Yve'sChild is an 'occasional' beauty and fashion blog. Fashion.Beauty.Lifestyle. 'Be your own kind of beautiful'

December 31, 2015

Stepping it up: Makeup Geek, Morphe and Mac Eyeshadow Haul

Hi all! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!! Apologies in advance- this is going to be quite a long post! If you are a regular reader you will know that I never wear eyeshadow and haven't featured any on my blog before... Mascara is about as much as I have experimented with when it comes to eye makeup for a few reasons: 

1. I'm not trying to look like someone punched me in the face- this is the result I have obtained anytime I have tried to wear the stuff. 
2. It looked like way too much effort 
3. I don't have anywhere that special to go to for me to bother :D

Recently I've been a bit bored with all the lip products I seem to have acquired and really wanted to step up my makeup. Aside from contouring, this is the main thing I have never been able to master so I decided to get some eyeshadow and start practicing! I did a lot of research into palettes for 'beginners' etc and a few people recommended the Warm or Cool neutrals palette from Mac, the Morphe 35 palettes and Sleek I-Divine palettes . In the end I decided to make my own palette with colours that I actually liked. Don't get me wrong, the ready made palettes can be very cost effective and I have since bought a few but I just kept thinking I wouldn't wear all the colours so it seemed a little excessive. 

Makeup Geek, Morphe and Mac Eyeshadow

As I mentioned, I did a lot of research before buying the shades that went into this palette. I watched so many YouTube videos.. (Shout out to The Fancy Faced, Jackie Aina, Nikkie Tutorials), googled swatches and asked for recommendations. Many people I spoke to recommended Makeup Geek and Mac for the best shadows in terms of pigmentation. I started looking for Makeup Geek shadows on Ebay but Beauty Bay started selling them which made them much easier to get hold of! The palette is mainly comprised of Makeup Geek and Morphe pans with one pan from Mac. I also bought an empty magnetised Morphe palette  as a cheaper alternative to a Mac palette. Unlike the common Z palettes used to house Makeup Geek shadows it has a mirror and is a little more sturdy in my opinion.

Makeup Geek, Morphe and Mac eyeshadow

Morphe 12 Colour magnetic palette

All in all, I was looking for Mac dupes, I swatched quite a few Mac shadows in store and I knew which ones I wanted, mainly Red brick, Swiss Chocolate, Carbon, Antiqued and Atlantic blue but I was not about to pay the Mac price so I searched for Makeup Geek and Morphe shades that were really similar. 

Mac pans £10/$10 (you can sometimes get these for £9.50 from Debenhams

First of all I must say that all the shades are super pigmented, the Makeup Geek shades a little more so than the Morphe ones but they all still pack a punch. Most of the shades are super smooth and easy to apply.  I experience some fall out with them, particularly with Corrupt and Peacock, however it isn't not too much of a hassle to wipe away. With a primer these stay on my eyelid for the whole day, even though I always forget I'm wearing eyeshadow and rub my eyes! We all know I do not know anything technical about eyeshadow so I can't really say much more!

Makeup Geek, Morphe and Mac eyeshadow

The shades (left to right)

Row 1 

Makeup Geek: Peacock (matte deep teal blue) comparable to Mac Plumage  
Makeup Geek: Envy (frost- shimmery deep green)
Morphe: Sapphire ES49 (frost- cobalt blue) comparable to Mac Freshwater 
Makeup Geek: Neptune ( matte true blue) comparable to Mac Atlantic Blue 

This row was definitely the experimental row! I have seen some amazing looks created with Mac Atlantic Blue so I knew I had to get Neptune. It really packs a punch, so bright and shocking! It applies very smoothly and looks great smudged along the waterline. I found Peacock to be a bit powdery but it is still a lovely matte shade that becomes more workable with a primer. Envy and Sapphire are lovely frost shades- perfect for night looks. Envy reminds me of Christmas, the shimmer is not too excessive and I can imagine it looking amazing with a little glitter on top! Sapphire is super smooth and very vibrant -I think it pairs really well with Neptune. 

Row 2

Makeup Geek : Morocco ( matte burnt orange) comparable to Mac Red Brick 
Makeup Geek : Mocha (deep matte brown)
Makeup Geek : Cocoa bear (matte reddish brown) comparable to Mac Brown Script
Mac: Swiss Chocolate (muted reddish brown)

After hearing many Youtube MUA's  talk about the importance of transition shades I knew I needed to include some great ones in my palette. A few MUA's who are of a similar skin tone to me used Red Brick and Swiss Chocolate a lot as transition shades particularly when creating smokey eyes. Morocco is pretty much identical to Red Brick but I couldn't find anything that looked like Swiss Chocolate. I just went ahead and purchased Swiss Chocolate and I don't regret it! It is smooth and blends really easily, it also matches my skin tone really well so I find it great to give my lids an even tone as well as using it as a general transition shade. Annoyingly it isn't magnetic so I have to be really careful when opening the palette because it has fallen out a few times! Mocha and Cocoa Bear are both described as reddish brown but I think Cocoa Bear is more fitting to the description. Cocoa Bear is a great crease shade particularly for a brown smokey eye but I find it works well for blending Swiss Chocolate with a black shadow for a dramatic smokey eye. I haven't quite figured out how to use Mocha correctly! I find it a little chalky  but I imagine it can be built up for added depth to your crease. 

Row 3

Morphe:  Burlesque ES74 (copper shimmer) comparable to Mac Antiqued
Morphe: Blackberry ES25 (burgundy with red shimmer)
Makeup Geek : Galaxy (metallic gunmetal) comparable to Mac Knight Divine
Makeup Geek: Corrupt ( intense matte black with subtle sparkle) comparable to Mac Carbon 

This row has my favourite colours! Burlesque is so pretty- it applies very smoothly and it's the one I have used the most so far! If you love warm neutrals this is a great shade, the shimmer is perfect. Since purchasing these I have also bought one of the Mac x 9 palettes in Burgundy which has Antiqued in it and the shades are basically identical! Blackberry is a little powdery but still quite pigmented, like Peacock above it is more workable with a good primer. I got Corrupt because the common feature of most palettes is a matte black shade and as it is more intense than Carbon I figured it was a great investment. There's quite a bit of fall out with Corrupt but it's not too annoying to wipe away. Galaxy is gorgeous! Amazing colour pay off and applies smoothly.



Makeup Geek Peacock, Envy, Neptune, Morocco, Corrupt, Cocoa Bear, Mocha. Mac Swiss Chocolate. Morphe Burlesque, Sapphire, Blackberry
Swatches (no flash)

Makeup Geek Peacock, Envy, Neptune, Morocco, Corrupt, Cocoa Bear, Mocha. Mac Swiss Chocolate. Morphe Burlesque, Sapphire, Blackberry
Swatches (with flash)
Things I've learnt:

1. My eyelids are minimal :( I need some tips on how to make the shadow stand out a bit more when my eyes are open. I think I should make an effort to learn how to apply lashes because my lashes do not stand out enough for dramatic looks :(
2. Primer! The eyeshadow kept creasing :'( I recently bought the Urban Decay Primer potion which has made a big difference.
3. Brushes! I need to invest in a good full set of eyebrushes if I want this to work for me. I have been using the amazing Sigma E30 pencil brush a lot and some brushes I was gifted from L.A.B.2* at a recent Bloggers Hangout event but I would love a complete set. What set would you recommend??
4. Practice! My initial fears are confirmed- this really is a lot of effort but I'm going to keep trying, and because I do not believe in arm swatch posts I have put pictures below of a couple of my practice runs where I am using some of the shades in the palette:

Black Smokey eye- Makeup Geek Corrupt, Morocco, Cocoa Bear. Mac Swiss Chocolate

Black Smokey eye- Makeup Geek Corrupt, Morocco, Cocoa Bear. Mac Swiss Chocolate


Transition shade: Swiss Chocolate and Morocco
Crease: Cocoa Bear and Mocha
Lid: Corrupt
Inner Tear duct: Light shimmer shade from the sleek Au Naturel palette 

Mac Embark, Swiss Chocolate, Honey Lust Morphe Blackberry

Transition shade: Swiss Chocolate
Crease : Embark (from Mac Burgundy x 9)
Lid: Blackberry 
Inner tear duct : Honey Lust (from Mac Burgundy x 9)

I strongly encourage feedback on my attempts! Where do I need to improve? I can take criticism don't worry lol Comment below :)

'Be your own kind of beautiful' 

*Disclosure - Any items marked with an asterix (*) are either PR samples/gifts. All the opinions written about the products are my own. Not sponsored. 

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2016: I know there's gonna be GOOD TIMES!

Wow... Where has the year gone?! I'm so grateful to everyone who has taken the time out to read my blog this year.. I appreciate every single comment and suggestion! I have been seeing lots of 'Blog goals' posts and contemplated doing one but in the end I decided against it. My only real blog goal is to continue trying to create good content that people actually want to read and to enjoy doing it! Instead of a goals post I'm just going to use this post to offer a few words of encouragement.

You may not have had the best year... There will probably have been some ups and down.. But you are alive! Believe that in 2016 there's going to be GOOD TIMES! (Word to Jamie Xx) I think it's so easy to adopt an attitude of dejection, so easy to complain and worry but I am urging us all to adopt an attitude of gratitude... Choose happiness...! If you read my I Define Me post you will know that I had heart surgery last year which completely changed my attitude towards life.. I truly believe that happiness is a choice- yes bad things may happen to you but bad things do not have to defeat you! Keep on pushing to achieve your goals and adopt an attitude of gratitude, encourage others, be kind and believe that there will be GOOD TIMES!

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR! God bless.



'Be your own kind of beautiful' 
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December 25, 2015

Christmas Giveaway Winner(s)!

Merry Christmas guys!!! This is just a really quick post to announce the winner of my giveaway!!


The Rafflecopter selected : BONITA SAMUELS!! Congratulations!! ... but because I am just so happy to be alive right now I went ahead and asked it to select a few more... ALEX ROOKE and CHIAMAKA LIV IWUNZE will also be receiving something in the post (you guys might have to wait a few more days lol because I haven't decided what it is going to be yet). Please send me your addresses to yveschild@gmail.com,  I'll send you all an email soon regardless xx 

I really wish I could send you all something but I hope to do many more giveaways in the future so keep your eyes peeled!



I hope you all have a FANTASTIC day and a happy new year!

God bless x 

'Be your own kind of beautiful' 

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December 01, 2015

Christmas Giveaway 2015!

I've been putting this together for a very long time and I am excited to announce that it's Christmas Giveaway time! I wanted this to be bigger and better than the one I did last Christmas and I hope you really like the items I've picked out! 

Christmas Giveaway 2015 (Zoeva Smokey, Nanshy, Kiko, Burberry)

Every item was chosen and bought my me over a few months :) I tried to choose a range of summer/autumn shades that should suit any skin tone. I didn't want to open them up so please google the shades! The giveaway includes:

Zoeva Smoky Palette
Nanshy 7 piece Eyebrush Set 
Burberry Lip Cover (Cameo Pink)
Stila Colorbalm Lipstick( Evangeline)
Burberry Light Glow Blush (No. 10 Hydrangea Pink)
Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate (No. 48)
Barry M Nail Varnish (Nightshade and red wine)
Burberry Nail Varnish (Pink Peoney)
Kiko Velvet Mat Lipstick (No. 605)
Kiko creamy Colour Lipliner ( No. 305 and 315 
Chocolate!
Christmas Giveaway incl. Zoeva, Nanshy, Kiko, Burberry

Christmas Giveaway incl. Zoeva, Nanshy, Kiko, Burberry

Christmas Giveaway incl. Zoeva, Nanshy, Kiko, Burberry

How to enter:

UK Entries only :( 

Fill in the Rafflecopter below and the winner will be picked by RANDOM by the RaffleCopter. 

The giveaway ends at midnight on Christmas Eve and the winner will be announced on Christmas Day :) The winner will be notified by email and the items will be posted on Tuesday 28th December

There are no entry requirements for this giveaway. If you would like to leave a comment on any of my blog posts or social media accounts please feel free :D I love reading all the comments people have left me on my posts :) 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Be your own kind of beautiful"
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Review: The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation

I'm sure you know by now that I live for my Lancôme foundation! However,  seeing as I'm living a student life again I cannot be using £29.50 foundation on a daily. Unfortunately, I don't really like any of the formulas of the other foundations usually found in Boots i.e. Maybelline, L'Oréal etc. so I was quite excited when The Body Shop released this range a few months ago in the price range I was aiming for! The ladies in the The Body Shop store I went to were so lovely, probably the best customer service I've had in a while actually! Shout out to The Body Shop in Romford!

The product

Shade Range: 16 shades-  It seems like there are 4 shades with varying undertones for the following skin tones: 
Fair: Chelsea Porcelain, Bora Bora Tiare Kyoto Blossom, Bali Vanilla
Medium: Hawaii macadamia, Fiji Sand, Sahara Light, Yorkshire Rose 
Olive- Tan: Santorini Sunset, Atlas Dunes, Sicily Amber, Yucatan Honey
Deep: Andalusia Almond, Seychelles Cinnamon, Caribbean Mahogany, Tuscany Chestnut 
Claims: Enriched with hydrating rose water, skin is left beautifully moisturised for up to 24h and protected with SPF15. With a semi-matte finish, all our 16 shades mimic the look of fresh natural skin with a nude glow
Price: £15 for 30ml

The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation  (Tuscany Chestnut) and Darkening Shade Adjusting Drops

It's a bit of a shame that the range doesn't include more deep tone shades, however when I think of the shade ranges, available at Boots, from the other brands it's not the worst. The Body Shop are also selling Shade Adjusting Drops for £10 which you can use to lighten or darken the foundation if you do not find a shade that fits you. I know many people will have mixed opinions on the shade adjusting drops. On the one hand it is an extra cost and if you add the price of the drops to the foundation price you could buy a high end foundation that actually matches your skin tone. On the other hand you don't always get a perfect match from any brand and it could actually save you money in the long run. You can use it with any of your foundations, particularly when your skin gets lighter/darker in Summer/Winter as well as adding them to make custom highlight and contour shades. I picked up the darkening drops even though I don't really have much use for them right now *covers face* I'll give you an update when I use it! I know the drops have been compared to Cover FX's Custom Cover Drops . I wouldn't say that they are exactly the same, although the Cover FX drops can alter the shade of your foundation, their main marketed purpose is to allow you to sheer out your foundation or make it full coverage. It does have more shades available but at £36 it is much more expensive!

The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation (Tuscany Chestnut)
One pump of the Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation (10 minutes after application)

I got the shade Tuscany Chesnut, which is the darkest shade available, and i'm actually quite happy with the match. It comes with a pump and is housed in a standard glass bottle. I usually go for completely matte foundations because I really don't like the shiny look I tend to get with dewy foundations. This is a semi- matte finish and I actually really like the way it looks when it is freshly applied- it gives a really natural glow but it's not shiny. Even though I do like the way it looks on it's own I haven't been brave enough to wear it without powder. It is a light to medium coverage foundation so it definitely doesn't cover all my blemishes and scars, however it can be built up to full coverage but will not feel as light and natural if you do. Above is one pump of the foundation applied with my Sigma F80 brush. Below is two pumps with concealer, powder and the whole shebang.  I have been using this for over a month now and I think it has quite good wear time- I wouldn't go as far as saying it lasts 24 hours as I normally have to touch up the powder half way through the day but apart from that it's reasonable.

The Body Shop  Fresh Nude Foundation
Fresh Nude Foundation with Esteé Lauder Double Wear Concealer and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark Deep

Verdict

Ok so I won't be abandoning Lancôme any time soon (Who do I think I am wearing Lancôme every day anyway lol!)  but this is definitely a good offering for an everyday foundation, particularly if you haven't had much luck with other drugstore foundations.  If you like the natural glow look this might be a great foundation for you to try. It's comfortable and light weight and would probably be quite a good summer foundation too. These are available in stores so definitely go and get matched and test them out before you commit to buying!

p.s my eyebrows look useless in these pics.. and seriously who knows a good Invisalign specialist?! lolz

"Be your own kind of beautiful"



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I Define ME

That doesn't, he/she doesn't, they don't , you don't... I define ME. 

I was on a popular Youtube personality/blogger's Instagram the other day and I saw a comment that said "open your eyes... There's something so wrong with this picture... She's not happy" I just thought how do you know Sherlock? 

It got me thinking about what I put out on my blog and what 'Be your OWN kind of beautiful' actually means and why I use the quote at the end of every post. I use it because I truly believe that you are the only one truly capable of defining your self... Not Jim and Bob or Mary the psychoanalyst turned keyboard warrior who sits behind her laptop ... YOU..

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been contemplating doing a post about my scar but in the end I decided that it didn't warrant an extensive description. My scar is from heart surgery. I won't go into too much detail but I have a condition called Marfan Syndrome and I had a main valve replaced with plastic in order to prevent an often fatal aortic aneurism. Having the operation was the scariest thing I've ever experienced... Lol they had to sedate me before the anaesthetic because I was seriously freaking out.

Fast forward and it was thankfully successful and I was left with this scar. When taking pictures for my blog posts I normally stand far away from the camera so it can't be seen but I am so over that! I mean.. really Christine?! You went through all that...10 hours,  10inch incision, breastbone cracked open, infections and you're worried about how awful the scar looks?! I am not about letting this syndrome or scar define me.. I'm healthy. Point blank and the period (word to Tamar Braxton) I'm going to start saying 'sorry is the sight offending you' to the strange people who stare at it on the train lol...

The point I'm trying to make is "Be your own kind of beautiful" doesn't have anything to do with psychical beauty.. It's about you being yourself and owning what you know you have to offer... scars and all... Not giving anyone the time of day who makes you second guess yourself or your standards... Loving yourself... Not filtering yourself... I mean..If someone unfollows me because my 'black' and 'Jesus' tweets make them uncomfortable... it's alright babes, I don't mind... Lol DO YOU BOO! To the bloggers, members of the YouTube community and anyone who gets negative comments on a daily,  Mary the psychoanalyst turned keyboard warrior's comment is irrelevant and will not define you. 



"Be your own kind of beautiful"

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