Benefit's 'Do The Bright Thing' Beauty Kit

Hi guys. As my main birthday present from my brother at the end of last month, I received this amazing beauty kit from Benefit called 'Do The Bright Thing.' This kit in particular has been put together for those of us who want to achieve a brighter complexion or a dewy finish to their make-up. I think that beauty kits like this one are such a great idea because they enable you to try out a bunch of different products from a brand instead of just taking the plunge and buying the full-size products straight away. 'Do The Bright Thing' contains the following five mini products; the That Gal Brightening Face Primer, High Beam, Dandelion Blush, Bad Gal Waterproof eyeliner and They're Real mascara. The kit retails at £26.50 and it can be purchased from either a Benefit counter or on their website. It is also available on ASOS, where you can order it with free postage & packaging too.

The kit itself comes in a super cute, yet sturdy pink box with floral detailing. As you can see, the kit also comes with a good sized mirror which means that this kit would also be very handy for travelling to save space or even when you're on the move. As well as this, when you unfold the flaps covering the mirror, you are presented with a 'tips & tricks' section which gives suggestions and methods on how to use each product effectively. Another handy feature that Benefit have clearly put a lot of thought into are little yellow ribbon tabs that you can see poking out of each product section. These tabs make lifting out a specific item from the kit really easy, instead of you having to tip the entire box upside down.

The That Gal Brightening Face Primer is probably my favourite product from the kit. This pink-based primer really gives a luminous glow to the skin. Whenever I have been wearing this product underneath my foundation, somebody has commented on how good my skin looks! The product not only glides on smoothly but it has this really amazing smell too which I can't quite put my finger on, I just love it. I think it's safe to say that I will definitely be buying the full-size version of this when I run out!

High Beam is another great product within the kit. This illuminating highlighter is great for adding a glow to your cheekbones, brow bone and so on. Due to the fact that it is a liquid formulation, it is incredibly easy to blend with either your fingers or a brush. This particular highlighter is quite noticeable on the skin, however, so I think I will stick to using it at night time or for special occasions. A little goes a long with with this product too, so hopefully even this mini size will last me a long time!

The Dandelion Blush is one of Benefit's most popular boxed blushers. Dandelion is a lovely soft pink shade which has a lot of shimmer running though it. This blusher is perfect for days where you skin is looking a little bit on the dull side and applied to the apples of your cheeks, it instantly perks up your complexion! Due to it being such a light and subtle shade, sometimes the colour pay-off isn't amazing but it can easily be built-up to something a little more noticeable if you desire.

The fourth item in 'Do The Bright Thing' is the Bad Gal Waterproof Eyeliner. Personally, I am more of a liquid eyeliner fan myself but as far as pencils go, this one is pretty great. Bad Gal glides on smoothly and does not scratch or drag the eye like other eyeliners sometimes do. I wouldn't go as far to say that the product is waterproof, although it did last a lot longer than other brands that I have tried. I applied this product onto my bottom waterline to test it out and I still does wear off a little after it has been on for a few hours.

The last item in the kit is the ever-so-popular They're Real Mascara, which is the number one best selling mascara in the UK and I have loved this product every since I tried it early last year. I often do not have much luck with mascaras as they tend to nothing for my short and fine eyelashes but this one certainly does! They're Real adds so much length and volume to my lashes, as well as giving them an intense black colour. The brush is super handy too as it has a little ball on the end of it to get to all of those pesky little lashes too.

Overall, I have been absolutely loving this kit and I am very grateful that I got it for my birthday. My two favourite products out of the five are the That Gal primer and the They're Real Mascara. These beauty kits from Benefit are certainly a great buy and it gives you the opportunity to try out lots of products from the brand for an extremely reasonable price. 

Have you tried this kit or any of the above products before? What is your favourite Benefit product? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. Thank you!

Boots 3 for 2 | No7 and Revlon

Hi guys, yesterday I popped into Boots whilst I was in town with my Mum and I just couldn't resist their current 3 for 2 offer on make-up, skincare and haircare. I'm not too sure how long the deal is running for, so I would get in quick if I were you! Knowing that I am pretty set on skincare at the moment and have a solid routine, as well as not being into haircare very much - I decided to head straight for the the make-up aisle. It took me absolutely ages to decide on what to buy because there are some amazing products out right now. However, I finally settled on an old favourite in the form of No7's Extreme Length Mascara and two Revlon lip products that caught my eye. I am extremely happy with my purchases and so, here is a little review of what I think of them so far.

No7 Extreme Length Mascara in Black - £12.50
First up is an old favourite of mine that I discovered near the end of 2012. As I am a girl with very fine, short and sparse lashes, I find it extremely difficult to find a mascara that I like and that actually works well. With that in mind, this mascara does the trick for me even though I had forgotten about it for a long time after discovering Benefit's 'They're Real'. This mascara gives my lashes a lot of length (as the name suggests,) although it does lack on the volume front, so I tend to team it with another mascara to get that perfect lash effect. The small, rubber wand is perfect for making sure that you coat even the smallest of lashes and get right in to those corners. Overall, I highly recommend this product for those with similar lashes to mine. However, I do think I still prefer my Benefit mascara due to it giving that slight bit of volume that the No7 one lacks.

(Top: Kiss Me Coral - Bottom: Whimsical)

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Kiss Me Coral - £6.99
Next up is the product that I was most excited about. I have been hearing great things about this lip gloss range for a while, yet I have never got around to trying it until now. 'Kiss Me Coral' is a beautiful, you guessed it, coral shade which contains lots of tiny glitter particles. I think that this is such a perfect lip colour to wear in spring/summer, which is fast approaching. Not only is the formulation not sticky, the pigmentation of this gloss is great too. I cannot tell you how many times I have bought a coral lip gloss that looks amazing in the packaging, to get home and realise it almost looks transparent on the lips! The only qualm I have with this product is that the doe foot applicator is pretty small and does not hold a lot of product, which means that I have to dip it in a few times to get enough gloss to coat my lips. However, when the colour is this gorgeous, it's a small price to pay!

Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical - £7.99
Last but not least is one of Revlon's recently released lacquer balms. After having bought one of the matte balms in the collection, Standout, which you can read about here - I decided it was only right for me to try out a lacquer as well. 'Whimsical' is a gorgeous berry pink/purple shade with lots of glitter running through it which gives a lovely effect, although it does feel a little grainy on your lips at times. This colour in particular is a little sheer but with a few coats, it can be built up to quite an opaque colour. As with all of the Revlon balms, Whimsical has a subtle peppermint fragrance which in turn does tingle on the lips when first applied. Although the balms are not as long lasting as the matte ones, it does stay on for around 4 hours and leaves your lips with a nice stain once the shininess has worn away. I love this product and I will certainly be buying more in the future! 

I hope you all enjoyed reading about what I purchased as part of Boots' 3 for 2 deal. Have you taken advantage of this deal yet? Have you tried any of these products before? Please let me know in the comments below :)

Soap And Glory's 'Thick And Fast Mascara' and 'Glow All Out'

Hi guys! Yet again, I would like to apologise for the fact that I haven't written anything since my Liebster Award post, which was posted just over a week ago now. I have really been struggling inspiration wise to come up with some new and innovative posts for you all to read. Also, my unfortunate lack of funds has prevented me from buying lots of new products to review. However, I have bought two new products today - one of which I am very happy with and one that I am a little disappointed with. Whilst in town today, I thought that I would pop into Boots to see if Maybelline's Baby Lips lip balms were on sale in store yet, seeing as at the moment you can only buy them online. Then, I stumbled upon an amazing deal from Soap & Glory where you can buy two products for just £15. I thought that this was an offer that I could not pass up, seeing as both of the products seen above would have usually come to £21. I have never given Soap & Glory's make-up range a try but I am a huge fan of their bath and body products (the Sugar Crush Scrub being my absolute favourite!) So, without rambling on any further, here are the two products that I purchased and what I thought of them.

Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Falsh Lash Effect Mascara in Superjet Black - £10.00
Being a girl with very thin, straight and sparse lashes, I often struggle to find a mascara that works for me. I have tried so many mascaras on the market that claim to do various things to lashes, yet none of them live up to my expectations and unfortunately, this mascara is no different. I tried this product out as soon as I got home and it did give me a little more volume at the base of my eyelashes but it gave me no added length whatsoever. Maybe if I had layered this on top of another lengthening mascara the end result may have been a lot better, this is something that I will have to experiment with in due course. In conclusion, I am not overly enamoured by this product. I will definitely be sticking to my two favourite mascaras that I find work with my troublesome lashes, which are No7's Extreme Length and Maybelline's The Volum' Express Colossal mascaras. 

Soap & Glory Glow All Out Luminising Face Powder - £11.00
This product has without a doubt lived up to my expectations, it is amazing! For a while now, I have desperately wanted to find a luminising face powder that did not have too much glitter or shimmer in it (which I find is the case with a lot of high street brands.) The powder is extremely pigmented and you only need to lightly sweep your brush across the surface of the powder. A little product will go a long way and so this powder is great value for money in my opinion, as it will last for ages. I can definitely see this becoming one of my every day make-up staples because I have quite a dull complexion and this powder highlights my face really well and gives it a nice, subtle glow. I would absolutely recommend you all to try this product!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this mini review. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be posting a lot more regularly than I have been, as I have a few post ideas in the pipeline which are different to what I have done before! Thank you :)

My Recent Beauty Buys

Hi guys, I thought I would share with you all a few of the beauty products that I have bought lately and give you a brief review on what I think of them so far. So, let's get started...

1. Garnier Pure Active Intensive Charcoal Scrub - £4.99

I haven’t been using the scrub for too long but I have already noticed that my skin is nowhere near as oily in the mornings if I use this product before I go to bed. On the other hand, I do find the little charcoal beads quite abrasive and rough on my skin, which does make it feel a bit sore afterwards. I also found that applying moisturiser straight after using the scrub can cause your skin to sting a little, which is worrying. Apart from that slight problem, I really like this product so far. As for a reduced number in blemishes and faded blemish marks, I do not think I have been using the scrub for long enough to notice a real difference yet, but I am hoping I will do soon.

2. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Pink Blossom - £5.99

After watching many of Tanya Burr’s YouTube videos, she always seems to use this powder to set her make-up and so I thought I would give it a go. I have to say compared to the awful, cheap powder that I was using before (17’s Pressed Powder in Nicely Natural - £3.99,) I am impressed. This powder banished all of the shine, especially from my T-zone which can get quite oily throughout the day. I highly recommend this product to all of my readers!

3. Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in Love-Struck Rose - £7.99

After dealing with my cracked Rimmel blusher for quite a while, I decided it was about time that I got a new blusher and everybody I know speaks highly about Bourjois’ range. Consequently, I went into Superdrug this week to get some new make-up as there is currently 3 for 2 Mix & Match offer in there, which is amazing as you can mix and match with all of the different brands in store. I swatched this colour on my hand and thought it was gorgeous, but when I got home and applied it to my cheeks I found that the colour was too bright for me. I am definitely not going to keep on using this blusher as it is just too vibrant on my skin tone, but I will definitely be willing to go back and buy a subtler colour instead.

4. Benefit They’re Real! Mascara in Black – usually £19.50

I got the mini version of this mascara for free by purchasing Elle magazine this month, which features Miley Cyrus looking amazing on the front cover. Considering that this mini mascara costs around the £9 mark (£19.50 for the full-size product,) it was a complete bargain seeing as the magazine only costs a few pounds. I used the mascara for the first time this morning and I love it! It added a lot of length to my fine and sparse eyelashes, however, it gave me absolutely no volume. Hence, I then applied another mascara of mine over the top to make my lashes appear thicker. Overall, this mascara is definitely worth the money but the only problem that I found with it is that it takes quite a long while to dry, which can be slightly annoying.

5. Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire - £3.99

I also purchased this nail varnish whilst in Superdrug as part of the 3 for 2 Mix and Match offer. I have never, ever had a nail colour like this before and I love it. Although the varnish itself is quite runny and a few coats of it is required for the colour to live up to how great it looks in the bottle, it is definitely worth it. The iridescent, purple colour has little flecks of gold glitter within it – as well as a slight blue/green hue mixed in with the purple too. I was debating between whether buying this colour or ‘Intense Plum’ as I could only afford one at the time, but I am definitely going to purchase the other at some point in the near future because it is just as gorgeous.

6. Nails Inc Nail Varnish in It's Red, Babez - usually £11.00

My Mum came back from work the other week with In Style magazine, as they were giving away a free Nails Inc nail varnish in three colour variations. I think that the other two colours to choose from were either a nude or a pale pink, but I am glad that Mum picked this colour instead. The nail varnish itself goes by the name 'It's Red, Babez,' however, the colour is more of a pinky-red. It is so eye-catching and very appropriate now that we are getting into spring/summer. I think that a bright nail can really finish off an outfit and this colour is no exception! The varnish is rather thick, which is great as you will only need to apply one coat. Nails Inc varnishes dry extremely fast, which is also an added bonus. I have had a little look on their website and I cannot seem to find this shade, so it may have been an exclusive colour in In Style, however, there are similar colours available so I urge you to have a look on their website!

7. L’Oréal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution - £4.99

After hearing rave reviews about micellar solutions in various magazine and online articles, I definitely wanted to try it out for myself. I know that most people use the Bioderma product, but that is definitely out of my price range. However, after using L’Oréal’s more affordable version for a couple of nights now, I am impressed. My make-up is dissolved and removed so easily, just by splashing a bit of this solution on to a cotton wool pad. In addition, my skin feels lovely and clean afterwards without any sort of residue – which is a bonus! I would definitely recommend this product as it is effective and a complete bargain! 

I hope that you all enjoyed this brief beauty review and as always, if you have any opinions on the products that I have mentioned above, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment below. I love reading all of your comments and always respond to them, as I love getting feedback on my posts. Thank you :)