A little Boots haul

So I had one of those shopping trips, that was never meant to be a shopping trip. I had planned to go into town purely to go to the bank. All of a sudden I found myself in the make up aisle in boots and things just seemed to magically appear in my basket. Has this ever happened to you? 

In my defence I hadn't been make up shopping in a very long time so a little splurge now and again is acceptable. I may have also made a sneaky little Mac order too, but we will talk about that about her day. Want to see what I bought? 

When Real Techniques announced their new brush range this contour brush caught my eye instantly. I love a strong contour and this flat top brush looked like the perfect tool to help create a good contour. It's a very similar shape to the Nars contour brush which has been very hyped up in blogger world. I tried this brush last night and I happy to say it lived  up to it's expectations, it created a strong defined contour on the cheek and really worked my bronzer into the gallows of my cheek. I think this may be my new favourite brush. 

Then I picked up this 'kick ass' instant retouch powder from Soap and Glory for £12. I have a confession to make I have never bought any make up from soap and glory, I have always loved the shower gels ect, but I just haven't sampled any of the cosmetics, so this is my first. This yellow based finishing powder was on my list to try because I had seen a few bloggers made comparisons between this and the Ben Nye powder Kim K is famous for using, and this was is a fraction of the price. I love a good highlight so I am looking forward to see if this is any good and at locking my highlighter in place. 

Next up I bought a few lip bits from Rimmel. I have always been a pink, nude lip kind of gal, but then Kylie Jenner changed all that, ok forget the size of her lips and lets concentrate on the brown nude lip colour, oh it's so pretty. So I was on the hunt for some products to recreate this look. So I picked up this lasting finish lipstick for £4.99 (bargain) in coffee shimmer, it's a warm neutral brown shade, that has a hint of shimmer, I love this shade and can't wait to wear it. I also picked up two lip pencils, first is from the exaggerated lip range in the shade obsession for £3.99 and then I picked up the lasting finish, 1000 kisses liner in tiramisu, for £2.99. Obsession is a deep muted red berry shade and tiramisu is a dark brown nude with pink tones. I can't wait to try both of these. 

I also picked up a Rimmel natural bronzer for £5.99 in shade 22 sun bronze. I have had a few of these in the past and think it's a great matte bronzer for an everyday glow. 

Finally a collection lasting finish concealer made it in to my basket. If you haven't hear of this concealer, where have you been hiding may I ask? This concealer is amazing for covering blemishes and imperfections and it's so cheap, every blogger and their blog has raved about this little beauty and for £2.99 can you blame them? 

So that's everything I picked up, I can't wait to start trying them all. Thanks for reading. 

Dreaming of

So its another cold night, I am wrapped on the sofa in some fleecy pjs, wrapped up my favourite faux fur blanket and sipping on hot chocolate and it seems like the perfect oppertunity to get back to some blogging.

My thoughts are still a little bit all over the place, my mind wanders and  I day dream more often then usual and that is saying something, which brings me onto this post.....a little wish list for you all, here are some of the pretty things I like to purchase and with pay day around the corner I have a feeling someone of these little things may mysteriously get delievered to my door, but time will tell.

So lets have a cheeky look then....

Dreaming of by emma-louise1402 featuring a peony candle

1. Stereotypical blogger- there has to be a candle on my wish list and I have been lusting after one of these pretty, sweet smelling Jo Malone candles for so long, not sure how much longer I can resist.

2. The whole world of beauty bloggers are raving about the Real Techniques bold metals, as a proud owner of almost the whole range of Real Technique brushes, I have a real urge to try these in particular the contour brush.

3. You can never have too much neutral eye shadows and this little palette looks like the perfect combination of everyday shadows.

4. I love a good bubble bath, and when it comes to a good relaxing bubble bath you don't get better than a Lush bubble bar and this little heart from the Valentines collection is so cute.

5. I definitely don't need another bag, but can you ever have too many? Yes Emma you can....still have a bad feeling I will sporting this tan satchel bag pretty soon. Stay tuned.

6. Thanks to every YouTuber including this little 'Dip Brow' pot from Anastasia Beverly Hills I have now convinced myself I need this product to help me on my never ending quest to perfect my brows, I promise as soon as I successfully make them look perfectly symmetrical  I shall let you know.

7. Thanks to Kylie Jenner we all want dark lips and Velvet teddy lipstick by Mac is currently top of my list to help me achieve this natural dark lip.

8. Finally we come to Nar's radiant creamy concealer, this is down to one of my favourite youtubers, Nicole Guerriero, she uses this concealer along with Mac light boost to highlight under the eyes. As a girl who loves to highlight and contour ala Kimmy K I would love to try this little product and see if it lives up to the hype.

So thats it from me tonight, I hope you have enjoyed this little wish list. I shall be back soon with more ramblings.

What's in my August make up bag

I am feeling the need to write some beauty babble, it's been far too long since I swooned over lipstick and rambled about blush. 

So today I thought I would share with you what's currently in my little on the go make up bag. 

Now you will notice there is no lipstick in this bag....I am going to have to come clean! I have a separate lip product 'on the go' bag so now you know, I am crazy lipstick lady. So that will be my next post. 

So enough chit chat, I know you what to see what's inside. 

Lets take a closer look. 

First inside my bag of tricks is my baby skin instant pore eraser from Maybeline. This is a lovely little silicone based product that minimises pores and primes the skin ready for a full face of make up. You only need a very thin layer of this gel to get the right results. I have to admit I prefer Porefessional from benefit, but this cutely packaged version from Maybeline is much more affordable, so until I can justify repurchasing porefessional, baby skin will do nicely. 

I am really enjoying the bronzing primer from Bourjois it's a great product to give you skin a bronzed glow, it can be used under foundation but I personally like to use this for a subtle contour as it gives you a very natural bronzed finish. It also smells like chocolate so no complaints from me. 

If your a regular reader here at Emma Louise Dreams you are probably well aware I adore Maybeline the falsies mascara, I have tried so many others but no other mascara gives my lashes the volume like this little beauty. I think it will forever more be part of my make up collection. 

Then there is Mac prep and prime in light boast, this a fantastic product for highlighting the face, a la Kim Kardashian. This one of my few holy grail products in my collection, I hate applying a full face without this product. 

Healthy balance radiance powder from Bourjois is my current favourite finishing powder, it gives you a natural radiant finish but still eliminates any shine with great lasting power. I love the size too, you get a good amount of product and a very good sized compact mirror. 

Another Mac product hidden in here is my mineralise skin finish in soft and gentle, this gives the skin a beautiful golden glow and highlight. I like to use this on my cheek bones, above the Cupid bow and for under brow highlight. It's such a beautiful shimmery shade it's perfect for a full glam look. 

Then for my eye shadow I have been enjoying these golds and bronze shimmering shades from the Ri Ri Mac quad, this was limited edition so I am not sure if this is still available. I have loved using mixing these shades for a bronzed smoked eye recently. 

The little blush pot in rose tea is the perfect plum rose shade that gives your cheeks the perfect rosey matte finish. 

Finally I have rediscovered an old favourite in my Mac studio fix fluid. I used to be obsessed with this foundation a few years ago, but swapped this formula for lighter coverage foundations. However I have fallen back in love with this, mainly thanks to its amazing lasting power, it really does stay put all day and it's been my go to foundation this month, I used this when I was a bridesmaid last week and it was the perfect all day coverage for a warm summers day. 

So I think that's everything that's made it in to my make up bag this month, stayed tuned for the lipstick edition coming next.

Hope your all having a fun filler weekend. 

Pink Lemonade anyone?

So when we last spoke I promised you more regular blog posts.....I am a bad blogger and  I have been unable to keep this promise.

I have come to the realization that regular blogging while planning a DIY wedding is some what impossible. I come home from work most days and begin some kind of wedding related jobs be it cutting material or tying together pieces of bunting. Its safe to say its eating into my time much more than I anticipated ahind I am struggling to fit in anything non wedding related.

So today I make a new promise, I promise to blog when and where I can and will resume regular blog posts after my wedding. I also promise a blog post with lots of pictures from my wedding.

Anyway enough chit chat and rambles, this blog point does actually have a beauty related point....I promise.

Today I wanted to share a review of the 'Pink Lemonade' blush by three palette from Sleek. I bought this a few months ago after loving my first ever sleek blush so much I went back to Super Drug the following weekend and stocked up on blushes. However, in all the excitement i forgot to review it.

 pink mint , Macaroon and  Icing sugar

I took this trio of pink blushes with me on holiday to Dubai back in May as it gave me enough blush options for 10 days in the sun and literally haven't been able to put it down since.

This sleek palette is made up of three blushes, two powder blushes and one cream blush. I love the cute desert themed names for each blushes, although it does make me want to eat cake.

The first shade is 'pink mint', this cool toned baby pink shade is my favourite and most used blush of the three shades. The hint of silver shimmer blended into the pink tone gives my cheeks a really pretty icy pink sheen. This shade can be applied very lightly to give you a pop of pink or built up for a dramatic finish. I personally like to apply a good amount of product but then blend it in with my foundation brush to give it a natural blended finish, but is still noticeable and gives me a pretty pop of colour without it being too frosty.

Macaroon is a creamy rosy mauve shade. The creamy consistency of this blush makes it incredibly easy to blend into the skin, leaving the cheeks with a beautiful natural flush of colour, which is great for an every day no make up, make up look. I have even used my fingers to blend this blush and I never ever using my fingers, but that just proves how easy it is too apply.

Finally icing sugar is a lovely coral rose shade with blended gold shimmer. I loved this when I had a tan as it completed my colour really nice and gave my cheeks a beautiful warm rose gold glow. Both the powder blushes are very well pigmented and a little goes a long way (true of all sleek blushes). I find I get a good 3-4 hours of wear with these blushes before I need a little touch up. However, even when the blush begins to wear off it does not go patchy or crease, it just fades slightly, so I still have a hint of colour.

I think the blush by three sets from Sleek are a great hand bag or travelling blush, giving you three versatile shades to pick from, the packaging is thin and compact so fits perfectly in your make up bag and it has a really good sized mirror which is perfect for on the go touch ups.

For £10 I really cant recommend this blush enough, I can see me adding more of these blush trios into my collection.

Have you tried pink lemonade? Or have you tried any of the other trios? I would love to hear your recommendations if you have.

Till next time beauts

Currently In Love With.....

Its about time I graced Emma Louise Dreams with a beauty post.

So today I wanted to share with you some of my current favourites out of my every day make up bag.

Don't they look pretty. I have missed beauty posts.....

Ok first up is Porefessional by Benefit, I have fallen back in love with this product after dabbling with other primers but nothing compares to this one, so of course its ended up back in my make up bag. I like to apply this under my make up to prep my skin and minimise my pores. Porefessional is a silky and light weight formula, its buttery textures blends into a creamy powder like finish which leaves my normally oily t-zone nice and matte. When I use porefessional my make up lasts longer and my pores magically disappear, don't you just love make up. The only down side to this little primer is the price, but you cant put a price on beauty, well at least that's what I like to tell myself to justify my ever growing make up collection.

Next up is 'Angel' by Mac, I have literally been reaching for this nude soft pink lipstick daily, its a great everyday shade for day or night. Angel is a frost formula which I normally avoid but angel is still very creamy and moisturising on the lips for a frost finish. Angel is a favourite lipstick of Kim K (or KW now) and I am not ashamed to admit I adore her make up so of course I had to add this to my rather large lipstick collection.

Next up is Bourjois cream blush in healthy glow. I adore these cream to powder potted blushes, they are so easily to blend, they leave the perfect amount of colour on the cheeks and they last all day. I love 'healthy glow' its the a beautiful peachy pink toned shade, perfect for the summer (if it ever stops raining). It really does give your cheeks a perfect healthy pinched glowing finish.

My next favourite is Mac 'Prep and Prime' highlighting pen in 'Light boost'. This product brings me back to the Kim K make up look I mentioned earlier, this product is my holy grail for brightening my under eye and highlighting my face, a la Kimmy. Light boost is literally one of my favourite products in my make collection...that's a big statement I know, but true. This little beauty, brightens, conceals and evens out my skin and it doesn't crease on me, which is a bonus. I use a real techniques stippling brush to blend this into my skin so I don't have any harsh lines. Love, love, love this product. 

Finally is Mac 'face and Body foundation'. This a very light weight, watery formula that leaves your skin with a beautiful dewy glow. I personally love using this over the summer, I get little freckles around my nose when the sun makes an appearance and I like foundations that don't cover up my freckles completely because I like my little sun kisses.  This is the perfect foundation to give you a radiant glow, its basically a your skin but better foundation, and it can be built up to cover any imperfections. This was the only foundation I used while I was on holiday, I think this will be sticking in my make up bag till the end of summer (but lets not think about that too much). 

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend, I am off to a friends wedding this evening so I need to go decide what to wear....wish me luck. 

Confessions of a Beauty Blogger

 

While reading blogs It would be easy to assume the beauty blogger behind the blog is perfect in regards to their makeup, skin care and hair routine.

Well I thought I would do a little post today to show you that in my case any way (and I am sure I am not the only one) this couldn’t be further from the truth

. I am not perfect, no one is and thought it might be nice for my readers to get to know a little bit more about me and my flaws. 

Hopefully you will all still continue to read my blog, after admitting I don’t religiously stick to every beauty rule out there.

1.       Sometimes (just sometimes) if I have had a long day and I feeling lazy before bed, I am very naughty and use a face wipe to remove all my makeup. Not even a nice high end face wipe, we are talking the £1 wipes from Primark! 

 

2.       I hardly ever get my full 8 hours of beauty sleep a night.

 

3.       I am so impatient when it comes to painting my nails. I cant sit still for very long so normally end up smudging, re applying do the same again, have a paddy and take it off. To stop any possible melt downs I tend to go for Shellac nails at my local beauticians.

 

4.       I quite often forget to use heat defence on my hair before blow drying or straightening.

 

5.       I am a little bit clumsy when it comes to tanning,  I manage to get fake tan everywhere. I have ruined so many towels, desperately scrubbed carpets and walls to remove evidence and permanently stained quite a few parts of both my mum’s and my bathroom.

 

6.       Thankfully I have discovered contouring and highlighting, I am no expert but I have definitely moved on from the days of furiously applying bronzer all over my face. Cringe!

 

7.       I still haven’t mastered winged eye liner, I have tried and tried and tried, but failed. No matter what I do one eye always seems different to the other, maybe it’s because I am perfectionist and that 1mm different really does bug me, but I just can't get it right. 

 

8.       I am not very good at relaxing, when I do decide to have a pamper and a bubble bath I can quite often me found applying a bubble beard 5 minutes in.

 

9.       I very rarely curl my lashes, maybe it’s the lash curler I use but I really cant see a difference when I curl them or don’t, maybe I am doing something wrong, or maybe they just don’t work for me, who knows. 

 

10.   Finally, I am dyslexic, I can’t spell very well at all and I rely heavily on spell check and reading my writing numerous times to correct my many mistakes (sometimes I spell so badly the spell checker can’t even try and figure out what I am attempting to write), but no matter how many times I check my work there still seems to be some errors or even whole words missing. So yes some of my post aren’t perfectly written or spelt correctly, but I just try and write naturally and think about how I would talk to a friend and if there is  mistake here and there I am sure it’s not really going to hurt anyone is it? Being dyslexic does put me at big disadvantage as it takes me twice as long to complete any kind of learning or writing task. However, I don’t let it stop me and when I think about it, it actually makes me really proud for starting and writing my blog and not letting dyslexia stop me from doing something I enjoy. 

 

So there you have it that’s me and my imperfections. I would love to hear your beauty confessions, because well nobody’s perfect are they.

 

Dreaming about......

Hello, 

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend and it hasn't been to wet where ever you are? Thanks to YouTube, Blogs, Instagram and Pintrest I seem to have a never ending and ever growing wish list, hopefully I am not the only one?

I love reading wish lists, it normally results in my wishlist growing again, so I thought I would share with you some of the top picks on my wishlist at the moment.

Dreaming about...... by emma-louise1402 featuring a zara coat

1. Kate Spade watch, as much as I love my Michael Kors rose gold watch I would love to have a bit of wrist candy with a pop of colour, and Kate Spade is the best designer for a pop of colour.

2. Tarte Amazon 12 hour Clay Blush, in 'Natural beauty'. This was purely added to my wish list thank to Laura from Buy now Blog later, Laura is one of my favourite beauty and fashion bloggers you can see her review here, it instanstly made me think 'I need this blush....right now'.

3. Laura Mercier translucent setting powder, I have heard some many good reviews about this powder and its been on my wish list for so long.

4. How cute is this instax mini camera, one its pink, but I would love a camera that instantly prints phots. Thanks to social media most of photos say online or on my computer but an actually paper copy never surfaces, which is so sad really when I think about it, because I have so many childhood memories of looking through family albums and photo boxes.

5. NYX butter lipglosses, I was sold at the word butter, anything glossy but with a butter like feel and finish it perfect for my makeup collection.

6. The Zara yellow coat, oh my godness even my fiance has noticed my obsession with this coat, although he still hasn't bought it for me, must hint harder. Again I fell in love with this after seeing it at 'Buy now, Blog later'.

7. The Balm Betty Lou Highlighter, I have seen this popping up on my blogger feed quite a lot recently and I am really keen to give this a try. I am always a tad cautious about buying high end highlighters and spending money on them, as I am in love with my Mac mineralize skinfinish in 'soft and gentle', I did a full review here so I am not sure if any other highlighter will compare.

8. Yet another 'Bloggers made me do it' item on my wishlist I have seen some much hype about Nars radiant creamy concealer, I have convinced myself I need it.

9. Oh the Naked 3 palette so long I have lusted after your array of rose gold shades, hopefully the wait will soon be over and you will be mine soon enough.

10. This blush from two faced looks beautiful, I promise its nothing to do with the pink heart shaped packaging, honest!!

11. I really need a new cover for my I pad for travelling and this cover from Ted Baker is just so cute and girly and will look lovely in my hand bag.

So there you have it a sneak peek of my ridiculously long wish list, I may well treat myself to a few bits and pieces this month but will see if my bank balance allows it.

Thanks for reading, have you tried any of the products on my wish list? What's on your wish list?