Monday 9 May 2016

FOTD - Current Favourites

Hey All

It's been a long time since I've shared any favourite make up or done a face of the day so I thought I'd combined the too and show you some of the products I've been reaching for the most lately.

I love the difference make up makes to my features. Being pale and with light hair means my features can get lost without make up so I can't be without brows and mascara!

Products used:

Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette
Mac Studio Fix Fludic - NW20
Body Shop Shade Adjusting Drops - Lightening
Benefite Brow Zings - Light
Ebay Brushes
Real Techniques contour and buffing brush
Mac 168
Nars Radiant Creamy Concleaer - Vanilla
Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil
Seventeen Blush - Nude
Stila One Step Correct Primer
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner - SmokeOut
W7 The Queen of Brows - Light Medium
Avon Infintize and Aero Volume Mascaras - Black
Phees Make up Shadows - Peppered, Sphinx, Deadweight and The Original Highlight.
Mac Amplified Lipstick - Fast Play

I'm always one for a flawless base but lately I'm really struggling, I seem to be more pale than normal and no foundations are working properly. The Shade adjusting drops have been an amazing find. I've been able to use my foundations that have been sat to one side more and I'm getting a better colour match. Studio fix fluid isn't my favourite Mac foundation I'm more of a pro longwear fan! Browzings has been a regular use since I discovered it. It just gives perfect definition and will always remain a firm favourite. The same goes for the Nar concealer! I love this stuff, it covers sooo well! I fancied a bit of extra brightening this day so used the urban decay concealer underneath too. For me the eyes are always a touch smokey. I love the shimmer in the Phees Shadows and they are just so pigmented!! I used peppered over the lid, with sphinx on the out part of the lid, shades from Kat Von D palette through my crease and deadweight through the outer v to smoke it out then used the UD liner to line my lashline. I added the original highlight to my inner corner to brighten it up and used it as my highlight. I used the Kat Von D palette to contour. The middle large shade is perfect for this I love the colour it is. My cheeks are an old discovery, a random blush I found in my collection but absolutely love. The lips are a shade I can't stop reaching for. It's perfect for everyday and a great neutral shade!

What are your current make up favourites?

Love M

xxx

Avon Ultra Colour Lipstick in Oxford Wine

Hey All

It's been a while since I've done a lipstick post. Lipsticks are the one thing I can never stop buying (who am I kidding there, it's all things make up!!) I'm always on the hunt for more lipsticks and when I went home a few weeks ago for a wedding I forgot to take lipsticks with me so raided my Mum's box of extra Avon products. This wasn't the shade I was looking for for the wedding but as soon as I saw it I had to have it.

Oxford wine is one of the satin finish lipsticks, these lipsticks state that the pigment reactivates when lips are pursed together. To be honest I've only just read this so I can't comment on if that's true. The lipstick is very well pigmented and glides onto the lips. As it's a satin finish it's very comfortable to wear.

The packaging isn't anything exciting to shout about but it does the job and isn't gaudy! The shape of the bullet works well for applying the colour without the need for a lip brush. I do also love that the lipstick have Avon indented in it.

I'm a big fan of dark colours on the lips and this is a very me colour. It does remind me slightly of Rimmel Dark night waterl-oops (review here). It's a rich wine berry colour and really suits pale skin tones. If you're brave enough to wear them it looks great. Colours like this also work great as a stain if the colour is a bit off putting it can be blended into the lips for a more toned down version.

I would say it's slightly more purple and less red than the photos show. It was one of those lipsticks that the colour wouldn't photograph correctly for.

You can purchase is here for £7.50 but usually Avon have some offers! I'm always a fan of avon lip products!

Would this colour be something you'd go for? I have a great nude and orange to share with you soon!

Love M

xxx

Avon Big and Daring Mascara

Hey All

If you've read this blog for a while you'll know I love trying new mascaras and with my mum doing Avon I regularly get to try those as she buys me them before they get released.

The Big and Daring mascara is one I've had sat in my stash for a while but as I'm a fan of big volumised lashes I figured it should come out of the stash.

The packaging is simple black and while with quite a fat tube. I guess added to the big part of the name. The brush is a huge bristle brush which is my favourite type. I'm not a fan of plastic brushes in general and find for how I like my lashes bristle brushes work better. There seems to be a built in filter which stops the brush coming out of the tube with thick layers of mascara on it. The brush also has a slight curve to it which really helps to lift the lashes.

Here you can see how big the brush is and how well the shape of it lifts the lashes up from root.

This curl stays on my lashes all day.

This is with two coats of mascara on. It really thickens my lashes and is a really black colour. It adds length and lifts the lashes too. The brush although big doesn't leave me with loads of mascara all over my face. It can sometimes dispense too much onto the tips of my lashes and leave them looking a little clumpy if I'm not careful.

All in all though a great mascara that seems to do it all. It also lasts all day and doesn't leave any marks in my concealer which I find some mascaras can drift down into it. It's also easy to remove with normal cleanser at the end of the day!

Have you used any Avon Mascaras? I find I love most of them. You can always grab avon through a representative or directly online.

Love M

xxx

Colour Trend Lip Stix Foxy Fuchsia

Hey All

Happy Monday! I finally dragged my ass back to the gym after only running and kickboxing for the past two months. My first pump class was a struggle but it was great to be back in the gym!

A few months back I couldn't resist some new lipsticks from Avon. I've had the Colour Trend Lip Stix before so when I saw need shades I had to order. I've shared Reddy to Go before on the blog which is an amazing red you can see here.

One of the shades I picked up was Foxy Fuchsia! The packaging is the same as before in a twist up pencil style. I do love that the makes it easy to apply. It's a smallish tip meaning you can get good definition in your cupids bow.

Colour trend is a brand aimed more at teens and a younger market so the packaging suits that. I love the lip products. They are £4.50 each or a bargain 2 for £4. I love that Avon usually have offers.

This didn't disappoint with pigmentation, it also easily applies and doesn't drag. It goes on easily and application with the stick type pencil makes it really easy to apply. It leaves a slightly glossy finish to the lips and doesn't dry out.

Foxy fuchsia is a soft pink colour. I think it's true to colour to the photo above but can look different in different lights. It's a warm pink and seems to still flatter my winter skin. When I first bought it I thought it was more of a summer colour but I am loving it with pale skin and blue hair!

There are an impressive ten shades in the colour. I only have 3 but I can see more being ordered. They are a great one to throw in the handbag to reapply as they don't bleed. Now to choose which shades to order next!

Love M

xxx

NOTD Avon Nailwear Pro+ Barely There

Hey Guys

Lately I've been trying to grow my nails again. I've always been a nail biter but had managed to stop for a while. Stress got the better of me and I started again but in May I decided it was time to stop again. I've been loving painting my nails again and getting to use my massive nail varnish collection without putting on false nails.

Natural Light

Luckily my nails have grown pretty strong and long now. I put this down to a high protein diet, hair, skin and nails tablets and OPI Nail Envy (review here). Since being on holiday and not using these three they have weakened a bit!

with flash

I can never resist a good nude polish and when I was home and saw Avon had released a new nudes collection I couldn't resist grabbing one. Nudes always look classy on nails and are great for any occasion. Also if you're quick they are currently a bargain £3 instead of the normal £6 which is reasonable for nail varnish.

They dry pretty quick to a glossy finish and surprisingly for a pale colour are perfectly opaque and not streaky in 2 coats. I could have gotten away with one on some nails if I was better at painting my nails.

Barely there is a slightly purple toned nude. Slightly darker than skintone. I found it really complimentary on my slightly tanned skin and think it would still look great in winter when I'm pale.

The nudes collection also has a gorgeous peachy nude and grey!

Love M

xxx

Avon SuperShock Mascara

Hey All

Hope you're having a good day! I always find Tuesday the worst day of the week and the one to drag the most but tonight I'm off to a gig and still trying to decided whether to finish work early! I think I need to get a new hobby for Tuesday's so I have something to look forward too.

I'm an absolute mascara junkie. I'm currently working my way through a ridiculous size stash *cough* 20 *cough*! Every time a new mascara comes out I want it. I always want blacker, longer and more volumised lashes.

Avon SuperShock is one of Avon's best selling mascaras! It claims to offer super big, volumised lashes. The packaging is as you'd expect from a mascara. Simple black with blue writing. It is wider than normal mascaras!

The supershock mascara comes with a plastic brush. Which I am warming up to lately (here's Avon's Infinitize Mascara that converted me to a plastic brush!)! It is wider than most brushes but doesn't seem to go everywhere when applied.

Bare lashes. As my lashes are so fair. I do struggle to photograph them!

With one coat, lashes are well separated, lengthened, have a good colour to them and perfect for a low key make up day.

With 2 coats, the volume starts to build and lashes are lifted more.

With 3 coats lashes have loads of volume are well lengthened and not too clumped. I do find 3 is the limit with the mascara unless they are light coats. I love the effect after 3 coats and find it's perfect for me.

The mascara doesn't promise curl but I find it does add a small amount of lift to my lashes. This does last well through the day!

I love how supershock lengthens my lashes, and adds volume. I'm always on the hunt for a new mascara and have been loving using this as an everyday mascara. It lasts well, doesn't transfer into my concealer through the day and when applied doesn't leave a black line at my lash line or transfer to my eyelid!

Another great Avon mascara! Are you as fickle as me with mascara? I'm the same with foundation too! I always think there is better!

Love M

xxx

Review: Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro

Hey All

This afternoon I'm off to London for a Lauren's Way launch. I'm a big fan of the darker than dark lotion so can't wait. I was definitely sceptical at first but was pleasantly proved wrong. I'm so glad I bought it.

Skincare is something I'm also on the look out for a new product. I fully believe prevention is better than cure and that you can never start a good skincare/anti aging regime too young. I started properly at 22 and I'm hoping that it'll help my skin stay good. I wish I had been more interested in uni as I'm sure all the late nights took their toll on my skin.

Eyes are something I'm always on the look out for a good product for. My mum has droppy eyelids (she'll love me for writing that on here!) and I can see I have the same eye shape as her so I fully expect my eyelids to drop. I'm hoping good skincare and taking care of them will help prevent it a bit!

My latest eye cream I've been using is the Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro. This has been in the avon catalogue for ages. I remember seeing it when I helped my mum do it years ago. It comes with a different cream for the upper and lower eyelids. I love this as I do think the skin is different and you want different things on your upper and lower eyes.

They Say

"The tightening topically applied upper eye gel contains injectable-grade arginine to help boost elastin and help lift sagging skin and the rich eye cream contains Derma-Refine Technology to help reduce hollowness and discolourations."

I've been using this for the past 4 months now. As someone without wrinkles at the moment I obviously can't comment on whether it helps them but the skin around my eyes feels smooth and my dark circles haven't got worse.

The under eye cream is a thick white cream. It sinks into the skin easily and leaves it feeling plump and nourished. I love that it's thicker as I do feel this is where you want the moisture to help prevent under eye wrinkles and crows feet.
The upper eye cream is a gel based formula. It feels lovely and cooling on the eyes first thing and relaxing when applied at night. It also sinks into the skin easily.
I've really liked this cream. The skin around my eyes feels well moisturised and no fine lines are appearing. It's also lasted really well. I'm keeping my eye out for when it's next on offer to order some. It retails at £19.50 which is reasonable for an eye cream but I've got my eagle eyed mum on the case who tells me if I wait till the beginning of March it goes on offer!
I think it may be time to try more Avon Skincare. Any recommendations?
Love M
xxx

Get Ready WIth Me - Night Out

Hey All

Hope you had a good weekend. I've had a really busy week last week and the weekend was rather busy too. I went out on Friday night and thought I'd do a type of get ready with me post. I love watching these on YouTube and love FOTDs that show you the look step by step so it's easily re-creatable. The lighting and photos aren't great as it was night time!

After showing and washing my hair these are my current go to products! I have to use a lip scrub and I couldn't be without my breath of fresh air toner. As I've got a few big spots at the moment I use my Effaclar Duo before my moisturiser. As It was for a night out I used the Label.M volume foam to add some extra volume to my hair.

I was soooo impressed with the volume the label.m foam gave and it didn't make it sticky either or feel caked in product! Hello night out must have!

For a flawless night out for me there are four products I have to use! Benefit Porefessional, Illamasqua Skin Base applied with a beauty blender type sponge and Nars Creamy Concealor. They all just make my skin flawless. Illamasqua skin base was definitely a foundation I fell in love with only after using a beauty blender type sponge. It was all I found worked for me application wise! I then set all my base using my HD brows powder!! I'm really loving this for oil control and setting make up.

At the moment I'm totally in love with the make believe bronzer. It's a perfect matte shade and comes with the softest brush. I contour my cheek bones, nose and around my forehead and temples.

As I was going out it had to be Benefit Dandelion blush. No matter how much I wear other blushes none are as beautiful as this. I love the soft pink. I then used Mac MSF in soft and gentle. It really adds a shimmer to the cheeks.

To primer my eyes I blended constructivist Mac paint pot all over the lids up to the crease using a real techniques crease brush.

I then applied Mac naked lunch (a soft nude shimmer) all over the top of constructivist to set it.

To the crease I blended out a mid brown matte shade. This one is from a Lancome palette I have but is similar to UD tease in the naked 2 palette.

As it's been a while since I wore it I blended Mac Cranberry through the crease and under the eye. To smoke it out and to softer the redness I blended a matte black shade through the outer v and half way across the under eye.

For me it's all about the Eylure 116. They are one of my favourite lashes as they are subtle and just lenghten. I applied these and lashings of Maybelline Colossal Volume.

For my brows I used my Benefit browzings. I use a combination of the wax and powder and set with a Collection clear mascara. I think used my Laura Mercier Secret Concealer to line around my brows to highlight the brow bone and sharpen the brow line.

I then lined the eyes using my Maybelline gel liner in black and a real techniques liner blush. As I didn't want my eyes to be too black I used Rimmel Scandaleyes liner in nude to line my waterline.

For my hair I straightened it and add slight shape to the front by turn the straighteners. I hate it when my hair just sits flat.

For the lips I went with Mac Fanfare. It's such an easy to wear colour and looks soft and subtle on the lips without looking OTT when wearing a bolder eye.

Finally for my outfit I wore nude sparkly shorts bought in the New Look sale last year, New Look black vest with lace detail, New Look blazer, Primark fleece lined tights (I'm getting so old I wear tights on nights out!) and finished the look off with my Primark boots, Ollie and Nic clutch purse and my sphere of life heart necklace!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Do you mind photo heavy posts?

Love M

xxx

Monday 9 May 2016

FOTD - Current Favourites

Monday 6 July 2015

Avon Ultra Colour Lipstick in Oxford Wine

Monday 4 May 2015

Avon Big and Daring Mascara

Monday 20 October 2014

Colour Trend Lip Stix Foxy Fuchsia

Tuesday 8 July 2014

NOTD Avon Nailwear Pro+ Barely There

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Avon SuperShock Mascara

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Review: Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro

Monday 27 January 2014

Get Ready WIth Me - Night Out