LIPS | PURPLE PASSION

If I was a make up item, I would definitely be a bold lip. I don't know what it is, I just can't stay away from a bright lip colour on a shelf. My eyes spot brightly coloured things a mile off, and before my mind has had time to register, my hands have swatched the item and thrown it into my shopping basket!

TOOLS | REAL TECHNIQUES BLUSH BRUSH

Meet the new addition to my make up brush collection, the Real Techniques Blush brush. As many a make up lover will tell you, you can't beat RT for their great quality and affordable make up brushes. The Core set, and more specifically the Buffing brush, really transformed my make up game and I've had my eye on this bad boy for a little while now.

LIPS | NOUBA MILLEBACI #45

As predicted, I went out and added another baby to my Nouba Millebaci collection. I mean when #46 turned out to be such a dream (check out that review here), it would have been rude not to!  This time I picked up #45, a gorgeous deep purple shade with the tiniest magenta iridescent sparkles and some even tinier gold flecks thrown in for good measure.

BASE | REVLON COLORSTAY IN SPICE

 

As a make up lover, I'm always on the hunt for the perfect base for my face. If my face would decide to stay the same colour for a while, that might help...! I've been a MAC girl for the longest time (Studio Fixers stand up!), but as my latest bottle was coming to an end I decided to branch out and sample what else was on offer.

LIPS | NOUBA MILLEBACI #46

I am in LOVE. There's no other way to say it. You know when you bag a new beauty buy that just makes you wanna scream? That's me right now. I spotted this bad boy over on fellow blogger Sharon's instagram (@this_is_ess) the day before yesterday and set out determined to get myself a tube before they all ran out. 

NAILS | Like A Virgin: 2014 Spring Summer Nail Trends

Spring is fast approaching in the Northern hemisphere and with it an inevitable change in colour palettes that will be dictating the season's trends. (On a side note, I always feel a little strange being in the tropics and following seasonal global trends, when generally, it's summer here all year round!) The Spring/Summer 2014 catwalks were predictably awash with soft, subtle hues. And the colours on the fingertips were no exception: fresh whites, pale pinks, soft browns.

Fellow nail art lovers, don't despair. You can still get away with some pizazz, but keep it grown up and demure. A thin stripe here, a half moon mani there. I'll definitely be working in a nude/glitter combo onto my tips in the next couple of weeks.

SCENT | YSL MANFIESTO

I LOVE PERFUME! And thanks to my mum's efforts from the age of around ten, I have never touched a body spray again. I've got around 5 classic perfumes that stay in heavy rotation and I usually take a little convincing to step out beyond this. The bad boy above is such a move and boy am I glad! This is Yves Saint Laurent's Manifesto - 90ml of yummy perfection. Don't you just love the bottle? I think I might start a bottle collection.

EYES | MAYBELLINE VOLUM' EXPRESS MASCARAS

Hi all! Back with some make up talk for you today, and in the spotlight is make up brand Maybelline. Maybelline launched in Kenya earlier this year (along with power house brand Revlon). It's great to see international make up companies embracing the Kenyan market as the HUNGER is out there. I have got to admit though, I'm only a recent convert to Maybelline. I actually used to walk past their counter in make up shops for a long while, not quite seduced by their products, until around a year and half ago or so. I don't know what persuaded me to do it - maybe it's a rebranding and clever new marketing -  but since trying out their products, I am a huge fan and there is no going back!

So you've wandered down to your nearest stockist, and you're confronted with a shelf full of product. Where to start? Look no further than the Volum' Express mascara range.

SKINCARE | SIMPLE EYE MAKE UP REMOVER

There is probably nothing more annoying than trying to shift that stubborn eye make up from your eyes after a big night out. If you've ever made the mistake of trying to get rid of your eyeshadow/mascara/eyeliner/glitter with a baby wipe (like me), you'll know how bad of an idea that is. You only manage to move about 1/2 the product off your face, and the rest kind of gets ingrained in your skin and you wake up in the morning looking like a panda.

HAUL | RECENT BEAUTY BUYS

Hi lovelies! I’ve had chance to pick up a few beauty bits since I’ve been back and I'm here with a review. Most of my beauty purchases in Kenya tend to be on impulse. I occasionally pop into a Super Cosmetics or into Our Price next to Jamia Mall (speaking of which, can somebody tell me what’s happened to Our Price, it’s closed!!) to have a proper browse, but that’s maybe once or twice a month.

The first two goodies I picked up were from Suzie Beauty. I’ve been monitoring the Suzie Beauty line while I’ve been away and I’ve been dying to get my hands on this Kenyan brand! I made a dedicated stop at my nearest stockist (find your local stockist HERE) to check out the products. I tested out the foundations (although I couldn’t find a colour match, SB do promise to release two more shades in September, so fingers crossed I come up lucky), lipsticks, eye shadows and make up brushes.

After a lot of uhm-ing and ah-ing over the eyes shadow shades, I opted for the colour ‘Usi’. Usi is a highly pigmented blue-black matte shadow, with tiny multi-coloured shimmers running through it. But as you can see from the picture, it’s really not a shimmer/metallic shadow per se – the shimmery flecks are so tiny, they act as almost to deepen the colour and give some depth to the solid matte look. You only really see the shimmer quite close up and when moving in the light.