A small MAC haul, naturally.

As soon as I saw the promos of MAC Naturally collection, I was excited about the release of Redhead and Blonde MSFs (both limited edition), and for ages I didn't know which one I wanted, but I set aside the money for one and waited patiently. Last week, I finally made it in store to swatch and ended up walking away with Redhead, it's the perfect champagne pink and is beautifully pigmented. On my skin it works great as a blusher/brightener/highlighter all in one, and think it will look amazing with a tan. 

I also had some empties to back to mac and originally was after Blankety or Hug Me, as I wanted a brown based nude, but both look awful on me, so I went for Fanfare (from the permanent line.) which is a very wearable everyday yellow toned pink, with a slight sheen. Adds a great hint of colour without being too in your face, I'm very happy with my choice.

Redhead applies so beautifully, with no grittiness at all, and the colour really does instantly brighten up my face. I definitely feel I went for the right one, but in a world were money is endless, I definitely would have picked up both. (thanks to the boyfriend who helped me chose and for being very patient with me!) Fanfare is a cremesheen finish and is lovely and smooth on application, but perhaps not as sheeny as others in the line.

l: redhead r: fanfare


In other news, I've recently been asked to join the writing team over at FAME online, which is a student run online magazine, who also do a quartly print edition. All the writers volunteer their time to get involved, and talk about things that are passionate to them, and there's a broad range of great articles. I'm very excited to get started, should have my first article up in the next couple of weeks. I'll be writing for the beauty section, so now doubt I'll be linking to my articles, and would love it if you could check it out.




Nic xxx

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Ruby Woo, I Love You

I was really hoping to get some more posts out this last week, but I had my mom's 50th over the weekend so I was home celebrating, but wanted to get a quick one up to share my love for MAC's Ruby Woo lippie!

I tried taking photos in my attic room at Uni, but the lighting is so awful the colours always seem to come out wrong, so I've used some photos from when I've been out.  And anyway, unless you've been living under a rock, or are totally new to the beauty blogging/ youtube world, you will definitely have seen swatches before.

It's a Matte finish which has the most impressive staying power ever, and I don't actually find it too drying, but I moisture my lips obsessively.  Just make sure to exfoliated your lips before applying, and use a good balm about ten minutes before you apply.

I'm hoping the photos show just what a statement Ruby makes, a deep true red that I'm sure will suit most skin tones!

(remember to click to enlarge!)

 Both outtings have been fancy dress, Halloween and then the middle photo is from the other weekend, hopefully you can tell I'm meant to be Sandy from Grease, minus the blonde big curly hair. (Excuse my face in the middle one, doing a bit of an awkward pose.) I can tell you now, fancy dress is something I won't miss when I graduate!

My housemate has also fallen for Ruby Woo, and I'm pretty sure she's worn it more than I have!

So, yeah, I highly recommend Ruby Woo if you're looking for a bright, clean, statement red, that will last and last. It's the perfect lipstick for nights out, meals or for a pop of colour during the day. It's staying power  really is something else! There's really no point looking any further. At least I don't think there is.

You can find it at Debenham's online here, they have 10% off at the moment.


Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Nic xxx

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Avon Haul

The lovely Lisa from Brunette Beauty Banter (check out her blog here) has recently become an Avon rep, and sells their products through her blog. My Avon rep from uni has graduated now, so I thought I'd give Lisa a little tweet and order some stuff through her.

I exercised some self control and only purchased 4 things, but I've got a couple more items on my list. (of course.)

 Ultra Colour Rich Satin Lipstick in 'Pout' £2.99

 Glimmer Stick Eyeliner in 'Magnetic Plum' £3

(don't let glimmer mislead you, it's a solid purple)

 SuperShock Mascara  in 'Black' £5.00

 Dry Oil Spray in Soft & Fresh £2.60

The lipstick is actually one of my favourite every day lipsticks, it's gorgeous soft pink with a slight hint of peach peeking through.  My last one is so nearly finished so I needed a back up, wears well and is such a great price.  I love dry oil and this one is so impressive, it sinks in very quickly leaving a slight sheen and no stickiness at all.  The scent is definitely 'fresh', very clean and Avon do offer another slightly sweeter scent which I have bought before.  Although the mascara wand is very big, and not my favourite to work with (definitely a few eyeball pokes occurred), the formula is what grabbed my attention. I usually do NOT get on with non-waterproof mascara, but SuperShock holds my curl all day with minimal transfer under eye.

Everything, apart from the Glimmerstick, I have owned before and have been very impressed with; the quality is amazing, especially at such affordable prices, the products really behave like products you would expect to pay at least double for. I can't see any reason why I won't continue buying from Avon. Plus, its always nice to support fellow bloggers!

You can find an eBrochure on Lisa's blog here. 

Also bear in mind, that Avon continuously do great specials and deals so the prices may be different to what I paid as they tend to change every month or so. But regardless, still super affordable!

Nic xxx

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What Joy Comes in a White Little Bullet?

Hello and excuse the lame title, but I couldn't resist. I am beyond happy with my one and only purchase from the MAC Glitter & Ice Collection released a couple weeks ago now. (Although I'm hoping to pick up another on the weekend, Morning Frost Paint Pot, I am looking at you!)

Back in October, when the swatches went live on Temptalia I immediately added What Joy! lipstick to my wish list. It looked like the perfect berry red, a shade I had been searching for. So I sat waiting patiently for the release date.

Ouu so shiny!

I didn't even bother trying it on in store, just went to the till (after having a massive eye shadow/paint pot swatch session) and asked for it. I'm a bit of sucker for limited edition packaging, and I know some don't like the white, but I think it still looks sleek and not tacky at all. Plus the silver boxes are wicked!

How gorgeous does that look! In the bullet it almost appears like a deep reddy/brown but on the lips it transforms to it's true berry self.

Dabbed on as a stain / Applied properly.

This is what it looks like dabbed on slighty and then rubbed in with my fingers. It's a really nice wearable flush of colour. On my lips it does tend to lean a bit pink, but just dab on more for a deeper colour. It's really great during the day - not sure I'm brave enough to wear it full on during the sunshine hours.

As you can see it's a really deep, classy red. It is quite in your face, but very sophistacted at the same time. I am super happy I got my hands on it, it's like nothing I already own. The Satin finish means it's got a lovely sheen to it, and lasts really well. Lotta love for What Joy! Really is happiness in a bullet.

It's sold out on the MAC & Debenham's websites already, but may be available on local counters and concessions.

I'm going to do a full FOTD post later to show it off some more.

Nic xxx

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Colour Me In

The weather has been so depressing so I've been really enjoying bright lips. These are some recent additions to my lipstick collection.

L-R Impassioned / Show Orchid / Neon Orange

These are the truest representations of the colours.

I went into MAC in September when the Fall Colour Collection was released just wanting to pick up Show Orchid which I'd been after for a while, and walked out with all three.

All three are amplified finishes, and as a result are super pigmented and last ages. They have quite a sheen to them, and I haven't found them drying at all.

L-R Impassioned/ Show Orchid / Neon Orange

Impassioned

Impassioned is a hot pink, but on my lips its very warm and almost looks like a peach/pink to me. 

Show Orchid

I tried to capture the purple iridescence running through the bright fushia pink, which you can see quite well on the lip swatch. It is a really bright and eyecatching colour, when the light hits it it almost looks purple. It's gorgeous. Rely more on the hand swatch/ bullet for true colour though.

Neon Orange

This swatch is a little misleading, it's actually a very bright true orange, there's no red tones at all. The hand swatch shows it's true colour well. It's very simliar to MAC's Morange.

Neon Orange and Show Orchid are available permanently from the Pro collection, although Neon Orange is still available on the normal website. Impassioned is part the permanent line. 

Sorry the lipswatches aren't great representations, my camera seemed to dull down the colours the closer I brought it to my lips. Took multiple photos to try my best though.

Here's a little photo of Impassioned in action.

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