ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS- MODERN RENAISSANCE PALETTE REVIEW

From the day I first laid my eyes on this palette earlier last year, I was obsessed and had to have it. I watched countless videos of beauty bloggers using this palette and creating stunning looks and knew it was a palette worth having- before I even got my hands on it. Despite my thoughts before, this review is going to be unbiased (as always), I have been using this palette for just over two weeks after receiving it as a Christmas gift.

The shadows:

TOP ROW(L to R):
Tempera, Golden Ochre, Vermeer, Buon Fresco, Antique Bronze, Love Letter, Cyrus Umber

BOTTOM ROW(L to R):

Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Primavera, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Warm Taupe, Realgar

The shadows are so beautiful in colour and you get a good array of a range to use to create looks. My personal favourites are Love Letter, Burnt Orange, Primavera and Venetian Red. The pigment of each shadow is amazing,  just one swipe creates a bold colour on the arm and the lid. They are easy to blend with the brush that comes with the palette and also my Real Technique brushes too. The buttery soft texture of these makes them so easy to use and create looks with, even for beginners. 

A look created solely with this palette:

I created this look using the palette by creating a subtle cut crease using the shades Burnt Orange and Realgar. I used Primavera on the whole lid then applied Red Ochre as a transition shade to the middle of the lid and then Love Letter/Venetian Red to the outer of the lids. I then put Venetian Red on my lower lash line and added glitter the light, inner areas of the shadows for a fancy look. I added Vermeer as a brow bone highlight and inner eye highlight.

Overall:

At £41 and free delivery from the ABH UK site, this palette is well worth the money for the quality you are getting. The shadows are so pigmented, there is slight fall out from some of the shadows, but this personally isn't a problem for me as I always do my eyes before my base make-up. The packaging of this is so beautiful, a gorgeous dusty pink with a velvet material, it's so classy and looks stunning on my make-up table. The brush that comes with is the usual high standard you expect from ABH, it effortlessly blends shadows and feels really soft on the skin. The lasting power of these shadows is impressive, I can create a look with this palette and it'll last 8 hours and more. I always reach for this palette, and especially when I'm going on a night out with my friends, I pair these shadows up with Urban Decay Primer Potion, but even without- they still last ages. I defiantly recommend.

Do you have this palette, if you do, what do you think of it?

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BEAUTY CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year. The food, the family time, the music, the decorations, I could go and and go. For me, as cliche as it sounds, I love giving gifts more than I like receiving them. I love picking out presents for my family and friends that I know they will love and appreciate.  You can get some wonderful beauty gifts for your loved ones, whether you are on a budget or have a lot to splurge. This blog post comes just 15 days before Christmas, so for any of you that haven't had the chance to buy gifts then here's some last minute ideas for beauty gifts this Christmas....

Boots.com:

Every year I look through what Boots has to offer on their 3 for 2 deals, you end up saving so much money, especially if you are buying three expensive gifts. But even if you are planning to buy the cheaper gifts in this deal, you will still be getting the cheapest one free. It is a brilliant idea and saves a bunch of money. Here are 3 of my favourite beauty gift sets from their range this year, ranking from the cheaper side to the more expensive:

• Soap and Glory Merry Kiss Much: (£8) For under a tenner, in this set you get 3 mini glosses from the Soap and Glory range, a perfect gift for those just starting out with make up or those who like to carry around glosses with them, this is perfect to fit in a purse. The gift set is beautifully designed and doesn't look as though it costs less than £10 at all. 

• No7 Youthful Skincare Collection: (£20) This gift is perfect for a daughter or a sister. The set comes with 5 mini versions of No7 products and works out as a massive saving, especially because you get a facial oil which is usually very pricey alone. Personally, I think this makes a lovely gift, No7 skincare products are known for doing what they claim on the bottle, this one is defiantly a winner. 

• Ted Baker Lips and Tips: (£50) This gift is so gorgeous, it comes with 6 lipsticks and 6 nail polishes. I love the shades in this set, from pinks to purples to reds, there is something for everyone. There is a range of nail polish shades, from light purples to darker reds. Yes it is a little more expensive, but you are getting what you pay for, plus more. 

FalseEyelashes.co.uk-

This website has become a new favourite this year, I find a lot of eyelash brands are really expensive in store and seem to be much cheaper on this site, also this site offers more eyelash brands in one place. For Christmas these are perfect extra gifts for a couple of pounds, or you can buy a bulk and give as a bigger gift. Everything comes with FREE First Class Delivery and you can get 10% off if you sign up to the newsletter. Here are some of my favourite lashes from the site:

• Red Cherry Lashes Style Wispy: (£3.99) These lashes are one of my all time favourites, they are natural but still dramatic, it gives the appearance of having natural long lashes that blend beautifully with your real ones. For me, these last around 2-4 uses and look amazing with a cut crease! This is a perfect side gift to add to a main present, they're good quality and at a good price. 
  
  
• Eylure Exaggerate Lashes 143: (£6.95) Another pair of one of my favourite lashes, these would be perfect to either bulk up a gift bundle for someone or to give as part of a present joint with another item. Yes, these a pricey for one pair, but you get a lot of wear out of them, they come with glue and they are such a beautiful style. 
  
  
• Ardell Demi Wispies Multipack (4 pairs): (£11.99) This would be a perfect small gift for someone who regularly uses lashes, you save so much by buying these in a bundle considering they sell at around £5 a set! Ardell Lashes are really good quality and last a long time, these would make a wonderful gift for someone really into their make-up.

Beautybay.com - 

This website has been a firm favourite of mine for years, they sell so many different brands and what I love most about it is I pay one delivery fee for getting a lot of different brands' products. They always have sales on and offer discounts. For Christmas, they currently have a big sale on and always have discount codes. Here are some of my favourite items they have on sale at the moment:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Pro Series Powder Contour Kit Refill: (£7.00) This is an amazing saving of 50% off the usual £14 retail price. These powders are amazing and this is such a good idea for someone who maybe can't afford the whole contour kit and just wants particular shades. Some people only want one contour shade and one highlight shade, which would come to only £14 together. A refill on it's own would make a really nice add on present. 

• BH Cosmetics Illuminate Ashley Tisdale Palette: (£14.40) Reduced from £18. This beautiful palette comes with 3 cheek colours and 9 eyeshadows, the palette comes in two shade ranges - Beach Goddess (my personal favourite- gold/tan colours) and Night Goddess (deeper colours such as purples and browns). This palette would be perfect for a make up novice who loves to experiment or even someone more educated with make up.

• Jane Iredale Signature Look Box Set Elegance: (£46.87) Reduced from £66.95. A massive saving of £20 for a set which includes a smokey eye palette, a lip stain and blusher. This set would be best suited for someone who has experience with make-up. Jane Iredale is cruelty free and sell natural based products. A beautiful set which is more expensive than others, but perfect to spoil a special person in your life with. 

I hope this blog post has helped with any Christmas gift issues you may have been having. Thank you for reading my blog post, feel free to comment, folow me on and tweet me (@katienorthhblog), check me out and follow me on Instagram (@katienorthhblog) ,share and contact me!

SKIN DOCTORS INGROW GO REVIEW

Hair removal is the bane of my life, I hate the process and I hate seeing that hair has grown back. Being a female that chooses to epliate instead of the traditional shaving or waxing, I save a lot of money but also have to deal with INGROW HAIRS. I hate them, they cause ugly bumps on my legs, they're hard to sort out and most of the time they hurt...A LOT. So like most people do in most situations, I googled my problem in search for a solution. This product came up straight away, after scrolling through plenty of impressive reviews, I ordered and it only cost me around £10.

My first impressions when it arrived at my house was impressed. The packaging looks professional and the product itself is packaged in a hard plastic bottles, which is perfect for a clumsy person like me who is always dropping glass bottles of products. The product is designed to get rid of razor bumps and razor burns as well as ingrown hairs. It contains Isopropyl alcohol, which is antibacterial and helps to clear out infected pores, Propylene Glycol for moisture, Acetylsallicylic Acid which is an anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling that ingrown hairs cause, Glycolic Acid which is a mild exfoliant that removes dry skin cells and redness (all information on ingredients taken from Skin Doctors website).

The product advises you to not use too soon before or after removing hair. I used this product after allowing my legs to grow out for just over a week. The product should be applied on leg by placing the liquid on a cotton pad first. The smell of the product is of strong alcohol and feels cold on the skin. Honestly, I saw a difference within an hour, although it did sting slightly when settling on the skin.

I repeated this process twice a day for 3 days, apparently it is best to apply the product on freshly washed skin, but make sure the area is dry. After a week had passed, I epliated my legs and saw a huge difference in the amount of ingrown hairs that had disappeared, my legs look smoother and more attractive in general.

I could not recommend this product more. This is a product that actually works and does what it says on the packaging.

Thank you for reading my blog post, feel free to comment, tweet me (@katienorthhblog), check me out on Instagram (@katienorthhblog) ,share and contact me!

MY SFX HALLOWEEN MAKE-UP- THE RIPPED REVEALED SKULL

This year for Halloween I wanted to switch it up. All over Instagram I saw the "dripping skull" look, I didn't have the tools to create this look so I did my own take on it- "the ripped open face to reveal a skull" look (catchy, I know!) I precisely had less than an hour to create a special effect look for Halloween night, I had people coming to my student house for drinks so had to tidy up as well but I managed it! The look was created by doing the same technique I described in my HALLOWEEN-EASY SLIT THROAT MAKE-UP post, I created a line of liquid latex around half of my face and pulled the inside outward from the skin slightly to create a ripped look. The difference between the slit throat makeup is this wound isn't a closed in wound, it was just a circle of a line of liquid latex which had been layered.

Once the wound has been ripped, I put on my usual foundation colour (L'oreal True Match In Vanilla) over the fake ripped skin and in the areas underneath. Then I used the NYX Professional Makeup Eyeshadow Base in White as a skin base for the skull. I contoured the skull to create depth using Blackout eyeshadow from Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. I placed the contour under the wound edges, around and on my eyes and around the mouth and nose to line out the skull's details. I went back over the mouth with the NYX eyeshadow base to create teeth, I know these don't look perfect. I set the whole look with Essence Translucent Powder.

I wasn't looking for perfection with this look because I knew we were going out to a nightclub and the make-up was likely to melt off within hours! Although this is a very basic skull, this is what I was aiming for. If I had more time, I would have added more detail and more depth. On the other side of my face I just wore my usual make-up look, a winged eyeliner with some bronze eyeshadow, contouring and highlight.

Disclaimer- I am self taught with liquid latex- no expert!

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HALLOWEEN- EASY SLIT THROAT MAKE-UP

Last Halloween I went out several times and wanted different looks for each. This look was created in the spur of the moment, we (me and my flatmates) decided to go out early for Halloween but still wanted to dress up. So I created a slit throat using liquid latex and kept the face simple with a creepy scarecrow look- I wanted the whole focus on what I had spent most time on- my fake bleeding, gory sliced open throat. This look took me a total of an hour. VERY IMPORTANT- WEAR A TOP YOU DON'T MIND GETTING RUINED AND TIE YOUR HAIR BACK! I have already described my liquid latex technique in a post earlier this month.

I started with a thin layer of liquid latex- before I even started this look I pulled apart pieces of toilet paper into the thin layers, so they're ready to use because your fingers will get sticky and gross- I then added toilet paper on top of the liquid latex and waited for it to dry. I did this process about 4 times, just do it depending on how deep you want your wound, obviously add more layers for a deeper effect.

When I was happy with the thickness of the wound, I cut through the middle with some tweezers and ripped along on each side of create a messy and realistic effect. My advice would be to never cut with scissors because it will always come out sharp and clean looking which is the last thing you want with this sort of injury. 

Then cover the wound in a foundation that matches your skin tone, then fill the inside part of the wound with dark red, purple and brown colours- you can use a mixture of lipsticks, eyeshadows and eyeliners for this, just make sure you blend it out. Also add the same colours to the outline of the wound.

This is the detail stage, add bruising using purple and brown shadows and veins using a dark purple eyeliner pencil, contour your wound by adding darker colours on the inner edges of the cut. It is important to make it look as realistic as possible, you can always add texture (using cotton balls etc) to the inside of the slit to make it look like guts, veins etc!

This stage is where I set the foundation around the wound with translucent powder and added some fake blood into the inside of the wound and let it dry. I also added more bruising around the wound and veins. Then I added drips of fake blood, allowing it to drip down as naturally as possible to create the finishing look you can see at the start of this post. 

THE FINISHED LOOK:

The make-up on my face isn't too detailed because it was last minute plans and as I said before I wanted the focus to be on my neck. I just smudged some black eyeshadow around my eyes, drew out a scarecrow style nose and obviously the faint stitching on my mouth/cheeks. I don't think I even had foundation on for this look, really simple and easy.



Disclaimer- Last year was my first time using liquid latex in my life and I'm self taught, I'm aware I'm no expert.

Happy Halloween everyone! Be safe and have fun !

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, feel free to contact me, comment and link me to your blogs. (All photos are my own)

4 SUPER EASY HALLOWEEN MAKE-UP IDEAS

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I LOVE SEASON! & MOST OF ALL, I LOVE DRESSING UP FOR THIS EVENT!
I've come up with some super easy and cheap outfit ideas (especially good if you're on a student budget like myself!) I've brought some cheap materials and combined them with clothes and items I already own to create some super easy outfits for one of the best nights of the year.

EASY LIQUID LATEX TECHNIQUE-
My technique to create realistic wounds/cuts/bites with liquid latex is using layered pulled apart toilet paper and the liquid latex. It's so important to allow the layers to dry before adding the next. I start with a layer of liquid latex then pulling apart a piece of toilet paper into its layers, a layer from a piece of toilet paper is needed for each wound layer. Layering liquid latex then toilet paper for about 4/5 times, depending how deep you want the wound then cut into your wound how you want it torn. I suggest not using scissors because a sharp cut doesn't look realistic but to use tweezers to make a hole then ripping it outwards for a natural rip. Then once I have a design I'm happy with, I cover the wound with a foundation that matches the skin around the wound, I set the foundation with powder the same shade then I begin detailing with shadows and blood etc. I brought my liquid latex from Amazon.

VAMPIRE-

This is the look I went for last Halloween, a vampire who had been freshly bitten. I decided to buy some liquid latex and experiment with it- I must say it went really well. I created two bite marks on my necks and poured fake blood into the holes that dripped out for extra gore effect- also adding subtle dark purple veins for the "just bitten" look. For the eye make-up, I went for a general smokey eye look- combining purples, blues, browns and black. I lightened my face make up slightly and went extra on the contour for the hollowed face look. On the lips I used Mac Diva but to make it darker I used a bit of black lipliner underneath, I also added a drop of fake blood down the side of my lip. For last minute added gore, I created a wound on my hand similar to the zombie wound I create at the bottom of this post below. I wore all black with this look also.

CAT-

The easiest on the list and the cheapest- all you need is a good quality liquid eyeliner (I use Loreal Paris Super Liner Perfect Slim), black eye pencil (I use Urban Decay 24/7 in Perversion) and some cats ears (either make your own out for an old headband or buy some- I found some for £2 on Amazon). Give yourself a simple cat winged eye look or a cut crease with a flick coming from your lower lash line also. In the image above I tried out a graphic style cut crease with a usual cat eye and a flick coming from my lower lash line- to make the look more cat like, bring the liner down the inner corner of the eye and down (Egyptian style). Coat your upper lip in pencil liner and create a line up your cupid's bow then draw a cat nose onto your own nose. Add dots on your upper lip and a couple of whiskers beside them. Thats it! Obviously if you want to go one step further- get yourself some cat eye contacts, I've never tested out eye contacts so can't suggest what's best to go for, but don't go cheap on things you're going to be putting into your eye! For the outfit, I would suggest anything black! A nice bodysuit/jumpsuit/dress etc, or some black skinny jeans and a black top.

SKULL-

(UPDATED- HALLOWEEN 2016)

I intend to wear this look this year, I've seen some really creative skull ideas on Instagram. I plan to do either a dripping makeup skull where my face is half skull and half makeup or just complete skull. With this look you'll need white & black face cremes and grey powder for contouring. I plan to trace out the skull on my face by following a photo online. I plan to mix in some gore into this look, maybe some liquid latex created bloody wounds on my neck and arms.  I am planning to wear all black with this look to keep the focus on the face and the detail on the face.


ZOMBIE-

I created this look on my boyfriend last year but in a subtle way, I created two zombie wounds- one on his cheek and the other on his neck. I added delicate purple veins around the wounds and blood (from Amazon) also. Also I added yellowy/greeny tones for the rotting effect! The wounds came out really good for my first try and my boyfriend really loved them too. They look realistic and it looked like loose skin was hanging away from the wound, really gory and really affective. My boyfriend just wore his regular clothes- for that causal "just infected by the zombie virus" look. Photos are before I added more gore, blood etc.

Disclaimer- Last year was my first time using liquid latex in my life and I'm self taught.

Happy Halloween everyone! Be safe and have fun !

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, feel free to contact me, comment and link me to your blogs. (All photos are my own)

NYX SOFT MATTE LIP CREMES REVIEW (LONDON, ABU DHABI, CANNES)

London, Abu Dhabi & Cannes

When it comes to NYX, I'm open to trying almost anything they put out to the public, personally I think their products are amazing quality for a really good price. I spotted these on the Boots website and decided to pick a few out to try, they retail at £5.50 each, which is really impressive for a lip product. The shades I have chosen are London, Abu Dhabi and Cannes, these shades are wearable in the day time and are likely to go with most eye looks. 

The shades:

London, Abu Dhabi and Cannes

These are the lip products on my bare arm (very pale arm!), my personal favourite is London because my usual favourite lipsticks are dark nudes. But Adu Dhabi is a close second as it is very similar, while Cannes is very pink and bright which is not my usual shade, but still a beautiful colour. The shades are all really beautiful and don't come out patchy at all. I was really impressed at how pigmented these are for how cheap they are.  The product feels soft and creamy on the lips and takes a while to dry, remaining matte. 

Overall:

These products are such a good steal! For just over £5 you get buttery and creamy matte lipsticks that are highly pigmented. The product smells of a mixture of marshmallow and toffee which I quite like. I found that these products kept my lips moisturised and only needed to be topped up every couple of hours. The packaging of these is so sleek, the bottles are the same shade of the product inside and the lid is a matte black, it defiantly looks more expensive than it actually is. I carry these around in my handbag on the days I am wearing one of them, or even when I'm not and as a back-up lip product. 

Have you tried these lip cremes, if so, do you like them?

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