Sweet Blog Award

I was thrilled to receive this award from the very lovely
Primp and Preen. Thank you very much sweetie.



So, the rules are:

Give this award to 10 sweet and friendly bloggers
Make a post about the award including the picture and mention the person who gave it to you
Let your nominated 10 know you've awarded them by leaving a comment. Easy peasy!

The bloggers I would like to pass this on to are:
May Loves Make Up
Planet Martha
Liparazzi
*Dainty*Dollymix*
Makeup Savvy
star violet beauty
Lollipop Loves
Beautylicious Love
Vex in the City
Ginabinawina

These are all my favourite blogs, please please do check them out if you are not following them already. I'm really hoping I can post this before the internet is switched off!

Jane x

A possible interruption!

We are moving house over the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately it will take that long with the wee ones in tow. I was crushed to discover it could take 2 weeks plus to get internet connection. I hate going without the internet!

I think we will lose our current connection tomorrow so I imagine my blog posts will be few and far between. Though I have threatened to write things and make hubbie post them up whilst at he's at work! We shall see.

I shall miss you all but I promise I'll be writing things and there should be a flurry of activity once I'm back only.

TTFN!

Jane x

GOSH Darling: To Buy or Not to Buy?

Or to put it another way, how pale can I go without looking like I have a cardiac condition?

I keep going in to Superdrug and swatching this lipstick (certainly the strange man that works in there has his beady eye on me, I think he has me pegged as a shoplifter!). I know that lots of people, lollipop26 included love this lipstick. However, I've seen just as many negative comments on MUA, etc. I know it swatches beautifully, but I know all too well that doesn't translate to looking good on my lips. I recently parted company with Angel from MAC as despite loving the colour it just didn't look good on me. I also keep forgetting to use gossmakeupartist's trick of swatching the colour on my fingertips with this one. I highly recommend trying this if you haven't already.

I really, really want to try a pale nude/pink lip. I look at MAC's Creme d'nude and Myth, YSL's Rouge Volupte in #1 and #2 and think they look beautiful. Yet the fear of them being 'wrong' stops me buying. Maybe one of these days I'll feel the fear and do it anyway!

I'd be really interested hear your thoughts on this, both general and specific. Do you ever hesitate over colours suiting you? Or do you buy safe in the knowledge that if it doesn't work for you, you can sell or swap? What do you think of GOSH Darling, is it a must have or do to you have other favourite Nudes? I'd love to hear what you think.

Jane x

My new favourites

I have two new loves in my (makeup) life. First is my newest Illamasqua addition - 'Beg' blush. I found it on sale at ASOS.com for the bargain price of £8.25. I was a bit worried that it would be too dark but it gives an absolutely gorgeous flush of colour to my cheeks.

The second is the brush I have been using to apply said blush, the MAC 188 duo fibre brush. I got this brush from the very lovely *Dainty*Dollymix* in a mini blog sale that she had recently. Thank you DD! This brush prevents me from putting too much colour on and looking silly. Plus is feels silky smooth so it's a pleasure to use. I can understand why this brush gets such good reviews. It also makes me want a real 187 even more!

Jane x

On the lust list this week...

With so many fabulous bloggers guesting on Zuneta recently, I felt it would be rude not to have a browse! The brand name Rouge Bunny Rouge has cropped up a few times now and although I knew I shouldn't look, I couldn't help it.






Well, their cosmetics look flipping gorgeous. I love the packaging and the names as well as the beautiful colours. It is really expensive though so I know that if I get anything it will have to just be one (or maybe two!) pieces. Herein lies the problem. What should I get, a staple lipstick or a gorgeous blush? Or should I be looking at their eyeshadows? What a quandry.





'Scrumptiously delicious' lipstick, described as a cool lavender-pink with golden opalescence sounds....well....delicious! As does 'Nothing Unknown', described as a nude-beige base with ash-mauve opalescence. In the blushes, I'm rather fancying Gracilis, partly for the name and partly for the colour! Even the mirrors look cute. I think this one definitely needs more research before I commit to buying. I love researching the must-haves and hunting down swatches so it's no hardship!





So, I'd love to know what item do you buy when you are new to a brand? Do you always go for a lipstick? Do you pick a wearable colour or hunt down a totally unique piece? Also, if anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

Jane x

Chanel Precision Soleil Identite self tan for the face

I recently picked up this self tan in Bronze. I was looking for a good self tan for the face, I've been using up my Dove Summer glow and I didn't want to use it on my face (waaay too orange!). I read some rave reviews on Makeupalley.com and also a few people I know from my favourite forum really rate it too.

I plumped for the darker of the two colours as lots of the reviews suggested 'Golden' was too subtle. At £25.54 per bottle the last thing I wanted was a hint of colour!

I applied the evening I bought it, I went to bed feeling nervous about what colour my face would be in the morning. I've never had much success with fake tan without a tint to guide application. I'm extremely pleased to report that I woke up with a lovely and very believable tan on my face. You can see the results in my everyday make up post below.

I'd highly recommend this if your looking for a facial tanner. It is expensive but the colour is very good and as an extra bonus it smells nice. Hurrah!

My Everyday Makeup - Contest entry for TheCurrentCustom

This is one for Lorraine.

I do like to change my colours daily but when I'm in a rush this is my easy, don't have to think about it, make up look.



The products and brushes I use are shown below


Face
Revlon Photoready in Nude 004 (I've been at the fake tan!)
YSL Touche eclat
Nars Laguna
MAC Cubic blush

Eyes
MAC Painterly paint pot
MAC Patina eyeshadow
MAC Brule eyeshadow
L'oreal super liner - Black crystal
Benefit BadGal mascara

Lips
MAC Modesty lipstick


Cubic blush, Patina eyeshadow, Painterly Paint pot


Laguna bronzer, Super liner, BadGal mascara

If you haven't seen details of the contest have a look here.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have a few posts ready I just need to get on and take some photos.

In the meantime I wanted to give a huge thumbs up for this OxfordJasmine tutorial.

I have quite a tolerance for waxing and plucking so I was keen to give it a go. I managed to get rid of the dreaded 'tash and tidied up my brows. My eyebrows were certainly the more tricky area, until I have more practise I know I won't be able to shape them too much for fear of making holes! I'd certainly recommend having a go if you don't mind a bit of pain.

Many thanks to Oxford Jasmine for sharing her skills.

I give in! I'm obviously not iron willed enough for P10P!

I just can't stop buying at the moment. I'm convinced it's because I'm not supposed to be buying that the urge becomes irrisistable. The flipping Debenhams vouchers are just enablers too!

So, this is a bit of a combined haul, it's a mix of a couple of Debenhams trips, an online shop and a trip to the CCO at Bicester. Here's a picture of everything...

From left to right across the back:
Illamasqua eyeshadow in Cancan
Illamasqua lipstick in Wanton
Mini Marvala nail varnish
YSL rouge volupte no.20 (spicy pink)
MAC eyeshadow in Fig.1

Pencils etc. from top down:
MAC Greaspaint stick in Dirty
MAC Pearlglide liner in Petrol Blue
MAC Pearlglide liner in Miss Fortune
MAC Lash brush

(L - Cancan R - Fig. 1)
Cancan is really beautiful, you have to pack on quite a bit to get it to show up on the lid but it's worth it. I picked up Fig. 1 at the Bicester CCO, I was really pleased to see it there. I've passed it up before and really regretted it. I'm a huge fan of purples!

These are probably the most representative swatches of the shadows

(L - Cancan R - Fig. 1)

(L- YSL Spicy Pink, R - Illamasqua Wanton)

(Top- YSL Spicy Pink, Bottom - Illamasqua Wanton)

I'm in love with both of these lipsticks, very 'me' sort of shades!

Lastly are the Greasepaint and Pearlglide swatches

L-R: Dirty, Petrol blue, Miss Fortune

Dirty Greasepaint stick is gorgeous! I'd swatched in on my hand the following week. It didn't look so great in the shops lights so I didn't get it but I regretted it as soon as I stepped outside. It has such a lovely sheen in daylight. Petrol blue liner in lovely too, I've been wearing it a lot with purple shadows. I picked up Miss Fortune at Bicester, I'd been considering either Almost Noir or UD's Rockstar so this seemed like a bargainous alternative. It still doesn't make up for my disappointment at Designer Purple being sold out though!

I've got another haul post to come as my ASOS delivery arrived this morning and I've been making use of my Revlon/L'oreal vouchers at Boots. Watch this space!

Oops.....a haul!

Well, I will concede that I'm not really doing very well with project 10 pan. I'm emptying things and trying to use things up but I just can't seem to pass things up. In my previous post I said how keen I was on the Give Me Liberty of London collection. You won't be surprised to hear that on Thursday evening I dragged the whole family out in the car so I could visit the MAC counter! I picked up Ever Hip lipstick, Prim & Proper blush and Shell Pearl beauty powder. So, I wasn't even restrained enough to limit myself to one item! Thankfully it is all as beautiful as I'd hoped. At least I funded the haul by selling off some of my unused make up.

Just to test my willpower even more I got a £5 off a £25 spend in Debenhams - I'm already deciding what to buy! I also won £100 to spend at ASOS.com on Thursday, hurrah. My husband made sure I didn't spend it all on make up. They stock Illamasqua and I've been wanting to try some for ages so I ordered a lipstick in 'Box', a gorgeous red and a blusher in 'Unrequited' a matte baby pink. I also bought an Urban Decay eyeliner in Gunmetal after reading lots of recommendations. All of the make up is gorgeous, particularly the Illamasqua bits. I'm sending some of my order back and will be swapping it for some Converse and, yes, you've guessed it......more make up. I'm very tempted to get another Illamasqua lipstick, as yet I can't decide between 'Climax' or the more neutral 'Test'.

On the subject of my (pretty rubbish) Project 10 pan attempt, so far I've finished a Revlon Colorstay foundation, Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara and a Bobbi Brown beige lipgloss. My Viva Glam V lipstick has hit the plastic and I think both my Touche Eclat and No.7 foundation are very close to empty. I'm going to resume finishing off my Modesty lipstick and Brule eyeshadow. I will carry on trying to stick to it despite my blips. I am pleased I am using things up even if I can't stop buying as at least it shows it gets used. I did manage to avoid buying at the Cosmetics Outlet on Saturday so I'm not altogether without willpower!