MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer: Review & Swatches

Hi guys !

In this post I wanted to give you a brief review of these MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Laquers.

I've purchased those few weeks ago and have been loving them, but never got around to do a blog post about them.

MUA  Luxe Velvet Lip Laquers are long lasting, waterproof lip colours. They glide on your lips very easily and dry in seconds giving your lips a beautiful matte, velvety finish.

They come in a lip gloss, clear frosted glass packaging ( which is nice as you get to see the actual product ) and a black lid with "MUA Luxe" writing embossed in golden font. 

There is 5 different, richly pigmented, vampy shades: Kooky, Atomic, Reckless, Criminal and Funk.

Each Velvet Lip Laquer costs €3.66 or £3.00. Super cheap, right ?! 

& They make a great alternative to the Lime Crime Velvetines (which are around €13 dearer) !

I wanted to order the whole set of 5 colours but the purple shade "Kooky" was unavailable at the time of my order ! :(

The first shade is "Criminal". It is a bright pink/fushia shade.

Reminds me of MAC- Girl About Town  or Kate Moss for Rimmel in shade 20.

Next colour I got is "Funk", which is another pink shade. 

Funk is a deeper, berry shade.

Next on is "Atomic", which is definitely my favourite one of the lot I got !
Atomic is a super bright orangey-red shade, a lot like Lady Danger from Mac.

And the last shade I got is "Reckless".

Reckless is a very deep, vampy red. 

I wish I could have gotten the 5th shade 

"Kooky" which is a gorgeous, vampy, purple shade as all of the colours I got are fab !

And guys, a little tip... Apply the laquers on quickly as this stuff dries in seconds ! :)

X

New in - Heroine & Sketch #MAC

Heeey !

The other day I went to do a little shopping and I dropped into MAC and picked up two items.

I got a lipstick & an eyeshadow pan for my '15 pro palette'. 

I don't know, if many of you guys have heard about the "back to mac" program ?

Well, if you haven't then... 

Basically, MAC has a program where you can bring back any 6 empty packaging items (obv. after MAC products) , glass or plastic. May it be packaging after foundation, empty eyeshadow pot or lipstick bullet

(They even accept the empty packaging after brush cleansers and make up wipes !) and you exchange those for a lipstick or an eyeshadow. 

It was my second time doing the "back to mac" and again, I've got a lipstick -"Heroine" ( before I've got "Creme d'nude").

Heroine is a beautiful bright purple with a matte finish.

I've been obsessed with purple lip colours lately and Heroine was on my wishlist for a long, long time so I was delighted to finally get my hands on it !

A swatch on my hand (no flash, just daylight)

Picture of "Heroine" with and without a flash.

And me, wearing "Heroine" today.

The other product I got was an eyeshadow pan for my neutral '15 pro palette'.

The last gap in my palette was finally filled in with "Sketch" !

"Sketch" is described as a burgundy with red shimmer.

To me it is just a very warm, red toned, dark brown. It does have shimmer but it is very unnoticable, it is a very neutral brown shade and it is a lovely crease shade or it would make a lovely colour for a brown smokey eye.

I am actually wearing Sketch in my crease in the photo above.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my little purchase from MAC ( I never leave that place unhappy haha ! ) and I will probably be wearing those two products lots in the next while ! 

I fell like "Heroine" & I are going to become best friends ;) haha

Have you got Heroine or Sketch in your collection?

A. x

MAC "Expensive Pink" / Review & Make Up Look

Hi hguys !

"Expensive Pink" by MAC is one of my favourite MAC shades of all times.

 It is described as "pink with duochrome".

 To me though, it is more of a peachy/salmon shade with gold very fine shimmer and it has a metallic finish.

As I mentioned above, it is one of my favourite eyeshadows by MAC and the other day I realised I do not wear it enough, so I decided to wear it.

It is one of the most beautiful shades for Spring and Summer. "Expensive pink" is one of those shades that looks great on all skin tones and because it's a duochrome it can look like a completely different shade everytime you use a different way to apply and blend it out. It can look more pinky or more peachy or just gold and that's all depending on the way you blend it out and the brush you use to apply it with. In my opinion it is a "must have" MAC eyeshadow as you can really create million looks with it and it will look amazing everytime you wear it. 

This is the look I ended up wearing:

I applied a matte creamy shade as a highlight then I applied "expensive pink" onto the lid and a little bit in the crease of my eye, applied some black eyeshadow into the crease to add some definition and blended out the crease with a tiny amount of red eyeshadow, finished off with a winged eyeliner and accent lashes.

I also applied a red blusher and a nude lipstick.

I think this look was quite dramatic but still really wearable.

Have you got "Expensive pink" shade in you make up collection? If so, what's your favourite way of wearing it? 

A. X

Nars cosmetics / Beauty wishlist #1 + review

Hi guys !

I have been a massive fan of the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (Mine is in colour Ceylan) for ages now. I have gone through a few bottles of it already and I am not going to give up this foundation.... Ever !

It is a foundation that gives your skin a glowing, natural radiant finish and it has a sheer, buildable coverage ( to me it is a medium to full coverage to be honest ) and it has a super light formula that does not feel sticky or heavy on your skin making it really comfortable to wear !

 I love this foundation for its finish, formula for how flawless it makes my skin look everytime I use it. 

I have gotten multiple compliments whenever I had this foundation on ! I have even written a review about this foundation in the past, which you can read here . 

Since I've fallen in love with this products I have been dying to try out a few more of Nars products lately and wanted to share it with you. 

1.  Nars Highlighting Blush in Albatross 

I am a big fan of highlighters. I just think they add a beautiful healthy glow and this particular highlighter I've heard sooo much good about. It looks really plain and kind of funny in the compact as it looks quite white. When you apply it to your skin though, it adds a light golden sheen. 

2. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla

This little guy I've been dying to try out since I first tried my Sheer Glow Foundation, but unfortunately the "Vanilla" shade has been SOLD OUT like everywhere in the past year or so !

It is supposed to be a perfect match to go with the Sheer Glow foundation. It is said to have "medium to high coverage, lightweight formula, to be long wearing and crease-proof" which sounds like a winner to me ! 

I have also been looking for an alternative to my Mac Prolongwear Concealer as I get quite bored of using the same products all the time haha !

3. The Multiple in Copacabana

Another highlighting product on my wishlist, this one has a creamy formula !

I want to try the Copacabana shade as it looks the most neautral to me, from swatches it doesn't look pink or yellow toned. It is kind of in between. I this the stick highlighters are just so easy to use, you just apply a little bit of it straight from the bullet and blend it out with your fingers. These multiple's are also great as they are suitable to be used all over your body, not just your face ! So great multi-use product !

4. The Ita Kabuki Brush

This bad guy just gets so much love all over the internet !

It is described as "Super black goat hair in a small, flat and angular design ideal for blending and contouring." - Since I'm quite mad about contouring my face I am DYING to try this brush out (I'm also a make up brush hoarder so any brush that can be added into my collection sounds good haha )

5. Bronzing Powder in Laguna

I love trying out different bronzers for contouring and adding warmth to the face. I think a good bronzer is a basic and a must have product to have in any make up kit, may it be personal make up bag or a professional kit ! This one also gets great reviews online and I have been wishing to try this for ages! 

Let me know what are your favourite products or what you would like to try out from NARS ?!

A. x

How to correctly apply a lipstick and get it perfect- Everytime !

Hi guys ! 

Today I wanted to make a quick post about how to apply your lipstick properly and get it perfect ...EVERYTIME ! 

Bold lipstick is a staple in my make up routine, you'd rarely see me wearing a nude lip or a clear gloss. 

I usually opt for bright and bold colours for my lips and I can NOT stand a lipstick applied unevenly.
I want to share with you a few tips that always work for me when it comes to applying lipstick and also making it last all day.

- Pick your favourite lipstick & a matching liner. If you don't have a matching lip liner, you can use a lip brush.

- Apply a lipbalm before applying your foundation and do the rest of your  make up as youy usually would, so  by the time you want to apply the lipstick your lips are primed and moisturised.

- Then  apply a tiny bit of foundation or concealer onto your lips. This evens out the colour of your lips, acts as a base and gives your lipstick something to stick to.

-Now apply a a highlighter to your cupid's bow (This is the small "V" area above your top lip.) This will highlight the shape of your top lip and make it easier for you to determine where to apply the lip liner/lipstick, kind of like a stencil.

-Now it's time to line your lips. If you want your lipstick to last longer first line your lips with one of these clear lip liners 1 or 2( These colourless lip liners have the setting agents that keep the lip colour from feathering and keeps the colour on for longer, the smooth moisturising formula also helps to smooth out the lip line and allows for easy and smooth application) .

-If you've done or skipped the previous step, pick the lip liner of your choice and line your lips with it. Also as I mentioned before, if you do not have a matching liner for your lipstick, use a small lip brush (a thin eyeliner brush will also do).

Take a little bit of your lipstick on your lip brush/ or use your lip liner, and start of with the top lip. ( I usually start off on my cupid's bow and then line the rest of my top lip and line my bottom lip. Then fill in your lips with the liner, if you want a super long-lasting effect.

If you have small lips, go over your natural lip line a little bit to add a bit off volume to your lips.

Lining your lips before applying lipstick is one of the most important steps as it prevents your lipstick from feathering and smudging throughout the day.

- Now apply the lipstick of your choice over the area you've filled in with your liner.

-Use a cream concealer and a small synthetic concealer brush and apply it to the edges of your lips. This is an optional step. Concealer can be used to clean up the edges of your lips and also act as an addition to prevent your lip colour from bleeding.

And now you're done ! Go and rock those bold and bright lips with confidence :)

Hope you guys found this quick post helpful and enjoyed some of my tips.
Let me know in the comments what you think and let me know what your favourite lipsticks are? Mine is Ruby Woo from MAC. The prefect Red :)

Much love, A x

Sleek Make up Review- Sleek Ultra Mattes VI Brights Palette, Lip 4 Palette in Showgril, Blush By 3 Palette in Pumpkin.

Hi guys!

In this post I want to do a quick review of some of my most recent Sleek Make Up products.

I have been always dying to try Sleek Make Up since I've first seen them in some of the British Beauty Blogger's YT channels. I was always going to order them online but was never sure how the online swatches would compare to the products being seen in real life so I never ended up getting them, until... 

SLEEK MAKE UP has made their appearance in my local Boots and I've first seen them last December. 

The first products I picked up were the Sleek Contour Ki,t which I literally SWEAR by and use as a part of my daily make up routine and the second product I picked up was an Eyebrow kit, which was also great. 

I was super impressed with the quality of the products so I decided to pick up more !

The products I picked up ( I'm sure you can already tell as I mentioned them in the title of this post ) were the Ultra Mattes VI Brights Palette, Blush by 3 palette in Pumpkin and Lip 4 Palette in Showgirl.

Every single one of these products was amazing quality so I'm gonna go straight ahead and give you more detail about each one of them.

First product that I'm gonna talk about is this Blush by 3 palette, this deserves to be mentioned first as it is a product that I constantly reach for !

Usually Sleek products are super pigmented and a little goes a lond way and the same goes for this baby !

This palette contains three colours and those are bright red (Lantern) , pink(Squash) and orange(P Pie).

These were € 12.99 for 3 quality blush colours in one palette. They come with a build-in mirror which makes the product great on-the-go !

Also the fact that you get three different shades means you can bring it along when you're travelling as you get 3 different colours in one handy compact ! 

I'm loving the orange one in a combo with a bright orange lip ( Sleek Make up Pumpkin Liner pencil & Morange lipstick from MAC) 

The second product is the Lip 4 Palette in Showgirl.

Again, love this for the geat pigmentation. 

In this palette You're getting 4 shades of pink cream lipsticks in glossy, satin and matte finishes. 

The colours you get are baby pink, neon pink and a berry pink. 

The swatches on my lips go as they are put in the palette. 

The only downside was that one of the shades (the palest pink) was a bit more soft in texture than the other ones, as you can see in the picture (bottom left) it is quite destroyed as I didn't expect it to be that soft! Haha but other than that the colour pay off is amazing. Shades are lovely, pink shades to suit everyone  

The neon pink shade is a nice dupe for Mac's Candy Yum Yum (Another cheap dupe for my fave mac lipstick  ) and the pale pink would be a great dupe for St Germain from Mac also. 

Four super pigmented and long lasting lipsticks in one compact for €10.99. 

 And the last product I want to talk about is this Ultra Matter VI Brights Palette !

I picked up this particular palette as I wanted to get an eyeshadow palette that was completely different from the ones I already own ( I still am planning to get the neutral palettes too though ! :) ) .

I just thought that this palette would be an unique addition to my make up collection.

 The pictures give u swatches on my arm with flash and without the flash ( without a primer, just over a super thin layer of foundation). 

All of the shadows have matte finish and are highly pigmented. 

You only need a little bit and the colour pay off is amazing ! 

This is the third eyeshadow palette from sleek I've tried ( I've also tried the neutral palette and the romantic palette at my friend's ) and the quality is as always, amazing. 

Cost of the palette is €9.99 for 12 great quality eyeshadows ! Definitely worth picking up if you're looking for a lovely eyeshadow palette on a budget ! 

There are also neutral coloured palettes available if bright colours are not your cup of tea ! 

I hope you found this review helpful ! I know it is not super detailed, but I just wanted to share a quick and brief opinion on those products.  

Have you tried any Sleek Make Up products? If yes, let me know which ones are your favourites ! 

A. x

How to Contour & Highlight your face like a pro

Hi guys !

In this post I want to talk to you about contouring & highlighting of your face.

Contouring has become extremely popular in the last while, I remember the days when bronzing up the face a little was the only thing we would do to add definition to the face, now each part of the face gets more focus and we contour and highlight to make our best features stand out.

I have taken my time by practicing and trying out different ways of contouring my face starting off with just contouring my cheeks, foreahead and now I'd occasionally even contour my nose !

I have tried both cream and powder contouring and I definitely find the powder products easier to work with, but of course it depends on your own preference and skills.

I just find that using certain powder products gives the best and most natural finish.

For contouring I'd usually use bronzers and for highlighting...obviously highlighters :)

Why contour?

With contouring you can totally transform the look of your face, without using a scalpel. 
You can slim down your nose ( no more nose job considered for me ! ), get the Top Model cheekbones or make your forehead look smaller.

How?

By using powder or cream products.
Contour the desired areas and blend out the harsh lines to create the most natural look.

The areas you'd usually contour would be underneath the cheekbones, nose, temples and also under your lip ( to give you and illusion of a bigger lower lip ).

I enclose a picture to make things easier to understand:

Why Highlight?

To give your skin a beautiful healthy glow ( who doesn't want that? )

How?

Use cream, liquid  or powder products and even highlighting pencils.
Or use liquid base product as a base and use powder on top to make the area stand out even more ( I'd usually do that on my cheekbones) .

Add freshness to your look by adding a small amount highlighting powder ( my favourite is Nylon eyeshadow from MAC ) to the inner corner of your eyes and also run a flesh toned highlighting pencil into the inner rim of the eye.

Dab a few dots of a liquid highlight on top of your cheekbones and blend out with your finger or a stippling brush.

 Or

Use a powder highlight and a small tapered or a fan brush and apply the product on top of your cheekbones, you cupid's bow ( to give an illusion of a bigger upper lip ), your brow bone ( I prefer highlighter pencils for that area though ) and run a little bit of the product down the bridge of your nose.
You can also apply a highlighter to the centre of your forehead to give a very youthful illusion of a rounded forehead. This would work for normal and dry skin, do not apply it to this area if you have an oily T-zone.

My favourite products for contouring & highlighting include:

1. Sleek contour kit in Light

Perfect 2 in 1 combo including contour & highlight product in one compact. The shade of the highlighter is more pink toned and the contouring side is perfect for subtle contour ( Shade Light.) This particular shade is perfect for fair skin tones. I use this on daily basis, definitely a winner !

2. Hoola Bronzer by Benefit

Great bronzing powder that has the perfect shade for contouring as it is more ashy than red toned. It does not leave patches and smells lovely. The cute packaging is a bonus too !

3. MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Deep

This product I use when I want more subtle and natural look and when I'm only really adding a little bit of definition to my face. The shade is a lovely warm toned colour but has no red undertones. Lovely for bronzing up the face on the lazy contour/no contour days.

4. High beam by Benefit

I have love/hate relationship with this one !

I've gone through stages where I was absolutely obsessed with this and and then haven't reache for it for years, then re-purchased it and have been LOVING it recently !

It is a lovely pink toned, liquid highlighter. The only liquid highlighter that works on top of powder. 

I do find that I have to use a brush if I am applying it over powder though.

Otherwise you can just dap three dots on top of your cheekbones and blend it out with your finger and it adds gorgeous healthy glow to your skin. Brush applicator is great and the products lasts you years as you only need a teeny tiny bit of it to get amazing results !

5. Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam

This powder highlight has been obsession of mine for about two years now. It is a beautiful golden shade highlight that has a super creamy texture and rich pigment.

It has tiny, super fine shimmer in it that is undetectable ( no chunky glitters ! ) 

Again, you only need a tiny amount of this to luminise your skin. 

Love this, especially during the summer !

6. No7 Skin Illuminator 

The same concept as the Highbeam, but not as pink toned. 

Makes a great alternative to Highbeam by benefit as it is approx. 1/2 the price ! 

My favourite brushes: 

Blush/contour brush perfect for contouring and blending out the contour

Fan brush perfect for highlighting

Small tapered brush Perfect shape for both contouring & highlighting

I have also recently posted a video on how I contour & highlight on my Youtube channel, if you want to see me demonstrate the whole process. 

Watch it here: 

Hope you enjoyed this post and hopefully learnt something new ! :)

Leave your thoughts in the comment bar below !

A. x