Birthday MAC Haul

It was my birthday on 4th February and I normally always ask for money so then I can treat myself to products/items that I really want. I decided to splash out and buy some MAC products, so here is what I bought!

MAC Nylon | As you can see, I've already used this quite a few times! 

 MAC Wood Winked | I'm not sure what happened to this, but the plastic was missing from the packaging and I think something dented it : (

MAC Knight Divine | I loved this colour in the pan, but since trying it on, I'm not sure whether I like it. It comes out very blue on my eyes.

MAC Club | I have this in a limited edition palette and love it. I've nearly hit the pan on it so wanted to repurchase.

MAC Naked Lunch | I picked this because of the amazing reviews online, but when I wear it, it's very, very pink and makes me look extremely tired. I don't think I'll be using this one again. : (

MAC Gentle Mineralized Blush and MAC Peachtwist

MAC Peachtwist | I love this and think it'll be great for summer teamed with a lovely bronzer.

 MAC Gentle | I wanted dainty but it was out of stock so picked up this one instead. It's okay, but very similar to a few other blushers that I own, especially my Bobbi Brown one, they almost look identical on.

Have you bought anything from MAC recently? Are there any products you recommend?

Laura xx

     

Smashbox Studio Skin

Before trying this foundation from Smashbox, I was an avid Estee Lauder Double Wear fan and wore it all day, every day! It did however look really unnatural on my skin and left it feeling dry and taught. I'm always on the lookout for new long wear foundations, so had to try this one from Smashbox, priced at £27.50, it's a similar price to MAC and Estee Lauder, both of which I use foundations from.

Here's the lowdown:

• 15 hour wear
• Hydrating
• Oil free
• Matt finish
• Medium to full buildable coverage
• £27.50
• Pump dispenser

This is a shade 1.2 which matches my pale skin perfectly. The 1.1 was just a little too ghostly on me. This shade is more yellow based which I prefer on my skin tone. I'd say my skin tone is more neutral, neither yellow nor pink toned, but given the option, I think yellow toned gives me a more natural finish,

This is the foundation blended into my hand so you can see the colour match is very good.

And here is the foundation blended into my skin, finishing with a small dust of Smashbox's Halo Powder. It gives a matt finish anyway, but I like to use a powder to set my foundation. Given the daily test under different conditions, it certainly lasts on my skin a full day and doesn't rub off onto clothes. It feels natural and light weight on my skin, unlike double wear. I don't think the transfer or staying power is quite as good as double wear, but certainly for a more natural finish, I will opt for Smashbox Studio skin instead of double wear.

Laura xx

No 7 Mascara Review - Lash Adapt

Mascara is a staple item in my makeup bag. But so many of them fail me - the brush is not thick enough or too thin, it's cloggy, it's too dry, it's too wet, it smudges half way through the day and leaves me with panda eyes, it's too hard to remove... Oh, the list is endless!!

I've been using No 7 mascaras for quite some time now because I always find that they work well and do what they say on the tin (or tube in this case!)

Here I've tried and photographed the No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara.

Sorry about the dried mascara on the tube!! I look like a right messy pup...

As you can see, the wand is a brush, not a comb. This works well for me as I feel I can really get a lot of the product on the brush and really load it up for a more dramatic effect. I'm not sure what the fibers are at the end, whether these are my eyelashes that have fell out, or whether they're from the brush.

This is how my eyelashes look without mascara on. Please excuse the terrible eyebrows, I'm currently trying to grow them out and get them to thicken up... As you can see, my eyelashes are quite long, but very thin and not well defined.

This is after one coat of mascara. I think my eyelashes look really long on here and quite dramatic for one coat. I love the length, but would like a little bit more volume too. I do like how the mascara goes onto my eyelashes and how it coats them. It's not clumpy and the consistency is right for me.

This is after two coats, so even more length can be seen here. I'm not usually one for length, I usually like volume, but I can't help falling in love with the texture and the easy of applying this - the consistency is lovely.

Final thoughts

I've really enjoyed using this mascara. It has a great consistency and a nice smooth formula. I would recommend this to people who have shorter eyelashes that want additional length, but people who want volume, should probably try another brand or type. During the day, it wore well and always looked fresh. There were no bits dropped onto my face throughout the day and no smudging under the eye which is a MUST. It was easy to remove at the end of the day, but it's not waterproof.

What is your favourite mascara? Can you recommend any for me to try that give additional volume rather than length?

Wishlist - Skin care & Make up

MAC Mineralise Blush in shade 'gentle' - £19

I've seen this on a lot of blogs and it gives a gorgeous colour on the cheeks. With my pale skin, I think this would suit me really well. 

 Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Face Lotion £46 for 50ml

I've tried this product on in store, just over the top of my makeup as my skin felt taught and lacking moisture. I really, really liked the feel of it on my skin and I felt it penetrated my skin deep down. I'd love to try it on my actual bare skin. My skin is very up and down at the moment, always having a paddy if I put certain products on it. I spoke to the Origins lady who said the Mega Mushroom range is great for people with sensitive or acne prone skin and that it shouldn't upset it.

 MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator £22

Not really sure why this is on my wishlist! I think I've read so much about it on blog and when it was limited edition (I think), it sold out like crazy. So, I just want to try it to see what all the hype is about! Plus, it looks nice and sounds great.

 Smashbox Halo Powder in light £39

I now own this product and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

 Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant £17 for 150ml

This sounds amazing and the reviews are pretty good. I've seen this also on a few blog and I'm impressed with what I've read. Hopefully, it'll help my moisturiser to be absorbed better and smooth over enlarged pores and help with any blemishes.

 Clinique City Block Sheer

I used to use this year ago and remember how I loved the texture and the way it made my skin feel. I feel that the only way to keep skin looking as young as possible is to use an SPF everyday, not just when you're in the sun and on holiday. The rays can still penetrate through clouds and will still effect your skin. I really want to start using this again before it's too late. 

Recently I've started to see more freckles and dark spots on my face, so worried that my skin will start aging   soon : (

 Smashbox HD Concealer Fair/Light

I LOVE this concealer. After trying way too many concealers to mention, this product is fantastic at coverage without that sitting in fine lines or drawing attention to the blemish you're trying to cover. At £17, it's not cheap, but will last a loonnggg time as you only need the tiniest bit.

 Ojon Damage Reverse Thickening Scalp Treatment £24

Having fine, flat hair that gets greasy very quickly, I've added this to my wishlist in the hope it won't weight it down and make it greasy. I've tried so many products in the past to try and give my hair a volume boost, but haven't ever found something that give me volume without greasy or that horrible crunchy mousse like feeling. My fingers are crossed. I will hopefully be ordering it soon.

 Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask

This is something I want to try purely on what Origins say about it. I'm hoping it will clear my clogged up pores without dehydrating my skin even further. It sounds lovely and I like the idea of using charcoal. I love Origins products and trust them as a brand. Hopefully this will live up to the description on their website.

What's on your wishlist? What else shall I add to my wishlist? Can you recommend anything? Leave me a link to your blog and I'll check out your favourite products.

Holiday time!

After spending three days in London, I'm now off to Glasgow for a long weekend. Bit of a long way to drive for a long weekend, but I'm feeling like I just need a relaxing, fun break away from Nottingham. Here's some amazing goodies I got in London to keep you going whilst I'm away... I will blog more about each product after I've had chance to try them out over the next few weeks.

Smashbox Goodies

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara

Smashbox O-Gloss which adapts and changes to your body temperature, PH levels and moisture

Smashbox Studio Skin - Full coverage but without the drying, face mask feeling of double wear. I have just used this today and my skin doesn't feel like it's going to crack every time I move like with Doublewear.

Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer - My skin is soooo dehydrated at the moment, so I'm hoping this can inject some moisture into my skin.

Smashbox Smoke Box - GORGEOUS! Love the colours, they're very me.

Smashbox Blush in Chiffon - a lovely coral/pink shimmer blusher

Smashbox Soft Lights in Shimmer - a lovely reflective shimmery powder

Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder - contains only three ingredients! Helps to minimise and absorb shine throughout the day whilst smoothing over and bluring any fine lines. Feels so silky and amazing. Not sure I'm going to need to use this as my skin is dehydrated.

Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder in Fair. One of my FAVOURITE products because of my dehydrated skin. Has a Hydrogel technology which apparently drip feeds your skin with moisture to keep it hydrated throughout the day.

Waiting...

Whilst I'm waiting for my course to start at college (and I'm job hunting), I've been entering lots of random competitions, mostly through the Money Saving Expert forums (the people on there are amazing)! There's the dedicated competition thread where people list all of the competitions, noting the end date too which I find really helpful.

A few months back when I entered a few competitions, I won the following items:

A Philips Sonicare AirFloss - £99.99

I am loving using this product, as oral healthcare is a biggie to me. Your teeth will only last as long as you care for them and look after them. If I hadn't of won this item, I probably wouldn't have paid £100 for it (spending that much on something I don't *NEED* is heart breaking!), but I'm certainly glad I won it and use it every evening before I go to bed. You can feel the difference and I'm sure my teeth are healthier for it. I may review this product in full at a later date.

A 200ml Bottle of Fenjal Classic Creme Bath Oil - £12.49

I seem to associate this product with older people, but after using it, I can honestly say it's lush! The smell is divine and lingers on your skin for a long time. It also leaves my body feeling lovely and soft. As a poor student, I probably wouldn't be able to fork out over £12 for a bath oil, but it's lovely as a treat.

AND - A Collection 2000 Skyscraper Mascara - £3.99

LOVE this mascara and so glad I won it! I never normally would have tried a Collection 2000 mascara as I usually like No 7 ones, but this is really, really good. I love the wand, it's easy to apply and it's an absolute bargain!

Over the last few weeks, I have taken again to entering lots of competitions and I seem to have been on a bit of a roll with my wins and have won a few amazing things. I will leave you to wonder what these are, and will post about them tomorrow. I love to keep you hanging on!!! Think a lovely city break, smellies, clothing...

Take care,

Laura xx