My MAC cremeblend and cream colour base swatches.

Hey my gorgeous glitterati.


I've decided to swatch all my MAC blush products for you, but I'm going to be breaking it into two separate post - One for cream products and one for powder .... Simples :)


Today's post is going to focus on my cremeblend blushes and cream colour bases.


Pictures first, details later because everyone likes to have a good look first :)

Ok so we have left to right in first pictures and bottom to top in the second picture :

• Improper Copper cream colour base - My first ever MAC cream product. The cream colour base formula is basically multi use, use it anywhere you want. This shade is perfect for putting under a powder blush to just make the blush sheen and your cheeks glow with health.

• Virgin Isle cream colour base - My hold grail of cheek products, I can't say enough good things about this colour. I've recently pulled it out of my drawer again because of the fantastic Summer like weather we've been having - It's just the most gorgeous coral that makes you look amazing, I'm using this one sparingly as it was part of a collection and is therefore discontinued

The cream colour base formula is lovely and is so blendable, but I do almost always set it with a little powder, translucent or a similar colour, just to stop it running off my crazy oily skin.

• Posey cremeblend blush - This is a warm peach that looks beautiful and natural when applied to the skin.
• Restores dazzle cremeblend blush - A gorgeous deep magenta plum that is part of the current Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection.
• Something special cremeblend blush - A light peachy coral. Again absolutely gorgeous for the Spring / Summer, I'm just naturally drawn to this sort of shade when the sun gets his hat on.

I've never really been a fan of creamy products on my skin, because I'm so oily, they've always slipped off in no time at all. But with the cremeblend blushes, my mind has most definitely been changed, they provide great coverage and a lovely dewy finish which most importantly STAYS PUT, even on me.

I'll get round to doing my powder blushes really soon I promise (there's a lot more of them hehehe). But in the meantime, can you recommend anymore shades for me or a different brand of cream blush that I just need to know about - I'm a makeup junkie, I'm open to any suggestions there are :)

Take care and love to all xox

NOTD - Thebalm Hot Ticket nail polish in "Petunia"

Hey gorgeous glitterati :)

Just a quick one today to say hi and show you my fabby dabby nail polish.

The weather here has been absolutely glorious the past few days, so I've been breaking out my sandals and of course my beautiful Spring / Summer coral shades.

This polish is from a brand called Thebalm and it's called Hot Ticket nail polish and the shade is "Petunia." I have an amazing friend who lives in NYC and she sent me this polish along with a few other bits and pieces and I absolutely adore it.

Thebalm has their own website (click here) and it does ship to the UK, but it's pretty pricey at $40, though it's free if you spend over $100. Your best bet is honestly eBay, I have found a seller called "the*cosmetic*princess" selling this polish for $5.99 each and free delivery (that's about £3.77) which is a total bargain. Scoot on over and search that user name.

Anyway onto the piccies :

Ahhhhhh doesn't that shade just scream summer, it's so pretty and neon - It's going to look absolutely fantastic with a tan.

The formula on this polish is amazing too, one coat would have been enough, but I did two purely to make sure it looked perfect in the photos. I'm tempted to spend $100 on the website and just get loads of these polishes and free delivery hehehehe.

What do you think? Would this be something you'd wear or is it just too bright and in your face for you?

Take care and love to all xox

 

LOTD - Saturday 24.03.12 The warm weather makes an appearance.

Hey gorgeous glitterati :)

Booooo for it being Monday but I've got an exciting weekend ahead, one of my besties is coming to stay with me from Friday to Sunday and we're going shopping while she's here. I imagine I'll have a makeup haul post for you at some point early next week. I'm just so excited, it's been a year since I last saw her, although we're in contact almost every day - Needless to say we need to make up for lost time and go on a spree!!

Anyhow, enough crazy rambling from me and onto the post at hand :)

 Saturday just gone was a glorious day, it was lovely and warm and the sun was shining, so I decided to break out the corals and brights and go for a full on spring look.

I love this look, I know it's not for everyone as it's pretty full on and a bit out there.

My lips had nothing but MAC Viva Glam Nicki on them, gorgeous crazy yellow toned pinky / coral - Certainly not for the faint hearted. My cheeks had MAC cream colour base in Virgin isle lightly pressed on just with my fingers, the best makeup tool there is in my humble opinion.

My eyes were simple but effective, I used Urban Decay 24/7 shadow pencil in Clash all over the lid and blended it out with my finger, I lined my waterline with Maybelline master drama pencil in blackest black and I lined my upper lash line with Collection 2000 Glam crystals dazzling gel liner in Hustle.

It's these Collection 2000 liners I want to have a mini rave about ........... THEY'RE AWESOME :) I love glitter liners anyway, Urban Decay do something similar but honestly they're nowhere near as good as the Collection 2000 ones, and at £2.99 a piece, you can't go too far wrong.

I grabbed one of these in town recently to try out and they wowed me, they're so pigmented and sparkly, just that perfect pop of bling without having to use loose glitter and glitter glue and causing a great big mess ...... Tell me it's not just me that does that!!

I'm 100% going to be buying more of these babies at the weekend, I'm in love and finally with something that doesn't cost more than my weekly grocery shop.

Collection 2000 are well worth checking out if you're in the UK, they're lasting perfection concealer is also a staple for my makeup bag - Maybe I'll have to grab a few bits and pieces and do a mini Collection 2000 review for you, we'll see what the weekend's spending brings.

I'll be back soon with my blush collection swatches and a few other bits and pieces to tantalise your makeup taste buds!!

Take care and love to all xox

DanziesBitsOfBeauty 50 Subs Giveaway.

Hey Hey Hey gorgeous glitterati.

Just a quick one to point you in the direction of a fantastic blog holding a fantastic giveaway for a MAC lipstick of your choice WOOOHOOOOO.

Here's the link to Danielle's blog called DanziesBitsOfBeauty, the link takes you directly to the giveaway post, but 100% check everything else out too and definitely subscribe, her lipstick swatches always leave me weak at the knees.

I'll definitely be doing something similar if I ever hit 50 subscribers, what a lovely gesture to give back to all the lovely readers out there.

I'll be back soon with a review on highlighters - Coming in to Spring / Summer, nothing looks more gorgeous than perfectly highlighted skin to give you that healthy glow.

Take care and love to all xox

Revlon lip butters and Stila love at first blush palette.

Ahoy there gorgeous glitterati :)

I'm in a super duper mood today, the sun is shining and I just generally feel very perky so I thought I'd make the most of the jolly happy me and write a blog post :)

I have for you today a few things I've acquired recently and I'll be starting off with the much blogged / hyped Revlon Colorburst lip butters. I've never known something "drugstore" to be so eagerly anticipated by so many people, it makes a nice change for the most desired products to be completely affordable.

I tried to purchase these when the pre-sale on Boots went live, but every colour I wanted had sold out and I didn't see much point in buying another colour just for the sake of it - So I hit eBay. I found a lovely seller, based in the US who was selling all shades for a very reasonable price, so I bought 6 colours with some money I had in paypal.

The Colours I got are left to right in all these pictures : Candy Apple, Red Velvet, Sugar Frosting, Raspberry Pie, Tutti Fruiti and Lollipop.

Well what can I say ........ I get the hype now, I'm in love with these babies. The formula is just gorgeous - Smooth, creamy and moisturising, yet packed full of pigmentation.

I picked 5 shades that packed a lot of punch, and then I chose Sugar Frosting as a top coat really, to go over any other lipstick to give that little extra oomph.

The staying power isn't bad actually considering they are basically a balm like consistency, maybe 3 hours wear on me before I need to reapply - I also just reapply directly from the tube, no mirror required, they're just so smooth and easy to glide on, you really can't go wrong.

At the minute, Lollipop and Candy Apple are my favourite shades, but this could easily change on a trip to Boots / Superdrug to investigate the other shades ..... For blogging purposes of course ;) Red Velvet is a shade that you can't get in the UK, but you can always try eBay if you like that one. They are £7.99 each and are currently on 2 for £10 in Boots.

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Mini review and swatches ............ FINALLY

Well hi there gorgeous glitterati :)

I'm so sorry this post has been such a long time coming, I slap my own wrist and tell myself I'm naughty!!

But here it is, the very exciting, long awaited Maybelline Color Tattoos.

 

Top Row (left to right) : Tenacious Teal, Audacious Asphalt and Bad to the Bronze.
Bottom row (left to right) : Too Cool, Pomegranate Punk and Painted Purple.



As you can see, in the actual packaging these are not at all dissimilar to the MAC paint pots, which I adore, so these little beauties had a lot to live up to when I was trying them out..

What I will say is that they are in my humble opinion, just as good as the MAC paint pots, if not even better because of the lovely bright colour range available. MAC have brought out bright colours in the past, but they're not part of the permanent line so they're a nightmare to get hold of and that's only if you're willing to brave eBay.



Top to bottom : Tenacious Teal, Audacious Asphalt, Bad to the Bronze, Too Cool, Pomegranate Punk and Painted Purple.



You can quite clearly see from the swatches just how pigmented these babies are, and I just love something that doesn't require constant building up just to get a little colour payoff.

I have been testing these out and I genuinely adore them, the texture is similar to the MAC paint pots, maybe just a little thicker. They're smooth and blend able, no fallout that I've witnessed and best of all, once they set after a few seconds, they don't flipping budge one bit - No creasing, no oil seeping through on the eyelids, just perfect eyeshadow / liner from day to night.

I've even used these in the waterline with no issues (not that I recommend that, just my own personal experience), I have a picture of me with Tenacious Teal in the waterline :

All the shades I have, have glitter in them except Painted Purple which is more of a shimmer. I'm missing 4 shades from the lineup which are Fierce and Tangy (orange), Tough as taupe (matte taupe), Bold Gold (true medium gold) and Edgy Emerald (gorgeous shimmery emerald green). I hope to add these 4 to my collection soon :)

These are now available in the UK, £4.99 each and currently on 3 for 2 in Superdrug, the UK names are actually different (I had these purchased for me by a great friend in the US) but the colours are the same I believe.

Personally, I suggest you get your tush to your local Superdrug / Boots (wherever else stocks them) and get swatching - These are perfect as bases, especially the Too Cool (white) shade to make your eyeshadow really pop, perfect as eye shadows in their own right when you're having a "I can't be bothered with eye makeup" day and perfect as liners. I'd give them 11 out of 10 in a survey if I could :) and at a fraction of the cost of a MAC paint pot, they're well worth a look.

Take care and love to all xox

LOTD - MAC Quick Sizzle layered with MAC Girl About Town

Well hello there gorgeous glitterati.

I'm rather on a roll with these Lip of the day posts aren't I. I promise to add something different this evening, time for some swatches and reviews me thinks!!

Anyhoooooo, on to today's Lip - I wanted pink today so I pulled out my ultimate favourite MAC lipstick EVER, Girl About Town (Amplified - Intense creamy finish) ...... Oh how I love thee. And I decided to layer it over the top of my new pink matte from the Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection - Quick Sizzle.

Here's the finished product and swatches :

Quick Sizzle top / Girl About Town bottom.

Girl About Town is a gorgeous shiny deep magenta / fuchsia, I adore it. The staying power alone is incredible and I just adore the colour as I'm such a crazy pink a'holic. But today I decided to layer it over Quick Sizzle which is matte, just to give the shade some further depth and extra added staying power to boot.

What's your favourite lipstick ever? Have you ever layered it with something else to create a new and even more fabulous hue?

Take care and love to all xox

LOTD - MAC Violetta layered with Dish It Up.

Hey there once again gorgeous glitterati :)

I have another lip of the day for today - I managed to take pictures of all my Maybelline Color Tattoos last night, so I should be doing that blog post very soon!!

But while I'm in the mood to blog - I thought I'd do another super quick LOTD.

Today I wanted purple, I don't know why ..... I just get these crazy vibes that choose a shade for me :) So here we have MAC's Violetta (Amplified finish - Creamy and Intense) layered with MAC's Dish It Up (Lustre - Glossy and Semi Sheer).



Dish it up top, Violetta bottom.

The result of the two layered together is a somewhat deep fuschia purple and I love it. I very rarely wear Violetta as it's so purple and intense, it's more of a special occasion shade to me - But after layering it with Dish It Up, I'm really impressed.

Dish It Up is a lustre, which therefore provides you with a super shiny sheer hue, which pairs brilliantly with an Amplified finish such as Violetta as it just tones it down slightly and give a less harsh, more glossy finish.

Do you have any requests? I'm happy to blog on almost anything and I'm thoroughly enjoying rambling about what I love, I'll just continue as I am unless I get anyspecific requests - Feel free as always to let me know.

Take care and love to all xox

LOTD - Revlon Cherries In The Snow.

Hey gorgeous Glitterati people :)

I thought I would just do a quick lip of the day today and go on to something more in detail this evening perhaps.

Anyhow, for my lipstick today I fancied something quite bold, but not too naughty for work, so I dug out my Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in 440 "Cherries In The Snow".

This shade set the blogging world alight late last year with everyone clambering for this perfect cherry fuchsia toned red - I actually nabbed mine from eBay for £2.60 including postage, what a bargain.

On to the pics :

Apologies for the crazy in your face picture, I was trying to get a picture on my lunch break and the lighting everywhere was just horrendous, so it's the best I could do, I think it's pretty accurate of the colour actually :)

All in all, I love this shade and formula of lipstick, I don't own any other Revlon shades and I think I need to rectify that fairly soon, MAC has always been my lipstick love. The wear on this lipstick is pretty good, it stains your lips somewhat to keep some pigmentation there but it doesn't feel at all drying, very creamy and moist.

Do you own Cherries In The Snow? Would you recommend any of the other Revlon shades?

Take care, love to all xox

NOTD - OPI Designer... De Better

Hey Gorgeous Glitterati :)

I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and do a Nail of the day post. I'm trying really hard to grow my nails, but I'll admit now I'm a cuticle nibbler and I find it really difficult to stop but I am trying - So hopefully future NOTD posts with feature nicer looking nails.

My polish of choice for today was from the OPI Muppets collection and the shade is "Designer... De Better".

I'll freely admit, I bought a lot of the Muppets collection when it first came out, there was a lot of glitter and shimmer featured in the collection, but I'm all about the glitter so I adored each and ever one.

I've been trying to experiment with pastel shades for spring, but I felt the need for some sparkle today and opted for this gorgeous goldy champagne shade.



1 coat of OPI Natural nails base coat, 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of OPI rapid dry top coat.


Please excuse the bitten cuticles, short nails and chubby fingers - Can you tell I really love my hands!!!

I love this shade, it's so sheeny and shiny and I go nuts for a metallic finish.

I'm currently waiting on my China Glaze Hunger Games polishes to arrive, so it will 100% be one of them in my next NOTD.

Have you got any nail polish recommendations?

Take care, love to all xox



Revlon Lip Butter Pre-Sale

Hey again gorgeous Glitterati :)


Unless you've been living under a rock the past few months, you'll most certainly have heard the hype surrounding these new Revlon Lip Butters. These are meant to be the Holy Grail of lip products, smooth and shiny yet with a gorgeous pop of colour, can they be too good to be true?


Well the official UK release date has been under question for some time, but what I can tell you is that they go on presale Friday (9th March) from boots and they will retails for £7.99 each or 2 for £10 on the boots website click here .


There were originally 20 shades released in the US and it seems the UK are only getting 14 of these 20 shades (that's all there are listed on the boots link) - I'm disappointed that we're not getting all 20, but honestly grateful to be getting any.


The shades being released on presale are :


Sugar Frosting
Raspberry Pie (on my list)
Pink Truffle
Peach Parfait
Tutti Frutti (on my list)
Candy Apple (on my list)
Macaroon
Berry Smoothie
Cupcake
Lollipop (on my list)
Sweet Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Cotton Candy
Creme Brulee


Are there any of these that you're desperate to snap up? I currently want 4 but I imagine I'll buy 2 to start with as they're on offer and see how I get on with the formula.


Take care, love to all xox

MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj Lipstick

Hey again gorgeous Glitterati :)


I'm on a roll with blog posts, must keep it up.


I received my MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj lipstick in the post yesterday (along with my watch me simmer which I'll add onto the shop / cook post ASAP) and I felt the need to share it with you guys as it's so out of my normal range of shades, but I love it so very much.


Firstly if you don't know too much about Viva Glam, it's a program which promotes HIV / AIDS awareness through MAC's AIDS fund. This year's campaign obviously involves Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin, in the past it's been Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper.
Overall the best thing about this Viva Glam range, is that the entire purchase price of the item goes to the MAC AIDS fund, which is phenomenal for such a huge company to make such a generous donation.


This year's campaign was a lipstick and a lip conditioner. The lip conditioner is clear and plain and therefore didn't really interest me too much, but as soon as I saw the lipstick, I knew it would have to be mine - Lipstick junkie alert!!!!!

As you can quite clearly see, this is a very "in your face" shade, which suits me down to the ground hehehehe.
MAC Viva Glam Nicki is a bright pink with definite yellow undertones which makes such a difference to their usual blue undertone pinks. The colour comes off warm and almost a little coral on me, this will be a staple in my makeup bag come Summer and holiday time.


What do you think? Something you might purchase or is it just too garish for you?


Take care, love to all xox

MAC Shop MAC, Cook MAC collective haul.

Well what a way to welcome myself back to the land of blogging :) A massive Howdy to all you gorgeous glitterati.


I just HAD to do this haul as my first post in a while because I haven't been THIS excited about a MAC collection since Hello Kitty way back when. The Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection just screamed "me" from the second I saw the promotional images.


I began my saving every penny possible regime, I sold some bits and pieces and got the cash together to buy everything I wanted.


Initially Selfridges got the collection 2 weeks before the actual MAC online release date of March 1st, so I got everything I could from Selfridges, then waited 2 weeks to get the rest of my lusts from MAC online.


I'll post a picture of my collective haul from both purchases and tell you a little bit about each item. I can promise you now, I wasn't disappointed with one single thing from this collection, I adore it all and I'm wearing it to death at the minute so apologies for the used items in the picture. I literally couldn't wait to try them before taking any pictures, I'm such a girl!!!

I'm still excited even looking at the picture :) That's how much of a makeup junkie I am!!!


Swatches next :

Excuse the blatant toilet roll in the background, oops, I'm such a professional!!


Anyhooooo, top to bottom on my arm we have as follows :

• Quick sizzle Lipstick (Matte) - The most gorgeous shocking hot pink, pretty similar to girl about town on me but obviously matte. I'm a huge fan of the matte formulations, but they are very dry and will show every flaw in all it's glory - So make sure your lips are in tip top condition when using these.
• Dish it up Lipstick (Lustre) - Ooooo so gorgeous, sheeny shinny plummy purple. Looks much darker in the tube than it does on, but that's always the way with lustre formula's. I haven't got anything like this in my collection.
• Naughty Saute Lipstick (Cremesheen) - Very much a shot in the dark for me, I'm all about the bright deep dark shades, whereas this is a complete bubblegum barbie pink with very high pigmentation and gloss so it's not for the faint hearted. I've tried it on and love it surprisingly, it's always good to have something a bit different at your disposal.
• Runaway red Lipstick (Satin) - Beautiful almost matte cherry toned red, I adore my reds and this one is no exception, it's verging on wine and looks fantastic with a subtle eye makeup.
• Added goodness fluidline - A deep intense brown shade with golden sheen throughout. The fluidlines are THE best liner for your waterline in my opinion, they just don't budge and this is a perfect shade for those who don't like the harshness of black.
• Midnight snack fluidline - Black with silver sparkle throughout.
• Restores dazzle cremeblend blush - My first venture into the cremeblend blush world and I'm loving it. This shade is a deep intense pinky wine but can easily start off sheer and be build up to your desired intensity. The formula is amazing, not too shiny which is perfect for my oily skin, and it just stays put all day long. A new obsession begins!!
• Hot & Saucy tendertone - I wish I'd got all 4 of the tendertones in this collection. I've had a couple in the past and I knew I loved them but I only got one this time round as I had purchased so many lipsticks :( This is a gorgeous strawberry red, the balm is so slick and moisturising and is scented like strawberry kiwi. Obviously they don't last all day as they're only a balm, but for that little "pop" of colour when you don't want full on in your face lipstick, these cannot be beaten.

Well that's it - I have the watch me simmer lipstick on the way and I'll add an edit onto this post when it arrives.


I love everything about this collection, the outer packaging was cute (although it'll just be thrown away as it's only a sleeve, not the actual product casing), the products were diverse and the colours just spoke to me and said "buy me".


Did you pick up anything from this collection, anything you're going to pick up? Be warned, MAC online is sold out of a lot of the collection already, but ALWAYS check, Debenhams, Selfridges and House of Fraser too - I've been sneakily looking this morning to see where still has the tendertones (Selfridges does at the time of posting).


More posts coming up soon, including Maybelline color tattoo swatches and MAC Viva glam Nicki Minaj swatches too.


Take care, love to all xox

Where have I beeeennnnnnnnnnnnnn ...................

Hey gorgeous Glitterati people.

I've been oh so absent and I feel oh so naughty *slaps wrist*. But I'M BACK with a bang :)

I have no excuse as to why I've been so useless with my blog, nothing more than the usual day to day stresses and now I'm exercising every night, I just haven't found the time I suppose - But no more!! This little blog is my outlet for some me time to talk about all the things I love, so I'm going to bombard you with posts over the next couple of weeks, you'll be bored to tears of me by the time I'm through hehehehe.

I've got some more MAC lippies to update you on (Hello Viva Glam Nicki Minaj), Maybelline color tattoos are in my possession woohoo, some new drugstore bits and pieces and lots of other nice things to tantalise your makeup taste buds.

I've definitely missed this blogging lark, so I'm going to make time and be much more dedicated I promise - Is there anything you'd like to see? I'd be super interested in doing a series of some sort that's a regular instalment on here at least - Any ideas you lovely lot?

Right I'm off to make notes and decide what's going to be coming next on here.

Take care, love to all and speak soon xoxox