A quick review : The Balm MaryLou Luminizer

Today I'm writing a quick review - the reason it's 'quick' is because I'm sure most of you have already heard a thousand and one things about this product, it's massively popular within the beauty world right now! None the less, I thought I would give my two cents.

Mary Lou really is the perfect highlight shade - it's a beautiful champagne tone that's not too pink and not completely yellow either (great for makeup artists as it's pretty much a universal highlighter!) It's finely milled so goes on so smoothly and blends out beautifully unlike chunkier highlighters (I'm thinking the MUA ones and the Urban Decay naked highlighter) which can just look a bit too much.

Do I even need to mention the packaging? It's the prettiest thing ever and makes me want to buy everything else from The Balm just so I can look at it! My favourite brush to apply it with is either a larger fluffy brush for a more diffused natural look or the Real Techniques setting brush, which allows more control and precision. The price is a little steep, but still considerably lower than the MAC msf's - plus it looks as if it will last forever. So, overall, I wouldn't definitely recommend this to anyone who prefers a powder highlighter and likes to go a little bit bolder with their glow! I couldn't live without it now.

Fern

What I've been up to : Winter Metallics Beach Photoshoot

So once again, I've been very MIA from my blog recently! I miss writing and sharing my thoughts with you guys, but I'm also really busy with work and college. Today I have a little bit of time to write something up, and so thought I'd share a recent photoshoot I worked on! I was lucky enough to be the makeup artist for an amazing photographer who lives in my local area (Jess Withey) along with the stunning model Iris Fitzgerald. I had an amazing time (even though it was absolutely freezing - beaches in the middle of winter are not great!) but we persevered anyway and got these amazing shots to show for it. It was my first location photoshoot and was really exciting for me as it gave me an insight into what I would really love to do with my career. I love doing the 'pretty everyday' makeup, but this is where my heart lies - I just love editorial style makeup.

I was so grateful to be able to work with this talented duo and it all came together beautifully. Being my first location-shoot, it's something I will never forget. The idea behind the shoot was kind of a glamorous metallic winter shoot; the makeup mimicked this massively as I focused on using metallic shades - we used Mehron Metallic Powder mixing medium to create that gold leaf effect and later on went for a darker smokey eye and dark lips. Makeup brands I used most frequently here were MAC, Urban Decay, Illamasqua and Sleek Cosmetics. Don't forget to check out my makeup page (Makeup by Fern Wortmann) for more looks!

Let me know what you think guys, I'd love to have your feedback!

Fern

Review : Lush Hair Extensions

I was recently sent these amazing hair extensions from the lovely people over at Lush Hair Extensions. First off, I think it's worth mentioning how great their customer service is - they offer a free shade match service where you can chat back and fourth with the company to pick the right colour for you. You send them photos of your hair in natural daylight and they'll match you free of charge (I was matched to shade #60 Lightest Blonde, pictured above) and I really love the match as this particular set accounts for all the different tones of blonde I have in my hair - it can be really hard to match up a blonde right, especially when you have a mix of lighter/darker or warmer/cooler tones. I was also sent the amazing hot pink extensions, designed by Holly Hagan, have a look at this post to see them in action!

As soon as I opened these extensions I noticed how lovely and soft they were. They also have a nice weight to them and feel very natural and not over processed or dry in the slightest. They are 100% remy human hair with a lovely texture and feel, making them easy to style, wash and experiment with. I received the 150 gram 8 weft set, which contains:

1x8'' wide weft (4 clips attached)

2x6'' wide weft (3 clips attached)

2x4'' wide weft (2 clips attached)

1x3'' wide weft (2 clips attached)

2x2'' wide weft (1 clip attached)

For me this set's perfect as my hair is fairly thick, so they added a nice amount of volume and blended well with my natural hair. If you have thinner/finer hair you may want to consider going for a lighter set. It takes some getting used to to clip them in properly, I found it was a case of altering the number of wefts you used depending on what kind of look you were going for - some people like to use the whole pack whereas other may use a few wefts just to add some volume and length; it's all about playing around with them until you get the best result for you! I love the way these feel, just like natural hair and very comfortable to wear throughout the day. I found these to hold a curl better than my own hair which is always a bonus!

I noticed a little bit of shredding from these extensions, but that is generally to be expected with any sets you buy - just as your natural hair comes out/shreds, these will a little too. Taking good care of them is really important - Lush recommends not washing them too often (this depends on how much you style/process them and how many hair styling products you use on them) over washing can cause them to wear out sooner than they should!

So overall, I'm very happy with these - they're really affordable and definitely worth the money considering how well they can shade match you. It's nice to talk to real people rather than leaving it to chance; so many company's wont offer that kind of service anymore. I've read up on other reviews and a lot of people with all different kinds of hair types loves these (be it ombre, super short, curly - the list goes on) so it's definitely a company to check out if you're in the market for longer and thicker looking hair!

Fern

October Favourites

I know everyone has said it, but I literally cannot believe how quickly this year is flying by! The only positive to that is that Christmas is nearly here - I'm obsessed with Christmas and have been going on for about 3 months already (sorry family). Anyway, here are my October favourites, I could have included more as I've been loving so much stuff recently but I didn't want this post to last a million years!

Firstly, I've fallen in love with the Sleek Contour Kit in Light, which I featured in a haul at the end of summer. It's literally the perfect contour shade for me, whether I'm pale or tanned. A little goes a long way with this so it's lasting me forever and it's definitely top of my list to repurchase when I run out! I also love the highlighter, it's a nice champagne shade and has a really pretty colour pay off without being too overpowering. I love to team this with my Real Techniques Contour Brush which is the best brush ever for contouring, plus it's super soft - I wouldn't be without these two now!

Another thing I've been loving is the Sukin Sensitive Facial Moisturiser. I've discovered recently that I do actually have sensitive skin after years of wondering. Since working at bareMinerals I've really appreciated the benefits of natural skincare, and so when I found this discounted I thought I'd try it out! It leaves my skin really smooth and soft and never breaks me out, plus it's packed with loads of lovely essential oils.

I'm late on the band wagon with this one, but I absolutely adore MAC's Soft & Gentle, it's the prettiest highlighter ever - a warm champagne with just the right amount of shimmer. It's beautiful applied lightly for a soft glow or packed onto the cheekbones for a dramatic highlight. I'm so happy I have it in my life now - only thing I'm not a fan of is the packaging, I think the old style looked a lot more expensive, whereas the new style just looks a bit cheap.

For eyes, I've been loving the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creamy Beige. I actually picked this up fairly recently but have been using it ever since. I adore the formulation and pigmentation of all of the colour tattoos (review coming soon!) and this one did not disappoint; it's an affordable dupe for MAC's quite natural or groundwork paintpots, giving a nice subtle smokey warm brown effect on the eyes. The staying power is fantastic too.

Lastly, two nude products I can't get enough of - I'm definitely someone who gravitates towards nudes wherever possible. I picked up this Sally Hansen Nail Polish in Cafe Au Lait recently as I already had 'I pink I can' and loved the formulation - this is the perfect everyday nude, plus I love that it goes with any colour scheme - life's too short to worry about matching your outfit to your nail polish! For everyday I've also been loving my Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Tantalising Taupe, it's a really pretty creamy nude that doesn't make you look dead. It's a good dupe for MAC's blankety (which I own) but in my opinion is a little bit more wearable as it has a touch more pink to it.

Let me know what you've been loving

Fern

Pink Hair for breast cancer awareness #thinkpink

Pink 'Colour Rocks' Hair extensions by Holly Hagan (here) 
Lipstick : Rimmel Apocalips in 'Apocaliptic' (review here)

This Saturday at work we had a #thinkpink day to raise money for breast cancer awareness! Not being a lover (or owner!) of pink clothes, it was the perfect excuse to wear my amazing new extensions from Lush Hair Extensions. These extensions are 100% human hair, making them super soft - everyone at work thought I had actually dyed my own hair. They're designed by Holly Hagan of Geordie Shore in collaboration with LushHairExtensions.co.uk, there are some really fun colours in the collection.. I've been eyeing up the blue ones too (cough, kylie jenner). I have the blonde ones of these (#61 Lightest blonde, post coming soon!) which are amazing for everyday but as I love to experiment with colours, these are perfect for me! I've had pink hair in the past, but the upkeep is too hard so this is temporary and kind of fool proof. I loved the effect of just putting them into a simply messy plait - especially the way the blonde kind of swirls into the pink! Can't wait to see the effect with a fishtail plait. I just used 3 wefts (one 4 clip, two 3 clip) around the bottom to add volume and length to that area - the ends of my hair look thinner than the rest and these were perfect to actually give me a decent amount of hair to work with. I think these will look amazing in a high curly ponytail too - can't wait to experiment!

Donate to Breast Cancer Awareness HERE

Fern

BareMinerals Haul & Review

Last week I made a new order from bareMinerals - despite working for them and and not wanting to sound 'cliche', they are genuinely one of my favourite brands and my first port of call at the moment for new makeup bits.The range of products and colours/finishes available is what I really love - there's always something to suit everyone.

Ready Blush in 'the one' : this is actually my first pressed bareMinerals blush, and I had such a hard time choosing a colour, they're all so pretty. After using these a lot on customers, I was really impressed by the pigmentation and buildable finish of them - you can decide whether you wear it sheer or concentrated for a pop of colour. This colour is beautiful, kind of a universal soft pink

Ready Luminizer in 'the love affair' & 'the shining moment' : I cannot recommend this highlighter enough; I've never found something I like more for achieving a soft luminous glow. Because it has the two colours, you can pick between a pinky highlight or a more gold toned one - when the two colours are mixed it creates a really complimentary glow to the skin. Unlike other highlighters, it's not chunky or too glittery but instead fine milled, adding the perfect sheen to the skin - if you've not tried this I would really recommend it

Original Loose SPF 15 Foundation in 'golden medium' : this stuff has seriously changed my makeup routine and the way I think about my skin. I have a fair few shades now, ranging from lighter to more tanned golden tones (I'm a fake tan addict!) and this one if perfect if you prefer a more golden tone to you skin. This foundation is super quick and easy to apply and can be worn alone or on top of liquid foundation - it literally transforms your skin and gives you a glowing airbrushed look, plus it won't glog your pores or irritate your skin with unnecessary nasty ingredients

5-in-1 BB Eyeshadow Cream in 'soft shell' : these eyeshadow creams are seriously played-down within the line of bareMinerals products. I absolutely love them, they transform a shadow look and make chalky shadows look creamy whilst intensifying pigments. They are ideal under a smokey eye look and look lovely worn alone for a more toned-down look. Soft shell is a slightly yellowy neutral colour, I especially love to use it under my brows to sculpt and define them a bit more

Pretty Amazing Lipcolour in 'charisma' : the lipcolours are a fusion between a gloss and lipstick, giving an intense colour with a glossy buttery finish. I absolutely love these and a little goes a long way. I opted for a pinky tone as I usually always go for nudes and I really like it, it's not too warm or too blue!

Fern

Where I've been : training to be a makeup artist

I've sadly been a little MIA from my blog for the past few weeks - I've really missed blogging and I have so many product reviews and new posts to share with you guys! I wanted to let you know where I've been - since the beginning of September, I've been doing a level 3 diploma in makeup artistry! This is so exciting for me as makeup has always been a hobby and interest for me, but now I feel like I'm actually putting it to use and learning some amazing new things. For anyone thinking of doing this type of course, I would totally recommend it. It's an amazing opportunity to practise and perfect your makeup skills without the worry of getting it wrong.. it's all about experimentation. The pictures above are some little insights of what I've been up to so far! I can't wait till I actually have the qualification under my belt and can start really using it. Also, I've been busy working at bareMinerals, which has been pretty busy lately, especially with the launch of BareSkin (review HERE) and the run up to christmas - I'm so excited to work in the cosmetics industry at Christmas : my two favourite things! So yeah, expect more to come from me!

Fern