NARS NARSissist Eye Shadow Palette

The NARSissist Eye shadow Palette (€55 for 0.03oz x 15 shades) is a glorious palette of 15 neutrals. It comes in a large mirrored compact and includes a wide range of colours, textures and finishes. I'm VERY late to the party with the NARSissist Eye shadow Palette (I have been told that it launched back in January).

I’ve been trying to get my hands on this palette for a very long time I thought long and hard for months about purchasing this one because of the price and also thought the Urban Decay Naked eye palettes might be duplicates, so by the time I came to the decision that I really wanted it, it was unfortunately sold out EVERYWHERE, I added it to my 21^st birthday wish list with my fingers tightly crossed that they would have more luck than I had, my family and boyfriend tried very hard to find it but also were unable to pick it up.

So recently when browsing the Brown Thomas website  I saw the Narsissit palette on sale I couldn't believe it I squealed with delight unfortunately my wages hadn't come through yet so I couldn't buy it there and then and when I went back to order it, it was sold out. SERIOUSLY? I was beginning to think that it just wasn't meant to be but on my most recent trip to Dublin and Brown Thomas I ran straight to the Nars counter and FINALLY got my hands on this little beauty, I couldn't believe it, I honestly could have cried.

I've been really happy with this palette, the versatility is impressive. This one palette has all the colours you need for a multitude of looks: natural, smokey, bronze, etc. It will take you from day to night.

The colors in the NARSissist Eye Palette include (from left to right, from top row to bottom)

All About Eve (1 side) - shimmery champagne

Madrague (both sides) - matte cream and matte tan

Fez - shimmery copper

Bali - matte soft brown

Coconut Grove - matte brown

Nepal - shimmery peachy pink

Ashes to Ashes - soft grey shimmer

Brousse - shimmery soft plum

Mekong - dark blackened brown with gold flecks

Bellisima - white base with gold sparkle flecks

Lhasa - shimmery light grey mauve

Bad Behavior - shimmery gunmetal

Dogon - darker blue-grey metallic

Pandora - matte sheer black

There have been mixed reviews about the palette, some have reported a different quality and texture of the palette shades compared with individuals colours unfortunately although I do have some Nars eye shadow duos in my pro makeup kit I haven’t actually had a chance to try them out yet so I am unable to judge on this but overall I found the palette to be very good quality there were a couple shades I found to be sheer in texture and hard to work with but nothing worth complaining about.

I would recommend this palette to anyone, I feel it is the perfect palette from taking your look from day to night and it is my go to palette to take travelling with me as it has everything you need in one, the only complaint I do have is as always the Nars packaging has got a little bit gruby looking over my time using it but it’s nothing a baby wipe can’t solve. 

I originally thought the NARSissist Palette was limited-edition but as I have found it in Brown Thomas I’m not sure if they have re-released it. It may take a bit of hunting to find it in stores, but you can still find it online and in Brown Thomas Dublin.

Have you tried the Narsissist palette, are you loving it as much as I am?

Did you buy the NARSissist Palette? What did you think?

INGLOT Freedom system, eye shadow pallet review and colours

Hello Beauties, today I am bringing you a brand I just cannot get enough of right now (or at all for that matter), unless you're totally new to beauty blogs (mine especially), you've probably heard all about the Polish cosmetics brand Inglot and, specifically, their eye shadows and freedom system.

Unless you're lucky enough to live near an Inglot shop or counter, you might have a hard time trying to navigate through their extensive selection of eye shadow colours and finishes. I find it incredibly difficult to narrow down my choices and I’m in the shop  swatching them so today I am bringing you a full review and a list of all the colours I have been lucky enough to pick up for my eye shadow palettes.

A few days before I was due to schedule this post the news broke that Inglots Irish online shop is coming soon so that's a bit of exciting news for all us Irish girls, especially those who don't live near a counter or a shop, I for one am very excited, as for Cían when I told him his face dropped and he said his credit card was already screaming for help (silly boy). 

Inglot are a Polish brand, and operate in many European countries. They also have several stores in USA and Canada.

Inglot are one of the most customisable brands out there and that is fundamentally down to their Freedom System. You simply pick your palette size (ranging from 1 pan to up to 40 in some stores) and then pick what you want to put into it.

You can choose from a range of eye shadows, lipsticks, brow products, concealer, face powders and many many  more.

Inglot have set prices for all their palettes. Each eye shadow costs €6 for 2.7g of product, which is incredible value if you compare to any high end brand, MAC for example only give you 1.3g in their eye shadows, and cost around €15.50 (you can read more about Inglot in my brand focus post here). The fact that Inglot also lets you build whatever combination of products you want also sets it apart from other brands. You can build a palette with 5 eye shadows and 5 lipsticks for example, or maybe even a blush and 3 eye shadows. 

Top Row L-R: 24, 17, 477, 58, 44, 333, 414, 57

2nd Row L-R: 135R,13, 478, 20, 429, 480, 415, 70

3rd Row L-R: 426, 32, 338, 340, 61, 134R, 129R

4th Row L-R: 440, 334, 14, 320, 73, 445, 71, 439

5th Row L-R: 46, 488, 359, 48, 324, 448, 391

The palette you get is strong and sturdy. The individual pans are held into the palette with magnets. The lid is frosted plastic with the Inglot logo repeated over it which gives a very sleek and professional looking finish.

There are some problems with the packaging though. Since the magnets are so strong, you have to be careful removing the lid, because it's very easy to dig into the shadows and ruin them. I have found this is more of a problem with the larger palettes as the lid is much larger and heavier whereas this never seems to happen me when removing the lids from my smaller palettes.

Top Row L-R: 318, 496, 453, 30, 395, 463, 27

2nd Row L-R: 342, 360, 357, 327, 329, 34, 07, 08

3rd Row L-R: 155, 25, 43, 404, 49, 405, 606, 608

4th Row L-R: 52, 409, 609, 605, 55, 452, 125 R

5th Row L-R: 341, 31, 153, 459

Some people have expressed issues when it comes to removing the pans to rearrange the palettes too. I found  the easiest way to remove the individual pans is by holding the magnetized lid to the pan until it easily pops out , but I have also found this only works with some of my pallets (my boyfriend is much better at this than me so I regularly ask for his help). If that doesn't work for you I have also found using a small spatula to get underneath the pan to pop it out works too but be careful when doing this as it can result in digging the spatula into the eye shadow and creating holes which is NEVER good. Overall, I actually really like the Inglot packaging, despite many others hating it.

Top Row L-R: 16, 41, 343, 412

2nd Row L-R: 312, 10, 51, 366, 495, 449, 124R

Inglot also offers all of their eye shadows (including the shades featured in this post) in traditional compacts in case you don't want to fuss with palettes. I opted for the Freedom Palette shadows because they're less expensive and palettes are much easier for me to travel with both in my personal and professional kit.

For just €6 each, these Inglot shadows are a no-brainer. Both the Matte and Pearl finishes work beautifully for me.

Top Row L-R: 318, 351, 313, 30, 395

2nd Row L-R: 46, 463, 337, 31, 461

3rd Row L-R: 357, 09, 608, 464, 12

4th Row L-R: 606, 37, 409, 53, 329

All shades are quite true-to-pan and can be worn with or without primer depending on the level of intensity you're trying to achieve.

L-R 463, 488, 48, 362

 I'd recommend them to anyone, especially at this price. Honestly, the only negative thing I can say about these eye shadows is that I really wish they had real names, instead of just numbers. I really don't like when companies do that, but for these babies, I'll make an exception. I just find names much easier to remember and a cute name can also sway me into buying a product where as a number never will. 

Top Row L-R: 61, 446, 494, 73

2nd Row L-R: 15, 495, 607, 44

If you’re looking for some new shades to add to your eye shadow collection, definitely check out the Inglot Freedom System. Let me know what your favourite Inglot shades are in the comments below.

Magnitone Lucid

Hello my lovelies and welcome back to Angels Secrets, so I have to start this post with a confession when it comes to my skin care I have become very lazy, well actually I became very lazy towards the end of my college year but that’s all changed again now.

Although I would spend HOURS scrolling through beauty blogs reading about all the new skin care products and tools, when it came to my own skin care routine I had got very lazy, after being in college and having to cleanse my face up to 4 times a day to have different makeup put on by the time I got home my face would be sensitive and sore and I just wouldn't want to do any more to it even though I know I should.  

However, I knew college was ending for summer break soon and I was dreaming of clear, beautiful summer skin and knew I wouldn't be wearing as much makeup and would have more time to my skin care routine, so when an email popped into my inbox asking if I'd like to review the Magnitone Lucid*, I was quick to say yes, I had previously been selected to review the Magnitone Pulsar * and absolutely loved it but I was really stupid and left it in our house in Ireland when I went back to the UK and my gosh did my skin hate me for it.

I've been using  my Lucid  along with my La Roche-Posay purifying foaming gel I've been testing the combination out daily and  I've noticed massive changes in my skin.

I noticed the first few days I used it that my skin actually got worse which worried me, this didn't happen me when I first started using the pulsar and I knew my cleanser suited my skin so I was worried that the brush didn't and I was cleansing/exfoliating too much turns out it was just my skin getting rid of all the dirt and nasty’s within the next few days the difference in my skin was incredible.

While it did initially break me out, my skin now looks the best it ever has and that’s not only in my own opinion I've had family and friends comment on how great my skin looks, a couple have gone as far as to say I’m glowing, I have been leaving the house makeup free with complete confidence that my skin looks great and that hasn't happened in a long time, my makeup is starting to feel neglected.

The brush itself is incredibly easy to use. It has two settings, one for normal skin and one sensitive skin in case you find the first setting too harsh, at first I thought I would have to use the sensitive skin setting but I have actually been using the normal skin setting every day and its perfect. The brush itself beeps every 20 seconds, to give you an idea of how to spend on each area of the face, and then switches off at a minute.

I hate to admit it but even since I have been home I haven’t stopped using my Lucid my Pulsar has been getting very jealous. I love that my Lucid is small and fits perfectly in my hand and the charger being so small makes it so handy to use it traveling between houses and the fact that it’s blue is a super cute bonus. I've fallen in love with my skin and my skin care routine all over again.

Retailing at €90.29 at LookFantastic although it is on offer right now for €64.48 (I would snap it up while you can). I would recommend this product to everyone; it’s perfect for everyday use and makes deep cleansing really fast and incredibly easy.

Have you tried a cleansing brush, what colour Lucid would you choose? 

DIY Lipstick Palettes

Hello my lovelies and welcome back, ok so this post is a bit of a weird one for me, I could almost call it a DIY post but it’s not really, it has been requested, it hasn’t just popped out of thin air and I figure why not give your readers what they want if they were nice enough to ask for it plus I really think I would like to write more posts like that as they’re really fun to write and photograph.

Ever since I got back from the USA and you guys saw my MAC lipstick palettes I have been asked about how I did it and how it works so that is exactly what I’m going to talk you through.

As a makeup artist I own a lot of lipstick both personal and in my professional kit. As you have seen from previous posts I do keep my personal lipsticks in the bullet form but that’s just personal preference because I like being able to just chuck them in my bag when I’m going out, but in my professional kit carrying around multiple single bullets is just a pain, takes up unnecessary space and adds to the weight of my already insanely heavy kit.

As a makeup artist I have realised that decanting lipsticks into palettes is a hygienic, convenient, space saving way to store all your lipsticks in the one place. I have also heard a lot of people choosing to do this with the lipsticks that they do not use on a regular basis to save space within their makeup storage.

You Will Need

·         Lipstick

·         Scissors or Knife

·         Large metal spoon

·         Spatula

·         Lighter or matches

·         Candle

·         Empty Palette

Step 1

Choose the lipsticks that you want to go in your palette, at this stage if you’re as OCD as I am you may want to colour co-ordinate them as well but again this is personal preference, none of my professional palettes are colour co-ordinated and it actually doesn’t bother me.

Step 2

Using a sharp knife or scissors cut the lipstick to the amount you think you will ned to fill your pan (don’t worry you can add to it if you don’t cut enough, it’s always better to have too little than melt too much and waste the melted lipstick that doesn’t fit in the pan) I am using my MAC lipstick palette and with the 12 insert it can actually fill the whole lipstick in so I cut all the way down to the plastic and then scoop the rest out with the tip of the knife. If you choose the 24 insert for your MAC palette rather than the 12 this only fits less than half the lipstick but admittedly I do think it looks a lot prettier, but I’m all about the practicality rather than the looks.

 Step 3

Place all the lipstick into a large metal spoon, large serving spoons or soup spoons are the best I have found.

Step 4

Light your candle and hold the spoon over the flame but make sure it isn’t to close as you don’t want the lipstick to boil.

Step 5

When it looks like the lipstick is fully melted take your spatula and mix the liquid to make sure there are no lumps.

Step 6

Carefully poor the liquid into the palette (please be careful as the spoon and lipstick are both insanely hot and I’ve learned this the hard way) if the lipstick doesn’t dispense evenly over the pan just pick it up and tilt it in whichever direction is necessary, make sure you do this quite quickly as the liquid solidifies very quickly once it’s away from the heat.

Step 7

Ensure you wipe the spoon clean with a tea towel or thick cloth before melting a new lipstick (CAUTION REALLY HOT) I have found your better to wait 5 to 10 minutes between each one to give the spoon time to cool down.

That’s it your done, you now have a beautiful new lipstick palette and more space in your kit/storage.

I really hope this post was helpful, if you liked me to do more posts like this please let me know in the comments below and if you choose to make a palette with your palettes please send me the photos, I would love to see them.

NYX Butter Gloss's, My New Obsession

Some of you may already know that lip products are my favourite beauty items, you will especially know this if you have read my beauty storage and collection post (here) as I have a whole drawer dedicated to my lip products and the top of my ‘Her Clutter Box’ is covered in lipstick stands,  so it should come as no surprise that when I discovered the famous NYX Butter Glosses I became a little obsessed. On my recent trip to Orlando for my birthday I picked up 5 of these little babies, unfortunately one has gone missing with my MAC ‘Bronze Shimmer’ lipstick which makes me really sad but I am sure I will find them hiding in a handbag somewhere so. Today I wanted to show you my little collection.

There really isn't much to say about these that someone hasn’t already said, I know you have probably read 101 reviews on them, but what’s wrong with one more, I suppose my opinion could be different to that of others.

These glosses are insanely creamy, lightweight and really comfortable to wear. They’re are non-stick which is always a plus because you don’t have the ‘hair getting stuck in the lip-gloss because of the wind problem’ and I know I am not the only one who suffers from this problem and the extra bonus is that they smell deliciously sweet (the scent kind of reminds of vanilla and the smell of the MAC lipsticks and who doesn’t love the smell of them).

All of the Butter Glosses I've tried so far have semi-opaque colour coverage, some more sheer than others and the wear depends entirely on what I'm doing, but I usually get a few hours out of these.

Now onto the shades: I currently own 5 (one is missing), I might sound crazy saying this but I really do want to try pick up the whole collection, if you've tried them you might understand my obsession because you know how great they are.

Ok so onto the colours, first up is Vanilla Cream Pie, which is a great everyday pink if you're looking for something that's a step up from a nude, but still pretty neutral. Merengue is a very cool-toned lilac pink. I really love this shade right now and I like that it can be built up or sheered out I also find myself wearing a lot over my MAC ‘Up The Amp’ or my Lime Crime ‘D’Lilac’ lipsticks to give them a nice glossy finish rather than a matt.

Now for something more adventurous, I have Maple Blondie and Peaches and Cream. If I'm in the mood for hot pink lips, I need to look no further than Peaches and Cream, really bright summery bink great for adding pop of colour to an otherwise neutral makeup. Maple Blondie is a beautiful hot coral pink, which is a colour I always have a weakness for it looks a bit more pink in the tube but when you wear it you realise it’s a beautiful bright coral colour again perfect for the Summer time and adding a pop to an otherwise rather boring makeup.

(L-R Vanilla Cream Pie, Merengue, Maple Blondie, Peaches and Cream)

The NYX Butter Glosses come in a variety of permanent shades and I know really wish I had picked up more as they are obviously not so easy to find in the UK and Ireland but I’m sure I will hunt them down and start building on my collection soon.

Have you tried the NYX butter gloss’s what are your thoughts, what shades do you have?

MAC Alluring Aquatics Collection, Golden Bronzing Powder

Unlike many beauty addicts that I know I’m not really one to have a large collection of bronzers, I pretty much always stick with one product that works and use it until it’s gone (can’t say the same about lip products) I have gone from using my Urban Decay Baked Bronzer to my beloved Laguna Bronzer from Nars. I’ve had my ‘Old Faithful’ Nars Laguna bronzer since my 21^st birthday which was back in March and I haven’t even nearly hit pan yet.

When I decided I was in the market for a new bronzer I decided to go a shade lighter  because I felt like ‘Laguna’ was a perfect contouring product,  but I really wanted a bronzer to use all over the face for a gorgeous Summer glow, especially in the warmer months. Please welcome ‘Golden’ from the MAC Alluring Aquatics collection, this bronzer is actually a part of the permanent collection but I had to pick it up as part of the Alluring Aquatics collection because the packaging is so damn gorgeous. I picked up one of the lipsticks from this range to because I really just couldn’t resist I picked up the shade ‘Pet Me, Please’ but it will be a part of my updated MAC lipstick collection post.

A lightly frosted tinted powder that gives skin sheer, natural colour effects and highlights. Ideal for enhancing a skin tone or to accent or strengthen a tan. Skin – conditioning and formulated to provide a smooth, even application on all skin types.

The texture is very fine, soft and smooth. It is very easy to apply and blend, you can build it up as you like for contouring purposes or use it all over the face as I have been doing, it doesn’t come up easily on my brush in 1 swipe I have to repeat the process at least 3-4 times to do any proper contouring which I’m really not used to because ‘Laguna’ is perfect in just one swipe.

(Apologies for the quality of this picture, you wouldn't believe how insanely hard it is to get a good swatch photo of a bronzer)

Again as all MAC products, staying power is quite good. In fact, it doesn’t budge anywhere for at least 4-5 hours.

I am in love with this as I knew I would be. I had tried it a few times in the store before deciding to pick it up in the airport on the way home, its staying power, colour, coverage, packaging, everything, what can I say MAC really can’t do anything wrong in my eyes.

I dread the day that I find a MAC product that I don’t love.

I love it and thoroughly recommend it to everyone; obviously you’re unable to pick it up now from the alluring aquatics range but I’m almost positive that it’s part of the permanent range of products so check it out for yourself.

Did you pick anything up from the Alluring Aquatics range?

Makeup Storage and Collection

Hello my lovelies, today I have my makeup collection and storage post for you, this has been one of my most requested posts so I thought what better post to come back with than this one.  

Starting off by explaining where and what I store all my makeup in.  My makeup is stored in my clutter box (I will explain more about this now) on my desk in front of my window, unfortunately my student room is quite small so I don’t have enough space for a dressing table so all my makeup is stored on my very small desk, only good thing about this is its right in front of my rather large bedroom window so I have loads of natural light for doing my makeup is the mornings which is always good. 

OK so onto my storage, all my makeup is stored in my beautiful Clutter Box I have the 6 drawer box with individual dividers (here, they also have a sale on right now).

I had always wanted acrylic storage for my makeup and for ages I had been looking at the Muji drawers but in my heart I knew they just weren’t big enough for the amount of makeup I had, soon after I found “Her Clutter Box” on Instagram and immediately knew I needed one of these beauties in my life.

I was lucky enough to receive one from my gorgeous boyfriend as part of my 21^st birthday presents (haul post here), honestly when I opened it I cried, it was perfect.

As I have mentioned I have the 6 drawer box it has 5 large drawers and the 6^th bottom drawer is even larger perfect for holding pallets or things like your hairdryer and GHD. Each box comes with a set of dividers and you can buy more separately if you feel you need them but honestly in my opinion one set is plenty, I still have some of my set left.

Although “Her Clutter Box” is more expensive than the likes of other acrylic storage such as the Muji drawers I really feel it is worth it, I absolutely love mine and I’m so tempted to buy another.

On top of my clutter box I have my lipstick stands which my darling boyfriend bought for me, we picked these up in a shop called “Home store and More” in Ireland for €3 each (don’t quote me on that) but I know there are other very similar items available on the likes of EBay or Amazon.

Finally onto the makeup and how I store it, we will work from the bottom up but before I do I would just like to say I am in no way bragging about the amount of makeup I have I am a professional makeup artist makeup is my job, my passion and my love and I work hard for it.

OK so onto the fun part.

Drawer 6

In the bottom drawer I store the products that I have spare or haven’t yet got onto opening, I also keep the palettes that I don’t use as much as I should such as my MUA, Makeup Geek, MAC ,Bobbi Brown, Hot Totty and Urban Decay palettes, in this drawer I also have all my false eyelashes and my false eyelashes box along with my Inglot brush cleaner and my Urban Decay De’Slick and All nighter making setting spray.

My MAC Palettes 

My Inglot Palettes

Drawer 5

In drawer 5 I keep my most loved and most used palettes i.e. my MAC an Inglot palettes, I have 3 MAC eye shadow palettes two neutral palettes and one with some colours but this one isn’t full yet, I also have a MAC blush palette but it’s also not full yet, moving onto my Inglot palettes I have two eye shadow palettes one 10 and one 20 and a blush palette , my 20 palette is my neutral palette and my 10 palette is my coloured palette and it has one space left (for a very special colour I haven’t quite chosen yet), I also keep to empty 5 palettes in this drawer as spares, I haven’t quite decided what to do with these yet as I feel they are just too small for me, who knows maybe I will use one for concealers and the other for brow products for my kit, (if anyone has reviews of Inglot concealers or brown products please leave your links in the comments below).

 

Some of my favourite lip products

Drawer 4

This is probably my favourite drawer, It’s my lip product drawer, split into four sections, the back to sections hold all my lip balms and lip pencils (as you can see I have a little obsession with Balmi’s and EOS) and the front two sections have my lip glosses and lip crayons.

Some of my favourite eye products

Drawer 3

This is my eye product drawer which I have split into 9 different sections the back three sections are eyeliners, pigments , glitters, duo glue and duraline, the middle three sections are eye shadow crayons, eyebrow products, eyeliner colour tattoos and pressed pigments/eye shadows and finally the front three are mascaras, MAC/ Inglot pigments and MAC Paint Pots and Paint Penitures.

Some of my favourite blushers, bronzers and highlighters

Drawer 2

Face products this drawer is split into 6 sections  the back three being highlighters, setting powders and unopened products and the front there being blush’s, bronzers and limited edition products.

Some more of my favourite face products

Drawer 1

Also face products and also split into 6 sections the back three being primers, mouse foundations and setting powders and the front three are foundations and concealers.

Finally on top of my clutter box I keep all my lipstick stands and my two brush baskets which keep my brushes and all my makeup tools in such as sponges, powder puffs, tweezers, tape and eyelash applicators.

I really hope you've enjoyed this and if there are any products you've seen that you would like an individual post or review on please let me know in the comments below.

Is there any products you've seen that you like, would you like a clutter box to store your makeup in? 

I'm Back, I've Really Missed You

Hello my lovelies and welcome back to Angels Secrets, I’m back and my god have I missed you guys and blogging; I honestly felt a little lost without it all.

As you may or may not have noticed I had disappeared on the blogging front over the past few weeks and it really wasn't planned at all but there is a reason for it.

I know you guys don’t expect me to explain myself but I feel a little explanation is necessary.

If you follow me on Instagram @BeckyPReeves you will know exactly what’s been going on as I did manage to keep that up to date but if not now you know, two words, EXAM TIME.

I am finishing up in my first year of Brushstrokes academy and have some really important exams to do, I've had other exams throughout the year which I was able to blog through but I don’t know what happened when it came to these ones I just panicked and it wasn't good so I knew I just needed to take a step back from a few things so I had less things on my plate to worry about during my exams and that’s exactly what I did.

Just because I have been missing the last few weeks doesn't mean I have given up blogging which a couple of you have asked me. I would never give up blogging it means too much to me, my bog and you guys as my readers and friends have given me so much confidence that I never had before.

I have completely lost my blogging schedule and honestly can’t really remember what it was but I am hoping to get back to blogging 3 days a week which really shouldn't be a problem for me over the summer holidays and I am so excited to get back to it.

I can’t wait to get back into my blog again and I am so glad I still have so many incredibly supportive followers and amazing friends on twitter that have continued to talk to me since my disappearance, the blogging community really is an incredible group to be a part of.

I am one exam down now and I have two more to do, the stress levels have reduced dramatically now so I have got back to writing, my first post to come back with is going to be my makeup collection and storage as it has been highly requested and I have so many more great posts planned which I am very excited about including a couple of serious hauls such as my insane IMATS haul thanks to my incredible boyfriend so if you’re interested to see what I've been purchasing watch this space.

Hope your all doing amazing and have had an incredible few weeks enjoying the sunshine.

(Google Image)

USA Haul Post, Part 2, Beauty Haul

Hello Beauties, so here it is, what you've all been waiting for, my USA beauty haul. I know there is no need to do a disclaimer as I have included one in the part one of this post but there is one little thing I would like to say.

I am a professional makeup artist and I am constantly building my kit so I have purchased a lot of makeup and will continue to buy makeup until I feel satisfied with my kit, in saying this I want you to know that there is absolutely NO NEED to spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup or buy unnecessary products, buy makeup as you use it and not for the sake of having it because there is absolutely no point in wasting money on makeup your not going to use just because you saw it on someones blog or a blogger/beauty guru said it was good or your friend has more makeup than you.

Makeup is my career and is something i'm very passionate about, that is why I have the amount that I have but in writing this blog I am in no way claiming that everyone should have/buy this amount of makeup or spend ludicrous amounts of money on makeup there are wonderful brands on the high street and in the drugstores and you will ALWAYS be able to find a dupe for your favourite high end products.
Any way that's enough of all the serious talk it's time to get on with the haul.

Before I left the UK I made a makeup wishlist of some of the products I wanted to pick up and a list of shops I wanted to visit. First on my list were some of the most popular drugstores in the USA such as CVS, Walgreens and Dwain Reids and as ashamed as I am to say it I actually forced Cían to come with me to Walgreens on our very first night just for a mosey, I'm sure it was EXACTLY what the poor boy wanted, just off an 8 hour flight and is forced to go and look at makeup for an hour "sorry Cían if your reading this".
I didn't actually pick anything up in Walgreens as it was our first night and I didn't want to seem like a complete eager beaver even though I so was.

The next day Cían and I went to the Florida Mall and the first shop I saw when I walked in was CVS so obvioulsy I had to drag Cían in with me.

I picked up 3 Clump Crusher mascaras, two for my kit and one for myself, I actually picked up two different types without realizing. I have heard so many great things about this mascara and I knew I had to try it for myself and with it only being a couple of dollars each I figured I may as well pick some up for my kit as well.

Next I picked up two L'Oreal Infallible eye shadows, I already had a couple of these and knew I absolutely loved them and with them being so much cheaper in the USA I decided to pick up two more. I picked up the colours Iced Latte and Amber Rush.

Finally in CVS I picked up two Maybelline colour tattoos (review here), I absolutely love these bad boys and I knew they had a much larger variety of colours in the USA so I had to pick some up I picked up the colours Edgy Emerald and Barely Branded.

On evening two Cían and I hit The Mall at Mellenia and I hit up both MAC an Seophora, all the MAC stuff i bought is all together in the photos so it looks like a lot but I picked it up over a couple of days in the MAC Pro stores in both The Mall at Mellenia and the Florida Mall.

We will go through what I picked up for myself first and then go through what I picked up for my professional kit.

The first two items I will speak about are the two products from the Alluring Aquatics line because I didn't actually purchase these in the USA I picked them up in Hethrow airport before I even left.

I had my heart set on the bronzer from the range in the shade Golden but anywhere I looked it was sold out and I was worried that by the time I reached the USA it would be sold out there too so when I saw it in the airport I knew I had to pick it up, I was lucky to get it in the airport, it was the last one which makes me believe even more that it's meant for me.

The second item I picked up from the range is the frost finish lipstick in the shade Pet Me, Please, I know a lot of people are not fond of the frost finish lipsticks but they are my absolute favourite especially in the bronze/gold shades.

In the USA I picked up 7 new shades of lipstick for myself, as you may or may not know I am MAC lipstick obsessed (MAC lipstick collection post). I picked up the colours Frenzy, Brave, Velvet Teddy, Sweet and Sour, Viva Glam Rhianna, Flat out Fabulous and Rebel, I also picked up a tube of lipglass as I absolutely love it and ALWAYS use it.

L-R Pet Me, Please, Frenzy, Brave, Velvet Teddy, Sweet and Sour, Viva Glam Rhiana, Flat Out Fabulous,Rebel

I picked up 4 new eye shadows to add to my palettes I picked up the colours Phloof, Dazzle Light, Sable and Coppering, I had wanted these colours for a long time but decided to wait and get them in the USA.

Second Row L-R Phloof , Dazzle Light, Sable, Coppering

I picked up two new pigments one pressed and one loose, I picked up Blonde Streak pressed pigment and White gold loose pigment, I really wanted Pink Opal but they were sold out everywhere so it's still on my wishlist.

I also picked up a Paint Peinture, my very first one, these little beauty's are very like paint pots except for instead of being in a pot its in a little tube I picked up the shade Stilife and cannot wait to try it out, I'm very excited. 

Finally I picked up a tube of Strobe Cream I absolutely love this stuff and always have a tube of it in my makeup collection and if you haven't tried it I really recommend you do. 

Next we will move on to the MAC items I picked up for my kit.

Obviously when working as a professional makeup artist you need to have many different kinds of foundation in  your kit in a multiple of different shades and some of my favourites are MAC Studio Fix and MAC Face and body and obviously I couldn't leave without picking a few bottles up.

I picked up 4 bottles of Studio Fix in the shades NW1O, NW15, NW20 and NW40.

L-R NW10, NW15, NW2O, NW40 

I picked up two bottles of face and body in the shades C4 and C5, these are perfect for use alone or for mixing with other foundations, I have a multiple of different colours in my kit now (I have built quite a collection).

L-R C4, C5

I also picked up a tube of Prep and Prime face and a tube of Strobe Cream, these are a must have for any professional kit in my opinion, I use them on a daily basis and clients seem to love them.

I picked up a number of different palettes in MAC as they are so much cheaper in the USA and it I always enjoy building palettes for my professional kit (and my personal makeup kit but we won't mention that).

The first palette I picked up was a large palette with two blush inserts to go with it, I have found it SO difficult to purchase blush inserts in both the UK and Ireland so I knew it was one of the main things I wanted to pick up the USA, turns out I didn't even get to as there was a mess up and I was sold the wrong thing so had to purchase the inserts off the MAC website when I got home, but that's a story for another day.

I already had one blush insert so I picked up 5 more so one side of my palette would be complete, i'm quite OCD about things like this which can be a real pain sometimes. 

I picked up the shades Love Cloud, Peaches, Margin, Cubic and Tenderling.

Top Row L-R Love Cloud, Peaches, Margin

Bottom Row L-R Cubic, Tenderling

 I also picked up a large palette and two inserts for my lipsticks, I decided on the 12 lipstick inserts rather than the 24 inserts as the 12 fits the whole lipstick in it rather than only half in the 24 which means being able to get rid of the empty bullets straight away rather than having both the lipstick bullets and palette in my kit.

I picked up 3 new lipsticks for my kit in the shades New York Apple, Flat Out Fabulous and Rebel. I have now melted all my lipsticks into my palette and absolutely love it.

L-R New York Apple, Flat Out Fabulous, Rebel, Russian Red, Morange, Plum Pink

L-R Jazz, Frou, Pattisserie, Angel, Behave Yourself, Up The Amp

The Final Palete I picked up was another large palette with 2 15 eye shadow inserts, I already had a 15 eye shadow palette but it was one of the old palettes and it was getting a bit grubby looking so I decided to replace it and what better way to replace it than with one double it's size.

I picked up 3 new eye shadows to go in my new palette in the shades Yogurt, Phloof and All that glitters, I already had 15 MAC eye shadows and I plan on filling the rest of my pallets with purchases from the IMATS. 

L-R Yogurt, Phloof, All That Glitters

I also picked up two paint pots for my kit I already have plenty of these little posts of heaven in my personal makeup (MAC paint pots collection post) collection but I didn't have any in my professional kit, I picked up the shades Painterly and Ground Work. 

L-R Painterly, Groundwork

I know it may seem like I bough a lot in MAC and I did but if you have been reading my blog a while you will know that MAC is one of my all time favourite makeup brands and it makes up the foundation of my professional kit as well so with it being so much cheaper in the USA I knew I would pick some up and I also get a % discount off each purchase because of my pro card so it was actually much cheaper than I ever imagined it to be, it almost seems sinful buying MAC in the UK and Ireland when you realize just how much cheaper it is in the USA. 

The next shop we visited was Seophora, and like any other beauty blogger I am obsessed with Seophora, when I heard they had started shipping to the UK my online shopping bag grew seriously fast but I restrained myself and decided I would wait until we were in the USA which I am very proud of if I do say so myself.

The main thing I went in for was the Tarte Amazonia Clay 12 Hour Full Coverage Foundation as I had heard so many beauty bloggers and beauty gurus raving about it but unfortunately when the colour IQ matched me to a shade it was actually out of stock, I tried too other Seophora stores before we left and they were also out of stock so obviously my skin tone is a very popular shade. My cousin is in Canada at the minute though so I may ask her to pick me up a tube before she comes home.  In saying this I definitely didn't walk out of Seophora empty handed, in all honesty, who could? 

The first thing I picked up was the Kat Von D Lock It Tattoo Foundation and Lock It Tattoo concealer, the woman In the shop knew I was looking for a full coverage foundation and recommended these, I had never tried anything from the Kat Von D range so was very excited to try them, I have been using them since I got home and O WOW , they are honestly incredible, full coverage, easy to apply and blend and last absolutely all day with no need for a touch up, I really wish I had picked up another bottle of this as I absolutely love it, it will definitely be added to my online shopping bag.

The next thing I picked up was also from the Kat Von D range and it is one of the Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick and it is in the shade Armageddon, I haven't actually had a chance to wear this yet but when I swatched it on my hand it was so pigmented and creamy I knew I had to have it. 

Armageddon

The next few items I picked up were from Tarte, I was disappointed that they didn't have the foundation I wanted but I knew I wanted to try out a couple of there other products as well, I had heard great things about there Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blushers so I picked up one in the shade exposed, The other item I picked up was the Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Pressed Finishing Powder, the woman in the shop had used this on my while testing foundations and I absolutely loved the finish it gave so I knew I had to have it.

The next thing I picked up was two Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lip tars, as a complete lip product junkie I am not quite sure why I had never tried these little beauties before my god am I happy I have tried them now, So pigmented and easy to wear, these two are my new "go to" lip products. I picked up the shades Interlacelt and Femme.

L-R Interlacelt, Femme 

Next Thing I picked up was two eyeliners from Makeup Forever, we do actually have a Makeup Forever shop in Dublin but I never go in there and I'm really not quite sure why. I picked up two Aqua eyes in the shades 23L and 2L, I have actually lost the swatch photos for these but I will be doing a full review of them soon.

I then picked up two Seophora own brand brushes, I had never tried any of the Seophora makeup brushes so I actually asked on Twitter what ones you guys would recommend so I picked up the Miner Powder Brush which I have actually been using for foundation and I absolutely love it and the Precision Foundation which is PERFECT for under eye concealer. 

Last but by no means least in Seophora I picked up the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner Duo for my kit, we recently had Amy Conway from Bobbi Brown come in and do a demo for  us in college and ever since seeing her use these I knew I had to have them.

Next place we went to was Victoria Secrets and along with the other things I got I picked up 3 of there lip-glosses I have been using and loving Victoria Secret lip-glosses since I was in secondary school so I knew I had to pick up a few more, I picked up the shades Melonrageous, Citrus Kissed and Candy Baby, they smell and taste absolutely incredible.

L-R Melonrageous, Citrus Kissed, Candy Baby

The second to last shop we visited was Target and to say I did some damage in Target would be the understatement of the century, when the sales assistant had finished scanning everything through and told us how much it was I am pretty sure I saw Cían shed a tear. 

The first things I picked up were EOS Lip Balms, who doesn't love EOS, I couldn't actually pick what flavors I wanted so I picked up one of each of the flavors the had there. Summer Fruits, Sweet Mint, Lemon Drop, Strawberry Sorbet, Honey Suckle/ Honey Due and Pomegranate Raspberry.

Next I picked up some Baby Lips, I absolutely LOVE the Baby Lips Lip Balms and have the complete collection of the flavors we have at home so I figured I would pick up two of the flavors we can't actually get at home and these are from the ELECTRO Range, I picked up the flavors Berry Bomb and Minty Sheen. Excuse the photo below as it includes my Victoria Secrets Glosses and my Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream which I picked up in one of the outlet malls.

Finally in Target I picked up some bits from NYX this is the main reason I dragged Cíán to target as I really wanted to pick up some butter glosses and repurchase some of my other favourite NYX products.

Obviously the first thing I picked up was the butter glosses, I have heard so many people rave about them that I just knew I had to try them, I picked up the shades Tiramisu, Vanilla Cream Pie, Merengue, Peaches and Cream and Maple Blondie. 

L-R Tiramisu, Vanilla Cream Pie, Merengue, Peaches and Cream, Maple Blondie

Next thing I picked up was three of there blushes I picked up the shades Terra Cotta, Peach and Pinched, I absolutely LOVE the NYX blushes as they are so pigmented but so creamy and easy to blend and wear.

L-R Terra Cotta, Peach, Pinched

Next I picked up 4 of the Jumbo Eye Pencils, I picked up two in the shade Milk, Milk is such a cult product in the Beauty world and this is a repurchase for me also it's perfect for highlighting or even wearing under eye shadows as a primer/base as it really makes the colours pop, the other two shades I picked up were Mocha and Yogurt.

Finally the last thing I picked up from NYX was there HD Eye shadow Primer, this is also a re-purchase I have tried so many different eye shadow primers and honestly nothing compares to this little beauty. 

Finally we have reached the end of my haul and the very last shop I visited Bath and Body works for one reason and one reason only hand sanatizers, The deal in Bath and body works is 5 for $5 so I picked up 10 7 for myself and 3 as part of my giveaway prizes if you haven't entered do so RIGHT NOW (Here), and I also picked up a cute little holder for them to clip onto my brush belt.

If you have made it to the end CONGRATULATIONS and thank you for sticking with it all the way to the end as I know this is a really long post, I could have done it in three parts but I really wanted to get it up in to, I hope you have enjoyed it and maybe it has given you some inspiration on products you want to pick up in the future, leave me a comment telling me what is your favourite product in my Haul or what your favourite USA drugstore products are.