OCC Lip Tar in Grandma

Hi,

When Lisa and I were in Glasgow a few weeks ago, we spotted the new Filthy Gorgeous boutique counter in Debenhams selling OCC Lip Tars.

Lisa, having heard me rave about my Lip Tars, skipped over to make a couple of purchases. Here's her thoughts on one shade in particular!

Photo from OCC Website

OCC Lipgloss in Grandma

Now I realise this may be a little controversial, due to the many, many fans of this product, but the bottom line is I just don’t like it.

When, on a recent shopping trip, I came upon a counter selling OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) I became excited beyond comprehension. Like so many of you I’d read/watched countless product reviews, all extolling the virtues of the OCC lip tars, and was literally overjoyed (and that’s no exaggeration!) to be able to have a play around with the colours for myself. But, disaster!......POP! (that was my bubble bursting). The love affair I’d been expecting was not to be. So what’s my problem?

Well, for one thing they’re drying. Really drying, and there’s no way I could wear one without some kind of emollient underneath. But what about the fabulous pigmentation? Well, good point! The colours are amazing, vivid, dense and GORGEOUS, but on the lips, look flat, chalky and one-dimensional. I bit like you have applied eye shadow pigment to your lips. Oh, and did I mention the taste? A bit weird and mentholated. *sigh*

I have tried to make it work by mixing with some of my glosses, which does make it more wearable, but I’m afraid the love’s just not there. Sorry hardcore fans....maybe it’s just me. Let me know what YOU think.

Poodle or Babe?

So, after 100 years (feels like it!) of having the most boring hair known to woman, I've decided to take the radical step of having a .... PERM!

My hair is naturally the blondest of the blonde, is baby soft, long and poker straight. It doesn't kink, it doesn't frizz, it doesn't curl - it doesn't do anything! I'm not after full on curls, I really just want a bit of volume and texture, with some loose soft curling action at the ends. Strand test is 12.30 tomorrow at Toni & Guy - so will I end up looking like this?

or this??

Giveaway Winners Announcement!

Drummmm rollllll please........

1st prize goes to... Pink Pom Poms!

2nd prize goes to... Miss Mascara 1983

and finally!

3rd prize goes to Lauraharrisonmakeup

YAY!

Thanks to everyone for taking part and congratulations to all 3 winners!

I will be emailing you all very soon!

A xx

Primark Makeup

Ummm, not sure where to start with this post...

Ok - I was wanting to try some 'budget' products, just to check them out - I'm always a bit wary of becoming a full on product snob and thought I'd start in Primark!

Stashed away where their normal basic-y products are, was this kooky little collection, everything was about £2-£2.50 each. The packaging was very cool, so I bought the products below.

A bargain is only a bargain if you like it and will use it! so, even at £2 a pop, I can't say these are a bargain, because the products are hideous. I actually filmed a tutorial using them, but had to give up half way through because the results were so so awful....

This is the worst smelling lipgloss ever. I can't even talk about any other of it's qualities as it only stayed on my lips for about 4 seconds. It smells kind of like that farm-y poo smell, mixed with a bit of rape-seed whiff. Nice. I actually think I'm going to need a shower...

(the tube actually has a mirror and a light on the inside which is kind of cool)

Like the lipgloss, this eyeliner only had 1 colour choice (if they were only going to do one colour, why not black?!)

The colour pay-off was bad - I had to drag it over and over my lash line to get any colour and it was not soft enough to use on the waterline.

This bronzer/blush duo is kind of ok. The pink is quite nice as a highlighter, but the bronzer is bright yellow when applied. Not good.

This is a waterproof mascara, with a wand on the other end which contains a corrector gel. Out of everything, the corrector gel was actually quite good. The mascara on the other hand, was thin and the tube was so short, it was awkward to apply. As I managed to take the mascara off easily with no rubbing, using a basic wipe, I don't think it would be particularly waterproof either.

These 4 products cost about £10 in total. If you are on a budget, I would recommend putting your tenner into 1 or 2 better quality high street brands, such as MUA, Sleek or 17.

Primark would be better investing some of their £2.50 per product into the actual product and worry about their packaging later!

Coco Beau Pro 'The Big Fat Firm Foundation Brush'

Introducing...

Coco Beau's very own Big Fat Firm Foundation Brush!

I got an email last week from the perky peeps down at Coco Beau HQ revealing that they have been squirrelling away developing this bad boy and would I like one to try... Um, Hell Yeah!!

So here it is! The brush handle is massively chunky, which is just as well, as the head is HUGE! This is it pictured next to a MAC 190 for comparison...

I've tried to capture the dimensions of the brush as best I can - the brush head does taper, but it's very thick; not 'flat' like a traditional brush. The bristles are super dense and as a result, the brush gives the foundation more of a flawless 'buffed' finish rather than a flat (or streaky!) finish that you can sometimes get with a brush like the 190.

I just gave my face a once over with this to see how much surface area it could cover and I'm not kidding, my foundation was fully in place in about 10 seconds flat, no streaks or patchy areas.

I am seriously impressed with this brush - it is taking 1st place above my MAC 190 and my Louise Young foundation brush. LOVE. IT.

This will be available to purchase at Coco Beau from 28th October and will be £29.75