Review: MAC Blush in Style

I've been lusting after this blush from MAC for over a month, but for some reason I've felt too guilty to buy it. So when I went into MAC the other day I bought their Prep + Prime setting powder and this at the same time, but I thought I'd do separate blogs on them. 

As you can see, Style is a Frost blush. It has a really plain peachy colour just sat in the pan, but when it's swatched on the skin, it's beautifully pigmented and leaves the skin with a golden-kissed shimmer. 

This blush is so pigmented, too much can be applied quite easily, so being light handed is key. It reminds me of Sleek blush 'Rose Gold', but this one suits my fake tan better - being peachy instead of pink-based. 

This will definitely be my go-to blush for the autumn and winter months - hell, probably for the foreseeable future - and I'm looking forward to using it in different makeup looks. Love it or hate it? Let me know x

My First Bridal Makeup Experience...

So this weekend has been so busy, I haven't had a chance to blog about makeup or beauty at all!

On Friday (22nd August) I went to my friend's wedding. The Bride's makeup artist said she couldn't do her makeup last minute due to timing, so she asked me to do it. I've never done Bridal makeup, and I had no time to practice on her for a trial run (she asked me on 21st in the evening when we were super busy doing last minute running around), so you can imagine I was under a lot of pressure to get it right first time. 

I can't even begin to tell you how nervous I was. To make things even harder, she'd gotten a spray tan done two days before the wedding, which means that none of her foundations were the right colour anymore. 

So I turned up armed with all of my foundations, half of my makeup stash and most of my eyeshadow and blending brushes, plus face & concealer brushes. 

Above is the makeup & palettes I used on the Bride. I ended up using my own foundation that I use every day (Estée Lauder Double Wear Light, Intensity 3.0) on her as it is light but super hard-wearing. 

I tell you, it was so stressful, trying to make a bride look perfect for her special day; my hands shook and I was sweating buckets. Plus, she blinked her eyes insessantly when I applied all of her eye makeup; doing her eyeliner and mascara was a real challenge.

Then to top it off, with only 40 minutes to go until she was due down the aisle, she suddenly asked me if it would be ok if I did her maid of honour's makeup too. I was shocked and dumbfounded, to say the least. Good makeup takes care and time to apply; 40 minutes was only enough for a hasty, half-done job! So I prayed for a miracle and rushed (carefully) through her maid of honour's makeup too, then I ran out of the house, ran to the car and sped to the church ahead of them. 

As it turns out I never even managed to get a close up of her (or her maid of honour's) face the entire day! But I'll show you some pics of the day... 

The last picture ^ is the bride and her MoH (plus her gorgeous flower girls, who were adorably cute).

Although doing bridal makeup for the first time was scary, it has only deepened my love for cosmetics and made me appreciate makeup and makeup artistry even more. I know that all I want to do is follow this path of beauty and cosmetics until the bitter end!  

Sleek Blush by 3 Californ.I.A

I saw this blush on someone else's blog and I thought to myself "I must have this blush palette, I must!". The thing is, I'm not exactly short on the whole blush situation, I have at least 12 different blushes, both powder and cream formula, but what harm would three more do?

So the box looks like this. I love Sleek packaging. It's just so... Sleek.

I thought I'd include the ingredients for y'all to see, so it might help you decide before you buy this little beauty.

When I opened it up I was delighted to see these three stunning colours. From left to right (both in above and below photo's):
Newport Beach, The Surf, OC

Swatched on the back of my hand, these three colours are so creamy and blendable, and look really beautiful. As you can probably tell, Newport Beach and OC are more pigmented than The Surf, which is sheer when blended out and also has a light shimmery finish.

I think this is a fantastic palette for pale to medium skin, these cream blushes can be used on their own or blended together for a more customised look, they can be blended out to a simple, sweet flush or built up for more blush-drama.
This sells for £9.99, and to be perfectly honest, it's worth every penny. If Sleek do any other cream blush palettes in the future I will definitely buy them.

Review: bareMinerals Shine On Palette

At the moment feel unique (click on link and type "OUTLET" into search bar - awesome offers on there at the moment) are doing a sale on loads of beauty & fragrance. I've recently bought Dior Pure Poison 30ml EDP for £23.50, a Lancôme Gloss In Love lipgloss for £10 and now bareMinerals Shine On palette for a mere £12.49!

It comes with a glittery gold purse and the palette itself is rather large, very shiny/reflective gold colour and prone to fingerprints so it looks grubby quickly. Inside there are two eyeshadows, a blush, a lipgloss, a waterproof eyeliner pencil, an eyeshadow primer, a little blusher brush and a double ended sponge applicator. 

Top: Glitterati eyeshadow swatch, a shimmery pale pink/gold.

Bottom: Center Stage eyeshadow swatch, a blackened plum with microfine red glitter (that can't be seen in this picture, apologies).

The Big Break blusher swatch, a muted shimmery pale pink/gold, very similar to Glitterati. It's buildable and pretty for a naturally flushed look. 

Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in 'A-Lister' swatch, a sheer pink gloss with a golden sheen.

Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliner in '4pm', a deep, dark purple. Looks brighter on the waterline than it does on the upper lash line. 

Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer on my eyelid. It's a shimmery gold primer to prevent creasing and keep your shadow looking more vibrant. Looks great on its own. 

This is my makeup on. Shimmery blush alert! 

Ok, down to the review: 

I really like this palette and everything in it. Centre Stage eyeshadow is very pigmented, but tends to blend out and loses it's beautiful plummy colour. Despite that, it's versatile and can be layered to create a sultry smokey look. The lipgloss is mint flavoured (I've never liked mint lip glosses but gotten used to them) and quite long lasting but loses it's sheer-pink colour quickly so it might best be used over a lipstick for maximum shimmer-effect.

The blusher needs to be built up on light/medium skin for it to show but once it has it looks natural (but very shimmery).

The eyeliner is fantastic. It lasts for around 5hrs on my waterline; once it sets it takes a lot to get it off. 

The primer is also pretty good, it looks great on it's own and the eyeshadow over the top didn't crease for 8-9hrs which is pretty darn good. 

Summary: I really like this palette, it's portable, lightweight (although a little chunky and too big to fit in little handbags/purses - just thought y'all should know), the colours are neutral, shimmery and absolutely perfect for spring and summer. Total bargain at just £12.50, worth the money and the colours are great.