...Winter Makeup Look... Super-Berry

Instagram has just been made available on Windows phones! I've been dying to try it out, so I thought I'd use it to take pictures of a makeup look I've been living in recently...

My orange towel looking casual there...

I think this look is not too much over the top but still quite glamorous. This is what I used for it...

My Benefit Sugarbomb blusher is really ready to die now, but I can still scrape the remnants from the bottom before I have to get a new one. The poor thing has worked hard for me these last two years, it's earn't it's retirement. 

Powder: Rimmel London Stay Matte - Translucent, cheap and cheerful powder. Great at keeping oily skin at bay.

Mascara: No.7 Intense Volume - A water-based mascara with a very thin formula, perfect for when you want to give your lashes a very natural boost. I never feel like I'm wearing heavy mascara with this and it doesn't make my eyes sore after a long day.

Primer: E.L.F. Mineral Infused Primer - Reviewed here.

Eyeshadow: Benefit World Famous Neutrals - Eyenessa's Most Glamorous Nudes Ever (colours used: It's Complicated all over lids and on inner corners, and Call my Buff on the brow bone.) Reviewed here.

Natural Collection Solo Eyeshadow in Crushed Walnut - A nice matte brown, great for contouring.

Eyebrows: Topshop Brows Pencil in Brown - A great brunette match, at least for me. This pencil is HUGE, I'd be sharpening this for days before it ran out.

Lips: Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 107 - A matte berry/purple... lovelovelove! 

I also forgot to put the foundation I used in the picture; it was Estee Lauder Double Wear.

Xxxx

P.S. For anyone interested... I GOT THE JOB!!! (See two posts below...)

Smashbox Vs E.l.f.

I have been using these two products for quite a few months now. They both claim to transform your face into a flawless canvas allowing makeup to glide on and stay in place for longer.

The Smashbox Photo Finish Primer already has an amazing reputation, winning all kinds of beauty awards, and I can see why. The formula is beautiful! It's very smooth and you need only the tiniest drop to cover your whole face, so a bottle this size can last a good while. You can even, apparently, use this primer in your hair to smooth flyaways! I can't say that I've tried this, but still, that's a nice little extra! However, when I bought the e.l.f. primer I really enjoyed using it. Having tried quite a few e.l.f. products before I've never been blown away by the quality, but I think this little bottle definitely holds it's own against Smashbox.

Formula
Both of these products are lightweight and sit wonderfully under foundation. I can definitely notice the better staying power of my foundation when I have taken the time to apply one of these in the morning. I think that the Smashbox primer is definitely smoother and you need a lot less of it to cover your whole face. It also makes a better eyeshadow primer, as the colours I put on my eyes appear a lot brighter than when I use the e.l.f.. I'd say the e.l.f. primer is also a bit more greasy, so if you already have quite oily skin this might not be quite right for you.

Packaging
The Smashbox primer definitely has the better packaging, by a mile. The e.l.f. packaging is badly designed in that the pump does not collect all the product, so you have to unscrew the lid and get it out that way, which is a bit annoying. The Smashbox packaging however, does have the irritating habit of becoming very easily clogged, even after a day. The product that sits in the end of the pump dries very quickly and has to be fired out with some force next time you come to use it, leaving lumpy bits all over your hand.

Price
Weighing in at £25 for 30ml, the Smashbox primer is definitely expensive, and although I really like the product, I wouldn't buy it again purely because of the price. Although the e.l.f. primer falls a little short against its more high-end sister, at £6 I don't think you can really go wrong.

Overall I do prefer the Smashbox primer as far as formula goes, but I think saving £19 on a product that does almost the same thing, far overcomes the e.l.f.'s shortcomings.