Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel (Granite) - A Review from the Fussy Brows

It's no secret that brows are completely important to me, and given I've been blessed with a well shaped, full pair, but as blonde as my hair, they tend to be high-maintenance on the products needed to keep them a nice shade of brunette. And before someone questions my choice of brow colour, bare with me... I have got blonde-ish hair naturally, and yes, my hair is a warm blonde now, but I don't suit warm brows (like, AT ALL) so I tend to go for an ashy brown... 

So yeah, having shared an overly long story about my brows with you... Here's what I intended on talking about... 

Anastasia Beverley Hills, the cult brand, founded by Anastasia Soare, the genius behind many A-List celebrities brows, is easily working it's way into the mainstream beauty industry. With all her products being designed to be affordable and easy to use, its understandable that Anastasia is quickly becoming many people's go-to for brow products.

I have a love/hate relationship with brow gel. The kind that leave you with crispy slugs on your face aren't my cup of tea, yet the ones that seem quite soft, then start to crumble into little lumps on your brows (attractive!) aren't much better. I really do like MAC Beguile, but it is SO pigmented there is no easy way of applying it, you really need to dedicate some time to getting it perfect. So I caved, thought I'd try Anastasia's Tinted Brow Gel in Granite. With this being the shade leaning most towards grey, I thought it'd be perfect for my fussy brows.

When it arrived I felt utter confusion at the shimmer particles I could see in the tube... Like, hang on, if I wanted Dior brows, I'd have used a gold eyeshadow?! So, needless to say, I waited until I had zero plans to trial this... (Don't worry, it doesn't translate. Phew!)

I was totally blown away by how perfect the shade is, and how easy it is to apply. The slightly curved wand allows you to precisely apply the product where you want it, and the levels of pigment weren't ridiculous, meaning you can use it quickly, on its own, or over brows already filled in with powder. The "crispy" levels weren't too high, but I'm beginning to think that if a brow gel is to leave the hairs feeling natural, then how much hold can it really have?! I'd say I've probably got the perfect compromise right here.

All in all, this is by far the best I've tried. Probably would get a 9 out of 10. Nothing's perfect...

I got mine from Cult Beauty, for £16.50.

Street Style on Sundays #4

QUICK NOTE: You can now pin directly from my snaps here. Hover over the image, click, and you'll be ready to pin... Whether any of you are as excited as I am, I don't know, but it's totally worthy of a mention...

I love a bit (okay, a LOT) of denim. Me and my jeans are inseperable. When you add leather to the mix, you can guarantee that I will squeal like a little girl at material heaven.

First lot of street style inspiration is denim for spring time, or British summers, whichever way you want to look at it...

Of course I had to compile denim for summer looks too... 

Hope you've had a great weekend so far. Lots of love.

Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum Review - 1/3 off Escentual

I always feel as if I only really need hydrating products around the winter months, but thanks to the not-so glorious British weather, I feel as if my skin is suffering from winter weather all over again! 

I think when we all think of hydrating serums, the first that will come to mind for most, is Hydraluron. But, I may just prefer this offering from the French pharmacy brand, Avene, a tad more (add orchestrated DUN, DUN, DUUUN...)

This Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum is loaded with my faithful Avene Thermale Water, and BOY does that addition help this serum pack a punch. I have a great relationship with the water, and it's becoming one of of my favourite products (reviewed here, featured here, here, and here!) the soothing and hydrating properties of both the water and serum are refreshing, and natural, ticking all the right boxes in a hydrating product. The Avene hydrating serum claims to soothe red and irritated skin, and despite this not being something I get frequently, I haven't had any redness at all since using this every evening, after the thermal water, and before moisturiser. It isn't fragranced, which is something I appreciate in facial skincare products, and it is a creamy white in appearance, with a similar consistency to yoghurt.



While I'm at it... Escentual still has it's 1/3 off French Pharmacy brands, including this serum, other Avene products, and the rest of the French brands that we seem to be falling head over heels for. I'm so ridiculously tempted to go crazy whilst this offer is on, but "I do not need anything!" (repeat how ever many times necessary, and remove self from all temptation.)

Bassbuds X Roxanne Campbell - Music meets Manicures

Twitter is pretty darn good for finding out all of what is going on everywhere, isn't it? I used to always wonder what the attraction was to "just another social media" site, but I literally feel like I'm getting enough news (and gossip, shush!) to last me a lifetime over there. Aaaanyway... BassBuds, the company that creates those gorgeous looking, Swarovski-adorned headphones you've probably seen strewn over the internet and magazines shared that they had a new collection coming out and wanted to share with beauty bloggers. So I jumped up and down shouting me, me, me (using the appropriate emoji) and they sent me over the deets of their latest collection...

Now comes the bit where I was intrigued, the collection is actually a collaboration between themselves and Roxanne Campbell, the incredible manicurist, who's nail artistry for SS14 has been inspired by this Fashion collection of headphones by Bassbuds. Nails and music aren't something that usually comes together, but when you think about it, it's is SO clever, and amazing for someone that is completely passionate about the two. (cough, me.) The lovely PR lady, Laura, told me they would sent me some to trial out, and hoped I could do a nail-art look to go along with the new collection. So I got a tad giddy with my Chanel, and hoped in the time it took to set up my camera and tripod, that I wouldn't chip or smudge...

(I did the nail art by painting one coat of the deep pink, Tapage, all over my nail, and placing hole reinforcers on my nail, after 20 minutes drying time, to cover up the area I wanted to remain in that colour. After two coats of the pale pink, May, I slowly pulled away the stickers and sealed with a coat of Seche Vite top coat.)

Each BassBud has a genuine Swarovski crystal on each sound chamber, making them the sparkliest and most fashionable headphones you probably ever did see. Sorry, Apple... you simply don't cut it anymore. An anti-tangle cable (PRAISE THE LORD!) and a call/mp3 control button. 

I was sent the "Harmony" pair, which have a pink wire, red details and mint green buds. I have my eye on the "Eclectic" pair which are the most beautiful lilac shade and canary yellow. -Seriously, can you imagine the gorgeous nail art that could be teamed with those? (I'd have to get lilac and yellow polish first though, dope!)

The headphones themselves are amazing, and easily the best I have ever used. The sound quality is amazing for in-ear headphones, and the memory foam buds make them much more comfortable than some of the others that can be painful to use. The design, meanwhile, just makes anyone with the slightest magpie tendencies completely weak at the knees, and they make a pleasant change to my usual white (now much muddier in appearance) Apple pair.

I can now take extra enjoyment in my Spotify and nail-painting sessions...

Street Style on Sundays #3

Here's me wishing summer would just hurry up... we're all done with winter now, right?!

The long-length and the floaty...

And the shorter...

Now we just need the sun.