Guerlain Shine Automatique Lipstick #263 A La Parisienne Review and Swatches

I have another shade from the Guerlain Shine Automatique line to show you today, it's #263, a lovely sheer pinky red with lots of shimmer.When I swatched the entire line of Shine Automatique lipsticks the other day, this one jumped out at me as one of the favourites.

I really like pinky reds, they suit me very well and I like the new Shine Automatique formula, it's lightweight, moisturising and has a nice sheen without full on glitter. If you'd like to check out my reviews on the other two shades, please click on the links below:

#200 Sous Le Vent 
#220 Pour Troubler

I have two more shades to review - coming soon! The Shine Automatique lipsticks cost £24.50 and available online and at the counters from Debenhams, House of Fraser and other retailers.

See more pictures after the jump! 

Want It: Guerlain Fall 2012 Collection

I always get very excited when I hear about Guerlain's upcoming collections and once again I was thrilled to see all the gorgeous products coming out this autumn/fall. It seems Guerlain fall is all about lips and cheeks. There are some brand new products as well as new shades added to existing lines (not sure exactly what is limited edition and what isn't).

The gorgeous Natalia Vodianova is once again the face of Guerlain's campaign and this time she is sporting a gorgeous red gloss. There is a new gloss called Rouge G L'Extract de Guerlain. It comes in the signature silver Guerlain G case, similar to the Rouge G lipsticks and Noir G mascara (although that case is black) with the folding mirror. I do wonder ifthe texture will be more similar to the new YSL glosses and the now discontinued Chanel Rouge Allure Laque. There will be 7 shades of these coming out this fall.

Continue reading yo find out what other products are in Guerlain's upcoming fall collection!

Christian Dior Nude Tan Healthy Glow Enhancing Powder 01 Aurora Review and Swatches

When I first saw pictures of the Dior summer collection, this powder was on top of my wishlist. I mean just look at it, how could it not be? I'm generally not a massive bronzer fan, but pretty, shimmery bronzers always attract me.

This one is called Healthy Glow Enhancing Powder, and I guess the glow mostly comes from the very fine shimmer. I think it's okay to be used all over the face as the shimmer isn't that obvious, but I've been using it mostly on my cheeks, nose and hairline only. I got Aurora which is the lightest shade, because I'm quite pale at the moment, but I have also bought Sunlight, the second lightest shade for the summer. The powder is made up of 4 colours effectively, there are 2 base colours and 2 colours running through the raised NUDE writing. It's a nice peachy pinky colour on me, I normally just use it instead of a blush and it looks really natural and flattering.

You get 10 g and the powder is enclosed ina gorgeous shiny silver compact. You also get a small kabuki brush with it, but I feel it picks up a bit too much product in one go, so I prefer using a fluffier brush with the powder. The brush is ever so cute though. I think the compact may be refillable because there is a small "poke" hole at the bottom, so you can push the powder up, but I haven't tried it myself. The powder costs £37 and is available now online and at counters.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

NOTD: Glitter Gal Copper 3D/Holo Nail Polish - The Best Holo Nail Polish I've Tried!

Holographic nail polishies are notorious for chipping quickly, I've heard that a certain one (the hard to find Gosh one to be exact) chips within hours. I don't own the Gosh one, but I do own quite a few different ones  since I've been trying to find the best holo polish for a while now. The good news is, I think I've found it.

Taken with flash indoors

Glitter Gail Copper 3D/Holo nail polish remained chip free on me for a full 24 hours and after 48 hours I still only had a very few minor chips. Now that is impressive, especially seeing that almost every nail polish chips on me within that time anyway. I ended up taking it off after about 60 hours because I was getting ready to go out, but quite frankly I would've been pretty happy to continue wearing it at home for another day or two. 

The formula was lovely too, not too thick, not too runny, and it dried pretty quickly. I did my usual trick of base coat, two coats of holo, top coat and another coat of holo and it worked really well. The holo effect is gorgeous, quite subtle indoors (see picture above), but in the sunshine you have the full rainbow (see pictures below). Really lovely. Glitter Gal polishes are also the Big 3 free ( Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene).

I bought mine from Sjmwell Nails & Beauty and they cost £8.75 each. You get 9 ml per bottle, so they are rather small, but not too tiny. Postage and packaging is quite reasonable and I received mine very quickly.

Do you like holographic nail polishes? Have you got any favourites? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

L'Oreal Color Riche Lipsticks Review and Swatches

When I went to Superdrug to check out the new L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows, I also had a look at their lipsticks, especially as there are 3 new ones and one in particular looked very yummy. I ended up only buying 2 of the new ones and also picked up one from their permanent line. I don't actually own a lot of lipsticks from L'Oreal despite the fact that one of my favourite lipsticks (in the past) was a L'Oreal lipstick and I actually used one up and bought about 3 back ups - only to find out about different brands and now I don't use those at all.

Anyway, the colours I picked up are 402 Electric Fuchsia, 407 Metallic Coral and 373 Magnetic Coral. Magnetic Coral is part of the permanent line, the other two are new. The third new shade is Prismatic Pink, but as it's a very light blue pink colour, it didn't appeal to me personally. Out of the three that I bought I love Metallic Coral the most, it's such a gorgeous coral with a metallic pink sheen to it. Electric Fuchsia desptite looking quite dark in the tube (although not nearly as dark in real life as it appears in my photos) applies quite sheerly. It also has a lot of slip to it, but it does feel very moisturising. Magnetic Coral is very pigmented and creamy, it's similar to Metallic Coral in colour, but it's a bit lighter and doesn't have the pink metallic sheen. I wore it today, it lasted for about 3-4 hours before I had to re-apply. Metallic Coral lasted over 4 hours without re-applying, it is very longlasting and still manages to feel moisturising on my lips. I've only tried Electric Fuchsia on for the colour, I don't know how long it lasts for.

What I don't particularly like about these lipsticks and is one of the reasons why I don't buy a lot of drugstore lipsticks nowadays (with a few exceptions like Revlon) is that they are strongly scented, but the scent isn't very pleasant. It's not as bad as some (Maybelline, I'm looking at you), but not my favourite.

All in all though these are nice lipsticks and while not too cheap at £8.19 each, with a 3 for 2 offer they are certainly worth it. Superdrug currently has a 3 for 2 offer on all make up products, and Boots also has a 3 for 2 on L'Oreal products but I haven't seen the new colours in Boots yet.

And before I go, just a heads up, I'm looking at a few very busy days ahead, so there may be a lack of posts on here over the next 3-4 days, but I will try my best to keep blogging. Normal service should resume soon in any case.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows *New Summer Shades* Review and Swatches

Here we go again, lol. I just can't stop buying these eyeshadows, and of course when I heard that there were 5 new shades being released, I had to go and check them out. I didn't get Metallic Lilac because it looked a bit too grey and I already have Purple Obsession which to me is a nicer colour, but I did buy the other 4 and here they are:

These eyeshadows remind me very much of the Giorgio Armani Eyes To kill shadows, even more than usual, as they all have specks of different colours in them. In fact Sassy Marshmallow seems very similar to the Armani shadow #22 Ecailles, although I have not swatched them next to each other (I don't own the Armani one myself).  Biggest difference is that these eyeshadows only cost £6.99 each and you often have some sort of an offer going, plus I actually think they come in better colours than the Armani shadows.

These new shades are all very summery (except for Sassy Marshmallow), and have the same wonderful formula that stays on all day and doesn't crease even without a primer. I wore Naughty Strawberry the other day with just a glittery eyeliner (Urban Decay Heavy Metal glitter eyeliner in Catfight) and black mascara and got lots of compliments. I love using these when I don't have much time in the morning, I just use them as a wash of colour on my lids, add eyeliner and mascara and done. 

As I said above, these cost £6.99 each, but Superdrug has a 3 for 2 offer on all cosmetics and so does Boots, but I have not seen these new colours in Boots yet.

See more pictures after the jump!

Revlon Lip Butters Review and Swatches Part 2

I know I'm repeating myself with the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows and now these, but if I like something I tend to get it in pretty much every shade. On a recent trip to Superdrug and Boots I picked up another 3 of the Revlon Lip Butters. You can read my initial review (and see swatches of 7 shades) on these here, for now I will just show you the 3 new shades I got.

Cotton Candy, Strawberry Shortcake, Pink Truffle

I initially picked up the more intense, pigmented shades, but I thought I'd try the lighter ones too. So I picked up Cotton Candy, Strawberry Shortcake and Pink Truffle. Cotton Candy is very light cool pink with a high sheen, Strawberry Shortcake is warmer and slightly darker with less of a sheen, and Pink Truffle is a pinky brown shade. They are all nice, but I find Strawberry Shortcake the most flattering on me.

These are currently on offer both in Superdrug and Boots, there's a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug and a £2 off Revlon products in Boots. They normally cost £7.99 each.

Have you tried these lip butters? Do you have any favourites? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

FOTD: Shimmering Mint + My New Chanel Amour Glossimer

I blogged about the Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow in Edgy Emerald a few days ago and now it's time to show you the look I did with it which actually got a few compliments. Amazingly too neither of the mineralize eyeshadows had any fallout, the Maybelline shadow held onto them perfectly and there was no creasing at all whatsoever.

I used the following products to create this look:

Eyes:

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow in Edgy Emerald all over lid
Mac mineralize eyeshadow in Shimmermint all over the lid
Mac mineralize eyeshadow in Smutty Green in the outer corner and crease
Mac mineralize eyeshadow in Snow Season on browbone to highlight
Gosh Velvet Touch Waterproof Eyeliner in Cool Mint on lower lashline
Mac Haute & Naughty mascara in Black (I think)
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:

Guerlain Parure Aqua foundation in 02 Beige Clair
Mac Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Mac Northern Light mineralize skinfinish on cheeks

Lips:

Chanel Glossimer in 166 Amour

See more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: No7 Vivid Violet and Color Club Covered In Diamonds

I had been eyeing up this gorgeous purple shade from No7, such a pretty purple. I also found Color Club Covered In Diamonds on one of my many, frequent trips to TKMaxx. The two polishes were meant for each other! Vivid Violet, while very pretty on its own, provides the best canvas for Covered In Diamonds. It is a flaky polish with loads of multicoloured flakes in different shapes.

The formula of Vivid Violet was very nice, but Covered In Diamonds is VERY thick, so you really only want to do one coat. Luckily it has a lot of flakes, so you get a good coverage in just one application. I can't remember now how long it lasted without chipping, I think it was the average 2 days or so, but in the end I kept it on my nails for ages because it was so pretty.

No7 polishes cost £7 from Boots and you get 10 ml. Color Club isn't available in the UK (other than TKMaxx I think), but on eBay you can find it for around $3 (£1.80) and you get 15 ml.

See more pictures after the jump!

Roses Ultimes de Chanel Haul and Swatches

Chanel has a new collection out with Glossimers and nail polishes, so I of course had to check it out and here's what I ended up with:

I got Le Crayon Levres lipliner in 49 Rose Corail, Le Vernis nail polish in 541 Tentation and 3 Levres Scillianted glossimers in 166 Amour, 168 Desir and 169 Jalouse. Now I'm not too sure if any of these are at all limited edition, I believe they're not, but I might be wrong. There are actually 6 glossimers and 4 nail polishes in the collection, but I was very restrained and only got these. The other shades were much lighter and less pigmented. I especially love Jalouse, it's such a gorgeous shade of fuchsia pink, and Tentation is what I imagined Rouge Carat nail polish (holiday 2011) to be like. Rouge Carat is red with fuchsia sparkles whereas Tentation is fuchsia itself. I haven't worn it yet, but it looks gorgeous in the bottle.

I also picked up Rose Corail lipliner which is not part of the collection, but the lady in front of me was getting some lipliners as well and a few were on the counter... and somehow I ended up with this one. It's a very pretty coral pink, darker than Mac Shore Leave prolongwear lip pencil, but has a similar texture. I wore it under Amour glossimer and it was lovely.

The lip pencil is £17.50 and you get 1 g which is slightly less than Mac prolongwear lip pencils (but it comes with a free pencil sharpener), the glossimers are £20 and you get 5.5 g (not sure how many ml that is), and the nail polish is £17.50 and you get 13 ml for your money. So yeah, not cheap. But then this is Chanel.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac Hey Sailor Haul and Swatches Part 2

Okay, so this is not much of a haul, but I thought I'd rather do a separate post than add these to the end of my other Hey Sailor haul post. In this post I wanted to show you the two eyeshadows I bought from Hey Sailor.

I got Barefoot (left) and Feeling Fresh (right). Barefoot is described by Mac as tarnished gold which I agree with. It's a Veluxe Pearl finish, so it's lovely and smooth. It isn't overly pigmented, but the colour is buildable. Feeling Fresh is described as bright green, which is true, it is very bright. It's a lovely grass green colour, not too yellow, not too blue, and it has gorgeous micro shimmer to it. This is a very pigmented shade and has an excellent colour pay off and texture. This one is a Frost finish. Both eyeshadows are limited edition and come in a limited edition blue packaging with white stripes, same as the rest of the Hey Sailor collection. They cost £12.50 each which is 50p more than regular Mac eyeshadows (my God, when did they get so expensive by the way?). Barefoot is 1.3g, Feeling Fresh is 1.5g, the difference is due to the different finishes I believe.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump! 

Mac Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara

This is my first ever mascara from Mac, I got this as a gift with purchase a while ago and after finishing my Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara, I decided to give it a try and see for myself how good it is (or not). I have already worn it in one of the FOTD posts I've done lately, so click here to see what it looks like on my lashes.

The mascara is a weird double one, it has a two-in-one wand. I don't really know how it works exactly, but if you only screw off the pink end, then you get a thinner wand with less coated bristles, but if you screw off both the pink and purple together, then you get a thicker wand with thoroughly coated bristles. It's one wand, but I think the width of the hole you pull it through determines how much mascara coats the brush. Check out the pictures below to see what I mean.

Neither of the options work very well for me, it either takes several goes to coat my lashes properly or it makes my lashes stick together and the mascara clump. If I use the thinner end, it does a good job of separating my lashes at least. I prefer the spikey brushes instead of these bristley ones for separating my lashes to be honest. It gives quite good volume and length, but it's not my favourite mascara for either. I find it too hard work and I've not been reaching for it when I'm in a rush, simply because it takes a while to apply.

The formula wasn't the best for me either. It smudged on me, especially under my lower lashline, which is practically unheard of, none of the other mascaras I've tried smudged on me. It's very black which is nice, but equally it takes some work to wash it off. It's not waterproof at all, but you need a good make up remover to take it off properly.

This mascara costs £18.00 and you get 9 g which is pretty generous. The other good thing about it is that when you're finished you can take the empty tube to Mac and you get a free lipstick for 6 empties. I think it's too expensive for what it is and I know that Rimmel does a very similar mascara for half the price (although I haven't tried it myself), so that might be a better option. I'm personally happy I didn't pay for this.

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Shine Automatique Lipstick #220 Pour Troubler Review and Swatches

Last month I reviewed Guerlain Shine Automatique #200 Sous Le Vent which is a lovely nude shade, and now it's time to check out one of the brighter shades in the line. There are a few very nice shades, but in the end I decided to go for one of the most pigmented of the 12 available, #220 Pour Troubler, a gorgeous slightly pinky red with gold shimmer.

This is a really pretty shade, pigmented enough to show up nicely and last for a couple of hours. I think I'd recommend it to someone who is a bit afraid of wearing a red lipstick, as this isn't as full on as some other red lipsticks I own. I also wore this over Mac Throw Me A Line! lipliner (from the Hey Sailor collection) and to my surprise it actually lasted for 4 hours without fading! The liner isn't a true match, it's a lot less pink than the lipstick, but it worked fine. I've included a picture at the end of me wearing Pour Troubler over Throw Me A Line, but this time the liner is only around the edges, so you can see the true colour of the lipstick too. (I have to admit, until recently I never thought about wearing a lipliner ALL OVER the lips, I thought they were just supposed to go around the outline of the lips, like eyeliners do on eyes, but what do I know, eh?)

This one felt a bit more gritty than Sous Le Vent, it does actually have a lot more glitter/shimmer. Not too bad, but definitely more noticable. Otherwise the formula is lovely, very lightweight, moisturisingand feels comfortable on the lips. You get 3.5 g for your money ie. £24.50 which is your regular lipstick weight. The tube is the same as the regular Rouge Automatiques, the lipstick pops up when you push the slider down. The packaging is lightweight and not too bulky, so you can carry it around happily (not like the Rouge G lipsticks that weigh a ton!)

There are a few other shades that interest me (particularly some of the pinks), so I expect to be back with more reviews soon.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow 50 Edgy Emerald Review and Swatches

When Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadows arrived in the UK there was a lot of excitement around them and also some disappointment. It seems the UK was only allowed 7 shades for some reason and we didn't get this gorgeous green. So I once again did a search on eBay and a week later I received this loveliness.

I didn't actually pick up any of the shades available in the UK mostly because they were either boring or colours that I'd already owned from other brands (Rimmel, MUFE, etc.), so Edgy Emerald is my first and only one so far. It is basically a cream eyeshadow that works either on its own or as a base. I have not worn it on its own yet, but used it as a base under Mac Shimmermint and Smutty Green mineralize eyeshadows and it was really great: made the colours on top pop and also helped the eyeshadows adhere on better. It stayed creaseless for a good 15 hours (until I washed it off) and the eyeshadows on top hardly faded. Brilliant.

You get 4 gramms which is similar to the Rimmel mousse eyeshadows and in the UK these eyeshadows cost £4.99. Edgy Emerald is a lovely slightly bluey green shade. It applies a bit lighter than it looks in the pan, but it can be built up. The eyeshadow blends really easily and sets pretty quickly. Once it's set, it will stay on unless you rub it very hard (which you should do anyway). I really like this one and I really wish we had some more interesting shades in the UK. I think these eyeshadows are very comparable to the MUFE Aqua Cream eyeshadows for the fraction of the price, so it would be great to have the same colours available from Maybelline too.

Anyway, long story short, I love this. Will post the FOTD with Mac Shimmermint and Smutty Green soon. In the meantime, see more pictures, including swatches after the jump!

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows Review and Swatches Part 3

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know by now how much I love L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows. I have already reviewed them here and here. When I found out that in the UK we once again didn't get all the shades that are available in the US (just like we didn't get all the Revlon Lip Butters or Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows), I got onto eBay and had a good look to see what other shades were available and I found these two.

Infinite Sky is a beautiful light sky blue colour and Amber Rush is a light pinky bronze (to me not at all amber), it actually reminds me a lot of Mac Sweet Heat Extra Dimension eyeshadow. Both Infinite Sky and Amber Rush are shimmery and rather frosty, especially Amber Rush, and they are both really lovely. I have worn them with and without primer, they lasted really well both ways, although without primer I "only" wore Infinite Sky for about 10 hours (I normally wear eyeshadows for about 14 hours or more). Still, there was no creasing either way which is definitely very impressive. Amber Rush is more pigmented, but Infinite Sky is pigmented enough for a nice wash of colour and of course can be layered for more intensity. They are both really smooth and easy to apply and blend, they feel like cream eyeshadows, and they're certainly very comparable to the Armani Eyes To Kill eyeshadows for a fraction of the price (£6.99 with a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug at the moment I believe).

It's a shame we didn't get these shades in the UK, but you'll be pleased to hear (well I was) that there are some new shades that have just come out including a gorgeous turquoise, a coral, a pink, a light grey and metallic lilac and I will be reviewing four of them (I didn't get the metallic lilac shade myself) very soon!

For now, see more pictures including swatches and a look I did with Amber Rush, after the jump!

FOTD: Mac In Extra Dimension

I know, Mac In Extra Dimension came out last month, but better late than never, eh? I'm also trialling a mascara (Mac Haute & Naughty) which I wanted to include in the look (will review it later).

I used the following products to create this look:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Mac Modern Pewter Extra Dimension eye shadow all over the lid
Mac Sweet Heat Extra Dimension eye shadow in the outer corner and crease
Mac Whisper Of Gilt Extra Dimension Skinfinish in the inner corner of lid and on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Mildew on lower lashline
Mac Haute & Naughty mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in 020 Cameo
Guerlain Meteorites Travel Touch loose powder in Mythic
Mac Modern Mandarin Powder Blush on cheeks
Mac Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt to highlight

Lips:

Guerlain Rouge Automatique in 143 Nahema

See more pictures after the jump!

Ginvera Green Tea Day and Night Creams

A little while ago I was sent these face creams to try out by Janiro, the UK distributor of Ginvera products. They are part of Ginvera's extensive green tea skincare range that also includes the Whitening Marvel Gel and the Nude Cover BB Cream, both of which I have already reviewed on here.

First impressions: the outer packaging is awful. In this day and age when we're all about trying to do things for the environment I don't understand why some cosmetics brands are still using plastic for the outer packaging. I don't mean the container, I mean the box it comes in. You end up throwing it out, so why can't it just be made of cardboard? The jars are actually glass which is much more environment friendly.

See more pictures and read my complete review after the jump! 

NOTD: Orly Sugar Plum

This is the third and last shade I was sent for review and to me out of the three this is possibly the least interesting. (If you missed them, here are the reviews for the other two: Gorgeous and Rock Candy.) There's nothing wrong with it, but it's just nothing special. It's a frosty pink shade with shimmer, although it is very pretty. This is also a permanent shade.

Taken with flash

Formula-wise it was fine, runny enough to apply easily and it dried pretty quickly. I did 3 coats to achieve full opacity, but I think 2 would be fine if you're in a hurry. Wasn't overly long-lasting, chipped on day 2 as so many other polishes do on me.

You get a whopping 18 ml for your money and in the UK it costs £7.50 from BeautyBay or you can buy it from eBay for even a bit less (I've seen it for under £6 including shipping).

See more pictures after the jump!

My Mac Reel Sexy and Lips and Tips Haul and Swatches

I have another quick haul post from the two other Mac collections that were released in the UK this month: Reel Sexy and Lips and Tips. As you can see, I really didn't get much, only bought Heroine lipstick from Reel Sexy and Impassioned and Russian Red lipglasses from Lips and Tips. In fact Russian Red is permanent, so it almost doesn't even count. But anyway...

I haven't actually tried all of these yet, only wore Impassioned lipglass for a couple of hours yesterday (that's how long it lasted actually). I like it, but don't love it. Impassioned is one of my favourite Mac lipsticks but the lipglass isn't that great. It's okay, but it does fade away quickly on me and it's just nowhere near as vibrant as the lipstick. But I guess it's easier to wear than a full-on bright lipstick.

The rest I've only swatched on my arm so far. Heroine actually looks a lot more purple in the pictures, in real life it's more pink, still purple but less blue if that makes sense. Russian Red lipglass is just lovely and I can't wait to wear it.

 See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac Hey Sailor Haul and Swatches

Sorry this is a bit late, but I've only just got around to doing and I know this collection hasn't launched in America yet, so hopefully some of you will find it useful. So this is my haul from Mac's summer collection Hey Sailor (well, most of it, I'm still waiting for two eyeshadows to arrive from Debenhams, will do a separate post on them).

I got all 3 Pro Longwear Lip Pencils, one Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Handforged, Riviera Life and Send Me sailing lipglasses, Red Racer lipstick and Crew High-Light Powder. A relatively modest haul by my standards, but I do have a lot of make up already, so I'm trying to be a bit more picky.

I'm not going to do a full review partly because I haven't actually worn everything yet, but I do have swatches for you and also a picture of me wearing Red Racer lipstick. So far I'm happy with everything I've got, my favourites have to be the lipstick and the High-Light Powder, which actually shows up quite well on me, so I can use it as a subtle blush. Also, just to clarify, the stripes are not an overspray which is why I ended up buying it (plus because it's very pretty).

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

FOTD: Estee Lauder Summer

Here is the look I did with the new Estee Lauder summer products. I don't know about you, but I still feel like the teal shade doesn't work very well with the other shades, certainly not the copper. Or maybe it's just me. Let me know what you think.

Here's a list of all the products I used to create this look:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelee Powder Eyeshadow Palette gold shade in the inner corner of the lid
Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelee Powder Eyeshadow Palette copper shade in the middle of the lid
Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelee Powder Eyeshadow Palette teal gold shade in the outer corner and crease
Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelee Powder Eyeshadow Palette white shade in the inner corner of lid and on browbone to highlight
Stila Smudge Stick in Peacock on lower lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero on waterline
Mac Zoom Lash mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:

MUA Beauty Balm BB Cream
Mac Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee in Shimmering Sands on cheeks
Mac Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt to highlight

Lips:

Mac Riviera Life lipglass

See more photos after the jump!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelee Powder Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

The other product I was really excited about from the Estee Lauder summer collection is the five colour gelee powder eyeshadow palette (if you missed it, you can read my review of the Illuminating Powder Gelee in Shimmering Sands here). This is basically the same as the Cyber Eyes Gelee Powder eyeshadows in a palette, but with the same pattern as the Shimmering Sands powder.

The colours in this palette are so beautifully summery, I love them. Although I also have to add that I'm a little bit unsure about the turquoise/teal colour in the middle. I thought it would be brighter, whereas it's actually quite a dull, bit greyish colour. To me it doesn't work very well with the rest of the palette. The other shades are all lovely, they work well together and swatch beautifully, soft and buttery. The teal shade swatches and applies well too, it just looks a bit faded, not as vibrant as the other colours.

I did a look with them (photos to come soon) and they applied and blended beautifully and lasted really well, there was no creasing even after 10 hours. I would love to see another few palettes with this formula in other colours, pinks, purples, blues, greens perhaps. The eyeshadows have a high metallic sheen but are not glittery and there is absolutely no fall out from them. They really are lovely.

The palette contains 4.4 g of eyeshadows (roughly the same size as 5 single Cyber Eyes eyeshadows) and costs £35 which is actually not too bad considering that the singles cost £19 each! This is a limited edition product and judging by how popular these eyeshadows have been, it will probably sell out fast. At the moment it's available from Boots, Debenhams, House of Fraser and other department stores.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Shimmering Sands Review and Swatches

Estee Lauder once again has a lovely summer collection and there were two things in particular that really interested me when I saw the promo pictures, the 5 colour Gelee Powder eyeshadow palette (review to come soon) and the Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee in Shimmering Sands.

This is the third Illuminating Powder Gelee hybrid that Estee Lauder has come out with in a short space of time. The formula is very similar to Mac's Extra Dimension Skinfinishes, very smooth and creamy with high frosty shine (although less frosty than the Mac skinfinishes). Colourwise this shade is different from all 3 Mac skinfinishes, it's darker and redder than Superb, but lighter and less orange than Glorify. I think this shade will look good on darker skintones or on me once I have a tan (which is not looking too likely judging by how the weather's been lately), but it is possibly to pull it off when you're pale if you use a very light hand (apply with a brush rather than the sponge applicator) and I think it works pretty well as a contour shade too.

The powder costs £28 and you get 4.5 g which actually seems very little (half of the Mac skinfinishes), but the compact is the same as the regular Estee Lauder blush compact so I think the powder gelee formula must be lighter than a regular powder. I don't think I will run out of this anytime soon ever as you only need a tiny bit, so the actual amount of product doesn't bother me too much. This is a limited edition product and these gelee powders sell out very quickly, so get yours while you can. Available at Debenhams, House of Fraser, Boots and other retailers with Estee Lauder counters and online from all of the above plus the Estee Lauder website.

See more pictures after the jump!

This Month I...

Rather than just doing a post about products I've finished this month, I've decided to do more of a summary of the last month and all beauty related happenings. So here we go.

Last month I...

• finished 3 products. It's been a slow month, what can I say? At least it's more than nothing, eh? One of the products finished was Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara which I really enjoyed using and would definitely consider repurchasing if I didn't already own 20+ mascaras. It also lasted for ages, I don't even remember when I first started using it, it didn't go bad or dry out, just simply ran out eventually. 
• have overspent by about £250 again. I think I should just up my budget, because it's clearly too low. Or maybe buy less make up and spend less money. (Crazy talk, I know.)
• have bought another lorry load of nail polishes. I know I'm crazy, I have been buying nail polish all the time, but there are so many pretty colours! I have also discovered a couple of brands (namely Glitter Gal and A-England) I'd not heard about before and they both happened to be holographic nail polishes which is my weakness. 

Here are some pictures of the pretty polishes I bought in April (some reviews will follow eventually, let me know in the comments which ones you're interested in the most). First up, A-England holo polishes:

Princess Tears, Lady Of The Lake, Ascalon, Tristram, Princess Sabra

See lots more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: Orly Rock Candy

Here's another Orly nail polish I was sent for review, this shade is called Rock Candy. This is an iridescent sheer blue polish with a shimmer finish. It's not just blue, it flashes pink and purple depending how the light hits it. Very pretty.

Taken without flash in direct sunlight

This is actually very much the kind of nail polish I used to wear years ago before I learned about all the amazing brands and colours, so I guess for me this would not be one I'd choose nowadays, but it is certainly lovely and very office friendly and would look lovely even on a bride. As I said this polish is pretty sheer, so it took 3 layers to build up and even then it wasn't opaque, but with this kind of colour I don't think you need that anyway.

A lovely formula, a bit runny, but equally it dried really quickly, and it lasted pretty well by my standards, it wore for 2 days without much chipping.

You get a whopping 18 ml for your money and in the UK it costs £7.50 from BeautyBay or you can buy it from eBay for even a bit less (I've seen it for under £6 includign shipping).

See more pictures after the jump!

Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows Review and Swatches Part 3

You may remember that I have reviewed some of these new Barbara Daly Satin Swirl eyeshadows before (click here for my review) and at the time I was sure I'd seen pictures of some other shades on the display stand, but could only find 6 initially. Well, I have managed to track down the remaining 4 shades and yes, there is a purple and a green one as I initially thought.

Top row: Oyster, Rose Lace
Bottom row: Whirl, Twilight

That's the good news. The bad news is that these are - for some reason - nowhere near as nice as the other 6 shades. I was most disappointed in the gorgeous purple (Twilight), it looks so intense in the pan yet it has a poor colour payoff. I have swatched them with my fingers which always give a better colour payoff, and I have applied them with a brush, but either way all I got was a sheer wash of colour. The green one (Whirl) and the champagne colour (Oyster) are the most pigmented of the bunch, although Oyster is very light, so it's not very easy to see, but it does make a lovely highlighter. The dusty pink shade (Rose Lace) looks quite dull in the pan and also when swatched, it doesn't really show up on my skin.

I haven't worn Whirl yet, but I did a look with the other 3 (sorry, no pictures, I'm really rubbish at taking pictures at the moment) and the colours were very sheer, although you can build them up slightly. I guess it's good news for those who don't like/want to wear very bright colours. I ended up adding Mac Grand Galaxy Extra Dimension eyeshadow in the crease because Twilight was just not cutting it as a crease colour. Otherwise they wore pretty well and didn't crease at all (I had Too Faced Shadow Insurance under them). At £8 each for 2.5 g they're still not bad value, but compared to the other 6 shades I felt these, especially Rose Lace and Twilight, were a a bit of a letdown.

These are now available online from Tesco Direct as well as in-stores, although I believe that these 4 shades are only available in selected stores (none of mine had them). There is currently a 3 for 2 offer on all Barbara Daly products.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!