Merry Christmas!!!

Yes it is me, you are not seeing things!
I have had the most stressful few months but finally things are back on track so as soon as Christmas is out of the way I will be back to blogging as I was before!

Anyway I hope you and your families have a fantastic Christmas, see you in the new year!

xxx

Sigma Giveaway Winner

I have finally been able to draw a winner for my Sigma giveaway.

I used Random.org and the comment selected was number 11, so congratulations Silverstargirl!

I will pass your email address on to Sigma and they will get the brush in the post to you!

Changes

I am so sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks, I will get my Sigma giveaway winner posted in the next few days.

I am currently moving house and have no Internet connection (am at my Mum's house using hers now!) I am also starting a new job next week so its everything at once!

Please bear with me and hopefully I will be back to my regular posting schedule soon!

Jo

Beauty Blog Link Love 30-08-11

Am late in posting this as I have had no chance to get to the computer! Enjoy the links!

Musicalhouses shows you an awesome Bird of Paradise/sunset inspired eye look using the Sleek Curacao Palette - possibly the brightest eye look ever!


Beauty's Bad Habit shows gorgeous eyeshadow swatches of her first love in indie cosmetics, the fabulous Fyrinnae Cosmetics.


You know that cooling sensation when you bite into a peppermint patty? Well it's the same thing when you use the Chantecaille Aquablush in Charming. The Pink Sith explains.


At theNotice, Rae reviews a Benefit BADgal waterproof liner and decides that if bad girls all have to wear BADgal... she'd rather just be good. 


Check out the new Too Faced Matte Eye Shadow Collection from Too Faced. Gouldylox has swatches and details. 


Addicted to Beauty is still dreaming about the crazy hair extravaganza that was the L'Oreal Professionnel Colour Trophy 2011 .


Phyrra's Independent Spotlight for the month of July is One Hand Washes the Other.


Check out Smashinbeauty's Return to Paradise review and swatches.


Tracy at Beauty Reflections wishes Tarte For True Blood Natural Cheek Stain was Hellmouth worthy! 


The Beauty Spot tested out the new Rimmel Vinyl Max Lipgloss. See how it worked out!


Have you ever considered Juvederm? Read about the experience of Marcia at Beauty Info Zone to learn whether Juvederm is something that would work for you.


Love bright eye shadows for summer? Make sure to keep lips subtle with this fabulous nude lipstick at Makeup, Beauty and More. 


Do you need to perk up your under eye area? Pammy Blogs Beauty's Cover-It Concealer Review series continues with a review of this under eye treatment/primer by Per-fekt.


Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed swatches Chanel nail polish to prove that all greys are not created equal!


Read the MAC and Sigma brushes dupe guide at Handmade Reviews.


Take a trip to St-Tropez! Nicole from Lipstick and Luxury swatches this limited-edition luxurious nail polish from Dior.


What type of results REALLY come from having a Brazilian Keratin Treatment?  Check out  Socialite Dreams for the results of the KeraStraight treatment at Ulta.

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Review and Giveaway

You may have noticed the Sigma banner that has appeared on the right hand side of my blog, I have now become a Sigma Beauty Affiliate. Sigma very kindly sent me an F80 brush to try and will also supply me one to giveaway to a reader.

I absolutely love this brush. I have been using it to apply my foundation and it really does give a flawless finish. It washes really well and has become one of my most used brushes.

You can purchase brushes from Sigma or learn more about the affiliate program here

As I said at the beginning Sigma have kindly said they will send an F80 flat top kabuki to one of my readers, so to enter the giveaway all you need to do is be a subscriber of my blog and leave a comment below with your email address and I will select a winner at random. The giveaway will close on Sunday 7th August at midnight and I will announce a winner on Monday 8th!

Good Luck!

Face Of The Day - Some More Taupe!

You may have noticed that I have a slight obsessions with Taupe eyeshadow! I can't help it, there is just something about the colour that I can't seem to get enough of! I am going to do a taupe comparison post later this week, I am scared that I will end up with loads that look exactly the same! Anyway on to the FOTD!

Products Used:

Face:

Benefit Erase Paste

Misha M Perfect Cover BB Cream

Shu Uemura Colourless Setting Powder

Mac Rose Quartz MSF as blush

Eyes:

UDPP in Greed

Boots No7 Mink on inner corners

Shu Uemura ME Brown 850 on rest of lid, crease and under lower lashes

Mac Concrete on outer corners and crease

Mac Blanc Type as highlight

Mac Graphic Brown Fluidline on upper lashline

Rimmel Lash Accelorator Mascara

Lips:

Nothing!

I am so happy to finally have Shu Uemura ME 850! I have wanted it for so long but it was always out of stock! Do you have an obsessions with taupe?

Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils

I had some Debenhams vouchers and I used them to pick up a couple of Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils. I am a big fan of the normal 24/7 eyeliners and so I had high expectations for these, they didn't disappoint! I picked up the shades Sin and Rehab.

As you can see they are lot fatter then the regular eyeliners.

They look really nice applied heavily or blended out. They set very quickly though so if you want to blend it out you need to act quickly. I have been wearing these two together with sin all over the lid and rehab blended on the outer corner and as a liner. These do not crease at all! I am definitely going back to pick up a couple more shades! I just need to find a sharpener big enough for them!

Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

In the Nars set I purchased awhile back I got a sample size of the Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I was really excited to try this as I always use Urban Decay Primer Potion and wanted to see how this would compare.

As I said, this is only a sample size but there are still a good few applications inside. It comes in a tube with a doe foot applicator similar to a lipgloss.

It's a white gel type consistency and disappears completely when blended into the skin.

Over primer on the left and bare skin on the right.

As you can see it definitely enhances the shadow. I have used this a fair few times now and I can say that it does make shadows brighter and there was no creasing after 10+ hours of wear. I found it easier to blend shadows over this then UDPP which seems to grip the colour a little too well sometimes!

As much as I like it I think I will be going back to UDPP, you get more for your money!

MUA Pro Palettes - Haul, Swatches and Eye Of The Day

I finally found a Superdrug that stocked the MUA pro range! I have been in about 5 and the one in Ilford was the first one that had them! They had a pretty full display of products. I was restrained and only picked up 3 of the palettes, I'm sure I will go back and get some of the trios and I am also really interested in trying the Matte foundation. Anyway onto the palettes, I got Glitterball, Heaven & Earth and Dusk Till Dawn.

I really am so impressed with these, they are £4 a palette and you get 12 colours. That works out to 33p per colour! Even if you only like half of the palette you are still getting value for money!

Heaven & Earth

I think this will be the most popular of all the palettes, its a palette full of neutral shades, if you wanted the Urban Decay Naked Palette then this isn't a dupe but it is a cheaper alternative. The swatches above are all on bare skin and you can see how pigmented the colours are. The majority of the shadows are shimmery though so if you prefer mattes then this might not be for you.

Glitterball

Don't be put of by the name! These colours are not glitter monsters but they are lovely and shimmery. I absolutely adore the taupe (3rd one on the bottom row) it is comparable to a lot more expensive shadows that I own. Again these are swatched on bare skin.

Dusk Till Dawn

I think this is my favourite of the 3, its just such a gorgeous mix of colours. The second to last colour on the top row is the most gorgeous purple/silvery taupe, its absolutely stunning! The purple on the bottom row is also beautiful. Also swatched on bare skin.

Here is a quick eye of the day I did using the Heaven & Earth palette

I honestly can't recommend these enough! Definitely worth £4!

Blog Sale - Nars, MAC, Sleek, Urban Decay, Barry M, Stila etc

Ok first the rules

- All items are sold as seen, no returns
- Payment by paypal only, please leave a comment stating the item/items you would like and your paypal email address and I will send you an invoice, please let me know if you are overseas.
- Shipping will be £1.50 for UK and £3 for overseas, if you buy more than one item I will work out the postage, it may stay the same depending on what the items are.
- You will have 24 hours to pay the invoice otherwise the item will go to the next person or go back up for sale!

So onto the goodies, these are all items that have been lightly used (apart from the ones that state they are new), they are just very unloved in my rapidly growing collection!

 Bare Minerals Multi-tasking Concealer Bisque - Used once, just doesn't work for me £8

 Mac Pigment vials in Gold Mode *sold*, Pinked Mauve and Melon*sold* - These came as part of the little darlings sets and are just colours I never reach for £3.50 each.

 Urban Decay Book Of Shadows Depots - These are in an ELF magnetic palette and all come with a magnet and label on the back, the colours are Uzi, Sphynx, Last Call, Sidecar, Half Baked, Smog, Midnight Cowboy, Goddess and Perversion. £6*pending*

 Mac lipsticks in Racy*sold* and Plum Dandy*sold*. Mac Tricolour Lipglass in Triple-Yum £6

 Front Cover Easy On The Eye Cool Palette - £2

 Jemma Kidd Vintage Glam Palette - Usage can be seen in the photo £3

 Mac Night Violet Mattene Lipstick - Only used a couple of times £6

Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Brush - Brand new and sealed, I already have one of these! £6

Face Of The Day - Golden Purple

I went for dinner with my boy and wore a new purple dress I picked up in the sales, I wanted to include purple in my makeup but in a wearable way so I came up with this. It's a really pretty gold and purple look. Even if you don't feel comfortable wearing purple I'm sure you could pull this off!

With Flash

Natural Light

Products Used:

Face:

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

Shu Uemura Colourless Setting Powder

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Topshop Cream Blush in Flush

Eyes:

UDPP

Mac Vanilla Pigment used wet on lid

Mac Trax in crease, outer corners and under lower lashes

Mac Blanc Type as highlight

Mac Blitz & Glitz fluidline on upper lashline

Covergirl Lashblast Mascara

Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake Peek

Lips:

Mac Marquise'd Lipstick

MAC Semi Precious Haul And First Impressions

I had resisted looking at the new Mac collections but I went back to work today and with Selfridges 5 minutes up the road it would have been rude not to go and have a look! I ended up coming away with 3 products from the Semi Precious collection that I am really looking forward to trying.

Swatches from left to right: Outer pink colour, Centre colour, Mixed together

MSF in Rose Quartz, I only own 2 MSF's so can't really say if this is similar to any of the previous ones available. The outside is a gorgeous pink that will make such a nice blush on its own or mixed with the centre portion, the center is a mix of green, pink and gold which can be used separately as a highlight.

Swatched dry on top and wet underneath

Mineralize eyeshadow in Clarity, this is such an unusual colour. In the pot it looks...odd. Its a mixture of black, green, blue, pink, white with a ton of shimmer. It's completely unique. Can't wait to wear this one.

Swatched dry on top and wet underneath

Mineralize eyeshadow in Rare Find, this is a gorgeous purple/taupe/brown and it is such a me colour! It is similar to Earthly Riches mineralize duo but not an exact dupe which is my justification for having both! I can see this becoming a staple product of mine! This one is much smoother than Clarity and a lot more pigmented. This has more of a sheen then obvious shimmer.

There were a couple more eyeshadows I was tempted to get so don't be surprised if there is another Semi Precious haul in the near future! Did you pick up anything from this collection?

Nails Of The Week - Mac Rain Of Flowers

I picked this up at the Cosmetic Company store a couple of months ago as I missed it when it was originally released. It's a gorgeous dark purple with blue shimmer. It does have a tendency to look black in some lights but under bright lights the shimmer is absolutely beautiful.

The wear time on this wasn't great, it lasted a couple of days before I got some major chips and had to take it off!

Face Of The Day - Silver and Brown

This look was inspired by one of my favourite girls on youtube, I have been subscribed to Haley (colormemakeup) for a couple of years now and was really happy to see her pop back up in my subscription list with a new video! This made me go back and look through her older videos and I had to do this look. It's a gorgeous silver and brown smokey eye.

Products Used:

Face:

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow as a contour

Topshop Cream Blush In Flush

Shu Uemura Colourless Setting Powder

Mac Emphasis Highlight Powder

Eyes:

UDPP

NYX Silver all over lid and under lower lashes

Mac Tempting in crease

Mac Sable in crease and outer corners

Mac Charcoal Brown in outer v

Mac Blanc Type as highlight

Stila Smudge pot in black on upper lasline and waterlines

Covergirl Lashblast Mascara

Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake Peek

Lips:

Mac Creme Cup Lipstick

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation First Impressions

Illamasqua very kindly gave me some samples of their new Skin Base Foundation. I was matched up to shade 2 but they also gave me shades 1 and 3.

Shade 1 on the left and Shade 2 on the right, as you can see shade 1 is pure white, this makes a great matte highlighter and is also really useful to lighten other foundations. Shade 2 matches me pretty well, it's a little light but workable.

Blended out in the same order as swatched, as you can see shade 2 pretty much disappears into my skin. Shade 1 just lightens my skin slightly.

I have been testing this out for the last couple of weeks and I have to say I have mixed feelings. I haven't tried any BB creams so I can't compare it to one. What I can say is I feel this is a medium to full coverage foundation. You really do only need a tiny bit, less is definitely more as I have found if you have too much on your brush it can be really hard to blend. I have combination skin and I do get oily on my nose after about 3 hours with this and need to powder. I do like the finish but it's just not really what I was expecting.

Would I recommend it...that depends, I do like the product and will probably buy a full size once my sample has run out but I would say for those with oily skin you might want to try it before you invest.

Sad Times

I just wanted to put up a quick post to explain my absence.

My uncle passed away recently, he was only 47 and it was a big shock to all of us.

Because of this I really haven't had much time for blogging, hopefully I will be getting back to it next week.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Beauty Blog Link Love Saturday18th June 2011

At Musing on Beauty, Mariella tries the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman brushes and tells you everything about them.


Ever wonder how to airbrush your own makeup photos? Well, now you can - check out theNotice's basic Photoshop tutorial for your exclusive look behind the scenes of a beauty blog!


Now that summer's in the air, Musicalhouses shows you a Summer Eye Look and a Summer Lip Look for cheap!


Need melt proof makeup? Check out the new Summer collections from Tarte. Gouldylox has the swatches and details.


Madame B Fatale shows you how to use a conical wand!


Tired of eyeshadow and blush pots taking up too much space? Try de-potting them using Kajal Couture's de-potting tutorial and place them in palettes.


Phyrra's Independent Spotlight for June is with Belén from Lost in Makeupland!


Addicted to Beauty gets serious tween envy when she spies the Happy Faces hair salon. Who wouldn't want to get their hair done whilst sitting in a pink chevrolet?


Amy Antoinette shares her top tips for dealing with Keratosis Pilaris.


Lovelaughlauren tells us her favourite products from the last few months.


Prime Beauty discovered Burberry's newest lipstick formula, Lip Mists and has some insider info for you!


At Eyelining Obsessions Claire finds her perfect pink bluch while trying some ELF Barginous Blushes.


Rachel McAdams sends Lydia from Perfectly Imperfect running to the NARS counter. Find out why!


The coveted Asylum by Sugarpill is back in stock and in the Christina the Glitterholic's hands!


Looking for an affordable gel eye liner? Be sure to check out this fabulous Gel Eye Liner by Essence at Makeup, Beauty & More.



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Handmade Reviews is hosting a Sigma Summer Giveaway with over $300 in prizes and winners every month.


Beauty Crazed is giving away 5 Lancome Desert Rose Blushes - they still think they are too pretty to use but maybe you aren't that squeamish so enter to win one!

Nars Make Up Your Mind Express Yourself Inspired Look

I absolutely love the new book from Francois Nars. I have spent hours looking through the book at all the different looks and finally decided to give one of them a go. This isn't identical to the image in the book but more my interpretation of the look. I am not sure on the rules regarding posting photos from books on blogs so I won't post one but the image I took inspiration from was from the play section and was done on Jihae. I didn't own all of the Nars products so I improvised using what I had.

Products Used:

Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Nars Copacabana Multiple applied on lid

Shimmery silver from 88 shimmer palette on lid and crease (Nightlife used in book)

Nars Strada in the crease and blended up. Also under lower lashes.

Matte dark purple from 88 matte palette on outer corners and upper and lower lash lines (Lulu used in book)

Shimmery white from 88 shimmer palette on inner corners and under brow (Bombshell used in book)

Mac Blacktrack Fluidline on upper lash line and waterlines (Black Moon and Nuits Blanches used in book)

Nars Larger Than Life Mascara

It is not at all the same as the photo in the book but as I said it's more my interpretation of it.

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Rose Platine Review and Swatches

I have owned this liner for about two weeks and already it has become one of my favourites. I am tempted to get myself a back up as I have been using this most days and its limited edition.
This is the first Chanel liner I have bought, the price has always put me off in the past but I felt this colour was unique enough to splurge on.

I picked this up in Debenhams and it was around £17. I did try and talk myself out of getting it but I knew I would regret it if I didn't.

Its a gorgeous taupe with shimmer, it looks different depending on the light, it's sort of a mix of taupe, brown and gold with a tiny bit of pink thrown in. I have mostly been wearing it on the lower lash line or over black liner on the upper lash line. The best thing is that it seriously does not budge all day, I have quite watery eyes and anything I put on the lower lashes seem to disappear at the corners after a few hours but this lasts until I go to take my make up off.

Urban Decay Naked Palette Look 2

Another quick look using the Urban Decay Naked Palette, this time I went for a lighter, more neutral eye. I really am loving this palette, its just so easy to use and all the colours are nicely pigmented and blend easily.

Products Used:
Face:
Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation
Shu Uemura Colourless Setting Powder
Nars Laguna Bronzer
Illamasqua Hussy Blush
Eyes:
UDPP
UD Sin on inner third
UD Toasted on rest of lid and under lower lashes
UD Naked in crease
UD Buck in outer v
UD Dark Horse on upper lashline
Covergirl Lashblast Mascara
Lips:
Poppy King for No7 Lipstick in Allure

Nails Of The Week Milani Hi-Res and OPI Funky Dunky

As soon as the sun comes out I find myself reaching for the holo nail polishes! Milani's Hi-Res is one that I picked up when I was in America last year, it a gorgeous light purple holo.

It looked lovely on it's own but I really wanted to try and copy a design I had seen on Chloe's Nails blog using tape. I used 3 very thin strips of tape on each nail and then painted OPI's Funky Dunky on top.

It's not perfect but not bad for a first attempt!

Face Of The Day Featuring Urban Decay Naked Palette

After a bit of a nightmare day at work I finally caved and got the Urban Decay Naked Pallet. I have gone to buy this palette so many times but walked away as I felt I owned to many of the colours already. Well that's what a bad day does to me, all my resolve goes out the window! I have to say I am really glad I did cave and pick it up. I only have 3 of the colours already and the palette is so convenient. I have used it a fair few times already and can see it becoming a staple item in my go to make up bag.

Products Used

Face:

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque

Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation

Topshop Neon Rose Cream Blush

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Shu Uemura Colourless Setting Powder

Eyes:

UDPP

UD Sin on inner corners

UD Toasted on rest of lid

UD Hustle on outer third of lid

UD Dark Horse in crease

Mac Blanc Type as Highlight

Mac Blitz & Glitz Fluidline with Chanel Rose Platine on top on upper lashline

Chanel Rose Platine liner under lower lashes

Lips:

Mac Candy Yum Yum Lipstick

Do you have this palette? If you have done any looks using it please leave me a link so I can check them out!

Beauty UK Baked Eyeshadow Trio Earth Review, Swatches and Comparisons

I used this Beauty UK Trio in my face of the day yesterday but I felt that it deserved a post of its own. I picked this up in Superdrug for £3.99 and I am really impressed with the quality of it. There are 6 trios available, I picked the Earth trio which is the most neutral as I felt I would get the most use out of it, I am definitely going back to pick up a couple more now though.

In the trio you get a light champagne, taupe and a lighter brown/gold. These are baked shadows so can be used wet or dry depending on the intensity you are going for. That being said I have found these to be really well pigmented and haven't felt the need to use them wet. These are shimmery though so if you prefer matte shades then you might want to give this a miss, personally I like a bit of shimmer!

Swatched in the same order as in the pans, these are literally one swipe with my finger without any base, they are nicely pigmented and adhere to the skin really well.

I couldn't help but compare this to a few higher end shadows that I own which are priced a lot higher.

Above are the Beauty UK Earth Trio, Stila Champagne Glow Trio and Nars Exotic Dance Duo

These are not dupes of each other as the colours are slightly different but the texture and pigmentation is pretty much the same. The Stila trio is currently on sale for $28 on sephora.com

This was a bit more of a shock, it's not a 100% dupe but it's not far off! The gold is slightly browner and the white is not quite as bright in the Beauty UK trio but applied on the eyes I struggled to see a difference. Actually the white in the Beauty UK duo applies more evenly then the Nars as it seems to adhere to the skin better. The Nars Duo retails for £23.50.

I can be a bit of a make up snob at times but this just goes to prove that a higher price tag doesn't always mean better quality!