Glossybox 2021 Revisited - A Review Of The e.l.f. Bite-Size Eyeshadow - Berry Bad, And More Life Lately x*

Well it's safe to say that the few weeks have been pretty horrible. Less than 1 day after I published my last post we received the news that one of my bonus dads, my Uncle George has passed away. Although he had various ailments, it was all very sudden and understandably we were and still are both devastated, my mam's super close to both of her brothers so it's been a huge blow to her both mentally and even physically, so I've been doing my best to support her and take care of her. If that wasn't enough one of my oldest friends Helen, lost her dad just 5 days after my uncle passed. I spent so much time with her and her family when I was younger, going on holiday with them, and having sleepovers, and going over for tea. Her and her family are still very close family friends so it was huge loss, and mentally it really was the straw that broke the camels back for me, so understandably I've had a to take some time out. Whilst there are still tonnes of emotions, thoughts and memories floating around in my head, I've decided that I need a distraction, so I decided to sit down today and get my blog on.

As I mentioned in my last post, after many years I eventually made the decision to cancel my Glossybox subscription, there were a few reasons why I chose to cancel, but one of the main reasons I guess, was that I was starting to feel a bit snowed on by all of the products that I still hadn't touched. I have a huge basket full of bits dating back to 2021, including lots of unopened items, and I just didn't see the point in adding to that pile! In the weeks and months to come I'm going to try and feature as many of these products as I can, either in full review posts like this one, faces of the day posts, or in future empties post, thus giving myself content options without the stresses of proper unboxing's.

So today we're taking a little trip back to November, 2021, to talk about a product from the Beauty Desires edition, and it's something that the eagle eyed readers amongst you might have already seen mentioned in my previous blog post, the e.l.f. Bite Size Eyeshadow Palette in Berry Bad.

Whilst the e.l.f. range is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be, and their £1 products are long gone, it's still one of my go to brands for good quality, affordable make up, with the odd cult or viral favourite thrown in for good measure (Hydrating Core Lip Shine in Ecstatic, I'm talking to you!).

A good test for any brand no matter what the price point though should be the quality of their eyeshadows. In this day and age if a brand can't produce a decent eyeshadow then it's very unlikely that anything else, at least powder wise, will be any good.

Packaged on a fairly basic clear, and white plastic compact, as the name would suggest, this quad contains 4 berry like, autumnal toned powder eyeshadows. The quad contains 2 matte shades, 1in a dark almost, burgundy brown and the other in a light, peachy nude, and 2 almost metallic shimmers, 1 in a warm bronze / copper tone, and the other in a gorgeous deep wine / berry tone.

All of the shadows are lovely and smooth, and the shimmer / metallics in particular have an almost creamy feel. The pigmentation and colour payoff as you can see is superb even on the two matte shades.

They were really easy to apply and to blend out, with only a tiny bit of fallout, which brushed away easily with a fan brush.

This is just a really quick look that I created with 3 of the shades in this quad, and as well as looking not too shabby, the shadows wore well even on my oily lids with only a tiny bit of fading and creasing after around 5-6 hours of wear.

For an eyeshadow palette with an RRP of just £4 this quad really impressed me. The shadows were soft and creamy, the payoff was fantastic and the pigmentation even on the two matte shades was really impressive. I was also really impressed with the wear time, and don't forget all of e.l.f's products are both vegan and cruelty free, and they are also free from phthlates, parabens and several more potentially iffy ingredients - not bad for a 'budget brand"!

If you don't fancy going down the berry route though, there are around 12 quads in the Bite-Size range featuring everything from greens to blues, and purple, to loads of neutral and fashion options. The full  e.l.f. Bite-Size Eyeshadow quads including Berry Bad, is available direct from e.l.f. Cosmetics, selected shades are also available from various other retailers including ASOS, Beauty Bay and Superdrug.

Are you a fan of e.l.f. Cosmetics? Let me know your favourite products in the comments x 

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, And Added Affiliate Links

Trimming My Stash - August 2015 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

Hey Guys x I hope you've all had a lovely Monday x If you're in England at least, you may have been lucky enough to have a day off work - scarily it's the last Bank Holiday before Christmas and looking out the window today it's certainly looking more like autumn /winter than summer :( As per usual summer in the UK has been a bit of a damp squib - we've had a few nice days but to be honest I think that's going to be our lot.

Never mind, a new month equals a new start and instead of bemoaning the lack of sunshine in my life, I'm going to start dreaming about Pumpkin Spice Lattes and cosy jumpers. First of all though lets have a look back over the past few weeks and have a look at my August empties.

Palmolive Thermal Spa Mineral Massage With Dead Sea Salt And Aloe Vera - 250ml

elf Brush Shampoo - 120ml

Rolanjona Tendering Feet Mask Milk And Bamboo Vinegar Peeling - 1 Pair

May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml

Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml

Palmolive Mediterranean Moments Shower Milk - 250ml

Total - 6 Items 

I only managed to finish 6 items which is 3 down on last month but I'm still pretty pleased. The two shower gels that I finished were rediscoveries thanks to the bathroom renovations and I have few more stash items that are just about done. I'm still missing my bath but the disruption and the tidying have definitely give me a better idea of what I actually I have and what needs to be used up.

1. Palmolive Thermal Spa Mineral Massage With Dead Sea Salt And Aloe Vera - 250ml

This is one of those shower products that I mentioned and this was something that I was sent to review quite a while ago now x You can read my full review here x To be honest I've been using this more as a body scrub rather than an all over body wash and I have to say as someone who isn't normally a fan of aquatic, fresh fragrances I did quite like this one. I think this product has been discontinued now but Palmolive have recently introduced a product called Aroma Sensations Feel The Massage which sounds quite similar.

2. elf Brush Shampoo - 120ml

Washing my make up brushes is one of those thing that I put off for as long as possible. Last week I eventually got round to doing it and as a result I finished this product. It did the job and that was about it. I probably would have repurchased if elf had still been in the UK  but now I'm not really sure what I'm go to use. I sometimes use either an antibacterial tea tree wash or a baby shampoo so they are an option but I'd love to know what you use, so if you could leave me a comment and let me know I'd be really grateful x

3. Rolanjona Tendering Feet Mask Milk And Bamboo Vinegar Peeling - 1 Pair

Feet You either love them or you hate them x I have to say though I'm not particularly bothered either way but mine and so dry at the moment that it's driving me batty! Instead of forking out for some of the more expensive foot peeling socks I decided to try some cheap ones from ebay. Unlike the socks that I've used in the past these ones with just made of the sort of thin, papery fabric, with no plastic outer so you needed to wear them with socks. The socks themselves were drenched with a pleasant, coconut smelling liquid, so you just left them on for an hour, then you rinsed your feet. I used them a week past Friday and as yet I haven't seen any noticeable difference to my feet and as yet they haven't started to peel but there is still time so I'll keep you posted via twitter if you're interested x 

4. May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml

After months of playing ball and behaving itself, my skin has had a major flare this month. It's mainly around my chin and jawline so it is probably hormonal but I'm not a happy bunny! I was sent some of these masks to review a little while ago (read my review here) and I really liked them so I bought another set. They really deep cleanse the pores, and I'm hoping that they will stop this breakout in it's tracks.

5. Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml

As I've told you on many occasions I have an obsession with scrubs and exfoliators, but when it comes to body scrubs I can be a little bit picky. I love a nice salt or sugar scrub that dissolves in the water, and I hate gritty bits that just don't dissolve. Whilst this one does have particles that dissolve, it does also have a few of those grainy bits but since I got rid of the bath, this scrub has come into it's own. The grains wash easily away under the power shower, and they don't get into places where you don't want them ;) Throw in that familiar Soap&Glory smell and this is pretty decent product x

6. Palmolive Mediterranean Moments Shower Milk - 250ml

Another shower gel, another rediscovery, another product from Palmolive and another sample x You can read my review here but this is a lovely product that's perfect for summer or even when you want to evoke memories of balmy summer days. It's a lovely moisturising creamy milk, that smells of apricots and summer fruits. You can still get this one in Boots and it's well worth a sniff x

I'm way down on last years empties target so far so I'm really hoping that I can do a little bit better in September, my focus again will be some of those half finished products and I'm really hoping that I can add at least one make up item to my total x I hope this post was useful and if you have any questions please leave me a comment, and again I'd love to hear your brush cleaner recommendations x

My Latest e.l.f. Haul - Swatches And Early Thoughts - A Budget Beauty Series Special

Hey Beauty Lovers  -  I promised you a little post on my latest e.l.f. haul, so here it is :)

Due to Project 10 Pan and a general feeling of make up overload I haven't bought anything from elf for a while, but there was one new introduction in particular that called my name

The e.l.f. HD Blush, this products looks to be an almost exact copy of the Make Up Forever HD Blusher, only more affordable and more accessible.

The premise is simple, an airtight pump action dispenser filled with a creamy, liquid blush. There are five colours to chose from and the one I went for was Headliner, a dusky neutral pink.

I have to be honest this looks terrifying but you need such a tiny amount to make a difference, the amount I've dispensed here is a full pump but you don't need even quarter of that. As you can see it blends down really easily to a lovely subtle pop of colour.

This is a fabulous products which retails at a pretty bargainous £3.75, it's pigmented, easy to use, and because you need such a small amount for each application, you'll probably never need to repurchase!

On the couple of occasions that I've used this blush so far, I've just been using my fingers to apply but I also picked up something that would be ideal to apply this or any other cream blush or bronzer - the e.l.f. Studio Small Stipple Brush.

I'm a bit of a fan of the elf Studio brush line, and although I do think the quality has altered slightly over the years, I'll always consider purchasing from the line. This brush is a small duo fibre brush, which feels super soft, and  performs really well with creams and liquids. It will be great for just dabbing a bit of cream blush or highlighter onto my cheeks all for the fab price of just £3.75.

The only other make up item that I bought was something I'd been debating for some time, the Mineral Lipstick in Barely Bitten.

These aren't as cheap as some of the elf products, at £5.00 each, which is probably why I'd debated getting this one for so long. The colour isn't "me" really to which didn't really help.

It's sort of a neutral raspberry shade, but I'd always lusted after MAC Viva Glam Cyndi for a while and somebody said that this was a pretty decent dupe.

It's much richer in colour than what I would normally wear but I have to say I like it. Mummy Lou who very rarely comments on my make up, said that it really brightened my face up. That makes a winner as far as I'm considered - I wanted to be a bit braver with colour this year, and this is definitely a step in the right direction.

My final e.l.f. purchase was a nail polish, all the nail polishes are currently £1.00 in the sale so I thought why not x The colour I went for this time was Golden Goddess.

It's a gold glitter filled with large almost holographic silver particles, it's very pretty. You could either use it over say a solid gold colour, or you can build it up for full coverage, this is with about 4 coats xx

I only have a few e.l.f. polishes but I'll try and stick up a collection post soon, in case any of you want to take advantage of the sale prices.

So that was my little elf haul, although some of the quality can be a bit hit and miss, I'm pretty pleased with all of this little lot. I'd love to know what elf products you would recommend so let me know in the comments, and of course let me know if you have any questions xx

January Haul Featuring eBay, Essie, e.l.f. and More

It's the end of the month and what does that mean? haul time of course :) I've already showed you my sale haul (click here to check it out )but I have bought a few other things mainly with Christmas money.

We'll start off with ebay - I've made a few purchases from ebay this month, including a few things for my room, first up this cute wooden door sign :)

This was just £3.22 including postage. It's great quality and I think its really sweet.

I am a huge fan of twitter (you can find me here xx) and recently one of my followers tweeted a picture of a fab piece of jewellery storage. Hers came from QVC, but I couldn't find one on there, so I thought have a look on ebay, and boy am I glad I did.

I managed to get this black dress storage for only £2.97 including postage. Much cheaper than QVC I'm sure. You simply hang it on a coat hanger, and one side contains clear pockets to pop your jewellery or whatever in and the reverse side contains a mixture of fixed loops, and loops with a velcro fastening so you can store bracelets and necklaces.

I'm not a 100% sure what I'm going to use this for at the moment, I do need some more storage for fashion jewellery but at the same time the clear pockets are the perfect size for eyeshadows, I'll have a think about this and let you know what I decide.

I also picked up one jewellery item this month, this super cute flower and gem bracelet which was just 99p including postage.

My final ebay purchase of the month was something that I purchased the day after I finished Project 10 Pan and something from my extensive wishlist.

Milani Illuminating Face Powder in 03 Beauty's Touch is described as a blush, highlighter and bronzer in one, but I would probably described it as a highlight / shimmery blush. It a lovely shimmery peachy, pink shade when all the shades are swirled together.

I'm a sucker for cute packaging and product designs so I've wanted this for ages, and I chuffed that it's actually a really nice product. I paid £9.23 including postage.

Next up Avon, I just got a few bits including the Avon Natural Care And Repair Shampoo With Chamomile And Aloe Vera, I really didn't need another shampoo but this was on special and it smells amazing, so fresh and a tiny bit fruity.

I also got a bottle of the Skin So Soft Silky Moisture Tissue Oil

This is specifically formulated for stretch marks, and since I'm embarking on a weight loss journey I thought that this might be a good investment. I've got a review of a similar but more expensive product to go up in the next few days and I'm definitely going to do a review of this one too, to see how it compares.

My final Avon purchase was this cute silver tone bracelet, I have a similar one in sterling silver  which was a gift from a friend and I wear it lots so I couldn't resist this one with the crystal hearts.

My next two purchase came from blog sales - there seems to be a lot of these around at the moment :) I picked up a full sized new Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon from a blog sale.

You can use this on lips and cheeks for a water resistant colour. This looks pretty bright but it actually blends out to a sheer pink red shade, which tastes exactly like watermelon.

I also got a sample sized tube of the Perricone No Foundation, Foundation from another blog sale. 

This was something that I'd wanted to try for sometime. It looks quite scary initially, but it does seem to blend down and match the skin quite well. I haven't tried it on my face yet but I'll keep you posted x

Almost at the beginning of the month I popped into one of my favourite shops, The Original Factory Shop, I picked up 3 Essie nail polishes for just £3 each - from left to right - 314A Blue Rhapsody, 215A Nothing Else Metals, and 216A Penny Talk.

I have placed a few online orders this month but due to some absolutely hideous weather not much of it has came bar this eyes lips face - e.l.f. order, that took an extra 10 days to come. It only came today so I haven't had a chance to have a proper look at it yet. I'll do a post probably next week for you with some swatches and some first impressions but in the mean time I picked up a Mineral Lipstick in Barely Bitten, an HD Blush in Headliner, a Nail Polish in Golden Goddess and a Studio Small Stipple Brush.

As you can probably gather I've gone way over my monthly limit - here are the figures of shame!!

e.l.f. - £18.91
Flower Bracelet - ebay - 99p
Black Dress Storage - ebay - £2.97
Avon Order - £9.98
Perricone No Foundation Sample - Blog Sale - £2.00
Milani Illuminating Face Powder - 03 Beauty's Touch - ebay - £9.23
Hanging Door Sign - ebay - £3.22
Becca Beach Tint - Blog Sale - £3.50
H&M Haul - £20.99
3 x Essie Nail Polishes - The Original Factoy Shop - £9.00
Next Sale Haul - £21.00
Boots Sale Haul - £51.00
Stila Convertible Color - Lillium - Beauty Bay - £12.80
Total - £165.59
£125.59 Over

Okay that is pretty bad but in fairness I did get a fair bit of Christmas money this year, especially from my fabulous godparents, and I also sold quite a bit on ebay this month..I'm still waiting for a couple of orders from a england, and MUA (rolls eyes!) and I've still got some money and some gift cards from New Look, and Boots to spend, so I can already see myself spending a bit of money in February. Never the less though I am going to try and be good I've opened a new saving account and I'm determined to try and save some money this year, so hauls on this scale are certainly a thing of the past - fingers crossed anyways. Have you bought anything good in January - let me know your best buys in the comments xx

ELF Goodies Courtesy Of Momma Lou - Swatches and a Mini Review

Hi Guys
I'm always a bit of a sucker for a discount code and over the weekend the fabulous people at ELF had a free shipping code when you purchased £10 or more worth of goodies. Disaster though I am really watching my spends this month after a lot of splurges last month and at the beginning of this month, so I really don't have any dosh at the moment, step forward my usual knight in shining armour, well a top, skirt and a cardi - Mummy Lou. She kindly lent me her little piece of lovely plastic to purchase a few treats so long as I stuck to pretty much the £10 limit. Well the eventual bill came to just £10.50 so I did ok I think. I noticed a lot of new studio products on the site so I ordered 3 things.

First up I ordered the the Studio SPF 20 Tinted Moisturiser - I'd wanted this since it came out but it never seemed to be in stock, so when I saw it was in stock I got it

It comes in a very similar tube to the Revlon Mineral Mousse black with just a clear section so you can see the product. The colour I went for was Nude which seems to be a pretty good match for my skin - it actually gives pretty good coverage for a tinted moisturiser - I'm pretty impressed so far I have to say apart from the smell which is pretty chemically but for £3.50 you can't really argue

Next up I ordered a cream eyeshadow, as you know I love my cream eyeshadows for quickness and for using as bases, I like the normal elf duo cream eyeshadows so I thought I'd try one. The first thing you notice about these shadows is the size of the pot, it is huge, here a pic of it with my Blackberry so you can get an idea of the size!

The shade I went for was the most neutral Candlelight - a slightly shimmery ivory

Its has quite a dense texture that remind me a bit of MAC Paintpots, or Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows, a little swipe is all you need for super pigmented creamy colour - Momma Lou is a big fan of this and has already borrowed it - I guess she's allowed since she paid for it ;)

The final item I got was another one of the new introductions, the Matte Lip Color

These are twist up lip colours in a pen style applicator the colour I went for is Natural - a nice neutral pink shade

It seems quite smooth and it's really well pigmented, my one minor complaint is the taste which is a bit plasticy, never mind it's a pretty colour and I am sure the taste can be remedied with a bit of yum tasting lipgloss or balm

At just £3.50 per item I am pretty pleased with these three items, yet again ELF shows itself to be a brand where the quality defies the price. The cream shadows are probably my pick and I can definitely see myself  picking up a few more colours. If you have any questions or ELF recommendations please let me know xx