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!

So for every season, The Body Shop release a limited edition make-up collection, (Link to my reviews on the Winter Trend collection!), which I’m always so excited for.  This year might possibly be my favourite collection they’ve ever released!
So firstly we have my favourite item in the collection…
Shimmer Cubes Palette 19!
 
How bloody beautiful are these colours! I fell in love when I first saw them. 
The colours are Top L-R Emerald Sea, Sea Shell, Bottom L-R Hushed Orchid, Sparkling Sky
If you’ve ever seen any of the shimmer cubes before, you’ll know that each of these eyeshadows are literally cubes, and will last ages, so at £16 for four cubes, you’re definitely getting you’re moneys worth!

My favourites have to be Sea Shell and Emerald Sea, I don’t think I have ever seen a green eyeshadow so beautiful.  It looks more like a teal in real life.  So I’ve been experimenting with these and love to layer them over the top of liquid or kohl eyeliner on the top lid.  I’ve yet to take of EOTDs but I will very soon using these, but before then…

Here is a piccy with some examples.  At the bottom we have the blue and green eyeshadows over the body shops blue kohl, and at the top we have each colour layered over black liquid liner.  These pictures really do not do these colours justice, I apologise!
The rest of the range is gorgeous aswell.  If you check the website you’ll see images of a tiny cute blush compact puff – which you basically unscrew and puff the sponge onto your cheeks for colour – the powder is inside.  It has a mirror on it, and so saves you carrying around a mirror, blusher brush, and product, as its all in one. 
They’ve also re-designed their lip glosses, which I love.  The packaging is now decorated with tiny hearts, there are a few extra colours to choose from and they are now named ‘love gloss’ aha!


And the main added feature is the new applicator.  A lot of lip glosses seem to have this feature and I do prefer it.  As the brush is bigger its takes less time to apply the gloss, and its pretty to look at.
The colour I have is Fuchsia Flush and they’re all £9.50.  The formula seems pretty similar to their last glosses, its extra moisturizing and I’ll admit a tiny bit sticky, but not as much as their hi-shine glosses!

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these and what you think about them!

This is my favourite eye shadow palette that I own, and I own a few!  I first came across this gorgeous bunch of colours, when in work one day I served a woman who had the most beautiful brown, gold smoky eyes, that I’ve ever seen before.  I was stunned by how amazing her blue eyes looked with all the shimmering gold tones, so obviously I asked her what she was wearing, and she said it was a really cheap brand in Superdrug called something like Sleek.  Straight after work I went out and picked this palette up and its been my favourite since.
I will give you some swatches of the palette, not that you probably haven't seen millions of them before!




As you can probably tell from the images, # 1, 2, 4 & 7 are my all time favourite.  All together they create a stunning shimmery brown eye.  I much prefer shimmery eye shadows to matt, not sure why, I think they just are more stunning.  2 is the perfect base colour and brow bone highlighter.  I would ADORE for Sleek to make a few of these colours in their own compacts so I could carry the ones I’m wearing around individually, instead of carrying the whole palette as I’m scared I’ll drop it and it’ll brake! 
#12 is the blackest black eye shadow I have ever come across, seriously, you need the tiniest amount to get so much black.  #10 is the one that I find drops onto my cheeks the most when applying, its the most fall-out-y, but it is a very nice dark blue shade. I haven't used #5 & #6 much as I don’t think pinks suit me, but after swatching them I’m reminded to start wearing them more as they are super shimmery and attractive.  I also like #8 & #9 to add some colour into my black smoky eyes.
One reason I love these eye shadows, is that they are SO pigmented, you only need the tiniest amount to get the most gorgeous colours.  One of my pet peeves are shadows which look gorgeous, but are only achievable with lashings and coats of the product, well, this product serves me well in the pigmentation department.  I do think that Sleek should name each eye colour individually as well, just to make it easier when talking about each colour!
For £4.99, I assure you that this is one of the most best priced, good quality eye shadows sets you could ever get your hands on!
I also have the Original palette, which I will pop swatches up off within the next few weeks!  Who else adores Sleek?  Would any one like to see any looks which I create with this palette? XX
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Sooooooooo, who wants to see my current make-up collection?  I currently really love the way I store my make-up at the moment, its handy, practical and doesn’t look all to bad.
I’m currently living between two homes; My flat in London where I live during the week with two friends, whilst I’m at uni, and on the weekends I go home to the house I have lived my entire life, with my parents in Essex.  So at the moment I don’t have my entire collection all in one place.  All my favourite bits are here, in London where I spend the majority of my time, and the rest is back at the family home, which I haven't got pictures of yet!

This is my bedside table where I keep my ‘stuff’!
The four tier silver storage thing was like £5 from a little random store on my high street back home, and the silver mesh thing is a stationary separator from Staples, which cost around £6!  It is the perfect size to fit on top of the drawers, and to also hold any random bits.  I keep eye cream, lip balms, some foundations, body oils, brush cleaner and hair sprays here, as well as random essential oils and tattoo balms!
So, I’ll go through all of the drawers with you.
First drawer – Eye shadows! Pigments, glitters, shimmer cubes, paint pots etc!  The Barry M dazzle dusts are kept in a Muji box/tray thing!

Second drawer – Lip products! This is my favourite drawer! I keep most of my lipsticks in a, get this, ferrero rocher box – these are incredible and the perfect size to hold lipsticks, so next time you polish off a box, use it to store!  I keep lip glosses next to the lipsticks, and there is another ferrero box at the back holding even more lip products.

Third drawer – Blushers and bronzers!  I have a selection of shimmer waves, mineralized skin finishes and blushes which I adore, along with a few Body Shop limited edition blushers!

Fourth drawer – Eyeliners/mascaras! I keep a few false lashes on top, and underneath are mascaras, glitter liners, pencil kohls, and two eye shadows quads!  Again, my favourite glitter liners are in a Muji tray that you can see below!

Okay, so thats the drawers, onto the other bits!
 
These clear drawers are the cutest things ever! They are from Muji and it even has a mirror on the top lid, it was around £8 and they have loads of varieties of these boxes, I highly recommend!  Here I keep products that I reach for regularly, Body shop eye shadows and shimmer cubes, Mineral foundation, etc. 
 
I keep some brushes in a JD mug.  Mainly foundation and blusher brushes, along with some nail files.
AND FINALLY!

The products that I will most probably use every day.  I keep my recent favourite lipsticks and blushes here, along with my concelers, mascaras and brushes.  I used to keep my everyday products in a make-up bag, but it got messy and a box is a much cleaner option.  I rarely close the top lid like in the picture above though.  The box was under £2 from Hobby Craft!
So, what does every one think? I ADORE looking at make-up storage solutions and other peoples collections, so I hope you enjoy mine.  If there are any products which you spy and would like a review/swatch of, then let me know, also if there is anything that you want to know what it is, then comment below and I’ll get back to you asap!

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 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

I’ve been buying Barry M Dazzle Dust pigments since I was 17 and used to be addicted to them. I’d never before seen such a wide variety of colours and such good quality products for reasonable prices.
I decided today to swatch the ones I have for you and tell you what I like about them etc.


Top Row – L-R 64 (Fushcia), 74 (Purple), 34 (Cherry)
Bottom Row – L-R 29 (Yellow Gold), 44 (Bronze), 3 (Pink Gold)
64 – A vibrant pink, very bright, have only used this doing make-up for a theatre production.
74 – A nice deep redish purple, very charming, but again, would not wear this out unless blended smoothly with a black. Could wear this as an eyeliner though?
34 – I actually have two of this colour, and I have no idea why as I’m not too keen on it, it kinda looks like a bruised eye colour? Its a dark purple with blue speckles.
29 – A bright yellow, good for dramatic smoky brown eyes.
44 – The perfect bronze shade in my opinion. This is definitely one of the more wearable ones from my collection. I’m making a mental note to wear this shade more!
3 – The most adorable pink which shimmers gold in the light. So girly!

Top Row L-R – 14 (Khaki), 13 (Pale Green), 92 (Aqua Gold), 69 (Saphire)
Bottom Row L-R - (GLITTER DUST) 15 (Gold Iridescent), 4, 10 (Silver) (DAZZLE DUST)(Grey), 11 (Charcoal)
14 – This is a moody green pigment, very emerald and attractive.
13 – A cute pale green, very easy to blend.
92 – I’ve never worn this, again, it was for a theatre production of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
69 – Ugh, this colour is so gorgeous!! Its a blue which turns purple depending on the angle you look at it, its so pretty.
15 – A gorgeous shimmer which sparkles gold in different lights, I adore this colour and use it as a base on my eyelids, all the way up to the brow bone for definition on nights out. You could also use this as a cheek highlighter possibly? I will swatch it next to MAC’s vanilla pigment soon for comparison.
4 – A silver glitter dust, which in my opinion is toooo glittery. Literally chunks of glitter where everywhere after I used this. Its so pretty though, use for special occasions?
10 – Another one of my favourites, a gorgeous silvery grey, great for smoky looks. I like blending this over 15, with a touch of 11 on the edge for the perfect glamorous look.
11 – A dark dark black with a hint of white glitter shimmer, although not glittery at all and nice and easy to blend. Although it is very pigmented so you only need the tiniest amount!
Conclusion! - I only wear about three of these shades when going out at the most. Barry M are famous for having the loveliest colour collection and I’m so grateful that we have this choice on the high street, but obviously not all these shades are wearable on a day to day basis, but its good to have the choice. Slowly, make-up brands have been catching up with Barry M and creating new pigment shades (Gosh, for example), however Barry M’s cute packaging, originality and good pricing will always make them my favourite high street make-up brand.
I have a few of their lipsticks which I will be swatching for you all soon! XXX
P.S I was recently VERY lucky to win a competition by http://www.beautyjunkielondon.com/ to review clinques instant lift for brows – pencil. She wanted someone with dark eyebrows and a make-up blog to review it as her eyebrows are quite pale and I won through random generator! Once I get the product I will mail her the review and you will be able to see it on her site! Thanks Beauty Junkie!! XX
P.P.S – All the photographs are my own, please include a link to my blog if you are to use them anywhere else, and send me a link to where you’ve posted it. I bought all these products with my own money.

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