Sophia's FOTD

Face

Loreal Studio Secrets Anti shine primer

Bobbi Brown long lasting foundation - Cool Beige

YSL Touche Eclat

MAC mineralize skinfinish natural - Medium

Cheeks

W7 Africa

MAC Mineralize skinfinish - Soft & Gentle

Eyes

Bourjois Coup de Theatre

Lips

MAC Lustering

Hair

Curled into tight ringlets with Nicky Clarke curling iron. Then brushed out! Quite pleased with the outcome as it was my first attempt & my hair looks slightly ombre wooo :)

Lesley on Wishes do come true

I've been a very very naughty girl... oospie haha! Since completing my P10P I've gone a bit gaga and bought some new makeup I've been lusting over for ages (See wish list HERE.) The Bentall Center were having an exclusive 20% off sale on most their items so i took the plunge and bought Laura Mericer Tinted Moisturiser (full review on that later) and MAC "Blue Brown" (I love this sooo much and have been wearing it constantly since purchasing!) Saving myself around £12.00. Then there was a 25% off for students on ASOS so i bought another item on my wish list. Then onto ELF... i bought my cream base eyeshadows and eye primer (not shown) because... well just because! haha! Brace yourself this is going to be a long post! Now onto the beautiful products...

Elf Duo Eye Shadow Cream - 3g, £1.50 each (yes you read right!)

Ive heard some good reviews about this cream base so at £1.50 a pop i was desperate to get my hands on one! I initially wanted the 'Black Liquorice' duo but saw the 'Olive' duo and as i use a lot of brown eyeshadows i decided to get this too. I haven't tried these out yet but i will do a full review of these soon. I won't use these as a single eyeshadow but more as a base. From my swatches they seem highly pigmented so i can't wait to try these out with different looks. I'll be posting a full review soon.

In natural sunlight and with flash

Mac Blue Brown Pigment - £15.50, 4.5g

Introducing the b.e.a.uuuutiful first MAC pigment I own... 

This is the new love of my makeup life, blue brown! Blue brown is such an intriguing, i first laid eyes on it when someone swatched it and said it was an exact dupe for Wet'N'Wild Comfort Zone palette, i tried to find it online but couldn't find it so i went and bought this, and I'm so happy i did! At first glance it really looks like purple/reddy brown with green sparkles and i can't see the blue until i really pack it on. It really brings out the green in my hazel eyes but i can imagine it looking gorgeous on blue eyes too. Today i wore it in the day, although i think this is a daring day time look but I've worn it for a night out a few times pairing it with burgundy or mustard yellow (sounds gross) outfits and it looked really nice... if i say so myself!

Onto the swatches...

Yes, it was necessary to take five pictures! (Although i had more than ten because its so pretty) i wanted to capture the duo chrome and the fine small blue-green sparkles. As you can see, in flash the duo chrome is more pronounced but in natural sunlight it looks more purple/brown. Also when i rubbed it in a bit (last picture) you can see the effect of the different colours despite the glitter which i really like for daytime looks. I love how in certain lights the sparkles are captured... its just so pretty

i can't believe i forgot to put on mascara grr!

These are swatches taken in natural sunlight and with flash. In natural sunlight it looks like a dark brown but with flash it looks more like a rusty/brick brown. I pack it on with a firm eye shadow brush, add some Nehru or Twinks to the outer crease and then pack some more pigment in the middle. I haven't tried it with my ELF cream base yet but when ill do i'll make sure to post a FOTD/N. From purchasing this i know what the hypes about with MAC pigments and i'm tempted to buy a little collection.

With Jess sporting my Blue Brown Pigment and mustard yellow skirt!

NARS Strada Eyeshadow 2.2g, £16.50

Strada is such a beautiful lilac purple with fine gold sparkles. When i first swatched this in SPACE NK i wanted it straight away but resisted my urge to get it, which I'm so glad as i could never justify spending £16.50 on a single eyeshadow! I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet but I'm looking forward to doing so many FOTD/N so watch this space!

with flash and natural sunlight

Lesley on Birthday surprises galore

I am slightly behind on this post... sorry! A few weeks ago it was my 24th birthday and i celebrated with a few drinks the night before and a relaxing, chilled out day on my actual birthday. I also received some beautiful gifts from family and friends. In particular i would like to show you my makeup gifts (of course) and some very thoughtful ones that made me smile.

me and Sophia

Illamasqua Pure Pigment Lose Eye Pigment in Ore - 1.3g

I've never had Illamasqua makeup before and was delighted when Sophia bought me this. I was complaining to her that i don't have a good golden eyeshadow, not knowing she had this baby waiting for me! Ore is a metallic bronze/dark gold with  green/pink/gold glitter. When i swatch it i think the colours look amazing (the swatches below does not give it justice as i couldn't catch the reflective sheen) I love that it has multiple purposes, you can use it for highlighting brows, wet or dry eyeshadow or mixed with other eyeshadows, or mix with. 

Didn't need to use three pictures, but wanted to try and capture the glitter

I absolutely love what it says on the box- 

"Art of Darkness invites you to enter a world where seeing is believing, and believing can be dangerous. where mythical beings gather to feast, fantasise and create the ever-elusive Elixir of Life. So indulge your extravagant side and revel in the otherworldliness of night time makeup."

Source: Illamasqua site

Not really anything to do with makeup until the last sentence, but i love how the Illamasqua team take makeup to the next level. We are all aware how their new collection "Theatre of the Nameless" is completely amazing as well as their previous collections.

As i am a sucker for beautiful packaging, I'm completely drawn to the light and dark emerald green with the green scarab beetle, which fits into the "Arts of darkness" theme and i will never throw this away! I also love the square packaging but i think they have made an error because to open it you have to put ur finger under an edge and flick it up. Also at first i didn't like the plastic that held the pigment in, but once the pigment is out it looks fine (i am sooo picky!) 

Accesorize Baked Bronzing duo Laguna Shade 3

I love this bronzer so much! I've been eyeing it up for ages and almost bought it a few days before, so I'm so glad i didn't. I love that it is quite versatile, the left bronzey gold would be great for during the day and the right is a rusty gold and will be great for nights out. Mixed together... I love the pearly shimmer running through it too.

my sister dropped and broke my GOSH after only using it a handful of times (thanks sis!)

MAC Phloof! pro palette eyeshadow

I love how my friends know me so well! I wanted a highlighter for my brows and inner corners of my eyes  but ... was OK but a little on the pink side. Phloof! is a gorgeous off white, really light pink frost colour. This is going to quickly become a staple in my collection. Only one more e/s before my collection is complete (although i might get rid of Gesso, it cracked, but recently I've found I've been using it to highlight too) Also i will sweep it over my entire lid for a nice natural sheen for during the day.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle - 10g

Another well desired product! It reminds me of a soft highlighter but when built up a nice velvety bronzer.

Britney Spears Fantasy Eau De Parfum- 30mls

This has been my favourite scent for years and years now and of course my friends are used to smelling the sweet cupcake scent of Britney Spears. I love really sweet smells and opposed to citrus and musky. I was onto my last bottle so was using it wisely, but now i don't have to as i have a backup. It has top notes of red lychee, quince and kiwi, heart notes of white chocolate, jasmine and orchard, and base notes of musk and sensual woods. Some people might think the bottle is tacky but i personally think the pinky/purple bottle with the green Swarovski crystals is so cute.

Lesley on Battle of the Brows

Recently, as you all may know I've gone a little eyebrow crazy and I'm attempting to have the perfect, neat, symmetrical eyebrows. I'm going to do a little comparison post on two eye gels and see which one in my opinion, is better.

Mac vs Benefit: which one is better?

Benefit's 'speed BROW'

I have to admit i have a love/hate relationship with this 'speedBROW'. I got it unexpectedly as a free gift when i ordered lots of makeup off of a website. Here are my high and lows of it so far...

We will start with the negatives...

• The tube is SO small! I admit it has lasted me months and I'm only halfway, but for only 3g a bottle and using one/two coats everyday, i think i will get through a few during the year.
• Although the gel looks brown in the tube, it actually comes out a very light almost clear brown, it might as well be a clear gel.
• If i put on more than two coats, it flakes badly.
• It takes a little while to dry: i would use this as a final part of my routine.
• If i use it on its own it won't last the whole day.

The positives: 

• I love it as a lazy girl product, just two coats and my eyebrows will stay in place (after applying with brow zings of course!)
• It's a good travel size, so i might buy one just to keep in my travel makeup bag.
• As it is quite clear, it's not messy to apply and you can't see if I've missed and gone past my eyebrow.
• The wand is big for a quick and easy appliance
• Doesn't dry "crunchy"- I've heard a lot of gels that do this and i would not use a product that did that.
• No smell.

MAC's 'BROW SET'

My first impression on 'Brow Set' was "why does it look shimmery?" Also, it wasn't the brown i was expecting. I recently bought it online from the Debhenhams 10% off, otherwise i wouldn't have tried it.

The negatives...

• A bit messy to apply, i kinda just went for it and applied liberally like i do my with my Speedbrow - you can't do this! It went all over my skin and took a while to clean up, not a great start as i was in a rush.
• The colour is dark, so again, less is definitely more!
• Strongly scented
• My eyebrows look perfect, literally perfect! Which is not always a good thing, as i do like the natural look. My brother asked me why my eyebrows looked weird when i used this with Browzings for day time. 

The positives...

• 8g for this baby! Because you only have to apply a little bit, it will last for ages and ages!
• The gel and wand reminds me of mascara (which makes sense really) the brush is compact and the gel is so strong and it lasts a full day on my thick unruly eyebrows.
• The colour is a very deep brown and highly pigmented, which is a good thing for me as my eyebrows are almost black. However, if you have medium or light hair i wouldn't recommend this for you, as it is noticeable.
• As this has such a good colour pay-off, i don't have to worry so much about filling in my eyebrows with browzings, perfect lazy girl product for me and also great when i have no time!
• Doesn't flake
• Also doesn't dry crunchy, and my brows look highly defined.

MAC and Benefit

VERDICT: MAC is £11.50 for 8g, Benefit is £12 for 3g, instantly i would reach for MAC as it is more value for money. The two eyebrow gels itself are so different, they are rather like cousins than sisters. The most important thing for me is staying power.

 Benefit's 'Speed BROW' i will use after complete time and effort filling in my eyebrows with 'Browzings.' I think it makes a good finishing touch. However, you can use clear gel or vaseline with hairspray and the results would be exactly the same. It is better suited on its own for a natural day time look.

MAC's 'Brow Set' is more for the night time look. I used 'Brow Set' on its own today for work with a natural face of makeup, and every time i looked in the mirror i thought "woah!" To me, my eyebrows stood out so much! It has a better staying power than Benefit, which is important to me as my eyebrows always 'drop' making them look messy.





THE WINNER.... MAC!

(However, I'm not going to stick with this forever, i am willing to try others in the near future.)


 

Lesley on experimental makeup

Last night on a night out with the girls i decided to do a little experimenting with my eye makeup, and i think i did pretty well, don't you think?

Gold and green match so beautifully together, and i think they compliment each other nicely without being too over-the-top.

makeup used:

• Mac prep and prime for primer
• Mac Rubenesque Paint Pot
• Mac Humid
• Mac Amberlights
• Mac Nehru
• Body Shop 01 eye shimmer to highlight
• Elizabeth Arden gel eyeliner in black
• No7 amazing eye pencil on lower lashes
• Mac haute and naughty mascara

What i did:

• I primed my eyes using prep and prime and 'Rubenesque'.
• I put on 'Humid' from the centre of my eyes to the crease using the Chubby shadow brush, and then the firm shadow brush in the crease
• I then took 'Amberlights' and with the smudge brush applied it into the inner corner
• Using the firm shadow brush i used a bit of 'Nehru' in the outer corner
• Elizabeth Arden gel liner on upper lash line
• Amazing Eyes pencil on bottom lash line
• Body Shop Eye shimmer to highlight
• Haute and Naughty Mascara to finish

(I don't think i needed to use the prep and prime AND Rubenesque as Rubenesque acts like a good primer too.)

I'm actually really smiley in real life! I was getting annoyed because i couldn't get a good picture, this was the best non-blurry pic

Other makeup used:

• Elf studio primer
• Benefit 'You Rebel' tinted moisturiser
• No7 'Highlights' illuminating lotion
• Guerlain 'Terracotta' bronzer
• GOSH multicolour Blush
• Browzings for eyebrows
• MAC Marcel Wanders 'Nice Buzz' lipgloss

Sophia's Mac Lipsticks

I only own 2 MAC lipsticks....and they are my only lipsticks! shocking! I've always been a lipgloss girl but thought id try out some good lipsticks. I wanted a nude-ish pale colour and a pinky one, so after reading 100's of reviews (I always do this) i decided on these two:

 

Creme Cup - Cremesheen 

"MAC Description = light blue pink"

I looked at so many reviews of this online. In some photos it looked really deathly pale and others quite pink. Me and a friend were shopping near a MAC counter so I went to test it out. I stupidly only swatched it on my hand because i was to preoccupied with choosing a foundation (which was an epic fail, review coming). The colour looked like what i wanted so i purchased it. When i put it on at home I decided I looked dead and washed out. So for the first few applications i've been applying a thin coat and puting lipgloss on top. Yesterday i decided to try it without lipgloss and a slightly heavier coat and my boyfriend said my lips looked pretty? So i think i have to get used to it. Im going to venture to nandos wearing it and see how i feel lol Overall i like it, It's most likely the high pigmentation of a lipstick im not used to.

Lustering - Lustre

"MAC Description = outspoken pink"

I was torn between Lustering and Lovelorn but decided on Lustering because i thought it looked more of a warm pink. Its a very bright warm pink, not a cool barbie pink on my lips. I like to put lipgloss on top for more shine. It has long staying power and slightly stains my lips which i dont mind. I still want to try out Lovelorn though!

I will try out more lipsticks from different and cheaper brands but so far i like MAC lipsticks :)

Lesley on MAC haul

MAC pro palette eyeshadows - 1.5g

my lovely mac palette

I bought the MAC 15 pro colour palette after deciding i wanted to have my own personal collection of eyeshadows i would use often, instead of buying a ready made palette and only using one or two colours out of it!  The palette was i think £12 and i have been buying one eyeshadow every couple of months (at £9.50 each and 1.5g per eyeshadow) i have now got 13 of the 15 eyeshadows: it was certainly money well spent! 

At the moment Debhenams are doing a 10% sale so i bought "Cork" and "Sumptuous Olive" for £8.55, saving around a £1.00 each, (£2.00 towards my next eyeshadow ;))

• JEST "frost" - A light shimmery pearly pink, which i use mostly as a highlighter.
• MYTHOLOGY "Lustre" - Similar to Paradisco (below) but the colour pay-off is better. It is a brown rusty colour with silver speckles. I only use a little of this at a time as the pay-off is really good.
• PARADISCO "frost" - This is actually much lighter in real life, the flash doesn't give it justice. It is a lovely light coral pink with gold shimmer. I'm really not a fan of pink eyeshadow but i really love this, as it isn't as dramatic as other colours and you can use as little or as much as you want for different effects.
• CORK "Satin" - This warm milk chocolate brown can be versatile and worn during the day as a natural look and at night teamed up with the more daring colours. I would say it is more matte than satin .
• TWINKS "veluxe pearl"A beautiful chocolate brown with a nice sheen to it. I use it for both day and night.
• AMBERLIGHTS "frost"- A beautiful colour! It is orange/brown with gold and highly pigmented, looks great with my complexion and also with pale skin. I think this colour is for everyone
• SUMPUOUS OLIVE "veluxe pearl" - My most recent purchase. I haven't worn it yet but it is truly a pearly olive colour with gold shimmer. The texture feels really soft.
• HUMID "frost" - A dark forest green with a lovely sheen to it. Very pigmented.
• SILVER RING "Veluxe Pearl" - This is quite a light silver, i love wearing silvers on my eyes so was quite pleased when i purchased this (again i am very fussy with my particular silvers and have given a few away after not liking them) but Silver Ring is definitely a keeper! You can apply a little for a subtle highlight or build it up for a dramatic look. 
• TEAL "frost" - Teal is a fake mac, mac doesn't even have an eyeshadow but a pigment in this shade. It is actually just as good as the real thing, it is highly pigmented and lasts for ages. It's a green with a hint of blue - hence the name really!
• DEEP TRUTH "frost" - This is the most beautiful colour I've ever seen in an eyeshadow! Now to be honest, I've never been a great big fan of blue, having hazel eyes. But i LOVE this colour so much. It is a satin navy blue which i use as an all over lid or on the crease. Teamed up with Silver Ring it looks amazing (will do a look later to demonstrate) Also love the name too.
• NEHRU "matte" - I bought this off the mac website, thinking it was a dark blue. I was disappointed at first because i have quite a few blacks in my collection. But this is more of a really really dark navy, i wear this in the crease of my eyes for a smoky look, although it takes ages to blend in and can be quite patchy. It is less dramatic than when i want a full on black dramatic effect so that's why i like it
• GESSO "matte" - Also a fake, my least favourite out of the eyeshadows and its probably going in the bin soon. It doesn't have good colour pay off AT ALL and doesn't highlight or anything. I would love to try the real Gesso to see what that is like.

L-R: Jest. cork, sumptuous olive, silver ring, gesso
mythology, twinks, humid, deep truth
paradisco, amberlights, teal, nehru

What i can't live without 

If someone was to tell me that i could only have three colours, i would say my favourites to keep would be Amberlights, Deep Truth and Humid. They just have the best colour pay off and make my eyes really pop. I never used to be a huge experimenter but these colours are helping me come out of my shell.

DIY

I hate having to turn over the shadows to see what names they are so after watching a youtube video i cut out some cellophane from a pen set from christmas, and bought some circular stickers and stuck them on there. Once my palette is complete and after i have finished swapping them around, i will print the names on the discs.

MAC Haute & Naughty Lash - 9g

This mascara is a little bit unusual than the normal ones you find. It has two separate openings, the pink one for light coverage and definition - "daytime wear" and the purple glitter for allowing more mascara on the brush for thicker eyelashes - "night time wear."

The brush itself is the same. As you pull the pink end it cleans the mascara off the end minimising waste. It is still the same wand: just a smaller opening. I normally use the thicker opening first and then use the smaller opening for length and separation. It doesn't tend to clump and make my eyelashes look like spiders like some other mascaras do.

MAC paint pot in Rubenesque - 5g

I wanted to show this photo to emphasise how light reflective it is.

This paint pot can be used as a primer or as an eyeshadow. Its consistency is smooth and creamy and if i use it for a primer, i only add a little bit. It is a pearly pink with gold reflective glitter and the glitter inside makes eyeshadows like Amberlights really pop! If i use it as an eyeshadow i use a little bit at a time and build up. I don't really use this much but as i swatch it i have no idea why. It compliments my hazel eyes nicely.

MAC eyeshadow in Rule

This is so bright! But just wanted to emphasise how bright it is

This was my very first MAC product bought from Miami!  I bought this eyeshadow because the colour was so bright and unusual to what i normally wear. I usually wear it in the summer, mixed in with browns, it looks gorgeous with a tan!

MAC blusher in Light Salmon and Light Wine

light salmon and light wine

These blushers were bought from a fake website. Light Salmon hasn't got a good colour payoff and needs to be built up but light wine has really vibrant pigment. After using light wine dots started to appear in it, putting me off from using this. I guess its from the air getting to it and drying out the moisture. However, it hasn't effected my skin in any way so ill carry on using it.

light salmon

light wine

MAC prep + prime EYE - 5g

I loveee this primer! This has got to be one of my favourite items i own in my makeup bag. As i can see veins on my eyelids, i only use a little bit of this and it covers and evens out my eyelid. I sometimes wear it on its own when i don't want to have a heavy makeup day, but mostly i use it under other eyeshadows. One of my favourite things about this primer is that it doesn't crease, which I've been having problems with others.



with the primer

MAC Marcel Wanders in Fulfilled and Nice Buzz

Left: Fulfilled, right: Nice Buzz

Fullfilled with flash 

Nice Buzz in natural sunlight

Nice Buzz with flash

I bought these Marcel Wanders lip glosses as i don't have many lip glosses so thought i would try them out.The colours are lovely and stay on quite well. Nice Buzz is almost clear with a hint of baby pink while Fullfilled is nothing like in the tube, it is also quite transparent with a slight tint of raspberry dark pink. They don't go on as bright as they look in the tube. The only strange thing i would say about them is that my lips tingle a tiny bit when first applied, so maybe i'm a bit allergic. I want to try out other MAC's like the lip glasses next, but def will not be ordering any fake ones soon!