Collection 2000 Shimmer Shade in Blushalious

Hey,

At the moment I've become obsessed with blushers but I am trying not to spend much money! Well you can imagine how happy I was when I spotted this little lovely in Boots. Its called a Shimmer Shade and its in Blushalious, you can also get Way-to-Glow, these retail at £3.99.

What Collection 2000 say,
'Release the shimmer queen in you, and create a soft glow that lasts all summer long with the new Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades (£3.99). These delightful, little compacts will give you a sun kissed, radiant glow normally associated with spending time under the exotic sun.With two palettes to choose from, prepare to dazzle as the four merged blocks combine shimmer with shade for a multi-tonal and natural blend of colour.

The Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades' skin-brightening formula will help enhance your natural skin colour ready for long, romantic summer evenings, by illuminating the apples of your cheeks and giving a light sparkle. Choose from either a bronze base in Way to Glow or a blush flush in Blushalicious.'

So Blushalious comes in 4 gorgeous pink to coral shades that you wear on them own or blend together.

Above are the swatches of each of them on their own my favourites are 2 and 3 and below is a swatch of them mixed together. I like the way that you have two that have more shimmer (1 + 3) and two with less (2 + 4).

I love how it gives me a nice glow, after trying this one out I really want to pick up Way-to-Glow. For £3.99 this is a lovely product and another great item from Collection 2000. At the moment Collection 2000 seem on a roll with their new products and especially at the time when people are trying to cut back its great to be able to find these highstreet bargains!

Below are some FOTDs featuring Blushalious all over and no.2 from the block on my checks, I have also used no 3 over eyes.

Sorry for the stupid pose with my sunnies!

For the FOTD's (Both were the same):

• Witch Primer


• Lush Jackie Oats & No7 Lift + Luminate in Alabaster


• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair


• Lily Lolo Blush Away


• Collection 2000 Blushalious - Blended all over, no 2 on checks and no 3 swiped over eyes.


• Benefit Posietint on Lips


• Jemma Kidd lipgloss on lips - Magazine Freebie

Has anyone else tried these out? Is Way-To-Glow good?

Thanks

Too Faced Glamour to Go

Hey,

I just wanted to show you all a little palette I have from Too Faced, my Mum got me this for Christmas as I kept saying how much I liked it! The Palette is one of Too Faced Glamour to Go Kits from the Fairy Edition. Firstly how cute is the packaging!!!! This was around £16.00 and currently you can get it from Boots 'When its gone its gone' section for £11.00.

The Kit includes:

• 8 Eye Shadows


• Bronzer in Sun Bunny


• Blush in La Vie en Rose


• Lip Gloss in Pretty in Pink.

You can see swatches below:Eyeshadows are swatched left to right and top row first Pink, Champagne Sparkle, Matt Brown, Peach Pink Shimmer, London Calling, Golden Black, Warm Gold and Vintage Blue. As you can see the colour pay off is hit and miss really from the eight eyeshadows. My favourites are Champagne Sparkle, Pink Peach Sparkle, London Calling and Golden Black.

But the colour pay off from the bronzer and the blusher are much better, I even like the how the lipgloss comes out on me.Left to right La Vie en Rose, Pretty-in-Pink, and Sun Bunny, I have started to use all three of these a lot more recently. I actually really like all three against my skin tone. For some the gloss might be too pale on the lips, but I am fair skinned I like how it comes out!

I really like this palette even though some of the eyeshadows aren't great and I have just noticed a Too Faced item on www.Argos.co.uk of all places reduced so I might take a look.

Did anyone else get any of the Fairy Edition Too Faced Palettes?

Do you prefer the old or the new layout??

Ok so we had a change around on the blog, but although we love the new buttons etc, we not sure about the background. So with that in mind, we thought we would ask our readers as you are the people who look at our blog every day. pollcode.com free polls

Do you prefer our new or old blog layout?

New Old

Thanks

L & K x

E.L.F Blushers

I thought I'd share with you my 3 E.L.F Blushers, one of which has become a firm favourite and I've only had it for 3 weeks!

I do quite like shopping on E.L.F, as there prices are super cheap (who doesn't love a bargain), they have a wide range of products and shades and quick delivery. But the downside can be taking a risk on buying items by only seeing online swatches and quality can be hit and miss! I have so far found that the Studio & Natural Radiance blushers, Waterproof Eyeliner Pens, Nail Polishes and Brushers are good. Though sometimes quality within categories can vary, I love one of my mineral lipglossses but when I brought it in another shade I wasn't as impressed with it. As I said its hit or miss!

So onto the 3 blushers I own from E.L.F,
They are Studio Blusher in Fuchsia Fusion, Studio Blusher in Berry Merry and Natural Radiance Blusher in Flushed.

L-R Flushed, Fuchsia Fusion, Berry Merry

These retail at £1.50 for the Natural Radiance Blusher and £3.50 for the Studio Blusher. As you can see instantly the packaging is far better on the Studio Blusher, the packaging on the Natural Radiance Blusher is actually quite difficult to open. I really like have the studio blushers look and they certainly don't look cheap at all!

Next onto the swatches:

Top - Bottom Berry Merry, Fuchsia Fusion and Flushed

All 3 have a shimmer but Fuchsia Fusion does seem to have some chunky sparkle to it as well which I wasn't expecting. I have had Berry Merry since before Christmas and really like it but I fancied something a bit pinker and a lighter shade. When I started looking for swatches of E.L.F blushers I was worried Fuchsia Fusion and Flushed would look similar but as you can see the are totally different. Pink Passion is far more of a cooler shade and Flushed is much warmer on me.

The pigmentation of these is amazing for the price - I have to be sooooo careful with the amount I apply or I can look ridiculous! Out of the three I would rank them in the following order Flushed, Berry Merry and Fuchsia Fusion as my favourite. Considering Flushed is only £1.50 (but it has rubbish packaging) I adore the colour!

I am certainly going to repurchase Flushed and I would like to order the following to try:

-Shy Natural Radiance Blusher

-Coy Natural Radiance Blusher

-Studio Blush and Bronzer Compact (supposedly the Nars Laguna & Orgasm Dupe)

Have you tried any of the Blushers or Bronzers from E.L.F? If you have let me know and link any swatches? Also let me know if you have tried any of the Mineral Blushers from E.L.F.

Thanks

Being a Ginger-nut!

Hey,

An odd post for you today!

As you may have noticed both myself and L are redheads, or other names we have been (or get) called are Ginge, Carrot top, Ginger nut, Ginga, or just plain old Ginger. Even my little one shouts Ginge at me (mostly because her Dad tells her to!). We've botth dyed our hair from blond to darker richer reds in the past - though both natural at the moment as we could never find a shade we were happy with.

With being a redhead and having fair freckly skin, make-up can be a nightmare for us. A lot of brands don't stock shades of foundation pale enough for our skin tone and most brands don't even think about our colouring when it comes to products.

But at the moment redheads seem bang on trend, below are a few of my favourite natural and fake redheads. When I look for make-up inspiration for myself I do tend to look to these celebrities for ideas.

Top L -R Jayma Mays (Glee), Alyson Hannigan (Buffy & How I met your Mother), Isla Fisher. Bottom L -R Karen Gillian (Doctor Who) and Kate Walsh (Private Practice & Greys Anatomy).

Top L-R Emma Stone (Easy A & Superbad), Nicole Kidman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Bottom L -R Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Nicola Roberts

Top L -R Laura Prepon (That 70s Show), Lindsay Lohan, Florence Welch (Florence & the Machine). Bottom L - R Cinita Dicker (Model Victoria Secrets), Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Lily Cole.

As you can see red is everywhere at the moment especially if you look at the likes of Rihanna going bright red and Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) going copper for a film role.

With learning to except my hair colour I have now found websites dedicated to help and provides make-up designed especially with us Gingers in mind. I have mentioned one of these sites previously, its called Just for Redheads. The brand is created by Paula Pennypacker and everything is designed and aimed at redheads, you can see my previous post here on the items I own. The shades of foundation, lippies and eyeshadows all complement our awkward colouring...its fantastic. Though I wish we had something similar in the UK as shipping costs can make purchasing from there quite expensive. But is thanks to Just for Redheads that I finally began wearing Mascara - their range is amazing for fair eyelashes.

The second site I have found is a very recent discovery, I can't even remember how I found it. Its How to be a Redhead and is run by two sisters (Adrienne and Stephanie) that are natural redheads, they created the site to help provide complimentary redheaded techniques in beauty and fashion! Its lovely to get hints and tips aimed for us.

Its actually quite nice to have somewhere to turn for inspiration and ideas on beauty looks and trends when you are a redhead. I feel we both have learnt to except our hair colouring - we know need to do some work on finding more Holy Grail products that suit us.

Sorry for my little random post but it often bothers me when looking at new beauty items released, that there sometimes is nothing that will suit my skin tone and won't clash with my hair colour!

Thanks

Round-up of the Week

Hey,

How is everyone? We hope you have been able to enjoy this gorgeous hot day! That's summer over with for now isn't it!

I have had my Mum come and stay this weekend, it was a lovely treat for the little one and I got my birthday present off my mum (its L and mines birthday next weekend). We also enjoyed a lovely cheese and wine evening last night while trying to watch the film Zodiac...but none of us managed till the end we were too tired. Then we have spent the day watching the Formula One and then the little one had a play in the paddling pool...so all in all a lovely weekend.

L has mainly been getting back on track after the wedding and she has been working on our Mum's birthday present and plans!

This week on the Blog:

• K posted on one of the talked about concealers in the blogsphere, Collection 2000 Perfecting Concealer.




• K featured the lovely Lagoon from Mavala and showed how similar it is to George Smarty Pants.




• L showed you Bobby Brown Moisture Rich Foundation.




• L did a review on Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion.




• L treated you to some more Wedding dress pictures and her FOTD.




• K did a post on new items from 17 Miami Pop.

We hope you have had a glorious sunny Sunday as well and that you have a great week ahead!

Thanks

P.S. What do you think of the new header and blog layout?

Image from www.weheartit.com

17 Miami Pop and a Freebie

17 have launched their new Summer collection called Miami Pop, though its a shame that the weather has gone a bit rubbish!! With the launch of the new collection 17 are also running an offer that if you buy 2 items from the 17 range you get a free gift containing 2 nail polishes, a nail file and some nail art stickers. So not to miss out I took a look at the new range and decided to grab 2 items so I could get the free gift.

First I'll show you the gift,

It comes in a lovely little gift bag and everything was wrapped up neat in the tissue paper. The nails polishes are a red and a pink, I applied two coats for the swatches the pink could have done with another coat really! Neither are bad though considering they are free. I am not sure I will use anything else from the gift set, definitely aimed for 17's teenage customers!

Out of the two the pink is my favourite as it is much more wearable for my skin tone.

To be able to get this gift I got myself the new Miami Pop Bronzer and 17 Summer nail polish in Palm Beach. The bronzer is £4.99 and comes in the very brighter packaging for this range. Its a marble baked design of two golden shades.

I have to say it actually looks quite garish in the packaging when I opened it up at home. It is also very shimmery, you would need to apply it quite sparingly as it may look at bit over the top! I think you can see that from the swatch above, I just don't feel it suits my fair skin it would be much better for a darker skin tone! I actually wished I 'd got the lipgloss instead.

I also picked up a nail polish, there was a choice of two Down Town (a juicy bright orange) and Palm Beach ( a bright pink). I settled on Palm beach and I love it, it was £2.99.

Its a such a great pink colour, bright and fun - brilliant for the summer.

Overall I like the fun packaging - though I know many won't as it could be perceived to look cheap and a little tacky. I feel the bronzer is suited to a darker skin tone than mine. But the nail polishes seem like a nice investment for the summer and I would be interested to try the lipgloss.

Have you been tempted by the fun, funky and bright Miami Pop? Let me know what you think of the range! Also send any links of swatches of the other item.

Thanks

Wedding FOTD and pics of the dress

So I wanted to do a FOTD for my wedding day, but realised that I didn't have any good close ups. Rubbish!

So I've included the best I could dig out and was happy putting up. Some are a bit more personal.

Products used:

• Bare Mineral Prime Time Primer
• Bobby Brown Mositure Rich Foundation
• Benefit Erase Paste in Shade 1
• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair
• ELF Natural Radiance Blusher in Flushed
• Bourjois Blusher in Rose d'Or
• Bourjois Delice de Poudr bronzer in 51
• The Body Shop Waterproof Mascara in Brown
• 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive
• Dior Lip Polish in Fresh Expert

For my eyes I used the Naked Palette -

Using - Virgin, Sin, Sidecar and Gunmetal.

Finally I thought I would show you some pics of the dress and hair.

Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion

I was kindly sent this through to try out just before my wedding. Which I have to say was perfect. Seriously planning a wedding is beyond stressful - so wasn't even getting more than about 5 or 6 hours sleep a night and even less on the run up to the day.

Firstly, as with all Liz Earle products it contains naturally active ingredients. In this case cornflower, witch hazel and organic aloe vera. It's described as 'a gentle herbal lotion to soothe and refresh tired, puffy eyes and remove light eye make-up. Naturally active ingredients soothe and revitalise tired eyes'

Directions:

• Apply to cotton pad (apologises I'm out and had to use kitchen roll for the pic)
• Sweep over eyelids and lashes to clean and wake up your eyes
• For revitalising, leave the pads on both eyes for around 5 to 10 minutes and relax.

I quickly sweep this over both eyes each morning and it really does help with my horrible sore and tired eyes. It doesn't seem to matter what time I go to bed, I still wake up with a slight soreness to my eyes - they're just very sensitive. However this seems to take away that initial feeling and just makes you feel much more awake.

I also like to use it for the longer period as recommended. It's great if you have a bit of extra time, just to lie back and relax with the cotton pads on. Actually did this on the morning of my wedding with my mum!

I'd highly recommend this for anyone who suffer from sore, sensitive and tired eyes.

r.r.p £9.70 for 150ml.

Bobby Brown Moisture Rich Foundation

Foundation is not a product I ever really enjoy buying or wearing. Obviously both me and K are pale skinned, so tend to find that most foundation is either too pink and too yellow toned for us. Personally I also suffer from dry skin, and find that most foundation tends to make my nose look dry and flaky.

However this is very close to a HG for me.

I picked it up in 00 Alabaster - the lightest in the range. It's a very close match, but I do sometimes feel as thought it's a little dark for me.

It blends in very well and doesn't make my skin look dry at all - although I would expect this given its name.

It doesn't sit on my skin and look like a mask, which is of course another plus. I want good coverage but I don't want to look as though I'm wearing a mask.

Overall I love the finish that I get, and with a little primer help it tends to last around 8-10 hours. Although it can go a little shiny come late afternoon, but it is a very moisturising foundation so I can't really complain.

Now the downside - it's pricey! It set me back £26.00, which although it's lasted me ages so far I don't think it's really worth it when I'm not too sure about the colour match.

I love everything else about the foundation so really need to find an alternative.

Any recommendations??

George nail polish dupe

Hey,

This is actually a weird dupe to feature as both nail polishes retail at under £5. The nail polishes in question are George Smarty Pants (£1.75 Asda) and Mavala Lagoon (£4.10 John Lewis) both are 5ml bottles.
This is actually my first Maval nail polish but as you are probably aware I have quite a few George colours now. I just couldn't belive how identical these two colours were, its really har to tell the difference even from the bottle, though harder from the swatches below.

I applied two coats of each for the swatches yet the Mavala polish did apply nicer. I think the George colour is a slightly brighter shade on the nails (on the left). What do you think?

Both will get good use this summer as I really like the colour, though I was hoping the Mavala polish was a bit paler than the George colour when I got it. But I could get away with one coat of the Mavala colour to make it a bit more wearable on my finger nails!

I think both brands are value for money and I am now hoping to get more Mavala shades...especially as the little bottles are sooooo cute. If you are a Mavala fan what shades do you recommend?

Thanks

Boots Advantage Card Offer

For today only, 21st June, selected Boots stores are offering 750 Advantage card points for every £30 you spend in store. This time its an all day event so you have plenty of time to look around and decide what to get!

You can find out more at Boots, luckily Milton Keynes is taking part do I may pop along for a look. But L would need to pop down to Manchester.

They also have a number of competitions running:

• A makeover prize - includes a pampering day at Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden, a hair styling session at Charles Worthington and all over bronzing treatment with overnight accommodation in London.
• 10 x Nivea hampers worth £100 each
• Exclusive hampers from Elizabeth Arden, Lancome and YSL, worth more than £100 each
• Benefit hamper worth £300
• Kodax Easyshare Touch M577 Digital Camera

Full details can be found in store.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair

Hey,

I had actually kept spotting this across numerous blogs I follow and thought for the price I would give it a go. This retails at £4.99 and comes in 4 shades Fair, Light, Medium, Dark. you can see more about this on at Collection 2000 I picked mine up in Fair 01 and as you can see mine is quite well used.
What Collection 2000 say about this:
'Ultimate wear concealer conceals flaws, imperfections and blemishes for up to 16 hours. Oil free. Transfer proof and water resistant fir full and long lasting coverage. Provides beautiful, shine-free, blemish-free skin for every waking hour.'

I have to say that for a budget highstreet concealer this is worth the hype! The positives for me are:

• Price - £4.99 is great.


• Coverage - I mainly use this under my eyes and it covers my horrible dark circles.


• Applicator - I like the little applicator as I can just swipe and then blend under my eye.


• Staying Power - I don't feel it lasts 16 hours but I get a good 10 hours out of it.

The Negatives:

• Choice of shades - though fair is the perfect shade for me, there is only 4 shades to choose between not great!


• I didn't like how all the writing came off the packaging.

I have enjoyed using this product and its nice to get a concealer that isn't orange toned on me. Finding the right shade of concealer for me is as hard as finding the right shade of foundation - but this is good if not an exact match. Though it has a good coverage it doesn't go all clumpy or stick to any dry patches too badly.

I'd certainly buy this again. Have you tried it? Whats your favourite highstreet concealer?

Thanks

Round-up of the Week

Hey,

We hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Mine has been alright except has been a bit of a wash out!! It was bright and sunny one moment then it was like a flood the next.
I am hoping that the weather improves as its nearly L's and my Birthday (3rd July), followed by my little one and our Mum's the week after. We having summer birthdays we are hoping to do a BBQ at least, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed!

L has had a nice weekend as she received her Wedding album this week so it very excited to actually have...especilally so soon after the wedding!

This week on the blog we have had:

• We gave up a round up of all the Magazine Goodies feautured for June.


• K was feautured over at Eyelining Obsession.


• K did a review on No7 Cleanse and Care Eye make-up Remover.


• K shows you a foundation that might be her Holy Grail!


• L showed you more of her Wedding pictures and introduces her amazing but bargain Photographers.


• We feautured Accessorize Lipgloss in Magical.


• NOTD China Glaze Up All Night.


• Lastly we have had this weeks Beauty Blog Link Love.
  
  Thanks

images from http://www.weheartit.com/