October favourites | Video

So hello lovelies! I uploaded my second youtube video today, It's a bit jumbly and all over the place but I guess that's what I get for not planning my video in advance, it was a spur of the moment sorta thing!

When I think of beauty shopping the place that instantly pops into my mind is guildford, it's my all time favorite place to shop, yet very bad for my bank account! The main reason why I went shopping was to get colour matched to the Laura mercier silk creme foundation which I have been dying to try for over a year and when Aaron told me he would buy it for me obviously I jumped at the chance, the girl who applied it to me was so lovely and offered me student discount I didn't know I even got discount in store?! which knocked the price down from £33.30 to £29.70 and she told me I should have got it on all the other beauty stands in house of fraser too... how annoying that they don't advertise it what-so-ever.

On my little shopping adventure with Jayne and my mum I ended up repurchasing the Benefit they're real! mascara, which really is as good as everyone says and I'm willing to pay the £19.50 price tag for it... even if it does kill me a little inside everytime I do. Because Jayne was at mac obviously I had to go check it out too... so I also caved and finally brought 'woodwinked' from mac, which is a beautiful bronze shade that i've had my eye on for ages, which Aaron paid for... oops!

My brother Ryan gave me £20 to buy some makeup to 'dirty up' his cosplay for MCM comic con, and the best thing I could think of would be spray tan! he said I could spend the rest of the money after, definitely not complaining... In the end he didn't want to use the spray tan because he didn't like the idea and said I could just keep them, so we ended up using one of my old bronzers and loose powder and it done the job perfectly! So he ended up paying for two bottles of the St. Moriz instant leg tanning spray and two Sinful colours nail varnishes in gogo girls and forget now, thanks Ryan!

Oh nuxe reve de miel lip balm (£9.50)... why are you so hyped up in the beauty community? as soon as I saw it I knew it had to come home with me, as if I needed another lip balm.
Finally and probably the least exciting item was white cream makeup for halloween! I did actually buy some new tartan pj bottoms and supercosy tights from primark but I couldn't be bothered to take pictures of them... I also found out that the iPhone torches make pretty okay lighting for pictures, even though it looks pretty darn awful in the photos in this post, sorry!

Keeping your lips in tip top shape this A/W

The dreaded cold weather has finally hit us already which means one thing... dry skin! my lips get chapped and dry quite easily and it's not a pretty look,  so these are my autumn/winter lip care staples!

1. exfoliate! A lip scrub will help get rid of any flakey dry skin and leaves you with baby butt smooth lips... my favorite two lip scrubs are the lush bubble gum and mint julips which you can eat after you've scrubbed away... which is a bit weird when you think that you're eating your own skin. Gag.
I use a lip scrub every other day and I find that this gets rid of all the horrible flakiness which may occur!

2. Moisturise! During the day I like to use either Carmex or my EOS sweet mint lip balm, I own way too many lip balms that are stashed in various handbags and in my makeup draw. Carmex was the first lip balm I ever fell in love with and I always have to have one in my stash and handbag, I do find that all of the carmex lip balms have very strong scents to them which can be a bit over powering but I'm not one to complain about stuff like that. When my brother visited England from good ol' Canada he brought me 3 EOS lip balms and I'm still working my way through the sweet mint one which I use every day, I do have my eye on the blueberry and acai, and fresh watermelon (as part of a gift set) scents/flavours which are available on the selfridges website but I'm holding back for now as they're £6 or £24 for a pack of 4... I can't justify that price right now. At night I always use the Blistex intensive moisturiser on my lips, I would use this during the day but it leaves a white cast on your lips and it's not all that flattering to be honest, this is one of the best lip balms I have ever used, in fact it's a cream formula and not a balm...

3. Adding that little bit of summin' summin' that will spice up your look, be it a tinted lip balm like the carmex moisture plus in berry or the maybelline babylips in cherry me.
If you're feeling brave opt for a berry lip, my favorite is the Rimmel Kate Moss matte lipstick in 107 which is a gorgeous matte deep berry red. Sticking with the berry tone theme, if you're looking for a higher end lipstick which would be lovely for this A/w mac's plumful lipstick is one of my all time favorites, and let's not forget the Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain in crush, if you don't want to faff around with lipsticks and lip liners this is a long lasting matte lip crayon which is pretty fool proof at applying.

So those are my favorite a/w lip products which I couldn't live without, what're you lip care staples for the colder months?

Lush brazened honey fresh face mask

"Exfoliating, stimulating and nourishing mask for tired skins. Fresh fruits are blended with warming Ayurvedic herbs and spices, ground almonds to polish and moisturising honey. leaves your skin vibrant and revitalised" This is what the Brazened honey mask (£5.95) claims to do. I don't have a lush store close to me, so I can't just pop in and grab some lovely bath bombs or face masks whenever I need them, I originally popped into lush to pick up the Catastophe cosmetic face mask as I was given a sample of it and loved it! but the last two times I've been in there they don't have it in stock... I was about to walk out and then the brazened honey mask caught my eye, this is one of the masks I hadn't yet tried so I picked it up on a whim... boy am I glad I did!

I think I would go as far as saying that this is my favorite face mask I've tried so far... SAY WHAT? what I love the most about this face mask is that when I wash it off my skin looks radiant and my pores look clear, Usually I don't notice immediate difference after using a face mask, I have to test it out a few times but I noticed results straight after I used this. Oh did I mention that this mask didn't break me out unlike some other face masks? I'm looking at you cupcake! Okay there's one downfall about this product... why does it have to go out of date so quick? I can never finish a whole pot before the expiry date! I have used this mask so many times but it seems to be never ending! I understand it's fresh but ah, it's frustrating... but good on you lush for not using any preservatives in your masks.

Don't forget to save your empty lush face mask packaging! when you take back 5 empty pots you get a free face mask!

My MAC lipsticks

When I first started watching youtube videos and reading beauty blogs a couple of years back I noticed that pretty much everyone in the beauty community owned a mac lipstick or two...hundred, and I didn't understand what was so special about these lipsticks compared to the others, so one day I took the £15 plunge and brought Shy girl, my first ever mac lipstick and that was when I really started to notice why people loved them so much, there's a colour/finish out there for everyone, you don't like matte lipstick? perfect! there's a nice cremesheem there for you! oh, that's not what you're looking for? why not try a lustre finish! it's quite overwhelming when you go into a mac store and see the choice that they have and more than often i've walked out empty handed because there was too much choice.

Since I brought shy girl, I've brought another 4 of the little black bullets of beauty and I still want more.

Shy girl / RiRi Woo / Plumful / All fired up / Flat out fabulous

Shy girl, All fired up, Plumful, Flat out fabulous, RiRi Woo

Shy Girl: Mac describe it as a Creamy neutral coral beige, I think it's more of a peachy nude as opposed to a brown which suits my complexion nicely. It's a cremesheen formula which means it glides onto the lips easily and is moisturising I do find that if i don't scrub my lips before using this it settles into the cracks of my lips slightly and it lasts for about 2-3 hours on me. 

Plumful: A muted down plum colour with a lustre finish, this means that it's more sheer than the other lipsticks and this is actually my favorite mac lipstick that I own! It's the perfect autumn/winter colour and it's also moisturising on the lips. it's not too bright on the lips so it's perfect to wear everyday! I'm blaming Essiebutton for this purchase because it looked so gorgeous on her and she kept going on about it... that girl has the power to make me buy anything she raves about. 

RiRi Woo: I brought this back in May when Rihannas collection first launched by releasing this lipstick alone, it's a blue toned 'retro matte' lipstick which leaves your teeth looking extremely white! although it's a matte formula, I don't find that this is uncomfortable to wear on the lips and this lasts for up to 4/5 hours on me! I wore this on a night out and may have consumed a fair bit of alcohol and didn't touch up at any point during the night and when I got home it still looked perfect! this colour is extremely similar if not the same as ruby woo from the permanent collection if you're not able to get your hands on this lipstick.

All fired up: This lipstick is described as a bright fuchsia matte, After I brought RiRi Woo and fell in love I knew I had to get my hands on another retro matte formula... and then mac released a retro matte collection? they answered my prayers! one thing I will say about this lipstick is that it's a lot more drying that RiRi woo, I exfoliated my lips before applying and then after about 3 hours or wearing it I found that my lips looked flakey and when the lipstick faded it clung to those dry patches. it's such a beautiful colour and it's so long lasting I'm not going to complain about it.

Flat out fabulous: Mac say that this lipstick is a bright plum matte and I agree, yet it's more pinky purple in my opinion (I'm clearly great at describing colours). This is my least worn mac lipstick because it's so bright I can only wear this on a night out or a special occasion. this is also a retro matte formula and I brought it at the same time as All fired up and once again, I find this extremely drying in comparison to RiRi Woo.

The next mac lipstick I want to get are Girl about town as I have been obsessing over it for months... maybe a payday treat to myself? I'm going to steer away from the matte formulas and try out some others. 

Do you have any recommendations for me? I would love to know

New blog url

I have changed my blog URL from www.picturesandpetticoats.blogspot.com to www.simplysteadman.blogspot.co.uk

Morning skincare routine

I like to keep my skincare basic and I always use the same products everyday, I find that If i try out too many products at once my skin doesn't like it and hell breaks loose!

The very first thing I do when I wake up is wash my face with the Clarins Pure melt cleansing gel, I also use this at night as I find it leaves my skin squeaky clean without making my skin feel tight, I wash this off with cold water because it helps wake me up in the morning and leaves my skin feeling refreshed.

Next up I tone my face with the L'oreal Micellar solution to remove any left over product or dirt, it's so gentle on the skin and doesn't leave my skin red or irritated like most toners make me, maybe I should branch out more in the world of micellar solutions? my skin clearly loves the L'oreal one!

Time for my serum of choice which is the Hydraluron... I have dehydrated skin and found that this product has really helped me retain moisture from using this every morning. At first when you apply it, it feels tacky and uncomfortable on the skin but that disappears as soon as you put a moisturiser on the top of it, this product just helps my skin look more plump and full of moisture!

Speaking of moisturising, I then go ahead and use an eye cream, and I'm currently using the Vitamin E Eye cream from the body shop and I love it, I've tried all of the body shops eye creams and this is the one I'd recommend the most as it actually leaves the under eye area feel smooth and not dry! I can't say that it massively reduces the appearance of under eye circles but that might just be because mine are massive 24/7 and can't find anything to help them a great deal.

Finally moisturiser, since it's started getting colder in the UK again i've gone back to using my Vitamin E moisture cream from the body shop as I feel like my skin needs that little bit of extra hydration during the colder months and it absorbs into my skin quickly which is perfect for me because i'm an impatient person who can't be dealing with waiting for my moisturiser to sink in!

whilst i'm on the subject of skincare, I will be posting an additional skincare products post soon which will include masks and treatments of all sorts!

Soap And Glory One heck of a blot

So i've been faithful to the rimmel stay matte powder for as long as I can remember and I wasn't really too bothered about trying anything different, I've heard several youtubers and bloggers talk about this powder but put it off for too long incase I was let down by it... until I went shopping with Lucy and Jayne which was incredibly damaging to my bank account may I add! The soap and glory one heck of a blot (£12) is a transparent pressed powder, so it doesn't have any colour in it yet keeps you matte! I have found that this powder keeps me matte all day and I'm one to get an oily T-zone, I often found I needed to touch up throughout the day when I was using the Rimmel stay matte yet I don't feel like I have to with this powder!? I like that the finish of this isn't too matte either, it doesn't look cakey and still allows a little bit of radiance through so it looks really flattering on the skin. This is the perfect little travel companion as it has a large mirror and comes with a little powder puff (which I don't use!) the packaging feels sturdy and as if It won't open up in my bag because no one wants to find their beloved powder crushed to pieces do they? I'm so glad Lucy made me pick this up, it's such a lovely powder and I will be repurchasing it over the rimmel stay matte... gasp!

MAC Bare study paint pot

Bare study paint pot £15 is described as a soft beige with gold pearl cream eyeshadow that dries to a powder finish. Paint pots can be worn on their own or as a base under other eyeshadows to make them more vibrant and less prone to creasing if you have oily eyelids.

I personally brought this because I get really watery eyes and often find that the eyeshadow in the inner third of my eye comes off extremely easily, I was hoping that by using the paint pot as an eyeshadow primer that the product would stay on longer, and I wasn't left disappointed! I have noticed that my eyeshadow does actually stay on longer when I use this as a base and the colour is gorgeous and brilliant for everyday wear. The product is quick drying so you're not waiting around for a long time waiting for the eyeshadow to set so it's great if you're in a rush and don't want to be fussing around with lots of different eyeshadows, you just slap it on and go! I really love using this under matte eyeshadows as I feel that the gold pearl in the paint pot gives it a little more depth and not quite so... matte? I know that sounds silly but it really make a beautiful combination! I really like this paint pot and I'm already looking at buying other colours!

Benefit they're real!

Everyone and their mum goes on about how much they love this mascara, I kept telling myself I wasn't going to buy into the hype... but I brought it. this is actually my second tube and I repurchased it again and have finally decided to give my opinion on it.
It's the best mascara I have used so far, simple as that. The wand is hard plastic bristles with a ball on the end which makes it easy to grip and coat every single eyelash with mascara and because of the these bristles, I have personally found that this mascara doesn't clump at all on me.
It's extremely black and long lasting... and that's where the downfall comes in, it's very hard to get off at the end of the day with a normal makeup remover and cotton wool pad! I massage the Loreal 15 second miracle oil cleanser all over my face and eyes and it dissolved all my eye makeup and mascara easily, I have found that's the only way to get this mascara off effectively without tugging at my eyes.
I love the benefit packaging, and the whole brand as a whole. I love their products, especially this one I don't know how I went a couple of months without having this in my life.