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!

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliners Review and Swatches

While on the subject of eyeliners, I thought I'd do a post on Stila's Smudge Stick Eyeliners as well (having already reviewed three of them with the palettes I've shown you recently). I'd been meaning to pick up a few more shades but there isn't a Stila counter near me and I really wanted to swatch them first, so when I eventually went to Westfield (Shepherds Bush) Shopping Center I managed to pick up these 4. For the shades I've already reviewed, check them out here: Tetra, Starfish and Damsel.

I got Peacock, Lionfish, Moray and Bluefin. Peacock is teal, Lionfish is warm brown, Moray is khaki green with gold flecks and Bluefin is blue with shimmer.They are all nice and creamy, but set pretty quickly and once they do, they're not going anywhere. They're fairly easy to remove with make up remover, but they really don't come off just by rubbing. I'm not 100% sure how waterproof they are as I haven't tested that, but they stay vibrant and in place on my waterline all day, so that's good enought for me.

I like all the colours I got, out of the 4 Peacock is my favourite as it's a reallly gorgeous teal shade. There's one thing I don't like about these eyeliners, and that is just how little you actually get. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners and Mac Pearlglide liners are both 1.2 g, whereas Stila Smudge Sticks are a measly 0.28 g! That's not even a quarter of the size of the other two! So at £13 each they are actually very expensive per gram! On the other hand you don't need to sharpen these, so there's no wastage as you just twist the end to get more product out.

Stila products in the UK are available from Stila's own website, Boots, BeautyBay and Lookfantastic (or at least those are the ones I know about). 

Do you own these? Have you got a favourite shade? Let me know in the comments!  

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Pearlglide Intense Eye Liners Review and Swatches

The Mac Vera collection also contains 7 shades of their popular Pearlglide Intense Eye Liners, so I thought I'd do a little review on them. I actually only purchased 2 shades this time around, becaue I already owned 5. The shades I bought are Lord It Up (bronze with pearl) and Black Line (black with gold pearl), the ones I owned already are Designer Purple (iridescent violet), Industrial (periwinkle grey), Undercurrent (teal with pearl), Black Swan (black with pearl) and Petrol Blue (deep navy with pearl).

These eyeliners are really lovely, they're creamy, long lasting, don't smudge, but still pretty easy to remove. I really like them, they're one of my favourite eyeliners. They all contain glitter, so they're best not used on the waterline, but I did check the Mac website and the outer packaging and there's no warning about that anywhere. However I do find that if I use them on my waterline, my eyes water, so I tend to keep them on the lashline.

These eyeliners are the same size (1.2 g) as the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners which are also one of my favourites, and they cost £14 (£1 more expensive than the UD ones), but really I wouldn't compare them too much to the UD ones because of the glitter. Also I think the colours they come in are more unique than the UD ones, I especially love Industrial, an amazing light blue-grey, it's almost duo-chrome (it hasn't got as much glitter as some of the other ones either). If you like coloured eyeliners, then definitely check out Industrial, Designer Purple, Petrol Blue and Undercurrent, if you prefer blacks and neutrals, then go for the other 3 shades. Out of those my favourite is Black Swan, it's a gorgeous black with silver sparkles.

According to the UK Mac site these are limited edition, but in the US they are now permanent, however, they're all in stock so let's hope Mac has lots of them available. Have you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Finished! The October Edition

Firstly, sorry about neglecting the blog these last few days. I've been very busy with shopping (the new Mac collections are out as well as Dior, Chanel and those gorgeous Models Own Beetlejuice nail polishes) and also updating my blog sale (nearly done). Plus little everyday things like children and cleaning and washing and cooking... You know.

Anyway, another month has gone past, so here's another post about all the products I've finished last month. Only five though, sadly, however there are quite a few other ones just hanging by their teeth. Just like this first product was, I thought I'd never finish it.

It's Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub. Couldn't wait to finish it off. Firstly, it's not a scrub. It's a creamy cleanser with some very soft bits in it. It does not scrub, nor it does exfoliate. It is not a deep cleansing scrub like it claims. It did nothing for me, my pores are still there, clogged and as big as ever. Waste of money. (Can you tell I didn't like this?)

Find out what other products I finished after the jump!

Urban Decay Rollergirl Is Finally Mine!

Although it seems the UK isn't getting Urban Decay's Rollergirl sets, I've managed to get my hands on the eyeshadow/lipgloss set thanks to eBay. I would also love the mini nail polish set, but so far I haven't had any luck. Still hoping the sets will make it to the UK, but considering that these are for the summer and it's already mid-July, I doubt it. Still, at least I have the eyeshadow/lipgloss set which is what I wanted most anyway.

The set contains a 4-colour-eyeshadow palette, a miniLip Junkie lipgloss and a travel sized 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Whiskey. The colours in the palette are Woodstock, Verve, Suspect and Darkhorse. If you think you've heard them before, it's because some of them have been released in sets before and/or are permanent single eyeshadows. Woodstock came out as a Sephora exclusive single, but has also been included in the recent Fun Palette. Verve is exclusive to this palette, not available separately. Suspect was included in the I♥NYC Book Of Shadows (which is currently available on the Debenhams website by the way!), but it is not available to purchase as a single. Darkhorse has been included in two palettes: The Naked Palette and also The Feminine Palette. It isn't available to purchase as a single either.

I think this palette is a great, more travel friendly alternative to the Naked Palette, in that it contains 3 neutrals that can create a variety of looks including smoky eyes, but also you can jazz up your look with the bright pink Woodstock. You also get Whiskey eyeliner (also included with the Naked Palette, not available to purchase separately) which is a nice dark brown, less harsh than a black one, and a hot pink lipgloss. The eyeshadows are soft and buttery (Woodstock less than the other 3, but still nice), the eyeliner is smooth and has excellent staying power, and Crush Lip Junkie has a lovely cooling mint scent (for reference, I have not tried it on yet, only swatched it on my arm). The set retails for $32 in the US and is a great value for money considering that it contains 4 eyeshadows (1 g each which is 2/3 of the full sized singles that cost $17 each) which alone would add up to $45, plus a travel size 24/7 eyeliner pencil and mini Lip Junkie lipgloss. Of course it's not that great if you already own half the shades, but I thought that instead of buying Woodstock on its own for £13, I'd fork out £9 more and get Verve and the other two (which I already have), plus a back up for my Whiskey liner and try out the Lip Junkie lipgloss. Would be mad not to, right?

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My favourite eyeliner pencils

I have a lot of eyeliners. I love them. In fact, I can't be seen without one. Eyeliner and mascara are my two absolute essentials, because my eyes have no definition without them. My eyelashes are short, thin and sort of mousy colour, so without mascara and eyeliner they just don't look right. Also, eyeliners are lots of fun. As much as I like black eyeliners, there are so many gorgeous colours out there, I can always find one to match my mood and my eye make up.

My eyeliner pencils

As you can see, I have quite a collection of eyeliners. My absolute favourite ones are Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils, they are just so smooth, but they don't smudge, stay on all day and come in every colour of the rainbow (except for red actually). I also like Mac Pearlglide Intense eyeliners and when it comes to cheaper brands, Gosh and L'Oreal are my other favourites. So it wasn't too easy to pick my absolute favourites for this post, but actually despite owning this many eyeliners I tend to reach for a very few of them most often, so I went for those.

See which eyeliners I choose after the jump!

Urban Decay 15-year Anniversary Set Is Online at Debenhams.com!

A big thank you to the lovely Charlotte for letting us know. You can also find lots of photos and swatches on her website. The set costs £60 and is available HERE.

Urban Decay 15-year Anniversary Set UK Launch Date 1st February

I've just had comfirmation from Urban Decay that the 15-year Anniversary Set is going to launch at Debenhams.com on 1st February and in store on 14th February. Exciting!

Will you be buying it?

This is what £300 worth of make up looks like!

Don't get much, do you? This is my haul from Mac's latest collections: Cham Pale, Mickey Contractor and Stylishly Yours (plus one permanent item). Actually, strictly speaking this isn't quite £300, because I forgot to include I Get No Kick eye khol, but with that it comes just over £300. Crazy eh?

Wanna know what I got? 

From Cham Pale I got the two highlighting powders Chez Chez Lame and Rose Ole, all 4 new lipgelees, Caviar Dreams eyeshadow quad, all 4 new paint pots and I Get No Kick eye khol. From Mickey Contractor I got the two new fluidlines and Mehr lipstick. From Stylishly Yours I got the 3 new pigments (I already own Violet) and Style Curve lipstick. I also picked up Rubenesque paint pot. 

Sorry, no swatches at this time, but here's another photo for you. Did you indulge in any of these collections? If so, what did you get?

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!