Collection 2000 Primer and Make Up Fixer

Hello lovelies! I've been testing these products out for a while now, and its about time I did a review. I've been using them for a couple of months now to give you an honest review.

Collection 2000 'Primed and Ready' Smoothing Make-Up Primer: £5.99
Collection 2000 'Fix Me Up' Long Lasting Make-Up Fixer: £5.99

First I'll start of with the packaging. Both are cased in black packaging with bright pink metallic writing! They're really pretty, but I don't feel like a lot of thought went into them. Both are 18ml, which for £5.99 isn't a lot, especially with the primer!

The primer is clear with a jelly like consistency. When rubbed into the skin it feels super soft. It does contain Silica, one of the important ingredients in most primers. It definitely makes skin look and feel a lot smoother, and under foundation helps it stay on for longer. I would say this is a great day to day primer, especially for those with dry/normal skin. Anyone with oily skin like me might be better investing in something with more 'oil control' properties, but for £5.99 this is worth trying.

The make-up fixer is just a clear spray, for spritzing on the face after make up application to help it stay in place. This is perfect for popping in your handbag on a night out. I'd say it definitely does work, my make up feels more set and lasts longer after I spray this and let it dry. The only downside is that its very very heavily perfumed. Compared to my ELF setting spray, which has no scent, this is quite overpowering and has that very heavy 'granny perfume' scent to it.

I'm not sure I would repurchase either of these, unless I couldn't afford anything else, but if you're new primers and setting sprays, I'd say these would be a great investment!

Hope you enjoyed this post! What primers/setting sprays have you tried? xx

Tag: 8 Most Worn Things

Hello lovelies! The fablulous Roisin at Brutal Fashion and Beauty tagged me to do this post - thank you! Its my 8 most worn things, the products I use the most, or the things I automatically go to when I can't think of anything else.

Most Worn Lipstick/Lip Gloss

Benefit Lip Gloss in So Frisk Me:
This is just a miniture I got in a gift set at Christmas, but its my 'go to' lipgloss when I don't know what else to wear.

Most Worn Earrings

Silver Cross Earrings, Matalan:
These are my favourite simple earrings, I have them in gold too!

Most Worn Perfume

Purr by Katy Perry EDP
I love this perfme, its so fruity and floral but not too sweet. Really need to get another bottle.

Most Worn Hair Product

John Freida Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum
I've always used this for my extremely curly, thick frizzy hair, and it works a treat!

Most Worn Top

Didn't bother to include a picture as its just a plan black 'burnout' t-shirt with 3/4 length sleeves.
Most Worn Bag

Black studded tassel bag, Miss Selfridge

I've had this bag for yonks, but its my all time favourite.

Hope you enjoyed this post, I tag:

www.samsnotebook.com

http://describingbeauty.blogspot.co.uk

http://razzledazzleandrocknroll.blogspot.co.uk

Until next time! xx



Photoshopping and Beauty Blogging.

Hello my lovelies! Just a quick post to write about how I feel about using photoshop in the beauty blogging community.

Over the last few weeks, I've come across several beauty bloggers who shamelessly have clearly used photoshop to 'perfect' their face. I have to say that I find that completely innapropriate, and really dissapointing. The whole point of our beauty blogging community is to be honest about products and they way they make us look!

How can photoshopping on a beauty blog be helpful for anyone? Surely it only projects a negative image on the beauty industry, since it suggests that no product is good enough to make you look 'perfected'.

I would never photoshop my face for this blog, or any part of me for that matter. And believe me, I'm a big girl, theres lots that needs photoshopping! But its dishonest and deceitful, and I will never do it.

How do you feel about photoshopping on beauty blogs? Let me know! :) xx

Born In The USA: Kat Von D Sinner Palette

Hello lovelies! I'm very excited to show you what my lovely Auntie, Uncle and cousins brought back for me from Florida! Its the Kat Von D for Sephora True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Sinner!

For those who don't know who Kat Von D is, she's a very famous American tattoo artist, and one of the best out there. She has her own television show LA Ink, and her own makeup line with Sephora stores in America! 

The outer packaging.

Firstly, the palette comes in a beautiful box covered in tattoo designs! Stars, lightening bolts, skulls and filigree, everything you would expect from Kat Von D. It opens up like an envelope, and unlike most of the other boxes makeup comes in, I'll be keeping this for sure.

My lovely Sephora bag, which I'll also keep!

The palette itself is made out of a black metal, and is quite small. For its size its quite heavy! It has the same tattoo art from the box embossed on the lid. It contains 8 eyeshadows, and a mini Kat Von D Autograph Pencil in Puro Amor, a black as black can get black! It retails for $36, which is around £24 in sterling. Not too bad!

The palette springs open, and has a big mirror the whole size of the lid. The only downside is that in order to use the mirror you have to hold it open rather than it sitting up of its own accord.

And now for the good bit!

l-r: disco dust, linzy-jane, ace of spades, violator, holy bible, glock, dorian gray, lucifer

Disco Dust: Pale shimmery pink.
Linzy-Jane: A medium shimmery purple.
Ace Of Spades: Gorgeous dark purple/eggplant with pink and purple glitter.
Violator: A dark silvery grey with pink and purple glitter.
Holy Bible: Silvery white with lots of shimmer.
Glock: Gunmetal grey with, yet again, lots of shimmer.
Dorian Gray: Dark silvery grey, basically Violator but without the glitter.
Lucifer: A matte black.

Puro Amor: A blacker than black mini eyeliner pencil.

My favourites are definitely Ace Of Spades and Violator, they are both stunning, but all the shades are! This palette is great for creating lots of smoky, dark nightime looks.

I am so so chuffed and grateful to have this palette. I would love to try more from the Kat Von D range, but I don't think I'll be in America anytime soon. However, Ebay is always another option, but more expensive!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have you ever tried any brands from overseas? xx

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Hello everyone! I've joined the hordes and masses, and jumped on the Revlon Just Kissable Balm Stain bandwagon.

I originally went in to buy the Revlon Photoready Cream blushes, but I was really unimpressed when I swatced them, they were so sheer there was really no point in wasting £5.99 on them, so instead I turned my attention onto the new balm stains!

I bought two shades, Honey - £5.99, and Darling £5.99 on offer from Boots, will normally be £7.99. Honey is a quite dark pinky nude. As I have quite pigmented lips already, this is one of those 'my lips but better' shades on me, and its really lovely. Darling is a pinky lilac, with a purple sheen. I wouldn't say these are shimmery or glittery, but they have an almost metallic sheen to them, which is really nice.

As I'm sure you all know, these are Revlon's answer to the extremely popular Clinique Chubby Sticks, which are £16.99. Personally, I wouldn't pay that money for a product like this, so the balm stains are a good alternative for someone looking for bargain!

The balm stains have a minty smell when you first apply them, but it soon fades away. They're definitely moisturising, nowhere near as moisturising as the lip butters, but still really good. As they do claim to be a 'balm stain', they have relatively good staying power. I think the 'stain' part would be more noticeable with some of the darker shades available than with the two I have.

I really like the packaging for the balm stains! They are twist up, no sharpening, so the packaging keeps its nice shape and you don't have to sharpen it down to nothing! Just like the Revlon lip butters, the balm stains packaging co-ordinates with the colour of the product inside.

Finally, some terrible swatches!

Honey, Darling

I'd definitely purchase more of these, if any more of the shades appeal to me! I already own too many pinks! Overall I prefer the lip butters to the balm stains, but I'd definitely recommend these to anyone who wants a moisturising balm with a good bit of colour.

Hope you enjoyed this, more posts coming soon! xx

No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes and Make-Up Remover

Hello all! Sorry I haven't posted for a few days, been trying to space out my posts a little more so I don't run out of things to talk about!

Anyway, recently I've been trying out No7's new skincare range, 'Beautiful Skin'. Normally I discard the £5 off No7 vouchers Boots give out several times a year, and pass them on to my mother. But this time I decided I might as well make the most of a bargain!

No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes - £7.00 £2.00
No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover - £7.75 £2.75

Both these products have made a difference to my make-up removal routine. The wipes are much thicker and softer than my usual baby wipes, and they feel much more gentle on my face. I used to hate eye make-up remover, the oilyness made my eyesight blurry after using it, and I just really disliked the stuff. With this dual action formula, I don't get any greasy blurryness. All you do is shake the bottle to mix the clear and the blue liquids.

From now on, I'll definitely be using my No7 £5 off vouchers and trying more of their skincare range!

Hope you enjoyed this, do you buy anything with the No7 vouchers? xx

Review: VIVO Baked Bronze in Healthy Glow

Just a quick post to tell you about a product I bought a few weeks ago; VIVO Baked Bronze in Shade 3, Healthy Glow. VIVO are not a brand I'm too familiar with. I've seen plenty of reviews of their products, but I've never tried any myself. The brand is exclusive to Tesco supermarkets, so when I nipped in with two of my friends, we couldn't resist having a look at the beauty aisle!

VIVO Baked Bronzer in Healthy Glow - £5.00

I picked up the lightest shade of their Baked Bronzers. I wouldn't actually call this shade a bronzer unless you were very very pale. It makes for an incredible highlighter, and since buying it I've seen lots of blog posts comparing it to MAC's Soft & Gentle MSF. Its great for using during the day if you want to highlight, but don't want to be all out obviously shimmery!

Photo credit: Hima Beauty Shop.

For £5.00, the quality is impressive. The packaging is really sturdy and doesn't feel cheap at all, and you get a whopping 12 grams of product, compared to MAC MSF's which only have 7 grams.

As much as I'm loving my new MSF's from MAC, I think I'll be scoring Soft & Gentle off my wishlist for now. This is just too good a bargain and too close in colour to waste £21.50, when I could buy all the other bronzers in the VIVO range and some of their baked blushes, which is what I fully intend to do! The brand has really impressed me and I'll definitely be going back for more, its great quality and is so affordable!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Have you ever tried any products from VIVO? xx

MAC Heavenly Creature Collection Haul and Swatches

Hello everyone! So, as I'm sure most of you will know, MAC released their Heavenly Creature Collection at the end of last week! I've been excited for the launch of this collection for a while, so  ordered a couple of things!

Disclaimer: I saved up to buy things from this collection. Makeup is my hobby, its what I choose to spend my money on and I started this blog so my makeup wasn't just sitting in my drawers, instead it is providing information and inspiration for other beauty lovers! I'm also on a spending ban after buying these. Anyway, onto showing you what I got!

I got three things, two Mineralize Skinfinishes from the Heavenly Creature collection, and one Mineralize Eyeshadow from the MAC permanent collection. I've been wanting to try MAC's MSF's for so long now, so I was so happy to get my hands on these!

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Star Wonder - £21.50
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Light Year - £21.50
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk - £16.50

First off, we have the MSF in Star Wonder. These are different from normal MAC MSF's in that they are several colours swirled together. Star Wonder is a beautiful mix of a pale gold, a bright peachy pink and a darker pink that leans towards being mauve.

Next up is Light Year MSF. This is what mainly attracted me to the Heavenly Creature collection, its a mixture of pale nudey peach, a darker pinky peach and a gold swirl.

Finally we have Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk, which was originally part of the 'Style Black' collection in 2009, but was recently added to the permanent collection. Its the most beautiful eyeshadow I've ever come across. It has a black base, with lots of purple and magenta glitter and some silver. I don't wear dark eyes very often anymore, but I think I can easily say this is now my favourite eyeshadow ever.

Now, onto the swatches!

Light Year and Star Wonder without flash.

Light Year and Star Wonder with flash.

As you can see, Light Year is a beautiful peach with lots of gold shimmer. It is quite sheer, and needs to be built up on lighter skins, although it would make a beautiful highlighter on darker skintones. Star Wonder, which I didn't plan on buying at first, has turned out to be my favourite out of the two MSF's. Its a gorgeous peachy pink with again, lots of gold shimmer. Many bloggers have compared it to NARS's famous Orgasm blush. I don't own Orgasm, but I have compared it to another dupe I own, Benefit's Coralista, and they are very similar!

Young Punk, dry and wet, without flash.

Young Punk, dry and wet, with flash.

As you can see, Young Punk applies black with purple and magenta glitter. It can be applied either dry or wet, one of the benefits of the baked eyeshadows, and is so much more intense when applied wet. I've been applying it wet to my eyelid then using a little of it dry to help blend it out. I seriously can't get over how much I love this, I'm so glad its part of the permanent collection now!

I'm so chuffed with what I've bought from the collection. There are so many more things I'd happily have from the Heavenly Creatre collection, I have my eye on the blush in Supernova. But, as I'm on a spending ban, I'll just need to wait and hope the collection is still available after my birthday in August!

I hope you enjoyed this post! I still have lots of posts coming up, even though I'm on a spending ban I've got plenty of things to review for you from the last month of over-spending! xx

Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation & Concealer

Hey everyone! So, as some of you may or may not know, Illamasqua are currently having a up to 60% of sale on their website! With sale items ranging from £5.00 - £15.00, I couldn't not take the chance to pick up some of their normally expensive products for a bargain price!

So, I ordered two items, a foundation and a concealer.

Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 150  £21.50 £10.00
Illamasqua Concealer in 210 £13.00 £5.00

Now, in this photo they look far too dark for my skintone, and I was worried at first maybe I'd ordered shades that were too dark. But 150 in the Rich Liquid Foundation is just right for me, any lighter and it'd be too pale! The concealer in 210 is perhaps a little dark (it looks even darker in the photo, its not that bad in real life), but I had limited choice in the sale and with a slight summer tan its working well for me!

Both are really heavy coverage, but have a lovely finish. The foundation does have a tendency to stick to flaky skin pretty badly, so I'd suggest making sure you moisturise before applying this. I can't give you a true estimate on how the foundation lasts, because we're having really humid but wet weather in Scotland, no good for my oily skin!  But I reckon it has a good few hours of wear in it, especially with a good primer. The only other downside is that you need a heavy duty brush to apply this product, as it doesn't blend easily. I use my ELF powder brush, but something even denser would be better.

I completely adore the concealer. I've never had a concealer in a little compact/pot before, the packaging is so cute and it even has a mirror in the lid! I would say this is best applied with fingers, as the product needs to be warmed a little before it becomes pliable.

Hpe you enjoyed this post, I'm really pleased with both these products, what a bargain! :) xx 

Kate Moss for Rimmel Spring/Summer 2012 Lipstick

Hello all! I've been meaning to pop this up for a while! Heres a quick look at one of the new Kate Moss for Rimmel S/S 12 lipsticks in Shade 16.

In all honesty, I wasn't impressed by the new Kate Moss collection. I have three lipsticks from her first offering, which I love. But I felt not much had changed, apart from changing the red signature on the side of the tube to pink, pretty much all of the colours were similar to the original line. Two reds, a magenta pink and some pinky nudes, just made a little brighter for Spring/Summer. However, when I spotted Shade 16 for £3.99 in Superdrug, I couldn't resist.

Its a gorgeous pinky coral, so different from the rest of the range. I would go so far as to say its Rimmel's answer to MAC's Nicki Minaj Viva Glam. Its very similar, its just slightly less bright and less intimidating.

I've yet to find a way to pull this off just yet, but I haven't tried many looks with it, and slapping a bright lippy on with no other make-up just makes me look terrifying!

Its definitely much brighter in real life than in this picture, but not overwhelmingly so. I'd say this was a nice middle of the road lippy for paler girls who found Viva Glam Nicki just didn't work for them. I'm definitely going to get a lot of wear out of this when/if we finally get decent summer weather up here in Scotland!

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be back with a wee Illamasqua haul later! :) xx

The Big Creeper Debate

Hello everyone! I've got something a little different for you today - a fashion post. Well, sort of!

As I'm sure you're all aware, 'creepers' or 'those big clunky goth shoes' have now come in to fashion. A long time lover of creepers, I'm thrilled they're now more readily available, in more colours, and much cheaper than they were before big brands like Topshop jumped on the creeper bandwagon, leading to cheaper shoe manufacturers creating 'lookylikeys'. The girly pinks and purples are a much welcome change to the limited colour range before creepers gained their popularity.

However, I'm not sure how I feel about every Tom, Dick and Harry running around in them. Are we going the way of the Doc Marten, where every 12 year old seems to be running around in a pair of pink patent 1490's? These shoes may not be to everyones taste - they're certainly not the most feminine looking footwear! But I feel that many people who would never have considered wearing creepers are only doing it now because the 'fash pack' is telling them to, which is a touch annoying to a long time fan of the brothel creeper. But if you genuinely love these rockabilly style stacked sole beauties, then I salute you!

I'll hopefully be getting my hands on a new cheaper pair of creepers soon, and will do a review of them compared to a more expensive 'original' creeper manufacturer's shoes.

I hope you liked this post, and I hope you can understand where I'm coming from! I'll hopefully have a review of one of the new Kate Moss lipsticks up later tonight or tomorrow! xx