Sarah Artistry makeup and brushes review

Last November me and my sister Kerri, drove to London for a "mac masterclass"after we had found an offer on groupon. It was a small room of people around 10 of us and we were all given our own set of brushes to use for the class which i liked. It was run by a lady called Sarah, who talked in detail about all the different mac products that were trending and what foundations from mac would suit our individual skin types and colours etc. Whilst Sarah talked a lot about mac she also was showing us a few of her own products and brushes as we went along, as it came to the end of the class we all had the chance to buy any of her products that we were interested in.. kerri and me went a little over board! 
I thought i would do a blog post on the items i bought to show some up close pictures and to review them in a little detail for anyone that might be looking to try out a new brand!

Kerri and i after our makeovers! (very serious poses going on) 

I was really excited to try out my new buys from Sarah Artistry, because the products i chose were all things I hadn't yet added to my makeup collection. For example i had been searching for a detailed contour palette without being too expensive and a good camouflage kit for a while which i found at Sarah Artistry! 

                             (excuse the mess of of the palette, i have been using it ALOT)

Professional camouflage palette £30 (on offer)

I think i paid around £30 for this which at the time i thought was slightly pricey for me, but it was exactly what i was looking for, i hate the colour correctors that are very chalky and have hardly any pigment so when i saw this beauty from Sarah Artistry i couldn't resist. It is a very creamy consistency and is best applied with a flat concealer brush and to apply i like to dab dots around my face with the different colours in certain areas and then blend it all together with my foundation and foundation brush. 

GREEN: Is the colour i use the most without doubt. I am naturally fair and full of freckles, which for me usually results in quite red blotchy cheeks. I apply the green to my cheeks and the sides of my nose.

(All red areas)

LILAC: I only really use the lilac colour for under my eyes to brighten them and i find this really works. I usually have quite a dull tone under my eyes even after foundation, where as when i use this i notice the difference when applying foundation. I find i don't need to use as much concealer under my eyes when i've used this because it does the job nicely!

PINK:  I find is best on sallow areas to even out the skin tone, i use this around my mouth area and around my eyebrows i don't know if this is completely correct but it works best for me!

YELLOW: i think the yellow shade is best for concealing dark patches/ bruising etc. I sometimes put a touch of this under my eyes to even out the skin tone and again just apply this to the areas each day i think need a bit of covering up.

I do use this palette most mornings, I find it just really gives a base for my foundation. I always like a full coverage with my face so to me this just really adds to it. I notice the difference if i don't apply it usually half way through the day when my foundation is rubbing off, my red cheeks show through a lot more than if i had my green dabs on! I now think this was well worth the price.

"Black Caviar" Eyeliner £10

I remember us all trying this eyeliner out at the masterclass and i think everyone in the room ended up buying one! I'm not usually a fan of pencil style eyeliner except on my tight line but couldn't resist this as it was only £10 at the time because it was a new product of Sarah's. it is a very smooth feel and smudge free. It took a solid 10 minutes scrubbing at my hand to get the swatch off! but with eye makeup remover comes off fine on the eyes. It is a very soft consistency which means you have to end up sharpening it quite often but is worth it for the glide it gives. 

Contour powders- Around £30

I really love this contour palette, it is the perfect shades for my skin tone and are all very pigmented. It is quite a natural look when i use these, the colours are all very sunkissed bronze, which i think will be perfect in the summer. I like that you receive a little card with details about the different shades and where best to use them. I have used these powders a lot in the last 3 months yet there is no sign of the bottom of the palette which is great!

(oops excuse the unwashed brushes)

Professional brush set & belt £150.00 (on offer)

this was my most WOW buy of the day. The fact the brushes even came with a professional belt was what won it for me haha! The set comes with around 16 brushes i think it was, but Sarah was lovely and gave me a couple of free extra brushes for buying so much which i really appreciated. I use most of these brushes daily (as you can tell from the pic). They don't have names or numbers on each brush so i can't really talk in detail about them individually but i do love the contour fluffy big brush ( fourth in from the right) it is perfect for getting in at the cheek bones and is bigger than the usual contour brushes so is good for quickness! I do find a couple of the bigger brushes do have quite a bit of fallout BUT the brushes are thick and full that it doesn't seem to be making a difference to the quality of the brushes. The set comes with many different eyeshadow brushes, which was what excited me the most because before Sarah Artistry i only ever used a couple of go to eyeshadow brushes where as now having all these i swap about daily.The set truly comes with a wide variety of brushes perfect for everyone!

Overall, I am very pleased with the products i purchased back in November because since then a lot of these have been part of my every day go to products and have all been completely worth the money spent! i think it's now time for me to go and wash my brushes.. 

e.l.f collection

'Eyes Lips Face'

 click here to visit the e.l.f website

This is a brand i have always went back to for more products, because it isn't a UK based company i have always ordered online, and usually when they have a offer on. I have ordered once when they had a 50% off deal. I ordered so many products and it ended up costing hardly anything! I always keep my eye out for anymore offers.

I have collected elf over the last couple of years, and i still visit the website now and then when i am running out of my favourite products or to see what new stock they have in.

The prices on elf used to be much cheaper than they are now.. When there was a range for £1.50 that is when i ordered the most. Where as now obviously as the company is growing so is the cost..

I have products i love and hate from e.l.f, but far more that i love!

from left to right on the bottom picture of the nail wheel:
'Metal madness''Dark navy''purple dream''teal blue''yellow''Mod mauve''Nude' 'Mango madness'

Nail polish's have always been one of my favourite buys from elf. The price used to be £1.50 which was so cheap, where as now they are £2.50 which is still a very reasonable price as the normal sized nail varnish are big bottles.
The little bottles of polish in the pictures are sets that they bring out through the seasons.  I have the winter and summer sets. I love the colours for the winter ( left hand side on the wheel) they are sparkly and metallic. As i was doing the swatches I had to throw the little orange nail polish away as it was far to gloopy, i don't think the consistency and brushes are as good on the little bottles compared to the normal range. My favourite colour is 'nude' it is a elegant and feminine colour on the nails and matches any outfit.

          

 These two products i have purchased a few bottles of each over time, as they are my favourite eyelid primer 'sheer' and the concealer 'ivory' has a great coverage and colour.  The eyelid primer is a lightweight liquid formula that soaks in to make the lids smooth ready for application of eyeshadow. My eyeshadow never creases when i use this and my eyeshadow lasts all day. The tone correcting concealer is a essential for my makeup bag, it covers any redness or dark circles, i use the colour "ivory" and for me it gives a flawless base for                  the next step of foundation.                  

Eyeliner&Shadow stick  :Top to bottom:
Pearl&Glow -Plum&Purple-Black&Smoke-Brown&Basic
cream eyeliner-'punk purple'

These eyeliner&shadow sticks i have in a few different colours, and are good for creating quick and easy looks. Using the eyeliner end to create a smudged gel liner that gives the eyes definition, then follow by using the shadow side in the matching colour to highlight the lids and to complement the liner. I haven't used the cream eyeliner that i purchased  but when i did swatch it, it doesn't come out very pigmented and is quite sheer, when i expected it to be a vibrant purple.

The left blush 'Candid Coral' The right blush 'Tickled pink'
Healthy Glow bronzing powder-'Sun kissed'
The 4 set bronzer 'cool bronzer'

The cool bronzer is what i use everyday on my face, The darkest shade is perfect for contouring and then adding the lighter brown for bronzer. I finish by using the white part under my  eyes above my cheeks to add highlight.My favourite blush is "tickled pink' and I use the Healthy glow bronzer in the summer months because it has a lot of shimmer.

Top left picture (from left to right)

'Classy' 'Nostalgic' 'Captivating' 'Posh'

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick -'In the nudes' 'Pink Umbrellas'

Bottom left picture (from left to right)

'Rich Raspberry' 'Cheerful cherry' 'Runway pink' 'cool coral' lip exfoliator 

Bottom right picture(from left to right)

'vixen' 'Joy' 'raspberry' 'Mauve' 'Fuchsia Fanatic'

The top picture with the silver packaging is a cheaper lipstick range and the bottom picture of the black packaging is the luxury range.

I prefer the cheaper lipsticks as they are much more hydrating on my lips and give a finishing shine. They are scented with a slight fruity strawberry scent.  The downside to them is because they have a moisturising formula they melt easily. A few of them in the past have became unusable from breaking and becoming sticky.But as long as they are kept in a cool storage they are fine. I would say these "essential lipsticks" are one of my favourite lipsticks to use.

The "Mineral Lipsticks" are more sleek and give a better coverage for longer. The nude colours i have can be a little drying. 'Runway Pink' is my favourite for a every day look.

The Hypershine lipgloss has a brush like applicator that you twist to unlock the gloss. I use 'Joy' over other lipsticks to create a pearly shiny look. The 'Luscious liquid lipstick' in shade Raspberry has a mint scent and a sponge applicator. 

Dramatic eyelashes& Natural eyelashes. Brightening eye pots. 

Brightening eyeshadow colour-'Silver lining' 'Glam' 'Butternut''Luxe'

Its clear from the big palette that my favourite shades of eyeshadows are browns. A couple of the pots are almost empty. The brightening eyeshadows are my favourite product from e.l.f I have them in the variety of colours so i can use them for any occasion. I use 'butternut' most days for a everyday brown smokey eye look. And the black colour in the quad "glam' is a perfect black it is super pigmented and has shimmer glitter. 

I am a true fan of e.l.f because of the reasonable prices and the range of products to test out. There are still plenty of products i am wanting to try out and will be placing another order soon.