The Neutral Palette Favourites Post...

Who doesn't love a neutral eye shadow palette..?  There's nothing like having a sea of pale browns and taupes all conveniently laid out in one perfect little compact ready to whip up any lid look.  It will come as no surprise that my favourite neutral post should include the 'Naked' palette or the 'Too Faced Natural eye' palette with them being two of the most popular beauty blogger approved products out there.  You can't go wrong with either of these and they've been a staple in my makeup stash for so long I wonder if I should still be using them - I've probably had them for over 5 years!  I however have attachment issues and could never part with them.  The MAC Cinderella palette is more of a recent addition to the makeup stash and as it was limited edition this was top of my birthday wishlist last year - thanks hubby!  I find myself reaching for this the most with the top two shades 'Vapour' and 'Phloof!' providing the perfect matte and shimmer highlight.  The middle two shades 'Omega' and 'Quarry' are the perfect transitional shades and the bottom two shades 'Satin Taupe' and 'Stroke of Midnight and the ideal outer corner/lashline shades.  For those that managed to get the Cinderella palette when it was released, you probably cherish it just as much as I do.  What is your perfect neutral palette - a girl can never have too many!

New MAC purchases...

So recently I made and impromptu pit stop into a MAC store which doesn't bode well for any beauty addict's bank balance but I hardly ever buy anything from MAC ( I think I have about 5 products in total including those pictured above) and sometimes the things you pick up on impulse tend to be your most treasured.  Case and point on this particular occasion where I spent all of 2 minutes swatching all the nudes I could find and I ended up taking Angel and Velvet Teddy home.

For an impromptu purchase I couldn't be happier.  Don't let the picture fool you they look very similar but they are very different.

Angel is a Frost finish so a bit sheerer than Velvet teddy and it is most definitely a pinky nude with a slightly glossy/shimmery finish on the lips.  Velvet teddy is a bit more of a browny nude and a Matte finish so gives more of a Kylie Jenner-esque finish that everybody craves these days.  Velvet Teddy is very close to my natural lip colour, just slightly browner in tone and although it is matte it's not drying in the slightest and leaves a comfortable feel.  I can't believe it's taken me this long to try MAC lipsticks but I think this may have started a new found love affair which may be very bad for my bank balance but very very good for my inner beauty addict.

What are your MAC favourites and do you guys have any lipstick recommendations? 

The Kylie Jenner craze...How to get the look

If you haven't heard or seen some sort of Kylie Jenner related post or tutorial then you've probably been living under a rock!  Kendall and Kylie formerly only known for being the younger half siblings of Kim Kardashian have really begun to grow into their own and Kylie's look has probably been one of the most re-created looks of 2014. 

Kylie's look is defined by the big fluttery lashes and of course the full nude lips.  After doing some research into the actual products Kylie uses to create her look and watching a lot of KJ inspired tutorials I think I've managed to suss out her look and how she creates it.

• Find a high coverage foundation.  Something without any SPF as it's most likely Kylie wears a foundation that's not going to leave a white cast or flash back when being photographed.

• Define the brows, She has a definitive arch and quite a full thick brow, again you're looking for something that's going to last a long time and photograph well so I'd recommend an eyebrow pencil rather than a liquid pen.

• Add a light wash over the lids with a matte rather than a shimmery skin toned shadow and define the crease and lower lash line with a mid toned brown.  This is just a general eye shadow look for KJ however as she has many different looks but this is her more 'go to' look.

• Sometimes she has a bit of a cat flick going on, so any cream or gel liner should do the trick for this with a khol pencil in the waterline.  The real key with Kylie's eyes is lashes! Full fluttery lashes, the Ardell whispies would be perfect for this look.

• The lips being the key to Kylie's entire look I have desperately tried to find the exact products she uses.  I know she uses the MAC lip pencil in Soar which judging by it's recent sell-out in most stores, I think has become public knowledge too.  However according to Kim she only uses MAC's Soar and Spice pencils to achieve her full nude lips and just fills the entire lip with the pencils, no lipstick or gloss required.  To achieve the full lip look without the use of surgery use your chosen pencil to slightly over draw the natural outline of your lips, line straight over the cupids bow without accentuating it to give a fuller upper lip and use a slightly deeper coloured pencil on the outer edge of the lip and slightly lighter colour to fill to fake a full lip.

Has anybody else become as obsessed with KJ's looks as I have?! If anybody has any dupes for the products she uses please link them below as I'd love to feed my Kylie Jenner obsession!

Giveaway time...MAC lipstick of your choice! CLOSED!

Recently I posted on twitter that if I reached a certain milestone on Bloglovin I would do a giveaway.  Now by no means was this a massive milestone but it was huge to me!   And the closer I got to this milestone I began thinking of what I could actually give away!

So I decided on giving away a MAC lipstick and thought why not let the winner decide exactly which shade they would like to receive.  So if this little giveaway interests you at all then please enter by following the simple rules...

• You must be follower of my blog, either by GFC or on Bloglovin as this giveaway is to show my appreciation to each and every one of my followers old and new.

• Leave a comment on this post letting me know which MAC lipstick you would like to receive should you win and also leave me an email address to contact you on should you win the competition.  The winner will be picked at random and receive an email from es-jaymakeup@hotmail.co.uk.

• Once you have entered, tweet a link to this post saying..'I've just entered Es-jay Makeup's MAC giveaway'  or something along those lines...

• This giveaway is open internationally and your choice of lipstick should be from the MAC permanent line as I may not be able to get it for you otherwise...

It's as simple as that! From the day this post goes out the giveaway will be open for two weeks and I will then post with the details of the giveaway winner and contact then via email.  If you are entering and under 16 please get a parent or guardian's permission as you will need to disclose your address in order for me to send out your prize.

I think that is everything so Good Luck and I just want to thank you all once again for all your love and support.

January Favourites 2012

Hey Beautiful world!

So I guess it's time to let guys in on what products I couldnt have got through the month of January without.  As you guys probably know already, I have ridiculously dry and sensitive skin, so these products have been a saviour for my skin through the cold winter month of January.  In no particular order these are my favourites...

Carmex Mint - This has been amazing for my lips, day or night and especially when going out.  I prefer the tube version to the pot version just because I'm always having to touch up on the go and I'm very conscious of hygiene when being out in the public so rather than sanitizing my hands before applying it's easier to us the squeezy tube and eliminate the risk of putting germies on your lips (not to mention spreading them to the pot!) I dont know maybe it's the joys of being a nurse that means you're always thinking about hand hygiene!

My Trusty E45 Cream - Wouldn't be without it, I've waffled on enough about this...It's an all over dry skin saviour and I cant be without it!

Revlon Photoready Foundation - I love this foundation, doesn't irritate my sensitive skin.  I've found the perfect colour for my skin and although some people complain about the slight shimmer in the foundation, I hardly notice it on my skin and the coverage I would say is medium to full and definitely buildable.  This foundation really does what it says in the bottle and photographs brilliantly under any kind of lighting (this is a tried and tested fact as I recently wore this foundation to my brother's wedding and for my graduation ceremony and the photographs turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!)

Mac Paintpot in Rubenesque - This is my first and only ever mac paintpot and although I wore it a bit when I first purchased it from sheer excitement it got a bit lost in my (extensive!) makeup collection however I've rediscovered it and now I'm wearing it as a base everyday! It has a multi-tonal finish of gold and pink and is slightly shimmery.  On me it stays put all day and doesnt crease! I love it!

The above picture was taken from the following blogger's page who has done a wonderful review on rubenesque with absolutely gorgeous pictures and swatches so please check out her blog, It's awesome! The Sunday Girl

Look Beauty Blush in Rosy - I reviewed this makeup line a while back and seem to grown in love with it all a little bit more everyday, I love the rosy blush which works very well with rubenesque as it has pretty much the same sort of colouring and multi-tones.  It works for me like a blush and highlight in one which feeds my lazy side very well!!

Elf studio Cream liner -  I know a lot of these are repetitive but what can I say, These are what work for me and when I find something that works I tend to get stuck in a bit of a rut! Hehe but as mentioned previously I love the elf black cream liner, I literally use it everyday and couldnt be without it, In fact if i ever lost it I dont think I would survive the sheer horror of it (ok ok I know I'm being a bit of a drama queen but I think you get the picture of how much I love it!)

 Imperial Leather Foamburst Shower Gel -  Just a little bit random but this is the shower gel i'm loving, It has a shaving foam consistency in that when you first pump it out it looks like a gel but transforms into a huge amount of thick foam which smells gorgeous!  The Hawaiian Spa scent is my favourite!

Lynx for her -  I know this is a bit of a gimmicky product but I'm the kinda girl who would use lynx for men if I liked the smell (well it not as if I'd wear a sign saying I'm wearing men's deodorant with it!) But I firmly believe that scents shouldnt be confined to gender and if it works then why not wear it!  But anywho I love the smell of this, it does what it's supposed to and keeps you fresh and dry *ahem* not much else I can say about a deodorant...

Sleek Pout Polish - I love these pout polishes! It doesnt matter what the colour may be they always seem to just look great! I have quite a collection of these and every handbag I own has a different shade of this in it, my favourite is the nude one called bare minimum but I do take it in turns to wear them all (the only one I dont own is the Limited edition flourescent yellow one because well...when am I ever going to wear that?!?)



Well I think I'll leave it at that for now, I could literally go on for pages and pages about products I love but I'll practice some self control for now! hehe

Thanks for checking in guys!

Ciao for now World!

xoxox