Thirtyandmakeupmad

Lets Talk about Makeup - Maeve Reekie

Hey Guys! Long time no see. Sorry I haven't had a post up in a while, me and Blogger fell out, as you are all well aware by now, technology and I do not get on at the best of times.Thank god a simple update means I am up and running again and excited to bring you regular posts again.

So as you can see from the title, I had the pleasure of interviewing the amazingly talented Maeve Reekie. I also was lucky enough to get my makeup done by Maeve so I could do a review for you guys.

Maeve is a 17 year old MUA from my hometown Dumfries. From the minute I came across Maeve on social media I was blown away by her talent, even more so when I found out she was only 17 years old. What I feel makes Maeve stand out from many other MUA's is the fact she uses mostly drugstore products. (which she discusses in the interview below). Many people believe you have to spend a fortune on high end makeup products to get the best results but Maeve shows this is not the case and in actual fact the drugstore has many hidden gems. There is also nothing more frustrating than getting your makeup done by a professional and feeling amazing but you can not afford to buy the products they used on you. If you get your makeup done by Maeve you can pop along to the local drugstore and pick up the products she used to recreate the look yourself. I think that is amazing!

I don't know about you guys, but I feel really uncomfortable when I am getting any sort of beauty treatment with someone new. Thankfully the minute I met Maeve she made me feel completely at ease. She is a friendly, chatty girl. She makes conversation flow easily and is constantly checking you are comfortable and happy with the look she is creating. Maeve asked me what sort of look I wanted but I told her to do whatever she wanted. As you can see from the photographs below she done a brilliant job. She used eyeshadow shades that I always gravitate towards because they compliment my blue eyes. My brows looked the best they have ever looked and I swear it only took her a matter of minutes to do them, she is a brow genius. My skin looked totally flawless (which i can tell you, it is not! I have not been looking after it the way I should!) Overall, I loved the Makeup and is lasted really well. If you have a night out or an event coming up I highly recommend booking Maeve to do your makeup. Details on how to contact her are at the end of the post.

Who are your main influences when it comes to Makeup?

I absolutely love Lucy Fitz. When I started doing makeup, she was the first girl I found that was the same age as me at the time and doing makeup on clients. I am so inspired by her hard work ethic and passion for makeup, she's definitely one of my favourites. Through her I discovered others such as KeilidhMua & StacyMarieMua What inspired you to start a career as an mua? If I'm honest, it happened unintentionally. I knew that I had a massive passion for makeup and that I wanted to share my work with others, so I created my page to do exactly that. People started messaging me asking for appointments and it just took off from there! I can't imagine not doing it now, I love it so much.

What YouTubers/Beauty Influencers do you watch? If any?

I love to watch Jamie Genevieve, NikkieTutorials, SophDoesNails, PixiWoo, Jaclyn Hill, Rachel Leary, Jordan Lipscombe & John Maclean - I could go on, I watch so many! You Tube has 100% improved the makeup I do on myself and on others.

What are your holy grail products?

Makeup wise, I cannot live without Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow & No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation. Both of these products have been in my collection for over 2 years now and I still haven't changed them up! Skincare wise, Micellar water is a life changer!!

If you could only use one brand forever, which one would you choose?

I think I'd probably have to pick NYX. Obviously all brands have the things they are amazing at making and I think NYX have some of the most amazing products all round, I love their eye shadows, liner, brow products, lipstick, primer, glitter, glitter glue and setting spray! Their foundation is also meant to be amazing.

I know you are a huge lover of drugstore makeup, what are the top 3 products you would recommend?

Everyone knows I love No7 Beautifully Matte foundation!! But other drugstore products that are a must-have are the collection Glitter Liners, Rimmel instafix + go priming and setting spray and Rimmel Scanaleyes Felt Tip liner.

Are there any high end products you think are worth the splurge?

The Modern Renaissance Palette from ABH is definitely worth it! You can create a whole look just using that palette, that's why I love it! I honestly don't own that many high end products, mostly because I love finding Drugstore alternatives that work just as well! I bought the collection Glitter liners at the time when everyone was splurging on the MoonDust ones from Urban Decay. Now I wouldn't even bother trying any other Glitter liners because I love the collection ones so much!

Do you have any advice for young girls/boys who are just starting to experiment with makeup?

Please be as creative and as colourful as you like. You shouldn't feel tied down by any rules, it doesn't matter if no one else is doing it because that's how makeup trends are created. Makeup is supposed to be fun and in my opinion, makeup is a type of art, so PAINT honey!

Do you have any makeup tips/hacks you would share?

One that I've discovered recently is all to do with bronzer. For some reason, I just couldn't get the hang of bronzing my face. I'd either put far too much on or my foundation would move around, making my face look all muddy. I ending up buying a L'Oréal True Match face powder, but I bought it in a darker shade. As this is a thick, almost foundation like powder, it blends so nicely into the skin and doesn't upset your foundation underneath. Also, if you put too much on, you can just defuse it with your regular face powder.

What is your skincare routine?

I take off my makeup with micellar water, I usually use a lot of cotton pads whilst doing this, just to make sure everything is off my skin. Then I use the body shop cleansing balm which completely melts off any left over makeup. You can use this product without taking your makeup off first but I just like to be extra careful. I'll then scrub my face with the L'Oréal glow scrub, then I use a face wash, usually my Garnier Naturals one. I'll spritz my face with the Botanics Toning Spray and then pop on some moisturiser, either my L'Oréal hydrogenius one or Garnier Rose day cream. I also like to treat myself to a face mask when required, my favourite is the L'Oréal detox mask.

Do you have any tips for Mua's starting out who need to build a kit on a small budget?

A big problem for most MUA's is their selection of foundations, so what I did was just buy 4 shades all spread out along the shade range. This allows you to custom mix shades for clients, instead of spending a lot of money on unnecessary product. I also love the body shop Lightening & Darkening foundation drops.

What plans do you have for the future? I have heard you mention a masterclass and doing Youtube tutorials on social media?

I now have a date for my masterclass which should be revealed in the upcoming weeks - I am so excited! I do want to do YouTube, I'm just nervous to start. I want to make them worth watching and professional so at the moment I'm saving for a new camera and laptop so I can do the best I can!

Lastly, how do you deal with negativity from peers or on social media?

I think I've just learnt that people will always talk - so give them something to talk about. I'm lucky enough to have such supportive friends and family so whenever any hate occurs, I just think about how much I love what I do and why I should never let people take that away from me. But before I've done that I usually have a good rant on my Snapchat about it!

You can follow Maeve on her social media accounts here
Facebook
Twitter
Snapchat - maevereekiemakeup
Instagram

A huge thank you to Maeve for this interview and for doing such a great job of my makeup. I cannot wait for my next night out to get glammed up by you again!

*Makeup done on myself by Maeve was complimentary for the purpose of a review but all opinions are my own*

Thirtyandmakeupmad

I have been using the No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced (What a mouthful!) range for a couple of months now. I wanted to really give it a thorough test before writing a review for you guys. Mainly because although the No7 range is more affordable than a lot of popular skincare around at the moment, it is certainly not cheap, especially if you want to purchase numerous products from the range.

I bought four products from the range - The Serum, Day cream, Night cream and Body serum (not pictured).

No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum 30ml £26

The serum is my favourite product of the four I bought. It has such a lovely consistency and smooths out the texture of my skin and evens out skin tone. It is also a beautiful base for makeup. What I love most about this product is little goes a long way, so you definitely get your moneys worth. It is a brilliant product and I will definitely be repurchasing.

No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Night Cream 50ml £25.00

I am obsessed with night creams! There we go I admitted it. I love nothing more than applying a good moisturiser knowing it is getting to work making me look younger while I am sleeping. This cream did not disappoint. My skin looks instantly plumper when applied. It does a great job of hydrating even my most stubborn dry patches (my chin). On the odd occasion I haven't used this cream at night I have noticed a huge difference in my skin in the morning, it just looks dull and dehydrated. As with the serum a little goes a long way, I still have well over half a jar left which is great for the amount of time I have been using it.

No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Day Cream 50ml £25.00

When it comes to the day cream I am still on the fence. It is a lovely cream and it does contains SPF 15 which is always a bonus but I feel it is an identical product to one of my all time favourite moisturisers Garnier Ultralift which is more than half the price. I would not recommend spending £25 on this cream unless you are buying it while the 3 for 2 promotion is on.

You will notice I did not photograph the body serum. To be honest I totally forgot about it. I think for £24.95 it is ridiculously over priced and a few minutes after applying my skin feels really dry and I have to apply another moisturiser on top. A total waste of money in my eyes.

Have you tried anything from the No7 Protect & Perfect range? or any skincare from No7? Let me know down below what your thoughts are.

**At the time of writing 30/05/17 the No7 Protect & perfect range is included in the 3 for 2 on skincare offer at Boots.com**

Thirtyandmakeupmad

If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know I regularly rave about the Lip liners from New Look. They are my all time favourite liners and are total dupes for the ones from Kylie Cosmetics and Huda Beauty and they are only £2.99!. I never really took an interest in any other makeup products from New Look until their recent re brand which suddenly made their products seem far more inviting.

The best thing about Makeup products from New look is not only are they really affordable but they also are all 3 for 2. Buy any two products and get the 3rd free. What a bargain!

Below are the products I bought to review -

Flawless foundation and contour stick in Porcelain £4.99.

I really like this foundation. Stick foundations tend to be quite drying on the skin but this one is very creamy when applying. It isn't the easiest to blend with a brush so I would recommend using a Beauty Blender. The foundation looks lovely on the skin and makeup blends beautifully over it. My only negative is, it does not last very long on the skin before it starts to separate and go patchy, even when set with a powder. I am going to pick up a darker shade of this foundation to use as a contour shade as I think it would work lovely used this way. Overall, a good product but if you need your foundation to last all day I wouldn't recommend.

Super matte liquid lipstick in Nude Pink £5.99.

This liquid lipstick is one of the most beautiful pinky nude shades I own. It is really easy to apply and you only need one swipe for full colour payoff. Unfortunately it is very drying on the lips and leaves that horrible crusty line on the inside of your lips after a while (you know what I mean ladies!). Its such a shame because it would be an amazing product if it just had a slightly less drying formula.

Dusty pink matte lipstick £3.99.

This lipstick is probably the best thing I picked up. The packaging is so pretty and the lipstick itself rivals some of my higher ends one in quality and longevity. I will definitely be picking up more shades.

Glow baked highlighter powder in Pink Pearls £7.99.

I am kind of still on the fence with this highlighter. It does give the cheekbones a lovely glow and is a great price for the amount of product you get. The downside is it is very powdery so not the easiest to apply and does tend to just sit on the top of your skin rather than blending in with the rest of your makeup. If you are on a budget I would recommend picking this up but if you have a good quality highlighter in your collection I would give it a miss. New look also do a trio of highlighters in a palette for £7.99 a friend of mine has and I found them to be better quality and far easier to apply.

You can browse the Makeup line from New Look Here.

Have you tried any beauty products from New Look? Let me know down below what you thought. Please also let me know if there are any other Beauty products from New Look or any other fashion store you would like me to try. I have heard great things about Topshop makeup so if you want to see a review, I am happy to buy some products to try.

Thirtyandmakeupmad

This has Changed my Life.......

For as long as I can remember I have hated my hair! I cant even call it curly, it is just pure frizz that is impossible to style. Over the past few years I have had numerous treatments done at different salons to try and straighten it to make it easier to manage. Although I have had great success with some products, they have damaged my hair and made it to fall out.

When I heard about the Brazilian blow-dry I was intrigued, mainly because people were saying it did absolutely no damage to your hair. I researched 4 Local Salons and the products they use and decided to go with The Cutting edge Salon who use Cocochoco keratin treatment.

Before Treatment- Just washed and left to dry!

Before the treatment I was asked to wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo and not to use any conditioner. I left my hair to dry naturally, you can see from the before pictures it was extremely frizzy.

After Brazilian Blow-dry Treatment, also straightened by GHDs.

The process took roughly 2 hours. I had the treatment applied directly to my dry hair then was left for 10 minutes while it soaked in. Then the process of straightening begun. The hairdresser warned me that it can sometimes make your eyes water a little due to the heat on the treatment, so she gave me a towel to put over my eyes if I wanted to. A couple of times during the process I found my eyes were watering and quite nippy but it was no big deal and the towel was helpful.

You can see above the results after the process was finished. I was impressed, but was excited to see what it would be like when I tried to style it myself and how long it would stay straight.

I was advised to keep straightening my hair regularly, not to put my hair up and not to wash my hair for at least 3 days and when I did to use a sulphate free shampoo. It took some time to find a shampoo that was sulphate free but eventually I found this Schwarzkopf one on Beauty Bay.

Styling my own hair

Blowdry

Straighten

I will be totally honest it really was a nightmare not washing my hair for a few days. It wouldn't usually bother me too much but The treatment made my hair look extremely greasy, which was really embarrassing. The fact I also couldn't tie my hair up was also frustrating. Saying that, It was all 100% worth it!

You can see from the pictures above that the treatment has made styling my own hair easy for the first time in my life. None of the treatments I have had in the past have made my hair so straight. What's even better is I have had no hair fall out and my hair is actually in far better condition than before the treatment.

It has been a couple of weeks since I had the Brazilian blow dry, I can honestly say it has completely changed my life! This may sound quite dramatic but I honestly felt so self conscious before and no matter what I did I just couldn't style it myself which was making me miserable. I could not be happier with the result and will continue getting it done every 3 months as recommended by the salon.

If you live in Dumfries or the surrounding areas and are interested in getting a Brazillian Blowdry, you can contact The Cutting Edge Salon on 01387 279009 or on their Facebook page here.

***THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST I PAID FULL PRICE OF £60 FOR THE TREATMENT***

Thirtyandmakeupmad

I was lucky enough to be invited along to my local Lush store in Carlisle on Thursday night to celebrate the launch of their 2017 Easter collection. It was an amazing evening and I was lucky enough to share it with some fellow bloggers including my lovely friend Laura (@Lauramcmakeup).

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge Lush fan so spending the evening making bath bombs, hearing all about how the products are made and getting to sample all their new products was just brilliant! What I've always loved about Lush is just how passionate their staff are about the brand. This was proven on Thursday night while chatting away to the various staff members at the event, they were all so genuinely excited about the new products as well as chatting in depth with us about some old favourites.

I have included below some of the pictures I managed to take during the evening as well as pictures of the new products from the Easter collection.