Cosmic Bronze Eyeshadow Quad by Fleur de Force

When it was announced Fleur was releasing a makeup range I was really excited - she was the first beauty blogger I started following and I always turn to her when I'm looking for a review of a product as I find she's almost always right and has brilliant taste in makeup. I knew her makeup line would be special, because I couldn't imagine her releasing something she wasn't 100% happy with. It's taken me a little while to get my hands on her products, but better late than never!

NARS Lovin'

Makeup lovers everywhere love NARS, everyone loves NARS, right? Right. So, when NARS sent me a little message saying they'd like to send me some products for being a loyal 'NARSissit' I was over the moon!

Only 2 days later I received 3 full size products in the post, all wrapped up in gorgeous black tissue paper and a ribbon. I got a duo eyeshadow in Tropical Princess, one of their illuminators in 413 BLKR and a lipgloss in Stolen Kisses.

The Tropical Princess duo eyeshadow (limited edition) definitely isn't a product I would have personally picked out, I'm very much a neutrals girl, however after swatching them I think I can make them work! I can blend the purple shade into champagne eyeshadow which would look very pretty, and the green shadow will bring out my brown eyes. It's always good to try new things.
The 413 BLKR illuminator is actually a product I've wanted for a while. The only highlighters I own are powders, so I was excited to try one in a liquid form, especially as summer is coming up and it'll give that gorgeous dewy effect. I have tried this out and I totally adore it, I can tell I'm going to be using it a lot!
Last, but certainly not least is my favourite of the bunch - Stolen Kisses lipgloss (from their new collection). I'm not the biggest lipgloss wearer, as I find they don't last long on me and you have to keep reapplying which is a bit of a faff, but I have been converted by this! The colour is absolutely beautiful, a very natural 'my lips but better' shade with slight shimmer running through it, and oh how it really does make my lips look better. It's gorgeously glossy, well pigmented, non-sticky, and it actually lasts a very, very long time. I need more from this range!

I want to say a huge thankyou to NARS for being so kind and generous. They didn't ask me to write this post, sponsor me or anything like that. I think it's so lovely to see such a huge brand valuing their costumers. I now adore NARS even more!

Do you own any NARS products?

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Making Your Eyeshadow Last Longer Without Primer

Eyeshadow not lasting the whole day is one of the most irritating things about makeup, in my opinion.
I hate it when I spend ages getting the shadows to look nice and then it either fades or creases (the worst). Eye primers work wonders, but the good ones like Urban Decay or Nars are rather pricey, so here are a few ways to make your eyeshadow look great all day without using primers.

• If you can't afford an eye primer using your normal face primer will also work, I do this sometimes with the Revlon Photo Ready primer and it does help my eyeshadow to last a lot longer than normal.
• Apply a cream eyeshadow before powder. The powder will stick to the cream shadow and therefore last longer, and if it does start to fade it will do so naturally and shouldn't crease.
• Use your foundation or concealer, apply it all over the lid and blend, then put some of your face powder over the top and go ahead to apply your eyeshadow. This will be a great base for your eyeshadow and help it to last all day.
• Layer your eyeshadow! So many people just go straight in really heavily with eyeshadow and only do one layer, doing so will mean your eyeshadow will crease during the day. Instead apply your shadow to the brush, tap off any excess product and apply to the eye, then repeat - the more you layer up the product the longer it should last. Make sure you blend your eyeshadows in well!

With these tips your eyeshadow should last a lot longer, and not crease!

Hope you found these tips helpful.

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2 weeks left to ENTER my MAKEUP GIVEAWAY!

Bronzer & Highlighter As Eyeshadow

One of the big makeup trends for Spring is shimmery, golden, warm eyes, one of my favourite eye makeup looks! There are loads of shadows out there that will do an amazing job creating this look, but the easier option is to use your bronzer and highlighter.

I love a multi purpose product, it makes doing your makeup that much quicker, easier and if you're carrying your makeup around with you it means there's less to carry.
To create gorgeous golden eyes first apply your bronzer all over your eyelid, making sure to layer it up so there's less chance of creasing. I'm using the Nars Laguna Bronzer, which is lovely because it's so warm and matte. Bring it down along your lower lash line as well.
After you've applied the bronzer then go in with your powder highlighter over the top, this will create that gorgeous shimmer and sparkle to your eyes. I'm using the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle, this is perfect as it's got a beautiful metallic finish.
There you have it, golden shimmery eyes - right on trend for Spring 2014!

Will you be giving this a go?

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MY MAKEUP GIVEAWAY

100 Followers GIVEAWAY!

Recently I reached 100 followers on Bloglovin'! Which I am so happy about, and so grateful to anyone who follows me and reads my posts, it means a lot!
To say a big thankyou I thought I would do a giveaway!

This giveaway includes the new MUA Eyeshadow Palette in Glamour Days - which is a really gorgeous palette that includes some brights and beautiful natural shades too, great for any look! I did a review of the palettes here. The much raved about MUA Power Pout lip crayon in Broken Hearted - these products are amazing, so lovely to wear and this colour is amazing. And finally a travel bag with vanilla & honey bathing products and body polisher.

The giveaway is open internationally. The winner will receive ALL NEW AND UNOPENED products - MUA eyeshadow palette in Glamour Days, MUA Power Pout in Broken Hearted and Vanilla and Honey wash bag with contents.
I cannot be held responsibly for the loss or any damage that may occur to the item through postage.
If you're under 18 make sure you've got permission from a parent or guardian before entering this competition.
The winner will be chosen at random via the rafflecopter and announced between 16-18th March.
Competition runs from 15th February - 15th March 2013.
The winner will have 48 hours to get their address to be, otherwise I hold the right to pick another winner.

Enter through the rafflecopter below and follow the instructions.
GOOD LUCK! x
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best Bargain Eyeshadow Palette

One of the most asked questions I get is 'What's the best highstreet/drugstore eyeshadow?'. It seems most eyeshadows are either not good quality, have a rubbish shade range or are overpriced.
My favourite eyeshadow palettes you can get in high street shops are the Sleek palettes.

The Sleek eyeshadow palettes consist of 12 eyeshadows and are priced at £7.99 - BARGAIN!
My favourite of the selection is Storm (pictured). I use it often as most of the shades are natural and neutral, but there are some more daring shades in there like dark green or pink, and there's so many different looks you can get out of it. There's a mixture of light and dark colours, shimmery and matte. For the price I really don't think you can beat the quality of these shadows, they're so pigmented and you can really built them up to an intense colour. The wear of them isn't as long as high end shadows, that's expected, but they still last all day with a primer, without a primer they would last a good time still but just may crease a little - it's best to try and build them up to avoid this.

TOP ROW SWATCHES

BOTTOM ROW SWATCHES

Other than Storm there are 14 other palettes to choose from, so there'll be something to please everyone. There's some really bright and intense coloured palettes, some naturals palettes, matte palettes and of course palettes with a mixture.
The packaging is very sleek (yep) and doesn't feel too cheap. The lid on my palette has broken because I dropped it, but I think they're quite durable.

Sleek, in my opinion, do the best eyeshadows for such a barginous price. You can buy Sleek eyeshadow palettes on their website anywhere in the world and in Superdrug in the UK.
I've got my eye on the Oh So Special and the Au Naturals palettes next!

My Current Eye Makeup Routine!

Doing my eyes is my favourite part of my makeup routine, I'm definitely a lipstick lover but I enjoy doing my eyes the most - choosing the shadows, applying them, blending, choosing an eyeliner and mascara, ahhh. The last few days I've been reaching for the same products when it comes to do my eye makeup.

I've been using Stila eyeshadow in Champagne, which you can see swatched HERE all over my lid, then in the outer corner I've been using a grey shade from a Rimmel palette called Brixton brown, you can see that swatched HERE, then I blend them. I take whatever's left on the brush slightly under my eye. Then I use Maybelline's black gel eyeliner to draw a thin line and a slight flick.
I finish off with a couple of layers of Maybelline's volum' express the rocket mascara.
I like this look because it's not OTT but it's pretty and neutral, all the products last a long time as well.

What's your current favourite eye product?

The Palette I've Loved For A Year

I love to change around my make-up, use different products, create different looks, so when a product has been reached for nearly every day for a year it makes it very special. The Stila In The Light eyeshadow palette is one of those products.

I got this palette just under a year ago and I've genuinely used at least 1 of the shades more or less every single day that I've worn makeup in that time. I love it a lot, and as you can see from the pictures I've only hit pan on 1 of the 10 shades which just goes to show how pigmented these little shadows are!

L-R bare, kitten, bliss, sunset, sandstone,
champagne, gilded gold, luster, night sky, ebony

The palette consists of 10 shades, all very wearable, all super pigmented and all are long lasting.
There are 4 matte shades (bare, bliss, sandstone and ebony) and 6 shimmery shades (kitten, sunset, champagne, gilded gold, lustre and night sky). All these eyeshadows are very creamy, soft and easy to blend. It also came with a Stila smudge stick in Damsel (brown) but I've used that up! It was lovely.
What I especially love about this palette is how many different looks you can do with it. You can create a really lovely natural look, and you can also create a very pretty smokey eye, and so many other looks in between. The shades I wear most often would probably be kitten, champagne and sandstone (in the crease and outer corner).

L-R bare, kitten, bliss, sunset, sandstone

L-R champagne, gilded gold, luster, night sky, ebony

The only complaint I have about this palette is the packaging, sure it's very pretty but definitely not practical for carrying around or travelling with. The lid is magnetic, there's no clip or anything, so what I have to do is put a hairband around it to stop it coming open if I have it in a bag.

I'd highly recommend this palette. It would make a brilliant Christmas gift!
It seems to be sold out everywhere but HERE! Purchase it for £25…bargain!

What's your most used eyeshadow palette?

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The Budget Buy Brow Kit

Brow's are such an important part of a beauty and makeup routine. Whether you believe it or not brows make such a difference to your face, shaping and shading can help balance your facial features, frame the eyes, and if you're a little bit older they can even give you a more youthful look if done correctly.
The problem is eyebrow kits can be expensive, but I have found a brilliant kit that's so affordable!
Welcome, Fashionista Brow Kit.

I've been using this brow kit for a year now, so that's why it may look a little messy but you can see I use it daily! And I still haven't hit pan. Win!

In this kit, which is a brilliant size for popping into your makeup bag (it's a bit bigger than the palm of my hand) contains 3 brown shades - a very dark one, a medium one and a light almost orangey brown. There is also a wax to set any powder into place. As well as that you get a little double ended brush which I don't use whilst doing my makeup but is fine for on the go touchups, and also a little pair of tweezers which too are good quality. And of course that all important mirror, which is a great size.
The powders themselves are well pigmented, not chalky, don't give any fall out and stay in place on my brows all day even without the wax. I tend to use the medium brown, sometimes I mix in a bit of the darker one too and the colour is great.
I think unless you have black eyebrows or very fair hairs then everyone could make this work for them, whether it's by using a shade on it's on or mixing them.

This kit is £7 from Superdrug, or currently £3.50 HERE!

Today's Makeup!

Today's Makeup

I'm one of those people who likes to change around what makeup they wear daily, I don't have a staple daily makeup routine or anything - however the past couple of weeks I have stuck to practically the same things, and I thought I'd share it with you!

I use my RImmel Wake Me Up Foundation, I know so many love this and I'm one of them. Best high street/drugstore foundation. 

My Fashionista Brow Kit, I got this from Superdrug for about £4, so cheap and works so well.

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer

Sleek Face Form palette in Light - I love this so much, £10 for an amazing bronzer, highlighter and blush - bargain.

Sleek Storm Eyeshadow palette I love Sleek a lot, these eyeshadows are great! I've been using a shimmery one (second along, top row) and a medium brown for the outer corner and crease (second from last, bottom row).

Stila Smudge Stick waterproof eyeliner in Damsel I got this free with a Stila eyeshadow palette and I really like it, it's a dark brown so it's more subtle than black, I like to blend it in to the eyeshadow at the lash line so it's not a harsh line.

Maybelline Falsies Mascara - love it. 

Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya I featured this in my May Favourites which you can read and see swatches of here, I love it a lot. Such a pretty colour.

What makeup have you been wearing daily recently?

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