Sunday 29 April 2012

HELP!!:)

Hey huys!:)

This is going to be a very quick post so I'll try not to make it too boring!
I have my school celebration evening and prom coming up soon and want a flawless foundation that I can use after the events too:)

I have been researching Max Factor Xperience, L'oreal True Match and both the Revlon Photoready and the Revlon Colorstay foundations. I am thinking I'm gonna go for either of the Revlon foundations. However, I look at a review for both, decide which one to get and then BAM! I find a bad review:S

If any of you has tried either or both of these please let me know by commenting on emailing me at; themake-upcounter@hotmail.co.uk which one you would recommend:) OR, if you have tried another foundation that you would recommend be welcome to comment!

I would really appreciate ALL of your help and also if you would like to follow my blog please do:)

Thanks guys:) xx
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Saturday 28 April 2012

e.l.f. Essentials Nail Polish

Today's review is for the e.l.f. Nail Polish. The three colours I have are Golden Goddess, Mint Cream and Metal Madness.
Left to right - Golden Goddess
- Mint Cream
- Metal Madness
The first colour I recieved was Metal Madness which I recieved in a Mystery Bag promo e.l.f. had a couple of months ago. After my success with that polish I decided to purchase Mint Cream as I loved the colour shown on their website. Mint cream is definitely my favourite polish now!
Golden Goddess was part of my most recent purchase about a month ago when I also recieved another mystery bag. (You can see that post here.)

These come in a black packaging and then the nail polish is enclosed in a plastic mould case thing haha.
I love these polishes! They are amazing for the small £1.50 price tag. You really have to apply 2-3 coats to get a perfect solid finish. I now have 2 of the mint cream polish as I recieved one in the prize I won from elf (prize post.)

Golden Goddess has a clear base with a gold tint and gold glitter pieces.
Mint Cream is a aqua pastel-blue shade and is perfect for all year round.
Metal Madness has a dark grey-black base with glitter pieces too.
Not your usual circular bottle but looks very professional!

The e.l.f. logo on the lid of the bottle.

I love the shape of this polish bottle. It looks very professional and is definitely more compact than the usual circular bottles from other brands. I also like the black lid and the where the logos are placed. I have seen many people say they have had problems with the bristles of the brushes but I now have 4 of these polishes and I haven't had any problems:)

Left to right (With flash) - Golden Goddess
- Mint Cream
- Metal Madness
Left to right (Without flash) - Golden Goddess
- Mint Cream
- Metal Madness
Packaging - 10/10 - I personally think this packaging is very good. The product is very supported by the packaging which ensures it isn't damaged in the post.
Product - 8.5/10
Price - 10/10
Would I recommend this? - Yes
Would I repurchase this? - Yes

*Disclaimer* I purchased Golden Goddess and Mint Cream with my own money. I recieved Metal Madness free in a Mystery Bag promo. I have no afilliation with the company, these are my own opinions and I have not been paid to do this review.

There will be plenty more reviews of products coming soon. These will be e.l.f. and other brands including Rimmel and Maybelline:)

Please comment if there's any questions you have and I would really appreciate it if you would follow my blog:) x
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Monday 23 April 2012

'Would you rather....?'

I've seen on many blogs that people have posted 'would you rather... tag videos':) I feel a little silly filming videos (I might eventually) so for now this is going to be a would you rather post:) So here we go:) I'll include some images of products relating to as many of the questions as I can:)

QUESTIONS:
1.) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
I'm not a massive fan of eyeshadow at the moment as I can never find one that suits me and I only have one palette so I would rather lose all of my eyeshadows and palettes:)
My only eye shadows and palette:)
Left (top to bottom) - Maybelline expert wear mono eyeshadow - 605 Beige nude/naked beige
- e.l.f. Brightening eye colour - Silver lining
- e.l.f. Brightening eye colour - Nymph dreams
Palette - e.l.f. Essentails pro mini eyeshadow palette - cool
2.) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
Definitely never be able to cut it again! I've been growing my hair long and don't want to cut it short again:)

3.) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
Hmm... I don't use blush very much and only have one which is pink so at the moment a pink cheek:)
e.l.f. Studio blush - Twinkle pink
4.) If you had £1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
Ohh dear.... I love my clothes and my makeup! But, this is only a prefer question so I could still buy both!:)

5.) Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?
Preferably I'd do neither but I would have to say lipstick as eyeliner as lipstick comes in more colours than eyeliner so won't look too silly:)

6.) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
I don't have anything from MAC or Sephora but I think I would have to say MAC:)

7.) Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip colour for the rest of your life?
One lip colour for the rest of my life! I very very rarely use lipstick or eyeshadow but I would rather ditch the eyeshadow:)
Definitely keep these!
Left to right (all e.l.f.) - Essentials lipstick - Seductive
- Essentials lipstick - Charming
- Mineral lipstick - Nicely nude
- Essentials luscious liquid lipstick - Raspberry
- Essentais luscious liquid lipstick - Strawberry
8.) Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
I love summer and summery clothes, you can wear bright colours in winter and summery shorts with some tights to keep you a bit warmer so definitely winter clothes in summer:)

9.) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Bright nails, brighten up any time of year and suits my personality a bit more:)
Bright nails every time!
Top row (left to right) - e.l.f. Essentials nail polish - Golden goddess
- e.l.f. Essentials nail polish - Mint cream
- 17 Lasting fix nail polish - Orange soda
- Rimmel london I <3 fruities lasting finish - 053 Apricot punch
- Nail paint by Barry M - 295 Turquoise
Bottom row (left to right) - Nail paint by Barry M - 272 Shocking pink
- Rimmel london I <3 fruities lasting finish - 030 Double decker red
- Rimmel london 60 seconds - 810 Blue my mind
- Nail paint by Barry M - 161 Vivid purple
10.) Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?
Favourite lip product - I don't have one! There's no way I could give up my favourite eyeliner and mascara!
My favourite eye products:)
Left to right - Maybelline one by one volum' express mascara - Black
- Rimmel london glam'eyes professional liquid liner - 001 Black glamour
11.) Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?
I never wear my hair up but definitely a ponytail:)

12.) Would your rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
Never use lipgloss! I can't stand not having my nails painted!

13.) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or sharpie them in everyday?
Preferably neither haha but sharpie them in everyday...

14.) Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
As much as I hate non-painted nails I would have to give up nail polish, I can easily stick on some fake nails or nail wraps, I definitely wouldn't be able to live without makeup:)
My everyday makeup - there's no way I could live without this!
Left to right - Maybelline dream satin liquid foundation - 010 Ivory
- Maybelline dream lumi touch highlighting concealer - Nude (I think!)
- Rimmel london glam'eyes professional liquid liner - 001 Black glamour
- 17 Pressed powder - Neutral
- e.l.f. Mineral booster - Sheer (0.63oz/17.85g)
- Maybelline one by one volum' express mascara - Black
Comment if there's a question you want me to answer :)x
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Sunday 22 April 2012

e.l.f. Mystery bag order:)

So I mentioned in my last post that I placed a mystery bag order even though I won the £50 goodies:)
The mystery bag is full of different goodies with a minimum value of £10 and you have to place an order of also a minimum value of £10 for the code to be accepted:)
I think I recieved this the next day after I recieved the goodies but here's what I got:)

What I ordered;

- Studio daily brush cleaner - £3.50
- Essentials blending wedges - £1.50
- Essentials nail polish - Golden goddess - £1.50 (you can see my nail polish review here.)
- Essentials lipstick - Charming - £1.50
- Mineral lip gloss - Trendsetter - £3.50
Total - £11.50 (excluding delivery)

Mystery bag;

- Mineral contour brush - £5.50
- Essentials brightening eye colour - Nymph dreams - £1.50
- Essentials super glossy lip shine SPF 15 - Goddess - £1.50
- Studio cream eyeliner - Punk purple - £3.50
Total - £12

I love the brush cleaner and this is my second bottle! The nail varnish is a lovely clear with gold glitter and goes lovely over the e.l.f. Nail polish in mint cream:) I haven't tried the lipstick and mineral gloss get but will hopefully soon:) I am giving the brightening eye colour away as I recieved one with my prize and also the super glossy lip shine is going to my friend:)

So in 2 days I recieved £73.50 worth of e.l.f. products and all I paid was £11.50!:)

Again, comment on this post if you would like any reviews or swatches on any of the products:)xx
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e.l.f. Competition:)

Long time no see! I've been busy with my art exam and revision for my exams next month but I thought I should do another post:)

Soo.. e.l.f. run a 'refer a friend' competition to win £50 of e.l.f. goodies when you refer up to five of your friends by entering their email addresses. I entered this competition on Thursday 29th March and didn't know that the winner is told on a Friday! I had been waiting for the free mystery bag when e.l.f. reached 325k likes on facebook. I got home after school on the 30th March and checked my email to see they had reached the likes and was about to go on their website and place an order:)
But! I then saw that I won the £50 of e.l.f. goodies:D:D I still ordered a mystery bag though!

Anyway here's what I won:)

Everything;

Essentials line;

From the Essentials line I got;
- Shimmering facial whip - Lilac petal
- All over colour stick - Pink lemonade
- All over colour stick - Persimmon
- Duo cream eyeshadow - Butter pecan
- Duo cream eyeshadow - Eggplant
- Brightening eye colour - Nymph dreams
- Brightening eye colour - Silver lining
- Luscious liquid lipstick - Strawberry
- Hypershine lipgloss - Joy
- Nail polish - Mint cream
All £1.50 :)

Mineral line;


From the Mineral line I got;
- Blush - Pink
- Booster - Shimmer (Small - 5.1g)
- Eye brightener - Buff
- Moisturising lip tint SPF 8 - Blush
- Lipstick - Nicely nude
All £3.50

Studio line;


From the Studio line I got;
- Shimmer sheets - Pink
- Cream eyeliner - Black
- Conditioning lip balm SPF 15 - Peaceful pink
- Matte lip colour - Rich red
- Minty lip gloss - Los angeles
All £3.50

I still haven't tried everything I received and I am giving some stuff away to one of my friends and I've given the Hypershine lipgloss to my mum:)

Comment if there's any swatches or reviews you would like me to post:)
More coming soon:)x
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Thursday 12 April 2012

*UPDATE* e.l.f. Products For Sale

I recently said that I had some e.l.f. products for sale so I thought I'd upload a picture of the products:)
If you are interested in any of these products, please comment on this post:)
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Sunday 8 April 2012

e.l.f. Studio Daily Brush Cleaner

A break from brush reviews but it's still related to brushes! This review is for the e.l.f. Studio Daily Brush Cleaner.
Packaging of brush cleaner.
I purchased this brush cleaner and I was in desperate need of one and this had some very positive reviews. I am very impressed and surprised with this brush cleaner. The time and amount of cleaner used to clean brushes definitely depends on the amount of make-up on the brushes.

Brush cleaner bottle.
Also, this lasts a long time depending on how much and how often you use. I am now on my second bottle of this and so far I am not interested in trying a new one.
I like this brush cleaner because it cleans very well, great quality for the amount of product you are given (250ml.)
The spray pump
I am very happy with this product for a lot of reasons but one of which is the fact that this is a spray which makes the cleaning process of this a lot easier and not messy. To clean my brushes I spray this directly onto the bristles, the sides and the top, and then clean in circular motions onto a tissue.

Stipple Brush before cleaning
Stipple brush after cleaning - amazing!
e.l.f. claims;
"Disinfects brushes to provide a fresh and clean application every time."
"Helps to keep your brushes lasting longer for extended use."

As you have seen in my recent reviews of e.l.f. products, I haven't agreed with all of e.l.f.'s claims. This product is different! I definitely agree with both claims e.l.f. have made with this product.

Packaging - 9/10 - I personally think this packaging is very good. However some other reviews have mentioned that their bottles of the brush cleaner have leaked when being shipped.
Product - 9/10
Price - 10/10
Would I recommend this? - Yes
Would I repurchase this? - Yes

*Disclaimer* I purchased this product both times with my own money and I have no affiliation with the company. These are all my own opinions and I have not been paid to do this review.

Incase you are wondering, I will have some reviews of make-up products by different brands and not just e.l.f:)

Bye,
Molly:) xx
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Saturday 7 April 2012

e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush

I think this is going to be my only review of today but more will be uploaded in the next few days:)
Brush in packaging.
In this review I am going to be talking about the e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush.This brush is probably the most raved about brush or product out of everything sold by e.l.f. Cosmetics. I purchased this brush as I wanted to see if what people were saying was true! I use this brush with my e.l.f. Studio HD Powder (review coming soon also), I have to say that what have been saying about this brush is definitely correct!
Front view.
Bird's eye view.
This brush is sort of a flat top style kabuki brush and after reading many other reviews, it sounds like you can use this with powder, liquid, mousse, cream and other types of products.
e.l.f. says;
"Creates a professionally sculpted look."
"Full coverage colour."
"Use with powder or blush for perfect contouring."

I don't think this creates a completely scultped look but it does create a very good look. I think using this brush with a light hand for powder is best as it doesn't have a lot of density to the bristles and a medium-hard pressure can remove make-up already applied.

*UPDATE* I have recently been using this brush for liquid foundation and I love this brush! It is not 100% perfect with the results but I do prefer this to every other brush and wedge I have tried to apply my foundation:)

This brush retails for £3.50.

Packaging - 8/10 - again with the e.l.f. Studio Stipple Brush, this packaging isn't the best for this product! As this product is pretty much circular, the packaging might damage and 'squish' the bristles.
Product - 9.5/10
Price - 10/10
Would I recommend this? - Yes
Would I repurchase this? - Yes

*Disclaimer* - I purchased this product with my own money and I have no connection with the company. These are my honest opinions and I am not paid to do this review.

More reviews coming soon!
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e.l.f. Products For Sale

This post is for people in England and preferably fans of e.l.f Cosmetics.
I have some e.l.f. products for sale if anyone is interested, products from all 3 of the e.l.f. lines.
Either email me at themake-upcounter@hotmail.co.uk or comment on this post if you would like to know which products:)

Hope to hear from some of you soon,
Your new blogger,
Molly:) xx
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Friday 6 April 2012

e.l.f. Studio Blush Brush

Brush in packaging
This review is for the e.l.f. Studio Blush Brush. I purchased this brush souly on the basis that I purchased the Studio Blush in Tickled Pink (Swatches and review coming soon.)

I haven't used the blush brush very much as I haven't been able to see a colout transfer from the blush very much so I haven't been testing it much. However, the times I have tried this brush it has seemed very good. It picks up product very well and the shape looks good for application.
Front view

Bird's eye view
So far I am very happy with this product, aswell as my other e.l.f. Studio brushes. The bristles aren't too dense or too stiff so this also makes application easier.

This prodcut retails for £3.50.

Packaging - 10/10 - again the same with the concealer brush, the packaging is good for this product as it is already quite a flat brush so isn't damaged inside the packaging.
Product - 9/10
Price - 9.5/10
Would I recommend this? - Yes
Would I repurchase this? - Yes

*Disclaimer* - I purchased this product with my own money and I have no connection with the company. These are my honest opinions and I am not paid to do this review.
More reviews coming soon!
Until then... bye!!:)
xx
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e.l.f. Studio Concealer Brush

Brush in packaging
Now starting to get used to reviewing products:) This review is for the e.l.f. Studio Concealer Brush.
I purchased this brush after reading multiple reviews online. I decided to purchase this product as many people had said this helps to work with your concealer to give you more coverage than just using your fingers to blend your concealer.

This brush has very very soft bristles, it is quite hard to believe how soft they are for the price!

e.l.f. says;
"Creates even and full coverage."
"Applies and blends concealer smoothly and evenly to eyes, face, and blemishes."

Front view - I need to clean this a little:)
I do agree with e.l.f. with the 'applies evenly' claim, however I don't think this creates a full coverage. This is a good brush, however, I think this is best for blemishes and a little too small for the eye area.

This brush does get a lot of concealer in the middle and even after cleaning there is still some in the middle of the bristles.
This product retails at £3.50.
Packaging - 10/10 - although this is the same packaging as all the other Studio brushes, I feel that it is better for this brush as it is already flat and is not ruined whilst inside the packaging.
Product - 8/10
Price - 8.5/10
Would I recommend this? - Yes
Would I repurchase this? - Yes but only to use on blemishes

*Disclaimer* - I purchased this product with my own money and I have no connection with the company. These are my honest opinions and I am not paid to do this review.
I also interested in trying the EcoTools Bamboo Deluxe Concealer Brush (£5.49) and the No7 Concealer Brush (£8.00.) Has anyone tried either of these? If so, which should I purchase?:)
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e.l.f. Studio Stipple Brush

My second review:) Now for those who don't know, e.l.f. (eyes lips face) is a company who produces quality cosmetics at cheap prices and are against animal cruelty.
Haven't completely got the hang of this yet so please email me with the email address on the side of my blog or post a comment on one of my posts with some tips:)
Stipple brush in packaging
So back to the review!...I purchased this brush to create a medium-full coverage with less product as I wasn't totally satisfied with the e.l.f. Essentials Foundtion Brush (review coming soon!) This brush is very dense which some people may dislike.

When I purchased this brush, I was shocked at the softness of the bristles! I have a brush which was more expensive than this and felt scratchy, whereas this felt amazing!:)
Bird's eye view
Front view
e.l.f. says;
"Creates a flawless airbrushed look."
"The Stipple Brush has a unique two layer bristle design to pick up two layers of product to disperse on kin for ultimate control and preffered finish."

This brush has a very sturdy handle, very easily to use and doesn't soak up a massive amount of product into the bristles, however it does soak up a tiny amount. Product is definitely more builable using this brush and the finish is great but not amazing.
I personally don't 100% agree with e.l.f.'s claim of an airbrushed finish but that might be something to do with my foundation and not the brush.
This brush is very easy to clean, especially with the e.l.f. Studio Daily Brush Cleaner (review can be found here.)
This brush retails at £3.50. Their uk site is; www.eyeslipsface.co.uk
Might try some more stippling brushes soon and definitely will post some e.l.f. brush reviews.

Packaging - 9/10
Product - 8/10
Price - 9.5/10
Would I recommend? - Yes.
Would I repurchase? - Yes.

*Disclaimer* - I purchased this product with my own money and I have no connection with the company. These are my honest opinions and I am not paid to do this review.
Until the next time,
Bye!:)xx
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Thursday 5 April 2012

Boots Vitamin E Moisture Lotion

Time for my first review:) any tips for future reviews are appreciated!:)

This review is for the Boots Vitamin E Moisture Lotion. This lotion has SPF 15 and is suitable for all skin types. Boots claim on the front of the bottle;


'Light and easily absorbed daily moisturisation with antioxidant protection. With long lasting moisturisation.'

I agree with what Boots are claiming for this lotion. I use this lotion as a base for my makeup after being advised by someone at the Boots beauty counter. She told me that this would be good as my foundation had dried out my skin.

Short description on the back of the product;

This product definitely increases the length of time my makeup stays on. I have brought a back up of this already because its so good. This product is a 100ml bottle and lasts a very long time (depending on how often you use this).

This lotion is available in all Boots stores and retails for £2.85 and currently part of a '2 for £4' offer on Boots Vitamin E products.

Packaging - 8/10
Price - 10/10
Product - 9/10
Would recommend this? - Yes
Repurchase? Yes

*Disclaimer* - I purchased this product with my own money and I have no connection with the company. These are my honest opinions and I am not paid to do this review.
I hope this review has been helpful:)
Another review coming soon,
Molly:)xx
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Wednesday 4 April 2012

Woop! blog finally made:)

Just made my blog after ages of thinking about it and had the name kept in mind:)
I'll be back soon with some reviews of my most recent and favourite products:) xx
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