Thursday 30 August 2012

Collection Blush and Highlight Cream Duo

It's not very often in the drugstore that you see cream blushes and highlighters, so when I saw this little product sitting on the shelf in Superdrug I picked it up immediately. One of Collection's newest products, this duo comes in two shades, with seemingly the same highlighter, but with different blushes. I picked up Peaches & Cream. 



At first the blush colour seems intimidatingly bright, but when applied it is actually a very nice subtle, peachy colour. The highlighter, to be honest, isn't all that great. When blended out there is very little actual shimmer, just glitter, giving you more of a 'nine year old at a school disco' look than the more preferable 'natural glow'. Both colours don't blend too smoothly, they have quite a waxy texture, but they're still workable. When I first started to apply them I thought they were going to be quite sticky, but that soon goes once you start blending. The blush dries to quite a matte finish.



The staying power isn't terrible, it hangs around for a fair few hours before fading, but this is only to be expected with a cream blush. However I think the plus side of cream blushes is that they are then easier to reapply quickly on the go. If you want to make it last a bit longer, then I recommend setting with a powder blush. 

The packaging is pretty standard but sturdy. I feel I can just chuck it in my make up bag and not have to worry about it breaking. There's not masses of product, but for the price it is quite reasonable. At Superdrug these are currently at an introductory price of £2.99, so if you want to give them a try, now is the time to buy!

Overall, it's not a bad product, I am quite pleased with the blush, even if the highlighter wasn't too brilliant. I probably wouldn't repurchase, but I'm glad I gave it a go! I like the concept of having a 2-in-1 product, it makes travelling with it easier.

Will you be giving the duo a go?

Abbie

Saturday 25 August 2012

The Body Shop Cucumber Cleansing Milk

My sister recently bought The Body Shop Cucumber Cleansing Milk, so I decided to give it a sneaky try. Wow, I am glad I did! It's not very often I am excited by skincare, I tend to think of it more as a chore than something I enjoy, but this is an exception. 



This light green, thick, creamy cleanser is amazing at removing make up. It thoroughly cleanses the skin and leaves literally no make up behind. I find it quite moisturising, but not overly so. My skin is never left feeling tight. I squeeze a small amount into my hand, spread it over my face and then rub in circular motions. After, I remove with either water or a cotton pad. As it is a very thick consistency I thought I would need quite a large amount to properly clean my face, but surprisingly this is not the case.


For those of you who are not fans of cucumber, there is only a very light smell to the product, so unless you really detest cucumber you will probably won't find it too offensive! For The Body Shop I'm surprised at the price, £4.00 for 250ml is very reasonable in my eyes. 

What are some of your favourite cleansers/methods of removing make up?

Abbie

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Sleek Storm Palette


Sometimes when a certain product gains popularity in the blogging community, after the hype dies down the product is forgotten and left in the back of the draw. I want to remind you of the Sleek Storm palette! Quite a while ago it did some rounds on the blogs, back when I was first getting properly into make up. I didn't purchase it, but a month or so ago when in Superdrug I spotted it on the shelves and remembered it's moment of fame and decided to give it a go. Oh my. Since then it has pretty much been the only eyeshadows I use.

 For my everyday make up I can never be too bothered with playing around for ten minutes with different shadows in different places, so I just normally use a light shimmery lid colour, a matte brown through the crease and a highlight in the inner corner, and occasionally the brow bone. This being my everyday look you can see the palette is perfect for me.



The sleek, black packaging is simple and easy to store. The large mirror is incredibly handy as well, so overall a good palette to travel with. It also came with a sponge applicator, which went straight in the bin. The colours are just gorgeous. The top row of shadows are well suited to daytime, and the bottom row are more dramatic, suited to a night out. You can make a whole host of looks using this palette, it is just so versatile. 


Now here come the swatches! (All photos were taken with flash, as this showed the colours most accurately) 





All of the shimmery shadows are buttery smooth and very pigmented. As normal, the matte ones aren't quite as pigmented. The brown shadows are the worst, but are still completely workable. The black however, is one of the blackest, strongest eyeshadows I've ever used! The palette is £7.99 for twelve shadows which is incredible value.

Have you tried any of the Sleek palettes?

Abbie



Friday 17 August 2012

Panda-monium!

Excuse my terrible pun, but I couldn't resist! Out of sheer bordem today I decided to do something a little different with my nails. I followed Bubzbeauty's panda nail tutorial and I think it's fair to say it turned out okay! Mine don't look exactly likes Bubz's but for me they're close enough. I'm always put off doing any sort of nail art as I though I would struggle doing both hands, but this was surprisingly easy, so give it a go!


For the pink base I used Rimmel Princess Pink. Cringey name aside, I do love this polish, it's a soft, muted, baby pink which makes it a lovely subtle colour for your nails. I actually wore this on my nails for prom! The black is Rimmel Black Out, and the white is from Natural Collection.



Are any of you nail art fans?

Abbie

Tuesday 14 August 2012

L'oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim

I had high hopes for this eye liner. I swatched this on the back of my hand in Superdrug and me and my friend literally gasped. The line was so thin and crisp we both picked one up straight away. I normally stay away felt tip liners, but this one seemed so good. I have tried the L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss (just like nearly every other blogger) and was impressed so I hoped the Perfect Slim would follow suite. Sadly not. When I actually started using it, it wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped. 







Maybe mine is just a faulty one, I don't know, but it didn't preform nearly as well as it did in the shop. As you can see the nib is incredibly fine. The point of the nib doesn't seem to really disperse much product. This means you have to press harder to use more of the nib, which then results in a thicker line. All this makes the liner quite hard to work with. It almost drags along the eye.

The wear time also isn't great with my oily lids. I found at the end of the day it had smudged everywhere - not good! If you have drier skin it may last longer.




I do like the matte finish, I much prefer it to Carbon Gloss. The thin pen shape is easy to hold, and to store and the textured part gives a good grip. The black and gold theme does make visually pleasing packaging!  


Have any of you tried the Perfect Slim liner?

Abbie

Saturday 11 August 2012

The Dress.

The dress.

My friend and I were shopping, when she picked up this number. She prodded me into trying it on as well, and I was doubtful it would do anything for me, especially as I had to get a size down due to them not having mine. I was amazed. Such a simple dress but yet it seems to work wonders. The photos may not show it, but it hugs you in all the right places, and skims over my tummy, giving an all round flattering effect :) 

(I didn't think to take off the belt before, sorry!)


Wednesday, my friend had a gathering of sorts, so I decided to go with this combination. It turned out to be surprisingly hot, so it probably wasn't the best suited outfit, but I think the combination works well!


Dress - New Look
Denim Jacket - Dorothy Perkins
Belt - H&M
Brogues - New Look





I love the colour, and the material is a nice, soft, stretchy material. The dress is such a universal piece. It can be worn through all the seasons, I can't wait to pair this with a chunky cardi and thick tights. Available in seven colours, and at £11.99, it's a great piece to have. I may even have to pick one up in another colour (I have my eye on the dark green!). Give it a look here :)

What do you think of the dress

Abbie 

Tuesday 7 August 2012

MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot


MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot. Where do I begin? This product is my baby, I love it probably more than a sane person should love a small pot of makeup, but I really can't help it.




If I am bothering to wear any sort of colour on my lids, nine times out of ten I'll be wearing Rubenesque. Worn on its own it is easy to apply and blend out with a finger. Worn underneath eyeshadow, it is a fantastic primer which makes your eyeshadow last all day. Well, a good 12 hours at the least ;) On its own the wear time isn't quite as good. With my oily skin it lasts somewhere more between eight and ten hours, but if you have drier skin it may last a lot longer.




The colour is simply gorgeous, a peachy pinky gold which is very versatile. It has some shimmer to it, but just enough to give more of a 'glow' to the eye, rather than ending up a glittery mess. It isn't incredibly pigmented once applied to the eye, but can be built up to give a stronger colour.

At £14.50 each, it's not the cheapest product in my makeup bag, but to me it is worth every penny. I have had my pot since February and there's barely a dent in it.

Have you ever tried the Mac Paint Pots? If so recommend me some different colours below!

Abbie

Thursday 2 August 2012

Olympic Volleyball


On Tuesday I went London to watch the Olympic Volleyball at Earls Court. Volleyball is one of my favourite sports (despite not being very good at it!) and the atmosphere was incredible. It really is amazing to see the events in real life.


(Sorry for the quality, I used a small digital camera instead of my DSLR!)

 Before I went I managed to get a few snaps of my outfit. Tuesday wasn't too warm, and there was a possibility of rain so I went with a blazer and a thin top. My trusty (and quite dirty) converse were perfect, as with any trip to London there was a lot of walking.


Top - Primark
Blazer - H&M
Jeggings - Dorothy Perkins
Converse


Due to having to leave relatively early I just wore my simple everyday makeup; normal base with MAC Rubenesque  Paint Pot  as a base and a mixture of colours from the Sleek Storm palette on the eyes.

Have any of you been keeping up with the Olympics? :)

Abbie