My MAC Lipstick Collection

 [L-R: Creme D'Nude//Angel//Snob//Pink Nouveau//Vegas Volt//Impassioned//Lady Danger//Girl bout Town//Russian Red//New York Apple//Rebel//Diva]

MAC lipstick collection posts are one of my favourites to read, I love seeing swatches and what shades everyone else has to help me decided which ones I want to pick up next. MAC lipsticks are definitely my favourite, they're such good quality and the colour range is amazing. Also, at £14 (when I bought my first ever one it was only £10, sigh) they're not completely unreasonable. Now that I've built up my collection I decided to do one myself. I've got 12 in total now, probably not as much as some Beauty Bloggers but I can see this number getting considerably larger because there's so many shades I still want (Shy Girl, Costa Chic, Ruby Woo etc). Here are the 12 shades I own so far...

Creme D'Nude: As you can tell by the name, this is a nude lipstick with a cremesheen finish. The MAC website describes it as a 'pale muted peach beige' which is pretty much spot on. I love wearing this when I've got super black smoky eyes on a night out to keep the rest of my face looking simple. One thing I'd say is that you have to be careful with this particular colour or it could look like you're wearing concealer on your lips - not a good look! I'm wearing it in this post here.

Angel: This is 100% my favourite nude MAC lipstick, I've been wearing this since I was about 16 and have kept repurchasing it. It's a pale, soft pink with a frost finish and apparently a favourite of Miss Kim K. Definitely a staple nude in my collection, see it in action here.

Snob: This is described as a 'light neutral pink' on the MAC website. I'd say its a light pink/purple, sort of a muted version of Saint Germain? It has a Satin finish and I love this for day time to add a subtle pop of colour to my makeup.

Pink Nouveau: This was in my March favourites post and I think it's just the perfect medium pink lipstick. It's a bright pink with blue undertones that makes me feel really girly every time I wear it. It has a satin finish and I love wearing it with a gloss over it for a night out.

Vegas Volt: At the moment this is my favourite Spring lipstick which might make an appearance in my April favourites. Described as a 'full power Coral' it has an amplified finish which means the colour pay-off is amazing. This is definitely one for Spring/Summer girls.

Impassioned: I remember when I first bought this lipstick I was obsessed with it. I wore it almost every day but it kind of got neglected over the Autumn/Winter months. An 'amped up Fuchsia' with an amplified finish, which is absolutely gorgeous for the warmer months. I can't wait to start wearing this again!

Lady Danger: 100% my favourite MAC lipstick, Lady Danger is a gorgeous orange/red with a matte finish. I know a lot of people are unsure about matte lipsticks but when it comes to MAC finishes, I'd say matte is my favourite (controversial?). This is one of the lipsticks from my collection that I wear the most and if I'm not sure how to do my makeup or want to get dressed up, I go straight for this shade. I think everyone should own Lady Danger.

Girl About Town:  GAT is a bright blue Fuchsia pink with an amplified finish. A staple dark, girly pink that can finish off your makeup look for a special occasion. I think this is a colour that looks amazing on everyone but I've not worn it in a while. Doing this post has definitely reminded me of some of the gorgeous lipsticks I have in my collection.

Russian Red: Russian Red is my favourite blue toned red lipstick. It also has a matte finish which is why I think it's my favourite. It's such a classy colour and I always feel amazing when I wear it. I really want to try Ruby Woo which is slightly lighter but also has a matte finish. Does anyone own both and can tell me the difference? I wore this in this post here.

New York Apple: This is a 'muted red with pink shimmer' and has a frost finish. My sister brought me this back from her holiday last year and it's one I'd never usually pick up myself but I really love it. If you want a red lip but don't want to go too bold then this is perfect, I even wear this during the day.

Rebel: This was one of the first MAC lipsticks I bought when I decided to be more adventurous with my lipstick choices. It's a lovely pinkish-purple with a satin finish and I've worn it quite a lot since I got it. Again, I'll probably put this to the back of my collection and bring it back out again in the Autumn. I did a post on it here if you'd like to see it on.

Diva: I LOVE this lipstick and surprise, surprise it also has a matte finish. MAC describes is as an 'intense reddish-burgundy' and I had been looking for a colour like this for ages before I purchased it. During the Winter I wore this to death, it was the perfect statement lip for the festive season - see it in action here.

So that's my current MAC lipstick collection and I think I've got quite a wide range of colours. If you've done one of these posts please link it to me in the comments so I can add even more to my list! Hope you enjoyed this post and had a great weekend.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer: Neon Yellow

Yellow is my all time favourite colour and right now I'll pretty much buy anything that's yellow and/or neon. I've got my blazer, H&M jumper and have just bought a skater skirt from Missguided, the only thing missing was a nail polish. I was reading Zoe's blog the other day and my eyes lit up when I came across this amazing AA nail polish - exactly the colour I was looking for! Yesterday while I was in town I popped in to American Apparel to pick one up.

This is my first AA nail polish even though I've had my eye on them for quite a while. I could have went crazy, there were so many colours that I wanted but I was sensible and just stuck to this one. A tip I read on Zoe's blog was to put a base coat on to make the colour really pop, so I went for Rimmel Lemon drop which is a really pale, almost white yellow. Once that dried, I put on two coats of the Neon Yellow which dried matte so I used a top coat to give it a glossy finish.

I'm really impressed with how bright this is, I've found that with a lot of neon polishes the quality isn't great. This is now a new favourite for Spring/Summer and a subtle way to work this seasons Neon trend. I know neon's not for everyone but I personally love it. AA nail polishes cost £7 and I'll definitely be buying more!

Have you tried any of the American Apparel nail lacquers?

Kevyn Aucoin: The Precision Brow Pencil

So this is my second Kevyn Aucoin post as I promised, this time on the Precision Brow Pencil that I also picked up on my Space NK trip. I usually use Benefit Brow Zings on my eyebrows but I wanted something a little lighter for Spring/Summer so when I seen Lisa Eldridge using this on her YouTube channel I wanted to try it. Also, the girl in Space NK said that it was meant to be really good and was really popular so I thought why not give it a go.

The Precision brow pencil comes in two colours (that I know of) Ash Blonde and Brunette, I went for the Brunette as I've got quite dark brows. It's made with the thinnest lead available which means you can fill in, shape and define your brows with accuracy. I apply it with short, thin strokes for a natural look and then brush my brows through with the handy spooly brush that comes on the end. I love that it has a spooly attached as I'm always loosing mine and always like to brush my brows before and after I apply product. My brows are already really dark, so I just use this to define them and shape them a bit. I also love that it comes in a retractable tube which means there's no need to sharpen it and you can twist it back in once your finished so it doesn't break. Again, I'm impressed with the super slim packaging, it doesn't just look like a boring brow pencil.

Since I bought this, I've used it every day. For during the day I prefer this to my Brow Zings as it gives my brows a more natural look but I'll still be using my beloved Brow Zings for nights out and in the winter again. I usually always prefer a powder for my brows but this pencil is different to any I've ever tried before and I'm really impressed with it. It costs £19 (little bit expensive for a brow pencil), but since I was lusting after the Tom Ford Brow Sculptor which costs £32 I didn't feel so bad buying this one. Like I said before, I'm really loving the Kevyn Aucoin products!

What's your favourite brow product, have you ever tried this one?

Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Blush - Euphoria

The other day on my lunch break I took a sneaky trip to Space NK for a little browse. As you know, you can't just go into that shop 'for a browse' and I ended up leaving with two Kevyn Aucoin products, the precision brow pencil (will be doing a review on that shortly, I love it) and one of the creamy glow blush's. I'm new to the Kevyn Aucoin product and so far I'm really impressed, after reading Corrie's blog I need both the Sculpting and Celestial powder next!

It was so hard to choose a shade, every single one of them was gorgeous but since I've got quite a lot of pink blushers I decided to go for a peachy/neutral. It was between Euphoria and Tansoleil (slightly brighter and lighter) but I decided on Euphoria as I've been looking for a kind of neutral one for a while. I've always been a powder blush kinda girl but since using this I've been converted, It's so soft and creamy and easy to blend. I apply it with my fingers on to my cheeks then blend it with my Real Techniques buffing brush for a natural finish. The thing I love about this blush is that it's really pigmented so you can use the tiniest amount for a natural glow or build it up to make it more intense.

I wore this blush to work for a full shift and it didn't budge or fade at all. The staying power is really good which I wasn't expecting from a cream product. I also love the little pot that it comes in, I definitely prefer simple packaging it's so much more luxurious. I love this colour for Spring but I can definitely see me wearing it all year round, it's such a neutral colour.

Overall, I'm so impressed with this little product and the gorgeous glow it gives me. The creamy glow blush's cost £19 and you can buy them online or in store from Space NK. I can't wait to get my hands on more of the Kevyn Aucoin products, if the two I've already purchased are anything to go by I know I'll love the rest!

Have you tried any of the Kevyn Aucoin products?

Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre

Poudre Universelle Libre, a natural finish loose powder from Chanel has been a staple in my makeup collection for about 3 years now. I mentioned it in a few of my earlier posts when I first started blogging but I've never done a full review on it and thought it was about time I did.

Ever since I started my Makeup Artistry course way back when I was 16, I've always loved using a loose powder to set my makeup. I used to use either the Rimmel one or one from Collection, but when I went to Uni I decided to treat myself to a high end loose powder because I felt like it was something worth investing in. However, for the past 6 months or so I've been neglecting my poor Chanel powder and been using pressed powders instead (Rimmel Stay Matte & MAC Blotting Powder), but I've just rediscovered my love for it in the last week.

Chanel loose powder has a sheer, matte finish and leaves the skin looking natural. I love how fine the powder is, you can barely feel it on your skin and it doesn't look cakey at all even after touch ups during the day. You also get a little powder puff with it (mine was far too dirty to show you) but I prefer using a powder brush to apply it. According to the website, it comes in a lot more shades now but the shade I use is "30 Natural Translucent 2" which is perfect for me. I have a slightly oily t-zone so that's the area I apply this to and only need to touch up once during the day - amazing!

When I first bought this powder I'm sure it was only £32, but it's went up to £34 since then. I know that sounds like a lot of money but in 3 years, this is only my second one so it's definitely worth the price considering I have to buy a new Stay Matte powder every few months. Also you get 30g of product, whereas my pressed powders are only 12/14g. The price doesn't sound so steep now, does it?

This is definitely still my favourite powder of all time. What's your thoughts on the Chanel loose powder? Have you ever tried it?

P.S Thank you Becky for my new blog design, I love it!