Finished! The December edition

I have seen this on other blogs and thought it's such a great idea to review products that I've finished over the course of the month, however, I'd never got round to it (I did a Hitting Pan post a while ago, but that's as far as it got.) As I have such a big stash, it's not very often that I use up anything, so it's pretty unusual that I've actually managed to finish 4 products pretty much at the same time. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to show you the products I've finished, tell you how I liked them and whether I'll be repurchasing them. I will try to make this into a regular feature on the blog, but we'll see how it goes since I don't often finish products.

First up it's my favourite face primer, Meteorites Perles Light Diffusing Perfecting Primer by Guerlain. A very light gorgeously scented (parma violets, mmm!) slightly shimmery quite runny liquid that gives a nice sheen to your face while mattefying it (I know, it sounds odd, but it works) and helping your make up last through the day. It's expensive at £40 per 30 ml, but you don't need a lot, one press of the pump dispenses enough for your whole face. It's very interesting, you have loads of little balls filled with primer and the pump sucks up one or two balls and squeezes them out onto your finger. The outer "shell" is so soft it just disintegrates, so you get this gorgeous smooth wonderfully light shine controlling illuminating primer. Do you get the impression that I love this stuff? 

Here is a picture of how it looks when full. The bottle is heavy glass, it feels luxurious just as much as the primer inside does. Will I be repurchasing it? Of course. For now I have 2 back ups, so I'm okay, but I'm always looking for good bargains on this, so might stock up again soon.

Find out what other products I've finished after the jump!

Merry Christmas To All My Lovely Readers!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my blog and leave lovely comments. It's a really great feeling to know that there are so many people out there interested in what I have to say. To this day I've not had a negative comment and I feel really lucky to have so many followers.

The tree above is our own decorated with the help of my 3 children, so while it's not a fancy designer one, it's ours.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my lovely readers! Hope to see you all next year!

Don't buy this! Boots Cotton Wool Double Faced Round Pads

I go through cotton wool pads very quickly since I wear make up every day, and am very good about removing it. So on a recent trip to Boots I bought this pack of cotton wool pads (mainly to make up the £50 total necessary for the bonus points Boots were offering at the time), in fact I got 4 of them! Unfortunately it turned out to be a mistake, because these pads are pretty rubbish.

According to the packaging they're supposed to be made of high quality non-fleecing cotton, they do not fluff or lint, and therefore are suitable for contact lens wearers. This is not the case, in fact they do fluff quite a bit, they fall apart very easily, and they are not half as good as my ordinary Superdrug cotton wool pads. I am a contact lens wearer, although I've not had problems with fluff getting in my eyes yet, but it's mainly because I've been extra careful with these.

When I tried to remove nail polish with them, they were even worse, just stuck to the nail polish and practically fell apart when I tried to wipe the polish off. I also use cotton wool pads wet for wiping off face masks (like Mac Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask and Avon Rejuvenate Mineral Mask) and the Superdrug cotton wool pads work really well even wet, whereas these ones just fall apart.

Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do with 4 packs of these, I can't return them now as it's been too long since I bought them. Any ideas?

Finally see some more pictures after the jump!

Update on my Project Skincare Samples

You might remember this post from last month, so I thought I'd do a little update to show you how I'm getting on. I've used up quite a few of my samples, still have plenty to go, and so far there have been two products that I really liked, and so ended up purchasing the full sized article. Although the whole point was that I use up the samples before I purchase any more skincare products, in my defence, the products I bought I didn't actually own similar things to.

Firstly, I got Chanel Body Excellence Revitalizing Smoothing Scrub which is a lovely body scrub with a gorgeous scent that I just couldn't resist. Now unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available in the shops anymore (you guessed it, I got it on eBay), which is a shame, because it's very nice. Gentle enough, but effective, leave my skin really soft, and it smells gorgeous.

See more pictures and find out what other products I purchased!

Laura Geller Escape To The Tropics Collection Review

Well, not the whole collection, because I only got 4 products whereas the collection actually contains 7. The reason I only have 4 is that this collection isn't available in the UK, so I purchased the products on eBay (where else?) and I only got the ones I was really interested in:

Blush-N-Brighten baked cheek color in Tropic Hues (9 g): "Sheer enough to look natural, and colorful enough to look great! Like Laura's other baked items, this powder is made in Italy with an amazing process that begins with a multi-color, pigment-infused liquid that becomes a rich, silky powder after baking for 24 hours on a terra cotta pan. This superb formula is mineral oil- and paraben-free. It is also loaded with antioxidants."

Dream Creams lip palette in Tropic Hues (8 ml): "Each of the four shades were chosen to perfectly match the colors in Blush-N-Brighten. Use one stripe, or combine them all." It came with a retractable gold lipbrush (forgot to take photo, sorry).

Baked Eye Dreams palette in Sunset Horizon (6 g): "Like the Dream Creams lip palette, there are four stripes, one for each shade."

The collection also includes:

• Balance-N-Brighten (9 g): "This baked color-correcting foundation helps balance and even out the palest skin tones." Comes in three shades: Fair, Regular and Tan.
• I-Care waterproof eyeliner in Purple Paradise: "Soft, smooth, and super long-wearing, this formula glides into place for a well-defined, flattering line."
• Double-ended eye brush

Quotes were taken from QVC, where US readers can purchase the set for $54.12 + $5.97 shipping and handling. Unfortunately it isn't available in the UK yet, not even sure if it's going to be, because the Tropics Collection that included the mini-version of Tropic Hues blush was also not available. Thanks to eBay I did manage to get it, and ever since I'd been wanting a full size version of it. You'll see why.

If you've been reading my blog for a while you will know that I'm a big fan of  mineralized products (and if you haven't, well now you know) and I really like Laura Geller's baked blushes too. They all look absolutely gorgeous and they are very good quality, pigmented and very finely milled. One of my favourites is her duo blush in Boysenberry/Amaretti which comes with a highlighter part that is an exact dupe for Mac Pleasureflush MSF. Anyway, back to this collection, Tropic Hues is a breathtakingly beautiful pink blush, it's a blend of apricot, pink and gold with slight shimmer (not glittery though).

Dream Creams lip palettes are another favourites of mine, they are very creamy, moisturising and really nice to use. They are one of the nicest lipsticks I've ever tried. I think I already had 3 or 4 of them. This one is called Tropic Hues that has 4 shades: Sheer Golden Shimmer, Burnished Apricot, Peachy Pink, Deep Plum.

The Baked Eye Dreams palette is a new product and other than swatching it, I haven't really tested it, but it seems nicely pigmented and soft. This shade is called Sunset Horizon, it has four shades: pink, copper, gold and brown.

Right, let's move onto the product pictures and swatches. Apologies in advance about the lip palette swatches, I was in a hurry, so they are not the best. 

Christian Dior Tailleur Bar eyeshadow palette and Serum de Rouge

Another limited edition collectors' item for you. I've recently purchased this gorgeous set on eBay (you gotta love eBay!) for a good price, to go with my existing Dior palette collection. (In case you haven't seen my impressive Dior eyeshadow stash, you can check it out here!) The set was produced in very limited numbers and it is very pretty. Comes in a white presentation box (also protected by a white sleeve) with a numbered booklet (mine is 352) that shows you the history of Tailleur Bar (Bar Suit) and an idea for a look you can create with the set.

The set includes a beautiful eyeshadow palette embossed with the legendary Tailleur Bar image and a Serum de Rouge in shade 470. I haven't swatched either of them yet, I'm too scared to ruin the palette, and the serum just looked so pretty (don't you just love the look of new unused lipsticks?). I do intend to use them eventually, but for now, I will save them.The eyeshadow palette has 2 shades of grey, a black, a dark blue and light pink, so it's certainly great for creating a smoky eye look. The medium pink Serum de Rouge is just the right shade for the lips to go with it.

I'm not really sure what more to add to this, so shall we just move on to the pictures?

Another one for the collection: Chantecaille Starlight Face Powder

I was lucky enough to buy this beautiful limited edition Chantecaille powder on eBay for a pretty good price, brand new, so I thought I'd show it off. As you know, I collect Chantecaille compacts and palettes and if you haven't seen it yet, you can check out my gorgeous collection here. 

Starlight Face Powder, I believe was released 3 years ago as part of a set (that also included a lipgloss and eyeshadow), so it is now very rare. It is a beautiful shimmery powder that comes in a gorgeous gold compact and gold bag.

I think the shimmery top layer is just overspray, but don't expect me to ruin this gorgeous powder to find out because I won't! I know, I'm weird, but I prefer to keep these gorgeous powders untouched for my collection, so unless I find another one to use, it won't be touched for a while yet (ever?).

Anyway, not much more to say, so let's move onto the pictures!

Mission: Nail Rescue part 4 - The Conclusion

This is the fourth part of my nail rescue mission report and unfortunately the results are not as good as I would have hoped, especially based on what Nails Inc promised me on the box of their treatment pack. According to them, by 6 weeks I should be seeing a big improvement in the condition of my splitting, weak nails. Unfortunately this is not the case. My nails have stopped splitting further, that's true, but even after 7 weeks they are still weak and very bendy. They break easily and the nail polish still chips off them in a matter of hours because they are so bendy. 

I was also unimpressed by the amount of cuticle oil included in the set as it ran out within 4 weeks or so. I'm still only halfway through the base coat, yet I have no cuticle oil left. Mind you, the cuticle oil didn't seem to make much of a difference anyway. 

I will keep using the base coat and top coat (the latter is really fast drying) and keep taking the food supplement, so hopefully there will be some more improvement. I have also invented in Mavala's Scientifique which is a nail hardener that you put on the tip of your nails only and I have to say, that has made some difference. I haven't done anything with my nails lately as I haven't been well for the last 9 days, but will persevere. The only thing with that is if you get it on your skin, it hardens that too, so you have to be very careful. I don't know if that's the reason why, but the skin next to the tip of my nail on my right thumb has cracked twice over the last week or so. Maybe it's because of the weather, I don't know, but it is pretty painful. 

Anyway, here are some more pictures of my miserable looking nails. I think you can agree that the mission has been unsuccessful.

Chantecaille Spring 2011 Collection

I have just seen the details of the Chantecaille Spring Collection and I am so excited about it!

Just how gorgeous is this palette? Absolutely beautiful! And you know I'm a sucker for Chantecaille palettes (if you haven't seen it yet, check out my collection here). So of course I will be purchasing it.

Here are the collection details:

Sea Turtle Palette ($79.00) (Limited Edition)

This limited edition palette, inspired by the beauty of green sea turtles and their warm, sandy nesting grounds, reflects the fluid ease, billowy freedom and insouciant vintage Parisian chic of fashion. Three Eye Shades and one Cheek Shade reflect the golden warmth of new spring neutrals complimented by an on trend deep sea green eye defining shade. Composed of formulas with the finest pearl and pigment particles to create a natural, satin, sheer veil on the skin with a glowing effect. Eye shades never travel or crease. For the complete Spring look, follow with one of our new long lasting, full color Hydra Chic shades. With the purchase of this refillable palette, 5% of proceeds will help WIDECAST ensure the survival of sea turtles.

New Hydra Chic Shades ($30.00)

To complete this clean, graceful and sophisticated look, Chantecaille created three new Hydra Chic shades. Hydra Chic is a modern full-impact lipstick that is hydrating and luminous with six hours of great color wear. Natural extracts of papaya and orchid help to soften lips and provide anti-oxidant and anti-aging protection. Raist, a natural sugar derivative, provides immediate and comforting hydration.

• Aster A bright vibrant floral pink shade. Not too cool and not too warm, this pink emphasizes and brightens lips.
• Canna A soft peach shade warms the face.
• Willow Impart the sophisticated look of the neutral lip with this deep beige shade.

 

Details and photos Temptalia

Dior Spring 2011 Collection Sneak Preview: Cannage eye palette #001

As promised, here's a sneak preview of Dior's spring 2011 collection. I've managed to buy one of the Cannage palettes on eBay and it's finally arrived (no thanks to the seller who didn't post it for 4 days after payment!). I've got #001 which is Dawn Grey, there is also another palette (#002) with brown shades. For details of the collection, click here. 

The palette comes in a black box with silver letters and silver CD logo. The palette itself is in a lovely quilted leather cover. It looks very similar to the holiday eye palette actually. The palette also has the letters D i o r hanging on the top left corner as charm. Inside there are 4 eyeshadows and a double ended applicator. The 4 eyeshadows are matte black, shimmery dark grey, shimmery light grey/silver and shimmery light pink. The texture of the eyeshadows is lovely, the black shade is really pigmented, soft and not at all chalky. Shame goes to the dark and light grey shades. The light pink shade is a little different in texture, very sheer, it's definitely more of a highlighter, similar to the highlighter shades in the designer palettes. All in all it's a really nice palette, I'm looking forward to using it and also to getting the brown version. I love Dior eyeshadows and this one didn't disappoint either.

See more pictures and swatches after the jump! 

Christian Dior Spring 2011 Make Up Collection

I'd been really looking forward to seeing details of the Dior Spring 2011 collection and finally here they are! Not very springlike to be honest, there are lots of greys in the collection, but pretty just the same. As you know I'm a huge fan and avid collector of Dior eyeshadows, so I'm of course very excited about them especially. And I have been lucky enough to snap up one of the Cannage Palettes on eBay, so will post a review as soon as I have it!

Here are the details of the collection:

Serum de Rouge Lip Treatment

• #240 Pink Coral Serum
• #460 Pink Mauve Serum

Addict Ultra Gloss

• #654 Pink Veil
• #707 Trianon Silver

Rouge Dior Lip Color

• #540 Spring Pink
• #658 Chic Pink

Dior 5-Colour Designer Eye Palette #018 Soft Pink Design
 

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow #034 Gris Gris
 

Dior Cannage Palette #1 and #2

Mascara Diorshow 360  #090
 

Dior Eyeliner Pencil #077 Smoky Grey
 

Dior One-Colour Eyeshadow #053 

Colour moist powder SPF 8 in #001, #002, #003
 

Dior Vernis Nail Enamel 

• #108
• #707 Gris Montaigne

See more pictures after the jump!

Accessorize merged blush review

Firstly I'd like to apologise for not posting for a few days, but I haven't been well (caught a lovely virus) and have been busy with friends and family. Also, it is very unlike me, but I haven't been buying a lot of make up lately, so have run out of inspiration on what to write about. But then I remembered these blushes I bought from Accessorize a while ago (you can check out my initial post here) and actually used them a few times the other week, so I thought I'd tell you all about them.

These are baked domed blushes, not dissimilar to Mac mineralize blushes in appearance, some with more than one colours merged in them, some with just one colour. I believe there are 4 shades in the range, but I only got 3, the remaining shade was too dark and bronze for my liking. You can check out the whole range on the Accessorize website. The shades I got are Pretty Pink, Starlet and Diva. 

I have seen Pretty Pink on a few blogs, it's been compared to Mac's Moon River mineralize blush (from Grand Duos). It is an incredibly sheer powder, gives nice pink highlights to the skin, but as a blush it's not much use. I'm fairly light skinned (Light Medium Mac MSFN shade in winter) and it hardly shows up on me. It's also very frosty (not shimmery though).

Starlet is a bit brighter, darker pink, but it still takes a few goes to show up on me properly. It gives a nice pink flush, but it's cooler than Pretty Pink. Still on the light side though and quite frosty.

Diva is my favourite, even though it's the least pretty to look at (I love the marbelised effect of Pretty Pink), it only has one colour in it, but it delivers the most colour onto my cheeks. Despite looking scary in the pan, it's nowhere near as dark, as you can see in the swatches below. All of these blushes are a lot less pigmented than Mac blushes, which isn't too bad with the darker shades as you can always layer them on and it's easier to avoid looking like a clown if you're a bit heavy handed, but the light shades (especially Pretty Pink) only deliver frost and not much colour even after layering. 

These blushes cost £5 each and you get 8 gramms per blush. Would I recommend them? Diva, yes, maybe even Starlet if you're light and cool toned (can pull of cool pink blushes), but not Pretty Pink unless you want a highlighter and not a blush.

See more photots and swatches after the jump!

Accessorize Pink Spice Nail Polish - a possible dupe for Mac's Bad Fairy?

I told you about my Accessorize haul a few weeks ago, but never got around to showing you the products in detail (I haven't actually used anything other than the blushes, which I will try to review in the coming week). Today I want to show you Pink Spice nail polish which is a beautiful pinky-red duochrome colour. I haven't done side by side comparison, but I think it is a very good dupe for Mac Bad Fairy nail polish (from Venomous Villains), maybe a bit less red and more pink, but pretty close. For comparison I reviewed Bad Fairy over here, but please bear in mind that those pictures were taken on a sunny autumn day whereas these ones were taken on a gloomy winter day. On my nails there really doesn't seem to be a big difference.

With flash

Pricewise, Accessorize nail polishes cost £4 which is half the price of Mac polishes. Both Mac and Accessorize polishes are 10 ml. Qualitywise, Bad Fairy took 3 coats to look even, Pink Spice took 2 coats. Pink Spice applied much more evenly and was less runny than Bad Fairy. Nail polishes chips on me almost instantly, so that's pretty equal really. Finally, since Bad Fairy is now discontinued, if you want the shade, Pink Spice is your best bet as it's available from Superdrug and the Accessorize website. I would recommend checking out the line, there are some real gems in there (including dupes for the entire Orly Cosmic FX collection).

See more pictures and swatches below!

In case you were wondering...

...about where my blog sale has gone: I've deleted it. Since there was hardly any interest in it and all the unwanted make up was cluttering up my very limited amount of storage space, I decided that I would give it all away instead.

I have come across Give and Make Up a site run by the lovely Caroline who has been organising donations for Refuge, a charity helping women and children who suffer domestic violence. Caroline is kindly collecting donations of make up, skin care and all sort of other beauty and hygiene products, so I thought what better place to send my unwanted make up and other bits and bobs. 

Caroline is also collecting donations for shoe boxes, an appeal organised by Samaritans Purse which is also an excellent cause. My 3 children and I have prepared 3 shoe boxes filled with toys, stationery and hygiene essenstials for children who live in the poorest countries and will most probably only receive that one gift this Christmas. I believe our boxes were sent to Belarus.

Anyway, if you feel like being charitable, please feel free to check out the above mentioned websites. If you have other ideas for charitable giving, don't hesitate to tell me about them in the comments.

Chantecaille Tiger In The Wild palette and pictures of my collection

I love Chantecaille's limited edition palettes, my obsession with them started in 2008 when they released their Protected Paradise eyeshadow and face powder (more on them below). I have finally managed to get my hands on their newest beauty, Tiger In The Wild. It had been on my wishlist for a few months, but I was very reluctant to pay £73 for it. You know me, I love my bargains, so I was chuffed to find it on eBay for "just" £41.99 delivered.

What is it? A four pan gunmetal sleek palette (pans are removable, so it is refillable) with 3 eyeshadows (Cream, Pewter and Indigo) and a blush (Persimmon). You also get a very good size mirror. All 4 pans come in a beautiful tiger design to celebrate and raise awareness for the wild tiger, and as usual, Chantecaille are donating a percentage of the profits to support TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring organisation to help save last tigers in the wild. So if you're having trouble justifying the price, it's all for a good cause! I love the design and the colours seem very wearable and pretty. I apologise in advance for the lack of swatches though, I have not touched it yet, I'm a bit funny like this and don't like messing up gorgeous palettes and powders. But I will show you some close up pictures though and you can find some great swatches here and here.

In this post I would also like to show you my pretty amazing Chantecaille collection, if you're anything like me, you surely won't mind drooling over the pictures I'm sure.

See more pictures after the jump!

Sleek Make Up Sparkle palette new for the party season

I'm a big fan of Sleek Make Up palettes, so when I heard that there was a new limited edition one being released for the party season, I jumped on it right away. This one is called Sparkle and it contains 12 gorgeous eyeshadows as usual. Most of them are sparkly, but they have also included a matte black (Noir) and 2 metallic shades (Gold Ribbon and Tinsel). The rest of the eyeshadows are very sparkly and there's a good mix of colours: plums, blues, purples, plus a gorgeous green and an outrageous bright pink are also included. This palette is certainly not for those who don't like colours, there isn't a nude shade in sight, but then Sleek palettes are usually packed with colours.

I really like it that Sleek have changed their packaging from the old style see-through plastic sleeve to prettier boxes. This palette has a blue outer box with lots of sparkles - very festive! Inside it's the usual black matter slimline palette with the words "Sleek Make Up" printed across it. Inside the palette you find a very useful mirror, a double ended sponge applicator (meh) and the eyeshadows. The names of the eyeshadows are printed on the plastic cover inside, which goes over the eyeshadows. I tend to throw these plastic covers away as they get in the way, so I guess it would be better if the shade names were printed on the back of the palette. But I personally don't care about the shade names that much anyway, so I don't mind.

The eyeshadows are very smooth and pigmented as usual. I swatched them on bare skin and they showed up fantastically. I would recommend using a base under them though as they do stain a bit, especially the darker shades. Plus I always use a base anyway, but that's just me. Not sure how easy it would be to create looks from this palette alone unless you're going for a very dark smoky eye and there isn't a highlighter shade included, but I'm sure we all own our own highlighters and other eyeshadows anyway. All in all I think this is another great palette from Sleek Make Up and if you want to pick it up, I'd urge you to do it asap as they won't be around for long. Available from Superdrug and online from Sleek Make Up (they deliver worldwide I believe) for £5.99.

See more pictures and swatches after the jump!

Want It: Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary Set

Unfortunately this is not available in the UK just yet, but the lucky people in the US can purchase it tomorrow on Urban Decay's website. The rest of use will need to wait until next year to get our hands on it. For those of you who don't know what this is, there's some more info below!

Boots No 7 Christmas Collection eyeshadow compacts and eye pencil sets

This time of the year is proving to be very expensive to me because there are just too many nice products on offer. Today I would like to tell you about Boots's own No 7 brand's limited edition Christmas Collection. I'm not going to review the Mirror Ball collection (the highlighter, eyeshadow quad, lipstick, jumbo pencils, etc.), but concentrate on the limited edition 9 colour eyeshadow compacts and eye pencil sets. Both of them available in 3 colours: Candy Cane, Smoky Jewels and Precious Metals. The colours work very well together, so you can co-ordinate the eye pencils with the compact with the same name, which I think is pretty cool.

Candy Cane, Smoky Jewels, Precious Metals

Right then, first off the eyeshadow compacts. In style they remind me very much of a small compact Lancome did a couple of years ago also with 9 colours, only difference is, these eyeshadows work much better together (the Lancome shadows are very hard to use together). You get 3 rows of co-ordinating shades, although of course you don't have to stick to using them together. Candy Cane is a nice soft pastel palette, with blues, pinks, purples and greens. Smoky Jewels has darker, "smokier", jewel toned colours, blues, greens, purples, browns. Precious Metals has a collection on metallic shades: gold, silver, bronze. The eyeshadows are nicely pigmented, smooth and easy to blend. You get 3.6 g for £12.50 (the pans are about the size of a 5p coin, so that's why they're only 0.4 g each).There's often a 3 for 2 offer on No 7 products or at the moment you get a free gift if you spend £22 or more on No 7 - check it out here!

Read more of my review and see lots of pictures and swatches after the jump!

Benefit Prrrowl double ended mascara topcoat and lipgloss review

I'm not a huge fan of Benefit cosmetics for several reasons, including the fact that I often find their sales assistants a bit in your face and pushy, but I have come across a product lately that I really like, so I thought I'd show you. It's called Prrrowl and it's basically a double ended mascara topcoat and lipgloss duo. I bought it when I went shopping to Boots the other day and there were no sales assistants at the counter, so I could browse happily. What caught my eye first is the gorgeous teal-blue colour of the mascara topcoat. It is just so beautiful. The lipgloss is also pretty, although it probably suit someone with cooler skintone better especially as not only it's light pink, it also has blue shimmer to it. Good for a smokey eye though!

I love the packaging, it comes in a leopard-skin print box and it's really fun to look at. Inside the box you have a very generously sized double ended wand (very similar in shape to Guerlain's Le 2 Mascaras by the way). You get 7.5 g of mascara and 6.5 ml of lipgloss for £19.50 which is pretty good value for money. Both ends have very good applicators, the mascara wand is a really nice size and picks up just the right amount of product, and the lipgloss applicator is nicely curved on one side to make application easier. The lipgloss is non-sticky and has the same fruity scent as other Benefit glosses (not my favourite to be honest). The mascara topcoat (which could also be applied alone) is a beautiful peacock blue shade with lots of sparkles. Once it's applied it doesn't flake or smudge at all, and there's no glitter fallout either.

See more product pictures and swatches after the jump!

Laura Mercier Sequin Eyeshadows review

Laura Mercier's Sequins Collection includes 9 eyeshadows in the following shades:

• Tiger’s Eye – warm chocolate brown with flakes
• Twinkling Star – soft neutral beige with flecks
• Shimmerplum – cool lilac grey with flecks
• Pink Crystal – soft pale pink with flecks
• Black Ice -  cold gray
• Lapis – vibrant blue indigo with flecks
• Copper – warm copper brown
• Jade – light smoky green
• Brilliant Rose – rose copper with flecks

The collection is now out and it looks so tempting that I ended up buying 6 of the 9 eyeshadows! As you know, I love sparkly eyeshadows and I just couldn't resist picking more up. I reviewed the 3 Sequin eyeshadows that came out with the autumn collection here together with Lapis that I already had (courtesy of eBay) but which is actually part of this collection.

See which shades I've picked up and read my review after the jump!

My favourite upcoming Spring 2010 collections (so far)

I know it's not even winter yet (well, technically it isn't, but it's blooming cold outside and they're forecasting snow for the end of this week - brr!), but there's been quite a lot of news appearing on the web about the upcoming spring collections. So I thought I'd show you which ones are my favourites so far, but of course without seeing details on all of them (I'm especially keen to see the details for Dior's and Chantecaille's spring collections), it's hard to pick favourites just yet. But I can happily say that I absolutely adore the new blush that's coming out in Lancome's spring collection, the entire Guerlain collection (of course) and YSL's collection looks very interesting too.  

I'll start with my most favourite item of them all, Lancome's spring blush. Isn't it just gorgeous? 

Lancome La Rose Butterfly Blush

Keep reading to find what other products are among my favourites!

Mission: Nail Rescue part 3

Following on from my post 2 weeks ago, here's another update on my Nail Rescue Mission. I'm now 5 weeks into my Nails Inc treatment and to be honest, although there is some improvement, it's still not great. My nails are in a bit better shape, there's no new peeling, although I'm still waiting for the very thin bits to grow out, and growth is very slow. I have switched to Tesco's nail supplement (simply because I was shopping there when I needed to stock up) and I've also started wearing nail polish again as I got bored with not being able to wear any, as a result I'm only applying the base coat every 2-3 days now. None of these seem to have an adverse effect on my nails luckily.

Well that's all for now and I will update you again in a couple of weeks' time.

Week 4

To see more photos of my nails and the new supplement I'm using, continue to read on!

Guerlain Meteorites Poudre D'Or Voyage Powder

I've got it! Just arrived in the post today! And it's lovely! What am I talking about? The new Meteorites Poudre D'Or from Guerlain's holiday collection of course!

Guerlain releases a limited edition Voyage Powder every holiday and they seem to be getting more and more beautiful (although to this day my favourite is the Radiant Butterfly one that was released in 2008). This year the theme is bees, it runs through the whole collection. Both the lid and the actual powder feature bees. The lid of the compact is very similar to both the Meteorites Perles D'Or box and last year's Imperial Voyage Powder. It has the same flower pattern and bee as the Meteorites Perles D'Or but it also has the black Swarovski crystals from the Imperial Voyage Powder. The compact is very heavy and has a very luxurious feel to it, and it's refillable, although you may not be able to find the same powder, you can always pop in one of the permanent Mythic refills. It costs £107, so it is very expensive, and refills are around £30.

I apologise to those expecting swatches and a comparison review between Meteorites Perles D'Or and Poudre D'Or, but I cannot make myself swatch the powder and ruin the gorgeous bee detail. I collect these powders as well as use them (if you haven't yet, please feel free to check out my collection here) and since I have a few powders already on the go, I don't feel the need to start using this one as well. Hope you understand.

See more photos after the jump!

Guerlain, you know I love you, but you and eye don't get on!

Guerlain is one of my favourite brands, but unfortunately when it comes to their eye creams, it's a different story. You might recall that I'm currently doing Project Skincare Samples which means I'm basically using up all my samples I've accumulated during the past few years. I started using Guerlain's Issima Succes Eye Tech which is an "eyelid lifter and wrinkle minimiser" eye cream. Unfortunately just after 2 uses I found that it made my eyelids extremely sore and very puffy. This is how my eyes looked the morning after the second application:

Not only my eyelid wasn't lifted, it ended up very saggy and puffy. I have naturally hooded eyelids, but they don't normally look like this. They were also very sore and sensitive. Really not what you expect from a high end eyecream like Guerlain's. Unfortunately the same thing happened to me a while ago when I was using the Orchidee Imperiale eye and lip cream, so I had to resort to only using it on my lips which considering that it cost me £50 was really not great! So it seems Guerlain and I are just not seeing eye to eye (excuse the pun). It makes me sad, but at least I can now stop lusting after their horribly expensive skincare products. Although I do need to add that their face serums and creams are still one of my favourites. 

See more pictures of my puffy, sore eyelids if you dare!

Boots Strictly Fabulous lipgloss collection review and swatches

I'm not a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing (having said that I have nothing against it, just don't watch it), but this lipgloss set caught my attention when I was looking through my Boots Christmas brochure a little while ago. I picked it up during one of the shopping events to make use of Boots's generous point giveaway and 3 for 2 offer (all holiday giftsets are included in their 3 for 2 offers). It costs £12, but was effectively free because I bought it at the same time as a couple of Front Cover palettes. Plus I got £12 worth of points on my Advantage Card. Anyway....

I really liked the look of the colours and although I couldn't test them out before buying, I thought what the heck I'll get them anyway. And I'm glad I did because the glosses are actually really nice. They are double ended with one end sheer and sparkly and the other end nicely pigmented. The coloours are all wearable and have a good range, so should suit a lot of skintones and preferences. I would like the sheer, glittery glosses to be just a bit mroe pigmented and actually look more like they do in the tube, but I guess if you apply them on similar coloured lipsticks, you still get a very nice effect. Not bad for £1.50 each. 

See more photos and swatches after the jump!

Too Faced Enchanted Glamourland review and swatches

From the moment I saw the first picture about this palette, I knew I wanted Too Faced's holiday palette Enchanted Glamourland. Unluckily for me, this particular products wasn't available in the UK, but after weeks of stalking eBay with no luck, my husband announced he was going to America on a business trip. So I gave him a little list of things I'd liked and he bought them for me! (I also got Lancome Shimmer Blush in Mandarin sky that I'd been really wanting ever since I saw Christine's review on it over at Temptalia.)

So since this products isn't available in the UK, I'm guessing this might be a UK exclusive review? (Please correct me if that's not the case, I don't want to offend anyone.) Anyway, Enchanted Glamourland is a super pretty palette that includes 15 eyeshadows (4 exclusives), a blush, a bronzer, a lipgloss and a full sized Insurance Policy eyeshadow primer. It costs $49 plus tax. It is a very pretty girly palette with fairies, flowers, butterflies and tons of glitter on the packaging.

There's quite a good variety in colours and finishes among the eyeshadows, although a lot of shades are quite shimmery, so if you don't like shimmer, this palette might not be for you. There are a few matte and neutral shades in there too though. I like a lot of things about this palette: the blush (La Vie En Rose), the bronzer (Snow Bunny), the full size primer (Urban Decay please take note!), the fact that the included lipgloss is a proper lipgloss and not part of the palette, and I like it that they included 3 cards with looks to inspire.

The eyeshadows themselves are nice, there's a nice variety of colours and finishes and there are also 4 new shades (oddly only called Exclusive (all 4 of them!), even though all other shades have proper names). There are of course a few shades that have been included in other palettes, I'm sure I already own Boy Toy, Label Whore, Glamazon and George & Wheezie from last year's Glamour Revolution palette, but all in all I think this is a great palette and not only that, it is sooooo pretty! (Having mentioned Glamour Revolution, this year's palette is way better value, so if you missed out on GR, definitely get Enchanted Glamourland if you can!)

Okay then, enough of the review, let's see some more pictures and swatches!

My Dior holiday haul

I love Dior and their eyeshadows in particular, so always get sucked into buying their newest limited edition quints. I already have a massive collection (you can check it out here), but I needed to get the two new holiday quints as well because they are gorgeous. I also bought one of the star products released in this year's holiday collection: Dior Mineudiere in Pink Golds.

Read more about these eyeshadow palettes and see more pictures after the jump!

Cool smoky eyed look featuring Mac Tartan Tale lips

I created this look using some of the shades from Urban Decay's Naked Palette and the new Mac Tartan Tale Happily Ever After lip kit. I know some of you might be wondering how on earth you create a grey smoky eye from the neutral Naked Palette, but it does have some darker shades including Gunmetal and Creep.

For this look I used:

Face:

Guerlain Meteorites Perles primer

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation

Chantecaille White Tiger pressed powder

Mac Dollymix powder blush

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Gunmetal eyeshadow (Naked Palette) all over lid
Urban Decay Creep eyeshadow (Naked Palette) in crease

Urban Decay Vorpal (S&M) eyeshadow (Alice in Wonderland BOS) inner corner and above crease

Urban Decay Uzi eyeshadow (UD Heart NYC BOS) inner corner and above crease

Mac Frozen White Pigment inner corner and below browbone

Urban Decay Gunmetal 24/7 eyeliner on lower lashline

Boots No 7 Extreme Length mascara in black

Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Lips:

Mac Happily Ever After lip kit: Cheers All Around lipstick and Endless Fun lipglass

See more pictures after the jump!

Project skincare samples!

I have a LOT of skincare samples that I have accumulated over the last few years by swapping, gifts with purchase, etc. I'd been keeping them in a bag not really knowing what to do with them, especially since I've not been doing a lot of swapping lately. Didn't want to throw them out, so I thought, why not use them?And not only that, why not set myself a challenge like I've seen other bloggers do (like 10 pan or 10 tube challenges) and not buy any skincare products until I use up ALL my samples.

As you can see I have a variety of samples (I didn't photographed all of them!): cleansers, serums, day, night and eye creams and primers from a variety of brands including Guerlain, Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Estee Lauder, and loads more. I will not feel like I'm hard done by with all these lovely brands. So over the coming weeks (and months by the looks of it) I will be doing Project Skincare Samples!

Do you have a lot of skincare samples? What do you do with them? Have you ever set yourself a challenge like this?

Guerlain Les Ors Holiday 2010 Collection Haul part 2

I've already told you how much I love the entire Les Ors holiday collection and showed you a few items, and now here's another little review. This time featuring Kiss Kiss Strass lipstick #363 Rose de la Reine and Le 2 mascara 13 Or 2 Nuit.

Read more about the products and see some pictures and swatches!

Mission: Nail rescue! Part two

I didn't get around to posting an update last week as I was extremely busy, so I've decided to show you 2 weeks' progress in one post. Unfortunately there isn't actually that much progress to talk about. My nails are still peeling, bendy and week, and are still very short. (If you don't know what I'm on about, check out my initial post here.)

I have been religiously using the Nails Inc treatment and taking the food supplement I told you about in my first post. I forgot to say that I've also swapped my cheapo nail polish remover to a Sally Hansen one, hoping that that will make a difference too. So far, nothing. I will persevere and hope that eventually there will be some improvement.

For now, here are some not very pretty pictures.

Week 2

Week 2

Week 3

Week 3

See what I mean? There's hardly any difference. :( I'll let you know how I get on next week. 

Belated Halloween look post

I did this look for Halloween, although I didn't actually dress up as anything or go anywhere, but I thought I'd do a fun dark look and at the same time finally use my Urban Decay Black palette. This is also my entry for Temptalia's Halloween make up challenge.

For this look I used the following products:

Face:

Guerlain Meteorites Perles primer

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation

Guerlain C’Est Moi pressed powder

Mac Love Rock mineralize blush duo

Mac Pleasureflush MSF

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Urban Decay Jet eyeshadow (Black Palette) all over lid and crease

Urban Decay 54 Stardust eyeshadow inner corner and above crease

Urban Decay Grifter eyeshadow above crease

Urban Decay Bobby Dazzle Stardust eyeshadow below browbone

Mac Pink Opal Pigment inner third of eyelid and below browbone

Mac Designer Purple Pearlglide Intense eyeliner on lower lashline

Guerlain Le 2 Mascara in Butterfly Sparkle (both ends, glittery purple on tips of lashes)

Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Lips:

Mac Extra Amps dazzleglass

(Later added Collection 2000 Volume Sensation lipstick in Plum Perfection for darker lips to greet the trick or treaters, but I thought lighter lips were more appropriate for the supermarket in the morning.)

See more photos after the jump!

This is why I love eBay so much!

I know a lot of people don't like eBay and I have heard it being referred to as "evilbay", but I love it. I know there are a lot of greedy sellers trying to make money off people by buying up tens of limited edition sought after items (Mac Stereo Rose and Urban Decay Naked Palette in particular) and there are lots of fakes on eBay as well, but there are also so many great bargains to be had! You just have to be streetwise and you'll be fine.

The reason for this post is this:

This is Chantecaille's The Rites of Spring palette, a limited edition from 2004. It contains 7 full size eyeshadows and a blush. It's not new, but it hardly shows any useage, and it's absolutely beautiful. Now, I don't know exactly how much this cost new (according to reviews I've found online $125, so that was probably around £100 in the UK), but in any case, one Chantecaille eyeshadows retails for £22, so do the math... 

Do you want to know how much I got it for?