Mac MSF

Whats In My Makeup Bag #Scotland

- Vicki 3 Comments
Makeup I Took To Scotland

Whats in my Makeup Bag

I thought I would show you what I took with me on my recent trip to Scotland. I went to visit my family & stayed almost 3 weeks. I tried not to limit what I took but really thought about what I was using daily & tried not to take products I knew I wouldn’t use. So here are the contents of my makeup bag. Oh & I won this cute makeup bag last year in a blog giveaway, it’s so cute don’t you think? It fits a lot in & as you can see I barely filled it (very proud of myself for not overpacking).

Whats In My Makeup Bag

Makeup I Took To Scotland

For eyes, I took my MUA Palette & Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Kit & one Mac single shadow in Naked Lunch. I rarely do anything other than a neutral eye & the MUA Undress Me Too Palette is ideal for travel as it is slim & you get 12 wearable shadows to pick from. I like that it’s affordable too so I’m not worried about it getting damaged and I have taken it away with me quite a few times this year & I’m still loving it. The Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Kit has a small Boiing Concealer & 3 gorgeous quite neutral shadows. I love this for a night time look & the shadows are so creamy and long wearing its a Kit I have had for years & I love rediscovering it.

I took 2 Mascaras both are firm favourites of mine one is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara which is a jet black long-wearing mascara which gives my lashes volume. They look so long & fluttery after a few coats of this. The brush is quite thick but I like that you can coat each individual lash & get right to the root to get that extra volume. Love this Mascara. The other one in my makeup bag is the Seventeen Back Lash, I love this mascara for making my lashes look thick and long without being OTT for daytime and it also holds a curl really well. This is one of if not the best budget mascara I have tried.

I took two concealers with me (well three if you count boiing in the Benefit Kit). The Garnier Caffeine Anti Dark Circles Roll On this has lasted me so long, every time I use it I think it must be due to run out soon but still the product keeps coming out. I like to use this under my eyes as the rollerball is cooling, the product it quite liquid in consistency and I find it is easy to blend and it gives a nice amount of coverage. I like it as a base on which to apply my second concealer. That being the Rimmel Wake Me Up I like to apply this over the Garnier one as it gives a little more coverage which in some places I really need and it also makes my under eye area look a little more radiant.

Makeup Bases

I knew I wouldn’t need a full coverage foundation whilst in Scotland and so I opted for two lighter bases, the Seventeen CC Cream and the Mavalia Moisturising Tinted Cream. I like that the Seventeen CC Cream has SPF 25 and it gives me a light but even coverage, this lasts quite well on my skin but I do like to wear the Clarins Instant Light Complexion Base under it just as a brightening primer and they make a great duo for healthy looking skin. Not heavy but very good for fresh glowing skin. The Mavalia Moisturising Tinted Cream* gives better coverage but the shade I have is a little dark for me however I blend it out & make it work. This tinted moisturiser gives you a lovely even finish and wears well throughout the day, I do have to apply powder to my t zone with this but that means I get an extra few hours wear. Who knew Mavalia did makeup as well as fab nail polish?

The L’Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream is a product I’m on the fence about. It does smooth out imperfections and reduces the appearance of pores but after a few hours, it makes my skin look a little greasy. I wish it didn’t do this because if not this would be such a brilliant product, my makeup applies so well on top of it & the initial results are great. So if you don’t have an oily complexion this might just work very well for you. I’m going to continue to use it & see if I can find a way to make it work. Let me know if you use it & how you find it works best for you.

Blushers

Let’s talk cheek products. As you can see I bought a few options. I will start with my favourite which is the Soap & Glory Solar Powder which is a two-toned bronzer. I like to swirl my brush around both shades, sweep it across my forehead & down on to my cheeks which adds a little colour & glow to my very pale skin. The lighter shade has a little sheen to it & the slightly darker brown is matte. Very handy having 2 shades. I think this bronzer gives me a sun-kissed glow & a touch of natural colour. I think I have used it every day since I bought it back in May.

My Mac MSF in Natural is what I use as a powder most days. It leaves my skin looking smooth and keeps my makeup in place. It’s hit pan & I know any day now it’s going to crumble into nothing so I need to repurchase it ASAP. Mac MSF in Soft & Gentle Its adds so much radiance to my face & when I do wear it I fall in love with it all over again. I find this also wears a really long time on my skin no touch ups necessary. So glad I have this in my collection.

The two smaller baked cheek products are from e.l.f and I had totally forgotten about these, rediscovering them just before I went to Scotland, so I thought I would take them with me to show them a little love. These are both finely milled and give your cheeks a pretty highlight. Maui is the bronzer and this looks gorgeous in the winter to give the skin a little colour & a warm glow. Pinctastic is a highlighting blush with pink and beige marbling, mixed together it brightens up your cheeks and leaves them looking flushed and glowing. The shimmer isn’t too OTT but looks fresh and is a beautiful highlight. These elf baked blushers are great value for money.

Wet n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink this reminds me of NARS Orgasm its beautiful on & the subtle shimmer gives your cheek a lovely healthy glow. The pigmentation & quality of this wet n wild blush is incredible considering the purse-friendly price tag. The last cheek product I took with me to Scotland was the Sleek blush in Sunrise this is the perfect colour for Autumn / Winter as its a pink toned brown with gold shimmer. It really warms up your complexion and gives you a little colour. I love the quality of Sleek Blushes & need to get a couple more.

So that’s what I took with me. I did take my Clinique Chubby Stick in Roundest Raspberry & a couple of lip balms. Oh & I thought I took my DHC liquid Eyeliner but when I got to Scotland I realised I’d packed the Eyeko Skinny Liner. I hate that liner so was gutted & spent the whole time with no eyeliner.

Products that are marked with a * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However, if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

Starting To Get Organised #1

- Vicki 14 Comments

Acrylic Muji Drawers

I’ve had my MUJI Storage for a little over a month now and I’ve still not organised them exactly how I want them, but I thought I would show you one of my most used drawers. I will say I do really like my MUJI drawers & where I’m currently living I don’t have as much space as I used to so its nice to have my most used products more to hand & these drawers look nice but the 5 drawer one I have isn’t very deep so bare that in mine, only slim products fit in.

Now on to what’s in the drawer,

Makeup in my MUJI drawers

This is my most used bronzers & highlighters (at the moment).  This drawer fits these in really nicely and being able to see them all laid out makes me want to use them all the more.

Top row

Topshop Sunbeam – This is a gold highlight and I think its nice for evening as it is more on the glitzy side. It has great colour pay off & a little goes a long way with this. I like to apply it to my cheekbones & it gives a pretty sheen to the cheeks. If you’re lucky enough to have a tan this highlighter really compliments it. As always Topshop packaging is very pretty, but there is no mirror in this which is often a pain. There is no way I will ever hit pan on this as you get so much product. Full review here. I have tried to find it online & I don’t think its sold anymore

pur Contour/Highlight Powder Duo in Uncover – I love that this is a matte bronzer and isn’t muddy or orange in colour. Its a great contour shade and is easy to blend and work with. The highlighter is a very subtle pretty pink shade and just lifts the face and makes you look flushed. The packaging is nice and sleek and it has a really big mirror in which is so handy. I like to pop this in my handbag for makeup touch ups on the go.

Mac MSF Natural in the shade Medium – I’ve hit pan on this baby and its lasted me almost 2 years of nearly daily usages. Its a great powder for smoothing out my skin and giving it natural glow thats not powdery at all. I don’t use it all over, I tend to sweep it over the centre of my face focusing mostly on my forehead. I love it & will repurchase a new one before this runs out. It just gives my skin a luminosity without looking glittery or too made up. Best £22 I’ve ever spent

Makeup

Bottom Row

Soap & Glory Glow All Out – This is my least reached for product out of the 6. It is a very pretty face powder & it gives your skin a beautiful glow. I need to use it a little more to get it to work for me. I find it sits in my fine lines. I have put it in my drawer so I remember to use it more. If you have a way this works for you let me know as its too gorgeous not to use.

Soap & Glory Solar Powder – This is my daily bronzer right now, I can’t get enough of this. In the pan it doesn’t look like much but once on the skin its just beautiful. I mix the two shades together to give a subtle sun kissed effect. I sweep it over the tip of my forehead & down on to my cheeks. This isn’t going to give you a deep colour its more for paler skin tones. It just adds such a warm glow to the skin and makes me look healthy. I don’t feel right applying my makeup & not using it.

Mac MSF Soft & Gentle – Now I have to be careful not to go OTT on this. It is a bronze highlighter and it gives the most stunning iridescent glow. I like to wear this when I’m wearing a little more makeup than my day to day simple look. It just adds so much radiance to my face & when I do wear it I fall in love with it all over again. I find this also wears a really long time on my skin no touch ups necessary So glad I have this in my collection.

Let me know what your favourite bronzer / highlighters are or if you’ve been reaching for any of the ones I’ve talked about.

Feeling Flushed

- Vicki 3 Comments

I had a look through my makeup collection and picked out some blushes / highlighters that will be perfect for summer. So here are my picks.

Summer Blush

MUA Shimmer Kisses Blush £3.00 for 7.3g – this blush quad is really pretty and can be used as a blush or a highlight. I tend to swirl my brush around and pick up all four colours. It’s a really soft pink and very easy to wear, it isn’t too dusty and I find it wears about 5 / 6 hours on me before the colour starts to fade. It has a slight shimmer to all the colours but nothing too over powering. This is also a great product to travel with as you can get alot of great blush shades from it and the packaging is quite slim and compact.

Me Me Me Shimmer Stack in Bronze £9.99 for 12g – This is very versatile and for £9.99 you get alot of product for your money. It comes with 5 shades from a cream, bronze, gold and a rose gold. They can be used individually and make lovely eyeshadows too. As a blush it gives the same look as Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle. It is very pretty and gives a lovely metallic shimmer, all shades are very pigmented. I’ve loved using this and would highly recommend it.

Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam £10 for 6.5g – Wow this is a big highlighter and the packaging is so cute although it doesn’t have a mirror. It is a little bulky to travel with but I really like using it, mostly as a night-time highlight. On the top of the cheeks it leaves a very pretty sheen. It is gold and very pigmented so a word of warning, use with a light hand otherwise you will end up with far too much shimmer. This will last you forever so is very good value for money. I can’t see me ever finishing it.

Summer blush

e.l.f Baked Blush in Pinktastic £3.75 for 6g – I have some really fantastic e.l.f products in my collection and their baked blush & bronzers are some of my favourite. Amazing value for money and you get 6g of product. They are a little chalky but if you tap off the excess product you will be OK. This Pinktastic blush is a very subtle pink, I’d say it was more of a highlight than a blush but either way it gives your skin a healthy glow. I plan on taking this with me on holiday as its is quite small and compact.

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose $11.95 for 7g – This came in a beauty swap I did last year & I admit I wanted it solely for the packaging and the love heart detail looks so pretty. But all that aside it is the perfect touch of pink, great for summer. It isn’t the most pigmented product but it leaves you looking healthy and fresh-faced & not like you have overdone it. The down side to this is the packaging is a little clumpy and not great for travel but I love the blush.

Cute Blush for Summer

Benefit High Beam £19.50 for 13ml – I have both high beam & moon beam and love them both but if I had to pick just one then high beam would win. It is on the pricey side and I have seen a few people blog about great dupes but this 13ml bottle lasts forever. I have mixed it in to my foundation for a radiant all over glow (Only a drop needed) and it looks great on the cheek bone for a real beach look. I am a huge fan of this and wouldn’t be without it in my collection. It can make quite a subtle highlight if you dab it on lightly and when the light hits you just looks radiant and glowing. Very summery.

Avon 24k Golden Glamour Duo 8g – I can’t find this for sale online, I paid £6. I have spoken about this Avon blush and highlight duo on my blog quite a few times & if you want to see a swatch you can here. I love the blush part of this duo so much it’s quite a frosty pink and looks really pretty for day or night. The highlight shade is a creamy peach shade and just adds the right amount of glow to the tops of your cheeks. I often travel with this as it is two products in one & again you get 8g of product which will last you a long time. Pixiwoo have done a video using this blush here.

Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle £21.50 for 10g – I only bought this in December and so was massively late to the party. How I lived without this I will never know (bit dramatic). Pretty isn’t a good enough word to describe this but it just gives your face a fantastic glow. I need to be careful that I don’t apply too much around my outer eye / top of cheek area as it does gather in my fine lines ( I am 35 this year). I have used this non stop for 5 months and it looks like new, like I haven’t used it. This is one product where a little goes a long way. I love having it in my collection.

So they are my 8 cheek products for the summer. Looking at them now I seem to have an obsession with baked products, I do love them and how they look. Let me know If I have mentioned any of your favourites or if I have mentioned something you have never tried before.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

Vicki x