Blusher Obsession

Blonde or Brunette

2011-05-17T22:04:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

My friend Anna asked if I could post this for her. Which looks better on her, blonde or brunette? I put a poll in the sidebar for answers.

Thanks!

Quick one - MAC DISCOUNT

2011-05-10T14:02:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

Just in case you didn't know debenhams currently has 10% off mac lipsticks and blushers as part of the beauty winners offers! Oh and the UD naked palette too

Happy shopping
x

TOP 5 - lipsticks

2011-05-04T16:16:00.003+01:00

Hi guys,

today I wanted to share my top 5 lipsticks. I tried to get a mix of brands but couldn't help having a few mac ones in there!

My lips are naturally quite pigmented so I tend to stick with pink MLBB shades.

L-R mac laugh a lot LE, mac sophisto, MUA shade 13, GOSH soft'n shine in soft touch and mac patisserie

Swatches in the same order.

Without flash

With flash

As you can see some of them are quite similar. Sophisto really isn't as scary as it looks in the bullet. I love how bright and pigmented the MUA one is, but it might be a bit too pigmented as I had to scrub quite hard to clean the swatch off! Patisserie is about as nude as I think I can wear without getting a ridiculous obvious line between the inside and outside of my lips haha.

Hope this was interesting

x

First attempt

2011-04-28T13:56:00.003+01:00

Hi guys,

Just thought I would show you my first try at leopard print nails. It's not great but it was easier than I thought and I can't wait to try it with other colours now.

I used Rimmel Rose libertine for main colour, Barry M raspberry for the dots and my sharpie pen for the outlines (I didn't trust myself to do it with nail art brush!) If you do it with eyeliner or a sharpie make sure you use top coat but as you can see I wasn't careful enough and the topcoat smudged the black!)

UPDATE I got bored so here's attempt 2!

Still not perfect but I like the colours better. I used Beauty UK Blue moon (love this colour but it takes a few coats and isn't the worlds most long lasting polish, can't complain for the price though!) Barry M Cobalt Blue (I seem to like Barry M for spots! probably because the pigmentation is so good)

x

Lucky streak :)

2011-04-20T12:19:00.006+01:00

Hi again,

I had a very lucky week last week winning 2 lovely giveaways which put a huge smile on my face!

The first was Zoe's at Diamond Solitare. I won some lovely smashbox makeup which i've never tried before and was really excited about it. She also included some kimberly girls aloud lashes (I would definitely have chosen that style for myself), an ELF nail polish (stolen by my sister!) and some yummy choccies! (they didn't survive long enough to be in the photo)

Here are some pictures of the makeup.

How cute is the bunny on the shadow!

I am in love with this blusher trio. They are all so pigmented and I love the range of shades, a pink, a peach and a plum. It would definitely be perfect for travelling. I am so impressed with smashbox, will definitely be purchasing some more. Thanks so much Zoe, although you may have just caused me to spend more money :)

The second giveaway was Kerry-Ann's from Bleeding Beauty

Lots of lovely goodies! So far I have tried the passion fruit mask, which was amazing, I need to get some more! I love both of the lipsticks and would never have picked those colours myself. The dark purple looks really nice as a stain hopefully soon I will be brave enough to wear it properly! Again thank you Kerry-Ann!

Both girlies included a little note in the packages which were so sweet and reminded me of how lovely the blogging community can be.

x

Zebra nails x 3

2011-04-20T12:10:00.004+01:00

Hi guys,

My dissertation is finally done so I have a bit more free time! I want to say a huge thank you to everyone that did the survey, it was a massive help!

Today I wanted to show you 3 different zebra print nails done by me and two of my best friends Anna and Katy. We all used a nail art polish, the ones with the really thin brushes. They all turned out quite different which is what I really love about free hand nail art.

Anna's (with rimmel green grass)

Katy's (she layered a purple polish over a dark grey and a matte top coat over that before doing the stripes)

And mine (over GOSH lavender love - my new absolute favourite, beautiful colour and only needs one coat)

Hope you like them
x

M.U.A

2011-04-04T22:31:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

I picked up at DARE magazine in superdrug today and was just flicking through when I saw that M.U.A are bringing out a professional range (so probably not £1) which includes eyeshadow trios that look pretty similar to the bourjois ones

image from google

Can't wait to check them out, although I don't think the article had a release date?

x

My top 5... nail polishes

2011-03-22T14:59:00.003Z

Hi again, 2 posts in 1 day!

I thought I would do a little series of my top 5 of different products, starting with nail polish. At the moment they seem to be mainly dark colours as I've been biting my nails a bit because of uni stress! Once they grow again I'm looking forward to wearing some bright summer colours again!

L-R Rimmel Your majesty, Rimmel Sky high, ELF Metal madness , Accessorize Aztec and Barry M Dusky mauve.

Of these my absolute fave at the moment has to be ELF Metal madness, I love the subtle multi coloured glitter in it, and it looks really cool with matte top coat too.

I seem to have a bit of a thing for metallics and interesting colours!

x

NOTD Rainbow!

2011-03-22T14:53:00.003Z

Hi guys!

I've seen this on a few blogs recently (sorry can't remember which, if you know who or if it was you please let me know so I can link) and I thought it looked really cool.

I've never tried something like this before but i'm really happy with how it turned out.

Here's the polishes I used.

L-R 17 Fairy cake, 17 Seabreeze, Rimmel Green grass, GOSH Wild lilac and 17 Tropical Island and obviously Barry M instant nail effects (not pictured)

I used the pink as a base all over then just painted on random bits of the other colours. When it was all dry I put the Barry M over the top.

I think this is a really good idea for nail art newbies as its so easy but looks like it took ages!

x

unashamed begging :)

2011-03-17T20:55:00.002Z

Hi guys!

I don't know if I've mentioned it but the reason for my huge lack of posting at the moment is that I'm currently in the middle of my dissertation for uni.

I decided to do an online questionnaire, which is where you lovely people can help!
If you have a spare 5 minutes I would be eternally grateful if you could fill it in. The questionnaire looks at attitudes about children's play. It doesn't matter if you have kids or not, all are welcome! And if you know anyone that would also be wonderfully nice and also help me out could you please forward it to them. I would really like to get a range of different people taking part and I think the majority of the particpants will be 18-25 females with no kids so if you know anyone that doesn't fit into these groups that would be AMAZING!

Here is the link http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/491696/5325a4ca2371

Thank you!!
xx

2011-03-15T23:22:00.001Z

Follow my blog with bloglovin

BLOG SALE UPDATE

2011-03-13T16:29:00.002Z

Hi guys,

just to let you know there is lots left in my blog sale. I really want to get rid of it all so I am welcome to (sensible) offers on the prices

xx

My new love!

2011-03-04T14:51:00.007Z

Hello again!

As soon as I saw pictures of this on blogs I knew I had to have it! If there's two things I love it's neutral eyeshadows and pretty packaging so this is perfect.

17 limited edition spring collection metallic nudes £5.49

How gorgeous!There are 6 shimmery shades and the pigmentation of all of them is really good. I'm really loving wearing the colour on the far right with UD sin for everyday.

I would definitely recommend it, the only thing that could improve it would be not to have the little sponge applicator (mine is gone already) and bigger shadows.

x

Stila bargain + depotting

2011-03-04T14:43:00.002Z

Hi guys!

Quite a few people posted about this last week but M&M direct are doing a great offer of stila eyeshadow pans for 99p!There's still a few now if you are interested.

I ordered a few (accidently got 2 of some of the colours which are in my blog sale now)and I also spent some time researching which palettes they would fit in. Obviously they could be put in a free form palette like a Z palette but I decided to get one with spaces in it from this ebay seller

As you can see from the photos the stila pans are a little bit small so they need something to keep them in place however MUA shadows fit in perfectly!

This was my first ever attempt at depotting (I did it with straightners) and the first few broke a little bit, oopsy!

let me know if you want any swatches
x

Blog sale! Benefit, Illamasqua, MAC, NYX etc

2011-02-24T16:51:00.015Z

Hi guys,

I really need to get rid of some things because I am so poor right now and have far too much makeup!

I borrowed the rules from Livia

All Items will be shipped using Recorded Delivery.
Shipping Only to UK: £2.50 for 1 item, + 50p for the next, and so on

Instructions:
If you want something, please comment below with
Your Paypal Email Address
product(s) you want

I will send you a paypal invoice.

Paypal only

No returns/exchanges/refunds

Buyer is responsible for sanitising items

Illamasqua powder eyeshadow bronx, swatched once, never used £5

Illamasqua powder blusher unrequited, used once with brush, £10

Maybelline ambre rose, usage shown, £4

Bloom sheer colour cream, coy (can be used on cheeks and lips, peachy shade) used a couple of times, £3

Revlon lipstick in Blush (top) and soft rose (bottom), usage shown, £4 each or both £6

I also have Stila eyeshadow pans in Sajama and viola (sorry no photos) never been used £1 each + £1 packaging

Thanks guys

My skin saviour

2011-02-23T22:14:00.003Z

I'm here again!

I was just getting ready for bed and thought I would do a quick post on this while I remember.

For the last few months (maybe a bit longer) I've had problems with spots, especially around my chin and jaw area. I tried so many different fash washes, creams, etc but it has only been since I re-discovered this product, hidden in the bottom of a box of stuff, that it has finally cleared up. I still have the occassional spot but it is a huge improvement on this time last month.

This amazing product is..

Simple soothing toner.

I think maybe my skin is more sensitive than I thought, and going for something with no perfume and colour like Simple products has really helped. I use it every morning after I wash my face and whenever I take my makeup off. I also use it everytime I have a shower, don't really know why but it seems to work! My skin feels so soft now.

The toner is available from loads of places (supermarkets, superdrug, boots etc) and is around £3 however Simple is 3 for 2 in Superdrug right now so I might have to try some other things!

Famous!

2011-02-23T17:38:00.004Z

Wow you wait for ages and they all come along at once! I've been wanting to do these posts for ages but my housemate took my camera hostage to use for her uni work.

Anyway the point of the post is a little review of Sue Moxley Famous Bronzing kit. These come in 3 different shades, 2 with bronzers in the top layer, and this one which has a highlighter in the top. I bought one of the bronzing ones for my other housemates Birthday so maybe she will let me swatch that one too at some point? They are £9, which I think is pretty good.

As you can see there is a lovely shimmery highlight powder in the top section, 2 lipsticks in the middle(I'd say they are lipstick rather than gloss due to the pigmentation and the fact that they apply with a slight shimmer rather than glossy finish)and in the bottom there are 4 eyeshadows which are all shimmery without being glittery. The two darker shades are well pigmented, especially the bronzey shade, and the lighter colours are lovely highlights. There is also the usually mini brushes, the lip one is not nice but as far as sponge applicators go this one is good. It is quite rubbery so it actually picks up the shadow well. I wouldn't have a problem using it if I needed to fix my eyeshadow in the day.

That being said the design of the palette makes it quite difficult to carry it around as it the bottom two sections twist out very loosely, so unless I found a way to keep it shut I wouldn't feel that it was secure in my bag.

So here are swatches, I think I need to change some settings on my camera as it seems to be making red/pink colours look lighter than they are. The other colours are accurate though. I need to sort that out because I want to take some photos of my new lipsticks, I am now on the hunt for a perfect red!

Overall I like this palette, especially the eyeshadows. I want to try out some more Famous products, I also have an eyeshadow in the old style packaging, which is my perfect taupe. When I got this I also noticed there were some new blushers, which were similar to the MAC wonder woman ones, as they have a larger section of blusher then a little section of highlighter. They look really nice although there were 3 shades but swatched there was not much difference. I think Famous is 3 for 2 on some products at the moment too.

Yer that was a little review!

NOTD

2011-02-23T17:36:00.001Z

Hi again,

just a quick NOTD and I apologise for the state of my hands/nails!

Boots 17 Smoke signal

Making me sad

2011-02-23T16:57:00.002Z

Hi guys!

I was just on ebay and I am just shocked at the MAC fakes on there. Lady Gaga eyeshadow palette anyone? I feel so sorry for the people that fork out £20+ for this rubbish! There are loads of what look very similar to sleek palette with MAC ont eh front and the thing that I first noticed which made me start looking for other things was a 10 eyeshadow palette with a cruella de ville sticked on the front. Again £20. The same seller is also selling 18 shadow Chanel palettes. I'm no Chanel expert but I'm pretty sure they don't do palettes that big.

And the way that they all seem to be getting away with this is by writing M..A..C.. in the title.

It makes me wish that ebay was like facebook so I could comment on the items and warn people!

Giveaway winner!

2011-01-25T19:50:00.003Z

I put all the entries in a spreadsheet and used random.org to pick one entry and the winner is..........................................................................

Jennifer from follow your fancy

I am sending you an email now to get your choice of MAC product and details.

If the winner doesn't reply within 3 days I will pick a new winner

P.S. I will be posting my 100 followers giveaway soon so there will be another chance to win for everyone else!

Huge combined haul post

2011-01-24T22:18:00.011Z

Hi guys,
my giveaway ends at midnight tonight so hurry if you would like to enter!

Just thought I would show you what I have been buying recently, which is loads as got student loan at the start of the month :)

Also there are a couple of prizes I have won recently in giveaways that I want to say a huge thank you for to the bloggers they were from

So I will start with the things I have bought (all bought by me!) in superdrug/boots etc

Beauty UK palette 5 - more purple in real life, it looks blue here, basically my fave colours in one palette - very happy with this bargain
Beauty UK Metallic sparks pencil in silver - I saw these reviewed on Lipglossiping and they looked gorgeous
ELF waterproof eyeliner pen -I've had a few of these before and love them!
ELF eyeshadow quad in day 2 night - very impressed, the taupey shade is amazing!
ELF Mist and set - this was free with the order and I like it so far
Forgot to take photos of the ELF nail polishes I got but they are twinkle and metal madness I think!
Nails inc and coke heather grey - I've got this on now, i like it but don't love it
Evie @ Peacocks blusher - very impressed with this, lovely colour
17 photo flawless lashes - great mascara but can't see any colour in it, just looks black to me!

Next is an order I made from allcosmeticswholesale

L'oreal HIP cream shadow paints in steely and nervy - I have wanted to try some things from this brand for ages, wish they did it in the UK!
L'oreal voluminous carbon black - I've had the regular black one for ages and loved it but this is amazing!
MAC lipsticks in on hold and laugh a lot - laugh a lot I got as a back up because I love it so much but this looks slightly different to the other one, neither are from mac so I guess one or both is fake!although ACW states that everything is genuine.

Next is things I have bought from blog sales. Sorry I can't remember who I got some of them from, I took too long to do this post!
The first is from Vex in the city Thanks Yinka!

MAC liberty of London shell pearl - backup because I used it most days
MAC Cream colour base pearl - heard a lot of good things about it so really wanted to try it!
MAC lipstick sophisto - love it already!

Next are 2 mac lipsticks, sorry can't remember who from, please let me know if it was you so I can link it!sorry awful photo too!

MAC viva glam cyndi - again I heard alot about this and it is gorgeous!
MAC blueblood lipstick - very pretty!

Then these nail polishes I bought from Lydia Thank you!

China glaze custom kicks - I want to do a comparison of this with rimmel sky high, they look very similar
China glaze fifth avenue - I love this kind of dusky pink!
MAC bad fairy - I really wanted this but it sold out, this is definitely comparable with Accessorize pink spice, I'll do that soon!

And now my lovely lovely prizes!

In December I won the beautiful Rosh's giveaway and the prize was to choose a MAC lipstick and eyeshadow, amazing!

So I chose sweetie lipstick and silver ring eyeshadow (which is my first from mac!) They are both lurrvely!Thanks so much!

Nearing the end now (promise!) Recently I won lovely Chrissy's giveaway and the prizes were to chose 2 things from lush and a MAC blusher!

I have never bought anything from Lush before so I asked Chrissy to chose for me, and what she got me was sweetie pie jelly and a soap (sorry don't know which but it smells amazing!!!!!) Looking forward to trying these out!
And I chose pink swoon blusher as I've never had a MAC blusher and I've heard so many lovely things about this recently (I think lovely is my new favourite word, need to be more creative!) It didn't disappoint, it is a very pretty pink, perfect for everyday.

AND... I can't believe how generous Chrissy was, she included an ELF mini makeup collection too! It is so cute and has everything in it (blusher, bronzer, eyebrow powder, lip glosses, eye shadows and an eyeliner!) Also there were some little sweeties which I shared with my housemates! Thanks so much Chrissy, I love everything!

At last I have reached the end, I applaud you if you have read all of this!Please just let me know if you want more details (!) photos or reviews. I need to wait for some daylight to do swatches!

I will be back tomorrow or Wednesday (depending how long it takes to sort out the entries) to announce THE WINNER!!

X

Amazing giveaway

2011-01-18T17:09:00.002Z

Hi guys!

more than 100 followers now, I need to think of prizes for the next giveaway! There's only 5 days left to enter now!

Just to let you know about Laura's amazingly generous giveaway. The prizes are 5 MAC lipsticks of your choice!I would be in heaven!

enter here

Wow - update

2011-01-14T14:54:00.002Z

Hi guys,

wow I now have 84 followers, at this rate I will have to start my 100 follower's giveaway as soon as this one ends!

Anyway the point of the post is that I noticed that while there are a lot of new followers, there are not as many comments on the giveaway post so if you want to be entered don't forget to comment on it.

X

CLOSED 50/60 Followers Giveaway CLOSED

2011-01-09T19:16:00.003Z

CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED

Hey guys!

Wow I have now got 60 followers!I said I'd do a giveaway at 50 so it's a bit late but better late than never!

So here goes...

The prizes will be

Anything from MAC which costs £15 or less!So if you always wanted to try a cream colour base or fix+ you could chose them,or a lipstick/eyeliner, whatever! As long as I can buy it in store. I will get a shortlist from the winner in case things are out of stock.

Also some other surprise goodies including Soap and Glory, Barry M etc.

How to enter -
1) current followers get +1 entry (I am making a list now)
2) comment on this post with your favourite beauty buy under £10 (+1 entry)
3) if you link in your sidebar/on your blog you will get +1 entry (active blogs only please) link if you do this please

Rules
* open internationally
* please get permission if you are under 16
* must be a follower
* the winner will be chosen using random.org

Closes on Sunday 23rd January at midnight GMT (2 weeks)

Good luck everyone
x

Bold tag

2011-01-08T22:49:00.002Z

Found this old tag on The Brunette Diaries, thought it was interesting so here ya go!
I miss somebody right now.
I dont watch TV these days.
I wear glasses or contact lenses.
I love to play video games.
Ive tried marijuana.
I have been in a threesome.
I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.
I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.
I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me
I'm TOTALLY smart.
I've broken someone's bones.
I'm paranoid sometimes.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
I need money right now.
I LOVE sushi.
I talk really,really fast.
I have long hair.
I have lost money in Las Vegas.
I have at least one sibling.
I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.
I couldn't survive without Caller ID.
I am usually pessimistic.
I have a lot of mood swings.
I have a hidden talent.
I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar i have.
I am currently single
I have pecked someone of the same sex.
I enjoy talking on the phone.
I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
I love to shop.
Enjoy window shopping.
I would rather shop than eat.
I don't hate anyone.
I'm a pretty good dancer.
I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
I have a cell phone.
I believe in God.
I watch MTV on a daily basis.
I have passed out drunk.
I've rejected someone before.
I have no idea what i want to do for the rest of my life.
I want to have children in the future.
I have changed a diaper before.
I've called the cops on a friend before.
I'm not allergic to anything.
I have a lot to learn.
I have been with someone at least 10 years older or younger.
I am shy around the opposite sex.
I have tried alcohol before.
I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
I own the South Park movie.
I would die for my best friends.
I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza.
I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all.
Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
I watch Spongebob Squarepants and i like it.
I am happy at this moment.
I'm obsessed with guys.
I study for tests most of the time.
I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.
I am comfortable with who I am right now.
I have more than just my ears pierced.
I walk barefoot wherever i can.
I have jumped off a bridge.
I love sea turtles.
I spend ridiculous money on makeup.
Plan on achieving a major goal/dream.
I'm proficient in a musical instrument.
I worked at McDonald's restaurant.
I hate office jobs.
I love sci-fi movies.
I think water rules.
I went college out of state.
I like sausages.
I love kisses.
I usually like covers better than originals.
I can pick up things with my toes.
I can't whistle.
I can move my tongue in waves, much like a snakes slither.
I have ridden a horse.
I still have every journal I've ever written in.
I can't stick to a diet.
I talk in my sleep.
I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.
Climbing trees is a brilliant past-time.
I have jazz in my blood.
I wear a toe ring.
I have a tattoo.
I can't stand at LEAST one person that i work with.
I am a caffeine junkie.
I cosplay or know what cosplaying is. i know what it is
I have been to over 15 conventions.
I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical the better.
I'm an artist.
I only clean my room when necessary.
I like a person of the same sex.
I love being happy.
I am an adrenaline junkie weight:bold;">

GOSH

2011-01-07T13:58:00.002Z

Hi guys,
just a quick post to let you know about something I saw today. I was just having a wander around superdrug and saw that GOSH have a lot of their best products on half price offer at the moment, including the velvet touch eyeliners, nail polishes and eyeshadow trios and quads.

I got a soft n shine lipbalm as well as some non-gosh stuff which I will take photos of later

Hope this is useful
x

Amazing giveaway!

2010-12-22T11:38:00.002Z

Just in case you don't follow already, the lovely Funny Face is having an amzing giveaway to celebrate the holidays as well as reaching the huge milestone of 1000 followers!Congrats!!

The prizes she is giving away are so beautiful, as you can see in the photo, and include a gorgeous makeup bag and a UD naked pallette!!

You can find the giveaway here. Good luck everyone

Hello

2010-12-16T12:39:00.002Z

Just a quick post to say hi to my new followers, I can't believe there are more than 50 now, so exciting.

I can't wait to do a giveaway to say thanks but I am a student and it is the end of term (and christmas) which equals no money. So I will be doing my 50 followers giveaway in January, I'm already thinking of the prize!

xx

NOTD and review me me me playful

2010-12-14T11:49:00.004Z

Hi guys, sorry it's been so long again, third year of uni is not so fun!

This week though I have done a bit of Christmas shopping but the 3 for 2 offer in superdrug sucked me in again. I will do a post on the other things I got later but thought I would do a quick nail of the day since I love this colour so much. I've been looking for the perfect mid pink for ages now and this might be it!

Me me me nail collection long lasting gloss in playful. I have never tried any of me me me's nail polishes before, and I'm not sure if I've got any of their other products either but they seem to be the only make up stand in superdrug that has nail swatches, which is what tempted me to have a look and saw this pretty colour.

Application. This has a pretty wide brush which meant is was very fast to paint my nails and neatly too ( I don't think there was any polish on my skin!)It also dried amazingly quickly. However the product is called long lasting but i have 2 chips after a day (and it was a very lazy day!)

Overall I love the colour and the application, I think I will have to use a top coat to improve the wear. I will have a look at the other colours available and would probably buy again if there is any more I like.

I will be back later with the rest of the superdrug stuff and also boots (17 have another gift with purchase offer on and it's so pretty!)

Amazing giveaway

2010-11-17T18:43:00.002Z

Karleigh at secret beauty blog is having an amazing christmas giveaway to win some gorgeous nars makeup.

You can enter here.

And mary

2010-11-13T18:47:00.001Z

How cute is the and mary range on tesco's clothing website?

That's all!

For redheads

2010-11-08T18:52:00.002Z

Hi guys,

I was just checking out fragrance direct when I saw they have the urban decay brow box in ginger snaps for £5.99. This is my absolute favourite for doing my eyebrows. It has two powders and a wax in a pull out drawer, along with a brush and tiny (but pretty good) tweezers. If there's anyone that has similar colouring to me (auburn/brown hair) then this is an absolute bargain. I'm tempted to get a back up, but mine has lasted ages so far.

Accessorize haul and first thoughts

2010-10-29T19:11:00.009+01:00

Hi guys,
Firstly you might have noticed that I finally got a proper camera so my pictures are decent quality at last! woop!

Like alot of people I was really excited when I heard/read about the new Accessorize makeup range, so I made an order pretty much the day it came out (16th). I don't know if it was because it was brand new or because they were extra busy but my order only arrived yesterday. That's 12 days, pretty slow in my opinion. But anyway on to the actual products.

They came really well packaged, in a box with pink tissue paper, bubble wrap and each product was in a individual sealed bag (fantastic idea, all online retailers should follow this example, because I have seen blog posts on nail polish bottles smashing during the delivery process. If this had happened at least the rest of the products would have been fine)

Firstly I ordered the merged blusher in starlet. These have been compared to Mac MSFs due to the domed shape and the merged colours. I have only used this today but so far I like it. It reminds me a little of VV Briar rose but not quite as bright. It has the same glowy quality, without being glittery and creates a natural looking flush on me. I also loves the packaging of this (massive butterfly lover)

Next is the volumising mascara, which again I have only used once so far. Gorgeous, gorgeous packaging though! I have been using mostly Loreal voluminous for the last few weeks so I compared it to this. For a volumising mascara I didn't notice much volume (especially in comparison to the loreal) however it holds a curl really well, lengthens pretty well and my favourite thing is the separation. Wow this stuff separates my lashes and it seems impossible to clump it! Even though the formula is a bit on the wet side (I had a few smudges on my upper lid, but I get this with pretty much every mascara) Overall I think this is a great everyday mascara which gives a more natural look than the loreal so I will continue to use it.

I was probably most excited by the duo chrome style nail polishes and I ordered 4 of these in (L-R) Aztec, bronze, pink spice and purple dream. I have only tried on of these so far, pink spice as I thought it looked quite similar to Mac VV bad fairy. I'll let you see what you think from the photos.

I don't have bad fairy (so sad) but from the photos I have seen it looks quite similar although in the accessorize version the duo chrome effect is not so obvious. It is mainly a sort of metallic pink although in certain lights I can see a goldy bronze flash. Very pretty in it's own right anyway. I only put it on last night so I'll have to update with the wearability.

I am still obsessed with Barry M instant nail effects and have to try it over everything so here's a picture of that!

Sorry this was so long!

Good customer service

2010-10-25T17:28:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

I've read quite a lot of posts about the importance of good customer service, with some people having some horrible experiences so I thought I would just share a positive story.

Last week I saw on Lipglossiping that Nails Inc were doing a one day special offer on a Polish Mania gift set, which was 10 full size polishes for £25!! So I ordered straight away. Unfortunately when it arrived one bottle was chipped and scuffed on the silver lid I sent an email to customer services and they replied within a day to say they would send a replacement straight away and apologised for the problem.

I am really impressed with their customer service - well done Nails Inc!

NOTD

2010-10-14T17:26:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

Rimmel lasting finish Your Majesty with Barry M instant nail effects

I love this! The silver is one of my faves on its own and i think it looks amazing with the crackle pattern over the top.

I'm really loving the Barry M nail effects. It was an effort to find one, it was sold out in Boots and Superdrug here but I found it in Superdrug in Birmingham at the weekend, last bottle there!

Music

2010-10-13T17:52:00.012+01:00

Hi guys,

This is a tag post started by Cat at Reaching for the Stars

Basically what you do, is type the words in bold into your iTunes (media player, winamp) library, and write down the first song that comes up!!

Happy Merry happy/ Little red - Kate Nash

Love Love, love, kiss, kiss - Alkaline Trio

Hate All these things I hate - Bullet for my Valentine

Light The all night lights -36 Crazyfists

Dark Dance in the dark - Lady Gaga

Good Just be good to green - Professor Green and Lily Allen

Bad Good girls go bad - cobra starship and leighton meester

Smile make you smile - +44

Cry Stop crying your heart out - Oasis

Girl Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off - Panic! at the disco

Boy Contemplations of the modern rudeboy - The skints

Sad Sick sad little world - Incubus

Lost Lost and Rendered - Alkaline trio

There ya go, feel free to join in!

I heart your blog award

2010-07-20T16:52:00.003+01:00

Hello guys!

Today I got my second blog award yay! I was given this by Kelly who is a realtive newbie to blogging like me, so please have a look at her blog if you haven't.

The Rules Are:

1. Post the award on your blog
2. Link the person who has given you the award
3. Pass the award to other 15 blogs you've discovered
4. Let these 15 people know that you've given them an award

I know it's not the rules but I'm going to pick 5 people!

So here goes (in no particular order)

1) Shannon
2) Rachel
3) Emma
4) Lucy
5) Sian

Sorry

2010-07-14T17:15:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting much recently. There's been a lot going on including moving out of my uni room to my mum's and then moving again so now I'm living with a friend in Birmingham. She's quite interested in maybe doing some guest posts or just being my assistant haha so look out for that! It's so not fair living so close to the Bullring and having no money though! I am looking forward to my first visit to a Mac counter, even if I can't buy anything!

In case anyone was interested in how my cat is getting on, he's doing much better but he is going to be on medication for the rest of his life. At one point the vet told us it would be best to end his pain but luckily his condition improved before the date and he seems to be getting stronger everyday :D

Some other good news I've had recently is that I won not one but two giveaways. I really want to take some pictures to show you soon, hopefully when the second one arrives :)

I promise I will do a proper post really soon!

xx

Sorry

2010-07-02T22:11:00.003+01:00

Unfortunately the winner of my giveaway has not contacted me by the given deadline so I have picked a new winner from my hat.

So congratulations to Meowcake!!! I have emailed you at the address on your blog.

If you haven't already read her blog you should really check it out. I love reading it because it is full of personality and extremely honest.

xx

Winner winner chicken dinner!!

2010-06-29T21:11:00.002+01:00

Sorry this is a bit late guys, I went on a little unplanned trip to Birmingham for the weekend, it was awesome!

So anyway, I put all my lovely followers names in my lovely Primark hat, gave it a good old shake and the winner is....

x_XJenniex_x

could you please email me to let me know if you are in the UK or not. I'm sorry but if you don't do so by Friday I will pick another winner. My email address is satan_51@hotmail.com

Congratulations and thanks to everyone else again for following me.

P.S. I'm still having problems with Blogger and can't follow anyone else, does anyone know what is wrong/how I can fix it?

NOTD plus rave!

2010-06-22T19:53:00.002+01:00

Two posts in one day!

Just a quick NOTD with my new Barbara Daly @ Tesco nail polish in purplicious. This is so worth £3, it's actually one of the best nail polishes I've ever used. It was almost opaque with one coat (I can't think of any of my other polishes that are) and the formula is brilliant, so easy to use and it dried pretty quickly (unlike some I could mention!). I will definitely be getting some more of these!

This is with 2 coats

my purple obsession continues!

xx

Cheap nail varnish buys

2010-06-22T19:26:00.007+01:00

Hi guys, another haul (eurgh hate that word) lots of photos!

After I read this post on Rachel's blog I decided to make an order from Fragrance Direct too (so I blame her haha!)

Anyway I was so impressed with delivery time and it came all securely packaged so very happy with them. The prices of the nail polishes that I got range from 49p!! to £1.50 for the Revlon. Amazing!

Miss Sporty

Rimmel

NYC

W7 and Revlon

I also ordered a Sally Hansen base and top coat because I really need one and it was £1.99 or something and at the last minute I added a W7 cream blusher, which I am very impressed with, its about the same quality as the Topshop ones, so pretty darn good! The only negative is that it has a bit or sparkle in it, which I don't really mind.

Here are swatches of the polishes on paper

and the cream blush (blended out on the right)

let me know if you want shade names/numbers

xx

Help

2010-06-21T17:05:00.002+01:00

Is anyone else having this problem? I can't follow any new blogs I find, it keeps coming up with the sign in box and then not signing in. How do I stop this?

xx

25 Followers Giveaway

2010-06-21T11:40:00.004+01:00

Woo, 25 followers! I am so amazed and happy that 25 people want to read my blog!

I decided I don't want to do a giveaway to get more followers but to say thank you to the lovely people that were my first followers, so there will be no extra entries for blogging about it or any of that stuff!

So all you have to do to enter is.... nothing. I am going to wait a week, so Monday 28th June, and whoever is following me then will get their name put in a hat.

After I have picked the winner I will need them to contact me within a couple of days so if you are not going to be around early next week please let me know in case you are the lucky winner!

So the prize....

I decided rather than getting the prize myself, and risking the winner getting stuff they already have or that doesn't suit them, I would have a prize that meant the winner could choose whatever they want (well nearly)

So the prize will be

a £15 gift voucher for ASOS.com. These are delivered straight to your email address, so no waiting around for it to arrive in the snail mail, and you can add it to your account and (correct me if I'm wrong) you don't have to use it for 3 months if you can't find anything you want (there's always loads I want on ASOS though!)

From having a quick look at the site £15 could buy you some Illamasqua, or Soap and Glory, or Models Own, or some gorgeous jewellery/clothes/accessories!

If an international follower wins then the prize will be their choice of UK products which aren't available in other countries e.g. Sleek, Boots 17 etc to the same value.

So good luck everyone and thanks again!

xx

PS. Oh and by the way I will be buying the prize(s) myself and I don't have any links to ASOS.com, I just think that they will give you the best choice of prizes!

NOTD

2010-06-19T15:46:00.003+01:00

Barry M 161 Vivid Purple. This is possibly more of an Autumn kind of colour but it's so shiny and almost metallic. GORGEOUS! I am very impressed with my first Barry M polish so far.

xx

More new things!

2010-06-19T15:11:00.009+01:00

Hi guys,
Sorry I haven't posted anything this week, and I apologise if you don't want to read about my cat! Skip the next paragraph if you don't.

I had a phone call on Tuesday morning from my little sister saying my cat had been rushed to the vets because he couldn't breathe. I've had my cat since I was 8 and he really means the world to me (I know some people may think this is sad in the extreme!) so I rushed home to see him in case it was my last chance. I went to see him at the vets and it was horrible. He was in a cage with a glass front with an oxygen tank hooked up to it and he looked so tired and thin. They let me stroke him for a few minutes and I really thought it was the last time I would see him. Hopefully things are looking better now. They are running some blood tests at the moment, a couple of the suggestions for what's wrong is a tumour or under active thyroid, so we will get the results soon and then he might be able to come home. The vet said he was definitely looking better and he can curl into a ball now, which he couldn't do at first because of his breathing.

So on the way back to uni yesterday I had an hour to wait at the train station. Last week a new out of town Boots opened in my home town so I went to have a look and... I finally found a Boots with a Models Own stand! I was so excited but didn't buy anything (attempting to be good and cut down spending, which you will see didn't last long!) Another reason I went into Boots was that I had seen May's post on the new 17 metallic collection and then looked it up on the Boots website. Unfortunately the brand new Boots store didn't have this in yet so I also went in Boots when I got back to uni! Oh and at home I also went into Tesco because it's opposite the new Boots.

So here is what I ended up buying. Sorry the photos are so dark (damn miserable weather)

From Tesco: If you buy any two Barbara Daly products you get a free "Flutterbys" blusher. I LOVE butterflies so had to have this. Originally I was looking at the lipsticks as I recently read a post on the BD lipsticks but none stuck out to me. So I got two cute little nail polishes, kiwi and purplicious. Gorgeous colours and I seem to be obsessed with purple at the moment, especially for nail polishes! The blusher is so pretty but the butterfly overlay so isn't! It's far too glittery and I'd never put that on my face so I just got a big blusher brush and wiped all the glitter off (it came off so easily!) and you can still see the pretty butterflies because they are raised ( don't know how to explain that properly?)

From Boots: You probably know that Boots have another lovely offer on when you spend £6 on 17 you get a little gift. I so wish that this little box was a tin like the nautical one not so long ago because I'd love to be able to use it to store jewellery or something. Anyway in the box is a mini waterproof mascara, lip gloss and nail polish in pink grapefruit (loving that!) Also in the box is a voucher for 100 advantage points next time you spend £5 on 17. Very kind of them!

So what I really wanted in Boots, the 17 metallic collection. This includes a bronzer, lip gloss, nail polish and eyeshadow (there is only one colour of each, which is a shame) I got the eyeshadow trio and I have to say so far I LOVE it! Beautiful shimmery colours, which really suit blue eyes but I'm sure could be worn by anyone.

Here's some swatches, not the best quality photo but hopefully you can sort of see!

The colour on the left is my favourite, I'm wearing it today and it really is lovely. To make up the requirement to get the gift I picked up another!!! nail polish in pink lemonade. I put all my new polishes on one finger each last night and this one was disappointing, not at all opaque, but I will give it another chance with a few coats and see if that works.

Finally, my first ever Barry M nail polish! When I was at home I realised I hadn't brought any polishes with me and was worried I would start biting my nails again if I didn't paint them so I borrowed one from my sister. I loved it so much I had to buy one for myself! It is 161 Vivid purple, it looks very dark on the photo above so I think I will take a photo in a minute for a NOTD.

I've also ordered even more nail polish and some eyelashes this week so will show you those when they arrive.

Sorry for the epic post! And 2 more followers to go until my giveaway! WOO!

xx

Is it just me?

2010-06-14T18:45:00.001+01:00

Just a little question, is it just me that thinks I look better when I'm ill than when i'm not? My skin looks tonnes better today than it has for ages but I feel awful! What is going on here?

Swatches

2010-06-12T12:43:00.003+01:00

Yo!

Here are the promised swatches of the makeup I got the other day.

I tried to do some lip swatches but it just wasn't working!
So at the bottom Revlon colour burst in Blush (left) and Soft Rose (right)The colours look about right, although they are slightly darker in real life.

Above that are the three free Benefit products, (L-R) Bad Gal, Eye bright and It stick.

Then next to that my free Barry M dazzle dust in 39 Tan, swatched heavily. At the top I blended out a lighter swatch of this (if you can see it, it didn't photograph well, you can't see the lovely shimmer!)

All of them are one swipe and taken with flash.

xx

Fran's Birthday! Happy Birthday!

2010-06-12T11:42:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

Just to let you know that Fran is having a giveaway to celebrate her birthday this month! Her blog is very new but I really enjoy reading her posts so far so go and check it out!

You can enter here

good luck

xx

Some NOTDs and a question

2010-06-11T17:31:00.003+01:00

Hi guys!

Just some quick photos and reviews on some nail polishes.

Firstly, Boots 17 Sea breeze, which I mentioned yesterday.

I love the colour, it's like blue smarties! (do they still have blue ones?) I had this on for 2 days and it was getting a bit of tip wear by the end but no major chips. It is really easy to apply but the one complaint I have is that my nails were a bit stained when I took it off, even with a base coat!

I've just put on my new Rimmel 60 seconds polish in Sky High.

I was really excited about wearing this, I ADORE the colour but the application is not great. The brush is a nice size, wide so it only takes 1 or 2 strokes to cover the nail but the formula is thick and really hard to get the right amount on the brush.

So onto the question. At the moment I don't have a proper base or top coat. I have been using this..

Avon Nail Experts 24k gold strength, which I got free when I ordered something else (can't remember what!) In the photo it looks yellow but it is actually clear with tiny tiny bits of gold in it, which on the nails is just a really subtle shimmer. I have no idea if this is actually making my nails stronger, I didn't have any problems with this anyway, but I think it does make my nail polish last longer and stops staining (most of the time!) So could you recommend me a base and top coat, which is relatively cheap? I've heard some good things about Barry M, or maybe Models Own (this is the sort of price range I'm looking at)

Finally I just want to share with you how proud of myself I am that I actually have nails! My mum says I've been biting them since I had teeth! I know it's disgusting! Over the last few years I have been trying to stop and was partly successful (I usually had about 6 long nails and the rest short!) In particular I found that I just couldn't stop biting the nails on my index fingers! But since I've been getting into reading blogs and now writing my own I've become more interested in painting my nails and now usually have polish on most days. I think I have finally beaten the habit! I don't know why I didn't think of painting them before! They look far too pretty to chew! So yay me! :D

I think I will put up my swatches of the things I bought yesterday later so will see you then!

xx

p.s. I love how when you spell check a post Blogger wants to replace Rimmel with rimmed (I know dirty mind!)

Today's buys

2010-06-10T17:03:00.005+01:00

Hi again! WARNING long post with pictures.

I went into town to get Glamour magazine today, just to make sure I could get all 3 of the Benefit products! However I ended up getting a few other things too!

So makeup stuff first

I got the Benefit things (eye bright, it stick and bad gal) I've never tried any of them before so looking forward to testing them out. I just put the eye bright on the inner corners of my eyes and it looks so nice! The it stick seems to be a good colour match for me too.

Then I got more magazine so I could get a free barry m dazzle dust. The colour I chose was 39 (tan I think)which is really pretty and would make a gorgeous highlight on tanned skin I think. I'll probably put swatches of everything later tonight or tomorrow.

Then the 3 for 2 in Boots sucked me in again! Well I had actually planned on buying all three anyway so might as well get one free! I got 2 of the new Revlon colour burst lipsticks in soft rose and blush. I love blush so much! Swatches to come! I love love love the packaging of these - anything quilted catches my eye!

I got 2 Rimmel 60 seconds nail polishes, one was part of the 3 for 2, and I saw it last week and knew I had to go back for it (there were only 2 left in this colour too!) Anyway that one is the turquoise colour, Sky high. The other one, style hunter, I picked up in superdrug when I was getting the dazzle dust (they are on offer £1 off at the moment) I was looking for a pink shade that wasn't Barbie pink or too light either so hopefully this is it! I can't wait to put sky high on but I'm going to wait until my current one chips (17 seabreeze, which has lasted 2 days so far and looks like blue smarties!)These will all probably feature in NOTD posts soon, let me know if you really want to see any of them.

That's all of the beauty stuff, next clothes!
After seeing all of the lovely bargains people have been getting in the Miss Selfridge sale, especially all of the gorgeous jewellery I had to go and have a look! There wasn't very much sale jewellery but I did find this

It's a playsuit!! I hope I can carry it off though! It's so damn cute, with the little flower buttons! Half price from £35 to £17!

Then I had a 20% off voucher for H&M so obviously I had to find something! I found this dress, which I had seen the skirt with the same material before but it DID NOT look good on me!

Sorry I couldn't get it to hang right! Anyway I am in love with the pattern, how it looks like the sea, beautiful, and all of them are slightly different because of where they were cut from the material I think, so on some the lighter stripe is a the top etc. I was thinking about wearing this for my friend's wedding in August, do you think it is too casual though? It was £14.99 but 20% off.

Finally, this dress from the New Look sale

I wanted this when it was full price so I'm chuffed to find it in the sale and in my size! Reduced from £20 to £12.

Ha ha I only noticed when I was taking the photos but they are all blue! I think I might be a little obsessed! Also the Rimmel nail polish matches the H&M dress perfectly!

A few things I didn't take photos of: some tights from BHS. This is my new favourite, 3 pairs of 70 denier tights for £6, that's cheaper than Primark!!

I also got a present for my friend Rachel's birthday and a little present for my best friend who got her first job as a primary school teacher this week! WOO!

Bye
xx

General stuff!

2010-06-09T17:39:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

Just a reminder for everyone that glamour magazine is out tomorrow with free benefit make up (I'm sure you knew that!) and also more magazine has a voucher for a free barry m dazzle dust!

Also I've noticed my followers are creeping up!! I have decided on my giveaway prize today, just need to get 25 followers now! I'm so excited!!

I will do a proper post again tomorrow hopefully, I'm going to go to town to get my glamour and more stuff and possibly some makeup/clothes/jewellery. I've got my eye on some new nail polish, well I wanted it last week but didn't get it so I am definitely getting it tomorrow!

xx

Five under £5

2010-06-08T16:24:00.004+01:00

Hello again! I'm up to 14 followers! wow, I can't believe it! Can't wait to get to 25 to have a giveaway!

Anyway the point of the post! I've picked out 5 things that are a)less than £5 b) easily available and c) that I really like. I purposefully left out ELF products because everyone knows that they are very good for the price and tried to pick some things that get less love on blogs!

Although, having said that the two 17 products I've picked are getting pretty good reviews at the moment. I already did a review on the new mirror shine lipsticks and I am still loving them! They are £4.49 I think. The blush and glow is also getting a lot of praise from bloggers and it is well deserved. It comes in 2 colours, peaches and cream and strawberry swirl, which both have the same highlight shade. I have both of them but the one in the picture is strawberry swirl (which I am wearing today) These are £3.49 I think (feel free to correct me if any of my prices are wrong!)

Then Collection 2000 shine away powder. I LOVE this! It is one of the few makeup products I've ever repurchased, I think this is my third one? I've got 2 at the moment, one which I keep at home and then one which is running out which I put in my bag because then it doesn't matter if it breaks or I lose it! I think this is £3.99?

Next is Barbara Daly at Tesco concealer. Again this is something I have repurchased, this is my second one. It's great quality for the price (£3.50), really creamy texture. I think these must be popular because when I needed a new one it was never in stock and it took me a few weeks to get it!

Finally ASDA clear skin blackhead reducing exfoliating wash (£2.49 I think, but is often on offer 2 for £3) I think this is fab! I bought the loreal face wash with the scrublet and I prefer the ASDA one so much more (although I still use the scrublet!)This smells lovely and it really did make a difference to my skin, I noticed it within a week or two of using it my skin was much clearer.

Hope you found this interesting!

xx

Wow super generous giveaway!

2010-06-05T16:43:00.002+01:00

Karolina is having an amazing giveaway, so many prizes!

Someone is going to be very very lucky!

enter here : http://smootchkiss.blogspot.com/2010/06/giveaway-contest-time.html

My makeup storage

2010-06-04T17:57:00.012+01:00

Other people's storage posts are some of my absolute favourite types of posts so I thought I'd put mine up too. Sorry lots of photos and long post!

I used to just have my makeup in makeup bags which was very untidy! I had a bag on my desk with my everyday favourites, and then another bag with the stuff I used less often, although once it went into the second bag it usually didn't get seen much again! where makeup went to die!

So, I got really tired of having makeup all over the place and went looking for something better and I found these lovely drawers on ebay. I think they are ikea mdf drawers which someone has decorated with newspaper cartoons and there's some rude little cartoons on there!! I won them for 99p but obviously the postage costs were quite high as its really heavy!

So I keep the drawers on my desk (not that much room in uni halls!) and next to them is a little metal pot (which actually says tea on it but never mind, its so cute) with all my brushes in it.

On top of the drawers I keep all of my nail polish (not really that many!) some pallettes and as you can see my liberty of london shell pearl beauty powder, which is far to pretty to be hidden in a drawer I think!

Onto the drawers, they are in the order I put my makeup on really, with foundation at the top and lip stuff at the bottom.

Top left

Foundation, powder and concealers and my elf primer. Range of different brands from c2000, maybelline, gosh, elf, mac, nyx, ysl, barbara daly @ tesco. I'm a firm believer that cheap brands can be just as good as high end brands.

Top right

Blusher, bronzer and highlights. I sorted through this recently because it was too full to close! All of these are cheaper brands, although I'm planning on getting a few Mac msf's in the new collection (can't remember what it's called atm, memory block!)

Middle left

I swear I should have been mascara obsession not blusher obsession! This is just crazy how many I have and I can't resist buying them every time I see a new one! Again they are all "drugstore" brands really including c2000 (i think their mascaras are really good for the money) maxfactor, maybelline, loreal, elf clear mascara, a marks and spencers lash primer. I also have a primark mascara which I only use for the eraser on the other end for tidying up eyeliner smudges etc. The only ones that aren't from the high street are my two twilight mascaras which I got in the sale on ASOS and I am actually really impressed with them. But why do I need 20+ mascaras?

Middle right

Eyeshadow and eyeliners. Again just high street brands, including a few MUA, no.7, bourjois, gosh, c2000. I also have a couple of eyeliners in my brush pot, one is an avon pencil which is about 6 inches long so doesn't fit in the drawers and the others are elf waterproof eyeliner pens which need to be kept tip down to stop them drying out. The only non high street thing in this drawer is my urban decay brow box in ginger snap, which I love as there aren't many brow products out there for red heads!

Bottom left

Lipsticks. More of a range of prices here. I've recently started getting into mac and have a few lipsticks now, my favourite is probably fanfare. Then there's my little pots of lipstick I made the other day (i'm loving no.7 so far)and lots of other brands including stila, 17, elf, avon, nyx etc

Bottom right

lipgloss, lipbalm and probably one of my all time favourites, soap and glory mighty mouth lip scrub and balm, I use this everyday and I love it! Again cheaper brands here, nyx, h&m, 2true, c2000, gosh, sleek, 17 and revlon. There is also hard candy 10 years of gloss, which I've had for ages and I remember how much I wanted it! Its so kitsch looking and smells like cakes!

If you would like any reviews/swatches let me know
xx

DIY

2010-06-02T16:43:00.005+01:00

Hello again!

I saw this post by Muhsine at Bubblegarm a while ago and really wanted to give it a try. I saw another post someone else did, which is where I got the technique I used from but I can't remember who it was so let me know if it was you so I can link to it!

Anyway I bought some little plastic pots on ebay last week and they came today and I couldn't wait to get started!

Here are the swatches of the lipsticks I started with, nice colours but really didn't suit me or I just didn't wear them. They are a mix of ELF, Rimmel, Avon, C2000, Natural Collection, so nothing expensive that I would mind cutting up!

As you can see there is a mix of pink, nude, peach and reds. So I set up a little area on my desk to do this (I would definitely recommend covering the area with newspaper or something like that,it can get messy!) Then I cut small pieces of the lipsticks and put them on a tablespoon. Then I held the spoon over a candle, mixing the lipsticks with a teaspoon. When it was all melted and mixed I just poured it into a pot. Simple! The only thing is I now have a burnt spoon so I hope no-one gets the wrong idea if they saw it!

They really take no time at all to set again, however I was a little impatient and one of them has a big finger dent in it! I didn't really have any method to how I was mixing colours so I didn't really know how they would turn out. However it was a lot of fun doing it and really appealed to my creative side (makes me miss doing art at school!)

So I made 10 new colours, a few of them, as you can see, are quite similar, however some of the lipsticks I used had shimmer so there are different finishes too. I also labelled them with a trusty sharpie pen so I will be able to remember the ones I like best.

And here are the swatches
1-5 (L-R)

and 6-10 (L-R)

Can't wait to try them all on!

Has anyone else tried this?

xx

May Favourites

2010-05-29T15:15:00.004+01:00

I usually stick to the same foundation/concealer/powder etc so I thought I'd just include the colours and new things I have loved this month.

Firstly Virgin Vie Moisture kiss lipstick in Nude shimmy, which I bought from Paula's blog sale. Although it's called nude shimmy it's more of a light peachy coral , perfect for summer. Swatches are below.

Next is H&M zebra lipgloss in Hawaii. This is only 99p and they have a few different colours. This has a really strong bubblegum kind of smell so if you don't like that then this isn't for you.

Then NYX The Runway Collection 10 colour pallete in champagne and caviar. I think I'll do another post with all the swatches from this if anyone wants to see them? This is the perfect neutral pallette for me, I love all of the colours so much and there's a mixture of matte and shimmer too.

I finally got the ELF mineral face primer after thinking about it for ages! This is the first primer I have had so I have nothing to compare it to but I really like it. It's so much easier to blend foundation when I put this on first and especially over problem areas.

Lastly NYX blush in peach. As you can see from the swatch this really isn't peach, it's a light pink shade but never mind! I really love this, it's so pigmented, I only need a tiny bit to get a pretty colour on my cheeks. I've been using my ELF Studio powder brush to apply this and it's great.

Sorry for having 2 NYX things in here, I know they are quite hard to get hold of in the UK without paying stupid prices!

Anyway, swatches

top NYX blush peach
middle virgin vie nude shimmy
bottom h&m lipgloss hawaii

the colours are pretty much true to life

xx

EDIT Oh my gosh (literally) i forgot my absolute favourite thing! GOSH nail polish in wild lilac. I love this so much!really good formulation, so easy to apply and it lasts ages(even without top coat) I adore the colour as some paler lilac colours don't really suit my plae skin I think. I love this so much that when I put another colour on I wish I had put this on instead! I can't say how much I do love this really!

Here's a picture, this was straight after I put it on so there may be a few bits that need tidying up but its much neater than when I use other brands!

This is the only GOSH polish I have so if you have others are they all this good and any colour recommendations?

Recent purchases

2010-05-28T16:49:00.004+01:00

I hate the word haul!

Sorry it's been a while, lots of stress going on at the moment!

Firstly, I mentioned the other day that ElsieBelle were having 40% off everything and I couldn't resist getting something! It arrived pretty quickly and they package things so nicely. As you can see inside the envelope the jewellery comes in a little stripey sweetie bag and a lovely little ElsieBelle box. I got these really cute little daisy earrings, sorry for the blurry picture! They are perfect for summer I think and I'll be wearing them a lot.

Secondly, when I was doing my makeup the other day I found this mascara

I think it is probably at least a year old and I know it's very very naughty but I decided to use it! I really loved it so decided to get a nice new one next time I went shopping. Unfortunately I think they have stopped making this one but I found a similar one (it may be the same but different packaging) They both say Maybelline Volum' Express and they both have curved brushes so hopefully I will like my new one as much.
Obviously Boots have a 3 for 2 offer at the moment so I had to get 2 more things! My current foundation is getting towards empty so I picked up another one. This is one of the only things I have ever repurchased, I usually get bored and try something new but Maybelline Liquid Mineral is one I really love. The colour match is good (I find it quite hard being pale) and it feels so light on my skin. However it is a light coverage foundation so I decided to get a heavier coverage one too. After reading a few reviews I thought I'd try out Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection so hopefully I'll like that too.

I also picked up a Soap and Glory giftset for my friend's birthday present as they are a third off at the moment.
I think I need to go on a spending ban now!

P.S. In Sainsbury's I got some choccie called velvety truffle and it is sooo yummy, definitely recommend trying that!

Thank you Jen!

2010-05-24T15:32:00.003+01:00

Just a little post to say a massive thank you to Jen from a little bird told me

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had primark regret(is there a word for this?), seeing something you like and not getting it but when you go back it's not there any more. Only makes me want it even more! So I took it as a sign when I saw the exact shoes I wanted in my size on Jen's blog sale!

They came today and she included a lovely card too, I'm chuffed!

I stole the pic of them from her blog (hope that's ok!)

I love these shoes so much! and the heel is quite small which means I can actually wear them for longer than a hour or two! I have some similar small heels from primark and they are the comfiest heels I own so I'm really looking forward to trying these.

17 lipstick

2010-05-20T15:47:00.005+01:00

Hi guys,
I went to Boots today (only meant to buy a eyeliner sharpner but shhh) and saw that 17 had a new lipstick out. It's called mirror shine and they had about 8 different colours. They are £4.49 each but there's a 3 for 2 offer on at the moment.

Anyway, here's the two I got..

I actually really like the packaging, it's very summery and I'll definitely be able to find it in my bag!

The two colours I got were Belle, which is a lovely my lips but better shade on me, kind of dusky pink shade. Again excuse the bad skin, when will it go away!

The other colour is Flirtini which is a brighter pink

The other colours they have include bright reds and a nude shade which looks pretty but they really don't suit me, otherwise I would have got that one too!

On the lips they are quite glossy and feel lovely, similar to MAC cremesheen I would say. As with all glossy lipsticks though the staying power is not great, you would definitely need to reapply regularly.

Just another small quick thing about the packaging, which is that the lids fit on really securely so you won't end up with lipstick smeared all over your bag!

Overall I love these so far and would repurchase.

xx

Sale

2010-05-19T18:07:00.001+01:00

Oooh I just got an email from elsiebelle.com and they are celebrating their new website by giving 40% off everything!
if you haven't heard of them before they do beautiful, quirky jewellery
so exciting!

xx

p.s. i don't have any afiliation with elsiebelle - i just love their jewellery! i bought my sister the gingerbread man necklace for christmas and she loved it too!

Happy Bithday Louise!

2010-05-19T12:12:00.003+01:00

To celebrate her upcoming birthday Louise at Get Lippie is having a fab giveaway. You can enter here

To enter you just need to tell her about what makes you happy, so here is my entry. A lot of things make me happy so I thought I'd do a little list.
In no particular order!

1. my pets. there's nothing like coming home and the dog is so excited to see you, he's jumping all over you. if only people were so open about their feelings!
2. my friends, especially when we are having a random adventure!
3. my boyfriend. he's just got a new job and i'm so proud of him!
4. dancing. yes i know i'm not good at it and I probably look ridiculous but I love having a boogie to some cheesey music
5. shopping. i admit i should probably go to shopaholic meetings, i'm trying to cut down now and actually wear all the stuff i've got!
6. finishing uni assignments, whenever i finish one (usually at around 4am i get really hyperactive
7. music. Especially going to see my fave bands
8. aqua aerobics. i just started going and it's hilarious how unco-ordinated i am!
9. having a lazy day. just watching tv, reading magazines etc
10. getting packages in the post - who doesn't love that?

and finally a photo that makes me smile, this one was taken just after the one in one of my previous posts. I just love how you can imagine the thought bubble for my cat "help me!"

xx

Cherry on top award

2010-05-16T15:41:00.006+01:00

So excited, my first one! This was given to me by Caz whose blog is awesome, I love reading it!
The Rules:
1. Thank the person that gave this to you :) Go on, give them a virtual hug!
2. Copy the award and put it on your blog.
3. List 3 things you love about yourself ♥
4. Post a picture you love (e.g a person you adore etc.)
5. Tag 5 people you wish to pass this award on to :)

Three things I love about myself:
1) I'm very trustworthy and good at keeping secrets :)
2) That I don't give up on things
3) Let's finish with something superficial! I love my piercings and don't think i'll ever take them out!

The picture I love:
My babies! I've had my cat since I was 8 so he's getting on a bit but he's the most gorgeous thing in the world!

5 people to pass this to:
Tanya
Meowcake
Shannon
D and L (sorry I don't know your names)
Lisa

xx

Oh dear

2010-05-14T22:10:00.003+01:00

These sandals are sooo gorgeous, I wish I could have them! Unfortunately I already have four new pairs for the summer that may or may not occur!

If anyone is interested they are £25 (a bit more than i'd pay for sandals really) from Dorothy Perkins. They have a nude colour too but I prefer these.
xx

Ooh by the way there's 20% off a DP today only so only a couple of hours left. So tempting, they would only be £20 then!

Topshop (yes another one)

2010-05-13T19:26:00.006+01:00

Hi again,
I've seen lots and lots of posts about the new Topshop makeup on blogs but one of the products that doesn't seem to have many reviews on is the highlighter powder.

This is part of the limited spring/summer collection. It is a lovely gold shimmery powder (with no glitter)and it would look gorgeous as a highlight with a coral or peachy blusher.

I found it quite difficult to get a good photo of a swatch that showed the shimmer, especially if I sheered it out. So here are two photos of it applied heavily, with flash and without flash

I think this definitely fits well into the spring/summer collection as gold looks much better with a tan (in my opinion) so I probably won't use this in the winter but I will be using it a lot this summer.

I know there has also been a lot of discussion about the packaging of this range and I have to say I really like it. It's cute, cool and pretty and definitely fits into Topshop's image I think.

I also bought the creme blusher in Flush but I'm sure everyone has seen enough swatches of that!

xx

(I bought this product myself with my own money)

Just a quick one...

2010-05-12T20:36:00.001+01:00

Hi guys,
just thought i'd let you know i'm selling some shoes on ebay (I have far too many :) )
They are size 7's and 8's
Here's the link if you're interested

Thanks
xx

Lips of the day

2010-05-12T18:39:00.005+01:00

About time I did a post which was more beauty related!

Recently I saw this lipstick somewhere, i think on a discount cosmetics site and I had to have it! Yes I know it's bad but I got this because it is called Sarah. It's a Stila lipstick and the RRP is about £16 but I got it for about £5. Even though I mainly bought it because of the name I really do like the colour, I have quite pigmented lips so the colour would probably be lighter on some people but on me its a natural pinky peach and it feels really nice too. It's not drying and lasts a good amount of time for a gloss lipstick.

Here are some photos of me wearing it (please excuse the state of my skins at the moment!)

without flash

with flash (too dark!)

And the actual lipstick (can you see the pretty pattern on the tube?)

All of these pictures were taken on my phone so sorry for the bad quality!
Again I bought this with my own money and this is my own opinion

xx

Advice?

2010-05-12T16:54:00.002+01:00

Hello people! I'm so happy I have a few followers!It's nice to know someone is reading this anyway so thanks guys!

I just started a trial for contact lenses yesterday and i've noticed already I can't do my makeup the same as when I have glasses on, especially eye makeup. I feel like I need more makeup around my eyes to make them stand out now, before my glasses sort of drew attention to my eyes anyway. Has anyone else got contacts and did you have to change your makeup?

On the plus side I put liquid eyeliner on this morning and its about a billion times neater because I can actually see what i'm doing now! I just hope they get more comfortable to wear than this! I'm also really looking forward to going out at the weekend and not wearing glasses!
xx

Song of my day

2010-05-08T22:48:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Sylves I can now (hopefully) imbed the video!

I LOVE this song, I heard it for the first time the other day in H&M and had to find out what it was! It sounds so summery and chilled out. Does anyone else love this as much as me?

Exciting!

2010-05-07T17:54:00.003+01:00

I just got this month's Glamour magazine and near the back the advert for the next issue (June)it says that there will be free benefit products, a choice of three of their pencils including bad gal and eye bright. It doesn't say if they are full size but for £2 it would still be a bargain and a great way to try them out without paying the usual price of around £15. I actually can't wait for it to come out(sad I know!)

xx

NOTD and review

2010-05-05T20:22:00.003+01:00

This is Superdrug's Make Up Academy (MUA) in shade 9, a medium bright blue.

I've only just put this on so i'll update with how long it lasts in a few days. I really like this colour but it is definitely a 2 coat polish, one coat is really pale and not at all opaque. But this is true of a lot of more expensive polishes too. Also the formula is really liquidy (that isn't a word is it?)and it takes a while to get used to how much you need on the brush. That said I really like the brush and that it's quite a short handle which gives you a lot of control. I usually end up with bits all over my fingers but with this there were only a few tiny bits!

Overall, for £1 I can easily forget about the very few negatives because I really like the colour and how easy it is to use. I will definitely be getting some of the other colours next time I go to Superdrug!

(As this is only my first week blogging I think it's obvious that I bought this with my own money and that these are my own opinions! Not that I am waiting for freebies!)

xx

UPDATE

I've had this on for about 3 days now (without a top coat)and I went swimming yesterday which always seems to ruin my nails. Anyway I only have a little chip on the tip of one finger and a tiny bit of tip wear on a few others. So i'm very impressed!

Book review - Midnight Girls

2010-05-03T21:15:00.002+01:00

image from fantasticfiction.co.uk

Midnight Girls by Lulu Taylor

After reading Lulu Taylor's first book Heiresses I was looking forward to her next book. I read this book in about 2 days I think, I couldn't put it down!

This story is kind of your average chick lit thing, about 3 best friends and their lives and loves although it does get quite dark in places.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone that isn't old enough to deal with the pretty graphic sex scenes and also the descriptions of illegal drug use - adults only really! However if you are looking for a summer 'bonkbuster' as they say then this is it!

The story is full of ups and downs and I'll admit I nearly cried at one bit (you'll know what if you read it)and I felt like I actually cared about the characters.

I think Lulu Taylor is a fab new author and I've really enjoyed both of her books, but in my opinion this is the best one so far.

Hope this helps anyone that's looking for something to read this summer, maybe on your hols?

xx

I'm in love

2010-05-02T13:44:00.002+01:00

with dorothy perkins jewellery! i haven't figured out how to put pictures here yet but how gorgeous is this!!!

i also wouldn't mind being the proud owner of this, this and this

Why is it that I always see so many things I like but when its nearly my birthday I can never think of anything to say when people ask what I want?

It's free delivery on DP website today only DPDELFREE, so tempting!

hi my name is...

2010-05-02T00:38:00.002+01:00

Saw this post on Abby's fab blog and thought it would make a good introduction sort of post

Hi, my name is: Sarah

Never in my life have I been: rich!

The one person who can drive me nuts is: my sister

High school: I was a bit of a rebel but came out ok

When I’m nervous: i get really bad butterflies!

The last song I listened to was: hmm i think it was The Skints, had my ipod on when I walked to asda earlier

If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honor: would be christine

My hair is: not as big as i wish it was

When I was 5: i was a typically girly girl who loved barbie and the old style polly pockets that were probably a choking hazard!

Last Christmas: i wish i had more money so i could have treated my family more but being a student=being broke

I should be..: doing more uni work

When I look down I see: a really messy desk - tomorrow i WILL tidy up!

The happiest recent event was: lots of rubbish things have happened recently and i was happy to go home for the holidays and see my family and my pets

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ I’d be: Chandler (a female version) i'd love to be as funny as him

By this time next year: i will have finished my dissertation and be about to graduate

My current gripe is: work work work, never ending essays

I have a hard time understanding: orange people

There’s this girl I know that: i'm really glad i do know

I like you when: who is this you? people in general? i like people that are honest, loyal and fun to be around

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: my boy

Take my advice: and never leave without making up if you've had an arguement

The thing I want to buy: is a digital camera as any pictures i post will at the moment be taken on my phone so not great

If you visited the place I was born: you'd be in a hospital

If you spent the night at my house: you'd be on the floor because i live in university halls

I’d stop my wedding if: i didn't think it would be forever

The world could do without: anyone that deliberately hurts others

I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: quite a lot of things really (ew) but i'd do anything for the ones i love

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: yet more makeup

Most recent thing someone else bought me: a drink

My middle name is: i don't have one and when i was younger i really wanted one so i used to make them up

In the morning I: am sometimes asleep, my timetable changes all the time which is quite annoying

The animals I would like to see flying besides birds are: hedgehogs, then they could fly across the road and not get hit

Once, at a bar: i fell over (actually that wasn't just once - damn heels)

Last night I was: watching sex and the city

There’s this guy I know who: is the only one i can tell everything

If I was an animal I’d be: a cat, you get a nice warm home, food given to you and unlike dogs you can go out whenever you want

A better name for me would be: i quite like my name really

Tomorrow I am: tidying my room - i promise

Tonight I am: being lazy

My birthday is: not quite as exciting as it used to be

Hello

2010-05-02T00:18:00.002+01:00

I've been obsessively reading blogs for a few months now and thought it was probably about time I started my own! I love reading about other people's hauls and their tips and tricks too but my favourite thing about blogs is that it really helps to avoid buying products that don't work because of all the fantastic reviews out there. There is one thing I hate about blogs though - I end up spending so much money on things that I see and then want. Since I've been reading other people's blogs I've bought my first mac make-up and now I can't stop!

So that's my intro done, hopefully someone will read it one day!
x