Outfit and face of the evening: Wicked & Don Giovannis

Yesterday myself, my sister, mum and a couple of friends went to Don Giovannis on Oxford street in Manchester and then we went to Wicked the musical which is currently playing at the Manchester Palace Theatre. Here is a quick fote (face of the evening), oote (outfit of the evening) and a mini review of the restaurant and Wicked. Firstly here is my makeup and outfit of the evening!

Firstly, my makeup - I used my new favourite foundation, the Max Factor Smooth Effect foundation in the shade 40 Porcelain and I freakin' love it! I am definitely writing a review of this foundation soon. I then used another new buy, the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in the shade Ivory which I like but I don't think it is amazing. I applied the Nars Pro Prime then a couple of the nude shades from the S&G Whats Nude Quad. For eyeliner, I used the Clinique Brush on Liner in Black which I have had for years and it is just as good as the day I bought it. To set the liner, I use a black shade. I filled in my brows with the matte brown and black from the Sleek Oh So Special Palette. The mascara I used is the Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Waterproof. For lips I use the Kiko lip liner in the shade 404 and the Revlon Balm Stain in Honey over the top which gives a gorgeous peachy pink lip. 

For my outfit - tank top: Forever 21, Cardigan: H&M, Jacket: Promod, Jeans: Asos and Boots: Newlook. I also used the Bumble and Bumble thickening creme contour in my hair and I wore the gorgeous Molecule one perfume - I can still smell it! Oh and I had on my Kurt Geiger bella ring (I think it is called the bella ring but it is gunmetal and I love it!). I also used the babylis big hair to shape the ends of my hair.

We have never been to Don Giovannis before, it is an Italian restaurant and bar on Oxford street, Manchester. The decor from the outside is gorgeous, lit up with fairy lights and inside is just as nice. I had a mushroom risotto which was nice but we did have to hurry as we were running a bit late for Wicked. Overall, the restaurant was nice although it was very busy and a bit loud. 

Now, Wicked! The story line is about the good witch Glinda and and wicked witch of the west, Elphaba. It is about their friendship and how they became who they are in the Wizard of Oz. I loved the stage set up, the set was amazing. The singing, costumes and story was fantastic. In my opinion, there were a couple of boring bits but they didn't last long such as practically most scenes with the wonderful wizard of Oz in. Overall, it is a great story and definitely worth seeing - although I probably wouldn't take children to see it. 

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Easy Halloween Makeup: Skull

This is the third post in my halloween/fancy dress makeup series, I think there might be one or two more, if I have the time and the ideas! The other two looks were: Clowns and vampires - well the previous look could be adapted for a lot of outfits. The look today is a skull/sugar skull which is a mexican thing I think about the day of the dead.  As I have said before I am obviously not a makeup artist and these are just for fun. The makeup is also quite similar to jack skeleton from the nightmare before christmas film. 

Here is my skull/sugar skull inspired makeup, it is quite simple but you can add detail around the eyes if you want and with a costume it would look great I think. As with the other two looks I started this one with the trusty Barry M Foundation in the shade 'white' and I contoured my face with a matte black shadow as before from the Sleek Oh So Special Palette. I then added some black shadow to my brows to make them a bit thicker and longer. I also added matte browns and blacks around the eyes to add depth and shadow. 

I drew a small black scar on the cheek and I drew straight black lines down the lips and cheeks to form a smile - well the lines of a smile - a bit like the joker from batman. I made the smile/lines a different lengths and a bit crooked so it wasn't so perfect as halloween makeup shouldn't be. I use a small amount of the elf liquid liner in black before applying a matte black shadow over the top. You can add detailing around the eyes if you want like sugar skulls and you can make it quite colourful, although I love dark, monotone, macabre halloween makeup. Messy, shiny hair is also great, I used the Bumble and Bumble thickening creme contour which I love. 

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August & September Favourites!

When I first started blogging I used to make favourites posts every month but I haven't done any in what seems like a year so here is my favourite makeup, skincare and haircare products for August and September!

1. NYX Powder Blush, 'Taupe': I bought this blush after months and months of drooling over it and I bought it from 123hairandbeauty. It was around £5 and I have been using it on and off for about three weeks and I love it. It is a rosy brown blush but it great as a contour because it looks quite ashy on the skin which gives the impression of a shadow. I am going to create a post about my favourite products to contour with (for pale skin) soon!

2. Dr Jart+ BB Beauty Balm 'Platinum': I have wanted to try the Dr Jart BB creams for ages as they are supposed to be nothing like the watered down/light coverage western bb creams. I put of getting one of the BB creams as there are quite a few in the range but I ended up buying the Platinum one which is supposed to be for people over 30 so I thought it would be great for my dry skin as the older you get the more your skin is going to be drier. I have used it about six times now and I really like it. It is the first BB cream that I like! Review coming soon. 

3. Illamasqua Blush Brush: I bought this brush a few months ago and it was part of a collection - it was pretty damn expensive, in my opinion at around £28 for one brush but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I bought it from Asos and even though it is stated as a blush brush I use it for contouring as it is the best shape for contouring the face! I have no idea why they say it is a blush brush, it is very dense and perfect for contouring.

4. Mac Eyebrow Pencil 'Lingering': Love, love, love this eyebrow pencil - it is a bit expensive, although being from Mac you wouldn't expect anything else (it seems like their prices go up daily!). I love this pencil, it is so quick and easy to use and it looks so natural - but there are some flaws with this product. I also love the Loreal Brow Artist Pencil too which I took on holiday with me. 

5. Kielhs Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: I received this as part of my Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar last year and I have been using it almost constantly - it is a staple product in my handbag. I took this hand cream with me on holiday to Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Estonia and Finland - it is a great hand cream. I have also been loving the Avene hand cream even more which is a very recently favourite. 

6. KMS Free Shape Blowdry Spray: Myself and my sister have been using this on and off for the past couple of weeks and it has honestly cut down the time it takes to blow dry our hair by about 1/3. It is a great little spray and it makes my hair quicker to dry and smoother too. 

7. Murad Recovery Treatment Gel: I received this as part of a prize that I won from Birch Box/Murad. I picked it because I have a lot of redness in my skin and sensitiveity due to eczema and I have been using this on and off for a couple of weeks and I definitely notice a reduction in the redness of my skin and it makes my skin really smooth too. I need to try it out more but so far so good! 

8. Bumble and Bumble Thickening Creme Contour: I have mentioned this in a post or two already and I just love it. I bought it from lookfantastic as I had an offer code so it came to about £17. It is a cream that has a light/medium hold and you can shape your hair with it, tame frizz and add volume - it smells divine too. 

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August & september Beauty Buys

Here are the products that I have bought during august and september online and instores with most of the items being on sale or offer or as free gifts. Also I bought some new beauty releases which I am excited about (especially from Rimmel) and there will be reviews of most of the items over the next month or so. 

Makeup: I have bought some makeup from Boots recently as they are having a buy one get one half price on a lot of makeup items. I have bought a couple of BB creams over the past two weeks which is unlike me because I have hated every BB cream I have tried but I received a Boots gift card for my birthday and I bought the Revlon BB cream as I read some reviews of it and it sounded great - and I saw a before/after photograph on someones blog showing the coverage and it looked amazing but I am not that blown away by it. The second BB cream I bought is the Dr Jart Platinum BB cream and I have been using it for the past week and...I love it! I bought the new Real Techniques foundation sponge from Feelunique too and I have been using it with the Dr Jart BB cream and they work well together but it is a lot more flexible than the cosmo sponge I have and I don't know if I like it more yet - reviews coming soon.

Some other makeup bits I have bought are from Revlon - a couple of weeks ago Boots were having a 2 for £10 on revlon so I picked up the new Revlon lash potion grow luscious waterproof mascara and I do like it but it is a bit clumpy. I also bought the Revlon colourstay topcoat as I have heard so many good things about it and so far I definitely prefer it over Seche Vite. Another couple of polishes I have been recently include the new Kate Moss for Rimmel polish in the shade 'acid house' which is a gorgeous metallic dark green and also the Bourjois 1 second polish in the shade '15 grenadine tonic' which is a sheer red which is nice on its own or layered on top of over polishes. Another red polish I have acquired is the Nails Inc polish which is limited edition polish which is free when you buy the colgate luminous toothpaste - in Boots now.

The last two makeup items I bought are new releases - the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint heavy duty under eye concealer in the shade 'fair'. Firstly I like the packaging and the shade is ok for me but it is quite heavy and caky on my dry skin. The final makeup item is from Rimmel and I am so pleased with it - it is the Rimmel lasting finish colour rush balm in the shade 'drive me nude' - I love the shade, it is smooth and hydrating and it lasts so well - I am definitely getting some more of these!

Now quickly moving on to haircare, I bought the Bumble and Bumble thickening creme contour from Lookfantastic as I had a code so I got it for around £17 and I love this product for defining my layers, smoothing the hair and adding volume/body - it smells amazing too. I also bought the raved about shampoo and conditioner from Loreal - the Loreal everriche nourish and flowing duo which I haven't used yet but I am excited to. I found a great bargain on feelunique - they were selling mini sets of Redken products at just under £5 so I had to get one and I bought the Extreme one which contains the shampoo, conditioner and the anti snap treatment that I have been wanting to try for a while. Now hair tools, if you read my current week in photographs post you will know that my sister has moved to uni so I needed to buy some new straighteners as she took the ones we share - I bought the Nicky Clarke Mayfair straighten and curl tool which I love so far and it is currently reduced, I bought mine from amazing for around £20. I won a John Frieda hairdryer from their Facebook competition (their competitions are fantastic!) and I love the hairdryer - it makes my hair incredibly smooth, soft, sleek and it dries my thick hair really quickly.

Last but not least, body products. I went on to the Bliss UK site, just looking and I saw an amazing offer which sadly isn't available anymore - if you bought anything you could select five free travel sizes - amazing! I bought a sale product (a hand care duo) and I picked five free samples (some of which are 53g, so big samples).  Oh and I bought the Indeed Labs sampler set (sale, £8.66, Boots online) and I have been using the Hydraluron sample for about a week and I like it but I don't think it is amazing. Reviews coming soon!

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My Late July Wish List

Here is my wish list of items that I have been drooling over for the past month or so, from gadget holders and brow products to skincare sample sets and new hair care wants. 

All images from Google

1. Indeed Labs Sampler Set (£12.99): I have been wanting to try Hydraluron after hearing so many bloggers and youtubers say how amazing it is for dry/dehydrated skin but I didn't want to buy the full size because my skin, annoyingly, is quite sensitive and some products can react with my skin. I was quite happy, more so than I should have been, when I saw a sampler set of Hydraluron and also Nanoblur and Snoxin, the latter two I am not that excited about but it looks like a fantastic set and at a good price. I will be buying this after my holiday, can't wait!

2. Smashbox Brow Tech To Go (£19): Smashbox isn't a brand that I have used that much but I bought a value set of their products while on a Royal Caribbean cruise last year, Royal Caribbean have a beauty store which stocks a lot of brand such as Smashbox. Since I have tried a couple of their products, and liked most of them, I saw this beauty. I love multi use products and anything that saves space in my makeup storage is a good thing. I love the look of this duo brow product!

3. Bumble and Bumble Thickening Creme Contour (£21): I have wanted to try Bumble and Bumble products for a while, they have a lot of good reviews but they are a bit expensive. I am getting my hair cut short on the 1st August and I wanted some new hair products suitable for my shorter bob length hair. I was tempted by the Semisumo B&B creme but I think this lightweight sheer finishing creme looks great!

4. Topshop Noodoll Gadget Holder (£14): How cute is this little guy! I feel in love with this cute kitsch gadget holder as soon as I saw it on Topshops website. It is £14 but it will be great for my blackberry or ipod. 

5. YSL Touche Eclat Foundation (£28): I have wanted this foundation in my life since I was released last year! I haven't managed to buy it, probably because it is a bit expensive and I have quite a lot of foundations but boy do I want this product. I have heard so many good reviews and I will have to treat myself...

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