Laura Geller Dripping In Gold Illuminator Palette Holiday 2018

Now, are you one of those super organised people who has every single present bought and wrapped by the first week in December? or are you a bit like me and are you a little bit stressed out at the moment? Bar one present that doesn't seem as though it's going to arrive in time, my gift shopping is done, but I still have a mountain of presents to wrap and a kazillion other things to do. I'm consoling myself in the knowledge though that at least I'm not one of those people that does their Christmas gift shopping on Christmas Eve!

If you're a person that does that I am in awe, I can deal with a little bit of disorganisation and panic but I think that, that would be a step too far. If you are still looking for that odd little thing though for either the beauty lover in your life, or to treat yourself for being so organised, then in the next two posts I'm going to be sharing a couple of last minute beauty gift ideas with you x

Now up until a few years ago, Laura Geller was a pretty difficult brand to get your hands on it the UK, QVC UK had sold it for quite a number of years now, but it was impossible to get on the high street. Thankfully the brand is now a little bit easier to get your hands on, a few online stores stock it, and you can now buy this fabulous artistry brand in Debenhams.

Laura Geller is a fabulous American make up artist, who learnt her trade in the US film studio system, working on the likes of Audrey Hepburn, and Ginger Rogers. I'm a huge, huge fan of her range, and although I've mentioned lots of her products in empties posts and in videos, I haven't actually reviewed anything bar a lip palette before, well today I'm going to remedy that and talk about a range of products from her, that I'd wanted to try for a long, long time, Gelato Swirls.

Now if you know anything about Laura Geller, then you'll know that her products are made using innovative techniques and to the highest standards. She's famous for her baked mineral based products that are infused with skin care and good for you ingredients. She was one of the pioneers of the baked formulation, that so many make up brands now have in their inventories, her products really are something special.

You should know by know that  I love a highlighter, I've bought a new one this week (I really needed that.... not!), and today I've actually found a highlighting palette that I've completely forget about - I have a problem! The highlighters, and illuminators that I already own are all pretty similar if I'm being honest. They're either powders, liquids, creams or in sticks, I love them all but very rarely do they offer anything that is truly different, a product from Laura Geller though, does offer something just that little bit more unique.

Her Gelato Swirl Illuminator range is probably unlike pretty much any other highlighter or illuminator that you've every tried, and I don't mean that just because they look almost too pretty to use. First of all we'll get the boring but essential bit out of the way, Laura Geller's Gelato Swirls are cruelty free and do not contain fragrance, nanos, gluten, parabens, minerals oil, soy, sulphates, Phthlates, or alcohol, and they are suitable for all skin types, so if you have allergies or sensitive skin then this range could be something to try. Now onto the interesting bit, just why are Laura Geller Gelato Swirls so special? Well it's all down to the texture, they are actually a baked gel, they have an amazing texture, and they apply like a fine, sheer powder, but touch them and almost feel like a velvety cream.

There are lots of different shades to chose from including beautifully shimmery pinks, almost icy whites, and of course champagnes, golds and coppers, and you can even get a few more blush type shades. My problem was always which shade to go far, not an easy decision when they all look so beautiful, and the shades are all so wearable. I had no clue, but as soon as the Christmas gift sets started to appear in store I found the perfect way to not only try this long lusted after formulation, but also to try a few colours at once.

Released especially for Holiday 2018, the Laura Geller Dripping In Gold Illuminator Palette, is a perfect example of something that I mentioned in one of my previous posts, gifts as decorations. This beautiful palette comes packaged in an unusual triangle shaped box adorned with product pictures, snowflakes and gold detailing, it also comes with attached hanging loop so you can hang it on your Christmas tree or use it as a table gift.

Open the box and you greeted with a bright metallic gold, triangle shaped cardboard palette. which has a magnetic fastening, open that and you're dazzled by not only a fabulous triangular mirror, but also by three fabulously festive, or even looking ahead, summery highlighting shades, carefully protected by a plastic, domed insert.

The palette contains 3 x 2g Gelato Swirl Illuminators, in the shades Molten Copper, Gilded Honey and French Fizz. Molten Copper is as the name would suggest is a gorgeous, metallic golden copper, Gilded Honey, is one of Laura Geller's best selling shades and is a gorgeous warm, champagne, caramel shade and although it looks almost white in the palette French Fizz is a sparkling soft gold.

The shades swatched from left to right are Molten Copper, French Fizz and Gilded Honey.

As you can see the pigmentation, and colour pay off is superb. Depending on how you use them, what type of brush, pressure, amount and so on though, you can create either a full on metallic look or just a gently wash of colour and sparkle. Obviously you can use these anywhere on the face or body, that you would normrally use a highlighter, be it on your cheekbones, shoulders, your cupids bow or your brow bone, but you can also use them as solid eye colours and even lip colours.

Now given the horrendous lighting at the moment I haven't had a lot of chance to play with these yet but even this early on it's love. They feel so beautiful, they colour pay off is excellent, and they blend like a dream and feel almost weightless on the skin. I managed to do a really quick eye look using Molten Copper, and a bit of French Fizz as a highlight, and believe it or not I actually applied these and blended them out using my fingers. They feel creamy to the touch and they blend seamlessly into each other and the the skin, even without using any professional tools, The finish is silky and almost powder like. I did get a little bit of fallout but not as much as you would get with a comparable out and out powder product. I have quite oily eye lids, and given the smooth and buttery texture I wasn't expecting this look to last very long but it did, which really surprised me!

At this time of year, we all need a little bit of a glow and a bit of radiance and that is exactly what Gilded Honey give you , I actually used a brush in this case and used it as a conventional cheek highlighter, I was wearing a bit of face powder which can sometimes causs a few issues with some creamier textures, but because this is actually a powder it blended easily in the rest of my make up and again, wore really well x

These shades in my opinion will work on any skin tone, and they are perfect shades not only for the party season, but can you imagine some of these colours with a tan in the summer, or even if you're lucky enough to be escaping for a bit of winter sun!. As I said before Gilded Honey is one of Laura Geller's most popular shades of Gelato Swirl Illuminator and as a result you can buy it on its own in a larger 4g size for around £21, the other two shades though, Molten Copper and French Fizz appear to be exclusive to this set and a few similar palettes in the Laura Geller collection, in the UK at least x This palette really was almost too pretty to use but I'm glad I did, not only can I see myself using it throughout 2019 but it's also introduced me to the Gelato Swirl formulation and I may have already added another colour, which I'll hopefully share with you in early 2019 into to my make up collection.

I think that this palette would make an ideal gift for any make up lover. no matter what their skin type or skin colour, if they like shimmer and sparkle then I'm sure that this would be a very well received present, and I think that it would be a great introduction not only to a gorgeous formulation but also to a quality, and very moreish make up brand. The Laura Geller Dripping In Gold Illuminator Palette for Holiday 2018, retails at around £25 from a variety of retailers including Debenhams, Escentual, FEELUNIQUE, Pretty Little Things, Simply Be and of course directly from Laura Geller x If you have any questions please leave me a comment x Thanks for reading and happy last minute shopping x

Treat Yourself Or Someone Else - Too Faced Best Year Ever 2018 Make Up Set*

I know it doesn't always look like based on the amount of hauls that I post but in 2017 I really tried to cut down my spending, and in particular I've tried to cut down the amount of money that I spend on make up. Even with regularly trimming my stash, and passing on products to friends and family, my make up stash is starting to become a little bit unmanageable, I'm starting to forget what I have, and I'm eventually coming to the rather obvious conclusion that I have way too much make up for just one face.

Sometimes though you see something and as shallow as it sounds you can't imagine your life without it! Get a grip Louise I hear you cry, and yes you're probably right there are much more important things in life than make up, sometimes though you have to indulge in that whim, throw sense out of the window and buy something that you know will make you happy even if it's just for a few moments in time.

I know a lot of bloggers feel the need to justify what they buy, and most of the time I'm not one of them, but this is one of those purchases that I guess I had to justify to myself. The reason why I took the plunge and bought this item was quite a simple one, well as well as looking gorgeous that it, I just don't own a lot of Too Faced make up, and I really don't know why. Like Benefit and Urban Decay it appeals to my quirky side but for too long it gone largely unowned and unloved in LouLouLand. Don't get me wrong I regularly lust after their Chocolate Bar palettes and their cheek colours, and I've received the odd thing in beauty boxes and as gifts but I've never been tempted enough to make a purchase, however a few weeks ago all of that changed.

I must admit that it was love at first sight when I saw their 2017 Holiday releases, I loved everything but I was ultimately torn between two sets, the Pretty Little Planner Make Up Gift Set which was slightly cheaper at £34 and the set that I eventually went for The Best Year Ever 2018 Make Up Set which was slightly more expensive at £46.

Before I talk about the kit itself though lets talk about the box, okay if you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet I either think you're very strange, or incredibly brave, I am not a last minute shopper but if you are this would make a lovely gift, the outer box is gorgeous and very festive. In a gorgeous metallic gold it features stamps or maybe advent calendar doors all with cute little festive cartoon images on them, including puppies in antlers! If you think the box is cute though then wait till you see what is inside!

Open up the box and you're greeted by a beautiful metallic gold make up bag, which fastens with a gold tasselled zip. Printed on the front of the bag which is rather ironic, given the first paragraph of this post, are the words "I have way more makeup at home"and the Too Faced heart logo. The reverse of the bag is in a pink and gold diagonal design, and the diagonal design is also carried through to the bag lining which is in a black and white fabric. This bag certainly isn't an after thought, it's good quality it's a good size, and it would make a nice gift in it's own right.

As beautiful, useful and giftable as the bag is though,  it is really about what's inside and there is lot to look at.

The first thing thing that you can see in the picture is a little piece of paper, The Too Faced Best Year Ever How To Glamour Guide, which shows you 4 festive looks that you can create from the products within the kit and it also gives you a little bit of information about the product that you can see below

This kit contains a deluxe, 4.8g size of the famous Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Despite already having a mini waterproof version in my unused mascara stash, I haven't actually tried this yet, but it's definitely something that I'll be talking about on the the blog in the new year. I've heard some good things about this mascara and I'm really looking forward to trying it.

The Best Year Ever is described as a make up set and that's exactly what it is. Inside the bag you get three magnetic fastening, sturdy cardboard make up palettes, each one contains a 1 x 5.39g face colour, and a combination of 6 metallic, shimmery or matte eye shadows, each weighing in at 1.14g. All of the shades in all of the palettes work together so if you wanted to treat yourself or give away the whole set to one person then they will have a lot of make up to play with, with a mascara, 18 eye shadows and 3 cheek colours,  however if you're counting the pennies you could very easily give each of the palettes away separately without even wrapping them up as each one features a To and From section printed on the back

All of the palettes are themed, and to the best of my knowledge all of the shades inside are limited editions as they all have holiday, Christmas, party and winter themed names.

The first palette is the pink palette which is covered in hearts, is unsurprisingly named "I Believe In Pink" and contains 6 neutral toned eye shadows and one blusher.

The eyeshadow shades from left to right are Snowgirl, Mink Pink, Pink Rink, Pink Christmas, Spoiled Rotten and Wish For It.

The blusher Pink Poinsettia looks like quite a bright pink in the palette, and whilst it's bright it's still very wearable and it blends down nicely and gives you that perfect I've been out in the fresh air colour.

The next palette "Natural Beauty" is pale blue in colour and features a cute cloud, rainbow and unicorn design.

Like the previous palette the shadows are in mainly neutral tones, with a couple of metallics and shimmers thrown in for good measure. Instead of the blusher though in the palette you get a bronzing powder.

The shadows from left to right are Angelic, 5 Golden Rings, Oh, Deer! Pretty Pecan, Sleigh My Name, and BAETHOVEN.

This palette comes with a bronzer, and it's nice one, it's called Warm My Heart and it's a slightly shimmery, copper toned, bronze.

The final palette is black and features a metallic champagne bottle, champagne glass and bubbles design.

Although this palette is definitely geared towards a more party look, it still contains a similar combination of neutral toned matte, metallic, and shimmery shadows, and the cheek colour in this case is a highlighter shade.

The eyeshadow shades from left to right are Lucky Star, Cozy Cashmere, Tipsy, Oh What Fun, Sleighhh Girl and No Peeking.

The highlighter in this palette Dashing Through The Glow, is a gorgeous pale golden, champagne colour, with lots of shimmer, and sheen.

I'm not going to lie I haven't managed to use all of the products on my face yet but I have to say I have been pretty impressed by the ones that I have used. All of the shadows are soft, and have an almost creamy feel, and as you see from the pictures the pigmentation is superb. Some of the matte shades, especially the paler ones are a little chalky, but they feel velvety soft and the pigmentation is still decent. My favourites shades so far are Tipsy, Sleighhh Girl, and  Sleigh My Name - I love a bit of shimmer! and I'm also loving wearing the two cheek shades, Pink Poinsettia and Dashing Through The Glow together, you get a bit of in idea of what they look like in the picture below and I'm also loving using Dashing Through The Glow as under brow highlight.

Christmas gift sets from make up brands are nothing new but they can vary dramatically in quality. On a lot of occasions even the highest and most prestige brands can release Christmas gifts and sets that don't live up to their usual high standards but congratulations Too Faced this one is a winner! There is not a single duff item in the set, the make up bag is perfect, the mascara is one of their best sellers, and the neutral, and super wearable shadows are smooth, pigmented and blendable, you honestly couldn't ask for anything else from a make up gift set, except for maybe a lippy, a mirror and a brush but that would just be greedy, this isn't the cheapest of kits but in my opinion it's worth it either as a Merry Christmas to yourself or as a super last minute gift or 5. The Too Faced Best Year Ever Make Up Set retails at £46 from selected Debenhams stores and if you can wait till after Christmas it's still available online, and who knows it might even be reduced in a day or so x The set has definitely ignited a bit of a Too Faced love in so if you have any Too Faced recommendations other than the KVD x Too Faced Better Together Cheek And Lip Set, which I already have then I'd love to hear them.

*Paid For In Part By An Intu Gift Card