My Top Drugstore Beauty Must Haves!

Hello!

I hope you enjoy my must have drugstore beauty products!!

Whilst I do love high end products (who doesn't?) I can't help but stick to drugstore products! Not just because they are much more affordable, but because they are great buys!

This post is going to be my top beauty must haves; products that I use on a daily basis and they are ALL drugstore products!

I have tried to pick two of the same product, but different brands to give you a bit more variation but I will mention which are my favourites!

Foundations:

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation - I absolutely love this product! I love the colour range they have as I like to mix foundations and I love shade 52 and 53. If they are a little bit dark, I'll mix a bit of 51 in there too! I cannot count the amount of times I have repurchased this product. I love how it is compared to Chanel foundations because the owner is actually Chanel! The price is usually £9.99 which isn't too bad as the foundation is amazing. It is a medium coverage but definitely build-able to a full coverage without leaving a cakey or thick look as it has a satin finish. Probably not great for oily skin as it does leave a subtle dewy finish to the skin, but as I have more dry skin, I think this product is great. As you can tell, I can't rave enough about it, so I highly recommend this product! It's been a staple foundation of mine for a very long time and I can't see that changing for awhile!

Rimmel 25 hour foundation: I do love this product and I always find myself repurchasing it much like the Bourjois Healthy Mix! As I have a bit of facial redness, I use this as a base to cover up the stronger pigments on my face and it does the job well! It varies in price and I have seen myself picking it up for £4.98 in some places but does range up to about £7.99. When it is £7.99 I will probably wait until it comes down in price, with the knowledge that if I hang on for awhile, I'll get it cheaper! The colour range is great and I would say it is a medium to full coverage but I would start with a little amount and work it up rather than go straight in with a lot of it! I can't say it stays on for 25 hours as it claims, but it does stay on for a good length of time!

Concealers:

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer: I along with the majority of people who have reviewed this product, only have great things to say about it! I love this product for my contouring and highlighting process! I always buy the shade Fair and even though it is quite light, it makes a perfect highlighter! It has a lovely creamy, thick (but in a good way) consistency and has extremely long staying power! The price is usually £4.19 which I am happy to pay as it such a good concealer!

Revlon PhotoReady concealer: This product has a lovely satin effect on the skin! I think I bought the lightest shade to try highlighting with it but it wasn't quite light enough for me. It also isn't as highly pigmented as the Collection concealer so I found myself having to put quite a lot on to get it to work! It has quite a natural finish though which is great for days you don't feel like doing the whole contouring and highlighting process! I think it was about £6.49 which isn't a bad price at all but I do prefer the Collection concealer!

Highlighter:

I have only one favourite highlighter and that is NYC's eyeshadow in the colour 917. Only a little bit is needed because it is highly pigmented! I used to use MUA's eyeshadow in Pearl 1 (I think it was called) but I think they've discontinued it unfortunately! This NYC eyeshadow is only £1.79 which is amazing for the pigmentation it has!

Primers:

Here, I have no favourites as I love them both the same and here's why:

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour Foundation I love this primer! I think it is better suited to drier skin, which is what I have, so I can't really give my opinion for oilier skin! It definitely keeps my makeup put throughout the day and even when I'm washing my makeup off, it is still somewhat in tact which is great! This primer is usually about £6.99 but I like to wait until there's a promotion on in Superdrug or Boots, which comes around quite often!

Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer – I was recently bought this primer for my birthday and I love it! I love how it acts as a sort of glue so it makes your makeup stay put! I can't choose between this or the Rimmel so I'm gonna have to say I can't pick a favourite! This primer has only recently came on the market but I really do love it!

Eyes:

Okay, here I have one eye liner and one liquid eye liner, so there are no comparisons, I love them both equally and here's why:

Collection Eye Definer: I find this eye liner so easy to put on, its not rough on my water line and stays on for a long time! The price is £2.79 which I think is a fair price! I like to use brown instead of black because for my skintone, brown is less severe. I also like to smudge the eye liner once it is on as it makes it less harsh and gives it a softer look!

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner: This is my favourite liquid eye liner as it has a felt tip nib which allows a more precise application and the best thing about it is that you don't have to wait for it to dry as it dries instantly! The price is £2.99 which I am happy to pay as it lasts a very long time, which is another plus!

Bronzers:

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder : I love this bronzer, I think it has such a lovely natural colour without many shimmers which can have an unnatural effect on your makeup! This has been my favourite bronzer for awhile but sometimes I still struggle when it comes to blending as it can sometimes leave a muddy effect, but if you have time to be precise then I don't think you can go wrong with this bronzer! The price is £7.99 which is quite good for a brand as good as Bourjois!

SEVENTEEN Instant Glow tan Cream Bronzer: This is a recent purchase of mine and I cannot stop singing its praises! It is a cream bronzer which I was a little bit dubious of when I was purchasing but I am so glad I did! I apply this after I have set my foundation and concealer with a powder, I apply it with a damp beauty blender (same as how I apply all of my face makeup) and it gives it such a natural and glowing look and it only takes a minute to apply! I seriously recommend this! The price is only £4.99 which I find amazing value!

On the top of my hand is the NYC highlighter,
Left is the cream bronzer from SEVENTEEN,
Middle is Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation,
Right is Collection concealer.

Hope you all enjoyed this post and that it was helpful! Let me know what you think of these products if you have tried them or if you have any drugstore products you love!

Tweet me: @ChloesConcept

Chloe x

Hair care routine for badly damaged and splitting hair & product review!

Hello!

So today I am going to be talking about taking care of badly damaged, split hair and products on the market that I have tried and tested to attempt to revert the damage that's been done! I explained in my Nourkrin review post the extent of the damaged state my hair was/still sort of is in!

I won't go into too much detail on this post but I have never bleached/dyed my hair so the reason my hair was/is badly damaged is due to the amount of back combing and heat tools I used on my hair WITHOUT heat protector (Yes, I know, but I am paying the price now!) My hair went from super long and healthy to mid length and all straggly at the bottom and the split ends were travelling up my hair fast!

My hair is now (thankfully) growing and is slowly on its road to recovery and that is purely down to strictly no back combing (unless I am going somewhere special), keeping to a routine and using a few different products to ensure my hair has MOISTURE as my hair was also so brittle and ready to break at any second!

 I'm now just going to run through my routine and mention some products which have helped my hair wonders!

Okay so Step 1: I make sure, like I just said, that I do not backcomb my hair unless its a special occasion! I also do not curl my hair (my hair is naturally straight so no need for straighteners!) To be honest... I don't do anything to my hair now. I literally plait my fringe in a french plait and then stick it up in a sort of scruffy bun and pull out bits to give it a bit of volume and height around my face!

So I guess that's Step 2: LEAVE your hair alone. Try not to brush it often as using brushes, damages your hair just as much as heat damage! On that note - STAY AWAY from heat products. I promise you, even with the best protector, if you are trying to regrow and repair damaged hair, heat tools will continue to do damage!

Step 3: Try not to wash your hair every single day...or every other day if you can! I know it sounds wrong but the longer you can leave the oils your scalp produces, the more nutrients it is getting. By washing your hair every single day, you are washing out these oils that are providing nutrients for hair growth! Also by washing your hair every single day your scalp over compensates for the oils you are getting rid of, therefore producing more oils which results in greasy hair! There are so many dry shampoos out on the market, my favourite being Batiste - Tropical!

Step 4: Turn your head upside down and give your scalp a massage. This helps circulation in the scalp which stimulates hair growth! Try and do this for about 60 seconds! TIP: It's very relaxing and provides an awesome volume boost when you flip your hair back!

Step 5: Treat yourself to an intensive hair mask and/or deep conditioning treatment once a week or twice depending on the state of your hair. The usual recommendations are once a week, but that was not enough for my dry, brittle hair. I highly recommend VO5's Give Me Moisture - Hot Oil Treatment or Nice'n Easy ColourSeal Gloss conditioner which you can buy separately from the box dyes for 99p! This is a great conditioner because it is obviously used on colour treated hair, which definitely needs moisture! I usually leave this on for about 20-30 minutes with a sandwich bag covering my hair to keep the moisture packed in! Yes, I might look silly but it does wonders for my hair!

Step 6: If you insist on blow drying your hair, try to minimise the amount of products you use on your hair, but letting your hair air dry is a much more better option!

Step 7: Okay so below I have taken a photo of my favourite products I use when my hair is wet AND when it is dry to ensure moisture is getting to my hair. Each night before I go to bed I completely soak the middle to end of my hair with one of these products and then I will either plait it or leave it down.

Product 1: Expert Collection by Pantene Pro-V Advanced Keratin Repair Split-End Fuser - £6.99
Product 2: Gliss Liquid Silk Gloss Hair Express-Repair Leave-in Conditioner - £1.99 from Savers
Product 3: Pantene Pro-V Repair & Protect Dry Oil with Vitamin E - £6.99 but I'm sure I got mine for £3.49 from Savers (or there abouts)
Product 4: Argan Oil Heat Defense Leave In Spray - £1 from Savers
Product 5: L'oreal Paris Elnett Satin Heat Protect Styling Spray for Volume - £5.99
Product 6: Inecto Heat Protecting Leave-in Conditioner - £1 from Savers

My hair has improved dramatically since I've been doing all the things mentioned in this post! Don't forget to drink as much water as you can and eat as healthy as you can to really give it a boost! Take care of your insides and it'll show on the outside! 

If you have any questions or comments, leave them down below or tweet me @chloesconcept!

Chloe x

Transform tired, old beside tablets into something unique & spectacular!

Hello!

Today I'm bringing you a simple, cheap yet effective way to modify and customise your old bedside tables!

Okay so here are my own newly transformed bedside tables which I love: 

Here's how to DIY:

Firstly, sand back the bedside tables with a fine grade sandpaper, until it feels slightly rough (as you want to get some of the shine off it - they call this giving it a key!)

Then you want to wipe off all of the residue with a dry cloth and roller on MDF primer. Let this dry and then you are ready to apply your favourite colour! There are a wide variety in emulsion paints which would be great on surfaces like this!
Apply your emulsion with a mini roller as a paint brush will leave brush strokes and can get a bit patchy!

So, now that it is all dried out and you are happy with the colour, you'll want to apply a matt varnish to keep the paint from scuffing or chipping! 





When this is dry, you are ready to decorate and customise your bedside table!

For this part, I used crystal knobs for a glamorous finish, and also bought a pack of stick on crystals which are affordable and effective as I bought mine for I think it was 99p for a packet of 20 from a craft/gift shop!

Finally, as a finishing touch, I measured the top of the bedside table and order mirrored glass which would be cut to size and had the edges polished so there are no sharp edges!! This step was also inexpensive, costing only £10 per piece of mirrored glass and it gives such a dramatic, glamorous effect! 




So there you have it! I hope you liked this! Why don't you give it a go and tweet me pictures of the finished product - @chloesconcept!

Chloe x

Contact me!

I'd love for you to get in touch with me! Whatever is important to you, is important to me!

You can drop me an email on chloesconcept@gmail.com or you can tweet me at @chloesconcept!

I have also set up a Tumblr blog mainly for the ask feature, so if you ever have a problem, are feeling down or generally want advice on something and would rather ask me on there, please use that! You can also post anonymously if you'd prefer to do that! :) 

Have a lovely day!

PR

Hi! 

This blog is PR friendly and as my blog contains reviews of products I have tried and love, I am happy to trial products and review them on my blog as long as they fit with what my blog is all about. However, I will always disclose any products I have trialed/reviewed so please keep that in mind! :)

I work in the PR and marketing industry so I understand how it all works so please feel free to drop me an email if you'd like to discuss anything! Also, I like to think I'm super friendly so if you have any questions regarding anything at all, be it campaigns, collaborations etc., I'm always happy to discuss them with you.

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can!

I will also consider writing guest posts and also featuring guest posts on my blog if they fit into the theme of my blog!

On that note, I accept writing guest posts on blogs involving my campaign/platform. If you would like to know more about this please see my About Me page!

Thank you!

Advertising

I also accept advertising on my blog thanks to Adlet which is a UK based ad platform...Definitely check them out!

REVIEW: Make Up For Ever HD foundation!

Hello bloggers!

Today I'm going to be talking about Make Up For Ever's High Definition foundation, as you probably guessed by the title!

Unfortunately, being from the UK, I can't get this brand anywhere but when I go on holiday to America! When I went to Florida in September of last year, I decided to put a few (more than a few) dollars to the side to spend in the Sephora store in the Florida Mall. It was a choice between this foundation and the Nars Sheer Glow, but I loved the reviews the HD foundation was getting, so I definitely had to try it.

I always go for a shade or two darker than my actual skin colour in the winter because I'm extremely pale, so I like to warm up my colour a bit. I do ensure I blend into my neck to make sure there are no lines! 

I have more dry skin than oily so I much prefer a satin/dewy finish on all of my foundations and this HD foundation definitely prides itself on that front! The finish isn't too dewy where it looks like your face is greasy, but it still gives that lovely satin finish to make your makeup look glowing and fresh.

The shades and tones are great and cater for a wide range so that is a definite plus! The lady who works in Sephora took me outside to make sure the foundation matched correctly, even though I explained to her I wanted it a shade or so darker. As it is called a HD foundation, it claims to be invisible to a camera lens to make your skin look flawless in real life and on camera. It also claims itself to be medium to full coverage however I would definitely say it was more of a medium coverage, ALTHOUGH I have some facial redness, therefore unfortunately, no foundations give me complete full coverage unless I apply a good few layers.

The price was more than I wanted to pay at $45 BUT it does have great staying power and stays dewy all day long. It has 30ml so pretty standard for the majority of foundations around! 

With all things said, I really like this foundation and I am now running out (sadly) so I hope I can get back to America before I completely get to the end of the bottle (which by the way has a pump - I much prefer when foundations have a pump!). 

I like to apply all of my foundations with a beauty blender, so if that's what you like to do too then this is definitely a good foundation to work with! 

If you have any further questions or if you'd like to share your opinions on this foundation then by all means, please leave your comments OR get in touch by tweeting me on @chloesconcept!

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog and come again soon!

x

REVIEW: Nourkrin Woman

I've always had very long hair but I always tied it up in buns and hardly ever left it down because it was flat and bone straight and I just preferred it up! However, I'd say about summer 2012 I started leaving it down more and backcombing and curling it quite a lot, more and more each week. I'm ashamed to say I didn't hardly ever put heat protector on my hair and so that along with backcombing deteriorated the condition of my hair dramatically...and fast. My hair went from being near to the bottom of my back to being between my shoulders and elbows. Now, this may seem still pretty long and you're right, it is BUT my hair split so, so badly that my hair was all different lengths and no matter how much moisture I put on it, it was always incredibly dry and brittle with the split ends highly noticeable...I hated this because obviously I've always had long, healthy hair so it was a bit of a shock! I couldn't find a way to get my hair back to its original condition as everything I was doing to it kept breaking and damaging it further!

Finally, I cut out backcombing it and using heat on it all together but I decided it needed an extra boost... Enter: Nourkrin Woman.

Nourkrin Woman is a food supplement you take twice a day; morning and evening with food. You can get either a box containing 1 month supply of 60 tablets for around £50, 3 months supply of 180 tablets for between £70-£80 depending on where you purchase them, 6 months supply of 360 tablets for around £180 or 12 months supply of 720 tablets for around £300. I purchased the 1 month supply for £41 from Holland and Barretts as they had a promotion on, so keep checking different websites as prices vary!

The product claims to prevent hair loss and strengthen the hair you already have. I feel although I didn't exactly have any hair loss, my hair was extremely badly damaged so I wanted to try this product to see if its claim of strengthening the hair you already have, actually worked.

My verdict: I really like this product. I think its helping my hair restore itself to its original condition by feeding it the nutrients it needs to rebuild itself. Although I have only purchased the 1 month supply to see whether I liked it or not, I will definitely be purchasing another box, possibly the 3 month supply! I advise this product to anyone who's hair isn't growing at a normal rate and needs that push to get the hair to start growing again!

Below, I've listed the nutritional ingredients based on a serving size of 2 tablets per day:

Marilex (extract protein compound of marine origin): 600 mg per serving

Acerola cherry extract: 200 mg per serving

Silica: 60 mg per serving

Horsetail extract: 50 mg per serving

D-biotin: 180 µg

Obviously, if you are interested in buying this product, do check the information on the product's box to ensure this type of product is what you're looking for!

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or tweet me at @chloesconcept and I'll get back to you!

As always, this is just my opinion, it may work differently for others!

Thanks for reading!!

Hi! My name is Chloe, welcome to my blog!

I have huge plans for this blog! I set up this blog to read and post reviews, tips and tricks on everything from beauty and fashion to even interior BUT my main intention for this blog is to run a campaign and provide a platform for bullying victims, people with low self-esteem and low body confidence. For a few years I have been reading blogs on topics such as makeup, hair, fashion, interior and lifestyle and so I decided to set up this blog because just like a lot of people out there with blogs of their own, they have a passion for it and I enjoy trying new products and different styles!

I'm 21, from the UK and in university, I study Media and Communications with a passion for the PR industry including Digital Media. I believe so strongly in the power it holds and I wanted to apply my knowledge of it and put it to good use. Something that has always been an important topic to me is bullying/self-esteem/low confidence. I feel that these are common issues that are not dealt with correctly and efficiently. I want to utilise this blog not only for beauty and fashion reviews, tips and tricks I've learnt along the years, but for a place people can come and feel at home and safe.

I want this blog to be somewhere people come straight to when they start to feel down or alone, even if you just want to have a look at the other sections of my blog to get your mind off of things, that's fine too. I feel that there is so much pressure to fit in, be perfect, look a certain way and be a certain size that it is just clouding people's minds to the extent where obviously they are going to feel inferior and that puts even MORE pressure on people! It is a vicious circle and nothing is being done about it. I understand it isn't as easy as saying all of this and solving everyone's problems but even if this blog helps one person, I'll be happy!

I want this little space of the internet to be a tool individuals can use to come and get advice, share their problems (remember, a problem shared is a problem halved!), build their confidence, increase motivation and get inspired.On my blog you'll find a mixture of anything and everything so if suffer from any of these issues but you feel like you want something to take your mind off of it for an hour or two, you can look at any of my other posts which I hope you enjoy!

The internet is such powerful tool and IF used correctly, it can be amazing. There's so much negativity all over the internet, magazines, TV shows etc in regards to how you should look and this needs to be stopped before it goes too far.

My blog & campaign are here to empower anyone who visits and to stop them from feeling like they are in this alone. If you want to talk about anything, ask advice or just want to vent, you can always catch me on Twitter, by email or on my Tumblr blog I have set up specifically for the "Ask" feature. 

If you want to ask anonymously that's fine, and there's also a way I can reply to your question without it being made public, so that's fine too! My links to all those features are below:

Twitter: @ChloesConcept

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com

Tumblr Ask: http://ChloesConcept.tumblr.com/ask

Thanks for visiting my blog and come again soon!!

Chloe :)

REVIEW: MAC PRO LONGWEAR

I've been looking for a high end foundation for awhile since I'm coming to the end of my Make Up Forever HD foundation, which I'll also be doing a review on soon as I absolutely love it! I do love drug store makeup products because so many of the brands are actually owned by high end brands, for example my favourite drug store foundation brand Bourjois is actually owned by Chanel, but every now and again I like to treat myself to a special product and luckily for me, I had the MAC Pro Longwear foundation for my 21st birthday as one of my presents from my parents!

Okay so let's get started...

I really like this product! As a medium to a buildable high coverage foundation, it's one of my favourites! It is definitely long wearing for me as long as I prep and prime my face with my Simple rich moisturiser and one of my favourite primers - either Rimmel's Fix and Perfect Pro Primer, Max Factor's Facefinity All Day Primer or if you can stretch your budget a bit, the Philosophy 'The Present' primer is awesome! If you'd like a review on all of my favourite primers and which works best for what skin type, let me know!

Moving on... As I said, it stays put. It may, like every other foundation, move a little bit throughout the day but on the whole, it is a great foundation and the colours are really nice. I tried the MAC Studio Sculpt before I bought this one, but the colour shades did not match my skin tone at all unfortunately, otherwise I think that would have been an awesome foundation too.

The price isn't too bad for a high end foundation at £25 from MAC shops but I think Debenhams may be selling it for £22.50. I would say it is worth this price though, even though it is still quite expensive! I don't really like buying high end products in anything else but foundation because I just think foundation is worth that little bit more because of the long wearing factor but products for eyes and lips, I always buy from drug stores!

Don't forget to set it with a powder to ensure it stays put all day, especially if you have oily skin!

Hope this helps! Any questions, drop them in the comment box or tweet me at @chloesconcept

If you want any reviews on any other products, please let me know! I'll probably be doing more reviews on bronzers, setting powders and concealers soon but if you'd like anything else, let me know!

Chloe :-)

Brighten up your room with this DIY idea!

These past few weeks I've been busy redecorating my bedroom and I love being creative and making something my own!

Here I've taken my mirror and threaded a set of fairy lights through the frame! It doesn't need to be perfect because even if some of the bulbs end up positioned behind the frame, it will still provide a warm glow! This DIY idea will definitely give your old mirror a new lease of life!!

Try it out and let me know what you think! 

Tweet me @chloesconcept