Collective Haul: April - June

Looking at the products laid out in front of me, I've not been buying a great deal over the past few months. It felt like I had but a lot of what I purchased were replacement products. I've also been investing more in clothes after havihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng a mad eBay clear out. I bought the most lovely Nicole Farhi silk top (I used it as a fabric background in this post) which I think I'll wear to death this summer. Also picked up a handful of maxi dresses which I tend to live in during the "warmer" months - whatever that means in the UK . Mostly, I've been saving. Mostly...



A few bits from Space NK. I haven't tried the new cleanser yet, I'm finishing up my Mario Badescu products (which I'll be honest, are not amazing. Stand out products are the buffering lotion and whitening mask. I didn't like the moisturiser at all and the cleansers were alright but quite drying)I also picked up a Nars blush in Deep Throat, Sheer Glow foundation and Shu Uemura Nobara foundation. Both are great and give good coverage while remaining light on the skin. Sheer Glow's coverage really surprised me! If I need to build it up, I use a Beauty Blender sponge (another I-love product) to stipple it on. Perfect.



A handful of things to try from BeautyBay.com. I'm excited about adding a toner to my skincare routine again. I haven't used a toner since Lush's Tea Tree Water and miss the squeaky clean feeling you get afterwards.



After scouring blogs and eBay, I'm 1 (Oh So Special - I didn't include the new Curacao palette as I just bought that today) palette away from completing my Sleek collection. If interested, I'll do a large review/swatch catalogue of all the Sleek palettes past and present.



I broke my nail polish ban and went a little nuts...the two Illamasqua nail polishes were STUNNING and I bought two of each to send to a couple of my friends. Perfect for a vampy night out. The Barry M colours are beautiful summer brights - the coral is by far my favourite. Seche Vite is hands down, amazing. Ah-may-zing. My nail colour lasts a good week without any major chips despite me working with my hands a lot.



I bought a few Soap & Glory products, one of which was the boddy butter seen and the other was a facial scrub and shower gel. LOVE the shower gel, LOVE the body butter, a little unsure about the scrub. It kind of burns my skin when it's meant to give a tingly sensation. The boy loves it so as far as I'm concerned he can have it! I'm giving one of these body butters away soon :)

Check out the adorable mini High Beam and Posie Tints free with Glamour magazine! Didn't get Benetint as I've got the full size, but aw, so cute!

I purchased (IMPULSE) a couple of MAC shadows - Vellum and Beauty Marked. Beauty Marked really stands out to me, it's dark but really brightens up the eyes. Vellum is a fab highlighter on the cheeks and cupids bow.

I'm also giving away a couple of Lord & Berry glosses that I bought a while back. I loved it so much I went back and picked up two. The perfect shade for any skintone, lovely texture and I actually like the smell of them. They're not MAC vanilla scented, but they're not plastic/playdough scented either! The lipstick I am less crazy about (weird considering I'm not much of a gloss girl) The New CID products, I've yet to try out yet but I'm excited about them. I've dangerously fallen in love with Illamasqua eyeshadows. They're dense, apply very well and stay vibrant until you take them off. I recently bought this matte purple called Fallen.





Recently, the fella and I went down to Brighton for a couple of days. We stayed in a beautiful hotel by the beach front and whilst pebble beaches aren't my favourite, I had a wonderful time. While having breakfast on the beach, we had a little debate on whether pebble or sand beaches are better. My argument was that you could build sandcastles on sand beaches...so John made a stone castle which he said was "more realistic" so better. I'd still rather get sand up my butt any day. Pebble beaches hurt right?!



I made some divine (if I may say so myself) lavender and lavender and lemon cupcakes (with my own recipe for lemon curd). So light you don't feel too guilty for eating more than one!

I've got reviews planned: MUFE HD foundation, Mario Badescu (the week-by-week thing didn't work out because honestly...I wasn't getting the results I'd hoped for but there are some great produts within the range) and a new foundation routine. I'm hoping to start pre-writing posts during the weekend as I'm so busy during the week. Though lately my weekends have been pretty crazy too! We'll see...but I miss blogging a lot! Thanks so much for reading!

A wonderful surprise & a very small giveaway

This afternoon, I got home from work in a foul mood. It was raining, some crazy woman kissed her teeth because I'd had the nerve to say "don't worry it's not like I need my spine" when her umbrella poked me in the back and she'd failed to even make a half-assed apology....and I'd stepped in a dog turd wearing new shoes...BUT...I walked through the door and ripped open a neat little package from my first ever swap buddy! Stoked. Seriously. This woman knows me and what I like.



She bought me some beautiful things, and things I'd never choose for myself. I don't think I'd ever pick out neon nail colours for myself because I'm so pale...you know what? They work. I'm IN LOVE with the matte bright purple. It looks gorgeous matte and glossy with a top coat.



Tried the bright red lip (again, something I'd never choose for myself) and I love it! Wet n Wild lippies have a great texture. I'm not sure how well they wear but they apply well and easily straight from the bullet. Got a couple of back ups of some Wet n Wild single shadows which I'm so pleased about because one in particular (Nutty) - is nearing pan territory. M - thank you SO much for everything, it was the sweetest thing and a wonderful surprise to come home to. I can't wait to send you a few things and to set up another swap! It's time huh?



I'm also back with a small giveaway. Recently e.l.f. had an offer on their Studio Eyeliner & Shadow sticks so I snapped up two of each and I'm giving the other set away. They're great on-the-go products and have excellent staying power. If you're in it to win it, just comment (say anything other then I WANNA WIN) and the winner will be chosen at random on Saturday 25th June 11.59PM GMT+1.

I hope everyone is enjoying the start to their Summers/Winters. We've had nothing but rain and the possibility of rain. When the sun comes out, it rains 3 minutes later and sh*ts all over all chance of tanning/hanging your laundry out/GOING ANYWHERE! But it's London...and I love it. Mostly.



Plus, the messed up weather meant we got a buttload of fruit early this year! Yummy, home grown raspberrys. Incredible.



Remember the cute, tiny little kitten we got? Well...she's still tiny...but she's a cheeky little bugger. She's taken to jumping in my bag before I leave for work.



In a load of bee hive frames. Don't worry, we didn't leave her in there. Plus she jumped in on her own when we were stacking them.



All cuddles........



....no....I'm totes not trying to eat the cat...

Haul: NYX

I picked up a few NYX bargains, not much but enough to make me fall in love with the products and want to explore the brand a bit more. I'd really love to try out NYX lipsticks. Anyone up for a swap?!



I bought:

For Your Eyes Only Palette in Beautiful Green Eyes

For Your Eyes Only Palette in Smokey Eyes

Super Powder Brush

and Nail Polish in South Sea

The palettes are much smaller than I imagined. I don't mind, it's just something I noticed when I first opened the package. Pigmentation is great upon swatching but I'll see how they wear and post a review at a later date. Colours are beautiful and well chosen for each palette. I've got a bit of an obsession with eyeshadow palettes and think these are fantastic additions to my collection.

The brush is large and fluffy, not especially soft but not painfully scratchy. Will have to see how it holds up in terms of shedding when in use and washing.

The nail polish is an impulse buy as I don't have a colour similar to it in my collection. I'm quite disappointed to be honest. I know it's only a cheapie but I've paid far less for a polish and this one is so sheer it requires a good 4-5 coats to get a nice finish. I resorted to wearing it over a navy blue cream polish and thought it looked lovely.

Any review requests, send them my way!

Swap Haul with FunnyFaceBeauty!

Through this blog I've had the absolute pleasure of being in contact with some of the most wonderful people from all over the world. A couple months ago after speaking on Twitter a few times, the amazing Alicia and I decided we'd do a swap. There were a handful of things each of us wanted from the other side of the Atlantic so we swapped! This is what I received in the mail yesterday.





Wet n Wild Limited Edition Holiday Palette in Night Elf

Unfortunately this didn't photograph as nice as it looks in life. It is much more pigmented though I feel slightly let down by the super sparkly black. It's pigmented for sure but once again a glitter shadow fails me as a lot of the glitter falls off immediately. A great palette regardless and I'm sure I'll find myself using the gold quite a bit. The bottom left shadow reminds me an awful lot of Blue Brown pigment from MAC. Will need to swatch to compare!







Wet n Wild ColorIcon Single Eyeshadows in Kitten and Nutty and OCC Loose Colour Pigment in Nori

After my first swap with an amazing Twitter friend I discovered Wet n Wild's ColorIcon range and for a drugstore product and at their pricepoint these products are incredible. I'd pay a lot more for them! The OCC pigment is just like I imagined it to be.





Sephora Color To Go Red Edition Palette

I'm not usually a fan of all-in-one palettes. I don't like it when cream products are mixed with powder prodcuts because 9 times out of 10 both end up looking grotty and unuseable. BUT! I spotted this and instantly knew I wanted it. 1 - because of the colour selection and 2 - because the glosses and blush are in a completely separate compartment. They neatly slide under the eyeshadows! WHY DON'T THEY ALL DO THIS?! This palette is tiny and super travel friendly - and it's preeetty.



OCC Lip Tar in Grandma, Sephora Glosses in Rosy Glow, Bronzed Beauty and Precious Pink, MAC Lustreglass in Lustrewhite

Grandma is exactly what I was expecting! I absolutely adore it and it's unlike anything I already own. As for all OCC products, it is insanely pigmented and a tiny amount goes a LONG way - sometimes too far. The Sephora glosses are lovely too. They smell a little fruity, a bit cupcakey and they're not overly sticky. Lustrewhite isn't something I would think to buy for myself and it's a nice break from a coloured gloss. It gives your lips a high shine and looks ultra wet! I prefer Lustreglasses over any of MAC's glosses. Partly because of the brush applicator but mostly because of their finishes.





Wet n Wild ColorIcon Trio in Cool As A Cucumber

In my opinion greens and purples are the most flattering for my patchy eye colour.



Biosilk Silk Therapy Sample

I've heard amazing things about this product and it'd be great to finally see whether it really works.



Lastly a stunning ring from Forever21! I love it - thank you so much Alicia! Really looking forward to our next swap.

She also sent me another eos lip balm as I'm completely in love since I recieved one in my last swap. They work so well! I've become a bit of a lip balm fanatic. I have a selection of them by my bed, in my bag, in my wallet (yes) and in my lip drawer. It's not out of hand just yet...

I sent Alicia's package to her last Tuesday so fingers crossed it gets there soon! I'm so excited to see if she enjoys what I got her!

Christmas Haul

I was also given a couple of Lush gift sets, tons of sweets and John bought me some haircare which I can't wait to use as soon as I'm done with my Toni & Guy shampoo and conditioner!

What did you receive this Christmas?

Collective Haul: December

I've finally finished all my Christmas shopping including last minute (last minute to me means a week before Christmas) stocking fillers and bits and pieces for myself.

Here's what I bought this month:

An order from e.l.f -



Bamboo Powder Brush
Bamboo Angled Blush Brush
Studio Stipple Brush
Blending Eye Brush
Eye Crease Brush



I also received a free 100 piece eyeshadow palette. I haven't yet had a chance to properly use them but I've swatched a few and some are better than others. The matte shades are crap, the satins are nice but very powdery and the glitters are crap colour payoff wise but nice glitter payoff wise! Still hunting...where's that perfect glitter shadow at?

I ordered the eyeshadow brush a while back but only recently noticed that it is exactly the same as the Models Own one. As are the two crease brushes from each brand.





My Sleek order which took exactly 5 weeks to arrive (I know...it's a joke)-





Good Girl Palette - which I know I said I wasn't going to get but it was 50% off...so...there...
Chaos Palette
Kajal Eyeliner in Odyssey
Pout Polish in Perfect Plum
5 Piece Brush Set

Accessories -



These lovely babies from the lanes in Brighton. Snapped up for 7.99! They have a fleecy lining so will be plenty warm.



A beautiful necklace from a dear friend from uni. She works for a jewellery company who produces pieces for French Connection, Oasis and a few House of Fraser brands and this was a necklace produced but never sold so is a one of a kind piece. I'm in love with it! She has the best knowledge of what I like and exquisite taste.





Fiorelli diamond shaped teardrop earrings. I got these from work and they look amazing on! All lines from our store come in clips as that's what we specialise in so if anyone reading has non pierced ears - drop me a line! We carry lots of fashion lines as well as more classic pieces which will last a lifetime. Most lines also come in pierced.

Space NK -





NARS Sweet Disposition mini multiples set. I've lusted after this for a while now so I'm glad I picked it up when I went in to redeem my free Eve Lom lipbalm.

I've also ordered a few Paul & Joe, Illamasqua, Pixi and POP bits and pieces from ASOS but I have a feeling they'll arrive after Christmas. Just my luck! At least there weren't any presents in there. Not for anyone but me anyways...

Any review requests, just send them my way. I need some ideas for content and it's great having your input as I like to write what you want to read! Except for when I don't really give a sh*t...and write total rubbish.

Only 6 days until Christmas! What are your plans for the holidays?

Birthday Haul & Giveaway Win!

The past week has been quite eventful. I celebrated my 23rd birthday at home with my boyfriend and the cats! Bo-ring some may say, but it was perfect for me. I got to speak to my mum and brother for ages over the phone - something I don't get to do very often (as they live in the Philippines and Hong Kong) so I was really happy! It was a quiet yet very joyful day with lots of food, a bit of poker and copious amounts of tea (as I don't drink alcohol).

Here's what I got:









Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. III from John. Amazing! It's very, very pretty. I haven't yet had the chance to play with the shadows yet but I'll try get a few looks and swatches posted in the next few days if that's something you're interested in.



Hugo Boss Orange - again from John. I love this perfume! A very modern bottle, this perfume offers sweet scents though not as much the spritz of orange as you'd expect. Very floral with strong vanilla notes. Womanly rather than girly and playful like the adverts suggest.



Flowers from my girl down in Cornwall! A really lovely surprise to come home to after work.



Will get a better photo of Nail Effects. I was so excited to break these out I used both!



Barry M Dusky Mauve & Nail Effects. I actually bought these a while ago but promised myself I wouldn't touch them until my birthday due to P5P...and so these are a gift to myself for being so blatantly crap at not spending but making up for it by not using what I buy!

I also received some jewellery, clothes and a bit of cash which I've tucked away in an old biscuit tin for when I finish P5P which is imminent...I've got about 1/4 through the eyeshadow duo and 1/2 way through my UDPP!

This evening (well, yesterday evening now) I was lucky enough to go to an HP and Palm event at Westfield London Shopping Centre. I got to check out all the awesome new laptops and phones and got to have a go on the new ice rink. I'll be blogging about this for work so will post the link up when it's published. My last blog post about the Blog for Sales session is here in case you're interested.









At the event, I gratefully received a £50 Westfield gift voucher which I swiftly spent in Inglot afterwards. I picked up 10 shadows in the Freedom System and an angled contour brush. I think the concept of the Freedom System is amazing and is an excellent way to customise palettes whether you're a makeup junkie or a makeup artist starting your kit. Inglot offers fantastic quality products at very, very reasonable prices. 10 shadows plus the palette came to £35! Buy 10 shadows and a palette from MAC and not only get less product (in terms of grams) but pay £101! I can honestly say, that these shadows meet and some exceed the quality of MAC shadows. For example - Carbon...crap. Inglot's matte black is incredible (see bottom left swatch). A little powdery but amazing pigmentation. It's such a shame that this isn't a brand that is readily available. The store at Westfield is the only one in the UK and as far as I know, you can't order online. I also really love the magnetic palette. It's very strong and I feel confident that it would take a lot for this to break! The only thing I'd change is the frosted lid, though you can roughly see the colours in the palette through it.



One more thing that I received this week was a 100ml DKNY Be Delicious EDP from Sarah that I very unexpectedly won. I really, really love this fragrance. It's sweet, fruity and long lasting. It's ideal for me.

In between everything, I've had doctors appointments (been having some health problems, blood tests etc...eugh) and puppy sitting weaved in. It's been hectic but I'm glad to have a nice relaxing day tomorrow. Today. Whatever! It's 3am. I'm off to bed!

What are you doing this weekend? Hope it's fabulous!

xx