Jaclyn Hill x Morphe Palette// Is It Really Worth the Hype?

                                    


 So, lets talk about the palette that broke the internet and one of 2017s most popular releases. The Morphe x Jaclyn Hill collaboration was quite possibly Morphes biggest release to date and the entire internet knew about it. American makeup lovers were the first to be introduced to this palette while us lot in the UK had to wait a fair while longer. When we could finally get our hands on it, the Beauty Bay squad went into meltdown and the virtual queue to get this palette was longer than an hour. Even then I was unsuccessful and had to wait for the next lot of stock. I don't particularly like buying a product while everyone talking about it because I never feel the product is going to live up to the hype. Is it going to be one of my most reached for palettes? Will the quality live up to Morphes name? Is this REALLY going the worth £37 when their other palettes only cost £23?? Yes, yes and an even bigger yes. This is quite possibly one of the best palettes I have invested in.

To start with, the swatches were incredible. there is not one shade in this 35 shade palette that lacks pigmentation. The one comment I always hear people make about Morphe is that they can often feel disappointed by the quality of the Matte shades in the palettes. They can be described as patchy and hard to blend. On this occasion, I strongly disagree. the formula has been worked on and every matte blends beautifully. There are a mixture of light shades that can be added to the crease to build up depth and transition while on the other end of the palette there are some really dark browns, blues, greens and blacks to create a perfectly blended smoky eye. Like many other Morphe palettes there is a mix of Shimmer shades and foiled shades. I am a sucker for the burnt out orange shade on the very end of the third row, this is the shade I reach for the most as it looks good for a smokey eye but can also be suited to a daytime look with some of the light browns through the crease.

I am not always the bravest person when it comes to using bright colours on my eyes, however one of the reasons I purchased this palette was because of the beautiful purples, blues and greens. Not only was it time to step out of my comfort zone and make the most of these colours but they are also perfect for my Makeup kit. This is a palette I often reach for when recreating fantasy makeup looks such as mermaids and high fashion looks. this really is one of my most versatile palettes and I rely on it pretty much every day.

This is a Smokey glam look created with this palette!

Although this palette is practically perfect, there are a few things that I think are worth mentioning. firstly, who's idea was it not to include a matte white/ light shade?! Before applying eyeshadow I much prefer to set my primer with a white or lighter shade. This makes the shadows so much nicer to blend but because this palette does not have one it means I have to reach for a different palette to set my eyelids and then swap back to the Jaclyn palette. Is two very similar highlighting shades necessary? Surely one of those pans would have been suited better to a setting shade so an entire eye look could be created from this palette alone but that's just my personal preference.
I am also not a particular fan of the packaging. I think the white is extremely striking and looks professional. It also makes it stand out as a collaboration and gives it a more personal touch however, due to it being cardboard it did not take long before it started looking grubby. I have a habit of tapping excess product onto palettes and wiping brushes against palettes to ensure they are clean. This is a mistake I made with this palette as it is now covered with product that cannot be removed. I now tell people that it looks "well loved" as I really do love it, but it already looks well used even though I have only owned it for 3 months.

Despite these points, I can completely understand why this product has had such a good response. I was originally concerned this palette was only costing an extra £14 because you were paying for Jaclyns name on the palette, however it is of a higher quality so I did not mind paying for the extra. You really do pay for what you get and you get a palette that you will contemplate replacing your family with.

So, what were your opinions of this palette? did you find it was as good as everyone made it out to be or were you let down?
You can find the palette on Beauty Bay for £37    

Becoming a Makeup Artist

So, it has been over a year since I made an apperance on this blog and a lot can happen within a year. In the past 12 months I cannot begin to explain how I have grown as a person. I have finally found the confidence to put my work out there and go freelance. One of the biggest changes to happen is that I am now a qualified Makeup Artist. A title I never thought I would be able to gain. I thought it would be nice to create a post talking about my experience in my first year of training to give you an insight of what it is like becoming a Makeup Artist.

In September 2016 I started studying "Level 2 Theatrical and Media Makeup." As excited as I was to start something new and chase something I had only imagined, I was also extremely sceptical as I had no artistic background. I thought this was going to make me the weakest one of the group, after all, I was there to become an "Artist".

The course was split into 3 sections; Fashion Makeup, Theatrical Makeup and Hair. I am no hairdresser and this was probably the part of the course that I often worried about. However, you can't run until you can walk. So we started from basics and worked our way up. We started with simple wash and blow drys, then conditioning treatments, we then started to style hair by adding different types of curls. Gradually, I saw an improvement in my skill. Before this course i could not do one plait but by christmas I was able to do 4 different types of plaits confidently. Then came the dreaded Up Dos. Still something I struggle with but I never thought I would see the day I could complete a bridal hair piece. My tutor had the patience of a saint but we got there in the end. The Hair element is something I saw the most amount of progress in because I walked in with next to no skill but I finished the course confident with things I had been taught.

Theatrical makeup was a huge part of the course, here we learnt how to apply different makeup for stage. The hints and tips I picked up along the year I will carry throughout my career. Again we started with Basic Makeup for stage, this then developed into character makeup by applying prosthetic pieces and facial hair. By then end of the year, I had carried out a half body paint. I had never seen myself enjoying body painting. It is now something I love doing. Sometimes you have to do the things that scare you the most because you don't know where it will take you. Everything we developed was gradual so I never felt overwhelmed or out of my depth.

Fashion makeup was something I had the most amount of passion for. we had to carry out a day, evening and bridal makeup look. We were all used to this kind of makeup so there was nothing we were overly challenged by. our biggest project with fashion makeup was the Fantasy element. This could be as big as we chose to make it. We could be as creative as we wanted to and had no limitations. Everything we had been taught over the year lead to this assessment. Again, our skill had built up over the year so by the time the project can around we were all extremely confident in carrying out this makeup. The fantasy look is still my favourite piece of work to date.

To anyone considering doing this course or something similar, I couldn't recommend the experience enough. Youtube videos and Instagram posts will never compare to what you get out of hands on training. I walked into the college with no artistic background but it wont take you long to realise that you don't need to be artistic to be successful in the makeup world. You just have to be determined and push yourself to find that creative edge. I never thought I would be able to achieve half of the things that I did and there is no prouder feeling then watching your basic animal face paint transform into a full body paint design. At points the course will be hard work but the tears, sleepless nights and early mornings will be worth it when you get sent the certificates to confirm that you are a qualified Makeup Artist. I have now moved on to the Level 3 course where we focus more on the Film and TV side of makeup.
     
 

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water// Review

 

Say hello to my new obsession. Since qualifying as a beauty therapist 3 weeks ago I decided to go out and treat myself to some high end makeup to mark the occasion. One thing that has always caught my eye is the Photo Finish Primer Water from Smashbox. This product stole the show on everyone's blogs and YouTube channels for months on end, but silly me chose to ignore the whole hype purely because number 1, it's £20 and as a student money doesn't come easily and 2, I had never heard of a primer mist. I had only ever heard of setting sprays so in the back of my mind I thought this product was a gimmick.

Eventually I bit the bullet and popped into my local boots and spoke to an extremely lovely lady on the Smashbox counter. Personally, I often find going to makeup counters intimidating because I often feel as if the staff are judging my makeup and overall appearance. Is that daft or completely normal?! But this time I couldn't have felt any more comfortable and the lady couldn't have been any more helpful or friendly.

I purchased the primer and I honestly think it was love at first spritz. I am always reluctant to spend money on a primer because I can get so lazy and skip the step all together, I can feel the makeup professionals cringing already. This miracle water makes priming so easy. Just 4 sprays of product sprayed evenly around your face will pretty much guarantee your face makeup lasting ALL day. My skin type is combination but since it's summer I'm leaning more to the oily side so I use my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and I set with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. normally, I would apply this makeup at around 10AM set for a busy day and I start to notice it sliding off at around 2-3PM. When I use this primer my face makeup still looks 'flawless' at 8PM! For a risky buy I can already tell this will be a stable in my makeup collection. I feel as if I can now join the "Not to primer is a crime" squad.

The only flaw I have been able to find with the product is that its a little harsh to spray, for example the Mac Fix+ sprays easily so it's more accurate. With Fix+ you have the option of a half spray so application is more accurate but this water it takes more practice to get it on your face evenly. However the fact that it's in a clear bottle makes it so much easier to tell how much product is left.

Onto the technical stuff, the Primer is Silicone, Alcohol and Oil free. It is designed to hydrate the skin for hours and revitalise the skins radiance to boost the skins complexion. The spray feels very refreshing on the skin but it does have a slight fragrance. I can't quite put my finger on the smell but it's fresh and pleasant. Even though the scent is slight it may have a reaction on skin that is more sensitive so I would advise going to a Smashbox counter and trying it out first. 

This product is a real winner and you will not be disappointed with the lasting power it has in your makeup.

Where- Boots
How much?- £20

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette// Review

 

Contouring has been THE makeup trend for a fair few years now and with a little help from celebrities such as the Kardashian's it has become a craze no one can avoid. If you don't know what contouring is then A.), WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! and B.) it's a clever makeup trick that makes your face appear slimmer and sculpts your face to define your cheekbones. In simpler terms, it's a way of taking your face go from a pop tart to a pop star. It can pretty much shape any part of you physically but not emotionally. As wonderful as contouring is, it will not structure your life and give you 10/10 grades, but who needs grades when you can have pretty sharp cheekbones?

One of my favourite drugstore brands, Makeup Revolution offers the perfect product to create such sharp cheekbones you may cut yourself but on a budget! This is the Ultra Contour Powder Palette and it retails at only £8. I am a huge fan of drugstore/high street brands but contouring products from them can often be a hit/miss situation as they often look too orange to define your shape or they have shimmer running through them making them act as more of a bronzer. Personally, I am insanely pale and this only makes it harder to find that perfect contour shade on the cheap side. I almost gave up with my hunt for cheekbones until one day, the makeup Gods directed me towards to Ultra Contour Palette. The Palette is made up of 3 Matte contour shades and 3 highlighters with 2 baked highlighters along the side. It also has a large mirror which makes it perfect for travelling and to admire your newly found cheek bones.

As far as the highlighters go, I am insanely impressed. The yellow toned powder is perfect for the under eye area as it helps to prevent creasing but also brightens the area up and cancel out dark circles. I feel as if the palette itself is worth buying just for this shade. The pink toned highlighter adds just the right amount of shimmer to your cheekbones to make them pop. However I do feel as if the baked highlighter is slightly too white and shimmery to do an awful lot with but if you are on the paler side and struggle to find a highlighter that impacts then maybe this is the shade for you. Nevertheless, you will still shine brighter than my future as the pigmentation is absolutely insane!

Onto the actual contour shades themselves, I am pretty sure there is something here to suit every skin tone. The middle shade which is cool toned is my perfect shade. They have an impressive level of pigmentation but it's not over the top and its easily built up. I prefer this because I can use a heavier hand it doesn't look silly and mistakes are easily corrected. I was also extremely impressed by the lasting power. It lasts all day and does not go patchy. Nor does it look orange a few hours down the line. The other two shades are slightly too warm for me personally but its nice to have the choice! They also blend very easily which is another reason why this is hands down my favourite drugstore product. This palette is often compared to the Anastasia Beverly Hills palette and I can understand why. The main difference is that by buying the MUR palette you are saving £30 and gaining 2 extra highlighters! WINNER! I am insanely pleased with this product and I have gone through two of them and go back to it every single time! It's such a staple to every makeup bag, whether you are a only just starting out on makeup or have been on the scene for a while. You really wont regret investing in this life saver.

Where?- Makeup Revolution and Superdrug
How Much?- £8

            

Makeup Revolution Fortune Favours The Brave Palette // Review

Over the past two weeks I placed a rather large order off the Makeup Revolution website. As some of you may know I am a HUGE fan of Makeup Revolution. Their products are always of a high standard and they compete with many high end brands. As a rule I would prefer to spend £30 in Makeup Revolution and purchase 3-4 palettes instead of 1 from a more expensive brand. Especially when a lot of their goodies are dupes for high end products. One item I purchased was the Fortune Favours The Brave palette which was designed by BritishBeautyBlogger and that is what I will be reviewing today.

To start with the packaging is absolutely beautiful. It moves away from the traditional black case and into a classy gold case which makes the product look that bit more professional. To look at this I would expect to pay £20-£30. The only flaw I can find with the packaging is that when it is opened up, the shade names are on a thin sheet of plastic which is not very practical as there are so many shades to remember and these sheets are SO easy to lose. other than that I cannot fault it. The big mirror on the inside makes it very handy for travelling.

Onto the actual product itself, inside the palette there are 30 eye shadow shades that hold incredible pigmentation. There is a mixture of Mattes, Shimmery and marble shades and each of them apply like a dream. There are also several transition shades in the palette which I was more than impressed with as I am all about the transition shade life. My particular favourite transition shades are 'Creme' and 'Buffer.'

The main reason this palette has been such a hit for me is because you can create any look with it. it's perfect for a natural day to day eye but you can also be daring with it and create all sorts of smoky looks. It's extremely versatile and I can understand why this has sold out across all Superdrug stores and on the website too. The majority of the shades are warm tones but there are also a few cool tones to make your eyes pop but the mixture of shades add variety. Ever since I purchased this product I have not been able to stop playing with it. There is something here to suit all eye colours as the colour variation is so large. The palette is perfect for makeup beginners who do not want to delve straight into the darkest of colours. After all, smoky eyes can be intimidating when you do not fully know what it is you are doing.

I would go as far as saying that this is the best palette that Makeup Revolution have launched. it retails at only £9.99 and I would honestly pay a lot for a palette of this quality. The price is one of many reasons Makeup Revolution is one of my favourite drugstore brand. The fallout is at a minimum. Some of the shades have more fallout than others but that does not make this a bad product, it just means the shades are heavily pigmented. considering this was just another palette that I "did not need" it has now become my go to palette and I cannot recommend this enough.

Where?- Makeup Revolution and Superdrug
How much?- £9.99

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation // Review

When it comes to my makeup routine foundation is one of, if not the most important step. I find that if I can leave the house with my blemishes covered and have an even skin tone then I find I am 1oo% happier within myself. The most I used to spend on foundation was a maximum of £12 because lets face it, the drugstore really have upped their game over the years by providing high coverage foundation for the half the price. That was until I tried this Double Wear Foundation by Estee Lauder.

After spending hours watching first impressions and reading endless reviews on this unbeatable product, I thought it was time I tried it for myself. So I popped down to my local Boots with my best friend to get my skin matched to a shade because after all, there was no way £30 was going to be spent on a random shade. The foundations are separated into groups of C, N or W which stand for Cool, Warm or Neutral. My specific shade is 1W1 Bone, which is the lightest warm shade. This shade is ideal for fake tan lovers as it is more yellow toned. On first impressions I was very fond of the packaging. Once I had overcome the shock of how small the bottle is for the money you pay I was able to move onto how much I like the packaging. The square glass bottle makes it look worth the money. The only flaw I have for the packaging is that it has no pump which means more wastage, (HACK: the MAC foundation pump fits perfectly!). I feel as if a pump is an essential and if a company is going to charge silly amounts for a product they should provide something as simple as a pump. After all, it isn't as if they can't afford it. But as for the product itself I absolutely cannot fault it.

The bottle contains 30mls of goodness which lasted me a good 3-4 months. The consistency is rather thin which I thought was strange for such a high coverage foundation. You need a very small amount to cover your entire face which is why the bottle lasts longer than your average foundation. The coverage is the main reason this foundation is so popular, it is very intense and you need to blend it fast otherwise it sets and makes it harder to work with. The lasting power is incredible. Estes Lauder claim it lasts 15 hours and even though I do not leave my makeup on for that long I can thoroughly believe it. When I apply my foundation first thing in the morning and then check up on it 7-8 hours later my blemishes do not make an appearance, it still looks bright and any slight cracks can be easily fixed with powder. My favourite part of this is that the shade is a perfect match. It does not oxidise on my face so I do not resemble a tangerine 3 hours after application which is a winner considering how pale I am!

This is my absolute favourite foundation I have tried and I have already repurchased as it is an essential to my makeup collection. In my opinion it is worth every single penny and I'm yet to find a dupe half as good as the real thing. It is understandable why this has been voted Britain's number 1 foundation!

Where- Boots or Debenhams
How much- £30

      

Nivea Men Post Shave Balm As A Primer?!

Preparing my skin before applying makeup is an essential step to my routine, and using a primer is vital to make sure my makeup lasts all day.

 I am a massive fan of Manny MUA and in one of his recent videos I heard him talk about the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm as a primer. At first I completely dismissed the idea and refused to be believe it worked and passed it off as a hype that would be forgotten about within a few weeks. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I made a trip to Boots to try it out myself.

 To cut a long story short, the Post Shave balm contains an ingredient called Glycerin which is tacky so anything that goes over the top of it will stick. In this case that means your makeup will stick to the Post Shave Balm and therefor, the Balm acts as a primer making your makeup last all day. 

 Obviously the product helps give the skin moisture after shaving so I find this keeps my skin moisturised and feeling soft. I have also noticed it's helped clear my skin up since I've started using it and it has definitely reduced redness. 

 One of my favourite things about this product is the smell. It has that masculine smell which I adore but it only lasts a few seconds and then it goes away. After using this product for over a month, I have learnt to keep rubbing the primer on my face until I feel it go tacky. This way my makeup lasts that bit longer and you get the full value for your money.

 This is one of my favourite products at the moment and I would recommend it to everybody. At £5.35 it is most definitely worth trying out. The bottle contains 100ml of product and you only need a small amount so it'll last you a very long time. A lot longer than any regular primer.  

Where- Boots

 Price- £5.35