How much is my make-up collection worth?

After reading the blogpost by All That Shimmers (you can find the post here), I have been inspired to go through my make-up collection and count up how much it is worth. I'm not doing this to brag or show off, but out of pure curiosity! It's common knowledge that us beauty bloggers have a serious spending habit in the beauty department.

primers: 4. £53.98

foundations: 7. £132.97

concealers: 4 £47.18

powder: 3 £29.74

brows: 3 £50.00

mascara: 5 £25.96

eyeshadows: 3 £46.99

sets: £70

palettes: 13 £450.88

eyeliners: £63

blush: 5 £64.99

bronzer: 5 £90.99

highlighter:  4 £76.99

sprays: 2 £36.50

brushes: £211.92

lipstick: 28 £295.48

lipgloss: 31 £109.47

lipliner: 9 £91.98

lashes: £34

total: £1983.02

I'm half shocked really, I knew I had a-lot but that's just obsessive amounts of money!

Also, sorry for my lack of posting, I've been super busy with my freelance and personal stuff. Thanks for reading guys, Char xo

That type of person tag.

Hi guys! I saw this tag and decided to do it, i'm not posting lately as im going through a lot of stuff right now, hope you guys understand!

Breakfast, lunch or dinner?

dinner! Unless the breakfast is a full english that is!

Do you drink your cereal milk?

I don't like cereal.

CDs, radio or phone when you drink?

I dont drive but I always prefer phone.

Window or aisle seat?

Window!

Fold or crumple?

fold.

Shampoo then body wash or body wash then shampoo?

shampoo first always!

Are you typically stressed or relaxed?

9000% stressed.

Patient or impatient?

impatient.

Schedule or go with the flow?

schedule mostly.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

a unicorn.

Prankster or not?

not.

Dressed up or dressed down?

I love dressing up but I usually dress down because i'm a bum.

Favourite clothing item?

baggy tops.

What instrument would you play?

guitar I suppose.

East coast or west coast?

all coast.

London or L.A?

either really.

Favourite holiday?

probably christmas.

How big is your bed?

it's a child single made for an 8 year old...

Do you sleep with doors open or closed?

open.

Sheets tucked in or out?

out omg. my nan always tucks them in and it drives me crazy.

Have you ever stolen anything?

nope. i was a mental 6 year old and tried to when mum said no to a book but i got two isles over and gave it to my mum and confessed - i'm not good with being naughty or handling guilt.

Tattoos or piercings?

I like both but I prefer lots of tattoos over lots of piercings.

Do you smile in ever photo?

nope haha.

Have you ever peed in the woods?

who hasn't?

Concert or theme park?

concert!

Music or books?

I like both but music.

Animated or reality?

I prefer to watching real things but I do love a bit of american dad I must admit.

Letter or email?

email - quicker, easier and they always receive it.

What was your first concert?

My nan always used to take me to the radio station 'heart' (they used to be called GWR I think) little concert every year.

Do you own a record player?

nope.

Do you speak any different languages?

I know a little bit of spanish..

Sweet or savoury?

savoury nearly every time.

Can you curl your tongue?

aye.

Can you touch your tongue to your nose?

nope.

Can you whistle?

yup!

Have you ever won a spelling bee?

we don't have them in england I dont think

Do you believe in ghosts?

Im not sure what I believe in nowadays.

Do you believe in aliens?

yeah.

Thanks for reading guys, I tag anyone that wants to do it! It's pretty fun :)

Help!!

Hi guys! I'm finally making the big decision to maybe finally make a Youtube channel - wahey!

I need your guys' help though, if you have any recommendations/suggestions of the videos I should make that would be very useful. 

Also any suggestions on what video would make a great first video because i'm absolutely stumped ha.

Thanks guys,

-Char xo

Favourite Palettes.

Today I'm going to talk about my favourite palettes. Excuse how grubby the packaging is, they're very well loved. 3 of these palettes are more high-end but there is one cheap palette. Since investing in some good palettes I never use single shadows any more and basically live out of them now!

First i'm going to talk about the palette i've had the longest, the Urban Decay Naked 3. This palette is a perfect neutral palette and the pigmentation is incredible. The sparkly shadows are so sparkly its almost like a glitter, it looks absolutely amazing. For the longest time I used the shade Bootycall for a highlight. My favourite shades are Half-Baked, Tease and Blackout. Once you get rid of the glitter over-hugh its the most intense black I own. It retails at £38 and can be found online or at any local Urban Decay counter.

The second palette is the Too Faced Chocolate Palette. This smells like chocolate which is always a hit with the clients and the pigmentation is crazy! My only annoyance is that it doesn't have a black, although the brown is very dark and lovely. The two matte browns are amazing and I honestly recommend this palette highly. This retails at £39 and can be found online at Boots or at your local Debenhams store.

This next palette was the most expensive and took me FOREVER to finish. This is the M.A.C customisable palette full with M.A.C eye-shadow pans. Inside this palette I have (from left to right, top to bottom): Carbon, Embark, Folie, Rule, Orb, Star Violet, Mythology, Charcoal Brown, Swiss Chocolate, All That Glitters, Steamy, Stars'n'Rockets, Sweet Lust, Jest, Artificial Earth (L.E). I love M.A.C so this was a must have to do for me, after you have the customisable palette you can buy 'refill' shadows that retail for £10 instead of £13 for the average eye-shadows. The only one I wouldn't suggest would be Carbon, this black is the worst black ever it's grey at best which is super disappointing.

Lastly, here is the cheap option - the 28 Neutral Palette from Coastal Scents. My favourite shade is the white, I honestly don't own another matte white that's pure white and super pigmented. The pigmentation is great, especially for the price and the pans are bigger than M.A.C shadows. This retails at $18.95 which translates to about £12.73 (then you have to add shipping from the U.S so id suggest saving up and getting more than one palette so the shipping is worth it!

Thanks for reading! Any suggestions or comments feel free to comment below!
-Char xo

Mini Kit Haul!

Hey guys, I'm back today with a 'mini' haul. I've recently picked a few bits and bobs up for my freelance kit as it just keeps on growing!

Firstly, I received my order from FalseEyelashes.co.uk. I ordered some trusty Red Cherry lashes, I've worn these myself for ages. They're cheap, reat quality and even survive a messy night out, yay! I ordered two more natural type lashes in #213 and #523. I got these with my prom girlies in mind. I also got a fun pair, the #47's. They gifted me a pair of Eye Candy lashes which look super duper fun and gorgeous! 

Next I swung by M.A.C Cosmetics! I picked up the brush cleanser which I have reviewed here. I picked up my holy-grail foundation Studio Fix Fluid in NC20 for my olive-y skintoned ladies. My M.A.C counter luckily had Whirl and Soar lip liner in store so I just had to snag one of the two up! I found that Soar was a nicer colour for me and Whirl seemed to apply pretty un-even and muddy.

Thanks for reading! If you would like a review or a look including any of these let me know below!

- Char xo

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