SWATCHES - Stila Merry & Bright Palette

The Stila Merry & Bright palette was part of the holiday collection this past winter.

It is an eyeshadow and blush palette in one tiny travel friendly compact.
It did come with a Kitten Lip Glaze, but that was so awful I won't even bother reviewing it on here.

I paid £5.00 for this palette (and lip glaze) in the ASOS sales.

The packaging is cardboard, with a fairly decent mirror in the lid.
I have to say I am not crazy about the packaging, because although small, sleek and sturdy, there is one huge flaw in this palette.  Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to stick powder eyeshadows and a cream blush together?

I'll be honest, the only reason I bought this set was because I've always wanted to try a Stila Convertible Lip Cheek colour, and this comes with 2.2g of the shade Lilium (a popular shade in the range).
My problem is that it is impossible no matter how careful you are to not get black eyeshadow in the cream blush section, and even more impossible to get a brush into the blush without smearing it everywhere either.

That gripe aside, the product is very handy and cute too.

The shadows aren't the best I've ever used, and not something I'd reach for , but for travel it is ok, and there are a couple of lovely shades.

The blush is nice, a lovely colour, but I found for my combination skin that it was a little too greasy for the cheeks and a little too drying on the lips, so not ideal.

The palette contains 6 shadows totalling 7.5g, and 1 convertible colour at 2.2g.
Eyeshadows are: Chill, Glisten, Joyful, Ebony, Butterscotch and Molasses.
Cream Blush as mentioned above is Lilium.

I imagine people would love these palettes for keeping in the bags for quick touch ups, but don't see someone reaching for it for an every day look because the shadow quality just isn't there for most of the shades.

 

 

 (L-R) Chill, Glisten, Joyful, Ebony, Butterscotch, Molasses

Lilium

Lilium

SWATCHES - Sally Hansen Cream Blushes

LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE!!
HG ALERT!!

OMG, I can't believe how awesome these insanely cheap Sally Hansen Cream Blushes are.

I paid €2.00 each for them (madness), and for that you get 2.7g of product - say whaaaaat!

Shade 1010-01 Beaming (Rayonnant) - the lightest out of the 3 I have, this is my favourite on my fair complexion.  It's just a soft delicate peachy pink - perfection.

Shade 1010-05 Bloom (Veloute) - a gorgeous rosy pink

Shade 1010-15 Rosy (Rose) - a pinky brown shade with mauve undertones, great for tanned skin or wearing in autumn/winter

These blushes have a deliciously creamy texture, but when applied dry down to leave your cheeks looking fresh and glowy but not greasy.
They are the first cream blushes I had ever owned, and was nervous because I have oily skin and didn't want to look a hot greasy mess, but this hasn't been an issue at all.

My favourite way to apply these is with my Sigma F80 Brush.

Sorry my swatches are a little jacked up, but you know how it goes with cream products, they don't stay looking pretty for long :)

(L-R) Beaming / Bloom / Rosy

Beaming

Bloom

Rosy

(L-R) Beaming / Bloom / Rosy

 

 

SWATCHES - Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate

Firstly, why can't products have the same name in the UK/Europe as the USA??

Anyway, shade #70 Metallic Pomegranate, or Pomegranate Punk as it's more popularly known is a beautiful bronze plummy red shade with flecks of gold shimmer running though it.

This is a stunning shade to make most eye colours really pop.

I'm a big fan of the Colour Tattoos that I already own, and had high hopes for this.
Swatched, it applies opaque in one swipe.
Sadly, on the lid, even with a usually fail safe eyelid primer, this stuff creases and shifts about on the lid literally as soon as I've applied it.

I did find that if I applied a similar shade powder shadow over the top immediately, that it set well for the day, but that's not ideal.

The other tattoos apply just as well and set very quickly, leaving me with little or no creasing, but this shade has to be set almost as your applying it or its straight off and migrating all over the place.
I don't know why this is, because it doesn't seem any creamier than the other shades I own.

I've found the best way for me to get wear out of this shade is to wear it on the lower lash line only, because it's a complete no-no for my lids.

Has anyone else had problems with this shade?  I'd love to know.

SWATCHES - Rimmel Apocolips in Nude Eclipse

Oh dear

I so wanted to love this lip lacquer (think lipstick and gloss in one) :(

Everyone on YouTube was raving about the Apocolips line (genius name by the way guys), and a top favourite seemed to be shade #600 Nude Eclipse.

First of all, for this shade at least, the formula is totally off.  It applies extremely streaky, which only gets worse the more you apply.
The scent is abysmal.  I know a lot of people have complained about it online, but it really is hard to get past.  It smells of melon.  It's put me off even eating a melon again haha.
Sometimes I can get past the scent of something it the product is amazing, but this isn't.
The shade isn't unique either.  It applies a more peach nude than first appears in the tube.
Sadly, I foresee a bin in this lip products future.

On a good note, the applicator is pretty cool.  A doe foot wand with a flat edge that holds product so that you don't have to keep pumping the wand back into the tube for one application.  Very clever.

 

Look how streaky it applies :(

 

 

Available for £4.49 on ASOS

 



SWATCHES - Barry M Lip Gloss in Bubblegum

I'm gathering myself quite a little Barry M collection of late.

To be quite honest, so far I have found the product quality to be far superior to many high end brands, and they are some of the lowest drugstore products around.

I'm already obsessed with my other 2 Barry M glosses in Coral and Toffee, and noticed that my gloss collection was lacking in the pink department.

This has a cream formula, again very cushiony on the lips like the others I have, however I have found this one to be ever so slightly less juicy feeling on the lips, just a tad drier in texture.

A true bright Barbie pink, this is sure to appeal to a lot of girlies out there :)

I did expect it to smell of bubblegum, so that's just something my nose has to get over, because I love the colour too much (I hate bubblegum).

 

 

 

Available online at ASOS for £4.25

Bargain!

 



SWATCHES - Barry M Lipstick #52 Shocking Pink

I knew from the name Shocking Pink, that I should expect just that, but some of the swatches I saw online just made it look bright pink.

Guys, expect this to be NEON!!!

Shade #52 Shocking Pink is exactly that, and definitely not for the faint hearted lol.  It is blue based with an almost purple tone through it.

I personally find this shade more wearable on me when worn with Barry M Gloss in Bubblegum over the top, just takes it down a slight notch (SLIGHT!!!)

What surprises me more than anything is that for £4.49 the quality of the formula on this little beauty is astonishing.  It is opaque in one coat, no dragging, no streaking, just BAM, solid colour.
It goes on quite matte, but does not feel drying in the least.
Expect this to stain the lips too hahaha.

Beautiful formula, great price, gorgeous colour, although probably best suited for night time looks....you'd definitely get some looks if you wore this to do your Tesco shop in ha.

 

One coat!

Worn with Barry M Gloss in Bubblegum

 

 

Barry M Lipsticks are available at ASOS.com

 



Peach Love

Peach is such a great colour to wear through spring and summer, adding a beautiful glow and brightness to the complexion.

Every spring I obsess over wearing peach lips and cheeks with a nude eye.

My current favourite peaches are:

  Revlon Matte Blush in shade #003 Perfectly Peach

  Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in shade #03 Peche Cosy

  Barry M Lip Gloss in shade #11 Coral

  Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in shade #51

  NARS Nail Polish in Orgasm

I love this Revlon blush for my complexion, I have strong pink undertones and find this soft peach shade really balances out the pink in my skin.

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my all time favourite lipsticks is MAC Ever Hip, but with it being Limited Edition and quickly running out, this Bourjois one is a fairly close match once on the lips. Not an exact dupe, but close enough once worn.

The Barry M gloss works so well over this lipstick, or just great on its own for a sheer wash of colour.

The Barry M glosses have quickly become my favourite, they're just so comfortable to wear.

I was surprised when I got the Healthy Mix Concealer to see how peach toned it was, so it works great for correcting any under eye circles.  Make sure you have eye cream on though first, else it can be slightly drying in appearance.

NARS nail polishes aren't my favourite I must be honest, I don't really rate the quality for the price you pay, but Orgasm is unique enough to warrant the cost.  It does require 3 coats though to look great, but the formula dries down quite quickly so this isn't a real issue.