Monday 30 June 2014

048 Review : MUA Palettes

Hey Lovelies! Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I can't believe its July tomorrow, is it just me or is this year flying by?! Now, I'm not sure about you guys, but when it comes to buying make-up, skincare, bath products... well anything really.. I'm a bit of a massive snob. I'm not sure why, I've just always opted for higher end brands, I've always believed that you get what you pay for, and if you pay crap money, you get... well, crap. That was until quite recently, when I saw the MUA palettes floating around the blogosphere and people were raving & raving about them. I know I'm a little late to the party on these little beauties, but I love them so much, I couldn't not write about them.

MUA has been a brand I've known quite little about, its one of those brands that I tend to walk past in Superdrug, notice its there but never stop to get a good gander at their products. I've paid over £30 for high end brand palettes in the past, and at £4 each, you just can't say no to MUA. I was shocked at just how affordable they were and to be honest I wasn't expecting amazing quality, but have to admit, I was definitely far too close minded.

 (top left: Undress Me Too. top right: Heaven & Earth. bottom left: Undressed. bottom right: Starry Night)

As you can see, my Undressed palette has been really well used! The one thing I love about these palettes is that they blend so beautifully, the shades are all super wearable and the amount of looks you can create with them are almost endless. I always use a base on my lids before applying eyeshadow, I'm currently using a Mac Paint Pot in shade Bare Study, as a creamy, light champagne coloured base. I then build up the colour on my lids, starting with the inner corner, working out to the middle and onto the outer corners. 


This has to be my favourite of the MUA palettes that I've tried. It had me at hello, I'm a sucker for neutral shades and with this, you can create perfect smokey eyes. I love shades of gold and champagne and with twelve choices in this pretty little palette, I think its a definite staple and one that I would buy again and again.


A beautiful addition to the MUA Palette family, Undressed Me Too has 12 gorgeous, timeless shades. I prefer shimmer shadows over matte, but this palette has a really good combo of the two which blend together beautifully. I do prefer its little sister but I think its a nice addition to have!


 Heaven & Earth is a really lovely palette, I picked it up on a bit of a whim, after all, you can never have too many neutrals right?! I really fell in love with all the gorgeous shades and with the berries and deep golds, I think this is going to be my staple palette for winter, the lighter shade in the top left is great for highlighting the inner corner and under the brow bone but I definitely feel this is more of an autumn palette.


Starry Night was another palette that I picked up on a bit of a whim, I don't often wear coloured eyeshadows but I really loved the colours in this palette. It has twelve beautiful shades of blues, pinks and greys which you can use to create endless amounts of looks. I think a lot of them would be perfect for nights out. I've used the purple shades quite a few times and didn't think I'd like them too much, I'm a little scared of having too much colour on my eyes and always feel I'd look a little clown-like - but these blend so gorgeously that they actually don't look overpowering when they're on the eye. I love that you can blend with them with the soft champagne from the Undressed Palette, or the silver in this one. I have to say, I'm an MUA convert. Utterly besotted!

Have you tried any of the MUA Palettes? What does everyone think?!



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Thursday 26 June 2014

047 : Outfit Of The Day - Spring Florals



Hey lovelies! It's been a while since I posted an outfit of the day, having not had anyone to take my photos since Febuary, my best friend has moved back home and kindly offered to help me out (and fishtail plait my hair!) - I love Spring, its the perfect excuse to bust out the florals & lace and make the most of the sunshine!

 

I picked up this gorgeous floral top in New Look, at £12.99 you can't really say no - it has buttons all the way down the back and I think it looks just perfect with the lace kimono - the kimono is so versatile I think it's definitely going to see me through summer and goes absolutely perfectly with pretty much anything, onto my Joni's - I wear these jeans every day, I ended up getting them in the light, dark and black washes and they're by far the comfiest jeans I've ever worn, I find a lot of skinny jeans tend to sag and get misshapen after a few washes. But my Joni's have never let me down, they're just so stretchy and comfortable! I have to say, my shoes were a little impulse buy when I got my work bonus back in march and they look really uncomfortable, at five foot eight inches, they whack me up over six foot! But they're absolutely so comfy to walk in and look stunning on, I've had tons of compliments on them - if only I could afford the black pair too! 

Hope you're all having a lovely week and enjoyed seeing something a little different! Would love to know your thoughts :)

 
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Sunday 22 June 2014

046 : Favourite Spring/Summer Lip Products

Hey Lovelies! Hope you're all having a lovely week, today I'm bringing you my favourite lip products for Spring/Summer - during the winter months I tend to opt for neutral shades or deeper berries, but for me Spring & Summer means busting out the pinks and corals and this season I've come across some right gems that I couldn't wait to share with you!







Mac Mineralize - Divine Choice  - described by Mac as a mid tonal cool pink, this lipstick has become a staple for me over the last few weeks. I always opt for either cremesheen or mineralize finishes, as I find Macs standard lipsticks quite drying. Divine Choice is a really hydrating lipstick, in a beautiful pinky-magenta shade. I bought it on a bit of a whim and was a little dubious at first as I wasn't sure if it would look good with my pale skin and fair hair, but it actually looks gorgeous! Its definitely a shade everyone can pull off. The only qualm I'd have with it is it needed re-applying after a couple of hours, for a £20 lip product, its staying power wasn't as good as I'd hoped!

Mac Cremesheen - Sunny Seoul - Sunny Seoul has become an absolute favourite of mine lately, its the perfect spring daytime lipstick, especially if you want a little bit of colour but don't fancy going too bold! Described by Mac as a frosted cool pink, its quite yellow toned so looks like a really pretty coral when its applied. I think its a perfect option for those wanting to dip their toes into the orange lip trend but aren't quite brave enough to opt for a shade like Morange straight away!

Mac Amplified - Sweet Experience - When browsing the Playland collection online, I really fell for Sweet Experience, I also picked up Happy-Go-Lucky, but Sweet Experience has definitely stolen my heart! It's a milky, vibrant pink with yellow undertones. I've worn it nearly every day since I bought it and just can't get enough! I've found it goes perfectly with my pale hair and skin and is so versatile its great for evening and daytime! No having to switch shades when you leave the office for a night out!

Mac Cremesheen - Pink Pearl Pop - Pink Pearl Pop is a really popular shade and I think I may be slightly late to the party but I'm so glad I picked it up, I went into Mac with the intention of buying foundation but came out with this little treat too! It's a really girly shade of pink, not too bold and in your face, its quite a warm shade. I really loved the consistency of Pink Pearl Pop, it felt more like a lip balm when it was applied, it was creamy, soft and moisturising - I can definitely see this seeing me through until the Autumn.

L'oreal Paris - Doutzens Nude - This is the first L'oreal lipstick I've ever bought, (I know, right?!!) for some reason I always opt for Mac but heard amazing things about this collection and especially Doutzens Nude, so I jumped out of my Mac shaped box and opted for it. Each shade in the L'oreal Nudes collection is designed to suit a specific skintone, so there are shades for paler skin girls, right through to the deeper shades of skintone. Doutzens Nude is the palest in the collection, its a really light frosty pink and although its designed for paler skin, I think it'd be an amazing contrast for darker skintones. It did apply really well although felt quite dry quite quickly, its definitely worth popping some lip balm over the top!

Topshop Lips - Macaroon - Topshop have such a huge range of cosmetics and they're definitely packing in the lipstick department. Their lipsticks are really reasonably priced at £8 each and with quality not so dissimilar to Mac, it would be rude to say no! I was really debating between Macaroon and Brighton Rock, but opted for Macaroon as I felt it was more versatile, its a really gorgeous bright coral shade, which isn't too in your face. I've more compliments on this than any of my other lipsticks. It looks beautiful against pale skin and while I was a little iffy about the velvet finish, its actually pretty creamy and it lasts hours and hours. I was massively impressed with the staying  power! Its the one lipstick that I always keep in my handbag!

Tanya Burr Lip Gloss - Afternoon Tea - Onto glosses now! I was really excited when I heard Tanya was releasing her own range of lip and nail products, Tanya is really local to me and its amazing to see her doing so incredibly well! Afternoon Tea is the one shade that stuck out to me the most, a gorgeous, girly glossy pink which isn't at all sticky and smells utterly divine, it was definitely a good choice. I was never a fan of glossy lips but I think this gloss has me converted! I think it was a bit of a steal at £6.99! 

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector - 04 Petal Shimmer - Clarins Lip Perfectors are absolutely the perfect lip product, a mixture of balm, tint and gloss with a hint of colour and added moisture - its hard to say no to this little beauty. Petal Shimmer is one of those... 'my lips but better' shades - perhaps not the most sensible option for the £18 price tag, a part of me wishes I'd opted for shade 05 Candy Shimmer which is a grown up girly pink. But I have to say, I've fallen head over heels for Petal Shimmer, its a nice sheer pink which plumps up the lips ever so slightly. The applicator is a soft sponge like one which allows for the product to cover lips evenly, it has a soft velvety feel to it and smells absolutely beautiful! Definitely my favourite product of the bunch!

You can find swatches of all the products I've mentioned below.



(left to right - Mac Divine Choice, Mac Sunny Seoul, Mac Sweet Experience, Mac Pink Pearl Pop)




(left to right - Topshop Macaroon, L'oreal Paris Doutzens Nude, Clarins Instant Light Petal Shimmer & Tanya Burr Lips Afternoon Tea)

Hope everyones having a lovely weekend, leave me a comment below & tell me what lip products you're loving at the moment! Anything I should try?!



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