Pages

Saturday 27 December 2014

The Christmas of a Thousand Swatches

Hello again! I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed your Boxing Day too (lots of food involved I hope!). I spent Christmas with my family and spent Boxing day with even more family which was lovely!
I really do feel spoilt this year, especially in the make up department, so I thought I'd share with you some samples of them all. Maybe you'll see something you like and bag it in the New Year sales!

Starting with the Seventeen Eye Palette:

I was so excited when I opened this because I only actually have one other eye shadow palette, which is the "Barry M Natural Glow Shadow & Blush Palette" which I use literally every day, because this palette has more peach and pink based colours in comparison to the Barry M one which is solely browns, creams and one deep gold shadow. This palette also has more dark colours than the Barry M one so I'm looking forward to having more variety and options and also having more looks to experiment with. It's a good gift for someone who likes to wear eyeshadow without having "harsh" eyes as the first four colours (particularly 1, 2 and 4) are very,very natural and clean looking. But then you still have numbers 5 and 6 as an option if you want to dress it up a bit. Also, it would be ideal for anyone like me that loves having statement smoky eyes in neutrals and browns. I really don't have any criticisms about this palette; the colours go together lovely and make a nice looking smoky eye, it'd be just as good a gift to someone who is just getting into make up as it would be to an experienced make up lover who is looking for a small palette to carry out and about and finally, the pigmenting is just right, allowing you to gradually build colour when applying. An all round winner!

The second Seventeen product is the Seventeen Mini Lip Gloss Library:

First of all, I love the name "Mini Lip Gloss Library" so much, it's so cute! And secondly, for someone who isn't usually too keen on lip gloss, I was pleasantly surprised with these! I was instantly drawn to number 6 for two reasons: 1) I prefer non-glittery to glittery when it comes to lip glosses and 2) Like most people, I adore deep red lip colours. So it's safe to say that number 6 is my favourite of the lot. Number 1 and number 2 have been ideal for these festive past few days as they are subtle and natural with just the right amount of sparkle and shimmer. Numbers 3, 4 and 5 will be perfect for summer and number 6, for me, will just be perfect for all year round. A very good idea for a present as it caters to all make up tastes!

Moving on from Seventeen to No.7 with these really cute No.7 Mini Lip Treats:

Again, completely irrelevant, but I love the name "Mini Lip Treats" too! These two are just lovely and I've got literally nothing bad to say about them: they're glossy without being sticky (although my swatches photo really hasn't picked that up well, apologies!), they feel lovely and moisturising and because they're subtle they would flatter most skin tones. Also, I usually don't bother with nude lip colours but because "Day Dreamer" is so subtle and has a slight peachy/pink hint to it, it didn't make my lips completely blend in with my skin like most nude lip products usually do. "Delicate Pink" is just a really sweet and toned down every day lipstick that would go with almost any look. A very cute present that definitely won't be going to waste!

The next product, Benefit's "They're Real!" Mascara wasn't a Christmas present, but was instead a Boxing Day present to myself after my Mum and I went to Boots to treat ourselves and look out for any post-Christmas bargains!


(I left one eye untouched for comparison)

I've wanted this mascara for so, so long and I'm not sure why I hadn't got round to buying it until now - because I know it wasn't my usual reason of it being too expensive as, in my opinion, £9.95 really is not bad at all for a product that seems to have had universal praise. So I've finally jumped onto the bandwagon and have instantly fallen in love. The only things that I would change about this mascara are the wand, which is made of a plastic-y/rubber material and the size of the product itself (I understand that £9.95 for this is a bit of a miracle but for that much I would expect the tube to be at least a tiny bit bigger, but maybe I'm just tight). And while having a plastic mascara wand is usually better for separating the lashes, I just generally prefer mascara wands to be made of fibres (I think that's the right word? I have no idea). But they are just minor things and certainly aren't deal breakers! Just one coat of this mascara would leave me happy which is unheard of as I'm one of those people who has to have 50-odd coats of mascara on before I can even think about leaving the house (slightly exaggerating there!). But the fact that just one coat is genuinely enough has really, really blown my mind as I thought that that just wasn't an option in life (bit dramatic). But TWO coats of this stuff was when I needed to sit down; when this mascara promises a "false lash effect" it does not disappoint. I'm so excited to have finally bought this mascara and all I can say is: if you haven't already - get it, try it, LOVE IT. AAH. Sorry.

And lastly, the Seventeen Make Up Brush Collection:
I've been meaning to get my hands on a new make up brush set for a while now, so you can imagine how happy I was when I opened this on Christmas morning. The set consists of: 1 cheek brush (which is a small/medium blush brush which could easily be used for bronzer and regular face powder as well), 3 eye shadow brushes (#1 for blending, #2 for definition and #3 an angled brush also for more defined eye make up) and 1 lip brush. The only criticism I have for this kit is the lip brush, which is very, very firm which makes it difficult to fill the lips with (but on the other hand means that it is excellent for lining the lips). As I've already got a lip brush which is good for filling the lips, I don't have too much to complain about as it's not exactly a stretch to use both is it? As for the rest of the brushes, I've got no complaints; the three eye brushes work wonderfully and the two definition brushes are excellent for enhancing a smoky eye. Also, the cheek brush is lovely and soft and allows you to build up your powder rather than cake it on. So I have a feeling that these brushes will become staples in my make up bag because, as anyone else with ridiculously sensitive skin will know, the softer the make up brush the better, and these are just gorgeous.

So again, I hope you've had a lovely Christmas time and hope you enjoy the rest of this festive period (as we're now in that wonderful sleepy week between Christmas and New Year where the country just switches off). Spend it with family, friends and food!

Thank you for reading, see you soon!x

Friday 26 December 2014

Bloglovin

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13356689/?claim=5w8mbak66pm">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>