Face of the day – special occasion

Made with #Pixlr# – http://pixlr.com/mobile

So this what I’m wearing today, eye brows were filled I’m with Mac charcoal brown eye shadow,   from the eyeshadow quad I used the bottom right shade in creole beauty all over my eye lid  and I also used some Maybelline gel liner in black but some how it escaped the photo!  😉 For mascara I used perversion by Urban Decay but I’m finding that recently this is smudging on my lower outer corner 😦
For my skin I used Maybelline’s baby skin on my the zone and then applied my usual Maxfactor foundation, and covered my dark under eye circles and a few blemishes with Soap and Glory’s kick ass concealer duo, followed by Rimmel stay matte pressed powder in translucent. Then I applied my L’Oréal Le blush in sandalwood pink to the apples of my cheeks :$ ,  and last but not least I used my Maybelline lip lacquer.
I don’t wear this make up day to day,  this was a special occasion 🙂 I will be posting an everyday face of the day soon. Until next time stay happy,  beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

Lou 🙂 ❤

BEAUTY FAVOURITES SEPTEMBER 2014

Hello 🙂 , today I’m with my September beauty favourites , I’ve been trying a few new products and I can confidently say that after putting these products through their paces I have a few new favourites ! Grab a coffee or wine if age appropriate ( well it is Saturday 😉 ) and I’ll get started .

Bare Minerals Bare Skin Foundation 

First up is a new foundation favourite from Bare Minerals , I went to my local counter and got matched at the beginning of September and picked up a free sample of their new Bare Skin ‘pure brightening serum foundation’ in shade Bare Natural 07 . I have fallen in love with this foundation , I was very dubious about trying this at home without the new brush that accompanies this new foundation but at £24.99 for a foundation brush i thought what the hell , I more than likely have a brush that works with this foundation and I was right . I use my Real Techniques expert face brush and it works very well , I put 2-3 drops of foundation onto the back of my hand and gently stipple my brush in it so the product doesn’t run off my hand and blend onto my face . This product goes a long way and lasts well through out the day , I used this foundation with Maybelline’s Baby Face pore perfector and on its own and it works equally well ,I do powder this foundation with Rimmel’s Stay Matte pressed powder in 001 Transparent .

L’Oreal Paris Le Blush in 120 Sandalwood Pink £7.69

This little blush has a lot going for itself ! Its small and compact with a separate compartment for a mirror and a usable miniature blush brush . The colour is perfect for this time of year when the weather is beginning to turn slightly cooler , its a fresh toned pink with gives your cheeks a natural flush of colour without looking overdone.

MAC Lipstick in Patisserie £15.50

I’ve mentioned this lipstick in my MAC lipstick post so I’m going to bore you to death repeating myself , but I’ve rediscovered this lipstick this month after digging it out of my work locker and I am reaching for it over and over again as my every day nude lipstick 🙂 , its just so pretty and smells delicious too !

Wilkinson’s Premium Smokey Eye Duo Brush £3.00

Don’t get me wrong I love a good beauty bargain but I really didn’t think I would make this gem of a discovery in Wilkinson’s , so they have just  redone and re-launched their brush range and wow I am seriously impressed . At a quick glance I thought these were Real Techniques brushes as they have the same colouring of a black handle and a bronzy gold farrel . The quality of these brushes are amazing I wanted to buy the whole set ( you can only buy them individually) but my local store had very little stock left so I picked up this brush , I use the angled end to fill in my brows with MACS Charcoal Brown eye shadow which is perfect for my shade of brows and I seriously would not be without it now . Its a synthetic brush and washes well and dries very quickly . Go check out thee awesome brushes and I believe most of these brushes are £5 and under ! 

MUA (Makeup Academy) Lipstick in shade 11 , £1.00  ( Available at Superdrug )

Yes you read that correctly a lipstick for £1 ! I was so surprised at how lovely this lipstick actually was , the packaging isn’t the most attractive but it certainly doesn’t look cheap . It has a smell , even though I cannot describe I will go as far as saying its not awful . The lipstick itself is very good quality with a good colour pay off and lasting power , and it is a close dupe for MAC’s lipstick ‘Creme in your Coffee’ , side to side in the tube they look differently but when applied to you’re lips you cant tell , I did half and half with the 2 lipsticks and there was no difference (saving you £14.50 compared to MAC) ! Ii will be going back to Superdrug to try some more of these beauties 🙂

Left MUA , Right Mac

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow stick in 003 Bad Girl Bronze £4.49

These eye shadow sticks are a re-occurring favourite of mine , they just last well and the shade range is to die for . This month I have been reaching for Bad Girl Bronze which is perfect for autumn 🙂 . Full review post is already up !

Those were my favourite beauty products of September 2014 , hope you enjoyed this post . Enjoy the rest of your weekend , stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

Collection Gothic Glam Nail Polish

Wow , just wow ! Another nail polish I have fallen in love with and what’s even better is that I got it reduced in Asda 🙂

I got 2 of these nail polishes the first being shade 3 ‘Deadly’ which is a dark metallic forest green with green shimmers and shade 1 ‘Dramatic’ which is a metallic scarlet also with gold shimmers.

    

Without flash                         With flash                             Without flash                       With Flash

I picked up these beauties for £1.50 each at my local Asda , they normally sell for £3.18 according to the reduced label . I’m not going to go on too much about these as I haven’t seen them stocked in Boots or Superdrug so it may be that these are old products 😦

But if you see these grab them , they are the perfect colour for autumn .

Stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

20 Things Tag

I saw this Tag on Strange Made Me blog , check her out she does awesome blog posts 🙂

http://strangemademe.wordpress.com/      So I thought I would give this ago …

1) I have a twin sister and we are the youngest of the family

2) My dad is an ice cream man and has his own ice cream van

3) I am not a morning person until I have had coffee

4) I cannot use public transport unless I have ear phones / head phones

5) I tend to have some OCD tendencies when it comes to hanging out clean clothes washing ( and yes I enjoy washing )

6) I can happily sit in a coffee shop and drink by myself , I like to people watch

7) I have a secret stash of old school music on my phone

8) I am a jack of all trades with qualifications in floristry , art & design and health and social care .

9) I hate being late and I hate others that are late

10)  I am very accident prone and have broken the same wrist 3 times !

11) I hate Futurama

12) I’ve always wanted to be a make up artist

13) I worked at Asda for all of 4 days as a check out assistant

14) I love scarves a little too much , I have loads

15) I make awesome brownies

16) I was proposed to whilst I was in labour !

17) My greatest achievement in life is my little boy

18) I have an awful habit of taking up the whole double bed by lying in strange , awkward positions

19) I love America , but I really want to visit Canada

20) I met Will Young in Customs at Miami Airport just after winning Pop Idol

I challenge you to post 20 things about you 🙂

Stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

NON BEAUTY FAVOURITES SEPTEMBER 2014

So its that time again , September has been a crazy month . I have returned to university , on my journey to becoming a ODP (Operating Department Practitioner ) which means no more nail polish for me apart from weekends and study weeks ! I hope you’re all well and embracing the autumn weather , which is strangely warm here in the UK . Good luck if you have just started college or university , there will be tough times but never loose sights of your dream or ambition 🙂

Books 

– The Wish List by Jane Costello

– Zero day by David Baldacci

Food

– Doughnuts , they are my biggest downfall at the moment . I ❤ them sooo much especially Krispy Kreme’s

– Pizza , any kind , any flavour / Toppings ( but I especially like anchovies and olives )

– Rolo , chocolate and caramel chilled desserts , reminds me of my childhood

Drink

–  Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Oh My God , I have fallen in love . Cant believe how much i love this sweet treat 😉

– I would hate to disappoint you and leave out red wine 😉 I’m still loving this and even more now as the weather is turning colder

– Mango and Cinnamon Twining’s Fruit Teabags  . These smell great , I drink this in the evening to help me wind down before bed

– I’m still on my quest to drink more water and I’m fairly pleased with myself , I’m definitely drinking more than I used to.

Items I can’t live without 

– My phone , very cliche I know . I use my phone to keep in touch with a good friend of mine who is working away at the moment , Isn’t it funny that just one simple message can make you smile and instantly improve your’e mood ??!

– Ok , so this isn’t so much an item but ……. My new child minder Wayne and his wife Hazel are absolute god sends , I really dont know how I would cope without them . My little boy is completely smitten with them and I feel so good knowing he’s happy 🙂

– Trebor Extra Mints , not because I have stinky breath 😉 , I have been poorly recently and i still have a really tickly cough and I find sucking these helps !

Person 

– As mentioned above , my friend is working away at the moment wins this title this month . A message from them brightens my day and normally makes me smile and laugh 🙂

Music 

–  Hmmmm this is a tough one , Rage against the machine , Panic! At the disco , old songs from Linkin Park like Crawling , Numb and In The End.

– The usual up beat running songs like Running Trax by Ministry of Sound

That’s it for this month , stay tuned for Septemeber beauty favourites which should be up in the next few days . Until next time stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

My MAC Lipstick Collection

Hello 🙂 , today I’m back to share with you the MAC lipsticks I own . I dont have many but the ones I do have get a lot of love and use . The smell of these lipsticks is lovely , a soft vanilla that isn’t too over powering . These lipsticks aren’t cheap at £15.50 each and I have several MAC lipsticks on my wish list and hopefully will be buying a few when my student loan comes in 😉 . Lets get started ………………

Lipstick Finishes Definitions 

Amplified – Ultra-creamy ,Quietly shiny and very pigmented  .

Frost – Excellent colour pay off with medium to high frosted shimmer / slight shine to the finish.

Glaze – Low impact colour with sheen style finish. Glazes the lips, makes them have a shiny healthy appearance

Lustre  – Semi-sheer with wet-look  finish. Very slick and makes lips look soft , smooth, and moisturised .

Matte – Pigment rich with intense colour pay-off ,no shine, and yep you guessed it …… a matte finish

Satin – Colour rich with a semi-matte finish. Conditions the lips whilst adding intense colour.

Sheer –  Light  weight with a sheer, near translucent, naturally-tinted finish.

Blooming Lovely (Amplified) –  Limited edition , NO LONGER AVAILABLE – First of all  , let me say I have no idea why I purchased this lipstick I have only worn TWICE after owning it for around 3-4 years (pretty sure I brought this for the packaging) . This mauvy pink shade has a blue undertone and a creamy formulation with a nice sheen .

   

Syrup (Lustre) –  My most worn lipstick , this beautiful pink colour has blue undertones and is a pretty everyday colour .

  

Patisserie (Lustre) – A YouTube cult favourite and my newest edition . A natural looking pink which makes your’e lips look healthy and a little pinker with a nice sheen .

  

Dream (Glaze) – Limited edition , NO LONGER AVAILABLE  – I got this lipstick as a gift from one of the Christmas collections a few years back . This lipstick is pale pink with a very soft , subtle gold shimmer. This lipstick gives you’re lips a metallic look and doesn’t smell like vanilla like most other MAC lipsticks.

  

Creme In Your Coffee (Cremesheen) – This makes a great autumnal shade and is right on trend with the 90’s make up looks that are currently featuring on many celebrities right now . This pinky brown shade is perfect for everyday wear , paired with a simple eye look this lipstick looks amazing .

  

Viva Glam V (Lustre) –  Another one of my most worn MAC lipsticks , this lipstick is a ‘Your lips , but better ‘ kind of colour . It’s pink shade with a brown undertone makes it suitable for everyday wear .

  

Well there you have it beauties , hope you enjoyed and found this useful for future MAC trips , until next time stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

Autumn products that I’m loving sooo far new & old !

Hello 🙂 so autumn has just started here in the UK with the last few days becoming slightly colder but with plenty of sunshine too , I walked through my local woods earlier and autumn was in full swing , there was some truly beautiful colours !

I have compiled some of my favourite autumnal products that I have been stashing away over the summer and I feel now that it’s autumn its only fair i share with you my beauty finds !

Eyes

Revlon CustomEyes in ‘030 Rich Temptations’ – this eye shadow palette contains 5 beautiful shadows , colours include dark plummy purple ,  a sea / pale turquoise , a pale lavender , a violet purple and a rosy pink / purple . This palette is very versatile and I have created several looks with this palette alone , the jewel tones of this palette make it perfect for autumn and its an easy way of introducing colour without looking garish .

  

Avon 8 in 1 eye palette in ‘ The nudes’ – as you probably guessed from the title this palette contains 8 shadows in all neutral shades . There is a mixture of warm and dark toned nudes , these shadows are frosted / slightly shimmery all apart from 2 shades that are matte . This palette is great for creating subtle daytime looks and darker looks suitable for evening / night time wear and its light weight and slim so it would fit in the smallest of make up bags !

   

Maybelline Shadow Stylist in ‘655 Sophisticated wine’ – this was brought in a £1 shop so who knows if you will be able to find one but there are plenty of dupes for this colour out there . Any who this nifty little product is a gorgeous plum shade and is perfect for those autumn nights out 🙂 . The only thing I hate about this product is the amount of fall out that comes off the applicator no matter how many times you tap of the excess 😦

    

Lips 

Revlon Colorstay Moisture stain in ‘005 Parisian passion’ – Wow the colour of this is something to be admired , its the most goregous dark purple / plum shade ! You can build this product to acquire the colour intensity you want but I find one ‘layer’ is enough for my pale complexion , make sure you apply blusher to avoid looking washed out . Personally I would only wear this out in the evening / night time as its pretty dark  , but utterly gorgeous 😉

   

Seventeen ’17’ Lip Crayon in ‘Knockout’ – so lip crayons aren’t new on the market but over the last few months I’ve seen several drug store brands bringing out their own versions . This lip crayon is very good value for only £4.99 , its easy to apply and have a good colour pay off . The colour also stains you’re lips which makes the colour last hours after the original application , it doesn’t dry out you’re lips either .

   

Nails 

NYC in a minute Quick dry nail polish in ‘220 Canal Street’ – this nail polish is an utter bargain , go and check it out at you’re local Superdrug NOW ! This colour is something different , it is a dark red / burgundy with gold shimmer . It applies well in 2 coats for maximum colour pay off , it dries quickly , it doesn’t streak and lasts well for several days without chipping ( and I’m not careful with my hands ) .

 

OPI Nail Lacquer in ‘Meet me on the star ferry’ – a brown shimmery shade with a purple undertone with fine gold shimmer . to me this is MAC’s eye shadow ‘Trax’ in nail polish form , unique and truly beautiful !

OPI Nail Lacquer in ‘Plugged in Plum’ – A plum shade which has a soft shimmer , its a beautiful colour but its very streaky and you need 3 coats to achieve a pigmented opaque colour .

Hope you enjoyed my Autumn products , I’m sure there will be more ! Until next time stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

REVIEW – Rimmel Velvet Matte nail polish :(

So let me be honest here , straight off the bat …… I really do not like this nail polish ! 😦 I’m really sad to say that the only thing I like about this polish is the colour I chose which was Sumptuous Red , which in actual fact is a deep purple / plumish colour . The consistency of the polish is good but the application was awful ! It was difficult to apply without it streaking (even with 2 coats ) and becoming uneven when it dried , it seemed to dry before I had even finished painting the nail . I applied this polish with a base coat and it still managed to stain my nails yellow  and chip within 24 hours of application

😦 Overall I wouldn’t recommend this nail polish , I’m very disappointed and what a waste of £4.49  😥

                                                                                                                       Can you see the streaking on the 2nd nail from the top 😦

 

Until next time stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

 

 

First Impressions on Maybelline’s Colorsensation Elixir Lip Lacquer

I jumped for joy when I found this after days of looking for the shade I wanted , I purchased shade 725 ‘Caramel Infused’ and my first impression is one of love and wanting to buy more ! These Color Elixirs are basically a liquid lipstick , very similar to L’Oreals L’Extraordinaire . the colour of this elixir is ‘ you’re lips but better’ its a natural looking shade which would flatter many different skin tones , its very easy to apply and isn’t thick or gloopy . Maybelline claim ‘ the colour is soft , not sticky ‘ but i find this lip product does have a very slight tackiness when first applied . Its not uncomfortable and doesn’t look overly shiny ,and the product wears well and fades gradually without drying you’re lips . 

 

             

   

I’ll report back once I have used this awesome lip product some more . Until next time stay happy , beautiful and true to yourself 🙂 ❤

 

 

New Bare Minerals bare skin foundation

So my quick trip to town turned into my oooohing and ahhing at the Bare Minerals counter,  whilst I was there I received a 10 day free sample if their new foundation,  I’m very excited to try this and I will post a review in the next few days!  And of course I had to indulge in a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte too,  so all in all its been a good morning,  stay tuned for a new nail polish review and a post on Maybelline’s new color exlir lip lacquer! 🙂 ❤