Swap with Aly from Seven Things Beauty

Evening All!

This post is slightly overdue, I received this lovely little package at the end of last week from Aly from Seven Things Beauty.  She had blogged a few weeks ago to say she'd love to get her hands on the limited edition Creme Brule Vaseline.  I swiftly responded to say I could pick her one up and we decided to turn it into a swap!  I'm a sucker for a swap as it gives me a chance to try some new things from across the pond!

Here is my lovely lot!

Everything was individually wrapped in bubble wrap..when I was opening each little parcel I was ooohing and ahhhing...Darren just shook his head (my make-up obsession is lost on him! Tut!)

So she sent me..
elf Eyeshadow Brush
Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara
Wet n Wild Natural Blend Lip Shimmer in Shade 106
Wet n Wild Lipstick in Shade 520E
Wet n Wild Coloricon Nail Color in It's All in the Cut
Wet n Wild Color Icon Trio in Silent Treatment
Dr Pepper Lipsmaker

I seriously, seriously love everything she got me!  It's amazing that we hardly know eachother yet she picked out the perfect shades for me!  She also included a lovely little note explaining all the things she'd chosen for me, which was such a lovely touch!

Aly has a great blog, she posts much more regularly than I do and her posts are always interesting!  Get over there now and follow her, you won't regret it!

Oh, and you can see the goodies I got her in her post here!

Now that I have taken pictures, I can delve right in and have a good play with all the goodies she got me!

Take Care xx

Party Look: Twinkling Pink

Hi All

I'm back with another party/festive look, this time it's pink and it's glittery!

What I Used:
Face:
Illamasqua Skin Base in Shade 8
Bare Minerals Matte Foundation in Fairly Light
MUFE Full Cover Concealer
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
17 Blush in First Flush
Kiko Cosmetics Highlighter in Coral Shimmer

Eyes:
MAC Paintely Paint Pot
MAC Soba
Coastal Scents Hot Pot M22
Coastal Scents Hot Pot M06
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Shade 3
Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in Shade 7
MAC Dazzlelight
Loreal Superliner in Carbon Black
Collection 2000 Lucious Lashes in Natural Length
elf Brow Kit in Medium

Lips
Beautyuk Lipstick in In The Buff
Natural Collection Lipgloss in Fondant

Take Care xx

Party Look: Jewel Tones

My first party look!  Look at those lashes...I felt like daisy the cow wearing them! Haha


Can I start by saying that i'm really not liking the lip colour I chose, in reality it was quite peachy pink but on the video it just looks wrong! Ah well, you live and learn! :)


What I Used:
Face:
Vichy Dermablend Foundation in 35
MUFE Full Cover Concealer
MAC MSF Natural in Medium Dark
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Ilamasqua Lover Blush
Collection 2000 shimmer powder in Just Peachy


Eyes
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Black Bean
Glamour Doll Eyes in Glam Girl
Barry M Glitter Dust in 20
Sleek Black Eyeshadow from Original palette
Sleek Green Eyeshadow from Original Palette
MAC Soba
MAC Shroom
Lancome Blue de Jim Kohl
Loreal Superliner in Carbon Black
La La Lashes in Dorable
elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium


Lips
Gosh Soft and Shine balm in Irony
Jemma Kidd Lipstick (colour rubbed off)

Lip Combination = Ewwwwww! Haha

Glitter Tips!

Well, we are right slap bang in the middle of the party season and this is all the excuse I need to crack out the glitter nail polishes! There is nothing more festive than a bit of nail bling! It can all turn a bit nasty when it comes to removing it though...it's like it's welded onto your nails and I make a right mess!

So I got to thinking...maybe I could have a bit of glitter on my nails which is relatively painless to remove and that's when I came up with this!





It's a kind of glitter tip French manicure of sorts! I basically just freehand painted the tips with a glitter polish (the best technique is to kind of carefully blob it onto the tips) and then painted with a couple if good coats of topcoat. This way, my poor nails get a bit of a break and the removal is a bit easier than having all ten nails fully coated with glitter polish!

I must admit I can't stop looking at them and am already eyeing up my glitter polish stash to see what colour is next...I'm thinking red glitter!

Have you tried this? And do you have any tips for glitter polish removal?!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

FOTN - Sumptuous Olive

Hello!

I hope you are all having a nice weekend!  We are just heading out to the pub for a wee drinkie so I thought i'd quickly post up my made-up face for you all to see!  I bought MAC's Sumptuous Olive eyeshadow the other week and haven't really used it so decided tonight was the night!  I paired it with a dark brown and black in the crease from the 99 original palette!  Here are some snaps!

Oh, and I also had a bit of a hair cut too!  I coloured it darker too and I love it! :)

 Cue cheesy grin!

 Darren and me :)

I used:
Face
Smashbox Photofinish Primer (Blend?)
Smashbox 16 Hour Wear Foundation (unsure of shade as I had it applied instore)
Smashbox Halo Finishging Powder (unsure of shade as was applied instore)
Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Eyes
elf Eyelid Primer
MAC Sumptuous Olive
Dark brown and black from 88 original palette
Loreal Superliner in Carbon Black
MAC Zoom Lash
elf Brow duo in Medium

Lips:
Smashbox Lipgloss in Pixel
MAC Dazzleglass in Baby Sparks

Take care all! xx

Beauty UK 25% Off!

I have even having a bit of a love-fest with budget beauty brand BeautyUk recently! I just so happened to end up on their website to see that not only are they offering free delivery, but also 25% off! I just had to share this with you all!

Use the code XMAS25 at the checkout!

Code expires 23/12/2011

Tutorial: Easy Smokey Look

I've just uploaded my first tutorial in AGES!  It's a basic smokey eye which is easy to do but looks like it took a lot of effort! :)

Take a look!

Here are some pictures...I used the photo function on my Sony Handicam and apart from being a wee bit blurry (user-error!!) they aint half bad and the colours are very true!

Products Used

Face

Murad Shine Control Lotion

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - 56 & MAC Studio Fix Fluid - NC30 mixed

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

MAC MSF Natural - Medium Dark

Benefit Hoola

MAC Blush - Melba

Eyes

elf Eyelid Primer - Nude

MUA Professional Eye Trio - Chocolate Box (darkest colour)

MAC Eyeshadow - Sketch

MAC Eyeshadow - Shroom

Loreal Super Liner - Carbon Black

MUFE Aqua Eyes Liner - Black

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Dark Brown

MAC Zoom Lash

Ardell Demi Wispies

Lips

Barry M Lipstick - 147 Peach

Collection 2000 Lock and Hold Lipgloss - Rock Steady

MAC Lipglass - Clear

Bourjois Little Round Eyeshadow Pot - Shade 03 FOTN

Hello lovelies!

Back with a quick post to rave about this eyeshadow I just bought! I'm not usually a fan of bourjois eyeshadows..they always lacked in pigmentation. However, I swatches this amazing indigo blue colour yesterday and it was super soft and insanely pigmented so it went in the basket immediately!

I did try and use this shadow just with a primer underneath (UDPP) however it went on a bit patchy.. Not to be outdone, I whipped out my Gosh Shadow Primer stick, which is basically a pearlescent cream shadow. I then pressed the blue over the top and OMG! I was impressed! Here are a couple of photos. They are taken at night, so the lighting ain't ideal but hopefully you can see the prettiness!







Have you tried these eyeshadows? Do you have any recommendations?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Get Ready With Me!

I posted A new video on my YouTube channel! It's a kinda 'get-ready-with-me' type video. I love watching these kind of videos..it's a bit like a speedy tutorial..except I don't explain what I'm doing! I hope you enjoy! :) x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

FOTD 13/10/11

I have a huge amount of make up..it's quite obscene really! So in an attempt to use some of the pretty things I am gonna try and post more FOTD's! Now, I thought this would be as simple as slapping it on and getting my camera, snapping a couple of shots and voila!

...not so! The Scottish weather was not co-operating this morning and instead of the clear daylight I sought, it was rainy and dark! Typical! Also my camera battery decided to die on me so I'm afraid I had to revert to my iPhone..I promise I will be more organized in future!

So, here is my early morning face! Brace yourself ladies!






Eek! Look at my puffy eyes!!

What I used
Face
Elf Flawless Finish foundation and MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30 mixed
Vichy Dermablend foundation in 35 (as concealer)
MAC Blush in Melba

Eyes
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
MUA Pro Heaven and Earth palette - top row 1st colour on inner corner, bottom row 2nd colour on rest of lid, bottom row 1st colour on outer corner and crease
17 eyeshadow in Midnight (as liner)
Kiko Cosmetics Unforgettable Mascara in Black

Lips
NYX Lipstick in Thalia

So there we have it, nothing that exciting this morning I'm afraid, but I enjoy doing these kinds of posts so I will try to make them a bit more adventurous!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Review: Shellac Nails and DIY Removal

Hola lovely people!!

For my week in the sun in the Costa del Sol in Spain I decided to try Shellac Nails. Usually nail polish doesn't last too long on me before wearing on the tips and generally looking a bit dull, so I decided the gel formula of Shellac would be ideal. It boasts a long-wearing formula which is painted on the nails like a regular nail polish but then cured under a UV lamp, leaving a glossy finish. I went for the shade Tropix, which, in he bottle looked like a punchy bright orangey-coral. In reality on my nails it was a slightly lighter pinky-coral which I actually preferred to the bottle colour! It lasted well over the week, with only a couple of peeling issues at the tips, which I accredited to my already peeling nails! I also noticed some slight tip wear, but compared to conventional nail polish this was minimal. You'll see from the picture how much my nails grew in just 1 week!

Ugh! Please excuse the lighting in this picture! Looks like I have some serious oompa-loompa hands!

So, now that i've swapped the 30degree heat for the rather chillier Scottish climate and the pool for my desk I thought it was time to remove the Shellac *sad face*. My previous experience with gel nails has involved me peeling the gel from my nails...very bad for the nails but oh-so-satisfying! A quick Google search on removing Shellac taught me the following method, and I thought I would share it with you!

What You'll Need:
Aluminium Foil - cut into strips/squares enough to wrap around each nail fully
Cotton wool balls/pads - cut or torn roughly the same size as the nail
Acetone or nail polish remover containing acetone
OPI Nail Envy - to condition and strenghten the nails afterwards
Hand Cream


Begin by cutting/tearing the foil and cotton wool/pads to size. You may also want to protect your work surface from damage or acetone spillages! Next you want to saturate the cotton wool in your acetone remover and place over the nail.


Then, wrap a piece of foil round the nail, covering the whole tip of the nail. Repeat x 9 :)


After about 10 minutes, apply pressure to the cotton and drag away from the nail. The remover should have removed most, if not all of the Shellac. While the gel is softened, gently remove any remnants with an orange stick.


Once the Shellac is completely removed, wash hands and apply OPI Nail Envy (or similar) to the nails to re-hydrate and condition them and finish off with some hand cream.


Hope you found this helpful! Have you tried Shellac? What did you think?

I must add that I could not have done this without the help and patience of my wonderful boyfrind! He is available for Shellac soak-off's in the local area now! Haha

Quick nails post..

Ok so my flight hasn't been called yet so I thought I'd show you my nails! They are painted with Ciate 'My Fair lady', a freebit from Marie Claire. The polish is very sheer but buildable and applied very well with no streaking or bald patches (if you know what I mean?! Haha)

It's a pretty colour but I reckon it gets a bit 'lost' on my nails and doesn't have that much of an impact? Still..it's a pretty colour!




Have any of you got this colour? What did you think of it?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Speedy Airport Haul

I'm at Edinburgh airport waiting to board a flight to Birmingham to see my boyfriend..and couldn't resist the gravitational pull of the duty free MAC! So I snapped up a Warm Soul Mineralised Blush and a MAC Make Up Lesson in Smoky Brown! Hastily snapped pics below!







The palette contains Sable, Showstopper and Retrospeck eyeshadows, 2 mini brushes, a mini technakohl liner and a mini Zoom Lash Mascara!! Look at those cute little brushes! Hopefully I can depot these bad boys too! Oh how I love duty free MAC! it almost makes the fear of going on a plane worthwhile!

Better go! Flights been called! :S

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Quick Review - elf Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF15

Can you believe it?! After what feels like a lifetime I'm blogging again! I kinda became a bit disheartened with blogging/YouTube and took an unscheduled break! But recently I've been catching up on my blogs and watching some YouTube videos and I'm ready to get stuck back in *rolls up sleeves*

I placed an elf order while they had their 50% off code on orders of £30 or more and picked up a few things I've been lusting after!

I picked up the elf Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF15 in the shade Nice and Natural, which looks on the website like a lovely nude colour.












*pictures both from www.eyeslipsface.co.uk

Here is a quick picture I snapped on my iPhone







As you might be able to see the actual colour is slightly more pinky/brown and a touch darker than the swatch on the website.







I was pleasantly surprised with the pigmentation of this balm, which is the perfect semi-opaque my-lips-but-better colour on me. It contains vitamins A and E which, google informs me, are beneficial for healthy skin. It also contains mineral oil, which some sources suggest isn't an effective moisturiser, but I'm willing to overlook that since it's such a pretty colour and texture! I like that it is a flat colour with no shimmer and its very wearable..in fact it's the only thing I've worn on my lips since I got it!

Get these on the Elf website for a bargainous £3.50!

Have any of you tried these? What are your thoughts? What other colours are you loving?

It's nice to be back :)