Topshop Makeup Haul

                            Topshop Cream Blush in Head Over Heels  //  Topshop Glow Highlighter in Polish  //  Topshop Lips in Beguiled

It wouldn't be a trip into town without a quick browse in Topshop - even if the original intention was just to go to the bank.

It had been a while since I last treated myself to some Topshop makeup, and I was keen to have a look at what was new to the shelves. Needless to say, a quick scan turned into a lengthy peruse, and I came away with these three covetable items.

The cream blush in Head Over Heels had been a long time coming, with it initially gracing my wish list this time last year. At the time, I settled for an equally impressive coral pink shade called Flush, but I could resist this peachy coral any longer.

Beguiled has always struck me as quite a wintry shade, but upon further inspection it became clear that it's more versatile than I'd given it credit for. A light layer gives a pretty matte finish, with the shade itself a wearable berry. I actually picked these up at the beginning of March, and this has been my go to shade as we've transitioned through from winter to spring.

Last into my shopping bag was one of the fairly new cream highlighters in the shade Polish. This is a stunning pearly formula which dresses up any daytime look ready for the evening, and it's safe to say I'm sold. Having gone through a minor obsession with highlighters a few years ago, I'd then fallen out of love in favour of a more natural look. But this one is subtle and beautiful, without being overly glitzy. Love it.

If you're considering any of these then I'll be posting reviews on them soon.

Have you made any Topshop makeup purchases lately? What are your favourite items?

XX

Topshop Brighten Concealer

As part of my birthday present, I received a few new items of Topshop makeup, one of those being the Brighten concealer in the shade Moonlight.

This product claims to be a long-wearing concealer which flawlessly disguises dark circles, with an even and seamless finish, so obviously from the off this was going to be my kind of product!

The concealer comes in a pen form with a brush applicator, not unlike the YSL Touche Eclat and the thousands of other imitations which have since appeared on the market. I do find this quite handy, especially for use on the go, but as with all pen concealers I tend to find it a little bit awkward to dispense. The first time I used this, I had to twist it up several zillion times before any product began to emerge, but while some pens tend to suddenly, unexpectedly overflow in an instant, this one doesn't. However, I do find that some time is wasted having to twist and click it before every use, as it's a little bit backwards in coming forwards. I find that for me, the brush tip is not sufficient for blending alone, and I generally use either my Real Techniques setting brush (hey, never mind the name - it does the job), or pat it in with my fingertips.

Moonlight is a pale salmon pink colour, and I find this doubles up as a pretty highlighter on the inner corners of the eye and on top of the cheekbones, though personally I don't often use it for that purpose as I have several highlighting products to choose from.

Now, this does do a fairly good job of disguising dark circles, but it's not for those of you who need something heavy duty as it's quite light. I enjoy using it on those days where I'm looking reasonably ok upon waking, and want to perk up my eyes a bit and go for a nice natural, no make-up look. In terms of actual coverage though, I still swear by my Mac Pro Longwear concealer, as that's the only one I've come across that really ticks all the boxes when I'm looking tired and run-down.

Have you tried any Topshop makeup?

What are your favourite products?

xx

Mac Mineralise Skinfinish in Light Year

Already a big fan of the concept of Mac Mineralize Skin Finishes, and a daily user of the shade Soft and Gentle (review here), I often find myself gazing admiringly at whatever new offerings Mac have created. When the Heavenly Creatures collection came out, I was particularly drawn to them, largely due to the fact that they are just plain beautiful. However, I held off on purchasing any because I hadn't long got my hands on Soft and Gentle, and was able to convince myself that one was enough.

Until now.

The Mac MSFs are really soft, finely milled highlighting powders, and Light Year is no exception. A light peach shade, with both soft pink and gold shimmer running through it, this translates onto the skin as a beautiful peach-bronze. While I would usually use an MSF as a highlighter on top of a blush, with Light Year there really is no need, as this gives you a gorgeous flush of colour as well as a healthy glow. If anything, I find that pairing this with a blush is a little too much, but if your skintone is of the darker variety then this would probably work well layered up as a highlighter with a more highly-pigmented blush. 

As for the gold shimmer, I do find that I pick up some glittery particles on my brush, but these are not hugely noticeable on the skin. In fact, I didn't realise this would contain any sort of glitter when I bought it online, as Soft and Gentle certainly doesn't. I'm not a glitter person, so I was a little bit worried when I first swatched this, even now tending to avoid the gold veining when using it.

In all, this is a really beautiful, subtle shade, and one I'm very happy to have welcomed into my collection. I can also imagine that this would look stunning on tanned skin in the summer, although I'm already finding myself reaching for it on most days, regardless of the colder season we are currently in.

Sadly, this shade was a limited edition, but Mac have just brought out a couple of gorgeous new MSFs as part of their Glamour Daze collection, so if you like the look of this then do go over and check those out on the MAC website (click the link to go straight there). You can also find Soft and Gentle, which is part of the permanent collection and retails at £21.50.

If any of you saw my Beauty Haul post on Saturday then you will know that I have picked up a few other goodies lately, so expect some FOTD and day to day makeup posts featuring those coming up very soon.

Hope everyone's having a good week so far.

xx

Mac Mineralize Blush in Gleeful: Review

This was another one of those rushed, jet-lagged airport purchases, and like the foundation and lipsticks I've mentioned previously, I came away with the wrong colour. When I say wrong, I mean that I am usually more of a rosy pink, peach or coral kind of girl, and this one immediately seemed as though it would be much too dark for me.

Described by Mac as a 'deep, dirty blue-pink with gold pearl', Gleeful is, for me, much more of a reddish, plummy colour than I would usually go for. It's really finely milled and has a lovely soft texture.

With Gleeful, I find that a little does go a really long way, and due to this I think it's going to take me forever to actually hit pan! It requires only a light dusting on the cheekbones and gives a lovely, healthy flush.

It is buildable, but I can't see that you'd really want to layer it up too much, as the effect would be much too harsh. However, this shade would be really pretty and flattering on darker skin tones, and those of you who fall into this category could definitely afford to be a bit more adventurous with it.

Here it is swatched on tha back of my hand (left) next to the MSF in Soft and Gentle.

I do like to use this blush along with the highlighter as I feel that it creates a softer look. While this is a pretty blush, it's not something I usually go for when it comes to every-day looks, and I feel that shades such as Dainty, Warm Soul and Merrily would be the blushes I would reach for more often.

I have actually ordered myself Dainty, so I will be sure to do a review and comparison whenever it arrives.

Do you own any of Mac's Mineralize blushes? What do you think of them? Do you have a favourite shade?

xx