MAY FAVOURITES

Hello all,

May has been a pretty hectic month for me! With exams and stress but so far, I'm feeling pretty confident in them so far (touch wood) but I can never speak to soon! This month I have quite a variety of things I've been obsessed with, so lets get started.

leavers hoodie

As I'm in year 11, the school got these hoodies made for us with everyones names on so we can like look at it and remember all the people who are going off to different colleges and stuff but OMG it's so comfy and cosy and fluffy and even tho the weather is getting warmer, I still live in this! 

Boots tea tree and witch hazel pore strips

I have been recently obsessing over skin care, as my skin is suffering lately. So these pore strips are soooo good! I use them once a week across my nose and clear your pores, and they claim to reduce the look of pores as well, so super bonus!

The balm voyage 2 pallet

I got this pallet from TKMAXX (surprise surprise) and it was a right bargain! (should be £39 but got it for £17) and it's so amazing! Its the perfect size for travelling and contains eyeshadows, bronzer, blush, highlight and two cream lip/cheek colours. They are so pigmented and even tho it's for travel, I have been using it none-stop this month!

Ted baker lipstick
I received this lipstick for christmas and I have been re-loving it again. It's the perfect nude colour and doesn't wash out my vampire skin. Also it's perfect for summer and spring and all seasonss tbh!

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten

I am a huge fan of Shawn Mendes, he's so talented and absolutely amazing. I'm a bit late on the bandwagon, as I only just got the whole album (I had singles but not the whole thing) but I'm legit so obsessed it's all I've been listening to for the whole month. I tried to pick a favourite, but I couldn't because they're all so amazing! (but I do really like 'act like you love me' and 'aftertaste') 

Seriously if you have ears you need to check this out!

Flat kabuki and Real techniques expert face brush
This month, I have been obsessed with using these two brushes for foundation (kabuki) and concealer (expert face) as they work so well together and give a really nice coverage.

Rick Yancey - The 5th Wave

Omg guys this book. I cannot deal. I am such a book-nerd, i love reading and this book had me constantly turning the pages, I couldn't put it down! It's basically about aliens invading the earth but they're so sneaky and theres a lil romance (obviously) and mega drama, but it was overall amazing! (deffo better than the film, but they always are) 

Good things - five minute facial mask

In order to improve my skin, i purchased this from boots and fell in love. I have been using it once a week, just to chill on a Friday night or whenever. It's so perfect as it's vegan, so all the stuff in it is good and you know it's safe for your skin, also it leaves the skin soooo smooth and feeling amazing!

Thankyou for reading I hope you enjoyed! 

Let me know your may faves on instagram or twitter! Also I have a bloglovin' account so go follow me on there (Bloglovin' account) if you want! It puts all your favourite bloggers in one place and is so easy to use! 

Thanks again!

Fern :)

SUPER AFFORDABLE BRUSHES - OVONNI BRUSHES REVIEW

Hello all,

So recently I decided it was about time to get some new brushes, because lets be honest you can never have too many. But the high-end brushes I so dearly desire such as sigma and Zoeva are oh-so pricey and my poor purse can't keep up, so I hunted and hunted until I found these beauties, Ovonni. 

Ovonni is a super affordable brand you can get on amazon and ebay and the set I bough was £27.99 for a set of 29 brushes, ranging from eyes to face, and a faux leather case to keep them in. Which to me, is a deal I cant help but get my brush-loving hands on. Also some of the brushes are made in the same factories as sigma brushes! (apparently) 

Now, I do make sure to research next to every product I buy, online or not, and these brushes had many many good reviews on amazon and from youtube, so I was very excited to get them myself. They arrived around 4-5 days after ordering, which is good. 

So, to start off with this is what the case looks like. It's just a bit smaller than an A4 piece of paper and holds all 29 brushes in little compartments. It also has a little gold keychain thing on the zip, so it's really easy to open and has a secure hold to it - perfect for travelling, however I do think it's very bulky and takes up a whole load of room. 

The case itself feels very luxurious and if i needed a brush case, I would pay around £10 for just the case. Furthermore the case has 4 sides inside it (as you can see form the picture) which again holds all the brushes securely. 

Next - the face brushes. Within the set there are around 15 brushes I would personally use for the face. 

The picture above shows the brushes I would consider for powder products, like setting powder or blush etc. The two larger ones are the same, one just has a shorter handle, which is a bit weird but honestly I do get the use out of them both. 

This next one is a simple angled brush, for contour or blush. However it took me a while to use this as it had a weird bit of gunk-like stuff in it, and was sticking some of the bristles together, but after a few mad washes and a few snips with the scissors, it was all okay! To be honest it was very annoying but some things are just too good to be true! 

Anyway the brush itself is now very good! 

Two of my fave brushes are two of my faves! I use the rounded one for contour and the tapered one for highlight and they work miracles! I would compare these to the sigma ones, as the tapered one is very similar to the tapered one they do. 

As well as several other, the set includes 3 duo fibre brushes, a super big one, a tapered one and a smaller stippling brush. These are amazing quality (probably the best in the set) as they are sooo soft and work amazingly well with any products.

Also in the set, there is a flat foundation brush and some slightly smaller more detailed face brushes. 

The set also comes with these two concealer brushes, which are again synthetic and work amazingly. I love the orange haired one for concealer however I prefer the other one for eyeshadow, as it's a tiny bit fluffier and smaller. 

Next, onto the eye brushes! (heheheh my faves)

As for blending brushes, these are the best four! They all blend out product really well and distribute the perfect amount of product, also they are all different sizes for all blending needs (like in the crease, outer edge, directly on the crease and overall blending. 

Also the third brush in is an IDENTICAL shape to the sigma E35, and no joke it is exactly the same.

Here is a close up of two of the brushes, just to show how different they are and how you can use them for different things. The Black one is similar to the sigma E40 and the white one has longer hairs, perfect for use of blending out other colours. 

As for eye brushes, there are also some other all-over fluffy lid brushes as well as detailed liner and angled brushed. Also the set come with 2 lip brushes, all of which are super soft and fine haired, making them perfect for detailed work.

Overall, these are my favourite brushes in the set!

Here is a quick over-view of what I think to the brushes!

Pros:
*Super affordable
*case is amazing
*super easy to use with product eg blend the products out really well and distribute the products really well
*amazing range of brushes for all parts of yo face
*Slightly longer handle, so you have lots of control

Cons:
*Brushes shed, especially some of the eyebrushes
*loose shape when washed (i recommend brush guards, super cheap on amazon, or cling film to easily get around that.)
*Quite a lot of powder brushes, maybe a Kabuki brush would be better in replace for one of the many powder brushes
*I feel like you may need another brush for foundation (eg sponge or kabuki) in addition to the set


Overall, I do love this brush set and I deffo get the use out of all the brushes, and to say the price the quality is amazing!

I hope this post helped you in some way, shape or form and I deffo recommend these brushes if you need some newbies in your collection if you're on a budget!

Get them here: OVONNI BRUSHES

Thanks for reading!

Fern :) 

APRIL FAVES

Hello all,

So as summer is vastly approaching the year is eating away at the moths and I can't keep up! April was such a stressful month for me, with revising (well trying to) and all that stress that comes with exams. But finally the weather is getting it's act together and the sun has come out! Anyway since this month has been a busy one i don't have too many new products, however I do have a couple and some oldies I have been re-loving!

Colgate - Max white mouthwash 

Recently I have been really conscious about my teeth, and want to start making them super clean and refreshed, and this mouthwash was on offer in tesco, so I thought why not give it a try, and i actually love it! It's alcohol free so it doesn't burn and I feel like it's kinda whitening them a little bit! As well as leaving your mouth feeling super fresh! 

Joma Jewellery  - Karma necklace

When on holiday, we found this cute little shop, (as you do everywhere when roaming the streets in cornwall) and it has this jewellery brand in and I fell IN LOVE! They had so many cute necklaces and bracelets with meanings and they were around £13 each, so I had to have one. 

I am a strong believer in Karma, so this necklace us the perfect one for me! I have been wearing this none stop!

MAC Matchmaster foundation
I've become re-obsessed with this foundation again recently. It's got the perfect amount of coverage for me, as I don't like really thick cakey foundation and I like to layer concealer, it has a really nice finish and lasts for so long on the skin, also it's actually the right shade for me! I have been reaching for this so much over the last few weeks!

Ovonni brushes
OMG guys these brushes. I bought them as they were cheap and I'd heard good stuff about them, but they're even better than I thought. They're so soft and work amazingly! I will be doing a full review on these brushes in my next post, so keep an eye out!

Sleek contour duo 
This little pallet is so pigmented and so handy for getting that sharp contour. Also it's so cute and the size is really good for putting in you bag, but it's also big enough for everyday use, if that makes sense? The highlight is so pretty, it's a pinky peach colour and the contour shade is the perfect ash tone, and I have been obsessed with using this for an easy everyday contour!  

Disney - Magic kingdoms game

So, I'm a child at heart and I will always love disney (I have an obsession it's awful) and THIS GAME! I'm obsessed and it's so unhealthy! It's like you run the disney park and you have to save the characters, it's so cheesy but it' so good! And it's free on the app store, so it's a win-win for everyone! 

Thankyou for reading! i hope you enjoyed this post, what are your fave things from April?

Thanks again

Fern :) 

DRUGSTORE MUST HAVE MAKEUP BAG

Hello all,

So as makeup is becoming more and more popular it's also becoming more and more expensive, and those of us whose purse can't keep up with all the latest high-end makeup need a little help! So If you're like me and love a good bargain, but still have high standards and want to put only the best of the best on your face I have put together a must-have makeup bag/kit, thats 100% drugstore, 100% amazing quality and will hopefully help save you a few bob! 

First of all the actual makeup bag is from Zoella's beauty range, and I believe it was only around £8! It's a really good size and can fit an average sized pallet it as well as all your other little products. (it does look rather squashed in this picture but I promise it's just the angle of it) 

First of all we have primer. This one is the Nivea for men post shave balm, which is so highly raved about within the beauty community. This adds a really tacky base for your makeup, so it sticks on and lasts all day, as well as evening out your skin surface. 

This bad boy is around £5 in shops but superdrug often have it on sale for around £2, so a deffo bargain when in the sale!

Up next is foundation, my favourite drugstore is L'oreal True Match foundation. It has the most beautiful finish, which looks great set with a powder or just left on it's own (if you like a satin finish) It's also one of the best drugstore foundations I know of because of it's amazing colour range, they literally have a shade for ever skin tone. For me, being a vampire, it's one of the only drugstore brands to actually have a shade pale enough! 

This beauty retails for a price of £9.99, which I think is very good as it lasts for so long. 

For concealer, I always come back to the Collection, lasting perfection. it's the most full-coverage drugstore concealer ever, and can cover my teenage, acne prone skin flawlessly! Much like the foundation, it's one of the only drugstore brands to have anything pale enough for me. 

This little wand of happiness is £4.19, but again it often goes on sale for under £3.  

To keep all those liquids in place, The must-have drugstore powder is Rimmel London stay matte pressed powder. This is literally the goddess of drugstore powder. It's not cakey looking at all, makes your base last all day and also makes your skin so smooth your contour will glide on beautifully! As you can tell from the picture, mine is very well loved. (this is like my 100th pan of this stuff) This product also comes in a few shades, including transparent, so it can suit all skin tones. 

This must-haver is £3.99!

To get those chiseled cheekbones and gorgeous disco ball glow, my drugstore must have is the Makeup Revolution, Ultra contour pallet. It has every thing you'd ever need to get that sun-kissed, contoured, glowy face! It has matte and shimmery highlight shades, as well as three contour/bronzing shades which are all super pigmented, what more could you want?! I also think this is an amazing dupe for the Anastasia Beverly hills contour kit (as mentioned in my post all about it, *nudge nudge* go check it out here) 

This one way street to contour is £8! 

To add that lovely rosy flush back to your complexion, I adore this Bourjois little round pot blusher (yes that is it's actual name, so cute) This beauty comes in so many shades, i think mine is Rose D'or, but don't hold me to it. It gives a natural flush as well as coming with a super cute brush! 

This little pot of joy is £7.99, slightly more expensive for what it is but a good blush is hard to come by in the drugstore! 

For eyebrows, I have yet to find an actual product that I love to carve out my eyebrows, all the ones I tried either don't match or don't last, HOWEVER I do know of this little miracle worker for keeping your pre-tamed brows in place! This is the Rimmel London Brow this Way styling gel, which adds a bit of colour for a subtle look, but I like it for setting those pesky brows in place! It also comes in 3 different shades or a clear one, which is grand!

This ray of sunshine is only £2.99! 

Now onto eyes! I personally love eyeshadow, like I'm literally such an eyeshadow junkie! So For a pallet that is amazing for every single look imaginable is the Makeup revolution Iconic pro 1 pallet! It is so pigmented and the colours are all beautiful! Also the little brush is actually so amazing! Furthermore, this entire pallet is a dupe for the Lorac pro pallet! 

This goddess of a pallet is only £6.99! Which is amazing for the quality of this pallet! 

To further define your eyes, you may want to use an eyeliner! My personal drugstore fave is the Rimmel London Scandal eyes micro precision eyeliner. It's in a pen-style with a really thin tip so it's so easy to get a thin line across your eyes or to do a lovely wing! It's also very pigmented!
This product is about £5.50, but is often on offer!

To finish off the eyes, we all need a good mascara in our lives, and my drugstore must-haves are from Maybelline! For top lashes, I love the The Falsies, it adds so must volume and length to your lashes, as well as holding them up all day, and being really easy to get off. (I must be on my 7th tube of this by now!) For bottom lashes I love the great lash waterproof, as the brush is so tiny as well as lashing so long and not smudging at all!
These two tubes of goodness as £7.99 and £4.99, (one would do the same job I'm just high maintenance!)

Finally for lips, I love the KIKO Smart lipstick as it's so creamy and the colour range is amazing! They last all day as well as gliding on amazingly and being so pigmented! Mine is in the shade 01, if you are wondering!
These creamy lovelinesses, are only £3.90!

So I hope this post was helpful, and now you can go and grab yourself some bargains! Let me know your favourite drugstore products and any you think I need to check out on my instagram! (@Foreverfern_)

Thanks for reading!

Fern :) xoxo

MARCH FAVES

Hello all,

March is over, so today I have my march faves! (stating the obvious as per) March was a pretty average month and I'm just very stressed because of the impending doom of exams looming over my head! 

I haven't got that many favourites thins month, as I've been busy working and revising, and from now on I'm pretty much under house arrest! So I hope you enjoy! 

Ted Baker eyeshadow brush

I spoke about this brush a couple of posts ago, but the obsession continues. I have been loving this brush for inner-corner and bow bone highlight because it's so fluffy and gets so much product on it and disperses the perfect amount for that glow.

Mac Pro-longwear concealer, Collection lasting perfection concealer.

I have been loving using these two concealers together at the moment. The Mac one is very full coverage and the collection one is also quite good coverage however the collection one is slightly lighter, so even though I'm a vampire it brightens my under eyes!
I currently like to wear no foundation, because it ends up just caking up (I go through this phase a lot around this time of year) So these two concealers provide the perfect amount of coverage.

Ted Baker liquid eyeliner

I have been obsessing with eyeliner at the moment, and this one is my current favourite. I really like just doing a thin line of eyeliner, so wing or anything just a really thin line as it adds more definition to my eye and makes my eyelashes look a little darker and longer!

Real Techniques - Duo fibre face brush

I love this brush for powder at the moment! It's so fluffy and doesn't apply too much product or make you look cakey! It's also really good for blending out your bronzer or blush if you apply too much!

Make Up Revolution - Iconic pro 1 pallet

Omg words cannot describe this pallet! It's so pigmented and I have been using this non-stop! It's so good for every day looks or you can do some really exciting or intricate looks with it as well, and believe it or not this beauty if only £7.99!! It's a dupe for the Lorac pro pallet and I honestly think it's one of the best pallets I've ever used! 

Full in-depth review coming soon!

Revlon super lustrous lipgloss - Super natural

I bought this lipgloss as a super easy every day lip product to just put on when I wanted something a little extra, and recently I've fallen in love again! It's so natural and makes your lips look really plump and gorgeous! Also it looks so pretty over any lipstick!

Iphone 6S

(I am in no way showing off, just explaining my new love)
So i finally bought myself a new phone! I had my iphone 4S for about 2 years and it was slowly on it's way out (i mean it shouldn't take 30 for a phone to unlock after putting the password in aha) So I finally saved up enough for a new one and I'm obsessed!
I decided on the gold because it looks so pretty and luxurious. I also love how I can get the snapchat filters (FINALLY) and the 3D touch thing is so awesome!
Just to disclaim quickly, I'm not showing off at all, I paid for the whole thing myself and I pay half the contract a month.

So thankyou for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know your faves from last month! I hope you have a great April!

Thanks again

Fern :) 

HOW TO WASH YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hello all,

So my last post was all about the 411 with brushes, so I deemed it only necessary to talk about keeping those brushes clean and healthy. 

For me, washing brushes is essential but some may think it's a waste of time and they just can't be bothered! Which I totally understand but your brushes should be treated like children, and who wants their children to be dirty and carrying bacteria?! 

Washing your brushes at least once a fortnight, (a deep clean) especially brushes that you use for foundation as the bacteria will build up faster on them and transfer to your face when you use them, which can cause breakouts and all those things you don't want your skin like. However washing them also gets all the product off them so your blending can be perf and helps to maintain your brushes.

There are a few different ways you can wash your brushes, but my personal favourite is a good old deep clean. (the kind you do every couple of weeks) 

First of all the soap. I like to use baby shampoo because it's gentler than an ordinary shampoo and conditioner and it's cheaper! It makes your brushes smell amazing and feel so soft. It's also really cleansing and gets all the product out of your brushes. 

To really get deep into my brushes I use this Makeup revolution Pro Cleanse Brush Tool which makes it so much easier to really get your brushes clean because the texture means it gets in all parts of the bristles. (This ones only £4.99 and it's amazing) It just fits on your fingers and voila! Super easy to use. 

First things first - I put a good load of baby shampoo in a little bowl, as it stops me from getting too much on the brushes and gets just the right amount. Also it saves the product. I also fill a cup with water to dip the brushes into to dampen them. 

The hardest things in my opinion to wash are sponges. I first start off by wetting it like you usually would to use it and then dip it into the shampoo, making sure that it's fully coated.

Then squeeze the soap into the sponge until you can tell it's all in the sponge and the foundation will start to come out as you squeeze it. 

To get more out, I like to rub it on the back of the tool as its smooth and won't damage the surface of the sponge. This also gets the soap all in the sponge. Once the sponge surface looks clean and the water runs clear when you squeeze the sponge, run it under the water again to get all the soap out. 

The sponge may look slightly deformed but don't worry, it's just how the soap leaves it. It will go back to shape when it's dry. 

Brushes

For all brushes, the most important thing to remember is not to get water in the metal part of the brush, as shown in the picture. You don't want to get anything in the top or bottom of this part as thats where the glue is holding the bristles together and in shape, meaning if water gets in them, the glue will disintegrate and your brush will fall apart - so be very careful!

example using a real techniques buffing brush

When washing your brushes, you want to first of all damped the brush, by running it under lukewarm water and then dipping it into the soap. 

Then you want to swirl the brush on the cleansing tool so the soap bubbles up. You want to keep doing this and adding more soap until the water and bubbles run clear. A good way to check that your brush is fully clean is to get a little bit of soap on it, and if it bubbles up quickly then it's clean! 

You then want to squeeze the water out the brush to make it dry faster and fully ensure that all he soap is out. 

Finally you want to stand your brush at an angle so all the water drains off it. I like to put it near the window as well so it dries faster. You could also lye it off the edge of a counter like a lot of people do but i just prefer this way as I find it helps to keep the shape better. 

Another great way to wash your brushes is to use your hands! They're the best tools we were blessed with so why not use them?! Just do exactly the same thing as you would with a tool except swirl the brush around on your hand.

This is great if you don't have a tool or anything and it's super easy. It works just as good as a tool because your hand is naturally textured, and the gaps between your fingers are great for smaller brushes and across for a change of texture. However it is a bit harder to wash small detail brushes (e.g angled brow brushes, concealer and eyeliner brushes.)

Finally eyes. The top of the tool is especially good for eyes and detailed  brushes as the little bobbles are so close together it gets right in the hard to get to parts of the brushes. I especially love this for my little concealer brushes as it gets all the product off.
Also when washing smaller brushes, you want to make sure you get the sides as the product tends to stick there more.

For these smaller brushes, I think it's easier to do a few at a time. They all clean just as well it just saves time, soap and effort.

I hope this post was helpful and that these tips and tricks help you to keep your brushes clean and healthy! If you have any brush washing tips please let me know in the comments or any social media!

Thanks you for reading!

Fern :)