Latest MAC Haul

I really wanted to show these products as my first YouTube video but due to a few technical difficulties (the courier has decided to deliver my parcels between 8pm - 9pm)so by the time I'd recorded, edited and uploaded round my day job it wouldn't be 'til around Friday so I thought  would just write about them here in the meantime.

Mac Prep & Prime Fix + - £17.00

I absolutely love this product.  I've always got it stocked in my dressing table and it has actually become one of those items that I can't be without, like your favourite moisturiser or face wash. Some people use Fix+ as a setting spray only but personally I use it to help 'fix' my face when I'm wearing heavy makeup that sometimes can become cakey from so many layers, Fix+ just seems to smooth everything out and not look so chalky. If you're like me and suffer with oily skin so have to use a heavy foundation and powder to keep it in place then Fix+ is for you! It gives you a refreshing glow but still allows you to have the matte look us 'oily' girls tend to go for! I also use Fix+ over my brushes to intensify a product like a highlighter, pigment or eyeshadow.  And I also love to spritz the product over my face when I've removed all my makeup or even on days when I'm wearing no makeup at all, it is just so hydrating without making my skin more oily. 

Mac Prep & Prime CC Colour Correcting Loose Powder - £20.50

I wanted a product to set my under eye highlight to stop it creasing, I usually use the translucent loose powder by MAC however wanted something that had a little bit of colour in as I sometimes find that a translucent powder can appear white in certain lighting. I picked this up in the shade 'Adjust' which is almost translucent but has a peachy tone to it. I currently haven't used it for the initial purpose I brought it for because I have just been using this all over my face to set all my makeup (not just under eye) it is amazing!! For me, just foundation doesn't give me the perfect skin, you can still see dark pigments (mainly from sunbed use - regrettably) and blemishes but this just conceals all this, it is a really lightweight 'veil' over the skin that just provides that bit more coverage than a foundation alone but without feeling heavy. 

MAC Lipsticks - £15.50 each 

 I brought 3 lipsticks,  'Faux', 'Honeylove' and 'Myth'. 

Faux and Myth are both satin finishes and Honeylove is matte. I'm always drawn to brown and pinky nudes as I tend to have quite a dramatic eye so find nudes always go well with this. 

MAC Lip Pencils - £12.50 each

Sorry, nudes again! But its just what I finds suits me in most looks, I feel out my comfort zone in a bold colour. I brought 2 shades, 'Whirl' and 'Subculture'. I tend to use 'Whirl' either alone or with the lipstick 'Faux' if I want to have a more defined line around my lip or to darker the lipstick.  I purchased 'Subculture' as I knew the Myth lipstick would completely wash me out on it own, Subculture just works well with Myth to create a nude that is not to 'wishy washy' against my skin tone.

MAC Prolongwear Fluidline - £16.00

So I purchased this product as I love trying new eyebrow products and heard good things about this, even though I think it's main purpose is an eyeliner. I am an ABH Dipbrow Pomade girl through and through but was looking for a product in a lighter colour and as I was ordering from MAC I just thought I'd grab it. I chose the shade 'DipDown' because I thought it was lighter than the Anastasia Beverly Hill Pomade in shade 

'Dark Brown', however I find them quite similar,but I haven't really had chance to play around with in properly yet, maybe I'm loading up my brush too much so it seems darker... we shall see! First impressions though, it seems a really longwearing product, it seriously doesn't move and at the minute I quite like the consistency of the product more than ABH, it just seems a little smoother and really easy to blend with a spoolie brush.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid - £22.00

I use this foundation all the time when freelancing as I find it is 'a good all-rounder', I like the amount of shades it comes in which is great when you need to cover so many skin tone options. I picked up an extra 2 shades for my kit in NW 35 and NW43. For those who are unsure, NC colours have a yellowy undertone and NW colours have a pinker undertone, however in my *personal!!* opinion, I feel the higher shades in 'NC' can sometimes be a bit orange rather than brown/tan colours, so I've opted to try some NW shades which I haven't tried yet.  The swatches below are just for you guys to get a idea of the colours, they are obviously not my shade, but I know how unhelpful the swatches on the MAC site are!

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - £15.50

My wild card of today's haul is this eye pencil from Urban Decay (I know it's a MAC Haul post!). I always want my reviews to be as honest as possible because there is no point me sitting here and lying saying a product is amazing when it's not - there is not intent to offend anyone it is just my personal opinion and somethings may work completely different for you! But back to the product, I hate the shade I brought it in - I picked Yeyo online which looked white but it's actually like a metallic white that doesn't stand out on your eyes at all and takes about 469035 layers to actually get some colour on your waterline. I have had this product in shade 'Perversion' before, which is just a pure black, and it did work amazing, stays in place and doesn't run into the corners of your eyes like some other pencils, however the shade 'Yeyo' does nothing for me.

I really hope you enjoy my posts and find them useful! Feel free to leave me feedback below in a comment or contact me personally via social media, my Instagram handle is @jesslanx and I love reading such kind messages.

lovefromjessicax

MAC & Drugstore Must Haves / Dupe Products

I have been so busy recently with starting up my make-up business and making it work around my full time job I haven't had a minute to post on here so I'm going to start back again by creating at least one post a week! If you haven't read my blog before please have a browse of my other posts - they are all of a beauty, fashion, lifestyle or luxury items nature.

So with starting up my business I've been trying to find the best products for each job, I know straight away people always think that the high end brands are the holy grail products however you will be surprised at some of the drugstore products that I have found and actually think they work better than the more expensive items in my kit!

I have found the most amazing highlighters ever, its build-able so whether its a light glow or light reflecting coverage you want then this is the product for you. It's so pigmented a little bit goes a long way, I've used this so much and still haven't hit the pan yet. These are amazing for that 'GLOW'! I suffer with really oily skin and have been a little scared to try drugstore products because I thought it might effect my skin but these haven't, the product is actually quite light on the skin and doesn't feel as though it is blocking my pores as soon as I apply (unlike Estee Lauder DoubleWear!). The highlighters are made by the drugstore brand 'MUA' and these are £3 each!!

My next must have product is on the more pricey side at £15 each, but a little goes such a long way, it is the DipBrow Pomade by Anastasia Beverly Hills. This is my holy grail for eyebrows and is so versatile you can have a natural brow or build it up to a really bold brow. The only downside is that  it can dry out pretty quick but I just add a bit of baby oil in and it fixes everything!

One of my lovely clients (Hi Priya if you're reading!) gifted me some amazing liquid lipsticks by NYX. I've used so many liquid lipsticks and I sometimes find they're so drying on your lips and flake as the day goes on but these are completely different, they're so creamy but long lasting, it feels as though it's moisturising your lips but giving you the matte coverage that I love as well. The full name for the product is 'NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream' and you can pick these up for just £5.50! I currently only have 2 shades but will be investing in more!

Another high end product I think is a must have is a mascara by MAC called 'Extended Play Lash' RRP £15. I love the applicator brush, it's thin and petite - perfect for getting good separation on the lashes and really enhances your natural lash, some of my clients are so shocked how long their natural lash looks when I use this on them! It's lightweight, not thick and clumpy and has a 16 hour lasting time. 

My final product is another drugstore! I try and give the best reviews on products suitable for budgets and this concealer is an amazing dupe for NARS 'Radiant Creamy Concealer'. It's the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer! Both provide great coverage, lightweight and blend well if using as an under eye highlight. I can't comment of creasing as I always set my concealers with a translucent powder but by doing this it does stop creasing on most products. I find NARS does cater for more skin tones however it does tend to be out stock in the shades I use the most in my kit (Custard and Vanilla) so its good to have a back up product like the Maybelline.  Although not as pigmented, the Maybelline is a good contender against the NARS and that's why it has made my Top 5 Must Haves and for the price difference, you could buy yourself a MAC lipstick with the change left (Maybelline Fit Me Concealer £5.99 vs NARS £22.50).

I hope this post helps if you've been looking for some new products to add to your makeup bag!

lovefromjessicax