SPACE NK & MAC HAUL (PROM MAKEUP)

HELLO! This is my first post of 2017, yes i'm aware i haven't written a post in absolutely ages! I've missed it but i'm back now and i couldn't be happier!

Anyway, recently i had prom and with that comes exciting new purchases eg. makeup. I wanted to show you what makeup i bought for my prom! Also, let me know if you want me to film a youtube video just recreating the prom eye makeup that i did! :)

So starting off this haul with things i got from Mac.. First up is the beautiful lip combo: a Matte Lipstick in the shade 'Taupe' (£16.50) and a Lip Pencil in the shade 'Spice' (£13). This combination is perfect! On the Mac website it says that the 'Taupe' Lipstick should be paired with 'Hover' Lip Pencil but the lady at Mac recommended 'Spice' for the lip pencil and oh was she right. 

This was also actually my first time trying out the regular Lip Pencil since the other one that i have is from the Pro Longwear range. My first impression of this lip pencil is that it's pretty much the exact same but i find it less drying and more creamy than the Pro Longwear range because that range is specifically created for long wear therefore means it's more drying so that it stays on as long as possible. As to which one i prefer, i really couldn't tell you yet since i haven't had as much time to test this lip pencil out compared to the other one!

[L to R: Lipstick 'Taupe', Lip Pencil 'Spice']

Anyway, back to the actual shades, the Lipstick shade 'Taupe' is described as "Muted reddish-taupe brown" and the Lip Pencil shade 'Spice' is described as a "Pink cinnamon stick" on the Mac website. Pretty spot on.

The next thing i got is a Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot in the shade 'Ochre' (£16) and this was for two reasons: one, my other one in the shade 'Painterly' has almost ran out, and two, i found that shade too pink/purple toned which doesn't make you look healthy especially when you have a fair skin tone and use it as a primer without applying eyeshadow over it. The shade 'Ochre' is more neutral/yellow toned which makes it more natural on the eyes since it will blend in to your skin tone better - that's if you have fairer skin. I really like these paint pots though, the consistency is very creamy and easy to apply, even though after some time they do go harder but that's understandable since it's a cream based product. I think it does the job well for priming the eyes with colour at an affordable price! This product is so versatile because it can be used on its own as a cream eyeshadow or as a base - that's why i love it! 

And now for the luxury goodness, Space NK. Can i just say, i love Space NK so much, if you haven't gone into one yet then you need to! Usually the girls who work there are incredibly kind and they know so much about the products they sell which makes your choice of what to buy that much easier!

So the one thing that everyone always says to make sure about when you're going to be taking photos, is that you must have a good powder that won't leave you with flashback because that is not cute.. SO, i got this incredible powder that EVERYONE seems to be in love with. Obviously it's the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (£29). I can now see why people are obsessed. The consistency is so fine and soft and it doesn't leave your skin with a powdery cast at all unlike some other loose powders that i've tried. 

And the last thing i got from Space NK is the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer Spf 15 (10ml - £20). Now.. I don't wear primer, ever, because i hate how it feels on my skin. BUT, this is an exception! It helps my makeup stay on for a long time and it doesn't make it come off half way through the day, or another term for this i would say is, 'it doesn't melt your makeup off' - especially in the heat too. I got a 10ml bottle because i wasn't sure if i'd use it but now i'm 100% sure that when i run out of this i am going to get a full size version! Another great thing about this is that you only need the smallest amount which is good because this is NOT CHEAP! (a 30ml version is £55). Before i try to do a really bad explanation of the consistency i'll just leave you with a quote from the description from the Space NK description: 

"A mineral-based, water-resistant primer with SPF 15 that creates an impossibly smooth canvas and seamless look.

A weightless, super-fine microspheric powder creates Veil Mineral Primer's one-of-a-kind texture. It also fills in fine lines and wrinkles, blurs the appearance of imperfections, and boosts makeup's ability to repel water"

Sounds tempting to buy doesn't it?

Thanks for reading!

Let me know what makeup you used for your prom!

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YOUR MAKEUP GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 1 of 3)

Hello Spring! It's finally time for the warm weather, colourful clothes and lipstick, and of course my guide to Spring/Summer. I'll be doing a guide which consists of three different posts, them being Makeup, Beauty and Hair. As you can tell the first one is all about makeup that prevents meltdown in the hot weather. Keep on reading to see what I think you need to buy for Spring and Summer...

Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:

Part 1 - Makeup

Part 2 - Beauty (available on 11-04-16)

Part 3 - Hair (available on 18-04-16)

Maybellline Colossal Waterproof Mascara

So gurl, I feel your pain when it's hot and your mascara is literally running down your eyes, slowly melting hour after hour. I have you covered! I love the Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara and I know (seriously, I know) that I talk about this mascara as if it's the only one i have - it's basically the only one I swear by. You can read a full review on this mascara if you click here. All I'm saying is, if you curl your lashes and you need the curl to hold all day, and at the same time you don't want your mascara melting in the summer then buy this now!

Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray

This product prevents makeup meltdown and it controls oil. Even if you don't have oily skin, you can still use this product during summer since you will usually have more oily skin during summer than other seasons. An alternative to this will be the Original Setting Spray by Urban Decay which will just help hold your makeup in place. I like this product because it helps your makeup stay on for longer than without it, also, it feels really cool and refreshing when you spray it on your face.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

When I was gifted my Naked 2 Palette, it came with all 4 primer potion testers. So far i only opened 'Sin' and 'Eden' and I really enjoy using both. Unfortunately 'Sin' has been reformulated to a more sheer finish so it won't be as opaque as the old one, and that shade was in fact my favourite one because you can use it on it's own to create an easy eye look when you didn't even put a lot of effort in. The shade 'Eden' has the same consistency as a concealer and it's got a fair skin tone shade. Firstly, this helps your eyeshadow to stay on longer and look more vibrant. It also prevents your eyelids from creasing, which is a must for summer.

Sleek MakeUP Brow Perfector in Clear 

You can probably find better Eyebrow gels that are waterproof but I chose to mention this product in this post because it is only £4.99 and it works very well i.e. it acts as if it's made to be waterproof. So as i said, it isn't waterproof but it has a smudge proof formula that seals the brows in place - it won't come off easily unless you use a makeup wipe or when you take your makeup off. I find that this keeps my brows in place throughout the whole day until i take it off.

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

I've been really loving this powder recently because it absorbs oil and locks makeup in place. My one is in the shade 'Original' which is just simply translucent and it even claims to protect your skin from UVA/UVB rays since it has a SPF25. I really like this powder because it doesn't build up more texture on your skin after you applied foundation etc.

Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow

This product is so far the best one I've come across yet in the sense that stays on you eyes without creasing or smudging all day. My one is in the shade '07 Golden Beige' which is just a golden champagne shade with undertones of pink/purple. It is water resistant which makes it great for hot summer days and even for going in the pool. All you need to do it swipe this on your eyelid and blend it out on the edges to create an effortless but pretty eye look. I struggle sometimes to take it off with only a makeup wipe for waterproof makeup. You might need to invest in the Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover to take this off without hurting or pulling too much on your eyelids - it takes it off completely! This product is offered in 32 different shades and around half of them are vibrant shades like blue, pink and even green so you have a variety if you like to play around with crazy eyeshadow colours. However, they also offer a range of golden and browny shades if you like to have neutral eyeshadows.

Stay tuned next week for my next Beauty Guide!

Natalia x

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EVERYDAY MAKEUP ROUTINE FEB 2016

When i first made my blog, one of my first posts was an everyday makeup routine so i thought that it's finally time to update it since basically all of the products have changed.

First i start my base with the Mac Studio Fix Foundation using the Original Beauty Blender sponge and blending it in. This foundation is a medium to full coverage foundation, it blends easily and it is demi-matte but not flat looking. Then i use my new favourite trusty concealer, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer and can i just say this is the best concealer I've come across so far. Since it's such a light shade, i use this under my eyes and then use whatever is left on the sponge to blend on my chin and a bit on my forehead to highlight. 

Then i use the Real Techniques Setting Brush to apply the Bare Minerals Mineral Veil Loose Powder to set my under eye concealer. This prevents the concealer from creasing and keeps it looking as if the concealer was freshly applied all day. I also find that if i don't use this powder under my eyes, I find that my mascara smudges under my eyes so it also prevents that! Next i use the Mac Studio Fix Powder with the same Real Techniques Setting Brush everywhere else on my face. I love this powder for adding more coverage and it doesn't make your foundation look as textured. I would prefer it if it had more properties that prevent and take away shine.

Then for the contour and highlight, I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. I use the middle shade ('Fawn') from the bronzers to contour my cheekbones and also bring it up to my temples. To do this I use the Real Techniques Contour Brush. I also sometimes use the 'Banana' Powder to highlight more under my eyes and I like this because It's very light so it doesn't build up texture under the eyes. Then I use the shade 'Sand' to highlight on top of my cheeks and dust a little bit on my brow bone too.

I don't do much eye shadow on a daily basis but i use this Mac Paint Pot in 'Painterly' to prevent creasing. I just put this on my eye lid.

I use this Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Palette to fill in my eyebrows and also define my eyes. I alternate between the shades 'Frisk' or 'Cover' and i only use this lightly through my crease to define my eyes using the Sigma E25 Blending Brush. Then i use the shade 'Primal' to fill in my eyebrows using an angled brush. Then to finish off my brows i use the Benefit Gimme Brow in the shade 'Medium/Deep' to set them in place.

I only do this step if i remember which isn't everyday, I use the Sephora Long Lasting Kohl Liner in '07 Infinite Beige' on my water line to open up my eyes a bit.

And lastly there's mascara. First i curl my lashes using the Champney's Eyelash Curler - which is the best one that I've tried yet (you can see a eyelash curler review HERE). Then I use the Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara and apply about two coats on my top lashes and one on my bottom lashes. Then a new re-discovery was using the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara but only the Lower Lash brush on my lower lashes. I love doing this because it has such a small wand and I find that it really lengthens and blackens my lashes. However, I wish I had bought this in waterproof the first time round because then I have to go over that coat again with the other maybelline waterproof mascara so it doesn't end up under my eyes at the end of the day.

What are your 3 absolute favourite makeup products form your makeup collection?

natalia 

x

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HIGH-END "NO MAKEUP" MAKEUP LOOK

 

Last week, I did a post on the Drugstore "No Makeup" Makeup Look which you can read HERE. And in this post i'll be talking about the Higher-end spectrum of the "No Makeup" Makeup Look.

 

 

Firstly, I'm starting off with the Mac Studio Fix Foundation which is quite an upgade from the L'Oreal True Match (New Formula) because this is more of a Medium to Full coverage. However isn't very cakey so it works well. I use a Stippling Brush by Real Techniques to blend out the foundation evenly.

Then i apple the Bare Minerals Strobe Of Light Concealer under my eyes to brighten and conceal any darkness. I also blend this out using my ring finger.

 

 

Next, I'm using this Bare Minerals Original Mineral Veil Loose Powder to set the foundation and concealer. This is very light and i find that it keeps me matte for longer since it is a loose formula.

 

 

After I set my makeup, I use this Mac Paint Pot in Painterly on my eyelids to avoid any creasing throughout the day. This sets to a dry finish, also it is a nude shade so you can use it alone or underneath eyeshadow.

 

 

Next, I use an angled eyebrow brush to fill in my eyebrows with the Naked 2 Basics Palette using the taupey brown shade 'Primal'. Then i use the Benefit Gimme Brow to shape and set the brows also give even more colour to my brows because clearly we can't all have Cara Delavignes brows haha.

 

Also to give more depth to the eyes i will either use 'Cover' or 'Frisk' in my crease using the Sigma E25 Blending Brush. I don't use too much because this is just to define your eyes a little more.

 



 

I curl my lashes using the Champney's Eyelash Curler and then use the Benefit They're Real Mascara on my top and bottom lashes for volumising and lengtheninig my lashes.

 



 

This time i'm purpusefuly skipped the contouring because I used more eyeshadow in this look. Instead i'm using the Mac Blush in Pinch 'o' Peach on a Blush Brush by Real Techniques. This is very pigmented so i only use a little bit for a suttle hint of pink. 

 

Lastly, i'm setting the makeup with the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray which i don't have a close up of but i love that product because it makes your makeup last longer and also makes it look less cakey somehow.

 

What are your everyday musthave makeup products?



CALVIN KLEIN MAKEUP

 

Calvin Klein have discontinued their makeup products a while ago now, so that means that they are still available in some places online for a cheap price.   

I use this Crème Shadow in 'Bare Silk' as a brow bone highlight and inner corner of the eyes.

The Lip Gloss is shimmery and is just perfect for dabbing a bit on your lips for a splash of colour to your face.

 

 



 

This Lipstick is a really gorgeous Barbie pink that can be also used as a baby pink depending on how much you apply. I spoke more about this lipstick here.

 

Go out and search for them online, they're cheap!



BEAUTY HAUL: KIKO, LUSH & BOOTS

 

Guess who got more beauty products?

So as you can guess by the title, I went to Kiko, Lush and Boots and I got these three products.

This is an array of successful purchases, alright and not so good so keep on reading to find out which of these products I enjoyed most..

 

 

Now when I say I love this eyeshadow, I mean it. This is my first champagne individual eyeshadow I picked up for only £2.80 (previously costing around £5). I wear this every single day to school and on weekends.

 

This is the Kiko eye shadow in the shade '202' and its one of their infinity eye shadows.

They all have great pigmentation, from all the swatches I had going on, on my hand.

 

This is just a perfect shade of champagne goodness. It brightens up the eye and you can create beautiful eye make up with this. I like to play around with my crease colour with different shades of brown and taupe because it suits any kind of shade.

 

If you do see this in the store, don't be put off by intense shimmer going on, the lighting in store makes it twice as shimmery than it really is.

They have really nice pigmentation too which is always great, but they blend in effortlessly with a crease colour.

 

 

If you buy the eye shadows separately, you wont really need to worry about your eye shadows drying out because they do come with a plastic lid to keep it safe however it can easily get lost.

 

 

That's why, guess what.. you need to buy a Clics system pot for your eye shadow, you can also buy a quad palette for these too if you find more eye shadows that you like. The single palette costs around £3, correct me if I'm wrong though because I don't really remember.

 

 

Going on to my least favourite product, which I was most exited to try was the L'Oreal True Match foundation because of its new packaging and I'm guessing new formula..

  

I will be doing a comparing blog post about these two foundations and because of the amount of things I want to say about these two products so I wont go into much detail right now.

 

So what I will say about this is, its not suitable for people with oily skin, I also find that you need a primer for this because it does give you smile lines unfortunately. The actual texture of the foundation is very satin and smooth and goes on very smoothly. 

 

Going on to the more bright side, I also got this Lush Toner Water which you spray on you freshly washed face before or after makeup. I usually use this (if I actually remember to do so) before my makeup so freshen up my skin and also helps to wake you up. 

This product claims to be a go-to beauty item for the skin emergencies e.g. spot prone or oil skin. I don't find that it has improved my skin immensely but for the first time that I used it, I found that my skin worked really well with the tea tree and antiseptic ingredients that it has to make spots less visible or tone down the redress.

 

What is your most successful beauty purchase that you've made?



SEPHORA & DUTY FREE HAUL

Whilst on my trip to Poland (I took a lot of pictures, blog post with them is up now!), I picked up a few things at Duty Free and also in Sephora. So here's what I bought..

First stop at the Gatwick Airport's Duty Free was Mac, and there I picked up the Pro Longwear 'Painterly' Paint Pot . I also then picked up a Pro Longwear Lip Liner in 'Etcetera'
for my 'Velvet Teddy' Lipstick. I talked about these products elaborately here.

This next product is an old favourite of mine, and I wasn't planning on buying until I saw it and realised that I actually really loved this product. So the repurchase is the loved Benefit's They're Real. I previously did try out the Roller Lash but I don't really like it as much as the They're Real.

I got really happy when I saw Sephora down the street in Cracow and I had to get some things!
First up was this fleshy tone Long Lasting Kohl Pencil in '07 Infinite Beige' since I've been on the look for one for a while now and I really like this one! The pencil is bigger than any other of my eyeliners which means extra product when you sharpen it! I use this on my waterline and it seems to stay put for long.

Then after minutes of looking for a makeup brush (which in the end, I bought none) I spotted a Beauty Blender (I didn't even realise that it was THE original beauty blender itself!) and I'm really glad I did pick it up because the quality is amazing. It blends your makeup in really well under the eyes especially due to the 'tapered' point at the top.

So since I picked up an eyeliner, I had to pick up a Pencil Sharpener that wont break my whole pencil after sharpening once. I have yet to try this sharpener but I'll report back shortly!

I always saw many Youtubers use these face masks, and let me say they're not the best but not the worst. The one I got was a Mattifying & anti-blemish Mask (Green Tea Mask).When you open the pack its already cut out and all you do it place It on your face and massage it in. It gets difficult if you have a smaller face since the edges will just go on your hair. 

The last thing I got in Sephora was this Nail Polish in 'Icy Cocktail'. It's the perfect size for nail polish because, let's be real, we never finish a nail polish up before it dries up! The brush is really nice (similar to the Essie brushes, big and soft), which makes the nail polish glide on smoothly and with minimal stokes and coats.

What's the most recent thing you bought?