Just A Little Lip Service

JUST A LITTLE LIP SERVICE

Recently I've really been getting back into lip colour again. I went through a phase when a slick of Eight Hour Cream was all I could be bothered to reach for. Whereas before in my late teens and early 20s I loved experimenting with different colours. Thankfully I've rekindled my love of liptastic colours and what better time with such an array on offer. Here are some of my favourites from the last few months. 

MAC Media A55 in Satin 

MAC Velvet Teen Velvetease Lip Pencil 

MAC Dark Side in Amplified 

Mary Kay and MAC Lipsticks

L-R 1.H&M Passion For Pearl, 2. Mary Kay Red, 3. MAC Dark Side in Amplified,  4. MAC Media A55 in Satin,  5. MAC Stone A16 in Matte, 6. MAC Fresh Brew A45 in Lustre, 7. MAC High Tea AC4 in Lustre 

Lip Pencil Collection 

Lip pencils L-R 1. Elizabeth Arden Natural 06, 2. Elizabeth Arden Rosewood 01, 3. Barry M Red, 4. Nars Palais Royal in Satin, 5. Primark Wine, 6. Barry M Wine, 7. MAC Velvet Teen Velvetease 

Lip Gloss - Bodyshop, MAC, H&M

Lip Gloss L-R 1. Passion For Pearl, 2&3 MAC Oyster Girl Lipglass, 4. MAC Nymphette Lipglass, 5. MAC Wonderlust Lustreglass, 6. Bodyshop Juicy Peach High Shine Gloss

Swatch number 2 is an old Oyster Girl from over 18 months ago. As you can see the colour has stayed true when you compare it to that of one purchased just a week ago.

MAC Stone Matte Lipstick with Oyster Girl Lipglass on top

Even though Stone is a matte lipstick it is not at all drying. I normally still have to apply lip balm through out the day even when wearing lipstick but with this I did not. It's the perfect dark nude for chocolate skinned beauties.

All MAC L-R Oyster Girl Lipglass, Nymphette Lipglass, Stone Matte Lipstick

MAC Stone in Matte and MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle tapped on top

I have been using these 2 shades of lipglass for over 10 years now. they have definitely become my go to staples. Please MAC never discontinue them.

If you are of a darker toned complexion these shades will look amazing on you. These will also look great on fairer complexions but the finish and effect may differ so it is worth trying a shade up or down to do so.

I've tried to find the link for most of the products for those that have been discontinued I have linked a close alternative.

Thanks for dropping by

Bxx

It's All A Bit Hairaising

I'd been wearing my last u-part for near on a year and had decided it was time to give that hair a rest and invest in some new. I still was not ready to give up my current style. As a self confessed big hair girl this style is here to stay for a while.

 I was however ready to try a different brand of hair and go a grade up. Enter Brazilian deep wave. After a lot of shopping around I decided to go with a company by the name of Hairaisers that amongst other things offers multi bundled packages in pre-set lengths. I opted for their unprocessed Brazilian virgin remy pack which I purchased via Pak Cosmetics for £109.99 +  P&P. I ordered the hair on a Monday and it had arrived on the Friday by 1st class signed delivery.

Hairaisers Unprocessed Brazilian Virgin Remy in Deep Wave Natural

I chose a pack with lengths 14" 16" and 18". the pack contained 2 bundles of each but in my opinion1 bundle is only half the size of most regular bundles so my six were more like the equivalent of 3. Also included was a small closure unit.

on unpacking the hair it was super soft to the touch but for unprocessed hair the curls clumps were a little too perfect for my liking. None the less this was still beautiful hair that I could not wait to install. There was no odd smell to the hair nor was there any evidence of lice or other bugs. I washed and conditioned the hair and then literally hung it up to dry.

Once dry I sealed the weft to prevent any excess shredding and then proceeded to construct my new U-part

I really was not keen on the closure that came in the pack so I went and purchased lace front closure also from Pak. I chose one of their own brand Brazilian Virgin curly in natural.

As you can see I sew my wefts extremely closely together and never sew through the wefts.

This was the end result.

And here it is freshly installed.

This hair is gorgeous but how does it fair with every day life. Well even after sealing the wefts I have experienced so much shredding with this hair. Not to mention the tangling. I have had to do a major detangling of this hair every evening since installing, so definitely not recommended for those looking for a low maintenance option. Curly hair is always going to be hard work but this is more so than I was expecting. Would I purchase this hair again? Probably not, purely based on the amount of work it takes to keep it in good condition. Is this hair absolutely gorgeous? Oh that goes without saying. Even though I've had mixed reviews I thinkI may give aliexpress a try as they have a whole shoot load of vendors so I will let you know how I get on.

Thank you

B xx

New Year, New Hair

As much as I did love the deep red Marley twists I'd been rocking all autumn I felt that with the new year it was the time for a new do. 

This time round I've opted for a big old 90's style poodle perm AKA big hair. To achieve this look I used 3 packs of HH Deep Wave Wvg hair by Sensationnel in a much tamer 1B colour.

Sensationnel Premium Too HH Deep Wave Weaving

 I bought 3 packs of this hair, 2 in an 18 inch and 1 in a 14 inch at £24.99 and £18.99 a pack respectively and at the time was really worried that I'd not bought enough to have a really full style. When I got it home and out of the packet I could see that the wefts had already been doubled and actually the root of the coils were quite full.

 Before installing my extensions I always wash, condition and leave the wefts hanging to air dry. This helps to get rid of that packet smell, soften the hair and in the case of curly styles allows the curls to drop to their natural state.

 To make life a little easier on myself I chose to use this hair as a u-part wig. I still braided my hair down into corn rows underneath but instead of placing the cap on my head and sewing the wefts of hair directly to my head I placed the cap on my dummy's head and sewed them on in that way instead.

As you can see 3 packs was more than enough and I hadn't even fully finished separating the curls at this point. I also cut some layers into this unit to give it more dimension. Once finished I braided down my hair leaving only a very small amount of leave out then sewed the unit to my perimeter braid and that was me done.

3 weeks in and I'm still totally loving this hair. It has definitely made it onto my repurchase list as I think I may stick with this style for a while now.

Anyway here are the before and after shots.

Before: Natural Afro

After: I gots me some big old hair

Even works with a beanie and headphones lol x

So what do you think??? Please feel free to leave your comments below and don't forget to hit the G+1/like tab ;-))

Thank you

B xx

MAC Mineralize Moisture SPF Foundation

I suffer from the most ridiculously dry and sensitive skin. Apart from my T-zone every other part of my body is like fine grain sandpaper if I don't moisturise on a daily basis.

A couple  of months ago I saw that MAC had launched a new liquid foundation which is aimed at us ashier skinned beauties. Up until the Mineral Moisture SPF foundation, MAC had produced very few options of foundation that would work well with dry skin. There is the Studio Tech which is a thick and creamy full coverage makeup  But if like myself you hate the feeling of anything too heavy on your face, this foundation is only an option if you have the time to faff about thinning it down with other products. 

MAC Studio Tech Foundation

Recently I've been favouring Face & Body, a brilliant liquid foundation which can be worn with just a really light layer giving a beautifully sheer coverage or it can be built up to give a medium coverage. Face and body works really well with my skin and once it sets leaves me with a fantastically glowing (not shiny) finish. 

MAC Face and Body Foundation

Before Face & Body my foundation of choice for years was Studio Fix Foundation Powder, which is actually usually recommended for those with oilier skins but for some reason works incredibly well on my combination to dry face.

Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus

For the past few months I've been using Mac's newest foundation offering, Mineral Moisture SPF foundation. On first application I was decidedly worried as my skin looked as if I'd mixed it with baby oil and vaseline at the same time, not a good look. However my worries were quickly squashed. Once this foundation sets it looks amazing. It really is a second skin leaving you with a subtle glow and no shine. This is most definitely my new MAC crush.

MAC Mineralize Moisture SPF Foundation

To all my dry skin beauties I say get on board, this is definitely a winner.

B xx