Wear Sunscreen!!

London is having a serious heatwave at the moment and walking to the tube today I was stunned by the amount of really badly sunburnt people I saw!!!
I burn really easily so tend to stay out of the sun as much as possible but I will admit when I was younger I used to sit in the sun and get really badly burnt but the people I saw today where all my age and older! Honestly I winced just looking at them, they are gonna be in serious pain tonight, nevermind the damage they are doing to their skin!
So in the words of Baz Lurhmann "Wear Sunscreen"!

Sleek Safari Palette!

Hey!

I nipped into Superdrug today to pick up some alcohol for pigment pressing and while I was there of course I had a look at the make up! I was looking at the Sleek stand when I saw the Safari Palette just laying there! I am sure this was a mistake at my Superdrug as they are not supposed to be released till next month so I grabbed one quickly and I am so glad I did! I have had time to compare this to my other palettes and honestly the only colour that is exactly the same is the black. Some of the other colours are similar to ones in other palettes but not exact matches! And for £4.87 I am seriously not complaining!

So onto the pictures, these are with flash:

The swatches are dry with no base, just like in the other palettes there a mixture of textures and finishes. As always they are incredibly soft and very pigmented and blend really well together.

Here is my eye of the day using the 4th from the left top and bottom and white as a highlight, I am really looking forward to playing around with this more!!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! x

Review - Sleek Eye Dusts

Hey!

So I know a lot of people (me included) have done posts on the Sleek palettes and I thought I would blog about another one of their products which I love! It's the Eye Dusts, which are loose pigments. I have 6 of these so far.

Top Row: Dirty, Vintage, In The Nude
Bottom Row: Eden, Fantasy, Jet Set

The swatches are in the same order as above, this is dry with no base!

Here is a comparison with a MAC pigment, size wise the Sleek pots are not as tall but they are wider, with MAC you get 7.5g and Sleek 6.5g. Now price, MAC are around £15, Sleek about £2.99! I would say these are comparable to the chunkier MAC pigments. They are not finely milled like Barry M Dazzle Dusts but the colour payoff is incredible! These do come with a sifter but I removed them as I find it easier without!
I have found that the best way to apply these is with a stiff brush and to pat them on to the lid first before blending, this helps to prevent fallout!
I would definately recommend these to anyone that is looking for a cheaper alternative to MAC pigments. There are about 18 colours available, so I am sure there will be one that catches your eye! I would recommend that you test it before you buy though as the texture does vary between the colours.
Sleek is available at larger Superdrug stores as well as some Beauty Supply Shops.
If you would like to see a look with these pigments please let me know!

Illamasqua recommendations please!!!!

Hey!

I have seen and heard so much about Illamasqua but I have yet to try any of their products! I have seen the counter in Selfridges but when I have been in there its always been empty with MA's that look like they will pounce as soon as you start looking, I have to say that really puts me off!! I like to look first and get an idea of the products before I am approached!!

Anyway back to the point of this post, those of you that have tried and loved their products, what are the 1 or 2 things you think I should get?? I am on a bit of a budget so really just want to pick up a couple of things to try!!

Thanks!!

Jo x

Happy Fathers Day and my FOTD!

Hey!

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!! Firstly I want to apologise for the lack of blogging this week, my Dad was rushed to hospital last friday and was kept in all week, so my week consisted of work, hospital, dinner then bed but thankfully he was well enough to come home on Friday!
Here is a picture of me and my Dad from about a year ago, please ignore my awful hair!!. I am a complete Daddy's girl and I am so happy that I was able to make a fuss of him today!

Here is my FOTD for today, it was really hot and I was cooking a huge roast dinner so I kept it pretty simple!

Face:
Benefit You Rebel Tinted Moisturiser
MAC MSF Natural Light
Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque
MAC Redhead MSF as blush/highlight
Eyes:
Urban Decay Gridlock & Roach
MAC Vanilla
Smashbox Cream Eyeliner
Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara
Lips:
MAC Up The Amp (Thanks Steph!!)
MAC Little Vi Lustreglass

Sleek Palettes and FOTD

Hey!

I thought I would share another great cheaper make up buy with you, they are the Sleek eyeshadow palettes, these cost less than £5 each. I have 3 of them Original, Storm & Jewels. Jewels is a limited edition palette which is out now. There are 2 other ones available Chaos which is all matte and Acid which has Neon and bright colours.

So onto the pictures, here are the 3 palettes I have and swatches, these are without any base!

The Original Palette

The Storm Palette

The Jewel Palette

As you can see these shadows are incredibly pigmented, all of the palettes have a matte black shade although the consistency of these do vary, the softest most pigmented one is in the Storm palette.

So yesterday I did a look using the Storm palette, I used the light gold and the green, the only thing missing from this palette is a highlight shade, I guess you could use the light gold but it is very shimmery and I prefer a matte highlight! This is actually using the same colours as Hele used in her post about this palette! I also used GOSH velvet touch eyeliner in Woody Green on the upper lash line and waterline.

I honestly think Sleek is a great make up brand, it is one of those that has been around for a long time, it used to only be sold in beauty supply shops but is now stocked in most Superdrugs. I have some Pigments and Ink Pot gel eyeliners from Sleek which I will do a seperate review off!

Hope everyone is having a good week!! x

Review - NARS Blush/Highlight Duo in Albatross/Torrid

Hope everyone is having a good week so far! I am dreading getting to and from work tomorrow and Thursday because of the tube strike! It's going to take me at least two and half hours each way! I was saying to my boss we may as well put out sleeping bags in the office and kip there lol!

So anyway, as promised, here is my review of the NARS duo I picked up with my vouchers!
I went to the counter in John Lewis on Oxford Street with every intention of buying the albatross/sin duo. I spoke to the MUA and she recommended I pick up torrid instead as it is much more my natural flush colour. When I looked at the testers it looked so much like Orgasm that I was put off but after swatching it I fell in love! It is much more coral than Orgasm and has a lot less shimmer to it! Comparison in the pan:

And here are swatches comparing the two, obviously this is much more than I would put on my face but I hope that this shows the differences. Orgasm is on the top, torrid on the bottom.

I really do love this blush! I have been wearing it every day since I bought it and it really is much longer lasting than most of the other blushes I have! I think that the amount of shimmer in Orgasm sometimes limits it to night time wear, that isn't an issue with this blush as the shimmer is much less obvious!

Albatross is a gorgeous highlighter, its so similar to MAC Vanilla Pigment but in a much easier to use form! I really couldn't get a decent picture of the swatch of this but I am sure you have seen it already!

The only negative with this is the price, its £27 for this duo which is a lot but individually these are priced at £18.50 so there is a saving to be made by getting the duo! These are only available for a limited time both instore and on the website so if you want one I wouldn't wait too long!!

Review - Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Glitter Liners

I wanted to write this review because I feel that Collection 2000 is a brand that is so easily overlooked! I know this was one of the brands I used to buy a lot from when I was at school as it was cheap and pocket money didn't go far! They have changed a lot since then! The packaging has changed and they do actually have some really good cheaply priced products!

One of my favourite products from them are the Glam Crystals Glitter Eyeliners.

The colours from left to right are 1.Glitz, 2.Pizzazz, 3.Funk, 4.Hustle, 5.Le Freak, 6.Night Fever, 7.Rock Chick, 10.POW!, 11.Shake It Up
I also have an Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Spandex and a sample of Too Faced Starry Eyed in Ooh & Aah. Here is a picture where you can compare the size, obviously the Too Faced one is only a sample, I'm not sure of the size of the full sized one!
Now the price difference, the Urban Decay glitter liners are £11.26 at Boots, the Collection 2000 ones are £2.99 and are often on offer in Superdrug/Boots. You would think that for that price the quality would be crap but honestly they are amazing! Here are some swatches taken with flash so you can see the sparkle! Now the Urban Decay one is top left, Too Faced top right and then the Collection 2000 ones in a line in the same order as above.

This is two swipes with the brush and the picture says it all really, the Urban Decay one is incredibly sheer and you really have to work to get the glitter to apply evenly whereas the Collection 2000 ones are even and beautifully sparkly!

I have never tried a MAC glitter liner and to be honest I don't think I ever will! These liners are so pigmented and literally stay put till you take them off with remover! And for £2.99 you really can't go wrong! So if you are looking for a decent Glitter Liner definately check these out, in my opinion they are far better than the higher end brands I have tried!

Hope everyone is having a lovely relaxing Sunday!

Review - GOSH Waterproof Eyeshadow (Shadestick Dupe)

Ok so as promised here is my review of the GOSH waterproof eye shadow shadestick dupes!

What they Say: Silky and creamy eye shadow stick. A lasting formula which stays nice all day long. Also the perfect base for all powder eye shadows. Available in 9 different colours.

The Price: Around £6 but very often on 3 for 2 at Superdrug

What I say: Well the first thing you notice is the similarities in packaging to the MAC shadesticks, especially to the new ones that came out with the Sugar sweet collection. They advertise this as an eyeshadow but I would use this the same way I use shadesticks, as a base. I have the purple one and have used it a few times since I purchased it. First of all I would not recommend wearing this as an eyeshadow, its really not something you can quickly apply and walk out the door with as they have the same problems as MAC shadesticks in that they can apply a bit patchy and its hard to even out the colour. They are soft and creamy though so you don't feel like you have to drag them again and again over your eye to get the colour to transfer and they don't seem to need warming up like some of the MAC shadesticks do. I have been using this as a base and I have to say I really like it. I have worn it all day and there was no creasing or fading at all. So as base it gets a big thumbs up from me!

Would I Recommend It: Definately, these are half the price of shadesticks and are really very similar. As long as you are buying this as a base you really can't go wrong!

Style Warriors, not for me!

Hey

So even though I said I wasn't gonna buy anymore I couldn't resist going and having a look at Style Warriors! To be honest there were a couple of things I liked but I can live without them if you know what I mean!
I went to the MAC counter in Selfridges and you can tell the credit crunch is having an effect, normally you have to wait ages for a MUA to even acknowledge you but today I had about 4 come up and ask if I needed help! They even offered to do my makeup using the new collection but as I was on my lunch break I didn't have time!
The only eyeshadow I liked was tempting which I already have, I thought I would love Vibrant Grape but when I swatched it the pigmentation was rubbish! It just didn't show up at all!
The only things I really liked where the "Pink Rebel" luster drops, although I think the name of these are a bit misleading. They are pink in the tube and when you first put them on your hand but when you rub them in they just turn into a nice shimmer. It would make a gorgeous highlighter but to be honest I think the pink "Beat the blues" from MEMEME would do the same job for a third of the price!
And the other thing was Impassioned Solar Bits, although I didn't actually try these as the tester was missing from the display I have read really good things about them but I watched Makeupgeeks latest tutorial and she said that Gridlock from the Urban Decay Book of shadows palette was a very similar colour!
So thats two collections I have completely passed on now, the other one was Rose Romance. I have to say in a lot of ways I am glad as I spent a stupid amount on Hello Kitty but it is still a little dissapointing!

On another note I did pick up a NARS blush/highlighter duo in John Lewis as I got some vouchers from work! I picked up Albatross/Torrid. I planned on getting Sin but the MUA said that torrid would be more my natural blush and I have to say I love it! It is quite similar to Orgasm but with less obvious shimmer and is more coral than pink! And my Mum got me a mini OPI set from QVC, the bottles are tiny but I love the colours! Will do a post about them tomorrow with pictures!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!