My Very First OOTD

Dress – ASOS

Jacket – Charity Shop

Necklace – ASOS

Scarf – Primark

So this is my first OOTD, I had a little trouble with positioning etc, but I shall keep practising and see what I can come up with! I wore this last week to go meet a friend for Hot Chocolates (this was before this current heatwave had started in the UK.) I love ASOS clothes particularly they’re dresses, as they have a wide range of trends and staples. Also they’re a lot friendlier on my bank account!

Vivo Cosmetics: Peaches and Cream

A sneak peek of the gorgeous new addition to my blusher collection. Review to come soon!

Stargazer Shake ‘N’ Bling Challenge

This is my entry to Stargazer’s Shake and Bling Challenge, I used Stargazer Crème Polish in 518, which has got to be one of the most gorgeous, pinks I own. It’s a beautiful, cerise pink that would flatter most skin tones. It is also opaque after one coat and very quick drying, perfect if you’re short on time!

I also used their Gold Nail Pen, and Nail Gems, both were easy to use and I love the colour of the gold pen. A lovely warm shade for the autumn light.

I’ll definately be picking up a few more Stargazer polishes to see if they’re all as easy to use as this one!

The Nail Polish/Nail Pen retail for £3.00, the nail jewellery retail for £2.50, and are available on their website.

Review: Purity Conditioning Cleanser and Facial Wash

For the past month I have been testing out a few products from the Purity Skincare Line, to read up on the background of the brand read my introduction to the brand. Just to recap, all the products are Ecocert Organic, and free from parabens, GM and Petroleum based ingredients.

In place of my usual oil or Hot Cloth Cleanser, I have been using their Conditioning Cleansing Lotion to remove my make-up. I’ve put this to the test against some of my most stubborn mascaras, eyeliners and foundation and its stood up pretty well. After just a bit of massaging it into my lashes all my mascara was gone, and all without stinging my eyes. The lotion has a fairly thick consistency (but not as thick as Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish) but is easily spreadable on the skin.

After I’ve removed my make up, I refresh my face with the SLS free Facial Wash to stop my oily skin breaking out (if you have normal or dry skin you could probably skip this). I really like this face wash, it has quite a thin texture, and is great if you like to double cleanse/ to refresh your skin but will also remove light make-up (even mascara!). I’ve used this a couple of time when I’ve been to lazy to double cleanse and it removed all my eye make-up leaving me panda eye free!

Both products cost £4.99 for 150ml of product and are available from Purity Skincare.

~

Haven’t entered my giveaway yet? Enter here!

Vivo Cosmetics Baked Blush in Rouge Shimmer

‘A stunning baked blush with pink undertones to give all over warmth and colour to your complexion’

When Vivo first started appearing on blogs one of the products that really drew me in was the Baked Blushes, which show obvious similarities to Mac’s Mineralize Skinfinishes. Available in four shades (Peaches and Cream, Rosy, Cinnamon Glow and Rouge Shimmer) I was sent Rouge Shimmer to try out.

Not a shade I would normally be immediately drawn to as I would worry that it would be slightly to red for my colouring, I have been pleasantly surprised by this shade.  The veining is a deep warm pink that leans slightly red, with the base being more of a warm rosy pink. It offers a glowy finish, but isn’t glittery in the slightest, and really offers that gorgeous lit from within glow.

It’s a lovely warm colour, that’s great for autumn, and should work on most skin tones, due to the warmth of the shade.
I apply with a Mac 168, and brush it lightly against the surface to pick up just enough product to give a pop of colour to the apple of the cheek. The powder is smooth and not gritty, and blends really easily.

Swatched and blended out on the left, and heavily on the right, to see this in a full face shot, take a look at my Vivo Cosmetics FOTD.
Overall this is a product I’m very impressed with, and being the blush fiend that I am I’ll no doubt be picking a couple more of these up!
You can find Vivo Cosmetics at selected Tesco stores and the Baked Blushes are priced at (£4.00)
Disclosure: PR Sample
~
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

Vivo Cosmetics FOTD

I was very excited yesterday when some Vivo Cosmetics dropped through my letterbox and couldn’t wait to get my hands on them! Being as I was at work yesterday evening I had to keep things fairly subtle, but I really enjoyed using the products.

I was sent the Pearl Eyeshadow in Golden Leaf (£1.50), Baked Blush in Rouge Shimmer (£4.00) and Primer (£6.00). From first impressions I love all of these products, I’m gonna have a little more of a play with them today, and write up some individual reviews, so watch this space!

Other products I used:

Face: Bourjois Bio Detox Foundation in 51, Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Shell, Estee Lauder Double Wear Powder in Shell, Collection 2000 Lasting Finish Concealer.

Eyes: UDPP, Gold from MUA Heaven and Earth Palette, Boujois Liner Feutre Ultra Black

Lips: Dainty Doll Lipstick In Material Girl

Models Own Nude Beige Leopard Print

Models Own Nude Beige ~ £5.00

17 Fury ~ £2.99

Models Own WAH Nail Art Pen ~ £6.00

No7 Topcoat ~ £7.00

My first attempt at leopard print nails, I should of waited a little longer to put on topcoat as I smudged the black a little bit. I think this is a great way to jazz up a nude manicure before a night out if you’re short on time, and is a great alternative to the crackle polishes that everyone seems to be wearing lately.

On a side note, I’m pretty bad at looking after my nails, so any recommendations for hardeners, anything to sort out my horrible cuticles and base coats would be much appreciated!

Muted Monday

Little Giveaway!

I’ve enjoyed blogging so much and reading all your lovely comments that I thought I’d do a little giveaway!

Rules

You must be a GFC Follower of my Blog

Leave a comment about how you’re changing your look for autumn, would love some inspiration!

Please leave your email/twitter so I can contact you if you win!

One entry per comment, I won’t be doing extra entries for retweets etc, as I’m not very good at keeping up and I want it to be fair and simple. Although feel free to retweet if you wish!

Giveaway will be open for two weeks ( I will pick a winner on 9th of October and announce it the next day)

Prizes are;

Rimmel Lasting Finish in Double Decker Red

MUA Eyeshadow Shade 12 (The ‘club’ dupe)

17 Shine On Lipstick in Flirty

I’ve picked prizes from my favourite highstreet brands, and all were paid for by yours truly!

Kate Moss for Rimmel

I missed the build up for these lipsticks arrival but when I spotted them in Boots I had to have a little look, and I some how ended up buying two of them. I bought shades 3 and 5. 3 is a warm nude and 5 is berry toned pink.

Both shades have a creamy, satin finish and are quite moisturising on the lips, but because of this their wear time does suffer. I’ve tried them on their own and over a lip liner and you should get a few extra hours of wear if you use a lip liner. These glide on really easily because of their smooth texture, you won’t need to use a lip brush.

Do I think you need to rush out of the house to snap these up? No. They’re nice lipsticks but the hype surrounding them is mainly to do with the name attached. There are some nice colours, but they are nothing out of the ordinary and are quite a basic range of satin finish lipsticks. They would be great for someone who wants to add some classic colours to their collection, and there is definitely a colour to suit everyone. 

I’m very happy with the colours I picked up, 5 especially being a great autumn shade and I used it in this FOTD.

You can find the full range of Kate Moss Lipsticks at Boots and Superdrug priced £5.49

Yes, I Spent More Money…

Apologies for all the haul posts, trying to catch up, on everything I’ve bought since I’ve not been able to blog.

I haven’t bought any high-end make-up for a long time, there seems like no need what with the high street offering us some great and innovative, new products. I be posting some  more reviews, and FOTD/NOTDs throughout the week.

Some New Dainty Doll Products…

When I saw Dainty Doll was included in the current Boots 3 for 2 I had to pick up some more products. I chose two lipsticks in Material Girl (lilac pink) and Couture (darkened red) and a blush in Pink.

I’ll be reviewing these later this week!

Sleek Bad Girl FOTD

I’m gonna go ahead and apologise for the serious case of shiny face… Flash is not my friend, but a dimly lit room in the evening is not my cameras friend! This was a FOTD from last Saturday, I was supposed to be going out but it ended up getting cancelled, so I stayed in and drank JD and 7UP with the boy. Still a fun evening although I was probably a little overly made up!

Products Used:

Face: Bourjois Biot Detox mixed with Estee Lauder Double Wear, Collection 2000 Concealer, No7 Brightening Concealer, Sleek Suede Blush, Smashbox Fusion Softlight in Baked Starlight.

Eyes: UDPP, Sleek Bad Girl Palette, Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara, No7 False Eyelashes No 40.

Lips : 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive

NOTD–17 Cosmetics Fury

Here’s the muched talked about almost dupe of Chanel’s Peridot, the antique gold flashes green under certain lights, but from what I’ve seen it isn’t exactly alike to Peridot.

Application was good, full opacity in two coats although it can be a little streaky.

You can find Fury at Boots for a purse-friendly £2.99

Autumn Daytime FOTD

It’s September, so I don’t care what the weather’s like, it’s Autumn. My favourite make-up season. Pale skin becomes the popular choice, and eye, lip and cheek colours get deeper and darker and I can stop pretending I want to wear neon eyeshadow. I tried out some classic autumnal colours in celebration.

Products Used:

Face: Bourjois Bio Detox Foundation, Collection 2000 Concealer, Mac Blot Powder, Sleek Blush in Suede.

Eyes: UDPP, Sleek Oh So Special Palette, Rimmel Flash Eyeliner, MUA Eyebrow Pencil, Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara

Lips: No7 Liner in Plum, Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 05.

Purity Organic Skincare : A First Look

I’ve found in the last year or so that my skin flares up when I use harsh ingredients like SLS and mineral oils, and end up with and dry patches, break-outs and black heads. So when Organic Skincare company Purity wanted bloggers to trial their products I jumped at the chance.
Purity Skincare is Certified Organic by Ecocert, and all their products are free from parabens, GM or petroleum-derived ingredients, silicones, SLS, and synthetic fragrances. They have a ‘Less is More’ philosophy, the thinking behind which is that the skin works better when not overloaded with different ingredients.
I like the fact that Purity don’t make ridiculous claims about their ingredients and natural skincare, some natural brands seem to want you to believe that your life will change overnight because you use natural ingredients. Purity just promises to be suitable for sensitive skin, and to use sensitive ingredients without harsh chemicals.
I was sent their Conditioning Cleansing Lotion, Facial Wash, Facial Exfoliator, Anti-Ageing Serum & Mask, and Anti-Ageing Moisturiser. I’ll trying these products out over the next few weeks and I’ll be  reviewing them in detail.
All Purity Skincare products can be found on their website, and are all priced at under £10.
Disclosure: PR Sample.

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick

I never really paid much attention to 17 until last year when I bought one of their lipsticks in New Black and loved it. Since then I’ve picked up a few bits from the line but the product that has really impressed me is the Mirror Shine Lipsticks. I’m not a bit lover of gloss and the sticky, gloopyness that comes with it, so when I want something other than an opaque lip colour I use these which offer a non sticky veil of colour for your lips.

The colours I have are Beehive, a gorgeous pinky nude, and Peace a muted coral pink. Both colours are sheer, so if you have pigments lips they will show through and the formula reminds me of Mac’s Glaze lipsticks. If you don’t like a lot of colour on your lips but just want to even out your natural lip colour Beehive is a great shade to get.

The longevity isn’t great with these and they won’t last through a big meal but they are so comfortable to wear I don’t mind reapplying, or you could always pop a bit of liner underneath to increase their longevity.
With a lot of higher end brands bringing out their own gloss/lipstick hybrids it’s great to see an affordable version on the high street. 
You can find 17 Mirror Shine lipsticks at Boots priced £4.59.

Im Still Here....

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm still blogging. I just have no way of uploading the images as my internet is down, until Sky connect me and all attempts at mobile blogging have failed miserably!
I shall be back with a lot of new posts on the 23rd!

Illamasqua: Theatre of the Nameless

Illamasqua’s new collection really is something else. I love that they have consistently not done the usual thing of letting what season it is completely dictate the colours and style of make-up they release. Theatre of the Nameless really does get to the roots of what the brands about. All of the promo images give hints to 1920’s Berlin and the art of Cabaret; from the exaggerated cupid bows and lip lines to the soaped out and drawn in brows, and cropped hair.

The collection sees the release of a new nail polish, a rubber effect, somewehre between matte and a gloss finish. To see nail swatches visit Illamasqua’s blog.Faux Pas  has really caught my eye, its a really gorgeous blue violet and the finish really does give a better effect than the completely flat look of a matte polish.

The collection also includes; three new lipglosses (including a deep green!) two shimmer blushes, two cream pigments, and three loose pigments.

Theatre of the nameless is available to buy at Illamasqua counters and online now. Prices start at £13.00

More Hauling!

I’ll be reviewing both of these next week, but for now just some pictures…

Sleek Bad Girl Palette - £6.49

I’ve been lusting over this for a while, but my Superdrug never had it in stock, however since their refurbishment their stock levels have been a lot better and they had all of the permanent Sleek palettes in stock.

Sleek Blush in Suede - £4.29

I’ve been getting a bit tired of pink blush lately, so I had to give this matte nude a try. It’s a really easy to wear shade, perfect for going with bolder lips or dramatic eyes. It also doesn’t go orange on the skin, so still works on pale skin.

Catwalk Make-Up Trends A/W 11

SKIN

There was no dewy skin in sight on the A/W runways (yay!), skin wasn’t completely matte, but was highlighted in peachy shades high on the cheek. This ties in well with the release of Dolce and Gabbanna’s Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation, their make-up artist Pat McGrath is responsible for a lot of the make-up on the runway.
Eyes
There’s plenty of statement eye looks to choose from this autumn; from thick, bold eyeliner, to clumpy,spidery lashes, or the simple smudged out black eyeshadow. All were worn with simple lips, clean skin and thick tidy brows.
Lips

As usual, red lips are set to be big for A/W. Ecept this time hopefully nobody will be extolling the virtues of smudging it on with your finger, lip lines were sharp, and lip liner and lip brushes were definately used to create the look, making this a classic red lip.

Do you follow catwalk trends?

Dusk Till Dawn Turquoise Smokey FOTD

As promised here’s my first FOTD from the MUA Dusk til Dawn palette, I decided to do more of a dramatic look using the bright turquoise, glittery navy, black and a mixture of the two highlight colours on the browbone.

On the rest of my face I used;

Bourjois Bio Detox Foundation in 51

Mac Blot in Medium

Collection 2000 Lasting Finish Concealer in Fair

Too Faced Bronzing Powder in Chocolate Soleil

Smashbox Fusion Softlight in Baked Starlight

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive

Make Up Academy Dusk til Dawn Palette

After buying the Heaven and Earth Palette and loving it and had a look at some of the other offerings MUA had. The Dusk til Dawn Palette really caught my eye, it’s made up of some shimmery neutrals and some more glittery deeper, darker colours. The amount of looks you can do with this palette, makes it great value for money.
As the name suggests if you want one palette, to take you from getting ready for work in the morning, to making your eye make up a bit more dramatic after work, this would be a great one to pick up. The packaging is very portable, slimline and not at all flimsy, so it will withstand travel.
Their are no mattes in this palettes so if you don’t like shimmer, or glitter you might want to look at some of MUA’s matte range. I would definitely advise using a primer, to get the most out of these shadows and they really benefit layered over a creamier base like a pencil or cream eyeliner, or if you have a sticky eyeshadow base such as Fyrinnae’s Epoxy, that should work well with the really glittery shadow like the black one.


The neutral shades, don’t give any dupes for the Heaven and Earth Palette so if you already have that one you’re not going to end up with loads of similar colours. Some of the neutrals are a bit on the sheer side, but that’s not something I mind really, it makes them great for blending out the darker shades. The darker shades are really pigmented, I have similar shades from Mac, that have a drier texture and bad pigmentation, so I’m really impressed with these.

Top Row

Bottom Row
I think most people will find something to like with this palette, I will try to get a couple of FOTD posts up, in the next few days to show the different looks you can create with this palette.
You can pick this palette up at Superdrug for £4.

Sleek Pout Paints

As soon as Sleek released their Pout Paints, I rushed out to buy some, and made use of the 3 for 2 offer that was on at the time. I managed to restrain myself and only walk away with six rather than the full collection of 11.

I bought both of the mixing shades, Cloud Nine and Peek-A-Bloo, Sleek claims Cloud Nine is for cooling shades, while Peek-A-Bloo is for warming shades. I disagree, blue is generally a cooling shade and I have found no different with this one. White can’t really change the temperature of a colour but just lightens it. Their still useful products, but I just don’t agree with the description.

I also bought Pin Up (a gorgeous true red), Mauve Over ( a fuchsia that leans violet), Minx (a browny nude), and Milkshake (a warm-toned pinky nude).

As I’m sure you’ve read in other reviews, you only need the tiniest amount to cover the entirety of the lips, and they give a slightly creamy finish. I wouldn’t recommend applying these without a brush, as the product will get everywhere, and it will stain your fingers!

I find these have great wear time, particularly the darker shades. I’ve wore them when I’ve been out for dinner/drinks and it has lasted without needing to be topped up.

Top Row: Mauve Over, Pin Up + Cloud Nine

Bottom Row: Milkshake, Pin Up

I would really recommend trying these out if you haven’t already, you can find them at Superdrug for £4.99.

Make Up Icons: Amy Lee

I’ve always had a soft spot for gothic make-up, and Amy Lee of Evanescence definately knows how to rock a smokey eye, and dark lip. I’ll be doing an Amy Lee inspired FOTD using my new MUA Dusk till Dawn palette in a day or so!