Autumn/Winter essentials

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Top to bottom: L'Oreal Color Riche 500 Gold Mania
L'Oreal Color Riche 507 Pin Up Pink 
Seventeen Eye Shadow Funfair

Of course as it's nearing the Christmas season - the best time of year in my opinion - it's time to get out the sparkle. I think it's fun to jazz up your makeup at this time of year with some eyeshadow that you wouldn't necessarily be brave enough to wear any other time of year. I like the warm/pinky tones of these eyeshadows and I often wear them mixed together for extra sparkle and shimmer. These are great all over the eye on their own as an everyday look with an extra something; or can be transformed into a smokey look with some dark matte browns and warm colours through the crease and some eyeliner. 

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm 225 Sultry
Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner 063 Eastend Snob

It's no secret that everyone loves a berry lip during the colder months. Recently I have been enjoying matte lips, which is rare as I am definitely a gloss girl! My favourites at the moment are this lip liner to make my lips look a bit fuller while making the colour last a lot longer - mentioned here and here. I have also been a bit late to the party in discovering the Revlon Matte Balms. These are lovely and creamy, easy to apply and wear really nicely on the lips. I picked up a more muted berry colour as I wanted something slightly more subtle. Although this combination can make my lips quite dry as long as you layer up with a lip balm you should be fine - making lip balm another essential!

Garnier Ultimate Blends hair oil
Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance conditioning spray

With the cold weather also comes dry hair. Also, where I have previously used bleach and dye on my hair I need to take extra care of it to keep it in good condition. In the shower my favourite conditioner to use is the Herbal Essence Moisture Balance from the classics collection. Unless I need a more intense condition in which case I use the Tony and Guy Nourish Reconstruction Mask - full post here. After the shower while my hair is wet I spray the Aussie leave in conditioner all over  to lock in the moisture. This product also makes it so much easier to brush through my hair. I then put a couple of pumps of the Garnier oil onto the ends and lengths of my hair to keep them lovely and soft. The combination of these products help to keep my hair from looking damaged and dry. 
I would also like to add dry hair shampoo to my essentials...with wooly hat weather who can tell whether you have 3 or 4 day hair or not?! Am I right?

St Tropez In Shower Gradual Tan 

During the colder months I find using regular fake tan can be slightly too intense - and a lot more obvious that you're wearing it! Where I usually use the Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan mousse, or the Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan - mentioned here - which are both great self tanners;  they can be too dark to look natural in the winter. A great, more natural looking, alternative is the St Tropez in shower tan. This was released during the summer and received very mixed reviews. Many had said that it was a bit of a faff to apply as you have to stop the shower and stand in the cold for 3 minutes. However for me this was not a problem as this time flies if you're listening to music - having a good shower jam. I would recommend this for those of you who are more on the paler side, as I'm not sure it would make much of a difference on tanned skin. I did notice a difference after I had used this a couple of times. It gives a nice natural glow to the skin which is perfect during the dull weather!

What are your Autumn/Winter essentials?
~ Lucy xx

My MAC quad

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Left to right: Smut, Kid, Woodwinked, Satin taupe

Today I thought I’d share with you all my MAC quad. I recently slipped the fourth pan into my palette after switching from buying eyeshadows in pot form to pan form - it’s a great money and space saver.

Smut - a very dark almost black purple shade - perfect for adding sultry smoky definition to the outer corner or using as a powder eyeliner as it’s less harsh than liquid or gel and blends for a softer look.

Kid - my favourite definition shade for when you don’t want to wear a lot of colour but want a little something to give some dimension. Great for when if you want to have dramatic liner but not too much going on, on the lid. It’s not too cool or too warm toned so gives a very natural look.

Woodwinked - out of my small but growing MAC eyeshadow collection woodwinked is definitely my favourite. A warm toned golden shadow I tend to wear packed across the lid and then blended throughout the crease as where blended woodwinked changes to a more warm toned matte brown - perfect for when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to faff around with shadows - but I also wear this with a lighter, shimmery shadow on the first half of my lid and then woodwinked packed onto the outer half and blended.

Satin taupe - my most recent edition to my collection. A purple, silver, brown-y mix matched shade. Great for adding to the outer corner for a subtle smoky day-time look for for using underneath the eyes in a smoky eye to balance the look out. Also great to use as a lid colour in a smoky eye.



And that’s it! What colours do you have in your MAC palette?

~ Jade xxx

Naked Palette vs. MUA undressed palette

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(Left side using the naked palette and right side using the MUA palette) 

I’ve seen a lot of blog posts on the similarities between the Naked and MUA undressed palettes. I may be a little late on the band wagon, but I thought I’d buy the undressed palette to compare to Jade’s (well loved) Naked palette. 

(MUA colours left to right: Shade 1-6)
(MUA colours left to right: Shade 7-12)

First impressions: the colours look pretty much exactly the same though some of them are slightly different - for example the MUA version of the Naked ‘Hustle’ is more brown than purple, the Naked ‘Sidecar’ has larger chunks of glitter, and the MUA version of the Naked ‘Gunmetal’ is more blue toned. The Naked eye shadows are a little softer than the MUA, which means they are easier to blend but means they may crease more on someone with oily eyelids.
(Naked palette left to right: Virgin, naked, sidecar, buck, half baked)
~ Sin is missing as Jade has used it so much there is none left in the pan ~ 

(Naked palette left to right: Smog, dark horse, toasted, hustle, creep, gunmetal) 

Although the MUA packaging might look a little cheaper, and doesn’t have a mirror, it is a lot more sturdy and would be good for travelling. Whereas the Naked palette has a magnetic close, which means it can be more prone to breakage/damage (the mirror on Jade's has smashed). 


The major difference I found with these palettes was the price is that the Naked palette is £36 and the MUA undressed palette is a steal at £4! For a price difference that extreme (you could buy 9 MUA palettes for the price of the Urban Decay palette if you really wanted to) I think you would expect a great difference in the quality of the products, but there really isn’t. 


Overall, I like both of these Palettes and the Naked palette is good if you want a treat, but the MUA palette is a lot more worth your money. 

Do you prefer high end products, or budget bargins? Would you buy a product based on its brand or quality/price?

~ Lucy

My current go-to products

beauty



Today I thought I’d share with you what makeup I tend to wear on a daily basis/current go-to products. The majority of these products are long time favourites but a few are new to me.
(Left to right: Sleek blush, Maybelliene colour tattoo, MAC mineralise eyeshadow, Lancôme rouge in love)

What are your go-to products?

~ Jade xx

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.