Shop MAC Cremeblend blush - Florida

I just want to say straight away, that for some reason, when I upload the pictures onto here, the colour of the blush is a lot different, and I've tried saving it in different ways, but I have no idea whats going on! The colour is a lot more blue based - think MAC Pink Nouveau, that sort of shade. This picture here (from Temptalia) is pretty much right when I wear Florida on my lips.

I ordered this from Debenhams' website, getting 10% off and free delivery, can't complain! Once again, I thought the packaging of the blush was in the print from the collection but it was just a sleeve like the lipsticks. Anyway I'm sure I'll live! As soon as I opened the case I was in awe! Such a beautiful colour, and I love pink, seriously anything pink. If it was a pink toilet brush I'd want it, sad but true. I don't usually wear pink blushers as they just make me look flustered and hot! But like I said - as it was pink I had to have it. I first tried it on my lips, and oh wow it's like wearing a lipstick, I loved the colour. So creamy and yes extremely similar to Pink Nouveau which is one of my favourite lipsticks. So this is right up my street. When trying it on my cheeks, I did look a bit flustered unfortunately, but I think I was a little heavy handed. So I'll keep working with it, I'm going to make sure this baby doesn't go unloved!

This is a pink shade for everyone, I know mid to dark skin tones would look great sporting this. And I think pale skintones wise - definately blonde and blue eyed. Although when I tried it earlier I wasn't wearing my 'war paint' and as my skintone is uneven it might look a lot better when I'm wearing my foundation. Maybe I can make it look a bit doll like!

As with cremeblend blushes, natural oils like to seep out of the product, which is why there are usually droplets on the surface of the product. I hate it when this happens, it just reminds me of sweat for some reason haha gross! Fortunately mine wasn't like this yay, but when this does happen you can just use a clean finger and wipe over the top, or take a brush and just swirl around the palette and it should mix it all back together. Cremeblend blushes are definately very pigmented and creamy, and they last longer than powder blushers. I don't know the longevity of this particular blush as I haven't worn it all day yet, but they're are usually about 4-6 hours on average (approximately). This is also a repromote cremeblend, and will probably be repromoted again in the future.

If you're looking for a similar shade and this has sold out, try Illamasqua. I was looking on their website for similar shades and found 'Laid' and thought it looked pretty much the same, and then I googled for swatches as I don't actually own it, and I found this post, and look! They're really close! Yay :)

Out of curiosity, do you own any cream blushes by MAC and/or Illamasqua? Which do you prefer? I still need to buy a cream blusher by Illamasqua! Recommend me some shades :)

x

Shop MAC Lipsticks

Finally got my hands on some! Had to order these from Selfridges, ordered another one from MAC but I had to ring MAC up to find out that even though they took my money once again it was out of stock but they would re-order it in for me. This is not the first time this has happened, and if it's "out of stock" yet it goes through and takes me money, they really need to sort themselves out. Also I thought the whole box in the Shop MAC collection was printed, not just a slide on cover. Boo! Anyway, rant over. Keep reading to see what shades I picked up.

Innocence, Beware! (Cremesheen) - Described on the MAC website as 'light yellow pink'. Which is pretty accurate. I always thought that when this came out with the Venomous Villains collection it was more of a nude, more similar to Myth or Creme D'Nude. I find that when I wear this it's quite similar to Hue, which is the only other lightest nude shade I wear as I find they wash me out. 

Naughty Saute (Cremesheen) - Wasn't sure whether to pick this up or not, as I already have Viva Glam Gaga, and St Germain, and when I saw it was described as a 'Bright Pepto Pink' I thought it might be too much, but it is lovely! I blotted it right down and put lipbalm on top earlier and it was a bit more purpley, so it's definately very blue based and a lot cooler than Viva Glam Gaga.

Quick Sizzle (Matte) - I really didn't need to buy this, as I already have NARS Schiap, and a few other hot pinks, but it's just so beautiful I couldn't not! I love it already, so creamy and suits me yay! MAC website just describes it as 'Bright Pink' but it's a blue based hot pink. Pretty much the same as NARS Schiap, more vibrant and pigmented though. And similar to Topshop All About Me which I posted about, but when I swatched them next to each other, All About Me leaned more red. But I'll post a picture of the swatches seperately. I totally recommend this lipstick if you don't really have any bright pinks, as it will definately suit all skin tones, seeing as I'm as white as ghost. I reckon this would look SO good on darker skins, like BAM in your face haha, beaut! It's matte, but not drying, and you could always add balm or a gloss if that's not your style.

So I have one more lipstick to come, and I ordered a cremeblush from the collection on Debenhams website (10% off and free delivery - hello!) So I will post them when they come, and do a comparison swatch post :) I also got 2 nail lacquers, one from the Chen Man collection (Force of Love lipstick is sold out everywhere :( ) and Lazy Day from Vera collection, which I love! So I will also post them up aswell!

Have you grabbed anything from the new collections? Eyeing anything up? Or don't the collections do anything for you? I've just counted all my MAC lippies, and I now have 35! Oh dear...

x

Urban Decay Naked 2

Yes I know, I'm late to the party. But only because I wanted to be! I don't really spend loads of time doing eyeshadow, but when I do, they are usually nudes and from my first Naked palette or from my small collection of MAC shadows. I kept thinking about this palette, and when I get in this sort of mood, I end up NEEDING it. So I saw it was a up and coming co-buy in Buyapowa, I knew I had to keep my eye out for it. Unfortunately, the email was sent saying it was available ten minutes too late and they were all sold out. (Nice one Buyapowa, not the first time either...!) Luckily they listed again and I was bang on it! So I got this baby for just £26, which is £10 less than the RRP. Not too shabby.

The lipgloss that comes with the palette, shade name 'Naked'. It's plumping, which I really do not like. My lips are an alright size, and if I wanted them to sting or tingle I'd go and play with a wasp! The colour is really pretty and neutral, so great for everyone, but I really think they should of just stuck with their eyeshadow primer - can't go wrong, I've got loads of half empty ones from all their palettes, and all the outside of the packaging is scratched and worn away, so a new one would of been good. Seeing as I use MAC Painterly as a base now, I probably won't be buying a full sized primer potion anytime soon.

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper

These first 4 shades are definately too warm for me. Putting yellow shadow on eyelids, YU CRAZEE! And it's also not very pigmented and chalky. Half Baked and Chopper look almost identical in pan, but as you can see Chopper is a bit more copper. Bootycall is an alright highlighting shade and I'll get use out of this shade. HB and C are very pigmented, even with one swipe. What you usually expect from Urban Decays shadows.

Tease, Snake Bite, Suspect, Pistol

I heard that Tease was chalky and not very pigmented and it definately is :( as it's a matte shadow, it takes a lot of building up. I love this shade, but it's too chalky and more difficult to work with. Snakebite, Suspect and Pistol are three of my absolute favourite shades in this palette, all beautifully metallic and pigmented. You can easily create quick and easy looks with these shades. I used Snakebite and Suspect along with a few others last night (on top of Painterly), as I was in a rush it was nothing spectacular, but they all blended well and looked gorgeous together, so I'm impressed and happy with these shades.

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

Verve is quite silver based, don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous colour, but looks quite random in the palette. Lovely as a base colour also. YDK is extreeeemely pigmented, and has glitter in also. Busted is a dark brown, but a lot cooler in tone than Snake Bite. Blackout is the matte black in this palette, a colour that most people were looking forward to. In pan, it has glitter in, but when swatched it's not AS noticable. I find it very chalky and not that pigmented, but probably a little more pigmented than MAC Carbon. Still on the look for a matte black that wows me. 

The double ended brush that comes with the palette. I got the applicator brush in the original Naked palette and I do use it, so I will probably use this aswell. Although when trying the crease brush I wasn't too impressed, but I'll have to try it again. 

The case is metal and hard-wearing. I thought it would close magnetically, but it snaps shut and you have to really pull it apart to open it. Has a long large mirror inside, good for touch-ups I suppose, but I won't be using it as I don't carry palettes around with me. I do like the packaging a lot more than I thought I would, when seeing pictures of it I wasn't overly fussed about it, as I do love the velvet and magnetic fastening on the other Naked. 

I would prefer to de-pot all the shadows from both my Naked palettes and put them together in a Z Palette or something similar. That way I can easily mix the shades from each and find more combinations a lot easier. Because I will only usually get one palette out and just use shades from that instead of combining them or using MAC/other shadows aswell. I don't have the stomach to do it though! Even though I know I would prefer it so much more! 

I am glad I purchased this palette, unfortunately I think it's not excited people as much as the original, and Urban Decay have tried to make it different, and the outcome wasn't as expected. A few of the shadows quality aren't up to scratch, which doesn't answer the question "Do I need both?" It's totally your preference. For me I only really use nude shadows now, so I think I'm all set eyeshadow wise, and I have found a few new favourite colours from this palette.

At the moment Debenhams are offering 10% off Beauty & Fragrance until 11th March, and free delivery is also available. So if you're interested in this palette, you can purchase it online from Debenhams for £32.40 right now. Or it's available from pretty much anywhere, including; House of Fraser, John Lewis, HQHair, etc.

Did you give in and buy this palette? Or are you still deciding? Do you think it's worth having both?

x

Hellocotton

I finally got round to making a Hellocotton account the other day, and I have to say I love this website. You can make a page and link your blog, so it's shown to a different audience, and every time you publish a post, it will come up on the recent list, so it will always be seen! Giving new and smaller bloggers a good chance to get their posts and opinions out :) This website has blogs listed from all different categories, including, beauty, fashion, craft & diy, food, weddings, entertainment etc. Meaning I've found loads of new different types of blogs I love which I probably wouldn't of come across otherwise. And as I absolutely love reading blogs this is great. I totally recommend you sign up, other type of blog platforms can join, such as wordpress and livejournal I believe, meaning you can just follow all your faves in one place! You can 'like' blog posts you enjoy also and go back to them in future. And also, you can comment on peoples pages, a bit like Facebooks 'wall'. It's seriously such a great way to find new blogs and even socialise. 

If you have a hellocotton account, link me up, I want to follow you! :) If you feel for some reason you want to follow me haha, click on the image above. Or just go to hellocotton now to see what the fuss is all about.

x

February Favourites

Can't believe it's March already, when you get old it flies by..! Sighhh. Anyway, these are the products I've used consistently throughout February, most are my daily make-up items now. Looking forward to seeing what new stuff March brings!

Face: 

MAC Matchmaster foundation 1.0 - Matches my skin colour perfectly, (FINALLY!) stays matte and lasts all day, my definate favourite foundation at the moment.

Sigma F82 - Perfect with my MSFN, and the F80 with my foundation, finally been converted to using brushes with my foundations.

Clarins Extra-Firming Day Cream - Leaves my skin soft and not oily, which is a problem I have with every single moisturiser. I actually got this in the post from some company, but there no letter or anything in :/ just a random sample! No more will squeeze out, so I've had to cut it and there's still plenty in there!

TheBalm Frat Boy Blush - The perfect combination of peach and pink, leaves a lovely dainty flush! 

Illamasqua Cream Pigment Hollow - The perfect contour colour for me, doesn't look orange, taken me so long to find the right shade! I love it, wouldn't be without it now.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - Couldn't say enough good things about this, covers my bags, redness and any spots. This badboy is forever a keeper!

Eyes:

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - Use this every single day without fail, with or without shadow. Love how creamy it is, just covers any uneven skin tone on my lids and around my eyes.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - Really makes my lashes look black, I wouldn't say they make my lashes look really long or perfect, like falsies, but good enough. I got this for Christmas, and I'm starting to think it's drying out now - keeps making my lashes go clumpy and stick together, not separating them like before!

LOOK Long Last Liner Eye Brightener - Again, I use this every day without fail. Perks my eyes up instantly without them looking over the top like they do when using white eyeliner. My eyes don't look as red or as tired now. So glad I found this!

Lips: 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Addis Ababa - Such a lovely texture on the lips, so soft and creamy. A lovely bright pink, would suit all skin tones. Wear time isn't so great, but I forgive it because I just adore it! Really makes lips look plump and just lovely :)

MAC Pink Nouveau - I've just had a sudden craving for bright pink lips recently, so if I haven't worn the NYX Lip cream, it'll be this or MAC Chatterbox or Speed Dial or something. This lipstick is a satin finish but I think it looks and feels pretty matte. Really creamy, as if I've put loose pigment on my lips! Great statement lips without being too OTT.

Other:

Soap & Glory The Daily Smoother Body Butter - I've got to say from what I've tried recently I haven't been impressed with S&G's venture into cosmetics, but their body & bath products I will forever love! Starting to use up this body butter, as I have tonnes, and it smells lovely and does the job!

Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! Perfume - Such a gorgeous smell, I'm so in love! The perfect mix of floral and fruity. Perfect spring scent, so delicate and feminine. Plus I'm in love with the bottle design, fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and it's just so pretty, I want to carry it everywhere haha. I have to say I'm disappointed that the scent really doesn't last long :( I aways have to spray LOADS of perfume and top up all day long, so people can literally smell me coming! And this just does not last :(

Morrocan Oil - Okay, I officially love it. My hair is shiny all time time, and feels so much softer after I use this. My hair's not in great condition anymore, but this is a great start.

And because I'm so clever, I forgot to photograph my nail choices! 

Nails Inc Porchester Square - Lovely creamy and fast drying, it's a grey that seems to lean different colours in different lights. Looks lovely under Rainbow Connection too.

Nicki Minaj for OPI Fly, Pink Friday, and Metallic 4 Life - Might just have to purchase these as full sizes. Fly is the nicest turquoise, I'm totally smitten with it at the moment. Pink friday is just so girly I love it, and Metallic 4 Life is an easy way to 'toughen' up an outfit ;) Sort of.

So those are my favourites! Looking forward to finding new stuff in March, got my eye on Real Technique brushes, MAC Shop lipsticks (coming soon eek!), Topshops Sister of the Moon collection, and Sleeks Blush by 3 - I tried the 'Lace' Palette out in Superdrug a few weeks ago, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't pick it up! Oh well, more shopping to do :)

What were your favourites this week? Leave your links!

x

Soap & Glory - Supercat Eyeliner Pen

I finally got my hands on Soap & Glory's Supercat black eyeliner pen, after hearing a few people rave about it. Firstly, I do love the packaging, I think that's what everyone seems to remember S&G for. I wear black eyeliner every single day, and I've recently been converted to gel liner, but sometimes I need a quicker resort when I'm in a rush (nearly every day..) I've never found my perfect eyeliner pen yet, there's always something that's wrong with it! So when I tried this, I was in love. The nib is thick, but not overly thick - you can produce thin lines aswell as big flicks, whatever you want. It is extremely black like it states on the box, and it stays black. It really is very easy to use. Perfect right? NO!

I have a problem with my eyes watering quite often, and I yawn A LOT. Again, causing my eyes to literally pour. This eyeliner does not handle this well. Ending up with big black smears under my eyes, and caught up on my eyelid and crease is not sexy. Using a primer and Fix+, nothing seemed to hold it without it smearing, after half the day, I had black hood lines on my eyes. I know pandas are totally cute, but I really don't want to resemble one thank you very much! I keep wanting to love this, but for me, any eyeliner that smears that badly is a big thumbs down. I spend so much time on my eyes, and always have more emphasis on them, that to have black and smeary eyes is a waste of time and money, and really doesn't help my attempts to look half attractive! (siiiigh)

Unfortunately, it looks like the quest for the perfect eyeliner pen is still on :(

Can anybody recommend any? I've just ordered Bobbi Browns black gel liner from BuyaPowa, and I think I'll stick with gel liner for the moment! 

Have you tried Soap & Glory's sidestep into cosmetics? What do you think? So far I'm disappointed!

x