Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer

Hey Guys, 

So I'm back today to share my thoughts on the Tarte Amazonian clay tinted moisturizer, boy that's a mouthful! 

I picked this up in New York from Sephora, like I said in my Sephora Haul post, I went in looking for the amazonian clay foundation but once I got there and tried that out I found it far to thick and full coverage for my liking. I still wanted to get something from Tarte because they are so hard to get a hold of in the UK and I really wanted to try a foundation. I tried a couple out but, again, they were to full coverage until I tried the Tinted Moisturizer. 

Compared to any other tinted moisturizer I've tried the coverage is very full and I would definitely class it as a regular foundation with a lighter coverage.I picked mine up in the shade medium, which is maybe a touch dark, but only a touch. 

I wore this for work and found that it did last all day without needing much of a touch up, but I also found it a little drying and I have normal skin so I wouldn't recommend it for people with dry skin because I can imagine this clinging to dry patches. Another thing to note as well is that it STINKS like really strong, It doesn't smell off or anything but I found it very heavily scented so if you have sensitive skin I would recommend trying to get a sample or trying it in the store before you drop your money on this because it might not be any good for you. 

All in all I don't think I would purchase this again but I would like to try more from Tarte. 

Let me know if you've tried this or any other products from Tarte that you recommend.

Speak Soon
Jessica   

Review: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer

Hey Guys,

I'm back today to share my thoughts on the Nars Creamy Concealer. 

This was another duty free purchase that I had my eye on for some time and I had read some really good reviews on. 

I have been trying this out for about a month and half and I have to say I am really enjoying using it. I use it to conceal and brighten my under eyes, I don't really get spots or blemishes very often so I can't really comment on how well it covers those, but because I bought a lighter shade I probably wouldn't be able to use it for that anyway.There is quite a good shade range with ten to chose from and I picked mine up in the shade Vanilla.  

It's a medium to full coverage concealer.I really like the consistency of this, as the name suggests, its creamy and really easy to blend and isn't cakey at all. I find it to last all day, on particularly hot days sometimes I think I need like an afternoon touch up, but I think that is more me being paranoid than anything else. 

Like I said I have really enjoyed this, would  I repurchase, possibly not. But that's only because from what I've read online that Maybelline do a couple of quite good dupes for it so Id like to try those out before repurchasing. 

Let me know if you've tried this one, or if you've tried any similar highstreet versions.

Speak Soon 

Jessica 

Review: Nars Eyeshadow Base

Hey guys, 

I'm back today to share with you my new holy grail product. 

If you didn't know I have quite hooded eyes that are quite oily and eye shadow doesn't seem to last five minutes on my eyes. 

I have tried a couple of drugstore eye shadow primers and a Benefit one but none of them have worked for me before. 

But one week on the Sunday blogger chat on twitter I asked if anyone had any recommendations of anything that might work and a few people suggested the Nars eye shadow base. 

I read some reviews online and thought I would give it a try. I picked this up when I was in Heathrow from the duty free. 

I've been trying this out for a couple of weeks and I have to say I am absolutely in love with it! It really does what it promises and I can't get enough of it! 

You only need the smallest amount on your eye and then I wipe it all over the lid and brow bone. I find it dries and isn't sticky like others I've tried and it also doesn't leave any colour which I prefer. 

I obviously apply my makeup in the morning and for the first time when I get home I still have eye-shadow on, and I'm not talking about a tiny shrivel left on the eye, I mean my full eye shadow look is still there! 

As you can probably tell I am very happy with this primer and when I run out I will be most definitely be repurchasing another one. If you are like me and can't seem to make eye shadow stick I would give this a go, yes it is pricey but it does work and it finally means I am able to get my money's worth from all the eye shadow's that I own! 

Let me know if you've tried this one? Or anything that I might not have tried that works for you! 

Speak soon 

Jessica 

Sephora Haul

Hey Guys, 

So I thought it was about time I shared with you what I picked up from Sephora while I was in New York. 

I went in to a couple of Sephora's before I actually bought anything and to be honest I found the whole thing a bit daunting. It was half my own fault for not being fully prepared but the girls in there are a whole new level of crazy I swear! There was a couple of things on my mental list but I forgot all about those and just saw things as I walked round. 

So the first thing that I was looking for was the Tarte Amazion Clay Foundation but when I tested it I really didn't like it. I found it far to thick and to be honest I've been leaning towards a lighter coverage look recently anyway. So when I saw the BB Tinted Mosturiser I thought that would be more suited for me, so I picked it up. 

The Next thing I picked up was a Kat Von D liquid lipstick in the colour Bachelorette which isn't showing up true to colour on this photo but is like a dark reddish pink and I love it.

The final thing I intended on buying was the Anastasia Brow Wiz, I have wanted to try this for weeks since I fell in love with the Soap & Glory version. 

Then as I was standing in the cue for the checkouts I was totally sucked in by those miniatures. So I picked up a Kat Von D eye set which includes a mini tattoo liner and a mascara that I'm excited to try and I also picked up a mini Hourglass liquid lipstick in Iconic red, which again I am really excited to try. 

I haven't gone into to much detail here because I am planning on doing full reviews of everything I bought so keep your eyes peeled in the next couple of weeks for that! 

I also picked up some bargains in Duty Free on my way home that I plan on sharing with you. 

Let me know if you have tried any of these products and how they worked for you. 

Speak Soon 

Jessica 

My New York Experience

Hey Guys, 

Last week I came back from the trip of a lifetime to New York and I thought I would share my thoughts on the things we did and just a run down of all the amazingness! 

So the first thing that you might notice is the photo quality, as I was wandering around duty free in Newcastle airport I realised that I'd forgot my camera so I only had my phone which doesn't take the best photos. The other thing is you get to caught up in the moment to take out your phone to take a photo. 

So we actually had a bit of a nightmare getting there, we were delayed in Newcastle which meant we missed our connecting flight. The later flight that they then moved us to was later cancelled which meant we had to spend a night in an airport hotel which was one nightmare after they other and meant we missed a full day in New York. 

But we got there in the end and it was every bit as amazing as I had hoped. 

On our first couple of days we spent most of the time exploring getting to know our way around. I have to admit Stu was much better at that than me as I have absolutely no sense of direction, even though all of the streets and blocks are just straight lines I still couldn't get my head around it! 

So we did the usual touristy things such as The top of the rock, empire state building, grand central, central park and 9/11 memorial and I would honestly recommend doing all of them. We went to the Top Of The Rock during the day and the Empire State Building during the night to get views at both times. The 9/11 Memorial is also a must see, its a really harrowing experience but so humbling at the same time. My favourite 'attraction' I think was the Empire State Building, honestly seeing New York all lit up is amazing and something I will never forget. 

We also went to see Wicked on Broadway which was amazing and I totally recommend you go and see it. I am a tad biased because I have seen the show three times in London so I already knew I would love it but it was always my dream to see it in New York.

The only thing that I will advise that I didn't take in to consideration is how much it costs to eat and drink. I mean don't get me wrong, like all places, there are some more expensive places and some cheaper places but things are just that bit more expensive than I had planned add on to that the tip and we kind of ended up eating at MacDonalds and pizza places most of the time so we had more money for shopping. 

Speaking of shopping I do have a couple of posts going up soon including a Sephora Haul and a 'Whats in my bag' featuring some of my new buys. I didn't really buy to many clothes because I'm currently on WW and trying to lose another stone so I'm not really letting my self buy to many clothes but I did pick up a couple of things from H&M. I did however pick up quite a bit of jewelry also from H&M, I thought the jewelry was much nicer than we have at home. To be honest the majority of my money went on two handbags that I picked up that will be coming up on here in due course, the first is a beautiful Kate Spade bag and the other one is a beautiful Rebecca Minkof bag.

Now I know there was loads I missed out of this post but like I said I didn't really know my way around and we didn't find any secret hidden places I wanted to share with you so in comparison to other peoples New York posts mine was probably rubbish but I wanted to share it none the less. 

Know we are planning on going back next April or May so if you have been and have any recommendations for me I would love to hear them. 

Speak Soon 

Jessica 

Review: Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation

Hey Guys,

Welcome back to Beauty Up North. I've been trying out a new foundation lately and I thought I would share my opinions with you. I picked this up in my local boots a couple of weeks ago before I went to New York on a bit of a whim on my lunch hour,  which by the way is soo dangerous and I do not recommend.

I picked it up in the shade 20 Cameo Beige which is possibly a touch to dark for me, I think I had false tan on at the time when I bought it, but I can still wear it most days with just a touch of bronzer. 

The first thing that I noticed when I opened it is that it comes with a ridiculously useless doe foot applicator. Why exactly I'm not sure but never mind. Once you get it on the skin it blends like a dream. I've been using my Real Techniques stippling brush to blend it in and I love the combination together. It really does go on like Satin and I do think it makes my skin feel really soft as well. It's definitely a liquid foundation and by that I mean it is quite runny but not to the extent that I found it difficult to work with. My skin type is normal so I can't honestly say how it would fair on other skin types but I get the feeling that if you had really oily skin it wouldn't be any good for you.

The coverage is light to medium coverage and I suppose you could build it up but to be honest I've been leaning towards much more lighter coverage foundations lately so this is perfect for me. 

When I bought it I think I paid £8.99 which to be honest is an absolute bargain and I would definitely recommend picking this up. 

Let me know if you have tried this foundation and what your thoughts were on it. 

Speak Soon

Jessica 

Welcome to Beauty Up North

Hey Guys and welcome to Beauty Up North,

I thought my first post should be a little welcome to my new blog.

I hope some of you have come over from All that glitters and will hopefully stay for the long haul by following.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about I did have another blog and I still do but I am no longer writing over there.

If thats the case then, hello, I'm Jessica, I am 23 and I am store manager for a fashion retail store here in the North East with a passion for all things beauty and fashion.

 I will be posting over here at least twice a week and I would really like it if you could follow my blog to make sure you don't miss out on anything.

Speak Soon

Jessica