Sorting through my mascaras part 1

I have a lot of mascaras, sample sizes, full sizes, drugstore brands and high end brands alike. Quite a few of them been in circulation lately and have either run out or still sitting there half used because they're just not my favourites. So I thought I'd do a good clearout, go through them one by one and decide if I like them enough to use up (and maybe repurchase) or chuck them out.

Today I would like to show you 3 of the mascaras I've been using. First up is Exceptionnel de Chanel in Smoky Noir. I know of some people who absolutely love this mascara, but I just didn't get on with it at all. While the formula is okay, I have a massive problem with the brush. It has 2 different kind of bristles, one is the plastic spikey type and the other is shorter, thinner, more bristley. The spikey ones are sort of okay, but the others just don't do anything for me and in the end, the whole mascara fails. I have short, thin, sparse lashes, so I really need a good mascara and this one just doesn't deliver. I believe there is a technique you're supposed to learn, but I can't be bothered. I've been using mascaras for 20 years now, if I can't get one to work, it goes in the bin. End of.

Exceptionnel de Chanel

See more pictures and read about which other mascaras I've been testing lately after the jump!

Paul & Joe Spring 2011 Parasol Collection eyeshadow duo review

I had my eye on the new lipsticks that came out in Paul & Joe's Parasol Spring Collection, but when I went to harrods last month to finally check them out, I was distracted by all the shimmer in these lovely eyeshadow duos. So much so that I ended up coming away with 3 of them and no lipsticks (the lipsticks were quite sheer and I decided against them in the end).

Paul & Joe's spring collection includes 5 eyeshadow duos, 3 lipsticks and several other lovely things. I bought eyeshadow duos 001 (yellow and white), 002 (pink and brown) and 005 (light blue and purple). They are a bit similar to the Myface Cosmetics Bling Tone eyeshadows that I reviewed here, they seem like pressed glitter, but they are very fine and look almost creamy. I found they apply better with your fingers than brushes, the light blue shade especially applied very flaky with a brush, but there wasn't too much fallout either way. Some are more pigmented than others, my favourites are the brown and purple shades for pigmentation, but I do love the sheer sparkles of the white and yellow too.

As usual, the packaging is very pretty, I love Paul & Joe, they always have such lovely details on their products. The boxes have beautiful spring theme, what looks like a flowering rose bush, and the compacts are pearlescent white with the signature flower detail on them. Very pretty. The eyeshadows are fairly small (2.3 g, which is still quite a bit bigger than Mac single eyeshadows), but they are big enough for the halves to be used separately. 

I did a look with the blue, purple and pink ones that you can see here, and there are more pictures and swatches after the jump!

Myface Cosmetics Haul: Bling Tone eyeshadows and Gigabyte lipsticks

I'd been wanting to try out Myface Cosmetics Bling Tone eyeshadows ever since they appeared in Boots, but I was always a bit hesitant since they cost £9.99 each, however, when they were on offer (3 for 2) the other day, I couldn't resist them anymore. And as there were 4 shades I wanted to try out, I ended up buying two of their Gigabyte lipsticks too. The lipsticks cost £9.99 each too and the 3 for 2 offer is still on by the way!

The eyeshadows are very very sparkly, they look like pressed glitter. They come in 10 shades, although my Boots only carries 5 which is just as well, otherwise I might have bought them all. I got Bellbottom Blues, Purple Haze, Morocco and Gilt-y. I've worn two of them so far and I didn't experience much fall out or creasing at all (you do need a base though), but the glitter does migrate a little bit after several hours of wear. Not a big deal for me. The colour payoff isn't that great, but with some layering you can build up the colour, and I gues it might suit those better who just want a sheer wash of colour as the shadows in the pan do look quite scary. The blue one is the most pigmented, it is a beautiful colour, can't wait to try it out.

Now onto the lipsticks. I bought Strawberry Fields and Sweet Dreams. Strawberry Fields is a bright pinky red, Sweet Dreams is a rosy nude colour. Both are really pretty, have smooth textures, feel lovely on the lips, quite moisturising in fact. The don't last too long as they are quite slippery on the lips, but if you don't mind reapplying, they are pretty nice lipsticks. 

With the 3 for 2 offer the price was okay, but to be honest, the packaging, especially the lipsticks still feels a bit on the cheap side. I personally don't like white or see through packaging much, I prefer black, it just looks more classy.

See more photos, swatches and a look I created after the jump!

Purple look with 17 Vintage Love Perfect Pastels Palette

Last week I reviewed 17 Vintage Love Palettes here and today I would like to show you a look I created using the purple shades in the Perfect Pastels palette. Unfortunately the pictures don't do the colours justice (I really need to get a better camera!), but here it is anyway. I would appreciate if you let me know what you think of my eyebrows, I've done some DIY work to them, I think they do look a bit better.

To create this look I used the following:

Eyes:

Barbara Daly for Tesco eyeshadow primer

17 Vintage Love Perfect Pastels Palette (see picture below)

Shade 2 (pinky purple) all over lid

Shade 1 (dark purple) in outer lid and crease

Shade 3 (light violet) inner lid and above crease

Marks & Spencer Jewels eyeshadow quad light pink shade below browbone to highlight

Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Perversion on lower waterline

No 7 Candy Lavender eye pencil on lower lashline

DiorShow Black Out mascara in Black Khol

Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:

Avon Shimmer Swirls Face Illuminator

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch concealer

Chantecaille White Tiger face powder

Accessorize Starlet baked blush

Lips:

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Sorbet

See more pictures after the jump!

New CID Cosmetics i-blush and i-gloss review

I really like New CID Cosmetics, especially their i-glow highlighters/blushes (you might remember me blogging about them here), so when I saw that there was a new blusher and highlighter compact released, I decided to order it straight away. I also picked up one of their i-glosses in the shade of Raspberry Kiss.

First up is the i-blush duo. Here's the info from the Lookfantastic website:

"Create sculpted cheekbones with New CID Cosmetics I-Blush Light Up Blusher & Highlighter Compact. Adding a subtle sweep of radiance to the complexion, this handy compact is great for gals on the go and includes a light and mirror to assist application.

Add a touch of sizzle to your style with this New CID Cosmetics I-Blush Light Up Blusher & Highlighter Compact. Featuring a soft peach tone and a complementary shimmery gold, this gorgeous compact will leave you with cheekbones that belong on a catwalk model."

They also included a handy guide to how to use the blush and highlighter which I think is rather clever, although I prefer to do it my way.

"Directions of use:

• Run the middle of a brush backwards and forwards along the dividing line.
• Now run the brush up and down your cheek bone starting at the hair line and blending down, then upwards.
• Make sure that the highlight colour is applied at the top and the blusher at the bottom."

You get 5 g and 4.5 g each of the gorgeous pinky coral / peach blush and gold highlighter in a mirrored compact that also lights up! I find this feature rather cute, but unnecessary, since I don't normally attempt to apply my make up in the dark, but I guess if you're out clubbing or whatever you young chicks do nowadays, then it can be quite handy. There is a switch, so you can turn it off if you don't want it.

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

17 Vintage Love Eyeshadow Palettes for Spring

Last week I picked up these lovely eyeshadow palettes from Boots, they are part of the 17 range spring collection. Since there is currently a 3 for 2 offer on all 17 cosmetics in Boots, I also picked up one of their blushes, which I will try to review later. But for now let's take a look at the eyeshadow palettes.

They come in two shades: Perfect Pastels and Metallic Nudes. Both palettes contain 4.4g of eyeshadows and cost £5.49 each. Both include 6 colours of eyeshadows in complementing shades arranged in a pretty pattern (not sure what though, a bird? butterfly? flower?). I love 17 eyeshadows, they are one of the best budget eyeshadows I've tried (along with Sleek eyeshadows), they are smooth, apply beautifully, don't crease and last all day. I love their single eyeshadows too, so I was very keen to pick up these palettes. 

See more of my review, pictures and swatches after the jump!

Finished! The February edition

Despite trying my hardest to finish lots of products, I only managed 4 this month,but there are a few nearly empty ones sitting on my shelves, so hopefully I can include them in next month's post.

Now I know I said I wasn't going to include shower gels in these posts, but since I featured the Body Shop Cherry Blossom EDT in last month's Finished! post, I thought I might as well include the matching shower gel and body butter this month.

They are both nice, but since I've gone off the scent now, I won't be repurchasing them. I still have half a bottle of the EDT but I will save that for later now, this month I'm using Givenchy Ange au Demon. 

See more empties after the jump!