Whats in my makeup bag? - Plus mini reviews

I thought I'd show you what currently lives in my makeup bag which I use every day when I'm just going to work and don't have time to do much with my makeup. I need to just get it on and get out the door. There is a mixture of higher end makeup and drugstore products - one of which has become one of my favourite mascaras from No 7 which I will be repurchasing.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation, Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer and Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation - £30
Lightweight and like the name says, looks like skin. Blends effortlessly and has a light to medium coverage. It is best suited to normal/dry skin. I really like this foundation, in fact I love the range of Bobbi Brown foundations as there is something suitable for everyone. Considering I am shade 3 in the colour range (I have a light/medium skin tone) which is the 5th shade from lightest, there are plenty of shades to try - Alabaster (0) being for the fairest skin and going to deep dark skin with Chestnut (9), a total of 16 shades!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - £5.49 Boots
This has what Rimmel are calling an 'Anti-Fatigue Effect + Radiant Glow' which is supposed to make your skin look brighter and more awake. What that means in reality is that there are teeny tiny light reflecting particles in the product which bounce light off your skin creating to effect of radiance. Does it work? Yes it does. I like to use it under my eyes because of this, my permanent dark circles could do with a bit of brightening up. I don't use it on spots though because I don't want to be doing any highlighting of them. The coverage is pretty good, most people would find it substantial unless you are like myself - the only thing that is going to rid me of dark circles completely is Photoshop.

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer - £10 Boots
This is a creamy concealer which includes two shades plus a setting powder and powder puff. The lighter shade of concealer is a bit more whipped and creamy as it is supposed to be used under your eyes to brighten them up and the texture making it easier to apply with no drag. The darker colour is supposed to be used on blemishes. I'm not too keen on using it under my eyes as it can look a bit crepey and sit in the fine lines due to my dry skin. It does work really nice over spots and blemishes though as it melts into the skin seamlessly. The powder is way too light and doesn't look like a transparent powder at all to me so that bit in my opinion is useless to me plus it is not as finely milled as I like. The colour range is appalling too, there are only two colour combinations to choose from, leaving anyone who has dark skin left out.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, Topshop Blush Head Over Heels, Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner,
No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - £21
I've been using this powder for ages now. It is a great colour match for my skin tone and the powder is really finely milled. You can use it super lightly or apply it heavier. I've even applied it on it's own to even out my skin tone when I was in a rush. You get a ton of product in the pan too so even though it is quite expensive, you wont need to repurchase for a good while. There are 10 shades in the range and many people may find that they can cross over two colours because they are sheer.

Topshop Blush in Head Over Heels - £6
Topshop blushers are becoming really popular and I really like them too. This one is my favourite one because it gives a lovely natural glowy colour or you can build it up to become stronger. I love how the Topshop blushers set and still retain a slight dewiness. For the price of them, you can't really go wrong.

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - £14
I love a really inky black non flaky/smeary/runny eyeliner. I'm a fan of the feline flick so I need something that will stay put all day and not rub off if I get hot or run if my eyes water. I used to use a MAC Superslick but this one is cheaper and performs the same. It also has a different applicator, this one has a fine brush so you can get really thin lines but may require more practise and the MAC one has a tapered sponge applicator. I always found that the sponge would make me draw the line a bit thick at the flick and I'd have to remove and redo. This is one better for me. Oh and a lot of people find liquid liner hard to do, I've never had much problem with it but find pencil liners really hard to use unless I smudge them haha. The long handle of this one does make liquid much easier, it is like using a pen.

No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara - £12.95
This is a mascara I have really enjoyed using. It makes my lashes so full and voluminous. It doesn't flake on me and barely moves if I have watery eyes. Obviously it is not waterproof and it failed the onion chopping test (which my boyfriend found hilarious) but honestly, I don't like waterproof because it is so damn difficult to get off and I hate rubbing my lashes with remover. This one suits me perfectly well and even though it doesn't beat my favourite mascara, Chanel Inimitable Intense, Lash Adapt gives me just what I want from a mascara and the price isn't too bad. Oh and it lasts well too, usually a tube of the Chanel will dry out in a few weeks, making it useless. My Lash adapt is almost empty and I've used it for the past 3 months.

What's in your everyday makeup bag?

Jennifer xx

Monthy Favourites - May 2012

Time for the monthy favourites (I'm a bit late again), these are products that I have been using all month/rediscovered or have stood out for me.

1. Paco Robanne Lady Million EDP

This is one of my favourite perfumes, I just love it but I hadn't worn it in a while. I got it out again and I still adore it. It is sweet with some floral notes and makes me feel special. I'm not overly fond of the bottle design but I do kind of like how the spray works. I just wish I could figure out how to decant it into a travello.

2. Lush Rehab Shampoo

I have used this shampoo before but stopped using it when I started colouring my hair. Now that my hair is it's natural shade again, I can use it. I went to Lush to get some toner but decided to find out if they sold a shampoo that will reduce build up from dry shampoo - which I use a lot and end up with quite a bit of build up. This stuff is great. It clears my scalp of all the crap left on it after a couple of days using dry shampoo and leaves it so much fresher. 

3. MAC Lovecloud Blush

This has been my go to blush this month. I'm not sure if it is still available as it was a limited edition colour. I really love it, it is so easy to wear and can be applied sheerly or built up. It is a pink with some coral in there to warm it up and works really nicely on my skintone. I also love the satin finish because it is so soft and natural looking.

4. Origins Vitazing SPF 15

This is basically a really sheer tinted moisturiser with SPF in it. I took this on holiday with me in case it was hot and I didn't want to be wearing foundation. Plus foundation wasn't really needed. It has these little greyish dots in the moisturiser which burst as you rub it into your skin and release a tint. This tint is supposed to be suited to all skin tones but I think very fair skins and dark skins might find it either too dark or light. Light to medium skin tones should be okay and it might even be okay for skin that is a bit darker. You don't get a lot of coverage with it but it does help to even the skin out somewhat and then a bit of concealer will cover the rest if needed.

5. SensatioNail Starter Kit (I have the red) - review to be posted soon.

Now this is a little gem! I love this piece of kit! I wont go into it too much because I will be doing a full review on it with lots of photos of it freshly applied and then two weeks later. If you don't know what it is, it is an at home soak off gel polish kit which includes everything you need to get started, including the lamp and one colour (either red or raspberry). It was quite dear when I got mine but the price has gone down a lot now so if you are interested, it is worth a go. I applied this for my holiday so that I didn't need to polish my nails while away and hopefully protect them better than regular polish would from working the locks and narrowboat. It held out brilliantly, as you will see in the upcoming review :D

Jennifer xx

MAC Hey Sailor! Fleet Fast Blush Review and Swatches

After binging out on all of the Tres Cheek blushers (if anyone wants a review on any of them, leave me a comment and I will get one up for you) I intended not to buy any of the blushers from Hey Sailor... that didn't work though haha. I bought Fleet Fast and it is such a perfect natural colour on my skin. I simply love it.

My new love with MAC's blushers is their satin finish which has been in the latest blush offerings. They are perfection in a pan, I honestly can't rave about them any more. I've always been a bit wary of matte blushers on my dry skin and I usually prefer a bit of shimmer. The satin finishes that MAC have come out with recently have just looked so flawless on everyone's skin that I've seen them on and I know that a lot of people are really chuffed with them. They give such a natural finish which doesn't look completely matte, instead giving skin a slight sheen which actually looks just how skin should - not caked in makeup.

Fleet Fast has some fine gold shimmer in it which is quite subtle on the skin - you can see it but it is far from being a glitter bomb on your face. It is very flattering. I adore the colour too. It doesn't seem all that unique but the formulation is what makes it a must have for me. The shade is somewhere between pink and coral but with an earthiness to it. It gives my cheeks a natural flush which also appears like I've been in the sun, I love it.

It also has really good staying power, lasting almost all day on my skin - bearing in mind that I have dry skin so it might not work as well on normal to oily skin types.

So if I can recommend that you try something from this collection, this would be one of my top picks.

Jennifer xx

MAC Shop Cook Cremeblend Blushes

I have a thing for cream blushes at the moment, I like the way they look on the skin, they give such a nice natural finish and you have the option to mattify them a bit with some powder. They are easily buildable and can be worn on lips too or even on eyelids if you wish!

There are three cremeblend blushes in this collection, two are repromotes (Florida and Optimistic Orange) and the other is brand new (Restores Dazzle).

They are all beautifully pigmented and glide on effortlessly. They blend out really easily so even though they are so pigmented, you can use them sheerly too.

Packaging (outer cardboard sleeve only - the rest is MAC's usual black packaging)

Clockwise from bottom left: Florida, Restores Dazzle, Optimistic Orange

MAC Naturally Swatches & Review

MAC's latest collection to hit UK and European shores is Naturally. It consists of well... natural shades really. Nude lipsticks, golden and beige tones with some browns and pinks thrown in. It is a lovely collection and is great to pick up some basic tones but still be interesting for makeup fanatics as they are all still interesting.

I'll start with the mineralize eye shadows that I got:

L-R: Summer Haze, In The Sun, Twilight Falls

Summer Haze L-R: dry, over UDPP, wet, over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Summer Haze is a gorgeous light gold and I can also get a peachy beige out of my pan too. It is super smooth and gorgeously pigmented. It makes a lovely lid brightening shade and the lighter shade in the pan is good for a highlight. It looks really metallic when used wet or patted over Pixie Epoxy which is very good for helping it stick all day long.

In The Sun L-R: dry, over UDPP, wet, over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

In the Sun is a hot burnt copper. The veining in my pan isn't as nice as other pans I have seen where there is more fuchsia to pick from. If you pick a pan with more fuchsia, the colour variant would be a bit different as mine mainly has deep gold in it. There is some shimmer in this shade which can fall out so a sticky base such as Pixie Epoxy is best, plus it helps to give it even more intense colour payoff. The sparkle looks really pretty on the lid when the light catches it and the particles aren't too chunky.

Twilight Falls L-R: dry, over UDPP, wet, over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Twilight Falls is a beautiful shade of mauvey brown. I really love this one. It works fantastically with the other two shades I got and is a very good yet interesting every day brown. You may see in the image there is a blueish sheen, this makes it more than the average brown eye shadow. It is so smooth and buttery. The pigmentation even when dry is very good and would be great as a quick wash or to smudge along the lash lines for a smokey look. I wear browns and golds a lot so this is going to get a good amount of love from me.


There were three shades of mineralize blush in this collection but only this one stood out to me. It is Subtle Breeze. I also wanted to stay on the safer side because I'd never tried the mineralize blushes before so didn't entirely know what to expect and wanted something more wearable to me.

Subtle Breeze mineralize blush

Subtle Breeze is amazing, it really is. It is soooo pigmented, I swirled my brush into it as normal and ended up with way too much product on my face. A couple of taps into the pan is all that is needed to a lovely pink flush. The finish is beautiful, it has a slight sheen so isn't completely matte but has no shimmer in it either. I really like it, it gives such a pretty glow. I find that it lasts really nicely on me too although I do have dry skin so not sure how oily skin would fare but it is worth a try.

There are two mineralize skinfinishes in this collections, these are some of my favourite products from MAC so I was pleased to see these. They are both repromotes from the  Blonde, Brunette, Redhead collection.

L-R: Redhead, Blonde

Redhead Mineralize Skinfinish - first four as the different shades,
last two are mixed, swatched heavily and then blended.

Redhead is the warmer shade of the two. It is more golden toned. It is very smooth, so much smoother than I expected it to be and than of any other of my MSFs. I think it would be flattering on a wide variety of skin tones. It gives a lovely golden sheen to the skin but like all MSFs it is quite shimmery so may emphasise pores. 

Blonde Mineralize Skinfinish - first four as the different shades,
last two are mixed, swatched heavily and then blended.

Blonde is a cooler shade, more pink based. It is still a flattering shade and works nicely over the top of Subtle Breeze blush. This is just as smooth as Redhead and also shimmery.

Perfect Day lipstick

Perfect Day lipstick



This is the only lipstick which appealed to me, it is a lovely pinky nude which I find far more wearable than most nudes. It doesn't look stark against my skin tone and would work on a lot of different skin tones. It is an amplified finish so applies a good amount of colour in one swipe. It lasts pretty nicely for a nude shade, probably due to the finish which seems to stick to lips better than a lustre or cremesheen lipstick does. I haven't got a lip swatch because my lips are far too dry for photographing at the moment... I hate what this cold weather does to my skin!

So that is what I picked up from Naturally, all very nice wearable colours which can be paired with lots of different shades to make really nice looks from neutrals to brighter. Anyone else pick anything up? What did you think of the collection?

Jennifer x

Oooops! A few extra MAC Surf Baby bits...

I said I wasn't going to buy them in the first place, they just didn't appeal to me... but then came the swatches... Oh dear, well I completely changed my mind.

Whilst I was in Tumbridge Wells with my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, I saw that they had My Paradise in stock. I'd seen numerous bloggers and Youtubers swatching this and it just looked really pretty, not how I'd imagined it. I told myself to stick to not buying it because it has an overspray but then I found out that it was quite thick and when it runs out that Gold Deposit MSF would do as a substitute to put over the blush colour - more about that later. I swatched it on my hand in store and bought it.

My Paradise

My Paradise

My Paradise

It is a very pretty colour, when mixed with the gold overspray it turns into a gorgeous shimmery golden peach. The blush colour itself is very coral and matte/satin - I'm not sure but there doesn't appear to be shimmer in there. It would be a great colour for Summer skin (well duh, it is a Summer collection lol) and is surprisingly wearable. I've seen it work nicely on fair skin too but it would be worth checking in person. It is sold out online but you might come across it in store. Temptalia has some dupes listed on her site, NARS Luster appears very close to the mixed blush.

My Paradise: L-R Base blush colour, overspray colour, mixed, mixed blended

Then I noticed that Debenhams had 10% off beauty. I'd seen swatches of Short Shorts (frost) and Saffron (Satin) and thought they were nice. Whilst at the MAC counter I noticed that the MAs were wearing Sun Blonde with Saffron and I loved it but they didn't have it on display. When I saw the Debenhams sale I ordered them both along with my concealer and correcter which I was running out of.

L-R: Short Shorts, Saffron

L-R: Short Shorts, Saffron

I'm really glad I did because they are beautiful. I can't get over how pigmented the eye shadows in this collection are, they are amazing. I really hope that MAC continue to make them like this from now on. I didn't have a terracotta shade before and I was a bit scared of how it would look on my eyes but it is actually very flattering and versatile. I've used it with Sun Blonde so far which makes a lovely yellow-orange-terracotta gradient. I'd also use it with neutrals, pinks and browns and I think it would be fun to try with blues and greens.

Short Shorts

Saffron

L-R: Short Shorts, Saffron

So like I said, I read that you could dupe the gold overspray of My Paradise with Gold Deposit MSF, well I'm not sure. My Gold Deposit hasn't got much veining in it, it is mainly a deep gold copper colour with very little gold in it. I did swatch the gold area against the overspray of My Paradise and they are very very close. If this is what you want to do, I would suggest going to MAC and picking out your own Gold Deposit with the most gold veining and then swatching it against My Paradise to check how it looks. I'm not going to buy another one to use over this blush but the one I have would still look good over it although a little different. You might even be able to find an eye shadow in the same colour to use over the blush instead. Or you could just accept, like me, that once the overspray has gone, it is gone. I might go to buy NARS Luster at a later stage to replace the mixed My Paradise colour and then use My Paradise as just the base colour.

So there you go... a little bit of naughty extra shopping :P hehe!

- Jennifer

MAC Jeanius Collection Picks and Review

I know I've been really slow getting this review up, I suck haha. Sorry. Some of this collection is still available under the Going, Going, Gone section of MAC's website and may possibly be still in stock in some stores. I bought Pink Cult Blush and Indigo Pink Lipglass from this collection. I wasn't too thrilled with the whole thing but thought these were both nice products. I also already had Docile Lipglass which was repromoted from the Fabulous Felines collection last year. I don't have a product photo of this because I forgot but I do have a swatch photo.

Indigo Pink Lipglass and Pink Cult Blush

First up, Docile. This is a very light milky pink with iridescent sparkles. It is very subtle when worn but the sparkle effect is nice. I like this with a smokey eye as it pales my lips a little without going nude. Not a must have item in my opinion but it is still nice. In the Lightfully Bright collection at the beginning of this year, similar type glosses were released.

Next, Indigo Pink Lipglass.

This is a very pretty colour and unlike anything else I have. It is a reddened berry pink and has blue flecks in it which I really like. I think it is a nice take on red if you don't want a postbox shade. I also think it is a year round colour. I'd wear it with the sort of eye makeup I'm wearing in the full face photo, a nude eye.

Top: Docile, bottom: Indigo Pink

Lastly, Pink Cult Blush. I can't see this on the website so hopefully you can get hold of it in store or already have it. It is a neutral rosey pink. It is very pigmented and a perfect barely there flushed shade. It would work so well on a pale skintone especially.



- Jennifer

March Favourites and Harvey Dog!

Happy April! I hope everyone had a good month, it was my boyfriend's birthday at the end of it and we had a great weekend doing things around the town he lives in and in Eastbourne :) I got to see the gorgeous Harvey dog who kept us both very occupied playing with him in the garden, he likes to jump on the trampoline! (photo at the end) I made birthday cupcakes and we went out for a yummy Sunday lunch.

Here are five products that I've liked over March.

First, in the top left, we have Sally Hansen nail polish remover for dry brittle nails. You might be thinking that it is just a nail polish remover but it is a really good'n. My nails like to peel and break and since using this my nails have been pretty good... apart from the one I banged so it bled and now has a lovely crack in it. Other than being very gentle on my nails and conditioning them when I use it, it makes removing nail polish a doddle. Even glitter comes off easier than any other bottled remover I've used. I got it from the 99p Store. BARGAIN! I'm going to stock up on a few bottles as they are so cheap in case they stop stocking it. It is also sold in Superdrug (along with other removers for different types of nails) for £2 odd.

Next to that is Batiste Dry Shampoo in Dark and Deep Brown Hair. I bought this before I got my hair dyed to see if I could get on with it as I didn't want to wash my hair as often as I used to. It is pretty good. It comes out an ashy black/dark brown so completely dissappears into my hair which is great. I've always been put off dry shampoo as they are usually white and having dark hair it would show. This is good for me to get an extra day before shampooing again. I don't know if I'd get any more than that because my hair can get quite lank if left longer than two days when using normal shampoo, so I get three days before the next wash out of this. It doesn't make my hair feel as nice as when it has been washed but it is fine, it looks okay and I can put it up and it wont look greasy. Thumbs up.

Underneath is the Urban Decay Naked Palete. I'm not going to bother saying much about this, it has been reviewed so many times all over the place. If you want swatches, Temptalia always has good ones. I've been reaching for this more often than usual, just to get quick neutral eyeshadow done. It is great if I'm in a rush to get to work (always happens) and has some beautiful colours. There are so many possibilities in this palete and you can add a single brighter colour to change it up a bit. I like to use green... surprise surprise. I love Virgin for my brow bone and Sin is one of my favourite eyeshadows, it goes with everything and great for brightening the inner corner. I also really like Baked and Darkhorse, I use them a lot.

Bottom left is MAC My Highland Honey Blush from the Tartan Tale collection. This has been a bit neglected so I decided to pull it out one day and then ended up wearing it pretty much all month. It looks a bit orangy but isn't, it gives a nice warmth so my cheeks.

Finally, Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Liner in Espresso Ink. I absolutely love this. I'd wanted a brown eyeliner for ages but browns are often too light for my taste, I wanted something very dark, verging on black but wouldn't look so harsh if I wanted more subtle makeup. This is perfect. I love BB gel liners, the formula is great and they last so well. I often use this with neutral makeup, like in the Naked palete and also with greens as it looks more subtle. Definately a staple for me.

...

Anyway, here is the photo of Harvey on the trampoline that I promised. He is a seven month old Springer Spaniel and is just crazy. He loves to get in everything and since he discovered the trampoline you can't go on it without him trying to climb up haha. He runs in circles and pounces on you if you sit down and he likes to catch balls on it.

And here is one where he isn't leaping into the air so you can see his pretty face. I love him. This is his favourite spot in the garden. He is holding his newest toy, the peanut.

- Jennifer

MAC Wonder Woman Mighty Aphrodite Blush Review

The blushers in the Wonder Woman collection are duos, they both have one larger colour and one smaller shade. One blusher is pink based while the other is coral based - I bought the coral one, Mighty Aphrodite.

One shade of Mighty Aphrodite is a peachy coral with a pearl finish and the other side is a bright pink coral with a pearl finish. This blush duo is supersized to be the same size as a Beauty Powder, it has almost double the amount of product to a regular MAC blusher. These shades are very nice and well pigmented and I think they would work especially well on warm skin tones, cooler skin tones might prefer the other blush duo - Amazon Princess. I really like the lighter shade on my skintone, the darker one needs a light hand as it can easily look overpowering. You can also swirl the two shades together to make a middleground colour.

One gripe about these duos is that the smaller part is difficult to get a brush in to pick up the colour without getting the other shade on it. I would have prefered that they had made the colours even in size - although as I prefer the lighter shade that means I get more of that to use.

Overall, I do like these colours although I don't see myself using the darker shade much as I think it is quite bright but if I was wearing a very neutral look it would be okay to add a bit of colour.

Photos and swatches...

MAC Wonder Woman Pink Power MSF Review

When I saw that MAC were releasing new Mineralize Skinfishes with the Wonder Woman collection I was so excited. I love MSFs, I only had one beforehand (Stereo Rose) but really liked how they looked in other bloggers swatches and FOTD looks. With Wonder Woman, MAC brought out two shades of MSF, one being a dark tanned trio, the other being a lighter pink trio. I went for the pink version as the dark one would have been quite orange on me as it is more suited for deep skintones.

These are a new style of MSFs where the powder isn't swirled together like others such as Stereo Rose, instead split into three sections which you can swirl together or use individually as blush, highlight and contour colours. These ones are also jumbo sized, being 20g of product compared to the regular 10g. They are enormous - which is great to be able to use each colour individually plus they make excellent value for money being only a few extra pounds more than the regular 10g sized MSFs. However, if you are one that likes to pop their products in their bag for a top up, these are quite clumsy and would take up a lot of space. I only carry lip products so it doesn't bother me. I do think it is a shame there is no mirror in the lid because the compact is large enough for a decent sized one but then that would have been something else to increase the price.

The highlighting shade is a shimmery champagne shade, it is quite shimmery but not glittery. The blush shade is a peachy pink with shimmer, a really nice colour. The bronzing shade is a reddish brown but isn't too orange however a light hand would be wise, building colour if desired. It has a subtle sheen to it.

Pictures and swatches...

Benefit Powder Time Lover

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Benefit. I tend to buy things from them and then get them home and go 'meh' but for some reason they manage to lure me back again and again. This time it was because Debenhams had a sale on and this was included. The day before I had visited a Benefit counter in Brighton and had a quick look at some of the things but was pestered by one of the counter girls because I was touching things and she asked me if I was actually going to buy anything. I told her I was browsing and then picked up a catalogue and left. Silly girl, I would have probably bought something had she left me to it. I hate being pressurised in stores, if sales assistants do it, I'm off. I just like to browse before asking for help but anyway, rant over.

The catalogue had this amazing smell coming out of it from one of the perfume scratch and sniff pages and it got me a bit addicted to the catalogue so I decided to go online shopping for this perfume but couldn't find it on Benefit's website and then ended up seeing the Debenhams sale and spotted this mini collection of boxed powders - one of the things I'd been playing with the day before.

It was just over £16 I think and was originally about £10 more so I thought it would be good to try out. I'm glad I did, they're really nice and one of the few Benefit products I've fallen for.