Maybelline Eye and Brow Makeup

When I go into Boots, I usually ending up just picking up the product I need, without taking much notice of the brand they are from. Recently I have really enjoyed all the products I have been using on my eyes, and I came to realise that they are all from Maybelline.

My favourite product of all the goodies, has got to be the liquid eye liner pen.

This pen is so good and precise and gives you a perfect cat eye flick so effortlessly. The nib is really thin and can easy draw on thin lines, and also a thicker line for more dressed up occasions.

The colour is really good, although you have to go over it a few times to get that really jet black colour.

The other eyeliner I have tried is the kohl pencil, which I received in my latest GlossyBox. I tend to use liquid eyeliners more, but this one is good at adding a touch of smoke to the eye. I use this mostly on my top lid line to reach under the lashes where the pen can't quite get too.

The next product I also received in my GlossyBox at Christmas (which I am yet to review, apologies). The Smokey Eyes, colossal volume mascara is what I am using at the moment.

I wouldn't say this mascara gave me 'colossal volume', but adds more length. It isn't the best mascara I've used but it is good for everyday wear.

My next favourite products are the colour tattoo eye shadows from Maybelline. They stay on amazingly well hence the tattoo part name of the product, but they are not stubborn when it comes to removal.

  I first tried the gold colour and fell in love with it. It adds a really subtle shimmer which instantly brightens the eye.

I was so impressed I went out and bought 'pomegranate' which I must say I am not as overwhelmed with as the colour isn't as dense on the eye as it came out on the swatch. It looks amazing on my friend who has darker hair so that may be why it doesn't pop as much on me?!

Next are the eyebrow products. With celebrities like Keira Knightley, Cara Delevingne, and the Olsen twins rocking the bushy eyebrow look, eyebrows are becoming quite a statement maker. I must admit that only up until recently I have never really bothered with making up my eyebrows, but now I have started I won't be able to stop. The maybelline eyebrow pencil is double ended and has a small eyebrow brush one end and your colour of choice on the other. I went for dark blonde which is perfect for my eyebrow but in these pictures it looks slightly ginger. The pencil is really soft and smudges really easily so you don't have dramatic lines all over your eyebrows.

It is perfect for filling in gaps to make the brows look more even, and the little brush neatens them all up and keeps them together.

The final product I want to show you is the eyebrow wand. To be used just like a mascara, you sweep the wand over your eyebrows to hold them in place so they don't stray. There is a slight colour to the product so again you need to choose one that suits you, but it is not dark at all and just adds a bit more depth. It leaves a slightly crispy residue on the eyebrow but nothing uncomfortable or unsightly, it just keeps the eyebrow in place.

Have you tried any of the Maybelline products above? Or can you suggest any others to use? I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment below.

Throwback Thursday: Halloween

I absolutely love to dress in fancy dress, particularly for Halloween. Unfortunately this year I had to work late and have not had the opportunity to go to any Halloween events! As Thursdays are usually an excuse to dig up a 'throwback' picture from the past, I thought I would show you some of my dress ups I have done before.

In all my pictures is my best friend and fellow dress up accomplice, Nicola. This first picture is a throwback from 2010. This was my second year at uni and Halloween was a guaranteed night out with a good dress up compulsory.

Nicola and I went as bats this year and do to this, we went to a fabric shop and picked up some black stretchy material and spent hours sewing it to black dresses. Mine was from American Apparel and had a low swooping back. The wings are still attached to the dress as I don't have the heart to remove them.

For my hair, I furiously back combed it and then clipped it to the back of my head (I was growing out a pixie crop at the time so couldn't do anything to dramatic) The eye makeup was smokey and the red noses were done with lipstick. The fangs were drawn with black eyeliner and filled in with face paint. The ears were bought from Claire's accessories.

 My next throwback is from the following year, 2011 my third and final year of University, where myself and Nicola decided to go out dressed as spiders. This was a simple outfit of a black top and leggings with just some tights stuffed with newspaper pinned to the waist band. The spiders web was just bought from a dress up or decoration shop.

The makeup this year was more natural, but we used liquid eyeliner to draw various spider webs on any flesh showing. Our eye makeup was smokey again, and I used a purple lipstick from Rimmel in the Kate Moss range in colour number 4.

I did these nails last year by just applying a black colour with matte over the top, and then heavily dripping red paint over the tips. It forever to dry but I think it looked really effective.

This year unfortunately I am without my best friend Nicola and without any events to go to this Halloween! As I had to go to work I couldn't do anything too dramatic, but I thought a smokey eye for the day would be acceptable. 

For this look, I used the Benefit Smokin' eyes kit. I have had this kit for years and years (hence the dirtiness) and probably used it for the other two looks as well. It is such a great kit to give you the perfect smokey eye and I swear by it! I also used my Maybelline gel liner for the flicks.

 The kit contains a pink highlighter, a smokey grey base colour, a dark black shadow for the drama, and the brushes needed to create the look. It also has a brown paste to colour eye brows, and also a pink paste for highlighting the inner eyes. The tweezers are also perfect! I love them so much, (should probably love them a bit more though as my eyebrows are pretty out of control in this post!) and they are perfect travel size.

Sorry this hasn't been a usual post, but thought I'd try something a bit different. 

Happy Halloween everyone!