Milani Baked Blush - Berry Amoure

I picked up this beauty while in Florida in February.  I ummm'd and ahhh'd over which one to choose, much to Darren's annoyance ("Heather, we've been looking at the same thing for 10 minutes, just. pick. one.!" I think he said!).  The tricky thing is, that in american drugstores, they don't actually have testers, so I couldn't swatch any of them.

The shade I eventually plumped for was Berry Amoure.  It's a pretty mix of a cool-toned pink with bronze-peach marbling.  If I'm honest, I've spent many minutes admiring the prettiness of this blush in the pan.  I think i'm weak for these kinds of 'baked' products!

As you can see from the swatch'y goodness above, the colours combine to create a lovely warm-toned neutral pink with just the right amount of shimmer to impart that healthy, i've-just-been-out-for-a-brisk-walk look!

I had worried that, like the Bourjois baked blushes, these may have poor payoff, however that isn;t the case.  In fact, if anything you need to go a bit steady when swirling your brush in this, or else you'll apply far too much!  It's a lovely smooth formula which lasts a good 8 hours on me before starting to fade a little.

Here it is on my cheekies!  It's very natural in colour and texture.  I only wish I'd bought more, since these are unfortunately not available in the UK.  However, GB girlies might be able to find these in a blog sale or on eBay, so keep an eye out!

Glowy FOTD featuring Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick

Well, well, well...Summer has officially arrived and when it comes to make-up that means a lighter base, an extra dusting of bronzer and anything I can find to give me face that dimensional, glowy effect.

The rise in temperature conveniently coincided with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose landing on my doorstep!  These little shimmer bombs have cult status amongst us beauty geeks and are a cornerstone of the Bobbi Brown brand.

Ain't she a little beauty?  After my initial 'ooohing' and 'ahhhing', I realised that I wasn't actually sure how to use this.  Was it a blush? A highlighter? Or some kind of in-between?  Luckily, a Google image search taught me that it can in fact be a blush or a highlighter.  I did apply it as a blush but unfortunately I think my skin is a bit too dark at the moment and the pink glow doesn't really show enough for me to be satisfied, so if you are NC25 or lighter this might work better for you.  However as a highlighter it gives a smooth, glowing finish.  I used it in all my regular highlighter areas; tops of cheekbones, down centre of nose, cupids bow and centre of my chin and I must say it is really natural and not harsh in the slightest.

Here is a photo of it in action.  I think this really shows how natural and healthy it looks.  Of course, as with any product, if you swirl this on like there's no tomorrow it's going to start to look very obvious, so go easy ladies and build it up.

I also used the Shimmer Brick on my eyes with a little bit of brown in the crease, so this product can be a right little multi-tasker and ideal for holidays.

You can find the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, along with plenty of other Bobbi Brown products as part of their mahoosive selection of beauty products, on the QVC website.

Sleek MakeUP Sparkle 2 Palette

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone who has followed me for a while that this is yet another Sleek post.  I can't apologise for it, as they are such a fantastic brand who always mix it up and push the envelope with new products and colours.

The Sparkle 2 Palette is my latest purchase, and although this was launched in the run-up to the festive season, it is still available in-store so I thought i'd share it with you!

Surprisingly, I don't own the original Sparkle palette, I think it was sold out by the time I got round to buying it, so I can't compare it to this one.  As you may be able to see, or just guess by the name of the palette, the majority of shades have a glittery finish.  Now, normally, I steer well clear of such shadows..me no likey the glittery fall out!  However, in terms of fall out these shades don't have much!  I usually slick on some Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue beforehand and that seems to lock down any escapee glitter particles.  I'm also a bit more pat-pat than blend-blend when it comes to applying these shadows which also helps.

You can see from the swatches that, on the whole, the payoff with these shades is lovely.  There only shade which was sheer was Gold Ribbon, and to be fair that it wasn't really that bad..

I love this palette.  It may not get everyday use, but it's just so blimmin' pretty!

You can find this is Superdrug, or on the Sleek MakeUP website, priced at £7.99.  I believe the also ship internationally..so there's no excuse! ;)

Beauty Resolution #1 - Make Up Clear Out and Spend Less

Happy New Year girlies!!

It's that time of year again where we all make our resolutions for the coming year.  I've made a few beauty/blog related ones which I thought I'd share with you, starting with...

#1 - Make Up Clear Out and Spend Less

I have a lot of make-up.  That isn't a boasting statement, rather an addicts admission!  In the beginning of my obsession, I would splurge on high-end make up however, at some point this turned into buying copious lower end (or drug store) make-up.  We have some cracking cheaper brands of make up in the UK and I just can't help myself when I'm in Boots or Superdrug.  Hence I have reached breaking point (quite literally) in my make-up storage and am forever rooting around in piles of make-up to find what I want.  This also means that some much-loved-yet-forgotten items get hidden and therefore not used.  This makes me sad, and very ashamed that it's come to this.  So today I decided a good old New Year's clear out was in order!

To start, I sorted out my make-up into different categories; Keep, Bin, Back to MAC and Sell.

Keep - Anything I love and will use was kept.  I also kept some limited edition items, even although they don't get regular use.

Bin - Anything that smelled or looked funny, was separated, broken or just unloved (frosty pink lipstick anyone?) got chucked.  This included some random, scratchy brushes! Go me!

Back to MAC - MAC Cosmetics have a scheme where if you return empty packaging, with the exception of some items, you can swap them for a lipstick.  In the UK you need 6 separate items, however I believe this varies in other countries.  I save mine in a drawstring bag so they don't get lost or thrown away by mistake.

Sell - I have some bits and pieces of make-up that are in good condition, but that I just don't love any more   I plan to either do a blog sale, pop them on ebay or maybe take them along to a car boot sale.

I then re-organised everything into the drawer.  I had a damp cleaning cloth to hand to get rid of any dust or dirt.  I have the Malm Dressing Table from Ikea, which I use to store the majority of my make up.  I love the idea of the dividers that you can get for these however can't justify the money right now so instead I've used various different boxes and baskets that I had lying around.  It houses my make-up perfectly and I can pretty much see at a glance what I have.

At the end of it, I had a large plastic bag full of stuff to go in the bin, and a smaller basket of stuff to be sold.  And seeing all my make-up looking tidy and organised, well, that made my heart happy!

Spending Less...

I figure that now that my make-up is all visible  neat and tidy, perhaps I will be less inclined to spend.  Where I do buy make-up, I want to be able to justify the purchase to myself.  I'm going to cut out unnecessary spending in Boots/Superdrug because I'm bored/sad/happy/it's a day ending with a 'Y'.  Buying 345 drugstore foundations to find one as good as a £30 high end foundation is just crazy!  And I do that...a lot!

I'm not imposing a spending ban on myself, because I have zero willpower.  I am banning myself from regular browsing in Boots or Superdrug, unless I know what I am going in there for.

I'm hoping that by the end of the year this resolution will have become a habit.

Have you made any resolutions?

The Body Shop Christmas VIP Experience!

Last week I was contacted to ask if I'd like to head along to the Body Shop for a bit of a pampering session.  Of course I said yes, I can't think of a more appropriate time of year for a bit of pampering, what with all the stress of Christmas and the horrible cold weather!.  So today my lovely mum and I headed into Edinburgh, had breakfast then got to the store, where I was greeted by Nova (what a lovely name!).  She sat me down and made sure I was comfortable, before talking through my skin concerns,  whipping off my make-up and treating me to a make-over using some of their festive make-up goodies!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a breakdown of exactly what she used, but from memory the products included: Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation (link), Smoky Eye Palette in Moonstone (link), Metallic Eye Definer Pencil (link) and Colourglide Shine Lip Colour (link).  In particular I love the eye definers, which were buttery smooth eye pencils which could be smudged into the eye.  She used a light champagne colour (Moonstone I think) on the tear duct and it had such a lovely effect.  The lipstick she used on me was also beautiful, I can't recall the name, but it was a muted cherry/berry red, super glossy and comfortable to wear!

Next up my mum and I were treated to a lovely hand massage, using the Africa Honey & Beeswax Hand and Foot Butter which is almost solid in texture, but smooths onto the skin as a rich cream.  Nova explained that this could be used with their cotton gloves and worn overnight.  I'm a fan of this idea, as i'm too lazy to keep applying hand cream throughout the day and as a result my poor hands get a bit neglected in the old moisturisation department!

I took a look round the store and was amazed at the range of Christmas gifts they have!  There is seriously something for everyone in there!  Click below to see the larger picture.  I personally loved all the little stocking fillers they had, such perfect little extra treats!

 I had a quick look on their website, and they have a discount code currently where you get £20 off when you spend £40! Wowzers!  The code you need is: HALVE.  It's a 2 day deal, so get your skates on!!

The staff in the Princess Street store in Edinburgh were lovely!  They were so smiley and friendly, and the store had a lovely atmosphere.  Nova was very knowledgeable about the products, and she really made me feel at ease as I sat there...with no make-up on...in the busy shop! That's no mean feat!

They kindly gave me a bag of goodies, but by the time I got home it was dark (pesky winter time!) so I'll get some pictures up tomorrow hopefully!

Heather x

Festive Party Look! Green Goddess!

Christmas and New Year are definitely my favourite time of year when it comes to make-up, you can pretty much douse yourself in glitter and bright colours and get away with it under the pretence that it is 'festive'!  Or not...

I wanted to do a festive look using green with a bit of a bronzey orange thrown in for good measure, and this is what I came up with!

Products Used

Clinique Even Better Foundation

Benefit Erase Paste

Chanel Solieil Tan de Chanel

Benefit Hoola

Sleek Rose Gold Blush

Illamasqua Lover Blush

MAC Painterly Pain Pot

Inglot Shadows (Colours TBC)

17 Midnight Eyeshadow

Loreal Perfect Slim Superliner

Famous by Sue Moxley Eyeliner

NYC Show Off Mascara

elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium

17 Lipstick in Belle

MAC Dazzleglass in Baby Sparks

Here is the video!  I hope the lighting isn't too bad, I've rigged up this cheap 'n' cheerful lighting configuration and crossing my fingers that it'll do and I won't have to fork out on proper studio lighting!  Let me know your thoughts?

Take care!

Heather x