ASOS Travel Essentials

ASOS is probably one of the biggest online shops in the UK, and since they have added a Face and Body section to the site, it has become one of my go to shops without needing to leave the house.

I bought all my Crayola beauty bits on there, and I noticed they were doing a limited edition travel box in the middle of Summer featuring some of the products they sell on the site. A lot of the products in the box were ones I have wanted to try for ages so I snapped up the box before it went out of stock, and for only £10, it went out of stock fast!

Some staple brands out there at the moment are OUAI, Glam Glow, Rodial and Too Faced. The beauty industry really is saturated with so many amazing brands, and as a beauty blogger I am ashamed to say I had never tried any of these before now! I thought buying this box would be a great introduction into using them, making sure I liked them before I delved a little deeper into each one.

One of the brands I had never heard of before was Touch In Sol, which is a Korean brand. The No Pore-Blem Primer, £15, ASOS is a lightweight primer which doesn't have that silicone feel afterwards. It is creamy and hydrating but looks a matte finish prepping the skin for makeup.

I wasn't mad about this primer, and probably wouldn't rush to go and buy it, but the brand in general offers skin care at a low price point, and Korean beauty is something I want to explore in the future so I may come back to this brand when the time is right.

Emma Hardie is a brand I have tried before, and I wrote about her amazing Moringa Cleansing balm a few years ago where I claimed it may be my favourite ever cleansing balm! It is definitely still up there in one of my favourite cleansers, so I was excited to try the Brilliant Face Oil, £39, ASOS

This is a very luxury brand and just a few small drops from the face oil before bed hydrates my skin until the morning. It contains essential oils and Omegas to help plump and generally feed your skin what it needs. It smells really lovely and this has become a staple part of my night time routine if I need something to give my skin a boost. It can be used on all skin types too including oilier skins, as it is a dry oil and doesn't leave a greasy finish.

Glam Glow is a brand you always see plastered over Instagram as it is very popular with the beauty community. If I'm honest, they're packaging has never screamed out to me as a brand I wanted to try as there are lots of different colours and I always found it a little confusing. I am so glad I got the chance to try them in this box though as I have loved using this Thirstymud Hydrating Glam to Glow Treatment, £16, ASOS. It smells super coco-nutty which makes me think of instant hydration, and the formula is very thin and clear, so you can either wash it off or let it sink into the skin which is what I like to do overnight.

I wake up to super hydrated, plump and soft skin after using it, and the smell really is just wonderful if you're into coconut!

I have always loved using  hair oil but I have never tried one infused with Rose and also never tried any products from OUAI which is so hugely popular. The OUAI Rose Hair and Body Oil, £26, ASOS is beautiful oil that I use on the ends of my hair to seal in moisture and smooth any fly aways. It smells really pretty and can also be used on the body so a great little multi purpose product. I really want to try some of the styling products from OUAI as they are meant to be unreal.

Another brand I have been desperate to try but been desperate to try is Rodial. In particular the Dragon's Blood range which I am sure I saw Kylie Jenner was a huge fan off. Included in this box was the Dragon's Blood Hyaluronic Tonic, £38, ASOS, and it has become and it has become another staple item in my daily routine. I like to spray this on my face in the morning before I apply other skincare, and also just before I go to bed as an alternative to a thick cream or as a base for a facial oil such as the Emma Hardie one above.

This contains Hyaluronic acid which the skin naturally produces as a skin hydrator, so I like to use this under other products to help my skins natural production of this.

And yet another brand I have always wanted to try (seriously I am terrible beauty blogger) is makeup brand Too Faced. The Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, £10 for Travel Size / £19 Full Size, ASOS was unfortunately a little disappointing for me though. Although It did leave me with fairly nice looking lashes, I just found this mascara was so smudgey, and everytime I wore it I found myself with panda eyes or black random smudges around my eyes. Granted, the first time I wore it I was at a wedding so I may have been a little teary so forgave it, but ever since I have had the same problem. so maybe the waterproof one is worth trying. The hourglass shaped wand allows you to coat each lash and add volume and curl.

For me the effect of the mascara didn't justify the smudges. You can see in this image that the lower outer corner is a little messy and I found it did this throughout the day and transferred onto my upper lid too. 

I love that ASOS is now stocking beauty products, and I think boxes like this are a great way for people to discover and try out brands they may not usually experiment with.

Are you interested in any of these brands? If so want products have you tried and loved, or are there any you want to give a go?

Crayola Beauty

As soon as I heard Crayola were bringing out a beauty range, I thought that it was such a simple but amazing idea, and I would have to get my hands on some!

Makeup is all about colour and creativity, and Crayola is something you associate with both of those things, whether it is a child scribbling on a page, or an adult creating a wild festival look.

I am so glad they branded the products exactly the same as the crayons, as it brings out the inner child in all of us, and makes you instantly feel creative. Sold on ASOS, the range includes the crayons, mascaras, palettes, brushes and highlights. They really do stock every possible colour imaginable, so it caters to all skin tones too.

The prices are really reasonable too, so I can see it being incredibly easy to grow your collection quickly.

The highlighter crayon, £11, ASOS I got is in shade 'Desert Sand' as I wanted something a little warmer for the summer months when I use bronzer.

The formula has a really lovely shimmer and glides onto the skin really nicely.

It isn't the most blinding highlighter I've ever worn, but it looks really natural and pretty and melts into the skin.

Of course the real show stoppers are the Crayons,£9, ASOS themselves. I must admit I played it very safe when choosing my colours, but next time I'm willing to be a little bolder with my choices.

I had the intention of using the crayons as lipsticks so I went for Rose and Strawberry.

'Rose' is a really pretty pink that is wearable for day and night.

'Strawberry' is a punchy red with blue undertones. The collection does have a colour called 'Red' but that is a true red which may not suit all skin tones such as mine.

The design of the crayons means you can use the tip to get a perfect outline as liner around the lips, and then I used the crayon on its side to get a wider sweep of colour, and also to keep the vital tip pointed. 

They really do glide on are are really comfortable to wear, and also the smell of them is delicious. I don't know whether it was because I had pinkier shades, but they definitely had berry smells and tasted sweet too!

(I was an incredibly weird child who used to eat my wax crayons so I can confirm that these taste much better than the originals)

Using the crayons on the lips is the easiest way to wear your Crayolas, but why stop there?! Having red and pink shades, I have smudged a little over my cheeks to add a natural blush, and from following the Crayola Beauty instagram page, there is plenty of inspiration to get creative with your eyes too.

As someone who is a little inexperienced in eye makeup, the crayons are so blendable and require little to no tool, perfect for any novices or those just wanting to get stuck in.

The colours are so fun and bold, just a simple swipe of colour can make a huge impact, and I can't wait to blend two or more colours together to make a really cool look.