As you may or may not know, MAC have released their holiday collection this week entitled the Snow Ball Collection (available here!) and I have to say it has literally been years since I was last super excited about their Holiday collection. The last time I was this excited about MAC's holiday collection was the Glitter and Ice Collection here in 2011 and I guess I really am a magpie because yet again, the packaging this year had my eyes all heart eyed, and after I saw the limited edition Whisper Of Gilt highlighter back again, I was sold.
Before I start, this isn't going to be a full review post as usual, I just thought I'd share my trip to MAC on the launch day, my picks, thoughts and a couple swatches I took whilst visiting the store as well as what I purchased from the collection 😍
Read on to see more!

FFF: MAC Nocturnals Black & Gold Pigment Set Makeup Look

This weeks FFF features a look using the MAC Nocturnals Black & Gold pigment set and a few Motives products.

I've recently bought a Ring Light attachment for my Sony Alpha 55 SLR camera so I thought I'd test it out with this look.. please bear with me as I'm playing with the settings to get the right colours/detail; unfortunately this batch of makeup looks' photos are grainier than usual as I had to use a higher ISO setting in the dark lighting condition I had despite using the ring light. If anyone wants to give me some help/tips on how to use the Ring Light in unnatural light (as my makeup looks are usually done at night), then please feel free to email me!

FFF: Purple-Pink Glittery Makeup Look

Hello my lovelies!

This week's FFF is a Purple-Pink look inspired by my one of my newest acquisitions from my wishlist: the MAC Nocturnals Silver & Violet pigment set.

I haven't done a look with pink in a while it seems (aside from the Rose-Gold look from the Naked 3 palette of course!), so I hope you enjoy this one!

Products used:
Eyes: 
> UDPP - Eden
> NYX JEP - Black Bean
> MAC Nocturnals Pigments & Glitter Set - SIlver & Violet - Vanilla, Kitschmas, Push The Edge, Pink Glitter
> Motives Glitter Adhesive
> UD Naked Basics - Foxy, Naked2  
> UD 24/7 Shadow Pencil - Delinquent
> UD Perversion 24/7 eye pencil 
> Rimmel ScandalEyes Kohl liner in Nude 5 

> NYC black liquid liner 
> Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara
> Estee Lauder Double Wear High Cover concealer - 2W

> Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and Brow Powder Duo - Ebony
> Ardell Professional 120 Demi lashes 
Face: 

> Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid foundation 2WN1 
> Motives Sculpt & Shape Duo 

> MAC Bronzing Powder - Refined Golden

> UD Shattered Palette - Temper Blush

Lips:
> UD SSLC in Lovechild

I started by priming the eye with Eden PP and Vanilla pigment on the brow bone and inner corner with Push The Edge all over the eyelid, blending upwards. Naked2 from the Naked Basics palette above the crease and Foxy to blend the harsh edges.
I patted Kitschmas over the middle of the eyelid on top of Push The Edge and pushed it further out on either side of the eye. I then applied the Pink Glitter to the centre of the eyelids with Motives Glitter Adhesive and my finger.
Delinquent 24/7 Shadow Pencil was used for the bottom lashline with Rimmel Scandal Eyes Nude liner for the bottom inner eye, whilst UD Perversion eye pencil was used for the inner top eye.
NYC liquid liner was then used to line the top eyelid with a slight flick and after concealing under the eye with Estee Lauder concealer, I finished with Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara and Ardell 120 lashes, filling in the brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and Brow Powder Duo in Ebony, using it lightly:

For the rest of the face, I used Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid foundation and for the cheeks I used both the Motives Shape & Sculpt Duo and MAC Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden with a bit of Temper blush from UD.
On the lips I decided to keep it a light pink and went for the UD SSLC in Lovechild:

Trying to capture the sparkle!

I hope you enjoyed this makeup look, it can be used with other colours too which is great, so I would love to see if you recreate something like this!

Would you wear this look? What colours do you think would look nice with this particular look?  

Holiday 2013 Products and Sets - FrootiBeauty's Picks

Seeing as it's the 1st of December, I figured it would be helpful to write a post on gift ideas for those of you struggling to find ideas this year.. not that it's needed though as it seems every brand has gone all out this year with their holiday sets and palettes!

(Note: very long post and fairly picture heavy! I was going to split this post but decided against it as I felt it's better all in one post.. feel free to skim read/skip to brands you're interested in!)

I've been feeling seriously overwhelmed by the different brands' products this Christmas 2013; if you're not busy buying a gift for someone, you may as well fling your wallets and cash at these brands and keep the products for yourselves! Not to mention a lot are limited edition which means you have to buy it.. right there and then.

The ones I have managed to get my hands on have been so gorgeous I've barely wanted to touch them; you'd think owning the amount of makeup I do, I wouldn't want any more, but then another brand will release and show off their new set or product and there goes my eyes again, wanting what I know I shouldn't.

I've updated my wishlist on the blog (above tab) and will leave them there in the hope I'm gifted them and I can stop spending money I should be saving!

Anyway, I've picked my favourite brands' Holiday sets and products that have caught my eye so far, some of the products that I do have I'll be posting reviews and swatches of as much as possible, so keep an eye out over the coming weeks!

Urban Decay
Of course, following my last couple posts, you'll know that 
a) I have a certain closeness to this brand and 
b) the Naked 3 palette will be released this month (review here and makeup look here), which will undoubtedly sell out.

If however you are looking for other more colourful and special products and ideas, the products that I recommend (and couldn't resist!) include the Vice 2 palette (limited edition), the Stockpile lip set (limited edition) and the Shattered palette.
Vice 2 Palette:

The Vice 1 was released last year and once sold out proved hard to get hold of as it was limited edition, just like this years Vice 2 Palette; so it makes a great unique gift if looking for something that's not available at all times. With 20 new eyeshadow shades that vary from brights to neutrals, mattes to shimmers and of course some smokey colours included the Vice 2 makes a great value gift for £42!
Available at the following retailers (whilst stocks last!): Debenhams, House of Fraser, LookFantastic and HQhair
 
The Stockpile:

I wasn't going to suggest this beauty of a product for the ultimate lip fan in this post as it is sold out online at the time of writing this, however after posting the picture on Instagram I've had a lot of interest and thought I'd post a review later with swatches anyway as the lip products are available to buy individually.
The Stockpile lip set (£140) hasn't been advertised widely at all, in fact I stumbled across it by chance whilst shopping in House Of Fraser a few weeks back and had to buy it. As far as I know, it is only available at House Of Fraser.
The store I bought my set from (Oxford Street, London) has also sold out as far as I know but if you were to phone House Of Fraser directly you may be able to find the set. 

Shattered Palette:

As reviewed earlier on the blog (click here for full review with swatches), I think this limited edition palette would make a great gift as it encompasses products for the eyes, lips and face, but the set can also make a perfect gift for a frequent traveller or those that like to carry multitasking products with them at all times. 
Priced at £30, the palette can be bought at the following retailers:
Debenhams, House Of Fraser, HQhair and Look Fantastic.

Illamasqua
As another brand close to my heart, Illamasqua have released some gorgeous single Christmas products and the lovely Perfect Pout Lipstick Set with 6 lipsticks for only £60, which is a great gift for lipstick lovers!

Fatale Palette & Sculpting Powder Duo:
The two key products that have caught my eye from the Christmas collection have to be the Fatale Palette and the Sculpting Powder Duo:

Sculpting Powder Duo and Fatale Palette with Intense Lipgloss in Maiden and Nail Varnish in Blizzard

The Sculpting Powder Duo (£26) would be great for those who are in love with contouring products, particularly for fairer skintones.
The Fatale Palette (£34) is a gorgeous quad of powder eyeshadows with festive colours including gold and cranberry; they can be worn separately or beautifully together for a lovely festive look!
All Illamasqua products are available to buy instore or online at Illamasqua or Debenhams.


Kiko Cosmetics/ Kiko Milano
Kiko is a more affordable alternative colour cosmetic brand but with great quality too.

Evolution Must Have Eyeshadow Palette:
My pick would have to be the Evolution Must Have Eyeshadow Palette which features a range of 16 eyeshadows in various colours and finishes:

At £34.90, the palette can be bought online or at Kiko Stores in Westfield Stratford, White City or the new store on Regent Street. You can read the full review with swatches (here).


Too Faced 
Too Faced are a brand I've dipped into a fair few times and loved the quality of every time. They remind me strongly of my beloved favourite brand Urban Decay, but in a daintier way (aside from the products' raunchy names at times!).

Return Of Sexy Eye Collection Palette
My favourite all time product of Too Faced has to be the Return Of Sexy Eye Collection palette (£38.50) which includes 15 gorgeous glitzy eyeshadows and a full size black waterproof pencil. 
I've used this palette on my brides (see here for a bride I've used this palette on) and also on myself, the shades are gorgeous!

Available to buy at: Boots, Debenhams and LookFantastic.

Pop-Out Makeup Palette and Phone Case
If you wanted a lovely stocking filler gift and know someone who is obsessed with their iPhone as well as makeup, you may want to buy the Pop-Out Makeup Palette and Phone Case from the new Jingle All The Way holiday collection:

The palette is ideal again for travelling as it holds 11 eyeshadows, a bronzer and a blush in a handy slim palette that pops out from a gorgeous iPhone 5 case; how cute!
I would also recommend looking at the rest of the Too Faced holiday collections/sets as they make great gifts for those who love girly looking fantastic quality products.. I sure would add some more sets to my gift list!
Priced at £20 the Pop Out Makeup Palette is available to buy at Boots and Debenhams. 


MAC
This year's holiday collection from MAC did kind of blow me away. I fell in love with the luxurious black and gold theme and caved when I walked into my local MAC store when the collection was released.
My picks have to be the following:
The Divine Night lipsticks:

The Nocturnals pigment sets:

The Stroke Of Midnight Eye Bag sets:

The lipsticks are priced at £16.50 each, the Pigment Sets are £25.50 each and the Eye Bags are priced at £39.50 each.
Available at MAC Cosmetics, Debenhams, House Of Fraser and Selfridges whilst stocks last.

Hope you've found this post informative, these are just my picks of the collections I've seen so far, I'll be sure to post some more festive suggestions when I come across them!

Which holiday products or collections have caught your eye this year? And which are on your wishlist?

 

Recent MAC lippies including Reel Sexy & Hey, Sailor!

If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen me swatch a couple recent MAC lippy purchases.

I've come to realise that I have a thing for coral lippies as I seem to have more of a selection of these shades than any other colour!

MAC Crosswires - Regular lipstick (no collection)

Colour & Pigmentation: My favourite lipstick of all recent purchases! It is a very wearable coral-pink with reddish tones to it and I've been carrying this around as my go-to lipstick. Pigmentation-wise I find it gives just the right amount of colour- not too much, not too little! (You can view it in this makeup look).
Texture: Being a cremesheen lipstick it's semi-sheer and has a great moisturising texture with a slight shine.
Longevity: This lipstick doesn't last as long as a matte lippy, however I tend to blot and apply again to make it last longer and it certainly does stain the lips after this.
Scent: As with all MAC lippies, this one smells lovely and vanilla-y (no taste/flavour).
Price: At £13.50 it's a bit more expensive than your regular drugstore lipstick, but MAC do offer a great range of lippies with different finishes and colours to suit anyone. Plus if like me you're addicted to the scent, it's a no brainer.

FrootiFactor: I love this lippy so much, I give it a 5!

MAC Sail La Vie - Hey, Sailor! collection

Colour & Pigmentation: An orange-red veering more towards the orange side. Compared to Illamasqua Liable it looks orange. Compared to MAC Morange it looks red-orange! Pigmentation-wise it's highly pigmented.
Texture: Sail La Vie is a Satin finish lipstick so is very creamy but I do find them slightly dry so always wear lipbalm or Vaseline underneath
Longevity: Satin finishes do last long, Sail La Vie lasted a good 3-4 hours.
Scent: Vanilla scented.
Price: £14 (50p more than the usual MAC lipsticks).


FrootiFactor: I quite like this lippy, especially for Summer so I give it a 4.5:

MAC Watch Me Simmer - Reel Sexy collection

Colour & Pigmentation: A coral-pink leaning more coral than Viva Glam Nicki that's more of a salmon pink coral; It does look very similar to Toxic Tale from the MAC Venomous Villains collection, but Watch Me Simmer is Amplified finish whereas Toxic Tale is Satin finish and I find it drier in texture (see swatches below). Pigmentation-wise, it's highly pigmented and opaque.
Texture: Watch Me Simmer has an Amplified finish, meaning it has a creamy consistency but with slight shine. As with Satin finishes, I find myself having to wear lipbalm underneath.
Longevity: Amplified lipsticks usually last fairly long; I find this shade to last around 3-5 hours.
Scent: Vanilla scented.
Price: Although part of a collection, the price remains at £13.50; I'm guessing because the packaging is the same as normal MAC lippies.

FrootiFactor: I do like this lippy more than my Toxic Tale as it's less dry, so I give it a 4:

So here are the swatches of all my similar coloured coral-ly lippies:

And with Illamasqua Liable lipstick (blog post here) in comparison to Sail La Vie:

Have you bought any of the new collection lipsticks? What are your thoughts and which would you recommend? 


 

MAC May Collections - my picks!

As the "Summer" approaches so do MAC's collections, with the Hey, Sailor! being the most recent.

I have to say I'm a collector, so whenever I see a MAC collection with lipsticks and limited edition packaging/colours, I get excited. 

MAC Hey, Sailor! Lipsticks L-R: Red Racer, Sail La Vie, Salut!, To Catch A Sailor

MAC Reel Sexy Lipsticks L-R: Reel Sexy, Watch Me Simmer, Pink Popcorn, Heroine

I've tried previous collections' eyeshadows & blushes but haven't been impressed so I only really look for the lipsticks.. These are the ones I have my eye on from the Hey, Sailor! collection: Red Racer & Sail La Vie and the Reel Sexy: Reel Sexy & Watch Me Simmer.

Ever since I missed out on Watch Me Simmer from the Shop MAC Cook MAC collection I wanted it, so hopefully shall get my hands on it this time round!
As for the Hey! Sailor collection, I'm not really feeling the nudes from that collection as Salut! practically looks like foundation on the lip swatches I've seen so far (and certainly would look odd on my medium skin tone!) and To Catch A Sailor is frosted which I'm also not a fan of.

I do have my eye on the Hey, Sailor! Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Shore Leave (a coral colour) and the Suntint in Au Rose but I'll have to see if it will suit my skintone and if the Suntint isn't sticky.

If you're looking for some of the best Hey, Sailor! swatches, here's the site I made my decisions on: Beauty Icon.

Which items do you like best? Will you be buying from the Hey, Sailor! or Reel Sexy collections?

FFF: Blue-Purple makeup look

This weeks FFF was inspired by forgotten products laying in my makeup draw that I hadn't used in a while with the exception of the lip products. 

Products used:

Eyes:

> UDPP

> NYX JEP in Milk

> MAC Sea & Sky Mineralize Eyeshadow (LE)

> Sleek Monaco palette - Bamboo, Midnight Garden, Sand Walker, Kiwi Zest, Moors Treasure.

> Sleek Au Naturel palette - Bark & Noir

> UD 24/7 eye pencil in Zero

> MAC fluidline in Blacktrack

> Ardell 110 demi black lashes

> Khuraira ACC in Light

> MAC Studio Finish concealer - NC35

Face:

> Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 55

> Illamasqua Hussy Blush

Lips:

> NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Chaos

> UD SSLC in Lovechild

After priming the eye with UDPP & NYX JEP in Milk I applied the blue part of the MAC Sea & Sky to the eyelid, followed by Sleek Midnight Garden in the outer corner/crease, blending upwards. Moors Treasure was used just slightly above this blended Midnight Garden followed by Bamboo on the brow bone, blending down into Moors Treasure & Midnight Garden.

UD 24/7 Zero eye pencil was used to line the inner eye, whilst MAC Fluidline was used on the top liner and creating another parallel stroke from the bottom lash line. Using a liner brush, Midnight Garden & Kiwi Zest were added to the lower lashline too, connecting with the black fluidline.

I used Ardell 110 demi black lashes and filled the top liner with more MAC fluidline; then filled in the brows with Sleek's Bark & Noir from the Au Naturel palette and concealed under the eyes to finish:

I used Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 55 and my long lost Illamasqua Hussy blush (a lovely pink) on the cheeks. On the lips I used NYX JLP in Chaos first:

I then used a less brighter colour (and favourite paired with smokey eyes); UD SSLC in Lovechild:

And there you have it! 
Which look did you prefer? I'd love to hear your suggestions too on what colour combinations you'd wear!

Belated FFF: Green Smokey makeup look

Apologies for the delay of FFF, it now is a FFS haha!

This weeks FFF was for a makeup company interview and inspired by the scarf I was wearing for it.. this was the mock up of what I'd wear so took a couple variations of the look! I ended up going with a pink-red lip coz I liked both, but let me know what you think..

Products used:

Eyes:

> UDPP

> NYX JEP in Milk

> MAC glitter & ice Warm palette - Winterscape

> MAC VV She Who Dares eyeshadow - Green side

> Too Faced Insurance Policy Palette - Lucky Charms

> Wet N Wild Comfort Zone palette - left side Eyelid & Crease shadows

> Sleek Au Naturel palette - Honeycomb, Bark & Noir

> UD 24/7 eye pencil in Zero & Covet

> MAC fluidline in Blacktrack

> Ardell 110 demi black lashes

> Khuraira ACC in Light

> MAC Studio Finish concealer - NC35

Face:

> Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 55

> MAC WonderWoman blush - Mighty Aphrodite

Lips:

> MAC Such Flare! lipstick

> MAC Quick Sizzle lipstick

After priming the eye with UDPP & NYX JEP in Milk I applied MAC Winterscape to the inner corners of the eyes and Too Faced Lucky Charms to the middle of the eyelid. The green side from MAC She Who Dares eyeshadow was used in the crease and outer corner of the eyes, buffing it upwards slightly, followed by Bamboo (Sleek Au Naturel palette) on the brow bone, blending down into She Who Dares. I also applied a bit of Noir to the outer corner to intensify the smokiness.

UD 24/7 eye pencil was added to the lower lash line followed by Lucky Charms using a liner brush; the inner eye was then lined by UD Zero pencil and topliner done with MAC fluidline in Blacktrack. 

I used Ardell 110 demi black lashes and filled the top liner with more MAC fluidline; then filled in the brows with Sleek's Bark & Noir from the Au Naturel palette and concealed under the eyes to finish:

For the rest of the face I used Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 55 and MAC Wonderwoman in Mighty Aphrodite on the cheeks; for the lips I first used MAC Such Flare! lipstick:

I also tried the look with MAC Quick Sizzle lipstick:

I tried a different look on the other eye with the green "eyelid" colour in the Wet N Wild palette, but I didn't like it as much, so didn't feel it was worth taking pics of or doing!

I did do a neutral smokey look after, with the champagne & golden colours "eyelid" & "crease" in the Wet N Wild palette, leaving the green bottom liner:

However I didn't think it was as "wow" as the green smokey look, especially when in full context with the scarf:

Which look do you prefer or think goes better with the scarf?

I did end up going for a pink-red mix on the lips and green smokey look but I'd love to see which look you prefer!