NEW! MAC Cosmetics Beth Ditto collection

Images courtesy of Google

Beth Ditto has joined the likes of Lady Gaga and Nicky Minaj by collaborating with expert beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.

Capturing her own vibrancy in the limited edition collection, Beth’s range for MAC is a mix of punky cool and candy-glossed pop.

For wacky lashes the Zoom Lash mascara comes in plum, blue and burgundy, while the Smoke & Shade Shadow/Eyeliners are available in shades off black,brown,soft pink and bright blue.

For lips, the shades get as funky as you’d expect with the cheekily named Booyah!! Bright Orange, Dear Diary Neon Pink, and Heart Hangover Deep Purple.

Nails however, get sweet and summery in candy colours with soft pink, pastel yellow and milky peach, while the powder gets the polka dot treatment with yellow and blue spots. Cute!

The Beth Ditto collection will be available exclusively online at maccosmetics.co.uk for four weeks from 1st June.

What are your thoughts on this collaboration?

The need for contouring

This is the contour kit i use, from Sleek £6.50

Images courtesy of Google

I absolutely LOVE contouring, gives the illusion of the perfect high cheekbones that models have and with the help of the right tools and shades you can create them, follow my easy steps on how to contour :)

Before you get started you will need the following things:

1. A dark colour for shading in either a cream or powder, and it should be two to three shades darker than your skin tone but in the same undertone. If you choose to use powder it should be matte.

2. A light colour for highlighting in either a cream or powder. The colour can be considerably lighter than your skin depending on how much you want it to show. The highlighter can be matte or shimmer depending on the effect you want to achieve.

3. An angled or medium sized blush brush. Using a angled blush brush makes shading much easier as the angle of the brush will fit perfectly under the cheekbone.

Here’s the simple step by step guide to create prominent cheekbones:

1. Using the angled part of the brush and your darkest colour, sweep under the cheekbone starting close to the ear and finishing with the brush leaving your face.(#1 in above image) Repeat until you get desired intensity.

2. Dust off the dark colour on a tissue before picking up the highlight colour.

3. Apply the highlight colour to the top of the cheekbone by gently tapping or brushing. (#2 in above image)

Anywhere you shade with a darker colour will recede and what you highlight will be brought forward. Remember to do both to beautifully contour your cheeks.

Hope my tips and guide have helped you in contouring :)

My week in pictures: summer edition

From L to R clockwise: A beautiful sunset, all of us who live in the UK have experienced some lovely hot weather lately and i have been enjoying not only the hot days but the cool breezed evenings that follow after, this snap was taken at a park and even then it felt like 23 Celsius! 

One of my NEW eye experimentations, purple and gold go so well together, i have been looking for inspiration so i add some new work into my portfolio.

Hot weather means ice cold desserts to cool me down, The other day i ordered a berry parfait from EIS cafe, tasted delish and way better than milkshakes or the usual ice cream on cone. 

Hope you all had a great week in the sun! ^^

Let's review: M.A.C blusher - Dollymix

Dollymix is one of M.A.C's bestsellers and my current favourite pink blush. I LOVE IT. It is a gorgeous raspberry pink blush, super pigmented and one of the prettiest pinks I own. It is  shimmer which adds a glow to the cheeks rather than accentuating the pores. 
I have to be careful with how much I apply because it is very pigmented and you need the smallest amount for application! I suggest to tap of any excess there is on the brush before applying it onto cheeks  I like how it gives a flushed look (applied just on the apples of the cheeks). The staying power is around 6+ hours on me, which is quite impressive. It goes on smoothly without getting patchy.

I would definitely recommend this blusher!

My review for this product.

PRODUCT : 10/10

PIGMENTATION : 10/10

TEXTURE : 10/10

LONGEVITY : 10/10

APPLICATION : 5/5

PACKAGING : 5/5

Let's review: Dior 2012 summer collection, make up!

Images courtesy of Google

Nature seems to be the inspiration for the colours displayed on the high-end brands. Croisette makeup collection for summer 2012 is definitely of the French Riviera inspired collection.

Combination of relaxing shades of the Mediterranean sea and the sand. Fresh aquatic colours include sky, sea water, corals, and marine.

Between the shimmering turquoise of the Mediterranean Sea and the sparkling gold of the sand, through soft coral and bikini pink, the Croisette reveals all it's elegance and optimism in sunny and aquatic-inspired shades. The skin is warmed up and illuminated in a natural glow while the eyes are dressed up with luminescent sunny shades and fresh azure blues. The lips are colourful while the nails complete the look with coral and blue shades inspired by the French Riviera.
I am loving this collection! Are you too?

Let's review: Batiste's NEW dry shampoo in lace

I get so excited when I see a new fragrance of Batiste being launched. I was sent this press release to review (thanks lisa!) Dry shampoos these days have come a long way and don’t just make your hair look less greasy. They also add volume and freshens your hair with a beautiful fragrance.

The design for Batiste’s new product, Lace (Seductive and Elegant) reminds me all things sensual. The beautiful salmon pink can with lace detailing stands out amongst the other Batiste products and looks attractive.

The new scent offers base notes of white musk, cedarwood and sandalwood which are complimented by top notes of citrus fruits, nutmeg and pink pepper. The heart of the fragrance contains stylish floral tones of rose, orchid and iris with jasmine and ylang-ylang.

I found the fragrance to be really refreshing from other Batiste products. This one reminds me more of a perfume, or scent I would wear. The other fragrances from Batiste have all been quite floral, fruity or musk like.

Move aside cherry i think i have found my NEW fave!

Batiste lace Dry Shampoo costs £2.99 for 200ml and can be purchased in most Boots stores (It is also available online through Boots.com)and in Superdrug outlets too.

My week in pictures.

From L to R clockwise: Lately i have been recieving ALOT of freebies through the post, some are great for reviewing (my last post was a review of Smashbox's foundation primer, be sure to check it out)

My new obsession, is Yoomoo's range of frozen yogurt. I have never tried it before but it sure is a healthier alternative to ice cream. My favourite one from the range is angelmoo simply because it has blueberries in it.

Nothing like adding some colour to your room by putting a vase of fresh pink flowers and It has been ages since i put flowers in my room.

Let's review: Smashbox's foundation primer

A month back i signed up to this newsletter so i could be the first to know when Smashbox cosmetics website will be launched in the UK and just for signing up they gave away a free sample of foundation primer to all who signed up.

I received my sample today and although i have never tried Smashbox cosmetics i do know that it is a very good make up brand and i hope to buy some products soon. 

I ordered the shade medium hoping that it would match my skin tone, when i saw the product i kinda panicked because i thought the shade would be too dark, i tried a swatch on my hand and blended and you could not see any colour or tint, my skin felt smooth and there was a healthy glow, this product is actually amazing.

After a while i checked my hand to see the staying power of the primer and it was still there! which gives reassurance that this may be the perfect primer and your foundation will not budge. 

What do you think of Smashbox cosmetics? another great brand to have in the uk?   

Ciate's new caviar manicure

Images courtesy of Ciate.co.uk

OH MY! The latest trend that's taking the world by storm is this 'caviar' style nail art from Ciate. Apparently Selfridges have 14,000 people on the waiting list for the at-home kit. yet another great way to do your nails,which looks like you've sprinkled small pearls over your nails... how cool is that?

There are three to choose from, mother of pearl which is white in colour, black pearls and rainbow!

The cost... £18. A pop.

Another visit to the EIS cafe

I paid another visit to my new fave local cafe, EIS cafe. This time i ordered smoothies instead of the usual milkshakes. I absolutely love this place! the way they arrange fresh fruit and ice cream is so inviting!

It is so useful to have this so near to where i live... definitely the place to go if you want a sugar rush.

I ordered the apple berry smoothie which consisted of apples,strawberries,blackberries and raspberries. while my hubs opted for the Hawaiian smoothie which consisted of melons,mangoes, bananas and blueberries. 

It's so healthy and they provide great service. If your ever around in Birmingham UK then do give this place a try.

Front Cover eyeshadow - my review

NOTE: i have finally got a better camera, so expect nothing but HD pics!

Whenever I've thought of Frontcover cosmetics in the past I always thought of their Christmas gift sets that you can get exclusively in Boots...I had no idea that they had their own line in Boots stores nationwide! And I was even more impressed to find out that Frontcover is actually currently Boots' fastest selling make up brand so I was excited to try out one of the eyeshadows that i had bought.Each pan is domed and you get 1g of product.When I first swatched the eye shadows, I must admit, I though they were a little dry but I figured that this was to be expected with baked products. They are a little on the powdery side but that aside, the pigmentation is really good and the colours apply just as they look in the pan. The colour I chose is very shimmery but I believe they come in a variety of finishes so there should be some to suit the The Frontcover pans and compacts are a really good high street alternative to other high branded cosmetics. Available now at boots, £4.00 for each refill.

My review for this product is...

PRODUCT : 9/10

PIGMENTATION : 10/10

TEXTURE : 8/10

LONGEVITY : 9/10

APPLICATION : 5/5

PACKAGING : 4/5