January Favourites

I can't believe we have come to the end of January! It hasn't been a particularly eventful month for me. I did however set up this blog, which I am really enjoying, and a big thankyou to all of you who have followed!

I wanted to do my 'January Favourites' today. Here they are:

^ Mac lipstick in Fleshpot, YSL Rouge Pur in 141, Mac MSF in By Candlelight, Nars Blush in Deep Throat, Benefit 'One Hot Minute' powder, Barry M Dazzle Dusts in 39 and 44 and Mac Holiday Eyeshadow Palette in Smoke and Mirrors.

I have already spoken about most of these products, apart from a few items which I will now talk about in more detail.

^ Barry M Dazzle Dusts in 39 and 44. I forget what the names of these are, but 39 is on the left and 44 is on the right. 39 is a peachy-beige and 44 is a bronze-gold. Dazzle Dusts are more affordable versions of Mac pigments - they cost just £4.50. They are a good range to look into if you don't want to fork out £15 on a Mac pigment or know that you will not use them very often as they are smaller than Mac pigments. The Dazzle Dusts are also of exceptional quality - you can't go wrong!

^ Mac Holiday (2009) palette in 'Smoke and Mirrors.' This was a great buy for me as I love neutral eyeshadows, and the palette is compact enough to fit in any makeup bag or handbag for travel use. All of the colours have a slight shimmer to them, which I think is really pretty. I will be using this product a lot throughout this year!

^ Benefit powder in 'One Hot Minute.' Described as a 'Sexy-in-Seconds-Face-Powder', this is a very pretty product. As I am so fair (NC15) I have been using it as a bronzer. It is a very pretty rose-gold shade, so if you have darker skin I think this would work very well as a blush or contour colour. I have heard of some people using it for eyeshadow. It really is a multi-use product.

Thanks for reading, more soon! xx

Illamasqua Haul

Hello everyone :)

Yesterday I went to Selfridges in London and spent some of my Christmas money (late I know!) at the Illamasqua counter.

This is what I bought:

A powder blusher in Katie, and three lipsticks in Liar, Fable and Obey. Sorry the packaging looks a bit dusty - it just seems to attract dust, and lots of it!

^ Lipstick in Liar. This is the only non-matte lipstick I bought. I had wanted Liv, but they didn't have it in stock. This is a gorgeous very light baby-pink with very subtle glitter. I am wearing it today and love it. It is along the same lines as YSL's Rouge Volupte in Lingerie Pink, but far more long lasting. My only issue is the glitter/shimmer. Although it is subtle, I do prefer matte lipsticks, so for this reason I am tempted to get Liv at some stage. (According to the MA Liv and Liar are virtually identical, but Liv is the matte version)

^ Lipstick in Fable. Illamasqua describes it as a 'Bright rose pink' which sums it up pretty effectively. It is a very pretty shade, but I would say it was probably better for summer. This is much more wearable than Liar, but I prefer Liar!

^ Lipstick in Obey. Illamasqua describes this as a 'Bright peachy pink' - I would actually day this runs a bit more coral. It reminds me quite a lot of Barry M's 147, if any of you have that. Another gorgeous shade, but brighter than I had previously expected. I can see myself wearing this a lot when the sunny months arrive!

^ Powder blusher in Katie. Described by Illasmasqua as a 'Soft candy pink', this blush is exactly that. Very similar to Mac's Well Dressed, but with far superior pigmentation. One light swipe of this blush is all you need. I am really impressed with the pigmentation of this blush, so who knows? Might be buying another one...or two at some stage!

One last thing - my friend has just set up a fashion blog so please follow her and make her day - http://www.wearingandtelling.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading! xx

Mac Paintpot Review!

Okay, so I have a confession to make: I have never bought a full-sized bottle of Urban Decay Primer Potion. Shocking, I know! But if you are wondering why not, it's because I have never really needed it. Instead, I have these gorgeous paint pots, which are just as effective as an eyeshadow primer. I also prefer them to the Potion (I have tried a sample size) as they are coloured, so, if in a rush, you can use these pots as cream eyeshadows.



Top L-R: Constructivist, Fresco Rose, Indianwood.

Bottom L-R: Bare Study, Painterly, Rubenesque.

In detail and in no particular order:

Painterly ^ - Painterly is the colour of my foundation - it is just a matte, nude colour which is great for covering up discolouration and veining. This is probably the most boring colour, but also the most practical. It means that you will get the 'true' colour of your eyeshadow on your lids.

Fresco Rose ^ - Fresco Rose is a pretty, frosty baby-pink colour. I like to use this colour when wearing a purple smokey eye as it provides a more interesting base.

^ Bare Study - Bare Study is a champagne pearl colour. This is such a beautiful shade and it makes neutrals like Mac's 'Vanilla' look more interesting.

^ Rubenesque - Rubenesque is a peachy-bronze colour. This is probably my favourite paint pot. It is brilliant for using as a cream shadow when in a rush and gives an extra pop to any colours applied over it. Love it!

Constructivist ^ Constructivist is a metallic deep brown colour. This is a great shade for priming a brown smokey eye.

Finally, Indianwood ^ is a slightly lighter version of Constructivist with gold undertones to it. I would say that it's a blend of Rubenesque and Constructivist! Another very pretty, wearable colour.

I hope this was useful to you and that you have a lovely Sunday :) xx

A Baby Haul

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FOTD

Hi everyone :)

Just a quick post today, although I will be doing a few posts tomorrow. I just wanted to show you the makeup I wore today:

Apologies for the tired face - the picture was taken at the end of the day! I wore...

Face:

Mac Studio Fix Fluid NC15

Mac Mineralised Skin Finish Natural in Light

Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NC15

Mac Select Cover Up in NW20

Mac Sunny By Nature MSF

Nars Deep Throat Blush

YSL Touche Eclat

Eyes:

Mac Rubenesque Paintpot

Mac Gleam Eyeshadow

Mac Mythology Eyeshadow

Mac Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering

Mac Clear Brow Set

Lancome Hypnose Mascara

Lips:

Mac Fleshpot

That's it! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and more soon! xx

Benefit Dandelion Review

I got an offer from a university today! Am very happy as it follows aa rejection from a place I quite wanted to go to yesterday :( Am still waiting on my first choice though..

...Anyway moving on! I thought I would review Benefit's Dandelion powder. Out of all the Benefit powders, Hoola and Coralista seem to get the most attention. However, I personally think Dandelion is a fabulous product. Benefit describes it as an 'an exquisite brightening face powder' that is 'finely spun with delicate mauves and pinks' and 'leaves a petal like finish.'

But what does that mean I hear you cry? Essentially this is a blush product - or at least I use it as a blush and I can't really think of any other way to use it. It is similar to Mac's Well Dressed or Dame, but it does have a mauve/plum undertone to it. I am NC15, and I think that this would make a beautiful blush for pale girls and ladies. If you have dark skin, I would advise you to skip this product as I think it would wash you out, and it could be rather unflattering.

^ In poor lighting



^ In daylight!

Overall, this is a lovely product. A very wearable mauve-pink with silver flecks and a nice scent, although I can't make out what it is! It lasts all day on the cheeks and can be used all year round. Top marks, Benefit! Love to you all xx

Mac Blushcremes

Recently (well...last year) I bought two Blushcremes from Mac - one in Lillicent (right) and one in Ladyblush (left). Lillicent is a very pretty warm peach colour, whereas Ladyblush is a rosy pink with a hint of peach. Both look very pretty on the cheeks, and they last for hours. However, today I was playing around with them and decided to use them as a lip colour.


^Ladyblush on the lips!


^ Lillicent on the lips!

I have to say in the photos they look very similar. However, in real life Lillicent is much peachier! Have you tried wearing any of your cream blushes as lip products? xx

My Top 10 Lipsticks

My top 10 Lipsticks are different versions of exactly the same colour! In fact, once when I was buying a YSL lipstick, the lady behind the counter said exactly that - 'At the end of the day they're all the same colour...' Oh well! I love them all :)

So we have one Maybelline lipstick, six Mac lipsticks and 3 YSL lipsticks! I will go into more detail below :)

YSL:

Apologies for the slightly blurry pictures. On the far left is YSL's Rouge Volpute in Lingerie Pink (7). It is such a beautiful colour - a bubblegum pink with lilac undertones. Next to it in the same formula is Frivolous Pink (19) - this is a slightly brighter, more 'true pink' - if that makes any sense! It is supposed to be a more wearable Lingerie Pink, but I actually use it less often. On the far right is YSL Rouge Pur in Pink Satin (141). This is also a pink with blue undertones - quite similar to Mac's Snob, but I would say a touch darker and more wearable.

Mac:

From left to right : Saint Germain, Shy Girl, Fleshpot, Snob, Creme Cup, Hue.

Saint Germain is another gorgeous bubblegum pink, I used it a lot in the summer of 2009. If you're not into bright colours, this won't be for you. Shy Girl is a pretty nude with coral undertones - a more interesting take of a nude lip colour. Fleshpot is a more wearable version of Myth - quite nude yet forgiving, it doesn't give you that notorious 'corpse look.' Snob is possibly my favourite Mac lipstick - a pink with definite lilac undertones. I like my lilac undertones! Creme Cup is a less frosty version of Angel, a nice rosy, baby pink colour. I liked the colour of Angel, but hated the frostiness so this is a match made in heaven! Finally, Hue - a beautiful baby pink-nude. Such a wearable colour, and it goes with most looks.

Maybelline:

Finally, it is Maybelline's Colour Sensational in Ambre Rose (112). A very pretty baby pink. A slightly frostier colour than I usually go for but nonetheless gorgeous. I painted the bottom of the lipstick with pink nail polish - what can I say, I was bored and wanted to cover up the scratches!

xx

Product Rave

I am absolutely loving Mac's By Candlelight MSF from the current Warm & Cozy collection. It was the only thing that really grabbed me when I saw the collection in store. It is one of the few MSFs that I have been able to use as a cheek colour, and I think it looks beautiful on the skin! For reference, I have quite oily, teenage skin and did not find the 'shimmer' an issue so I highly recommend that you check it out before dismissing it as 'too shimmery/glittery.'

Isn't it beautiful? Buy it now, while you can!
xx

An introduction

Hello everyone :)

^This is me! A small number of you may recognise me. I started a blog last year, but then had second thoughts and deleted it :(

Apologies for the shameless pouting!

I am now 100% sure that I want to blog. I am hesitant about using my real name, so for the purpose of this blog my name is India, and I am a student with an addiction to makeup! My favourite brands are Mac, YSL and Nars, but I usually go for Mac as that is the most affordable, but also because they come out with such fun collections.

I look forward to posting my thoughts, reviews and hauls! I hope that you enjoy reading. Oh, and if any of you are wondering about my blog name, it is fairly random - I like pink and I like Mac's Snob, so thought I would combine the two!

xx