Thursday 12 December 2013

My Mac Palette

As a lot of you may already know, MAC cosmetics sell customisable palettes that you can buy and make your own. They sell palettes for 2 shadows, 4 shadows and there is also a large palette that can hold around 24 eyeshadows/8 blushes (magnetised to the inside of the palette itself) or 15 shadows/6 blushes with an insert tray.

With a lot of time, money, and decision making, I have finally built up what I would call my perfect palette. It mainly consists of mattes, some shimmers, a few glitters and all neutral shades. 
(Also just a little disclaimer, I'd really hate for anyone to think any of my posts are bragging in anyway shape or form, I absolutely have no intention of doing so whatsoever)
I own the new palette with the clear cover, the old one was opaque so you couldn't see the shadows.

Colours go from left to right, starting from the top row:
Vanilla, Shroom, Retrospeck, Grain, Naked Lunch.
Tempting, Era, Patina, Charcoal Brown, Mulch.
Espresso, Mystery, Smut, Black Tied, Carbon.

Believe it or not, there is actually a swatch at the very beginning of the photo, Vanilla is just incredibly low pigmented. Again the colours are swatched from left to right in order or the colours above.


Vanilla (velvet): This shadow isn't very pigmented at all and I often struggle to get on with it very well due to its inability to show up much on my eyes or blend easily. Its an incredibly faint powder pink colour with the finest milled glitter in it imaginable. 

Shroom (satin): Shroom is a really pretty shimmer thats sort of a milky pink/off white colour. It blends quite easily and is also quite pigmented, it works great as a brow bone highlighter or to brighten the inner corner of the eye.

Retrospeck (lustre): This is the perfect gold shimmer that stands out, but at the same time isn't overpowering. Its so pigmented and really easy to blend, and is the perfect staple for any look, whether it be dressy and sophisticated or calm and casual, it just works and looks effortless yet done up all at the same time. 

Grain (satin): Grain is a lot like vanilla, it works with some people but for me its just not meant to be. I'd describe the formulation the same as vanilla, sort of matte yet sort of glittery at the same time and again I find that it doesn't blend very well either.

Naked Lunch (frost): I quite like this shadow, its a really nice vintage sort of pink shimmer that is easy to apply, its pigmented, it blends well and it really suits a lot of eye colours and skin tones. 

Tempting (lustre): Tempting is a beautiful brown with really visible flecks of gold glitter in it. Its heavily pigmented but I find it quite hard to blend and I've found that it works best with quite a coarse haired brush.

Era (satin): I have to admit Era isn't on my list of most used colours out of this palette, but it works well as a subtle crease contouring colour and is quite pigmented. Its also very easy to blend.

Patina (frost): Patina is one of my favourites. Its the prettiest neutral brown with a pink shimmer that almost comes across as rose gold. Its pigmented, blend-able and super easy to apply.

Charcoal Brown (matte): Charcoal Brown is like the perfect staple warm, brown colour. A little goes a long way and it is quite pigmented but its build-able so you can wear it as intense or as faint as you'd like.

Mulch (velvet): MAC describes Mulch as a red-brown with bronze pearl, and there isn't really any other way to describe this shadow. Its really pigmented and build-able and also blends really well.  

Espresso (matte): Espresso is a lot like Charcoal Brown, its another staple matte brown and is quite warm and red toned. Again its  great for the crease, its well pigmented and works well with a soft haired blending brush.

Mystery (satin): Mystery is a really nice dark matte brown, its a shadow with a lot of depth in it and a little goes a long way. Its pigmented and easy to blend and is one of my most used shadows (Its also a perfect brow colour).

Smut (velvet): Velvet is so dark brown that it almost has purple tones in it. Like most other velvets and mattes its super blend-able and pigmented and there isn't much more to say about it apart from the fact that its really good for creating a smokey eye with more depth than just a plain black.

Black Tied (Velvet): Black Tied might just be my favourite. Its the glitteriest, sparkliest, most beautiful black glitter I've ever seen in a shadow that isn't a pigment. It's not very pigmented but it is build-able and looks great for a smokey eye if you're going out or for a special occasion.

Carbon (matte): Carbon is your average matte black shadow. Like Black Tied, its not incredibly pigmented but is build-able and with the right brush you can be successful at blending, but it does take some effort. 


I hope this explanation (turned review) has been helpful to anyone, I do own other MAC eyeshadows and love them, but these are just the ones I chose to fill my palette with. I'd hate to say that I regret purchasing any of these eyeshadows but unfortunately there are a few that I wouldn't rave about. I'd like to replace and change some of them but until I get round to it the ones I have I am more than happy with! 
 I'd love to know what anyone else's favourite MAC shadows are in the comments :)

Thankyou for reading! x

Sunday 3 November 2013

Review: Estée Lauder Doublewear

I have many a good thing to say about this foundation, and we might be here a while if i really get to the nitty gritty, so I won't waste your highly valued reading time with an introduction and will go straight ahead with it; here is my review of Estée Lauder's Double Wear foundation.

Throughout the colder months I wear the shade 2C1 Pure Beige. As the weather gets warmer I'll mix Pure Beige half and half with 3N1 Ivory Beige. In Summer if I still wear such a full coverage foundation and I have more of a tan, I'll wear just Ivory Beige on its own. Both shades are clearly beige to a certain extent, however Pure Beige is cool toned and Ivory Beige is neutral toned. 

My skin naturally has a quite a pink undertone, however because this foundation has such high coverage, I find wearing warmer tones suits my hair and eyes a lot better and I can get away with it as long as I blend well. Even though both shades have been placed under different categories, if I had to judge I definitely wouldn't label them as the tones they're said to be and would class them as more warm.

The coverage of this foundation is crazy. It covers every flaw on your face without concealer and yet at the same time you can still blend it to stay looking natural. I've been using this foundation for a solid two years now, and still being a teenager and wanting to try new things, thats definitely a long time to stick to something religiously. I've never experienced anything such as acne or severe breakouts as of yet, (touch wood thats how it will stay) but throughout my first teenage years I definitely was subject to the the odd spot or hormonal breakout as my skin and hormones were changing, and I can honestly say this foundation was a life saver back then as it still is today.

If you have dry or sensitive skin you might need to look into Doublewear Light before going full steam ahead for the original Doublewear, as this foundation is really quite  heavy and I have known it to break people out or highlight any dry patches if it doesn't agree with their skin. With that in mind for my skin personally, (normal/combination) considering how heavy this foundation is it doesn't necessarily feel it on the face. 

The only thing I would highlight to be weary of would be to make sure that you don't over do it, and to make sure that you're incredibly careful when reapplying or touching up because this foundation doesn't build very well and is very much one for caking. On that note however, that does mean that with one full face application the staying power is incredible, you could apply it in the morning and it would still stay just as perfect 10 hours later (therefore being the perfect party/nightout/busy day foundation).

I have tried endless amounts of different foundations, drugstore and high end, and every time either through choice or fate, I ALWAYS end up running back arms wide open towards this little gem. 

If you have any questions or a comment in general, please comment, I'd love to get some feedback!

I hope this post hasn't been too tiring or lengthy, if so I am sorry, it was just something I had to rave about. 

Thanks for reading, Jas :) x

Sunday 19 May 2013

Welcome to my blog!

 So this is something completely new to me, in-fact this is my first post and I don't even know where to start. So maybe I should start by explaining what I intend for my blog, a little bit about myself and what my blogs going to be about. 

So to start with I'll tell you what my blog is for. I made this blog to share my views and opinions on particular products, mainly make-up, but also other beauty related items and things people like myself may be interested in. I know there's a massive hype with beauty blogs and videos at the minute, and I for one love watching and reading things like that with a passion, I get so much inspiration and so many ideas from other people and I find it really interesting to take someone's idea and make it your own, I'm just a little late to jump on the bandwagon with putting my own out there. I think the thought of people reading my views on things scares me a little bit because I'm one of the least confident people you could meet, but today is the day I branch out of my fear and just say "Yes. Today is the day I broadcast my opinions on the internet and let people read and think whatever they want of them, because I, as a strong independent women, am entitled to do so." or something like that anyways. 

Next I suppose i should explain who I am, what I do etc. My name is Jasmine-Rose Morrison, I'm 15 years of age and I'm currently in year 10 in secondary school (in English terms). I'm a huge fan of make-up especially, but anything to do with hair, beauty, fashion, or anything beauty related, I'm into it. I'm an aspiring make-up artist, but at the moment seeing as I'm still in school its unfortunately just a hobby. My mum is also a make-up artist and skin care consultant, she is the reason I want to do what I want to do and its all down to her that I have such a progressing obsession with make-up and beauty, and the way she works for the benefit of her company gives me the reason to strive for things in life, she is my inspiration and the hardest working woman I know. I've had a thing for make-up and make-up artistry since around the age of 12, I've been building my collection of products ever since and I'm ALWAYS one for trying something new. My mum has worked for many cosmetic companies so whenever they released a new item I'd be the first to pinch it off my mum and create my own opinion on it (as i still cheekily do now). So by now I've decided what I think suits me best, when it comes to skin type, hair type, eye colour and even eyelash type, so I'm now on the hunt for the best of the best products to suit not just me, but what I would recommend to other people also.

So if you can't guess already my blogs going to be very beauty related, although from time to time there may be the odd topic of a post that may be unexpected or off-topic, because well, you've got to mix it up every now and again haven't you, people like variation. I'm sure you'll learn more about me as my blog grows and I hope I get to learn about other people too and maybe even get to know some of you, I hope all you lovely people enjoy reading my blog as much as I'm sure I'll enjoy writing it. Also, you can contact me at jasminedoesbeauty@outlook.com 

Thankyou for reading :) Jas x