NYX Makeup Haul

A few weeks ago i ordered a bit of NYX Makeup from Ebay... it arrived a couple of days ago and i had completely forgot it... so it was like recieving a present :) Exciting!

I got two eyeshadow palettes from The Runway Collection, five slim lip liner pencils and a pack of blotting papers.

The palette on the left is called 'Secret World' and the one on the right is 'Catwalk' these both retail at around £9 on UK websites, such as Cocktail Cosmetics etc... however i got two for £10 on Ebay (from the USA) minus postage. (Which for all of the items was about £7).

These are the swatches for the 'Secret World' palette, all the colours are shimmery, some more than others, and they are all well pigmented and blend nicely.

These are the swatches for the Catwalk palette, again, all the colours have some shimmer to them and blend nicely. For some reason the bottom row of shadows in the palette were more pigmented than the top (the five colours on the right) which i found a tad strange, but oh well the colours are still lovely and wearable.

Slim Lip pencils, from left to right, Cabaret, Fuschia, Pinky, Natural and Nude Pink.

These retail on UK websites for about £3 each which is still pretty cheap, but i managed to get five for £6 on Ebay... AMAZING :)

I wouldn't say that these are the best lip liners ever, but they are nicely pigmented and quite creamy in texture... However i would have liked them to be a little bit softer as i have dry lips and they dragged a little. But if you warm them up on the back of your hand for a short while before applying, they are fine... definately worth the money anyway!

Finally the blotting papers, i havn't tried these yet, but i presume they will be the same as any other blotting papers (which absorb excess oil from the face, for anyone that doesn't know) well i hope so anyway... and these retail at around £4 on UK websites and i got them for £2 on Ebay.

So i got all of this for just over £25 (inc postage)...which i think is a bloomin' good bargin myself!

The link to the Ebay seller's website, that i bought this makeup from, is here.

:)

Dermalogica Skincare Goodies

After getting a few Dermalogica minis in the October Glossybox, it reminded me how much i LOVE the products! In winter my skin always goes really dry and sensitive so i thought i would treat myself to a few things to beat the cold weather....

I bought the Skin Smoothing cream (100ml) christmas gift set, it was the same price as the skin smoothing cream on its own, but you got 2 free gifts (and don't we all love freebies) which were the Multi Active Toner (50ml) and Skin Hydrating Booster (7ml), the set cost £33.99 from beautyflash.co.uk.

I also got the Barrier Repair cream (30ml) from the ultra calming range, and that cost £26.49 from the same website.

Skin Smoothing Cream, for those that dont know, is for dry/ dehydrated skin and claims to smooth the skin and fine lines. It's a really lovely moisturiser and feels nice and light on the skin, but still feels like its doing its job! I definatley feel like its made some difference to my skin and i have only been using it for a week... I mean i wouldnt say its a miracle skin cure but if your looking for a nice moisturiser that does the job and makes your skin feel healthy, then this is it!

Ive used the Multi Active toner before so i knew i liked it, its so easy to just spritz it on which is handy, but i wouldnt say i noticed that it was any different to any other toner... But i can't complain as it does its job :)

The Skin Hydrating booster is a little bit like a serum/oil, you can mix it with your moisturiser for added benefits or you can use it on target areas that need extra care, i used this once on its own and it felt nice and seemed to work, but i dont think ive used it often enough for it to make a noticable difference to my skin so i can't really comment much on it just yet.

Finally the Barrier Repair cream, i've loved this since i studied beauty therapy a few years ago, i always used to get irritated skin after i'd had a facial and my tutor used to give me this, and it calmed my skin down instantly, so i had to buy it (even though it is a tad on the expensive side for 30ml of product). BUT it really does work. It has a velvety feel due to the silicones in the product, which create a barrier on your skin to protect it from the environment, such as dust etc... so it is perfect for people with allergies and reactive skin types, I cant describe how good it feels when i have irritated itchy tight skin and i smooth this on, it immediatley soothes and makes your skin feel super soft! For me its worth every penny!

Dermalogica products are a little bit expensive and i dont think i can afford to try anything else just yet but you really do get what you pay for, so if you have the money to spend or you want to treat yourself then i'd definately say its worth it :)

Kate Moss (Rimmel) Lipstick

I ended up going back to Superdrug and getting some of the new Kate Moss lipsticks (as i've been eyeing up these for a while) whilst the 3 for 2 on makeup is still on...

The shades that i picked up were 01 (Red) 02 (Bright pink) 04 (Deep purple) and 08 (Pinky nude).

There are 7 shades in the range altogether, the other three were, light beige, medium pink and a coral shade... but these four were my favourites (i couldn't just pick three).

These are the swatches i took in the same order as above (from left to right - 08, 04, 02, 01)

To me they have the consistancy and feel of a cross between the MAC satin and creamsheen lipsticks, as they are really smooth and feel kind of moisturising on the lips when you first apply, they also have fantastic pigmentation, definatley rivaling MAC lipsticks on both quality and price...

So at £5.49 each, and being on 3 for 2, i got four lipsticks for just over £16

Which is amazing!!

So i'm thinking that i may have to purchase the other 3 colours to complete the collection whilst they are still on 3 for 2?!

:)



Superdrug Haul - Sleek Make-up

I popped into Superdrug before work on saturday... and it was 3 for 2 on all make-up, so i obviously had to buy a few things...

I've been looking at trying some sleek makeup for a while now as i've noticed it gets alot of good reviews from Bloggers and Youtubers, and i've been trying to build my makeup artist kit up with good quality products... so hopefully i can save myself some money if this drugstore brand is up to scratch :)

I was immediately drawn to the Pout Paints... and i'm guessing that they are a dupe for the OCC Lip Tars? All the colours are GORGEOUS! It was so hard to just choose three.

The colours i ended up getting were (from left to right) Milkshake, Pinkini and Mauve Over, they have quite a thick lipgloss like consistancy, but the formula is so pigmented and opaque its unreal... and you only need the tiniest amount! So for £4.99 each these will last quite a while...

The other swatch (far right) is the Pout Polish, its pretty much like a vaseline type texture with a hint of colour, which is nice for during the day, the colour i chose was Monte Carlo, a purple/ pink colour and it was £4.29.

I also picked up this eyeshadow palette in 'Acid', i already have the 'Storm' palette which i think is really good for the price (£6.79) so i thought i'd try another... i dont have many bright shadows in my makeup kit so i figured this would come in useful!

I'm quite impressed, the colours are all really pigmented, except for the white, which barely shows up at all.... but for the price you can afford too get a few naff/ dissapointing colours! However, they are a tad powdery, but this doesnt affect the colour payoff at all, so it doesn't really bother me.

Because i'd bought 5 Sleek products i needed to get something else for free... so i just picked up the Barry M white foundation which can also go in my makeup kit...

Overall i am really impressed with Sleek Makeup! And i will definatley be picking up a few more palettes... and maybe even a few more Pout Paints!

:)

October Glossy Box Review

Ive been subscribed to glossybox for 2 months now, (for those that dont know what glossybox is visit the website it explains it all on there) and i do love the idea and its really exciting waiting to see what arrives every month, however, i'm not too sure whether it is worth it yet... hmmm i will ponder that one... anyway here is what i got in mine this month...

I got three Dermalogica Age Smart products (Multivitamin Power Recover Mask 15ml, Multivitamin Thermafoliant 15ml, Renewal Lip Complex 1ml) & a Dermalogica wash/ travel bag.

Leighton Denny high performance nail colour in Sex Kitten. (full size)

Stila smudge stick water proof eyeliner in Moray. (full size)

And finally three samples of Robert Piguet's new perfumes (Visa, Fracas and Calypso)

Firstly, I love the Dermalogica products, the exfoliant and masque both make your skin feel supersoft! And the lipbalm feels really lovely on your lips and lasts a long time, great for my chapped lips! 

I have always liked dermalogica products, having worked with them when i studied beauty therapy, because they give amazing results, however, i am unlikely to repurchase this range as they are a little pricey full size (Exfoliant £40.50 Masque £33 Lipbalm £22.50) ... plus im only 21 do i really need 'Age Smart' products?!... but if you have the money to spend i would definately recommend these!

Next, the Leighton Denny nail varnish,

Sex Kitten is a lovely pearly baby blue colour, but i am not really a blue kinda girl so i probably wont get much use out of this colour unfortunately.

I did, however, try it out as soon as i recieved it, and i have to say i am dissapointed, as i found the consistancy very thin and so i needed 3 coats to get an opaque finish. Also, it took forever to dry and after 10 minutes i still managed to create 'dents' in the polish, and as a qualified beauty therapist i would like to think i know how to apply nail varnish correctly, so i can only presume it was the product that was at fault. So in my opinion, at £13 a pot, i do not think that it is worth investing in, when there are so many cheap brands about that are way better.

Now on to the Stila smudge stick, I absolutley love this, on first glance i didnt think much of the colour as it looks like a golden moss colour, however it is so pigmented and has a lovely creamy texture which looks really flattering on the eyes! (a nice change from boring black)

Below i have compared it to Urban Decay 24/7 liners in Stash and Mildew.

UD Stash (left) Moray (middle) UD Mildew (right)

As you can see UD's Stash is very similar in both colour and consisancy. After i had swatched the eyeliners i waited 5 minutes for them to dry and then rubbed them quite harshly to see how the staying power compared, i found that the Stila liner was pretty much smudgeproof wheras the Urban Decay liners moved a little!

So overall I think that this eyeliner is worth every penny (£13) and i will definaley consider repurchasing.

Finally, the Robert Piguet perfumes,

I am not a huge fan of perfume, in the sense that i dont feel the need to try/ buy all the new fragrances and so i dont really have much of an opinion on these, however i did try them all, and my favourite has to be 'Visa'.

Anyway this post ended up being miles longer than i expected! Sorry if it got a little boring!

:)

First things first...

This is my Facebook Makeup Artist profile...

www.facebook.com/amymariemakeup

I thought that people may want to have a nosey at my work, and maybe let me know if there is anything that i could show people how to create or any information about products?

In the mean time im going to go back reading MissBudgetBeauty blog, and feeling sorry for myself in bed with my ridiculous cold.. boo hoo :(

On the bright side though... my Chanel lipstick from Buyapowa came today and its loverlee so i guess that can be my first review.

P.S. i was watching a David Attenbough thingi today and they were showing Mouse Lemurs...

I WANT ONE!!

:)

So... I'm new to this...

Well i guess this is hello!

I've never written a blog before but i thought seen as though im addicted to reading other people's blogs, and watching makeup blogs on Youtube, i figured that i would have a bash!

Just a little introduction... I am currently a trainee Hair & Makeup Artist, which means that i am constantly trying out new products to add to my professional kit (Well thats my excuse for buying a ridiculous amount of makeup anyway...)
So i thought i might aswell help other people out by reviewing products i've tried, what's good what's not, and that sort of general hair/ makeup related stuff...

Enjoy :)