My wedding makeup

Base: Olay UV Fluid with SPF15, MAC Face & Body foundation in C4, MAC Select Moisturecover concealer in NC42 & Keromask Mineral Finishing Powder.

Blush: Nars Orgasm & Torrid

Eyes: MAC Mulch eyeshadow, Blacktrack fluidline, MUFE Smoky lash mascara and MAC #10 lashes applied with Duo lash glue.

Lips: Carmex and MAC Creme in your coffee lipstick.

Brushes: MAC 209 for eyeliner, ELF angled contour brush (not pictured) for eyeshadow, ELF stipple brush for foundation (not pictured), Gotta B Urban bronzer brush used for blush & ELF powder brush for powder



L-R: Nars Orgasm, Nars Torrid, MAC Mulch & MAC Creme in your coffee.

I was supposed to have my own little makeup trials with different looks but that soooo didn't happen and on the day I played it by ear and just ended up using some of my favourite products. MUFE Smoky lash mascara is the best I've ever tried!! I bought this one brand new in a blog sale last year but was saving it for special occasions. If it wasn't so expensive to buy in the UK I would repurchase over and over again. I was also really pleased with MAC face & body, it was so lightweight it felt like I wasn't wearing any foundation at all. I also cannot stop fawning over Nar's Torrid, it's a beautiful coral which everyone must buy!

So to sum up, my make up was not perfect at all nor was it upto a professional standard but I felt comfortable and it worked for me :)

ELF Bamboo Angled Blush Brush

Dodgy out of focus photo so the stock photo is here if you want it. I finally got my hands on this new brush from ELF's new bamboo line and it is brilliant. The quality is the same as their studio line brushes and it looks and feels more expensive than its £5.50 price tag.

It isn't as fluffy as I like my blush brushes to be but it makes contouring and blush application much easier with it's angled head. The bristles are cruelty free, antibacterial Taklon and very very soft. I've already washed it twice and there has barely been any shedding and it retained shape easily. Apparently they're great for use with mineral blushes though I've yet to use it with my plum one. It works fine with all my other blushes anyway.

ELF are currently offering 20% off bamboo brushes until midnight this Sunday the 30th January (min £10 spend, code: BRUSHUK or BRUSHEU). Even if you don't want this one, there are lots of other brushes in their bamboo line that might tickle your fancy.

ELF free shipping & free LE nail polish

Great promotion from ELF at the moment which finishes at midnight tomorrow. They actually have lots of different discounts or freebies with orders on different days over this festive period. Follow them on Twitter for the latest.

I'm going to use this opportunity to buy the new brushes from their studio line - the stippling and angled contour brush. I've also got my eye on this bamboo angled blush brush from the mineral range but I'm going to wait for reviews as I don't know if it would be fluffy enough for me.

I have been waiting for a free shipping code for ages and the nail polish is a bonus! Even though it will be selected at random, I'm looking forward to trying it as I've read nothing but positive reviews.

Will you be buying anything? I highly recommend the powder brush which is my favourite.

I love my Aurifere brushes

I attended Britain's Next Top Model Live a few weeks ago after winning tickets from a giveaway on Natalie's blog. I wasn't impressed with the clothing they had on sale, nothing tempted me at all but there were many beauty buys. I picked up a few things from Blistex, Crown Brushes and some fabulous Eldora lashes (post coming soon) but my favourite buys were these two brushes from Aurifere.

I had actually never heard of this brand until I read about them on Lipglossiping a while ago. They had a small stall with an even smaller selection of brushes. I bought the 480 squirrel brush which is a fluffy blending brush that makes applying concealer an absolute breeze. As it's so soft, it blends effortlessly and leaves my concealer non cakey. I also bought the 790 thin eyeliner brush to use with my fluidline.

Brushes can be notoriously expensive, especially if they aren't synthetic but Aurifere brushes are very affordable. I paid £7.99 for the 480 and £3.50 for the 790 which is great value for high quality brushes (prices are different on their website though). Next on my wishlist is the 190 racoon powder brush.

If you'd like to look at their range of brushes, they are sold on http://paesecosmetics.com and UK shipping is free on orders over £10 :)

E.L.F Studio Line Brushes

I really like the brushes from E.L.F's studio line which are for a more "professional look" apparently. The difference between these and the normal line of brushes are that they are black and more sleek looking? Also they are anti bacterial and made from Taklon fibres. They are very soft and less scratchy than the £1.50 brushes. The brushes in the photo above are the ones that I own.

Powder brush - This brush is amazing for applying blusher and I don't think I can live without it. It's also good with cream blushers because of it's flat top. I just need to get a bigger makeup bag for it to fit in.

Complexion brush - On the website, this brush is reccommended for applying blusher/bronzer/powder but I think it's far too large for blusher/bronzer. I don't really know why I bought this brush but I use it mainly for blending harsh lines after applying blusher and sometimes to sweep loose powder when setting my concealer.

Blush brush - I was disappointed with this brush as I was expecting it to be really fluffy but in actual fact it's flat which is no good for me! This would be great for applying blusher in a precise manner or just on the apples of your cheeks.

I think the next brush I would like to add to my collection is the fan brush.

These brushes cost £3.50 each from E.L.F's website.

Beauty on a budget: The 99p store

 

Have you ever been to your local 99p store? I know the general perspective is that they're full of cheap, plastic tat but there are some gems to be found.  Some of my favourite buys for the grand sum of 99 pence are as follows: 

 A set of 400 hair grips
You can never have too many of these especially since they always mysteriously disappear (where do they go??). I hate having to pay for a small pack of 30 when I know I will lose them all within a fortnight, so when I found this set I was more than happy. They are really good quality and I like that they come in a normal length and an extra long length. Super duper.

Evian Affinity Original nourishing lotion
My HG moisturiser which I can only find in the 99p store, and when I do, I stock up like there's no tomorrow.

Deep cleansing nose and face pore strips.
I have used Superdrug's own tea tree brand nose strips and I can honestly see no difference between them and these. They do the job well and I can't complain.

Slanted eyeshadow and lip brush
Random no name brushes which are good for practising with, especially if you can't afford to shell out £10+ on a makeup brush. These are surprisingly good quality - almost on par with my No7 brushes, which makes them an even better bargain.

Have you ever bought anything from the 99p store?

Everyday Minerals Haul

I had never heard of Everyday Minerals until I read this post by Bubblegarm. I had a look at their website and decided that I "needed" a new blusher brush to fit in my makeup bag and that the Long Handled Kabuki brush was the one for me.

It's a synthetic brush and is incredibly soft and dense. Perhaps a tad too much because I find it hard to control the application of my blusher. However in it's defence, Everyday Minerals do say that this brush is suited for cheek, base and face powders. I do love how dinky it is and I use it throughout the day to top up my blusher. I just take extra care not to apply with my usual gusto.

With my order, I was given the option to add one of their Try Me kits for free. I chose the Peach blush kit which was made up of 3 small sample jars.

From left to right: Tea Time, All Smiles and Summer Stroll.

This is my first experience with mineral makeup of any kind and I don't know what to think yet. The powder is very finely milled and application can be tricky for fear of inhaling most of the product! The sample jars are rubbish because you're supposed to tip the powder in the lid, then swirl your brush around, but this is a mean feat considering the lid is about an inch in diameter. That said I quite like "All Smiles" - the other two don't show up that great. I know mineral is better than traditionl makeup in the sense that they don't have preservatives, parabens and other nasty irritants but when it comes to blusher, I'm not too concerned about this as it's not something I wear all over my face.

I wouldn't purchase a full sized product but I would go back for more brushes as I think they're good quality and inexpensive. The long handled kabuki brush was $10 and shipping came to about $4 so my total was about £8/9? Not bad at all.

p.s. who is loving the snow?