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

Sleek Bad Girl Palette

As per usual, Sleek have produced (for the 'cheap at twice the price' price of £5.99) a fabulous little palette of 12 eyeshadows, combining a range of shimmers & mattes, lights & darks.

The palette ticks all the boxes (the shadows even have names now!) but I now have 5 Sleek palettes and I'm starting to lose interest.

If this would be your 1st Sleek palette, it's a brilliant one to start with as it has everything you need to create a variety of dramatic looks and caters for all different eye colours & tones. I'm just feeling a bit 'meh' as the novelty, for me, is wearing off! I'm sure I'll use it though... I'll try get a FOTD done soon using it.

Thoughts?

A x

Bobbi Brown & Chanel Brushes

**Warning! Pic Heavy!**

Decided to treat myself to some new brushes... I've used both Chanel and Bobbi Brown brushes in the past (I do already own a few) and I've found them to be reliable, easy to use and stay in top notch condition after washing time and time again. So they were a natural choice for some new investments!

BB Bronzer Brush

Probably my favourite out of the bunch, this has a super chunky handle and is amazingly soft. It's called a bronzer brush, but would be fine as a powder, blush or just as a general face blender.

Retractable Lip Brush

This isn't actually retractable - instead it comes in 2 parts, so when you're finished using it, you just pop it back in it's cap!

Eyeliner Brush

Bobbi Brown actually do a couple of really nice liner brushes. This is a firm, flat synthetic brush that would be suitable for lining both wet & dry, could probably be used for applying concealer to blemishes and for applying cream eyeshadows.

Eyebrow Brush

Super stiff angled brush for filling eyebrows. Made from goat hair, this would not be suitable for using on the eye area as it would be too scratchy, but it will be great for shaping brows!

Foundation Brush

Chanel Synthetic Concealer Brush

This will be a general brush for creamy eye products for me. It's beautifully soft so will be great for concealing around the eye area.

Mascara Spooly/Brow Comb

Random new pot of gel liner from Clinique!

Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED...

RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOME POINT ON MONDAY (1ST) EVENING!

Hi!

To celebrate hitting the 200 follower mark (and 250 on YT), I'm having a wee giveaway!

1st Prize

Embryolisse Moisturiser

MAC Vanilla Pigment

MAC 32 Lashes

MUA Gold Glitter Liner

Barry M Nail Effects

Andrea Fullerton Nail Tattoos

(lots of interest in the Embryolisse Moisturiser so if you would just like to buy it, you can get it at Coco Beau)

2nd Prize

MUA Gold Glitter Liner

Barry M Nail Effects

3rd Prize

Barry M Nail Effects

RULES!


To enter on the blog - you must be a follower and leave a comment on this post. Only enter once.


To enter on YT - you must be a subscriber and leave a comment on the video. Only enter once.


You can enter on one or the other or both, but to enter on both, you must subscribe to both!


Will close on Sunday 31st October at Midnight. Winners will be picked at random.


All items in the giveaway have been purchased by me and are unused and unopened


Good Luck!

X Factor Copy Cat 'Rebecca Ferguson' FOTD

special request from Tsunimee on Twitter to 'do' Rebecca Ferguson's makeup from last week's X Factor. Hope you like it! You can watch it here.

And the giveaway will be live in a couple of hours!!

Illamasqua 'Liquid Metal' FOTD Video

I went out to dinner to my favourite Turkish restaurant on Saturday with my husband (that still feels strange to say!) and our friends...

Just a quick video using 'Stoic Liquid Metal' by Illamasqua

My New Love... Embryolisse Skin Care

Hello,

You have probably heard the virtues of Embryolisse Lait-Cream Concentre extolled all over the internet and thought you might like to try it, but had always been put off because you'd have to order it from France... I know I always was! I had actually tried the product a couple of times, but had never quite got round to ordering it. However a sudden increase in websites selling it from the UK have appeared in the last couple of months making, not just the moisturiser, but many other products from the brand much more accessible.

Imagine my delight when I discovered that one of those websites was my favourite 'beauty boutique' Coco Beau. This website has previously secured a place in my heart for it's fabulous service, quirky packaging, fast delivery and generally just being awesome and now I can add 'stockist of my new favourite skincare brand'... Anyway, as I don't want the peeps at Coco Beau to get big heads, let's move on to the products themselves!

Lait-Creme Concentre

This moisturiser, in my own humble opinion, has got to be the best thing that has ever happened to my skin. I mean it - I know I have posts previously on moisturisers (particular old fave PerriconeMD) but skin changes and over the last year, my skin has been through a serious period of illness, a wedding, moving house and then 3 weeks in the sun... It hasn't known what's been going on, but the result is my skin is much dryer - more 'normal' I guess than my oiler days from 8 months ago or so...

This moisturiser has boosted it's tone, evened out the texture (it literally feels like a baby's bottom) and just made it feel generally more comfortable. All the redness is starting to disappear from my cheeks and chin and I have to say, without a doubt this is the best treatment for 'plucked eyebrow syndrome' - you know that first 12 hours after plucking where no amount of concealor will hide the red? this bad boy will clear it up...

The texture is a good old thick cream - none of your lotion-y nonsense here. A tiny blob about the size of a pea will cover an entire face and so a 30ml tube (only £10 by the way) should last a good few months. For those who have a conscience, it's not tested on animals and it's paraben free.

Foaming Cream - Milk Cleanser

I always imagined it would take wild horses to drag me away from Philosophy's Purity cleanser and, although I wont be giving it up completely, I will be happy to share it's cabinet space in the bathroom with this product. This is a cleanser that's suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and it's simply lovely.

You can apply it in the normal way - to a damp face and work it into a lather, but I've found if I apply it to dry skin, leave it for 5 minutes like a face mask, then work some hot water in, that afterwards my skin can only be described as 'creamy' - it has that appearance I've always wanted; smooth, even-tone, no after - washing redness and just nice and clean! My skin has never felt tight after using it (presumably because it's soap free). Again, it's paraben & cruelty free and is £15 for 200mls.

Exfoliating Care Cream

I once read in a magazine that a good exfoliant should not contain scratchy contents such as walnut shell, sugar, sand... (that last one's a joke!) and instead one should always look out for an exfoliant that contains 'micro-beads'. And well, I've found one! I'm not sure what Embryolisse's micro-beads are formulated from, but they are far from abrasive. Using this, my skin feels smoothed, dry patches eliminated and it feels generally much more refined. I've been using this twice a week and what I've found is that I'm using less toner - weird I know and I don't what the connection is, but there you go.

Another fab product - cruelty free and is £20 for 60mls

So, what can I say? In one fell swoop my skin care regime has been transformed and my skin is looking and feeling blooming amazing. Probably just as well... I suffer horrendously from 'after-a-night-out-wine-spots' and with Xmas & Hogmany on the horizon, I will need something to fight my corner!

*I've purchased the moisturiser myself and although the 2 other products were samples, I will be hot-footing it shortly to buy them too. See my disclaimer for further details on PR samples.

LOVE Magazine - Gisele Cover

Some posey snaps of today's video....

I adored the Gisele cover of the 4th issue of LOVE Magazine (I wish I could've bought them all!)

Don't judge me for the pout!

FOTD

Hi,

Just a couple of snaps to show you the makeup I wore yesterday.... Kept it nice and neutral so I wouldn't have to worry about needing to touch it up too much through the day.

Products:

Face Atelier Foundation in 'Ivory'

Illamasqua Pink Brightening Powder

MAC Studio Finish Concealor (custom blended)

Shu Uemura Eyebrow Pen

Illamsqua 'Nymph' Blush

MAC E/S... Rice Paper and Mulch

MUFE Aqua Smoky Lash Mascara

Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Hurley and Breast Cancer Awareness

Hi everyone!

Another Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign post... This time, Lisa, Kirsten (from saskiathestylefairy) and I hopped down to Buchanan Street in Glasgow to meet Elizabeth Hurley - spokesperson for Lauder's BCA Campaign and watch as she turned Frasers pink for the evening...

watch the video of the day

a very grainy pic of me meeting Liz!

We also bumped into some of Glasgow's finest - Justin and Colin! Famed for their interior designery antics in programmes such as Million Pound Property Experiment, Trading Up andHousecall (also Celebrity Jungle!), they had popped down to support the event and cause, which they are clearly passionate about and gave me a bit of a on the spot interview! You can check out their website and blog here.

we also had a quick whizz round the brand new 'Apothercary' in House of Fraser - a little boutique stuffed with brands such as Ojon and PerriconeMD

And we finished the evening off with a few cocktails!