Make-Up Revolution: First thoughts

There has been a lot of hype and excitement about new budget brand, Make up Revolution. I myself was dazzled by the colours of some of the products and happy to see a more affordable brand offering more daring products, usually reserved for the likes of Urban Decay, Illamasqua and Lime Crime. 
I will do a proper review of these when I get a day at home (weather has been too awful today to take photos after I got home from work), but I was very excited when I opened my package so thought I would share what I got:

Iconic 3 Palette: £4
Like all beauty fans I have been lusting after the Naked 3 palette, but £37?? I don't think so. People were saying this is a dupe (though I don't think these are as rosy-toned) and I'm looking forward to giving it a go

Individual eyeshadows: £1
These are ridiculously bright! Can't wait to try these when I've hit the fake tan.

Velvet Lip Lacquer: £3
These have been compared to Lime Crime's Velvetines. I quickly slapped some on to try, but not owning any Velvetines I can't really comment on whether they are comparable. However this is a highly pigmented, super bright candy pink with serious staying power (I had trouble removing it!)

Blue lipstick: £1

This is the product I was excited about. Rihanna had worn a similar lipstick last year but it was so unique and crazy that I thought only high end brands would do something similar. I didn't want to shell out a lot of money on something I probably won't wear too much so was happy that they've done a similar shade. I've seen some people have issues with it applying streakily but when I gave it a quick try it didn't seem too bad, though I'd recommend a light foundation layer to make the colour pop even more

Here's a brief swatch of the two lip products, I will post some decent photos when we have another brighter day

So this little bundle cost me a whole..£10! I'm looking forward to trying these properly and it wouldn't surprise me if I made another order soon

NOTD: nude half moon mani using Barry M Nail art Pen

I have something of a split personality when it comes to nails. I veer between the completely crazy to the more refined and classic. A friend at work had recently had a gorgeous, chic half moon mani that I wanted to recreate myself. I don't have the steadiest of hands (something of an impediment when you are a big nail art fan), so I thought it would be a perfect time to try my new Barry M Nail art pen

I needed a new black nail art pen and the design of this looked so much easier than conventional nail art pens- it's just like a felt tip.

So the idea is, you pump down on the nib a couple of times to get the ink flowing and voila! Nail art is a hell of a lot easier! It is literally like drawing on your nails with a felt tip (FYI- I have heard Sharpies can be used for nail art, something I'm yet to try out...) I always found conventional nail art pens to be difficult; if you used the nib, it would sometimes scratch your polish and would eventually clog up, not to mention the cramp you get in your hand from squeezing the tube bloody tight to get the polish to come out!  But this was so easy to use, you can tell by the crisp lines I managed to get doing my half-moons 

My only issues with this is that I think it is meant more for drawing lines and shapes rather than block areas; it did crack slightly when used to 'colour' in a large area. But it's hardly noticeable, as in the photo below you can barely see it. Also, you have to make sure your polish is dry before drawing otherwise it can dent a bit. Still, this is definitely my new favourite nail art tool, just wish they did more colours!

NOTD: Sharks

When I saw WAH nails new shark design pop up on Instagram I straight away went to recreate it! I used my favourite Barry M Cyan blue, 17 Holographic silver and Models Own Hedonist to make it pop. 

First foray into...high end makeup. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Foundation

I've dabbled in medium-high end makeup like Benefit for years, but never splashed out on any brand more luxe than that. But I'd wanted to try the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat foundation for a while and as I had some birthday money I decided to indulge. Shelling out £29 on a foundation did make my eyes water a bit! As it's so expensive I am saving it for my special occasion/going out foundation. 

On first application I was a little disappointed, as the coverage seemed a bit sheer, especially as my skin is still not behaving. However, it is so buildable without looking caked on, and it really does illuminate the skin much like the iconic Touche Eclat concealer, without looking greasy or oily which I was concerned about.

As I had some vouchers left over from Christmas I also bought Benefit's 'Hello Flawless' powder. I had a miniature of this in my 'How to look the best of everything' kit' but the shade was a little too dark. My replacement shade 'Gee I'm Swell Ivory' matches me perfectly and sets the YSL Foundation  really well.

First foray into...Body Shop make up

I've never really shopped at Body Shop, but I keep hearing good things so on a whim went in on my last shopping trip. As usual,I was drawn to the lipsticks and found this baby:

Though I usually prefer a matte finish, and this is rather glossy, as soon as I swiped it on my hand I had to have it. The shade is 'Colour Crush', a bright gorgeous blue-toned pink. It is so comfortable to wear, which I'm not too used to as a matte lip-lover and still lasts a good couple of hours if you do the ol' apply-blot-reapply. The shade is pretty similar to my recently purchased Revlon Matte Balm, Unapologetic, but slightly bluer-based in tone and with a high shine finish (yes, that is me attempting to justify the purchase!)

Alongside this lipstick I also got an 'invisible' lip liner. I've been on the look out for a clear lip liner for ages, as when wearing lipstick I really feel it makes such a difference if liner is worn, but didn't want to go and buy one for every lipstick in my expanding collection.
I also got sucked into signing up for their loyalty card scheme, which I hadn't heard about before. It cost £5 for the year, but had loads of benefits like 10% off every purchase, £5 off on your birthday, other exclusive vouchers and discounts and free gifts worth £5 and £10 on your fourth and eighth purchase.

NOTD: Vintage Wallpaper

Stripes, spots and flowers...what's not to like?

They've finally landed- Revlon Matte balms

These have been reviewed and swatched to death, but I love them so much I had to share! Revlon was also on 3 for 2 in Boots so I had to indulge. I went for 'Unapologetic', a punchy pink, and 'Audacious',an orange toned coral, and got a top coat as my third item. 

Here they are against a white background so you can see the shades better:

(top- Unapologetic, bottom- Audacious)


Unapologetic (pink)

Audacious (Orange-Coral)

(Sorry for the extreme close up but this shot shows the colour better!)

The colour pay off was better for Unapologetic than Audacious, but this may just be down to my skin tone. Audacious also showed up more imperfections on the lips for some reason. However, I'm a big fan and these definitely live up to the hype- they apply so easily and precisely due to the crayon-like design, they aren't awfully drying for a matte product and they last on the lips for ages.
 Unfortunately my Boots already had a half empty stand so half the colours weren't available, but I will definitely be adding more to my collection.

P.S- Apologies for all the random photo locations: I have been moving around the house trying to find some half-decent natural lighting, which is proving ridiculously hard in this dire weather! 

NOTD: Ladybirds

Posts have been rather sparse this week, as I have been commuting 4hrs a day for a training course, and wasn't organised enough to schedule some half decent posts. Next week I'm at a conference too so who knows what state this blog will be in by next week! Anyway for now here's another NOTD:

I've been running out of ideas for nails, but these cute ladybirds didn't take long and will do as a stop-gap until I get some creative inspiration

Save my Skin! Ft. Una Brennan Superfacialist,Soap& Glory and Superdrug Hot Cloth Cleanser

Recently my skin has not been behaving itself. As someone who has had pretty ok skin for the majority of their teenhood, to suddenly reach mid-20s and have skin issues seems a cruel twist of fate. The problem is mainly focused around the chin and lower half of my face, where there are lots and lots of tiny under the skin bumps that sometimes mutate into larger painful blemishes. The blackheads on my nose have also been getting worse, and my pores seem to be growing larger by the day, with some of them becoming blocked. Sorry if that was too much info!

I've read that imperfections around chin are to do with hormones, but nothing in that department has really changed; I'm on the same pill I've been on for years. I think the excesses of Christmas and all the alcohol and naughty food has really had an affect

So all in all I've not been too happy, and have been trying a number of things to clear my complexion. I think my efforts have in some part actually contributed to my problems, as I started buying products targeted for blemish prone, oily skin, which is not really my skin type. So as well as having blemishes, I started to get random dry patches too. Nightmare!

After doing a bit of reading around, I kept hearing really good things about Una Brennan's Superfacialist range and chose two products.

Superfacialist Rose Miracle Facial Oil- £14.99

After reading on Crunchy Betty's blog all about the oil cleansing method, I knew I wanted to incorporate oil into my routine, but wasn't really up for the faff of sourcing organic oils and making my own blend. Lazy.

The bottle is a tiny 30ml and as you can see I'm starting to get through it (I've had it around 4 weeks). At £14.99, it's neither cheap nor completely unreasonable, though I do wonder why its more expensive than some of the other oils in Una's range; the Vitamin c facial oil is £10.99 for a generous 200ml. Luckily I purchased when it was on offer for about a third off.

I have to say, though I usually enjoy rose scents in bath and beauty products, I'm not overly keen on the scent; though not overpowering, it does have a more medicinal/ herbal edge to it than the typical rose scented product. After 4 weeks of use the dry patches that had developed from over stripping my skin with harsher cleansers have been soothed and my skin is feeling comfortable and hydrated despite the colder weather and central heating.

Superfacialist Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask-£8.99

I'm still undecided on this face mask. I try to use it at least once a week and its ok... it's a typical clay type mask that dries after 5-10 minutes and leaves skin feeling thoroughly cleansed and soft. My chin area has cleared up slightly, but my pores and blackheads are still getting me down and I was hoping for a more drastic improvement to my blemishes. I will make a concerted effort to stop being slack with my regime and try to use it 2-3 times a week to get a better idea of it.

Superdrug 'Naturally Radiant' Hot Cloth Cleanser

img from Superdrug.com

After reading some reviews, I've also purchased Superdrug's version of a hot cloth cleanser. They do 2- a 'Naturally Radiant' and a 'Vitamin E' version, but I went for the Naturally Radiant as it was on offer for only £2.98. The bottle is 150ml but it seems a lot more, as the cleanser is quite thick and luxurious you only need a very small amount so I can see this lasting a long time. It takes off makeup with ease and leaves skin smooth and soft. I've never used the Liz Earle cleanser, so can't make a comparison, but for the price I purchased Superdrug's for, I'm pretty happy


Soap & Glory 'Clear Here' Moisturiser

To finish up my regime I purchased this moisturiser, mainly being drawn in by the blue box at the top- "Tired of clogged pores, shine, spots and blotches?". These were all the problems I am having so I thought this would be perfect. However, I've now used up the entire tube and have to say I've seen no improvement whatsoever. It also felt slightly sticky on the skin and not moisturising enough for my personal preference, maybe because it is aimed at oily skin, which mine isn't really. I also saw no improvement to my pores or spots, so all in all this has been the least successful product out of the bunch. I'm wondering if it is now discontinued, as I couldn't find it on the Boots website.

What was in your stocking?

So after weeks of anticipation and excitement, it's over :(  Here's a selection of the lovely gifts I received; what did you get? 

(Clockwise from top left: Tangle Teaser, Topshop Lip Cream, 'S' Bracelet, Nail polish stand

(Harry Potter: From Page to Screen, Benefit 'Primping with the stars' kit, Alexa Chung 'It', Kindle Fire HD, a look inside the Benefit kit)

Bits and bobs

When I picked up the OPI dupes from Primark (see this post) I also treated myself to a few other bits and pieces

4x Primark Nail polishes, £2: probably didn't really need these, but I thought the purple was a really interesting colour that I don't have in my collection, and the true orange on the end is also one missing from my stash.

All the colours were really bright and opaque in 2 coats...perfect summer nails.


2x Barry M Gelly Nails, 2 for £6 in Superdrug: Though these have been around a little while, none of the previous colours appealed to me at all. So it was only with the new releases that I decided to invest in a couple. I've seen the turquoise (Green berry) on a few blogs and loved it, and I always love a good neutral shade (Lychee).

Frilly socks, £1.50, and scrunchies, £1: a 90s revival at Primark! I have exactly the same socks from Top Shop, which cost £3.50 (booo!) so I picked up two black pairs in Primark. They also had white ones and grey with cream lace, which I'm regretting not buying now... Not sure if the scrunchies will be a bit too hipster for me, but as they were only a pound for three won't be the end of the world if they don't get worn.

Models Own Ice Neon...what do you think?

I was just recently saying how I was waiting impatiently for the announcement of  Models Own's new season collection, as the last four have been wonderful (Wonderland, Mirrorball, Beetlejuice, and Hed Kandi). And then it was announced: Ice Neon! 

Hmm. For some reason, I didn't feel as excited as I have for the previous collections. I'm going to have to try them out for myself to see because though I've been loving neon, I'm not sure about the neon yellow, and I've tried neon pink on my nails before and it  really hasn't suited my skin tone. Maybe I'll just have to do some extreme tanning. Intrigued by how the green and purple will turn out, as you don't often see neon purple. Think I'd be a bit more excited about this if they were more like pastel neon shades, if that makes sense? Like the colours that amazing beauty store born pretty does (see here to understand what I'm waffling on about)


It launches at Boots on the 22nd March, though as they're supposed to be refrigerated to keep their brightness, I'm wondering how they will do this? Or is it all just a big gimmick?

What do you think of the new collection? Are you excited? 

Primark OPI Minnie Mouse dupes

Picked up a few bits from Primark the other day but thought these deserved a post. I saw this four pack of nail polish and thought no, I really don't need any more polish. But then, I couldn't remember the last time I bought a new one so I just went for it! Especially when I took a closer look and the colours and realised 'OMG OPI Minnie Mouse dupes!'

Primark vs OPI (OPI picture from shefindsit.com )

Obviously for £2 they're not gonna be on par with OPI, but after swatching them I was quite impressed.

From left to right:

Polish One: This was a deep pink polish with a shimmer to it. I don't usually go for shimmer or pearl finish polishes, preferring opaque block colours, but because of the hot pink colour I think this would look great on some talon-like nails. It did take three coats for full coverage but the drying time was surprisingly quick

Polish Two: This was the worst out of the bunch. It had barely any colour, a mere hint of golden-pink shimmer, and was very difficult to pick up any of the hearts with the polish brush as they just kept sinking through the polish. Though I think the golden shimmer could look nice layered up over one of the other polishes. I've heard various complaints about the real OPI one too with regard to getting the hearts out, so maybe this isn't just Primark's fault but a general problem with larger glitter shapes.

Polish Three: Loved this one- a bright almost neon pinky-red. Again this went on quite sheer, but once three coats were layered up it was a lovely bright pink, again one that'd look great on some serious nails (and with a tan)

Polish Four: I've been after a baby pink polish for a while, but could never find one that was quite right (as in opaque, pink but not pastel and girly, one that packed a punch). I loved this one from the four, as it was more opaque in colour, only needing two coats and was the perfect shade of pink. 

So out of the four, two I loved, one I was surprised I liked and one was a du. For £2, I don't think that's bad at all! :)