Beauty: MAC Vanilla Pigment

Hello ladies, thought I'd share this MAC Vanilla Pigment highlighter I treated myself too a few weeks back as I had my eye on it for quite a while and I am a big fan of highlighting lately. When looking at all the different shades of the MAC pigments I decided on the shade Vanilla as I was aware it's been hailed for being such a multipurpose product that can be used to highlight areas on the face or for an all over body glow.

Vanilla is a lovely creamy sort of shade with tiny hints of shimmer running through it. It's fast becoming my favourite highlighter as it really makes the cheekbones and eyebrow bone 'pop' and I've been wearing it in the inner corners of my eyes to brighten and highlight the eye area and make me look more 'awake.' It's a highly pigmented colour (of course, MAC is great for this) and the tiniest bit gives you a strong defined colour. I find it's easy to blend out in those areas you don't want such intense colour but it can be a bit messy though so be careful!

It's a much stronger highlighter than my Benefit's High Beam or my MAC strobe cream but still manages to look so natural looking, and this is what I absolutely love it about it, especially for special occasions and can't wait to wear it for an upcoming wedding I have at the end of September. The colour is striking but thankfully the tiny bits of glimmer running through it definitely do not make you look like you have a glitter ball face (I promise, as I don't like this with a lot of other highlighters) and although it is a little bit pricey at £17 I would say it is definitely worth it and I'm so glad I tried it.  Yes the little pot is small but the amount you need to use each time I honestly know this will last me for ages. So I'd say it's a pretty good investment. They come in a lot of different shades and can be used as eyeshadows too. 

I'm loving MAC makeup at the moment and have a separate MAC makeup wish list as long as my arm!

Have you tried any of the MAC Pigments? Do you love them as much as me?

Beauty: My makeup today // Autumn Look

Hello ladies today I thought I would share my face of the day as I was feeling the autumn look. As you can see I've also went back to blonde hair so I feel back to my normal self again yay! So here's the look...

Base:

Benefit's Porefessional Primer

Bourjois Bronzing Primer

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - '53 Light Beige'

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC30

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - 'Medium'

MAC Studio Fix Powder NC35

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder - 'Medium Deep' (used as bronzer) 

MAC blusher - 'Fleur Power'

Eyes:

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow - 'On & On bronze'

Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner

Maybelline Master Drama Khol Eyeliner - Dark Brown

Maybelline Mega Plush Volume Express Mascara

Brows: 

GOSH Brow Kit

Lips: 

Rimmel Kate Moss - Shade '107'

Brushes:

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Real Techniques Stiplling Brush

Ecotools Powder Brush

No7 Blusher Brush

Have you been experimenting with any Autumn looks recently?



Beauty: Bourjois Bronzing Primer

Hello ladies, a few days ago I was all excited for Autumn/Winter coming as I love nothing more than snuggling up watching telly with a hot chocolate, and love Winter clothes and makeup. But then I realised today as it's been full on heavy rain ALL day I shouldn't of wished so soon...ha. Anyways....I've actually had this little beauty for about a month now and been using it quite frequently but totally forgot to review it! When it first came out I was a little bit unsure of it as my instant thought was it will be WAY too dark for me. But when in Boots (my home) I swatched it and it blended it quite well.

As the name suggests it's meant to be a bronzing primer, this exactly what it feels like-rich, soft and a smooth mousse like texture.  However, I wouldn't use this as a primer, I still apply my normal primer then I have been putting a tiny bit of this on my cheeks, forehead, nose and blending it all in and it is definitely not too dark or orangey looking once blended and make up applied on top.  It definitely gives a warm bronzed glow, sort of just been on holiday glow and I've got to admit I absolutely love it and will continue to re purchase.

It has often been compared to Chanel Soleil Tan but I cannot comment on that as I have never tried it.  It's an absolute fab product by Bourjois - haven't they brought out some fab new purchases throughout the summer compared to other makeup brands? I think they are on top form at the minute.  I wouldn't be without this little gem in my make up bag now and I think it is a must have base product.

 Have you tried this product/wanting to try it?

Skincare: Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask

Hello beauties, I wanted to show you my new skin care purchase I'm absolutely in love with (I know what a bold statement right from the start yeah?) I had heard endless raves about this charcoal mask for ages and on Saturday my skin was AWFUL after a Clean & Clear exfoliator (the vitamin C one) totally broke my skin out into a horrible mess. I only used it as I had ran out of my beloved St Ives exfoliator too so I was so annoyed and feeling pretty crappy if I'm honest. So when browsing online I couldn't resist making a purchase.

The clear improvement mask is a charcoal consistency and when applied to the skin works to draw impurities out from the pores. As someone who suffers with combination skin-oily, dry, acne prone-all which lead to clogged pores and pimples. It's like I can instantly feel it drawing out all of the grime and dirt not just from the top layer of skin but from well underneath too. Also another thing I loved about applying this clay mask is it only took 5-10 minutes to go dry/hard which is when you need to rinse it off, but once rinsed my severe redness I had been having around all of my spots was completely banished.

This made applying concealer and makeup a lot better.  It honestly felt like I had been and had a facial and I definitely noticed a difference. If you are someone that suffers from oily or combination skin I can't recommend this enough. It also didn't break me out on first use but actually made my skin feel a lot clearer and fresh. I bought this off the Origins website on Saturday and it arrived Tuesday which is pretty good. I bought the smaller 50ml one for £11 and the 100ml one is £22, basically I wanted to try it out and see if it worked for me before parting with £22 ha! But I can definitely say I will 100% keep repurchasing this and buying the bigger one next time.

Even if you don't suffer from this type of skin we all need a pamper night from time to time and to treat our skin to a face mask when we are feeling a bit run down or stressed and this is the perfect one!

Do you love any of the Origins face masks?



Beauty: My New Favourite Foundation Brush

I was on the hunt for a good foundation brush as the normal foundation brushes that are flat and oval shaped seemed to be leaving what can only be described as 'lines' on my face when applying my foundation as though it wasn't blending in properly and leaving sort of streaky lines.  Obviously I wasn't happy about that so I started looking at MAC brushes...wow aren't they expensive?! All there foundation brushes were sort of that shape too and even though I knew they would be better quality I knew I was still after something else. I already owned the Real Techniques stippling brush (I use this one to literally buff cream blusher into my cheekbones on top of bronzer, the stippling motion helps to not disturb the bronzer that's been applied) which was my first RT purchase so I started looking at videos of the expert face brush.

I purchased this one and so glad I did because I'm so happy with it.  According to Samantha Chapman (Founder of Real Technique Brushes) this Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is designed for a more medium to full coverage application, where as the Real Techniques Buffing Brush (which is a great favourite of bloggers) should be used more to apply BB Creams and Tinted Moisturisers. However they are both multi purpose brushes.

I find I can use a great circular motion and you definitely don't need a lot of foundation as a little goes a long way with this brush. Once blended in my foundation looks smooth, lasts well and looks flawless.  I couldn't be without this brush now, I liked it so much I went and bought another!

Skincare: Loreal Skin Perfection Purifying Micellar Solution // A Bioderma dupe?

Before I started blogging back in April I had never really heard of Micellar solutions, but I'm pretty sure everybody in the blogging world knows about the beloved Bioderma or Caudalie which are pretty much holy grail favourites among beauty lovers. I was recently out shopping in Boots buying a massive haul when I spotted this in the skincare section.  Quite a few of my posts recently has been about skincare because over the past month I'm slowly but surely trying to build up a good solid skincare routine to suit my skin type as it is in a bit of a mess at the moment.  It's a mixture between dehydrated, oily in places, and I have either sore spots in some areas and in other areas small pimples under my skin, and some acne scarring. So yep its pretty horrendous!

The micellar solution is known basically to cleanse deep into the skin layers to draw out any makeup and dirt to give a thorough cleanse.  I have fairly sensitive skin which sometimes reacts to new products, but this left my skin feeling very fresh, soft and clean and brought no irritation or discomfort to it. I was a little dubious with this one being an oil based product, I worried it would leave my skin feeling very wet and oily. I had nothing to worry about though as I loved how quick and easy this removed my makeup, and how refreshing it felt on my skin.

One thing that surprised me using this cleansing solution was that I didn't actually realise until now just how much make-up I was still leaving on my skin after cleansing with other products.  I noticed this because the first few times testing this out I wanted to review it properly so even though after using only one cotton pad to remove the makeup, the pad wasn't full and my face felt thoroughly cleansed, but I thought I would use a second cotton pad just to see how good it had been and the second pad was half covered with makeup.  So then it got me thinking, when I've been cleansing previously and my skin has felt clean I was probably leaving my face with lots of makeup and dirt on still.

Overall, I am in love with this cleanser. It's my new go-to skincare product and I will definitely be re-purchasing when this one is finished with. This is a great quick method of removing makeup and sometimes have been using this first then going to the bathroom and using my cleansing gels.  And other times if I'm a bit lazy and tired I have been using this then my Avene spray afterwards and still getting a thorough cleanse.  This was actually meant to only be £4.99 in Boots but when I was shopping it was reduced to something crazy around £2.30 so I picked up two bottles, but even the £4.99 is so cheap for the quality.

I would 100% recommend you give this a try to effectively remove dirt and grime from your face. And even though I've never tried Bioderma or Caudalie, I could probably guess right in thinking it wouldn't be too un-similar to those. I think the amount of product you get with this for the price is great too.

Skincare: Origins // Super Spot Remover

I have something to confess....I was a Origins virgin until I bought this little beauty last week, and can now see why Origins is such a loved skincare brand.  Lately my skin has been quite troublesome and playing up, not only with spots showing on the surface but very deep red in colour and so I decided I needed something to calm them down quite quick.

To be honest before blogging I had never heard of this brand but soon discovered it was a firm favourite, the most being the Ginzing moisturiser and the Drink Up Intensive Mask. I did my research and was pleased to find out this super spot remover was highly rated and that the product was made without parabens, colour or fragrance as my skin is quite dry at the moment so it was important to me I didn't irritate it any more.

I've been using this for a week now and have noticed quite an improvement already.  It can be a bit drying but I just make sure to moisturise deeply after use.  The thing I like most about this is it reduces the spot size quite rapidly and really takes the redness away remarkably well. My initial thought when it arrived in the post was just how tiny the bottle was at £13 but I have seen on the website reviews that this is the initial reaction of many others and it does in fact last quite long. 

You can apply this up to three times a day to the affected areas which I have been applying twice per day in my skincare routine, morning and night.  I wouldn't apply this before makeup as it will just make your skin dry and don't think it would look too nice applied over.  I ordered this on a Saturday and it had arrived by Tuesday morning and it was free delivery so I was impressed! As well as free delivery I also got to order 2 free samples, so I chose the Gin zing eye cream because I have been eyeing this up a while now, and the skin tone brightening serum.

What other Origins products would you recommend I should try?

Fashion: Date Night at Cinema

Hi beauties, I wanted to show you the recent outfit I wore for when me and the fiancé went to the pictures as I went for natural makeup and comfortable/dressed up a bit.  We weren't going out drinking afterwards just for something to eat so I didn't want to get too dressed up, and it was a lovely summer night. We hardly ever get the chance to go out with us both working full time and having a son so it's nice on the rare occasion we do :) I just did my hair into a high bun ring too which is one of my favourite 'updo' hairstyles as it takes minutes to do and looks like you have spent ages on it! Sorry for the quality of the pictures - my fiancé was quickly taking them before we set off and he tries to do it as quick as he can and never gets the full body in and I'm yet to buy a decent blog camera, hopefully soon.

Jeans - H & M £14.99

Shirt blouse - Primark - £ 6

Jewellery - Primark