MAC Venomous Villians haul.... finally!

I know I am hideously late on the MAC Venomous Villains collection but I did pick up some things a few weeks ago... Instead of going for the lipsticks I thought I'd try something different and ended up with some lip glosses instead!

I still haven't thrown out the lovely packaging!

Briar Rose Beauty Powder

A cool pink powder blush thing (what exactly IS a beauty powder?!) that you can swirl over the face with a large brush. The colour is subtle, yet very pretty, and it gave me a nice glow - I think this works great in the morning when you need your skin to perk up.

Hot House & Revenge is Sweet Lip Glass

Revenge is Sweet - this has a lovely subtle pink sheen to it, which you can layer over lipsticks or wear on its own. I've worn this one a lot to work and it has that 'your lips but glossier AND better' effect. My lips are quite pigmented so I usually use a nude lipliner before applying it.

Hot House - I think the pic says it all! It's a juicy dark pink with a fine thread of glitter running through it to give it that extra gloss. It also made my lips look HUGE, which is weird because darker colours usually have a slimming effect. A beautifooool colour that'd work well for a glamorous/sexy look :) 

What did you guys think of the Venomous Villians collection - inspired... or tacky?! 

Sami xx

MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lip Glass

After the amazing success of the Viva Glam Lipsticks, MAC have come out with a lip glass version! I never brought the lipsticks because I didn't feel the colour would suit me, however, the Viva Glam Gaga Lip Glass* is (in my opinion) a lot more wearable.

Let me just state that I NEVER wear lip gloss... like EVER! I don't even own any! Reason being that they usually taste like crap, can be very sticky/gooey and I don't see them as very long lasting compared to a lipstick. So you can imagine how I felt being faced with this little beauty....

My Verdict: Amazing! The lip gloss was not sticky, tasted okay and lasted for a a good couple of hours (I'm not sure if all MAC Lip Glasses are like this though... am I telling you guys something you already know?!). The colour was also, surprisingly wearable. It's a milky, opaque pink but the glossiness of it meant that it didn't look too light and it didn't wash me out. I also tried the Cyndi Lauper one but I wasn't crazy about the colour... if you want to see how it looks let me know and I'll do a separate post :- )

FYI: Viva Glam Lip Glasses £12, available from October for 6 months ONLY!

Are there any other MAC Lip Glasses that are really good? I've discovered a love for them so any recommendations would be great! 

In other news....

Bring on the Bling

I've been feeling a bit flash lately (it's a shame my bank account hasn't...) so decided to finally buy into the hype and get Paco Robanne Lady Million. I have been lusting over One Million forever so I was really excited about this fragrance. I'd describe the scent as a fresh and fruity (helpful eh?!) and on first spray it is quite delicious... but after it settles the smell becomes quite musty and I can smell the alcohol...Eeek! I'm really disappointed because the men's version is sooo sooo much better! 

Paco Robanne Lady Million 30ml, £45

I also got these beautiful earrings from River Island... They're much sparklier in real life and I love the little diamantés! I think they were about £9.99

Has anyone else tried the Lady Million perfume and what were your thoughts??

Sami x

Haul Time: MAC and other bits...

So, after a whole one month makeup ban, I decided to treat myself :) and of course what better brand to treat myself with then Mac?! There wasn't anything that caught my eye in their Feline collection so I went for some other bits that I'd been meaning to get for a while... 

Lipsticks

Left to right: MAC lipstick in Show Orchid and Impassioned

Top to bottom: Impassioned and Show Orchid

I've wanted to get Show Orchid for such a long time but it's only available in Pro stores (I don't understand why it's not available in normal stores because it's such a popular colour). As you can see it's a gourgous, bright fuschia that would look great with a LBD. The second lippy I got was Impassioned which initially scared me - but as you can see in the swatch it comes out as a creamy pink that I think would suit just about anyone (probably not my uncle though...) I am addicted to Mac lipsticks, and although I'm sure there are better brands out there I will always go back to them!

      Eye Makeup

        MAC Pigment in Tan

I was torn between the MAC Pigment in Tan and Melon, which are both very similar. In the end I went for Tan because it swatched as a shimmerey beige and Melon was a bit more on the yellow side. Nothing much to say about MAC pigments other then that they have amazing colour payoff, can be messy and come in lots of yummy colours :)

MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork

I originally wanted to get Painterly but it wasn't in store so I went for Groundwork instead. The quality of MAC Paint Pots are amazing because it goes on as a cream and dries as a powder. As you can see by the swatch it doesn't leave any creases and melts into my skin like magic. I use this as a base for eyeshadow and on it's own for a more natural look. Love, love, love it! In fact, I may go back for more :)

Presents!

Laura Mercier Pistashio Body Souffle 

              

Everytime I'd walk past the Laura Mercier counter I'd look longingly at their Pistachio Body Souffle because of thei ntoxicatingly delicious smell. I'ver never been able to justify spending £41 on it (yeah - you heard right - £41!) but then I got it as a present! Yay! This cream is seriously moisturising and the smell (think freshly baked cakes... or any other yummy dessert) stays on your skin for the entire day - I put it to the test the other days and it stayed on for hours. My 9yr old cousin also put some on her arm and reported back, saying that she could still smell it when she went to bed!

Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One

I prefer this sooo much more to the original D&G The One because the floral scent makes it alot more feminine. Two sprays of this last all day, which is another bonus!

The perfect weekend treat

My sundays usually consist of lazing around the house, in front of the TV with some chocolate and a magazine!

As you can see I've been busy spending my wages and lazing about (!) but now that Ramadan is over I have more time (and energy) to do more blog posts. I don't want to do loads of lazy, pointless posts every week just for the sake of posting something, but I will try and do 2/3 good quality, (hopefully) interesting posts from now on. I have a few exciting ones coming up this week!

Sami xx  

MAC Studio Sculpt & MAC Strobe Cream

I've been umming and ahhing over getting MAC Strobe Cream for a while now. Some people absolutely love it while others say it's nothing special, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to splash out £20 on a whole tube. Instead, I got a little sample pot to try out.

Side Note: I have to say makeup samples are a marketing genius... they are also v.helpful to the consumer :- )

Anyhu... I'd seen a lot of makeup artists using the Strobe Cream with MAC Studio Sculpt foundation for photoshoots to create a luminous glowly look. So I mixed the two together and what did I get? I gorgeously glowing dewy face is what!

+

 

=

Sorry about the dodgy lighting... but as you can see my skin has some luminousity, which is usually only achieved by using a highlighter

Alone, Strobe  Cream is a bit... meh. And Studio Sculpt can be quite thick and heavy (I sometimes have to add a bit of moisturiser to make it more wearable during the day). So when I added Strobe Cream the consistency became much silkier and easier to blend.

Anyone else tried this combo out?

Sami x

Purple Eyes

I know I tend to be quite boring with my makeup looks so I thought I'd attempt to do something different today. A few months ago I was given an eyeshadow quad from No7 as part of their Christmas range and it had the most amazing blues, greens and purples (I'll do a seperate post on these as I COMPLETELY forgot to take pics... silly me!!) The matte purple stood out to me the most because it was so vibrant and looks so lovely with brown eye/tanned skin.

So anyway, here's my take on the 'purple smoky eye'. It's not amazing but it is my first try!

FACE: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC42, Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid*,

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer, MAC MSF in By Candlelight, MAC Natural MSF

EYES: Shu Uemura Gel Liner, MAC Pigment in Dark Soul*,

Purple Matt Eyeshadow from Quad*,

MAC MSF in By Candlelight as a Highlighter, L'Oreal Millionize Mascara

LIPS: Rimmel Lipstick in Vintage Pink,

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump

 

Hope you likey xx

Another Naughty Haul

I went shopping. In Selfridges. And as usual I went overboard. Here's what I got:

Dior Amber Diamond Compact: I'm not sure why I brought this because it is very, very similar to By Candlelight MSF but I felt I needed something 'Dior' and this jumped out to me. It creates a lovely highlight on my cheekbones and the colours, when swirled together, create an amazing bronzy glow. I'll do a seperate post with pics soon to show you what I mean :- )

MAC Face & Body Paint: A makeup artist recommended this to me a few years ago but I was too seduced by the hype over Nars Sheerglow and MAC Studio Sculpt to check it out. Then I started seeing rave reviews about it on Lollipop26 and Bubblegarm and so of course I HAD to get it. I haven't been using it enough to give a proper review but what I can say for now is that it is wonderful on dry skin!

D&G 3 L'Imperatrice: My friend introduced me to this perfume and it was love at first smell. The bottle is a huuuuuuge 100ml but that hasn't stopped me from lugging it around in my bag! It has a lovely peachy floral scent that reminds me of sweets and for £35 it's great value for money. I haven't been able to stop sniffing it.

MAC MSF in By Candlelight: This was part of the In the Groove collection and although it didn't initially jump out to me I swatched it on my hand and was sold. It has this really fine light gold shimmer running through it that looks gorgeous in the sunlight... Look out for a review and pics.

I am suffering from buyers remorse a little because I didn't really need these things (well apart from the foundation - I really needed that...) but after seeing how glowy my face looked a la By Candlelight MSF I feel a little better! What are your guilty pleasures?

Sami x

Makeup Essentials

I've been feeling quite unadventurous with makeup lately so I apologise if my recent haul seems quite...blah!

Left to right: MAC Studio concealer, MAC Mineralize Natural Power, MAC Lipstick in Faux 

MAC Studio Concealer
Would you Adam and Eve it - I've never owned or used concealer before! I usually use an extra layer of foundation to cover spots and blemishes and I don't really get dark circles. But then I started to wonder if maybe I was missing out on something and on the recommendation of a friend brought this one.

MAC Mineralize Natural Powder
The powder was actually something I'd been meaning to get ever since summer kicked in. I don't usually like powder because I have very dry skin and I'm worried it might look like I've caked it on. But this mineralize powder is sooo amazing! It keeps makeup on, doesn't dry out your skin, gets rid of excess shine and creates an all round polished look. This is one product I would definitely repurchase.

MAC Lipstick in Faux
I discovered this lipstick last year and fell in love with it immediately. The colour suits just about everyone and because it has a satin finish, it's also really smooth and moisturising. Think of it as a 'my lips, but better' colour.

So there you have it... Bit of a vanilla haul but I have to say that these products are makeup essentials that every girl should have - even if you don't wear much makeup I'd say to keep these handy for touch ups and bad skin days!

Sami xx

Top 6 Pink Lippies

If you're not a fan of pink lipstick then I'd suggest you avert your eyes because this post is all about my loooooove for the colour pink and lippies! These are my favourites at the moment:

YSL ROUGE VOLUPTE 6

I've mentioned this lippy in a previous post so I don't need to say much - just that it is amaaazingly moisturising and smells lush!! I love the bubblegum pink colour it gives my lips too

MAC GIRL ABOUT TOWN

The go-to lipstick for a glamorous night out. I heard so many lovely things about this so I had to try it out myself. It's an Amplified Creme so the colour is very, very bright and so creamy that it glides on effortlessly 

YSL ROUGE VOLUPTE 9

The colour on this one is a lot easier to wear than number 6. It's a really bright fuchsia pink that can be worn during the day and on a night out

RIMMEL IN FUNTIME FUCHSIA

This is probably the darkest, richest pink I've ever worn! It borders on a deep pink/cherry red colour and is very striking - you've got to have guts to pull it off!

MAC PINK NOUVEAU 

This lippy doesn't need an introduction does it?! Any beautinista worth her salt will know about this iconic lipstick. I was a bit deceived though - the colour looks like a bright Barbie pink but comes out a lot lighter when I wear it. And because my skin is quite dark it leaves me looking a bit washed out :-( It's a shame because I love it so much

RIMMEL FLIRTY

A cute pink that comes out quite sheer. I had to apply it 4-5 times to get the true colour, which is a lovely sparkly candy pink. The consistency isn't quite as creamy and smooth as MAC or YSL but it still does a good job in keeping my lips soft - and the colour stays on for ages

I recently brought another pink lippy (when will i learn?!!???) but haven't really played around with it enough to put it in my Top 6. I'm also still trying to get hold of MAC's Wild Orchid but it's only available in Pro stores and I can't be bothered to go all the way to Westfield shopping centre for one lippy. I might get it online... Any recommendations??! 

Nehus hoped you enjoyed : - )

Sami xx

Beauty Lust Have: MAC Lipstick in Show Orchid

My two current obsessions at the moment are: lipsticks and pink. So you can imagine my delight when I found this gorgeous lippy in MAC...

OMG I need this in my life...

If anyone knows any other pink lippys that would suit Asian skin tone let me know :-)

Sami xx

Lady Gaga, Cyndi Lauper and MAC = Dream Collaboration!

I heard about the MAC/Gaga/Lauper collaboration a looooong time ago and it was only yesterday that I saw the actual ad campaign. All I can say is WOW! Lady Gaga actually looks like a lady and Cyndi Lauper looks like she's had about 20years knocked off her!

I'm waiting for a press release but I know that funds from their VivaGlam range will go towards helping women with HIV.

I'll definitely be popping into MAC to get hold of one of these lippies... i'm angling towards the pink....

Sami xx