Fantastic Lancome Deals At Debenhams!

I was going to blog about the Mac Glamour Daze eyeshadows today, but then I got so excited about the fantastic deal I came across in Debenhams, I just had to share (sorry, Mac swatches coming soon!). I don't know how long these offers last, so I thought I'd let you know quickly, in case you want to take advantage of them.

Today I bought two of the Lancome holiday collection eyeshadows and one of the khol pencils (I will do a proper review on those later) and as a result was given a really nice gift with purchase including a gorgeous make up bag, several skincare samples, a tiny lipstick, a sample size mascara, two make up brushes (which I forgot to photograph, sorry) and because I bought the third product, a full size Bi-Facil make up remover. I won't go into all the details here, but you can see the offer by clicking on this link. According to Debenhams the gift with purchase is worth over £58, although I'm not entirely sure if it includes the extra Bi-Facil, but it doesn't include the make up bag and brushes apparently. A full-size Bi-Facil alone costs £21.

I also purchased the Christmas Beauty Box for £45 (you can only buy this if you buy 2 or more Lancome products, and luckily you still get the gift with purchase, they don't exclude each other) which actually has a value of £165! The eyeshadow palette and blush alone add up to at least £45 and there's also a full size Bi-Facil in here as well as Genifique and Visionnaire samples, 2 tiny lipsticks (one is the same as in the gift with purchase), 2 sample size mascaras, an eye khol, a sample size cream, a sample size cream cleanser and toner, as well as a gorgeous big sparkly gold make up case.

The Christmas Beauty Box is actually a fantastic deal as it costs £75 on the Lancome website, although you can purchase it without buying other products, but to be fair, if you're going to buy something from the holiday collection (and there's plenty to buy from that as it's gorgeous!) or even some staples, you might as well buy it from Debenhams and get it for £30 less!

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Gel-Cream Eyeshadow in 65 Pink Gold

I've been meaning to review this eyeshadow for ages, but only just got around to taking pictures, swatching it and wearing it. I hate not having time for my hobby.

Anyway, the good news is, the review is a positive one. I really like this eyeshadow, it performs very well. I wore it today for a run, had shower and washed my hair and it was still there on my eyelids, not creasing at all, although the edges did fade a tiny bit (which is fair enough). I tried it out with and without primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) and it performed very well both ways. In fact it's still looking good 12 hours later.

I find the name Pink Gold a bit misleading, because it's not gold in the slightest, it's more of a muted rosy pink. Actually I wasn't sure if I needed this colour because I thought I'd already owned cream eyeshadows that were very similar. I was kind of right, it is pretty close to Mac Fresco Rose paint pot (discontinued), although Pink Gold has more of a sheen/shine. It is definitely more metallic and possibly a bit lighter. I also compared it to Rimmel Colour Mousse in 06 Get Fresh which is a lot more metallic and a bit lighter. I may have other cream shadows Pink Gold close to, but these were the ones that came to mind. Incidentally it's nothing like Mac Feminine Edge fluidline which is so frosty and sparkly, it cannot possibly compare to this.

So while I didn't exactly need this eyeshadow, it's a nice one to have. I like cream eyeshadows, I use them on days when I have little time to do my make up as a quick sweep on the lids is enough. Pink Gold actually needed a bit of building up, but it didn't take long and it didn't cake, was still very smooth to blend. It did dry down very quickly and when I swatched it on my arm, I needed make up remover to get it off, simply rubbing it didn't make it budge. (Or having a shower for that matter.)

Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows cost £4.99 and you get 4 g (although it doesn't actually say on the packaging, but I have one of the US colours and that one says 4 g, so I'm assuming this is the same). There's currently a buy 1 get 1 half price offer on make up in Boots. It's a great price (considering that Mac paint pots for example cost £14.50 and you only get 1 g more), and finally there are 8 shades available in the UK (still not enough though if you ask me).

Have you tried these eyeshadows yet? Let me know what you think in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

My Mac Holiday 2012 Collection(s) Haul

Just a quick post to show you all the goodies I bought from the Mac holiday collections: Glamour Daze and all the other collections with the sets, I've lost count of how many there are actually. I won't have any swatches or reviews today because although I've spend most of my afternoon taking pictures and swatching products, I haven't got around to cropping most of the photos, let alone actually trying on the products.

But for now, here are a few pictures to drool over. I especially love the packaging for the sets, they are so cute. Not sure what I will be using them for yet, but definitely wouldn't want to throw them out, they are too cute. I do remember throwing out last year's massive hanging Christmas decoration globes, but they were nowhere this pretty.

As you can see, I've bought all 3 crushed pigment sets, the coral lipgloss set and the pink brush set. 

From Glamour Daze I bought 5 Extra Dimension eyeshadows, all 3 fluidlines and Everything That Glitters nail polish.

Have you purchased anything from the Mac holiday collections yet? Let me know in the comments.

See more pictures after the jump!

FOTD: Clothes and Jewellery Inspired Look With Urban Decay Book Of Shadows

I have pretty much run out of things to blog about other than a few random nail polish posts, due to the fact that it's been half-term school holiday and I haven't been able to take any pictures and do swatches. But fear not, my children are back in school and my husband is back at work tomorrow, so I will spend the day taking pictures, swatching products and there will be many new product reviews to come (because I have been buying things nevertheless!).

But for now, here's a look I did a month or so ago. This was actually inspired by the colours on my top and the necklace I was wearing that day. Do you do looks inspired by clothing/accessories?

To create this look I used the following:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Urban Decay Shattered eyeshadow in the inner corner of the lid
Urban Decay Scandal eyeshadow in the middle of the lid
Urban Decay Last Call eyeshadow in the outer corner of the lid and the crease
Urban Decay Virgin eyeshadow on the browbone to highlight
Urban Decay Electric and Rockstar 24/7 eyeliners on lower lashline
Cargo Lash Activator Mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Pet Me Mineralize Blush

Lips:
Guerlain 166 Shalimar Rouge Automatique Lipstick

See more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: A-England Lady Of The Lake

Today I have Lady Of The Lake from A-England to show you, a dark greyish purple polish with subtle holo. This is the second shade I've tried out, if you want to see Princess Tears in action, click here.

Taken without flash in direct sunlight

I did 2 coats with Seche Vite on top, then the following day I added an extra coat on top to see if it made any difference with the holo (top coats sometimes dim the holo effect), but I couldn't see a difference. The holographic effect is quite subtle, not as linear as Layla or Glitter Gal polishes, but it's still pretty.

The formula was nice and it lasted on me for 2 days with minimal chipping (I wore it for 3 days). That's 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!

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 02 Emerald Lust Swatches and Review

I have to admit, a few years ago I hadn't even heard of Tom Ford. It's only because of beauty blogs that I came across his name and make up brand. Up until a couple of weeks ago I didn't even own any make up from Tom Ford, only two fragrances. You see, they are ridiculously expensive for starters.

But then I saw this palette and decided I really really wanted it. Soft as butter eyeshadows, gorgeous colours, turquoise is one of my favourites, so what's not to like? Erm, it costs £62. Gulp. I thought about getting it in Harrods on their 10% off day, but still, £56. As luck would have it though, I saw it on eBay and after missing out on one auction I managed to get this for £36. Score!

Is it worth £62? I honestly couldn't say that it is. The eyeshadows are lovely, very soft and buttery, they last pretty well and the colours are gorgeous. But they are not in any way unique and while the quality of the shadows is great, I'm sure I have some Accessorize eyeshadows that are very similar and cost something like £6. Obviously you are paying for the brand as much as anything, and it does look and feel very luxurious, but I cannot recommend, hand on heart, that you absolutely must go and buy this for £62. It was a good buy for £36 though and I'm happy I got it.You get 6 g for your money which is okay, but not that much (eg. Guerlain quads are 7.2 g and cost £37).

Do you own and Tom Ford products? Anything you would recommend? Would you spend £62 on a palette? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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

Stila Seeing Stars Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Set

First of all, apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of days, but I've been very busy with my children. On Wednesday we spent the day preparing for Halloween, carved 4 pumpkins, decorated the house and I even did my first ever face painting. Today's been more about shopping, food as well as make up, I went to the Boots Points Event and to the Mac counter to pick up some of the new products from the holiday collection. Incidentally, I'm really behind with taking pictures and swatching, so there may be a small gap in posting, but normal service should resume come Tuesday.

Anyway, I'm pretty tired now, so this is going to be a very quick look at one of Stila's holiday offerings. What we have here is a set of 5 full size Smudge Sticks.

I just love great value sets and this is definitely one of those. You get £65 worth of eyeliners for £25. What's not to like? Smudge Sticks are very good eyeliners,they are waterproof and smudge-proof, they last for hours even on my waterline.

In this set you get Stargazer (black with gold and silver pearl), Angelfish (metallic pewter), Tetra (deep shimmery purple), Moray (golden olive shimmer) and Oscar Fish (warm brown with gold pearl). I believe that out of the 4 only Oscar Fish is limited edition, I only owned Tetra and Moray, so even that way it was worth buying as individually they cost £13 each. I can only see Moray listed on the Stila website, my Tetra came with one of the palettes, so I don't actually know if you can buy Stargazer or Angekfish separately. Maybe in the US?

My only criticism of Smudge Sticks is that you get very little for your money. While Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners contain 1.2 g, these Stila ones only contain 0.28 g each! However, these come in a plastic pencil and instead of sharpening them, you just twist them up as and when you need to. So I gues you save quite a bit that you would lose with sharpening, but I still think these could contain more product.

Other than that, Stila Smudge Sticks are great eyeliners and this set is certainly worth getting if you like them and don't already own many of the shades.

See more pictures after the jump!