MAC Lipstick in Candy Yum-Yum Review

First in my MAC Pink Lipstick Series is Candy Yum-Yum. This is a brave shade to pull off and one that isn't for the faint hearted, the photo above is the colour with no editing and using natural light only. As you can see it is highly pigmented with a slight sheen and is a shock of neon pink.

I love this for a big night out and team it with a subtle smokey eye so ultimate drama. It's certainly attention grabbing!!

What do you think?

Stay beautiful 

xoxo

Next up on my MAC Pink Series is Please Me

A MAC Lipstick Haul | Pinks

When times get tough and I need to de-stress my favourite job is tidying my makeup draw, crazy perhaps but it is so therapeutic! During a cleanse last week I found that I had quite a supply of pink MAC lipsticks ranging in colours and tones, so I am going to do a little swatch and review of each in a pink series! 

The lipsticks in my MAC Pink Series are (from left to right):

1. Candy Yum-Yum

2. Please Me

3. Pink Nouveau

4. Giddy

5. Raspberry Swirl

6. Viva Glam Lusture

So keep your eyes open for my MAC Pink Series, which will include swatches of me wearing each shade so you can see what it looks like on a pale skin tone. 

Stay beautiful

xoxo

Bardo Pink Lips | MAC Matte Lipstick in Please Me Review

Now those of you who have followed me for a while will know I love a good bright lip like Joan Collins Timeless Beauty in Evelyn or even a lovely blue toned nude such as Tom Ford Indian Rose (You can win this shade here). But recently I have found a new go to lipstick that is less Barbie and so much more more Bridget Bardo chic.

During a little shopping trip to Macey's in the Big Apple of New York I was tired and fed up having not purchased a single thing that day. I had waited patiently for friends outside dressing rooms nodding and ooing at various discounted dresses and shoes but finding nothing I wanted to splash some cash on. I began to get a little desperate, anxious that I wanted something new and sweating at the thought of not having a single shopping bag in my hand, so I made a break for it and almost tripped down the escalator to the beauty hall. My fix, my heaven! I spent the next hour swatching various lipsticks and letting the shop assistants tell me how much it suited my pale skin. At the MAC counter it was busy I was left to look at the products alone, something I much prefer to do.

I settled for a couple of lipsticks and felt the anxiety of failure to shop ebbing away, I had my fix! MAC Matte Lipstick in Please Me has fast become my go to pink for day time.

First I line my stupidly thin lips with a nude lip liner, By lining the lips I can make them look a bit fuller and ensure a sharp edge for the lipstick. The colour is really matte which means it doesn't sink into the cracks or bleed and it lasts much longer. I like to team it with pink flushed cheeks and a winged eye liner, Bardo style!

MAC Matte Lipstick in Please Me, £15.50

What do you think of this look? What are your favourite MAC shades? 

Stay beautiful

xoxo

MAC it mine!! MAC Lipstick Haul

I suffer from a hereditary issue that has affected almost every woman in my blood line, not as dramatic as it sounds but we suffer from having no top lip. *GASP* This means that I often attempt a duck pout to give the illusion my lips are se-metrical, however for those of you who are Facebook friends you will realise this is something I now constantly do, for this I am sorry. I am currently having a go a drawing in a top lip, it's so much harder than it sounds. But even though I suffer, I am a lipstick addict. Splurging stupid money to feed my habit.

So, I was given the most amazing MAC lipstick, I loved it so much that after two wears I lost it on a girls night out and can't for the life of me remember the name. I am truly gutted! But armed with a photo of me wearing the shade I was hoping that one of the MAC artists would be able to help.

Unfortunately, even with this photo I wasn't able to find my beloved shade. So I settled for the closest the MAC artist suggested, which is still really stunning! In fact I went lipstick mad and left with another beautiful nude shade. 

These photos really do not portray the true colours of the lipsticks but I have tried my best!

My replacement lipstick is an Amplified Creme Lipstick in Girl About Town. A lovely fuchsia

pink with a blue undertone. This lipstick leaves a lovely sheen to your lips and gives a lasting colour. I would recommend using a lip liner for a crisp edge, I use Laura Mercier Lip Pencil in Crushed Berry.

Girl About Town (taken from MAC website)

The second lipstick I picked up is Satin Lipstick in Pink Nouveau. A subtle, dusky pink. This is a lot more matte than Girl About Town, but it still has a little shine and is really beautiful.

Pink Nouveau (taken from MAC website)

Wearing Pink Nouveau

Amplified Creme Lipstick in Girl About Town, £15.00

Satin Lipstick in Pink Nouveau, £15.00

Do any of you lovely readers recognise my MIA shade? If you do please get in touch!!

Stay beautiful!

XOXO

A Commuting Guide To Makeup

I have had this post sitting in the pipe line for nearly a month. I haven't posted it mainly because I lost the mentioned makeup bag on the mentioned commute. Meaning there are no photos to go with it. But I still stand by this post and the makeup mentioned is sadly missed.

I commute and spend half the week in London. Often I have to take only the essentials so that I'm not hauling a suitcase on and off the tube at rush hour, not fun! For me travelling light isn't exactly easy. I am a hoarder of bits of makeup and I worry even the most useless item may come in handy on a spur of the moment night out or a meeting at work. After a lot of practice I manage to only take what is essential to my London life and my London face.

Using the right make up bag is more important than you may think. Too big and you take every lip liner, eye shadow and your summer foundation (we all have one). But one too small means you may leave the basics, such as a concealer, then a pesky spot appear on date night! The best thing to do is pick the makeup first. Take what you seriously think you will need. Once you have your key essentials go out and buy the perfect make up bag.

Here are my current make up must haves for travelling light.

1. Primer & Moisturiser In One

Skin care and makeup companies alike are producing on trend products using science. An example of this are combined primers and moisturisers. Why carry two bottles when you can have one? My favourite at the moment is Decleor Aroma Purete Matte Finish Skin Fluid. It mattifies and moisturises at the same time, plus it comes in a cute pump bottle.

2. Foundation 

A good foundation is like a good bra. It supports you and makes you feel better about yourself. Without it you feel droopy and like everyone is looking at your nipples. I love Clinique's Anti Blemish Solutions Foundation at the moment. It comes in a handy small bottle, bit of a pain seeing as it's pricey but good for travel size.

3. Concealer

I take a bus to London at 4 in the morning. I get bags under my eyes and stress spots. I look pretty awful rocking around at that ungodly hour. Concealer is my best, best, best friend! It never lets me down and makes me look like I have had my 8hours sleep. In saying this I am not particularly loyal to a certain type. I swap between a few. Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer is creamy and gives good coverage. This is better when my skin is a little smoother. Clinique's Anti Blemish Solutions Clearing Concealer is pretty great for spot prone skin. It has antibacterial ingredients that help fight spots as you wear it. The coverage is thick and just a tiny bit goes a really long way.

4. Setting Powder

Underestimating the power of setting your makeup could mean it melting down to your chin. It's something I have only discovered in the last year and I wish someone had told me earlier. The good ones absorb excess oil that builds up during the day, so your skin looks shine free and your foundation doesn't go for a stroll. Until a few weeks ago I swore by No 17 Miracle Matte Powder. It is cheap and does the job pretty well. But whilst in duty free I hopped on the Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation bandwagon and I don't want to ever get off.

5. Bronzer

Finishing the face with a sweep of bronzer or blush leaves you fresh and glowing. Use it correctly and you can make your face look thinner. I love NARS in Super Orgasm.

6. Mascara

Who doesn't love mascara?! It opens up the eye, making you look younger and fresh. Not something I exactly need, seeing as I'm a 24 year old living in a 19 year olds body. But it is essential. I struggle with finding a type that doesn't smudge. Bobbie Brown No Smudge Mascara that really does what it says on the tin, but at £18 it isn't exactly purse friendly and it dries out really quickly. I am trying the MAC Studio Fix Boldblack Lash and quite like it. It is easily layer but after some time does leave slight dark circles.

So there we have it. My commuting makeup. 

Decleor Aroma Purete Matte Finish Skin Fluid, RRP £23.20

Clinique's Anti Blemish Solutions Foundation, RRP £23.00

Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer, RRP £17.00

No 17 Miracle Matte Powder, RRP £5.49

Clinique's Anti Blemish Solutions Clearing Concealer, RRP £14.00

Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation, RRP £20.50

NARS in Super Orgasm, RRP £21.50

Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara, RRP £18.00

MAC Studio Fix Boldblack Lash, RRP £14.00

If you have some must have products I would love to hear from you, just comment below.

Stay beautiful,

Xoxo

News!

MAC Cosmetics is starting the new year off with a bang with some new collaborations with renowned American businesswoman Iris Apfel and fashion icon Daphne Guinness.

Iris Apfel

Daphne Guinness.

MAC are to produce a new collection inspired by Iris Apfel's life and style. Iris has worked at Women's Wear Daily, for interior designer Elinor Johnson and even  design restoration projects at the White House for nine presidents. She has even had an exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City dedicated to fashionable style. The new collection uses bright eccentric colours, perfect to beat those after Christmas blues. The range will be exclusively available online from January.

Daphne Guinness, fashionista extraordinaire and all round eccentric beauty, colaboration collection which includes has a number of limited edition items, consists of Pigment (£15.50), Pro Longwear Lipcreme (£15.50), Cremesheen Glass (£16), Powerpoint Eye Pencil (£13), Eye Brows (£11.50), Eye Shadows (£33), Blush Ombré (£22) and Nail Lacquer (£9). The new collection will be available from MAC counters in January 2012. The colours seem to be based on dark gothic/rock chick purples, browns, blacks and greys. One to watch!