The Estee Lauder Christmas set

Every Christmas Estee Lauder bring out a make up collection. This year as i bought a fragrance and decided to pick one up. It comes in a huge box, and when you buy a fragrance it costs £49.

The set includes a make up pouch, big mirror, look book, and lovely hard zip up case.

Inside the pouch there are 4 make up brushes with gold glittery handles. There is an eyeshadow brush, lip brush, and small and large powder brush.

Inside the case there is a lovely selection of make up.

4 lipsticks, mostly quite warm rich Winter colours.

An eyeshadow palette containing 18 colours.

My favourite thing from the collection is this palette containing 3 blushes and a matte bronze goddess bronzer.

You also get a full sized make up remover, 3 pencils- black, brown, and grey and a double ended lipgloss.

I think this is a lovely collection,and would make a perfect gift. Although i think it's particularly good for someone who doesn't have so much make up as a lot of these things are basics that i think make up addicts like myself would have in their collection already.

(^_^)

New Things...

On Tuesday as i had the day of work i decided i would be the most organised i've ever been and get all my Christmas presents so i could sit back while everyone else is rushing about in December. Of course i didn't realise it was half term and that everywhere would be madly busy...

Despite that i'm pleased to say the bulk of my Christmas shopping is done. Along the way i made a few selfish purchases as well...

I popped into Superdrug to get one of the new Sleek palettes called Good Girl. This one is a limited edition and ignoring the awfully tacky box is a lovely array of pinks and reds. A colour i lack in my eyeshadow collection. The other palette called Bad Girl is a perminant edition, but to me seemed very similar to the previously released Graphite palette so i gave it a miss.

In M&S i couldn't resist this cute Hello Kitty coin purse that came with a little lipgloss and a box of mini nail polishes that are 4 lovely velvety glitter colours.

Also in superdrug i got Sleeks new pout polish in Powder Pink and also noticed a new stand for Famous by Sue Moxley. A brand i've never used before i picked up a lovely eyeshadow trio called rainforest for £5.

A Maybelline eyeshadow. I'm not a fan of this brand but i'm a sucker for midnight blues, and this colour is beautiful.

In Boots 17 had a 3 for 2 offer so i picked up an eyeshadow trio, an eyeshadow in a new colour Emerald Gold and a glitter liner in a soft purple.

With a no.7 voucher i had i bought the new mascara they have out -Exceptional Definition. The main reason i got this was for the free palette that comes with it. The 4 colours look and feel like suede.

Last week i made an Avon order and got 2 nail polishes. The picture doesn't do them any justice at all but they are both very festive and glittery. I also got 2 lipsticks a cherry red and a rose gold. Below.

And finally i got Sensuous Noir from Estee Lauder.

(^_^)

Lovely Nails Inc

Last week Nails inc had an offer where you could pick up this beauty for £25. I'm a big fan of their nail polishes, so i snapped it up.

It is a boxed set of 10 lovely polishes- including 2 glitters -my favourites :) minus 1 i gave to my Mum after she fell in love with it.

What a bargain (^_^)

A little review of NYC blush

I picked up this blush in Superdrug, for £2.99 and the shade is New York Pink. I haven't really used many things from this brand before so i thought i'd give it a try.

The packaging is quite big and clumpy, nothing amazing, but fine for the price. The blush also comes with a brush, which in my opinion is not really needed.

You get a nice lot of product, with a cute quilted kind of design. The colour is a nice soft shade, and the powder itself is really nice and silky. In terms of pigmentation it's on the light side. When swiped with a finger it seems pretty good, but with a brush you have to really build this product.

But, i really like to use this just to add a touch of pink to my face in the vein of a beauty powder. Think Blush of Youth from Mac's Rose Romance collection. (below)

I actually think both products are very similar. The difference being you get a slightly better pay off with the NYC product. So considering the price i'm suitably impressed, and have been using this quite often. As a blush there's a lot better products out there, but as a beauty powder it's very good.

The lighting is unfortunately making a swatch near impossible!

(^_^)

Hollywood Glamour and modern icons

Film and music have always shaped popular culture and inspired fashion and the way we look. Personally i love the glamour of classic hollywood, and find the imagery beautiful. Here are some inspiration pics

Marilyn Monroe...of course


Julie London, One of the most amazing singers

Ava Gardner

Audrey Hepburn

Ann Savage
And of course Bettie Page

And some of modern film icons.....

90s femme fatale Mia in Pulp Fiction

Futuristic cool in Blade Runner

Hollywood trash in True Romance


Parisian beauty in Amelie

Love and Ink

I have always wanted a tattoo. Always. The trouble is i am needle phobic. I have lost count of the times i have booked appointments, and gone to studios to run out in a panic close to fainting, or being sick. It's not fair! One day i will bite the bullet and do it.

To some tattoos can be tacky,or something you'll regret, but i think tattoos are just pretty. I'm not talking the questionable ones on the lower back which you only see when your arse is hanging out,or a boyfriends name who then later turns into an ex boyfriend. To me they are the stereotypical sign of rebellion. And i particularly like the rockabilly, and kawaii designs. Here are some favourites:

A little review of Maybelline Colossal Mascara...

Am i the only one that absolutely dispises Maybelline mascaras?

I bought this because it was on offer at Boots, and i've heard so many people say good things about it. So i thought i'd give it a fair try.

In my humble opinion the formula is too liquidy and smells really awful. The smell is so strong i can smell it when it's on my lashes! It doesn't really do much for my lashes, i mean it coats them ok but is disappointing. The brush is nothing special,no where near worthy of a £8 quid price tag.

The worst thing of course is that it makes my eyes itch like made. So much so i stopped wearing it and threw it in the bin. I never normally have reactions to mascaras like this...

Needless to say, i'll be avoiding mabelline mascaras like the plague in future!

(^_^)

New things...

Here are some nice things i've bought lately...

Nail polishes from Models Own, Barry M, Topshop, Miss Sporty, & Beauty UK.

Russian Red lipglass and Shimmertone blush from Mac

Neon Rose cream blush from Topshop (late on the bandwagon for that one), NYC cheek glow in central park pink, Models Own lip pot in red alert, No.7 liplicious in purple liquorice (the most divine colour ever?)

Bobbi Brown cream liners in Expresso ink, and Black ink and a liner brush


Paperchase and David & Goliath goodies...

More paperchase goodies and a vasaline lips gift tin. (i have an obsession with tins and trinket boxes)

(^-^)

A little review of Bare Minerals try me kit...

When it comes to mineral make up i'm pretty clueless, but have always been curious. So when i spotted Bare Minerals do a 'try me' kit for £15 i thought that would be a perfect way to give it a go.
The kit consists of 2 foundation shades in 0.75g jars. I got the lightest pack so the colours were 'light' and 'fairly light', a loose powder 'mineral veils' (0.75g), a loose powder bronzer 'warmth' (0.28g) and a small brush to apply with.

Firsty the foundations. I'm always interested in powder foundations as i get oily skin and liquid foundation never last. I mixed a bit of both colours and it worked,but find for my fair skin that the 'light' shade was just right and the 'fairly light' a little too dark and too pink toned. Using the brush to swirl round in the sifter and applying in a circular motion and buffing in you can achieve a light to medium coverage. The powder was finely milled and was so easy to use.

The 'warmth' bronzer slightly intimidated me at first. It looks very dark, and i never use bronzers in loose powder form usually. But with a light touch this applies lovely. It gives a very natural look, and this little jar will last ages.

My favourite was the 'mineral veils' which is the loose powder. The quality is so beautiful. Very smooth and silky it just gives a lovely finish to the face. It has a very slight pink tone, which i find flattering, and it just brightens my skin.

The brush is also very nice- super soft and works well with the products.

Overall, i'm very impressed with the pack. I recommend this as a great way to try their make up. When i bought it the sales assistant said once i try it i'll be hooked- she had a point, i'll definately be going back to investigate their other products.

(^_^)