Blog on hold

I'm sad to announce that, for the time being, this blog is going to have to go on hold. I have soooo many FOTDs, reviews, and even a tutorial lined up on my laptop, but I simply don't have the time or energy to post them. I've been super ill recently, and until I can get myself better I don't think I'm going to be able to maintain this blog. I'm gutted, as I feel I was just getting started! Thank you to all that have been following it, and, I hope, I shall be back some time in the future!

Victorian lipstick - my new love

I'm actually contemplating buying a backup of Victorian lipstick. It's such a pretty colour! Here's a quick look I did using my new sleek palletes, Victorian lipstick and Azelea blush.

Spring Forcast and Sleek Palletes

I've just gotten back from having my MAC Spring Forcast makeover. My makeup was done by the lovely Bonnie.


















Face
Fix+
Studio Sculpt foundation NC15 (these run a fair bit paler than SFF, so this was a pretty good match for me. She still applied this pretty sheerly though)
Prep + Prime Powder
Select Coverup concealer NW15
Mineralise Skinfinish in medium to contour (I felt this was a little too dark for me. Think I'll stick with Strada for contouring)
Ripe Peach Blush Ombre

Eyes
Rubenesque paint pot
Corals and Gold quad
Stack 2 Crushed Metal Pigments (just top colour)
Teddy e/l
Studio Fix black mascara

Lips
Mouth Off l/l
Colour Me Coral l/s
Richer Lusher l/g

I loved the quad and the crushed metal pigments, but couldn't afford them (at least not before I get paid tonight!). I'm also thinking that I need to invest in Rubenesque p/p. My eyes just looked so much bluer than they usually do! I wasn't in love with Ripe Peach blush ombre, even though it seems to be the one everyone has been raving about. It was just a little too yellow for my liking. I was in love with Colour Me Coral as soon as she put it on. And I totally love the cremesheen glasses, but I'd told myself I'd only buy one, and the one that won me over was Loud and Lovely (I'm a sucker for anything pink).

I gave myself a £50 limit (excluding the £25 deposit I paid for the appointment). I left with £10 of that remaining, so I dropped by Superdrug and picked up two Sleek pallets, Originals and Sunset. Here's some quick swatches of my buys:














Sleek Sunset Palette, Sleek Originals Palette
Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre, Victorian l/s, Colour Me Coral l/s, Fresh Salmon l/s, Loud and Lovely l/g















Loud and Lovely l/g, Victorian l/s, Colour Me Coral l/s, Fresh Salmon l/s
Azelea Blossom Blush Ombre - Bottom, mixed, top















Sleek Originals Palette (no base)
















Sleek Sunset Palette (no base)

Please excuse the gross burn scars on my arm in the last two pics! I can't wait to start playing around with my new goodies!

At last, some colour!

Over the past week or so, all my looks have been neutral, and not terribly interesting. I was feeling really unwell on Tuesday before work, so decided I needed some colour to make myself look like I was at least partially healthy. As you can see, my skin was starting to calm down a little at last, so no more heavy foundation. Yay!

Face
Boots Naturals concealer
Illamasqua creme foundation in CF110
Benefit Get Even powder in light
MAC Strada blush to contour
MAC Blooming blush

Eyes
UDPP
Boots Naturals Vanilla e/s
Boots Naturals Plum e/s
Lime Crime Siren e/s
MAC Sweet Chestnut e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
Boots Naturals black e/l
MAC Carbon e/s
L'Oreal black mascara

Lips
MAC Beet l/l
MAC Speak Louder l/s
MAC Chatterbox l/s
Jemma Kidd red gloss




































I'm off to my local MAC counter to have my makeup done and to check out the Spring Forecast collection in a couple of hours. I can't wait! It seems like forever since I last took some time out and treated myself. Expect a Spring Forcast FOTD soon!

Another 'sorry I've been gone so long!' post!

Wow, the last few weeks sure have been a crazy time for me. First my laptop completely died on me. Then I had some work problems, which ended up in me leaving Benefit. I'm sad that I left, but I couldn't afford to work there anymore. Unfortunately, paying the bills had to come first, so I'm now full time at TGIFridays. I love it there, but it's a high energy job, which plays havoc with my ME. In between working hard shifts and recovering in time to do it all again the next day, I haven't had the time or energy for much else. These looks were mainly done whilst my laptop was broken. Interesting makeup looks have been rare recently. But I plan on getting back on track with things soon!

I can't remember all the products used for these looks, but I'll do my best to list the main ones.

Purple cut crease


















Eyes
UDPP
Benefit Bikini Line e/s
MAC Retrospeck e/s
Benefit I cannes and I will e/s
MAC Beauty Marked e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
Boots Natuals e/l
MAC Carbon e/s
L'Oreal mascara

Neutral Angles (loved this look!)
































Eyes
UDPP
Benefit Bikini Line e/s
MAC Satin Taupe e/s
MAC Dipdown f/l
L'Oreal Mascara

Pink and Yellow

In this look I was trying out Clinique's new Everlasting Foundation. It was too dark so I had to mix it with my Illamasqua foundation. However, it doesn't photograph well, hence why I look totally washed out in the first two photos where the flash was used. Apart from that, it's a fantastic full coverage foundation. It's been compared to Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation, but I think this one is much better as it doesn't feel or look as heavy. Plus it smells like watermelon. If they did a couple of paler shades this would be my foundation of choice. I recomended that my housemate try it when her MAC foundation ran out, and she loves it too. In these photos it's set with MAC Prep + Prime Translucent Powder. And as for staying power, I worked a busy night where I was stuck in the kitchen for most of my shift, and there was still some foundation left to take off at the end of the night!



































Eyes
UDPP
MAC Yogurt e/s
MAC Ricepaper e/s
Lime Crime Primadonna e/s
MAC Blacktract f/l
Urban Decay Yeyo e/l
L'Oreal Mascara

Lips
MAC Chatterbox l/s

Cult of Cherry
















































Eyes
UDPP
MAC Shroom e/s
MAC Cult of Cherry pallette (oh how I still love this!)
MAC Coppering e/s
MAC Dipdown f/l
L'Oreal Mascara

Face
MAC Strada (to contour)
Benefit Sugarbomb (I think!)

Lips
MAC Cult of Cherry l/g

That's all for today. I shall try to get into posting reguarly again, I promise!

A couple of FOTDs

I really wish I had enough time to update this blog every day, as I'm trying to take photos of all my makeup. Unfortunately, I'm not often organised enough to leave time before work! So here's some looks from the past 3 days. I used my usual face stuff.

Purples




















Face
MAC Coygirl blush
MAC Strada blush

Eyes
UDPP
MAC Yogurt e/s
MAC Illegal Cargo e/s
MAC Beauty Marked e/s
Boots Naturals Plum e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
Boots Naturals black e/l
MAC Carbon e/s (to set eye liner)
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara
Rimmel Brow Pencil

Lips
MAC Pink Plaid l/s (my latest buy. Think this is going to become a favourite!)
MAC Ample Pink l/g

Simple everyday look




















Face
MAC Strada blush
BeneFit Dandelion

Eyes
MAC Shroom e/s
BeneFit Fawn Over Me e/s
Boots Naturals e/l
MAC Carbon e/s
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara
Rimmel Brow Pencil

Lips
MAC Pink Plaid e/s

Purple lips (I'm not sure why I look so washed out in this one. I may have used a little too much Illamasqua foundation. See how pale it is! Must sort this out before I head off to work!)







































Face
MAC Coygirl blush

Eyes
Boots Naturals Vanilla e/s
MAC Retrospeck e/s (used damp. Oh how I hate the fallout you get with this shadow!)
MAC Shale e/e
MAC Carbon e/s
MAC Young Punk e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
Too Faced Liquif-eye
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara
Rimmel Brow Pencil

Lips
MAC Night Violet l/s
then topped with
Barry M 129 l/s (a pale violet) I'm not sure I like this as much

I couldn't get my camera to pick up any of the pink sparkle of Young Punk, but I used it on my outer V, and over blacktrack with liquif-eye as a liner.

Feeling Green FOTD

This FOTD didn't turn out quite the way I'd hoped, but I still quite like it. I've also found that MAC's matte lipsticks are perfect to wear to my job at TGIFridays. Obviously I don't have time to touch up my makeup like I do at BeneFit. Matte lipsticks may fade, but by the end of a 8 hour shift (with me eating on my break, and not applying more lipstick!), there was still a pink tinge to my lips.










































































Face
Boots Naturals concealer in fair
Illamasqua cream foundation in CF110
MAC Prep-and-prime translucent powder
MAC Fashion Frenzy blush

Eyes
UDPP
BeneFit Bikini Line e/s
MAC Juxt e/s
MAC Humid e/s
MAC Nylon e/s
MAC Blue Flame mineralize e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara
Rimmel brow pencil in dark brown

Lips
MAC Gladiola l/s
MAC Ample Pink l/g

Bargin Buys - Boots Naturals

In need of a new concealer, I decided to check out some Boots Naturals products. Before I really got into makeup I used to love their eye shadows. As all boots Naturals products were 3 for £5, I though I may as well try a couple of things out. You can see my review of the concealer in the Foundations and concealers pt. 2 post. The other two products I chose were a black kohl liner (my urban decay 24/7 liner has gone walkies), and a duo eye shadow in vanilla/plum.

The eyeliner isn't bad. It's not nearly as soft as the 24/7 liner, but it doesn't irritate my water line. Staying power isn't fantastic, but once set with MAC's carbon e/s it stays put almost all day. I still prefer my 24/7 liner, but this one isn't bad considering the price.

The eye shadows, on the other hand, did impress me. I remembered why I used to love these. They're soft, pigmented, and easily blendable (without losing too much colour). They sort of remind me of MAC's starflash shadows. Vanilla is like a matte version of MAC's Nylon. It makes a perfect base and highlight colour. Plum is the purple I've been hunting for for months. It's a true purple, without the blue undertones that so many purple shadows seem to have. I don't mind admitting that I am totally in love with this shadow. Definitely my favourite bargin buy!

Onto the swatches!














Vanilla comparisons:
Top: MAC Rice Paper, Boots Vanilla
Bottom: MAC Nylon

Purples:
Top: Boots Plum
Bottom: MAC Parfait Armour

Boots black kohl liner

Foundations and concealers pt. 2

I've got a foundation, a powder, and a concealer to review today.

First up is BeneFit's Get Even powder. Since starting work at BeneFit, I've had the chance to try out all of the foundations, concealers and powders. Aside from the Boi-ing concealer, which I owned a couple of years ago, Get Even is the only one I have bought. BeneFit's foundations run pretty pale. Playstick in Jax is a fairly light, pink-toned foundation. However, it's way to heavy for me. Get Even is good if you haven't got too much to cover. I helps even out any uneveness, and gets rid of any shine. It leans more towards the yellow end of the spectrum. This would be a problem for me, considering I have pink undertones, if it weren't for the fact it's so sheer. The yellow-ness really doesn't make a difference. It's a pretty good powder, and I'll probably buy it again for those days when I need only the lightest of coverage. It's handy to have a powder that can just be thrown in your bag too.

Next is Illamasqua's cream foundation. I can't believe I waited so long to check out the counter. <3 I chose the cream foundation as I wanted something with buildable coverage. Let me tell you now, no matter how pale you are Illamasqua will do a foundation for you. I got shade CF110, which is the pink-toned white. It's pretty darn pale. I bought it with the intention of mixing it with my L'Oreal foundation, which I do if I require something a little heavier. As my skin is co-operating at the moment, I've found myself just using just the cream foundation with a very light hand (I use MAC brush 118 to apply it). To avoid shiny-ness, I do need to put a powder on top of this (usually my beloved MAC Prep-and-prime translucent powder). I'm pretty sure that the cream foundation is a little too pale for me, but it's not noticeable unless I pile the stuff on. This is one I'll definitely be re-purchasing. My new concealer is a Boots Naturals one. I've been incredibly skint recently, and when I noticed my L'oreal concealer running low I knew that I couldn't afford another one. Boots Naturals products are about as cheap as they come. I though "why not" and decided to give the concealer a go. It's a little darker than the L'Oreal one, but when topped with the Illamasqua foundation or BeneFit powder it's fine. I probably couldn't wear it alone though. The coverage is fairly good. It can feel a little oily, and I'm not a fan of the plastic-y smell. But you get what you pay for. Until I can afford to spend a little more on makeup, I'm fairly content using this.

Top: Boots Naturals concealer in fair, L'Oreal concealer in vanilla
Bottom: BeneFit Get Even powder in 01, Illamasqua cream foundation in CF110, L'Oreal Studio Secrets foundation in Rosy Porcelain

A day at BeneFit

I don't yet own an awful lot of BeneFit makeup. Whilst I'm allowed to do my makeup on the counter, I do try to do it before I get to work. If I use non-BeneFit makeup, I try to make sure that they're products that can easily be replaced with similar BeneFit makeup. Here's an example. I'll put in brackets which BeneFit products I'd use instead of the ones I've used here.






































































Face
Boots Naturals concealer in fair
BeneFit Get Even powder in 01
BeneFit Dandelion powder (used as blush cos I'm so pale. This doesn't tend to show up as well on darker skin)


Eyes
UDPP (BeneFit FYEye)
MAC Wintersky e/s (light pink from BeneFit's Smokin' Eyes pallete)
MAC Illegal Cargo e/s (BeneFit "gimme some" plum e/s)
BeneFit i cannes and i will e/s
MAC Beauty Marked e/s (no dupe, but simlar effect could be achieved by using a little of the darkest colour from the Smokin' Eyes pallete to darken the outer v)
MAC Blacktrack f/l (BeneFit Bebecakes, with Badgal liner on the waterline)
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara (BeneFit Badgal mascara. I actually put a little Badgal Plum mascara on top of my black mascara when I got to work. I love the plum mascara now!)

Lips
MAC Hot Frost l/g (BeneFit Who are you wearing l/g)

Snow Day

Onto day number two of not being able to go to work because of the snow. The novelty has worn off, and I'm now just wanting the sun to come out. I was all ready to go to work when they decided to cancel the buses. So here's what I would have looked like in work tonight! You'll notice I've got a few Boots Nautrals products. Stay tuned for a budget buys post soon!









































































Face
Boots Naturals concealer in Fair
L'Oreal HD Foundation in Rosey
Illamasqua creme foundation 110
MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
BeneFit Dandelion
MAC Fashion Frenzy blush

Eyes
UDPP
MAC Red Velvet s/s
MAC Yogurt e/s
MAC Beauty Marked e/s
Boots Naturals Plum e/s
MAC Blacktrack f/l
MAC Young Punk e/s (wet, on top of blacktrack)
Boots Nautrals Black e/l
MAC Carbon e/s (to set eye liner)
L'Oreal Double Extension mascara
MAC Spiked eyebrow pencil
Lips
MAC Hot Frost l/g

The benefits of working for BeneFit

As I mentioned in my last post, I now work for BeneFit cosmetics. Which of course has given me a chance to play with all of their products. Some I love, some I don't. So here's my list of 'things to buy'.

• Benetint and Posietint - Benetint is the product that BeneFit became famous for. It's a cheek and lip stain (it was originally designed for a burlesque dancer's nipples, but I can't say I've tested that one out myself!). It's a rosy tint that suits most people. I'm a big fan of using this on the lips cos it gives a natural, just bitten look, to them. Posietint is slightly thicker in constancy. It looks scarily pink, but it's really not that bright once on. Both are sheer colours, but buildable. Posietint looks awsome with a few coats on the lips. And once they're on, they're not budging. I usually demonstrate the shade on my hand if customers don't want to try them on, and, despite sanitizing and washing my hands frequently, I often go home with stained hands.
• Coralista - This blush is a pretty coral that looks good on just about everybody. When I get it I'll compare it to MAC's Springsheen.
• Eyeshadows - Whilst there isn't much selection when it comes to eye shadows, there are some good neutral shades. I love the texture of these eye shadows. They're incredibly smooth and easy to blend. My favourite is I cannes and I will, which is a pretty purple shade with gold shimmer. It looks good with neutrals, but even better with other purples, such as "gimme some" plum.
• High Beam and Moon Beam - High Beam was my first full sized Benefit product, and it's probably my favourite highlighter for pale complexions. Dotted up the cheek bone, or under the eyebrow, it's a pretty pink simmer, rather than the glittery mess that some highlighters can be. Moon Beam is a pinky-gold shimmer, that, whilst very pretty, looks best on tanned or darker skin.
• You're Bluffing - I don't really suffer from skin redness, but I know a lot of people (particularly pale people) do. BeneFit do a couple of yellow products to help correct this problem, and You're Bluffing is my favourite. It's a creamy stick that's easy to use, and easy to blend. I like to put it under foundation, rather than just using it alone. It's a small stick, so it's easy to throw in your bag too.
• Brow-zings - I find these are seriously easy to sell, just because they're that good. Each brow-zing (there are three shades) comprise of a powder, a wax, an angled brush, and tweezers. They make filling your brows in easy, and the wax means that they stay put.
• D'finer D'liner - This is just plain smart. It's a clear, waxy liner that you use on the outside of your lip line. Being clear means that it's pretty much the only liner you'll need for keeping your lipstick in place. It doesn't leave a shiney line like I thought it would either. This has been tried and tested with red lipstick, and it gets the thumbs up from me!

And the products that just don't do it for me

• Lust Dusters - These are shimmery, finely milled, loose pigments. I'm incredibly picky when it comes to loose powders, and for me, these just don't work. I always just end up covered in glitter. Just opening them leaves me looking like I've been in an explosion in a shimmer factory. I find the best way to use them is to use She-laq and the find brush it comes with, and using them as liners. There's a couple of colours that I adore to use like that, including Punk Royalty and Moon Doggie. Both these colours came in the All The Shimmers set this Christmas, so if you are a shimmer fan, I'd recommend picking that up.
• Dallas - The only reason I don't like this is because I'm so pale. On tanned complexions it can be really pretty. But with my porcelain skin tone, it just looks muddy.
• Miss Popularity - A white shimmery highlight powder. There's just too much shimmer in this for me. However, as it's white, it's not a bad choice of highlighter for the pale skinned. Just not my cup of tea. I've used it on glitter lovers, and they've adored it.
  
• Rush Hour - I love the concept of this product. I creamy coloured stick that's great for eyes and cheeks. Fantastic on the go makeup, right? Not if you're pale. I could get away with this on my lips, but on my cheeks it's just too much. Such a shame, as I was hoping to love this. Oh well, I shall stick to showing it to the tanned!

And finally, one shout out for the Laugh with me Lee Lee fragrance from the Crescent Row collection. I love this so much. First thing I do when I get in in the morning is give myself a spritz of this. Occasionally I'll reach for Gina though. Not a fan of Sofia. She's the marmite of this collection. You either love her or hate her.

I hope to get some swatches of the BeneFit products I own up soon, including the lightest shade of Get Even powder (even though mine has shattered). Unfortunately there is very little natural light at the moment, and I'd rather get some decent swatches up in the future, than put some crappy ones up now. Watch this space!

FOTD dump

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. Between moving house and having no internet, and working two jobs (one of which is for BeneFit cosmetics), I haven't had a lot of time. So here's a couple of looks that I've liked over the past couple of months. As it's been so long since I've done most of them there's no product list, but I hope you enjoy them anyway!