Monday, 26 September 2011

OPI Bargain!!!

I nipped into one of my local department stores this weekend (http://www.fenwick.co.uk/stores/york) to have a nose round with my fellow cosmetics consumed companion! otherwise known as Lydia (or Bert)!

We like to have a good nose, try not too miss anything. I didn't even realise that you can buy OPI in there, never even been down that side of the store, but Burt is on the case and knows where to get em all!

Anyway, after hunting around various stores and not finding Nail Envy any cheaper than £18, I find this lil set in Fenwick! and the price??? £18.30 for the pair!!!!

Total bargainous! Well happy! also met the loveliest Lancome consultant, she couldn't have been more helpful! and when the conversation turned to my Halloween costume, she bunged me a free sample of their most orange foundation! haha!

Also this week, I got the latest in beauty box, the one that costs £1. There wasn't much I wanted on it at the time, it seems like there is more now.

As you can see there is little luxury to the box, certainly not what you would expect from the likes of Glossybox or Boudoir Prive, but then it is a tenth of the price and you certainly get what you pay for!

The box is cheap and flimsy and the insides is literally sachets of samples, but you do get a few, as you can see, 4 each of the skin sample but just 2 of the hair product.

Below is the info of the product information that was included;

I let my mum have these samples as a little treat as she wouldn't want to fork out for the more expensive ones. She's only tried the eye cream so far, she said they were cool and refreshing and sunk into the skin easily.

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Its getting bigger!!

Just another teaser for my Halloween costume!

Modeled by my mums friend.

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

NYX Lipsticks and Barry M varnishs

I've been after a nude matte lipstick for months, but just haven't been able to find one anywhere, until someone recommended NYX. I've never used it before but I've seen a lot of people using it (mainly Americans) and I didn't think you could get it in the UK, WRONG! they have a distributes in Sheffield and a UK site.

you cant really go wrong for the prices, £5 for a lipstick, but the problem is that the postage is nearly as much, so if your just after one item it can make it a lil pricey, but....I did a bit of an ebay search and found some of their round lipsticks for £3.25 with 75p postage, so I bought 2! and they refunded me half the postage! :) http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Sallys-Cosmetics

Circa left, Summer Love Right.

They look a lil brown in this pic, they are a teeny bit peachier in real life. I kinda wish I'd got the matte one as I'd been tempted by the price on these, but they definitely need a lip liner of base coat underneath if you have naturally reddish lips like mine. I'll do a make up look with them some point this weekend and show them off.

I also bought 2 new nail varnishes from ASOS.

Barry M Foil Effects Nail Paint - Silver foil

Barry M Instant Nail Effects - Black magic

The silver is Fab! one coat and they are metallic and lovely!! (stinks to high heaven though!)

But more importantly...it made a fantastic base for my 80's hair metal tastic black crackle nails!!! :D

Excuse the scruffyness, I hadn't neatened em up yet, but I'm really happy with the look, really easy to use and fab! I'm now thinking some of the bright colored ones would be fab!! :)

Monday, 19 September 2011

New Storagey goodness!!

My storage purchase's have arrived!!! :)

The new boxes and drawers. Boxes contain hair accessories and extensions and foot creams and pedicure stuff. The glass drawers are older and were a gift from my mum. Filled with Jewelry.

L-R - hair clips and bobbles, earrings, blushers (I don't have many yet!), MAC eye shadows, Benefit eye/concealer things, MAC pigments & MAC glitters.

L-R Foundation powders, primers, fixers and concealers, lipsticks, lip liners and glosses and eyeliners and mascaras.

L-R - Moisturizers, body creams and butters and various false eye lashes, jewels and misc eye shadows.

Collection of perfumes and brushes, my sewing box and a bottle of champers from my graduation.

The other side of my desk! lol not finished that yet, but I'm tired. will add pics when its all done! :)

Sunday, 18 September 2011

Want of the Day 18/9/11

DIOR

Velvet Eyes Backstage Eyeliners-To-Wear Adhesive Eyeliner Patches

Dior Advises...

"Inspired by artistic catwalk eyes, Dior invents its first kit of eyeliner–patches that perfectly recreates all the glamour of fashion show eyeliner in one easy step. True fashion and style accessories, these four pairs of ready–to–apply adhesive eyeliner–patches reproduce the emblematic eyeliner style of Dior fashion shows: from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from matte black to sequin effects. Multi–wear and adjustable, these extremely comfortable patches with their expert designs are easy to apply to the eyelids, at the base of the lashes and adapt to all eye shapes."

Now I totally suck at keeping on extreme eyeliner, it always runs or I smudge it, to I would love to try this set, though not at £47!

Link to purchase from Selfridges.com

Retro Nails

So...back in the 90's when Courtney Love was my idol, I read a article on nail polish fav's of the stars. Courtney's choice was Delux Beauty polish. That article always stuck with me as the bottle was so different and retro looking and the colours were beautiful.

15 years or more later, I did a bit of research on this seemingly discontinued range, I found that the Delux Beauty line of nail polishes was founded by Hollywood makeup artist Jillian Fink-Dempsey. She pioneered the concept of custom color combinations by layering polishes and was the first to introduce the Topcoat With Color product line, stains designed to be worn alone or layered over another color for maximum sheen. The collection of nail lacquers were inspired by 50's cocktails and you could choose from iridescents, opaques, metallics and coloured topcoats.

I managed to track down a few bottles on ebay a while back and bought them, I kinda thought that they would probably be un-usable but I just didn't care, I just wanted those bottles that had stuck in my mind for all that time.

Anyway, they arrived and the colours were lovely...

(Excuse the crappy pic, taken on my phone so the colours are a little dark, though the 3 on the right are iridescent which cant really be seen in the shot.)

So, I've had them for a while now, but I thought I would show them off as to my suprise, even though these are probably the best part of 15-20 years old, they work brilliantly! the arnt thick or gloopy, if anything they are a little runny (3 layers are required for a decent cover).

SO here is me wearing the coral coloured one on the far left. (the names arnt clear on the bottles)

So, 15 or more years down the line...Courtney still holds a place in my heart (even if a lil cringe worthy one) and I have the varnish of my dreams and it still works!!! :)

Saturday, 17 September 2011

Beautyboxes Galore!

So...with a lil research I've found a number of UK beauty boxes online so I thought I'd share! :)

Obviously I'm aware of Glossybox! lol
Seems to be a collection of the more high end beauty products and previous boxes show that there are some full sized products included, with discount code for the various full sized products, all for for £12.95 inc P&P. See my review of my September box here - http://spittingpink.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-glossybox.html or view more details and previous boxes at the Glossy box Site here - http://www.glossybox.co.uk/
The site also has a reward system for feedback called Glossydots, the website claims "The idea of GlossyDots is very simple: Collect up to 1000 GlossyDots and receive a GLOSSYBOX completely free. This means that we convert your monthly subscription of £10 into GlossyDots. You receive 20 GlossyDots for each completed individual product survey." the only problem is, I've not been able to access this yet (along with the Beauty Profile page) and have been advised this feature is not currently working.
Below is the list of brands that they advertise for the Glossybox.

Beauty website Feelunique.com have now created their own beautyboxes which are £9.95 inc P&P found here on the site - http://www.feelunique.com/beautybox
The site claims "5 deluxe beauty samples every month" and much like Glossybox "Savings when purchasing full-size products" that are automatically applied to your account (assuming these only apply on their own site.)
Below is the list of brands that they advertise for the beauty box.

Latest in Beauty found at http://www.latestinbeauty.com, took me a lil while to figure out but here it goes.

Option 1: You fill in a beauty profile and from that your given a selection of around 4 samples in each of the 3 categories Skincare, Make up & Fragrances and Hair & Body products. (none of which seemed very impressive).
You are sent these 3 products of your choice for £1. (which you have to pay via text.)

Option 2: Again you build the selection yourself, though it appears you can have as many as you like, though these samples are charged between £2-£12 each, then the box is sent with free P&P. (brand options were: Abahna, BioEffect, Burts Bees, Cowshed, Dr Lewinns, Madara, Murad, Realhair, Richard Ward & Sunshots.

Option 3: Themed boxes. there only appears to be one and it's called the "CEW (Cosmetic Executive Womens) 2011 Beauty insiders winners box" (bit of a mouthful) the website claims there is £20 worth of samples....

The box contains the following samples:

Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream – 15ml tube
Batiste Dry Shampoo – 50ml can (fragrance may vary)
Nivea For Men Q10 Revitalising Gel – 15ml tube
Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash – 55ml bottle
Dr. Organic Rose Otto Skin Lotion – 5ml Sachet
Lanolips 101 Ointment - Sachet

Don't think I'd pay £20 for it!

All in all...I'm not that impressed, but may be worth keeping an eye on to see if the product range increases.

Boudoir Prive found at their site here - http://www.boudoirprive.co.uk seem much more like the Glossybox from their site, aimed more towards the luxury premium products at £10 inc P&P.

Below is the list of brands that they advertise for Boudoir Prive.

Finally, the last one I came across is Amarya who supply a selection of natural and organic beauty products and they have released their own Beauty Box which can be found on their site here - http://www.amarya.co.uk/index.php/amarya-beauty-box.html

The website doesnt give too much information, but it claims that there are "Full sized product(s) worth at least £20 from our leading brands, Trial-sized products and samples of the newest products and an exclusive mystery offer only available to Beauty Box subscribers." and I cant find any information about P&P but the details suggest it is just £10 per month.

Ok, so, thats all the Beautyboxes I can find in the UK, if you know of any others, then please do contact me/comment on the post and let me know so I can add them to the list, or try them out myself!! :)

Friday, 16 September 2011

September Glossybox.

So I ordered my first Glossybox and it arrived today! :)

Obviously obscured my address.

Pretty box inside a pretty box!

Everything about it just feels luxurious and special. ^-^

So....the products......

1. Green People Day Solution.
You can certainly smell the main ingredients of this one. Very much a green/planty smell. You can smell hints of aniseed, cannabis oil, geranium and aloe. At first it feels quite thick for a day cream, but I do wear really very light moisturizer, if any at all. Does leave your skin feeling very soft though . (I'm not a good one to ask on moisturizers, I'm a bugger for not wearing them! lol)

2.HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette.
This alone was worth the money, its a lovely product. I'd been really put off by brow products before. I'd tried a few benefit ones in the store and really disliked the look. But I have to admit, I had a play around with this set and I really liked the results!

left eyebrow with right eyebrow without.

you cant REALLY see the difference it makes. I always though I was quite lucky to have naturally quite thick and well shaped eyebrows but evidently it can be improved on! :) The colours are great too, a full range that can be used as both brow, eyeliner or shadow.

3. Moa the Green Balm.
I'm not really sure what this is for. Might have to look at their website and see, but it has a lovely texture and it says on the side to use anywhere on the body so I stuck a bit on my lips as they have been dry recently and it worked really well, smells lush too...again, very planty but nice.

4. Plum by Mary Greenwell Eau de Parfum.
OMG! this is lush!!! My next mission is to see how much this is and when I can afford to by it! I'm often left feeling a little deflated by perfumes nowadays, there are very few smells that inspire me to buy and most are very similar, But this baby is lovely! spicy warm plummy smell, really warm and wintery. Delicious!!!

5. Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner.
You get 2 sample sachets of both of these and depending on your hair length you could probably eek it out into 4 washes. Now I went into this one as a sceptic. I'm not really one for expensive shampoo or conditioners as I've never felt they had much difference than the cheaper ones. but....I have to say, though the shampoo didn't lather well, it did leave my hair silky and untangled which is unusually for my hair at its current length. The conditioner was no different to any other, left it on for a few mins and then rinsed through. It did leave my hair very silky and it smelled delish! that real salon smell, rather than the perfumed, fruity floral fragrance of the cheaper makes. When I blow dried my hair, it was soft, shiny, the tones seemed deeper and more luxurious and it fell naturally into its style with very little effort. The only draw back is I have quite fine hair (though there is alot of it) and I'm a serial hair toucher and very quickly I can feel it starting to look greasy, though I have to admit, it still looks good! hah!

So, all in all....was it worth it. Meh, I'd prefer it if it was just £10 without the £2.95 p&p like the american Birchbox equivalent, but, I would have never gone out and bought the Brow product and I think that will definitely now be a part of my evening looks! I wouldn't have gone out and bought a premium hair product but I am gonna go have a look now and I wouldn't have been exposed to such a beautiful perfume which I will definitely be purchasing! so, yeah, its made my day, I like the surprise, I like the packaging and the special feeling and I feel and smell lush right now! so sod it, I'm in! bring on Octobers!!! :D

Crown Brushes received! :)

So I posted that I bought some brushes - http://spittingpink.blogspot.com/2011/09/yesterdays-crown-brush-purchases.html

Well, here they are! :)

They are all really soft and beautiful, apart from the Chubby Shadow - http://www.crownbrush.co.uk/c417-chubby-shadow.html

The chubby shadow is made with natural fibers and although it REALLY picks up the powder well, it feels a lil scratchy on the eye and I much prefer the softer more synthetic feel on my eye lids.

Speaking of synthetic, my long awaited stippling brush is finally here! its beautifully soft and gives a beautiful even coverage! I'm really happy with this brush, now I just need to pick up a new liquid foundation for the winter to use it with!! :D

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Halloween costume sneak peek!!

OK, so I've just put together the skirt and put it on to see what it looks like, dont think you can see in the pics how sparkly it is but I'm excited!! ^-^

Edit: forgot to mention, I used this site to make it. http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tutu_tutorial

2011 Halloween - Big Gypsy Bride!

Ok, so this years Halloween costume is gonna be Big Gypsy wedding!!

My inspiration...

So fare I already have a pale pink corset which I have let out with tons of really thick pink ribbon.

I have purchases about 10 meters of the following tulle's -

CANDY PINK SOFT BRIDAL VEILING TULLE FABRIC 150CMS WIDE -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140594713051?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2648#ht_1504wt_905

Pink Sparkle Stardust Glitter Tulle Net Fabric -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120568652319?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_5447wt_905

And these cracking battery powered fairy lights!!!

Now to find a tutorial on making a great tutu!!! :D

(of course I will post pics when its done!!)

btw... Make up look I'm going for....

Halloween costumes.

So...to my favorite time of the year! HALLOWEEN!!!

I rarely actually go anywhere that exciting but the lure of dressing up and spending faaaar too much money and time on creating the perfect outfit is a must!!!

So before I post a thread on 2011's ideas... here is a brief history of Halloween.....