Benefit and Bourjois Battle It Out!

 (Benefit 'They're Real' & Bourjois 'Volume Glamour Ultra Curl')

Since I can remember I have been in LOVE with the Benefit 'They're Real' mascara, since first purchasing it I haven't found a better mascara, or even one that comes close...until now! Being a student I find it hard to justify spending so much money on a product that runs out after a month or so. But luckily I seem to have found a cheaper alternative that I want to share!

This is the magical Bourjois 'Volume Glamour Ultra Curl' (bit of a mouthful) Now I can't take complete credit...or maybe not even any at all, I am merely the messenger! I had that usual debate with myself whilst standing in the makeup section of boots wondering what mascara to buy. I always feel nervous when choosing as if you make the wrong mistake thats a tenner down the drain, especially as there's so much rubbish out there. After spending an unacceptable amount of time making up my mind, my friend suggested this little beauty. At first I turned my nose up as I thought the wand looked pretty pathetic and when I took it out of the tube the product looked gloopy. But she assured me it was great so I went ahead and bought it. I'm so glad I did. (Thank you Lily!)

(Here's the Bourjois product on the lashes)

I don't have very thick lashes and as I'm naturally blonde they're rather light, so I like a product that will lengthen, thicken and is nice and dark (not much to ask hey!) and I feel like this mascara does just that. It holds the curl really nicely and completely opens up the look of my eyes, just like the benefit one. As you can see it separates the lashes well and so far I haven't had any fall out which is great. I can't recommend this product enough! 

I think price wise it's a much better alternative, in an ideal world I would love to be able to repurchase the 'They're Real' but unfortunately I cannot do so. But I am very pleased with this find...my 'Drugstore Dupe' if you will. One thing I cannot say yet is how long the tube lasts, I feel like for the money the Benefit one doesn't seem to last long enough, but as I haven't finished the Bourjois yet I can't compare the two. However at £7.99 from Boots compared with £18.50 I can't really complain if it doesn't last beyond 6 weeks or so. I hope you take my recommendation and check this mascara out and let me know if you have any good dupes! Enjoy! 

My Must Have Hair Product

(Seanik Shampoo Bar - Lush)

A very kind friend of mine bought me this as a birthday present and this is my second repurchase. Before this I'd never tried a shampoo bar before and if I'm honest I've always been quite sceptical. 

I didn't really get the concept, it felt a bit alien to put what looked like a bar of soap on my hair.

The bar contains solid seaweed, sea salt and lemon giving the hair great shine and volume and has a lovely summery scent. The featured ingredient in this shampoo bar is Japanese Nori Seaweed, it possesses a quality of deep colour and brilliant lustre. The Sea Salt claims to give the hair texture and volume and I can honestly say it does! The Lemon Oil makes the hair SO shiny, better than any shine spray I've used. Rather than using a shine spray and volumising mousse like I normally do, I can just wash my hair with this and it does the job for me. Although there are little specks of seaweed in the bar, these don't get stuck in your hair and you can't feel them when you're using it, obviously it is bright blue in colour but don't worry theres no colour pay off. 

The thing I was most concerned about when using this product was whether it would make a satisfying amount of lather. I like my shampoo to be super frothy so I can feel like I'm getting my hair properly clean, I really didn't think this product would create enough, but its incredibly foamy, more than any I've used before. Because it's in solid form you're able to scrub it directly onto your roots meaning no strand of hair is left unclean.

I can honestly say I've never used a shampoo that has made my hair so volumized and shiny, I noticed the difference after the first wash, my hair seemed thicker and had a lovely gloss to it. It lasts around a month, so at £5.50 and on a student budget I find that a little pricey, however not having to use as many other products means I'm saving money elsewhere. I have to say no matter what hair type you have I would recommend this product, it ticks all the boxes for me!

Ever so Subtle with Sleek!

Sleek Blush 

(Rose Gold 926)

Sleek is a brand I am totally in love with. I find their products so affordable, yet everything from the packaging to the product itself screams luxury. I don't feel as though I'm buying a 'drugstore' beauty product whatsoever.

I have a couple of the eyeshadow pallets which have been almost used up now, but I purchased this blush recently and felt I had to talk about how beautiful it is! Typically the shade (a dusty pale pink) suggests to me a spring or summer colour. However the rose gold shimmer that is laced throughout is perfect for the Christmas party season.

I find blush buying a bit of a challenge as my skin is SO pale, no matter what time of year it is I always struggle to find shades that are light enough. I've found that with this blush I can give my cheeks a lovely rosy glow without looking liked I've been slapped round the face. However although this is a light pastel shade the colour is buildable if you want a bolder look.

As you can see in this photo, the blush is so subtle, that's what I love most about it, what I want from my blush is just a slight touch of colour. Whats great about this product is the rose gold shimmer running throughout acts as a stunning highlight too. It's basically two products for the price of one! The shimmer isn't too overbearing either which makes it a great daytime product as well as one for parties. Priced at just £4.49 from Boots this little blush really is a steal! As its 3 for 2 in Boots stores right now I would recommend purchasing two beauty products you've been lusting after and throwing this one in as the freebie, you won't regret it!

Be the Queen of Curls

 Enrapture 'Extremity Heated Rollers'

Ever since I can remember I've had curly hair, however the older I get the less bouncy the curls seem to be. I'm always looking for new tools that will make giving my hair that extra volume easier and more time efficient. These heated rollers by Enrapture are by far the best I've found! They heat up in minutes so if I'm in a rush in the mornings (which is always) I just pop them on whilst I do my makeup and they're always fully heated by the time I'm finished.

 (One of the smaller rollers and clips)

What I love about these rollers is that not only does the roller itself heat from the core, but the clip heats up as well. Which means if you have thick wild hair like mine, the heat will actually get through to the whole curl meaning it sets brilliantly. I also find that unlike some other rollers I've used the curls actually stay put for most of the day. Of course they drop a little which is to be expected, but I actually prefer this as they look slightly more natural.

Theres a few different ways to put them in, so don't be put off at first if you cant get the hang of it. It took me a while to find a technique that suited me. Once you've figured out what works best for you they're so quick to put in which I love. They work whether you want a quick burst of volume or if you want to take time to create perfect curls.

 

Here I haven't used all of the rollers and most of the time I dont bother, I have quite long hair and still always seem to have some left over. What I like to do is let the rollers drop at different lengths rather than roll the hair right to my head. This gives a mixture of fully formed curls and waves, the set comes with two different sized rollers so even if you didn't want to do it this way you still get a variety of curl sizes.

I find that you only need to leave them in for around 15 minutes to create the curls, however I've found that if you want them to stay in from morning to night I'd leave them in until they've completely cooled. 

I'd recommend these beauties to anyone, they're honestly the most incredible rollers I've used, they're incredibly simple to use, so whether you're a hair styling expert or a complete novice guaranteed you'll be able to use them and best of all they actually work! Check out my instagram for some examples of different ways they can be used (: instagram.com/lifeandpickmeups