So? Fragrance Reveal! The return of the Body Mist!

So? Can anyone remember this brand from back in the day? Cast your mind back (if your old enough) circa 1995/6, ‘So Kiss Me’ was a much coveted body mist often found frequenting the (usually enormous, yet half empty) handbag of teenage girls throughout the nation! Ah the nostalgia!

Well, anyway- they are back… And tipped to be the next big beauty must have, body mists are an affordable way to smell divine without bankrupting yourself!

So? are kicking off the retro of the body mist by bringing us 6 new flavours and  I was fortunate enough to be invited to the ‘reveal’ launch party, held at Icetank in London! I attended with my trusty blogger babes in tow – Vicky, Annie and Lee! We were able to smell and sample the fragrances and were offered themed mocktails and surprisingly tasty vegan canapés to boot! They even had a Photo Booth (one of my favourite things to do basically)….

Here are the fragrances:

The fragrances themselves are feminine, fruity, floral and fragrant (see what I did there?). Here are some descriptions for you to imagine such scents combined in one bottle!

• Floriental: Floral and Fruity – (deep breath) starting off with Apple, Pear and Mandarin and moving into the scents of Freesia, Violet, Amber and Caramel to end!  Wowzers!
• Fruity: ‘Zingy Mandarin’, Peach and Lily of the Valley all combined! Sounds cute right?
• Vanilla Milkshake: One of my favourite food choices, so this one is bound to be a winner with me. Peach and Plum, ‘rolling into a Heart of Rose’! Sounds like Perfection!
• Watermelon: Watermelon, Red Berries and Apple Blossom followed by Apricot and Honeysuckle with a Sugar Candy base- sounds so edible it should be given a Michelin star! Mmmm!
• Fresh Musk: Mandarin, Peach, Jasmine and Lily of the Valley finished off with Cedar Wood and Vanilla- sounds like a fine wine!?
• White Petals: Starting off with Bergamot, Freesia, Waterlily and finally settling into White Musk and Cedar Wood. Sounds divine…. Sigh!

Vanilla Milkshake is by far my favourite scent followed closely by Watermelon! I was given a goody bag with some to try and I must say they wear pretty well! I even gave my teenage niece some to wear at college and it got her mark of approval as being a long lasting fragrance!

Overall

These are an affordable, drug store alternative to expensive perfumes but still offer a quality and lasting fragrance – well worth their £3.99 for 100ml price tag!

So? Body mists go on sale on September 26th in Superdrug so not long to wait until you can go and try for yourselves. you can follow so? on social media @Sowithattitude and check out their website here.

Body mists are set to be bang on trend so go and jump on it… and of course let me know your thoughts!?

Mwah xxx

Note: As previously mentioned I was given some So? Body Mists at the event for the purposes of review. I am in not in anyway affiliated with So? or Superdrug. xxx

The Nuisance With Nudes!

Hello all- I’m back!!!

Wow…What a Hiatus!!!  I apologise very sincerely for not blogging for so many weeks. I’ll be honest- I lost my blogging mojo temporarily due to work and various other kids stresses! I won’t bore you with the gorey details but I’m back now with a bang!  Today’s post is on my troubles with finding the perfect nude liquid lipsticks!

Now, being a person of colour, I have come to accept that not every nude lipstick works well for me! It can actually be quite hard to find the right nude for a lot of us and being totally frank a lot of the ever popular Kylie Jenner style mauve/pinky/ browny nudes are the exact same colour as my top lip! This results in it looking like it looking distinctly like I’m wearing concealer on my lips if i just plonk it on! Another issue I face is that my lips are actually quite different in colour. My top lip is darker- that sort of pinky mauvey brown I mentioned earlier, but then my bottom lip has is a lot more red/pink in it- this is also common if people with mixed or darker skins. It can make it difficult for nudes to work well also! But, have no fear people- there is a way for it to work!

I have bought tried and tested so many nudes – I’ve built up quite a collection over the past year or so in search of the right nude!

I was determined to make it work and to find the right lipstick for me, and after trialing testing and gleaning information from all sorts of people in the know- I found out how to rock almost any nude regardless of skin or lip colour.

Lip Liner is key!

So, sticking to this fundamental rule makes it possible to wear almost any nude. Always use a liner. If you feel like the colour your wearing is too light or too contrasting for your skin tone you can try using a darker liner or even a darker shade of lipstick round the outside of your lips. This offers a contrast to your skin tone and the colour! You can even ombré the two colour together beautifully- this works particularly well if your bottom and top lips are different colours like mine are.

It’s all about finding the right liner for your colouring and for what your trying to achieve. Kylie Jenner ‘Lip kits’ are so expensive because the come with a liner as well as a liquid lipstick- but my beef with that is, the liner which comes with the kit (which is nice and creamy in texture to be fair but not dissimilar to the Colourpop liners) is the EXACT same colour as the actual lipstick. This is great for someone wanting to over line their lips to make them appear fuller but no good for someone like me who already has full lips and darker skin and thus needing to break the colour up from the skin tone. If you already have full lips, nudes will make them look even fuller- which can be a blessing or a curse whichever way you look at it! Personally I like to use a liner a shade or two darker than whatever colour I’m applying to break it up a bit.

The liners I always use are MAC Chestnut, MAC Stone or Whirl. I’ve also heard a lot of people with fairer complexions like to use MAC Soar  or MAC Spice to line their lips with. These are all nice brown shades,-Stone is a very cool grey toned liner, Chestnut is an intense neutral brown and Whirl, Soar and spice are more mid toned pinky or mauve browns! I find they work best to break up my lips and skin tone!

 

My all time favourite nudes for colour, longevity and texture (with swatches from left to right and links) are:

• Limecrime-  Cashmere
• Colourpop – Chi
• NYX Embellishment
• Kylie Cosmetics- Dolce K
• Anastasia Beverly Hills- Sepia

 

Can you tell I like my cool toned nudes?  I find they suit me better- I’m not actually sure why? I guess it’s because I have a very warm, yellow undertone to my skin and cool tones are contrasting? I dunno but anyway they seem to work for me!

What nudes do you like? Warm, or cool? What are your favourite lipsticks and why! Do you have any hints or tips on choosing the perfect nude for you? Let me know!

Mwah xxx

Bloggers Ball 2016!

Howd’y Campers!

Hope today is a happy chilled Sunday for you too- I’m still in my pyjamas as I’m shattered from yesterday! Also it’s Father’s day here in England so Happy Father’s Day all!!!

So this blog post is going to be on The Bloggers Ball 2016 which I attended yesterday- if your a blogger you may be interested in this post and details of how to attend will be at the bottom of the post, even if your not a blogger then this post will give you some insight into what we bloggers get up to when we have some time!

So what is the bloggers ball?

It’s literally just that! an event, designed for bloggers or aspiring bloggers to attend, meet and greet, let their hair down, network and have some fun. Seriously guys, this is one event I would encourage you all to go to. Think 400 blogging professionals and creatives, a large selection of gorgeous, creative and inspiring brands all with giveaways and goody bags prepared for bloggers to write on, wine and canapés (of course) all together under one roof, and set in in the decadent and classy DSTRKT club in Piccadilly London. I whole heartedly thank the wonderful Scarlett London for organising this wonderful event and I can’t wait for the next one.

I was invited along by my friend and fellow blogger Jamie from at Tannedbeautyaddict blog, we also met up with a few of our blogger babes; Annie also known as Musingsofamakeupjunkie, the lovely Victoria from Beautybreakswithvicky and the amazing Shanel from Babblingon and all went together. It was a great chance to get all dolled up and go out, but seriously be careful what shoes you wear and know your limitations! I stupidly thought it would be wise to wear fairly high heels to go out and that was all well and good at 11am in the morning but by 4pm that afternoon I was teetering around the place and my feet were in agony! (Note to self: must get better at wearing heels for attending such events).

Anyway- check out some pics from the packed event! Feast your eyes on the lovely displays and treats on offer to us:

Absolutely gorgeous and unique jewellery by designer Fei Lui

Look packed the event was! Full of bloggers, brands and creatives!

Also a few pics of me and the girls at the event- beware there is lots of pouting!

What goodies did I get?

First up, these lovely scents from So with Attitude- a great, affordable fragrance brand who were very generous and gave us all these wonderful scents to try out! My favourites have to be ‘So Rio’ body spray and ‘So Eternal’ fragrance. I remember having these back in my teenage years so this was a dose of nostalgia for me! You can find them on Instagram and Twitter @sowithattitude and at their website www.sowithattitude.com

Second up are these wonderful skin care products by Bravura London. I have heard great things from other beauty addicts and MUAs about the brand so I am very eager to try it. At the ball I had a chance to meet with the MD and have a chat about my skin and she gave me these lovely products to try and fix my congestion spots and problem areas. You can order these products from www.bravuralondon.com and find them on social media @bravuralondon.

Lipivir were giving away an array of lip products for everyone to try- they even had my old 90s favourite Heather Shimmer by Rimmel. Brought back some serious memories for me of being 13 and rocking it with bright green eyeshadow but anyhoooooo….. Thanks!!! find them on social media @lipivir or at http://www.lipivir.com

Being a nail tech as well as an MUA, I was glad to get my hands on a goody bag from professional beauty supplier Just Beauty UK. I got to try  Orly FX and Bluesky polishes and a Mylee nail file! Check them out for all your professional nail care needs @justbeautyUK or on their website www.justbeauty.co.uk

Lastly I can’t wait to do this hair mask from the lovely hair care brand Vatika Naturals- I’ve heard great things about their natural products for hair and skin and I have super dry hair, so I have no doubt these coconut and garlic oil based products will do wonders for it. Find them on their social media @Vatikauk or at www.vatikanaturals.co.uk they are also sold in Superdrug!

 

There was more…. much much more to be done and seen here… I just couldn’t fit it all in this blog post, but check out the lovely @scarlettlondon and follow the hashtags #bloggersball on all social media, to see more great pictures of the event.

Want to join us?

You would be most welcome. The next event which is upcoming is the Bloggers Festival which is to be held in London and the lovely Conrad St James Hotel on Saturday 3rd September 2016. I will be there with bells on! come and join us!! If you would like to book tickets then you can do so here or you could contact Scarlett London via her social media handles @scarlettLevents or via her webpage www.scarlettlondon.com/sl-events

Some Photo credits go to my lovely make up/beauty and lifestyle blogging babes: Go follow them on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook: @babblingon @makeup_musings @beautybreakswithvicky @tannedbeautyaddict

and also…. check out their blogs for more info and great pics of the events:

Musingsofamakeupjunkie

Babblingon

Tannedbeautyaddict

Beautybreakswithvicky

Do you have these events in your town or city? if so would love to hear about them. If you are planning on coming to the next event- please hit me up and let me know! Would be lovely to see you there!!

Mwah xxx

 

 

IMATS London 2016 – The Lowdown!

Hi guys

Hope your all having a great weekend!

I have a stinking cold now and it doesn’t help that I was up at the absolute crack of dawn yesterday morning! Why? I hear you cry?

Because I had to get down to IMATS 2016 as early as humanly possible (ok…. ok so I was actually pretty late and my mate Vicky was left waiting in the cold for me but that’s another story involving a bad winged liner and an unruly strip lash) Anyway, I digress- now for the  lowdown on what was hot (or not) at this years show!

What’s IMATS?

The International Make Up Artists Trade show, IMATS is a 3 day event, which takes place in various major cities across the world including NYC, LA, Sydney and Toronto. June 2016 was London’s turn. Let me tell you, if you are make up junkie addict or lover IMATS is the place to go for all your make up needs.It’s all about the weird and the wonderful, the beautiful and the bizarre!  Whatever style of make up your into and whatever stage in your career your at, IMATS will cater for you. It is for everyone, from student to seasoned pro, and has everything, from Prosthetics to Mac Cosmetics- all under one roof. 

When & Where 

This year IMATS London was held 3-5 of June at the fabulous London Olympia National!

What can I do there?

So many fabulous brands turned up this year. Brands from many countries in the world came to show and sell their products. It really was a feast for the eyes. There were some great prosthetics displays, works of art! there was also some great fantasy body painting displays and of course competitions for professionals and students to enter. There were also some great educational demos, talks and seminars with some industry leaders and experts. Most importantly visitors are able to test, try and buy all sorts of different make up products often at discounted and trade prices. 

What was hot this year?

Mermaid hair, dark lipstick, brows!!! Oh and NYX – which had a queue going round half the floor! I also saw a huge queue for a little tiny stand called Beauty B which was in the back but is great because it sells american brands which are hard to get hold of here. 

What was not so hot?

The huge queues to get in to the building (not really where you want to be stuck at 9am in the morning) and then when you do finally get in the huge queues around all the popular stands and products. Some of which I couldn’t face and to be honest I had to walk away from several purchases because I didn’t want to queue. Next year i will certainly go on pro day or get there even earlier than I did this year to buy more.

What did I buy?

 I made some new discoveries today guys- I decided to focus on buying from new and up and coming brands. I got to sample today is my first day discovery was a great little small stand in the back called EyeKandy Cosmetics, and they do glitters for the eyes! These are cosmetic grade, super pigmented and shiny! You know I love my glitters so I had to try some and they were doing a great show deal- six glitters for £28 and a glitter glue and a brush. I was able to than these dazzling beauties for my kit? What do you all think? Aren’t they cute? I think some of these will be great for Asian and traditional bridal looks and also prom make up.  Have a look- how cute is this?

Secondly I was able to finally get my hands on and sample and try the Stylepro at the fabulous PAM London stand- a great device from Inventor Tom (Apprentice winner) designed for ease of make up brush cleaning. Now, I hate hate hate cleaning my make up brushes and as soon as this was demoed I was sold! It really is effortless cleaning and to clean and dry a very filthy foundation brush takes about 30 seconds! They were doing an IMATS deal. You get the Styler with a free Cleanser for £49.99.

I also got to meet with the founder of a new U.K. Brand called Delilah Cosmetics  who were found on the Guru Make up stand. The brand has only been around for about 24 months and is very luxury. The packaging is gorgeous and the products range is fairly small at the moment however they do seem to have something for every skin type. I was able to sample the Farewell Colour Corrector & The Time Frame Foundation and they were both felt very nice on the skin and I am very tempted to go back and get the colour corrector at a later date. At the moment the brand is carried in lots of high end spas and a few high end retailers online and of course the wonderful Guru Make Up Emporium. Delilah is also carried in Space NK online also.

Finally my last purchase of the day was from a brand I hadnt heard of before. Fellow blogger- the lovely Beautybreakswithvicky pointed out the stand to me at the show -Artist of Make Up. Another great affordable, British brand created by Make up artist and Youtuber, Zukreat Nazar I was drawn to this stand because it appears the make up is designed with ethnic skin tones in mind. The foundations and the highlighters and very buttery and very yellow based. Anyone who has extremely yellow or olive undertones would get on well with this brand- and although its not a huge range the colours they do have go from very fair to very deep. The foundation I purchased was the Flawless HD cream in no 55 (with reference it’s equivalent to NC43-44 but more yellow), and it’s a fairly heavy coverage, but also creamy and nourishing with Shea butter added to the formula in order to treat and repair the skin. It comes in 8g refill pans and at the show I paid just £13.50 although full price is still only £15. I’m really excited about this brand because I have so much trouble finding decent foundations and I am eager to see its wearability and how it photographs.You can find more out about this brand website.

Check out some pics of my day here:

Look at the prosthetics and fantasy body painting and makeup!

The main stage.

Heres me and my friend Vicky half way through the day- You can’t see it but we are heavily laden with bags at this point!!!

Fancy Going? Here are some Hints and Tips:

Remember it’s a ticketed event and tickets cost £45.00 and tend to go on sale a good 8 months before the show which always takes place in June/July time. There are usually cheaper early bird tickets available too! 

If you are a professional working make up Artist I would actually try getting a Pro card which means you can then go on the pro evening (which is the on the Friday evening) and is ALOT quieter. There is also the opportunity to sign up for further pro discounts with brands directly at the show so bring your proofs and credentials with you! Also try and sign up for seminars and workshops with leading industry experts which are held on the main stage. This year was Alex Box among other names – too good to miss!

If your not a pro then I would suggest getting there very early on the Saturday. I’m talking 9am sharp (with coffee and banana in hand, your gonna need sustenance). The queues get in are quite long, and there are lots of deals to be had but things sell out quickly  Also this year, the Sunday tickets were dropped to half price a week or so before the event so it’s worth waiting for that or maybe even adding on an extra day if you fancy it! You can check out all the information, sign up for the pro card and buy your tickets for next year on the website.

Until next time………

Mwah!xxx

Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Review and swatches!

Helloooooooooo!

Hope you’ve all enjoyed the long weekend – whether it be a UK Bank Holiday weekend or Memorial Weekend in the states…. or if you have been back at work today then I hope this blog post brings you some joy at least!

I had to jump on here tonight to write an emergency blog post because today -I GOT MY BECCA CHAMPAGNE COLLECTION PALETTES!!!! YAAASSSSSSS!!!

I was long awaiting the release of this Limited Edition palette and I new it would be popular, so I  was determined to get it even if it killed me! Release date was 26th May 2016, the time? 5pm (GMT). I needed silence, I needed to focus!  I demanded quiet from whoever was in the house at the time; the kids, the dog (yeah right!) and even the poor neighbour who was (sod’s law) at the door at five to five asking if I was coming to Zumba that night! With all distractions gone, I positioned myself at my computer, finger on the mouse, waiting with baited breath- 4.57 hit and I refreshed- Yesssss it was live!!! I clicked away, frantically loading my online basket and well- fortune favours the brave as they say! It appeared that fate was on my side (for that day at least) I was able to get one!

I was super impressed with the speed of service because I only ordered on Thursday evening and it’s made its way across the pond already (Monday and bank holiday at that).  The team at Sephora are doing good!

When I hear the names Becca and Jaclyn Hill in the same sentence, I automatically think luminous, glowy, shimmering, natural and pretty and ‘for everyone;.  Upon unboxing and examination – I see the these palettes have reached all those connotations and more.

The Champagne Collection Face Palette

The palette itself comes gloriously packaged in a gold and white shiny metal casing! It screams luxurious glamour and glowy shimmering perfection. It contains x5 pans:

Champagne Pop (0.19oz)- Glorious shimmering pinky, peach golden highlight- officially my favourite highlight of 2015.

Prosecco Pop (0.19oz)- a close rival to champagne pop, this highlight has more warm, golden hues- great for those with darker and tan skins- this highlight just pops!

Amaretto (0.12oz)- A matte mid brown- almond coloured mental  blush/contour/bronzer shade- great for adding warmth to the face.

Pamplemouse (o.12oz)- a warm, coral, pink shade a mineral blush -great for a warm sun kissed blush.

Rose Spritz (o.10oz)- a lovely two toned, peachy pink, luminous blush with a golden undertone- I love love love this blush- great for all skin tones too!

They really did think of everyone with this palette because the combinations are endless- you can mix and match the shades and layer them to create any desired look and every skin tone is catered for. They really are universal and would be lovely for a classy, glowy bridal look or evening make up! This palette would be one I would reach for everyday!

The Champagne Collection Eye palette

Like the face palette, the eye palette is very universal an comes with x5 0.06 pans with creamy shades that we can all use regardless of our skin tone and complexion. The colours are as follows:

Chardonnay -golden shade with pink and yellow hues- great under brow and tear duct highlight

Champagne Toast- my favourite shade, a gorgeous warm shimmering peach hue with  “a dash of cinnamon”

Cordial- matte, soft and warm, rose brown- deal for transition and crease shade.

Cognac – matte, coffee coloured shade great for the crease and intensifying any eye look

Bordeaux -rich, deep, matte  colour with deep chocolate undertones. Great for smoking out the eye, darkening the crease or cut crease looks and defining the waterline.

The eye palette can create any number of looks for any skin tones. It could be used to create soft, glowy, day make up look or dark and smoked out and packed on colour evening look. I was actually a bit dubious about buying yet another eye palette but this is gorgeous, and I love that its compact, small and great for the make up travel bag.

Edit: Becca & Jaclyn have pulled this palette! It will not be launched on 16thnjune at the restock or 21st in space NK or in store and will no longer be produced at all!  The reviews on it were bad, and apparently it was produced in China in order to meet time restrictions to launch the collection by a certain date. As you can see from the swatches the palette isn’t as pigmented as some other shadows I have previously swatches and after writing my review I tested the palette out and wore it for a dinner date with my brother and I really had to prime my eyes and pack the colour on for it to be at all noticeable. After talking with other bloggers and MUA’s this week I learnt they were also disappointed with the formula of the shadows too.  It seems sadly this palette was released in a rush and they have compromised on ingredients and therefore quality of the product. All palettes are being refunded apparently. I am not impressed at all and can only apologise to anyone who bought the eye palette after reading this blog and have contacted both Becca and Sephora to find out further information on being refunded and I will post an update when I have one. Disappointing to say the least! So many cosmetics companies have made major boo boos lately and everything seems to be driven by greed and social media hype! I actually think this calls for another blog post….

Fancy copping one for yourself?

Better be quick, this palette is Limited Edition….. meaning when it’s gone, its gone! It’s currently being sold on sephora.com and retails at $52 for the face palette and $40 for the eye shadow palette. It’s currently showing as SOLD OUT although it should re stock online launch in store on 16th June2016.Within the UK its due in the lovely Space NK on June 21st 2016 both in store and online- however  I still don’t know the UK RRP!

If your in the UK and can’t wait for our release, you can of course order direct from Sephora and they calculate the shipping and customs at checkout- remember the more you order, the less in shipping you will pay so maybe worth clubbing together with fellow make up lovers to buy this one- however the face palette is (sensibly) limited to x3 per customer.

What do you guys think? Do you have this palette? Is it on its way to you?  I for one, think on this occasion this product was worth the hype, especially the face palette! I love it and I can see myself reaching for this palette most days and I sincerely hope that Becca make it a more permanent feature!

until next time….

Mwah!

xxx

 

Exclusive Mac Pro-to-Pro Artist Textile Party

Wow! Second post this week? I’m on fire!!! So, a few of you asked me about the MAC Cosmetics event I was invited to last week and I thought I would squeeze in a quick blog post about it to tell you all.

So, I was lucky enough to get invited to the MAC Cosmetics Pro to Pro Textile party. Whats one of those? I hear you ask- well I wondered the same thing!  So i found out it’s basically a networking event with body painting!  I was actually really surprised to have gotten an invite as I’m not usually invited to such things (maybe I am finally graduating on to being a proper blogger and make up artist) so I was thrilled!  What’s more the invite said that there were free cocktails on offer courtesy of Tanqueray!

Eeeeeek! My favourite things all in the same place and at the same time! Make up, Networking, Mac cosmetics and cocktails!

The event was to be held at The Roundhouse in Camden, London. Such a beautiful venue and a great community  arts and events space!

So I dragged along my girl Fay as my plus 1 (didn’t think my boyfriend would be too eager to go) we went for a nice dinner  in camden before hand and arrived at the venue at around 9pm.

Wow it was buzzing, the event was full of industry professionals, make up artists and other generally cool people. It was a body painting event with an amazingly designed centre stage on which the models stood!  There was dancing and a lively DJ provided an eclectic mix of music and lots of rap, house and hip hop, which are my favourites! The cocktails and wine was flowing! Dominic Skinner – Mac’s lead make up artist and presumably the person responsible for creating the some of pieces of Art was there, networking and overseeing the event along with lots of other make up artists and professionals.

The body painting work itself took a team over over 30 body painters, over 10 hours to create- and was inspired by textiles and mathematics- lines and angles! It was created using Mac acrylic paints and was truly amazing to see.

I have posted a few pictures below, look at the models – it’s hard to believe they actually aren’t wearing any clothes!! It’s such intricate and fine work- it literally must have taken hours! I have so much awe for artists who can create this!

All in all I had a great night and it was nice I was able to take a friend along too. It’s great that MAC give back to their pro make up artists and support them in their networking, by putting on such a great event, which we otherwise my not have been exposed to.We had a lovely time, and we also had a fair few drinks and I think we left there slightly tipsy to be fair!

So, there you have it- a quick piece on my night out- it really was like no event I’ve ever been to before, have you ever been to anything similar? What do you think of body painting as art? I love it! Let me know your thoughts?

Mwah xxx

“We’re all mad here”, Urban Decay: Alice into the Looking Glass Palette

“I know who I was when I got up this morning? But I must have changed several times since then.”

Hi guys,

Hope this blog post finds you well- this is a very short and sweet post just to show you the latest offering from Urban Decay, the Alice in Wonderland Palette and swatches.  Inspired by the new Disney film ‘Alice into the Looking Glass’ which releases soon, this Limited Edition palette has been long awaited. Let’s face it, I am a sucker for all things Disney, so when this collection released last week in at the Urban Decay Flagship store I had to fly down there and pick up a few for myself and a few of my make up addict friends. The palette also released alongside 5 lipsticks of a variety of interesting  and quirky shades.

“I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yourself.”

The palette itself is in stunning packaging. When you slide it out of the outer box you find it opens like this, it’s mirrored and has a magical little door with a message on it for us as you can see below.

When you open the door it has the most stunning butterfly which flaps its wings as you open. It’s actually the best packaging for a makeup palette I’ve ever seen! It’s so true to the film itself; It’s weird and wonderful, creative and colourful, delicate and quirky.

Looking at the eyeshadows themselves, the palette contains 20 pans of new and never-seen-before shades. Each line vertically is actually a tribute to a character from the film. (The back of the box contains guidance on each look) but there is a line of colours for Alice, The Mad Hatter, Mirana, Iracebeth and Time.  Cute hey?

The colours are named after some of the characters and important references to the film as Well. I have swatched the shades with 2/3 layers of colour each so you can see what they look like on my  NC45 skin tone, and they are a lovely consistency and texture to work with. They are all fairly well pigmented. I was concerned about some of the greens in the palette thinking they would be wishy washy but they actually aren’t, they are really well pigmented. There is also a great mix of matte and shimmery/metallic shades and even some two tone shades. Seriously guys, the amount of looks one could create with this palette is huge. In true Urban Decay style, this palette also provides us with a two sided brush to apply these gorgeous colours with; A more dense side for packing colour on to the eye and a fluffier, softer side for that magic thing we all need to do called blending!

Swatches

I have swatched in groups according to the look of the character.

Alice

Mad Hatter

Mirana

Iracebeth

Time

I haven’t yet used this palette to create look on myself (it’s almost too beautiful to use), but I can already tell what shades I want to use more of- Lily, Paradox, Duchess, Hatter and Metamorphosis apply brilliantly and are gorgeous colours.  Easily for me, the best colour so far is ‘Lily’ which is two tone or duo-chrome creamy nude colour with a hint of pink when you look at it from different angle.

Being honest there were two colours I didn’t much like the consistency of, and those are from the last row and are called ‘Dream On’ and ‘Mirror’. They are slightly shimmery pigments but they didn’t spread easily and felt a bit thick and heavy even just to swatch. You can see what I mean in the picture above, however the other 18 are gorgeous.

This palette is available for £43 NOW at Selfridges.com and also in the Urban Decay Boutique at Covent Garden, London. It also releases in all other Urban Decay concessions and stores on 5th May 2016 but be quick as its limited edition and is likely to sell out pretty fast! You can always call your local store and reserve one to collect as soon as they are released- trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

What do you think? Have you got this palette? What do you think of it? Will you be buying it after seeing some of the colours? Let me know as I would love to hear your thoughts?

Mwah xxxx

Top class Make up training: House of Glamdolls, London

Hi guys,

It’s been quite a while since I blogged last, I’ve been so busy attending make up training this past week and attending great training got me thinking about how many bad training courses there are in the beauty industry and that sparked another blog post. Training and teaching make up, nails and beauty seems to be the latest ‘in’ thing and seems just about anyone can do it (and charge an arm and a leg for it) using an Instagram account or Gumtree or Facebook advert. I have done lots of training courses in my time- in beauty, nails and make up and believe you me I have wasted A LOT of hard earned money on pointless, or dated training. I was looking to really hone my make up skills in order to build my confidence, but didn’t want to waste any more money. I was recommended the House of Glamdolls on another course I did, so I decided to check them out.

House of Glamdolls is based in London, and was founded and run by Chinyee Chu and David Horne. Chinyee and David know their stuff, they both come from a strong make up background with many years experience in various different managerial roles for MAC and Ilasmasqua. They have also got years of experience working on celebrity clients, editorial work, fashion week as well as product development and education.

Since finding them, I’ve done quite a few courses. I’ve looked at everything from achieving the perfect skin- from foundation base, colour correction and contour to a day on bridal make up and two days focused on eye shapes, eyeshadow placement and blending.

Because of the industry experience he has, David is able to give students little industry secrets and tricks, and unlike many tutors who are too selfish to share their trade secrets, David is always happy to share everything he can. He wants to push his students to be the best make up artists they can be. This training really is the best of the best! Another thing which makes the school stand out to me is David’s knowledge of skin especially his knowledge of Black and Asian complexions. I’ve never met someone who knows deeper skin tones quite this well, his colour theory knowledge is second to none and he taught me so much I am now very confident in skin complexions. If as a make up artist you want to learn how to do different skin complexions to develop your skills and work confidently with every skin tone then I would definitely reccomend a course. Even if you aren’t a make up artist, but just want to learn make up as a hobby or simply to do on friends and family, I would recommend a class to perfect your skills and learn new ones. Another great thing is because they are so well connected you get access to specialist master classes with industry experts and other well known make up artists. This could in turn lead to opportunities to assist and work with different people in the future.

Here are a few pictures of inside the house: Look at the amount of products you get to play with- David literally has something from every well known make up brand and I have got to test out and try so many new products I hadn’t even heard of before. House of Glamdolls also have their own products including various strip lashes and Glambase wheels which are cream based blushers, colour correctors, contour and highlight.

Yesterday we worked on complexion and perfect colour matching (If any one remembers my previous rant on foundation issues for women of colour (you can refresh you memory here) you will all know I have a nightmare trying to get skin colour matched. I was very happy with the finished results:

 

 

In the end we were able to find a great match for my NC45 (ish) skin and my tricky purple/ green under eye bags as well, this is where the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage came in and obviously the Banana powder by Ben Nye (should be a holy grail to all yellow or olive undertones)  

I was also able to try out lots of different looks on different models under David’s guidance using visual stimulus such as pantings, or face charts. We were able to try out using lots of new and different products including bright colours and pigments, to step outside the comfort zone: like these super cool metallic lips and eyes I did on my model!

A few more pictures from inside: It’s a make up addicts heaven- they have Make up brushes for days and you can try any of them you please, there are palettes galore and don’t get me started on the amount of lip pencils there are!

After my time at House of Glamdolls, I feel so much more confident as a make up artist, attending training had given me inspiration, self belief and confidence as well as a thirst for more, its made me want to explore different areas of make up and push myself. I’ve also met some great people there and made good work and industry connections.

So when looking for training, don’t go just off someones instagram account or gumtree advert- anyone can talk it up in a written advert, anyone can photoshop a picture so you believe they are an amazing MUA and these days ALL training is expensive and price does not necessarily determine quality anymore- I would say do some research on the tutor- What have they done before? Do they have a professional CV? Do they have a proven track record?

What are your experiences with training in your home town or country? I know in America beauty training is much more regulated than here in the UK? What’s it been like for you wherever your from? Have you wasted money on courses? I would be interested to hear!

If your within easy reach of London its definitely worth checking out the House of Glamdolls and details of all their courses and further information can be found at www.houseofglamdolls.com 

 

 

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New must have: Melt Cosmetics ‘Dark Matter’ Eyeshadow Stack

 

OMG guys, had to blog today because I finally got the chance to use my ‘Dark Matter’ Stack from Melt Cosmetics and I had to tell you about it! ‘Dark Matter’ is one of 3 stacks in the Melt Cosmetics eyeshadow offering and it’s my personal favourite because it is an all rounder,  sort of a holy grail stack for the ultimate smokey eye. They also have ‘Love Sick’ and ‘Radioactive’ stacks. ‘Radioactive’ looks amazing, its so bright, vibrant and pigmented (may have to be my next purchase). These stacks retail for $48 and Melt Cosmetics do ship internationally.

Melt Cosmetics aren’t very well known in the UK actually, I believe they are better known America, however serious make up junkies (and hopefully soon everyone else) will know about them! They see to be a hip, cool and funky, brand- a bit alternative with great and unusual offerings in the matte lipstick department- as well as these brilliant stacks. The brand was started by two friends-Lora and Dana who were work colleagues working on  make up counters in a department store, before they teamed up to start this great line. The brand has a almost retro feel with a modern twist and specialises in bright colours and uber matte finishes to their products.

One of the things which made this brand stand out to me is the packaging for their awesome eyeshadow ‘Stacks’. As you can see the eyeshadow pans come in this chic, circular, stack of eyeshadow pans- which are magnetic so they can can stack together or pull apart like so……

It’s so cool and unique isn’t it? As soon as I saw it, I had to have it!  Not only is it neat and compact, but its also great for Make Up Artists on the job, as its very compact and space saving. You could even buy all their stacks and as they are magnetic you could stick them all together if you wanted! The stack contains 4 highly pigmented, very matte shades as follows (in order they are swatched):

 

Enigma- My favourite colour from the palette,  Rusty red-brown great for in the crease.

Blurr- soft blending and transition colour or under brow and tear duct.

Dark Matter-Very highly pigmented and dark black colour.

Unseen- a cool-medium caramel brown- great transition for me personally.

What do you think?

The eyeshadow pans are really big and contain a large amount of product. The palette is great for almost any combination of colours for a smokey eye and the black in this palette is super pigmented, and there was ZERO fall out. The colours are creamy and smooth and very blendable. I adore the consistency and would be hard pushed to find better. It is definitely worth its price tag.

Here is the look I created to go to a friends birthday lunch!

 

You can find this stack and the other two stacks at www.meltcosmetics.com and you can follow them on Instagram here.

Seriously guys check it out on their website…. currently sadly the Dark Matter stacks are sold out but I expect there will be a restock very very soon!!  Let me know what you think of Dark Matter? Will you try to get your hands on it? Maybe you have one of their other stacks already? Let me know!

Oooooh….exciting news for my next blog post, I have ordered six of the seven Kylie Jenner lip kits! I’m not sure many of them will suit me but I just wanted to see what the hype is about and so blog about them to be honest. Stay tuned for that upcoming post as I will also leave some links and tips on getting your hands on the stacks as that wasn’t easy-even for a make up junkie like me!!!

Until then….

Mwah

xx

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Dose Of Colors: Hidden Treasure Palette Review

Hello all,

I hope this blog post finds you well, I have been uber excited about posting this one, as I was able to get hold of the Dose Of Colors, Hidden Treasure palette this week! I had been waiting for a few weeks for it to make its way to me from the U.S. and finally it arrived!!! I’ve been raving about it on my Instagram for the past couple of days- you may have seen. It’s beautiful! Dose Of Colors aren’t that well known over here- but they have a lot to offer and they are mostly known among make up addicts for their lip glosses so I was excited to try a palette from them. (I will link you to where you can buy this palette and other DOC products at the end)

It’s a Limited Edition, 10 shade palette, and all the shades are gorgeous rich. coppery, bronzey orangey colours. Its cruelty free, 4 free and the pans are medium sized, fairly deep and densely packed thus holding quite a lot of product.  Personally I love the layout of the palette, however the OCD tendencies in some of you may find the layout of the pans irritating to be fair. It comes in lovely very well designed, mirrored packaging.

The colours are as follows:

5 foiled metallic shadows called-Coin, Crown, Ruby, Gemstone and Diamond. They are extremely heavily pigmented and really shine on the skin. They can also be used wet or dry so I would recommend dampening your brush and then applying them if you want a really popping colour. Coin is the holy grail of gold foiled eyeshadows and I reach for it time and time again when doing clients.

4 matte eyeshadows called -Key, Map, Onyx and Locket. These shades are very well pigmented in fact the black (Onyx) reminds me of the black in the naked 2 palette, in that it is very very black, has very little fall out and is perfect for smokey eye looks or deepening and intensifying any eyeshadow look. Key, Map and Locket are brilliant transition shades as well as great for soft smokey eyes.

Pearl is a very light shimmery eyeshadow designed with the inner eye or brow bone highlight in mind.

It’s gorgeous right? Here are the swatches on my arm- each swatch is 2-3 applications of colour and not really blended so you can see their true colouring.

 

So how do they apply?

That is the question! I very quickly used them to test on eye yesterday and my feeling is they are lovely to work with. They are very smooth, creamy and blend well, the matte shadows are really matte and great transition shades. There was very little fall out from the matte shades, however the foiled shades did have some fall out- which is to be expected from foiled shadows in my opinion. If a little care is taken when applying, ultimately the fall out is minimal. The shadows have a high quality feel to them, and although the palette has quite a high price point it’s definitely a case of you get what you pay for when it comes to this palette.

Disclaimer: In the below pictures, I have awful and ungroomed brows at the moment so please excuse them- I know, I know- it’s not good enough, but in my defence I have been stuck at home all week with an ill kid. I used Key as a transition shade, Onyx- to deepen the corners, the beautiful stunning Ruby in the middle and Coin in the inner corner.

Where can you get it?

Unfortunately its not available in the U.K. (Some Dose of Colors stock is carried at Beauty Bay although this palette isn’t currently).  I had to order this directly from Dose of Colors directly (and pay the damn customs charges) to get it. It retails at $50.00 which was about £35 but then the customs charges were £7 (plus the annoying Royal Mail £8 handling fee) so this actually works out to be quite expensive. It is worth it in my opinion, however because your getting 10 really unique shades I haven’t found anything quite like Ruby for instance and coin is my go to for clients wanting gold smokey eyes- I’ve never found anything like it anywhere! It’s actually the best foiled gold ever and totally unique. I can see how some people may not want to pay such a high price for this though… I guess it all depends how much of a make up addict you are I suppose, also remember its limited edition, and may well sell out very soon although Dose of Colors may bring it back we just don’t know ey?

Let me know what your thoughts are? Will you be getting it? Or do you have it already? Let me know make up lovers.
Mwah 

Xxxx