Kiko Cosmetics Review - My new favourite!

Hey, recently I discovered Kiko cosmetics and wanted to spread the word. Whilst at work I got into a discussion with a student about make up and beauty and she had just purchased some products from the shop nearby. Now, I don't speak French but luckily the student told be what the sales assistant had told her. Otherwise I would not have understood or found out anything!

Apparently the company doesn't advertise or use models or celebrities to promote their brand. The idea being that it is good enough to be promoted through word of mouth. Well safe to say it worked for me! She showed me her products and then told me the price - it was all so cheap! I went the next morning before I started work to have a look and I do have to say that it was lovely in their. Such a small store on Rue de Rennes but well organised and professional looking. To start with I have bought a lipstick for around 4€ and a colour correcting powder for 12€.

Another bonus is no animal testing and its available in France and the UK! I think I saw one at Stratford Westfield but never went in as I, if I'm being completely honest, was probably being a but of a make up snob. Now I have discovered it I will definitely be browsing the store from time to time to add to my collection!

The powder and lipstick! 

I chose a pink lipstick of course!

Glossy lipstick that is easy to apply! I wear it almost everyday at the moment!

Simple packaging - quality product!

Purple and green powders to combat redness and blemishes, Neutral for warmth and 'yellow' for highlighting!

Sephora September

One bonus of living here in Paris (one of many) is that I can shop in Sephora. Love this shop dedicated to beauty with brands of differing prices and for various tastes. C'est parfait!
Recently I bought a few products and now that I have used them for a few weeks I have decided to review them.

I bought a 'Head to toe hydrator' which, for 8.50 for 125ml, is great value. It literally can be used everywhere so it's very practical for travelling around! I use it on my face at night, regularly for my body and hands and I use it in my hair if I run out of conditioner or I'm staying away from home. It moisturises well, smells nice but not too strongly of perfume and does the job. Completely recommend this if you can get a chance.

I also purchased a new Waterproof eye makeup remover for 5.90 for 125 ml. You use with cotton wool pads and wipe across your eyes to remove mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow. You need to shake it gently to mix the formula and it is slightly greasy but it performs well and takes maybe 30 seconds for it all to be gone!

Lastly I bought a new blusher as my Benefit Bella Bamba had ran out. I love Benefit but wanted to try something new and a little cheaper. I then bought a Sephora branded powder blusher in Coral Flush. I love the colour and it's perfect for me. It seems as though it will last me a long time too as I don't need lots to get the correct colouring! Excellent news for my face and my purse!

Let me know if you have any recommendations or questions on Sephora products. 

Bonne lecture!

Beauty Storage -Downsized!

Since I moved to Paris (have I mentioned this yet?) I have had to seriously downsize my beauty products and there is a large percentage of them still in London. Particularly my nail varnishes which I am starting to miss! So since my original post I thought I'd share what I have now. Which, on a plus side, actually includes a proper table :) I also have a chest of drawers which have come in handy, although they were originally on the floor I don't need them there. Perfect for organising beauty bits. Anyway here it is...

My dressing table.

Bags, mirror, brushes & perfume.

My solution to having no jewellery tree - white tack on the wall! Easily accessible and not too ugly to look at!

My claireabella bag - when not being used for shopping/picnics etc it stores my hairdryer and ghd's.

Some skincare bits.

My make up drawer

Hair bits (yes don't get too excited at how interesting this photo is)

So that's the lot at the moment until I marry a millionaire or find a few million lying around. Then my beauty storage will be a sephora and my room will be at the plaza athenee. Obviously!

Maria xx

Beauty organisation - Everything I Own

Did some tidying and organising yesterday and managed to get my beauty kit more organised. My goodness I seem to have more than I thought! I counted roughly 15 lipglosses & lipsticks, 7 mascaras, and I could guess at roughly 40 eyeshadows. 

Is this too much? About right? Not enough? Let me know what you think!

Below is how I've organised it and some of the things I have...

This is everything - skincare, eyelashes, face products, blushers, eyeshadows, eyeliners, mascaras, highlighters ,primers, lipticks, lipglosses and brushes etc

Brushes, eyelash curlers etc All stored in a Vegas mug.

Lip glosses and lipsticks in a black box - It used to have a pretty lid with white flowers and birds but it makes it harder to store this much!

Eyeshadow compacts and individuals, eyeliners in black, blue, brown, grey, silver, pink and purple. Mascaras in black, waterproof black, black/brown and brown.

Clinique skin care product and Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream!

Eyelashes, foundation, blushers, concealers, highlighters, primers and fixers.

Hair and Make up - Keira Knightley inspired! OOTD

I had been reading this months Glamour magazine, which I love, when I saw this little picture of Keira Knightley in the beauty section (below). I love how she looks here, even if she isn't smiling, it seems quite classic and I think she looks really pretty.

As I mentioned before I'm moving to Paris for a while in a few weeks so last night my little sister had arranged a family night out before I leave. We had a meal in Cote restaurant on Tavistock Street in London then went to a comedy night in Covent Garden near Embankment Station. It was so much fun! We had french food, champagne and then cheap beers at the comedy. We were front row and of course got picked on! I laughed so much though!

Anyway, I used this night to have a go at creating my own version of this make up look. I just wish I had a lighter pink lipstick - does anyone know of any good ones?

I used my Rimmel gel liner to create the winged liner look. I had to lengthen and check the shape as I went, at first it was much to short. I suggest doing the same though as you don't want to make it too long then ended up smudging it all over your face trying to get it off. The lip colour I used is the Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar. I love this colour as it's so bright, brighter in real life though, the pictures make it look darker.

For my hair I used many many many kirby grips and buckets of hairspray. I made sure it was clean, and dried it straight then used my ghd's to go over any kinks or frizz so that it was smooth. I then got a section from the top on each side and twisted it back and pinned it. I then did another 2 sections underneath and pinned it at the back. (To be clearer I twisted and pinned 3 parts on each side at the back.)

I then picked up the hair, like I was going to put it into a bun and twisted it round. Then, instead of using a hair bobble I pinned it all in place using around 20-25 kirby grips. Once it was secure I used hairspray all over and then repeatedly sprayed the back about 5 more times before I went out. It managed to stay in all night from about 3pm to 1am so I was impressed, I just had to rejig the pins every now and then if any started to slip.

My outfit was a black and white print dress from Mango, Green Blazer (one of my favourites) , leggings, Grey Stiletto ankle boots from Forever 21 and a white and green small handbag.

Let me know what you think of the look and if you have tried any beauty or hair from celebs or magazines for inspiration. Post any links below.

Maria xx

Make up of the day - MOTD

Hi, thought I'd do a quick post showing the make up I'm wearing to work today. I'm using the MUA eyeshadow palette and my favourite rimmel lipstick from the lasting finish range in heart breaker.

I started with the base products - primer, foundation, concealer, highlighter and blusher.

For the eyes I put a light pink all over the lids. Not too heavily though or you'll look ridiculous! I then put some of the light grey/brown on the lower lid near the inside corner. After this I blended it with the darker brown on the outer part of my eye.

This was finished with my lipstick quickly applied as I was late leaving for work!!

MUA update...

Since my last post I have used some more of my MUA haul and thought I would share my findings.

Love the Pro base fixing spray! You hold it arms length away from your face and spritz it across lightly  I do 2/3 sprays, any more and it'd wash the make up off my face I reckon. It seems a bit sticky at first but once it dries and throughout the day my face didn't feel or look sticky or 'plasticky' which is perfect. I can't imagine anyone wanting to literally look like a plastic Barbie doll... although now I've typed that I'm thinking that there probably is. Particularly in my part of the world... Essex! So on a side note - If you want a plastic looking face then MUA's pro fixing base isn't for you! Throughout the day I felt it kept my make up in place much better than normal! I was tres impressed that I still had blusher in the right place and all of my concealer was still covering my imperfections.

I've also used the lashes from MUA. I'm no lash pro but I have been using them on and off for a few years, as in not everyday but often enough that I'm not too slow in putting them on in the right place. However I wasn't a fan of these lashes. I found the look very synthetic and they didn't blend well with my natural lashes which is not what I desired from them. The glue was also not great. It was an odd texture and was more goopy than actually sticky. It went onto the lashes but didn't feel like it was going to stick to them, when I put it on my lash line it wouldn't stay and moved around. Overall = not impressed.

I've also used the Matte Perfect Primer which I really found easy to use. It's non greasy and helped even out my complexion and make foundation easier to put on. My only problem is that I think the tube is too small. I'll need to buy this quite often as it's only in a small tube! (Which is good business for MUA).

There, that's my little update. Hope someone finds it useful! Let me know what lasehs you like and if you have used MUA lashes as well and what you thought.

Maria xx

MUA Virgin - My first go!

I recently bought some make up from MUA (Make Up Academy) for the first time. I have seen it in stores and had never really thought about using or buying any of the products. At least until I started blogging and reading other bloggers reviews and tweets about MUA. Then I saw they were having a 50% discount online and decided to order some items (even though the site was a bit slow).

I seemed to get loads for the £15 I spent so I was chuffed with that.
I received - 

• Pro Base Fixing Mist - I can't wait to see how this works tomorrow at work. I have pretty long hours and a moderately stressful job so fingers crossed!
• Mascara in a brown shade. I've never used a brown before so paying £1 for one was a bargain!
• Pro Base Complexion Kit - It has cream to powder foundation, concealer and highlighter.
• False Lashes - To be used this weekend! They look really long but not too heavy which is perfect for me.
• Pressed Power in shade 4. To be placed under the fixing spray tomorrow.
• Mosaic Bronzer in Sunkissed Glow
• Matte Perfect Primer.
• 12 shade glitterball palette eye-shadow which I have used below.
• 3x 3 in 1 contour pen in Smoked Plum, Gun Metal and Auburn - aka purple, grey and brown.

I liked the 3 in 1 Contour Pens as you can use them for different effects (hence the name). Here is a sample on my hand - 

Will be using Gunmetal tomorrow I reckon along with one of the colours from the Glitterball Palette. Love the grey and silvery white colours. I had a go at using them and I like the colours, especially the glittery/shimmeryness of them. You need a few coats to make the colour stand out but very good value for the money.

Have you got any tips or reviews of MUA? Let me know via twitter or commenting below!

xxx

*I realise shimmeryness is not a word... but I don't care!

Everyday Make Up Look

Everything I used.

Hi, another day in the snow!! I thought I'd post my everyday make up today to see what you thought, (feel free to comment, as long as you're not here to be too mean!). This is the look I go to when I'm in a rush as I know exactly what to do so it takes very little time but I think I still end up with a natural but polished look. 

The overall look.

How I did it...
Firstly I made sure my face was cleansed, toned a moisturised of course. Every girl needs a clean base to start with. Then I used Rimmels wake me up concealer under my eyes and on my blemishes. It would be ridiculous to pretend I didn't have them and unfortunately, depsite my best efforts I still get the occasional breakout. I find this concealer gives good coverage without looking like it's been put on with a shovel.

Next I used one pump of Rimmels wake me up foundation. I applied with my fingers, blending all over to make sure I didn't leave any marks. Using a hand held mirror as well as a dressing table mirror furhter away helps me with this. That way I can see as close up as possible and also what people who aren't invading my personal space are seeing!

Next was Benefits High Beam on my cheeks and between the brows. I also used a very tiny amount under my eyes to brighten them. I have seen people use lots of highlighter under their eyes and I think it just looks too bright, white and if I'm honest - mental!

Now my face has good even coverage and an almost look of flawlessness I use Bella Bamba blusher from Benefit to give me some colour. I really like this colour for my skin tone and complexion. Then I use Rimmels waterproof gel liner in black. I make sure I follow the lash line carefully and slowly and then finish with small flicks upwards for the day time. Flicks and liner that are too big need eye-shadow and false lashes on me otherwise it all looks out of proportion! This gel liner is really easy to use, it's not like a pencil which can be too dry and it's not as slippery as liquid liners which I can get into a bit of a mess with, and nobody wants that.

This is followed by a quick coat of Scandaleyes mascara in black, I've lost my benefit They're Real - HELP!! This gives a nice colour and can lift they eyes for a subtle look. I then finish by using Rimmels Lasting finish lipstick in heart breaker. I apply it with a brush for the day so it's no too intense. 

That's it! Takes toughly five minutes and in my opinion makes me look less scary than a bare face! Just because I feel tired doesn't mean I need people to know about it, especially in my job.

 

The lips up close looking very subtle but not too plain. I look a bit washed out if I have nothing on my lips at all. The necklace is new too. I bought it in the Dorothy Perkins sale for £3 on Friday  A bargain and very cute, a statement necklace, which I love.

Close up of my eye, lined with black liner and a quick and simple coat of mascara. Of course there are some concealer products here as well, no ones perfect after all and I don't use photoshop so it's needed!!

The finished look again. Subtle make up but I feel more confident and look less tired. Might be time to go and play in the snow now and build a snowman. I'll then need a large coffee, a sofa and a movie to warm up. Might even make casserole for dinner later. Perfect winter day!

Maria xx

Friday night make up

After another day of exercise and diet I'm going out tonight with friends. I managed some cardio/aerobic dancing with toning and stretching exercises. If I keep this up I reckon in a month or 2 my body will begin to show the results. I'm sure ill start feeling benefits before though.

Off out for dinner tonight so have decided to wear a marroon pleated skirt and plain top. Yet to decide which jewellery but as I'll wear my tan boots it will be gold. Bearing this in mind I tried out a gold/plum/brown smoky eye. Here it is!!

Here is how I did it:

My 'makeupless' eye. 

The Sephora eyeshadow pallette used.

Start by putting the light beige/silver/white colour at the top of your eye near the eyebrow. Focus mainly on the outside and only use a small amount near the bridge of your nose.

Next I used the dark goldy brown colour on the lid near the corner of my eye. I worked it to about half way across the eye. Make sure when applying shadow you tap or gently blow excess powder off the brush otherwise it will end up on your cheeks!

Then I used the red/plum colour on the edge of my lid carefully blending it to the centre so the two colours are blended and not leaving a line. Use more or less as required.

The final result with mascara. (Benefit They're Real)

Hope you like it!