Kaisha and Meera

ELF Haul!

2011-06-03T17:43:00.002+01:00

We've ordered from ELF a countless number of times, yet every time we are always pleasantly surprised at what's inside the box.

This time we took advantage of Elf's "20% off on orders over £10" that they were promoting over their Facebook Page.

The first thing we got was the studio Blush Brush for £3.50. It's much smaller than the Mac 129 Blush brush but that's why we like it so much. It fits easily in your hand for application of blush or even bronzer. It picks up just the right amount of product, so you won't be looking like a clown. Kaisha also uses this to apply liquid/cream foundation, and she insists its amazing. The low flat shape of the brush makes the application of foundation smooth and easy. The soft fluffly taklon bristles really buffs in the foundation well, and gives a great flawless, natural finish.

The Mineral Infused Face Primer at £6.00, was a must for us to get, as we needed an inexpensive alternative to the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. It is developed for oily skin, to reduce the appearance of pores, fine lines etc etc.

The consistency is almost a dupe for the Smashbox primer, except it is clear. It comes with 14g worth of product, enough to try out and give a full review later on.

Translucent Matifying Powder. I added this solely for the purpose of keeping it in my bag since I dropped my Mac Blot Powder whilst away on holiday, and didn't have the heart to throw away the product until it was used up. Also, £3.50? Yes please.

(Cue embarrassing photo now)...

Anyway, back to business. This stuff is great for shine control and oily skin. It doesn't cake dry areas of the skin and the "translucent" colour blends well with our skin tones. It comes with 3.8g of product, a exceptionally large mirror and small application sponge (which isn't the best for application, it picks too much up). Yes, you only get a little, but much isn't needed for a few strokes across the t-zone.

The final product is the Warm bronzing powder. For £3.50, its worth a try. From first look, nice warm colours, a play on the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick perhaps and the right amount of shimmer for a healthy glow. The highlighter (lightest shade) looks the same as Mac shell creme colour base when applied, just a matte version. Perhaps the colours used as an eyeshadow could work also, under Mac Indianwood paintpot.

All these products are part of the Studio Range priced from £3.50 and comes in the Nars-esque packaging. The standard delivery was good and arrived a day after dispatch. Sometimes you think, cheap products = crap quality, but the value is great!

Elf can be ordered online here, and use the code HALFGLOSS for 50% off the Super Glossy Lip Shines on orders over £10.

lots of love

Next Model Competition 2011 - Vote for KAISHA!

2011-06-03T11:20:00.002+01:00

Everyone, I have entered Kaisha into the Next Model Competition!

Please vote for her!!

xox

Fruity Fashion

2011-06-01T17:39:00.000+01:00

So I don't understand why every summer the fashion moguls come out with the craziest trends.

This summer, fashion has gone bananas.

Prints this summer are serving up our 5-a-day of fruits and vegetables.

Stella McCartney presented a theme of fruitful frocks which have walked from the runway into high street stores. I'm not too sure if an awkwardly cut midi dress is ideal, but these finds from our favourite high street stores, however insane they look, are cute!

River Island have come out with this turquoise pineapple print tie shirt. Yea, the quirky print is cute, who doesn't like a pineapple with sunglasses?

Box t-shirts are cute and River Island have cleverly played up the preppy footballer style t-shirt with the fruit cocktail print. I think this is the most subtle way to buy into the trend without looking like a

fruit salad!

This is my favourite top from Pull and Bear. They've cleverly adopted the theme and incorporated it with their usual style of graphic t-shirts. The little tie in the corner is a cute detail!

Or for those of us who don't have the 'fruit bowls' to pull off something so bold, this is the perfect accessory! Accessorizes Tuti Fruity Charm bracelet.

The mini stone encrusted fruit charms stand out against the gold chain.

How cute is the little strawberry?

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15

2011-05-31T14:02:00.003+01:00

Everyone is accustomed with the Smashbox range and especially their primers. The Smashbox Photo Finish SPF 15 primer works one: as a primer and two: as a sun protectant. So, you could say this is a 'win' product for spring/summer, as that's the time when most of us lighten up on foundation.

The primer contains Dermaxyl Complex which reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines (I don't have any wrinkles, so this novelty doen't interest me).

I like the fact that it comes with a pump which is hygienic and also means you can control the amount of product which comes out. A small pea size covers the whole face, so I suppose the 30ml bottle will last a very long time.

As all primers, you will have to wait a few minutes before actually applying your foundation or you can even wear this bare on the face after applying moisturiser. During the summer, I recommend using this primer under a tinted moisturiser to kick start sun protection. Concealer and liquid foundation go on smoothly and last a whole working day. This primer is one to be used under mineral makeup, even thought some may promote they have SPF in their powders, it doesn't mean a dusting of powder will adequately protect your skin from the sun.

As far as I know, the only place to purchase Smashbox is at Debenhams and QVC, where I ordered mine for around £27 (it came with a 'travel size' primer tube).

Review: 'L'Agent' by Agent Provocateur

2011-05-30T22:00:00.001+01:00

L'Agent by Agent Provocateur is a lush, dark, mysterious rosey scent with jasmine and tuberose, woods and amber, incense and musk. The packaging follows the same convention for the Agent Provocateur brand. The soft pink colour that fades into a grey at the bottom. This has to be the most polarising perfume I own; people either love it or hate it. You won't find no loud sweet fruity notes or any greenery in this bottle - probably a reason for why I'm not a big fan of it.

Review: 'Gaultier 2' by Jean Paul Gaultier

2011-05-30T21:46:00.001+01:00

I am a massive fan of fragrances, and for me it's always exciting discovering new and different fragrances. I was bored of my Lady Million, Dior Cherie and Hypnotic Poison perfumes and needed something new! I came across a boxed Gaultier 2 by Jean Paul Gaultier in my mums draw. This perfume was released way back in 2005. I'm a huge fan of Classique (the bottle shaped like a female body) so I stole this from her.

Gaultier 2 has heavy vanilla, amber and musk notes that is so unique, meaning it can be used for any occasion. I believe this was aimed at being a unisex fragrance as it isn't so "florally" or too "musky".

However, saying that, the bottle/packaging is still extremely masculine but it is a very comforting scent, soft and sexy! Intensely modern and sophisticated, especially for a woman to pull off. The only thing I don't buy into is the novelty of the magnetic bottles. I love the smell but I prefer it as a 'winter warmer' type of perfume, something for the cold winter days.

M.A.C haul!!

2011-05-30T11:37:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone! I was feeling so down during the revision period and just couldnt wait for it to be over. I really thought I needed cheering up and what better way to do it than RETAIL THERAPY! I took a trip down to the Mac store and thought I'd treat myself to some new bits and bobs.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Mac powder blush in Melba. This looks amazing against all skin tones in my opinion and can be worn during the day and even the night, with a nice highlight. This shade is perfect for any season. I apply this with my Mac 150 brush to precisely place it on the apples of my cheeks.

I then picked out Shy Girl by Mac which is a creamy neutral coral beige in a cremesheen finish. This lipstick is also perfect for spring and summer for neutral looks, but can be enhanced by a Mac Dazzleglass on top.

The last thing I got was carbon eyeshadow. I absolutely love this eyeshadow and had run out if it completely so I had to pick up another. This eyeshadow is my holy grail! I use this with an angled brush as a liner on my top lashes, for a smoky sultry look, but also use it in the outer-V to smoke up any eyeshadow look.

I wanted the pan version to stick into my palette, but they didn't have any left in the store, so pot version it was. Another shadow which is nice to use as top liner is Mac Monte Black, its the same dark black as carbon, but has soft specs of glitter init. Use carbon as the liner, and then monte black on top to create a great night time liner.

So there it is..just a few products that I thought I'd try and give u a bit of feedback on!

China Glaze - 'High Roller'

2011-05-28T22:25:00.002+01:00

As many of you students would know, the last month (and the coming month) has been all about revision. Because of this, I've been behind on keeping my nails maintained, because I'd only bite them all off whilst in the exam hall. So I thought I'd take a day off and treat my self to a ridiculously loud colour on my nails.

This classic classy red is China Glaze 'High Roller'. It's perfect for nights out or casual days at home buried in text books. It's a great shade for summer on gel nails or possibly even on the toes.

I bought this for around £7.00 at Sallys a few months ago and I believe now they are having a '3 for 2 on all China Glaze Nail Polishes'.

I love how it looks against my skin tone. I am loving the Chine Glaze range at the moment, they last really well on my own nails as well as gel nails. The spectrum of colours are so unique and requires little effort in getting the colour to appear this vibrant!

Review: E.L.F Powder Brush

2011-05-28T21:11:00.002+01:00

We both recently purchased the Mac Face and Body foundation, but found that applying it with the 'painter' style foundation brush didn't apply the foundation to it's full potential. The other night we checked out the E.L.F website, as we heard their studio line brushes were comparable to the Mac brush collection. We each purchased the infamous E.L.F Powder Brush, for £3.50 and were amazed at how quick the delivery process was.

The bristles are made from Taklon, and are extremely soft! The bristles are densely packed to allow your foundation to give you a full coverage flawless finish. It can be used with wet or dry makeup products, and that is exactly what we do, with the Mac Face and Body foundation and the Mac mineralised skin-finish without creating a big cloud of dust.

We are so impressed with this one brush, we are ready to start building up our collection of E.L.F Studio Line brushes. Overall, we can't say enough good things about this brush and it sure is a makeup necessity for any avid makeup enthusiast.