Two Year Anniversary Giveaway

The 28th January was my 2 year anniversary of blogging, I wanted to do a giveaway but missed the date and then kept forgetting about it! Today is my birthday so thought it was a good time to finally get this posted!

This giveaway is just my way of saying a little thank you for following me and not giving up on me, especially as last year my blog suffered because of all the stuff going on in my life!

Onto the prizes, nothing spectacular, just a few products that I love and thought you might too.

Covergirl Lash Blast Luxe Black Platinum

Vaseline Rosy Lips

Accessorize Merged Eyeshadow Cocoa

Accessorize Illusion Nail Polish in Purple Dream

The Rules:

You must be a follower of my blog (I will check and if you are not your entry will be deleted)
You must be willing to email me your postal address
Only one entry per person please

To enter all you need to do is post a comment saying enter me, this contest will be open for 3 weeks and the winner will be selected at random. The giveaway is open internationally so no matter where in the world you are you can enter.
Good Luck!

Darkheart Designs - First Impressions

Awhile ago I was contacted by Tina from Dark Heart Designs asking if I would be interested in trying some samples of their loose powder eye shadows. I love supporting independent companies so I jumped at the chance. I have to say I am really impressed with the samples I received. I left the colour selection up to Tina and I am glad I did as she included some colours I would never have picked but I actually really liked.
On to the swatches, these are applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion.

I absolutely love Veronica, Dirty and Halestorm! All of the shadows have a gorgeous shimmer. Full jars are priced at $5.50 for 1gram of product. You can order up to 6 samples free of charge or pay $0.50 to cover postage if you order more, I think this is such a good idea, that way you can try a product before investing in a full size. Expect to see a face of the day featuring these very soon!

Nails Of The Week - Mac Frayed To Order And China Glaze Crushed Candy

I have to say I am still loving the crackle polishes. This time I paired Mac's Frayed To Order which is a matte white with pink sheen with China Glaze's Crushed Candy which is a blue/green. I actually really like this combination.

I didn't have a problem applying Frayed To Order but it did take 3 coats to be opaque. As you can see the crackle didn't crack as much but I think that was my fault for putting it on to quickly as I was rushing!

My Favourite Blushes

I thought I would share my favourite blushes of the moment, these do change but right now I am loving these.

On to the swatches, I have put a heavy swatch on the left and a blended one on the right in all photos.

I think pretty much every make up addict owns this blush, it was my first Nars purchase. I don't know that it is worthy of all the hype that surrounds it but I do still really like it. It's a beautiful peachy pink with gold shimmer. I know there are a few drugstore dupes of this available.

I think if I had to choose just one blush this would be it. It looks scary in the pan as its a very bright pink verging on red but blended on the cheeks it's just gorgeous. On me it is a perfect natural flush. This is very pigmented though so a light hand is essential.

I love and hate this blush, its a beautiful muted pink colour that looks gorgeous when blended in but I have a bit of a problem with the formula, it's quite sticky and I just don't really like the feeling if it on my face. It is a convertible colour so is designed to be used on lips as well as cheeks which is probably why it has the texture that it does. Once it is blended in it does lose the stickiness but it does still put me off slightly.

This is my favourite cream blush, it is a perfect peachy/pink colour. I find it really easy to work with as it blends like a dream and it lasts really well on the skin.

This is a pretty new addition to my collection, its a lovely pinky/peach. I am impressed with the formula of this and find that it is very long lasting. It looks a lot more orange in the picture than it does in real life.

I was recommend this blush by one of the MUA's in the pro store and it's a lovely pink, again a light hand is needed as it is very easy to apply too much and end up with clown cheeks! My only issue with this blush is the staying power, I find that it does fade throughout the day more than some of my other blushes.

This was another one that was recommended to me, I would probably never have picked this one on my own as it looks a bit too orange in the pan but I'm glad I listened. I do find this one slightly more tricky to apply though as it is easy to end up looking tangoed!

Are there any must have blushes I am missing here? Any recommendations for me?

Nails Of The Week - Mavala Bronze Green

This is one of the Mavala colours I picked up the other week and I think it's my favourite of the bunch.
Its a gorgeous dark green with a golden shimmer. This only needed two coats to be opaque. It's a very unique colour and one that I am really glad I got it.

I am really impressed with the formula of Mavala polishes, all the ones I have tried so far are opaque and I don't find that they chip at all, I do get some tip wear after a couple of days but then I spend my days typing at work so get that with pretty much any polish!

Comparison Mac Ultra Darling and Crosswires

Ultra Darling was the only lipstick I picked up from the Supreme Sheen collection, there have been a lot of comparisons between this and Crosswires which has put some people of buying it. I now have them both so thought I would do some quick swatches.

On the hand swatches I think they look very similar, the main difference being that Ultra Darling is a lot more glossy but I think the lip swatches show just how different they are. UIltra Darling is a lot pinker and less pigmented where Crosswires is a lot more coral. Because of this I think Ultra Darling is a bit easier to wear and will suit most skin tones whereas Crosswires may be a bit harder to pull off. I think they are different enough to warrant owning them both.

Mac Jeanius and Supreme Sheen Haul

This week Mac released two collections on the same day! I only picked up 3 items and amazingly none of them are eye shadows! I got the two Nail Varnishes from Jeanius and one lipstick from Supreme Sheen.

I spent ages swatching all the Supreme Sheen lipsticks but in the end only got one, I decided on Ultra Darling which is a pinky coral with gold shimmer, its a very wearable shade.

The nails colours are gorgeous! Biker Blue is a very dark blue with blue and purple glitter, am planning on wearing this one on my birthday next week and Frayed To Order which is a matte white with a pink sheen, it reminds me of Vanilla pigment. The finish is a bit odd though and I think it definitely needs a good glossy top coat to look at its best. You can see the pink sheen better in the picture below.

Have you picked up anything from these collections?

Bargain Alert - Glamour Magazine Freebies

I am sure you already know this but just in case you missed it, this month Glamour Magazine are giving away Clinique products on the magazine. There are 10 different products available so I am sure you will find at least one you want (I got the lipstick). The magazine is priced at £2 so is worth getting for the freebie alone!

Illamasqua Toxic Nature Collection

On Wednesday night I was lucky enough to be invited to Illamsqua's Toxic Nature Event, it was great to catch up with some of my favourite bloggers and the lovely people at Illamasqua.
As a brand Illamasqua is one that I absolutely love, not only are their products great quality and incredibly unique, they are also such an approachable brand. They welcome comments and suggestions and have embraced bloggers from the very beginning.

So onto the new collection, I was stunned by the visuals when I walked in, I think these are my favourite from any Illamasqua collection so far.

Here is what Illamasqua have to say about the new collection:

Unpredictable, uncharted and unnat­ural, Illamasqua unleashes Toxic Nature for Spring/Summer 2011, a colour collection born from a visionary concept of nature fighting back against the genetically modified society that plunders it. Illamasqua has created the Toxic Nature collection through a palette of lurid shades, corrupted hues and glistening muted tones that offer intoxicating versions of their original selves.

“Having an artist background highly influenced this collection. The medium of paint when it is in various states [mixed on a palette, on a canvas, the colours mutating when you wash your brushes] inspired the product colours of Toxic Nature. Blends, washes, dabs, drips, daubs and splashes of colour are evident in the imagery of the collection.” Alex Box, Illamasqua Creative Director.

Like nature itself, it’s not all sweetness and light. Shades of mint, mushroom, plum, orange and rose are distorted with rich textures and pops of acid-infused brightness that command attention and draw you in…

Here is a promo image for some of the products available in this collection, I really can't wait to get hold of Glister precision ink and Atomic Lipstick.

We were given a goody bag as we left the event containing 3 products from the new collection and an artists palette to encourage us to mix the new cream pigments and experiment. I thought this was a really nice touch and I have actually been meaning to pick one of these up for awhile!
I received two nail polishes Purity and Bacterium (which seems to be the most popular item so far!) and Cream pigment in Emerge. Alex was wearing Emerge as a blush at the event and it looked gorgeous so will definitely be trying that!

At the event I had the opportunity to have my nails painted with Bacterium (before I knew it was in my bag!) this photo was taken when I got home with flash and its not a 100% true representation of the colour but I will take more pictures in the sunlight. It's an incredibly unique colour which looks so different depending on the lighting.

And I had to show you a swatch of Glister, this photo was taken after my tube journey home so you can see how long lasting it is, it is such an amazing idea. A nude, sparkly eyeliner! I cannot wait to get my hands on this, again such a unique product.

So yet again Illamasqua have amazed me with another collection of unique and unusual products, the collection launches online on the 10th March and in stores on the 17th.

China Glaze Crackle Haul and Nails Of The Week

As soon as I saw that China Glaze were bringing out a range of coloured crackle polishes I couldn't wait to get my hands on them! I ordered 3 from the collection from Radiant Babe and they arrived on Tuesday.

 Left to Right: Fault Line, Cracked Concrete, Crushed Candy

You might have noticed by now that I have a bit of an obsession with Purple so I couldn't wait to try out Fault Line. I had read on other blogs that this one doesn't crackle so much but that didn't put me off. I paired it with OPI Done Out In Deco and I actually really like it. No it didn't crackle as much as the Barry M Nail Effects but I still like the result.

 With Flash

 Without Flash

I really am loving these crackle polishes, as much as I love using Konad these are perfect when I don't have as much time but still want my nails to look different.