I've moved!

After a few hours of googling and html'ing, I've managed to move my blog over to Wordpress (boo you traitor, I know)!! I'm now here - hannahasalways.wordpress.com  I'm still getting to grips with Wordpress and don't really know how to use it! eek help!

I'm a bad human being

Well long time no see. After writing a Sociology essay about Functionalism Families, I've had a massive breakthrough (again, I know). Just realised that I haven't blogged since June! That's awful! I'm so so so ashamed of myself! Eventhough I've just started Sixth Form and doing my A Levels, I'm going to try my hardest to try blogging again. Don't mark my words, but I'll try to post at least twice a week!

Once again, I'm so sorry to anyone who's been reading, and sorry to myself -sniffs-...

Bronze Eyes using Mac All That Glitters

Products Used:

Eyes- Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold all over the lid, Mac All That Glitters all over the lid, Sleek Wrapped Up buffed into the crease and outer V. Soap and Glory Supercat Liquid Eyeliner, Models Own Black Kohl pencil, Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Mascara. Brows filled with Sleek Boxed and Maybelline Brow Drama

Face- Bourjois Healthy Mix in Light Vanilla, Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Peach Glow on my T zone, Beauty UK Box Blush in Halo used as a highlighting blush on my cheek bones and apples. Sleek Face Form palette in Light bronzer used slightly in my hollows.

Lips- MUA Lipstick in Shade 11

Quick Benefit Porefessional Review

Benefit Porefessional Full Size £24.50

If I'm honest, this product isn't a stand out to me. The consistency of this is very balm like and sinks into the skin very quickly. I've found that you don't need much and a little goes a long way! I've been using this on my nose, forehead and under my eyes to prime. Admittedly it does slightly minimise the pores on my nose, but not majorly. It's a lovely product and I will use up the sample, but I'm not sure I'd repurchase it. I've been looking for a great primer, and I still haven't found one! If you know any stand out primers, please let me know in the comments! Also, the length of time my makeup stays on my face isn't increased with the use of this product- I can definitely apply my makeup without it and not miss it!

Bit of a let down for such a raved about product.

Mac Lipstick Collection

All Mac Lipsticks £15.
From L-R, Peach Blossom, Pure Zen, Vegas Volt, Crosswires

My Mac Lipstick Collection is slowly growing and I'm loving it! In order of purchase, my first was Pure Zen, Peach Blossom, Crosswires then Vegas Volt (you can see I've got increasingly braver as I have bought them!). All of the lipsticks, except Vegas Volt which is an Amplified finish, are Cremesheen finishes. This means that they glide on the lips but don't neccessarily wear for very well. In my experience, Pure Zen and Peach Blossom don't wear for long, especially if you're eating/drinking. But Crosswires is more durable on the lips as it is a bolder colour- I'd say around 3 hours. Vegas Volt, Amplified finish, lasts for ages on the lips and is very creamy. It is definitely my 'go to' colour this summer as it compliments my olive skin tone perfectly!

On my wishlist for Mac Lipsticks I have: Girl about Town, Lady Danger, Morange, Impassioned and Pink Plaid. What do you think? Which Mac Lipsticks are your favourite?

Spring Haul

Beauty UK Box Blush in Halo £3.99
Mac All That Glitters Eyeshadow £10
Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick Shade 30 £5.49
MUA Lipstick Shade 11 £1

Pastel Flower Nails

This cute design is incredibly easy and anyone can do it! Paint your thumb, middle and little fingers in any pastel colours of your choice- I chose Models Own Blooboo, and Barry M Strawberry and Berry Ice Cream. For your remaining nails, leave them transparent and paint pastel flowers using a dotting tool/cocktail stick- I used Models Own Lemon Meringue, Barry M Peach Melba and Berry Ice Cream. Inside the flowers, place a small dot of gold polish- mine is from Models Own. At the base of your pastel nails, paint white flowers with a gold dot. Repeat this on the other hand in different colours with alternating fingers. 

Easy!

May Favourites

Garnier Micellar Water £4.99
MUA Lipstick in Shade 11 £1
Mac Quad £6
Mac All That Glitters £10
Soap and Glory Supercat £6
Bourjois Healthy Mix £9.99
Benefit Porefessional *

I can only apologise for how delayed I am in my monthly favourites posts! You can see that this month I have a lot of products! I truly love each and every product this month as I have been testing out a lot of new ones, and they all work!

Adolescent Clothing

Adolescent Clothing are an underground brand who aim to express the voice of adolescents in the ever-changing youth culture. They use trends that are appearing in the streets in order to express the culture and viewpoint of adolescents growing in an evolving culture. Their merchandise is very street wise and is great for anyone's budget.

Be sure to check them out!

Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner

Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner £6

I am in love with this eyeliner! It is the only liquid eyeliner I've used that remains black all day and doesn't fade. It doesn't smudge and fall down your face if you sweat, however it is easily removed instantly if you make a mistake. The formulation is smooth and glides onto the lid- in contrast to the Barry M Blink eyeliner. When holding the pen, it is slightly weighted which makes me think that there is a hefty amount in the product. I now can't live without this product as I wear liquid eyeliner everyday. It is a definite improvement from my Barry M Wink and Blink eyeliners which I've been using for around a year.

Definitely the best liquid eyeliner I have come across!

Pink Smokey Eye

I got bored whilst studying for English today so I decided to have a play around with my makeup and use some of my older products. I am over the moon with how this turned out and I may wear it for my Leavers Assembly in June! I love how it is a girly twist on a smokey eye by having the shimmery pink base, and it is so simple to do!

Products used:

Eyes- Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold all over the lid, Sleek Noir buffed into the outer corner and crease, Sleek Organza over the top of the pink shimmer, Sleek Bow in the inner corners (entire Sleek palette review here). Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner, Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara. Brows filled with Sleek Boxed and Maybelline Brow Drama.

Face- Bourjois Healthy Mix in Light Vanilla, Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Peach glow on my T zone. Sleek face form palette in light (review here)- bronzer on my temples and in the hollows of my cheeks, highlighter on my cheek bones, nose, cupids bow, chin and centre of my forehead, blush on the apples of my cheeks.

Lips- Mac Pure Zen

I hope you enjoyed this look as much as I did!

Bourjois Healthy Mix

Bourjois Healthy Mix in Light Vanilla £9.99

This foundation is the only product that suits my awkward skin tone! It has a velvet texture, is dewy on the face which makes you look full of life and has a gorgeous fruity scent. It doesn't look cakey on my face at all and blends with ease using my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. It has medium coverage on me but can be built up to a higher coverage if neccessary. I've been using this with the benefit porefessional and they work together seamlessly! This foundation does cover up my blemishes but doesn't conceal them. I think that if you had flawless skin to begin with, this serum would further enhance that and your skin would look glowy and youthful.

The finish of the foundation is slightly dewy which means you get a healthy glow. If you don't like the dewy look, this can easily be removed by adding a matte powder over the top. Personally, I powder my forehead, chin and nose and leave my cheeks naturally glowy so I don't have to use as much highlighter. All in all- I love this product and I am amazed that I hadn't picked it up yet!

Blogs I've been Loving this month

The Blogs that I have loved this month are:

its-sarra & sweetelectric  

On these blogs I have found amazing dupes of Sigma Brushes (Sara's post here), and some amazing Highstreet Highlighters which I really want to try out (Zoe's post here).

Be sure to definitely check out these blogs, they're definitely worth your time!

Mac Lipstick - Vegas Volt

Mac Vegas Volt- £15

 The picture really doesn't do this lipstick justice! In the bullet it looks like a hot orange toned coral and it looks more orangey on my lips. This is the first Amplified finish lipstick I have bought and I am absolutely over the moon with it! The formulation isn't drying at all and stays on the lips for up to 5 hours. However, I find it does cling a little bit to the drier areas of my lips and can look a bit chunky if I have peeling lips. Without further a do, let me show you a swatch on my lips:

On lips swatch

Again, the picture doesn't do this lipstick justice at all! In reality, the lipstick looks more orange toned and brighter. I think that the colour really stands out with my hair and suits my skin tone to a T. The durability of this finish is simply stunning and stays on your lips even if you have eaten and drank. I now really love the Amplified finish a lot more than the cremesheen finish and I would like to try some others in the range- if you have any recommendations, please leave me a comment!

Sunflower Hair Accessory

Sunflower hair band Primark £2

I love this hair scrunchie from Primark! So cheap and cheerful and an awesome way to brighten up an outfit. I've been wearing it with an all black outfit (sheer vest, fluffy cardigan and black leggins) to add a pop of colour.

Revlon Colour Burst Matte Balm in Elusive

Revlon Colour Burst Matte Balm in Elusive £7.99

This is the first Colour Burst balm that I've tried from Revlon- I've previously tried the MUA and Bourjois ones but they weren't a matte finish. As you may have seen in a previous post, im a matte lips girl rather than a glossy lips girl, so I'm so happy that Revlon released a matte version of the balms. The balm itself looks quite chalky upon application but isn't drying at all, it is very creamy and moisturising. Personally, I like how it looks semi chalky as it looks more matte- the pigmentation is fantastic. The smell of the product is the usual mintiness you'd expect from a balm- not too strong and doesn't make your lips tingle.

How much product is in the tube

Above you can see how much product there is in the tube, and there is a generous amount considering that you don't need much to complete an opaque coat on your lips- this'll last ages! The colour reminds me of Sleeks Matte Me in Petal mixed with Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial (I appear to have a strong colour scheme).

On lips swatch (note how perfect my makeup looks here...proud)

The only negative I have is that after a while, it can create a slightly white/baby pink ring around the inside of your lips where it is more moist than the product on your lips. This is easy to scratch away and looks perfect again.

Definitely want to try more of the collection!

I've Found my Holy Grail!

Recently I've purchased some highly raved about products which have proved their excellence to me. These products all work perfectly together to produce the most flawless makeup I have ever done on myself!
These products are:

• Bourjois Healthy Mix in Light Vanilla
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow
• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium
• Maybelline Brow Drama
• Soap and Glory Supercat Eyeliner
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Mascara
• Revlon Colour Burst Matte Balm in Elusive

Together, they mix to make the perfect and flawless coverage and I am so happy that I have finally found makeup that works for me! I'd recommend any of these products to anyone as they are super cheap and can all be found on the British Highstreet (and some abroad).

Cleaning Makeup Brushes

There are many different ways to clean your brushes and some are more popular than others. I have tried washing them with baby shampoo but it doesn't seem to work for me, so I use ordinary shampoo.

Firstly, I rinse my brushes under luke warm running water, then pour a tiny amount of Tresemme Thermal Shampoo (any Tresemme shampoo works I find) into my palm and swirl the brush around in it a few times then rinse. This works really quickly and removes all of the residue on my brushes. Afterwards, I leave my brushes laying down (never leave your brushes to dry upwards as the water soaks through the besel and the glue becomes saturated) on a towel and leave them overnight.

My brushes in the picture are the Real Techniques Blush and Expert Face Brush and a combination of Bundle Monster Brushes that don't have names.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water £4.99

I think I've just found heaven in a bottle! Plus I got it on sale! This product is honestly my new baby and essential in my everyday routine. After being a makeup wipe user for years, I transferred to a micellar water user; thank goodness! I found that I have been breaking out a lot recently due to my efforts of clearing my skin before prom- which isn't working at all. I have been advised by my doctor to only use this product on my skin as it's for sensitive skin.

This product is a gentle makeup remover that also cleanses the face at the same time, also it doesn't need rinsing off afterwards! I have found that when I pour the solution onto a cotton pad, little product is needed to fully saturate the pad (eventhough I get a bit happy with the pouring...) which is good as the 400ml you receive doesn't get wasted. You can even use this solution on your lips which I thought was odd, but there is no greasy residue left on your lips and it is tasteless. This Micellar water has been compared to the standard of Bioderma but much cheaper which I cannot comment on as I have never used Bioderma. Nevertheless, it is fantastic quality and removes makeup with ease and doesn't require much rubbing (therefore not causing irritation). I have also found that my skin is brighter in complexion across my cheek bones and nose which is also a positive!

All in all, I am now in love with this Micellar Water and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Mac - Marge The Simpsons Collection Fall 2014

Last week on twitter, Mac announced a new collection to be released in the Fall based on Marge Simpson. The limited edition collection is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Simpsons. No details about the products and colour range have been released yet- but expect bright, animated colours and maybe an electric blue lip gloss. I'm so excited about this collection and will keep you posted if any details are released.