*MAC* Makeup Review – Gingerly Blush

Hey pals

I don’t have a great collection of blushers as I do lipsticks, as it’s so easy to get it wrong and the wrong blusher colour on your cheek is unforgivable and tragic – so I have a couple which I love and wear on more or less a daily basis.

One such blush is Macs Gingerly blush, it’s a orangey brown nude shade, and comes priced at an economic £18.00 – this stuff lasts ages. I have yet to hit pan and I have had it ages…the pigment is true to colour and compliments my NC42 skin tone greatly.

So glad I found it! I came across it whilst purchasing a nude lipstick at Mac – Freckletone, if you’re interested in knowing – apparently its Kim K’s signature colour – but who cares?

I sometimes use it to contour when I have a lazy day and can’t be bothered to reach for my Tom Ford contour kit. It lasts all day and it doesn’t feel like you have an obvious blusher on which is always great!

Applied using a powder brush (see my review on my favourite brush to powder with here - http://animassays.blogspot.com/2014/12/chanel-make-up-brush-love.html ) it is just effortless to apply and doesn't come with a cheapo blusher brush as you find with some other brands…

After using this though, I will try and be more adventurous and purchase other blushers from Mac and see how I go…

Have you tried this?? If not give it a whirl – you won’t regret it x

*Chanel* Make Up Brush Love

I know I say this a lot, but my affinity with all things makeup did not start too long ago – the obsession has overcome me quite recently. Anyhoo I was the type who never used makeup brushes for any purpose. I was a ‘apply-foundation-with-the-hand’ kinda gal and loved it this way. Until I became a bit conscious of hygiene and my lack of any brushes at all! So I invested and I invested good.

I still remember the look of longing on the sales assistants face as I bought the Real Techniques Face and Eye Brush collections last year – bless her!

Anyway this post is all about one brush, one single beautiful brush! The Chanel No 1 Powder Brush. This brush is the dream *sighs*.

It applies any powder formula evenly and without leaving any streaks *rolls eyes* or any residue or even (as some Mac brushes have a penchant of doing) shedding.

Priced at a whopping £44.00 you can buy the entire Real Techniques range for that much and more! But once in a while you feel like a splurge…I have often used this to apply my Chanel Universal Bronzer which as you all know is a cream formula and therefore this is a great all-rounder.

It has a domed shape so great for bronzing, contouring and blushing hehe… and I know a few people will die of disgust, but you don’t even need to clean it often…I simply don’t have the time to go around cleaning my brushes 24/7 but thankfully this doesn't require that much care…*thank god*

It also comes in a velvet sleeve embossed with the Chanel logo to keep it from getting dirty which is great! Much better than the Tom Ford range of brushes which come in a box and nothing else and you basically have to re-mortgage your house to buy…tut tut Tom Ford.

I just felt like raving about these brushes as no one online ever does!

Animas xx

*Review* Bobbi Brown Art Stick in Rose Brown

Hello folks 

I have been sampling many delights recently which I cannot wait to share with you!!

But right now, it's all about the Bobbi Brown Art Sticks!!! OMG I was mesmerised as I meandered by the BB counter in Selfridges and ogled these beauties!! 

If you like the Nars Lip Pencils well these are their big sisters!! Without a doubt the pencil is jumbo - so more product for the same price - one thing I was left wondering was where am I going to get a sharpener that size! But thankfully the Art Sticks also come with sharpeners!! Yay!!!

I bought the colour Rose Brown which is a pretty muted rosey brown, exactly what it says on the tin. The finish is semi matte - and they're quite long lasting. Priced at £19.50 they're not too bad. You gotta remember it is BB we're talking about here not drugstore so the price is justified!!!

I love these Art Sticks/pencils - and another thing, they market them as a 2 in 1 lip liner and lipstick. The top edge of the dome is supposed to be used first as a lip liner and the edge of the dome as a lipstick after which I think, having followed the tip is quite effective...and really suits my NC42 skintone!

Let me know if you've bought any and what colour....I will definitely buy more - I believe the range is pretty new so watch this space for hopefully more colours soon!!!

Ciao xxx

*Review* YSL Baby Doll Kiss and Blush Lipsticks

These are amazing and I have three! The formula is liquid but dries to a matte finish. Which for any of you who love long lasting lipsticks, it’s a great thing!

The packaging is funky too, it looks like you’re carrying nail polish in your handbag! And you can use it as a blush too! I find that element bizarre and don’t use them for that purpose tbh…Think the colours show up much better on my lips than my NC42 cheeks!

The ones I have are No 11, No 9 & No 5 and these retail at £27.00 each. I think I got a little carried away that day….oh well it happens…I have yet to visit a Guerlian counter for fear of the havoc I may cause to my bank account…

All in all very pretty colours, they have a wide range of colours. Very moisturising and good colour pay off – you do have to reapply after eating etc but its matter of preference really. 

Matte lippies are not my friend and I usually find I have to apply a balm before putting them on.  However these are great because they’re a liquid consistency so I don’t need to do the lip balm step first. Yay!

Have you tried these – what do you think?

*Review* Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir

Hi guys

This is more of a personal taste thing really so this review will be more about the brand, service and utter quality personified that is Jo Malone! J

I was first told about JM a few years ago and since I have had some form of product from JM sitting on my dresser since…JM traditionally produce fragrances and home perfumeries (if that’s even a word, well Word hasn’t auto-corrected so I assume it is :/ ) for all occasions. The have recently branched out into skincare too.

To give a brief history…

Jo Malone joined The Estée Lauder Companies' family of brands in 1999 and is available in 22 countries and territories. Jo Malone is a British lifestyle brand known for its unique fragrance portfolio and luxury products for the bath, body and home. Rewriting the rules of perfumery by mixing unexpected combinations of ingredients and providing elegant yet playful concepts where scent is used with abandon, the world of Jo Malone continues to inspire a loyal following.

One thing about the fragrances to remember is that they are all Eau de Toilette, I know some people really fuss about these things, myself included and I usually don’t bother with them unless they’re EDP. So I was a little miffed when I found this, however they have an intense range of fragrances which are the EDP equivalent, packaged in black bottles to discern from the normal range (which is packaged in clear glass bottles).

Sadly, the fragrances in the intense range are completely different and unique from the normal range….so I cannot buy my favourite Pomegranate Noir in the intense range *sad times* However, all is not bad because Pom Noir can be bought in a lotion, crème or candle form to help alleviate the sadness a bit…and naturally because I’m so obsessed, I have all of them!

You will also be happy to read that all their fragrances are unisex so sharing is caring peoples! The bottles come in 30ml (£40.00) and 100ml (£80.00) and for Christmas they have put together some amazing gift sets  and even a special edition Pom Noir bottle in festive colours!

Also because the bottles are so beautifully packaged and presented it saves a lot of money on gift wrapping etc. Another few firm favourites of mine are Blackberry & Bay, Peony Blush & Suede and Wild Sage & Sea Salt…

I have linked the website below for you all to check out - http://www.jomalone.com

Let me know what your favourite scent is…

See you soon

Animas x

*Review* Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso

Hi guys

Believe it or not, up until a year ago I never touched my brows, they were just a pair of furry stamps on my forehead awaiting rescue. Then I suddenly decided to throw caution to the wind and have them threaded.

OMG that was the worst pain ever. Maybe because it was the first time and the hairs were long. Who knows.

Anyway I was a little paranoid as to what product to use to fill them in as my eyebrows are quite fine and I couldn't

afford buying some random branded makeup which would result in shedding! I have read some horror stories *shudders*.

A visit to a Tom Ford counter a few months ago lead me to buy the Brow Sculptor in Espresso (£34.00) and much like the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil (£26.00) it is amazing. The Hourglass one is slightly cheaper but for me they do the same job however the Tom Ford is more readily accessible to me.

The Tom Ford Brow Sculptor comes in a range of colours and the pen is really quirky, it comes with some extra features including a brow brush (always handy!) and a sharpener. The pencil inside is not a pencil so to speak more like the lead found in a pencil and easily sharpenable (if that’s even a word).

The product stays in place after use and all day, so I find no need to buy a brow gel to further lock it in place, another product I’m a little skeptical to use…however you never know, may be open to it in the future…I know a few people use eye shadows, however my skills with an arched makeup brush are abysmal – therefore I steer clear, because this sculptor is shaped in a sort of arch, I feel it gives me more control than a brush.

Since purchasing this I have repurchased and probably will do again, however I have my eye on the Anastasia Brow Whiz, but since that’s only available online I’m a little vary about ordering and then finding I've bought the wrong colour….always annoys me! Who has time to faff around with returns? K

Let me know your thoughts guys and what products you use to get the perfect brow…

See you soon

Animas x

*Review* Marc Jacobs Lip Gel in 114 Understudy

Hi guys

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I have an obsession with all things lipstick. I have perhaps a lipstick from most brands and a new launch always excites me!

I will eventually review my favourites and the ones I would not repurchase, so if you have one you’d like reviewed, give us a shout, I've probably tried it!

Let me start with a firm favourite of mine, priced at £19.00 the Marc Jacobs Lip Gel in Understudy is a firm favourite. When MJ Beauty was announced last year, I like many other women screamed in utter joy and happiness. So on a visit to London in June I walked a mile from the tube station to locate the elusive store in Chelsea that housed the range and went crazy, not literally LOL.

I picked and swatched Understudy and immediately fell in love as at the time I was having a coral love, as you do in the height of Summer…MJ market these Lipsticks as Lip Gels, complete fad in my opinion LOL but we must be different…

The formula is one of my favourites, as you all know I have chapped hideously dry lips so the moisturising nature of this lipstick is right up my street. It’s neither matte nor too glossy and sits in between the two. The colour pay-off is excellent, I usually find I don’t need to reapply after I’ve eaten which is great, hate having to reapply…The colour of the actual lipstick is a dull coral which I LOVE.

The packaging the lipstick is housed in is very luxurious, on a par with Tom Ford, right up there with the greats! Quality shines through! Looks good in the bag etc etc.

So yeah, I will be repurchasing more colours in the range in the near future and can’t say enough good things about the range to be honest…

Let me know what you guys think…have you tried MJ Beauty?

Talk soon

Animas x