ZOEVA The Spectrum Collection

New Zoeva Eyeshadow Palette

Zoeva have just released The Spectrum Collection and it almost took my breath away, it’s that beautiful. The packaging is sleek, slim and luxurious whilst the products are equally great quality and the two palettes I’ve tried from this collection are amongst the best products I’ve ever used. Yes they’re that good!

The Spectrum Collection is made up of three eyeshadow palettes (each containing 15 shades) – Warm Spectrum, Nude Spectrum, Cool Spectrum as well as three blush palettes (each containing 4 shades) Pink Spectrum, Nude Spectrum, Coral Spectrum.

New Zoeva Eyeshadow Palette

Zoeva Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette* £28.50

This without a doubt is one of the most beautiful palettes I have ever used, the shadows are ALL perfect for me and it’s just utterly gorgeous. The palette is a mix of matt, satin, and pearl finishes, all of the shades are pigmented and are ideal for the neutral, earthy toned fans. There is a real mix of colours but the copper and browns for me are so exciting. I haven’t stopped wearing this palette since it came.

The shadows are easy to blend with minimum fall out and they have very good staying power with & without an eye primer (I’m lazy & rarely wear a primer).

Zoeva describes this palette as ‘Reminiscent of the wild breathtaking beauty of the desert, the ZOEVA Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette unveils a perfectly synchronized assortment of mesmerizing earth-toned and subtle sandy shades. Invigorated with gold, bronze and copper reflections, the iridescent hues waft shimmering effects on the lids – just like a mirage in the endlessness of the Sahara. Create luminous down to earth daytime as well as fascinating evening makeup looks, flushed by a haze of heat’.

All 15 shades in this Nude Spectrum palette are beautiful and wearable, I’ve forgotten what eyeshadow I was even using before this landed on my doorstep & I know It’s going to continue to get a lot of love.

The Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette is formulated with Vitamin E and is free from Parabens, Mineral Oil and Fragrance.

Zoeva Nude Spectrum Swatches

Zoeva Spectrum Collection

Zoeva Pink Spectrum Bush Palette* £15.00

This has made me fall head over heels in love with blush, I’d started to skip this step in favour of using just bronzer but now I can’t wait to put blusher on. This has four gorgeous pink shades ranging from a soft light pink to a much bolder, intense pink. These all need a light hand because they’re incredibly pigmented and you don’t want to go OTT.

Zoeva Pink Spectrum Blush Palette

You get a mix of satin and matte shades and as you can see all four shades are beautiful.

  • PK010 – Apricot pink nude
  • PK020 – Soft pink with peachy beige undertones.
  • PK030 – Dusky rose pink with soft mauve undertones.
  • PK040 – Pop of fuchsia pink

Zoeva describes this palette as, ‘A hymn to rosy cheeks, the ZOEVA Pink Spectrum Blush Palette is the ultimate essential for a natural-looking, radiant complexion. As fresh as morning dew, it provides a range of blossoming pink and rosy shades for a crisp appearance. The soft matte and shimmery powder formulation blends smoothly and adds a vibrant pop of colour to the cheeks that can be layered from medium to high coverage for innocently sweet to flirtatious looks’.

Zoeva Blush Quad Swatches

This is such a girly, feminine palette and the blushers give you that pretty pinch of colour, which of course you can build up to be as intense as you like. The packaging it exactly like the eyeshadow palette  – sleek, elegant and I think quite sexy. It has a rubberised finish and a magnetic close. These are the ideal size to travel with because they’re so slim and they’re that beautiful you won’t want to leave home without them.

The formulation of the blushes is enriched with vitamin E and is 100% free of parabens, mineral oils, perfume and phthalates.

Its love & I can’t recommend them highly enough. There is not a bad word to say about this collection, you must check out the collection and let me know what palettes you fall in love with.

*PR Sample

L’Oreal La Palette Nude

LOreal La Palette Nude Eyeshadows

L'Oreal La Palette Nude

I am a sucker for a palette & especially a nude palette – I purchased the L’Oréal La Palette Nude Rose first last year & although at first I thought it was a little pricey, after a few uses I realised the eyeshadows are really good quality and you get 10 shadows in each palette. I love the selection of colours in the Rose palette, they range from a light cream to more rosy shades & a gorgeous deep plum.

Then I purchased the newer L’Oréal La Palette Nude Beige earlier this year & they have both been welcome additions to my makeup stash. I hope L’Oréal release more of these, I would like to see an all Matte option, I think that would be really good.

LOreal La Palette Nude Eyeshadows

LOreal La Palette Nude Rose

Its a versatile palette and you can get create a lot of different looks with the shades, I am not normally one to reach for plums or pink tones but this palette has changed my mind. As you can see from the swatches the shadows are pigmented and apart from the first light cream colour the rest are buttery and blend like a dream. You get 6 shimmers and 4 matte colours, so a good mix for a high street palette.

The packaging is identical on both palettes and feels luxurious, its black & gold which adds to its sleek look. Although the packaging is plastic, its not flimsy or cheep looking but feels robust & shuts tight so It won’t open in your makeup bag. The palette is compact and great for travel, there is also a good size mirror too which is always handy.

La Palette Nude Beige

Although I really like the Rose palette when I heard that L’Oréal were releasing a Nude version I was so excited & I wasn’t to be disappointed. The colours are beautiful and ideal for creating a warm neutral smokey eye and although I probably have identical shades in all my other neutral palettes I really like the formula and pigmentation of these L’Oréal ones. Much like the Rose palette you get 10 shadows, 4 of which are matte & 6 are more shimmery. Its good that both palettes have very different colours in so they’re well worth investing in both.

As you can see from the swatches the colour are bold and very wearable, even the deep grey is easy to blend and isn’t chalky.I love that you get a good mix of neutral colours from taupe, gold to more copper and a lovely deep grey.

I have to say Its a neutral palette that has been getting a lot of use, I have traveled with it a few times and its been all I needed, I didn’t take any other eye shadows. As I said these palettes are so slim and perfect for travel.

L’Oréal La Palette Nude in Beige & Rose are £14.99

Benefit Birthday Treats

On the 8th of October I celebrated my 36th Birthday, I was away from home in Scotland and received some lovely gifts, cards & birthday wishes. Thank you to everyone who sent me a message, tweet, text it was very sweet of you & I had a lovely day.  I wanted to show you two presents that my brother Gary bought me and I’m so excited as I have had my eye on these since Benefit released them.

Benefit Candy Land Releases

Benefit Beauty Gift Sets 2014

These are both part of Benefits Limited Edition Christmas releases & the whole range is so cute & based on a Candy Land theme. I really wanted the blush palette and it’s even more pretty in real life.

Cheeky Sweet Spot £29.50

For the FIRST-TIME EVER, Benefit’s famous box o’ powders are all together in one cheeky sweet spot’

This cheek palette comes in a cute festive tin, not very practical for travel but still very cute and robust. It comes with 6 of their popular box o’ powders inside and also the highlighter Watt’s Up. I’m so excited because I’ve only tried two of the Benefit Boxed Powders & they’re Dallas & 10 both of which I use all the time and was pleased that neither are in this palette so I get to try 5 more blushes, a bronzer and a gorgeous highlighter. You get,

Dandilion 4g – Ballerina pink brightening face powder with a hint of shimmer

Bella Bamba 5g – Watermelon pink laced with shimmering gold undertones

Sugarbomb 6g – 4 beautiful shimmering shades of peach, soft plum, pink and rose that swirl together to create a gorgeous blush

Hoola 5g – Matte bronzer perfect for a natural sun kissed look

Coralista 5g – Warm coral blush

Rockateur 5g – Rose gold highlighting blush

Watt’s Up! 1.5g – A delicate champagne glow that will give your cheeks a luminous glow

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot

Benefit Christmas Gift

Benefit Blush Palette

Its just so pretty & I think these will sell out quickly, I’m going to get a lot of use from this palette and especially from Rockateur and Sugarbomb they’re just beautiful. Oh & if you like Bella Bamba it has been discontinued in full size so this is a great way of having it in your collection. Even the mini brush is soft and very good quality & I will save this for when I travel as its the perfect size for my makeup bag. Let me know if you have used any of the products in this palette.

Goodies a Go Go – £19.50 

This complete eye kit in a collectible tin includes our world-famous lengthening mascara, 4 long wear powder shadows and a stay-put eye primer’

Benefit Goodies a Go Go

Christmas Benefit Releases

This again is in Sweet Shop themed tin although not as festive looking as the Cheeky Sweet Spot but still so cute. This is a kit for your eyes and has four very wearable neutral eyeshadows, They’re Real Mascara and Stay Don’t Stray Eye Primer. I’m not the biggest fan of the mascara but I know someone who will love it & so I will pass it on to them. I have heard great things about the primer and look forward to testing that out. I tend to wear a primer most days as my eyeshadow always creases if I don’t use one. The long wear eyeshadows are,

Call My Buff 1.2g – Pale shell with shimmer

Thanks A Latte 1.2g – Golden brown with a metallic sheen

Gilt-y Pleasure 1.2g – A golden sand with a metallic finish

Kiss Me I’m Tipsy 1.2g – Spiced brown with a metallic finish

They all feel soft, creamy and are the perfect Autumnal shades. The They’re Real is a deluxe sample 3g & so too is the Stay Don’t Stray 2.5ml. This is a lovely set but Im still slightly more excited about the cheek kit than this one.

The whole of the Benefit Christmas range is so nice and there is something for everyone. I highly recommend the Cheek Kit & I have fallen in love with it already!

Let me know if you have either of these & how you’re finding them so far.

 

P.S Love Makeup in Primark

Budget Friendly Makeup

The big inner city Primark in Liverpool has quite a large selection of makeup from the brand P.S Love and so I thought I would buy a few products and see how they perform. The products I bought ranged in price from £1 to £2.50, so very reasonable in price. I haven’t heard or read much about this line so I bought a selection of products & colours.

Primark Makeup

Primark Lipstick

P.S Matte Long Last Lipstick £1.50 is really pretty & I would say its a pinky nude colour. It applies nicely to the lips & doesn’t feel too dry, It wears quite a long time, but it does wear off evenly after about 2-3 hours & I don’t mind having to reapply. Im sure if unlike me you don’t have the terrible habit of biting your lips this will last considerably longer on you. It does feel a little dry on my lips but I have been told that most matte formulas are a little drying, but it’s nothing that would stop me wearing it. This is the first matte lip product I have tried and I do like it, Im going to pop back in to Primark and get a few more shades. I’m very impressed with the colour & how nice this looks on my lips, it is an easy shade to wear & a perfect daytime colour. I also love the packaging, it looks much more expensive than it was. Also you can see the shade at the bottom & that is very true to the colour it swatches.

Budget Friendly Makeup Primark Lip Crayon

P.S Love Lip Gloss Crayon £1.50 – I’m a chubby lip crayon addict & I thought this nude shade would be a safe bet. Again it’s really nicely packaged and is a twist up so no sharpening needed. I would say its a caramel nude, its quite a glossy finish and applied nicely & evenly to my lips. The colour pay off is OK and it looks nice & natural on the lips. I have been wearing this over some lipsticks too and that works well. On its own its nice for adding a little colour to the lips, I wouldn’t say this lasts a great amount of time but these lip crayons are really easy & effortless to reapply. I would be interested to see if there are other shades & how pigmented they are. This smells really nice too and not minty like a lot of the other brands. This has been in my handbag for the past week & I’ve been really enjoying wearing it.

Primark Eyeliner

P.S Love Eyeliner & Pencil Sharpener 2 Pack £1.oo – I couldn’t resist these colours & have been loving experimenting with brighter colourful eyeliner. You get 2 eyeliners & a clear plastic pencil sharpener in a pack for £1, thats a complete bargain. The two colours in this pack are a teal blue & a baby blue, so very pretty. These are creamy and apply so easily, no pulling at all they just glide on & add a pop of colour. They are very pigmented and that vibrant colour lasts all day. I’m very impressed with these and think they’re great value for money. Perfect if you don’t want to spend a fortune on a bright colour you might not reach for that often.

Primark Eyeliner

Primark PS Love Makeup

P.S Love Felt Eyeliner £1.50 – I Bought this in Black as I love to wear liquid liner & these felt pen style ones are my go to option. However this was the one product that brought my haul back down to earth as I found it to be watery & hard to apply. The pigmentation was poor and it sunk in to all the lines on my eyelid. I would give this a miss, even for £1.50 save your money.

PS Love Black Liquid Liner

Primark Eyeshadows

P.S Love 8 Shade Day Palette £2.50 – This is a really well packaged palette with a big mirror inside, and eight eyeshadows of which 2 are matte and the rest are variations of shimmer / metallic. These are a little hit & miss some of the colours are really pretty but have a lot of fall out whilst other are very chalky and have no colour pay off. As a rule I would say the top row with the slightly more shimmery colours are better quality and wear OK.

If you have time to work with these, wear a primer and build up the colour you can achieve some pretty looks & for £2.50 this very well packaged palette is great for makeup newbies or people like me that are unable to walk past a palette that contains neutral colours.

There is another version of this palette with 8 Night Shades, which I’ve heard is even better and I am tempted to pop back to get that & see how it compares.

PS Love Makeup

Swatches of the bottom row – only one swipe & with no primer

PS Love Palette

Swatches of the top row – one swipe & with no primer.

Primark Nail Polish

P.S Love Nail Polish £1.00 – These have a real Butter London feel to the bottles & my word this pink shade is vibrant. It is a true hot pink neon & dries to a semi matte finish, two coats will give you an opaque colour. I am so impressed with the consistency of this polish & I had it on my nails for 3 days without chipping, I took it off to apply a different colour but It looked great & was very bright. The only downside to this polish is the smell, its very very strong, not once its on your nails but whilst you’re applying it. So if you get a headache from the smell of nail varnish this is a very very strong one.

I was very impressed with all but one of the products I bought, I thought all the products had pretty packaging and it felt and looked more expensive than it was.

The selection in Primark is quite good & if you can get to one that is selling the makeup then pick up a few products – but not the Felt Pen Eyeliner. None of the products have colour names which is a pain, but thats quite common with more budget brands.

Let me know if you have tried anything from the Primark P.S Love makeup range & if there is anything you would recommend I try.