Back to School Makeup

A quick post for the 'Back-to-School' season. I thought I would share my everyday makeup with you all as it's so simple and would make the perfect 'Back-to-School' look. 

Base

For my base I used my Clinique Super City Block in SPF 40. I like to wear an SPF on my face everyday, even in the Winter as it really is going to help prevent wrinkles forming and this is my favourite one. It's also available in a lower SPF which I might buy for the colder months. To give my skin a healthy, glowy complexion I used a tiny amount of the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer on my cheeks. Although I think this is a good primer, something like Strobe Cream from Mac would work just as well- it's all about giving your skin that glow under your makeup. I used Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer under my eyes and the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation lightly on the face, working it in well with a Real Techniques Face Brush for a natural finish. They have light reflecting particles for added illumination and last well. 

Eyes

I use a tiny bit of Mac 'Omega' Eyeshadow on an angled brush through my brows for a tiny bit of definition- nothing too 'Scouse Brow'! I washed a small amount of the shimmery shades from my Nars Alhambra Eyeshadow Palette over my eyelids and added a small amount of Bobbi Brown Bronzer into the crease of my eye for added definition with a fluffy brush. I line my eyes with the Maybelline Gel Eye Liner in Brown which is a great dupe for Bobbi Brown's Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer Ink at a fraction of the price (and you get a handy brush with the Maybelline one too!). I used Make Up Forever Smoky Lash Mascara on my top lashes only for a more feline effect. I love this mascara, it's honestly the best I've tried- it adds so much volume and length!

Lips

On my lips I've kept it simple as this could be a school or everyday look so I don't think a lipstick is necessary. Instead I opted for a Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector which combines all the benefits of a fabulous vanilla scented lip balm with the pale, milky pinkness of a lip gloss. These are perfect to throw in your handbag or school bag and have a nifty squeeze applicator so you don't ever need a mirror to apply it!

Final Touches...

Finally I bronzed the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and my jawline with the Bobbi Brown Bronzer (I have the lightest shade!) and added a tiny amount of Mac Dainty Blush to the apples of my cheeks, for a pretty yet natural pink flush. If you want to highlight your face, you could dust a small amount of the light Nars Eyeshadows on your cheekbones, bridge of your nose and cupids bow for a pretty finish.  I don't powder until the very end, and I only powder my T-zone to stop my face looking oily- for this I use Maybelline Stay Matte in Translucent. It's amazing and super cheap too! 

So that's my everyday/ natural/ back-to-school makeup look for you all! If you like it I might photograph my usual smoky eye look and explain how I achieve that :)

xxx

MAC Costa Chic

I got this lipstick a few weeks ago using the 'Back to MAC' scheme. For those of you who don't know, you can take 6 MAC empties to a counter or store and receive a free lipstick of your choice! Whenever I do this, I try to go for a colour a little out of my comfort zone, which is why I chose Costa Chic.

Costa Chic is a frost formulation, which I actually quite like. It's a bright coral with a hint of pink and would be perfect for summer nights out or holidays. Although I rarely wear bright lipsticks, I like to have them in my collection, and I try to use them on my annual holiday to Spain- so Costa Chic is a very fitting name!

I really recommend this colour. MAC lipsticks are by far the best lipsticks around in my opinion, you can't really go wrong!

xxx

MAC Viva Glam Nicki

I know the 'Viva Glam Nicki' post has been a little overdone, but I was so excited when it dropped through my door a couple of days ago that I thought I'd give my two cents on it. I saw it online the day it was released and ordered it straight away! I've been looking for a bright pink lipstick to wear in summer but up until now, couldn't find the perfect shade. 

What I love about the colour of this lipstick is that it's warm and not at all blue toned like other pinks I own. I don't find blue tones particularly flattering on my skin tone and I'm not sure that many people do, whereas this colour is universally flattering and very pretty. The swatch I have shown, is probably the most true to the actual colour of the lipstick from all my photos. I think a flash makes it look slightly lighter but, flash or no flash this colour is stunning. It has an almost coral tone to the pink, so if you like that look, you will like this. 

The formula is a Satin which some people find drying but I don't mind it. If you wear it on moisturised lips then this isn't a problem and I don't find it to show up cracks on the lips any more than other lipsticks I own. You can also add a gloss on top as well which would change the appearance of the finish so I don't find the formula a disadvantage. Plus, it lasts better on my lips and is more pigmented than Glazes or Cremesheens so in that way it is bonus. The smell is also lovely. As I've mentioned so many times, MAC lipsticks smell the best out of any lipsticks I've owned.

This is a gorgeous product and I think it would suit a lot of different skin tones. It's also worthwhile because the full RRP (minus VAT) goes to the MAC Aids fund to help improve lives globally.

Does anyone else own Viva Glam Nicki? What are your thoughts?

Lips- MAC Viva Glam Nicki - Link

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MAC Naturally Collection

As soon as the Mac Naturally collection I knew it was right up my street. I love nudes and like a glossy and polished look for my make up so this collection seemed perfect. I don't know if anyone else from the UK does this, but I'm always checking MAC.com to see the new collections before they get released here! I'd made my mind up I was going to get many more things than I actually did, but once it was released here I had to cut my list down to the two products that I would be the most disappointed if I missed out on them. I wish I had a money tree but unfortunately I don't!

Mineralise Blush- Fresh Honey

I've wanted a peachy blush for a while now. I usually wear pinks (my favourite being NARS Deepthroat) but as Spring was approaching- well sort of!- I wanted something to give me a more tanned glow. 

This blush is really pigmented and has a lovely soft consistency. It's quite powdery- you just need to touch your brush on the blush and you pick up a lot of product- but I like this. I thought it might have more shimmer but it's actually fairly matte. I think this is nice though as sometimes I can go a little overboard with the shimmer on my face!
 In reality the colour is slightly deeper than my camera is showing and it gives a gorgeous glow to my cheeks! I think this is an amazing blush, I prefer the formula to my normal MAC blushes and although for £19 it isn't cheap, if you're looking to treat yourself to a nice new blush, this is the one to get! I wish I could get the other two colours as they were lovely too.

Lipstick- Sweet Sunrise

I love MAC lipsticks, they are my favourite for formulation, smell (vanilla cupcake scent mmm!) and in my opinion they are quite reasonably priced for a high end product. 'Sweet Sunrise' is no exception. It's creamy, glides on and looks great. The finish is a Lustre which I love. 
I've compared the colour to others in my collection to give you an idea of what the colour is like.  It's very simmilar to Creme D'Nude but a little lighter and more pink toned. The colour is also slightly more sheer. Considering how pale it appears, it still manages to be very wearable. I think this is due to the glossiness and of it the fact it is more sheer than other nudes. This is not to say that you can't see it on your lips, you definitely can, but it just makes it a softer colour.

I'm so pleased with my two products. I ordered both off the internet so I'm glad I like them- I always feel ordering make-up is a bit of a gamble! If I had more money I would have liked the Redhead MSF but I'll make do with the two things I have for now :) 

Did anyone else get anything from the Naturally collection?

xxx

What I got for Christmas..

Here is a few of my favourite presents I got this year for Christmas. For me, the most important thing is spending time with my family but there's nothing wrong with sharing a few gifts every now and again!

1. The first is a collection of 6 Mac brushes. These are the best make up brushes by far and I'm slowly building up my collection by asking for a couple every Christmas and Birthday. This year I got the following brushes: MAC 217 (blending brush), MAC 263 (small angle brush), MAC 138 (tapered face brush), MAC 116 (blush brush), MAC 187 (duo fibre brush), MAC 168 (large angle contour brush)

The other brushes in the jar I received for Christmas last year :)

2. Next I got 'Dior Diorskin Poudre Shimmer all over face powder' in the colour Amber Diamond. I've read about it on lots of blogs and after finishing the highlight colours on my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick recently I wanted it even more.

At the moment, I am undecided on it. I love it, however it doesn't have the dramatic sheen of the Shimmer Brick. I can't say this is necessarily a bad thing, especially for everyday wear. I suppose I'm just a little less used to the more subtle look. It's also nice to use for eyeshadows and I'm continuing to use it so I can let you know my full opinion soon. I know it's a cult makeup product for many bloggers so I hope it lives up to this!

3. And finally, one of my favourite gifts.. the Focco! After seeing and hearing about these bags absolutely everywhere I knew I wanted one. It has lived up to expectation, I love it. A medium sized bag, with a zip (always useful when travelling- I hate having the contents of my bag exposed!), a side pocket and gorgeous stud detail on the bottom, how could anyone not think it was incredible? I know I'm late jumping on this bandwagon, but I'm so glad I finally have done and I'm pleased to be the owner of this bag.

So these were my favourite presents!

 Do you have any of them? What were your favourite gifts?

I go back to Sixth Form tomorrow but I'm still hoping to make a lot more time to blog as I said in my previous post, so fingers crossed I manage :)

xxx

My favourite Red

Firstly, apologies for the hideously huge pictures of my lips but here I am wearing my new lipstick from Mac in 'So Chaud' and I was desperate to do a post on what it looks like on! I rarely buy bright colours and have only ever bought one other red lipstick-which ended up being the most unflattering shade imaginable and made my teeth look yellow (not a good look!). Since then I'd been nervous of reds, but still in the back of my mind wanted one, if only I could find a shade to suit me. 

I recently had collected six Mac empties to 'Back 2 Mac' and I decided to go for a colour I wouldn't normally purchase. I'd seen Louise from Made in Chelsea wear a red lipstick that had a lot of orange tones rather than the usually blue tones and thought that it was gorgeous, so the lady in Mac helped me pick this one out. It's not an exact copy of Louise's lipstick (I'm still on the hunt for that shade!) but I really love it. Its matt which I wouldn't normally go for but I think the fact that it is matt makes it a lot more wearable than other reds. I've never really heard of anyone talk about this lipstick but I think it's one that people need to have in their collection!

Red lipsticks are really on trend at the moment and they are the perfect way to jazz up a LBD for a night out. I can't wait to wear this for the Christmas party season as I think this lipstick is so festive! Hope everyone has had a lovely week and is looking forward to Christmas. Do you wear red lipstick?

xxx

Mac Lipstick- So Chaud

Small haul and my Mac palette so far!

 

Today I had a little splurge! I had a bit of money left over from my birthday so bought myself a few goodies. The eye-shadows were for my new palette which you can see more clearly further down this post. I also got a cute cross necklace from Topshop which I love! It matches my ring and makes me so happy when I wear it.

 I got another Creme D'Nude lipstick from Mac as I'm already running low on my last one! The other lipstick is from Topshop, it's called Pillow Talk and I think it could be the ultimate baby pink. It's creamy, opaque and looks gorgeous on. I've been trying to find something similar from Mac but this is honestly the best pink lipstick I have ever found. 

The candle is from John Lewis and it's made by a company called Lily Flame. I've always been a Yankee Candle lover but I couldn't resist this packaging. It has a  lovely floral, fruity, sweet scent- as you can tell I'm not very good at describing scents! 

Finally this gorgeous fluffy pink jumper is from Topshop. It has the cutest bow detail on the back and I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it. To see it more clearly here is the link. I'm sure it will feature on an OOTD very soon!  

This is my Mac palette so far! Only 6 more shadows and it's full. I'm having so much fun picking out colours already :) 

From left to right:

Top Row- Vanilla, Jest, Espresso

Middle Row- Mulch, Sable, Woodwinked

Bottom Row- Coppering, Cranberry, Amber Lights

Recent Purchases ♥

Just a few collective purchases from some recent shopping trips. I'm trying to buy more practical clothes at the moment in preparation for going back to sixth form and finishing my A Levels, whilst still remaining fashionable!

From the top:

Aztec Dress- River Island £20

Camel Striped Jumper- H&M £14.99

Black and White Stripe Top- H&M £9.99
Imitation Leather Jacket- Zara £39.99

Maxi Skirt- River Island £25

Leggings- River Island £10

The Aztec stlyle earrings are from Primark and were only £2, I love them! I got the skull earrings from Topshop for £5 (although I'm not sure its clear from my picture that they are skulls!) and the lipstick is Creme d'Nude by Mac. I've been wearing this non stop lately, I don't know why I didn't own this before.

I've taken a few pictures of me wearing al these pieces and I will upload them shortly, hope you like them! 


Edit: After it was pointed out in the comments I have now included the price of the jacket, thanks for letting me know :)

Coral Lips ♥

Hello! Sorry I've not posted for ages, I've been in Spain for 2 weeks so I haven't been able to post any blogs. The good news is though that I have lots of OOTD's to show you and loads of ideas for future blog posts, I wont leave it this long again, or at least I'll try!

For a long time now I've always favoured the nude lip above any other colour out there. I thought, well this suits me, why try anything different?  However this year on holiday I wanted to be brave and in line with all the summer trends bought Mac's Vegas Volt lipstick at the airport. I love this lipstick so much, its an amplified finish which combines high pigmentation, a creamy feel and a semi matte finish to the lips. The colour is an orange-coral with the teeniest hint of pink (it's not really noticeable but every now and again I see it). I think above all it's a flattering colour that would work well with all skin tones and hair colours, it really is amazing.

Having said this I was only brave enough to wear this lipstick once, and after looking back through my holiday photos I felt a little disappointed I hadn't worn it more. Nonetheless here are the pictures of me wearing this lipstick.

On the rest of my face I played down my make-up I am wearing:

Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser (Natural Radiance)

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Medium)

Nars Blush (Deep Throat)

Bourjois 'Delice de Poudre' bronzing powder (51)

Urban Decay Naked Palette (Sin and Buck)

MUFE Aqua Eyes Liner (a brown one- not sure of the name)

My dress is from Topshop, it was £18 - bargain!

face of the night ♥

This is the make up I wore recently on a night out with my friends. I loved it because it was pretty and neutral, a really nice fresh look that would work well for the evening or daytime. The shadows I used were all from a gorgeous 'Too Faced' palette I bought not long ago called 'The Natural Eyes Kit'. It was around £20 and I love all of the shades included. The colours are not far off the colours from the Urban Decay Naked palette which I also own and use religiously, however I would go as far as saying I slightly prefer the Too Faced version. The colours I used were 'Heaven', 'Honey Pot', 'Silk Teddy', 'Push Up' and 'Cocoa Puff'.

I've lined my eyes with Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel eye liner in 'Chocolate Shimmer Ink'. I was weary of this colour at first, I've used gel eye liner for years but never ventured into using browns. Now it had come to summer I really wanted a softer look. After being shown all the eye liners (I've never seen so many shades of brown!) I settled on this one. It was the only shimmery version with red reflects present and had lovely warm undertone. The shimmer is hardly noticeable without a magnifying glass once it's on your eyes and yet it has a gorgeous depth to the colour, beautiful.

On my face I'm wearing Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in the colour 54. I've heard mixed opinions about this product but it's a must have for me. The coverage is medium and the finish dewy and glowing. I love the soft consistency and pleasant fragrance. I'm also wearing Mac Cream Colour Base in 'Improper Copper' on my cheeks and a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick to highlight. On my lips I have Mac Hue and a Maybelline Colour Sensational gloss in Ivory Beige. I'm a lover of nudes and this combination is pretty and natural looking, without washing me out.

All in all a pretty, glossy look perfect for daytime or night, many more face of the night posts to follow ♥