MAC Collection.

 

Hello my lovelies! I have seen a lot of mac collection posts popping up over the internet and thought it was about time to jump on the band wagon! Clearly my mac collection isn't the hugest as my budget doesn't allow and I love looking for makeup gems on the high street.

Despite this my now full time job means that I can get away with having a bit of a splurge!

 

 

I now own three blushers, the first (being to the far left) is Buff which is a matt, in the pan its a nothingy colour and I  did think to myself whats the point but as a pale chick its the perfect blush in my opinion, although it looks like an orangy brown that would translate as nothing on the skin it creates the most natural flush on the cheeks.

 

Dollymixture (in the middle) is a sheertone shimmer blush that is bottom line just a hot pink with a fine shimmer to it. It wouldn't say this is a must have although it is pretty, primarily I am a matte blusher kind of gal and the shimmer in this does not translate largely although does effect the pigmentation of the blush in my opinion.

 

Lastly (to the far right) is Frankly Scarlet also a matte, as a cult favourite I had to have it. I haven't worn it as yet although swatches on the hand look awesome! It's basically a red although does have a slight pink undertone which I love, would look great with a tan on holiday.

 

Omega has been my go to shadow for my brows for the best part of a year now, I cannot see myself from straying unless my hair colour dramatically changes! Its not to cool or to warm and looks so natural, especially as its a powder.

 

 

Trax to the left and satin taupe on the right have been wants of my for forever, trax is a mid toned purple with a gold shimmer running throughout which is prefect for the Christmas season, I usually pair it with Nocturnelle which is a deeper purple... I do not have a photo for that through because I deleted it my accident :'( and satin taupe which is a taupey brown colour with silver shimmer. Satin taupe transfers onto everyone differently, on some looking purple and others looking more gold.

 

Woodwinked is one of macs most popular shadows, when I purchased it truthfully I was expecting it to be a lot more gold... think I'll need to get goldmine for that! Its a Veluxe Pearl which means texture and appearance is creamy and fine. I haven't got to play about with this yet due to my eyelash extensions making application and removal of anything near the eye painsteankly fiddly. I'm expecting to love love love it!

 

 

Mac Blotting powder in medium has been raved about by MissBudgetBeauty whos judgement with face powders I trust like no others! It absorbs oil like you wouldn't believe however does not look cakey or powdery on the skin.

 

Lovelorn and sweetie are the two newest editions to my collection, lovelorn is a true pink with a peach undertone. Whereas sweetie is a purply pink with a silver shimmer running through it.
 

 

Milian Mode is extremely similar to Girl about town however has a extremely fine glitter/shimmer in it.

 

Crème De Nude was a gift, and when I received it I had a slight panic attack. Nudes do not agree with me at all unless I want to look dead! Something about this though makes you look alive and your lips look plump! love it!

Softly lit has since gone missing since this post which calls for a mac order! Its a warm pink nude with a silver blue sheen making you teeth look super white.
Euro Beat which is a dazzleglass is extremely glitterly and sticky, would not recommend.
 

 

Boldly bare is a lip pencil which universally looks great on everyone its a your lips but better colour and is slightly peachy.

 

You cannot do a mac collection without mentioning vanilla pigment, its unlike any thing I have seen before offering both a warm and cool incandesce in my opinion. Its also super versatile and can be used in so many ways on the eyes or as a highlighter.

 

xxxx

Pantene 7 in 1 hair perfector BB Creme

Pantene is a brand I have always brushed under the carpet. When it comes to hair care Tresemme and Kerestase are my go to brands.

However recently my hair has been feeling and looking extremly, dry, dull and lifeless. Obviously I  bleach my hair and along side growing it out keeping it healthy is a struggle. I have extremely curly hair so styling my hair without heat is not an option.

I saw that BritishBeautyBlogger had recommended  this on her blog and went straight out to pick it up, for £1.57 you cannot say no.

It claims to strengthen your hair, while preventing it from looking brittle and keep it smooth, sleek and shiny.

As for strengthening I do not know it hasn't appeared to do much despite the fact it makes your hair feel and look like silk. I used it as a deep conditioning treatment before I washed my hair and then piled it on before letting my hair air drying before straightening.

I cannot see this becoming a permanent fixture in my hair care as kerestase agerecharge masque does the same while strengthening and smelling ah-mazing! However for a cheap and cheerful hair pick me up this is 100% worth it.

xxxx 

The only way is AlanyaBrooke

When is comes to my recent approach to beauty it's been more laid back than ever... or has it?

I wake up, wash my face slap on some spf, apply my loose powder and I'm good to go.

Yes, it seems like I couldn't care less and don't take that much time, true. However I think this is the perfect example of the new approach to beauty women are now taking.

Rather than waking up and applying a full face of makeup. Spending half an hour on our hair and painting our nails two to three times a week we're now taking a more lazy approach to this. Myself included.

Where as I would previously spend the best part of a hour getting ready in the morning I would now say it's 10mins maximum. And this is reflective of many other womens routines. The likes of spray tans, eyelash extensions, eye brow tinting and nail fixes such as shellac allow for this reduced time (and an extra half hour in bed.)

To many they may seem costly and timely,  although they actually are far more affordable than you may think.

Take nail polish. It will take you the best part of an hour to do your nails, and say you change up your nail colour 3 times a week. That's 3 hours, factoring in the price of a nail polish, base coat, top coat and varnish costing you around £25 without factoring in all the different colour varnishes you will buy. Where as you could pay £20 for shellac that will take around a quarter of an hour to apply last you a good 2-3 weeks and will not chip. In addition a good nail technician will do a full manicure included free of charge. This is similar if you opt for acrylics as well. Looking at it in this perspective opting to have your nails done rather than doing them yourself now looks like he better option.  

A new love of mine are eyelash extensions. The price of these vary from around £30-£90 usually sitting in the middle around £60 for a decent set. Lasting up to 6 weeks depending on your natural lashes and how well you look after them. Infills are around the £25 mark and suggested around every 2-3 weeks. I wouldn't be without mine now. They take around 2 hours to apply which allows for a nice nap!

An Essex girls favorite is fake tan. With the range of tan on the market at the moment spray tans are unnecessary. I use Cocoa brown and can apply a full body tan in less that 10 minutes. The great thing about the tan is that it only takes a hour to develop! I apply my tan twice a week and keep in topped up in between with Dove Summer Glow.

Hair is a funny one to discuss, it all depends on your hair type and care routine. I have highlighted medium length hair. It's super curly however I can go for a week without washing it, gross but true. My personal routine is a deep condition and wash on a Sunday. Followed by a blow dry and a good 4 hours with it setting in rollers, leaving it with volume. I will then wear my hair in top knots, plaits or just down till the Sunday when I will do the whole thing again. When exercising I have it in plaits and occasionally will give it a blast of dry shampoo throughout the week if necessary.

Eyebrows are massively important, they frame your face and can take you from looking dull to simply amazing. I'm lucky enough to of always had a knack from eyebrows, I've always waxed, threaded, plucked and tinted my own along with often doing friends. I thread my brows once a week and will pluck if any strays peek through between this time. I tint my eyebrows fortnightly which saves filling them in. However if i'm going out where I'll be photographed I'll use MAC omega through my brows.

In summary, I wear acrylic nails, fake tan twice a week, wear eyelash extensions, and keep on top of my brows.... Can you tell i'm form Essex ;)

My hair is pretty low maintenance and takes up minimal time. 

I love these semi permanent options which are now readily available to anyone on the high street.

No only do I wake up pretty much ready for the day but I don't have to worry about chipped nails and my makeup melting off. After I completed my morning skin care I buff some loose mineral powder over my face along with some lip balm and I'm ready to go!

Many would say this is a very Essex/high maintenance approach to beauty however I would argue the opposite. extra time in bed in the mornings and only having to send about half an hour maximum a week on up keep of this definitely where the beauty industry is heading.

I would love to know your opinion on this! Whats you approach?

About time!

Lets start this off by saying I'm super duper excited! Last Tuesday I was accepted on my the beauty therapy course I've been wanting to do since I was 15 and last Thursday I dropped out of sixth form.

What this means that of the 6th of January 2014 I'll be a trainee CIBTAC and CIDESCO beauty therapist and by the 7th of January 2015 I'll be a fully qualified therapist and then continue onto my makeup artistry training!  I will be completing my course at the London School of Makeup and Beauty.

Ever since I was a little girl this is all I ever wanted to do! I remember telling my parents how I wanted to travel up to the city everyday and work within the beauty industry and now it's actually happening.  Obviously I will continue blogging throughout all of this and will be sharing all that I learn with you. 

In  the mean time I'm going to be taking an eyelash extension course and hopefully an acrylic nail course. While starting my reading for the course and working as many hours as I can.

I have also taken up running again and now do about 10k a day, interval training, which my body is slowly starting to adjust to.

Apart from this I'm gearing up for my 18th Birthday which is towards the end of November. Serious dress and shoe buying has begun!

xxxx

Acrylic nails

You either love them or hate them. I have always been on the fence with acrylics, sometimes i look at people and cringe at there acrylic and other times I fall in love.

Since working at my new job my nails have been taking a beating, and despite having them chopped right back with shellac they were still breaking, tearing and splitting. 

This is why I have opted for acrylics, short, square and strong. I love them. 

My contracts up at work in January and I cannot see myself not having them on until I leave. As they are saving my nails.

Since wearing them my cuticles are in such better condition and he best part is no one has noticed that they're acrylic.

Acrylics have a persona that they are a lazy persons choice of nails. However you still have to look after your nails. 

Firstly it is important to get yourself a good nail technician, that preps our nails properly this will not only prevent fungal and bacterial nail infections from the offset but will prevent that nails from lifting which can also cause these infections that are caused due to moisture between the nail bed and acrylic. 

Applying a nail oil is also important as it keeps the cuticle healthy as well as the nail bed, but also penetrates through the polish you're wearing and keeps the acrylic supple reducing the chances of cracking, breaking and lifting. The cuticle oils sold are usually antibacterial as well and will help keeping the nails clean. Personally i use antibacterial hand gel in all the cracks and crevices every other day before applying my cuticle oil.

One of the best things about acrylic is that your nail polish wont chip meaning that you can wear the colour for weeks. I personally change the polish weekly, using an acetone free nail polish remover. Although 

its fine to change the polish yourself with acrylics its important to not do it too regularly as it can weaken the nail.

As for infills I get my done fortnightly, where they will remove your polish file down, prep the nail before infilling the regrowth and applying a thin coat of acrylic over the previous. They will then reshape the nail and apply your polish of choice. You could stretch to three weeks but you then run the risk of breakage and lifting. 

Every 2 months its a good idea to have the whole set removed and replaced. The acrylic has usually got quite thick on the nail by this time and most people will want a new set however it can prevent bacterial and fungal infection.s by Having this done as the nails health can be assessed. A manicure is suggested on these appointments as well as removal to keep nails in the best of health. 

Personally I'm loving having acrylic nails!

Maybelline Super Stay 24hr Waterproof Powder review.

This is a new Maybelline release and its hot on the shelves, claiming to be a waterproof powder for flawless coverage, shine control and being able to resist shine, oil, sweat, heat and humidity.

Finding my shade was a nightmare and after hmming and ahhing i grabbed nude which is far to dark and way to pink toned. 

For £6.99 you will get 9g of product and sponge and mirror. I liked the concept of the product and the packaging which is super sturdy.

I had high hopes for the product, Mollie King from the saturdays raved about it and after applying it tis morning I think i hate it.

I say 'think' because i dont feel as if i have given it much of a try, however I applied my makeup at 11 this morning and since then sat around watching films, its now 2 in the afternoon and my t zone is not looking to great. For a product which claims to withstand shine, oil, sweat, heat and humidity I would say its performed

awfully.

  

If I were to praise this product it would be on the basis that it has pretty decent coverage, and that the powder is silky smooth along which the packing that I have already mentioned.

It's be fair to say this will be the first and last time that I will be using this product espically as the colour isn't the best of matches. 

xxxx

Cocoa brown fake tan.

Cocoa Brown has stormed the fake tan market, as an avid fake tanner I have been dying to get my hands on it.

If you were in the Primark on Oxford Street last Tuesday you would of heard me screaming 'it's fate' while grabbing a bottle. I had been putting purchasing this off however could not control myself when I saw the stand.

            

I have no tried and tested the product and have fallen in love. This best way to describe it is a spray tan in a bottle as it smells and feels just like a spray tan.

I was surprised by the consistency of the mousse as it is just like hair mousse! The fact that the product doesn't have a nasty fake tan smell is also a bonus.

As for the 1 hour claim I would agree that it is super fast at developing on your skin. I however still slept in the product and it didn't stain my sheets which is a bonus. Unlike other mousses on the market I didn't find it to be drying neither did i feel the need to wash it off after it developed.

The tan is really well wearing and I haven't yet found it to go patchy (I will report back on this) 

The colour isn't orangy neither does it have a super olive tone. 

I would add that exfoliating feels to be a lot more essential with this tan compared to others I've used.

As for product life time I think I will fly through this bottle fairly quickly especially if i were to tan my entire body, and opt for a deeper tan which would mean two applications.

A definite repurchase xxxx