Blog-A-Day April #12 Holiday Make Up

That's my holiday booked for this year! Me and t'other half are on our way to Sunny Kavos for sun, sea and clubbing in June.

You know that means? I only have a month and a half to save up for my holiday make up.

It's trial and error with holiday make up for me, I nearly always get it wrong, and because holidays are far and few beween, and this will be my first one with the other half, I've decided that this year I'm going to do it right.

Of course people are full of different suggestions but so far this is probably what I'll go for...

A really good tinted moisturiser - possibly No7. My skin is dry anyway but in the added grecian heat moisturisation is everything. I'm open to any recommendations.

Concealer - a shade darker than my usual. From a budget point of view this is a really good idea, concealer sticks aren't costly and my skin will most likely change colour in the sun anyway, so this'll just work in the evenings when we're going out and I want to cover a few little blemishes.

I usually buy my mascara's and eyeliners in waterproof anyway, because I get really watery eyes when I'm tired, so I'll just take my eyemake up as normal.

I'll take my Rimmel Sunkissed Bronzer for a little bit of added glamour.

For my lips I'll just take a suncare lipbalm with SPF for during the day, and then a laquer gloss wand for at night when we go to the nightclubs.

I'll probably choose a standard nail varnish of which I know I like - like a summery coral or a warm red, and take the bottle to keep applying. I probably won't be bothering too much with changing my nail varnish during the week, as there'll be lots of other things to do.

Thankfully I have naturally curly hair that looks nicer when it dries in the sun when I'm blowdrying it. This is great on holiday because I don't have to take straighteners or a hairdryer. I am going to take plenty of leave in conditioner and a good 200ml bottle of conditioner, because I don't want my hair to dry out.

I'll be keeping you updated if I find any really good buys but if anyone has any great holiday must haves then I'd love to hear about them :)

Blog-A-Day April #9 New Make Up!

"No unnecessary expenditures" my boyfriend said to me this month, after we'd bought a tonne of furniture for our new flat.

Good thing that all of these were very, very necessary.

I am a woman out of control.

Seriously though, I have a gorgeous nude pink and black dress for my cousins wedding this month and here was the look I was thinking of going for ...

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation 30ml (£8.99)
This foundation provides really good coverage for a really matte finish, the beautiful tone in the colour gives my skin a bit of radiance too. It's good for skin like mine that doesn't tan very easily. Normally I don't like a full coverage look, I like to keep things natural, but a complete one-tone will really compliment the look I'm going for.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter Creme Brulee (£7.99)
I wanted a nude lipstick, because I'm going for excessive eyemake up on the day, so I want to keep my lips nude. This Revlon Lip Butter creates a lovely nude look with just a hint of pearly sheen. Very feminine and pretty!

Natural Collection Pressed Powder Warm (£1.99)
This really is a bargain product, when it comes to powder I generally only use it as a base for my foundation, because it prevents liquid foundation from smudging around the face or coming off completely throughout the day. This cheap and cheerful Natural Collection powder does the job nicely and doesn't break the bank.

Also, this is a bit unusual but I'm using a Barry M eyeliner instead of lip liner. The colour is a beautiful beige/brown and I couldn't find one as nice in their range of lipliners, but I've tried it out and it still looks really well when it's on.

I'm also going to be wearing my Katy Perry falsies in blue. I'm still on the lookout for some really pretty eyeshadow to complete the look.

A day well spent in my opinion!

Red Lips

Ok so at work this weekend we're doing "Give It A Go Friday" - basically every friday and into the weekend, we try and persuade people to try out something new. As much as 70% of women admit that they are stuck in a rut with their make up, so this is a good way of trying out new things and playing around with new looks.

Our first theme is red lipstick. There's so much to be done with beautiful red lips. I personally love using the theme to create a vintage look - using hair rollers, red lips and matching red nails.

One thing I always say though is that if you're doing something bold with your lips then you should keep eye make up minimal, there's nothing worse than going around thinking you look fabulous and actually looking like a clown!

Here are my top 5 bargain products to get red lips this weekend....

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stain - Romantic £7.99

A lipstain is a fantastic way of making sure that your lips keep their colour. I love this deep crimson colour, and although I'm no Emma Stone, I'm always impressed with the results. I would reccommend buying the balm also to keep your lips nice and moist.

Maxfactor Lipfinity - Fiery £10.99

This is a little bit of a luxury buy, but completely worth it. I justify it by not having to pay extra for the balm as that's included. Lipfinity not only makes a beautiful sparkly red colour of your lips, but keeps that "just applied" look about it. It's fantastic.

Bourjois 3D Effect - Rouge Democratic £7.69

Although this is a gloss, the application is quite waxy and thick, and creates a very nice deep glossy colour. It's nice if you want something a little bit different to a usual Matte red, and the thin applicator brush ensures a precise application. It's very glamorous!

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish - 22 £5.49

This was my very first ever red lipstick, and I always tend to go back to the Kate collection for a perfect Matte look. Maybe for me it's hazed with nostalgia , but I absolutely love this product. I have both 01 and 22 which are both reds, but the 22 is the one I use the most.  Unlike some lipsticks this applies really easily, has a great bold colour and is lightly scented.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer - Stellar £5.99

This is only a recently tried product but I just absolutely love the rich colours of the Apolcalips collection - particularly this trendy coral red. It just brings something completely new and vibrant to the theme of red lips, it really is a celebration of colour.


Those are my top five, but there's something no lipstick wearer should live without...

A lipstick sealer like this one from Lipcote really seals in the colour - there's nothing more sad than faded lipstick. The formula is great, not too runny, not too sticky, just the right consistency to keep you looking fantastic. You can pick these up from any chemist or drug store for £3.69, and the effects are long lasting.

Navy Blue Eyeliner

Sorry I haven't posted a blog in a few days, I've been really busy with the new make up salesplan for next month in work.

I walked into the back office and there were so many boxes with my name on that I thought Christmas had arrived early this year.. and it kind of was like that ...(if Christmas involved alot of organising, building show material and matching products to item codes!)

Obviously I can't say too much but one thing I think is going to be massive this Spring is Navy Blue Eyeliner.

Navy is everywhere.

Navy nails, navy eyeshadow and navy blue eyeliner.

One thing I cannot wait to purchase is Rimmel ScandelEyes Shadowstick, and as well as Navy I'll be looking out for Olive Green's, Teal's and deep shimmery purples!

What I'm Using #1

I took inspiration for this from Ebruska's Make-Up Blog, which is fantastic and as sophisticated as one day I hope mine will be.

Basically, I have a little No7 make up bag that I carry around with me full of the make up I'm currently using. You won't see me anywhere without it; it's on my "things to never leave the house without" list. I work with make up all day and I test alot of make up in my free time, so every product in this bag has my absolute seal of approval. Here is a list of the products that I am currently using...

Primer

Bourjois Flower Perfection Translucent Smoothing Primer

No7 Airbrush Away Primer 30ml

Foundation

17 Photo Flawless Foundation - Natural

Maybelline FIT Me Foundation - 115 Nude Beige 

Concealer

The Body Shop Concealer Pencil #01

Bronzer

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Compact Bronzing Powder - Light

Blushes

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush  - Berry

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Blush - Pink Rose

Bourjois Little Round Pot - #37 Rose Pompon

bareMinerals i.d. Blush - Vintage Peach

Highlighter

Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer  - #001 Flush of Pearl

BB Cream

No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream Normal/Dry

Eyeshadow

Maxfactor Smokey Eye Eyeshadow Stick - Bronze Haze

Maxfactor Smokey Eye Eyeshadow Stick - Purple Mist

Rimmel GlRam Eyes Quad Eyeshadow - Sun Safari

17 Smoky Eye Pallette

Mascara  

Loreal Volume Millions Lashes - Black

Maybelline Volume Express Rocket Mascara - Blackest Black

Eyeliner

Boots' Natural Collection Kohl Eye Pencil - Black

Boots' Natural Collection Kohl Eye Pencil -Olive Green

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

17 Tatoo Me Semi-Permanent Liquid Eyeliner

Lipsticks

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Collection #107

Rimmel Kate Moss Collection #01

Rimmel Kate Moss Collection #22

Rimmel Moisture Renew - Soft Coral

Loreal Colour Riche - #252

Lip Stain

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Precious

Lip Balm

Nivea Lip Butter - Vanilla and Macadamia

Vaseline Ltd Edition - Pink Bubbly

Lipsmacker Lip Balm - Fanta Orange

Skincare

Boots' Essentials Cucumber Facewash

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit daily scrub

Montagne Jeunesse Peel Off Anti-Stress Masque -Cucumber

Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Salt Scrub

Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Body Milk

                    No7 Completely Quenched Body Moisturising Lotion

  Boots' Coconut and Almond Body Lotion
 Boots' Cocoa Butter and Mallow Body Lotion
Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula

Haircare

Aussie Colour Mate Shampoo

Aussie Colour Mate Conditioner

Pantene Heat Defence Gloss spray

Boots' Coconut and Almond Leave-in Conditioner

Batiste Blush dry shampoo

Elnett Supreme Hold Hairspray

Primer Time

As I was lazing around on my morning off, as I was googling "MAC Primer" (as you do), I came across an article by Elle about the six best primers, which you can find here.

Now, when it comes to primers, I find that it's a very trial-and-error process and you definitely want to get the best quality product that you can, but the products that Elle reccomends are extremely pricey, and since I work with make up all day, every day, I've come across a few really impressive primers that actually don't cost the world, but have great results.

Anyone that comes into my store seeking help about their foundation almost always leaves with this product:

Flower Perfection by Bourjois works particularly well for people with oily skin, especially around your T zone. The texture is that of an extremely light gel, that spreads easily - a lot really goes a long way. It dries almost instantly and evens out your skintone. It makes the foundation application much smoother and to be honest - it just feels absolutely gorgeous on your skin. Alot of customers I let them test this on their wrists first and they often come back and tell me how fabulous it is. At £9.99, it's reasonable, and until 30th March there's a 3 for 2 offer on Bourjois products so you can really make the most for your money.