BEAUTY: 'Diva' by M.A.C

Hello All, 

Another beauty post for you this evening. I recently emptied the 6th and final M.A.C product, meaning I could finally go 'Back2MAC'!

For those of you who do not know, once you use 6 M.A.C items (full size products,check the website for more details as to what is accepted), you can bring them back to a M.A.C store or counter in exchange for a lipstick from their permanent range. They then recycle the empties, & you get a brand new lipstick, therefore everyone wins! I took back:

-Studio Fix Fluid

-Eye Makeup Remover

-Mineralize foundation

-Lip Liner wind up crayon

-Eye Brow wind up crayon

-Tinted Moisturizer Tube

Now, I have quite a long M.A.C wishlist, which includes several lipsticks. However, as it is autumn & I love my red pout, I chose 'Diva' for my first 'Back2MAC' experience. 

 Left: no flash | Right: with flash

On the M.A.C website, 'Diva' is described as an 'intense reddish-burgundy' & I think this does it justice. As most of my other lipsticks, this is a matte finish. It's a perfect burgandy shade, which for me means it leans more toward red, than purple.In the below swatches, it looks much brighter than when put on the lips in my opinion. Please excuse my incredibly boney fingers & odd bent ring finger.

Left: no flash | Right: with flash

 The formula is creamy for a matte finish & doesn't cling to the dry cracks that plague my lips! Despite it's texture the finish is as matte as the other M.A.C matte lipsticks, with no shine at all. I found that it faded to a nice berry shade stain, therefore it still looks nice.

 No editing (apart from red eye removal!)

 A bit of instagram magic!

The main thing I love about this lipstick, is that it matches my current hair shade almost identically! It is such a lovely shade that I can tell will rival 'Russian Red' as my favourite M.A.C lipstick (which I shall be reviewing here soon!)

I was contemplating a nude lipstick, however considering I wear some shade of red lipstick everyday seeing myself without it looks strange now! Maybe it's my signature look?

 

BEAUTY: 'I Saw Red' Bleach London Super Cool Colours

Hello All,

As I featured in my Birthday Highlights post, which you can read here, my lovely friend Courtney bought me Bleach London Super Cool Colour in 'I Saw Red'. Being a red head, I constantly battle with maintaining the right shade of red & covering the ginger tinges that show through after only a few washes (in very cold water may I add!)

So this present was absolutely perfect (thanks Courtney!). I had previously used Schwarzkopf 'Red Passion' dye, which to be honest I was quite disappointed with. It wasn't red enough for me. I have never bleached my hair, luckily my hair takes red very well, probably due to my natural red hue. I had heard that the Bleach Super Cool Colours only work on bleached/ prelightened hair, but I've been using crazy colour & directions semi-perminents for a while now & they've always seemed to give me the refresh I wanted between permanent dyes.

This is the colour my hair had faded to just before using 'I Saw Red'

 Please ignore the bare face, I was about to wash / dye my hair the shower!

As you can see, although it was still red, there were several shades, & it was very ginger towards the ends!

Application

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of my application progress. But, Zoe, from The London Lipgloss has a fantastic video to show you how to dye your hair at home, which you can view here  Although she is using blue, it's the same application progress, of roots then lengths. 

The texture of 'I Saw Red' was different to that of Crazy Colour or Directions. I thought it was much thicker, which at first I didn't like, however by the end I found it was helpful to feel if I'd missed any spots! It looks like a very small bottle (It's 150ML), however it covered my entire hair, which is both long & very thick!

My friend, Katherine, also put a purple toner in her hair whilst I did the red!

As you can see, it's a very vibrant red, & I managed to not get any on my forehead!

Results

At first, in the light in my room & after a rough dye, I was quite disappointed. It seemed nothing much had changed. However, once I went into natural light, & my hair was fully dry, I could definitely notice more vibrancy to my red locks.

Left: no flash | Right: flash

I really love the rich red that my hair went. In natural or artificial light, with flash & without, I'm still undoubtedly a red head, which I lacked before. Previously, I only looked very red headed with a flash or in daylight. Now, I'm scarlet and proud!

I would definitely use 'I Saw Red' by Bleach London again, as the process wasn't messy & the results were great. You can buy various shades of the Bleach Super Cool Colours online & in store at Boots, & they only cost £5.

Thank you again Courtney:)

Halloween Series #4: Halloween Nails - Terrifying Talons

Hello All,

Having been in Bristol this weekend to visit my best friend, I didn't have a chance to write & schedule any posts!

As it gets closer to Halloween, my excitement it only growing! With 3 Halloween party / events to go to this year, & hope to wear a different costume to each.

My last Halloween Series Post, which you can read here, was fashion based, so this time I thought I would do a beauty focus Halloween post. Being fairly new to Pinterest (missjadebd) I found myself, borderline obsessively, looking at Halloween nail art. Here are some of my absolute favourites from Pinterest.

Now, although some of them look really difficult to achieve, there are so many great nail art tools & accessories out now & very affordable too! I've put together a few tools & items that I think are great for a Halloween nail art kit!

I can't wait to get my hands on the Topshop Nail Art Brush Kit, for only £10 it has 6 different tools, from a dotting tool to several alternative nibs of varying thickness & shape. I'm sure with this kit, any nail art is achievable, even for those lacking in creativity or steadiness!
I also really like the BarryM nail art pens, perfect for accurate & small details, like stripes or dot patterns. I can imagine the white pen would help create a spider web on the nails amazingly!
I've already raved about the Nails Inc. leather and skull effect kit here, & while I would wear it all year round, it's also a great was to incorporate Halloween onto your nails if you aren't a skull fan like myself.
A corrector pen is also essential. This means you can be as messy as you want, but still have fabulously frightening nails at the end!

In terms of essential Halloween nail colours, I think dark colours are obvious, especially deep purples, greens & navy. Of course black, white & red are great. Glitter top coats can add gothic glamour. Lime greens or florescent orange are options too for slimey look or pumpkin nails respectively!
One collection that really caught my eye was the Illamasqua UV nail polish collection. If you're planning to celebrate Halloween in a club, then these are perfect! With 3 great shades & a top coat, all full sized, this set is a really good price.

Tonight I'm going to be trying out some of these, so I will show my results on here!

I hope you're still enjoying my Halloween Series, & I'd love to hear anything you'd like me to cover!
 Also, what're you doing to celebrate Halloween?

Halloween Series #3: High Street Halloween Must-Haves!

Hello All.

Another day closer to Halloween festivities!

I honestly have been so enthusiastic about these posts, I wish it was Halloween permanently as I'd definitely begun feeling less inclined or excited to blog lately. However, starting my Halloween series has really awoken my love of blogging!

Although AW13 trends are largely focused on vampy looks (dark lipsticks, leather, lace, velvet etc a.k.a my style exactly), I've noticed that a lot of high street shops have dedicated sections, both online & in-store, to Halloween inspired pieces. Now some of this is just to re-promote the Autumn / Winter items, such as the aforementioned leather, velvet & lace. But most have specially themed Halloween items featuring 'typical' scary motifs, like bats, black cats or ghosts. 

I've rounded up my 'High Street Halloween Must-Haves' from Topshop, New Look, ASOS & Miss Guided. All have a mix of vampy style pieces, spooky beauty bits & seriously cool jewelry!

 ASOS - 'HELLS YEAH HALLOWEEN' 

 MissGuided - Creep It Real

 New Look - Halloween

Topshop - Ghoul Girls

The first thing I love about these Halloween collections are their names! Ghoul Girls & Creep It Real  are brilliant names for the Halloween collections. The second thing I love, of course, is the beauty products on offer. This time last year, I was working with a big make up brand / company, & was exposed to some amazing makeup artistry especially around Halloween. I've been watching an unhealthy amount of YouTube tutorials so hope to look amazing this Halloween. But I am loving the creepy make up on offer this year. From intricate spooky scenes created on eyelashes to creepy nail transfers, you can literally take your Halloween look from face to, erm foot?

Although I really like everything in my Must Have list, a few pieces really stand out.

My ASOS highlights are the Wednesday Adams inspired monochrome dress & the 'Trick or Treat' top that definitely evokes the much loved 'Celine' tees. Highly commended are the tights with glow in the dark knee skulls!

From Miss Guided I really the skeleton-hands-on-the-boobs crop top, cheeky yet creepy & the skeleton body is great too.

New Look for me triumphed with Halloween accessories for me. J'adore the Halloween cupcake kit (how cute?!) Plus the nail transfers and eyeliner stick ons are fun too!

From Topshop I love the stick on eyeliner, which I would pair with matte black lips and deathly pale skin (so my natural skin shade really...), & also the bat print. I included the asymmetric skirt, but this print is repeated through the collection on jeans, leggings etc. 

It seems this year Halloween is so much more exciting for me, which is saying something as I've always been excited for Halloween. I'm not sure what's different, but I am so excited this year

Fashion Week Essentials #1: Beauty Bits

Hello all

As you probably know, today kicks off the start of Fashion Week SS14. As usual, New York hosts the first week of new season fashion offerings, particularly for sportswear, London follows for edgy, avant-garde design; then Milan for its over-the-top yet stylish looks; & finally Paris for haute couture. Although each city brings a different climate, culture & catwalk, I thought I would put together a series of 'Fashion Week Essentials'; items that you should carry with you regardless of season or city.

As I'm a bit of a beauty obsessive, I decided to kick off with some beauty bits that I think you need over fashion week, all small & light enough to carry with you should you be lucky enough to attend the shows, or if you go along to do a spot of style or celebrity spotting!

Top Row (l-r): MAC Fix+ Travel Sized | Superdrug Antibacterial Hand Gel Travel Sized | Nivea Roll On Deodrant Travel Size | Kleenex Pocket Tissues

Middle Row (l-r): Kirby Grips | Seamless Hair Bands | Compact Mirror and Brush | Batiste Dry Shampoo Travel Sized

Bottom Row (l-r): Collection Sheer Loose Powder | Cosmopolitan Retractable Powder Brush | Carmex Cherry Lip Balm | Topshop Lip Bullet in 'Rockabilly'

Because September fashion week follows straight on from  the summer break, travel sizes are still available, which are the perfect size & weight to pop into your bag.

M.A.C Fix+ is a great makeup fixer, but also a quick spritz will refresh your face. Traveling from venue to venue, often on public transport will expose you to germs aplenty, so I would always pack some antibacterial hand gel, again in a travel size, & on hot subways / underground, deodorant is a must! Roll on is, supposedly, much better for you than spray, so I chose that. Tissues are handy too.

Hair must haves include clips & hair bands (make sure you opt for bands without a metal join as these damage your hair) to transform & tame your tresses. This Denman compact hair brush & mirror is small but useful. Finally, travel size dry shampoo is great to refresh your hair & give you some volume.

Choosing only a couple of makeup bits were hard, but I managed to whittle it down to only the pieces you will actually use. It's all well & good bringing eyeshadow palettes & full makeup bags with you every day, but when I thought about what I actually ever use when I'm out & about, these were the most obvious. Even though it'll be September or February, running from show to show & sitting close together in the catwalks will no doubt make you a little shiny! Collections loose powder is lightweight but will take away the shine. Use with this retractable powder brush, that's compact & clean. As both September & February fashion weeks occur in Autumn or Winter, looking after chapped lips is essential; I love Carmex lip balm & find tubes or stick lip products a lot more hygienic than pots, like Vaseline. Finally, having a red lip crayon in your bag means you can instantly add some glamour to your look, or take you from daytime shows to late night after show parties. Topshop lip crayons aren't too drying & are hugely pigmented.

Next time I'll be putting together some fashion essentials, followed by tech essentials! 

Is anyone attending any shows this Fashion Week?

 

J'adore...Barry M Autumn/Winter Launches!

Hello all

I'm in the midst of a very busy week, including 3 interviews (!) Having applied to lots over the summer & hearing nothing, I had pretty much accepted that I hadn't succeeded. Yet this past week I've scheduled in three! Fingers crossed!

This 'J'adore...' post is about the new launches Barry M have later this month. Barry M are one of my favourite drugstore brands, in terms of cost & quality. I have lots of their products already, however when I received an emailing outlining the new products they are offering for AW'13, I couldn't wait to share it with you!

First of all their new nail polishes. Most of my nail polishes are from Barry M. This isn't an exaggeration. I would say over half of all my polishes are Barry M, from regular to the effects, I have a range of them. What I love about them is their colour range, which is extensive, but also their range of textures & finishes. Their first new launch is a collection of matte finish polishes. I love matte nails, & they were seen all over the catwalk for AW. In 5 winter appropriate shades, I am so excited to try these out! I already have a matte top coat, however it can be hard to ensure the entire nail is covered,which can result in shiny patches. Having a matte finish nail polish solves this! My favourite shades are Espresso, Crush & Vanilla.

Shades(left to right): ‘Espresso’ (Black MNP1), ‘Vanilla’ (Pink Nude MNP4), ‘Mocha’ (Medium Brown MNP5), ‘Caramel’ (Light Brown MNP3),‘Crush’ (Burgundy Red MNP2)   

Price: £3.99 each

 

The next product I'm excited for are the eye & cheek palettes. I recently reviewed the B. Smokey Eye Palette, which you can read here. However, I believe you can never have enough palettes! They are great if you travel a lot & you can create such a range of looks without carting your entire makeup collection with you. There are three palettes being launches later this month, 'Glamour Puss', 'Smokin Hot' & 'Natural Glow', however I will be focusing on the latter two. 

Natural Glow Eye & Cheek Palette

£6.49

With a range of natural, & from what I can see, matte shadows this is a lovely little eye shadow collection, paired with a light pink blush. I'm excited to try this out!

 Smokin Hot Eye & Cheek Palette

£6.49

Although I recently reviewed another smokey eye palette, it's a look that I really like so trying out new ones is always of interest to me. These 6 shades are a mix of matte and shimmer. I especially like the look of the third shade. The peachy blush may be too strong for me but I will have a try.

 

Both palettes come with a large mirror & 2 double ended eyeshadow applicators. This, along with 6 shadows & 1 blush, is really good for only £6.49!

 

These are my favourite picks of the launch, which will also include a new mascara & foundation line. These will hit Superdrug stores from September 25th & Boots stores from October 2nd! 

 

Are there any AW13 beauty launches you're excited about?

 

  

 

September is the January of Fashion

Hello all

Those of you who have seen R.J. Cutler’s fly on the wall documentary “The September Issue”, a film which shows the making of the biggest issue of Vogue ever, may recgonise the title of this post. Candy Pratts Price, Fashion Editor of American Vogue, said in the film; “September is the January in Fashion”. This, along with the title of the film, demonstrates just how important September is to the fashion industry. As Fashion Week takes place in September, often people see it has a 'new begninning'.

However, it's not just in the fashion industry that people view September as a kind of 'new year'. Schools begin their new year in Septmeber & in a previous job of mine, I found out that sales often increase in Septmeber & it's the perfect time to launch a product as people are looking to start afresh or try new things.

I am defnintely viewing September as my new begninng. I have some exciting projects coming up, that I'm sure I will reveal on here once everything is confirmed, & I'm trying to have a fresh start. For me, September is a good time to begin. My birthday is in October so that means I have a month trial and settle into my changes before I become another age, the weather is still fairly nice & the beginning of Autumn, my favourite season & finally, this year I have gone through a lot of bad stuff & I finally just want to move on & start again. So instead of waiting for January, & influenced by watching 'The September Issue' whilst reading September Vogue, I decided that I would really try this month.

So I thought I would share with you some of my new year projects & plans!

1. Second season of working on LFW! I have the oppourtunity to work on London Fashion Week later this month & I am so excited. Having one season already under my belt, I feel a lot more confident about this season & promise to document it much better than I previously did. It will be at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, so I'm excited to see some up & coming desingers, but also hope to have a quick stop at Somerset House too.

2. I have an internship with a fabulous magazine upcoming that is such an amazing opportunity & will hopefully help me land a perminent position eventually.

3. I'm setting up a YouTube channel! After debuting on Millie's, of She Hearts The High Street, channel in August, I've been getting together some filming equipment & organising a nice backdrop so I aim to have my first solo video this Saturday coming!

4. I have an idea for a weekly or bi-weekly feature that I can't wait to start. It will involve quite a bit of research & will combine a few of my different interests. It is something I am really enthusiastic about & I am finally going to commit to. Also, another plan is to post far more regularly.

I do have some other excitment in the pipline but as I said previously, I want more confirmation & certainty beore I let you all know!

B. Smokey Eye Palette - Review & Swatch

Hello all

Recently my beautiful friend Lara treated me to this B. Smokey Eye Palette from Superdrug, available here. I have been on the look out for a really good grey smokey eye palette for a while, reading lots of reviews to see which would be best for me.

Unlike most beauty bloggers, I do not own the Naked or Naked 2 palettes. Shock horror! The reason for this is that I am not really a fan of brown based smokey eyes, or metallic/shimmery eyeshadows, both of which are present in the Naked palettes. I am aware that Naked Basics are all matte shades, however they too are brown based. 

I was toying with the Bourjois smokey eye palette, available here, as it is incredibly similar to the Chanel 'Les 4 Ombres' Smokey Eye palette due to the fact that Chanel & Bourjois are made in the same factory. 

However, I sent Shelley of 'The Shelley Diaries' this smokey eye palette from B. in Superdrug & thought it was really good. Having two matte shades & two shimmery shades, & at a really reasonable price, I thought it ticked all my boxes. Added to this, all B. products are not tested on animals.

 

 

 Swatches under flash

Swatches without flash

I was really pleased with the swatches. The shades are pigmented enough, with build-ability to create a softer or more dramatic look. I am impressed with the matte white as it even shows up on my pale skin! The silver shadow has just about the amount of shimmer I can handle, & is very pigmented. There is only a subtle difference between the darker shades, but it is noticeable. All in all, this palette is the perfect mix of four shades to create a grey toned smokey eye, as I did in the pictures below!

 

 

 All products used: MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara | B. Smokey Eye Palette | Seventeen High Drama Liquid Eyeliner

I created quite a soft smokey eye with this palette and the shades really blended well together. I used the matte white all over the lid, matte grey on the outer two thirds of the eye & dark grey shimmer shadow on the outer corner & slightly through the crease. I really loved this palette & will definitely be using it for more dramatic smokey eyes in the future!

I also hope to try more B. products, especially the Micellar Water. I'd also like to thank Lara for kindly buying this for me :)

Tales Of A Pale Face Beauty Swap with The Shelley Diaries!

Hello all!

How gorgeous is the weather?! I hope you're all enjoying it sensibly by frequenting a beer garden slathered in a high SPF!

Last month, Kat from Tales Of A Pale Face contacted me to tell me who I have been paired up with for her Beauty Swap. This is how I met the lovely Shelley, of The Shelley Diaries. After getting to know each other via a bit of blog stalking and emailing, we discovered we had quite a bit in common- from music to makeup, so this swap was even more exciting! With Dita Von Teese featuring as both of our beauty icon's, we both set out to create the perfect beauty swap products, with an agreed budget of £20.

On Wednesday, I awoke to an exciting package; my beauty box from Shelley!

 

 

 

The box was so 'me'- monochrome! It very much reminded me of the Thomas Sabo jewellery packaging and I will definitely be putting it to use for storage and room decoration!

Inside was just as beautiful. Each item was wrapped with pink lace patterned tissue paper, with some pale pink role petals too. Amongst this was a lovely note from Shelley.

So I'm sure you all want to see the beautiful goodies Shelley picked for me....

Shelley obviously did her research as everything was utterly perfect! I had recently resolved to take better care of my hands, as apparently they show someones true age, and Shelley must have known this as she gave me a tube of Soap&Glory Hand Food, which hasn't left my handbag since and I use every time I wash my hands!

Next were two nail polishes. I had already mentioned to Shelley that I usually play it safe with my nails- you may have read my '5 Nail Shades Everyone Should Own' post and these are generally the shades I stick to- so Shelley chose a great deep red black by Maybelline and a black and silver glittered polish my Revlon- both colours I would definitely wear!

Sticking with Revlon- a brand I haven't used but have heard great things about, things that I can now agree and comment on having used these products- Shelley also sent me a rich deep red/currant lipstick that is so pigmented and looks great- stay tuned for swatches and possibly a FOTD with it!

On to the eyes! Shelley sent me 2 products that I believe are the only products you need. First off, liquid eyeliner. This Seventeen one has the type of nib that I always favour, a strong and short one. I really can't use thin, flexible nibs, so this one will ensure that I can get perfect winged eyeliner every time- thanks Shelley! Then to finish off, this Smokey Eyes palette by Collection is great to create different smokey eye looks. With ranges of blacks, greys, pinks and browns, you can create the perfect smokey eye from subtle brown toned for day time, to strong looks with the greys and blacks. It also has a range of slight shimmer and matte shades which is great for diversity!

Every single item is perfect and fit perfectly in not only my makeup collection as a whole, but also my everyday makeup bag too. Thank you so much Shelley!

You can see what I got Shelley here. Definitely have a look at her blog, with a song to accompany every post, and a range of beauty and fashion features (including my new favourite 'Shoesday') there is always something to read!

I would also like to thank Kat for pairing us, it was a truly great match!

June Favourites!

Hello all,

I cannot believe that it is July already! At the beginning of every month, I love reading other bloggers monthly favourites posts or YouTubevideos. For a while I had always wanted to do these, but I had been very frugal previously this year. However, Superdrug and my job means that I have discovered many products in June that I feel are worthy of being favourites.

  Clockwise l-r: Sleep-In Rollers (part of a goody bag curtsey of Fake Bake) | Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Shade 111 'Kiss of Life | Raspberry & Macadamia Nut Shampoo and Conditioner - Superdrug | Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe

First off, these sleep in rollers are my new obsession. After washing and blowdrying my hair, I put these babies in, continue my evening and nights sleep, and wake up to volumised, glamorous curls. Having them in makes me feel really retro when I have them in, like a glamorous fifties house wife! Honestly, I find them easy to sleep in. A friend of mine said that they were incredibly uncomfortable, but everytime I have used them, I have been perfectly rested. I definitely recommend these!

In the month of June we had #RedLippyProject & National Kissing Day, so I was exposed to many lip products. This Rimmel Kate Moss matte lipstick was a definite winner, I love the matte finish and the rich red is perfect. It's super cheap but good quality too.

I've never stuck to only one brand of shampoo & conditioner. I always go for ones with 'colour protect' features, but I often change what brand I use. I've tried high end (and high priced) brands like Percy&Reed and Tigi 'S Factor', and also drugstore brands like Aussie, and honestly they all seem to do the same thing! So when I saw that these Raspberry & Macadamia Nut duo for only £1.50 (that's only 75p each!) I couldn't resist. They smell delicious and it seems to be working fine. It leaves my hair soften enough for extremely dyed hair! It's still on offer, so I think I may repurchase these!

Finally, I had wanted to try these Maybelline 'Color Tattoo' shadows for a while. The shade Permanent Taupe is a perfect base colour that lasts all day and is, as far as I know, the only matte shade in the collection. I have swatched some other colours are they are really shimmer/glittery which isn't really my thing. however 'Pink Gold' and 'Pomegranate' are gorgeous and I am very tempted! The colour I have is extremely pigmented and I've been using it as a base or as a wash of colour all month.

I'm really trying to blog more, especially beauty posts, so I hope you are enjoying them!