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...

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!

August Wins & Fails

So I think I'm going to start doing these favourites slash regrets posts. I like to be with the in crowd yanno?

WIN:

Models Own polishes - beautiful formulation, great staying power.
Pantene Aqua Light shampoo & conditioner - really is super light and a delight to use.
MUA MakeUp Academy makeup - bargain and beautiful pigmentation.
Swaps! - need I say more? Well...I have.
MAC Humid eyeshadow - a perfect shade to transition into autumn/winter makeup.

FAIL:

Maybelline Dream Mousse eyeshadows - next to no pigmentation, difficult to work with.
Barry M body glitter - falls off within 3 seconds of applying it. Don't ask why I decided to wear body glitter...
Clinique Superfit foundation - broke...me...out...looks lovely on though!

What are your wins and fails?

First Swap!

And it started with talks of a Sleek palette...

Yesterday, I received a package of the best kind. SWAP GOODIES!

There were a bunch of things I really wanted from the States and the lovely lady I swapped with wanted Sleek palettes. The rest was up to us! I absolutely adore everything she bought me and I hope she loves what I got her too. AND! Crazy little gem managed to find the Wet n Wild palette I wanted!





First up is a handful of glosses.



WetSlicks Fruit Spritzers in Papaya Splash



N.Y.C. Extreme Lip Glider in Metro Mauve



Revlon gloss in Pink Pop







NYX round glosses in Red Tint, Ballerina Pink and Queen Of Africa









Wet n Wild Ultimate Expressions eyeshadow palettes in Fantasy Island and Paradise Cove & Wet n Wild Eye Expressions palette in Contemporary Art





Wet n Wild ColorIcon palette in Lust





CoverGirl Eye Enhancers palette in Shimmer Sands

eos lip balm in Honeysuckle Honeydew - I couldn't take a photo of this because Reggie saw me take it out of the package and thought "OHH A NEW TOY" and it is now somewhere under the friggin' bed! I have tried it though, and it feels SO nice and smells/tastes so yummy. I'll make John crawl under there and get it for me in the morning.







NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Black Bean and Cottage Cheese & Wet n Wild gel liner



CoverGirl LashBlast Volume, L'Oréal Voluminous (my favourite mascara - EVER!)& L'Oréal Lineur Intense liquid liner





NYX 5 Color Shadow palette (The Caribbean Collection) in I Dream Of St. Lucia



Red Cherry lashes - #505 and JB/CP - These have pretty much convinced me to suck it up and get over my fear of falsies.





MAC pigment samples: Circa Plum, Naked, Tan, Vanilla





MAC iridescent powder samples: Golden Bronze & Silver Dusk



Sonia Kashuk brushes! Love!

Finally, GUMMY BEARS! John and I have already decided I should probably put one packet away...cause I'll shove them all in my mouth at once. No. Joke.

Thank you SO much girl, I love everything you got me and I really hope we can do this again because I really, really enjoyed myself and I hope you did too!

I'll post again when she receives my package and share what I bought for her and why!

And the reason for my blog sale...August Haul!

I spent a lot this month! But it gave me a good excuse to clear out my wardrobe (and under the bed...and...the stuff stored on top of the wardrobe) so I'm happy.

I bought a ton of stuff for a swap I'm doing with one of my Twitter/BlogTV friends so I got mega excited about that! My first swap! I really hope she loves what I've bought her. I'll do a post when I receive her package and write more about what purchases I made for her and why.

I also bought a handful of things for my friend Joanna who is visiting from Hong Kong. Another separate post! I'm hoping to take her to the CCO in Bisceter Village.



More stuff for Jackie (who just got married!) which I'll send when her box is full up.



Picked up a bunch from Superdrug and made a few repurchases. First, a GOSH liner in Bananas - the best waterline colour. It's not as harsh as white and a nice shimmery alternative to my matt nude liner. They didn't have any Simple baby wipes in stock so I picked up some Pampers ones instead. Don't like them as much and they sting my eyes but they'll do for now! They had an offer on Barry M polishes so as well as picking up a few for some friends, I got Mushroom (finally!) and Lemon - a lovely pale yellow. Another item I've been wanting for a long time is Revlon's crease brush so I picked that up. It's so, so soft.

Same day, different shop. I popped into Boots and got a 17 Lasting Fix nail polish in Parma Violet and I'm very excited to try it. It looks so beautiful in the bottle. For some reason, I picked up a Miss Sporty Studio Lash mascara. Never used anything from this brand before, so it'll be interesting to try. Nice and cheap at £2.99. On my way to the checkout, I stopped to smell some of the body sprays and picked up a mango and papaya one - great for throwing in your bag when it's hot out. The smell fades quite quickly but it's a big bottle and wasn't expensive so I don't mind much.

Last two stops were The Body Shop where I picked up a few facial buffers and Lush where I bought another stash of Fresh Farmacy and CoalFace for John. These facial buffers...amazing. I now no longer need to buy a separate exfoliator!



I also picked up some ASDA own brand Skin, Hair & Nails vitamins. I've never been one to believe that a vitamin that costs 3x as much as another is any better. It all has the same stuff in it so why not save a few quid?

Pantene's new Aqua Light range pulled me in. I picked up the smaller bottles since they were 2 for £3 at Boots. I ran out of blades for my razor so instead of shelling out a ton for new ones, I decided to go back to disposables. I find they irritate my skin less - weird right?

A Filipino food store in Croydon opened up - I popped in and picked up a few of my faves including Young Coconut juice (YUM) - this is on the same excitement level as getting my hands on Mushroom!



The thing I'm most excited about (I think Reggie is too) is a No7 polish in Totally Teal 115. It was the last one on the shelf so I grabbed it quick! Of course, I bought it with one of my 500 No7/Ruby & Millie vouchers from Boots. I hate that whenever you spend one, you get one! I think I'll just have to resort to ONLY buying something with the voucher instead of...oh I'll just pick up some shampoo and conditioner as well. That's how they get us. Well...me.



My Model's Own order arrived a couple days ago and I've resisted opening anything until now. I purchased 5 polishes (buy 5, get £7 off!) in Betty Blue, Peacock Green, Jade Stone, Magenta Pearl and Purple Grey (meant to be a dupe for Chanel Paradoxal). I also got the three piece brush set and I got a free black kohl liner as it was my first purchase. Of course, the weekend after I placed my order...they hit 10,000 "likes" on Facebook and have a 50% off sale site wide. Just my luck. Go check it out - once again I highly, highly recommend their polishes.

Nail polish swatches (excuse my skanky nails):



No7 115 Totally Teal



Model's Own NP028 Peacock Green



Model's Own NP083 Jade Stone



Barry M Nail Paint 024 Lemon



Model's Own NP085 Magenta Pearl



Model's Own NP056 Betty Blue



Boots 17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Parma Violet



Barry M Nail Paint 310 Mushroom



Model's Own NP052 Purple Grey





I picked up Marc Jacobs Basil. It's a clean unisex fragrance with top notes of tomato leaf, lemon and basil, middle notes of orange blossom, freesia and jasmine and base notes of sandalwood, musk and cashmere wood. Now I don't know what any of that means, I just know that I like it. Though I do think it might be weird that John and I will smell the same on certain days. I think he'll be using this a lot more than I will as it's a slightly more masculine fragrance - and I'm more than happy for him to. It is after all, a huuuge bottle.

So that's it for now. I'm thinking of just posting monthly collective hauls. Sometimes I'll just pick up one or two items that don't really warrant a whole blog post unless there are reviews attached to them. What do you think?