Bella: February 2016

Friday 12 February 2016

Reviewing M.A.C Products (And My Experience in the M.A.C Store!)

Hey guys!

Welcome back to my blog! I hope you all have been enjoying 2016 and February. Today I am going to be doing another make up post, but this time I'm going to review three M.A.C cosmetics that I picked up today, as well as give you a little story about my experience in the M.A.C store. These three products are my first from M.A.C and I am so excited to use them this year since they are the first high-end make up products I have purchased.

So first of all, I'll start off with my experience in the M.A.C store. The store I went to was in Smith and Caugheys in Auckland, and it was on the bottom floor within the makeup area. It's quite an open store, and it had roughly four staff on duty at the time I was there. Most of them were preoccupied with already doing makeup on other customers, but one girl was free, and as soon as I walked into the store she greeted me, asked how I was and if I needed any help. This was so lovely and great since I had no previous experience in M.A.C with their products, so I needed all the help I could get.
To summarise it, I told her that I was reasonably young and new to makeup and didn't have much experience, but I was looking for some base makeup products to start off my collection. She immediately told me to sit down at the mirror where the staff do the customer's makeup, and went off to grab some products that she thought would be my colour and things I would like. She came back with three different shades of foundation to test on me, a pressed powder and a bronzer.
She took off the existing makeup I had on and applied the three foundation shades next to each other, and immediately recognised my colour, which was NW20, meaning Natural Warm in the shade 20, for those who don't know. She then continued to apply makeup on me, and walked me through step by step on how to do what she was doing, along with what brushes to use for each product.
Once my look was done, which she applied perfectly as well as talked to me throughout the application (asking me how I was etc.), she asked if there was any other products I was interested in trying while I was there. I asked to try the Soft & Gentle highlighter which everyone raves about, and she told me I had made a good choice, went over to the product and then applied it on my face, as well as telling me how to do it. Once that was done, my look was finished, and I was in love with it, as well as having a stronger knowledge base on how to apply makeup correctly.
After purchasing the products I wanted, the girl told me to come back soon and ask for her so she could teach me how to do eye makeup. I left the store not only looking great, but also feeling so happy and like that was worth my while.
My experience in M.A.C was amazing, the girl who served me was lovely and she taught me so much, and she also made my experience there very personal and meaningful. I can't wait to go back there to learn more about makeup and purchase some more products.

Next, I'm going to move onto the products I bought, as well as my review on them.

The three products I bought are all set to be the base of my makeup. I purchased the Mineralise Skinfinish highlighter (far right), the Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation (centre) and the Mineralise Skinfinish Natural pressed powder (far left).

I am so happy that I purchased these products, as they all are perfect for every skin type as well as help to make me feel very confident whilst I wear them.

I bought the Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation in the shade NW20. This product is super light on the skin, and blends really well when applied with a brush or a sponge. It has a beautiful finish, it's quite dewy, but when a pressed powder is applied on top your complexion doesn't look oily whatsoever. The foundation actually helps to control natural oils and it's all-in-all just a really nice and natural-looking foundation for a daily use, since it has medium-to-light coverage. The applicator is like a dropper, and I would recommend just dropping one lot of foundation out (if that makes sense) and using that all up before using any more, because otherwise you will waste the product. This foundation is builds really well, but I do like to take it slow and only apply it drop by drop. I really love this foundation!

Next, I purchased the Mineralise Skinfinish Natural pressed powder in the shade Medium Plus, which is basically a tan beige. I also really like this product, it gives a light coverage as well as being long-lasting and a nice product to apply. It does make the Studio Waterweight foundation have a fuller coverage, so if you want a light coverage but a matte look, I'd stick to a transparent powder. I like to use this powder though, so that the coverage is stronger. I do thoroughly enjoy using this powder on it's own to school and to friend's houses so that I have a light coverage but I do feel confident. This powder is truly my holy grail at this point in time.

And finally, I bought the Mineralise Skinfinish highlighter in Soft & Gentle. I'm sure that the entire internet agrees that this highlighter is AMAZING. Sure, there are probably better options out there, but for my first highlighter, I really love this product. Not only does it completely brighten and amplify my complexion, but it also adds a whole new dimension to my face. And it is probably the most beautiful colour I have ever seen. It applies really easily and is super pigmented, and also really build-able if you really want to smash out your highlighter. I am in love with this one!

Overall, I am so happy with my experience at M.A.C and the quality of the products I purchased. I cannot wait to use them up and go back to the store to buy some more products.

Thank you guys all for reading, sorry I blabbed on a bit!

See you guys next time!

Bella x

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Wednesday 3 February 2016

My Everyday Make Up Look

Hello everyone!

This week, I’ve decided to do something a little different. Well, not exactly different, as the following post is exactly the type of thing I want to incorporate into my blog, as well as lifestyle (like the last two posts) and fashion (fashion posts will be coming!)

So, here’s my go-to, everyday make up look, as well as a step-by-step guide on how I did it! I am obviously very young and no professional at make up, but I do enjoy applying it and styling it. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated though, so don’t be afraid to comment below any stuff like that, or any suggestions for future posts, and I will happily read them and reply!

First of all, after cleansing, toning and moisturising my face, I take my Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser and apply that generally over my cheeks, lower forehead and nose. I just purchased this stuff, and although some of my friends have told me that they didn't really like it, I feel as though it works really well for me and prevents my typically frequent breakouts after applying makeup.

Next, I take my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and use that to apply the CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation in the shade L6, or buff beige. I do really like this foundation because it blends super well and is very light, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who prefer a thicker foundation with a heavier coverage. You can build this one up, but I prefer to keep it light and fresh looking.

Then, after applying my foundation, I take my E.L.F Complete Coverage Concealer palette in the shade light and use the third colour from the left to conceal my spots, redness and blemishes; and take the second colour from the left to conceal my under-eyes as well as brighten them. I apply the concealer using my middle or ring finger.

Next, I set my base by using Nude by Nature's Mineral Finishing Veil for all skin tones, and apply that generously all over my face to ensure that my foundation and concealer will not move around during the rest of my makeup application as well as throughout the day. I apply this using the middle brush in the following photo.

After my base has been set, I move on to lightly bronze my face under my cheekbones and across the very top of my forehead, right on the hairline. I like doing this specifically in summer because it gives my face a glow as well as making me look more tan! I use Rimmel London's Natural Bronzer in the shade 025/sun glow. I also use the middle brush to apply this product.

Next, I lightly highlighted my face to give myself some glow and brighten my complexion. I took the brush on the far left from the photo above and took the following champagne-type shade to highlight my face. I applied this along my cheekbone, down the centre of my nose, and also on my cupids bow just above my upper lip.

Then, I move onto filling in my eyebrows. I do sometimes brush them using your bog-standard eyebrow brush, but they are usually pretty tame. To fill them in, I use E.L.F's eyebrow kit in the shade Ash. I usually use this kit in the shade medium as it suits my natural colour a bit better, but the pharmacy had run out of that shade so I settled for the next closest colour, Ash. I use the right colour to fill in my brows and then set them with the left colour. The right colour is a liquid-gel type texture and the left colour is a powder. I use the brush on the far right in the photo below to apply this kit.

Once my brows are finally done, they do take a while, I move onto eyeshadow. For this look, I took Maybelline's The Nudes palette and applied the colour in the top left all over my eyelid, then applied the colour in the top right into my crease to contour my lid. Next, I took the colour in the bottom left corner and lined my lower lash line with it, and took the colour in the bottom right corner and applied that to my inner corner to give some highlight to my eyes and brighten them. I used the brush on the far left from the photo above to apply my eyeshadow.

Then it's onto my lashes! I take this really inexpensive eyelash curler from Farmers and curl my lashes, then take my Rimmel London Extra 3D Lash in the shade 003/extreme black, and apply a few coats to my upper lashes, then one coat to my bottom lashes. I live off this mascara! It applies so easily and the applicator brush prevents any clumps. It gives my lashes so much length and the right amount of volume for an everyday look!

After my lashes are done, I move onto lips, and take my EOS lip balm in the scent Pomegranate Raspberry and apply that throughly over my lips. My choice of lip balm differs everyday depending on the dryness of my lips and what one I feel like using on that specific day. I usually differ between this EOS lip balm and my Lucas' PawPaw Ointment. Once I have applied my lip balm, I will either apply a lipstick on top or leave my lips natural, but today I chose to apply my Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in the shade 131/ginger rose. This is quite a pink-toned nude colour which I really love for an everyday look.

And here is the finished look! I really hope you guys enjoyed this blog post and you want more of these to come, I really loved making and writing it. Thank you so much for checking out my blog! Enjoy the rest of your week.