DOUBLE CLEANSING ROUTINE WITH PANASONIC EH-XC10 3-IN-1 MICRO-FOAMING FACIAL CLEANSING BRUSH*

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I attended This Morning Live Show with Panasonic Beauty. It was a blast and if you follow me on Instagram, you've seen how much fun (and prosecco... oops!) we've had. After the facial at the hands of a beauty therapist, I was gifted Panasonic EH-XC10 3-in-1 Micro-Foaming Facial Cleansing Brush* which is the one tool you need to update your double cleansing routine. 

BRITISH SUMMER EDIT: HEAT-PROOF 10-MINUTE GRWM 'NO MAKEUP MAKEUP'

Who's enjoying the sun and the heat? Summer has come and the British public (myself included) does what we do best - moan about the weather LoL! It feels like for 10 months we moan about the rain, the wind and the gloom and once summer (read heatwave) comes we moan about that too. Don't judge us. 25+ degrees in the big city isn't your 25+ degrees on a beach. So we apply SPF, take out our fabulous hats and Ray Bans and we brace a heatwave! We reach for lighter bases, add a bit of fake colour to our face and try not to sweat it off by midday. Let's have a look at some of my favourite summer 'no makeup makeup' pieces. Oh, and it'll take you max 10 minutes to apply too! Winner! 

NEW IN SKINCARE: GET THAT GLOW WITH BURTS BEES, ORDINARY, ORIGINS, MOKOSH & SUKIN

I'm all about a glowing complexion. Be this skincare or makeup, I look out for ingredients, the formulas that will give the dewiest finish. Having dehydrated and sensitive skin doesn't make it easy believe me. I'm also prone to hormonal breakouts around my chin, so my skincare routine changes often as I always adhere to my current needs. There's one constant here and that's exfoliators. I exfoliate regularly. I can't recommend it enough, you have to see for yourself. Results can be instant or come over time but best skincare always offers both. I have been playing around with some newbies lately and I thought the time has come to introduce them to you on this Monday morning! So grab a cuppa, sit comfortably and let's talk skincare! 

MODERN 80S: AQUAMARINE SPRING/SUMMER LOOK FEAT MORPHE, JEFFREE STAR & ZOEVA

Little known fact: I used to be obsessed with blue. Blue was my favourite colour growing up and my poor mum hadn't the easiest time finding me all blue attires. I grew up, I found my colour niche and you rarely see me wearing blue. I love my greys, blacks and whites too much! Every so often girl needs to play and this makeup look was inspired by my everlasting blue tendencies. It's also hooded eye friendly and will suit darker eyes more. So if you're a brown eye gal, why not play around with blue this season? This is most definitely an out there look but I really enjoyed creating it and most importantly wearing it, so I hope you'll like it too! 

Playtime:

I started by priming my lids with MAC Painterly. It's such a great base for colourful looks as it not only prolongs the wear time but also conceals the lid and brings out colours a little. I set it with JS China White. I then applied a base colour, the beautiful M green-blue matte all over the lid, going just above the crease onto the hood of the eye, to make them appear bigger. It's a safe bet given we're playing with mattes here! I started creating depth by mixing M dark blue and almost purple blue and applying it in the outer corners and going into the crease (or above it for hooded eyes). This trick will create a fake crease effect. I picked up some Z Quite Realistic and mixed it with JS White China and blended out the blues above the crease (fake crease). To give the look, even more, depth I added some JS Black Rainbow into the very outer corners blending it well and topping it up with M dark blue matte. I then started on the inner corners and applied the bright matte M canary yellow to the inner corners blending it towards the mid ever so slightly. Then applied some more M green-blue and blended it with yellow. I repeated it back and forth to ensure seamless blending. On the mid lid, I added JS Expensive and blended it towards the outer corner. I added some more M dark blue and repeated blending the two. I took a little of Z Childhood Adaptation and applied it over M green blue ever so slightly by tapping with my finger. I also used my fingers to apply a little of Z Artistic Creation over the M canary yellow and then with a wet brush in the very inner corners. 

For the bottom lid, I started by lining the very base of lashes with JS Black Rainbow and blended it out with a mixture of M dark blue and green-blue. To ensure seamless blending I blended it all out with a mixture of JS China White and Z Quite Realistic. I picked up Colorpop Gel Liner in Cry Baby , which is a gorgeous matte pastel lilac and applied it on my waterline. I finished up the eyes with a coat of L'Oreal Mega Volume Miss Baby Roll Mascara and applied some Ardell dupes from Ali Express. They're so comfortable to wear and give a truly flattering finish to this look. As I wanted a little more sparkle, I touched up with a little of Topshop Chameleon in U-turn which I'm basically obsessed with lately!

JS - Jeffree Star Beauty Killer

M - Morphe 35C

Z - Zoeva Sweet Glamour

That face 

I cleaned up all the glitter fall out with a micellar water and started on my base. I love Becca Priming Filter so I applied it generously all over. With a damp beauty blender, I pressed in Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear which I must finally review on the blog as it's magnificent. It's matte, so Becca primer gives it that glow from within finish without compromising the wear time. For my under eyes (yes a that's a step before the eyes bottom lid part!) I used my recent fave Tarte Tape Shape Concealer. Words kind describe how much I love this stuff. I also applied over my nose, forehead and chin to highlight my best features. I set it all up with RCMA No-Color Powder and a damn beauty blender. I don't even remember when was the last time I used a brush to set my face with, beauty blender is the one for me! 

I bronzed up and contoured with ELF Blush & Bronze duo in Fiji and also added the blush from the same palette. I really enjoy using it lately. Shades are lovely and pigmented well but not too much either which makes for super easy blending. For my highlight I used Zoeva Sweet Glamour Cheek palette highlighter which complimented this look well, don't you think? I applied it lovingly on top of my cheekbones, tip of the nose, Cupid's Bow and only ever so lightly on the forehead and the chin. 

Brows on fleek & glossy lip

I've been so lazy with my brows lately and that's because I discovered the best brow mascara I've ever used so far.  Eylure Brow Amplifier is so pigmented, full of fibres and also sets my unruly brows well. Few strokes and my brows don't need much else. Brilliant! Can't recommend it enough! The shade Blonde is cool toned too! 

I opted for glossy lips this time and applied Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk lip pencil all over my lips. On top of this fairly neutral base, I put my favourite lip topper - Jouer Skinny Dip. 

This concludes my a talk through tutorial. It's so colourful, it makes me dream of summer holidays! I know it's a little out there but that's the fun part! I hope you enjoy it and I promise to create something more subtle next time! You have to excuse my excitement with makeup looks lately. It's been so long since I had time or energy to fully enjoy playing with makeup, so give me few more weeks and I'll be back to more day to day tutorials. 

Let me know what you think if the finished look and don't forget I have a couple of giveaways running at the moment! You can enter them using the links below! 

Win Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk Lipstick HERE

Win Balance Active Formula Dragon's Blood skincare range HERE

** some links may be affiliate

Please see my full disclaimer here

Thank You For Reading,

Love

PALE SKIN EDIT: CHEAT YOUR WAY TO PERFECT CHEEKBONES - STEP BY STEP CONTOURING, DRAPING & STROBING.

It takes a while to learn how to contour. Usually longer than it should be as we go for shades that are too dark, too warm, too cool. There's also application, blending and even knowing where to start. Today I'd like to talk you through my foolproof way to cheat a perfect cheekbone. It's easy, I promise! 

Whilst you most certainly don't need all the products I'm sharing with you today, I chose them for a reason. One, they're new-ish and I'm still obsessed with them and second, they really do work in terms of quality, formula and ease of application (read blending). Let's talk products first now, shall we? 

Benefit Cheek Parade | RPR £49.50 | Post

I am obsessed with this palette, especially with Hoola Lite bronzer. Finding a bronzer for pale skin is no walk in the park. Everything's too warm and too dark usually. Hoola Lite gives the perfect amount of colour and works great at gently warming up even cool and super pale complexions! I then use a little Hoola (original version) to define my cheeks even more. Daily I use either Dandelion or Galifornia and lately it's all about Galifornia! It's a stunner - from the design to the shade. It's slightly brighter and can truly change any look. I use it to match my warm toned eye looks! I bought mine in Boots (linked above) but you can also get one on FeelUnique & Benefit sites. 

MAC Juicy Fruity 'Oh My Passion' Pearl Matte Face Powder | RPR £24.00 

Magpie in me couldn't say no to this Pearl Matte Face Powder. Not only is the outer packaging and plastic cover utterly gorgeous but the embroidery of the powder itself is a stunner. Technically you can use all the shades separately and with two blushes, highlight and bronzer you can certainly do that. However, I prefer just to mix all the shades by swirling the brush in. It gives the most gorgeous finish, adding just enough colour to your cheekbones. It's well pigmented but not too pigmented at the same time, which makes it super easy to blend! The formula is soft and buttery too. Whilst I'm not usually in love with MAC powders, this one definitely surprised me! Hurry, it's still available through John Lewis (linked above) and Debenhams HERE 

ELF Contouring Blush & Browsing Powder 'Fiji' | RPR £5.00

I got this as part of a very small ELF order I made recently and fell in love with it. It makes for a perfect handbag addition, as it's light and sleek. The very Nars-esque packaging looks very professional. Both bronzer and blush swatch lovely, giving just a perfect amount of pigment. I love the bronzer, it's very neutral in tone and works great against the pale skin! The blush is gorgeous too, peachy pinks are my favourites. Whilst not the most long lasting, the travel-friendly packaging makes for an easy top up during the day! You can also browse the duo in the shade St. Lucia HERE

Makeup Revolution Renaissance Glow | RPR £8.00 | Post

On days when you're not in a mood for blush, the MUR palette makes for a great contour/highlight duo. Just contour and bronze your cheeks with Sculpt and then add some serious glow to the top of your cheekbones. If Kim K chiselled look it's what you go for, it's definitely one to watch. It's super affordable and so pretty too! Sadly this item is currently out of stock on Tam Beauty and Superdrug websites.

Basic contouring:

1. Start with bronzer and lightly brush the top of your cheekbones by ears, sides of your face, forehead. 
2. Find the bottom of your cheekbones. It's important to add cooler/neutral toned bronzer exactly there and blend upwards. Don't put your contour below, it'll drag your face down. Start by the ear and concentrate most pigment there, only blending towards the mid cheeks once there's barely any product on the brush.
3. Blend & repeat

Basic draping:

1. Choose a blush complimenting your eye makeup or lip. I tend to go for nude to pink-bronze tones for draping.
2. Start at the top of your cheekbones when you usually bronze.
3. Add a little product to the top of your nose, forehead etc
4. Blend blend blend

Basic strobing:

1. Choose a highlighter with little to no visible micro-glitter and a fluffy blush/fan brush
2. Brush the product on the top of the cheekbones, cupid's bow, a tip of your nose (love it there!) 
3. Blend and repeat until you glow from here to the moon
4. Only brush highlight over the mid parts of your face (forehead, chin) if you're dry or have no problems with excessive shine in the T-Zone

I hope you enjoyed my ramblings today. I hope I was able to answer some of the questions about various cheek cheat techniques. As always, please let me know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing what cheek products and techniques you've been loving lately!

* some links may be affiliate

Please see my full disclaimer here

My Giveaways:

Win Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk Lipstick HERE

Win Balance Active Formula Dragon's Blood skincare range HERE

Thank You For Reading,

Love

ECO TOOLS - NEW DESIGN, 10TH ANNIVERSARY & WHAT TO BUY

I'm a little of a brush connoisseur. I have a pretty good idea what a good brush should look and feel like and in process of elimination I try to reduce (yes reduce!) my collection. Doing beauty for a while makes you appreciate quality over quantity (how am I even saying this??) and I just find I love some more than others. Don't get me wrong, I don't throw them away, I rotate a lot, but I mostly use brushes less now.

I find that washing brushes can be overwhelming so by reducing the quantity I use, I make myself do it more often. Whoever told you that washing you brushes therapeutic lied, just lied. Oh did I mention that before? My bad! Lol. I think the more brushes I got, the less relaxing it became to wash them and I started to panic a day or two before. That may sound dramatic, but simple things like that can sometimes bring out anxiety attacks, so I try to avoid making myself nervous over something this silly and easily avoidable. 

Now I've been ranting for way too long, as usual, let's go back to the subject at hand - Eco Tools brushes. I'm sure you've heard of them and seen them everywhere lately. EcoTools not only re-branded but also totally changed the bristles used and the design of their brushes! If you're interested which ones I recommend and what's on my wishlist, please read on.

DRAGON'S BLOOD USE IN SKINCARE: BALANCE ACTIVE FORMULA DRAGON'S BLOOD ANTI-AGEING SKINCARE + GIVEAWAY

Happy Friday my Queens! I thought I'll finish this week's on a positive note, so I'm bringing you yet another giveaway. I have been testing Balance Active Dragon Blood skincare range for a couple of weeks now and I'm ready to share with you my findings. Plus you can WIN THE ENTIRE RANGE too! 

I've been contacted by a lovely Rhiannon, about a month ago or so and asked if I'd like to review their new anti-ageing range and you know how this girl feels about new skincare! Of course, I said yes! I was sent a trio of products to test including Dragon's Blood Lifting Cream, Lifting Serum and Eye Lift Balm.  

EMPTIES LATELY: LUXURY & AFFORDABLE SKINCARE HITS & MISSES

Skincare empties lately

It's been a while & I probably should have done it sooner. The time has come for another massive empties post because I can't be better organised & write it every month! This time we'll tackle mainly skincare, with few body & hair bits thrown in. There's so many cleansers & eye creams I managed to use up, I'm actually sitting here super proud. I get told often that I buy a lot of skincare, so at least this proves that I also use it up :) If you're interested what I thought and which ones I'll repurchase, please bear with me. Make yourself a cup of tea, or sit down with a bottle of bubbly (it's afternoon somewhere in the world, right?) and let's do this! 

TAKE A BATH WITH ME: RELAXING FACIAL & CURRENT BODY & HAIR PICKS

I rarely talk about my bathtime routine. In fact I don't think I've ever done a post on it. Yes, I must have mentioned over and over that I'm a bath lover but did I deliver on the post before? Not a single time!  If you're a fellow bath person, come have a bath (almost!) with me! 
My bathtime ritual is very special. It's the place where I can gather my thoughts and just relax. I don't mean relax like a normal person, don't you worry. So if you ever wondered where I'm mostly to be when replying to my Instagram comments or having one too many Twitter group chats. I am likely in the bath, that's where. I love soaking in the hot bath & be produxtive at the same time. I have quite a few skin, hair and body care picks I've been enjoying more than others lately.

BLOG BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY: WIN CHARLOTTE TILBURY PILLOWTALK LIPSTICK

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick Giveaway

I can't believe that in 19 days Beauty Drama Queen will become 2 years old. I have written so many posts, met so many incredible people, formed friendships and most importantly grew up. My content, the photographs, the writing - it all grew up with me. You, my followers and guests made it all happen. Your kind words and suport means everything to me! 

What better way to celebrate than with a little giveaway to simply say thank you! I honestly couldn't be here without you! The sense I belong somewhere means the world and writing and photography became a true passion. So thank you. To all of you, who always return. This is for you :)

I decided there's no better treat from one listick hoarder to another than Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillowtalk. It's such a flattering nude and it'll suit any comlexion. Please read T&Cs and enter using Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!!! <3

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick Giveaway

Terms & Conditions:

• Giveaway is open internationally
• You must be 16 and over to enter. Under 18, you must ask your parents for permission to share your personal data with me
• Giveaway starts now and it'll end on 31st May 2017
• Entries will be checked and winner will be chosen using Rafflecopter
• To validate your entry you must follow me on Bloglovin' and comment 'Entered + why you like visiting Beauty Drama Queen under this post.
•  Extra entries will be available throught Rafflecopter. You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter and tweet the giveaway message for an extra entry. Follow/unfollow game is not welcome!
• This giveaway is not sponsored nor am I associated with Charlotte Tilbury. Prize was bought with my own money.
• Winner will be contacted via email and Instagram. You'll have 48 hours to claim your prize by replying to my message with your full name and postal address. Please ensure the information given is correct.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank You For Reading,

Love

FESTIVAL VIBES - MERMAID/BRONZE SMOKEY WITH A TOUCH OF YELLOW - TALK THROUGH TUTORIAL FOR HOODED EYES

I honestly don't remember last time I posted a makeup look. I've been working a lot and whilst I wear makeup every day, then the precious time I have off, I spend makeup free, giving my skin a well-deserved break. Last bank holiday Monday inspiration hit and I was actually going out of the house so I thought a smokey eye would do a trick. It quickly turned into full on glam bronzed smokey with some mermaid vibes and a yellow liner and painted yellow selfies, as you do going out for coffee and some retail therapy. Nevertheless, I was super happy with the look and took few photos, so if you'd like to know how to achieve this look, let me tell you now.

30 GOING ON 60: WE'VE USED MERUMAYA LIP RESTORATION TREATMENT FOR 30 DAYS & HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED (WITH BEFORE & AFTER SHOTS)

Merumaya Lip Line Restoration Treatment before & after

Nothing gives me more pleasure than spending a girly night in with my Mum. We are both obsessed with face masks so we sit, play cards & apply various beauty products to our faces. When I was contacted by Merumaya about their new release, I knew I NEED to test it alongside my Mum. Merumaya Lip Line Restoration Treatment seemed perfect to start a new series on my blog where a 30ish and 60-year old try and test beauty products together. It's easy to test skincare knowing that my skin is still fairly young, but will the product even work for someone with a mature skin? 
Merumaya Lip Restoration Treatment promises to fill in the vertical lip lines caused by dryness and ageing. So we embarked on over a month long journey to fight lip wrinkles. If you're interested to see the effects, I'll have before and after unretouched photos for you at the end.

APRIL EDIT: GLOW ON BUDGET, HAPPY SKIN & 13 REASONS WHY

I can't believe it's 1st of May today. I'm definitely enjoying some time off, given I worked every waking hour of April. It's been a long month that's for sure and I welcome May with open arms. Heavy work schedule meant reducing the time I was able to spend on the blog, but I hope to be back on schedule now. I also have a couple of giveaways coming this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that. April has definitely left me tired but I spent my month testing few incredible products and I hope you'll love them too. I picked up products I used all of April, so in terms of recent hauls, I am still testing all the makeup and I'll share more in-depth reviews with you very soon. Without further ado, let's see what I've been loving last month! <3