Sleek Ink Pot – Review!

I’ve been lusting after this little baby for ages, but my local Superdrug was always out of stock of it, until one day two weeks ago.  I obviously snapped it up and couldn’t wait to try it out!

I was instantly impressed with this product and its become a staple in my make-up bag.  I’ve never used a brush to draw on my liquid liner – I’ve always only used the little nib that came with liquid liners in the past.  I find the brush allows me to create looks of different types of flicks on my eyes, different sizes of lines and generally it gives me more freedom to play around and create different looks.

I’ll show you two simple ones that I’ve been doing recently with this.

Top lip-lined -

Sexy flick! -

Its so so easy to create a lovely sleek flick with the brush that's included, and I just adore painting the gel liner on, instead of just drawing it on with a nib.

There are a few things that do bug me about this product though – 1) It doesn’t last all day – it tends to smudge and rub off into the crease of my eye, even when I apply UDPP and eye primer.  2) The brush included obviously isn’t going to last long, its gotten really stiff already, meaning I can’t get all the freedom I want from it all the time.  3) The gel formula is odd, I can’t explain it, but it isn’t smooth when its on the brush – its kind of clumpy, excess product gets on the brush if you know what I mean?

For £4.50, I really can’t complain though.  The outcome of the look massively outweighs all the cons and I still adore this little gem.  I’m really glad I bought this product as it has become a favourite in my makeup bag and I would definitely recommend it to all my friends. 

And, get this – since I have been wearing this, my Dad, on two occasions now has complimented me on my ‘eyelashes’. Hahahaahah! The first time he said ‘Your eyelashes look really long and pretty today Katie, extended on the outside’!

The second conversation went like this

Dad: You’ve done that thing with your eyelashes again, haven't you Katie? It looks really nice.

Me: You mean my eyeliner, Daddy?

Dad: No, your eyelashes…

Me: DADDY! That's my eyeliner – I’ve just been doing it differently *I then close my eyes to show that it is drawn onto my top lid'* SEE!

Dad: Ohhhhhhhhhhh! It looks really good!

 

Hahahahaha Bless him!!! See, even the men have noticed the difference!

Has anyone else used this product? What do you think? Is the consistency the same for you? I’m thinking of taking a look at the other shades available in this product, I want more!!

XXXX

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Revlon, Nails inc & Barry M Nail Polish!

I have currently retreated to bed after burning my poor little knees in the sun today, so I’m now cheering myself up with nail polish swatches!  I’ve built up quite a collection of swatch pictures which I just haven’t got round to posting as I’ve been so busy, so I thought I’d put them in a post together!

Nails Inc – Candy

 

I obviously snapped this up when it was a freebie in instyle magazine and I’ve worn it lots since and really like it.  Recently all I’ve been wearing on my nails is bright, vibrant, dark colours, and it was nice to take a break from those and wear this as its quite a neutral pink colour.  It lasts well, doesn’t chip for a few days and is easy to take off.  The images above are three coats which gives a nice opaque finish and I find the colour very feminine, yet smart.

Revlon – 093 Tropical Temptation

I’m not quite sure how to describe this colour, I’d say its a pink peach, but quite a milky one.  Its very pretty, not quite as bright and stunning as Barry M’s Flamingo Pink, but still very wearable and stylish, especially for this summer!  I really couldn't get a decent picture to show you the true colour of polish, but I tried, and above you can see it looking slightly different in different lights – pink in sunlight and rather peach coral in tungsten light.  I do find that Revlon polishes chip quite a bit, and for the price (RRP £6-7) I wouldn’t expect that, but the colour is nice so I don’t mind all too much.  Oh, this is also quite a pain to apply as it streaks a bit, and takes a while to dry so you need lots of patience and time when applying this!

Barry M – 161 Vivid Purple

Sorry for the horrible short, smudged nails in these swatches!  Vivid purple is gorgeous but pretty daring and not for everyday use.  Not completely sure why I have this colour, but its nice to have if you want to match it with a purple dress or shoes or something!  Its quite pigmented so you only need two coats, and its pretty much the same as the other Barry M nail polishes in terms of chippage!  Good value for money and a nice one to have in a nail varnish collection!

Hope you enjoyed these swatches, I’ve actually cut down on buying nail products for a while as I have far to many, so I will start swatching all the ones I’ve gathered soon! Which is your favourite out of these three?

XXX

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The Body Shop – Blush Swatches & Review

I confess, I’m beginning to be a bit of a blusher addict! Argh! I just adore and appreciate how healthy and glowing a flush of colour on your cheeks can make you look, and its recently become an important staple in my make-up routine.  Here are my four of The Body Shops permanent blushes.

 

12 Apricot Shimmer – A stunning shimmery orange which i wore everyday in the winter to try and add some colour to the gloomy days.  This looks especially good when teamed with orange/coral lips!  I really like this blush as it has a shimmer in it and its not too bright, so I think people can get away with wearing it daily.

04 Golden Pink – A popular one in store, people always fall for the pink blush with the golden shimmery undertones.  I can’t help but agree with them, this blush is stunning and great for summer and nights out.  You can kind of see the golden simmer in the picture swatches above, I can’t think of another blush on the high street which looks like this!

05 – Tea Rose – One of my two favourite ever blushes (The other being MAC’s Strada which I’ll talk about it another post)! I adoreeeee this product.  I actually believe that this colour will suit anyone and everyone, I’m serious – go into your local TBS and try this on cause I’m positive that it looks stunning on everyone.  Its the perfect natural blush and contour shade for me, even with my deadly pale skin.  My cheekbones look amazing when I wear this so I wear it most days! Haha!

03 – Heather Pink – This is the blush I wear the least, just because I much prefer the other three on my skin tone.  Its a beautiful pink with a slight hint of mauve or purple which makes it very sophisticated I think!  After trying this on again for the swatches, I’ve decided it does suit me so I’m going to start wearing it more!

I decided to also swatch these on the cheeks as well for you guys, just to get a better look at what they look like on the skin.  Tea rose is definitely more flattering in real life, but you can see the cheekbone effect that I was talking about.

All blushes are £8.50, and last years.  I’ve been using tea rose everyday for about three months and there is hardly a dent in the blush as you can see in the first picture in this post.  The colours seem to last all day so you don’t need to keep applying, and the packaging is small and light, meaning its easy to carry around in your handbag.

Does anyone else have any of these blushes? Which are your favourites, or what ones do you think suit me better?  Also, if anyone decides to go try them out, then let me know what you think of them!

XXXX

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L’Oreal Voluminous mascara review

Haven't reviewed a mascara in a while, so I’ve decided to talk about L'Oreal's Voluminous which I’ve been using for a good month now.

Before I bought this, I had read many reviews on it where people had been gushing with praise and recommendation on how good it was, so I took the leap and purchased it for about £8.  This was quite daring and risky of me, as I normally just stick with what I know with mascaras and I did think that £8 was a bit expensive for something I may find I didn’t even like.  I probably should have listened to my gut instinct!

Bare lashes -

 

One coat -

 

Is it just me, or is this really clumpy?  I don’t know, but with one coat I just get a basic, rather clumpy layer of mascara covering my lashes.  It really doesn’t do anything for me, I don’t think it volumizes and it certainly doesn’t make my lashes 4x bigger, which I would want for the price.  I know there are more expensive mascaras out there, but the ones I have tried which retails more than £8, I have really liked, so I expected this to be the same.

Two coats - 

Are you ready?

 

Can you see how this just does nothing but clump my lashes and weigh them down?

I’m so disappointed with this mascara, and I wanted so badly for it to work; I’ve been using it for a month, trying different ways of applying it, with different layers but I just can’t get it to work for me.  I know many people who love this mascara and I’m jealous that I can’t rave about it with them.

Has anyone else had this problem with this mascara?  I’m so upset about it that I just went and bought my usual Super Volume TBS mascara which I know I can rely on.  Maybe in a few weeks I’ll try again with it and pray that it makes my lashes beautiful and long looking.

Let me know if there is a technique that maybe I’m missing when it comes to applying my mascara, or if you have any tips for making them work better! 

XXXXX

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Sorry I disappeared!

I am truly very sorry that I disappeared for a few weeks, I have been awfully busy with uni and have hardly had a minute to myself at all!  But I am back, armed with lots of new swatches, FOTD, NOTD and reviews for the summer!!

I’ll start off with  (yet another) sneek peek from a photoshoot I did two weeks ago for my university project.  The make-up was stunning and I’m very pleased with the outcomes of the pictures, and I think you girls will appreciate the good make-up skills too!

Hot huh!

Make-up artist – Lucy Pearson http://lucylovesrussia.blogspot.com/

Photographer – Naomi James

Model – Me!

I’ll be right back with make-up reviews and swatches, STAT!

Missed you all!

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Limited edition The Body Shop blushes!

Hey girlies!! I’ve never showcased my big collection of blushes on here before, and as we are approaching summer I thought I should start with my pink limited edition blushes!

As you all probably know by now, every season The Body Shop bring out a limited edition ‘trend’ range.  I have collected almost every blush/bronzer from each collection for the past three years and today I’ll show you the blushers (bronzers will come in another post!)

Here they are – I will try hard to remember the year of each one but pardon me if I’m wrong!

1 – 01 Roseflower Blush in Pink (Spring Trend 2009) A beautiful pink blush which was my absolute favourite a while ago.  I stopped using it to save it as I only have one, but it is just the perfect glowing pink shade for summer.  The powder also weirdly smells delicious, like Moroccan rose!

2 - 02 Cheek Bloom in Dune Pink (Summer Trend 2008) – I have fallen in love with this peach blush all over again, its so stunning!! Perfect for this coral trend, I can’t think of another blush like it.  I really like that it is matte as well, as the only other peach blush I have it shimmery.

3 – 01 Blush Trio in Cool Dusk (Autumn Trend 2009) – An intensely bright mixture of shimmery pinks! I have never worn this out as it is really pigmented and bright, but I just need to find a way to work it on my pale skin.  It is stunning though, the colours are gorgeous and daring, screams out Barbie to me!

4 – 01 Blushing Daisies (Spring Trend 2008) – Another one of my absolutely favourite blush/highlighters.  It just gives the most gorgeous shimmery pale pink which suits any skin tone and just makes you glow!  I love that you can add it on top of other blushes, and you can also use on décolletage and eyes etc!

 

They are super stunning huh! I really adore these blushes and wish that they wern’t limited edition, but I’ll just have to use them wisely and sparingly!

Has anyone out there also got these blushes? Its so aggravating when a beautiful product comes out and its limited edition huh!  Also, if anyone knows of a blush that is similar to 2, then do let me know!

XX

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Estee Lauder Lipsticks!

I have two beautiful Estee Lauder lipsticks which I treated myself to on my 21st Birthday last year and I adore them! They are beautifully packaged, extremely elegant and the colours are natural yet stunning!

(L-R Vanilla Truffle, Crystal Baby)

(Plain lips)

Pure Colour Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Baby -

This lippie was showcased in my May Favourites post and it is one of my top 5 lipsticks. The colour is the perfect pink nude for me, its stunning, huh! I can’t express how much I adore this product. The formula is incredible, so smooth, it glides on smoothly and like silk and is very moisturizing. It has the most gorgeous natural sheen which makes my lips look soft, plump and juicy. It also smells just delicious. There isn’t much more I can say other than I love it!

Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick in Vanilla Truffle -

I’ll admit that although this is stunning, it is my least favourite out of the two. When I purchased these, I automatically picked up this shade and didn’t try it on, as I was sure it’d suit me, whereas I actually tried Crystal Baby on before I bought it and loved it. If I had tried this on in store I probably wouldn’t have bought it as the colour is abit too nude for me. The colour is very similar to Gosh’s Darling, although the formula is better, its again very moisturizing and soft, smells gorgeous, but I don’t think the colour suits my pale skin. I have never worn this out, although I will definitely, I just need to find a way to make it work for me, maybe with a lip-gloss or something. I do remember the woman on the counter saying that this was one of the most popular lipsticks and I agree that on many women it’d look beautiful, but unfortunately not on me. I don’t mind keeping it just for the packaging though, although that’s really lame to admit, haha!

The lipsticks are £16.50 each which is pricey but worth it for the quality of the product and the packaging. I will definitely buy Crystal Baby again, I think it will be my holy grail lipstick that suits me through all ages.

Would do you girls think? Do you agree that Vanilla Truffle is a tad pale? Have you got any tips which I could use to make it suit me more? Who else loves these lippies?

P.S I bought these products with my own money and all opinions are honest!

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Barry M & Revlon Lipstick swatches!

I love lipsticks SO much, I don’t want to start counting how many I have as I’m sure its a ridiculous number, but I can’t seem to help falling for them!

BARRY M SWATCHES -

146

A beautiful bright barbie pink!  This is one of the more soft, moisturizing, sheer lipsticks in the BarryM range and it has a really good colour pay off and pigmentation.  A beautiful colour which I would wear with dark smokey eyes!

54

A gorgeous vibrant orange, its shockingly bright but so on trend this Spring, Summer!  The pictures above show the best pigmentation, but when I wear this out I only apply a small layer over lip balm for a cheeky orange tint.  This is one of the most drying Barry M lippies though, so keep balm to hand!

REVLON SWATCHES

005 STRAWBERRY SEUDE (MATTE)

005 is the perfect matte red in my opinion.  It is so pigmented, has great lasting power and is just the most beautiful, elegant vampy red.

004 PINK ABOUT IT (MATTE)

These pictures do not do this lipstick justice.  It really is the most unique pinky-red which can be built up from a flush of colour, to full pigmented lips (above).  These lipsticks are in the matte range as well which means they are striking and just glamorous.  If you wanted shine you could always pop gloss over the top.  Again, this doesn’t budge so you won’t need to keep applying.

So there you go, some beautiful lipstick swatches to drool over!  Has anyone also got these lipsticks? What do you think of them?  What do you think about matte lipsticks? XXX

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