The Illamasqua Sale - My Top Picks

Whilst I do love a good bargain. most beauty related sales and offers fail to interest me. This is usually either because the discounts are fairly meagre or because the products offered wouldn't sell at full price in a million years. Puke-coloured nail polish, anyone? Thought not. 

One brand which has impressed me with their current sale is Illasmasqua. They're offering decent range of products with up to 70% off. Okay, there are a few cement-toned lipsticks and lots of base products I'm not interested in, but my current basket includes:

Intense lipgloss in Succubus - £5

This intensely pigmented gloss essentially functions as a liquid lipstick. The shade Succubus looks like the perfect glossy blood red which would suit most skintones. 

Liquid Metal in Surge - £5

I've never tried a Liquid Metal before but this shade reminds me a bit of BeneFit's Skinny Jeans which I loved but found to be a bit too green for me to reach for on an everyday basis. I think this might be a nice alternative shade. 

Precision Ink in Havoc - £5

I've had my eye on this for a while; it's a dark aubergine purple shade which I think I'll love. I was always put off by the £17.50 price tag for such a tiny amount of product but at a fiver, it's a steal!

Nail varnish in Baptise - £5

Most long-term readers of this blog will know that I have a real issue with shimmery nail polishes; I hate 99% of them. This beauty is an exception though; I need it!

Blending Brush 2 - £10

Technically this isn't in my basket; I already own one of these brushes but I wanted to include it in this post because it's an excellent brush. It's a large blending brush so it's not great for precision eyeshadow looks but it's handy for blending in under eye concealer, powdering under the eyes and applying highlighter.

Have you picked anything up from the Illamasqua sale?

Stace xx

*All images from illamasqua.com 

LUSH Cosmetics: A Review

As most of you will know, LUSH recently launched a cosmetics range which includes a wide array of eye and lip colours, a mascara, a face powder and skin tints. I was kindly given the opportunity to try a few of the products and I'm keen to share my thoughts. I apologise in advance if this post is a little long but I thought it would be better to review the products together.

First up is the Eyes Right Mascara*. It is priced at £12 and comes in a cute little glass bottle. Unfortunately, the cute bottle is a bit of an issue because it means that the wand is tiny and very, very difficult to use. When I try to use it I end up with lots of mascara on my outer lashes and quite a bit around my eye area. 

LUSH did provide a little disposable wand with the mascara but it needs to be washed after every use which is quite inconvenient. I really wish the packaging of this product had been more carefully thought out because I actually quite like the mascara.

Eyes Right is marketed as a mascara that will provide natural looking lashes without irritating sensitive eyes and I think it delivers on those claims. In the picture above I'm wearing two coats of the mascara and as you can see, my lashes don't look very dramatic; just a bit more defined. I have quite sensitive eyes and I can't say I noticed any irritation from this product. When it's on my lashes they feel quite flexible; not dry and brittle. I often struggle with mascaras smudging but didn't experience a lot of that with Eyes Right (although there was an onion chopping incident which definitely wasn't pretty). Overall, I like the product but the packaging really lets it down.

Sophisticated* is one of the cream eyeshadows from the Emotional Brilliance collection. The eyeshadow colours come in the same packaging as the mascara but have a doe foot applicator in place of a wand. I don't find the packaging to be a problem with this product. 

Texture-wise Sophisticated is very lightweight which makes it easy to apply. When blended the product is on the sheer side but it is buildable; I like to apply a couple of layers. I've tried this both over an eyeshadow base and on it's own and experienced no creasing whatsoever; which is a bit unusual because cream shadows usually crease on me at some point. I can get about 6-8 hours of wear from this shade. LUSH describe it as a 'shimmering taupe' which is reasonably accurate; I think it's a tiny bit too pink to be a taupe, really. It's not glittery at all and the shimmer is pretty subtle. I think it's a great everyday shade.

The eye and lip colours are all priced at £14.50. I had initially thought that this was on the expensive side but I if you can find one nice neutral shade you like and will wear all the time, they're worth it. 

The third product I tested was the Feeling Younger Skin Tint*. It comes packaged in a small glass pot which admittedly isn't the most hygiene friendly option. LUSH are hailing this as a radiance boosting lotion which can be used on the face and décolletage. I would compare it to products like MAC's strobe cream. It is priced at £12. 

I tried using it all over my face before applying foundation, mixing it with my foundation and applying it on the high points of my face as a highlight. I didn't care for it as a highlighting product I did like the effect when I mixed it with my foundation. I was pleased that it didn't decrease the wear time of my foundation. It's a nice product but not one I'd rush out and replace if I lost it. 

The Emotional Brilliance Translucent Face Powder* is the final product that I've been using and it's actually probably my favourite. I don't like loose powders because they're typically really messy so this isn't something I'd have purchased myself. Again, the packaging could be better. I've been putting a little powder in the cap and swirling a big fluffy brush in it but it's a bit fiddly because the cap is so small. I feel as though I've wasted quite a lot of product, too. I wish it had some sort of sifter. 

Packaging aside, I really like this powder. It's so finely milled that it doesn't look powdery or cakey on my skin but still manages to eradicate any shine. The finish it gives isn't totally flat and I feel as though it makes my skin look really smooth. I'm impressed. It is also priced at £12. 

Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised by LUSH's latest venture. The biggest issue I've had is with the packaging but if you can deal with that the products themselves are nice. I'll definitely be replacing the translucent powder with it runs out and if they repackaged the mascara, I'd buy that too. Whilst I appreciate the variety of eye and lip colours on offer, I don't feel the need to collect several shades. You can have a look at the collection in stores and online.

Have you tried any of the new cosmetics from LUSH? What did you think?

Stace xx

Worth The Hype? MAC Satin Taupe

When I first started watching YouTube videos and reading blogs this eyeshadow was being touted as one of the best eyeshadows. Ever. So, of course, I bought it and used it every day for a month because I thought it was the best eyeshadow I owned. 

Satin Taupe is a brown-ish taupe shade and the finish has a subtle sheen. On my eyes it seems to pull more brown but I've noticed that it can pull more taupe, or even purple, on others. I've worn this shade on it's own all over the lid by itself or with a darker shade in the crease or as a crease colour with a lighter shade on the lid so it's quite versatile in that respect. I like to wear it on it's own with lots of mascara if I'm wearing a bold lip colour. 

Texture-wise it's not as buttery soft as something from Urban Decay, for example, but it is well pigmented and applies relatively smoothly. If I want it to look more like a sheer wash of colour I'll use a fluffier brush. I've always worn Satin Taupe over an eyeshadow base; my two favourites are the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow base and Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I don't get any creasing and find that the colour doesn't fade very much (or at all) throughout the day. 

So, is MAC Satin Taupe worth the hype?

Maybe. It's a nice eyeshadow and one I'd recommend to most people . However, I don't think it's exceptionally unique and I'm sure it's possible to find a similar shade which is cheaper. 

What do you think?

You can pick this shadow up from MAC for £12.00 (link)

Stace xx

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in Magnetic Coral

I have no idea what possessed me to buy a coral eyeshadow. I tend to play it safe when it comes to eyeshadow shades but I was really drawn to this product after seeing other blog posts about it so I bought it. And, I've used it a lot more than I thought I would!

I have no problems with the packaging; it's plastic so more travel friendly than a glass jar and it has a little stopper to press down the 'loose' shadow. If you've not tried these before because you don't like loose powder products please don't let that put you off. To me this shadow feels more like a very buttery (think Urban Decay but better) pressed shadow. 

The main difference between this product and a pressed shadow is that they tend to work better when applied with fingers. I've tried a few different brushes and find that they just don't pick up enough product if you want anything more than a very sheer wash of colour. Whilst that might be off-putting for someone who prefers to use brushes, I do find that it's a lot quicker and that I still need to use a brush to blend out the edges and add other shadows (if I want to, I often don't!)

Magnetic Coral was released this summer and it's an orange-coral shade with flecks of fuchsia. You can see from the swatch how the mix of the two shades looks. Formula-wise I find it to be a bit drier than the other shade I have, Sahara Treasure (reviewed here) but aside from that I have no issues with it. Pink/coral eyeshaodw can be difficult to pull off; no one wants to look like they have an eye infection, do they? But because of the golden undertone in Magentic Coral it just looks like a slightly more interesting neutral on me. I think it enhances my brown eyes, too. 

My favourite shadow to pair with Magnetic Coral is Twinks from MAC. Twinks is another shade I wasn't sure about when I first got it but it looks lovely with Magentic Coral. I posted a Face of the Day with it recently (here). The result is a relatively inoffensive everyday smoky eye which is coral and plum rather than brown. 

You can pick up L'Oreal Color Infallible shadows from Boots (link) and anywhere L'Oreal is sold. They are priced at £6.99. 

Have you tried any of these shadows?

Stace xx

PS - I have also tried using this as a blush! It's pretty on the cheeks when applied with a fluffy blush brush but for me it was a tiny bit *too* shimmery.

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in Sahara Treasure

Excuse the weird eyelid shot - do you know how difficult it is to take a photo with your eyes closed? If you have any tips, please share.

This particular L'Oreal Color Infallible shadow was pretty popular when it came out; so much so that I had a swap partner in the States ask me to pick one up for her. I resisted buying any for myself at the time but I swatched this shade in store and it was in the back of my mind for ages so I'm pleased to finally have it in my stash.  

I'm sure you all know what the concept behind these shadows are; they're a loose powder that's been made...er...less loose by being pressed into a little jar. But they're not pressed shadows either; they feel much creamier. I know some of us talk about 'buttery' pressed shadows but these are even more buttery than the creamiest pressed shadow, in my opinion. 

I find these work best when applied with my finger which makes doing a lid/crease/highlight eyeshadow combination a bit more difficult if you're using three Color Infallible shadows but I like to use this shade all over the lid with just a teeny bit of powder highlight applied with a brush. It's a pretty good lazy-day shadow that requires very little effort. Sahara Treasure in particular is a great neutral golden shade with a reasonable amount of shimmer. It looks good by itself and I really appreciate that.

All in all, I think it's a lovely product and a great shade. If you're wanting to pick one of these up, I'd definitely recommend this shade to start with. The price was what had been putting me off; at £7.99 they're not cheap for a drugstore product, especially when you consider that you could buy a MAC pan shadow for just £2 more. I'd suggest looking out for 3 for 2 offers in Boots or Superdrug and buying this then (possibly along with a Rouge Caresee lipstick or Colour Riche polish, I highly recommend both!)

Stace xx

NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Paramaribo

 I've been meaning to try this duo ever since I bought it but I've only just gotten around to it. Paramaribo was released in the spring collection and I believe it's limited edition. It is priced at £24 from NARS counters or online (link)

Both shades in the duo are olive greens. I'm rubbish at describing colours but basically the lighter shade has more gold to it whilst the darker shade is more brown. I'd use the darker shade on its own across the lid but these shadows definitely look better when the lighter shade is used all over the lid with the darker shade in the crease.

 Both shadows are nicely pigmented and I didn't experience a great deal of fall out when using these. Whilst they're not the creamiest or softest of shadows, they're the best I've tried from NARS. I've had bad experience with NARS shadows being poorly pigmented and difficult to blend in the past.

 

 I apply the lighter shade all over the lid with a flat eyeshadow brush and then add the darker shade to the crease before blending it out. This colour looks really nice on my brown eyes. It somehow manages to make them look more chocolate-y. Yum! I found these wore all day with no creasing on top of Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

This is a lovely duo and I'm pleased to have it in my collection. I am typically pretty afraid of colour on my eyes but Paramaribo is a wearable option for me. I challenge any brown eyed girls out there not to love these shades!

Stace xx

My Eyeshadow Palettes

In my recent giveaway, I asked you all to let me know which sorts of posts you'd like to see more of and a lot of you asked for posts about my make up collection. I've been downsizing quite a lot this year so I feel that my collection is quite small considering I'm a total make up addict!

I play it very safe with eyeshadows and stick to neutrals so I didn't see fit to hold onto palettes with lots of bright shades. If you're looking for an eyeshadow rainbow, you won't find it in this post!

I like eyeshadow palettes because they give me options, especially when I'm travelling. I have eight palettes at the moment (well, one's a duo) and I'm happy with that. I don't have my eye on any others right now.

First up are the famous/infamous Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes. There has been considerable debate in the beauty world about which is best and if you need both. I'm pleased I have both of them as they give me a range of neutral shades and textures to play with. I think the quality of the shadows in Naked is better, though.

I got my Wet'n'Wild palettes in swaps with some lovely American girls. The pigmentation of these shadows is excellent for the price. They can be a teeny bit powdery sometimes but they are by far the best drugstore eyeshadows I've tried. I only wish they were sold in the UK! I've got trios in Silent Treatment, Knock on Wood and The Gilded Age. I also have the 8-pan palette in Comfort Zone. The Gilded Age was limited edition and I can completely see why it was so hard to find. The shades are so beautiful. I'm kind of scared to use it because I know if something happens to it, I'll probably never get my hands on another one.

The most recent addition to my palette collection is the NARS duo in Paramaribo. This was an impulse buy after the make up artist used it on me but I'm really pleased with it. It makes my brown eyes look pretty which is always a plus! Finally I have a MAC quad with four of my favourite shades; Woodwinked, Satin Taupe, Twinks and Patina. These are all very quick 'all-over-the-lid' shades for me so it's not something I'd take travelling but it's handy to have in my make up bag if I've got a busy week ahead.

If you'd like a review on any of these palettes, please let me know!

Stace xx