My dressing table setup - The Ikea Malm!

Ello Lovelies!

I did one of the biggest cliche beauty blogger things... I got myself an Ikea Malm dressing table and I am absolutely loving it. While still living with my parents i had previously been sharing a dressing table with my Mother and had bee stuck to using just one small basket of makeup for my daily routine. As my Ikea Alex drawers were getting a tad full that set up really wasn't very practical and a lot of my collection was feeling unloved. So i decided to finally take the plunge and invest in my own little dressing table set up!

Having my own little space for a large portion of my collection has meant i am actually rotating my pretties a lot more and getting a lot more use out of things. The organisational lover in me is extremely happy with how it turned out and i find myself switching things in and out on a weekly basis. Having lots more options to hand means I've actually been switching up my daily face quite a bit too, win! The Ikea Malm dressing table is for, as dressing tables go, pretty reasonably priced at £95 (view here) and comes with a pretty glass top and a large pull out drawer. The only downside to this is that like the Ikea Alex drawers it does not fully extend, so a portion of space at the back is being wasted as it is difficult to reach back there, but that is my only small complaint.

I am pretty darn happy with how it looks now but will probably over the next year, replace some of the "less pretty" storage options on the table. Including the light, brush holders and the letter storage that is holding my MAC palettes. But for now, these are all pretty inexpensive and practical. The lamp was around £20 including the bulb and is great for aiming it where you need it (view here).

 

While not the prettiest brush holders the Ikea Dokument Pen Cups do the job just fine. And at £3.50 per 2 do not break the bank either.

Makeup Mirror - £7.99 The Range

Leopard Print Mirror - £9.99 The Range

Letter Rack - £2.50 The Range

Another blogging cliche... Muji drawers! While I don't find these the best for storage they are pretty useful for storing a lot of my small indie makeup collection. I also like to keep things like my Benefit Boxed Blushes in here as i find them a pain to store anywhere else. I do really need to go back and reorganise this but i just love looking at all my Sugarpill pigments in the bottom drawer! Oh so pretty!

Acrylic Storage -£10.95/£11.50 per stack of two Muji

And lastly my favourite part of my collection, the drawers! In my local Ikea these dividers were quite handily displayed right next to the Malm drawer and at a mere 80p each are quite the bargain! The drawer fits 6 dividers with enough room to store my favourite palettes down one side. Each divider has a smaller compartment and a larger one making it perfect for different shaped items. I love how i can fit a chunk of my lipstick collection neatly into one section!

Billingen - 80p each Ikea

I'm dead chuffed at how this turned out and to finally have my own little makeup space. I just wish my Ikea Alex drawers would fit next to it, but sadly i am about an inch short of space!

Do you have your own setup?

I'd love to see them!

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xo Katie

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm Review

Hey Lovelies!

As soon as i spotted these in my local Boots i knew i had to have them, its no big shocker really considering my love for all things matte in the lipstick department! There are 10 shades in the matte range and i had to pop into three stores to find the shades i was after, annoyingly it seems smaller Boots are stocking just 4 shades while the larger are only carrying 8. Which leaves the purple shade firmly out of my reach at the moment... Sigh.

I did get my paws on 3 gorgeous shades to share with you today! These are currently on 3 for 2 in Boots or £7.99 each (Superdrug currently have £2 off) so keep your eyes peeled for offers if you are after a few shades. The shades i picked up were Unapologetic - an extremely bright warm pink, Elusive - nudish (for me) lightish pink and Audacious - hot orange. I don't think i own anything like these in my collection!

Matte, oh how i love thee. I really enjoyed the balm stains Revlon released in previous years so was SO excited to hear of the release of these beauties. I'll make the obvious comparison now... These are very similar packaging, smell and texture-wise to the Tarte matte balms. I haven't tried any of the Tarte permanent range shades but i did get one of their gift sets around Christmas which contained 4 smaller sized balms and i feel these are very comparable. They both share a similar minty scent, extremely similar packaging and both have a lovely creamy texture. Surprisingly I've found the Revlon ones pack more of a punch in the colour department, but this may just be because they have a brighter colour range. If you're not after an exact Tarte shade these are a great inexpensive dupe.

I like to wear a balm underneath as with any lipstick but for a matte shade i don't find them overly drying, i actually find these a lot more comfortable on the lips than Mac Mattes or Retro mattes. They are pretty much opaque after two swipes and i find the application really easy with these sort of chubby stick style pens. I've worn Unapologetic for around 7 hours before needing a touch up, it even lasted through eating and drinking although it did look a little dry by the end of its wear. I even forgot at one point i was even wearing a lipstick, so these get a huge thumbs up from me!

 

Overall the Revlon Matte Balms are a massive win for me, but i am a little biased towards mattes. They are comfortable, they wear well and they are affordable. So far are my stand out drugstore product of the year! If you love mattes you really need to go give these beauties a swatch. I'll now be hunting down that purple until i can eventually get my hands on it, oh and possibly a couple more shades while I'm at it... I know they're a new release and its wishful thinking, but i do hope Revlon release more shades in this range!

Have you tried the Revlon Matte Balms yet?

What are your favourite matte lipsticks?

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xox

Nars - Pierre Hardy Blush Giveaway!

Hiya lovelies!

A little while ago i entered a Nars Cosmetics UK Instagram competition and i was extremely lucky and chosen as one of the winners! I was also mistakenly given two of the same shade of blush, so I stored it away and patiently waited to do a giveaway for you lovely lot! The product is brand new but unboxed as this is how i received it directly from Nars.

I'm loving my Boys Don't Cry blush and found it perfect for the hot summer weather so i couldn't think of a better time for a little giveaway. This giveaway is open internationally, so wherever in the world you live you are welcome to enter! Giveaway will close on the 11th of August 2013 and the winner will be contacted within 48 hours of closing.

If you'd like to see my post on this bad boy blush just click here.

You know the drill, there is a Rafflecopter Widget below for all your entries. 

Good luck!

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xox 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Illamasqua - Cream Pigment in Hollow - Review

Hi lovelies!

If Illamasqua are on your radar and you're a pale lady like me, Hollow is something that already heard a ton about (sorry!). I can't remember a day where I've done my makeup and haven't attempted to contour, its just finding that perfect product that is really a pain in the ass. Now I've purchased quite a few bronzers (i hear makeup artists weep at the thought of contouring with bronzer) and ultimately most are just too warm. I've been using my trusty Laguna and MAC Sculpt powder for a good year or more and thought it was about time to switch it up!

Illamasqua cream pigments are multitasking products that come in a variety of shades to be used on the eyes, lips or cheeks, or really wherever the hell you want them to go! Hollow is such a special shade as its been deemed by many as the perfect contour shade for paler complexions, and I totally agree with this statement.

Please excuse the messy pan pictures as i have committed the number 1 blogging sin.... I played around with it before phographing *gasp*. I've been using my Real Techniques contour to brush to apply this and I've found this SO easy to work with for contouring! It applies beautifully and you have to build it up to get a real defined look which is perfect for heavy handed me. Being cream in texture i find it wears longer on the skin, i do tend to set it with a swipe of my regular contour colour for extra definition and lasting power

Priced at £17.50 it isn't the cheapest product on earth but Illamasqua offer an extremely generous pro discount and often have sales, i picked this little gem up in their 50% off sale. If i ever get through this, i'll be repurchasing it in a heartbeat, i love it that much.

Overall i think this is a fantastic find for the paler population. If like me you struggle to find contour colours that are not too orange or muddy i really suggest checking this beauty out. You won't regret it!

You can find Hollow on the Illamasqua website here.

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xox

The Week of Hauls... #3 MAC Cosmetics

Its the last one, i promise!
(for a little while at least...)

I've had my heart set on some new MAC goodies for a while now, but common sense has always told me i didn't "need" them. Well i ran out of common sense and splurged a little bit! I got the majority from Debenhams with 10% off (which is still on right now) so i won't include prices.

Fix +
This is a back up as I'm quite a way through my current one. I included this in my Winter Favourites post, so check that out for more info on it.

Studio Fix Fluid NW13
Another one included in my Winter Favourites (I'm on a bit of a MAC kick lately). They have recently extended their Studio Fix shade range (hurruh!!) to include a few deeper or in my case lighter shades. I adore my NW15, but have to mix it with my Illamsqua Skin Base unless i have tan on. I had a sample of NW10 which was surprisingly too light for me so i picked up this little beauty.

Strobe Cream (travel size)
I've wanted to try this for a little while so finally took the plunge. My plan is to mix it with my studio fix fluid when i want a more radiant look. I plan to do a full review on it soon!

Plumful Lipstick

Nobody ever has enough MAC lipsticks, right? Plumful is a shade I'd had my eye on for a while. You'll probably see this in a FOTD sooner or later as its a right gem.

168 Brush
Its significantly smaller than i had expected as i am used to my slightly battered Sigma version of this brush. But the size makes it perfect for contouring and it is SO soft! Can't wait to give these a try.

217 Brush

I don't think i really need to say much about this, do i? I had to finally own one.

239 Brush

Another cult favourite brush. I suppose it was time to upgrade from my Elf shader brushes...

208 Brush

I love me a good brow brush. First impression though, I'm a little underwhelmed as it doesn't seem to be as good a quality of the others. Time and testing will tell i guess!


Phew, so thats it for my hauls. *fingers crossed*

 

What have you been hauling lately?

 

xox