MY MAC LIPSTICK COLLECTION - SWATCHES FOR EACH TONE

Hey guys! There is no such thing as having too many lipsticks. Its funny because as soon as I put a certain shade on I feel like my personality changes. Reds make me feel sexy, pinks/corals make me feel girlie and nudes make me feel like Kimmy K or Kylie for the day .. Hey gurl ... We all know that vibe.

As I am a huge lippy girl I thought I would show you my MAC lipstick collection and some of the shades I have started to collect so far. We all have different ideas of colours and shades and what kind of tones suit us. So here are some swatches of MAC lipsticks in different finishes from: satin, creme sheen (glossy),lustre, matte, amplified and frosted (shimmery) so you can pick out some shades you may have never seen or think ... 'oooo I may have to try this out!'

MY NUDES

BRONZED GODDESS SHADES 

PINK TO MAKE THE BOYS WINK 

CORALS AND PEACHY TONES

REDS AND PLUMS 

I am defiantly missing some other stunning shades from my collection like - Russian red - Creme cup - Angel- Ruby Woo- Cyber and many others which you should check out on-line.These are going to be my next purchases to expand my selection of reds, nudes and pinks! 

Finish choice: 

Anyone who is looking for a long lasting lipstick I would recommend any of the Matte lipsticks. 

Anyone who has dry lips however, I wouldn't advise matte as they may dry the lips out even more. For you I would recommend Amplified, Lustre, Satin or Creme sheen which has a touch of hydration and a glossier finish which will hug the lips. 

For a luminous and shimmery finish I would recommend the Frost lipsticks which are my absolute FAVE !!

Remember you can always change your lipstick colour or finish by adding a coloured or clear gloss. Mix and match your glosses and lipsticks or even mix two lipsticks together to find your perfect shade.  

Here I have used : BURGUNDY lip liner DIVA matte Lipstick and a CLEAR gloss( all MAC products):

Hope you find some shades you like or never thought of and start to #GETLIPPYWITHIT

What shades would you recommend I purchase next ?

MAKE MY MASCARA LAST LONGER

Longer lasting mascara!

Ok. So how many of you this morning are pumping away at your mascara tube trying to get those last little bits out? I WILL MAKE THIS LAST ONE MORE DAY kinda pumping?! 

Well STOP you persistent pumpers, and take on tickling that tube !!!

Working for different make-up brands I have often heard so many of you ladies say "My mascara has dried out so quickly". When I would ask what they were doing to apply the mascara, the dreaded pumping action came out... 

With my colleague telling me to advise the ladies to tickle the tube to release the product, I had one day said to one of our clients, 'Never PUMP but TICKLE' to which she burst out laughing and said thats something she definitely wont forget! It's always the older ladies with the saucy mind I tell you!!

But getting back to tickling the tube... 

When you pump your mascara, each pump is forcing oxygen into the tube. If you have ever left your lid off, you can see how the mascara dries itself out which is what you are doing to the inside of your tube. That fabulous clumpy pumpy sound that you think is picking up more product, is actually shortening the time you can make the product last. 

SO, what to do? 

Wiggle that spool around and round and tickle the inside. This will loosen the product without forcing air in to dry out the product. I PROMIS YOU your new mascara will last so much longer. I am a huge fan now of the wiggle and tickle and YOU should be too!!!

JUST A FEW MORE TIPS... 

• When you apply your mascara, I always tend to use a half dead tube so that the spool has little product on. This will allow the brush to separate your lashes first.
• Next, take your full or fairly full mascara and wiggle from the base upwards, thickening and pluming your heart out.. (plumping NOT pumping!!)
• Use a tissue under or behind the lashes to push prduct to the very tips of your lash with no transfere.
• For thick doll like lashes apply translusant powder after each coat for ultiame volume. 
• GO VERTICAL ! Push that product from root to tip using the end of the wand for intence volume and curl. 
• If you thinking ' Damn my mascara has run out and i cant get one for tomorrow morning.' kinda dilemma... Boil the kettle and pop the tube in a piping hot cup of water and let it sit there while you do your hair and foundation (TAKE OUT CAREFULLY) and any dry or forgotten about product will melt off the tube so you can get those last few dregs out ! 

Happy tickling !!! 

Samantha x

FLOWER POWER :FESTIVAL MAKE-UP

Hey guys! Festival fever is beginning to sweep the nation and I thought I would create a simple flower crown that can be painted on with some easy peasy products. While some people go in fancy dress (and some go barely clothed), festivals bring the excuse to be a complete wierdo and dress up. I love festivals! Its a time where exposed body limbs and face paint is totally acceptable for adults... not just 9 year old's at a school disco.

With that being said, make-up is a huge staple at festivals, so here is my flower crown I have created for a floral festival look! 

So what do you need to create the flower crown, and how easy is it to create the petals? 

First I have taken two colours of Snazaroo facepaint. I picked this face paint up for £3.99 at my local fancy dress shop. Snazaroo face paints have a really good colour pay off. My face paint didn't crack or flake all day at work so I would defiantly recommend these for general use or beginners. I then bought a pack of 12 paint brushes from W.H.Smiths for £5.99 which had a good range of sizes! Any paint brush will do if you have one on hand as long as the tip is not too pointed. 

So how do you create the petal technique? 

First wet the brush to activate the face paint-  

(Follow step by step image below)

1. Load the brush up with your first colour. 

2. Take your next chosen colour and start to only work the tip of the brush into colour 2 so that the tip of your brush has a new colour on.

3. Point the tip verticals at the skin. Keeping the tip in the same position without moving it, push down to the side. 

4. Put the tip back in the same place and continue moving the pushing direction around until you have created 5 petals. Remember not to move the tip of the brush from the original point of contact on the skin. 

The more pressure you add, the larger the petals. For smaller petals use less pressure when pushing down. 

To create this crown, I decided to do a white flower with a purple infused centre first, then over the top the reversed colours of a purple and white infused flower. To add definition, I then grabbed my MAC- Heroin and Nightingale  lip liners rrp: £12.50, adding deeper purple smaller flowers. After this I added dots of MAC- Amethyst purple glitter (pro product rrp £17.50) patted on top to give it a lil shimma shimma. 

Team with a soft blown out purple smoky eye and luminous cheek highlight: 

And there we have it guys! Its super fast and really simple using two colours. Next time I am going to create a more detailed crown using lots more colours !

What festivals are you going to this summer ? 

Samantha x