MAC Archie's Girls Veronica Opulash Mascara

 I have to confess this was a moment of weakness! Personally I haven't been excited about a MAC collection in a while, I'm dying for a collection like Venomous Villains which had me practically foaming at the mouth. So while I wait for a collection to get excited about, I trawled the MAC website! Archie's Girls is their latest collection which is based on an American comic strip, I'm pretty sure that no one in the UK had ever heard of Archie's Girls before and I was actually surprised the collection even released over here, but the cute packaging sucked me in and I thought I couldn't go wrong with a mascara! See how I balanced my weak moment with a moderately sensible purchase.

I have used MAC's Opulash mascara before and remembered being quite impressed with it, so figured I couldn't go wrong. This Archie guy seems to have two love interests and I gotta say I love that he's representing for the ginger guys. His two leading ladies are Betty and Veronica. Betty is blonde and the colours in her collection are very pink, girly, cutesy if you get my drift. Veronica on the other hand has blue black hair and the colours in her collection are much more bold and dramatic. Naturally I am a Veronica fan! This mascara is in Veronica's collection and the colour is "Bad, Bad, Black" because if you have dark hair you are a bad ass ;)

Opulash has a ginormous traditional bristle brush, I'm talking Benefit Bad Gal style big. This for me is the only con of Opulash, as with a brush this big you will inevitably end up with mascara on your eyelid as I did.

But don't let that put you off too much, as this really is a great mascara. I'm sure you will agree once you see my before and after pictures below! Opulash has quite a dry formula which is good as it stops your lashes clumping into three! Its very volumising but also does a good job at lengthening.

What impresses me the most about this mascara though is the fact it does not budge, and I am typing this after wearing it for 15 hours straight! It hasn't transferred on my skin, or flaked off at all which is amazing for me as I usually have to wear waterproof mascaras to stop this happening. 

Thumbs up from me!

I decided I didn't need to label which is which on the before and after pictures ;)

Everyday Face Featuring Burberry

I feel like I really have embraced a more natural look but when I lay it all out like this....I'm not so sure! This face is a mixture of new products, everyday staples and a few re-discoveries!

For foundation I used the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact, I'm not a huge fan of this so am trying to use it up. The main reason I'm not too keen is the lasting power, I find by the end of the day its just disappeared from the centre of my face!

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is one of my staple items. Best concealer for covering blemishes, you can tell that its well loved by how much Ive used. This stuff lasts forever.

One of my newest purchases is the Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder, I am really impressed by this  and tempted to buy the foundation but I really don't need another foundation, so don't let me do that! This just reaffirms my dislike for the Rimmel Stay Matte! Only thing I would say is, the shade I have "Light Pale" is quite dark. I'm not sure of the shade range but if you are very pale make sure you see the colours in person before buying.

Another well loved product is my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, I love the warmth this gives to my face and on extra lazy days I just put this through my crease instead of using an eyeshadow.

NARS cream blush in Cactus Flower was a rediscovery, a sheer red blush with gold shimmer it gives the perfect natural flush. Out of all the NARS blushers I own this is by far my favourite.

I know I have been raving about this recently, so I wont go on but the L'Oreal Lumi Magique really is a smashing brightening, under eye concealer.

Brows, well what can I say I have reverted back to MAC Lingering, how long did I last...a month! My favourite ever brow pencil, but be warned it does not last long. I get through one of these a month at least! My other love is the Illamasqua brow and lash gel and these two combined are an eyebrow dream! I know I should probably get a new one of these as it looks so rank and Ive had it a while now, but I cant bear to throw it away while I know there's still product in there to use!

Eyeshadow wise I kept it simple and stuck with one of true loves Burberry Almond, I have blogged about these Burberry eyeshadows before but they really are beautiful and they are exactly what I want in an eyeshadow. I'm not one for bright colours, or 'cutting that crease' I prefer my makeup to look more lived in and natural. If you only buy one Burberry eyeshadow, Almond should be the one. I just smudged this all over my lid and on my bottom lash line with a MAC 217 blending brush.

While we are on the subject of Burberry, may I present another cheeky little purchase. Burberry's Lip Mist in Rosy Red. Lip Mist's are Burberry's version of a sheer lipstick. I personally love sheer lipsticks and much prefer them to a normal lipstick. I don't do nudes they make me look like a corpse, I need a bit of colour but I don't want to look like Ive made too much of an effort if you know what I mean ;) So what I'm trying to say is, a sheer lipstick is perfect for me! Rosy Red is surprisingly pigmented and by far my favourite colour in the line.

Now onto mascara and I need to share with you my brilliant find! My Maybelline mascara love affair is still in full swing and I have always wanted to try Full 'N Soft but you cant get it here in the UK.

Well thank the lord for eBay, I found this little beauty for £3.99 and let me tell you its everything I hoped it would be. A lot of the time mascaras are given such ridiculous names but in Full 'N Soft's case its name couldn't be truer. This really defines your lashes but still gives volume and length and I love how it makes your lashes look naturally fuller and not caked and clumped together. 

The last of my new discoveries is Dior's, Diorshow Maximiser Lash Plumping Serum. I'd seen this pop up in a few YouTube videos and it peaked my interest. Its basically a primer for your eyelashes, which you apply before your mascara. Now I was a bit wary of this at first and wasn't expecting the best results but I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. I definitely notice a difference when using this and I also think it makes my mascara last longer. I have only used it a few times though, but so far so good.

See what I mean about natural looking lashes, no clumps here!

A Week In Nails Part 1

Left to Right: Barry M Gelly 'Green Berry', OPI 'Stranger Tides', Topshop 'Celestial', OPI 'You're Such a Budapest"

This will sound rather tragic but painting my nails is probably one of my favourite things to do! Its just a habit, if I'm watching TV I like to paint my nails. In fact it annoys me when my nails are painted because then I can't paint them! You will not see me without nail polish on, ever. As I go through so many colours in a week I thought it would be fun to share with you.

 Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Green Berry - This colour is amazingly bright and shiny (hardly surprising given the name). This is the first Barry M Gelly I have tried and I really am impressed by the colour, only thing I did notice when applying was this has a much thicker consistency then normal. Making it harder to spread and I can see this getting gloopy quite quickly. None the less the colour is awesome and for £3.99 its a bargain.

OPI Stranger Tides - Hmmm can't make up my mind on this one, I want to love it I really do. If only it was a little brighter! I think its a grower!

 Topshop Celestial - One of my all time favourite colours, whenever I wear this I get compliments and strangely a lot of them are from males. Now when has a man ever complimented you on your nail polish colour! This is the brightest baby blue, and the formula is equally amazing, completely opaque in two coats. An alternative for this colour would be Barry M's Blue Berry. P.S Do you love my Babe mug? ;)

OPI You're Such a Budapest - From the new OPI Euro Centrale collection, this nail polish is a big disappointment for me, it looks amazing in the bottle, but is surprisingly sheer as you can probably see in the picture. You would definitely need to apply three coats of this.

And yes my nails have been freshly painted tonight ready for a new week :)

I Heart Drugstore Makeup Tag

I have enjoyed watching lots of the 'I heart drugstore makeup' videos on YouTube recently and as I have been using a lot more drugstore makeup myself recently, I thought it would be fun to do my own.

I know most UK beauty bloggers have adopted the term 'drugstore' but if you are unfamiliar its basically just an American term for high street. Cheaper makeup brands you would find in Boots, Superdrug etc.

 1. What is your favourite drugstore makeup brand?

Maybelline. I bloody love Maybelline, I love how American it is (Maybe shes born with it, maybe its Maybelline!) From the days of those stick foundations when Sarah Michelle Gellar was cover girl I can honestly say it is the one of the few drugstore brands that genuinely excites me. I will always be attracted to the Maybelline counter first and their products are amazing quality. Their mascara's are amazing, their dream lumi touch highlighting concealer beats every high end concealer I have tried and they consistently release new and exciting products such as the colour tattoos. Long wearing cream eye shadows, which equal MAC Paint Pots in terms of pigmentation and wear time. I have two of these in the shades On and On Bronze and Permanent Taupe.

I also think Maybelline has a fair price point, unlike my runner up for this category, Revlon. Now I love Revlon but their prices here in the UK are verging on MAC prices.

Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoos: On and On Bronze (left) Permanent Taupe (right)

2. What are your favourite face, lip and cheek products?

Face:

I don't know if this counts as cheating by having numerous face products, but I make my own rules ;)

Foundation

There are 2 drugstore foundations I can honestly say I love and one is a very recent purchase. 

No7 Instant Radiance Foundation - This foundation is a beauty! When No7 reformulated their foundation line I absent mindedly swatched this on the back of my hand. It was only when I got home and saw what a beautiful finish it had left that I drove back (later in the week, I'm not that tragic) and bought it! This truly does give you instant radiance and with an expanded colour range you're bound to find a shade that suits you.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation - This is a very new product to me but I have worn it almost every single day since I got it and I think its beats a lot of higher end foundations I own. Like the No7 this leaves my skin with a lovely glow but also a good amount of coverage,

Concealer

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer - I rave about this enough but this is an amazing under eye concealer. It was in my top 12 of 2012 makeup products and I truly love it.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Highlighting Pen - Like the L'Oreal foundation this is also new to me but again I had to feature it because its amazing and rivalling my beloved Maybelline! Compared to the Maybelline I would say this has less coverage but more highlight, good if you are a fan of the Kim K look.

Powder

Maybelline Fit Me Powder - A really good powder that has a nice amount of coverage and controls oil, everything you want a powder to do basically. Plus I love the packaging.

Lip

Again I may have cheated by having a few different options here but its for your benefit I promise :)

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in "Belle" - These lipsticks by 17 are amazing, they have recently repackaged them so they no longer come in this, some might say slightly childish bright blue bullet. The lipstick itself is amazing and I own almost every shade, they are that good (and cheap!) Belle is my favourite as its a really beautiful, natural nude. These lipsticks are more like a glossy balm, so they feel amazing and leave a lovely finish. The only downside of this is their lasting power.

Revlon Lip Butter in "Candy Apple" - I think we can all agree that we love Revlon Lip Butters! Candy Apple is my favourite, its a sheer, glossy red that I wear when I want to feel like Zooey Deschanel!

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in "Plum Jam" - Not a big Soap and Glory fan, just going to put that out there but this gloss stick is amazing, more specifically the colour is amazing I love it! 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Liner in "Spice" - One of my favourite ever lip liners, I use this to fill in my whole lip and it looks deeevine!

Left to right: Belle, Candy Apple, Plum Jam and Spice

Blush

Blushes and eye shadows are where I really feel drugstore makeup falls down. Its hard to find a decent blush in the drugstore that has any pigmentation at all, or is any other colour then a very generic pink but these two blushes are fighting back!

Sleek Santorini Blush - An amazing bright, bright pink. This is something I would expect to see from NARS, A-maaazing!

Topshop Neon Rose Blush - I did debate if I could include Topshop make up in this tag, but I don't see why not as its on the high street! Topshop along with Sleek are the only brands that stand out in this category for me so I felt I had to include them. Neon Rose is a gorgeous bright coral and I love the cream to powder finish of Topshop blushes, it makes them very long wearing.

3. Least favourite product?

This is going to be controversial but its the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. I just don't get why everyone raves about this, I don't get it at all! For a start it claims to be transparent but its not, it leaves my skin cakey and very dry looking. One last point, I absolutely hate the packaging. Sorry, NOT SORRY!

 4. What is the best makeup bargain?

Miners Tin o' Tints! I am obsessed with mine, again it was another product that I featured in my top 12 of 2012 and I haven't lost any love for it. Tin o' Tints are little tins of tinted lip balm, I have the colour Cherry and I think it is beautiful! I seriously love this colour and if I could have my lips permanently tinted this way I would do it! For £2.99 you can't go wrong! Miners is now sold online and I really recommend you give these a go.

 5. What is your favourite underdog product?

I struggled with this question and a lot of the products I would have used such as the Tin o'Tint I have already used for previous answers, so I'm going to go with Topshop nail varnishes. Now I'm not saying for a second that no one ever talks about Topshop nail varnishes but I don't think they get enough recognition for how good they are. My favourite nail varnish brand is OPI and Topshop is easily comparable with them. Topshop nail varnishes beat 99% of Essie nail varnishes hands down and they come in a huge array of current, on trend colours. If you could only pick one, make it Celestial!

AWOL (Left) Celestial (Right)

 6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?

L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic. As K Stew said to R Patz, I love you, I love you, I love you 

But 

£10.99! 

7. Show your best drugstore dupes.

Revlon's Matte lipsticks are amazing and if you are a fan of Please Me or Pink Plaid from MAC then you need to try Pink Pout from Revlon

Left to right: Revlon Pink Pout, MAC Pink Plaid, MAC Please Me

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?

See question 3 (YES ITS RIMMEL STAY MATTE POWDER!)

Reasonably Restrained MAC Haul

The moral of my previous post was, never pick up a basket in Boots. The moral of this post will be never go to MAC!

So I picked up a few bits, I am terrible at MAC when I'm asked what I want, I list off what I came for and then I always tend to throw in a couple of random items that I did not need or come for, but its as if I have no control over my mouth when this happens!
This time it was two brushes, first the 217 eyeshadow brush. Believe it or not I have never owned this brush before. This is because I have the copycat Sigma version. In fact I have two of them as I got sent a free one on both occasions I ordered a Sigma brush. Anyway I love them and use them every time I apply eyeshadow, so I wanted to see if the MAC version was better.
If you could only own one eyeshadow brush, I think this would have to be it, I love that you can pack on colour but its also a great blending brush. If you want a cheaper alternative definitely go for the Sigma version as its an equally amazing brush.

The second brush is the 130 duo fibre brush. Again I have never owned a MAC duo fibre brush before and was a bit gutted that I missed out on the Mineralize Holiday Brush kit at the end of last year. I asked the artist at MAC what one she would recommend for foundation and she suggest the 130. Now initially, I was like hmmmm not what I had in mind but because I had asked and didn't want to appear rude (so English!) I got it and I'm so glad I did. I like the fact that its quite small so it fits in all those awkward areas like between the eyebrows, under the eyes and so on. Also because the bristles are quite short you get more coverage but it still blends your foundation out beautifully. I have used this brush everyday since I got it, so I may have to ask for some more recommendations next time I visit MAC.

The two things that I actually went for were Studio Sculpt Foundation and Dainty Blush. So far I'm not really sure how I feel about Studio Sculpt, I love the gel like consistency but I'm not sure about the finish yet. I think its because I used it with the Rimmel Stay Matte powder which I was not a fan of. I'm definitely going to try this again, as I do think it is a really nice foundation, I just need to work out which powder to wear with it!

Dainty is a really pretty, pink Mineralize blush with some shimmer. Its quite subtle which I like as its one of those blushes you don't really need to think about as it goes with any makeup look. Plus if you slap loads on, its not the end of the world and lets be honest who really applies their makeup in natural light on a Monday morning (or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday for that matter!)

If you see me at your local MAC counter please make sure I don't buy anything else!

This is what happens when you pick up a basket in Boots

Note to self, don't pick up a basket in Boots! Although I did have £20 worth of Advantage points to use up so its not all bad!

As I mentioned in a previous post I have really been enjoying trying more affordable drugstore makeup lately, and have found some real gems!

I had wanted to try L'Oreal's new foundation, Lumi Magique. Anything that promises glowy skin peaks my interest! L'Oreal had an offer on so I also got their new highlighting concealer from the same Lumi Magique range. I would really recommend both products, I have been particularly impressed with the foundation and really like the finish it leaves on my skin. I'll be sure to do a face of the day with both of these but they have my stamp of approval.

I picked up a couple of products from Rimmel which have received a lot of hype lately. Rimmel Stay Matte powder has received such good reviews, that I wanted to try it but I can't say I'm that impressed. For me it was too matte and cakey, nope I will be sticking with my beloved Laura Mercier Mineral Powder.
Next up another hugely hyped product, Rimmels Apocalips. Apocalips are a lip lacquer, designed to be long wearing but provide intense colour and leave a glossy finish. I have the colour Celestial and again I have to be honest I really wasn't that impressed. I do really like the colour but I didn't actually find this to be particularly long wearing at all, plus it left my lips feeling dry.
I did also picke up Rimmels Match Perfection Foundation, I haven't tried this yet so no more negative Rimmel reviews....yet!

I had a voucher for £2 off any Essie nail varnish and I can't tell you how long I stood at the Essie stand umming and ahhing. In the end I opted for Luxedo and a fine choice I made too. Luxedo is practically black but in the light you can see the burgundy in it. For reference this is darker then Essie's Wicked.

I picked up Maybelline's newest mascara, The Rocket and an oldie but a goodie, The Falsies. I have already reviewed these in my Maybelline mascara's post

Another product which I mentioned in more detail in my Everyday face post is the La Roche Posay Hydreane Legere Moisturising cream for Sensitive Skin. So pleased I picked this up, I am really impressed with it.

Also thrown in the basket were some new lashes, Oh Honey! from the Katy Perry Eyelure range and another pair of natural looking brown toned lashes from Eyelure and last but not least some OPI nail varnish remover. I had run out of my Zoya Remove Plus a while ago and didn't want to fork out the money to buy it again so had been using just a bog standard 99p remover but it was really wrecking my nails and they became very brittle. I tried OPI's remover and my nails really improved, this is now my second bottle.

So the moral of this haul is....don't pick up a basket in Boots!

My MAC Eyeshadow Palettes & Top 10 Favourites

I love seeing other people's MAC Palettes so I thought I would share mine with you all. This is also an excuse for me to have a mini rant about the new MAC palettes. MAC released these new palettes at the end of last year. They now have a clear lid so you can easily see what your palette contains without having to open it up, for me that is the only plus side of the new design. Before, you could buy a MAC Palette and it would come with either a blush or eyeshadow insert for free. I always removed the inserts, as with the insert you can fit 15 eyeshadows in your palette and without, 26! For me that's a no brainer, not only money wise but also because I don't want to have tens of thousands of MAC palettes lying around! 

Now the palettes have been designed to have various inserts, including inserts for lipsticks and foundation. My real complaint is the fact you now have to pay for the insert, so these new palettes will cost you double the money. Now if you're like me and don't use the inserts you may think that's not an issue, but that brings me onto my second rant! The new palettes are much deeper and because they are deeper, without the inserts your eyeshadows are not secure. All of my eyeshadows have magnets on the bottom of them but even so they keep falling and Woodwinked is the latest casualty. There's no way you could travel with these, effectively forcing you to buy the inserts, gah! And one more thing, without the insert, the new palettes only fit 24 eyeshadows instead of 26. OK I'm sorry rant over, but I just wanted to forewarn you in case you were considering swapping all of your old palettes for the new style.

Top row (left to right); Swiss Chocolate, Brule, Wedge, Expensive Pink, Gleam, Shroom
Second row (left to right); Soba, Woodwinked, Texture, Honesty, Retrospeck, Omega
Third row (left to right); All That Glitters, Saddle, Kid, Cork, Moleskin, Amber Lights
Bottom row (left to right); Patina, Naked Lunch, Quarry, Embark, Bronze, Copperplate

Top row (left to right); Satin Taupe, Carbon, De-Vil, Scene, Coppering, Sable, Antiqued

Second row (left to right); Vapour, Evening Aura, Charcoal Brown, Coquette, Cranberry, Mulch

Third row (left to right); Sweet Joy, Mystery, Mythology, Club, Red Brick, Romp, Vainglorious

Bottom row (left to right); Nylon, Paradiso, Sweet Lust, Rice Paper, Seedy Pearl, Crystal Avalanche

And out of all those here are my top 10 favourites;

Brule, Wedge, All That Glitters, Woodwinked, Romp (or Bronze both very similar!), Expensive Pink, Swiss Chocolate, Saddle, Naked Lunch and Texture.

Everyday face featuring Rachel K CC Cream

This is my everyday makeup look that I have been doing for the past month or so, I love it because it features the majority of my all time favourite products. Theres also a couple of new products which Im sure are going to make it onto that list too.

My first new product is a moisturiser which I think is a gem! My skin was getting dry and once I had put my foundation and powder on in the morning I felt it looked even worse. I had a bit of a Boots splurge which I will share with you later, but this was one of the products I picked up on a bit of a whim. La Roche Posay Hydreane Legere, I had never heard of it, but for some reason it peaked my interest and Im so glad I got it. As soon as you put this on your face its like instant relief, it feels so moisturing, soothing and cooling on the skin. I also like that its not so heavy that I have to wait ages to apply my makeup, it sinks in pretty quickly and just leaves your skin feeling bloody heavenly! I have been using it for about a week and I can already tell a difference, I think this will definitely be my moisturiser of choice for the future. Oh and I have the one for sensitive/combination skin, it also comes in a dry skin formula.

Once my moisturiser has sinked in I then apply Rachel K CC Cream. This is my second new purchase and equally exciting! I am a big fan of LisaLisaD1 on YouTube and she has been raving about Rachel K for months, her makeup always looks amazing and I have found some on my very favourite products from her recommendations so I was eager to try. This is hard to find in the UK, I ordered mine from eBay and it took a few weeks to come, as it came all the way from Asia. I know Lisa is also selling the range on her website now. The CC cream comes in three colours; original, neutral and sunkissed. I have original which is also the palest of the three. So CC stands for colour control, and like BB Creams, CC creams claim to have a huge list of benefits, but Rachel K CC cream is completely different from any BB creams I have tried. Most Western BB creams feel and act the same way as a tinted moisturiser, this is completely different. First of all its much dryer, feeling more like a primer on the skin. The Rachel K also has more coverage it really evens out and brightens your skin tone, leaving you with the perfect base to apply the rest of your makeup. I would not recommend wearing this alone, but using it as you would a foundation primer. Also this stuff is amazing at making your makeup last all day.

On top of my Rachel K I have been using my beloved Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Natural Beige. This is another product I purchased based on Lisa's recommendation and it truly is one of my holy grail products (this is my third pot and counting!) Mineral makeup has never appealed to me before and I have never tried a Bare Minerals foundation but the Laura Mercier, just gives my skin the nicest colour and glow which I cannot achieve with a foundation. Honestly if I could recommend only one makeup product it would be this.

For bronzer I have been using the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer, I love that this is matte and it gives my skin a lovely warm glow. I also have been skipping eyeshadow and just running this through my crease with a fluffy brush. I love how this looks, plus it saves you faffing about with eyeshadow in the morning! I haven't really been wearing eyeliner lately, but I could never go without mascara! From my previous post below you can see how much i have been loving my Maybelline mascara's so I just whack on about 10 coats of which ever one is nearest to me!

For my brows, two products from Illamasqua that you can't go wrong with! Their powder eyeshadow in Boomerang is a great natural match for my brows and I just fill them in with an angled brush, then brush through with their brow and lash gel which is amazing, trust me your eyebrows wont budge!

Finally lips, this has been the lip combination I wore for every event over Christmas! Work Christmas Party, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and a lot of days in between! The lipstick is English Rose by Burberry which I featured in my Top 12 of 2012 and the liner is Natural Beige by Dior (again another Lisa recommendation). I have come to the conclusion with Burberry lipsticks that you honestly only need one, they are such beautiful, natural lip colours that once you find the colour that suits you just stick to it. I know I will be sticking with English Rose.

Let me know if you have tried any of these and any recommendations you have. Also I think I must be one of the only people who loves to see pictures of used makeup, it fascinates me. As you can tell, Im no neat freak ;)