Friday 31 May 2013

My 1st Illamasqua Haul + Swatches.

You may need to sit down with a cuppa for this one......
 
 
Recently, I have been a very active member of the whole blogging community and of course Twitter and time and time again I have seen nothing but one big hype about Illamasqua and their products. Intrigued,  I decided to take a look into them and boy was I impressed. It was only until they decided to have a whooping 50% off sale online for reaching 50k followers on Twitter that I decided to take the plunge and buy a few things for the very first time. And seeing as it was such a generous offer, it would have quite rude not to!
 
I was taking a huge risk here, I'm not just talking about the hole in my wallet that I was going to create, but the fact that I have never tried any of their products so I didn't know what to buy and what not to and which shades would suit me and so on. I had just simply taken others word for it. And I'm glad I did. Yes I did break my spending ban. And no, I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty simply because it is not every day you get to see such an offer.

Like myself, if you were caught up in the whole hoo haa , you would have known that on Friday 18th of May, the whole world and his wife were on Illamasqua's website frantically adding things to their basket before the 5pm cut off time and its no wonder that the site crashed numerous times resulting in a few people missing out on the fantastic offer, some were not afraid to express their frustration and anger.
 
For me, it did mean having to add all the items to my basket at least six times and then waiting almost an hour at the checkout stage but thankfully I made it  just in the nick of time. It was very tempting to give up half way through but in true makeup addict style, I was just so determined desperate to get hold of their items at half price.
 
I wanted to have a good thorough browse but truth be told, the site just kept crashing so it was quite tedious going back and forth. in the end, I opted for their much talked about Skinbase foundation in Shade 12 (They had a comparison chart and Mac NC40 was a SB12), a satin primer, precision gel liner, Lipsticks in Eurydice and Over, blushers in Hussy and Lover and a Gleam highlighter in Aurora. I did have my eye on their Sealing gel and their Hydra Veil, reportedly to work wonders under their Skinbases foundations but as I expected, they were out of stock. In fact, sadly, a lot of things were.
 
Anyway, enough of the rambling, I have done a breakdown on each product below and I promise to keep it short and sweet :-)  Seeing as I have just received my delivery, there wont be a full on review on each product, just a few main points and swatches.
 
 Skinbase in Shade 12







It has now been a while since I have started to get bored of my Mac Studio Fix. I just feel it doesn't give me that 'wow' factor anymore, its great to wear for buildable coverage but think some MAC products do tend to be way too over hyped. (Sorry MAC!)
Illamasquas Skinbase foundation has quickly found its way into my top 10 favourites and think it will stay there for a very very long time. I have got to admit, when I first saw the foundation, I was shocked at how tiny the bottle was, it was almost like I had paid for a travel size version of it.

Yet, they do say all good things come in small packages and this definitely deserves all the hype it gets. What I just couldn't understand was how on earth can something so light give insane coverage? it covered literally everything and I mean everything, although, personally you do still need to apply your concealer under your eyes if like me, you are a sufferer of dark circles.
The consistency of it resembles that of a BB cream and a little goes a long way. It feels so natural on the skin despite its great coverage and you almost forget you are wearing it. It blends like a dream and just melts into your skin and if applied correctly, (I like to use my beauty blender or a stippling brush), it will give a flawless airbrushed finish.

If I was to knock a few marks off it, it'd simply be because of the cheap plastic bottle which I know most people frown upon. I guess I'm just too used to the glass, pump bottles buy hey,  on the plus side, its easier to travel around with. Another downside If I may? It doesn't contain any SPF in it but then that means its great for taking photos as there are no flashbacks. Win win!

Would I repurchase? Indeed I would! Yes at £27 it seems a little on the steeper side but the fact that it has amazing pigmentation as the case with all of Illamasquas products, it caters for all skin tones and it has amazing coverage compared to some of the other higher end brands is just why it is rapidly becoming the go to foundation.


Blushes in Lover and Hussy.

If you ask me why I got these two particular shades, the answer is I really do not know.
These stood out to me the most but as the site kept crashing I couldn't have a good browse around. But according to a few bloggers and Youtubers, I couldn't have picked a better two colours. Lover and Hussy (Ooo Ilamasqua have gone all provocative on us!) are a match made in heaven. I've heard so much about how greatly pigmented their blushers are so at 50% I just had to buy them and pray they would go with my complexion.














Lover is a soft apricot corally type colour and Hussy is a bright candy pink both with a matte finish. you just cannot go wrong with a coral and pink blush, you can wear them separately or layer them on top on one another perfect for spring and Summer and I am absolutely certain these would suit all skin tones. It looks chalky but infact the texture is quite velvety and smooth and blends seamlessly. I just love their trademark square pots too. Tres chic!
 


Precision Gel liner.
 
I brought this simply because I was getting it for nine pounds which is an absolute bargain I reckon especially after reading up reviews on it with it 'staying put', and 'glides on with ease'. I have had my eye on Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack for some time but always hesitated after reading a few mixed reviews on it. Cant wait to give this a go and see how I get on. Illamasqua describe it as "Soon to be the mainstay in the make-up bags of every beauty enthusiast, Precision Gel Liner recreates the fluidity of a liquid liner in the ease of a gel. Creating a smooth, rich black line from the first application, the long-lasting and water-resistant formula is guaranteed to stay in place all day"





Lipsticks in Eurydice and Over.
 
I've seen a few beauty bloggers and YouTube gurus wearing Eurydice and I just knew at that moment I wanted it. I have been long searching for a matte bright pink for bold statement lips and I have finally found the one! I think every girl needs a statement red and pink lippy and seeing as I have found 'the one' for red in Mac Ruby Woo, Eurydice definitely has made itself a little home in my collections of pinks.
I was a little wary about buying this as I thought the bold colour wouldn't compliment my warm skin tone but I was wrong. It doesn't dry out, the pigmentation is superb and the colour is a gorgeous vibrant pink. I just cannot wait to wear this on a night out, best of all, all it takes is a few coats of mascara, a bit of concealer and Eurydice to really make my lips the focus of my face. The colour itself will do just that!






Applied without a mirror so excuse the messy application!


I thought Eurydice would go well with Hussy and the shade Over would go well with
Lover since it is a bright coral pink. Nude or semi nude lippies are very hit and miss with me. I have made a few faux pas in the past where I would wear a bright nude with heavy eyes, only If someone had told me I looked like death. Over seem to be perfect for that natural shade which can be built up in terms of coverage and pigmentation. Think I will reach for this more on a day to day basis.
 
Satin Primer






 Well we all know how important it is to prep and prime the skin first and Mac's Prep+ Prime disappointed to say the least, and I already have the Strobe cream from Mac which is okish so really wanted to give this a try. Illamasqua claim this "Containing UVA and UVB filters, Illamasqua Satin Primer lifts and highlights the face, creating a stunning dewy effect to enhance the siren within" I quite like the consistency of this compared to MAC Prep and Prime and the smell isn't overpowering too.
I had wanted to get the Smashbox primer initially but I am quite keen to give this a go and see how I get on, I am quite liking the dewy look at the minute.  
 
Highlighter in Gleam- Aurora
 
First thoughts? What a gorgeous champagne colour that is creamy and lightweight that gives a lovely glow enriched with very fine shimmer. I brought this because aside from the fabulous reviews it has, I quite like the idea of highlighting and contouring and felt this would deliver. I had never tried a cream highlighter before and lately, I have had a love/hate relationship with my Benefit High Beam highlighter, it just doesn't seem to want to stay put on my face.
 

 The highlighter itself doesn't seem to be overpowering thankfully which makes it quite wearable although you can build up the density if you want that strong lustrous look. It isn't frosty which I quite like and has the perfect amount of luminosity for my skin tone. Another plus point? Since it is a cream  highlighter, there are no shimmer fall outs and you can even apply with your fingers if you wish.


 And lastly, the Under Eye Concealer in 215.
 
What do Illamasqua say about this?
 
"Make your eyes stand out. Designed to keep dark circles and imperfections firmly under wraps, this moisture-rich formula blends easily and leaves skin feeling soft and even. A secret that no one knows but you. "
 
Yep, sounded like exactly what I needed. We all know after having kids, the sleepless/late nights are quite frequent and sadly I have always suffered from dark eyes. If there is one product I specifically look for when shopping for makeup is anything that will conceal them well. My relationship with them haven't got any better as of late, it seems no matter what I do, they always remain shadowed.




 It retails for £13 which I think is quite reasonable for a luxury brand and the first thing that stood out to me about this was the coverage. I'm just not sure I made the right decision with this one. The main purpose of using concealers for me is to cover my dark under eyes hence I thought it made sense to buy the under eye concealer. Sadly, the coverage isn't quite as thick as I'd like it to be. The little compact is a great size and you do get a tiny cute mirror with it but because its quite light and creamy I don't think it would hide my bags that well, at least it doesn't irritate my eyes I suppose and I'm sure I can find some other use for it.
 
So there you have it,  my slightly over the top long winded haul. Did you manage to get anything in the sale? What are your must have Illamasqua products?
 
 
Until next time...
 
xxx
 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 





 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Monday 20 May 2013

Makeup Haul- Urban Decay and Sleek.

Hello Lovelies,
Today's post is going to be a haul on Sleek and Urban Decay but before continuing, I must add that as of the 22nd of April, I put myself on a spending ban, cannot believe it is nearing to one month already, it feels like forever!
Now, very quickly, I initiated the spending ban for myself not because I am on the verge of bankruptcy (not yet anyway haha!) but for the first time in my life, I really wanted to be in control of my purse strings. They have been occasions in the past where I have spent ridiculous amounts on junk, felt guilty about it the minute I got home, tried to shift it on EBay and failed miserably and so it was an endless cycle. I then later decided to make the ban just on all things beauty related as I felt I was constantly buying a whole load of brushes and makeup at one stage, a lot of the times just simply out of boredom.
But that's enough about spending bans, lets move on to the haul shall we? I am soon to be a qualified Makeup artist or MUA as it is more commonly known, my dream, my passion, my hobby. It seems like everybody wants to be an Mua nowadays, yet if you know me well, you would know that this is a dream I have been chasing for many years and have finally plucked up the courage to get myself qualified, all it needed was the constant love and support of my family.
For any aspiring MUA, you would know that building up your makeup kit/collection will take a great deal of time, effort and money and isn't something you can build overnight, unless you have the B balance of Mrs Beckham of course, in which you could even pay someone to build it all up for you, but then where is the fun in that?
I thought it was wise to start getting a few bits and bobs together well in advance, particularly taking advantage of sale and discounted items just so that I can gradually and successfully build a kit. For once, it was a beautiful sunny day, so Starbucks in one hand and handbag in the other, off I went for a little spree, it may seem like I didn't buy much but it almost cost me £100 so it is a little much I reckon but after all, I'm investing in this kit of mine and surely, as its not solely for me, it shouldn't affect the ban?
First stop? At the Urban Decay counter! I have been contemplating for the famous Naked pallete for far too long, every blog post, every You tube guru featured this and I wondered what was the hype all about until the lovely lady at the counter demonstrated on my hand using the primer potion first and then using Half Baked and I kid you not it didn't even smudge or come off, even after washing my hands twice. I love the fact that you get a brush and the primer potion with it, the full sized version is about £15. This palette suits most Asian complexions and is the ultimate palette for creating neutral, smokey eye, cut crease, you have it all. Best of all? they had a 10% off offer.
Next stop? Good old Superdrug and straight to the Sleek stand. Ever since they first came out, I have been eyeing up their Blush By 3 for ages, the pigmentation is amazing and I just love the colours. The only palette that appealed to me most was the Lace one, (below) I loved the fact that it had a mixture of matte, satin and shimmer so you can really play around with it and is suited for most skin tones.
Since they had a 3 for 2 offer, I decided to pick up their contour kit in medium as we all know just how important contouring and highlighting is when applying makeup. The fact that it had the sculpting powder, highlighter and bronzer all in one compact was perfect and I felt the shades in medium was best suited for most skin tones.
And lastly, all 4 lip quads! (Siren, Showgirl, Tease and Ballet) I have been drooling over these since their launch on the 8th of May and I just haven't seen anything like it. I own a few of their lipsticks so I know just how good they are but its almost like the lovely people at Sleek decided to get the best of 4 shades and depot them all for you in one compact  with a little lip brush (which personally I wouldn't use.)! Brilliant! 4 gorgeous colours in one, creamy textures not to mentioning saving loads of space? Perfect! Of course, at £8.99 each it may seem steep in hindsight but one lipstick alone is around five pounds and I'm getting sixteen shades for around £18 with the offer on, that's the way I'm looking at it :-)



Who is heading over to IMATS London this year?

Hinnah

xxx





















Sunday 19 May 2013

5 minutes with the meastro SAHIDA at ZBridal Studio.

Thr Meastro Sahida.
You can understand my excitement when Makeup Maestro Sahida Sardar from Zbridal Studio agreed to let me interview her for a short piece on my blog. I have been really trying to get back onto Blogsphere after having my two children lately and when you manage to get hold of a top Makeup Artist and trainer for a few minutes of their time, it is certainly a moment to be proud of.
 
If you follow Zbridal based in the heart of Bradford, (Formerly known as Zara's Bridal) closely, you will know that they are one of the largest training academies in the UK with just over 7 branches situated across the North with plans for more branches reportedly opening across the UK.


Meet 'The Meastro', the woman behind it all, Sahida Sardar, mother of three who juggles it all and has created a big name and reputation for herself, as well as the expansion of her 'brand', she now has a huge fan base following her, the recent launch of the ZBridal app, more and more girls enrolling onto her training courses, a trip to Pakistan to do what she does best as well as being filmed for the BBC2 Bradford City Of Dreams documentary  which recently aired. For those of you that watched the programme, you would have seen the inspirational story behind it all.
 
That's all from me, in Sahidas word "Say No More", read on below to get a few minutes insight into the maestro's world.
 
Me: When did you decide you wanted to be a Makeup Maestro?
 
Sahida: I always wanted to be a makeup artist during my teens.
 
Where did the name Zara or ZBridal stem from?
 
Zara is my middle daughters name, I have three daughters and her name Zara was very appealing so I decided to name it after her.
 
(My daughters name is Zara too! :-) )



 
If you are not doing what you are, what would you have done instead?
 
I would have been continuing in my existing job as a Housing Officer- although I would have loved to have continued where I left when I joined the West Yorkshire Police force when i turned 20 but for family reasons had to leave shortly after I joined to pursue an acceptable career in an office.
 
Describe your training experience with Jawaad Ashraf?
 
Amazing and excellent training delivered by the makeup GURU, learnt tremendous amounts and continue to do masterclasses with him every year.

Describe a typical days work for you?
 
In short, doing bridal makeup, rushing from one house to another and trying to make sure everything runs smooth and is well organised and executed well.
 
 
 
 





Would you ever launch a makeup range?
 
Defo, something I have been thinking about including designing my own tailor made makeup trolley.
 
Oooo we just cant wait!
 
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
 
Inshallah INSHALLAH definitely in Britain's 100 RICH LIST!!
 
How do you juggle family life and work?
 
Its hard...trying to balance everything is chaotic at times, organising and prioritising is very important.
 
Any tips for aspiring MUAS?
 
Follow your dream, don't hold back and don't be scared..whats going to be will be!
 
Whats your most favourite part about making up people?
 
Love it when the whole look comes together, amazing feeling and total job satisfaction!!


 Three holy grail items you cannot live without?
 
My concealer, eyeliner and lippy!
 
How has ZBridal impacted you as a person?
 
It has made me stronger and more positive. I enjoy life and love my job so much, I look forward to new challenges and I'm always embracing change.
 
How do you unwind after a hards day work?
 
I never unwind! Theres a DVD player running in my head, theres no pause button on it! LOL I do find time to unwind with my family but can never fully unwind!
 
 
 


Just wanted to thanks Sahida for taking out a few minutes out of her busy schedule and answering the above for me. It was definitely an interesting read.
 
Until next time, Au revoir!
 
Hinnah xxx
 
** All images remain the right of Sahida Sardar and ZBridal. Not to be used or copied in any way.
 




 

Saturday 11 May 2013

EBay Bargain Buy: Beauty Blender.

If there is one thing I love about beauty is that there are always cheaper replicas available whether it is makeup, tools or accessories. So of course, when you subscribe to and watch countless You tube tutorials, your wish list seem to get bigger and bigger by the minute and one thing Ive had on it for ages(after the Naked palette) was the usually hot pink egg shaped sponge also known as the Beauty Blender.
 
The egg shaped sponge reportedly used by the likes of Beyonce and  Rhianna apparently gives you an airbrush look so you never have to reach for your foundation brush again. The real McCoy retails at around £24, now as much as I love beauty, I just couldn't bring myself to fork out that much for it and so resorting to good old EBay, I found a seller who was selling the much cheaper version of it all the way from Hong Kong at a ridiculous £1.07 including delivery. Sold! And yes, I didn't even mind waiting almost three weeks for it to arrive, especially at that price.
 
Cheapskate? Maybe I am but I have often fallen for hypes  in the past and been left disappointed, but I wont go into too much detail. Besides, it was a great way to find out if the concept of the beauty blender worked for me before splashing out on the real thing.  
 
The sponge itself is a high density sponge that can primarily be used to apply foundation and concealer without eating up too much of the product, The edges are soft and smooth
 with no harsh edges ensuring a streak free application. The pointy end is ideal for use around the hard to reach areas that need precision such as under the eye, around the nose and mouth and can be used both dry and damp, although I have found to get better results when it is slightly damp. Being the shape it is and smooth means that it easily glides all over my face as doesn't give it that scratchy feel you often find with some of the triangular sponges. When it doubles in size, I have found that its also great for setting powder. Talk about bonus points! Most of the Beauty Blenders are latex free, non allergenic and free of odour. 



To give it a good clean, simply immerse it in soapy water, soak out all the water and carefully dry with a towel and see how it  almost doubles in size! (See image below) And best of all, no tedious brush cleaning and drying we all could do without.


Beauty Blender first use & when washed.

I have been using mine for a good few weeks now and I am in love with the flawless finish it gives me with my Kryolan foundation in shade FS36. Although, the foundation is full coverage, the beauty blender gives it dewy sort of finish which I love. I especially love the way it glides around the contours of my face whereas I never get the same desired effect with my stippling brush.


Ive come to the conclusion that I need a Beauty Blender in my life as it really does give my foundation a flawless finish, this little bargain was a great buy and I'm contemplating on buying the official one, although, Ive had a great experience buying this from the seller on EBay and I would definitely recommend them and the product. No doubt.

Have you used a beauty blender? What do you think?