Swatch/Bottle Comparison: Models Own Lilac Dream

Well.. some of you may find these posts totally stupid.. but whenever I buy a nail polish I swatch it on a glue-on nail. I just like to see a polish before I actually paint all my nails with it. And I like to see how close the actual polish colour is to the bottle :) I figured I'd share some of my swatching with you.

True Colour Against White Paper - 2 Coats

Swatch To Bottle Comparison - 2 Coats

Most of the models own polishes I've swatched match almost perfectly to the bottle, this is no exception. The formula is lovely and smooth and settles really well onto the nail. I don't love the brush so much, I find it quite thin, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.

I honestly think colours look different on everyone depending on your skintone and how dark the pigmentation of your nail is, so swatching against pure white is what I deem 'true colour'. Just my opinion :)

Any favourite Models Own polishes?

xoxo

Latest NYX Jumbo Pencil Swatches

NYX recently released four new Jumbo Pencils into their line. I'm a little confused, beacause even though there are now 28 pencils, the new four use the numbers 621-624, even though these are supposedly already taken. If anyone can enlighten me it would be super appreciated :)

So on with the swatching...

 

 Without flash:

621 Pure Gold

622 Electric Blue

623 Purple Velvet

624 Rocky Mountain Green

With Flash:

621 Pure Gold

622 Electric Blue

623 Purple Velvet

624 Rocky Mountain Green

With flash was mainly to show you the purple because it came out weird in the other one.

xoxo

Lazy Day and Easy Lounger

So, here's Lazy Day from the To The Beach Collection. This is a really pretty girly pink, and looks amazing when paired with the Life's A Breeze Lip Pencil (as seen here) which is the perfect shade for almost all of my MAC light pinks. I think I'm going to call this my 'understated' pink. It's just the prettiest colour!

And here's Lazy Day paired with Easy Lounger Lipglass from the same collection. Easy Lounger is a great compliment to Lazy Day and really gives you that beautiful high gloss finish. When used with the lip pencil, I found these products to be long-lasting and I had no bleeding around the edges at all.

What do you lovely ladies think? Would you add another pink to your collection for Lazy Day?

xoxo

Makeup For Dry Skin

Recently I went though a phase of having extremely dry and flaky skin (hence my lack of FOTDs) and these products absolutely saved my life! Granted I felt a touch over moisturized for about 10 minutes but I'll put up with 10 minutes to look great the rest of the day! FYI: The foundation and concealer are in paler shades than I'm wearing at the moment because I get drier skin the paler I am.

So the first product I'm using is MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation in NW15 (choose the right shade for you though!).

This foundation is completely buildable, so it's great for summer and winter. It doesn't sit in dry patches and stays put all day because of it's gel base. I use a 189 or a 190 brush to apply it. And even better for summer it's water resistant!

The name says it all, my concealer of choice for dry skin is Select Moisturecover again in NW15 (again choose your own shade!).

I only use this when I need it (ususally under my eyes). I love this concealer so much because it gives really great coverage without feeling heavy. I use it no matter what's going on with my skin when I'm using both my Studio Fix or my Studio Sculpt foundations.

Studio Sculpt Foundation

straight out of the tube (with flash)

Studio Sculpt Foundation

blended with a 190 brush (without flash)

Sorry for the with/without flash, only way I could get the foundation to photograph true to colour. There isn't as much colour difference as appears in the photos, my skin is washed out in the first one.

Select Moisturecover Concealer

applied with applicator from tube (with flash)

Select Moisturecover Concealer

blended with a 194 brush (with flash)

 Again sorry for the not so great pictures, it's hard to capture a foundation and concealer that blend in so well!

When you have severely dry skin it's always better to creme blush and highlighter products and not powder. Powder will sink straight into the dryness, but creme products will keep the moisture you're working so hard to keep in your skin there.

I love MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush and MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush. I like these because again, they're buildable, so you can have as much or as little colour as you like.

Mac Blushcreme in Ladyblush

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush (left) and

MAC Blushcreme in Lady Blush (right)

both swatched with a single 'swipe'

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush and

MAC Blushcreme in Lady Blush

blended with a 187 brush

This combination of products on my skin made such a difference to my skin's appearance, even though it was very dry, it still looked plush and healthy.

xoxo

MAC To The Beach Haul

I love this collection, I had to wait until I got paid to get some bits and bobs but now here they are!

Life's A Breeze Lip Pencil

(Sorrry for the blurry picture, my camera was being stupid)

I really love this lip pencil. It's the perfect colour to compliment so many pink lipsticks. It looks really good with Viva Glam Gaga, Creme Cup and Lazy Day.

 Easy Lounger Lipglass

This is a really good way to spice up a pink lipstick, without having to buy a different shade of gloss for each one. It's sheer enough to suit all light pinks, but gives the perfect amount of shine and shimmer for use in the day and at night.

Lazy Day Lustre Lipstick

This is another really gorgeous pink from MAC's lipstick collection. It's more of a subtle pink thank most, but I like that. Perfect for work!

Life's A Breeze - Lazy Day - Easy Lounger

 Sweet & Punchy and Humid Eyeshadows

 Humid - Sweet & Punchy

I really want to go back and get the other eyeshadows, they're all really pretty. I have Shimmermoss already, so I won't be buying that one, but I really want the other two. I just got these two today, and I really wanted Float On By Eye Kohl to go with them, but I need to budget still!

LUSH and drugstore hauls later!

xoxo

Complete NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil Swatches

So I've finally completed my collection of NYX Jumbo Pencils. I love these pencils, they have so many uses and are just generally fun to play with :)

 (aren't they preeetttyy :))

601 Black Bean
602 Dark Brown

603 Pots and Pans

604 Milk
605 Strawberry Milk
606 Baby Blue

607 Horse Raddish

608 Cottage Cheese

609 French Fries
610 Oyster

611 Yoghurt
612 Gold

613 Lemon
614 Lavender
615 Slate
616 Pacific

617 Iced Mocha
618 Purple

619 Rust
620 Bronze

621 Hot Pink

622 Yellow

623 Orange

624 Cherry

I really want to de-pot (de-tube really) these as I think I'll be more encouraged to use them and really experiment. I like the 'jumbo-ness' (is that a word?) of these, but sometimes this can also make them harded to use when I want to do more prescision work. My yellow one has broken off at the tip quite badly, hence the quality of the swatch, so this will be my first de-pot for sure. I don't know what to depot them into right now but I'm sure YouTube will solve that problem!

xoxo

**The Small Print**

I bought each pencil for £2.50 from Love Make Up. I recieved a 10% discount on 10 of these because I provided the site with a review of products and services.

Viva Glam Gaga & Cyndi Swatches

So I'm totally post heavy tonight, but I have a ton to catch up on and since my car is coming tomorrow and I have the Domino's Awards (LOL right?!) on Wednesday, I may not be able to post for a few days now so I'm doing days worth of posting in one.

As promised, here are the long awaited lip swatches of Viva Glam Gaga & Viva Glam Cyndi lipsticks!

Sooo.. let's start with Gaga..

(Excuse the blahh looking face..

Was concentrating on the light!)

By the window with natural light

Natural light but away from the window

I just did those two to show how the colour looks different with the light.. Duh I don't have to explain that but I suppose someone had to tell me that at some point so if anyone reading this is at that place.. there you go :)

And now to Cyndi...

I can't comment on anyone but myself,

but I think this lippie looks lovely with

dark hair and pale(r) skin.

Natural light by the window

Natural light but away from the window

This last one was just to show the colour with a single 'swipe'.

You can turn it into a really pretty, sheer red/pink.

So there you have it, both of these are really buildable, so if you want some really versatile shades.. these are awesome. They also feel lovely when you wear them.. which is a major bonus point.

xoxo

LUSH and MAC Haul

So I'm sitting here munching on Cadbury's but wishing it was Hershey's reflecting on a somewhat successful, somewhat unsuccessful day of beauty shopping. I'm loving my LUSH and MAC goodies, but I'm actually really, really disappointed with the quality and performance of the YSL Gloss Volupte I purchased.

So I'll start with the bum-out performance of the YSL Gloss Volupte. I went to House of Fraser with the full intention of buying it as I had seen it on several blogs and loved the look of it. The sales assistant put the shade I chose on me (Shade 6) just to check I liked it, which I did, so I purchased it straight away. However, on my train journey homemy lips started to feel cakey and dry, which I was really suprised about given that she had raved about how moisturising the product was supposed to me. By the time I got home, all the 'gloss' was gone and I was left with ugly, dry, pinkish-reddy stained lips. All the colour had gathered in the creases in my lips and bled out to the edges, honestly making it look like I had cheap lipstick on. I didn't take a picture, I just couldn't get it off fast enough. I'll be returning this asap, all I can say is it may be just me, I've seen mediocre and rave reviews, but for £20.00 there's no way I feel it's worth that.

Well.. now that rant is out of the way:

I picked up a bunch of free samples at LUSH and bought a new cleanser that has been reccomended to me.I basically went in completely blind and took the advice of the sales assistant, I explained I had dry patches across my cheeks yet the rest of my face is reasonably oily. She put together a moisturiser, mask and exfoliator for me to try and I also purchased a full size cleanser/makeup remover.

So first of all, I just thought the little face was so damn cute! I can see why the call it Baby Face! I would have bought it just for that :) 

Lush say:

Natural butter bar for effective cleansing. It melts on the skin, so you can softly smooth it all over the bits that need cleansing (it’s an excellent make-up remover). Each smiling bar has four different natural plant butters in it to remove dirt and restore moisture. Its scent comes from toning tangerine oil and everlasting flower, which might grant you everlasting beauty.

I can't wait to try it :) and at £4.10 and the prospect that it looks like it will last for a while, if it works I'll say good value!
 

 

My first sample is The Sacred Truth face mask. This smells wonderful, and just from trying it in the shop for a few minutes, the back of my hand is silky smooth!


Lush say:

The truth is, we all need protection from ageing. The vital antioxidant action of wheatgrass, ginseng and green tea, enzymic fresh papaya, cleansing clays and nutritious butters, all combine to defend the skin. This mask delivers live, fresh, active ingredients, which enhance and revive the complexion. Apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave for five to ten minutes, then rinse away with warm water. Keep chilled.

I think this will really compliment the other products I'm trying!

The Angels On Bare Skin cleanser and exfoliator is another product with a simply divine scent! The lavender flowers which help to exfoliate the skin envelope you in their aroma, and I'm a sucker for lavender.

Lush say:

Angelic and medieval cleansing wash with rose and lavender. Angels on Bare Skin is the Lush version of an expensive medieval skincare recipe. Rare, precious essential oils were first brought to Europe by the crusaders who encountered Arabian medicine. They were immediately banned by the church because their ability to alter states of mind was considered the devil's work! But the final result was Cosmetics 1, Church 0. Rose oil and lavender oil were discovered to do wonderful things for the skin, too. Almost a thousand years later you'd be hard pressed to find a better all round cleanser and exfoliator than Angels.

I really hope this works, because I really like the smell of this and I've never actually found an exfoliator that works and smells great!

My last sample is the Celestial moisturiser. This is the only one where I'm not so keen on the scent, it's okay, I'm not bothered by it, but it could be nicer.

Lush say:

Heavenly moisturiser to make sensitive skin happy. Although it’s true that some perfumes can irritate sensitive skin, like stronger spice oils, others are really good for preventing redness and reactions. Natural vanilla absolute is one of them. We use it in Celestial for its soothing effect and intoxicating scent. The dove orchid is used in Chinese herbalism to prevent inflammation; it is the only orchid with a delicate and delightful scent. Almond milk is also wonderful for calming the skin. So, there’s really no need to use an odourless skin cream when you can happily wear Celestial.

To be honest, I can't smell the vanilla at all. I love vanilla, all my bath products are vanilla, I know what it smells like, and this definately doesn't. I think the best ingredient is the almond milk simply because I can completely feel it working; even on the back of my hand, I can feel it calming my skin.




And this is a MAC haul I have been waiting for for a long time...

These colours are sooooo beautiful, I'm so glad I finally have them! And all the money from them goes to charity. I'm determined to collect all the Viva Glam colours and I think these are a good way to start! The swatches I've done don't do the shades justice at all, I promise I'll do some on my lips soon!

Viva Glam Gaga; Viva Glam Cyndi

They both look really sheer in the photo, and this was only about 2-3 swipes, but they aren't as sheer as they look, but they are buildable. I'd be worried if they weren't because of the intensity they have in the promo shots. I'll be trying these out over the next few days for sure!

I also wanted to try out a new foundation, I just got a sample of Studio Sculpt to try over the next few days to see if I like it. I got NC15 (pale, pale, pale I know!) for my face and NW25 to contour and bronze.

So far I like them, they're much better for my current dry skin condition so I hope it lasts!


Well, that's all for tonight folks!


xoxo