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 ♥

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 ♥