MAC make up birthday SURPRISE!

Tuesday 14th January came around and I turned 18! Here in the UK 18 is a massive age as the only thing you cant do is hire a van. So, that meant, drinking, gambolling and being a responsible adult was all legal! 

In my group of friends every birthday, one friend bakes a requested cake and we all sit around during break and watch the present opening. Every birthday leading up to this has been very normal, presents first then cake afterwards and everyone would look over the presents and all be very merry. For my birthday, did that happen? oh no of course it didn't.

Me and my rainbow birthday cake

I turned up to school very cheerful and prepared for my request rainbow cake and gifts. Break came around and i got given my bag of goodies and cake. Now, I'm not going to lie, if my friends knew me well enough they would have bought something make up related. Firstly I opened a Starbucks mug - IN LOVE! Then a candle and a very glamorous photo album and an envelope....

I was left in suspension for over a week but the 23rd came about and after school me and my friends got on a bus to the local large shopping centre and guided me through the shops. At one point, i was suddenly blindfolded and when i was able to see again i was in heaven on earth... otherwise known as MAC. Surrounded by about 5 make up artists and too much make up too take in. Turns out i was getting my make up done which i figured out after 5 minutes of utter shock!

Sat down for an hour and a full face of make up with a lovely make up artists. As a MAC policy, it costs £15 for a half an hour session or £30 for a hour session and after your allowed to either have a refund or spend that money in the shop. I had chosen to have lashes with my make up, so i had £20 left. With that i bought Naked Lunch eyeshadow which was in my last blog post and Russian Red lipstick which is a typical glam red colour. 

Loved every second of it and would highly recommend! I cant wait to go back and get my make up done for prom! Love all my friends so much!

Laura xo 

♥

Spring Beauty Picks

Spring has eventually sprung once again here in the UK, daffodils have popped out the ground and the is peaking around the clouds! It only feels like yesterday that it was spring 2012! Even though trends are changing every year, there are always the same type of products that always seem to come out and that I personally like to use every year and will carry on using until they get discontinued!

1. Topshop Cream blushes:

Firstly, can we all please take a moment to appreciate how cute the packaging is! The packaging is also surprisingly practical as the whole of the inner lid inside is covered by a mirror!

Cutest packaging EVER!

With a cream to powder finish the Topshop cream blushes are a perfect way to add a little colour to any look. I love to have more of a natural make up look once the sun decides to show itself around this time of year and these are a great way of achieving this. The formula blends really easily to give that natural flush that I look for around spring time.

Topshop change and swap all their cream blush colours so it may not be possible to get the same colours that i have and love. But anyway, the colours i own are called 'Head over Heels' and 'Morning Dew'.

Left - head over heels, Right - Morning Dew

Head over heels is a orange coral colour which compliments any pale or pink toned skin perfectly! Whereas 'Morning Dew' is a bright pink colour with slight plumy undertones which offers a natural flushed look.

2. MAC Mineralised Skin Finish

During hotter or warm season I also love the glowing dewy finish to my skin. As highlighter can sometimes look harsh, and unnatural the one product I've found and loved the finish of is MAC's Natural Mineralised Skin Finish.

This is a lovely light setting powder with a natural slight sheen through the colour. I find it sets my make up all day without looking too powder like. I have the colour medium which suits my skin tone perfectly. The product itself glides over my skin effortlessly and lasts ages! I use this product regularly and it shows no sign of running out anytime soon! Absolutely love! 



3. Tanya Burr lip gloss - Exotic Island

My next spring pick is a new product for 2014 and is one of the Tanya Burr lip glosses! When the youtuber and Beauty Blogger, Tanya Burr announced that she was launching her own range of lip glosses and nail varnish however I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed as I don't usually like lip gloss and don't really rate nail varnish as much as I do cosmetics. How I was proved wrong...

In order to step out of my usual zone I ordered a lip gloss once they were launched. I ordered the colour 'Exotic Island' which is a bright pink. Thought if i was going to order one I at least want it to be noticeable. I'm so happy to say that I was surprising happy with the colour and quality of the product.

Unlike other lip glosses Ive tried the Tanya Burr lip glosses are not sticky and don't feel like plastic on the lips. The smell of the product is so fruity and the colour pay off is the same as some lip sticks. The colour is really easy to wear subtly or to build up for a bright vibrant colour! These lip glosses are without a doubt my favourite lip glosses and I cannot wait to get some more in different colours!

4. MAC Eyeshadow - Naked Lunch

Finally my 4th spring pick is one of my current favourites. Just like my skin, around spring and summer time I like to use shimmery and champagne coloured eye shadows to make my eyes seem a lot larger and wide awake. 

However as I'm currently in full time education I do not want something too OTT or noticeable as I want to stick to the more natural look for school. My favourite product to achieve this look is MAC's Naked Lunch eye shadow. Its such as pretty shimmery eye shadow which allows me to get away with it in school due to some of the more natural peachy tones.

Hope this was helpful or insightful to anyone looking for spring make up inspirations!

Laura xo

♥

My teeny tiny M.A.C collection.

Even though, I'm a self proclaimed drugstore lover. I love make up and beauty. Full stop. So there is a point where my will power fails and I cave in and buy higher end products. Purely because of the fact that I want to see what's out there. 

MAC is obviously a well known brand which is famously good quality, so if I was to splash out now and again. It's going to be on MAC, but bare with. My collection is tinnnnyyy! 

1) My first product is the one, out of my 3 MAC products which I've had for agggeess!

My blush is Springsheen and is by far my favourite blush I own. I've had this blush since my 15th birthday. Now baring in mind I'm 18 in January, the fact that I've used this blush on a daily basis ever since I've had it and I still have a fair amount left. Is very impressive. 

Even though this product is currently around the £18 mark, and can be seen as quiet pricey. However it has lasted me every well because of the pigmentation, for every use on a brush you only need the slightest amount. I'm defiantly going to invest in another MAC blush as absolutely no drug store blush would ever last this long. 

Love love love this blush. It's such a pretty pink with subtle gold sparkles in it. Soooo nice. Defiantly recommend it. 

2) Now for my most recent purchases and one MAC's most famous products. Lipsticks.

My first lipstick is 'chatterbox', for a while there was a hype about this lipstick because of its easy wearability. I would describe it as a muted bright pink which is easily wearable for everyday make up. 

Chatterbox is an amplified creme lipstick so is a lovely moisturising formula. MAC lipsticks are obviously well known for the great pigmentation so it does take a while to wear down the whole lipstick. With a blue undertone the only downside is that on some people, it can emphasis yellow teeth, but for most people it is fine. 

3) Finally but defiantly not least is 'modesty'. As I have a bright-ish colour I really wanted a nude to add to my collection. There are so many famous nudes from MAC such as 'Hue' and 'Creme de Nude'. The colour 'Modesty' that I've been eyeing up for a while, the YouTuber/beauty blogger Beauty Crush has been raving about this colour all summer.

I would describe this colour as a deep Rosie colour. When I first bought it, I was very unsure because I thought it was brown, however with a closer look and on the lips there is more of a peachy:pink tone to it. Which makes it really nice and subtle to wear casually on a daily basis. A plus, with this lipstick is also that this is a yellow based tone lipstick which enhances the whiteness in teeth unlike 'Chatterbox'.

As 'Modesty' is a creme sheen and not an amplified creme it has more of a glossy finish but is still just as pigmented and moisturising as 'Chatterbox'. Yes, £15 for a lipstick is a steep price. But the way I saw it was that it's more like an investment which will give value and last where other lipsticks that are £1-£6 may not offer this. 

Go for it. Cave in. Purchase some MAC. Because even though it's pricey, there is reason behind the hype and if you are starting to get properly into make up and want to move up end. Then MAC is the way forward. 

My cat even took interest in my MAC. That says it all.

Laura xo

♥

Nyx haul

Until 2 days ago I believed that NYX was only available to the US and was extremely jealous when youtubers such as Fleur De Force rave about some of their products and I wouldn't be able to get my hands on them without paying a small fortune for postage and packaging. Recently I discovered the UK site and the summer sale NYX was hosting. I also discovered the tale that some nyx eye shadows are great dupes for mac eye shadows.

In the image to the right, you can see the shadows and blushes I purchased from NYX from left to right they are 'desert rose blush', 'suede' eye shadow, 'Sahara' eye shadow, 'eucalyptus' eye shadow and finally 'sparkle white' eye shadow. According to www.makeuptalk.com all these shadows are dupes of macs popular eye shadows.  As of yet, I don't own any of the mac products that they are meant to dupe so I cannot compare. However so far, these shadows seem highly shimmery and pigmented. As I use them, I think I'll be doing a review on how well the products work. Hopefully all goes well. 

Laura xo

♥