Make Up Academy Love Hearts Collection!!

Wednesday night was the launch of the MUA Love Hearts collection, it took place at the very cool  Fruitbox in Piccadilly.

The stands and tables were adorned with sweets, cupcakes and macaroons! It looked (and tasted) gorgeous!

Most importantly though, was the new Love Hearts collection dotted about the room. Sweets and makeup....what could be more perfect?!?!

Love Heart Nail Varnishes

UR FAB & U & I

The nail varnishes come in 6 luscious shades, 3 pastels and 3 brights, the limited edition packaging has the cute Love Hearts logo on the lid! The colours above are nice but I wanna get my hands on the pastel purple shade LOVE U 24/7, it's gorgeous! And they're a steal at only £2!!

Love Heart Lip Balms

I LOVE love love these lip balms. They are moisturising, have a gorgeous hint of colour and are super glossy! Don’t they have the cutest names?! Only £2 each!!
I have Sugar Lips, Sweet Kiss and Kiss Me, I love them all but Sweet Kiss is my fave!!!

We were then introduced to the new products in the MUA Professional range.

3 in 1 Contour Pens

These contour pens are nothing like I’ve seen before, they are fantastic! Use the tip for defined looks around the waterline or the full length for a full eye contour look. These pens are so soft and easily glide onto the skin due to the angled edge rather than a point which most eyeliners have!

In the photo above I have Black, Smoked Plum and Sea Blue. I love them all!!

They come in 7 gorgeous colours and are only £1.50!!

Glitter Nail Quake Polishes

Red, Sliver, Gold, Green, Blue & Pink

Ok, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of crackle polishes.  But these come in such stunning colours, I’ve gotta give them a go! I’m looking forward to trying them out!  My favourite colours are definitely the Pink and Blue!! Only £2.99.

Out There Plumping Lipglosses

If you want sexy, luscious, full lips.....on a budget, this is the way to go. They are super glossy, leave your lips tingling and come in the most beautiful colours!!! I think these are my favourites!! Only £2....crazy!!
I have the shades Peach Shimmer, Shocking Pink, Pink Sugar and Nude. All the colours are gouregous but my favourites are Peach Shimmer and Shocking Pink!

Pro BB Foundation

MUA are also bringing out a BB cream, the cheapest yet at £4!! Ok, so I only felt it on the back of my hand, but it felt so velvety and had a good coverage! I’m really looking forward to trying that when it launches in March!

It was so great to see the super talented Karla Powell, she is the head makeup artist for MUA, I know I’ve gone on a lot about Karla on here, but she’s amazing!! I got to have a little chat with her, it was great to catch up!

Here's Karla with the fabulous Zoe from TheLondonLipgloss

Here’s some of Karla's work for the Love Hearts collection!

So what do you guys think of the new collection??

I can't wait to get playing!!!

I've gone RED.....Before & After!!

So last Thursday I took the plunge and went red!!  I’d been so excited up until 10 minutes before my appointment. Suddenly I felt anxious, but I’d been thinking of going red for a while and didn’t wanna back out!!

So, what do you think??

It’s a little darker than I wanted, and not quite Poppy’s beautiful colour but I’m getting used to it!

I’m quite excited to experiment with new colours, apparently I need to avoid pinks, which is a shame as I would say 70% of my lipglosses/lipsticks and blushers are pink!

Well, that does give me a great excuse to go makeup shopping!! (Which I’ve started) Like I ever need an excuse!
I have taken some fab tips from Daniel Sandler and Karla Powell, I messaged them both prior to getting my hair done, asking for a little advice.

Daniel suggested I should use less pink shades and more peach or earthy/gold/bronze tones.

Karla advised I avoid pale foundations, which could result in washing me out. Wear rich purple shades on my lips, she also said peach and copper tones should flatter my new look!

 In the photo above  I’m wearing Bourjois new ‘Light’ eyeshadow in No2 Frosted Blue, MAC khol in blooz, MUA blusher in shade 6 which is a plum tone and Bourjois Sweet Kiss lipstick in Rose Cachemire, a nude peach shade,  with a little FashionistA Plumping Lipglaze in Coral Couture on top!

 I’m wearing my usual base of MAC studio Fix foundation in NW25, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer  in  Light,  BareMinerals Mineral Veil, BareMinerals Warmth Bronzer and Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara on my lashes.

I actually have a lot of natural/earthy tones, so I thought I'd just try something completely different on my eyes which is why I played about with the frosted blue shade, it's a very subtle soft blue and I quite like it!

Next on my list are some plum and deep purple lip colours like Karla suggests! Love the look of the Kate Moss Rimmel lipstick in no4, it’s nothing like I’ve ever worn before!!

You can find Karla & Daniel on Twitter!

Have you recently gone for a drastic hair change?

Beauty Insider Q&A - Karla Powell

Hi lovelies, so I’m back with my Beauty Insider Q&A and today it’s with the super talented Makeup Artist Karla Powell. I’m met Karla recently at the TOWIB event in London, she was the makeup artist representing Vivo Cosmetics.

Karla is working in London ‘Living the dream’ as MUA Cosmetics Head of Makeup. She has also done commercial, TV, theatre work and fashion, including London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week!

I didn’t know anything about Karla’s work until I got home and looked at her Tumblr and Facebook page! O.M.G this woman is amazing!! Her work is nothing like I’ve ever seen before!!

Karla also creates looks on the MUACosmeticsTV You Tube channel!

Below is a collage of her stunning work.....

1. How did you begin your career as a makeup artist?

I studied beauty, fashion, media and theatre make-upstraight after school learning new skills and building my confidence andrealising this is what I want to do every day… which eventually lead toteaching make-up & hair at a local College for three years which was thebest experience in my first years of being a make-up artists as I love toinspire aspiring make-up artists. I have pushed myself over the last threeyears to get my work noticed, networking with industry people and building myportfolio while teaching make-up I am now living the dream working in London ashead makeup artist.


2. What is a day in the life of Karla Powell like?

The life of me is varied and exciting – and challenging attimes!  The day can vary from gettingmodels ready for a photo shoot, followed by 10-12 hours of work that sameday.  Or sometimes it’s an easy 10AMcall, shoot for a few hours and then you are done.  Being in the office at FB Beauty pickingproducts shades for new upcoming lipsticks, picking names for the shades of eyeshadows, creating make-up looks to inspire others to use FB Beauty products oneither you tube or blogs.  Meeting withfashion designers or photographers to design a makeup look that coordinateswith their latest collection for a runway show. One thing you can be sure of: it’s never a boring job!

One of the best parts of the job is getting to work withpeople all day.  I make friends andprofessional connections constantly due to the nature of the job.  Sometimes you yourself are tired from a verylong shoot and have to remember to be positive and help keep everyone’s spiritsup and working well. I have met some wonderful people in this job and madefriends for life.

3. What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I would say the highlight of my career so far was working for Tumblr where I was picked from my beautyblog to go backstage at New York fashion week for spring/summer 2012. I learntand discovered the new beauty trends for spring/summer 2012, and upcomingproducts which are going to big. I also learn tips on make-up artistry itselfthe 10 days I was there. And to top it I got to interview top make-upartists!  I learnt so much from those 10days then I have ever have done at make-up school, perfect place for a traineemake-up artist.

I also was inspired to achieve more dreams within my make-upcareer. I met so many people which I would never have been able to dootherwise. I also achieved a dream by being a key make-up artist for Sergio Davilawhich meant I had to find a team to work with, design a makeup look to go withthe clothes, prepare the team and then demonstrate the look…. And to see mywork on the catwalk which was a dream come true!

4.Which celebrities makeup are you loving right now?

Jennifer Lopez as she has such great features! Andher make-up always looks just beautiful. Make-up artist Kevin Aucoin had oncementioned that the celebrity had the most perfect symmetrical facial structure.It was obvious Jennifer was a favourite canvas for displaying his uttermostmakeup artistry talent. After all, her picture was displayed on the cover ofone of his published books and was always displayed at least once in the restof his publications.

Kiera Knightley- As she is always on-trend!

Finally Jessie J! I love how striking andcreative her make-up looks. She always blows me away with her talent and make-up looks.

5.What are your top 3 products you can't live without?

Airbase Foundation- to even my skin

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer- to hide all those imperfections and to highlight!

MUA Tube lip gloss in shade 2- brightens yourmake-up look instantly!

6. What 3 staple products should every girlhave in their makeup bag?

Vaseline 100% Pure Petroleum Jelly- It can beused for literally anything, I also get excited when I can use a product formore than one thing, and this definitely does the trick.

Every girl needs a great black eyeliner. If youonly have room for 1 liner in your makeup bag, it should be a pencil. When allyou have time for is a quick swipe, it works. When you want to take the time todo precise lining, it’ll be there for you. And it’s portable. The black linerI’ve been turning to for years is MAC Power point Eyeliner in Engraved!

Eyelash curlers! -It works wonders. The eyes areimportant for more than just sight. They're one of the first things people see.Before plumping your lashes with your favourite mascara, be sure they areproperly curled with your favourite set of eye lash curlers.

Finally….

"Your aspirations are your possibilities. "

I am in complete awe of Karla, she really has inspired me to do a makeup course and get back into make up, which I intend to do in the New Year!

You must check out Karla's blog and Tweet her!

Thank you so much for your time Karla!!! x x