Mini Haul - Avon, Collection 2000 and Clinique

Hi Beauties!

So I have been spying a few things that I have liked over the past week and decided to purchase a few of them.

The first being Avon's SuperShock Gel eyeliner pencils - I actually only got these last night but I have tried them out and I am really liking the formula. I bought 2 colours to start with; Black and Aquapop.

Top Black
Bottom Aquapop

The formula is so creamy, it glides on so easily and the pigmentation is so intense - I tight lined my eyes last night just to check them out and I was so surprised at the colour payoff. I have heard some really good things about these and so wanted to try them out. I am hoping that they live up to expectation - but a part of me suspects that even though I love the formula there may be a lot of smudgyness to follow.

The next thing is something I tweeted about the other day - Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Ultimate wear concealer. I really wanted to review this - but to be perfectly honest with you I have not been able to wear skin makeup every day so I have not had enough wear out of it to give it a good enough try.

colour 1 Fair

I do like the formula from the couple of times I have tried it. I do however wish that I had got the next colour darker as this is really highlighting, which is not a bad thing but it may be too light to evenly blend blemishes away without highlighting their existence  I have been using this when I can as an under eye concealer and it works really nicely in covering up dark circles - which you would expect from any half decent concealer. Again I have heard a lot of good things about this product so I am looking forward to seeing how well it compares.

The last product is not one that I have yet purchased but one that I have been using a sample for. It is Cliniques SuperMoisture Foundation. I really like this product and will be buying it very soon.

colour Ivory 

It is an incredibly moisturising foundation which I am having to wear due to the medication that I am on, causing my skin to be dryer than the Sahara. I actually went into Clinique and spoke to one of the lovely ladies there and explained my predicament and that I had a job interview coming up. So the wonderful woman dispensed me a nice big sample of this foundation for me to try out and use for my interview. It worked a treat! It evens out my skin tone nicely, it has a medium coverage and is (as you would expect with the name like SuperMoisture) very moisturising. However my face does look incredibly shiny as the product doesn't necessarily dry - but then again I cannot apply powder as that would dry out my face and draw attention to dry areas.

I am hoping that after I come off the medication I can go back to using my YSL foundation, but while I have skin issues I'm pretty sure this foundation is going to be as good as it gets!


Hope you like my mini Haul :)

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them?

C
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Look of the day - gold sparkle

Hey guys!

So for those of you who have seen my other blog you will know that I am on skin medication, and it is drying my skin out like crazy - so much so that for about a week I have been unable to wear foundation or concealer, just because my skin is so dry.

So today I was rather fed up with looking so awful - so I decided to pick myself up, dust myself off and make my eyes look all jazzy for a day round the shops. I decided to go with an eye look that you might wear on an evening. Simple yet effective. A gold sparkle shadow with a thick flicked eye liner...and even Lashes! That's right, you did read that correctly! Lashes!!

So here we are...

I really like this look - I have used Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadow in '98' 'Vision' - this is the pot of wonderfulness I was talking about in my Jan and Feb Faves. I have used Rimmel Glam eyes Professional liquid liner in 'Black Glamour' and false lashes by Eyelure in style 030 from the Naturalites range.

Hope you like the look and take some inspiration from it. I love the subtle sparkle and the drama of the eyeliner - its such a classic look!

Let me know what you think

C
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MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Review

Hi there!

Hope you are all feeling good this week! Monday always feels so long, and then when it gets to Friday I'm left wondering where the week has gone! haha.

So I thought I would beat the Monday blues with a review of something sparkly and magical...

I bought 2 of the MAC Mineralize eyeshadows a while back, in November I think when I went over to the US I picked these two up in Duty free.

I chose the colours 'Smutty Green' and 'Young Punk' as purples and greens are my staple colours for eyeshadow (when I'm not going my usual shades of brown).

Young Punk

Smutty Green 

 Please forgive how my pans look, there is a lot of fall out from the product and the 'mineralize-ness' of the shadow kind of disappears when you have used it a few times.
The flash lighting is not the best to show these products off - when I first saw them in the pan I was amazed at how sparkly they were, and I love the black base as it is perfect for the smoky look that I like.

HOWEVER! If you try and apply this product dry....

Young Punk on top
Smutty Green on bottom 

This happens! NOTHING, it has no pay off and is so faint it made me regret buying them. They do give a bit of sparkle to a normal smoky eye in its dry form, which is nice, but not that noticeable.

So me being me I thought about using these as a pigment instead of a shadow - and so I added mixing medium....and got this...

So by adding the mixing medium you get a fantastic metallic, vibrant colour. Again the flash lighting doesn't really do them justice. But they are both peacocky shades that look great on their own or blended into a look. This is what I wanted when i bought them...well sort of.

All in all I am glad that i purchased these. But I am disappointed that they cant really be used as the glittery shades they come as. They are however fabulous metallic shades that can certainly stand on their own.
I would be careful when buying mineralize eyeshadows from MAC as they seem to be similar to the Frost shades in that the payoff isn't very good and the fall out is very bad.


Hope that this helps :)

Let me know your experiences with them and what your favorite MAC products are

C
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February Haul

Hi Peeps!

So I haven't blogged in like a week or something (booo), but I thought that I would post about the stuff I've bought recently.

Hopefully it wont be as long as my Jan & Feb Faves but I cant promise anything (mwahaha).

So theres a few things (not many) in this haul. A couple of them are skin care.

I have two skin care products in this haul - both Lush products - the first is the Angels on Bare Skin facial cleanser. I heard about this product on Ask the Beauty editor and just had to give it a try.

 This is a fantastic everyday cleanser, it smells divine and works brilliantly. Its perfectly suited to my skin as it is designed to cleanse whilst calming the skin, reducing redness and gently exfoliating. It has whole bits of lavender flowers in so has a lovely lavender smell. You use the product and water to make a paste that can then be rubbed on skin to cleanse, it also contains ground almonds which have an exfoliation property which is gentle yet effective - Love this product!

The second product that I bought from Lush is a lip scrub in Sweet Lips.

This sugar based scrub is great for while I have dry lips as it buffs away the dead skin leaving my lips preped for lip balm. This scrub smells like chocolate (although they have 3 other flavours) and when you have used it you can just lick it off! Mmmmmm

 My third haul product is Avons Advanced techniques Scalp soothing conditioner.

 I find that in winter my scalp becomes dry and using this treatment once a week really helps to keep my scalp moisturised.

Now onto more beauty style haul products. I purchased a lovely china glaze nail varnish from the Cirque du Soleil collection after seeing the colour Running in Circles on the lovely for the love of laquer blog.

 I loved the green and knew that this would have to be on my toes all summer! So I bought it the same day! The pics don't do the green justice - its vibrant and full of sparkle whilst maintaining a really good shine.

The next product is something that I have tweeted a bit about - the MUA pallets. I got the Undressed pallet and the Poptastic pallet from superdrug last week.

Poptastic pallet 

Undressed pallet 

Both pallets are really good, there is a lot of hype surrounding the undressed pallet as it is supposed to be a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked pallet - but I just liked it as a set of really good neutrals. Which it is. I have used this most days since I got it and its so easy to work with, the colours have great pigmentation and for what you pay (£4) you really cant go wrong.
The poptastic one is a great collection of colour, the two gold tones are showing up as yellow in the photo - they are gold not yellow. I used this in conjunction with the Undressed pallet on Saturday night to create a purple smoky eye. My only issue with it is a lot of the tones are similar, like the blues and greens, if I could swap a few colours for say a more emerald green and maybe a canary yellow instead of the light blue then I really would. But again the colour pay off is really good and I love the addition of pink!

Another product that I really love is the Benefit High Beam - I bought this on the weekend as I was sick to the back teeth of the Bourjois one I was using which had gone rock hard and unusable.

So I wandered into boots and picked this lovely up. I've always been a bit dubious of cream highlighters before, but this one is working a treat and is lovely for my pale skin tone. I apply it in dots on my cheek bone and brow bone and then blend with a brush - its really subtle (as you can see) but when the light hits your face it is so effective and it glows.

My final haul product is also another one I was tweeting about - Avons eyeshadow primer.

It only comes in one colour, but I think could do with at least another 2 to choose from as if you were any paler than I am this would be too orange toned. I am going to compare this product to MAC's paint pot in Ocre but the colour is not as beige as the MAC product. However it works REALLY well - I don't really have too much of a problem with the longevity of my eyeshadow, however I really noticed a difference, colours 'pop' more, even after hours of wearing there is no creasing and the shadow really doesn't budge after you apply this!
So I would really recommend it, as it is much, much cheaper that a lot of the eyeshadow primers out there (around £4-£5).

So that's it for my haul!

I hope you enjoyed it and I would love to know if you've tried any of these products and what your thoughts are on them!

Ciao for now

C
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Jan & Feb 2013 Favorites

Hey peepies!

So I have been reading lots of lovely blog posts with monthly favorites in, and I'm finding them really interesting to read through. I love knowing what other people love, it gives me so many ideas and a never ending wish list of things I would like. 

So I thought that I would return the favor. I know that not all of you will be interested in this, but for the few that are...here we go :) 

I have SO MANY 'loves' to start the year with, there are a few new buys that I have been loving and some old faves in here too. Im also including some non beauty items just to give you a little insight to my life when Im not beauty blogging or taking pictures of my eyes LOL. 

L'Oreal Triple Active Cleansing Milk 

 So this is my first favorite - I love this cleanser and it is excellent for my skin type, I use it by applying a small amount onto a cotton pad and then applying to my face and then removing again with a cotton pad. It is really cooling and soothing and seems to last for such a long time!

Body Shop Cucumber Freshening Water 

My second is another cleansing product, I have been using this for a few years and I haven't found a better toner yet. I use this after the cleansing milk, applying with a cotton pad. It makes sure my face is pure by doing that 'extra cleanse' and it tones my skin before applying moisturiser.

E45 Cream

Now this one is a bit of an odd one, for anyone who also reads my other blog you will know how much the side effects from my medication are affecting the moisture of my skin. And this has been a life saver! It does exactly what it says, its not a fancy product at all, just pumps moisture back in where needed. However I don't apply this to the whole of my face as it would be too heavy.

Blistex Relief Cream 

 This is another product linking to my other blog, really the same story here. Isotretinoin is really drying out my skin, especially my lips...and this is being a life saver. Especially when I can apply a thick layer of this before bed and I can wake up and my lips will feel so much better! Its a really good product and I would definitely recommend this if you have dry or chapped lips.

Lush's Mask of Magnaminty

 I got this product as a Christmas present from my boyfriends sister and I LOVE it! I started using it before I started my medication and I used it about once a week, now I use it twice a week due to the condition of my skin. It is a really thick clay like mask that you apply on cleansed skin. It has a slight exfoliation property too which is great. It looks a bit scary and will make you look a bit like shrek - but it smells great (kind of an earthy peppermint scent) and it leaves your skin uber soft and radiant.

Avon's ideal flawless BB cream

 Loving this BB cream right now, it is so hydrating for my dry skin. I have already reviewed this product here. But it is a great alternative to foundation and I have been wearing a lot!

Lancome Poudre Majeure Excellence

 Beautiful pressed powder that I keep in my handbag, great as it comes with a mirror and the applicator is great too. It is such a fine pressed powder, it creates a lovely finish and definitely does not leave you cakey. I've had this product for a LONG time and I use it quite a lot, so its worth the high price (in my opinion , but  I use it more for 'top ups' during the day/night rather than a setting powder.

MAC Sheertone Blush in Pink Swoon 

This is the only blush that I will use, I have been using it for years and I haven't even started this second pan yet (didn't want to show you the scrapings left in my current pan). It looks way too bright to be wearable but its such a lovely colour that is great for pale skin. It takes me all the way through the year and I just warm it up in summer with bronzer.

Illamasqua Brow and Lash Gel 

 This is one of my must have products, even when I don't wear makeup I always sweep this through my brows just to keep them tame. The packaging has recently changed, it used to be in a clear tube which I prefer as you can see how much product you have left. It is a really light clear gel that sets your brows perfectly, its really heavy duty and will keep even the most unruly brows under control all day.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadow in 98 Vision

My mum treated me to this for Christmas, and I am in love with it! I really like this range of eye products,but this is the only colour that I was crazy enough about to want. I like to call it 'Jazz in a pot', the swatches here really don't do it justice, it is the most sparkly, gold, shimmery, glittery pot of wonderful-ness ever. It is great applied with the brush they give you or with your fingers - and a little goes a really long way!

Chanel Rouge Allure lipsticks
Left - Incognito Right - L'Impatiente

 Both of these lipsticks are wonderful, Incognito is my 'go to' everyday mauve, its a creamy lipstick with a slight shimmer. L'Impatiente is from the newer 'Velvet' range and is a matte lipstick, it looks so dark in the stick but applies really wonderfully to be a lovely dark plum - and it is the best matte lipstick I own as it is so moisturising and really does not dry your lips out.

Rimmel London Apocalips liglosses in - (starting from Left)
Stellar,  Nude Eclipse and Apocaliptic .

 So for those of you who follow me on twitter you will have seen me rave about these, they are really highly pigmented and you don't need very much product to create a really bold statement. They are not a high gloss finish, which I actually really like, but this also means they can be slightly drying - so if you do go out and use these, just remember to use a balm before hand. The range has some really great shades, but these three were by far my favorite.

YSL Belle D'Opium

Hugo Boss Nuit

 Been loving these two scents this year, Belle D'Opium is so luxurious and exotic but really wearable and a must have for anyone who loves YSL Opium but maybe would like a 'fresher' scent. Nuit is my daytime scent, its so fresh and really feminine but there is something so different about it that makes me really gravitate to it.

 And FINALLY ( I can hear you all panting from the sheer length of this post) - my non beauty items - they would have to be my beautiful diary and my super cute knitted kindle cover (hand made by my boyfriends lovely mum) - My life would be a mess without my diary and this is such a lovely handbag sized one, its so pretty and I love the ribbon on it to fasten it. I'm also loving my kindle so much as I'm enjoying reading on my commute to work.

Sorry for the length - but I hope you managed to get through and at least like some of it!

Let me know what your faves are, or if you have already blogged about it...I would love to read it!

Muchos love

C
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