Sunday 6 July 2014

WEDDING GIFTS

Hello my lovelies! So it's Sunday the 6th July, and the wedding is in 4 days, and I only have 1 day left at work! Jason and I always wanted to get each other gifts; I bought him some Aqua Di Parma aftershave and honeymoon travel stuff. He loved it! Jason decided to go completely over board and buy me more beauty items than I could ever want! He knows me well and has been incredibly generous.... a lot of these products are my first from that brand, to start a collection, or items I have been coveting for an age.

On top of all of these amazing presents, he is taking me on my dream holiday to the Maldives. Kuramathi island resort! I will definitely do a blog post on it as it's seriously paradise. This time next week we will be there- eek!




All my gorgeous gifts!  I really couldn't wish for a better fiancĂ©.....he knows me too well!

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First of all, I have to show you these incredible MAC eye shadow palettes. Firstly, the big 15 shade one is called the MAC 'COOL NEUTRAL'- perfect if you have green or blue eyes, like me. The purple colours make your eyes POP. This isn't 15 selected colours which I find takes an age to achieve, but a fixed palette! It's amazing value so I think they sold out pretty quick. If you were to buy all the colours and the case separately, I think it would be about 3 times the price of this one. The fifteen cool shades are: Flounce, Sweet Allure, Sun Tweaked, Blackberry, After Dusk, Pick Me Up, Crushed Clove, Cozy Grey, Deception, Brun, Silver Fog, French Clay, Cumulus, Pearled Earth and Black Tied. The highly pigmented powder formula applies evenly, blends and builds beautifully. I am so ridiculously excited to use this!


The smaller 4 shade palette is a selected one. You buy the x4 eye shadow quad (x2 and x15 also available), and select any shade you desire for £10 instead of £12.50. These are called 'pro palette refill pans'. I wanted a palette that had a 4 colour warm but natural tone to it, so when I travel, I can take this one product as opposed to 4 singular eye shadows (my makeup bag is always bursting open). My little perfect 4 shade gift has: Vanilla, Embark, Quarry and Sable. On top of this the lid is magnetic so it doesn't fling open in your bag. So cute!

From bottom right clockwise://Vanilla, Quarry,  Embark and Sable
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I also got this amazing Jo Malone perfume! I have been wanting this for ages and I decided on it as my wedding perfume a while back...it mixes my two favourite scents together: rose and vanilla. Jo Malone can sell anything to anyone on her gorgeous packaging itself! This is my first Jo Malone product and I can tell you I am certainly excited to collect more.


Jo Malone// Rose Water & Vanilla// 100ml
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Next are a few Laura Mercier treats! These are my first Laura Mercier products but I have been wanting these for ages, so I think he got the hint! I wanted these as they are perfect items for bridal makeup. I wanted something to touch up my oily t-zone with throughout the day, without looking to cakey or over layered. This translucent shine control setting powder is the perfect product for this. It completely mattes the skin without making you look like you have to much foundation or powder on! The Laura Mercier fan brush is the perfect applicator for this powder as it simply dusts very lightly over your skin!  

Laura Mercier // Creme Brulee Body Butter // Fan Brush // Translucent Matte Powder
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 I am so so excited to finally have this little baby! I've had the sleek contour palette which is only about £6 and just has a highlighter and contour colour in...however I hated the contour colour as it as really dark and didn't blend. So it didn't save any space in my makeup bag as I only wanted the highlighter! However, his urbandecay NAKED FLUSHED palette has 3 different powders in, and I love all of them, so it's certainly another space saver. The contour colour is the perfect matte natural shade, and the consistency of all the powders is so light it makes it really easy to blend them into one another.




Finally, and saving the best till last, he got me something I have been wanting for about 5 years; a tan Mulberry purse. Seriously look at that! How is it possible for a purse to look so stylish? I cannot express how happy this gift make me. Now I just had another 5 years to persuade him to get me the matching bag!

Mulberry // Tree Zip-around Wallet // Oak Natural Leather
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I hope you enjoyed seeing all my beauty wedding gifts. It's safe to say i'm a very happy girl right now. You probably won't hear from me now until after the honeymoon! I am back from the Maldives on the 27th and can't wait to share some pictures!

Lots of love, Morgan Alice x


Tuesday 1 July 2014

IT'S ALL IN THE BRUSH...

 
Hello everyone! Today I thought it was about time I did a blog on my favourite brushes. After all, everyone needs them and uses them everyday to apply their makeup! Makeup would not be the same without them. In fact, I would argue they are more important than makeup. If you're one of those people, like I use to be, who thinks that expensive makeup is the main thing, and any old brush can be used to apply it, you need to change this thinking- and quick. These are my top 6 brushes, that my I would be nothing without! If you don't have any decent brushes, or you're just looking for some inspiration...I hope this helps. p.s I didn't have them all impeccably clean before taking the photos as a) it's not real if they are white- makeup brushes get makeup on them if they are used! b) I didn't have time, and c) it shows they really are my favourite brushes- I washed them the day before I took the photos, and on the following morning I suddenly panicked as I needed them so much!
 
 

An artist wouldn't make a painting with cheap brushes. Surely, then, your face is worth more than a piece of paper? You only get one face; treat it well.




So firstly, one of my all time favourite brushes is this Real Techniques beauty. It's by far their most popular brush and I use it everyday apply all my foundation. The 'expert face brush' is made from ultra plush, synthetic bristles which are cut by hand. It is designed to give you flawless and picture perfect skin. This is because it is shaped to buff foundation into the skin, as opposed to just painting it on. If you're looking for a new face brush- this is the one! I love it.
 
Real Techniques // Expert Face Brush // £9.99 (Boots)
 
 
Another Real Techniques brush I love, is the 'foundation brush'. However, I have never used this as a foundation brush. I am completely against using flat brushes like this for foundation as they don't buff and leave streaks. If I could teach you only one thing, it would be to not use flat brushes for your foundation. What I do love this brush for, is not what it's intended for. I love to use it to contour my face with cream based and powdered contour shades. It is perfect for lining the hollows of your cheeks, going across your jaw line and down the bridge of your nose- anywhere you want to look defined! I then buff it in with the above foundation brush. I find that this really helps to make your contouring look defined, and not a big orange mess.

Real Techniques // Foundation Brush 1402 // £9.99 (Boots)


Next, another brush I use on an everyday bases is this Zoeva Luxe Face Definer brush. It's tapered and fluffy, and so makes the perfect tool for rough powder contouring and adding some overall colour to your face. The tapered end (not shown very clearly in my photo), reaches a point which is perfect for getting into the hollows of your cheeks, on days you don't want that perfect contoured look. I also use this for applying blusher.

Zoeva // Luxe Face Definer 101 // £14 (Zoeva)


This Zoeva Luxe Soft crease is my holy grail eye shadow brush. It is the exact dupe of the MAC 217 brush, and over one third of the price! It is the perfect brush for dusting matte shadow colours across your crease. I use it everyday!! I then use a smaller crease brush from Zoeva to apply a darker colours just in the inner crease- but I wanted to keep this post just my essential favourites. I have 2 of these brushes as they are so versatile. I use one for applying crease colours, and another for blending. It's always a good idea to have a clean brush to blend or apply a new colour. Love this!

Zoeva // Luxe Soft Crease 221 // £5.20 Zoeva


Another favourite eyeshadow brush of mine is the MAC 224 tapered blending brush. I use this purely for blending my eye lid after I have finished applying the eye shadows. I start by blending the darker colours of the crease with the lighter colours of the brow bone and lower lid. It certainly helps me get that picture perfect soft focus effect! I love my eyes to look completely blended and almost photo shopped. This is perfect for that!
 
MAC //  224 Tapered Blending Brush // £22.50 (Selfridges)
 

Finally, my holy grail brush! This little baby is designed to buff concealer into every nook and cranny, and my goodness does it work! I seriously could not be without this brush. If, for concealer, you are using your fingers, a foundation brush or even a fluffy eyeshadow brush as some makeup artists suggest, you are missing out. It is incredibly soft which is perfect if, like me, you have sensitive eyes. When I'm in a rush I usually apply the concealer with my fingers, gently patting it on the desired area, and then use this brush to buff it in. You are however supposed to apply the concealer straight onto the brush and buff in. This is what Zoeva recommends. I love to look flawless around the eyes, and so I could not be without this amazing and great value brush! Zoeva 142, I love you.
Zoeva // Concealer Buffer 142 // £5.99 (Zoeva)
 
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Morgan Alice