Heaven & Earth

I know the MUA Heaven & Earth Palette has been around the blogsphere loads but here is another post on it.

So the palette is available from Superdrug and retails at £4 (an absolute bargain!). For you £4 you receive a palette of 10 highly pigmented eyeshadows. I know people have said these palette are good and I own some on the MUA single eyeshadows...but the pigmentation is fantastic.

I actually own the Naked Palette and I do love mine, but I was still drawn to pick this up. You can see swatches and the palette in more detail below.

The swatches are just one swipe...amazing.

This palette is lovely but I haven't used it much at all and have still continued to use my Naked Palette as the colours in the MUA palette are warmer toned and the Naked seem cooler toned. I seem to suit the cooler tones better.

The shadows are lovely and soft and blend easily you could make a great day or night look with this. It's also nice that there are a good choice of shades for highlighting. I particularly like the first pale good shade. I am not sure everyone would be happy with a whole palette of shimmery or metallic shades. Some would probably want a matte shade.

Have you got this palette?

Thanks

Eye Wanna! and Eye Gotta!

As you may have noticed L and I are big fans of Benefit Cosmetics. I love seeing all of the new products they come up with as well. You can see our previous posts on Benefit here.

There are currently two new eye collections that they have brought out called Eye Wanna! and Eye Gotta!.
The Eye Gotta! set is is from he Annie Collection and retails at £28.50 and contains 3 eyeshadows and 2 cream shadow/liners. Here's what Benefit say;
'Eye gotta! is for gals who gotta look gorgeous all day...there are people to see, places to go & things to do. My kit of enchanting eyeshadows creates perfectly pretty, defined, fresh looking eyes. You'll be ready for whatever comes you way!
Kit includes:
-Canopy eyeshadow
-purple haze eyeshadow
-spiced eyeshadow
-foiled - creaseless cream shadow/liner
- flash - creaseless cream shadow/liner
- step by step lesson.'

The Eye Wanna! set is from the Maggie Collection and again retails at £28.50. Here's what Benefit say:
'Eye Wanna! is for gals who have it all - and wanna shimmy all nigh long! With eyeshadows in all shades of fabulosity my kit will take you from work mode too party status in the blink of an eye. Go ahead, get noticed and steal the scene!
Kit Includes:
-skyline eyeshadow
-inked eyeshadow
-deco eyeshadow
-static - creaseless cream shadow/liner
- airbrush - creaseless cream shadow/liner
-step by step lesson.'

Benefit have again come up with another fun and playful set. The colours certainily won't appeal to everyone. I like the Eye Wanna! set but I wouldn't use the pink colour but the other shades look lovely.

What do you you think?

Thanks

Bargain Eye Shadows

Now who doesn't love a Bargain. These little gems are only £1.79 each or 3 for £5 from Boots. I used to always have a nosy at the Natural Collection range but I have to admit that as I've gotten older I've just stopped looking at the range.

Like most people I think with age I just started looking at more and more expensive brands. But just because something costs a little extra does not necessarily mean it's better quality.

I wanted some basic everyday eye shadows, so I thought I'd have a look at the cheaper brands when I stumbled upon these.

Willow on the right, is a nice shimmery toffee/coffee shade and Sea Shell on the left,is a lovely shimmery beige.

They just looked lovely easy shades to wear.

The eye shadows themselves are easy to blend and I think their quite pigmented, given the price. I have to admit that I did struggle to pick the Sea Shell up in the photo as it is really pale but I'm quite happy in reality.

Would highly recommend checking out the range. They do some gorgeous lipsticks as well and I also have a couple of the mascaras.

NYX Eyeshadow trios

Shockingly I picked these up in January at the IMATS and had completely forgotten to show them off, despite using them regularly.


This was my first try of NYX products and I have to admit I was impressed.


So I picked up two eyeshadow trios. First up is the Triple Eye Shadows for Sexy Babes Eyes Only!



I love the packaging and once opened there is a little mirror on the inside.

This contains a Pearl White, a Silver and a Charcoal,

The eye shadows are quite pigmented, although it took a few swatches of the white to get a good picture.

Next up is the Triple Eye Shadows for Secy Eyes Only,

This contains a Nude, Taupe, and a Dark Brown,

They all are well pigmented and were easy to swatch.

The eye shadows are a lovely smooth formula and blend together easily. I love the way the trios are set up and it's very easy to just pull out one of them to achieve I simple day and full on evening look with both sets.

I actually can't wait to pick up some more of the trios as I fine them so easy to use and the eye shadows are such good quality.

Also keen to try some of their other products.

Any recommendations??

EOTD E.L.F Mystic Moss

Hey,

As you may already be aware I am a big fan of E.L.F make-up on here and we have both featured E.L.F products more than once, you can see previous posts here.

Today's post features an eyeshadow from the studio range, these retail at £3.50 for 2.75g and come in 10 shades. I purchased mine in Mystic Moss and I have to say I am pleased with it (and only pleased).
As the name suggests it is a moss colour which comes out a a dark petrol blue green shade. The pigmentation is also quite good, you can see a swatch further down, and it is buildible. I find I prefer to apply these eyeshadow with a slightly damp brush - the colour is better and less powder fall off. I also like the packaging on this eyeshadow, the studio range comes with much better packaging than a lot of the E.L.F range. It feels sturdy and is pleasant to look at - definitely not cheap looking.

Although I am quite happy with my purchase and would pick up another shade I don't think these are particularly great value for money. As I said these retail at £3.50 for 2.75g where you can get Boots 17 Solo Eyeshadows for £3.89 and they are more pigmented than E.L.F. So I wouldn't be shouting from the roof tops to buy these E.L.F Studio eyeshadows - I feel there are better options on the highstreet for your money. But if you need an item to help meet one of the numerous E.L.F offers that they run (i.e. fee delivery with min £10), this is an option.

I have also done an EOTD featuring Mystic Moss.
Products used:

• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair


• UDPP


• No7 Mascara in Brown


• E.L.F Studio Eyeshadow in Mystic Moss across most of eye


• Urban Decay eyeshadow Virgin in inner corner

Have you tried any E.L.F eyeshadows?

Thanks

MAC Sumputous Olive and Arctic Grey

I own a small MAC collection really and I especially don't have many eyeshadow's, which I'm going to try to work on this year. But I wanted to show you two of my favourite MAC eyeshadows, the first is Arctic Grey which is from an MAC Chill (an old collection 2009 I think) and the second is a Veluxe Pearl in Sumptuous Olive,I say they are my favourites but as with my other MAC eyeshadow's that I own I tend to only use for special occasions or nights out. Sumputous Olive is a lovely metallic khaki, as with all MAC eyeshadows it is very pigmented and applies lovely. I decided to show you a eye look using sumptuous olive,

I have used my Next Cashmere palete for eye base, MAC sumptuous Olive, Barry M in Old Gold 24, Collection 2000 Mascara in Brown. This is a look that I have used before on nights out as I like the darken green golden effect.

Now Arctic Grey is from an old MAC collection, I think it was MAC Chill, and I had picked this up from The Cosmectic Company at Bicester Village.

This was a colour that fits quite nicely into my eye collection and again is super easy for me to wear. I also so think at the time there wasn't many other things I liked at The Cosmectic Store, I hate leaving there with nothing! bUt I really liked this shadow it's a great shimmery grey and as with the MAC shadows I have tried its really pigemented.

For those who don't know The Cosmectic Company is a store that is normally in Outlet Shopping Villages and sells brand ranges at a discounted rate. You will normally find brands such as MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder etc. I think you can find the stores at the following:

Bicester Village, Bicester

Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth

Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port

Designer Outlet, York

Designer Outlet, Swindon

Junction One, Antrim

I am hopefully going to pop to Bicester shortley to get some new bits!

For the rest of my face I had used:

Lily Lolo Peepo

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair

Benefit Benetint

Collection 2000 Bronzer

Any ideas and suggestions of MAC eyeshadows I should put on my wishlist?

Thanks

MAC Peacocky & Tilt Eyeshadow

Now I know you have probably all seen pictures of MAC Peacocky around on a lot of blogs but I just wanted to show you some pics from the range and some inspiration it give me. I have to say I don't normally get drawn into the looks that MAC does, though I am very tempted by Peacocky. Now to see more of the range and some swatches check out Temptalia, and Karla Sugar.

The colours are lovely and rich, I love the green, blue and purple tones within the collection and the choice of lip glosses.But after seeing the collection it made me think of an eyeshadow I have from MAC called Tilt.

It is a shimmery blue with a green/gold reflection to it, I have actually had this for quite a while but I don't tend to use it very much. As you can see from the swatches below it is quite sheer, so I tend to wear it with other colours.

I have done a FOTD using MAC Tilt and my Sleek Sparkle Palette.

I might try this look again for a night out I have planned soon as I do like the navy tone to the eye look, but I think I need to work on it some more. And I am going to take a look at the eyeshadows that are being released for Peacocky, as I am drawn to Dandizette, Noir Plum, Ego, Unflappable and Centre Stage from the Mega Metal Shadows.

I also tried out some other looks using my Cosmopolitan Lookbook and Sleek Palette, using some of the darker shades available in both palettes

Are you a fan of MAC Collections? Any items on your wish list?

17 Starry Eyes trio in Starstruck

So both me and K have been on a bit of a winning streak at the moment with giveaways - very weird but obviously amazing at the same time.

My most recent win was a 17 starry eye trio in Starstruck.




I actually don't own a single eye shadow from 17 and I'm not really sure why as I love the range.

The colours in the pack are gorgeous!




and perfect for a smokey eye!

Weirdly never used a pink before - never convinced it would look right, but I LOVE it!!

They blend in really well and are just a great little set to have in your collection.




Ve been using this regularly over the Xmas period.

They're around £4.99 from Boots and come in a number of different shades.

Lx


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

GOSH Grey/Brown Glamorous Eye Shadow

I just wanted to do a quick post on a fave eyeshadow of mine from GOSH, I had picked mine up from Superdrug for £4.99 (I think). The colour I got was 14 Gray Brown Glamorous Shadow.

This has become an everyday staple for me at the moment it is very easy to wear. As you can see from the swatch below it is not very dark but has a nice shimmer to the finish. I will quite happily wear it in the day or blended with darker colour at night.

I find the colour very similar to a taupe I like in my Cupcake Too Faced palette see here. So this is a good alternative for me to use as it looks like Too Faced have discontinued the palette. I do like it when you can find cheap dupe for products you like.

I don't think the GOSH product are particularly cheaper in Superdrug, especially compared to some of the brands they stock, but the choice is great, the packaging is also nice on their products.

This is my only purchase from the range but I have been looking at other items, have you tried anything? if so do you have any recommendations.

The Body Shop - Shimmer Cube in Ice Cool Eyes

I don't get all that much makeup from The Body Shop, and I think the only explanation is the price. I like the products a lot, but that's it really, I 'LIKE' them - I'm just never wowed.

However saying that, I have been eyeing up their Shimmer Cubes for sometime, with the Ice Cool Eyes being my favourite. But once again the only thing that was off putting was the price, at £16.00 its was just too much for 4 eye shadows.

Luckily they do have good sales, so I picked this up over the summer for £8.00, not cheap but a lot more reasonable. (Current £5.00 online).

The colours just looked fab and right up my street, and I loved the fact that all the colours have separate lids - AMAZING and very portable. The colours included are a Pearly White, Precious Pink, Green Shimmer and Silver Sparkle.

Overall I love the colours - I like to keep things very neutral for work so these are perfect. The colour pay off is good and I think the pictures below have really picked up the colours well. I did have to do a few swaps to get a good swatch of the white, but I think that can be forgiven. I usually apply over UDPP so its not a problem as this really helps to pick the colour up (I would add in relation to eyeshadow primer, that I have used these without and they stay quite well - only minimal creases after a 10 hour day)

(Flash)

(No flash)

L-R - Shade 3 Green Shimmer, Shade 2 Precious Pink, Shade 1 Pearly White, Shade 4 Silver Sparkle

Verdict - Definitely a Body Shop product I love and would highly recommend checking them out.

Frontcover Mermaid Dreams

I brought this a couple of months ago but never got around to swatching it and doing a review. I'm assuming most people are familiar with Frontcover products and if your not they can be picked in most Boots stores or purchased directly from Frontcover's website (although note that you are then sent through to bodycare2000.com). They're not the cheapest palettes out there - roughly around £25.00 to £30.00 for the large palettes and around £8.00 for the smaller ones, but they are definitely worth a look. I picked mine up from Boots when it was on half-price for £12.50.

I think if you are familiar with Frontcover, most people have seen the Rainbow eyes - which is a fantastic mix of colours and types of eyeshadows - from iridescent to velvety pressed. Even though its is gorgeous, its just not for me. There are far too many colours that I just wouldn't wear, so for £30.00 it would be a complete waste of money. So anyway whilst having a look at what else Frontcover had, I stumbled upon Mermaid Dream - a gorgeous palettes of varying greens and blues, and mixes of gold and silver. Just absolutely perfect for me!

In total there is 20 eyeshadows - which are all iridescent, a brush and blender applicator and Frontcover's Shadowline included in the set.

Top two lines

Bottom two lines



The top lines were a bit harder to swatch, but I wanted to show you just how pigmented the colours were without primer. However I do use them with a primer.

Overall I love all the shades - however I have to admit that the Baked bronze will probably be the least used, as I don't tend to wear many bronze shades as eyeshadows. I never like the end result with my freckles, red hair and pale skin tone. The most used so far have been the plunge pool, glaze, sparkle, fern and comino - I find that they really compliment my skin tone perfectly.


Have to admit however that I've not really used the applicator, but that's mainly due to using my own brushes that I've had a while and like. Its not bad but I just prefer the end product with my own brushes.

Finally the set also has the Frontcover Shadowline included. This is gel type product that turns any eyeshadows into a eyeliner.

I've shown below the effect on one of the darker and lighter shades in the set.



I actually think this is a great idea. All you need to do is swirl the end in the shadow and off you go. Whats also great is after you've done you can stick it straight back into the tub and its ready to use next time with a different colour - no need to clean! When I'm applying I tend to give it a bit of a swirl on my hand, just to remove the excessive and then another swirl before I put it back - just once again to get rid of any excessive.


This can also be used to intensive any of the colours by making a paste with any of the eyeshadows on the back of your hand and then apply (you can see in the pictures above that its really does intensive the colours). I haven't tried it this way as I haven't really felt the need, as I feel that the colours are strong enough already but its an option.