This year, MAC’s limited edition end of the year special bundles seem to be more special than ever. In the past, they were usually limited to brushes; I’ve bought some many years ago, a few times.
Tag Archives: MAC
Bare pink: look 6 for Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Makeup Challenge
Ooooh, the Westfield #BareFacedOrBold challenge just went so quickly… time flies when we are having fun! I am closing the challenge with a pretty, girly and easy to wear look, totally pretty in pink.
Bold smokey brown: look 5 for Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Makeup Challenge
My third and last bold look for the Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Makeup Challenge is my favourite of them all: a warm brown smokey eye with popping red lips.
Bare black eyeliner: look 4 for Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Makeup Challenge
With look 4, we are just edging away from halfway of Westfield #BareFacedorBold Challenge – and I have to say I quite like this one, as it is a great everyday look very easy to put together. Think everyday at work, with a dash of lip colour to brighten up the autumn.
Bold blue: look 3 for Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Makeup Challenge
I am now halfway the Westfield #BareFacedOrBold Challenge and this is my second bold look – a blue bolt eyed ice maiden type of character… if that makes any sense.
Lip biting: MAC’s Rocky Horror Picture Show collection
Even without counting in my undying love of the slightly freaky, there are too many reasons why I will fall in love with MAC’s latest limited edition collection, Rocky Horror Picture Show: there are four, yes, I said four, red lipsticks on offer.
Product review: Lola by Perse Spirited Away eyeshadows and eyeliner
I hadn’t worked on an eye makeup for a very long time, so the arrival of the beautiful new eye colours from the Lola Makeup Spirited Away collection was the right excuse to get me going!
For this look, which was inspired in one created to promote the collection, I used the Lola satin eyeshadows 034 – a shimmery gold – 035 – a shimmery baby blue and 045 – a shimmery terracota.
Beautiful christmas: my selection of beauty gifts
Ho ho ho. It is December and I feel I am officially allowed to say the C word without attracting some dirty looks (and the “already?!” expression n their faces). Obviously, I am talking about CHRISTMAS, silly.
Most people know someone who is a beauty fanatic and if you are not one yourself, choosing the right thing can be quite difficult. But fear not, So Many Lovely Things will give you an easy solution that is certain to cause a good impression.
I went through my favourite places for beauty buys and here are my picks:
Up to £25
A good all rounder for a great price. Studio products are great value for money. This Smokey eye kit, for £6, is certain to please. New Years eve eyes, sorted!
I love the Eyeko Skinny liner – it is my favourite and I use everyday. This double pack from QVC is excellent value for £14 and after trying you will certainly need a second (and a third – you won’t live without it, ever!)
Classic skin care brand Nivea pulled together a lovely pampering selection with Honey Face Masks, Body lotion, Pearly Shine Lip, Cleansing Wipes, Moisturising Day Cream, amongst others. For £15, this gift goes a long way. Available at Boots.
Post Chirstmas excesses will show on your face. Pull yourself together with this L’Oréal Port-Party Beauty SOS and be ready for the next one in no time! £10 from Boots.
A pretty bauble from Rodial, with its lovely Glam Balm inside. A tiny bit of luxury to plump those lips for that all important unde the mistletoe action! £14 from Harrods.
I love this book. Rae Morris’ classic Makeup: The Ultimate Guide will help you get the grips with makeup and look even more fabulous! Only £12.50 from Amazon.
The Sanctuary’s Best Sellers Collection is a great body indulgence kit with their classic scent. £15 from Debenhams.
Clinique’s Chubby stick Whole Lotta Candy collection means you will have three beautiful shades to choose from for the New Year’s party! £20 from House of Fraser.
Pretty doll eyes with YSL Baby Doll Mascara Set – to put it on and remove later! Find it at Boots for £24.50.
Must Have minis from Nails Inc – lots of shades to start well the year – fro nudes to neons – this will keep your talons colour going for a while! Great value of £23.52 from QVC!
Festive talons courtesy of Clinique’s Party Tips nail polish set.. Three pretty shades for sensitive skin for £20 from House of Fraser.
Discover Elemis’ great Tri-enzime kit with this 4 piece set, for only £24.12 from QVC.
OPI’s Fit to be Tied #2 has two beautiful nail shades and delivers glitter in the right amount. £18.55 from QVC.
Clinique’s classic 3 step kit is one of my favourites cleanse, tone and moisturise sets. Have a go with this intro collection and see for yourself. £20 from Debenhams.
The Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is a classic – and is has a special edition for Christmas – £26.25 for 200ml cleaner and 2 muslim cloths!
Over £26
I couldn’t leave out the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay, coming out on the 12 December for £37. Hurry!!!
Beautifully packaged MAC’s Stroke of Midnight eye kit in Smoky got me hooked. Smokey eyes paradise with Chillproof, Retrospeck, Gaelic Gold, Well Put Together and Carbon (my fave matte black eyeshadow). At £32, exceptional value for money.
Benefit’s Groovy Kinda Love gift set has their best sellers to keep you pretty – and all for £29.50 from Boots.
Sparkle! The Urban Decay Starlight Glitter set can help with that! £30 from House of Fraser.
Guinot has brought some lovely gift boxes this year, each one looking to fix a “problem” in a girl’s life.
Ready Set Glow will deliver complexion brightening tools; Damsel in De-Stress will pamper and help relief stress; Supercharged Youth Boost delivers a boost for ageing skin. They also have a male grooming gift set called Tied up, with a face wash, after shave and shaving brush! They are priced between £46 and £64 and can be found at your nearest salon using Guinot products or at the Salon Skincare website, amongst others. website
Reveal a younger you with YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum set, £64 from Boots.
Lancôme’s Visionnaire is of my favourite serums – and this set has lots of amazing goodies to accompany it! It costs £82 from Boots.
This classic selection of half size MAC brushes is amazing – and a fantastic value too at £42.
And finally, a girl can dream…. fro £300 you can get the WHOLE Alber Elbaz collection for Lancôme at Harrods. Sigh…
My halloween look: Disney’s Maleficent
It is no secret I absolutely LOVE dressing up. Halloween is just another opportunity for me to get drawing, cutting, sewing and hot gun gluing.
Maleficent is my favourite Disney character. It has always been, since my mum bought me the Sleeping Beauty book from the book circle people (it was so long ago, they used to come to your door, hahahahaha) and then later on, the VHS, which I watched repeatedly, as any good child obsessed with their favourite story. However, even though I love Aurora, Maleficent was for me, the highlight of the story and even though she deserved to die (as these stories go), I just loved watching her turn into a huge, scary dragon.
So this year, I decided to turn into the Mistress of All Evil. I interpreted her three times when younger at school, and although I perfected the evil cackle after the “prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die” line, my costume making and makeup resources and abilities weren’t even close to what they are today.
With high expectations, I started to gather the bits: a cheap vampire cloak, twisted devil horns, an amazing raven (or crow, not quite sure!) and purple satin from eBay. I painted the horns black (with acrylic paint from Tiger, they originally had some red in them) and using a hot glue gun, attached them to a wide alice band. I wrapped a satin ribbon around the joints and headband to give it a better finish.
For the sceptre, I bought a cheap devils trident and a tacky oversized Christmas bauble, which was red. I removed the colour with nail polish remover to rveal the silver and glued (hot glue) to the trident stick. I then hot glued my raven on to it.
I then cut the sizes of the cloak, added a lining layer of purple to the back and added the shredded purple details to the from opening. Underneath, I wore a New Look black velvelt bodycon, tights and black court shoes.
For the make up, I created my usual base with Hourglass Veil primer, MAC Fortified skin enhancer in adjust, foundation, concealer and powder. I then started the eyes. I used Urban Decay purple Vice and MAC Bitter for the eyes, as well as Eyeko Skinny liner and Black Magic mascara and a set of exaggerated, cheap false lashes.
Lovely raven
The whole look
Green and purple
The eyes have it
My inspiration approves!
My Maleficent wears Loubis…
I painted my raised eyebrows and my widow’s peak with MAC gel liner in Blacktrack. I then applied eyeshadow Bitter all over my face, to exhaustion, until I became green-ish and contoured the cheeks quite blatantly with MAC’s Carbon eyeshadow and my usual contouring shade from Inglot (a muted almost grey brown).
I finished off with MAC’s Russian Red and a huge black ring.
And as a bonus, here is a pic of my better half Frankenstein monster, which I put together pretty quickly! Make up took five minutes with green face paint, MAC gel liner in Blacktrack and Carbon eyeshadow. Bolts were made of grey foam, painted unevenly with Barry M Foil effect polish and glued on with Duo lash glue.
I think I looked quite scary. I was very pleased with my Maleficent – I was so worried I wouldn’t make her justice, but in the end, I think I pulled it off!
What did you dress up as for Halloween this year?
Product review: MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash mascara
For me, a good mascara is a definition mascara. Yes, I love volume, but I prefer that all of my lashes are separated and coated – and that is why I liked MAC’s Extended Play mascara.
Its brush has tough short bristles, and they pick each individual lash, creating a nice fan effect. If you build up three layers, it will also give you some volume, but this baby’s business is definition. Also, it is a lovely super black, which I favour.
However, what I really love about this is the staying power. When they say extended play, they weren’t kidding: it lasts. I don;t like waterproof mascara, it dries my lashes too much. But I used this on the beach and it lasted.
And it doesn’t smudge or flakes. It does comes off with warm water, in flakes, so there is no panda eye mess when washing your face. An eye make-up remover, although always used by me, it barely necessary after washing. For this reason alone, this mascara is well worth its price of £14!
With (L) and without (R) mascara – I enjoyed the definition it gives my lashes
From this angle, I noticed my lashes are not only defined, but also lengthened
Fact: have been put off MAC mascaras for a very long time, and never though anything good of them – and never though I’d buy another one (think the last was about seven years ago!). This product certainly changed my mind.
So Many Lovely Things 