Lockdown Beauty Finds

Finally, back to work! I am so happy this day has come and I can get back to my lovely clients. It’s been a tough road, being furloughed meant I was unable to do any work of any kind for Spark & Flutter. So instead, I threw myself into the world of make up. I have always been in awe of make up artists, their ability to blend the perfect smoky eye, contour elegant jawlines and… apply strip lashes. 
 
It may come as some surprise, considering I am a lash technician and spend hours a week hand creating perfect little fans to apply to each individual eyelash, up until lockdown I could not apply a strip lash. To myself or to anyone else, honestly. So one of my main goals of lockdown was to learn how, it took patience but I did it. 
 
So along with strip lashes, I compiled a list of all my beauty finds to pass on. They really are too good to resist.
 
Rituals
 
Any of you that know me will know I love a trip to Rituals. Whilst I was unable to visit I went online and ordered some new things to try. 
 
The Ritual of Holi Foaming Shower Gel | £6.90 
I am a sucker for a product with a colourful label, and the label reflects how you feel when using this shower gel. I was amazed by how much foam you got from such little gel. It has almost an aerosol design, a puddle of gel the size of a 2p coin is enough to cover yourself head to toe in bubbles (so great value for money) and leaves your skin feeling so soft and silky all whilst potentially being the best smelling shower gel I have ever used. 
 
The Ritual of Sakura Hand Wash | £9.90
Remember the days of empty shelves in the supermarkets, a distant memory now. There was a time when soap was impossible to get hold of, that was around the same time my last bottle of hand soap only had about 2 pump-fuls left. So this was my savior, and a glowing one at that. As with all Rituals products I was won over by the scent, but my hands were never left feeling dried out.
 
The Ritual of Dao Hand Cream | £9.90
And with all that hand washing came the need for all that hand cream. Unlike normal hand creams this is almost a gel-cream hybrid, instantly absorbed into the skin without leaving your hands tacky or slimy. Definitely the BEST hand cream I have ever used. 
 
BeautyBay
 
Who doesn’t love a browse over the pages of BeautyBay? No one. Their ‘tribe points’ loyalty scheme can be quite addictive. 
 
CoverFX Power Play Concealer | Shade N Light 2 | £21.50
Being as pale as I am does come with certain downfalls, one being dark circles constantly under my eyes. I’m not tired, I promise. Although I had the amazing Sunekos treatment done at the end of 2019, I still need a little help. This one did not disappoint, and it is quite possibly going to last forever, as a little really does go a long way. One dab under each eye (and may be a smaller dab on any ‘lockdown’ breakouts) was plenty to cover up before applying foundation. I have never spent this much on a concealer but it will certainly be my go-to again and again.
 
LA Girl Cosmetic Pro HD Concealer | Shade Beautiful Bronze | £4.95
Recommended in one of Sarah Ashcroft’s YouTube videos, this is great for contouring. The brush applicator allows for small amounts exactly where you need it. It doesn’t leave you orange and blends great into foundation with a beauty blender. What more could you want?
 
Lashes
 
Eyelure Volume Accents ¾ Lashes | No. 005 | £5.00 | ASOS
I didn’t know where to start when it came to choosing a good quality strip lash, so I went with what I always see in Superdrug, Eyelure. I am really pleased with the quality of these lashes, I wore them (to the living room) around 5 times during lockdown and they are still in great condition. I felt that accents were a good start for a strip lash virgin; something in my mind said ‘they’ll be easier to apply that something that goes the full length of your lash line’. They were, and the glue that was included held them in place all day. 
 
Doll Beauty Lashes | Alice | £4.00 reduced from £10 at time of purchase | Doll Beauty
One of my friends is make up obsessed and she recommended trying Doll Beauty Lashes. I will say these are longer than the Eyelure ones but that’s perfect because it makes them great for nights out. The seam is really strong but flexible, so fits to any eye shape. I got these on and in place so easily and will definitely be buying some more styles next time I walk past the concession in my local Topshop.
 
 
All of these products will become permanent fixtures in my make up drawers; especially strip lashes as its rare I get a chance to have Russian Lashes done. I am sure you’ll agree that this list beats the ‘Lockdown Cleaning Product Finds’ blog post that I was also considering, although if you want any recommendations of those, hit me up.