Scene Anime

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!

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

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 currently only own two Barry M lipsticks and I love them both so much! Here they are on my lips -
147 -

This is one of my favourite lipsticks, its so beautiful.  Its a gorgeous light peachy pinky coral and its just stunning, I haven't seen a lipstick like this colour and the pigmentation is great.  It can make your teeth look yellow if you put too much on though!
52 -

52 is a brave neon purplish pink, which has been quite fashionable the past year.  There was a week not long ago where I wore this everyday, I just love it.  It is daring and you need to be confident to pull it off.  I didn’t realise quite how bright and purple is was until I took pictures of this!
Conclusion - Barry M have the most beautiful and daring colour collections which is great for those wanting to be different.  The packaging is black and sleek (I’m sure you’ve all seen it!).  The only thing about these lipsticks is that they are quite drying.  They aren't really moisturizing at all, I always need to apply alot of lip balm before and after I use this, but this definitely wouldn’t put me off wearing them!
I hope everyone's having a lovely weekend! XX
Small note – All pictures included are mine, please ask me if you want to use them on your blogs/website and put a link back to my blog.

Hey guys! So this is my first of many many lipstick swatches posts.  It has been one of my new years resolutions for the past two years to wear lipstick every day, and at the moment I am succeeding!  When I wear lipstick I glamorous and confident and I think all ladies should embrace our feminine side by accentuating our lips! 
Today I’m popping up swatches of a few Body Shop lipsticks I have bought.  They are all pinky/reds as I think they suit me well.
(I’d like to apologise now for my wonky, bulbous-fat lips!)
First Colour – 48


This is a lovely pale pink, the one out of all which I probably wear most as I love Barbie pinks.
Second – 55 Pure Blush


This colour is VERY similar to the first, but it has the slightest purplish tint which makes it a tad darker and bluer.  Still a very pretty wearable pink!
Third – 57 Pink Flirt

(with flash)
I LOVE this colour, its so beautiful, an obvious darker pink but it has a touch of orange coral. 
Fourth – 69 Pinkette


A nice dark pink, lots a lot scarier in the tube but comes out very wearable.
Fifth – 52 Rich Scarlet

(facing away from sunlight)
One of Body Shops two nice red shades!
Conclusion – The Body Shop released some beautiful colours when they expanded their lipstick collection and I’m so glad they did.  The colours are all beautiful and are suited to a wide range of skin tones and colours.
All of the lipsticks contain community trade marula oil and beeswax which are super moisturizing.
My one drawback is that you have to apply quite a lot of product to get a very pigmented colour, it doesn’t make my lipsticks run out any faster, but it just takes longer than one swipe to get the colour of the actual stick, if that makes sense!
I will be doing many more lipsticks swatches soon, so stay tuned! And I’d like to say Hello and thank you to all my followers! Its nice knowing that some people actually read this instead of me just waffling on to no-one! Haha! XX

I have been a very busy blogger recently attending lots of events and I have some exciting new products to show you all!  The first of which are the new Clinique Chubby Sticks!  The event was held at the Estee Lauder offices in Central London and we were greeted with the biggest jelly tower – how bloody cool is that!  Amrita (6 Inch Stilettos) and Jen (Beauty Junkie London) had a giggle prodding and poking them – they had extra gelatine in so they wobbled like crazy.

 

We had a chance to talk and play around with the new Chubby Sticks that have just been released – they are basically like a sheer lipstick/balm and come in eight different colours.

I was given six to take home and try out, swatches below!

We managed to take a photograph of all eight of them, which you can see below – swatches below on the lovely Amrita’s hand!

What I think – I’m pleasantly surprised and impressed by these little beauties and they have become firm staples in my handbag.  I can’t get over just how moisturizing they are, it actually just feels like you are applying lip balm, just with a great tint of colour.  These are super sheer but you can build them up to be more pigmented.  I quite like the fact that they are so sheer, it means I can apply without looking in the mirror and they aren’t too heavy to wear in the summer. 

Also, to get more product you simply twist the bottom, like a lipstick, this makes it much easier than a lip crayon that you have to sharpen and waste lots of product.  My favourite from the range is ‘Whole Lotta Honey’, which I’ve been carrying every where and wearing every day and I also adore ‘Woopin’ Watermelon’ and ‘Mega Melon’.

These retail at £13.50 a stick – which I’ll admit is expensive, but if it doubles up as a lip balm then I think its worth it.  My lips haven’t felt so soft wearing a lip colour in a long time.

Which one of these are you eyeing up? What’s your favourite sheer lip product?

xox

This week Sleek have released a new lipstick range consisting of 20 lippies and I’m very excited to show you four of them today.  I’ll admit I have a few too many lipsticks, but I NEED these in my collection – they’re definitely up there on a par with the famous Barry M lippies!

L-R Amped (matte), Stiletto (matte), Peach & Cream (sheen), Barely There (sheen).

Amped - a vibrant, purple based pink – very bright and daring but perfect for nights out!

Stiletto - a stunning, dark, blue based red.  On my pale skin this lipstick looks incredible, but also drains any colour from my face as its such a pigmented, dark red.  I feel like a vamp when I wear this and I love it – although wouldn’t wear it every day, only on special occasions.

Peaches & Cream – As soon as I saw this I knew I’d love it and I do.  Its a gorgeous light, peach orange and I suspect this will be popular.  It is quite bright and pigmented though so I’ve been wearing this lightly dabbed on the lips.

Barely There – My ABSOLUTE favourite.  I adore this lippie, the colour is beautiful and like a pink nude with a tint of peach – I hardly look like I’m wearing anything on my lips.  Very comparable to Barry M’s #150, but a bit more moisturizing!

What I think – The colours in this new range are beautiful, very pigmented, really unique and eye catching, although some of the formula’s are quite drying (like Barry M lippies).  Barely There is definitely the most moisturizing which is probably one of the reasons it is my favourite.  Amped and Peaches & Cream do apply quite patchy and can be quite drying but this isn’t a problem as long as you apply lots of lip balm before use and take your time applying them evenly (you can even apply a clear balm or gloss on top to keep them looking soft).  These retail on Sleek’s website and in Superdrug stores for only £3.99 a lipstick – such a good price for a good quality, pigmented lippie! 

What’s your favourite high street lipstick?  Will you be trying any of the True Colour lipsticks?

xxx

I feel like the older I get, the worse my memory gets!!  I can’t remember much of January already and I’ve been so worried about forgetting everything that I’ve been writing in my journal lots, just to remind myself of all the things I’ve been getting up to!  Is anyone else having this problem?  I had to think long and hard about what products I’ve been enjoying using the most this month, but I finally remembered, haha!

Stargazer Nail varnish – Still obsessed with nude natural nails, I found this in New Look and have been wearing it ever since.  One coat is natural looking, two coats gives you a nice natural colour but you can still see the white of your nails through it which is a nice touch – they don’t look too mannequin-like.  I know it will go with everything I wear so I’ve had no reason to take it off!  Will post swatches soon!

MAC Peaches Blush – I’ve wanted this blush for ages and I’ve been wearing it all January.  Its so so pigmented so I know this is going to last me forever before hitting the pan, and the colour is just gorgeous.  It really is just an orange peach shade, which will look lovely in spring/summer too!

MAC Morange Lipstick – The only red I’ve been wearing all month, you can lightly dab it on your lips for a flush of orange-red, or you can layer it up for a stunning, glamorous look.

MAC Please Me Lipstick – I find this very easy to wear no matter what colours I decide to use on my eyes, it goes really well with either brown or black eye shadows.  I actually think this colour would suit anyone!

MAC Select Cover-up Concealer in NC15 – My skin has been pretty terrible lately due to trying out new skin care products and stress of my last term at University and this little concealer has been a lifesaver.  Its really pigmented so you only need a tiny amount and I just pat it directly onto any redness or spots and they immediately vanish.  It doesn’t work as well when you just rub it into the skin, so try patting it on instead!  Will definitely be purchasing another when I run out.

No7 Smokey Eyeliner Brush – I managed to get around 5 of those Boots vouchers in January and I only used one of them – stupid huh!  I got this brush with my voucher and so I only paid something like £1.64 for it, and its quickly become my favourite brush.  Its perfect for adding a darker colour to the crease of my eye and for applying powder shadows around my eyes to line them.  Love it!

The Body Shop Black Liquid Liner – My staple liquid liner! I forgot how much I loved this product until I used a Rimmel liquid liner for a whole month before realising it just wasn’t as good as my trusty TBS one.  The black is the most perfect black, the nib of the liner is great and it lasts pretty well on my eyes.

I apologise for the amount of MAC products in this post – I understand that its not very affordable, but I’ve really adored these products this month!  But don’t fret, I’m still a high-street make-up lover at heart! 

What’s your favourite nude nail polish and liquid liner?  Can you recommend me any gel eye liners?  I’m tempted to purchase one!

XXX

When I go into a MAC store, I spent the most amount of time drooling over the lipsticks.  It’s a dangerous place for me to be, in front of those many rows of lippies!  I have bought a fair few over the past year and I will share them here today. 

I know how aggravating and hard it is sometimes to find a decent swatch of certain lip colours so this is to aid those in search, and to also show you the kind of colours I like in a lipstick.

L-R

Please Me, Chatterbox, Patisserie, Pretty Please, Rozz Revival, Morange, Toxic Tale, Jazzed, Ever Hip

Please me - I kept seeing swatches of this and fell in love so I couldn’t resist getting it for myself.  Its really wearable and I’ve been wearing it most days to just add some colour to my face.  Its a pink but quite a subtle, sexy one.

Chatterbox - I asked a friend to pick this up for me as she was going to Westfield's and I wanted a new lippie, and I’d say it was risky for me to purchase something without seeing it in the flesh first.  When I first received it I wasn’t too keen, I expected it to be brighter and lighter in the flesh than it was, but I have grown to love it.  Its a gorgeous pink that really suits my skin type, although I’d say its a darker kind of pink than I usually wear. 

Patisserie - My most used MAC lipstick (I’ve just bought my second!) as its a very natural colour, my lips but better.  I really don’t think that this lipstick gets as much recognition as it deserves, hardly anyone talks about it!  The reason I actually bought this lipstick was because I took my favourite Estee Lauder lipstick (Crystal Baby) to my local MAC and asked the MUA to match the shade up, and the closest happened to be Patisserie. (I’ll do a dupe post soon!)  Anyway, gorgeous nude pink shade, lasts well, smells delicious and is very moisturizing.

Pretty Please - The one I won over at Laurens Dressing Room.  Completely different to any other lipstick of mine and its nice to have a change from wearing colours!  This adds a gorgeous pearly shine to your lips, its very pretty although pale, and kind of reminds me of 60’s makeup, worn by Twiggy.  I also like that I can apply this on top of my other lip colours to add a shine.

Rozz Revival (DISCONTINUED?!) - My first ever MAC purchase!  I have a feeling this is discontinued (which isn’t very helpful for you guys!) but its a pretty sheer, shiny red which I pull out on special occasions.  This is the second time MAC have discontinued something which I like (the other being my favourite contour blush, Strada) – annoying!  Although I like this red, I probably wouldn’t have repurchased anyway because I’d want to try another red instead!

Morange - My newest addition!  My best friend bought me this a few weeks ago as a little random act of kindness (best friend ever huh!).  Morange has been on my wish list for ages but I’ve never plucked up the courage to get it, so I’m so grateful that I own it now – Its stunning!!!!  I’ve heard that orangey-reds are very in in 2011 so I will be sporting this lots.  Its the most beautiful orange red which looks classically stunning and I’ve been wearing it almost everyday recently!

Limited Edition

Toxic Tale - I’ve wore this lots towards the end of 2010, the colour is stunning and very unique, I think.  It instantly glams up my whole face and outfit and I just love it!

Jazzed - Another favourite, similar to Ever Hip but more orange, I’m sure you’ve seen this all loads already also!

Ever Hip - Love this lipstick so much that I’ve stopped wearing it as I don’t want it to run out!  Came out with the Liberty of London collection, I love the colour and the packaging, everything about it.  I’ve spoken about this lippie so much on my blog so I don’t want to bore you talking about it any more!

 

(If anyone would like to see swatches of these on my lips, then please just ask and I’ll take photos when I next get a chance!)

WISHLIST - Ravishing, Kinda Sexy, Vegas Volt, See Sheer.

What are your favourite MAC lipsticks?  Recommend me some! XXX