Friday First Impressions | B. Cosmetics Lip/Cheek Colour in 'Goji'

You know when you walk into a shop, knowing that you need to grab something essential n leave...but then you end up not finding what you need n leaving the shop with something you don't need...that's me. Every time.

This time I happened to be browsing B.'s range cos I've been contemplating buying a BB cream or tinted moisturiser or something just to even out my skin a bit, but something that isn't as heavy as foundation (suggestions anyone?) Anyway, their range is half price at the moment so I picked up this gem. I don't like any of their lipsticks cos they're far too shimmery for me so I had a look at the lip colours n this one caught my eye. It's in the shade 'Goji' n it's such a beautiful brown-toned red. It's like a lip crayon which is perfect for me because I prefer to just use a lip liner to colour my lips as opposed to lipstick.

Usually it's retail price is £7.99 (too expensive for high street makeup in my opinion) but with the offer I got it for half price at £3.99 (acceptable). 

Now, it is a shimmer (boo) but it's nothing some translucent powder can't sort out. I wouldn't say the colour is anything special. I was kinda expecting it to be more of a mauve/brown toned shade but it's literally just an ordinary pink-toned red. I put this on my cheeks too n honestly, it isn't that amazing. I wouldn't have bought it without the offer and in hindsight, I don't think I should have bought it at all. Oh well, I'm sure I'll use it at some point. 

Have a lovely weekend guys, happy holidays!

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Monday Mani | 'Teal' x 'Aqua Glitter' by Barry M

IT'S CHRIIIIIISTMAS

(I wanna sing the Slade song but I won't)

This combo screams 'christmas tree' at me n tbh christmas is the only time I use 'Aqua Glitter'. It's layered on top of 'Teal' n it's the prettiest!!!!! 

One thing I love about Barry M glitters is the size of the particles, plus many of the glitters match the ordinary shades so you're able to match your glitter to your base! They're super super sparkley n they're so easy to layer up. 

This is two coats of each polish, and both dry super quick. It's actually so weird how some colours from the same brand take way longer to dry but idk! 

As far as I'm aware they both retail at £2.99 each n in my opinion they're absolutely worth the money, cos who wouldn't want christmas/mermaid nails?

I hope you guys found this review helpful AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! (Yes I will be sending seasons greetings every time you guys read a post of mine)

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Monday Mani | 'Peach Melba' x 'Crystal Glaze' by Barry M

So I was really itching to show you guys another one of my Zoya polishes but then I thought 'NO!' Seeing as I have so many Barry Ms, I'll end up only swatching them cos I'll have run out of other brands to review. 

Christmas is right round the corner n idk I felt wayyyy more Christmassy a month ago than now...idk I think I just got excited too early n now it's wearing off! But I am keeping up with festivities (listening to pop songs n pigging out in front of the tv...right..?) so to carry on with that I decided to add some sparkle for this mani.

 This is 'Crystal Glaze' under 'Peach Melba', both by Barry M. I've only ever worn 'Crystal Glaze' with this polish, never on it's own or with a different colour just cos I feel like it really accentuates this colour like they match so well! It adds a nice sparkle n turns 'Peach Melba' from a summer polish to a Christmas one! 

PM is part of the basic collection n retails at £2.99 while CG is at £3.99

Personally for me the consistency is a bit gooey - though this polish is about 2.5 yrs old which may account for the formula - it's a really great colour that goes well with most skin tones, though personally I'm only ever really drawn towards it when I'm tanned. 

Also, the CG is pretty unreliable, you can't always get enough speckles on your brush n you end up applying unnecessary layers!

I hope you guys found this helpful! 

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Review | E.L.F. Lipsticks

L-R Classy, Flirtatious, Gypsy, Posh n Seductive

So E.L.F is probably one of my favourite companies - cheap (who cares if you don't like the product, barely anything on the site costs more than a tenner) n vegan (yay for protecting bunnies n avoiding icky ingredients)

These are the plain (I call them plain cos the packaging isn't very attractive) lipsticks that are on the site for £1.95 - though for that price you can't really critique packaging.

I've got 5 colours here - 'Classy', 'Flirtatious', 'Gypsy' (rethink this name pls E.L.F), 'Posh' n 'Seductive':

'Gypsy' n 'Posh' are probably my favourite as I think they go the most with my skin tone. 'Classy' is a very 'dusty rose' colour but I have worn it far more than 'Flirtatious' n 'Seductive' (I even bought a new one when my old snapped - which is rare for me. Once a product dies, it's destiny for me to try something new)

I wouldn't say these last very long on your lips - eat something or take a sip from a takeaway cup n it's printed on the food/lid. BUT at the end of the day they are only £2 n for people like me, who use lipstick rarely n only for a few hours, these are great to have handy. You can even buy more than one as they're so cheap n keep one for emergencies in your bag, one at home etc. 

As you can see, none of them are matte so when I do want a matte finish I just pat some translucent powder on top!

Personally I prefer their studio crayons cos I love lip liner so it saves time hunting for a one to match.

P.S. Word of warning - the colours shown online look only vaguely like the shade in real life - shop carefully!

Hope you enjoyed this review!

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Need it or Leave it? | Nars Virtual Domination Review

The whole blogsphere and YouTube world have been raving about the NARS Virtual Domination Palette and I really had high hopes. The palette includes:

Miss Liberty - a peachy beige highlighter, this has loads of shimmer and sparkles. In photography it can give this sort of wet look, in person - this is deffo not a subtle highlight.

Deep Throat - a warm pink peach. This has some gold shimmer in it.

Sex Fantasy - A pale matte, lavender pink

Final Cut - A matte coral

Laguna - A warm, yellow under-toned bronzer with a sheen.

L to R Miss Liberty, Sex Fantasy, Final Cut and Deep Throat

The palette itself is really beautiful and it feels heavy so it has that luxury touch. Thats where all the good stuff ends. I've been trying to make this palette work for 2 weeks and I'm still not in love. To me, Miss Liberty and Sex Appeal does not suit me whatsoever. And the pigmentation to these blushes and bronzer come no where near to the singles. As you can see above^ they do swatch quite patchy. I think on paler skin tones this palette can work. But for deeper skin tones, just too much work to build on colour etc. I'm truly disappointed as it would've been great to travel with (well...its heavy as well so perhaps not)

If you are fairer than me (NC40 lighter) this can work for you if you don't mind working with it. Its also a great gift for a makeup lover!

You can buy the palette at Space NK for £45

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My Go-To Look

So this is basically my every day, nothing special look with an addition of eyeshadow (which I use not very often) but when I do use it, these are the colours I mix.

I haven't worn foundation about 2 yrs so the only face products I use are bronzer n blusher (not even concealer - I know, SHOCKER!)

Usually I start of with eyebrows, I use Sleek's Brow Kit in Dark n a small studio smudge brush by E.L.F. Cosmetics n start filling in my brows about a quarter way in, pressing the brush quite firmly in n filling in any sparse areas, as my eyebrow hairs are thick individually but there aren't many of them. I go back to the beginning of my brow n try gradient in the rest by applying the paint very softly n building it up to my liking, blending as I go along. 

Then I move onto eyeshadow n eyeliner. The only palette I own is E.L.F.'s 'Bright' palette, and even then, it's only two colours in it that I ever go to. I use E.L.F.'s eyeshadow primer to prep my lids (it's actually amazing, my eyeshadow goes creaseless for 6-8 hours) then I place the lightest brown shade in the middle of the first row all over my eyelid n a little into my crease then I go back in using the plum/aubergine shade at the end of the third row and intensify it a little by placing it in the outer corner of my eye. I take the same colour n run it underneath my lower lashes. Moving on to liquid eyeliner, I draw a fairly small (by my standards) wing using Sleek's Dip-It Eyeliner. Then I curl my lashes for about 10 seconds each, pressing down with the clamps (...?) every other second. I apply two coats of E.L.F's Defining Mascara to the tops n bottoms n that's the eyes done!

Moving on to bronzer n blush, this compact duo is definitely my favourite - it's Milani's Sunset Duo in 'Sunset Beach'. I apply the bronzer with So Eco's blush brush to the hollows of my cheekbones, my temples and my jawline/under my chin. Lastly I swipe some blusher on and blend with E.L.F.'s studio stipple brush n voila!

I usually add a lip balm before leaving the house n that's it!

Mid-week Hype | Makeup Forever Artist Shadows Review

When Makeup Forever released over 200 reformulated eyeshadows (and blushes) obviously they are going to get hyped about. Now, from what I've heard from missbeautyadikt these shadows contain 80% pigment! 

I was at Guru Makeup Emporium (on Kensington Church street) last week and originally I had a list of what shades I wanted (I'm always making lists) however a few of the shades I wanted was out of stock. However, I got 4 shadows to try out and I'm truly in love! 

Although these shadows are SO pigmented and has a buttery texture, there is zero fallout! I was so shocked, usually with darker shades theres always some amount of fallout plus I don't tend to wear a primer. The blending capabilities of these shadows are amazingg...I never imagined shadows so easy to blend. No effort needed! And the shadows I got were all matte, but no patchiness whatsoever.

L to R M-860, M-928, M-656, M-322

M-860 Powdery Pink - a matte warm toned pink

M-928 Eggplant - a matte, deep, neutral purple shade

M-656 Chestnut - a matte warm toned brown

M-332 Khaki - the name really describes it, a matte warm khaki

I also purchased their new magnetic empty palettes as well. They come in 4 sizes; small, medium, large and extra large. I picked up medium for myself and large for my kit. They have a really strong magnetic base, so you can pop in anything. They also cost less than a z-palette! Although they don't have a transparent cover, I prefer the knowing that my shadows won't shatter while traveling.

Size Comparison - MUFE Medium v Large palette

You can pick these products at Gurumakeupemporium.com or at PAM in the UK

Each shadow costs £12.50 and the palettes are priced at £3.95-6.95. I'm sure to pick some more shadows and palettes soon!

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