Real Techniques make up brush haul

Oooo Boots and their 342 deals. I can never say no and being the make up brush obsessed woman that I am I literally jumped at the chance to add a load of my favourite Real Techniques brushes to my kit! I'm rather excited about the NEW retractable bronzer brush. 

What is your favourite Real Techniques brush? 

Detailed reviews of all of these brushes will be coming soon. Any particular one you would like an in depth review of first?

xxxxxx

MAC - Semi Precious haul

Semi Precious is the collection I've been waiting for!! I LOVE mineralize products, especially blushes and MSF's, so of course I had to have them all. Although the eyeshadows look gorgeous, I couldn't bring myself to purchase any because Temptalia didn't rate them - BUT...Adrienne and Muhsine swatched the two I really wanted (Smoked Ruby and Golden Gaze) and both said they are incredibly pigmented, so I might have to get them. Again, I wasn't really interested in the lipsticks, but Adrienne and her swatches convinced me that I needed 'Gem of Roses' and 'Lush Amber'. The cremesheen glasses looked pretty, but meh! I'd rather have a new blush. Oh and the brushes! Split fibre! I don't really know what that means or what they're supposed to be used for, but I loved the look of the cheek brush so I purchased that too!

The MSF's are GORGEOUS! I could look at these beauties all day long! They're all really smooth and very pigmented. My absolute favourite is Rose Quartz. I am mega pale but I still purchased Goldstone because, well, Adrienne's swatch told me to! I hope it works for me! Pearl and Crystal pink are definitely more highlighting products but I will let you all know what I think about them in more detail when I've had a little play with them. From first impressions and swatching though, they get a mahooosive thumbs up from me!

I was really surprised with the lipstick in this collection. I had totally written them off as 'nan lipsticks' but no, I was wrong. Gem of Roses is a mid tone strawberry pink and oh my word is it gorgeous! For me, it's a perfect 'my lips but better shade'. Lush Amber is a light nude beige - quite sheer on my pigmented lips but I kinda like this because if it was really really opaque I can tell I wouldn't like it!

Are you still here?? No far to go....

 This is such a lovely brush. Like I said above, I'm not sure what to use it for because it seems a bit dense for a cheek brush! I'm thinking foundation? Or cream blush? Or even for highlighting? I'll give all three a whirl and let you know!


Mineralize Blushes.


I love blushes, and from the get go, I was getting all three.

Feeling Flush is a pinky/plummy colour. Very pigmented and not too shimmery. As it has plummy tones, I probably won't reach for this until Autumn/Winter, but it's pretty enough to look at for a few months.

My favourite is surprisingly, 'Pressed Amber'. I wasn't keen on it when I saw swatches but my god, in real-life it is so, super pretty! It's the perfect light contour shade for me, or a very natural blush. Absolutely love it. One of my favourites out of the entire haul.

 Warmth of coral I'm kind of on the fench about, it seems very... orange! I expected it to be a bit orangey, but mine is like, mega orange! Does anyone else find this?? I will have a play, but like I said, kinda on the fence about this one. I was really hoping for my perfect peachy/coral blush.

Overall I really like this collection! My favourite's would have to be, Pressed Amber, Lush Amber, Gem of Roses and all the MSF's.

Did you pick anything up from this collection?

xx

MAC Fashionflower haul........

FINALLY.. I got a black box. I haven't made an order from MAC for ages, so I went a little bit crazy!

 I'm going to separate this 'haul' post into two parts as I ordered from both the Semi Precious and Fashionflower collections.

So, Fashionflower. Here's what I bought..

Everhip - I had to get two of the beauties! Can you believe I returned this last year when I purchased it from The give me liberty of London collection?! Such a gorgeous creamy coral, very happy to have this back in my collection!

Fresh Daisy, Bows & Curtseys and Lucky Green eyeshadows - Fresh daisy isn't anything special really, I'm just a sucker for white/ivory/cream eyeshadows. It's a great highlight/lid  colour - not too shimmery! Bows & Curtseys and Lucky green (LG is permanent so I just got it in pan form. You can get it in the Fashionflower collection with the flower printed on it though.) I had decided against these eyeshadows but then I saw this post by Nicoletta! I am in love with the eye look she created so I decided to get them. I'm definitely going to try and re-create the look. B&C is a dark hunter green, with some brighter green shimmers. Very pretty! Lucky Green is a bright lime. Again, very pretty! I also really wanted Groundcover but I forgot to ask for it! Silly me...

Alpha girl Beauty Powder - I absolutely did not need another beauty powder, but I like anything remotely peachy so I had to have it. Well I didn't really, but I would've died if I didn't buy it, right? The embossed flower is really pretty, but after a couple of uses it will disappear. It's not majorly pigmented and I find it a little bit chalky, but ho hum, I'll work with it because I love the colour.

I didn't bother with the other beauty powder because I have a few which are probably the same and the the other lipsticks didn't really appeal to me. I liked this collection, but I was more excited month's ago when I thought it was coming out in May!

Did you purchase anything from the Fashionflower collection?

chanel-mimosa♥

I have been wanting this nail polish for ages, after seeing it on Lisa Eldridge some time ago. 'Mimosa' is part of the Chanel Summer collection which is absolutely gorgeous! After what seemed an eternity, it was finally released a few day's ago. I was at 'MeadowhEll' dead on 11am this morning to purchase some pretties, it was all so gorgeous I could have gone for the whole lot! 

(I purchased items from Chanel, Estee Lauder and Dior so if you would like a post on that just let me know.)

(Sorry about the shoddy application and anyone notice how short my nails are compared to my last nail post? Yes, I picked my nails off without even noticing!! Has anyone else ever done that?)

At £16 Chanel nail polishes aren't cheap, but I was determined to have this colour as it is so up my alley I would have regretted it if I had left it behind. Mimosa is a bright summery yellow, with really fine gold shimmers running through it, although you have to look very closely to see these once you've applied the polish.

From my first experience using a Chanel nail polish I can safely say I am quite impressed. I don't think they are AMAAAZING quality. It applied quite streaky on the first coat but the second one glided on a lot nicer. There is still a little bit of streakiness going on but I think if I wasn't rushing like I was, two coats would have been perfect. Consistency wise it is just how I like it, not too thick or thin! Overall good, but nothing amazing! That being said, I would purchase another one if it was unique enough.

What do you think? Will you be rocking yellow nails this summer?

Thank you for reading

xx

new lipsticks & a fab freebie♥

I had three b2ms to trade in last week, so off I trotted to Meadowhall (again) to get me some lovely lippies. I hadn't really thought about what I wanted before going so had a completely open mind. When I got there I decided I wanted to get some colours slightly out of my comfort zone. After what seemed like 100 swatches I decided on..

costa chic - frosty light coral. This is my favourite of the three. I kind of bought it because of the hype that seems to surround it. When I got home and tried it, I actually really liked it! I am thinking this will look even nicer in the summer with abit of a tan.

 politely pink - dirty pink frost.  I would never go for a lipstick as pale as this but when I swatched it and saw how glossy it is, I had to have it. I don't love it on its own but layered it looks fab!

please me-muted-rosy-tinted pink. such a pretty everyday colour, very pigmented, I love it.

♥
  After I had chosen my lipsticks, I only purchased 2 palettes and shale in pan form, which is great because I would have normally gone mad in there. I was so proud! I didn't bother with pictures of the palettes and eyeshadow, as I'm sure you all know what they look like ;P
♥
On the way home I got an email from MAC about the free haute and naughty mascara (£17.50!) that they were giving away for free with all orders, plus free shipping!! So I hot footed it onto the MAC site and placed two cheeky orders, thus getting two free mascaras!! I ordered 'Impassioned' lipstick and 'mischievous mint' nail polish from the Quite Cute collection.

The lipstick is lovely. I don't think I would use it as a full one lipstick because I don't have the confidence for it, but I do like using it as a lipstain though and it looks really pretty with a bit of clear gloss over the top.

The mascara I have used once on the 'dramatic' setting, as I don't really do natural lashes. It is very black and gives the lashes the perfect amount of volume and length. One thing I hate about it is the smell though. Phew, it smells of poison.

The nail polish is beautiful and although I thought I had something similar in my collection, I actually don't. It is a very pale, creamy mint, obviously. I am yet to try this as I'm still wearing 'Teenage dream', but I will get a notd up soon :)

Some lipstick swatches

Whilst I was browsing the lipsticks in MAC, I made a mental wishlist of the ones I want to purchase for summer. They include..

♥girl about town♥
♥vegas volt♥
♥pink nouveau♥
♥sandy b♥

What is your favourite summery lipstick? Let me know and I'll check it out!

Thankyou for reading
xx

mac 'quite cute' purchases♥

This has to be one of the cutest collections I have ever seen. Packed full with pretty lipsticks and corresponding blushers, I would say this is pretty much a dream collection for me.

The main products that stood out for me were surprise surprise, the mineralize blushes and lipsticks! The eyeshadow palette did at first, but I couldn't bare the thought of ripping it to pieces like I did with my 'cavier dreams' quad, so I just bought 3 permanent eyeshadows I'd been lusting after for ages instead. The lipglosses are pretty, but although I've just blogged about my favourtie lipglosses, I would still choose lipstick over lipgloss, and that I did.

♥
I did try to be good, saving up my empties planning to b2m for the lipsticks, but I'm very impatient so ended up ordering them the day after. I also really want the 'Quite cute' lipstick and 'Mischievous mint' nail polish, but I'm sure you'll know the site is currently down for maintenance. (FYI If you go onto their website now, add something to your basket and enter your email address, you will receive a code for a FREE 'haute and naughty' lash mascara worth £17.50!!! (you have to buy what you've added to your basket obviously.)

Okay so onto the loot...

Miss behave (£18)
'Light Beige with pearly mint green heart' I dont think this blush is beige at all! More of a gorgeous very sheer peach. I don't think i'll be rocking green cheeks anytime soon, so I think i'll try and dig my brush around the sides and use the green as an eyeshadow.

Giggly (£18)
'Light pink with pearly plum heart' I think that is a pretty accurate description. It's just as the description suggest a pretty light pink, perfect for everyday use. I find this one to be alot more pigmented that 'miss behave'.

Sakura (£18)
'Lavender with pearly deep red heart' Such a beautiful blush. I really hope I can pull it off without looking bruised though! Any tips on how to wear a lavendar blush?

♥

Candy yum yum (£13.50-matte)
This is NEON pink, and I bloody well love it! I will probably never wear this out of the house, but I just had to have it (don't hate) My mum looked horrified when I showed her this! haha.

Playtime (£13.50-cremesheen)
Creamy intense violet, this is a more wearable version on 'Violetta' in my opinion. I hope 'playtime' suits me, because Violetta looks dreadful on me!

Playing koi (£13.50-satin)
Creamy white peach pink. This is the nude of the collection. Its quite drying and will empthesize any hint of dry or cracked lips! Not a good look. If you have nice smooth lips though, this is will look amazing. I definately need to get my lips into good condition before I can try it again!

St.germain (amplified)
 I already had this so I thought I'd just include a picture and swatch. This is such a popular lipstick and although i'm not completely in love with it, I do like it! It's a very pigmented, pastel pink with an amplified finish.

♥
and finally the three eyeshadow I purchased..

Star n rockets -Dirty lavender with red/pink reflects
Digit -Soft pale violet with subtle shimmer (Satin)

Deep truth -True dark blue (Frost)

Overall I am really impressed with everything I purchased. When I get the 'Quite Cute' lipstick and 'Mischievous min't nail polish I will add them to this post along with swatches.

♥

What do YOU think of this collection??

♥

Enter my MAC giveaway here...

and thankyou for reading
xoxox