Expose and Be Legendary

Once again I accidentally slipped, tripped, and fell into Boots and landed at the Smashbox counter... and accidentally spent money I don't have.. but I just couldn't resist! I originally went in there to browse for a coral lipstick. I was after one which was quite matte but yet glossy and moisturizing, and lucky me! I found one. I'd never tried a Smashbox lipstick before and I'd never heard anything negative about them so I figured I had nothing to lose. The MUA there offered to apply the lipstick, and so she did. Even as it was being applied I could tell I was going to love it.

The colour was beautiful and honestly, exactly what I had been looking for. It feels quite thick but in a nice way and it feels great on the lips! The colour I bought is Melondrama. It's a shade which makes my everyday make-up look so much more feminine pretty and colourful, and I can't wait to try it with a really neutral smoky eye.

Not only am I pleased with the colour, though, I also can't believe how beautiful the packaging is. I'm not sure what its made out of, it just looks so much classier than the usual plastic packaging that most lipsticks have. I would really recommend a lippy lover to buy one of these lipsticks, you will not regret, I promise!

I honestly can't even make up and excuse for my second impulse buy... I mean, I was contemplating on one of the three Urban Decay Naked palette's, so it wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for me to have bought an eye-shadow palette, but when I saw Smashbox's Full Exposure palette I just absolutely had to have it! One of the things that really caught my eye was the fact that for every shimmery eye-shadow there is, there's a matte one to match it. Now don't get me wrong I love shimmery eye-shadows, but the fall out is such a pain in the butt! Especially when I'm only wearing it in the day time, I hate to catch myself in a mirror and see that my face is covered in inappropriate glitter. It's a fairly neutral palette, ranging from browns, to nudes, to black. Don't get me wrong, a Naked palette isn't out of the picture, but I am so excited to start using the beautifully pigmented shades.

It also includes a brush that is actually usable, not like the ones you usually get with palettes that you end up throwing away. The packaging on this product is also just as beautifully presented, simple yet classy, I honestly just LOVE IT.

Full Exposure retails for £36 - Be Legendary Lipstick retails for £15.50

I really think Smashbox could be my new favorite make-up brand, what do you think to Smashbox products and are there any items you would recommend? 

xxx

Benefit Buys!

So after a short and sweet shift at work yesterday I decided to pop into Boots, just for a quick browse. Obviously a quick browse turned into an impulse buy, as after only being in the store for a matter of seconds I got caught up on the Benefit counter. After standing there gormlessly for at least 40 minutes, umming and awwing I decided on 3 of their products, products that I didn't necessarily need, but I most definitely deserved..

After purchasing an Ilamasqua concealer last month for my under-eyes, I found that it just wasn't that great. It was as if it tried to repel my face and after a couple of hours wear, it would tend to crumble and make my face look dry and that's never a good look. So once again I was on the look out for yet another under-eye concealer. I spoke to one of the Benefit Babes and explained I had combination skin-type and was after a concealer that would conceal my flaws and brighten my face. Right away she recommended Fake Up. I was a little hesitant at first as it has an extremely dewy finish, but as always my girl instincts kicked in and I absolutely had to try it... then obviously I had to buy it.

To my surprise I absolutely love it! It is incredibly moisturizing and gives my under-eyes a healthy glow, covers my dark circles and straight up makes me look fabulous! I applied my make-up at around 12pm today and now, at 22:09, it hasn't budged and still looks great. Impressed.

The second product I decided to buy was Pore-fessional. Previously I was using a Smashbox primer (which clearly impressed me that much I forgot the name), but I didn't really notice any real difference when wearing it, I didn't feel like it made my make-up stay put for any longer than without. I figured I would try Pore-fessional, though, because I heard it is an absolute beauty must-have... and I absolutely agree! Right away I saw a difference, especially on my T-zone area, my pores were minimised to the maximum. It also made putting on my Mac Studio Fix Foundation feel like an absolute breeze. It felt effortless. And after a long day at work, and a meal with a friend, my make-up still feels and looks great.

I then went on to nosey at the lipsticks they had in store. I had been after a berry shade for a while, and when I saw Hydra-Smooth Fling Thing I instantly knew it was the one! It feels so light and so creamy on my lips and really does live up to it's name and makes my lips feel super hydrated! It's amazing.

I put all three products to good use today and they all exceeded my expectations. Although they're a little pricey, it's worth it. You get what you pay for...and I figured if I'm going to pursue my dream to become a make-up artist, I need to try as many products as possible.

Here a cheeky little photo of my make-up today. My simple everyday look.

xxx

Not so New Year

This blog has perhaps come a little to late, as it's already February, yet a little too early considering it's only my second post and I already want to get to the personal stages..

Although 2013 wasn't a bad year for me, it wasn't great either. I spent a lot of my time moping around, feeling sorry for myself, being insecure and wanting to change for the better, yet I had absolutely zero motivation. What an absolute cliche, I promise this isn't a "New Year, New Start" blog, but it's such a cliche to say it's a cliche, isn't it?

As 2013 flew by, Christmas passed and so did the New Year, I just felt like it was time to improve, and already I'm a step closer to achieving my first goal, losing weight! (Yet another cliche..) Although I have a long way to go, I am 9 pounds lighter than I was when January rolled around and I am beyond proud of myself. Not only do I feel better about myself, but I feel better within myself too! I'm more positive and motivated and I am SO ready to pursue the things I'm desperate to succeed in.

I don't want to say too much about all of my plans for the coming months, as I am a realist (basically a pessimist in denial), and I know things don't happen over night. I just don't want to look silly if, let's say, this time next year I'm still not doing what I'm so desperate to do. Not that it's anything to be embarrassed about, I probably would be embarrassed.

My main focus for the year is to carry on losing weight, preferably another stone, and find myself a brand new full-time job! I'm so over working part-time in retail, it's boring and it's not even in the profession I want to be in, I guess I cant complain as I am earning an nice amount of money each month and it is paying for my clothes and make-up splurges, but I just need a new environment, new people, new opportunities! 

Another thing is that I definitely do want to blog more, too, I love to write, it's a passion of mine and I'd say it's one of the few things I'm good at... chatting! Hopefully not too many blogs will be like this (long and boring with too many open/close brackets), but I am going to try my absolute hardest to blog every day, whether it's a haul, or motd/ootd sort of thing. I don't tend to have much else to do with my time, as its far too cold to leave the house for more than an hour at a time..

To be quite honest when I started this blog I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it, and to be honest I still don't, twitter just didn't have enough characters.

So, this year so far hasn't been too shabby, after all, I achieved a NY resolution for the first time in my life, and now I'm ready and willing to build my future. I'm far too young to be settling for something I don't want to do, and I have so much time to work my way up, and hopefully one day, I'll be where I want to be, doing what I want to do, and I pray I'll be doing all that with a sexy little bod... hopefully.

Did you stick to your "NYR"? It's not too late.

Mini Make-up Haul

Today I came home from work to find a small package waiting for me.. My long awaited Illamasqua make-up! So I figured what better way to start off a blog than with a mini haul.

After seeing a post on the Illamasqua Facebook page announcing there was an extra 10% off sale products, I knew I had to have a ponder, and I just couldn't resist an absolute bargain.

Over the last year I have tried countless varieties of make-up products to try and find items that suit me best, but unfortunately I am yet to find a fabulous under eye concealer to brighten up my face so I decided to give Illamasqua's concealer in 105 a try, I figured at just £5.00, I have nothing to lose. The reason I decided to go for a concealer that isn't necessarily for the under eyes is simply because the last handful of concealers I have bought have been too cakey and tend to leave a really bad crease. Although I haven't been able to use it yet, I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes with my make-up for work tomorrow!

The second item I decided to purchase was the beautifully pigmented Hussy blusher. I've heard great things about Illamasqua's blushers and I haven't been let down. A little goes a long way, and it has a lovely sheer yet prominent finish, just how I like it! And at just £7.50 it has definitely replaced Mac's Melba in my every day make-up bag!

And lastly, I ordered Underworld, also for a small amount of £7.50. It was a risk because I am super picky about lipsticks as they are an absolute must have for my every day face but I went for it anyway. Unfortunately I wasn't too impressed by this product, when I tried it on earlier today I found that it is really sheer and takes quite a few layers to actually see a nice lilac tone. I like my lipsticks heavy and bold and Underworld just doesn't do it for me sadly. When I wear this I will probably be putting it over a dark plum lipstick so that it just gives my lips depth and shine, but if you're someone who likes a subtle lipstick I would definitely recommend!

Besides the fact that the delivery service was an absolute nightmare, taking a full 6 days for it to be dispatched it did finally arrive and I'd say it was worth the wait, and considering it is the sale period and standard delivery is free I guess I can't really complain! All in all I am really happy so far with my first purchase from Illamasqua and will definitely be having another browse come pay day.

What products would you recommend from the range to Unlock My Individuality?