Speaking of gifts…

We are super excited to host another giveaway! We’re about six followers shy of 350 subscribers and would love to reward one of you lovelies for being loyal to us. We of course will continue to have giveaways in the new year and are in the works of revamping our logo (stay tuned for that), but none the less our content and love for all things fashion & beauty will always be our main focus.

Shall I move along to the good part? Here’s what one lucky winner (chosen at random) will receive.

 A pair of sunnies from sunglassesspot.com

A Sephora brand eyeshadow palette

A Ciaté London mini nail polish kit

Rules: Repost photo above on Instagram using the hashtag #itsapplesandorangesblog

Also make sure to follow our blog (through email or WordPress). You’ll be notified when there’s a new post as well as any upcoming giveaways!

*We will announce the winner on December 26th! 

It’s that simple! Repost away!

Good Luck everyone!

Love, Gwen & Ari

Charlotte Tilbury 

Well, Well, Well guess who finally caved and bought some Charlotte Tilbury products. Yes you guessed it, little old me (Gwen). I have been wanting to try some of her products for about a year now but as you may or may not know they are pretty pricey. I am the kind of girl who will save her pennies for a few months and prance my way into a shop excited to bring some new goodies home.

On to the Brand, or shall I say the woman behind the brand. Charlotte Tilbury has been a makeup artist working in the fashion and beauty industry for over 20 years. She attended the Glauca Rossi school of makeup in London, took all of the tips and tricks she has learned and created her own line of skincare and cosmetics. Her products are loved by many celebrities as she often creates the looks for red carpet events and photo shoots. Well then on to what I purchased right?

I picked up the setting powder, blusher, concealer and lipstick. Below you’ll find further description of each product and my final thoughts. Also isn’t the packaging to die for? Such a sucker for anything rose gold!   The Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder is described as a breathable micro-fine powder with soft focus made to blur away lines and imperfections. It also has rose wax and almond oil which keep the skin hydrated. I have been testing this powder out for about two weeks now and I love the velvety texture of it. I also love how it is very lightweight and does not give that sort of caked on powdered look.

The Cheek to Chic swish and pop blusher is meant to provide a youthful flush of color on your cheeks. It has a creamy and buildable formula along with a light flex technology made to provide a luminous finish. I chose the shade Ecstacy and I feel it is a great peachy pink color, especially on sun kissed skin. It it suggested that your swirl your brush around the outer part of the blush blending it towards the temples of your cheek bones, you then pop the middle shade onto the apples of your cheeks (hence the name swish and pop).


The Retoucher Concealer is described to have ultra covering, and color correcting texture with a hydrating complex of black tea which provides moisture to the under eye area. It is also made with a lipo-siliconic compound made to create a natural veil of color blending seamlessly into the skin diminishing the look of lines and pores. I personally think it does a great job at illuminating the under eye area (if you like that Kim Kardashian sort of look as I do) but I have not noticed any of the other claims.

Matte Revolution lipstick is the last item I purchased in the shade “Red Carpet Red“. What’s really unique about this lipstick is the square shaped tip making it a bit easier for application as it mimics a lip brush. It is also infused with lipstick tree and orchard extract which keep your lips hydrated. It was also created with 3D glowing pigments which create the illusion of fuller and wider lips. As a self proclaimed lipstick lover I truly love the formulation of this lipstick. It wears well (for a good 5 hours with mild eating) it does not feel drying and the shade I chose is the perfect red!

Hope you all enjoyed this haul/review of my new found loves. If I had to choose two products out of the four as total must haves they would be the Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder and the Matte Revolution Lipstick. The Blusher and Concealer are products you could find from other inexpensive brands.

These along with her other products are available on her website Charlotte Tilbury . Although I  purchased my items at Selfridges in London because you are able to book an appointment and have a makeup artist apply the products before making your final purchase.

Till my next post,

xx, Gwen

Real Techniques Sculpting Set 

Makeup brushes are the kind of item that will either make or break your look, am I right ladies? I am not one to normally splurge on brushes because I believe you can achieve flawless looks with some of the lower end brands, which brings me to speak about Real Techniques! This is by far my favorite brand of brushes! They are affordable, blend amazingly well and do not shed. I own quite a few of them as does Ari and we both absolutely adore them.

If you haven’t heard of Real techniques, it is a brand launched by two sisters (Sam and Nicole chapman). In 2008 they started a YouTube channel and then followed with the launch of their brushes in 2011. They now sell a wide array of brushes ranging from $6-$26.

Now this set I will be speaking about is the sculpting kit ($20). It comes with three brushes, one for sculpting, a fan brush and a setting one. Here’s a closer look     

From left to right:

Sculpting brush is great for contouring. It’s angled shape fits perfectly into the hollows of your cheek bones and it is dense enough where it doesn’t grab too much product. Just make the fishy face blend the product and you’re good to go!

Fan Brush is exclusive to the set and it is utter perfection! It’s thin and fluffy enough where a light dusting of product is distributed. I feel this one is perfect for highlight on top on your cheek bones, tops of your brows, center of the nose and cupid’s bow.

Setting brush is another amazing brush! Setting under the eyes can be a bit tricky but with this one it fits nicely under your eyes or anywhere else you want to set (such as your t-zone for my oily girls).

All three of these brushes are super soft and blend products with ease. They can also be used on powder, cream and liquid formulas. What more could a girl ask for?    
Hope you all enjoyed this review of my new favorite brushes! Do you guys have any Real Techniques favorites? If so let me know which ones in a comment! I believe this set is sold out on their website but can be found at Superdrug and Feelunique in the UK and at Ulta in the US.

Till next time lovelies,

xx, Gwen

Makeup Forever-Blue Sepia Palette Review

Today I bring to you this limited edition makeup forever eye shadow palette “Blue Sepia”. I found this lovely at my local Marshalls for the low price of $16.99 compared to its original price of $45! It is an older season item but can still be found online and or in stores like TJMAXX and Marshalls. Inspired by the 1950’s it features a petrol sparkling blue color that really makes your eye pop! I mainly was attracted to it because of the varying soft brown shades that I figured were perfect to use as a base or transitional colors for any shadow look. Two shades are completely matte and even perfect for use on your eyebrows! It also came with a mini double ended shader brush, crease and an angled eyebrow brush not pictured here as I could not find them after use. It is compact and perfect to throw in a travel bag for everyday neutral looks while having the black and blue color options to intensify it to your liking for night.

The pigmentation varies with each color (the darker matte colors show up a lot easier on my tan skin). Feel free to use a medium like fix plus or eye drops to intensify the iridescent or satin colors. Pictures below are with and without flash.

makeup forever, sepia blue palette, eyeshadow, review, makeup, motd, bbloggers, beauty

makeup forever, sepia blue palette, eyeshadow, review, makeup, motd, bbloggers, beauty

)makeup forever, sepia blue palette, eyeshadow, review, makeup, motd, bbloggers, beauty

Until the next one, XOXO Ari