LIFESTYLE | Weekly Portrait #3

I promise one day I will wear make up in my weekly portrait! The sun is out today which is amazing, so hopefully it'll stay that way! Now I need to think about buying a few summer pieces. This week my younger sister is graduating and I am so proud of her so we are having a graduation dinner with a few family members. I'm also going to the Curvy Kate bloggers event this week so I will let you know how that goes! Have a good week :)

Love Lilla xx

BEAUTY | A.K.A Eye Pencil

*A.K.A Black Eye Pencil

A.K.A is a new British brand of make up that was launched this year. The collection claims to be sleek and modern, consisting of eye lip and nail products.

I've been sent this eye liner along with some nail varnishes which I will review later. I only received them this morning but wanted to try this eyeliner immediately! I usually use the MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack with the MAC 263 brush. I love it for making a cats eye but find it a bit unpractical if I am in a hurry. I recently also got sent
the bareMinerals Round The Clock Waterproof eyeliner in Midnight which I like but find it is too soft so blunts easily which can make it difficult to use.
The reason I liked the look of the A.K.A pencil is that it is one of those twisty ones so you don't need a sharpener and it is do easy to apply ( hence the name precision pencil). I like the blackness of the black if you know what I mean too! At £5.50 it is a bargain! This is definitely going into my make up bag! I also love the pencil being white as it makes it easier to find in my make up bag against all my black brushes and mascara etc.

Love Lilla xx

LIFESTYLE | Weekly Portrait #2

So here is my second ever weekly portrait, still haven't worked out that I need to be putting make up on, but to be honest I think I look OK.
Despite the fact that I blog regularly about beauty products, I am a strong believer in feeling comfortable in your own skin. I know not everyone is make up crazy but it saddens me when women feel that they can't leave the house with out a full face of slap on.
Yes, I wear make up quite regularly but I am also perfectly happy going out sans war paint, I think it's good to give your skin time to breathe.

Today the Olympic torch is passing through Brighton and Hove. To celebrate the Rizzle Kicks are playing a free show and I managed to get tickets. Lets just hope the weather perks up because I don't want to get wet and muddy :(

                                                        Love Lilla xx

BEAUTY | Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer Review

A few weeks ago I bought a new Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation and got a free Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer. Ever since I reviewed the Nip + Fab Sheer Make Up Fix I love trying new primers, I have been using the Witch anti-blemish skin clearing primer, which I adore and will review in the next few days.

The Fix & Perfect Pro Primer claims to be a 5 in 1. It apparently:

1. Smoothes 
2. Resurfaces
3. Brightens
4. Mattifies
5. Protects

When I first started using it I thought the smell was nice, the texture was a bit thinner than I'm used to in a primer, but it applied nicely, dried quickly and I noticed the smoothing effect immediately. I definitely mattified my complexion which I loved. 

I started using this primer on a daily bases with the foundation it came free with. Unfortunately I noticed that I was getting spots, stupidly I didn't link the two. It was only when I was in Bare Escentuals an they mentioned that non natural primers can cause spots that I put two and two together! 

I very rarely get spots and if I do they are generally in the same place. I was getting painful pimples along my jaw line and around my eyes. I have since reverted back to the Witch Primer and the spots have cleared up, probably with a little help from the anti-blemish properties of the primer.

Overall the Rimmel Fix and Perfect did a really great job, my make up did last and was mattified, I also noticed my skin was smoother. Unfortunately though it appears to have been causing my pimples.

BEAUTY | bareMineral Make Under

Saturday was a busy day for me, not only did I go to She Active and get my new running trainers, but I also went to Bare Escentuals in Brighton to have a make under. Bare Escentuals is a bareMinerals boutique. If you haven't heard of them, they specialise in real mineral make up.
The great thing about having a make under at Bare Escentuals is that they explain all the benefits of each products. Simple things like the foundations being good for your skin and having an SPF 15 make such a huge difference to your skincare. Additionally the bareMineral foundations are so pure you can sleep in them, which for me is great as I am very bad at taking my make up before bed. 
I had a lovely girl called Gabby doing my make up, what I thought was fantastic is that she applied the make up on one half of my face and then showed me how to effectively use the products on the other half, which meant were I to purchase them I would know how to use them properly.
I was a bit sceptical about mineral powder, with my main concerns being:

• Is it going to give me the coverage that I would expect from a liquid?
• Is it going to look cakey or really powdery?

The answers were yes and no (respectively). The coverage I received was great, and depending on how much you buff it in the heavier or lighter the coverage. Also when you buff it in it takes on a creamy consistency.

Every single one of the bareMinerals products is designed to work in harmony with your skin. 

You can order a Starter Kit online for £49 - this includes:

• bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation in Medium and Medium Beige, size: 2g each
• Original Mineral Veil, size: 2g
• Warmth All-Over Face Color, size: 1.5g
• Full Flawless Face Brush
• Flawless Application Face Brush
• Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush
• How-To DVD shows you how to Swirl, Tap, Buff® your way back to the skin you were born with
• Prime Time Foundation Primer, size: 15ml

The foundation will last quite a while as you use such a small amount each time, not to mention the foundation Never goes off.

If you go to a Bare Escentuals boutique and have a make under, for the same price as the Starter Kit they will personalise the set to your specific colouring (rather than getting the standard, pre packed one) and I think they also give you a bigger pot of foundation.

Before I left Gabby ( who really did do a fantastic job of my make up) wrote down everything she used so that I could come back and buy it.

I personally was really happy with the results and will be replacing my usual primer and foundation with bareMinerals. When I've got them and been using them myself for a while I will review them again looking at how easy it is to get the same results myself, and probably do a comparison between the bareMineral make up and my usual foundation.

BEAUTY | 25 Years of Lavera

Lavera is a multi award-winning brand who only make 100% organic and natural products. Today is their 25th Anniversary, to mark the occasion they sent me a few items to review. I'd like to start of by saying that I am usually very sceptical about 100% natural products, obviously the idea of not putting harsh chemicals on my skin is great, but I often feel that the products aren't as good as regular brands. Considering my initial fears, I'm very happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by all the products.

Lavera Soft Eyeliner in Brown* £9.50

The eyeliner comes with a blender attached which is very useful. I personally don't usually use kohl liner, I'm a devoted liquid eyeliner girl! But one of my pet hates are kohls that are too hard and not easy to blend. The Levara eyeliner is perfectly soft and blends really easily. In future I might buy it in black.

Lavera Natural Concealer in Medium* £10.90

This concealer has really earned it's spot in my make up bag. It's easy to apply and blend, it has an even and nice consistency. I've found in the past that concealers can be quite waxy, but this one is just lovely doesn't feel heavy on my skin.

Lavera Glossy Lips in Magic Red* £10.50

Lip gloss  and lipsticks in general are usually omitted from my make up bag, I am a Carmex addict and tend use a tinted lip balm for a bit of colour. There is the odd occasion I will wear a red lipstick, but day to day it's really not me. My aversion to lip gloss is that it is sticky, gloopy and heavy. The Lavera lip gloss is made with cocoa butter, so my lips stay soft when I'm wearing it, also this lip gloss is very light and not sticky at all. In fact I wore it to my mums the other day and I got quite a few compliment about it. The only downside is that you have to apply it every hour or so. But then I think thats normal for people who usually wear colour on their lips. The lip gloss has a slight shimmer to it, which I was a bit worried about, but it looks fabulous on.

Happy 25th Anniversary to Lavera, and hopefully there will be 25 years more.

Love Lilla xx

BEAUTY | Permanent Eyebrows - FAQ

So I took the plunge and had my eyebrows tattooed! Firstly it is important to stress that this WAS NOT a spur of the moments thing, I have been thinking about this for almost 3 months.

The first important thing to do when considering getting any permanent makeup procedure is to research the practitioner. I decided to go to Katy Jobbins, who not only is experienced at permanent makeup, but is also the owner and head trainer of the Permanent Make Up Training Academy.

The second thing to do is to research the type of eyebrow that you want. To help me collate the images I used Pinterest to make an Eyebrow Board. I pinned a mixture of celeb brows and brows in makeup tutorials.

I had my eyebrows done on Friday, I had already had a free consultation where Katy did a patch test to make sure I wasn't going to have a bad reaction to the pigment or the anesthetic. After discussing my shape Katy used her tools to Mark up each eyebrow, to show me what was being done. It was all worked using specific points of my face, so that my eyebrows are in the right place, the correct distance apart and the shape compliments my bone structure.

Katy applied the anesthetic to my eyebrows and started, the treatment took in all 1 hour. There are some things to note though:

• My eyebrows are currently quiet dark. This is normal and the colour will reduce by about 70% in the first two weeks. I will post a new image once they have fully healed after 2 weeks.
• As I am having the natural simulation hair strokes with powdered effect treatment I have to go back in 6 weeks to have the procedure completed (Katy will draw individual hairs into my eyebrows and thicken them up).

The Results:

Before:

After:

Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does it hurt?
It's not excruciating, more of an uncomfortable scratching. Katy does offer an additional anesthetic that she applies after the initial tattooing, this reduces the sensation to just feeling vibrating. What I would say is that if you suffer from the urge to sneeze when you get your eyebrows plucked, you will experience the same thing during this procedure and the anesthetic prevents this.

2. Do they shave off my eyebrows?
Katy left the majority of my natural hair, she only removed the hair that fell outside the tattooed area, which is something I will need to maintain.

3. Aftercare and healing times.
Katy provided me with a cream which I apply to my eyebrows 3 times a day for the first 5 days. It is important to keep the area dry, although you can clean them with water on a cotton bud. You CAN NOT pluck or wax for the first 5 days either. The colour will reduce by up to 70% in the first 2 weeks.

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BEAUTY | Nip + Fab Sheer Make-Up Fix- Make-up bag must!

I first got hold of NIP+FAB Sheer Make-Up Fix in October, and since trying it, it has become a make up bag must for me!

The Sheer Make-up fix  is a fantastic product that helps to even out your skin tone and texture. It can be used by itself for a natural look or under make up as a primer.

Sheer Make-Up fix is an easy to apply, citrus smelling gel that soaks into your skin easily so that you can apply your make up almost immediately if you want to. The gel instantly works on your skin so it feel velvety soft and ultra smooth.

As I've previously said, it can be used with or without make up, but if used as a primer my make up stays in place more or less all day with no smudging or wearing away and helps your skin look flawless! Since I've been using it i have had endless comments on how great my skin looks.

Previous to using this, I had never used a primer, but now I am a firm believer in primer!

. This may seem steep but the product last for ages!