Siren

Siren was the last of my Lime Crime magic dusts to test out, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. In this FOTD I used it as a shadow on top of a black base and wet as a liner.














UDPP
Yogurt e/s
Red Velvet s/s
Beauty Marked e/s
Sharkskin s/s
Lime Crime Siren magic dust
Blacktrack f/l
Auto-de-blu Technakohl Liner
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Random falsies

Lollipops and Cupcakes

I forgot to make a list of what I used here, but I think I can guess most of it.































































Face
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Springsheen blush

Eyes
UDPP
Yogurt e/s
Ricepaper e/s
Expensive Pink e/s
Dear Cupcake e/s
Parfait Armour e/s
Beauty Marked e/s
Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Zero
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Lingering Brow Pencil

Lips
Lollipop Lovin'

So Scarlet

Seems like ages since I last updated this blog. I've been bouncing between being super busy and super ill, so haven't been able to sit in front of the computer for long enough to post. I have managed to take some photos of some of my makeup looks. This is the first






































Face
L'Oreal HD Foundation in Rosey Porcelain
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Blooming Blush

Eyes
UDPP
Yogurt e/s
Silverthorn e/s
Illegal Cargo e/s
Shale e/s
Carbon e/s
Blacktrack f/l
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Lingering Brow Pencil

Lips
Beet l/l
So Scarlet l/s

The Lime Criminal and the Circus Girl

This is my second FOTD using my new Lime Crime magic dusts. I was amazed by the lack of fallout when using these. They crease a little, but I have that problem with most eye shadows, so I'm guessing that they'll hold up well for most people.

































































As usual, all MAC unless otherwise stated:

Face
L'Oreal HD Foundation in Rosey Porcelain
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Alpha Girl Beauty Powder

Eyes
UDPP
White Frost e/s
Lime Crime Lime Criminal Magic Dust
Lime Crime Circus Girl Magic Dust
Humid e/s
Carbon e/s
Blacktrack f/l
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Lingering Brow Pencil

Lips
Melt In Your Mouth Cremesheen Glass

FOTD - Primadonna

Here's my first time using a Lime Crime magic dust. Primadonna is so incredibly pigmented! I love it!


































































All Mac unless otherwise stated

Face
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Alpha Girl Beauty Powder
Fashion Frenzy Blush

Eyes
UDPP
Lime Crima Primadonna Magic Dust
Warm Chill e/s
Cool Heat e/s
Submarine e/s
Plumage e/s
White Frost e/s
Auto-De-Blu Technakol Liner
Blacktrack f/l
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Lingering Brow Pencil

Lips
Chatterbox l/s

Stay tuned for more FOTDs using my other magic dusts!

Product Review - Lime Crime

Look what arrived for me today!












Unfortunately, I was halfway through doing my makeup to go out when I got these, so there's no FOTD yet. I can promise there will be one soon. The moment I noticed the Lime Crime stamp upon the white envelope, the rest of my makeup was thrown aside while I tested them out. As you can probably tell, I was excited to receive these!

So what's all the fuss about? Some of you may have stumbled across Doe Deeres makeup tutorials a few years ago. Her looks were bright, colourful, and filled with glitter. Fast forwards to 09, and I hear that she has her own line of multi-coloured makeup. After seeing the swatches on her site, I was sold. So I scrimped and saved, and finally ordered four magic dusts:
(from top to bottom)
Primadona, a hot pink
Circus Girl, a bright yellow
Lime Criminal, a lime green
Siren, a bright red














On the left are the shadows applied wet, and on the right, dry. No base.

Let me tell you now, I'm in love.

Primadona looks kind of coral-ly in the jar, but once applied is a beautiful shimmering pink. It's quite soft when applied dry, perfect for a pretty every day look.

I was a little disappointed when I first applied Circus Girl and Lime Criminal dry. Then I applied them wet, and wow, that really does make all the difference. Circus Girl is a wonderful bright yellow with a slight gold shine to it. Lime Criminal is fantastically bright, true lime green, which I can't wait to try out. I'm sure these two will look great together.

Siren has to be my favourite of the lot. I've been disappointed with a fair few red shadows in the past, but not this one. In some lights it's an almost brick red, but the moment the light catches it, you get a fantastic flash of bright red. The photo really doesn't do it justice. And this one is bright when applied dry too. I'm seriously in love with this shadow.

I know I've heard people complaining about the price for the amount of product. The magic dusts are $12, which is just over £7, which I don't think is bad at all (but then again, as a UK'er, I'm used to paying lots for makeup). You probably get about 1/2, maybe 2/3 about as much as you get in a Barry M dazzle dust. However, I prefer these much more than dazzle dusts. They're more finely milled and they stick to the skin much better. I gave away my dazzle dusts. There's no way I'll be doing the same with these! Here's a quick size comparison, with a MAC fluidline pot, and a 2 pence piece.












As I haven't had a chance to test these out properly yet, I can't say how long they hold up. I have decided I'll be going out on Friday night, simply so I have an excuse to test these out (and show them off!). But my first impressions are that they're a good quality product, and highly pigmented. If they're as good as I think they're going to be, I'll be buying more.

You can get magic dusts from here. At the moment there's 20% off. Presales for the new lipstick line start September 1st, and from the sneaky looks we've seen on Doe's blog they look like they're gonna be colours that make you stand out from the crowd (Airborne Unicorn will be mine!).

For all you UK'ers, delivery took 12 days and only cost $5.

Simple FOTD

All Mac unless otherwise stated:

Face
L'Oreal HD Foundation in Rosey Porcelain
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Blonde MSF

Eyes
UDPP
Shroom e/s
Satin Taupe e/s
Woodwinked e/s
Blacktrack f/l
Carbon e/s
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero
Benefit Badgirl mascara
Lingering brow pencil

Lips
Fanfare l/s

Bargin Buys - Nail Varnish

I never spend much on nail varnishes. I'm unbelievably bad when it comes to my nails. I just can't keep nail varnish looking nice for more than a couple of days, no matter how much money I shell out. I chip nail varnish in my sleep (I'm not even kidding. I have no idea how I do it). Because of this, I've tried a fair few of the lower end brands of nail varnishes, and I thought I would share my findings. So here's what's in my nail varnish collection at the moment:

From left to right














Two coats of all, except Barry M, which has one coat














17 Last Fix Nail Polish in Tropical Island - This has a sticker on in, saying 'New Precision Brush'. Personally, it looks like a regular brush to me. It's a pretty coral colour with some gold sparkle. It applies sheerly and evenly and the colour builds up well. This lasted about a day before it chipped on me, which isn't too bad I suppose. It's nothing spectacular, but for what you're paying, you can't complain.
Price - £1.37 (Boots)

Barry M Nail Paint in Cyan Blue (no. 294) - Barry M are know for their brightly coloured cosmetics, and the nail varnishes are no exception. This one is a bright, matte, blue. The nail varnish is a little thicker than the 17 stuff, but it's still easy to apply. I was amazed by the colour pay off. In the swatch photos, I only used one coat of Barry M, compared to two of each of the others, to show just how pigmented this is. Staying power is good. Lasted 2 days on my nails before needed touch up.
Price - £2.89 (Boots)

Boots Natural Collection Nail Colour in Black Cherry - Love this colour. It's a glimmering deep red. Again, it's pretty sheer, but the colour builds up well. It only lasted a day before it chipped though.
Price - £1.75 (Boots)

No. 7 Colour Miracle Nail Colour in Miracle Cerise - This is the most expensive nail varnish, but I got it for free so I thought I'd put it in here. It's a nice pink that turns bright red when you put a clear nail varnish over it (I used No.7 So Strong). This makes french tipping easier. It's a thicker formula, but it still applies evenly. Took a little longer to dry though. And it took me less than 24 hours to chip it.
Price - £6.50 (Boots)



Miss Sporty Lasting Colour in shade 11 - The Miss Sporty nail varnishes are all very sheer. Shade 11 is a pretty blue with a green tint when it catches the light. Really pretty. But because it's so sheer you need a few coats. In the swatches I only used two coats, and you can see how sheer it is. Three coats usually leaves me happy with the results. Because it's so sheer it dries fast, which is good for someone like me who is too impatient to stop doing things to wait for her nails to dry. This lasts about 2 days before it starts to chip.
Price - £1.95 (Superdrug)

Again, from left to right














Two coats of all














Maybelline New York Forever Strong Professional + Iron in Extreme Blackcurrent - This is the thickest of the nail varnishes, and it's therefore harder to apply evenly, and it takes the longest to dry. You only really need two coats of it though. It's a nice dark purple, which I am starting to prefer to black. However, the staying power leaves a lot to be desired. I chipped it in my sleep.
Price - £3.91 (Boots)

Miss Sporty Lasting Colour shades 13 and 29 - Shade 13 has got to be my favourite nail varnish. It's a pretty pink with gold shimmer. I'm curious as to how close to NARS Orgasm nail varnish (£12.50) it is. Shade 29 is a darker pink, with a slight silver shimmer, which, although is nice, isn't one I wear often.

I think I'll be sticking to my cheap nail varnish. Miss Sporty for pretty shimmery colours, Barry M for bright mattes.

FOTD - Black Ore Solar Bits

The Solar Bits were released with the MAC Solar Field collection last year. They looked so pretty that I couldn't resist them. But once I actually got them, I was kind of at a loss as to what to do with them. Talk about fall out city! But every now and again, when I can be bothered to clean up the mess, and have the patience to work with them, I bring them out. I haven't showed them love in a while, so I thought it was about time I used them again.















































All Mac unless otherwise noted:

Face
NARS Mont Blanc Oil Free Foundation
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Blooming Blush

Eyes
UDPP
Shroom e/s
Goldmine e/s
Carbon e/s
Black Ore Solar Bits
Blacktrack f/l
Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Zero
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Lingering Brow Pencil

Lips
Nothing

Product Review : Too Faced - The Bronzed and The Beautiful

I've always stayed away from bronzers. Up until recently, my only experience with them left me looking more like an Umpa-lumpa than sunkissed. They were either too orange, too dark, or both. Then I spotted Two Faced's Snow Bunny. It's divided into four sections. A white/gold stripe, a brown bronzer stripe, and two pink stripes, which solves the orange problem. I decided to buy The Bronzed and The Beautiful kit, rather than just Snow Bunny, as my house mate tans beautifuly and I'd been after a nice bronzer for when I do her makeup.

The Bronzed and The Beautiful contains three bronzers; Snow Bunny, Pink leopard, which is a mixture of a light bronzer, a darker bronzer, and pink (all in the pattern of leopard spots), and Sun Bunny, which consists of two darker bronzers. It also comes with a mini kabuki (or as they call it, 'Flatbuki') brush. For size comparisons, I've compared the box with a MAC blush palette, and the flatbuki withMAC brush 129.




























Swatches
Snow Bunny: I swatched the four stripes separately, and then them all mixed together. As you can see, three out of the four swatches are so pale they barely show up on the underside of my arm. Now you know they're pale! In my opinion, this is the perfect colour for the paler than paler. It adds a fantastic healthy glow to the skin. However, it is pretty sparkely, so if you don't go careful you'll look like you've been in a glitter-related accident.















Sun Bunny: This one is dark. Waaaaaay too dark for anyone remotely pale. However, it looks beautiful on darker skin tones, and the two shades make it excellent for contouring.









Pink Leopard: This is probably my favourite, when used with a light hand, as it doesn't seem so glitterly. I couldn't really swatch the colours seperately, so here's a comparison with the other two. (click to see larger picture).









I also love the brush it came with. It's wonderfully soft! For anyone wanting to experiment with bronzers, this is definately worth the £20.55. I now know which full size bronzer I'll be going for in the future, and it's given me bronzers to suit a range of complexions without braking the bank. Next on my Too Faced wants list is the matching lip glosses!

FOTD - learning to love mutiny

I skipped on MAC mutiny pigment when it was released with Naughty Nauticals back in June 2008. I regretted this after seeing all the beautiful looks that people created with it, so I jumped at the chance to buy it when it was re-released this summer with the A Rose Romance collection. This was my first MAC pigment, so you can imagine how disappointed I was when I used it for the first time and got an incredibly sheer wash of colour, and a lot of fallout. After that it sat on my shelf for a long time. After doing a little research, and playing around a bit, I've fallen in love with it. Here's my first successful look using it.


















































All MAC unless otherwise stated:

Face
L'Oreal HD Foundation in Rosey Porcelain
L'Oreal Infallible Concealer in Vanilla
Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Blonde MSF

Eyes
UDPP
Avon Colour Trend Pencil in Turquoise (used as base)
Mutiny p/g (applied with a damp brush)
White Frost e/s
Sumbamrine e/s
Plumage e/s
Neru e/s
Carbon e/s
Urban Decay 24/7 Kohl in Zero
Benefit Badgirl Mascara
Brow Pencil in Lingering

Lips
I can't remember. I think it might be
Bubbles l/s
Jampacked l/g

EOTD

Didn't get photos of the whole look, but I like it enough to think it's post worthy.















UDPP
Sharkskin s/s
Yogurt e/s
Humid e/s
Submarine e/s (Naughty Nauticals)
Parfait Armour e/s
Beauty Marked e/s
Blacktrack f/l
Urban decay 24/7 pencil in Zero
Carbon e/s to set pencil
Benefit Badgirl mascara
Random cheap falsies

On the runways

Whilst keeping up to date with the latest high street fashions doesn't terribly interest me, I love to know what's happening on the catwalks. Both Vogue and Elle magazines did specials on the catwalks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. The trends in this post are the ones that I found to be the most interesting. The biggest one being red lips. Well, coral toned reds to be precise. They’ve been seen on ­­­­Richard Nicoll, Erdem and many other runway big names. I love bold lips, and I’m not one for saving them for a night out. I’ll wear them to the super market if I want to. They can be dressed down just as easily as they can be dressed up. I’ve played around with a few looks using my favourite coral-red lipstick, MACs Coral Polyp (limited edition, from the Dame Edna collection) over a base of MAC's Beet lipliner. I’ve incorporated them into looks using some of my favourite trends seen on the catwalks.

Aqua and glossy

Summer’s not over yet, despite the weather. And seeing as there’s still a chance of sunshine, the first look I’ve done is a summery one.

Whilst lips are matte this autumn, I've used glossy lips for a more summery look. Aquas and turquoises have been the most popular shades for eyes over the summer, and I've used a gold liner rather than black. I used Barry M clear lip gloss on top of my lipstick. I forgot how much I hated this gloss. The smell is so sickeningly sweet. Sorry Barry M, you guys get my thumbs down this time.

Lines and contours

As far as fashion trends go, sharp, structured lines are in. This is most obviously seenin the return of shoulder pads (a throwback to the eighties, which I will not be partaking in), but also in the skirt suits of Givenchy and dresses from Elie Saab and Christopher Kane. Inspired by this, the next look takes those structured lines, contouring the face, and shaping the eyes.

Soft and smokey

Other designers, such and Donna Karen and Louis Vuitton used soft, draped fabrics. I think that this sharp makeup would make a fantastic contrast against a softer outfit. Similarly, a softer, smokeylook would look fantastic teamed with a sharp-cut suit. Smokey eyes are always in, and this autumn we’re leaving the bright turquoises and aquas behind, and moving towards velvety dark purples and blues. Vivienne Westwood used a dark blue instead of black for a slightly different take on the traditional grey smokey eyes. As this look focuses mainly on the eyes,I chose to have softer lips. I blotted Coral Poylp, turning it into more of a stain. I didn't use the Beet base, which makes the lips seem far more coral than

red, but this same technique could also be done with a red lipstick.

Going nude

Just like last season, nude faces made an appearance. For a softer day time look go nude with the coral lipstick. If you want to brighten up your eyes, white pencils on the water line are out. Use something a little less harsh, such as Clinique’s brightening gold. MAC will be bringing out a new pencil in early 2010 which is going to be shaded in the same way that their foundations are (NW15 etc). I can’t wait for this one, which will be the perfect nude, brightening eye liner.

To take it up a notch, just add some simple black liquid or gel eyeliner.

These last two are the easiest to achieve, and the most wearable day time looks. Definitely my favourites!

Lipsticks to check out

• 17 Lasting Fix Lipstick in Hot Chilli
• No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in Gay Geranium
• NARS Lipstick in Heat Wave
• MAC Lipstick in Lady Danger
• Illamasqua Lipstick in Ignite