Review: Active 'Chic' Palette

Hello ladies!

My laptop is still broken and in for repairs so I've been a bit out of action lately. I've been using the boy's laptop but the keyboard's laid out differently and I keep deleting everything (ahhhh). I'm fed up on not posting though so I'm giving it a go - hopefully I won't erase everything before I get a chance to post it!

So I ordered this palette online and it arrived a couple of weeks ago. I got it at a heavily discounted price - down to £2.49 or so and it seemed too good a deal to pass up. I'm really glad I went ahead and bought it as I've been using it a lot and some of the colours are gorgeous.

There are a few I probably won't use very often and there a couple of standard browns I doubt I'll use too much but some of the darker plum tones are really lovely. The shadows themselves are quite pigmented but I normally apply with a wet brush to bring the colours out a bit more - they do stay well and there's relatively little fall out. I was surprised what good quality the shadows are considering how low the price was. Good times.

 

So this is the packaging the palette comes on - there are four lip shades, two blushers and a bronzer on the right hand side of the palette but I'm not reviewing them today. I might review them at a later date but I'm much more impressed with the eyeshadow shades so I thought I'd start with the positive.

 So this is the palette opened up, it's small and very portable. When it's closed it fits into the palm of my hand and one of the main cons is that the pans are quite shallow so I think they'd be easily used up. Although, at £2.49 it's not exactly difficult to replace.

Here's a closer look at the eyeshadows - my favourites are the bottom six colours. The gunmetal grey on the far left (second row up) and the deep plum on the right far (second row up) are both absolutely gorgeous and do last all day. I've worn them a couple of times and work well as liners too. Lovely stuff.

The swatches are below and go in order of the palette - on the left is without flash and on the right is the same shades with the flash. I think the pictures with flash are more like the actual shades than the pictures without flash because they do have quite a pearly sheen, which I personally like but it does depend on your taste.

So have any of you tried this palette? I think it's definitely worth the money as there are a couple of gems in there - I'd recommend picking one up if you get the chance :)

Latest flea market purchases!

So I went shopping this weekend picked up a few cute pieces I wanted to share with you.

First I hit Primark and bought this jewellery:

Then me and the boy headed to an antique fair in our local village where I came across these bad boys:

Gold cuff (£1)

Chunky gold and black ring (£1)

Heart shaped vase (two for 50p - I'm using them to store brushes at the moment)

A trinket pot (50p)

This gorgeous leather jewellery box (£3 - massive bargain!)

I love antique fairs and thrift stores. Luckily where I love there's always a few going on and I normally find a few treasures every time I go. I'm absolutely in love with the jewellery box I bought - such a bargain. I love buying vintage pieces as I know I'm not going to go out and find everyone else is wearing the exact same thing as me!

Do you guys ever stop by antique fairs/flea markets? What have you bought lately?

Big Ebay sale - clothes, bags, shoes - all 99p!

Hello hello lovely ladies!

How are you all? Hope your Monday isn't too bleak - the weather down here's decidedly grey. Not good. Although I did get to wear my boots for the first time since summer so there's a silver lining I suppose!

To mark the arrival of Autumn, I had a big clear out over the weekend of all the clothes I've never worn/worn once so I've added 80 or so items to Ebay for sale.

There are clothes from Topshop, Forever 21, American Eagle, Urban Outfitters etc, ranging from sizes 10-16 and shoes from size 5-7. There's a couple of bags on there as well.

Please see below for an example of a few of the things I've got for sale but there's lots more so do go and check out my auctions at: http://bit.ly/ciTJEV.

They all start at 99p and end Saturday/Sunday this week - if you are interested and want me to add 'buy it now' onto the listing do let me know.

Thanks girls!

xxx

Natural Collection Moisture Renew Lipsticks

So today I'm reviewing three of the Natural Collection (*Not Collection 2000 as per my earlier typo!) Moisture Renew Lipsticks: Raspberry, Crimson and Sorbet. I bought all three shades at my local Boots store and I must say I'm a big fan. They were a snip at £1.79 and I've been wearing them to work and out at night - I did buy them during a sale though so I'm unsure of the full price, though I don't think it's too much more.

 (Without flash. L-R: Raspberry, Crimson, Sorbet)

The colours are all very vibrant and go on easily and smoothly with barely any smudging or feathering. The compact packaging means it's easy to slip one into your bag to reapply - which is the only downside to these. I did find I had to reapply every hour or so and drinking out of a glass is a nightmare - straw please!

(With flash)

Raspberry:

 My favourite shade out of these three is probably Raspberry; I've almost finished my second tube of it and I'll be buying my third soon!

Crimson:

I love red lippie and shove it with everything so Crimson's the ideal shade for me.

Sorbet:

Sorbet is a nice shade but I hardly ever wear nudes so I only bought it to experiment. It's not too nude though so it's a nice one to get me started :).

The swatches on the end of the tubes are pretty accurate as well - I was really impressed and they're a really good guide to go off of. These colours do them more justice than the photos of the sticks themselves I think. Another thing to add is that these really do moisturise your lips - I've spent all day reapplying a certain shade and my lips are really soft and not at all dry at the end of the day. Fab.

Rating:

Pricing: 4/5

Packaging: 3/5

Application: 3/5

Colour: 5/5

Wearability: 4/5

Total: 19/25 (B+)

OotD - 1

So this is today's outfit for work. The skirt's new but everything else I'd have for a little while. I love this blazer and it's the first time it's been cold enough for me to wear so I'm chuffed about that.

I like this look - it's really wearable, low maintenance and comfy so I can sit down at work all day without walking home covered in creases. Yay.

So today I'm wearing:

Blazer - Primark

Top - Austin Reed

Necklace - Forever 21

Skirt - ASOS

Shoes - Topshop

So, what do you think? What are you wearing today?

FotD - 1

Good morning lovelies! Happy Monday :). This is my look for today, hope you like it. I used quite a mix of products on my eyes - there's a close up on my lids in one of the photos below. My eyes are looking a little bit baggy but it's super early at the beginning of the week so I think I can overlook that!

So, what do you think?

 

For this look I used:

Face:

Natural Collection ShineAway Foundation - Shade 5
Elf Tone Correcting Concealer - Honey
Elf Eyelid Primer - Sheer

Eyes:

Avon ColorTrend Crystal Clear Mascara
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara - Black
The Color Workshop Eye Palette - Cream
Elf Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil -
Avon Arabian Glow Eyeliner Pencil - Turquoise
Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen - Black

Lips:

Liiv Botanicals Lip Conditioner
Elf Hypershine Gloss - Vixen

What products have you used today?

Review: ELF Brushes

I’m not going to go into too much detail with these reviews as I’m fairly sure I’m the last person in the world to discover the joy of ELF brushes but there’s a few I’ve absolutely fallen in love with so I want to share my thoughts about the selection I received over the weekend.

These were all purchased by me from the ELF website.

Defining Eye Brush:

ELF say: The velvety bristles contour in the crease of the eyelid or right underneath the brow bone for added colour

My thoughts: I found this brush really easy to use all over the eye. It gave even coverage and there wasn’t much loose powder under my eyes once I’d finished. Overall, I’m impressed with this one.

Total Face Brush:

ELF say: Soft caressing facial bristles allow for soothing application of facial and bronzing powder and for quick full-face touch ups

My thoughts: I love this brush. The bristles are so soft, like ELF say in the description and the brush gave really smooth and even coverage. The product went on really easily with the brush with very little mess. Sometimes with bronzer I find cheaper brushes can make it appear quite patchy but none of that at all with this brush. Full marks.

Eyeshadow Brush:

ELF say: Expertly blends multiple eye shades while softening dramatic edges and fine lines. Brush can also multi-task, use it to set powder or liquid concealer

My thoughts: Well, my thoughts about this one are a bit lacklustre unfortunately. It’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with it at all but I didn’t come away feeling excited about the application or the final result. It’s a good staple that I’ll always use but I much prefer the Smudge Eye Sponge.

Foundation Brush:

ELF say: Achieve an ultra smooth, pore-less finish when applying foundation or tinted moisturiser

My thoughts: I’ve only just stopped using a sponge to apply my foundation and started using brushes so it’s still something I’m getting used to. The ELF Foundation brush made the application easy, mess free and I was left with a smooth finish. Not quite as ultra-smooth and pore-less as ELF say but hopefully with time I’ll be able to achieve that finish with this brush.

Concealer Brush:

ELF say: Creates flawless and smooth application with the synthetic bristled brush for wet or dry products

My thoughts: This one is great – it’s probably my favourite out of all the brushes I bought from ELF. I’ve been using brushes to apply concealer for a while now and I massively prefer it to using a sponge. I use far less product and the makeup stays put for much longer. This brush is fantastic – the product went on so smoothly and it stayed in place for hours, even though I hadn’t applied any primer at all. Very, very impressed. I’d consider buying a couple more of these for use with eyeshadow.

Smudge Eye Sponge:

ELF say: Create a dramatic, smokey eye look with this soft tapered applicator that blends liner and shadow perfectly

My thoughts: Oh, yay! I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with eye sponges. Sometimes they work wonders and I love how great they are at blending my make-up. Other times I can’t be bothered and would rather do it all by hand. However, the Smudge Eye Sponge was hassle-free, blended my colours together really well without making my eyes look messy or taking any of the product off of my eyes. A new favourite, I think.

Bronzing Brush:

ELF say: This unique three-in-one brush allows for precision application of blush, bronzer and all other multi-purpose dusts and loose powders

My thoughts: I probably don’t need to use both this brush and the Total Face brush and out of the two I think I’d go with the Total Face brush over this one. This one is a nice brush but the bristles were a little scratchy on my skin and I found the finished result with a little smoother with the Total Face brush. It wasn’t bad though and I probably will still use it from time to time – maybe for my loose powder where I don’t need to be quite so precise.

I haven’t washed any of these yet (naughty naughty) but I’m sure they’ll wash fine – I’ve heard lots of people saying so so I’m sure they’re right. I’m really happy with these purchases. I love having new brushes to use and I’m going to make sure I look after them properly. I will wash them regularly, I promise!

My favourites are definitely the Total Face Brush and the Smudge Eye Sponge so I do recommend them to anybody who hasn’t purchased them yet – they’re fab.