FOTN: Frosty Violet

Hello!

Last night I was out meeting up with a group in a pub, and found myself with plenty of time before hand to take my time with my makeup! I remembered to take a few quick photos before heading out :)

 

 I chose to make it a softer blusher flush to complement the bold eyeshadow and defined brow look, and teamed this with a matt warm pink lip.

Products used:

AVON Ideal Shade Foundation - Avon

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20 - MAC £14.50

17 Instant Glow Oversized Animal Print Bronzer - Boots £5.49

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Berry- Boots £6.49

No7 Skin Illuminator in Pink -Boots £11

Natural Collection Pressing Powder in Neutral - Boots £1.99

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown - Boots £2.99

No7 Lash and Brow Perfector - Boots £10

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) - Lookfantastic.com £14.50

No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in Pewter - Boots £9

Barry M Dazzle Dust 31 (Lilac) - Barry M £4.59

Barry M Liquid Liner 5 (Purple) - Barry M £4.79

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline Gel Eyeliner - MAC £14

Too Faced Lashlight Mascara - Boots £16.50

Bourjois Liner Effect Mascara - Boots £5.99

MAC Keep it Casual lip and cheek colour - MAC £17.50

Rachael XX

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Bright and Affordable FOTD

Hello!

I was going out into town today to meet my friend Cat and see Magic Mike at the cinema (side note: after seeing this film you will be so excited at the probability of Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum agreeing to do a sequel) so before I went I took some photos to show you girls my makeup! All but a few of my products are high-street makeup brands - cheap and cheerful! I will link where you can buy everything :)

This is a very easy makeup look! No challenging false lashes or smokey eye detail, just two eyeshadows lightly blended at the centre of the lid. I teamed this with a thin line of gel liner starting from the centre of my eye, and drawing out into a flick. You can however use liquid liner or kohl pencil for this look too. My skin is currently back to pale, so I paired this eye look with quite neutral face makeup, and brighter lips. 

Eyebrows: 

No7 Lash and Brow Perfector - Boots £10

Lips: 

MAC Keep it Casual lip and cheek colour - MAC £17.50

Face: 

Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell - Boots £9.99

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20 - MAC £14.50

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Apricot - Boots £6.49

Natural Collection Blush in Peach Melba - Boots £1.99

No7 Skin Illuminator in Pink -Boots £11

Natural Collection Pressing Powder in Neutral - Boots £1.99

 Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) - Lookfantastic.com £14.50

Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Soft Pink - Boots £1.79

17 Eyeshadow Limited Edition from Boots

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline Gel Eyeliner - MAC £14

Too Faced Lashlight Mascara - Boots £16.50

Hope you lovelies liked my makeup! And Magic Mike was sensational! Hope your weekend is fabby

Rachael XX

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No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse Review

Hello!

Just before the No7 vouchers stopped, I picked up one of these: a Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in the colour Pewter. These are a 5ml mousse-like cream shadow, which comes in six shades (all quite subdued and wearable tones) to create a light sheer cover of pigment. 

Like Urban Decay Primer Potion, not much is needed to create even coverage on your eyelid, but you can build up layers for a higher pigmentation. It also works well as an eyeshadow base. It is prettily shimmery and sheer when worn alone. I don't usually wear cream eyeshadows but make an exception for this one! They retail at £9 each from Boots - so I may wait until No7 vouchers are re-issued before experimenting with the other shades!

Rachael XX

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No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick Review

Hello!

My second in an upcoming tirade of reviews! Last week I was in a Boots whilst on holiday, and remembered I had a £5 No7 voucher to be used by Sunday 15th July. So in I went! I chose to splurge a little more and pick up a Lipstick from their Stay Perfect collection. It is my fourth No7 lipstick (remember Blooming Pink Vital Brights lipstick from THIS post?) and in my limited experience I have found I prefer the staying power and wear of my Stay Perfect #75 Gay Geranium lipstick (a vivid dark orange!) to that of my Moisture Drench #90 Waterlilly one (- although this is a fabulous salmon pink shade). 

So, having swatched most of their Stay Perfect lipsticks, I chose #55 Glace. Unfortunately for me I had left my voucher on my dressing table at home.. woops! But in my defense I would pay £10 for this lipstick all over again!

The colour of this lipstick is at first tricky to deduce. In the shop lighting, it was quite a strong medium purple, something I've never previously owned. A few hours later I applied it in a cafe bathroom. Confused, I texted one of my friends: 'This is really not as purple as I thought! I put loads on and it hasn't made a difference!' Then, I went outside: 'Oh WOW, this is definitely as purple as I thought..haha I went a bit overboard there..' (profusive rubbing in then took place) 

In daylight this is a medium purple with pink and gold undertones. Indoor natural lighting makes it out as more of a mauve, whilst flourescent lighting brings out its rose gold side. This made it quite tricky to get photos for you! However, it looks really good on, and livens up your makeup look without taking the focus away from your eyes. Hooray! A new favourite.

Rachael Xx
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Help! Leavers Ball Makeup: Advice Required

Hello! (again) This evening I have been thinking about what makeup I shall do for my School Leavers Ball which is under 2 weeks away! I think some girls are getting their makeup professionally applied, but I prefer doing this type of thing myself with products I'm familiar with and can try out beforehand!


So. This is my dress:

Image from http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk

It is from the JS collection at House of Fraser and is called the Mesh One Shoulder.. If you're interested! There is currently a sale on this dress (*weep! I got this before the sale..*) and if anyone's needing a dress I would recommend looking at the JS collections! This was the dress I knew would not suit me, and wasn't  the style I wanted. How wrong I was! So glad I tried it on!!

I have yet to get shoes or accessories, but I shall keep you updated!


This is what I think I shall wear on my eyes and lips. (I still need to find foundation and all the rest!)

With flash lighting

Products used:
Barry M Dazzle Dust number 60 (the icy gold)
Barry M Dazzle Dust number 39 (the violet)
Barry M Dazzle Dust number 98: Petrol (the dark purple/black/navy)
Loreal Paris Infalliable Concealer shade 2
Bodyshop Lip (& Cheek) Stain colour Rose Pink
No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick shade 90: Waterlily
Bourjois Mascara Elastic in 41: Black Unlimited
MaxFactor False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara in Black
*I have different mascara on each eye to decide which I wanted!*


Okay! Do you think this would be appropriate?! Perhaps a navy instead of a violet centre colour would match better. I'm thinking of wearing my hair down. I'm not sure how great these pictures are - we have terrible weather in Scotland today so there wasn't much daylight! 


Many thanks
Rachael xx


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No7 Vital Brights Review

Hello!


Another day, another load of procrastinating - but uni related so I guess that is okay (maybe).
No7 has had a range of makeup called 'Vital brights' in its stores of late, and I purchased a couple of sale items from this collection to try out.

The first is a lipstick, in the colour 'Blooming Pink'. This is a bright light pink colour that is very smooth to apply, with medium pigmentation. It's quite glossy too! I'd say this is a new favourite of mine - I love the colour, the look, the feel and the wear (because it is a medium coverage and is very glossy with a gel-like feel it does not have that irksome tendency of some lipsticks to deteriorate into a patchy mess - the nature of the colour helps with this too). Also the packaging of both of these products is nice - simple and bright. And I appreciate that the lipstick is rectangular rather than cylindrical (making it easier to stand up)

The second vital brights product is a cream blush in an intense bright pink tone, from the same collection and also called 'Blooming Pink'. It is easy to apply, and too much never comes off on the brush - helping you make a more accurate job of your blush application. The packaging is pretty, and neutral, and its shape makes it an easy item to store. I like this because it has staying power too! And suits the lipstick well, creating a pretty, bright look from these 2 complementary products.

The Vital Brights collection at No7 is available in store and on the website: http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/EndecaSearchListerView?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&stReq=1&searchTerm=vital+brights&newDepSearch=&x=0&y=0#container 


xo


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6 Beauty items I can't live without!

Self explanatory really.. Here goes! Very photo heavy..

1) Barry M Liquid Eyeliner in black. Let me tell you, I have tried every liquid liner out there! Ever since being introduced to liquid liners by my gran around four years ago (when she gave me a Loreal Carbon Gloss Super Liner from her Marie Claire) I have been enthralled by this medium of makeup. I've also conditioned myself to make the perfect flick at the corner of my eye. Happily - I still get so many comments from girls my age asking how to do this! (PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. At home, over your day's makeup before you go to sleep.) It is my humble opinion that winged eyeliner is a must-have..for my face. Not a day goes by that this does not feature in my makeup look!
Unhappily, this liner is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find. Edinburgh boots and Superdrug stores NEVER have it! But always have a tester.. Sometimes I almost convince myself to just buy that. (Do not do this! Totally minging.) I got this particular one in a Boots in Glasgow. 
What is so super about this particular eyeliner, is the design. Firstly, eyeliner pens run out. They dry up, go crappy at the end, and run out. If your tip is in a pot of eyeliner ink for the whole of its existence, this unhappy tragedy does not occur. Next, the tip itself is of SUPER importance for winged eyeliner. What you want is one that has a point (not one with a nailpolish-style brush), but not a long thin point (like Loreal Carbon Gloss), and it should be reasonably hard and not squishy. Ta da. Perfecto

rrp £4.79 http://www.boots.com/en/Barry-M-Liquid-Eye-Liner_947292/

Winged eyeliner

2) Mirrors. To set you straight, I am not horrifically vain or stuck to a mirror the whole of my life! I'm just self-conscious, and always feel better after checking that my makeup is still doing its job. 
Like when I don't have my phone, I feel a little lost without some form of mirror. (They are also very handy for doing my makeup on the bus in the morning)

3) Nailpolish. Nailpolish is not actually permitted at my school.. However, I myself really really dislike plain nails. Can't stand them actually. So I accommodate this by wearing one of what I label my 'school colours' (Pretty much any nudey pinky light colour, or one that sparkles. Still very much against school rules)
I'm not against chipped nails either, and although probably quite tacky looking, this is the state of play with my nails most of the time haha!
Being so much of a Boots ADDICT that I may as well have my own key to their stores, I got a £5 No7 voucher recently with my receipt, so went in a few days ago with my friend to spend it. Almost always upon being presented with one of these vouchers I spend it on either nail polish or lipstick. This time it was nails. 

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in 260 'Perky'  http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Stay-Perfect-Nail-Colour_1221409/

Some of my No7 Polish collection

I decided last night to paint my nails - using the colour over a basecoat. Unfortunately, I cannot find my top coat! (Having last seen it on a sofa..hmm)

Sadly my nails had little time to dry - or be painted neatly to be honest - when I was whisked out to a restaurant with my family. Bad timing

4) Makeup wipes. Another essential! I hate using cotton wool and liquid makeup remover.. worse still is trying to take makeup off with water (Because lets face it, that only spreads the issue around your face more..) So makeup wipes? A MUST. These ones by Kleenex are the best I have come across in a loooong time! And I go through them like crazy. So I stocked up...

I buy mine at Sainsburies http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/index.jsp?bmUID=1336844537139 Just now there is an offer!

Eco friendly AND good for my face? Marvellous idea

I'll let you in on a secret... This is half of the packs I own

5) Dental Hygiene. Okay, so maybe not what comes to mind in a beauty tag. But seriously. Having clean feeling and tasting teeth is a requirement for me. And when I brush it is a looong process. Mainly because I like to make sure it's all clean. And then I floss. That takes a while. Can't forget mouthwash! My dentist even recommended this one.

6) Perfume. You are around so many people a day that one great way to make a lasting impression is your scent! And I think it is quite an important one to get right! There are a lot of terrible perfumes out there (I know first hand, from perplexing experiences of my bessie m8 covering me in random disgusting perfumes in shops. I'll get him back one day..) However, each to their own when it comes to scents. To find your perfect scent, experiment! And accept gifts of perfume from people, because they can be super expensive! This is how I found my god-sent scent. Gucci Rush, by Gucci. http://www.gucciparfums.com/en/gucci-rush/inspiration.php?gclid=CPaE3eKo-68CFcshtAodBX9VDw
Unfortunately for me, even a mere 30ml of this stuff is expensive! And outwith my own general spending.. So when my beloved perfume ran out (around a year and a half ago now..) I cried. Wept for my lost scent. (metaphorically..) As my 18th is coming up, you can be sure this is on my wishlist!
http://www.boots.com/en/Gucci-Rush-Eau-de-Toilette-Spray-30ml_3813/
When it comes to perfume, I'd usually recommend Eau de Parfum rather than Eau de Toilette. This is because the scent is stronger and purer and stays around longer. You want a lasting presence woman! And don't go sampling as many perfumes as is physically possible before you collapse from light-headedness. Stay sane.

I keep all my perfumes in a Miss Dior Perfume Box

Some of my favourites

One of my favourite Avon perfumes https://www.avon.uk.com/PRSuite/orderABrochure.page;jsessionid=000188EwC54pWxDjpYznj_BDwiL:14c4nt8ga

Get into trying perfume samples. This one was offered to me with a purchase in Harvey Nichols

If you have a super beauty item that you cannot live without, share in the comments! I'd love to hear suggestions. :)


xoxox


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