BARGAIN Stila Beach Palette Review :)

I know, I know, I know - you can buy Stila for the pound shop now. And that is an amazing bargain!! But it sells out fast and is usually shades & stuff no one is buying any more. TK Maxx also do great prices for Stila, I have bought a few pieces there.

However - for a full price, limited edition palette, I think the £10 I paid is awesome. I bought one of the Beach Palettes from Escentual.com in my haul you can see here. I put my swatches there but I'll show you the pics again in case you feel too lazy to look back haha!

It was the Limited Edition Beach Palette in Living it Up in Laguna, which I bought here.

Eyeshadows clockwise from top left: Sand Dollar, Sunset, Bonfire, Cove

Blusher: Seashell

Bronzer: Pacific Coast Highway

First impressions of the palette are still what great value it is. A single Stila eyeshadow sets you back about £13, and in this palette you get four co-ordinating colours plus a blush and a bronzer. Even without the face colours, the eyeshadows would be £2.50 each - serious bargain.

The palette itself is pretty flimsy, it's super cute but made of cardboard so not overly sturdy, and there's no magnetic (or otherwise) clasp to shut it. It includes a mirror and a little guide on how to use the colours. Again, for the price, I'm happy.

Top pic, l-r: Sand Dollar, Sunset, Cove, Bonfire

Bottom pic, l-r: Seashell, Pacific Coast Highway

I chose this palette as I am a total UD Naked addict and felt like a wee change, and I know pinks and purples are good for green eyes. There are other palettes you can choose from for the same price.

The colours work really well together, they are pigmented and go on softly and true to colour (although not true to the colour shown on the back of the palette - don't know what that's about). The guide on how to use the eye colours is not how I would ordinarily use them, as the shade Sunset is a very strong pink, and blending the mauvey Cove on the lash line doesn't seem to work, poor Cove gets lost. But there's lots of opportunities to play about with these colours.

The blush/bronzer are not as great, they are quite pale and almost chalky. The blush, Seashell, is almost purple toned, and I certainly wouldn't be dusting the bronzer all over my face as it's too pinky! But they maybe would suit girls even paler than me haha!

Here's me trying out the look, using the guidelines exactly:

Eyeliner: Collection Gel Liner

Mascara: 17 Peep Show

Eyebrows: Christian Eyebrows in Taupe

Annoyingly, the colours are actually a lot more vivid in real life, they look more neutral here. But the lighting just now is awful, so dark inside! We don't have the lovely London sun. :(

I do think these colours make my eyes appear greener, although it's not as obvious in the photos! 

And here's with a full face of make up...

(Right pic with flash)

Bronzer: Sleek Contour Kit

Blusher: NARS Orgasm

Lips: Dior Addict High Shine in 664 Pink Protege

What do you think? Do you like Stila make up? Do you try colours other than neautrals? Would you 'innvest' in one of these bargain palettes?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Stila, Dior and Philip Kingsley goodies! :)

So I'm back my holiday from Turkey and it was HOT! Hahha. I'll do a post of some of the outfits I wore over the weekend, but right now I'm too excited because I got a little Escentual.com haul!

I bought a voucher for the site off of BuyaPowa about six months ago, and promptly forgot about it. Until August 1st, when I went to check it, and found out it said 'valid until August 1st' but apparently that did not mean INCLUDING that day as the voucher was already invalid. BOO! I was gutted, but tweeted Escentual and they extended the voucher for me, YAY!

I placed my order at 4.30pm yesterday, with free postage, and it arrived before midday today.  AMAZING service. Really chuffed. Here's what I got:

Stila Beach Collectable Palette in Living the Life in Laguna (£10), Philip Kingsley Elasticizer 75ml (£12.20), Dior Addict Extreme Lipstick in 536 Lucky (£22.80) and Stila Smudgepot in Kitten (£13.00).

Exciting stuff!

I will probably be doing reviews to follow, but here's some close ups and some swatches:

The Stila Palette:

 The four eyeshadows are:

Top left: Sand Dollar

Top right: Sunset

Bottom left: Cove

Bottom right: Bonfire

And then it's the blusher: Seashell

And the bronzer underneath: Pacific Coast Highway

Taken in natural light

Top pic, l-r: Sand Dollar, Sunset, Cove, Bonfire

Bottom pic, l-r: Seashell, Pacific Coast Highway

Kitten Smudgepot:

Dior Lipstick:

What do you think? £50 voucher well spent? Even if I did got a bit over haha. I'm especially excited to try the PK Elasticizer, my hair neeeds it! Have you tried any of these products?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation Review

I am such a novice when it comes to face base, I never really knew what I was doing when I was younger, and throughout my late teens and early twenties I just used a tinted moisturiser. Then I swapped to BB Creams and although I'm still a fan of them, I was looking for a bit more coverage. So I purchased my first high end foundation - Jemma Kidd Light as Air (reviewed here). I liked it, but for £25 for a half empty tube I didn't think it was fantastic so won't repurchase it.

I have used Bourjois Healthy Mix before when I was younger and did like it, and I know it's raved over, but whilst perusing Bourjois on my recent drugstore visit, I decided to go for the newer 123 Perfect Foundation, with its promise of  'a rested yet radiant complexion and a flawless, even result for up to 16hrs', with 24 hour hydration and SPF10. (Bourjois website).

Unblended on right, lightly blended on left.

Pros:

• I picked shade No52 Vanilla and it blends perfectly with my skintone.
• It is easy to apply and blend, I use my Sigma stippling brush for the best affect.
• It did even out my skin tone as I have discolouration on my cheeks, and it covered my pores well.
• I didn't feel I needed a powder after this, and I have combination skin, but I always apply bronzer anyways. You could probably go without.
• It definitely was long lasting, although probably not 16 hours (I always use a primer anyways)
• Bourjois is cruelty free.

Cons:

• It's a liiiiittle runny but that doesn't bother me too much. 
• I'm not sure  it was effective at covering my dark undereye circles, I still could definitely not go out without my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on top.

Here it is on my face with no other makeup (ugh):

So it's done ok with my discolouration and pores, still got a wrinkly forehead and dark circles tho!

 

On the whole, I like it and would recommend it. What do you think? Have you tried this foundation? Should I have stuck with Healthy Mix?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Smile Enhancing Lipglosses

I recently bought two smile enhancing lipglosses, actually a coincidence, it's not something I usually look for in a lippie but hey ho.

The first was a random purchase in Watt Brothers whilst I was looking for toy soldiers (don't ask). They had a big Sally Hansen display and this lipgloss in shade 'Gleaming' was only like £2. Please note I purchased this BEFORE making the conscious decision to go cruelty free, I am aware Sally Hansen test on animals and won't be purchasing from them again.

Anyways, the product is fairly average. I always thought a blue tone was needed in lip products to make teeth appear whiter, a la Benefit's California Kissin'. However, this was too pale and pink and did not appear to make my teeth appear any whiter than normal.

The second product I bought just recently from Bourjois, and it's quite quirky. It's called Smile Enhancing Gloss in shade 05 Framboise Hollywood.  It's double sided, with one side as a lipgloss and the other as a teeth whitener. I'm not exactly sure how the teeth whitener is to be used, like if it's to be left to dry or not used within a certain time of eating, and I can find no instructions on it.

However, the concept is pretty fun, even if I do get a few funny looks when applying it in the pub toilets. I can feel the minty effect and I do feel like it temporarily brightens the teeth and besides, the lipgloss colour is divine!! Give this one a try I think.

It's actually a lot bolder in real life, quite a bright, deep pink.

And here's the swatches on my hand also:

Sally Hansen on left, Bourjois on right

Have you tried any of these products? Have you found any lip products that really do make your teeth appear whiter?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

17 Cosmetics Fest-of-All Freebie. :)

So I recently repurchased one of my favourite mascaras of all time and DEFO my favourite drugstore mascara - 17 Peepshow. I reviewed it here, but here's a quick reminder of it's luciousness:

Lovelovelove.

Anyways, so if you spent more than £6 on 17 Cosmetics, you got a free goodie bag. Peep Show is £6.99 so I scooped up my freebies and headed off to the cash desk.

So here's what I got:

An eyeliner, a nail polish and wash off tan. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be using the kohl or tan, as I use gel eyeliner now and don't ever wear wash off tan. I really like the nail polish tho, 17 nail products are usually good and this one is no exception.

For some reason, this colour refused to photograph well! My camera couldn't focus on it at all. It's a bright corally orange, with a slight shimmer. This was with two coats, one coat by itself was quite pale:

Cute, huh?

So remember, if you're planning on popping into Boots, spend more than £6 and you can pick up this cute wee set. Bargain. :) Have you seen any other good deals like this recently?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Collection Goodies Review :)

Thank you all so much for your sweet 'welcome back' messages and also for the congratulations on my job! I'm super excited and lucky in this economy to get one, so thank you!! :)

Remember you can still enter my 'back to blogging giveaway' HERE to win a Naked2 Palette!

Obviously I have a lot of things to catch up on since my break, but first I want to share with you some bargain products that I'm actually pretty impressed with! I recently went into Boots and was distracted by Collection (2000)'s 3 for 2 offer on some of their new goodies.

Now I loved this because it's actually three products I genuinely wanted and needed! I've needed a new primer for a while, and I've been wanting to try gel liner for aaaaages and the finishing spray just seemed like a good idea as I wasn't too impressed by ELF's but I am not forking out for Urban Decay's.

Primer on my hand. :)

The primer has the exact consistancy you'd be looking for, soft and velvety, and goes on like a dream. A little goes a long way and I do feel like my makeup stays looking nicer for that little bit longer. It costs £5.99 when not on offer.

I'm a bit scared of gel liner, not got my application perfect yet, but it goes on smoothly and easily and is lovely and dark initially. The only problem with it is that even with primer, after a day's wear it fades a bit. However, it's been a good trial product for me! I really like it and it's only £4.99.

Lastly, the finishing spray makes my face feel wet for a few seconds obviously, but it dries quickly and I did notice that when combined with the primer my makeup stayed on all night on a night out. I wouldn't use this product for day to day wear, but it seems to be decent for a night out! It costs £5.99 when not on offer.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with these products, which with the offer cost me the grand total of £12 for all three - not bad! Have any of you tried these products? Or any other bargain Collection products I should know about (obv except the famous concealer!!)

Let me know!

ALSO I've been featured in Sarah from FashionismyH2O's recent 'Project Perfect' post, along with some other gorgeous bloggers. If you don't know what Project Perfect is, or you want to see more of me (haha) then go HERE.

~ Lauren ♥

My Current Face Favourites :)

Today I'm going to show you my current daily face! I love to know what make up people use regularly, because although a lot of us buy the new or highly rated products, sometimes we just have our favourites we go back to again and again.

All pictures are taken of the products in their current, loved, state! =p

Currently, for my base I'm using either Kiko BB Cream (which I purchased in the Kiko store in Westfields, London) or Jemma Kidd Light as Air. I use the BB when I have fake tan on as it blends better.

I have reviewed JK Light as Air here.

I'm not 100% sold on either base, still looking for my favourite!

My current concealer is Collection (previously Collection 2000)'s Lasting Perfection. It is SUCH a bargain and does match coverage to high end concealers I've tried. I'm still looking for my HG under-eye concealer though!

I use Nars Orgasm for my blush for day to day wear, blusher is the make up product I like the least - I never seem to apply it perfectly and it annoys me cause I know Orgasm is so good!

I swatched Orgasm here.

On my eyes, I am currently using ELF Prime & Seal Primer, which I love, and then a combination of colours from my Urban Decay Naked and Naked2 Palettes.

I reviewed the ELF Primer here and have compared Naked and Naked2 here.

I'm enjoying ELF's primer, it's super cheap and is like a crayon so it's so easy to use. You can buy it here, but it's quite often out of stock! I also love love LOVE my Naked Palettes, I never use anything else (I know, how exciting).

I also use Urban Decay 24/7 liquid eyeliner - although I am desperately looking for alternative (animal friendly obv)!! And my new AMAZING mascara is 17 Cosmetics Peep Show. Seriously, I usually use high end mascara but was sent this and now it's my daily go-to!

I ranted about my UD eyeliner here and raved about my 17 mascara here.

I apply all my make up with Sigma brushes:

I have reviewed them here, here and here.

They need a wash hahaha.

And that's my face!

You can see that the products I use I have genuinely reviewed positively and keep using over and over.

Do you use any of these products? Do you have any base or eyeliner recommendations for me? What do you think of my daily favourites?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

MUA-mazing? :)

I know, I know, MUA has been around for ages and has long been a favourite of beauty bloggers. There's so many things that I've read about and wanted, but I've not got any particularly large MUA stands near me so they don't have any of the things I've lusted after.

Until, dun dun duuuun! I discovered a big stand in the Superdrug in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. I managed to pick up the Heaven & Earth Palette (even though I have two Nakeds and a Naked2) and also the Primer and 3-in-1 Contour Pen.

I'm sure you've all heard the comparisons between Naked and Heaven & Earth so I won't go into that, but I do know the shades are similarly gorgeous colours and very pigmented. I'm not doing swatches, as I'm going to keep this for part of a wee giveaway I think. But it's preeeetty.

I was actually looking for the eye primer, but couldn't see it, so face primer it is. This is something I've been researching into a lot recently. I currently use 17 Photo Flawless Primer but it's a tiny tiny tube and has nearly run out, so I was looking for a new primer. I had my eye on either Smashbox Photofinish or Stila One Step, but this little MUA one will hopefully do for now!

It was much more liquidy than I expected, and doesn't leave that delicious velvety finish that my previous primer did. However, it absorbed well and left my skin feeling smooth and soft. I've not had a chance to test longevity yet, but I'm hopeful as MUA products all seem good value for money.

The 3-in-1 eXtreme Contour Eye Pen I picked up because I have a new obssession with eyeliner. I'll be doing a post on this more indepth, so I'll leave you now just with a little swatch:

As you can see, the shape of the nib allows you to control the thickness of the line, which is pretty cool. Unfortunately it's not very pigmented so these lines have been gone over twice. It also seemed to smudge quite easily, but that was on my hand. I'll try it on my eyes and let you know!

MUA Heaven & Earth Palette (£4), Primer (£4) and 3-in-1 eXtreme Contour Eye Pen (£1.50) all available instore at Superdrug or online here or here.

What do you think of my very first MUA products? Did I pick well? What else should I try?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Naked2 EOTD Ideas!!

On my recent OOTD post (click here) some people asked about my eye makeup. I used the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette to create the look, and right now it's pretty much all I use. I thought I'd post up a few quick, easy looks I came up with, all using Naked2.

Top without flash, bottom with flash for all photos.
Look1: Silvery

Shades used: Foxy (highlight), Verve (all over), Pistol (outer V and crease).

Look2: Goldy

Shades used: Foxy (highlight), Bootycall (inner corner), Half Baked (centre of lid), Snakebite (outer V and crease).

Look4: Mixed Metals

Shades used: Foxy (highlight), YDK (all over top lid), Verve (bottom lid), Half Baked (outer corner).


I know I'm no MUA, but the Naked and Naked2 Palettes make it so easy to come up with wearable looks that these only took me about five minutes each of experimentation. The lighting in my room is soooo poor when I come home from work a lot of the photos I took didn't turn out well, I'll try show more when I have better lighting!

What do you think? What is your favourite? Have you tried another combo that you love?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

My Attempt at Contouring

So I used to be pretty skinny, and my face was skinny too. As I put on weight, my face kind of rounded out. I don't actually mind having a rounder face too much, but I have zero cheekbones (I know they're in there somewhere, they're just very shy) so I thought it might be a good idea to start contouring.

I have been using Benefit 10 for years. It's a staple in my 'going out' make up, it's quite shimmery and bronzy so it's too much for me during the day but so easy to use and effective for night time use. Here's a pic of me from ago ago wearing it:

So you can see there's highlighter just above my cheekbone and bronzer below. Not my best picture obv but it'll do to show you what Benefit 10 looks like on me!

I wanted something that I could use during the day, alongside my normal blusher (Nars Orgasm). After a bit of reading, Sleek seemed like the obvious choice. So I popped along to my local Superdrug and got the last one in 'light'.

Since I'm too shy to do videos, here's a picture step by step of how I poorly attempted contouring!

I apologise in advance for my face. Ugh.

Step One

Create base, but don't apply any blush etc.

Step Two

Pull a ridiculous fish face. Sweep the bronzer over the hollow that's created, I used my Sigma F40 contour brush.

Step 3

Blend it out a little bit. I used my Sigma F30 big powder brush.

Step 4

Use a blusher brush to add the highlighter along your brow bone and blend with your powder brush a wee bit so it's not just two stripes.

Finished Result!

Left - before and right - after

I know, it would have helped if I'd taken both photos at the same angle. But as you can see, this was quite a rushed effort - I still have my jacket on and no lipstick or anything. Ugh.

Overall, I'm not sure it actually makes a difference! Maybe it's something that needs a bit of practice? Or maybe I'm doing it wrong?

So what do you think? Should I just stick to Benefit 10? Have you tried contouring before?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥