Face Of The Day Featuring Mac Impassioned

The sun finally shone at the weekend, you wouldn't know it now though, as I am sat here typing this there is a thunderstorm going on and huge hailstones are bouncing off my window! Anyway as it was a nice day I went for another neutral eye bright lip combo, this time with Mac Impassioned which is such a gorgeous summery colour. And I have to say it lasts incredibly, I didn't need to touch it up at all through the evening, even after eating and drinking. I actually had to remove it before going to bed! I am also trying out the Bourjois 123 foundation, I haven't made my mind up on it yet but when I do I will post a review.

Products Used:
Face:
Bourjois 1,2,3 Perfect Foundation
Maybelline Mineral Concealer
Illamasqua Hussy Cream Pigment as contour
Make Up Forever HD Powder
Illamasqua Morale Blush
MAC Redhead MSF as highlight
Eyes:
UDPP
Mac Aurora Pigment on lid and inner corners
Mac Satin Taupe on outer corners and crease
Mac Blanc Type as highlight
Mac Avenue Fluidline on upper lashline
Covergirl Lashblast Mascara
Lips:
Mac Impassioned Lipstick

I would love to know what your favourite bright summer lipstick is.

Face Of The Day Featuring Nars Nouveau Monde

I own quite a few Nars eyeshadows now, I love the duos as the colours always work so beautifully together. Nouveau Monde is one of my favourites, I picked it up last summer and it's one that I regularly reach for. If you like lilacs and greens then honestly you need to at least swatch this!

Products Used:
Face:
Clarins Ever Matte Foundation
Maybelline Mineral Concealer
Make Up Forever HD Powder
Nars Orgasm Blush
Eyes:
UDPP
Nars Nouveau Monde duo, lilac on lid and green in crease and under lower lashes
Mac Blanc Type as highlight
Mac Blitz & Glitz Fluidline
Covergirl Lashblast Mascara
Lips:
Mac Costa Chic Lipstick

My Top 10 Mac Lipsticks

I have seen this video doing the rounds on youtube so thought I would jump on the bandwagon! I made sure to only include permanent colours, even though one of them is in limited packaging. I find it so frustrating seeing a gorgeous colour only to find out it's no longer available!

So on to the swatches, I have included hand and lip swatches. Obviously they may look different depending on the natural colour of your lips and skin tone.

Captive
This is a gorgeous raspberry shade with a hint of plum. I like the satin formula, it's not overly drying and I find it lasts a decent amount of time on the lips. This is one of my favourite autumn/winter shades. It's very pigmented and can come out dark on the lips if applied directly from the bullet, it can be sheered out if you pat it on or use a lip brush.

Crosswires

This is one of my most reached for lipsticks, its a gorgeous pinky coral and is in my favourite cremesheen finish. It's almost of a combination of a gloss and lipstick. It doesn't last as long as some of the other finishes but it's worth the effort of having to re-apply.

Impassioned

This is a fairly new addition to my collection (I got it with a back to mac, free always feels better!) it's an incredibly bright, almost neon pink with a hint of coral. This is an amplified finish so is incredibly pigmented. It's one that I have been reaching for when the sun has been shining (which hasn't been much lately) and I haven't wanted to wear much other makeup.

On Hold

This is a gorgeous pink/red. It has more of a sheen than a shine like some of the other cremesheen's. It tends to last a bit longer on the lips too. It is decently pigmented and can be applied lightly for a nice pink lip or built up to more of a red.

Costa Chic

This is another fairly new addition. It's a gorgeous orange/coral. On me it shows up as more a straight up coral but I know on some skin tones it can appear almost neon. This is another shade that can be dabbed on for a more subtle colour. I find this slightly drying so make sure to moisturise my lips well before I put it on.

Up The Amp
I have a love/ hate relationship with this one, it is a gorgeous colour and I used to wear it alot but recently I have found it harder to pull off. It's not quite as purple as it looks in this picture. It's an amplified creme so is very pigmented. Even though I am kinda in the hate stage right now it still deserved a place in my top 10.

Creme Cup

This is pretty much the lightest I will go with a lipstick. It's a gorgeous pale milky pink that is just so easy to wear. I tend to team this with more dramatic eye make up. I find this one pretty moisturising and the wear time is decent too.

Hot Gossip

This is my most used lipstick as you can see in the photo I have almost finished it. This is the one I reach for the most when I don't know what to wear.It's a gorgeous neutral pink/mauve. It's not drying and lasts a decent amount of time on the lips.

Ruby Woo

This is a gorgeous blue toned red. It is VERY matte, to the point that I wouldn't recommend applying it straight from the bullet as it may snap but the colour is worth it. Because it's got such a dry texture you really do need to moisturise your lips well as it will cling to any dry patches. It literally lasts all night, it fades into the lips and leaves a gorgeous stain so no need to worry about re-applying.

Russian Red

This is one of my all time favourite reds, it's a matte but it's a lot more glossy than you would normally expect. It's very pigmented and I don't find it drying at all. This is another one that fades to a stain so you don't necessarily have to re-apply.

I hope you have found this useful, I would love to know if you have done a post like this, put a link in the comments and I will check it out if you have!

Face Of The Day - Neutral eye bright lip

I thought I better show my naked palette some love as it has been sitting in the back of my eyeshadow draw gathering dust for ages now! It was a nice sunny day for once so I went for a neutral eye with a bright lip. I have been testing out the Clarins Ever Matte foundation and I'm not sure about it to be honest, I like the coverage but it doesn't seem very matte to me, plus I think it's breaking me out so I guess the hunt for my HG foundation continues.

Products Used:

Face:

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation

Maybelline Mineral Concealer

Mac MSF Natural

Nars Orgasm Blush

Nars Albatross Highlighter

Eyes:

UDPP

UD Sin on inner third of lid

UD Sidecar on rest of lid

UD Smog in crease

UD Virgin as highlight

Revlon Grow luscious

Avon Supershock linker in Golden Fawn under lower lashes

Mac Avenue Fluidline on upper lashline

Lips:

YSL Rouge Volupte 9 Caress Pink

Nails Of The Week - Water Marble Nails With Illamasqua

I have watched so many youtube tutorials on how to water marble, I have tried a couple of times in the past but have always given up after messing up too many times. This time I made sure I had plenty of time to sit down and calmly give it another go and amazingly it worked! Every nail looks completely different but I'm ok with that. I got loads of comments when I was wearing this. I used a selection of Illamasqua polishes, I used Caress as a base coat which you can't even see as the marble covers it up, I then used alternating dots of Collide (bright neon pink), Jo'Mina (Bright Lilac) and Blow (Pastel Yellow). Sorry about the photos, the flash washed the colours out a bit and by the time I noticed I had already removed it, click on the photos to enlarge them and get a better view.

And this is a photo of the mess of tape, cotton buds and pads I was left with afterwards!

Yes it is messy and incredibly time consuming and it does use a lot of polish but personally I think the final result is worth it. I would love to see more water marbling combinations so if you have a favourite one please let me know.

6 Of My Favourite Highlighters

Here are 6 of my favourite highlighters, I have a few more to add to this as I originally did these swatches last summer.

 Emphasize is the subtlest highlighter i own, applied lightly it just gives a lovely sheen rather than glitter. This is perfect for when you don't want it to be obvious you have highlighter on but still benefit from the effect of it.

 This is a gorgeous creamy golden colour, it's very pigmented so a light hand is required. I also use this an eyeshadow sometimes.

This is just a gorgeous peachy/pink highlight. It's not available at Mac at the moment but Accessorize have a merged blush that is very similar.

I love the Illamasqua Illuminators, they don't contain any glitter at all they just have a gorgeous sheen to them, Odyssey is a gorgeous silvery white that works really well on pale skin.

Poised is a gorgeous pimk highlighter, its similar to Benefit's High Beam but I find it much easier to use and prefer the overall effect.

Shell is a lovely subtle highlighter, I have really built up the swatch here but applied lightly it just gives a beautiful golden sheen.

Face Of The Day - L'Oreal Flashback Silver

This is another post that has been sat in my draft folder and I thought it was time it got published. I did this just after I bought the L'Oreal shadow and I still absolutely love it.

Products Used:

Face:

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment as Contour

Make Up Forever HD Powder

Mac Sakura Mineralise Blush

Eyes:

L'Oreal Flashback Silver on lid, crease and under lower lashes

Mac Knight Divine lightly on the outer corners and crease

Mac Blitz & Glitz Fluidline on upper lashline

Covergirl Lashblast Mascara

Lips:

Mac Playtime Cremesheen Lipstick

Nails Of The Week - Barry M Magnetic Violet

I finally managed to get my hands on the last Barry M Magnetic polish, Violet. Well I had to go to Superdrug twice as the the first one I picked up was missing it's magnet! I didn't even notice until I went to use it and nothing happened! The magnet had obviously just not been stuck into the lid of this one. So if you are picking any of these up check the magnet is there before you buy! I know I said the red was my favourite but now I think I have changed my mind as this shade is gorgeous. These photos are taken with what little natural light we have at that the moment.

I love that fact that all the shades come with a different magnet, it makes them a bit different from all the other brands that have put these out so well done Barry M!