*TRIGGER WARNING* I'm going to touch on the subject of rape culture at some point in this post so just a little heads up incase anyone wants to stop reading.
So it's a bit of a serious one today. And it's not all about make-up, although make-up is a part of it. It's something that's been bothering me for a while and after seeing some more of these "hilarious" or "inspirational" memes, I've felt the need to have a wee rant.
My Facebook seems to be plagued with memes regarding women wearing too much make up, men don't like you if you're too fat, men only finding women attractive who are curvy, men don't women who sleep around etc..
So much about this pisses me right off.
I'm going to open this up, not just targeted at men, but the human race in general.
I have full autonomy. My body is my choice, and so is what the hell I want to do with it! If you want to sit and judge me because of how I look, dress or act, then you can turn your ass around and make your way out of my life.
I don't choose my clothing or make-up to please any man or woman. If a man, woman or anyone in between happens to find me attractive then that's great but none of my choices are made with the sole intention of pleasing a sexual partner or a potential sexual partner.
My choice to wear make-up is for a few reasons, none of which I should justify to anyone but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway. Make-up is a creative outlet for me, it's a point of self-expression and it gives me a bit more confidence. Not the confidence that comes with looking good for the benefit of other people but using my skills to make something that I feel proud of. Whether that means looking like I've been rubbing my face in a paint box or not, at least I'm happy with the finished product. I won't stop wearing make-up because people find "cake face" unattractive. I love make-up, I can't wear enough of the stuff. It's awesome.
My body is slightly on the chubby side. I'm not going to lose weight just so someone else will want to give me one, if I choose to lose weight, it'll be to look in the mirror and find myself more attractive and give me the confidence I need to walk out the door and feel like a queen.
Now, putting my feelings about myself aside, everyone in the world has beauty and not everyone can see that individual beauty. Whether they choose to wear make-up or not, my hope in the world that the people in question feel happy in their skin. Even if that means using a little bit of make-up here and there or plastering their face full of the stuff, what's important is that they feel happy. Would it be better if I look in the mirror and feel like crap but be grateful that someone might find me more attractive because I'm not covered in make-up? Fuck no it wouldn't. That's not how life is supposed to be. What's the point in living an unhappy life for someone else's benefit?
As for the weight thing, nowadays, I see more body shaming geared towards slimmer women rather than curvier women. In support of the typical 'poking fun at fat people' mindset. Well, let me tell you something, if you feel the need to empower yourself by bringing another woman down, then you're just as bad as the people out there taking the piss out of people like you. Body shaming is not cool in any way, shape or form. I've been attracted to women who are very slim, I have been attracted to women who are very curvy. There is no "perfect" body shape. If you're going to be concerned about anyone's weight, it shouldn't be about how they look, it should be about their health and even at that, it's not your business to raise the issue.
In an ideal world, I'd make myself a few dress sizes smaller and my boobs a few cup sizes smaller but that's my business, that's about how I feel when I look in the mirror. If someone only finds me attractive based on how my face and body looks, well, that's a shallow bastard that I really don't want in my life to begin with.
On to the "slutty" clothing and sleeping around section of my rant. I can wear whatever the hell I want without earning your judgement. If you don't think I look good, then tough titties. I do. If I want to have my cleavage busting out of my top or wearing a skirt which comes just below my arse cheeks because I'm embracing my curves then that's my business, not yours or anyone elses. My clothes are not for you! They are for me. My clothes are not a representation of my virtue, neither are they worn so that you will find me attractive. Whether I want to wear a boob tube or a turtle neck, I'll be wearing it because I feel comfortable and attractive in it. Rape culture & victim blaming has a tendency to become more obvious an issue when it comes to clothing. If a woman is provocatively dressed then they're "asking for it" or should expect some sort of sexual advance. Yeah, you might end up with someone chatting you up but wearing items of clothing doesn't take away your autonomy and your ability to give consent. If you're sitting saying that a woman deserves to be raped or that it's her own fault simply because she's wearing certain clothing, then you're as bad as the rapist involved in the situation. You are sympathising with a rapist. That is the fact of the matter. I AM NOT DRESSING FOR ANOTHER HUMAN BEING! No matter what their intentions.
The most frustrating one of all is the sleeping around part. Humans are sexual beings. They want to have sex for pleasure, they want to have sex to procreate. So why is it that men are allowed to sow their seed as they please but women are slut shamed if they enjoy sex and want to have it? I've never understood this frame of mind. If a woman wants to have sex with one man or a hundred men (or of any gender), she has the ultimate right to do so because it's her body and if she wants to go out and get the same pleasure that a man would without being judged for it, then she bloody well should do it. As long as both parties are being safe, why is there an issue here? Again, the rape culture issue comes up in that people have the opinion that if you sleep around a lot then you're fair game. Why can't you see what is wrong with that sentence? If you're one of those people who says these things, you might want to take a seat and have a real think about the sort of person you are and if you really think that you can condone assault of any sort based on a woman's (or man's) appearance or actions. CONSENT IS THE ISSUE HERE, NOT HOW A PERSON LOOKS/APPEARS!
And what the fuck happened to feminism? A lot of these memes are geared towards the male opinion but most of the time, it's women I see sharing them! Why are we bringing other women down? Aren't we all fighting for the same thing? To wear what we want, be equals, look how we want, act how we want? Yet we have women ripping other women to shreds simply to make themselves feel better. Well, I'm sorry but that's not how life works. We're all in this together, we're all beautiful and we should all accept that we have the rights to our own bodies and what we choose to adorn them with or what we choose to do with them.
All human beings are beautiful. Yes, it might be that not everyone finds a certain person attractive, we all have our own tastes, but as long as they see the beauty in themselves than that's what's important here. Attraction is subjective. We like what we like and that's fair enough. But what isn't fair is using our preferences to make other people feel like shit.
I have no idea what the purpose is behind this rant except maybe to get it off my chest and let people sharing these memes see another perspective.
Stop shaming other people guys. Whether it's body shaming, slut shaming or whatever, I don't care, just stop!
Peace and love to everyone. Go look in the mirror and see the beauty in yourself. Embrace that beauty. Do not let anyone else tell you that you have to look different for anyone else's benefit.
x M x
Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Sunday, 24 April 2016
Zoeva En Taupe palette, budget foundation part 2 and Primark foundation update!
Well, the last time I posted, I was praising Primark's £2 stick foundation. I gave it a 4.5/5 and was rather taken aback by how good it was. Well, the phrase "too good to be true" really was apt in this case. I TAKE IT ALL BACK! BURN IT WITH FIRE! In total, I had the foundation on my face for about 6 hours. My face was a greasy mess. There was absolutely no foundation left on either side of my nose and there were actual streaks on my face where you could see the natural skin underneath where the foundation had swiped straight off my face. It was a hot mess. It felt slippery and almost like my face was sweaty. The rating has fallen all the way down to a 2/5. Never again.
On a happier note, my ZoevaEn Taupe palette came yesterday morning! It was £18 from BeautyBay (will pop the link for it at the bottom) and it is absolutely beautiful. Now, neutrals aren't my thing at all. Most of my eyeshadow palettes are either full of brights or darks but I struggle with neutral colours are they never seem to excite me. But my sister had asked me to do a more natural look on her recently and I sort of just stood despairingly in front of my make-up case wondering how in the hell I was going to pull this off but I found a small Freedom palette with some nice pinky neutrals in it that fit the bill. It was obvious, however, that I was going to have to invest in some more muted palettes if I wanted to be able to cater to more people.
I stumbled across the Zoeva palettes when I was flicking through BeautyBay on Thursday and it's a brand I hadn't come across before. I had a look around on YouTube and apparently they're a German make-up brand with some of the most gorgeous palettes I've ever seen. Like I said previously, neutrals don't generally excite me very much but I saw these are fell in love. Being a conscientious shopper, I had a look at some videos on YouTube with people reviewing the palettes and couldn't resist buying one to check out for myself.
I paid £20.50 all in as I paid the extra £2.50 for next day shipping so it wasn't particularly expensive compared to some palettes on the market at the moment considering you're getting 10 reasonably sized eyeshadows in the palette (works out at £1.80 per eyeshadow!).
The packaging is just your standard thick cardboard magnetic palette and it comes in a pretty little cardboard slip cover as well. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and Zoeva pretty much nail it, all their palettes come in very pretty packaging and I love it!
The eyeshadows themselves are amazing quality. They're so smooth and creamy, not chalky at all. Due to the texture of the eyeshadow they are so easy to blend and you don't get a lot of fall out, even with the darker colours. They are so highly pigmented so combined with the texture, a little goes a long way. It's a perfect addition to anyone's collection if they have a soft spot for neutrals.
Moving on to the budget foundations, this time I tried out the Essence Stay All Day 16hr Long Lasting foundation. Again, Essence wasn't a brand I was familiar with but I had seen it talked about on various make-up groups on Facebook, praised very highly so I thought it was worth including in my venture. I looked into Essence a little bit and they're a European brand, cruelty free and reasonably priced. The only place I've seen them sold in store is in Wilko and I must have passed by them so many times without even noticing they were bloody there! So the 16hr foundation is £3.80 and comes in 3 shades. Looking at the shades available, I think I need to go with Soft Beige but the lightest colour they had in store was Soft Crème. I bought it anyway thinking I could use powder to lighten it slightly if it was too dark. The texture of the foundation is very smooth, it blends really well and is faintly scented. Now, I have no idea whatsoever what it's SUPPOSED to smell like but it's nice. I don't normally like scented make-up products unless it's lipstick so I was a bit skeptical of a scented foundation.
As I suspected, the colour match was waaaaaaaay far off. It was super orange compared to my own skin tone and I looked like I'd been fucking Tangoed. Even other people were pointing out to me how orange my face was, even after powdering to try and lighten it! But I made the best of it and blended it far down my neck to try and cover up the obvious difference since we were only trying it out anyway. Well, that was until I found out we were actually going out for dinner and I didn't have time to change my make-up!!
TRAGEDY STRIKES! My cheapy oval brush from eBay fucking snapped! The handle snapped clean in two while I was applying my foundation so we had to switch half way through to a Real Techniques face brush which actually seemed to blend in the foundation even better in this instance. It blended in very well and gave a lovely smooth, flawless finish. It's medium to full coverage and I wear two coats of foundation anyway so it covered up any flaws whatsoever.
Staying power-wise, it stayed on all day. I had it on for approximately 9 hours. It would be rare that I would have foundation on for 16 hours anyway so I didn't really get to test it to it's full potential. When I came to wash my face that night, I still had a full face of make-up on, nothing had budged or went cakey in patches. I was really impressed. I felt a bit jaded by the Primark fiasco so I wasn't really expecting much from another cheapy foundation. I really do need to try and get it in my own colour because it truly is a wonderful foundation for the price. It's something I would use every day, it's good quality, my only issue is the lack of variety in shades.
This is the finished product of my endeavours. As you can see, the foundation really did look pretty good so worthy of another try (in my actual colour!!!) And the eyeshadows are just to die for. I was planning on doing a tutorial but there were too many people home and I couldn't sit and film it while everyone was sitting around taking the piss SO, maybe another time. If I can get peace. Unlikely. But I'll give a quick run down of what I did.
I primed my eyes with MUA eyeshadow primer. Using a soft brush, I covered my whole lid in the shade Stitch by Stitch (pale creamy shade) and then applied 'Gallery' all over my lower lid. Using a fluffy shading brush, I started working 'Outline' into the crease and blending slightly upwards towards the brow, and the shadows were so soft they just blended right up seamlessly. So be careful if you're using them that you don't just blend everything away LOL!. Then I went into 'Exquisitve' with the same fluffy brush and started working it into the outer crease into a 'V' leading down to the outer corner of my eye. Just a small amount to add a bit of definition. When working with pale neutrals, I love just popping in a wee bit of colour because sometimes, it can just end up looking quite flat and boring. My personal opinion, I'm not saying anyone else looks boring, I just find it hard to stay interested in my reflection at times without looking like a unicorn has done it's business all over my face. Anyway, using a smaller brush, I put a little more of the 'Exquisitve' shade under neath my eye close to the lash line. I then popped a little bit of 'Sheers and Voiles' as a highlight just at the brow bone and dabbed just the tiniest amount of 'Gallery' onto the brush to go into my crease again just a TINY little bit. Finished it all off with a little KIKO Gel Eyeliner and Essence's Lash Princess mascara. Not forgetting to finish off my face with my new joint favourite lipstick, Scorpio.
TA DA!!!!
So tomorrow, it's another budget foundation review. One I can guarantee 100% will not be the same colour as my natural skin tone so that'll be fun. And possibly discussing my lust over the new Urban Decay palette coming out next month that I HAVE to get my grubby little hands on!
x M x
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Life update: I'M A STUDENT!!!
So I don't think I've updated since I got my interview letter for college through so a little update is necessary.
Then came deciding what I was actually going to do with my bloody face and clothes. I didn't want to go in proper interview attire because that's just not me. I've prided myself on always putting Marianne across and not pretending to be something or someone else I'm not so when people started to advise me to go in interview clothes and tone down my make-up I was quite on edge. I ended up settling for a simple black swing dress with knee high boots, my hair in it's usual slicked back style and attempted to tone down my make-up just the slightest bit. Couldn't resist throwing in my old faithful JS I'm Royalty to add a splash of colour. I'm now considering it not only my favourite lipstick but my lucky lipstick!
So the lead up to the interview was hellish. I couldn't sleep for that whole week leading up to it and I felt like utter shit. To put it plainly. The anxiety was at nuclear meltdown level and I was a riot. The lack of sleep was probably exacerbating the feeling of anxiety to be honest.
I organised my stuff for the interview. I had to take photo ID along with my qualifications and it felt a bit rough. My darling friend took me to one of the photo booths to get my ID printed and what a riot that was. Got my make-up done, looking lovely and fresh and it ended up that my photo looked like a mugshot. Fantastic. So if the college is keeping them for our student IDs, I'm basically going to have to pass for a serial killer for the next 3 years!
Along with the photograph and certificate, we were asked to bring in photos of make-up that inspired us. So I ran to the library at the last minute (my specialty) to get them printed out. I chose the following 9 images to take along.
I wanted to make sure that in taking the photos that I did with me, I was putting across really who I was as a person. I'm inspired by the bright, the bold, the beautiful. Drag has become such a huge part of my inspiration that I actually ended up having to cut some of the queens out (the shade) so I wasn't taking too many photos in with me! Overkill much?
There was a bit of here and there going with me trying to decide whether I should take a portfolio in with me or not. It wasn't required but it seemed like it would be sensible. You can only sell yourself so much with your words but actually being able to take some of my work in with me would let them see exactly what I can do. So I put together an album of about 100 photos of work I'd previously done on myself and other people. There was an even mixture of more neutral looks, really bright and in-your-face looks and some drag looks so there was a nice balance there to show that I'm not a one trick pony and I really am willing to try anything.
Then came deciding what I was actually going to do with my bloody face and clothes. I didn't want to go in proper interview attire because that's just not me. I've prided myself on always putting Marianne across and not pretending to be something or someone else I'm not so when people started to advise me to go in interview clothes and tone down my make-up I was quite on edge. I ended up settling for a simple black swing dress with knee high boots, my hair in it's usual slicked back style and attempted to tone down my make-up just the slightest bit. Couldn't resist throwing in my old faithful JS I'm Royalty to add a splash of colour. I'm now considering it not only my favourite lipstick but my lucky lipstick!
The interview itself swung around quicker than I was comfortable with, if I'm being totally honest with you. Walking into that college on the Tuesday morning was incredibly nerve-wracking. I had no idea what I was walking into. Disappointment struck when upon entering the room the lecturers informed us that the course was full and they were actually interviewing for a waiting list. We were advised to look at other courses as a just-in-case sort of thing and also that the course was a Level 6 course and it was preferable but not necessary to have qualified at Level 5. So at that point I lost all hope inside. I had no make-up or hair qualifications and no experience working in the beauty industry so I really knocked myself down. The feeling of hopelessness almost had me walking out the door.
My turn came around and I was taken to speak to one of the lecturers, she asked a few questions and looked through my portfolio, she was very complimentary of my work which almost made my heart explode with pride and I was grinning like an absolute idiot. Then had a look through the inspirational photos we were asked to take and she said they were really great. After a quick discussion I decided that I would apply for another course just in case I didn't get in but she said that she didn't see a reason why I wouldn't if the place was free. On my way out the door I was a little bit lost so I stopped one of the lecturers to ask her how to get out and as I walked off she tapped me on the shoulder and told me she "loved my look" and at that point, a shot of confidence went through me and I all but skipped out into the corridor.
I got home that night and felt a mixture of emotions. The biggest part of me was saying that there was no way it was happening. The course was full, I had no experience, no qualifications, there was no point. But the other part of me was thinking about how well the interview had actually gone in the end. I awoke the next morning and sitting there in my e-mail inbox was an unconditional offer to start in August. I could not believe it! I burst into tears on the spot and just sat totally frozen to the spot. How many times did I read the e-mail over and over again? Lost count, honestly.
So I called everyone and messaged everyone to spread the news and now here I am. Sitting here waiting on August to come around and I'm absolutely terrified. But it's baby steps, we got in so now we just need to take it one day at a time. My sleep is still all over the place but I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize and that one day in the near future I will actually be able to pen the letters M U A on to the end of my name.
In other news, a YouTube vlog is coming. I figured there's no time like the present and since everything else is going so well at the minute, I might as well suck it up and put myself out there. So tomorrow is filming day (Review and swatch of the LA Girl Matte Gloss lipsticks) and it's also Drag Wednesday! Woohoo!!! Promises from now on to try and update daily!
x M x
Friday, 18 March 2016
Product review and lipsticks!!
Okay, so I said I'd talk about the interview. I'm scared. Like, hella scared! I'm totally unprepared for this mentally and I don't know how I'm going to cope on the lead up to it. I've been asked to bring images of things that inspire me. My inspirations come from drag queens and more theatrical/creative make-up and I don't want that to hinder me if they think that I can't do more "basic" looks. So I have a photo album with different make-up looks I've done on myself as well as other people in the hopes that if I take it with me, they'll take a look and see that I'm more versatile than it might seem from my inspiration! And there's a skills assessment. And and a written part. I can't even. I need to take a passport sized photo with me as well which is just fan-bloody-tastic as I don't have any just laying around. So desperately hoping that I can get one which looks half decent as I look like a serial killer in my actual passport photo which is about 9-10 years old! I just hope I can get past this fear of "people" and just try as hard as I can to make it through. Even if I don't get in, at least I'll know that I've tried, to the best of my abilities.
Next, product review! In preparing for my drag make-up on Wednesday, I needed gold glitter and I had run out of mascara. Instead of buying glitter, I stumbled upon glittery eyeliner from Collection which seemed like it would be easier to apply than a brush, adhesive and glitter. Plus, it was only £2.99 in Boots so it was cheap enough just to give it a try. Mascara-wise I went for Barry M's Show Girl mascara (£4.99) and due to the chest detail on the drag look, I needed a felt tip eyeliner so I bought the Collection felt tip liner as well in Black. Unfortunately, I managed to make myself look like a complete idiot at the checkout since I kept picking up bloody testers!!
The gel eyeliner was great. The eyebrows went on perfectly and was definitely a wise choice. It was wet enough that it slid across the skin but not to the point where the glitter was sliding down my face. It dried pretty quickly as well and stayed on for a few hours before I had to wash it off again. It completely washed away as well, as glittery products I've tried in the past left random glittery residue all over my face even after washing! This morning, I thought I'd use it as it was meant to be used and pop it on as eyeliner. I fancied doing a cut crease, which actually turned out better than the ones I'd tried in the past and popped on some of the liner across my lash line. My only problem there was, when coming to apply my mascara, the excess glitter that had gone onto the tops of my eyelashes, was almost impossible to cover up. I got most of it covered but it meant that I've quite a lot of mascara on at the roots of my lashes. I'd definitely be more careful next time not to get any on there.
Mascara-wise, it's a bit 'meh'. It boasts that it's "extra lengthening" but to be honest, my eyelashes look the same as they did before but just darker. It's not particularly expensive so I'm looking at it from the perspective of "I didn't spend a hell of a lot on it so can't expect it to be the best mascara in the world" but I've bought really awesome make-up from cheaper brands before. I won't be buying it again but it's not bad enough to throw in the bin without finishing it first. I think part of the problem is the applicator as opposed to the mascara itself though.
The felt tip eyeliner... well... that's a different story altogether. I tried using it for the chest detail on the drag look and also as eyeliner but honestly, it might be the worst eyeliner I've ever used in my life. And I love eyeliner. I've tried a hell of a lot of them. It was too wet, too see-through, didn't apply evenly, it was tragic. I had to go over the full lot with gel liner to try and fix it. It's not something I'd recommend and definitely not something I'd ever buy again. The tip of it was pretty good, it's just a shame the liner itself was so terrible, I even tried going over it several times to build up the colour but it just wasn't happening whatsoever!
The question from the make-up challenge today is asking what lipstick, gloss or lipliner do you like. Well, anyone who knows me, knows my obsession with Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick is seriously unhealthy. I only have 10 of the current colours, 5 of which are the Holiday Collection which I managed to receive as a gift for Christmas and the colours are EVERYTHING. I'd never recommend any lipsticks to anyone apart from Jeffree Star. The colours are so bright, they last for ages and they're matte without being drying. At the moment, I have Androgyny, Mistletoe, Ho Ho Ho, Drug Lord, Doll Parts, I'm Nude, I'm Royalty, Blue Velvet, Weirdo and Prom Night. It's not enough! I want them all!! So I'm still building up my collection but there are two new colours being released this year and also another collection of lipsticks which I believe are due out in the spring, it's currently spring actually, so I hope they're going to appear soon.
I'm planning on going out to buy a camera next week so maybe I'll get some videos posted on YT and can supply a link to an alternative to written tutorials because it's just not the same trying to follow a written photo tutorial as opposed to a video but my accent is horrible and I have a tendency to ramble on quite a bit, as is pretty obvious from this blog but we'll give it a shot. The worst that can happen is rude commenters so we'll see what happens.
x M x
Boots: Collection Glam Crystals Eyeliner £2.99
Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Eyeliner
Barry M Show Girl Mascara
Collection Glam Crystals Eyeliner 5/5
Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Eyeliner 0/5
Barry M Show Girl Mascara 2/5
The gel eyeliner was great. The eyebrows went on perfectly and was definitely a wise choice. It was wet enough that it slid across the skin but not to the point where the glitter was sliding down my face. It dried pretty quickly as well and stayed on for a few hours before I had to wash it off again. It completely washed away as well, as glittery products I've tried in the past left random glittery residue all over my face even after washing! This morning, I thought I'd use it as it was meant to be used and pop it on as eyeliner. I fancied doing a cut crease, which actually turned out better than the ones I'd tried in the past and popped on some of the liner across my lash line. My only problem there was, when coming to apply my mascara, the excess glitter that had gone onto the tops of my eyelashes, was almost impossible to cover up. I got most of it covered but it meant that I've quite a lot of mascara on at the roots of my lashes. I'd definitely be more careful next time not to get any on there.
The felt tip eyeliner... well... that's a different story altogether. I tried using it for the chest detail on the drag look and also as eyeliner but honestly, it might be the worst eyeliner I've ever used in my life. And I love eyeliner. I've tried a hell of a lot of them. It was too wet, too see-through, didn't apply evenly, it was tragic. I had to go over the full lot with gel liner to try and fix it. It's not something I'd recommend and definitely not something I'd ever buy again. The tip of it was pretty good, it's just a shame the liner itself was so terrible, I even tried going over it several times to build up the colour but it just wasn't happening whatsoever!The question from the make-up challenge today is asking what lipstick, gloss or lipliner do you like. Well, anyone who knows me, knows my obsession with Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick is seriously unhealthy. I only have 10 of the current colours, 5 of which are the Holiday Collection which I managed to receive as a gift for Christmas and the colours are EVERYTHING. I'd never recommend any lipsticks to anyone apart from Jeffree Star. The colours are so bright, they last for ages and they're matte without being drying. At the moment, I have Androgyny, Mistletoe, Ho Ho Ho, Drug Lord, Doll Parts, I'm Nude, I'm Royalty, Blue Velvet, Weirdo and Prom Night. It's not enough! I want them all!! So I'm still building up my collection but there are two new colours being released this year and also another collection of lipsticks which I believe are due out in the spring, it's currently spring actually, so I hope they're going to appear soon.
 |
| The only colour I couldn't find a photo of was I'm Nude but I'm pretty sure I'll have something up in the future with it on. |
I'm planning on going out to buy a camera next week so maybe I'll get some videos posted on YT and can supply a link to an alternative to written tutorials because it's just not the same trying to follow a written photo tutorial as opposed to a video but my accent is horrible and I have a tendency to ramble on quite a bit, as is pretty obvious from this blog but we'll give it a shot. The worst that can happen is rude commenters so we'll see what happens.
x M x
Boots: Collection Glam Crystals Eyeliner £2.99
Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Eyeliner
Barry M Show Girl Mascara
Collection Glam Crystals Eyeliner 5/5
Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Eyeliner 0/5
Barry M Show Girl Mascara 2/5
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Day 3 (ish), RPDR and the return of DRAG WEDNESDAY!!!
Good afternoon!!
Okay so the wait is finally over, season 8 of Rupaul's Drag Race (the epitome of guilty pleasures) started on Monday. After the farce that was season 7, I was unsure if I'd ever watch the show again. But true to form, I couldn't help myself. I am so bloody glad I did!! That one episode was better than the whole last season rolled into one.
So Drag Wednesdays... Basically, every time I watch Drag Race, I like to take the opportunity to try out drag make-up (because I bloody love it) and every single time, I ultimately fail. That doesn't stop me from posting it on the internet for everyone to see and laugh at though. My favourite look from episode one had to be Kim Chi's runway look. It was absolutely flawless and my jaw actually dropped when I saw it. Definite contender for winning the crown!! If you have no idea who she is, do a quick YouTube search and you'll be blown away. You won't regret it!! So I thought I'd give it a try...
With my limited make-up skills, I didn't really have high hopes for the end result. As you can tell, I'm slightly lacking in the confidence department. But it wasn't the WORST drag make-up I've ever seen (or done for that matter)...
As usual, the worst part was actually covering my brows. This time around, they actually covered quite well so will post a photo tutorial at some point in the future. There's a lot that can be improved but it's generally not *THAT* bad although a far cry from the original look. The white below the eyes was supposed to me quite a bit smaller but thanks to a finger slip while applying, there was no going back. Also, that wonky eyelash is seriously frustrating the life out of me, I tried removing and re-applying but it had affected the black liner underneath. I've had a few tips given to me from a real life queen so gonna try it again at some point and see if I can get it to a more acceptable level.
Sadly the photos don't reflect the contour and highlight very well. Pretty poor lighting in the house means that I can't ever put the full effect of my make-up across from showing off contour to reflecting how bright the colours I use are. I'll put a list of products used down below at the very end.
On the subject of Drag Race, what a bloody episode that was!! I think the show might be back on form. Season 6 was such an epic season with the queens and challenges involved so it would've been difficult for season 7 to have topped it anyway.
I felt a bit sad to see any of the queens go, to be honest, although the queen most deserving of being in the bottom two (& wouldn't be missed by myself), wasn't. So I felt a bit shafted there. I don't want to be shady naming names but I think, to anyone reading this, it's more than obvious. Naysha (beautiful and talented queen) definitely did not deserve to go home by any means and I would have liked to have seen what she brought to the game in future episodes! But Laila really did tear it up during the lipsynch and I'm glad she stayed so I'm torn! I think she's got a lot of potential and it would've been a shame to not have been able to see what she had to offer! Really looking forward to the next episode to see what happens next!
So I kinda forgot about the make-up challenge a lil' bit! So day 3's question was "What are your favourite brands?" Which is a pretty difficult question to answer. I don't have any particular favourites but there are brands I'd definitely avoid. Any company who aren't cruelty free are an instant write off which is a shame because there were brands I loved to used that turned out to not be CF. I'm also put off by companies like Younique which sadly involve quite aggressive selling. I don't want to buy a product because I'm being pressured into it or told that I *have* to buy it. The brands I'm currently using are Urban Decay, LA Splash, NYX, MUA, Make-up Revolution, Jeffree Star and Freedom London but no favourites as yet. I have some LA Girl lipstick on the way so we'll see if they're worth buying into as well.
So anyway, eyebrow covering tutorial tomorrow for sure and see what else I can conjure up in the next 24 hours.
x M x
Products used for drag look:
Pritt Stick glue stick
MUA Red lipstick for colour correction on brows
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder
Maybelline Dream Satin foundation (bought before I found out they weren't CF)
Cheapy contour palette from eBay
Make-up Revolution Girl Panic palette for powder contour & eyes
Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick in Weirdo (for eyeliner & lips) and Drug Lord (for white under eye and waterline)
Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara
Primark falsies (Define Lash) - If you're gonna try Primark lashes, the lashes themselves are pretty good but the glue is a bit sub-par so I'd suggest buying a better quality eyelash adhesive!
Freedom London pro-brow pomade in ebony brown
Okay so the wait is finally over, season 8 of Rupaul's Drag Race (the epitome of guilty pleasures) started on Monday. After the farce that was season 7, I was unsure if I'd ever watch the show again. But true to form, I couldn't help myself. I am so bloody glad I did!! That one episode was better than the whole last season rolled into one.
So Drag Wednesdays... Basically, every time I watch Drag Race, I like to take the opportunity to try out drag make-up (because I bloody love it) and every single time, I ultimately fail. That doesn't stop me from posting it on the internet for everyone to see and laugh at though. My favourite look from episode one had to be Kim Chi's runway look. It was absolutely flawless and my jaw actually dropped when I saw it. Definite contender for winning the crown!! If you have no idea who she is, do a quick YouTube search and you'll be blown away. You won't regret it!! So I thought I'd give it a try...With my limited make-up skills, I didn't really have high hopes for the end result. As you can tell, I'm slightly lacking in the confidence department. But it wasn't the WORST drag make-up I've ever seen (or done for that matter)...
As usual, the worst part was actually covering my brows. This time around, they actually covered quite well so will post a photo tutorial at some point in the future. There's a lot that can be improved but it's generally not *THAT* bad although a far cry from the original look. The white below the eyes was supposed to me quite a bit smaller but thanks to a finger slip while applying, there was no going back. Also, that wonky eyelash is seriously frustrating the life out of me, I tried removing and re-applying but it had affected the black liner underneath. I've had a few tips given to me from a real life queen so gonna try it again at some point and see if I can get it to a more acceptable level.
Sadly the photos don't reflect the contour and highlight very well. Pretty poor lighting in the house means that I can't ever put the full effect of my make-up across from showing off contour to reflecting how bright the colours I use are. I'll put a list of products used down below at the very end.
On the subject of Drag Race, what a bloody episode that was!! I think the show might be back on form. Season 6 was such an epic season with the queens and challenges involved so it would've been difficult for season 7 to have topped it anyway.
I felt a bit sad to see any of the queens go, to be honest, although the queen most deserving of being in the bottom two (& wouldn't be missed by myself), wasn't. So I felt a bit shafted there. I don't want to be shady naming names but I think, to anyone reading this, it's more than obvious. Naysha (beautiful and talented queen) definitely did not deserve to go home by any means and I would have liked to have seen what she brought to the game in future episodes! But Laila really did tear it up during the lipsynch and I'm glad she stayed so I'm torn! I think she's got a lot of potential and it would've been a shame to not have been able to see what she had to offer! Really looking forward to the next episode to see what happens next!
So I kinda forgot about the make-up challenge a lil' bit! So day 3's question was "What are your favourite brands?" Which is a pretty difficult question to answer. I don't have any particular favourites but there are brands I'd definitely avoid. Any company who aren't cruelty free are an instant write off which is a shame because there were brands I loved to used that turned out to not be CF. I'm also put off by companies like Younique which sadly involve quite aggressive selling. I don't want to buy a product because I'm being pressured into it or told that I *have* to buy it. The brands I'm currently using are Urban Decay, LA Splash, NYX, MUA, Make-up Revolution, Jeffree Star and Freedom London but no favourites as yet. I have some LA Girl lipstick on the way so we'll see if they're worth buying into as well.
So anyway, eyebrow covering tutorial tomorrow for sure and see what else I can conjure up in the next 24 hours.
x M x
Products used for drag look:
Pritt Stick glue stick
MUA Red lipstick for colour correction on brows
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder
Maybelline Dream Satin foundation (bought before I found out they weren't CF)
Cheapy contour palette from eBay
Make-up Revolution Girl Panic palette for powder contour & eyes
Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick in Weirdo (for eyeliner & lips) and Drug Lord (for white under eye and waterline)
Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara
Primark falsies (Define Lash) - If you're gonna try Primark lashes, the lashes themselves are pretty good but the glue is a bit sub-par so I'd suggest buying a better quality eyelash adhesive!
Freedom London pro-brow pomade in ebony brown
Monday, 7 March 2016
Day 2... where did you learn how to do make-up? Typical make-up look...
Okay, so technically I missed out on two days. In my defense though, I had a show to go to on Friday and was too tired for make-up yesterday as I didn't get home until 3am the night before! A rare occurence for me to be happy to skip doing my face!
Admittedly, I'm pretty knackered today. We've got a poorly 6 year old who has been sick all night and then again this morning but I had to do the school run anyway with the 4 year old so here we are.
Day 2's question is "Where did you learn how to do make-up?"
Growing up, my Mum always wore make-up. No matter where she was going, she had her warpaint on before leaving the house. I remember watching her as a kid in the mirror and seeing what she was doing. It was fascinating for me seeing anyone's transformation when it came to make-up and she always stuck to the same look the whole time since as far back as I remember. It was always a fairly natural look with the eye make-up and either brown toned lipstick or gloss. Recently, I've managed to lure her out of her comfort zone and she's worn different lip colour but that's pretty much as far as I can push her by the looks of things.
When I started wearing make-up to school as a teen, I pretty much followed the same routine, although back then, my eyeliner game was pretty rough so I always skipped it. Different coloured lipsticks creeped in over time and eventually eye shadow. The best piece of advice I ever received from her was probably to blend into my neck and stop going overboard with the bronzer. Looking back at photos of me as a teen, I feel mortified (although was hideously offended at the time) seeing the obvious tide marks and the bright orange cheeks. I was a hot mess.
Over time, I managed to improve my skills thankfully. When I discovered YouTube tutorials as an adult, I was already competent at doing my make-up but it was great to see different styles and how to execute them. Particularly with eye make-up as that's my "thing".
I have to thank her for the inspiration growing up, to be honest. Without that introduction to make-up, who knows if I'd have as much interest in it as an adult? My guess is probably yes but who knows. I could still be sitting here an adult looking like I've been tangoed with lines all around my chin. Thank you mother!!
So for the photo challenge, day 2 is "typical make-up look". Well, I don't really have a typical make-up look as I like to try something new every day but I do have a failsafe for any time I'm in a rush and I need to throw on something reliable. So here goes. Basically foundation routine is all the same but instead of some bright eye make-up, it's a natural lid with eyeliner. No matter what I have on my face, I cannot skip the eyeliner!! Coupled with a red lip, it's something that'll fit any occasion and is easy enough just to whack on.
I've used the Urban Decay Vice4 palette. 'Framed' all over the lid, a small amount of 'Bitter' in the crease, a small amount of 'Deadbeat' smudged under the eyes and 'Bones' for the highlight. At the moment eyeliner-wise, I'm using B is for Beautiful gel eyeliner. It seemed awesome at first but I'm starting to wonder if I'd ever buy it again. It seems to dry up pretty quickly even though the lid is screwed tightly shut after every time I use it. Never a good thing. And for the red lip, I either reach for Jeffree Star's Mistletoe or LA Splash's Lip Couture in Poison Apple. Both are liquid matte lipsticks and don't have a tendency to rub off or bleed if I can't find my lipliner (which always seems to disappear). Links below for all products used.
This takes roughly 15-20 minuted depending on what eyeliner I use. This one is particularly hard to work with as it's drying up faster than it should (!) so it takes a bit of fiddling about with to get it just right.
It's something that suits everyday wear but can also work if going out in the evening so it's pretty versatile so a good failsafe!
Nivea for Men Post Shave Balm £5.29
B Flawless Complete Coverage Foundation £5.49 (usually £9.99) I use the colour Rose Ivory which is currently not in stock on the website but can be found instore.
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder £3
NYX Powder Blush (Silky Rose) £5.98
MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder £3.00 (Opalescent Amber)
Urban Decay Vice4 Palette £43
B is for Beautiful B. Precise Gel Eyeliner (currently £3.49)
Freedom Pro Brow Pomade (Ebony Brown) £5
The only thing I can't include on the list is the Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in Mistletoe. Unfortunately, it was part of the limited edition collection that was released around Christmas time. If you search about online, there might be some online stores that still have some stock but it was pretty popular, so there might be a chance that's it's unavailable. They do a similar colour called Unicorn Blood which is similar colourwise but the Mistletoe is more glittery. Alas, it's out of stock on the Cocktail Cosmetics site which is usually where I get my JS lipsticks from but they're always replenishing their stock so keep an eye out. Link to site below.
Cocktail Cosmetics
x M x
Admittedly, I'm pretty knackered today. We've got a poorly 6 year old who has been sick all night and then again this morning but I had to do the school run anyway with the 4 year old so here we are.
Day 2's question is "Where did you learn how to do make-up?"
Growing up, my Mum always wore make-up. No matter where she was going, she had her warpaint on before leaving the house. I remember watching her as a kid in the mirror and seeing what she was doing. It was fascinating for me seeing anyone's transformation when it came to make-up and she always stuck to the same look the whole time since as far back as I remember. It was always a fairly natural look with the eye make-up and either brown toned lipstick or gloss. Recently, I've managed to lure her out of her comfort zone and she's worn different lip colour but that's pretty much as far as I can push her by the looks of things.
When I started wearing make-up to school as a teen, I pretty much followed the same routine, although back then, my eyeliner game was pretty rough so I always skipped it. Different coloured lipsticks creeped in over time and eventually eye shadow. The best piece of advice I ever received from her was probably to blend into my neck and stop going overboard with the bronzer. Looking back at photos of me as a teen, I feel mortified (although was hideously offended at the time) seeing the obvious tide marks and the bright orange cheeks. I was a hot mess.
Over time, I managed to improve my skills thankfully. When I discovered YouTube tutorials as an adult, I was already competent at doing my make-up but it was great to see different styles and how to execute them. Particularly with eye make-up as that's my "thing".
I have to thank her for the inspiration growing up, to be honest. Without that introduction to make-up, who knows if I'd have as much interest in it as an adult? My guess is probably yes but who knows. I could still be sitting here an adult looking like I've been tangoed with lines all around my chin. Thank you mother!!
So for the photo challenge, day 2 is "typical make-up look". Well, I don't really have a typical make-up look as I like to try something new every day but I do have a failsafe for any time I'm in a rush and I need to throw on something reliable. So here goes. Basically foundation routine is all the same but instead of some bright eye make-up, it's a natural lid with eyeliner. No matter what I have on my face, I cannot skip the eyeliner!! Coupled with a red lip, it's something that'll fit any occasion and is easy enough just to whack on.
I've used the Urban Decay Vice4 palette. 'Framed' all over the lid, a small amount of 'Bitter' in the crease, a small amount of 'Deadbeat' smudged under the eyes and 'Bones' for the highlight. At the moment eyeliner-wise, I'm using B is for Beautiful gel eyeliner. It seemed awesome at first but I'm starting to wonder if I'd ever buy it again. It seems to dry up pretty quickly even though the lid is screwed tightly shut after every time I use it. Never a good thing. And for the red lip, I either reach for Jeffree Star's Mistletoe or LA Splash's Lip Couture in Poison Apple. Both are liquid matte lipsticks and don't have a tendency to rub off or bleed if I can't find my lipliner (which always seems to disappear). Links below for all products used.This takes roughly 15-20 minuted depending on what eyeliner I use. This one is particularly hard to work with as it's drying up faster than it should (!) so it takes a bit of fiddling about with to get it just right.
It's something that suits everyday wear but can also work if going out in the evening so it's pretty versatile so a good failsafe!
Nivea for Men Post Shave Balm £5.29
B Flawless Complete Coverage Foundation £5.49 (usually £9.99) I use the colour Rose Ivory which is currently not in stock on the website but can be found instore.
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder £3
NYX Powder Blush (Silky Rose) £5.98
MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder £3.00 (Opalescent Amber)
Urban Decay Vice4 Palette £43
B is for Beautiful B. Precise Gel Eyeliner (currently £3.49)
Freedom Pro Brow Pomade (Ebony Brown) £5
The only thing I can't include on the list is the Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in Mistletoe. Unfortunately, it was part of the limited edition collection that was released around Christmas time. If you search about online, there might be some online stores that still have some stock but it was pretty popular, so there might be a chance that's it's unavailable. They do a similar colour called Unicorn Blood which is similar colourwise but the Mistletoe is more glittery. Alas, it's out of stock on the Cocktail Cosmetics site which is usually where I get my JS lipsticks from but they're always replenishing their stock so keep an eye out. Link to site below.
Cocktail Cosmetics
x M x
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Make-up challenge day 1... bare faced and when we first started wearing make-up...
Good morning! :)
So I found two "30 Day Make-up Challenges" on Google the other day and thought it would be fun to take part.
Day 1 is "post a picture of yourself wearing no make-up" on one list and the question "When did you start wearing make-up?" on the other so here goes...
I started wearing make-up as a teenager when I started high school. I didn't have much confidence in myself and I found make-up gave me that confidence. I was probably about 13 and grew up watching my Mum do her make-up and waiting for the day when I could start wearing it regularly. I never had YouTube tutorials or anything like that back then so was basically going off whatever I had seen from my Mum and making the rest up as I went along.
Looking back on it, I was a hot mess. Honestly. In most pictures I see of myself, my face is bright orange, I have tide marks where I haven't blended my (far too dark) foundation onto my neck properly and my eyebrows were just tragic.
Moving on from then, when I started working in a shop, I stepped my game up. I finally matched my colour properly and didn't look as much of a riot leaving the house. I always loved bright colours and have never been one to regularly go for a natural look so it was always bright and bold.
After having my two kids, make-up wasn't a daily thing. I was so busy dealing with babies and toddlers that I only really wore it if I was going out shopping. The rest of the time I was bare faced. Don't get me wrong, now as an adult, I have much more confidence in myself physically but I feel it's almost a kind of mask. I have anxiety and putting on that mask gives me that more of an "oomph" but it's more a case of actually enjoying putting the make-up on than anything else. I feel I can express myself with colour and style. Not only that, but with the anxiety, I feel like sitting down and methodically applying the make-up itself relaxes me. At the end of it, I can look at it and see that I've actually achieved something. Whether it be my less favourable natural look or something wild, wonderful and creative.
Now I've realised that I want to do make-up for a living. I want to give that confidence to someone else, pass on the creativity, inspire others. We are all beautiful. No matter what we look like, there is beauty in all of us but sometimes it takes just that little bit of make-up here and there to give someone confidence, cover flaws that make us feel self-conscious, let us express ourselves and be creative, accentuate that beauty that is already there.
x M x
So I found two "30 Day Make-up Challenges" on Google the other day and thought it would be fun to take part.
Day 1 is "post a picture of yourself wearing no make-up" on one list and the question "When did you start wearing make-up?" on the other so here goes...
I started wearing make-up as a teenager when I started high school. I didn't have much confidence in myself and I found make-up gave me that confidence. I was probably about 13 and grew up watching my Mum do her make-up and waiting for the day when I could start wearing it regularly. I never had YouTube tutorials or anything like that back then so was basically going off whatever I had seen from my Mum and making the rest up as I went along.
Looking back on it, I was a hot mess. Honestly. In most pictures I see of myself, my face is bright orange, I have tide marks where I haven't blended my (far too dark) foundation onto my neck properly and my eyebrows were just tragic.
Moving on from then, when I started working in a shop, I stepped my game up. I finally matched my colour properly and didn't look as much of a riot leaving the house. I always loved bright colours and have never been one to regularly go for a natural look so it was always bright and bold.
After having my two kids, make-up wasn't a daily thing. I was so busy dealing with babies and toddlers that I only really wore it if I was going out shopping. The rest of the time I was bare faced. Don't get me wrong, now as an adult, I have much more confidence in myself physically but I feel it's almost a kind of mask. I have anxiety and putting on that mask gives me that more of an "oomph" but it's more a case of actually enjoying putting the make-up on than anything else. I feel I can express myself with colour and style. Not only that, but with the anxiety, I feel like sitting down and methodically applying the make-up itself relaxes me. At the end of it, I can look at it and see that I've actually achieved something. Whether it be my less favourable natural look or something wild, wonderful and creative.
Now I've realised that I want to do make-up for a living. I want to give that confidence to someone else, pass on the creativity, inspire others. We are all beautiful. No matter what we look like, there is beauty in all of us but sometimes it takes just that little bit of make-up here and there to give someone confidence, cover flaws that make us feel self-conscious, let us express ourselves and be creative, accentuate that beauty that is already there.
x M x
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
MUA Mini Haul/YouTube thoughts/ideas
I'll start with the YouTube thing. I was recently thinking about having my YouTube channel running along with the actual blog. The main reason being, it's easier to follow a tutorial if you're actually watching someone do it instead of reading off a page. So I was thinking maybe keep reviews and stuff on here and just have tutorials on YouTube. I might end up changing the format and just switching everything over to YouTube but I can only film if there's nobody else home or everyone is in bed so it's not always going to be convenient. Also, I'm not sure if there would be many viewers Any suggestions welcome.
So onto the make-up. I got an MUA delivery 3 weeks ago. I opened it after a rather traumatic hair experience so there was a lot of distraction that it totally slipped my mind to post on the day. Or that week to be honest. The hair trauma is ongoing, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I can go on lol. Live to see another day and all that jazz. Anyway, I wasn't looking for anything in particular so I just gathered a few bits and pieces together. I ended up with 3 lipsticks, 2 liquid eyeliners, 2 pencil eyeliners and a pressed powder highlighter. All for £10 from Superdrug. Gotta love MUA for value.
I have to say, for anyone who hasn't used MUA before, that in this case the cost doesn't reflect the quality of the product. I love MUA Cosmetics, mainly because it's not a case of low cost, poor quality cosmetics. The products are great quality as well as great value. So here it is:
Please excuse my horrendous photographs, I had limited places available at that given moment and was in a rush.
I got the liquid eyeliner in shades 2 and 3. The liners are really bright and colourful but my only issue is with just how wet they are. It might just be because of the sheer amount of eyeliner that I actually were but I could feel it running as I applied it. The brush is superfine as well which is great for getting up close to the lash line but not so good if you want to go for thick wings at the side. I find the brush is a bit too long and thin to be able to do my wing properly. It stays on all day but washes off really easily when it's time to come off.
Next up was the pencil eyeliners in 'Royal Blue' and 'Turquoise'. What I love about the MUA eyeliner pencils is that they're soft enough that they apply really easily across the lid but they're not that soft that they start to crumble as you use them. Now, I saw something that I've never seen before. I'm not sure if other brands do it but there's a SHARPENER IN THE LID ZOMFGICANTBELIEVEIT!!! Aherm... sorry about that but I totally freaked out when I noticed. Ages spent hunting for sharpeners and giving up because I couldn't find one. NEVER AGAIN!! Like the liquid liners, the colours are so bright and don't rub off too easily.
Now for the lipsticks. MUA lipsticks are £1. Yes, £1. And they're bloody fantastic. There's so many different shades. Matte and shimmery. I got shades 1, 2 and 15. They're so creamy and shimmery and they look great on. The only thing I have an issue with, and I'm probably being hideously picky, is the packaging. The little coloured bits at the end showing the colour seem to always pop off. I know it's not a an actual issue with the product itself but just be wary that you might need to scramble around on the floor looking for one so be careful when using if you want your packaging in the one piece.
Now, the last, but by no means least is the Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder in 'Opalescent Amber'. I have never used any sort of highlighter. Cream, powder or otherwise. I just didn't see the point. But I took a chance to test it out. It's only £3 and there's loads of it! Rookie mistake, the first time I tried using it, I put far too much on and ended up looking ridiculous. Being slightly more careful the second time around I just swept a small amount under my eyes, just across the top of my cheekbones. It's such a slight change but the highlight really sets my make up off. There's just enough shimmer there but not too much that I look like I'm at a 90s school disco (Yes it's a good look but there's a time and a place, know what I mean?). I wish you could see from the photograph just how lovely and shimmery it is. I'll get some photos of it on my actual face with some half decent lighting.
As usual MUA is a win. Yay! Links to all the products on Superdrug are below and also, the link to the MUA website.
MUA Liquid Eyeliner - 3/5 simply because of how runny it is (although that's personal preference) and the brush,
MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil - 5/5
MUA Lipstick - 4.5/5 - Losing a half point as I have to reapply quite often. Although this could be because I eat and talk so much!!
MUA Highlighter - 5/5
x M x
MUA Store - Make Up Academy
Superdrug - MUA Liquid Eyeliner
Superdrug - MUA Undressed Highlighting Powder
Superdrug - MUA £1 Lipsticks
Superdrug - MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencils
So onto the make-up. I got an MUA delivery 3 weeks ago. I opened it after a rather traumatic hair experience so there was a lot of distraction that it totally slipped my mind to post on the day. Or that week to be honest. The hair trauma is ongoing, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I can go on lol. Live to see another day and all that jazz. Anyway, I wasn't looking for anything in particular so I just gathered a few bits and pieces together. I ended up with 3 lipsticks, 2 liquid eyeliners, 2 pencil eyeliners and a pressed powder highlighter. All for £10 from Superdrug. Gotta love MUA for value.I have to say, for anyone who hasn't used MUA before, that in this case the cost doesn't reflect the quality of the product. I love MUA Cosmetics, mainly because it's not a case of low cost, poor quality cosmetics. The products are great quality as well as great value. So here it is:
Please excuse my horrendous photographs, I had limited places available at that given moment and was in a rush.
I got the liquid eyeliner in shades 2 and 3. The liners are really bright and colourful but my only issue is with just how wet they are. It might just be because of the sheer amount of eyeliner that I actually were but I could feel it running as I applied it. The brush is superfine as well which is great for getting up close to the lash line but not so good if you want to go for thick wings at the side. I find the brush is a bit too long and thin to be able to do my wing properly. It stays on all day but washes off really easily when it's time to come off.
Next up was the pencil eyeliners in 'Royal Blue' and 'Turquoise'. What I love about the MUA eyeliner pencils is that they're soft enough that they apply really easily across the lid but they're not that soft that they start to crumble as you use them. Now, I saw something that I've never seen before. I'm not sure if other brands do it but there's a SHARPENER IN THE LID ZOMFGICANTBELIEVEIT!!! Aherm... sorry about that but I totally freaked out when I noticed. Ages spent hunting for sharpeners and giving up because I couldn't find one. NEVER AGAIN!! Like the liquid liners, the colours are so bright and don't rub off too easily.
Now for the lipsticks. MUA lipsticks are £1. Yes, £1. And they're bloody fantastic. There's so many different shades. Matte and shimmery. I got shades 1, 2 and 15. They're so creamy and shimmery and they look great on. The only thing I have an issue with, and I'm probably being hideously picky, is the packaging. The little coloured bits at the end showing the colour seem to always pop off. I know it's not a an actual issue with the product itself but just be wary that you might need to scramble around on the floor looking for one so be careful when using if you want your packaging in the one piece.
Now, the last, but by no means least is the Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder in 'Opalescent Amber'. I have never used any sort of highlighter. Cream, powder or otherwise. I just didn't see the point. But I took a chance to test it out. It's only £3 and there's loads of it! Rookie mistake, the first time I tried using it, I put far too much on and ended up looking ridiculous. Being slightly more careful the second time around I just swept a small amount under my eyes, just across the top of my cheekbones. It's such a slight change but the highlight really sets my make up off. There's just enough shimmer there but not too much that I look like I'm at a 90s school disco (Yes it's a good look but there's a time and a place, know what I mean?). I wish you could see from the photograph just how lovely and shimmery it is. I'll get some photos of it on my actual face with some half decent lighting.As usual MUA is a win. Yay! Links to all the products on Superdrug are below and also, the link to the MUA website.
MUA Liquid Eyeliner - 3/5 simply because of how runny it is (although that's personal preference) and the brush,
MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil - 5/5
MUA Lipstick - 4.5/5 - Losing a half point as I have to reapply quite often. Although this could be because I eat and talk so much!!
MUA Highlighter - 5/5
x M x
MUA Store - Make Up Academy
Superdrug - MUA Liquid Eyeliner
Superdrug - MUA Undressed Highlighting Powder
Superdrug - MUA £1 Lipsticks
Superdrug - MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencils
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Lip Colour review
Wow, been a bit busy lately with the kids all on holiday from school that I almost forgot about the blog. Bought make-up to review and a mini-haul still to post. So I thought I'd start with the quickest first and it's a review of the Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Dual Ended Lip Colour. Links to the Maybelline website and Superdrug will be down at the bottom of the page.
I'll start by saying that I hate longwear lipstick. It dries your lips out, most of the time I find it tastes funny and it never really lasts the length of time promised. But as Maybelline is one of my favourite brands, I thought the Superstay was worth trying. I got mine from Superdrug and it was £8.99. They have an offer on at the moment on Maybelline, buy one get one half price. I opted for the colourway Absolute Plum.
It's a double ended lip colour (well, you can tell that from the name lol) with the colour at one end (which has a stander gloss wand applicator) and the other is a glossy moisturising balm. Their site boasts that the 24 Superstay lasts UP TO 24 hours, doesn't crumble, fade, transfer, smudge and is is non-drying. It comes in 18 (lovely) colours so there's quite a bit of variety there. Although Maybelline is one of my favourite brands, seeing as I'm not keen on longwear, I was still a bit skeptical.
Set up is obvious, apply colour and allow it to dry a little and then apply the balm over the top of it. Pretty simple. I was expecting it to be pretty dry before applying the balm but was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't. I only needed one coat of the colour and it dried within a few seconds and then applied the balm which was really moisturising and left a lovely sheen. Then came the waiting. Now, I applied it straight onto my natural lip, normally I would be putting over foundation and powder. I figured I can wash my face around my lips and go to bed with it on to test the full 24 hours.
After 2 hours, the colour had stayed put, there was absolutely no fading and my lips still felt quite soft.
After 6 hours, still no fading. I had already eaten lunch and dinner plus brushed my teeth again.
At the 12 hour mark, it STILL looked almost fresh. I had been snacking and had a few drinks at this point.
At 18 hours, you could see that it was starting to fade but not by much (the lighting didn't help at this point as it was dark so I wasn't in natural light anymore so it looked darker than it does in the photograph), colour was still there on my lips. So I went to bed at this point.
At the 24 hour mark, the lipcolour had pretty much gone *but* there *was* still colour around the outside of my lips so it would've been interesting to see just how it would've faded had I not brushed my teeth again and gone to bed.
Overall, considering there was still colour around the outsides of my lips the lipcolour DOES last 24 hours. Admittedly, there was a lot of fading post 18 hours but realistically, it's not really likely that you're going to be awake for 24 hours straight and expect your make-up to stay 100% the whole time. I applied the balm at the 2, 6 and 18 hour mark, more out of habit as I was checking my make-up in the mirror than because it was drying my lips out.
The next day, I put the colour on with full make-up and the colour held even better throughout the course of the day. I'm really impressed and will definitely be buying in more colours. It's a great lipcolour to use if you're going out to work our on a day or night out and you don't want to be reapplying your lipstick every 2-3 hours (even less depending on the brand) and don't want your lips to end up really dry.
Pros
Colour lasts all day.
Doesn't dry out.
Doesn't smear or transfer onto clothes or skin.
No bleeding so no need to use lipliner.
Cons
None
Overall, I'm giving the 24 Hour Superstay Lip Colour a 5/5
x M x
MUA mini-haul to follow at some point tomorrow. Also, I've been thinking of starting a vlog on YouTube alongside the blog but still working on it as the house is so busy all the time, I don't know if it's feasible.
Maybelline UK - Superstay 24 Hour Lipcolor
Superdrug - Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Lipcolour
I'll start by saying that I hate longwear lipstick. It dries your lips out, most of the time I find it tastes funny and it never really lasts the length of time promised. But as Maybelline is one of my favourite brands, I thought the Superstay was worth trying. I got mine from Superdrug and it was £8.99. They have an offer on at the moment on Maybelline, buy one get one half price. I opted for the colourway Absolute Plum.
It's a double ended lip colour (well, you can tell that from the name lol) with the colour at one end (which has a stander gloss wand applicator) and the other is a glossy moisturising balm. Their site boasts that the 24 Superstay lasts UP TO 24 hours, doesn't crumble, fade, transfer, smudge and is is non-drying. It comes in 18 (lovely) colours so there's quite a bit of variety there. Although Maybelline is one of my favourite brands, seeing as I'm not keen on longwear, I was still a bit skeptical.
Set up is obvious, apply colour and allow it to dry a little and then apply the balm over the top of it. Pretty simple. I was expecting it to be pretty dry before applying the balm but was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't. I only needed one coat of the colour and it dried within a few seconds and then applied the balm which was really moisturising and left a lovely sheen. Then came the waiting. Now, I applied it straight onto my natural lip, normally I would be putting over foundation and powder. I figured I can wash my face around my lips and go to bed with it on to test the full 24 hours.
After 2 hours, the colour had stayed put, there was absolutely no fading and my lips still felt quite soft.After 6 hours, still no fading. I had already eaten lunch and dinner plus brushed my teeth again.
At the 12 hour mark, it STILL looked almost fresh. I had been snacking and had a few drinks at this point.
At 18 hours, you could see that it was starting to fade but not by much (the lighting didn't help at this point as it was dark so I wasn't in natural light anymore so it looked darker than it does in the photograph), colour was still there on my lips. So I went to bed at this point.
At the 24 hour mark, the lipcolour had pretty much gone *but* there *was* still colour around the outside of my lips so it would've been interesting to see just how it would've faded had I not brushed my teeth again and gone to bed.Overall, considering there was still colour around the outsides of my lips the lipcolour DOES last 24 hours. Admittedly, there was a lot of fading post 18 hours but realistically, it's not really likely that you're going to be awake for 24 hours straight and expect your make-up to stay 100% the whole time. I applied the balm at the 2, 6 and 18 hour mark, more out of habit as I was checking my make-up in the mirror than because it was drying my lips out.
The next day, I put the colour on with full make-up and the colour held even better throughout the course of the day. I'm really impressed and will definitely be buying in more colours. It's a great lipcolour to use if you're going out to work our on a day or night out and you don't want to be reapplying your lipstick every 2-3 hours (even less depending on the brand) and don't want your lips to end up really dry.
Pros
Colour lasts all day.
Doesn't dry out.
Doesn't smear or transfer onto clothes or skin.
No bleeding so no need to use lipliner.
Cons
None
Overall, I'm giving the 24 Hour Superstay Lip Colour a 5/5
x M x
MUA mini-haul to follow at some point tomorrow. Also, I've been thinking of starting a vlog on YouTube alongside the blog but still working on it as the house is so busy all the time, I don't know if it's feasible.
Maybelline UK - Superstay 24 Hour Lipcolor
Superdrug - Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Lipcolour
Monday, 1 June 2015
Mini MUA haul/product review
I've been wanting to get my mitts on one of the new MUA palettes. They're always a winner with me, great value, highly pigmented eyeshadows with a variety of shimmery and matte in each pallete. The palettes range from £4-£8 and I usually buy mine from Superdrug.
Normally I don't have a tendency to buy make-up online so w hen I saw the new 5th Birthday palette, I decided to make my way out to Superdrug. Unfortunately the store closest to me has been closed down so I was gutted to find out I couldn't get one. Luckily, yesterday I was out shopping with friends and happened upon a Superdrug store in Glasgow. Hot footed it to the MUA stand and was absolutely thrilled to see that if you spent £8 on MUA, you got the palette for free (!) and it just so happened that I had run out of primer that morning. So I found a way to make up the £8 (not that it took much persuasion to be fair).
I got this lot for £12. The palette was free since I spent over £8. The concealers were £2 each. Primer was £5. Lip colour was £3. I'll put the link for all the products at the bottom.
The eyeshadows are beautiful in the flesh. There are 6 shimmery colours and 6 matte. Even bought at full price they're fantastic value for money. They're highly pigmented and not chalky like cheaper eyeshadows can be.
The swatches here really don't do them justice. They're gorgeous.
The Undress Your Skin primer was pretty good to. It's not shimmery like the Rimmel Wow primer that I had before, it just glides on clear and does the job well.
I have a palette of concealers I got on eBay. The purple and green were almost done and I didn't want to buy another palette for just two colours so I was chuffed to find I could buy them individually from MUA. Again, they do the job. The purple is much better than the one from the palette. They're quite small though and I use quite a lot of the purple concealer every day but for £2, you can't really complain, can you?
The Power Pout lip colour is very similar to the Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayons that I got for £8 in Boots. They're just as bright and the same creamy texture. I'll definitely be buying more considering it's £5 cheaper than I was planning on paying in Boots for the Bourjois (although I swear by the Red Island Colour Boost so I can't go back on that one!).
So I tried out the full lot together this morning. I used the 'reveal' as a highlight on my brow bone and as a base over the NYX eyeshadow primer. I then used 'taffy' all over my lower lid and 'peach' in the crease. I finished with a little 'obsessed' just in the outer corners of my eyes. Then finished it off with Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner and some of the Power Pout lip crayon in Irreplacable.
All in all, it was a roaring success and I highly recommend pretty much anything from the MUA collection!
Primer - 5/5
Lip colour - 5/5
Eyeshadow palette - 5/5
Concealer - 4/5
You can find all the MUA products either on the MUA site or in Superdrug (where you'll get the free palette with an £8 purchase). Both links are below.
x M x
MUA Store
Superdrug - MUA - Make Up Academy
Normally I don't have a tendency to buy make-up online so w hen I saw the new 5th Birthday palette, I decided to make my way out to Superdrug. Unfortunately the store closest to me has been closed down so I was gutted to find out I couldn't get one. Luckily, yesterday I was out shopping with friends and happened upon a Superdrug store in Glasgow. Hot footed it to the MUA stand and was absolutely thrilled to see that if you spent £8 on MUA, you got the palette for free (!) and it just so happened that I had run out of primer that morning. So I found a way to make up the £8 (not that it took much persuasion to be fair).
I got this lot for £12. The palette was free since I spent over £8. The concealers were £2 each. Primer was £5. Lip colour was £3. I'll put the link for all the products at the bottom.The eyeshadows are beautiful in the flesh. There are 6 shimmery colours and 6 matte. Even bought at full price they're fantastic value for money. They're highly pigmented and not chalky like cheaper eyeshadows can be.
The swatches here really don't do them justice. They're gorgeous.
The Undress Your Skin primer was pretty good to. It's not shimmery like the Rimmel Wow primer that I had before, it just glides on clear and does the job well.I have a palette of concealers I got on eBay. The purple and green were almost done and I didn't want to buy another palette for just two colours so I was chuffed to find I could buy them individually from MUA. Again, they do the job. The purple is much better than the one from the palette. They're quite small though and I use quite a lot of the purple concealer every day but for £2, you can't really complain, can you?
The Power Pout lip colour is very similar to the Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayons that I got for £8 in Boots. They're just as bright and the same creamy texture. I'll definitely be buying more considering it's £5 cheaper than I was planning on paying in Boots for the Bourjois (although I swear by the Red Island Colour Boost so I can't go back on that one!).
So I tried out the full lot together this morning. I used the 'reveal' as a highlight on my brow bone and as a base over the NYX eyeshadow primer. I then used 'taffy' all over my lower lid and 'peach' in the crease. I finished with a little 'obsessed' just in the outer corners of my eyes. Then finished it off with Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner and some of the Power Pout lip crayon in Irreplacable.
All in all, it was a roaring success and I highly recommend pretty much anything from the MUA collection!
Primer - 5/5
Lip colour - 5/5
Eyeshadow palette - 5/5
Concealer - 4/5
You can find all the MUA products either on the MUA site or in Superdrug (where you'll get the free palette with an £8 purchase). Both links are below.
x M x
MUA Store
Superdrug - MUA - Make Up Academy
Sunday, 24 May 2015
Maybelline Flawless Nude Foundation Review
I'm going to review the new Maybelline Flawless Nude foundation (and get my basic foundation routine in there too). I got mine for £8.99 from Boots. I was a bit disappointed in the size. Foundations I've had before are normally 30ml but the Flawless Nude is only 20ml. Considering I usually pay around the same amount for 30ml, I was slightly put off by the price.
The foundation itself comes in a glass bottle which isn't handy when you're coming to the end of the foundation as I usually cut my plastic tubes and bottles open to scrape the last out of the container. There's a strange little dropper inside the bottle, after examining it, I honestly couldn't figure out what it's purpose was so looked around online to see if I could find the answer. Apparently it allows you to measure out the right amount of foundation.
Consistency-wise, it's pretty runny. I usually go for thicker foundations (up until now I've been using the Max Factor Pan Stik foundation) though. The shade (Ivory 10) was a perfect match for my skin. I noticed in the shop that there weren't a large variety of shades, looking on the Maybelline website, they don't actually offer darker shades in this particular foundation.
Time to test...
The camera I have is quite forgiving so you can't properly see the flaws in my skin in this photo but I have lots of little spots, can't miss the one on my chin though LOL. Dark circles under my eyes and little broken veins around my nose. Normally I use a full coverage foundation, 1 coat foundation, 1 concealer, another coat of foundation.I put on a little bit of primer before starting. I use Seventeen Wow primer. It's pretty good but it's very shiny so you have to be careful not to use too much.
I use a cheap cream contour/concealer palette which I got for £2.80 on eBay. It's fantastic. I use the pale purple underneath my eyes and over any dark patches and the green over any red patches. I go over the top of it with concealer slightly lighter than my own skin tone.The kids decided they wanted in on the action...
I always apply my foundation with a beauty blender so I just dabbed it all over my face with the funny little dropper thingy and blended it in. The coverage wasn't bad but as I said before I usually use thick or stick foundation. So I put another coat over the top of it and it was much better. It blends really well with the blender and I use my fingers to blend foundation on my nose. My only gripe is it doesn't cover *large* blemishes very well. As you can see from my chin, you really can't miss it even after trying to dab some more over the top of it. OH AND BY THE WAY!! A little warning. The foundation stings like a mother going over the top of cuts or spots. Think aftershave on a coldsore type of pain. It's very that.
Overall I'd say it's pretty good but it's not the best. I don't think I'd be inclined to buy it again to be honest.
Pros: Blends well. Don't need to use a massive amount (unless you need two coats like myself).
Cons: Didn't offer me the coverage I needed. Not a wide variety of shades if you have darker toned skin. Quite a small bottle. Pretty runny.
All in all I'd give it... 3 out of 5. Not the best, not the worst.
If you've got quite nice skin, I think it would be a good buy for you. If not, give it a miss.
- x M x
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