MAC Margin Blush

Hardly an unsung hero in the makeup community, I'm sure everyone has heard of Margin. Beauty bloggers and celebrities alike admire and endorse this blush, and for good reason. I've had this on my wishlist for a long time, and am pleased to be able to finally cross it off. MAC describe this blush as a peach with golden shimmer.

The peach colour is universally flattering, suiting a range of skin tones. I'm pretty pasty this time of year but the blusher suits my skin tone with a tan or it's natural winter hue. The blusher has a frost finish which means the golden shimmer has an almost metallic finish, but this is subtle enough to look pretty and not make you too shiny faced like some frosty finished blushers I've used previously.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of this wonderful blusher applied on my face so you can see the understated effect you get. It gives the perfect "natural glow" look  which will complete any natural make-up look you want to create as well as when you're feeling like going heavier on the eyes or lips and you want to keep the cheeks natural looking.

I hope this has helped you if you're looking for a new blusher. It's definitely one I will be repurchasing when I've used it up, which at the rate I'm using it will be sooner than I think! 

On another note...I cannot actually believe it's Christmas in two days!!! I've managed to escape London and am back visiting my parents which is just lovely having meals cooked for me and being looked after, and of course, lots of love from Layla.

MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection

You're quite possibly sick of the sight of this collection by now. I know it's been out in the States for a while, and in the UK since the beginning of October, but I got my Disney dose at the weekend after a bit of blog research to find out what products I was going to like.
It seems like I always go for cheek products in every collection. I'm not sure if that's a conscious descision or not. It was the last make-up product I got into, and therefore have the least amount of in my own collection, so maybe I'm making up for that. But I always get drawn to the beautiful packaging and the pinky peachy tones of blushers. To me they're the most fun and most appealing make-up product.
The packaging of this collection is pretty much everything you can hope for from Disney. Shiny, glossy black casing and bright, colourful cartoon print. I went for two of the Evil Queen products, Oh So Fair Beauty Powder, and Bite of an Apple Blush. I wanted Her Own Devices Beauty Powder to grab me, because I love Cruella and wanted to buy something with her on, but swatching it on my skin, I got nothing, it was pretty much invisible on my skintone. I've never bought a Beauty Powder before so I'm not entirely sure what to do with it, but judging by the colour which is like a dusky rose pink, I will use it as a blusher and highlight concentrating the colour on the tops of my cheeks. The colour is very similar to a No.7 blush I had in the shade Soft Damson which I loved and conveniently broke recently, so I needed to replace anyway. I do love me some peachy and coral toned blushers most of the time, but I feel that winter is the time to rock pink blusher as it's the colour your cheeks naturally go in the cold.

Bite of an Apple is a much bolder pink. It's leaning towards the red side of pink and I would use this just on the apples of my cheeks with Oh So Fair to create that Snow White rosy cheek look.

Overall I was quite impressed with this collection, it's a lot more exciting than some of the recent collections that have been put out. The only thing I missed that I would have quite liked to own was the nail laquers. I haven't seen any colours like those before, they looked really interesting to me. I suppose it's kind of a blessing because I'm a bit poor right now! I've just moved flat this week and I started a post-grad course at uni in September so that's why I have been quiet on the blogging sphere. I don't plan to give it up though and want to say a huge thankyou to everyone who's still following me, I kind of expected to lose a lot of followers but I'm glad to say that's not the case, so thankyou for that. Oh, and also I recently discovered the Luuux site. I joined a couple or so weeks ago, I thought if I enjoy blogging and could get a Balenciaga bag out of it then it's pretty foolproof right?

What are your thoughts on Luuux?

Did you buy anything from Disney Venomous Villains?

If you have the nail laquers, are you happy with the result?

Recent MAC and Topshop finds

Really all I wanted to buy this weekend was a new lipstick, but it's hard to buy just one thing! I was after a bright pink shade, a la Cheryl Cole, one that I can wear for going out, or any time I'm feeling a bit more daring. I rarely stray from safe nude shades on my lips so felt like I wanted to experiment a little. Pink Nouveau was my lipstick of choice, it seemed to me a perfect barbie pink, not the brightest pink I saw, but what I'd describe as the "truest" pink. It's a satin finish which I find has a lot more staying power than the Lustre finish. It's also more matte which I find I really need to be careful with because it can be a little drying. Along with this I got a blusher in Peaches, which is a sheertone blush, without shimmer. I'd describe it as similar to Springsheen but without the shimmer, it's very matte which I think makes it more appealing to most people.

Above is a swatch of the blush on top, and the lipstick below. I will at some point do a more detailed review/comparison of these products. Now on to the Topshop goodies. First up, this layered short sleeved top which is a mint green colour. I bought this to go with the high waisted black skirt I showed you as this top is cropped and the shape will complement it nicely. I'm loving all the pastel, nude colours that are about at the moment, it's very flirty and feminine. I like wearing this top to smarten up jeans too, and although it's cropped it doesn't really show much which I like, possibly because of my shortness! I'm not sure how I'd feel about wearing this if I was taller. This is not the best background for the top to be against for you to see it properly!Here's another staple top I bought. Again this is cropped. I like the loose sleeves, and the button detail down the middle. It's just a basic top but looks great with jeans, and it's available in a range of nude and earthy tones.

I love this jumper too. It's very simple, just a plain black jumper, but I love the gold button detailing on the sleeves. I think it's a really nice touch. This is what I love about Topshop, the little details. I like to wear this with a black waisted belt, just because it's not very fitted, and the belt helps to give a nicer figure.

Finally, I had my eyes on these a while ago, but for some reason or another, managed not to buy them. I had to go back to buy them this weekend though because I think they are quite unique. The pattern reminds me of peacock feathers, but they're on a thin piece of metal which is a nice twist, I've not really seen any like this before.

In other news, I went to the Affordable Homes Show in Westminster yesterday to find out some more information for people buying their first home in London. It was quite interesting, if somewhat of a mindfield, there's so much to take into account when buying your first flat. Me and my boyfriend had our first viewing today and it was so exciting thinking about getting our very own place. I love my flat where I live now but it can get a little tedious sharing with another person. At least now the ball's started rolling and I can feel more excited about what's on it's way. Hope everyone's had a great weekend, enjoy what's left of it!

Make-up Product of the Month: November - Barry M Blusher

I’ve just discovered Barry M’s latest addition to their range, the collection of blushes. I went for the most neutral, earthy, inoffensive shade, number 6. These blushers are seriously pigmented hence why I started off with a safe colour choice. I was really attracted to the vibrant pink shade, (number 2 or 3 I think) which is comparable to MAC’s Dolly Mix. After trying this out I’m definitely going to return and try out some other shades. Aside from the one I bought, the rest are a lot bolder, along with the Dolly Mix dupe there is one that reminds me of NARS’s Taj Mahal. I’ve never experimented with orange toned blushers but I think the price of Barry M definitely allows for trying out new colours without feeling like I’ve wasted money if I don’t like it.

(blusher without flash)

The perfectly pigmented, matte blusher is highly sought after, and this ticks both boxes. I personally love a bit of shimmer in my blush, but for a more natural day time look, matte is more preferable. So if you are on the hunt for a really pigmented blusher but could do without the shimmer that often comes along with it, then these are worth a look.

The blushers are £4.40 each, a bargain for 7g of product and especially good value for money because these blushers tend to stay put all day without the need for reapplying. I also don’t need a lot of product as a single wash of colour I find is enough.