My "Holy Grail" Eyeshadow Palette // The Ultimate Box of Tricks for Your Eyes!

Helloooooo!!

I have decided to do a not so long (written) blog post like I usually do today, just to mix it up a little. I don't want to become too predictable now do I?! ;) 

I touched upon this product in my previous post which you can link to HERE. 
And I spoke about this product favourably in the 'eye' section, and how I am currently using it to create my smoky eye look. It is my holy grail of shadows at the mo.

It is a product made by the 'Front Cover' Brand and it is an awesome box full of super cool tools to make your eyes stand out beautifully. The box of tricks is called 'A Billion Stars' and after doing some research I cannot find this box anywhere on their website (www.frontcovercosmetics.com) as when you click the 'shop' button it comes up with an error message. 
Odd...
But you can pick it up on places like Ebay until the site is back up and running again. I did purchase mine a few years back now and it is still my favourite eyeshadow palette to use to date. 

This is what you get. 

As you can see there is no palette in there. 
Well, that's because I am using it and it's in my hand bag as I type. AND the palette has a mirror inside. Score! 

The box contains.

. 4 shot silk effect eyeshadows.
. 4 domed twinkle baked powder eyeshadows.
4 satin pressed eyeshadows.
. 4 domed baked powder eyeshadows.
. Pot of silver stars. (Which I LOVE)
. Holographic glitter.
. 2 Iridescent pigments.
. Shadow base.
.Shadowline.
. Eye effects glue.
.Double ended eye applicator. 
. Front Cover to go compact. 

Some of the shadows are missing from the box, but here they are in my compact. 

I have been using these pots the most to create my smoky eye effect. I will do a tutorial soon on this look. Let me know what you think? 

I love the little pot of stars and the glitters too! 

It also comes with a makeup artists tips and  step by step photographic instructions to "let you achieve studio finish make-up". This is such a good idea, especially for beginners who are just starting out and experimenting with eye makeup. 
Well played... Well played.  

If you love makeup in general or you are wanting to experiment with different styles on your eyes and want a good quality product, then check this out. I love it and I think you would too. 

♥

Makeup Must Haves // What's In My Makeup Bag?!

I love makeup. 

Period. 

I never used to wear much at all, especially when I was at school. Back then it was "FORBIDDEN"! Gradually, through the years I experimented more and more with different foundations, concealers, eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks, you name it I was trying it out. Now that I am a little older, I have come to find that I know what I like and don't like in a makeup brand or product. And I find that a product doesn't have to be 'high end' for it to be of value to your face. In fact a lot of high-street/drugstore brands work just as well. I don't like to spend a lot of money on each product unless it's truly worth it, and even then it makes me cringe! 

Put it this way I am a drugstore queen, I like deals, value for money and accessibility of a product.

 If you are either looking for some must-have products that are bank balance friendly, or someone who only uses high end brands but you are intrigued by what else the makeup counter has to offer you, then you have come to the right girl!

I am going to show you what I carry in my makeup bag on a day to day basis. I have split it into sections for you.

. Face

. Eyes

. Lips

In each category I don't always carry everything within my handbag, I tend to mix it up a bit each day. But those shown are my HG (holy grail) goto products.

Here we go. :) 

FACE

 

FACE.

1. I LOVE this concealer, I have been using it for years now. I use this around my eyes, especially the dark circles, blemishes and on spots. I always put this on before my foundation, and I know a lot of other people put it on after, but in fact I find it works better my way round. It acts as a base for the foundation so it doesn't allow it to sink into the dark circles and emphasise it more. Give it a go and see the difference.

2 & 3. I will then apply either foundation depending on what I am doing. For instance, if I am just wanting 'natural' looking makeup that day I will apply (3) as it is lighter and illuminates my face. If I am going out or have a job interview (which is a rarity at the moment) I will apply foundation (2) as it is a little thicker and has more of a matte finish. Both equally as good, just for different occasions.

4. I love this product by MUA. It is the 'Undress Your Skin' illuminating powder. It is soooo nice to use and I LOVE using it when I am wearing foundation (3) as it enhances the illuminating effect. It doesn't apply really thick, and is even on application. It gives a natural glow and makes my skin look healthy. I will always have this in my makeup bag and in my daily makeup ritual. 

5. The Collection blush is another favourite of mine. I use the shade 'Trouble' and it lasts for like FOREVER!! Seriously, I use it every time I have makeup on and it hasn't even hit pan yet. Again, it applies really nicely and evenly and leaves you with natural looking flushed cheeks. Winner!!


EYES

  I love my eyes, I regard them as my best feature, so I like to emphasise them as much as I can. I am currently loving the smoky eye look so these are what I have been carrying around with me.
I don't always wear this amount of eye makeup as I have bad hay fever and I just end up rubbing it off but when I can this is what I use. 

1. I start off with pencilling my eyebrows in, they are naturally really light so it looks like I have none. I look like an egg, a hard boiled egg. The colour I use is 'dark brown' and I love the Rimmel one as it has the staying power, easy to apply and it has the little brush on the lid to tame the strays. 

2. I have recently used the Eyeko eyeliner pen and I really enjoyed using it. It is smooth to apply, it doesn't drag like others I have used, it doesn't scratch the skin and it creates great cat flicks. I ALWAYS have a cat flick and I am pretty on point with creating them, but this pen makes it easier because of the nib. The only downside I feel this product has is that it sinks into the skin and the colour fades quickly. This is when I use product (3).

3. I will use the Rimmel 'Exaggerate' liquid eyeliner over the top of the applied pen to bring back the depth of the black that was lost. I love using this liquid eyeliner as again it's easy to apply, there is enough liquid on the nib to cover but not smother. It stays black and dries really quickly. I have been really reaching for the Rimmel products recently, especially their 'Exaggerate' range as they are richly pigmented, great value for money and the colour pay off is awesome. 

4. Next I will apply the Rimmel 'ScandalEyes' Kohl pencil to the inside of my waterline and tightline. Both upper and lower. This defines my eyes even more and I love to use it on the outer corners of my eyes so I can smudge and blend downwards. Hello smoky effect. 

5. Mascara's aren't a big deal for me as my eyelashes NEVER curl. It's so frustrating as I always have poker straight lashes and I always envy the girls that have amazingly spidery lashes. I just grab the cheapest mascara to hand and the Miss Sporty one is like £2. It's nothing special, but it does the job. 

6. And finally for the eyes, if I want to create the smoky, sultry effect then I will grab my Front Cover Eye kit. I brought it a few Christmases ago and it was quite pricey at around £35 but it was totally worth it and it's so pretty. It comes with the palette shown, and loads of different eye shadows and little accessories.

LIPS

When doing my make up it can either go two ways as far as my lip colour is concerned. I am currently loving either bright red lips or nude. 

If I have done heavy-ish eye makeup then I usually go for a nude lip and let the eyes do the talking. If the eyes are still dark but lighter in appearance, I will then go for the red. Red lipstick makes me feel glamorous, as stupid as that sounds. If I have that on, I feel good no matter how crappy I do actually feel that day. 

I always use a lip liner and matte lipstick, I just like the feel and appearance and these are always in my makeup bag. 

I didn't go into detail on my lip must-haves as I have touched on those before. 

I hope you have enjoyed finding out what I carry in my makeup bag and that there might be some products you would like to try out yourselves.

♥

MUA Luxe Matte Lip Lacquer Review // Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Hey guys!

Today I have decided to review a product out of the MUA Luxe Range!

 They have not long brought this new range out in their collection, which you can find in Supedrug (UK) and I want to give you my honest opinion on one of their lip products. 

The said product is the 'Velvet Lip Lacquer' in the colour 'Criminal'.

I find MUA as a brand can be a little hit and miss at times. Some of their products I really love, whilst others can be a little disappointing. If you don't have this makeup brand available to you across the pond, then I will give you the low down. 

In short, they are a 'budget brand' a lot of their products such as the nail varnishes, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and lipsticks are like £1 which is super cheap. And to be honest, even though their products are a steal some of them are actually really good. 

How I see it, is why spend a lot of money on a high end product when a budget brand can give you the same results? 

It is total logic. 

Now, this new 'Luxe' range, is a little more expensive than their usual £1 bracket. And most of this range start off at £3 which is still a good deal. I have brought a couple of products from this range, one of which I am yet to try out. 

The packaging is a lot more fancy and I would say kind of expensive looking. They have really put a lot of effort into the appearance of this range and I suppose that is what caught my eye. And I LOVE the frosted glass packaging the product is encased in. Very original. 

This lip lacquer comes in 9 different 'vampy' colours ranging from neutrals to popping bright's, you can see for yourself here. I couldn't decide between 'Kooky' or the 'Criminal' but went for the bright pink because I like my lip colour to stand out. The purple would just make me look like a goth, which I will repeat I am not. :)

This is what the product claims to do. 

A lot of lip products claim to do the whole "kiss proof" thaaang but very few come out of it alive. This lip lacquer however survived the test of fate. Now, when I say "survived the test" I don't mean I have been going around kissing boys, because lets be honest, I have been a lone ranger when it comes to guys for a few years. So of course I had to do the 'blotting' test on my hand for signs of transfer. Nada, zilch.

"Awesome" you say?

Not so much! 

The product may not transfer easily off the mouth but it dries on horrifically!

Urrgghh, even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, and that is the correct adjective I will use for this product. Uncomfortable. 

Yes, like the company say's it "glides on effortlessly" which in fact it does. I will give it that, it is one of the best lip products I have used for that side of thing. The initial application is brilliant, but where it states that it quickly dries into the matte finish, I think that is where the problem lies. 

It dries onto your lips far too quickly leaving you with an extra dry texture, where your lips feel really tight and you end up with that annoying dried lipstick rim on the inside of your mouth. 

Girls, you should know what I mean when I explain that,where you have to scrape it off with your nail (well I do anyway)and it hasn't blended in. It just dries into the ring of lipstick death.

LIKE THIS!!! 

  

When you apply the lip lacquer initially it seems on application to glide on evenly and you think "la lala leeeelaaa" I am liking this product. 

But then it dries. 

And it is patchy.

And I am like "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!"

I am sorry MUA but this is not I wanted as an end result. It applied thick in some places and thin in others. 

This is obviously a close up and doesn't look as bad from a distance, but please, this is a tad nasty on the finale!

So basically if you are wanting a flawless looking end result from your lip lacquer, this isn't the product to go for. 

It was £3, what was I expecting really?! 

Ha, I will just edit the photo to show you how I kind of thought it would turn out. 

The overall turn out isn't super bad for this product as the colour is highly pigmented and doesn't change in tone when applied. But it isn't the greatest lip lacquer I have tried to date, it makes the 'Rimmel Apocalypse' lip lacquers look amazing compared. 

Oh, hello ye old dead hand...We meet again!! I am going to stop doing swatches if this is what happens every time.

I really do have normal hands with blood running through it!!  

I am sorry if this swatch offends you. It does me. Ha. 

Someone please enlighten me to why it does this?!

All in all, for me, it's a 'slate' not 'rate' product I am afraid. Yes it does most of the things it claims to do, but by'eck does it leave you with a gross feeling mouth, "velvety texture" nope, more of a "I need to get this off instantly" feel! Oh, and another thing, when removing it, it leaves you with a non-budge stain AND it crumbles and falls off your lips. What the?! 

I am glad I didn't get another shade from this collection as it turns out this product is quite disappointing. It would be okay left on for an hour or so, but throughout the day. No way hosay. 

The packaging is deceptive. It is still a cheap product!

 I suppose you get what you pay for in this instance.

I don't know if any of you ladies have tried this product and liked it? But let me know what you think if you have. 

I will leave you with a few 'selfie' snaps to have a look through.

 ♥

After the colour wore off. Not so vibrant. :(

I am loving the no eye makeup & lipstick look at the moment.