Beauty : My MAC Experience and Fluid Foundation Review

MAC Cosmetics has always been, in my eyes, one of the most classic beauty brands around. I am a big fan of their gigantic lipstick range, in fact the first ever makeup product that I received was a MAC Viva Glam Nikki lipstick, but never really ventured out further than that to try other products.

A couple of weeks ago I plucked up the courage and asked one of the counter assistants in my local store to help match me to a foundation. If only I knew how much of a task this would actually turn out to be! The way that MAC works with their 'foundation consultations' is you give them your name and they write it down on their list and you wait. You could be waiting 5-10 minutes, or sometimes 20-30 depending on the day and time! Unfortunately I decide to go into the store during the student night, so as you can probably imagine it was heaving. Eventually I was greeted by a lady who seemed to be feeling as stressed as I was. I told her what I was looking for and she went away and came back with pretty much every shade in the Pro-Longwear range.

After a lot of matching and swatching, being told I was really pale (which for the record I am well aware of!),  I was finally given the shade NW15 in the Pro-Longwear foundation. After speaking with the assistant and telling her that I wouldn't be buying the foundation that day and wanted to try it before I bought it, I was reluctantly given a small sample pot. When I got it home and gave it a proper testing for myself with all of my normal face products, it was very clear that not only was this foundation's finish not the right fit for me, but it was also not my shade in the slightest. Not going to lie, I felt a little bit frustrated! I wouldn't say the experience of being matched to the shade I was given was terrible, but it wasn't the easiest either. Granted I should have gone back on a less busy night, but if I am being completely honest that shouldn't have made much of a difference.

Last week my dad and I were shopping in Westfield after handing in my work for my first final deadline at uni. I mentioned that I wanted to look in the new MAC store, which for the record is amazing, and look at the other foundation shades to try and match myself to the one I thought would be suiting. As we entered the store a lovely lady came over to greet me and told me where she would be standing if I needed any help. Me in all my stubbornness thanked her and made my way over to the foundation's to start swatching them. After 10-15 minutes of struggling to find the perfect shade, the lady came over to me once again and asked if I wanted any help. I told her my horror story of the foundation matching the week before and she sat me down at one of the beauty desks and told me she would find the perfect match for me.

She found the shade I was initially matched to and you could instantly tell that the tone was too orange for me. It was at this point she mentioned how drying the formula was on my skin and if I was happy with it (this shocked me a little bit as I was never asked this question in the previous store). Without being asked she went and got a couple of shades from the fluid foundation range. After a couple of swatches on my jaw line she matched me to NW13 which was the perfect match for me.

It was at this point I thought the whole process was over, but boy was I wrong! She asked me to take off all of my base makeup leaving on my brows, eyes and lips. I have read some absolute horror stories of people being given very extreme makeup looks when having their makeup done in MAC so I was a little hesitant, but I did this and she started to apply a primer followed by the foundation, a bronzer then highlight. Throughout the whole process I didn't feel pressured at all by the lovely assistant to buy anything, and we had a really lovely chat about all of the different products MAC sell whilst I was having my make up done. It's safe to say I bought the foundation there and then. I was happy with how it sat on my skin and I loved my whole experience of being in the shop. After I paid and was about to leave she asked me if I wanted to try a lipstick out to finish off the look. She applied Deverish Lipliner and Viva Glam 2, which is now on my list for the next thing I need to buy. 

(Below pictures are of my makeup from the in-store make over)

After the awful experience of being swatched for a foundation in the first store I thought I wasn't going to actually write this post. It just goes to show the difference a little bit of friendly and helpful customer service has in changing the image of a company! I was made to feel really welcome in the second store I visited and not a bother in the slightest for the assistant. More importantly I have finally found the perfect shade and formula of foundation that I like and am so glad that I did give it a second try as it's made such a difference to my whole makeup routine. Now, all I need to get is the prolong wear concealer and my whole face base will be complete! 

I've been wearing the foundation for the last week or so and am LOVING how it looks on my skin!

How has your experience been when shopping in MAC? Do you use a MAC foundation, what do you think of it? 

Until next time, 

Summer lipstick favourites!

So it appears that the sun played a trick on all of us in the UK last week by giving us a glimpse into the Summer sunshine! This little 'ray' of hope made me get all excited to wear my more 'summery' makeup looks, which to be honest I have been wearing throughout spring! With that being said I went through all of the shades of lipstick that I have been loving recently and some that I know I am going to continue to wear throughout the Summer season! 

I have had a love hate relationship with these two products. I have always loved the original Lip Kit in Candy from the moment I got it. So much so that I reckon I have worn this pretty much every day since it came in the post. The lipgloss on the other hand is causing me issues! I unfortunately bought the lipgloss on the first release so was in the minority of people who got the dodgy applicator! (which is apparently going to be replaced luckily.) Overall though I love both of these shades. I would say that the Like lipgloss is very similar to Candy in many ways although they don't look like it in the picture above. Both of these products I know I am going to love throughout the Summer. 

These next three lipsticks have certainly been left out a little bit recently. I remember using them all of the time last summer and have only used them once or twice each since. First of all, Creme cup is a gorgeous pastel pale pink colour. It is a perfect natural lip and finishes off a summer look amazingly! Next Angel is another favourite of mine. I have worn this under a couple of other lipsticks recently and love the combo, but also love wearing it on its own. The colour is very similar to Candy (Kylie Cosmetics) however is much easier to apply and doesn't need a liner! Finally I absolutely love this lipstick from the Little Mix collection in shade Jade. This lipstick is about two years old now and I don't think that the collection is still available to purchase, but if your looking for an everyday colour then you need to get this! It also leaves a lovely little shine to the lips. 

For more of a 'pink' route, I have loved wearing the Clinque chubby stick in shade Super Strawberry. I love how the chubby sticks are moisturising yet very pigmented at the same time. It is certainly the lipstick that I have thrown into my gym bag for a quick makeover after swimming. next is the Kiko 02 Smooth Temptation Lipstick. Oh my goodness this product smells amazing, apply's like butter and looks gorgeous on too. I love to apply this over my Angel lipstick! Finally I love using the Elizabeth Arden High Shine Lipgloss in Golden Pearl over any lipstick to give it a little bit of gloss. It has a gold shimmer throughout which makes it shine when the sun catches it perfectly. Although this is certainly one of my evening lip glosses! 

Have you got any favourite lip products that you have been using recently? Is there anything that I missed from my list? 

Let me know in the comments and don't forget to leave your URL so I can return the love! 

Have a lovely rest of your week! 

Lots of Love, 

2015 Beauty Favourites

Good evening my lovely's! 

I hope you are well and having a great week so far. I probably should have been a lot more organised with this post. Most people posted this before 2015 ended, but alas here I am sharing my 2015 beauty favourites. (Better late than never right?) 

Over the past year I have loved lots of different things. I would say that I have been a lot more experimental with makeup and have certainly invested in some products which I absolutely love! Its hard to narrow down some of my favourites, but the ones included have been the products that I have found myself being drawn back to using. Enjoy! 

Urban Decay Naked 2

This is my go to palette. It has the perfect selection of light and dark shades that blend perfectly together. I have been away a couple of times this year and have only bought this palette with me. In my opinion it is the best out of the 4! 

Urban Decay Naked Smoky

With the above being said, at the end of this year I have been using this palette equally as much. This may have something to do with the party season, but I have found it quite enjoyable to use! 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo (Rose gold)

This was the first cream eyeshadow that I have tried and I love the simplicity of using it. It makes the application of doing your eye makeup so easy! I swear it is idiot proof. 

Fleur de Force eyeshadow quad (Cosmic Bronze)

This year the super blogger (in my opinion) Fleur from Fleur de Force released her own range of makeup. This is the first youtuber designed collection that I have actually gone out and bought. I love how well this eyeshadow blends into the eye, and I am yet to create a look that I don't like with it!

Benefit They're Real mascara

Yet again this mascara is appearing in a favourites post! I have nothing but good things to say about this product. Benefit is becoming one of my most favourite brands! I have always loved this Mascara as it really works well with my lashes! 

Benefit They're Real eyelash primer

I have been trying this out for the past couple of months as I got it free in a issue of Elle magazine. With a lot of primers, I thought this was going to be bit of a gimmick but it really does work! You can wear this on its own, or you can layer mascara on top. The combo I use works perfectly! I believe that this product is now available to buy which is fantastic news! 

Mac Captive Lipstick

I am shocked that I only have one lipstick in this post. Honestly, I have never loved a lipstick as much as I have loved this one. When I bought it I thought that I wouldn't get a lot of wear out of it, but I have worn it pretty much every day since. It is the perfect dark lip for someone who doesn't feel comfortable putting on a red lip! You need to try it! 

Mac Beet Lip-pencil

I have been wearing this lip pencil along with my lipstick and love it. It is the perfect duo!

Rimmel London Wake me up foundation

 This has been the best foundation for me. I have struggled in the past to find something that truly works and matches my skin tone. Ironically this is the best foundation I have used and is also probably the cheapest! (I use this with the matching concealer!) 

Benefit Hoola

This bronzer is amazing! It was the first proper makeup item that I bought and I still love it just as much! 

Benefit Porefessional

When experimenting with makeup I often forgot that in order to have a smooth finish you needed to have a proper base. When trying the sample version of this product I fell in love with how it looked on my skin. I don't use this everyday, but if I know that I want my makeup to last then I certainly don't miss it out of my routine! 

Tea Tree Blemish gel

One thing that you can rely on is getting a nasty spot when your really trying to look camera ready. In the past year, I have applied this gel on any blemishes and they seem to look smaller overnight! I wouldn't say that this is a miracle gel, but its pretty close! 

Victoria Secret- Secret craving fragrance mist

This is the perfect body spray to use when you just feel like you want to freshen up. It smells quite sweet and lasts a lot longer than most body sprays! 

Let me know what you have been loving this past year! 

Don't forget to leave your links in the comments below! 

Have a lovely rest of your week

Christmas Party Look- Blogmas Day 2

Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la 

(Still a little bit too early for the christmas songs? no? good!) 

With all of the holiday parties coming up, I thought I would show off a look that I have been wearing a lot recently. It is perfect for work do's and general christmas festivities! Side note- I have been loving this lipstick recently! I am not usually a dark lip person and much prefer to go with the safer neutral colours, but this has really made me feel more put together! 

 After applying Benefit Porefessional, I used Benefit Puff Off under my eyes to help reduce circles. This product is a god send! I got given it as a sample along with a purchase I made and have been using it ever since! If your the type of person who struggles in the under eye region then try and get a sample to try this out! It's seriously amazing!

Next I applied my Rimmel London Wake me up Foundation all over my face. This is the first foundation that I have tried that I feel truly rubs into my skin properly. I have dry skin and have always struggled to find a foundation that wouldn't look patchy but this product works wonders!

Then I use my Rimmel London Wake me up concealer under my eyes and on areas where I might have blemishes. I tap the product in with my finger under my eye first then use my Nanshy blending sponge to blend it into my foundation properly. I love this sponge. It works wonders and always washes out nicely after use!

To set my makeup I used my trusty Rimmel London Stay Matte powder. It's true what everybody says about this powder!

Next I used my Benefit Hoola bronzer as a contour and then along the high parts of my forehead and down my nose. I love how natural this bronzer looks on the skin. It always makes me feel like I have a little bit of colour, without feeling orange!

For the eyes I used the Rimmel London Kate eyeshadow pencil in Rose Gold. Since buying this product I hadn't really used it as I thought it was too Bronze rather than rose. After using it in this look I think I am going to have to get a lot more use out of it! It blends in perfectly to the eye and when rubbed in properly can look quite natural! For the crease I used the darkest colour out of my Fleur de Force Cosmic Bronze palette. I used my Real Techniques eye shadow brush to apply this. Finally I used the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner.

Another new favourite of mine is the new Benefit Tinted lash primer. I got this as a sample in the most recent Elle magazine. It can be used as an eyelash primer, or alternatively on its own for a more neutral look. I have been wearing it under my They're real mascara and love the way it extends and holds my lashes that little bit more.

Then I applied my Beet lipliner by MAC. I filled in my lips slightly also to act as a base for the lipstick.

Finally I finished the look by applying Captive by MAC all over the lips. I am obsessed with this colour! 

Heres the final look altogether! Let me know what you think of the look down in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed this blogpost! It gets me all excited for the upcoming Christmas period! What looks are you going for this party season? 

Thanks for reading! 

Have a lovely day! 

Viva Glam Miley Cyrus lipglass

I am guilty to being a horder of lip products. From balm to stain I literally have it all. In my defence most of them are drugstore products so are more affordable for a mere student like me. When I heard about the collab Miley Cyrus was doing with MAC I was a little skeptical. I have in the past purchased products from both the Nicki Minaj and Rihanna lines and been a little bit disappointed with them, as in my opinion they are a little bit harder to wear everyday. I decided to have a little look on the MAC website to see what all the commotion was about. I fell in love with the lipglass. I have never purchased a lipgloss from MAC before so can't comment from experience, but the smell, texture and lasting time of this product is absolutely amazing. It also looks lovely ontop of other lipsticks to create more of a shine. I am so glad I picked it up! When checking out 'Angel' appeared in my basket accidentally so I ended up buying that as well! I thought if I was having to spend money on postage I might as well make it worth the while! 

I really recommend you checking out the Viva Glam Miley range while you can! I have a feeling they will be sold out soon, if not already! 

In other MAC news I completely missed the online release of the Cinderella collab! I had a little live chat with one of the lovely ladies from MAC and was told that they are going to be releasing in-store on the 16th March so I am hoping to pick up the eyeshadow palette then!

Have a lovely week! 

Love,