My Go-To Products

Hi everyone :) I thought I would do a quick post today about my go-to products after I saw a number of beauty bloggers and youtube gurus do it. Just to clarify - these products are not necessarily my favourite products (although a number of them are!) - they are the products I reach for most often.

^ The lipsticks. From L-R, YSL Rouge Volupte in No1 Nude Beige, Mac's Snob, Mac's Creme de Nude and Mac's Hue. The YSL lipstick is a pinky-nude, and the colour and finish are absolutely beautiful. Snob is an amazing blue/lilac-toned bubblegum pink which I wear an awful lot. Creme de Nude is a very flattering nude, and Hue is another pinky-nude which is lovely and sheer.

I do love more 'fun' lipsticks such as YSL's Rouge Volupte in No7 Lingerie Pink or Mac's Saint Germain, but those colours are more difficult to wear, so these are my most used lipsticks. Now onto my 'Go-To' blushers...

^ Mac Well Dressed. This is a very light baby pink, which gives a lovely light pink hue.

^ Illamasqua's Katie. Very similar to Well Dressed - another baby pink, perhaps slightly more blue toned.

^ Nars Bronzer in Laguna. This is the perfect bronzer for my pale skin. Unlike a lot of bronzers on the market, this bronzer is bronze and not orange!

^ Mac Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15 and Mac MSF Natural in Light - these two products are the real stalwarts of my collection. I have oily, blemish-prone skin and the Studio Fix foundation provides me with great coverage, leaving me much more confident about my skin. The MSF Natural is a great finishing powder, but unfortunately on me it doesn't photograph well, so that is my only gripe.

^ Mac's Studio Finish Concealer in NC15 and Select Cover Up Concealer in NW20. The Studio Finish concealer is great for covering up blemishes and discolouration on the face, and I love to use the warmer shade of the Select Cover Up to conceal my under eye circles!

^ Mac's Paint Pot in Painterly. This is the perfect base for any eyeshadow, and it also does a great job at concealing any veinage in the eye area! I reach for this every single day.

That's it, thanks for reading! xx

February Favourites

A little late, but better late than never! I have been steering more towards the pinks this month, perhaps it is in my desperation for Spring to hurry up! As I write this, sun is pouring through the windows, so perhaps my efforts have helped...

^ My favourite lipsticks of the month - (L-R) Illamasqua Liv, Fable and YSL's Rouge Volupte in No7, Lingerie Pink. All rather similar and I have previously talked about all of them, so will only briefly refer to them now. Liv is a lovely matte, lilac/blue toned pink, Fable is a gorgeous rosey pink, and the famous Lingerie Pink is yet another bubblegum, blue-toned pink.

^ Benefit High Beam. I really don't use this enough. Such a pretty pink highlighter with a subtle silver sheen.

^ The face/cheek products I have been using a lot (L-R) : Mac Studio Fix Powder in NC15, Mac Mineralised Skin Finish in Porcelain Pink and Nars Blushers in Deep Throat and Madly.

I have been very busy this month, in particular preparing for a music event in order to raise money for charity. With so many rehearsals, I didn't have time to apply liquid foundation, so just used this powder instead. Studio Fix powder is great because it is quick to apply, yet still provides good coverage. I have been using Nars Deep Throat on the apples of my cheeks and Madly to contour - a quick, simple routine which I really like.

More soon xx

Favourite Blushers

Hello everyone! It's my one month blog anniversary today! Hehe. A big thank you to everyone who has subscribed, it means a lot :)


I wanted to show you my favourite blushers today. Three of them are Nars, five are Mac, one is Benefit and one is Illamasqua! These are my current favourites, having recently tried my first Illamasqua blush when some money comes in, I would love to try more from their range. I am also hoping to purchase Benefit's Coralista so my favourites could change!

Nars:

^ Angelika. Such a fun colour! Nars describes it as a 'cotton candy' pink, and that is a pretty good description. It has beautiful silver shimmer to it, which can easily be toned down by buffing the shade into your cheeks, if that puts you off.

^ Deep Throat. Already raved about this, but this is probably my favourite Nars blush. I don't own many peach blushers, so it was a useful buy. Nars describes it as a 'peach with shimmer' which is true, but a bit misleading as it has definite pink undertones, making it a very wearable shade.


^ Madly. Nars describes this as a 'Seashell pink.' Hmm. I disagree. I would actually describe it as a light brown colour with pink/mauve undertones. Now if you are pale, and you are currently thinking, 'Ahh! I can't wear brown blush!', think again. I am NC15, and this works so well over bronzer. It makes you look as if you have just got back from holiday, and no fake tan or sunburn needs to be involved!

Illamasqua:

^ Katie. Illamasqua describes Katie as a 'Soft candy pink.' As I have mentioned before on this blog, it is very similar to Mac's Well Dressed. The difference? The colour pay-off. Katie requires the tiniest amount applied, whereas I need to apply Well Dressed to the cheeks 2-3 times in order to get the required amount. Both can be desirable, depending on what you need. For a more subtle, buildable look, I'd go for Well Dressed but if I was in a rush, I'd reach for Katie.

Mac:

^ Well Dressed. Mac refers to it as a 'Pink lady pink' - a very soft baby pink. It is such a classic colour, and if you were looking to purchase a safe and wearable colour, I would recommend this shade every time. Definitely my favourite Mac powder blush.

^ Dame. Dame is similar to Well Dressed, and they are both satins. The main difference is that Dame has more mauve/blue undertones. This is reflected in Mac's description of the shade as a 'Blue soiree pink.'

^ Pink Swoon. I first came across this shade when I was at a friend's house and I had forgotten my blush. I asked to borrow hers, she handed me this, and we fell in love! Mac describes this shade as 'Clearly pink'...but I think I can do a little better. It is a bright candy shade which gives a gorgeous pop of colour to the cheeks. A little goes a long way with this blusher, and if you're looking for subtlety, this might not be the shade to go for.

^ Lillicent. This is in the Blushcreme formulation. According to Mac, a 'Full rosy fleshtone' - in normal language, that translates as a healthy-looking peach colour. Such a gorgeous shade, and perfect for summer.

^ Ladyblush. This is another blush in the Blushcreme formula. Such a pretty shade of pink! Mac describes it as a 'Demure pink flush' which actually describes it very well. If you had to choose one Blushcreme, I would go for this one!

Benefit:

^ Dandelion. I first tried this shade when I was fourteen, and I still use it nearly four years later! You can't go wrong with this powder. It is just yet another beautiful, wearable, baby-pink shade. I would not recommend this for those with dark skin, however!

Phew! That post took forever, though I did enjoy it! Let me know what your favourite blushers are :) xx

Illamasqua Lipstick in 'Liv'

If you have read my posts about Illamasqua, you will know that I am developing an obession with their lipstick range. I had wanted the lipstick in 'Liv', but when I went to Selfridges a couple of weeks ago, it was not in stock :( However, as of today, I have finally managed to get my greedy hands on it!

It is a gorgeous baby pink with lilac/blue undertones - what a surprise! It is similar to Liar, but a little brighter, and totally matte. Liv definitely lives up to expectations, but it is a little drying. I would recommend applying lip balm before and after application to prevent it from settling into fine lines. I neglected to do this today and you can witness the dry results for yourself below!

More soon! xx

FOTD - Sort of!

If you read my recent Illamasqua post, you will know that last week I purchased a lipstick in Liar...I absolutely love it. It is now my new favourite lipstick (previous titleholders have been YSL's Rouge Volupte in Lingerie Pink and Mac's Snob.)

In fact, I love it so much I even took a picture just to show you all what it looks like! Please bear in mind that it was a schoolday, so I just have mascara, powder and the lipstick (which I applied after school haha) on my face/eyes...eek.

So that is all for today - Illamasqua's Liar - my new love, and one of the prettiest baby pink lipsticks you can get! 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