MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation.. a long overdue review!!

Hello lovelies i hope your all well! now this review has definitely been a long time coming, and i think iv'e definitely given it enough of a road testing ;)..before i ventured into my beloved studio sculpt foundation, i never apart from my studio fix had , had my grasps on a 'high end' product..

after endless bottles of foundation that would last not even a month or two, and getting fed up of never finding a shade that suited me (it was definitely the whole shade too light or too dark scenario) i caved in and entered the unknown world of foundation for me, and visited my local MAC to finally be matched for a shade that suited both my skin type and matched the shade of my face.

 after the MUA applied studio sculpt to my face, i knew this foundation had to be the one (im shade NW20 if anyone's interested paha)..the first morning i applied it i loved it, but this love was short lived as by the evening i began to notice a breakout in my skin and this carried on for the next week (which i now realise was the primer the MUA had suggested rather than the foundation) 

since that Topsy turfy week and after 7 months and two tubes later MAC studio sculpt has definitely had me in the palm of its hands. studio sculpt is described as having a gel based consistency, aswell as feeling creamy. the consistency is just right for my blemish prone skin covering all spots i like to hide without being too much of a high coverage that it looks to cakey, and a little definitely goes a long way, a small little splodge is enough, adding extra on those days i want EVERYTHING covered ha.

 in terms of longevity it will sit nicely on my face for a good 8ish hours without beginning to go patchy, but this is without primer and finishing powder, in which case it tends to last me all day.

Altogether i feel MAC studio sculpt is an overall brilliant foundation, i have both oily and dry combination skin, and it always seems to work well (it never feels like its sliding off or clinging to dry skin etc), it smells reasonably nice (this may sound silly but compared to studio fix which i personally think smells of paint it has a somewhat pleasant scent) in terms of longevity i think this lasts well, and the fact that the tube i currently have has lasted me 7 months (its coming to the end now) i think the £23 price tag is definitely worth it. Until another foundation comes along and charms me, Studio sculpt shall be my trusty foundation of choice.

have you tried mac studio sculpt? what did you think??

whats your go to foundation of choice?? 

Wishful Wednesday

Hello lovelies, hope your all well, and having a good week so far. It may be the varying weather, or the desperation for summer, but i still find myself lusting after all things pastel, preferably teal/light blues and anything pink, including pink of the fluorescent kind, which is a new faviourite for me. Im also loving all things with skulls on it (wow that sounds morbid) but the cutesy'ish type such as the bracelet above. Ive also been drawn in by all things new York related (this may be due to my booked holiday to the big apple coming very soon).  If only i had a lovely big bank balance, i would quite happily purchase the items above (you can dream Sophie, you can dream) 

So what items have you been lusting after lately??

Real Techniques Core Collection

 After getting my hands on the real techniques stippling brush post here, and addictively using it for the past week, i was desperate to get my hands on the real techniques core collection. The stippling brush has lived up to the hype and more, it makes my foundation look so natural and its left me really enjoying my foundation routine each morning. The real techniques core collection costs £21.99 which is bloody brilliant for four, high quality, ridiculously soft brushes. The core collection includes a detailer brush, pointed foundation brush, buffing brush and a contour brush, aswell as this, they come in a travel/ carry case, which also doubles as a stand for the brushes, its fair to say that you definitely get your moneys worth with this set. Im really into contouring at the moment, so im really looking forward to trying the contour brush, and im hoping the buffing brush will be great for applying my blusher. I hope these brushes also live up to the rave reviews the stippling brush had. 

So have you tried the Core Collection? or any of the real techniques brushes? if so what did you think?

Glossybox Harrods Edition..my two cents

I never took the leap and indulged in beauty boxes, instead i have always eagerly watched from the sidelines as others unveiled what their boxes had to offer each month. Although tempted, i never caved in. that was until i heard of the announcement on twitter of glossybox's contribution with Harrods. being the lover of all things Harrods along with beauty i finally gave in to temptation and excitedly awaited my box. in my honest opinion the items i received were so so, dont get me wrong theres nothing wrong with them their lovely but nothing really screams Harrods to me. A product i was looking forward to, like many others was the burberry lipstick but in the true hit and miss world of beauty boxes i unfortunately did not receive it. 


one product however that i was excited to see was the clarins Extra Firming Body Cream, however Harrods do not even stock this brand so i dont really understand the connection with the box. 
the bliss bloody orange and white pepper body butter smells absolutely delicious and i cant wait to try it.
 im intrigued to try the revive- intensite cream lustre with the hefty price tag of £200..i love my beauty products but in all honesty if its not life changing i would not pay such a price (okay so maybe this screams of Harrods slightly).
 i adore the cute Versace perfume bottle although im not much of a lover of perfume, but this has something to it that i really like, im rubbish at describing scents, but its a very fresh and crisp one. 
perhaps the biggest disappointment for me was the Lancome Juicy tube, im not the biggest fan of lipgloss, and the toffee smell is overly sickly (this is personal taste, as some may love the scent the size is an issue aswell as its something that would quite easily be bunged in a magazine as a freebie, i think this will probably take homage in a going out bag, one of the very seldom times i use lipgloss.


 Altogether i love the packaging and my products are lovely, but nothing screams wow to me. Although i like the products in my glossybox (fave has to be the perfume sample) being a uni student im not keen on the risk of a hit and miss box and would rather use the £12 to indulge in a single product i would use and love (that could get me another real techniques brush, booyah) i dont want this review to come across as overly negative but i just feel glossybox is not for me, or any other beauty box, ive never been much of a fan of surprises id rather know what to expect. i think i will be rather content going back to watching people delve into their boxes from the sideline.

Barbara Daly haul...

Hello lovelies, i hope your all well! I will be the first to admit that Barbara Daly is a makeup range that has never really caught my attention. For those unaware BD is a range exclusive to Tesco. Personally to me for what it is, the range has always seemed somewhat over priced, so ive blindly walked past the display time and time again. Recently in my local Tesco a bargain bin full to the brim of makeup caught my attention. whilst searching through the bin i realised it was a range of Barbara Daly makeup reduced to reasonable prices, alot of the things included lurid coloured eyeshadows which have a massive thumbs down from me but there were some hidden gems in the mix that i couldnt just leave, i mean £1.12 for a lipstick?? i would have been stupid to leave it there ;). 

i cant remember the prices of everything but the most a single item cost was about two pound, the beauts that i purchased were:

 Sheer glow natural blush 

long lash mascara in the shade brown

a lipstick in shade muse

eye shadow pen (shade unknown)

light and easy shimmering highlighter

a lip smoother 

shimmer gloss in Cuba 

i seriously swallow my tongue and preconceptions on the Barbara Daly range, i have been using the highlighter on my cheek and brow bones for the past few weeks, and i absolutely love it, each item i purchased has been a total hit, so from now on i will definitely be browsing the stand whilst *ahem* food shopping ;) haha

Have you tried anything from the Barbara Daly range??

Mac Lightfully collection...

source

when it comes to skincare, i swap and change like nobodies business, il pick something up on a whim and throw it aside for whatever new catches my attention, forever on the lookout for lotions and potions that will work wonders, something that definitely has caught my attention is MACs new lightfully collection. featuring three seaweeds from the worlds oceans this new collection claims to do wonders for your skin. the Collection itself includes lightful essence, lightful moisture cream, lightful softening lotion, and lightful cleanser. Personally ive never tried any of MACs skincare range, so whether this collection will live up to its rave reviews? only time will tell..this collection is said to already be released in america but the release date in Britain is unknown, anyone have any ideas? 

Will you be investing in something from this collection?? 

A lucky Girl..

Hello lovelies, i hope your all having a great start to the week!!..to say i never win anything is an understatement, i was always the child that never won pass the parcel, who always came last in sports day, im sure you can get the picture ;) ha, so when the gorgeous Catherine from catherinesloves contacted me and said i had won her blog giveaway a week or so ago, i was completely in shock. I definitely think there must have been a bit of luck on my side haha..I received a whole array of goodies, so expect some reviews soon, in my box of goodies i received two nail polishes in purple pleaser and party purple (this is such a gorgeous colour, my photos certainly dont give it the justice it deserves) an eyeliner pencil in plum passion, and a mirror covered in pink diamante's, all from elf..aswell as this (yes theres more) i received a rather lovely primark charm bracelet with some gorgeous charms, a Barry M nail polish in bright pink and a collection2000 creampuff in cotton candy (it smells so yummy). The point of this post really is to say a massive massive thank you to Catherine for such a lovely prize, and to check out her blog because its ace. 

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

I must admit although i love my foundation (if your wondering i use MAC studio sculpt in NW20) i am somewhat lazy in the process of applying it. Although i do own a foundation brush, my trusty old basic ELF one, i will guiltily admit that i often just use my fingers out of pure laziness. After seeing rave reviews across the blogosphere, and repurchasing my foundation i decided to stop being lazy, and took a trip to boots to purchase the real techniques stippling brush created by beauty blogger and makeup artist Samantha Chapman. From the minute i started watching YouTube vids and reading beauty blogs i will admit ive been desperate to get my mitts on a stippling brush, but with such a hefty price tag (no matter how much i would love to, i cant justify £30 for a brush), i just stuck to my foundation brush of choice. But after hearing the hype and spotting the price tag i seriously just couldnt resist. for £11.99 yes that's right £11.99, you receive a good quality brush with super soft bristles. I will admit the handle is quite bulky, but i feel it may be easier to use, plus its a rather lovely pink colour so i cannot complain ;).. i have not yet used this (im sadly excited about applying my makeup tomorrow just to try it out) so expect a further review at some point with my views. Although i must admit i have somewhat high hopes for this beauty as it has been suggested by many to leave an airbrushed effect    (definitely a PLUS in my eyes ha)

Have you tried any of the real technique brushes??..whats your go to foundation brush?? 

February in Instagram

 Sparkle tree / jewellery making / uni work / white choc and raspberry cookie dough (nom)

Tim& benji / Ryan Reynolds (total eye candy) / Mulberry 

 the putty cats / me and the boyf / malteser bunny

bacon&cheese potato skins / Starbucks latte /  miss selfridge bracelet / mulberry lusts

 giving into temptations / bath / jack wills charity bracelet / bath again 

Hello lovelies i hope your all well, i cant believe how quickly February has gone, its crazy, i have about a month and a bit left of uni (excluding Easter) and uni is done and dusted, pretty scary stuff tbh. I think the first three pics might have been taken the last days of January but hey ;)..my month has definitely been full of uni work, lots of food and sight seeing in bath, as i only have such a short time left there im trying to see and do all the things i haven't managed to since being in uni, its surprising how many touristy things you take for granted when you see and walk past them everyday. Ive definitely been loving all things pink and pastel, which has been bad for my bank balance, several bright lippies and pastel accessories have been purchased aswell as being spoilt for valentines (was that seriously this month? shocking). 

How did you spend your February?