Wednesday 30 March 2011

Hair extension help

I've never had my hair any longer than about an inch past my shoulders and out of curiousity more than anything, I'm on a mission to grow it. But Im starting to get a tad impatient! Ive never looked into hair extensions before but am interested in trying them out. If anyone had any reccommendations it would be really appreciated!
Also I would like to apologise for the recent silence, but I've been given a lot of overtime at work and frankly I can't afford to turn it down!
I am in the process of testing out a new foundation though, so when I feel I can give a good overall review I shall be posting that
Hollie x

Friday 25 March 2011

Review: Illamaqua Cream Pigment in Bedaub

I'm sure you have all seen the promotional shots for Toxic Nature by Now or at least heard some mention of it on another blog. So when I found myself at the Bullring in Birmingham on Monday I was immediately dragging my Mum to the Illamasqua counter to have a proper look-see.
My budget only allowed me to get one product from the collection so I settled on the multi-use cream pigments in Bedaub.


I'm in love with the packaging....

The packaging is the same as other Illamasqua eye products; simple, black, and a nice change from square or round containers.


Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Bedaub
 Bedaub is a clean mint green a not so surprising colour as this is a spring collection, however what does set this apart from other pastels is the pigmentation. I found the texture to be a little hard a not very easy to blend but it does make an incredible bases for other green shadows. I love it with Mac Pros Bio Green ( I will try to post a FOTD when my skin stops breaking out) I have found this to crease a little after about 3 hours wear but I'm going to experiment with different primers and Ill let you all know how that goes.

Bedaub swatched
 Ill leave you with some more promotional images from a catalogue I picked up at the counter.

Have you bought anything from Toxic Nature yet?



Monday 21 March 2011

Back from Brummie!

Back from a long day of retail therapy in Birmingham, spent most of the day in Selfridges, had some great food and spent some quality time with my mum.
Ill be back with a real post tomorow, just thought Id check in!
How were your Mondays? Hope they were good x

Sunday 20 March 2011

Bright Blue FOTD

Just a quick FOTD from last night. I apologise for the ridulous expression but I was in a rush...

Again, not quite sure what my face was doing but nevermind!
Products Used

Eyes: UDPP, Mac White Frost (Inner Corner + Highlight) Inglot Matte 371 (Crease) Inglot DS 483 (Upper Crease) Mac Shimmermoss (Blended below 371) Inglot Cream Eyeliner 77, Lancome Hypnose, Eylure 116 Falsies.

Face: Maxfactor Miracle Touch (Creamy Ivory), Mac Studio Finish Concealer ( NC20) Estee Lauder Doublewear Powder in Shell Mac Blush in Dame.

Lips: Gosh Soft 'n' Shine in Scarlett

I wore this look out last night, for drinks with my boyfriend. Probably ill advised as I did a 5K run for Comic relief this morning! Was tiring but worth it.

Also thought I'd share my nails from last night, my first experience with crackle polishes.


I used Berry Ice Cream + Lemon (on the index finger) and Black Crackle, all by Barry M.

Im going to Birmingham tomorow so expect a haul post in a day or so! Selfridges here I come!

Friday 18 March 2011

Im bewildered for we're strangers when we meet

No make up today, I headed straight to the gym after work so I didn't really want to put more make up on when I got back. I did take my dog Tess out for a walk round the local park, it's finally starting to feel like springs arrived in the UK. And I was very happy to find lots of daffodils.

She didn't really want to pose for the camera
I also watched Up The Air with my boyfriend last night. I'm not normally a fan of George Clooney, but the plot line of this film intrigued me. The outline is, without ruining it for any of you who haven't seen it, is that George Clooney fires people on behalf of their employers, this leads him to spend the majority of his life on the road, which he unusually loves, and hate when a newcomer to the company tries to take it away from him. Anna Kendrick was brilliant in the film and proved she can do more than support the cast of Twilight. I'd recommend the film to anyone. 

Thursday 17 March 2011

Review: Topshop Cream Blush

A while ago when Topshops make-up range first launched my automatic reaction was that it would be a bit of a rubbish collection aimed at 12 year old girls.  However when I saw the colours of these cream blushes I got ready to admit I may have been wrong. However never having tried a cream blush, I was still in doubt as to whether they would work for my skin.
Cute polka dot packaging

The back of the packaging with product swatches
 The first thing I want to talk about is the packaging, which I personally really like. Not the most sophisticated packaging I'll admit but it is fun, and definately not boring. I do think that if the polka dots had been white on black it would of looked more a tad sleeker. In terms of practicality I love the packaging especially the mirror in the lid, which if you like to use cream blushes as a lipstain, is handy for touch ups.


Topshop Cream Blush in Pinch and Crushed Berry
Although both of these look quite intimidating in the pan they both blend down to a gorgeous sheer glow, that can be built up if needed. The two colours I have are both cool toned, but I think they would both work well on most skintones, Crushed Berry in paticular being one of those very wearable berry tones that suit most warm and cool skintones. The wear time on these is great both of them lasting all day with out much fading.
They also work very well as lipstains but if you have problems with dry lips I would put some lipbalm on first.


Top- Crushed Berry swatched Bottom- Pinched swatched
Whats your experience with cream blushes been like? I've already got my eye on Neon Rose from this range! 

Honey Love! Review: No7 Natural Blush in 20 Honey

Having quite a collection of pink blushers and no neutral or peach ones, when I found I had four £5 No7 vouchers burning a hole in my pocket I thought Id check to see if they had any thing suitable. I found their Natural Powder Blush in Honey.

The packaging is simple (if a little boring, something I find with most of No7's products) with a window so you can find the colour you are looking for easily.


Although it looks fairly orange in the pan, on the skin it blends down to a pretty, neutral shade. I find the best way to wear this blusher is with a fairly neutral face, but I'm sure it would work equally well with a dramatic look.


Honey Swatched
I've been wearing this blush all week for work, as it's a little tamer than my usual pink favourites. It lasts all day on me with only minor fading. Would I buy it again? Yes for the price, its a good quality blusher that would suit most pale to medium skintones.
No7 Natural Blush can be found in Boots, for £9, or £4 with one of the current £5 No7 Vouchers.

Monday 14 March 2011

Recent Haul

Ill be posting reviews of most of these products later in the week but for now some photo's...


No7 Natural Blush in Honey (£9.00 for 5g or £4.00 with the current vouchers!)
I had been looking for a neutral toned blush for workand this seemed to fit the bill a nice nude that doesn't pull orange on my cool toned skin. Perfect.
No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Totally Teal (£7.50), 17 Matte Top Coat (£4.00), Barry M Nail Paint in Grey (£2.99)
I need more nail varnish like I need a hole in the head but oh well. A bit late on the matte nail varnish band wagon but at under a fiver ( and currently available in the 3 for 2 offer) I figured why not.
17 Lasting Fix Lipsticks in Hot Chilli and Dreamy (£4.29 each) also availible on the 3 for 2)
I didn't have an orangey red and I can't wait to wear Hot Chilli once summer finally arrives! Dreamy is a nice addition to my pink lipstick collection.
That it for this haul. Reviews and swatches to follow in the week!

Testing 1,2,3....

My name is Hollie and I'm a self-confessed make-up and beauty junkie, from the UK.
I'm 19, and spend most of my spare time dragging my long suffering boyfriend round cosmetics stands, my fascination with makeup started with the purchase of a Laura Paige ( generally found in tiny pharmacies) mascara and nail polishes. I'm an equal opportunities offender and won't ignore a product because it's cheap but that doesn't stop me swooning over things I can't afford in Debenhams and John Lewis!
Other than make-up my main interests are animals and photography and I will be starting a Degree in Animal Management and Welfare in September.
Hope you enjoy reading my ramblings!

Sunday 13 March 2011

Contact

Email: the easiest way for you to get hold of me, is to send an email to voodoochild91@hotmail.co.uk, and please add a subject so I don't assume its junk.
Comment: Another easy way is to just comment on the blog, I'm also planning on setting up a Twitter account.