Want It! Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Collection for Spring/Summer 2013

Aah, just how gorgeous is the promo picture for Bobbi Brown's upcoming Lilac Rose collection for spring/summer? My heart skipped a beat when I saw it.

I don't want much from it, but that Shimmer Brick is going to be mine. It is called Lilac Rose (obviously) and it will be a worthy part of my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick collection. It's so pretty!  I also love the Lilac Sparkle Eyeshadow.

I don't know when it's going to launch, but when it is, I'll be first in line!

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Sakura Blush G - Cherry Blossom Blush Review and Swatches

As soon as I heard about Guerlain's (supposedly) Asia exclusive Sakura Blush G I knew I had to have it. What I didn't know was that it was actually being sold by Selfridges. I accidentally found a link to it on the Selfridges website and quickly snapped it up. I was lucky, it sold out that same day. I don't often order from Selfridges because I loathe to pay £4.95 for shipping, but I had to make an exception.

If you like Guerlain you may remember them releasing their original Blush G that was released 2 years ago with the spring collection. The new Sakura blush is basically the same, only it comes in a white compact with a white velvet bag and white box as well as a white handled little brush in the compartment below the blush, and of course the colours are different. This time it's all about pink. You get 4 strips, none of them really big enough to be used on their own, but you can use 2 or 3 or all 4 together if you wish. You get a coral-pink, a shimmery white, a shimmery darker rose and a shimmery lighter rose colour. Mixed together you get a lovely rosy glow. The blush smells of cherry blossom which is one of my favourite smells.

The swatches were very hard to see, the blush appeared to be a bit hard to pick up and not very pigmented on my arm, but on my cheeks it gives a nice rosy pink glow. It's not overly pigmented, but the colour is buildable. I don't see it working on darker skintones, but I guess it was never intended to anyway, Asia exclusive colours are often light as they're catered for light Asian skin. It is a tiny bit shimmery, but not very noticably and it's not metallic either. I'd definitely describe it more of a glow.

You get 8 g of product which is a lot, but equally it costs quite a lot too at £42. I'm happy I bought it, even with the extra £4.95 shipping charge, it's a lovely addition to my Guerlain collection.

I have absolutely no idea if this will be available anywhere else in the UK or whether Selfridges is getting in more stock, whether it's available at the counter or other department store, but if you do know, please let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this blush after the jump!

Yves Saint Laurent Y Facettes Palette 4 Wet & Dry Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

Another pretty eyeshadow palette from the spring 2013 collection, this time it's from YSL. This is one of their hybrid / gelee powder style eyeshadows (Pure Chromatics they're called I believe), they feel quite creamy, but aren't actually cream products. They can be worn dry for a subtle look or wet for a more intense one.

I really love the colours in this quad, they are springlike, but not too pastely. You get a gorgeous frosty grass green, a shimmery light pink, a frosty mauvey purple and a frosty sky blue. Out of the four, the pink mostly just gives you pink sparkles, it's the sheerest of them all. The other three are nicely pigmented even whe dry (I haven't actually used them wet yet).

I have only used two colours at a time (blue and green, pink and purple), but I can definitely see using 3 or even all 4 at the same time, they go together really well. Despite their creamy formula they did not crease on me at all, but they did start to fade after about 8 hours. I also noticed some fallout, especially with the pink shade which is the most glittery. Nothing major though, and it's often expected with this kind of formula, and the glitter isn't chunky, so it doesn't bother me.

You get 3 g of product which isn't a lot, but I think these eyeshadows are generally more "fluffy" so they weigh less than regular powder eyeshadows. The palette costs £39.50. I think this is a limited edition, but not sure.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

We Have A Winner!

Many thanks for entering my Revlon nail polish giveaway and a big welcome to my lovely new followers! The giveaway is now over and Rafflecopter has chosen the winner. Well done to....

Lily Ge (gerclan)

I have sent you an e-mail, please look out for it, and send me your postal address as soon as possible!

For the rest of you, don't despair, I will have another giveaway soon.

NOTD: Models Own Tropical Sun

This is one of the second batch of Beetlejuice polishes Models Own released and I regret to say, I'm still not blown over by their duochrome formula. These polishes looked amazing in the promo pictures, but every one I've tried so far has been rather disappointing.

Taken without flash in shade

Tropical Sun is a coral pink polish with subtle orange duochrome and tiny silver sparkles. The duochrome was only more of a tint, it looked orange most of the times and only looked more pink in the shade. The formula was a bit disappointing as well, it was pretty sheer and it bubbled up on my nails quite noticeably. It lasted quite well on me though, only had some slight chips after 2 days which is the better end of average for me.

Models Own polishes cost £5 each and you get 14 ml for your money which isn't bad. Boots often has a 3 for 2 offer and the Models Own website has some offers to if you buy more than one polish.

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Spring 2013 - Ecrin 4 Couleurs 502 Coup De Foudre Review and Swatches

This is the second limited edition eyeshadow quad from the Guerlain spring collection, if you haven't see the purple one, you can check it out here. Coup De Foudre contains 3 green shades and a bright coral.

The palette hasn't got any special packaging, it's housed in the regular gold compact. It comes with a double ended sponge tip applicator and a full size mirror in the lid. The colours are very pretty and springlike. The palette contains a frosty khaki, a satin bright coral, a frosty light silvery green and a slightly frosty greeny-grey shade. This one doesn't have a highlighter shade, which some people may not like, but the 4 colours work together well, so I'm happy. I haven't used the coral shade yet, but I can see it working well with the light green and the khaki colour. I have done a look with the three greens which you can see at the bottom of this post.

The eyeshadows are really lovely, smooth, buttery and pigmented. They go on and blend easily and stay put all day (I always wear Too Faced Shadow Insurance under them). I'm not sure which one of the two palettes is my favourite, I love purples, but these greens and the coral are so gorgeous as well.

It's really lovely to see two such great quality palettes out this spring, in fact I have found that Guerlain's limited edition palettes have been consistently excellent quality lately. Makes you feel better about forking out for them.

You get 7.2 g of product for £38. The Guerlain spring collection is available from all good department stores and Escentual.com (for a bit less).

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this palette after the jump!

Guerlain Spring 2013 - Ecrin 4 Couleurs 501 Attrape-Coeur Review and Swatches

Guerlain released two limited edition eyeshadow quads this spring and I have 501 Attrape-Coeur to show you first. This is the pretty purple one, I will show you the green one tomorrow. In fact you've already seen it in action in yesterday's post about the new Cils D'Enfer mascara. If you haven't, check out my post here.

The palette hasn't got any special packaging, it's housed in the regular gold compact. It comes with a double ended sponge tip applicator and a full size mirror in the lid. The colours are very pretty and springlike. The palette contains a muted lavender, a frosty white, a frosty dark purple and a pinky violet shade. I like purples like these that aren't mauvy or red, but true purples, they look better on me. (Mauves make my eyes look tired.) Unfortunately this is exactly the shade of purple my camera hates and doesn't pick up properly, the colours are much prettier in real life.

The eyeshadows are really lovely, smooth, buttery and pigmented. They go on and blend easily and stay put all day (I always wear Too Faced Shadow Insurance under them). I like it that this palette contains a complete look with a highlighter and a dark shade as well as two lighter ones, but equally I wouldn't mind to have a different colour instead of white. It's not too harsh for a highlighter though so it does work well with the palette. 

You get 7.2 g of product for £38. The Guerlain spring collection is available from all good department stores and Escentual.com (for a bit less).

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this palette after the jump!

Guerlain Cils D'Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara 01 Noir

Guerlain has released a new mascara this spring (winter) and it comes in two shades, black and violet. I have a small sample tube that I was sent with my order of the new eyeshadows (more on them later), so I gave it a try.

Cils D'Enfer is supposed to create maximum volume, curl and hold. It has a fairly dense brush with traditional style bristles. I think it's actually pretty similar to the Noir G mascara wand. I have found it to be more lengthening than volumising, although it does give my lashes some volume too. I don't think it's as amazing as Guerlain claim it is, but it's a nice enough mascara. The formula is nice, lightweigh, doesn't smudge or flake. My lashes are naturally quite curly and it certainly doesn't weigh them down.

The mascara has the same rosey scent as the Noir G mascara which fades pretty quickly after application and doesn't irritate my eyes at all. I believe the full size mascara is 8 ml, mine is a tiny 1.5 ml, and it retails for £22.

To be honest, I'm not sure I will buy the full size one, although I like it, my favourite Guerlain mascaras are still the Le 2 ones. They are a little more expensive at £25, but they really do give my lashes both volume and length. Hope that with all the new mascaras Guerlain has been releasing lately, they won't discontinue the Le 2 line.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Mac In Extra Dimension Collection April 2013

I am so excited, this coming spring Mac is releasing yet another collection of their Extra Dimension eyeshadows, skinfinishes AND even blushes, in all new shades! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I have reviewed previous collections here and here.) I have managed to find a picture of the skinfinishes and as I thought based on the descriptions the skinfinishes have split pans. Can't wait to find out more! I'm pretty sure I'm going to get everything though (maybe not the brushes).

The new split pan skinfinishes together with the pearlmatte powders from Archie's Girls

Here are the details. All credit goes to Mac-Guy and Specktra.

Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Double Definition - Soft shimmery gold / Patina bronze
Shape The Future - Pastel pink with iridescence / Soft brick with shimmer
Definitely Defined - Silvery pink / Soft rose with shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
Zestful - Pale iridescent lime
Extra Silver - True silver
Dimensional Blue - Frosty blue
Opalesse - Opalescent white with pink pearlized pigments
Triple Impact - Opalescent lavender with violet pearlized pigment
Smoky Mauve - Mid-tone mauve

Extra Dimension Blush
Flaming Chic - Bright blue pink
Bareness - Rosy beige pink
At Dusk - Mid-tone rose pink
Fiery Impact - Burnt red bronze
Blazing Heat - Mid-tone peach

128 Brush - Split Fibre Cheek Brush

235 Brush - Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush

Chanel Spring 2013 Poudre Signee de Chanel Illuminating Powder

I only have time for a quick post today and I have to apologise in advance for the lack of swatches too. The powder is just too gorgeous, I haven't been able to touch it yet. I did swatch it in store and it is very soft, finely milled and gives a gorgeous sheen, not shimmer or glitter. I don't have pictures, so you just have to take my word for it, okay?

I just adore the details on this powder, it is pure perfection. I could just sit and look at it for hours. I think some of you might be able to understand why it's sitting untouched in my drawer right now (and probably will continue to do so for a long time).

The powder is an iridescent light pink colour, with very subtle shimmer. You get 8 g for your money which is a lot, seeing that it's Chanel and all, £46 to be precise. But just look at it...

I will be back tomorrow with some new products from the Guerlain spring collection, I finally have the mascara and the eyeshadows, we'll see what I get around to reviewing first.

See more pictures after the jump!

My New Year's Day FOTD

This is the look I did on New Year's Day when I actually had some time to do my make up. Nothing too fancy, but I really liked how it looked, so I thought I'd show it to you.

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Estee Lauder Violet Underground Eyeshadow Palette pinky beige colour in the inner corner of the lid and above the crease
Estee Lauder Violet Underground Eyeshadow Palette navy blue colour in the middle of the lid
Estee Lauder Violet Underground Eyeshadow Palette magenta colour in the outer corner of the lid and the crease
Estee Lauder Bronze Sands Eyeshadow Palette lightest shade on the browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeshadow pencil in Clash on lower lashline
Lancome Cils Booster XL mascara base and Hypnose Mascara Volume in Noir Hypnotic
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation in 02 Beige Claire
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Estee Lauder Powder Blush in Rose Nuance
Prescriptives Magic Liquid Powder in Rose Gold

Lips:
Estee Lauder Wild Violet lipstick

Let me know what you think in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: A-England Ascalon

I have A-England Ascalon to show you today, a steel grey polish with a touch of lavender and subtle holographic shimmer. It's part of A-England's The Legend collection.

It took 3 coats to achieve the colour seen in the pictures. The formula was nice and easy to apply. I always do the last coat on top of the top coat (Seche Vite in this case) to seal it better and also not to dull the holo effect. Although with this polish I don't think it makes much of a difference as it has very subtle holo anyway.

The formula was nice and it lasted on me for 2 days with very minimal chipping (I wore it for 4 days in the end). That's a little better than average for me.

A-England polishes cost £9 each and you get 13 ml. Available to order from the A-England website.

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Spring 2013: Meteorites Perles du Paradis

For me the most anticipated product in the Guerlain spring collection was the new Meteorites named Perles du Paradis. As you probably know, I collect Meteorites and if you want, you can check out my extensive collection here (although it doesn't include the holiday Meteorites which you can see by clicking here).

Now about these new Meteorites. They come in a gorgeous light pink cardboard container (the old style, pre-2010 before the tins with the lids) which looks very glam and pretty. It's a larger than normal size (comparable to the 2008 Butterfly Pearls container) and contains 53 g of product which is 23 g more than the regular Meteorites. The pearls are bigger too, probably not quite as large as the Butterfly ones, but prety big. The container also comes with a pink furry powder puff with a black bow on top of it.

When I opened the container and removed the puff I was shocked to see how little there was at the bottom of the container. I know that promo images usually show more products and more vivid colours, but I was still very surprised to see that the container is basically half full and the colours are quite a bit duller than the promo images were. There has to be quite a big gap left for the puff, it's more bulky than the usual sponge on top of the pearls, but it does look rather odd that there are only 2 layers of pearls at the bottom of the container.

Product-wise it's also a little disappointing as I was expecting it to have more of a colour payoff, I was hoping it would be useable as a subtle blush (like the Blushy Blush Red Pearls from years ago). It's not, it's pretty much colourless. It is also not at all shimmery on me, which is a bit odd since they named it "Illuminating Sparkling Powder". It's basically another finishing powder which is fine, because that's what Meteorites are supposed to be. So I'm not saying it's bad, I just probably had a bit high expectations. All in all it's a lovely product, very pretty and smells gorgeous. And the container is just so adorable.

The new Guerlain spring collection is now available from Debenhams, House of Fraser and other department stores and online retailers. You get 53 g product for £43 or it's only £38.70 from Escentual. Debenhams are giving away a free Guerlain mascara sample with every order, plus you get 500 extra points if you spend £35.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Chantecaille Save The Sharks Palette for Spring 2013

Chantecaille is releasing yet another stunning palette for Spring 2013. This time they are donating 5% of proceeds from the Save the Sharks Palette to the BLOOM Association to help ban unregulated shark fin trade. I know most people wouldn't think the sharks needed saving as they get a lot of bad press, but I guess they are just another species humans are killing off for their own gain.

The palette features three eye shades Great White, an all over white sandy beige, Grey Reef, a glistening sandy grey and Black Tip, a deep ocean blue, and Sea Anemone Cheek Shade, a golden coral color that is universally flattering on all skin tones, inspired by the underwater gardens of the tropical seas.

It retails for $83 in the US, so I'm guessing it will be around £75 in the UK. Chantecaille is available from Space NK, Liberty, Harvey Nichols and Harrods in the UK.

Mac Pressed Pigments Review and Swatches

In January Mac also released a collection of pressed pigments, but as they are actually permanent additions to their make up line, I thought I'd take my time before reviewing them. Even after this long I still haven't got around to wearing all shades, but I have a good idea about them now, so it's time for the review.

Mac says the collection contains 12 shades, but for some reason there are only 11 on the Mac UK website (it doesn't include Light Touch). 3 of the 12 shades are actually repromoted from the previous release and I have found these on the House of Fraser website (they are Light Touch, Deeply Dashing and Day Gleam), but for some reason not all of them are up on the Mac website. Anyway...

I got 7 of the new shades this time around (I also got Warming Heart with the first release if you want to check out my thoughts on that one), and they are Sweet Acting, Flicker, Blonde Streak, Smoky, Amethyst, Jet Couture and Blue Willow. Sweet Acting is described by Mac as "midtone pink", Flicker is "pastel yellow", Blonde Streek is "light cream", Smoky is "deep silver blue", Amethyst is "purple with silver undertone", Jet Couture is "charcoal black" and Blue Willow is "light icy blue".

Generally speaking these pressed pigments are very shimmery, glittery. They actually remind me very much of the Laura Mercier Sequin and Bobbi Brown Sparkle eyeshadows. If you don't like shimmer and glitter, then stay clear of them. I have to say, I don't find them at all gritty or chunky, I found application to be smooth. There is some fallout during application, but I didn't notice it after I'd cleaned up and applied my foundation. Most of these shades are pretty light and not very pigmented, except for Smoky and Jet Couture. Jet Couture in particular is an amazing shade, it's charcoal black with multicolour shimmer. It's really stunning.

All in all, I don't think these are must haves, but if you like different effects and a bit of shimmer when it comes to eyeshadows, then check them out. They cost £16.50 each and you get 3 g.

See more pictures after the jump!

Scent Of The Month: Lush Tuca Tuca

I was going to make this into a monthly series, but failed, however, here's another fragrance from my rather extensive perfume collection. The one I want to show you today is Lush Tuca Tuca perfume (part of their Gorilla perfumes range).

I love violet scents and one of my favourite fragrances are the ones with violets (Guerlain Insolence, Yardley's April Violet), so of course I had to pick up this Lush fragrance too. This is a bit heavier and stronger than the straight forward violet fragrances, it is a very sensual fragrance. I'm rubbish at discribing it, but this is what Lush say about it:

"The fragrance of a bright pop song. Tuca Tuca is whimsical; it teases with a fantasy violet accord and works its way into your subconscious. The perfume perfectly conveys the playful and seductive nature of the pop-song and the dance it's based on. Only the Italians could have come up with such a mischievous dance and pull it off with style and sex appeal. This vivacious, sensual, sweet and flirty fragrance of violet and vanilla is sure to turn heads whenever you wear it.

Main notes : cassie, vanilla, sandalwood, vetivert, violet leaf, ylang ylang

Feels like : a mischievous wink"

Apparently there's some song and dance that goes with this, I remember being given a card with the details of how you can download it, but to be honest, I don't really give a shit. I don't like Lush's silly, pretentious marketing tactics, to me it's a fragrance and that's that. I don't give a crap about the rest.

Anyway, this is a lovely fragrance. The only thing I don't like about it is that the actual perfume is pink and it stains my clothes. I don't think this is at all necessary and this puts me off of repurchasing it.

You get 30 ml for £24 and I believe it is now only available exclusively from the Lush website (I bought mine in store).

Win It! Revlon Pink Ribbon Nail Polish

You have a chance to win this gorgeous nail polish by Revlon called Pink Ribbon. To enter, please use the Rafflecopter widget, no other entries will be considered. The giveaway is open worldwide and terms and conditions can be found at the bottom of the widget. The winner will have 2 days to reply and claim their prize. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Topshop Nail Polish Swatches

In my 2012 Favourites post I showed you some of my Topshop nail polishes, a brand I discovered and grown to love in the last year and I thought I might as well show you what they looked like swatched. Since I never have time to do proper nail swatches, I have finally acquired some nail wheels and put them to good use.

Front row: Mercury Rising, Plume, Ashes & Fire, Hope Floats, Sleepwalker, Bowl Me Over
Back row: Rising Star, Neptune, Dark Knight, Brazil, Jem, 3D

These are just some of my Topshop polishes, I actually own 35 of them, these are just my most recent purchases. I cannot go into Topshop and not buy their nail polishes, they always have so many lovely colours, glitters, duochromes, the lot.

The swatches below were done with two coats. I have already shown you Rising Star (click here to see details), so I decided not to scoop out any of the stars for the swatches because there aren't that many of them in the bottle. As you can see, some of the glitter polishes would work best on top of a darker colour, also Plume would probably look more amazing on top of a black polish to bring out its duochrome quality best. Some of them though are nicely opaque in just two coats.

See lost more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy

I'm not feeling well today, so all I have energy for is a quick NOTD post. Hoping to be able to do a more interesting one tomorrow.

Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy looks amazing in the bottle, there's grey, purple, green and blue multichrome to it. Sadly on the nails it was less interesting, all I could see was mainly grey with a bit of purple and green tint at certain angles.

I did 3 coats and it had a nice formula, but it started chipping on me slightly after about 24 hours, so all in all, not the best polish. I think I bought mine for a couple of pounds on eBay, it's a very inexpensive polish. It's a decent size at 13.5 ml. I don't think you can buy Wet n Wild in the UK, so your best bet is probably eBay.

See more pictures after the jump!

Mac Haute Altitude Lipstick Review and Swatches

The last product I want to review from Mac Apres Chic collection (until I get my new Stereo Rose anyway) is Haute Altitude lipstick. Although I'm on a lipstick no buy, I decided to get this because it looked really pretty in the swatches I'd seen and also on my hands when I swatched it at the counter. And since I had 6 B2Mac empties, I got it for free, so it doesn't count anyway, does it?

Haute Altitude is an amplified finish, it's creamy and opaque in a couple of swipes. It feels comfortable on the lips and isn't drying at all. On me it doesn't last very long, I only get a couple of hours' wear out of it. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between all the lipstick finishes Mac has, but amplified finishes are pretty creamy and have a good colour payoff. Haute Altitude is described as "midtone blue pink" to me it look like a nude pink colour. I'm not entirely happy with how it looks on me, it's a bit paler than I expected and not sure if it suits me at all. It's quite a bit lighter than Mehr lipstick and has a glossier finish. It is a pretty nude pink lipstick and would be suitable for those who don't like bright lip colours or can't wear them due to their jobs, etc.

The colour of this looks different in practically every picture I took, but I'd say it's most true in the lip swatch picture (it was taken without flash, whereas the full face one was taken with flash). It's definitely pink and noy as coral as it looks in some pictures.

Mac lipsticks cost £14 and you get 3 g for your money. Haute Altitude is limited edition and I'm not sure if it's still available. 

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Amber Glow Mineralize Blush Review and Swatches

Another item I managed to pick up from Mac's latest collection, Apres Chic is Amber Glow mineralize blush. This is in fact the only cheek product I got (other than Stereo Rose which I haven't picked up from House of Fraser yet) from the collection because I already own Gentle and didn't like the look of Alpine Bronze (it was too brown for my liking).

Amber Glow is described by Mac as "warm peach". It is a very light peachy colour with very fine subtle shimmer. On me it hardly shows up as a blush and I'm quite pale (Guerlain foundation shade 02) in the winter, so this is definitely more of a highlighter, unless you are very pale or pack it on. I did two layers and it still hardly gave me any colour. It's very pretty though and it's not a colour I own, or certainly don't recall owning. It's very finely milled and smooth, goes on and blends out really nicely. It doesn't look ashy at all, so it would probably work okay on darker, warmer skintones. I don't think this is a must have product, but it's nice and gives a really lovely natural looking sheen.

Mac mineralize blushes cost £19 and you get 3.2 g product. Amber Glow and Alpine Bronze are limited edition colours and seem to be selling fast, Amber Glow is showing as sold out on the Debenhams and House of Fraser websites but is still in stock on the Mac website.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Apres Chic Collection Mineralize Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

It's taken me ages to finally get my hands on the new Mac mineralize eyeshadows. The collection actually launched 2 weeks ago on the Mac website and counters, but I was waiting for Debenhams or House of Fraser to put the collection up, so I can collect some loyalty points. Eventually I managed to order from Debenhams, only to receive an e-mail the following day that some of the items couldn't be fulfilled because they were out of stock, even though 2 of them WERE still in stock up until a couple of days ago and Stereo Rose MSF was definitely in stock at the time of order and in fact some Specktra friends who ordered after I did got theirs. On top of it all my order only arrived on Tuesday, 6 days after I placed it, and of course I missed the postman, so had to pick it up yesterday. I managed to buy the two missing items in Selfridges last week and I have now ordered Stereo Rose from House of Fraser, just need to go and pick it up. I'm seriously not happy with Debenhams, but I will stop ranting about them now, because there are more interesting things to talk about, like the new Mac mineralize eyeshadows!

There are 5 new limited edition shades in the Apres Chic collection: Ice, Fireside, Frost At Midnight, Winter Pursuit and Silver Birch. They are all a mix of 2 shades, Ice is described by Mac as "light peach base with white veining", Fireside is "deep plum with grey veining", Frost At Midnight is "deep blue/grey base with purple veining", Winter Pursuit is "copper base with grey veining" and Silver Birch is "grey base with peach veining". My Fireside is almost a duo rather than a mix, it has a plum half and a brown with green duochrome. The eyeshadows are all shimmery, with Fireside being the least, and Ice being the most shimmery, in fact that one is properly glittery. The glitter is very fine though and I didn't experience fallout from it, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I found Frost At Midnight to be the hardest, least pigmented of the bunch, I don't know if mine's a dud or they're all like that, but it doesn't have a very good colour payoff and it feels rather hard, not as buttery as some of the other shades. I haven't tried them wet yet, only swatched and used them dry, but of course mineralize eyeshadows can be used wet for a more intense, smooth colour.

Mac mineralize eyeshadows cost £16.50 and you get 2.2 g product for your money. Although these shades are limited edition, they are still all available.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 5: Skincare and Haircare

Okay, I know this is possibly the least exciting post of the 2012 Favourites series, but I wanted to do it anyway because now that I'm getting older, I'm finding it increasingly important to have a good skincare routine. Mine isn't really complicated, especially because I'm always so late going to bed, I never have the energy to do a lenghty routine. I do have a good cleanser and make up remover, and also a good serum, night cream and eye cream, with the occasional scrub and mask thrown in, so that's fine. In the mornings I just use a face cream having washed my face in the shower with clean water. I don't have time for more, it's as simple as that.

I did a video about my skincare routine back in April and although some products I'm not using anymore (have run out or have decided to change), it gives you a good idea about which products I enjoyed using in 2012. Check it out here. 

I'll start with cleansing. I usually use Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover (old style, this has now been rreformulated) followed by Simple Kind To Skin Facial Cleansing Wipes. The two together work very well for removing make up and dirt from my skin. I haven't found a cleanser I am that chuffed about, I just can't really get excited about a cleanser, but every one I've used so far does a good enough job. I'm currently using a L'Occitane cleanser with the longest, most complicated name that I refuse to copy. I also really like Lancome Bi-Facil and will probably use it instead of the Boots one because I've heard that the new, reformulated version isn't very good.

See which other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 4: Nails

2012 was definitely the year of the nail polish for me. I bought over 550 nail polishes (I know, crazy!) and discovered some amazing brands. (Check out my stash video and pictures here.) Until 2 years ago I'd hardy heard of any nail polish brands that couldn't be bought in Boots or Superdrug (and back then there weren't a lot of glittery, shimmery, duochrome polish around, or at least I didn't notice them). As well as continuing to buy from mainstream brands like China Glaze, OPI, Orly and the likes, I discovered some very unique and interesting brands and nail polishes. My favourite polishes are holos and duochromes, or preferably both together in one product, and I'm also rather partial to glitter.

The picture above shows a few of my recent purchases including the new Color Club holographic polishes that I regret to say I haven't tried yet as well as Topshop glitter polishes and Enchanted Polish duo(multi)chrome polishes.

My favourite newly discovered brands in 2012 were Topshop, Enchanted Polish, Layla and Glitter Gal. Out of the four I'd say Enchanted Polish is my definite favourite, the only thing I don't like is how difficult it is to come by as the polishes are only made in very small quantities and the shades are limited edition. Nevertheless I have managed to get my hands on a few of them and here are some:

These are from the Beatles collection (I Am The Walrus and Magical Mystery Tour) and from the Falloween collection (Witchful Thinking). The new holiday collection came in a new style, fancier, more professional looking bottle:

Green Peace on Earth, Dance Of The Sugar Plum, Bruised Nutcracker, Olive The Other Reindeer

Enchanted Polish nail polishes are absolutely gorgeous, duo- or rather multichrome with scattered holo, straight forward holographic or glittery. I have showed you Across The Universe here if you want to take a peek.

Find out what other nail polishes and nail care products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 3: Face

Here's another installment of my favourite products of 2012, this time it's the face products. I will start with the more exciting ones, ie. pretty highlighters. To me one of the most used highlighters of 2012 was Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. It is just so pretty both in the compact and on my skin. Just lovely.You can read my initial review by clicking on the link above.

See what other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

My Actual (Almost) Christmas NOTD: Color Club Gingerbread

I'm sorry, I know I said I was going to continue with my 2012 Favourites posts today, but after a whole day of putting away Christmas decorations and sorting things out for children starting school tomorrow, I just didn't have time for it. You'd be surprised if you knew how long those posts take. I promise I will continue with my 2012 Favourites post tomorrow.

Instead here's the manicure I did for Christmas. Or rather Christmas Eve as unfortunately it had chipped by the end of Christmas Eve and I had to change it, but never had time to take pictures of the actual Christmas Day manicure (it was Color Club Art of Seduction - a gorgeous red glitter).

This is Color Club Gingerbread, a gold glitter polish full of holographic glitter that sparkles in the colours of the rainbow. It was part of the Under The Mistletoe holiday collection (2010). It has a nice formula, and only took 2 coats for pretty full coverage. Unfortunately it chipped on me very quickly, so I had to remove it after just 2 days.It was very pretty while it lasted though.

Color Club polishes are available from TK Maxx, or I have bought many on eBay too. I don't actually know anywhere else in the UK that stocks them.They only cost a couple of quid on eBay, so even with postage you can get them pretty cheap. Beautyzone2007 is my favourite Color Club seller on eBay.

See more pictures after the jump!

2012 Favourties - Part 2: Eyes

I buy and wear a lot of eyeshadows, eyeliners and mascaras, that is one thing I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. I have very undefined eyes, so I cannot be without eyeliner and mascara, eyeshadows are more of the fun part, I really enjoy playing with colours and have got pretty good at doing quite fancy looks.

I'll start with eyeshadows. One of the brands I mostly raved on about on here in 2012 is L'Oreal, I love their Infallible eyeshadows. Nowadays I tend to gravitate towards high end eyeshadows, but every so often cheaper brands that come out with something amazing and I'm not that much of a snob not to check them out. I did a series of reviews as I bought 20 shades of them, here's the recap post that is linked to all the reviews.

My other favourite eyeshadows that I often compare the L'Oreal Infallibles to were Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill and Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows. You can find several reviews of these on the blog as well, just do a search. I loved the Infallible eyeshadows most for their affordableness and big colour selection (although we don't get quite as many in the UK, but thank God for eBay and US sellers).

Carry on reading after the jump to discover which other products I loved in 2012!

2012 Favourites - Part 1: Lips

As it's now a new year, I thought I'd do a recap of my favourite make up products of 2012. I'll only included products that were either newly released in 2012 or new to me, no point in me repeating myself over and over again (I still love Vaseline and Pleasureflush MSF is still my favourite highlighter, nothing new there).

So I'll start with lip products. The brand that stood out for me in 2012 when I think of new lip products was definitely Revlon. While I still love Guerlain lipsticks very much and wear them often when going out, on days when I'm staying in or not needing a bolder lip colour, I often opt for Revlon's Lip Butters. I acquired 10 of them over the course of the year and they've become my most used lip products.

They are moisturising, very comfortable to wear and some of them are absolutely gorgeous and actually pretty pigmented. On days when I don't need to wear lipstick but want something more colourful then Vaseline, I reach for these, and of course some of them double up as lipstick due to their fantastic pigmentation. Raspberry Pie, Lollipop and Sweet Tart are my absolute favourite shades. I did a full review on these Lip Butters here, so if you need any more details, check it out!

See which other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

Update On My No-Buy 3 Months On

Here's another quick update on how I'm doing on my lipstick, lipgloss and nail polish no-buy. The answer is not too well. Firstly, I'd abandoned my plans for the nail polish no-buy because I just couldn't resist all the pretty colours I keep seeing on blogs and in shops. But yesterday I decided (having realised that I've managed to buy the same colour nail polish multiple times, sometimes even from the same brand!) that I'm really going to have to give it a proper go. So I've decided that I'm going to do a one month nail polish no-buy and actually properly stick to it this time. I now have over 700 nail polishes which is just crazy. I'm also going to do a giveaway very soon and include some of the multiple colours I've got so you can benefit from my silliness.

As far as my lipstick and lipgloss no-buy goes, I didn't do too bad. I got tempted into buying lip products a couple of times, once for a free nail polish and once because I wanted to try a different product (Lip Tars). Oh and I got a free lipstick with my B2Mac empties, but that doesn't count surely? Other than that I've been pretty sensible, so yay for me!

I know this isn't the most exciting post you'll ever read on this blog, but I thought some of you might be interested in seeing how I'm getting on. Let me know if you are on any kind of a no-buy and how you're getting on!

Bare Minerals Ready Luminizer The Love Affair Review and Swatches

I saw this highlighter on another blog and it had such glowing review (excuse the weak pun) I decided to get it. I'm a sucker for highlighter, especially if they come with a pretty design.

This actually comes in two shades, I bought The Love Affair which is the peachy pink variety, there's also The Shining Moment which is a gold shade. I find pinks more wearable for me, so I decided to get this one instead of The Shining Moment.

This is a very nice highlighter, feels quite creamy, but it's definitely a powder product. You get a subtle glow with some barely noticable shimmer. I have posted a couple of pictures of me wearing this (check out this post), but I will also include one at the bottom of the post.

You get 10 g product in a white square(ish) compact with a full size mirror in the lid. It used to retail for £26, but it's now in the sale for £13 (Debenhams still has this shade, The Shining Moment is now sold out). I bought mine on eBay for £17.50 just before it went on sale (typical). I'm guessing this is a limited edition product, but I'm not sure. I don't follow Bare Minerals and I think this might actually be the only product I own from them.

All in all, this is a lovely highlighter if you want a subtle glow, and it's great value for money (especially now). Get it while you can!

See more pictures including swatches and a picture of me wearing this after the jump!  

Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc Free Mineral Blush in Rosy Glow Review and Swatches

I showed you the Physicians Formula eyeshadow palette yesterday, and now here's the blush I also picked up in TK Maxx. This is part of the Mineral Wear line and it's a talc free blush. The shade is Rosy Glow which is a rosy pink colour.

I have to say, up until now I'd been pretty ignorant when it came to talc free make up and I actually had to look up what was so good about talc free. Apparently it's less drying for your skin which is better for those with dry skin I guess. I don't have dry skin on my face, not even in winter (my body does get quite dry, but not my face), so I'm personally not that fussed, but if it's better, I won't argue.

To me the blush seemed very powdery, I don't know if it's because it's talc free or there's some other reason. It didn't look powdery on the face, but it did in the pan. The marbleised design features two shades that mixed together give a nice rosy pink colour, pretty well pigmented, yet natural looking. There's a very slight sheen to it, but no glitter or shimmer. It blended out nicely and wore pretty well too.

The compact itself is a bit odd, it's quite bulky because it has a compartment at the bottom with mirror and brush. The compact is stuck inside the box which I have come across before with other Physicians Formula products and the box doesn't close again once you open it, so all in all, not the best packaging.

I paid £4.99 for it in TK Maxx and you get 5.5 g product. On the Physicians Formula website this retails for $11.95 and comes in 5 shades. In the UK your best bet for finding Physicians Formula products are TK Maxx and eBay.

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this blush after the jump!

Happy New Year!

Hope 2013 is a good one! Have you got any resolutions? I don't really, but I will continue with my diet and excercise plan ones I'm finished with all the yummy food in the house. I did really well in the 3 months before Christmas and lost 19 lbs (8.5 kgs), so definitely want to get back to it.

Beauty-wise, I will try to buy less, blah blah blah, but in all fairness I don't expect to. I do need to keep going with my lipstick/lipgloss no-buy for the whole of 2013 (maybe allow myself a few, but definitely not many). I will aim to do lots of reviews and keep up with the blogging for sure, I love it and hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.

Now, without further ado:

PS. I'll be doing one or two 2012 favourites posts later in the week, but I won't have time until Wednesday when my husband and children are going away to my in-laws for 3 days. Until then, feel free to let me know if you had any favourite products in 2012.