Christmas eve face and nails

I can't believe it's finally Christmas eve. Sooo exciting. I'm about to embark on an evening of Christmas movies, mince pies and wine. Happy days.

For today's post I just thought I'd show you my face and nails of the day.

what I'm wearing..

Bourjois healthy mix foundation

Rimmel Match Perfection pressed powder

MUA eyebrow pencil in Brunette

UD Buck for eyebrows

Mac Constructivist Paint pot

UD Half Baked

Green No7 eyeshadow (see below)

Maybelline Cat eyes mascara

ELF contour kit

Jane Iredale 245 karat gold dust in Rose Gold

Mac lipstick in Snob

I used a green eyeshadow from a No7 quad I got as a Secret Santa gift. The quad is gorgeous I thought you'd like to see.

The colours are beautiful jewel toned colours. They are all un named but I used the top left colour in my crease and lower lash line.

I also tried out the Jane Iredale shimmer powder that came in this months Joliebox. I'm very impressed.

On to nails...

Snowflake ring finger mani.

Products used:

Sally Hansen double duty base and top coat

Elf Light Red

MUA green polish shade 13

Elf white polish

Dotting tool for snowflake.

It's not the neatest but hey, I'm just learning. I think this makes for very cute festive fingers.

All that's left to say is that I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas with lots of love and happiness.

Deborah xxx

FOTD - Pink To Make The Boys Wink

I am not normally a girl for pink eyeshadow. I find it a really hard colour to pull off, but I wanted to show you a look I created recently using pink eyeshadow. I wore this recently when I went Christmas shopping with the boy, but I definately think this is a look that can be pulled off day or night.

I used a pink eyeshadow from my Sephora Pin Up Show Palette

The pink on it's own is a bit lairy, but I applied MAC's constructivist paint pot as a base, then the pink shadow. This made it a bit darker than how it shows here, but still very much pink. I then warmed up the eyes by using Hustle from the Urban Decay Naked Palette and finished off with Studio Makeup Eyeliner Pen and lashings of Maybelline Colossal Cat Eyes mascara.

I am really pleased with the final look and one I shall definitely be recreating very soon.

What do you think? Are you a fan of pink eyeshadow?

x.x.x

FOTN - Engagement Party

So I attended one of my best friend's engagement party on Saturday. I had an absolute blast, lots of drinks and dancing.

I thought I'd share my FOTN with you all...

Products

Witch Anti Blemish Primer

Revlon Colour Stay Foundation

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

Rimmell Stay Matte Pressed Powder

UD Buck On Eyebrows

MAC Constructivist Paint Pot

Sephora Eyeshadow from Pin Up Show Pallette

UD Sidecar Eyeshadow

UD Hustle Eyeshadow

UD Sin Eyeshadow for Highlight

L'Oreal Superliner

MUA Eyeshade Shade 20

Maybelline Collosal Volume Cat Eyes Mascara

MAC Lustering Lipstick

You can see from the pic below the pattern of my dress. I didn't get any full length pics unfortunately, but I really loved it. It comes to mid thigh and ruffles at the bottom. Let me know if you want to see a post of the dress in full.

Hope you guys had a great weekend - here's to the next one!

x.x.x

FOTN - Saturday Drinks With The BF

Thought I'd do a little FOTN post (how unlike me) to show my make up from Saturday night. Me and the boy went into town to have a few drinks with our friends, and here is my face....

I didn't wear this top BTW, this was just my lounging about/getting ready tee.

Products used:

Revlon Colourstay Foundation in 180 Sand Beige

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in 2 Light

Rimmell Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Silky Beige

ELF eyebrow kit

ELF eyelid Primer

Sephora Eyeshadow Palette in Pin Up (bright pink colour) all over lid

Urban Decay Hustle in crease

Urban Decay Darkhorse in outer crease and lower lash line

Urban Decay Naked on brow bone

Urban Decay Virgin in inner corner

L'Oreal Superliner

Collection 2000 Super Size Mascara

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzer

MAC Bite of an Apple Blusher

Sephora Lipstick in Glamour

Did you guys get up to anything exciting at the weekend?

x.x.x

I'm Back...With May favourites

Hey guys...remember me?

Well I haven't posted for absolutely ageeees!! I don't know why...I just haven't felt like it. I always told myself that if I didn't feel like posting then I wouldn't. It's no fun for me to have to force a post, and I definitely think its no fun for you guys either...no one wants to read a post that's so obviously forced and it's just not going to be good. So anyways, I didn't post for a couple of months, then the other day I was reading through my blog roll (I still read this regularly) and I decided I really missed blogging, and lo and behold, here I am...with May favs!!

The first thing I've been loving this month is the Lee Stafford poker straight flat iron protection spray. I've used this every day before blow drying to give my hair a bit of heat protection. I love it so much it's almost gone. Oh and the smell is completely divine.

Maybelline the falsies volume express mascara in black. This has been my staple mascara for a while now, it just gives me those fab, fat lashes that make me want to flutter all day.

Barry M nail paint in bright purple has been my go to polish this month. I think its such a pretty colour, but the name does baffle me...it's not bright!!

I picked up the Maybelline gel eyeliner at the end of April and at first I wasn't keen. I am a gel liner novice and at first I just couldn't get the hang of it. But a bit of practice and now I'm a-loving it. Its soo black and really stays put.

This ELF bronzer is actually something I picked up quite a while ago, but as it was winter I found it a bit too shimmery for me. Now, since we have a bit of sunshine (Emphasis on BIT) I have been enjoying this product a lot more, and the lighter colour makes for a great highlighter.

I blogged about my Good Things Stop That Spot clearing gel when I first got it, and since then I've been using it on any blemishes when they decide to rear their ugly head. I don't know how much faster they clear the spot but it definitely feels very cooling and soothing and I very much like it. It also smells really nice.

I won the MAC paint pot in Constructivist on a blog giveaway a few months back, and recently I've been loving it as a base for the colours in my Naked palette. It's also really pretty on its own.

Finally, I have discovered my absolute favourite nail polish remover in Cutex nourishing nail polish remover. It removes polish really quickly, it doesn't have a god awful acidic smell that lingers for hours, and it contains a whitening formula to help stop any nasty staining. A real winner for me!

Have you guys been enjoying any of these products? And what have been your favs for May?

x.x.x

January Favourites

Good Morning Girlies...

So glad it's finally the weekend!

Just wanted to share with you all my favourite products from the month of January...

1. Maybelline The Falises Volum Express Mascara.

I recently reviewed this mascara (click here) and if you've already read it you'll know I absolutely love it. It gives me full and thick lashes as well as added lengh, without the icky clumping.

2. No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in Pewter.

I really love this eyeshadow. I actually got it as a freebie in a No7 giftset and hadn't tried it until recently but the colour payoff is excellent and it's really longlasting and doesn't crease. It makes a great base for other shadows, and is just as lovely on it's own.

3. Clinique Super Moisture Make Up in 04 Ivory.

I've been using this foundation religiously for a couple of months now (reviewed here) and i am still in love with it as ever. It's really moistuising so is great for my dry patches and it makes my cheeks look really dewy and youthful.

4. E45 Moisturising Lotion

This is definately one of my holy grail products and I always find myself repurchasing. It's great on my face for an everyday moistuiser, great to use all over my body and I also use this if I want to mix some in with my foundation to give a sheerer coverage. AND it's cheap, so what's not to love.

5. MAC Venomous Villians Blush in Bite of an Apple.

When I first bought this I thought it was really bright and wasn't too keen on it, but around Christmas time I started using it and I found, if used sparingly, I could create a gorgeous 'Just been out in the snow' rosy glow. Even though the snow has now gone, I'm still enjoying faking this look.

6. ELF Lipstick in Runway Pink

I've had this lipstick for months now and I think I've worn it almost every day in January. It's just one of those lovely nude pinks that doesn't make you look dead. I think it's very flattering with my skin tone and I always use it with a lipbalm underneath to stop it drying my lips.

There we have it. January summed up in 6 bullet points. Do any of these products appear in your favourites?

x.x.x

Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express

Hey lovelies

Hope you've all had a very lovely week.

I recently mentioned in my teeny tiny haul post that I picked up Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara.

Firstly, I love the colour of the packaging and I love how it's actually identical to Barry M's Bright Purple nail paint, my fave ATM!

Secondly, I really like the brush. It did take me a few applications to get used to it. At first I found it messy, as the formulation is quite wet and I kept smearing it under my eye when trying to do my lower lashes. But once I got used to it I found it applied very nicely.

As for the results...?

My lashes are already quite long but I felt like it still added a decent bit of length to them. I really liked the level of volume they added to my lashes and how they don't look really clumpy, as I've found a lot of volumising mascaras tend to do that. Finally I really like how they are still fairly separated. I don't think this mascara actually makes my lashes look false, but I'd certainly be happy to use this mascara on without false lashes on a night out. It really made me want to flutter...

Do you guys rate this mascara?

x.x.x

Maybelline Superstay 24hr Foundation

I recently picked up a bottle of Maybelline's Superstay 24hr Foundation. Having heard some good things about it, I was keen to give it a go.

First off, let me say I am sceptical about ANY foundation which claims to last 24hrs! But I was looking for a good 8-10 hours wear out of this, I didn't want to get to lunch time and there was none left on my face.

Here's what Maybelline say:

Why You'll Love It

SuperStay™ 24HR Makeup stays comfortable and looks naturally flawless all day

Micro-Flex formula provides 24-hour wear and No Transfer

Withstands heat, sweat and humidity

Oil-free, dermatologist tested, fragrance-free. Suitable for all skin types.

Sounds good right?

I chose the shade 010 ivory and I was pretty pleased with the match. The first thing I noted about the product is that the application is thick. It also dried very quickly so you have to be fast with applying and blending. The foundation gives good coverage but I found it looked pretty cakey. If you have any flaws, ie dry patches or spots, this is going to just clump around that area and not look nice at all. Because it's oil free, it's not great for dry skin.

One way I did get round this was to add a little moisturiser (E45 lotion) to it and it did definitely help with the application and finished look.

The final observation about this foundation is that it definitely did not last 24hrs. Not even 10hrs. I reckon it looked good for about 6hrs then it started to wear off, and that was both with and without being mixed with moisturiser.

I will continue to use this foundation, mixed in with E45 cream until it's used up but doubt I would repurchase. Have you guys used this product? What was your opinion?

x.x.x



Tiny Little Haul

Hey lovelies

Hope you have all recovered from the New Year frolics and are feeling nice and refreshed after a little break. I go back to work tomorrow and back to the mundanity of everyday life. And of course as I already mentioned, BACK TO THE GYM! Aaaah!

Just thought I'd share my tiny little shopping haul from the last few days. Enjoy.

1. Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder.

I really needed a new everyday bronzer as my Hoola is hitting pan so I picked up this Bourjois one, I really like the fact that it's quite light so no orange patches and there is some really subtle flecks of shimmer in it which add a lovely highlight to the face.

2. Barry M nail paints in Bright Purple & Grey.

Believe it or not, these are my first Barry M nail paints and so far I'm very impressed. Have been wearing the bright purple since New Years Eve and have not had to do any touch ups! I think this is incredible. I love the colour but I'm gonna take it off and re-paint in grey tonight.

3. Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara.

I only purchased this today so haven't had the chance to try this out, but I have heard good things about it. Hopefully it will live up to the praise but I shall do a review on this very soon!

4. MUA Eyedust in shade 6.

I haven't tried any of the MUA eye dusts yet so picked up this lovely colour. It's a kind of greyish purple but has tiny pink and green shimmery reflects in it. It swatches beautifully so I am very keen to actually try it out.

Have you guys tried any of these products?

Love

x.x.x



Favourite Autumn/Winter Nail Polishes

Hey Ladies

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

I wanted to do a little post to show you my favourite Autumn/Winter polishes. Now these are the polishes that I personally have been wearing for the past month. It seems I am a little purple crazy at the moment but I love these polishes each in their own way.

L-R

 Rimmel Pro Lycra in 406 Purple Addict

No7 Stay Perfect in Milan

Maybelline Forever Strong in 05 Extreme Blackcurrent

Barbara Daly in Plum Pudding.

A plethora of purples.

I'll start with the Rimmel polish. I am a big fan of their nail polishes. I love the big applicator brushes and I love their wide variety of colours. This colour is truly gorgeous and also the brightest of the four. I like this polish because I can get about 3 to 4 days wear out of it before it is completely chipped.

Next, No7. This polish really does give you disco nails. I love how glittery it is, but not chunky glittery. It is very eye catching and I have to say this is my favourite of the bunch. Looks lovely on toes as well.

The Maybelline polish is the one I've had the longest and as these darker and colder months approach I always find myself reaching for it. It's really dark, almost black. And I like that. I like that you have to glance twice at it to check if it is actually black or not. One or two days before chipping occurs though, and on a colour this dark, it's not a good look.

Finally, Barbara Daly for Tesco. I was first attracted to this polish by the name. Plum Pudding. Yum. And then of course the colour. This was the first Barbara Daly polish I had tried and I am in love with the colour. The only downside is that it did chip after one day but it was a nice consistency to apply so I didn't mind touching up.

What colours are you guys adorning your pretty talons with this Winter?

x.x.x

FotN

Hey guys! hope everyone's okay. Just thought I'd share my (first...eek) face of the night with you. This is from last night. I went through to the boy's and we went for a little dinner :0) I've been experimenting with bold eyes lately so here's my attempt.

 

Products used:

No7 Intelligent Balance mousse foundation

17 Matte Bronzer

No7 Blush in Coral Blush

ELF Eyebrow Kit

ELF Eyelid Primer

MUA E/S in Shade 7

MUA E/S in Shade 14

ELF Duo E/S in Berry Mix

Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eyeliner

17 Maximum Volume Mascara

MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

Maybelline Shiny-licious lipgloss in Peaches 'n' Cream

I was quite please with the dramatic look I created. What do you guys think?

Love, Debs xxx

Maybelline Pure Liquid Mineral

Hey guys!!!

Just thought I'd leave a post to let you know my favourite foundation of the moment....

I have been using this almost religiously for the past month and I must say its fast becoming a favourite. This is a medium coverage foundation but it goes on sooo light and smooth you hardly feel like you have any foundation on which I love. Its not at all cakey and leaves a gorgeous, dewy finish.

I use shade 030 in Sand. Its marketed as "Breathable foundation for a healthy and flawless look" and I have to agree. It blends in so well with your natural skin tone so you are not left with nasty "tide marks" around your neck and chin (yuk yuk yuk).

Has anyone else tried this? What are your faves at the moment??

Love Debs xx