Sometimes, opportunities come along that make you really grateful for everything you have and do. Some of these opportunities happen out of complete luck, about being in the right place at the right time. This happened to me when I was at the Bloggers Festival in September. bareMineralss were there, and were holding a competition. The prize? A full makeover and all the products they used on you, you got to keep. Makeup heaven anyone? I did an unboxing video of what I received on my channel if you fancy having a peek.
The day started off early with me heading to their offices in Soho. Their offices are beautiful by the way. I was met by the lovely Ally and the PR team, filled with coffee and fruit, and then taken to where I was to have my makeup done. It was like I had stepped into one of their makeup stands in a department store! Fully kitted out with everything, and stands filled with the products on display, I couldn't be more at home.
I was in the safe hands of SJ and her team, who gave me two amazing looks; one for day and for night. I was super surprised at how versatile all the products were- most of them were used in both looks, making it easy for creating a work-to-party look. We took shots before, during and after each look. In the before photos I just have moisturiser and my brows on. Scroll down to see the looks!
LOOK 1.
This is the day look! SJ created a really cute natural look, keeping it all about looking fresh faced and rosy. I've always been a bit scared of blusher, and as you can see, I'm wearing blusher in these photos! But SJ showed me how to apply it properly, so now I can apply it with confidence :) Here are some of the products they used on me:
LOOK 2.
And here's the night look! I was so impressed at how different this look was on me- it almost completely changed my face shape! This dramatic look consisted of a purple smokey eye, nude lips and bronzed skin. SJ just added to what she had already done, only taking off the lips and a bit of the blusher. Here are some of the products they used on me:
So thank you to bareMinerals for this amazing experience! I cannot put into words how much fun I had (but I've tried to in this post)!
Gx
It's been a while since I've done a favourites video, so I'd thought I'd start it up again! I've got some fashion, some beauty, and some random favourites- some of which have been gifted to me, but these are marked with a * and are in this video because I genuinely like them! Otherwise I wouldn't be talking about them ;)
Gx
If you are visiting London for the first time, you can sometimes not have a clue where the best places to shop are. You have the obvious destinations, like Oxford Street for high street stores and Brick Lane for vintage, but sometimes what you are looking for is no where to be found. Even as a seasoned London shopper, I only end up discovering other gems if I stumble across them, or by being invited to events there. So I thought I'd share this little gem that's just round the corner from Marble Arch.
You may recognise the name Lucy Choi; after all, she is the niece of Jimmy Choo! I was already a fan of Lucy's work after seeing an interview with her in a magazine a year or so ago. So I was all a flutter with excitement when I got the chance to attend the launch of her first every London boutique in the prestigious Connaught Village. The store was once inhabited by her uncle Mr Choo, so it seemed fitting to set up shop there (literally).
The brand debuted in 2012 to roaring success, and the first flagship store is the next step, allowing customers to browse, try on and purchase the full collection. It's a tiny space (so much so that people were literally spilling onto the street at the launch) but has so much packed into it! Shoes covered any surface available, with the eye wondering from courts to boots to loafers. The detail in each piece is really something to marvel at, yet all of them are so versatile! The bridal court shoes stand across the room from the edgy ankle boots adorned with lace, toe caps, buckles and fur. There are workwear-worthy heels in deep reds, greens and animal prints that will definitely get people talking in the office. Even the flats are shoes to be proud of, with chunky treads and metallic bows. The real head-turners though are the heels that you see as soon as you enter the boutique: each shoe is stunning yet so different from the next! More is more with studs, pastels, and more animal prints and metallics. My favourites were the mesh peep-toe boots, gold glitter heels and of course, the multicoloured snakeskin and zigzag shoes! If you want to be THE centre of attention, these are the shoes for you!
"Our first boutique represents an exciting new landmark and is the culmination of my vision to have my own store. Connaught Village is one of the most special places in London for me and I spent a considerable amount of time seeking just the right location, as I wanted to create a beautiful, calming environment and an inspiring space for our customers to shop in." - Lucy Choi
Gx
Nothing gets you in the Christmassy mood more than a good old Christmas party, even if it's in October! And I couldn't have been more excited for bareMinerals Christmas party. With amazing cocktails on tap, makeovers and new makeup dotted all around the room, it was blogger paradise.
Enchantment, their new Christmas collection, is all about 'once upon a time' and comes in packaging decorated with intricate gold designs created by illustrator Sarah Coleman. They have a great selection of gift sets for all budgets, and also have some gifts that are exclusive to certain department stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams and House of Fraser. I managed to snap a couple of my favourite gifts, so if you're already on the hunt from Christmas presents, keep reading...
This fab palette features an assortment of coordinated eye and cheek colours. In the palette you get matte and glitter shades- the darker cheek colours would be great for light contouring and the eye shadows range from crisp neutrals to classic golds and musky purples. It also comes with two looks to recreate or you can go crazy and experiment!
You get 5 liners in this set that are perfect for smudging, layering, tight-lining and adding definition to your waterline. These look just as good mixed together as they do on their own, so you can really play around!
This gift is exclusive to John Lewis, and features some of my fave products! Get flawlessly finished skin with the Original Foundation, fresh natural beauty with the Pop of Passion blush balm and extra fluttery lashes with Lash Domination to name but a few of the products!
Introducing the best-selling face colours in the READY format, you can choose your favourite shade to define, highlight and colour your face! This is the only tool you'll need this winter for skin fit for a queen! You can only buy this exclusively from bareMinerals boutiques.
There's a shade in this collection for every Christmas party you're going to this year! The shades vary from neutrals to brights, and the sheer, shimmering glaze can be worn by itself or layered over any of the glosses for extra glitz.
All I need to say is: 10 lipsticks, £40. THAT'S £4 PER LIPSTICK!!! This set had me seriously excited- these creamy, super-pigmented lippies leave you with a lovely satin finish, and with shades ranging from sweet to bold, you'll have trouble choosing which one to wear next! This set is available at House of Fraser, Fenwick, Debenhams, John Lewis, Selfridges and Brown Thomas.
This eye, cheek and lip collection includes seven tried-and-tested customer favourites, including the awesome Prime Time (which I've also tried, tested and loved), and again the fab Lash Domination. Exclusive to Debenhams.
Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss and Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara (again) are indeed the perfect duo to give you stunning lashes and a fuller pout to grab attention. I do love a good staple makeup product that works was hard as you! This is also exclusive to Debenhams.
I also got to discover the brand GelTouch while I was at the party. GelTouch is a nail technician in a box, that allows you to create professional gel nails at home. The LED topcoat lets you transform any polish into a gel in just 60 seconds under the LED lamp. This is a great piece of kit if you (or a loved one) love having gel nails but without the cost, time investment and weak nails, and is available in selected Debenhams and online.
Gx
Sometimes I get sent beauty products to review that come in really tiny samples. Small enough that I use them up super quickly so I don’t have time to photograph them or judge the effects they have on my skin/hair etc. Which sucks really, because I want to put out review posts that are actually helpful, instead of ones saying ‘I got sent this product but used this up so quickly that I don’t have much to say about it’. Because that’s just a waste of a post really, and wasting everybody’s time!
So I came up with an idea to tackle this. I decided to combine lots of ‘little reviews’ together in one big old post. That means I get to do a little whistle stop review on each of them without the post being about 3 lines long! The products featured in this post are a mixture of individual products I’ve been given to review, and products from beauty boxes I’ve been given to review. So thank you to lookfantastic, The Perfume Shop and Bliss for the products! Enjoy!
This is a really lovely (coveted) shower-gel. I’m just so addicted to the smell, which is a musty manly scent…something I didn’t expect! This lathers really well and leaves the skin feeling a little tingly. It also lasts for ages even though it’s a 50ml bottle. I took this on holiday with me back in September and me and my boyfriend couldn’t get enough of it! This is definitely going to be a repurchase.
This primer was very interesting to use. This smash-hit product feels slightly powdery when applied, probably one of the magic ingredients that helps hide your pores. This was a fab base under my foundation- my makeup didn't budge throughout the day, and the most amount of shine that I got was a light dewy look (which is never a bad thing in my books). I have a feeling I'll be investing in the full size version when this runs out...
I'm not going to lie, this took me a little while to figure out how to use it! This oil-blotting stick minimises shine for up to 6 hours, and can be used over your primer to target oily patches, or on the go over makeup. When I did the latter, it didn't smudge the makeup already on my face, which was one of my worries while using this.
This moisturiser smells like carrot cake! It fights 10 signs of ageing, and is super smooth when applied, even though it feels quite thick at first. Unfortunately with this sample I wasn't able to tell much about long-term benefits, but I did feel that my skin tone was a lot more even, probably thanks to the yellow tinted cream. It also claims to promote collagen production, diminish fine lines and wrinkles.
I received these next three products in lookfantastic's Birthday beauty box and was so excited to try this! This delivers *deep breath*: anti-frizz, moisture, gloss & shine, prevents split ends, strengthens, protects from heat, nourishes and restructures, prevents anti-ageing and holds style *quickly catches breath*. This comes out as a thick spray that you can apply to wet or dry hair- I used this after washing as a serum, but I think this a product that you'll see the signs of after long-term use. The one thing I did notice immediately is how it tackled tangles; they banished them after a few brushes with a wide toothed comb!
This is one of the products in this post that I'm really buzzing about! At first, I thought this would be almost be a light glitter shadow that you could put on your lid for just a hint of sparkle…boy was I wrong! This stuff is so pigmented! Don't be fooled by it, this product works really hard for you! As well as using this as a wintery white wash over your eyelid, you can blend this out to a highlighter or illuminator to use pretty much anywhere on your face! I found this only creased very slightly after about 7 hours, which really impressed me! This is definitely a keeper, and I'll definitely be thinking of adding more bellapierre products to my collection!
Now I've heard of CC cream for your face, but not CC cream for your hair…yup, this is a thing apparently! The beauty industry never fails to surprise me ;) This works pretty much in the same manor as face CC cream, and is quite similar to the Beauty Works spray above in the fact that it benefits your hair in 10 ways. This added a lovely shine to my hair that lasted all day and made it silky smooth.
I’ve only ever tried one Paco Rabanne scent before, and that was the Lady Million fragrance. And I’ve always wished I owned it, as it was such a beautiful scent. So when Olympéa came into my life, I was very happy! This is the feminine counterpart to Invictus, and is seriously addictive. Inspired by athletic spirit, competition and victory, this scent is based on the ideology of a modern day Cleopatra. This has some of my favourite smells in it, including soft salted vanilla, fresh water jasmine and sultry sandalwood.
Gx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons