OPI Texas Collection, Lil' Shooters - review and swatches.

I had seen a few swatches of the OPI Texas collection around on the Internet but saw this Lil Shooters set which is great to try out a couple before deciding if you want to spend £10.50 on a full 15ml bottle.

Each one is 3.75ml (just like the Katy Perry mini's) so they don't last long but you can get a good idea of if you like a shade enough to buy a full one.

(L-R) Austin-tatious Turquoise, I Vant To Be A-Lone Star, Do You Think I'm Tex-y, RapiDry Top Coat.
£12 ASOS.

Austin-tatious Turqoise is a gorgeous blue-green with a hint of glitter. The perfect Americana, cowgirl blue.

I Vant To Be A-Lone Star a really pale starry sky blue. So pretty.

Do You Think I'm Tex-y? A dahlia-pink colour, very hot!

RapiDry Top Coat is a super fast, long lasting, non-yellowing, high-gloss shine topcoat. Wow!

1st Coat. Please excuse my bad false nails!

3rd coat.

3rd coat with RapiDry Top Coat.

I really love these three colours, their collection is alot bigger than these but from other swatches I've seen these three definitely stand out as the best.

The Texas collection is also the first OPI collection to feature their new sorbet formula, which is supposed to be more translucent giving a light-glossy finish, "similar to the look of icy, water-based sorbet." It totally works with the Do You Think I'm Tex-y and kinda with the Austin-tatious Turquoise, but not so much with the other.
I also had white-tips so the translucent-ness didn't work too great for me.

However, I will definitely be picking up the Austin-tatious Turquoise in a full bottle and I LOVE it! It's so shiny in the sunshine, it looks like the ocean.

Have any of you tried the Texas Collection?

Hope you all have a great Easter weekend if you are celebrating :)
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Backstage Bambi,

Hello!

Wow sorry for the lack of posts last week, I've been real busy working and once I'm done all i want to do is sleep! I also bought Sims 3 in the week and I've lost my real life due to playing my fake one!

This week I haven't stopped wearing one of my FAVE lipsticks by the amazing Kat Von D, I actually got this for Christmas not in NY (for a change!). Now most of you will know I love Kat's make-up range and have blogged about them before here and here, and you will know how much I favour the lip-paints for how long they last and the gorgeous colours. So here it is:

Kat Von D, Painted Love - Backstage Bambi.

Please excuse the wrinkles on my forhead! If anyone out there knows of a GOOD deep wrinkle cream (not anti-aging) I know I'm only 21 but I laugh/smile so much (just kidding it's usually frowning!) I really wanna stop this wrinkle making me look about 80 by the time I am 30!!

Hope you all had an awesome weekend - work tomorrow *sigh*!
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Maxfactor Lipfinity Lip Tint Pen - review + swatches.

Some of you may remember this post I did on the Topshop Lip Marker - well it turns out it wasn't as great as I had hoped, within 2 weeks it was really dried out.

Then I heard that Maxfactor was bringing out a whole range of lip tinting pens I thought I'd give the whole 'drawing on your lips with a felt tip' fad another go!

This time I waited until a month after I bought it to review it so here it is:

There are 6 different shades, I picked up the most 'red' one named 'Royal Plum'.
£5.99 Superdrug.

1st one is what I could get out of the Topshop lip pen.
2nd is the Maxfactor.

Maxfactor on. It also lasts a long time - it's not fully waterproof but it dries fast and lasts a long time.

It is definitely better (and cheaper) than the Topshop one, it's easier to apply and also you don't need to keep going over it. It's been a month now and it hasn't dried up at all which is great. Probably not ideal for a night out but definitely great for daytime/work/uni/whatever.

Thought I'd just show you all my make-up box :)

Hope you all had a great weekend! Anybody watching the Oscars tonight? I will be staying up late watching a live-stream.

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Kat Von D 'True Love' Eyeshadow Palette - review and swatches.

Just a quick post about one of my NYC beauty buys, this time the Kat Von D 'True Love' eyeshadow palette part of the 'True Romance' collection:

(L-R) Peanut, Benji, Rebekah, Lucifer, Cholita, Skiba, Babe, Missy.

Peanut - a shimmy light gold/brown.
Benji - a creme gold foil.
Rebekah - a dark, subtle shimmery brown.

Lucifer - a smokey black.
Cholita - a petrol purple.
Skiba - a shimmery dark purple.

Babe - a light lilac.
Missy - a white/silver that's very shimmery.

Like I said in my lipstick review, Kat's products last SO long, the pigmentation is amazing and a little goes a long way! I bought this palette as I have dark brown eyes and the colours I already know suit me more.

The packaging is great, comes in a box and a hard case with a mirror inside and brushes. I've used this everyday since I've bought it and Sephora don't ship to the UK - so I guess that mean's I'll have to book another trip!

What are your favourite eyeshadows? Any you'd recommend for a Brown eyed girl?
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Ed Hardy Love Kills Slowly Make-Up Set.

Don't let the title put you off, II actually really dislike the whole Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy phenomenon, but at work we had in this make-up set which was £40, then went to £10 (£8 with my discount) in the sale - how could I not?! We had a tester box and I used it to sample some of the product and it was actually quite good.

I did take swatches of the lip glosses and eyeshadows on my arm but my camera wouldn't focus and the light was terrible and I got angry so you have to make-do with pictures of my head:

It comes with a mirror AND lights.
6 x eyeshadows.
6 x lip glosses.
Eyeshadow brush, blush brush and lip brush.
2 x Solid perfumes inc the new 'Love & Luck'.
1 x bronzer.

This is the 'bronzer' it's so light I really would call it more of a highlighter, it adds a nice dewy colour which is perfect for my skin, plus adds a bit of shimmer.

I wore the white eyeshadow, with the silver glittery one and the black. The black is quite chalky more of a charcoal, as you can see all of them are quite shimmery. The eyeshadow lasts all day though and doesn't crease.

The lipgloss I applied using my finger rather than the lipbrush, this is the 2nd one in the most red of them all, it stays on well.

All in all I'd say it was definitely worth the £8 I paid but I mean the colours are nothing special, there are millions just like it out there, but it's quite nice having it all in one kit. The blush brush is really nice too.

Have you bought any new make-up recently?

Hope you all had a great weekend!
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MAC Pinch O' Peach Blush.

I said in THIS post that I've only just got into blush and this is my 3rd blush I've bought. I actually bought it in New York it cost me $19.50 (approx £12) but here for the same blush it would cost £17! I went with MAC as I use alot of their products, I love the products and the packaging (I'm such a sucka).

Anyway, I went with a sheertone powder blush, I picked up 'Pinch O' Peach' which is a warm peach/pink as I'm really fair skinned and just wanted something to make me a little rosy:

MAC Pinch O' Pinch - $19.50

I used a small brush to give me a light cover.

Here I used an angled brush to define my cheeks more and give a heavier cover.

Now this is where I turn to YOU - my wonderful readers! I'm looking for a sort of highlighting blush/powder that doesn't necessarily have to be a colour but just adds a bit of shine/shimmer/highlight to the tops of my cheek.
Any suggestions or links you can give me would be great, I'll check them all out and do some research.

Hope your week is going well so far!
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Katy Perry OPI Collection - swatches.

News broke last year of OPI teaming up with Katy Perry for a collection of nail lacquers, the only info I could find was 'released in January'. Then, in this months Allure magazine I saw a small ad for it which sent me on my hunt. 

You buy all of the collection (including the 'Shatter' effect polish) separately in full size bottles for about £10.50 each OR you can get a mini's collection which is 3.75ml's of each one (not including the 'Shatter' topcoat but I'm guessing it's exactly like the Barry M one).

As I wanted to try them all I went for the mini's collection, here they are:

Katy Perry OPI mini's collection.
With a banging picture of Katy on the front.

Teenage Dream - A candy pink glittery number.
The One That Got Away - A ruby red with faint glittery hint.

Last Friday Night - A blue glitter.
Not Like the Movies - A green/silver with faint glitter.

This is just another look at Not Like the Movies, it's like a galaxy green/silver kinda colour, it has hints of faint glitter in it. It changes in the light and it's amazing!

Teenage Dream and The One That Got Away - 1st coat.

Last Friday Night and Not Like the Movies - 1st coat.

Teenage Dream and The One That Got Away - 2nd coat.
As you can see they look so much better with a 2nd coat, I actually have TOTGA on now I love it!!

Last Friday Night and Not Like the Movies - 2nd coat.
The picture doesn't do NLTM any justice at all, its amazing!

After trying them all I now want the full bottles of each one! So goodbye money - hello pretty nails!

Other OPI collections include Burlesque and Justin Bieber with their 'Nicole' range (I actually love the look of 2 of them hah!).

What nail polishes are hotting up your nails?

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Sephora Precision Sponge - review.

Well now normal blogging resumes I'll jump right in with one of my NYC purchases from Sephora - it's their Precision Sponge. Very similar to the 'Beauty Blender' (see HERE for a tutorial), it's highly valued by make-up artists for it's easy, streak free application of foundation and concealer. 

I know the Beauty Blender branded one can cost around £14.50 ($19.95) so when I saw the Sephora own brand for $12 (roughly £7.50), even though they are made from different materials, they both do a similar job so I would be stupid not to pick one up: 

Sephora Precision Sponge - $12.

This is the foundation I use, as you can see it's well loved. It last ages I think I've had this for about 3/4 months now and you can see how much is left. It goes on light and lasts for ages.

First of all your supposed to wet the sponge, dry it out til its only damp and then dip into your foundation.
You then dab in a fast motion all over your face, dipping back in if needs-be. 

After: You can see you get a very even coverage with no streaks! Please excuse the bags under my eyes - I'm still wildly jet-lagged.

This sponge is great, it's so fast and easy to use. At first I thought it used up too much foundation, however after looking at a tutorial and trying to 'wet it first' trick, it uses less than it did before as the sponge has already soaked up water.

I'd love to see somebody else's review of the 'Beauty Blender' to compare them so if you have one link it in the comments.

Hope you all had a great weekend!
x

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - review.

Sometimes the Rimmel website has awesome promotions on where you can win one of 8,000 full size samples of new products. I've actually had a few and here is one I got through of their new Lasting Finish lipsticks:

The colour I got was 014 - 'Sweetie'. With things like lipsticks you can actually chose which colour you win so I chose this pinky one. The face of the campaign is Zooey Deschanel and I saw this on her and loved it. (EDIT: She actually wears Heartbreaker BUT she's a Goddess either way).

It's a red/pink with glittery bits in. It looks quite sheer here but goes on darker.

You can see the glitter here, it's not hard and you can't feel it so it's definitely a lovely glitzy add-on.

I already use a Rimmel lipstick in 'Alert' it's definitely my go-to lipstick as it goes on quick and smooth with no fussy packaging.
Plus it smells like cherries! AMAZING!

What new lippy's have you used recently?
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MAC Gel Eye-Liner - review.

My mum went away this weekend to London and as a treat (I assume for leaving me alone/looking after our animals) she asked me if there was anything from MAC (there are no counters around these parts) while she was up there. I've been after a gel eye-liner for ages so what took the opportunity to ask for the MAC gel eye-liner (and she also got me the brush too, I'm very lucky!):

MAC Fluidline Eye-liner Gel in Blacktrack.
MAC 210 Precise Eye-Liner Brush.

It goes on really smoothly and easily although I recommend using the correct brush (or a very thin brush) as you only need a little and that little bit goes a LONG way.  

As you can see it comes out quite dark. In the pot you get 3 grams, I've only used it twice now and I know it will last me forever! 

This is me at the end of the day today after wearing it to work, I haven't touched it up. It holds SO well and doesn't smudge. Not too sure if its waterproof yet but a new episode of Glee is on tomorrow so I'm sure I will find out watching that!

Not much else to say except it's amazing, definite value for money, goes on like a dream and stays on all day. So happy with this product after 2 days of owning it I don't think I will go back to liquid liner!

What is your favourite eyeliner?
x

P.S - Eyeko have some amazing offers on right now, upto half price on some sets! So if you want to buy anything then be sure to use my code: E10938 and get a free gift when you spend over £15 - DEAL! xx

Some New Barry M - Reviews and swatches.

Over on Barry M's Facebook on Tuesday there was a special friends code for 30% off any order - ohh how could I say no!?

If it hasn't been VERY apparent (what with all my posts on the subject) I LOVE lipstick! So it would be wrong for me not to pick one up. I've never used Barry M lipstick before (or Lip Paint as they call it) so as a huge nail polish fan of theirs I decided to try:

The colour I picked up was the first I saw, a new colour named 'Pink Ribbon' , the others I kept seeing were nuts things like Robot Blue and that isn't for me!
£4.25 without discount.

Swatch: first one is two layers, second with only one layer.

Here is it on! It's just a plain simple pink which is nice for those days when I'm not into wearing alot of make-up.
It has good lasting power,  I can certainly see why they are called 'paints'

 I'm a huge nail polish fan, especially Barry M, you can't go wrong it's cheap, it lasts and they have so many to chose from. Recently they bought out the 'effects' nail paint, which the world has gone nuts for (including me) but also 2 new A/W shades - 'Dusky Mauve' and 'Indigo'.

I only picked up one, and the one in question is the 'Dusky Mauve'. Apparently this is a dead ringer for the Chanel 'Particuliere' I got it wrong! Paradoxal! I've not tried the Chanel so can't say but plenty of reviews and bloggers claim it is.

As you can see it has a slightly bruised effect with a hint of mauve shimmer.

My room was so dark it was hard to get a good snap of this so:
Without flash

With flash.
You can kinda see the shimmer, it looks alot more purple in these pics, I'd say it's slightly browner.

Have you used any Barry M lip paints? What colours were good?

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