January Favourites

One more week and our January blues will be over! And I'm glad it's flown by but how shocking to think that one twelfth of 2016 has gone already! So since it's near enough the end of the month, here is a slightly early January favourites post! Although because of my absence over the past 2 months or so there have been so many favourites however I couldn't include them all so I narrowed it down to just a few staple products which I have been in love with recently.

My first favourite is the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in the shade Global Glow. If I had to pick my top 5 favourite makeup products there would definitely be a highlighter included. I love the look of dewy skin and not having glowing cheekbones makes me feel completely naked. It may come as a surprise but I don't actually own the shade Soft&Gentle I know a lot of people love it but there's just something about it which is too pink for me and I just don't like the look of it on myself, I tend to favour more champagne/golden tones in a highlighter so when my boyfriend got me this as a Christmas present I knew it was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship. Because this highlighter is quite dark and bronzey I think it works best by layering it over my Mary-Loumanizer highlighter with a MAC 188 brush and then blending it down into the bronzer on my cheeks as well, I also dust it on the sides of my forehead just above my eyebrows to add a bit of a glow there as well as this highlighter isn't as intense as the Mary-Loumanizer. 

Next up is the Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Setting Powder. I purchased this from the House of Fraser website on Black Friday so I was lucky enough to get a bit of money off as it was my first time trying it. I had seen youtubers and makeup artists on instagram and snapchat use this so much and I'd heard nothing but good things about it so I wanted to try it myself. I will never purchase another loose powder ever again except this one, it is like silk on my skin! I apply it using the Real Techniques Setting Brush to set my concealer underneath my eyes and also any oily areas such as my forehead and at the sides of my nose and then i'm done for the day! My under eyes don't look cakey or blotchy they just look smooth and flawless. I personally wouldn't use this as a powder for all over my face as I don't really like a matte finish I prefer to look dewy on the other areas which I don't set with this powder, but if you're a fan of the matte look then go for it!

The NYX Jumbo Pencil in the shade Milk is another product which is talked about on youtube and instagram and as I mentioned in my last post about visiting the Clothes Show this was definitely on my mental shopping list whilst I was at the NYX stand and when I spotted the jumbo pencils my eyes frantically scanned the whole rack for the Milk shade and luckily enough I got one! I've been using this to highlight my brow bone starting off with just a splodge of white underneath my eyebrows, then using a small concealer brush to guide it right underneath my eyebrows and then blending it into my eyeshadow primer with a Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. 

Last but not least is the MAC Prep+Prime Highlighter Pen in the shade Lightboost. When it comes to contour and highlighting I prefer to use a cream or liquid to highlight the high points of my face and using a powder to contour. I love this product purely because of the colour and how easily it blends out, the colour is yellow toned which is what favours the shade of foundation I wear. I apply it under the eyes, in the centre of my forehead, down the centre of my nose and a small amount on my chin and then blend it all out with a damp Beauty Blender. 

Let me know what your favourite products are this month and if you've used any of my favourites and let me know what you think of them in the comments. See you soon!

Rebecca x

What's In My Makeup Bag

As far as makeup storage goes I keep most of my makeup in the drawer of my Ikea desk (click here for a picture from my instagram of my desk where I keep my makeup) and although I'd love to carry all my makeup with me wherever I go it would be slightly inconvenient/borderline impossible. However! I do like to keep my essentials with me when I'm out and about so here's what I keep in my bag everyday when I'm out and about!

It's very rare if I can remember to pack all my essentials in a makeup bag. I used to be good at it but as of now I pretty much just throw it all in my handbag as I'm leaving. 

I like to keep a powder brush and a powder in my makeup bag. Because I have combination/normal skin sometimes I do tend to get a bit of an oily T-zone throughout the day so having a powder with me is crucial to keep any shine under control! My MAC Studio Fix Powder compact also has a mirror so it's great for carrying around with me - you never know when you'll need a mirror! 

The weather is becoming colder now so recently I've been carrying round a lipbalm just incase my lips start to feel a bit dry throughout the day, I love Burts Bees Beeswax Lipbalm with Vitamin E and Peppermint! I love peppermint lipbalms they are so refreshing and this one doesn't apply too much product to the lip either! 

If I wear lipstick I always always always make sure I take my lipstick out with me otherwise I am lost! There is nothing worse than going to reapply your lipstick after eating or during the day and realising you've left it at home! I also carry my Dior Collagen Activ Lip Maximiser with me, incase I change my mind on my lipstick throughout the day and just want to go for a gloss instead! 

Last but not least I carry my Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream with me, there is nothing worse than the feeling of dry hands! And because I'm always out doing things, pulling my makeup case, writing and sanitizing my hands before doing makeup (which can be very drying!) my hands get neglected so it's important to look after them! I love this hand cream because it soaks into my skin quickly and doesn't leave that sticky feeling which I find some hand creams do.

So that wraps up what's in my everyday makeup bag, let me know what your everyday essentials are in the comments, I'd love to hear any favourites you have! See you soon!

Rebecca x

New MAC Eyeshadows

Sooo.. Exciting news! Last week I started my course in Media Makeup which I've been waiting all summer to start! So now I'm officially a training makeup artist and I couldn't be happier! For the course, I had to purchase a makeup kit to get me started and as you can guess by the title I bought a MAC kit! The kit came with so many beautiful products but I was particularly excited about these four eyeshadows! I love MAC eyeshadows so I was super excited when I found out that there would be four more of their eyeshadows heading my way.

The shades included in my kit are (left to right) Shroom, Satin Taupe, Brun and Embark.

Shroom is a light cool toned cream colour which does have some shimmer and it is definitely one of my favourites out of the four shades I have, it blends really easily and looks lovely paired with Satin Taupe which is of course a taupe shade! This shade does have shimmer in it as well which means that its really easy to blend. Brun is a cool toned brown and I really liked the colour of it in the pan however when I swatched it on the back of my hand it definitely wasn't as pigmented as I hoped it would be! Embark is a red toned brown which was the shade I was most excited about! It's mid September now and I'm definitely feeling some autumn vibes creeping around in the UK so warm toned brown eyeshadows like this one are perfect for this season! And I'm definitely thinking that this is going to be one of my go to eyeshadows! 

Let me know what your favourite eyeshadows are (MAC or any other brand!) in the comments! See you soon! 

Rebecca x

August Favourites

So it's the last day of August! I can't believe how fast this month has gone! All in all August has been one hell of a busy month for me! And there are a few products which have been my absolute saviours this month whilst I've been away.

My first August favourite is my MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. Every man and his dog has heard about this foundation! I've spoke to people who love it and I've spoke to people who hate it but I first purchased this foundation nearly 3 years ago and personally I tend to fall in and out of love with it but recently I just can't get enough! Before switching back to my studio fix I was using my Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation, which I love because of it's flawless, full coverage matte finish! However, at the start of August I went to iBiza for a week and didn't fancy packing on the layers of a full coverage foundation but I'm not one to go without any makeup so I toned down the coverage to my studio fix fluid. Oh my goodness I fell back in love again! I forgot how well this foundation just glides on my skin and has that lovely semi-matte finish which I've been loving this month! I love how you can use a small amount of product and have a lighter coverage or you can build it up in areas where you need it for more coverage. 

My second favourite of the month is the Aussie Take the Heat 3 Minute Miracle Deep Treatment. When I go abroad my hair tends to suffer with the sun and combining that with all the straightening and curling on an evening (I wasn't blessed with naturally beautiful hair it's more of a fluffy mess) my hair felt like it was on it's last legs. Sometimes using a treatment once a week is just not enough for me, my hair is thick and long so it needs extra TLC. So, I've been using the 3 minute miracle as my conditioner everyday instead of using it as a one off treatment. After shampooing I slather my hair in this product and then tie it up whilst I exfoliate then make sure all the product is rinsed out so I have no build up. Afterwards my hair feels softer and much more healthy, my ends no longer feel dry and my hair is much more easier to style! I can't stop using this as my conditioner because I LOVE the way my hair feels afterwards! 

My last but certainly not least favourite of this month is my Mary-Lou Manizer from The Balm Cosmetics. This is my absolute favourite ever highlighter! I've had it since December and used it near enough every single day and it looks barely used! But because it's summer I've been all over that glowly bronzey makeup! And this product just puts the icing on the cake! It's kind of like a champagne gold highlighter and it blends beautifully on the skin. Usually after I've applied my bronzer I apply this to the high points of my cheekbones, on the tip of my nose and cupids bow then whatever is left on my brush I dust in the centre of my forehead. A small amount of product goes a long way! And I find that using a Real Techniques setting brush or the Real Techniques duo fibre contour brush works best for this product! If you're all about the strong highlighter then I 100% recommend this product!

Those are my favourite products for this month and hopefully September has some more to offer! Let me know what your favourite products are this month in the comments! See you soon!

Rebecca x