May Favourites

Lush Eau Roma Water (toner) and Lush Fresh Farmacy (Cleanser)

I decided to talk about these products together as I feel the major improvement in my skin has been from using both- I can't credit one more than the other! Eau Roma Water is a toner designed for dry, older or sensetive skin – I have both dry and sensetive skin and I find it really refreshing. The main ingredients of lavender and rose water smell lovely too, if not somewhat herbal which I can see not everyone liking. Fresh Farmacy to me smells like... how I would expect a plain bar of soap to smell, but the magic is what it does to the skin. On the Lush website it says it 'makes a tiny bit of froth' but I find this froths up a lot which I really like. I cut a small chunk from the large piece of cleanser and rub it in my hands after wetting them with warm water and apply to the face that way as I feel it's the most sanitary way for me and generates the most froth. I find a smaller piece around 3cm wide to last me about 3 days, using it once in the morning and then in the evening. I've seen a significant difference in my skin since using these frequently – my skin feels a lot softer and I no longer have any dry patches, in fact it doesn't seem to be dry at all. I've been breaking out less frequently, and when I do it's only been one blemish at a time that cleared up in 2-3 days. Overall I'm extremely impressed and will definitely be repurchasing!

(Fresh Farmacy Cleanser)

SJP - NYC (Sarah Jessica Parker fragrance)

Pondering the perfume isles of Debenhams with no intention of purchasing a fragrance that day, I stopped to take a look at the display for this purely based on my love of Sex and the City, I'd heard that the perfume was created to capture 'the essence of Carrie Bradshaw' so it sounded right up my street.

The sales assistant nearby offered to spray some on my arm – I usually decline but I was intrigued and said ok. I then walked around the makeup counters and I seriously could not stop smelling my arm (yes this did lead to a few funny looks from fellow shoppers), so I decided to pick up the smallest 15ml size as I've been looking for a small fragrance to put in my handbag. I've used this every day since so clearly I'm going to have to go back and pick up the 60ml bottle! It's ideal for summer as it's a sweet floral with a distinct strawberry top note. I just wish this was an eau de parfum as the lasting power whilst good is not amazing.

For a more in-depth description you can always check out the website which very handily provides an overall description, top notes, middle notes and bottom notes complete with illustrations ;)

MAC Pearl Cream Colour base

I've been using this as a highlight for my cheekbones, and I seriously love it, I don't think I'll ever go back to using a powder hilighter! It gives a gorgeous natural glow that doesn't look sparkly or overly-shimmery. You don't need to use a lot of product either which is always a bonus. I've been applying this with both my fingertips and a duo fiber brush. My only issue with this is it wasn't as creamy as expected.

MAC Brun Eyeshadow

An all-rounder, it's the perfect shade for my brows and great in the crease too, this has quickly become one of my most used eyeshadows. I really do love neutral shades, a good half of my shadow collection is neutral as I find them so versatile.

Barry M Peachy Pink Lip Paint

I've been using this every day, to me it looks rather retro as it's quite a white based peach so it stands out quite a bit by itself and looks lovely paired with winged out liner. The only downside is that the formulation is quite dry so lip balm is definitely a must before application.

Fresh Lime Juice Sugar Scrub

I actually saw this on one of Kandee Johnson's latest youtube videos, though I've been using it differently to the way she applied it with a cotton pad. I squeeze my lime juice into a container, and have a seperate one for the sugar as it dissolves really quickly, I mix the 2 in my hand and exfoliate each part of my face separately – I tried mixing them together in a container but by the time I'd exfoliated half my face the sugar had mostly dissolved. This leaves my skin looking really glowing and refreshed – I alternate using this with my extra virgin olive oil sugar scrub throughout the week.

Vaseline Rosy Lips

'Lip Therapy With Rose and Almond Oil'

I'm actually on my second tin of this – I think it performs a lot better than regular Vaseline as I actually find this moisturising. I often get dry lips and this really softens them. It gives a lovely pink tint to the lips too which is good for days I don't feel like wearing a gloss or lipstick.

Dislike of the month:

Lush Ocean Salt Scrub

I feel like this is the exfoliator equivalent of a brillo pad – it's just much too abrasive for use on the face. The chunks of salt really are quite large so I can see you doing a fair bit of damage with this. For my skin type I found it to actually burn a little so I immediately washed it off and it left my skin looking blotchy, I just don't think the ingredients mix well with dry and sensitive skin: looking on the Lush website some people with similar skin types have had the same problem too. This was the product I expected to like the most and I'm sorry to say I really dislike it!

-LadyDanger
xxx

Christina Aguilera - Lady Marmalade Inspired Look

Hi Everyone,

So the weekly challenge theme on Makeup Geek is Christina Aguilera inspired, I know I've just done one for Not Myself Tonight but I really wanted to do a Lady Marmalade inspired look - I think it's safe to say I've been in awe of the makeup in this music video for a ridiculous amount of time. I think I'm a sucker for anything to do with Moulin Rouge - I'm one of those annoying people who sings along to all of the songs when you watch it... hehe.

I've come to the conclusion that I love looking at Christina's makeup looks in awe, but hate trying to re-create them, they just don't turn out the way I want them to! I thought I'd post it up anyway seeing as it took about an hour to do :)

Inspired by:

Products Used:

Face:

Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation

ELF Blush/Bronzing Duo bronzer as contour

Milani Loose Translucent Powder

Eyes:

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Black Bean
Sleek Graphite Palette - Black (satin finish not totally matte)

Milani white shadow from Domino quad.
Matte red shadow from ebay 120 palette, mixed light pinks used to blend out the red on the cheeks also.

False Lashes (top) from eBay (Seller:Glamlabel) 

L'Oreal Super Liner - Carbon Gloss

Lips:

Revlon Colourstay lipliner - Red

MAC - Lady Danger lipstick
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Black Bean blended around the outer edge.

Rhinestones are assorted sizes of Swarovski crystals left over from bedazzling my phone... haha, I like sparkly things what can I say. I don't have my nose pierced those are rhinestones too in the shape of a flower, attempting to mimic the flower shaped nose ring she wears in the video.

All this talk of Moulin Rouge really makes me want to watch it now!

-LadyDanger
xxx

Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick - Shocking Pink

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I got a little surprise in the post - about 1 or 2 months ago I entered a giveaway on Rimmel's website in which they were giving away 12000 free Colour Show Off lipsticks which I naturally forgot about after assuming I hadn't won one.

I vaguely remember Rimmel allowing you to choose which lipstick you would like if you were a winner, at this point I hadn't seen them in person so I just picked Shocking Pink  which sounded promising. It's a really deep bright pink that looks very red based on me.

It has a somewhat watermelon scent which I recognise from previous Rimmel lipsticks I've owned in the past. The thing that surprised me most has to be the consistency, I expected these to be matte and drying which is why I didn't purchase any, but in fact they're nice and creamy and leave a nice sheen on the lips.

The only downside for me is the colour as it's something I wouldn't usually wear but I think it could look gorgeous with winged liner for a night out. For day wear it's a bit stark against my pale skin - I can see it looking gorgeous on deeper skin tones :)

The pigmentation is amazing, it glides on really easily and one swipe gives colour identical to that in the tube:

(excuse the shoddy lip swatch, I just applied it quickly straight from the tube - certainly a no-no, this is definitely a colour that I would use a lip brush with).

For reference of how creamy it is my lips were slightly dry when I applied this, I didn't put lip balm on before.

Overall, I'm very impressed. I think I'll be purchasing a few colours from the range, Smaira has a gorgeous  swatch of Kiss Me which I will be sure to pick up after seeing her pictures of it!

-LadyDanger

xxx

Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight Inspired Makeup

Hey everyone,

I was unsure whether to post this as it isn't entirely true to the look she's wearing in the video for Not Myself Tonight, so it's very much an interpretation.

The look I was inspired by isn't shown that much in the video, I think you only see it about 3 times?

The main differences are probably with the eyes, in the video Christina doesn't have her waterline lined, just her lower lashline which seems to stop 3/4 along her eye - I lined my waterline and winged out the inner corner slightly. I also made the black cut crease a lot more dramatic. 

Products Used:

Face:

Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation

ELF Blush/Bronzing Duo bronzer as contour

Milani Loose Translucent Powder

Eyes:

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk

Milani white shadow from Domino quad.

Matte Black Shadow from Sleek Storm palette

False Lashes top & bottom from eBay (Seller:Glamlabel) 

Lancome Black khol pencil

L'Oreal Super Liner - Carbon Gloss

Lips:

Revlon Colourstay lipliner - Red

MAC - Lady Danger lipstick

The spiky lashes I cut out individually  from black paper and curled using a pair of scissors - you know like how you make ribbon curly when you wrap up presents? That's the best way I can describe it haha. I do advise if you try this be very careful, as they're so long they did cause some irritation. 

I hope you like it despite all the changes!

-Rachel 

xxx

NOTD - DIY Holographic Glitter Nail Polish

I'm just going to be honest: I like anything that's glittery, sparkly and is reminiscent of a disco ball.

After my 'Holographic Nail Tips' blog post I decided I wanted to take it a step further and go for full-on blinged out nails.

I entirely blame Katy Perry for my fascination with sparkly silver nails after she posted a photo on Twitter of her silver rhinestone encrusted nails:

(image from twitpic.

Due to the fact I didn't have near enough rhinestones on hand to attempt a re-creation, I decided to make my own holographic glitter nail polish instead. I generally favor holographic silver glitter over plain silver glitter as it looks a lot more sparkly. The rainbow of colours it reflects gives more of a star burst effect.

I used an older bottle of Barry M's 3 in 1 nail paint that was about 1/5^th full and had become somewhat gloopy due to regular use; when the bottle is fresh it's a very thin textured topcoat that dries quickly.

To pour the glitter into the bottle I used a piece of paper rolled into a funnel shape and stuck it in the top of the bottle, then poured the glitter in. I didn't measure how much glitter I used, but by eye I'd say about 1/12^th of the container. I added some more clear nail polish to the mixture (from a new bottle of Barry M 3 in 1 nail paint) to thin the polish out.

All photos are taken after 2 coats of polish, which isn't entirely opaque:


Before I go out tomorrow night I think I'll add one more coat to cover any gaps (as you can see above). 2 coats gave pretty good coverage, but not full- ideally I would have used a silver polish underneath.

-LadyDanger
xxx

Topshop Cream Blush Review + Superdrug MUA Revisited

Hi Everyone,

Today I finally returned the Topshop cream blush I purchased that had been put in the wrong box, what I thought to be Neon Rose turned out to be Crushed Berry - a very dark berry pink. I swapped it for the actual Neon Rose blush, so I'd definitely recommend checking your product is in the right box if purchasing anything from the range :)



Firstly, Neon Rose is my favourite colour out of all the blushes, it very much reminds me of a brighter version of Barry M's 'Peachy Pink' Lip Paint:



All of the blushes have a lovely texture: really creamy and then set to a somewhat matte powder finish. They look very natural when blended out but can easily be amped up. They have great pigmentation too so you only need minimal product.



I wore 'Pinch' today, which looks quite frightening in the pan however I applied it firstly with a MAC 109 and blended out with a duo fiber brush - it gave a really nice pink tint that looked like it was coming from within.


(L to R) Neon Rose, Pinch - top row blended out slightly.

I think for £6 they're very well priced, especially as you don't need that much product as they are so pigmented, they look nice applied to the lips too because of the pigmentation. I've used 'Pinch' every day since I purchased it, and I can see myself using Neon Rose even more than 'Pinch'.

Regarding the Superdrug MUA range, I finally swatched the eyeshadows when applied wet:


(wet)

(applied as normal with dry brush, layered 3-4 times)
(Shades L-R are 9 + 3)

As expected the pigmentation is far more impressive, especially the purple, I think it's such a lovely colour :)

-LadyDanger
xxx

Beyoncé Inspired Makeup: Why Don't You Love Me

Hi everyone,
I thought I'd do a look based on one of the looks Beyoncé wore during the new 'Why Don't You Love Me' music video, from the scenes where she's drinking and crying whilst on the phone in the bedroom.

For some reason my camera made my lid colour look a lot darker than it appeared, making the cut crease look slightly less contrasted. I really wanted to do the tears, I've seen a few youtube tutorials already for this look but none of them included them - and now I know why they were a nightmare to do! I didn't realise the black pigment I used mixed with fix + was iridescent so it has a green duochrome effect, and didn't keep the wet look effect at all. Oh well you live and learn ;)

If anyone's not familiar with the look this is it:

I always screen cap the makeup in music videos to see the makeup from a couple of different angles.

Products Used:
Face:
Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation - applied with fingers, my MAC 109 has DIED and is shedding everywhere. Not impressed.
MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base
ELF Blush/Bronzing duo - just the bronzer.
Revlon Skinlights Illuminator - the darker golden brown colour used as an all over bronzer, I love this stuff I wish they hadn't discontinued it. I have to buy it on eBay now.
eBay false lashes.

Eyes:
Lid: Sleek Graphite palette - champagne colour + Urban Decay - Half Baked
Highlight: NYX Jumbo Pencil - Milk, Sleek Graphite palette - white.
Cut crease: MAC Brun and Carbon shadows.
Inner corner: NYX Smokey eye palette - off-white colour.
MAC Penultimate Eyeliner - Rapidblack
Lancome black khol liner - sorry the writing has rubbed off
Loreal Super liner - Carbon Black
Brows - MAC Brun

Lips:
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick - Nicely Nude
Boots Natural Collection lipstick - Apple Blossom
Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lipliner - no idea what name, nude brown colour.

- LadyDanger
xxx

NOTD - Barry M Shocking Pink

I picked this up today on a whim and I'm sorry I hadn't tried it before!
The formulation is lovely, you can get away with 1 thick coat, but I opted for 2 thinner coats.
Base coat and topcoat as always is Barry M 3 in 1 Nail Paint.


(click to enlarge)

It's a really nice summery colour, it looks lovely on pale skin but I can imagine it looking gorgeous on darker skin tones too :)

My nails have grown out a fair bit too without breaking which I'm happy about- I really need to invest in a good strengthener though. As much as I love my Barry M, they do still occasionally break. Any recommendations are welcome!

This is a bit of a sneak peak before my full review, but it almost perfectly matches the Topshop Cream Blush in 'Pinch'! I also purchased 'Neon Rose' which was my favourite, but some silly person had put a different darker blush in the box and I didn't realise until I'd got home :(
I'll be returning it and have the full review up when I get the right blush soon - but I can tell you these are my favourite products from the new range.

-LadyDanger

xxx

First Impressions: Superdrug MUA Range

I know everyone's been giving rave reviews on these products, so when I finally got to see them in person today and swatch them I was disappointed to say the least. The eyeshadows are amazingly pigmented on the fingertips, but when swatched on the back of a hand or applied with a brush they become very sheer; I think the only way to get true color payoff is to apply them with a wet brush.

The 2 shades I picked up were 9 (purple) and 3 (dark silver). I really wanted the matte purple but the pigmentation of the matte shadows in comparison to the 'Pearl' finishes was awful.

(click to enlarge)

To get this colour payoff I had to layer the colour 4-5 times, which I still think is pretty sheer to look at.

One thing you may notice from the up-close and personal pictures of the glitter liner is that the glitter isn't one uniform colour, it oddly has random flecks of green in there too.

The glitter eyeliners have a rather big brush applicator too, which can be a bit of a pain when it comes to application. The liners aren't packed with glitter, so it's pretty much the same as the Urban Decay glitter liners, in which you'd have to go over it 3-4 times to get a somewhat solid glitter line.

Overall, I don't think I'd repurchase. For £1 they're great for experimenting with new colours or those new to makeup, especially great if you're on a budget but I'd rather pay a few pounds more for eyeshadows that are going to have better pigmentation. I doubt I'll get much use out of these as I have similar colours with much better pigmentation, but I do quite like the glitter liner.

-LadyDanger
xxx

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss: Indulge

Hi everyone,
Today the postman handed me my lovely Illamasqua box. I ordered it on Friday, but with the bank holiday it wasn't dispatched until yesterday and only took one day to arrive.

This is actually the first thing I've ordered from Illamasqua, the nearest counter to me is in Manchester which isn't too far but still a pain to get to as I'm not there very often at all - I'd much rather see the other products in person before purchasing.

Like many things a swatch of this on Temptalia sparked an obsession so I decided to take the plunge and I wasn't disappointed! I can quite safely say this is one of my favourite pink lip products at the moment.



It's a bright borderline neon pink. In the tube it looks like there are some tiny red particles in the gloss, but on the lips they aren't noticeable.

I actually like the packaging that it comes in, I always apply bright colours with a lip brush so doe foot and brush applicators are always a pain. I like that you can squeeze out the product and apply it however you choose:



As expected, colour payoff IS intense, very opaque and true to the tube colour:



As for scent, it's a pleasant sweet smell that is somewhat fruity. If you ever had Tixylix cough medicine as a child it reminds me of that, but I always loved the taste and smell of it so that's probably my fond memory overpowering the actual scent!

Formulation is somewhat sticky, so it has fairly good lasting power - but nowhere near as irritatingly sticky as a MAC Lipglass or Dazzleglass.

-LadyDanger
xxx

Brody Dalle Inspired Makeup

This is going to be one of those looks that you either love or hate – application isn't precise and it's a bit grunge-y to look at, it certainly isn't 'pretty'.

I don't know what it is but I just think the makeup Brody wore for the Drain The Blood video was absolutely beautiful. I'll admit she makes me want to dye my hair back dark again and cut it shorter- I just love the contrast of red lips, porcelain skin and dark hair. I used the makeup she wore in that video as inspiration as well as some other looks she wore whilst in The Distillers.

I wore this makeup when I went out on Sunday night for a couple of drinks and to see a friends band play, and of course re-created it today because silly me didn't snap any photos of it before I dashed out! I didn't blend as much brown shadow under my eye on Sunday however – I drew most of the attention to the upper lid and just had minimal shadow on the lower eye.
Products Used
Face:
Maybelline 24h Superstay foundation – I'm liking this applied with hands, nightmare with brushes.
ELF Blush/Bronzing Duo – bronzer for contour.
ELF Luminance Bronzing powder – highlight

Eyes:
120 pallete – matte brown
Urban Decay Twiced Baked + Half Baked shadow to blend out.
Sleek Graphite palette - matte black + frost white
Urban Decay Zero 24/7 liner

Lips:
Barry M red lipliner
MAC Lady Danger lipstick

The music video for Drain The Blood:

-LadyDanger
x