The Bodyshop Instablur primer is a product that any well know beauty blogger has raved about for many months including Zoella and Velvetgh0st. At first I admit, I was skeptical, I've tried a few primers including the much raved about Rimmel lasting finish primer and I felt they just dried out my skin and often caused break outs. But behold, I have found an absolute staple in my makeup bag - I feel lost without it and I can genuinely tell a difference when I have got it on compared to when I haven't. The price is a bit steep (for a skint student anyway!) but I always purchase when The Bodyshop are doing sales, for example they are doing non-sale items for 30% off online bringing it down to £9.80! 

I used to use both of the Rimmel foundations separately and absolutely love them both, the Lasting finish has great coverage whereas I absolutely adore the finish of the Wake me up formula. The Lasting Finish foundation is one of the closest matches for my pale skin (I have it in the lightest colour, and I have quite neutral skin in relation to temperature) it covers beautifully, however i've never been much of a fan of completely matte foundations, I feel that I personally need a glow to my skin. The wake me up foundation is the one that gives you radiant skin but lacks in the coverage department so when both bottles got to about half full I decided to mix them both and now I have the best of both worlds in one foundation bottle! You can get both here, and here for just £5.99 each at Superdrug!

For tools I like to use a stippling brush, I have 2 from Wilkos and one Real Techniques one. I've had the Wilkos ones for around 3 months and absolutely adore everything about these brushes! The finish is amazing, they blend foundation so well and they're not a total b*tch to clean! I wash both brushes around once a week and no bristles have been yet to fall out. The Real Techniques one has been a recent purchase, I did have the expert face brush around 2 years ago and whilst I absolutely adored it the bristles all fell out after 2 months. The finish of this one lives up to the claims of airbrushed looking skin, it gives a beautiful smooth finish and is so easy to use! So far with washing I have only washed it once and so far so good with the bristles! You can get the Real Techniques one here for £10,99 or the Wilkos one here for £4!

BROWS// REVOLUTION BROW KIT & ECO-TOOLS ANGLED EYELINER BRUSH

I blogged about the Revolution Brow Kit back in July in the Summer Face post and I still whole hardheartedly agree with everything I wrote about, it's a brilliant affordable palette which has lasted me 6 months and I've only just hit pan on the darker shade which I use all the time (including along the upper lash line to add definition). I have now began using the lighter colour over the darker colour and I love the colour of both, neither too warm or cool they're just right and it's so easy to use! I'm not  a massive fan of gels as the idea of putting something that's sticky on my brows is a no, but I feel the only way this would be better if they replaced the little brush with a little pot of gel instead as the powder does tend to get mixed in with the gel and it creates a massive mess! I use this religiously along with my Eco-Tools brush which gives me the control on creating how much definition I want in my brows. I got the brush in a starter set, however you can pick one up from pretty much anywhere! The Revolution brow kit can be found here for £2.50

EYES // BOBBI BROWN BELLINI PALETTE & KIKO CREAM CRUSH 

First up, can we just swoon over the beauty that is the BB palette? This is my second ever high end product (my first being a Lancome mascara) and it has been something I have completely lusted over since 2015's Christmas Collection was released and now I get to put it on my face each and everyday. I adore everything about this palette, the colours, the pigmentation, the packaging! I use 'Bone' (cream shade) as a base and brow bone colour and then use 'Sable' (light brown) as a crease colour and it makes a beautiful natural eye look! Unfortunately this is sold out as it was part of the 2015 Christmas Collection but many high street brands (or high end) sell similar quality and colour shadows. Underneath I use the Kiko Cream Crush cream eyeshadow in 10 (pearly apricot) which is a beautiful pale pink colour with a slight shimmer running through and it works really well as a base, it helps my eyeshadow stay on all day and the slight shimmer comes through underneath the Bobbi Brown shadows! You can get the Kiko shadow for £3.40 here!

LASHES // BARRY M SHOWGIRL & PRIMARK CURLERS

The Barry M Showgirl mascara is a new purchase. I bought it about a week ago and it has already got it's rightful spot in my makeup bag! I decided to get the formula that adds the most volume as I love thick lashes! The packaging is to die for and something you totally would not expect for a drugstore product, and so is the formulation. It adds enough volume whilst still looking natural, my only downside is that it is a bit too wet at the minute but i'm sure that it will dry up a bit with use. I use my Primark eyelash curlers to curl my lashes before applying as these seem to be the only curlers that actually work on me, and for £1.50 i'm not really complaining! I replace them every 3 months, and replace the pad every 1.5 months. Get the showgirl mascara here for £4.99

CHEEKS // MUA BRONZER & BARRY M CONTOUR KIT

I know i've raved about both these products before and you can read these posts here and here  but again I whole hardheartedly stand by my claims. The MUA bronzer gives a beautiful dewy look to the skin and makes you look like a bronzed goddess, I love it as a slight contour on days I want something subtle and the shimmer works well with the shimmer in the foundation. The contour kit is everything, as you can see I adored the highlight shade and I am actually devastated that Barry M don't sell this as a separate shade as it works well for under eye, as well as cheekbone highlight. The contour shade is a beautiful cool shade that looks natural when applied, but if you want a more dramatic look you can build it up without the whole mud smeared on face look. You can get the MUA Bronzer here for and the Barry M Palette here for £6.49

Once again I am so sorry for the quality of the images, I will 100% be working on this for the next post! (quite bad for a photography student!) 

-Tasha 

I really dislike the packaging, it feels flimsy, and cheap. I feel like that the first time i drop this beauty it will just end up being a big bronzery powdery mess which will be hell to clean up which isn't great if you are someone who travels a lot, or takes their makeup on the go. Also as mentioned up there I dislike that it lacks a mirror, I feel that this would have benefited greatly from one because I like to get close up when contouring so I can see if it has been blended in well enough. My final dislike about this product is the highlighter, I wont lie i'm a shimmer type girl when it comes to the highlighter step. I feel that this would be a great browbone and inner eye corner highlight but not a cheek highlight. I'm going to keep pursuing it as I have only tried it once so I will get back to you on that at a further date!

Overall, I do really like this product as this very early on stage. It gives me a defined face without looking like i've put in too much effort. I'm definitely glad I picked this up and will enjoy using it in the future!

-Tasha

For the base I wanted something really light and easy to apply. I decided to go for my tinted moisturizer which I have been loving over the summer holidays. I did a full review of this over on the 'My summer face' post. The bonus about this product is that it was sort of a 2 in one product which meant I didn't have to pack loads of different products minimizing my packing. The moisturizing properties of this product are amazing. My skin felt revitalized and also was super soft the following day. The best way to apply this is with your hands, however a beauty sponge such as the real techniques one will also work well. This product is also really easy to build up whilst looking natural, so if you have a lot of redness it works well on it. 

THE CONCEALER // COLLECTION LASTING PERFECTION CONCEALER 

This concealer is a massive cult favourite among many bargain beauty bloggers and it's easy to see why. It is a little tube of concealing miracle. I get a lot of redness around my nose and black circles due to lack of sleep no thanks to the late night antics (if you call card games and a few ciders 'antics') this covers them up no problem meaning I look like i've had a full nights sleep. It's so easy to blend as well, I use my fingers to apply this product as well as the little doe-foot applicator. It's staying power is amazing as well, with all the hard work such as tent-putting-up-and-down and walking around a very windy seaside town and I didn't even need to top up!. On very rare days where my skin is looking extra good I tend to brave it and wear this without any sort of base product. 

THE LASHES // MAYBELLINE BIG EYES DUAL-ENDED MASCARA 

Another 2 birds with 1 stone product. I've never been one for wearing mascara on my bottom lashes but since giving this mascara a try after a bit of an impulse buy I can't get enough of it! The bottom brush (black lid) is just the perfect size to give your bottom lashes enough definition to open your eyes up and make you look more awake. And the top brush (pink lid) again, the perfect size to give enough definition to the top lids. The mascara really opens your eyes up, giving you a more awake look. The formulation is great as well, considering i've tried a few maybelline mascaras and they typically clump up on my lashes, this is one that hasn't. This mascara has become a staple in my makeup bag now and it has taken over my love for the Lancome hypnose star mascara. Definitely a repurchase until something better comes on the market!

THE LIPS // NIVEA LIP BLUEBERRY LIP BUTTER

In short: BEST LIP BALM EVER! 

Goodbye chapped lips!

MUA BRONZED PERFECTION

This summer has to be all about the bronzed, golden goddess look and if you're pale skinned like me one of the easiest way to achieve this is by using a bronzer. MUA is known for their affordable beauty products and many people are skeptical on whether they are actually any good. This bronzer is one I have used for many years. For £3 you get 15g of a beautiful light shade which will leave your face looking healthy and glowy It's got a slight shimmer in it so I would only recommend it as an all over shade instead of for contouring. My one dislike about this product is that the packaging is just too bulky, I wish they would slightly minimize it to make it handbag friendly, or I wish MUA would bring out a condensed size for people who like to top up on the go! All in all it's a beautiful bronzer for people who don't want to break the bank!

REVOLUTION FOCUS AND FIX EYEBROW KIT

Another brand that people are slightly skeptical of is Revolution, branded the New MUA, It again is only available at certain Superdrug stores. I decided to have a little browse and came across this little beauty for £2.50, it is every eyebrow loving travelers dream. It's a cute little compact with 3 eyebrow shades as well as a wax to lock them into place. It also comes with a little brush and mini eyebrow tweezers (not featured as I have misplaced them!) which makes it a dream to throw into your handbag. When it comes to my eyebrows I typically go for a pencil when i'm in a rush but when I want to spend a bit more time on them as well as making them slightly more natural I do love a powder and considering this comes with three different shades you can mix them to make a personalized shade. This compares to other drugstore eyebrow kits such as the Sleek and Barry M ones. If you have tried any other makeup revolution products I'd love to hear which ones are your favourite so I can give them a try!

ZOELLA BEAUTY KISSY MISSY LIP BALM

When it comes to my lips during the summertime I want something hydrating but also with a pop of colour. Considering I went through the 'Baby lips' phase a few years back and I can't afford but regularly lust over the By Terry Baume De Rose Nutri-Couleur balms I picked up the Zoella Kissy Missy lip balm a few days ago because who better than a beauty guru to know what will work the best. I'm going to do a further review on this within a few days as this is a recent release and there is currently a massive hype surrounding her products. Within the past couple of days I have owned it I have worn it mostly everyday as well as having it as my staple handbag lip product (along with the 8 other lipsticks!). I have never been a lover of fuchsia pink on the lips however this is different, it's so build-able in colour as well as the added hydration. The smell however could use a bit of work, it has that cheapy lip product scent and In all fairness I thought it would have suited the rest of the theme flowing through this currently set which is tutti frutti. However, i'm going to keep on using it and see whether I can get used to it and I will update you within a few days!

What's your ultimate summer staple?

-Tasha x