Tuesday 27 March 2012

Nars 'Valparaiso' Matte Lipstick

As the name would suggest this lipstick is completely matte, something which is an essential for me with red lipstick. I'm not a massive fan of gloss, shimmer - definitely not frost in lipsticks, I think matte is classic and statement enough without being over the top. I also find that matte lipsticks, even though they still transfer they do so less than other finishes. I have a few matte red favourites already that include Elf's 'Red Carpet' Lip Stain and NYX 'Eros' but both are quite bright so I wanted something slightly darker and 'vampy'.
I'd not tried anything from Nars before but heard great things so I decided to order 'Valparaiso' which was pretty pricey at £18.50 for 2g's of product when you think Mac lipsticks are £13.50 for 3g's. It's a deep, burgundy red that looks slightly darker in person than it does in photographs, I'd say the swatch on my hand below is true to colour in real life. It wears nicely on the lips, fading ever so slightly throughout the day but you may want to pop on a lip balm before applying this, as well as making sure your lips are exfoliated!
Overall, I do really love the colour but for the price I feel like the amount of product you get is pretty stingy, the packaging is nice enough, sleek and compact but not very eye catching so I'd probably stick to Mac lipsticks in the future.

Asos Goodies


Nars 'Wicked Attraction' Gift Set
Benefit 6 Piece Skin Care Sample Set
Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in 'Valparaiso'
Figs & Rouge Organic Lip Balm - Rambling Rose
Lord & Berry Cream Foundation in 'Honey'

Recently Asos had 25% off for Students. Not wanting to miss out on this, I posted a few desperate tweets and the lovely Claire (check out her blog, she's really talented!) offered to let me use hers. For some strange reason it wouldn't add on the discount, maybe it was only one use per code? but after scouring the site for what I wanted, adding it all to my basket - I couldn't close the page down so ended up making a purchase anyway!
I've never tried anything from Nar's so that was my main justification for making an order!

Did you pick up anything from Asos while it was 25% off?

Thursday 22 March 2012

Mac 'Harmony' Review


Buy at: Mac, Debenhams.
Price: £17.50

I've never really understood how people could rate bronzer so highly. Sure, I own a few - I use them on occasion, but I'd never of said that bronzer would be a must have. I've tried a few with shimmer, some that were matte, cheap, high end but none ever wowed me. I quite enjoy Benefit's 'Hoola' and I'd probably consider re-purchasing but I don't find contouring an every day essential if I'm in a rush.

Mac's 'Harmony' however seems be a unique shade of brown that has a warm, slightly red undertone that looks really natural on my skin tone and just seems to make contouring - effortless. Instead of creating a really noticeable shadow, it subtly defines your face whilst warming up your skin tone at the same time. I normally use this with either the 109 or 168 brush and with circular motions blend in to the skin where I want to create a slight shadow, or where the sun would naturally hit.
I've used this nearly every day since I brought it and you wouldn't even be able to tell by looking at the product. It's pigmented, blends easily, matte, I adore Mac packaging and for £17.50 I don't think it's too outrageously priced. Plus, if it's good enough to be used by the PixiWoo sisters and Tanya Burr, it's good enough for me!

What's your favourite bronzing powder at the moment?

Hauled: http://goldenglowww.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/oops-i-did-it-again-haul.html
Please let me know if there's anything from the haul linked above, or my other two recent purchase post's that you'd like to see reviewed!

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Recent Purchases.


I've just got a new editing program which I'm getting use to so here's the name's of the products I purchased in case you can't make them out from the photo's..

Soap & Glory Flake Away - 3 for 2 in Boots
Soap & Glory Glow Job - 3 for 2 in Boots
Soap & Glory Righteous Body Butter - 3 for 2 in Boots
Superdrug Dry Shampoo for Brunette Hair
Schwarzkopf Got2B Guardian Angel Heat Defence Spray
Boots Natural Collection Body Spray - Strawberry
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Hazel
VO5 Hot Oil Hair Treatment
MUA Blush in Shade 1 & 2
MUA Clear Mascara
Topshop Lash Catcher Mascara
Topshop Lipstick in Nevada
ProVoke Touch of Silver Twice Weekly Brightening Shampoo
MUA Extreme Felt Eyeliner, Black
N0.7 Blend & Contour Brush
Real Technique's Blush Brush
Maybelline Dream Touch Blush - 3 for 2 in Superdrug
Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hr Pots (35 and 05) - 3 for 2 in Superdrug
Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation
Another Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation
Bourjois Flower Perfection Primer - on offer foundation and primer for £13, Superdrug
Bourjois Delice De Soleil Bronzing Powder
LOOK Beauty Eyeshadow - Lame, Shade 14
Bourjois Kabuki Brush
Natural Collection Lipsticks, Apple Blossom
Chanel Mat Lumiere - 40
No.7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Wipes

I also stopped by H&M and got a gorgeous lace top with button detail, silky cream top, a loose cream blazer and a black floaty summer dress all for amazing prices. My final purchase was from River Island and it was a lovely cream purse with gold detail for £17.00 which I'll link below. I find it impossible to photograph clothing! Anyone else have the same problem?
http://www.riverisland.com/Online/women/bags--purses/purses/cream-curve-stitch-purse-617279
Superdrug and Boots have lots of offers on at the moment, including the No.7 vouchers until the 25th of March so if I were you I'd take full advantage now!

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Feelin' the love for Illamasqua

Illamasqua Powder Blush in 'Katie'
£16.50 - 4.5g
'soft candy pink, matte finish'
TOP - swatch in natural light, BOTTOM - swatch with flash

For the longest time I'd been searching for the perfect shade of blush. I don't like anything that looks too intimidating in the pan and the shade I'd envisaged in my head was a gorgeous, pale pink that didn't seem to exist. That is until I discovered a swatch of 'Katie' on another blog and decided 'I need this, now' and ordered it within minutes on a whim. Sometimes swatches can be a little off, whether it be due to the lighting, flash or maybe the way a photo is edited so I tend not to purchase products online unless I've really looked around for other swatches, or seen the product in store first.
However, I was not disappointed. The sleek packaging is right up my street, it's simplistic but stylish and the colour was perfect. It does look like a very pale, milky pink in the pan and I was slightly worried about it looking too light and ashy on my faux tanned skin but it somehow works and it's gorgeous. This is also the most pigmented blush I think I've ever used, one light swipe of your brush is all you need and it blends like a dream. I can't really find enough good things to say about this product. I rarely re-purchase products but I'm already on my second one of these and would happily buy another when this runs out.

Only downside? I'd probably steer clear of popping this in your handbag as my first one of these smashed, as is possible with all powder compacts.
Illamasqua has 19 shades of powder blush in total and all now have - wait for it, little video clips of the colour being swatched! I wish all companies would cotton on to this idea because it's so, so helpful!
To see it used in a FOTD post click here!

Thursday 8 March 2012

Best of GlossyBox

HD Brow Kit - September 2011
The ultimate brow kit. This has four, highly pigmented shades perfect for filling in brows! This was a full sized item that also comes with a small brush for when your on the go. Once used up, I'd definitely re-purchase.

FAB Body Moisturiser - January 2012
The First Aid Beauty Body Moisturiser contains no parabens, or nasty ingredients. This is a nice, light moisturiser that sinks easily in to the skin - it has no fragrance, so it's ideal for those with sensitive skin. I've not yet finished the sample, and probably wont re-purchase as I prefer scented body lotions, but this is still a great product.

Loreal Professional Mythic Oil - September 2011
Both me, and my hair love this. I've never tried oils before as I feared greasy, lank hair but this adds definition, shine and makes my hair silky smooth! I'd 100% re-purchase this.

Dead Sea Spa Magik Delicate Boosting Mask - November 2011
This is a cream product with little grains in it that gently exfoliates the skin, whilst your apply the mask. It's very gentle on the skin, but leaves it feeling refreshed and really soft afterwards.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - November 2011
After regularly dyeing, backcombing and generally abusing my hair, any products that claim to help nourish and re-build the hair shaft are a winner in my opinion. I didn't notice a huge difference in my hair, but it did feel a bit stronger and less fragile after a few uses.

and..

FC5 Ultra Hydrating Hand Cream - November 2011
I really loved this hand cream! I normally go for richer moisturisers but for Summer, this will be ideal. It softens hands but sinks in to the skin quickly, meaning you're not left with tacky, sticky fingers. The scent is also gorgeous, it's quite strong but it's very zesty and the smell lingers long after you've put it on.

Ritual Foaming Shower Gel - December 2011
This is ideal for me, I hate having to take a bubble bath and shaving foam with me if I travel or visit people and luckily - this does both. As well as being practical, it had a nice scent and I loved the packaging.

Deborah Lippman Razzle Dazzle Nail Varnish - December 2011
Having never tried Deborah Lippman nail varnishes before this was a great little tester. The varnish was great quality, well packaged and a lovely colour for winter months, I'd definitely check out the rest of her range.

What were your favourite products from the GlossyBox's?

£10.00 a month, plus postage & packaging.
Each box has 5 sample products. Some of which, are full size.
http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Late Night Haulin'

Bargains of the Month
Revlon Mineral Foundation, Revlon Creme Quad Eyeshadow, Revlon 3D Mascara, Revlon Glitter Varnish. All in a box set from TKMaxx, £6.99
New CID Studio Glamour Compact Kit, £6.99 TKMaxx
He-Shi Facial Tanning Gel, £4.99 TKMaxx
Wow Brown Dark Tanning Liquid, £7.99

I'd never really thought about looking in TKMaxx for cosmetics but after I spotted a few of the The Balm cosmetics on other blogs, found in TKmaxx, for bargain prices - I decided to have a nosey myself. I didn't find anything from The Balm which I was gutted about but they had products from NYX, New CID, TiGi, Revlon and more.

Exposed Nail Varnishes, all £2.99 from a local beauty store
False Lashes, from a local beauty store
Barry M Lipgloss, Shade 4
Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick Coral Tonic
Real Techniques Stippling Brush, Boots £11.99
Ardell Natural Lashes
La Roche Posay Sebum Control Moisturiser
No.7 Eyelash Curlers, only £2.99 with a Boots £5 off voucher
Lipcote Lipstick Sealer
Collection 2000 Extreme Eyeliner, Black, £2.99
Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation, Fawn
Natural Collection Lipstick, Apple Blossom, Boots, £1.99
Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

Products I couldn't fit in the photo..
John Freda Blonde Shampoo & Conditioner to combat brassiness
Live XXL Hair Dye in Platinum Blonde
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, Tawny, Debenhams
Estee Lauder Maximum Cover Foundation, Debenhams