Summer eye look! Peachy golden shadow...

When I've got a little extra time in the mornings, I love to play around with different shadows and do a proper eye look.  Since it's been exam season for the last month too I've also been procrastinating a bit, oops, and spending some extra time on my makeup has become routine now!  I've loved wearing this particular look for the last few days, as it's not one that can be easily messed up, and I love the gorgeous peachy tones underneath the shimmer!

The finished look.  Apologies for the slightly dodgy lighting,
 the sun is just refusing to come out at the moment!

Firstly, I applied my Nars Pro Prime Eyesahdow Primer as if I don't use this my makeup melts off in a matter of minutes!  Then I added a thin layer of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'Creamy Beige', as this gives a slight orangey-tone underneath the other shadows.  (I'm not sure if this is still available as I had a lot of difficulty getting my mitts on one and this was several months ago.  I believe Mac Paint Pot in 'Groundwork' is very similar though, but it is quite a bit pricier!)  I then blended out the edges so there weren't any harsh dark lines, using my setting brush that had a little concealer left on it.  After that, using a fluffy brush I applied the Kiko Infinity Eyeshadow in the shade '219' all over the lid and also built it up a little in the crease.  I find that this, whilst being a beautiful rose gold shadow, can be a little too pink on my skin but over the top of a more orangey base it gives a lovely peachy effect.  These shadows are seriously longlasting though, and are extremely similar to the Burberry ones but are only a few pounds!  I also applied a little along my lower lashline using a smaller, pointier fluffy brush.  Finally I then applied a small amount of Stila Eyeshadow in 'Kitten' on the centre of the lids and blended it out towards the inner corner - this is so soft and pigmented that you need barely anything to give a gorgeous shimmery glow.

Finished off with a slick of mascara on the upper and lower lashes, it's good to go!

L-R:  Stila Eyeshadow in 'Kitten', Kiko Infinity Eyeshadow '219',
 Maybelline Colour Tattoo 'Creamy Beige' 

xxx

The most luxe eyeshadow ever!

A couple weeks ago I got one of those emails from Debenhams, saying that they were running their 10 percent off beauty promo - so of course I headed over to the website to check a few things out!  I spotted that they now stock Burberry makeup, and as it's currently exam season and I'm feeling a tad stressed I thought I'd treat myself to something from the range as a little pick me up!

I decided on a shade of their Sheer Eyeshadow, as I'd seen some great reviews of it online.  The one I chose was 'Pale Barley', which is a gorgeous golden-taupey sheeny shadow that looks amazing alone all over the lid - paired with a slick of mascara.  Its the most expensive single shadow I've ever bought, but really do think it was worth the splurge as the colour is so unique, the shadow so pigmented and the lasting power (with my usual primer), oh boy.  Yesterday, I wore it for 16 hours straight with no creasing and little fading.  In comparison, a Sleek shadow with the exact same primer (Nars Pro Prime) it only lasts about 8 hours and then it's at risk of creasing - the joys of having oily skin haha!

Here's a swatch of just a tiny amount, to show how pigmented it is!
 I love how in some lights it's taupe, and others an almost khaki tinted gold.

Anyway, I definitely think it was worth the money and next time I feel like treating myself I'll be back for another shade from the range.  They'd also make a lovely gift, as the packaging is pretty special and the shadow itself comes in a lovely little velvet pouch!

xxx

A higher end makeup haul...

I'd like to start off by saying that don't worry, nope, I didn't purchase all this in one go!  It's a collective haul from the last month or so, as I didn't feel that every item warranted an individual post but I still thought it'd be nice to share them with you all...

The first thing I picked up was Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which is a super dry, high coverage concealer.  It was super pricey, but I've actually gotten quite a bit of use out of it on those no-makeup days where I'd still like a bit of coverage on any scars or blemishes.  It's also great used over foundation, but I've found it's best to powder first and then layer up or you can start to move stuff around a bit!  The best thing is that the lighter shade (I've got the lightest palette, SC-1 if anyone's interested) is actually lighter than my skintone!  It's also yellow toned, so does the redness-cancelling job really well.  The darker shade (which annoyingly is the one you get more of) is pinker toned and is useful to mix in with the other one for when it's just too light.  I use a tiny flat brush to apply it with, and the stiffer bristles mean you can really pack on the product without it looking cakey.  Overall, I'm actually really glad I've got this in my stash, as it covers so much better that liquid concealer!  You also get almost 6 grams of product, and considering how little you need to use it's going to last ages!

Next up was the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara, which is super handy for when you want you lower lashes to look on point.  I do find it a bit of a faff to use though, and often can't be bothered so I might pass it onto my Mum so that it doesn't dry up before it's used up!  I love the cute silver design on the tube, which is probably part of why I was suckered in - but I do think it'd be worth the money if you tend to make a big mess with larger mascara wands.

Soon after, I splurged on my first Burberry Eyeshadow.  I'd been eyeing them up for a while, but they never had the shade I wanted in stock, and then when we actually passed a counter in duty free we had to rush to catch our plane and I didn't have time to stop, sadtimes.  But I got my paws on one eventually, and I'm super happy with it!  I've actually done a proper review of it, which should be the next post up here!

Finally, last week I saw that Escentual had a sale on.  I was picking up some of my usual bits and bobs and then on a whim decided to treat myself to a new lipstick!  I'd been really good up until then, and had been on a bit of a lip product ban but 20 percent off was a too good offer to miss!  I picked out one of the Rouge Dior Lipsticks in the shade 'Rose Bonheur' as I'd heard good things about the range online.  It's the perfect my lips but better shade for me, and although it's quite sheer the colour sticks around for a decent amount of time with no awkward fading.  The scent is also lovely - a more sophisticated version of love hearts sweets!  One that goes with everything, and since I don't have a lot of nude lip products I didn't feel to guilty about picking it up!


xxx

Makeup Revolution...Iconic 3 palette swatches!

A few months ago, whilst in London I made a trip to Superdrug Marble Arch and managed to get my hands on the Iconic 3 palette by Makeup Revolution. I'd heard amazing things about the brand, and since I've always wanted to try out one of the infamous Naked palettes I thought this would be great to see whether the colours suited me!  I picked the Iconic 3, because the range of taupey-pink shades was gorgeous!!

Worn with a primer (which I cannot go without - even with high end shadows) these last all day on the lids.  They also have excellent pigmentation and blend easily with a fluffy brush.  For £4 you get 12 shadows, and in total 14g of product which is a bargain!  This particular palette does have a wide range of shades, but is lacking a dark, matte brown and a champagne highlight shade - other than that I can't really fault it for the price.

The shades don't appear to have names, but above are the first 6 (lighter, pinker-toned shadows)
and below are the last 6 (taupey, purple-toned ones) which are super highly pigmented.

And here's the palette overall.  I prefer the packaging to MUA's equivalent,
simply because there's less plastic and more shadow!

xxx

Unboxing last week's splurging spree...

Last week - specifically on the evening of results day, I went a little nuts with the online shopping.  I've already chatted about what I purchased in this post (where I get slightly emosh towards the end if you're into that stuff!).  But I also promised to update you when they'd all arrived...so here they all are!

First to arrive was the Sleek blush.  It's everything I thought it would be - the perfect peachy coral that blends in seamlessly with my skintone.  My only gripe with it is the fact that its not the softest blush out there, but it leaves a lovely sheen to the skin.  Also, highly bargainous at a mere £3.89 (including 1st Class delivery!)

Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach'
There's something about it that reminds me of Clinique's 'Peach Pop' blusher,
I shall have to swatch them side by side and get back to you on that one.
Also, the name.  You know by now that anything peach related gets a thumbs-up
from me!

Second up is the Laura Mercier palette.  (I must say that I was very impressed with Space.nk's customer service before I tell you all about what happened - they got back to me within the hour and were absolutely lovely.)
Anyway, I opened the box up like a kid would at Christmas and encountered a golden brown, glittery mess...

Understandingly, I was somewhat upset!  In hindsight though, it was rather funny...
all that gold shimmer went everywhere like a poof of icing sugar ahaha!

Space.nk sent out a brand new palette free of charge, and told me to keep the old one.  I decided to try to clean it up as best I could and give the eyeshadows and brushes to my mum (as I knew she would love the shade 'African Violet' in particular.)  I did end up with hands like one of those Bond girls from Goldfinger, but I thought it was a shame to not attempt to salvage at least some of such a beautiful palette!  The replacement arrived in perfect condition, and I am absolutely in love.  I've been using them over the top of my favourite No 7 shadow stick in 'Cool Mink', in particular the shade 'Sable' all over the lid and 'African Violet' in the crease - I'm a purple shadow convert!  The cake eyeliner in 'Ground Espresso' is a little bit of a faff to apply, but oh boy is it worth the extra effort - using it wet means it sticks around all day long.  I could go on and on, but I think you can tell I'm happy with my purchase!

The packaging, although rather bulky feels sturdy (and is oh-so-glamorous!)
Also, can I just talk about the brushes?!  Especially the pony-tail brush - so so soft.

Top row L-R: Morning Dew, Coffee Ground, African Violet, Ballerina Pink
Bottom row L-R: Crystal Beige, Sable, Dusk, Deep Night

I have yet to use the bronzer for its intended purpose, as it's a
little too dark for my skin.  The blushes though - oh my.
Underneath, is the cake liner in Ground Espresso (applied wet)
and the pencil liner which literally stayed on for a shower and a day!

Last of all was the scarf from Kate Moss' Topshop collection.  It's a lot more of a dark cream, almost with a little green mixed in than it looks on the website - but looks perfect with a plain grey tee and jeans.  And although it's rather thin and gauzy, it works a treat at keeping the wind off your neck if the weather is a bit chilly!

And here it is, in natural light.  The colours are pretty much true to
 life here - I love the way the light blue pops through!

xxx

What happened post results...oops!

Yesterday, results rolled around and I spent most of the day grinning like a loon.  It was such a relief to know I'd got the grades for uni - waiting all summer is rather stressful (and it's always at the back of your mind!)

Regardless, the wait was worth it and I'm already firing up the uni shopping lists (hell yeah!)
I'll probably chat about the things I'm getting for uni when it's closer to the time (or do a review once I've used them a while), but I thought I'd share the couple of little 'present to self' items I picked up last night...

It's listed as £10, but here's
the 10% off code I used:
000110204242314

(N.B: Since they're all online purchases, I'll do some proper little reviews of them once they've arrived.  Hopefully all the offers will still be on!)



Kate Moss for Topshop scarf £9 originally £45 

I already tweeted earlier this week that I'd popped one in my basket - but decided to hold off until Thursday to see if it would be a 'congratulations' or 'commiserations' purchase.
It's a gorgeous vintage-y coloured lightweight scarf, that I feel will mute down any outfit you pair it with.  This should be great to take brightly coloured summer clothes through into autumn, and it was such a bargain.  It's made of a polyester chiffon, not silk - but definitely worth the money.  And c'mon, how could you resist an 80% discount?!

Sadly, I saw this go out of stock
 as I was typing up this post - but
 there's still a few available on ebay
 for about the same price.

Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe for Eyes and Cheeks £30 originally £78 (holy moly!)

This was more than a little bit of a splurge.  It's one of those things that you don't really need, but is such good value that you have to snap it up!  I was taken in though by the eyeshadow shades - as I'm in love with cool toned shadows (and nearly all of these fell in that category!)  The brushes also get great reviews, and I'm hoping this will be a fab option for when I'm travelling back and forth from uni and don't want to carry much.  Overall, you get 8 shadows and 3 blush/bronzer shades, 3 brushes (one double ended) and 3 liners (plus a pencil form brown liner!) - working out at about £1.50 per 'item' :O




Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach' £3.89 

I'd been hankering after an orange toned blush for a while, and was on the verge of purchasing Stila's 'Gladiola'.  I wasn't quite sure though that it would suit, so was looking for a more budget-friendly option to try out.  I was also still kicking myself for not picking up a similar shade at the Essence counter (mini haul to come there) when I was in Wilko, so really was searching for something around the £3-4 mark.  Then this morning, I saw a post featuring Sleek's blush in 'Life's a Peach' and though why not give it a go?  I got it from Ebay as it was about 50p cheaper than Boots (and I was also feeling stingy after the aforementioned Space.nk accident) - fingers crossed it arrives soon!



There we go.  That's my little results day haul complete.  Of course, there's more to life than chucking stuff in your shopping basket - this past summer has for sure been a special time to spend with family and friends.  It's really starting to hit home how much I'll miss them, and it's times like these where you're all celebrating together that you realise how much you love them all and are so grateful for everything *cries a bit*.

But anyway, enough of the emosh-ness!  There's going to be a lot of stuff to do over the next few weeks, and it's all going to get very busy very quickly - but I can't wait for it all to start!!
Here's to the next year :D

xxx

Review: Sleek 'Storm' Palette

I'm writing this post sitting down the garden in the sun...absolutely loving the fact it's properly summer weather now in the UK!

I purchased Sleek's i-divine 'Storm' palette several months ago, as it was the one Sleek palette that everyone seemed to love.  You can do neutral or smoky night-out looks with it, and the fact that it's so versatile makes it great value for money in my eyes.  It's also very slim, so great for travelling!

It is mostly shimmers - 9 of these vs 3 matte colours.  Some of the colours are real standouts - insanely well pigmented and without fallout - but all of them are pretty decent regardless.  Nearly all of them are also very soft, with the exception of 'Blackout' - but I actually prefer this compared to the black from the Naked palettes (it's much more intense...)

Top row L-R: Sand storm, Snow storm, Calm before the storm, Thunder Storm, Perfect Storm, FirestormBottom row L-R: Dust storm, Gathering storm, Storm cloud, Electric storm, Eye of the storm, Blackout

On a day to day basis, I don't usually wear a full eyeshadow look.  However, I always use 'Eye of the storm' (mixed in with a little of a reddish brown Kiko shadow) to fill in my brows.  I also work a little of 'Blackout' into my upper lashline to thicken it up a bit before applying mascara.

'Snow storm' is the perfect inner corner highlight colour, and I've also found it to work really well as a more "out there" cheekbone highlight - gorgeous.

The non-neutral colours, I use less regularly, as I'm a bit of a colourphobe when it comes to eyeshadow!  I've found the best way to use these is either blended in the outer corner and/or crease for a night-out, or as a liner (this looks so pretty and subtle!)

They also look amazing used wet.  Just spritz a little of your preferred setting spray (mine's the Urban Decay 'All Nighter' one) on to a brush, pick up the colour and pat onto the eyelid.  I've surprisingly found they also blend better used like this - although most of the colours swatch quite dark, they in reality come up quite sheer on the eye when used as normal.

Here they all are swatched - in the same order as in the palette itself.
You can see that the darker shades have much more colour payoff.

And in direct sunlight...hopefully you can see all that lovely
lovely iridescence going on with the shimmers!

 To sum it up, I think this is a great wallet friendly palette.  There are a couple of very similar shades ('Sand storm' and 'Thunder storm' I'm looking at you), and I wish there was a taupe shade somewhere in there.  In conclusion, I may not repurchase (as I'll be so slow using up the less neutral colours), but I'll definitely be checking out more Sleek palettes in the future.

Sleek i-divine palettes are available from Boots or Superdrug, for £7.99

xxx