Nails and Teapots

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What are you favourite high street lip products? 

Bobbi Brown is a brand I have never ventured much into and have really only delved into the likes of their eyeshadows and blushers although I have been tempted by their forever talked about Shimmer Bricks. My favourite aspect of this said brand is their generosity when it comes to their online offers. I can't help but get excited when I spot a Bobbi Brown email in my inbox as I can be almost certain I'll be snatching up a good deal for great quality products in return. Recently, they were giving a way a free eyeshadow and 2 Pan Palette when you spent over (I believe) £40 and entering a discount code at the checkout. I, of course, couldn't resist and ended up purchasing a couple of lipsticks and an extra eyeshadow to keep my freebie company. One of the products I picked up, as you can probably guess by now, was the Rich Lip Colour in the shade 10 Plum Rose (£19.50). A lovely, bravely bold pink with subtle plum undertones that gives the perfect English Rose look when on the lips. I picked up this colour as I didn't own anything similar at the time and was drawn to the full coverage effect made possible by the immense pigmentation. I have already received so many compliments on this lipstick and find it to be a perfect everyday shade that makes a great alternative to a nude. When paired with a poppy, pink blush the overall effect shouts classic beauty but slightly more bolder. If you're after something  that's simple but still makes a statement, definitely check this out when your near a Bobbi Brown counter. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Have you tried many products from Bobbi Brown? 

As you can see by the photos above, I have accumulated a few of the MAC Mineralize Blushers  and I find it needless to say that I am seriously impressed by the quality. I have only just uploaded a post about the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushers on this blog where I stated that those were comparable to the likes of these. So, instead of just telling you, I thought I would actually show you! The MAC Mineralize Blushers come in a baked formula and promise a lightweight finish but of course, still with great pigmentation. 

In order of the photos and swatches: Petal Power is definitely one of my favourites considering it is a pretty pink shade with a coral shimmer merged within the hue. The shimmer adds a highlighting effect to the cheeks making this the perfect blush for S/S.  Gentle is a much more of a typical pink shade with a raspberry spin with a much more subtle shimmer that still looks gorgeous on the cheeks but may require an added bit of highlight if you're aiming for the dewey, fresh faced look. Dainty is fairly similar to the previous shade but is rather more berry toned and definitely requires a light hand with application. This shade reminds me a lot of the MAC Powder Blush in Desert Rose mainly because of their insane pigmentation. New Romance is my second favourite out of these as the pretty peach shade looks pretty much perfect with any make up look. If you're are after a simple but pretty blush, definitely try this out. Finally, Love Thing is the darkest one in my collection as it's a deep burgundy colour with a slight gold shimmer. I would probably only really wear this during A/W but I am pleased to have an array of colours in my beauty stash.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What's your favourite Mineralize Blush? 

I am fully aware that this is a lot of Empties for one post but I have been accumulating these products for a long period of time and have finally found the motivation to sit down and write this menu. I'm not going to mention every single product featured in the photos as otherwise we will be here all day. Instead I will pick out a few of my up-most favourites which will most likely be the products I will be repurchasing. So to get straight into it, I made my way through a number of base products, all of which I have been incredibly impressed with and would honestly purchase every single on of them again in the future.  I have a more in-depth post about my current base products here. I will also be holding on to the empty MAC products so I can qualify for the Back To MAC scheme. I have gone to town with fragrance usage in the past few months. Two of which are the Estée Lauder Modern Muse which is one of my personal favourites and I pretty much found myself wearing it everyday during A/W. I will be sure to purchase another again within the next few months as the smell is honestly to die for. If you would like to see a full (really old) review on this fragrance - check it out here. I also tried and tested a number of moisturisers and primers. I found the Chanel Hydra Beauty Gel Créme a little too overpriced for the quality of the product as it was far from outstanding. With the primers, I would definitely purchase the Benefit Porefessional again but as for the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, I found the packaging size fairly impractical and the product performance slowly deteriorated with use. Concealer wise, there isn't a lot to say other than I love both these products and have already repurchased all of them multiple times. Finally, to add a few eye products in the mix, I love the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara and would definitely recommend it to anyone whose after a great amount of volume for their lashes. As for the YSL Shocking Mascara, I found this to be pretty average and the product dried up in a matter of weeks which was slightly disappointing due to the price I paid to have this product. As for the eyeliners, I am a big fan of the Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner and have already written a raving review here.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think in the comments!

What products have you used up recently?

Max Factor are easily one of the most competitive brands on the high street. I often find a lot of their products compete with similar products from higher end companies. I am a big lover of their mascaras and find that their quality is actually better in comparisons to brands such as YSL and Lancôme. Max Factors new Creme Puff Blushers are a recent addition to the beauty scene and have already been compared to the likes of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushers and the MAC Mineralize Blushers. With six shades to choose from, there is pretty much a shade for anyone and everyone. The merged, baked formula offers a multi-tonal colour that looks effortless once applied to cheeks. Each blush comes with a slightly iridescent finish thus adding an extra hint of subtle highlight making highlighter almost unnecessary. I picked up the shades 15 Seductive Pink, 20 Lavish Mauve and 30 Gorgeous Berries. Seductive Pink is a beautiful muted-purply pink shade with a slight hint of gold that naturally warms up the complexion. This looks beautiful applied to the apples of the cheeks and is a perfect neutral day-to-day blush. Lavish Mauve is similar to the former shade but slightly paler and much more peachier when applied to the skin. I think this is probably my favourite of the three as it is totally wearable. Gorgeous Berries is the boldest of the three colours, with a deeper reddy-pink hue which can be easily sheered out after application therefore making it still easy to wear. The pigmentation of these blushers are outstanding and the long lasting formula is almost identical to brands such as MAC. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to a mineralise blush, pop down to your local Boots and pick up one of these for just £8.99. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What shades takes your fancy?

So as you can probably tell judging by the overload of photos, I am seriously in love with this collection. After staying up all night waiting for the online launch last Friday, (Damn you MAC for not telling us the release times), you can only imagine how frantic I was when it finally hit the site just before 10am. I was kinda expecting a Midnight release time as that would have only be fitting with the theme but oh well! I am pretty sure I managed to get everything into my basket, check out and pay, in under a minute. It's very serious business this MAC malarky. I already knew exactly what I want and surprisingly I was more drawn to the pigments and powders rather than the lipsticks and glosses. That isn't to say that I didn't pick up both lipsticks because of course I did. I seriously cannot resist those bullets especially in limited edition pearlescent blue packaging. So here is a quick rundown and first impressions of the products I picked up.

The Beauty Powder in Mystery Princess (£23) is a really gorgeous milky-champagne, highlighting shade that reminds me a lot of The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer with less shimmer. This is such a lovely shade that catches the light beautifully and really adds a flawless filter-like finish to the skin. Then comes the sister product, the Beauty Powder in Coupe D'Chic (£23) which, although I wasn't too fussed about before, has quickly become one of my favourite products from the collection. This is an ultra-shimmer, subtle-pink powder that although hasn't necessarily been advertised as a blush, is honestly quickly become one of my favourites that I know I'll be reaching for a lot in S/S. I was apprehensive about the glitter in the product as although I'm all for looking like a Disney princess, I'm not into looking like a Barbie princess but the shimmer instead added an absolutely amazing highlight that looks incredible when photographed and has already bagged a load of compliments. 

Next up is the Stroke of Midnight Palette (£38.50) which I think is my up-most favourite product from the collection. Every single shade in this palette is wearable and I strongly urge anyone with green or blue eyes to check the shades out as they will really accentuate the eye colour. Luckily, for anyone that couldn't get their hands on this palette, 5/6 of the shades contained are actually available in the permanent collection (Vapour, Phloof, Omega, Quarry, Satin Taupe) and it is just the iridescent, deep purple shade (Stroke of Midnight), that is limited edition. I have used this palette every single day since I got it and although there is only 6 shades, the possibilities of looks is really endless. I am so happy that Omega is in this palette as I didn't own this previously and find it a great multi-purpose product that I am especially loving as a contour shade for my pale skin. 

I also picked up the Pigment in Pretty It Up (£18.50) which as you can see by the swatch above, is a really beautiful olive-gold loose pigment that I seriously cannot wait to use. I am fairly new to Pigments but the ones I do own, I love and find them perfect to add impact to any look. I also picked up the Glitter in Reflects Pearl (£18.50) which I have already used a few times to add a little bit of something to the inner-third of my lid, on top of the more neutral shades from the palette and already I am in love! As well as this, I also bit the bullet and bought the Fluidline in Macroviolet (£17). This is also available in the permanent collection but I couldn't resist the Limited Edition packaging - it is a curse! I am still yet to try this but I have found myself really leaning to purple hued products due to having green eyes. 

Finally here comes probably the most popular products from the whole collection which are the lipsticks. I picked up both shades - Royal Ball and Free as a Butterfly (£17). Each of these shades have a Lustre finish which although isn't usually my favourite, still looks beautiful all the same. Free as a Butterfly is a serious nude that really only caters for people with really pale skin as it will wash out any skin tones that are darker. Royal Ball is also a neutral but with a more pinky-twist that is a really great lipsticks for easy, on-the-go application. I also bought the Lipglass in Happily Ever After (£16), which I purchased partly because of the name and partly because I was intrigued about the blue glitter laced throughout the pink. This is really beautiful and still fairly subtle despite the bluey-tones and looks great when applied on top of Royal Ball.

If you would like to see some of these products in action, check out my MOTD post here. I apologise for the volume of text, I am still seriously excited about this collection and honestly love each and every product, even more than I thought I would initially. If you can get hold of anything from this collection, I strongly urge you to!

Let me know what you think.

What's your favourite thing from this collection?