The Daily Mix - My Everyday Makeup Look.

Just what it says on the tin! a little post about my everyday products and an extra few words on my favourite!

This is a little Estee Lauder pallet I picked up recently as a little treat for myself, now these are quite pricey at 28 euro but I just love this. The packaging it gorgeous and luxourious and it is super handy to just throw in your bag and roll on with the rest of the day! It comes in a range of different duos but I picked one I knew I would use the most! The pay off with it is pretty great but I would recommend a eye primer! 

This is a new brush released from Bare Minerals, and it is WONDERFUL! I always struggle to cover pores and this brush totally manages to do this, it gives you a little heavier coverage than the original Bare Minerals brushes bringing the foundation up onto equal ground with any liquid!

Another Bare Minerals product ( I am obsessed) it's this gorgeous pinky blusher, I really just like this because it manages to not look unnatural on pale skin which tends to be a problem, it also has a little shimmer built in and acts as both a highlighter and blusher!

I ran out of my beloved Lancome mascara and decided to try something new. This MAC mascara was part of a collection but re-released because it did so well! I really do like this mascara as it dramatically enhances lashes. I feel it's entirely on par with They're Real by Benefit except it doesn't leave any any of those black smudges which I feel always happens with Benefit mascaras!

So this is the end product, and a total moment of vanity!

Love,

Rose

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Suit up!.....Ladies?

I have to say, after seeing a certain lady suit, lately I have kinda developed a slight suit crush! With wedding,communion and confirmation season upon us it seems that woman are floundering under the pressure of finding the "Right" dress and even when they do there is absolutely no guarantee that someone else won't turn up in the same thing! I really feel a pant suit or even shorts suit can be such a great alternative for woman.

There is a slight stigma that comes along with the word "suit" implying its masculine and unfeminine or even for partners(boyfriends/husbands) woman wearing a suit can be emasculating! For myself suits have always being a pretty scary venture, being crushed under the weight of insecurity and already sporting pretty manly hair the idea of a suit struck fear into my very soul, this paired with a pretty bad experience as a child where my Dad bought me a suit to wear to funerals (Huh? I hear you say) had left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. 

Alas I have succumb to the idea that suits on woman can be everything including empowering and feminine. They lack the necessity of tan, uncomfortable tights , certain sucky in underwear and well...shaved legs! Like I said, suits don't need to be manly, in fact I have found some pretty girly ones! Here's my top picks and well...hearts desire's!

If you're a little less adventurous opt for a cute shorts suit, this keeps it super feminine, caters to those less able to wear cigarette pants (like myself) and still enables you to show of those pins ;)

Nishe Belted Shorts and Jacket with Seashell Embroidery from ASOS

If you are looking for something a little more classic that can move from the office, to an occasion or a night out something a little more tailored with a cropped pant does just the trick. Opt for bright colours to ensure a girly feel and to keep in trend with summer!

Ted Baker JAYNE suit(Couldn't find a better photo, but GURL THIS IS FAB)

Topshop Preppy Chambray suit

Bear in mind that your suit doesn't necessarily have to be matchy matchy! Match a patterned jacket and plain trousers to draw attention away from problem areas!

CHECKERED JACQUARD BLAZER From ZARA

Try and stray away from very conventional suits to avoid association with masculine traits, try to keep it fun and interesting! If you're brave enough to wear a suit, why not go the whole haul and mix colours and textures!

ASOS Blazer in Chambray Denim

b + ab Velvet Mix Blazer and Shoes at ASOS

I'm really hoping female tailoring hit's the high street soon at a reasonable price or I feel my bank account might take a pretty hefty hit! Try not to be too scared and even just try on a suit or two and see how you feel about them, who knows? You may never wear a skirt again!

Quote : " Suits are full of joy. They're the sartorial equivalent of a babies smile."

Rose 

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The Storage

The biggest pain I find about spending as much money as I do on makeup and having as much makeup as I do tends to lead to a bit of a mess. With a huge amount of compacts, eyeshadow's, lipsticks,brushes and general nick nacs mixed with itty bitty things, it makes doing your makeup a bit of a pain in the bum. Mascaras rolling off tables and not quite remembering where you put what blush because they all look the same! I did a few months ago feebly attempt to organise my makeup into wicker baskets..and well it didn't make much difference to the organisation of things! That was until I found MUJI and although it was a little pricey to buy these little boxes MY GOD it was worth it. :)

If you ,like me, need a little organisation in your life I would recommend a trip to th MUJI store for a little help!

Holiday Style Edit: Beach wear for your body!

It's that time of year again! The swim suits and bikinis have hit shops and with a sinking heart we realize its almost swim wear time, and although it's snowing outside we are all fervently running to the gym to at least make it look like we tried to get in shape for our coming up holidays. So as we don't cause any strokes when we subject the world to ourselves in swimwear! Thing is though, that's just a feeling, and we are all probably looking better than we suspect, the best trick to heading on holiday and looking good is knowing how to dress your shape and above all to feel confidant in what you're wearing.

So we will break it down to a few different body shapes and what's the best shape for them!

If you're one of those lucky woman who are super slim, tall and little junk in the trunk, it is probably best to stick with something which implies curves.Try to pick something with straps to balance out narrow shoulders, do however utilize lovely slim legs and trim tum with low rise briefs with a frill detail again to add a bit more volume around less curvy areas! River Island and asos are stocking some great bikinis to just do the trick! Try to avoid full suits as the flatten the chest and bum! If you however don't feel comfortable in a bikini and would like a full suit pick something that draws the eye away from problem areas to your better areas picking something with a pattern or cut out is a good way to do this.

If you are a little curvier it's probably best to go with a one piece swimsuit, this however does not mean you need to totally cover yourself up. At the moment there are an array of cut out swim suits which look UNREAL on the woman who can fill them! Don't think just because you are a more voluptuous woman you need to stray away from nice swimwear! This is the worst thing you can do, work those curves, where that low cut bikini, man I would if I could! The big thing about cut outs is where they are, if you want to minimize curves and imply a waist grab ones with a side cut out, if not get a v neck cut swim suit and emphasis your cleavage, do think straps though! You don't want a flasher accident, if you need support give it to yourself.  There is such a wide variety of cut out swimsuits out there that most very very slim woman can't pull off.

If you are petite and curvy stick with a little higher waisted bikinis , be it mid waist or high waist this will give the illusion of longer legs! If you're a little chestier do stick to thick straps and halter necks these will balance out your body, and give you much needed support.

If you are a little on the less curvier side and still quite petite its best to stick to a string bikini, these don't allow you to be cut off in the wrong place and don't emphasis a particularly small waist, they also elongate legs and well are pretty flattering!

The biggest thing to keep in mind when you are stepping out in semi nude wear is that your best accessory is your confidence! 

Bring on summer!

Rose

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Archies Girls. Are you Betty or Veronica?? and MAC Spring collections reviews

Inspired by the Archie comic MAC released a new collection of makeup based on the two female characters in the comic. I had originally set out with no intention of doing a review of this makeup but actually (and surprisingly) I kinda wanted to! 

I was in town and only picked up two pieces from the collection but I really did just want to rave about how great this is for pale skin tones! Well the Betty collection is, whereas the Veronica spectrum of makeup is a little more geared toward a stronger skin tone or someone who likes a more dramatic makeup look.

So as I was in having my nails done , I had a quick look at the collection because although I work in a store that has a MAC counter, I rarely get round to seeing it. To be fair I wasn't wowed by

 most of the products just because none of them were really neutral enough for me which is something I have been sticking with lately!

What I did like though was obviously the packaging which I think is so cute and fun!! And possibly the nicest I have seen since the Superwoman collection. That and how so easily I knew instantly that Betty was the colours I wanted because they were so suited for my colouring. 

I picked up a little peachy coral liptick and a pale peach coloured blush. I love these so much!

Lipstick : Betty Bright

Blush : Cream Soda

Swatches

The next MAC collections I am most exited about ofcourse is Rihannas collection. A lady who apparently is dipping her toe in everything this year with a new clothing line also appearing in River Island this month. The collection as what has been previewed seems very rich and smokey with pretty nice packaging! Weather it will cater for lighter skin tones is to be revealed.

A collection though that I am excited for, even more than Rihanna's is the highly mysterious Baking Beauties collection. Yet to be revealed if it will be available in the UK and also, pretty much no images made available of the collection as of yet, the only thing we know is it will focus heavily on pastels and have a very girly vibe to it! I will try to keep you guys as updated as possible!

I sense a very empty bank account in the future!!

Rose

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The Low Down on Bare Minerals

I have to say, like most women I am very much into the flawless skin look. Which at most, unless you have the skin of some beauty goddess, asks for some pretty heavy makeup. Though this usually is not an everyday necessity, and especially for myself I get very tired of painting my face in every morning like a child with a crayon. I have tried light foundations, tinted moisturizers, bb creams, the lot!! Nothing impressed me more though than Bare Minerals starter kit.

So, FYI Bare Minerals is a purely powdered mineral foundation. I know, you're all saying "Pssh, powder ain't going to cover that gack scare on my cheek or that spot on my chin". Which , you know, is what I thought. Man I was so wrong though (To an extent!). The whole application is a pretty unnerving process, which involves a lot of swirling, tapping and buffing. Once you get used to it though you get a pretty great finish.

So here is the low down. You get a primer, foundation, bronzer, setting powder and three gorgeous brushes. (Concealer, Foundation and Bronzer). And you apply them all in that order!


The primer of this is just OK. I mean I will forever and always love POREFESSIONAL by Benefit as it really diminishes the look of my pores. This isn't great for hiding pores , but it does allow the makeup to go on the skin smoothly and last long. It's like a film between your skin and the makeup. If you don't have large pores I imagine this would work great, but if you are like me it might be better to use a primer that works better for you underneath.

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The foundation is FAB, I really have to say I love this. One of the many pro's is that they actually have a shade that matches my face! Which is amazing! Cause I am super milky white pale. What I do is pop a little liquid concealer on any blemishes after I have used the primer and then buff this into my skin. It takes all the redness out of my face, gives the appearance of very smooth skin and a really natural look finish which I think for myself is exactly what I look for , for day to day wear! When you put it on the skin it doesn't go on like powder, I can't even describe how it sets on the skin, once you buff it in , it sits like a tint on the skin. No cakey powdery look!

I really like the bronzer that came in the set. It's called warmth, and is a very deep brown. I need very very little of this to use as a contour and add a little colour to the face. It's really nice and blends much finer into the skin than any other bronzer I have used. This is again due to the way it the minerals in the powder blend onto the skin. Making everything look so natural!

You can use any of your own concealers, blushes or contours, it hasn't any effect on the  foundation and actually sits better than on normal liquid foundation.

The mineral veil isn't always necessary as you may not want to add an extra layer of mineral powder ontop of your skin already, I like to use this during the day to top up any oily patches on my face! It's a totally transparent powder so it doesn't add any colour too the skin, it just absorbs any excess oils!

I want to make a little note about just how lovely the brushes in this set are. They are really soft and pack so much coverage! they are small, but also compact! 

All in all I do really love this, I am so glad I took the leap and got this and am 100% going to invest in some more Bare Minerals products. This set with so much in it is around 55 euro. It's great value because a foundation alone is 28! So you are making great savings! 

If you're struggling to find a foundation, pop into the Bare Minerals girls in BT2 Grafton of Dundrum and get them to try it out. 

Who knows? You may never buy a liquid foundation again!

Rose

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With Bare Minerals foundation on. (Scouse Brows. We all have bad Brow days!)

Sleek : Make up on a Budget

Earlier this month I was lacking a few essentials in my make up bag (unbelievable right?). This was due to a few items running out and just generally neglecting the fact I had to stock up. I didn't have the cash to splash on some MAC or Bobbi Brown or anything really that wasn't at drugstore price, but I did want to get something that was a better quality than anything I would pick up in boots. I desperately needed a new contour, all over face powder for my T-Zone and setting my makeup and some means of taming my incredibly dark messy browns which I am growing out.
Being that I paid a hefty fine on my tattoo , a large chunk of my Christmas money was spent and I kinda didn't budget as well as I could of, thus ensued the hunt for a reasonably priced great quality makeup.

I had heard of Sleek before on many beauty bloggers sites and had owned and eye shadow palette years ago, of which I recalled was really great quality. With curiosity ignited I ventured onto the website to have a little bit of a nose.

The initial off putting thing about Sleek is that you can't buy it in Ireland, which for me generally is a big "No No". I am all about instant gratification and waiting up to 10 days for something seemed to take that excitement away from me. The second off putting thing about buying online is the fact you can't try anything and you have to rely entirely on other peoples opinions and reviews, which can more oft than not mislead you.

The good thing about the site though was that it was very easy to navigate and one of the few that had prices in euros, and it had a very minimal shipping cost! (about 3 euro?). This is included at the end when they tell you your total, again something other sites don't do.

So with hope in my heart, and very little cash in my pocket, I went about finding the items I needed.

The first thing I bought was this all over Luminous Pressed Powder with and SPF of 15. The first thing I loved, after I received my items 5 days after ordering was the packaging, it's simple and classy not to mention compact. It is matte black meaning it does mark with makeup easy. Yet even so, it's packed in a way that makes you confidant your makeup won't shatter and something that is a bonus for me is very easy to transport.

Now as for the product, I really liked this. It's quite a fine powder, with very little shimmer which I thought might be a problem because it said it was "Luminous", which oft means a very shimmery product. Instead I got a very light coverage powder, which manages to entirely reduce an oily t-zone but still allows your makeup to remain dewy. It's something I would recommend if you rather a natural look foundation rather than a very Matte look.

If I am trying to have a makeup free day this is great over a BB cream or even on it's own. I've been using it daily and 100% will be buying it again.

This is probably the item I needed the most. I have very dark and very wirey eyebrows. Initially I had been filling them in with a dark matte eyeshadow just because I thought it was easier for me to get the right shape. The only thing about filling them in with a shadow is it can easily wear off or even worse, it can smudge!

I thought this was a great little set, it come's with a wax to help keep brows in shape and set the shadow. I loved the fact as well, that it came with a little tweezers to fix up brows wherever you are! This is the Dark shade for dark haired girls like me. (It comes in 3 different shades!)

This product has a few pro's and cons. The pro's for me are the packaging , again its simple and compact which is great for on the go make up and top up's which I think is great for any working girl and college goer.  The wax is a fantastic way to tame messy brows and give a stronger shape to a brow. The little tweezers again is super handy!

What I didn't like was the size of the brushes, they are very small and difficult to use, especially if you usually use normal sized brushes. I also didn't like how badly the wax can smudge, a few times if I have been changing or fixing my hair, the wax would very easily smudge and leave me with black marks on my brow.

I probably wouldn't buy this product again, mainly because I want something a little more substantial which won't need topping up.

The last item I got I really feel like I struck gold with. It's a face palette called Face Form. From left to right it comes with a contour, highlight and blush.

Again this is just such a HANDY product, with three face essentials in one compact. Not only that but the pigment in all of this powders is amazing. You can again pick different shades for different skin tones, this is Fair and is perfect for my skin. 

Initially I was a little off put by how dark the contour was, I usually contour with a light bronzer, but this was gorgeous buffed into my skin and it was nice to have a matte finish on my skin for once. 

The highlighter and blush don't fail to impress either with beautiful pigmented finishes. The highlighter is a great Dupe for MAC's Porcelain Pink and the blush is a great dupe for NARS Orgasm.

All in all I was really impressed with Sleek and the total price for all of this PLUS packaging was 36 euro (The same price for a high end skinfinish or blush alone) there was little to complain about. I know first hand that their eye shadows are wonderful and will certainly be buying from the site again.

Sometimes it's worth taking the plunge and buying online, I was happy that I did. It might be scary but it's more than likely going to save you money.

Just make sure that the website you're buying from is legitimate and read reviews on products before you buy. There will always be times where you buy something you don't like, but that's a given even when you buy from a store.

So be savvy and shop online.

Suggestions : Sleek Make-Up, E.L.F Make-Up, Asos, Missguided

Rose

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