Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I've been wanting to try this particular Real Techniques brush ever since I saw it being used in Pixiwoo and Tanya Burr's YouTube tutorials. I already own the Blush brush and the Stippling brush which I love and my sister has almost all of them which she's used on me while doing my makeup, so I'm a big fan of these brushes.

The Expert Face brush is firm and broad for which is perfect for the application and blending of liquid or cream foundations. All the brushes have 'ultra plush' Taklon bristles which are super soft and help create a flawless, HD finish. The fact that they're synthetic means that they're really easy to wash which is a bonus because I hate washing my brushes. The brushes are also cut to the perfect shape which I love because they're so light and easy to hold while applying my makeup.

I was using the Stippling brush to apply my foundation before I bought this and sometimes used my sisters Buffing brush from the Core Collection. All three of these brushes have multi-uses and can be used to apply powder, cream or liquid foundation. I recently watched Sam's video in which she tells you the difference between the three brushes which I found really interesting so give it a watch. I also sometimes use my Stippling brush to apply my Chanel Univiersal bronzer, but it can be used for highlighters and blushers too.

So, whats my opinion? Goodbye foundation application with my Stippling brush! I love the way my foundation looks after using the Expert Face brush. Sam said she uses the Stippling brush for light coverage foundations, so I'll be sticking to the Expert Face brush from now on as it gives more coverage and a flawless finish which I prefer. It was also a bargain at £9.99 and I got it as part of the Boots 3 for 2. Next I need to get my hands on the Core Collection so I can compare the Buffing brush to these two. Although in the video Sam says the Buffing brush is more for use with mineral and powder foundation.

I think the Real Techniques brushes are amazing and there's no need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on high end brushes when you can get these for such a reasonable price - I prefer these to my MAC brushes! Have you given in to the hype and bought the Real Techniques brushes and if so, what's your favourite?

Halloween: Greek Goddess

Last night I went to a Halloween party and decided to dress up as a Greek Goddess - This is only because my sister already had the costume in the house and I was too lazy and skint to buy a new one, so I was very uncreative. My sister got the costume from eBay two years ago and made the hairband herself. My shoes are from Red Herring at Debenhams which I've had for about 3 years so I pulled them out the wardrobe and they went perfectly!

I wasn't too sure how to do my hair so I googled photos of Greek Goddesses and ended up going with this style. Firstly I backcombed my hair at the crown using my Denman backcombing brush and a little bit of Osis Dust It to add more volume and pinned it in place with a few kirbies. I then pinned all my hair to the side and added a few of my clip in extensions for more length and volume and curled it using tongs. Finally I pulled a few strands down at the front to frame my face and added the hairband - so simple and only took about 10/15 minutes!

For my makeup I wanted a really glowing gold look and my sister said she had an idea for it so I just let her get on with it and it turned out amazing! She ended up doing my boyfriend and my friends makeup too and we all looked so good. So here's what she used on me (which is A LOT)...

Face

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Medium Matte/Makebelieve Enhance Glow Tinted Moisturiser/MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30

MAC Studio Finish Concearler NW25

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Medium

No7 Skin Illuminator - Peach

Chanel Tan De Soleil

Benefit Sunbeam

Dior Amber Diamonds Highlighting Powder

NYX Blush - Terracotta

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Eyes

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Shadow Creme - Antique Gold

UD Naked Palette - Half Baked 

MAC Crushed Metallic Pigment - Seasonal Cool

MAC Crushed Metallic Pigment - Light Violet

Barry M Dazzle Dust - Gold 44

MAC Paint - Still Life

Maybelline Gel Liner - Black

MAC Kohl Liner - Feline

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express - Black Drama

Millie Mackintosh Soho Lashes

Benefit Browzings - Dark

Lips

Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Liner - Midnight Plum

MUA Lipstick Shade 2

Barry M Dazzle Dust - Gold 44

Wow that's a lot of makeup, but it doesn't look as much as that when it's all on. I was really happy with the way my costume, hair and makeup turned out! What do you think? What are you going as for Halloween?

My Favourite Blogs

I seen this post on The Big Burd's blog and thought it was a great idea so decided to write one to tell you what my favourite blogs are. I've picked 4 of my current favourites, these are the blogs that I get excited about when I see that they've posted on my blogger dashboard, so if you don't read any of these ladies blogs - start now!!


First up is my all time favourite blog 'The Londoner.' The Londoner is a lifestyle blog written by the gorgeous Rose. Rose blogs about her life, from her amazing holidays, nights out on the town and the delicious restaurants she eats in to her yummy food recipes and what gorgeous clothes she's wearing while doing these things. She basically blogs about her daily life, which I'm very jealous of. Not to mention shes absolutely stunning with a body to die for!  Me and a friend recently made one of her Double Stuffed Oreo Cakes (you have to try it) which is the closest I'm going to get to leading her amazing life haha.

Next is the lovely Kayleigh's blog, Couture Girl. This was one of the first beauty blogs I ever started reading and one which really inspired me to start writing my own. Kayleigh has a really similar taste in Makeup to me which is mostly why I love reading her blog, but it's also bad because I end up buying loads of things. Kayleigh's such a lovely girl and I'm always chatting to her on twitter and she always takes time to answer any questions asked on her blog, she is also gorgeous and looks lovely in all her photos!

Hannah's blog, A Little Beauty Spot is a blog I've not long discovered. I'm so happy that I finally discovered Hannah's blog as it's now one of my favourites. I love the way Hannah writes and all the products she reviews. I especially love her YouTube videos which she's starting doing and I'm loving hearing all about her recent Makeup course and hope she continues to make her videos! She's so cute and looks so amazing in her videos - jealous!

Last but not least is Birds Words which is written by the lovely Beth. I found Beth's blog not long after I started blogging and have been hooked on it every since. I think Beth has a really similar taste in makeup and clothes as me. I love how her blog is a range of fashion and beauty posts and I love seeing what she's wearing as she always looks gorgeous - oh and she has the most amazing hair ever! 

So there you go, my top 4 favourite bloggers. I really suggest you start following these ladies as their blogs are amazing and I hope you enjoyed this little blog loving post - so much blogger love! What are some of your favourite blogs?

P.S why are all you bloggers so gorgeous?!

NARS Wishlist

1. Blush: Sin

2. Sheer Glow Foundation

3. Semi Matte Lipstick: Viridiana

4. Multiple: South Beach

5. Illuminator Copacabana

6. Duo Eyeshadow: Isolde

Sorry for not blogging as much as usual everyone, but I've just started a new full-time job which I'm not used to and haven't had much time to blog :( I thought I'd do a really quick post while I have a minute on some of makeup I've been lusting after.

NARS is fast becoming my favourite makeup brand. I'm currently using the Laguna Bronzer, Orgasm Blush and Albatross Highlighter but I'd love to build up my collection with the choices above. I wish I had an endless amount of money so I could go and buy all this right now!! Sadly, I'll just have to buy them gradually or maybe put some of them on my Christmas list. Do you like NARS products? What are your favourite?

Melissa
xxx

My More! Magazine Feature

This week my 'Anatomy of a Room' feature got published in More! Magazine and I thought I'd write a little post on it. Sorry about the photos, it was quite hard taking pictures of a magazine. A couple of months ago my sister put her gorgeous room forward for this feature as More! where looking for interesting rooms in Scotland. One of the other Scottish girls pulled out and the magazine asked my sister if she knew anyone else that could take part and as I was on holiday she sent a picture of my room and they accepted. 

So the week I came back from Ibiza, More! sent a photographer to photograph me and my sisters rooms. They asked us to lay out a few things that were important or special to us so that's why my books, shoes and makeup brushes etc are on display. I was really worried when I found out I was to be in the photo too and I didn't see the finished photos before they were published so I was even more nervous. Fortunately, they turned out quite good and I don't look as bad as I thought I did.

I'm really happy with the way the feature turned out, although I didn't say most of the things they said I did but I guess they had to make it a bit more interesting for readers.What do you think of my feature? Rebekah's room should be in it in the next couple of weeks.

Also, I'd like to mention that I went to the Glasgow Bloggers pub quiz on Thursday night hosted by the lovely Paula and had such a great night. It was my first blogger meet up and it was so nice to meet everyone in real life and chat about beauty and fashion all night long. My team sucked a bit at the quiz but we did win for the best team name which was 'Untitled Post' and I won a lovely ring along with other goodies, so thank you for organizing such a fantastic night, Paula!

Melissa

xxx

OOTN & Cheryl Cole Concert

Shirt: DIY 

Disco Leggings: Missguided

Boots: Primark

Jewellery: Topshop

Hair: Foxy Locks extensions

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation (I've decided I like it now)

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Chanel Tan De Soleil

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

NYX Blush Terracotta 

My sister did my makeup, see what she used on my eyes here.

Ardell Demi Wispies lashes.

Mac Shy Girl Lipstick

Last night I went to the Cheryl Cole concert (eek!) at the SECC in Glasgow. If you don't know already I'm in love with her. When we got there we realised that we were quite far away from the stage but we ended up moving up to 5 rows from the front as my very lucky friend got moved to the front row and gave us his other tickets!!  First of all Cheryl is even more beautiful in real life if that's even possible, we ended up right up at the barrier for the finale and could almost touch Cheryl (I almost cried).

She put on such a great show with lots of dancing and swan diving off the stage - her dancers are amazing! She sang all of her best known songs along with a few new ones from her new album. She also did a little Girls Aloud Medley which I loved. There was a bit where Will.i.am was projected on the back wall so they could sing 3 Words together. My favourite songs she sang were Under The Sun and The Flood. Cheryl had 5 outfit changes but I think her first gold jumpsuit was my favourite, she looked stunning in it. Her hair and makeup were absolutely flawless.

So overall, I had such an amazing time at the Cheryl concert and I'm so excited for Girls Aloud to get back together - definitely need to go see them! I still can't believe how close we managed to get to Cheryl as well. Are any of you going to see Cheryl this year or have already seen her?

Melissa
xxx

What's in My Handbag?

I love these type of posts, I'm so nosy so I thought I'd do one myself to let you all see what I keep in my handbag everyday. First of all my bag is from Primark and was a cheap and cheerful £12! Now to what's inside it:

• Makeup Bag - I've got this small makeup bag that I carry about in my handbag (my every day makeup bag's about 3x that size) that has all the essentials for keeping me looking half decent during the day. I got this makeup bag from Bloomingdales when I visited New York and its my favourite. In it I keep my MAC Blotting powder, a couple of my favourite lipsticks and The Body Shop Watermelon lip balm that smells and tastes gorgeous!

• I Heart New York Book - I always have a book in my bag for when I'm on the train or have a spare minute. I've read I Heart New York twice and I love it, it's such a girly read. I definitely want to buy the other books in the series. Right now I'm reading The Perks Of Being A Wallflower before I go and see the film.

• Notepad & Pen - I always carry about a notepad and pen incase I have any blog ideas or there's any important information I need to write down.

• Denman Brush - I hate when my hair goes flat so I always carry about my Denman back combing brush to give it a little bit of volume.

• L'Occitane Hand Cream - I got this hand cream free in Marie Claire magazine. I usually carry about my Clarins hand and nail cream but I thought I'd use this for a change. I like using hand cream, especially during the colder months to keep my hands soft and stop them from drying out.

• Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb - This is my favourite perfume of all time. I'm onto about my 4th bottle of it and I'll continue to buy it as soon as I run out, its such a gorgeous scent. I also love Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. 

• Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream - 8 Hour Cream is my beauty essential. I carry it about everywhere with me and use it for everything from spots to a lip balm.

• Car Keys - If I didn't keep these in my bag at all times I'd definitely lose them.

• Umbrella - I live in Scotland, do I need to say anything else?

• Ted Baker Purse - I bought this purse last year and had wanted one for ages so I saved up for it. The Ted Baker purse's are definitely my favourite and they come in so many gorgeous colours.

Hope you enjoyed having a look through my bag. If you've done this post please link me to it in the 

comments because I love them!

Melissa

xxx

Autumn's Here

*All pictures are from Pinterest, no copyright intended

I love Autumn - time to get out our oversized scarves, cosy jumpers and winter boots, so I thought I'd do a little picture post to get everyone in the mood. I always find such gorgeous images on Pinterest and thought I'd share some of my favourites with you. If you have a Pinterest you can follow me here.

Have a lovely weekend.

Melissa
xxx

My Lipstick Collection

I was sorting out all my makeup the other day and decided to look out all my lipsticks. I sat them all in a row to see what colours I had and decided it would make a great blog post to show you my collection. So if you have time, have a look at all the lipsticks I own. There doesn't seem to be a colour that I don't have so maybe I should stop buying lipsticks and move onto blushers now...

 The Purples

 (L-R) Kate Moss Rimmel #04//MAC Rebel//L'Oreal Colour Riche Plum Passion//MUA #2

The Reds

 (L-R) New CID Cosmetics Very Cherry//MAC Deeply Adored//MAC New York Apple//MAC Russian Red//Rimmel Lasting Finish Signature Red//L'Oreal Colour Rich Cheryl Cole Lipstick Red Passion//Topshop Mischief//MAC Lady Danger

The Oranges/Corals

 (L-R) Topshop Infrared//Rimmel Moisture Renew Coral Queen//YSL Rouge Volupte Rose Paris #27//Topshop Ohh La La//Look Beauty Tangerine Cream

The Pinks

 (L-R) MAC Girl About Town//Dior Rouge #565//Rimmel Lasting Finish Indulgence// MAC Impassioned//Louise Gray Topshop Legend//Barry M #62//FashionistA Baby Doll Pink

The Light Pinks/Nudes

(L-R) Rimmel Moisture Renew Vintage Pink//MAC Snob//MAC Angel//YSL Rouge Pur Couture Rose Bergamasque #6//YSL Rouge Volupte Sensual Silk #2

Are any of these lipsticks in your collection?

Melissa
xxx