Life Update: ShopLouella Brushes, my YouTube Channel and the Academy of Session Styling!

I'm so sorry, but once again I've been very much absent from my wee space here on the inter-web! Thought that I'd give you a wee quick update of my past couple of weeks!

I've been a busy bee lately, assisting at a couple of incredible photoshoots, one with ROX jewellers assisting the amazing Kat McSwein, and another for Harris Tweed working with the equally amazing Ana Cruzalegui! These shoots were spectacular, I kid you not - penthouse suites, private jets (not that I was anywhere near the private jets, but still!), buckingham palace-style houses and the most gorgeous clothes and jewellery ever. Sadly our lovely Scottish weather lived up to our expectations and it rained on both of these occasions, making for some rather hectic running around after models with umbrellas and plenty powder, but they were both amazing experiences and I can't thank the two lovely makeup artists mentioned above enough for having me :) I also worked at the Fashion of the Arts event last week, a lovely Fashion Show in Glasgow which was raising money for Yorkhill Children's Hospital. It was a great night, and the makeup, designed by my fellow academy student Kirstie Elizabeth Smith (body painting in the photo below!), was fantastic!

My wee social media related job is plodding along nicely too, I'm so excited to be getting some experience in this side of things since long term I think this is what I want to do!

In other news, I now have a YouTube channel! Yes, if you've missed it on facebook or twitter, I'll pop a link to it HERE. I finally bit the bullet and went for it - it's only taken me three years! Hope you enjoy my videos if you go for a wee look!

I thought I'd end this little update with a list of the things I've been most interested in/talking about the most since I last posted!

ShopLouella - the gorgeous Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter) and Zoe (Zoella) have started their own online shop, and I purchased a set of beautiful Bdellium brushes from them on Thursday night when their website launched! I went for the mineral set (pictured below), and they arrived on Saturday morning - less than 48hours after I ordered them! I already can't say enough good things about these brushes, and the lovely girls who I bought them from. I adore both of them, their videos together never fail to make me smile. Here's a little link to ShopLouella, definitely check it out!

Bo Bruce and Danny O'Donoughue - I may or may not have developed a slight obsession with The Voice UK. In particular, I'm just a tiny bit smitten with coach Danny O'Donoghue, and cannot explain how much I love #TeamDanny contestant Bo Bruce. As I type this blogpost, I am listening to her EP which I downloaded from iTunes the other day and it is amazing!!! I just love her voice, and she's definitely my new girl crush when it comes to her style. She looks so effortlessly cool and understated. And, what's more, she followed me on twitter when I tweeted her, someone who interacts with their fans like that always impresses me! Also, Danny's enthusiasm is so infectious, I've never seen such a supportive coach on any of these sorts of shows. He's always up on his feet, not just for his contestants, but for all of them, singing along, cheering them on and giving them really constructive feedback. You can tell how passionate he is about music. Okay, enough about that, before I get carried away and plan my wedding to Danny, with Bo performing a set at our reception.... a girl can dream?!

Nina Nesbitt - If you haven't YouTubed young Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt, do it now. I'm not going to ramble on about this, as she doesn't need it, her talent stands very much on it's own two feet! Her EP 'The Apple Tree' came out last week and suffice to say it, along with Bo Bruce, is on repeat on my iPod right now!

The Academy of Session Styling - as I've mentioned plenty times before, I studied at the amazing Academy of Makeup in Glasgow, and this week the sister academy was finally revealed to the world!! The Academy of Session Styling was launched, and for any hairdressers, or makeup artists, who want to move into session styling to work more in the fashion industry, this is an amazing, and unique set of courses taught by the incredible tutors Martine Carroll and Karen McDougall. If you or anyone you know are intertested, please go and have a wee look at the website here, I can't tell you how amazing Karen and Martine are and how worthwhile this course will be for boosting skills and confidence whatever industry you wish to pursue hair-styling in!

Phew, after that ramble I better get going, lots to do today! Thanks for reading guys, hope you are all well! Let me know if you've been up to anything exciting lately!

Lynsey x

Happy Easter and an April Update...

Hi guys, long time no speak, I'm so sorry! Today I'm back with a what I've been up to, what I'm getting up to this week and 'what's coming up on the blog this week' post :)

Last week the beautiful weather we'd been having turned a bit sad and grey, so my days weren't too exciting! I did, however, have rather an exciting meeting on Friday about some work I'm going to be starting soon, so I'll fill you in on all that once the details have been ironed out and it's all confirmed :) suffice to say though I'm super duper excited about it. It's potentially the start of my own wee business venture, so all going well, it could be the start of a new career path! Ooh my, I mustn't get ahead of myself after one lunch meeting, but I can't help having a good feeling about it :) This week involves more business planning which is all a bit scary, a couple of catch ups with some of my lovely friends who I haven't seen in a while including a farewell lunch for my friend Beatrice who's moving to London next week!) and shopping for my mum's birthday.

Beatrice and I at a flat warming back in our uni days :)

Blog wise, I've got a makeup haul to do! I have bought quite a few new bits and pieces lately, including a Revlon Lip Butter and a Loreal Caresse, so I'll do a proper review of them at some point soon. I also got a couple of exciting things in TKMaxx, and took full advantage of the Boots 3 for 2 offer, so I'll get that haul post done soon :)

I've also got another make up inspirations post planned. I think I'll link this post to my Pinterest actually, because I'm getting really addicted to it at the moment, and I've got a whole albums worth of inspiring makeup images on there. I also have a YouTube Beauty board on Pinterest, which you should go and check out, I'm linking lots of my favourite videos from the beauty community on there.. this brings me to...

Another Favourite YouTube videos post. I have lots of new videos I've been loving recently, so I'll definitely do another one of those!

Oooh, I'm also on instagram now (they finally made it available for android, much to my delight)! So you can add me on there at lynseymac1, the same with twitter, hellocotton and pinterest :)

I made a new YouTube channel today *gulp* with the intention of actually uploading my first beauty video over the coming week! I'm actually really excited about it. Having been obsessed with the YouTube beauty community for about three years now, I feel like it's about time to actually participate! I'll upload a post with a link to this video if and when it goes up! I decided to make a fresh channel because I don't like the name of my current account, and considering I'm subscribed to a horrific number of channels (122 last count - yes, I'm serious!) I decided to make a new channel under a different email address, and only subscribe to my favourite beauty channels on this one - so all my favourite YouTubers (Kandee Johnson, Sprinkle of Glitter, Tanya Burr, Fleur de Force, Zoella et al!) gained the same subscriber for a second time today :) These guys actually all feature on the Pinterest board I was talking about before, which I'll link here!

Thanks for reading guys and I will talk to you all again soon!

Lynsey x

NOTD - Pastel Lilac

Over the past few days, the weather has been absolutely glorious, and I've been embracing the pastel trend like nobody's business! My nails have been no exception to this rule, and I really like the colour combination I've got on at the moment, so much as though my nails are far from perfect, I thought I'd show them to you :)

The colours I went for are actually two of my favourite nail polishes, and I highly recommend them! Barry M's No.308 Berry Ice Cream, the lilac shade from their ice cream collection is by far and away my most frequently used nail polish. It's the perfect, flat lilac shade, and with just two coats looks nice and opaque. It's subtle enough to wear on any occasion, but still pretty and pastel so it doesn't look too boring! I do love my Barry M nail paints, they are really good quality for the price, and you know me, I love a bargain! I might actually do a blog post in the next wee while on my favourite Barry M polishes, what do you think? Anyway, my accent nail is done in the beautiful shade Mystic Mauve from Models Own. I only have four Models Own nail polishes, but I think they are absolutely fantastic, and definitely plan on getting some more soon! I picked this little beauty up at Birmingham Clothes Show Live last year (you should have seen the selection of colours they had, I couldn't believe my eyes, there were what looked like hundreds!) and this is my favourite of the four I chose. It's a gorgeous metallic pinkish lilac, and with just one coat (yes, that is just one coat!) it looks gorgeous and not a hint of nail peaks through it!

Barry M Nail Paints are available in Superdrug and Boots stores UK wide for £2.99 each, and are frequently included in 3 for 2 offers, or 2 for £5 deals. Models Own can be found in select Boots stores and are £5 each. Boots is currently offering a 3 for 2 deal across all makeup, so pop on down soon, or check it out online here!

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine, and click on the wee join this site button at the side there to get regular updates from me :)

Lynsey x

Springtime Lipsticks - The Body Shop, 17 :)

With the lovely weather we've been having here in Scotland for the past few days, I've been finding myself reaching for some pretty, candy coloured lipsticks to add a bit of bright colour to my makeup. This is unusual since (as you will soon see in the upcoming photos!) my lips are really thin, and generally speaking I leave the dramatic makeup to the eyes and keep my lips simple with just a nude gloss! But with the array of lovely, moisturising new lip products on the market at the moment, I'm finding that there are definitely some lovely lipsticks out there worth trying out. Next on my to buy list are a couple of the gorgeous and much talked about Revlon Lip Butters, which I've been waiting for since watching the lovely Allison's (amarixe on youtube/her blog!) review of them way back in November, and the L'Oreal Caresse Lipsticks, which I was swatching in Boots today and they are gorgeous!!! These lovely, moisturising and buildable lip products are becoming hugely popular at the moment, and I can't wait to try some more. Today, however, I'm going to be reviewing the Body Shop's version of this lovely product, the Colourglide Shine lipstick.

I picked up two of these lipsticks recently and I have to say, I absolutely love them! They are the loveliest formula, so moisturising on your lips and the colour payoff is actually amazing. I tend to think that products this creamy might not last too long, especially if you eat and drink with them on, but these have really impressed me - they last for hours! I ate dinner and dessert at home last night before going to visit my friend and eating a whole lot of rubbish at her house, and returned home to find my lips still lovely and pink! The high shine you find when you first apply it obviously wears off after a bit, but the colour remains fairly intense, sort of leaving a stain on the lips, but without drying them out. The two colours I picked up are labelled shades 1 and 3, and don't have names on the packaging which is a bit odd, but from checking them out online I think the two I have are cheeky coral (which is actually more of a pale peach than coral I would say) and pink flash!

I recently bought another lipstick which I'm a little bit in love with, and it's the pretty bubblegum pink shade Dreamy from 17's Lasting Fix range. The only problem I've found with it, however, is that it's a wee bit drying on my lips. So, in buying these lovely Bodyshop lipsticks, I've found the prefect solution - I'm layering Dreamy over each of them, so now have five lipstick looks for the price of three! Okay, so it doesn't change the colour dramatically, but you'll see the results below.

Swatches [L-R] Dreamy, Cheeky Coral, Pink Flash

Cheeky Coral:

Cheeky Coral + Dreamy:

Pink Flash:

Pink Flash + Dreamy:

So there we have it, three lovely springtime lipsticks to brighten up my makeup on a sunny day! The 17 Lasting Fix lipsticks can be found in Boots for £4.29 (and Boots have a 3 for 2 across ALL makeup at the moment!) and the Colourglide Shine lipsticks are from The Body Shop and retail for £9. I got mine for the introductory price of £7, which I have to admit I think is more reasonable, £9 is definitely on the high side when the Revlon Lip Butters and the L'Oreal Rouge Caresses are just £7.99 each, and in the 3 for 2 just now! I love these lipsticks, I really do, but I'd say £9 is a wee bit too pricey when there are a lot of other comparable products out there retailing for a couple of pounds cheaper! What do you think? Have any of you tried the Revlon Lip Butters yet (can you tell I'm excited to pick a couple up next time I'm in Glasgow!?)? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and don't forget to subscribe :) Hope you're all well!

Lynsey x

ps do excuse my much needing cut hair in the above photos, my fringe is getting totally out of control, I must get to the hairdressers! x

A bit about me....

I realised that despite posting a plenty on this wee blog over the past couple of months I've never really done a 'get to know me post', so I figured I would do that now!

First and foremost, obviously, my name is Lynsey! I live just a short train journey outside of Glasgow in Scotland, and I'm 22!

This is me, on holiday a couple of years ago, and this is a photo you will see on pretty much every social media outlet of mine as it is one of the very few I am quite happy with - I'm a nightmare when it comes to photos of myself, I'm ridiculously pernickity!

I still live at home with my amazing set of parents, who couldn't have been more supportive, encouraging and also hilarious throughout my 22 years so far, and a 20 year old brother who, much as though it pains me to say it, I cannot imagiine having grown up without! My mum and I are ridiculously close, and, for as long as I can remember, have set aside a wee portion of the day for a cup of tea, a cake and a daily dose of our favourite australian soaps Home & Away and Neighbours! I went to primary and high school in my home town, and was quite the studious wee thing. I still have a handful of amazing friends from school, who I am so glad I still have in my life :)

Anyways, high school led on to uni and I was lucky enough to go to Glasgow University in 2007 to study an Honours degree in Film and Television Studies. Even luckier was that my very best friend was doing the same course :)

Let me tell you a little bit about us ^. Emma and I went to the same nursery, primary school and high school, and managed to avoid really being in any classes together until fifth and sixth year of high school, when we found ourselves in drama and advanced higher english classes together. Our absolutely ridiculous sense of humour is probably what initially brought us together. You know those people who laugh at things that make absolutely no sense to anyone else, and say they know exactly what the other is thinking? That actually is us. To the point that I can tell exactly when something is bothering her from whether or not an exclamation mark is out of place in a text. After five years or so of spending the majority of our time together, I literally don't know where I'd be without her. She's a gem :)

Uni was a fab time, I absolutely loved my course and made some smashing friends there.

So, much to our dismay, our time at uni came to an end last June, when we all graduated and moved on to bigger and better things...

And in October 2011 I studied a two week course at the amazing Academy of Makeup in Glasgow. Not sure what I wanted to do film and tv wise when I graduated, one thing I'd always known was that I love makeup, and the art of doing someones makeup, so discovering this fantastic new Scottish makeup school in the centre of Glasgow, which opened up just a few months before I took my course seemed like fate!

Since completing my course, I have been involved in more makeup events than I can remember, and have met some really inspiring people. Sara Hill, the academy director, is one the most amazing women I've ever met, and she, along with the incredible Ana Cruzalegui, Kat McSwein, Sophie Edwards, Karen McDougall and Martine Carroll, strive to inspire and encourage all of their students both during your time at the academy (even if it's just a one day Masterclass) and after you have completed your course. Here are a few snaps of some of the events I've worked at (top to bottom) Birmingham Clothes Show Live with Kimberly Wyatt and Laura McComiskie's makeup brand BM Beauty, the Academy Bloggers Event, a Specsavers contest with Gok Wan and the Scottish Style Awards!

This is a very picture filled post, I realise! Anyway, it's now March 2012 and with a fair bit of makeup experience under my belt, I am still working away at my part time job and building up the assisting jobs/makeup experience. I am, however, incredibly caught up in the ever expanding world of social media beauty and fashion, and that is the area I really hope I will end up making a career out of. With a couple of things in the pipeline where that's concerned, I'll hopefully build up some experience in that side of things over the next wee while. The future, in regard to that, is all very open and exciting, and I will be sure to keep updating this blog along the way :)

As a final thought, here are a few of my favourite films, tv shows, musical inspirations etc, the usual get to know me things!

TV Shows - Lost; 24; Veronica Mars; Being Erica; Gossip Girl; Gilmore Girls; The Vampire Diaries; Prison Break; Home and Away; Neighbours; Parenthood; Ugly Betty; Lipstick Jungle; Flight of the Conchords; Arrested Development; Black Books; Green Wing; Ellen; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson - I will happily chat away for hours on end about ANY of the above!

Films - I'm not good at picking my favourite films, so I'm simply going to say if it's a good rom-com, a well thought out (but not gory) thriller or a comedy of the non-slapstick variety, I'm usually sold!

Music - my taste is crazily wide, but as I just booked tickets for her Glasgow tour date in May, I'm going to give a special mention to Marina and the Diamonds as a stand out of the moment!

YouTube Beauty Channels - Sprinkleofglitter, Pixiwoo, Pixi2woo, FleurdeForce, zoella280390, kandeejohnson, MakeupGeekTV, KlairedelysArt, gossmakeupartist, lisaeldridgedotcom, ViviannaDoesMakeup, SWalkerMakeup, gemsmaquillage and so many more I'll have to stop myself here!

Thanks so much for reading guys, and I hope this lengthy post helped you get to know me a little bit better!

Lynsey x

^For sheer entertainment value, I thought I'd include this photo of me and my friend David on a uni night out last year. This is one of the many many photos which exist of me making a ridiculous face, and as manic as I look, it always makes me laugh :)

Favourite Spring YouTube Videos!

Hey guys, and welcome to week 7 (okay technically speaking week 8 but I did miss a week last week!) of my top Youtube beauty videos :) This week I'm looking at 'spring time' videos, since it's now almost the end of March and the weather (hopefully!) will be picking up soon!

1. Allison - amarixe - Favourite Spring Blushes! (2012)

I love it when Allison uploads a blusher related video as she is a total blush expert - much like my addiction to mascara, she cannot resist constantly trying out new blushers from a wide variety of brands (high to low end) and a wide variety of shades! This video was uploaded just a couple of days ago and includes 11 gorgeous spring blushers in pink, peach and coral shades, with varying degrees of shimmer (some are almost completely matte and others have a nice shimmer to them). I love Allison's videos in general, but she's so enthusiastic when reviewing blushers that it makes to video a must watch!

2. Bubz - bubzbeauty - Spring Romance Look

I really like this pretty spring makeup from bubzbeauty (if you haven't heard of her, do check her out, she's one of the most highly subscribed to beauty gurus on youtube with over 987,000 subscribers!). This is a quick, easy tutorial, suitable for daytime or an evening out. It includes really pretty pink colours and is warm and just glam enough without looking too 'made up'. I love the slight shimmer on the eyes, and the gorgeous matte pink cheeks!

3. Michelle Phan - MichellePhan - Spring Delight

After including Bubz in this post, I thought I'd go for it and include the most highly susbscribed beauty guru, Miss Michelle Phan (over 1.85MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!!), who uploaded this gorgeous spring tutorial a couple of weeks ago. I love this look, it's very much on trend with the pastel colours that are everywhere at the moment. She uses some beautiful bright pink, orange and blue colours and blends them together to end up with a lovely, soft, colourful eye-makeup. The heavily flushed cheeks and pink lip are perfect for spring time, and the end result is gorgeous - definitely one to watch :)

Extra video of the week:

4. Becky CJ - beckycarewejeffries - Easy for You

I love discovering new talented people on youtube, and this girl has totally blown me away. And what with my youtube obsession, that doesn't happen all that often! 19 year old Becky is a singer/songwriter from Croydon, and while it was her stunning cover of Ed Sheeran's Lego House that first caught my attention, this original song really showcases her brilliant voice and skills as a songwriter. Please check her out, she's super talented!

Thanks for reading guys, hope you're all having a great week, and don't forget to subscribe over there at the 'join this site' link for regular updates from my wee blog :)

Lynsey x

Music Video Inspiration - Part 2

Hello all, and welcome to my second instalment of music video makeup inspiration!

I decided to do this last night when I watched the video for the amazing Marina and the Diamonds new single 'Primadonna' and fell in love with the whole look of it. The makeup and clothes are lovely, and the video has a really beautiful, pastel, feminine look to it. Observe the pictures below!

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These are the four looks from the video, and I absolutely adore all of them! The soft pinks, blues and lilacs tie in perfectly with this seasons love for pastel colours, and the makeup has the touch of quirkiness that Marina always brings to her videos, with the big bottom lashes, bubblegum pink lip and drawn on heart at the top of her cheekbone. I am a huge Marina fan, and have been for ages, so I'm getting all excited that her second album is due to come out this April! Here's a link to the Primadonna video, go and check it out when you get the chance :)

Natalia Kills - Kill my Boyfriend

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Another artist I've really been loving over the past few months is Natalia Kills, and her music videos never fail to impress, with a Lady Gaga-ish, artsy sort of look. Her makeup in the video for Kill my Boyfriend doesn't disappoint, and it couldn't be more my cup of tea. I adore sixties, Twiggy-esque cut creases and graphic liner, and this video puts an edgy, modern twist on this look, while the style of the clothes, and set decoration, is inkeeping with the sixties theme. I love this look to pieces.

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

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I almost didn't include this because it's already been talked about a lot in the beauty community, but I thought I'd pop a couple of images in anyway! I'm not sure I totally get the extent of the hype around Lana Del Rey at the moment, but I have to say that she looks absolutely beautiful in this video. The contrast between the really bold look with the red lip, dark liner and big lashes, and the much more muted, nude look, with a totally nude mouth, is striking, and her hair is as gorgeous as ever.

That's all for this edition of music video inspiration, let me know if there's a video you've seen lately (or even years ago!) that has stuck with you, and inspired you to try out the makeup :) Hope you are all well!

Lynsey x