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