My Lip Combo Of The Moment

I have been making a conscious effort recently, to change up my make up looks on a daily basis to get through the hoards of eyeshadow palettes that I have. One thing that always stays the same though is my lip combo, as I have the most perfect one for everyday use, or a night out for that matter.

I was drawn to Rimmel's Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob (£3.99) from the minute, I saw Amelia Liana say that it was a dupe for her favourite liner from Charlotte Tilbury, Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk. I have since gone through two tubes of it, because I am in love. It is literally the most perfect liner, creamy in consistency, which has led to me snapping it a fair few times whilst applying :( It glides on the lips likes a dream, is amazingly pigmented and although matte, doesn't dry out the lips what so ever. It is a gorgeous mauve pink shade that is perfect for that still, ever so popular Kylie Jenner lip. 

To tone down the matte from Eastend Snob, I go over it with MAC's High Stung (£15.50) this is a frost lipstick from MAC, that is absolutely my most worn lipstick in my whole collection. It is a rosy pink shade with silver shimmer running throughout it. Once again this has a great texture, nice and creamy and glides on the lips with ease. Paired with Eastend Snob it is an absolutely dream. A gorgeous mauve pink with a beautiful shimmery twist on the Kylie Jenner lip trend. This is my absolute go to combo for the moment and I can't see myself moving away from it anytime soon. Weather I am out with my baby, running errands, going to work or even out on date nights or with my girls, I always find myself coming back to this pair. And although it isn't anything extravagant or eye catching, if I am ever unsure of what lip colour to wear this is a fail safe way to give my makeup look that extra something.

What are your favourite lip combos at the minute?

Much Love,

Gemma xo.

MAC Lipstick Collection

Hi everyone first things first, apologies for not blogging throughout my pregnancy as promised! The whole thing seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye, and as usual life got on top of me and I never found the time to blog. But once again I'm back, this time with a brand new laptop and camera and I am raring to get my blogging game back on track. To ease myself back into this, I thought I'd start with a relatively simple one, and share with you my MAC Lipstick collection. I love reading this type of blogpost and although my collection is pretty small I hope you like reading about it none the less.

from top, left to right - new york apples, girl about town, lady danger, up the amp, candy yum yum, rebel, show orchid, high strung.

I think I bought my first MAC Lipstick about 4 years ago and my collection has slowly been growing ever since then. I love each and every one that I own and have many, many more on my 'to buy' list. I currently own 8 shades and have 4 different finishes, matte, satin, amplified and frost. I really like all the different finishes but 'amplified' is definitely my favourite, because they are so pigmented yet very creamy and easy to wear.

So onto the collection itself. First up is 'Show Orchid' which although isn't my most worn shade I think its my favourite. It's a gorgeous bright fuchsia pink with blue running through it with a lovely pearlescent finish to it making it slightly on the shimmery side. 

Girl About Town, was my first ever MAC lipstick and back then was the brightest lipstick I had, now however it seems quite dull in comparison to some of my other shades. Just like Show Orchid, Girl About Town is another bright fuchsia pink with blue undertones, but its slightly dark and less shimmery, still very beautiful and highly pigmented.

My last amplified lipstick is Up The Amp, a lovely pinky purple shade, which again has cool undertones, that make your teeth look nice and white. It is a very creamy lipstick that glides on easily and wears for a good 3 or 4 hours on me.

My only satin lipstick is the very well known and much loved Rebel, a deep violet colour that is very pinky on my lips. I always imagined Rebel to be a very deep purple, so I was quite disappointed when it turned out so pink on me, but to get that deep look I desired, I pair it with Sleeks lipliner in Venom, which makes it a gorgeous vampy plum colour.

Next are my two frost finishes, High Strung is definitely my most worn lipstick out of my collection, as it is so wearable for everyday. It is a gorgeous rosy pink with a silver shimmer to it, which makes it look slightly metallic which I love. For an everyday basis I pair this with Rimmels Eastend Snob lipliner, for a shimmery version of the cult 'Kylie Jenner lip'.

New York Apple is a gorgeous red with raspberry shimmer and it is another of my favourites. Although shimmery this is a very pigmented lipstick and lasts for around 4 to 5 hours. I wore this on Christmas Day and it was perfect for the festive season, although I do still put it on every now and again, now we are into the Spring/Summer season.

This next lipstick, Candy Yum Yum is one that I absolutely love but I haven't actually wore yet, as it is so matte it settles into every nook and cranny and my lips have just not been in the best condition for it as of late. Candy Yum Yum is another firm favourite with MAC lovers, it is a beautiful bright barbie pink that will look perfect in summer.

Finally I have Lady Danger and although this is another matte it doesn't settle into lines like Candy Yum Yum does and is very creamy, so I have worn this much more. Its is a beautiful orangey red which is again perfect for summer.

show orchid, girl about town, up the amp, rebel, high strung, candy yum yum, lady danger

So that's my MAC lipstick collection, sorry for the lack of lip swatches, but as I've said my lips aren't in a great condition at the minute so they would not be nice to look at, at all. Hopefully that nice arm shot is good enough for you and you can get a rough idea of what each shade looks like. Thank You for reading and I hope you enjoyed my first post back.

Much Love 

Gemma xo.

High End Make Up Haul

Hi Everyone. Back with a haul for you today. These are the more expensive make up bits I have purchased over the past few months.

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot 

I absolutley adore this product! It was part of Benefits Christmas Collection and I was lucky enough to get the very last one on the House Of Fraser website after hunting everywhere for it. It contains 6 very generous sized blushers, Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Hoola (Bronzer), Coralista and Rockateur. A 1.5g sample of Watts Up Highligher and a teeny tiny brush. All for the amazing prize of just £29.50. The Rockateur blush in here is actaully full size and would cost £23.50 alone so you can see just how great value for money this product really is. I know you can't get hold of it anymore but I couldn't not share it with you all.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

Next up is a old favourite of mine, MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NC15. I used to swear by this foundation but haven't actually purchased one for a number of years now. The coverage is excellent and the staying power is one of the best I have come across. Many people find this foundation too heavy and cakey but for my combination skin it is just right. The pump is actually one I bought a few years back hence why it looks so grubby but it works, so why buy a new one right? I bought this in the Selfridges sale for around £19 the price it was when I first started buying it!

Urban Decay Naked 2

   

I seem to be working my way backwards when it comes to the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. I started with Naked 3, I then decided this one was a must buy and I'm sure I will eventually purchase the original to complete the collection. Naked 2 is the more cool toned of the 3 palettes and suits my pale complexion perfectly. Since buying this, the 3rd palette which I absolutely adored has well and truely taken a back seat, and rarely sees the light of day. This one is much more wearable and is by far my favourite out of the 2. No.3 is definitely a speacial occasion kinda palette nowadays.

MAC 217

 

It's about time I got my hands on this blogger favourite. Gorgeously soft and perfect for blending eye shadow, I definitely understand the hype now. This brush is an absolute gem. Although I am rather disappointed of how wispy some of the bristles seem to have gone after a few washes, a few of them now point in different directions instead of being nice and straight. Very disappointing for the price of this little thing but I love it all the same, I'm just praying it doesn't get any worse.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Another firm blogger favourite, The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer is officially one of my favourite highlighters. Its the most perfect champagne highlight that looks great on my pale skin. It's super pigmented, you really only need a tiny touch of this to add a lovely glow to the face. This is going to last me a very long time. I'm still yet to even make a dent in it.

MAC Show Orchid & Rebel. YSL Rouge Pur Couture Le Mats 207

Last but certaintly not least, 3 beautiful lipsticks that I'm sure you have all heard of. MAC's Show Orchid is a very vivid fuschia pink with a somewhat blueish shimmer running through it. It is amazingly pigmented and I am so happy to finally own it after MAC made Pro Products more readily available to us here in the UK, once again I am in love! MAC Rebel is another much hyped product and once again for great reason. As with all MAC lipsticks I own the pigmentation is great and you only need one quick swipe for great colour pay off, and built up it is even more stunning. Rebel is a gorgeous berry colour that leans more towards pink on my lips. It is nothing like this picture that makes it look almost black, my apologies for that. And finally YSL Rouge Pur Couture Le Mats in 207 is a very on trend lipstick shade at the minute. Which I 100% purchased because I saw the beautiful Amelia Liana raving about it. It's a lovely dusky rose colour and is perfect for mimicing Kylie Jenner's famous 90's style pout. Although this is a matte shade it is not drying at all, it glides on and sits on the lips perfectly and feels like any other lipstick. Staying power is excellent and I very rarely need to top this up.

As you can tell I have been treating myself quite a lot since getting my new job and these are the more expensive picks from the bunch.

I hope you are all having a lovely day and enjoyed this post. Please do let me know of any posts you would like to see here on my blog as I am just getting back into the swing of things and would appreciate any ideas you may have.

Much Love Gemma 

Beauty Wishlist!

Hello again lovelies, I've decided to do a little wishlist post for you all today, because recently all I've really posted is my 10 Day You Challenge and I still haven't got round to taking any pictures. This will probably be a long list and I doubt I will ever purchase it all, but its nice to hope for lovely things isn't it?! :) lets get started.

1. Sleek Face Contour Kit - I've wanted this for ages! Everyone seems to have it and raves about it, I currently use the Bourjois chocolate bronzer to contour and I really don't like it, and even though I have my Dior Rose Diamond for a highlight, I think this would be better to use on a day to day basis. And its all in one container, which is always more convenient :) My Superdrug doesn't stock Sleek anymore for some bizarre reason so I'll have to get it online instead and hope the light palette matches my skin tone!

2. Macadamia Flawless Cradle - I think I might have first saw Macadamia Flawless on thesundaygirl's blog and it really appealed to me. It's a cleansing conditioner that comes out of the can as a foam then lathers to a lovely thick cream which is great to both shampoo and condition the hair. I actually hate 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioners but this is apparently amazing so I really want to try it. Whilst looking on feelunique.com I spotted this cradle that comes with the Flawless cleanser (100ml), a 30ml Macadamia Oil and an Oil Infused Comb. If you bought all the products separately it would come to £46 but this cradle is £21.88 which is an absolute bargain and I love the look of that comb!!

3. MAC Lipsticks - I have my eyes on a few MAC Lipsticks at the minute, which are Rebel, Velvet Teddy (only because it's apparently Megan Fox's go to nude and I am in love with that woman) Costa Chic (thanks to a recent post by Kayleigh from CoutureGirl) Candy Yum Yum and Chatterbox. If you can't tell I love MAC lipsticks and really want to start a collection!!

4. Origins Clear Improvements Mask - My skin really annoys me with its huge clogged pores (sorry that sounds vile!) and apparently this is a wonder product for both these problems. So I want to try it out! At £20 though its a bit steep so I still haven't took the plunge and bought it.

5. Emma Hardie 2 Piece Cleansing System - Again the Emma Hardie Natural Lift & Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm is meant to be amazing and I really want to try it out. You can buy this cleansing set including the balm, a face cloth and Aromatherapy Infused Rose Hip Exfoliating Seeds for £38 on QVC  and I really want it!

6. Urban Decay Palettes, Naked, Naked 2 and Naked Basics - Since the first Naked Palette came out I have been dying to get my hands on it and each time a new one comes out I want that as well. They all  look like amazing palettes and I can't choose which one I would prefer so I want the full collection. #typicalbblogger :P

7. Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers - I have the Enrapture Totem Styler which I absolutely adore! And these look just as good. I really enjoy adding volume to my hair with velcro rollers and these look so much better, at both volumising and curling your hair quickly and easily. I really want to try them out.

8. Illamasqua Speckle Polish in Scarce - Ever since the I'mperfection came out I have been eyeing up these bird egg inspired polishes! I've never seen anything like them before, they look like a really interesting and different polish. I would of course get this beautiful pink colour 'Scarce' because I am obsessed with anything pink :)

9. L'Oreal Powder Tecni Art Super Dust - I've only heard this product mentioned once, and that was by Tanya Burr so I immediately wanted to try it out! It apparently gives the most amazing volume to the hair and I love nothing more than voluminous hair! But for over £10 I am a bit hesitant to try it out. Maybe one day!

Hope you enjoyed this slightly different post. If you have any of these products please do let me know what you think of them. And if you want to check any of them out click on the name of the product which will take you straight to the website you can buy them from :)

Much Love Gemma xo.

February Favourites

Hi Beauties, Sorry for the lateness of this favourites post but I just couldn't decide what to feature in it. So here's 5 of my most reached for products in the month of February!

First up a skincare product -

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - I bought this way back in September (i think) and I have been using it every single day since and I love it. Some people don't use a toner at all and think its a pointless step in their skincare routine. I on the other hand have been using them everyday since doing Beauty Therapy in college. I'm not sure if my skin actually benefits from it, because I haven't stopped using toners at all for the past 5 or 6 years, but I really enjoy using them, they really freshen up the skin and make it feel really clean and clear. I use this after cleansing. I spray it 4 times on a cotton pad and sweep it across my face, to make sure my face is completely clean and make up free. The smell of this toner is absolutely gorgeous and it really wakes my skin up, once I finish this I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Deep Nourishing Intensive Mask - I've been really looking after my hair recently and I think this has really helped. Since using it my hair has been really lovely and smooth. I use this at least once a week and I really like it. I reviewed it here if you would like to take a look.

MAC Girl About Town - This was my first MAC lipstick that I bought back in January. It's a gorgeous bright fuscia pink and I fell in love with it as soon as I laid eyes on it. Whenever I go out I use either this or the Rimmel Apocalips I'm about to talk about.

Rimmel Apocalips Big Bang - As you may know from reading this review I went out and bought 2 Rimmel Apocalips' the day they came out. I thought the bright pink I bought would be my favourite but in actual fact Big Bang is, this bright true red has been my most reached for since purchasing them. I've never owned such a red before, its really lovely and bright. The Apocalips themselves are really good too. They feel like a gloss when applied but dry to a beautiful matte finish. With the amazing pigmentation of a high end lipstick. I'm sure a well be extending my collection of colours very soon.

MUA Blusher Shade 2 -  I've been using MUA's blusher in shade 2 everyday I've wore make up in February. Its a lovely light dusky pink colour with ever so slight shimmer in it. The pigmentation is actually rather good for a product costing just £1, one quick swirl in the pan is enough to give my cheeks a lovely flush of colour. For only £1 I will definitely pick this up again, I have 3 of the 6 shades but this one is the one I use most. (As you may be able to tell the blusher in the very first picture in this post isn't actually shade 2, because the writing on the front of the packaging has completely faded and I wanted you to be able to see what the blushes look like, so I used another one of the colours in my collection so sorry if that causes confusion, also apologies for the messy packaging, I forgot to clean it before photographing)

Hope you enjoyed this most, and maybe have a few ideas of new products you would like to try out. What were your most reached for products in February? Be sure to let me know.

Much Love Gemma xo. 

After Christmas Beauty Buys

Hey Everyone, In today's post I'm going to show you the recent beauty bits I've bought. Unfortunetly only 2 of them were sale items! So lets get started..

sorry about everything going on in the background i need to learn some basic photo editing

The items I managed to pick up in the sales were the 2 Body Shop products, I was after a new shower gel and was determined to pick up the Ginger Sparkle one however they were all sold out. So I opted for the Cranberry Joy Shower Gel instead, the smell is so fruity and delicious, and I really wish they did this range all year round because I love fruity scents. A little goes a long way with this and it really foams up as you massage it into your skin. I'll be distraught when I use it all up. This was in the sale and only cost me £2 for 250ml. Like I said I was orginally after the Ginger Sparkle Shower Gel because I adore the scent. When I noticed it was all sold out I just had to grab one of these mini hand creams because I refused to leave without something with the ginger scent (sad and pointless I know, but its my favourite scent at the minute and I needed it) The smell is really gingery and sweet and kind of smells like cheap coke (am i the only one that thinks that?) and I absolutly love it! The cream itself is very thick in texture and makes your hands feel wonderfully soft, its not greasy but does take a bit of work to sink into my hands. I find that with any hand cream I use though, so it doesn't put me off at all. This also cost me £2 and is a 30ml tube. If I'm not too late I think I will definitely pick up the Body Butter next time I'm in The Body Shop.

The other 4 products I picked up were from my shopping trip in Liverpool. I talk about the Topshop nail polish in this blog post. Next I bought my first ever thing from LUSH. The Comforter Bubble Bar, which cost me £4.25. This smells amazing its really fruity and I cant wait to use it. Expect a blog post once I've tried it out because I just know already I'm going to love it!

And finally I had to take a trip into MAC. I was after a new brow colour because mine is quickly running out. I picked up 'Mystery' eyeshadow with out realising it was a satin finish (this means it has ever so slight shimmer in it) Thankfully I have tried it on my brows and it is a perfect match and you cant see any hint of shimmer! I am going to be buying a new matte colour for my brows in the near future and using this as a shadow colour but for now its good enough for use on my eyebrows.

The second thing I bought from MAC was a lipstick. I picked up 'Girl About Town' which is a very bright fuscia pink with blue undertones. In a word the colour is amazing. The lighting in that photo does not do it justice at all! I've always been a fan of bright pinks and this one really is beautiful. The formula is very creamy and glides on really smooth adding lots of moisture to the lips. Regarding staying power I am not sure yet because I tested it then wiped it off again, but I think for these kind of finishes you get around 3 or 4 hours of wear. This lipstick cost me £14 and the shadow was £12.

As always thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Much Love Gemma xo.

My Makeup Wishlist

Ive seen a fair few 'Wishlist' posts around recently so ive decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a few myself. Starting with some make up items I would love to have but cant quite justify spending the money on them :(



DiorSkin Poudre Shimmer in Rose Diamond

Soliel Tan de Chanel

Nars Lipstick in Funny Face

HD Brow Kit

Mac Eyeshadow Palette

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

1. Dior Rose Diamond, looks like such a stunning highlight and the packaging is just beautiful and would look amazing in my make up collection, but unfortunetly right now I just could not justify spending so much money

2. Soleil Tan de Chanel, again this just looks gorgeous and everybody says how fantastic it is! It seems Im the only person to not have it! If I happen to have quite a bit of money going spare then this is a must buy for me!

3. Nars Lipstick, honestly I would love to try out alot of the Nars Lipsticks because I have heard such great things about them. Im a total Nars virgin and I think my first purchase would be either the Semi Matte Lipstick in Funny Face. Its a beautiful pink that I would adore wearing. Or the bronzer everyone seems to have - Laguna (i decided not to feature Laguna in this post because two bronzers in one wishlist may be a tad greedy :P)

4. HD Brow Kit, well alot of people have this and love it, and apparently it lasts a long time aswell so it would be perfect as I am always filling in my brows. Now one major reason I havnt purchased this is because, as far as I am aware it isnt stocked anywhere close to me and with being the eyebrow prefectionist that I am, I want an absolutly perfect colour match and guessing at a colour online and buying it is just not for me!! Rest assured when I find this in a shop/salon some where I will be buying it there and then!

5. Mac Eyeshadow Palette, it goes without saying that a massive make up fan like me, wants nothing more than 15 beautiful Mac Eyeshadows in one handy palette! But unfortunetly I dont have £100+ just lying around to be spent on eyeshadow :( But as sad as this sounds an absolute dream of mine would be to stroll into a Mac Store, pick up a palette and buy 15 shades to go in it! Fingers crossed that one day I'll do just that! A blush palette wouldnt go a miss either ;)

6. Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation, so lastly Ive been dying to try out a new (high end) foundation and Ive heard nothing but good things about this one! Once again Ive never purchased anything from Laura Mercier and I would love to do so but £33 for a foundation from a brand Ive never used? Its a bit too risky for me! I know it would more than likely be perfect but I think maybe a sample of it would be better first :)

So there we go 6 make up products I am dying to get my hands on but unfortunetly I cant afford because my little part time job in a cafe just wont let me! One day when Ive saved up enough money all these products and more will be mine, but for now a girl can only dream cant she?!

Whats on your Makeup Wishlist? Id love to know!

Much Love Gemma xo.