Nude Beauty Favourites

Although I spend a lot of time playing with hair extensions and vibrant coloured lipsticks, natural beauty is something that remains important to me. I believe that having a selection of nude makeup on hand is always important for those days when you want to embrace the natural you. During summer, I'm always wearing natural looking makeup as I think it compliments my tan more and usually requires minimal effort. There's nothing prettier than a girl during summer looking makeup free with tousled hair and beautiful floral dress - this is totally the 'inner hippie' of me coming out in this post.

Today I thought I'd show you a few of my current makeup favourites that I can't stop wearing. These are the new Beauty UK Masquerade posh palette* and the Atelier Paris new lip range.

The new Masquerade palette by Beauty UK is the perfect selection of everyday eyeshadow, in very earthy yet glamorous colours. Each eyeshadow is highly pigmented and works well without a primer. If there's any complaints it would be that they are a little bit too powdery and you need to make sure you shake off the excess, but this is a very minor complaint. I've found the eyeshadows delightful and the touch of sparkle embodied in the palette makes your eyes look beautiful and shimmering. Another aspect I love about this palette is the fact that the colours are very versatile and can be worn all the year long throughout the varying seasons. The lighter colours are great to last you until the end of summer and the darker colours will give you a head start to your autumn makeup collection.

http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/

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My new lipsticks I cannot stop wearing were kindly sent to me by Atelier Paris* and they're part of the Atelier Paris Waterproof lipstick range that contains 2% jojoba oil to keep your lips moisturised. The two colours in the image are both are the 'Sandy Pink' on the left and 'Gypsy' on the right. The lipgloss in the centre is the 'Beige Dore'. 

When I first tried this lipsticks, I was blown away with scent and taste. It feels like something j really fruity and sweet has touched your lips and your mouth starts to water. I love fruity inspired lip glosses and lipsticks so this was an added bonus that I didn't expect from the lipsticks. The actual quality of the lipsticks are better than I expected. I didn't know much about the brand and for £14, it's very similar to the price of MAC. Whilst on my work experience, I wore this lipsticks back to back all week and after trailing the products I realised that they stayed on all day, was unaffected by what I ate and the scent I loved was still with me by the end of the day. This makes these lipsticks definitely worth the £14 price tag. In fact, I've worn higher end lipsticks that have rubbed off easier than these. 

http://www.makeupatelierparis.co.uk/

What are your nude beauty favourites?

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Christmas Confidence Boost - Photo Fun

Confidence isn't something that comes naturally to me. Some people have that ability to run up to strangers and talk for hours, I often shy away and quickly develop thoughts about how I look. Am I too fat? Does my face look too round? Okay, I know, I'm dressed like an idiot today aren't I? My ex boyfriend would constantly criticize me and say that 'I make the human race sound very discriminative' as I would always think people are analysing every aspect of my body when we first meet. In reality, all the voices in  my head are just the little insecurities that nag me on a daily basis. Granted, someone will have walked past me one day and thought 'gosh, she's a little weird looking', but not everyone thinks the same. Since starting University and getting engaged to an amazing man who makes me feel like a million dollars on a daily basis, my confidence has dramatically improved.. Some would say I'm a completely changed person, but to be fair, I'm still quite shy and often reserved, I've just learnt that to progress in my life, sometimes we need to adapt a protective shield and embrace who we are. If people don't like who you are as a person, they are not worth knowing. To quote Mr Kurt Cobain, the former lead singer of rock band Nirvana: "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for someone I'm not."

Christmas is supposed to be the time of fun and laughter, but for women, there's a little added pressure to slim down into that Little Black Dress and look immaculate for party season. Confidence can take a huge hit at Christmas and when you're eating so much, you can suddenly feel like you're the Christmas turkey. This was the Christmas I wanted to feel the best about myself. Last year I was getting used to my slimmer body after losing weight - I was playing around with dresses and trying to discover what suited my new figure. I've now had a year to adapt and finally ready to have fun this festive season. Last week, I was asked to model for a friend who's a photographer. The old me would have probably shuddered and decided it wasn't the best idea, but I decided to embrace it as I thought it would be a lovely way to show you all my new dress, get some professional images for my blog and have a lovely day catching up with my old tutor. I'm definitely not a model, but I had so much fun doing all the modelling malarkey.  

Here's some of the photographs taken on the day. The blue sequinned dress is by my favourite brand French Connection and can be bought for £165. This 'Samantha dress' was purchased as a Christmas treat for myself. I love this outfit, because it covers all my insecurities and leaves me with a slimline silhouette. When I tried it on for the first time at my local House of Fraser, I knew this dress was definitely made for my body. 

I feel like I resemble a chipmunk in this photograph, but I love the colours in my shirt. This blouse was bought from H&M  and was part of the Lana Del Rey range. She is one of my favourite modern singers and I'd definitely consider her as one of my style influences. 

Doing this photo shoot made me realise that although I'm not perfect, I'm not that bad either. I love my hair, my body is quite curvy and my eyes never fail to stand out. To live a happy life, we all need to look at our imperfections and realise that it's what makes us unique, a one of a kind model and perfect in our own little way.

Photo credits: John Coombes - BikeShed Digital Media 

What do you think of the photographs? 

 ♥♥♥

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MeMeMe Naturally Nude Giftset

When I choose my makeup, I always look for something that will give me a natural glow. As much as I love wearing fake eyelashes sometimes and hair extensions, I have always envied people who have natural beauty. When I saw the MeMeMe 'Naturally Nude' giftset, I knew it was something I needed to try. I love subtle pinks, creamy browns and tangy orange blush and to top it off, the kit also comes with a beautiful little makeup bag. 

The set comes with two dew pots, a lipstick, nail polish and blusher. These little dew pots in Coral Blossom and Willow Whisper are absolutely delightful to work with. They blend in effortlessly and add a beautiful frosted shimmering effect, perfect for the autumn weather. 

China Rose is a fabulous winter lipstick as it offers moisture with a long lasting satin finish. The lipstick is a beautiful baby pink, making it the ultimate cosmetic tool on those days where you're wanting to feel  'naturally nude.' 

The coral Blush Me box is great for conturing those cheek bones and adds a naturally blushed finish to your face. Admittedly, I'm not so keen on the little brush that comes with the set but since it's free, there's nothing really to moan about. 

MeMeMe's long lasting nail gloss in shade 'Ambitious' is the final item to appear in this boxset. I love the fact that it has a wide brush, making the application process quick and easy. I've been wearing the nail polish for the last few days (a little neater than my demonstration below) and I can happily say it still hasn't chipped. Working in a hotel means I knock my nails continuously  so having a nail polish that doesn't chip is a revelation. 

This giftset can be purchased  £26.99 and available to buy from http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/

What do you think of the Naturally Nude Giftset?

♥♥♥

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