What I Got For Christmas 2014 // Makeup

What I Got For Christmas 2014 // Makeup

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Hello everybody,

Long time no post! I am sooo sorry for not uploading but I promise that in the new year I will be back on track. Anyway, today I have an exciting post for you all - I'm sharing all the makeup I received from family and friends at Christmas. I thought you may like to see all the new bits and bobs I was gifted and have a sneek peek on the items I will be reviewing in the near future...here goes!

*small disclaimer - I am not bragging or 'showing off', I'm just simply sharing my gifts, which I am super grateful for:-)*

FACE

Too Faced Sweethearts Blush in Candy Glow - I have been lusting after this blush for a long time now and my friend Lis very kindly gifted me this at Christmas. The blush consists of three shimmery strips of colour - a paler pink, coral and darker pink. I cannot wait to apply this over matte blushes to create a beautiful shimmer on my cheeks. Overall, I am obsessed with the cute girly packaging and the final effect this product produces.

Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power - My cousin bought me this for Christmas, as I specifically asked for a Mac blush but I didn't know which shade I wanted. As my cousin has been using Mac Cosmetics for a very long time, she was a reliable substitute when picking out a fab colour. This is fleur power - a beautiful coral to pink blush that is a gorgeous matte. It looks so natural, due to its matte finish, it is unbelievable and a perfect colour for all year round!

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess - OMG. This was the most surprising present I receieved this Christmas. I literally had no idea that my boyfriend would buy me this at all and I love him so much for it. I cannot even explain how incredibly grateful I am for this and I am so lucky to have a boyfriend who unnecessarily spoils me. Anyway, soppy stuff aside, this bronzer is amazing at contouring and the brush really helps when applying as the bristles are really dense and compact. I use a big fluffy brush to blend out the bronzer though, as the inclusive brush is only good at applying it precisely. The warmness of the brown is so flattering on the face and I highly recommend this to anyone willing to splash out on a luxurious bronzer like this.

Urban Decay Naked Flush Palette in Streak - My godmother and godfather bought me 3 Urban Decay products for Christmas as my main present and they are all so beautiful. The first one is this beautiful bronzer, highlight and blush compact. So far, I have tried out the bronzer and highlight and I can tell you that they are ridiculously pigmented and you only need the tiniest bit to create the desired look. The highlight looks super pretty on the cheekbones; the colour is a peachy champagne which creates a really soft glow to your complexion.

EYES

Mac Prolongwear Paintpot in Rubenesque - My bestfriend Megan bought me this lil beauty for Chrimbo. I am so happy to add this gem to my Mac collection. It is utterly beautiful and is described as a 'golden peach with golden pearl' colour on the website. Personally, I think the colour looks a mixture of gold, amber and copper; it really makes brown eyes pop!

Mac Pigment in Vanilla - My other bestie, Jess, bought me this one. This is the most popular Mac pigment, as most beauty gurus use this to highlight the inner corner and browbone when creates eye looks. I cannot wait to start using this and looking up tutorials to help me apply it in the best way possible. What I know so far is that is INCREDIBLY pigmented, hence the product being a pigment (DOH!!), which means it will last an eternity. My cousin has been using the tan pigment by Mac for 3 years and she hasn't even used a quarter of the product - AMAZING!!!

Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 - This lil palette is the latest edition of the basics palettes. I was intrigued to try this because of how big a lover I am of the Urban Decay eyeshadow - aren't they fabulous? Anyway, I was so grateful that this was the second product my god parents brought for me and I cannot thank them enough. I know that FRISK will definitely be another shadow to add to my favourite crease colours.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - AAAAH. I love my friend Eloise so so so much. I cannot believe I now own another Naked palette, as well as my much loved Naked 2. My favourite shades to wear on the eyes are pinks and browns and this new edition to my collection is perfect for just that. I am obsessed with buzz and burnout already - an absolute must have. I just need to finish my collection by purchasing the first one!

LIPS

Mac Lip Pencil in Dervish - My brother gave me this liner for my birthday - I originally asked for store but when they went in to buy it, it was sold out (Kylie Jenner damn you!). Carrying on...I am in love with this! It goes perfectly with the next lippie I am about to show you and looks absolutely beauts on its own too. So happy with this liner and really want to get some more - I think Cherry and Whirl are next on my list.

Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in Satisfaction - OMG. My new favourite nude lipstick has entered my life. My boyfriend was the best and brought this for me, after wanting it ever since I saw Tanya Burr wear it in one of her summer videos. I fell in love with how natural and beautiful the colour looked on her and I instantly wanted it for my collection. I have been wearing this non-stop since Christmas but I may need to slow down - I am so worried it will run out aah!

Nars Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte - How amazing is this? A deep berry lip colour with the shade as my name? You cannot get more personal that this amazing gift from your bestfriend. The packaging is so classy and I love how the lid is so satisfying (it is magnetic and makes a 'click' sound every time you shut the lid). The formulation is fab and the lasting power is insane - I wore this when I went ice skating the other day and the colour was still there after 6ish hours.

Benefit Posie Balm - This girly packaged product is so photogenic and eye catching. The metallic coral is so vibrant and the little details are so cute and feminine. I really love the way this looks both inside and out. As well as looking intensely girly, the formulation is uber moisturizing and the colour given is a soft peach sheen.

Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Liar - The final present my godparents bought me was this nourishing lipgloss, also from the Naked collection. I haven't tried this yet but after all the positive feedback I have seen and the amount of people I know that use these, I just had to try one. I picked this colour as I have no other glosses that are a muted pink. The packaging is also another eye catcher.

Smashbox Minis Set - My grandma kindly bought me this little Smashbox set that included 5 minis of the most popular products brought from the brand. I thought this was a very good idea, as it has given me the chance to try out some Smashbox items that I have never tried before. The most exciting product I want to try is the Photo Finish Primer, as there are so many amazing things said about this. I love the idea that it is oil free to, as I tend to apply primer in my oily areas (the dreaded T-Zone). The kit also contained a lid primer, eyeliner, mascara and lipgloss, which I am also intrigued to try out!

Thank you ever so much for reading this and getting this far. I love these posts so I really hope you liked reading about all my new makeup. See you soon.

What makeup did you get for Christmas? What was your favourite present? Would you like to see any of these products used in an upcoming tutorial?

Love 

Collective Makeup Haul

Collective Makeup Haul

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Hey everyone..

Over the past couple of months I have been buying, and also receiving, some lovely new makeup products to add to my collection. I managed to pick up a couple of offers on the way, which was obviously great! There maybe a couple of reviews lurking in the middle from the products I have owned for a longer period of time too. 

Let's get started...

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

Starting with the higher end products, I received a lovely email from Feel Unique in early October. There was a sale on all Bare Minerals and Benefit products - 20% off everything! Therefore, I took advantage and bought this beautiful highlight that I've been wanting for what seems like decades! I had already tried this previously so I knew that I wasn't going to be wasting £20.83. Anyway, overall this product is gorgeous - the creamy texture really glides onto the skin. The gorgeous champagne shade really brings out a natural glow. The only downside is that the blending applicator on the other end is useless, so I just apply it and then blend it with either my finger or a beauty blender.

Mac Paint Point

Yesterday, I was spoilt, once again by my boyfriend, on this stunning Mac Paint Pot. I have heard soooo much about these, constantly seen Youtubers using them in endless tutorials and have wanted Bare Study for absolutely ages. I can't wait to try it out this week (comment below if you want to see a full review of this on my blog in the next few weeks?!)

Balmi Lip Balms

Very recently, I picked up a couple of these Balmi Lip Balms in Boots. I got them in the flavours Mint and Coconut and they are very strongly scented. My favourite is the mint, not just for the mint green packaging, but the scent just seems longer lasting on the lips than the coconut. The formula is very hydrating and moisturizing for the lips and I am interested in collecting the whole range. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick

These little beauties are relatively new to the Bourjois stand. Fortunately, they were on sale for £4 cheaper, so I got this for only £5, which is crazy! I decided to pick up PEACH CLUB, as I don't own any matte lipsticks in brighter colours, such as this pretty peach/coral shade. Fingers crossed these don't ruin my lips, as I have been having a problem with matte lipsticks drying the HELL out of them.

Essence Volumizing Lash Powder

This product is lash-changing - excuse the awful pun. I am not even lying, my lashes are almost touching my eyebrows AND look like false lashes when I wear this. My cousin used eyelash fibres on my eyelashes before and they worked wonders, so I decided to buy something cheaper first just to double check it wasn't a fluke. The only downfall is that it can get quite messy, as show in the photo, but who cares when you can get this for only £1.50 at an Essence counter? I certainly don't! Anyway, this mini set also provides you with an applicator. I apply my Benefit They're Real mascara, then a coat of the lash powder, then a final coat of your chosen mascara to paint the white fibres black. I will be doing a single review on this in the near future, so if you are interested in this, then definitely stay tuned to find out more details!

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

Throughout the entirety of Autumn (so far), I have been using this wonderful foundation to keep my skin looking flawless everyday. This gives a light-medium coverage, however I prefer heavier coverage so tend to layer it up to create my desired look. I would say the finish is quite satin-y, which I like, and my shade Vanilla Rose is almost the perfect shade for my skin. One of the best drugstore foundations I've used, along with Rimmel's Wake Me Up and Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum.

L'Oreal Super Liner

Super sad that this eyeliner is already coming to an end, but I have gotten the best use out of it than any other eyeliner I have EVER tried. The small nib is perfect for accurate precision and really helps to create that cat flick on a night out. Definitely one to repurchase!

L'Oreal Color Riche Serum Lipstick

My mother brought me this autumnal lipstick whilst in France with her school. It is in the shade BRIGHT BURGUNDY and is a blue-toned red. Can't wait to be wearing deeper colours throughout Winter now, as well as Autumn - exciting!

MUA Matte Lipstick 

Finally, I bought this bright purple lipstick from MUA called LILAC BELLE. I've wanted to buy some slightly crazier lip colours for Halloween and I really wanted to be doing a tutorial or two over the next week or two. This may be out of my comfort zone, as it is not the sort of berry-toned purple I usually go for, but I've been feeling more daring recently in the makeup front so I'm giving it a go. 

Thank you for reading. Any questions? Then you know what to do..just leave a comment and I'll be sure to reply :-) Love you all X

Char Xx

That Perfect Rosy Complexion

That Perfect Rosy Complexion

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Bonjour mes beaux lecteurs!

Here is a lovely little combo I have been absolutely loving during the last month. I thought this was a seasonal inspiration, as I know how everyone loves pink cheeks to compliment their dark lipstick during the Autumn months. I can't wait to share with you a little review of these skin dazzling beauties I bought mid-August.

Benefit Rockateur Blush (£24.50) - I know I'm really late on the whole Rockateur hype, but believe me when I say that I've been wanting this product forever! Despite the major dislikes of the packaging, I don't really have a problem with it. It sticks to the cute bene-famous packaging and what more could you want? Who cares about the packagaing though when you look at the product yourself. Rockateur is embossed with a cubic pattern, complete with the word 'Rock' engraved in the centre - hence the name. This powder blush appears to be shimmer based but nonetheless, it produces the most gorgeous pink flush to the cheeks - perfect for autumnal months (especially when that summer glow has started to wear off). Unbelievable product, well worth the steep price mark.

Soap and Glory Glow All Out Highlight (£11) - Glow all out is a luminizing radiance face powder, fit for dusting over parts of the face/body you wish to highlight; the back of the product suggests to apply it to your face, neck and shoulders. Personally, as the highlight is very peach toned, I tend to apply it on my cheekbones - fairly heavily if my skin is looking rather dull that morning. On a night out, I would also apply some, very lightly, down the centre of my face, focusing specifically on my nose, cupid's bow and forehead. This helps to provide you with natural glowing skin as well as faking that super tired and dehydrated, dull complexion.

Rockateur(left), Glow All Out(right)

To finalize, these products look insane when applied together on the cheeks. I apply Rockateur to the apples of my cheeks and Glow All Out to my cheek bones on a day-to-day basis. These really help me to achieve a gorgeous finish on my skin and I woud love it if any of you could help me and comment any cheaper alternatives for both. I will be forever repurchasing these, however I think they are going to last me a hell of a long time!

Love you all :)

Char Xxx