Barry M Eyeshadow Trios

Ever since I first showed pictures of these in a recent haul I have had people interested in how they perform, and what the pay off is like - I have to say I haven't tried them properly yet - sorry but I thought I'd show you some swatches anyways. Basically what you get is a trio of square eyeshadows generally in toning colours although there are a few palettes with contrasting colours in them, and a double ended applicator with a brush and a foam end.
I bought 2 shades - the first is TES 5 Lavender Lullaby


The darker shade is actually a proper violet but as per usual with purples it photographs more blue toned - the swatch is probably the most accurate

I also got TES 1 Golden Goddess which is the brown / neutral toned set



I promise I will use these soon and use them in a FOTD and give you an idea what I think. There are currently 8 trios available and they retail for £5.95 each from Barry M - I haven't seen these in store yet but I am sure they won't be long. Any other questions please let me know x

Urban Decay Book Of Shadows Vol III - NYC

I've been stalking my postman since Monday when I received an email telling me that this was on its way and today it came :) and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The third installment in Urban Decays popular book of shadows palettes, the theme of this one is New York City. Like Alice in Wonderland it has a pop up design featuring lots of NYC landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and of course a New York taxi cab - not only that but there are little LED lights in some of the building so they light up when you open the palette

I don't think the batteries are replaceable but they go off after a little while anyway.

On to the colours this palette contains 16 shades including 7 new colours


Some of the old favourites (or not so in some cases) include Maui Wowie, Smog, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again and Uzi. I know the latter two shades aren't that popular with some but dare I say it the ones in this palette seem much smoother and less glittery than previous incarnations - swatches :)

Top Row - L-R - Peversion, Uzi, Loaded, Rush, Bottom Row - Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Last Call, Rockstar, and Money

Top Row - Haight, Maui Wowie, Smog, Bordello, Bottom Row - Radium, Snatch, Suspect and Psychedelic Sister

Again the palette contains 2 24/7 liners in Zero -the traditional black, and Ransom which is actually more purple irl, as well as a mini primer potion.
For £30 I don't think this is a bad buy dare I say I probably like it more than Alice -eek. The shadows are really soft and pigmented, so much so I am not lemming the Naked palette - help!!
Urban Decay Book Of Shadows III NYC is available exclusively online at Debenhams until the 6th September then it will be available in Debenhams store throughout the UK. Any questions please ask x

ETA - I take back what I said about Uzi and Midnight Cowboy only the surface felt smoother the deeper you delve the more glitter

NOTD - 17

A nice gold nails of the day for you - I used Boots 17 High Gloss in Sphinx a nice old gold shade which I recently won in a facebook competition - enjoy x

A Review Of L'Oreal Matte Morphose Foundation

I purchased this product a few months ago as part of a rather large Superdrug haul as per usual I was a sucker for a good offer, and snapped it up at an introductory price I've had a good chance to use it for a month or so, so I thought I'd let you know what I think. One of the biggest problems I have with my skin is oil/shine and open pores - this product sounded as though it was was the answer to my prayers - a 12 hour luminous matter finish - pres and wrinkles looking smoother bring it on!

The texture of this product intrigued me L'Oreal describe as a souffle foundation - I have tried mousse and cream foundations before but I've always been less than impressed, they are either to greasy or too dry and cakey on my skin, this though was something different.


It has a lovely light whipped texture which blends easily on the skin, without any caking or streaking, either over moisturiser or over primer. The best way I found of applying it was to apply a blob to the back of my hand and then apply it with a duo fibre type brush - this one is by Ruby + Millie it's a decent brush but it it terrible for shedding - a MAC or Sigma 187 or 131 would also work really well, I then went over it with a foundation sponge for a flawless finish. As you can seen in these pics the coverage really is good

Before

A very scary pic lots of redness, spots and shine

After

A pretty even complexion which is definitely less shiny, even without concealer and powder

I have to admit I tended to powder down my t-zone with this after a few hours so I am not convinced about the 12 hour claim but I still removed make up from my skin about about 12 hours both with and without primer so that has to be a good thing. I only have two main gripes about the foundation, first of all you seem to use a lot of it and you only get 20ml in the jar which means it probably isn't going to last long, and also the colour choice. There is only 6 colours to choose from which isn't the greatest shade range - I got 110 Rose Ivory but to be fair I probably could have got another couple of shades - they seemed to be pretty similar. Having said that I actually really liked this foundation I am not convinced this shade would work for me in the depths of winter but it's a nice foundation and I have already repurchased. L'Oreal Matte Morphose Souffle Foundation is around £11.99 from all L'Oreal stockists. Any questions please let me know x

Face Of Yesterday

I had to pop to the Post Office yesterday so I decided to take my foundation test pics before I went, so I decided to show you the rest of the make up that I wore in a delayed FOTD :) Again no neutral eyes, I went for a shimmery silver / lilac look, pretty pink cheeks, and glossy pink lips - enjoy xx





Yesterday I Wore

L'Oreal Matte Morphose Foundation - 110 Rosy Ivory
Boots No 7 Concealer Trio (all colours blended)
The Balm Time Balm Concealer - Light*
Boots No 7 Translucent Loose Powder
MAC Blush Ombre - Azalea Blossom
Benefit High Beam
Scarlett & Crimson Creme Eyeshadow - Silver Spoon (from The Smokey Trio)
MAC - Idol Eyes
Max Factor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara - Black
Avon Daring Definition Cream Eyeliner - Black
Revlon Colorburst - 020 Baby Pink
Random Pale Pink Lancome Juicy Tube

(*provided for review purposes)

Sleek Giveaway 2 - Closed

Hi all just to tell you that the latest Sleek giveaway has now closed - I will announce the winner tomorrow - good luck x

Goods and Bads

Goods

* I've lost 2lbs this week which means I've lost a stone in total - this is even more miraculous because my period is due and I normally hold lots of water (sorry if this is tmi)
* I ordered my Urban Decay Book Of Shadows 3 on Saturday and it's dispatched - whoop ;)
* Really caught up on blog photos at the weekend so I have lots of planned posts
* Sold some more on ebay at the weekend and everyone has paid :) (for a link to my listings see the link in the sidebar)
* Make up swaps :)
* New magazines - I have two new magazines Glamour and the Newcastle issue and Company which came with free shower smoothie and mascara

Bads

* The roof - if you follow me on twitter you'll know that my mums bedroom ceiling started leaking on Friday through this small but significant crack which is getting bigger by the day :(

Her bed was drenched and she ended up sleeping in my bed whilst I went on the sofa. She called the insurance people on Saturday and nobody can come out until tomorrow - thankfully it hasn't rained since Saturday but its forecast for tonight and tomorrow so the buckets and plastic sheets are at the ready :(
* Me and my mum haven't been getting on at all today - she has been really moody and I can't seem to say or do anything right :(
* Money - this seems to be a permanent bad from me :(
* PMT need I say more
* MAC Venomous Villains - bit of a silly bad this one but ever since I saw Temptalia's swatches I have been smitten I want so many things - the only thing is I am probably going to be out of the country when it launches so my only option is to try and find some Internet access or wait till I get home and risk missing out eek
* Football - Newcastle's first game of the season is tonight away to Manchester United - noooooo!`

Viva La Nails Black and White Sticker Strips

If you have been reading my blog for a little while now, you'll have noticed I've been doing a few reviews of Viva La Nails products, one of the products I tested was some individual nail stickers - little flowers in my case. One of the other products I was sent was some black and white crystal detail sticker strips shaped like little hearts.
These work on the same principle s the previous stickers I reviewed - all you do is peel them from the backing sheet and stick them to your nails, and then apply a coat of top coat.

I decided to used these strips to emphasise the tips of my nails over Models Own Lilac Dream. First of I cut the strips into sections just a tiny bit bigger than my nails, I then stuck them down and trimmed the edges - this was a bit fiddly especially on my right hand but Mummy LouLou stepped in to help. I then put a coat of Jessica Brilliance top coat over the finished design. I did find that I need to use more than one coat of top coat which I also had to reapply more often with this design especially on the edges of the strips where I had trimmed them, I don't know why this was maybe I has tampered with the sticky whilst trimming them, or whether it's because they are on the ends of my fingers and experienced more wear, I don't know but I don't think it detracts from the overall look which is think is quirky but sophisticated - what do you think?





I was sent these stickers for review purposes but this hasn't altered my opinion in any way. The product featured here is Black Stickers NSB23 which is available from Viva La Nails for £1.95 - many other designs and colours are available. I've actually purchased some more stickers and water decals from Viva La Nails - I won't be doing a post on it but I will be doing a You Tube video so don't forget to check out my channel, and expect to see some more design in future NOTD posts :) My last Viva La Nails post will be a review of crystals, beads,sequins and cotton pieces so don't forget to keep checking back xx Any questions please let me know xx

Sleek Palette Giveaway - Part 2 - CLOSED

OK one of my giveaway winners didn't claim her prize in time so it's up for grabs again - If you would like to win a brand new Sleek Curious palette all you need to do is leave me a message telling me why you want to win it and be a follower I will check up on this x- this giveaway is open worldwide and I will close it on Monday 16th August at 5pm UK time xx

It's Supposed To Be Summer....

I am sure this weather is turning tropical - it's August!!!! Jake doesn't look too keen does he - my sentiments exactly

A Review Of OSIS+ Styling Products

I was recently sent some OSIS+ styling products by the lovely Lisa & Co at Immediate PR - It was strange how it happened my bestie had recently changed her hairdresser who had used OSIS+ products on her hair and she asked me had I tried them - I hadn't but the next day I got an email offering to send me some OSIS products so it was obviously fate lol
Recently relaunched OSIS is one of the styling brands under the huge Schwarzkopf Professional banner, and is a top salon styling brand. The products fall into 3 main categories Style, Texture and Finish. In the Style range of products there are products for Sleek, Curl and Volume - I was sent a product from the Sleek range.

OSIS+ Soft N Straight - Smooth Straightening Emulsion

As you all know if you've followed my blog for sometime one of my biggest hair issues are frizz, flyaway, and generally unmanageable hair. Without my straighteners I am nothing, my hair has such flyaway tendencies it untrue and I'm always looking for something to tame it. This product from OSIS+ makes big claims - "sleek smooth hair all day", "light movable hair", "works to prevent spit ends and hair breakage", and "protects from mechanical heat" but what did I think?
First of all the packaging itself, in a 150ml bottle it comes with a rubberised button press flip top cap - the product dispenses easily by squeezing the bottle

The styling emulsion itself is a slightly runny lotion type consistency

It has a really interesting but pleasant smell sort of fruit, floral and violets, which lingers slightly on the hair. To use it I applied it to damp (freshly washed), hair and styled as normal.

I found the product applied well through the hair, with very little stickiness, or hardness even when the hair was dry you could still run your fingers through it (this is a 2 Medium hold product) My hair did stay pretty frizz free, and pretty sleek as you can see here but I felt my end needed something a bit stronger - I did find though that the product worked better when I dried my hair either by blow drying, or drying with my Remington Wet to Straights. Would I buy this product probably not - as much as I loved the smell, and the lack of stiff and sticky texture it probably didn't do enough for me and the lack of frizz probably didn't last as long as I would have liked. The OSIS+ Soft n' Straight Sleek Smooth Straightening Emulsion retails for around £10.50 for 150ml.

OSIS+ Dust It

I was also sent a product from the OSIS+ Texture Category, the OSIS+ Dust It Mattifying Powder. Designed to texturise, separate, and mattify this product comes in a sweet pepper pot style shaped dispenser and applicator I have to say I have never used or seen anything like this before


This product is in essence a white powder that you sprinkle into you hands - it has no discernible smell but the real magic is when you agitate the powder you get an almost liquidy feel,


I used this product on dry hair, rubbing it in to my roots and in particular into my fringe - I found that this product helped to lift up, texturise and volumise my fringe, as well freshening the roots - you can't really see any difference here unfortunately
Before

After

On the right hair type I think this would be a quirky, and really useful product - on a choppier, layered, shorter or more textured hair style I think would be ideal. On my longer hair however I couldn't really get much use out of it bar using it on my fringe so unfortunately I wouldn't repurchase. The OSIS+ Dust It Texture Mattifying Powder retails for around £11.70 for 10g

I was sent this products for review purposes but this hasn't affected my opinion in any way. For more information including stockists of OSIS products please check out their official website here. OSIS+ products are also available from Adrian Allens online store here. Any questions or comments please let me know xx