My Updated Evening Make Up

I've recently gone for the chop and because of this and as we are well into Autumn, I've decided to make some changes to my make up. 

This post is about an evening look with dark eyes and berry lips. 

Step 1: After the usual cleanse, tone and moisturise I apply Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as a primer. 

Step 2: Then, using my fingers I blend in Chanel's Aqua Vitalumiere foundation all over my face making sure to blend in at the neck. I'm still loving this foundation, it gives the perfect coverage for me. 

Step 3: I then use No7 Instant Radiance concealer to cover the dark circles under my eyes. I just dab it on and blend in with my fingers. 

Step 4: Next, I use Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on any lumps, bumps and blemishes again, blending with my fingers. 

Step 4: To set my foundation I apply a thin layer of No7 powder in translucent using a Front Cover Cheek brush. 

Step 5: I then apply the best bronzer in the world ever, Chanel Bronze Universal to the hollows of my cheeks, temples and nose. 

Step 6: I'm still loving the Sleek Brow Kit that I blogged about many moons ago. I fill in any gaps using the wax and set my eyebrows using a small amount of the powder. 

Step 7: I'm still obsessed with my Urban Decay Naked 2 Pallette and I use my Front Cover Fluff and Buff brush to apply Booty Call all over my eye up to my brow bone. I then apply Verve to my lid using the same brush and then using a Front Cover Point + brush I add Pistol to the crease and underneath then eye.

Step 8: My Kiko black eyeliner is the best I've ever used, I never feel like I'm dragging it across my eye as it glides on so easily. I apply this to my upper lids and to the water line.

Step 9: I curl my eyelashes using my No7 curlers then quickly apply a thin layer of Dior Lash Maximizer before applying Dior It- Lash Mascara. 

Step 10: I then apply Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power using my Real Techniques Blush Brush and Sleek highlighter using a small blusher brush.

Step 11: The final step is the application of No7 High Shine Intense Lip Crayon in Sultry Kiss. It's a lovely berry colour that's perfect for winter and as it's the shape of a crayon is really easy to apply. 

And there you have it, my autumn, smoky evening look. It's not the best photo but let me know what you think! 

Becky xx

My first Mac purchase (and some other bits this month)

Hello again! 

I'm going to start today by talking about my first purchasing experience at Mac as I actually left the store with a product hurrah! I know there's lots of hype around Mac products and I always see them used in tutorials and blogs but I just don't enjoy visiting the store. I have been into the concession in Selfridges a few times and everytime I go it is heaving with people and the staff don't seem to have the time to look at you, let alone help you out with selecting products. Also, I find the layout very confusing and there are so many products, I could really do with some help when I go in there. Needless to say, I usually have a quick browse then leave empty handed. But this time I was on a mission! 

I have a serious blusher addiction and it's been a few weeks since the last purchase, so I decided to visit the Mac stand alone store in Birmingham to get a new pinky blusher. It's a small store but yet again there didn't seem to be enough staff for the people milling around. It was daunting, but I had to go it alone. I managed to find the blushers after a bit of searching and shortlisted a selection of 3 pinky tones. Luckily I had the lovely hubby with me who pointed out that one of the blushers had a shimmer (not what I was after as I like to use a highlighter instead). I finally decided on the Satin Powder Blush in Fleur Power. The colour is pinky but isn't too bright, it almost looks as though it has some orange undertones to give a natural flush. 

I did have to stand in a queue for a while but when I finally got to the counter to ask for my product, the sales assistant was very friendly. She also offered me a primer sample which I jumped at! I got a little pot of the Prep and Prime skin base for combination skin (you are given a choice depending on your skin type which I thought was a nice touch).

I used the primer and blusher for the first time last night and my thoughts so far are good. The primer made my skin feel like velvet, it really smoothed and perfected my skin ready for my foundation and worked well with my Origins moisturiser too. I'm also happy with my choice of blusher. It is quite pigmented so I didn't need too much, but it glided across my cheeks evenly and worked well with my Real Techniques Blush brush. It'll be my go to blusher when my lips are quite natural and I'm focusing on my eyes.

So overall my Mac experience was ok, I think because I knew exactly what I wanted I could go it alone but if I'd have needed help I think I would have left empty handed again. Mac need more staff! Here's the blusher and primer at work.

Another purchase that I made recently and briefly mentioned in a previous post is the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy face wash. 

I love my La Roche Posay cleanser but I fancied trying something different. I decided on Origins after recently purchasing (and loving) the GinZing moisturiser, I thought that it was time that I tried some of their other offerings. I had a great experience at the concession in House of Fraser. I told the sales assistant what I was looking for and how much I wanted to spend and she pointed me in the direction of 2 cleansers. The other cleanser was a GinZing product with exfoliating beads. She tried both products on my hands and I decided, as I still have my Clarins exfoliator, to go for the creamy cleanser. I've been using this cleanser for about 3 weeks and I really like it. It does exactly what it says on the tube, you only need a small amount of product as it is quite rich and when lathered on your face it creates a really creamy froth. It leaves my skin feeling soft and clean and it isn't too harsh, so my skin doesn't feel as tight as it can do with other products. My only gripe is that when I tone afterwards I do sometimes get a small amount of dirt coming off on the cotton pad. It is only a tiny bit but I never had that with my La Roche Posay cleanser. Maybe because it isn't as harsh it doesn't leave my skin quite as squeaky clean. Overall though I do think that this is a good product and I think it has contributed to my skin looking quite clear and soft at the moment (even if I do say so myself!) Oh and it was only £18 which I thought was quite reasonable. 

My final recent purchase is the Sensationail Fuse gel varnish in the colour intens-so-fly (is it me or is that a really random name?) 

I've seen a lot of minty greens around and I think it's a really fresh colour for summer. I also have short nails and ,this might just be me, but I think these quirky colours really suit shorter nails. I will definitely be wearing this colour on my holidays this summer. 

Finally I did say that I would tell you my thoughts on my Origins face mask freebies that I received with my purchase of the GinZing moisturiser a couple of months ago. 

I've used 2 of the pods and I think they're really good. They tighten up nicely on the skin and require a lot effort to remove with a warm flannel but they have left my skin feeling brightened and I've had no unwanted breakouts after using them. It also did a really good job of removing bits of dead skin that tend to hang around my nose (lovely) So another fabulous Origins product! 

I hope this post has been helpful. I'm still thinking of setting up my own YouTube channel too. It would be great to hear if this is something that you'd like to see.

Thanks for reading. 

Becky xx

New make up!

Right, so the NEC Big Airport sale was a big waste of time for me. They had a few products (mainly perfume and creams) in a small room that weren't that cheap. I suppose I should have known better when the tickets were free but I had grand ideas that each brand would have its own stall with heavily discounted items. Oh well, you live and learn! 

Feeling disappointed, we decided to go into Birmingham as we weren't going home without make up! And that is where the fun began...

The first stop was Selfridges (naturally) as I had decided that I wanted a bright pink lipstick. We had a little browse around, I really wanted to try out Mac but it was super busy as usual so I couldn't get near the lipsticks, let alone find someone to help me. I found a nice colour in the Dior fluid stick but thought I should try a different brand that was hopefully a bit cheaper! I went over to Nars and found a gorgeous bright pink called Schiap. The lady behind the counter encouraged me to try it on and I really like the colour. A bright pink is a bit scary for me but the Nars woman reckoned you should go bright with those sorts of colours, so I did and it was a whole £7 cheaper than than the fluid stick at £19! 

After that, we decided to visit Superdrug as they stock a brand called Sleek which  I've heard do really good duplicates for Mac and Nars at half the price. There they had a 3 for 2 offer across all cosmetic brands. From sleek I picked up the brow kit (which is a lot like Benefit Browzings).

 A gorgeous eye pallette called Storm- it contains 12 really pigmented eyeshadows (Sleek had loads of different pallettes for £7.99) 

and finally I bought the contouring kit that contains a bronzer, highlighter and blusher (which looks exactly like Nars Orgasm blush). 

I had a play with my purchases last night and love them! As an added bonus the whole lot was less than £20! I'll post a picture of my final make up look for the evening below. 

Finally, I bought some perfume. House of Fraser had a brand event on so we decided to look there and they did have some very good offers- 10-20% off most perfumes! I went for a 30ml Viktor and Rolf flowerbomb eau de parfum version for £45. I tend to choose eau de parfum over toilette because I like the way it lasts longer on the skin. I know they're more expensive but I feel that I'm buying a better quality perfume. 

Unfortunately when I got home, the perfume had leaked in the box. So I took it back to my local House of Fraser- where they don't stock Flowerbomb! Argh! They did offer to order it for me but I wanted a new perfume for that evening. So in the end I chose Ellie Saab intense at £56 for 50ml (eau de parfum of course). I'll have to get Flowerbomb another time as I do love it but the Ellie Saab is lovely too and I got a free cosmetic case.

So those were all my purchases for the day. I am very pleased with everything I bought and I felt that I came away with a lot for my money. Here is my finished look (please excuse the still scraped back fringe.) I've used all of my new products. I kept my eyes quite natural with Snow storm from the Sleek pallette all over my eye followed by winged eyeliner and lots of No7 Lash Impact mascara.  

If you're enjoying my blog Please subscribe or write a comment. 

Thanks!

Becky xx