MAC Soft and Gentle

I own only one mineralise skin finish from MAC, and it is beeyouteefool! It's a baked powder highlighter which when applied gives a gorgeous champagne coloured sheen to the skin. It's often raved about and it was Louise from Sprinkle of Glitters blog post which MADE me buy this.
Swatch below has been taken with flash to appear brighter for you lovely lot to see but in daylight this powder can be used really subtly to give a dewy glow. I personally don't use highlighter every single day but if I want a polished healthy look ill always opt for Soft and Gentle. This is pricey at over £20 but I can't imagine running out as you only need a little, so well worth it in my opinion. It's also gorgeous used as a shimmery lid colour on the eyes, and for a night out would look beautiful dusted on the décolletage and down the front of the legs for a healthy sheen. What's your favourite Highlighter?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

My Favourite Youtubers <3

YouTube is my TV. Some people relax watching the soaps etc but when I have spare time I'm glued to any and all makeup tutorials, hauls and tips and tricks on YouTube. I think it's a brilliant way of learning and applying new techniques to your makeup in real life, without having to pay to do a course in makeup. It also gives me a heads up on new releases which I love, but my poor purse definitely does not!! So anyway, I thought I'd list and summarise who I watch and why and share with you :)
PIXIWOO
My number 1 and ultimate favourites to watch. I'm sure everyone knows but Pixiwoo are sisters and makeup artists Sam Chapman and Nic Haste. They are fantastic at what they do, naturals in front of the camera and their tutorials are second to none. Sam introduced Real Techniques brushes to the world and they're much hyped and my personal favourite. Can't praise the channel enough!

TANYA BURR
Another fantastic makeup artist, with a beautiful face and personality to match, love her tutorials.

GOSSMAKEUPARTIST
This guy makes me laugh! He teaches brilliantly but also has a lot of insider knowledge on brands and the naughty things they do that we should know, and is very informative on product ingredient lists etc.

SPRINKLEOFGLITTER
Louise's channel is a fun filled wonderful place to be, she's bubbly, funny, relatable and I heart her. She appeals to me because she's a mummy who loves makeup just like me, and when I watch her I feel happy because she's so infectious.

EIMEARBYRNE/LETZMAKEUP
I grouped these two together(but they're separate channels) because they're both fantastic makeup artists and the very best thing of all is they're Irish :-D

JEMIMALOU
A gorgeous girl and a really solid makeup artist, I learn something new from every tutorial I watch.

NIKKIETUTORIALS
This girl blows me away. She's not even twenty yet and if I had even half of her makeup skills I'm sure I'd be successful in makeup artistry. She edits her videos brilliantly and gives me the giggles!

BLUSHBLENDBEAUTY
This is Natalie, who I watch because not only do I enjoy her videos but also I could imagine being her friend. She is brilliant at makeup but she also talks about weight loss and fashion, and she's so humble and lovely. She deserves many many more subscribers than she has. Love her!!

STEPHANIECONNOLLY
Last but not least is one of my very best friends. I'm not even biased I promise! Steph started as a beauty channel and evolved into a vlogger/weightloss guru/MUA/mummy rep/inspirational all round funny girl. Her videos always keep me on my toes because I never know what she's going to upload next. Steph has a very exciting series coming up soon and I predict big things for her channel.

So there we have it. I have SO many more on my YouTube subscription list but I don't want to bore you, these are my very very favourite and if you don't watch them, go look them up on YouTube! Tell em I sent you ;)
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

MAC Power Surge Eye Kohl

I thought I'd pop a post up today on one of my all time favourite makeup items- Power Surge eye kohl by MAC.
When I was just getting into makeup in my teens one of the first eyeshadows I ever bought was a gold shimmer dust from Natural Collection in Boots. Sadly these are now discontinued, I don't know why as they were one of the best products in the line. Anyhow, every time I wore it people would always comment on my blue eyes. Lesson learnt gold+blue eyes=winner! From then on some variation of a gold/bronze eyeshadow combo has been my go-to no-fail eye makeup. Whether its a wash of light gold during the day or a dark smokey brown-gold at night it works for me. I wear a black or brown kohl at night but sometimes I feel like this can be too harsh, and close the eye up. This is where Power Surge comes in.
It's a beautiful gold kohl pencil, and you can see from the swatches below it can be applied lightly for a shimmery gold effect or layered up to a darker bronze/gold colour. In the daytime sometimes ill just wear no eyeshadow, mascara, and Power Surge on the waterline which is a no fuss look but still enhances my eye colour. However it's also beautiful paired with almost any eyeshadow look. If you've done a dark smokey eye this adds some golden shimmer to open your eyes up without leaving the waterline bare or having to apply a white or nude kohl. Ahhhh can you tell how much I love it!!!
The best thing is that gold does the same for all eye colours, it's a universal colour in my opinion and I don't think there's anyone who couldn't wear this pencil.its so versatile, as with all kohls it can be smudged all over the lid and used as an eyeshadow base too. I've used this a LOT since I bought it a few months ago and haven't had to sharpen it yet so it's going to last ages, which is a good thing considering the price (£14). It can be found in all MAC stores or online at maccosmetics.co.uk. The swatch on the website does not do it justice. I've shown it below swatched on my hand and on my waterline. Seriously, go check it out!
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Stila "all is bright" lip glaze set

I had to rush to take a pic and get this post up quick, before this set sells out. I LOVE Stila eyeshadows and I have the "in the light" palette so when I heard they had a sale of their leftover Christmas giftsets I had a little browse- the website is stila.co.uk if you're interested. I've never owned any of their lip products but have read a lot about how good their lip glazes are, sooo when I saw this on the website I knew I had to have it.
This set contains 8 1.5ml lip glazes, 6 of which are limited and edition and 2 are best sellers. The 6 limited editions are l-r Jack Frost (shimmery peach with pink and gold flecks), Jingle (peach), Holly (bright red), Jolly (light pink with gold flecks), Joy (blue-toned pinky purple), Splendor (light mauve with pink and gold flecks) and the 2 permanent lip glazes are l-r Black Cerry (plum) and Sugar Plum (nude pink).
This set is worth £75, at Christmas it was on sale for £18.50 and right now it's on the website for £12.95. Bargain, I couldn't pass it up!
Swatches below are in the order in which I have named them above. they have a twist up brush head applicator and i love the fact you can always see how much you have left. These lip glazes are ever so slightly scented but its not offensive and doesn't linger. I cant wait to start using these and I'm so glad I picked them up especially at this price. I shall definitely be aiming to get my hands on some more stila goodies in the future, especially since customer service was lovely and delivery was free and within two days.
Have you tried these? Do you have any other Stila recommendation?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

MAC 217 dupe?

Ahh I love a good makeup brush. It has been said by the professionals that you can do more with good brushes and bad makeup than you can with bad brushes and high quality makeup. Believe it or not, my fascination (read obsession) with brushes began after I started to watch Pixiwoo YouTube tutorials about 2 years ago.
I used to apply foundation with my fingers and just use sponge applicators for eyeshadow. I was uneducated okay?! *hangs head in shame* However after discovering YouTube tutorials I started to collect brushes and now have a fair few. I do believe that the number one most used brush is the MAC 217, it's rare to see an online tutorial without one of these babies making an appearance. I've only recently picked my first one up (at £17. Gulp!).
It's easy to see why the 217 is one of the most popular eyeshadow blending brushes, it works like a dream. Blending is the one thing that I, and a lot of other people, struggle with the most so anything that helps is a godsend. Before I picked this up I had been using what I now consider to be a dupe, from No.7 at Boots-the eyeshadow blend and contour brush.
As you will see from the picture, these two brushes are almost identical save for the length of the handle. The hairs themselves look the same, but when using I found that the MAC 217 gives slightly more control and the No.7 brush tends to be a bit fluffier and sometimes colours can end a little higher than you would like. However, the No.7 brush is £7.50 so at less than half the price if you want to try the 217 but don't wanna spend the pennies, this is a good alternative. Also, when Boots give out the £5 off no.7 vouchers the brushes are included. Bargain. Have you tried either of these? Which do you prefer?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Nivea Express Hydration Primer

My oily skin is the bane of my life, it's not so bad in winter but when it gets a bit warmer I get shinier. And that's not a good look. So, I'm always on the hunt for the newest primer or mattifying lotions to help with this. I was accidentally in Superdrug again the other day (these accidental visits keep happening :-/ ) and picked up the new Express Hydration Primer from Nivea. I watched the ad on tv and got swayed. The fact that this is a bargain at £4.99 helped.
I was a bit sceptical about this because its packaged just like their moisturisers and so I judged a book by its cover and didn't hold out much hope. But after using this under my makeup for the past week or so I have been converted. You use it to moisturise/hydrate/prime just before foundation but it can also be used alone. The texture is a cross between a gel and a moisturiser, it smells lovely and sinks in very quickly. I found that it helped my foundation to go on much more smoothly than usual, and it kept my skin matte all day, which is a bit of a revelation for me! I'm so pleased I bought this and ill continue to repurchase. The Express Hydration also comes in a formula for dry skin for those who lack an oil slicked face. Have you tried it?
Thanks for reading. Love, Steph xxx

Boots No.7 Brush Cleaner

Welcome to my first post of 2013, after a very long Xmas and New Year break. Hope Santa was good to you all and you had a lovely NYE! Now let's get down to the makeup business!
I've been searching high and low for a brush cleaner on the high street. I can't always get to a makeup counter and I'm too impatient to shop online a lot of the time. It's only when I actually worked in Boots over the Christmas period that I discovered No.7 stock a brush cleaner HA LAY LOO YAH!! I actually had to hide one to buy on my break-I can admit this now my contract has finished ;)
Boots No.7 makeup brush cleaner costs £8 for 185ml. This sounds quite expensive considering the mac one is only slightly more but if you are budget savvy like me, you'll purchase this when the renowned £5 off vouchers for No.7 are knocking about and get it for £3. Bargain!
No.7 say "This product is a quick fix when you don't have time to soak your brushes. Spray a paper towel or tissue with cleanser before sweeping brush bristles across the damp cloth. Let hairs dry before applying makeup."
I love this stuff! It's so quick and easy to clean brushes now after every use if you are a bit OCD like me, or even in the middle of an eye look where you need the same brush for a different colour. The brush dries within a couple of minutes. Also, I use revlon colour stay foundation which seems to stain my brushes, but after I've used the brush I give it a quick clean with this cleanser, which means when I go to deep clean my brushes with baby shampoo it's much easier to get the stains out. I like the fact it comes with a pump to. Less wastage. I'm so happy I found this, and so happy I can tell people it exists as I haven't read any other posts or reviews on it! If you already use it or intend to let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx