New Lip Products!

 

 

Hi everyone!

 

I'm sure, like many of you, I love lip products! Obsessed really! I picked up a couple of new products when I was out shopping in Manchester last week and thought that I would share them with you.

Top 10 Series: Lip Products

 

 

Hi everyone!

 

Welcome to the second post in my top 10 series. Today I am going to share my current favourite lip products with you. As someone who loves lipstick and has way too many, it was really hard to chose only 10!

Lip Product Tag!

Hi Everyone!

I have recently read a few bloggers post's on their favourite lip products and decided to join in!

NYX Luscious Lip Gloss Pallette - 02 The Naturals - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

I recently purchased one of NYX's Luscious Lip Palettes in the colour 02 The Naturals for my make up kit. When working on clients I prefer to use palettes as it makes it easier to find and select a suitable colour. I really like NYX products as they are great quality for the money and these lip palettes are really affordable and come in a nice range of colours. This palette contains 5 really nice shades including some brown, pink and red tones neutrals.

SWATCHES SHOWN ON NW20 SKIN:

These colours are not super pigmented but a nice enough. They are great if a client wants a natural lip and they aren't too sticky or shiny but provide a nice amount of gloss to the lip. They apply pretty smoothly and evenly too. My favourite colour from the palette has to be the fourth one, it is the most pigmented of the 5 shades and it really wearable on most age ranges and skin tones.

I purchased my palette from Cocktail Cosmetics for £8

Maz x

My Top 5 Contouring Powders

CLICK here to read my updated contouring post from July 2016!

Hi Everyone!

More and more of us like to contour out faces nowadays and this technique can be done using a variety of products, I would recommend trying out a few and finding out which one is best for you. Here are few of my favourite products that I use to contour my face:

(Colour guide: I have MAC NW20 skin)

MAC Harmony Blush:
This is my favourite product to use when contouring my face. MAC describe Harmony as a 'Muted rose-beige brown'. I really like to use a blush product when contouring my face as my skin has pinkie undertones and the pinkie undertones in the blush help me to blend the product in and avoid that over-done look! Harmony contains no shimmer or glitter which is great as it can look a little obvious if you have a lot of shimmer on one section of your face!

You can purchase this from MAC for £17.50

Sleek Contour Kit in Light:
This is a great product and very popular (it's always out of stock!) The kit comes with both a highlighter and contouring powder. The colour of the contouring powder is great for my skin and blends well, I slightly prefer Harmony over this one even though they are very similar in colour as the MAC powder is a little easier to blend and work with in my opinion.

You can purchase this kit from Sleek for £6.50

NARS Laguna Bronzer:
I am a huge fan of the NARS Laguna bronzer which is described as a 'brown with golden shimmer'. This powder does contain some shimmer but it is quite subtle. I tend to use Laguna as a bronzer for an all-over colour but it does double up really well as a contouring powder too. As with all NARS products, this is great quality and is really easy to work with. NARS also offer the Laguna shade in the cream, multiple stick form which would also be great for facial contouring.

You can purchase the Laguna powder from NARS for £25

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder:
This is my most recent purchase from this post and I admit that I have only used it a handful of times so far. I have used this is a similar way to Laguna in that I use it more as a bronzing powder than a contouring powder but it makes a great contour powder due to it's lack of shimmer.

You can purchase Hoola from Benefit for £23.50

NYX Powder Blush in Raisin:
This Product is a lovely brown shade with a slightly red undertone. It does a great job at shaping your face and is really reasonably priced. The texture is silky smooth and applies brilliantly as all NYX blushes do!

You can purchase Raisin from NYX for £5.50

Swatches shown on NW20 skin:

So the big question, I am sure, is which of these products would I recommend if you are only going to buy one! I would probably go with the Sleek kit, it is very nearly as good as MAC's Harmony blush and is also great value for money especially if you are just starting to contour and highlight your face. Despite all of this, MAC's Harmony will always be my favourite, go-to contour powder!
In case anyone is wondering - my favourite brush to use when contouring my face is the Sigma F25!

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and found it useful. Please feel free to share your favourite contouring products in the comments section below.
Maz x

 

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses - Review & Swatches - Part 2

Hi Everyone!

This is the second post containing my NYX Mgea Shine Lipgloss collection! As I mentioned in part one, I really love these glosses! They come in a great varitey of colours and are really reasonably priced.

(Top to Bottom) Golden Pink, Nude Peach, Tea Rose, Ice Princess

(Top to Bottom) Pink Rose, African Queen, Gold

Golden Pink: Rosy pink with shimmer

Nude Peach: True peach

Tea Rose: Medium pink

Ice Princess: Nude pink

Pink Rose: Coral pink

African Queen: Purple tinted bright pink

Gold: Shinmmery gold

(L to R) Golden Pink, Nude Peach, Tea Rose, Ice Princess, Pink Rose, African Queen, Gold

I hope that you have enjoyed sharing my NYX lipgloss collection with me! Please check out part 1 of my collection for information about NYX retailers here in the UK by clicking here

Please feel free to share any NYX product recommendations with me in the comments section below.

Maz x

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses - Review & Swatches - Part 1

Hi Everyone!

I thought that it would be fun to share my (embarrassingly) large collection of NYX Mega Shine lipglosses with you all! As you can see I am a huge fan of these glosses! They all smell and look great on the lips and are not sticky. I use some of them alone and some over lipsticks!

(Top to Bottom) Baby Rose, Sugar Pie, Crystal Soda, Sweet Heart

(Top to Bottom) Candy Shop, French Kiss, Nude Pink

Baby Rose: Pale, milky-rose

Sugar Pie: Peachy nude

Crystal Soda: Pale peachy-nude.

Sweet Heart: Frosty pinky-peach

Candy Shop: Coral pink

French Kiss: Pink with gold undertones

Nude Pink: Nude pink!

(L to R) Baby Rose, Sugar Pie, Crystal Soda, Sweet Heart, Candy Shop, French Kiss, Nude Pink

I purchase my NYX lipglosses from the following retailers for around £7 each:

NYX UK

Love Make-up

Cocktail Cosmetics

As my collection is quite large I decided to split it into two posts so look out for part 2 coming soon!

Maz x

Top 10 Loose Eyeshadows/ Pigments

Hi Everyone!

This is a post dedicated to my top 10 loose eyeshadow/ pigments. A lot of people are put off from using loose shadows as they think that they are harder to work with than pressed ones and guarantee a lot of fall out but if you use a decent primer and/ or base and the correct type of brush they are amazing and give you a much stronger effect than a pressed shadow can. They also blend out really well and can also be used wet to give a foil-like effect. I like to use either the MAC 239 or 242 brushes to apply them, a great tip is to dip your brush into the jar and pick up some of the pigment then crush it into the lid, also make sure that you tap off any excess back into the jar and apply with a patting rather than sweeping motion to begin with. So on to my top 10!

10. Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Involve:

Illamasqua describe this pigment as a Royal purple with shimmer but to me it is more of an shimmery eggplant shade. I like to layer it over their cream shadow in Mould (such an attractive name!) with a lighter purple shadow such as MAC's Digit in the inner tear duct area for a dark smokey eye that is perfect for a night out especially for those of us with brown eyes.

You can purchase this pigment from Illamasqua Online for £15.50.

9. NYX Loose Pearl Powder in Mocha: 

I purchased this pigment after seeing one of my favourite YouTube beauty guru's, JulieG713 using it in one of her tutorials. It is a lovely shimmery brown shade that looks great during the day for work or on a night out. This is the only loose shadow from NYX that I own and I am really impressed with the quality of the product itself but I really dislike the packaging as the opening is too small to fit your brush into which makes the application slower and messier than it needs to be, however, for the price I don't mind purchasing a separate jar to transfer it into!

You can purchase this shadow from NYX for £2.50.

8. Barry M Dazzle Dust in Bright Indigo (99):

This is a matte indigo-purple shade that is super pigmented! A little goes a long way with Barry M Dazzle Dusts so they are great value for money. If you are a fan of purple and would like to try a loose shadow then I think that this would be a great one to start with due to its ease of application, intense colour pay-off and affordable price.
You can purchase Dazzle Dusts from Barry M for £4.59 and also from Boots and Superdrug stores across the UK.

7. MAC Violet Pigment:

My favourite colour is purple so this vivid bright violet purple pigment was a must have for me. It is your classic true purple shade and I love to apply it all over my lid with a pale lavender shade such as MAC's Digit with a dark colour such as MAC's Black Tied in the crease for a gorgeous purple smokey eye.

You can purchase this pigment from MAC for £15.50.

6. MAC Heritage Rouge Pigment:

This was a limited edition pigment from the Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection from 2009, it is described as a dark cranberry-burgundy frost. I love this pigment as it has a lovely smooth texture and is great for autumn/ fall. I love to layer this over MAC's Artifact paint pot and pair it with golds and chocolate browns. I only have a sample size of this at the moment but I'm hoping that MAC will re promote it at some point in the future so that I can get the full size!

5. MAC Rose Pigment:

This is such an unusual colour which MAC describes as a rose with copper sparkle. The gold colour, to me, comes across much stronger on the skin that it does in the pot, it is a great colour to experiment with as you can pair it with so many other colours and it looks great!

You can purchase this pigment from MAC for £15.50

4. Sugarpill Goldilux Loose Eyeshadow:

This metallic gold pigment is amazing and is so sparkly and bright! The consistency of this shadow is a little finer than the MAC pigments but not as fine as a glitter. This shadow looks amazing paired with golden brown shades such as MAC's Bronze and Twinks and plum shades such as MAC's Sketch. It is also perfect from Christmas time as it has a slight festive edge to it!

You can purchase Sugarpill products in the UK from Cocktail Cosmetics the pigments cost £8.45 each.

3. MAC Tan Pigment:

Tan is probably my most used pigment and looks great on everyone no matter what their eye colour or skin tone. It is described as a muted pinky brown bronze and I love to wear it over MAC's Rubenesque pot with a warm brown such as Mulch in the crease. It I had to recommend one pigment to buy from MAC this would be it as you would get so much use out of it!

You can purchase this pigment from MAC  for £15.50.

2. MAC Mutiny Pigment:

Mutiny was a limited edition pigment that first became available from MAC back in 2008 as part of the Naughty Nauticals collection and is a sky blue with gold pearl. This really is the most beautiful shade of blue that I have ever seen and is so bright and rich in colour. It looks amazing applied along the lower lashline with a neutral lid.

1. MAC Pink Pearl Pigment:

Pink Pearl is my favourite MAC pigment and is a stunning pink with a lavender duochrome (the picture below really doesn't do it justice). I love to use this wet all over my lid with Sketch in the crease. This pigment used to be available in the permanent collection but I think it is now only available in the pro line. Stars n Rockets pressed shadow from MAC is very similar to Pink Pearl but less pigmented.

Some swatches for you (shown on NW20 skin):

(L to R) MAC Pink Pearl, MAC Heritage Rouge, MAC Violet, Illamasqua Involve, Barry M Bright Indigo

(L to R) MAC Rose, Sugarpill Goldilux, MAC Tan, NYX Mocha, MAC Mutiny

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my favourite loose eyeshadows, please feel free to share yours with me in the comments section below and click here to read my Top 10 MAC Pigments post.

Maz x

Eyeshadow Pencils - NYX v MAC v Urban Decay

Hi Everyone!

This is a post comparing 3 of the most popular eyeshadow pencils currently on the market, the NYX Jumbo Eye pencils, the MAC Shadesticks and the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Shadow pencils. I have a few of each of the pencils and have tested them over an eyeshadow primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) with and without a pressed shadow over the top. Here's how they did!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils:

The NYX pencils are the cheapest of the 3 pencils that I have tried and are currently available in 28 shades. These pencils are really chunky but can be sharpened pretty easily using a large sharpener. The texture of the pencil is really creamy and a little goes a long way. I would suggest applying them using your finger or by dotting a small amount directly on to the lid and blending out. If you apply the shadows directly all over the lid you will end up with way too much product. First of all I tested out the Strawberry Milkshake pencil under MAC's Pink Freeze shadow, I applied the pencil with my finger and blended it out with a MAC 217 brush. Due to the thickness of the pencil it wasn't all that easy to blend out. The pencil did a good job at intensifying the colour but it was a little patchy in places. I would say that it prevented some creasing but didn't do an amazing job.

The following day I applied Purple Velvet all over my lid without a shadow over the top. First of all I have to say that we are experiencing unseasonably hot weather for England at this time of year which will have had an effect on the oiliness of my lids. The NYX pencil did, however, do a fairly OK job at staying in place, I found that the colour was still pretty intense at the end of the day but it creased fairly quickly even over an eyeshadow primer.

The biggest plus point to the NYX pencils are the price (you can almost get 3 of these for the price of one Urban Decay pencil) and the large colour selection, however I would stick to using them as an eyeshadow base rather than on their own!

You can purchase the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils from NYX Online for £4.50 each. For a review and swatches of my Jumbo Pencil collection please click here.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Shadow Pencils:

These pencils are the newest of the 3 that I have tested and are currently available in 10 varying shades. The pencils can be sharpened in a similar way to the NYX pencils. The colours are really nicely pigmented and are less thick and creamy than the NYX pencils but not as dry as the MAC ones. They apply really easily directly to the lid and blend out really well too. I applied Delinquent all over my lid over my primer and wore it all day on its own, at the end of the day it had only creased a tiny bit which wasn't all that noticeable and it kept it's colour intensity really well. The following day I applied Morphine over MAC's Stars n Rockets shadow, it helped the colour to pop and the shadow remained completely crease free throughout the day which is amazing.

You can purchase the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Shadow Pencils from Debenhams for £14 each. 

MAC Shadesticks:

Finally I tried out one of the MAC shadesticks. The biggest downside to these pencils are that there are currently only 5 shades available but MAC do bring out limited edition shades in various collections throughout the year. These pencils are different to the 2 mentioned above as they have a twist up design and, therefore, do not need sharpening. The shadesticks are much drier than the other 2 pencils and do not apply as easily and evenly and tug at your lids a little more. They give a much more subtle effect which is great if that is the look that you are going for. When I wore one alone without a shadow over the top it did a pretty good job at not creasing but the colour pay off is pretty poor. All of the 5 permanent shades are fairly neutral in colour so you are limited as to which pressed shadows that you can wear over the top, I used Taupographic pencil under Twinks eyeshadow and it didn't do all that much to intensify the colour in my opinion but it did, however, prevent the shadow from creasing throughout the day.

You can purchase the MAC Shadesticks from MAC Online for £13.50.

Overall my winner, by far, has to be the Urban Decay pencils despite the fact that they are the most expensive of the 3 they apply really well and not too thickly and have a great colour range.

I hope that you have found this post useful, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Maz x

Top 5 NYX Products

Hi Everyone!

This post is about one of my favourite brands of make up, NYX cosmetics. They offer a great range of products which are all at really affordable prices. The brand isn't very well known in the UK but it is easy to buy via the UK NYX Website. These are my top 5 picks from the brand.

1. Powder Blush:

NYX blushes are amazing! They are great quality, apply smoothly and blend out well. They come in a great choice of colours too. My favourites are Angel, Pinky, Peach and Silky Rose. As you can see I have de-potted my blushes and put them into a Z palette, I wouldn't recommend this though as they are really hard to depot! NYX blushes are £5.50.

2. Lipgloss Mega Shine:

The mega shine glosses are amazing! My favourite colour is Sweetheart which is a perfect pinky-nude colour. The glosses are shiny but not too shiny or sticky. They also taste and smell great too. I really like the packaging as they have a bow on the lid which is really cute. Again, there is a wide range to choose from and they cost £7 each.

3. Slim Lip Pencils:

I am a huge fan of lip pencils and often use MAC and Urban Decay, I decided to give the NYX ones a try as they are much more affordable at £3 each which means that you can buy a pencil to match every lipstick you have without breaking the bank! They are great quality and apply and blend really well. There are lots of colours to choose from, I especially like Nude Pink and Rose.

4. Jumbo Eye Pencils:

The Jumbo Eye Pencils are probably one of NYX's most loved products and I can totally understand why. They are chunky, creamy eye pencils that can be used as either an eye liner or eyeshadow. I really like to use them as an eyeshadow base as they really make the eyeshadow colour pop. Milk has to be my favourite as it is a white colour that is great to use as an inner corner and brow highlighter, I also really like Black Bean, Strawberry Milk, Purple Velvet and Gold. They are priced at £4.50 each which, I think, is great value for money.

5. Concealer Stick:

NYX offer a brilliant selection of concealer stick colours that suit every skin tone and also offer lavender and green coloured sticks which aren't that easy to find from drugstore priced brands. The sticks are retractable and creamy and they can be blended out using your finger, a brush or a sponge and can be used under the eyes or anywhere else on your face to cover any blemishes or discolouration that you may have. I especially love the green one as it covers any redness on my face really well. They are priced at £5 each.

I hope that you have enjoyed my post about my top 5 NYX products. Check out my other top 5 posts too, click here to see my Top 5 MAC products, Click here to see my top 5 Urban Decay products and here to read about my top 5 Nars products.

Maz x

Face Make-up Routine using Drugstore Products

Hi Everyone!

I thought that it would be fun to share my quick, daily face make up routine with you all. This routine uses only drugstore products and it's the make up that I usually wear on my face when I am just popping to the shops or not really doing anything special!                          

I usually begin by applying the No 7 Shine Free Make up Base all over my face once my facial moisturiser has dried. I have combination skin and suffer with a lot of shine on my forehead and chin and this primer does do quite a good job of reducing it. This product also contains light-reflecting particles which claim to reduce the appearance of fine lines. You can purchase this product from Boots for £11 or from Amazon here: Boots No7 Mattifying Makeup Base 1.3 fl oz (40 ml)

                                                   

My favourite drugstore foundation is the Loreal True Match. I find that it blends into your skin so well which makes it quick to apply, if I am in a rush I usually apply it with my fingers. It is also really affordable and easy to find in the drugstores and supermarkets. I purchased my foundation from Boots for £9.99 and you can also purchase it from Amazon here: L'Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Makeup, Soft Ivory, 1-Fluid Ounce

I have recently been trying out the Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark Circles Roll On. This is similar to their regular roll on which I have used for years. The roll on helps to distribute the fluid under your eyes and helps them to feel more awake. This version is tinted so covers and dark circles too. I usually gently roll the product under my eyes and then use my fingers to gently pat it in to my skin. You can purchase this from Boots for £9.99 or from Amazon here: Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller, 0.50-Fluid Ounce

To set my make up I use No 7's Pressed Powder in Translucent by swirling my Kabuki brush in to the product and then buffing it into my skin. This is a pretty standard powder but sets your make up well without adding any colour. You can get it at Boots for £9 or from Amazon here: Boots No7 Perfect Light Pressed Powder, Translucent .35 fl oz (10 ml)

My brow hairs are pretty light in colour so I always like to fill them in. My favourite brow pencils are from Clarins and Smashbox but I really like Rimmel's Professional Eye Pencil which also has a brow groomer on the cap. The pencil isn't as easy and smooth to apply as the more expensive pencils but for the money its great. I usually get my pencil from Sainsburys when I am doing my grocery shopping for around £3 and you can also get it from Amazon here: Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil, Hazel 002 1 ea

I don't usually wear eye shadow on days when I'm not doing much but I always like to wear a coat of mascara as I always feel that it makes your eyes look more awake and open. My favourite is Loreal's Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black which I usually get from Boots for £11.29 or from Amazon here: L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Original Mascara, Carbon Black, 0.27-Fluid Ounce

I don't usually wear blush on regular days but if I do I love NYX's blushes. They come in such a great range of colours which are really affordable. My favourites are Angel and Peach. (To read my top 5 NYX blushes post please click here). You can get them from NYX for £7.95 or from Amazon here: Nyx Powder Blush- Peach (Pbo6)

To finish off my make up I usually add my favourite lip balm which is the Coconut Lip Butter from the Body Shop. This has been one of my favourite lip products for years now and I love the white glossy look it gives your lips. I am also a huge fan of the entire coconut range and often use the body wash and butter too! You can purchase it from The Body Shop for £4 or from Amazon here: The Body Shop Coconut Lip Butter 0.29 oz

I hope that you have enjoyed my drugstore face make up routine post. Please feel free to share your favourite drugstore products with me below!

Maz x