April Beauty Haul...Woops

So I got paid on Thursday and I was pretty misbehaved today, and although my bank account isn't very happy, I am!





NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Vallauris


I have wanted this foundation for SO long, and now I have it. Yay. Ever since I started reading blogs and watching YouTube, it was apparent that this was pretty much the holy grail of foundations and seeing I am obsessed with foundation this was a must for me, and I think now's the perfect time to have gotten it because I feel that in the spring/summer time a 'glow' finish is favourable over matte. It seems really light and buildable as well which I love!

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Apricot



I saw this shimmer brick on one of Jaclyn Hill's Hauls and I just thought it was gorgeous! I don't own any shimmer bricks yet, and love the ombre colours of them and the different beautiful effects that can be created by them, not to mention how versatile they are! I thought the colours of the Apricot one were just so gorgeous, being appropriate for day and night. I wasn't actually gonna buy it this month, but when I found out it was limited edition I couldn't risk not getting it, so here we are. As you can (kinda) see from my oh so clear swotch picture, the colour it creates with that Apricot undertone is to die for.

MAC Eyeshadow in Shroom


A classic MAC shadow that I think every makeup obsess and their mothers must own, so I had to have it too. Again, this is another that I've seen on multiple tutorials so I thought having it in my collection was a necessity. It's a beige colour with a bit of shimmer, which makes it perfect for highlighting the brow bone and inner-corner of the eye. It's also really nicely pigmented so therefore would make a great all over lid colour with a nice matte shade blended into the crease.

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Something Special


I've never owned or tried a cream blush, and thought now would be the time to get one. I'm finding that with the warmer weather, my powder ones aren't lasting as long as they should and maybe a cream would help with this issue. This colour is a nice coral colour and very pigmented (I know you can't really tell in the photo, sorry!) which I thought would be lovely for the summer as I prefer a brighter cheek at this time of the year.

Real Techniques Core Collection, Expert Face Brush and Blush Brush




The Core Collection consists of the Buffing Brush; a fluffy but firm multi-functional brush, the Detailer Brush; a tiny concealer brush-like brush (do I wanna say 'brush' anymore?), the Pointed Foundation Brush; slightly smaller than your average 'paintbrush' style brush and a lot softer, and finally the Contour Brush; a domed shape brush perfect for getting right into the hollows of your cheeks.


The Blush Brush is super fluffy and slightly tapered, unlike your usual blush brush, and I'm excited to see what sort of effect it creates! I also think it would be quite good for setting under eye concealer! The Expert Face Brush is similar to the Buffing Brush but a bit more dense which I think I'm gonna use to apply my Sheer Glow Foundation!
All Real Techniques Brushes are really soft and can be used for multiple different purposes, liquid and powder, and I'm really excited to give them a try! (Let me add that Boots were doing 3-for-2 so I did get one of my brushes free :))

Benefit POREfessional and Big Easy BB Cream Sample
If you read my blogs you'll know how much I love POREfessional and how much I use it. It's a great primer and does really minimize the look of my massive pores, so if you are struggling with big pores, GET THIS. I have repurchased it numerous amounts of times. They gave me a sample of their BB cream, and I'm in the market to find a BB cream so I can stop wearing so much foundation in the summer, so we will see how this one goes.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed :)
Have you purchased anything new this month or do yo have any recommendations for me??

Dani Alexandra
Xoxo

Neutral Face and Orange Eye Look Tutorial

Seeing as I got myself some new bits and pieces the other week, and it is Sunday today which means day off, which means makeup experimenting; here's a tutorial for ya!




If you like this look, then keep reading to find out how I did it!


So I started by priming my eyes with, as always, the Urban Decay Primer Potion, then using the Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush, I applied the shade Naked from Urban Decay's Naked Palette into my crease, evenly distributing the colour from outer to inner corner.


Then with the Sigma E55 Eye Shading Brush, I patted the shade Buck (also from Naked) all over my lid.



Then with MAC's Red Brick Eyeshadow and a Sigma E25 Blending Brush, I blended this into my crease, focusing on the outer corner, and then bringing it in when there was less product on the brush. Just keep blending and blending until it looks how you want it to look. I blended a lot, at least for a song per eye!


I then primed my T-zone with Benefit Porefessional, just with my finger tips, then with the Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush I applied my gorgeous YSL Touche Eclat Foundation. I press the foundation into my skin with the brush, before blending it in in circular motions. Then using the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, I concealed my under eyes and nose creases, and highlighted my forehead, nose, chin and dimple areas (you can see in the photo). I think this concealer is really good for both concealing and highlighting.



I set my foundation and concealer with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent, then bronzed my cheeks, forehead and nose with this gorgeous matte Bourjois Bronzing Powder in 51 for a sun-kissed glow. I decided to just bronze my cheeks opposed to using blusher like normal because I didn't want anything to deter from the eyes, which are essentially the show-stoppers in this look, so it was neutral face for the win!


As always I filled in my eyebrows with the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown and just used the little brush on the lid to blend it in nicely, then used the No7 Eyebrow Gel to help prevent my very long and fly away eyebrow hairs from going cray cray. Finally I highlighted my brow bone with the YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch.


Back to the eyes, I just used a Sigma E30 Pencil Brush to blend some more Red Brick under my lower lash line. Again, just keep blending until it looks how you like it!



I then applied a medium-ish line of Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Liner in Black, and of course with a wing. To make my eyes stand out that little bit more, MAC's Coffee Eye Pencil was essential, it just adds so much more to this look, and the coffee colour goes so well with the eyeshadow colours used. And then, of course, I applied two coats of Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara. If you've read a few of my tutorials, you've probably figured that I love dramatic bottom lashes, and would never apply anything less than two coats!


And as always we end with the lips. On a side note, it's always a good idea to put on some kind of lip balm before you start your makeup, so that when it comes to the lips they'll be nice and soft and moisturised. I'm using the Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm at the moment! Anyway, similarly to the cheeks, I wanted a subtle lip, so opted for the MAC Mineralize Glass in Be Nice. It's such a beautiful neutral pink colour, and gloss is so in at the moment so can't really go wrong with this one!

And that's it! I hope you liked this look and everything is clear. Any questions, just holla at yo girl!










Dani Alexandra
Xoxo