I got some new goodies from Colour Pop so figured i'd combine them into one tiny tutorial.
Let me know what you think of these mini videos.

Products used:

• Kathleen Lights "Where The Light Is" quad from Colour Pop
• Zoeva 142 Concealer Buffer Brush
• OCC #12 Large Blending Brush
• Zoeva 223 Petit Eye Blender Brush
• Random Synthetic Concealer/ Detailer Brush
• Sybil Cosmetic Coloring Pencil from OCC
• Zoeva 226 Smudger Brush
• Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lash Mascara
• Sonia Kashuk Brightening Kajal
• Wipsy lashes which i think are Kiss brand
• Georgie Beauty Lash Glue
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Tweezers
• Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
• Colour Pop Lip Liner in Tootsi
• Colour Pop Lippie Stix in Tootsi

Super Shock Shadow Thoughts

• These shadows perform better when used with synthetic brushes meant for cream products or your fingers. Denser brushes are your friends with these.
• The texture of the shadows is almost spongey to the touch and has some bounce to it, sort of like a mousse/powder hybrid. Not like any shadows i've used before.
• I think using a SSS all over the lid first makes it easier to blend others out in specific areas like the crease or inner corner.
• They're long-wearing and blend seamlessly.
• The color range in this foursome is beautiful and definitely all are colors i'd pick separately, too.
• "Glow" is a beautiful matte highlight color for anyone from very fair to medium/tan. Anyone with skin tones darker than that might find it appears a little ashy but i haven't tried it on anyone but myself so can't say for sure.
• "Cornelious" is super rich and dreamy and blends out for the perfect transition/crease color. You could also smudge this all over the lid for a natural shadow look.
• "Blaze" is a deep, almost green toned gold with fine, yellow-gold flecks throughout. I find it similar to Colour Pop's "Amira". This is a very "me" color- i love it!
• "Kathleenlights" is an orangey bronze thats a little more metallic through out rather than the shimmer of "Blaze"... this is great as an accent color or all over the lid for the ultimate goddess glow.

Lipstick lovers will agree that theres nothing that can mess up your makeup more than chapped, dry and flakey lips. 

Sad lips can have many causes including poor diet, extreme weather conditions or dehydration but theres one small duo you can add to your skincare routine that will help minimize the effects of those things and prep them for the smoothest, smoochiest lipstick application ever.

Lots of companies make lip scrubs but Lush’s Mint Julips has to be my favorite. The oils in the product help soften the flakey skin and the sugar scrubs it all away. If you have extremely dry flakey lips you can even finish it off by rubbing a damp washcloth over them to gently exfoliate anything left.

Once my lips are fully scrubbed i top it off with my favorite lip balm and i’ve been loving the hurraw moon balm lately which has a really rich, yet easily absorbing formula.

The scrubbing can provide temporary plumping effects as well as it helping stimulate collagen production and by the time you’re ready to put your lipstick on, the hurraw balm should be fully absorbed and your chosen lipstick will glide on so smoothly you’ll want to add this step into your routine permanently.

How do you keep your smackers soft?

Another brand i've heard a lot about lately are Colour Pop!

Their items are really well priced and apparently very pigmented and great textures. They carry eyeshadows and lip products in a huge array of colors.

How to:

• Eat well and stay hydrated
• Prep with a lip scrub & conditioner/balm
• Highlight philtrum and corners of lips with a light concealer or white crayon
• Use a shimmer highlight on your cupids bow to catch the light
• Use a lipstick of your choice
• Line lips in a slightly darker shade, concentrating on the outer corners to add contrast
• Highlight the center of the lips for dimension
• Clean up lip line with a concealer to make the lips look more crisp
• Contour below bottom lip with a darker shade to imitate a shadow
• Add a gloss to the center of the lip to catch the light

What I used:

• Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub (X)
• Dr Bronners Magic Naked Balm (X)
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (X)
• Morphe Brushes Small Blending Brush (X)
• The Balm Overshadow in No Money No Honey (X)
• Lime Crime Babette (X)
• OCC Coloring Pencil in Trick (X)
• NYX Waterproof Concealer in Porcelain (X)
• ELF Concealer Brush (X)
• Tarte The Sculptor Crayon (X)
• NYX Creme Brulee Butter Gloss (X)

What i used/ mentioned-
OCC Femme Lip Tar
OCC Cha Cha Lip Tar
OCC Lip brush
OCC Clear Lip Tar
OCC Mein Herr Stained Gloss
OCC Anti Feathered Cosmetic Coloring Pencil
OCC Trick Cosmetic Coloring Pencil
OCC Anime Cosmetic Coloring Pencil
OCC Grandma Cosmetic Coloring Pencil
Bite Agave lip mask


You can find makeup spatulas and palettes really cheap on amazon or Morphe!

I've increasingly seen more and more online about Dose of Colors lip products but couldn't find any info on their cruelty free stance so decided to email them.

Looks like i might be needing some new lip glosses and lipsticks ;)

After posting about my new favorite lip combo which involved a gloss from Hourglass, one of you asked me if the products contained carmine (a typically red coloring made of, well... bugs).

I'd always avoided red candy as a kid because of carmine, or cochineal as i knew it, but had totally blanked on it possibly being in cosmetics.

Hourglass promptly responded to my inquiry on the matter and said all but three of the colors (sadly one of the ones i have) are vegan formulas.

Obviously this was my mistake but as with everything else on this cruelty free journey, its a lesson to be learnt and a good one to share. 

This is my favorite lip combination lately. NYX lip pencil in Rose and Hourglass gloss in Fortune.

(taken with and without flash)