FOTD: 27/09/10

I forgot to post these last night and as I'm being lazy and not wearing make up today, I thought I'd add these this morning!


I used:
-Clarins Instant Smooth Primer
*-Bee Luscious Liquid Mineral Foundation "Linen"
*-Sweetscents Rice Silk Powder

-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
*-Coastal Scents Hot Pot "ME04" (Winterberry Palette) - over lid
*-Coastal Scents Hot Pot "S14" (Winterberry Palette) - in crease & lower liner
*-Coastal Scents Hot Pot "S29" - highlight
*-Coastal Scents Gel Liner "True Black" - top liner
-MAC Kohl "Hyacinth" - lower liner
-Mascara

-Body Shop Special Edition Autumn Blush "Berry"
-MUA Lipgloss "Shade 4"

I keep forgetting about the SPF in that foundation until I see the white cast in the photos!


Products marked with a star (*) were received free for review/tutorial purposes.

Weekly Round-Up: 27/09/10

Some little idea that occured to me today. How about a YouTube round-up once a week on my blog? Some weeks I might post loads of videos, some weeks it might only be one. Let me know what you think of the idea!

Time for a haul from Lincoln! I caved and bought the Naked palette, along with a few other bits and pieces:

Here's my first tutorial using the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 3. I had a bit of a play with the gorgeous teals:


Finally, a quick review of ELF Studio's Cream Liner in Black. An absolute bargain!


Some products mentioned in the videos may have been received free for review/tutorial purposes. Please check video descriptions for more information.

Haul: Fyrinnae - Time For Some Taupe!

Recently, my lovely friend Jo asked me to help her pick out some Fyrinnae shadows for her first order. I asked if she wouldn't mind adding a few samples that I wanted to her order as there were only a few I wanted (not enough to make up to free shipping). My little order of samples dropped through my letter box this morning!


Just 5 of the mini size jars and one of the face primers. The mini jars from Fyrinnae are such good value! I've never used a full jar and these are a little larger than the samples used to be (which were generous enough!).

-Velvet Gel Silica Primer
-Beholder
-Druid Werewolf
-Snow Leopard
-Species 8472
-Griffonrider

How could I not order the shadow called Species 8472? I love Star Trek so, so much!

And here they are swatched:


They're all varying shades of taupe, apart from Griffonrider which is more of a gold.

Review: MAC 266 Brush

I've had the MAC 266 for quite a few years now. Not quite as long as the MAC 239 or the MAC 217 though. I probably bought it in London.

The MAC 266 costs £14.50 from the MAC UK website. It's also available on other MAC sites worldwide, along with stores and counters.

Many, many brands have an angled eye liner brush but none have come close to the MAC 266. I think it's the bristles that make this brush so special. Other brushes in my collection have a very similar shape and width but none seem to apply gel liner in quite the same way.

The bristles of this brush are made of natural hair and are incredibly stiff. They're not scratchy at all but there's very little give in the brush, the bristles are very firm. It's because of this that the brush has kept its shape for so long. It dries very quickly when washed and very rarely requires reshaping.

I use this brush for applying gel liner. With it I get a perfect, smooth line in no time at all. The edges are clear and crisp. I've tried other angled liner brushes and none so far have given me the same kind of application as the MAC 266.

It's such an unassuming little brush, but well worth picking up.

Haul: Lincoln Sept 2010

I know I shouldn't be hauling right now, there's a plane ticket that needs to be saved for! I must behave myself from now on and I must especially avoid the Urban Decay Counter.


-Lush Porridge Soap - a staple for me, smells amazing and keeps my hands soft
-The Body Shop Special Edition Blush "Berry" - this was £16 which was a bit shocking but it was so pretty when swatched
-MUA Black Mascara - hmm, this seems to have fibres in it despite that not being mentioned anywhere
-MUA Lipgloss "4" - peachy pinky golden shimmer
-MUA Eye Dust "5" - quite sheer, plummy shimmer
-MUA Pearl Shadows "11", "9", "3" - these are really creamy and very metallic


-Boots No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser - comes with a cloth! I'd seen this mentioned a few times on blogs but haven't seen much in the way of reviews so I thought I'd give it a go.


-Urban Decay Naked Palette - yeah

Oooh, found this one as well. Forgot I had taken it.


Isn't it pretty?

FOTD: 18/09/10

This was yesterday's! I didn't get round to posting it before my blogtv and afterwards I was falling asleep.


I used:
-Boots No7 Shine Free Make Up Base
-Laura Geller Banish & Brighten "Fair/Light"
-Laura Geller Balance & Brighten "Fair"
-They Body Shop Blush Duo "Petal"
*-ELF HD Powder

-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
-Sassy Minerals Shadow "Expertise" - over lid & lower liner
-Hi-Fi Cosmetics Shadow "Midnight Runner" - in crease
*-Coastal Scents Hot Pot "S29" - highlight
-Bobbi Brown Gel Liner "Graphite Shimmer Ink" - top liner
-MAC Kohl "Heirloom" - lower liner
-NYC City Curls Mascara

-Sleek MakeUp Lipgloss "In Your Dreams"


Items marked with a star were received free for review/tutorial purposes.

Review: MAC Delights - Trend

So, why am I reviewing a MAC product that's this old and not sold in stores any more?

Because it's the most awesome palette MAC has ever put out, that's why.

I bought mine quite a few years back and I can't remember how much I paid. Probably around the £30 mark. It still pops up on eBay and blog sales. If you see it, then it's worth having a look.

It's not a massive palette, it sits quite comfortably in the palm of your hand. There's actually 5.3g of shadow in total in this palette so the pans are a good size. The mirror fills the whole lid, so it's actually a good size for using if it's the only mirror you have. This palette shines for me for travelling. I usually take this one with me. The case is sturdy and there's a good variety of looks I can do with the colours provided.


Inside you get 6 shadows and a mini (crappy) brush. My brush went into the bin about 10 seconds after I tried to use it for the first time. I think MAC are quite fond of this palette style as it has appeared for quite a few years now for their holiday season palettes. I think there are usually 3 different eye or lip palettes each year. So far, this is the only holiday palette I have.

This particular palette had 2 permanent shadows and 4 new shades. Out of those 2, I only owned Gorgeous Gold, can you believe I never had a Satin Taupe! After all, MAC seem to put it in every palette!

The shadows are nicely pigmented and fall into either the Frost or Veluxe Pearl finish. I'm not a fan of mattes, which is probably why I don't tend to buy many MAC palettes. This one was unusual in that it contained 6 shimmers.

For the swatches, I swatched down each line rather than across.


Gingersoft - very soft, shimmering beige
Satin Taupe - taupe/brown shimmer
Gorgeous Gold - yellow gold with green flash


Pearl of the Earth - mauvey-pink shimmer
Cinders - dark blue/purple shimmer, the least pigmented & hardest in texture
Tease 'n' Teal - shimmering greenish teal

Overall, an absolute winner from MAC! Even though it is a few years old now. If you see it for sale at a reasonable price then it's definitely worth picking up.

PS, I'd like to give you all a massive Thank You!!! My blog views hit 300000 today. That's awesome, thank you!!!

Haul: Shiro Cosmetics

I'm becoming such a massive fan of Shiro Cosmetics! The shadows are beautiful and pigmented, and sooo easy to work with. I bought a few bits and pieces from the Etsy store which has new products and limited editions up before the main store.


-Ralts - full sized, this really was limited edition! This was excess from a custom blend.
-Wobbuffet, Gengar, Rapidash, Magneton, Spiritbomb - samples
-Poliwrath, Butterfree, Manectric - free samples

Overall, I'm thrilled to bits again with my order! New colours are being released all the time and samples are only $1.00. Shipping was very reasonably priced and quick, which is always a bonus.

Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

I attended a Maybelline event in London last year and we were given several different mascaras. Some were good, some...not so good. You can read about my adventures in this blog post!

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara seems to be the "iconic" mascara. According to Maybelline, it's the best selling mascara in the marketplace. It's recognizable and a regular feature in magazines write ups and beauty awards. I haven't seen much coverage of this from bloggers, but opinion is clearly divided on message boards. Some love it, some hate it.

Maybelline Great Lash in "Very Black" is available from Maybelline stockists for around £4.99. Check out Superdrug, Boots, Tesco, etc.


The packaging is pretty unique and distinctive. I have several black or gold tubes in my pot, I don't have another pink and green tube!


This is the smallest mascara wand I've seen! It really is tiny. It's got stiff bristles, rather than the flexible rubber ones. The bristles are very well separated. Even after quite a bit of use, the bristles look almost clean. There's no clumpy, gunky mascara on the wand. The consistency of the formula is spot on for the style of wand, neither too liquidy or too thick. The small wand means that it's very easy to coat all of your lashes, even your lower lashes. I can reach the smaller lashes at the corners of my eyes without worrying about accidentaly smearing mascara onto my lid.


I thought it was time for a new "Naked Lashes" photo! The previous one was taken on my old camera and used the "wrong eye". I photograph my left eye for FOTD and mascara posts, it's just easier for me to take a clear picture of that eye.


Mascara on this eye. Really. I wanted to love it, I really did. Everything about it seemed to imply it was going to be an awesome mascara. You can barely tell I'm wearing any. The colour is good, when I wore it I could tell it was a black mascara (I like mine to be as deep black as possible). But overall, it's a "my lashes but better" mascara. Something I have no use for.

It's quite a wet mascara and does take a little while to dry. I blinked too quickly after applying and ended up with a mascara print on my lower lash line. It has quite a glossy finish, which I quite liked. It made my lashes look so healthy!

Check out my video review!


The product was provided free for review/tutorial purposes. This has no effect on the review I give.

FOTD: 12/09/10

I had planned a Shiro Cosmetics look this morning, but when I started digging through my minerals I picked out some Aromaleigh stuff instead. I kept it a little more toned down as I'm doing something fun and bright in a tutorial tonight.


I used:
*-Bee Luscious Retexturising Primer
*-Bee Luscious Liquid Mineral Foundation "Linen"
*-ELF HD Powder
-Urban Decay Blusher "Score"

-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
-Aromaleigh Shadow "Infernal Chaos" - on lid
-Aromaleigh Shadow "Phantasm" - in crease & lower liner
-MAC Shadow "Naked Lunch" - highlight
-L'Oreal HiP Cream Liner "Brown" - top liner
*-Too Faced Lava Liner "Chocolate" - lower liner
*-Boots No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara "Black"

-Sleek MakeUp Lipgloss "Champagne"

As usual, the Aromaleigh shadows are so incredibly pretty and my camera fails to pick up all the different shimmers and sparkles. Infernal Chaos is a bit of an odd colour. The base shade is very close to my skin tone and it has a very fine iridescence. Pixie Epoxy doesn't make it any brighter, but it does grab onto the shimmer.


I get a bit of washing out with this foundation as it contains SPF15. It's one I've had for a while but only used a couple of times. I tried it out again today with the MAC #130 brush (something else I hadn't really used much) and I'm really liking both.

Here's a little peek into today's videos...


Stuff laid out for a tutorial and reviews. For those who complain about me sounding like I'm reading a script, there's my notebook :) I write out the main points of the review and refer to it for the review. Sometimes I can record 8/10 reviews in one go, how else am I supposed to remember everything?

Items marked with a star (*) were recevied free for review/tutorial purposes.

Review: Boots 17 Eye Shadows

We are fond of a bargain in Sirvinya-Land and these certainly are that! I have a very long history with Boots 17, as I'm sure a lot of fellow Brits are! It's a budget brand that I used to buy with my pocket money. One of those brands that I left behind when I "grew up" really. I revisited Boots 17 a few years back and wondered why I had been ignoring it! Some products were pretty good, others were not so much. But that's true for every brands.

Boots 17 Eye Shadows are available for £3.49 from Boots stores and the website. They are available in matte and shimmer finish. The packaging changes every now and then. They're currently in screw top pots.



The eye shadow range is actually pretty hit and miss. There are some really fantastic shadows and there are some where the quality is not so good. These three are the ones I currently own. I've had a green one in the past but don't appear to do so right now. These three are all shimmers and are quite pigmented.



-Statuesque - metallic light brown/beige with a hint of pink undertones, very smooth and pigmented.
-Viva Diva - shimmering turquoise with a hint of green shimmer, not quite as pigmented (the sheerest of the three).
-Shocking Pink - shimmering hot pink with some icy shimmer, smooth and pigmented.

I've found that I definitely need a base with these. Something like Urban Decay Primer Potion is perfect! These can crease and fade without a primer and the colours seem to dull throughout the day. UDPP keeps them looking bright and prevents them from creasing.

Boots 17 quite often have a gift with purchase offer, so it's worth keeping an eye out for one of those!

FOTD: 07/09/10

Wow, and actual FOTD. They've been lacking recently. I've been doing a bit of product testing for my last batch of reviews so my FOTDs have been boring.


I used:
*-Bee Luscious Retexturising Primer
*-Bee Luscious Liquid Mineral Foundation "Linen"
*-ELF Studio HD Powder
*-The Body Shop Blush Trio "Warm Sunset"

-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Detrivore Shadow Primer
-Shu Uemura Shadow "ME Beige 800" - over lids
-Kryolan Satin Powder "096M" - in crease
-Sleek MakeUp Dip-It Eyeliner "Forest Green" - top liner
-Gosh Let's Twist Liner "Blue Grass"
-Collection 2000 Big Fake Mascara
*-Coastal Scents Hot Pot "M09" - highlight

-Urban Decay Lipgunk "Naked"

Final day of testing the Detrivore primer. Disappointing. It makes the colours incredibly vivid, but it creases like mad on me. Someone with a drier lid (mine are getting a little oily) might get on better.


Products marked with a star(*) were received free for review/tutorial purposes.

MAC Shadow: Gorgeous Gold

Well, this has been a neglected series. Just a note on the swatches, I won't be showing the shadows on bare skin. I don't wear my shadows on bare skin, I always use some kind of primer or base.


Gorgeous Gold is a Veluxe Pearl shadow. It's very soft, smooth and almost creamy, quite similar to Urban Decay Deluxe shadows and Shu Uemura Metallic finish shadows. Not all Veluxe Pearl shadows are of this soft texture though. Sumptuous Olive, for example, is harder in texture. The Veluxe Pearls have an amazing sheen which seems to give them a glow from within.

The MAC website describes Gorgeous Gold as low-light yellow gold. It is yellow gold, but they miss off one of the most interesting things about the shadow - its green flash! This shadow is definitely a duo-chrome.


I've swatched this over primer and a black cream shadow (Benefit Creaseless Cream Towne Car). The swatch over primer shows the lovely yellow gold and glow of the shadow, but not really much of the green flash. It gets way more interesting over a black base. The green shimmer really stands out.

Gorgeous Gold isn't as pigmented as some other Veluxe Pearl shadows that I have. I expect this is due to it being pretty much yellow. For some reason, yellows tend to be more sheer than other colours. It shows up just fine over a good primer though!

MAC Shadows are available from MAC (website/stores/counters):
-Pro pans are £9.00
-Pots are £11.00

How To: Pigment Samples Into Jars

I get asked quite a lot how I get my pigment samples into jars from baggies without getting it all over myself. After another question about it this morning, I thought I'd show you a quick photo "how to".


You will need your sample baggie, an empty jar and a pair of clean scissors (wipe with alcohol before use to sanitise). The sample in question today is Brine by Detrivore. Make sure your jar will actually fit the sample!


Label your jar! If you're going to be transfering a whole bunch you don't want to forget what you've got in each jar. Some labels will peel easily off the baggie. Detrivore labels come off with a little care.


Carefully open up the baggie, this knocks most of the sample off the sides of the baggie and frees up the sample on the inside.


Close it back up and tap all the sample down to one side.


Cut off a little of the top corner.


Carefully tap the baggie to drop the sample into the jar.


Yay! The sample is in the jar and there's no mess!

Oh, I recommend JTshop for jars if you're in the UK. They're a little more expensive than shipping them in from the US but there's no customs to pay and they're really quick at posting your stuff out.

Review: The Body Shop Metallic Eye Definers

I've had these kicking around my eye liner pot for a while, since last year I think. I had to check to see if The Body Shop still sold these before I started on the review.

The Body Shop Metallic Eye Definers are available in 5 shades for £7.50 each. Sold at Body Shop stores and available on the website.


There's a good selection of colours here. All too often a release of a metallic product means only available at Christmas, or available in gold and silver. There isn't a gold in this selection and not really a silver as it's a steel (darker and greyer than silver).

These liners are quite soft, but not too soft that they deform as you use them if you press too hard. They're just soft enough that they apply very smoothly. No tugging required to apply these!


They are quite pigmented, with each swatch having a couple of layers. Not pigmented enough for top liner (I rarely use a pencil liner on my top lash line anyway) but are great for the lower lash line. The purple was not as pigmented as the other shades and, disappointingly, pulled quite grey when applied. I'm not sure I'd call all the shades metallic though. The purple especially don't seem metallic, just shimmery. The Burnished Amber definitely is metallic, it has that glowing effect that a true metallic finish offers.

However, these don't really last that well on me. I'm not one with oily lids or watery eyes but these faded on me during the day. If I only wore them for a few hours then it was fine and setting them with a powder eye shadow meant that they lasted all day. On their own, not so much. They don't set by themselves and the swatches I've got on the back of my hand (to reference colour as I photograph in advance) are smearing an hour after I've put them there.

They might work as an eye shadow base, but I'd be worried about creasing as they do feel quite creamy.

Removal was easy enough. Came straight off with my cleansing oil and my Johnson's 3in1 eye make up remover. Actually, even though it says water resistant on the website, these came off my hand with water and a wipe with my finger.

These were provided free for review/tutorial purposes. This has no effect on the review I give.

Review: Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 3

So, here it is! This year's Book of Shadows - Volume 3 (or the NYC palette). It's currently available on the Debenhams website for £30, which is where I bought this from. I recommend Googling a free shipping code, there's usually one floating around. I believe it becomes available in the US on 6th Sept.


This is quite a bit thicker and bulkier than the other two Book of Shadows palettes, but this one does have batteries and stuff for the LEDs. Yes, it lights up!



There is quite a stunning amount of detail in the pop-up section. I don't think it's as pretty as the first Book of Shadows and, quite honestly, once I've finished reviewing it I don't think I'll end up opening the pop-up just to look at it.


The LEDs are actually on a timer so the batteries don't wear out if you leave it open by accident.


As usual, you get 16 lovely eye shadows! This came again with the mini bottle of Primer Potion and mini 24/7 liners in Zero and Ransom. I don't think I'm ever going to need to buy a Zero, I haven't bought one yet and I think I'm up to 4 (or is it 5?).

Out of the 16 shadows, 7 are brand new shades exclusive to the palette and a further 2 are new to the UK. Haight and Psychedelic Sister are Sephora exclusive shades so this is the first time we're seeing them in the UK. Both are gorgeous so I'm glad they're in here.

Perversion is in here again. It seems to be a Book of Shadows staple. However, this time it's different! I think the formula has changed since last year as it's definitely a very flat, deep matte black as opposed the the slight satin finish it's had in previous years. The pigmentation has also improved.


-Perversion - matte black
-Uzi - silvery white with silver glitter
-Loaded - forest green shimmer
-Kush - bright green shimmer with a little silver sparkle


-Midnight Cowboy Rides Again - champagne shimmer with gold and silver glitter - obnoxiously glittery (why, Urban Decay, why?)
-Last Call - shimmery metallic wine/plum
Rockstar - deep purple shimmer with burgundy tones
Money - silvery light blue/green


Haight - glowing blue/teal shimmer
Maui Wowie - cool toned gold shimmer with silver glitter
Smog - Shimmery brown with bronze tones
Bordello - mauvey pink with tiny copper sparkles


Radium - bright, fresh blue shimmer (reminds me of MAC Freshwater but more pigmented)
Snatch - peachy pink shimmer with a little golden sparkle
Suspect - cool, silvery brown
Psychedelic Sister - medium purple shimmer


Zero - deep black with no shimmer
Ransom - bright, blue toned purple shimmer

I think the colours available in the palette are the best yet. I'm not too thrilled with the bulky packaging, even though there is a huge amount of detail in the pop-up. I suspect this is going to sell like mad and end up going for a fortune on eBay. Money and Bordello need to be released in full sized pots, they're easily the two stand out shades this year.

Here's my review!