rant, it's good for me to see what made the cut and what didn't. I hope this has also helped you guys :) Again what works for me might not work for you so I have tried to give recommendations on who they would suit more. What make-up do you regret buying? Let me know in the comments :) 

Thanks for reading, 

Anjna

Products I Regret Buying #1 The Skin-Care Edition

Hey guy!

So when you are addicted to make-up, skin-care and everything in between that results in a heck of a lot of purchases and sometimes you find that the product wasn't worth it. I am no stranger to feeling guilty whenever I get something that either just wasn't what I wanted or it didn't live up to my expectations. Here is the things that just didn't work for me...

1) Michael Todd Moisture Lite Non-Oily Hydrating Lotion (£25.00/70ml)

I love moisturising my skin as weird as that sounds, even though I have oily skin. I tend go for the oil free lightweight kind because I don't need more oil on my face. This product from Michael Todd was such a disappointment, my face was greasy 10 minutes after using it. I have no idea why but I tried it a few times and it just kept on doing it, and imagine wearing make-up for an hour to discover it's practically melting off. Not. Cute. It has a liquid gel texture and smells herbal in a nice way, really fresh. It just didn't work for me, luckily I bought this in a set of four items, so it was around £20 for that set and the other three items were good so...I'll let you make your judgement. Maybe I got a weird one?

2) No7 Beautiful Skin Pore Minimising Serum (£16.00/30ml)

So I bought this and the next product with the legendary No7 coupons that I always receive (because I keep shopping) and because of that my judgement gets cloudy, I get things that I believe will work and think I need and they just...don't perform. This was a nice product to put on but it really didn't help minimise my pores at all. It is a serum, so you apply it day and night but I felt a bit iffy about putting something like this on my pores at night, since I feel like I should try to keep my pores clean and add nice things too it rather than this serum which doesn't have natural ingredients. This serum is quite watery too which you should be aware about because this is not a primer which will smooth out pores at all, it won't help your pores in the short term (and for me not the long term either). I just feel like I should have brought a primer which will help my pores because really that's all I need.

3) No7 Make-up Brush Cleanser (£8.00/185ml)

Don't get me wrong, this did work. But what I regret about it is that you can clean your make-up brushes with anything; shampoo will make brushes soft and clean and even antibacterial hand soap will fight those germs. I didn't really have a need for a proper cleanser and I find that I use it less and less often. I used to use it more when I did my friends make-up because then I would spot clean my brushes so I could use that brush again. Since I haven't done that this year, I don't really use it apart from the occasional deep clean.  Although this isn't technically skincare, I don't count it as make-up!

4) L'Oreal Paris Skin Perfecting 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (£4.99/200ml)

This was an okay product, I just don't use it for what you are supposed to use it for. It's like a hybrid toner/cleanser, it's supposed to be a nice way of removing make-up but I just don't see the point, I usually take my make-up off with oils (an Eye/Lip Oil make-up remover (see here) and then follow up with my usual oil cleanser for all over clean (see here). Oils are really good at what they do, if I use this product it won't take off my make-up to the same standard so I will end up using my two oil cleansers anyway. I just don't need it. I actually use this for little make-up mistakes and for cleaning my make-up products when they get a little grubby. If I ran out I know I won't buy another so it was a waste of money.

I just realised that this post was just a ranting session! I hope you liked it anyway and saw why I regretted buying these products, they just didn't work for me but maybe they will work for you! I have another post coming up about the make-up products I regret buying! so subscribe and stay tuned for that :) Follow me on Twitter (@anjna_harish),  Instagram (anjna_harish) and Bloglovin!

Thank you for reading, 

Anjna :)

Illamasqua Nail Polish: Perfect transitional shade?

Hey everyone!

So it's spring and that means out with the old and in with the new, (that's my excuse to do a ton of shopping!). Recently I purchased a nail polish from Illamasqua, a brand I haven't tried before and I absolutely fell in love with the colour...

I feel like this colour is something that can take you from one season to another, because it's a block colour it looks nice to wear in spring, but not too bright for summer. I love how it's a nice mix of green and blue (it looks blue on camera, but it is greenish!), it's such a unique shade and also my justification for buying it. At £14.50/15ml, it's not exactly the most cost-effective choice, however it is 5ml more than a standard BarryM polish. The application of the polish was quite a high standard, the first coat was opaque without being overly thick, better than an Essie polish in that aspect. However drying time was standard and so was the wear of it. I feel like this would be a great product to have if you liked to just wear one coat of nail polish, it doesn't really require much maintenance. It also didn't chip crazily, much to my surprise, but when it did chip a bit around the 3rd day mark the rest of the nail polish stayed put and didn't start to come off.

I also loved the skinny brush, which is nice because it gives a precision to the application, sometimes brushes can be too big and so it's easier to mess up!

Overall, the shade of this polish is what got me to the check-out and I hope you can see why I liked it so much! I think the shades of the Illamasqua polishes are great and so is the application, so if those are the things you want from your polish then I think that Illamasqua is the way to go :) What's your favourite nail polish brand? :)

Thank you for reading, 

Anjna

The Sunshine Tag/Award

Hey guys :)

So I have been nominated by the lovely Sabina for the sunshine award, which is just something bloggers do to learn more about other bloggers :)

Sabina states that there are three aspects to this tag, I have to: give five facts about me, answering her five questions and then nominate other bloggers I love.

My Five Facts

1) I am a second year psychology student

2) I love reading, it's one of my favourite things to do, if I didn't have so much psychology work to do I would be reading 'till my hearts content. 

3) I listen to classical music at least 3 times a week

4) I learned how to ride a bike in 2013

5) My friends can vouch for this, I'm a latte addict, I've started to cut down though! 

The Questions Sabina wanted to know the answers to...

1. What was the last movie you saw?

Erm I can't remember the last movie I saw in general, The last time I went to the cinema I watched (this is embarrassing), 50 Shades of Grey, just to see what all the commotion was about. There wasn't much of a story line, but I'm guessing people wouldn't go and see it for that purpose.

2. What does your last text message say?

My last test message says 'I thought you meant the mug after the dishwasher haha'. That sounds totally random but I've been making designs on mugs with autistic individuals but they aren't dishwasher safe because the design will rub off.

3. Have you ever been to a different country? If so, where?

Busto Arsizio, Italy

I have been to: America, India, Holland and Italy (not sure if people count Scotland and Wales). I am going to France in a few weeks and hopefully India again this summer!

4. Do you like sushi?
I've only tried it once and it wasn't bad, it's not on the top of my list either, I should try it again!

5. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?

I can't, it's just the same thing to me. 

I am going to nominate:

Becki from Beauty and the Brunette because she is awesome and totally relatable  

Jina from BeautyBlogmark because she is really friendly and posts all the time so I'm never bored!

I would love to hear the answers to these questions

1) Why blogging and not Youtube?

2) Which country would you like to live in?

3) Do you have any regrets?

4) Favourite Band? Artist?

5) If you could be one famous blogger/YouTuber who would you be?

Thanks for reading :)

Anjna

Every Girl Should Have: An Eyeshadow Palette

Hey guys!

Eyeshadow palettes come in many different forms, shapes and sizes, I'm obsessed with them, and I think every girl should own at least one...

People tend to vary when it comes to this, either they will buy lots of palettes, or just single eyeshadows, or sometimes both (naturally, I fall under the 'both category!'), but I think if we strip everything down we can actually get everything we need in just one palette.

The ones I would recommend the most is Urban Decays Naked Palettes (£38/12 shadows), I only have the first one but I don't feel a great need in getting the others, because I know that this one will still get used the most. I feel like every women, at some stage in their life, should purchase one of these because it will get used a lot, the quality is the best, I've had mine for just under two years now and I use it more than once a week. I think what makes a palette like this so good is that eight colours are daytime appropriate but there are four shades which can make a look smokier and more evening appropriate, there is also a mix of shimmer and matte which is also handy. It just the best palette to have, especially when you are traveling - you are prepared for everything.

The Kiko Queen of Hearts (€14.90/4 shadows) is a quad and another good basic palette to have, again because it's so easy to mix up - for a daytime look you can put a wash of gold on, or just define the crease of your eye more with a darker shade. For the evening, you can merge the two above together, this palette also has a red shade which I think is so pretty and sometimes it's nice to have a colour which is so versatile. Quads are even better for traveling, because they are smaller, I think quads like this Kiko one are great value for money because I actually wear all the shades!

Palettes are great value for money, usually buying all the shadows individually would cost more and also would be way easier to lose and forget about. I have this problem with my M.A.C shadows - I have two which I really regret buying in the pot form and it usually hides in the bottom of my make-up bag. 

I mentioned these two palettes because I think they are great quality and value for money, versatile in terms of colours and also finishes. If you have any more to recommend, leave a comment below, I would love to see it. I personally love palettes and I try to mix up which ones I buy so I won't end up with 50 neutral shadows. 

I hope you have enjoyed hearing my thoughts on what I think every girl is in need of, let me know if you agree!

Thanks for reading, 

Anjna :)

DIY: Your Lips But Better

Hey guys :)

So it has been a personal mission of mine to find a lipstick which is just my lips colour but better. So far I haven't had any luck in finding something that I feel comfortable wearing on a daily basis - I would love to find something that I could whip out and apply without a mirror. So that's when I thought - why don't I just make my own lip colour. Sounds crazy but it's really easy - here is my top trick to achieving the your lips but better look.

Step 1: Lush Santa Baby Lip Tint

Step 2: Maybelline ColourSensational in 740 Coffee Craze

First you need a red lip tint - I have one from Lush called Santa Baby(£5.95/8g), It's really pigmented so I just apply a little to my lips. Then take a nude lip stick which is suitable for your skin-tone, the one I used is from the Maybelline ColourSensational line in 740 'Coffee Craze' (£6.99/3g), super affordable and really creamy. Apply the nude lipstick on the top of your red stained lips and it will mix together, forming a pink shade that complements your skin. That's it! It's so easy and works every time, if you want it to be more pink, add more lip tint, if you want it to be more nudey then apply less lip tint or add more lipstick. What I love the most about this trick is that the lip colour lasts, even after the lipstick itself has faded, the lip tint still provides the same colour and really easy to top up!

Left: Maybelline, Right: Mixed Maybelline 740 and Santa Baby

Top Left: Maybelline, Top Right: Santa Baby
Bottom: Mixed together

I think the swatches above will help you to see how much of a difference it makes to the colour of the lipstick when you mix them both together, the Maybelline Lipstick is sheer but with the lip tint, it's more of a block colour but still wearable.
If you want to find out more about the Maybelline nude lipstick I used click here. They have all shades of nudes so I'm sure you can find your match!

I hope this helps you guys! Especially if you guys have been struggling like me :) You can use any brand you want, I'm sure it will work out :) 

Thanks for reading, 

Anjna