5 of the best... high street brands for dark skin

If you're anything darker than a mocha, beauty shopping on the UK high street can be real tough. If it's not ashy or orangy foundation it's blush and shadows in shades that just don't suit. While I tend to splurge a little too much on luxury brands, I do think that that should be something that's a choice not the only option. However, these are my pick of the best high street, inexpensive brands that cater for Black and Asian skin. 

Sleek

The holy grail in inexpensive dark skin make-up, available at Boots, Superdrug and online. The pigment in the blush and shadows are amazing and the base shade range is really vast.  

Top picks - CC Cream, Foundation, Contour Kit

Kiko

I don't own loads from KIKO but what I do own I like a lot. It's not the cheapest "high street" brand but I like the fact that for all of their face products, there's a dark option. The quality of the range is on point too! 

Top pick - Highlighter  

Rimmel

Ok, let's just get this straight, Rimmel's base offering for dark skin is non-existent however, there shadowsticks and lipsticks are highly-pigmented enough for deeper skin tones.

Top picks - Shadow Sticks, Lipsticks 

Revlon

I love Revlon! The bases, powders, lipsticks... Everything. The quality of the foundations and the formula of the lipsticks are great for a high street brand. 

Top pick -  Illuminator

W7

I'm not keen on all W7 make-up but their Ebony range blushes are really really good - highly-pigmented and really tailored to dark skin. Sometimes I feel that the only high street blushes that are for dark skin are bright and bold, which is nice, but sometimes you just want a subtle glow to rock with a smoky eye or red lip.

Top pick - Ebony Blush

Into the blue

I know that winter means deep berry and red shades are the nail colours of choice, but for me there is something about a good shade of blue that I’m attracted to in the icier months.

It was only at the weekend when me and my bestie were having a sofa Saturaday and she asked if I have a blue vanish and I brought down 11, I realised I had an affinity to the colour.

I like all of these formulas, but I have to say that the Nails Inc Gel Effect is definitely the longest lasting for me – it seriously doesn’t budge. The Barry M Gelly High Shine Nail paint have some gorgeous colours but for me they are a one day jobby before chipping so I’ll just pop them on for an occasion/ night out.

Do any of you have an unusually large amount of nail polish or does the cheese stand alone?

Love Keeks xo 

Nails - A Nude Thing.

I love a good nude... polish; they're are so versatile and wearable season to season. That said, when I love something, I tend to go a little crazy, so when it came to choosing the colours to feature in this post, I had to narrow them down to the seven before your eyes, the seven most different nudes. 

It sounds weird, and I'm pretty sure that if you're not a beauty obsessive then you will see seven pretty similar colours in front of you, but no, no, no these are all totally different. Totally. It's an apples and oranges kinda thing. These go from the nudest nude selection through mushroom nudeville before finally stopping at pinkest nude station.

If I had to pick one my favourite would have to be the Deborah Lippmann beauty. It suits my skin tone  to no end and has the magical ability to make my hands look elegant and ladylike. 

Nails Inc - George Street - £11

Rimmel Salon Pro with Lycra - 286 Oyster Pink - £4.49

 Rimmel 60 seconds - 500 Caramel Cupcake - £3.69

Deborah Lippmann - Modern Love - £16

Orly - Country Club Khaki - £5.15

Chanel - 491 Rose Confidentiel - £18

Rimmel Lycra Professional Finish - 341 Chic and Cheerful - £4.49

Love Keeks xo 

What's in my Handbag: Hand Luggage Edition.

Bag - Zara

I love a good ‘what’s in my handbag’ youtube video or blogpost and so I’m back this time with the hand luggage edition. Last September while I was interning I did an ‘Intern Edition’ that you can find here.

This is the hand luggage I’ve packed to take on holiday with me! It’s a long-haul flight hence the copious amount of stuff and the only two things I haven’t photographed are my pair of socks and my knickers, because really who needs to see those?

Passport, Travel Docs, Purse and Travel Money  – Booooring. These really should be the first things you pack, right?

Notebook and Pen(it’s in the bag)  – In case I have to make lists, I’m a compulsive list maker, or if a wave of inspiration hits me. Whichever.

Magazine, Book, Glasses – You can never have too much reading material for the airport and flight. Well I can’t anyway.

Digital Camera – I’m usually the resident picture taker on holidays.

Ipad – I will get to at least level 100 on Candy Crush on arrival.

Deo and Face Wipes – To freshen up after a long arse flight.

Nail Polish – For touch ups.

Nurofen Express – On long flights I always seem to get tension headaches, which I’m guessing is due to dehydration, so painkillers are a must.

Lotion, 8 hour Cream, Bobbi Brown lip and cheek tint – to counteract the effects of the drying plane atmosphere and make me look semi-presentable on landing.

Comb, Hair bands and Hairpins – To put my hair up when it’s annoying the crap out of me.

And there you have it, my hand luggage, I know, it’s riveting stuff.  While I’m away I’m going to try and post outfits of the days so stay tuned to the ol’ blog!

Love Keeks xo

Nails - Rimmel Salon Pro Polish in Barmy Blue.

Rimmel Salon Pro Polish in Barmy Blue

Hi Lovelies!

Now if you read my nail polish rants and raves before you know that I always get a bit ravey about the Rimmel Salon Pro polishes. 

This is a relatively new addition to my collection. It's a gorgeous mid tone muted blue with no sparkly bits a colour that I have been looking for for ages. It's quite subtle for a blue as it's not as in your face as a bright and not as severe as a dark, deep blue. 

As you probably know I love the formula of these polishes especially with seche vite top coat they last, chip free, for at least a week.

Have you tried any Rimmel salon pro polishes?

Love Keeks xo 

My 5 Go To Summer Nail Shades.

Left to Right

Essie - Mint Candy Apple // Leighton Denny - I Love Juicy

Nails Inc - Ebury Bridge // Nails Inc - Westferry Circus

Rimmel Lycra Pro - 312 Ultra Violet

Everybody has their go to summer nail polishes don't they? The pastels and the neons that are perfect to accessorise bright, light summer clothes. Well these are mine...

Essie - Mint Candy Apple - The shade that everybody loves! Even though I can go for just one coat if I'm in a rush, two coats look best. It's a colour that I find looks different on ever skin tone. 

Leighton Denny - I Love Juicy - This is my only Leighton Denny and I got this shade ages ago when I was given it at Instyle magazine when I was there for work experience. It's kind of hard to apply evenly and you definitely need at least two coats, but once applied properly it's the most beautiful bright neon-y coral ever! 

Nails Inc - Ebury Bridge - This is probably my favourite blue nail polish from my little collection. It's such a weird blue though, because sometimes to me it looks like a milky blue with a hint of purple and other times it's like a lilac-y blue. Who knows! On a negative note though it chips like a mother-mother so it's definitely a two coat jobby.

Nails Inc - Westferry Circus - the above negative applies to this baby. I'm guessing same brand same formula. But on a more positive note this is the most gorgeous coral there is! I actually bought the set of minis this came in just for this colour (true story - I'm that weird). I have the cult Barry M coral Peach Melba but it's way too light for my skin colour to achieve the look I wanted. I actually think it made my hands look odd. but that may have just been me. 

Rimmel Lycra Pro - 312 Ultra Violet - Ahhh my favourite nail polish formula of all time! Rimmel Lycra Pro polishes glide on with ease and you really only need one coat with this colour. It's striking without being too bright, it's the best summer bright lilac, not too milky, not too dark. 

Love Keeks xo 

The Everyday Make Up.

Hello My Lovelies!

So I wrote this post and was about to publish it and everything, with the whole post dedicated to the poignancy of it being my 100th post -  when I realised I had a draft post lurking around and it's actually my 99th. Fail. Oh well, this my almost 100th - 1. 

I was having a look back at my previous blog posts and realised I've never done a post about my everyday make up! Of course this does vary from time to time but this winter I've rarely deviated from these products and brushes for my daytime make up.

Firstly I obviously cleanse and moisture, (I'm thinking about doing a separate skincare routine post?) then I pop on some of the Ginzing eye cream on. Now I know that this is technically an eye cream but I thought for all the shimmer in it, it could be seen as a brightener of some sorts, which is how I see it. I then apply lip balm, otherwise my lips are super dry and lip products won't apply smoothly.

Base - I then go in with my foundation. This winter I've been loving the Le Teint Touche Eclat but as it  moves into spring (hard to believe, I know) and summer I switch to my Bareminerals matte powder. I dot the foundation on my face then buff it into my skin, sometimes I just use my fingers. Next I dot some concealer on my blemishes and down the centre of my nose buffing it out with the Real Techniques deluxe crease brush. I don't use this concealer under my eyes as when I have in the past I've found that it tends to gather in creases - not what you want from a concealer really, so I'm on the hunt for another.

Brows - I brush through them then use my brow kit; the wax sparsely, then the powder, applying with my Real Techniques brow brush. I then brush through them again removing excess.

Eyes - Day to day I normally just do subtle winged eyeliner. I first apply the Rimmel kohl liner in a thin line then to make it really dark then use the Soap & Glory liner to make the line smooth. I just find that using the Rimmel makes the line a lot darker. Followed by lashings of mascara.

Cheeks - I then apply some NARS bronzer with my contour brush, dusting along the top of the hollows of my cheeks, forehead and chin. Bronzer is a new step for me I only got it at the end of December but I love including it now! Next up is blush! I got my Gino McCray blusher in Thailand last time I was there and it's like it's never ending, which is good because it's my favourite. I first use my Mac 168 dabbing it on my cheeks and sweeping it up on my cheekbones, I then use the Mac 187 to blend the colour out a bit more to make it natural.

Lips - I normally keep it simple with a nude lipstick; my current favourite is my Chanel lipstick in Determinee.

Throughout the day if get a bit oily I use the Bobbi Brown pressed powder and my powder brush down the centre of my face. 

And there you have it, a rather long post about my everyday make up! What are some of your everyday products? 

Love Keeks xo 

NOTD - Lilac Love

Rimmel London Professional Finish  - 312 Ultra Violet // Barry M Nail Paint - 308 Berry Ice Cream

Models Own Hed Kandi Nail Polish - Ibiza Mix // Seche Vite Top Coat

Hi Guys!

In the brief moment of spring sunshine we had I got all excited and painted my nails my favourite lilac-y pastel combo ever. I love the formula of these Rimmel nail polishes, they are quite chip resistant on their own but I put the Seche Vite top coat over the top for a really glossy finish. 

Now all I need is the Spring time weather to return... here's hoping!

Love Keeks xo

Winterberry Nails

Rimmel London Lycra Pro Professional Finish in 410 Trend Spotting - £4.59 

Hi Dolls!

So I think this Rimmel formula is fast becoming one of my favourites, if only they had more colours...

I previously blogged about another one of the colours in this formula here, and I picked this colour up because I haven't got a deep berry/burgundy/red wine-y colour in my collection, and when I saw this beaut in my favourite formula I had to snap it up. As I said in the other post, I'm not sure about the 'up to 10 days' statement, but with a good top coat (I use O.P.I and it's alreeet) it has lasted about 5 days without chipping noticeably. Love this colour for Autumn/Winter.

What are your favourite winter nail polishes?

Love Keeks xo

Rimmel London Lycra Nail Polish

     

      

Rimmel London Lycra Pro Nail Polish - 341 Chic and Chearful £4.59

Hey Lovelies,

I got this nail polish the other day, it’s the colour 341 Chic And Chearful and I love it, so I thought I’d blog about it!

The colour reminds me a bit of Essie Chinchilly, and the formula is really strong. It says that it lasts up to 10 days, a theory I didn’t test as I took it off after 4, but it lasted those 4 days without chipping (I wore two coats and a top coat), so thumbs up!

The brush is really wide and full, so it’s really quick to apply… can you tell I really like it?

Have you tried any of the Rimmel Lycra Pro Polishes?

Love Keeks xo

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara - Reviewed

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara - £4.99

I've been on the hunt for a new, good but affordable mascara for a while, as my Maxfactor False Lashes Effect mascara is on its last legs. Mascara shopping turned out to be so difficult! There is just too much choice out there, with them all claiming to be amazing with the ability to fulfill all your longer lash desires...

I wanted to try another Rimmel mascara as I used to swear by Lash Accelerator pretty much the whole of Secondary School (High School). Also the double 'magic' wand really intrigued me but I was put off by those two step white coat/black coat mascaras that I absolutely HATED!

However, I LOVE this mascara! Both steps do exactly what they're meant to, one lengthens and one volumizes. I found that I really don't need that many coats of either step to create full lashes, in the picture above, I'm wearing two coats of the length step and one of the volume.

You could also just use the length wand if you prefer more subtle lashes, the choice is yours.

I bought mine from Superdrug for just £4.99, completely bargainous for such a fab mascara and I'll definitely be sticking with it (for a while anyways!)

Have a fantabulous Monday evening guys,

Love Keeks xo

Caged.

Ring - H&M

Nails - O.P.I Moon Over Mumbai and Rimmel 500 Disco Ball

I've been seriously lacking on the blogposting front recently and it's actually one of my 'to-do's' for 2012 to blog more often so here goes. I actually have a few things that I want to write about, reviews etc...

However today I want to show you this amazing find I got in H&M the other day. It was only £3.99 and I think it's actually the coolest most interesting ring I own. I normally don't get rings for my pinky fingers, but I just thought I had to with this ring as it just makes me want to hold it up to my mouth and channel the look of an evil professor.

It's such a statement ring that it looks great with simple outfits, especially with black and navy. Definitely one of my favourite January purchases!

Hope you're having a lovely day,

Love Keeks xo

OOTD - Slubby Wednesdays

Jumper - Topshop // Shorts - Primark // Clock Ring - Accessorize

Jacket - Topshop // Bag - Mulberry // Shoes - Office

(Bracelets are an assortment of gifts from abroad)

Sometimes there are days when you absolutely can't be arsed to squeeze into a pair of skinnies or some delicate blouse. For me, yesterday was that day, however, if I'm at home all day, I still prefer getting dressed rather than just beng in my p.js, it make me feel more motivated, even if it's into a massive jumper and leggings, or in the case of yesterday, some slouchy shorts and a slubby jumper (unless its Christmas/ the weekend/ I'm ill).

This jumper is my absolute fave at the moment I've worn it to death, but it's just so comfy and easy to throw on with anything! It was £26 and I'd say I wear it about twice a week whether it's out and about or just around the house, so it's totally worth it! The shorts I bought forever ago from Primark and were about a tenner and they're also super easy to wear throughout the year.

I did my nails again yesterday as I don't have work for about two weeks (yaaay!). I'm still loving painting my ring fingers with a sparkly top coat, so I painted them a deep plum/Black by O.P.I called 'Siberian Nights', with the sparkly top coat Rimmel London's '500 Disco Ball'.

When I popped out in the day I just slipped on my old Topshop suede jacket with my Mulberry 'Roxanne'.

Hope you're having a fab evening guys,

Love Keeks xo