Makeup

Beauty Christmas Crackers 2014

- Vicki 5 Comments

A slightly different take on the traditional Christmas Crackers. It seems each year more beauty companies are releasing Beauty Christmas Crackers and I am all for them, if I had the cash I would be purchasing Jo Malone Crackers for all my nearest & dearest.

Budget Friendly Beauty Crackers

1. Montagne Jeunesse Christmas Cracker £4.99 – You get a selection of 6 Montagne Face Masks, I have tried quite a few masks from this brand & never been disappointed.

2. Cowshed Christmas Cracker £10.00 – This cracker has a 50ml Cow Herb hand cream & 12ml Lippy Cow lip balm. The perfect Winter duo.

3. Anatomicals Smacker in a Cracker £4.50 – You get a Minty tingling lip balm and Breath freshener so its ideal if you’re hoping to kiss someone under the mistletoe this Christmas.

4. Molton Brown Pink Pepperpod Christmas Cracker  £20.00 – This cracker is full of  body pampering products including Pink Pepperpod Replenishing Hand Cream, 40m, Pink Pepperpod Body Wash, 50m and Pink Pepperpod Nourishing Body Lotion, 50ml. So this is a little slice of luxury for only £20.

5. N07 Christmas Cracker Selection £14.00 – You get 6 crackers and inside them are a selection of mini N07 products, including nail polish and skincare. So these are great value for money at £14 for 6 crackers.

6. Philip Kingsley Body & Volume Cracker £10.00 – This is a great one for hair care fanatics. You get 3 minis and they include the very popular Elasticizer, 40m, Body Building Shampoo, 20ml and Body Building Conditioner, 20ml.

7. This Works Miracle Cracker £10.00 – This has a mini bottle of their best selling Deep Sleep Body Therapy Spray 10ml. Ideal for getting a good nights sleep post Christmas party.

 

High end Beauty Crackers

1. Harvey Nichol’s Christmas Cracker Set £50.00 – This is a set of 6 luxurious crackers, they contain an assortment of extravagant beauty treats. Including, ESPA Pro Serum 8ml, Bliss Energizing Mask 10ml, bareMinerals ‘Inspiration’ Ready Eyeshadow Duo 1g, Prada Candy Florale Eau de Toilette 7ml, Laura Mercier Lip Glacé 6ml and Deborah Lippmann Nail Varnish 8ml. So these really are the ultimate beauty addicts dream crackers.

2. OPI 6 Piece Christmas Cracker Collection £22.00 – One for the nail polish fans & OPI is such a well loved brand that it would make the perfect stocking filler for any beauty lover. This cracker includes, Avoplex Lotion, Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Oil, Unfrost My Heart Nail Lacquer in silver foil. Love is Hot and Coal Nail Lacquer in brown shimmer, Cinnamon Sweet Nail Lacquer in red crème and a mini crystal file. This is one big cracker packed full of nail treats.

3. Lancome Christmas Crackers £54.00 – You get a box of 6 Lancome Crackers which contains premium Lancome including Hypnose Volume Mascara, Le Crayon Khol Eyeliner, Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, Lip Lover, L’absolue lipstick and Bi-Facil Eye Make Up Remover. So a great mixture of products & many of their best sellers.

4. Clarins Christmas Crackers £39.00 – This is a set of 6 crackers and they contain a lovely selection of luxury Clarins skincare and makeup including their Wonder Perfect Mascara 3ml, Gentle Refiner 30ml, Beauty Flash Balm 30m and Hand and Nail Treatment Cream 30ml.

5. The Best of Space NK Crackers £48 – A luxe spin on traditional crackers, our box of six, each contain a hidden beauty treasure. Which includes a Rococo Nail Polish, Oribe Supershine Hair Cream, Life NK Body Wash, Laura Mercier Primer, Caudalíe Beauty Elixir or Lipstick Queen Gloss.

6. Festive Favourites Cracker £25.00 – This cracker contains a trio Christmas party essentials. Including, Lipstick Queen’s Nude Metal Lipstick, Rococo’s Pro Glass Nail File and a Molten Metallic Rococo Nail Polish.

7. Jo Malone Christmas Cracker – This contains 3 mini but luxurious best selling products from Jo Malone including Lime Basil and Mandarin cologne 9ml, Blackberry and Bay body and hand wash 15ml and a Nectarine Blossom and Honey body créme 15ml.

So there you have it, some of the best value & most luxurious Beauty Christmas Crackers for 2014. I have to say I like the sound of the Jo Malone one, it looks so pretty & I adore all three of the scents included. I also really like the No7 ones & think they are such good value.

Have you bought any Beauty Crackers this year, I don’t have the budget for luxury but I might treat the ladies in my life to the No7 ones & pop one cracker in their stockings.

Delving In To My Sample Stash #3

- Vicki 8 Comments

Makeup Samples

ESPA ProSerum – I have been spending quite a few weeks in Scotland since Summer & I always like to have my favourite serum with me, this ESPA one ticks all the boxes. Its hydrating, calming and helps even skin tone. I love the scent too, it smells like a high end spa. This is ideal for this time of year when my skin gets dry & looks a little dull. Its a staple in my travel makeup bag.

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream* This is a popular Asian skincare brand & I’ve read so many great reviews of this BB Cream. I’ve always wanted to try it. I’ve been using this over the past couple of weeks & really like it. I like my base to give a light coverage and provide a touch of colour so my complexion looks bright & even. This BB Cream gives me exactly that, its a lovely creamy consistency which I found very easy to blend, I did lightly powder it but I don’t think thats 100% necessary. This BB Cream covers all bases it provides a SPF30, protects against free radicals, conceals imperfections & contains hyluronic acid for all day hydration. So you’re getting a lovely BB Cream with the added skincare benefits which Asian brands are renowned for.

Benefit Stay Don’t Stray – This is a dual action eye primer so not only will it keep your eyeshadow in place but you can use it under the eye to keep your concealer put all day long and it works a treat! I love it that much I will be purchasing the full size & can’t believe I have never heard of this until now. It gives my eyelids an even colour & is the perfect base on which to apply eyeshadow. Its love.

Burt’s Bees Hand Salve – Not a massive fan of this I have to say, I did initially like it but the more I use it the less I like it & that pains me to write because Burt’s Bees is normally very reliable. I much prefer a hand cream & find the easier to use when I’m on the go. I will use it up & have been using it on my cuticles at night to stop them drying out in the cold weather. Let me know if you like this hand salve & how you make it work for you.

Makeup & Skincare Samples

Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer – I’ve not used this an awful lot & struggle to find a primer which doesn’t make my skin greasy after a couple hours of use. I like the cute spotty packaging, I will use this a few more times & then let you know if it worked well for me. 15 hours is a bold claim & I doubt very much that my makeup would stay looking flawless for 15 hours. Have you tried this? let me know if your makeup looked fresh & flawless for 15 hours.

REN BB Cream – This featured in my last Sample Stash post, I’m still using it & loving it. It gives me a healthy dewy finish and it wears well without oxidising. Its not my favourite BB Cream but I do like the finish and although I wouldn’t purchase the full size I have enjoyed trying it out.

Origins Super Spot Remover – This isn’t a sample size but it fits so well on my dish & its so dinky. I really rate this as a spot treatment, it starts working right away. Its so quick and easy to apply to your blemishes. It’s instantly cooling, and can sting a little but that only lasts a few seconds, this is a targeted treatment so you only need to put it on the area where you feel a blemish coming or if you have a blemish thats already erupted. It stops blemishes from becoming too sore & angry and helps them clear up much faster too. Its a wonder gel in a tiny bottle. If you haven’t already you need to add this to your skincare arsenal.

Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream – OMG this is the BB Cream of my dreams, It gives my skin an even coverage and It gives you Broad Spectrum SPF50 protection which makes me very happy. If you like a light to medium coverage that looks natural and radiant with excellent sun protection then you will love this BB Cream. Its simple but its all I need in a base and I am a massive fan.

Lancome Rouge In Love Lipstick – This is a gorgeous mini lipstick, I haven’t tried many Lancome products but this lipstick feels comfortable and hydrating on the lips & its the softest peachy pink. Not the most Autumnal colour but I have been enjoying wearing it.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser – This is another product that was in a previous Sample Stash post, I’ve used it a couple of times & I’m not 100% in love, I’m not exactly sure what I don’t like about it. It might be that its quite thick compared to other tinted moisturisers & BB Creams. It looks really nice just after I apply it but I don’t think it wears well on my oily skin. I much prefer the Ginvera & the Kiehl’s BB Creams.

Sample Stash

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

October Beauty Purchases

- Vicki 13 Comments

Over the past few months I have made a real effort to shop my stash & use up products that are open before purchasing new ones & I’ve been doing so well. I haven’t bought much at all since the Summer & it feels great to rediscover some gems I have had in my collection all along. Although a beauty addict has to do a little shopping every now & then I’ve bought a few new products during October, I celebrated my Birthday at the beginning of the month & used a gift card to treat myself to a few things.

October Beauty Purchases

Essence Hello Autumn Eyeshadow Palette ‘Walk In The Park’ – This just had to come home with me, cute simple packaging & my perfect neutral shades. Its got it all. Autumn is my favourite season and this palette just called my name. I have used it a couple of times & the shadows are ok, a little crumbly but you can tidy up the fall out after you’ve finished. I would recommend a primer just so you get the best colour pay off. Its a nice slim palette & ideal for throwing in your makeup bag. I can’t wait to use it a little more.

Essence Studio Nails 24/7 Nail Base – I haven’t used this yet but I have an Essence topcoat that I love so I have high hopes for this & if there is one thing Essence do very very well its nail products.

Essence Nail Care Pen – I have been getting very dry nails & my cuticles are looking terrible so I’m hoping this helps hydrate & protect them. It’s enriched with Vitamin E and is meant to nourish nails & cuticle beds, so thats just what I need.

Seventeen Stay Time Concealer – This was a recommendation by HelenRamblesOn, I was after a concealer that covers blemishes without looking heavy and this has been working out great for me. It does have quite a strong sweet scent which is slightly odd but it doesn’t linger too long. The concealer is creamy and easy to blend, it gives good coverage & more importantly it stays in place, after a good few hours (not 18 as the name suggests) the areas I want to conceal are still covered & the product is still in place, so I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a budget friendly blemish concealer.

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner –  I am a big fan of liquid liner and I really like using the felt pen style nibs. I haven’t used this yet but I have swatched it & it is very black and the nib is quite thick but seems easy to use. The swatch dried down quickly on my hand & didn’t rub off until I physically washed my hands. So it seems it has good staying power. For the price, if this wears as well on my eyes as it did on my hands we might have a winner on the eyeliner front. Watch this space.

Collection Big Fake Curves Mascara – I am a Mascara junkie and I love trying new ones. Over the past couple of months I have used up quite a few and so I’ve been on the look out for a new one & I liked the sound of this Collection offering. Who doesn’t want big lashes without the hassle of wearing false ones! The wand is MASSIVE but after using up my Yves Rocher & Origins Gin Zing Mascaras & really liking those (they both have big wands) I thought what the heck lets give that big wand a go. I will let you know how I get on, if you have tried this mascara let me know how you got on with it.

Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot Translucent Powder – The beauty that is Essie Button swears by this powder & her skin looks FLAWLESS, so I had to give it a go. I love my S&G Solar Powder although the cardboard packaging sucks, I was pleased to see this powder was packaged in more robust plastic compact. I have used this a few times & it might be a little early to declare my love for it, but I like the way it sits & how little product you need to set your makeup. It makes my complexion look smooth but not unnatural. Its working out very very well so far & it is the only face powder I have packed for my 3 week stay in Scotland so that must say something.

Indeed Labs Fade To Bright – I’m always on the hunt for products that promise to brighten and keep my complexion looking radiant & this calls out the big guns in that department. It comes with lots of promises in terms of improving uneven skin tone, restore luminosity & maintaining moisture levels. During winter I feel like I have dull skin & this is going to be my skin saviour (fingers crossed). I have been using it for 1 week & I like the creamy consistency although it is a serum it feels hydrating and leaves my skin smooth. I will let you know how radiant my skin looks after a few more weeks of use.

Allure Magazine – I am so happy my local WH Smith now sells Allure. I love flicking through its glossy pages & lusting after all the make up & skincare. I have it with me in Scotland & I will be reading it cover to cover.

Let me know if you have tried & tested any of my new purchases or let me know what treats you have bought lately.

 

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction

- Vicki 11 Comments
Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

Being a massive fan of the film Pulp Fiction, I was so excited to try out the Urban Decay Limited Edition Pulp Fiction Range, which was released this summer to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the film (can’t believe it has been 20 years). Never have I been more excited to review a collection. It’s gorgeous & I love (almost) every product which is unusual for me because many Ltd edition collections are often a little gimmicky or out there in terms of colours & after you buy them they’re put into your collection and then overlooked, but I can see this collection being reached for a lot!

Pulp Fiction Makeup by Urban Decay

It’s a 6 piece collection & the packaging is black & yellow in keeping with the movie poster  (it’s so iconic). The attention to detail on the packaging is so on point, and Urban Decay have added lots of fun touches that die hard Pulp Fiction fabs will appreciate. I know I won’t be able to throw it away!

The collection features a 5 Shadow Palette, Revolution Lipstick, 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil, Nail Varnish and a Heavy Metal Glitter Liner. The idea is that you use the collection to create your own take on the iconic Miss Mia Wallace look, using the handy step by step card that you get in the eyeshadow palette.

Mia Wallace Get The Look

UD Pulp Fiction Palette

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

The Pulp Fiction Palette*  £17.50 comes in black & yellow packaging & has the famous Ezekiel passage on the top written in red. The packaging is cardboard, but it’s very sturdy, and it comes with a large mirror in the lid. This palette has 5 shadows & they’re a mixture of mattes & satin finishes. This palette features 3 new colours from Urban Decay.

  • Righteous – Light cream matte
  • Tyranny  – Warm brown matte
  • Vengeance – Deep taupe brown matte
  • Furious – Pearly white satin
  • Anger – Black satin with a hint of sparkle

The shadows are pigmented & easy to blend, they are all beautiful and colours that I would pick out of my collection to wear all the time. I think they’re also perfect colours for Autumn, I love wearing a warm brown smokey eye. The only shade in this palette that I didn’t like too much was Anger, I thought it was more of a grey than a black, and it was a little chalky and harder to work with. You also get a double ended brush in the palette & I usually throw away the brushes you get free, but I used this one & it’s great for taking the shadow under the eye & I even packed the colour on to the lid using it, it wasn’t great at blending but if you needed to you could make it work & I love that its red.

Urvan Decay Mrs Mia Wallace Lipstick

Mrs Mia Wallace Lipstick Swatch

The Mrs Mia Wallace Revolution Lipstick* £15.00 This lipstick is utterly gorgeous & it’s my favourite piece from the whole Pulp Fiction Collection. It’s a deep cherry red shade with a beautiful glossy finish. This colour is so rich on the lips, and it feels comfortable to wear. If you have tried any of the Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks, you will know how creamy and pigmented they are & this one doesn’t disappoint.

This colour is such a good match to the lipstick Mrs Mia Wallace wears in the film, and I felt a little badass wearing it. It’s quite dark and not something I would normally wear, but I fell in love with the colour & I know I will get so much wear from it. I do need a little practise applying it & I’m not that skilled in applying lip pencil as you can see in the photos below, but you can get an idea of how bold & vibrant the colour is. Also, it applies smoothly on your lips, and it lasted a good 6 hours on me, which I was so pleased with.

Mrs Mia Wallace 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil* £13.50 – I only have one other lip pencil so they’re not something I tend to use but the Mrs Mia Wallace lipstick is very pigmented & I think in order to get a good finish & stop it bleeding throughout the day the lip pencil is a must & they make a good duo. The liner is quite creamy but easy to use & although I need more practise applying it, I do love the colour and think it made a big difference to how long the lipstick lasted. It’s a matte finish & I would describe it as a blood-red.

Mrs Mia Wallace Nail Colour* £10.00 the packaging on the nail polish is cool, it has a skull on the lid & the colour is coordinated with the lipstick and is a gorgeous deep cherry red shade with a touch of shimmer. It wears really well on my nails & I had it on for 5 days before taking it off. The brush is nice, and it applied the polish really evenly and despite it being a dark shade I managed to apply it with minimal mess. A gorgeous polish, but I wouldn’t say a must-have unless you’re a nail polish addict.

Urban Decay Mrs Mia Wallace Nail Colour

Mrs Mia Wallace Nail Polish

Gunmetal Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner* £14.00 – I’ve tried a few of these glitter liners over the years & I love the brush as it is so easy to use & you can achieve a thin precise line or build it up to create a more dramatic look. The glitter doesn’t transfer, once it has dried it stays in place until you remove it. This has silver and black glitter and looks great on, although I’m not too sure it is in keeping with the Pulp Fiction Mia Wallace look, but I guess it could be a more modern take on an edgy look. I used my Urban Decay Ink For Eyes in this look.

UD Pulp Fiction

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction

Urban Decay Mia Wallace

20th Anniversary UD Pulp Fiction Collection

Let me know if you have tried anything from this Pulp Fiction collection.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However, if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.