Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette - Swatches and Review

Howdy all! How are you all doing? Can you tell I'm in a good mood already? I'm not sure if its a sugar overdose or not... 

The Too Faced Boudoir Eye Palette has popped up quite a few times now on my blog, but I haven't yet shown you in-depth exactly what you get for your money, and just how amazing this product it (so basically, I could have said a review, but you know.. that's just too easy.)

Oh and a little warning for all the gigglers, It IS a "boudoir" inspired collection after all, so some of the names are a little raunchy. At least none are as bad as Nars' Deep Throat... 

So one thing which is obvious about this product is just how gorgeous the packaging is. Its a metal tin, and the size is reasonable enough for travel, and I'm already singing its praises without showing you the inside...

Each row of three shadows are categorised into looks for Day, Classic and Fashion looks. Some of the shades are more pigmented than others, but the colour selection is fantastic, as is the range of shimmer and matte shades. The application and longevity of these products is fantastic, I have applied them without primer (which is something I don't usually do) and found that they lasted up to 8 hours without creasing. (For reference, my skin type is normal, and I don't have oily eyelids) None of the products have fall down other than In the Buff, the lightest shade, which when applied reminds me of MAC's Brule, and isn't actually as white as it appears in the picture above.

Inside the lid of the product is this amazing little step-by-step on how to use the shadows, for a Day, Classic and Fashion inspired look. It shows pictorials on using the shadows, and also has numbered instructions which will come in handy for those who are novices to eyeshadow.

I feel as if I should apologize in advance for the stereotypical "arm swatches" that are coming up...

Left to right: (Day; In the Buff, Fuzzy Handcuffs, Voulez-Vous. Classic; Satin Sheets, Sugar Walls, Garter Belt. Fashion; Birthday Suit, Lap Dance, French Tickler)

I wouldn't necessarily say its my "most-used" palette, as my MAC palette holds my eyebrow powders too, so sheer laziness often makes me use the one that I already have out. But, I cannot physically recommend this palette enough, the shadows are amazing quality, and for all neutral lovers provide a great mix of tones for all eye colours and day-to-night styles.

I bought my palette off Beauty Bay for £29.00.

(GIF credit: GIFBAY)

Will You Still Love Me, When I'm no Longer Young and Beautiful?

Have you all seen The Great Gatsby yet? I bet you're also getting bored of the chatter surrounding it? My apologies for joining in on it. Anyway... I feel like I've been waiting absolute years to watch it! The date just kept getting pushed further and further away, I thought I'd never get to see it. Despite the very long wait, my excitement grew to an extent I didn't know was even possible, so I thought maybe I'd end up leaving the cinema a little disappointed. Oh, how wrong I was. Its a beautiful, spectacular film, and I cannot lie, I spent the majority of the 2+ hours admiring Carey Mulligan's makeup, hair and nails (oh, and not to forget the clothes.. the flappers, fringing and nude tones aplenty.)

Anyway, I went to see it last Wednesday evening and I decided to get into the roaring twenties spirit with Gatsby inspired makeup and mani. I did cheat a little with my hair, seeing as it was freshly blow-dried it was poker straight and looking super shiny, so I decided to skip the faux-bob, and just do my makeup twenties-inspired, I used a champagne colour across my eye-lid, a strong cat-eye liner flick, and MAC's Rebel on my lips. I did this half-moon mani with Essie's Skirting the Issue, and a pack of WHSmith hole reinforcers. Yes, I used something found in an office for a manicure. 

To recreate my manicure you need; Base coat, Nail varnish (any opaque or semi-sheer will do, but darks are the best) Top coat and hole reinforcers. Apply the base coat as you would normally, to avoid any staining, then, after applying to the back of your hand to remove some of the "stickiness" of the stickers, apply on your nail at the bottom to cover up the part of the nail where there will be no colour. Paint the tips, then when the polish is dry, carefully peel off the stickers and clear up any mistakes with a cotton bud and nail polish remover and then apply a top coat to prevent the polish from chipping.

Hope you've enjoyed this very quick post for today! I'd planned on taking pictures for new posts, but I prefer to use natural light, and thanks to the icky weather I don't have a lot of it. Sob, thanks Britain! 

I'm also coming close to my first followers milestone, so keep your eye out for a giveaway in the near future! 

Inside: My Essie Collection

Hi you lovely lot! How was your weekend? Mine was quiet, and chilled and peaceful spent with numerous films, shopping, lunch with friends and dinners with family. Perfect!

Another collection today! Instead of showing you my full nail polish collection (which could take a good few hours) I thought I'd show you my favourite nail polish brand, Essie, and the colours (as well as treatments) I own.

My favourite nail polish EVER, and the first nail polish I bought by Essie is Ballet Slippers, I bought this when I was super excited to hear about Essie coming to the UK in Boots, and since then haven't looked back. This little "I'll give them a go." started my love affair with Essie, and their incredible polishes.

Left to right (Marshmallow, Fiji, Ballet Slippers, Eternal Optimist, In stitches)

From top to bottom (In Stitches, Cute as a Button, Meet me at Sunset, Bahama Mama)

From left to right (Chinchilly, Merino cool, Smokin' Hot, Skirting the Issue, Recessionista)

From right to left (Mint Candy Apple, Butler Please, Maximillian Strasse Her, Cocktail Bling)

I thought I'd tell you my "Top 5" too, but when I came to narrow down the list, I had to make it 6, woops...
My favourite, in order, are; Ballet Slippers, Fiji, Chinchilly, Skirting the Issue, Meet me at Sunset and Butler Please.

Left to Right (Base Coat- Rock Solid, Top Coat-No Chips Ahead, Top Coat-Matte About You)

Hope you've enjoyed this post, and I haven't made you want to indulge in Essie polishes too much. And like I've always said, I'm more than willing to swatch or review things in more detail. I just don't want to be filling your feed with swatches if they aren't going to get looked at!

Lots of love.

Jumping on the BBandwagon

It's Fridaaaay again! And it's a bank holiday weekend, so let's hope British weather brings us a little sun for BBQ's all round.

So at first, I thought the whole BB cream was a bit of a novelty. It seemed like something which I didn't need, a light coverage foundation with a different name. It's no secret that I have a love for Dior, and the woman on my local Dior counter remembers me well so gives me a few free samples when I go in store. When I bought a few things a couple months back she matched me up to the new BB cream and gave me one of those lovely little pots filled with it. I tried it just because it was Dior. When I applied it and looked back at myself in the mirror, I was astonished by how bright and glowing my skin looked. After a day of wear, I went straight online to Debenhams and ordered the full size tube. Thus starting, my love for BB creams...

Clarins Skin Perfecting BB cream c/o Escentual

Dior Nudeskin BB cream

Dr Jart Water Fuse BB cream

Its quite the collection saying I was completely unimpressed when they came out. And I cannot lie, if another brand brought one out which caught my eye, I would consider buying it. BB creams seem to have much more illuminating and resurfacing effects than a foundation, and when applied with your fingers, mesh with your skin making you look flawless and as if glowing from the inside.

Dior's BB offering is one of the newer offerings, and my personal favourite (not just cause the packaging is pink) I think out of the three I own, despite having "nude" in the title, it has the most coverage. Although I do like a light-coverage, I feel much more confident with a little bit more, and not so "Is she looking at me because I look like an alcoholic just coming off a 4-day bender?" 

I bought the Dr Jart one after hearing so much about the brand, and seeing it on offer for an amazing £10 in Boots! And I must say, it isn't my favourite, I think the texture is a little thick, so it requires a lot of blending, and quickly, before it sets and you end up with a streaky, three-tones-too-dark face. Once blended, it does provide the perfect skin look which you expect from a BB, as is perfect for days when you're not doing anything fancy and don't want to waste expensive products. 

Escentual very kindly sent me the very new BB cream from Clarins, in the lightest shade they have. I thought that if anything, it'd be too light for me, oh how wrong I was... As you can see from the swatches below, when blended out, the colour becomes a lot less obvious, but is still a visible change from my skin tone. I gave this one to my Aunty, who is yet to try BB creams and she loved it, said it evened out her skin tone and even covered the redness she occasionally gets in her cheeks. She has a cool skin tone, whereas I have a neutral, and it worked well for both of us, seeing as it doesn't have any yellow or pink undertones, just another reason to love it. (Although I think I may have to hide it)...

Despite the colour being a little off, I thought I would slick on a little fake tan in my body to try match it up better, and thought I'd road test it while I was spending a day at home. This product lasted a reasonable amount of time on my skin, and dried to a natural matte finish. The coverage is actually very light because it required so much blending, but I did try to build it up, and it worked so I would say it's definetly build able for people with skin concerns. I would recommend this BB cream for summer, and for medium skin tones, but if you're classed as having a "porcelain" skin tone, you will look the teensiest bit like an Oompa Loompa. 

I cannot wait for the weather to warm up, so I can get a little tan and start wearing this on a day-to-day basis, as it truly is a lovely BB cream but just currently a little too dark for my casper-like skintone.

So, have you all jumped on the BBandwagon yet, or are you still to do so? I recommend getting matched up to Dior's offering in-store if you're new to BB creams, it's pretty much a fool-proof and incredible addition to your make-up bags.

Hope you all have an amazing bank holiday weekend. Don't get too drunk...

Crown Brush: Brush Haul and Review

Its fridaaaaay! Which means, the weekend is here! So I've got you a mini haul and review on the incredible brand that is Crown Brush! 

Last week I thought I would search for some make-up brushes. As much as I try to keep my brushes clean and sanitised, it isn't possible to clean every brush I use, every day. So I wanted to look for some lip, brow and cheek brushes at a much more affordable price than those in MAC. I'd heard great things about the brand Crown Brush from Zoe Newlove (check out her blog, she's an incredibly talented lady), so I thought I'd give them a go. 

The hardest part was narrowing down how many brushes I bought, there's so many variations of every single brush you're spoilt for choice! I went through the site and just kept clicking that "Add to basket" button, and after a lot of "Do I really need a tenth buffing brush?" style questions, I narrowed it down to these eight brushes which are (from left to right):

C100 Mini Tapered Blush
C441 Pro Blending Crease
C404 Small Duo-fibre Face Brush
R101 Gold Retractable Lip Brush
BK12 Deluxe Synthetic Lip Brush
BK44 Lip/Liner Brush
C158 Angle Liner/Spoolie
BK35 Angle Brow

I bet you're thinking how many lip brushes does a girl need to buy in one purchase right?! Well, I have reasons behind the purchases... The Lip/Liner brush was bought as I find having a different lip brush for each colour (not every one, but reds, pinks, plums etc.) is ideal so you don't end up getting a dirty purple coloured lip when you go to apply a sheer pink. I got the retractable black lip brush to have a travel-friendly one, because lets be serious, who wants red lipstick smeared all over the inside of their make-up bags? The gold one was, just.. gold. So yeah, I wanted a brush because its gold. I'm shallow, I know...
And to clarify, these are all incredible brushes and do the job of applying lipstick perfectly. They also passed the "How well will it apply a matte MAC lipstick?" test, which is pretty hard to pass seeing as they aren't the easiest lipsticks to apply!

Apologies for the already dirtied brush, I was a little over-excited when they arrived. You know how the whole beauty world is insane for MAC's infamous 217 Blending Brush, which is an incredible brush, which makes eyeshadow application a breeze. Well, I think that Crown Brush may have just topped the 217 with their Pro blending crease brush. It does boast similarities to the MAC 217, but it is fluffier, less dense, and a little more tapered, perfect for those who like a defined crease. And the best part of the Crown version? You can buy FIVE of these for the same price as ONE by MAC. I know which one I'll be stocking up on...

I also really like the angled brushes for applying my favourite brow powders, Omega and Charcoal Brown. Where as I used to use a disposable mascara wand to brush through my brows, I now have the angled brush and the spoolie in the same place, which is amazing if you're forever forgetting where you've left things (like me!) The other angled brush I got after asking Zoe which brush she uses on her brows. I haven't actually got around to using it yet, but if it's anything like the others I've used so far, I know I'm well and truly in for a treat. 

I got this dinky duo-fibre face brush for the days when I want lightweight foundation application, and a smaller brush means you have more control over the product, and exactly how much you're applying. Its a good brush for the price, does what it says on the tin, but if you want medium or heavy coverage, this brush isn't for you. I had actually bought the little blusher brush for applying powder blusher, but after trying it with a few different products, I have come to realise that this is amazing for applying cream blushers! Because of its tiny size, its the perfect accompanying brush to the new Bourjois cream blush, as you can see exactly where the product is, and the small size makes it harder for anyone new to cream blush to go overboard with the product.

I physically cannot recommend this brand enough. Their customer service is incredible, the products are incredible and the delivery is so speedy I almost thought I was seeing things when it came through my door! If you want to order anything from Crown Brush, find them here.