M.A.C Brush Cleanser Review.

Recently I went on a M.A.C spree for my kit and ended up picking out 3 things, this brush cleanser was one of them. I popped into my local M.A.C counter and asked one of my friends who works there how long it takes to dry as I needed it to dry in-between an hour and my original method took over-night. She told me that it can take up to half hour for the larger brushes but for smaller brushes (such as eyes and lips) it can dry straight away.

With testing it in-between shoots, clients and at home before taking it out I have found that her half-hour waiting time was super generous, I guess she was just being cautious. This stuff dries super quick! 

As you can see (if you can) on the back it says to use wet and rinse, personally in-between shoots I don't do that. If you go into your local M.A.C counter/store you will see the ladies use this without water to clean their brushes (shows how often and long i'm in there, ay!) so this is exactly how I use it. I leak a little bit of the product onto some kitchen roll and rub my dirt brush around in the 'wet patch' in circular motions. I then run it around on a dry section of kitchen roll and voila! Clean brushes!

The product itself has a very alcohol-y scent that can be a bit strong but it doesn't transfer to the brushes. I do use this with water as suggested for more of a deep clean but honestly between clients or shoots this is a make-up artists dream! If your brushes need a quick pick-me-up to work better without the arm ache of washing them properly, this is for you!!

Char xo

Kimmy K inspired / Collab.

Me and my close friend, Emily, over at Emily Fayes Little World decided to do a celeb inspired collab. Many ideas later we decided to go for Kim Kardashian as her make-up is always flawless and very wearable. I've been obsessed with her platinum hair and cool toned shadows, so I had to choose this photo to re-create!

For Kim's flawless complexion I started off with my Smashbox Colour Adjust Primer, the product is green but works in to be clear and works wonders for my uneven, red skin-tone. Next I went in with my M.A.C Prolongwear Concealer in NC15, this colour is really light and works so well to highlight your under-eye area! After this step I went in with my holy-grail foundation, Studio Fix Fluid by M.A.C in NC15 (the concealer is lighter than the foundation, so watch out!). I love this foundation for the full coverage and natural finish.

For my brows I used M.A.C's Fluidline in Dipdown. To carve them out with Benefit's Erase Paste in Light to achieve a crisp edge. To prime my eyes I used Urban Decays Primer Potion in Original and a cream eye-shadow all over as a base so that my eye-shadows blend easier. For the gorgeous cool toned look that's going on I used Tease from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette as a transition colour and Defy from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette do darken and define my crease. For my lid I went in the Foxy from the UD Naked 2 Palette and lined my eyes with my Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner. The picture below shows the look before lashes, but at the end I will inset a photo with lashes, I used my M.A.C 48's for a super dramatic, lush look.

No Kardashian look would be complete without a heavy contour! I used my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light, I used Fawn to map out my contour lines and create shadow on my cheeks, nose, temples and jawline. My next step is to mix Fawn with Java for a warmer colour to buff out my contour. Using my M.A.C Powder Blush in Buff, I sweep this across the apples of my cheeks and upwards. To create more of a sun-kissed look I go in with my M.A.C Bronzing Powder in Golden lightly. To finish the skin and give it that signature Kardashian glow I used M.A.C's Soft and Gentle across the tops of my cheeks, forehead, centre of the nose and cupids bow.

For the big, nude lips I used M.A.C's Lipliner in Boldy Bear and Lipstick in Myth. Kim's lip colour is more flat and brown but I personally don't own a brown toned nude lip and used M.A.C's gloss in Florabundance to make my lips seem more plump. Below is a photo including the lashes!

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment below :)
Charxo

February Favourites

February Favourites.

I know it's a week into March now but I love reading these series' and I'm going to start doing them. Better late than never I guess! These are items that I've been obsessing over during the month of February.

First up i'm going to talk about the Smashbox Photo Finish primer in Color Correcting Adjust. This primer is green in the tube and when you first squeeze it out the tube but once you start rubbing it into the skin it turns translucent. This product works so well due to its green colour - green counteracts redness, which I have a LOT of. This product helps colour my redness, helps my base apply flawlessly and really is 'photo finish' as it photographs beautifully!

This blush my M.A.C in Peachykeen was suggested for me when I had a make-up lesson at M.A.C. This is a gorgeous peachy-pink colour for pale skin. It does have some sparkle but I personally love it, it gives you a gorgeous glow-y look.

I honestly don't know what I did without this product - it's magic in a bottle! M.A.C's Fix+ spray helps prep dry skin for your base, sets to make-up and makes everything look dewy (un-cakes powdery looking products on the face) and flawless. This product is a master of all trades, if you spray some on an angled brush it helps clean up mistakes of winged liner and helps you sharpen the tail. This can even be used on a flat brush to 'wet' eye shadows and pigments and make them more vibrant. 

This little gem is my first M.A.C Pigment in the shade Vanilla. It's a gorgeous iridescent white. This will last an absolute life-time and is multi-purpose. It makes a gorgeous face highlight and brow bone highlight, will look gorgeous to create high-fashion lip looks and even as an eye-shadow if wetted. The lid sits very tight to stop any product falling out in your make-up bag/kit which is very well thought out, well done M.A.C!

The nude lipstick has really hit me hard lately and i'm harping for some new nude lippies (if you have any recommendations comment below!). M.A.C's Myth lipstick is gorgeous! It's so light and so versitile under different colour lip-liners. On my skin-tone when it's alone it looks like foundation lips which is a HUUUGE no but teamed with different colour nude lip-liners it's gorgeous and my most used of February.

Sorry for the different back-ground but my laptop error'd the original image of this but hey-ho, my beddings pretty enough. This is Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel, this is a tester size that came with my Christmas order and I love it to keep my hairs in place, its great! I'm not sure if i'll spend 16.50£ on a new one, i'll try a drug-store version to compare them!

Thanks for reading dolls, feel free to leave comments!
Char xo

Worth the hype? Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit!

Worth the hype?

This product is hyped about loads on social media and made out to be a beauty must-have! I think it's crucial to get the in-sight of an un-biased, average persons views. I mean sure, the artists love it but how does it work for ordinary people? I'm here to deliver that. 

 

It comes in a sleek black cover reminds me of a hard-back book. I got the average one that's non-custom in Light but you can make your own version with their 29 shades. For shade range, that's incredible and I think that because they're magnetic they'll work in any average Z-palette.

In this non-custom palette you get the highlight shades in Vanilla, a super light pinky-tone, Banana, a banana milkshake yellow and Sand which is a shimmery champagne colour. I don't personally use Vanilla often but it is a gorgeous, less obvious highlight which is perfect for a subtle highlight. I use banana as a concealer setter and to 'bake' my contour. My favourite, though, is Sand. It gives a gorgeous shine without chunky glitter. 

The contour shades you get are Java which is slightly too dark but is perfect to create the line then blend out, Fawn which is a perfect colour match for my skin-tone to contour with and Havana which I don't use often because of how dark it is (but it makes a gorgeous crease shade!). 

Over-all these powders are pigmented and a gorgeous consistency, they're a dream to blend out and have multiple uses. I'd recommend them to anyone but would suggest creating your own kit. Don't worry if you can't afford the 40$ (about 26£) price tag as NYX has brought one out recently that looks like it will be great quality!

Thanks for reading,
Char xo