Laura's world

Mac Wondergrass eyeshadow

2010-05-15T15:36:00.001+01:00

Just something I came accross.. If you happened to be interested in getting MAC's Wondergrass eyeshadow (Bright grass green shade)

I noticed that it is the exact same as the green in Sleek's Bohemian palette.

Swatches below, Mac on the left, Sleek on the right.

So save yourself some money and get a couple of other eyeshadows in the process!

Favourite Sleek palette

2010-05-13T15:59:00.004+01:00

So some of you may be aware that I recently won a Sleek Facebook competition in which I won all of their I-Divine Palettes. All the past Limited edition ones and all the permanent ones. This was around the time that the Bohemian palette came out, which I also got. I quite enjoy that palette, my previous complaint with Sleek palette's was that they all seemed crazy shimmery and unusable for natural daytime looks. Although the most recent palette's are filled with many bright colours, Sleek have begun to vary up the finishes, giving mixtures which is a welcome change in my opinion.

But anyway, I wanted to share my favourite of all of the Sleek palette's I have, The 'Storm' palette. It's a netural lover's dream, filled with shimmery golds and browns and then some other more interesting deeper shades good for darkening up a look.

It's a great palette for transitioning everyday looks into night time looks and for the price, I don't think it can be beat (It's around £5 if bought in the UK)

So here is the palette...

And then some swatches...

No7 Till Splits

2010-05-10T13:57:00.001+01:00

Every couple of months, No7 come out with these vouchers, you spend over €7.50 (£5) in Boots and you get a voucher for €7.50 off any No7/Ruby & Mille product. Over here, Ruby & Mille isn't in many Boots stores so I normally spend mine on No7 products.

Now No7 isn't a brand I'd ever really buy anything from for full price, in my opinion it's overpriced for what it is.

So here is what I've bought from the past couple of vouchers.

1) No7 Tinted Moisturiser in Fair. I wanted a tinted moisturiser so thought I'd use the opportunity while I had a voucher. This also has an SPF of 15 which is nice. It evens out the skintone and gives a nice fresh finish. It also has 40mls in it which is more than most foundations

2) No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser. This is my most recent purchase. I wanted to try this kind of thing out after hearing so much about the Liz Earle one but thought I'd try this as a cheaper alternative to see if I liked the concept. I do! It comes with a muslin cloth and works great at taking all your make up off and leaving your skin really smooth.

3) No7 Anti-Dark Spot Facial Sun Protection SPF 30. I wanted a facial sunscreen as I hate putting regular suncream on my face, it always feels really greasy and clogs up your face. So I got this, I haven't tried it yet so I'll reserve judgement until I come back from my holidays!

4) No7 Sultry Eyes palette, I actually got this free with the mascara that's shown, the extravagant lashes mascara (Which I dislike... strongly..). This eyeshadow palette was limited edition around christmas time and I wanted it. Purple is the one colour I'm likely to wear as an eyeshadow and this has some lovely shades (Swatched below)

5) No7 Eyeshadow in Mink. These eyeshadows come out at around €2.75 I think with the voucher which is great (Although the thought of paying almost €10 without the voucher is absurd!). They're smooth and quite pigmented so a nice adition. There's another pinkish gold colour I'd like to get at some stage!

6) No7 Eyeshadow in Truffle.

So L-R: Truffle, Mink, Sultry Eye palette.

There's one other item I forgot to include that I bought a couple of months ago, It's this No7 Spring Collection lipstick in Carnelian. Pretty peachy colour.

2010-05-10T11:11:00.001+01:00

There it is, my cream blush collection. I've really become more into these of late. They're really fresh, leave your skin looking alive and dewy. I like them alot for summer. My collection ranges from high to low end, and here they are opened!

L-R: Illamasqua 'Dixie', Illamasqua 'Rude', Nars 'Penny Lane', Benefit 'Benetint', 2True lip & cheek stain

L-R: ELF Shimmering facial whip 'Pink Lemonade', ELF all over color stick 'Lilac Petal', ELF all over color stick 'Warm peach', Essence 'Snow Bunny', Maybelline dream mousse blush 'Peach Satin', Stila Convertible color 'Peony'.

L-R: NYX Rouge Cream blush 'Boho Chic', Topshop 'Flush', Topshop 'Neon Rose', Topshop 'Nutmeg'

Topshop

2010-05-09T15:40:00.004+01:00

I don't want to bore you with more Topshop makeup.. because it seems to everywhere at the moment. But I was in town so went in to have a look.

It was nice, but still more expensive than most drugstore products. So all I got was three of the cream blushes which to me are the stand out product. The eyeshadow pen thing was nice but it's the kind of thing I'd never use. The highlighter was a bit golden and so my ELF bronzer in Luminance would do the same thing for much cheaper.

Dessert lipstick looked nice, but I have Peachstock and it was a similar brown toned peachy nude. Brighton Rock looked quite fun, a bright pink, but it was out of stock, I may go back, I may not. I think it was around €9 which is still pricey enough (Although yay for Topshop not having a scabby exchange rate! They're £8 in the uk!). The maybelline ones are €10 and Barry M ones are cheaper and i'm sure you could find a similar bright pink!

So here's my stuffs, I'm not gonna swatch them because I'm going to do a post on cream blushes.

So I got Nutmeg, Neon Rose and Flush, and that is all :)

HqHair order

2010-05-08T12:58:00.002+01:00

My HQHair order arrived today. I've heard alot of people having problems with them, but My order took just under a week to arrive (including bank holiday and volcanic ash disturbances!)

So when I got an email saying there was a 15% off coupon for the bank holiday weekend I had to take advantage. I'd wanted some Nars stuff and some Bare Essentials.

First off the Nars stuff, I got Sheer glow, in Deauville. I've heard this is a good match for NW20. I'm excited to try this as I'm sure you've heard the good reports all over the blogosphere!

UPDATE: I tried it today and it's amazing! I know I can't rave after just one application.. but seriously, you need the tinyest amount, applys beautifully (with a Sigma 109) and leaves a really nice finish that didn't require much concealer, I'd say medium coverage but feels light on the skin.. With my order I got a loyalty coupon for 15% off my next order and I think I'll definitly be buying a back up of this along with a couple more blushes and possibly laguna. Any other reccommendations??

I then got two blushes, one cream, one powder. Penny lane and then Amour.

Top to Bottom: Penny Lane, Amour

Penny Lane is a pretty light pink cream blush, Amour is a beautiful Coral/Pink Matte colour, It's matte but with a sheen, no shimmer in sight. It's incredibly pigmented and smooth, and I'm sure it won't be my last Nars Blush. Although I'd heard Deep Throat was a lovely blush, I have Coralista, and some others that look similar so I wanted to try others before it.

Then the Bare Essentials kit. I'd tried a tester of it and really enjoyed it's effect. You can buy this kit in Ireland for €65 but i'd seen it online for around £45 which is obviously way cheaper, so when I could get 15% I was sold!

I got the light kit which inclused, one fairly light foundation, one light foundation, mineral veil, Warmth bronzer, Bisque concealer, Two face brushes and one concealer brush.

Collection purchases

2010-05-07T12:52:00.008+01:00

So yesterday, the Mac Pret-a-Papier and To the beach collections came out. So I went over on my way to work to check them out. There were a couple things I wanted to pick up that were quite unusual and not like anything in the permanent line so that's exactly what I did!

One thing I didn't pick up that I was planning to was the cream bronzer from the to the beach collection. I was underwhelmed, it was not very pigmented, kind of greasy and just full of gold shimmer therefore not suitable for a contour. So I skipped that, the highlighting powder also felt really chalky and powdery so I didn't go for it, although I see it's already sold out online, I just wasn't sold!

But here's what I got,

L-R: Dressmaker lipstick (Lustre), Thrills Lipstick (Frost), Lazy Day lipstick (Lustre), Coral Crepe Paintpot.

I love these lipsticks, they're all so different. I wasn't planning on getting Thrills because it looked so red, but in person it's gorgous, it's really different, and has so much gold running through it, it's a beautiful rosey copper colour. The paintpot is beautiful, it's much more pigmented than some of the other paintpots I have.

L-R: Cut to fit eyeshadow, Tissueweight eyeshadow, Instant Chic blush, Hipness blush.

I'd heard Cut to fit was like Twinks, but no, it's not! If anything, it's more like Antiqued but I think a bit more red, It's really pigmented and really smooth. Tissueweight to me looks like a shimmery version of Brule, it's really pretty. Instant Chic is a great every day look, it's a beautiful corally colour and I really like it. Hipness is a repromote from the Fafi collection, It's more satin than shimmer and really beautiful. I also love the packaging of the blushes.

I loved the to the beach eyeshadow packaging but don't think I'd wear the colours. The lightest matte shade (can't remember the name) wasn't pigmented, the other colour, maybe Firecracker(?) was really pretty, veluxe pearl and really smooth but it was a bit pink and I'm not sure I'd wear it.

Overall quite good collections I think,

Did you pick anything up?

April Favourites!

2010-05-04T19:50:00.001+01:00

Ok so it's April Favourites time, I've actually been using alot of the same products this month,

And here they are!

I'm sorry I don't know how to rotate it and blogger is not cooperating!

1) Sleek Storm palette, I won the entire I-divine range in a facebook competition.. yes... ALL the palettes! Amazing! Especially seeing as Sleek isn't stocked in Superdrug over here! This palette is a great for neutrals and an everyday look

2) NYX Powder Blush - Angel

3) Mac paintpot - Bare Study

4) GOSH Cool Lip jam - 102 (Half price in Superdrug atm!)

5) Revlon Bare it All Lustrous Lotion in Buff Love (Brilliant thing to add to heavy foundations to sheer it out a bit and add a bit of a glow

6) Mac Eye Kohl - Teddy

7) ELF All over Colour stick - Pink Lemonade, I've finally worked out how to use this, apply it heavily on the hand, then use a brush to put it on the cheeks, great as a shimmery base for other pink blush.

8) L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

9) Garnier Pure Daily Treatment Moisturiser

10) Garnier Pure Active Deep pore unclogging wash

The last two have been amazing products, my skin was having a bad patch there last week, I fear it may have been 'Grease Lightening' from Lush that broke me out, but I bought these two and they cleared it up really well and have left my skin feeling super smooth. Good buy!

Anyway, what are your products of the month? Anything you've been reaching for on a regular basis?

Mac collections SS10

2010-05-03T15:14:00.004+01:00

Pret-a-Papier and To the Beach

I'm really looking forward to these two collections, apparently they're both coming out this Thursday? So i've heard anyway!

Here's what I plan to buy from Pret-a-Papier, (I'm going to check them out in person first, then decide)

Instant Chic Blush

Cut to Fit eyeshadow (I've heard it's quite like Twinks so we'll see..)

Tissue weight eyeshadow

Coral Crepe Paintpot

Dressmaker, Dressmaker (Second from the right)

To the beach collection

Hipness Blush

Beach Bronze Cream bronzer

Lazy Day lipstick (Pink one!)

I also want to check out the Highlighting powder, because it looks gorgous, but I feel that's where the interest may end, then also I'd love one of the eyeshadows, but that's largely because of the packaging!

What do you want to pick up in these collections?

All photos courtesy of Temptalia.

The list

2010-04-25T22:33:00.004+01:00

I may be gone for a little while, I'm starting nights tomorrow and then next week I have my final assignment for my degree to hand in.. and I may not have started it yet!!

But anyway, before I take a short hiatus, I wanted to post... the list..!!! Alot of people have been talking about this so called list, and today I drew up mine, this is the list of things you want at the moment, mine is quite extensive and I know I won't be getting most of this stuff for a long long time but anyway.. here goes!

Foundation
Nars Sheer glow
Mac MSF Natural
Neutrogena Healthy skin foundation
Clinique blemish solutions foundation

Cheek
Nars Penny Lane cream blush
Nars Deep throat
Mac Instant Chic (From Pret-a-papier collection)
Mac Melba
Mac Harmony
Illamasqua Promise cream blush

Lips
(All Mac)
Viva glam cyndi
Viva glam Gaga
Dressmaker, Dressmaker (Pret-a-papier collection)
Creme Cup
Shy girl
Hue
Politely pink

Eyes
Mac Satin Taupe
Coral Crepe Paintpot (Pret-a-papier collection)
Cut to fit (Pret-a-papier collection)
Tissue Weight (Pret-a-papier collection)
Vanilla Pigment

Misc
Mac Pearl CCB
Mac 227
Mac 217
Mac 129
Mario Badesco Whitening Cream

What's on your list? Have you tried any of these products? Would you recommend any of them or are there other you'd recommend?

Five items I regret buying

2010-04-21T15:05:00.003+01:00

This is a post I probably would never have thought to do myself but the lovely Faith requested it and it's a great idea. There are probably many items I regret buying, due to mainly hype on blogs and youtube. It's not necessarily that I regret them, that they're horrible products, just moreso that they're not right for me or did not live up to the (probably unrealistic) expectations I had for them.

1) ELF's Complextion Perfection

This product is fine, it's an ok powder that right now I'm trying to use up as a setting powder, it's just not anything special to me, and doesn't amazingly even out the skin tone like everyone said it did.

2) Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgous foundation faker

This felt really oily on my skin (Note I have dry skin!) and just did nothing, looked cakey and shiny, didn't like it at all!

3) Mac 'Well dressed'

I know this is probably some form of blasphemy for some of the make up obsessed, I just don't find that this blush lives up to its hype. It's fine, it's nice and light pink and all that, but I've found some other much nicer, more pigmented light pink blushes, namely NYX powder blush in Angel!

4) Sleek Ink pot in 'Dominatrix'

I bought this because I wanted Mac's blacktrack fluidline, I have subsequently bought the mac version and can definitly say that it's MUCH better! The sleek version dries out and doesn't go on as smoothly. It's also not as pigmented and can end up looking more so like a dark grey colour.

5) Revlon Colorstay foundation

I have mentioned this before, I just don't like Colorstay, it's too thick, dries to quickly, and looks cakey. I prefer Photoready and definitly will not repurchase. What's even worse is in Ireland this retails for €17.50!!!

40 Beauty Question tag

2010-04-12T15:36:00.001+01:00

How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice; In the morning after my shred and before I go to bed.

What skin type do you have?
I'd say combination, Tending towards Dry in the winter though

What is your current facial wash?
I'm using a Garnier Foaming Facial wash to brighten up dull skin. It's Green, that's all I can remember! I use it on the body shop scrub thing that help to exfoliate.

Do you exfoliate?
I do, I recently purchased the St Ives Warming scrub and really liked it's effect.

What brand do you use?
As above!

What moisturizer do you use?
Garnier Soft Essentials during the day and Superdrug Vitamin E at night

Do you have freckles?
Yeah I've always had a couple around the nose and cheek area

Do you use eye cream?
Ah occassionally, I have a Boots Vitamin E one that I sometimes use.

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
Yes and No, I get break outs but they're not related to product usage I don't think.

Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
Nope.

What foundation do you use?
I change on an almost daily basis, the ones i'm using at the moment are Bourjois Healthy mix, Rimmel Match perfection, Revlon Photoready, Chanel Pro Lumiere, Bare Essentials and then I'm trying to finish up a Revlon Colorstay

How about concealer?
Again, ALways changes, Bourjois Healthymix, Mac Studio finish, I also recently purchases a Laura Mercier Undercover pot and Bobbi brown creamy concealer

Do you know your undertone color?
Pinky :)

What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I love the appearance of them but never use them, alot of effort, I've used them once before I think.

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
I'm aware of it, but don't tend to stick to it. I change them when they feel drying.

What brand of mascara do you use?
Testing many, including YSL Faux Cils, Lancome Hypnose, Lashblast, Colossal, Lash Stiletto

Sephora or MAC?
We don't have Sephora here but I do wish we did. Love Mac at the moment though

Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
Nope

What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
Mainly just brushes

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Always do now, either the Elf Studio primer or a Mac paintpot or a Benefit creaseless cream shadow/liner

For the face?
Not regularly, I have a couple but don't use them all the time

What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
At the moment, Hey from Mac, but it changes all the time, generally neutrals with the occassional purple thrown in.

Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
I use pencil, liquid and gel.

How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Never

What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
I love pigments but rarely reach for them.

Do you use mineral makeup?
I've dabbled in it and like it's effect but always come back to regular, I may invest in some full size bare essentials though.

What is your favorite lipstick?
Ah I've only just recently got in to lipstick so won't commit to a favourite just yet. At the moment though i'm loving 'Ever Hip' and 'Peachstock' and ELF's 'Runway pink'

How about lipgloss?
I like Gosh Lip jam in I think 106?

What is your favorite blush to use?
Oh so so hard! At the moment, I'm loving all sorts of Coral blushes.

Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
I haven't no.

Do you like drugstore makeup?
Yes, most of my collection is from the drugstore.

Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
I have none anywhere near me!

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
I'd love to but will finish my degree first!

Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Not generally, but can be if i'm up early before work and am just tired.

Name a makeup crime that you hate?
The tangoed look..

Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick, eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
I like a bit of both, but I guess I'm more neutral.

Which celebrity always has great make up?
Kim K, Jen Anniston,

If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use?
I would've always said mascara but recently I've come to realise the difference a good foundation makes.

Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
Yes

Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
I can do, but I like the look of good, natural makeup

In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
I like to mix and match from all lines, each have certain great products

What do you think of Makeup?
I like it..

New storage

2010-04-11T12:36:00.002+01:00

This is just going to be a quick post to show my new storage for my make up. I bought a couple of new containers to store it in to make it easier to use.

So here it is,

This is my every day stuff. I got this rack at a Euroshop for €3.99. I like to keep the stuff I use everyday out so it's easy to grab in the mornings. The top section is toner/moisturiser and then brushes.
The second section is all eye products, mascara, eyeshadow, bases.
The bottom section is all face products, foundation, blush, bronzer, concealer.

Then in the middle of my desk, I just have these little containers which I've yet to find a home for. They hold my lipsticks, and then the other some blushes, mainly Mac, Then I have two little containers with Jewellery, and a glass to hold all my pencil eyeliners.

These other four containers hold everything else, The blue one on the left holds, foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, highlighter and lipglosses. The little black one above that holds eyebrown stuff, primers and mascaras. The blue one on the right holds all eyeshadows, palettes, quads etc, the black one on the top holds eyeliners (gel, cream, liquid, jumbo eyepencils etc) and then pigments by Barry M, Elf, Pure Luxe etc.

March Favourites

2010-04-10T14:00:00.001+01:00

So I haven't done a favourite post in a while. So here are mine for March

1) Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. I really like this stuff, it's light, gives nice coverage and a natural finish. I like foundations that cover well but don't feel heavy on application or on appearance (hence why i don't like colorstay, it feels thick on application and dries wayyyy to fast)

2) Mac Paintpot in 'Barestudy'. It's a great base, great shimmery champagne colour. Love it.

3) Mac lipstick 'Ever Hip'. This is from the new liberty of london collection and is a great corally pink colour. It's a cremesheen so is really smooth aswel.

4) Bare Minerals foundation. This is a sample I got to try this stuff it. I'm always amazed at how much coverage it gives because I would never expect it from a powder foundation. Love this and will probably get a full size one soon.

5) Mac eyeshadow in 'Hey'. This is from the new prep for colour collection but is also a repromote from one of the Fafi quads. I love this colour, it's peachy and goldy and a little bit lighter than 'All that glitters'. It's a great every day colour and I'm considering buying a back up..

6) Maybelline 'the colossal' and Barry M '3 in 1' Mascara. These mascaras are ok individually but I like to wear them together, the Barry M one to lengthen and then Maybelline to volumise.

7) Mac's 'Shell Pearl' Beauty powder blush. This is a great highlight/light blush colour, would be great on tanned skin for the summer, beautiful sheen, lovely colour.

8) Sigma 109 brush. This is a great all rounder of a brush. I use it for foundation, contouring, blush, highlight. It's brilliant, sheds a little bit but i've heard that's a problem with alot of 109s, mac and sigma, so I can get over it!

Liberty of London/Prep for Colour purchases

2010-04-10T12:27:00.006+01:00

I realise I said I wouldn't be posting about this but I uploaded all my photos from my camera and realised I'd already done swatches so thought it'd be a waste to delete them.

I won't talk much about them. Basically, I loved the packaging (I know alot of people hated it), bought my first 2 mac lipsticks and beauty powders.

So here is what I got

Left to Right: Shell Pearl BPB, Peachstock lipstick, Everhip lipstick, Hey eyeshadow, Summer Rose BPB

Absence

2010-04-09T16:23:00.002+01:00

I'm sorry for the insane lack of posting on my behalf. I've had no motivation and honestly, no ideas on what to blog about. I haven't quite done project 10 pan, made a couple of purchases, some Mac Liberty of London stuff but you've all seen the products so I won't bore you with them!

I also received an order from www.strawberrynet.com today, including, Chanel pro lumiere, Bobbi brown creamy concealer, YSL Faux Cils, Lancome art liner and Benefit Coralista. There was a couple other items too. This seems like a ridiculous high end haul. But it really was a bargain, I purchased it in US dollars and it's free shipping, and some amazing coupon code got applied to my order which made it incredibly affordable considering!

SO yeah, that just came this morning so I don't wanna review any of the products just yet because I haven't given them enough use to say whether I love them or not. Either way, all of the items I got are luxuries and not necessarily I'll use everyday for fear of running out of them!

But anyway, If you have any ideas of posts or Tag's that you'd like to see, please comment below!

Hope you're all well xx

Overrated eyeshadows

2010-03-22T09:50:00.004Z

I may be committing beauty blasphemy here but.. I'm not a fan of all the Sleek palettes or Stila's kitten eyeshadow for an every day look..

Here is Kitten, apparently the most beautiful shimmery peachy golden colour, everyone raves about it.. I just don't get it..

Here it is blended in to the skin, It's nice, it's just not wow to me, it's a little bit too metallic. I would prefer, Mac's Naked Lunch or ricepaper or even Stila's Wheat (to the left of Kitten in the picture above) as a light wash of colour.

And here's the Sleek 'Original' palette. I wanted this for so long, and they don't stock Sleek in Superdrug in Ireland so when I finally found a website that sold it at normal prices I got really excited. The ones I wanted were Storm and Sunset but they were out of stock so I got the original one. I think I may have used it twice since I got it. I have the same issue with it as I do with Kitten. The shadows are overly shimmery, almost metallic, and quite hard to work with. Not a huge fan.. I also have the Chaos palette, which is all matte colours so a bit better. Still a bit hard to work with but there's a gorgous matte dark red colour.

From seeing several swatches online the new 'Bohemian' palette has a mix of mattes and shimmery shades and looks quite lovely, that said it's not available to buy online and I think it may be a superdrug exclusive, so I may not be experiencing the Bohemian beauty. Oh well, If I pass through the UK sometime soon and it's still around I'll have a look.

Edit: It is now available on their website, but their Euro prices are way higher than the sterling equivalent because apparently, they "do not use a Euro/Pound conversion rate to establish prices as the products need to be priced in line with the market they are positioned in. " which means they end up being more expensive, I think they are €8.50 I know that's not loads but anyway!

Also seriously lemming after the 'Light' contour kit and their blushes.. love.. but anyway..

Pressing pigments

2010-03-20T14:40:00.004Z

So today I have attempted to press pigments.

I'm not sure how it's going to work out, at the moment they're drying, and then I'll try pressing them down a bit.

The two I attempted were Collection 2000 Dazzle me in 'Magical' and Mac's 'Cocomotion' pigment. The beauty of these are that even if it doesn't work there's still loads of product left so it's no huge loss.

Here they are,

I'll update as to how I get on, and how they work out. Hopefully I'll use them a bit more when they're not in their messy pigment, dust filled form!

UPDATE: The cocomotion pigment has worked out great, it's smooth and really pigmented.. Reminds me alot of woodwinked and now it's much easier to use.

Magical is alright, not the best, perhaps because it has glitter in it and I've heard they don't press so well? It's still a bit loose even after pressing for over 24 hours

Skin MD Natural Shielding lotion

2010-03-20T14:40:00.001Z

I'm not going to go into huge detail and review about this product as I know it's been reviewed on tons of blogs already.

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by this company and asked if I'd like to review this product. I of course said yes, I love trying out new products and rarely stick with one moisturiser for too long. So it arrived, and I gave it a shot for a little while.

Now just a bit of background on my skin, during the winter my skin tends to get quite dry, I like to use nice thick moisturisers particularly as I work in a hospital so there's air conditioning and heating on all the time. My skin dries up, especially when the winter is as cold as it was this year. So for me, this product wasn't a suitable winter moisturiser.

The website says "A Shielding Lotion is far more effective as a dry skin treatment than conventional moisturizing lotions or protective creams. If you suffer from dry skin, you know that just using a moisturizing lotion doesn't solve the problem.". I just find the product really thin, it almost has a gel like consistency, and maybe it was all in my head and I just like the idea of a thick moisturiser.

That said, I will definitly be using this coming in to the summer months, as it leaves your skin quite smooth and would be a great base for makeup.

I've read on other blogs about people using this as just a regular body moisturiser, but I only tried this on my face so I won't comment on it's properties as a body lotion.

You can purchase it for £14.99. (Which I think is a little bit steep, you get 120ml of product.) There is also a version containing SPF which is a little more expensive at £19.99 but it's always good to have SPF in your products.

Click here for more information as to how the product works.

Depotting

2010-03-19T13:39:00.001Z

So this morning, I got an eyeshadow palette i'd ordered on ebay through the post,

It was a 12 pan empty magnetised palette. I wanted to depot the rest of my Urban Decay shadows and my Natural Collection ones but I didn't want spend €15 to get a mac one to put them in.

SO I got this for around £7 from ebay, including shipping and it's fully magnetised which means you don't have to mess around with magnets on the bottom of your shadows. If I ever need another palette for Mac shadows I'll be getting one of these for sure!

So here it is.

Top row: UD Chopper (G), UD Naked (M), NC Butterscotch (Sa), NC Asteroid (Sh)
Middle row: UD Toasted (Sh), UD Illegal (M), NC Willow (Sh), NC Crushed Walnut (M)
Bottom row: UD ABC Gum (M), UD Secret Service (M), NC Barley (Sh), EMPTY

I think now they're out in a palette I'll be much more likely to use them, before, going through each pot was just too much effort so yay for depotting!

Cherry Culture!

2010-03-18T14:05:00.001Z

How exciting, I was sitting around, catching up on some youtube videos, when the post man rang the doorbell, my cherry culture order had arrived. The order was only processed on the 12 March, so it only took 6 days to get here and it was a bank holiday here in Ireland yesterday for Paddys day so practically 5 days! I've heard lots of bad things about Cherry Culture's shipping but the two time's I've ordered from them it's been excellent. Mscuppycakes.com on the other hand took a month to get here!

So they had a 20% off March madness sale at cherryculture and there had been a couple Nyx and Milani things i'd wanted so I took advantage and went for it

So just to warn you, this is going to be a pic heavy post!

Here we go!

So firstly, the 10 Color eyeshadow Pallete from the runway collection in 'Romance'

Doesn't look great in the picture but the shadows are buttery and nicely pigmented, good neutrals

Now for blushes, two Nyx, two Milani

L-R: Nyx powder blush in 'Angel', Nyx Rouge cream blush in 'Boho Chic', Milani blush in 'Mai Tai', Milani blush in 'Luminous'

Next, an eyeshadow trio in 'Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze'.

I'd heard bad things about these trios so I only got one, but this one is beautifully pigmented and really smooth, gorgous colours, would be really nice for autumn, but definitly can be used in spring/summer. I'll be buying more of these, maybe it's hit or miss with the shades?

Now for the round lipsticks/lipglosses

L-R: Frosted Beige, Thalia, Circe, Hebe, Rose bud, Summer love, Tea rose, then the lipglosses, Sorbet, Pinky Natural, Whipped.

Then I got four Jumbo eyeshadow pencils and three of their Ultra pearl mania's

Top row: Oyster, Dark Brown, Blackbean, Milk
Bottom row: Walnut, Pearl, Penny.

Then lastly, I got five of their Single eyeshadows

L-R: Eggplant, Hunter Green, Atlantic, Farenheit, Sweet Oleander

Final purchases before Project 10 pan

2010-03-13T18:00:00.001Z

I do have a couple internet orders I'm waiting to come in, a cherryculture one I made today, and a beauty rocket one.

But I was celebrating today in town, handing in my thesis :) So I treated myself to some purchases. I didn't actually spend much though as I had a gift card!

But here is my stuffs :)

First off Penneys (Primark)

I bought two pairs of pumps, only €3 each, these look cute with jeans, then some strappy sandles which were also €3. I bought a cute purple ring and then lastly a skinny black pleated waist belt for a bargainous €1.50.

Then I went to Lush and really restrained myself, I only bought one item, It's called 'Luck of the Irish' or something to that effect. It's basically a bath bomb, shaped like a shamrock with the scent of Avobath. I love that smell and due to the shape of the shamrock this one will be easier to break and use a couple times which is my issue with the bath bombs normally. So yay! I think this was €4.95.

I then went to Mac/Illamasqua/Boots

So top row: No. 7 LE Spring Lipstick in 'Carnelian', Illamasqua 'Dixie' cream blush, Illamasqua 'Rude' cream blush.
Bottom row: Bare Minerals foundation sample with Baby buki :), Illamasqua medium pencil in 'Paint', Mac eyeshadow pans in 'Star Violet', 'Antiqued' and 'Woodwinked'

So I used my No.7 voucher to get the lipstick. I wanted the amazing highlighter, buttery smooth... hmmmm... but it was sold out in all the Boots I went to so I just gave up and bought this. That said, this is a gorgous colour for summer, it's a beautiful coral colour that's really creamy.

Then I made my way to Illamasqua, I'd never bought anything from them, there's only one counter in Dublin, but i'd heard great things about their blushes and I really like cream blushes. When I got there, the MA tried out 'Rude' on me and I had to have it, and then 'Dixie' looked oh so pretty also, so I went for it, and got both! Also if you spent over a certain amount you got the free eye pencil, Yellow wouldn't be my first choice of eye liner but it was the only colour left and it was free and on the website they're priced at £12.50!

Bare Minerals are still doing that offer of a foundation sample so I picked one up. I love the idea of mineral foundation and have tried it occasionally but Bare Minerals isn't cheap so I wanted to take the advantage of trying it before purchasing full size. You get a good amount in the sample too and an adorable brush that's really soft.

These three shadows take my Mac shadow count to 14! Eek one more to fill the palette! I'd wanted 'Star Violet' and 'Woodwinked' for a while but 'Antiqued' was a spur of the moment buy. For some reason I had thought it was more orangey so didn't want it, perhaps I swatched Amber lights by mistake? But it's gorgous and a deep brown colour, All three of these are Veluxe pearl finishes. I just love them, they're so smooth. The 'Lustre' range have some great shades but I just find them really gritty.

So that's it, Any Illamasqua recommendations? And then also, what would you recommend for my final Mac shadow??

Internet shopping take one :)

2010-03-11T18:00:00.001Z

So finally, the day has come :) I own Sigma brushes!

This was an exciting day for me. Up until now I've been using various brushes, ELF, Mac fakes, random ones, but I wanted I set, and good blending brushes. So I decided I was going to treat myself to a brush set. There was no way I was going to spend money on Mac brushes. Especially when most are over €30 each! So I got the Complete brush set, with brush roll and then also a 109 as I'd heard it was great for both contouring and foundation.

They have just released a Professional brush set but at the moment I just wanted the basics. Maybe in the future! They have some lovely looking brushes in that set, great tapered ones for blush and highlighting and a full size 217. With the complete set you get a free travel size 217 so that was nice.

Anyway, enough talking, here they are!

L-R SS109, SS150, SS187, SS168, SS190, SS194, SS239, SS275, SS252, SS224, SS219, SS209, SS266

A great great website

2010-03-11T11:15:00.002Z

So I discovered this website a couple of week ago, http://www.cosmetics-skincare.co.uk/. It sells loads of prices at majorly discounted prices. I know alot of people have been skeptical if these are genuine products. I've never seen fake benefit but I have seen fake Mac and the products I bought definitly look and feel genuine. They are as pigmented and feel the exact same as Mac shadows I have bought from an actual Mac store. I have even depotted the shadows and they are the exact same as my other depots. So as far as I'm concerned, these are genuine.

I've made three different orders over the past while. Shipping is fast, cheap and the customer service is great.

I know this seems like alot, but remember, the stuff is cheap and I've only just started buying Mac so I wanted to buy the basics!

First row, Top to bottom: Mac 'Blacktrack' fluidline, Mac 'Cocomotion' pigment, Mac 'Cork', Mac 'Cranberry', Mac 'Club', Mac 'Carbon'.

Second row, Top to bottom: Mac 'Hush' CCB, Mac Studio Fix powder NC20, Mac Studio FIx powder NC25 (One for summer, one for winter!).

Third row, Top to bottom: Mac 'Springsheen' Blush, Mac 'Well dressed' Blush.

Fourth row, Top to bottom: Mac 'Style' Blush, Mac 'Desert Rose' Blush.

Fifth row, Top to bottom: Benefit 'My dates my brother' Creaseless cream shadow/liner, Benefit 'Bunny Hop' CCS/L, Benefit 'Busy Signal' CCS/L, Mac 'Nymphette' Lipglass, Mac 'Florabundance' Lipglass

If you want swatches, comment below :)

Superdrug shopping

2010-03-10T18:29:00.000Z

So last week I popped into Superdrug after work. There aren't many of these in Ireland but there is one beside work so because I finished early I decided to drop in and see if there was anything nice.

Here's what I got.

Clockwise from Top left: Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer No.51, Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation No.51, Herbal Essences beautiful ends split end protection cream, GOSH Cool lip jam No. 106, Superdrug Vitamin E Night cream.

Top: Barry M Kohl liner in Black
Bottom: Barry M Lip paint no.132, Barry M Lip paint no.101, Mememe Beat the blues, Collection 2000 Maxiflex nail polish in 'Coulis', Collection 2000 Dazzle me in 'Magical'

So that's it all, I'm loving the Bourjois foundation and concealer, I've been using them all week and really liking the finish and smell! The Gosh lip jam was half price, there were a couple other shades I wanted but they weren't in stock. These smell amazing btw.

I've been on the like out for Barry M's 132 so when I saw it was buy two Barry M items get a kohl liner free I decided to go for it. I like their kohl liners, they're pigmented and last a long time. I decided to go for the 101 even though I had heard it's drying etc. It is a bit concealer like but with vaseline underneath and lip gloss on top I like it.