// MINI BEAUTY HAUL //

When I was in Asia I popped into what appeared to be their version of Boots (I went in a few times... okay, a lot of times) and these are the make up products I bought. I also bought some sachets of shampoo (I know right?! Such a good idea instead of having a massive bottle for when you're travelling) and other bits and bobs but this is the beauty related products which aren't completely boring.

Some of these products aren't available in the UK but I thought that I would include them anyway as I love them.

First up is the Essence 'Stays No Matter What' felt tip eyeliner. This was only 100PHP (roughly £1.25) and it's great! It's super long lasting as well as giving off a solid colour. The pen is just the right thickness for me, which means that it isn't too thick but still draws a decent line. If you see this when you're abroad I strongly recommend picking it up as I prefer it over my Collection Extreme 24hr Felt Tip Liner.

Another Essence product that I picked up was this get BIG! lashes Volume Boost Waterproof Mascara which is pretty good given that it was only £2.50. It does add volume and is very waterproof, but it takes ages to get off and I remember now why I never buy waterproof mascaras. When I bought this, I actually didn't really mean to. The shop assistants in the Philippines follow you around and make you try on the make up which is very very painful for someone as socially awkward as me so I just bought this as I felt really awkward. Weird kid.

Next up is something that we have in the UK only mine is in different packaging - it's the Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser Primer It's still has the same amount of product in (22ml), it's just that mine is in a longer tube. I love this to wear by itself. I can't seem to wear it under foundation without my makeup melting off my face super quickly and going weird and patchy. However, if I wear it without wearing any make up over it, I really like the finish it leaves on my skin. My skin looks poreless (so it does it's job) and feels super smooth. 

Another Maybelline thing I picked up was one of the Maybelline Baby Lips which has some colour in it. I'm not sure which one it is because I stupidly got rid of the packaging whilst I was over there as I wanted to use it. However, I really like this one. It moisturises my lips but also leaves them with a sheer neon pink tint. It was really inexpensive at 80PHP and it's become a constant in my bag.

Finally from Maybelline is a BB cream which isn't available in the UK which thoroughly breaks my heart. It cost me 200PHP and it's so lovely I prefer it over my foundations! It has a decent amount of coverage, really improved my skin as I was using it every day when I was away and also moisturises my skin! I genuinely love this and will be heartbroken when it finishes but I think that it's brought me round to finally trying out the world of BB creams.

I also picked up a China Glaze polish for the equivalent of £5 in "Bling It On". I won't go into this as I did do a review and swatch of it here: http://beths-secrets.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/nail-of-day-china-glaze-bling-it-on.html

Finally, I bought an ELF Blending Eyes Brush. I like this, not love. But like. It gets the job done however the bristles aren't as soft as my Real Techniques brushes which I suppose is evident in the price difference. However, it hasn't seem to shed and also blends reasonably nicely with some time. If you're looking for a cheap brush you might as well pick it up!

Those are the things that I picked up whilst I was away! I really do like them and I wish that they were available in the UK. I know this was only a small haul but I thought you guys might like to see! Hope you enjoyed.

Beth xxx

twitter: @bethssecret

instagram: @bethssecret

tumblr: www.littl-musician.tumblr.com

pinterest: @beth1562

17 Metallic Eyes Review

Another quick little review for you guys on the 17 Wild Metallic Cream Eyeshadow in Green from Boots. I found this in my local Boots shop, however I can't seem to find it online so I don't know if it has been discontinued. I bought mine in this Golden/Green sort of colour and because I bought this at the same time I bought the SEVENTEEN Phwoarr Paint and I had spent a certain amount of money on SEVENTEEN products, it meant that I got a free eyebrow kit so it's not all doom and gloom!

Pros:

- Reasonably priced at roughly the same price as the Maybelline Colour Tattoo.

- Pretty decent sized pot.

- Lovely colour, love the green/gold thing.

- Packaging is alright, however I'm not a big fan of the whole cheetah print thing.

- Easily available in lots of Boots stores.

- Application is easy, dip your finger in and swipe it over your lids, or use a brush.

Cons:

- Way too creamy. Almost a mousse like texture.

- Does not last and creases almost instantly.

- Not very pigmented on application.

- Due to the lack of staying power, it's pretty much unusable.

- If it's the same price as the Famous Colour Tattoo, why not just buy that as it's a thousand times better.

Now, I don't know whether or not it's just my particular product which is this mousse like texture and it's a fault or what, but I genuinely can't use it as it just doesn't last. It's too thin and doesn't set after any amount of time so just sits there on your lids until it rubs or melts off which is ridiculous. Thoroughly disappointed in this product and would not encourage you to go out and purchase it! Such a shame as it could be such a beautiful eyeshadow :(

Without Flash

With Flash

So sad about this product, have you tried it? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments!

Beth xxx

instagram: @bethssecret

twitter: @bethssecret

e-mail: beths-secret@live.co.uk

Myleene Klass My Palette Review

I received this palette from my mum at Christmas, and though I'd never heard of it before and never knew that Myleene Klass had released a palette, I was interested. I have no idea how much this palette cost, obviously, as it was a gift but I really do quite like it and was glad to have received it!

It features two blush shades, two lip gloss shades, 6 eyeshadow shades and two applicators. I'm going to do a quick rundown of pros and cons and whether or not this product is worth purchasing if you come across it.

Pros:

- Very pigmented shadows and blushes.

- A nice range of shadows, I use the cranberry and gold a lot.

- Large mirror which makes it useful for travelling.

- Smooth, sleek black packaging.

- One matte blush and one blush with shimmer, a nice range.

- The colours are actually usable and varied.

Cons:

- Might be difficult to travel with as it's so large.

- I find that fallout from the shadows and blushes fall into the lipglosses which is a little bit icky.

- The applicators aren't really of any use.

- It's quite heavy.

- The glosses aren't very pigmented, but still provide a nice wash of colour.

Overall, I think that this palette is great. I use it almost everyday. The shadows and blushes are very pigmented and the lip glosses, although they weren't really needed, are quite nice for a neutral look. The only downside to this product is the size.

I might do a Face of the Day with this as I do really like it. Hope this review was useful! 

Beth xxx

twitter: @bethssecret

instagram: @beth1562

tumblr: http://www.littl-musician.tumblr.com

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Gel Eyeliner in Black

This product surprised me, I didn't expect it to be as good as it is! I picked it up from Superdrug a few months ago on a 3 for 2 offer and as soon as I left the shop I thought "What have I just done? Why didn't I spend a pound extra and get the Maybelline Gel liner?" but I'm ridiculously glad I didn't!

Pros:

- It's very black, not a dark grey. It's a black.

- The lasting power genuinely surprised me. I can put this on at 9 in the morning, go to work, come home at 7 and it's still there.

- Easy to use and easily correctable if you make a mistake.

- Comes with a brush.

- Very smooth, creamy texture.

- Comes in a variety of shades, such as gold and brown.

- You get a fair amount for your money.

- Nice, simple monochromatic packaging.

- Only £4.99!

Cons:

- The brush is very small and it isn't the easiest thing in the world to use. I use one of my own brushes.

- The pot is quite small, even if it will last a while.

- Does smudge a little bit onto the lower inner third of my eye after about 4 hours.

I personally love this, it's staying power is really great and it's a strong colour. Would recommend!

I know it's an absolute sin to use before photographing but I had to use it!!

With flash

So, that's my review of the Collection Lasting Colour Gel Eyeliner in Black. It's available in Boots and Superdrug for £4.99 and I recommend it!

Beth xxx

What I Wore On My Face #2 Interview Nerves

A short post today: I recently had a job interview and thought to practice my makeup for the interview. This is what I went with! It's still a little natural, but just... enhanced?

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Ivory 103 £8.99

MUA Undress Me Too Palette £4.00

Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Really Rosy £8

Avon SuperExtend Extreme Mascara £10

MUA Blush in Lolly £1

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder £3.00

Collection Lasting Colour Gel Eyeliner in Black £4

Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Metallic Pomegranate £4.99

MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 2 £1.00

Bourjois Kohl and Contour in Ultra Black £4.99

Hope you liked the look!

Beth xxx

#BritishBloggerSelection Week 4 - Favourite Makeup Brand

So this week for the #BritishBloggerSelection the theme is our favourite makeup brand. I have to say that my favourite brand, by far, is Rimmel. I think that they really bring it when it comes to makeup products. These are some of my picks from the brand.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Double Decker £2.99
I love this nail polish, it's a vibrant red that really stands out. The lasting power on it is excellent.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in True Ivory 103 £7.99
At first I hated this foundation, but then I tried using it with my Real Techiques Expert Face Brush and I absolutely fell in love with it. It leaves an airbrushed finish with a medium to high coverage. It doesn't cling to dry patches if you don't lay a powder over the top and it does last all day. Perf.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint in Golden Bronze £4.99This is such a beautiful colour and the staying power is fantastic. I know that Lily from http://www.lilypebbles.co.uk/ is a massive fan of this eyeshadow paint. It can be applied straight onto the lid and left for a thicker finish, but if you want a more sheer finish or to use it as a base you can use a brush to blend it out. I once used this on my lips actually for a fancy dress party and it gave my lips a kind of gold foil effect. 

Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquer in Big Band £5.99
Everyone raves about this and a few months ago I decided to jump on the bandwagon and pick one up to see what all the fuss was about. And I have to say that all the hype about this is just. It's a lovely colour, it's not too matte and not too glossy. The staying power is decent and it's not vastly expensive. It comes in a wide selection of colours but I picked up the bright red as it's the colour I turn to most. I love this product and I recommend that you pick it up!

So those are my picks from the Rimmel brand! Hope you enjoyed this post :) if you have any product suggestions leave them in the comments below!

Beth xxx

MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter

FAST REVIEW

Hey guys! I'm going to try and do a review in under 100 words! Hereeee we go!

I like this, it's highly pigmented. It looks nice on my skin. It's only £3 for 7.5g. It's available in Superdrug. It's not pure white, it has a slightly pink tone to it so it looks a little more natural. The packaging is nice and minimal.

But, it is very shimmery. Don't apply too much otherwise you'll look like you're sweating glitter. If you smell it very closely, it smells like play-doh. Weird.

Swatch without flash.

Swatch with flash

In conclusion, I do recommend this product! I will include it in a makeup look to show you the full effects soon!

Beth xxx

 (yay I did it in 94 words!)

How I Store My Makeup + Products

I've only recently starting really getting into makeup, so my makeup isn't collection isn't huge. Although, I still do have quite a lot! I've recently re-jigged my room around a lot to try and organise things better and I'm still in the process of doing that however this is currently how I store my makeup and products!

A few years ago I was given this wooden box by a family friend as a Christmas present and I recently realised that I could use it to store my makeup and nail varnish! I found a similar one here, from Ikea for £17 which you could easily paint if you wanted to. I keep this box on my desk

That is where I keep all of my makeup, it's easily within reach from my mirror and I have easy access to everything inside of it. To store the things on the top in I've used mainly empty candle jars as I find that they're the perfect size. However, to store my cotton pads in I'm using an old jar which I washed out thoroughly, I find that it fits quite a lot of the cotton pads in. And to store cotton buds in I'm actually using a cup that I bought from a bathroom shop for £1. In the top drawer I keep the things I use the most, such as my eye palettes and powders. My second drawer however is a bit of a mess, in here I keep my lip products and things I don't use as often. I keep my lip products in an amazon delivery box that I cut up which at this time, fits all of my lip things in nicely. In the bottom section of this little set of drawers I keep all of my nail polishes, as I've said, this is currently perfect for the amount of nail polishes that I currently own but I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I purchase more!

Next to my mirror on a small chest of drawers I keep the products that I tend to use quite often and therefore need easy access to. I also keep my candles on here so that they don't take up any room on my desk and I have more space. So on here I keep things like makeup remover, the moisturisers I'm using at the minute, heat defence spray, moisturisers and deodorant. 

These final two pictures show the products that I tend to either not use as often or that I grab when I'm running out the door. This is also where I store my jewellery which I'll do a blogpost on soon! In the wicker basket I keep things such as moisturisers which I rarely ever use, but next to that I keep things such as dry shampoo and spare deodorant which I do sometimes use, just not as frequently as the things next to my mirror. I also keep my perfumes and body sprays here as it's convenient to have them right next to the door so I can grab them as I'm running out the house. This is also the darkest area of my room so my perfumes aren't in direct sunlight. I also keep things like chewing gum, little bottles of moisturiser and a spare mirror here just so I can remember to take them when I'm going out the house.

So this is how I store my makeup and products at the moment! This will probably change in a few months as I'm going to be moving house within the next 6 months so when things do change I will do a new post! 

 Beth xxx

What I Wore On My Face #1

For some reason my eyes went a little funny in that last picture in the upload. Oops. No idea how to fix that. 

I wore this makeup look when going out for a meal with some friends, it's not too fancy but not too casual and that's why I like it. I used the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in true ivory as my base with my Nivea Daily Essentials Hydration Primer underneath it to really keep it in place. I applied the foundation with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and I am really impressed with the finish, it looks almost flawless. For a concealer I used the classic Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light under my eyes and to cover my blemishes, this was also applied using my expert face brush as I find that it's perfect for concealer. I used the MUA Blusher in the shade Lolly lightly on my cheeks to add a gentle flush. And then applied the raved about Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Big Bang on my lips. As for the eyes I used the MUA Undress Me Too palette. I used the shade 'Reveal' as a base over the whole eye, with 'Exposed' applied over the top of that. In the crease and outer third of the eye I used 'Corrupt' just to add some more definition to my eyes. I applied the Collection Extreme 24 Hour Eyeliner in Black lightly to add some more definition and Bourjois Kohl & Contour (Ultra Black) which is my all time favourite eyeliner. I find that it stays put as well as being very pigmented.

I found that this look stayed put on my face and didn't slide off during the night even though it was hot in the restaurant. If you have any thoughts leave them in the comments section below or tweet me @bethssecret 

Beth xxx

What I Wore Today

A quick little outfit post on what I wore today. One of my friends was back from university for the weekend and so we went into town for a nice little coffee with another friend. I had a Bailey's latte and damn, it was delicious.

Because I was just meeting friends for a coffee, I kept it quite casual by wearing my blue denim jeggings from Primark (these were £7 and after 3 washes are still holding up okay), a silky feeling blouse from H&M that I picked up in their Christmas sale last year for £4 and my green vans. Because it was raining I opted for my red school leaver's hoodie and a checkered scarf which I found in Primark for £4! For makeup I kept it secret using the MUA Undress Mee Too palette. I used the shade 'Reveal' all over the lid with 'Obsessed' in the crease and outer third of the eye. I wore my Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner in Black close to the lashline. For foundation I used the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation with the MUA Blusher in Lolly (which is a lovely peach colour) on the apples of my cheeks.

These pictures were from my Instagram, go check it out!

Beth xxx

My September Favourites!

Even though it's halfway through October, I thought I should try doing a September Favourites/Review post! September saw a lot of my friends leaving for university and me trying a lot of new products which I've reviewed here. These are some of my favourites from this month:

My first favourite is the Cocoa Butter Firming Butter. I love this moisturiser. Recently, I've been trying to tone up and in an attempt to prevent stretch marks I started using this product.Even though this product is meant for post-pregnancy and I haven't just given birth, I love to use it. I love the scent! Some bloggers have stated that they don't really like the smell and I do admit that it is a powerful scent however I find it to be quite pleasing. As well as this, it moisturises incredibly effectively and leaves my legs feeling soft. However, the one downside that I have found to this product is that it does seem to leave a slightly filmy texture on my legs. But if you can deal with that, then I recommend this product. Whether or not it actually prevents stretch marks, I so far have yet to see any stretch marks that it does seem to have lessened the ones on my bum a little after daily use for over a month. I would strongly recommend this product, especially as  it lasts for aaaaages. It's available here for only £4.85.

Another of my favourites is the Collection Eyeshadow Pencil  in Hot Chocolate. This is an absolute lifesaver. I run it over my lids then blend out the edges with a fluffy brush for an eyeshadow look which literally takes seconds. Sometimes I will add in a little black to the outer third of my eye for a smokey look, however most of the time I try to keep it casual with a small amount of liquid eyeliner. This eyeshadow pencil is only £3.19 here and with a primer it lasts me a decent 8 hours. I mean, this stuff is tough. It survived a two mile walk and a breakup during a heatwave.

My third favourite has to be the Superdrug Hot Cloth Cleanser with Muslin Cloth. I use this every night to remove my makeup (skincare routine coming soon)  and I have genuinely found it to improve the quality of my skin and brighten it. I take about the size of a 20p onto my fingers and apply to my skin and over my eyes and it melts away my makeup. The muslin cloth that comes with it is of a fair quality, however you will need to stock up on some more to prevent the spread of bacteria. This product is on offer right now here for only £2.98 so go grab it!

My final beauty and skincare favourite has to be the Dirty Works Buttery Salt Scrub.  I got this item from Sainsbury's where I found it on offer for a mega cheap £2.50!! However, I think it has gone back up to it's original price of £5 I cannot recommend this product enough. The size is a massive 300ml and the scent is glorious. It reminds me of the Soap and Glory products, but at a much cheaper price. It has quite a grainy, but moisturising consistency which is perfect for buffing away dead skin on my body.

As for my favourite YouTuber this month, it has to be Gabriella Rose or "velvetgh0st" http://www.youtube.com/user/velvetgh0st , I think that she is so funny and pretty and deserves a lot more subs as her make-up tutorials are wearable. If you have some time, pop over to her channel and take a look!

Finally, my favourite music artist of the month is RAC. Short for 'Remix Artist Collective', they produce remixes of various songs however they don't change the song entirely, mostly they just add a more catchy drumbeat in the background and change the song a tiny bit. My personal favourite remixes have to be their remix of "Next Year" by Two Door Cinema club soundcloud link here and their remix of "Laura Palmer" by Bastille soundcloud link here. Personally, I prefer both of these remixes to their originals as they are so much more upbeat and perfect for pretending that summer isn't over!

Thankyou for reading through my first ever post! If you have any questions tweet me @bethssecrett or leave a comment below!

Beth xxx