Must Have Cruelty Free Make up Brands

Hey All

A few weeks ago L shared her Top 5 skincare products (post here) so I thought I'd do the beauty version, I've been totally cruelty free in all purchases of make up for over 18 months, it's taken some discovery with some brands being shady about it and some brands making the decision to sell in china so are going back to animal testing (Nars I'm looking at you, that decision broke my heart!) Anyway, so here are some of my favourites!

New CID I-Groom

Hey All

This is a post is one I've been meaning to write for ages. When we went to the Salon Success event a while back this was one that was in our goodie bags. I was so excited to see it as it was a firm favourite a few years back and you can see it on the blog in the early days. The New CID I-groom in neutral is a great one as it works on all skin tones so after raving about it I was excited L would get to try it too!

The first one I had come in a white packaging but the mirror shine silver looks even better. It's simple and all you need for a brow pencil. It's also double ended with a spoolie on one end. 

The neutral shade is a grey colour which initially scared me but it really does work great for all hair colours and somehow blends in. As someone who has multiple hair colours it's perfect for me as it always goes with my current hair colour. The lids are also really secure which means you don't end up losing them as I have on my other brow pencils that have eyeliner esque lids!

The shape of the tip makes it fool proof and easy to apply (it actually reminds me of the new benefit goof proof in shape!) being thinner at one end makes it easy to get a nice crisp edge to the brows. It's also applies smoothly but is hard enough that it will last a while.

You can see the colour on me here. It's easy to make it look natural and the spoolie on the end makes it easy to soften the shape at the front.

This is definitely one I'd recommend. 

Love M

xxx

New CiD Cosmetics i-Glow Compact Shimmer Powder

Hello there!

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to attend a wonderful evening at St David's Hotel and Spa and come home with a goodie bag of lovely products from Paul Mitchell and New CiD.

We've been using them over the last few weeks and couldn't wait to share the amazing i-Glow Compact Shimmer Powder.

The i-Glow Compact Shimmer Powder is another of New CiD Cosmetics hand baked powders which uses waxes to stick ingredients together. This helps to make the product glide over your skin smoothly creating a more radiant and youthful look - this all sounds pretty wonderful to me!

The other ingredients in the shimmer powder help to 'bounce' the light off your skin which is why the best way to use the product is by picking up a really large brush, swirling it over the powder and dusting it over your cheekbones, collar bones and just about anywhere you want with a bit of a glow!

i-Glow is available in three different colours; Icy Pink, Sirocco and Coral Crush.
We were given Sirocco which is a lovely gold colour, the shimmer is amazing but the particles are so small it gives an amazing glow.

I've been really impressed with the colour payoff but also how blendable the shimmer powder is, it's easy to blend with any base make up I put on and has been suitable to wear in both the day and night.

Here it is on:

I really like the glowy look it gives, I've had so many people compliment me on it and ask me what it is as they want to buy it too!

You can purchase all of the iGlow products for £26.00 for 9g of product in the compact. The compact itself is also super sturdy with a decent mirror size, I'm overall really impressed with this and I definitely want to try out the Coral Crush and Ice Pop to see how the glow changes.

What do you think of New CiD baked products? Have you tried iGlow?


L xxx

This was one of the products I couldn't wait to try out as I already own ice pop (well my mum did but she wasn't giving it the love it deserved so gave it to me!) which I love. The texture of these are amazing they are so smooth and give an amazing highlight to the skin. Ice pop just adds such a pretty pink flush to the cheeks.

Sirocco is more of a bronzey shade, these are so pigmented as you can see from the swatch below (apologies for the slightly dark photo, I was battling the bad weather spell when I took these!). They have a really soft blendable texture which makes them so easy to work with.

Now I've got these two I really want the i-bronze as the colours in that one look amazing. These are baked products so they're going to last for ages. My ice pop is older than I should admit and doesn't look used still. Another great thing is they sell these in minis for £16, you get a lot of product in the original and I find I rarely use a blush up so it's nice to have the option to grab a smaller size one.

Love M

xxx

Salon Success Event

Hey all!

We've been very busy recently with events which has been lovely, not only is it nice to hear about new products and get to try them out but catching up with other bloggers and meeting new ones is also a favourite part of any event.

We were kindly invited to an event last week by Salon Success, it was an amazing evening and felt like we were having a catch up meal with friends!

On arrival we were greeted with champagne and shown to a beautifully decorated table in St David's Hotel. It felt very posh but also cosy, as we had a room to ourselves with a view of Cardiff Bay and lots of friendly faces to chatter with.

After sitting down we could have a look at the products laid out at each place for us to learn about whilst we were there. The event was put on by Salon Success who represent Paul Mitchell and New CID Cosmetics amongst others, here we also had products from Marula Oil, Awapuhi and Mitch by Paul Mitchell.

First up though, we were treated to a glorious three course meal from the menu above. All courses were absolutely gorgeous and we fully enjoyed it (forgetting alllllllll about our holiday diets!)







It was gorgeous, the warm apple tart tatin was a particular favourite!

We all ooh'ed and aah'ed over the food and the products for quite a while until we decided to get stuck in and trying everything out. As I've already mentioned it was just like having a meal with friends and we all gossiped and shared stories so I think we went way over our original time!

We were lucky enough to take all of the products home with us to try, and also a bag of make up from New CID Cosmetics. I've always wanted to try a number of their products after Mia's reviews and so I was very excited by this, especially the i-groom!

We even managed to sneak outside for a quick selfie outside but it was horrible weather!

We had a lovely time at the event and having a good old natter about hair and make up, which after a day of work is exactly what you need really isn't it??

We will be putting up posts with reviews in future so if anything catches your eye don't forget to check back. I can already tell you that the Marula Oil Rare Oil Treatment smells divine and works a charm!!


L and M xxx

Paul Mitchell and New CiD Event

Hey All

Hope you've had a good weekend. Mine was good but crazy busy. It was so horrible to hear about all that was going on in the world on Friday and our thoughts are with everyone involved as well as Frances Cassandras family. The blogging world has lost two great ladies far to soon.

Today's post is about an event we were invited to on Thursday evening at the beautiful St David's hotel. I'd never been before so was excited to see it. It's such a talked about hotel and I've only heard good things so couldn't wait to see it from the inside.

The event was held in one  of the rooms which had a lounge area, bedroom and bathroom as well as a balcony with these amazing views. How lush to wake up and enjoy a morning cuppa over looking the bay. We were treated to some very tasty canapes (I'm a huge fan of mini yorkshire puddings and even got to try quail eggs!)

Onto the event. All around were products we could look at and play with. How gorgeous are the Rose gold straightner set. We got to see these in action and they worked amazing. We were both totally in love the Paul Mitchell Nude wands. They seemed a great size for creating loose waves.

New CiD is a brand of make up I've tried before. My mum has one of the baked blushes and it's the prettiest colour ever. I always borrow it when I'm home. Above is one of the bronzers. Whilst we were there we were taught make up and hair tips and interestingly the bronzers and blushes are made me swirling pigment onto a terracotta stone and then they are baked for 24 hours. I love random facts like that. I'd love to see a make up factory from the inside. The eyebrow pencil made it into my everyday favourites back in 2012 (post here) and I've since repurchased and still love it.

Here are some of the gorgeous hair styles created. How amazing is the plait. L has amazing long hair and is always looking for ways to get the effort loose waves shown above so was pleased to learn some trick. Basically tight ribbon curls (so the hair is flat against the wand, in about one inch sections) are done all over the head and then brushed out. The finish is amazing.



Another product we got to see was the new Ultimate Colour set. Which uses Quinoa to lock in colour and help keep hair in great condition. As someone always dying their hair and can't wait to try this set out.

We were also lucky enough to leave with a goodie bag, We'll be sharing our reviews on these products once we've got to test them out.

Have you got any Paul Mitchell or New CiD product favourites?

Thanks for having us at the event!

Love L and M 

xxx

      

FOTD featuring Illamasqua Pigment in Fervent

It's been a while since I've done a face of the day. I love playing with make up but lately I've been being lazy as being busier later in the evenings mean I just want my bed in the mornings.

When searching through my stash I found my illamasqua pigment that I haven't used much so decided to play around.

I applied my Avon eyelid primer all over my lid and started with a matte base using Foxy from Naked 2.

I then blended Tease (again from Naked 2) into my crease. This is my favourite crease colour. I love it for easy make up and use it most days. It's the perfect neutral matte brown.

I decided to use the pigment as a liner. This can be done in a few ways. You can either wet your brush to dampen the pigment. What I did was use something I got in the front cover sets (the ones in boots at christmas time) which is like a clear liquid that makes any colour eyeshadow a liquid liner.

I decided to pack the pigment on so you could really see all the colours. I love how it's reddy toned with some green tones depending on the light.

This is the first pigment I have got from illamasqua and I love it and want more. I love how they can be used in different ways and look different depending on how you apply them.

Here you can see the difference in colour depending on where you pack the pigment or blend it out. I really love the colour when it's packed on.

As it's a pigment it does get messy so I also do my eyes before foundation if I'm losing a loose pigment as it's much easier.

I used a coat of They're Real as I didn't want to use false lashes as I think they would be hard to blend with a coloured liner.

I used my studio fix fluid foundation. I don't really love this but I think it's more due to a the fact mine seems very yellow even though it's NW15 :(. I've been trying to use up an old mouse blusher. It's ok just not a colour I'd use any more and as always I used my Liz Earle bronzer.

I decided on Mac Plumful on the lips as it's a soft pink. I love this colour, especially now it's getting colder. I think it's a winter pink.

I really like how you can just see the glitter through the lashes and think it makes a change to the normal black liner.

Lately I've been getting back into using my Benefit Erase Paste. It is my favourite under eye concealer. It's so thick and just disguises those dark circles and lasts all day.

I think I need to get back into using different eye shadows for liners and using my make up more. It's so easy to get stuck in a make up rut!

Do you switch up your make up? I love finding that product I forgot about.

Love M

xxx