30 day blogger challenge: Today’s face

  
Just a quick post of ‘today’s face’ and what was used to create it.

Base: 

• urban decay naked skin in shade 2.0 
• La girl pro conceal in orange- to correct my dark circles
• Pro longwear concealer in NW15 to conceal
• Ben Nye banana powder to set.

Contour/blush:

• Mac ‘matte bronze’ to contour
• Lord & berry blush in lotus
• Mac soft & gentle to highlight

Eyes:

• Anastasia Beverley hills eye shadows in A touch of lilac (all over lid & brow bone) dark chocolate shimmer on outer corner & also used as liner) & Metal (patted onto lid & inner corner.)
• Max factor false lash effect mascara on top & bottom lashes

Brows:

• Naked basics palette colour ‘faint’ used to fill in brows 

Lips:

• Khroma beauty (Kardashian collection) double take lipstick & gloss in ‘nectar’

  
Wow these iPhone photos aren’t very forgiving! Okay don’t mention the brows! They are so not my friend at the moment.  I’m trying to grow one back, hence one being majorly shorter than the other see  Here for an explanation. This was also taken before work and I hadn’t done my hair yet but hey, I can’t be perfect all the time 😏

  Close up of the eyes 

What are your everyday make up essentials? 

Let me know in the comments 

So that’s my face today! Hope you enjoyed. 

Sam 🙂 x

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30 day blogger challenge: 10 links I love

Happy Friday people!   

  So, I’m going to be super helpful (or unhelpful if you’re on a spending ban like me!) and share with you my favourite beauty/ make up related links/sites that I use regularly. 

1. Pixiwoo (of course!) I’ve learned so much from these ladies. It’s one of my favourite sites. 
2. Tilt make up they sell Ben Nye banana powder. Need I say more? 
3. Beautylish This is where I buy my rcma cosmetics from. And they leave cute hand written notes in your parcels. I love the little personal touch 🙂
4. Wayne Goss I love his no nonsense approach to make up. He says what he thinks and isn’t a follower. If you haven’t checked him out you totally should.
5.  Very Here’s where I purchase all my NYX make up. Love that stuff! Also they have regular sales so you can always pick up a bargain.
6. Jacyln Hill I love her tutorials & She always looks so flawless. 
7.  Instagram I don’t know how we ever survived without it?! Make up porn, tutorials, interacting with like minded people all in one place. What’s not to love? 
8.  Salon Geek I spend many evenings with my eyes glued to salon geek. It’s great for anyone starting out or already in the beauty business: for tips, business and treatment advice,  trouble shooting or just to speak to other beauty professionals in general.
9. Temptalia perfect if you buy your foundation online. You just put in what you already use and it will match your shade. Genius! 
10. Sephora Its just heaven! Most of the time I can’t even afford to purchase anything in there But sometimes just browsing is enough.

 What are your favourite beauty/make up related sites? Let me know In the comments. I’d love to have a peek. 

Hope you enjoyed! 
Sam x 
 

30 day blogger challenge: Favourite concealers

  
As you can see I have quite a collection. I’m always buying the latest concealers in a hope that one of them will actually do what they say will & transform my face to make me look flawless, rested & youthful. I’m still yet to find one that makes me look 18 again. But here are the ones that make me look a little more normal. 

Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer £4.49  This for me is one of my holy grail products! I couldn’t be without it. I use it every day and I have every shade in my professional kit. I’m yet to find something that beats it.

It gives me amazing coverage for my dark circles,doesn’t crease, is light reflecting and it stays put all day & night. And at £4.49 it’s a total bargain! 
Seriously if you haven’t tried it, you need to! 

George @ Asda under eye concealer £3.99 
Another great one!  Perfect for brightening the eye area when you need that extra boost over your regular concealer. I use it for nights out and it also doubles as a highlighter. 

No word of a lie this baby rivals YSL touché eclat for me. And personally I prefer it. 

Barbers Daly for Tesco £3.99 

Excuse the state of this one I’ve had it for a while. It lasts forever!  Another bargain buy, a little definitely goes a long way with this product. It is the perfect consistency to conceal blemishes & it gives full coverage. Lovely & creamy formula, which applies well with a brush or fingers. 
Other recommendations:

Urban decays naked skin concealer £19 

  Another full coverage concealer. I loved using this in the summer when my skin was in better condition. But if you have dry skin (like I normally do) then I wouldn’t recommend it as I found it sticks to dry patches and also badly creased under my eyes. Which is unfortunate as their matching foundation is the complete opposite. 

NYX above and beyond full coverage concealer 

 The fullest coverage I have ever found in a blemish concealer. Stays put and the little pot lasts literally forever! Best applied by dabbing into blemish with a clean finger. 

Next on my concealer list are the LA girl concealers & correctors. I’ll review as soon as they arrive 🙂 

Do you have a favourite? Let me know in the comments. 

Sam 🙂 x 

30 day blogger challenge: Contents of my handbag

Not exactly the most exciting of posts but it will hopefully give me a kick up the backside to finally get rid of all the crap in there! 

  
So here’s my lovey handbag and its contents 

  

I’ll list the contents just In case you can’t see it very well. 

• River island purse
• Illamasqua make up bag
• Mac velvet teddy lipstick (of course!) 
• Elemis pro radiance illuminating flash balm
• Illamasqua blush in lover – minus a brush might I add!  Makes no sense to me either 
• Mac soft & gentle highlighter-again see above ? Must have been half asleep this morning
• Random pens I’ve stolen from people
• Hair clip
• Hand food hand cream – another essential. Smells amazing! 
• Random allergy medicine- stupid dust! 😬
• Lash curlers not that I ever use them
• Various lids that my bag steals from my perfumes everytime they enter my bag
• Random keys- I haven’t got a clue what they are for or how they got there?! 
• An Allen key- incase I need to urgently assemble some furniture 
• Givenchy hot couture perfume 
• Collection 2000 concealer (my holy grail product!) 
• Car keys
• Neutrogina lip balm 
• Tweezers 
• Doritos- gotta have a little emergency snack

And while I’m being completely honest, here’s the rest of the unimportant crap that was in there  

 
This weeks manicure! 

I’ve decided to go short and dark to get into the Autumn spirit. I used Gelish in ‘Bellas Vampire’ a lovely rich, deep purple. 

  
Tomorrows post is on my favourite concealers.

Enjoy your evening.

Sam 🙂 x 

30 day blogger challenge: Why I started blogging.

First of all sorry I haven’t been around all weekend! 

I have been furthering my education so to speak. Hopefully what I have learned will also benefit you guys in the near future. But I don’t want to spoil the fun 😏 

So, why I started blogging. I briefly explained this in my first ever post, see it Here but ill go a little more into detail. 

  

Me in ‘velvet teddy’  🙂 

I’ve always loved make up, what girl  doesn’t? But in the past year (don’t ask where I’ve been) I properly discovered M.A.C cosmetics. I blame whoever thought it a good idea to put one 10 minutes from my house! But anyway, there I was minding my own business shopping on a Saturday then BOOM! There it was right in front of me, the black sign with those three white letters. I was like a moth to a flame, I tried to fight it but next thing you know I’m in the queue with my vanilla pigment & velvet teddy lipstick in hand talking to the counter girls about the next new product launches. 

As you can guess it spiralled from there and into other brands, and my obsession for palettes began. Then foundations, then primers, then eyeliners. You catch my drift? 

So a few months and a few thousand pounds later my sister in law asks me why don’t I start a blog? I have the make up collection, the make up & brand knowledge so what was stopping me? 

It made sense. I’m honest, very opinionated (you’ll often find me on the loose women Facebook page upsetting people with it) I don’t fall for the hype, I seek out and buy the latest make up & beauty items, and I love talking about them. So here I am! You lucky lot! 

Although I’m on a spending ban this month, I thought the 30 day challenge would  help me write about a few different things and my readers will get to know me a bit more and have a better idea of what’s yet to come.  

What has kept me blogging and not giving up after the first 2 posts? You guys! Each and every like or follower makes me happy. If I’m a saddo then so be it. I think it’s amazing people out there actually care what I’m writing about and genuinely want to see things written by little old me. Hopefully My babbling can keep you all entertained for a few months yet (at least) 😉

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 

Sam 🙂 x

30 day blogger challenge: my make up wishlist

  
Here’s my make up wishlist, you might want to grab a cuppa. Could be a long night.

Enjoy! 

 Too faced Melted- liquid lipstick 

 Vegas Nay for too faced ‘stardust’ palette  
 Mac Giambattista Valli lipsticks 
. I unfortunately missed out on these beauties when they launched 😔 thinking I’ll grab them on payday. I’ll never make that mistake again! 

 Too faced – sweethearts perfect flush blush.  Look how beautiful they are. I don’t want to use them. I just want them to look pretty on my dressing table. 

Anastasia Beverley Hills cream contour & powder contour palettes.   
I want both purely so I can decide wether I want it to be a cream contour day or a powder contour day. 

La girl- concealers and velvet blush/contour sticks 

   

 
Becca highlighters.

  Any one! I don’t care which!  I just need one like yesterday 

Too faced- Born this way foundation 

  

I want naturally radiant skin that looks like I was born that way! Well that’s what it promises. I’ll let you know if it’s true if I ever get my hands on these lovelies 😬 

I also want to try crown & morphe brushes. 

Actually I don’t want that much really. Do I? 

So if someone could show this to my husband before Christmas it would be greatly appreciated 😉 

What’s on your beauty wishlist? 

I’d love to hear, let me know in the comments. 

Sam 🙂 x

 

30 day blogger challenge: My everyday make up.

  
Just a little post on the make up I use on a daily basis. 

Yes it’s a lot for just daytime and no I’m clearly not a natural beauty. But oh well we can’t have everything in life can we? 

I wear a mixture of high street & high end, and what I use at the moment I’m pretty happy with. It has taken me a very long time to find out what works for me and what doesn’t. But one thing I have learnt over the years is just because something has a designer name on it doesn’t mean it’s a great product. 

So here’s what I use on pretty much a daily basis for everyday/work and what I use each product for

Base:

 

• Illamasqua skin base shade SB03- applied all over to create an even base 
• Mac Pro longwear concealer NW15- used to cover any redness 
• Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer shade 1 light – applied under eyes to brighten & cover dark circles
• Ben Nye Banana setting powder- to set foundation

Blush/contour/highlight

  

• Illamasqua blush in Lover – used on cheekbones to give a flush of colour
• Mac bronzing powder in matte bronze- used to define cheekbones & shade sides & tip of my nose.
• Mac mineralize skin finish highlighter in soft & gentle -used sparingly down the bridge of the nose & on cheekbones 

Eyes/brows 

  

• Make up academy (MUA) eyeshadow in champagne- used on brow bone, Los & along lash line to brighten my eyes.
• Mac factor false lash effect mascara in black- on top & bottom lashes to open up the eye. 
• It cosmetics brow power in universal Taupe- used in soft strokes to fill in any sparse areas & lengthen my brows slightly.

Setting spray 

  

• Mac prep & prime fix+ make up prep/fixing mist -used before applying my base and after Ive applied everything to keep my make up in place & keep it looking fresh & dewy.

Another amazing product I couldn’t live without, for tips on how I use it click Here

Sorry for the horrible car selfie!  I hate posed pictures and this certainly isn’t one of my finest 🙈 

What are your go-to products for your day look? 

Let me know in the comments 🙂 

Tomorrow’s post is : My beauty wish list. It will be a long one, no question about it 😉 

See you then 

Sam 🙂 x

30 day blogger challenge: my favourite perfumes

Another picture post! 

Heres a few of my favourites from my collection. 

 Issey Miyake- L’Eau d’issey summer eau de toilette £41 fragranceexpert.com 
I’m a big Issey Miyake fan and this summer edition of one of my favourite perfumes did not disappoint. I don’t know what I’ll do when It runs out. 😩 but it was definitely my favourite for the summer.

Davidoff- Cool water woman £13.50 fragrancedirect.com  
Another classic that’s always in my fragrance wardrobe. It has a lovely fresh, clean scent. And is very reasonably priced wherever you shop. A nice day time perfume (so I call it anyway) 

Paco Rabanne- UltraViolet £23.99 fragrancedirect.com

Paco Rabanne- Lady Million £39 superdrug.com

 
Both are my ‘evening fragrances’ I switch between the two for nights out. 

Viktor & Rolf-Flowerbomb eau de parfum 50ml £69  

 
My all time favourite! So much so that it was my wedding perfume. 

You know apparently you are supposed to wear a fragrance on your wedding day then only wear it on special occasions and it’s supposed to remind your husband of your special day? Well not me! I drench myself in that stuff at every given opportunity! It smells lush! I’d bathe in it if it wasn’t so bloody expensive. So it’s one I always put on my birthday/Christmas list. I’m yet to meet someone who doesn’t like it. 

Do you have any recommendations or personal favourites? 

Let me know in the comments 

🙂 

Pop by for tomorrow’s post on my everyday make up. 

Sam x 

30 day blogger challenge: my skincare regime

  Looking after your skin is really important no matter how old you are. This is something that’s always been drummed into me. But I’ll be completely honest and admit that after a few glasses of vino cleansing, toning & moisturising aren’t exactly on my list of ‘things to do’ before I pass out on my pillow. But brownie points to those who do! Your skin will thank you one day. 

Considering I’m qualified in facials and know a hell of a lot about how to look after my skin, my skincare routine is pretty basic and I really should invest a bit more time and money into it. But I’ll add that to my list of things I should do but don’t. 

So here are the products that are working for me at the moment. 

 

Good old Garnier Micellar water. One of my holy grail products! I can’t recommend it enough. Removes my make up with minimal effort, doesn’t dry my skin out And is cheap as chips! 

  
 Lancôme gel éclat clarifying cleanser. I use this morning and night. It doesn’t make my skin feel tight which having dry, sensitive skin is kind of hard to find in a face wash. Smells lovely and gives me that squeaky clean feeling but doesn’t leave my face feeling dry. 

  It’s an oldie but a goodie! Olay beauty fluid My nan swears by it and she looks amazing for her age just to add. I use this as a night cream as a few specific night creams were way too rich for my skin so I’m yet to find one I like that works for me. And yes I know I need to jump in the anti ageing bandwagon but I can’t bring myself to buy a ’30-40′ version of face cream now that I’ve entered that age bracket according to Olay & Garnier. So thanks for that 👍🏼 !! 
  Embryolisse lait creme concentre is my day cream of choice. It has many uses (find out Here) but it hydrates my skin and acts as the perfect primer before I apply my make up, it instantly gets rid of any dry patches on contact! It’s like a little miracle in a tube. (It’s also in my professional make up kit too) 
  
Benefit- it’s potent: my current eye cream of choice, purely because it came in a recent birchbox. But it does what it says on the tin-sort of. (it’s really a jar) it brightens and hydrates my eye area a bit I suppose but I’m yet to see it fade my dark circles and give me ‘younger looking eyes’ who even writes that stuff?? I’m 30 not stupid 😒 

  
Garnier- goodbye dry facial wipes. I switch between these and the Micellar wipes for those lazy evenings where I don’t have the time or energy to do the usual routine. Better than nothing right? WRONG!! 

Cleansing wipes will dry out any skin type worse than the Sahara! So don’t get attached to those soggy little wipes that pretend to make your life easier. 

Use make up wipes daily & wonder why your skin never co-operates? That’s the reason. 

So that’s my honest, but probably not so great skin care routine. (If you can call it that.)

Are there any skincare products you swear by? 

Let me know in the comments 🙂

See you tomorrow 

Sam 🙂 x 

30 day blogger challenge: My make up collection

Warning! Picture heavy post full of make up porn!

I must admit I found it rather therapeutic arranging all my make up to show you all. The ocd in me wouldn’t let myself throw it all into a pile. I needed to display my babies in a prettier fashion. So I’ve taken up the dining room table for a little photo shoot with my favourite items in the whole wide world. If I had a decent camera you’d be able to see it in all its glory so I apologise in advance for the majorly poor quality, oddly shaped iPhone pics but you get the idea. (I’ll eventually get a camera I promise!)

Its pretty much self explanatory so I won’t bore you with an explanation of every single item (we’d literally be here forever!) but at the end of the post I’ll list the brands that have been pictured.

Brands in my collection:

1. Rimmel
2. Bobbi brown
3. Barbera Daly
4. George (asda)
5. RCMA
6. Vie
7. Natural collection
8. Too faced
9. Loreal
10. Bare minerals
11. Mac
12. Maybelline
13. Collection 2000
14. NYX
15. Ben Nye
16. Revlon
17. Jelly pong pong
18. Max Factor
19. Benefit
20. IT cosmetics
21. Stila
22. Laura mercier
23. Lord & berry
24. Famous by Sue moxley
25. Urban decay
26. Dr paw paw
27. lancome
28. Glossy box
29. Khroma
30. Wild about beauty
31. Provoc
32. Yves Rocher
33. Astor
34. Sleek
35. Clarins
36. Calvin Klein
37. Mirenesse
38. Model Co
39. Barry M
40. MUA make up academy
41. Models own
42. Dr Jart
43. Front cover
44. ELF
45. Illamasqua
46. Elemis
47. Eyeko
48. Cynthia Rowley
49. Avon
50. HD Brows
51. The body shop
52. Colour Unlimited
53. Bourjois
54. Clinique
55. Caudalie
56. The balm
57. Smashbox

So there it is! I hope you enjoyed.

Tomorrows post is My Skincare regime.

Happy Saturday!

Sam 🙂 x