Current Favourites: Summer Edition!

Hello Lovelies!

As summer is looking well and truly over here in the UK (waaaah!) i thought I'd share the products I've been absolutely loving over the fast few months. I've decided rather than popping a current favourite post up every now and again I'd make it a seasonal affair, giving me lots of time to try out new things and rediscover things in my collection. This little bunch are all rediscoveries except for one cheeky Boots purchase from earlier in the year I've yet to blog about. My no buy is still going strong since June, but do not fear! I've still got a ton of products from my spending frenzy beforehand to share with you lovely lot!

Bourjois - 123 Perfect CC Cream

This is the only "newer" addition to my collection and shockingly the first Bourjois base product I've found that isn't too dark for my skin tone. I hadn't seen a lot of reviews online but really fell for the texture when i swatched it in store. Its an extremely light weight, runny texture with light to medium coverage and a satin finish. It blends beautifully and wears like a dream and has been my go-to foundation for the past few months. (£9.99, Boots)

Maybelline - Dream Lumi Concealer in Radiant

I'm not sure how many favourites this little beauty has made it in to but it has remained my favourite highlighting concealer for near on two years. Sadly this shade isn't available in the UK but i like to stock up when i visit the USA. It is the perfect pinky toned concealer to brighten under the eyes and use on the high points of the face without looking heavy or cakey. I'd put this as one of my holy grail products. (Other shades, £6.99, Boots)

Skin79 - VIP Gold BB Cream

Wait, what? This isn't the pink one?! I decided to give my beloved Skin79 Pink BB Cream a bit of a break this summer and try something (kind of) new. Their VIP Gold version BB cream is more targeted for dryer skin types and is a shade or so darker than their Pink edition. I find this to have a smidgen more coverage and colour than my old favourite and as I've had a little more sun this year has been perfect for my ever so slightly darker skin tone. With light coverage and a dewy finish, this with a light dusting of powder has been perfect for summer! (£8, eBay)  

Dior - Amber Diamonds Highlighter

 I really am ashamed to say that this has been sat unloved in my collection for over a year. I'm not sure why it wasn't love at first use, it is gorgeous, but for some reason I was firmly set in my MAC Soft and Gentle ways for quite a long time. This is an absolutely stunning peachy gold highlighter which I've been reaching for for my more goldy/bronzey eye looks. It adds a touch of glamour to the cheeks in the most beautiful way. I'm sorry Amber Diamonds, i promise to love you forever! (£32, Debenhams)

Elf - Peachy Keen Studio Blush

About a month ago or so I came to the realisation that i have a lot of Elf Studio Blushes that haven't seen the light of day for over a year or so. So i decided to crack them all out and Peachy Keen was the clear favourite for me. If you're not a fan of shimmer, then I'd steer clear of this one I'm afraid! I use this on days where I'm in a rush and use this as both a blush and highlight. Its a gorgeous soft, warm peach with a fine gold shimmer throughout. The shimmer is definitely noticeable but not in an obnoxious way. I really have been enjoying this hidden gem of a product! (£3.95, Eyeslipsface)

Elf - High Definition Undereye Setting Powder

Another product I tried once and threw in the back of my makeup storage. I'm running low on my beloved Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder and I just don't know if i can stomach paying £18 for it again so decided to try and find a cheaper alternative. While the Elf option isn't quite as finely milled and has some pesky pink glitter in i find it does do an adequate job. While it isn't quite as nice as the higher end offering I've really been enjoying it. Luckily the pink glitter doesn't tend to grab to the under eye area and just leaves my concealer nicely set. Sorry guys, after contacting Elf for the link to this i have found it has been discontinued in the UK! Looks like I'm still on the hunt for a drugstore concealer setting powder!

 

MAC - Lovelorn Lipstick

My lipstick collection was getting a little out of hand, considering the fact I am rubbish at wearing lipstick on a daily basis. So i made it my mission to crack out more of the wonderful lippies i own and Lovelorn has been a clear favourite this summer. Its a lovely semi sheer mid-tone pink in a Lustre finish that has pretty much stayed in my handbag for past three months. I've been cheating on matte lipsticks lately and opting for a more glossy finish lip and this has been just perfect for this. Its my no brainer lippy, great for just adding a touch of femininity and giving that "put together" finish on a look. (£15.50, MAC)

Well this post was longer than i anticipated, I'm glad i managed to narrow it down to just this set and not the other five or six products i was considering including...

What have you been loving this summer?

I for one am hoping the warmer weather here in the UK makes a late appearance this September! 

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USA Haul: Part 1 - MAC and Michael Kors

Hi there Lovelies!

I've been back a few weeks now and am finally starting to get my shit together with all the goodies i purchased whilst on my Florida trip last month. I was a bit naughty and did some serious spending so I'm planning to try something new and start doing a video or two here and there. The first one being the MAC and Michael Kors portions of my haul!

Now I'm not very experienced with filming and editing so you will just have to bear with me while i find my filming feet as it were. So as I'm pretty darn bad at editing (if you have any tips, tricks or software advice please do leave me a comment below) I've decided to write up this little post with the swatches of the gorgeous lippies i purchased. If you'd like to see swatches of the Mac Osbourne pretties i mention in the video, click here to see the post!

Safe to say I am i on a real MAC lipstick ban (technically an entire makeup ban, but we all know how much i suck at those) for the rest of the year now! And my colour descriptions are a bit rubbish to say the least but oh well! I've enjoyed filming so far and have a drugstore, Bath & Bodyworks, Zoya and Sephora ones to film asap!

Enough rambling, on to the swatches!

Flamingo - Flat Out Fabulous - Impassioned - Up The Amp

 Girl About Town - Pink Plaid - Coral Bliss - Pink Nouveau

So would you guys like to see the odd video now and again after my little haul series? If you have any requests or suggestions please do let me know!

 

What is your favourite MAC lipstick shade?

 

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MAC Osbourne Haul & Review

Ello Lovelies!

A quick haul and mini review from me today! I've been trying to sort through my holiday goodies for some posts and potentially a couple of videos but considering how hot these products are, i thought i should get this up ASAP! A good few months back Sharon Osbourne shared a picture of her palette from her then upcoming MAC collection and i was pretty much hooked at first sight.
 

I'd been checking online for this release for days and somehow i completely missed the launch and everything sold out online within the hour. Needless to say, i was not impressed. Luckily Southampton now has a MAC counter and i was able to get in touch and find out if they had stock in... They did so i ran like a crazy woman into town. Oh how i do wish MAC would give definite release dates, it would make me (and many other MAC fans) much happier!

I really only wanted the two lipsticks i picked up but i have absolutely no willpower and picked up a couple more bits from the collection. Jolly Good Mineralize Skinfinish and Peaches And Cream Blush... What can i say? I'm a sucker for packaging!

Being so fair i usually skip on most of Mac's MSF releases as generally their bronzers are either too dark or too orange for me but Jolly Good looks rather promising! You can use each segment individually or swirl them together and as far as first impressions go, i really quite like it! It is very powdery so i have to use a light hand but i really love this so far for giving an all over glow to the face. And thats a pretty rare thing in an MSF for fair skinned ol' me!

 Ignore the name, Peaches and Cream is an extremely pretty pink blush. It actually swatches far darker than it looks in the pan which is surprising (or could be a downside for some people) and I've got to say I'm pretty smitten with this too! Its super pigmented but when applied with a light hand (i have a habit of going overboard with blushes and looking like Aunt Sally) it looks pretty damn good if i do say so myself. The shimmer translates to more of a sheen on the skin and gives the illusion of a healthy flush or glow to the face. This one gets a big thumbs up from me too!

And last, but definitely not least is the lipsticks! The main reason i ran like a mad lady to my Mac store for. Now i haven't worn these yet so can't give these a real review or first impressions but I'm rarely disappointed with a Satin or Matte Mac lipstick so I'm pretty sure its going to be love. Kelly Yum Yum takes a slight twist (and i mean slight) on the oh so popular Candy Yum Yum. To me Kelly's version is a smidge darker and warmer making it a hell of a lot more wearable for me at least. And not forgetting Dodgey Girl... We're all a bit crazy over purple toned lippies lately aren't we? I had my worries that this wasn't going to be lavender enough for my liking but I'm pleased as punch with it from the swatches. Now i just need to be able to pull it off!

If like me you've been lusting and waiting for this collection for months i wouldn't hang around to snag your favourites up. The collection sold out within the day online so I'd make a speedy trip to your local counter! I don't think I've been this enthusiastic over a Mac collection in years! But for my no buys sake, i need to avoid the rest of the years launches!

Did you pick anything up from this collection?

What was your favourite?

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MAC 15x Cool Neutral Palette Review

 

Hey Lovelies! 

I thought i should get this little beauty out of the way following my review on the Warm Neutrals Palette which you can read here. 

As i mentioned in the last post i really couldn't pick between the two and very naughtily picked up both palettes when they launched on the MAC website. Both are priced at a semi reasonable (for MAC) £65 and contain 15 nearly full sized eyeshadow pans which is a steal considering the £170ish price tag to create your own. As i mentioned in my last post the palette contains 19.5g of product making each shadow 1.3g rather than the regular 1.5g per pan advertised on the MAC website. But again the price difference really makes up for the slight lack in product.

This palette contains an overall more cooler variety of shades (stating the obvious) but does have the addition of a few warmer ones which make the palette a little more versatile. Personally, i think out of the two this has to be my favourite shade selection. I also found the textures of these a little better than the Warm option as these swatched and applied beautifully.

I find MAC shadows a little drier in texture and these all feel of the same quality of the MAC eyeshadows i already own. My favourites from this palette are Crushed Love and Sun Tweaked,  i always tend to steer towards more bronzey/gold shades so these are right up my alley. After Dusk and Blackberry are going to make really lovely winter smokey eye options, a nice alternative to using Cranberry. My camera (or should I say my lack of photography skills) likes to wash the lighter shades in the palette out quite a bit. So onto the swatches!

Flounce (M). Sweet Allure (S), Sun Tweaked (F), After Dusk (VXP), Blackberry (M)

Pick Me Up (M), Cozy Grey (M), Crushed Love (F), Deception (F), Brun (S)

Silver Fog (L), French Clay (F), Cumulus (F), Pearled Earth (VXP), Black Tied (V)

Overall i think this is a pretty well rounded palette. It would have been made perfect for me with the addition of a transition shade... I know, i know, I'm like a broken bloody record, i just wish more palettes would have one! If you like MAC shadows i think you'll love these so i highly recommend giving these a little swatch at a counter or store near you!

What do you prefer? Warm or Cool?

You can find these at MAC counters and online here.

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MAC 15x Warm Neutral Palette Review

Hey Lovelies!

We all know by now i am a palette fiend, so passing the new MAC neutral palettes up was always going to be a hard task. So hard in fact, that i couldn't choose between to two... So i got both! *slaps wrist*. Naughty, i know!

Since seeing Temptalia review these earlier this year i knew i had to have them and eagerly stalked the MAC website for their release. And praying they were going to be priced reasonably. Now MAC have a naughty habit of just swapping $ for £ with a lot of their products, which really annoys me. These were priced at $100 in the USA and i was pleased to see they are reasonably converted to £65 here in the UK. Now we all know £65 is still steep for a palette but if you were to create your own palette you'd be paying over £100 extra for the pleasure. They also contain a good few shades that are exclusive to each palette.
So enough rambling. Onto the review! 

 

I personally find MAC shadows on the drier side and these for the most part live up to the quality of the other singles i own. I'll probably do a post about my own made MAC palette in the near future. The shadows come in a variety of finishes, some having nicer textures than others but overall they performed pretty well across the board. Honey Lust swatched a little patchy and although it is a stunning colour i found it the only shade to take a little more effort to make it work on the eye. Dance in the dark (top far right) also swatched a little patchy but works much better actually on the eye.

It is also worth pointing out, as far as i can see from the MAC website these hold a little less product per shadow than the regular MAC pans. The entire palette contains 19.5g of product making them 1.3g per shadow rather than the 1.5g stated on the website for pans. But with how discounted the price is compared to a full 15 MAC shadows of your choosing it's still really worth the money (if you like all the shades that is!).

This palette would have been made perfect for me if it had a lighter matte transition colour and a chocolate/bronze Veluxe Pearl shade, but i have a ton of them elsewhere in my collection. But would have been nice to have something complete i could use rather than dipping into a few palettes for a look.

Hey (VXP), Warm Breeze (S), Gingersnap (F), Dark Brew (V), Dance In The Dark (M)

Brule (S), Vanilla Extract (F), Honey Lust (L), Amber Lights (F), Saddle (M)

Lemon Tart (VXP), Creative Copper (L), Butterfudge (S), Divine Decadence (V), Unwind (VXP)

Overall if you like MAC shadows then you are going to love these palettes. But i personally think there are brands with better textures out there (Urban Decay, Inglot). These live up to the MAC shadow quality (well, compared to the shades i own they do) so this is going to be a must-have for all those Macaholics out there!

Cool Neutrals review coming soon! 

You can find these at MAC counters and online here.

What is your favourite MAC shade?

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The under £1 MAC brush "dupes" that are actually worth buying...

Ello Lovelies!

Today I've got a real eBay bargain to share with you! These brushes are priced between just under 80p - 99p each, including shipping... I was a little bit skeptical at first because we all know a lot of what eBay has to offer is utter shite but as these came so highly recommended i thought at this price, i'd take the risk. While i wouldn't say these are "dupes" as such, they are very similar and surprisingly decent quality. So I'm an extremely happy bunny with this little purchase. I've hand mine for a good month or so, so enough time to put these to the test and see how they hold up, so how did they do? 

 


 

The 217 "dupe" as you can see isn't exactly the same size or shape but its a lovely blending brush in its own right. I've had a couple hairs at most shed and I've been reaching for this on a daily basis for a quick wash of colour or some lazy blending. Its a little larger than the Mac version so not as precise for blending. Its not quite as soft, but only by a tad and isn't at all scratchy.

As you can see again, this isn't quite an exact dupe for the famous 239 brush. Its a little larger, fluffier and i use mine for highlight colour on the brow bone or a lazy sheer wash of colour. Its slightly longer, wider and not quite as dense as the pricier option but does make a great fluffy brow bone choice rather than your typical lay down brush!

 

Unfortunately i don't have a 222 brush to compare this to but as with the other two I'm guessing this isn't an exact dupe. It reminds me of one of my favourite Crown Brush brushes the Pro Blending Crease, just a little narrower. I've found this great for applying and blending out my transition colour and general shadow blending. Like the other two brushes I've only had a couple of hairs shed over the multiple times I've washed these, which for the price is not bad at all.

Overall, for under a quid delivered these brushes get a big thumbs up from me and are definitely worth testing out yourself! While they aren't necessarily MAC dupes they are great affordable brushes in their own right. I for one like to delay the boring task of my weekly brush wash by a day or two so having a few extra brushes in my collection has really come in handy!

217 Dupe Link

239 Dupe Link

222 Dupe Link

What are your favourite affordable brushes?

Will you be trying these out?

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The perfect lipstick holder!

Ello Lovelies!

Over the Christmas period i went on a little bit of a organising spree with all my stuff including my makeup storage. I found my MAC lipsticks were going unloved purely because i am lazy and couldn't be bothered to route through them all to find which shade i wanted. So i thought enough was enough and went on the hunt for a lipstick holder that would fit in my Ikea Alex unit!

It took a little while to find this gem on eBay due to all the cheaper ones i could find seemed to be tiered, meaning they really weren't going to fit in the shallow drawers that house my lip products. Finally, i spotted this 24 space lipstick holder and although it is tiered it doesn't lift the lipstick, just the casing is a little higher on each row, perfect! 

As you can see this holds all my MAC lipsticks (if i can resist buying any more) and my favourite YSL matte lippies. I can finally see what shades I'm grabbing without having to turn each lipstick over. Price wise its a little more expensive than the basic lipstick holders but is still a steal for a piece of acrylic storage at £7.09 here. It fits in my Alex unit perfectly but leaves a large gap at the side which i now use for storing my lip liners. I've even gone as far as grabbing a second one off eBay for my cheaper lippies... But i think I'm going to need a third!

I'm pretty damn chuffed with this purchase! It fits neatly into shallow storage and would look pretty on any dressing table. So if you're after a new lipstick holder check this one out!

How do you store your lipsticks?

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They see me haulin'...

 

I may have purchased some things....

This is my not so little collective haul that has been building up for a good 6 - 8 weeks. It wasn't until i put everything together i realised how much I've actually spent lately.... ooops!

Needless to say I'm on a bit of a ban now, but my gosh those Mac Retro Matte lipsticks look gorgeous. Anyways! I thought I'd share with you today the beauty bits and bobs that I've been spending my pennies on lately. My bank account is well and truly weeping...

 


CK One Shock for Her - £29.99 for 299ml

Sometimes i overlook fragrances purely because the bottle doesn't appeal to me, shows how much we actually depend on packing to sell us things! But i randomly had a little sniff of this beauty in Debenhams the other week and fell in love! The £55 price tag put me off slightly and i managed to find this online for a much more affordable £29.99. I'll be reviewing this in full very soon so won't go into detail on it but its an overly sweet, fruity fragrance so its definitely my cup of tea! Just need to buy a Travalo now since I'm not lugging around this massive 200ml bottle!

Viva La Juicy Noir - £56 for 100ml 

I'd amounted a ton of Debenhams points, they needed spending, so this is what i got! I'm a big fan of the regular Viva La Juicy fragrance and this one is even sweeter. Needless to say, I'm a fan! Full review again coming up soon! I even nabbed some cheeky extra bonus points (from spending points, i know, brilliant!) and a free gift.

I love me some Disney. I also love me a sale so i just couldn't resist these little beauties! I picked up two lip glosses (says the girl who doesn't generally like gloss) for mere £1.50 each! They had a ton of shades but i just couldn't leave The Little Mermaid ones there, could i?! I also snagged two of their four pan palettes in Midnight Hour and Enchanted kiss which are a neutral and a smokey grey/blue palette. These remind me SO much of the Sugarpill palettes in packaging and pan size. These were reduced to a ridiculous £3 each down from £12, BARGAIN!

Repurchases!

You all know I'm a big Korean BB Cream fan and I was running out of both of my favourites so i decided to stock up! You can find these from this eBay seller or if you're not a fan of eBay KC Beautique stock them in the UK at very reasonable prices!

Sugarpill Asteria Pigment

A lovely lady in a makeup group I'm part of picked up a few extras of these while they were on sale, so i just had to! It is gorgeous! If you'd like a review let me know!

Benefit Rockateur Blush £23.50

I jumped on the Rockateur bandwagon, can't wait to test this little beauty out!

MAC Lipsticks £9

My CCO had some good shit! All the boxed products are from my CCO and i was gobsmacked to actually see they had some stuff in stock i wanted. Pink Pigeon and Party Parrot lipstick? Yes please! We all know how much i love my mattes. I also picked up two of the Archies Girl lipsticks from another lovely lady in my makeup group who was destashing. I'd lusted over these when they were released, so i couldn't pass them up this time! The shades are Daddy's Little Girl and Betty Bright. Its safe to say i DO NOT NEED any more MAC lipsticks, or lipsticks in general for that matter!

MAC Pressed Pigment in Light Touch £11

Bit of an impulse buy. It reminds me slightly of the much moaned about UD eyeshadow Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (which i actually adore). Its a very odd texture and apparently meant to be used as a highlighter. But this glorious, glittery mess will be going all over me lids!

Mac Blush in Immortal Flower £12

Another impulse buy.... I just can't help myself. I only actually own one Mac blush in Dollymix so i thought this was a good opportunity to rectify this. This and the pressed pigment were both CCO finds.

Nars Ride Up To The Moon Palette £31

Did i need this? No. Was i enticed by the gorgeous goldish neutrals... yes. I'm weak, okay?! This is my first delve into Nars eye shadows, I'm kinda hoping i don't like them because they are expensive and my god this palette is tiny. Such beautiful colours though! Full review coming soon.

Nars Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder £25

I lusted, i lusted, i lusted, i got it.

I'm a sucker for anything mango scented or anything tropical really. I can't remember exact prices for these as I think there were multiple offers on at the Body Shop at the time i purchased. If you're a fan of mango i well suggest you go have a sniff.

Phew! That's it!

SPENDING BAN TIME.

 (We'll see how long that actually lasts....)

What have you lot been buying lately?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

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