Smashbox Fall Reign 2009 collection bargains

I know, I know. I’m several months late on this one. It’s just Smashbox is rather expensive but I am a sucker for a bargain. This collection is currently on clearance at Debenhams so hurry, if you’re quick you should be able to grab some before it disappears. I got all this for around £35 when it should have been around £70!

First impressions are rather good. The mahogany coloured boxes are lovely if a little convoluted. The charm on the lip gloss is cute and the faux (I’m assuming) leather eye palette with embossed logo is to die for. Here I have the Monarch palette, there was another but I preferred this one. These are three shimmery brown/ bronze colours with matte colours in the centre of each. This is my perfect work palette. I wear these kinds of colours almost every day to work so I know I will get a lot of wear out of it though I haven’t had time to try it out yet so I can’t comment on the formula. The mirror is a good size too. I tried for a good 10 minutes to get a photo of the palette open but whenever I opened it her highness decided she should be reviewing it herself.

What did she think?

‘One finds it quite charming’ her eyes seem to say. ‘And tidy your room’. That’s me told...

I also picked up the lip gloss in Crowned which is a rather sexy peach shade. It seems much more spring/ summer to me than an autumn/ winter colour so I’m actually glad I bought it now. The gloss has a slightly sugary sweet smell to it that I’m not too keen on but the formula is nice. Not too sticky, lasts quite well and the colour payoff is good for a gloss even on my dark lips.


The only let down is the mascara – Lash DNA in plum. Now I love the colour, I even like the formula but there are some major negatives for me. For a start the packaging is quite dull (I’m being spoilt by the lovely Rimmel Sexy Curves at the moment. It reminds me of Cadbury Easter egg wrappers). Then there is the GIANT double helix brush which is too big for my piggy little eyes so it makes application difficult. But the real problem for me is the smell. I opened the tube to the unmistakable scent of...... playdough. I don’t know if I just got a dud tube but it really is quite off putting. I’ll try and wear it a couple of times anyway just because the plum colour looks fab with my very dark eyes and lashes.


All in all a very productive shop and I stand by my verdict that the packaging is very lovely. If you still fancy getting some of this collection then you had better be quick!

Cue final gratuitous cat pic:

Quick info post - ELF Discount etc

Hi folks! Today I hit 20 followers! It may not seem a big deal to you but it's made me genuinely happy :-D Tell you what, if I get to 50 I'll do a shiny shiny giveaway and that's a promise!

On a random but highly useful note I got an email from ELF (Eyes Lips Face) saying they have a one day sale ending at midday UK time tomorrow with the code MIDWKSALE. Dunno if that's a one off code, if it is I'm not going to be using it (I'm broke) so hopefully someone else will! It's valid for 20% off UK orders over when you spend £15 or more.

And the reason why I'm broke? The lovely H2B took me shopping today as a treat after we did our wedding list. I bought some Smashbox goodies and he bought me a MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom! Expect posts on these shortly. To those in the UK get thee to Debenhams post haste. The Smashbox fall 2009 collection is very heavily discounted. I bought around £70 worth of stuff for £35!

Review: Ciaté Love Me Oil

This was a freebie that I stole from my Mum. She received it as a gift over a year ago (hence why this is the old school packaging, there is a newer style out) but never used it so gave it to me. Now I am currently trying to grow my nails. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds. I’ve been a biter for years (disgusting I know) and my nails manage to be both soft and brittle at the same time. They flake off in sheets without polish on to protect them. Recently this has been bothering me more than usual as I am due to get married in a couple of months. I’m essentially going to spend the day with people looking at my fingers and I’d rather they didn’t recoil in horror... Plus I just love nail polish and it just looks funny on my stumpy little nails.

One of the keys to great looking nails is good looking cuticles. All too often they are neglected and mine had become as dry and peeling as my nails themselves. Thus this cute little bottle of cuticle oil has become one of the mainstays of my new nail care regime. The adorable bottle of pink cranberry scented oil (it also comes in almond but I suspect that would make me crave marzipan) comes with a handy varnish type brush and despite having used this daily for over two weeks the level hasn’t dropped at all. I suspect this will last me a very long time. I simply brush the oil onto my cuticles after removing my polish, massage in and then wash off after a few minutes before repainting my nails. The result is softer cuticles that are easier to push back and they no longer peel up with jagged edges. I haven’t really tried any other cuticle oils so I can’t compare them but I will say this, this product has defiantly converted me and I will always make a point of using an oil from now on.

P.S Please don't judge my cuticles in this pic... I'm working on them and I still think this cuticle oil has helped soften them...

A rundown of cheap and cheerful hand creams

As a sufferer of irritant dermatitis, mainly brought on by the soap at work, I buy more hand creams than I do food. I apply it several times an hour in vast quantities and so I need to be able to buy lots of it at a reasonable price. Now any medical professional will tell you (at least the ones I work with do) that when trying to repair the skins moisture barrier and heal dry/ cracking skin the key factor is having a greasy, oily cream that will form a protective barrier for you whilst delivering moisture to the skin itself. Any woman will tell you it’s a little bit more complicated than this. A cream may be doing you the world of good but if it leaves your hands too greasy to pick anything up without a comedy moment of it slipping out of your hands a la prison shower soap, or if it smells like hospital bleach to the point than you walk around holding your hands as far away from your face as possible, it is just no use to us.

So here we have a list of some of the hand creams that live next to every sink in my house and in every hand bag I own. The only criterion I had for inclusion is that they must all cost under £5.


Aveeno Hand Cream: £4.99 This claims to be non greasy and long lasting even going as far as saying it will last 24 hours and through hand washing! I wouldn’t go that far. It is one of the longer lasting creams that I have here, I don’t feel the need to reapply 5 minutes after, but it doesn’t leave me feeling moisturised for longer than an hour. Mind you with my hands that is pretty good going. I don’t find it too greasy either. There is a slight scent but it isn’t overpowering at all. Rather, it just smells clean on my hands then fades away. At £4.99 this is the most expensive here but then it is rather good.

Norwegian Formula Concentrated hand cream (unscented): £2.49 In terms of sheer effectiveness this is way up there. The strange gel like formula is difficult to squeeze out but this is a good thing as you only need a small amount. This is the unscented version which is a lifesaver when your hands get so cracked that perfume starts to irritate them. Because you only need a little it will last you too and at this price I consider it an absolute bargain. My one quibble, and it’s just because I’m weird, is that I prefer rubbing a cream in rather than this strange textured gel. It’s not enough to stop me using it but it’s just a thought. In most ways it is better than a more traditional cream though and I have never felt my hands feeling greasy or tacky after use unless I use too much of it.

Dove Beauty Hand Cream : £2.79 This is another one that promises 24 hour moisture but doesn’t really deliver. My hands do feel nice and soft after using it but it has a tendency to leave me with an oily residue that transfers onto everything I touch. I leave paw prints on documents etc. The scent is also hit and miss (the traditional Dove soapy smell). Now I love this scent, it reminds me of visiting my Grandparents as a child because they always had the soap bar in the bathroom. However it is quite strong to the point where people have commented on it.

Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail Condition Lotion: £2.05 This has a more watery texture than the other and sinks in quickly without making me feel too greasy. However this also means that it doesn’t last too long. I bought this tube two weeks ago and I’ve pretty much finished it even though it is not the only one I use. What I do like about this is the keratin and vitamin E it contains claiming to strengthen nails by up to 50%. I wouldn’t go that far but I suppose every little helps! It does have a fairly strong smell to it but it tends to fade pretty quickly once it’s on your hands.

Atrixo: £1.79 This is the cheapest of the lot. I also find it to be one of the most moisturising which is why I keep buying it but unfortunately it makes me suffer from the same greasy paw prints as the Dove does. It last ages on my hands though and the scent isn’t too overpowering, just nice and fresh smelling. The other gripe I have about it is the packaging. The threads where the lid screws on have a tendency to get grimy and I don’t think that a pot is the most hygienic way of packaging it.
My favourites have to be the Aveeno and Norwegian Formula. They get the job done without irritating my skin and I can still touch things afterwards without leaving oily marks. What’s your favourite hand cream?

Chalk board nails

I was asked recently by the lovely Simpleelegance http://simpleelegance27.blogspot.com/ if I knew of any flat black mattes as she was concerned about shelling out for expensive products like MAC just to find she got bored of them. My answer to this is why bother buying new polish you might not like when you can turn your current polish matte with just a top coat? There are a myriad of matte top coats out there and my personal favourite is Essie Matte About You. Yes you have to fork out for the top coat but in the long run this means you have as much matte polish as you want. I painted a nail (fake obviously) with a cheapy black – Collection 2000 Maxiflex polish in 87 Ebony and topped it off with Matte About you. I was rather pleased with the result! The finish it more lumpy on the plastic nail than on my real ones but you really don’t want to see mine at the moment...

Old School Sleek Swatches

There has been a lot of excitement surrounding the latest Sleek eye palette offering. These palettes of 12 shadows for a mind bogglingly cheap £4.99 have achieved cult status in the UK so when the limited edition iDivine palette was released earlier this month I read all the reviews and pottered on down to Superdrug at my earliest convenience. And I have to say I was.... Disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the palette itself (apart from wishing they had stuck with the black packaging, the white just looks like it will get grimy) it’s just not for me. I wasn’t grabbed by any of the colours and there were a couple that frankly I just wouldn’t wear. It is clinically impossible for me to leave Superdrug without something though so I picked up two of the older palettes to see what the fuss was about. And I am speechless at the results. Why didn’t I buy these before? The formula is so, SO smooth especially on the shimmers. The pigmentation is divine, all of these swatches are one layer. Here we have the original and storm palettes. The original is first.







So if like me you are a makeup heathen and haven’t tried these but the iDivine just doesn’t grab you I would really recommend checking one of these two palettes out. The colours are much more wearable on the whole and the formula is great especially when you take into account the just how much variety you are getting for so few pennies.

Incoming from Barry M

Just typical! The day I finish my series of cheap and cheerful concealer posts kings of bargain beauties Barry M announce the release of a magic concealer for £5.95. According to their blog the pen style concealer, which comes in three shades, is the perfect do all concealer. It is supposed to cover dark circles and spots and even has UV protection and antioxidants. Too good to be true? We will soon find out! It's on their website now and is supposed to be in Superdrug by the end of April. Are you planning on buying?

Concealing (Your) Face Off Pt 3 – Garnier Anti Dark Circles Roll On and Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer

So here we are at the final show down. We return to my favourites, the under eye concealers (though you could use the Maybelline everywhere I suppose). Here are our contenders.



Packaging: These are two very different animals when it comes to packaging. The Garnier is their signature long thin pen style with the cold metal roller ball dispensing the product. They advertise the action on rolling the ball under the eye as having a beneficial effect on bags but I don’t see how this achieves that in the same way as the original eye roll on. You simply wouldn’t want to massage your eyes long enough to have any effect because if you did you’d put too much concealer on! It is a pleasant sensation however. As you can see from the swatch you don’t get an even line of product, it tends to leave patches of it rather than a continuous flow (Garnier is the bottom swatch). The Maybelline is housed in a little glass pot the kind of which I like for things like gel eyeliner AKA things I don’t need to be able to top up on the go. I don’t like blending or applying with my fingers when I’m out of the house, in fact I’d rather use a brush in the house as I don’t like sticking my fingers in products. The design just isn’t practical for me. Round one to Garnier.
Formula: Again these two could not be more different. The Maybelline is soft and creamy and blends very well. Unfortunately when it dries I find it then cakes on my skin creating fine lines which normally aren’t visible. It then goes on to stay put for most of the day which frankly I’d rather it didn’t. The Garnier is not without its problems either. The formula is lighter and more fluid and doesn’t dry into a line creating mess however it dries so quickly that it is a bugger to blend. Once it’s on your skin it isn’t going far without some fairly serious encouragement. Whilst this can irritate a little, no one likes having to rub at the delicate under eye area, the trade off is that this is probably the concealer that lasts best on me. Round two to Garnier as well!
Coverage: Both of these provide enough coverage for me however the Maybelline has the edge here. Its thicker consistency lends itself well to covering dark circles and the wider range of colours (the Garnier has fair or dark and that’s it) means you are more likely to find one to suit you. That said the Garnier does enough for me and the fair colour is a good match. I’m pale but I’m not porcelain. The Maybelline finally claws some points back!
Price: At £5.99 the Maybelline just beats out the Garnier at £6.99. That said the Maybelline is £5.99 wasted, I just don’t use it. I tried to give it to a friend but she had the same problems that I did.
For me the winner is the Garnier roll on. I like the quirky packaging and the staying power is probably the best of the bunch. I’m not sure I’d buy it again, probably yes if I saw it on special offer.

Concealing (your) Face Off Pt 2 – Rimmel Stay Matte Concealer

As you may have notice all but one of my concealers are designed specifically for the under eye area. This is because, please don’t hit me, I just don’t get spots. Apart from a recent break out due to a moisturiser which went as soon as I stopped using it I get one spot on the same place on my chin at ‘that time of the month’ which lasts two days. That is all. The one spot on my chin doesn’t bother me enough to buy a specific concealer (plus it acts as a handy warning sign to hubby-to-be to tone his behaviour down for the next couple of days) but the recent break out really freaked me out.
Enter Rimmel Stay Matte concealer. Because this is my only concealer designed to hide and treat blemishes I will review this one by itself. This nifty little concealer stick has a green inner core to neutralise redness and actually treat spots. The anti redness factor really helped me during the recent break out but I don’t know how helpful it was at treating them as they just disappeared themselves within two days of stopping using that moisturiser.


My initial concern was that as a ‘matte’ product it might look cakey and dry and thus draw attention to the thing I was trying to hide. Thankfully I didn’t have this problem. The product goes on feeling smooth and creamy and stays that way and blends easily with your fingers. It is also very thick meaning that it does give good coverage. I did notice it sliding off the offending area towards the afternoon but as with most of my other concealer products the packaging makes it handbag friendly. The problem certainly wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it tends to be for me on my under eye area.
At £4.99 it doesn’t exactly break the bank but I can see how the slim stick might get used up pretty quickly if you were to use it almost daily. I would happily buy this again if I had need of it. All in all this product is a hit for me!

Stay tuned for the final showdown - Garnier Anti Dark Circles Roll on and Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer.

Debehams sale!

Woke up to a lovely email from Debenhams informing their sale starts today. There is a rather large beauty clearance section but I would tootle on over their pretty quickly as quite a lot of colours of things are out of stock already.

Oh and remember when I said the wear on the suede FX polishes was terrible? It really, REALLY is. I chipped it in my sleep...

Famous Suede FX – Review

Sorry but the concealer face off is postponed for now. I just had to talk about these polishes! I know the trend is somewhat passé now but I don’t care. I LOVE suede polish. In fact I just love mattes in general. So you can imagine my joy when I found a brand called Famous by Sue Moxley in Superdrug that had a range of rather sexy suedes for only £4.50 each. The big chunky bottles (14ml) are worth every penny. I bought one, 30 (the blue, I can’t find a name on the bottle), and went back the next day for the rest. Here are the bottles with and without flash.



The swatches are all on fake nails as mine are currently too hideous for public viewing. Any suggestions for a magic strengthener then please PLEASE leave a comment! The colours are all run through with silver shimmer but essentially we have here a blue (30), silver (29), coppery rose goldish unnameable colour (26) and purple (25). I think there was also a lighter yellow gold but it looked like it would clash with my skin so I didn’t bother. The finish is matte but it still has a slight sheen. I love them matte but I also quite like them with a glossy top coat, they last longer this way too.




The polishes are plagued by the chunky lidded unwieldiness that I judged Nails inc for but it wouldn’t matter if the lids were smaller, this would still the messiest mani of my adult life. The formula dries so fast it’s unreal. You just can’t be careful with it! Just load up the brush with as much as possible and get it on FAST. Done quickly and most of these are a one coaters meaning that apart from basecoat and tidy up this is also one of the quickest manicures I’ve ever done too. The colour is a dark, dusty blue with silver shimmer and it is stunning! It’s definitly my favourite. The blue and purple are most likely to get buy on one coat but I’ve used two for the silver and copper thingamabob. (I love that MS word had to correct my spelling of thingamabob...)

Wear is quite frankly terrible. These last me one day. In all fairness I am polishes worst nightmare in that I rarely manage to get even the most premium brand polish to last more than 48 hours but in this case I had noticeable tip wear rather than chips by the end of the day. Given how quick it is to redo it won’t stop me wearing them though.

Concealing (your) Face Off Pt 1 - Max Factor Master Touch & Collection 2000 Iluminating Touch

Happy Monday folks! In the spirit of hiding the effects of the weekend when you drag yourself into the office I thought it would be fun to compare some concealers. These are some more budget beauties I’m afraid but I’m not ashamed. There are some real finds in here! The comparison will run over two posts so stay tuned for Pt 2. Here are our contenders:


Today I will compare the two clicky pen style concealers, Max Factor Master Touch under eye concealer (£6.99) and Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch (£4.99).
Packaging: Definitely the Max Factor. Simply because you can see how much you have left. The black packaging just looks nicer too. I like the paint brush style nib on the Collection 2000 though. To use both you twist the bottom round till it clicks up enough product, apply to face and blend.

Formula: Both are very similar, fairly fluid which means they both blend well. I have the lightest shades of both of these but you can clearly see a huge difference in colour. The Collection 2000 is pinker and more opaque and even when blended I’m not sure the pinkish tone is quite right for me. It gives better coverage though due to its opacity. The Max Factor is a little darker but blends better. The fluid formula means that it doesn’t dry and cake into any fine lines (neither does the Collection 2000 but this is MF wins in these stakes by a hair). Unfortunately it is too sheer for me. It just doesn’t give the coverage I need for my uber dark circles.
Coverage: As I said, Collection 2000 wins. IT’s not perfect but it is pretty good. I have to over blend it however due to the pinkish colour (I’m determined to use it up though).
Staying power: On my greasy under eye skin the Max Factor just slips off after a few hours. Even with the help of primer and foundation. Collection 2000 is better, it may still need topping up at the end of the day though. The packaging style makes both of these handbag friendly so top ups are feasible.
Price: At £4.99 (£3.99 at Superdrug at the moment!) the Collection 2000 offering trumps the Max Factor at £6.99. Bargain!
I do like the Max Factor pen but it just doesn’t give me the coverage I need. What I really want is the formula and colour of the Max Factor with the opacity and price of Collection 2000. As it stands I’m giving this round to the Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch. I’d recommend it, just make sure it's right for your skin tone.

Coming tomorrow is Mayebelline Dream Mousse concealer, Garnier Anti-Dark Circles Roll on and Rimmel Stay Matte Double Action concealer.

EOTD

Morning folks, hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm off to B&Q today and for some reason decided to do some over the top eye makeup for the occasion. Why? Because I can.


For some reason my camera has really washed out the colours, especially in the eyes shut pic. I promise I can actually blend too... For this look I used my Alice in Wonderland palette ( I had hoped to be going to see the film today but that's another story).

ELF mineral eyeshadow primer
Oraculum
Absolem
White rabbit (inner corners)
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero (waterline)
Body Shop mascara (I forget which)

Eyelinings Eyeliners

It won’t suprise anyone reading this blog that if I had to pick one makeup item above all others it would be eyeliner. I love this stuff, can’t get enough of it. Never EVER leave the house without some on, even if I’m not wearing any other makeup. I have little piggy eyes but with the magic of eyeliner they look bigger, brighter, better. You may have noticed that my makeup collection it erring on the side of drugstore brands and budget products. This is because I am currently still a student but believe you me, as soon as May turns up and I’m back to work one of the first things I am doing is treating myself to some premium brand makeup. First on my list will be eyeliner of course! In the mean time for your viewing pleasure here is my collection as it stands today.

That’s not too bad is it? I’ve seen people with bigger collections. We’ll start with the liquids.


From left to right we have No7 Stay perfect Eyeliner. This was a sample in a free gift pack, hence the dinky size. I love it anyway. The colour is so vibrant and unusual, a sort of warm bluish green, I say warm as I think it’s more gold toned than silver. It looks as metallic on the eye as it does in the bottle.
The Body shop glitter Eyeliner in 01. Part of a Christmas present from Mummy dearest. I would never have bought this myself but I’m glad I have it. It was the focal point of my New Years look. The glitter is nice and thick and it doesn’t fall down your face as it starts to dry out.
Bourjois Clubbing Liner in 83 Electro Blue. This is a truer blue than the No7 but still has the lovely slick metallic finish. The wand is slightly too long for me making it a little trickier to control but once it’s on it’s not coming off without a fight. Even with makeup remover I find this difficult to remove to the point where there is still a shadow of it on my eye the day after I’ve taken it off.
Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in 01 Black. This is my favourite black liquid liner. It is easy to control, very pigmented, dries quickly, doesn’t flake. In short everything I want from a liquid liner.
Barry M Liquid Eyeliner in Black. I was a little disappointed by the Barry M liners. In comparison to the Rimmel they are too watery which means on my hooded eyes they smudge and transfer before they have had a chance to dry. They fade more too. I always reach for the Rimmel over this one.
Barry M Liquid Eyeliner in Purple. This is more purple in real life than the picture shows but still not purple enough for me. I wanted it to deeper. This suffers the same consistency problems as the black.
Maybelline Liquid Line Definer in Black Brown. The worst liner I have. The felt tip style pen makes for easy, controllable application however it is so pale and un-pigmented that I may as well not bother wearing it. So I don’t.

I use pencil liners exclusively on my water line as I hate dragging them across my top eyelid. Here we have from right to left:


Avon Eye Pencil in Arabian Glow. I love this colour but it is a little draggy. It lasts well on my waterline though.
Urban Decay 24/7 in Flipside. This is a cooler colour and less sparkly than the Avon pencil but the formula is so much smoother. It doesn’t last quite so well on me but reapplying is not a chore.
The Body Shop Eye Definer in Brilliant Blue. Their liquid liner was so good but I am utterly disappointed with their pencils. The colour isn’t that strong, it drags horrendously and I can’t get enough of it on my waterline to test how long it lasts.
No7 Amazing Eyes pencil in 10 Brown. Another No7 freebie. This is ok but I prefer my GOSH brown pencil.
Rimmel Special Eyes Pencil in 117 Ginger Tea. I love the unusual coppery colour and the metallic shimmer but again this is a little too draggy. I’m loathe to part with such an unusual colour though.
GOSH Velvet Touch liner in Truly Brown. The formula on this really is wonderful. It glides on the waterline but does need reapplying throughout the day.
Bourjois Khol & Contour in 73 Gris Ingenieux. This is more black than grey and I have better blacks so it just doesn’t get used.
Bourjois Khol & Contour in 05 Vert Inspire. Draggy formula and disappointing colour, I wanted it to be more green.
Elf Brightening Eye Liner in Coffee. Both of these have been reviewed recently. Needless to say apart from testing them I’ve never used them.
Elf Brightening Eye Liner in Ash
The Body Shop Eye Definer in Black. Just as bad as the other Body Shop one. I wouldn’t recommend them!
Urban Decay 24/7 in Zero. Smooth and easy to apply with average wear time on the waterline but surprisingly I prefer my Bourjois pencil.
Bourjois Eye Pencil in Noir and Blanc (Same Pencil). This is my third one of these. I’ve heard bad reviews elsewhere but I honestly don’t understand why. Not only is the two in one style really handy but it gives a deeper black than the Urban Decay and lasts longer. The white end is wonderful for opening up eyes and making them look brighter. It isn’t quite as smooth as the 24/7 pencils but I don’t find it draggy either.



Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in Demolition. Both of these have been reviewed recently and I’m still loving them. One thing I have noticed is that Binge seems to be a little drier now than Demolition and it does take a couple of swipes to get the colour deep enough.
Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in Binge
ELF Cream Eyeliner in Black. Love it! Goes on well and stays put. I like using my Avon eyeliner brush to apply it as the shorter bristles don’t pick up too much product. I find my Benefit get bent brush is prone to picking too much up.
So what is your favourite type of eyeliner? Do you prefer creams/ gels over liquids? Is there one brand you swear by? And when the pay checks finally start rolling in what do you think I should treat myself with? Hope everyone is having a fab weekend 

Review: GOSH velvet touch foundation primer

Having had my wrists thoroughly slapped over at Makeup talk forums over my admission that I don’t use a primer I have learnt the errors of my ways and purchased my first (don’t judge) foundation primer. I never bothered before simply because I feel that makeup is becoming a bit like special occasions. Large companies dream up new holidays and tell us we need to adhere to them in order for them to make money. Likewise I am sometimes suspicious that cosmetic companies dream up new products and insist we buy into them, losing us money and time as we cram as many steps into our makeup routines as we can. I thought that primer was one of these non products. Everything they claimed to do I thought my foundation should be able to do by itself. I expected my foundation to stay on my face, conceal imperfections and blend well on its own. And I am perpetually disappointed when it fails to do all of these things quite as well as I would like it to.


I am not too proud to hold my hands up and say that I was wrong. And that this product, recommended to me by some of the lovely ladies at MUT, will become a staple product in my stash. Normally priced at £13 (it’s on sale at Superdrug for £9, this happened the day after I bought it... typical) the 30ml bottle doesn’t look like it’s going to last me very long. It claims to fill in fine lines and large pores making it easier to apply foundation and improving the finish. And do you now what? It does! I applied this to one half of my face (you don’t need much, use sparingly) and then applied foundation to my entire face and the difference was extremely noticeable. I had planned to wear it like this for a whole day to see how the wear compared but the difference was so apparent that I couldn’t. My skin looked smooth and even the dreaded shiny nose remained matte for a good few hours longer than my foundation and powder usually manage. The only thing I’m not keen on is the texture which is, as the name suggests, velvety. I don’t know why I don’t like it but I just don’t. I guess I was expecting it to feel more like a moisturiser. This isn’t enough to stop me from using it though.

The ingredients list almost entirely consists of various types of dimethicones, something I know that some want to avoid in their products but I’m not too fussy about ingredients. I like the fact that it has no perfumes in it and the handy pump dispenser keeps things nice and hygienic. This product is defiantly a win for me and I will be repurchasing and looking for other primer brands to try out. Any suggestions?

Elf review pt 2: The revenge

The last post was filled with some positives but the negatives were overwhelmingly bad. Thankfully this post is a bit happier!

The blushes - I bought one full sized studio blush in Blushing rose along with one custom palette which I filled with Shy, Glow, Flushed and Coy. The studio blush is a generous size for the money (£3.50) with good pigmentation though it needs a little bit of encouragement to blend. This is a reddish pink, I find I need to use it sparingly but it gives a nice ruddy 'in from the cold' look. Here in the pics we have the single blush, palette with and without flash and swatches from left to right are Coy, Flushed, Glow, Shy and Blushing Rose.





The custom palette I LOVE. I'd prefer it in black but that is just personal preference but it is nice and solid with a good mirror. The palette itself is £1.50 and you can buy eyeshadows, blushes and lipsticks at £1.50 each to fill it with. The complementary applicator is of course rubbish but then they usually are. I filled mine with blushes. I would recommend this to anyone who is new to the world of blush and wants to try a range of colours to find out what shades sit them best. Two of these (Flushed - deep pink, Glow - Peachy pink) look ok on me. Coy, a brownish pink looks terrible on me. It's just too dark for my pale skin. The real find for me is Shy, a dusty pink. The colours themselves come with a cute embossed face on them, this is long gone on Shy. They are fairly small but I won't complain for the price and this just means you can order new shades to try when you finish them! Texture wise these go on well and are nice and buildable though again I've had better blending blushes. These are worth every penny in my book!

The Mineral lipstick is a source of embarrassment for me. The packaging is rather sleek, the colour payoff is good, it doesn't dry my lips (not that I was wearing it very long to test it)and I'm told by other people that it lasts quite well. It's just that... I ordered Bare Brown in the spirit of trying new things. It looks pale and neutral on the site according to my monitor. On me it looks like i've smeared Nutella on my lips. Great lipstick for £3.50 but totally wrong colour for me.


The brightening eyeliners are a funny one. Firstly I don't understand how they are brightening. They are brown and grey (they have proper names, I don't remember them). I associate eye brightening pencils with being white or ivory, for use in the corners of your eyes. Anyway these are ok but they don't really do what I need them to do. I only ever wear pencil eyeliner on my water line. These just don't show up there! On my top lid they show up fine but I hate how pencils drag there. Nice colours, great value and I do like the sharpeners that come with them but I will never use these. Shame.



Cream eyeliner. How do I love thee, let me count the ways. I love your sexy packaging. I love the fact that though it looks like glass its actually plastic so won't shatter in my handbag. I love your creamy silky texture and the fact that when I swatched you on my hand you were still there after several handwashes and a shower. And I love your deep, inky blackness. You were the product that started this ELF binge off and you were totally, totally worth it.

Done vomiting? Sorry about that but I do love that eyeliner.
What's next? The pressed powder! Well it's powder, it's pressed and it does the job. Apricot Beige is a good colour for me and when used with the all over face brush it takes the shine off my nose (damn you mirror like nose) leaving a soft matte, but not too powdery finish. The site says it's 'clarifying' and treats and prevent imperfections. I wouldn't know about that, I just want to stop strangers checking their own makeup in my reflective nose. At £1.50 I've paid a lot more for similar products that do the same job.


In conclusion I have enjoyed this foray into ELF cosmetics. In future I will be a lot more fussy about what I buy in order to avoid those disappointing misses but I will definitely be buying from them in future. Would I buy these again?

Cream eyeliner - YES!!!! I want all the colours. Please ELF, make a purple? For me?
Brightening eye pencils - Nope.
Mineral lipstick - Yes but not in that colour.
'Clarifying' pressed powder - I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it but if I'm ordering something else this will probably find it's way into my basket.
Studio blush - Probably not this colour but I wouldn't say no to trying out some others.
Custom palette and blushes - How I wish the eyeshadows for these came in more variety. This palette has taught me alot about what blush does and doesn't work for my skin tone. I am now on a hunt for a Shy dupe in full size (why oh why can't I find one on the site???)

Honey, I'm home! And I'm finally reviewing my ELF goodies! (Pt 1)

Well I finally got my dissertation in and so here is the promised post reviewing the spoils from my ELF haul. It's a little later than expected (sorry!) but I needed a few days to recover from the aftermath... hic.

First up we have the brushes. I purchased an all over face brush, bronzer/ blush brush and a lip brush. I can't find anything to tell me what they are made of but at £1.50 each i'm going to guess synthetic. The pearly white plastic handles feel nice and substantial and I have experienced minimal shedding so far (I wash my brushes fairly vigorously every week). They are nice and soft, not the softest brushes ever but perfectly acceptable. I LOVE the finish the all over face brush gives when I apply powder and it is wonderful for blending away blush when you apply too much which I invariably do. It doesn't give you that cakey/ powdery finish that I usually end up giving myself when I powder. The blush/ bronzer, henceforth known simply as my blush brush as I don't even own bronzer, has a lovely angle to it and I love using it. It does take a few swipes with the ELF blushes to pick up enough colour. I can't really comment on the lip brush as, well, I never use one. No idea why I bought it. Weird.

In short; There are plenty of better brushes out there but none whatsoever for any where close to £1.50. They represent phenomenal value for money and the results are more than acceptable. I have more expensive brushes that are outperformed by these. If like me you are on a budget (roll on graduation!) I would really recommend them.

From a nice section to a very naughty section... oh 'all over colour stick'.... you promised colour! All over! Instead you make me look greasy (admittedly achieving this all over) and shiny with no colour payoff and to make things worse your orangy scent makes me nauseous. I can think of nothing positive about this product. Fail.



Now to the mineral eyeshadow primer. This looks and is fairly lumpy in the tube, I found it easier to wipe some of the product onto my finger instead of applying it with the applicator as the applicator itself just put too much on me. It dries down to a neutral coloured satin finish .Once on I did find the colour payoff of powder shadows to be a little stronger and they did last a little longer too. Ok it doesn't apply/ last as well as UDPP but then this was £3 and UDPP is £11.50. It is also more forgiving when it comes to blending, often a complaint about UDPP, and doesn't have the stupid shaped bottle that drives women every where to the tool shed to rescue the rest of the product. I'll admit I do prefer UDPP but in a pinch I will quite happily use this.


Do I have to review the cream eyeshadows? Really? But they make me so sad :-( I was so excited about this gorgeous coppery green and metallic aubergine purple in the pot. The colours looked stunning. Or do they. On my arm they look fine. That's because I spend a good 10 minutes digging into them with my brush and layering. The purple looks brown on me and somehow they manage to be both too sheer and lumpy. I eventually got some on my eyelid but after two hours I looked like this.



Sexy? No. It marched steadily up to my brow before disappearing completely.

So in summary, would I purchase these products again? Two hits and two misses so far.

Cream Eyeshadow - NOOOooooooooo...... Make it go away
Brushes - Absolutely yes. I will be ordering more soon.
Mineral eye shadow primer - It's ok for now but as soon as I'm working full time again I'll shell out for UDPP. Certainly usable and you get a lot for the price.
All over colour stick - If I'm going to hell the punishment for my sins will probably be to wear this for all eternity.

I'll be reviewing the blushes, pencils, lipstick and eyeliner shortly! Oh and the powder. I bought a lot of stuff...