It's been a while...

Hi, hello...

I feel like I should nearly re-introduce myself I've been away that long!

There's just been A LOT happening lately and I needed some time to me.. And I kinda wasn't sure of what I wanted to be posting about on this blog.

I decided to just post about things I love like beauty items, make up, clothes/shoes, then random favourites I wanna talk about!

I'll be following up this post tomorrow with something I've been obsessing over and I've a few posts lined up for throughout the week!

I'll try to stay consistent & post regularly... But I'm not making too many promises lol!!

M x

Halsey Inspired Make-up Look - Including my Halsey Mac Lipstick

This look is inspired by all the little things I love about Halsey's style/makeup and matching it with her collab with Mac for her Halsey lipstick! It's a gorgeous matte cool toned grey - I'm obsessed. (I just need to get the balls, for lack of better term, to wear it in public!)

Here's the finished look.. 

It's a cool toned grey/slate grey metallic lid, the colours inspired from the lipstick she created, a pop of metallic blue under the eye as a nod to her blue hair which was my favourite and her all round obsession with the colour blue, a bright futuristic highlight as I always love her looks with a dewy glow and of course her lipstick on my lips! I'll go into more detail below on what I used for this look and what techniques I used.

For the base and face:
Firstly I moisturised as I have dry skin and apply a light layer of Mac Skin Base Visage to even out my skin. I used the L'Oreal Infalliable foundation in shade 140 mixed with a pump of the L'Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Primer. This adds the most healthy and gorgeous glow. If you're on the dry side like me I definitely 100% would recommend adding this into your foundation - it's gorgeous!
For concealer I use the L'Oreal True Match La Touche Magique, it's a pen like packaging with a brush at the top but this concealer is heavy duty! I find this even brightens up my under eye area a lot more than my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer.
For contour I used my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette in Medium. For my contour I used the shade Cinnamon. I then set my eye and highlight area with Ben Nye Powder in the shade Banana. For my contour I set that using my Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette and I used the middle, of the three, contour shades.

For my eyes:
On my eyebrows I used my trusty Illamasqua Brow Gel in Stare and filled the ends in with a dark eyeshadow. 
Onto my eye lids, I first prepped them with my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer and my face powder. To make sure the silver and grey shades stood out I used the metallic white shade from my Morphe Brushes 35K palette to cover my whole lids to my brow bone and used this for my brow bone highlight.
All shadows I used were from the 35K palette (thank you for recommending Jaclyn Hill!) In the crease I firstly placed a light grey matte shadow and blended it out, I followed with a darker grey shade and kept this closer to my crease this time. I then went in with a dark metallic grey and blended out the crease again going back and fourth until the three shades were perfectly blended. I then took the white shade and lightly sweeped this around the outside of the crease, and into my inner corner area for my inner corner highlight and to make sure it had an airbrushed effect blend on my lid. 
For the inner third of my eyelid I placed a metallic sliver shadow as a highlight and to brighten up my grey toned eye. I dampened by brush first to get a gorgeous foil shadow effect on the inside.
Under my eye I used a bright metallic blue eyeshadow from Urban Decay (it was in one of my older palettes) and blended this out with the white shadow. (The blue doesn't show up so well on camera but it's a gorgeous metallic royal blue!)
My eye had a lot going on so I placed a white liner on the inside of my eye to brighten it up again and bring my eyes back out! I decided with the intense shadow not to do a winged liner (shocker!!) and only a long wispy lash as I know this is something Halsey is fond of. She always has gorgeous long and thick eyelash extensions so I used the lashes closest to that I had. I used one of the pairs I got in a 5 pack from ebay I'll link them here, as I know they're not an easy find but they're very cheap!! They're not for the faint hearted though and they're definitely not a 'natural' lash.
Before applying these I coated my eyelashes in my Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara and applied them using Duo eyelash glue.

For Highlight:
I used my Sleek Highlighting Palette in Solstice. This palette is gorgeous. I used the shade Subsolar for a gorgeous light highlight and from the whole palette I felt the cooler shade matched this look perfectly! See my review here of this palette! I placed on the top of my cheeks, nose and cupids bow with a slight dusting on my chin and forehead of whatever was left on the brush!

On my Lips:
I used the Halsey x Mac lipstick and then I felt it was a little flat in comparison to the rest of the look as it was very matte so I added a little of the Subsolar highlight to the inside of my lips using my finger. I love the metallic effect it gives. I didn't use a lip pencil with this so I cleaned up the edges with concealer and a brush.

To finish off this look I sprayed my face in my NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray to ensure I stayed flawless and dewy.

This is my finished Halsey inspired look including Halsey Mac Lipstick! Hope you liked this and feel free to recommend me any good products I should be using! 

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xo

M.

How I Maintain and Tone My Clip-In Extensions and Colour-Freedom Metallic Glory Review!

I bought Milk + Blush Triple Weft Extensions in Spaced Out in November (Check out my initial review here). As I style mine often to wear on nights out I tend to wash them often to keep them sleek and soft. I noticed the grey tone from the ombre ends had faded and I decided to use Knight & Wilson Colour Freedom Metallic Glory in Silver Blonde. 

This is a Permanent Hair Colour and on the box looks a grey/blonde shade. The picture below shows an unfiltered picture of my extensions beside the box to show the colour before and how it should look after..

As you can see my extensions are supposed to be a grey shade but have become quite ashy blonde, that being said they are definitely not much different than when I received them, which can be seen in my review above. From the colour key on the box I expected them to be a nice toned grey/'white' shade.

The photo above is a full photo of my extensions before they were dyed. Below is the contents of the box:

The box contained:

• Instructions
• Gloves
• Conditioner
• Cream Developer
• Colourant

I followed the instructions and left the dye on for 25 minutes (pictured below). I then followed with rinsing them, leaving the conditioner on for 5 mins and rinsed it off to leave my extensions really soft!

Once I dried my extensions, trimmed the ends and applied a little coconut oil to the ends they looked like this:

To be honest I don't see a great difference but what you mightn't be able to see from the picture is that the ends are a cooler tone with a slight grey look in the right light. The light in which I took the photo is a 'yellow' light which can cause them to look warmer in tone. This dye has definitely brought my extensions back to their original colour and removed the warm/brassy tones I didn't like about the ends.

If I was to do this again I would use one of the 'grey' dyes and not a silver blonde as I feel this would achieve the grey I wanted. All in all, I'm happy with the end result as my extensions look thicker, healthier and toned which was the next best thing to grey hair!

I would rate the dye a 3/5 as it has great conditioning qualities but lacks in the fact it didn't produce the colour promised on the box. 

What dyes/hair products do you use for the most coveted hair colour lately? Let me know in the comments!

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xo

M.

Music Fridays!

As promised on the last Friday of the month here's my Music Friday Playlist.

This includes all the tunes I've been blasting around the house during April, so here you go..




I've been pretty much obsessing over these songs during April and I really can't recommend the What A Drag EP from Beach Weather enough. Perfect chill summer vibes songs or something I can envision in the background of Made In Chelsea. I can't get enough lately it's been on repeat for days! (Check out Wolf I love that track!)

What have you been listening to throughout April? I love checking out new songs and artists, recommend me what you think I'll like based on my playlist!!

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xo

M.

How I've Been Spending My Downtime...

I used to watch a lot of anime but I kind of fell away from it for a few months..

Recently, though, that has changed! Any second of down time I get I've been back on Crunchyroll catching up on all the great anime I missed and some I wish I'd watched earlier!

Anime has so many different genres from drama, sports, adventure, comedy, romance, sci-fi and lots more. There's something for everyone. Some of my favourite shows ever are anime's and they have the most beautiful soundtracks I've ever heard.

I thought if any of you haven't watched anime that I'd make a list of my Top 10 Anime Recommendations. I genuinely think everyone should give it a chance, even if it isn't something you'd generally go for. The love stories are beautiful, the scenery and the graphics are amazing, I am usually on the edge of my seat whenever an episode is intense and I can never just watch 'one episode'!

The average length of one episode is around 20 mins so this makes it perfect for me as I love to watch something while I eat. I'll have a show on and ready to be played before I sit down with my meal so anime shows are ideal for this. (I know, I'm a bit weird when it comes to this)

So here's my Top 10. (In no order as these are all my favourites!)



1.  Your Lie In April/Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso - This show. I'm going to be totally honest and admit I cried like a baby during the last few episodes and possibly shed a tear during the others. It's so beautiful. I loved how this one was based around music and music competitions but the relationships between the characters were what made this what it was for me. The soundtrack to this is amazing too. It includes Chopin & even Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata!



2. Himouto! Umaru-Chan - This is more of a comedy but I relate to this one on a personal level. Me and Umaru are one! I'd definitely recommend this as a starter anime, it's fun and something I think everyone will like!



3. Food Wars/Shokugeki no Soma - This isn't an anime I'd say to watch first. It is a great anime but it has some parts that, I think if you haven't been introduced to anime, would be hard to understand and some slightly weird. (Yes, I'm talking tentacles...) 



4. Erased - This is a recent anime and it's totally amazing. I never expected it to take the direction it did and I was so shocked by it. I always find I can never predict the storyline of an anime like I can a more western show so this was so intense and had me on the edge of my seat at the end of every episode. If you haven't watched anime before and you're into action/adventure/thrillers this might be the one for you!



5. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club - This anime is based on a high school swim team. This year I've been obsessed with sports anime's after watching this one and I don't even play much team sports! The first season is light hearted and you really root for the team but the second has a little more substance and it's a great anime. 



6. Parasyte! The Maxim - This is a different kind of anime. It's so interesting and it's about alien parasyte's that infect your body and basically take over a part of it. The main character's hand has been taken over and it's just a great anime to watch for something completely different!



7. Haikyuu!! - This is another sports anime. I don't know why but I'm actually only getting around to watching this one now. I've around 3 episodes of the 25 left and I can honestly say that I'm definitely sure this is one of my top 8. This one is about a high school volleyball team and I love it. It has the story of the underdog and the top player and their struggles and those of the team mates but I love how technical the show is. It explains how they plan to win the tournament and their strategies. I can't stop watching this show. It's been about 3 days and I'll probably be finished this whole show tonight!!



8. Death Note - This is one of the most intense anime's I've ever watched. There is a notebook in which if you write someone's name they die. It has fallen into the hands of a boy and to prevent him going on a killing spree an amazing detective is brought in. This is probably the anime I'd recommend the most to someone who hasn't watched any as it's amazing and totally worth a watch wether you watch anime or not. It's really interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The relationship between L Lawliet and Light Yagami is amazing and I can't hype this one up anymore!



9. Anohana. This is beautiful I love the graphics and it's an amazing story (sad yet so beautiful). This one made me cry at the end also but I loved every second of it and was sad whenever it was over!



10. Blue Exorxist - This is an awesome anime. The main character is Rin who is the son of Satan. He's been brought up by an exorcist and the story really is a great one. I really enjoyed this as I always love films with a religious story through them like horrors etc. This would be a good first anime too! 

That's my Top 10. I only did 10 as I wanted to only include anime's I really love. If you want to know more about any of these, have any recommendations for me based on my favourites or want to know anything leave me a comment below please!


Some other recommendations - Darker than Black, Black Butler, Sailor Moon, Full Metal Alchemist, Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul (as most people will tell you the manga is better)! Also if you've never watched a Studio Ghibli film, do it now. They're amazing!

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xo

M.

Very Late - March Favourites!

So. It's been a while.

To be honest I kinda didn't know what I wanted to be posting for a while and took a short break until I really got the urge to start posting again and more regularly! I had a lot going on and just needed a little me time..

But that's done now and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things and what better way than to do a favourites post!! An extremely late one if I'm honest but better late than never, yeah?

Anyway, here's my favourites for March 2016!

1. L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24hr Foundation. This is one of my favourite drug store foundations if not my favourite! I use so many different foundations but this one is great for a full day of makeup ie. work where i'm out from about 9am to 6pm, as it doesn't move or dry out my skin too much which can be a big problem for me. I've been loving this for it's coverage also, it covers all my redness and dark circles (that being said I still place a little concealer under my eyes.. Staying up late to watch 'one more episode' before an early morning eyes need a little more tlc!)

2. Dior Airflash Foundation. This is a spray on foundation. To be honest I wasn't one hundred percent sure how I was going to feel about this but after seeing it pop up everywhere on YouTube tutorials and seeing some of my absolute favourite people use it (Jeffree Star, Nikkie Tutorials and Patrick Star) I knew I needed to try this out. As it's on the more expensive side I only use this if I'm going out or have something on where I've a full face of makeup on and not in my daily makeup routine. When talking to the staff at the Dior counter I picked it up at she suggested wearing it as a top coat of foundation over another for a flawless finish to save the product and make it last longer. I use it on top of my Makeup Forever Ultra HD Foundation Stick as that's my number one foundation at the moment and I'm absolutely in love with the finish it gives me. I find it leaves a more matte finish to my MF foundation as I find it can also be slightly oily on me so this balances out for a flawless look all night! I'm in love.

3. Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil Free Moisturiser. I have definitely found this is helping to stop my skin getting clogged up and stopping me getting breakouts. I have really dry skin on my eyes (around my eyes I suffer from ezcema) and cheeks but I'm oiler on my t-zone and around my chin area. I struggled to find a moisturiser which kept my skin from drying out during the day but also stopped my pores from clogging up in my oiler areas. This works perfect for me and it's really light weight! It keeps me moisturised all day and I even love the smell when applying it. 

4. Boots Botanics Rosewater Toner. I'm actually really seeing results from this and I'm so surprised for such a small price tag! I had darker patches around my chin from past blemishes and I can really see them fading. I also noticed the texture on the tops of my cheeks fading too! I'm trying so hard to get the texture of my skin away so if anyone has any tips please send them my way!

5. Morphe 35T Palette. I love the colours in this palette. They're warm taupe, brown and shimmer shades. It's so gorgeous and I definitely think this palette is under appreciated. I'm serious, for such a small price tag I'm surprised more people don't have this as a makeup collection staple! Also, I just purchased the 35K palette so expect posts on that soon!

6. BaByliss Pro Curling Wand. I find this so easy and so great to use to create tight curls or loose waves! For really tight curls which last me days I curl each piece then pin it up and when my whole head is cool I take it down or leave it over night. For slightly looser curls I just curl the hair, spray with hairspray and let it cool and then run my fingers through it to separate the curls! For loose waves I do the same as the second method and when it's cool I brush it through for gorgeous beachy-summer vibes hair! And for just less than £20 this curling wand is a steal! It also has multiple heat settings so if like me you wear extensions or don't want to damage your own hair the lowest setting is perfect to still get great curls!

In terms of other favourites in March I was obsessed with Tattoo Fixers! I never got to watch a full episode as I just saw bits here and there but I finally watched every episode. It's a great show and despite the backlash that was online I really enjoyed it.. and Jay and Sketch. They're both so beautiful! lol 

I also started a new thing called Music Fridays so on the last Friday of the month I'll post my playlist for that month which will be an eclectic mix of all my favourite tunes from the previous month! March's is up on the blog so check it out HERE!

That's everythinig for March and expect more posts and fun things soon!!

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xo

M.

Topshop Mother Of Pearl Highlighter

I recently was looking on the Topshop website at their beauty and makeup range as I am a big fan of their products. I feel you get great quality products for an even better price!

I decided to purchase the Mother of Pearl Chameleon Highlighter. It's a gorgeous warm toned gold highlight with a slight pink shine off it when its in the light which complements the face/cheek area perfectly!



I was so surprised at how creamy/buttery this felt and it glides onto your skin to leave a perfect finish. Sometimes with highlight I can find that some make the texture on my skin more noticeable, this doesn't stop me wearing the highlight, but with this one its one of the best I own at giving me a flawless highlight!

This highlight is smaller in pan size than most of mine but it definitely feels like my higher end brands for sure and for £12.50 it's a great find!

Here's how the products looks swatched under a flash:

I only edited the background, the product & my finger are untouched!

It's an amazing product and I definitely recommend this to anyone of any skin colour it's gorgeous! This would also be a great product for the eyes and especially the inner corner highlight or brow bone highlight!! So multi-purposeful and worth it's price tag!

If you're interested in this highlight you can pick it up HERE. If you own this highlight let me know what you think and if you don't are you going to pick it up or considering it?

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M.