Review - MAC Eyeshadow - Brule

In contrast from my disappointing MAC lipstick review (if you haven't read it click here), I have an extremely positive post today on a MAC eyeshadow. I won this along with the lipstick and thought they each deserved their own separate posts seeing as I had such different opinions on each product. After hearing only positive things about MAC eyeshadows, I was excited to try one out and was certainly not disappointed...

After I won the competition the wonderful Emma (who has a fab blog that you can check out here) gave me the choice to choose what eyeshadow shade I wanted. Seeing as I don't really own any really neutral skin tone eyeshadows I thought I would go for Brule. I also chose such a neutral shade because I had heard nothing but great things about these eyeshadows I wanted to be able to use it on a daily basis as my base eyeshadow.

The first thing I noticed about this eyeshadow is how perfectly it is pressed into the pan, with an almost waffle like texture that I didn't ever want to ruin. After admiring it for an hour or so (and getting some pictures) I swiped my finger over the pan and was pleasantly surprised when there was not a speck of fall out. The texture of the shadow being silky and well pigmented.

I have no foundation on in this picture

For me this shade almost matches my foundation, which although you may think is pointless, I absolutely love! I can dab this on my eyes after applying foundation and it really brightens them and another plus is there is zero fallout even when applying. It is also fantastic for using as a base before applying other shadows and it blends like a dream.

The only downfall with this shadow is the packaging, for a high end product it could certainly be more sturdy and attractive. Like the lipstick, it doesn't have that satisfying click when shut and for me that's a must.

Overall, I love this eyeshadow and will get loads of use out of it due to the neutral and workable shade. I love the texture and it applies like a dream. The pigmentation is fab but my staple eyeshadows (the body shop colour crush range) do certainly rival this and for half of the price they are a better deal to me. Will I purchase more MAC shadows... No, probably not, but will I use Brule until I hit the bottom of the pan... Of course!

My First Ever Mac Product

Until a couple of weeks back, that's right, I was a Beauty Blogger who had never tried MAC. To be honest MAC never really appealed to me, mainly because of the price but also because I have just never really felt the need to branch out to high end brands. I would still be a MAC virgin if it wasn't for me being lucky enough to win a MAC lipstick and eyeshadow from the gorgeous Emma who has a wonderful blog that you can check out here. So, now I have popped my MAC cherry it's time to tell you what I think, starting with the lipstick...

Emma gave me the option to choose which shade I wanted and let me tell you, it was a hard choice! I nearly went for a berry shade but wanted something I could wear daily as I had heard so many good things about MAC lipsticks. I eventually chose the shade Syrup which is a Lustre finish and thought it looked like the perfect pink shade. As you can see by the picture, for me this lipstick really is a true 'my lips but better' shade and you can barely see where the lipstick ends and my lips begin! It also smells AMAZING, I could literally inhale this lipstick all day long. I also really like the fact there is a shimmer throughout the lipstick but that is where the good points end unfortunately...

My first disappointment with this lipstick is that, for a rather expensive lipstick, the packaging is poor. The lid doesn't have that wonderful 'click' I was expecting and it is actually horribly loose. Secondly, the pigmentation isn't great at all, I know this is a Lustre finish and supposed to be sheer but even so, I felt this gave barely any noticeable colour unless I applied three or more coats. Thirdly, the texture couldn't get any worse, you know when you put a lipstick on and you can feel it almost sliding between your lips, ergh, this does exactly that which is such a shame and results in half of it coming off in no time! Also, after about half an hours wear I noticed what was left of it was really sinking into the lines in my lips which is another pet hate of mine.

I have applied this lipstick a few times to get an overall feel for it and as much as I want to love it, I just can't. I am so disappointed because the shade is literally perfect for my lips and it smells gorgeous but unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros. For 15 I really think this product is so mediocre, personally I wouldn't call it a lipstick but a lip balm because of the pigmentation and texture. I own lipsticks that are a fraction of the price and exceed this one by miles, it really proves more expensive products aren't always better.

Even though I didn't like this lipstick I want to say thank you to Emma and a big sorry that I didn't like the lipstick!

Have you ever used a disappointing MAC product?

Hit that Bloglovin' button so you don't miss my post about the MAC eyeshadow!

Baby You're a Firework

These pictures are originals and unedited (I can' quite believe it myself!)

I wanted to come up with something bright and eye catching for Guy Fawkes and what better opportunity to put my Makeup Revolution Day of the Dead Palette to good use as it has some extremely vibrant colours! You can recreate this look by following the steps below, all you will need is three vibrant eye shadows (I know you have some lurking at the bottom of our makeup box), concealer or primer, an eye shadow brush, kohl pencil, liquid liner and mascara!

Halloween Tutorial | Scary Doll

You are probably looking at the picture above thinking it took a lot of time and expensive products to turn myself from 'Miss Average' and into a very creepy looking doll... Wrong! This look is so easy to create and most of the products you need you probably already own which is a bonus! So, why not follow my simple 15 step guide on how to recreate this look which will be sure to turn heads!

All the products I used

Let's get started...

Step 1: Apply your normal foundation.

Step 2: Dolls have very prominent, bright blusher and so you want to recreate this by using a really bright pink blush. I don't own a really bright pink blush and so used the shade 'Redemption is Near' from the Makeup Revolution Day of the Dead Palette. Apply all over your cheeks, ensuring you apply a lot more than you normally would.

Step 3: Take a small brush, this one is from my Topshop Nail Tool Set.

Step 4: Dip the brush in water and swirl it around on the white shade of the Snazaroo until you get a thick amount on your brush. You may need to dip the brush in water and swirl it on the face paint a few times to achieve a smooth, thick consistency on your brush. Then outline a semi circle under each eye and fill in. Alternatively you could use a white eyeliner for example the NYX jumbo pencil in the shade milk.

Step 5: Once the face paint is dry, take the full set of lashes and apply glue, wait 30 seconds or so for the glue to go tacky and then apply at the edge of the semi circle.

Step 6: Apply mascara (any type) to your top lashes.

Step 7: Swill your brush off and then swirl it around on the black Snazaroo, again, ensuring the brush is covered evenly. Line your eye and then bring it down, outlining the semi circle, ensuring that the outline joins with both corners of the fake lashes to give a precise rounded look. Alternatively you could use a black liquid liner.

Step 8: Apply the corner lashes to your top lash line (these ones were pre glued) and then touch up with the black Snazaroo to make sure the outline is perfect.

Step 9: Apply another coat of mascara to your top lashes to ensure your natural lashes are blended with the false ones

Step 10: Swill off your brush thoroughly and then swirl it on the brown Snazaroo until your brush is covered evenly, using the tip of the brush, simply add as many freckles are you like. I dotted about ten on each cheek. Alternatively you could use a brown pencil.

Step 11: Again, using the brown Snazaroo, follow the natural shape of your eyebrow and fill in. I then added an almost triangle point and filled this in as I wanted really thick and angry looking eyebrows but you can shape them however you want. Alternatively you could use a brown pencil.

Step 12: Repeat step 11 for the other eyebrow.

Step 13: Apply foundation to your lips.

Step 14: Choose whatever colour lipstick you prefer, I chose the shade 115 from The Body Shop Colour Crush range. With your lips pursed, outline a heart shape on your top lip and then outline an upside down heart shape on your bottom lip. Fill them both in using the lipstick.

Step 15: The last step is to simply swirl your brush in the black Snazaroo and use it to carefully outline the lipstick or outline with a black liquid liner.

Outfit

You can wear anything you like but I had this Leg Avenue Lemon Girl outfit laying around which I got in the sale ages ago and thought it was perfectly fitting for a doll! For a cheap alternative though I would suggest buying a nightdress from Primark, chuck on a pair of tights and some pumps!

I hope you enjoyed this step by step guide!

Are you going to follow these steps to recreate this look? If so I would love to see!! Tweet me the finished result @thelckydiamnd 

Halloween Tutorial | Wicked Witch

Witch tutorials seem to be something of the past or have I just been missing them? Despite scouring the hashtag bbloggers daily I have not seen a single witch tutorial! There seems to be endless SFX and sugar skull tutorials and, don't get me wrong, they are amazing but I miss seeing the old school looks! I feel a witch is a classic symbol of Halloween and so decided to create a simple tutorial using just the Makeup Revolution Day of the Dead Palette and some eye liner....

Turn up your volume and enjoy!

Do you like this look or are you more of a SFX kind of person? Let me know!

Halloween Overload

As some of you may or may not know I also have a Youtube channel where I mainly upload videos on body confidence, life problems etc but as soon as it hit October I instantly thought 'I need to do Halloween posts!' as I absolutely love Halloween! Now, I have gone through this month creating looks, filming tutorials whenever I have had the chance and you know when you think to yourself 'Oh, it's fine, plenty of time to edit', well I said that to myself way too many times and now I have a whole load of stuff to edit within a week!

Can you guess what the two looks are?

This is just a quick post to let you know there will be another tutorial uploaded to my Youtube Channel this Sunday (almost solely using the Makeup Revolution Day of the Dead Palette) and also a step by step blog post tutorial on an effective yet simple Halloween Look for those of you who prefer to read tutorials than watch.

My benefit parcel arrived yesterday and instead of leaving it until I have all this sorted, there I was this morning taking 100 unnecessary pictures of it in different lighting, angles etc when in fact the first ten pictures were fine. I then thought to myself, 'what the hell are you doing, you haven't even got started on the Halloween stuff'...

I'm a girl who has an insane love for makeup and photography but not editing, what can I say!

For now take a look at my 'Back to Basics Heartbroken Dancer Tutorial'!

Gotta dash, netflix editing is calling me!


Who else is having a Halloween Overload?

Underrated Products - Models Own Kohl Pencil

Many people are always on the search for a kohl liner that doesn't run or smudge, most result to buying high end pencils in the hope they will work but are often disappointed. I picked up this Models Own kohl pencil on a whim about five years ago and have repurchased ever since...

I believe the reason that this little gem lies pretty much uncovered is that fact that people think Models Own just do nail polishes. Either that or they feel as there isn't much hype over Models Own cosmetic products therefore they are going to be rubbish. This kohl pencil proves that isn't always the case.

What attracted me to this pencil at first was the fact it has a sharpener in the lid (A SHARPENER IN THE LID)! I had never seen this before and was absolutely amazed by it and the idea of never having to hunt for my sharpener again pretty much sold this to me. The sharpener is absolutely amazing, it is honestly the best sharpener I have ever used. Within a couple of twists the pencil is perfectly sharp and what I especially love about this pencil is the fact it isn't soft therefore keeps its point when applying it.

I always purchase the shade black, I believe they do brown, white and red too. I know it is pretty hard to describe a black shade but this is perfect, just a soft black (if that's even a description?!) which I prefer over the jet black pencils as find they can look a bit harsh. The other thing I love about this pencil is at the other end is a smudger and although I thought it didn't look that promising at first, it works wonders! It smudges and blends out the pencil beautifully and if you want to see me in action with it click here.

Of course the main question is...

Does this run or smudge?

Nope! I can easily get 6-8 hours wear out of this without it moving at all, which in my mind, is unbelievable. Compared to all the other, much more expensive liners I have tried this exceeds them by miles and is everything I could want for in a pencil. For only £3.99 this is an absolute steal and for you girls out there who want a pencil that lasts, even in the waterline, I highly recommend it! If you want to purchase it click here.

What kohl pencil is your 'go to'?

Free Benefit Fakeup Mini Deluxe - Online Glitches/Errors

I was just having a browse on the Benefit website yesterday in awe of everything I would love to try but can't afford and as I scrolled past the 'Fakeup Deluxe Mini' I had to do a double take...

Benefit Bargains from Asos

Since the Asos sale started a few days ago I have been planning to put some time aside to scour the beauty section for some bargains! After being busy blogging and editing the first chance I had was this morning and normally they only knock a few quid off Benefit products but there are a couple that have gone more than half price...

If you are a dark skinned girl (if not, scroll down to the next product to avoid crying) you are in for a real treat... The Benefit 'Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation' in the shade 'Nutmeg' is reduced from £26.50 to £10! When I seen this I almost jumped with joy but was disappointed when I clicked on the product and found that only the 'Nutmeg' shade is reduced (don't you just hate it when they do that?). I decided to blog about it anyway as I am sure many girls out there are the shade 'Nutmeg' and so you can nab a bargain!

It is the darkest shade in the range, is oil free and also has SPF 25. It is a light to medium coverage and so I assume feels light on the skin which is always a plus. It is also the winner of 'The Sunday Times Style Beauty Awards 2014' and with hundreds of positive reviews this appears a great product. For £10 it is an absolute steal and I am totally jealous of anyone who is the shade 'Nutmeg'! Click here to buy it!


Now, onto the other bargain that will appeal to anyone who loves eyeshadows... The 'Benefit Longwear Powder Shadow' is discounted at more than half price at £7.50. Surprisingly this price is on more than one shade (yesssss) and the colours are very appealing.

It says on the actual Benefit website that these are 'New' but I am not sure of that as reviews date back to 2013. Seven out of the twelve available shades are reduced and the colours range from milky white to rich brown and they usually retail at £15.50.

A fantastic chance to try out a highly rated Benefit product for such a fantastic price! I think these will sell out quickly, especially in the shades 'Milk It', 'Quick Look Busy' and 'Thanks a Latte' as they are very versatile and workable shades. Click here to purchase them!

P&P is £3 or free if your order is £15 or more or why not click here to read my post which gives you the low down on Asos Premiere which is just £9.95 a year for next day delivery on all orders no matter how big or small.

Let me know if you order anything, I think I might grab 'Thanks a Latte'!

Top 10 Body Shop Sale Steals

UPDATED STOCK AS OF 15/10/14

I composed this post as soon as I seen an email from The Body Shop (14/10/14) saying that their sale had started because I wanted you to grab a bargain and not miss out! I have now updated this post regarding stock as I knew some of the items in the picture above would now be OOS. Luckily, more than half are still available but don't hang around as they won't be there forever!

Updated stock as of 15/10/14:

- Coconut Shower and Moisture Set which is perfect for a Christmas gift or even a little treat for yourself
- Chocomania Eau De Toilette is a strong but wonderful aroma of rich chocolate yet not too sickly
- Chocomania Body Butter is wonderfully rich and moisturising
- Hair Chalk I have a tutorial video on this here
- Maca Root Face Wash is a best seller and would make a great stocking filler

The other 4 items are now OOS which isn't surprising as who could resist the items at those prices!?

Luckily my highlighted product is still available...

The Chocomania Beautifying Oil!

I have been wanting to try this for agggges and I am finally going to nab one seeing as it's such a steal at £4.50! You can use it on your face, body and hair and I particularly want to see what effect it has on my hair as there's been so much hype over beauty oils recently! If you want to try it too, click here.

There is also currently 30% off core products at The Body Shop and also an extra 10% off if you own a love your body card.

Let me know if you order anything or manage to grab some bargains in store!

HAND CREAM GIVEAWAY!

I received this Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream free with my recent order from The Body Shop and I never use hand creams so instead of it making its way to the bottom of my drawer unused I thought why not give it away!

All you have to do is comment below one thing you like about my blog and then follow me @thelckydiamnd on Twitter and also tweet me what u like about my blog! If you don't have Twitter then comment below and follow me on google+ or bloglovin'!

Simple as that!

Giveaway closes 11.10.14!

I will pick a winner at random!

Remember to keep it real and stayyyy classssy!
-TheLuckyDiamond

Latest Body Shop Purchases

Upon waking up dreary eyed and reaching for my Ipad, my eyes shot wide open with excitement when I skimmed over an email from The Body Shop which said my favourite offer was on! 40% off the whole order, free delivery over £5 and a free gift worth over £10 no minimum order value! I mean, come on, it would of been a crime to not order anything and so I had to treat myself (again, oopsy) to a few things!