Monday 30 March 2015

Mini Mac Haul;

The nearest Mac store to me is an hour and a half away. Although I am forever lusting over the website I like to see my makeup before I buy it. Luckily a few towns away The Cosmetics Company Store has just open, they offer higher end brands of makeup  for a discount price. Of course they don't offer a full selection of products and they often use discontinued and less popular shades. But I am very excited to show you what I purchased and share my savings with you.
 I had to pick up the Pro Longwear Foundation especially as it was £17.50 in store. The helpful assistant stood with me for 20 minutes helping me find the right shade so a big thank you must go out to her. I bought it in the shade NW 13, I'm told the NW means pink toned and this was such a good match that you couldn't notice I was wearing it on my neck when I left. This foundation is meant to be medium coverage and natural so I'm looking forward to see how it works with my skin.
I don't usually get on with cream eyeshadows/ bases, (I don't even get on with the Maybelline Colour Tattoos) but I've heard such good things about Mac Paint Pots. I picked up mine in Groundwork, which is a medium warm-toned brown (even though Mac's website describes it as taupe??). I got this for £10 which is a £5.50 saving, I'm just keeping all fingers crossed that this converts me to a cream eyeshadow wearer.
This is by far my favourite purchase, Mac eyeshadows are iconic in the beauty world but even at the discounted price a single pan was £8 and I managed to pick this quad up for £21. Introducing: Showstopper, it is a cool toned quad that I don't think is available anymore. It contains the shades; 'Oh My Darling' which is a light nude with a little shimmer, 'Jest' which is a pink-peach shade with shimmer, 'Mineralism' which is a brown taupey colour which is full blown sparkle and 'Showstopper' which is a matte dark brown with purple undertones. I think this is gonna make some great looks and fit right in with the rest of my eyeshadows. I literally can't wait to try this, like as soon as I finish typing. Ooh and the packing is magnetic... so satisfying.

If you see The Cosmetics Company Store open near you, definitely go take a look it might take a bit of rummaging through sparkly purple lipstick and orange eyeliner, but there are some real gems. The also offer Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder and Smashbox among others and I will definitely be going back for more (when my bankcard has recuperated). What are your favourite Mac products?

Saturday 28 March 2015

My New Favourite Red;

I'm a big lover of Gossip Girl and when I saw Blake Lively had made a shade for L'oReal I just had to have it. Any excuse to be abit more like Blake, right? (I'd rather be Leighton but I'll take what I'm given). This is the first lipstick from L'oReal I have tried and I have been pleasantly impressed.
 The shade is pure pillarbox red that leans more towards the cherry side than orange. The red is very vibrant which I personally think looks great against my pale skin. There is a very matte finish but is still comfortable to wear and won't dry out your lips in the 5-6 hour wear before you need to reapply. Though I can't explain why, this feels very luxurious on the lips, the same way Mac lipsticks feel to me. I also think the packaging is very elegant for a drugstore lipstick.
This has even convinced to open the L'oReal lipstick I got from a christmas set last year!

Monday 23 March 2015

Possibly Perfect Contour;

Today I thought I'd share with you what may be my holy grail contour product (watch this space as holy grail products are subject to frequent change). The One Blush Stick by Makeup Revolution in Matte Malibu.
 I didn't think that cream contour would be my thing, but this has changed my mind completely. This is a dream to blend leaving you with a natural looking contour and the formula is creamy enough to layer up for a more dramatic look for night time. It makes contouring easy and precise, it lifts my usually flat face without just adding colour like some powder bronzers do. The colour didn't immediately appeal to me, being a pale girl it looked a little overpowering, but it blends into the skin looking completely natural. I'd say this is a touch to red for my complexion, but that's me being really picky. My only slight gripe with this is that the shade name isn't on the product, but I only have this and a shimmery blush sticks and their packaging is shiny so for now I can tell them apart just fine.
I've heard these blush sticks be compared to the Nars multiples, but even with price difference aside the quality of this makes me never want to try another! And you get so much for the price, grab your own from Makeup Revolution for just £5.00.

Friday 20 March 2015

Spring Makeup Staples;

It finally looks as though Spring may be approaching, in name of the new season I decided to shop my stash a little for the Spring products I can't wait to wear again.
This is Makeup Revolution's infamous Naked 3 dupe, the rose-gold and pinky shades really make this palette perfect for Spring. I think the pink tones add a nice twist to your everyday looks, and the darker aubergine shades are great to transition into the night. I haven't had any issue with product fallout and some of the shades are really shimmery (which I love) and with an eye primer they last all day on me!
During Spring I like to keep my face quite natural, and although this looks quite bright in the packaging it blends into a 'just stepped in from the cold' natural flush (hence the name maybe?). Cream blushes also tend to be less drying on any Winter-worn skin, this has almost become my daily blush as of late.
High Beam is hands down the best liquid highlighter I've ever tried. It gives your face that natural glowly, great skin look while still being eye-catching which I think is perfect if your skin has been dull during the colder weather. And you can wear this all day with no worry that its faded away, which I find cheaper highlighters normally lack.
Both of these lip options are highly moisturising and my lips are really craving their attention. Cotton Candy is exactly as it sounds a lovely light pink, and Let's Raise the Bar is a true orange that really draws attention. I can see myself living in these colours.

What makeup are you going to be wearing this season?

Sunday 15 March 2015

My First Mac Lipstick;

This is not just my first Mac lipstick but my first high-end lipstick in general. I only started looking at high-end products last year and I was also just started my love for matte lipsticks. So my first Mac had to be matte formula, this is in the shade Pink Plaid which is too adorable, it is also known as my baby. The moment I tested this I was in love with everything including Mac's famous matte black packaging with a hint of glitter. It doesn't get dirty easily and it is the perfect mixture of simple and grand.
Although this is matte the formula feels creamy on the lips and doesn't dry them out. It lasts almost all day, I know matte lipsticks last longer but still...
This shade lovely neutral pink which makes it wearable, but the subtle blue undertones make it something special and I haven't seen anything like it from other brands. The only reason I don't have a wardrobe full of Mac lipsticks (yet) is because I'm living on a student budget and my nearest Mac store is an hour and a half away, thank god.


Monday 2 March 2015

Essence: Cream Blush Review;

As you may know Wilko's has recently started offering a brand of makeup called Essence. I hadn't heard anything about the brand before, but from what I've seen in store they're a budget beauty brand with a wide variety of products, as well as a great selection of nail art pieces including gel polish (which I am super excited to try!).
The first thing I decided to try out by Essence was their Cream Blush Stick in the shade 30, which cost me just £1.50. I've got to admit I do wish they had shade names, its one of the little quirks I love with makeup. On the cheeks this is a quite subtle, natural blushing cheeks colour with a peach tone. The blush is easily blended into the skin, and not at all cakey. It dries as a sort of cream to powder finish, leaving no greasy shine like some cheaper cream blushes can do.
 I have to admit that what first attracted me to this was the little voice in the back of my head that said 'you don't own a blush in stick format', but having the blush in the stick doesn't really add much to the product as you still would need to blend this with a brush or your fingers. That being said I'm glad the little voice lured me into buying this as it really a great product, and it's kept my bank account happy.