Makeup Revolution Pro Curve Contour Brush | Review

As mentioned previously I bought a tonne of Makeup Revolution products including this contour brush. I added this cart solely so I could get free shipping and because I am of the mentality that you can never have enough makeup brushes. I wasn't that excited about it but I wanted to share my thoughts with you guys anyway. 

PRO CURVE CONTOUR POWDER BRUSH - £6

I have had this brush for ages now, and wanted to share my opinion on it as I know Makeup Revolution are releasing a new brush kit (9 Piece Amazing Brush Collection - £20). It might be helpful to know about some of their other brushes so you can assess quality etc. before purchasing.  It has a black handle, synthetic bristles and looks very nice. I would say it is quite a nice looking brush for £6, it photographs well but I do wish they looked more interesting. The bristles are very short which I believe is the point. This brush is designed to literally paint stripes of contour onto your face, specifically underneath your cheekbones to sculpt your bone structure. It does do this, and as it is so densely packed together you do get a solid stripe of colour. It works well with the powder contour palette I reviewed yesterday. It is not an ideal brush for a subtle contour, you will need a fluffier brush to diffuse the product. This can be done with a buffing brush or a blush brush.

Overall: 4/5

It is a great brush for what it is designed for, just not for blending,  it does feel weird and the bristles are very very short. On the other hand, a flat foundation brush could do the exact same job and you get one very cheaply from Poundland so it is up to you whether you feel you need it or not. Another contour brush I recommend is the Tarte Swirl Powder and Contour Brush (£10), it can give you precise application as well as the ability to blend it out. I do think it will work quite well for cream contouring, as it will paint very precise, slightly curved lines.

What one makeup brush can you not live without?

Love ♥

Kiran 

GET UNREADY WITH ME | NIGHT TIME ROUTINE

Not too long ago my cousin got married and if you know anything about Indian weddings you know they are long and consist of multiple days, so I knew I would be wearing heavier makeup than usual and wanted to ensure that my skin was completely free of makeup every night. Everyone knows sleeping with your makeup is the cardinal beauty sin. For this reason, I invested in a few products that would help me obliterate all the makeup on my face as quickly as possible.

Garnier Micellar Oil-Infused Cleansing Water (£6) This is the first micellar water I have actually tried, I went in store originally intending to pick up the Nivea Micellar Water (£3.69), but saw this oil-infused micellar water instead. It does say on the packaging that it is suitable for dry and sensitive skin, I have combination/oily skin so I was apprehensive about using this. It does feel oily, naturally, even greasy at times, however I just saturate a cotton pad hold it over my eyes and wipe away the makeup. Mascara is the one thing that I hate to get off and I really wanted something that would attack it immediately and just get it off my face. This works quickly and efficiently, two pads clean my whole face. I find just rinsing my face after removing my makeup cleans the oil off my face and I would recommend this step for all skin types, those with drier skin can leave the oil on the face if they wish to do so, but no one likes a greasy face, right? This is my "first-step cleanse", I know all you Caroline Hirons fans know what I'm talking about.

Pure Instant Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser (£10) I mentioned this cleanser in my M&S haul and this is my "second-step cleanse". I use this to wash off the oil from the first step and to really ensure that my face is getting a good deep clean. I rub this on the face in circular motions, and either rinse it off or use the muslin cloth. This does remove any black smudges beneath my eyes. It has a pleasant smell and is gentle on my skin. I enjoy using it. Good value for money and cleans my makeup off thoroughly.

Bicarbonate Soda/Baking Soda (80p) As declared I have combination/oily skin so I like to make sure my face is well exfoliated at least once or twice a week before I go to sleep. I have many facial scrubs to choose from including Neutrogena Visibly Clear Facial Scrub (£2.50) and Burt's Bees Deep Pore Scrub (£9.15), but honestly the best exfoliator is baking soda. I dip my fingers into the tub and sprinkle some water on my clean hand, rub my fingertips together and apply it gently to my face and my skin feels so smooth. It is the perfect inexpensive exfoliating scrub.

Alpha H Liquid Gold (£33.50) Now, this is the most expensive product and it is the most cult. Many rave about this product and it's many benefits. It is essentially a skin treatment to be used up to three times a week (drip some on a cotton pad and pat it on your face and neck), it supposedly removes dead skin cells and reveal fresh, new, radiant, clear skin. This tackles my breakouts like no other, I use it on its own as it is more effective that way. A skincare gem. In addition, to drying out my spots it also will ensure that any residual makeup on your skin, like random spots of foundation, are gone. If you struggle with random unexplainable breakouts, then definitely check this product out. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post. Share your favourite makeup removing products/skincare products in the comments below. I am looking for a good moisturiser n type effective face mask. All recommendations and personal favourites are welcome. I appreciate and read all the comments and it literally makes my day. I am considering doing a Products I'd Like to Try post but I'm not sure whether that is something you would be interested in reading, or is it boring? I don't know, let me know your opinion below and don't forget to follow. Take care.

How do you remove your makeup?

Love ♥

Kiran 

REVIEW | DIOR STAR FOUNDATION AND CONCEALER

There are two products up for review today and I have had them both for a while now: the Dior Star foundation in the shade Sand (031) and the Dior Star Concealer, in the shade Sable (003). These are both fairly pricey items and I have been testing them out for months. I wanted to start with the reason I was so keen to try them and that was all because of the wonderful Wayne Goss. He made a video dubbing this foundation "the perfect selfie foundation", you can watch that video below, and so naturally I had to buy it immediately.

DIOR STAR STUDIO MAKEUP SPECTACULAR BRIGHTENING WEIGHTLESS PERFECTION FOUNDATION (£32.50)

Claims: "the complexion is instantly more luminous and more visibly even. A new generation of hollow silica beads captures and diffuses light in a correcting halo with no shine and colour-pigments neutralise colour imbalances to create the perfect light". 

I really wanted to love this foundation, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I prefer a matte foundation and I have oily/combination skin. I found this gathered in areas of my face and looked shiny in the T zone area after only a few hours of wear. On the other hand, this foundation absolutely lives up to its claims so if you have dry to normal skin and are looking for that gorgeous glowy foundation of your dreams this could be it. The packaging is beautiful, you get 30ml of product and the formula contains an SPF30. It brightens and illuminates the skin creating a dewy, fresh and radiant look. As for photography, I don't think it is a miracle product or particularly innovative. It blends well and lasts for about 8 hours on my skin when set with a loose powder. This is a good medium coverage foundation for anyone coveting radiance in a bottle.

 

DIOR DIORSKIN STAR CONCEALER (£22)

Claims: "an illuminating stretch-effect concealer, dark circles are instantly neutralised and the eye contour is unified and illuminated. Day after day, signs of fatigue fade away for more dazzling eyes. The formula contains skincare ingredients that with each application help to reduce puffiness, dark circles and redness",

I have the corresponding shade to the foundation (03 Sand) and I would next time buy a lighter colour, 02 Beige instead so it would be more of a highlighter and concealer in one. I don't have any negatives for this concealer, apart from the price. The formula, texture, coverage and blendability are all perfect. I use this mostly to cover blemishes, but as Sand has a slightly warm orange undertone it also works as a corrector. Therefore, I can use it mixed with another brightening concealer to really make my tired eyes look awake. I can't say I have noticed a reduction in redness, puffiness or dark circles, but these are not prominent skin issues for me. Overall, a great product but easily dupable. 

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this review. There are so many amazing foundations and concealers out there at a more affordable price point that I am always a bit harsher on more high end products. The truth is that there are many other foundations that work a lot better for me, I have heard that for people that prefer a matte finish Dior Forever (£33) foundation is the better option. Don't forget to leave a comment and follow my blog via Bloglovin. Take care.

What is your all-time favourite foundation(s)?

Love ♥

Kiran 

THE BEAUTY LOVER TAG

Time for another tag post, the lovely Ash from MsTantrum tagged me to do 'The Beauty Lover Tag', and after reading her post, I thought I would share my answers with you before it's too late. My last tag was the AM/PM Routine Tag, be sure to read that if you want more details about my morning and evening beauty routines. Onto this tag, there are nine questions in total and just like the last one I want to encourage all of you guys to do this post too and leave your answers or links in the comments section below so I can read them.

If you could have anyone in the world do your makeup who would it be?

This is such a tough question because I follow so many amazing makeup artists and YouTubers. It is so hard to pick just one, I think it would probably Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo, they were one of the first channels I subscribed to and they are brilliant. I love their work, their imagination, their attitude. I would want both of them to do my makeup together.

What is your top makeup tip?

My top tip is simply blending, as it can be applied to everything: foundation, contour, eyeshadow, even brows. Blending is the key to a seamless makeup application. It helps you avoid that heavy cakey makeup look and improves the longevity of your makeup. You can always tell when someone hasn't blended enough.

What one skincare item could you not live without?

Exfoliating is the one skincare step that makes the most difference to my skin, in my opinion, using a face scrub makes me feel like I have unveiled a new layer of fresh beautiful skin. I couldn't live without my scrubs and some of my favourites are the Soap & Glory Subatomic, Neutrogena Daily Scrub, Burt's Bees Peach Scrub.

What are you the worst at when it comes to applying makeup?

Ha! Easy, eyeliner. It's such a bitch, isn't it? I have to mentally prepare myself to do any kind of eyeliner, sometimes it can take thirty seconds and other times it can take thirty minutes. It will never be as good as this though, *sighs heavily*.

What is your biggest pet peeve about makeup?

Scouse brow. I know strong brows are a trend that has been going strong for a while now, but I dislike brows that don't look like brows. You can do your makeup however you please, of course, but if someone has really bad brows I just can't stop looking at them. It's terrible I know, but this goes for heavily drawn on brows, or brows that have been filled in with a colour that doesn't match etc. Another big peeve of mine is when the foundation isn't blended down the neck; it just looks terrible.

What's your favourite makeup era?

Truthfully, all eras are my favourite but because I like neutrals and softer matte looks the 90s would have to be my favourite and right now. I think currently makeup and beauty has blown up in such a massive way, people are really having fun with it and I love that. I love that there are so many guys out there slaying the makeup game just as good, if not better, than the girls in the industry. I also really like grunge 90s makeup looks, I don't tend to go for these looks on myself but they look amazing.

What is your guilty pleasure product?

I never feel guilty about buying makeup but probably the Limited Edition Oz palettes from Urban Decay. I love them both, and I purchased them on the day they were released in my first year at university and I used them religiously every day for three months. I cherish them dearly.

What is your underdog product?

The L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation is such a gem yet I hardly hear anyone talk about it. It is marketed for dry skin tones, but works wonderfully on me too. It's just the perfect everyday foundation, as a student I wore this every single day and my tired, stressed out skin looked fab.

What is your favourite makeup product of 2015?

My beautiful Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette, I don't know what I would do without it. It's so beautiful. I also love the Bare Minerals Ready to Go Kit, it's ridiculously affordable and you get a foundation, powder, bronzer, illuminator, a cream concealer, plus two small brushes. All you need for your base, ideal for travelling. I love it, can't recommend either of these products enough.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this tag. Please leave your links below if you do this tag as well, because I tag everyone who is reading this! If you don't want to write a full post answer your favourite question. Hope you are having a lovely week. Don't forget to follow. Take care.

What is your makeup pet peeve?

Love ❤

Kiran

RIP PRINCE | TRIVIA, QUOTES AND LEGACY

Dearly beloved

We are gathered here today 

To get through this thing called life 

                                                                          - Let's Go Crazy by Prince

Prince died yesterday, at the age of 57 (that is so young!). There is some speculation surrounding his death, most pointing to drugs, but that's not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about death, please don't be put off: I want to touch on how death makes us appreciate people. Before the death of Prince, and David Bowie too, many of us never spoke about them or remembered their timeless work. I am sure some did, but in mainstream society, on radio stations, in daily conversations they weren't mentioned. As soon as the news of their death touched the world, we reeled, we cried and we remembered; we appreciated. I want to use this as a friendly reminder that everyone who is in your life might not be there forever, you never know when your last day with someone might be. They could move house, you could lose touch and sadly, they could die. So appreciate your loved one and celebrate good music and awesome people. In commemoration of Prince, I wanted to include some of my favourite quotes from this spectacular man and some trivia about his life.

Prince was born on June 7th, 1958. Fun fact: June 7th is my birthday. His full name is Prince Rogers Nelson, so one could argue he doesn't have a stage name at all, which is fucking cool. He is known by the mononym Prince, again pretty cool. He is one of the few artists to have written, produced and composed all of his music himself. He was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child. He became a Jehovah's Witness in 2001, prior to that he was a devout Christian. He was a vegetarian and was writing his memoirs this year. I hope we still get to see this work as his life is so interesting. Here are some quotes:

Life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last.

_____________________________________________________________

Sometimes it snows in April.

_____________________________________________________________

Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask yourself is, 'Is there anybody I am afraid of? Is there anybody who if I walked into a room and I saw I would get nervous?' if not, then you're cool. 

_____________________________________________________________

There is a dark side to everything. 

_____________________________________________________________

No child is bad from the beginning, they just imitate their atmosphere.

_____________________________________________________________

Movies are real! Music is real! It affects people, it's real . . . the other night I went to a club and I watched a DJ control an entire room. Even politicians can't do that. 

_____________________________________________________________

Yeah everybody's got a bomb, we could all die any day. But before I'll let that happen, I'll dance my life away. 

_____________________________________________________________

If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words 'they're gone' and they'll come back. 

Thank you so much for reading; I hope you enjoyed this different post. Prince is an icon and he will forever remain as one of the greatest artists to ever walk this planet. His legacy will live on for eternity.

Take care.

Love ♥

Kiran 

REVIEW & SWATCHES | MAKEUP REVOLUTION & BRITISH BEAUTY BLOGGER 'FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE' PALETTE COLLBABORATION

I am finally writing a full, in-depth review for the Fortune Favours The Brave Palette (£10) from Makeup Revolution, created in collaboration with British Beauty Blogger (Jane). In this palette, you get 30 eyeshadows with a variety of finishes. If you read Jane's post on her own palette, you'll know her thought process and intentions behind this palette is she wanted to create a palette for every woman. With such a great range of shades, I think she succeeded. I am going to go quite in depth and discuss packaging, swatches and my own experience with this palette as I have been playing with it for weeks now, and I kind of just want to put all the photos I took to good use, truth be told.

BOX/OUTSIDE PACKAGING

The colour immediately catches my attention as MUR palettes are usually black. This gold packaging really makes you feel like you are holding something precious. It is almost like it is limited edition, but as far as I am aware it is part of their permanent collection, they really stepped away from their traditional packaging which I think was a good move. They have never collaborated with a blogger before, to my knowledge, so it seems fitting that the packaging should be extra special for this. 

On the back you can see the colours which is perfectly okay, I do like this feature. I just wish they had printed the names on the back of the box, because the plastic sheet inside with all the names is no longer in my possession. The sheet was blown away, by the wind, while I was taking shots in the garden on Sunday morning. I have tried looking for it, it's gone, forever. #bloggerproblems

THE PALETTE 

Beautiful matte gold packaging, unlike any other palette I own or have seen. I really love this, because it's so affordable (£10 for 30 shadows) I wouldn't even mind if the packaging was less impressive but the fact that they managed to make it look beautiful is such a bonus. I like that it is thin, easy to open and has a massive mirror also. One thing, again, I would appreciate is if the names of the shadows were actually written on the palette, like they are in Urban Decay palettes. It is such a simple thing, but I feel like this one key feature really separates the high end palettes from the low end palettes. For me the names are most of the fun (that would be my dream job to just name makeup products all day long). It also comes with an eyeshadow brush, nothing fancy but a nice addition.

SHADOWS 

There are so many shadows, I will go through them row by row with the swatches and then talk about the brush before giving my overall opinion. FYI, above is the only picture I have of the beloved plastic sheet and you can't even see all the shade names *sobs*, damn you sunlight. All of the swatches below are done in daylight on bare skin, just using my fingertips, no primer and no flash. 

ROW 1

L-R: Glimmer, Buffer, Peachy, Hope, Fortune, Skylight, Transformer and Midnight Rainbow.

Glimmer, Buffer and Peachy are really lightly pigmented. There is still some colour payoff, but you can see in contrast to the darker shades like Skylight and Transformer that there is a huge difference. I actually prefer lighter shadows to be less pigmented because I can use them to blend out other colours but that is just my preference. You could also achieve a richer pigment if you used these over a primer. Glimmer (pale iridescent, normal shimmer finish peach), Buffer (warm deep pink shade, matte), Peachy (peach, normal shimmer), Hope (beautiful warm, shimmery, foiled effect, taupe gold shade), Fortune (intense, foiled, true antique metallic gold), Skylight (pigmented, baked, royal blue shimmer), Transformer (rich green pigmented matte) and Midnight Rainbow (bluish green metallic/foiled shade).

ROW 2

L-R: Ice Cloud, Golden Coins, Cashmere, Tip Top, Yes Please, Green Machine and Smoothie.

The mattes, like Tip Top and Smoothie, tend to be less pigmented, and the foiled, Yes Please and Green Machine, and baked shadows, Golden Coins, are the most pigmented. Ice Cloud (intense shimmery silver white), Golden Coins (baked beautiful champagne gold), Cashmere (very creamy, taupe brown shimmer), Tip Top (matte khaki shade), Yes Please (foiled olive green), Green Machine (cool toned metallic/foiled leaf green) and Smoothie (a matte army green).

ROW 3 

From L-R: Caffeine Fix, Latte, Pink Diamond, Creme, Drama Queen, Lonely Planet and Blacqua

Again, the mattes, Caffeine Fix, Latte and Creme, swatch quite sheer and powdery, ideal for blending out other eyeshadows but alone will not create a striking look. This can be improved by using the shadows wet or over a good base, but they still won't be as pigmented as the foiled shadows which are really creamy and smooth in texture. Drama Queen and Blacqua, the darker mattes, are clearly more pigmented than the other mattes in this palette. Caffeine Fix (matte coffee-coloured brown, much better over a primer), Latte (very similar to my skin tone, a light brown matte), Pink Diamond (foiled, sugary pink shimmer), Creme (vanilla matte shade), Drama Queen (dark brown matte with purple undertones), Lonely Planet (baked dark purple shimmer) and Blacqua (matte, pigmented, black). Really impressed with the colour payoff of Blacqua, every palette needs a matte black.

ROW 4

L-R: Soft, New World, Favour, Sunset Hour, Super Gold, Winning, Brave and The Revolution.

The last row: Soft (matte light pink, more pigmented than most of the other light matte shades), New World (baked white gold, reminds me of the MUR white highlighter in their contour palette), Favour (foiled/metallic yet warm barbie pink), Sunset Hour (lovely warm gold with amber undertones), Super Gold (metallic copper gold), Winning (matte plum purple), Brave (matte purple with pink shimmer) and The Revolution (essentially a sparklier version of Brave, not very pigmented). 

Overall, my favourite shades out of this entire palettes are: Skylight (first row), Yes Please (second row), Pink Diamond (third row), Sunset Hour and Super Gold (both fourth/last row). My least favourite shade is The Revolution (fourth/last row).  I have been using this palette for a while now and surprisingly I have been reaching for the mattes quite a lot, just to blend out the crease and for my daily work makeup, I love using Latte as a transition shade and use Ice Cloud as an inner corner highlight. Creme makes a great brow bone highlight. I will definitely play with it a lot more.

Moving onto the brush, which for me is unnecessary just because it is so small. I have used it only out of convenience because it is in the palette already, but wouldn't mind if it didn't come with this palette. For the price, I do wholeheartedly believe this is an exceptional product and variation in colour payoff makes me like it even more. The mattes can be a little powdery, but the texture of the baked and foiled shadows are sublime, they remind me of the Zoeva shadows and they are some of my favourite shadows of all time. I would 100% recommend this palette. It is beautiful,with so many beautiful colours that even if you only used a few shades you would still get your money's worth our of it, plus it contains something for everybody. Thank you so much for reading this (really) long post, congratulations you made it to the end! Don't forget to please comment and follow my blog, I really appreciate it, thank you so much. Take care.

Have you tried (or do you want to try) any products from Makeup Revolution?

Love ♥

Kiran 

REVIEW | ESSENCE COSMETICS DON'T STOP THE NUDE

Essence Cosmetics is a brand I have heard a lot about from US bloggers, I stumbled across their range in Wilkinson's here in the UK and was blown away by their low prices. I have been reading a little about the brand and am pleased to report they do not test on animals, which is fantastic. I purchased two products, the first is the lipstick we are discussing today and the second is a mascara which I will review later this week. The lipstick I chose was the Long Lasting Lipstick in 06 Don't Stop The Nude (£2.30). From the swatch above you can see that for a lipstick with nude in the title it is actually pretty dark - a dark brown with reddish purple undertones. You can see it on my chops:

The texture is really creamy so it feels nice on the lips, it doesn't have a very distinct scent at all. At first it goes on sheer but if you layer it a few times you get quite an intense colour. Almost too intense for me. This is a really interesting shade that many people would like, I just don't think it works on me. I would wear it as a sheer lipstick with just a hint of colour instead of building up the opacity. You can see me apply it below, in a short little video, the lighting is awful but I thought it would be fun to show nevertheless. Don't judge my makeup skills from what you see, this was after work: I'm a mess. I feel a mess. I look a mess. We know, embrace it. 

Thank you so much for reading this post, I hope you liked it. There are a few other shades and I really like the flexibility of this product, you can go natural or bold. Plus this deep brown/mauve shade has been all the rage for the past year or so, therefore well done Essence for recognising the trend and creating products to reflect it. I know they have a few matte versions of this lipstick as well, curious to try them too. Don't forget to leave a comment below and follow my blog, please. Take care.

What is your favourite drugstore brand?

Love ♥

Kiran 

THE AM PM ROUTINE TAG | ALITTLEKIRAN

The lovely Beauty by Kelsey did a tag post, not too long ago, that looked like a lot of fun. So, I thought I would happily answer the same questions to give you all a nice break from the reviews that are soon going to arrive. I like these posts as you get to know me a little better, and I get to know you guys in return. So if any question takes your fancy, or indeed all of them, write your own post or answer the questions in the comments section. I promise to read and reply to them all. 

AM

What is your morning beauty routine?

To scream in horror at how my hair resembles a stack of untangled, distressed wires. Kidding, mostly. My morning beauty routine is quite minimal. I wash my face, with Neutrogena Visibly Clear Stress Control Daily Scrub (£3.19), and brush my teeth, with Colgate Max White Shine Toothpaste (£3), and then slap some makeup on all as quickly as possible. I leave my bed at the last possible second leaving me five-ten minutes to get my lazy ass out of the door. 

What is for breakfast? 

I know it is the worst thing, but I skip it because of the whole being late shtick. Normally, I grab a few apples, red apples only, when I leave so I have something to eat during my break, and then as soon as I sit down at my desk at work I make a cup of tea. Vanilla Chai and Masala Chai from Tea India (£2.39 for 40 tea bags) are my favourite teas, Lipton Tea is also quite good. If you are Asian or Indian, or have tried teas from those countries and love them, trust me Tea India and Lipton have got your back on this one. You'll never look back.

Coffee or tea?

I feel like I just answered that. Tea. Of course, only tea. All day, every day. Before you stage an intervention, I drink a maximum of three cups in a day, almost always just two: one in the morning (seriously don't speak to me before I have had my morning cup of tea, you won't like me) and one in the evening with my dinner. That's not too bad, is it? Three is totally reasonable. On another note, I strongly dislike coffee. I hate it with vehemence, the smell, the taste, the appearance is just vile and nauseating to me. I can't drink hot drinks even remotely similar to coffee, no cappuccinos, lattes, mocha-chinos. I hate them all.  

How long does it take you to get out of the door?

Ten minutes, at most. As mentioned, I am perpetually reluctant to leave my warm, cosy bed so by the time I have forcibly dragged myself into the bathroom I am zooming through my pitiful morning routine in order to get out of the door fast.

What is your go-to makeup look on a fuss-free morning?

So every morning then *laughs self-deprecatingly*, keeping it simple with foundation applied with a stippling brush, loose powder to set my oily skin and keep my base on until the evening and contouring. That is my bare minimum. For days, when I have an extra five minutes I apply concealer to brighten my under-eye area as I can look as tired as I feel. Eyeshadow is something I rarely skip as it is my addiction, my raison d'être, I live for it. The UD Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette (£38.50) has been my go-to the past few days. The darker shadows like Factory, Mugshot and Darkside are stunning, I use Nooner in my crease to blend it all out with my Sigma E40 Tapered Brush (£10.50).

PM

What is your evening beauty routine? 

It honestly depends on the makeup I have been wearing and how my skin is feeling. For tough makeup, such as mascara, I start with Garnier Skin Active Oil-Infused Micellar Water (£4), this removes the majority of my makeup. I then follow with a regular scrub and the Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser (£18) as the second step in this two-step cleanse. To finish, I either use Alpha H Liquid Gold Night Treatment Serum (£33.50) for when I have breakouts or ordinary Extra Virgin Olive Oil (£2.25) applied to my face with a cotton pad for when my skin doesn't feel as soft as I want. This helps me wake up with amazingly soft, smooth skin. Other times, I am trying out products to review, currently testing the Mary Kay Time Wise Night Solution (£25). It can get complicated.

Snack time! What's in the bowl?

I am a chocolate aficionado, my favourite is Dairy Milk Oreo (£1.50), it is beyond delicious. Life-changing, I also like the chocolate donuts they sell near my work place, you get 4 for £1. Generally, I tend to snack on fruit during the day, although, I have a soft spot for biscuits too. Any biscuit.

How do you wind down/prep for bed?

As soon as I start my evening routine, brushed my teeth, thoroughly cleansed and treated my skin, I feel ready for bed. I also like reading before bed too, ever started a book at night only to realise it is now 7am and you have to leave for work. It was just that gripping? Been there.

Cosy up! What are you wearing to sleep?

Oversized tee-shirts and lightweight pyjama pants. I also have this ancient purple fleece top (the bottoms went missing eons ago) which I wear when it is cold. I have had it since I was about twelve but it is so soft and comforting. It is my favourite thing to sleep in, no wonder I don't have a boyfriend. Comfort over sexiness, always. 

What are some of the things you must do before hitting the hay?

Social media. I have to check Instagram and I have now gotten into the habit of checking my Bloglovin' feed too. I love that little app. Reading is always something I enjoy doing before sleep. 

Thank you so much for reading, I would like to tag you. Please leave a link to your website or your responses to these questions in the comments below. I would love to read them all, I sincerely hope you didn't find this boring and that you ate all having a wonderful week. Lots of love. Take care.

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Love ♥

Kiran 

BLOGGER TIP | HOW TO LEAVE A CLICKABLE LINK IN A COMMENTS SECTION OR IN A POST

Just recently, I discovered how to leave a clickable link at the end of a comment and I found a really easy guide to help me do that. You just type this at the end of the comment, easy peasy:

<a href="http://yourwebsitehere">what everyone will see here</a>

For reference, this is what I type at the end of the comments I write:

<a href="http://www.alittlekiran.co.uk">ALittleKiran</a>

Thank you for reading, I hope you found this post helpful. Please leave me comment if you did and don't forget to follow my blog as it means so much to me (it really does). I love interacting with other bloggers and finding new websites to read, so leave your links below if you want. Take care.

Love ♥

Kiran 

Thailand | Travel Video

I have been meaning to write about Thailand and our adventures there, but then I realised it is probably quite boring to read about someone else's travels. Nevertheless, I wanted to document it on my blog because I skipped writing about my epic adventure in Greece and Copenhagen last year. I tried to film random clips as I went along in Thailand and then spliced this altogether. Here is that video, it is approximately 15 minutes of random,but cool, moments. 

If you would like to read about it in more detail, please let me know and I will happily write it up for you as I still have my diary from my time there in my notes. We had a stopover in Dubai first, then stayed in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan for the Full Moon party. On our way back home, we stopped over at Singapore. Please leave me a comment if you would like to read about this trip, I have already booked two more holidays this year and I am definitely going to write about them. Thank you for reading, this short, mostly irrelevant post. I really appreciate it. Take care.

Love ♥

Kiran 

URBAN DECAY SPRING COLLECTION | PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Urban Decay is one of my favourite brands for many reasons, mostly because their eyeshadows are my favourite formula of life and their packaging is the prettiest as well as the edgiest and most unique, chic and fleek, in my opinion. Their newest drop is no surprise at all because everything literally looks stunning and there is so much! We have been treated to: 6 shades of a new foundation/base product, the One and Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector; 2 new bronzers; a new 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil and a new Waterline Eye Pencil; and finally 3 Afterglow 8 Hour Powder Highlighters. Every single product is packaged so perfectly that if I actually bought any of these items I don't think I would use any of them, do you think you can fall in love with a picture? Short answer: yes, have you seen Nick Bateman? 

As stated, I do not own a single product but I have been devouring reviews, tutorials and overviews from every corner of the internet to help reach a decision as to what is worth picking up from their new summer collection and alas I have reached a decision. So if you have been struggling with this too, please keep reading, I'll add links to in-depth reviews and videos that might be helpful along the way, so this won't be a complete waste of your time. We'll go through them one by one, with pros and cons, what to expect and who each product is most suited for. I'll include links and prices as well. 

Let's start with the product I am most excited about: One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector (£25). This is marketed as the perfect summer base, it is long-wearing with a lightweight comfortable formula that provides the coverage of a tinted moisturiser and claims of reducing the appearance of pores after consistent use. In addition, it purportedly adds radiance to the skin. It is available in six shades, and overall the response has been hugely positive. No affirmations on whether it reduces the size of pores or boosts radiance as of yet, but generally it is a great base product. This is definitely worth checking out, I am not a fan of the original Naked foundation as it looks cakey on my combination skin, but people with dry skin and people with oily skin equally rave about this product. For reference, I reckon I would be the shade Medium Dark, maybe Medium in Winter. I love the packaging too, it comes with a pump and in a sleek tube which is convenient, attractive and hygienic.

Another thing I want to quickly mention is the Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush (£21). This is a vegan brush with densely packed synthetic hair that allow you to really buff any liquid/cream product onto the skin for a flawless finish. I love the UD eyeshadow brushes and the fact that they are vegan and cruelty free is a huge plus for me. The gunmetal handle is produced from recycled aluminium and the brush size is perfect for tackling the full face (and neck!) quickly. 

The next products are the gorgeous 8 Hour Afterglow Highlighters in Sin, Aura and Fireball (all £19). I don't want to beat around the bush too much, the formula is identical to the popular Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blushes (£19). Simply put this means the powder highlights are just as blendable, buildable and beautiful as the blushes. The three shades, I feel, are marketed for specific skin tones: Sin is universally flattering, Fireball would look really gorgeous as a highlight on deeper skin tones with a reddish undertone or as a blush on anyone with warm skin and Aura really targets fair skinned gals who love an icy highlight. You can see swatches below. From l-r: Sin, Aura and Fireball.

For any of you hard-core UD fans you may have noticed that Aura sounds and looks a little familiar, well you'd be right! I have the LE Glinda Palette from their Oz Collection three years ago and one of the pans had two icy pastel highlight shades, that pinkish shade is Aura for sure, so if you have this, use it as a highlight. Sin is the one I would purchase but again it's very dupable and currently sold out everywhere. There is nothing stopping you from using an eyeshadow as a highlight instead. 

Aura Shadow from Glinda Palette (image from xsparkage.com)

Introducing the palm-tree decorated Beached Bronzer (£20). There are two shades available Sun-kissed and Bronzed, they are both warm coloured medium browns. True bronzing powders, no cool contour shades here. The packaging on these are really stunning, that cool mint palm tree effect is gag-worthy, such a good job. I don't actually like the colours for me, personally. I don't think even Bronzed would show up on my medium skin tone, in all honesty. If you have fair to tan skin definitely consider giving these a try but there are so many more affordable options out there that this is something I would  only purchase just because of the divine packaging. For really fair skin opt for Sun-kissed and for warmer light skin Bronzed should work perfectly. The formula is raved about across all social media platforms, based on reviews I have read it is a very silky, finely milled powder, not chalky at all and easily blended on top of other products.

Last but not least are their two new eye pencils, one for the waterline, Walk of Shame (£15.50), and one for the eye lid. Heartless (£15.50). Heartless would look great as an inner corner highlight as it is quite a unique shade, an icy pastel pink that reminds me of Aura, I think you could have a lot of fun with this colour and I don't think there are many similar shades available from other companies. On the other hand, for Walk of Shame, it is a different story, nude eye pencils are a dime a dozen and you can get so many really creamy amazing pencils for a third of the price. Some of my favourite brands are Rimmel and L'Oreal, they have great quality eyeliners that feel really comfortable on the waterline. This is just my thinking, I have a few of the UD 24/7 liners and I love them so it is ultimately your call. I would check out the new Makeup Geek Full Spectrum eyeliners (£7.50 each) first though. Here is a video from Glam Life Guru talking in depth about the whole line:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts on this collection. I read and reply to them all and it really means a lot to me. Don't forget to follow my blog and check out my other posts if you have some time to kill. Take care.

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday/vacation?

Love ♥

Kiran