Free Benefit Makeover!

I've been collecting my boots points for a while and I've now got over £20 to spend! I want to get something very special so I've been looking around different counters in boots to find something. I was going to get the Clinique dramatically different moisturiser because I find it hard to get really good moisturisers. However makeup sounds a lot more exciting to me!! :’)

 I've never bought anything from Benefit, I've used samples of the Porefessional and the They’re Real mascara although I've never been really amazed by them. However my opinion changed completely today! I was asking the girl at the counter about their Hello Oxygen foundation and she offered to try it on me. The shop was very quiet and I think she must have been bored because she ended up doing my whole face of makeup, which I didn't mind at all!!!!  :D

In this post I'm quickly going to tell you what products she used and what I think of them.

To start with, she removed the makeup I was already wearing and then applied the Total Moisture facial cream. This moisturiser was amazing; It was very hydrating but without being too heavy on the skin. It also smelt great too because It contains mango butter which is always good since I love anything mango flavoured! I didn't know that Benefit had a skincare range but I will definitely consider buying some of the products in the future because I was very impressed.

As I said before, I've used a sample of the porefessional before and I wasn't getting the hype. However after the makeup artist in Benefit using it on my skin today, I totally understand the hype, haha! I think what I did wrong before was that I didn't use my moisturiser as well; I thought that a primer was in replacement of a moisturiser. The primer made my skin really soft and she said that it makes it easier to apply the foundation.

Now onto the foundation; she used the Hello Oxygen on me since I have dry skin and that foundation is hydrating and leaves a dewy finish which is what I prefer. I really liked this foundation; it was light coverage and feels like you've not got anything on your face although it gives a lovely dewy glow!

I mentioned to the girl that I hardly ever wear blush, bronzer or highlighter on my face because I find it hard to find the right products which won’t cling to my dry patches so she recommended the tints that Benefit do. She used Posie tint on me which was a beautiful poppy pink colour. I loved this because it wasn't too dramatic (even though it did look a little scary in the bottle!) and because it’s a tint, it will last for a long time! She also put some of this on my lips then applied a clear lip gloss.

I really like a glowing, dewy face so the makeup artist used the High Beam highlighter which I've heard a lot of good things about! She dotted this around my eye in a C shape, on my brow bone and down my nose, and then blended it in using her finger. I think I'm going to start using a highlighter like this now because I really like the look it gives and I think it’s perfect for summer.

For my eyebrows she quickly brushed through them with Speed Brow (I think that’s what it was?) which gave them a bit of colour and set them in place.

Finally onto my eyelashes! Naturally, I have very long eyelashes so even without mascara they look very long. She used the They’re Real mascara which is one of their most popular products. I do like this mascara although on my eyes I think it’s a bit too much for what I usually go for. I’d wear this for special occasions but not for everyday because I prefer more natural eyelashes on myself.

I was very impressed with the makeup and the service I got in Benefit! I am currently deciding which product I'm going to buy with my points! What do you think I should get?

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation Review

I recently purchased my first ever MAC foundation which I was very excited about! I went into the shop and I got recommended to buy the studio sculpt because I have dry skin and this foundation is very hydrating. I got the foundation in the shade NW15 for £25.

I'm going to do a review of the foundation and I'll be letting you know what my opinion is and if I would recommend it.

(excuse my extremely messy nails!!!!!)

As I quickly mentioned above, this foundation is great for people like me who have dry skin. It’s very moisturising and won’t cling to dry patches on your face.

This foundation has SPF which means it will protect your skin from the sun. Which is great considering we’re heading into the warmer months, one thing people may say about this is that SPF foundations give a bad flash back in photographs, however I've not personally found this a problem for me.

When I was getting matched up in MAC for this foundation, the guy recommend that I use a flat foundation brush to apply it but I kind of ignored what he said and when I got home I used my Real Techniques expert face brush. Straight away I could see that the foundation blended in better when he applied it with a flat brush. So I’d say that using a flat foundation brush (I now use my Real Techniques angled foundation brush) is best for this product.

The formula/texture of this foundation is AMAZING! It gives me a brilliant flawless, dewy finish which I love. I would say it gives a light to medium coverage although you could easily build it up.

The one thing which I'm personally not too keen on Is the packaging; I think for the price it should be better. I would have preferred this foundation to be in a bottle like the studio fix is in.

Overall I really like this foundation. I would recommend it to people with dry skin because if you have oily skin this probably wouldn't work for you. I was really happy with the help I got in the MAC shop and I would definitely buy this foundation again. 

April Favourites

It’s come to that time of the month again to share with you what I've been loving this month! I've included a lot more 'random' favourites this month because there have not been a lot of beauty/make up products that have really stood out for me (apart from the ones I'm showing, of course!) 

I’ll start with the make up that I've been obsessed with. I recently posted a mini MAC haul with the things my two friends got me from New York, two of the things in particular that I've been using a lot are the paint pot in Painterly and the lipstick in Rebel. I use the paint pot as a primer for my eye shadow and it really does make the shadow stay on all day and creates a really nice and neutral base which could also be worn on its own with no eye shadow on top.

 I was a bit unsure about the lipstick in Rebel since it looks very dramatic on the stick. Although when you apply It, It leaves a beautiful deep, vampy purple / dark pink colour which I love!  To tone the colour down I like to blot it with a tissue which leaves a nice stain. This lipstick stays on for a very long time; I still had a stain on my lips the next day even after removing my make up.

I rediscovered my strawberry body butter from the Body Shop this month and I've really loved it! I used to be obsessed with these body butters and I don’t really know why I stopped using them. The strawberry one smells like sweet strawberry sweets; amazing! They are very rich moisturisers so they’re perfect for me since I have dry skin. I also love the papaya one and raspberry J

Another moisturiser that I like is Johnston’s baby oil gel. I've used baby oil before but I found It really hard to apply and It always got very messy, although Johnston’s have bought out a gel formula of the oil which I really like! It’s still quite messy but that’s excepted considering its oil. I like to apply this before I go to bed so that it soaks in overnight and doesn't get my clothes oily! Again, this is a very rich moisturiser so it’s good for dry skin.

I've been wearing my denim jacket a lot this month (the one I talked about in my last post!) so I thought I’d quickly mention It in my favourites. It’s very easy to wear and I think it’s perfect for Spring and Summer!

You may have noticed that the quality of my pictures has improved this month and that’s because I got a new camera. I used to have the Fujifilm Finepix S29500 which wasn't the best camera; I bought it a few years ago thinking it looked good but the quality didn't turn out great and I found it too big and chunky to carry around with me. I sold that camera on ebay and I got a new camera from Argos. I got the Canon Powershot A2500 for just £59! The offer is still on so if you want to have a look, here’s a link http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1085323.htm . I absolutely  love my new camera, the quality is amazing and it’s very compact and lightweight so I can take it anywhere and quickly grab it out of my bag and snap a photo!

Jelly shoes have suddenly re appeared and become very popular! I saw a pair in a cheap shoe shop for just £5 so I thought I'd get them. I've worn them so much, I find they go with so much and they're perfect for the spring! I really like the pair I've got however they have started to fall apart and they slightly hurt my feet; so I'm considering buying a pair of the Ju Ju Jelly shoes which are apparently a lot better quality than the cheap pairs. Do you think the Ju Ju ones are worth the money? (£20) 

Here In England, the weather has been a little more promising and although it's not been very hot, it's been sunny some days which I love! I've been wearing my sunglasses a lot which I got from Primark for just £1! I love them and I know I'll be wearing them a lot over the summer. 

My favourite album this month has been Pharrell Williams ‘Girl’. I really love Pharrell, his songs make me feel really happy! , my favourite songs on the album are Marilyn Monroe, Hunter and Happy.

A food favourite this month has been dark chocolate, I especially love Lindt 70% cocoa! Also along the dark chocolate line, I've discovered choc shot by sweet freedom, it’s basically a healthy natural dark chocolate sweetener which I love to put on my porridge in the morning.

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed reading it 

Charity Shop Bargin

A few weeks ago I went to Stratford with my family and I found lots of cute little charity shops. I love going in charity shops; most of the time I don’t find anything but on the odd occasion I get some really good stuff!

I found a vintage section in the shop and I got this denim jacket for just £10! I've been wearing it a lot recently and I love it!!! I love wearing It with a stripy top, black jeans and jelly shoes... my go to spring outfit right now! 

I hope you enjoyed this quick post and that you feel inspired to go into more charity shops; you never know what you might find!

Day Out In Manchester. 24.04.2014

My brother is living in Paris for the year but he’s home for Easter at the moment so today we went to Manchester to do some shopping and to get some lunch! I took a few photos so I thought I’d share them with you J

When I visited my brother In Paris he took me for sushi so I thought I’d return the favour and take him to Yo Sushi! I love this restaurant; the sushi is so good and I love the atmosphere. My favourite dishes are the salmon and avocado hand roll and the pumpkin korroke although I love everything that I've tried so far! 

We then went to do some shopping. As I mentioned in my last post, I was in need of a new foundation and that I fancied trying a MAC one, so I went into MAC and asked for some advice. I had mentioned that I wanted the studio fix although the guy in the store recommended I got the studio sculpt instead considering I have dry skin. I got that foundation and also picked up a brush cleaner whilst I was there. I’ll hopefully be doing a review of the foundation soon because I really like the look of it! 

Manchester has a lot of good vintage and charity shops. Afflecks palace is one of my favourite places; it’s a big building with lots of individual shops inside. There’s fancy dress, prom dresses, vintage clothes, jewellery and lots more!

Around the corner from Afflecks we found a quirky little cafe called Fig and Sparrow so we stopped for a drink. I loved the jars our drinks came in! 

I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post from me 

Easter Baking: Coconut & White Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy Easter! I thought I’d do something different on my blog today and do some baking! I found this recipe on BBC Good Food and thought I’d give it a go. I hope you enjoy this slightly different post and feel inspired to get in the kitchen J

I’m just going to show you pictures of me making these cakes although If you would like to have a go at making them yourself, here’s the recipe; http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easter-nest-coconut-white-chocolate-cupcakes

How I Wash My Make Up Brushes

It comes to that time of the month where my make up brushes need a deep clean. Today I thought I’d show you how I do this to make sure my brushes are squeaky clean!

It is essential to wash your make up brushes regularly; I've known people with brushes which have not been washed in years!!!! Bacteria sticks to your brushes each time you use them on your face which can lead to a very spotty face.  It is especially important to wash your brushes if you suffer from bad skin or acne.

I tend to spot clean my brushes about once a week with a brush cleanser (I like the MAC one) which is a quick clean. Although once a month I deep clean my brushes with olive oil and shampoo to make sure they are thoroughly cleaned; which is what I am going to explain to you now J

  

To start off; I get some olive oil in a small bowl and soak my brush in the oil. I’m using olive oil because many make up products are oil based and using an oil to wash the product off makes it easier.  I’ll then take the brush out of the oil and lay it on a piece of kitchen paper for about a minute. Now I squeeze the oil off the brush over a sink and rinse it with water.

I then get a gentle shampoo; baby shampoo or any shampoo without harsh perfumes in would be great. I put a small amount of the shampoo onto the palm of my hand and gently swirl the bristles of the brush around my hand to lather up the product.

I squeeze out the excess shampoo from the brush and rinse it in the water until there’s no more shampoo on the bristles.

Once you've washed all your brushes it’s important that you let them dry either laying flat or upside down (with the bristles facing down). DO NOT leave the brushes to dry with the bristles facing upwards because you don’t want the water or excess shampoo to drip into the brush handle as this could lead the bristles falling out.

I hope that this post has helped you! Thank you for reading