Saturday Night Face

The boy and I went for a country pub dinner on Saturday night as the weather seems to be perking up a bit and we just really enjoy going out for meals! The pub was lovely and rustic with cute little dogs roaming around and we both ate good old steak and chips, lovely!

I felt I earned a good meal after running 11km on Saturday morning - definitely a good way to work up an appetite!

Face: 

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in Opal

17 Hide and Chic Eye Brightening Concealer in Light Rose

17 Shine Control Loose Powder

Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Sleek Eyeshadow from Mediterranean Palette - Aquamarine over the lid, Hummingbird in the crease and under they eye, Bamboo on the brow bone

Benefit Bad Girl Eye Pencil

2True Voluptulash Mascara in Black

Benefit Brow-zings in Light

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend and maybe seen a bit of sunshine!

I Won A Giveaway!

I was lucky enough to win BeautyH2T's giveaway and when the postman arrived this morning it was like Christmas had come early! So many lovely goodies to open, it really brightened up my Monday!

This is what I won:

 Colourworks Glitter Eyeliner, Revlon Bedroom Eyes in Mink Wink, Revlon Bedroom Eyes in Smokin', Eyeko Magic Liquid Eyeliner.

 

Marks & Spencer Creamy Eye Colour in Platinum, Marks & Spencer Creamy Eye Colour in Light, Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Due in Retro Glamour, No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in Comet, GOSH Eyeshadow in Violet, W7 Carnival Dust in Papaya.

Avon Blush in Heavenly Nude, Stila Palette.

Bourjois Nail Enamel in Dangereusement Rouge, Olay 3 Point Super Serum Sample, Olay 30 Second Wrinkle Filler Sample, Lancome Mousse Confort Sample, Oribe Shampoo and Conditioner Sample.

Collection 2000 Extreme Coloured Lengthening Mascara in Teal, Max Factor Vibrant Curve Effect Lip Gloss in Fashion Leader, Ruby and Millie I-Powder Pen, 2True Voluptulash Mascara in Black, 2True Plumptuous Lip Gloss, GOSH Cool Lip Jam.

Phew, so much stuff! I can't wait to properly play with it all, thank you so much!

Tuesday Night Face

Last night I got together with two friends I sadly don't see very often due to Uni, distance and babies. Armed with a 50% off voucher for Pizza Express we had a lovely evening of catching up and gossiping!

My skin doesn't look great in this photo, I definitely need to start moisturising a bit more regularly!

Face:

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in Opal

17 Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer in Light Rose

17 Shine Control Loose Powder

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

Bourjois Blush in Rose D'or

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Half Baked, Toasted and Virgin

Avon Big Colour Pencil in Frosted Ice

Benefit Bad Girl Eye Pencil

17 Wild Curls Mascara in Wildest Black

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in Black

Benefit Brow-zings in Light

Lips:

Topshop Lipstick in Show Off

I had a massive latte for desert which was lovely but as a result I ended up having a terrible nights sleep!

In The Nude

 As my lipstick collection has been growing I've been finding myself becoming more fond of nude lipsticks. They are great for work and the times when you want to wear something on your lips without attracting too much attention to them.

These are the nude lipsticks I've found myself reaching for the most:

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Barely There £3.99

 

Avon Ultra Colour Rich Lipstick in Pout £3.00

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive £4.59

They do all look quite similar in the tubes but once they have been applied you can notice the differences straight away. Sleek 'Barely There' is the darkest of the three, Avon 'Pout' edges more towards a pinkish hue and 17 'Beehive' is the sheerest hint of colour. 

All three are incredibly creamy and moisturising and last me from breakfast till lunch without needing another application.

None of these lipsticks give the dreaded 'concealer lips' effect and they are all under a fiver!

What do you think of nude lipsticks?

Do you use any of these? 

Can you recommend me any other good ones?

Topshop Blush in Flush

Topshop Blush in Flush £6.00/4g

 I know, another blush post! 

I've wanted this one for a while though after seeing it on so many blogs and last week I finally bought it.

I've actually never used a creme blusher before but all it takes is a few dots on your cheeks and a good bit of blending and you're good to go - I've been using my fingers to apply this and I've had no problems with it. 

Once blended out it's not as pink as it looks in the pan so don't be put off by the bright colour!

Recent Beauty Buys

Being off work with a nasty tummy bug for the best part of the week has left me feeling pretty miserable - and being confined to the house with only the laptop and a stack of magazines for company gets quite dull eventually.

There was nothing else to do - I Internet shopped! 

I had some birthday money to spend so I thought I'd treat myself and cheer myself up with a few nice bits of makeup:

Urban Decay Naked Palette, Topshop Lipstick in Show Off, Topshop Highlighter in Luminescence, Topshop Lip Glaze in Dash, Topshop Blush in Flush, Sleek Blush in Rose Gold, Sleek Bad Girl Palette and Sleek Oh So Special Palette.

I've never tried Topshop makeup before but I'm really impressed with the quality of it so far!

I haven't had the energy to properly swatch and photograph everything but hopefully this week I will catch up and maybe do some face of the day posts as I'm sure you all know the Urban Decay and Sleek palettes quite well!

Budget Blushers

If there's one item I can't live without it's blusher. 

There is no colour in my face without it and unless I want to risk people thinking I'm ill, I never leave the house without it. Because of this my collection is growing ever bigger!

These are my newest, very affordable blushers.

Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious £4.19/12g

I opted for the blusher instead of the bronzer because I don't tan enough, but this little palette is gorgeous! Each shade is big enough to pick up individually on a small blush brush, but they look just as pretty all swirled together. It's hard to pick a favourite shade but I would have to go for top left and bottom right.

George @ Asda Blush in Cheeky £2.50

I always have a cheeky peruse of the George makeup when I'm in Asda and this pretty little blush caught my eye. For £2.50 you really can't go wrong - it's a decent size, very pigmented and it lasts! Because it's so cheap I don't mind just throwing it in my bag everyday use. I have a million pink blushers but one more can't hurt. (Swatch below)

 

Beauty UK Blush in Peaches and Cream £3.99

I adore this blusher. I searched high and low for a nice peachy blush that didn't give me dirty, orange cheeks - Sleek Coral, I'm looking at you - and I'm so pleased I picked this one up. I was a little unsure as I'd never used Beauty UK before but I will be buying again! You can see it in action here and I've worn it almost everyday since. It does come with a small brush attached to the underneath but sadly it's rubbish!

What's your favourite blush?

Saturday Night Face

Me and the boy went out for Thai food on Saturday night for my birthday. The food was delicious and the restaurant was small but so lovely! I had stir fried duck with cashew nuts and the boy had sweet n sour crispy chicken - two very happy tummies at the end of the meal! 

We went for a couple of drinks after and it was so nice to be able to go out without a jacket and sit in the beer gardens! Unfortunately I didn't feel up to a big night out so we got home quite early but at least I haven't been battling a hangover today! This was the makeup I wore last night:

Face:

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage

Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Buff

mixed with

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in Opal

17 Hide & Chic Concealer in Light Rose

17 Shine Control Translucent Powder

Beauty UK Blush in Peaches and Cream

Benefit High Beam

Eyes:

Eye Majic Instant Eyeshadow in Shade 1

Black Eyeshadow from Sleek Original Palette

Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black

Eylure Party Perfect Eyelashes in Midnight

Benefit Bad Girl Eye Pencil

Benefit Brow-zings in Light

Lips:

Collection 2000 Volume Sensation Lipstick in Peachy Keen

Hair:

Umberto Giannini Backcomb In A Bottle

 

What's your favourite restaurant?

Favourite food to eat out?

What I Wore & Sunday Face

Yesterday it was Ladies Day at our local Racecourse!

I was working as our company's photographer and really enjoyed the chance to get dressed up for the day! The sun was (mostly) shining and it was just a really lovely day!

Dress - New Look

Fascinator - Accessorize

Check the size of my camera lens - that baby was heavy!

Face:

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage

Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Buff

mixed with

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in Opal

17 Hide & Chic Concealer in Light Rose

17 Shine Control Translucent Powder

Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks in Pink Cloud

Benefit High Beam

Eyes:

Bourjois Felt Tip Eyeliner in Noir

No7 Stay Perfect Trio Eyeshadow in Renaissance 

Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black

Benefit Bad Gal Eye Pencil

Benefit Brow-zings in Light

Lips:

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle

I hope you all had lovely weekends!

The Cost Of My Face

I love seeing these types of posts so I thought I'd do my own!

This is what I've been reaching for this week for my everyday work makeup.

Face

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage £18.00

Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Buff £12.49 

mixed with

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in Opal £14.30

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick in Medium £8.00

17 Shine Control Loose Powder £5.49

Cheeks

No7 Blush Tint Cream Blush in Blossom £10.00

Bourjois Illuminating Touch Highlighter £6.84

Eyes & Brows

Bourjois Liner Feutre £5.99

17 Wild Curls in Wildest Black £6.29

Benefit Bad Girl Pencil £14.00

Benefit Browzings in Light £22.50

Lips

Clinique Chubbystick in Super Strawberry £14.00

Total: 137.90

Actually not as bad as I thought! I didn't think I wore so much makeup every day though - I'm sure it's not very much to some people but I like to keep it natural for daytime - clearly the natural look takes a lot of work!

How much does your face cost?

Lily Lolo Mineral Blusher

 Lily Lolo Mineral Blusher in Candy Girl and Juicy Peach 3g £7.29 each

I bought these on a whim after seeing them in the beauty section of More magazine and I'm glad I did because they are so lovely!

I chose Candy Girl which is described as "a lovely shimmery, pale pink mineral blush" and Juicy Peach which is described as "a delicious creamy matte peach mineral blush".

The descriptions are both pretty accurate; you can see the shimmery-ness of the pink blush in my swatch. They are both creamy and lightweight to apply and you only need the smallest amount to get a really nice pop of colour so these will last a while.

These are ever so slightly cheaper than the Bourjois Little Round Pots and you get .5g more of product, so definite value for money there!

The little sifter pots are so cute - it's a pleasure to have them displayed on my dressing table. 

Lily Lolo also sell a variety of mineral foundations, bronzers, eyeshadows and concealers - some of which can be purchased as sample sizes for a mere £1.29 - ideal if you've never tried mineral before and don't want to fork out for something that may not work for you!

Lily Lolo can be found here.

Have you used this brand before? What do you think of mineral makeup?

Weekend Purchases

At the weekend me and the boy took a trip over to Worcester town, mainly so he could see about getting a new tattoo, but he very kindly dropped me off at the shops so I could have a browse. A browse quickly turned into a shop as the Worcester branches of Boots and Superdrug have soooo much more choice than my local branches!

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Barely There £3.99

&

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Pink Freeze £3.99

I bought these lipsticks in the 2 for £6 offer. I stood for ages swatching all the colours before finally settling on these two beauties.

Pink Freeze is a gorgeous matte, pink. It's fairly bright but still wearable. Soft lips are a must for this as it will show up any dry patches!

Barely There is a sheen finish and is a lovely nude, subtle colour. This is actually my first nude lipstick - I usually prefer to wear pink, but this is perfect when you want a little something extra without drawing lots of attention, or without looking like you've had a makeup overload.

GOSH Blush in Electric Pink £6.49

I'm on a blush mission at the moment! This little beauty looked too pretty not to buy and I'm really impressed with it. It's called Electric Pink but don't let that put you off! It's more of a soft pink that gives a really subtle flush of colour. I thought I would need a light hand to apply this but I can actually load my brush right up for a nice healthy glow.

Models Own Pro in Matte Blue £8.00

My first Models Own nail polish and I love it! So much so that I'm going to save the painted nails photo for my Sunday nails post, keep a look out for it! For £8 you get a mammoth 15ml of product so you don't feel as if you've wasted any money. I deliberated for aaaages over their colour and finally settled on this one.

Benefit Brow-zings in Light £22.50

I decided I needed a new eyebrow pencil as my current No7 pencil is ever so slightly the wrong shade but it's been bugging me. I ventured over to the Benefit counter and was promptly offered pink lemonade, a cupcake and a Thornton's chocolate!

I explained to the assistant I needed something for brows and she picked out the Brow-zings kit, sat me on the stool and gave me a demo while I munched on my yummy goodies. She also used High Brow on my brow bone and Speed Brow to set my brows but I declined on buying these for now.

I know it looks like I've been using this for ages, but I think I accidentally bashed the bag against something because I managed to knock all the top layer of powder off; I'm so clumsy!

Please excuse my no makeup eyes!

What are your newest makeup purchases?