VIVO Baked Blush in Rouge Shimmer (Shade 4) Review and Swatches

As you can see, I'd bought a few blushes lately, I have another beauty to show you. In fact you will have already seen swatches of this with the Mac Supercontinental blush swatches (I was lazy to do two sets of photos), but you will see those at the bottom of this post again anyway.

You can buy VIVO blushes in Tesco, I'm not sure if they're actually Tesco's own brand, but in any case, VIVO products are very affordable and actually really good quality. As you know I'm a sucker for baked and mineralize products, so I find it very hard to walk past a VIVO stand wihout picking up one of their baked products. At £4 a pop it's really not a bad addiction, and this shade is particularly lovely and the blush is a nice addition to my stash.

Rouge Shimmer is a soft raspberry pink shade, it is quite a bit lighter than Nars Outlaw and doesn't have any of the gold shimmer, so this is actually more cool toned. It has a nice sheen, perhaps a little bit frosty, but there's absolutely no glitter. It is very soft and nicely pigmented. You get 8 g for £4 which makes it a very good value.

Have you tried VIVO products? What did you think of them?

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

Barbara Daly Long Wear Eyeshadow Pencils Review and Swatches

On a recent trip to Tesco I found these Barbara Daly Long Wear Eyeshadow Pencils and thought I'd give them a try. They look very similar to the Topshop ones which I love and at £6.75 each you can't go too wrong. I bought two shades, Shimmer Sand (pinky beige with high sheen, no shimmer despite the name) and Black Marble (shimmery charcoal grey).

The eyeshadows claim to be long wearing and creaseproof. I agree with them being long-wearing, once they set, they're not going anywhere and last through the whole day, but they aren't as creaseproof as I had hoped (in particular Shimmer Sand). I wore Shimmer Sand with and without a primer, without it creased quite significantly. With primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) it also creased a bit, but wasn't too noticable. I haven't tried it as a base yet. As I often wear cream eyeshadows when I don't have much time to get ready as they're so easy, I expect them to be creaseproof, at the very least on top of primer. With Shimmer Sand it wasn't too bad as it's a lighter shade. I wore Black Marble yesterday in the crease very lightly applied and blended very thouroughly with a crease brush and it held up beautifully without creasing. So maybe the secret is to apply a very thin layer and blend out very thouroughly.

The formula is very nice, the eyeshadow glides on very easily and can be blended out with your finger as well as a brush. They dry pretty quickly and once set, you need make up remover to get them off. Both colours are lovely, Black Marble has some fine shimmer whereas Shimmer Sand has more of a sheen instead of shimmer. Shimmer Sand reminds me of Urban Decay Sin Primer Potion. There are also two other shades available, Bronze Gold and Sand. You get 1.64 g and the product comes in a twist pen with a lid.

These eyeshadows cost £6.75 and there's currently a 3 for 2 offer on all Barbara Daly products at Tesco.

See more pictures after the jump!

Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows Review and Swatches Part 3

You may remember that I have reviewed some of these new Barbara Daly Satin Swirl eyeshadows before (click here for my review) and at the time I was sure I'd seen pictures of some other shades on the display stand, but could only find 6 initially. Well, I have managed to track down the remaining 4 shades and yes, there is a purple and a green one as I initially thought.

Top row: Oyster, Rose Lace
Bottom row: Whirl, Twilight

That's the good news. The bad news is that these are - for some reason - nowhere near as nice as the other 6 shades. I was most disappointed in the gorgeous purple (Twilight), it looks so intense in the pan yet it has a poor colour payoff. I have swatched them with my fingers which always give a better colour payoff, and I have applied them with a brush, but either way all I got was a sheer wash of colour. The green one (Whirl) and the champagne colour (Oyster) are the most pigmented of the bunch, although Oyster is very light, so it's not very easy to see, but it does make a lovely highlighter. The dusty pink shade (Rose Lace) looks quite dull in the pan and also when swatched, it doesn't really show up on my skin.

I haven't worn Whirl yet, but I did a look with the other 3 (sorry, no pictures, I'm really rubbish at taking pictures at the moment) and the colours were very sheer, although you can build them up slightly. I guess it's good news for those who don't like/want to wear very bright colours. I ended up adding Mac Grand Galaxy Extra Dimension eyeshadow in the crease because Twilight was just not cutting it as a crease colour. Otherwise they wore pretty well and didn't crease at all (I had Too Faced Shadow Insurance under them). At £8 each for 2.5 g they're still not bad value, but compared to the other 6 shades I felt these, especially Rose Lace and Twilight, were a a bit of a letdown.

These are now available online from Tesco Direct as well as in-stores, although I believe that these 4 shades are only available in selected stores (none of mine had them). There is currently a 3 for 2 offer on all Barbara Daly products.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Recent Haul Pictures

I'm still playing catch up when it comes to writing blog posts, so I thought I'd do a quick one about my recent make up (and mostly nail polish!) purchases. I don't think I will get around to reviewing many of these anytime soon (I have one review coming), but if you are really interested in something, let me know in the comments. So without further ado, here are the pictures:

My Cherry Culture order

First up lots of lovely Milani stuff. I bought these from Cherry Culture when they recently had a 20% sale. Shipping was quite expensive, but I was very pleased that I didn't have to also pay customs duty and the horrendous £8 Royal Mail fee on top of it all, so the above came to a total of £60 which isn't too bad actually.

See what other products I bought after the jump!

Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows Review and Swatches Part 2

As I promised in the Mac In Extra Dimension post, here's the review of the second three shades of these lovely eyeshadows. They look very much like the Mac ones, don't they? I don't know if the texture similar, although these are definitely powder eyeshadows, whereas the Mac ones are supposed to be a gel/powder hybrid I think, like the Estee Lauder Cyber Eyes eyeshadows.

I got the following shades here: Crystal, Gold Dust and Sequins. To see the other three shades and a more detailed review, check out this post. For some reason I thought there was a green and purple one of these as well, but I've only ever seen the 6 shades I own, so maybe not then. Do let me know if you've found any other shades. These are £8 each, but there's been an ongoing 3 for 2 offer on all Barbara Daly make up, so it works out cheaper that way.

I wore all 3 shades over one of the Topshop crayons and they stayed all day without creasing, exactly like the other 3 shades did. Really pleased with these and wouldn't mind if they were available in more shades (I'm thinking pink, purple, teal, green...).

Anyway, there are swatches after the jump, so keep reading!

Want It: Mac In Extra Dimension Collection May 2012

I always get excited when new collections with pretty powders and palettes are released (see my recent post on the new Chantecaille palette) and it's no different when it comes to Mac's upcoming In Extra Dimension collection. Due out in May the collection includes 3 new Extra Dimension Skinfinishes and 10 new Extra Dimension Eyeshadows. The formula of these is supposed to be similar to Estee Lauder Cyber Eyes eyeshadows and gelee powders (Modern Mercury and lately Topaz Chameleon) which are all lovely, so no wonder I'm excited about these!

And if you're thinking you might have seen the design somewhere, you're not wrong! Do you remember these Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyeshadows? Similar pattern without the "Mac" bit obviously. (I actually have the Barbara Daly shadows in 3 more shades - must review them soon!)

Anyway, the skinfishes and eyeshadows come in the following shades:

Extra Dimension Skinfinish 

Whisper Of Gilt - light soft white gold with shimmery sheen 

Superb - soft peach nude with multi dimensional shimmer 

Glorify - copper golden shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadows 

Warm Thunder - midtone silver grey

Blue Orbit - light iridescent purple 

Grand Galaxy - midtone violet 

Lunar - royal blue 

Havanna - midtone copper brown 

Sweet Heat - bright peach champagne

Modern Pewter - midtone olive gold 

Rich Core - midtone aubergine

Dark Dare - charcoal black 

Young Venus - pale white pink

To be honest I would've liked to see some more fun shades, greens and yellows perhaps, since a few of these colours are really similar to the Estee Lauder Cyber Eyes eyeshadows.  But I'm still looking forward to trying these out and I'll probably end up with a good few of them.

See lots of photos after the jump!

FOTD with Accessorize Merged Eyeshadow in Purple Drama

This is the look I created with the Accessorize Purple Drama Merged Eyeshadow I showed you earlier this week. I really liked this look, I generally love purples and I especially adore Stila's Royal (purple) Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner which always makes any purple look pop. I used the pink part of the eyeshadow on the lid and the purple in the crease and it worked really well.

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Barbara Daly Even Smoother Eye Base
Accessorize Merged Eyeshadow in Purple Drama all over lid and in crease
Mac Vellum eyeshadow on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero on waterline
Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Royal on upper lashline
Guerlain Noir G de Guerlain mascara in Noir
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Guerlain Parure Aqua foundation in 02 Beige Clair
Guerlain Radiant Butterfly Meteorites Voyage Powder
Blush from Vivo Baked Shimmer Palette in Paparazzi

Lips:
Chanel Glossimer in #104 Astral

See more pictures after the jump!

Vivo Baked Shimmer Palette in Paparazzi Review and Swatches

I've recently reviewed the Chocolate Box Palette and today I have Paparazzi to show you. Like the Chocolate Box Palette this one also contains 4 baked eyeshadows (1g each) and a baked blush (2.5g).

The colours in the pan seem very vivid, but they are actually quite sheer, but of course buildable. They swatch quite sheer, but you can pack them on and they actually look very nice when worn. I've included pictures of the look I did with the pink and purple shades at the bottom of the post. The shadows are shimmery with fine glitter, but there was only minimal fallout during application and none afterwards, so that's not an issue. They also stayed on without creasing for 10+ hours. The blush is pretty much the same shade as the one in the Chocolate Box Palette, but this one has less bronze veining, so it appears a bit more pink and less coral. You can see a picture of me wearing the blush at the very bottom of this post.

I like this palette a little less than the Chocolate Box Palette, but it's still nice and for the price of £6 it's a total bargain. It would be better if the blush was different in every palette (not sure about the other two, I don't own them), but due to the difference in veining it still is a bit pinker than the other one.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Vivo Baked Shimmer Palette in Chocolate Box Review and Swatches

I'd heard so much about Tesco's new make up line, Vivo, so when I was doing some Christmas grocery shopping I decided to check it out. I brought home this lovely Baked Shimmer Palette in Chocolate Box. The palette contains four baked eyeshadows and a baked blush. The shadows are a mixture of two-three colours each, so it's a little hard to see what the mixed colour will be, and I was rather surprised to find that the eyeshadow on the right turned out to be a bluey lilac shade (not very chocolatey if you ask me), but it is actually really lovely.

All four eyeshadows are really pigmented and smooth, soft and buttery, they go on really nicely with minimal fall out and once on the eyelids, there is no fallout whatsoever. There was also no creasing at all. I created a look with the shade on the right and the third shade from the right (or second left, not counting the blush, if you prefer) and it was really lovely. (Sorry about the photos, I never got aruond to taking pictures of the palette before using it, so there's some powder around the shades I used.) The blush is a pretty pinky coral everyday blush, it's quite pigmented, but not crazily so, it's shimmery, but not glittery. All in all I am very happy with this palette and it has definitely made me want to check out the rest of the range. The palette cost £6 and there are 4 different shades in the range available from Tesco (sadly not online).

Do you own any make up from the Vivo range? Let me know in the comments.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

FOTD With Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows

This is the look I did with my new Barbara Daly eyeshadows, Navy Reflection and Cinder Shine. I used Cinder Shine all over the lid and Navy Reflection in the crease.

Here's a list of all the products I used to create this look:

Eyes:
Barbara Daly Even Smoother Eye Base
Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadow Cinder Shine all over the lid
Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadow Navy Reflection in the crease
Chantacaille La Baleine Bleue Eyeshadow Palette light grey shade on the inner corner of lid and above crease
Chantacaille La Baleine Bleue Eyeshadow Palette highlighter shade on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero on waterline
Gosh Velvet Touch Waterproof Eyeliner in Cool Mint on lower lashline
No 7 Exceptional Definition Nutrient Enriched Mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
17 Blemish Balm (will review this soon)
Guerlain Radiant Butterfly Meteorites Voyage Powder
Chantecaille Blush in Laughter
Chantecaille La Baleine Blanche Face Palette

Lips:
Chanel Rouge Allure in Belgravia

See more pictures after the jump!

Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

On a recent trip to Tesco I discovered these new eyeshadows by Barbara Daly and decided to give them a go. I was sucked in by the pretty swirly wavy design (as usual), but it turns out these eyeshadows are more than just a pretty face.

I bought Navy Reflection, Taupe Ripple and Cinder Shine, but I think there's another 3 shades in the range (I did see a highlighter colour, and I think there's a purple and green one as well which were out of stock). They cost £8 each, but there was a 3 for 2 offer, so got 3 for £16 which I thought was okay. £8 each is a bit expensive in my opinion for a supermarket brand, but having said that, these eyeshadows are really good quality. I will definitely keep an eye out for the other shades.

As you can see in the pictures, the eyeshadows have a wavy pattern which is actually raised, so it looks pretty cool. It reminded me of the upcoming Estee Lauder gel eyeshadows (to look at), but these are definitely powder, not gel/hybrid. I was very pleasantly surprised when I swatched them, they are very pigmented and smooth. I have worn Navy Reflection and Cinder Shine (will be posting the FOTD soon) and they lasted really well, they applied beautifully and were easy to blend. They honestly feel like high end eyeshadows to me, they have a very nice texture and the colours are lovely too. My favourite of the three is Taupe Ripple, it's such a gorgeous taupe with a hint of sheen (not shimmer). You get 2.5 g per pot which is a good amount. I can happily recommend these eyeshadows and will be looking out for more shades myself.

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

See more pictures after the jump!