Make Up 101 | “Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.”

Now that my annoyance is out of the way *see previous post*, I thought I'd talk a little bit about the products I do use on a regular basis (for my own happiness, not for anyone else's...)

Although, it's not really my thing. I can't control my obsession for mascara, lipstick and nail varnish. It's getting to the stage where I have to have separate drawers for each. It's a bit embarrassing really.
For my 21st birthday, I treated myself to a gorgeous 'MAC Russian Red' lipstick. (You can see it in my picture to the right). At £15 each, they can be a bit pricey, but they are honestly so so worth it. This is the only lip product I'll ever go to now so I really am getting my moneys worth.

Barry M are my saviour when it comes to nail varnish. Their 'matte' and 'gelly hi shine' collections are just incredible, but due to the time of year it is, 'matte' has been my varnish of choice. Burgundy is such a great colour for winter, it just looks absolutely gorgeous with anything. They are such reasonable prices at only £3.99 each, you could buy the whole collection if you wanted to!

If you've never tried Barry M, they are just the best for cheap but great nail varnish and I'd really recommend them. You could ask anyone and my whole collection is pretty much filled with their products.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

I do often use a different base coat to Barry M though, as I find it's not as good as the Collection 2000 one. It's just a matter of buying the cheap ones (if you can't afford the more expensive ones) and figuring out which is best for you. The Collection 2000 is a lasting colour base coat and I've found that even after a week, I've not had a chip yet!

These are my current favourites.
(L-R Collection 2000 lasting colour, Barry M Matte 'Crush', Loreal crystal top coat)

I use 3 different mascaras and they are all great. The first one (the label rubbed off so I don't know what it is) has almost run out so is great to just lightly coat and extend the lashes. The next one (has also rubbed off), is in a purple tube and is used to curl the lashes and give volume, and finally, I use the Rimmel Day2Night mascara and it is my absolute favourite. 

I don't claim to know anything about make-up at all, and would never give anyone advice, this is just a post to show what I use and what I would recommend.

Stay beautiful.

True Beauty | "Beneath the make-up and behind the smile, I am just a girl who wishes for the world."

I've never been one for make-up, but I can't help but fall in love with the way it transforms us. It's incredible. I think women (and men) are gorgeous with and without make-up, but I can appreciate that we all want to feel beautiful and if make-up makes us feel that way, then so be it.

I get so frustrated with celebrity magazines commenting on people leaving the house with a fresh face as something that is just not acceptable. I've done a bit of research and the thing that comes across the most is 'shocking photos'. Why?! Why is that shocking? So what if we don't want to leave the house with a face full of make-up? It's not exactly a crime. No wonder we have self esteem issues when we're constantly faced with headlines like this.

Recently, my boyfriend and I had professional photos taken and we both got given a 'MAC' makeover before hand. It was a really new experience for me and I felt so pampered and absolutely gorgeous. (If I wasn't so lazy, I would probably try and do my look myself just to feel that way again). It took about 50 minutes and I didn't see myself until the final product. I didn't even recognise myself. It was refreshing. It gave me a completely new confidence that I'd not had before.

Here is a before (no make up at all), and then with the makeover.

It's frustrating when there is such a big thing around women having to wear make-up to be beautiful. Just because I'll go to work with no product on, doesn't make me any less beautiful than the rest of my female colleagues. We are such stunning creations. If you want to wear a face full of make-up every day; do it. If you don't want to wear any; don't. Lets not let the media decide this for us. Make-up does not define us. We are absolutely bloody gorgeous either way.