Photo diary #26

TRAIN READS - BAD SNAX - NEW KITS @ WORK - ELITE MODEL SEARCH LOOKS - MY MAKEUP STATION - FUTURE NAME! - HEADSHOT FOR MUA WORK - FEATURED ON ILLAMASQUA'S IG - MAKEUP ON MY BEAUTIFUL BESTIE - OTT MAKEUP - PATISSERIE VALERIE - I SOLEMNLY SWEAR I AM UP TO NO GOOD - FIRST BEACH TIMES - SEASIDE - COOLEST KID IN TOWN.

May beauty wishlist

OCC LIP TAR - OCC Lip Tars are a product for the lips which has the consistency of a thick lipgloss but dries to a satin, lipstick finish. These have been around for a little while now and the range of colour, pigmentation, and finish of the product all seem perfect! OCC Lip Tars are available in 26 shades from black to nude, yellow to violet - they're a complete range of colours suitable for everyday use and for your kit also. You can also mix the shades together to create custom shades which is an aspect of the product that I really like! I'm not sure which colour I'll be going for, but I know I'll end up caving and purchasing some soon!

CIATE CHALKBOARD MANICURE - Another wonderfully innovative product from Ciate! This chalkboard nail art set contains a matte black polish which you apply first, four chalkboard pens to create your design and a top coat to seal. I love the whole idea behind this product, it sort of me reminds me of doodling over you school books years ago except this time, it's your nails?! The Chalkboard Manicure kit comes in at £25 and is available exclusively to Selfridges.

ILLAMASQUA HYDRA VEIL - Another Illamasqua collection, another depressing time for my purse. The most talked about and hyped up product from their new Paranormal collection has to be Hydra Veil, an instantly hydrating gel base for your makeup. People have said it's like a 'no surgery face life', 'it makes my skin flawless and my makeup immaculate' and tonnes of other amazingly positive comments.. so naturally I have to try it!

SUGARPILL EYESHADOW IN TAKO - White eyeshadows are important for me, whether as everyday use or professional use they always come in handy for highlighting, dabbing in the inner corner of the eye, etc, but trying to find a matte white eyeshadow seems to be impossible! Every shadow I've tried was chalky and almost blotchy when applied, so when I saw Karla Powell's blog post on this product I was so pleased! After reading a few more reviews and looking at swatches I decided I need this beauty, it looks almost creamy when applied and the pigmentation is incredible, finally my makeup prayer was answered!

Bourjois Paris NEW Cream Blush

In terms of blusher Bourjois are most famous for their little round pot but now they are launching a new generation of blusher in the form of their cream blush. Available in four shades which are designed to subtly enhance the complexion, this product has a long wear formula with a velvet smooth finish. The packaging is similar to the little round pot, but it's a much slimmer version, complete with built in mirror this blush is great to pop into your handbag for touch ups on the go. As well as it's staying power and texture another bonus is this blush is good for your skin! Yes, it contains mango, poppy seed and apricot extract to ensure the product sits comfortably with a soft touch and gives a healthy glow to the skin. Also, the soft rose scent is still there, which I personally love!

The four shades available are; 01 Nude Velvet - light matte peach, 02 Healthy Glow - pearly apricot pink, 03 Soft Pink - pearly pink, 04 Sweet Cherry - deep matte brown pink. The new generation of Bourjois Blush are £7.99 and launch in Selfridges & online on May 3rd and in Boots, Superdrug & ASOS on 15th May.

Photo diary #25

I MADE A CAKE - CURRENT FAVOURITE - UNI INTERVIEW PROJECT - PEBBLES HAIR - LUNCH DATE WITH D - CURLYBIRD SPECIAL - STRAWBERRY TEQUILA AT THE MEXICAN - D & HER LUNCHBOX - MINIMAL EFFORT DAY - PICNIC @ GREENWICH PARK - BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS - SUMMERTIME - FATHER IN LAW'S BIRTHDAY - NOMNOMNOM - LITTLE D

NEW Benefit ultra plush lip gloss - A Lister & Poutrageous

ULTRA PLUSH LIP GLOSS - £14.50 @ BENEFIT COSMETICS*

Last week Benefit released it's long awaited new colour range of cream & powder eyeshadows and lip glosses. There are six shades of gloss, I have A Lister; a light, pink/nude and Poutrageous! a bright pink/coral. A - Lister is described as a bubblegum pink but it's actually a lot lighter than that. 

The glosses are very sheer, they add a tint of colour to the lips which is good for everyday/natural makeup. The formula works well in a sense that they aren't too heavy or sticky but the consistency is quite thick, almost gel like. If this is a gloss you want to last all day long it might not be for you as you have to reapply every couple of hours, I don't really mind this as it feels as though it's moisturising my lips whilst on. The packaging is great, a kind of twenties, art deco, aquatic mash up - very nice! The presentation of the products are very aesthetically pleasing, however at £14.50 a gloss I'm not sure I would go out of my way to purchase one again - don't get me wrong, they're a nice product but they didn't wow me and I'm more of an opaque lip girl! I think these glosses would be nice when over a lipstick, A Lister would look pretty over MAC's Honeylove and Poutrageous would suit Morange or something with orange/coral tones in, this could be a preferred way of wearing them. 

What do you think of the new Benefit glosses? Do you like the packaging? Any must haves?

NYX eyebrow marker

NYX EYEBROW MARKER - £8.50 @ NYX COSMETICS

On the ever lasting quest for the perfect eyebrow tools I found this NYX Cosmetics eyebrow marker at the UMAExpo. A felt pen like tool is one I've never tried on my brows and I decided to buy the product and test this technique out. 

The eyebrow marker has a very fine, felt nib, you are able to create very small, fine lines or thick strokes depending on how you prefer your brows. This pen allows me to sculpt my brows to exactly how I want them and I really enjoy using it! I opted for shade deep which is a medium brown, however you can build up the colour. Another great aspect of this product is that it stays put! Once on, it stays on, no need for touch ups or glancing in car windows to check if your brows have smudged, it has fantastic staying power which I was really impressed with. Applying the product is simple, you simply hold the marker as you would a pen and begin filling in your brow with light strokes - you can also line your brow first for more definition, the eyebrow marker is perfect for this! 

If you're still not 100% with the results of your chosen brow product I'd recommend you give this one a try, you may be a little apprehensive because a felt pen can seem unnatural looking but the fine point of the marker creates very soft, subtle lines - no scouse brows here ladies! Price wise it's an absolute steal at £8.50 compared to my other brow products which range from £14 - £24. What do you think of this idea for defining and filling in your brows? Would you like to try NYX's eyebrow marker?

London laser tattoo removal

SPONSORED POST

When you begin collecting tattoos you open up your body as a blank canvas, sometimes you're pleased with the results, others you may be slightly disappointed with or over time begin to regret the decision to get a particular tattoo. When I was 17 my best friend and I got matching tattoos on our little fingers, we both had a small heart and I also got a diamond, the tattoo of the diamond was appallingly done as I was impatient and due to my age went to a parlour which I would not be seen dead in these days due to the unprofessionalism of the business, it was the only place that would do the tattoo and I disliked waiting to turn 18! I've since had laser removal on my tattoo and it's helped to fade it enough in order to get it covered, if I wanted to I could have more laser removal and the tattoo would eventually fade enough to be barely visible. These results are achieved by light produced by a laser which passes through the skin and breaks up the tattoo ink into small particles. At first the area darkens, but over the course of a few weeks it begins to fade and you can return to have the area seen to again. Although it was only a small tattoo and I rarely noticed it it would still bug me when ever people asked to see it or asked what it was, having laser removal made me feel much better and I can't wait to get it covered!

Sk:n are a medical clinic who work with the most experienced doctors to bring excellent results whatever treatment you're considering; currently they're offering 30% off the price of laser tattoo removal. If this is something you have thought about you are able to book a consultation and see more information here.