Holy grail item #4....

Yet another Holy grail item :)

This one....

Soap and glory lid stuff ' what's nude':


This is my 'go to' palette! Whenever I can't decide what look I want to do, or I don't have much time to get ready I stick with this. You can do so many looks with it, I usually use 'vanilla' all over, 'pink T' in my crease and 'Mudhoney' in my outer V. Or I'll just use 'vanilla' all over and 'pink T' in the crease.

Each eyeshadow is so silky, extremely pigmented and blends great. The palette is so compact which make it great for travelling, and I think this would work well with everyone's skintone. Another product I've picked up for my kit, I think this would work for bridal work.

The lowdown:


* Cost £10.00
* Small and compact
* Blend easily
* Very pigmented
* Works with everyone's skintone

Where to buy:

* Boots: http://www.boots.com/en/Soap-Glory-8482-Lid-Stuff-8482-Flawless-Finish-Eyeshadow_1243290/

* Online: http://www.soapandglory.com/products/cosmetics/eyes/lid-stuff

Previous blog post:
http://stacey-ajourneyofathousandmiles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/review-soap-and-glory-lid-stuff.html

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Review: Kleenex shine absorbing sheets....

A week or so my parents had been out shopping, and came back with some Kleenex samples that they had been given. Knowing my 'obsession' for all things beauty related, they gave them to me to try out. For the past few days I've been trying out the 'shine absorbing sheets' and actually think they're pretty amazing.

I've only ever tried one other brand of shine control/absorbing sheers which were from superdrug (superdrug's own make) and I think I used about 4 then threw them out because they were full of powder and left my make up all blotchy. That kind of put me off buying any more, but when I got given these sample packs to try I thought I may as well have a go.

The instructions are written on the pack, all you do is use the plain purple side of the sheet and blot. The thing I love about these is that they're powder free so they don't leave anything behind on your face. They're small and compact so fit nicely in your make up bag, or good just to stick in your bag. I find they work really well, they don't remove any make up from your face so there's no need to re-powder once you've used a sheet. Which is pretty much the whole point in blotting sheets right?

Another thing I really like about these are the way they're packaged. First off, the sheets are purple, my favourite colour! I also love the way the you're able to take each sheet out.

On the inside of the flap where the diagram is, there's a little tab that says 'peel off', when you peel it off it reveals a sticky strip. Once you close the packet, the sticky strip sticks to the top sheet, so that when you reopen the packet the sheet at the top sticks to the strip pulling it out for you ready to use. Now I personally think that's pretty cool!! Once I've used up the sample packs I have, I'll be heading straight out and buying the full size.

The lowdown:

* £1.99 - £2.99 (depends where you buy)

* 50 sheets

* Powder free

* Small and compact

* Simple to use

* No need to touch up with powder

* Absorb oil/shine straight away

Kleenex website: http://www.kleenex.co.uk/beauty/Beauty.aspx

Where to buy:

* Superdrug: http://www.superdrug.com/search?q=kleenex+shine+absorbing+sheets&searchsubmit=Search 

I also have 1 or 2 other kleenex products to try out, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Holy grail item #3....

Time for my third holy grail product, I think I may end up going reaching #100!! (joking..... maybe #99)

Urban decay de slick setting spray:


This is another new product, and another one that I've raved about already so don't have all that much more to add other than I love this! I debated about buying this for so long, because I'm a total budget make up kinda gal and didn't think I could justify spending £23 on one product. But I figured it would last me ages ao went ahead and bought it, and I'm so pleased I did.

My revlon colorstay foundation works so well with my oily skin, but I still have to re-powder my T-zone (mainly my chin) throughout the day, mostly just once a day. When I use this I don't have to re-powder at all!! My make up looks just as fresh at the end of the day as it did at the beginning. £23.00 well spent!

The lowdown:


* Cost £23.00 (think this is just a special offer)
* 177ml
* Keeps make up looking fresh all day
* No need to re-powder throughout the day
* Only using a tiny amount, so bottle will last ages

Where to buy:

* Debenhams: http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123932006399_-1?breadcrumb=Home~Beauty

* House of fraiser: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Urban+Decay+De-Slick+Oil+Control+Setting+XL+Spray/165541494,default,pd.html

* Online USA: http://www.urbandecay.com/makeup-setting-spray/4_500,default,sc.html

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Smokey eyes....

Time for another look, this time a grey smokey eye:

* First I primed my eyes using MUA eye primer

* Then I used MAC's 'blanc type' and placed this all over my lid

* I then took MUA eyeshadow in shade 3, which is like a gun metal silver, and packed it onto the outer half of my lid. Then took a clean blending brush, and blended it all over the lid

* Next I took MAC's 'silver ring' and place that again, on the outer half then blended. This time I just blended it in the outer half, and crease. Not onto inner half of my lid

* Next up I used MUA shade 15 which is a black pearl shadow, and created a V shape in the outer V and blended well

* Time for liner. I used MUA liquid liner, but didn't create a flick at the end. Then used MUA pencil liner in 'jet black' and lined my water line and tightline

* Lastly I applied Clinique high impact mascara, and the look is complete

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Product rave: Ciate nail varnish....

I previously blogged about getting a free Ciate nail varnish with Marie Claire magazine, and have only just gotten around to trying it out. I only heard about this brand because of youtube and then spotted Marie Claire at the supermarket with a free nail varnish, so I had to pick it up.

I got mine in the shade 'bon bon' (love the name) which I'd say is a purple toned nude. I absolutely adore the colour! The application is SO smooth, the brush isn't too big or too small an it dries pretty quick.

(excuse the state of my cuticles)

I applied 2 coats of this and it lasted 5 days!

After wearing this colour and loving it, I spotted that my local supermarket still had some copies of the magazine left. Purple is my favourite colour, and although I have a billion and one purple nail varnishes, I love the application of this brand so much I couldn't resist buying another.

The second colour I got is 'purple sherbet' which is a gorgeous lilac. I did find that it was quite sheer when applied, so had to apply 3 coats. I thought it reminded me slightly of Barry M nail paint in '308 pale purple', but the ciate is more of a cool tone lilac, and the Barry M more warm toned.

I didn't find that I needed to wear a base or top coat with either of these, and they lasted 5 days before they started to chip.

Think I may have found a new favourite brand of nail varnish ;)

Where to buy:

* Ciate website: http://www.ciate.co.uk/

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Purple smokey eyes....

I was in the mood to have a play about with some shadow again, this time purple. I bought the vivo trio in 'sugar plum' a few months back and completely forgot I had it! This will be coming out more often because I adore it!

The colours are actually darker then they're showing - Rubbish camera! Sorry

* Firstly I primed my eyes with MUA eye primer

* Next I applied the baby pink all over my lid, going just above the crease

* I then took the middle purple and applied to the outer half of my lid and again, into the crease

* Next I applied the darker purple in to the outer 'V' and blended in to the outer half of the crease. I also applied this along my lower lashline

* Last I applied MAC's 'blanc type' as a hightlight, and used Clinique high impact mascara

My previous review on this vivo trio: http://stacey-ajourneyofathousandmiles.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/review-vivo-eyeshadow-trio.html

Thanks for reading :)

S xx

Weekly favourites....

Favourites time again! I'm so glad I don't actually do this monthly now, my list would be never ending!! I've also noticed that pretty much every week, I have a different lipstick and blush....... I'm so fickle :P

I'll start with nails because everything else is make up:

* Ciate paint pot in 'bon bon' I got this free with Marie Claire magazine (usual price £9.00) and love it! It glides on like butter, dries fairly quickly and lasts days before starting to chip. I think I may need to purchase a few of these.

Next up, make up:

Lipstick on top, blush underneath

* Sally Hansen natural beauty color comfort lip color in 'soft orchid' £1.00 from the poundshop. I adore this colour, it's kind of a mauve/berry colour which seems to be the colour I always gravitate towards now. The colour doesn't last all that long on the lips, but for £1.00 I can't complain.

* e.l.f blush in 'mellow mauve' £3.50 from the elf website. Surprise surprise it's a mauve :P I find these blushes quite powdery and not overly pigmented, but I find this helps when I'm in a hurry because I don't need to worry about being heavy handed and end up walking out the door looking like a clown.

Eye eye:

Excuse the redness, I'd just wiped off the lippy and blush

* MAC eyeshadow in 'vex' £10.00 from MAC My sister gave me this eyeshadow because she never wore it, and I didn't until this week. I never knew what to pair it with because it's such an unusual colour. It's a mix of purple tones, pink tones and green tones. I watched coleyyyful's video and she paired it with 'shale' I don't have shale so used 'scene' and it looked really nice. So that's what I've been wearing every day since!

* MAC eyeshadow in 'scene' £10.00 from MAC. This is a cool toned medium grey, and probably one of my fave MAC eyeshadow's. It goes great with 'vex' and can be worn all over the lid with a black/darker grey in the crease or outer 'V' for nights out. It's definitely one of my go-to eyeshadow's when I sport a grey smokey eye.


Thanks for reading :)

 S xx