September: The Good and The Bad

I cannot believe September is already over and that it's only 11 week away until Christmas, time as literally flown by. I've been loving quite a lot this month and I've been enjoying wearing darker color more fitting for the Autumn.

The Good

Creme de La Mer - I know Nivea Creme supposed to be similar and they do both moisturise really well but the La Mer version as the added benefit of making my skin look radiant and fades acne scars.
Revlon Colorstay in Buff - The best drugstore foundation I've ever tried, similar to MAC Studio Fix Fluid but better cause it doesn't break me out and as a nicer smell.
MAC Eye Shadows in Satin Taupe and Shroom - When I'm pushed for time I'll use Satin Taupe all over the lid and Shroom as an highlight, it's simple but effective and the look I get the most compliments on.
L'Oreal Lash Serum - I've only been using this for just over a week and I feel my lashes are looking a little fuller, might just be my imagination tough.
Urban Decay Eye Lash Primer Potion - Hands Down the best lash primer I've ever used, it makes my lashes look longer and fuller and it doesn't dry them out.
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black - I wish I had discovered this sooner, this combined with the above lash primer gives the most amazing false lash effect.
Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Katie - I'm surprised how much I love this, it's a very soft pale pink and it gives me the perfect flush of color on the cheeks.
By Terry Baume De Rose - When I originally bought this I thought it was nice but too expensive however I've found myself using this over any other lip treatment and I will be re-purchasing the second it runs out.
Illamasqua Lipstick in Avenge - This is part of the new Dystopia collection and it's the brightest neon pink in existence, I absolutely adore it.
Revlon Super lustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow - Fabulous pink based red that's very wearable and the lasting power is better than MAC.
Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Rouse - I've been reaching for this non stop, it's perfect on it own for a sheer pink tint but it also looks amazing over pink and red lipstick.
MAC Cremesheen Glass in Partial To Pink & Petite Indulgance - I hated these glosses when they first came out but for some reason I love them now, they are light and not sticky and feel really moisturising on the lips.
Nails Inc The Hills Collection in Rodeo Drive - The most gorgeous dark teal shade that I've worn non stop for the past couple of weeks.

The Bad

Urban Decay Primer Potion - Going back to UDPP as made me realise I much prefer Too Faced Shadow Insurance as it makes eye shadow go on a lot smoother. UDPP is so drying and it makes any color you put on top of it dull and flat.
Facial Cleanser - I've got a few on the go at the moment but I'm finding them all to harsh and drying.

Haul Time!

I'm supposed to be doing project 10 pan however because I know I'll be picking some stuff up from MAC Style Black I'm not taking it very seriously.

I promise once Thursday is over I'm putting myself on a make-up no-buy for the whole month, in addition to what I got today I waiting on a Body Shop and a Rouge Bunny Rouge order but that will be it.



Lush Big Shampoo - I've had this before and I liked the volume and shine it gave my hair.
Lush Vanilla In The Mist Soap - smells like a vanilla latte.
Lush Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar - I thought I'd give this one a try over my usual New Shampoo Bar.
Lush Celestial Moisturiser Sample - my face as been terribly dry and irritated so I'm gonna try this and see what it does for me.
The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist - to keep in my bag as a quick burst of moisture during the day.
The Body Shop Strawberry and Cocoa Butter Body Butters - I like the little mini one as they are good for keeping in my bag (and because I never finish a large pot) and they are currently on buy one get one half price.
The Body Shop samples of Love Etc... perfume and the Aloe day and night creams.



Stocked up on a few essentials (okay I could have done without them) while Boots still as their 3for2 offer.
L'oreal Lash Serum
L'Oreal Double Extension Renewal Serum Mascara
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo, conditioner and mask.
Maybelline Color Sensational in Coral Pop.
Maybelline Superstay 18 Hour Wear in #425 Power Peach.
Maybelline Superstay Power Gloss in Satin Glow.



By Terry Palette in Lame Emerald - beautiful palette but expensive.
EOS Organic Lip Sphere in Honeysuckle/Honey Dew - 100% natural and 95% organic, I'm impressed.



NARS Douceurs de Paris Palette - absolutely gorgeous and all of the colors are very wearable.
NARS Mekong Shadow Single - I've wanted this since I first saw it but have been forgetting to pick it up when I've been at a counter.
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Gobi, they originally matched with the shade Mont Blanc but it was to pink this one is yellow and matches me perfect.

My first FOTD!

I would have done these sooner but I'm photo phobic and never look decent in any, consequently it took about a 100 snaps to actually find one I was okay with.

The first look was from last week and I was really pleased with how it turned out, IRL the eyes looked a lot more shimmery and sparkly.



Face:
Illamasqua Satin Primer SPF20
Revlon Colorstay in 150 Buff
Giorgio Armani Micro-Fil Loose Powder in 1
Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Katie

Eyes:
UDPP
MAC Shadestick in Sharkskin
Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Static
Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Android
Illamasqua Powder Eye Shadow in Machine
Urban Decay Lash Primer Potion
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black
Anastasia Brow Powder in Medium Ash

Lips:
By Terry Baume De Rose
Illamasqua Lipstick in Avenge
Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Rouse

A quick and easy look from yesterday that I do when I haven't got a lot of time.



Face:
RMK Matte Face Primer in 1
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Light 2 Mont Blanc
NARS Powder Blusher in Sin

Eyes:
UDPP
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow Liner in Skinny Jeans
MAC Satin Taupe
MAC Next To Nothing
L'Oreal Teleascopic Explosion Mascara

Lips:
MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Creme Cup

Latest Haul

This will be my last haul till MAC's Style Black collection which I'm super excited about.
I've put myself on Project 10 Pan but to be honest I'll be cheating if I haven't finished it in time for Style Black's release which I believe is the 1st of October, so far I've finished one product, lame I know.
I'm also thinking of doing a blog sale, I have tons of make-up (mainly MAC) which as barely been used and I'm sick of seeing it lying around, quite a bit of it is LE or hard to find, everyone let me know if you think I should.

Boots as a 3for2 deal on all of their cosmetics at the moment so I picked up a few things I had been meaning to try for a while.



Revlon Colorstay in 150 Buff, wish I had tried this sooner, fab inexpensive foundation.
L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss, perfect for when your in a rush as it's easy to get a steady line.
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black, I actually bought 3 of these. It actually does give a false lash effect and it does it better than YSL Faux Cils.
Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout, nice matte lipstick that doesn't dry out my lips.
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Va Va Violet, the color to be seen in this Autumn/Winter and a cheaper dupe of MAC's Faultlessly F/W.
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries In The Snow, a gorgeous red with a pink undertone, very wearable but at the same time very glamorous.
L'Oreal Renewal Lash Serum, I've only been using this for about a week and I feel my lashes look fuller already just make sure you don't get the product in your eye (like I did) cause it will sting like nothing else.



NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Light 2 Mont Blanc, not sure I've been matched correctly with this one. I have a yellow to neutral complexion and this shade is pink based and while it looked good under the department store lights I find in natural daylight I look a little flushed.

Illamasqua Haul

I placed two separate order with Illamasqua, one for items I've had on my wish list for a while and the other for the Dystopya collection when it became available. I've had them for a couple of weeks now so I know I'm late posting this but I haven't had the time.
While I love most of the items I ordered, I have issues with the pigmentation of the eye shadow, they just won't stick to my skin and they go on patchy and I've tried every base and primer I own.
Same problems with the new pure pigments, I get terrible fallout and the pigmentation is poor however I can just about get those to work by applying a MAC Cream Color Base first and then patting the pure pigment on top, still it requires extra time and effort in the morning that I haven't got.
What I'm most disappointed in is I contacted Illamasqua about this issue and they never got back to me which is kinda bad, I spent quite a bit with them the past couple of months and their products aren't cheap, I expect intense color payoff not a sheer wash of color.
I might give them a couple more days and resend the e-mail in case they didn't get it.

On to the actual haul then:



Powder Blusher in Katie
Cream Blusher in Sob
Cream Eye Shadow in Touch
Sealing Gel
Eye Liner Cake in Mislead
Pure Pigment in Furore
Lipstick in Nubile
Lipstick in Resist
Illuminator in Halcyon
Sheer Lipgloss in Rouse
Intense Lipgloss in Fierce (OMG this stuff is amazing)



Powder Eye Shadow in Matter
Powder Eye Shadow in Synth
Satin Primer + SPF20
Cream Foundation in CF135
Pure Pigment in Android
Pure Pigment in Static
Lipstick in Avenge

MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics,Nail TrendF/W09, Flirt With Fall & In High Def

For the past few month all MAC as done is dissapoint me. Every collection they have released as lacked originality on both the products and promo images, nothing seems to grab my attention and I don't get excited about the new releases anymore.

The 4 new latest collections are no acception and out of the 4 things I bought I'm regretting 3.

Make-Up Art Cosmetics - an incredibly large collection and the one that I hated the most, this one as been hyped up for month and for me it was a complete let down, a lot of the product just felt cheap and lacked pigmentation others were just plain boring.
The eye shadow quads are nice but nothing special, if your new to MAC they are a good investment as they are cheaper than buying 4 single shadows, In The Gallery
(the purple one) was my favourite but I have tons of similar colors so I passed.
The individual eye shadows have poor pigmentation and appear dusty, I have Violet Trance and Haunting from previous releases and never reach for them, the Technakohl Liners just look awful to me and I'd rather stick to my Urban Decay 24/7 pencils.
The lip products for me were just boring and safe and same goes for the cheek products.
The only thing that intrested me were the glitters and the pigments. I loved the look of the glitters, especially the Fuchsia and the Gold but I didn't get them, I very rerely use glitter so getting a full jar of those 2 would be a complete waste of money plus they aren't eye safe.
I got 3 of the pigments; Cocomotion which is a beautiful dirty gold shade and very wearable, Push The Edge which is a deep violet/purple shade and Brash & Bold which is a pink based red. Now while I actually do love Push The Edge and Brash & Bold I know I will never use them up as a little of these two goes a long way so I am regretting buying them, Cocomotion on the other hand will get a lot of use and it's the one item everyone should get.

Nail Trend F/W09 - not much to say about this one as I hete the formulation of MAC polishes as I find they go on streaky and chip easily. Cool Reserve is really pretty (and now sold out) but not worth the money so I will be looking for a dupe.

Flirt With Fall - a collection dedicated to false lashes none of which are very wearable. I like my fake lashes to look somewhat natural, full but a reasonable lenght, these were just to over the top for me so I passed.

In High Def - the nicest collection out of the 4, well for me anyways. Yes it's mainly made up of permanent products but those products certainly don't dissapoint, I absolutely love the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural face powder, Face & Body foundation is a fantastic product if you can find the right shade and I love both my 187 and 188 for applying cream blusher.
The lipsticks are the only limited edition products of this collection and I actually did like 3 of the 4 but only got Close To Real which I now also regret, not because I don't like it but more because it actually resembles GOSH Darling and I have enough back-ups of that to last me a while.

I'm now a Brunette!

I no longer have red hair and I can say I'm much more happier with it being dark, the red was visably fading within two washes and the maintanance was too much.
It turned out darker than I anticipated but I'm actually glad it did, I think it really suits me, it matches my eyebrows and I can wear pretty much any color without worrying about it clashing.

My old copper red hair:



My new shiny dark chocolate brown hair:

Illamasqua Dystopia Bloggers Event

I know I'm a week late on this one and I'm very sorry, I've just been really stressed out at work and haven't had time to blog.
I'm sure you've all read about it on every other beauty blog so I'm not gonna ramble on for too long and I also forgot to bring my camera to the event so I have no pictures to show you.

The event took place at Ithaca Bar in Manchester, I got there a little to early and quite damp as it had started to rain outside and it took me a while to find the place (I walked past it 3 times). The decor of the place fitted in well with the Dystopia collection, very dark and edgy and most bloggers were already seated and playing with the new products.
They spoiled us with delicious canapes of sushi, satay skewers and tempura vegetables and the funkiest looking cocktails that were also delicious but very strong.
We watched a video presentation about the new collection followed by a short speech from Alex Box, I think, I couldn't really see properly as I'm short and there were a lot of taller people in front of me.
We then got introduced to a woman called Sylvia Lancaster, the mother of Sophie Lancaster who together with her boyfriend got beaten up for being a goth and later died because of her injuries.
She explained to us all what happened the night of the attack and how she set up The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and what it does.
I just can't believe how strong Sylvia is, it's hard enough to loose someone the normal "natural causes" way but the have someone taken away from you by selfish thugs and then have to live with it must be awful.
Illamasqua actually supports Sophie's charity by selling a Medium Pencil in Sophie and the S.O.P.H.I.E. Wrist Bands which stands for Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere.
After that Alex Box got to work on Mizz Worthy and created a fantastic smoky look on her, I was fascinated by the way she did her brows, they were amazing.
We were then given our goody bags which included one item from Dystopia (I got Machine eyeshadow) a poster and postcard a S.O.P.H.I.E. wrist band and the £20 to go towards travel expenses.



I made my way back to the train station with a bunch of other bloggers including Olivia from Olivia Cosmetics who happens to live in the same town as me.
Thank you Illamasqua for putting on this event.

Huge Collective Haul.

I'm sorry I haven't posted in the last week and half but I've been really stressed out at work and haven't been in the mood to do so, I still have to blog about the Illamasqua Dystopia event.
I've been spending again but in my defense most of this stuff as been bought with my staff discount so it's not that bad really, lol.

Yves Saint Laurent



Rouge Volupte #19 Frivolous Pink, apparently the more wearable version of Lingerie Pink, for me it nothing alike but still very pretty.
Rouge Volupte #2 Sensual Silk, a nice nude cream in the tube but orange on my lips, not a fan.
Both of these were FREE! cause they were bought with Boots Advantage points.#

MAC



Pigment in Brash & Bold, a bright pink based red which is lovely but not essential.
Pigment in Push The Edge, a dark purple with a slight pink shimmer.
Pigment in Cocomotion, a very wearable shimmery dirty gold shade and a must have.
Liptick in Close To Real, another basic nude peachy pink.
Eye Shadows in Brule, Bisque, Wedge,Quarry and Swiss Chocolate to replicate the "Twilight" look.

Benefit



Lipgloss in Zone Out, a soft pale shimmery gold shade,lovely balmy formula and great sweet fruity scent.
Silky Finish Lipstick in Good To Go, another one of those "Twilight" items this one being Bella's lipstick.
Erase Paste in shade 1 Fair, haven't tried this yet but it's a brightening concealer for the under eye.

Urban Decay



I haven't tried these yet (apart from testing them on the back of my hand in store0 and I've read reviews since buying the products and some may go back.
Lash Primer Potion
Lip Primer Potion
Pore Perfecting Primer Potion
Brightening Primer Potion
Lipstick in Confession
Lipstick in Naked

I've also bought some more Illamasqua goodies but they deserve a post of their own.

Zuneta Model Search 2010

Zuneta have launched their model search to look for seven gorgeous women of all ethnicities to become the new faces of Zuneta.com in 2010.

Entering is easy, simply send 3 images (a face shot, full lenght shot and one for luck) to modelsearch@zuneta.com. A short paragraph of 50-100 words about yourself is also needed just to let people know about your personality. Zuneta will then create your profile and send you the link so that you can get your friend to vote.

You can check out more info at http://modelsearch.zuneta.com/

Changing Haircolor... Again!

I dye my hair a lot, in the past year it's been light brown, dark brown, brown with highlights, caramel, blonde with higlights, bleach blonde, natural red, bright cherry red and my current color copper red.
While I love the red it's a pain to maintain, I can have it dyed one week and it will have faded the next and let me tell you faded red hair aint pretty.
I also find I clash with certain colors, baby pinks in particular which means my beloved YSL Lingerie Pink lipstick sits unused.
So I have an hair appointment tommorow to change my hair to a cool deep chocolate brown shade, it will be a nice change for the colder months and it won't fade all that much, best of all I can wear my pinks again.

Tag-10 Random Facts

I got tagged by the lovely Visionary Beauty to do a 10 random facts tag.

1. I was born in Italy and lived there until I was 13 then I moved to the UK.
2. I can't swim! Actually I can't even float, so water and me = drowning.
3. I'm 25 yars old but people think I'm a lot younger.
4. My natural haircolor is dark blond but it's been dyed red for the past few month and despite the roots and eyebrows not matching people think it's natural.
5. My favourite movie of all time is Twilight.
6. I absolutely hate peppers, they are the vegatable from hell.
7. I'm a coffee addict and Starbucks makes my favourite which is a Caramel Macchiato.
8. I hate people who lie, cheat and steal.
9. My favourite place to go on holiday is Florida.
10. I don't drive and I've never even had one lesson.

I tag all of my followers.