Lazy EOTD – Barry M Mushroom

Some days I either don’t have the time or the energy to put together an eye look. This is quite rare actually as I normally wear 4+ shades on a work day. Here is something I threw on last week when the coffee hadn’t quite kicked in yet as evidenced by the decidedly dopey eyes and shoddy photography.

One swipe of Urban Decay primer potion in Sin, Barry M Mushroom Dazzle Dust blended over the lid and into the crease, black liner on waterline and top lash line, mascara and go.*edit to say apparently I'm not even wearing liner on my top lash line here. Normally I would, clearly I reached a new level of sloth here...*

What do you do on those ‘can’t be arsed’ days? Any go to products? X
*As usual bought with my own money*

Products I Regret Buying

Epic video thumbnail fail... I have tried to change it lol.

As I say in the video these are just products that didn't work for me. You may well disagree, one womans fail product is another womans HG after all!

On a random note have any other bloggers experienced the inspiration slump I mention in the video? I'm sure I'll be back to my old self soon. Le sigh x

*All the products in the video were purchased by me*

Beauty Blog Link Love!

Rachel finds out if a body lotion can be energizing with Liz Earle.

Makeup Morsels finally tries out those famous Urban Decay Liners.

Looking for a similar powder to the Magic Cool Powder from MAC? Look no further - Sleek Makeup have one for half the price!

Check out Audrey Dao's review of Zoya's Spring 2011 Intimate Collection along with photos and swatches!

Daily Polish shows off sneak pictures of China Glaze's Holiday 2011 Collection Let It Snow!

Phyrra tells you about Shadow Transformation. She compares four products from Fyrinnae, Hi-Fi, Sobe Botanicals, and Medusa's Makeup. See which one comes out on top!

Kelly of Gouldylox Reviews finds a new love at the drugstore. It's quickly becoming a foundation favorite!

What do you do when your bosses go on leave? Why, wear crazy turquoise fishnet nails to work of course - Musicalhouses did it!

Retrodiva shares her five favorite tinted moisturizers that can be used even on oily skin.

One palette; how many looks can The Lip Print create? It's a Palette Challenge!

Sarah from IHeartCosmetics bypasses Bella Bamba and goes straight for Benefit's Prrrowl and Magic Ink.

Jo at Music and Makeup finally had a play with MAC Club eyeshadow and liked the results!

Are China Glaze Channelesque and China Glaze Below Deck dupes or not? Check out this post at Beauty addict's blog to find out!

Big pores? You need this! Hellcandy shares her love for Benefit's Porefessional.

Craving the new Make Up For Ever Lab Shine lip glosses? Well, you're in luck because Krasey Beauty has swatches of the full collection!

Mz. More of The Glamorous Gleam tries out OPI Shatter Nail Polish. Is it all it's "cracked" up to be?

Jenn over at Spiced beauty puts on her best glam face using BarryM Cosmetics!

theNotice chats about the new love in her life - that is, Clarins Rouge Hydra Nude lipsticks. Will you be picking up a tube before they're sold out?

Amy Antoinette reviews ELF's Studio Line blushes.

It’s all about glowing skin and pink hues this spring! Anita reviews (almost) the entire Guerlain spring collection over at Pleasureflush.

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Beauty Crazed wants to solve your winter hair woes with $200 worth of Marc Anthony products! So enter the contest already!

Start the new year with a new you. Win a La Mav anti-age skin care pack and enjoy your new skin.

Help Cindy celebrate the one year anniversary of Prime Beauty. At this celebration the presents are for you!

Come by Jeweled Thumb to read a review of the Eyeko My Coral Crush Peachy Keen blush and also win one! Enter now to be one of the 2 lucky winners!

Socialite Dreams is hosting a giveaway of socialite approved goodies!

Natural Collection Solo Eyeshadow – Cheap, Matte and Fab

£1.79 for a decent matte shadow formula? Not possible you say? Read on! I have Heather on left (a purplish grey brown with a more satin finish too it) and Crushed Walnut on the right (matte mid toned brown). The packaging is basic white with a clear screw on lid. It feels as cheap as it looks but then it is £1.79 so it could be in 70’s beige for all I care. 

See those swatches? Want to know what primer those are over? NONE. Why am I asking all these questions in this post? Anyhoo they are very decently pigmented. They are very soft and will kick up a little powder it you swipe at them too hard with your brush so be sure to tap of any excess before applying or you may end up with some fall out. I find these perfect for a softly defined crease in an understated natural eye look. Without a primer they will fade a touch throughout the day but with a primer they last just fine. 

Had I paid, for example, MAC prices for these I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about them as I’d expect this kind of quality but I do believe these far out exceed my expectations for the price. Though not perfect these are good eye shadows and I get a lot of use out of them. I like ‘em and if I see another shade I like I’ll pick it up too. Bargain! X

*Bought with my own pennies. Literally pennies in this instance*

Sleek Molten Metal

I’ve been lusting after the Illamasqua Liquid Metals for ever but bad reviews commenting on the greasy texture and creasing put me off forking out the money for them. When Sleek brought out their own version I ran out to Superdrug only to find that everyone near me had the shelf but no products. One girl confessed that they had only received two for the display.... wtf? Why create hype with no products to back it up? I’d almost lost interest before I eventually found these. 

For £6.99 you get 5.4g. The shades are Pewter (on the left) and Gold Leaf (on the right). Whilst both are gorgeous I think it would have been more interesting to have a gold shade and some other mad shade. A gorgeous navy blue would have been very yummy. On my skin they just look like a warm and cool toned gold. You can see that they are very pigmented and the finish is very high shine. 

Worn on their own over a primer I get maybe 30 minutes of wear before all of the shadow travels into my crease. If you’re hoping for cream shadows that can be used by themselves I swear by Benefits creaseless cream shadows, these aren’t going to work. Worn over a primer and with powder shadow over the top they fair a little better but after 5 hours I still noticed creasing. Now I’m not prone to creasing shadow. In fact I wear my Revlon Illuminance cream shadows often to help my shadow stay vibrant all day and they never crease on me (when worn under powder). 

I’m not blown away by these. I tend to apply my makeup before 7 in the morning so if it won’t last all day I’m not going to bother with it. Personally I wouldn’t bother buying them again x

*Bought with my own pennies*

More empties?

I’m having to do another empties post earlier than scheduled as the little box I keep them in was full! It’s amazing how quickly things get used up when you stop faffing about with new goodies and actually crack on with the half empty bottles in your bath room. This month’s no buy went disastrously wrong so I’m starting afresh. 

Botanics Daily Hand Therapy SPF 10 – I like this hand cream and have several tubes of it. It sinks in quickly, doesn’t have an overpowering scent and the SPF is an added bonus. The only down side is my hands start to feel dry again quite quickly so I have to reapply often. £4.07 but often on offer in Boots. 

ELF Shine Eraser Blot Sheets – These are an absolute staple in my hand bag and now I’ve run out I’m panicking. My local Boots doesn’t have any brand of blot sheets in and I don’t want to put an ELF order in just now because I know I’ll go nuts. These do the job very nicely for only £1.50! 

Boots Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF15 – This 100ml tube lasted me forever! And at £2.85 it’s fantastic value for money. It didn’t irritate my skin and was certainly moisturising enough on my dry bits although it was a tad greasy and took a while o sink in properly. For that reason I won’t repurchase as I just don’t have time to hang around in the morning waiting for my moisturiser to sink in. 

Superdrug own brand eyelash curler – Meh it was ok. Cheap (less than a fiver I think) and didn’t pinch but not so amazing I’d go out of my way to repurchase it again. 

Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara – I really did like this and if it weren’t for the fact that I have about 10 unopened mascaras sitting around I would repurchase. It’s not often I properly empty a tube of mascara before the formula goes off but there is nothing left in this one! Current Boots price (on offer) £6.19.

Bare Minerals original foundation sample – it’s not for me. 

Blistex Intensive Moisturiser Lip Cream – I’ve gone through a thousand of these and I’ll buy a thousand more. Smells, tastes and feels disgusting but works like magic. £2.54

Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser – didn’t like the smell or the texture. It was so thick it was difficult to spread on the skin and just seemed to sit on top of it rather than sinking in. Would not repurchase. £3.56

Umberto Giannini Dry Shampoo – The bottle was faulty which has put me off buying another one. £5.61

Spa Lavender and Peppermint SOS Foot Treatment Scrub – Bought from Aldi of all places for a couple of quid (I forget exactly how much). This is very thick, very abrasive and smells gorgeous. Just the thing for perking up iffy feet in between attacks with the ped egg. 

Radox Shower Smoothies Shower gel – LOVE THESE. They smell divine and don’t dry my skin out. Only down side is the bottles don’t last very long. £2.54

MAC Brush Cleanser – Already had a back up. Love this for spot cleaning my brushes (I use baby shampoo to deep clean them). Make sure you put it in a spray bottle. It’s easier to use that way and lasts longer! £8.50

L’Oréal Perfect Clean Gentle Foaming Exfoliating Scrub – I really just buy these face washes for the little scrublets that come with them. This one was fine in the summer but over the winter it became too drying for me. I’m currently using the pink (gentle) one but it’s still a tad drying. £5.10 

TREsemme Colour Protecting Shampoo – Nothing special really but you get a huge bottle for £3.26 which makes it good value. Doesn’t strip the dye out of hair. I’m trying to move to SLS free products though so I probably won’t repurchase. 

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo – I prefer the smell and the colour of the brunette version so I won’t buy this one again. £2.35

Pantene Colour Care Conditioner – Didn’t really do much for my hair at all. Will not repurchase £4.07.

Sadly not much in the way of makeup in this round. Hopefully that will have changed next month! On the plus side this means I’ve used up roughly £58 worth of products so at least I know that money wasn’t wasted! X

*All of the above products were purchased by yours truly apart from the Bare Minerals sample which was free with a mag... which I also bought myself*

Sample Sunday - Estée Lauder Day Wear Plus SPF15

I was excited to try this one as I’ve heard great things about it. I’ve been using it for the better part of a week now and thankfully (or not if you think of the price) it has lived up to my expectations. The packaging is lovely although when you take the lid off there seems to be a lot of excess plastic around the lid which whilst pretty seems a little wasteful. 

The cream is a greenish white and has a light cucumber scent which personally I love. It’s thick and rich but not too much for my skin in the day. It absorbs quickly so I’m not hanging around for ages waiting to apply my makeup. It does a lovely job of soothing my dry patches as isn’t too much for the oily bits as long as I don’t over apply it in the areas. My skin stays moisturised all day and I haven’t had any reactions to the perfume in it. 

Would I repurchase? It’s £35 for 50ml which isn’t exactly cheap so I won’t be rushing out in the near future for it. Maybe one day though as I really do like it x

*received as part of a gift with purchase*

Rituals Gemstone Compact Powder

I’m always on the hunt for a ‘holy grail’ compact powder to keep my epically shiny nose matte during the day. Typically I blot and powder 3-4 times a day (and yes the rest of my face is still dry and flaky. My skin is teh aswesomz). I was given this from my husband for Christmas who gets full marks for remembering my enthusiasm for Rituals after I discovered them in Heathrow.

I love the packaging. It's a sleek black plastic with a good sized mirror. It feels hefty and well made. You get a little powder puff with it but I prefer my retractable kabuki. The box it comes in mentions all sorts about amethyst doing wonders (not sure about this myself) but for me the most important claims are from the site:

• “Ultra light, natural compact powder for a radiant and even skin
• Gives a naturally even result and keeps the skin perfectly matte
• Enriched with the ancient gemstone Amethyst for inner peace and creativity, relaxes the skin and makes it smooth and supple
• Mild formula: natural gemstones - no talc - no parabens - no perfume
• Feels sensationally soft on the skin
• Dermatologically tested”

Nothing nasty in it to irritate the skin and promises to prevent shine? Yes please! The powder looks lovely with Rituals embossed in it. The first thing I  noticed was how soft it is. The aforementioned kabuki is very dense so this kicks up a lot of powder and can be a little messy. The trade of is that is glides beautifully onto the skin. I find it actually quite high coverage for a blotting powder and it does a good job of helping disguise any patches where my foundation has melted off without looking cakey. It works very well on my pale skin and doesn’t oxidise at all on me. This might mean it won’t work as well on darker skin tones though.

This really does a fab job of controlling oil. It leaves a lovely soft matte finish and I don’t need to powder again for at least 3 hours which is very good going for me. I really do like this apart from two tiny little niggles. The mess and the fact that you only get 8g of product. I can see myself using this up very quickly! You can find it online here for £16.90 xx

LUSH Fresh Face Mask – Oatifix (like breakfast but on your face)

My mission to try all of the LUSH face masks continues with this strange little number. As usual you get 75g for £5.25 of goop that needs to be kept in the fridge. They say:

“For dry skin that needs a bit of extra TLC, you can't do better than a generous slathering of Oatifix. Oats and bananas are super-softening, and when you come to wash off the mask, you can use the ground almonds in Oatifix to give your skin a very light exfoliating scrub.”

This is a very thick sticky paste which smells exactly like flapjack. My skin has been very dry around my cheeks and forehead recently and I hoped that this might be a treat for it. Honestly though this is the first of these masks that I really haven’t liked. The mixture is so thick that it doesn’t stay on your face properly. You end up leaving a little oat trail around you. Ever seen the film Planet Terror? This makes you look like Bruce Willis in it. 

After use I find that my skin isn’t dried out like it is after clay based masks but it doesn’t do anything for the congested parts. If you have very dry skin and aren’t’ t bothered by having a melting face this might be nice but for me it’s too much hassle for not enough gain. Next!

*Bought with my own pennies*