New MakeUp Storage Solution

My ever growing makeup collection was becoming quite a mission to store in my room so this got me on on the hunt for a new makeup storing solution. After some online research, I got some fab ideas from other blogs, and this brought my attention to the Muji Acrylic Drawer boxes! So last weekend I ventured out to their Covent Garden store and purchased myself a new makeup storage solution: TADA!

What I ended up getting was:

♥ 2x Acrylic Boxes (2 drawers) wide

♥ 1x Acrylic Box (2 drawers) with flip, wide

♥ 1x Acrylic Box divider (large)

They are stackable and super solid. I love how they are clear so you can see exactly what's in each draw and it really tidies it all up, while making my makeup easily accessible. At the moment I haven't quite organised it properly yet because think I actually need some more draws to fit all my make up but for now my draws are organised as follows (from top to bottom): Draw 1 (with flip lid!): Concealer, Powder Foundation, Eyelash curler and Brow pencils, Draw 2; MAC Paint Pots, Eye primers and bronzers, Draw 3: MAC pigment sample pots and Barry M Dazzle Dusts (I used the divider in this draw-handy!), Draw 4; Mascara's, Eyeliners and pencils, Draw 5; Blushes and Draw 6: Loose eyeshadow pots. 

Think I will definitely be getting some more of these storage boxes to fit my lipsticks, glosses, more foundations and eye shadow palettes. Plus they sell these acrylic round pots which could be perfect to store my brush collection!! For worldwide stockist information on Muji products visit their website!  

Do you like my new storage solution? Also if you have any other great ideas - please let me know! :) xoxo

A pop of purple!

Hey my lovelies,

Yay it is Friday :) I hope you've all had a great week and have got some fun or relaxing plans for the upcoming weekend? See below my FOTD from last Sunday. That day, me and a friend,  went to see a play in the West End with Matthew Fox (you know the guy from Lost! and Party of Five). It was funny to be so 'up-close-and-personal' with an actual celebrity haha! Afterwards we stuffed ourself with unlimited dim sums at Ping Pong (Lazy Sumdays Deal)  - oh my.....how I looooove dumplings :) 

Anyway back to the FOTD,  I decided to go for a smokey taupe/grey lid with a pop of purple!

♥ Face:

MAC Studio Finish Concealer NC20

Vie One Step Face Base Foundation in Soft Beige (review to follow)

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

ChiChi Blush in Love Machine

♥ Eyes:

MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna (all over lid as base)

MAC Sweet Sienna Pigment (all over lid & outer lower lash line)

This pigment is by far one of my favorite pigments from MAC. The perfect shade for an everyday or night time smokey look. The color is a bit hard to describe; its like a grayish taupe color. Sweet Sienna is very similar to a MAC eyeshadow called Smoke & Diamond. Am a little gutted because I'm running low on this pigment and because it was limited edition it will be hard to repurchase :(

MAC Devil May Care Mineral Eyeshadow - Purple (inner lower lash line)

New CID Cosmetics - iOpen pencil (line underneath brows as highlight & blend with fingers)

Bourjois Effet Smokey Pencil in Ultra Black (waterline)

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (upper lash line)

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect 'Rotatif' Mascara

♥ Lips:

Guerlain Kiss Kiss, Maxi Shine Lipstick - 644 Nude Shine

Do you like this look? I thought it was fun to add that little bit of colour! :)

I also want to quickly talk about the Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Mascara I used in this FOTD. I received this mascara at a recent blogging event and have been trying it out since. Basically Bourjois' latest mascara (due to launch in the UK in May) comes with a spinning wand!! The idea behind the auto-rotating brush is that you can achieve a flawless false lash volume effect in just 30 seconds with the rotation function ensuring that every lash is captured, separated and coated evenly from root to tip. 

In the last few years some cosmetics brands launched a range of vibrating mascaras. However, I never really got on the bandwagon with that 'hype' because it felt like a gimmicky design without providing real results. However when I saw the great results of this rotating wand at the event, I was very eager to try it for myself! I found that by spinning in both a clockwise and anticlockwise direction, it does actually lifts the lashes and coats them from the very base to the tip evenly. It feels a little odd at first and does take a bit of practice but after a few times I got the hang of it and now find it easy to apply. You just need to put the wand at the base of the lashes and leave it there rotating for a few seconds before combing it through the length of the lashes. It really grabs the lashes from the root and gives a really good lift. The formula of this mascara is really nice too (contains natural waxes, vitamin E and jojoba oil complex), it's volumising, doesn't flake or smudge and it's easy to remove. 

So overall I have been quite impressed by this mascara. Not sure if I will be switching permanently to this rotating mascara, because love too many 'manual' ones too but it's definitely a fun gimic that delivers what it promises! It will be available from Boots, Superdrug, ASOS and Boots.com from May at £11.99 or €16.99. Do you think you will try this spinning mascara? :) xoxo

Happy Hump Day %

Good morning everyone!

Hope you all have a fantastic hump day!

Also thought I'd quickly share some photos of my wonderful girly holiday to Marrakech ♥ We had brilliant weather; average temperature of 19-23 degrees during the day, sunshine and no wind! (Ok at night you had to wear a jacket because would get a bit chilly!) We got some well deserved pool time, shopping, massages, drinks and I ate way to many too much delicious food! ;) Loved all the vibrant colours, especially around the Souks.

Actually I'm quite surprised because I didn't end up buying that much stuff...I only got one scarf (mix of pretty pinks, blues and purples - features in photo below) and two pairs of earrings. How self controlled was I??!!

My highlights of the trip were:

♥ Relaxing by the pool with my girlies, sipping cocktails, reading magazines & sometimes dozing off for the occasional snooze!
♥ Amazing (but a little bit painful) experience of a full body Hamman at the Bains De Marrakech; the best spa in the city! After the full body scrub, where I lost about four layers of skin, we did get the most relaxing one hour massage = heaven :)
♥ Visiting Le Jardin Majorelle . Jardin Majorelle is a botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech. It was designed by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in 1924, during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France. The garden has been open to the public since 1947. Since 1980 the garden has been owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden.
♥ The delicious Moroccan food - I pretty much had Lamb Tagine every night, I know that sounds unadventurous but each one tasted very different but sooooo good at the same time!
♥ The 'hassling' of the men; honestly you can see it as harassment and a pain in the bum but I found it quite a laugh most of the time (apart from the annoying 'guides') Basically it's a great boost for any girls confidence that's for sure hahahaha.

Thanks to my girls for a lovely relaxing and fun holiday! Definitely recommend going to Marrakech for anyone who hasn't been :) xoxo

Milan Fashion Week by MAC

Milan Fashion Week took place at the end of February, with many top designers showing off their Autumn/Winter 2011 Collections. MAC created a lot of the makeup looks for the runway. Here is a selection of my favourite looks and all the details on what MAC products were used and tips on how to recreate the look.

ALBERTA FERRETI - Milan Fashion Week,  Autumn/Winter 2011

Makeup artist Lucia Pieroni gave the models a “60′s, Twiggy, Goldie Hawn” look. 

Eyes
Pieroni shaded MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork on the crease and under the eye. She then applied MAC Pro Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/Nw20 in the waterline. She applied MAC Studio Finish Concealer on the eyelids for a softer version of the 60′s. MAC Eye Pencil inCoffee intensifies the lashline, while a generous and heavy coating of MAC Zoom Lash Mascara in Zoomblack on upper and lower lashes + MAC Lash 33 false lashes finishes this look.
Face
Pieroni didn’t apply foundation at all, the face was kept very minimal and natural. She spot concealed with MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer and sculpted the cheekbones with MAC Pro Sculpting Powder. For a natural matte finish, Pieroni set the face with MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder.
Lips
To tone down the natural lip color, Pieroni blended foundation into the lips, then topped it with MAC Lipstic in Snob.

EMILIO PUCCI - Milan Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2011

"She's still Pucci's sexy girl, but this season she's got more power and toughness to her," says Makeup Artist Lucia Pieroni on the makeup look, "it's a bit of a warrior-like green messy eye, so she's cool, not trying hard. It references Charlotte Rampling and Kate Moss -- not in the way they look, but more their sexy, raw attitude."

Eyes

Pieroni applied MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder on the waterline of lower lashes. She also blended MAC Eye Kohl in Tarnish and blended it out straight out. She made lashes feathery and fanned with MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara in Black, and groomed brows with MAC Clear Brow Set.

Face
MAC Studio Finish Concealer was applied over the skin only where needed for a natural finish. Butler blended MAC Cremeblend Blush in Ladyblush and Posey together across the cheeks for a flush. She highlighted the skin with MAC Cream Color Base in Luna and Pearl.

Lips
Pieroni hydrated and conditioned the lips with MAC Lip Conditioner SPF 15 and dabbed the tiniest amount of MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town on the inside of the lips to look more modern than retro-beige.

DSQUARED2 - Milan Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2011

“Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain. A sexy traveler. Cow Girl. Think True Grit,” says Makeup Artist Val Garland, “Sexy suntanned face, dusty goldy sahara colours with smoldery eye makeup.”

Eyes

Using MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Smoked Ruby (available autumn/winter 2011) as a thick liner, he applied through the upper and lower lashes. He then blended MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Golden Gaze through the crease upwards to the brow, merging with Smoked Ruby. He applied MAC Creme Liner in Pro Black through both upper and lower lashes to intensify, and applied MAC Eye Kohl in Fascinating through the waterline of the lower lashes to brighten. MAC Opulash Mascara in Black was applied generously through upper and lower lashes, and MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Pure Show was applied through the inner corner for a golden highlight.
Face
Garland applied MAC Face and Body Foundation sparingly over skin for a minimal finish, and blended MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Bark over the skin through the middle of the face for a sun-tanned, windblown effect. He blended MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl and Seaside together above the cheekbones to highlight.
Lips
Garland softly blended MAC Lipmix in Pro Brown to make a “rusty” hue over the lip.

MAXMARA - Milan Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2011
MAC created a monochromatic and minimalist look for the MaxMara Fall 2011 Runway during Milan Fall Fashion Week. Makeup artist Tom Pecheux got his inspiration from clothes: “Monochromatic and minimal. Fresh with an edge!”

Eyes
Makeup Artist Tom Pecheux blended MAC Eye Shadow in Omega and Moleskin (available autumn/winter 2011) through the socket with a MAC 217 Brush to emphasize the arch. He then lined the lower lashes with MAC Pro Longwear Eye Shadow (available autumn/winter 2011) in Keep Your Cool. MAC Zoom Lash Mascara in Lofty Brown was applied with a sheer application through bleached brows, and lashes were finished with multiple coats of MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara in Black Haute.
Face
Pecheux used MAC Studio Sculpt 15 Foundation and MAC Pro Invisible Powder to keep a matte look. He sculpted the cheekbone with MAC Pro Bone Beige Shaping Powder with aMAC 116 Brush in a straight sweep…there was a big emphasis on contouring. Pecheux applied MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Accentuate and a blend of MAC Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in Care Free + MAC Iridescent Powder in Silver Dusk on the cheekbones to highlight.
Lips
Pecheux patted MAC Lipstick in Pro Peach Stock onto the mouth, followed by MAC Lipstick in Lush Amber to finish.

What have been your favourite MakeUp looks from Milan Fashion Week? xoxo