Top 5 Revolution Beauty Dupes

Revolution Beauty, formerly Makeup Revolution, is one of my favourite budget beauty brands. Revolution are a cruelty free, British, makeup, skincare and haircare brand currently sold in Superdrug and Ulta Beauty. Their products are both affordable and great quality and they also carry some amazing 'dupes' for many luxury beauty items. Today I am excited to share with you my top 5 favourite beauty dupes from the brand.  

Our Top 3 Charlotte Tilbury Products

2015 was the year that we officially became obsessed with Charlotte Tilbury products and such is our obsession that we wanted to share with you our Top 3  products from the brand (in no particular order!). We could have made a much longer list but if you are new to Charlotte Tilbury these are our top recommendations that we would suggest you add to your collection without hesitation!

The Year of the Highlighter - 2016

Of all the make up products in your drawer what is the one you get most excited about? Some people love mascara, some foundation, for me it has to be highlighter. I am always swatching products and searching for the most creamy, pigmented but not too shimmery glow that I long for. 

From the top L-R Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit, Jaclyn Hill X Becca, Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze & Glow Norman Parkinson Creme, Nars Steven Klein, Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze & Blow, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish x 2, Becca Champagne Pop 

In the makeup world highlight is often pushed aside for it's cousin the contour which has taken the world by storm! (Thanks Kardashians!) But as a girl with a rather round face I have tried and tried and I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how many ashy grey powders I try, I am not going to grow cheek bones any time soon! So...in comes the highlight! For me nothing beats a highlighted face. There is something so youthful and effortless about simple make up with an intense highlight. Think the boho beach babe - just rolled out of bed look!

My Wedding Day Makeup

One thing I was certain of as soon as we started to plan the wedding was that I did not want to pay someone to do my hair and make up for the big day. I realised quickly that I just wanted to look like me and the best way to achieve that was to be my own makeup artist. Although this is something I felt strongly about I was almost embarrassed when people asked "So who is doing your hair and make up?" (a commonly asked question of a bride to be) and I had to tell them I was doing my own! They all seemed shocked as if there is no way a bride can do her own make up?!?

Charlotte Tilbury - The Sophisticate Look

The Beautiful Gift Presentation Box



Mimi will be getting married just after Christmas and we have literally scoured the make up counters together for days searching for the perfect wedding make up. This week she finally made a decision.



You'd think it would be easy, however, there is so much to choose from that things get a little overwhelming! I offered to purchase some special products for her wedding day and after presenting her with The Gift of Red Carpet Skin set earlier this month (see HERE for our review) she fell in love with the Charlotte Tilbury products. We made a trip to our local stockist, Fenwicks in Newcastle, and started to swatch!

 

We were assisted by the loveliest and most helpful sales assistant who was completely knowlegeable about the product range and was able to offer advice and clarity when things got too much! Mimi was drawn to the beautiful sets that used together create a 'look'. After some consideration she decided to go for The Sophisticate Look which is a more natural, daytime look which can be built up, if required, for an evening look.

 

The entire set is beautiful and includes the following:

 

• LUXURY PALETTE - The Sophisticate (Eyeshadow)

• THE CLASSIC - Audrey (Eye Liner)

• FULL FAT LASHES – Glossy Black (Mascara)

• CHEEK TO CHIC – Sex On Fire (Blusher)

• LIP CHEAT – Pillowtalk (Lip Liner)

• K.I.S.S.I.N.G – Hepburn Honey (Lipstick)

• LIP LUSTRE – High Society (Lip Gloss)

• MAKE-UP BAG
 

The Makeup Bag and Look Card

Lets start with the Sophisticate Eyeshadow Quad; it is the only completely matt shadow palette that Charlotte offers and has shades labled prime, enhance, smoke, and pop. The idea, of course, is that the lightest shade is used to prime, the next shade to enhance and so on! A look card is included in the box with a tutorial for the Sophisticate look so that you can create it youself following the guide. Each shade is incredibly pigmented and soft and very easy to blend. I can definitely see more of these quads in our future!

 

The Products in all of their glory!

The Eyeliner in Audrey is a deep brown and therefore a bit more natural for daytime/bridal makeup and the mascara gives good separation and volume.

 

There is a lip trio in the set of the famous Pillowtalk Lip Liner, Kissing Lipstick in Hepburn Honey and High Society Lip Gloss. All are a pink toned nude and give a beautiful natural and sophisticated (!) look when used together. Long lasting and glowy this lip trio should require minimal top ups for a wedding day!

 



Finally the Sex on Fire Blush has the trademark Charlotte light and dark sections so that you can swirl and 'pop' the blush onto the apples of your cheeks.

 

The set is beautifully completed with the inclusion of a makeup bag stating 'Give a woman the right makeup & she can conquer the world'...How true!

 

Although the final decision as to the wedding day lipstick will not be made until nearer the time (a couple of others are in contention!) the remainder of this make up collection and the Gift of Red Carpet Skin set will definitely be used on Mimi's wedding day.

 

She is excited to wear it all and we will be sure to post a picture to show you the finished look!

 

Elle x

 

Have you tried any of these products of purchased any of the 'looks' from Charlotte Tilbury? We'd love to hear your views! 



Charlotte Tilbury Christmas Sets - Haul and Review

We were recently browsing the Charlotte Tilbury website at their beautiful new Christmas releases when we were gripped with a sudden urge to make an order. So order we did! This is what we were tempted by!

 

 

The Gift of Red Carpet Skin Travel Kit

We have been interested in trying some of Charlottes highly recommended skincare products for some time now but we have never quite gotten round to taking the plunge. As we have only a few weeks before Mimi's wedding we thought we that now would be a great time to sample some of her products in preparation for the big day. Charlotte has a bridal makeup tutorial on her YouTube channel using some of her famous skincare therefore when we saw this kit that includes 15ml travel sizes of six of her most popular skincare items for £59 we could not resist! The kit contains the following:

 

 

GODDESS SKIN CLAY MASK - a plumping and smoothing clay mask treatment

MULTI MIRACLE GLOW - a deep cleansing cream to oil balm

MAGIC CREAM - award winning cream that seals in moisture and plumps skin

WONDERGLOW - instant soft-focus beauty flash primer for skin luminosity

SUPERMODEL BODY - skin shimmer, highlighter for the body

TAKE IT ALL OFF - oil rich cleansing eye makeup remover

We could not wait to try these generous travel sizes and they have impressed so much we are seriously considering purchasing the full size of at least two of these products. Our favourites so far are the Goddess Skin Clay Mask and the Wonderglow. They are simply AMAZING! Lets face it, Charlotte Tilbury is so passionate and such an great ambassador for her products that she could quite literally sell sand to the Arabs! However, hype aside, after trying them out these products sell themselves on their quality alone. No hype required!
 

Mini Lipstick Charms

We were unable to resist the tiny lipstick charms! Beautifully boxed in Charlottes trademark packaging they are the cutest little lipsticks from the K.I.S.S.I.N.G range (Charlottes signature range of lipsticks made with modern and classic icons in mind) and would make an idea stocking filler for a beauty obsessed lady. They would also be great to split and give one each as part of a gift for three friends. If you want to keep them all to yourself they are just the size to pop into your handbag for a night out over the party season. The lipsticks included are:
 

PENELOPE PINK - a nude/pink/beige
BITCH PERFECT- a peachy/beige
SO MARILYN - a deep red

We can't lie, we have already worn these lipsticks and have been very impressed with the pigmentation and staying power. We will most definitely be taking them along with us to the office Christmas Party.

Now that we have tried and tested more of the Charlotte Tilbury range it has whetted our appetite to try more! Lets hope Santa brings some in our stockings this year!

What are your favourite Charlotte Tilbury products? Do you have any recommendations for us? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!

Afternoon Tea & Shopping Day

Regular visitors to our blog will know that in December we have a very special event to look forward to, Mimi's wedding! We are all very excited as we have people travelling from as far afield as California to attend the wedding celebrations and spend time with us. 

 

As December draws closer we are crossing things off our 'to do' list on a weekly basis. This past weekend the two of us headed into Newcastle, our closest 'big city', to partake in some wedding retail therapy. As we were having a special outing we decided to make a girly day of it and booked afternoon tea so that we had an excuse to eat lots of cake while we shopped! We thought it would be fun to share some of our photographs of the delicious food we consumed over the course of the day!

 

Coincidently, a couple of weeks ago we received an email from Travel Zoo offering a deal for Afternoon Tea at the Marco Pierre White Restaurant, Hotel Indigo, Newcastle. The offer was £18 for afternoon tea for two. Having enjoyed the same offer a couple of years ago we jumped at the chance to do it again and we felt that £18 for two was a really great deal.

We started the day pretty early as the NCP car park in the city centre have an offer on parking - all day for £5.95 when you arrive before 9.30am - which gives a good saving if you are there all day as we usually are! We skipped breakfast at home and headed for Café Nero when we arrived to set ourselves up for a morning of shopping with caffeine and pastries until our 2pm reservation at Marco Pierre Whites!
 

Our main objective for the day was to look at bridesmaid accessories and check out the make up for some wedding day options. We had heard that Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics were opening in Newcastle and were very excited to see if the rumour was true! We discovered that they are indeed opening a counter within Fenwicks but it was not due to open until 2 days after we visited, however, we did speak to one of the Tilbury Team and will we back in a couple of weeks for an in depth swatchfest!

 

At almost 2pm we headed down to Marco Pierre White Restaurant, handed in our pre paid voucher and were shown to our seats. The last time we attended we were presented with a lovely tea book offering in depth explanations of the various exotic tea choices however this time there was no such book and we were simply asked what we wanted by the server. We both settled for English Breakfast Tea and after giving our dietary requirements we were soon served a tower of delicious looking treats. 

 

We quickly got stuck in! The sandwiches were tasty with a substantial amount of filling - cheese and tangy pickle and ham with delicious French mustard (for the salmon-phobe) with the addition of salmon and cream cheese and tuna with cucumber for those less fussy eaters! The other savoury options were tiny warm quiches which were sooo delicious with crumbly short crust pastry.
 

In addition the sweet options were plentiful! We managed to munch our way through a fruit scone with jam and clotted cream, the lightest vanilla macaroons ever, chocolate mouse cake, a mango panna cotta served in a cute miniature teacup and a second scone that we took away as we were unable to manage it! The tea was plentiful and flowed freely with as much as we could drink being offered and unlimited coffee as an alternative.

 

By the end of the feast we were unable to move!

 

If you are an afternoon tea lover then Travel Zoo and similar sites are a great resource to pick up some affordable deals. We would never have normally booked this treat for the full price but it made the day extra special for us and for only £9 per person it is no more expensive than a sandwich and coffee in one of the well known coffee shops!

We will certainly be back soon for more sweet, delicious treats to fuel our Saturday shopping trips!

 

Have you enjoyed any affordable tasty treats lately? We would love to hear any tips you may have on bagging a bargain!  

   

Charlotte Tilbury Mini Haul and Review

Ever since we laid eyes on the Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze and Glow we have had it on our list of must purchase beauty items. However, way back in March when summer was but a distant dream another version of the famous Bronze and Glow started to make an appearance on blogs and YouTube.

This new version was the Norman Parkinson collaboration FILMSTAR BRONZE & GLOW (SUN TAN & SUN LIGHT) We had to have it for our summer holiday! Not only did it look completely beautiful with a stunning vintage photograph of Jerry Hall on the front taken for British Vogue on Montego Bay in 1975, it was a cream product and would be totally perfect to wear in the 100 degree Florida sun.

The very day the collection was released we ordered the coveted item and decided to throw in the stunning Eyes to Mesmerise cream eyeshadow in Bette to make the order worthwhile! It looked too beautiful to pass up.

The delivery arrived very quickly in the most gorgeous Charlotte Tilbury box. It was wrapped in tissue paper and so beautifully presented that it was almost a shame to tear into it. The new cream version of the Film Star Bronze and Glow is highly pigmented and using a light hand (and the Real Techniques Bold Metals 301 Flat Contour Brush) the bronzer gives a perfect amount of contour and warms the face very naturally. 

The highlighter in the palette gives a very luminous look when applied and has a slight golden sheen. We are still experimenting to find the perfect brush to apply the product however even using your fingertips to lightly apply the product to your cheekbones it still gives a pretty golden glow. 

We are excited to use the Eyes to Mesmerize over the summer as the colour is a burnished golden chocolate shade with the most beautiful sheen. It will perfect swept across the entire lid for a quick summer eye look.

Purchasing these two Charlotte Tilbury products has definitely made us eager to try more from the brand. Charlotte herself is so passionate about her products and her passion and enthusiasm rubs off on you when you watch her YouTube channel. We will most definitely be purchasing more Charlotte Tilbury products in the future. Watch this space!

Do you have a favourite Charlotte Tilbury product? We would love to hear your recommendations!