Bargain of the week: LA Colors Lipstick in Matte Amethyst

My favourite budget buy for a long time…

 

Ooooh, isn’t that bloody gorgeous? If you disagree, we can’t play together any more. I spotted this out of the corner of my eye in Beauty Base and I thought in the store lighting it might be a dupe for MAC Up The Amp, which it very much isn’t. Horrifcally cheap looking as the packaging is – and at 99p, what did you expect, woman? – the product itself is actually rather nice. A creamy satin formula, it’s pigmented and unlike some other very cheap lipsticks, stays put without the need for a lip liner. I think “matte” is slightly misleading, but it’s not exactly a glossy formula. Sometimes buying such cheap product is a real gamble as you may well end up just wasting product, which isn’t nice, but I’m very pleased with this colour!

If you can face the horror of looking through a display utterly ravaged by rabid teenagers with pocket money to spend, this is well worth checking out.

Quickie Review: e.l.f Brightening Eye Colour

This evening, some more cheap-and-cheerful items that make the more discerning of us umm and aaah over whether they're worth bothering with. I'm talking about the e.l.f. Brightening Eye Colour quads. In the UK they'll set you back a whopping £1.50, €1.70 in Europe or $1 in the States. LUSH EXCHANGE RATE.

Anyway, a while ago I picked up the Day2Night quad after Wendy raved about it. I was impressed, and picked up a few more. I chose neutrals because that's what my collection is lacking.

All swatched over Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk.

Brownstone:




We've been dancin' with Mr Brownstone.... Hurrah for Guns N' Roses reference. Well done, e.l.f.

Surprisingly, the deep grey was the best in this quad. (It shows as a dark brown on the website... yeah, it ain't.) The payoff is lovely and it blends really well on the eye.

Noveau Neutrals:




Again, not true to the website swatch. Not at all. Rubbishness, e.l.f. The payoff of the sparkly white is pretty abysmal as well. Not that happy with this one, but I do like the brown on the far left.


Ethereal:




Aaah, that's better. I like all the shades in this one - the butternut sort of shade and the pinky-champagney shade in particular.

Day2Night:




Best out of the five I've bought, hands freakin' down. TAUPEYOUGUYS! And the light gold positively glows over a light base. If you're going to pick up one of these quads, make it this one - as you can see, it's well loved! I've picked up one for a future giveaway so keep your eyeballs peeled.

Hazy Hazel:


Loooove the purple from this quad. I would have liked the far-right colour to have been more khaki than 'Oooh, I'm not feeling brave enough for khaki, I think I'll just stick to khaki-ish brown,' but it's a good set of shades nonetheless.

The shadows are quite soft and kick up a lot of dust (as you can see from the cases!) but none of them apply chalky at all and fallout isn't an issue. They're also teeny, so perfect for chucking in your makeup bag for travelling, although the lids are domed so not so great for storage. And as per usual, the applicator is trash. So, er, trash it! Also just for the record, I think the 'eye brightening' thing is bunk. What does that even mean?

Would I recommend these? Well, if you don't use a base for your eyeshadows, don't bother. Some of the shimmery shades have decent payoff, but the mattes need a base like nobody's business. I always use a base with pressed shadows, so for me, they're a winner (apart from Nouveau Neutrals which was a bit of a duffer) for just £1.50. Just beware the dodgy website swatches and that the quality is mixed. I've got my eye on Punk Funk, Nymph Dreams, Glam, Luxe and Silver Lining!

Have you tried these quads? Any e.l.f recommendations for me?

Quickie Review: Makeup Acadamy Blushes

Sometimes I wonder whether there is any point in reviewing an item that costs a measly £1. And then I think that confronted with a huge makeup stand full of things for a quid, a lot of us will act like giddy children, drop £20 immediately only to be worried by the fact as soon as we get home, we'll inevitably be disappointed by the greasy, talc-y, unpigmented pile of crap in front of us. So yes - I think we *should* review el cheap-o items. Even if something costs nothing, it's not a bargain if it's crap!


Anyway! MUA blushes are just £1 and come in four shades.



Clockwise: Shade 1, Shade 2, Shade 4, Shade 3.


Left-right: Shade 1, Shade 2, Shade 3, Shade 4. (Unblended.)

Shade 1:


Shade 1 is a bright pink with gold shimmer particles. Warmer and less lavender based than appears here.

Shade 2:



Shade 2 is a slightly mauve-toned rose.

Shade 3:



Shade 3 is a dusky rose-apricot colour. Hard to describe - it might be a nice contour shade for pale skin if it had no shimmer in it.

Shade 4:




Shade 4 is a warm peachy shade with no shimmer particles

Ingredients:
Talc, Mica, Paraffinum Liquidum, Trocepherol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Petrolatum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Parfum, Coumarin, Linalool. May Contain: +/-=:[CI 77891, Tin Oxide, CI 7749`, CI 77007, CI 15850, CI 77492.)

Normally I don't list ingredients on my blog as I have no idea what they all are and as I'm not a paraben-free type of girl, it doesn't bother me. However, I noticed a fair few ingredients that some people might not take so warmly to, so there they are.

The colours are lovely natural shades and all come with golden shimmer, except shade 4. I'd say they have medium pigmentation. Seeing as talc is the main ingredient (and it really smells like it, I have to say! Parfum? Really? Where?!), and as such they're a bit chalky, they payoff is pretty decent, although they do apply much, much better over foundation that over bare skin. They are soft and do kick up a fair bit of dust, but I've had shade 1 for months, and it's been knocking about in my handbag/makeup bag without shattering, crumbling or the lid breaking.

Would I repurchase? I surely would! Shade 4 in particular is beautiful.

Bargain Time: Makeup Academy Intense Glitter Intense Colour liners

Make Up Academy have stolen my heart, again the dastardly imps. I'm skint at the moment and the fact I can grab pretty things for £1 keeps my cravings sated and stops me splurging in Superdrug so I can have nice indie hauls, etc.

Anyway, I saw the Intense Colour and Intense Glitter pencils in my local Superdrug today on one of the very same 'Argh, I have no money but want stuff' trips, and grabbed a couple to try. Wowza!




L-R:
Intense Glitter: Malt Chocolate
Intense Colour: Forest Green
Intense Colour: Bright Orange

The thinner liner is one stroke and the patch is layered. So basically, they're one-swipe babies. The Forest Green is more metallic in real life. Needless to say, I am going to buy the rest of the range tomorrow - look at the pigmentation! I think they had about ten colours, including a nice looking lilac. I chose the stupid colour I'll never wear- I can't believe I got a gorgeous orange liner for £1, though! Barry M has bright matte colours and they are pretty sucky so I never thought I would find one. I thought at first Malt Chocolate was an Urban Decay Bourbon Dupe, which it isn't, and got all excited.


Left: Makeup Academy Malt Chocolate
Right: Urban Decay Bourbon

The glitter stands out more in Malt Chocolate, which is more of a rusty, red-based brown that UD Bourbon which ironically is more of a chocolate colour. The glitter and finishes are similar - the MUA pencil isn't as soft as the UD, but they're both very smudge-able.

The pencils also have a built-in sharpener and they're labelled with their names, ingredients, use by dates, etc, as well. I really like that they have names, even if they are lame ones. It's so much handier than Shade 5 or Shade 12, which is the system for their other products. I'm also impressed at the range of finishes for such a budget brand - matte, glitter and metallic!

I haven't worn them yet - I'm literally vomiting this review out because I was so excited when I swatched them. If they wear as well as they look, then I'll be very happy indeed, but seriously, I'm thinking they're too good to be true right now! Stay tuned for an EOTD!

"You're tacky and I hate you."

Ahhh, I love Billy from School of Rock. Whenever I heard or read the word 'samples,' I can't help but giggle. Anyway, this post is about sample baggies, how I store them, bla bla bla.

Previously, I've not really bought that many samples from websites. I bought the big sample set of Evil Shades and while I love all the colours, boy are the baggies a pain in the ass to use. Anyway, a week or so ago I remembered reading somewhere that someone used a pill organiser to depot theirs into...



...and I thought it was an okay idea, and worth a go.

Pros: Can actually see and use all the colours, don't have to faff about in a bag and make a mess, only cost a quid.
Cons: Can't travel with it, as the lids aren't secure and the organiser is sectioned (although I never touch up my eyeshadow anyway), lids are fiddly to open.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it. It's full up now I put my She Space stuff in it - I also had the genius idea to put the sticker from the baggie on the lid :| I've actually been using my samples this week so that's good. I can feel happy buying more now that I know they'll be used. But if you did want to use yours up you could make:


-Nail Polish



Hooray for MUA £1 clear polish! This one I made with Hi-Fi Aphrodisiac (sample) and Barry M Old Gold. A bit sheer, but a lovely muted aubergine-y colour with green and gold sparkles. Think it would look better over a black base. Plus it kind of 'gathers' at the cuticles and tips and makes me look a bit grotty. But it's the first polish I ever made, so yay!




For this one I used samples of Evil Shades Suffocation and Hi-Fi's #1 Hit Single. It was really pretty but again, sheer, so here I'm wearing it over Barry M's grey. I got complimented on it by a lady at work and she asked where I got it and was amazed when I told her I made it. If anyone has any tips on how to get these bad boys more opaque I'd love to hear them!

-Lip Gloss





Over Rimmel Jungle Green liner, but it's pretty opaque anyway.

Awesome, huh? This came out exactly as I wanted it in my head. I used my Evil Shades Acolyte and Whooo R U? samples mixed with clear gloss, a touch of some goopy ELF gloss and a Milani Gloss with burgundy glitters in, which you can't see here but look awesome. I think making a green gloss is perfect use for ES pigments, no? Yes, yes, yes, I know you can BUY a green gloss from Evil Shades, but whatever. I just can't bring myself to fork out for one, even though I very nearly bought the new one from Hi-Fi.


Anyway, that's my little bid to actually USE all my make-up. Hooray! Even though to make the gloss and polishes I only use a tiny bit! Oh well. Add than and the fact that today I ordered Hi-Fi's Hallowe'en set (only sample size, sadly) and my boyfriend let me buy some Fyrinnae.... and then put me on a ban for a while... I'm not doing so well. Oh well. I've got...

-Sugar Skulls (Hallowe'en, but an existing shade, methinks.)
-Madame and Eve (Arcane Magic: Hallowe'en)
-Nijiro
-Blue Footed Booby
-Moon Child
-Dinosaur Plushie
-Electro Koi
-Polar Bear
-Equality
-Danse Macabre (Hallowe'en shade)
-Shinigami (thanks Phyrra!)
-Hair Dye lip lustre

... winging their way to me to numb my pain. I can't wait to see Dinosaur Plushie!

xxx

Bargains galore!

I am the Mayor of Bargain Town. I really can't resist a bargain, sale, or eBay! So because I'm home feeling poorly and a bit sorry for myself and my tummy, here is some of the cheap crap I've bought recently:



- Glitter! I got twelve glitters off eBay for $5 US including shipping! I was very, very wary of these because the pigments I bought off eBay weren't that great at all, but for five bucks I thought I would give them a go.








As you can see, they're darn pretty. Most of them don't reflect the colour they are, for example the purple (which I am wearing on heeeeere on Makeup Zombie's blog! :D) reflects green. The pots are pretty small but you don't need that much, and hey, five bucks. I got mine here. As for whether they are eye-safe... well, I'm going to say probably not, although they are quite fine and don't feel scratchy on the eye. I, however, don't care :P

- Make Up Academy eyeshadow, shade 12. Part of Superdrugs £1 make-up range, I was alerted to its beauty by MylanQolia and I love it! 12 is a very odd colour and hard to capture. Its a reddened brown with a green-ish silver duochrome. Ah, whatever, I love it and it was £1!



- 66 Lip palette. I got this a couple months ago now, but I thought seeing as I have these swatches on my PC I'd bung them up. Its about a fiver on eBay and worth way more than that, imo. Lookit:









- Vital Radiance lippies. Vital Radiance is or was a subcompany of Revlon. Apparently it was for old pe.... over 50's and was a bit of a flop. Subsequently, it is now relegated to Poundland and the like, where I snapped up THREE lippies for a quid when I went in there to get some humbugs for a coach journey (Sadly I am 100% serious about that part.) The lippes themselves are in a rather ugly taupe/seethrough packaging and they're the slimline type, which however irrational pisses me off. We already HAVE a shape of lipstick that works, there is no need for lanky streak-of-piss lippies that won't fit in my storage. Anyway, there were two great colours in here, Bare and Watermelon and I'm really happy with them, they're pretty and moisturizing, and you can't say fairer than that for less than a quid.



Melon:



Bare:





- Fauxnad! I've been wanting to try out Konad for ages and for all that You Tube gurus babble on about it being cheap, its just not cheap for me right now. £6 for one plate? Pah. However, I found a fake set here on eBay for about a fiver, so I snapped it up. The plates are mostly flowers and swirls, with some things that will never make it onto my nails, but it was really worth the cash for this:



Hello Kitty! I've had a quick go on my toes, but I refuse to put you through the horror of looking at my feet so I'll do some proper manis and a review soon.

- And the fail bargain. I snapped up a pot of individual false lashes from eBay for about £2. As I've always been impressed with cheap lashes I've bought online and so I was expecting these to be okay, at least.




Well, they're not. They don't have a little bump on the end like other individual lashes, so there is nothing for the glue to grab hold of. So basically I have what looks like a pot of pubes on my desk.

What have you been hauling lately? I'm awaiting a package from HiFi Cosmetics that I'm really excited about!

Love and kisses, I know a few of us need them right now x

Simples!

Despite getting my Sleek Circus palette, its been too hot/muggy/sweaty to do a full face every day. I know its not been crazy hot, but using the Tube everyday is just a make-up melter. The other I day I wore just powder, mascara and brows. In puclic. To WORK. :| I know.


So this is a full-face I did this week, but I wanted to do a bog-standard smokey eye as I never, ever do them.







I think I used MAC Gesso, Evil Shades Double Barrell, some MUA shadow and Viva Glam Cyndi. Even though I really, really liked how it turned out, I'm a bit stressed atm and it's making me a little spotty, and sweating under my Colorstay isn't going to do me any favours, so I'm trying not to wear it if I don't have to, as I can't afford to buy another foundation when its probably going to start pissing it down for the rest of the year in about a week or so. It still stays on pretty well, but I feel quite icky at the end of the day.

So here's a simple two-shadow, powder, blush and concealer look. I don't actually need as much coverage as Colorstay gives me, I just like it :D The crap lighting here makes my skin look way better than it is, however.





I think I used NYX Super Creamy on the lid, but I don't remember anything else. My brows are red because I shittily waxed them - don't bother with those eyebrows strips, you may as well use Sellotape.

And here is a super-shiny face. Just powder, no concealer, and only two shadows again. I'd only been wearing this for a couple hours and look how shiny. Bleh.





My crease colours is MUA Shade 12 which is an AMAZING duochrome. Its so weird, its like a reddish-brown with a silver-green reflect. Really cool.


How has your makeup held up in the heat? Has your routine changed much at all?

Snogs xxx



P.S. You should all be grateful for this post, because my stupid boyfriend is eating all our Calippos and I can't nom one and type at the same time.

Pokemon nails and more bargains!

Heathers Shiro Cosmetics review got me thinking that I should do some more Pokemon nails....(and watch about 10,000 of the old episodes online...) so I did!





Bulbasaur! Yay :)



And Jigglypuff! When my boyfriend saw them, he asked if I used stencils, so I guess that means they're good! I couldn't get a good picture of Jigglypuff though. Also... I hate Seche Vite. My polish is chipping in like, half a day. Not impressed.

Anyway, Primark, which is a budget clothing store in the UK has a make-up range which is blatantly ripping off Benefit - on the surface, at least.



Benefit 10 on the right, Primark 'The Happy Couple' on the left. I love Benefit 10 and its the only Benefit powder I've actually used so much I've repurchased it. The pink side is a lovely highlighter and the brown is a really nice bronzer with no orangeyness to it whatsoever, and its not too dark for a pasty-faced ginger like me. But its also about £23. So when I saw this Primark 'dupe' I picked it up because it was £2.50. Both have ten grams, just one costs ten times more than the other.



Benefit on the top, Primark on the bottom. Toootally different - and thats because they actually are. 10 is a bronzer/highlighter and The Happy Couple is a blush/bronzer. I don't use the bronzer of Happy Couple on its own because its a little too orangey, but mixed together with the blush, its great. I really like the blush on its own, too.

Happy Couple really is an excellent product. I still love 10, mostly because it lasts all day and its the only shimmery powder highlighter I have - I see no reason to buy another one (although my NYX Pearl Mania in Pearl is a pretty close dupe, but more shimmery). The Primark doesn't last as long but for the money, you'll be really surprised. Its just not a Benefit dupe - just a rip off of Benefits pop-art/retro packaging. The Primark brush is super soft, which is surprising, but it does nothing. I know some people hate, but I actually really like the Benefit box brushes - they're nice and dense and pretty soft.

And lastly, I bought some Rimmel pencils for about £1 each in my local beauty supply:



Loveable Lilac, Forest Green (omg!) and Cool Blue. I've always used Rimmel kohl pencils and while they suck a bit on the waterline, they're pretty darn good for the price.

Thats all kids! I'm off to read Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual which I got in the post today. Mmmm, I love that new book smell!

x