Review: MAC Studio Fix boldblack lash mascara

Hello beauties,

 

While a lot mascaras target one aspect of lash enhancement, I think a kit essential is a mascara that enhances your natural lashes  

Price: £14 for 7g buy here

Good: This is a perfect everyday mascara. It really just enhances everything you like about lashes by lengthening, slightly curling and fanning them out. It is just a great 'my lashes but better mascara'.

 

The wand is stiff and sturdy and holds just the right amount of product. The tube removes any excess product from the applicator which ensures each eye has the same amount of product applied. It also prevents clumping and allows for buildable application.

 

This is my go to mascara to apply when wearing false lashes. A little swipe of this will blend your falsies perfectly in with your natural lashes. It will also help to fan them out slightly. I really like this on to of  the Eylure Naturalites lashes, it makes them look even more natural.

 

Bad: This is not a show stopper, I would never wear this if I was going out, it is definitely more of a day product. The other thing I have noticed is it dries instantly. While with other mascaras you can apply a few layers of product, with this it seams to dry before you can get more product on the applicator. I just run through my lashes with a clean spooly before I apply more layers of product. You could also apply a little oil on the lashes before applying your first layer to combat this.

 

Let me know what you think of this mascara. Sometimes I just like to have subtle lashes and this is the best mascara I have found for those 'I woke up like this' days.

 

Ciao

  xxx

 

Review: Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Palettes

Hello Beauties,

While I share in the love for the Naked palettes I do have a few other gems in my stash I thought could do with some affection. Lancôme is one of my preferred brands, I feel the standard of high quality is consistent across all of their products, and everything looks so pretty!

 

Price: £37 buy here

Good: First things first the shadows themselves are really good quality. They have a velvet like texture and don't crease whether applied with or without primer. The lightest shade is glittery, the two darker pink shades are shimmery and the darker shades are perfectly matte. This is a great combination of colours as well, they all look really nice separately and mixed in any combination.

The applicators in these palettes are amazing! As you can see there are two applicators a dual headed one with a normal foam end to pat on the shadow and a sturdy flat foam end. This end is great for applying a precise line of powder on your upper or lower lash line. The other applicator is great quality, it is perfect for applying the darker shades in to your crease and smudging them out a little to create smoky eyed looks.

 

Bad: I have three of these palettes, so you can probably guess I don't really see anything wrong aside from the price. They are not cheap and there are lots of palettes of the same quality with more shades. I just love the colour combinations, it's really about if you will wear them enough to justify the attack on your purse.

 

What are your favourite Lancôme products ladies?

 

Ciao

  xxx

Blogger Community

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Ladies, I decided to set up a blogger community on Google+ where we could share product reviews and make up looks. I would really love you to come and join!

It is not just for bloggers to read each others posts so if you don't have a blog but love reading reviews then come and join too, let us know what you think and tell us what you want us to blog about :)

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Does Quality Cost?..Blusher

Hello lovelies,

Blusher is one of the few make up kit essentials that does not get used every day, so is it really worth splashing out on an expensive blusher knowing you may only use it a few days a week?

I'm going to compare my favourite high street and high end blushers at the moment, I have gone for powder blushers simply because I don't have a high end cream blusher.

High Street: Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks RRP £1.99

I love this blusher; it is super powdery, really subtle, easily buildable and incredibly cheap. I personally always go for the shade Pink Cloud but there are three other shades if you are not so keen on the baby pink.
The dusty texture sets your foundations and keeps it looking matte. It also allows you to use just a little of the product and build up to the colour you like. This is my go to every day blusher I have been using since early teens. 10/10

High End: M.A.C Powder Blush RRP £18

This is a more recent find, one which I am very happy with but will probably not rush to make a repurchase. The shade is completely different to the Natural Collection blush, but the texture of this blush is similar.
It too has a dusty texture, but where as the Natural Collection blusher applies more like a loose powder, this is clearly a pressed powder. It is much harder to keep just a small amount of product on your brush with this blusher and it is therefore less buildable. Having said that this is such a pale shade that it is very subtle. 8/10

There are of course lots of blushers I could have chosen from, I have just gone for one that I have that is most similar in texture to my favourite high street blusher. These swatches are single swipes of product on  to my finger transferred on to my arm; the blushers are much more subtle if applied using a brush, but as you can see the colour payoff, pigmentation and texture are really similar.

Overall, from all the brands I have tried, I personally prefer high street, I prefer more subtle blush and find that some high end blushers are too pigmented or the pay off is much more than you expect.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful. Let me know what your favourite high street and high end blushers are in the comments bellow.

Ciao

  xxx

Lancome Blush Subtil Palettes

When it comes to blusher and highlighter I find the high street have pretty much got us covered, but if it is a cool toned contour you are after then you just have to look at high end and these little trio palettes are have got all three products to perfection.

I have been using the 02 Nectar Lace Palette for around a year (pictured on the left) but have recently been using the lighter 01 Rose Flush Palette (pictured below) simply because I love the shade of the soft pink blusher. At £29 this is very costly if you only plan on using the sculpting powder but I cannot stress how high quality this product is.

The sculpting powder has a buttery consistency and is easily build-able to chisel away at those cheekbones. It is well pigmented and perfectly matte so only a little amount of product is needed. The texture leaves your skin feeling really smooth, used together with the blusher and highlight your skin looks and feels beautiful. All the powders in the 01 palette are well suited for pale skin tones, where as the blush in the 02 palette I would say is more suited to medium to dark skin tones, I find it a bit too vibrant for my milky skin. The sculpting powder in the 02 palette is however still really blendable and still works well with paler skin. Basically, Lancome need to realise that everyone is looking for a perfect contour powder and release the sculpting powder as a stand alone palette. Until then though, this comes in at £29 and can be purchased at most Lancome concessions and online here.

Ciao
  xxx

Prom / Evening Makeup Look

Hello lovelies,

So please excuse my massive face, I always feel really silly doing look posts but you seam to like them and I do like putting on lots of make up so I thought I would do a kind of prom style/ evening make up look for you. I have linked up the products for you if you want to shop this post.

PRIMER:  I used Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer all over my face and bareMinerals Prime Time eyelid primer on my lids and under my eyes. This lid primer is amazing at getting rid of pores and stopping creasing!

FACE:  I used YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation which I set using bareMinerals Mineral Veil. I hope you can see just how smooth the finish this veil gives you is, it is my favourite setting powder at the moment. I love looking matte and it seams to work really well with these primers and foundation.

I then applied some M.A.C Powder Blush in shade Immortal Flower to the apples of my cheeks. For my contour and bronzer I used Jouer Cosmetics Mattifyling Powder Bronzer in shade Sunswept. For highlight I just used a tiny bit of Jour Cosmetics Highlight in shade Feather on the apples of my cheeks up to the corners of my eyes.

EYES:  As you can see I have green eyes and I have always loved gold eye shadow, it makes my eyes look greener and warms up my skin. Here I decided to use the Naked 1 palette as Half Baked is probably my all time favourite gold. I used Smog as my crease colour with a bit of Darkhorse blended in to the outer V. I blended the crease upwards with Buck as a transition colour.

I lined my eyes using Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner and smudged out the wings using Creep. I then put a little of Half Baked and Smog and put it under my bottom lashes.

I used M.A.C Studio Fix Boldblack Lash mascara on my lashes; with 2 coats on my  top lashes, and YSL Eyebrow Pencil in shade 4 Ash to fill in my brows.

LIPS:  Jouer Cosmetics Lip Sheer shade St Tropez; this lipstick is actually a warm brown colour with lots of gold shimmer in. It has not pictured as well as I'd hoped but it really brings together the different shades of the eye shadows.

Let me know if you like this look ladies. I definitely plan on wearing more gold eye shadow looks over the summer months, and this one is so easy to do.

Ciao

  xxx

Does Quality Cost?..Matte Lipstick

Hello beauties,

My true make up love is lip stick, I am fairly obsessed with nude lipsticks. I daren't count my collection, but when it comes to high street or high end it is a fairly balanced market. So I thought I would test out probably the hardest thing to get right; mate nude lipstick.

This can look awful if you do not moisturise your lips, I personally apply The body Shops Vitamin E oil the night before I am going to be wearing these lipsticks. You can also use lip balms or you moisturiser, anything that is going to hydrate your lips.  

High Street: Soap & Glory Super Colour Fabulipstic Powdercoat Matte Lipstick Super Nude RRP £9     
      

Firstly I just have to mention how perfect this shade is, it is an exact match for my natural lip colour, I had to buy it my sister also after months of nagging; it is the perfect no make up make up! It is well pigmented so if your lips are not the same shade as mine then it will still look true to colour on your lips.
Aside from the shade this lipstick has a lovely texture. It is rather moisturising for a matte lipstick; it slides on really and will stay put for around 2 hours. This is not a perfect matte but it is by no means glossy. If you want a neutral toned matte lippy that will not dehydrate your lips this should be top of your try me list. 9/10

High End: M.A.C Matte Lipstick Honey Love RRP £15

There is seriously no hiding those dehydrated lips with this shade, it is paler than natural lip shade and incredibly matte. I adore the look of this lipstick but I have been known to apply it on top of lip balm from time to time. It seams to drain your lips from any moisture you did have. This does mean that it is long lasting as there is little transfer, however no body wants dry lips. This is very highly pigmented and is a beautiful shade, perfect for spring and summer natural makeup. For looks alone I would give this 10/10 but taking account of wear-ability it has to be 9/10

 

Overall M.A.C have achieved lipstick perfection, they have such a massive range of shades and textures but for matte I would say some high street brands have achieved the same high quality for much less. With £6 difference I would probably say try Soap & Glory first if you are unsure about matte lipsticks, but if you know you love this look then Honey Love looks amazing and is worth that bit more.

Please hit follow if you enjoyed this post and let me know what your favourite matte lipstick is in the comments.

Ciao

  xxx

Does Quality Cost?.. Foundation

I was looking over some of my old posts yesterday and way back in July I wrote a 'Does Quality Cost?..eye shadow palettes' post, this got lots of views so I thought I would do the same with my two favourite foundations. 

High Street: L'Oréal Paris True Match Foundation RRP £9.99 30ml

There are so many different shades available in this foundation, it is one of the few high street foundations you are guaranteed to find your actual shade in. They come in N, C and W shades, N for neutral undertones C for cool undertones and W for warm undertones; similar to MAC foundations. 
Little product is needed but this is buildable dependant on how much coverage you like. The less product you apply the more matte the finish. I found I could get away without wearing a powder on this, however this is because I find it a little drying if I wear it for too long. The dry areas of my skin started to feel dehydrated after the 5th day of wearing this. This is more suited to normal to oily skin in my opinion. Having said that this foundation looks and feels great, put it in a high end bottle and you would not know the difference. 

High End: Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Éclat RRP £31.50 30ml
Again there are lots of shades available of this foundation, however I would probably say you are more likely to get a perfect match with the true match foundation. This foundation just feels amazing, I prefer wearing it with a loose powder to set it but you can do without if you prefer the sheer glow from the foundation alone. It applies seamlessly with very little product needed. It provides more of a glow to the skin than the true match, much more suitable if you have dry skin. I would say this is suitable for all skin types; my oiler areas do not look too shiny and my dry areas do not feel as though they lacked moisture. The only negative I can say about this is that it does not really have build-able coverage, and concealer is needed if you have any blemishes. This foundation does not claim to be a full coverage though so it is not a fault of the foundation just something to note.


Of course we all have different skin types and you may find these foundations a little different from me. For reference I have normal to combination skin and I have been using the Nivea Express Hydration Primer (review).


I think when it comes to foundation it totally depends on what kind of finish you want on whether high street or high end is better. I personally feel that high end brands like Estee Lauder have achieved the best full coverage and matte bases, while if it is a low to medium coverage and a dewy finish you are after then the high street have some really great foundations.

Ciao
  xxx