Review - 17 BB Blemish Balm!!

Hey all!!

I've decided to do a review on 17's BB Blemish Balm 'All In One Magic Make-Up'. I was going to buy the BB cream fron No7 aswell and do a comparison but I have to share this with you now! I bought this from my local Boots store as I had heard a lot of good things about Blemish Balms and I thought I'd give this one a go. It is quite cheap at £6.99 so I wouldn't feel so bad if I wasn't keen on it, plus I'd heard a few good things about this particular BB cream anyway so I thought it can't be that bad.

The boots website says
 'Discover the new 17 BB Blemish Balm to reveal the magic of flawless skin with this all-in-one foundation plus skincare wonder product.'

I picked up the medium shade as, even though I have quite pale skin, the light shade looked a little too light for me. When I got home and checked my receipt I noticed that I'd only paid £4.99 for it so it must have been on offer which was a real bonus! (Something as small as that can always brighten my day :D)

Here's what the packaging looks like...

I really do like the packaging. 17 is a cheap, affordable brand and I love the way they've made it look a lot more expensive. I've just realised it looks a bit dodgy at the bottom but that's just because I haven't screwed the lid on properly :) You get 30ml, same as your average foundation and when I've been using it I've used the same amount as I would with my foundation.

The all important swatches (flash and no flash)

At first sight the cream seems a lovely consistency but you can tell it's not going to give you full coverage, not that I would expect it to - even though it claims to on the Boots website, the packaging says it is the ultimate 'no make-up make-up'... and that says to me 'light coverage'.

I was expecting to get a tinted moisturiser effect, but the finish is a lot more impressive than that let me tell you! I was honestly planning on wearing this underneath my foundation so I didn't have to use as much (as my foundation is quite expensive), but I would actually just wear this on its own with a touch of blusher for a daytime look as it does give me the coverage I need (this coming from a girl who never normally leaves the house without a full made up face!) I am so happy with this product, especially for only £4.99!! I'd even pay the full £6.99 if I were to buy it again.

Now I know I should have really done a before and after picture so you can see the difference but I can not STAND the thought of putting a picture up of me with a bare face for the world and his wife to see!
So here's as much as I could muster - a pic of me wearing just the BB cream (massive apologies for the state of my hair, don't even recall dragging a brush through it this morning :/)

I haven't exactly got problem skin, all in all its pretty smooth, but my complexion can be somewhat uneven in terms of colouring sometimes, so as you can see the cream has definitely evened out my colouring and it has the most amazing dewy finish to it (if you have oily skin this can easily be resolved with a light dusting of powder). All in all I think this is a wonder product and it has certainly exceeded my expectations :) Would definitely recommend!

Hope you all enjoyed this post! Do any of you use a BB cream that you would recommend?

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

Mini Clothes Haul/OOTN!!

Hey Guys!!

I thought I'd share with you a couple of bits I got today :) I went to town with my friend to get something to wear for Saturday (as we are hitting the town!) and we popped into New Look, well I say popped.. I think we dragged half the shop into the changing rooms with us!! ... I was avoiding River Island and Top Shop as they weren't in my price range today unfortunately. Boo :(

Anyways I ended up picking up these...

The blouse was £14.99 and the bracelets were £7.99 (Both from New Look) and I will be wearing these on Saturday along with a long plain black vest top I also bought (£7.99) and black leggings or possibly jeggings, along with these bad boys I got for Christmas off my amazing friend....

Just LOVE them!!!! (they're a burgandy colour, pic makes them look darker) think they may well be up there as some of my fave shoesies :D I might even do a post on some of my shoes... I'm almost as obsessed with shoes as I am with make up... Almost ;) Will most likely get some pics up of my outfit on the night and post them on here :) Don't know how to do my nails though... maybe gold with a little pearl on each nail?? What do you think??

I also got this beauts dress from New Look which was £19.99 and will probably be wearing this on my Birthday night out (My birthday's 9th Feb but we shall be tearing it up on the 11th - can't wait!!)

I totally love this dress!! You can't see it very well on the picture but it has brown and turquoise feathers on it and looks lovely on!! Will have to dress it up with some accessories... maybe some feather drop earrings...

Eeeek I love how much more excited you get for a night out when you have something new to wear!!

Anyway I'm off to get some beauty sleep, day of make up coursework and pampering (ready for Sat!) ahead of me tomorrow! And maybe a cheeky post... if you're lucky ;) Take care lovely ladies!!

Until next time....

Raphaelle xXx

Heart Kristel's MAC Giveaway

The lovely Heart Kristel is having a give away on her blog!

Check it out http://heartkristel.blogspot.com

Good luck girlies xXx

NOTD!!

Hey guys!!

Well it's not exactly nails of the day, more like nails of the past few days lol. Plus they're not all mine. It was my Mam's birthday on Sunday and we had lots of visitors all day so I asked if I could paint my cousins nails as I miss doing them and mine all broke :( so I'm currently in the process of regrowing them. Then just after I'd finished doing them my other little cousin came up to me and was like 'pleeeeaaase can you do my toenails now Raphy??' so I ended up doing hers as well :) here's a few pics... Sorry they're not great I know they're a bit blurry.... but here they are non the less....

For these nails I used No7 Stay Perfect nail colour in 'Totally Teal' and I stuck a diamante on each nail ( I have a MASSIVE thing about diamantes on nails recently I think it makes a simple nail look so much more detailed and pretty!)

And for these nails I used Barry M Nail Paint in the colours 119 'Baby Pink' and 264 'Pink Iridesent'. Then I put a fuschia heart diamante on each big toenail.

I did these on Sunday and before I started this post I thought I'd do my toenails too, just to add to the blog a bit (besides they needed doing anyways!)
So here's my toes...

For this I used Barry M Nail Paint in 308 'Berry' with a little purple flower diamante on each big toenail.

I just stick the diamantes on with nail glue and then brush on a top coat and they last for a good week or so.

Anyhow ladies I really hope you liked this post :)

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

Review - MAC Iced Delights Wintercool Lip Bag!

Hey all!

Ok so I wanted to do a little post for you on the MAC Iced Delights Wintercool Lip Bag. I must admit I've been so excited for this to arrive so when it showed up on my doorstep in all its cardboard box glory (along with MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in 'Soft and Gentle' and MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing) I opened it and tested it out pretty much straight away :)

The first thing I noticed was that the bag was a lot larger than I expected, which is good as I will definitely find a use for it. I thought I'd end up discarding it with it being too small to store make up in.

The white packaging is stunning in my opinion, it makes the products look very luxurious and expensive. I actually think I prefer it to the black! (Whether that's just because it's a novelty or not I don't know??)

The swatch picture isn't very good as the products are so nude and sheer but in reality they look gorgeous!

I did a simple look with them to test them out and I really do love them when they're all used together...

I took this picture around 3 or 4 hours ago and the colour is still going strong :) Good old MAC!

Anyways hope you all enjoyed this post and let me know if anyone has any of the Glitter and Ice range :)

Until next time....

Raphaelle xXx

Benefit Cream Eyeshadow/Liner in 'Birthday Suit'


Oh my goodness I HAVE to share this product with you it is IMMENSE I just love it!

I came to buying this product because when I bought my Benefit Moon Beam at the counter in Debenhams, the lovely lass serving me asked if I would like a free makeover.... Well I'm never one to turn down anything that's free for a start... but I also thought that it would be beneficial with me being a trainee make up artist to see how others apply make up and their techniques etc. So off I went barefaced (nightmare!!) a couple of days later (which was, in fact, yesterday) to have my make up done at the Benefit counter. The girl who did my make up was delightful... so sweet! And it was nice to have my make up done by someone other than myself! (It's normally me who does everyone elses!) I asked for a smoky eye and nude lip; the end result was nice... it just wasn't to my particular taste, as there wasn't as much coverage as I would have liked and she took the dark eyeshadow slightly too high on the lid for my liking. I am by no means doubting her skills as an artist as she applied everything well and blended all the products nicely, and 2 products really stood out to me, this eyeshadow being one (she used it on the inner third of my lid and as a highlighter) and Benefit Ultra Shines Lip Gloss in 'Life on the A List' (which is also amazing, love the colour!)

Anyways the products looked absoloutely lovely and I needed them, naturally... So I purchased my items (£14 each) and was soooo chuffed with myself on my way home. I went out last night and so had a chance to test out my new eyeshadow, yey :) The consistency is so unbelievably creamy, it blended across my lid like a dream! The colour looks beautiful on it's own a and also acts as a perfect base for any other colours you'd like to use on top to create a unique look.

This is a look I created with the shadow and a couple of colours from the Urban Decay Naked Palette. The shadow is the light creamy/gold colour that you can see just above the liquid liner

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I really do recommend this colour. I'm looking forward to buying... well... pretty much every colour from this collection as they all look gorgeous!! Does anyone else have this product? Or any other Benefit product you recommend??

Take care guys!

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

Illamasqua haul!!

  Hey all!!

I'm so excited, my Illamasqua stuff came today!! So... naturally... I will share my buys with you :) I got this stuff to add to my professional make up kit and I must say I'm really pleased with it all :) It only took two days to arrive and was packaged really nicely :) They included a sample of their new perfume, 'Freak'.

I absoloutely LOVE the lip gloss shades )

In more detail...

Illamasqua lipstics...

Brick red colour - Encounter

Berry colour - Drench

Bronze colour - Utopia

Illamasqua Lipgloss

Nude - Absorb

Pink - Electrify

Powdered Metal

Colour - Erzule

Pencils for eyes, lips, face and body

Pink - Torment

Black - Eerie

Grey - Classic

Brown - Uncanny

Hope you can make out everything ok from the photos. The colours are all lovely, I've just swatched them so far but they look really nice.. especially the glosses and powdered metal! The liners are all matte and since I've swatched them I've blunted them slightly so they're suitable for use on the eyes and lips without being scratchy, and the colour glides on really nicely. Overall I am extremely happy with them as I got them all in the sale and they ranged from just £5 to £10 each (RRP was more than double on all of them!!) If anyone would like me to do a review on any of these products just let me know :)

Sale ends on Monday if anyone wants to pick up some bargains!

Hope everyone liked this post!! Take care :)

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

FOTN!!

Hey all!

Went out for a few drinkies tonight to watch the other half play darts (I don't usually go but I thought what the hell I'll go for a little tipple :P) and thought I'll share with you how I did my make up, just because I love seeing how other people do theirs :) Anyhow here we go....

Sorry if the images aren't great, my bedroom has the crappiest light in the history of the world, and I vow to do any more facial images during the day :) It wasn't a full on look as I was only going to our local pub for a couple of drinks so I left the falsies off...

Ok so I used...

Mac Studio Fix Fluid foundation NC30

Benifit Dandelion Blusher

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 02 

Gosh Eyebrow Kit (I think there's only one set of colours, I use the darkest one anyways)

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Half baked on the lid, Dark Horse in the crease and virgin to highlight.

No7 Gel liner, Black (was limited edition last summer which is a shame because I love it!)

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express Mascara

Loreal Glam Shine Crystals in Coral Strass

Ok guys hope you all like this post I'm off to get some beauty sleep :) take care all!

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

*Wishlist*

Hello you beautiful people :)

I've seen a lot of blogs recently about wishlists and what we'd all love to add to our possessions. What we need to realise is that if we finally possessed all of our said items, we'd only create another list of more things we don't have (but must have!) and just create an endless loop of wants and needs!....

Does this phase me?...

 Not in the slightest :) so here's mine ;)

Ok so I love these jeans :) I know primary coloured jeans have been out
for a while now and it was jewelled colour jeans like burgundy and jade
that were popular over winter but they're coming back this summer with
a vengeance and I'm so glad!! I want them to go with my Irregular choice shoes that I got for Christmas (to the right) and a plain white top with lots of jewellery and accessories for over summer :)

This is the Wintercool  Lip Bag by MAC and I love the colour sooo much,  I'm definitely a nude lip gal :)  I've actually just ordered this so it won't be on my wishlist for very long... it will most likely be in a review haha ;) Anyhow I love this lots and lots :) 

Ahhh the Naked2 palette.... *drool*

The original Naked Palette is my absolute FAVOURITE beauty buy I love it! So another palette similar can only be a good thing... and you absolutely cannot have too much of a good thing :) The thing I love about this palette is that pretty much all the colours bar 1 or 2 are different to the original where as I was expecting half of them to be the same. It will hopefully getting added to my collection at some point :) 

This varnish looks incred! It's the OPI Rainbow Connection Lacquer. I saw a review on it by 'Couture girl xo' (http://x-couturegirl-x.blogspot.com/ check out her blog if you havn't already its fab!) and I must say I was sold! I just LOVE glitter nail varnish and if there's any varnish that totally sparkles it's this one! I want. Enough said.

Now then, I know Ugg boots aren't to everybody's taste but I, personally, need these particular ones in my life! They just look like winter to me and I want my feet all snug and warm in those babies right now!! They come in a few colours (Black, Chestnut, Dark Brown) but these are definitely the nicest in my opinion they just look so much more expensive and will probably go with more of my clothes :) (I think my boyfriend might be getting me these for my Birthday in Feb... if he does I'll be a very happy girly indeed =D)

Oh and they're called 'Nightfall', in the colour 'Sand'

Right I think that will do for now, I could add loads more but I think I'll just end up depressing myself! Hope you enjoyed this post, and I wanna see what's on everyone else's wishlists :D Take care guys!

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

Make up Haul!!

Hey all!

I nipped into town today and couldn't resist purchasing a few little gems that caught my eye (as you do... in my case more often than not :D) Plus I wanted something to write about in my blog so I guess that's kind of a valid reason to splurge... sort of :) Anyways I'd love to share my beauty buys with you all so here goes....

Ok so this is everything I bought......

I bought these from superdrug...

Johnson's daily essentials fragrance free wipes - £1.51 (half price! those 2 words always put a smile  on my face no matter what the original price is!)

Gosh Cream Foundation Primer - £13.99, this is going in my Professional make up kit if it's any good :)

Barry M Nail Effects in 319 Foil - £3.99 I already have the gold so I needed this one obvs ;)

Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in 4 - £4 (instead of £4.99) 

These were from Boots....

17 BB Blemish Balm in Medium - £4.99 (instead of £6.99) I've always wanted to try this as I've heard good reviews and the price persuaded me :D

17 Peep Show Mascara - £5.29 (instead of £6.29)

17 Peep Show Eye shadow Quad - Free with the mascara! Bonus!

And finally I bought this from Debenhams...

Benefit Moon Beam - £18.50

I am sooo happy with my purchases!! And as you can see I got some right little bargains yayy :) I'm planning on doing a couple of reviews... On the 17 BB Blemish Balm and maybe one or two more. If anyone wants me to review any of these products just let me know :)

I love looking at other peoples beauty buys... What have you been splashing out on recently???

Until next time...

Raphaelle xXx

Newbie!!

Hey everyone :)

Ok sooo..... I've decided to join the wonderful world of blogging!! I know I'm a bit late in jumping on the bandwagon but hey... it's never to late in my opinion ;) and I thought seeing as though I'm just starting out in my Master Make up Artistry course I could blog my way through it, testing out new make up and sharing the tips and tricks I learn along the way :) The course I'm doing is from QC Make up Academy and so far i JUST LOVE IT!! hence the inspiration for my blog name... ta daaa!! Original i know =D

So I'm training to be a make up artist and I think it's quite safe to say that I am literally obsessed and totally in love with Beauty and make up, so I'd love to share my journey, obsession, reviews and anything that sparks my interest with anyone who's willing to listen :) It's my chance to give a little bit back as I have found many reviews on different products so helpful in the past.

Anyways I really hope you enjoy my blog and I'm looking forward to checking out many others along the way!

Until next time....

Raphaelle xXx