My perfect base

I thought I'd show you the concoction of foundations I'm using at the moment to get my current perfect base. Mixing it up is working really well for me right now, even if it is a little bit of a palaver and a little painful for the purse!

I firstly apply MAC face and body really lightly all over my face. This is quite a sheer, low coverage foundation, almost like a tinted moisturiser (in fact, I've used some tinted moisturisers that have more coverage than this). I don't want to end up looking like I actually have face full of foundation  (even though I do), so this is a really good start just to even out my skin tone. 

Next I take the Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick and with my fingertips, dab a little over the centre of my face, and on any blemishes. Essentially I suppose I'm using this as a concealer, and for a little more coverage, in a discreet way! (I've reviewed the foundtion sticks here incase you're interested!)

Next I take the tiniest amount of Chanel Vitalumiere in a slightly darker shade than the others (like the shade I'd wear if I'd had a hot summery holiday), and apply this with a small foundation brush just around the edges of my face, my jaw-line and my forehead. This gives my foundation a little more depth to it. 

Finally, the famous YSL Touche Eclat. This I just pop underneath my eyes and across my cheekbones, for an illuminated  awake effect.I blogged about it in more depth over on a guest post on Kayleighs blog here, and also on my own blog  yesterday here just incase you missed it.

Have you ever used any of these foundations? 

Which foundations do you like to use to create your perfect base? 

I'm having a lazy blogging day today :) Some of you might be interested to know that my husband very kindly bought me a new camera (spoilt little lady, thank you!) So I'll be back on my Youtube channel very shortly, just have to get over my camera phobia all over again :s 

Photo diary #17 Okay Pal

Starting the weekend with a cake-pop treat | At the pub down by Borough Market | Eggy breakfast | Chanel pop-up shop

I've been an awfully bad blogger of late, haven't I? One of the main reasons I've been a little absent is because most of your lovely blogs have now been blocked on the network at work :( boo. So if you've noticed I'm not commenting on your blogs, that's why. I'm having a couple of weeks off soon, so I can't wait to catch up properly with everyones blogs and videos.

So anyway, back to the photo diary, what was I up to this weekend? Here’s an ever so quick round-up, I'm afraid I didn’t really take very good photos this weekend though...

If you're a Londoner you'll know that Saturday was gorgeous and sunny, so we headed over to Borough Market, and devoured delicious falafel wraps and smoothies, before 'accidently' ending up in the pub and doing a mini bar crawl to North London. Woops.
Oh, and not forgetting our random drunken visit to some kind of underground museum... I'd love to tell you the name of it, but it's totally slipped my mind (wonder why?! *hic*)

We ended up hitting Lucky Chip, a candle lit chicken restaurant above a pub in Kentish Town, that I would describe as 'posh KFC'. Unfortunately, I inhaled my food far too quickly to stop and take photos for you guys, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one, it’s insanely good.
The best part of Lucky Chip though, has got to be the beans. Oh, the beans *sighs*. They were the tastiest beans ever. If you ever go there, make sure you order a double portion!

On Sunday I had an ice-cream date with my best buddy Laura (yes, I am aware my whole weekend seemed to evolve around food). Nothing better than an ice-cream date, huh?!
I'll admit it did turn into a little window shopping date too. Surprisingly we were both very restrained, despite trying on a bazillion things in Zara (my weakness) and lusting over lipsticks in Chanel. Fun girls day out though!

So it was a relatively quiet weekend really.

What did you get up to at the weekend?

So ladies, NYE has rolled around again, I can't believe it! Is it just me or has this year gone crazily fast?!
So much has changed for me this year, & I have to say (without getting too sentimental & smooshy on you all) this year has definitely been the best of my life. I've never been so happy, & I'm already looking forward to everything 2013 has to bring.

Anyhooo, I thought I'd jump on the beauty blogger bandwagon today and do a little round up of  a couple of my favourite make-up bits from this year. I've used some really lovely products this year, so it was hard to pick, & these are just a handful...

1. Nars Illuminator in Copacabana- I got this beautiful highlighter for Christmas, & I know it's only been a few days but I absolutely love it and wish I'd come across it sooner. The perfect pink shimmery skin brightener, I've been wearing it every day since I got it. Full review here.

2. Nars Eyeshadow in Isolde-  Without a doubt the most pigmented eye-shadow I've ever used, their duos are simply gorgeous. I used this on a model for my make-up artist website, stunning. Full review here.

3. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation- I'm not sure if  I've actually ever reviewed this foundation, I know I've mensioned it in a couple of my Youtube videos before though. This is the foundation that I always go back to after branching out and trying others. I think it will always be my all time favourite, I get so many compliments on my skin when I wear this. It's leightweight but with flawless coverage, and smells nice too.

4. Topshop lipstick in infared- This is just so creamy, long lasting and stunning. What I love about this, is that it's perfect for any occasion, day or night. It doesn't dry my lips out like MAC and some other brands. Full review here.

Have you tried any of my favourites? What have your favourites been this year?
Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Give-away Winner and a little update...

'Get Well' Raspberry cupcakes from my buddy | Walking to the doctors in the rain | My current favourite nail polish collaboration

Hey guys,

time to tell you who one my Chanel Giveaway! 

I'm so sorry I didn't announce the winner yesterday, those of you who follow me on Twitter or Instagram (magsy24) will know I've been really poorly for the past week and a half, I could barely muster the strength to write a text message yesterday, much less a blog post. 

Anyhoo, the winner is the lovely Megs from Wonderful You (She has a gorgeous blog, go check it out)  Congratulations, I hope you love the prints as much as I do. 

Good news folks, I'm feeling a teeny bit better today, lets hope I'm on the mend now. I've actually managed to paint my nails (Milkshake & Ice Crush both from Topshop if you were wondering) and eat some soup. After not eating for a few days now, it honestly tasted like the best thing ever! 

My lovely friend Laura came to look after me yesterday, & amongst the box of goodies she brought me were these gorgeous Lolas Cupcakes, don't they look amazing? I can't actually eat them yet, but I thought you might appreciate that the glittery raspberry one matched my nail varnish, this made me happy. It's the little things, eh?!

Chanel Print Giveaway- NOW CLOSED

Hey there beautifuls!

Remember the other weekend when I went to The Little Black Jacket exhibition in Chelsea?
I told you I'd picked up 3 extra prints for a giveaway? Well, don't worry I haven't forgotten about you. 
If you're a blogger, you'll know that at this time of year, photographing products and indeed yourself becomes a massive issue due to the low evening lighting. Also, I kind of wanted to show you how awesome these prints look when they are framed.
Anyway, here are the prints on my kitchen wall, gorgeous aren't they? I loved them so much, I couldn't help thinking about you little lot when I was there, I thought you gals would love them too.

So if you want to win the set of 3 (unfortunetly the un-framed versions) here's what you should do:
- Be a follower of my blog on GFC (blogger)
- Leave a comment below with you name on GFC, an email address that I can contact you on, tell me which print is your favourite and where abouts in your house you plan to hang them.

I'm going to leave this giveaway open for a little longer than my last one. You'll have 3 weeks to enter this time, and then I'll pick a winner at random. Oh, it's open internationally too, I don't want to leave any of you lovelies out. Good luck everyone!

Youtube#5 What's in my handbag?

 

I finally got around to making another video for you guys, sorry it's been so long! Yes, it's the ever famous 'What's in my handbag' tag. I am always so late to jump on the bandwagon aren't I?! I did rant on for a while, sorry folks. Also, sorry about the hangover face and 3 day old hair. Yes, I am a skank. It's been one of those days wear the PJs haven't come off yet. Hence the last shot in my video, spotty PJ alert! Don't judge me.

What have you beautiful people been up to this weekend? 
On Saturday Stef and I had a private tennis coach for an hour. I felt kind of sorry for him because my  skills are laughable, so he had his hands full, but that means I can only get better, right? After tennis I had a lovely catch up with a few of my uni buddies, we went to Gordans' Wine Bar (the oldest wine bar in London) on the Embankment. It's like a little underground cave, definitely recommend it if you like that kind of thing.
On Saturday night, Stef and I went to our favourite local pub in Clapham, where we gorged on hotdogs, pizza and red wine. We stayed up until 2am geeking out over this snowboarding movie. It's pretty crazy stuff, most of the shots don't even look real to me. It's absolutely stunning though, and makes me so excited go go snowboarding in the new year. Do any of you snowboard or ski? 

Today all I've done is organise my wardrobe (yes, I like it to be in order) and film this video. I'm pretty nervous about my make-up artist course tomorrow, I'm just going to try and soak up as much as possible, wish me luck! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video. Have you done this tag? Leave your links below if you have :)

Chance...

I'll admit it, personally I hate reading perfume reviews, but I couldn't resist quickly sharing my favourite Winter smell. Chance by Chanel. This morning I decided to switch from my summer perfume, and spritz this beauty on. (Sorry about the photo quality, it's well loved, I've lost the lid and the bottle is scratched from being thrown in my handbag all the time. Atleast you can tell I really love it.)

It's funny isn't it how a smell can instantly remind you of a season? This makes me think of crisp Winter mornings, wrapping up in a big fur coat. Cosey nights in, with a glass of red, hot water bottle and a wooly blanket. The great thing about this perfume, is that you can literally spray in the morning, and it lasts all day. It's such a full, rich smell. I do think it's an aquired taste though, so make sure you test it out first if you're thinking of ordering it.

Today, the ladies and I decided to go for express steaks and a glass of red at lunchtime. I'm not gonna lie, returned to the desk a little tipsy. I ate far too much of this cake too, probably the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted. It has Dime Bars all crushed up on top and a layer of toffee in the middle. YUM. If only I could bake something this good!

Anyway, seeing as it's payday, I thought you might be interested in a little Chanel treat :) Do you change your perfume in the winter? What's your favourite Winter perfume? x



Youtube#3 How I do My Daily Make-up

Hello darlings. So far my day in the office has consisted of nail painting, sweet chilli sauce (I'm obsessed with it, I even had it with my egg sandwich) and reading a new book called The White Tiger. I have major, major pmt today. Don't you just hate being a girl sometimes? I literally feel so down that I could cry for no reason, which is absolute madness because logically, I know that I'm so happy with my life at the moment. Happier than I've been in a really, really long time. Eugh, I can't wait for the hormonal mood to sod off!

Anyway enough of me blabbing on, today I thought I'd share with you my latest youtube video. It's pretty long 'cos I'm showing you how I do my daily make-up routine every morning, but I hope you'll stick around and watch it anyway :)

My first You Tube video - A little beauty vlog

Hey everyone, so I filmed my first ever beauty vlog on Sunday, here it is!

I was super super nervous, which I know is ridiculous because there was no one even in the room with me, just me and the camera.

I find it so cringey to watch myself back too, do any of you vloggers ever feel that way?

Anyway, I would love to know what you think (please be nice!). If you have any tips for overcoming camera shy-ness, preferably not involving alcohol, please do let me know!

What's in my make-up bag?

Good afternoon poppets,
how are you all dealing with this monsoon June?!
I donned the hunter wellies on my way to the office this morning, and snuggled up at my desk with a hot water bottle and a cup of tea. Wouldn't it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn't drink tea??

I know I said I would be a little more diverse on my blog (I promise I will), but I'm really enjoying make-up again at the moment.
I'm thinking of doing a make-up artist course, even though they are ridiculously expensive. If anyone could recommend any around central London, that would be great!

Anyway, let's get down to it.
I love peeking into other peoples' make-up bags, who can resist a good nosey, eh?! So...this is the contents of my every-day make-up bag... 

I'll walk you through it...

Face

Clinique Dramatically different moisturizing lotion

No.7 Concealer- shade 03 fair (I always like to have my concealer in a lighter shade than my foundations)

Chanel Foundations-

My crazy love obsession with Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation is still going strong. We are coming up to our 3 year anniversary... or so.

Chanel Vitalumiere (shade 20 Beige), which I Mix with Vitalumiere Lumiere (shade 30 Cendre Shell) £35 for 30mls, depending on how tanned I am.

 Mac Finishing Mist

Topshop Foundation Brush

Cheeks

Mac Sheer tone Shimmer Blush- Trace Gold

Illamsqua Cream Blush- Sob (I've hit the pan on this one, it's lasted over a year and I still absolutely love it)

MAC 109 Contor Brush

Eyes

Mac Mascara- Studio Fix Boldblack Lash

Mac eyeliner- Smoulder

 Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil- Shade 001 dark brown.

Lips

Carmex Classic Lipbalm (I use this as as a base for lipsticks)

MAC Satin Lipstick- Myth

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick

Randoms
Make up bag- Muji

Boots Eyelash curlers

Tweezer- Octopus

Bobby pins

 Cath Kidston mirror

Phew! It does seem like a heck of a lot when I list it.
This is my every-day natural make up look (excuse the hair, rain = bad hair day)...

What do you carry around in your make-up bag? is it as much as me?!