MAC Velvet Teddy Review

Helllooo!

This lipstick has become a holy grail of mine. I bought it a few weeks ago at MAC in Glasgow. I had wanted this particular shade for a while and since I was on holiday I thought "Why not? YOLO" So I got it.

The packaging is classic for MAC, nothing too jazzy. Not as cool as the limited edition one I reviewed earlier this week.

This product is mentioned all around the beauty community and the hype is well earned. The lipstick is so creamy and such a wearable shade. It's perfect for everyday wear no matter what you're doing since it's a nude. It feels very moisturizing on the lips which is very rare in a long-lasting matte lip product, especially in Winter.

I think "Velvet Teddy" is one of those shades that suits almost everyone. It's a warm-toned dark nude, almost a tan colour with hints of pink and almost peachy tones.

Overall, this lipstick is a must have! If you're looking for a nude lipstick, or you're looking to buy your first MAC lipstick, "Velvet Teddy" is definitely the one for you! I also think if you're looking for a staple everyday lipstick to wear to school, college or work this shade would be perfect!

Hope this blogpost helps you and that you enjoyed it. If you'd like to purchase this lipstick or any MAC products here is the link *NOT SPONSORED, Obviously*

Thanks for reading,

Al xxx

MAC Magic Of The Night "Dark Side" Lipstick!

Hellllo!

Ever since my little MAC spree in Manchester and Glasgow a few weeks ago I'm a little obsessed! (Someone sign me up for rehab, please!!) Basically, I keep browsing the website clutching my debit card begging I don't spend money. I decided I would just save and then buy myself one for Christmas.

Then my plan was ruined as Graveyardgirl (Bunny Meyer) posted this instagram post of the new Magic Of The Night collection and I straight up DIED! Since MAC collections come out in America some days/weeks before they do here in the UK I had a little bit of time to research what I wanted. At first I thought maybe I'd buy all four lipsticks but then I had a mini brainwave/reality check and thought "I won't actually wear each colour, why don't I just get one so I get that ONE perfect colour and I still get to love the limited edition packaging?" So I decided out of all the shades I'd like and wear "Dark Side" the most. 

So, I kept checking the MAC website daily and I don't know the exact release time but nothing was sold out so maybe I was early. I quickly bought it on Wednesday 28th. It arrived on Monday 2nd and was really well packaged. It arrived safe and perfect. I literally ripped open the package and DIED when I saw the purple reflective packaging, SO COOL! 

The packaging is obviously the first thing you notice and next to my other MAC lipsticks you can tell it's limited edition and very different. I should think so considering it was £1.50 extra. (£17.00 altogether) 

The actual lipstick is amazing, it is so incredibly creamy and the colour lasts so very long. I wore it Monday and fell asleep in it and it was still looking FINE AF after my nap. I also wore it to college on Tuesday and it lasted all day and I even got a "I really like your lip colour" compliment!

The only disappointments would be its not matte, but I knew that when I bought it and using powder through a tissue is easy enough. And packaging wise, it's quite difficult to see the product name on the bottom.

I hope you enjoyed this post, if you want to purchase the lipstick I did or anything from the collection here is the link to buy it. This isn't sponsored *obviously, it's MAC* but of course, I want to let you know where to get the things I talk about.

Thanks for reading

Al xxx

Halloween 2015!

Helllllllo!
This year for Halloween I decided to be a vampire, I was going to be a hippy but I just thought may aswell go scary! Me and Courtney had a really fun night together.

Courtney always comes up with these out-of-the-box elaborate costume ideas for Halloween and this year was no exception.. She was a dead tennis player, fully equipped with a tennis ball boob!

I wore this really pretty dress, originally from ASOS but I got it from Asos on Amazon, I think it was roughly £15. I also wore this really cool vampire collar that I got from Smiffy's, again on Amazon. My striped stockings are again from amazon.

My lipstick is MAC Viva Glam III and my makeup is very (excuse the pun) vampy. The blood and cuts are all done with lipsticks, set with a transparent powder.

I curled my hair simply, then we back-combed it to the extreme and added a few tiny plaits to add texture. I think my hair looked very vampire-esc.

Worst picture EVER but I used contact lenses in my eyes, we had a hell of a time trying to put these in but got there in the end! These are White Out contacts from MesmerEyes on amazon, I really liked them and I had no problems keeping them in, I could see OK and they didn't feel too uncomfortable when they were in.

I'll leave you with ths picture of me and my brother Charlie who came in for a goodnight cuddle while we were getting ready. He was dressed as Frankenstein, the cutest Frankenstein ever!!!

Happy Halloween!! Al x

Tanya Burr's false eyelashes.

Hello!

So today, I wanted to discuss Tanya Burr's makeup range with you. I haven't gotten around to buying her beauty products yet but while I was on holiday a few weeks ago I decided to purchase two of her false lashes as obviously I went to One Direction and that's just a massive excuse to go OTT with your makeup, right?

I purchased the date night lashes for the Manchester show and the Bambi eyes lashes for the Glasgow show.

date night lashes

This is a rubbish picture, sorry. And you'll be happy to know I've had my eyebrows waxed since this. I adore these lashes, they really stand out and make your eyes pop. They're definitely not for everyday wear but for special occasions like One Direction concerts they're perfect ;) As far as the actual lash, they definitely didn't feel or look cheap.. The glue that came with them was good quality and mine stayed on all night, even through all of the yelling and screaming, and crying, and singing, and yelling, and shitting, and stuff. One problem I tend to find with eyelashes is that either the inner corner starts to peel, which didn't happen with these, or that when my eyes water(which is inevitable, they water ALL of the time) it affects the glue and the lashes start to fall off, which also didn't happen so YAY! FAB WOO. Just a shameless selfie to the right, I loved how my makeup looked for the Manchester show and I felt on fleek, even when RUNNING in heels around the arena to try and meet Jamie Lawson. We got close but I ended up just having a selfie with him very distant in the background, still a selfie though right? **Also he tweeted me, before the Glasgow show #goals**

For the Glasgow show I wore the bambi lashes. All of Tanya's products are packaged so beautifully and the lashes all look very nice in the packet, it makes you want to buy them all!

bambi eyes lashes



To me, these look alot more natural and are more wearable for everyday.. As you can tell the inner section has started peeling in this photo but that could be my fault(?) I'm genuinely not sure. The quality is the same and the glue is the same, all well-made and great products. I love the look of these and would definitely buy them again. Same with the Date Night lashes aswell!

So, overall I think these are brilliant products, fabulous quality and I'd definitely repurchase, It is such a plus that they are so cheap too! If you're interested in gettin yo'self some Tanya lash action then here's the Superdrug website. -http://www.superdrug.com/microsite/tanya-burr-  Tanya advertises them as pretty and easy to apply lashes and it is 100% true on both accounts.

Thanks for reading, Al x

My Autumn/Fall Essentials!

So, I know we're not into Autumn just yet, but it does start later this month so I thought I'd get this out ready for you so you can be prepared.

Body Butter. During these colder Autumn/Winter months it's really important that you look after your skin, the colder weather and change in humidity can dry out your skin really bad, so I suggest you get a good moisturizer so your skin can enjoy the Autumn too! I would recommend the body shop body butters, my current favourite is Papaya but I also love the satsuma one. This is extra important if you have eczema like me as your skin can really suffer if you don't moisturize regularly. Focus on your knees and elbows especially!
Dark lips. One of my favourite Autumn trends is the dark makeup looks, burgundy eyeshadow and smokey eyes just make this part of year even more enjoyable! Dark lipsticks are perfect for this time of year, I feel like dark everything is perfect for Autumn. My choice dark lip at the moment would be Topshop's Wicked, however I'm excited to try out a bunch of lip colours this Autumn.
Eyeliner. Similar to dark lips, dark eye makeup is a nice Autumn trend so I recommend this PS love (Primark) liquid eyeliner to help you get your wing on fleek! Literally, get your most adventurous eye makeup out this Autumn!
Beanie. Hats are a great way of accessorizing per season, summer you'd wear a floppy hat or maybe a snapback. But for the colder months beanies definitely come in handy, whether you're going out shopping or just off to school a beanie can make your look more Autumn-y and keep your eyes warm at the same time, honestly cold ears is one of my pet peeves!
Coat. Pretty obvious, especially if you live in the UK! We need to buy a big puffy coat for the Summer so in Winter you want something similar to a ski suit. Obviously, that's not entirely realistic and honestly would ruin your #ootd so I recommend a parker coat, which were really on trend last year or a harrington jacket, I adore mine.
Combat boots. For the past few years combat boots have been a staple of my Autumn wardrobe and this year will be no exception, I do want to buy a new pair though because my current pair look like they've had better days.
Candles. Another fantastic thing about season-change is the candles! Going from Ocean Waves to Pumpkin Spice can be a big leap but it's a fun step. I love buying a few new candles every season to get me excited about the following months. Last year my favourite candle was a Yankee Candle called Autumn Leaves.
Dark nails. As with the makeup trends, nails are good dark too. My favourite shades are emerald green, burgundy, maroon, midnight blue, black, navy. So many lovely dark shades. Get those Autumn manicures going!!
Burgundy. This colour has had a few mentions already so far but it's because it is my ultimate Autumn colour, my whole wardrobe will be burgundy this year, I don't care. Burgundy is such a lovely colour, it can be worn as a dressy, fancy wine colour or you can casually wear it day to day. It's just perfect!
Baths. What is better than a nice hot bath after a long day? A nice hot bath after a freezing cold long day. You may be thinking freezing cold? I think your thinking of Winter but I'm not. Autumnal weather is almost exactly the same as Winter in Britain, we have two types of weather throughout the year, Icy cold and cold.

Those are all my essentials for Autumn, I have some fun blogposts and videos planned for the upcoming months so stay tuned and leave any requests in the comments. I know a few of you have asked for a makeup collection and storage video, but I promise once I am happy with my set up of storage and "organisation" I will film and have it up for you!!

Alanna

My Favourite Summer Nail Polishes!

Hello!

Due to my job I actually can't paint my nails daily/weekly and since we are slowly leaving Summer I thought it was a really great idea to do this post.

I'd say we have about 1 more nail paint left in Summer so quickly get painting your nails the neon, bright gorgeous colours. Here are my choice nail polishes for Summer.

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Coral Reef.

This is such a lovely colour and I actually wore this to V-Festival this past weekend, it's not neon but is close and I think it is a lovely shade. It's a gorgeous coral that I honestly think would look lovely in Spring aswell as Summer, so next year, this will be my favourite! 

Andrea's Choice CIRCUS in Spectacle.

Fun fact: I used to looooove entering YouTube giveaways and I actually won this nail polish in one, I was so happy. It is a gorgeous neon orange and is from Andrea's choice, it's always great to help out Team Internet. The whole Circus range is beautiful and this polish is amazing, especially if you have a tan, either fake or real, it'll really help to make a contrast to your tan so definately go for a polish like this if you've got darker skin.

Pretty mint green with black speckles. 

This gorgeous polish was from poundland, what a bargain! It's such a unique nail polish as it looks like you spent so much longer doing your nails than you did because the black speckles are built in. This would be lovely as an accent nail or as a regular mani. 

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Sweetie.

I love the Sally Hansen sugar coats as they look so funky. They're so interesting as they dry like sugar on your nails which is so different to most other polishes. They dry matte and is generally very cool. This shade is a pastel yellow and perfect for summer, especially beach days or sunny holidays.

Thank you for reading,

Alanna 

Back to School Essentials!

Hello, so I left school this year and I'll be going to college in a month or so, so I thought I'd help those of you who are still in school out. After all the years I spent in school I feel like I have enough experience to know what you'll need!

Chewing Gum If you have a big tub of this extra chewing gum in the first week of college/school you will make so many friends! Honestly you pop this bad boy open in a class and suddenly you're the most popular kid in the school. Bitches go mental for chewing gum. My favourite is the bubblemint flavour.

Lip Balm I wouldn't wear any mental lip colours in school too often so I would just carry around a small lip balm if I were you. These eos ones are amazing and so are maybelline baby lips if you want a cheaper version. Clear lip balm is best as you don't have to worry about getting Miranda Sings lips in class if you can't get to a mirror!

Calculator Obviously depending on the subjects you are taking a casio calculator is essential. If you're in years 7/8/9 it isn't a must but you could get one anyway ready for the later years. A scientific calculator is always handy for maths and science lessons, I also found it helpful to check my maths homework before I handed it in.

Hairbrush A hairbrush is very handy in school because you never know what might happen, you might be running late in the morning or something could happen in school that you need to brush your hair. For example some stupid boys were throwing yoghurt and it got in my friend's hair and thank god she had a brush with her, if she hadn't she'd have had to have yoghurt hair all day.

Deodrant This is sort of obvious but I thought I'd just remind you. This is especially important on days when you have PE/sport because you will sweat. Even on days you don't have PE/sport you will still sweat especially in summer. And nobody wants to be smelling in school.

Powder The one in the picture is actually more of a corrector but for school I definitely recommend a powder or a light powder foundation just so you can top up while you're in school. Personally I didn't touch up during school but if you wanna look on fleek all day all you'll really need is a powder, a lip balm and a mascara.

Mascara This benefit mascara has changed my mind about it, I posted a review here on my blog a little while ago and basically said I hated it. Buuuuut, I don't. I love it! In the morning apply your makeup as you normally would but for touch-ups all I would recommend is the basics.

Drink Buy one of these plastic bottles (Mine is from the 99p store) and fill it with your favourite beverage. Mine is blackcurrant squash. A drink is essential because as I said about deodrant, you will sweat and get warm when you have PE/sport or when it's summer. So you'll need to stay hydrated. Also, if you're having a bit of an off day. You know those days when you've begged your parents for a day at home because you don't feel well, but they've said "just try and go in" <-- WORST SENTENCE IN THE WORLD!! So you'll be sitting in class all depressed wishing you were tucked up watching Jeremy Kyle in bed and eating cake and you'll find that drinking a little drink will make you feel better especially if it's cold. A good idea is to freeze your water bottle overnight so when you take it in the morning and drink it throughout the day it's never going to be warm(which is the WORST)

They are all my essentials. Thank you for reading and let me know any essentials I missed or if this helped you!

Alanna :)

How I wash my Makeup brushes!

Hellllllllo

I am really bad at washing my brushes and should definitely do it alot more often!

Buuuuut when I do I have a certain way I do things and I thought I'd show you how..

First, I choose the brushes that I need to wash..

Then I get those ready in my bathroom aswell as a towel that I don't care too much about and its ok if it gets dirty.

For the actual cleaning I use my favourite conditioner which is a coconut scented one from tesco. It's really soft and leaves my brushes feeling really smooth on the skin. This is also good for making a hair dye a pastel shade, if you enjoy that.

I squirt a small amount of the conditioner into the palm of my left hand then rub the brush into it, one at a time (or when I get lazy a few little ones at a time)

I then put it under the tap to make sure it's 100% clean.

Then I lay all the brushes out on the towel to dry, I usually leave them overnight and by the next day they are dry and soft and ready to use!

Make sure you don't dry your brushes standing up because the water will wash the glue away and they will break apart :)

Alanna xx

My Favourite Lip Products

I love love love lip products and I love trying different colours and products out. I have a few categories that I have picked my favourite lip products/colours out for so let's begin!

My favourite nude lip has to be a combination of  two products.

This is the P.S. love (by Primark) lip liner and the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in the shade 07. This makes a matte sort of darker nude lip which is really on trend at the moment.

It looks sort of similar to Kylie Jenner's famous lip colour. I prefer this to a light or orange nude.

My favourite pink has got to be this MUA Kiss proof lip stain, I love this product mainly because you can either apply it lightly for a simple "my lips but better" shade or you can layer it up to create a deeper pink almost red.

 I like to go for a half way between these two methods. This lip product will literally last all day and give you a rosy lip for the whole day which overall makes you look blushed and healthy.

My favourite Red lips are the Rimmel Apocalips in Stella and the Maybelline Color Show Elixir in Scarlet. My favourite red lip liner is the Rimmel Exaggerate full colour lip liner in the shade 057 Ravish. I love the look of a glossy red, SIDENOTE- My application gets so sloppy here. Sorry :)

This is the apocalips!

And these pictures are of the Maybelline Color Show Elixir!

My Winter lip go-to's are these combinations, all topshop products, oops! Wicked is my current favourite complete lipstick and I love pairing it with light clothing and dark clothing, it just looks good with everything! However when I use the lip liner in Deception and the matte lipstick in Beguiled it looks very blood red and vampy, which is really lovely. 

This is beguiled, the darker more evening-suitable lip colour..

And Wicked..

My favourite light and durable Summer lip product is the Maybelline Color Drama in the shade 210 Keep it classy, It's a quick application thanks to its crayon tip, it looks very rich and matte on the lips and lasts all day long.

It's a lovely dark, rich pink which just looks so beautiful on.

My All time favourite lip product is the collection Cream Puff and I love it mainly in the shade Fairy Cake 3. It's a lovely matte with a really durable and smooth formula, perfect for all year round paired with any outfits. It also smells so nice!!

One of my top favourite "Crazy" lip colours is from Topshop. 

It's in the shade "Straight Ace" and is a lovely purple. It's a lovely lipstick however does make my face look a little pale and washed out. HOWEVER, I love it so much and I'm excited to work it this Summer! 

My favourite lip balms are the eos balms, I have them in the Strawberry and the Mint Vanilla flavours/scents/shades. I also love all of the baby lips but my favourite one is Peach Kiss and I love this product to pieces.

I also love photographing this product, IT'S SO PRETTY!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!