Getting Out Of The Rut Days 3, 4 and 5

I know I've disappeared for a bit, but it doesn't mean I wasn't keeping up with the challenge. It just means I didn't have much time to post. The past 4 days though I have been slacking a bit, so no photos of that, but I did incorporate a few products in my make up that I'd not used for a while, mainly blushes and lipsglosses/lipsticks. Anyway, here are the photos of the days I did make an effort:

Products used (other than my staples): Mac Crushed Metallic Pigments in Moss Garden, Spruced and Silk Stocking, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Covet, Laura Geller Baked Blush in Bora Bora and Mac Lipgelee in Lush & Bright.

See 2 more looks after the jump!

Pink and Mauve FOTD

I did this look over a month ago when I had an entire morning to get ready and could actually experiment a bit. I really liked it, so I took pictures, and finally I have even managed to post them! I am also about to review the mascara I used, so I thought I might as well do the look first.

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Estee Lauder Vivid Shine Eyeshadow in Magenta all over the lid
Estee Lauder Vivid Shine Eyeshadow in Cyber Ruby in the crease
Estee Lauder Cyber Metallic Eyeshadow in Cyber Pink in the inner corner of the lid and on browbone to highlight
Mac pigment in Helium patted on top of Estee Lauder Vivid Shine Eyeshadow in Magenta
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Crash on lower lashline
Urban Decay Heavy Metal glitter eyeliner in Catfight on the upper 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
Laura Geller Baked Blush in Bali
Bare Minerals Ready Luminizer in The Love Affair

Lips:
Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in #78 Phoenix

Let me know what you think about this look in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Ombre Baked Blush in Pink Blossom Review and Swatches

I have another pretty Laura Geller blush to show you, this is an Ombre Baked Blush in Pink Blossom. I love it how you have different colour stripes, reminds me a bit of the Mac Blonde/Brunette/Redhead MSFs, only even prettier.

The stripes go from very pale pink to bright fuchsia pink. The overall effect is midtone bright pink. There's a subtle shimmer to all the shades, but no glitter. You could try using only a few of the strips together, but you certainly can't use them individually, because they are just too narrow. The powder feels very smooth and soft, but not very powdery, and it blends nicely. Another great Laura Geller product!

You will have seen the blush featured in this look already, but there's also a full face picture at the end of this post, as well as swatches of course.

I bought mine from eBay, but this is also available from QVC. It comes with a double ended brush/applicator (not pictured) and costs £23 plus £2.95 shipping cost. Also comes in a Peach colour which is like the look of, but not at that price. I paid £15 including postage for mine which is a lot more reasonable I think. You get 5 g of product for your money.

See more pictures after the jump!

Looks Featuring Sleek Make Up Sparkle 2 Palette - Part 3

Finally, the third part of my looks post featuring the new Sleek Make Up Sparkle 2 palette. I really liked this one too, I actually wore this on a night out, with a bit more smokiness in the crease. I am sporting a few other products in these pictures which will also be reviewed soon, so stay tuned.

To create this look I used:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Tinsel eyeshadow in the inner corner of the lid
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Illusion eyeshadow in the outer corner of the lid and in the crease
Mac Mating Call Mega Metal eyeshadow blended above the crease
Mac Vellum eyeshadow on the browbone to highlight
Mac Designer Purple pearlglide intense eye liner on lower lashline
Guerlain Noir G mascara
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
Laura Geller Ombre Baked Blush in Pink Blossom (will be reviewed soon)

Lips:
OCC Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Metallic Liptar in Yaoi (will be reviewed shortly)

See more pictures after the jump!

Looks Featuring Sleek Make Up Sparkle 2 Palette - Part 1

As promised, here are some of the looks I did with Sleek Make Up Sparkle 2 palette. As you will see, none of them are at all glittery, but the colours are really vivid and the shadows were so easy to blend. Really love this palette and have enjoyed using it so much!

First up is the one you have already seen a few times, actually my favourite one of them all. Part 2 and 3 will follow very shortly. Let me know what you think!

To create this look I used:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Gold Ribbon eyeshadow in the inner corner of the lid
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Chocolate Penny eyeshadow in the middle of the lid
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Mulled Wine eyeshadow in the outer corner of the lid
Sleek Make Up Sparkle Palette 2 Festive eyeshadow in the crease
Mac Peek At You Mega Metal eyeshadow on the browbone to highlight
Urban Decay Eldorado and Crash 24/7 eyeliners on lower lashline
Guerlain Noir G mascara
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
Laura Geller Baked Blush in Bali
ArtDeco Dita Von Teese Illuminating Baked Powder

Lips:

OCC Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Metallic Liptar in Super NSFW (will be reviewed shortly)

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Baked Blush in Bali Review and Swatches

As you might know, I'm a big fan of Laura Geller blushes and have a rather extensive collection of them. I often pick up the new shades from eBay as a lot of them are either not available in the UK or only available as sets, plus eBay is usually cheaper. I picked up this baked blush in Bali on eBay too, and while I expected it to be pretty nice, I was very pleasantly surprised by just how nice it is.

Bali is described as a "warm toasted apricot", I'd say it's a warm peachy-pink colour with just the tiniest hint of gold shimmer. It's very pigmented, so you need to be a bit careful, but it does give a very nice glow to your cheeks with a pop of colour. The texture is wonderfully soft, but not powdery, and it blends nicely. It also stays put very well.

You get 6.5 g which is a very generous amount for a blush. I don't know how much this costs in the UK or if it's even available, I've found some "mono blushes" on QVC for £17.75 (plus £2.95 postage), although neither of them seems to be this shade. I paid around £14 (shipped) on eBay.

I would definitely recommend this shade, this blush has really exceeded my expectations, even by Laura Geller's standards.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Bora Bora Review and Swatches

I was going to have this review up last night, but I had such a hectic day, I was pooped by 8 pm, sorry. Nowadays I try to do at least one post a day, but some days it's just not possible with 3 children and housework, shopping, other commitments.

Anyway, here we have another lovely blush form Laura Geller, a light peachy pink colour with subtle shimmer called Bora Bora. Once again, it's a baked formula which I really like, it's very similar to the Mac mineralize blushes. This one doesn't have any veining, only some suble light gold shimmer. Very soft, but not too powdery, pretty pigmented and despite it being quite a light colour, it still shows up very well on my skin. It gives a nice natural flush and the shimmer isn't too noticable, so it's a very wearable shade for lighter skin tones.

This one is a slightly smaller size from the usual Laura Geller blush size which is normally 9 g, but I guess that's probably way more blush than you would need in one colour anyway. This one is a 6.5 g size, which is about average. The blush comes in the usual black compact with half a mirror in the lid (the other half is clear plastic, so you can see the colour). I believe this was part of the Glow-n-Behold collection, but I bought it separately from eBay. I paid around £11 including postage which is not too bad, although I have actually seen it for quite a bit less too. 

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

Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow and Highlighter in Sand and Sea

I have another one of Laura Geller's Eye Elements, a compact containing 3 baked eyeshadows and a baked highlighter (that can also be used as an eyeshadow of course). I own a few of these already, for reviews and swatches, click here.

Sand and Sea is the newest shade containing a sand colour eyeshadow, a pinky bronze colour eyeshadow, a teal eyeshadow and a light pinky beige highlighter, suitable for cheeks and eyes. The eyeshadows used dry are a bit on the sheer side, especially the teal colour, it is also the most shimmery, but they are pretty colours, nice for creating a neutral look with a pop of colour. The highlighter is a little frosty, but it is still very wearable and it is certainly not glittery. The shadows and the highlighter are very soft and silky, with the exception of the teal one which is a bit crumbly.

I'm sure we've seen these colours before a million times, but it's still a nice compact, great colours for summer and it's a good all in one option. I really like the highlighter, it's very pretty. The compact contains 9 g of product altogether, so each block of colour is big enough to use separately and the highlighter portion is big enough for a blush brush.

I bought mine on eBay for just over £15 plus postage, but it is also available on QVC for £30.25 plus £2.95 p&p. I personally don't think these are worth £30, and that's why I buy them on eBay. If they were £20, I would consider buying them from QVC.

Anyway, see more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this after the jump.

Chanel Blue Illusion Collection - Illusion D'Ombre Review and Swatches and FOTD

I really like Chanel Illusion D'Ombres and one of the colours I was missing from the existing line was blue, so I was very excited when I found out about the exclusive Blue Illusion collection. It is/was an exclusive to Chanel Boutiques, Harrods and Selfridges, but luckily a kind friend picked them up for me, so I didn't have to resort to paying over £5 for postage costs.

Destination, Apparition

There are two Illusion D'Ombres in the collection, Destination, a light silver-blue colour and Apparition, a blackened blue. Destination has some shimmer in it, Apparition less so. I really like Destination, it's a very pretty colour, but I'm not bowled over by Apparition. It looks rather dull and was quite hard to blend, plus it smudged and partly disappeared by the evening. Destination lasted better, but it also faded significantly. I tried Apparition as a liner and that worked better for me.

All in all, these are not my favourites out of the Illusion D'Ombres I own (which is now 6 I believe). They are nice, but not that nice. At £23 each (for 4 g) I feel I didn't get very good value for my money.

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

Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Dreamsicle Review and Swatches

As you (might) know, I really like Laura Geller's blushes and I'm happy to show you my newest acquisition: Dreamsicle. A peach base with yellow and pink marble. When mixed together it makes a lovely peachy pink shade with a subtle sheen.

Laura Geller Blush n Brightens are really nice blushes, and I have a big collection of them (last updated collection post can be found here, although I have quite a bit more now). Just like the other blushes, Dreamsicle also comes in a round compact with mirror in half of the lid. You get 9 g for your money.

I usually buy my Laura Geller blushes on eBay and I think a lot of these aren't normally available in the UK (the ones that are you can buy from QVC). I paid around £13 plus postage for this which is a great price for the amount of product you get and the quality. It's very finely milled and nicely pigmented, not glittery at all, just has a subtle sheen and gives a nice glow. This shade is a very natural one and would suit lighter skintones very well.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

FOTD: Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow and Highlighter in Meadow Skies

Here's the look I did with my new Laura Geller Meadow Skies eyeshadow and highlighter compact. I like this look, I think the colours work well together and on me too. What do you think?

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Barbara Daly eyeshadow primer
Laura Geller Eye Elements in Meadow Skies khaki shade on middle of lid and above crease
Laura Geller Eye Elements in Meadow Skies forest green shade in crease
Laura Geller Eye Elements in Meadow Skies rose gold shade in inner corner
Laura Geller Eye Elements in Meadow Skies white gold highlighter on browbone
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Mildew on waterline
Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Guerlain Parure Aqua foundation in 02 Beige Clair
Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium
Mac Brunette Mineralize Skinfinish to contour
Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Tropic Hues
Laura Geller Eye Elements in Meadow Skies white gold highlighter

Lips:
Mac Rue d'Rouge Dazzleglass

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow And Highlighter in Meadow Skies

If you're wondering why this product looks so familiar, then don't worry, the answer is you've seen it before a few times on this blog - well, with different colours anyway. This is now the 4th version of Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow and Highlighter that I've picked up and reviewed on here. If you are interested in the other three, they can be found at the following links: Amethyst Skies, Sahara Skies and Smoke & Ice.

Once again, the compact contains 3 baked eyeshadows and a highlighter which can be used on the face or the eyes. The size of the compact (8 g, same size as the Blush n Brighten compacts) means that it's easy to use the shades individually and the highlighter portion is big enough for a blush brush, so you don't end up picking up the shadows at the same time. The shades work very well together, you get a golden khaki green/old gold shade, a frosty rose gold and a forest green, and the highlighter is a very pale white gold (think Nars Albatross in baked form). The rose gold shade is the frostiest of the bunch, the forest green shade is more satiny and the khaki/old gold shade is in between. The highlighter is quite frosty and has some very fine glitter, but it's still quite subtle for daytime looks. They are all really smooth and the eyeshadows stayed in place without creasing all day. There was minimal fallout during application which is expected with baked products and doesn't bother me at all.

I don't know what collection this came out with because I tend to buy my Laura Geller stuff on eBay, but I'm pretty sure it was part of one of those QVC value sets. I picked mine up for $20 which I feel is a good price for this. Once again, I'm happy with this product and would recommend you check it out if you can.

I will soon be posting a look I did with this compact, so be sure to check back soon. For now see lots more pictures including swatches after the jump!

FOTD: Gold And Purple Look With Stila's In The Moment Palette

I'm still playing catching up, so here's another quick post, this time a look I did with my new Stila In The Moment palette. I really liked this look, purple is one of my favourite colours and I think it works well with gold. I also tried out the new Mac Viva Glam Nicki lipstick for the first time and man, it is so bright! Fun colour though, just need sunglasses with it. Anyway, here's the look I did, let me know how you like it.

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Make UP For Ever Aqua Cream #11 (gold)
Stila In The Moment palette Spontaneous eyeshadow all over the lid
Stila In The Moment palette Glance eyeshadow in the crease
Stila In The Moment palette Instinct eyeshadow on browbone to highlight
Mac Superslick Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Show on upper lashline
L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner in Violet Volt on lower lashline
Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in 020 Cameo
Guerlain Meteorites Travel Touch loose powder in 01 Mythic
Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Sateen Subtle Orchid
Mac Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish to highlight

Lips:
Mac Viva Glam Nicki lipstick

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Smoke & Ice Collection Review and Swatches

I bought this Laura Geller set on QVC because I really like her eyeshadows and highlighters, but I have to say this one is a really funny one. The set contains Eye Elements Baked Eyeshadows and Highlighter in Smoke & Ice and lipstick in Nice-n-Nude.

You get 3 silver/grey/black eyeshadows and a highlighter which is a sort of ashy pink colour. Although the eyeshadows didn't swatch very well, once I applied them on my eyes over a primer, they were actually very nice with good colour payoff and lasted very well without creasing. The highlighter is a funny one, it's a ashy light pink colour. You will see in the pictures below, it doesn't really show up on me, which is probably for the best because it's not a very flattering colour at all. You also get a very brown nude lipstick which I haven't actually swatched because I know I will never wear it, so will probably sell it eventually. The set cost £25.20 plus £2.95 delivery cost from QVC.

All in all I don't think it was worth it, although the eyeshadows are good, the rest are just not suitable for me. I can see the highlighter work on my browbone as it has a grey hue to it, so it would go well with the eyeshadow trio, but on the cheeks it's too ashy.

See more pictures after the jump!

A Tropical FOTD With Famous Festival Palette

I don't stick to many rules when it comes to make up, I will wear any colour I like at any time of the year. I even match my make up to my clothes sometimes (shock horror)! So that is why I'm showing you a yellow, orange and bright pink tropical look in December (I actually wore this is November, but still)! It was a sunny day and I felt like doing something sunny, so I ended up with this. I even went to the supermarket like this, although that day I did wear my glasses instead of my contact lenses because my eyes were a bit sore, so they hid the brightness a bit.

I used my old Famous eyeshadow quad in Festival to create this look. By the way, whatever happened to Famous? It used to be sold in Superdrug, but then the Famous stand was replaced by MUA. I quite liked it, the products were cheap, but not bad quality. I have quite a few quads and a couple of trios. I also got some lipglosses and a face kit that was a bit rubbish though as the highlighter bit smashed into little pieces. Anyway... I do like this quad a lot, it's very cheerful.

So I used the yellow in the inner corner, the orange on the lid and the bright pink in the crease and blended them together. I added a light pink highlighter (also from Famous, from the infamous face kit) and Laura geller Angel baked eyeshadow on the browbone. I used Urban Decay 24/7 eyepencil in Zero on the waterline and Asphyxia on the lower lashline. I added Mac Dollymix blush on the cheeks and one of my Famous lipglosses (it's cherry red, but the writing has come off the tube, so no idea what shade it is). Ta-da!


What do you think? Do you wear bright summery make up in winter? Perhaps dark vampy lips in summer? Let me know in the comments!


See more photos including the quad after the jump!

Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow And Highlighter in Sahara Skies

As you might know by now I'm a big fan of Laura Geller's baked products, be it eyeshadows, blushes or highlighters. So it's no surprise that I have yet another one of her products to review today. This time it's a 2-in-1 (well, really 4-in-1) product that contains 3 eyeshadows and a highlighter. Same concept as the Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow And Highlighter in Amethyst Skies, just different colours. I believe this was part of the Lightness of Beauty Collection, but as I mainly purchase my Laura Geller make up from eBay, I didn't get anything else.

I love this product. The eyeshadow colours are plum, shimmery gold and brown, they are well pigmented and apply and blend easily, plus they stay on well without creasing. The highlighter I believe is called Portofino (according to the eBay listing), but I forgot to swatch it against my other Portofino highlighter, sorry. It's a lovely champagne colour highlighter, quite subtle and not at all glittery. The compact is 8 g, so a very reasonable size and this retails around $20 I believe. I haven't seen this for sale in the UK, but I would expect it around £20. 

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Pink Buttercream Swatches and Review

I have another Laura Geller blush to show you today, this one is called Pink Buttercream and it was part of the Bake Sale Baked Colour Collection. I don't know if the set was/is available in the UK, I bought mine from eBay and only got the blush. So I also don't know how much the set cost or even the blush, although I don't think it's available separately anyway.

The blush is a gorgeous slightly frosty cool pink shade, but it also has some copper veining to warm it up a bit. It reminded me of the Sateen Subtle Orchid blush, although that doesn't have the copper veining. According to Laura Geller's blog: "Blush-n-Brighten Baked Cheek Color in Pink Buttercream is the perfect petal hue swirled with copper and gold flecks (and it’s perfect for every Geller Girl). It leaves cheeks rosy and glowing." While it's quite frosty, it's not glittery at all, so no worries about glitter on your face.

This particular blush comes in a shiny brown compact with the usual half mirror in the lid. You get 9 g for your money as usual. I think this is a really nice addition to the Laura Geller blush line and my collection.

I've included a picture of me wearing the blush as well as hand swatches, be sure to check them out after the jump!

We have a winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my 200,000 follower giveaway! I am pleased to announce that the winner of the giveaway is:

Claire@Eyelining!

Well done to Claire and once again thank you all for being my followers. There will be other giveaways in the near future, so don't dispare if you haven't won.

200,000 Pageviews and Laura Geller Giveaway! *CLOSED*

***The Giveaway Is Now Closed!***

Firstly, I am really amazed to see that my little blog has been visited 200,000 times over the last 2 and a bit years. More amazingly the last 100,000 pageviews happened in the last 6 months. Wow! So to celebrate and say thank you to all my lovely readers and followers, I have a little something to give away to one lucky winner. The prize is one beautiful Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Como. It's full size (9 g) and comes in a special edition gold colour compact (see below).

To win this beautiful blush all you have to do is be a follower of my blog (new followers are very welcome) and post a comment below with your e-mail address. For up to 2 extra entries you can also tweet about the giveaway (make sure you include me @Anitacska in your tweet) or post a link to the giveaway on your blog (make sure you let me know the link as I will be checking). You can do both or either for one extra entry each. Remember, you MUST be a follower or none of your entries will count! You must also leave a comment below with your e-mail address to enter. Competition is open worldwide! Competition closes at midnight (UK time) on Friday 21st October 2011. Good luck!

Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow/Eye Rimz in Cinnamon Swirl/Mint Chocolate Chip + FOTD

Bit of a mouthful, huh? Anyway, this is my newest Laura Geller baked eyeshadow, it cam out in the same (Vanilla Nudes) collection as the Baked Dreams Cheek Highlighter and Blush I told you about the other day.

What you have hereis basically a baked eyeshadow duo. On the left you get a mixture of autumnal shades: orange, brown and khaki swirled together. On the right you have a very shimmery blackened green eyeshadow that can also be used as a highlighter. I have found that it is best used wet because otherwise it's a bit chalky and the shimmers get lost when applied to the eyelids dry. I used it wet as an eyeliner and it is gorgeous. The left side of the eyeshadow is slightly larger and has good chunks of separate colours, so I managed to pick out the orange and khaki (but there's a nice big brown patch too) to create the look you can see at the bottom of the post. The left side is perfectly good applied dry, in fact I never even tried it wet.

I used my Barbara Daly eyeshadow primer under this and the shadows didn't crease at all and still looked the same 10+ hours later. There was minimal fallout during application, but nothing afterwards. The compact is 1.8 g, so pretty much standard baked eyeshadow size. As it was part of a set, I haven't got a price for this, I don't think it's available to puchase on its own anyway.

Make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of this post as I have a look I've created with this eyeshadow duo which I think turned out really well actually. There are also swatches after the jump.