First post?!

So, guess not many people are going to be reading this to begin with, but I'm going to start with an introduction and start as I mean to go on.

My name is Katie, I'm 24 and live in the North East of Scotland- up near Inverness. This blog is mostly (mostly she says) going to contain posts relating to make-up, beauty, health and possibly a little bit of diet/fitness related subjects in the future. However I will not make any promises not to have the odd post about animals, games, Scotland, my family, my friends, my boyfriend or just life in general. But predominantly- it will be make-up.

So, moving on to why I'm starting this blog. I'm not a particularly social person, I'm quite socially awkward and quite dislike being in big groups. That being said I do like speaking to people, especially about mutal interests and passions. My boyfriend doesn't have such a passion for make-up that I have, so whilst he will listen and partake in conversations about it- it's not quite the same as discussing it with someone that shares the same interest. I enjoy make-up, I find it to be very theraputic and soothing- it's like art in a way for me. Alongside that, of course other sorts of make-up/beauty associated things come in to the picture; hair products and care, skin care, nail care, overall female health and like I say, in future an element of diet/fitness may come in to play. 

And now, for my first post about products and how I'm rating them. I guess as sort of mini review. Here goes!

I've purchsed 4 new products recently; Zoeva Luxe complete set, No7 brush cleanser, L'oreal Paris Infalliable mattifying base and Bourjois healthy mix concealer. 

The Zoeva Luxe complete set- I purchased as a sort of late Christmas and Happy New Year gift to myself- and oh my gosh they are amazing so far. The packaging they arrived in was well packed and definitely helped ensure the brushes safe passge to my vanity table- I'm not going to delve too much into an actual review as I want to do an in-depth review after a few weeks, when I've had a chance to use all the brushes a few times and put them through the trials so to speak. Overall though- first impressions are very very good.

The No7 Make-up brush cleanser I purchased today- I hadn't heard of No7 beginning this and was pleasantly surprised. And considering I'd just bought the new brushes and would like to be able to 'spot clean' them on a fairly regular basis- I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea. The value was good- £8 from Boots (but I purchased with points on my Advantage card- still with several hundred to speare), the packaging is clean, sturdy and fairly professional looking. The liquid itself has a slight yellow hue and a mild alcohol smell (one of the ingredients is alcohol) but the smell is not overpowering and shouldn't make your brushes smell too strongly. I tested a few drops on a few of my brushes that I used this morning- it worked really quickly and really quite well, the pump is a little awkward, but I think I will get used to it. There has been no strong smell of alcohol left on my brushes and they dried quickly after the clean which would be handy for make-up artists that need to spot clean between clients. Overall: first impressions are very good again. Only criticism might be the pump mechanism for dispensing- but that should be easily changed to a spray mechanism.

The L'Oreal Paris Infalliable mattifying base- mostly I just needed a new primer and wanted to try something new. I picked up the sample for this and spread a pea sized amount over my wrist. I felt an instant difference in my skin, the colour instantly evened out and the small amount I used managed to go halfway up my forearm before it felt too thin to provide any real work. Another product that seems to be very good value for money- but I have not yet used it as a base for my foundation/concealer, so time will tell on this. I really like the packaging, very professional and clean looking. I also like that it's a squeezy bottle and I can see how much product is left so I know when to purchase more. Whether I re-purchase this or not all hangs in the fate of how my foundation sits on top of it.

And finally the Bourjois Healthy mix concealer- I have loved this concealer for as long as I can remember. It's one of the only affordable (at £7.99 for 10ml) drug-store concealers I have found that is pale enough for my skin tone, it has a lovely thick formula, smells great and goes on well with or without a concealer brush. It's great value for money, available in Boots and Superdrug (in the UK at least), packaging is non-offensive, and because the formula is quite thick- a little goes a long way. And again, I much prefer the squeezy bottle on this as opposed to the MAC Mineraliza concealer, which is amazing, however I dislike the faff it gets to be to get all of the product out of the tube without cutting it open and de-potting.

So, to conclude- overall a fairly good little haul. I will publish an in-depth and probably lengthy post on the Zoeva brush set as I've not yet had a real chance to use all the brushes and want to get as much to say as possible. I'll be purchasing dribs and drabs between now and the end of the month. And at the end of the month I'm planning on spending a bit of my overtime wages on some new products.

Until then, ciao!