Glitter and Gloss

Pay Day Haul Part 2 - Boots

2011-05-26T09:50:00.001-07:00

So I wasn't expecting to do this haul for a few days yet, because I placed the order online yesterday, but it turned up this morning, and thats with standard p&p, so Boots I am very impressed!
Here is what I got.

This is everything in the boxes, I even got some free samples, which is always appreciated!

Anyway, this haul is quite bargainous. I am running out of eye cream so I decided I wanted to try the Origins Gin Zing eye cream, and when I looked on the Boots site I saw that they had a offer that if you got the gift set, which includes the eye cream, a mini lipgloss duo and mascara, for £12.50 (half the price of the eyecreams rrp) I snapped it up straight away.
I also had to repurchase my Oilatum Natural Repair moisturiser as I had used all my last one up, and I had also made up my mind to get some Lanolips lip balm to try, I opted for the Lemonaid one as it is meant to scrub the lips as well. After adding these two things to my basket I saw that it is buy 2 get one free (the eye cream wasn't included in this) so of course I had to pick something else up! I opted for the Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth cleanser. I opted for this because I moved today and have no skin stuff here so may as well try something new. I have also been wanting to try a hot cloth cleanser for a while now.
So I managed to get all this for £30, when the eye cream alone should have been £25, I am very impressed with my bargains and can't wait to try these out!

Pay Day Haul

2011-05-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a bit MIA, I have been busy and all over the place, not to mention that for the past 2 months I have been struggling money wise and it makes me very jealous to read posts etc, but I am back, very happy and super excited. Anyway today was payday and I got a little bonus so I thought I would show you what I got.

So I got Chanel Vitalumiere in 10 Limpide, a MAC 109 brush (my first full size MAC brush!!!) Barry M polishes in Blue Moon and Mint Green and the cutest Cath Kidston 3DS case.
I decided to go for Vitalumiere and the 109 brush after watching Tanya (Pixi2woos) videos. I was torn between the normal Vitalumiere and the aqua versian, but when I tried them on my hand I mush preferred the Vitalumiere.

Here is a close up of the polishes and foundation so you can get a better idea of the colours:

At first when I saw the foundation outside the box I panicked slightly as I thought it was way too dark, despite having tried it on in the shop and looking at it in sunlight, but I grabbed my sheer glow to compare the colours and saw that it was only slightly darker, which is good because I have been thinking my Sheer Glow is a bit light at the moment. Anyway here are the two side by side, the Chanel one is in shade 10, Limpide, and NARS Sheer Glow is in Mont Blanc.

So thats what I got on payday. I have had a amazing day, and I am very excited to be back blogging! Will let you know how I get on with the foundation.

Where have I been?

2011-05-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been neglecting my blog as of late, I just haven't really felt like blogging, despite the fact that I have been wearing more make up then ever.
Another reason I haven't been blogging as much is because I have been concentrating on YouTube. I have made a channel, its more to do with gaming (my other hobby) so I think that is where my main focus will be at the minute, sorry!
Anyway if you are interested:

Hope everyone is doing well, I am still reading and enjoying!

Another FOTD

2011-04-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Oh look 3rd FOTD in a row, gosh I am inspiring at the minute, and to be even less inspiring this one is basically just copying Kandee Johnsons wedding make up video. Personally I think Kandee is bit of nut case, but she does gorgeous make up and decided to give this one a go. Oh in case your wondering why I am doing so many FOTD's, basically its payday next week so no money to haul, although I am putting a ban on buying make up for a while as I have to save up for the 3DS, and I have nothing new to review because I use the same stuff for years at a time, so FOTD's it is whilst I have fun experimenting with make up! Enough ramble, FOTD time:

Now for this look I am actually cakes in foundation and went quite heavy on the blush, but it still doesn't show up too much on camera!

Face: YSL Foundation - Opal MAC Moisture Select Concealer - NW20 NARS Bronzer - Laguna NARS Blusher - Desire MAC Cream Colour Base - Pearl

Eyes: MAC Cream Colour Base - Pearl MAC E/S - Dazzlelight MAC E/S - Scene MAC E/S- Carbon MAC E/S - Wedge (for eyebrows) MAC E/L - Feline Dior Mascara - Dior Show Blackout

Lips: MAC L/L - Stone MAC L/L - Subculture MAC L/S - Pink Nouvea MAC L/G - Viva Glam Gaga

So yea lots of make up used. I also strengthened my hair for the first time in ages, it feels a bit weird and not really me, but I feel very pretty today, until I put on my hooters top, then I felt a bit like a porn star, but anyway here is a picture of the complete look with my straight hair:

Can't wait to get the split ends cut off! Hope your all having a great weekend!

Experimental FOTD

2011-04-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

So today I watched XSparkages new video which is loosely based on a Katy Perry make up look, so seeing as I had the day off today and didn't have to go out in public I decided to do a look loosely based on Katy Perry and Xsparkage, here is how it turned out:

I love how flawless my skin looks in these pictures, because in reality its blemishes galore! Anyway onto the products I used. Eyes: A mixture of Inglot shadows Illamasqua Precision Ink in Abyss I was clever enough to forget mascara :( MAC Feline Kohl For the brown dots, MAC Teddy Kohl Face: YSL Teint Radiance (I got it wrong the other day, sorry!) Foundation in Opal MAC Moisture Select Concealer in NW20 MAC Ripe Peach Blush Ombre (just the pink part) MAC Wedge as a contour colour Lips: MAC Stone Lipliner MAC Myth Lipstick

I had quite a lot of fun with this look and really enjoyed the results of the eyeliner, but I think even if I toned it down it would still be quite unwearable. Anyway if you haven't checked out Xsparkages latest tutorial I recommend you do!

Woodwinked FOTD

2011-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

So MAC's Woodwinked is a product that loads of people seem to rave about, but one that I never used to get on with, mainly because every time I used it I seemed to look very ill (as in the picture below):

Because of the fact it made me look ill, it was pushed to the back of my make up drawer for a while, but recently my friend Rachel (allthingsrachy) has been using it a lot, which has made me decide to give it another go, and I think I have finally got the hang of using it and I quite like the effect I get with it now, so here is my Woodwinked FOTD:

So I used: Face: YSL Teint Resiste Foundation - Opal MAC Moisture Select Concealer - NW20 NARS Bronzer - Laguana MAC Blush - Bite of an apple Eyes: MAC Shadow - Woodwinked MAC Shadow - Wedge MAC Shadow- Twinks MAC Cream Colour Base - Pearl Illamasqua Precision Ink - Abyss Helena Rubenstein Mascara- Feline Black MAC Kohl - Teddy Lips: MAC Liner - Stone MAC Kissable Lip Colour - Woo Me

The Only Was Is Essex - Fake Tan

2011-04-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

So it appears that Lauren Goodger, from The Only Way Is Essex fame, has just released her own range of tanning products. I thought it was quite funny and had to be shared. I am assuming that because it is coming from a Essex girl that these products will be quite dark. I actually really want to try them but don't fancy shelling out those prices for them when the only information available on them is literally what is shown on her facebook page, which is the product and price. Currently there is a mousse which is £17.95, and a lotion, which is £15.95, or you can buy the complete kit for £28.82.

So what do you think, would you ever try them? Do you think they will be any good or do you think she is just cashing in on the shows success? To be honest I couldn't think of a more appropriate product for them to release.

MAC Creamblend Blush Swatches

2011-04-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

So my lovely friend Rachel got the MAC Cremeblend blush in Something Special, and of course anything she gets I need pretty much, so obviously I went and bought it. I also have So Sweet, So Easy which I got in a old collection, but has been re released with the latest cremeblend blushes so I thought it would be handy to do swatches and pictures of the ones I have in case anyone is interested in them.So on the left is So Sweet, So easy, which is a bright bubblegum pink, and on the right is Something Special, which is more of a coral pink. Sorry that they are both clearly used!

And here are the swatches, in the same order. So Sweet So Easy is a lot more vibrant, so you only need a tiny bit. I love it for girly looks though. Something Special is a gorgeous colour, and a lot more natural looking on the skin.

I actually really like cream blushes, I think they look better on the skin, yet I always insist on buying powder? Anyway the formula on the blushes are gorgeous, lovely and creamy and stay in place all day. I would love more of these but I think I will be going on a make up ban.

Ice Cream Nails

2011-04-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

First time in a while I have attempted nail art, it took a lot longer then expected! Well in case you couldn't guess, the red parts are meant to be cherries, and the other parts are sprinkles. Most of the colours are China Glaze, with a couple of Barry M's chucked in for good measure. I have seen ice cream nails all over the place at the moment so thought I would catch onto the craze, they fit in quite nicely with the fact that its a lovely sunny day outside!

FOTN - Some Smokey Eyes

2011-04-05T01:54:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was my friends birthday which meant a night out. I did both hers and my own make up. I tend to do hers anyway, and she always wants a brown smokey eye, but after seeing my grey/black one she opted to go a little darker too. Anyway, here is how it turned out, I'm sorry that this picture doesn't show the make up off at all, but I felt really pretty all night and think I photographed well, which is the point of make up I guess? Anyway here's the picture: Both eye looks where done using just the Urban Decay Naked Palette. On my cheeks I have MAC Something Special blush and Pearl cream colour base as a highlighter, love that combination! I also have on loads of NARS Laguana bronzer, and MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick and gloss. My base is just Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser as everything else I have is too light for me. I also used my Illamasqua Brow Cake as usual. For my friend we used Clinique foundation and MAC MSF Natural to set it. On her cheeks I used a Dior blush she has, it has a slight frost to it and is just pinky. On the lips is just some Vaseline as she hates wearing lip colour. I had a lovely night out and felt really pretty. I love that I did something different with my hair for a change! I do regret drinking that much and having to go into work today though!

Oh no!

2011-04-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

So my computer has had to be wiped and restored to its factory settings after it contracted a virus. Damn my need to have to stream hellcats online! It's not too much of a big deal as all my files are backed up, its just more of a nuisance. I also have to make sure that my files aren't corrupted before transferring them back on to my computer. This kind of topped off a really bad week for me, which is why I haven't been blogging so much. But enough of me whingeing, lets turn this post into something a bit more positive with some links to some blogs I really enjoy reading. First up, fuckyeahnailart.tumblr.com - I love love love looking at this tumblr for inspiration. It has the best nail art I have seen, and it has such a variety on there. http://allthingsrachy.blogspot.com - Rachel is one of my best friends, and we have really similar colouring, so anything she recommends I know will be awesome for me. She does lovely FOTD's and likes to haul too. http://make-upjournal.blogspot.com - Jen writes very well and does brilliant product reviews and some great swatches. Another lovely girl. http://echosidestyle.blogspot.com - Another lovely Jen. Reviews a great mix of English and American brands, and has a nice selection of make up, skincare and hair care related posts. http://fridayisforever.blogspot.com - A really lovely fashion blog, and she uses high street stuff too! Very envious, Sarah is gorgeous and has great style. That is all, as usual hope everyone is well, and lets hope I can sort things out soon because I have been getting my love of make up back!

March Favourites

2011-03-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its April tomorrow! I'm quite happy about time going quickly because it means I only have 10 months left at my current job. This month I don't have a huge amount of favourites, I have been on holiday and hardly touched make up there, and I haven't been using my current skincare routine long enough to deem it a favourite yet. Anyway here is the small selection I have come up with for you:

Now the reason I have picked these products is because this month I have been very lazy with my make up. I have had a lot of early mornings so I want to get my make up done in under 10 minutes, and these are the products I have been using to appear fresh face and glowy. I use my normal foundation concealer etc, and on my eyes I have been using Vintage Selection paint pot, I just apply it quickly with my ring finger. After doing that I will use my Illamasqua precision ink to line my eyes, then use MAC Vanilla pigment under my brow bone. To keep my cheeks nice and glowy I have been loving NARS Deep Throat blush. It is a gorgeous pink/coral colour that really suits my skin tone and stops me from looking like a corpse in the morning. To add a bit more fake radiance I add MAC Vanilla pigment to the top of my cheekbones to highlight. I then slap on whatever lipstick is to hand, and I tend to have about 10 in my handbag anyway, and that's it, my 10 minute make up! Oh and mascara, can't forget mascara!

I have also included in this months favourite Andrea Furletons Gemstone topcoat that I got from superdrug. It is really gorgeous and a very good copy of GOSH Rainbow. I really recommend you check this out if you like flakeys or missed out on the Rainbow polish.

So how has every ones March been? Looking forward to April? I know I am!

Duty Free Haul

2011-03-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

So not everything I got was in the airport, but Lanzarote is a duty free island, which means cheap fags, booze, perfume and cosmetics woo!

The only thing I actually got in duty free I forgot to take a picture of was my usual MAC concealer. I had actually saved up a fair bit of money to spend on duty free MAC only to find out pretty much most of what I want is high street exclusive. Very clever MAC, very clever.

Anyway here is the stuff I did pick up on the island:

I wanted to include a picture of the boxes because they are shiny. I am a magpie. But onto what I got. So I got a YSL Rouge Vulupte in number 13. It is a lovely bold but wearable colour, and the lipstick is lovely and creamy. I have wanted a YSL lipstick for a while, but the price always puts me off. I think I managed to get it for 17 euros though. Next up we have the Helena Rubenstein Lash Queen Mascara in Feline Black Waterproof. I'm not going to lie, half the reason I went for this mascara is for the packaging. I used to love trying out loads of different mascaras, but after using MUFE Smokey Lash I haven't bothered, but being able to get the high end mascaras cheaper has made me want to branch out again. I bought this for 19 euros and the cheapest I have seen it online in the UK is £27. I also got a YSL Teint Radiance foundation in the shade 03 Opal. I decided to get a colour for in the summer when I am darker, although this is darker then my usual foundation it is not dark enough for my skin right now so I have to wait for my tan to fade a little bit because I'm a bit stupid. And last but not least we have DiorShow Blackout mascara. This is one of those mascaras you always hear about so I thought why not.

So that is what I got. Reviews to come of the foundation and mascaras. But yea on my second day back on being in England I am most definitely depressed to be back.

I'm back!!!

2011-03-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

So just a very quick post to say I am back, and here have a picture of my freckled mug: Freckles are a funny thing. I used to really like mine, now not so much. They make me look a lot younger, but at the same time I feel they age me. I also get slightly embarrassed by them now, after all the pictures of skin damage I feel like people think I am a sun worshiper or something, when that is not the case. Oh freckles, you troublesome things. Anyway enough of freckles. The holiday was amazing, so nice to just relax and do nothing, no Internet or phone for 7 days, it was bliss! For anyone who doesn't know I went to Lanzarote, which is a duty free island, woo! That means I have a upcoming holiday haul blog, you always buy more when you are on holiday, don't you think? I tend to forget that just because it isn't pounds it is still real money. Anyway time for me to catch up on a weeks worth of blogs, YouTube videos, emails and facebook!

What I am taking on holiday

2011-03-18T00:28:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow I am going on holiday for a week to Lanzarote, yay! (Which means no blogging for a week :( ). I thought I would share with you what I am taking away. I don't even know why I am taking anything, as chances are I probably won't end up wearing any make up!

So as usual my Urban Decay Naked Palette is accompanying me. It has all the colours I need to do my eyes and eyebrows, and its quite a nice, light, compact palette.

I have my trusty primer potion, because its going to be hot and I want my eyeshadow on my eyes, not down my face.

My normal concealer and MSF natural, but I have switched to my Laura Mercier tinted foundation for on holidays as it is my shade when I tan, its nice and lightweight for in the hot weather, and it has a SPF in it which is really handy.

I am also taking a waterproof mascara, obviously, and my favourite MAC blush in Melba, it looks brilliant when I have a tan.

I also got a Dermalogica travel set for normal to oily skin types. This has cleanser, toner, moisturiser, exfoliater and lip protector in travel sizes. You also get a sample of pre cleanse and a face mask, everything you need for a week away.

I used to use Dermalogica when I was younger, but haven't used it for a few years. My skin type has changed recently and I feel like trying their products out again, and what better way to try them then in travel sizes!

So this is what I am taking on holiday with me, I've tried to keep it minimal as I always overpack. Hope you all have a lovely week everyone and I will go enjoy the sunshine!

Don't ever get your eyebrows threaded at Superdrug, and mini haul

2011-03-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

So that statement probably sounds fairly obvious. I probably deserve what I got for thinking that I could get a decent eyebrow thread in Superdrug, but no, the fact that it was the cheapest place to get it done made me talk myself into it.

I say it was the cheapest place, it was still £10! In East London you can get it done for about £4 if you know where to look, I normally pay £6. Damn this rich area. Anyway, I will show you a picture of my eyebrows after the threading, bare in mind, this is over an hour after it was done:

So as you can see very red.
I guess they aren't too bad, but they are a lot thinner then what I normally go for, and considering I only asked for a tidy, I'm pissed off that she changed the shape.
She also trimmed my brows. I hate having my brows trimmed and she didn't even ask, by the time I realised one eyebrow had been done so the other had to be trimmed to even it out.
The process was slow, and very painful. I have been having my eyebrows threaded for about 5 years, and I have been used as a training model and haven't been in this much pain. It felt like the hairs where anchored in and she was having to yank them out, rather than the quick movements that you normally get. She even managed to pull out one of my eyelashes....
The thread also broke several times, something that I've never witnessed before, which is fair enough, but when it broke the second time she accidentally slapped me in the face.
To top it all off, when she got to the end of the treatment, she put some stuff on too soothe the skin, but then decided to go back in with the thread, what was the point in that!
I feel like the therapist was under skilled, and you just sit in a area in the back of the shop in full view of everyone.
I guess you get what you pay for, so take my advice, pay more and don't get you eyebrows done in Superdrug.

To cheer myself up I did buy a couple of bits:

I wanted to pick up a waterproof mascara to take on holiday, and Maybelline Great Lash was the cheapest, and its pink, so I went with that one.
I also got the Andrea Fulerton Gemstone top coat, which I am sooooo excited about owning. It's meant to be a dupe of Gosh Rainbow. Rainbow coloured flakeys here I come!

Product Rave - Lush Tiny Hands

2011-03-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

So when the mothers day range launched at Lush a couple of weeks ago I purchased myself one of the Tiny Hands, which is a solid hand cream. I am always on the lookout for something to soothe my hands, and I thought at £3.95, even if it doesn't work I'm not going to loose out too much.
I have been using this non stop since I got it, I am very much in love with it! You rub it between your hands to melt a little bit and then just rub the oil in like you would do a normal hand cream. Despite it being a oil it sinks in quicker then a normal hand cream does for me. This may be because it has talc in there, which mattifies the oil slightly.
It also has the oil of the minute in there, Argan Oil, as well as Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Butter and Aloe Vera. All of which help soothe my eczema.
The scent is quite peculiar, it is meant to be vanilla and floral (it has marigold oil in it), but I just pick up on the floral tones, and its quite a sharp citrus floral. Not unpleasant, but not quite the creamy scent that I would prefer.
The fact that it is solid means it has no preservative or parabens in, for the environmentalists out there.
If you are worried about how to store yours, I just keep mine on my bedside table, but Lush do square tins that you can buy to keep them in. Lush are also running the offer that if you buy two of the Tiny Hands you get the tin for free.
Overall I would say this is a brilliant little product. It sinks in well, is very moisturising and the price tag is cheap and cheerful, I definitely recommend picking this product up and having a try next time you are in lush.

Barbie on Crack FOTD

2011-03-10T23:27:00.000-08:00

So the other day I was playing around with make up. I was aiming for a pastel pink look, but it ended up being a lot brighter than what I was aiming for, but I still like it. Here it is:

Eyes:
Sugarpill Eyeshadow, Birthday Girl
Sugarpill Eyeyshadow, Poison Plum
Sugarpill Eyeshadow, Tako
Bobbi Brown Violet Gel Liner
MAC Kohl in Petrol
Make Up Forever Smokey Lash

Face:
NARS Sheer Glow, Month Blanc
MAC Moisture Select Concealer, NW15
NARS Blush, Desire

Lips:
Viva Glam Gaga

So a very bright look, but I like it a lot. Its a bit Barbie-ish.

Some more nail art

2011-03-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

I think everyone will get pretty sick of me experimenting soon! Anyway I am very proud of my latest creation, and here it is:
For the pink I used China Glaze Something Sweet, for the blue I used Essie Mint Candy Apple, the dark pink of the flower is China Glaze Sugar High, and the green is China Glaze Starboard.
For the white stripes and polka dots I used my Models Own nail art pen, and for the flower I used my cheap nail art brushes I got off eBay.
I think it looks very pretty and I'm impressed with myself! What do you think? Sorry for not cleaning up the cuticles!

Feather Hair Extensions

2011-03-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago Kandee Johnson posted a video about feather hair extensions on YouTube. Personally I'm not a huge Kandee fan, but I did like the look of the feather extensions. I sent the video to my friend and she loved the look of them too so we decided to order a couple and have a girly night in with a bottle of wine and putting in extensions.
I ordered mine from eBay, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hair-Extension-Feathers-1-SET-w-bead-3-feathers-natural-/110657324826?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c3b0c71a They arrived in about 9 days and this is how they look:

So I got two different sets of feathers, a few beads and some wire to pull the hair through the bead. The only thing I will say about the eBay shop that I got mine from is that you don't know what colour you are going to get. You can request a certain colour in the comments box but it is no guarantee. The reason we went for this shop is because it was the cheapest ones that we could find, now that I know I like them I will pay out more for the next look.
They where very easy to install, we didn't actually have any pliers so used the blunt part of scissors. I have also washed my hair twice since putting them in and they wash up nicely and take to the same shape my hair is in.
Anyway, here is the pictures of the extensions in:

I am really enjoying these extensions. I'm so fickle with my hair and I love changing it around so this is a fast and relatively cheap way to change it. Its very subtle as well.
The feathers may seem pricey at about £5 each, but they are reusable, and they don't damage your hair, unlike all the other products I put in it!
So what do you think of feather extensions? Will you be trying them out or are they not your cup of tea?

Viva Glam Gaga Inspired Look

2011-03-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

So before I actually purchased the new Viva Glam lipstick, I was inspired to try and recreate the look in the product promo images because I think it is beautiful. If you haven't seen it yet this is what it looks like:In the end my look turned out nothing like this, but its still very pretty and very wearable! My boyfriend did say I had looked like I had black eyes, which I guess is the risk you take when having the make up darker under your eyes. I also tried to bleach out my brows slightly with foundation, but it didn't really work out.
Here is how mine turned out:

Anyway here is what was used:

Face:
Foundation, NARS Sheer Glow - Mont Blanc
Concealer, MAC Moisture Select - NW15
Blusher, NARS - Deep Throat

Eyes:
Inner Corner, Urban Decay - Virgin
Lid, Urban Decay - Sin
Brow Highlight, MAC - Blanc Type
Crease, MAC - Wedge
Waterline, MAC - I Get No Kicks
Liner, Illamsqua Precision Ink - Abyss
Under eye, MAC - Twinks and Charcoal Brown
Lashes, Make Up Forever Smokey Lash

Lips:
Lip Liner, MAC - Stone
Lipstick, GOSH - Darling
Lipgloss, MAC - Woo Me

So what do you think? Do you love this look as much as me?

Viva Glam Gaga Swatch and Comparison

2011-03-03T11:43:00.001-08:00

So today I visited my local MAC counter, as about 600 million (slight exaggeration) collections came out today and they where all pretty poor. I did however like the new Viva Glam Gaga that came out so I purchased it.
When I got it home I was worried it was similar to the other nudes I own, but luckily there is just enough difference for me to justify owning it.

Here is a picture of it on my lips:

It has a glossy finish and bleaches out my lips slightly, not enough to make them look like I've plastered my lips in concealer, but enough to be a very pretty nude.
I decided to compare the other nudes in my collection so you can get a clearer idea of the shade it is:

From left to right we have, MAC Hug Me, MAC Myth, GOSH Darling and finally MAC Viva Glam Gaga.
I also swatched them all so here is that picture, in the same order as above:
I thought it was going to be most similar to GOSH Darling, but it is a lot more brown. I would say it is closest to Myth, but slightly darker so you don't get the completely bleached out effect.
I really like this lipstick and think its lovely and wearable for every day, and would look great with a smokey eye for the evening. If you are umming and ahhing over whether to get it, don't forget all the money goes to a great cause!

Color Club NOTD

2011-03-02T08:08:00.001-08:00

So just another quick NOTD. This time featuring Color Clubs High Society.

This is a lovely colour along the same lines as Metro Chic and Call Your Mother, but slightly lighter.
The formula is OK, slightly on the thin side and needs three coats for it to be nice and opaque. It is not streaky though which is great.
It is also lovely and cheap, I think they are about $2 or so from trans design. I feel like they are the American equivalent of Barry M polishes, cheap and cheerful, but with a wider colour selection and are even cheaper!

February Favourites

2011-02-28T06:10:00.001-08:00

So today is the last day of the month, which means favourites time! So first up we have my Lush It's Raining Men shower gel. It is a lovely shower gel that smells a bit like weathers originals. Its also 40% honey so it leaves my skin lovely and soft.
When I went home earlier this month I didn't take my eye cream with me, which has made me realise how much I need it these days. I use a REN one, and it just helps with my under eye circles and helps reduce how puffy my eyes are first thing in the morning.
As you know I am obsessed with nails at the moment, and I can't believe I went for so long without Seche Vite! It is a amazing topcoat and dries nails quickly, which is very handy for me because I am not very patient.
Sugarpills Paperdoll is included in this months favourites because it is such a gorgeous colour and stays on really well. This has been getting me ready for spring, despite the rubbish weather. I do love a good pastel.
My MAC Teddy pencil has probably made a appearance before, but I am still very much into using brown on the waterline rather than black.

I also have to give my Urban Decay Naked Palette and MAC Kissable Lip Colours in Woo Me and Enchantee a honourable mention.
My Naked Palette came back to my parents with me, and got me through two interviews. Its just such a easy palette to pick up and go with, and you can create so many looks with it, day looks, night looks and there are loads of opportunities.
The lip colours I love. The formula is amazing and the colours are so wearable. If I am in doubt over which lip colour to go for I can just pick one of these up and feel safe that it looks OK and goes with the look.

So thats my favourites. A rather quick post but it has been a quick month! So whats everyone else been loving this month?

Sunday Superstar Product - Foundation

2011-02-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

So this weeks superstar product is my beloved foundation, NARS Sheer Glow. My shade is Mont Blanc and I am sadly getting to the end of this bottle, but I will gladly fork out the £29.50 in Space NK to replace it.

But now for the comparison, so here is my face with no make up:

So as you can see in the picture I have some redness across my forehead, and around my nose. I also have a lovely spot scar on my chin and a bit of purple under my eyes. I also have uneven texture and enlarged pores across my cheeks, although you might not be able to tell in this picture.
Now here is the picture with me with my sheer glow on:
So still looking a bit tired, but I think my skin looks a lot more even in texture and colour in this picture. Its done a decent job of covering the scar and the redness around my nose and over my forehead, although I would still use a concealer on these areas. It has also covered my freckles, which regarding on how you see it, can be a positive or a negative.
I got my bottle of sheer glow around October, and use it pretty much daily so I think it has lasted a decent amount of time.
It gives great coverage, I would say around medium but you can definitely build up to full coverage. It also lasts a decent while too, I work 9-11 hour days and make sure I set my foundation and it is still there at the end of the day, well just about.
Despite the amount of coverage it gives it feels really nice on my skin, it is soft to the touch and I don't feel like my skin is being suffocated. It also doesn't have a funny smell, which my last foundation, MAC Studio Fix Fluid had.
I can't really think of any negatives for this product, maybe the price, it is slightly pricey but then I have no problem paying the price for a product that works so well for me and has lasted a good while.
The only thing I can say with this is that if you do decide to purchase this in Space NK, be careful as the lighting in the first store I went to was poor and I could pretty much tell that the colour she matched me to was wrong, so I asked for a sample and was told that they can't sample foundation due to hygiene reasons (bullshit), so I went online and looked at what colour I thought I would be and when I visited another store they matched me to a colour that I thought I was anyway. Good old artificial lighting!

China Glaze NOTD

2011-02-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick NOTD post. This is China Glaze, Starboard from the Anchors Away collection.
The formula on this is lovely, nice and thick and great after two coats, although I still did three. I also love the colour of this. I'm not normally one for green nails as they don't really suit me but I love this colour!

Lush Mothers Day Products

2011-02-24T13:32:00.001-08:00

So seeing as the products are on the lush website, I thought I would share with you what Lush are release for Mothers day: Mums Vanilla Fountain Ballistic - £3.60

Mums Space Girl Ballistic - £3.60

Mums Avobath Ballisitc - £3.60 Happy Mothers Day - All three of the mothers day flower ballistics in a vase made of keep it fluffy ballistic. £18.50

Tiny Hands - Solid hand moisturiser £3.95

There is also a couple of new gifts up but I didn't include them in this post. So what do you think, will you be getting anything? I love the look of tiny hands, I'm always out for something to moisturise my hands, but considering the bath bombs aren't in a limited addition scents I think I will be skipping.
The images are from the lush site.

Fail FOTD and New Hair!

2011-02-22T02:14:00.000-08:00

So yesterdays FOTD was bit of a fail, but I still wore it to a interview anyway! Because it was a interview FOTD it was heavy on the neutrals.
The reason it failed (as you will see on pics) is that brown lips clearly don't suit me, and the splodgy liner. Hey you can't always be good!

Anyway here is what I used:
Eyes:
Virgin (UD Naked palette)
Naked (UD Naked Palette)
Darkhorse (UD Naked Palette)
Illamasqua Precision Ink in Abyss
Make up Forver Smokey Lash Mascara
Illamasqua Brow Cake in Storm

Face:
NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc
MAC MSF natural
MAC Blush in Melba

Lips:
MAC Lipliner in Stone
MAC Kissable Lip Colour in Woo Me

And to finish here is a picture of me with my new hair, after its been washed in all its fluffy goodness.

First attempt at water marbling

2011-02-21T04:00:00.001-08:00

So after watching a few tutorials on YouTube on water marbling, I decided to give it a go. I used Essie Angora Cardi, Color Club High Society and China Glaze Below Deck. Here is how it turned out:

First off, oh my gosh I knew my hands where dry but I never realised my cuticle/nail bed where that disgusting!
That aside I am pretty happy with how this turned out. I like my ring finger the best, but I think my pinkie is quite quite too.
My middle finger has a huge dent in it where I got a water bubble and didn't fix it properly.
I also like the colour selection, but I think I chose colours too similar so next time I try it I will use more contrasting colours.

The process itself was really easy, but it was very messy to clean up. I put tape underneath the nail around my finger to make cleaning up a bit easier, but I still got a lot of polish around my fingers, and when trying to remove it I ended up with bruised looking fingers! Will definitely be trying this again!

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2011-02-20T10:22:00.001-08:00

Yea!

Sundary Superstar Product - Mascara

2011-02-20T03:04:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to start a mini series, as I love looking at other peoples. Mine is going to be on a Sunday, if you hadn't guessed! It will be focusing on my essentials, so there will be a lot of photos with me with no make up on (eek!) and then with the product so you can get a full comparison.
So the first product is my mascara. I have been using this mascara for about 2 years now and I love it. I always stock up when I go to America because it is slightly harder to get hold of in the UK. It is Make Up Forever Smokey Lash Mascara.
So here we have my naked lashes:And here we have my lashes after two coats of Smokey Lash:

So I think the first thing that is pretty obvious, is that it is very easy to clump. I generally only do one coat because I find it is enough, but I thought I could show the effects more with two, bit of a mistake really!
It is also pretty costy at £17.04, but these are the only two negatives I can find about this product.
The positives are, that it is a lovely dark colour, it is lengthening and I think it makes my lashes slightly thicker looking aswell.
I didn't curl my lashes for these photos, but if you do it keeps the curl really well.
Another big plus for me is that this mascara doesn't flake. I wear contact lenses so flakey mascara really irritates my eyes. I also have pretty sensitive eyes anyway, so I have to avoid waterproof mascaras at all cost, unless I want stoner eyes. This doesn't leave me with panda eyes after watching the notebook.
Generally a tube of this will last me about 5 months, so not too bad!
You can get this mascara from http://www.makeup-provisions.com

Models Own/WAH Nail Art Pen

2011-02-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

So I feel like I have used my Models Own/WAH nail art pens enough to give them a decent review.
They retail for £6 each and at the moment the only available colours are black and white, but Models Own intend to introduce the whole of their colour range in these pens.

They are designed to have a pen like top, and also a stripper tool when you unscrew the top. Pretty similar to most other nail art pens on the market to be honest.

I will start with the pen tip. This is my favourite part of the pen. Unlike other nail art pens you don't have to press down on the tip to get the polish out. You just squeeze the pen constantly, and when you are done you replace the pin into the head. This has its good points and its bad points, the good being that you don't have to worry about scraping your base colour off, the bad points being that you have to continually squeeze it which can be a effort, and its very easy to squeeze out too much.
So here we have a picture of the pens with the pins in:

And here is a picture of the pen tips and the pin:

So you see the tip is lovely and fine which is great for drawing fine things easily, but as you can see there is a blog of polish at the end and that is with very little pressure which shows how you can easily waste it or mess up your designs.
Putting the pin back in can also be tricky at times because the pen tip is so fine, and I can imagine this product wouldn't work second time around if you didn't replace the pin.
So next up is the striper part of the tool, which in my eyes is very disappointing. I will show you how mine arrived:

So as you can see, the white one is fine. The brush is a decent length, could be a bit thinner but still is fine for doing stripes, but then we get the black one, and oh it bent. Awesome I can totally do straight lines with a bent brush!
I would've sent it back, but the striper part wasn't what I really wanted it for and I didn't have the patience to wait. It was over Christmas I got these as well so there was a lot of snow and I didn't want the hassle of it getting lost.
I have also had a couple of friends use the striper brush and it all the hair completely fell out, so in my eyes, the striper tool needs a lot of work because at the minute it is useless.

The only other thing I can comment on is the quality of the polish. I really like Models Own nail polish, and these are no exception. The white is lovely and opaque, which you need for nail art really, but both of the polishes are nice and thick but without being drippy or runny and the drying time is decent, so the polish itself gets a thumbs up!

Despite the rubbish stripping tool, I do enjoy using the pen part, but at £6 a pop I'm not sure they are completely worth it when I managed to get a load of brushes for less then that. I guess it makes it less fiddly than brushes and with less to clean up but at least with brushes you can use whatever colours you want.
Has anyone else tried the pens? If you have did you have any issues with the stripper?

Sugarpill FOTD

2011-02-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

So as soon as I got my Sugarpill products I knew I wanted to use paperdoll to do a cute girly look, so here is how it turned out:

Face:
Nars Sheer Glow - Mont Blanc
MAC MSF Natural - Light
MAC Beauty Powder - Oh So Fair

Eyes:
Sugarpill Chroma Lust - Paperdoll
Sugarpill Pressed Shadow - Poison Plum
Sugarpill Pressed Shadow - Taco
MAC Eye Kohl - Fascinating
Illamasqua Precision Ink - Abyss
Make Up Forever Smokey Lash Mascara
Illamasqua Brow Cake - Storm

Lips:
MAC Lipgloss - Viva Glam Gaga

I love this look but I think the brows are way too strong so I will have to sort that out next time I try it. Also I love how long my lashes look!

Nail Stuff Haul

2011-02-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

So for those who don't know, I am visiting my parents at the minute. Where I am at the moment I don't really have anywhere I can have my post delivered to, so when I visit home it often means I have a pile of parcels waiting for me and its like Christmas all over again.
In case you hadn't noticed, I have been a bit obsessed with nails at the moment, so I have a Trans Design haul for you, and a couple of random nail accessory buys off eBay.

I will start off with the Trans Design haul.
For those of you who don't know what trans design is, it is a company where you can get very cheap polish. The best way to get value for money is to order 9 bottles at a time so that you can go for the small flat rate shipping box.

Shipping itself is pretty pricey at $20, which is quite a lot considering the cost of the 9 polishes themselves was $28, but that is still $48 for 9 polishes, which according to google is about £30, so I see it as even with p&p one its about £3.35 for a bottle of nail polish, which is still a lot cheaper then what we can get it for over here. Anyway lets get down to the haul. First up we have the more neutral colours:

From left to right we have, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, Color Club Jewel of a Girl, China Glaze Below Deck, Color Club High Society and China Glaze Pelican Grey.
Next up we have the jewel colours:

These are all China Glaze colours, and from left to right we have, Emerald Fitzgerald, Starboard, Hey Sailor and First Mate.
I am very happy with all these colours, and have already tried out a couple of them so expect to say NOTD with them and reviews soon!
Next up are just a couple of little bits that I got off eBay:

So I got the Seche Vite top coat, I think I got this for £6.50 which was the cheapest price I could see on there. Its such a cult product I'm surprised I held out on getting it for so long, but now I have it I love it.
I also got a set of nail art brushes. I was hmmming and ahhhing other whether or not to get these, but 15 brushes for £3.99 with p&p, even if they do break its not like it broke the bank. One of the brushes is actually a dotting tool anyway which I am sure I will get used to, but expect to see a lot of dodgy looking nail art posts coming up!
So there is the end of my hauling. Anyone else enjoying nail polish/art as much as I am or is it just me?

Sugarpill Haul and Swatches

2011-02-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

For Black Friday Sugarpill had a (I think it was) 35% off sale. I took full advantage of this offer as Sugarpill is a brand that I had wanted to try for a while, but because of the high cost of shipping on top of products I had always been put off, but sales call to me and I had to take advantage of this one!

I have only just received the package because it went to my parents house, and I have not been to my parents since Christmas.

First off I wanted to say how pleased I am with the customer service. I was worried that it was taking a long time to get to me, so I e mailed Amy and despite not having a order number she was able to find out where my parcel was for me. Also look how cute this is:(Rachel is my mum by the way.) Even if someone else signs every order form, its still pretty cute and makes it feel more personal.
Anyway here is what I got. First we have a picture with them in the packaging, because its too cute not to include!

And now without:

So the products I got where, the Sweetheart Quad, a single eyeshadow in Poison Plum, and Chroma Lust Loose Eyeshadows in Birthday Girl, Paperdoll and Goldilux.
Not lets have some swatches, these are the pressed powders:

The top row is with primer underneath, the bottom row is without anything on. From left to right we have, Tako, Poison Plum, Dollipop, Afterparty and Midori.
As you can see the shadows are pretty bright by themselves, but with a primer underneath they are even brighter.
After swatching the shadows, the shadows with the primer underneath lasted for over 8 hours, I had to scrub my hands at the end of the night to get them off. Without a primer they lasted just as long, but had faded a fair bit.
They shadows are very pigmented and soft, but not as buttery as some shadows are. Although to be honest I have not come across a bright shadow that is buttery in texture like neutrals can be.
Next up is the Chroma Lusts:
The swatches on the top row are mixed with water, the ones on bottom are without. From left to right we have Birthday Girl, Golidlux and Paperdoll.
When the pigments are applied dry they are a lot more pastel, but have a lot of shimmer in them, where as when they are mixed with water they loose a bit of the shimmer and become deeper in colour and have a more metallic colour.
The pigments didn't last as long as the shadows, but still lasted fairly long, and the glitter didn't fall out all over the place.
My favourite from these by far was Paperdoll, it is gorgeous and today I did a girly look using that and Poison Plum for a lovely girly look.
I am very happy with all my purchases. The colours are lovely and the quality of the products is brilliant. Oh and I also was sent a sample of Weekender Losse Shadow as well, but I have yet to try it out.
So has anyone else from the UK splurged on Sugarpill? See anything you like here? Oh and sorry for the long post!

Bed

2011-02-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Considering its Valentines day, I think it is the only acceptable time to do a post about a bed.
So at Christmas I got the most gorgeous bed set from my nan. It wasn't cheap, but when I saw it on my bed at my parents house waiting for me, I couldn't wait to get into it!

Now this post is mainly to show the gorgeous bedding, but it also has a purpose to remind us all that we all need our beauty sleep!

Ideally I like 8 hours sleep a night, I can live on 7, and on my days off if I have been doing 45 hour weeks I have been known to sleep for 10 hours.

We all spend lots of money on skin care, but sleep is just as essential as we all know its when our body repairs itself.

I also love spending quality time with my boyfriend in bed before going to sleep. We always make sure to watch a programme (at the moment community) and have a cuddle before we go to sleep as it is one of the only times of the day where we actually get to see each other.

Anyway, with out further ado, here is the beautiful bedding:

The bedding is from a brand called Pip Studio and can be found in John Lewis or on their website http://www.pipstudio.com/en/bedding?gclid=CIr0la2PiKcCFYVjfAodFxUAfA
I hope everyone gets a early night tonight, for sleep or other stuff!

I'm going home! And NOTD

2011-02-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

It is very early on a Saturday morning as I start work at 8am today. None of that matters though because I get to go visit my parents for 9 days!

Me and my mum will be getting our hair done and going to Covent Garden and I will get to see my old work friends on my way home after work tonight and lets not forget about all the parcels waiting for me! Hopefully a Trans Design order, some Sugarpill and some ebay purchases!

So a very excited and happy me today!

To keep this beauty related, here is a NOTD, because I am a bit too obsessed with them at the moment.

So from left to right starting with the thumb we have:
Barry M - Berry Ice Cream
Models Own - Dove Grey
China Glaze - Something Sweet
Essie - Mint Candy Apple
Models Own - Utopia
And the polka dots where done using my Models Own nail art pen. Have a great weekend!

Small Boots Haul

2011-02-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

So I wanted a couple of things from boots, but when I get there I discover a £20 gift card in my purse! I was quite pleased because there was some more bits that I wanted to get. Its silly how much this small haul excites me, but its pretty much all inspired by beauty blogs so I'm hoping it all lives up to the hype! Here is what I got:

First up we have Oilatum. This has been recommended by Pixiwoo which is the main reason I got it. I have also ran out of my Eve Lom products so it was good timing. This is supposed to be quite a heavy cream, which is good for me because since I changed contraception my skin has been very dry, so lets see if this works!
Next up is a Barry M fine glitter dust. It is in number 15. It is just a white with lots of gold glitter in it. I got this so that I can recreate Xsparkages latest tutorial (the white swan). If you haven't checked out the tutorial I would really recommend it!
Then we have the Barry M Nail Effects. This has been sold out for soooo long that I had given up hope on it, but when I popped into Boots and they had it I know I had to snap it up. For those who don't know, it is one of those crackle polishes that shrink when you put it on top of another colour.
The last thing I got was a white nail polish. This is from 17 and is called Mini Skirt. I wanted a white polish to do my valentines day manicure. I would've got one from Barry M but they didn't have any on the stand so I settled for this one. Lets hope its not thin and streaky!
So that's the end of my haul. I can't wait to try it all out. Any of the latest 'must haves' tempting you?

Love/Hate Nails

2011-02-08T03:23:00.000-08:00

So here we have my second attempt at nail art (please excuse the very messy cuticles) :

Despite how messy and wonky they are, I still love them! It's so nice to have something a little bit different at work where I am only allowed to wear black.
For the base I used Models Own Utopia, I had to do 3 coats because it went a tiny bit streaky. For the writing and the black heart I used my Models Own/Wah nail art pen and for the red heart I used my OPI Off With Her Red.
It's stupid how excited about nail art I am at the minute, I'm thinking about my valentines day manicure already!

Eve Lom Review Part 2

2011-02-07T00:13:00.000-08:00

So lets get straight into it. First up we have the Rescue Mask. This was the only product that I actually disliked. The mask itself was OK, your basic clay mask that you can feel tingle. The thing I had a problem with was that when I was squeezing the mask out of the tube, a lot of water spurted out all over my clothes. The water also looked like sewage which made me feel a bit sick, I don't really want to be putting some separated weird thing on my face so I was turned off the mask from the start.

I also didn't see any beneficial results from the mask. My pores where the same, my skin felt as smooth as normal and I wasn't suddenly radiant. I have used this mask 3 times and just haven't been impressed.

The price tag on this is huge as well, for something that doesn't give the results I am after so I am afraid this only gets 1/5.

The last thing I have to review is the hand cream. I am afraid I don't have a picture for it.

The hand cream was my favourite product by far. I use a lot of water at work and have to constantly scrub at things, that on top of my eczema patches I get around my knuckles means that my hands are often dry, red and very sore.

This hand cream really helped sooth my hands, and a little went a very long way. It also sunk in incredibly fast. It didn't leave my hands shiny looking and I could use the keyboard without leaving finger marks all over it.

The cream smells a bit like Pritt Stick, but my hands are pretty far away from the end of my nose so I don't mind so much.

It is a expensive hand cream, a tube retails for around £20, but its worked better for me then my more expensive Bliss hand cream, and works a lot better then any of the cheaper hand creams I have tried. I think when you have any skin irritation you are willing to pay more though.

This product gets a well deserved 5/5.

So there is my opinion on Eve Lom. Although I enjoyed the moisturisers I won't be repurchasing them. I feel like the grass is greener on the other side.

I want to try the Oilatum cream that Pixiwoo have been raving about, and I also want to try out the Origins Vitazing that seems to be popular right now. Failing that I will just go back to Dermalogica.

Any other skincare brands I should be trying? Anyone had any luck with the brands I have mentioned?

Eve Lom Travel Refill Set Review

2011-02-06T01:52:00.000-08:00

So a while ago I had enough Ncentive points to get £10 off at SpaceNK. I also wanted to try out some new skin care products so I went for the Eve Lom Travel set. The travel set comes with a muslin cloth, the TLC Cream, Moisturiser + SPF, Rescue Mask, Cleanser and Hand Cream. The set was £42 full price, which is a fair bit considering its designed to be a travel kit. Having said that I am on about week 6 of using this and I still have a bit of product left, so a little goes a long way. Anyway I am going to review the individual products so you can see what I think of them, so lets get started!

First up we have the Cleanser. As you may be able to see by the picture, it is like a oil based cleanser, but the texture is slightly grainy as well. The cleanser is designed to be used with the muslin cloth, so the grainy texture of the cleanser combined with the scrub of the cloth means that you get quite a bit of exfoliation!
Despite the fact that it is oily, you don't feel like any of it is left behind after on your skin so I think even oily skinned ladies could get away with using this.
Although this is a nice product and my skin was clean, I still got the odd occasional spot, and to be honest this product is pretty average. I was going to give this product 3/5, but then I saw the price tag, which I think is a bit too high for a average cleanser so I am going to give this product 2/5.

Next up we have the TLC Cream. This is a moisturiser that is designed to be used at night.
It is designed for more mature skin to keep it supple and rehydrate, but I think prevention is the best cure so I used it anyway.
The cream is very very thick, and I had to warm it up a little between my fingertips to be able to spread it properly. Despite how thick it is, it's not particularly greasy, and although I had a little shine to my face after applying it, I didn't look like a chip pan which is always good.
The product doesn't have any fragrance, if it does it is too faint for my to pick up. When I wake up the morning after using this product my skin does look quite radiant, and feels lovely and soft.

Whilst this product once again has a very big price tag, I feel like it deserves it a bit more. Still I am only going to give this product 3/5 because I feel like you can get better for cheaper. If you have the spare cash though go for it!

So now we have the Moisturiser + SPF 15. This was my second favourite product from the set.

I used this in the morning, obviously because you don't need a SPF when you are sleeping.

It is slightly fragranced, I would say of lavender, but it isn't offensive and doesn't last on the face.

I love the fact that this moisturiser has a SPF in it because protecting yourself against the sun helps in the long run with avoiding aging. Most foundations these days have SPF in them, but unfortunately the one I use doesn't, and I don't wear foundation every day so its handy to have it in the moisturiser.

I also love how quickly this product sinks in. It also has a matte finish, which I think is important for a day time moisturiser as I don't have to wait around for ages before I can put on my make up. This product gets a well deserves 4/5.

And it is here that my camera decided to run out of battery, plus this post is getting a bit long so I will review the Rescue Mask and Hand Cream tomorrow.
But what are we thinking so far? Have you tried out Eve Lom products before? Worth the price tag?

Small Peacocky Haul

2011-02-04T01:12:00.000-08:00

When I first saw the promo pictures for this collection there was quite a few things I wanted to get. I also wanted at least four of the Kissable Lip colours, but when I saw the price (£16!) I had to rethink what I was going to get. In the end I plumped for two of the Kissable Lip colours, so here is what I got : The colour on top in Enchantee, and the colour on the bottom in Woo Me. Sorry about the shadow over Woo Me, the lighter part is the more accurate colour! I love both of these colours, I was slightly worried about Enchantee because I have so many baby pink colours like this, I felt bad for getting another one, but luckily it is quite different to the ones I own so I feel less guilty now!
Here is a picture of my lips with just some clear lip balm on:

Now with Enchantee:

And Woo Me:

Both colours are very wearable, which I like a lot, when I'm spending £16 on a lip product I want to be able to use it a lot and not have to wait for a special day.
Woo Me is my favourite, its just makes my lips look better then they are. Its a very natural colour and also something very different to what I own. The closest colour I have to this is Hug Me.
As for the Kissable Lip formula, I love it! I really wish I could afford to get the coral colour I was after. These have a slight glossy shine to them, but they have none of the stickiness that you get with lipgloss. There is also none of the hair getting stuck to your lips type thing. They feel like a balm on your lips and do not dry them out like some lipsticks can. They also have the typical MAC vanilla fragrance. I find it slightly stronger in this formula then I do in their lipsticks and gloss.
Overall I am very happy with what I got. I love the formula and I also think the colours I got where good choices. I know that there was only 5 more Woo Me's left at my MAC counter, apparently some stands only got a small shipment so I wouldn't leave it too late if you wanted to get some bits.
I also love the look of the eyeshadows, and when I swatched them they where amazingly pigmented. The only downside to this is the price of the collection. Although I'm sure if I had more money the price wouldn't have stopped me.
Did you get anything from this collection? What do you think of the new formulas?

January Favourites

2011-02-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

So what with it being the 1st of February, its time for that classic post, my monthly favourites!So first off is my Inglot 10 pan custom palette. I have bee experimenting with bright colours, as you probably know, so this palette is all I need to create loads of different looks. The shadows are pigmented and buttery, and they don't crease either. The only downside to this palette is that you sometimes get a bit of fallout, but more on the palette then on the brush if that makes and sense, but for £35 for a full palette, I'm not going to complain.
Next we have my Illamasqua precision ink. I got this a while ago, but found it quite difficult to use. The tip is a lot harder than the ones I tend to use, in fact it has no give in it so it took me a while to get used to it. Well now I am used to it, and I'm so impressed! Its a lovely rich glossy black and it stays put all day, despite the fact that I rub my eyes a lot.
I have been reaching for my MAC MSF in petticoat a lot recently. It gives me a lovely glow and is a very pretty colour. I can actually get away with using it as a blusher, where as other MSF's can sometimes make me look like a disco ball.
And last but not least, my Illamasqua blending brush. This is probably my most expensive brush, but I do love it. It blends so much better then any of my Sigma ones can, the brush is very soft and it washes so well. Like all other Illamasqua brushes, it is synthetic, meaning that it is completely cruelty free. The only downside to synthetic brushes is that they take slightly longer to dry, but that doesn't bother me!

So that's what I have been loving this month. I can't wait to hopefully see more posts like this one!

And the winner is....

2011-01-30T12:32:00.001-08:00

Sorry to announce a day early but I'm not sure I will be able to post tomorrow. So time to announce the winner of my give away.
I used random.org to generate a number, a few entries where disqualified as they didn't actually follow my blog!
Anyway the lucky winner is Jennifer Leigh! Congratulations!
I would recommend taking a look at her blog it is lovely, and Jennifer I will be e mailing you to get your shipping address, congratulations!

2011-01-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at nail art

2011-01-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

So here is my first attempt at nail art. I used O.P.I's Off With Her Red for the red, and for the polka dots I used the Models Own nail art pens.

The black splodges are meant to be bows, inspired by Minnie Mouse, nice and tacky.

I also have lots of nice nail varnish all over my skin, how sexy.

Despite all the spolodgyness of this manicure, I still really like it and I'm proud of myself. Its a little different and it is a really nice talking point.

I am quite impressed with the models own nail art pens, they are a lot easier to use then a lot of other nail art type stuff I have tried.
Hopefully I will get better at this whole nail art shebang and have some better pictures to show you soon. I will also give the Models Own pens more of a whirl and hopefully have a review up soon!

But what do you think about nail art, tacky or creative?

My make up storage

2011-01-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

So when I was out today I saw something in WHSmith that I fell in love with, and needed an excuse to buy, luckily I decided it would make great make up storage seeing as mine was currently just sprawled all over the table in my kitchen. So here is how my new revamped make up area looks like!

So as you can see it is one of those desk organiser things, but its covered in cupcakes and is very cute! As you can see on top I keep my brushes in a Alice In Wonderland mug, and I have some random eyelash curlers and sharpener on there too.

The drawers go quite far back which is a pleasant surprise. This is the top row, in the first draw I have lip pencils, sticks and glosses. In the middle draw is single eyeshadows, paint pots and my one lonely pigment and in the last draw I have eyeliner, kohls and anything to do with lining, as well as my primer potion which I didn't know where else to stick.

The middle sets of drawers are even deeper and a great size. The first one has my cheek products in it, and the second draw has my face products.

The bottom draw has been reserved for my eyeshadow palettes as it is the biggest.
So what do you think? I love it, and it was half price so not too bad for £9.99! They also had a couple of other designs if anyone was interested.

Rainbow Eyes

2011-01-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

So on Sunday I decided to try and do rainbow eyes. I think it is something every beauty blogger will try at least once, and I love it! I used my Inglot bright eyeshadow palette, and I used the white from it as a highlight.

I also used my Illamasqua brow cake and precision liner, my usual face stuff and NARS desire for blush. It looked a bit like a child had gone crazy with crayons on my face, but I enjoyed it and got lots of compliments!

Candy Nails

2011-01-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

So its miserable and wet outside, to cheer myself up I thought I would paint my nails in Spring/Summer pastels. I also thought I would do something a bit different and go for a accent nail, its sickeningly sweet, but I love it.

My nails are pretty short at the moment because I got stressed and bit them all off (bad habit of mine) and that put me off painting them for a while, but I'm glad to be back on the wagon!
I used China Glaze Something Sweet for the pink, and the blue is China Glaze For Audrey.

Bumblebee Eyes

2011-01-15T05:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being MIA, lots of early mornings and long days again. Anyway yesterday I decided to try out Pixiwoos latest tutorial. It doesn't really look anything like theirs, but I still like it, so here is how it turned out:

The pictures aren't the best quality, it's hard to get decent lighting at 7AM when its raining outside...
Anyway, I used my usual Nars foundation and MAC concealer, and for my cheeks I used MAC Melba. On my eyes I used the yellow from my Inglot palette (it is amazing and bright!) and MAC Carbon, which if I am honest is a pretty shit black, but it worked for this look. I also used feline kohl. For once I didn't do my brows.
I also tried a bit of contouring on my lips using Nars Laguana Bronzer and my MAC I Get No Kicks pencil above the lip. I also used MAC Viva Glam Gaga and the gloss on top, I think it actually worked in making my lips look a little fuller!
Although this is quite a bright look, the black toned it down and made it wearable for the day. I really enjoyed wearing it and got a few compliments so I was quite happy with myself. It also lasted 13 hours so very impressive!

New Year Giveaway!

2011-01-11T11:49:00.001-08:00

So I always said that I would do a giveaway when I hit 50 followers, but I was a bit busy at work when that happened, so it is more of a new year give away, anyway here is what you can win:

Yay stuff from the Lush Valentines day range! So you will get, It's Raining Men shower gel, the Love Birds soap, Frog Prince and Ex Factor. Unfortunately my local lush didn't have the mushrooms so I couldn't buy one to include.

To enter you have to be a follower of a blog. All you have to do is comment below saying what your favourite cosmetics brand is and why.
You can also get two extra entries by

Tweet about it. Include @cocoalikegnomes somewhere so I can see it
Blog about it or include it in your blog role, link it in your comment below.

The competition will end on the 31st of January and I will ship internationally. Good luck!

LiLash

2011-01-10T03:01:00.001-08:00

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that I will be telling you the secret to my eyelashes, well that secret is LiLash. For those of you who don't know what LiLash is, it is a eyelash conditioner, which promises to make your lashes grow in about 6 weeks.
You apply it like you would a liquid eyeliner, along the base of the lashes. I tend to do it of a night time after my cleansing and toning, just so I know I am not rubbing it off when I put make up on.
Unfortunately I do not have any before and after pictures, but if you look at any of my FOTD photos you can see the results, I even have people ask me if my lashes are real which I think shows that the products has been working!
I have been using the product since September, and it is still going strong, which is good as it shows that you get a fair bit of product in the tube.
The main issue for me with LiLash is the price. It sells for $139.97, which is about £90, so very pricey. I didn't pay for the product myself, my mum got it for me for my birthday, and I'm not sure that I would spend all that money on this product.
Having said that, I know my mum has re purchased this as she has been using it since the start of 2010. She is blonde and has very fair eyelashes, that are very short and the product has had a lot more effect on her lashes. They have darkened the lash so even if she isn't wearing mascara she actually looks like she has some eyelashes, and they are a lot thicker and darker so I feel if you do have thin short lashes this product will really help, but if you lashes are pretty dark and thick already its not really worth the money.

Some images from my favourite MUA

2011-01-08T03:09:00.000-08:00

Just some lovely images from brilliant artists.
From top to bottom, Pat Mcgrath, Paul Innis, Nicci Jackson, Alex Box

Lush Valentines Day Products

2011-01-05T23:21:00.001-08:00

So now Christmas is over I need something to look foward to, and that comes in the form of valentines day products from Lush! So here are what the are launching this year:

The Ex Factor - A ballistic that smells like butterball. It's meant to be a bit like voodoo, so if you are alone on valentines day you take the ballistic and fizz off his arms. A bit sadistic but a lovely ballistic, was out last year.

The Frog Prince - Another ballistic. Your meant to kiss the red lips before you pop him in. The lips part is actually a bath melt so this is a lovely moisturising product. Scented with rose, rosewood, jasmine and neroli. Watch the frog turn into a prince!

Magic Mushroom - This is a bubble bar that was released last year. The red part smells like strawberry and the white part is vanilla so it makes for a very creamy, sweet bubble bath.

It's Raining Men - This is the product I am most looking foward. It is a shower gel that has the same frangrence as Honey I Washed the Kids soap, which is honey and toffee scented. I think the fact that it has honey in it means that it will proberbly be moisturising too.

Love Birds Soap - Another product that I am excited about. It just looks so beautiful and it smells like vanilla and jasmine, the same fragrence as the old B Never perfume, Keep it Fluffy, Lush also do this scent in a ballistic too.

So there we go, thats all the valentines day products, minus the gifts. Are you excited for any of them?

MAC Cham Pale Haul and Swatches

2011-01-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I popped by my local MAC counter (I used the VAT increase as an excuse to go) to check out Cham Pale, a collection I have been quite excited for.

The collection itself is full of muted soft colours and a little bit of sparkle, very fitting considering the collection is based on champagne!

I really wanted the quad, but I already had Brule, however I did tell myself I use Brule a lot so if I really love the quad when I see it, its fine to have a back up. Unfortunately the colours are not what I expected so I didn't get the quad. I also didn't get the NW20/NC15 whatever it was pencil. I thought it was a good idea, but when I swatched it I was like nah. Anyway here is what I did get:

So we have the I Get No Kicks Kohl, which is a lovely shimmery flesh colour, which I think I will be using to highlight. The top paint pot is Vintage Selection, which is very shimmery and a light brown colour, the bottom paint pot is Chilled on Ice which is very lovely and will be my replacement for my lost Bare Study, be warned though it is very shimmery. I also got the Rose Ole which is the highlight powder. It is very pretty and is more matte then a MSF so I feel like I could use this for highlighting everyday without having to worry about looking like a disco ball. I don't really understand what the texture pattern thing is about though.

So now for some swatches:

I thought I would try and be helpful by separating the swatches with black lines because the colours are so subtle its hard to see. I don't think it worked though, anyway from left to right we have, I Get No Kicks Kohl, Chilled on Ice pp, Vintage Selection pp, Rose Ole highlight. I'll do another picture without the lines, same order :

These pictures make my arms look fat. I am glad I am going on a diet. But in this picture you can see the shimmer of the paint pots a bit more. They really are gorgeous.
So what did everyone else think of this collection? Did you get anything/will you get anything?

Neutral FOTD

2011-01-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

So this is just a quick FOTD post because I am tired and this face is nothing special.

So the eyes where done using Inglot. The lid colour is slightly darker and more brown then Brulee. I also used Illamasqua precision ink and MAC Vanilla pigment as a inner corner highlight and brow highlight. I forget how much I love this pigment sometimes. I also used my Illamasqua brow cake. Oh and Feline Kohl!
My face is done using my usual NARS Sheer Glow and MAC Moisture Select concealer, plus my MSF Natural, and on my cheeks I have Melba. On my lips is MAC Hug Me.
I love this look and got a lot of compliments on it. It is slightly darker then what I normally wear so it made a pleasant change.
Sorry for the shortness and lameness of this post, the 11 hour shifts are starting to take their toll.

New Years Resolutions!

2011-01-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

So once again this isn't a beauty related post, but I think that having my resolutions down in writing in front of other people will hopefully encourage me to go through with them.

Be a size 10 for my 21st birthday. This involves dropping a dress size, well maybe two dress sizes and I have 7 months. Hopefully I can do it!
Take better care of my hands. I work with water and hardly ever wear gloves, I need to moisturise my hands more and take to protecting them!
Drink more water. I have about 1 glass a day which is appalling, and its beginning to show in the dehydration lines around my eyes.
Get a job that I actually like. I think this will be a lot easier when I move back to London as there is more opportunity and I won't have to pay rent so I can always start interning and not having to worry about rent.
Not worry as much. I make myself sick by worrying and getting nervous and it holds me back from too much stuff, I just need to relax and get on with life.

Not a huge list, and some are the same as every year, like loosing weight, but I think they are all achievable. I've checked out other peoples resolutions and seen that I'm not alone in my wanting so good luck to us all and happy new year!

2010 Favourites

2011-01-01T00:47:00.001-08:00

Happy new year everyone! So It is time for me to do my favourites from last year. There isn't many skin care ones, just because my skin changed from being oily to dry and dehydrated so I am still searching for something that works for me. Anyway lets get started!

So first up is my favourite eye products. I moved this year and haven't been able to find a person to thread my brows at a decent price so I have taken to plucking them, and for that I need my tweezorman tweezers, not to mention my boyfriend enjoys stealing them too....
Keeping on the eyebrow theme we have my Illamasqua brow cake in Storm. This is a fairly new purchase, but I love it so much and it beats all the other methods I have used for my brows hands down. The colour really suits me and it stays put all day. I also love the Illamasqua eyebrow brush, it is amazing for filling in brows.
This year I have also really been into highlighting the inner corner of my eye and highlighting underneath my brow. My MAC pencil in Fascinating has really helped with inner corner highlighting, and if I want a stark brow highlight then I will also use it there. I couldn't find my Teddy pencil, which is brown, but if I could I would definitely include that for lining my waterline!
Next up is my three favourite eyeshadows, all MAC, Blanc Type, Brule and Wedge. I use these colours constantly and I am glad I finally got a camera that can show the difference between Blanc Type and Brule. I use Brule all over my lid, Blanc Type to highlight and Wedge to blend out my crease.
Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner is my favourite. It is the easiest to use and it was the product I learned how to do eyeliner with when I was about 14. I have tried other gel liners but always come running back to this one.
Last up is Make Up Forever Smokey Lash mascara. This has been a firm favourite for about 2 years. It lengthens and makes lashes appear fuller and holds a curl amazingly.

Next up is face products. First of all we have Nars Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc. This is my favourite foundation I have ever tried. It doesn't feel like it is clogging my pores and gives me a flawless looking face. The shade also suits me better than MAC shades.
To set it I use MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural. The shade is actually Medium Plus, which is a little darker then I am. My face is a completely different colour to my body though and this helps even out the difference. The product is light and non clogging and makes my face last all day.
My favourite concealer is MAC Moisture Select Cover. I only use concealer for under the eyes and this helps brighten up the area.
Last but not least we have my go to blush. It is MAC Melba. This is one of the first ones I got and I use it when I am unsure what to go for. Its a very flattering shade.

I don't have any favourite lip products as I am very fickle and use a different product most days. I also don't have any favourite body products because I am just using stuff to get it used up. My favourite haircare is definitely Phillip Kingsley. This year my hair has really improved condition, and I think it is due to this shampoo. It finally has a shine again!

So I think that just about covers things. It's not too exciting, but I don't think staples ever are. Lets hope 2011 is more of a skincare year for me!

Another trip to Inglot

2010-12-29T01:15:00.000-08:00

So on Monday I went to Westfield shopping center with the intention of going to Inglot and getting a 10 pan eyeshadow palette full of very bright colours that I wouldn't normally wear. Normally the 10 pan palettes are £35, which I think is brilliant value for money anyway, but when I got there I was told that they actually have a sale on, 20% off! So I managed to get a 10 pan palette for £28, I was very impressed. Anyway here is what I got.

So as you can see I got some very bright colours, and a mixture of mattes and colours that are matte but have particles of glitter running through them.
I'm not going to do any swatches on this post because what you see in the pan is what you get, but if you do want swatches just let me know. They eyeshadows themselves are lovely, quite buttery and super pigmented. The only downside to these eyeshadows is that you sometimes get a bit of fallout.
I also want to comment on Inglots customer service as it is fantastic. All the Sales Assistants are very friendly and knowledgeable, and they don't have the stuck up air that some shops have. The lovely lady who served me remembered me from my first visit to the shop, which I always think is lovely as you feel like they are making a effort.
As for the freedom system, I think it is brilliant. There is always a colour in a palette that you don't like, and this eliminates that as you get to pick all the colours yourself. They also make lovely gifts as you can pick a mix of eyeshadows, face powders etc and make a really nice customisable palette for someone.
The only issue I have with the freedom system is that they products are not named. I have a pretty bad memory and can't remember what colours I picked up last time, and I was worried that I would pick up a colour I already had. Luckily I didn't but I feel like this is a mistake I will make in the future.
So yea, lots of Inglot love from me, its such a shame there is only one in the UK, but I am grateful I live in London. Whilst I was in Westfield I had a cheeky spend in Mulberry too, so maybe I will do a post on my new baby in the future....

Bright Eyes EOTD

2010-12-28T06:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to Inglot again and got some very bright eyeshadows. I don't actually own many bright shadows and felt like experimenting, so here is the eye look I came up with.

This was very out of my comfort zone to wear, but I really liked it when I looked in the mirror and one of the first things my friend said to me when I met up with her is how she loved my eye make up, I am still undecided, what do you think of this look? Is it too much and do I look like a hooker or is it still wearable?
Sorry for the lack of face, but I forgot to pack my foundation so all I did today was my eyes, I couldn't even be bothered to sort out my eyebrows!
Expect a post tomorrow about my experience at Inglot and what I got there.

MAC brushes

2010-12-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

So about a week ago I was having a very bad day, so to cheer myself up I went to MAC and decided to get this brush set:

If I remember rightly it was £40 for the five mini brushes, and it came in a cute tartan bag. The five brushes are:

187, this is the duo fibre brush and I have used it for my foundation a few times and it gives a lovely flawless finish.
168, I have been using this for my blush and I find it blends out very nicely.
252 This packs on colour really well, in fact I have never had a brush that transfers this much colour.
219 A pencil brush which once again transfers a lot of colour. I actually have the sigma version of this brush, and I have to admit the MAC one is slightly better, more colour transfers and although the hairs are just as soft on both, the MAC one is slightly denser so they don't move as much, which is what you need if you are being precise in the crease.
And finally the 209, a eyeliner brush. This is the only one I haven't used as to me it looks quite thick. I will give it a go though with my trusty Bobbi Brown gel liner and see if I can get a nice thin line with it.

This is my first experience with MAC brushes. I own a set of Sigma brushes which I have owned for two years and are the only brushes I use. As much as I love my Sigma brushes and think they are good, the MAC ones are slightly better, but then again they are a lot more pricey aswell.

A couple of the Sigma brushes I have are the same ones as the ones in the set, so I can do a proper comparison if anyone is interested, so you can see the difference in the way it applies shadow and how it looks.

I am quite happy with this little set and I think it was a nice way to try out a few MAC brushes for a cheaper price. Does anyone have a brand that they would recommend for brushes? I am really loving my Illamasqua ones too so I think I should branch out.

A little update

2010-12-18T01:35:00.000-08:00

So for anyone who doesn't know, I work in retail, so this is the busiest time of the year for me. I am currently doing five 9 hour days a week, some days are going for longer then that so this is why I haven't been posting that much.
On my days off I am very tired and ill and can't really be bothered to post which makes me sad. I am also getting frustrated at having to use my iPhone for pictures as the quality is so poor.
Basically what this all means is I won't be posting until after Christmas now, when hopefully I should get a camera as well, yay! I actually get a full 4 days off for Christmas, which is a lot in retail so hopefully I will come back rested and with more inspiration.
Happy holidays everyone!

New Glasses, yay or nay?

2010-12-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

So bit of a different post today. For Christmas my nan is paying for me to get a new pair of glasses as I have been wearing the same pair for the last 4 years.

I went glasses shopping with my friend, and she is very into the geek chic glasses and encouraged me to get a pair. I ended up getting this pair, but I am unsure.

It may be that I am not used to glasses this size? I think the square shape suits me, but I am unsure. What are your opinions? And sorry about the reflectiveness of the lenses, they are plastic at the moment, need my optician to put in prescription lenses for me!

Also excuse my face, this is after a day of work with very little make up!

FOTD with orange eyeshadow

2010-12-14T10:59:00.001-08:00

So if you didn't know, I am attempting to experiment more with colour. I think orange is quite a experimentation! I used the orange from the Inglot palette I got the other day and toned it down by using more neutral colours. Anyway here is how it turned out, I actually really love this look!

Face

NARS Sheer Glow - Mont Blanc

MAC Moisture Select Concealer - NW15

MAC Blush - Melba

Eyes

Inglot Orange

MAC Wedge in crease

MAC Twinks to darken crease

MAC Blanc Type as highlight

Illamasqua Precision Ink

Illamasqua Brow Cake in Storm

MUFE Smokey Lash mascara

I have bare lips in these pictures but in the end I decided to wear Jazzed lipstick from MAC. Oh and for those that asked last time, these are my natural lashes, but I think it shows that the LiLash is working!

So what do you think? I love this and think it is quite wearable, considering it's orange!

Girly FOTD

2010-12-10T00:45:00.001-08:00

So I have decided recently that I am still young and I should be experimenting more with my make up, so yesterday I went for the girly romantic look.

I used my normal Sheer Glow foundation with MSF natural to set it and my Moisture Select Concealer. For the eyes I used the pink and purple from my new Inglot palette with MAC Dazzlelight as a highlight. I also used my new Illamasqua Precision Ink and Brow Cake, I love the brow cake so much! For cheeks I used Oh So Fair, and finally for the lips I used Viva Glam Gaga lipstick and gloss.

This is very girly and quite young, but I had fun wearing it so enjoy!

Tacky NOTD

2010-12-09T11:13:00.001-08:00

So I love a bit of tackyness, and you can't get much tackier than pink and purple nails, so here is what I came up with.

I'm quite impressed with how neat the tips are considering I never do French manicure style nails. The pink is China Glaze Sugar High and the purple tips are Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess. I used two coats of the pink and one for the tips. It didn't last long however, by the end of the day I had major chips.

Inglot Haul!

2010-12-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

So after going to Illamasqua on Saturday, I decided whilst I was in London I should check out Inglot. For those of you who don't know, Inglot it a Polish make up company that has been around for over 25 years, but we only have one in the UK and it is in the Westfield Shopping Center in London.
Above is the two palettes I got. The top one is from the boyfriends parents to me for Christmas so I can't swatch it, but the bottom one is for me to do more girly looks with. The palettes where £20 each, which for five shadows I think is brilliant. They have different styles of palette, I opted for the magnet style ones that you can stack up but they had your normal on a hinge style palettes that had a mirror in the top.
The palettes are not pre made with the shadows. Inglot have a thing called the Freedom System. Basically you go in the store, they give you a flat metal board and you pick from the hundreds of shadows which ones you want to go in. They have colours ranging from neutrals and pastels to the brightest neons and everything in between. The palettes also come in different sizes and you can get circle pans too. As well as eyeshadow you can fill the palettes with concealer, face powder, lipstick etc.
I only checked out the the eyeshadows, and they where all so good. They where very pigmented and felt buttery on the fingers. Below are some swatches of the lighter eyeshadows I got, please excuse the goosebumps!

I had such a amazing time in London on Saturday, and I would really recommend going to Inglot if you can, a 5 pan square palette with the eyeshadows costs £20, a 10 pan square palette with eyeshadows cost £35 and a circle pan palette costs £32 so great value for money and a brilliant place to go if you don't own any palettes! I think if I ever manage to get to 50 followers I will have to do a giveaway with one of these palettes because they are amazing, but I know how awkward the limited location makes it to try them out.

Illamasqua Haul

2010-12-05T02:16:00.000-08:00

So following on from yesterday, after meeting Alex Box I had £30 to redeem and I also had some extra tax money so I picked up a few things in Illamasqua.

I got the eyebrow cake in thunder, the precision ink in abyss, intense lipgloss in petulant and a eyebrow brush and blending brush.

The eyebrow cake looked really good in the demonstration, and I am a bit obsessed with eyebrows. Normally I just use a eyeshadow to fill mine in so I thought why not treat myself to a product designed specifically for the eyebrows. Mika the lovely sales assistant matched me up with a shade, he did one eyebrow for me then gave me the brush to see if I liked how the product applied when I did it myself.

I used the eyebrow brush and fell in love with that too. It is a lot wider then any angled brush I have seen and Mika showed me how its the right width to just turn at the end of the eyebrows to give them a really neat finish. I use angled brushes a lot so I decided whilst I am there I may as well get one.

I also got the blending brush because I only actually have one blending brush, and I think it is a brush that you definitely need more than one of! The Illamasqua one is very soft, a bit softer than my Sigma one, and it is also a little thinner than my sigma one. All my brushes are Sigma so I am quite excited to try some high end brushes.

Last but not least is the intense lipgloss. I got it in the shade petulant, which is a lovely blue pink. I got one of the intense glosses because they are so shiny, they look like glossy paint on the lips as they are very pigmented. Be aware with the glosses though, they look different in the tubes to what they do when swatched so try them out!

I am very happy with what I purchased and got to try it all out before I buy it. I also recommend that you visit a counter if you live near one. The MUA on the counter may look intimidating, but unlike some MAC artists I have come across, the Illamasqua ones are very lovely and want to help you, not show off.

Meeting Alex Box

2010-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who don't know, Alex Box is one of my favourite make up artists ever, so when Illamasqua posted a blog saying how she would be doing a masterclass in the London Selfridges store I knew I had to sign up!

It was £30 for a 2 hour masterclass, but it is redeemable against product which I think is a fabulous price because I wanted to get some bits anyway.

It was a fairly small group, 20 or so women with varied backgrounds in make up. We went to a conference room away from the crowds and took a seat as we watched Alex create a master piece!

She had a model with her, and asked us what we would like to see and decided to do a normal look, but take contouring to the extreme to show us how we can push make up. Rather than trying to teach us make up she was demonstrating how she does it, as she is very into taking the products and being inspired by them instead of laying out set instructions.

She took questions as she was going along and also explained some more technical things about make up and how the eye sees things and why you do what you do with make up. She also talked about make up periods and how to make make up more glamourous or editorial.

After her demonstration she answered questions about make up in general and the brand Illamasqua. I went in not really knowing what to expect, I know some arty people can be stuck up their own arses, so I was very glad Alex was lovely and encouraging as apposed to thinking she is the bees knees (which to me she is).

We then went off in little groups to tables where we had some champagne and got to speak to some of the counter workers. I was in a group with a guy called Mika, who I am a little bit in love with.
After all this we had a little private shopping session in the room the masterclass was in, which is great because it was so packed downstairs in the beauty hall that I probably would've made purchases I regret. I decided I wanted to get a eyebrow cake because I am a little bit obsessed with brows. Mika helped me pick out the right shade, and he also helped me pick out a intense lipgloss as I wanted to try one of them too. In the end I got the ultimate eye liner, a eyebrow cake, intense lipgloss, blending brush and eyebrow brush. I will do a little haul blog tomorrow.

I had a lovely time, and all the staff are real ambassadors of the brand. I would say if they ever run something like this again and you are in the area try and get to it!

I have a few pictures of the demonstration, and a really bad one of me and Alex Box, but I shall include them anyway, enjoy and sorry for a lengthy post!

November Favourites

2010-12-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

Reading other peoples favourites is one of my favourite type of blog posts to read. I love reading what other people think is worth buying and using. Unfortunately I don't have that many for November because I have been experimenting with old products and products I overlook, but I do have a few key items that I have been using pretty much daily, so here we go.

So first off we have MAC Cream Blush in So Sweet, So Easy. Its a very bright baby pink, and I love using it in colder weathers because it gives me the effect of being a Ski Bunny. You know the ones in all the snuggly clothes, but sit around the lodge rather than actually skiing? Yea that's me.

We then have NARS Multiple in Orgasm. So this is one of the products that I have rediscovered. I'm still not overly keen on it, but have been using it daily as a cheek highlight. I get a lot of compliments on my skin when I wear this, but despite me using it and it looking good I still don't like it. Not sure why. Bit weird to have a product I don't see the hype in to be on my favourites, but I guess I have been using it.

Next is MAC lipstick in Violetta. I am normally a pink lipstick kind of girl, but it being a bit colder I have moved into more berries and darker colours. This is the perfect berry colour for me, it looks a lot different on the lips then in the tube, but it is a beautiful colour. I got mine from the Venomous Villains collection, but you can get it from MAC Pro, so I don't need to worry about running out!

Then we have a nail varnish. Essie Angora Cardi. I love purple, and purple is such a good colour for November, albeit a cliche one, but I still enjoy. This is a lovely polish with a great formula, you only need two coats and you can walk out the door.

My last favourite is NARS Sheer Glow foundation. I love this foundation. I have used it pretty much every day since buying it, and if I haven't used it it's because I wasn't wearing make up on that day.

So there are my favourites for last month. Can't wait to read other peoples favourites, also I will be talking more in depth about my all time favourites at Lady of the Lanes blog tomorrow so be sure to check that out! I am so glad its finally December because I am so excited for Christmas!

It's snowing FOTD

2010-11-30T05:55:00.001-08:00

So while the rest of the world had snow I was patiently waiting. My patience was rewarded as when I woke up this morning the streets where covered and it was still coming down heavy. So today's make up is quite fun, not something I would wear out, but its inspired by the snow, so enjoy!

As usual I wish I was using a camera as apposed to my iPhone because it is pretty useless at capturing the colour. And in the second picture you can see my geeky new hat!

Face

Foundation - NARS Sheer Glow, Mont Blanc

Concealer - MAC Moisture Select in NW15

Blush - MAC So Sweet So Easy Cream Blush

Eyes

The white, light grey and blue from the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette

For the thing underneath the eye that is meant to be a snowflake, MAC Petrol Blue Power Kohl, Collection 2000 Silver Glitter

MAC White Kohl

Lips

MAC Saint Germain L/S

Current Beauty Routine

2010-11-29T00:46:00.000-08:00

So this weekend I have been very ill. My throat is swollen and all kinds of nastiness which means there will not be a FOTD until it clears up, so I was very glad that I came across this tag when reading Modesty Brows blog as it is something nice and easy for a monday morning. Enjoy!

Face
01. Cleanser: Good Things Stay Clear cleanser
02. Toner/lotion: Lush Breath of Fresh Air
03. Cream/moisturizer: Good Things Mattifying Moisturiser
.04. Facial mask: Lush Mask of Magnaminty
05. Exfoliator: Lush Ocean Salt
06. Make-up remover: Baby Wipes (eek!)
07. Shower gels/soaps: Lush The Olive Branch
08. Body lotions/creams: I tend to use massage bars from Lush.
09. Anticellulite/firming treatment: I don't use any, I don't think they work.
10. Body exfoliator: Lushy Buffy
11. Hand cream: Bliss Intensive Hand Cream
12. Lip balm or lip treatment: Carmex, always on the lookout for new ones though!
13. Perfume: Marc Jacobs Daisy
14. Shampoo/conditioner: Phillip Kingsley Itchy Scalp shampoo and Philip Kingsley conditioner (can't remember which one)
15. Mask or other treatments: I can't afford any atm :(.
Make-up
16. Foundation: NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc.
17. Powder: MAC MSF Natural
.18. Blush: MAC Melba
19. Mascara: MUFE Smokey Lash mascara
20. Lipstick/lipgloss: MAC Viva Glam Gaga
21. Eyeshadow: I like my Urban Decay Naked Palette at the moment.
22. Eyeliner: Bobbi Brown Gel Liner

Sugarpill Sale

2010-11-25T23:21:00.001-08:00

So today is Black Friday, but being from the UK there isn't that many deals for us. However Sugarpill ship worldwide, and I know that there is a lot of products I would like to try so 30% off means I will be placing a order.
There is so much I would like, but have also asked for some bits for Christmas so will have to be careful when doing a order.
Any other Black Friday offers us Brits can take advantage of?

NOTD - Essie Angora Cardi

2010-11-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

So here is a sloppy picture of Essies Angora Cardi. I love this colour, I think its perfect for this type of weather as well.
The formula on this is amazing, its lovely and opaque, and not streaky. I normally do three coats of whatever polish I wear, but this is only after two coats, so you can see how opaque it is.
I'm not quite sure why, but I always lust after Essie polishes, despite the fact that I know most the time the formula is pretty poor. But when they get it right, they get it really right!

20% off Space NK?

2010-11-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

So when I got the SpaceNK email on Wednesday night I wasn't planning to get anything, I have spent a lot on make up recently and it is coming up to Christmas, but then I remembered how much I loved NARS Fathom eyeshadow and I had to go back and get it. I may have decided I needed a new lip balm whilst I was there too....

Fathom is gorgeous, and the sparkle in it makes it ideal for the party season. I tried to get a decent swatch picture of it, but using a iPhone as a camera, and poor lighting does not make for a good picture.

I also got Kielhs Lip Balm #1. I am generally very fussy with my lip balms. I only really like Blistex and Carmex because I love the tingle feel it gives. Elizabeth Arden's eight hour cream worked wonders for when my lips started to crack too, but it just didn't wow me.

I am always on the lookout for a balm that will give me super soft kisseable lips, and I have heard good things about the Kiehls one so I thought, what the hell, I have 20% off, plus its winter, my lips need this. I'll give it a go and post a review.

That's my very small haul. I was so tempted to get Strada eyeshadow, which is a beautiful pale purple, but I have asked for a similar colour from Sugarpill for Christmas and have already spent way to much money this month. Did anyone else take advantage of the offer?

Happy Hair

2010-11-19T01:15:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to share with you what I have been using to wash my hair as I am very impressed by the products, but first I will tell you a bit about my hair.

I started using these products in June. My hair was still recovering from when I was blonde and was dry and had lost all its natural shine. I was visiting my parents and tried the shampoo and conditioner and noticed that my hair was considerably more shiny and looked a lot healthier after a couple of washes. After mentioning it to my mum I received the shampoo and conditioner for my birthday, so here are the products I have been using:

First up we have we have the shampoo. I got this in the Itchy/Flaky scalp formula, as I have a very dry scalp and suffer from eczema from the back of my neck and all over my scalp so I have to be quite careful about what I use or else I end up with lots of open sores on my head.

This shampoo gives me such a lovely shine. It smells pleasant too and isn't heavy so your hair isn't slicked against your head. It has worked really nicely on my scalp too, I haven't had as much itchiness and I haven't had any flakes or scabs on my head.

The only issue I have with this shampoo is that my hair type has now changed. This shampoo treated my bad scalp, and now it is healthy it is producing a lot of oil. I don't think using this shampoo is helping much for the oil production of my hair, as this is designed for a more dry scalp. My hair is getting greasy quite quickly now, but I refuse to get a new shampoo until I run out of this one because at £19 it's not that cheap.

I also got the re-moisturizing conditioner. My mum got me the litre size because she thinks that you use more conditioner than shampoo. But anyway, the litre size was £40. Pretty steep but it is a litre, and I'm not even a third of the way through in five months.

I'm not going to change hair conditioner any time soon as I am very happy with this. It makes my hair lovely and soft and I'm sure I don't get as many split ends.

Although it is very hydrating its not too heavy. I like my hair with a lot of volume and I feel that this conditioner allows me to have that whilst having soft hair.

So yea, I like Phillip Kingsley products and these have worked well at repairing my hair and scalp. I am on the hunt for a new shampoo, for oily hair now, but I will be sticking with this conditioner.

Konnichiwa

2010-11-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

So today's post was going to be about the haircare products that have saved my hair, but I am too tired to do a proper post, so instead you can have a very light hearted one. This is what happens when I am left alone for too long with nothing to do. I try (and fail) to turn myself into a anime character.

Hope your all having a lovely Thursday and if your not, hopefully this will give you a giggle!

Todays Make Up

2010-11-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today was just a normal work day, but for the first time in a long time I used a little bit of highlighter and some products I haven't used in a while and felt very pretty whilst wearing it. The eye is very similar to stuff I have already posted, but the face is a bit different. Very soft and feminine. It is also the best (and most even) winged liner I have done in ages!

Face

Nars Sheer Glow - Mont Blanc

MAC moisture select - NW15

NARS Laguana Bronzer

MAC Oh So Fair Beauty Powder

NARS Orgasm Multiple as highlighter

Eyes - From the UD naked palette

Buck

Naked

Sin

Virgin

Liquid Liner

Whisky liner on the waterline

Brows done with ELF brow kit in Dark

Lips

NARS Lip Pencil in Bettina

MAC Lipstick in Hug Me

I hate the way blogger puts in huge gaps between lines. Anyway, remembered my love for the ELF brow kit, and I never really like the orgasm multiple, but it is growing on me now. Its nice to mix up products every now and then!

My Lipstick Collection

2010-11-14T01:07:00.000-08:00

So my very good friend Rachy did this blog post the other day, and I thought it was such a good idea that I would copy her. I am too ill to do a face of the day so instead I have swatched of all my lipsticks for you:

So from top to bottom we have:

Violetta (from venomous villains)

Lady Danger

Heartless (from venomous villains)

Russian Red

Dare You

And on this arm:

Hug Me

Myth

Jazzed (LE)

Viva Glam Gaga

Saint Germain

Impassioned

So there you go, my lipsticks. They are all MAC in case you hadn't guessed. I feel a little bit better about my make up collection now. Anyway I haven't quite figured out how to do posh links yet, but this is my friend Rachys blog http://allthingsrachy.blogspot.com

What I bought at SpaceNK

2010-11-13T08:28:00.001-08:00

Following on from yesterdays post, I did buy a couple of things in SpaceNK so here they are:

I got the blush in Desire, which is a very bright pink, which is flattering on my pale skin.

I also got the eyeshadow duo in melusine. I like the duo a lot, but on second though I probably wouldn't use the silver as much.

When I had my make up done yesterday the MUA used the silver as a highlight for my brow bone so I guess that is what I will be using it most for.

I would do swatches but these are actually going away until Christmas day. My boyfriend gave me the money to buy my own Christmas present and this is what I got, but he still wants to wrap it up and put it away because he is being the Grinch.

I will definitely be going back on pay day and buying fathom because it was a really gorgeous colour that I can see myself wearing everyday. But yea very quick and small haul for you, enjoy!

NARS makeover

2010-11-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

So today my local SpaceNK had in a head NARS make up artist. I found this out last week when I was in the store and promptly signed up for a complementary makeover. Anyway this is how it turned out:

I loved how it turned out and ended up getting a couple of products which I will post about tomorrow. The picture doesn't show how bright the blush is, but its so beautiful. I also had such a lovely time in the store itself, one of the sales assistants is leaving to start her own range and have taken my details so hopefully I will be getting a bit of assisting work which is super exciting! Anyway here are the products she used (as copied from the face chart) which are all NARS obviously:

Face:

Sheer Glow foundation

Blush in Desire

Luxor multiple as a highlighter

Eyes:

My own eyeliner

Fathom eyeshadow (I need this it's gorgeous!)

Melusine eyeshadow duo

Lips

Tash Kent lipstick

Striptease lipgloss

Christmas Wishlist

2010-11-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

So my Christmas wishlist this year is relatively small. Apart from the items I am going to post here I have asked for a cupcake book, Alex Box's book and a couple of games. I have also asked for money so I can put it towards the MUSE 3 week course I am saving up for. Anyway here is the cosmetic side of things I am asking for:

Sugarpill Cosmetics Sweetheart palette. I also want a couple of the loose eyeshadows. I hear such great things about these products and I am enjoying wearing brights at the moment too. I think this palette has the nicest selection of colours.

Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment. You're never too young to start preventing ageing and I once again I have heard good things about this product. I did want to try Kiehls skincare and was going to ask for cleanser toner and moisturiser for Christmas too, but I would rather have money to put towards the course.

Illamsqua Precision Ink. Yet another product that I have heard good stuff about through blogs. I am really interested in Illamasqua at the moment because all the products I have tried out from them have been amazing. I especially liked their lip products, but I feel I should use up some of what I already have before getting more.

So yea that's my wishlist, its pretty basic but I tend to prefer buying my own presents. Whats everyone else asking for for Christmas?

Experimental FOTD

2010-11-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

So normally I don't wear greens, just because I end up looking like a hooker, but today I fancied having a play around with colour seeing as I am going no where. I quite like how it turned out! Please excuse the wet hair.

Face:

Nars sheer glow foundation in Mont Blanc

MAC moisture select concealer NW15

MAC Melba blush

Eyes (MAC unless stated otherwise) :

Green from Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette

Purple from Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette

Smut

Blanc Type

White eyeliner

Black gel liner

Concrete for brows

I have staff training later so I shall see how this goes down. Also I have been loving my NARS sheer glow foundation!

My MAC 15 pan palette

2010-11-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

So today I was going to do a FOTD, but after a visit to the beauty hall of House of Fraser, my face kind of got butchered by the women on the Benefit counter, clearly I need You Rebel Lite and not the regular tango one, but anyway....

So instead I am going to do a post on my 15 pan MAC eyeshadow palette. This is my only palette and one of my most prized possessions as I worked hard to save up the money for this. Some of the shadows I had to depot myself, and some I just bought in pan form. I have to mention that I got about 8 of these shadows with a discount after doing a make up course at London College of Fashion which is why I was able to afford so much. Anyway here is my palette (my camera seems to have made the colours appear more green, please excuse this) :

Top Row : Dazzlelight, Honey Lust, Sable, Scene, Twinks

Middle Row : Blanc Type, Wedge, Mulch, Concrete, Sketch

Bottom Row : Brulee, Charcoal Brown, Antiqued, Smut, Carbon

I think my most used are Blanc Type, Brulee, Wedge, Sketch and Carbon. Concrete is another colour I use a lot, but I tend to use it as my eyebrow colour rather than on the eye. I also use Dazzlelight a fair bit as a highlighter, but I have quite a few shimmery highlighters which is why it doesn't get used as much. I also love Sable and Mulch a fair bit, but sometimes find it hard to create a look with them.

I love my palette, it definitely shows I prefer more neutral tones, but I think I have a good variety and I can create a lot of looks from these shadows, albeit neutral ones.

So yea I hope you found this helpful if you was looking into making your own palette or just wanted to have a good nosey as I know I love seeing posts like this. Have a lovely afternoon!

Day 2 at London Muse

2010-11-08T00:41:00.000-08:00

So today is Monday, the day after, and also my first day of work and the first time I get to try out my NARS sheer glow!
Anyway yesterday was the second and last day of the catwalk trends boot camp. It was taught by Nicci Jackson and we covered using glitter with stencils, manga/geisha, supernatural and ethereal.
It was of the same format, theory in the morning practical in the evening. Nicci used students in the class to demonstrate the looks and she created them from scratch. I think that this course is different ever time it is taught because she did the look to suit the person she was using as the model.
Nicci is very inspiring and I found yesterday to be very exciting and it was my favourite out of the two days. It was a bit more avant garde, and I couldn't wait to come back from lunch and start the practical.
I had a lovely lady do a geisha look on me, which was very full on, and a lot harder to do then you would think, having a white base is a bitch!
We then swapped and I did ethereal make up on her. I don't have any decent quality pictures but hopefully someone will upload some soon so that I can steal them. I used a paler foundation on her and a mix of purple, silver and blue to create a out of this world look.
I also used a Illamsqua blush, that I am lusting after. We used a lot of different brands during the course, including MAC, Illamasqua, Bella Pierre, Dermalogica, Sleek and Chanel. It was nice to use a variety of products as its so easy to get stuck in the MAC rut.
Overall I really loved this course, a lot more so than the London College of Fashion one I did. I feel like it was better value for money and I was a lot more inspired. This course allows for a lot of creativity, where as the LCoF one was more like show and recreate.
I feel like MUSE as a company is amazing as well. They care for their students and will invite you back to events. If you do some of the longer courses as well they post assisting jobs on their facebook page and you can also go in for the day on future courses for free to refresh yourself.
The class size was small and Nicci took the time to learn every ones names which makes everything a bit more personal. All the girls are lovely and most of them, like me had heard of MUSE through Pixiwoo.
I am definently going to do the three week course they offer. Its very pricey but I want to do make up as a career and feel like this would be a great way for me to learn. They also offer a shopping day on the course which has a lot of industry discounts, great for building up your kit. They also offer 0% finance, which is how I think I will pay for the course.
So yea I had a amazing time at MUSE and would definitely recommend them as a make up school and would like to say thank you for making this a great weekend!

Day 1 at London Muse

2010-11-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who don't know what London Muse I'll tell you now, it is a make up school, in London. It is run by a make up artist called Nicci Jackson, who has amazing credentials, and her team of selected make up artists, including those of YouTube fame, Pixiwoo.

I want to do a three week make up course, but at over £3000, I thought it would be best to try out one of the shorter courses to make sure the make up school was for me so I went for the catwalk trends bootcamp which is a 2 day weekend course.

Today was the first day of the course and I loved it. We was taught by Francesco Lo Cascio who was lovely and friendly and wanted us all to think of him as our dad.

The morning was theory, which suited me fine as I had a very early morning and would have been useless if I was handed a make up brush. We was first shown how to do 80's make up, and was told about how important is to know about make up in different periods. After the 80's he moved onto iconic make up and finally showed up how to block out brows and how to create different brow styles.

The afternoon was the practical part. We had to take one of the themes we was shown in the morning and run with it. I decided to pick the 80's theme as I am fairly comfortable with a smokey eye and wanted to practise something different. Here is how the make up I did turned out:

There was only 8 of us in the class so it was nice and intimate and we got lots of personal attention from Francesco who was very encouraging and always very willing to help. I had a lovely day and I can't wait until tomorrow!

A small haul

2010-11-05T13:15:00.003-07:00

So today I ventured down to Bluewater shopping center and picked up a few bits. I have run out of my studio fix fluid and fancied a change so I decided on NARS sheer glow after all the rave reviews I got. I went to Space NK (who's customer service is appalling) and was matched up to Mont Blanc. I can't wait to try this out and will do a review after trying it out for a bit.

I also went into MAC to check out the latest offerings from the Tartan Tale collection and ended up buying two of the pearlglide eyeliners in petrol blue and undercurrent.

The picture quality is poor but it shows the shimmer in the product and you can get a clear idea of the colour. The one on the left is Petrol Blue and the one on the right is Undercurrent. They are both gorgeous colours and I think they are quite unique, I know I have nothing in my collection like these!

After swatching them on my hand I tried to smudge them but found they did not budge. 5 hours later the swatches are still on my hand so I am very impressed with these.

I think the fact that they didn't smudge means you could get away without setting them with powder too and I may even try using them as an eyelid colour.

Apart from the two pearlglides I was not impressed with this collection at all. I was tempted by the Romancing lipgloss, but not enough to get it. Everything is pretty but nothing else is truly unique or that pretty.

I think the sets are good for a person just starting to collect MAC, but I think someone who has quite a few of their products will already have dupes for most the colours in the palettes. However I do really like the brush bag sets, and I was tempted by the purple eye bag which had a fluid line and pigment in them as I don't actually own that much purple.....

Anyway today was a good shopping day and I also managed to get two pairs of sensible flat shoes and a pair of trousers, yay!

What I took home

2010-11-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

So if you don't know, I am visiting my parents for a few days. I thought it would be handy to share with you what I took home. Normally I end up taking half my makeup collection back with me, but this time I managed to narrow it down, its still probably too much for 4 days but a lot better than normal for me! Anyway here is what I took:

So I have a selection of brushes, these are the ones that I use most days, basic things like a blending brush, eyeliner, blusher brush etc. Mascara, that's pretty essential, tweezers because I hate stray hairs, two eyeliners, one black one white as I think both are essential, a liquid eyeliner, primer potion, my mineralise skin finish natural, concealer, two lipsticks, one is viva glam gaga for every day use and the second is violetta for a more daring evening wear look, I also have my usual foundation (studio fix fluid) in a sample pot that I got a long time ago so that I don't have to lug around the full bottle, and last but not least my Urban Decay naked palette. I love this palette and it has all the right colours for creating lots of different looks. It is also a decent size and isn't heavy to it makes it great for weekends away. Oh I forgot my beauty powder in Oh So Fair. This is my go to colour at the moment, I was going to bring another blush but I thought for 4 days, really? But yea, this is what I took home, I think I did a pretty good job of choosing essentials!

Another interview FOTD

2010-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

So today's interview wasn't a office based one so I could go for something a bit more exciting. I decided to use the naked palette to create a smokey brown eye. I also used Ardell hottie lashes, which look pretty natural, benefit coralista blush and on the lips is NARS orgasm lipgloss. I am very happy with the way it turned out, que some posey pictures:

Whats I am doing this week.

2010-11-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would let you know what I am getting up to this week as I am quite excited about it and will probably blog about it so I just thought I would share what I am doing with you!
Tomorrow I have a interview and a trial shift so I need lots of luck and expect a FOTD and probably a NOTD too!
On Wednesday I am going back to my parents house in London. My mum and I are going to the MAC tartan tale preview shopping event at Kings Road and then we will have a nice dinner. I am going to make my boyfriend give me some money so I can buy myself my Christmas present from him and I am after a couple of the glosses, they look so pretty!
Thursday and Friday will be quiet, but then the most exciting part of the week will be the weekend! I am doing a two day catwalk trends boot camp at London MUSE which is a make up school! The course looks so fun, from what I remember we will be doing power brows, glitterati, anime inspired stuff and more whimsical stuff, hopefully this will make me a bit more creative and improve on my technique. I will be taking my camera along to document what I have been getting up to so expect everything to be posted on here too!
Have a great week everyone.

October favourites

2010-10-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

So today is the last day of October so I thought I would share what products I have been reaching for the most this month.

So first off we have L'Oreal super liner carbon gloss or whatever its called. This is a lovely liquid liner as its so opaque and the black is lovely and glossy. Normally I prefer gel liners to liquid ones but this month I have been reaching for the liquid more, I think because its getting darker outside I want my liner to be more intense? Anyway this is my seond pot of it, so definatly tried and tested!

Next up we have MAC Oh So Fair beauty powder. I only got this halfway through the month but I haven't stopped using it since getting it. Such a pretty colour and it gives you a lovely glow, and the fact that it has a mirror in it is very handy.

I have three eyeshadows that I have found myself using and loving this month, all MAC and they are Concrete, Sketch and Blanc Type.

Concrete for me is the perfect brow colour. It looks pretty dark in the pan but it comes out lovely and soft. I have used it in my heartless FOTD and interview FOTD if you want an idea of how it comes out.

Sketch is a very pretty dark purple, sticking to more autumn colours. I also used this one in my interview FOTD and have been reaching for this colour a lot. Its just a nice alternative to using a black and can either be lovely and sheer or very dark and opaque depending on how you apply it.

Blanc Type is also another one I have been reaching for a lot, it may even be replacing Brulee which is one of my firm favourites! I use this as a matte highlighter.

Next is a little lip combination I have been doing using Subculture lip liner and Hug Me lipstick. This is the perfect interview lip if you need something toned down or suitable for in the office.

Last but not least is Fascinating eye kohl. I have been using this in the inner corner of my eye before using a highlight shadow on top just to really brighten up my eye. Sometimes I use it under my brow bone too. I think everyone should own a white eyeliner, its every bit as much a staple as a black is to me!

So there we have all my favourites for this month, can't wait to hear everyone elses so I have some things to want to purchase!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I went to a Halloween themed party (I know it wasn't Halloween but better than on a X Factor night!). Originally I wanted to go as a pin up sailor, but I found out everyone was going to be going a bit gory so I decided to go as a dead emo sailor and this is how it turned out! The products I used are
Face:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid NW15
MAC Blanc Type e/s to white out my face a bit
MAC Carbon and Sketch e/s to contour my face

Eyes:
MAC redd lipliner
MAC sketch e/s
A cheap white eyeliner
MAC l/s in dare you for the tears

Lips:
Matted out with foundation
The blue eyeshadow from the urban decay book of shadows

Interview nails and face of the day

2010-10-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

So today's nails and face are very boring because I was applying for a job in a office. I'm hoping for the job because it sounds amazing so fingers crossed eh.

Anyway, the nails are Models Own in Nude Beige. This is the perfect office nude colour and I rely on it a lot for the interviews. Its just a lovely taupe nude colour, and as you can see from the picture it is very glossy. I don't even have a topcoat on in that picture and it has that amount of shine, great for giving that groomed hands effect.

My face is just my normal foundation and concealer, the eyes are very matte. The products I used are all from MAC, as a highlight colour I used blanc type, brulee all over the lid, wedge in the crease and sketch to deepen the crease. I also used a gel eyeliner to do a very thin layer of eyeliner and lots of mascara.

Lips are lined with sublime lip pencil with hug me lipstick on top and I also have oh so fair beauty powder on as a blush. So very plain and simple, doesn't look like I am wearing much in the picture but just makes everything pretty.

First attempt at a mask

2010-10-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

After watching Jazziebabycakes tutorial on YouTube I decided I wanted to have a go at doing a mask myself. I covered my eyebrows for the first time (not very well as you can see, it will take some practise), and used my Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette to start filling it in.

All the colours I used are from the palette, minus my gel eyeliner.

I definitely need a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun to do, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out! I used MAC Saint Germain lipstick on my lips to stick to a comic book theme. But anyway here is how it turned out, the top picture I have my super hero scowl on.

Heartless FOTD

2010-10-25T01:50:00.000-07:00

I am loving my eyebrows in this FOTD! So this one is quite a natural one again. I wore the eye to an interview, and when I got home I decided to play with my venomous villains products again.

Face:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NW15

MAC Moisture Select Concealer NW15

MAC Blush in Melba

Eyes (from the urban decay naked palette):

Naked e/s

Buck e/s

Virgin e/s

Sin e/s

Hustle e/s

Whisky e/l

Bobbi Brown gel liner

MAC Concrete for the brows

Lips:

Heartless l/s

Wicked Ways l/g

Good Things Review

2010-10-24T03:46:00.001-07:00

So about a month ago I ran out of my normal skin care, but having no income means that I had to hit up boots to get some cheap stuff to see me through. After having a look around I came across a brand that I had never seen before, its called Good Things. The brand is free from SLS, parabens and the products are vegan, which is right up my street! I ended up getting the skin care for oily skin, and it was 2 for £8, saving myself £4 which is a nice little bargain.

After looking at the ingredients I can confirm that it is free from SLS, although it has a ingredient in it that is very similar. The ingredients used are pretty decent too, but the main ingredient in both products is water, but what can you expect for something that is about £4?

The products themselves have worked well. I enjoy using them, except they both have quite a synthetic smell, and the moisturiser feels a bit sticky on my skin.

The main reason I like these products so much is because I feel they have helped control my breakouts slightly, but I am sure that they have helped make the giant pores on my cheeks and nose a little bit smaller, which I have never had a product do.

The mattifying moisturiser is also brilliant because it is mattifying. My skin still feels lovely and soft after using it but without the shine I get from a lot of other products. I have just run my hand over my face and my skin feels a lot smoother.

So I am quite impressed with these products. I will be trying some high end stuff when I start getting an income again, but that's because I am one of these 'grass is always greener' type people, but for the price of these products they are great quality.

A cheeky steal from my Aunts make up bag

2010-10-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I was visiting my parents in London. Whilst I was there I was given the chance to interview for a really cool job, the only problem was that my make up bag was in my flat. Thankfully my aunt is a big make up fan as well so she offered to lend me some eye shadows and blush, and my mum is the same shade of foundation as me so I was able to borrow hers.

So anyway I was going through my aunts make up bag and there was some brilliant hidden gems in there. She is about twelve years older than me and tends to not throw anything away. Whilst going through her bag I found some amazing limited edition MAC bits and bobs, and lots of lovely Bobbi Brown things.

I found one eyeshadow that I totally fell in love with, so much so my aunt let me keep it because she doesn't use anything but mineral make up now anyway.

This is a Bobbi Brown shimmer wash eye shadow in Rose Gold. You can still get this colour on the website, but I think this is the old style packaging? Anyway it is such a beautiful colour. It has a similar finish to a MAC frost and is just as pigmented as any MAC shadow I have owned.

Its just very subtle and pretty on the eyes, great for doing a natural or a feminine look.

I feel like I often overlook Bobbi Brown because of my obsession with other brands like MAC and Urban Decay, but Bobbie Brown was one of the first brands I ever tried, and her 10 step programme is a great introduction to make up beginners. I think the reason I tend to overlook this brand is because of the price and because it is known more for being a pioneer or natural beauty, which can be a bit boring.

But it's always great looking through over people make up bags, and this was a lovely find so thank you Auntie for letting me keep it!

Kat Von D inspired FOTD

2010-10-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

So this is losely based on some of the looks I have seen her do on LA ink.

Eyes:
The blue liner and shadow from the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette.

Carbon e/s

Dazzlelight e/s

Collection 2000 glitter in silver

Spiked eyebrow pencil

L'Oreal liquid liner

Cheeks:

Bite of an Apple

Lips:

Dare you

Well this is on my Christmas wish list...

2010-10-20T03:24:00.000-07:00

I got a promotional e-mail from Bobbi Brown and have decided that I defiantly need to get this, or at least add it to my Christmas wish list. I have already started hinting heavily to my boyfriend.

Anyway here it is, the Mini Bobbi Brights Palette

Its £45 for 20 eyeshadows. The eyeshadows are miniature size, but considering I don't do bright looks that often it suits me fine. It works out to £2.25 per eyeshadow so I think it is quite a nice value palette, and it has a lovely mix of colours and finishes. Lets hope the boyfriend picked up on the hint!

The picture is from the Bobbi Brown site.

Grey NOTD

2010-10-19T04:16:00.001-07:00

Have a nice blurry picture! At least it shows the colour properly for once... So this is Models Own in Misty Grey, it grey outside so it's only fitting that my nails should be grey.

The formula on this is lovely, it only needs two coats but I always do three coats. I think Models Own nail polishes are over taking Barry M as my cheap and cheerful nail varnish. Barry M may only be £3, but if you buy 5 models own nail varnishes at once they work out to £3.60 each, for a considerably more amount of product then Barry M polishes.

Models Own often have really good discount codes as well. I'm waiting for the next 50% off one to do another haul, but I know if you like their facebook page you can get 10% off which isn't bad either.