Stuck in a Rut

I don't expect many people to read this post since this blog has been inactive for so long, so I guess I'm mostly just writing this to myself. But if you do read it, feel free to let me know in the comments.

So it's been a long time since I wrote much on here and even then it was mostly about nail polish. That's the only part of my beauty routine that I'm actually varying at all. I do a new mani at least 3 times a week and I've been buying soooo much nail polish, it's shameful. Make up, not so much, although I have bough the odd blush or lipstick, even foundation, I haven't really been keenly following the new releases. I guess it's partly because I have a massive stash already and most of the new releases look similar to what I already have, and I simply don't need any more. Not that I need more nail polish, but that's another matter. Anyway...

Despite owning a massive amount of make up, I have only been using a very small portion of it. Why? Mostly due to lack of time in the morning, partly due to how my make up is stored. So I tend to just use about 5 different blushes and maybe 10 different lipsticks, hardly get around to wearing eyeshadows, and things like highlighters - what's that? This evening I was looking for a couple of old Mac face products as I was reminded of the summer collection from 5 years ago by a blogger and in the process I decided to look through my 6 drawer chest that contains most of my Mac blushes, MSFs, lots of other blushes and a whole drawer full of again, mostly Mac lipglosses. I don't think I'd opened that drawer for a good year if not longer. This gave me an idea.

From now on, starting tomorrow, I'm going to try and use as much of my make up as possible. Instead of frantically trying to find something in the morning, giving up and settling for the same blush I use most days, I will pull out a few products the night before and actually plan my look in advance. I will also document what I wear on here (might not be photos of my face, maybe just the products for starters) as well as keep note of it on a spreadsheet (which I'm yet to put together). Why? Because I need to get out of the rut and realise just how many wonderful products I own and need to use. I will also aim to post pictures of my manis and nail polish purchases which I will also try to finally curb, but that's another matter.

So here we go, first step out of the beauty rut and onto a journey to rediscover my stash. Who's coming with me?

Mac Playland Collection Lipstick Swatches

Okay, so I realise this might be too little too late considering how quickly Mac limited edition collections sell out, but I thought I'd show you the 3 lipsticks I bought from the Playland collection anyway.

I got Toying Around, Red Balloon and Head In The Clouds (left to right). Toying Around is a bright coral pink lipstick, Red Balloon is a hot fuchsia colour and Head In The Clouds is a nice warm red with subtle shimmer. The first two are amplified creme finish and Head In The Clouds is frost finish, so not as creamy and less opaque. My swatches show just one swipe of each lipstick except for HITC which needed more to build up the colour. This isn't necessarily bad as some people may be afraid of too bright, strong colours and red can be a tricky one to wear. I like them all equally.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Mac In Extra Dimension Collection April 2013 *WITH PROMO PICTURES*

I now have the promo pictures for Mac's upcoming In Extra Dimension collection, due in April in the US and May in the UK. The collection contains extra dimension eyeshadows, blushes and skinfinishes, all made from the same gelee powder as the previous two collections' products as well as Estee Lauder's gelee powder products.

Here are the collection details:

Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Double Definition - Soft shimmery gold / Patina bronze
Shape The Future - Pastel pink with iridescence / Soft brick with shimmer
Definitely Defined - Silvery pink / Soft rose with shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
Zestful - Pale iridescent lime
Extra Silver - True silver
Dimensional Blue - Frosty blue
Opalesse - Opalescent white with pink pearlized pigments
Triple Impact - Opalescent lavender with violet pearlized pigment
Smoky Mauve - Mid-tone mauve

Extra Dimension Blush
Flaming Chic - Bright blue pink
Bareness - Rosy beige pink
At Dusk - Mid-tone rose pink
Fiery Impact - Burnt red bronze
Blazing Haute - Mid-tone peach

128 Brush - Split Fibre Cheek Brush

235 Brush - Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush

See more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: China Glaze Strap On Your Moonboots Holographic Polish

It's been a long and horrible day, so I only have the energy for a quick post, but I wanted to share this with you as it's so pretty. Strap On Your Moonboots is the first shade from the China Glaze Hologlam collection that I've tried on my fingers. This was the one that arrived broken, so I decided to quickly use it while I could. I now have a new bottle and managed to save most of the broken one, so all's good.

The formula was a little thick, but it could've been due to the fact that the polish hadn't been in a sealed bottle for a few days. After adding a few drops of thinner it was fine and easy to work with. I used 2 coats, but frankly, one would've been pretty much enough. It dried quickly which was just as well as I didn't use a topcoat. The holo effect isn't as strong as some others (Color Club, Glitter Gal, Layla), but it is very smooth and looks very classy. The colour is gorgeous, it's a smokey denim blue colour, again rather classy and unique (for me anyway). I was pleasantly surprised to find that it lasted relatively well too, I'd heard horror stories about the China Glaze OMG holos. It didn't chip at all for the first 24 hours and still looked good on the second day.

All in all, I really like this polish, even though the holo effect isn't nearly as strong as I had hoped. I ordered mine from Nail Polish Direct and they cost £8.95 for 14 ml each. I have seen these on BeautyBay for £16 each which is a joke though, I'm sorry, but these are never worth that much!

See more pictures after the jump!

Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick Review and Swatches

I've bought surprisingly small amount of make up lately which isn't like me at all, but this is one of the lovely things I did buy, Bobbi Brown's new Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick. You know how I love and collect Shimmer Bricks, so of course I couldn't not get this one, I just have to have them all.

Lilac Rose is part of the spring collection that I've already told you about here. I didn't get anything else, although there are undoubtedly some gorgeous bits and bobs in the collection. The Shimmer Brick comes in the usual square black packaging with a full size mirror in the lid. You have 5 different colour stripes, "featuring bright pink, golden pink, and icy pink pearl pigments perfect for light to medium skin tones. Each bar also doubles up as eye shadow." (Quoted from the Bobbi Brown website)

Despite its name, there is nothing lilac about this Shimmer Brick, but at least there is rose. Swirled together the shades give a frosty light rosey pink colour. This is definitely a highlighter, not really dark enough to be worn as blush, also it is rather frosty. In the pictures below I wore it on top of Bobbi Brown Maui Illuminating Bronzing Powder (by the way, Bobbi Brown, it's not a bronzing powder, it's a BLUSH!!!) and it gave me a nice sheen. It can be easy to overdo, so you definitely need a light hand when applying it.

It costs £32 for 10.3 which is the standard weight of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. It is a limited edition shade, but luckily Bobbi Brown collections don't sell out very quickly, so it is still available from Bobbi's website and some department stores.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Mac Baking Beauties Collection for Spring 2013

Mac has a very pretty collection coming out in April (I believe May in the UK) and I really wanted to share the promo pictures and collection details with you.

Pretty, isn't it? To be honest, despite the edible promo pictures and gorgeous colours I don't actually want many things from the collection. Since I'm on a lip product no-buy, I will be skipping the lipsticks and lip balms. I am rather interested in the new paint pots and the pearlmatte powders, although the pattern on those does remind me of the embroidery my grandmother used to make (and that's not necessarily the best thing to be reminded of when it comes to a hip and happening brand like Mac).

Here are the collection details, let me know what you're lemming! (Collection details taken from Specktra with thanks to the user Mac-Guy.)

Lipstick

Rasberry Swirl - Light white blue pink (Cremesheen)

Pure Decoration - Light white peach (Cremesheen)

Lavender Whip - Light cool lavender (Cremesheen)

Devil's Food - Glossy deep plum (Frost)

Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm

Sweet Tooth - Creamy lilac

Baking Beauty - Creamy light peach

Glace' - Creamy pale baby blue 

Cheery Cherry - Creamy mid-tone blue pink

Pro Longwear Pain Pot
Fancy Frosting - Frosted white
Mooncake - Warm beige
Eclair - Light chocolate with gold pearlized pigments
Let's Skate - Pale pink with pearlized pigments
Dangerous Cuvee - Frosted cool grey

Glitter
Reflects Transparent Teal - Sparkling white with turqoise
Pink - Bright pink

Haute & Naughty Lash
Black

Pearlmatte Face Powder

In For A Treat - Champagne base with matte coral flowers and mint leaves

Pink Buttercream - Light silvery pink base with dark pink flowers and periwinkle leaves

Lustre Drops

Pink Rebel - Blue pink with gold pearlized pigments

Nail Lacquer

Blue Velvet - Light periwinkle blue (Cream)

Confectionary - Light blue pink (Cream)
Pistachio Creme - Light teal mint (Cream)

129 Brush

Powder/Blush Brush 

252 Brush

Large Shader Brush

See more pictures after the jump!

China Glaze Hologlam Collection Haul and Swatches

My China Glaze Hologlam collection holographic nail polishes arrived today! I was so excited, I had to take pictures and swatch them all. Unfortunately one of them (Strap On Your Moonboots) broke in transit, so there is quite a bit of polish on some of the other bottles, but I just quickly wanted to take some pictures while it was sunny. Luckily the bottle didn't smash completely, only the top broke off, so I could still swatch the polish (there's about 2/3 left in the bottle as it remained standing).

I haven't worn any of them yet, so can't comment on wear time. The swatches show just one coat, I'd probably do two for a better coverage, but they are nicely pigmented. The holo effect isn't as strong as some other (namely Color Club and Glitter Gal), but it's not too bad, it's still linear and perfectly visible. The pictures were taken in strong sunlight, so they are as good as they get. All the pictures were taken without flash.

The colours are nice, not massively unique, but pretty anyway. OMG A UFO looks rather yellow/gold in the pictures, it's actually more khaki than yellow in real life. Don't Be A Lunatic and Sci-Fly By are very close, Sci-Fly By is a little bit darker, but hardly noticable. Get Out Of My Space and Astro Hot look quite similar in the pictures, but Get Out Of My Space is definitely more purple in real life.

While the holo effect isn't as strong as I hoped, these polishes are really nice and I'm glad I got them all. I ordered mine from Nail Polish Direct and they cost £8.95 for 14 ml each.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Spring 2013: Meteorites Perles du Paradis

For me the most anticipated product in the Guerlain spring collection was the new Meteorites named Perles du Paradis. As you probably know, I collect Meteorites and if you want, you can check out my extensive collection here (although it doesn't include the holiday Meteorites which you can see by clicking here).

Now about these new Meteorites. They come in a gorgeous light pink cardboard container (the old style, pre-2010 before the tins with the lids) which looks very glam and pretty. It's a larger than normal size (comparable to the 2008 Butterfly Pearls container) and contains 53 g of product which is 23 g more than the regular Meteorites. The pearls are bigger too, probably not quite as large as the Butterfly ones, but prety big. The container also comes with a pink furry powder puff with a black bow on top of it.

When I opened the container and removed the puff I was shocked to see how little there was at the bottom of the container. I know that promo images usually show more products and more vivid colours, but I was still very surprised to see that the container is basically half full and the colours are quite a bit duller than the promo images were. There has to be quite a big gap left for the puff, it's more bulky than the usual sponge on top of the pearls, but it does look rather odd that there are only 2 layers of pearls at the bottom of the container.

Product-wise it's also a little disappointing as I was expecting it to have more of a colour payoff, I was hoping it would be useable as a subtle blush (like the Blushy Blush Red Pearls from years ago). It's not, it's pretty much colourless. It is also not at all shimmery on me, which is a bit odd since they named it "Illuminating Sparkling Powder". It's basically another finishing powder which is fine, because that's what Meteorites are supposed to be. So I'm not saying it's bad, I just probably had a bit high expectations. All in all it's a lovely product, very pretty and smells gorgeous. And the container is just so adorable.

The new Guerlain spring collection is now available from Debenhams, House of Fraser and other department stores and online retailers. You get 53 g product for £43 or it's only £38.70 from Escentual. Debenhams are giving away a free Guerlain mascara sample with every order, plus you get 500 extra points if you spend £35.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Chantecaille Painting in Venice Palette Review and Swatches

If you've been reading my blog for a while you will know that I love Chantecaille and have quite an extensive collection of their pretty palettes and powders. I also have a couple of big palettes that I've managed to buy on eBay for much less than their retails price (which is somewhere around the £130 mark here in the UK) and now I have a new addition to my collection: the Paining in Venice palette.

I believe this palette was released in 2003 and it contains 7 eyeshadows and one blush. Most of the shades are actually permanent, but the beauty of this palette is that even though it's really expensive, it's still a great value. Refills for Chantecaille palettes cost $25/£23 each, that makes $200/£184 plus the empty "Ma" palette (the large 8 pan palette) costs an extra $52/£48(?). So $135/£135 is really a bargain, right?

Of course it's not just about the money, Chantecaille products are very high quality and the colours in this palette are really lovely. You get cheek shade in Joy which is a bright rosy pink colour, and 7 eyeshadows in Lasting and Shine finish: Agate, Freesia, Pyrite, Lemongrass, Peony, Patchouli and Perle. They are all really lovely and well pigmented, smooth and blendable, plus they stay on all day without creasing (over a primer).

I bought this palette on eBay and paid $80 plus $15 shipping, so it was certainly a lot cheaper than even the original retail price. Plus this isn't actually available anymore, although most of the shades are. Anyway, I'm very happy with it and will be keeping an eye out for other palettes on eBay.

You can see my rather out of date post on my Chantecaille collection that also contains my other two big Chantecaille palettes by clicking here.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Sequin Lipstick Review and Swatches

This is not a new purchase, but I wore it the other day and felt it was rather unappreciated in my collection, because it's actually a really lovely shade. I bought Mac Sequin lipstick with my Back to Mac empties a while (2 years or so) ago, but I've not really given it much love.

Sequin lipstick is a frost finish, so can be a little uneven, but two layers should sort that out. Mac says is "plum-pink with pink shimmer", but it looks more brown-pink on me. It's a nice colour and it's very suitable for my colouring. It lasted on me for an average 2-3 hours depending on whether I drank anything or not, it did not last through eating.

As with other Mac lipsticks it costs £14 for 3 g. Sequin is one of Mac's permanent lipsticks, so it is available to purchase at any time. Check it out next time you're at a Mac counter!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Guerlain Holiday 2012 Haul Part 4 - Meteorites Wulong Exceptional Pressed Powder

The most anticipated items of the new Guerlain Holiday 2012 Collection for me were the Meteorites Perles and Meteorites Wulong Voyage Powder. I collect these two powders and am always very eager to purchase them.

This year's Wulong Voyage Powder is very similar to the permanent Mythic powder and the limited edition Imperial powder form 2009, only the colours are different. I prefer these powders to have more intricate designs, like 2010's Poudre D'Or or 2008's Radiant Butterfly Voyage Powder, but I'll take what I can get anyway.

Voyage Powders are basically Meteorites in pressed form, which means they're more travel friendly. These powders are the ultimate luxury items, the powders are gorgeous, soft, velvety, and they come in gorgeous compacts. This year's compact is black with mother of pearl rosette detailing. These compacts are very expensive, with the product costing £110, the powder refills are around £30 so the compact is basically the difference. They are, obviously, refillable, but you can't normally get the limited edition refill, only the permanent Mythic powder refill.

You get 7.5 g of powder, so gram per gram these compacts are way more expensive than the loose Meteorites Perles, but they make an excellent collector's item and these compacts are just so cool to pull out in the ladies room. Incidentally, if you watch Homeland, did you notice Carrie had one of these (the permanent compact) in one of the earlier episodes?

I apologise I haven't swatched this yet, I didn't want to mess up the powder until I get myself a back up (yes, I am that crazy). I managed to get this one on eBay for quite a bit less than £110, so hoping to be able to score another one, if not on eBay, then in the after Christmas sales.

As you know, I collect these beauties and in case you haven't see my collection, you can check it out here, although it needs updating as those pictures don't include Poudre D'Or (which you can see by clicking here) or Wulong.  

PS. My computer monitor has broken, so I'm typing this on my laptop. Hopefully I'll be able to get a replacement monitor tomorrow, because I really hate editing pictures and typing on the laptop, but in the meantime, please bear with me.

See more pictures after the jump!

My Mac By Request Haul With Swatches

I wasn't sure whether or not to write this post as Mac collections tend to sell out so quickly, there's hardly anything left 2-3 days after release day. This is especially true of online only collections. However, despite being released on Monday, Mac's newest collect By Request is still in stock as we speak, so I thought I might as well show you what I got and do some quick swatches in case you see something you like. I haven't worn any of them yet, so I won't be doing a proper review.

I bought Moth Brown and Guacamole eyeshadows, Moxie and Rocker lipsticks, Bait, Flash of Flesh and Cult of Cherry lipglasses. I didn't get Candy Yum Yum or Jete because I already owned them from earlier releases.

The eyeshadows cost £12, the lipsticks are £14 and the lipglasses are £13.50 each. The collection is exclusive to the Mac UK website. Have you picked up anything from the collection? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Styleseeker Collection Sneak Peek - Eden Rouge Mattene Lipstick

Mac's one of many new collections, Styleseeker (due to be released in the UK in September) sees the return of their fantastic mattene lipsticks, so I thought I'd do a little review of one of the shades, Eden Rouge. Mine is actually from an older collection, but I believe the colour stayed the same, so hope this is helpful.

Mac mattene lipsticks are the best matte lipsticks I have ever tried, without a doubt. They are creamy, hydrating, very comfortable to wear and long lasting. Eden Rouge is a beautiful blue-based red with a slight sheen. I guess it's not completely matte, but I'm happy with that (I prefer non-matte lipsticks anyway). It is pretty opaque, so you pretty much only need one swipe. It feels very lightweight and doesn't have that slightly tacky texture of the Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait lipsticks. Eden Rouge lasts on me for about 4 hours without eating, it comes off when I eat, but then they're not claiming to be long lasting.

Based on the online swatches I have seen of the other 4 shades in the collection, I don't think I'll pick any of them up, but I would definitely pick Eden Rouge up if I didn't have it already. You get 2.3 g for around £14.50 (I don't know the exact price just yet, it's $15 in the US), so they are slightly smaller than the regular lipsticks which are normally 3 g. Sadly all mattenes are limited edition and I am really considering getting another Eden Rouge - BUT I am going to enforce a big lipstick no-buy on myself when I reach 400 lipsticks and I only have 6 choices left, so not sure if I want to use one up for Eden Rouge. It is lovely, but maybe Mac will bring out some more pretty shades and then what will I do??? (Anyway, I will tell you more about my no-buy plans soon.)

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It: Orly Flash Glam FX Collection for Summer 2012

I have been on a massive nail polish kick lately and have bought probably over 100 polishes. I've actually got into the habit of painting my nails every 2-3 days, so I am slowly getting through them, but probably will take another 6 months or so to use every new nail polish I've bought. Regardless, I have spotted a new Orly collection of 22 glitter top coats (plus a black nail polish) that I really love and will be buying a good few from.

The collection contains 22 glitter top coats in different coloured and shaped glitters, there are holographic, bar shaped and round glitter in varying sizes:

• Ultraviolet
• Right Amount of Evil
• Spazmatic
• Cupcakes and Unicorns
• R.I.P.
• Atomic Splash
• Watch It Glitter
• Embrace
• Monster Mash
• Go Deeper
• It’s a Meteor
• Ridiculously Regal
• So Go-Diva
• It’s Electric
• Be Brave
• Too Fab
• Holy! Holo!
• Sunglasses at Night
• Mermaid Tale
• Can’t be Tamed
• Rocket’s Red Glare
• Sashay My Way

Based on the official information and the swatches I've seen so far, I want Cupcakes And Unicorns, Be Brave, Sunglasses At Night, Holy Holo!, Sashay My Way, and maybe Ultraviolet. For now anyway.

They are $10 each on the Orly website and I have found a UK stockist who is going to sell them for £8.29 each (they're due to be launched mid-August), but I have also found a seller on eBay who has them for $6.25 plus shipping which makes one bottle cost £6.88 or less if you order more than one. One bottle contains a massive 18 ml, so it's great value for money. 

See more details after the jump!

Mac Electric Cool Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

Earlier this month Mac has launched a new collection of 12 cream eyeshadows called Electric Cool. I wasn't sure whether I wanted any of them because they were rumoured to be the reformulated Big Bounce eyeshadows, but thankfully they aren't. I ended up picking up 4 of them: Fashion Circuit, Brilliantly Lit, Superwatt, Electroplate.

These little pots of eyeshadows are actually very impressive. They feel very creamy, but they dry down pretty quickly and stay put without any creasing for 10+ hours (I always wear them over a primer). They are brilliant on days when I only have time for a quick wash of eyeshadow. I wouldn't compare them to the Armani Eyes To Kill, Chanel Illusion D'Ombre or L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows because their textures are different, but I guess they're in the same family. The Electric Cool eyeshadows I've bought have lots of shimmer and are quite frosty, except Brilliantly Lit which is more satiny.

Colourwise the available shades aren't very unique, I'm pretty sure all of them can be easily dupeable. I have found that Fashion Circuit for example is extremely close to Endless Sea L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow. The L'Oreal shadow is more frosty and at certain angles blueer, but on my eyes they are practically the same. Fashion Circuit is a gorgeous colour though and well worth picking up if you don't own anything similar yet. Brilliantly Lit is a bit more unique, you don't often get cream shadows in yellowy lime green shade.

Mac Electric Cool eyeshadows cost £14.50, and you get 2.1g product in a screw top black plastic container. They are limited edition, but most shades are still available, so if you're interested, take a look at your nearest Mac counter.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac Heavenly Creature Haul Part 3 - Eyeshadows

Here's the final part of my Mac Heavenly Creature haul, this time it's the mineralize eyeshadows. You may know that I'm a massive fan of them and own almost every one Mac has released. (I didn't get two of the Chen Man ones that were exact dupes of some colours that were released earlier, but that's all.) I did a post on my Mac mineralize eyeshadow stash a while ago, but of course I have even more now. And of course I had to buy all 9 eyeshadows in the Heavenly Creature collection too.

I have to add that I have not used them all yet, but I have swatched them and they all seem very nice. Some are more shimmery than others (Invincible Light in particular is rather shimmery and frosty), but some are more satiny than anything. The colour payoff is very good, they are all really nicely pigmented. The ones I wore stayed on without creasing and fading for 10+ hours and there was only very mininmal fallout and that was only during application which is not a big deal for me at all.

The beauty of these mineralized eyeshadows is that you get 3 different colours swirled into one pot and they can create multidimensional colours, and also of course you can use them separately if you get large enough patches. Some of mine have really nice large patches, especially my Water with the big yellow patch in the middle and I've been able to use the separate colours in my Neo Nebula and Bright Moon as well. Of course the swirls also mean they are really pretty and nice to look at.

These Mac mineralize eyeshadows cost £16.50 and you get 2 g which is a bit smaller than some other mineralize eyeshadows (normally 2.2 g), but still rather large and they will last you absolutely forever.

See lots more pictures including swatches and a look I did, after the jump!

My Mac Heavenly Creature Haul Part 2 - Blushes

Here's part 2 of my Mac Heavenly Creature haul, this time it's the mineralize blushes. Don't worry this won't be such a long post as the skinfinishes' was, there are only 4 I've purchased (although I am thinking about going back for a back up for Solar Ray).

The collection includes 4 mineralize blushes, all of them come with a swirl pattern and contain 2 different colours. Some are again more shimmery than others, some just give you a nice sheen. None of them are metallic looking on the skin and all of them are wonderfully pigmented. I have included a picture at the bottom of the post of me wearing Supernova, the bright pink one, and boy it is very bright and extremely easy to overdo. Also Stratus is a very dark shade and need a very light hand if you are on the paler side.

My current favourite is Solar Ray, which is the lightest colour, it's a lovely peachy-pink with gold swirls. The gold is quite shimmery, but the overall effect is rather lovely. Ring Of Saturn is a mix of peachy pink and terracotta and it's another beautiful shade. That one isn't shimmery at all, it just had a lovely sheen. All of the blushes are very smooth and very pigmented.

Mac Mineralize Blushes cost £19 and you get 3.2 g which is once again slightly less than the usual 3.5 g weight. Have you picked up any of these shades? Which one is your favourite?

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac Heavenly Creature Haul Part 1 - Skinfinishes

Finally, the long awaited Mac collection, Heavenly Creature has launched in the UK and I have a lot of goodies to show you. I was very excited about all the mineralize products and ended up purchasing all of them, so I will do this haul post in 3 parts. Apart from the mineralize make up, I also bought a couple of tubes of Volcanic Ash Exfoliator which I won't be reviewing just now, but will hopefully get around to doing so sometime soon. So many products, so little time...

First off, here are the Mineralize Skinfinishes (or MSFs) I bought. There were 4 of them launched in this collection: Light Year, Star Wonder, Center Of The Universe and Earthshine. As I wanted to make sure I ended up with the ones I really wanted, as well as ordering from Debenhams as soon as the collection launched, I also picked up one of each MSF with patterns I really wanted. So all in all I ended up with 8 of them. I was actually very lucky in that the MSFs Debenhams sent me are also very much the colours/swirls I was after, but slightly different from the ones I picked up.

In the picture above the MSFs I picked out myself are in the top row and the ones I ordered from Debenhams are in the bottom row. I particularly wanted a Star Wonder with lots of purple and an Earthshine with very little burgundy. Out of the four Light Year is definitely my favourite, even though I thought it would be Star Wonder. I find Light Year less metallic looking on the skin and it's such a gorgeous peachy pink colour. Eartshine is slightly too dark for me to use as a blush (it looks dirty on my cheeks), but I will find a way of using it for sure. I have not worn Center Of The Universe yet, but it's a nice orange/coral blush and will no doubt work well for my skintone.

The MSFs are all very smooth, not gritty or glittery at all. Yes, there's some shimmer, some finer than other, and some of them, in perticular Star Wonder and Earthshine are quite metallic. I've found Light Year the smoothest and less shimmery. It of course depends on the exact pattern and combination of shades within each MSFs. 

Mac Mineralize Skinfinishes cost £21.50 and you get 7 grams which is actually quite a bit less than the usual weight of MSFs, they are normally 9 or 10 g, not sure why the difference. Have you picked up anything from this collection? Have you got a favourite? Let me know in the comments!

See LOTS more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Chanel Route Des Indes Illuminating Powder and Diwali Nail Polish - Bombay Express Collection

Firstly I apologise, I don't have swatches. I just cannot bear to touch the gorgeous gold powder and I haven't had time to use Diwali nail polish yet. So all I have is some pretty pictures for you. But they are definitely very pretty!

The Chanel Bombay Express collection is available exclusively from Chanel boutiques, Harrods, Selfridges W1, Selfridges Manchester Exchange, House of Fraser Glasgow and Fenwick Newcastle. I ordered mine from Harrods. The powder cost £48 for 15 g and the nail polish was £18 for 13 ml. Harrods charge £8.50 for shipping (ouch!).

See lots more pretty pictures after the jump!

My Guerlain Meteorites Collection - Updated Pictures June 2012

It's been a while since I last took some pictures of my Guerlain Meteorites collection, I thought it would be about time to do so. I now own 24 Meteorites which is almost every one ever released, I'm still missing 2 or 3 old ones (pre-2000), and I have a feeling I may not come by those as it's been too long. But let's not dwell on the past, let's look at what I actually own. 24 boxes of gorgeousness, that is. Enjoy!

My Meteorites collection (closed)

See lots more pictures of my Meteorites collection after the jump!