MAC COSMETICS JARROLD'S NORWICH EVENT

A couple weeks ago now Jarrold's held a Mac event after hours for bloggers to get up, close and personal with the Mac brand. I've loved Mac for many years now, and there's something special about the brand. I can remember purchasing my first Mac lipstick when I was in my second year of College, and it seemed such a big deal and a triumph at the time. Since then my love for Mac hasn't dulled, and I was way too excited to see What Jarrold's had in store for us. Also I apologise as there will be more pictures than writing in this post - Everything was so pretty!

On arrival we were greeted with smiley, friendly Mac staff, Prosecco and snacks! What more could a girl want? Drinks, snacks and surrounded by makeup. The food was beautiful with an array of different cakes and sweets. The drink was topped up throughout the evening which was a lovely and unexpected bonus!

After a bite of cake and catching up with new and friendly blogger faces, the staff at Mac told us what the evening had in store. There were mini tutorials going on throughout the evening, and we had opportunities to speak to the girls, try out products, get recommendations and get up and close with the products. It was so lovely to get to know the Mac girls, as I know Mac can be slightly intimidating at times due to the overwhelming amount of products that they have. I now know - and actually have a fair few times since the event - come into the store and know that I can ask any questions that I fancy. The girls are all so welcoming and so beautiful!

It was lovely to test out the products in an quiet environment as I now have sooo many products that I want! I've known for a while that Mac extended their lipstick range and I've been dying to have a look, so it was so cool to look at all the amazing shades and textures! I mean look at that deep purple with the teal shimmer - how mermaidy!

It was lovely to try out the new perfumes too, inspired by the famous Mac lipsticks. Candy Yum Yum was my favourite with a sweet and fruity smell. The lipsticks I believe are limited edition so if you like the packaging of those grab them while you can - The perfume is currently permanent though! I also learnt that the perfume is Eau De Parfume which means it will last longer on the skin,

One of the tutorials was this super pretty mermaid lip! I mean look at how beautiful that looks! I'm planning on recreating a similar look pretty soon. I was also involved in the smokey eye tutorial after showing interest in being shown how to do a smokey eye with a little colour. I loved the navy smokey eye and ended up buying the glittery shade that was on my lids which I'm sure I'll do a product review for very soon!

Overall I had an amazing time, and a huge shout out to the lovely Holly that made all this happen. It was such a fun evening and it's lovely to have built a relationship with a brand that I love. I now have soooo many products on my list, which I'll be coming in to buy soon!

MAC VIVA GLAM RIHANNA LIPSTICK SWATCH AND REVIEW

This has been sitting amongst my Mac lipsticks for a while now, but never thought to use it. Now I've started using it, it's my to go to Christmas red. I never really shy from matte lipsticks, but recently I have been loving sheeny lipsticks, glosses (Who would have thought it?) and metallic finishes. I never thought I'd stray from a matte lipstick, but I have, and I am in love.

Because of its frost finish I wasn't expecting it to last long on the lips, but this Viva Glam Rihanna lipstick has exceeded my expectations. It provides beautiful pigmentation, and because of it's frost finish it keeps my lips looking plump and fresh, with no pigment clinging around my dry areas. It's so easy to apply, and I rarely use a brush to tidy the edges. Because the formula is smooth it doesn't tug around the lips like some matte shades, so it was easy to get a clean line straight from the bullet. It wears so well too. Later in the day it dries down to more of a satin, but it doesn't loose it's colour. I cannot express my love for this lipstick any more! 

As you can see, it's the perfect red for the holidays, and it'll be in a few of my up coming Christmas looks without a doubt. If you stumble across this and debate whether to buy it - I promise you wont regret it! It's no longer available from Mac, but it tends to crop up on the internet every so often.

What's your favourite red lipstick for Christmas?

Thanks for reading!

MAC GOOD LUCK TROLLS - MIDNIGHT TROLL SWATCH AND REVIEW

I hadn't treated myself to a Mac lipstick in a while. Mainly because of my lack of money, and I consider Mac a luxury brand, so it's a real treat for me when I get the chance! When the Mac Good Luck Trolls came out, I had to have something. I played with the idea of having a few different pieces, but I knew I only could afford one thing - so it had to be Midnight Troll, I tend to pop on the odd blue toned lipstick here and there, usually Jeffree Star's Blue Velvet. So I had to add another blue lipstick to my slowly growing collection.

I had been eyeing up Mac's Matte Royal since it came out, but never had the money for it, so I felt like Midnight Troll would be the closet thing to that shade. Hopefully I'll pick it up soon so I can do a comparison of all my blue lipsticks! Matte lipsticks are one of my favourite Mac finishes, so even more reason to pick this up! I popped it on straight from the tube for this review, no lip brush! I'm trying hard to sway away from the lip brush to train myself into a quick application. It was surprisingly easy to apply from the bullet with its bright and bold colour, and I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation and the way it applies. Some matte lipsticks can be difficult to work with, but this glided on beautifully. It melted into the lips and left a more semi-matte/satin finish than the usual matte Mac lipsticks, but I'm okay with that. It lasted on the lips well and wore well. It faded in the middle of the lips out, which didn't look strange at all.

Overall, I love this lip! If you're bold enough for a different shade to the norm, this blue is perfect. I think Blue is a 'wearable' crazy colour. If you're wanting to stray from traditional shades and dare to go bold - go blue! There are so many good blue shades out there and this is one of them. Plus the packaging is super adorable, and looks great amongst the other Mac lipstick shades.

You can grab this shade and the rest

of the collection here.

Midnight Troll is £17 on their website.

TOP 5 AUTUMNAL LIPSTICKS - COLLABORATION WITH JUSTINE PENDRILL

Autumn is my favourite seasons for makeup. There's an even better excuse for almost black lipstick and deep burgundy eyes which I am always doing. When chatting to one of my besties, Justine Pendrill another fellow blogger, we decided to collaborate and hunt down our top 5 lipsticks for this season. These were all easy no-brainers for me and I was quick to choose the top 5 that will be gracing my lips most of this season. Take a look blow at my top 5 lipsticks and don't forget to let me know your favourites in the comments below and check out Justine's post here.

OCC BLACK METAL DALIAH - Not only am I in love with the name, look at that purple. If that doesn't scream autumn, I'm not sure what does. I picked this up from Selfridges when I went to London with Justine for a blogging event. This is from the Moderncraft collection which has a few more other interesting shades. I can't seem to find this particular shade online so if you pop into Selfridges have a look at what OCC have to offer, as they have loads of beautiful shades that you can mix to find the perfect shade for you. The consistency isn't like anything else I've tried. It's very thick and pigmented, meaning you don't need a lot. This is titles as a matte, but unless you're applying a extremely thin amount it'll be more of a gloss. I really love this shade and it stays put all day - one of my faves for this season! These retail for around £13.

YSL ROUGE VOLUMPTE FORBIDDEN BURGUNDY - This beautiful autumn favourite is believed to be discontinued. However I had to put this into my top favourites as it really is perfect for autumn. This pretty deep burgundy has a creamy consistency so it glides effortlessly on the lips. For a rather expensive lipstick (around £26) this doesn't stay as well on the lips as I'd like. Because it's so creamy it does tend to slip and need retouching, but I still don't hate it for it. It's just such a beautiful colour that I forgive it's high price and occasional touch ups.

FASHION FAIR INTENSE COLOUR LIPSTICK IN RAGE* - I had to do a close up because of that metallic shimmer. I mean how beautiful is that? This is such a perfect red with a surprise of glitter which I really love. The glitter isn't grainy and you can't feel it on the lips. It just seems to glide on the lips beautifully. It stays put all day and the shimmer just adds and extra special touch to the usual red lip. This is perfect not just autumn, but Christmas too! If you're on the hunt for a slighty different red, go for this one. Fashion Fair specializes in skin for deep skin tones, but there's so much for everyone! You can get this from Debenhams here for £14.

MAC LIPSTICK IN PARAMOUNT - This narrowly missed my 5 Mac lipsticks which you can read here so it had to be in my top 5 autumn faves! This is the perfect brown for autumn I think as it almost leans on a burnt orange colour. It's not exactly a nude shade, but it's a great alternative if you're wanting to go deeper for autumn. It's a matte finish like the majority of my Mac lipsticks so it stays put for most of the day, so I can trust that I don't have to hunt for the mirror deep in my bag every hour. It's easy to apply too, even without a brush. Pick this up from your local Mac or online here for £15.50.

B. VIBRANT LIP AND CHEEK COLOUR IN GOJI* - Not only is it a universal lip and cheek colour - it's vegan too! I'm a huge lover of rose coloured lipstick and this is no expection. This is the perfect rose colour, and is great to pair with dark eyes. It adds a pretty yet subtle flush of colour on the cheeks once blended in giving a natural healthy glow. It's so creamy and goes on the lips really well and stays put too. I can't explain how much I love this shade. It's an all year round colour which makes me love it even more. If you're a pale princess like me, this is a must have. It's not too much of a bright lipstick and will compliment your skin beautifully. You can get this from Superdrug online for £3.99 at the moment from the usual £7.99 which you can get here.

There is my top 5 must haves for autumn!

Don't forget to check out Justine's post here

and let me know in the comments what your favourites are.

Thanks for reading!

*Kindly sent for review

CURRENT TOP 10 BEAUTY FAVOURITES - COLLABORATION WITH LA BLOG BEAUTE

When sending out a tweet about blog collaborations the lovely Beth from La Blog Beaute tweeted me back, so don't forget to go give her lovely blog a peak. I was so excited to get to know a new blogger I hadn't met before, and she is super lovely which made my tweet worth while! We came up with the idea of our top 10 current favourites which was super easy for me. My makeup changes from month to month when I find new colours or new ideas that I like to get creative with, and these gorgeous 10 are the ones that have become my current favorites.

CIATE MINT CHOCOLATE NAIL VARNISH REMOVER - I'm currently obsessed with this at the moment. It leaves my fingers smelling all minty and sweet so of course it's a favourite. I did a full review on this recently which you can read here.
MAC BLUSH IN ROYAL SUNSET - A favourite of mine for a year now and I rarely stray from this. I'm honestly not wild about blushes and only own about 6 or 7. For this to be in my favourites really means something and goes to show how beautiful this is. It gives my pale skin the healthy pinkish glow in needs and gives my whole face a lift. Unfortunately this is a limited edition blush but is one that Mac seems to re-promote. It's not exactly a unique shade, but it's gorgeous. See my full review here.
ESSIE AVENUE MAINTAIN - This is from their 2013 collection but it's my to go to nail polish when I'm on the go. It only needs one coat and it dries super quickly. Great for on the go girls. It's a pretty shade of blue which may not be a favourite for autumn, but I'll be wearing this in the winter weeks. I have an old review for this here.
MAC 217 - I literally can't imagine blending without this. I LOVE THIS BRUSH. I always reach for it, and for me it's been an investment. It's blends effortlessly and I haven't a clue how I lived without it before this year. I can't seem to find this on their website but it was around the £17 mark.
SHU UEMURA EYELASH CURLERS - Yes, they're worth the hype. A little pricey at £20 from Space NK, but again this is an investment. When I did my makeup course these were the curlers they used so I had picked one up! I've never regretted spending £20 on a pair of eyelash curlers, and I had an inkling that I might.

MAC REFILL IN SHALE - This pretty delicate purple shade is perfect for autumn! It has a frosty grey tone purple finish which looks lovely by itself or blended with Vex, also from Mac, which I usually go for. It's perfect for adding a slight hint of colour if you're usually scared of it. You can get this from Mac for £10.
JEFFREE STAR I'M ROYALTY - I am literally obsessed with this shade and I wear it everywhere. Not only is the finish incredible, it lasts all day. All Jeffree Star products are vegan too if you're interested in that type of product. You can see my full review here and buy it for £13 from Cocktail Cosmetics.
NEAL'S YARD ROSEMARY AND CEDARWOOD HAIR TREATMENT - Since becoming a mermaid and bleaching my poor hair my scalp needs some TLC. This gives my roots the moisture it needs and gives my new growing hair some strength. This is perfect for the autumn and winter months as your scalp needs moisture just like your face! It's only £6.50 from Neal's Yard so I think that's such a bargain. You can read my full review here. Give your scalp some happiness!
NEAL AND WOLF VELVET HAIR OIL* - I picked this up from the Norwich Event and since bleaching my hair this has been my hair food. It gives moisture to my hair without weighing it down, and really smooths out those pesky frizzy bits. I am never without this as my hair really craves it. I'll do an in depth review soon as I am loving this! Grab this from Neal and Wolf for £14.95.
URBAN DECAY VICE 2 PALETTE - Even though this is limited edition and no longer available I always reach for this. I can create the perfect gold eye, a creative colourful smokey eye or natural looks. I really think this is one of the best palettes Urban Decay has ever come out with and it's so universal. If you ever come across this do pick it up as it's worth every penny.

So there we have it - my current favourites. Which will probably change as I'm always jumping between products. Check out Beth's top 10 here where she has some pretty lush favourites! Don't forget to follow her on Blog Lovin' and keep up to date with all her lovely posts. Are any of these your favourites? Thanks for reading!

MAC CONCEALER COMPARE - PRO LONGWEAR AND SELECT COVER-UP

It can be overwhelming when going to Mac and not knowing what you're out to buy. There's so many different types and finishes of lipsticks, foundations and eyeshadows - It can be hard to decide between a few! The Pro Longwear has been an absolute favourite of mine for a year now, and when I went to repurchase it for the third time, I wondered what it'd be like to dabble in the other concealers. Being a student I had little money, and the Select  Cover-Up was cheaper and had more product, so I decided to go for it. But what are they like compared? This isn't an in depth review of both, but a light comparison so you can decide which is best for yourself.

The way in which the Pro Longwear dispenses, is a little pump on top of the glass bottle. Now, I know people like this due to hygiene, but boy, I cannot get on with it. It dispenses way too much for me. Sometimes I want a tiny bit just to step out the house, but it always gives me too much, wasting pretty much the whole pump. I love the Select Cover-Up dispenser, just a small tube to squeeze and the correct amount pops out the nozzle. Perfect for touch ups or small areas, and no need for wasting product. When it comes to the price of the product and the amount you get, Select Cover-Up has 10mls for £15.50, while Pro Longwear has 9mls for £17.50, so that makes Select Cover-Up the cheaper option.

I am the palest shade, so it's NW15 for me, but as you can see, Pro Longwear (Top) is slightly darker than the Select Cover-Up (Bottom), so if Pro Longwear is slightly too dark for the pale princess, try out the Select Cover-Up. I use a blending sponge to blend them in, and they both work well with it. Select Cover-Up is much more natural looking, and I feel it gives a skin like finish that feels weightless. I really love using this for lighter looks or on my 'good skin' days as it gives me a glowing sheen which I really like. Pro Longwear is thicker and covers much more than the other, so it's good for those annoying dark circles and that pesky red spot. I use Pro Longwear when I'm going out for big meals, gigging or when I'm doing peoples makeup. It hardly needs touching up and lasts forever! It dries down mostly to a matte, but still has a slight satin look to it. I rarely use powder on my face, but if you do it gives it extra longevity.
Pro Longwear has 16 shades, and Select Cover-Up has 13 according to the UK website.
Overall, I don't have a preference as I use them for different purposes. If you're going for more of a polished look and complete cover I'd go for Pro Longwear, but if you want a very natural looking concealer with good coverage go for Select Cover-Up. Both are buildable for the desired look. If Pro Longwear has a better dispenser I might have swung towards it, but it's such a pet peeve of mine!
I hope this helps find the perfect Mac concealer. I'll post looks with both of them soon with a more in depth review of them individually so keep an eye on my Twitter for when that's up!

Thanks so much for reading, 

and don't forget to check out my Blog Lovin'!

MY TOP 5 MAC LIPSTICKS

I am a massive Mac lipstick fan, as are the majority of the people on this planet. I'm constantly looking at peoples Mac lipstick posts as I'm always on the hunt for my next favourite. Whenever I go to a counter I'm overwhelmed by the amount of colours and usually go by recommendations from different bloggers - So  I hope this helps in a way! I have over 40 - Yup, I' m surprised too - Mac lipsticks, so chosing my top 5 was hard, but I think I got it down to 5 very different shades.

Heroine, Taupe, Nouvelle Vogue, Lavender Whip and So Chaud

Heroine - P - Matte - This is one of my favourite purples Mac has ever done. The pigmentation is literally out of this world, and I honestly believe this looks great on any skin tone. I rock it with my white complexion, and I've seem deep skin tones kill this shade! The staying power of this is faultless, and I'm so glad Mac made this permanent! This is a staple, and I know many people who have it in their collections. If you're looking for a pop of colour, this is the way forward!

Taupe - P - Matte - This is a new addition to my collection, and I cannot get enough! I'm only just getting into the nude shades, and being pale I find it hard to find a nude that doesn't make me look dead. Again this has amazing pigmentation and staying power, like the majority of their matte finishes. I originally went in to buy Velvet Teddy and came out with this, so if you're a fan of that shade, check this one out!

Nouvelle Vogue - LE - Matte - Although this is limited edition I had to include this. I rarely wear pinks, but this is perfect with a smokey eye! I wear this mostly to work as it's a really lovely natural pink. It's a really pretty rose pink which works so lovely with my skin tone, and looks so delicate. Again it has great pigmentation and longevity. If you're looking for a pretty pink that's wearable, grab this in a future collection.

Lavender Whip - LE - Cremesheen - I rarely go for Cremesheen finishes as I just don't get on with them, but this I make a huge exception! This is so pretty on the lips, and gives a lovely pinky purple colour without it being too much. This is perfect for adding a injection of colour without going for something like Heroine. It does need occasional touch ups during the day, but this is gorgeous for spring and summer.

So Chaud - P - Matte - I love red lips, and I went through a few months of just using reds - Ruby Woo - but wanted to try something different. When my sister got me this for my birthday I couldn't wait - It's a perfect combo of red and orange, and it has that slight orange tint which makes you question if it is red or not! It's ideal for a change of red for the summer season, and I think this is going to be a staple for me!

I did realise that most of these are matte - but I can help that matte is such a good formula! I hope this gives some inspiration, and if you want anything like this for any of the other Mac products let me know and I'll get finding! 

Thanks for reading! 

MAC CINDERELLA COLLECTION - LIPSTICK SWATCH - FREE AS A BUTTERFLY & ROYAL BALL

Ever since hearing about this collection I wanted everything. I was counting down the days before this launched online. Being a poor student though, I was unable to get much - But I was incredibly lucky to be able to try out these beautiful lipsticks. I have Royal Ball and Free as a Butterfly.

The packaging itself is stunning, the blue and pink iridiscent packaging with gold accents is just beautiful, and very princessy! The packing couldn't be any more Cinderella, so I obviously HAD to have these beautiful lipsticks to add to my growing Mac lipstick collection. (That's 34 now. Oops.)

Before we dive into the swatches, I'm not sure if any over pale princess had this problem, but I found the lipsticks hard to tell the difference on my lips - Other than one being slightly more gold, while the other a tad more pink. It's easy to see the colour differences on my arm swatches, as my lips just didn't seem to do a good job of defining the two!

 Top w/ flash, bottom no flash.

Free as a Butterfly

This is Free as a Butterly, the nuder of the two. This is a lustre finish, and has a gorgeous gold shimmer. You don't need much at all on the lips for it to show up! This felt really lovely on the lips and glided on really smooth. I have very dry lips at the moment so it does have a tendancy to fall into the cracks. This had really good wear as when the sheen stated to wear away, there was still a gold wash of colour on the lips.

 Top w/flash, bottom no flash.

Royal Ball

I would describe Royal Ball as a subtle rose gold colour on my lips. I really like this shade. I rarely pick up Lustre finishes as I don't really care for them, but this is perfect on my skin tone to add just a teeny bit of shimmer. I would love to team this up with a heavy smokey eye, just to create a bit of girlish glam with a punky eye! (I can't seem to get away from the grungy eyes right now!) Again, this glides on lovely and I felt it sits a little better over my dry lips than Free as a Butterfly does.

 No flash

Flash

As you can see from the swatches, they're both shimmery and satin like. You can see the colours more on my arm for some reason! I think because my lips are so pink it made the gold tones lipstick appeare a little siilar to the pink one. Free as a Butterfly is more shimmery than Royal Ball which is more pearly. 

Currently out of stock, but in Debenhams on the 17th of March!

Get these for £17.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Thanks, Hannah xx