Inglot Haul, Swatches and Review.

Oh yes, you read that right. I finally got my ass round to getting some Inglot. As you probably know, the lovely Wendy came and stayed with me at the weekend on her trip to the UK, and pretty much the first thing we did was head to Westfield and hit up Inglot. We were there for at least an hour swatching and omg-ing at everything. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, which is a shame as it really is a beautiful store.

This is a pretty long review and I think I've covered everything but if there is anything I have missed, I'll add it later, and obviously feel free to ask me stuff too.

Here's my beautifully boxed haul! Let's do the shadows first, shall we?

AMC 60 (bright shimmery yellow), AMC 59 (bright shimmery lime.)

AMC 372, (bright matte green teal), AMC 371 (bright matte blue), AMC 379 (matte light grape purple.)

Top row over NYX JEP in Milk, bottom row over bare skin. L-R AMC 60, AMC 59, AMC 372, AMC 371, AMC 379.

OOOOH. I went for cute, bright tropicals. I'm really impressed with the payoff of the Inglot colours - I don't think we swiped one thing that we thought was 'meh.' I'd still say the yellow and green here need a base but they're traditionally very difficult colours. I swatched MAC Chrome Yellow yesterday and it blows compared to this, as do my Sleek yellows, Barry M yellow and 120 yellow.

For those who don't know, Inglot is most famous for their Freedom System whereby you create your own palettes. The makeup is all laid out on a table in pans, and you pop them on a magnetized board. When you've got what you want, the staff make up your palettes for you. I went for a 5 square pan palette - thes pans are 2.7g each. With these and the round pans, you can fill them with shadows, lipsticks, brow powder, brow wax, and cream concealer. Larger pan palettes can be made up with blush and face powder (I'm not sure if there were cream foundations or not.) They also have palettes of mixed sizes, i.e., ones you can put eyeshadows and face powder in, etc. I didn't get a good look at those but the square and round palettes seemed to go from 2 pan to 10 pan and the saving seems to get better as you buy more. If you buy and fill a palette, you get a 10% discount. So my 5 eyeshadows, with the palette included, cost £27 after 10 % discount. Each shadow was £5 (before discount) with the exception of AMC 371 which shows on my receipt as £4, no idea why! The palette itself was £6 before discount - it's uber sturdy with really strong magnets, so I think it's a bargain.

The price system is pretty complex and confusing, but the staff in store were very helpful . Either way, I'm really pleased with what I got for the price.Consider that a MAC palette 4 pan palette costs £6.50 and that their refills cost £9 as opposed to £4/5 - if you already have a Z palette or similar Inglot is well worth checking out! I'm not overly knowledgeable when it comes to high end brands and it's easy to use the blogger buzz of 'cheaper than MAC,' but for the eyeshadows, I'd certainly say they're more consistent in quality and have a similar sized shade range.

Lets move on to the lip products...

Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil in 11, Slim Gel Lipstick in 65.

  Slim Gel Lipstick in 65, Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil in 11.

Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil in 11.

Slim Gel Lipstick in 65.

That matte! I die! It is quite a dry product, but it doesn't instantly emphasise the dry parts on the insides of my lips, which is a plus. I got the 'ring' of colour left on my lips after eating, but I've not worn it long enough to comment on its wear further. So far, I like it as equally as the MAC mattes and I have, and it's cheaper at £9. The Slim Gel Lipstick comes it at £11 - I haven't worn it other than to swatch it, but it's opaque and very creamy. I'll update later.

The wall of lipstick in Inglot was beautiful! I didn't pick an ordinary lipstick as I wanted to try something a little different. I was instantly drawn to the matte pencil and I chose the purple colour in honour of Wendy. Inglot also carries Lip Paints (in a pot), Sleeks Platinum Lip Paint (doefoot applicator) Sleeks Cream Lip Paint (doefoot applicator), various lip glosses and lip liners. They also had a really, really cute little display of all their black lip products, which thankfully for my wallet I managed to avoid.

I also picked up a gel liner...

AMC eyeliner gel in matte 79.

Yeah. It's red. I was going to get a lovely teal, but Wendy is an enabler (her words, not mine!) and how often do you see red liner?! I swatched a few of these on my hand and it was a right bugger getting it off, so I'm keen to wear it. They seem really smooth and creamy to apply, and seeing as I haven't swatched it with an eyeliner brush yet I'm really interested. These come in at £10, which I think is a bloody bargain considering the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner comes in at £7.99 in Superdrug

I also bought the Duraline, which is a liquid to create, er, liquid out of powder products - so convert pigments into liners/paints, essentially, but I think it deserves more thorough investigation before I review it.

So overall... yeah, I love Inglot. They're not the cheapest, but they're excellent value and the range is fantastic. Sadly the only store in the UK is in Westfield, London, but if you're up shopping, do go and have a look. The customer service also deserves a mention. The lady who served us was friendly and helpful without being too pushy, which is pretty much what I want - waiting in the wings rather than breathing over my shoulder - and all the girls were wearing lovely makeup, I mean really nice and funky without being too over the top or trannytastic, unlike some SAs! I'll certainly be going back to Inglot when I have a bit of cash... I came out with a huge wishlist!

Looks and more of Robyn-and-Wendy time coming soon!


*Oh. AMC stands for 'advanced makeup component,' which according to nice sales assistant lady, means it's more pigmented. I'm not sure compared to what but I can't argue!

Lip Mathematics: You've got to put more effort in if you hope to achieve an A in this class.

                   Gosh Velvet Touch Lipstick in 'Darling' + High Voltage Lip Candy in 'Take The Stage' =

This kind of pinky peach colour. Hmmm, maths is boring. Maybe I wouldn't have got a D three times in school if we'd added....

GLITTER. It won't get you into college, it might get you into someone's trousers. And who said we needed an education?

Nah, only joking. Stay in school, kids. Tomorrows lesson: Inglot!

UV Shoot

I thought I'd show you guys a few photos I've got back from a UV shoot I went on last weekend. It was quite a small shoot and I didn't do the most astonishing or well executed makeup in the world, but it was really fun. Be warned - there are some boobs in this post, but they're well covered. Sorry, pervs.

Corinna by Al Veryard

Corinna byNigelH Photography.

Wanderlust by William Adams Photography.

 Me and a very messy table by Dark Horse Photos. Here be nudes, should you click on it.

A lovely shot of how messy I manage to make an enormous work station! It's very boring hanging around waiting for models/set up/people to make you tea and I felt very underdressed with no UV makeup on, so I switched my eyebrows while I was waiting ;)

The UV makeup I used was a combination of Kryolan Aqua Colors, Sleek Acid (not all of them are UV, just the neon green, yellow, orange and pink) Fardel paints and Evil Shades:

Forgive my dry lips, but that's Evil Shade's Fateful*. Cool huh? Their 'Backtalk' blush glows too.

That's all for now, shiny seekers!

*D'oh, it's actually Fearless, but apparently the glitter in Fateful is also UV reactive :)

Guest postin'

Hey guys, check out my day-to-night guest look at Turtle Beauty. If you're not following Wendy's blog.... er, why? She's four followers off 500 and I love her to bits, so go and follow if you're not.

High Voltage Swatches: New Products!

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.

More High Voltage, folks. Not even sorry ;)

A couple of weeks ago High Voltage released a couple of new duochromes, and despite wanting every single one of their lip products, I restrained myself and ordered a few samples. But Jasmine, the owner of the company, was awesome and threw in two Whipped Shadows and a Lip Whip! Like, mega hooray!

Let's look at pretty things!

First up is Lip Whip in 100% proof. (EDIT: This shade isn't released yet.) I'm dead pleased I got this shade as it's one I certainly would have chosen myself. I've bought a few orange/coral lip products from High Voltage, and it's nice to think that maybe a company owner notices what you like! A lovely light creamy orange with orange-gold shimmer.


The squeezy tube is the old packaging. I wasn't sure if I'd like the new packaging as to me, the Lip Whips are very similar to OCC Lip Tars and I was worried it'd be messy to apply, or that you wouldn't be able to get enough out to mix them. The above swatch was done with the doefoot and I had no problems - and a little goes a long way, so I don't think mixing will be a big deal. And I love the new cute labels!

Mirror Image, Blue Suede Shoes.

Whipped Shadows are another fairly new addition to the HV Line. The consistency is creamy rather than moussey. Both shades are very pigmented with just a hint of shimmer. I'm quite keen to use these as a base - I'll review that later if people want.

 Tangerine Dream. Messiest swatch ever. *embarrassed*

Hot In The City. Green duo is much more apparent in real life.Site says a violet duo, but it looks green to me.

Malibu Beach. Pink with lilac shift.

I was really intruigued by the release of the Amplified Lip Powders. Basically, they're powder pigments for your lips - you can mix them with gloss or balm or other lipsticks, or whatever. (These are all swatched over a light layer of balm.) You might think, 'What's the point?,' but plenty of bloggers mix up their own glosses and lip colours and it's nice to be sure that there are colours that are lip safe! I think this is a fun product and I'm uber keen to try them as blushes, too!

Left to right: Lady Stardust (Futuristic Collection),  Addicted to Love (matte), Heavy Metal (matte), Rind (Norse Mythology collection), Good Girl Gone Bad.

Yea, I bought some purples. How gorgeous?! Everything was photographing a little blue, but take it from me that Heavy Metal shits all over every other purple I own. I can't wait to use it in a look! If you're a duochrome lover, I'd grab at least a sample of Good Girl Gone Bad - purple with orange duo? Yeeeea.

Left to right: Astral Romance, Rhythm and Blues, California Sunshine, Cherry Bomb, Mjoinir (Norse Mythology), Nocturnal Passion (matte.) Couldn't capture these with flash :(

Once again, I'm blown away by how pretty the Norse Mythology colours are! I'm glad I picked up Nocturnal Passion, as I'm really lacking in green mattes that aren't retina-searing. The duochrome in Cherry Bomb (Pinky red with a blue-green shift) and California Sunshine (er... burgundy pink with blue shift) are fab - I had a bugger of a time catching them on camera though.


Well, that's all from me kids. I've been a busy bee I promise I'll have some looks for you soon!

Lip Mathematics

Numbers, I cannot multiply them. I cannot add them, I cannot subtract them, I can't calculuslus them. Lip products, however.... I can addz them! Lip Mathematics will be a quickie weekly feature where I make a mix of some lip products in an effort to not buy any more!

High Voltage Lip Candy in 'Heart of Glass' and High Voltage Lip Candy in 'Just A Girl'

A pink and a purple makes a pinky-purple! Phew. Maths is hard.

I Heart Darling Girl (Swatches!)

I don't quite have enough Darling Girl to do a Love Week for them yet, but I'm getting there! I got an adorable package from them today and had to swatch everything for you guys right away!

Loving the cute note from Susan and the new labels on the jars.

I ordered:
'Pinky Swear' Colour Changing Liquid Kisses (mini)
'Azalea' Soft Focus Blush (mini)
'Yes, Virginia' Soft Focus Blush (mini)

Samples of:
Saddle Up, Black Arabian, My Little Pony, Mr Ed, Mustang, Unicorn, Dapple, Sea Biscuit, A Horse With No Name.

And I recived a mini jar of 'Clusterfluff' as GWP, an unnamed sample, a sample of 'Wallflower' Kiss Me Tinted Lip Balm, and a sample of 'Polynesian Paraside' Sweet Lips Sugar Scrub. Not bad! Let's have a butchers - click to make them bigger.

 'Wallflower' Kiss Me Tinted Lip Balm. Pretty tinted for a lip balm - it even has a blue shift! The most gorgeous balm I've come across, that's for sure.

'Pinky Swear' Colour Shifting Liquid Kisses. I bought this because I really, really wanted a more wearable gloss with a blue shift - I have Ultra Phantom by Fyrinnae, and it's just too blue.

Left, 'Yes, Virginia,' Soft Focus Blush, right, 'Azalea' Soft Focus Blush. Struggled to capture these, sorry! I adore Darling Girl blushes and I've been looking for colours I can wear with purple lips lately. 'Azalea' is a hot raspberry, 'Yes, Virginia' is a pinky-lilac.Can't wait to try them out.

Left, unnamed colour. Right, 'Clusterfluff.' Best name ever, amirite?! To me, it's a lilac-ish silver with pink and blue sparkels. It reminds me a little of Fyrinnae Calavera Cupcakes - I think they might be very pretty together. 'Clusterfluff' is a GWP shade which I don't think always get made permanent, so should you see one you like, nab it! The unnamed shade has a green shift with aqua sparkles - so, so pretty.

Left to right: 'A Horse With No Name,' 'Sea Biscuit,' 'Dapple,' 'Unicorn'.

Left to right: 'Mustang,' 'Mr Ed,' 'My Little Pony,' 'Black Arabian,' 'Saddle Up.'

These are all the shadows from 'All The Pretty Little Horses' collection, with the exception of 'Black Beauty.' I didn't buy it because, even though I was only getting sample sizes ($0.60, baby!) I so rarely wear black eyeshadows I  didn't see the point. My faves are 'Mustang,' a gorgeous plum-brown with a pinky sheen, 'Mr Ed,' a slightly peachy gold, and 'My Little Pony,' a soft lilac with green shift, which everyone has been going totally nuts for. As per usual, swatches do it no justice! I think 'Saddle Up' and 'A Horse With No Name' would be a really pretty combo with winged liner and red lips. Overall, I think this is an awesome collection - I love neutrals with that little something extra! Sadly no looks from me as I literally got this package, swatched it, posted it. I'm off on holiday at stupid o'clock this morning, I'll be back next  weekend.

If you've never tried an indie company before, I'd really recommend Darling Girl as there's genuinely something for everyone, (while I love geeky, gothic, silly named products, etc, I know they're not always for everyone) and the majority of products have samples and/or mini sizes starting from $0.60, which is awesome! Buy pretty things here and follow Susan, the owner on Twitter @dgcosmetics.

Quick and Simple LOTD's

Getting up earlier in the mornings is something I've found quite hard to adjust to, so I've tended to wear simpler, more neutral eyes with a more dramatic lip in the daytime over the last couple of weeks. Despite my worrying, I haven't found wearing brighter/darker/dramatic eyes at work a real problem, but I do find flaws in these looks more obvious, so they're not my go-to if I have to get up at six.

Here's a couple of easy looks.

Eyes: E.L.F Ethereal quad
Cheeks: BeautyUK Baked Blush in Baked Peach
Lips: Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in Corset

Always see nude eyes, dark lips in the magazines, so thought I'd bust it out. Yay or nay - do I need more around the eyes? I got compliments on my lipstick but I'm not sure it doesn't make me look washed out without liner. Ah well.

Eyes: Lid - Fyrinnae Damn Paladins. Crease - Wet N Wild Humid (MAC Humid dupe.)
Cheeks: BeautyUK Baked Blush in Peaches and Cream, Accessorize Merged Blusher in Pretty Pink.
Lips: No 17 Shine On Lipstick in Twilight Tease

Normally green and purple (that lippy is much more purple-based irl) is a more in-your-face combo, but I wear wearing a leopard print dress to work so I thought it best not to push it with bright purples!

Eyes: Lid - Butternut colour from E.L.F Ethereal Quad. Crease: light matte brown from Sleek Storm.
Cheeks: MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Springsheen
Lips: Morgana Cryptoria Vegan Lipstick in Coraline's Kiss

I took this at the end of the day, hence looking a little shiny. I do like using a pop of colour on the lips, with (vaguely) matching blush and keeping the eyes neutral. As a side note... why did I buy a Sheertone blush only to moan that it's sheer? Anyone's guess, really.


What are your quick fixes, and go-to looks, girls?

Welcome to the Family: Red Lipsticks

Recently a few red lipsticks came to live with me. Let's have a butchers!

Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 514A Cherry Frost

Sent to me by the lovely Wendy, this is a gorgeous berry-based red with tiny gold shimmers in it. I may be wrong, but I think is line of lipsticks are 99c. What the hell? I'd never have guessed. It's a little glossy and slippery at first, but it settles down. Really glad she sent me this one, it's beautiful.

Wet N Wild Mega Last Lipstick in 909D Coraline

Orange-based red - at least to my eyes, it's not that coral.  Again, sent to me by Wendy who knows my taste very well! I haven't worn it to test the mega-last claim yet, but it's coming with me on holiday. While I'm here, what the HELL is up with that numbering system?!

BeautyUK in Naughty

BeautyUK recently released a new line of lipsticks. Under the lights in the store, this looked orange to me. I was a tad disappointed when I got home to realise it was another red, but I decided to keep it anyway. Glossy with a light, minty scent, at £3.49, I'll certainly be picking up a few more when they get testers in!

Y'all can see the rest of my red lippies here. Been adding to your collections lately, ladies?