Monthly empties....

It's the end of November already!!!!!! I think I've said this almost every month but how fast is this year going? :On Time once again for my monthly empties post:

Make up:

* Soap and Glory eyeshadow in 'Vanilla' - One of my all time favourite highlight colours, I'd definitely repurchase
* MAC Paint pot in 'Barestudy' - LOVE this for an eyeshadow base, such a pretty champagne colour. Another definite repurchase
* MAC eyeshadow in 'Phloof' - One of my favourite MAC eyeshadow's, I already have a back up ;)
* MUA Extreme felt liner - I love this liner! Easy to use, stays put all day, super pigmented and very inexpensive. This is the third one I've used up and one I'll continue to repurchase
* Collection Lasting perfection concealer - Holy grail concealer for me, I can't not have this in my make up bag. TIP - When you think you're finished the tube, chop the bottom off. There's SO much product in the very bottom
* 17 Miracle Matte pressed powder - Another Holy grail product for me and one I've repurchased time and time again

Skin/hair care:

* Superdrug cucumber face wipes - Part of my daily skincare routine, absolutely love them!
* No7 Beautiful skin purifying exfoliator - I didn't really notice that much of a difference when I used this, so I wouldn't repurchase
* Carmex 'Original' - An absolute staple product for everyone. Winter is coming and I always get dry lips so this is perfect. This also works amazing at getting rid of cold sores
* Freederm - I have a love/hate relationship with this. For some reason sometimes it works literally straight away, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. I'd still repurchase because when it does work, it's great
* Batiste dry shampoo - Yet another Holy grail product for me. This stuff s an absolute life saver and I can't be without it

Perfume/fragrance:

* Impulse 'Loving words' - This is pretty much in all of my Monthly empties posts. Such a sweet gorgeous scent
* Avon 'Secret fantasy star' perfume - I can't say I was too keen on this scent, it's kind of a musky vanilla smell. Wouldn't repurchase
* H&M Eau de toilette spray in 'Me and my guava' - This is gorgeous. A summery fruity scent that lasts pretty well on the skin. I think I'd buy this again


That's it for this month. Eeek the next one will be the end of 2012!

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Small avon skincare haul....

It seems like so long ago that I bought anything from Avon! I got my order through today and thought I'd do a short haul post about what I bought :

* Solutions complete balance mattifying toner £3.00
* Solutions complete balance regime trial kit for combination skin. Contains - day cream, night cream and deep cleansing clay mask £5.00
* Clearskin professional blemish mark treatment £2.50

I can't wait to try these all out! I'm going to wait until I've used the majority of my skincare up and then give these a whirl. I love the little trial pack, perfect size products to try out and see how you like them.

Have you tried out any of the 'Solutions' range?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Holy Grail item #8....

Time for another 'Holy grail' product, this time skincare.

Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser:

I first bought this quite a few months ago because I watched 'Msbudgetbeauty' on Youtube rave about it. And it's definitely worth the rave! Whenever I have a spot I slap a dollop of this on and within a couple of hours it's gone! I do use this as a moisturiser too and I have to say that it keeps spots at bay, but works so much better as a spot treatment.

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Holy grail item #7....

A few moths a go I posted some of my 'Holy grail' items and since then I've remembered a few more. Today's is Batiste dry shampoo:

I can't live without this! I wash my hair every other day, and sometimes on the morning I need to wash my hair it looks like it needs a little pick me up. That's where this beauty comes in. Many people shy away from dry shampoo because it can leave your hair white, but I never find that happens with this. When I use it, I spry it wherever I need it then leave it for a few minutes to 'soak in' and then with my fingers I rub it in then style as usual. I find that if I brush this through my hair it sometimes looks like I haven't applied it. Tropical is my absolute favourite, smells of coconuts mmmmmmmm

If you haven't already tried this out, then go buy some you won't be disappointed!

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Weekly Favourites....

Tis Sunday again, you know the drill. Time for this weeks favourites:

* e.l.f conditioning lip balm in 'Peaceful pink' - I've loved using this this past week. With the weather getting colder now I like to wear a lip balm. But I've been reaching for this more because it's such a pretty colour and it keeps my lips nice and soft

* Vital radiance blusher in 'mocha radiance' - This is one of those shades that gives off a nice glow and is kind of in between a blush and bronzer. Such a pretty colour

* Models own nail varnish in 'Raspberry Crush' - I got this free with More! Magazine and was in two minds about getting it because I have SO many red nail varnishes. However, I'm very happy I picked this up because it's a reddy pink and such a gorgeous colour

That's it for this week.

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Review - Beauty fixation tinted lip conditioner....

I recently received my 'Latest in beauty' box and the one thing I was excited about were the Japonesque 'beauty fixation tinted lip conditioner' cotton buds

These are basically 24 cotton buds filled with tinted lip conditioner and all you have to do is snap off the end with the red ring around it, and squeeze the product out until it fills the cotton bud at the other end.

I thought these were a great idea for travelling or just to simply throw in your bag for when you want a little extra sheen on your lips.
I love the idea, however I don't love the product itself. I found them to be oily, which was a bit weird for a tinted lip conditioner as any others I've tried have been a balm. They weren't pigmented at all which was a let down as they indicate 'Tinted'. I wasn't expecting full on colour but 'tinted' means a little smidge of colour right?

The actual product pretty much soaked into my lips straight away, literally after about 10 minutes. They didn't feel all that conditioned if I'm honest, I think an ordinary lip balm works better.

I'd say if you can get these as samples (latest in beauty is where I got mine) then give them a go, you might like them. I wouldn't purchase these myself because I don't think I'd use them again

Have you tried these?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx





















Where to buy:

* USA Amazon
*  Beautybar
* UK Amazon
* Latest in beauty
* Cocktail Cosmetics
* Beautyfixation

Have you tried these before?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Essie collection....

Over the past couple of months I've picked up a fair few Essie nail varnishes, which I have to say were all bought at a bargain price. I thought I'd do a little post on the ones I have, and hopefully the swatches might help some of you out when deciding on colours :)

Left to right:

* Ballet Slippers

* Muchi Muchi

* Lady Like

* To buy or not to buy

* Navigate her (the green)

Apologies for the messy 'ballet slippers' it's quite a hard polish to apply

Left to right

* Navigate her

* Fifth Avenue

* Tour de Finance

* Orange, it's obvious

* Carry on

Out of the ones I have, I think 'Lady like' and 'Fifth avenue are my faves!

What's your favourite Essie polish?

Thanks for reading :) 

S xx

FREEBIE Alert....

I'm pretty sure all you make up addicts already know about this but in case you don't here's a little post :) More! Magazine are giving away free Models own goodies. You get one thing per magazine: a choice of two nail varnishes and a choice of two lip glosses:

I got a free lip gloss called 'Red Hot' I'm not sure what the other shade is, or which nail varnishes are out there because my newsagent only had this one in, but I shall be on the hunt for them tomorrow :P

Have you picked this up today? Which freebie did you get?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Alternative products....

We all know high end products are rather expensive, and I guess you do get what you pay for. However many people stay away from the less expensive brands because they don't think that they'll be any good. One of my favourite brands is, yes you've guessed it, MUA. I waffle on about them all of the time and I'm always telling friends to go out and buy some things.
So, the other day I was going through my MAC palettes and realised that I have some similar eyeshadow's in my MUA collection. I'm not saying they're exactly the same, however I am saying that if you're after a cheaper alternative then check these out:

* First up MAC Mystery on top and MUA shade 19 on bottom

The MUA shade looks slightly warmer on this picture, but it's actually very similar to 'Mystery' Such a great matte brown

* MAC Carbon on top and MUA shade 20 on bottom

In my opinion, MUA blows MAC's 'Carbon' out of the water on this one. I find 'Carbon' to be very hard to work with, it doesn't blend all that well and the pigmentation is pretty pants compared to MUA

* MAC 'Satin Taupe' on top and MUA shade 11 on bottom

Again not an exact dupe, but a great alternative eyeshadow. Both of these blend easy and are extremely pigmented

* Last eyeshadow alternative MAC 'Silver ring' on top and MUA Shade 3 on bottom

I find these to be very similar, but I've noticed the MUA has slightly more shimmer in it and is a little more pigmented

* Now for an eye primer. Urban Decay primer potion and MUA eyeshadow primer

I prefer MUA eyeshadow primer by a mile. Sorry Urban Decay but the MUA primer is a little thicker which I prefer and it's £2.00!!

MUA eyeshadow's are only £1.00 compared to MAC at £12.00, pretty big price difference!

Have you found any alternatives to any high end products?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Weekly favourites....

A very short favourites post this week 2 lippys, a film and a book :)

Pour les Levres ;)

* Marks and Spencer's 'Blush Pink' - I love this colour, such a pretty reddy/orange colour

* Avon's 'Purple Haze' - I love Barry M's lip paint in '129' but I find it hard to wear because it's so pigmented. I wanted another lilac toned lipstick and stumbled across this one. It's such a pretty and easy colour to wear


Get your popcorn at the ready:

* Sherlock Holmes - I was a bit unsure about this because it's not something I'd normally watch, and I admit I only wanted to watch it for Robert Downey Jnr :P However I love this film!! I laughed the whole way through, deffo one to watch


The bookworm is back to play:

* 'I heart New York' by Lindsey Kelk - I've had this book sat on my bookshelf for so long and completely forgot about it. That was until my cousin and I decided we fancied a little trip to New York next year and booked ourselves a flight :D So I started to read this, and although I'm only on chapter 6, I'm hooked!!

That's all folks

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Review - MUA Kiss proof lip stain in 'Kissalicious'

Time for another MUA product review, this time their new Kiss proof lip stains:

As soon as I saw these on the MUA website I knew I had to try them out, so I waited patiently until they got released in Superdrug and ran like a mad woman to pick one up. I bought mine in 'Kissalicious' which is a gorgeous pink shade

This lip stain is pretty much like a felt tip pen with the same plastic tube and the same kind of fibre tip. However with this pen, you colour in your lips :P

These smell so good, they have a fruity scent and the application is great. I found that with mine I had to use the side of the tip rather than the actual tip to get the product onto my lips. This was slightly tacky once applied but not too much and it dried within around 30 seconds. It lasted around 4 hours on my lips then lost its pigmentation slightly and left behind a 'my lips but better' colour. I didn't find this to be all that drying on my lips.

The Lowdown:

* Cost - £3.00

* Shades - 3

* Smells fruity

* Lasts around 4 hours
* Not too drying

* 4.5/5

Buy MUA here

Thanks for reading :) 

S xx

Review - MUA Mystical glitter nails in 'Seahorse'....

MUA have recently brought out new glitter nail varnishes called 'mystical glitter nails' and I picked one up in 'Seahorse' (love the name!)

Origianally I wanted to get the shade 'Mermaid' which is a gorgeous blue but then I spotted this one and changed my mind (I'll definitely be going back for Mermaid!) Seahorse is, in my opinion, pretty unique. I want to say it's a golden olive colour and it's stunning!

With one coat and without flash

With two coats and without flash

With two coats and with flash

This was so easy to apply and dried pretty quickly. I needed to apply two coats of this (which it said on the bottle) to get it opaque, and what I noticed is that unlike some other glitter nail varnish that I have this is smooth once applied to the nail. Some others feel gritty and when you run your finger over your nail you can feel the glitter, but not with these. This lasted  4 days on my nails before it started to chip (base coat and no top coat - you know me :p)

The lowdown:

* Cost - £2.00

* Shades - 7

* 6.8ml of product

* Dries pretty quick

* Two coats needed

* Lasts 4

* Smooth to touch, glitter isn't grainy

*  5/5

I love these nail varnishes, I'll definitely be buying more! 

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Book review - Pushing the limits by Kate McGarry

Time for something a little different today, a book review. I had a second blog which I used to post all none beauty related things on but I didn't have the time to keep on top of two. So from time to time the odd book review may make an appearance on here. Today's book review is 'Pushing the limits' by Kate McGarry:

This appeared in my weekly favourites because I literally couldn't put it down.

The blurb:

'They say be a good girl,

get good grades,
be popular.
They know nothing about me.
I can't remember the night that changed my life. The night I went from popular to loner freak. And my family are determined to keep it that way. They said therapy was supposed to help. They didn't expect Noah. Noah is the dangerous boy my parents warned me about. But the only one who'll listen. The only one who'll help me find the truth. I know every kiss, every promise, every touch is forbidden. But what if finding your destiny means breaking all the rules? A brave and powerful novel about loss, change and growing up, but most of all love'

This book is about two teenagers with similar lives, in that they both have troubled backgrounds. Echo used to be one of the popular girls until the day she returned to school with scars all up her arms and no recollection of how she got them. Noah was the pot smoking bad boy who had a reputation of sleeping with every girl in School. Their paths never crossed until they both had weekly appointments with the school guidance councillor. Noah's parents died in a house fire so he and his two young brothers got put into foster care, Noah jumping from one foster home to another and his younger brothers in a stable caring loving home. Noah's mission was to graduate high school and get full custody of his brothers. Echo's mission was to find out what happened to her on that dreadful night. What brought the pair together? Their need for their files from the guidance councillors office. 

However life, especially in books, is not that simple and so they began their long journey of heartache, misfortune and finding out the truth.

I whole heartedly recommend this book! I cried almost all of the way through, it's definitely one that will pull you in and pull at your heart strings!

5/5

Have you read this book, or have any recommendations?

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Weekly favourites....

Annnnnd it's Sunday again. Does anyone else feel like the world is whizzing past way too fast? Time flies when you're having fun and all that jazz. This weeks faves:

* Sleek bush in 'flushed' I REALLY want MAC 'dirt plum' until I found out it was limited edition - boo you MAC. Then I decided I wanted 'fever' But I'm behaving myself because it's almost Christmas and I have a fair few prezzies I need to buy fist. So I bought a cheaper alternative from sleek and I'm loving it. Such a great colour for autumn/winter, although I'd wear this all ear round

* Revlon colorburst lipstick in 'lilac' and Carmex - I love the colour of this lipgloss, although I have no idea where they got the shade 'Lilac' from. I'd say it was a light mauve. Anywhoo it's so pretty and I pair it with carmex to add a teeny bit sheen

* MUA gel liner in 'underground' and Avon angled liner brush - I've just finished off my MUA extreme felt liner (which is my all time favourite liner) and instead of buying a new one, I'm trying to use up some of my other ones. I love this one, it stays put all day and has a great consistency. As for the liner brush, this is fast becoming my fave liner brush. Because it's angled, it makes it easier to get the angle the same on both sides

Random faves:

* Rhianna - Diamonds

* 'Pushing the limits' by Kate McGarry

That's it for yet another week

Thanks for reading :)

S xx