Aloha Kirstie: fotd

Sunday, 20 July 2014

Hi Impact Brows - Eye & Brow Palette Review

Eyebrows are such a key thing when it comes to doing my make-up and feeling confident with it.

They really do frame your face and as a teen I hardly even thought about mine and how they looked - I just plucked those strays ones and avoid any form of uni-brow.
But.... over the last couple of years I have become very conscious of my eyebrows and what they look like and try my hardest to keep them the best I can.

I have HD Brows done regularly and it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm look constantly at new eyebrow products and reviews of them but I always seem to stray back to the same old, same old which I have become rather bored of - queue this new beaut in my life from Hi Impact Brows.

This is a 4 shade eye & brow palette from Hi Impact Brows. That's right it's an all in one which is super handy if you are on the go, have a small make-up bag or don't like too many products!

Hi Impact Brows - Eye & Brow Palette*

The packaging is a slick, shiny black rectangle compact small and simple enough for all cosmetic bags. (There's nothing worse than a handy product which comes in ridiculously large packaging)

Armed with a mirror and brush also this has got everything you need for eyebrows both and home and on the go!

I've always used my elf eyeliner brush for my eyebrow powders but this one included has worked fabulously, it's slightly thinner so it makes it easier to be precise and not overload the product.

The shades left to right :

Blonde

Cinnamon Brown

Chocolate Brown

Black

The colours can be used individually or mixed together to create a perfect shade for everyone and anyone's eyebrows.

Not only good for brows though these powders are great for both a subtle daytime eyeshadow look and a gorgeous smokey eye! (The black works great as an eyeliner!)

These are mineral based powders and are said to be long-lasting and anti-smudge, I definitley need this as I'm forever accidentally wiping my forehead and therefore my eyebrow/s which has had some hilarious/unfortunately consequences for my face! (Like that woman in the movie Just Go With It hahaha!)

Top to bottom : Black, Chocolate Brown, Cinnamon Brown, Blonde.

So I tested out the shades and decided Cinnamon Brown is the perfect shade for me at the moment - I love the warmth to it!
My eyebrows are really sparse at in the centre and I've been trying to grow them back for years - this is why eyebrow products are so important to me - I look ridiculous without! Also after a couple of weeks my HD Brows tint does tend to fade and my eyebrows are so naturally light that its nice to easily be able to fake the colour each morning!

This stuff applies like a dream and is so easy to build up to help get the shape and density right for you! I normally use a pencil and then a powder but the quality of this is so good that it's the only product I need to fill them!

To find out more head over to DeeandCo, this beaut retails for £17.99!

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FOTD : Easy Minimal Make-up For Summer

I don't know about you but all this hot weather we've been having lately has been playing havoc with my usual make-up routine!

Major heat + humidity + a full face of make-up never really ends well does it?

So I've been cutting back on my products for the last few days and wearing a minimal look which has turned out to work out so much better for me and my skin in this heat.

No-one wants to get home from work looking like Olaf next to a flame do they?

So here's a quick and easy summer minimal make-up look!

Products used :

Nip + Fab CC Eye Fix*

Seventeen Skin Wow 3 Way Highlighter

Nip + Fab CC Cream*

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil

Sleek Contour Kit

Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Lips - 5

And here's the overall finished look! This is really light, minimal look for me but it's perfect for a day at work in the heat or for popping out to the shops or to my parents house.

Obviously I used my usual brushes and my beloved eyelash curlers to help me achieve it but it really is so simple and a such a quick look to complete!

I love the lip shade so much, the perfect tiny pop of colour without being too OTT with the simple eyes!

What do you think? Do you change your make-up in the summer?

(FULL review on the new Nip + Fab products coming soon!)

The 3 Minute, 3 Product Make-up Challenge With Fragrance Direct

Recently I was set a challenge by the lovely people over at Fragrance Direct.

A 3 minute make-up challenge.

Now being a girl who has worn make-up for over 10 years now and who has her morning routine down, I thought this would be easy peasy lemon squeezy..... until they told me I could only use THREE PRODUCTS - now that is a challenge!

I spend a long time on the fragrance direct site, browsing through and having a good long think at how I could get a good full face of make-up with just 3 products that I could apply in just 3 short minutes.... that's only 180 seconds to go from drab to fab!

So the challenge was fully accepted and I choose the following 3 products....

Maxfactor Whipped Creme Foundation - Natural*

Maybelline Define-a-Lash Mascara - Brown*

Maxfactor Lipfinity - Hint Of Pink*

So products in hand I sat down with my iPhone stopwatch next to me and started the challenge. (Obviously I had cleansed and moisturised my skin before starting)

Minute 1 : I started by dotting some of the foundation under my eyes and blending to try and conceal my dark circles. I then proceeded to apply the whipped creme foundation to the whole of my face and blend in until it was even!

Minute 2 : I had noticed that the lip product says to leave 60 seconds between each step (the colour , then the balm) so I popped this on now to left to dry! I then grab the Define-a-lash mascara, which I had choose in brown, and started on my eyebows! This mascara turned out to be fab for darkening my brows and filling them! After this I started on my lashes! I managed to do one eye and then minute 3 kicked in.......

Minute 3 : With one minute to go I finished off my eyelashes, I have really short lashes so I normlly spend alot of time trying to lengthen and curl! Once my lashes were done I grabbed the pink lipgloss again and dotted it on my cheeks for a splash of colour, I blended it in and surprising made a great blusher!
It was then time up - my face was done in just 3 minute with 3 products... what do you think?

This has definitely shown me that I don't always need as many products as I normally use (aka alot)! I love using products for multiple uses and I feel like the 3 products I choose actually worked really well together and I managed to complete an acceptable look with just the 3 of them!

A huge thank you to Fragrance Direct for challenging me - it was slightly harder than I imagined it but I'm happy with how the end result turned out and proud that I managed to do my make-up with just 3 products.... it's a first!!
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The BEST Festival - BESTIVAL

If you haven't heard of Bestival... where have you been?! This year was the 10 year anniversary and one of the best line ups yet!
If you've read my blog before then you know that I actually live on the Isle Of Wight (where Bestival is held) so obviously each year me & all my friends get seriously excited as soon as September begins!
This year, firstly, I need to say a HUGE thank you to Schuh, who, on twitter, randomly found me and GAVE me and one of my best friends a ticket each for no reason at all and just as "a random act of kindness" - I am still in shock, made my year.
Bestival is a fancy dress festival and on the Saturday thousands and thousands of people dress up to the theme - this years theme was HMS Bestival and not only did everyone get involved and look amazing but there was an actual ship on site which was turned into a stage!

My weekend was amazing , highlights included -me and my friends all dressing up as fish in green sequin dresses, one of my best friends surprising us by coming home from her season in Greece early to party with us (an amazing reunion), a motorbike stunt sh0w called the Wall Of Death and watching Elton John live!
Here's a few photos I took over the weekend .....

Top to Bottom -

A massive thank you to Schuh!

Finally sat down after a morning of tent building.

Rocking out in Wagamama's Thursday night.

Exploring the campsites

I <3 Bestival Sign

Friday Morning - ready and raring.

Face Of The Day - Naked Palette, Eylure 107's & Big Bang Apocalips

The incredible Wall Of Death - best £3 I spent all weekend!

Playing musical bingo in the drag tent - my kind of party.

Daytime crowd

HMS Bestival