Life is a roller coaster

The past couple of weeks I have had a bit of an emotional roller coaster, I went from a high note and then dropped down to a low note.

I'll start of with the high note, if you follow me on twitter you may have seen that in November I started working as a retail makeup artist at MAC. I applied for the job in September and after a loooooong recruitment process I got the job! I was over the moon. Since I was about 14 I've always loved the bright colours and creativeness of MAC and always wanted to be part of the brand.
I will probably start owning a lot more MAC cosmetics but I won't be biased when it comes to reviews on my blog and I'll still use my loved products from other brands, so don't worry about that.

From my Instagram @Alexandraahowe

Then just over a week ago I had a very unexpected situation occur. I'm currently a second year student so I now live in a house shared with some of my flat mates from halls. I had some criminals break into my bedroom at 6pm one evening. They smashed through my bedroom window with a huge rock from the garden. Luckily I wasn't harmed and nothing was stolen as I had my valuables with me in the kitchen at the time and all 6 of us were in the house so we all reacted before they could actually get into my room. Since the incident I've been a bit emotionally unstable, exhausted and haven't had the time or mentality to get blog posts up or be on social media as much.

I'm starting to get back to being myself again but it will take a while to be completely at ease, but working at MAC during the weekends has been helping get my mind off things. I've also just arrived back at home for the Christmas holidays which should also help me relax a little more.
Sorry that this isn't the most exciting post (apart from getting the job at MAC) but I just needed to get it off my chest and let you guys be all in the loop of things. I hope you're all well and my next post should be something a little more christmassy and fun!

Benefit Cosmetics Gabbi's Head, London

I'm currently in the middle of a studying a short course in London at Central Saint Martins but normally London is a bit of a journey from home. I had heard about Benefit Cosmetics, Gabbi's Head in Covent Garden and I just had to go whilst it's still around and I'm actually in London.

With 2 other girls on my course we decided after our course yesterday afternoon we'd go to it for a drink and just to see how cute the place was, fair to say it was very pretty and pink. 

It was tucked away in Covent Garden upstairs in a normal pub, when we went upstairs we were surrounded by cute pink furniture. There was so much attention to detail, even all the coasters had cute quotes on them. You could get a makeover or your eyebrows done for just £5 and also 10% off their products but because we were already all made up from our course we decided not to but were very tempted.

Instead we treated ourselves to a cocktail, they were so scrumptious, all themed to be pink and came in pretty jugs and martini glasses.

The whole point of this place is to come and watch the FIFA World Cup but we didn't stay late enough for the next match, nor did we really want to stay to watch it as it's not our cup of tea! The whole concept was adorable though, making a more feminine pub for those who do want to watch the football instead of the classic rowdy pub, there was even a football table you could play with.

It's such a shame that it's not staying, I would visit every time I go to London.

If you're around or able to visit London before the end of the week, then go before it's gone!

Review: OCC Lip Tars

So, you may have seen that I picked up these little guys in Sephora whilst in New York, I got 3 Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars and a brush in a kit for $40 which is about £25. For how much you get and how little you need, I thought it was a pretty decent price. You can get them off Sephora's website here.

I got 3 shades, the mid pink is Trollop, the bright pink is Nylon and the red is Harlot. 

The application is pretty easy, you add a tiny drop of the product onto the brush, I apply one layer, blot it and then applying another layer on top for extra staying power, I do this with almost any lip product.

The pigmentation is incredible which is why you only need the drop and also its super long lasting, I wore Trollop recently on a night out and it stayed on for the majority of the night. 

On the downside, if you have dry cracked lips it does show up pretty clearly when wearing these, however, a good lip scrub and balm can sort out that problem! Also I don't know where or if you can get these in the UK which is a bit of a pain.

So glad I got these, such a good buy and a lovely group of shades, cannot wait to wear these more.
What do you think of OCC lip tars? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara

I never tend to buy mascara's that are over £10 as I've had pricey mascaras as gifts in the past and found them to be nothing special compared to high street brands. However, in Company magazine earlier this year I got a sample of the Benefit BADgal lash mascara, I remember that I loved it but once it ran out I didn't bother buying it mainly because of its price. 

The other day I was browsing over the Benefit stand and saw this little deal where you paid £1 more than the normal price and you got a travel sized one as well as the full size! Not only did I get that sweet deal but the lovely woman working at the counter also gave me a bunch of samples of some of their other products. I don't know if this deal is limited or not but if it is I would go get it now before it's gone!

Below I've posted a photo just to show you how much a difference this mascara makes to your lashes! I only had 2 thin coats on and my lashes are so much fuller and also have good length without any clumps. What else can you ask for from a mascara?

Another thing I love about this mascara is the bristles of the wand, they are so soft, I'm not a fan of the really short plastic bristles you get on some mascara wands. I much prefer the full soft bristles, I find they reduce the amount of clumps, they don't pull on my lashes as much and they have a really nice even distribution of the product onto the lashes. 

Christmas isn't far off so maybe you could ask for a Benefit gift set where they have a miniature of this mascara or you could even ask for this little set I got, I would've if I hadn't bought it myself!
What do you think of Benefit's mascaras? Let me know in the comments.