MAC Love Nectar Lustre Glass

During the MAC Technique evening we were all focussing on dark smokey eyes so I wanted to keep the lips fairly understated. My eye fell upon this gorgeous peach with gold pearl, I was in love. IT looks so pretty yet understated on. The shimmer is dressy enough for evening but the colour is polite enough to let dramatic eyes take the focus. Love it!



It isn’t highly pigmented but it leaves a soft peach glow on my lips. It’s perfect for layering over nude lippies too. The formula is a little bit sticky for me so I use it fairly sparingly however the stickiness does mean it lasts a bit longer than most glosses. The applicator is a brush rather than a doe foot.

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

Beauty Blog Link Love Time!

Have you ever tried epilating? Well, now Rae has -- and she just loves her new Emjoi Emagine!

Vote NOW on what Makeup Series you'd like to see next on Betty Girl Makeup. Poll closes Friday, August 6th @ 11:59pm.

Jellyminx shows a summery golden pink look and features a surprise guest!

Kim Porter swatches products from the MAC In The Groove Collection to show you what it looks like on NC50 skin.

Krasey Beauty has exclusive swatches of the new Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Collection.

Rachel's been trying out new mineral makeup from Lily Lolo over at Queen of Turquoise.

Hot Beauty Health shares a list of the top 10 virtual hairstyle and makeover sites to try out a new look!

Musicalhouses makes Illamasqua's Beg blush wearable in her latest FOTD.

Find out everything about Summer 2010 makeup trends in the Makeup4All on-line beauty magazine.

Joeybunny over at the PinkSith blog tells us what worked and what didn't during her testing of Raw Minerals Makeup and Brushes. Did you know she's a Team Jacob and not a Team Cullen?

Jolie Laide Girl gets all hot and bothered playing with the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Check out what makes Guerlain's Meteorites Perles primer so special on Beauty Addict.

Fed up of struggling to access your new makeup? Yeah... Lipglossiping is, too!

Christelle from Beauty Crazed learns that multiple X's are not always inappropriate... sometimes they mean mascara!

I Heart Cosmetics has become totally obsessed with the Clarisonic.

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Retrodiva is giving away the brand new Sampar's Good Weekend Kit, a new travel-friendly kit for urban skin survival.

Win an Infiniti by Conair You Curl curling iron from Audrey Dao.

There's still time to enter the Summer Smooth Skin Giveaway at The Gloss Menagerie!

Got troublesome skin? Enter Hellcandy's skincare giveaway for the chance to win some B-Liv products!

Do you want a new traincase? CSN stores is giving one Spiced Beauty reader a $40 gift card!

Instyle The Body Shop Freebies!

In the September issue of Instyle (UK) there are two free lip/cheek stains being given away. One is a gorgeous raspberry red, the other is a shimmering bronze. Of course I’m a sucker do I bought both. I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve had a chance to try them out!
Apparently they have a combined value of £19 (the magazines are £3.60 each) so it’s quite a bargain really xxx

L’Oréal Smoothing Resurfacing Primer

I’ve been eyeing up this baby for a while now so when L’Oréal was on buy 2 get 1 free recently at Superdrug I made a beeline for it. The unassuming little glass jar (15ml of product) costs £12.99 at full price which may seem a lot for such a small jar of drugstore product. I’ve been using this for a couple of weeks now though and have barely made a dent. You do get your monies worth as you require very little of it. L’Oréal don’t claim that this primer will make your makeup last all day or that you will be oil free for all eternity. In fact they make only one claim on their website:

“Inspired by professional make-up, this primer masks wrinkles and uneven textures in the skin, making the complexion incredibly smooth with a velvety touch. Skin feels soft as if resurfaced.”

Pores be gone! It certainly does a better job of disguising my many enlarged pores than my GOSH primer does (though I still love that). Used under my eyes I find my concealer creases less too when I’m squinting at things (I’m long sighted). It provides a soft, smooth base for your foundation to glide over. I’d even go so far as to say that I do find it mattifying too. My foundation just looks so much better with this than it does without.

The product looks and feels exactly like marshmallow in the jar. It’s all soft and fluffy and a little bit pink. You just dab your finger in it and then spread it over you face concentrating in problem areas. As I’ve said a little goes a long way so I don’t see myself using this up anytime soon. When I do though I’d seriously consider repurchasing as long as they don’t put the price up anymore. Love it! Xxx

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

NYX Lipgloss Swatches: Real Nude and Mauve

As part of my Cherry Culture haul I picked up a couple of NYX glosses. I’m definitely more of a lippie girls than a gloss girl but at those prices I was keen to try them out. Here we have Real Nude (ironically a mauve nude) and Mauve (which doesn’t look that Mauve to me). How odd. In the pic Real Nude is on the left and Mauve is on the right. Mauve looks like more of a mid toned pink to me.

As the swatches show these are fairly pigmented for glosses. They are smooth and none sticky too which I love. The applicators are doe foot which some people love (like me) and some don’t. I personally find they give a more even application.

Despite loving all these things about the glosses I have only worn each one a couple of times. Now this isn’t going to be a bad thing for everyone and everyone will have their own preference but to me things STINK. I mean they properly hum.... They have this sweet sugary orange kind of smell, kind of similar to the ELF All Over Colour Stick I hated so much. I’m not a massive fan of sweet foods or scents and I balk at this fragrance every time. Sorry NYX! I love your other stuff and I’m sure plenty of other people love this fragrance but I don’t want it anywhere near me...

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

Revlon Foundation Brush

I loved the eye brushes from Revlon but I’m not quite sure why I picked this one up. I don’t generally like these style foundation brushes, I think they leave me with a streaky finish. Of course it could just be me being incompetent. That said for mixing too dark foundation with sunscreen, something I’m doing often these days, these style brushes do work well. And this one is my favourite of the 3 I have.

The bristles are synthetic and super soft. I find that they drink less foundation than the ELF Studio version and are easier to clean as a result. Like the eye brushes the handle is super long. Some people like this, some hate it. Personally I’m indifferent. I still get a bit of a streaky finish but I just buff over the top with a kabuki and all is well.

I forget exactly how much I paid but I know it was less than £10 at Superdrug. I’m really loving their brushes! Tell me, what brush brands (other than MAC) do you like? xxx

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

NOTD – China Glaze Frostbite

The NOTD posts are BACK! And back in style with one of the most gorgeous blues I’ve ever owned. This is Frostbite from the Winter 2007 SKI collection by China Glaze. I picked it up at my local Sallys recently. It is a gorgeous, vibrant, pearly blue. My pics don’t even begin to show how rich and vibrant this colour is.



This was three easy coats. It lasted 2 days before tip wear set it but I am really hard on my nails. Love it!! X

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

Earthnicity Round two: Eyeshadow swatches

Along with the foundations and blush I ordered samples of Candy (baby pink with sliver sparkles), Emerald (true green again with silver sparkles) and Nude shimmer (a warm shimmery beige). Apparently Nude Shimmer can be used as a highlight or a light bronzer. I’m not sure the shimmer lends itself too well to being a bronzer though the colour is deep enough if you’re as pale as I am. Also they describe Candy as Matte, which the bulk of it is, but again this all pervasive silver glitter is still present in my sample at least.


The swatches are dry with no primer. You can get a more shimmery effect when used wet and a sticky primer helps intensifie the colour too. Honestly, though I like the formula, I don’t like these colours on me. But I suppose that’s the point of samples isn’t it! I didn’t have any fading or creasing when used with a primer.

A full sized jar will cost you £7.99 for 5ml of product. I prefer the foundations and blushes to these eyeshadows to be honest but only because the colours don’t appeal to me personally. I’ll be ordering some from another site shortly so stay tuned for some more mineral eyeshadow swatches! Xxx

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

A foray into mineral makeup: Earthnicity

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of mineral makeup but didn’t want to spend a fortune trying out then deciding it wasn’t for me. When I stumbled across Earthnicity mineral makeup online and saw that they did samples I jumped at the chance to order some and try them out. I got two foundation shades, a blush and three eyeshadows. Samples cost £1.20 each and you get a fairly substantial amount (I’ve used the foundations twice and still have a bit left).

The foundation: This is the product I was most sceptical about as I like a full coverage foundation and I’m a bit of a mucky pup with loose powders too. I ordered the two lightest shades, Alabaster and Porcelain, as I have neutral skin and wasn’t sure whether the yellow (Alabaster) or pink (Porcelain) tones would work best. Both are ok on me but it looks best when I mix them. The blurb on the website says:

“Pure Mineral Makeup - No Additives, No Nanoparticles

Our mineral makeup is made out of pure minerals and contains no preservatives, bismuth oxychloride, talc, parabens, perfumes, alcohols or nano-particles.
Natural Makeup That's Good For Your Skin
Our mineral cosmetics are anti-inflammatory, oil-free and won't clog pores - great for oily, acne-prone skin or sensitive skin. Our makeup is so pure, you can even sleep with it on!

Lightweight, Breathable and Long-Lasting Makeup
Earthnicity Minerals helps you achieve that flawless "no-makeup" look while providing coverage that lasts all day - even through rain or sweat.”


Sounds good! It’s a soft powder that buffs easily into the skin leaving a soft matte finish. I could call it light to medium coverage depending on how much you use. The real test of endurance is my infamous oil slick nose which normally requires powdering every 2-3 hours. This does actually last a bit longer, touch ups are required after 4-5 hours. Providing you buff it into the skin properly it doesn’t look cakey.

Blush: I got Sorbet which is described on the site as a matte peachy pink shade. I would call it more of a reddish pink and whilst it maybe supposed to be matte I found a bit of silver sparkle in mine (which personally I don't mind). It looks fairly dark in the jar and is extremely pigmented however you can apply this in such a way as to either get a really subtle flush or some really high impact colour. The first time I tried this I used my MA 188 and accidentally picked up too much. Frankly I looked hilarious... A light hand is required!


All in all I like the blush a lot and i’m pleasantly surprised by the foundation. I’m considering mineral foundation as an option for summer when I don’t want liquid sweating off. It’s not as messy to use as I feared although I’m not sure how the full sized ones would travel for touch ups. Full sized containers of the blush are £11.99 and the foundation is £14.99 at http://www.earthnicity.co.uk/home.html
Eyeshadows swatches/ review to follow shortly xxx

OPI Nail Envy

*First section written on 26th June*
The drama of my horrible nails is well documented in here. I love doing NOTD posts but recently my nails have been too disgusting to inflict them on the world. Over the last two months I have finished exams, started a new job, gotten married and graduated. Ordinarily I never bite my nails however when I’m stressed I have no idea I’m doing it. That disgusting habit, along with damage from false nails, means currently I have thin flaky horrid nubbins. This picture is not for the faint of heart.

Ew. Having tried Nail Dr (it was ok, no miracle worker) and many other cheaper options I have finally caved and shelled out the £18 for OPI Nail Envy. They have a variety of different formulas catering for different nail ailments. Brittle, thin, peeling, soft nails. This was a problem. I’m D – all of the above. So I went with the original formula. It’s a milky colour in the bottle but goes on clear and glossy.
The instructions say to paint 2 layers on and then add a layer every 2 days. At the end of the week take it all off and start again. It dries very quickly (quicker than normal OPI polishes) so it isn’t a huge chore to keep topping it up.

After two weeks of religious use these were the results. Better isn’t it?
I’ve been filing my nails quite a lot to get rid of the damaged parts. My nails generally grow pretty fast so the damaged nail from the fake plastic wedding nails has now reached half way up the nail bed. I reckon another 3-4 weeks and it will be totally grown out.

They aren’t peeling which is amazing considering how flaky they normally are. They are still thin and flexible but I suppose they will be until the damage has grown out. All in all I’m impressed. Again it isn’t a miracle worker but it has worked better than anything else I have tried. I still think £18 is a bit steep but I’m prepared to buy another bottle once I get through this one. As a result stay tuned for some more NOTD posts! Xx

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

Summer Series: Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream SPF15

Mmm crows feet. Shexy no? No. Coleen Rooney you may be infinitely richer and prettier than I am however you are almost the same age as me and your penchant for sunbathing has left you with crows feet that someone our age should not have (I say this based solely on pictures in magazines that may or may not have been photo shopped. Whatever, she’s still prettier than me).

It is so important to wear sunscreen and yet it can be quite difficult to find moisturisers that are safe for the eye area that contain SPF. SPF15 may not be a huge amount but it is a start. Once again this Boots own brand offering is rather cheap at £2.49 and the back of the packaging claims to “help reduce appearance of fine lines, puffiness & dark circles within 4 weeks”. I don’t really have fine lines (other than when I’m squinting which is quite often actually) and though I am plagued with dark circles puffiness has never been an issue for me so I can’t comment on these issues. As for reducing dark circles I’ve been sleeping much better recently so it’s probably the sleep rather than the cream that’s caused the improvement.

As a moisturiser isn’t kind of meh. It’s a very thick beige cream and it takes a good couple of minutes to absorb into my skin. I don’t find it to be hugely moisturising but then again I don’t need too much moisture round my eyes. What I love about it is that I have never ever experienced any sensitivity using this around my eye area, no silly little bumps under the skin and no matter how cack handed I am pre coffee no stinging if I miss and get it in my eye. Don’t laugh, it’s happened.

All in all I like it. It’s cheap eye safe sunscreen and it does the job well. If you need hefty moisturisation you may need something more potent. I however will be repurchasing in the near future xx

L’Oréal Paris Infallible Foundation

The quest for the perfect foundation continues in barginous fashion after a recent buy 2 get one free offer at Superdrug on L’Oréal products. I had heard a few reviews claiming that this foundation is similar to Revlon Colour Stay which I like but it is not without its flaws (no pump and it stinks). It cost £10.99 for 30ml of product as opposed to Color stay which is £11.99 for 30ml. Not a huge difference price wise but when you think that the L’Oréal has a pump meaning it’s easier to use only as much as you need whereas with the Revlon I always feel like I’m wasting product as I can’t control how much I’m pouring out. They both have nice, substantial feeling glass bottles.

The L’Oréal wins on the fragrance front too with its light floral scent. It starts out a bit strong but quickly fades away and there is none of the heavy chemical stench of Color Stay. The formula is thick but not as thick and unforgiving as the Color Stay too so you have more time to blend it. If you are looking for really full coverage then Color Stay will win out. I would call this medium but buildable. The colour range isn’t as wide as Color Stay as far as I know (I could well be wrong though) but the palest (15 Porcelaine) is a good match for Morticia here.

Now the blurb on the bottle says “Long-Lasting Perfecting Foundation” with 16 hour wear and “Fights the signs of makeup meltdown Anti-Transfer + Anti-Mask Effect”. 16 hour wear? Yes on the rest of my face but regular readers will not be shocked to know that after about 6 hours it’s begun to break down on my nose requiring a hefty dose of powder to even things out again. Though oddly, because it isn’t as heavy as Color Stay, it isn’t as noticeable when it starts breaking down as the naked patch isn't as apparent.

The only negative I have personally is that it sure as hell isn’t Anti-Transfer. I notice some coming off on my hands every time I touch my face and I phone is frankly covered. This isn’t fixed by setting it with a powder. It’s annoying but I guess I shouldn’t be touching my face anyway. If floral scents are a turn off for you this won’t be for you either, I happen to quite like it though. Personally I do prefer this to Color Stay. It isn’t as thick and heavy, it’s packaging is more practical and it doesn’t smell of chemicals. Love it! x

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks

One of my favourite lipstick formulas is Rimmels Moisture Renew line. I find that the leave my lips in fantastic condition. The staying power is average but I’m not complaining as long wearing lip colours tend to give me cat bum mouth. Recently I picked up 3 more to add to my collection.

Unfortunately there were no testers available which means though I was looking for wearable work shades that’s not quite what I ended up with. Fist we have Fancy which is a light cool pink with a silvery frost. It is VERY frosty on, pretty and fairly sheer but if you like a matte finish then none of these will be for you.

Next is Latino. This is my favourite of the three. It’s a warmer, brighter pink than Fancy but still quite cool toned with less sparkle but still a distinctly metallic finish. It’s a little less sheer than Fancy.

Finally there is Rose Sorbet. This is not one for the faint of heart, when I wear this I wear very little other makeup. It’s a super bright pink with more of a red tinge to it. Again the finish is metallic rather than sparkly

The swatches have Rose Sorbet on top, Latino in the middle and Fancy on the bottom. They are pigmented enough to be built up to a really bright finish but can also be worn fairly sheer as well. They come in the signature purple Rimmel packaging which I love and are often buy 2 get 1 free (normal price at Boots is £5.99).

Sally Hansen Insta Dry Drops

I hate walking around unable to touch anything for fear of messing up my mani. A fast dry top coat like Seche Vite would be a solution however it comes with so many issues of its own, namely thickening so you have to buy their own brand thinner, that I’m hesitant to try it. So when I saw these in the bargain bin at Boots for the princely sum of 99p (is it being discontinued?) I thought why the heck not.

This is an oil which you apply to your freshly painted nails. The instructions say to wait for 60 seconds after the top coat then apply 1-2 drops per nail. As you can see there is a little medicine dropper which makes application pretty easy and the thin oil spreads itself over the nail surface. The theory goes that magic will then occur and your nail polish will be touch dry almost instantly.


Does it work? No. Certainly it is dry to the touch if you touch it very lightly but press down at all and you will get fingerprints in your polish. My nail varnish still isn’t totally dry for about an hour. And the oil feels icky on my fingers too. I end up sitting unable to do anything for just as long with the added discomfort of having oil over my hands.

Maybe the time has come for me to bite the bullet and buy some Seche Vite? xx

Garnier Fresh Essentials Cleansing Wipes

I always keep makeup remover wipes on hand even though I do not recommend them as an everyday method of removing your makeup. I need them for things like swatching and as a last resort on a Friday night after having a civilized sherry with ones chum
s (read staggering home from a nightclub with my liver a little worse for wear).

A problem I often have with wipes though is that they tend to irritate the sensitive skin under my eyes. These are no exception, in fact these are pretty bad. They are quite dry and have been since the day they were opened so it isn’t due to me not closing them properly. This means I have to rub a fair bit to shift any eye makeup and it does get really quite sore. I still wake up with panda eyes too so it isn’t worth the effort. In the end I relegating these to swatching duty only and use gentler wipes on my face.

The wipes themselves have a fresh cucumber sort of scent and you get 25 in a pack. They claim to remove makeup (which they don’t do very well), tone (meh) and purify (no). I think I paid about £2.99 for these on offer in a super market. Honestly I won’t be repurchasing as there are plenty of other brands out there which work better for me. It’s a while since I’ve been so disappointed with a product, usually I like Garnier too, but these get a bit fat thumbs down from me xxx

Barry M Lip Lacquer Crayon

I love a bright lip in summer. It means I can keep the rest of my makeup low key and thus (hopefully) sweat proof. Having read some wonderful things about the Barry M lip crayons I tottered on down to check them out and walked away with number 3 (Mandarin according to the site).

This is a bright orange toned red with gold sparkle through it. It is really quite opaque and very shiny on the lips. I wear this on my brave days. I was expecting a fairly hard consistency given that it is a crayon but it is actually softer and creamier than a normal lipstick is. This means you have to be careful when sharpening it but it is a dream to apply.

The formula is neither moisturising nor drying on my lips. It lasts a good few hours on me (without eating or drinking) and I haven’t experienced any bleeding. I have noticed that it can smudge very easily on hot days which I’m putting down to the waxy formula melting in the heat.

Overall you can colour me impressed. I *think* that all of the available shades are sparkly but don’t quote me on that, and they are all super bright colours. I kinda hope they bring out some more neutral and satin finish colours as the formula really is lovely to wear. Plus there is something childish and fun about actually colouring your lips in... I think it’s definitely worth the £4.95 xx

GOSH Effect Powder in Kiss

Trawling the aisles at Superdrug recently I spotted a box of sealed, brand new GOSH pigments in Kiss for a mere £1. I’m assuming this was a mistake as when I went back a week later they were back up to £5.50. Good job I picked one up when I did then!

It’s a little glass pot, same size as a Barry M Dazzle Dust, containing a rather lovely shimmery lilac pigment. It adheres well to the skin but works best with a sticky base. This will not fade throughout the day on me and I love the way it catches the light.

Hmm... not really sure what else to say about this. It’s a pigment. It’s by GOSH. It’s lilac coloured. I like it! I’m not sure I’d pay the full price simply because I find loose shadows a pain to use as I’m a bit of a mucky pup but I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any on offer. Hope you’re all having a fab weekend! xxx

BBLL Time!

It's that time again folks! Loving these blogs :-)

Have you tried Ellis Faas yet? Rae's reviewing a few of these super-luxe, super-chic products, starting with Ellis' Milky Lips line!

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blushers have caught Louise's eye.

No bruises here! Check out Maggie's soft pink & purple face of the day over at The Polka-Dotted Apple.

When do Lego's and cosmetics have something in common? When Jouer comes to town, that's when. Watch Jeweled Thumb act 5 and play with a recent haul!

Butter LONDON has some fabulous new nail shades for Autumn 2010 - come check them out on Lipglossiping!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets up close and personal with the Burberry Beauty line!

Hell Candy attends the Edward Bess UK launch and is blown away by the beauty of everything (the make up AND the man!)

Jolie Laide Girl gets silky soft with Kiehls Lightweight Body Lotion.

Sarah from IHeartCosmetics shows you how to get rid of spots,simply and easily.

Dry skinned and on a budget? Eyelining thinks Boots may have a bargain solution!

Looking for a perfect red nail polish for summer? Take a look at Illamasqua's Alarm at Makeup4All.

Lipgloss86 conquers all fears and grabs for the epilator in a bid for fuzz free legs.

The Lip Print discovers the sweetest nail shades for spring and has a chat with Orly's Creative Director about what's hot for nails!

There’s a new mascara in town! Check out Tsahi’s review on Revlon’s new Luscious Grow Mascara.

Madame B Fatale talks about a product that supports a great cause!

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Be sure to enter Phyrra's Summer Giveaway! Two winners, great prizes, open worldwide!

It's Pink Diva Beauty's birthday and you receive the presents! Have you entered?

Ever wanted to try LA's Prtty Peaushun? Now you can - Beautywoome is giving it away this month!

Reviva Labs wants to protect and prettify you with their Summer Skincare Giveaway on Prime Beauty.

The Pink Sith is celebrating her second Blog Anniversary with a Purple and Silver giveaway!

17 Eyeshadow Trios: Pretty in Pink and Forest

Whilst stocking up on hay fever meds in Boots (roll on Autumn...) I decided to cheer myself up with a cheap and cheerful makeup purchase. It didn’t stop me sneezing but it did make me feel a little less sorry for myself. Here we have two eye shadows trios from Boots brand 17. The pink is, shockingly, called Pretty in Pink and the green is Forest.

Pretty in Pink is the more pigmented of the two. In fact it is insanely pigmented and very creamy to apply. There is a bright fuchsia, baby pink and a lavender/ lilac that goes on much lighter than it appears in the pan. All three are very shimmery, almost to the point of being frosty. The formula exceeded my expectations, it is smooth and vibrant and blends easily. I have never experienced any fading with it.


Forest is pretty but slightly less impressive. There is a deep forest green, paler mint green and warm yellowed beige. These are slightly less shimmery than the shades in Pretty in Pink and possibly as a result are less pigmented and a little less smooth. They aren’t chalky as such, they just don’t quite measure up to Pretty in Pink.


For £4.99 you get a fairly substantial amount of shadow (I’m not sure of the exact amount). I will probably be checking out a couple of other colours. The Dolly Mixture trio is calling my name.... xx

MAC Dainty Blush

I seem to have been a bit of a MAC fiend of late. Here is a quick swatch of my current favourite MAC blush – Dainty. This is a mineralize blush and I find the texture much softer and easier to blend than normal MAC blushes. It’s a soft peachy pink with gold shimmer and slight sparkles throughout. The shimmer doesn’t come off too strong on the cheeks however so it’s still nice and wearable.


I would call it medium pigmentation. It’s vibrant enough but blends out to a subtle finish. In fact if you are overzealous with the kabuki you run the risk of it blending off all together. That being said once it’s on (and you’ve stopped buffing) it last fairly well on my skin. It’s faded a bit by the end of the day but it hasn’t completely vanished.

I think I prefer the mineralized blushes to the regular ones. In fact I’m giving serious consideration to having another peek at the In the Groove ones. Have you tried them? What did you think? xxx

Boots Vitamin E Night Cream

I have often complained about my combination oily skin. You’d expect that with it being summer it would resemble a chip pan at the moment but no, my batty body has surprised me again. I don’t know if it’s hormones or the increase in time spent in air conditioned offices but I have dry scaly patches popping up all over the place. Of course my nose is still like an oil slick. Super.

In addition to sunscreen containing moisturisers in the morning I have added a night cream to my routine (avoiding my nose) in order to combat the dryness. So far I haven’t morphed into a reptile from V (I’m a geek and proud) so it does seem to be working! For £2.99 Boots own brand offering was a cheaper alternative to the Body Shop Vitamin E cream that I loved so much. You get 50ml of product which claims to provide “rich and nourishing daily moisturisation with anti oxidant protection”.

It’s a thick white cream with a distinct clean smell. It smells a bit like sunscreen actually (though it has no SPF what with it being a night cream). I slather it on generously and then feel like a greasy sticky mess of the next minute or so. It really is quite rich, at first I worried it was too much for my skin, but after around a minute *slurp*. It disappears into my skin leaving it softer, less scaly and non greasy.

This product does provide instant moisture but it doesn’t last throughout the whole next day. If I don’t moisturise in the morning by the following evening all it’s hard work has been undone and I’m back to looking reptilian. For super dry skin I would recommend buying something a bit heavier and more long lasting. However for normal/ combination skin I think this is definitely a bargain beauty. I like it and if they hadn’t been out of it when I was shopping last week I would have bought it again xxx

ELF Studio Brush Set

I do love me a bit of the ELF Studio line. A while ago hubby surprised me with this brush set and having tested it out thoroughly (read daily use for 1.5 months) I am pleased to report that it is worth every penny of the £39 he spent on it. You get 11 brushes all packaged up in a black travel case.


The case itself does feel a little cheap but it is perfectly functional and has survived several trips with me already. The brushes themselves are all synthetic (Taklon) so are vegan friendly. The black bristles and handles give them a sleek look which I rather like and the bristles are very soft. Unlike the normal brush line they remain soft despite repeated washing, I had to throw my normal ELF brushes out recently as they had become too scratchy to use! I haven’t had any issues with shedding either though when I first got them a couple of stray hairs needed trimming on the powder brush.

The blush brush it a tapered, smallish fluffy brush. It’s not the most dense blush brush I’ve ever seen but it picks up product well and blends out easily too. It’s small enough to concentrate colour in specific areas too.

The complexion brush is larger and fluffier. I like using this to apply my MAC Studio Fix powder foundation. Again I find the synthetic bristles do pick up powder product really well. Not so much for cream products though.

The foundation brush is very flat and the tapered shape lends itself well to getting in the crevices round your nose and eyes. I personally find that I prefer my Revlon foundation brush though. It blends better and is easier to clean. I find that some foundations cling to the ELF brushes fibres making it a pain in the bum to clean properly.

The powder brush is my favourite brush FULL STOP let alone my favourite ELF brush. It is a flat top buffer brush. Ironically for powder it’s useless as it picks up too much and looks cakey. I love it for liquid foundation and you can really work it into the skin to get a fantastically well blended finish. I’m going to be getting a couple of backups when I next put and ELF order in.

The fan brush is a funny one. It is designed to sweep away fallout from under the eyes or to apply a really light sweep of powder. It isn’t really dense enough though and the bristles are too floppy to effectively move product. I love how it looks in the holder but I wouldn’t bother purchasing it separately.

The concealer brush is one I get a lot of use out of. Its small size is perfect for placing product under the eyes or on problem areas. It is rather thin though so I find it easier to blend with my fingers rather than using this.

The ‘C’ brush is perhaps one of the most well known ELF studio brushes. It is a short, dense eyeshadow brush which is perfect for packing colour all over the lid. It’s wonderful with powder eyeshadows but I don’t personally like it for pigments or cream shadows.

The contour brush is a dense, domed brush. It’s nice and small so if you’re like me and have a really small lid space it’s small enough to get in there and create a crease without depositing product all the way from the lash line to the eyebrow (not that a brush ever did that to me... MAC) It is more stiff than it is fluffy so I like to use it to deposit colour in the crease the use the Revlon Contour brush to blend it out.

The small angled brush it perfect for applying a thicker liner of gel eyeliner or setting liner with powder shadow. For a more precise line I’d use a smaller brush though.

The small precision brush and the small smudge brush are basically the same but the small precision brush is slightly more pointed. Both are good for highlighting the inner corners or for smudging out liner. If you were buying the brushes individually you only really need one of these but I find it useful to have the two in the set so I can use each one for those two tasks without having to spot clean mid application.


Still with me? You can buy all of these individually for £3.50 each. I would personally just buy the whole lot. At £39 it’s cheaper than some MAC brushes are individually and the brushes are good quality. If you were to buy them individually though I would skip the Fan brush and the Liner brush and pick up the Studio Kabuki with the pennies saved.

Do you own any of these brushes? What do you think of them? xx