Benefit Goodies......review

Ok it's been a while since the last blog post, the festive period is very time consuming but im back and I intend to put more effort into my blog this year.
As promised, Ill be doing a lot more product reviews and Id like to kick off the new year by reviewing some gorgeous testers I received  by Benefit. This one is actually quite long due to the amount I got sent and also lots of piccies to give you as much info as possible.
Ill do my best to give the products full names, colour/shade and RRP although I couldnt find the prices for all of them as they dont seem to be on the website :( I can only do my best.
As with any product range, some products I liked better than others and the opinions expressed here are just my own and the products may be different for someone else. I will be scoring the products out of 10 with 10 being the highest mark.

I received quite a lot and there may be more to review in the future. These are the products I received.

I started with clean dry skin and the product I applied first was Porefessional.  Price £23.50 which is sort of typical pricing for benefit. This product is a pore minimising primer and provides a translucent coverage.

 The smell isnt unpleasant, Ive got a thing about how products smell and this was passable. Texture wise its quite thick but very velvety and smooth and is one of the better primers Ive used. It definitely minimised the appearance of pores as you can see in the pictures below and I feel it generally evened out my skin tone and allowed for smooth application of foundation over the top ( I used MAC face and body foundation which Ill review separately at a later date).

I will definitely use it again. It only lost points because of the smell, like I said, not unpleasant but I would have liked a nicer smell. 9/10

I then applied Boi-ing industrial strength concealer in shade 01 which has a RRP of £16.50. It claims to camouflage dark circles, shadows and discolouration without creasing or fading.

Having worn this all day, its actually working very well, no creasing or fading but I dont have very dark circles or much discolouration so I cant say whether it truly is industrial strength but I do think it brightened up my eye area. The texture of this is smooth and creamy and a little goes a long way. I really didnt need to use much at all. I do think its a little over priced but it works for me and is one of the best concealers Ive used. I think ill try to make my tester last as long as possible as I cant see myself shelling out £16.50 for a concealer.

before

after

 For me its a great product but loses marks on the price. 9/10

I then applied the famous High Beam complexion enhancher with a RRP of £18.50. It's a liquid highlighter which claims to add a radiant glow. It is applied to my cheekbone and browbone and is actually fairly subtle.

I also get sent a tester of the lesser known Moon Beam which is a golden illuminator which adds a warm shimmer. I tried this one today and actually preferred its colour and texture. Same price. Here are the swatches straight from the pot.

Highbeam on the left, Moonbeam on the right.

 As you can see, 2 different colours, 2 different textures. Highbeam is a lot thicker and a lot more sparkly than Moonbeam which I found to be thinner and gave more of a warm glow to the skin which I preferred. Again, a little goes a long way. Overall, both products are great just to give the complexiona little lift and a bit of a glow. Still over priced in my opinion so unfortunately they both lose a mark. 9/10

One of my favourite products I got sent was Show Off! loose shimmer powder for eyes and face. I couldnt find a RRP but Ive been informed its around £12. Im not sure how many shades are available. I was sent Sunrise Blush and it looks like this in the pot.

Yeah ok, whats the fuss about? I hear you cry. Well this simple shimmer powder has a secret. When applied it looks like this.

dry on the left, wet on the right.

I applied the swatches dry and wet and theres hardly any difference. The powder has a pinky undertone and looks sooooooooooo lovely. I tried and failed to get a good picture of it on my eye. I applied it over black smudged eyeliner, it looked very pink but it doesnt show up well on my photos so it doesnt seem worth it. Sorry. Minimal fallout. Gorgeous colour. I will use this often. Very impressed. 10/10

Next I applied another well known product Bad Gal Lash mascara in Black with a retail price of £16.50. It is a black mascara boasting about how full and voluminous it will make your lashes.

Hmmm......sorry to disappoint ladies but I really wasnt impressed. For the price tag and the big claims I expected it to blow me away. The large comb felt awkward and it was so big I felt clumsy using it and almost made a mascara mess. I much prefer my cheap Natural Collection mascara at a fraction of the price.
Here are the disappointing results.

No Lash inserts used......unlike the lying adverts.

It gets a 4/10. Ive used a lot worse but I find my cheap one produces better results in terms of volume and length.

I then looked at my lips and thought URGH! what scabby lips, they need a good scrub. I needed to use some Dr. Feelgood lip buffing beads. No idea of the retail price, I think this may have been discontinued.

before

after

So this did a good job. But I didnt like it. It smells and tastes like soap and I think for something that is going on your lips and may possibly go into the mouth, it should at least taste nice. This was HORRIBLE! Granted it did do a good job but I much prefer my Lush sugar lip scrub......much better and much sweeter and you can lick it off when its done its job if you like. yum yum. I give Dr feelgood a 2/10. It did its job but it tasted yucky. no thanks.

After all that scrubbing my lips were dry so I definitely needed to follow up with Dr. Feelgood silky lip balm.

Dont know the price of this product, I think this has also been discontinued and its recommended for use after the lip buffing beads, but Ooh La La! it sure is silky. Lovely lip balm. Gorgeous, moisturised lips in seconds. From scabby to snoggable.

The only downside to this product again is the taste. This was nowhere near as bad as the scrub, but it didnt really taste of anything and since I lick my lips at a lot and end up eating most of the lipbalm, Id like it to at least taste nice. Apart from that, its a winning lip balm. I think this will probably be overpriced (if anyone knows the price please inform me) and there are so many other good lip balms on the market so this one scores 7/10 for me. love the texture but it tastes yack and its more than likely expensive and so not worth it. I am currently using this product and will continue to use it until it runs out but I wont be repurchasing.

Lipglosses are hit and miss. Some are sticky, some taste not so nice, some of them are so glossy they slide off your lips completely. Check out Her Glossiness.

The colour is My people, your people. Ill try to find out the price but as of yet I have no idea. Its a very sheer pink gloss with shimmer particles. I love the applicator, love the name, love the smell and the taste (only slightly flavoured). It goes on really well, I prefer a bit more colour to my lipgloss. Maybe Im just being fussy but I think for the price of the benefit items im allowed to be fussy.
Here is how it looks on.

The shimmer particles are very subtle, thank god because I hate too much shimmer. Its not sticky but it does feel slightly dry on my lips. Ive used a lot worse, but ive also found cheaper and better lipglosses. This isnt a bad product at all. I will definitely continue to use this product but again, due to the assumed high price tag which ive come to expect of benefit, I wont be repurchasing. 7/10

Im glad ive tried these products. Theres maybe only 1 or 2 I would consider repurchasing but I definitely think benefit cosmetics are overpriced (maybe its because I never have any money). I think there are products out there that are better quality for a cheaper price.

My top 3 products definitely have to be:
1. Moonbeam - by far my favourite product
2. Porefessional - a lovely smooth primer
3. Boi-ing - a lovely soft concealer that goes a long way

you might be able to see the slightly pinky shimmer powder on this one.

I hope youve enjoyed my review, remember these are just my opinions of the products.

Christmas party essentials

Hello Lovelies!

Im so sorry Ive neglected the blog for so long. Since my last blog Ive moved house and been getting everything ready for Christmas as well as working a lot plus I haven't had any blog worthy news.

Seeing as its now only 1 week til Christmas, I expect you'll all be glamming yourselves up ready for your Christmas parties. I'm going out with all my work ladies on Sunday night for a Christmas meal, complete with secret santa (which im super excited about as I know my person will love their gift).

I just thought I'd share with you what will be in my makeup bag for the night and what sort of look I will be creating. If there was ever a time of year to experiment with a glamourous, glitzy makeup look, Christmas is that time and I will definitely be experimenting a bit with some party looks.

My outfit will be smart black trousers, my essential 'wear with anything' nude heels (if you dont have a pair i definitely advise getting some) and a black lace top with a nude/gold spaghetti strap top underneath. Ill wear with my dark red 'dangerous affair' nail varnish on my nails and the essentail red lip for this season in a shade to closely match my nails.

Red lips are essential for this season, experiment with a few shades to find one which compliments your skin tone. Try a lip stain if you dont want the high maintenance of a lipstick. Red shades can range from a bright candy apply red to deep dark burgundy shades.

Another essential for this season is the smokey eye which is classicly created using greys and blacks but Ill be going for a gold and brown creation as Im hoping itll compliment the golden nude tones used in my outfit. Of course ill be adding a lovely flick of black liquid liner to finish the look and I may even experiment with some natural looking false lashes if I have time.

Since im going for quite a heavy look on the eyes and statement red lips I intend to keep the skin looking flawless (or as flawless as I can get during a breakout) with just a hint of blush to define the cheeks and I may even add a slight highlight to my cheekbones for extra definition.

Considering I wont be partying hard all night, I shouldnt need to pack too much in the way of makeup but I will definitely be taking my lipstick, eyelash glue if I decide to go with the lashes and a black kohl pencil just to smoke up those eyes a big extra if needed during the night. 

I may even post a few piccies......depending how bad I look and how drunk I get :s I dont usually make a habit of getting drunk but 'tis the season to be jolly.

Hopefully Ill get some lovely beauty gifts from Santa which Ill let you all know about Im sure but until then.....Merry Christmas everyone, enjoy creating your own glamourous party looks.

xx

Bridal Makeup - Jane

This is such a long post, sorry guys but Ive tried to fill this with info about products ive used and why Ive used them and pics of how it all turned out. I hope you find it useful.  Im sharing as Im learning and this one was definitely full of learning. It was the most natural makeup Ive done for anyone so far and also the first time I worked on a mature lady so.......lots of learning and experimenting with products.

 So a couple of months ago I did my second bridal makeup and I got some piccies back yesterday. The photographer was kind enough to e-mail me some digital images of me working on the bride and the mother of the bride. So heres me at work.....excuse my slightly scary concentration face. This is probably a good time to say that all photos are courtesy of Richard Cadge...thanks Richard for taking them :)

Jane (the bride) asked for my help because she wanted to look gorgeous for her wedding but never usually wore makeup and didnt really know how to apply it or what products to use. I find natural makeup to be the most challenging because it's all about enhancing the brides features whilst keeping it as light as possible so that it doesnt look obvious. Plus, since she wasnt used to the feel of makeup on her face, I didnt want it to feel heavy for her. It was very different from my first wedding job, this was a lot more natural and no bridesmaids to make up and overall a lot more relaxed.

Jane was a very nervous bride so I had to try out my calming down skills and I hope I did an ok job. I suggested turning on the radio which seemed to help slightly as it was so quiet.

So here is Jane looking gorgeous, I think youll all agree. Im really happy with the makeup, it did make a difference but barely looks like shes wearing any which was what I aimed for.

Because it was such a natural look I opted for Max Factor Second Skin Foundation in a colour mix which matched Janes skin perfectly. I concealed any blemishes and dark circles using a concealer palette I got off ebay and Im not sure I like it, Id prefer something slightly creamier and easier to blend. I actually used a slightly coloured powder rather than translucent as in the trial the translucent powder appeared very pale in the photos I took at the trial. I added some contouring to give the appearance of cheekbones and added a light blush to the apples of the cheeks. For the eyes I actually used 3 different colours in various neutral tones from my smashbox palettes. I lined the eyes with a brown kohl pencil which I smudged with a q-tip and used a brown mascara rather than black as I thought black would be too harsh for such a natural look. I defined the brows with a light brow powder ( I always define the brows, it completes the look). On the lips I used a lipliner which closely matched Janes lip colour and UNE tinted lipbalm in 1 shade darker than Janes natural lip colour. I actually LOVE the UNE tinted lipbalms for brides. They have such a lovely texture and just add a hint of colour to the lips and once applied have a nice glossy finish. They last fairly well but I always provide a touch up pot for the bride. So far I have had 2 brides who dont like wearing lipstick but have really liked the tinted lipbalm and I think it works well for such a natural look.

I also did makeup for Janes mother and I'd never done makeup for a mature lady before so this was quite a challenge but one Im glad I took on. The trial went terribly as I was completely unprepared, wasnt really sure what foundation would work best for her etc but it gave me a really good chance to assess the clients skin type and decide which products I needed to buy or experiment with before the big day. The trial also gave me the chance to see what ideas about colours she had and actually we ended up using a few of her own products such as lipstick and mascara as she preferred to keep these with her throughout the day (I dont provide touch up kits for anyone other than the bride so this was a good idea).

I specially bought a MAC eyeshadow in a smokey grey colour as the metallics we tried in the trial really werent working and I prefer to use matte shadows on eyelids with a lot of loose skin. During the trial the mother had a lot of redness in her face as older women sometimes do and during the trial I actually took so much redness out of her face she looked far too pale so it was a completely different approach I took on the day of the wedding. I mixed a bit of green concealer with a primer and used that on the reddest areas. This provided enough green to counteract the red without taking all of the colour out of her face and Ill definitely be using this technique again in the future as I felt it worked rather well. I concealed as much as I could but I didnt want to use too much concealer as it tends to sit in the creases. (sometimes less is more when concealing around the eye area and especially with mature skin sometimes there is only so much concealing you can do)

Janes mother was fairly clued up on makeup and had a range of products she liked to use but she was similar to Jane in the sense she didnt wear much usually.I also bought some MAC face and body foundation specially for this job and I was glad that I did. The colour worked really well and because this product sinks into the skin really well it didnt sit on the skin or gather in the wrinkles like some foundations do. It didnt provide as much coverage as I would have liked but it was enough. Again I used a slightly coloured powder rather than translucent and went for a bare brownish coloured blush rather than red/pink as the redness was what Id taken out of the face so I didnt want to put it back in. I feel that brown blush works better on older women as an alternative to red. I would put a "before" picture up but Im not that cruel so heres just the "after" picture of me just adding some shape to the lips.

I used a neutral ivory coloured eyeshadow all over the lid and contoured with the grey in the socket. I defined the brows although she wanted this to be barely noticeable. I also gave her some shape to her lips as they were very thin and applied her choice of lipstick. I was dreading this after how badly the trial went but Im really happy with the result.

I hope I havent just rambled on and that Ive actually made an enjoyable post even if you just looked at the pics, thanks for looking :)

Wicked Candles

As I blog my flat in smelling the best its ever smelled. A friend of mine recently set up a business making and selling candles. The business is called Wicked Candles and it just so happens that Im moving house next week and want it to smell Christmassy.
I'm a right fusspot though and wont buy anything unless I can smell it.

Today I received some samples in the form of small melting tarts which you can buy from Wicked Candles for just £1 (GBP). As soon as they popped through the letter box I couldnt wait to open them. I could smell something delicious inside the packaging and I wasnt disappointed. I received 9 and each one smells good enough to eat.

The 9 samples I received are:

Lazy Daze - A blend of freshly baked apples and cinammon.
Coffee Caramel Cream - Indulge in a wonderfully rich smelling candle
Witches Cauldron - Nothing wicked is brewing in our witches cauldron, just sugar cookies and bananas.
Amaretto - Indulge in this beautiful smelling candle, without the hangover in the morning.
Cinderella - A beautiful cinammon candle with the soft undertone of vanilla, this candle will warm your home without being overbearing.
Autumn Spice
Irish Cream - enjoy the smell of an irish cream coffee all year round with this beautiful candle.
Strawberry Cheesecake - Good enough to eat
Creamy Vanilla Fudge - This one was actually specially made for me on request so if you have any specific requests for your favourite scent just get in touch with Wicked Candles and Jeri will hopefully be able to get your special scent made for you.

All of them smell delicious, I just want to eat them.

Wicked Candles have a selection of scents for each season as well as specials and the candle of the month and Im particularly excited by the Christmas scents which include 'Santas Treats' which smells like cookies and 'Frosty the Snowman' which is a refreshing minty scent. If youre just gearing up for Autumn and Halloween Id definitely recommend the Witches Cauldron, although some of the other Autumn Scents sound great and the Candle of the month for November will be Toffee Apple.

This time of year Im very partial to Cinammon smells and they cater really well for that. I'll definitely be ordering Autumn Spice, Witches Cauldron and Lazy Daze. Strawberry Cheesecake and Cinderella will also be considered. The coffee collection for me was quite sweet smelling but perfect for coffee lovers. The Irish Cream smells exactly like Baileys and during Christmas my house will probably smell like that anyway without the help of a candle :p

It may also be worth noting that all of the candles are hand crafted using a blend of ecosoy wax for a longer burn time and theyre available in  tart form, small, medium, large and extra large jars and the coffee collection come in 7oz coffee glasses.

(OH MY GOD these samples are making me so hungry.) I cant wait to fill my new home with these candles :)

Get the look!

So Ive been getting a few people wanting to know what lipstick I used for the recent shoot with Charlotte Chapman so I thought Id share with you the products that I used to create that gorgeous red wine lip.

Red lipstick is an absolute must for this Autumn/Winter and I think this particular shade suited the models fair skin very well.

I cheated a bit with this look actually. I used 3 products to create this look as I wanted it to be darker around the edges and lighter close to the middle. The 3 products I used are:

Rimmel Soft Kohl Liner in 011 Sable Brown
Revlon Vital Radiance Lipstick in 40 Mulberry
Models Own Lipbalm in Blackberry

None of the products were expensive and are available in Boots and I actually found the lipstick in Savers. Sometimes I find some great bargains there. If you cant find this exact lipstick any lipstick in a wine red sort of colour or your desired shade of dark red would suffice.

If youd like to recreate the look just follow these simple steps:

1. Line the lips with the brown liner. I always draw in the cupids bow first (the pointy middle part of the upper lip) then I draw in the rest. The way you shape the cupids bow can make a huge difference to the overall look. I smudged the liner with a lip brush so it wasnt such a harsh line.

2. Apply the lipstick. I always use a lipbrush to get a better finish. You can already see the graduation in colour.

3. Apply a generous coat of Models Own lipbalm. You can mix this with the lipstick but I prefer to apply it after for a gorgeous gloss. This adds to the depth of colour. It also tastes and smells delicious. I love this lipbalm on its own for a subtle hint of colour without being sticky like a lipgloss.

I might experiment next time with just the gloss and not the lipstick or I may try one of the Models Own Lip and Cheek stains. I am absolutely loving the products from this company and I cant wait to try more.

Hope you enjoyed my step-by-step, those of you who wanted to know.

Im hoping to do some celebrity 'get the looks' so if there are any requests, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Photos from the shoot with Charlotte Chapman

 On Thursday I did a photoshoot in Birmingham with photographer Charlotte Chapman. I had a fantastic day, the model was gorgeous. It was my first location shoot and I hope I get to do more. Anyhow, I have a few of the edited shots back. Here are a few of my favourites so far:

You can view more here:
 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=519579&id=507405303&l=8df701a038

or here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottechapman/

I just get so excited to share them with you, being so new to the industry it's great to be able to share my work.

As always, any feedback would be appreciated, thanks lovelies :)

P.S next week Im hoping to review a few more products, Im just waiting for my spots to disappear :P Ive had a few requests already but if theres anything in particular youd like me to review, if I have it in my kit or can afford to buy it, Ill review it.

Photoshoot with Charlotte Chapman

Today I headed to Birmingham for a shoot in various locations around the city. It was my first location shoot and I had a great time despite the weather threatening to rain. The model was amazing as was the photographer.

Heres a few sneaky piccies from the shoot taken on my crappy camera.

We wanted to go for a sort of casual look with a less casual looking makeup. We did plan to turn this into a smokey eye but really liked how it looked so we kept it and i think it worked really well especially with the models t-shirt. We did a quick shopping trip to grab the jacket before we started the shoot and i think it finished the look off really well.

Even though it was pretty cold, I had an awesome time. The model Manda aka Cherry Vixon was so much fun, absolutely stunning and just fantastic to work with. Charlotte was just amazing, so talented. Ive admired her work and was so happy that I got to work with her. Im sure the results of all our work will be amazing.

Stay tuned to see Charlottes photos from todays shoot.You can view more of her work here : http://www.charlottechapmanphotography.co.uk/

She's so amazing that shes already sent me one of the retouched pics so heres a BONUS sneak peek.

Youre the first people to see it other than myself, the model and photographer so enjoy blog followers :)