Scene Anime

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I have been such a busy bee! I had an acting job in Dorset this morning, and spent all yesterday rehearsing. I drove down with the acting team last night to stay in a hotel in preparation for the job today! It was very fun, I really enjoy acting and it is a little hobby of mine when I’m not at uni!
Anyway, on Tuesday night I went to a football match with my Dad and Sister, and I used my sleek storm palette to do my make-up for the evening, as a few of you said it would be good to see how I use the palette. This is a kind of smoky brown shimmery eye which I do the most often with these eye shadows. I will be doing more colourful looks with them soon!




These are the products I used -

• So I primed my eyes with UDPP and applyed #2 all over my eyelid as a base colour.
• I then blended #1 and #3 on my lid, up to the crease.
• Then I blended #4 in the crease of my eye, and blended it up a tad higher so you can see the colour when your eye is open, and I added #5 into the outer corner, just to open the eye up more!
• After I had blended all the eyeshadows together with my holy grail brush (The Body Shops blender brush), I lined my eyes with The Body Shops black liquid liner, and Gosh’s black velvet kohl liner.
• I used The Body Shops new mascara ‘Big and Curvy’ on my lashes (Review to come!) and finished with a slick of MAC’s Ever Hip lipstick!

The key to this look is building up the colours from light to dark, and blending, blending, blending! This eye shadow brush I just could not live without, it is a staple brush I use whenever I do my make-up and the only one (apart from a blusher brush) that I carry with me constantly.
Do you like this look? So sorry for my tried looking eyes, I think I have slight insomnia and can’t always sleep too well – that and the fact that I watched Paranormal activities a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to sleep with the light off since! Haha! Was this helpful to you? If you do something similar do show me! You can email it to me via my email address in the sidebar of this page!

Tonight, I’m in a lipglossy kinda mood, so I decided to dig out some of my glosses to swatch for you!  I have four of the Body Shop’s Hi-shine lip-glosses, one full size and three minis!

01 – Pink Cream
(sunlight)
(flash)
This is one of my two favourite of the Hi-Shines.  Its a gorgeous pale nude brown in the tube, but applies as a clear almost nude lip-gloss. 
11 – Juicy Peach
   (flash)(sunlight)
My second favourite, Juicy Peach!  A gorgeous peachy pink in the tube, which sparkles pink and coral on the lip!  The gloss itself is pretty clear, but the pink sparkles look adorable and suit any complexion!
10 - Perfectly Pink
(flash) (sunlight)
I have never actually worn this out before, as I don’t usually tend to wear dark pink/purple on my lips, but looking at these pictures, I’ve fallen in love! This is probably the most pigmented out of all the Hi-Shines, it comes out as a purple/mauve pink, which sparkles like crazy under light, as you can see in the first picture. 
???
Now, I have no idea which shade this is by looking on TBS’s website, and as it doesn’t say the number of the shade on the mini I have, I really have no idea!  But I will name a few guesses which the name could be below
This is the colour in the package, just so you know.
(flash) (sunlight)
Okay, so I think this could be either 02 Mauve Dream or 03 Bronze Beam.  I will check the next time I go to TBS and update this blog when I find out, or if any one else knows, then let me know!
This again is a beautifully glittery shade, but with more pigmentation, and colour than the first.  It has the same purple pink sparkles but the base is more coloured red than being clear.
Conclusion – If you have ever tried a Hi-Shine Lip Treatment, you will know that they are super moisturizing, yet super sticky!  I wouldn’t wear these on a windy winter day, instead I’d save them for the summer when I know my hair won’t catch in the gloss.  As they are so sticky, they literally cover your lips in the most silky-smooth-feeling layer of gloss, which feels pretty incredible when you pucker your lips!  The colours are very pretty, and although they look very glittery, they haven’t got any chunky glittery chunks in, at all, they are all smooth and the glitter just sparkles, instead of sits on your lips, which is a bonus (it basically doesn’t feel cheap).  The smell of the gloss’s are very nice, quite fruity – maybe passion fruit?  The tubes are real handy to use and carry around and easy to apply from the tube.  The glosses have also never leaked in my bag, which is a plus as I know a few glosses have that tendency!  They retail at £9.50 for a full size 6ml tube which will last you forever as you don’t need a lot to get the gorgeously glossy look.
What’s your favourite glossy tube shade? Has anyone used them before?
P.S – I bought all of these hi-shines with my own money. All opinions are honest!

Here it is, the second part of my Gaga dress up!

This looks was inspired by the ‘Sandwich’ scene in the Telephone video

How I did the eyes –

• I primed my eyelids with UDPP, and stuck some selotape along the outer corner of my eye towards the end of my eyebrow
• I then wet an eyeshadow brush and created a paste/creamy eye shadow with The Body Shops shimmer cubes 19, shade 04 sparkling sky and placed it all over my lid up to the crease – like so
• (yes, the only tape in my room was decorated in leopard print!)
• I then picked up a blender brush and blended black eyeshadow (MACs Beauty Marked) in the crease of my eye and up outwards.
• Then I lined my water lines with black kohl, and a little of the blue paste, and smudged some kohl onto my lower lash line.
• I then placed a shimmery gold eyeshadow (MAC’s Nylon) onto my brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye for definition.
• Filled my brows in and added mascara!

It took about 25 mins to do the whole look which was quite speedy for a look I’ve never practised before!  The look lasted the 6 hours until I got home from work completely, it didn’t smudge at all – that’s why UDPP is my holy grail primer.
 
I decided not to wear any false lashes this time as I wanted the blue to stand out, and I didn’t want my eyes to feel heavy again through work, but if I was dressing up properly I would have worn them!  The lipstick I used was TBS #59 which is a gorgeous neon pink, and I used my favourite blusher of the moment, TBS #12 Apricot Shimmer.
Hope you girlies liked this one as much as the last! They are both very opposite looks but so fun to do! Let me know what you think!
& Don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already (The Link is here!!) I’m giving away some cute Body Shop and Gosh beauty products, and the entry closing date is next Thursday! XXX

This evening I am reviewing The Body Shop’s new mascara – Big and Curvy!  It came out around two weeks ago and should be permanent in their collection.

The packaging is GORGEOUS.  I adore the bright vibrant pink tube – it makes it very easy to find in the depths of my make-up bag, TBS are really going to town with their new colours and packaging recently.  The wand is thin, long and quite bristly, allowing you to coat every lash with just one swipe of the product.
BEFORE -

ONE COAT -


I find that all Body Shop mascaras give me wonderfully long lashes.  This one really lengthens and separates them as well as giving my normally invisible lashes, some brilliant volume and intensity.  One coat really is enough for beautifully long, striking lashes.
TWO COATS -

Two coats obviously adds more length and volume to the lashes and makes the look more dramatic, which is great for transforming your look from day to evening.  It can verge on clumpy (which I find with every mascara I use – maybe I don’t apply it right?) if you pop too much on.  The colour of the black also intensifies with another coat.
Conclusion – This mascara is suitable for contact lens wearers (as are the other TBS mascaras) but the amazing thing about this one is – it does not budge!  This isn’t claimed to be a ‘waterproof’ mascara, but seriously, once you apply this, it will not smudge, bleed or flake ALL DAY LONG.  I can’t stress enough how tough this is, which is again why it would be great from day to evening wear.  The only slight problem with this is, it is a pain to remove at the end of the day.  I normally have to use a few pads of make-up remover and a wet wipe to completely remove every trace of this.  I haven't yet tried using a waterproof eye-make-up remover yet though so that may possibly work better.  This can be found for £10 at all Body Shop stores, so if you like the look of it, check it out! Also, TBS has a 3 for 2 offer on makeup, so you could pick it up with a few other bits if you needed too!!
What do you girlies think?  I adore the packaging and the look it gives, do you?
P.S – This product was given to me free of charge as a TBS customer consultant, but it was not intended for to be reviewed.  All opinions are honest and reliable! X

More Body Shop lipstick swatches!
54 – Pastel Rose

54 is a mega-frosted peach lipstick.  The colour is a nice peach nude, and the frost gives a beautiful shimmery dimension.

66 – Coral Splash

66 is a bright yet kinda dark coral orange.  I think this colour looks stunning on tanned and olive skin tones, a friend of mine wears it and just looks stunning. Coral oranges are very popular in lip and nail shades this spring. 

63 – Sunset Peach

Sunset peach is peachy pink lipstick which I think is very moisturizing.  The colour is beautiful, its almost a nude pink, but with more colour and pigmentation.  I think this is a lovely colour to wear day to day.

10 – Soft Heather

10 is a stunning purple shade, I don’t think I can wear this personally as I’m too pale, but a girl at work wears this and it compliments her tanned bronze skin perfectly, it almost looks like a nude on her.  Purples are also very ‘in’ this spring in the world of make-up and fashion!

14 – Pink Ginger

Pink Ginger is a wearable dark pink which is so pigmented and easy to apply, I can’t help but love it.  I think its quite similar to the new ‘Rougue coco’ Chanel lipstick modelled by Vanessa Paradis!  This lipstick would look gorgeous with a natural eye look with lots of mascara!
You can see my first post with Body Shop swatches in here - http://mesluxes.blogspot.com/2010/03/body-shop-lipsticks.html .  All of these lipsticks are very pigmented and moisturizing with the community traded marula oil and they are also very wearable day to day.
What ones do you like the look of? Have you tried any of these colours before?
I have 4 more body shop lippie swatches coming up in the next week! X

I’ll start off by saying, although I haven’t yet found my HG mascara, this is one of my favourites – I’m currently on my third tube of this!  I think I generally prefer mascaras with a comb like wand, as it helps me comb through my unruly yet invisible lashes.
I’ll show you the pictures and then tell you what I like/dislike about it.

No Mascara -
 
One Coat -



Its pretty obvious why I love this mascara, as using just one coat I get the most gorgeous, long, defined lashes that I could possibly achieve.  The colour is a perfect black, my lashes aren't clumpy, or spider like; the comb helps to reach every single lash and separate them.  One coat of this is usually enough for me – I’m not really a mascara girl to be honest – I used to always forget to put it on in the mornings before school, but I do rely on it to make my lashes look long and neat when using lots of eyeshadows.
Two Coats -



Firstly, don’t be put off with how clumpy they do look in these images – I will admit that I am due to buy a new one of these as the formula has become dry, making it looks extra clumpy.  So with two coats, you obviously get a more intense long lash effect.  If the tube was new, the second coat normally helps to comb through the lashes, but just adds an extra coating to volumize more. 
Conclusion – As I said at the beginning, this is one of my favourite mascaras.  I love how I can create long, defined lashes with just one coat of this stuff, I would recommend it to people who prefer comb–shaped mascara wands as its the best I’ve tried.  The packaging is pretty normal – a dark green tube with a silver top, making it nice and sleek to carry around with you.  This retails at £9.50 at all Body Shop stores.
Does anyone else use this mascara?  Are you impressed with the results of one coat?
X

This is my first ‘favourites’ post, and I’ve enjoyed looking back over the month and picking out what I have really enjoyed using and what may be new to my collection.

Here they are! We have -
Aussie Luscious Long Leave in Conditioner – I dread washing my hair because it takes so long to comb through and brush after, but with this stuff it takes half the time.  I just spritz it onto the ‘matted’ knot in my hair and after a few combs the know has disappeared.  I’ve also been using an Aussie Conditioner with this, and when I use them both together my hair is a lot easier to handle.
Clinique Instant Lift for Brows – I won this from a Beauty Junkie in London.  She was sent it by Clinique to review but her eyebrows were too light to use this as its the darkest shade, so she gave it away to another beauty blogger with dark eyebrows and I was very lucky to win it!  I will be sending her a review of this product to post on her blog by the end of the week so you’ll here about what I fully think of this product when that is posted.  But I’ll just say its very easy to use, and it is the perfect colour for my dark eyebrows!
The Body Shop Shimmer cubes #19 – You can tell just by looking back at the posts in my blog that I adore this eye shadow set, the colours are beautiful, they are a nice pigmented consistency and you can use them in so many ways – I defy someone to not love these!
Lipstick #57 – I have been wearing this a lot since I got a lot of good feedback from it on the swatch post I did - Link Here! I think it really suits my big lips and blonde hair and the colour is just gorgeous.  It lasts really well, I apply it once every 3 hours when I wear it and always get compliments when I wear it!
Blush #12 Apricot Shimmer – This is my favouritteeeeeee blusher EVER!  And I can’t believe I’ve only just started using it!  As you may have read, I am obsessed at the moment with coral and orange shades of make-up and ever since I bought this, I have been using it every day.  It is a perfect orangey-apricot-y shimmery blush.  It is very pigmented and you get the colour you see in the pan in a few sweeps on the cheek.  I will do a swatch of this soon so you can all see how beautiful it is.
No7 Speed Dry Nail Colour #39 Coral Kiss – Read my post below Here to see why I love this Colour!
MAC Pigment sample Softwash grey – I bought a sample of Softwash Grey, along with a few others, from Caroline’s Beauty Blog, and this is my favourite.  It is a perfect shimmery grey/silver for when I do my smokey looks.  I especially like using this along with MAC’s Nylon, in the inner corner of my eye!
Barry M Flamingo Pink #305 Nail Varnish (Not Pictured) – I haven’t got this on hand to photograph but you can see the pictures and why I love it in This Post!
Hope you enjoyed this post, I enjoyed doing it!! What is everyone else’s last months favs?
P.S I purchased all of these products with my own money apart from the Clinique eyebrow pencil which I won in a competition, and the TBS blush – which I was given as it was an old tester in my store.  All of my opinions are honest and I was not paid for these reviews!

I went out with my class last Thursday to celebrate the end of term, and here is how I wore my make-up for that evening!



Eyes – UDPP
MAC Nylon and Beauty Marked eyeshadow
The Body Shop eye shadow in 20, black liquid liner & black super-volume mascara
Gosh velvet touch kohl eyeliner pencil
Lips – My favourite lipstick EVER (at the moment!) MAC’s Patiserie
The Body Shop lip liner in 10 Pink Brown
Face – MAC’s Studio finish concealer in NW15
The Body Shop’s all in one face base 02 and Apricot shimmer 12 on the cheeks!

In this photo I was testing out my new Babylis Pro 230 Radiance Straighteners, one side is obviously straightened and the other isn’t.  I normally straighten my hair once a month as I’m scared about damaging it, and kinda prefer my hair wavy.  I do adore the straighteners though, they heat up to 230 VERY quickly and make my hair super straight.
A quick snap of some of me and my class mates from the night -

XXX

Hey Guys! So I have some exciting news and some pictures to boot. The Body Shop I work in (Thurrock, Lakeside) has been chosen as the shop to trial a new shop re-vamp! We are having our whole store changed completely at the end of April so I'll let you know the changes when they happen!

As part of the new trial we have also received a completely new make-up section, which I took pictures of, of course!




It all looks lovely and sexy/sophisticated now huh!? The black looks professional and charming, the layout is more playful and fun, and most importantly to me, finally all the eye shadow and lip colours are in colour shade order!! It makes it alot easier on the eye and looks neater aswell. The make-up drawers and the mirror also have a nice wooden effect which looks expensive, but I forgot to take a picture of that!
So, what does everyone think? Should all Body Shops have their make-up counters like this? XX