September Empties

One more down on my Project Ten Pan! Which leads me to a question. As I slowly start to run out of products to review what kind of posts would you like to see? I’m trying to do more FOTD/ EOTD posts but do you lovely people have any other suggestions? It would be much appreciated!

First down is my Clinique Super Balanced foundation. This is the actual bottle that I wore on my wedding day so I was a little sad to see it go. That being said my wedding was well over a year ago so it was about time this got used up. I liked it but I prefer other things I’ve tried so I won’t buy it again.

Two cans of Batiste. I’m not a huge fan of the Blush fragrance so I’m going to stick to buying the Brunette version.

Two Superdrug Hand Creams. I liked these, especially the Intensive version on the right. They were only a couple of £. I’m trying to stick with hand creams with SPF in them though.

L’Occitane shampoo mini, a hotel freebie. I’m currently using up my mini shampoos to deep clean my makeup brushes with.

To Miss Dior Cherie perfume samples. My goodness, everything seems to be in pairs today! I actually have a slightly bigger sample that I got in one of the Christmas gift sets to use up. Although I liked the fragrance I tend to get bored of perfumes quickly so I doubt I’ll buy the full size.

ELF Oil Blotting sheets. Now I know that ELF recently repackaged their blotting sheets. You used to get a pack of 50 for £1.50 whereas now you get 3 packs of 50 for the same price. Brilliant right? No. These new ones are too small! Yes they work fine but they are so tiny and fiddly. I’m going to try and track down the new Kleenex versions once I’ve run out of these.

Olay Eye Gel. Creepiest eye cream ever. It was totally clear and looked/ felt like snail goo. Do not recommend!

LUSH Lip Dip lip scrub. This came in one of the many Christmas box sets I had and is fantastic. The granules are smaller and less harsh than the original formulas yet it still does a fantastic job. Oh and it tastes like lemon sherbet. I have another jar that I’m trying to use up before it expires.

*All bought by me*

September Favourites

Just as September lulls us into a false sense of security tempting us with woolly jumpers and snugly boots we are told we are about to have a heat wave. DAMN YOU WEATHER FOLK! Confusing forecasting aside it’s been a funny month for me makeup wise. I think a combination of too much work, too little sleep and the monotony of project ten pan has led to me being stuck in a little makeup rut. I plan on mixing it up a lot more next month. When I have been a good girl and trowled on the slap this is what I’ve been wearing.

Shimmery blush is an unusual pick for me. I normally like my blush and my bronzer matte so that I can add shimmer only where I want it with my highlighter. Unfortunately bronzer and highlighter have been forgotten most days in my rush to get out the door so I’ve been trying to stop my skin looking quite so flat with a little shimmah shimmah.

When I’ve not been wearing the Benefit You Rebel Lite which I’m trying to use up I’ve been using a rather odd combination mixed together in that sample pot. The Revlon Color Stay is too light and a touch too heavy for me at the moment. The Stila Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser is way too dark. Together though? Perfection. It lasts as long as the Color Stay but with a softer finish.

In the absence of time to create elaborate eye looks I’ve been reaching for brighter lipsticks to perk up my face. This one from Ruby & Mille is called Red Sheer and is.... a sheer red. The juicy sheer formula means that it isn’t high maintenance like most reds. It just fades evenly and you can chuck it on and go.

I don’t mean to go on about it but have I mentioned how tired I’ve been lately? Yes? Well I’ll shut up about it in a minute. Tired enough to double up on my concealer, that’s how fricking tired I’ve been. On tinted moisturiser days the Garnier roll on isn’t enough so I pop that on underneath my tinted moisturiser and the MAC Select Moisture on over the top. They seem to sit well together and it’s the makeup equivalent of one coat emulsion on my under eye circles. Except it’s not one coat...

*All product mentioned bought by me*

Duo Lash Adhesive

Having run out of my Revlon lash glue I decided to replace it with the Duo one when I last visited MAC. This costs £10 but you get a huge amount (14g) and as I see it constantly being used by the fabulous Pixiwoo girls I knew it would be good. 

The glue is thick and white but dries clear. The squeezy tube is great because it allows you to squeeze out just enough without wasting any product. It sticks really well and I have no problems with lashes going walkies before the end of the night. 

There is one problem though and to be fair it is my fault not theirs. One of the main ingredients in this is latex. I am allergic to latex... I can use it just if I make sure I don’t get any on my skin but it’s a pain and I certainly wouldn’t recommend any one else with a latex allergy using it. To be honest I’m not happy risking it so I will probably give it away. It is a fab product, just a shame my skin can’t cope with it!

*Bought by me*

FOTD Featuring Sleek PPQ Me, Myself & Eye Palette

What I’m about to tell you might be a little shocking. In fact I suggest you read it sat down with a chamomile tea to hand. I didn’t wear makeup AT ALL last week. I know! Not too long ago I posted about how I never go without my war paint but there you have it, I was just too tired and had too little time. Anyhoo to get myself back into the swing of things I had a play with the latest Sleek palette. I wanted something Autumnal and it fit the bill nicely!

I used the shadows from the palette marked with hearts. I also used a black MAX Factor Kohl pencil on my waterline. Benefit BadGal black mascara (how amazing are my lashes looking by the way? LOVE Rapidlash). Oh and I used ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer and a Bloom Eye Paint in Champagne underneath.

On the rest of my face I used Benefit You Rebel Lite, Garnier Anti Dark Circles Eye Roll On, ELF HD Loose Powder, Sleek Brow Pencil, MUA Clear Mascara (on brows), ELF Studio Blush & Bronzer Duo and a Lancôme Blush Subtil highlighter. Oh and NYX Round Lipstick in B52. Apologies for the poor lighting in the full face shot but it was the only one of about 50 that didn’t look like I was gurning x

*All products mentioned were bought by me* 

Sleek PPQ Palette – Me, Myself & Eye

Firstly I’d like to apologise for being a rude cow and now replying to comments lately. Truth is all my recent scheduled posts have been scheduled and I’ve not actually been around. *Insert convincing excuse here*. Long story short life should be calming down soon so I’ll be playing catch up.

Secondly I would like to ask two questions. Who the heck is PPQ? And why is this an ‘online exclusive’? I’m aware I’m probably betraying myself as a fashion heathen (which I am) at not knowing who PPQ are but it’s apparently something to do with fashion week. Which I think is over. Or maybe not. Whatever, I’m only here for the eyeshadow.

It’s a funny mix of colours but I quite like it. Strangely Black Box is less pigmented than Sleek’s usual matte black but the rest are very well pigmented. The ‘witty’ names are a mediocre touch. I just think I’ll be able to get some lovely Autumnal looks out of these shades.

As far as I can tell you can only get this from the Sleek website so after postage and packing it’s the better part of £10. This is a little annoying but you know me, I can’t not have these palettes! X

*Bought by me*

Beauty Blog Link Love

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed revels in the luxury of lash extensions - come admire her fluttery lashes and find out what they have in common with Gremlins!

Christina Aguilera was the inspiration for the celebrity makeup challenge over at SocialiteDreams. Check out the recreated makeup looks and participate on the next celeb!

Addicted to Beauty gets fresh and fruity with her Strawberry Nail Art Tutorial.

Madame B Fatale finally continues on with her Decades Past series with a 70's inspired makeup look.

From Benefit to Dior, theNotice has all of your new-product-needs sorted. Check out this week's recent launches, products, and deals!

Amy Antoinette reviews Topshop's new Smoke & Mirrors collection.

Midnight Violets shares some bargain brushes that have become a part of her everyday routine!

Kajal Couture shows you a cheap and easy storage solution for makeup and skincare that you use on a daily basis.

Dollar store beauty - trash or treasure? Check out Confessions of a Glitterholic and you be the judge!

Is there a dupe for the new minty-blue shade from Color Club? Find out in polish insomniac's Color Club New Bohemian comparisons and dupe search!

Still looking for the perfect red lipstick? Anita thinks she's found hers in Guerlain's Garconne Rouge G!

Lydia from Perfectly Imperfect shares her daily beauty plan of attack and favourite products.

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Head over to Adorable On Your Vanity for a chance to win NINE amazing L'Oreal Paris Color Infallibe Eyeshadows.

Phyrra is giving away the entire Madre Labs bath and body product line from iHerb!

Enter to win a chance to win a NEW Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pink Raspberry from the "Blushes You Can't Have" series on the Pink Sith Blog. Giveaway ends September 30th!

ELF Studio Shimmer Palette

Generally I like powder highlighters as they are just so easy to work with. Also they last longer. It’s not like they are just going to dry out like cream highlighters will are they? However the £3.50 price tag (I paid £1.50 in a sale) of this ELF cream offering means I’m not going to shed too many tears if it dries out on me before I finish the product. Plus you get four shades in one compact! 

As will all of the Studio line the packaging is good looking and functional with a mirror and tiny brush included. Now the brush is as much use as a chocolate frying pan (mmm) for highlighting cheeks etc but it’s actually pretty good for inner corners so I have held onto it. You get 5.6g in total and given that a little goes a long way this should last a good long while.

From left to right we have an ivory, a peach with gold pearl, a bronze shade and finally a pink shade. Although it’s nice to be able to match your highlight to whatever you’re wearing that day to be honest there isn’t much of a difference between them once they are fully blended out.

The texture is very strange. They dry down almost immediately so you need to blend frantically before they set. I find fingers work best as brushes just don’t give you the heat you need to get them worked into the skin. No chunky shimmer here though thankfully! Once on they give almost a gloss to the skin rather than shimmer. It’s subtle and natural looking but can be built up if you want to.

Provided you are speedy with your blending I really do like these. They give a totally different finish to anything else that I own and that alone makes them worth the purchase x

*Bought by me*

MUA Lipstick in Shade 3

The MUA range at Superdrug has proved a roaring success with beauty bloggers and I can’t wait to check out their new ‘pro’ range. I couldn’t resist picking up one of their lipsticks. After all, if it turned out to be rubbish who cares. It was only £1! I wasn’t expecting much to it was a very pleasant surprise when I discovered that it is actually a very lovely lippie. 

The silver and black packaging doesn’t look cheap and I love that it has a colour guide on the end so you can spot it in your collection. This particular shade is a very bright cool pink. Although there looks like there is some shimmer in the tube on the lips it just translates as a very high gloss finish. It is so glossy I never feel the urge to put gloss on top of it. The colour is very saturated  and the texture is creamy and moisturising on the lips. Because of the texture it doesn’t last very long on me, maybe 2 hours on average, but I’d rather have a moisturising lipstick that I have to reapply than Sahara lips. 

Yes the packaging doesn’t feel as luxurious as more expensive lipsticks but who cares. It’s cheap, it works and I’m going back for more x

*Bought by me*

Superdrug Mud Therapy Sensitive Deep Cleansing Mud Mask

I’ve reviewed my beloved Superdrug Raspberry mask here and have been buying it for years. The Superdrug masks are cheap (£2.59 for 75ml). Just for a change I thought I’d try the sensitive version as my skin has been feeling a little fragile of late and the Raspberry version can be a little harsh.

The primary ingredient is kaolin (cosmetic) clay along with rose water. It’s also choc full of parabens which personally don’t bother me but it’s something to be aware of if you avoid them. It has almost no scent and no scrubby granules either. The thick white cream dries hard in about 5-10 minutes.

Basically is just draws all the crap up out of my pores. It isn’t quite as deep cleansing as the Raspberry version but it does a good job without irritating my skin and I can use it slightly more often due to it being less harsh. It doesn’t dry my skin out like some clay masks can.

Personally I like it. I’m not sure whether I’ll buy this one again or the Raspberry mask but for the price you can’t go wrong! X

*Bought by me*

Catrice Ltd Edition Papagena Absolute Eye Colour

We don’t have Catrice here in the UK But the lovely Paula from Cornflake Girl's Musings was kind enough to send me this palette. I have no idea how much this costs but I believe it is a high street brand. And yes, it does say Ltd edition on the back but just look at it, how could I not post about it on here?

Pretty no? The clear plastic packaging is nice and weighty feeling and the feather designs on the shadows are adorable. Clock wise from top left there is a butter yellow shimmery highlight (1.5g), a shimmery brown/ bronze (2.5g), a matte khaki green (1.5g) and shimmery olive green (2.5g).

They swatch fabulously and I’m loving the green/ bronze combination for Autumn. The shadows can be a touch powdery when applying so I need to be aware of tapping excess of my brush when applying to avoid fall out but other than that they are lovely to use.

Do you have access to Catrice? What do you recommend trying from the line? I’ll admit I haven’t heard too much about them but I’m loving what I’ve seen so far! X

ELF Blush & Bronzer Compact

I’m finally working my way through some more of the goodies I got in the ELF 50% off sale. This is normally £3.50 for 8g in total. The packaging is lovely with sturdy feeling black plastic and a huge mirror.

The blush is a peach shade with a gold pearl. It blends effortlessly and if a fabulous easy to wear every day shade. Shall we get the inevitable NARS Orgasm comparison out of the way? It’s not a dupe. Sorry but it just isn’t. Orgasm is much more reddy pink, deeper and more shimmery. Given a choice I actually prefer the ELF blush! I’ve swatched them here with NARS Orgasm at the bottom.

The bronzer is a funny one. It’s quite a warm shade but not orangey which I like. There is a gold sheen evident in the pan and the swatch but when you buff it into your skin it disappears leaving an almost-but-not-quite-matte finish. It’s really very flattering. I don’t have NARS Laguna to compare it too I’m afraid.

I’ve been getting a lot of use out of this little compact and definitely something in the ELF Studio line that I would recommend picking up! X

*Bought by me*

The Lipstick Tag From Beauty’s Bad Habit

A literal age ago I spotted this tag on Beauty’s Bad Habit here and made a mental note to do it myself. Finally here we go!

How many lipsticks do you have?
48. I know, I know. I only have the one pair of lips.

 What was the first ever lipstick you bought?
I’m pretty sure it was a peachy shade that was on sale in The Body Shop.

What is your newest lipstick?
Sleek Mystic. What a let down!

What is your favourite lipstick brand?
YSL or Rimmel. I’m not actually a fan of MAC lipsticks *duck to avoid objects being thrown by diehard MAC fans*

Favourite pink?
Rimmel Moisture Renew in Vintage Pink.

Favourite nude?
No7 Nude Rebellion.

Favourite peach/ coral?
I suppose MAC Toxic Tale counts as coral?

Favourite red?
MAC Viva Glam Cyndi (yes I know I said I don’t like their formulas but I do like their colours).

Favourite unusual shade?
I’m not sure! What counts as unusual?

Favourite dark shade?
Stila Ana

Favourite texture/ finish?
Glossy juicy textures without shimmer. Or moisturising creams, again no shimmer.

 Other favourites?
Ruby & Millie Sheer Red, Chanel Rouge Coco Mademoiselle, MUA Shade 3. 

Benefit BadGal Lash Mascara (in Black)

Yes I know no one is interested in this anymore because everyone is going nuts over They’re Real but this sample has been waiting for some love for a while. This costs £16.50 for the full size so it’s not exactly a bargain and claims to be ‘like an instant set of false lashes’ (bollocks). It is one of my favourite mascaras but it’s a bit of a love hate relationship.

It gives great separation and length and doesn’t flake or smudge on me despite not being waterproof. There isn’t too much in the way of volume but that isn’t a problem for me.  It looks great in my opinion and can be built up in several layers without going clumpy.

The problem? The wand. Bigger is not always better ladies and gents! I sometimes wonder if these marketing types think that we are all simple. A big wand doesn’t mean big lashes, that’s really down to the formula and the bristles. A big wand just means that people like me with ickle piggy eyes end up with mascara all over our hooded lids. It’s a pain to use.

So Benefit BadGal. Great mascara, pain in the arse wand. Thoughts? X

*Received as part of a gift set from a family member* 

I can dream right?

I’m still on project ten pan and doing well (apart from the Sleek palette... and the MUA palette... but no more!) but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream right? Here are some of the things I’m craving right now.

Art Deco Eyeshadow Base £8.50 found at Cocktail Cosmetics Fragrance free (yes please) and a bit different to UDPP, TFSI etc... My ELF Mineral primer is so close to being gone which will leave me with only my Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin. A matte base will be needed.

Another Soul Makeup palettes £8.40 from Etsy So many gorgeous and unique designs. I NEED these.

Stargazer Cake liners found here for a mere £3.50. I need one in every colour please and thank you!

Chanel La Ligne De Chanel Professional Eyeliner Duo. £28 from Boots so it’s a good deal pricier than the Stargazer cake liners and also a lot more difficult for me to say... but I want it.

Clinique Dual Ended Almost Lipstick & Gloss in Black Honey £17 from Boots Just seems so right for Autumn!

What are you craving at the moment? X