MAC Studio Fix Fluid + Prep and Prime

MAC studio fix fluid - £20.50 buy here

MAC prep and prime primer - £19.50 buy here

Real Techniques Stippling brush - £11.99 buy here

I've had these products for quite some time now so i thought i'd write a quick post about them!

I decided to buy the foundation and primer because i wanted a nice full coverage foundation to wear when i'm doing something good e.g. shopping, going out etc. Basically everything other than work! For work i use drug store foundations (rimmel 24hour currently) just because i don't particularly want to spend loads of money going through expensive foundation just to wear to work.

I decided to buy the primer because i'd read such good things about it and i needed a good primer to help set my make-up as i was finding my make-up just wasn't staying on throughout the day. MAC's prep and prime is a really nice primer, it's unscented, it's silky smooth and doesn't feel heavy on your skin, it also has a small amount of glitter in it which just makes your skin glisten slightly. I've used it with a couple of foundations and i have found it does help your make-up stay on longer, it also helps your foundation blend much nicer so you don't end up looking cakey.

The foundation is also a great product. It has a matte finish which is perfect for when your going out because your skin looks completely flawless. MAC states that it's a medium buildable coverage but i think it's an extremely high coverage foundation which is why i would recommend wearing it with a primer just to help it blend. I use the real techniques stippling brush to apply the foundation because i think it gives the best finish, you only need a very small amount of product and it covers a huge area. I've tried using a foundation brush which i don't think works as well because it leaves some streaks, fingers would be fine for day wear but to get a flawless finish it definitely needs to be buffed into the skin. I would recommend this foundation so so much for people with oily skin, i sometimes get an oily t-zone which is why i like a matte foundation but even when my skin is normal the foundation still looks good, i use a highlighter on my cheeks and brow bones to make my skin look brighter and healthier. I can't say whether it would be any good for people with dry skin because i don't ever really get it. So, overall i would say these products work really well together, it has good coverage, a flawless finish and last's a fair amount of time.

Cyprus outfit #1

head chain - asos

bracelet - new look

bralet - f21

belt - primark

skirt - ebay

sandals - h&m

bag - republic

not a very good quality photo, i deffo need a new camera, i've lost the memory card for my SLR so been using my old canon camera for all of the photos on this blog so far! Also this was taken by my boyfriend who only learnt to take pictures length ways because i kept moaning at him about it, so he obviously didn't adjust any settings for this, put the flash on etc. Anyway, i didn't take pictures of every outfit i wore for the 2 weeks i was in cyprus because 1. i forgot, 2. i was too drunk, 3. it was too hot and sweaty or 3. i was having too much of a good time to think about it.

This was one of my favourite outfit's whilst i was there, i love the bralet, it's so comfy to wear, i also got a lace black one which i wore with a rust sheer maxi skirt, but i didnt get a photo of it :(, i'll have to take one at some point. I miss being on holiday, since i've been back the weather here is so depressing, i'm actually looking forward to around october when it doesnt rain because it's far too cold to create any moisture!

 

CND shellac mani and pedi

CND Shellac gel

Last week i went with my brothers girlfriend to get a shellac mani and pedi. This is a gel manicure which is supposed to last for 2 weeks without chipping, peeling, scratching etc. I've only taken pictures of my nails because my toes are exactly the same colour so i thought why get my toes out if i don't need to? I dont acutally know the name of the colour i chose but it's in a pinky/milky matte bottle, possible the third bottle from the left in the top picture. I assumed that the colour would be the same as the colour on the bottle but NO it came out a kind of natural translucent milky colour, which i do like but it's not the colour i chose! The colour's aren't really much to choose from, they seem quite old fashioned colours e.g. red shimmer, purple shimmer and green shimmer. I actually went in wanting a dark brown but they didn't have one! 

I went to get it done in one of the salons in the jewellery quarter but i can't remember the name (bad) but it was called something devine anyway. The staff were really nice and the actual shellac gel went on lovely, dries instantly etc. For the pedicure you soak your feet first in a foot massager thing (cant remember what it's called) and you get a little foot scrub. When she was doing my toes it was fine but when she did my nails OH MY GOD, she filed my skin and everything, you can see on the pictures, the finger next to my thumb has broken skin around it, this is from the filing, she slit the side of my finger with the nail file and it bled, she then put surgical spirit on the cut to clean it which realllly stung! Apart from that it was fine, it's quite neat, except for round the edges which i think is because she was rushing. 

Overall, i do think this is quite good, the price ranges from around £20 for hands and then another £20 for your feet which i don't think is bad because i've had mine on for a week now and they're still in perfect condition, the only thing i would say is check the inside colour before you decide on just looking at the bottles because they differ a lot.

Illamasqua swatches

These are the swatches for the illamasqua bronzer and blusher i posted about last night, i couldn't be bothered to swatch it last night until i realised that the picture of the blusher was completely different to the actual shade. So this is them, this is the most natural light i could get but it's really grey and dull today so it doesn't look that great. Anyway, you can kind of see that they go really well together, i haven't got any fake tan on so it doesn't look as nice as it normally would when i'm my usual shade of orange brown. I'm going out on saturday night so i might take a picture of my whole make-up routine if i have time after work before i go, just so you can see it when it's on my face and i'll be tanned aswell!

Illamasqua blusher

Illamasqua powder blusher in naked rose - Selfridge's £16.50

When i was shopping for the bronzer i also found this lovely pinky beige blusher which went really well with the bronzer. The picture for this is taken from the website and the swatch is really bad, it actually looks nothing like this, it's a lot lot lot more pink, i will take pictures and swatch at some point but for now this will have to do. When i first saw the blushers i wanted to get the 'katie' blusher but the woman serving me said it would be too light for my features and showed me this instead, i did want it because it looked so nice with the bronzer but half of me only bought it because the people that work on the counters can be so pushy/persuasive! Anyway, when i got home and tried it i loved it, it's pinky/peachy/beige and it looks good with benefit '10' highlighter just above the contour. I think for the price it's good because it will last so long, you only need the smallest amount on your brush and you can really see the colour.

Illamasqua bronzer

illamasqua powder foundation in 215 - Selfridge's £21.50

 

Before i went to Cyprus i went make-up shopping with my friend Jodie who did make-up at uni, we obviously went to MAC which is probably my favorite make-up especially for the make up i use on my face. I use MAC studio fix foundation and studio fix powder, just because i think it sits well on my face for the whole day/night, especially when i put on the mac 'prep and prime' primer first, it makes the foundation easier to blend and fills in my pours. 

ANYWAY, what i actually went shopping for was to buy a good bronzer, initially i wanted Nars Laguna but in the end i went with the illamasqua foundation in a darker shade which was recommended by the make-up artist at the counter. I really really like this product, i'm so glad i went with Jodie who knows so much about make-up and was the only reason i went to illamasqua, i'd never really thought about looking at the make up from there before. I like that this is matte and not shimmer, i didn't want a shimmer bronzer for all over my face and thats all i could find anywhere (which is the reason the make-up artist showed me this) the actual bronzer by illamasqua is a duo, which is nice but it's shimmer. I think all over shimmer can look nice but when i'm on holiday i prefer to use a matte colour all over and then use a highlighter for my cheeks, just because it's so hot in Cyprus and i don't think it's a good look when you have a patchy sweaty/shimmery face in all your photos! 

Overall i think this is a really nice bronzer, it's dark but not too dark and it's natural looking. It come's with a little sponge applicator but i applied it with a brush instead because i think it gives a better finish, and you only have to use a small amount to get enough colour all over, i'd definitely buy this again!

If you let me, here's what i'll do...

cardigan - miss selfridge

top - h&m

necklace - h&m

shorts - river island

boots - schuh

bag - ebay

Boring day so far, had a minor hangover this morning so i wasn't feeling the best but i decided to make some jubilee cupcakes after feeling all patriotic in london on saturday. I love this cardigan, it's so comfortable and it's a nice summery colour aswell, basic outfit today, i might change later when i go out but not sure...

These boots are really old so theres no chance of finding them anywhere! ALSO i love the bag but i wouldnt recommend anyone buying it! it's completely fell apart at the handles, it's still fine to use but it's just very annoying, buy the one from zara instead!