Mac Lipstick X Infulencers

I am always a bit of a sucker for a Mac collaboration, and this infulencer collab wasn't going to be one I was going to miss!
The two incredible women Mac collaborated with are blogger and YouTuber Fleur de Force, and Glamour's very own beauty director Alessandra Steinherr.
These two women are absolutely bossing the beauty world at the moment, so who better to have their very own lipstick??

Whilst I never used to be a nude lipstick lover, recently it it the only thing I'm wearing. 

The Fleur and Alessandra lipsticks are both nude shades, Fleur's being a browner nude, and Alessandra's a pinkier shade.

Alessandra

Alessandra has turned the role of journalist, to celebrity. Whilst you never used to see the face behind the story, social media has allowed us to meet journalists and hear what they really think. Alex's Instagram is my go to when ever I want to see the newest products before they hit the shelves, and her insta-stories of facial routine are informative and enchanting.

Alessandra's lipstick is the staple beauty editor nude.

Fleur

Like many bloggers and vloggers, Fleur has had her fair share of success. With a published book of her makeup tips and tricks, 'The Glam Guide', and her own range of Eyelure lashes, Fleur is one of the most recognised bloggers in the world. She attracts up to 4-6 million views a month, and this is constantly growing.

Fleur's shade is the perfect bronzey nude for summer.

So those are the swatches of each lipstick so you can choose your favourite...or like me, just get both! (they are both £16.50 each in case you do). I thought I would favour the Alessandra lipstick due to my fair complexion, but I have actually found myself reaching for Fleur's more tan colour. Both are really creamy with a shiny finish, and I love wearing them.

If this doesn't scream girl power, and the hope of achieving the unimaginable from behind a computer screen, then I don't know what does!

Ariana Grande Look and Lipstick Review

Hello everyone!

If you follow me on instagram then you will have seen I purchased the new Ariana Grande lipstick from the Viva Glam collection due to the release of her latest album 'Dangerous Woman'.

As you can see, the lipstick is very dark which is meant to be the 'Dangerous Woman' side of a girl. There is also a matching lip gloss for the duo but it was unfortunately out of stock. The lip gloss is in the MAC lip glass formula and is a very pale pink with tiny glitter bits in it which is meant to be the innocent side in a girl.

The lipstick has a matte finish which can be a bit drying. The formula of this one is not as chalky as some of the other MAC lipsticks however I would highly recommend moistursing your lips prior as flaky bits of skin on the lips really show up on dark colours like this. It does tend to crease a little in the corners of the mouth but overall I love the colour. It is a very bold dark purple, and I love it! It is probably as close to black as I would go for a lip colour without actually going for black.

I decided to do a whole makeup look to go with this dark and sultry lip, so started by doing a smokey eye using tape at the side of the eyes to create this dramatic edge without using liner. I loved the sharpness of this look, and I used concealer to really neaten up the edges.

Next I had to add the signature Ariana pony/ half up do style.




I scooped up the whole of my hair as if to do a pony tail but then left the back loose and down. This style adds length to the hair as it cleverly looks as if your hair is tied up but actually has the length of your loose hair. I added a chunky side fringe which she sometimes sports. I finally smoothed some oil through my hair to make it look sleek, smooth and shiny like Ariana's

And this is the final look. Although I felt the look was quite dramatic, I got used the dramatic look throughout the day. I would probably only do the whole ensemble for an evening event due to the darkness of the whole look.

Fruity Nails

I have been a huge Marina and the Diamonds fan for a few years now, and I have been eagerly anticipating the mega babes new album 'FROOT'. The album cover and pac man style fruit got me thinking of some fruity inspired nails!

 As I did those banana nails a few days ago, I decided to embellish on those a bit more and do some cartoony fruit patterns to match the fun album feel.

I used pastel colours for the base and then brighter colours for the fruits to make them stand out.

Some didn't turn out as well as I wanted, especially the oranges and kiwis, so I thought I'd do a whole mani on just kiwis as I'm enjoying my brighter colours at the moment! I used my Jessica polish called 'radioactice' and then used nail art pens for the detail.

 They are really easy to achieve and look really effective!

Victoria Beckham Nails Inc Polishes

I have long awaited these polishes and now I can finally swatch and show you them, be it a little after the initial hype. Nails Inc collaboration with Victoria Beckham AKA 'Posh Spice' was always going to be very sleek and glamorous. As a fashion designer herself, Victoria Beckham has influenced two very different but versatile and dynamic polishes.

The bottles themselves are a thing of beauty on their own, with a matte finish and peek a boo side panels to show you the colour. The black and white are very simple, and classic.

Firstly we have 'Judo Red' which I think is actually more orange toned, especially on my skin. This is the colour for more wow factor and more party look. It has a beautiful glossy finish and is so much more than a classic red. It gets heads turning straight away, and I imagine VB wouldn't have it any other way.

Secondly, we have this white is called 'Bamboo White' and it. is. stunning. I thought this would be the more underwhelming colour but words cannot describe this colour. It is so pretty and not like your normal tipex bright white. It has an almost pinky/ivory/cream undertone and it looks so chic and beautiful on. My best friend actually wants this as her wedding colour so you know it has the impact!

At £25.00 each these polishes certainly don't come cheap. I certainly can't afford them going travelling in two weeks so I had to try them on in my lunch break at work and take pictures at home (trampy I know!!)  They do have high shine and a flawless coverage though, so you get what you pay for. If you want the Judo Red punch but can't quite splurge that much, I know 'Amsterdam' by Mavala is a very close match and is a lot more affordable £4.75. However that white is a little more special and I can't think of a match for that, maybe just treat yourself to such an angelic polish!

I am wearing the 'Judo Red' to show the similarity. Look at the shine!

Do you think £25.00 is an extortionate amount to spend on nail varnish or are these too good to miss?

Kylie Jenner Inspired Lips

There is no denying that the Kardashian/ Jenner clan are taking over the world at the moment. You will see at least one of them on our TVs, magazines, web pages, cat walks (porn sites. LOL. Don't forget where you came from, Kim).

 One particular sister is Kylie Jenner, the edgier family member who is taking over the beauty blogging and vlogging world at the moment, and that is due to her plump, puckered pout.

Whether they're real or not, Kylie Jenner's lips are something to be very enviable of, and people everywhere are trying to master her look. I too, am one of those fan girls who desperately wants to spend lots of time and money to get that ironically effortless looking lip. 

I have read so many different combinations on what lipstick she uses, and pretty much every site has said that she uses a mac colour of some sort. Which one however, varies from site to site, and I cannot find the exact one for the life of me. As I am not blessed with the families olive toned skin, I went for the pinkier combination I found on Pinterest which is 'Brave' and 'Soar' to match my cooler skin tone.

I wear this on a day to day basis now, and occasionally slightly overdraw the lip to get the extra pouty look. It's a really simple lipstick look, and lasts for most of the day. The lipstick is one of Mac's satin finish lipsticks so is really soft on the lips but needs an occasional top up unlike they're matte finishes which I find tend to last all day.

To finish the look, I just did the slightest bit of basic contouring with bronzer underneath my cheekbones and around my forehead, but I am no expert at that level of makeup so I'll leave that to the pros. A final slick of eyeliner and mascara, and you have the very simple but effective Kylie Jenner everyday makeup look. She usually puts some brown shades of eye shadow on her outer eye which is lovely for this time of year, but as I had nowhere special to go today I kept it simple.

Who would have thought just a lipstick can give you a quick lip fill? This look definitely makes my lips bigger and fuller, just don't go too far!

Alt J Nails

Today I am very excited because I get to see one of my favourite bands tonight. If you haven't heard of Alt J before, then they are quite a kooky band that are quite instrumental and sometimes verge on a bit haunting. Their music is the kind that gets played on car adverts a lot, and if you heard some songs you would probably recognise them. 

They're new album 'This is All Yours' sounds great from what I've heard on spotify, and I am excited to listen to the whole album through. The art work for this album is this:

It is quite a simple piece of art to replicate on a nail, as there is a lot of room for mistakes! I painted my nails white, and then with each colour I wiped away most of the excess paint so I had that thin brush mark look.

I also went back and splatted some bits of white over  a couple of nails like it does in the picture. Once I'd done that, I wrote Alt J with the little signature triangle, so it didn't look like I'd just dropped some nail varnish on my hand.

I realise painting my nails to match a bands artwork on the day I'm going to their gig is extreme fan girling and potentially a little psycho, buuuuuuut its good blog material, and it gives you an insight into my music tastes as well :) 

Here are just a few of my favourite Alt J tunes, new and old for you to enjoy. There new album is out now.