This is just a short post about some beautiful jewellery I purchased lately.
These pieces are from an etsy store called Untamed Menagerie (click here!) which sells handmade silhouette jewellery.

'Through The Looking Glass'

'Stranger To Affection'

I was extremely satisfied by the service of the store and the quality of the products once they arrived. As you can see these were packaged beautifully, especially since I am a sucker for the creepy Alice In Wonderland vibe this packaging is going for. I particularly enjoy the butterfly silhouette necklace as I have been wanting something similar for a long time. These are both necklaces but there are a variety of other types of jewellery available and all and extremely reasonable prices - i'm going to go back for more when I have a few more spare pennies!

My only issue with my order was unexpected customs charges! These weren't forseen but are obviously not the fault of the Untamed Menagerie Etsy store. I just wanted to warn those from the UK that you will be required to pay customs charges! (Mine were around £18 for 2 necklaces). Delivery took around 5-6 weeks from the US.

xxxx

I have been a bit MIA this week for two reasons, one pictured above and the other was a general bout of illness. I purchased this moisturiser/night cream online a few days ago and decided to slap some on one night when I was watching TV. After about ten minutes my whole face began to burn and became very irritated so I immediately washed my face to remove the cream, sadly much of the cream had already absorbed and so I continued to have the rash for a few more days. I wasn't sure whether this was a faulty batch or not so I took to google to find the answer.

I found online (on the Olay site actually) a full list of ingredients in the product and discovered that it contains a few parabens (Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben) and Benzyl alcohols (Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate, Benzyl Salicylate). As I have sensitive skin, I can often have bad reactions to products containing Benzyl. As for the parabens, I am still iffy on this issue as I have found many articles (like this one: http://www.live-naturally.co.uk/article/Parabens-and-their-effects) which detail the research surrounding the negative effects of parabens.

I'm not sure what caused the reaction in my skin, but I do know I won't be trying this product again! I encourage you all to be wary of the products you are putting onto your skin as you can end up with bigger problems than a rash! -mummy moment over-

Have any of you used this product? How did you find it?

x

Revlon Colourburst Lipsticks

Whilst in boots this week I spotted these lipsticks at the Revlon stand in boots and having a few extra pennies, I decided to treat myself to two colours - a pink shade and a red shade. I had already heard a lot about these lipsticks online and through some friends and had heard they were good for basic daywear for those days where you would like a semi-formal make-up look as they are supposed to be very moisturising while still being pigmented like a normal lipstick!

Here's the official mumbo jumbo:

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick uses Elasticolor™ technology to distribute rich colour pigments evenly over lips and allows the formula to move comfortably with lips – like a second skin!

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick is also infused with moisturizers and antioxidants such as Sweet Almond Oil to improve lip texture and prevent drying.

Key Benefits:

• Innovative pigments provide immediate, high-pigment colour release on lips to give rich colour in just one swipe.
  
• Unique Elasticolor technology hugs lips with an explosion of colour that feels virtually weightless• Contains film-forming polymers for longer wear and skin conditioning properties
  
• Moisturizers and anti-oxidants, including Sweet Almond Oil, improve lip texture
  
• Beautiful packaging, with premium bullet lipstick case and embossed Revlon logo

(via www.boots.com)

(L-R) Baby Pink, Raspberry

In Baby Pink

And in Raspberry

I think this stays pretty true to what it promises, it's creamy and easy to apply and remains moisturising for as long as it stays on. My main issue with these products is that the staying power is incredibly short, I ended up reapplying at least 4 or 5 times throughout the day (it must be mentioned that I did not wear lip liner). I think I would still put up with it for this product though as it is a great everday wearable product. My favourite of the two is the raspberry shade but the baby pink is a perfect everyday wear lipstick like a sheerer version of viva glam gaga 01!

These lipsticks retail for £7.99 in Boots!

Have any of you tried these lipsticks? How did you like them?

x

Sleek Storm Palette

Hello! Long time no see!

I recently made a quick trip into superdrug and decided to pick up a sleek storm palette after my first failed attempt (almost the entire palette was shattered when I got it home)

These are quite popular across the UK community yet none of my friends appeared to have heard of or tried the brand. I can say the palette was a pleasant surprise - retailing at £6.49 for 12 shadows. The colours in this palette are a range of neutrals perfect for both a daytime neutral eye and a nighttime smoky eye! I would say this palette would be perfect for those days where you have to go from work/uni/school to a nighttime engagement and need a few shadows to ease the makeup transition!

The shadows themselves are soft with a velvety feel but my only complaint would be that in being so soft they have a tendency to fly around the palette making it hard to keep it tidy. A primer would definitely be necessary with these shadows as they are so soft that they will almost certainly crease. I wore a neutral eye with urban decay primer potion as a base and it lasted all day.

All in all, a nice purchase which will most certainly be well loved within my collection!

Have any of you tried the Sleek products?

xx

Reflect.

Today I took up the offer of going on a drive with a friend and we drove to a small town around 40 miles away. I'm glad this opportunity came up because it was nice to take a break from the norm and see some of the scenery. It is days like this which make me appreciate the area I live in.

I spent today doing nothing, just watching the scenery and this evening I took some time to appreciate one of the new spring nights - crisp and clear and perfect for looking at the stars. All in all today has been very relaxing and has bred a new motivation for moving forward.

xx

Easy like a Sunday morning.

These are Sundays nails, since the university term started again I haven't had much time to write or be online or have free time in general. I took Sunday as an opportunity to catch up on silly things such as painting my nails and scrapbooking. This combination is just Barry M nail paint in "Pink Flamingo" and a Stanick-esque 'glitternail' in NYC "Starry Silver Glitter".

I made a small dent in my ever growing stack of newspapers to scrapbook, I really need to get a move on! :)

What do you like to do with your spare time?

xx

Peacocky Paradise

When I first spied this collection showing up on my favourite bloggers' sites, I can honestly say I wasn't very interested. When the collection hit the stores, clearly my mind was changed drastically! I picked up 5 eyeshadows and a very strange Kissable Lip Colour.

Mega Metal Shadow in "Odalisque"

Teal blue with shimmer.

These shadows are larger than normal

shadows at 3.4g.

Mega Metal Shadow in "Ego"

Deep green with shimmer.

Normal eyeshadows usually weigh in at 1.5g and so you are getting more than double the product with these.

Mega Metal Shadow in "Dandizette"

Purple based Navy with shimmer.

The Mega Metal Shadows feel very velvety and smooth and so are very easy to apply.

Mega Metal Shadow in "Spectacle Of Yourself"

Copper toned brown with shimmer.

Each of these shadows have a shimmery or frosty finish which isn't too obvious on the eyes and therefore means they can be worn for daytime and nighttime.

Mega Metal Shadow in "Noir Plum"

Deep purple with shimmer.

(Top-Bottom) Noir Plum, Spectacle of Yourself, Dandizette, Ego, Odalisque

Kissable Lip Colour in "Peacocky". This may seem like a crazy colour but thanks to the advice of my friend I purchased it to wear over "Magenta" lip pencil which makes a beautiful fuschia colour.

Overall i'm really impressed with this collection and might pick up a few more things before they're gone! They are all very bright 'out there' shades but they'll be great for more artistic looks and also for going out at night-time.

Did you pick up anything from the peacocky collection? How are you liking the products?

xx

Throwback to Venemous Villains

Whilst searching for my peacocky products today I found my beautiful products from the Venemous Villains collections which I haven't had the heart to use yet. I decided to upload pictures of the products for you all (definitely late, I know) and also for documentation for myself.

"She Who Dares" Mineralize Eye Shadow

Malificent inspired lipsticks

(L-R) Violetta (Amplified), Dark Deed (Amplified)

Cruella, Malificent, Evil Queen, Dr. Facilier

(L-R) "Resort Life" Lip Gelee, "Hot House" Lipglass,

"Wrong Spell" Lipglass, "Heartless" Amplified Lipstick

Despite not having worn these products much, I have tried them all. The lipsticks are beautiful and are complimented perfectly by the lipglasses. The only sub-par product I purchased was the mineralize eyeshadow but I am willing to put in the extra work since it's such a beautiful colour set.

xx

Urban Decay Primer Potion

The time has come to massacre my UDPP to retrieve any product remaining in the bottle!

*♥*

You Will Need:

UDPP - I used one large bottle and one sample size

A sharp knife

A chopping board to protect surfaces

A small jar to place the primer into

Be careful when chopping, use a chopping board or flat surface!

This bottle has a seriously bad design which makes it impossible to use all the product as it stands so before throwing your bottle out and deeming it finished try this:

~ Cut the bottle open at the sections where it flares and

~ Use the doe-foot applicator to retrieve the remainder of the primer with

~ Place it into a small jar!

~Et voila!~

Using 1.5 jars of UDPP I thought were done I now have a full jar of primer!

xx

MUA Cosmetics/Superdrug Haul

I bought a few things in superdrug recently so I thought i'd post them on here and see if anyone else has tried them, not really anything exciting but here we go...

(L-R): Nivea Smooth Nourishing Hand Cream, Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail Cream, Johnsons baby shampoo (perfect shampoo for makeup brushes!), Bautiste Dry Shampoo, Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Essentials Hydrating Day Care Cream, Barry M Nail Paint in 295 - Pure Turquoise, Barry M Nail Paint in 311 - Nail Effects, Assorted MUA products, Cuticle Sticks.

MUA has been talked about on many UK blogs lately - it's basically an extremely cheap makeup brand available in Superdrug - in fact EVERYTHING in the line is only £1, I couldn't believe it. I picked up a few things, mostly shadows and was pleasantly surprised by them all! (:
I picked up 5 shadows, an eye dust and two glitter liners.

The shadows are seriously amazing quality and apply really nicely - they actually feel very soft and silky to the touch! Unfortunately the naming system isn't so cute, but hey - you can't have everything!

The five shadows I picked up were all pearl shades and they were in the colours shade 01, shade 02, shade 3, shade 14 and shade 9. I also really really wanted the other purple shadow but my stores had run out so I need to keep my eyes peeled! I advise you to grab that one if you see it!
I opted to pick up the eye dust in Shade 2 and i'm really pleased with the pigmentation of this also but, as with all pigments, there is fallout when applied!

I also grabbed two glitter liners and as you can tell I love purple colours on my eyes! I also thought the gold glitter liner could be useful on many occasions to glam up simple eye makeup!

Swatches

(L-R)

Shade 1 Shadow, Shade 9 Shadow, Shade 3 Shadow, Shade 2 Eye Dust

(L-R)

Shade 14 Shadow, Shade 2 Shadow

(L-R)

Glitter Liners in Shade 4 and Shade 7

These liners were impulse buys at the till and as you can see in the product photo the purple liner has a huge bubble in the middle which is really annoying me! Despite this the liners are pretty good quality and didn't cause any irritation on my eyes.

I am really impressed with the MUA products with their main selling point of course being the price! The shadows are fantastic quality and I will definitely be buying more! Have any of you tried any MUA products? Tell me what you think!

Now I am going to go and eat the homemade rice and chilli beans I made earlier, yum :)

Have a nice day (: xx

Elf Haul

After spying ELF hauls and reviews on a ridiculous amount of youtube videos and beauty blogs I decided it was time to take the plunge myself and have a look. I'm sure most of you have heard of this brand as it is raved about all over the blogosphere and beyond for their low cost, high quality products. As far as i'm aware ELF products are not available in store here in the UK but can be purchased online here.

Having heard much about the difference in quality between the normal and studio line brushes I decided to go for the studio brushes as, according to most reviews I watched it was worth spending the extra few pounds. I went for just three brushes, the small angled brush, the blush brush and the powder brush. I was impressed with the quality of all the brushes but my favourite has to be the powder brush it's the perfect softness with a flat top which helps to buff the powder into my face and achieve that flawless complexion look. I also love the small angled brush for applying gel eyeliner as it is stiff enough to draw a sleek line whilst still having enough give to prevent pressing too hard on your eyes. The only disappointment I had was with the blush brush as I felt it was too small to apply the way I would like - but i'm sure I will find another use for it! These three brushes were £3.50 each - bargain!

The next thing that caught my eye was the blusher/bronzer duo (£3.50) which has been compared to the Nars Orgasm/Laguna duo. On swatching the products appear slightly chalky but have nice colour and I imagine they could work well in my face routine - the only thing I am slightly worried about is the bronzer being too dark for my fair skin! I haven't had a chance to try these out yet but i'll keep you updated when i've managed to use it.


Swatches of blush/bronzer duo - heavy and light bronzer swatch.


These are simply four pairs of eyelashes - 3 pairs in natural and one dramatic pair. Nothing too exciting - haven't had an occasion to try these yet either!


I picked up the corrective concealer set (£3.50) which comes with four concealers - two are brown/beige flesh toned and then there is a salmon coloured and a green coloured concealer. I was majorly disappointed by this - the products are hard and take a ridiculous amount of time to blend into the skin and even after blending they settle into fine lines in a matter of minutes. Not a fan of this at all!


I also picked up the complexion perfection compact which has four powder squares in blue, yellow, green and pink. The instructions for use of this compact were simply to swirl your brush through all four colours and buff into the skin to reduce redness and create a brighter complexion and I must say i'm impressed! For only £3.50 I think this is a great buy for a finishing powder and i've been using it on weekdays for basic wear - definitely not a nighttime powder, but perfect for the days when your skin just needs a little lift.


Next on my list were two blushes in Blushing Rose and Peachy Keen. Blushing Rose is a burnt brown-red colour with gold shimmer running throughout whereas Peachy Keen is a light brown toned peach colour with subtle shimmer veined throughout the product. Blushing Rose is perfect for adding a flush of red on the apples whereas Peachy Keen can be worn throughout the cheekbones for a flush of colour and a highlight.


Blush Swatches (L-R): Blushing Rose, Peachy Keen



After seeing an ELF haul on DulceCandy's youtube I decided I would have to try out some of the Luscious Liquid Lipsticks as she raved about them and rightly so! I picked up four in Raspberry, Strawberry, Baby Lips and Ruby Slipper. These glosses aren't sticky and have a lasting colour somewhere in the middle ground between a gloss and a lipstick. There's a wide range of colours available and i'm definitely going to go back for more! The only thing I find strange about these is the applicator as it's a sponge tip and you twist the bottom of the tube to make the product come out - but it comes out in strange bubbles like this:


Lucious Liquid Lipstick Swatches (L-R): Raspberry, Strawberry, Baby Lips and Ruby Slipper.



The last thing I bought was two nail varnishes in nude and twinkle. Nude is, as it's name suggests, a pink based nude colour perfect for daytime wear. I wasn't impressed with this polish as it took around 4-5 coats to make the colour opaque enough to distinguish between my natural nail colour and the polish. The twinkle polish wasn't much more impressive - relatively sparkly after 3 coats but pretty unimpressive unless worn over another polish.

Overall i'm impressed by ELF. The packaging is sleek and attractive and the products are, for the most part impressive and good quality. The only thing to be wary of is that many of the website swatches are not true to colour of the actual product so I would advise you to search online for reviews to see a more accurate representation but all in all the prices are hard to beat for products of this quality and i'm sure i'll be buying more in the future!