Sugarpill Swatches - Part 1

This is quite possibly my most exciting purchase of the year. I've debated which items i wanted for some time and in the end i came to the slightly obsessive decision... I WANT THEM ALL!

So after a little bit of scheming i managed to get the entire range from my family for my birthday. Best birthday present ever. I stalked the post man every day for nearly two weeks while i eagerly (and very impatiently) awaited my pink package of prettyness! Ha, try saying that three times! Eventually everything arrived from the US and a UK website and i was ecstatic! I'm a little disappointed i didn't photograph the actual package from Sugarpill as it was adorable! A blue cat printed on the box and filled with pretty pink paper! But sadly i ripped open the package quicker than you could say "addict" and it was a little on the destroyed side by the time i realised.

Most people reading this will already of heard of (and quite possibly already be in love with) Sugarpill. But if you have been living under a dull, makeupless rock "Sugarpill Cosmetics is a custom line of vibrant, richly pigmented, velvety pressed eye shadows and sparkling loose powders." Another big selling point is that absolutely none of their products are tested on animals, most are vegan and are clearly labelled so there's no confusion. Part one I'll be swatching the pressed shadows, Chromolusts will come when i can get some sunlight to show them off. So enough rambling, onto the good stuff!

How fecking cute is the packaging? I'm always a sucker for pretty products and these are up there with my favourites. There has been so much thought and detail put into each bit of packaging it's amazing!

There are a total of 9 pressed eye shadow shades and all can be purchased individually or in palette form apart from the black shade Bulletproof which is only available as a single. Priced at $12 each or $34 for the palettes it worked out cheaper to buy the quads. The packaging other than being super cute is made out of sturdy cardboard and has a reasonably sized mirror inside which is perfect for anyone on the go. The pan size is generous at 4g a shadow which is much bigger than your average Mac pan. These are also extremely easy to depot if you like to hold all your shadows together.

Each palette has two matte and two slightly shimmery shades. But if your a fan of sparkle don't worry! They have 18 gorgeously glittery Chromolust loose eye shadows which I'll be swatching soon! The pigmentation of these is phenomenal and they apply like a dream. The only small downsides is that some of these do stain a little but using a good primer will minimise that, and if I'm being finicky the white shade Tako is a little powdery. But i do honestly consider those tiny downsides for the vibrancy and gorgeous quality of these eye shadows.

Bulletproof Single Pressed Eyeshadow

Dollipop - Afterparty - Midori - Tako

Flamepoint - Buttercupcake - Love+ - Poison Plum - Bulletproof.

These were swatched with no base, just simply on my bare arm.

If you're a fan of brights i really couldn't recommend these more. Fantastic value for money, packaging and quality just to re-mention a few points. Spending over $75 will get you free worldwide shipping so no extortionate postage costs is an added bonus. I also received a gorgeous pink glittery Sugarpill sticker and free sample of Junebug which I'll be giving to a friend to try and convert her!

You can buy all of these products from the Sugarpill website here.

Or if you're in the UK you can buy the singles from Genie Cosmetics here.

What are your favourite shades?

Thanks for reading!

 

xox

My first Illamasqua mini haul.

Illamasqua's a brand I've been meaning to try for quite some time now. I'm always seeing their breathtaking collections online but I've never "needed" anything enough to warrant placing an order. When i shop for makeup especially higher end i generally like to go have a look and a play around with them in store. Sadly we don't have a counter here in Southampton (along with Nars and Mac, boo!) so I've never had a real chance to give the brand a proper look.

I love BB creams. They are a staple in my makeup routine and i honestly do not know what i did before them. I was quite impressed that Illamasqua was one of the first, non Asian makeup brands to bring out their own BB cream and after a lot of contemplating (and Debenhams 10% off sale) i decided to take the plunge! I've seen a lot of buzz on the Skin Base foundation and a few posts recently on their blushes. I feel my collection is lacking in the blush department and thought it was only fair i remedy that. :P

Panic                                  Thrust

 

Panic                                         Thrust

As you've probably already noticed Panic is the most pigmented blush I've ever seen. You need the smallest amount on a brush and even then need some serious blending. Both these blushes are matte shades, i tried to step out of my shimmery pink comfort zone to try something new and exciting. Thrust is still very pigmented but not to the level of Panic. Being so pigmented i found them (Panic in particular) a little difficult to work with. It's extremely easy to over do it, but saying that I'm actually in love with the colours. Panic is your perfect Snow White flush and really does compliment my super pale skin. These super pigmented beauties will set you back £16.50 each which is on the pricey side but considering how much you don't need to use i don't think it's an overly unreasonable price.

Skin Base Foundation - SB02

Hallelujah! Illamasqua has to be one of the only higher end brands to cater for us pink toned Caspers! I've tried countless foundations from brands such as Mac, Chanel and Dior and have never been able to find a colour match. I've been using Estee Lauder Double Wear in Shell for quite some time now and have been looking for a lighter coverage foundation. SB02 may even be slightly too light for me and i never thought I'd be able to say that! It's got more coverage than your traditional BB cream which is a plus and has more of a matte finish, the only downside is i personally find it a little on the dry side. I was also a little shocked at the bottle, cute as it is it's tiny and at £25 a pop it's not cheap. You do get 30ml of product but for some reason the bottle just looks on the small size to me, but it's a handy size for popping in your handbag. I'm lucky enough to not suffer too much with my skin and this gives me the perfect amount of coverage and easily conceals my redness. I think this will have a firm place in my foundation routine for the foreseeable future. 

Overall I'm pretty impressed on a whole with Illamasqua's products and certainly won't be hesitating on trying more. I'm now on the look out for a real red blush that isn't quite so pigmented and possibly has a little shimmer!


Whats your favourite Illamasqua product?

You can buy these products online here or at your local counter.

Thanks for reading.

xox

Losing my Fyrinnae virginity!

Since becoming obsessed with beauty products I've been learning more and more about indie brands. Fyrinnae is one that earns a lot of praise in the blogging community and i had to see if they lived up to the hype!

I had a little trouble actually trying to order these as the website goes down frequently but luckily my patience paid off and i managed to order a few goodies! I ordered five of their $2 samples and it was a real struggle to try and pick out which ones as so many are beautiful! I also picked up Pixie Epoxy their infamous eyeshadow base which as you'll be able to see i had a little trouble with initially. Onto the swatches!

Aztec Gold - Pumpkin Fire - Bite Me - Sake Sashimi - Boytoy - Fire Opal

This picture was taken without a base in natural light as i was trying to pick the gorgeous sparkle most of these have. Boytoy is probably my favorite at the bunch being Fyrinnae's sparkliest green it really makes the Magpie in me go crazy! And you can see even without a base you still get excellent and even colour pay off.

Aztec Gold - Pumpkin Fire - Bite Me - Sake Sashimi - Boytoy - Fire Opal

  

These were taken over Pixie Epoxy and I'll start by apologising for the sloppy swatches. Me and Pixie Epoxy need some work, i was finding it a bit difficult to work with but in time realised that all you really need is a small amount. This really brings out the colour in things making them more vibrant and really pop! I've been trying it with a lot of other shadows as well and it works wonders! It's a little harder to blend with in my opinion so keep that in mind.

For $2 you get quite a lot of product and they even included a freebie which I'm actually really enjoying! I will definitely be purchasing Boytoy in full size when I've finished the sample, i think I've discovered my all time favourite green.
 

Shipping is around $6 to the UK (I'd check but the website is down!) so it's nothing overly expensive and i received my package in around two weeks which isn't bad at all! In total i paid around $20 for the little lot i ordered which is excellent.

I would highly recommend Fyrinnae to anyone and everyone as i feel they have such a diverse colour range that there really is something for everyone. I'm also delighted to say they do live up to the hype online. 

These can only be purchased online from the Fyrinnae website here.
The sites currently unavailable but keep trying as they are well worth the wait!

If you have any Fyrinnae posts or favourite colours feel free to comment below or link me them as I'd love to discover some new beauties.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay 24/7 Water Proof Liquid Liners

Ello!

Sorry this post is a little late! Having a week off work somehow gave me much less time to blog than normal but I'm back and have some new goodies to review!

I have a real soft spot for Urban Decay and these new additions to their range are were no exception. Priced at £14 each normally i wouldn't dream of spending that much for a liquid liner but i just couldn't resist these colours! Having £10 on my Debenhams beauty card also helped. These come in 12 absolutely gorgeous shades so deciding which two to buy was extremely hard.

Woodstock - "Hot pink with iridescent sparkle"

Smog - "Deep brown with golden shimmer and iridescent sparkle"

The beauty of these is that they are waterproof, smudge proof, sweat proof and are extremely long lasting! Which means they are perfect for hot nights out or days by the pool (not that we ever get that sort of weather here in the UK!). The one downside for me personally is the applicator, I'm used to quite hard nib liner applicators and these are taking some getting used to. The applicator is soft and fine and a little flimsy, but I'm sure with some practice I'll be able to master it!

I'm in love with the colours and I'm looking forward to using these for some FOTD posts soon so you can see these in action! Urban Decay in Debenhams currently have an offer if you purchase two items you get a free mini gift which was a nice surprise! There are around six choices and i opted for the All Nighter Setting Spray. I've been desperate to try this for some time but not willing to take the £20 plunge and buy it! But so far it's looking that I'll definitely be getting the full size one when this is finished!

You can buy these in store and on the Debenhams website here.

They also currently have 10% and free delivery on their entire beauty range which makes these a little more affordable.

Whats your favourite shade out of the 12?

Thanks for reading!

xox

TKB Trading Haul & Swatches

I've been on a little bit of an indie spree this month and this was the first package that arrived, eee exciting stuff! Before now I've stuck to mostly big named brands and until recently hadn't really heard much about indie cosmetics companies. So i did a little research and found a few that took my fancy! TKB Trading, Fyrinnae and Beauty From The Earth where the three that caught my attention.

TKB Trading is a wholesale company which a lot of mineral cosmetics company order their micas in bulk from and create their own shades. This was all news to me so i did a little search for reviews online. TKB Trading sell sample pigments for $1.50 and you get a tablespoons (yes, a TABLESPOONS!) worth of product, which is probably more than enough to keep you stocked for years if they are just for personal use. Some of the more expensive pigments like their "Travel To" range are a teaspoons worth for the same price but that's still a lot of product. They have a minimum order of about $15 which if you take into account that they are a wholesale business that is not a lot of money.

The pigment samples come in large baggies which could be a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to applying them so i bought quite a few of their 5g jars to keep them in, and at $1.65 for 4 they don't break the bank. You could probably fill at least 8 jars per sample so i had a ton of product left over. They have a massive selection of micas, glitters, jars and other products for sale so trying to pick out the ones i wanted was a little tricky, i have no self control.

There is a slight downside with these is that they are not "ready to use" pigments as such, without a base these are not going to last. They do not have the additives that eye shadows and pigments have to make them hold, but using a good base underneath will solve this problem! I swatched these using a small layer of NYX's Jumbo Pencil in Milk to get an even colour.

 Grape Parfait - True Coral - Twilight Green - Pink Red Blue - Sapphire

 True Green - Rouge Flambe Red - Verdegris Gold - Emerald - Hilite Gold

Travel To Earth - Antique Silver - Brilliant Glitter Red - Mermaid's Gold - Cyrus Green

My camera really does not do most of these micas justice. TBK describes Travel To Earth as "an iridescent gold green which shifts to golden rose." and it has to be one of my favourites, i just wish my camera would pick up the beauty of it! I love golds and greens and these are definitely some of my new favourites!

Shipping to the UK is $14 and is shipped priority so i received my package in just 8 days which was brilliant! Although they do not "gift" items which means you may pay customs charges, although i was lucky enough to miss those somehow!

You can buy these and many more online here on the TKB Trading website!

I'm looking forward to getting the rest of my indie goodies through the post soon! And hopefully getting some FOTD's done with these beauties!

Thanks for reading guys.

<3

Sleek - Monaco Palette

Ello again guys! 

I've been meaning to post this one for a while so thought I'd pop this post up while you can still buy the palette. Recently I've been rediscovering my love for Sleek and have picked up the slightly over the top grand total of 4 new palettes lately (i even had to stop myself buying a second Curacao the other day because i love it so much!). I've been using them nearly every day and had a lot of fun being more creative with shadow!

As you'll see below i do think the matte shades are a little weaker than the rest but there are some gorgeous stand out shades in this, especially for me Kiwi Zest! I'll be getting a lot of use out of these palettes year round as I'm not one to stick to certain colours for the seasons, what a rebel :p

Bamboo - Aquamarine - Midnight Garden - Sunset - Washed Ashore - Magenta Madness

 Summer Breeze - Sand Walker - Kiwi Zest - Lotus Flower - Humming Bird - Moors Treasure

I've said it before but i do think these rival a lot of high end brands and are probably some of my new favourite shadows. They are soft, creamy, blendable and super affordable i really don't think theres really much to complain about! Sleek release limited edition palettes regularly and this can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Having new options frequently at this price is a great thing in my opinion, unlike other brands i don't find myself lusting after the new collections but worrying about my bank balance.

These aren't available on the Sleek website anymore (Argh!)
But you can still probably find them in some Superdrug stores, just get them to open the drawers below the display. My local one had quite a few hidden under there!

Are you excited for future Sleek collections?
I know i am!

xx

Sleek - Pout Paints

The world and it's wife have been posting about Sleek Pout Paints but as they've been one of the most exciting things I've purchased lately i just had to jump on the bandwagon. OCC lip tars have been in their own category for some time and the beauty world has been needing a high street equivalent and here they are! Coming in 11 shades designed for mixing the colours you can make are endless. So i made an extra trip into town to my nearest Superdrug store to pick a few up. Being on a slight spending ban i only opted for three but Superdrug has a 3 for 2 offer on these at the moment which made me feel a little less guilty.

Pin Up, Pinkini and Cloud Nine were the ones the caught my attention. Although the first thing i noticed was the size, they are a little on the small size but when you think about the amount of product you need to use this wasn't an issue for me. I'm a little on the shy side when it comes to opaque lip colour so these were a big jump for me. Not being the most adventurous i picked the ones i thought were the most wearable on their own and toned down with Cloud Nine. I've not managed to get my hands on Lip Tars yet so i can't really compare but these are by the far the most pigmented products i have ever tried, and the smallest amount goes a long way!

Top - Cloud Nine - Pinkini - Pin Up

If you're a fan of Lip Tars or strong lip colours i highly recommend giving these a shot!

These are available online here on the Sleek website and in any Superdrug store that stocks Sleek. Priced at £4.99 each these are a steal!

Thanks for reading guys.

xx

Urban Decay Book of Shadows III

If you're thinking this is an odd post you might be happy to know there is actually method in my madness! Urban Decay released there Book of Shadows III last year i believe, but to my delight Debenhams have recently started selling them again. I found it on a random check for the 15th anniversary palette and it was definitely a great surprise! I missed this palette the first time round and I'm ecstatic that i managed to get my hands on this now. If you're considering getting this I'd definitely advise you to get this sooner rather than later because no one knows how long this will actually be on sale for.

Firstly the packaging... it's pretty impractical but i love it! It's gotta be some of the cutest packaging I've ever seen.The top part of the palette has an open up lid that has a super cute pop up scene of New York with adorable lighting behind it. It is pretty bulky so not something you can throw in you're handbag but if you're like me and are sucker for packaging you'll love this.

Value for money wise i think this is actually fantastic, not only do you get 16 eye shadows but two mini 24/7 eyeliners and a mini primer potion. The eyeliners were the biggest selling point for me as I've been meaning to pick up Zero for quite some time now, it's simply the best black eyeliner I've ever used. Loaded and Kush shades where the second selling point for me, I'm slightly obsessed with green eye shadows and having those two gorgeous shades to clash with my hair was just the cherry on top of the cake.

Now for the swatches!

(I'm not used to having nails so accidentally took a chunk out of Uzi, *sobs*)

How gorgeous is Kush?! If i wasn't excited enough about this palette when i got it swatching just multiplied my excitement, i can't wait to try these out.

As i mentioned above the palette comes with two mini 24/7 eyeliners in Zero and Ransom. I'm not a big purple person but I'm certainly going to be having a play around with Ransom and Psychedelic sister as this was the most eye catching shades to me. I've not been let down with any of these shades so far, the colours are stunning and the pigmentation and texture is awesome but i really wouldn't expect any less from Urban Decay.

I originally wasn't going to blog about this as it's been done to death in the past but i thought it was a great chance to let some UK'ers know that they could still get their hands on this! Overall i think this is a wonderful palette and would make a great gift or just be an extremely pretty piece of your collection.


These are currently available online only at Debenhams website for £32.

 And as far as I'm aware was the only palette that didn't see a slight increase in price this week, as the Naked Palette went from £32 to £35 which i thought was odd.

Anyways, thanks for reading lovelies.

xx

Sleek Caribbean Collection - Curacao Palette

I'd like to start off this post by saying a massive thank you to everyone who has followed my blog. As I'm writing this I'm on 50 followers which i think is amazing! So again a big thank you to all of you :)

I am a big fan of Sleek products, i own a few of their older palettes and they probably don't get as much use as they deserve. In my opinion most of their shadows rival high end brands but at a fraction of the cost. I'm not a massive collector of their palettes but in all honesty i think i should own more! They have an amazing range of shades and are all superbly pigmented. So whilst in town last week as per usual i made an excuse up to go have a browse in Superdrug, I'd spotted the newest collections online but nothing had really taken my fancy but after a few quick swatches in the shop i soon changed my mind.

 

I was pleasantly surprised when swatching these as the colours i was least interested in turned out to be the prettiest out of the pan. Tequila Sunrise actually made me "ooooooooooooh" when swatching as it is absolutely stunning and I'm determined to do a wearable look with this soon.

Tequila Sunrise - Martini - Blue Hawaiian - Bloody Mary - Screwdriver - Green Iguana

Apres Midori - Blue Lagoon - Purple Haze - Green Martini - Singapore Sling - Espresso Martini

I'm extremely impressed with this palette and have hooked out my older ones so i remember to use them often. I shall be keeping my eye out on Sleeks future collections as i can see myself collecting a lot more of them.

These are priced at £6.49 and can be purchased from Superdrug stores or online on the Sleek website here.

xx

Mac Haul

So this is a little late, but better late than never! I managed to take a detour on my way to a wedding last weekend to stop at Newcastle's Metro Center specifically to go to their Mac counter. Needless to say i was like a kid in a candy shop and had very little willpower over how much i actually spent. But it's not every day (or even year!) i get to go to one so i decided to well and truly treat myself. I've had some time to try out all the stuff i got and I'm pretty happy with it all (apart from one but I'll explain that later). So here's what i got and my opinion on them so far. I'll try to keep this short and sweet :)

 Powder Blush - Dollymix - £17
I love pink lips and cheeks possibly a little too much and I've been eyeing this blush up for ages! It's a sheertone finish and is like the name implies a little on the sheer side. Built up it gives a gorgeous pink flush to the cheek, although I think i still much prefer my favourite Benefit's Bella Bamba.

Heavily swatched and sheered out.

 Pro Palette Refill - All That Glitters - Beauty Marked - £9.50

This was the most exciting part of my haul for me. I've been wanting a Pro Palette for quite some time now but just couldn't justify the money. Like a dozey Magpie i was drawn to beauty marked, in the store it looked like a gorgeous black with red/purple shimmer. Unfortunately logic didn't kick in until after i purchased it even when i swatched it on my hand in the store all that went through my head was 'ITS PRETTY AND GLITTERY YAY' .... dumb ass. It's a velvet finish and is still pretty wearable but next time I'm at a Mac counter I'll definitely remember not to get over excited and loose my common sense. On the other hand All That Glitters (Veluxe Pearl) is absolutely stunning, I've been wearing it nearly every day without fail, it definitely lives up to all the hype.

                                   All That Glitters                    Beauty Marked

Lovelorn & Lustering Lipsticks - Lustre - £13.50
Oh look more pink things... It's becoming a bit of a trend lately. Lustre finishes are on the safe side being quite sheer and since I'm not confident with opaque lips yet they work just fine for me. Please excuse the bad pictures i had to try and photograph them in the hotel so i could get a chance to try everything out! They are a little on the drying side though so a good lip butter and exfoliate is a must with these.

Lovelorn - Lustering

Paint Pot - Blackground - £13.50
I've not been brave enough to wear this out yet so top of my things to do list is to try to achieve a wearable smokey eye with this. I say "try" because i generally suck a smokey eyes but I'm dying to wear them more often. It's not completely opaque which i love and shimmer softens it. I really just need to get my bum in gear and get using this!

Dazzleglass - Love Alert - £16
Yet again i was distracted by glittery things, but this time it was a good distraction. Love Alert is described as a Raspberry Red with Red Pearl and i love it. It's a little stickier than Lustreglasses but the colour and shimmer are stunning. I'm glad my Magpie senses went off with this one!

Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - Light - £18.50
Apologies for the poor qualify picture underneath, Light was a pretty good match for me and my camera decided it really did not want to focus. Another item I've been eyeing up for some time now. Although i already own more powders than I'd like to admit i had to have this! I love having a flawless face but lately I've been trying to go a little more natural. This is perfect for setting my foundation or touching up during the day. So another thumbs up from me!

Should i really have splurged this much? Not really. But i really couldn't help myself. I think this is probably all the Mac I'll buy till around Christmas unless they release an irresistible collection (although judging by this years, they probably won't!). I'll stop blabbering now!


Ta for reading guys :)

xx