Mac paint pots VS Benefit Creaseless cream shadows

At the moment I love the easiness of just waking on cream eye shadows and putting a darker colour in the crease. It's perfect for a quick, nice eye look (Especially if your like me and can take all of the beauty sleep you can get.)

As you may be able to tell by my blog,I am a big fan of MAC and Benefit make up so it only fits that I compare cream eyeshadows from my personal favorite brands ...

Let's start with the benefit creaseless cream shadow :

I love the gliding consistency it has when applying to the eye there is nothing worse than a drying cream eye shadow. There is a lovely natural looking colour selection (Birthday suite and R.S.V.P being my all time go to everyday eye shadows) which I feel would suite all skin colours.The packaging,as with all benefit products,is very elegant and a joy to have in your make up bag/drawer. There is 4.5g of product which lasts me (after everyday use and I mean EVERYDAY use) about 4 months.It gets slightly dryer as the months go on but still completely usable and not really any inconvenience. The shadow stays completely put for 10 hours and probably would stay on longer I just haven't tested it for that long ... The only slight downside to the product is that it has a slighly plasticy smell after a while. The creaseless shadows come to £15.50

On to the MAC paint pot's :

Firstly I love the packaging,they are so easy to fit into a make up bag they take up minimal space. I find the paint pot's quite drying on my eyes and don't glide on like the benefit ones do however the colour selection is far more vast and more suitable for nights out,everyday or if you were doing a long shoot.I would say that the staying time was about 7-8 hours which on a whole is better than a normal shadow. I feel like I have to try and get the product out of the pot rather than it coming out easily.The product contains 5g which is more than the creaseless shadows contains ... The paint pot's come to 15.50

Overall I prefer Benefit cream shadows because of the following reasons :

• They are long lasting 
• Easier to apply 
• More natural for an everyday look 
• Feel nicer on the eyelid 
• More colour pay off 

                                                                                                    Love always, 

                                                                                                                         Emma xox 

My Favorite MAC Foundation ...

For years I've been trying out all the different foundations by Mac and there are a couple very strong contenders for number one but in my opinion Mac Pro Long Wear foundation is the best!It's one of the more expensive foundations at £25 for 30ml but it is well worth it ...

The foundation sits beautifully on the skin for around 9 hours which for my oily face is amazing ! I would say it is a medium to build-able coverage which is perfect for everyday and for going out. I also really like the packaging a thick glass bottle so it looks elegant when sitting on the make up table but also hardy enough to carry round in a make up bag and a pump !!! One of the main reasons why Studio sculpt by Mac isn't my favorite is due to the lack of pump it just makes it easier to use in time managed situations and is altogether far more practical.

Summery :

• Medium build-able coverage 
• Easy to use
• Great for all weather
• Well worth the money 
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Practical  
• Easy to blend 
• Long lasting
• A little goes a long way 

Love always Emma xox 

My tips on affordably maintaining glowing healthy looking skin

Over the years I (much like all teenagers) have struggled with my skin. I am always looking for new beauty products to help my skin look the best it can possibly look.
At the moment I have a stable skin routine of :

Garnier - Fresh cleansing lotion - Normal to combination skin : £2.75
http://www.boots.com/en/Garnier-Skin-Start-Afresh-Cleansing-Lotion-200ml_868436/

Primarily I love using this product because it's cheap, it's works extremely well and doesn't cause any irritation to my sometimes sensitive skin,because the cleanser doesn't have alcohol or fragrance, it means it wont make my eyes burn or much skin turn red. Using this product after a long day is so refreshing and all my friends beg me to take their make up off with it. To use :Get a cotton wool pad and apply a squirt and massage into the face do so until all the make up from the face has been removed or until you think is sufficient.

/ Liz Earl cleanse & polish Hot cloth cleanser : £13.25
http://uk.lizearle.com/cleanse-tone-moisturise/cleanse-and-polish-hot-cloth-cleanser.html

I first got the Liz Earl cleanse & polish Hot cloth cleanser in my May Birch box.Everyone raved about this product and I can see why, it leaves the skin glowing and healthy looking.My only concern with the product is the feeling when you apply the cleanser it feels tacky on the skin and that to me is the worst feeling but it gives amazing results so I will have to just live with it. How to use apply to face as if it were a normal cleanser, making sure to rub all the make up off the eyes and face then get a hot cloth and wipe the residue away and you are left with a glowing face.

Neutrogena-Visibly-Clear pink grapefruit daily scrub : £4.95
http://www.boots.com/en/Neutrogena-Visibly-Clear-Pink-Grapefruit-Daily-Scrub_1110483/

I love the smell of grapefruit and unlike a lot of cheaper beauty products the smell of the face scrub doesn't go off and maintains the gorgeous grape fruit smell until the product has been used up. To use : Just simply massage into a wet face and leave to work it's magic for 2 minutes,wash off with cold water and you're face will be left feeling clean and refreshed.

Balance me - Wonder eye cream : £20
http://www.naturisimo.com/products.cfm?id=3536&type=Eye%20Care&nme=Balance%20Me&collections=&skincare=1

Again I found this product in a Birchbox and loved it.I saw a noticeable difference in the dark circles under my eyes withing 3 days.To apply dab a small amount onto finger and pat under eye and leave to dry.

Palmer's - Daily calming facial lotion lightweight moisturizer : £6.49
http://www.feelunique.com/p/Palmers-Cocoa-Butter-Formula-Daily-Calming-Facial-Lotion-100ml?utm_source=GoogleBaseUK&utm_medium=gen&option=32655&aff=mrn&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Google+Shopping&mkwid=S0eKIvTA_dc&pcrid=40694437389

I have always have had problems with hyperpigmentation and when I stumbled across this moisturizer I was slightly ambiguous as to how much it would reduce the redness in my face but it really did.I saw noticeable differences within a week. To apply squirt product onto finger tips and massage into the face until it has sunk in completely.

Quick tips:
1.Stay hydrated - Drink lot's of water
2.CLEANSER! CLEANSER! CLEANSER! - Make up wipes don't get rid of all the make up from your face thus blocking pores making your skin far more prone to spots
3.Be aware of what skin type you are when buying beauty products

Hope this has been of some help.

Love always
Emma
xxx

What is the best way to clean my make-up brushes?

I cannot stand my brushes being visibly dirty there is nothing worse than seeing all the foundation caught up in my brush. I have tried lot's of different brush cleansers/cleaners and I find that they kind of do the trick but they can be very expensive and you don't get that much for your money,which is why I clean my brushes with shampoo. The method is cheap and cleans the brushes amazingly well and doesn't damage them. I never use a scented shampoo because some scents irritate my skin and could leave my brushes smelling funny (especially if you use cheap fruity scents).I recommend Tresemme- Platinum Strength,Strength and protect shampoo. The shampoo is widely available in stores such as Boots or Superdrug and only cost's £3.33 and the average high end brush cleanser cost's around £10 which means you can spend more money on make up and beauty products ( perfect). I massage the shampoo into the brush then dab it into a bowl of water;I then massage the brush further to get all of the product out after I finish doing all of the above steps I then leave the brushes to dry on a towel and wait to dry.

Here is a link to the shampoo I use to clean my brushes:  http://www.boots.com/en/Tresemme-Platinum-Strength-Shampoo-500ml_1311153/?cm_mmc=pla-_-google-_-PLAs-_-PLAs+-+All+Products

I hope this has been helpful!

Love always 

Emma xxx

Review : Mac Mineralize Skin finish - Lightscapade

I have been using M.A.C products for over 3 years now and  have a love hate relationship with their products,some I really love and are part of my everyday make up routine and some in my opinion are a complete waste of money.

Anyway back to the  review ... I actually really like this product,it gives a nice finish to a low coverage look.I would defiantly recommend it to someone who doesn't like to wear heavy make up. The product sits on the skin extremely well but I found that you have to use a lot for it to show on the skin. 

Aesthetically it is beautiful with a marble effect with champagne,purple with hints of pink which look lovely in the summer sun. M.A.C has changed the packaging of a lot of their products recently which got me confused when trying to search for this product in store. The packaging is really compact and ideal to carry round in your make up bag. If you enjoy  M.A.C 's other skin finishes then I would defiantly recommend you add this to your collection especially this summer as it catches light beautifully on the skin. Lightscapade was £22.00 I think that £22 is abit too expensive for this product as it doesn't give a heavy coverage and I am more inclined to pay more if it is more noticeable.

Overall I give Mac Mineralize skin finish - Lightscapde 7/10

Love Always 

Emma xxx

A little bit about me ...

Hey my name is Emma and I just turned 16 on the 17th of June, my favorite band is McFly and Ironically I don't like Jelly beans (It was the only username left).
I have wanted to blog for a while but I have never really known what to say.
I have always had an interest in make up and beauty, from a young age I was constantly getting told off for going into my Mum's make up bag and experimenting with her make up (If I had a daughter and she was trashing my make up I wouldn't be very happy either ).This blog is mainly for make up product reviews,Life style advise and possibly some tutorials. I have absolutely no training in make up or beauty I have just watched a tonne of You-tube tutorials and enjoy experimenting .Well that was a small incite into my life. Here's a link to my ....

Tumblr : http://candydropzandvodkashotz.tumblr.com/
Twitter :  https://twitter.com/Teenagemisstake
I'm always online so if you fancy a good chinwag I'm always here.

Love always
Emma xxx