x-Make-up-Meoww-x

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2012-02-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

So the giveaway is now closed and we have a winner...

Congrats to Tammy from union-apparel.blogspot.com !

I used random.org to generate the winner, the more entries you had, the more numbers you got against your name.

So congrats to you Tammy! I have sent you an email, and can't wait to send you your prizes :]!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

IMATS Part 1 : Haul

2012-02-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

As you may know, I have been excited for IMATS for aggggges now. And yesterday was amazing, so inspiring, and has got my creative juices flowing.

Now to talk about this all in one go would be far to big a post, so I'm splitting in two, this post is all about the goodies I got! The next post will be all about the seminars/who I met/things going on/pictures from the day.

I was very luck to meet some of my favourite artists, but anyway, on to the goodies!

I spent an absolute fortune, but got some amazing deals.

The first place I headed was crown brush, simply because I've heard how busy it gets at their counter and all the pushing and shoving, I arrived shorted after the opening time of half 8, so I was there while it was nice and calm and avoided queues. I picked up all eye brushes because I have a fair range of face brushes, but wanted to add to my collection of eye tools, so I got the thinest liner brush they had, a crease brush [virtual the same as my mac crease brush but less dense], an angled liner brush which like to use for eyebrows, the next brush I thought was really interesting, its quite dense and round but angled, kid of like a tiny flat top brush but angled, I then got 2 tapered crease brushes a smaller slightly denser one for more tight blending, and a fluffier sparser one for more soft focus type blending. I also got some disposable mascara wands as I was running out, and a brush cleaner spray for spot cleaning. The brush cleaner was £6, the wands were £3 and the brushes were all between £2 and £3.

The next place I went was to Makeup For Ever. I didn't buy these both at the same time however, I got the foundation first simply because i bought it from new york 2 years ago and it become my favourite foundation, so when I ran out I was gutted. I know they run out of certain shades really quick at imats so I grabbed my shade fast! I then had a look at the stand, and the flash palette caught my eye, I had wanted it for a long time but the high price [nearly £70] was what put me off, the trade show price was £44.50, so whilst still pretty hefty, I thought it was a really good deal, so I thought about it, then went back later on to get it, and I'm so pleased I did :]. The foundation trade show price was £18, a whole tenner off the retail price of its UK distributor!

I also EEEEEEPPPPPP, got my Mac Pro card! Finally!

Mac as usual were not offering discount only the usual pro discount to procard holders. This in mind I thought I could make use of the same discount whenever I fancied so I only picked up one thing, fix plus. Simply because I had ran out of mine and made my own version of it, but I missed my fix plus. Its just so handy for setting foundation, I especially like it over mineral and matte foundations as it keeps the finish of the makeup, yet adds a very natural glow. I also like to spray it on my brushes because using pigments and mineral products. With my pro discount I got this for £8.

I then went to illmasqua, but because of the amount of things I got from there, and the incredible bargains, I'll leave them till last.

Heres a couple of boring things, a mixing palette and a stippling/texture sponge. I got the sponge for free, it was near the end of the day and the man said he'd seen me there since the morning and i told him i was just so fascinated by everything around me, and went to buy it, and just said 'put it in your bag' bless him!!

I thought sleek were offering some pretty shoddy deals I must say, palettes were £6 which if I'm right is a mere 50p from its usual prices, blushes were 4 for price of 3, it all seemed a bit 'meh' apart from the pigments which I thought was a proper bargain! 10 for £10! There were 2 sets, this is the brighter one of the two and the most unique and when i swatched them seemed to have the better pay off. Really pleased with these!

Wow, well these were a crazy bargain! I noticed a sign that said 5 for £6 looked in the box and it was foundations by Fero! Not a brand I've used before but I am familiar with. I asked if anything was wrong with them and he simply said that they are changing the packaging and selling the ones with current packaging off! I tested them and they seemed really nice so I got a range of colours, I didn't get 2 many incase I didn't get on as well as I hoped with them, but instead got 2 extra shades of the medium and fair shade, because these are the most commonly used colours in my kit. I personally love the packaging and don't think they should be changing it, a nice tube with a pump dispenser on the end, I love it, its functional! I got 2 cream colours as well, and some latex free sponges.

I only picked up one thing from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, because although good prices, they weren't 'wow grab as much as you can prices', so I got the black lip tar. I have the full collection of sleek pout paints and get on really well with them, but annoyingly they don't have a black! Which is really essential with those kind of products for darkening colours! Which is why I knew I wanted the black lip tar, they were selling for £7 each or 3 for £20.

I then got 2 glitters from Wolfe, both holographic, obviously one more than the other, the smaller holographic particles in the gold didn't pick up when taking the photo. I thought these were a steal at £2.50 each! They are just like the MUFE ones which were selling including discount at around £8-10. The lady pointed out to me that they are made in the same factory, so are basically the same stuff... just packaged with different names!

So these bags are filled with all my illasmqua goodies from IMATS!

The deals were CRAZY so I picked up LOADS.

They were selling there medium pencils for £2 each!!!! So I got one of everything they had! Plus another extra one for my friend, and another extra one of these colours for my give away ;].

They are safe to use on eyes, lips, everywhere!

I got 2 blushes, the pink one is cream and the red is powder, both £5 each! They are both gorgeous the pink is very light and sheer, gives a cute glow on the cheeks, the red is super pigmented, will get gorgeous contouring for fashion photographer and it can also be sheered out for a light rosy glow.

I got 2 of the light liquid foundations, these were £7.5o or you could get the entire 14 shade collection for £75 which I was going to get, but i rarely use a light coverage foundation in my kit, I usually opt for a medium, especially as I deal with a lot of photography. They also had 8 cream foundations, same price or the whole lot of them for £45, which i was going to get as well, buttttt I prefer liquid foundations, and I found a couple of the shades a little odd and very different from their neighbour shades meaning mixing and I didn't overly fancy mixing cream foundations, so I gave it a pass, I still don't know if I should have got it, but when I went back for a second look they had sold out anyway! I got 2 shades in the light foundation a fair and medium shade because I will personally get use out of them, but if I do want a light coverage for a job, these will suit most light to medium skin tones, and I have other light coverage foundations I like to use on deeper skin. Being a light coverage, it you don't always need an 'exact' match because being sheer it appears to adapt to your skin tone, which is how most of these companies claiming their skin adapts to your own colour, go about their way! If you've noticed, products that claim this are all light in coverage, so of course its going to 'adapt' to your own skin! And the white ones with little beads in, only have one colour in the beads! It doesn't magically change to your own personally colour, its just a sheerer wash of colour that suits a majority of tones! So products that say this and do a light medium and dark shade, they're basically this kind of thing, it's just cleaver marketing, sorry i'm rambling now!

I then got both of the body illuminating oils for £7.50 each. These look FAB on

the skin for photography.

Now if I was writing how this should be, I'd be saying that I got all the liquid metals there, sadly one of the products was labelled wrong and I ended up with a pigment, it's lovely so I don't really mind, but I really did want the other shade, which was a like a white gold colour, a mix between silver and gold, and I'll try and pick it up sometime soon. I was very sad to here however, that solstice, the first gold liquid metal they launched, has been discontinued, this is because the pigment used to make it has run out! Boo =[ Apparently its like gold dust now [excuse the pun] so i'll use mine lightly now, as it was a big essential in my kit and I used it loads! However this new version, applies a lot smoother but I did love solstice....

Here are the products swatched. They were £5 each.

The last things I got were an intense lipgloss is a glittery silver, perfect for shoots, the lady also said you could mix it with other lipsticks and glosses to add shimmer to it, I've demo'd that here by mixing a tiny dot with some pink pout pant!

I then got a navy lipstick, I know what you're all thinking, omg is she mad, silver gloss and blue lipstick! Remember I am a makeup artist and these colours can come in very handy for shoots!

I lastly got a gorgeous pink nail polish for my friend, it has a beautiful pearlescent sheen when it catches the light, as I tried to capture in the photo.

So thats it I think!

I spend a small fortune but got some great products!

Illamasqua by far did the best deals, I mean, they were crazy! Over half price, for example, the foundations are meant to be £21 each, pencils £13, blushes £15, metals about £15, CRAZY!

Did you go to imats, if you went, what did you pick up?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Busy Makeup Bee!

2012-02-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

Super sorry for the lack of posts recently!

I've been involved in a lot more shoots lately, so had my hands full with that.

I do have lots of posts for you soon!

I have the glossybox and carmine january review, as well as my Secret Valentine from beauty box swaps, and lots of others!

But just thought I'd post a few pictures from some shoots this week =].

Hope you like!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

My Birthday and the goodies!

2012-01-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

So may have noticed it was my birthday recently.

I turned 20 on sunday :) Though I refuse to call myself twenty, and say that I'm 'twenteen'.

On saturday night I went out with a group of my closest friends dressed as wheres wally.

I was actually the only girl there, was none of my girlfriends could go, so it turned out to be a bit of 'lads night' haha! But a high percentage of my friends are male, and often the best fun is when I'm out with them because we can just be totally silly and well 'wallys' ;).

I also got some amazing presents so would like to share with you some of those, and a couple of pictures from the night.

Firstly, the presents, because I know you're all nosey like me, and like to know what gifts people get!

I was very lucky and got lots of perfume this year!

The perfumes I got were, Dolce and Gabbana 'Rose the one', the original 'the one' is one of my favourite perfumes and I have always wanted to try the rose version. I also got Juicy Couture 'couture couture', Marc Jacobs 'Lola', Vera Wang 'Princess' and Vera Wang 'Love struck'. All of these perfumes are ones I have wanted so I was thrilled with them all!.

Some beauty items I got were the body shop cranberry joy body scrub (everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE cranberry), Liz Earle facial exfoliator, 2 more illamasqua cream eye shadows, mac polish, more illamasqua eyelashes, YSL aqua liner (which is in a pale green shade and AMAZING!). I also got a bit more mac and illamasqua but don't have them to hand.

Being the comedy fan I am I also got 2 new stand up DVDs :).

I then got this amazing little thing, a jelly belly toasted marshmallow scented reed diffuser! Cannot wait to use this!

Now, I didn't get ALL of these necklaces for my birthday, I got the hooks for christmas, a couple I bought last year but 80% of them I got for my birthday after picking them out from the accessorise sale.

I also got a few other bits, and my granny is buying me my IMATS weekend ticket, my best friend is booking me in for a new tattoo, YAY :). So I've been more than spoilt!

Anyway here's a few snaps from my wally night :).

I hope the guys don't mind their pictures on here, I just won't tell them ;)

Louis (far left) is the evil yellow wally, incase you were wondering,

anyway, I had a fab birthday weekend :)

Hope your all very well!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Review

2012-01-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

I know I've absent for a while, it was my birthday at the weekend, and I'm also on a currently on a course this week, (which is proving very helpful and I shall report on that later). So my free time has been very limited. I will be posting about my birthday and sharing some of the fab things I got super soon :)

But for now I just had to blog about this new product....

I'm sure many of you are aware of Chanel's newest foundation to launch, Perfection Lumiere. This replaced one of beauty's most loved foundations, Pro Lumiere. It will also be replacing matte lumiere, which whilst I don't own, I do know is also a very popular and well loved choice.

Pro Lumiere was one of my most loved foundations, it gave a beautiful natural dewy finish, but also provided a good coverage for flawless skin, it's been a makeup artists favourite for years, which is why it took by surprise to hear that it was being discontinued. Due to this, I had such high hopes for the new foundation, I've always got on so well with chanel foundations and I've never been let down by them, until now, sadly.

Thankfully I didn't dive right in a purchase a full bottle, because it has a very hefty price tag of £36. Any cosmetic product with this kind of price, even by my standards, really has to be something very special. I can definitely justify the price when it comes to my beloved pro lumiere and vita lumiere aqua, however i found this new addition to the line very disappointing.

I took a sample of shade 30, this my shade in the other chanel foundations (however in this particular range I found it a little bit more orange). I was super exited to try it out, but when applied, it made my skin look so flat! I'm lucky and usually have very good skin, however after applying this foundation it reminded me of those bad school days when I was younger and no idea what I was doing with makeup, it looked caked on, seemed to highlight imperfections I didn't even know existed, and made me look like I was desperately trying to cover up bad skin, when really, underneath the very thin layer, my skin was in fact very decent!

I think the reason for this is that the foundation is VERY matte. I'm not a massive fan of matt foundations to begin with anyway, if you are then you may get on with this product, but trust me when I say it really is very matte. I prefer a foundation to look like real skin, and skin this matte just doesn't exist. If I had to describe how this foundation looked on my skin, if you imagine using poster paints at school and remember how they looked when they had dried on paper, it wasn't far of that... on my skin.

Another problem I have with this foundation is that it contains spf 10 with titanium dioxide being the active ingredient, so I wouldn't particularly advise using this foundation if you're going to be around any flash photography.

This foundation does have a very strong floral/fruity scent as well, personally, I love this, as I like a nice smelling foundation, some foundations, for example mac studio fix fluid smell pretty foul. However some people I understand do not get on very well with strong scented face products.

My biggest issue is really this...

Why replace Pro and Matte Lumiere, two well respected, good performing, loved products, for this foundation? I could understand if it was a product that was a 'better updated version of' pro and matte lumiere, but this is completely different! Right on the other end of the scale!

It seems silly to replace such a great foundation with a such a different formula.

There are however some good points, I won't totally bash this foundation.

It would be great for really oily skin.

Because of its heavy matte formula, which is thin in consistency but full of coverage, it makes it great for those who have trouble with oily skin.

Also like I mentioned the coverage is very decent, definitely medium to full.

I really didn't want to have a bash at chanel, adore the brand and have never had an issue with any of the products before, but this one disappointed me SO much! Especially since it's been really hyped and has replaced one of my favourite foundations.

I really do hope Chanel realise their mistake as I would presume most of their customers would easily prefer having pro lumiere back in the line other than this very poor product, any day!

As I said, this is just my opinion, you may love this foundation! I do urge you all to go and try a sample first though, try it on yourself at home and see if its for you, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it for dry/combination skin. I have normal skin and still found this made my skin look like the sahara crying out for a drink!.

Have you tried this foundation yet? What are you views? Are you upset about Pro lumiere being discontinued?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

A sweet makeup experiment...

2012-01-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

As most of you are aware, as well as being a beauty and fashion addict, I'm also a freelance makeup artist with some experience in commercial styling as well. Its was about 6 months ago that I decided to put my heart and soul into freelance and try and make it my career. A lot of hard work and effort has gone into building up my portfolio, making contacts and improving my skills. But I feel that in these past months I have personally achieved quite a lot. Whilst it's still an ever growing project to make this into a fulltime career, I am getting the first pieces of my jigsaw in place!

I do quite a lot of shoots but I don't post many of them on here, however today I had a shoot with two local photography students who had found my work on the internet and got in touch. These girls really are fabulous, their skills are beyond the majority of any college students and it turned out to be possibly my favourite shoot of all time.

We did various looks but this is my favourite, and the funnest to do. I'd always wanted to do a kitsch shoot in the style of mac's quite cute/sugar sweet collection promos. Lots of glitter and sprinkles later... these are some of the pictures. Just to note, these are not the finished photo's simply some snaps from the day I thought you might want to have a nose at :)

Hope you like :)

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Makeup goes Meow!

2012-01-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

From the name of my blog it may come as no surprise to know that two of my favourite things are makeup and cats. In which case, I believe this to be the most appropriate post I've ever publish on this blog to date.

Paul and Joe have been a brand I've admired for quite sometime, from their elaborate cute packaging, to the quirky collections and kitsch colours.

Well this year they're celebrating their 10 year anniversary, and being cat loves like myself, they're doing in purrrrrrrfect style.

Check out these gorgeous products!

The collection is set out in 2 halves, the Collection Sparkles and the Kitty collection. Sparkles, is shown in the top photo with the eyeshadow palettes and paw print lipsticks. Kitty collection is the below photo, this also contains a cute pressed powder with a paw print puff, and a gel liner to get those cat eyes!

This 10 year anniversary collection is currently available on Asos, and in a few stores. It launches to Harrods on the 25th.

Another kitty trend thats got me lusting are the Charlotte Olympia 'Kitty' heels.

These were spotted on the beautiful Alexa Chung at the British Fashion awards.

They also come in a gorgeous wedge form, which are right up my street!

Sadly at between 500 and 650 british pounds a pop, I very much doubt I will be walking the streets in these, but the search is on for a good dupe!

What do you think of the current kitty craze, will you be getting your paws on anything?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

The smell of cupcakes...

2012-01-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

I had been on the hunt for a while for this product! Well, not this particular one, anything that fitted its description, but came across this baby first.

There is a small outlet village about 20 minutes from where I live, I actually bought this about 2 months ago, but felt that I needed to share it with you all because its gorgeous.

Basically the hunt started when I walked into a home furnishings store and it smelt like cakes, I asked an assistant if it was a special plug in that they were using, but in fact they were actually just baking cookies as a promo at the back of the shop! That would have been a big YAY for everyone else, but for me, I wanted the bottle of what ever that smell was so that my room could smell like a bakery! So since then I'd been on the hunt for something that would do it!

(yes thats Elvis in the picture, my room has a rock n roll theme and i bought it at the boot sale for a bargain)

I found this candle in a home store outlet shop (not the one i was originally in) and my face filled with joy when I smelt it and realised it was what I'd be after! It smelt SO much like cakes, not a fake cake smell, like it was a REAL cake. Its adorable and has cute little faux sprinkles on top!

I love burning this in my room, I do wish it would smell a bit stronger and fill the room, however my mum can smell as soon as she walks in my door so maybe its just me! The hunt hasn't ended, and I don't think it ever will. I will always long for more things to make my room smell of cakes, without having made any effort to make any!

For those interested, I found it on the internet here. It is in euro's but I believe you can still purchase it over here.

Is this to sickly sweet for you, or would love a product like this?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Quick OOTN

2012-01-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd do a quick outfit post to show you what I wore tonight.

I went to my granny's cousins surprise 70th party. It wasn't actually as dull as you may think surprisingly, and I did have a pretty nice time :)

Sorry for the rubbish quality photo, I really do need to get my camera sorted (and tidy my room!)

The dress is from Primark and I thought I got for a bargain £10 but the tag said £13 so maybe not, either way it's still a steal and I lurrrve it! I the back has buttons all the way down like Pippa Middleton's famous dress.

Shoes where a massive bargain from Primark for £6! I am SUCH a big fan of wedges, especially black ones, these are lush with a dark wooden effect rounded wedge base, with faux suede and leather on the top of the shoe, laces and peep toe. They're gorgeous.

For once, my hair is neither in a bun, or loaded with extensions. I've been growing my hair for a while now after regretting having it cut short, though it did probly need it due to the condition. I've been laying on heat on my hair and only straighten it or curl it the odd once or twice a month, sometimes not even that! Today I thought I'd give it a heat fix, armed protectant spray of course. Because of how well its growing I didn't feel the need to either tie it up or shove and extensions in, so yay to that!

Hope your having a fabulous weekend! My OOTN next week will be a lot more interesting ;) Its my birthday next sunday so on the saturday night I'm having a wheres wally themed dress up bash, look out for that!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

To cute to use?

2012-01-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

I made a BIG order on urban outfitters not so long ago and my things came yesterday WOO! Still deciding on what to keep and if I need to send anything back.

But one thing I got which I thought you guys would love to see are these lipsticks!

I can't remember the original price of these because they've now sold out, but I think it was £20.

I picked them up for a bargain £5!

How gorgeous are these! They remind me so much of the Paul and Joe lipsticks, only these are meant to be owls.

Anyway, the colours are gorgeous as well as the cute product packaging, but I can't bare to use them!

They just seem to cute and adorable to use and ruin!

Have you ever had a product that you feel like you can't use because you don't want to wreck its prettiness and aesthetic appeal?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Origins Ginzing Eyecream Review

2012-01-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

So it's going to be another raving review today lovelies!

As I mentioned in another post, I got a lovely Origins set for christmas, included in the set was the Ginzing eye cream I had been lusting over!

Now I've never really been into eye creams, I never found one that I felt really did anything special for me, but this eye cream has had so many raving reviews (one more as of now), so I wanted to see if it was worth the hype. I can tell you right now this is one of those products that is most defiantly worth the hype!

Origins describe the product as a refreshing eye cream that promises to brighten and de-puff. They say that it will reduce the look of dark circles and make bags and puffiness appear less visible. It contains 'caffeine from Coffee beans, Panax Ginseng, Magnolia Extract and natural optic brighteners which rapidly wakes up, refreshes and restores radiance to tired eyes'.

I do say, I have to agree with them. This is the only eye cream I've ever used that I have found has actually made a difference to my eyes. I personally am a late sleeper, so I often wake up with dark circles and some puffiness. This cream not only reduces puffiness but also has a brightening effect. The cream is a peachy pink colour, which helps to counteract dark circles, and its also slightly luminous, which helps with brightening.

It feels really nice and refreshing to put on the morning it gives you a little boost and makes you feel more awake! I also find the foundation/concealer under my eyes looks much better after using this in my routine.

It's definitely worth a try. As I said, this is the only eye cream I have found to work on me, which is saying something! It also happens to be Tanya Burr's (pixi2woo) favourite eye cream of all time.

It retails at £21 but you can get it in a set here on QVC for £32 that includes the vitazing moisturiser and overnight moisture mask. This is the set that I got, it's a very good deal if you interested in both products as it's a nice saving plus you get the overnight mask!

Have you tried this eye cream before?

Origins is starting to become a bit of a favourite of mine at the moment!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven: Review

2012-01-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Glossybox's December box was a total gem wasn't it! I really have loved all the products, and one of my favourites being this beauty!

Its by MeMeMe, a brand stocked in superdrug, its one brand I've already looked at products from, but never really found anything I liked the look of enough to warrant purchase, until now...

This is an absolutely fabulous product! I use it as a primer under my foundation, it's lovely and moisturising, it reduces the look any pores, it makes my foundation go on super smooth and makes the foundation appear airbrushed in its finish! I find it also helps the foundation last longer as well, especially when I typically like to where lighter foundations with sheerer coverage, they don't tend to last all day but they seem to with this.

One negative to some people (which I find a massive bonus personally), is the scent of the product.

It has a lovely citrus smell to it, it is a fairly strong scent for a skin product, but I personally love it and find it only makes me love it more!.

I definitely intend on buying this fullsized when I run out :)!

Did you receive this in your glossybox?

What did you think of it if you did?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Giveaway madness!

2012-01-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Okay so there are some AMAZING giveaways going on at the moment. I don't overly like to overload you with posts about them BUT Lainy Lulu is a new blogger and has FAB give away, infact shes giving away Urban Decay Naked 2! So I really think this is worth raving about! Plus she has a lovely blog so check her out. Enter here!. http://laineylulu.blogspot.com/2012/01/giveaway-free-urban-decay-naked-2_09.html?showComment=1326157351113#c4128550869763685662

And if you haven't yet entered my giveaway, I still have more prizes to add to enter here :)

http://makeupmeow.blogspot.com/2012/01/100-follower-give-away.html

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Origins Vitazing Review

2012-01-09T04:05:00.000-08:00

If you saw my post on the beauty items I got for christmas, you may remember how excited I was about receiving a box of Origins products!

I had been after vitazing for so long but never took the plunge to buy it.

I'm now left wondering why I didn't!

This products is outstanding! Now, if you don't know the concept behind vitazing, its meant to be this miracle moisturiser with lots of top ingredients including the much sought after mangosteen. It's an energising moisturiser and has spf 15. But theres one thing about this product that makes it worth the rave...

The fact that it can double as tinted moisturiser!

This by no means has any sort of coverage to it at all, I won't cover any blemishes, but it will even out your skin tone, give it vitality and radiance, and make it look like you got all the hours sleep you needed! Origins describe it as giving you a look that, 'mimics a week on holiday' and I really do believe it sort of does do that!

The product comes out as your average white creamy moisturiser.

When you start to blend, you can begin to see it get a slight colour.

As you blend further, it becomes a gorgeous flesh tone.

Then once completely blended, it gives the skin a beautiful subtle hint of colour, and leaves you with a fresh, dewy and bright finish!

Obviously the process of blending it into your skin takes seconds, I've just shown you the process broken down so you can get an idea of how the product works.

I honestly cannot recommend this enough. It's the perfect product if you're running late or just need to nip out somewhere but want to look a bit more bright. It really does make your skin look fabulous! I can pop this on in a minute, and feel totally fine to leave the house. I also use this under foundation sometimes, it means that my skin tone is even, therefore I only need the tiniest bit of foundation for perfect coverage. I also sometimes wear this as my foundation! Its undetectable to the eye that you have anything on, yet it really just perfect your skin!

Obviously I wont be using this on its own if I have any blemishes, when your skin is being good it really is the perfect product!

Its pretty pricey at £26 a tube, but I feel it will last a good while, and it does a decent enough job to warrant its price tag.

Have you tried Origins vitazing? Or perhaps theres another product from the brand you love? Let me know your thoughts!

I shall also be reviewing the ginzing eyecream and overnight face mask very soon :)

Also don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

You can win a set of clarins goodies, plus other items, and more to be added!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Kreativ Blogger Award

2012-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

I really should sleep! But I've had a superduper tough day today, emotions running wild, head everywhere, one of those times when things really just get on top of you. But blogging makes me feel better I've just seen I've been given yet another award! From Sandra at Bbalm.blogspot.com thankyou :)!

Here's what you do - Link back to the person that awarded you - Answer the questions - share 7 random facts about yourself - award 10 other bloggers and let them know.

1. What's your favourite song

I simply cannot choose one! Anything by Blink182 there my hereo's I'll list a couple of my faves since I'm a big music rock n roll diva!

Whats my age again - Blink182

Dumpweed - Blink182

Highway to hell- ACDC

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeplin

Come together - The Beatles

Last Resort - Papa Roach

Golden Cobra - Limp Bizkit

Great Escape - Boys like girls

Life is a highway - Ton Cochrane

Journey to the end of my life - Allstar Weekend

Boiled Frogs - Alexisonfore/city and colour

Bit of a list sorry, more! Theres so many more to!

2. Your favourite dessert

Cheesecake!

3. What ticks you off

Football and rude/ignorant people/liars.

4. When I'm upset I..

Play my guitar, plan things to enjoy.

5. Favourite Pet

I have loved all my pets I simply cannot choose! But I adore my cats, TJ and Pixie :)

6. Black or White

Black.

7. Biggest Fear

Death, actually. And never finding a 'soulmate'

8. Everyday attitude

I'm 99% of the time the most laid back, chilled, happy go lucky, bubbly excitable little character ever.

9. What is perfection

Nothing is perfect, but that's what makes things so great. I guess being content is perfection :)

10. Guilty pleasure

Pretty babyfaced boys. I'm a sucker.

10 beautiful bloggers

http://www.pretty-in-pink-blog.com/
http://www.cupcakesclothes.com/
http://dragonmommy123.blogspot.com/
http://ftbh.blogspot.com/
http://morbidlyfabulous.blogspot.com/
http://www.stylemarmalade.com/
http://www.theglossgoss.com
http://www.thestylerawr.com/
http://www.thesundaygirl.com
http://angiebeautybelle.blogpsot.com

I do believe some of you already have the award, but I felt the need to mention you anyway :).
Lots of love,
Gemma.
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Cute Blog Award!

2012-01-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

I was very kindly given the cute blog award from http://yolandaas.blogspot.com/

Thank you very much!

This is the second little award I've gotten, so cute :)!

How this works is I now answer a little interview/survey and pass the award on to a handful of other bloggers who I feel should get the award.

1. What is your go to makeup product?

A nice nude lipstick and dark eyeshaddow!

2. What was your favorite fashion trend of 2011?

I guess the whole 'crosses' thing got big, and love that :)

3. What is your favorite dessert?

Strawberry or Lemon cheesecake!

4. Favorite color?

Yellow!

5. What is your middle name?

Louise.

6. What was the last song you listened to?

Chase and Status - Eastern Jam

7. Cats or dogs?

Cats!!!

I send this award to:

http://www.pretty-in-pink-blog.com/

http://bbalm.blogspot.com/

http://www.cupcakesclothes.com/

http://dragonmommy123.blogspot.com/

http://ftbh.blogspot.com/

http://morbidlyfabulous.blogspot.com/

http://www.stylemarmalade.com/

http://www.theglossgoss.com

http://www.thestylerawr.com/

http://www.thesundaygirl.com

http://angiebeautybelle.blogpsot.com

Have a lovely week and dont forget to enter my giveaway!

Loves,

Gemma.

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100 Follower give away!

2012-01-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Wowie! I've got 100 of you following my little blog! Firstly, thank you so much to all of my beautiful followers, I can't stress how happy I am to be a part of this community, your all so supportive and it's such a wonderful thing to be a part of, especially when we all share a passion. Not many of my friends really get my whole 'thing' with makeup and how fascinated I am with it, but I can express it all on here and know that you guys share the same love :)

So then the give away!

So far...

Clarins travel Exfoliating cream

Clarins travel foaming cleanser

Clarins travel beauty flash balm

Clarins mini gloss (like nars orgasm)

No 7 lipgloss

Travel Trevor Sorbe smoothing balm

Just to let you know, I have more prizes for grabs other than what is shown here, my friend Michelle who works for clarins has kindly donated some goodies and says that she has a few more things that she can pop in :)! Along side this, I have got a few other bits I'm adding to the give away.

ALSO, now heres the cool bit, along with all of these prizes and others not pictured, for every 10 followers I get over 100, I will adding another prize! So you could end up with even more goodies!

I will also be doing 3 runner up prizes, so that you all have a decent chance of winning something :)

You may enter from today, and it will close on the 7th of February, so theres a whole month for there to be extra prizes added! Plus, I will be at the IMATS just before closing date, and will pick out a prize from there to add to the package!

So heres the boring bit

The rules

You must be a follower of this blog.

You must comment on this post with your name and email address, and tell me what your favourite all time product is (Because I'm nosy :P)

This will entitle you to 1 entry.

If you want extra entries theres a few things you can do!

Tweet about my give away with a link +1 entry

Do a post about my give away + 2 entry

Like my freelance makeup page DollyRoger Makeup here +1 entry

Let me know your name/twitter/blog if you do any of these things for an extra entry.

All thats left to say is good luck!

And thank you SO much for following my blog, it means an awful lot :)

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Illamasqua sale bargains!

2012-01-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you are aware, but illamasqua have had a FANTASTIC sale on recently, with items from £5! It's very rare for beauty brands to have any kind of sale at all, the most you'll usually get is by hunting at outlet stores, maybe a 10% off code here and there for department stores, christmas sets occasionally on offer, but thats usually as far as it goes, very rarely does a brand have and actual full on sale! So when illamasqua, a brand I've adored and followed since its very beginning launch a couple of years ago, has a sale, I was straight in there! I love the brand and have quite a few of their products, one of my all time favourites being the liquid metals.

I really wish I could have bought every single thing on there! Sadly as bargainous as it is, it does all add up, and I simply cannot afford to get everything, (though I do think I'll be making another order before the sale ends, and I don't know when that is).

Here are my picks from the sale :) Everything I got was down to £5 minus the lipstick which was £7.50. Some of my choices may seem odd, but please bare in mind that I am a makeup artist, so the 'out there' products are a god send to me, and almost little a little toy I get to play with :)!.

I really was spoilt for choice when it came to lashes, as much as I wanted every single pair, I had to narrow my choices. I chose these 3 based on my current collection and what I had been looking for and don't have in my collection. The top pair are a design that I've been wanting for a while, the second pair I bought based in mind of a shoot that I've had idea for, and the 3rd pair look like a perfect dupe for the Mac Hello Kitty lashes that came out a few years ago, I do own these lashes, but sadly due to lots of wear, they are now a bit past their time.

I have 5 cream shadows here, my mum has also chosen me a few shades for my birthday as she knows how much I wanted more of them. They are a mix of satin and sheen finishes. Cream shadows are fabulous for a base under eye powder shadows to create a bolder and longer lasting finish, but they can also have a pretty slightly glossy finish sometimes when used on their own, which looks beautiful for photography in shoots. I've had a little play with these, the consistency is great and they are lovely to work with, I will do a review soon when I've had a more time to play with them.

I think that these are my favourite purchase of the bunch. Chunky pencil liners. They are SO creamy and well pigmented, and the colours are gorgeous, there is also a silver available but I have quite a few silver pencils I didn't warrant getting another, as tempting as it is now because the formula of these is fab.

The colours are so beautiful, they remind me of the colours that the Olson twins wear on their eyes, which is one of my favourite looks, so I'll get a ton of use out of these! Photo's do not do any of these products justice.

Last up is a lipstick, I've included two photos because it was hard to capture the true colour of this lipstick, it's not accurate in either photo, more like a middle ground of the two, however it is a bright hot orange, theres no mistaking that. But come summer this colour is going to be all over our magazines and catwalks, its a colour that always looks very beautiful and striking in shoots, and one that I lacked anything like in my collection.

I do plan on grabbing more form this sale before it goes, I have my eye on a few other things.

Have you check out any of the illamasqua sale? Have you tried any of their products before?

www.illamasqua.com

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Looking for an IMATS buddy!

2012-01-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

So its that time of year again, the UK IMATS are just around the corner.

For those of you don't know what IMATS is, it's the international makeup artists trade show. They go around top cities around the world. They have shows, demo's, some of the industries top artists will be there and there's LOADS of stools where you can purchase products and most of them are at a very discounted price. You can sometimes also buy trading cards for certain brands which entitle you to a percentage of their products for a period of time (usually around a year).

The show is over 2 days in Wood Green, London, on the 2nd and 3rd of Febuary, you can of course opt to only go for one day, which is what I think I shall be doing. A day ticket is £40, there is a discounted price for students and children though.

I've never been to IMATS before, but have always wanted to go since make-up is my biggest passion. However since recently getting more into my freelance, I feel this would be such an amazing event for me to attend, and I'm so excited!

If any one would like to go with me, in fact, if a few of you would like to go we can arrange a meet up there!

If you'd like to know anymore, the website is http://www.imats.net/london/london_index.php

Hope your all having a lovely week :)

Gemma.

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Coco before Chanel

2012-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

I have to write this whilst its fresh on my mind. I'd been meaning to watch the film Coco before Chanel for such a long time, but would always forget. I was super happy to get the film for christmas and have just finished watching it.

Now I wouldn't normally do a DVD review on here, but this has earnt its place on my blog and I feel its something many of you would really love. Its all about the life of Coco before she entered the fashion world, infact there only a very tiny peice at the end of the film in which you see her enter her career, the film is based on everything before that, focusing in detail on her personal life.

Now when I first put the film on, I was a bit gutted to see it was all in French with English subtitles, I usually don't tend to get on with foreign films as I can't get in to it when I'm reading subtitles, however, how wrong I was. Infact the French actually enhanses the film and makes it feel even more authentic and I have never been so gripped in a film and not wanted it to end!

You really find out so much about her life, a little bit about her childhood and how that affected her, lots about her social and love life and obviously you pick up little things that make you think WOW thats the Chanel we all recognise in the modern world, and you then begin to peice together everything and see how she became what Chanel is today.

The acting is truely superb, Audrey Tautau, who plays Coco does an excellent job you really do feel like your watching the real coco back in time, its phenomenal.

I won't give to much away about what happens, because its a beautful film and I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it.

I really do recommend this film, it has the elegance of Keira Knightly period film with the added bonus of all the fashion references, and you really see how the beginings of the brand become and how it got its iconic colours and shapes etc.

Didn't expect to love this film as much as this, but I'm now well and truely inspired and want to try and find some books about her :)

Have you seen this film, if so what did you think of it?

Lots of love,

Gemma.

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Happy New Year :)

2012-01-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year my lovlies!

We say it every year, but hasn't it gone quick!

I miraculously got better and my facial swelling from the silly wisdom tooth went down alot a few hours before going out! I planned that i wouldn't go out because of it, but it was nice that it calmed down so that I could :)

It ended up being such a lovely night, I went to a party for a couple of hours and then went into town to party, saw SO many of my lovely friends out, some who I hadn't seen in ages and I was such a happy night!

I'm awaiting some photos from my other friends which are better quality than mine. I really wish I had taken a picture close up of m make-up as it was lovely, I used the gold illamasqua liquid metal with a slight brown smoke in the crease and a cat eye effect liner, something very different to my usual smokey eye!

This is just a little phone picture taken of me and my beautiful friend Michelle before leaving to go to the party :). You can't really tell but the top of my dress is black and gold lacy floral, which is why I chose to go for the gold liquid metal =].

On another note, aside from having fun and living life, my new years resolution is to work hard in getting my freelance makeup business, dolly roger, the place I want it to be.

On that not I thought I'd like to share with you a couple of photos from a recent shoot I did as I am SO proud of the makeup I did for it :)!

Hope you had a fabulous time celebrating the New Year, and heres to wishing it's a great one for you all!

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Chrismas Haul Part 2 - Cupcake Mania!

2011-12-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

So here's the second installment of the wonderful gifts that I got this year.

One thing not many of you may now is that, I'm pretty mad about cupcakes, I love baking and anything cupcakes makes me fall in loooove, so I got alot of cupcake and baking related things this year as well :).

How adorable is this apron!!! My lovely friend Jenni got me is as part of my present, its soooo cute! The little cupcake trinket on it is one of the things my granny got me, she got me mainly clothing items including a cuuuuute raincoat, they'll feature in another post.

Finally I got one of those giant cupcake molds, wooo!. Cupcake sprinkle shakers from my little brother, silicone cases and how cute are those teacupcake things!!! Will be adorable for little friendly gatherings :)

A cupcake recipie book from my granny which is FAB, has some great ideas in it! Cupcake chocolates from my little brother, cupcake socks which were dads picking, and one of those folding shopper bags =].

Then I got this beast! I cupcake maker! In theory, its not solving much of a problem because you can just make cupcakes in the oven... but this is SO much cooler and it will keep them is much better shape as mine often slob everywhere in the oven.

So there you have it, the second installement, cupcake themed pressies :).

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x

Christmas Haul Part 1 - Beauty

2011-12-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sadly as I'm writing this I have a big ol swollen up face from an annoying wisdom tooth, which I very much doubt will go down by tomorrow, plus being on lots of painkillers and antibiotics means no drinkies.. big fat boo!

But on a lighter note, heres the beauty related gifts that I got for christmas :)

A few stocking fillers here, 2 lipsmakers balms in cola and vallina cola, an MUA eye shaddow (dupe for mac club which is why i askd for it, well done mum for remembering the right one!) a debenhamds lip scrub, this is beautiful and its cupcake flavoured and scented! And snow fairy, my mum makes us all personalised crackers and this is what she put in mine :).

Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2, Mac nail polish and Katy Perry Purr. Ooober pleased that I got gaga 2 because I'd almost forgotten about it and hadn't bought it yet it had been on my to get list for ages!

A selection of hair masks from avon. My mum knows just how much I love my hairmasks, and I get through them SUPER quick, so i was very happy to see theese!

The sleek berry colletion! I was almost sure that I would get this, as I kept banging on about it, its such a lovely set and I wil deffinately do a review on this!

EEEEP! This is one of the first presents that I opened and I was SO pleased! Origins vitazing moisteriser, ginzing eye cream and an overnight facemask. I've yet to try the face mask but I am SO impressed with the vitazing and ginzing, I will deffinately being doing a review of these products, I adore them and they have become staples!

Here is some avon goodies, an MUA matt black shaddow, most adorable perfume roll on ever, its Tinkerbell and is called 'pixie dust'! The ring above is a scented ring with the same scent, how cute! Then there's the sleek primer palette which I have been after for ages, and the nail polish is one of my favourite presents! You wont really get why, its a RUBBISH polish, the worst, BUT its from Toys R us in times square, my mums friend had to hunt for this on her holiday, and it plays 'A different side of me' by Allstar Weekend when you open it! I wanted the lipgloss but the didn't have it, I honestly dont care because whatever product it is, it's going to be totally naff but Allstar Weekend are one of my favourite bands, they're much more popular in the states, hence this only being available over there, and I got to meet the band at a one off UK gig, and the lead singer signed my ankle and i have it tattooed, so you can see why I was so hyped about this!

A jelly belly fragrance set, woah, these really do smell strong, much more than I thought they would! A cranberry room spray, this has become one of my favourite presents (yes I am easily amused) I will probly review this as well since I love it so much. I LOVE room/linin sprays and cranberry is one of my favourite smells/tastes especially in cocktails, and this smells JUST like a woo woo or cosmopolitan cocktail, fab! Then there's a new york make-up bag, my mum said the only reason she got this was for one of the photo's, it has a picture of west 42nd street subway station. I went to new york for my 16th and 18th birthdays, we stayed at the same hotel both times, on times square, and we would always pass this tube station :)

One thing is missing from this, because I took it out and keep using it! And thats the toner spritser.

AHHHH LIZ EARLE I LOVE YOU. This my alltime favourite cleanser, and I ironically ran out of it on christmas eve, super lucky!.

These items here are some of the lovely presents I got from my beautiful friend Michelle. She knows me super well and always picks out such lovely things! I know some of this ins't beauty but I thought I'd include it all.

I got some cute leopard print ear muffs, 3 defferent headbands (I alllllways wear headbands so fab pick from meesh), Clarins lipgloss and balm set, I'm in love with the nude balm! Clarins Au de Jarins perfume, moisturiser (which I love and will review), mini mascara and some serum.

Then she got me these! 2 of my biggest loves, Liz earle cleanse and polish (giant size!) and eeeepp a mac christmas collection lipgloss set, and this goes to prove how well she knows me, she picked the coral/nude shades, which are totally me and the exact colours I'd pick out myself!.

I would have been happy with just these presents, but this is only beauty related things! I'll post other presents in separate posts.

Hope you got some lovely things, have you tried any of this?

Love to you all,

Gemma.

-x

Boxing Day Beauty - Lush Bargains!

2011-12-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

As many of you will already know, Lush does some fab 'after xmas' offers, this year was no exception with all the christmas products being half price along with all products which use by date was within a year.

Here's what I picked up :)

I got the large size Snow Fairy shower gel, this is my favourite shower gel ever! I used to really disslike sweet-like smells, but once I worked for lush 2 years ago and tried it for the first time I soon fell in love! I like make sure I have enough to last me all year. I have this one and 3 mini's that I've got for xmas/preveriously already owned. I can't get enough of it!

I also got the snow fairy wand! I've seen this blogged about SO much and being a snow fairy addict I had to have it! Cannot wait to give it a whirl! Though I was hoping the stick might be a little longer and thicker, it seems a bit filmsy for the size and weight of the product.

I got the 9 to 5 cleanser, this was purely on a whim. I've always got on well with lush skin care but haven't ever tried this one, and since it was 50% off and only about £2ish I thought I'd give it a go.

Ahhh the hyped up Chrismas Present bath bomb. The pictures and reviews I've seen of this have been fastastic, it looks magical, so I needed it, thats about as deep as it gets.

Celebrate lip tint, I'm not sure if this is a christmas product or not but it was 50% off, I love their lip tints, this one reminds me much more of the lipstick that came in little pots when lush's sister make-up brand 'never to busy to be beautiful' was still up and running. I LOVED those little pots, and though this doesn't have half the sparkle and prettyness the other ones packaging had, its almost the same product, just a little more sheer. I love that lush is starting to bring back things from that brand, 'love' which is now a perfume you can buy at lush was my favourite perfume ever, it was from N2B's line and i was SO upset when they closes as I loved it so much, but now I'm super excited that I can get it again :D

The last product that I picked up was something I haven't heard much of in the blogging world, but what I have heard, has been all good words! Its the Colour supliment. Its advised that you mix this with your favourite moisuriser to create your own tinted moisturiser, or you can use it alone for cover ups. Can't wait to try it!

Oh and i forgot to mention, all this came to just over £17, barrrrgainnn!

Have you bought anything from the Lush sale?

I have SO many posts to share with you, all the christmas gifts (with reviews to come after) and some more sale bargains!

Hope you all had a wonderful christmas :)

Have a Meowy Christmas!

2011-12-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hello beautiful readers!

I'm aware once again I have been very absent, reasoning for this being as well as being a freelance make-up artist, I have also had a christmas job so that I can pay for nicer gifts for everyone.

I have LOTS of great posts for you all to come!

I have reviews of the december Carmine and Glossybox, my favourite products of the year AND I'll be doing a give away starting on new years eve! Just to tease you, my beautiful friend Michelle who works for clarins has kindly donated some products to put in my giveaway . I'm looking at having one main prize winner and 2 runner ups, so keep tuned for that!!!

Hope you have a wonderful christmas everybody, much love and posting will commence back to normal now :).

Have some pictures of Russel Kanes cats getting festive ;).

Lots of love,

Gemma.

-x