Ride or Die Lipsticks

You know those lipsticks that are just there for you no matter what? You, know that no matter what the season you can turn to those lippies and count on them to complete your look/distract from any other facial imperfections/huge craters. Well these are mine and I can recommend each and every one of them...

MaxFactor Colour Intensifying Balm in Posh Poppy - £8.99

Why I love it - Just what it says on the tin an intense balm that's perfect for a delicate flush of colour.

M.A.C Lipstick in Capricious, £15.50

Why I love it - My go-to pinky nude, the first lipstick I've gotten this close to finishing (see above)

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Cocoa, £21

Why I love it - Ever fancy a 90's brown lip All Saint style? This is the ultimate - it's super moisturising and the red-tone keeps it from looking too too '90s if you know what I mean. 

Bobbi Brown Art Stick, in Harlow Red, £20

Why I love it - When I'm looking for a ridiculously fab pop of colour I always reach for this. Amazing staying power and the fact it's a crayon makes it easy to apply.

Flori Roberts Lipstick in 12723, £11.95

Why I love it - This is the red I reach for to add something to a boring t-shirt and jeans kinda outfit. 

Leopard Print and Red Lips

Sometimes the weather just calls for a floaty skirt. A warm day with a light breeze is all it takes for me to drag my beloved Whistles 'Carrie' skirt out from the back of the wardrobe - do you remember when they came out a few years back and literally everyone had one? When midis officially became a thing . Teaming it was a casj grey crop and a slick of red lippy created the smart/casual vibe I was after. Also my latest shoes steal had their first public outing and they are so so comfy - definitely worth a purchase if you can get your hands on them!

Skirt - Whistles // Top - H&M // Shoes - Primark

Sunglasses - Topshop // Earrings - Accessorize

Lipstick - Laura Mercier Paint Wash Liquid Lip Colour in Vermillion Red 

Bag - Forever 21

Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show...

So if you don't get the title reference you're lucky enough to not know Frozen inside out. As I mentioned in my favourites of 2014 video, I only really started using concealer daily when I began working full-time. When tired or strung-out I don't get puffy eyes or bags, nope, I get delightful dark circles, it really is a site to behold. And they won't budge for anything, it's like they've been tea-stained like primary school history work. So the only thing for it is to conceal. Since I began my time in the world of concealer I've developed a few favourites, and noticed one thing - the high street's concealer game for dark skin, is weak. The only one I tried and kind of liked was the L'Oreal True Match concealer, but it wasn't repurchasably good (yeah I made that word up). 


Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer, £19.50


This is amazing. Truly. It's one of the most highly pigmented product I've ever come across, you need a blob the size of a pin-head to camouflage both darkly circled eyes and it works well concealing spots too. The consistency is extremely creamy and a blendable dream. It has good staying power too - although after a particularly long day (I'm talking 6:30am til like 11pm) I'll notice it creases a bit, but how could it not? 


Bobbi Brown Corrector & Concealer, £19 each
When I went for my makeup lesson with Bobbi Brown the biggest thing I took out of it was that I had been applying my much-loved corrector incorrectly this whole time. Sophy, my makeup artist for my lesson, said that the corrector basically does most of the work for the concealer. It's there to correct the colour under the eyes then you pop the concealer on top to blend with the skin's colour. I'd previously been using the corrector to merely brighten the inner corners of my eyes. Duh. Using them properly has made all the difference and I use this combo when I've had a particularly late night as it really lifts the eye area - fake sleep galore. 


black|up Radiance Concealer, £23.50


This handy little pen is amazing for on the go touch ups and the like. While it's not my go to, it tends to be the one I'll throw in my makeup bag for holidays or on nights out. It conceals and brightening the under eye area but with a much lighter formula than the others mentioned previously. 

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, £26.50

Ok, so this one took me a bit of time to love. Firstly, the formula is super thick and high-pigmented and secondly, the colours are a bit WTF. The two colours are supposed to be blended as you need to create the perfect shade - one matches your skins depth of colour and the other matches the undertone. I have the shade SC-8 and although separately the colours look dodgy, they blend really well to create my shade. This bad boy is made for use over foundation and I tend to reach for it if I'm having a ridiculously bad skin day.




Let me know if you have any concealer recs!

Love Keeks xo  

The Autumn Face - Lips and Eyes?

If we were playing word association and someone was to say ‘autumn’, most people would say ‘cold’ or ‘fallen leaves’ or something to that effect, but me, well I’d probably go for ‘new coat’ or ‘berry lips’ – I mean, they are my favourite things about this season (what can I say I'm a clothes and beauty addict)

I’m always for the rule 'eyes or lips' just like 'boobs or legs', it’s just nicer to accentuate one. However, I think I make an exception in the autumn, teaming rich brown eyeshadow with a berry lip. I love the M.A.C Paint Pot in Constructivist - for darker skin it gives a nice wash of colour without looking too heavy or borderline smoky, then finish the eyes with the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink.

Having dry skin is the bane of my life and this just gets worse around this time of year. My lips don’t escape this, so a good balm is vital and I like to use moisturising lipsticks during the colder months because cracked lips aren’t an option. I think as long as one feature is still more accentuated, it's fun to experiment with richer tones -just don't go OTT homies.

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Deep 4

Smashbox Liquid Halo Foundation in Shade 9

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-8

M.A.C Paint Pot in Constructivist

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry

M.A.C Lipliner in Currant

Bourjois Beauty’Full Volume Dark Khol Mascara

Love Keeks xo 

Love Makeup - Some Current Faves...

I feel that ever since I started working within the realm of beauty journalism, I have become such a floozie when it comes to makeup. I literally have draws and draws of the stuff, some still unopened – and that’s still while giving loads to my besties, mum and sisters.

For instance, I used to have two foundations; my trusty M.A.C Studio Fix Fluid and my YSL Le Teint Touché Eclat; now I have 8 in total. It’s getting ridiculous, I just want to try and buy everything, so I thought it would be a good idea to actually look at some of the products that I’ve been reaching for the most lately.

Clinique Superprimer Universal – It’s lightweight and sinks in so quickly. I like the fact that it’s water-based so I don’t feel like it’s just sitting on my skin.

Smashbox Liquid Halo Foundation – I love the fact that this gives the skin a nice glow while still being quite matte, a God send for us girlies with oily/combination skin.

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – This is my ‘I need to look less dead’ go-to product. It’s also handy when I’m have a good skin day and don’t want to wear foundation but at the same time my eyes look like I’ve had no sleep.

Revlon Photoready Skinlights – This is my newest love. It’s an illuminator that you can either mix into your foundation or use as a highlighter. I like to use it as a subtle highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones – the shimmer is so subtle, which is great because I hate a highlighter where the glitter is chunky (hello 90s).

Laura Mercier Brow Gel – Before this I had just been using clear mascara to keep my brows in place, but I thought it was time I actually tried a gel specifically for grooming brows! It’s great, I mean, it does what it’s supposed to do. 

Liz Earle Radiant Glow Bronzer – Again, a subtle glow! The shimmer in this is so finely-milled it’s not even shimmer – it’s like you’ve been sun-kissed.

Revlon Lash Potion – I’m not going to lie, it was the packaging that did it for me. I bought this is Miami and I’d never see it over here (you can get it over here though!) so I instantly wanted it but it’s actually a great mascara. I’m not sure if it’s doing anything for my lashes but I like the brush.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Cheek Rush – I love to put this on top of my primer but under my foundation. It’s a cheek tint with insane staying power and I find that popping it under my foundation (I don’t wear much) gives that ‘blushing from within’ look, which I love because it looks much more natural.

Shu Uemera Eyelash Curlers – Do I even need to say anything about these beauties? Say hello to fluttery lashes.

M.A.C Lip Liner in Hover – Ahhhh *angels descend and the choir sings* I’ve found my peeeeerfect nude lip liner! I wore this everyday with my M.A.C lipstick in Verve for a good month. It’s the dark skin nude lip combo from heaven. I’m going to do a post about it soon.