A quick post about Lipstick Fridays' Giveaway

Just a quick post to say head on over to Lipstick Fridays blog right now for the chance to win £50 worth of NARS cosmetics of your own choice! There are 24 chances to win, yes that's right TWENTY FOUR!! She's reached 800 followers, and it's a lovely way to say thank you! I also want to say congratualtions, and I suggest you follow her too! Especially if you love lipstick as much as me, as she always posts about different lipsticks and swatch pictures, good if you're always on the hunt for new shades like me! :) Just click the picture to go there now!

xo.

Mini Sleek Haul

Last Saturday I went to the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford London for the first time. I can safely say I'm in love! I work in a shopping centre in Essex, and so I'm used to be in a shopping centre daily, but this just left me speechless! It's huge, and new, and just.. so clean..! Has lots of shops that I could only usually go to in London, and I rarely ever go nowadays. So it was a refreshing shopping experience! It was my birthday almost 2 weeks ago now (wow, time files when you're getting old!) and the boyf said he would take me shopping as a present, so I dragged him to Westfield early on a Saturday morning.. :) I bought a few things which I shall post in time, but here are a few to start off with!

Sleek had a pop up stand there which I didn't actually know about, and apparently it's gone now! I don't usually buy much from Sleek, I have a few palettes and a blush or two, but whenever I go into Superdrug they hardly ever have the stand fully stocked, and Sleek haven't been releasing palettes/products as much as they usually do, so it never really catches my eye anymore. Never the less, I went over to the stand to investigate! Sorry I didn't get pictures, I saw make-up and that's all I had the time for! 

It was full of plenty of staff, all very friendly and constantly offering to help me find products. They were offering makeovers for a small price, and also foundation matching. I also got approached by a lady asking me to fill out a quick survey on her iPad in exchange for a mini pout polish, of course I agreed! 

They had everything in stock which was totally refreshing, and I actually got to try everything I wanted to, but never usually get to. I keep eyeing up the Blush by 3 palettes, but there's only 1/2 blushes in each palette I would actually use, so it seems like a bit of a waste! In the end I picked up a blush and a lipstick, as at the time I was trying to be good and just refrain from going mad! I fancied a bright pink blush, and I couldn't resist the bright pink lippie either. The lipstick I picked up is also a dupe for a sold out MAC lipstick from a recent collection, so watch this space as I have comparison swatches to post.. 

xo.

 

This is the mini pout polish I got free, it's a bright pink, but it applies as a balm, so the colour doesn't transfer as much. It smells sweet and vanilla like and is the perfect size to pop in your handbag. I don't own any other pout polishes, so I'm not sure if this is a permanent shade in the full size range or not.

 

Sleek blush in Flamingo. I really fancied a bright pink blush, so when I saw this shade I fell in love. I love the packaging of Sleeks blushers, small and quite literally sleek. They're all crazy pigmented and always worth the small price tag.

 

 

When I went to the lipstick bit, I was admiring all the colours, but for some reason this shade Candy Cane really stood out to me this time. It's a bright pink which leans red, very similar to MAC's Impassioned. My camera didn't like this shade so it looks funny in all pictures! This is a sheen finish, so it's not matte like the MAC dupe I have to show you!

Groupon Offer - MeMeMe Cosmetics

When I logged onto my laptop this morning, one of the emails that caught my eye was one of the many Groupon emails I receive daily. There's an offer for a voucher to use on MeMeMe's website. £18 for £45 worth of goods. 

MeMeMe is a brand I don't really ever pick up products from if I'm being honest, I own one of the blushers and a nail polish but that's all. The blusher is actually really nice, and I should use it more often, so I am tempted to buy the voucher and try some more products!

I thought I'd post this offer up here to let anyone who's interested know! As you can see, I've opened a few products to have a look already ;) Click the picture to go there!

xo.

EDIT - I've now caved..

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Swatches:

Blue Bus, Gunmetal, Cobra, Baked (No Primer)

Bender, Gravity, Lost, Hijack (No Primer)

Midnight Cowgirl, Sin, Midnight Rodeo, Crystal (No Primer)

Bust, Missionary, Skimp, Zephyr (No Primer)

24/7 Waterproof Eyeliner

I bought this from BuyaPowa on Sunday, for the amazing price of £27.50, which is £18.50 off RRP! Such a bargain! I know recently, that loads of people have had doubts about BuyaPowa, due to the whole 'fake' MAC items they've been selling, and I would be a liar if I hadn't been a bit weary of it because of this. But I bought my Naked 2 palette from them, and that's authentic and great, I use it all the time with no problems, so I thought I would be alright with this, and I was right. 

I have two other Urban Decay Book of Shadows, and to be perfectly honest, I rarely get round to using them. But if I'm to have plenty of eyeshadow choice, it has to be Urban Decay hands down. This is the fourth Book of Shadows, and the most recent. Saying that, this has been out for quite some time, and is known for being quite gimmicky. When I say gimmicky, I mean all the little add ons they've tried to force in to it. 

This is the first Book of Shadows, actually I think probably the only make up palette that comes with a speaker. Yes, that's right a speaker. It has two leads, one to plug into your pc/laptop, and another that can go into an mp3 player/iPhone. The idea of this, is to plug into your outlet of choice, and watch the tutorials that Urban Decay have supplied within the box. They come on a piece of card, with a QR scan code that you scan with using your phone. For me, when I tried, it wouldn't focus or pick up the code for some reason. But basically, they've added a little holder for your phone, and you place it inside the lid of the palette, plug in the speaker, watch the tutorials and join in yourself! Obviously I haven't tried this yet, seeing as though I can't get the tutorials up! I tried the speaker with my iPhone, and it's not too bad. It comes with a keyring chain, so you can take it with you if you fancy.

It also comes with a mini eyeshadow primer, as standard. But in the new squeezy tube, which I have yet to try. A mini mascara, and a waterproof eyeliner. Because the eyeliner is so long, I thought it was a pen liner, but unfortunately it's a really thin brush. Which is probably to most peoples liking, but I find you need to have a really steady hand for them. Even though I have mastered applying eyeliner over the years, I still find myself making silly little mistakes, and for this reason prefer using pen liners or a thick brush with my gel liner. But I'll give this a try! When I was swatching it yesterday, I really scrubbed it and found it hard to get it to move, even when I licked my finger and dragged it across it didn't smudge or budge, definately waterproof!

When I finally got the palette and looked at the shadows, I was excited about Blue Bus, Bust and Crystal, but unfortunately these were the 3 lacking pigmentation! I had to swipe them numerous times, but still nothing :( Maybe if I try a primer they will improve, but I'm not getting my hopes up about that. Other than those 3 shades, the others all pack a punch! Check the swatches to see what I mean. It's what Urban Decay is known for, and they don't disappoint (unlike the 3 that do!)

At the end of the day, I will always choose Urban Decays eyeshadows over MAC and other similar brands. They're always so much more pigmented and longer lasting. If you somehow have missed out on trying one of their palettes I urge you to! They've also just released their own 'Build Your Own Palette' to rival brands like MAC and Fashionista, but the price has put me off so far. I do know that they have reformulated their shadows and released shadows that were only available in their palettes, to buy seperately (hello, mushroom!) I think I will cave and end up creating my own, so look out for that!

Do you own any UD Book of Shadows or palettes? Do you think they're better than other brands? Are they worth the money? And have you purchased their new Build Your Own Palette yet? If so, show me! I want ideas for shades to look at! :)

xo

Bourjois 1 Second Polish Remover

If you haven't heard or seen this product yet, then where have you been?! I don't know you could escape it, seeing as it's been on pretty much every blog! I've had this for well over a month, and it's been well and truly tested, so I thought I'd add my two cents. 

I have a similar product to this, which I bought from Boots aaaages ago. I found it to be pretty rubbish, so when hearing about this, I didn't really expect much. After reading a few reviews, I thought it sounded like it was worth a try, and ventured out to try and find it. BUT NO SUCH LUCK. It was sold out in every single Boots and Superdrug I went into, it was impossible to find! I ended up ordering from Boots' website, as I desperately wanted it - You see, I'm a child.. When I can't have something, I want it so much more! 

When I finally got my hands on it, I was surprised to see how big it was. This is probably due to the other similar remover is a tiny little pot, but either way it's not huge, and feels like it's houses more polish remover inside. When taking off the lid, you are blown away by the strong polish remover scent - which definately confused me, as everyone was saying how much it smelled like fruit. I persevered though!

When dipping my finger in, the sponge is incredibly soft, and very wet, which is a good thing! Because obviously the wetter is, the easier the polish will come off, and the longer the remover will last. I would say, that sometimes if you have cuts on your fingers around your nails, sometimes when you dip your finger in, it can make it sting, just something to note! 

I wouldn't say it takes a second to remove, but when I use it, I dip my finger in, and just twist slowly, and it pretty much removes all the polish in one go. And when removing my finger it leaves a very sweet fruity smell, which I absolutely love! I didn't believe that it would, but it really honestly does! Using this product has made me want to change my polish constantly, because it's so quick, easy and convenient to remove. Rather than going through the hassle of using tonnes of cotton wool and scrubbing away, it takes 30 seconds to do a whole hand, and it's left smelling gorgeous! 

As for glitter polish, I've tried it once. I was wearing Models Own Ibiza Mix at the time, and I had to let my fingers soak for a bit longer, and twist quite a fair bit. It did finally come off, but obviously the glitter was all left inside the pot, and when I used it for a while after, every time I pulled my finger out, the glitter would come out stuck to my finger! It was like this for a little while, but it's okay now. Meaning the glitter is either stuck inside the sponge somewhere or just sitting at the bottom of the pot. 

All in all, this is a great product, good value for money, and worth the 'hype'. Great for impatient people like me! It's £4.99, so could be deemed expensive for some people as there's only 75ml. But I think it will last for quite a while, and you can always top up with some other polish remover if need be. It's worth a go, I think it's definately re-ignited my love for nail polish, just because it speeds up the process for me. So I'm totally glad I purchased, and would re-purchase over and over again.

xo.

Sleek Eau La La Liner - Red Sky Night 324

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Sleek Eau La La Liner

I picked up this Sleek liner from Superdrug for £3.99 a month or so ago, even though I hadn't really heard that much about them. And I still haven't seen many reviews or much press about them. I saw this shade and thought how similar it was to lots of lipsticks I like to wear, such as MAC Chatterbox/Speed Dial etc. And for the price, I didn't think it was too much of a risk! 

When I took the picture of the pencil, I had already sharpened it, and I think it's already broken inside as it came out a bit :( But maybe this can be blamed on the formula of the liner being so creamy. Also, the pencil isn't wood, it's plastic. 

This liner is crazy pigmented and incredibly creamy. The staying power is great also. As you can see in the pictures where I swatched it, I dragged my finger through the line, and as you can see, it's only slightly smudged. I didn't exactly do it lightly though! As for the picture of it applied on my lips, it looks and feels quite dry, as it's so creamy and matte. The other day I added vaseline, and it was a nicer finish and not so drying. But as a liner it's alright, I just wouldn't recommend it for all over lips if you suffer from dry lips. 

Unfortunately, I haven't tried this out as an eyeliner, as these liners are designed to be multi purpose, with the website claiming that you can use them on your lips, eyes, brows and body. The range hosts 20 different colours, ranging from bright yellow and orange to your average black and brown. Meaning there's something for everyone. Lips wise, I recommend this product for lining and for the price, I think it's an excellent product.