New MAC Lipsticks To The Collection

MAC Lipsticks have become the obbsession as of late and I have definitely jumped on the band wagon of the brown or nude tone matte lipsticks. I'm a little late on the trend but I had trouble being confident enough to wear different colour lipsticks other than my lip colour but I have turned over a leaf and although it doesn't look like much to some, its an improvement for me.
I can officially say that I am obsessed with MAC Matte/Satin finishes, they are so creamy and pigmented that I really do want them all! These are three new lipsticks I bought about a week ago, the Velvet Teddy was from the Debenhams website and the other two were from in store. Just a tip, Debenhams regularly has a discount on beauty so keep a look out for that on their website! I used to love looking at lipsticks in store but now I love researching the shades I want online first now as even as a makeup lover, I get a little overwhelmed by all the colours and some people offer great swatches! The shades I bought was -
Velvet Teddy, a deep toned Brown with what I can see, a slight Rose shade undertone and creamy Matte finish. Next, Viva Glam II is a muted pink-beige with a shimmer according to the internet which I would agree with but when it says a shimmer, I would say its very light as you barely see it when wearing the lipstick. A Satin and a Matte finishes are similar but Matte finishes are a flat opaque colour where as the Satin finishes have a tiny amount of shimmer in them to give them more of a sheen finish although being opaque and still very pigmented. Lastly, Honey-Love is a light toned beige with Rose which a Matte finish. I love all three shades, Velvet Teddy is a darker and deeper version of Honey-Love and Viva Glam is a less rose toned version with more beige so it depends on what look you're wearing. I like to have a range of shades as it really can make a difference. 
I'm so excited that my collection is growing! Next stop is a bolder colour.. which one do you think?!

What are your favourite MAC shades and finishes?

MAC 15 Warm Neutral Palette

Don't you just love make up?! As of late, Ive been purchasing more of the higher end products instead of spending loads of money on products that won't get used as much and I feel like my collection is growing at a better rate than being filled with junk that I won't end up using! I still love affordable beauty brands but I do see the difference in the higher end stuff. This is my first experience with MAC shadows as ive always been a bit put off by the price tag for each eye shadow pan BUT this bad boy is an absolute bargain!

So, you basically get 15 warm neutral shadows in a palette for only £65.. yes you read that right, £65! Considering each eyeshadow pan is £10 and the palette itself is £14 then £2.50 for the insert, it works out that you are saving over £100. We all know that I love a bargain and when Matt bought me this with 10% off on Debenhams as well, I was so excited!

The 15 shadows as stated are warm neutruals, ranging from light to dark and with a range of different finishes. Like I said before, this is my first experience with MAC shadows and I will admit that I didn't know there could be so may different finishes with shadows. 
I really am obsessed with this palette, I think its the perfect summer palette with the tones it  has and they would go great with a tan.
As soon as I saw Amber Lights, I was so excited to use it so I create the tutorial below using this palette. 

I definitely think i'll become a collector of MAC shadows, I really like the consistency and I like that you can customise your own palettes. I don have a clue how to remove the pans from this one though!

I've also heard through hear say that Makeup Geek Shadows are just as great quality as MAC and half the price so I'm definitely tempted to order some of those online - if you own any, let me know!

So, what are your thoughts? I really love it! I definitely want to get the cool toned one too!

Freedom Makeup Correct and Conceal Palettes

 

 

 

When I heard that Freedom Makeup was launching, I was so excited to see what they had in store for us. On the day of the launch, I popped on over to the new site to discover what they had to offer. I was instantly very excited at the site of these correct and conceal palettes as I had been wanted something along these lines for a very long time.
I purchased these in the bundle which came with all of the concealer palettes, one corrector palette and the fixing spray as it works out a lot cheaper if you were to buy all of them together because separately, they are £5 each where as in the bundle they are £20 - Bargain!
When it comes to cheaper concealers, foundations and other base products, I've never had a great relationship with them but obviously I still give them a go as you never know - the Collection 2000 concealer has certainly taught us to not to judge a cheaper concealer.
These palettes have completely shocked me by being bloody brilliant. I really wasn't expecting the coverage and the colours are great. Once you really get into the product, after the top layer, you get a great coverage concealer which is so surprising as at first I did think I liked them but after using them a few times - WOW. 
My favourite has to be the colour correcting one. I suffer from very dark circles and redness around my nose so I apply the pink toned colour across the dark areas to cover them, then with the yellow toned colour, I apply that just underneath the pink so it gives it a little brightening affect and then the green coloured one around any of my red areas to contradict those. That little routine before foundation gives me such a flawless base which is so exciting as I've never had that before!

Do you have any of the Freedom Makeup Conceal and Correct Palettes?!

Freedom Makeup x House Of Glamdolls Makeup Course

Freedom Makeup Pro Lipstick Far Away Collection

More Freedom Makeup goodness on the blog today and this time it's in lipstick form! If you didn't already know (i'll be surprised if you don't) but Makeup Revolution has launched a sister company called Freedom Makeup. This new brand aims to be a Makeup Artists best friend with the more in depth products for those who are using makeup everyday on all different types of skin tones which is exciting as I hope to soon go into makeup artistry professionally so I know I can pick up a wide range of professional products for a fraction of the price. Think of MAC for the masses, the affordable but professional makeup brand!
I've already reviewed some of their amazing eye shadow palettes which you can see here.

This is the far away collection that consists of five vibrantly coloured galaxy inspired lipsticks that are great value for money.
From left to right we have -
Storm-trooper - A glossy white colour with a pretty shiny finish.
The Sith - A deep black colour with a hint of navy shimmer.
Sky-walker - A metalic grey with a silver light shimmer.
Far Away - A vibrant purple with a purple light shimmer.
Space Luxe - A true gold colour with a light gold shimmer.
The first colour is a  little hard to build as I felt that it become quite streaky and the glossy finish on it didn't do it much help which was disappointing. Despite the let down with Storm-trooper, the next four were lovely and pigmented. I like the very light shimmer through them as it gives them that extra pop to the finish which goes very well with the colours of the lipsticks.
These lipsticks are only £1 so even though they're not your every day colours, for a makeup artist they are perfect to keep for those fun looks. I could imagine a great space alien look being created with Sky-walker and Space Luxe! Purple is in at the moment so maybe if you're feeling daring, you could get away with wearing far away on a night out!

What do you think?! 

 *Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

Freedom Makeup - Pro Shade and Brighten Palettes

 

 

 

Freedom Makeup is here! I'm going to show you some of the goodies they have in store for us over the next few posts but first we start with their Pro Shade and Brighten Palettes. These are cute little eyeshadow palettes that are perfect for inspiring MUA's because they're so travel friendly.

There are 4 palettes in this range, all priced at the super cheap of price £2.50 each. There is a shimmer palette, matte palette, a selection of complimenting Rose shades and a pop of colour with a brighter shadowed palette. They are all really great shadows for the price and the colour transfer is so nice as you can see from the swatches. My favourite palette has to be the Rose Kit one as the colours are so pretty and they blend very well together. I wore a few shades the other day and had compliments on how good my eye makeup is which of course is always a nice thing!

I love how they are aiming for makeup artists as I can imagine that it's difficult to collect a kit due to how expensive it can be. Now it'll be a lot easier for the aspiring makeup artists out there who want to build their collection without spending thousands of pounds. 

If you haven't already, go and buy them before they all sell out! 

I'm so exited to see what else is going to come out from Freedom Makeup. 

What do you think?!

 *Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

Dupe Alert! Nars VS Milani

I'm back with another dupe today! So, whilst I was rummaging through the Milani stand in America and I saw this striking pink blusher and thought yes, I need that. It wasn't until I got back to the hotel and thought to myself that I had already had that need for a shocking pink blusher before.

After getting home and getting over jet lag, I unpacked my bags and went straight to my collection to find that I was right! Nars Gaiety is such a close match to the Milani Delizioso Pink that I did get confused at what point which one o had swatched where! The only difference I noticed is that the Milani blush seems a tiny little bit deeper than  the Nars one.

I love this Nars blusher (along with pretty much everything else Nars) and to find that people can find a dupe without the price tag is great! The Nars blush is £23 and the Milani blush comes in at around £7 depending where you buy it from in the UK so already you can see there's a huge price difference for the same colour!

The consistency of both is very similar, both products are very smooth and very blendable on the cheeks. The main thing I love about both blushes that they are so pigmented and the colour transfer is so good which makes a change as some times blushers can be so unpredictable I find. 

I'm really enjoying finding these dupes, I'm not sure what else I'm going find but if you like them, then I'll keep doing them! 

What do you think? Do you think it's a close enough dupe?! 

USA Highstreet Picks

It feels like it was forever ago since I was in America, I seriously cannot wait to go back!
Whilst I was out there, of course I was going to go to the drugstores and find some of the cult beauty buys that aren't available in the UK. Whilst in the various stores such as Target, CVS and Walgreens, I noticed that the US had such a bigger range of products from every brand than the UK?! For instance, I have noticed that in the UK, to find a good blusher from the drugstore is not that easy but the US have such a huge range of blushers from every brand!
Come on UK, catch up.
Anyway, in a quick run down, here is what I purchased.

Milani Baked Blush in 01 Dolce Pink & 10 Deliziozo Pink
If you don't already own any of the Milani Baked Blushes then I promise you, you're missing out. These are such good quality for the price (around $8.50 = £5.50ish) and despite the slightly cheap feeling packaging, the product inside is seriously something else. As you can see from the swatches, with one swipe, its instant colour pay off which is more than what you can say for some brands at 4x the cost. Milani is slowly making its way over here with it popping up on more websites so keep your eye out for them!

Maybeline Dream Bouncy Blush
Ive had a little look since I've been back and I'm very sure that this product isn't available in the UK. I really don't know why as is such a pretty blusher! It has a strange bouncy feel and the finish has beautiful sheen to it. I really do love it and there were quite a few other colours available too which is always a winner! This has to come to the UK, everyone will love it for summer.

Milani Lipsticks in Matte Blissful & Pink Frost
The lipsticks really do follow on from the great quality you get with the blushers. The packaging feels better than the blushers and the colour block on the bottom is always a winner for me as its easier to pick a colour that way. Both lipsticks are so creamy and pigmented, and they come in such a wide range of colours. Unfortunately there wasn't many available for me to choose from but I really wanted to pick up at least two. Just to add, Milani needs to bring out more matte finish shades as that formula is something else! 

Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Light Bronze Pearl
I had heard good things about the Physicians Formula highlighters and as you can't get it in the UK I was happy to pick one up. There were a few different shades but I went for this bronze glow one as I have a tan, I felt it was appropriate! I think this was around $10 which is £6.50ish and I think thats a great price for what you get. Yes, the packaging isn't great but the product inside is very soft and pigmented so a little goes a long way.

Maybeline Age Rewind Concealer in Fair and Light
I know this is avalible in the UK but the lightest shade is always sold out and the only shades we have here are light, medium and dark! I didn't know what colour I would be so I bought both fair and light because I know I'm never as dark as medium and I like to have the lighter colour under my eyes to cover up the hideous bags!

EOS Lip Balm
Pretty self explanatory really, as you can get them in Selfridges. But why spent £6 in Selfridges when I could buy one for £2! I have a couple of them now, I just think they're really good lip balms to have and they smell so good! I've never personally had any problems with them, I know some peoples lips have reacted to them but they leave my lips silky smooth!