My Favourite Lipsticks

Hi everyone! Hope your all doing well. So I thought I'd share some of my favourite lip colours with you all. Some of these colours are my everyday wear lipsticks and just love them! All of them are M.A.C lipsticks apart from one which is my all time favourite, Rouge Dior, so lets get started!

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the poor swatches, as my camera just refused to pick up the colour of the neutral shades. I had to retake the swatch pictures quite a few times. I am going to show you my favourite neutral shades. All Mac lipsticks featuring in this post cost £15 each. 

This particular colour is Shangai Spice, it is a cremesheen finish. It is a lovely nude coral which has a very sheer finish. Perfect for the days you wear a heavy eye with a sheer lipstick. 

I love this shade, one of Mac's universal shades, Angel. It is a frost lipstick, I wasn't really a fan of this when i bought it as it is a pale pink. But I got used to it, I usually mix this with Mac's limited edition lipstick called Tangerine dream, a super orange shade. I did a post on it which can be seen here. However, I do wear this on its own too. 

This lipstick featured in one of Vivianna Does Makeup posts for an everyday lipstick. One of my first Mac lipsticks was this one called Patisserie, a gorgeous pinky nude. This is one of my most worn lip colours from all the lipsticks featuring in this post. I tend to wear it when I feel like going for a no-makeup makeup look. I would recommend this shade if you wear hardly any makeup. 

Last but not least, I have my Rouge Dior in 651 Rose Tourbillon (£25). This lipstick smell amazing. This lipstick has a creamy finish to it and lasts a very long time on the lips, so I would say definitely worth the price. It is a lovely pink, actually comes out a little darker than the swatch in the picture. I love the packaging, it just screams high-end and love the Dior writing on the lipstick. Usually wear this during special occasions, it's not my everyday lipstick. 

Moving onto darker shades, I usually use these on my clients, they are my all time favourite shades from my kit.

I love Russian Red for brides, however, there are different shades of red that suit different skin colours. However, this colour in particular is a primary red, which can suit everybody. It has a Matte finish, however, is not as drying as Mac's Ruby Woo is. It is alot darker than Ruby Woo too. 

This is Rebel and has a Satin finish. I am in love with this colour for the winter period. I have worn this once and love how well it lasts on the lips. The colour is more of a plumy purple opposed to Mac's Cyber which is a true Aubergine purple. Rebel also suits a variety of skin shades, and I would say this is another universal shade. 

Finally, I have Girl About Town, my much loved bright fuchsia pink. This is an Amplified lipstick, very creamy. Girl about town falls under the 'bluey' tones, however, I would say this colour suits lighter, warmer or dark undertones. A definite must have shade. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this post. 

Lots of Love

Avi 

xxx

 

  

What's in my Makeup Kit: Foundations, concealers and powders

Hi Everyone, this is my second post on what's in my makeup kit. This is going to be about the foundations, concealers and face powders needed for a starter makeup kit. I mainly use M.A.C products, there are other foundations and concealers in my kit too, such as Supercover. It all depends on what you prefer. 

Starting off with foundations, you don't need every single foundation colour in your kit. You are better off getting the 2 lightest shades, 2 medium shades and 2 dark shades as you can always mix foundations together to get the perfect match for your client. 

I use M.A.C Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 foundation, costs £21.50. This foundation is quite heavy and very good for brides. In my kit, some of the shades in my kit are as follows: NC15, NC25, NC35, NC37, NC40, NC42, NC43.5, and NC55. M.A.C's foundation shades come in NCs and NWs, NC foundations are for pinky undertones, and NW foundation shades for warmer skin tone, so yellow undertones.

Like foundations, concealers can be mixed, I mainly use M.A.C's Select Coverup, but also have some Studio Finish concealers both priced at £15. Some of the colours include: NC15, NC30, NW30, NC35, NW35, NC42 and NW40. 

Face powders are also important for setting foundation, when starting up, you could just use translucent powder to set. I will show you two types of compact powders in my kit, M.A.C's blot pressed powder, costs £20 and M.A.C's mineralize skinfinish natural, costs £22. The blot powder is really good for oily skin, it is quite a heavy powder, and mineralize skinfinish can be used on natural to dry skin and does what it says, gives a natural finish.

Next post is going to be on some cheek products in my kit. 

Thanks for Reading

Lots of Love, 

Avi 

xxx

What's In My Make-up Kit: Skincare

Hi Everyone! So I thought I'd blog about what is in my professional make-up kit. I am going to break this down in sections because there is a lot of stuff in my professional make-up kit, and I am only going to cover the necessary bits. This is going to give you some tips on what you would need if you are a starting up a career in makeup. This is blog will give you an idea of what type of skincare products will be needed in your kit. 

I always ask a client if they are comfortable with me using my skincare products. Some clients have sensitive skin and prefer to use their own skincare, so always ask. 

1) Moisturiser

Whether the clients skin is oily or dry, hydrating the skin before application of makeup is important. I usually use the Pharmagel Firma Derma moisturiser, costs £26 and is available to purchase on www.pharmagel.co.uk. 

This moisturiser works for any skin types, it is an anti-ageing mosituriser. This works best on my clients, and I feel that it does not feel too heavy on the skin, or doesn't look greasy or shiny. 

2) Primers 

I have 2 types of primers in my kit, for dry skin and for oily skin. For dry skin I use the M.A.C Strobe cream, costs £23.50. 

I really like this primer as it instantly wakes the skin up. It has a slight pinky tint to it to brighten the skin. It also minimizes pores, as you can see below (no editing involved): 

For oily skin, I use the Supercover ultimate face primer, can be purchased at www.supercovermakeup.co.uk , for £30. 

This is a clear gel, helps reduce pores and really helps foundation to stay on for a long time. 

3) Setting Spray 

I do recommend a setting spray, just to really allow makeup to set and last for a long time, reduce shine and allow makeup to look natural. I use the Supercover Hydrating spray, once again can be purchased from www.supercovermakeup.co.uk  for £10, although M.A.C do a nice setting spray called Fix+. 

4)Makeup removers/wipes 

Final skincare product to have in your kit is make-up removers and/or wipes. I use the M.A.C Gently off eye and lip remover, £15, shake well before use as it is made out of oil and water. Its super gentle and works well to remove water proof makeup too. 

I would recommend wipes like Simple or Johnsons baby wipes, mainly because they do not have harsh ingredients. 

Watch out for my next post on what's in my make-up kit for more ideas on what is needed to start up as a makeup artist. 

Thank you for reading

Lots of Love 

Avi 

xxx

Makeup Haul

Hey everyone! For those of you who follow me on instagram should have seen a picture of what I had bought for my kit. I am still building my make-up kit, so I thought I would get a few bits and bobs. I went to M.A.C, Kiko cosmetics, Tophsop, Urban decay and Benefit.

Lets start off with what I bought from M.A.C. The foundations I use on my clients are all the studio fix foundations. I needed a lighter colour for Caucasian skin, so I went for the lightest colour in the foundation and concealer which is NC15. You can always mix foundations to get the true colour of your client. 

Foundation costs £21.50 and studio fix concealer £15.

I needed a dark lip pencil for my kit, so I bought Nightmoth (£12). Its a gorgeous dark purple colour, great for a Halloween look, editorial makeup or just when you want a dark lip with a nude eye. 

One thing I really needed in my makeup kit was eyebrow pencils, I use eyeshadows to define eyebrows, although sometimes, its good to have a backup plan incase someone wants a strong eyebrow.

Fling is for lighter/blonde eyebrows, where as stud for darker brows, looks black, but it is a dark brown. Both pencils are a crayon formula which is great for a strong brow. They cost £13 each. 

Moving onto Topshop, I got a lipstick called Ruthless to go with Nightmoth. Ruthless is a very similar colour to Cyber by M.A.C, its super dark and a cheaper version, costs £8.

It looks black in the lipstick tube, however, it is a very rich purple, perfect for autumn or winter. 

I went into Kiko Cosmetics, I have been loving their makeup, its affordable and the products are highly pigmented. I got a lipstick in 914, its a nice burgundy/plummy tone, similar (not exactly) to M.A.C's Rebel lipstick. Cost £3.90, it is very creamy formula. 

I also a golden lipgloss with a touch of glitter in 113 (£4.90), once again I got this for my photo-shoots because it screamed editorial makeup when I saw it. 

The most important thing that was missing in my kit was eyebrow gel. I got out of M.A.C and remembered that I needed brow gel. So popped into Debenhams and went to the benefit counter and came across the speed brow gel (£13) in neutral. 

This seems pretty handy, as the lady did a little demo on my eyebrows and seemed to work fine!

Finally, I quickly went to the Urban Decay Counter to get some eyeshadow primer. I usually use a concealer as a primer on clients which works fine. But I have come across some clients who have oily lids and do need a primer. I have heard amazing things about this primer potion, costs £15. 

Once I have used these products, I will do a review. Watch this space for a blog on what's in my professional makeup kit. 

Thank you for reading. 

Lots of Love, 

Avi 

xx

One of the best exfoliators!

Hi everyone. I hope you have all been ok. Sorry I haven't been doing regular posts due to certain circumstances. So I thought about writing a blog on an amazing exfoliator; Lush's Angels on Bare Skin fresh facial cleanser. 

Exfoliating the skin atleast once a week is very important especially during the winter. Dry skin can leave your makeup look patchy. Furthermore, exfoliating removes blackheads and any dirt on your skin preventing breakouts, giving you perfect skin for foundation application.

I have been using this for a very long time and it is amazing. I believe whatever it says on the tin is true. It does even out skin tone, reduces redness, improving the health and appearance of skin.

Key ingredients are ground almonds to exfoliate the skin and brighten it. The cleanser also includes a mix of different oils to help balance the skin out.

The facial cleanser is not like normal cleansers. It can get very messy. It did take a long  time to get a hang of using this.

The best way to use this is to scrape some out of the tub, note you only need a very small amount, put it in the palm of your hands and add a little amount of water and mix till it forms a paste.

Looks something like this. Directly apply to face and gently exfoliate and wash off. I would highly recommend this facial cleanser as it balances any imperfections out. 

If you do try it out, do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks for reading.

Lots of Love

Avi

xxx

My Go-to Holiday Products

Hey everyone! I hope your all doing well. I know I haven't uploaded a post in a long time, but as some of you might know I was on holiday. So I have put together a post on what I used when I was on the beaches. I am not going to be doing a review (no swatches), but all I am going to show you is what I used. 

Obviously when your on the beach, heavy makeup is not what you need, something fresh and light will do the job. 

I kept it super simple, spent 5 minutes doing my makeup in the morning, so here is what I used.

1) Tinted Moisturiser

I do believe that tinted moisturisers do not stay on as long as a foundation would stay on your skin. But I find a foundation heavy to wear on a beach, so I chose the Benefit 'You Rebel Lite' tinted moisturiser and it has an spf of 15 . 

I know, this is super light, but the one with the red tube is super orange. I found this blends right into my skin, leaving a nice healthy glow and it doesn't look light when blended into the skin. I did try the red tube one and that made me look like a tangerine! But this one was the perfect match. Just popped this on my hands and put it on like a normal moisturiser.

2) Mascara 

Mascara is a must for me, I just feel mascara gives an instant lift to eyes. 

So I used the Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara. I just gave my lashes a quick curl and popped this on. If you want to see a review on this mascara then do let me know. 

3) Bronzer

I love bronzing my skin just to give it a lovely glow. Using a bronzer when your on the beach just looks amazing. Using the right bronzer in the right paces (where the sun hits your face) just looks beautiful. I would highly recommend using a bronzer on your cheek bones, slightly across your nose, and a bit on your temples to give your skin a sun kissed glow.

I chose this Avon bronzer in the colour warm glow, it is not a matte bronzer. It has a light shimmer to it, and I absolutely love it! 

4) Lip Butter 

Instead of using a lipstick, I chose to use a lip butter, helps keep lips super hydrated.

This Revlon lip butter is amazing in the colour 027 Juicy Papaya. It doesn't come on as bright as it looks. Just a perfect coral to pop on your lips before you go out to the beach. 

If you guys want to see a review on any of these products then please do let me know. Thank you for reading!

Lots of Love 

Avi 

xx

Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick Vs M.A.C Orange collection

Hello everyone! Firstly, sorry I haven't been posting regularly, I have been super busy! This blog post is about 2 orange lipsticks that I am loving at the moment! They are the perfect summer colors, however, one of them was a limited edition lipstick from the M.A.C All about Orange collection. I am also going to do a comparison of the 2 lipsticks, with swatches. 

On the left we have the M.A.C Tangerine dream in a Lustre finish and on the right we have to Maybelline colorsensational lipstick in 416 coral fever! Tangerine dream is a real orange, where as coral fever is an coral/orange with a slight pink undertone to it. However, both lipsticks are sort of a similar color. I like the finish of the Coral fever better than the Tangerine dream mainly because it is slightly creamy and less drying.

In the swatches above, the colors do look slightly similar, you can also tell that Coral Fever looks a lot more creamier than Tangerine dream. The Mayebelline lipstick also has a glossy shine to it as you can see below, swatched on my lips: 

I do prefer the color pay off on the Maybelline lipstick, goes on in an instant, where as the MAC lipstick needs building up, it is very sheer at first and does not last very well on the lips. I feel like the MAC lipstick crumbles on my lips a lot, where as the Maybelline one lasts a very long time.

As mentioned earlier, M.A.C's Tangerine dream is a true orange, not everyone will love this color. However, I feel when I apply it, it starts to crack up straight away (this is my opinion). I am currently searching for the same true orange color in a different brand with a better finish, so I will keep you updated on that. All in all, this is an amazing color, its a shame I do not like the finish as much. 

If you did not manage to get hold of the All about Orange collection, not to worry because Maybelline Colorsensationals are a lot better and they have loads of corally orange colors. If you are a lipstick fanatic like I am, defiantly give the Maybelline collection a try, because they are super long lasting, the color pay off is amazing and they smell great too! 

Lots of Love 

Avi

xx

 

My Favorite everyday Mascaras

Hello everyone! I thought I would write a blogpost on my 2 favorite everyday mascaras. I always gets compliments on my eyelashes when I use these mascaras. 

The first Mascara is Maybelline the one by one Volum'Express and I absolutely adore this one! I have been using this for the last 2 years and will repurchase this one over and over again. I have bought other mascaras but nothing beats this one! 

The second one is Loreal Mega Volume Collagene 24hour mascara in the color extra black. I usually use this mascara after the Maybelline one just to give my lashes volume because the one by one mascara is mainly for separating the eyelashes and adding length. 

The Maybelline mascara has sort of a rubbery and spikey wand. So it really helps get the product into your lashes and really separate them, adding length at the same time. If you love separation in your lashes I would defiantly recommend this one. This Mascara is available at Boots or Superdurg for £8.49 Here's a closer picture of the wand: 

 

The Loreal Mascara has a bigger wand with loads of large bristles which really help to add volume and give the illusion of thicker lashes. This is available at Boots or Superdrug for £9.99.

I first layer lots of Maybelline mascara, I am not going to lie, the mascaras do clump. In order to avoid clumping during each stage of coating I comb my lashes through with an eyelash comb, which helps take out clumps. I then go in with one coat of the Loreal mascara just to add a tiny bit of volume. I then go over my bottom eyelashes with one coat of Maybelline mascara. 

As you can see the difference between my left eye (coated with the 2 mascaras) and my right eye (no mascara). As mentioned above, I do use a lash comb to really stop my mascara from chunks of clump and this helps in giving that flawless drama to your eyes. Definitely give this a try and do let me know how you get on with these mascaras.

Lots of Love

Avi

xx 

4 simple ways to leading a healthy lifestyle

Hello everyone! Hope your all doing good. I thought I'd share some tips with you on how I stay healthy. I am defiantly not a nutritionist, but this has really worked for me over the past 6 to 8 months, so I wanted to share my experiences with you all. There are different ways of staying healthy which might work for other people, and I would recommend doing research and finding suitable ways for yourself and I hope these tips help you kick start your healthy lifestyle. These are basic tips which have really helped me lose weight and stay heatlhy: 

1) Eat healthy 

The first thing to do is put away all the process foods and start afresh by eating healthy. I personally stopped going to fast food restaurants, stopped eating burgers and fries. They are honestly not good for you. The reason to why I stopped eating fast foods is because I noticed that every time I would eat a burger, whether it be from McDonalds or Burger King or any other place I would get sick straight away. So I completely stopped eating fast foods. 

It is important to eat 3 meals a day, a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, dieting is going to take you nowhere! For breakfast, I usually eat a low calorie cereal with dried fruits in it with low fat milk. I do watch what I eat, I am not a crazy fanatic of eating healthy, but having 5-a-day is important. I do feed my body, if your on a diet, your not helping your body. You need to feed your body properly to ensure it is healthy. 

I do give myself a treat, once a week I do eat out so I am not a healthy eating freak. Just be sure to feed your body what it needs.  

2) Drink plenty of water 

I make sure I drink 9 to 12 glasses of water a day. Water helps flush any impurities in your body, helps with clearer skin and is really good to keep your hair hydrated. I have stopped drinking fizzy drinks. Fizzy drinks are really bad for your body, do not help in losing weight, and have loads of sugar in them. I always used to break-out a lot and once I stopped drinking fizzy drinks, my break-outs disappeared straight away. 

3) Exercise

Exercising is very important to keep your body active. I do not go to the gym, I just exercise at home. Even though it means going for a walk or a jog. It is very important to keep your muscles active and keep the bloody flowing. 

I do not exercise every single day, you need to give your body rest. I would recommend giving your body a break. I exercise only 4 days out of the 7 days a week because the other 3 days I do give my body a break so that my muscles can get a chance to replenish.

4) Yoga 

Yoga and exercise is not the same thing, Yoga is a way to relax your inner-self. Yoga helps with detoxifying and relaxing the body and increases flexibility  I would recommend doing yoga once a week, you can get many DVDs on yoga, so do your research. 

I know these are very simple tips, but as I mentioned earlier I have stuck to this routine for the past 8 months and this has really worked for me and improved the overall health of my body. Let me know if you have any further tips. 

Lots of Love 

Avi 

xx

NARS Orgasm Illuminator Review and How I use it

Hi Everyone! Hope your all doing well. I have a review of the NARS Illuminator in Orgasm and how I use it. I know a lot of people have a love hate relationship with this illuminator, but I love it! 

I ordered the Copacabana illuminator, but unfortunately that was way to silver for my skin tone so I instead exchanged it for this one. I know not many places in England take back cosmetics, so I ordered mine from ASOS because they do offer refunds and exchanges with cosmetics. It costs £21.50 , however, I got 20% off it because they had an offer on some beauty products. 

It has sort of peachy undertones to it and is a very very sheer illuminator, hence why some people do not like it. I have been experimenting with it, trying to discover a way to wear this illuminator and have found the perfect way. It gives a perfect wet, dewy and fresh glowy summery feel look. 

As you can see from the swatch above, its not too shimmery, doesn't add that much color to my skin tone and gives a nice wet glow. 

I tried mixing it with my foundation, I did like how my foundation looked, but I would not do that all the time. So I decided to try it on top of my foundation, just on my cheek bones to give that highlighted look, I absolutely loved it. Gave the best fresh glow to my skin, and I love the way it smells. Smells like orange chocolates. 

Recently I have discovered another way of applying Orgasm and I find that technique works best for me. I apply my moisturiser and then dot this on the areas that I really want to highlight. I apply this on my cheekbones, Chin, and my T-zone area (note, I only do this because my skin is very dry). 

I blend using my fingers and then dot my foundation on my face and blend with a buffing brush. I just love this technique because it gives a very fresh look, and adds dimension to the face, instead of just a flat face. When I do want more of a highlight to the cheeks i do add a little more just to the cheekbones, just a tiny little dot, you really don't need a lot.

Overall, I would recommend this product if you are looking for something that will really give that "oomph" factor to your face! Let me know if you have tried this product before, and leave your thoughts in the comments! 

Lots of Love

Avi 

xx

My Real Techniques Face Brushes

Hello everyone! I thought I'd give you an insight on how I use my Real Techniques face brushes. I do own the entire line of the brushes, however, these are the face brushes I use on a daily basis. I own loads of brushes, but the Real Techniques brushes are my favorite of all! I have owned these brushes for over a year now and I can say, nothing has gone wrong with them, they still feel new. All Real Techniques brushes have multiple uses. I would highly recommend these brushes and they are available to purchase worldwide! So here are the brushes I use on a daily basis:

1) Buffing Brush 

I do use this on an everyday basis for my foundation application. I love to buff my foundation into my skin so that my foundation looks natural. This brush gives a flawless finish, and leaves no streak lines at all. I use this brush in circular motions to really blend my foundation. 

2) Expert Face Brush 

This brush has multiple uses. I do use this when I want a medium coverage foundation, which I tend to wear during the evening time. I love this brush for contouring. Its the perfect sized brush for really sculpting the cheekbones. I also use this brush to apply liquid highlighters. It blends the liquid highlighters really well! 

3) Stippling brush 

Once again, the stippling brush has multiple uses. I use this brush for my foundation too, gives a medium coverage as well, but really helps to blend out. I use this brush with cream blushes, really helps apply cream blushes very well. It does not disturb the foundation at all when using it with a cream blush. 

4) Blush Brush 

LOVE this brush! Amazing for powdering the face, amazing for using pressed powder and loose powder blushes! You only need to apply blush to the tip of this brush because the bristles around the brush help the blush blend. This is also amazing for bronzing the face. Once again it is good for contouring the face because as I mentioned earlier, the bristles around it help blend the product. 

5) Contour Brush 

I mentioned this brush in my previous post about contour and highlighting. This is a mini version of the blush brush. I do use it for contouring, but use it for concealing under the eyes. I use it to blend a lighter concealer under my eyes to give that Kim Kardashian highlight to the cheekbones. 

6) Setting Brush 

The name of this brush is pretty much self-explanatory. I do use this brush to set my concealer under the eyes. But this brush can be used to highlight in small areas of the face like the cheekbones, cupids bow, chin, nose etc. It is an amazing brush because it picks up the product in an instant and don't need to keep building it. 

Overall, I do love ALL my Real Techniques brushes and these brushes can be purchased in Boots or Superdrug in UK. They are inexpensive. I will do another post on how I use my other Real Techniques brushes. 

Lots of Love

Avi 

xx