Sampling testing #1

Hey Everyone,

I hope all is well! This post (as you can tell from the title) is about samples! As a beauty addict, I am all about the samples! Especially if you are considering investing in a pricey item :p 

I myself have accumulated several samples over the past couple of months :p In fact I now have a sample bowl! 

Today I pulled out a wonderful little sample from Giorgio Armani Beauty - I think I got this when I purchased the Maestro Foundation :) (I really need to do a review of that :P).

It is the Fluid Sheer in number 3, which is a gorgeous bronze highlighting product.

















Honestly, the picture below does not do it justice! It is lovely and sheer - gave a wonderful bronze sheen to the skin! Even with my pale skin it did not look too orange.

I will certainly be saving this for when the weather is nicer again!

Would I purchase full size? If I won the lottery tomorrow - I would :P, but then I'd buy a lot of things. The only reason I would wait to purchase is it's hefty price tag - £35.50 :O! I think I'd have to try some other brands before investing in this one, but for now I shall just enjoy the sample!

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!
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#1 Face of the Day

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all are well and all had a fantastic christmas! I feel as though I'm always making excuses for my lack of blogs - but again, I'm sorry for lack of regularity; I have been skiing and at home with my family (that's a good enough excuse - right?) Also, warning in advance, my posts won't be back to normal until my exams are finished in January! However, we all know what revision is like and I am the Queen of Procrastination :P So, I'm hoping to put up a few odd blogs here and there! 

Let's get started! As, you can probably guess I had a bit of make up given to me over Christmas so I wanted to do a look which shows a few bits that I got :)

So, as you can see this look is pretty much the same as what I do everyday! You will also notice that I dyed my hair! Yay! I've wanted this colour for sooooo long and I love it so much! 

I haven't included all my make up in this photo - just the new editions to my collection.

Starting on the left - I managed to grab these super cute Shu uemura "S-curler" in the Selfridges beauty sale; they are really awesome as they allow you to curl every single lash! Only down side is that it takes slightly longer to curl!

Further along the top there is the Giorgio Armani Maestro fusion make up - I've had my eye on this foundation for a long time and I finally caved! Except a review coming soon!

Next, there is the Dr Lipp original nipple balm for lips. I decided to try this cult product after my friend Allie (Living life in Docs) recommended it to me, after she had it as a sample in a birch box :P So far I like it - slightly on the thicker side though but it is very moisturiser for the lips.

Below that, there is the Alexa Chung for eyeko set; which I am in love with! The mascara really lengthens my lashes and doesn't move all day -  but is surprisingly easy to remove! Then the eyeliner is really great - it stays on all day and like the mascara, is easy to remove. But what I really love about it is that it doesn't make my eyelashes crispy after applying it! 

On the bottom line; there is this super cute butterfly box :D Just the packaging makes me happy! From this set from Paul and Joe, I used the lilac powder eyeshadow shade in the certain of the eye (to tie in the purple in my hair :P!) It is a very subtle shade - that adds just a hint of shimmery lilac; this will brighten up my eyes.

Then finally, saved the best until last, I was lucky enough to receive the NARS eye and cheek palette in At first sight. This palette is stunning and I love that all the shades are extremely wearable. For today, I used the bottom left eyeshadow shade in the crease and the top left shade to highlight the inner corner. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the blush I used! I used Illamasqua's Powder blush in Hussy - these blushes are extremely pigmented, so you only need the smallest amount! 

I'd love to know what make up goodies you got for Christmas! Please comment below :P

I hope you enjoyed this post and you are having a lovely day!

Emma 

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Autumn/Winter Lipsticks!

Hey Everyone,

It is that time of year, when everyone is wearing darker clothes (which I do all year round anyway!), woolly knits and scarves, and hats etc. All those good things about colder months! So, I thought I'd do my first seasonal post - Autumn/ Winter Lipsticks! Yay! :D

 WARNING! This post contains a lot of photos of my face! (Sorry in advance about the quality - I'm doing my best with the camera I have!) So there are 5 lipsticks that I'd like to talk about.

Firstly, there are my 2 favourite nudes :) I love nude lipsticks in general, so technically isn't really seasonal. But I'm including them anyway, you can never have too many nudey/pink lipsticks!

Let's jump in with the lipstick on the right - this is the most expensive lipstick I own (which I got as a present); Tom Ford Blush Nude. This is a seriously creamy lipstick, makes it very comfortable to wear. However, it can sit in lines on the lips; so you have to make sure your lips are hydrated. It also helps to rub it into the lips, which also makes it last longer.

Here is a close up with it on the lips and then on the right, the lipstick incorporated with the whole face. As you can see it is a slightly pink nude.

Second Nude is Giorgio Armani in 103 - I used this in my everyday make up routine. I love this nude; it is not as thick as the Tom Ford so it's staying power is not as good. However, it is still very comfortable to wear and is that lipstick you can put on without a mirror. This is a more peachy nude.

Here is what Autumn/Winter make up is all about! Winter is definitely the time to get out your dark, bold lipsticks out! These are but a few of my favourites.

I'll start with the most wearable - middle - Chanel Rouge Allure 116 Envoutante. This is my favourite one for an everyday autumn look, where you want to play up the lips but at the same time want it subtle. It is so soft on the lips and you can build it up if you want something more. It also has a faint raspberry scent (which I really like!)

So it is no secret to anyone that I love MAC lipsticks! I love the smell, the range of formulas are great and they tend to have good staying power (especially the stronger colours!)

This first one is MAC's rebel lipstick (one on the right) - which has been talked about a lot on the internet. When I went into MAC and said I was looking for a nice Plumy lipstick, this is the first one that was shown to me. As soon as I tried it I was sold! As you can see from the images, it is slightly pinky - which I quite like and makes a change from the more traditional plums like the Chanel one.






Finally, MAC's hang up lipstick (one on the left). This is not so talked about on the internet, which surprises me as it is such a lovely deep, plumy red. It is another one I like to wear as a stain; it is a very thick consistency.


I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma
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Everyday Make up Routine

Hey Everyone,

Remember how I said I would do one post a week minimum, I believe that will very quickly turn to 3 or 4 times a week hehe :) I'm just so excited about what I want to talk about! :P I apologise for the quality of the pictures, I shall be sorting out my lighting soon!

I thought the next logical post would be to show you my every day make up look, so you can get a feel for my style. Though having said that, my day and evening looks can be very similar - I'm not shy when it comes to make up ;)

This is where I do my make up every morning before uni, and just for you, I made sure it was relatively tidy. And yes that is a fridge on the end - I have to have somewhere to put my fresh face masks and eye packs ;)

Don't I just look so "fresh" at 7:45 a.m. (excuse the sarcasm :P) As you can see my daily face is pretty natural (apart from the eyeliner) and I like to let my natural skin show through a bit :) 

Primer is essential for me; I have combination skin with an oily T-zone. So, I find a primer really helps my make up last all day. I'm currently using the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Oil Free, I got this as a gift for my birthday in January and I haven't looked back since. It is an amazing primer, just wish it had a better price tag - £28 :/ but having said that I will definitely be repurchasing. Then for eye primer I've actually been using the MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre. Now, I was never a fan of these paint pots until I tried this one, I believe it's because this is more matte so provides the perfect base for my eye shadows.

My every day foundation for the past 2 months has been the Laura Mercier Tinter Moisturizer - Oil free in the shade Nude. Don't let the name fool you! This is not your average tinted moisturizer, I would definitely describe it as more of a light coverage foundation. It hasn't broken me out and I would say it is a natural finish, letting your skin show through. Then for those problem areas (nose, chin and odd blemish) I use Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer in the shade Light 2. Again, this has been a staple in my make up collection for over a year and I wouldn't be caught without it! Then for those under eye bags I use Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque. I know these are very obvious choice concealers (seeing how much they are talked about on the internet) but they are honestly amazing, and do their job so well! Though with the Bobbi Brown concealer, you only need a very small amount and remember to powder it or it might crease a bit!

Let's face it (pun intended), one of the focal points of my face are my eyebrows! I've been blessed with caterpillar-like brows, which can be slightly scary at times, BUT I love them! So I show them some love with the Make Up Forever Aqua Brow in shade 30, I know people say I don't need this but I have a bit of sparseness through the arch of my brows and then to set that in place I use MAC clear Brow Set (another must-have for those with thick brows!)

So, for eye shadows I've been using Urban Decay's Naked Basics Palette - which is AMAZING and so cute :P I use the third shade (I always go from the left), Walk of Shame, all over the lid. Then, I use the fourth shade, Naked 2, through the crease and then I use the tiniest about of Faint (fifth shade) in the outer corner. To finish off, I used the first shade, Venus, as an inner corner highlight.

Then, I go onto eyeliner! My favourite part :D I'm currently using the Stila Stay all day waterproof liquid eye liner. I did an in depth review on this product if you'd like to check that out :). To finish off the eyes I used Maybelline the Rocket Volume Express Waterproof mascara. As you can tell I like waterproof products, because I just feel they last so much longer on me and I do tend to get oily eyelids.

Nearly there - I promise ;)

When I started writing this post I had no idea actually how many products I use on a daily basis! And to make it worse I use 3 cheek products! The first is to contour, I use MAC Harmony blush which is a matte neutral shade, it's a little bit warm for me I think but I do really like it.  Then for blush I'm using Daniel Sandler Watercolour fluid blusher in Cherub, which is a really pretty pink shade. To highlight I'm using the Balm Cosmetics Mary-lou Manizer (such a cute name!) and it honestly is the best powder highlighter I have EVER used! If you need a highlighter I totally recommend this one! 

To finish off the face, I set it using MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in the shade Medium, this is a cult make up product. It's a lovely face powder, with a bit of extra coverage and a natural soft finish. Last but not least...lipstick. I love a good nude/pink (always on the look out for new lip products) and I love the Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani in the shade 103, which is just a stunning nudey pink. Moisturizing to the lips, not very long lasting but what nude lipstick really is?

I know that was a very long blog post but it appears I use A LOT of products :P

I hope you have a lovely day,

Emma 

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