Aikosmetics Makeup Brushes Review!

Finally writing this post!

Today I am going to do an in depth review on the Aikosmetics makeup brushes! I have been waiting to do this review ever since I opened the box but I wanted to try them out everyday for over month so I could give you a proper and honest review. 

First things first, I received the full set for Christmas. However you can also buy the essentials set or purchase the brushes individually! 

The full set comes with 11 brushes and is packaged beautifully in a baby pink box with gold embellished writing on and a gorgeous personal note.

The personal touch makes it so special and I have kept all the packaging. :) 

Now I'll go through each of the brushes and then at the end I'll tell you which are my favourites and least favourites and why:

1. Lasting Perfection Brush

Firstly is their fluffy powder brush, it applys powder all over your face to set foundation, help mattify your skin or just give you an even complexion.

This brush is the softest brush I have ever felt, it is also really big therefore covers my face just in a couple of swishes. It picks up my powder well and feels so lovely when applying it.

2. Radiant Complexion Brush

Next is the first one their two foundation brushes. Use this brush to evenly apply foundation for a 'flawless and radiant complexion'

Although the collection comes with two foundation brushes, this brush is the one I prefer to use for my foundation. I find the curved top easier to work with, it applys my foundation well and blends completely without leaving streaks. It helps to create the perfect base for my makeup.

3. Flawless Finish Brush

Their second foundation brush. This is a flat topped buffer brush.

Although I don't use this to apply my foundation, I like to use it afterwards to make extra sure everything is completely buffed into my skin because I like to mix my foundation with a light moisturiser so it tends to take a bit more work to get rid of shininess. It is good for making sure everything is well and truly blended into your skin!

 4. Blush Brush

This is an angled brush, used to apply blush to give warmth to your cheeks.

I actually like to use this brush for contour because I have a mini MAC 116 brush which I use for my blush so I can't tell you what it is like for applying blush but it works really well for blending out contour for a natural look. The only flaw with this brush is that when I wash it, the bristles tend to spread outwards and lose the shape of the brush a bit. However I'm sure this can be fixed by drying it in a certain position.

5. Skin Luminosity Brush

This is their tapered highlighter brush, use it to sweep highlight across your cheekbones to create a gorgeous glow.

I love this highlighter brush, it is the perfect size and shape for the top of my cheekbones and distributes the product beautifully.

6. Imperfection Concealer Brush

A small brush for blending concealer to cover blemishes and dark circles.

This is probably the brush I use least OU of the collection, only because I prefer to use my finger to blend concealer. However in the last couple of days I have found this is useful to get the concealer right up below my eye and for better coverage! 

7. Perfect Brows Brush 

A minuscule angled brush great for filling in your brows or getting that perfect eyeliner

I use this for my brows every single day, it works so well and makes my brows look full and helps to create a great shape! I haven't yet tried this brush with eyeliner but considering how small and precise it is I'm sure it would work great. 

8. Colour Precision Brush 

This is the first of the four eye brushes (not including perfect brow brush) use it to apply eyeshadow evenly all over your lid. 

I use this brush with it's original purpose, to apply my base/main shadow. It works great at giving an even application. However I do sometimes find, because the brush is so smooth, the colour pay off is sometimes a little weak. This in mind, I still use and love this brush daily. 

9,10 & 11. 

(From bottom to top: Smoky Eyes Brush, Beautiful Eyes Brush and Eye Contour Brush)

These three brushes add depth and detail to your eye makeup and create the perfect look. 

Last but not least! These three are definitely some of my favourites in the collection. 

I especially love the Beautiful Eyes Brush which is an amazing fluffy blending brush, it does such a great job of blending out any harsh lines and creating a flawless finish. 

I also adore the Eye Contour Brush, this one I use to apply shadow to my crease and it is perfect as it fits so well into the crease of my eyelid. 

I use the Smoky Eyes Brush to apply a darker shadow to my outer v, it is really nice because it is small and precise and does a great job! 

There you go! A summary of all eleven brushes. I kind of gave away my favourites and least favourites whilst writing about them but here they are: I love all of them so I don't think I can pick one favourite but I love the Last Perfection Brush (powder) the Radiant Complexion Brush (foundation) Blush Brush (contour) Perfect Brows Brush and the Beautiful Eyes Brush! My least favourite would probably be the imperfection concealer brush, only because I use it least although I am growing to love it! 

I would definitely recommend these brushes. Gorgeous, amazing quality and so affordable compared to others on the market. I would say buy the whole set but they are available to buy individually! 

Hope you enjoyed this review, go check out Aikosmetics! :) 

Until next time 

-Anna X 

Birthday/Shopping Haul

Hey guys! 

So today I'm going to do a haul of things I've got recently from my birthday and shopping. Reviews of all these products will be written throughout the year when I've tried them properly! I won't show everything in this post just a few bits. 

I received quite a few Lush bits because of my Lush obsession:

1. Mask of magnaminty, Angels on bare skin and a new pot of my favourite cleanser, let the good times roll from my parents 

2. The shampoo bar montalbano from Libby 

3. Snow fairy shower jel, pink fun and the popcorn lip scrub from a group of friends 

I can't wait to try out all of these products and will definitely be doing reviews! They all smell amazing, Thankyou guys! 

Here is the makeup I either received or bought: 

Collection contour & highlight kit, Kiko cream shadow stick, Kiko eyeshadow, Mac upward lash and Mac lipstick in Brave bought by myself. 

Pauls Boutique eyebrow kit from Libby

Lola highlighter, stila lip glaze, origins mascara, maybelline lipstick and Laura Mercier lip gloss from my Aunty.

My Aunty also signed me up for birch box for the next 6 months which I was so so grateful for because I've always wanted to try a beauty subscription! 

I decided to only show you the beauty products as I thought that would be the most interesting and I didn't want to make this post too rambly or long. 

 

Leave post suggestions in the comments.

Thankyou

-Anna x 

Christmas Haul 2015

Hey everyone and Merry Christmas! Although this is going up on Boxing Day. 

I hope you all had the best day yesterday and are still enjoying the festive season. Remember to eat as much of the delicious food as you can! :) 

So I thought I would do what I did last year and do a Christmas Haul and show you the main presents I got this year! 

*Disclaimer: I am not trying to show off in any way, shape or form. I am doing this because I enjoy finding out with others got for Christmas. I am so grateful to all my family for everything I received!* 

So the first thing I got was Taylor Swift merchandise because as you all know, I love Taylor: 

I got a Taylor Swift hoodie which I love and is so comfortable and two of CDs that I didn't have in hard copy (1989 and Taylor Swift) from my parents, one of her perfumes (enchanted wonderstruck) from my cousins and it smells divine! Also a 'dress up Taylor Swift' book from Libby which I love because it shows you actual outfits she's worn and I've been using it loads! Thankyou everyone I love it all<3

Here is a close up of the perfume because the bottle is gorgeous! 

One of my main presents were these amazing boots from Dune 

I really wanted a pair of almost knee high boots as I had some a couple years ago but grew out of them and I love boots! I'm so grateful to my grandparents, I have already worn them a couple times! 

One of my favourite presents are these makeup brushes by Aikosmetics 

I love them so much, they come beautifully packaged and are absolutely stunning and are really soft! Before Christmas I was going to ask for the Real Techniques bold metals collection but we all know how expensive they are, I came across these one day on Instagram and fell in love! Not many people know about this company but they are amazing, the brushes are so pretty and they package them so nicely and make it so special! You can get the full set, the essentials set or now buy them individually, I will definitely be doing a full review of the whole collection sometime in 2016! 

I also got a few makeup bits from my Aunty :) 

A few stila products, a Mac mini brush set, Mac eyebrow pencil and white eyeliner and a ciaté nail polish. Love them all! 

The last thing I'll tell you about is clothing and pyjamas. 

I got a new outfit which is a denim A line skirt, a checkered shirt and navy blue flats. The pyjamas I got was two sets of checkered pyjamas, one full length trousers which are red with a navy blue vest top and the other are grey, blue and pink checkered shorts with a turqoise vest top because I generally wear vest tops as pyjama tops, and I love pyjama shorts! I also got a really fluffy white hoodie/cardigan thing and soft baggy leggings/sweatpants to lounge around the house in and they are both so comfortable and soft. 

I would like to thank everyone for my presents (even though most of them won't read this, except Libby who is like to thank: Thankyou so much Lib it's such a cool book! I've been using it so much and also the tree decoration is so pretty :) and Thankyou to anyone who wished me a Merry Christmas and Thankyou to anyone reading this because it makes my day when people read my posts! 

Well and I guess I'll speak to you all in the new year! 

Until Next Time/Next Year

-Anna X 

Makeup Revolution Iconic 2 Palette Review

I've always wanted the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. Unfortunately for me they are about £30-something each so that idea was out of the window. However luckily enough makeup revolution have created amazing dupes for all three of the naked palettes! And at the affordable price of only £4. 

It has a great range of matte and shimmery shades, warm toned and cool toned. Going from light to dark, it is amazing for everyday and also if you have a fancy occasion, it is great for creating smoky eyes! 

Here are swatches of all the shades after just one swipe. They are so pigmented for the price and almost exactly like the naked 2 palette! 

The black is especially pigmented, and I use it for my eyeliner a lot! 

So if you are like me; desperate for the naked palettes, maybe try out these palettes first! I will definitely be picking up the other two and maybe trying out some other makeup revolution palettes.

Hope you enjoyed this short review! Let me know what your favourite makeup revolution products are. 

Until Next Time 

-Anna X 

Blog Anniversary Post ~ Autumn Lookbook

Hey Guys!

So as you have probably guessed by the title that this is going to be an Autumn lookbook, however there is a very special reason that I have uploaded this today, the 13th of October. It is because today is the first anniversary of It's-Anna's-Life! I've been sharing my thoughts and opinions and ideas with the internet via this blog for a year now. That it so crazy to me! We also hit 8000 views about a month ago which is amazing and I would like to say a massive thankyou to anyone who reads my blog!

I wanted to do something special for today so I decided to do an Autumn lookbook because I love Autumn, fashion and lookbooks, so I thought it would be fun. Here you go!

Look 1: Casual Day Out Look

Shirt - Primark

Bandeau - New Look

Jeans - Primark

Jumper - H&M 

As we go into Autumn the weather is very  changable. At the moment it is at that stage where it isn't too cold but there is a sharp breeze in the air. This look is perfect because if it starts to get a bit chilly you can just pop a casual sweater on, you can't see it here but I love how the cream shirt collar sits on top of the jumper! 

Look 2: Relaxed Weekend Look

Top - TK Maxx 

Jeans - Primark

I love this one because it is so comfortable, this top is so soft and I love the different lengths of it! It is very swishy and quite boho. These jeans weren't ripped when I got them but I've had them for over two years so the knees wore down. I love the light wash colour! 

Look 3: Dressy Day/Evening 

Top - Primark (surprisingly) 

Skirt -

Necklace - Random shop in Mallorca 

Tights - Anywhere 

Boots - 

This look can be quite versatile as you can dress it up with a bit more jewellery and a nice cardigan or leather jacket to make it more of an evening look, or keep it casual with a big jumper over the top or just as it is! :) I also love a bit of tarted so this skirt is perfect. 

Look 4: Cozy Autumn Day 

Crop Top - Topshop

Highwaisted Jeans - H&M 

Cardigan - Primark

Beret - Accessorize 

Shoes - Rocket Dogs 

Bracelet - Cancer Research 

I've saved my favourite look until last, this outfit is casual and cozy but still looks like you put some effort in, the white and black threads running through this gorgeous big cardigan make this whole outfit come together nicely. It is great for Autumn because it can still be warm outside so this look keeps you cozy whilst not being to hot! 

So I hope you enjoyed this Lookbook! I loved writing it and getting the photos! Leave blog post suggestions down below :) 

Until next time

-Anna X 

Current Favourites!

Hello everyone!

We all know I struggle to keep up with monthly favourites, so every once in a while I like to do a little post called "my current favourites" this way I'm almost guaranteed to be loving something new and I don't have the stressfulness of trying to keep up with it every month! 

I'm going to just try and think of one or two items for each category (Makeup, Hair, Skincare, Fashion, Food, Music, Random)


Makeup:

Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Always a Bridsmaid

I recently got this from my Aunt and it's the first benefit product I've tried as I've never felt like spending the amount that some of their products cost! However I must say it is such a good cream shadow, it blends in so well but you can build it up too, which gives you the option to wear it as a base, a light coverage shadow or if you want a bolder look then you can keep adding. It's a really pretty pale lilac shade and I've been wearing it most days for school on its own. I blend it out so it is lighter and makes my eyes look a bit bigger.


Hair:

I have two favourite hair products at the moment because we all know I'm a bit obsessed and I'm always trying new hair products.

I've been loving umisliquid. I'd never heard of it before now but I'm really liking it! I hate the packaging, I think it looks almost scientific, but the actual product is really good, it is an "Aloe styling liquid" an it smooths down your hair and adds shine. This is great for me as I have extremely frizzy hair so it's always nice to smooth it down a bit. 

I have also been using the Moroccanoil luminous hairspray. It's great because it doesn't leave your hair with that typical crispyness you can get from other hairsprays. It also helps to tame flyaways. 

Skincare:

I'm fairly sure that everyone and their mum has either heard someone rave about this makeup remover or raves about it themselves! I am of the latter category, it removes my eye makeup quite wonderfully and is gentle on my very sensitive skin! Not a bad word to say about this one. 

Fashion:

My current fashion favourite is this gorgeous and also massive cardigan, it goes with everything because it has black, white and grey wool running through it, and it is the warmest most cosy thing that's still acceptable to wear out! I love it and I will be wearing it a lot this Autumn/Winter. 

Food:

Pancakes! I have been seating a lot of pancakes recently (of the crepe variety) and I have become quite the pro at making them! They are extremely yummy and you can put almost anything on them! (My favourite is homemade chocolate sauce) 

Music: 

I wouldn't be being true to myself if I didn't say my current music favourite is Wildest Dreams. The song is amazing. The video is so so so good. I'm sure your all tired of me gushing about Taylor almost every single post! Here are some other songs I've been loving: 

• Peanut Butter Jelly ~ Gelantis 

• Trap Queen ~ Fetty Wap 

• Like I'm gonna loose you ~ Meghan Trainor & John Legend 

• Earned it/Is this love mash up by Alex Aiono and Vince Harder 

• Should've been us ~ Tori Kelly 

Random: 

I have been loving the program Hunted on Channel 4 it's really cool watching how they track people down and trying to think of what I'd do if I was on the program! 

Thankyou for listening/reading my rambling on about what I've been enjoying recently! Exciting post to come in just under a months time, I'm posting it on the 13th of October for a very special reason (see if you can guess) 

Until Next Time 

-Anna x

Would You Rather? - Collab Post

Hey guys, so today I have a rather exciting post for you! I have another Collab with my blogger friend Abbie from Simply, Me! I feel like we will have to make this a seasonal thing seeing as the last Collab we did was at the start of summer and it is about to be the start of Autumn.

So we were talking and we decided it would be quite good fun to do a would you rather. So I've chosen 5 questions and so has Abbie and we are both going to answer all 10 questions and see how our answers compare! 

WOULD YOU RATHER? 

1. Would you rather die saving 10 000 strangers from death knowing no one would ever know it was you, or live knowing everyone would know you chose not to save 10 000 people? 

My Answer: I would rather die saving 10 000 people because at least I would know I'd done a good thing. Even if no one else did. 

Abbie's Answer: I would rather die saving 10,000 strangers without anyone knowing it was me, because at least I would have done an amazing thing.

2. Would you rather have the power to become invisible or to fly? 

My answer: Fly because then I could just fly away wherever I wanted to and just get away from things! 

Abbie's answer: Definitely have the power to fly because you could travel wherever you wanted to and see more of the world!

3. Would you rather have to listen to the same song everyday for the rest of your life or not be able to listen to any music at all?

My answer: Not listen to any music at all because although I really love music, I get bored of songs quite quickly so I would end up completely hating the one song! Unless it's Taylor Swift...

Abbie's answer: I would rather listen to the same song every day because I love music way too much to not have it at all. It would have to be my favourite song though!

4. Would you rather be a famous blogger or famous youtuber and why? 

My answer: Famous blogger because then I could do what I love as a job and I'm not a youtuber, I also would be too self conscious about videos of myself being out there. 

Abbie's answer: This is a hard one! I would probably say a famous blogger, because blogging is my hobby and turning that into a job would be pretty cool. However, being a famous YouTuber could bring a lot of big opportunities and I just love YouTube!

5. Would you rather be in love and not be able to kiss or hug them, or not be in love and be able to kiss and hug who you want? 

My answer: hmm that's hard, and the answer would probably change depending on my age. Probably not be in love because it would be horrible to be in love with someone and not be able to hug or kiss them. 

Abbie's answer: I would say not be in love because not being able to hug and kiss someone in a relationship would be so hard.

6. Would you rather eat pizza or ice cream as the only food for eternity?

My answer: well at the moment I'd say pizza because I'm hungry and I don't really feel like ice cream but if you asked me in summer I'd say ice cream. I don't really love pizza that much but I'd probably say it as it is more filling than ice cream. 

Abbie's answer: Pizza, because in the winter eating ice cream would be freezing and you can eat pizza all year round!

7. Would you rather have to sneeze but not be able to or have something stuck in your eye for an entire year?

My answer: I would definitely rather need to sneeze but not be able to, because I get so annoyed and panicky when something is stuck in my eye! I can't do anything until I've got it out. 

Abbie's answer: I would rather be not be able to sneeze because having something in your eye really hurts!

8. Would you rather go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your great-great grandchildren?

My answer: I would rather go into the past because I don't want to spoil the future and I would like to see if I'm like any of my ancestors! 

Abbie's answer: Go into to the future and meet my great-great grandchildren because you could see what they did with their lives and how the world has changed in that time.

9. Would you rather be without internet for a week, or without your phone?

My answer: I would rather be without Internet because, I have mobile data and I also think it's sometimes nice to have a little break from the Internet, I'm not super obsessed with the Internet I quite like being away from it. One of the main reasons I use it for is talking to friends which I could do over text anyway. 

Abbie's answer: Probably be without internet for a week because at least with your my phone I could take photos, text and ring people!

10. Would you rather spend the day with your favorite YouTuber or your favorite movie star?

My answer: Youtuber because I feel like I know them really well because I've been watching them for about four years now almost five actually, and I don't really have a favourite movie star! However if it was the choice between youtuber and favourite singer, I would choose Taylor Swift just because I've loved her since I was about 7-9ish and I know pretty much all the words to all her songs and I would love nothing more than to meet her!! 

Abbie's answer: This is literally the hardest question! I love YouTubers and spending a day with my favourite - Zoe Sugg (Zoella) would be amazing! I love movies too and have a lot of favourite actresses but I wouldn't be able to choose which one! So I'd probably rather spend the day with my favourite YouTuber!

So there's our little collab for you, hopefully we can do more of these as I really enjoy it. :) 

Don't forget to check out Abbie's blog as it is so good!! https://itssimplyme3.wordpress.com/my-blog/

Comment some more blog post suggestions down below! 

Until next time 

-Anna x