MAC Creme De Violet | Review and Swatch

Hey guys,

So I recenetly aquire this litte guy through a blog sale. I didn't really research the swatched or anything like thae before hand because  it wasn't that expensive. I really should have looked at some reveiws or something because it's just not good.

The shade, Creme De Violet, is a frost finish eyeshadow and is a bright lavender colour packed full of gold sparkle with hints of greens and pinks thrown in there for kicks! The sparkle is freaking insane. If you like sparkle this might be your cup of tea, but I'm not a sparkle lover. I love a bit of shimmer, but glitter is not my things so this doesn't do it for me at all.

You have no idea how hard it was for me to get this to show up!

The pigmentation is shockingly rubbish! (And if it wasn't rude to put a swear word here I would becuase rubbish doens't quite cover it!) It takes so much work to get any kind of pay off that isn't glitter, and then it looks super powdery! I just cannot make it work for me at all.

The packaging is okay, but I'm not going to say anything else because you all know what MAC packaging looks like.

I wouldn't repurchase this becuases it's just to much like hard work and I have lavender coloured shadows that cost one measly little pound and are 3000 times better than this.

Have you tried this? Do you think it's any good? 

Thanks for reading,

Sarah xo

Review & Swatches | Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Milk Chocolate & Crushed Walnut

Well hello again lovelies,

I’ve got a 2 in 1 review for you today. You have probably seen my love letter like posts to the MUA and Natural Collection eyeshadows before because I do adore those little guys just as much as my pricy MAC shadows. They are just as good quality, and cost literally 1/10^th of the price.

Anyways, here’s a new love letter for you all. I picked two of my favourite natural collection shadows to review for you today, and I’m just going to start by saying they are AMAZING! The shades are Milk Chocolate and Crushed Walnut. They are both insanely pigmented, and really blendable. I find that they last all day (although they can fade a little) without creasing. They aren’t chalky or anything like that, and I never get any fall out from these.

Milk Chocolate is a light matte brown colour that I personally use as an eyeshadow but I’ve heard so many people say they use it as a brow powder so that might be another great use for it.

I like that it’s a warmer brown, rather than ashy which would make it even better for red heads if you wanted to use it in your brows.  If this were a little lighter the tone would be perfect for me (a natural ginger) because it’s not ashy.

Crushed Walnut is a dark brow with the tiniest bit of shimmer running through it. It’s not noticeable when you swatch it but on close inspection of the pan there is defiantly some sparkle there. Don’t be put off by it at all thought because you honestly cannot see it when it’s on your eyes.  For me, it’s one of harder ones from the collection to blend but it’s so worth that little extra work. This is actually what I wanted MAC Esspresso to be when I brought it. It's a very close dupe for it and I would say this is better than the MAC one.

These are worth the money and then some so if you can get your mitts on them, then do so IMMEDIATELY. At only £1.99 a piece, you really cannot go wrong.

Thanks for reading guys, and be sure to follow for more declaration of love for cheap products! I do love ‘em.
Sarah xo

Naked Skin Thirst Aid Moisturiser

Quite a while ago I picked up The Naked Thirst Aid Moisturiser in Superdrug, in hopes that I could find something semi-affordable to sort out my horrifically dry skin, much like the Clinique Moisture Surge Intense had done.

 So, if you haven’t heard of the brand Naked Skin, and it’s a brand that’s mostly all natural ingredients. For instance this moisturizer is 97% all natural products. That fact makes it great for sensitive skin, which I agree it’s great. It didn’t irritate any sensitive areas or anything like that. 

It contains Argon Oil, Neroli Oil and Shea Butter which helps make it great for drier skin and getting that lasting moisturizing effect. The cream sinks in really quickly, and doesn’t leave any kind of film like some intense/dry skin moisturisers can do. 

It’s just not as good as I hoped it would be.  I am by no means saying that this isn’t a great moisturiser, it is!  It does what it says on the tin in a way but there is just something missing for me. 

 

The only "bad" thing about this, for me, is the scent. Most ‘natural’ products have a very similar scent so once you've smelt one you've smelt them all. I really hate that scent. It smells herbally I think and I'm not a fan of that. 

The lack of smell in Simple product is why I love them so much. They are great for sensitive skin, they don’t certain all that harsh stuff and they don’t smell of anything. Unfortunately this carries that signature natural scent and it puts me off using it because I can smell it on my face all day.

You can pick up the Naked Thirst Aid Moisturiser in selected Superdrug stores or online here for £7.49

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Review & Swatches | Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Sky & Aqua Shimmer

Hey guys,

I’m not going to ramble to long today. I just wanted to bring you a quick review and a couple of swatches of some great shadows from Natural Collection.

These great mono or single eyeshadows are only £1.99, and are usually on offer like 3 for 2 or 3 for £5. As far as I know the range is only available in Boots so go and check them out. Not only are there eyeshadows amazing but most of their other goodies are fantastic to.

The two colours I’m going to talk about today are both gorgeous but very different blue colour. The first is called Sky, and strangely enough it’s a light sky blue colour.  It’s one of the less pigmented of the bunch but it still gives a nice blue tint and has very little or no shimmer running through it. It’s a really nice colour just to add some colour to the eyes without it being scary, and for only £1.99 it’s a great way to experiment with colour.

The second of the two is called Aqua Shimmer and again strangely enough it’s a very shimmery blue shade. It’s a bit darker than Sky and much more pigmented. If you wore this you could 100% tell you are wearing blue, but it’s not too crazy that you should be scared of it. It’s really easy to work with in my opinion and blends amazingly.

These shadows do fade on my without a primer but with a nice white or skin tone base they last all day until I take them off. They don’t crease on my, but most shadows don’t so that’s no great achievement in my opinion.

Do you like Natural Collection products? Do you think they are worth it?

Thanks for reading,

Sarah xo

PS: These are the size of MAC palettes so if you depot them you can keep them safe and sound in your palette.

Sleek Primer Palette Review

Hello there,

How are you all today? Good? Well I’m glad. Anyway, I have a little review here for you all today and I hope you all take notice of how great this palette really it.

I’ve had this for a while now, and have used it a fair ol’ bit. I wanted to really give it a try before I gave you my views and that’s what I’ve done.

I can honestly say I cannot believe this palette hasn’t got more love, and isn’t one of those hyped up products that everyone is talking about. It’s amazing!  It’s like all the coloured cream eyeshadows you could ask for in one small palette and for only £6.50. Sleek create amazing palettes at the best prices (second only to MUA palettes) and this is just another brilliant item to add the ‘MUST HAVE’ list from Sleek.

If you like using cream bases for your shadows, then this is for you. You get 12 colours, for half the price of one MAC paint pot. These aren’t exactly the same as paint pots, but they work just as well as bases!

The colours are absolutely beautiful, and can be built up for a sheer wash of colour, to something really intense. They help eyeshadows really pop on your eyes, and they stop them from creasing and fading.

They can be worn alone, but do tend to fade a little if you don’t push something over the top of them. It’s just a great palette, and I’m not sure I’m doing it justice so I’m just going to show you the swatches:

Do you like? Well you should!

Thanks for reading guys,

Sarah xo

Review & Swatches | MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 12 (MAC Club Dupe)

Hey guys,

So, if you have read my blog for a while (or my old blog) you will know that I’m a huge (HUGE) fan of the brand MUA. It’s a brand you can get a hold of online and in Superdrug stores and it’s the cheapest yet amazing quality brand I’ve found. The single eyeshadows are really big and only £1, they are also amazingly pigmented and a beautiful texture.

 I recently picked up a few eyeshadows and today I have a review of Shade 12 for you. It’s one of their pearl shades (they do matte as well) and it’s a beautiful dark brown colour with a green duo chrome to it. It leaves a beautiful sheen to the lids, without it being horribly obnoxious or chunky. It doesn’t have any glitter either which I love.

I’ve used it all over the lid and in the crease and it works both ways. I find it really easy to work with and it blends out really nicely. The intensity of the colour can be built up, or it can be really sheered out which I love and the formula it super creamy so it has little to no fall out and it lasts ages on the lids.

Please excuse the burn mark on my hand in the next picture. I'm a clumsy cow, and oil spat out of the pan and hit my hand! Ouchy :(

It’s an amazing close dupe for MAC Club which is £14 a pop, so definatly check this out if you’re thinking of getting Club.

The packaging is a little crappy, but for £1 I’m not going to complain. I will just say that it’s a little unsturdy, and hard to store because the lid is a dome rather than it being flat. I like the clear window on top though because you can easily see the colour.

Overall, I love this! It met and exceeded my expectations. The colour looks a little different in the pan, so bare that in mind but you really must check it out!

I would give it 10 if I could!

Have you used anything from MUA? Do you LOVE it?

Thanks for reading guys,

Sarah xo

MAC Blankety Dupe

Hey guys,

So, I've got a new dupe post for you today and it's  dupe for the MAC amplified lipstick in Blankety. Now, I adore this lipstick and have since the day I brough it. I'm never really attracted to nude colours, and the proof that I adore this colour is the fact that I ended up with something nearly exactly the same.

L'Oreal Colour Riche lipstick (from their Naturals, Blondes) in 233 Boreal is almost an exact colour match for Blankety. The finshes are alightly different, but unless you are a lipstick addict like myself you can't really justify having the two. The L'Oreal sahde has more a sheen (and very very very slight shimmer to it) whereas the MAC shade is more of a creamy finish.

The L'oreal lipstick is first, and the MAC lipstick is second. Very similar, no?

If you want both or unsure you really want Blankety (which costs a painful £14 a tube) I would recommend giving the L'Oreal shade a try because it's only £8.19 a tube.

I actually like the L'Oreal packaging better two. Now, if you're in the States (and maybe other places) I know the packaging is different from what we have in the UK, but I think the UK packaging feels more expensive and is a nice gold shade. The MAC lipstick only feels expensive to me because it's got MAC plastered on the packaging.

When I was looking thorugh my collection I also found a gloss that is almost an exact colour match for these lipstick. It's another L'Oreal prodcut and it's one of their Glam Shine Blush glosses. they are about the same price as a tube of liptick and come in really cute packaging with a 'heart' shaped applicator. The shade is 157 Rosewood Blush. It's obviously a different finsih becuase it's a gloss, and it has some glitter/shimmer in it but it's essentialy rhese shades in a gloss. It's just something to consider if your not a lipstick lover, but like the colour.

Now, you will have to excuse the fact that I don't have  swatch of the gloss. I took the pictures before writing this up and forgot the gloss. It's now packed away in preperation for my move. Sorry.

But, I hope this saves some money and thanks for reading guys,
Sarah xo

Vivo Cosmetics | Baked Bronzer Review

Hey guys, 

I picked up the bronzer ages ago but I just haven’t gotten round to reviewing it, so here it is today. Vivo cosmetics is available online and in Tesco and it’s super cheap brand that does some pretty amazing things. 

First things I should address is the shade. This is shade 3, called healthy glow and it’s a light (VERY light bronzy shimmery shade). It’s actually so light that I can use this as a highlighter. I got this online when I brought a bunch of other stuff, and I wanted quite a light shade because I’m a ghost. I didn’t really look up real life swatches before ordering, and just grabbed what looked like the lightest shade that would suit my skin tone on the website. It’s far too light to use a bronzer, so I’m glad some way to get some use out of it. 

 

I love the formulation of this bronzer. It’s a really nice, soft powder that glides onto the skin really nicely. The pigmentation doesn’t look the best in the picture because it’s such a light shade but the pigmentation is really great for what it is. 

The packaging is a little chunky, which I don’t like but it’s nice and easy to store because the sides are both flat. The top is clear which I like because you can see the colour, and the black on the bottom makes it look nice too. 

Overall, it’s okay. I can’t really use it for the reason I brought it, but that is my fault for getting the wrong shade. 

Have you tried this? Do you like it?

Review & Swatches | MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 4

Hey guys,

So, I have a little review for you today. This really won’t be long because I don’t want to repeat myself all the much. So, if you haven’t already seen I’ve done a review on the MUA Mono Eyeshadow in shade 12 you can look back a little way and see it, and it’s basically a love letter to those at MUA because I seriously *heart* them.

MUA Pearl Eyeshadow Shade 4

So, all the comments about the amazing formula and pigmentation stand here for this shade, which is shade 4. It’s a pearl shade once again because I love me some shimmer and it’s just a gorgeous light lilac shade with silver shimmer. It’s actually one of the few lilac shades that I have found that works great for my skin tone and shows up really pigmented. I usually find that lilac eyeshadows blend out to nothing and you can’t really tell you have a lilac shadow on.

Well, you can tell you have lilac with that bad boy! It’s amazing, and it works great however you want to use it. You can apply it really subtly but you can also build it up to an intense colour. I personally wear it both ways and love it.

I find it really easy to work with and for £1 I can’t complain one little bit! Because of the creamy formula I don’t even get fall out which is amazing for such a cheap shadow.  

Have you tried MUA? Isn’t it just AMAZE BALLS?

Thanks for reading guys,

Sarah xo

Review & Swatches | NYX Eyeshadow in Highlight

Hey guys,

Today I have a quick review for you and a quick swatch as well. It’s on the NYX mono eyeshadow in the shade highlight and I’m going to jump right into it.

 The Price & Packaging

I really like the packaging of this. I like the black shell and the fact that it has a clear window so you can see the colour. I think the label on the back is clear and easy to read. That sound like a strange thing to comment upon but I hate it when products have really small labels or labels with clashing colours that make it impossible to read it clearly.

I picked this up in an outlet store for about £3.50, but you can get it online for £4.50. I don’t think that’s all that bad when you consider the price of some other shadows.

The Colour & Pigmentation

As the name would suggest this is a highlight colour. It’s a yellow toned flesh colour that’s completely matte. When I brought this there wasn’t any testers , so I couldn’t test the pigmentation or anything like that and if I could have tested it I probably would have got a different colour because this blends out to nothing. It really had no impact no matter what I do with it, and it kind of sits there going to waste. But maybe on skin tones that don’t match the colour like mine does it would work better.

The Availability

 I decided to mention this because NYX is hard to get hold of in the UK. I hear a lot of people say that you can’t get it in the UK but you can. It’s available online and there is huge selection of stuff on the site. I would highly recommend checking it out because the products are amazing, and not to expensive either. Also, keep an eye out for it in discount store of CCO’s because it pops up in the one I’m in every so often and they have everything from the Black label lipsticks to lip liners to the glitters!

Have you tired any NYX eyeshadows? Do you think they are awesome?

Thanks for reading guys,
Sarah xo

HD Brow Palette in Vamp (and Dupes or Alternatives)

Hey guys,

I’m sure you are bored of seeing these because just about everyone who has a glossy box has one of these bad boys. They’ve done the rounds twice in the box, and have received much love from almost everyone.  So, today I’m going to review the HD Brows Palette in Vamp, and offer a few alternatives to consider before purchasing it.  

I’m not going to say these are bad, but it doesn’t work brilliantly for me.  I’m in no way saying they don’t deserve the hype and love they get in the blogosphere but I have to say that it’s just not the palette for me. I have super blonde eyebrows, and none of these colours work for me at all. The lightest colour is too light, and the other colours are two dark.

If the colours match your brows, great! The shadows or brow powders are gorgeous. They are nice a soft, long lasting and work well through the brows. I’ve settled for using them as eyeshadows because of the un-matching-ness of the shades and I love them. They don’t crease on me at all, and last all day without a primer or base.

So, if you are having the trouble I am and just can’t find an affordable brow powder for you then I would suggest the palettes and kits I’ve mentioned below. I nearly called these dupes, but they aren’t similar enough for that but they are great kits that are more affordable and are just as great and the HD brows palette.

Vivo Ultimate Brow and Eye Kit

This palette is a freakin’ beaut! This is by far my favourite brow palette for three reasons. The first being the gorgeous brow gel you get with the kit. It’s so much better than getting that dry wax stuff and it kept my brows tame and in place all day. The second reason I love it is because the blonde colour is the perfect colour for my super pale eyebrows. The third, and last reason, is that the other colours are used as well because they are gorgeous enough to create a nice matte eye shadow look. They are pigmented, blend well and just look great all around.

MUA  Pro Brow Kit (Review To Follow)

This is a new buy of mine, but I already love it. It’s not long been on the market, and I can see it being a big hit. It’s very comparable to other brow kits but is cheaper than them all. There are 3 powders, one wax, a double ended brush and some really cute tweezers. Now, I’m not a fan of those waxes you get with kits but this is a nice wax that is smooth and just soft enough to really work. The three colours are beautiful and there is one that matches me so YAY!

So, I know this post is a little all over the place but I didn’t know what to with it to make it better so you’ve got it as I wrote it. I’m sorry, but it seems my editing skills have gone to hell this week.

Thanks for reading (or trying to read the mess that it is) and I hope you found it helpful.  

Sarah xo

PS I’ve linked the review of the Vivo Brow Kit above, and the MUA review will be coming soon J

Friday Favourites | Topshop Cream Blushes

Hey guys, 

So, I finally have a blog schedule down so my life feels a little more organized. Fridays will hereby be known as Friday Favorites here, and strangely enough it will feature some of my most favorite products. 

To kick it off, I'm sharing my favourite Topshop blushes! 

I have three that I absolutely adore, and they are Flush, Head Over Heels and Prime Time.  

From left to right we have Flush, Head Over Heels and Prime Time.

 

I love them for two reasons! 

1) The formula

I love cream blushes but sometimes they can be hard to work with. The cream to powder formula of these makes them really simply to use and they almost always look perfect without any work. 

2) The colours

I'm not one for nude blushes or anything like that. I wear a blush to add a nice flush of colour, and I would just go bare if I wanted a nude colour. These colours are amazing! They are brilliantly pigmented, not nude but not to crazy and so so so worth the £6 you pay for them!

Here are the swatches of these beauties! First we have Flush, second is Head over Heels and lastly it's Prime Time.

what are your favourite topshop blushes? 

thanks for reading guys

Sarah xo 

Vivo Cosmetics | Ultimate Brow and Eye Kit

Hey guys,

Just another little review on one of the things that I picked up a little while ago from Vivo online. There are three brow colours in this kit, and a clear brow gel to set your brows. There is also a little brush that comes in it, but I just threw that out because it wasn’t any good. 

This little kits comes in cute black packaging, with clear windows so you can see the colours, and a gap for the brow gel to sit nicely. It’s a little tough to open, which makes it feel a little cheap, but I can accept that for the price. 

The palette only comes in one shade, but the three colours that come in the palette are pretty universal, so most people should be able to use it. The first shade is extremely fair, the middle is a nice brown colour with a slight hint of red to it. This colour is perfect for me because I have ginger hair, and a red dip dye but my brows are blonde, so this colour makes the look really great! 

 

The last shade a cool dark brown, which I use a crease colour or a brown shadow liner. I am really fair, so I can’t use it a brow powder but I like it for my eye lid when I want a truly matte colour.

The brow gel is by far the stand out product in this kit. The powders are nice and work just fine but the brow gel it great. It really does set my brows and they don’t move all day. It’s a nice wand to, so it combs through the brows well. I really like that they put a gel in here, rather than a wax like other brow kits I’ve tried. I much prefer the mascara like packaging to a wax in a pan like the shadows are. 

So, overall I’m impressed by this. It has a nice range of colours, and the gel is AMAZING! 

Have you tried this? Do you like it? 

Thanks for reading guys, 

Sarah xo