ELF Brush Haul

Hey my loves I hope you are all staying warm and cozy on this freezing day. Thankfully up north we seem to have escaped the worst of the snow this time round we just have a little bit and lots of solid ice, but I'm lead to believe we are going to get some more over the weekend eek.


The one thing I would say is at last my post is starting to sort itself out at long last - my presents have all arrived as have a few goodies for me :) I placed a little ELF order to get the bits for my giveaway and I got a for things including some more brush shampoo, and another Studio Powder Brush




I'm a bit late to this one I've had the brush for a while but I've just been using it for blusher and highlighter, well a few weeks ago I tried it for foundation and I have to say it is fabulous - no shedding and a nice even coverage so I got a back up :)



I also picked up one of the new stippling brushes - duo fibre and synthetic I orginally thought this would be good for foundation but it seems a bit too soft irl so I think I will just be using it maybe for a blush either powder or cream, or for highlighter






Any questions give me a yell and don't forget about my giveaway x

Drumroll Its Time For The LouLouLand Christmas / New Year Giveaway - Closed

OK I'm sorry it's so late but it's time for my long awaited Christmas / New Year giveaway - Royal Mail eventually delivered the last of my prizes today so were ready to roll.  To apologise for the lateness of the giveaway I am now giving away 2 prizes -  the first entry drawn via random.org will when this lovely bundle

Prize No. 1 Contains:

ELF The Beauty Encyclopedia Eye Edition - Everyday Eyes - Contains 12 Powder Shadows, 2 Cream Shadows, 1 Eye Pencil, and 1 Eyeshadow Brush
ELF Nail Polish - Glitter Glam - Silver Glitter
MUA Blusher - Shade No 1 - A Lovely Bright Pink
MUA Eyeshadow - Shade No 3 -A Lovely Silver Grey Pearl
MUA Glitter Eyeliner - No 10 - Black With Silver Glitter
A Cute Floral Compact Mirror
Forever 21 Bouquet Necklace
Asda Chocolate Make Up Kit - Yum :)


and the second lucky winner will get this little lot

Prize No. 2 Contains:

Sleek Sparkle Palette
George at Asda Full On Lip Glaze Set Containing  4 Lipglosses in Bubble Gum, Fruit Sherbet, Candy Floss and Creme Caramel
George at Asda Shimmering Brush On Powder No 3 Halo - Bit Like A Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick
MUA Eyeshadow - No1 - A Gorgeous Pearly Highlight Shade
George Quick Dry Nail Enamel - 19 Scarlet Kiss - a gorgeous festive red
Primark Floral Bag Charm / Keyring
Accessories Gold Tone and Crystal Love Necklace
Hello Kitty Chocolate Beauty Set :)

I've purchased all of these goodies myself just to say a huge thank you to all my followers over the last 12 months - you have really kept me going over the last few months especially - love you all xx

OK instructions -  first of all this giveaway is open to my followers only, if you don't follow I'd really appreciate it if you would I will be checking, and secondly it's open worldwide I know I have followers across the globe and I don't want you to miss out :). All you need to is leave me a comment telling me a gift you have bought someone else for Christmas this year, and if you could also tell me where you first heard about my blog or how you found it I would be really grateful too. For an extra entry please subscribe to my You Tube channel too and let me know
your You Tube user name in your comment and tell me that you have subscribed x
That's all you need to do I'll keep this giveaway open until 5pm GMT on  the 23rd December so you've only a week to go so get entering - I won't be able to get your pressies to you in time for Christmas but hopefully it will be a nice start to 2011 for two lucky followers xxx

Goodies From Sigma

A few weeks ago I placed an order with Sigma -their amazing Black Friday offer meant free worldwide shipping wahoo - it would have been wrong not to ;) As tempted as I was by the full sets I already have an awful lot of brushes, that said I am trying to phase out some of the ones I am not so impressed with so I decided on a special deal kit

The kit I got worked out at about £18.88 which is amazing for what it contained - first up it was super well packaged in a gorgeous voile bag, and contained a gorgeous red and gold Sigma make up bag this is such a good size and really nice quality - the same bag sells for around £10.95 from a UK Sigma retailer

It also contained the main reason for ordering the kit the Something About Marilyn Retractable Kabuki Brush - In a gorgeous red metal case this brush is gorgeous and soooo soft - I will mainly be using this for powder and mineral foundation touch ups - this retails for $25 on it own!




I also got the SS150 / F30 Powder Brush again super soft and really nice quality, and it is huge - this retails at $16.00



Already you can see what a super value kit this was (I say was because alas it isn't available anymore as a kit) and I have to say I am super happy with it not only that but Sigma were also kind enough to enclose a free gift a mini E25 Blending Brush, again super soft and ideal for travel



I can't wait to have a proper play with these brushes and I have to say I was really impressed with my experience with Sigma themselves - the free gift and the packaging is a definite plus point and the delivery time was pretty good considering the horrendous weather - I've previously bought my Sigma brushes from UK based sites but I definitely wouldn't be afraid to use Sigma again. Any questions please ask xx

Yes I'm Still Here

Hey my loves I'm sorry I've been a bit quiet this week it's been a bit of a funny one. First of all there was last Sundays meltdown I haven't been feeling too good and a lots of things have been going on at home. One of my relatives is currently quite ill and to be honest my mum has been quite upset about it, added to that she is having a few health issues herself and not only that but she fell flat on her backside on the ice and has a bruise the size of a small county on her bum and back :( Then there was moi - for the last week I have had horrid headaches and pains and swelling in my face, and a hideous skin irritation near my eyes - all this culminated in a doctors appointment this week where thankfully it just seems to be a bad case of neuralgia, and a couple of under the skin spots. I've been dosing up on ibuprofen pretty much every day for the last week, and thankfully it seems to be easing off, my skin is another matter sorry to be gross but it's two spots really close to me eye I think the worst is over but it's still pretty painful and every time I've yawned or cried I've been in agony :(

Anyway enough of the negativity I'm trying to be a bit positive first up the snow has nearly gone. yes I know it's due back at the end of the week but I'm looking out of my window now and I can see green :) I eventually managed to get to the Metro Centre on Friday wahoo we were there just before the shops opened which was great, I managed to get around and get quite a bit done, thankfully I'm nearly finished my shopping hurrah just waiting for a huge batch of parcels to come :( They have started coming through but omg how slow :( I'm still waiting for another 2 bits to come for my giveaway so it's certainly going to be a New Year one now - I am hoping to launch it this week and draw it just before Christmas to apologise for the delay - there will now be two prize packs to giveaway of pretty much equal value so keep checking back probably about Tuesday or Wednesday :)

Anyways I have to say my spending ban has gone belly up already which isn't surprising no make up though I have been good although I have to say my mum did buy Shout magazine for me -"I saw it had that Barry M thing you like on it!" (her exact words lol) and got the free Barry M bits with it a real bargain actually apart from the fact the shimmer pencil fell to pieces hmm - never mind make up is make up and the nail polish is lovely.

OK so I haven't bought any make up for me but I have ordered a few brushes from ELF and Sigma which unsurprisingly haven't came yet and I did buy a few bits at the Metro Centre including some more festive Lush goodies I'm loving Satsumo Santa at the moment and I picked up my free Lush Colour Supplement - check out Top Sante for your voucher it's worth £7.50 oh and I'm not counting that for Project 10 Pan either as it was technically free :) I also got a few bits in Primark including lots of 120 denier tights, a hair clip with daisies on it , and a cute necklace that is like a little bronze handbag with a magnetic clasp it's so sweet and you can easily fit a pound coin in it :) I also got some of the Andrea Fullerton Cute-Icle Eraser Gel to try I'm loving the Leighton Denny product I'm using at the moment but I think I need something a bit stronger so I got this from Superdrug - it's the first time I've seen the range irl and I was really impressed I have begged Momma LouLou for some of the striper and glitter things for Christmas teehee. Oh and I also got this purse from Accessorize I've wanted it for a while and it's always been out of stock - it's so sweet and you can get them in a variety of cities

So that was it bad LouLou that I am :) Never mind it's nearly Christmas ho ho ho and that, so looking forward for this week, as well as finishing my Christmas cards and wrapping my pressies I am going to try and get a few posts up , including one inspired by the lovely Kelanjo who did a post on her Christmas Tree, I loved the post so much I am really inspired to do something similar maybe show you some of our tree decorations and tell you about the history or thoughts behind them :); I'm also going to try and do a review post and obviously try and get my giveaway up whenever the last parcel comes hmm I'll aim for Tuesday but it could be Wednesday evening after my CBT appointment, oh and I am also going to be getting some more of these - I know a few people were really excited about these when I mentioned them on twitter and they are amazing Galaxy hot chocolate, Galaxy melted into milk and cream yum yum

Oh and thanks to everyone who made a purchase from my blog sale your items are on their way to you as of yesterday morning - there are still a few items left including some Illamasqua, Bobbi Brown, Philosophy and Nails Inc so don't forget to have a look and  I will by adding some more things after Christmas; There are a few bits marked as pending at the moment but if I don't received payment this week they will be back up for sale so I'll let you know .
Apologies this has been a bit of a ramble but I thought you deserved an update - Any questions or if you would like any pics (my camera battery is dead) or reviews of anything I've mentioned please let me know xx

(Pictures from We Heart It, Shout Magazine, Accessorize and Mars )

Project 10 Pan - 2 Items Down

Well today I finished my second item on my Project 10 Pan experience- a 2g pot of ID Bare Minerals Foundation in Medium Beige. This is my summer colour- as my tans faded I have been mixing the last few grains with a lighter shade but sill it's all gone -2 down 8 to go x

Leighton Denny 1 Month On and An Update

Apologies for the little gap in between posts if you follow me on twitter you'll now that I had a bit of a wobble over the weekend, a few things got the better of me I'm afraid :( So no good and bad posts till I'm in a better place. everything is a bit bleak at the moment  :( I hope you understand oh and thanks for all the twitter love on Sunday too - it really meant a lot to me x  I'm also going to apologise again for the delay in announcing my giveaway,post has only just resumed in my area after nearly a fortnight so I am still waiting for a few prizes never mind as soon as they are here I'll launch it for you, I can see if being a new year giveaway at this rate tho lol.
Anyways onwards and upwards a little late I know but as of Sunday I'd been using the Leighton Denny Hydra Flex system for one month - you can see my nails at the start here, and after two weeks here.
Here they are as of Sunday

Not too bad I think you'll agree - despite the freezing temperatures and a slow start I am starting to see some progress with the regime, most of my nails have white tips on them now and I even wore nail polish the other day for the first time in nearly a month. I'm going to keep at it and just before Christmas I'll do you another updated post as well as a full review of all the items I've been using. Any questions leave me a comment xx

Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara

First of all I'm going to apologise - I seem to do this a lot on here but this review like many others is long overdue. I bought this mascara quite a while ago know but I've only pulled it from my massivo mascara collection in the last couple of months. I've had a good chance to give it a fair crack of the whip so now it's time to tell you what I think :) (excuse wobbly framing on the pic ;)

I have to say my previous experience with a Collection 2000 mascara wasn't a great one, I didn't get on with Collagen Curl at all, but this one Big Fake False Lash Effect makes big promises and claims so me being me I was drawn in and had to try it.

In a funky black, red, white and clear tube, this mascara has a huge fibre brush - which I believe is now red for some reason- Collection 2000 claim that this mascara has their biggest brush ever and it's certainly a biggie

The colour I chose was of course No. 17 Ultra Black and it's a good quality black , but how does it perform when its applied to your peepers?

Well first of all application, like most big brushes I think you need to be careful with this for the main upper lashes it great, and covers easily but for the lower lashes, and the inner corners you have to be careful otherwise you will touch your skin. The consistency of the mascara at first was a little bit runny, in the middle of the usage it was great and towards the end of its life which is where it is now it's started to go a bit dry, and flaky when you apply it

According to Collection 2000 this mascara uses an exclusive 3D tube technology that wraps around your lashes creating a false lash effect without clumping or smudging - well what do you think ?

Before

After

Well they certainly look better don't they - 2 coats here and my lashes certainly look longer and spidery, but what is that I spy, look closely and there tiny little clumpy, dots :( it definitely needs a comb through if you use more than one coat. To be fair this is a mascara I would say in the last month of it's life but still the little bits are there, and I've found it increasingly drying. Another slight criticism of this mascara is the fact that is smudges really badly - I haven't included any pictures here I don't want to scare you but after the last couple of weeks of uses especially it has been panda eye central not an attractive look.

To be honest that's the one thing that would stop me buying this again, I like the effect but the smudging just isn't pretty, I would be interested in trying it again if they introduced a waterproof version though and I definitely prefer it to Collagen Curl. Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara comes in a choice of three shades and retails at around £4.99 for an 8ml tube from Boots, Superdrug and selected other chemists and supermarkets. Any questions leave me a comment or send me an email to the address on my contact page xx

Walk Out To Winter

More snow for you x

Alva Coleur Eyeshadow Duo - A Review For My Pure*

OK it's still snowing and now my twitter won't work so why not catch up on some reviews :) This month I chose to to receive a make up items as part of my review items from My Pure. The item I chose was the Alva Coleur Organic Duo Eyeshadow in 04 Gold .You may already know a little bit about the Alva Coleur line from my powder foundation review (click here) but if you don't just a bit of background. A German brand, Alva pride themselves are been fully certified as organic, using their unique Wellmune beta-glucan complex in all their products, they are ideal for anyone with skin sensitivities. Their eye colour products in particular also contain Red Grapevine extract to protect and strengthen the skin around the eyes whilst at the same time protecting from UV damage.

 

The shadow duo comes in pretty non remarkable, basic plastic packaging in clear and black. You get the customary double ended foam applicator, and two squares of coloured shadows.

I chose 04 gold - I have to say the colour representation on the colour chart isn't a 100% accurate but the colours are still good. The chocolate brown shade has good pigmentation and lovely coppery finish, where as the paler shade is a lovely neutral ivory shade, with a gorgeous pink shimmery duo chrome

Both colours are super soft and blend down nicely. They look great together or used on their own, and the longevity is pretty good. Now for an eye look - apologies for the not great pictures the lighting at the moment is awful either too bright or too dark

In these pictures I've used the paler colour all over the lid, and the darker shade in the crease and outer corner and just a touch of mascara x

So pretty and perfect for creating a really natural look - I've used this an awful lot this month and it really has become a make up bag staple I would have no hesitation in recommending these on quality grounds but I do have two gripes which may put me off buying more.

First of all the price £14.00 for just 4g of product is a bit steep but the quality is nice and your getting a natural product, so fair enough, but I have to say the major issue I have with this product is the packaging. OK not everyone buys products for packaging but it is a bit basic and dare I say it not very well made.

I have had this for less than a month and it hasn't even left my house, I like to think I've treat it pretty well and already the paler shade pan had came loose and not only that the entire plastic insert has also come loose :(

A really good product let down by poor packaging for the price which is a great shame - I really hope that this was just a one off :(. The Alva Coleur Organic Eyeshadow Duo is available in 6 shades retailing at £11.95 from My Pure. Any questions please let me know x

*Sample

Ta Ta To Snovember

Well November certainly ended with a bang here nearly 2 feet of snow and super strong winds for the last few days have made me think good riddance to it, alas December seems to be starting the same way with blizzards and thunder nearly all morning :(
Never mind how did November go well trimming my stash first - it was never going to be as successful as last month I knew that from the start but I still managed 9 items including my first project 10 pan item :)

Lovea Bio L'Argan Regenerating Body Polish 150ml
Avon Naturals Strawberry and Guava Shower Gel 200ml
Herbal Essences Rainforest Flowers Dazzling Shine Conditioner 200ml
Laura Geller Balance & Brighten - Regular - 9g
Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter 50ml
The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Shower Gel 250ml
OPI Avoplex Oil 15ml
Avon Perceive Perfumed Body Spray 75ml
Lush Tea Tree Water 250g

I have a couple on there way out so all is looking positive for December :)
Right my spending diet that didn't go quite so well during November but I can still take a lot of positives from it

Forever 21 Flower Necklace - £3.80
Sex In The City Lust EDP - £5.00
Triple Star Necklace - Dainty Dollymix - £6.00
ELF Goodies - £3.00
MAC The Faerie Glen Lipstick - £12.50
Sir Teddy - £12.50
NYC Natural Matte Foundation 001 Ivory - £2.79
No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser - £4.00
Total - £49.59

I had lots and lots of online temptations this month so I am pretty pleased with that. I am going to keep going for December which will be tough if I ever do make it to Newcastle or the Metro Centre but not so bad if it keeps snowing :) Every cloud as they say x Any questions as per usual leave me a comment x Your support really does help xx