L'Oreal Lumi Magique Foundation - Review

Anyone that knows me personally, knows that I never, ever stop raving about this foundation. For the past, I would say, 4 months, if anyone has asked me what foundation I'm wearing it will be this one. I get so many compliments on my skin when I wear this foundation, which is when you know your foundation is looking gooooood.

I came across this product after using the True Match foundation and finding it too matte. I wanted something a little more dewy to give my skin some luminosity. So I tried Lumi Magique. And I am so, so glad I did. I hadn't head many amazing reviews about it so I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it like I did.

This product is designed to give your skin a natural looking glow, which it absolutely does. I'm someone that suffers from oily skin, so usually I would steer clear of anything that could possible make me too shiny. However, this product works perfectly over a mattifying primer (it doesn't at all defeat the object of having a dewy foundation) and stays looking fresh throughout the day. If you are someone that has dry skin or combination skin, I feel that this product would be perfect for you. It really is an all rounder.

I personally could not say enough good things about this foundation, I continue to repurchase it over and over again because it's one that I can fully trust. Plus it's from the drugstore which makes it an absolute winner in my eyes. At around £10.99 from Boots you really can't go wrong.

In terms of coverage, it is a medium/buildable full. However if you use just a little bit of this product you could achieve a really natural look. I like to use this foundation for medium coverage and correct any other areas with concealers.

Check out the video below to see this beauty in action!!!

I hope that this post was helpful guys. Please leave me a comment if there's a foundation you think I should try, or your thoughts on this foundation.

Thanks for reading!

Love H x

Good Energy is Contagious

Hey beauties.

Just thought I'd share with you some quotes that are getting me through this week!

I got them from a random quote account on Instagram. 

I personally just found them super motivating. As an aspiring Freelance Makeup Artist and part time retail assistant, it can sometimes be hard to see the positives within my work life. I can't really complain because I do get to do a lot of what I love, but as with every career, it takes time to get to where you want to be. Nothing happens over night. 

Just remember to stay optomistic and work hard... It will pay off in the end. 

Love, H x

OCC Matte Lip tar in Sebastian - Review

Hello everyone!

I have been searching high and low for a good Grey lip product for so long now. I don't know why but I've just been loving the look of straight up Grey lips haha. I was looking to get Space Cake by Lime Crime, but never got round to it. Plus I didn't know how that colour would work with my skin tone. BUT THEN... I saw someone post a picture to Instagram and they were wearing this beauty!!!

OCC MATTE LIP TAR in Sebastian - £14.00 from Beauty Bay

I instantly fell in love with this colour. It's kind of a cross between grey and purple, which I thought made it slightly more wearable. 

In the picture above I am wearing Sebastian on top of the 'Neutral' side of the Jemma Kidd Lip Line Duo in Neutral/Plum. The lip liner also has a purple undertone which I think worked really well with the Lip Tar. 

I am really pleased with the colour of this product. I knew I loved the OCC Lip Tar's in terms of colour payoff and formula as I got the chance to play around with a lot of them during my makeup course. 

OCC's Lip Tar's come in three different finishes: Metallic, Matte and Stained Gloss. Sebastian is a matte finish, which I personally think is my favourite of the three. I also really like the Gloss finish, however I find the Metallic finish is slightly more unwearable. They are really great for use on photoshoots though!

I guess it all comes down to personal preference though. 

The products retail at £14.00. I get mine from Beauty Bay, but I'm sure there are other places on the internet that you can get them from. I feel that £14.00 is a really reasonable price.. You get 9ml of product in a tube but you only need to use the tiniest amount at one time. A little goes a long way with these beauties and the staying power is amazing - so they should last you a good while! 

I think these are really interesting products to work with, and I would really recommend them if you're into trying new lip products. They are a staple for a Makeup Artist's kit in my opinion. I'll definitely be purchasing more!

Thanks for reading guys, I hope this was interesting. 

Love H x 

I made a YouTube video

This is my first video so please forgive the bad quality, out of focusness (that's not a word) and the amount of shots that aren't in frame haha! It was kind of a test run so I know what I can improve on next time. Either way I hope you enjoy! Please leave me some feedback in the comments I would so appreciate that! Also give the video a thumbs up if you like it ;) 

(Watch the video in 720p if you can, the quality will be much better)

Love H x

My Valentine...

Hi everyone.

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day.

My boyfriend is actually in Thailand at the moment - the first stop on his 5 month tour of the world. So unfortunately we couldn't spend the day together. However we were able to have a phonecall to wish eachother a happy V day which was super nice.

He had left behind a present for me to open on Valentine's Day so I was really excited to open that before I went to work that morning. He had got me this beautiful fragrance from Jo Malone that I have been wanting for a while. It's from their Cologne Intense collection and is called 'Saffron'. To me it's just the most sensual, romantic scent ever and so fitting for Valentine's Day. I can't stop spraying it I love it so much, though I should really save it for special occasions!

My mum was literally the sweetest thing ever and made me heart shaped crumpets and a coffee in a cute Valentine's mug for breakfast. I have to share a picture with you because it was just too cute...

...Right?!

As I got home from work on the 14th I was greeted by a delivery of 12 gorgeous red roses and a card from Carl, which was just the perfect ending to my day. Safe to say I was feeling pretty spoilt.

I have been away from my boy for a month now, and it's still as difficult as ever. 

However, I'm actually flying out to LA to see him in April (that's my birthday present from him - how amazing!) so I am really, really looking forward to that.

I just can't wait to be reunited with him. 

Absence is most definitely making my heart grow fonder.

Love H x

Dupe alert - Blusher

Hi my lovelies.

I was sorting out my makeup collection the other day, and came across these blusher "dupes". They're not EXACT dupes, but I think they're pretty good. They are both Makeup Revolution dupes for MAC blushers.

The first dupe is Makeup Revolution HOT blusher and MAC Pink Swoon blusher.

Left - Pink Swoon, Right - Makeup Revolution HOT

In terms of colour, you can see that Pink Swoon is a bit lighter and more cool/blue toned, whereas HOT is more warm/orange toned. Asides from that I think that they are pretty good dupes, definitely considering Pink Swoon is £15 for the pan refill and HOT is £1 !!!!!! The formula's aren't exactly the same, the Makeup Revolution blush is actually more pigmented would you believe. However, can sometimes come off a little chalky. The finishes are slightly different as Pink Swoon is matte and Hot has a SLIGHT hint of shimmer in the pan, but hardly any shimmer payoff when applied to the skin. I still do think that it's worth the £1 if you were in the market for a new blusher or were looking at investing in Pink Swoon.

The next dupe is Makeup Revolution NOW blusher and MAC Blushbaby blusher.

Left - MAC Blushbaby, Right - Makeup Revolution NOW

So as you can see from the swatches, Blushbaby is a lot darker in shade, however the tone of the blushers are pretty similar. NOW is definitely more of a dusky rose brown, but I still thought I would include them in this post. The formula's are the same as the first two blushers I talked about. And again I would seriously recommend the Makeup Revolution one (£1) if you're looking for a neutral brown toned blush like Blushbaby. The formula's again are slightly different, Blushbaby is matte and NOW has the same amount of shimmer as HOT if not less.

I really hope that this short post was interesting or helpful for some of you. I really wanted to share it with you because I seriously rate Makeup Revolution as a brand and think their products are so worth the price. If not more. It's like the BEST brand for high end dupes. Check them out if you haven't already!
http://www.makeuprevolutionstore.com/ 

You can also find Makeup Revolution in Superdrug, however smaller Superdrug stores don't stock all the products (there are just so many) so it's worth having a look online.

Thanks for reading!

Love H x

LA Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer - Review

Hi pals!

Today's post is a review on the LA Girl Cosmetics Pro Conceal High Definition Concealer. Wow that's a mouthful. 

I had heard so many good things about this product from various other Bloggers, YouTuber's and Makeup Artists and had also heard that this was a good dupe for the Kat Von D lock it tattoo concealer (if not better), and it's a darn sight cheaper at the £4 mark, so naturally I had to try it out!

I got my concealers from a shop on Ebay, as you can't get LA Girl Cosmetics in the UK and all the US online shops wanted silly amounts for shipping. So if you're in the US then I'm guessing it's not too difficult to find for you, in the UK, try Ebay.

So first things first, the packaging. The packaging is super basic, it's a plastic squeezy tube with a nozzle on the end. In the nozzle there is a brush tip applicator, which is a nice touch as it makes the product really easy to apply and you can pin point areas to conceal with ease. 

However, sanitisation wise, probably not the most hygienic thing ever. I must admit I don't use the brush applicator, I dispense some product onto the back of my hand or palette and then use my fingers or a brush to work it into the skin. The reason I do this is so I can use the products on my clients too without it being unsanitary. But if you're just using it on you, then using the brush is completely fine.

I ordered two colours (Creamy Beige - left and Natural - right) because I wasn't sure which one I would need. It turns out both of them are good for me: Creamy Beige for spot concealing when I am tanned or have fake tanned, and Natural when I'm not so tanned and for covering up dark circles under my eyes as it's more pinky toned.

The coverage of these bad boys is medium to a buildable full. When I first applied it I wasn't overly impressed, I thought it was a crappy medium coverage, if that. However I then applied another layer and WHABAM, dark circles... Gone! Spots... Gone!

For such good coverage, the product is surprisingly not too thick or cakey. It's definitely a thicker liquid concealer, but not so thick that it's unbearable. I found that if I applied the product under my eyes and then set with powder straight away then it didn't crease or settle into fine lines. Throughout the day I did notice a bit of creasing under the eyes, but for the most part, the concealer held up really well. I was super impressed.

I am going to say that this concealer is completely worth the money at around £4, I don't think you can do much better! And you get a fair amount of product for that price too... 8g! I think if you're thinking about getting the Kat Von D tattoo concealer, then maybe give this a try first. Save yourself some money!

I hope that this has been helpful guys! Thanks for reading. 

Love H x