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Monday, 4 November 2013

Quickie Review and LOTD: Vivo Colour Block Eye Palette in Dreamy

Another palette from Vivo today! A contrast to the Show Me The Money! palette, Dreamy is full of lovely neutrals. I believe this is the same as the MUA Undress Me palette, which handily I don’t have! One of many alternatives to the Urban Decay Naked palettes that have popped up over the last year or so, I was really keen to try this one out.


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All swatches over bare skin.


Top Row: Starry, Clay, Neutral, Eternity
Middle Row: Night, Dreamy, Luxe, Dove
Bottom Row: Stone, Tease, Sand, Twinkle

Again, not bad for bare skin, hey? Lovely pigmentation! My favourite here is definitely Clay, which I know I will use up right away as I always do when I have this type of colour in a palette – its just a perfect crease colour and I love to use this type of shade to blend out blacks and darker brows. It’s really nice quality for a matte, too! Stone is a very beautiful, cool pale taupe colour which I’ve been loving as a wash all over the lid for work. I love how rich Twinkle looks as well - a pretty damn nice selection of neutrals here, I must say!


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Eye: VIVO Clay in crease, Tease all over lid and lower lashline with Stone in the centre, Night in the crease and Neutral to highlight inner corner and browbone.
Cheeks: Bourjois Delice de Poudre no 52, Boots No 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter.
Lips: VIVO matte lipstick in Pucker Red

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Eyes: VIVO Twinkle and Starry on the lid, Tease and Night on outer corner and lower lashline, Sand on brow and inner corner.
Cheeks: Bourjois Rose D’Or
Lips: VIVO Colour Stain in Sweet Dreams (sheerly applied)


What else can I say other than this is a really nice neutral palette?  Two lovely highlight shades, some pretty taupes, a good matte black and a good blending colour for £3.99? If you don’t have a good neutral palette in your life, go and get this one. You won’t be sorry. I know a lot of people are ‘allergic’ to neutrals, and I used to be one of them, but seriously, if you don’t have a neutral palette, I’d pick this up as it’s also going to be a lovely accompaniment to the brights in your collection – Twinkle with a bright blue perhaps? Stone with a deep mossy green? Clay to blend out a bright purple?

What’s your favourite neutral palette or shade?

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Quickie Halloween Look with lenstore.co.uk: Mermaid

You know I’m a big fan of Halloween looks that are quick – if Halloween was a public holiday and we had the day off get get ourselves mystical, spooky or whimsical that would be amazing, but it’s just not the case! With that in mind I tried to do a mermaid look with just a few additions to a regular ‘going out’ look!

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First up, I have to mention these gorgeous lenses! lenstore.co.uk very kindly sent me some lenses to try out with some Halloween looks and I was pretty keen – I love lenses and I’d actually already bought costume lenses for my Halloween outfit already but I’ve never tried lenses that just change your eye colour before.

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These are the Freshlook Colour Blends in Gemstone Green and I love them! I like how the change your eye colour enough to be eye catching but they’re not as in-your-face as, say, the Marilyn Manson style or Twilight style lenses. These also come in prescription strengths, so I think I’m going to try the turquoise next time!

Halloween Mermaid Eye Makeup


Mermaid Halloween makeup


Quick Halloween Mermaid Look

Eyes: Sugarpill Tako, Velocity, Lumi, Afterparty and Darling. KIKO shadestick on the waterline. Brows, Sugarpill Dollypop, MAC Reflects pink glitter. Pearls are nail supplies from eBay and the sequins are from the pound shop.
Cheeks: Darling Girl Spectral Shift in Mystique
Lips: No-brand hot pink liner, MAC Viva Glam Nicki, Revlon lipgloss in Adorned


I’m really sorry for the lack of pictures – I hate doing makeup in the winter when there’s no good light, but I hope this gives an idea!

If you look closely, this isn’t that far off a normal going out look – a strong eye and lip, with a coloured instead of a regularly filled-in brow. Sometimes a bold look is really nothing more than switching up a colour or product, and the time and technique used is exactly the same.

As a Disney kid, of course I love the idea of mermaids as beautiful, fairy-like creatures like Ariel, but I also I really love the idea of mermaids as sea creatures with scales and barnacles and spiky fins, so I kind of tried to combine the two. I chose a girly colour palette, but added pearls to my eyes, overlapped sequins on my brows to represent scales and extended my eyeliner into long, wispy strokes to represent waves or seaweed. I also made sure there was a good dose of shimmer, to represent to sparkle of the sun on top of the sea, and kept as little colour as possible on my cheeks, adding a soft blue-pink highlight, to try and mimic the sort of washed-out look that skin has underwater. I added some bubbles using face paint going down the neck and the side of my face, and if I was going out wearing this and had a decent costume I would extend that down the side of my arm and up my face a little more. If you’re careful spraying it, you can use hairspray to set any small bits of body paint.

Hope you enjoyed this look! Have you tried changing your eye colour with lenses before? What are you going as for Halloween?

If you want to try some awesome coloured lenses, Lenstore.co.uk have very kindly given me a 10% code for you guys – add Robyn_Reader at the checkout before 30th November to get 10% off!


The lenses in this post were provided by lenstore.co.uk. As always, all opinions in the post are my own.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Quickie Review and LOTD: Vivo Colour Block Eye Palette in Show Me The Money

If you caught my post on the Vivo Colour Stain Lip Crayons, you’ll have seen Vivo sent me a few goodies to play with, including this lovely bright palette! I was really keen when it got to the weekend and it mean I could play with some colour!

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I really like how these palette are laid out – there aren’t many square-panned palettes about on the high street so I like that it’s a little bit different. I also think it looks nicer as there’s less black/plastic and more of the colours themselves showing.

Some of you probably know that VIVO are made by the same company that make MUA, and I believe some products are the same but packaged differently. This looks very similar to the Poptastic palette (which I don’t own) but I believe it has one more purple shade. I could be wrong!


Vivo Colour Block Paeltte in Show Me The Money
All swatched on bare skin.
Top row: Serene, Summer, Crush, Hot
Middle row: Chill, Night Sky, Sizzle, Stormy
Bottom row: Breeze, Sunrise, Wave, Calm

Not bad for bare skin, eh? I wasn’t really sure why there was only one matte shade in the palette (Breeze) as the rest are super shimmery.  Summer appears very green-toned here but it’s actually a light, cool gold that would make a pretty highlight.  Crush and Night Sky have a a blue shift to them that I couldn’t quite capture on camera either. Overall it’s a very pretty  collection of jewel tones and I particularly like Crush, Serene, Wave, and suprisingly for me, Hot. I don’t tend to reach for pink shadows at all and can only think of one other in my whole collection that I love, so for me to want to put Hot on right away really says something!

Let’s try some looks, shall we?

Vivo Show Me The Money

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Pink/purple look: Hot all over the lid, Sunrise on outer lid, Chill on inner corner. Serene in crease and on lower lashline over a grey liner. Crush on outer V with a touch of matte black (from another VIVO palette), touch of matte skintone on the brow (also from another VIVO palette)
Green look: Wave all over the lid on the bottom lashline, Summer dabbed in the middle of the lid blended out with Sizzle
Purple look: Lips are Sleek Matte Me in Fandango Purple with Revlon Embellished over the top. Green look: Lips are Vivo Wide Awake

These looks are only applied over a primer and not a cream base as I know from experience these shimmery types of shades need a careful touch with blending and adding a cream base can make it all a bit of a pain to deal with. Having had a play though, I really like this palette and I’m kind of in love with the green look I did as it was so simple but I think really pops! Overall I really have no complaints with this palette. While I think all bright palettes would be more useable with a matte black or brown and a highlight shade in them, that’s beside the point a little bit really I suppose (and VIVO also have some neutral palettes, one of which I’ll be posting about soon!). I really like the choice of colours and think you could wear the majority of them with each other which is nice. With Halloween coming up, I think this could also be nice if you were going as a fairy, mermaid or Barbie!


Show Me The Money costs £3.99 and is available from vivocometics.co.uk

 

As always, where products are sent to me all views are still entirely my own.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Top Ten Autumn/Fall Lipsticks!



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While I don’t stick to seasonal trends for makeup – when I see someone saying you can’t wear plum in the spring it makes me die inside – I do really enjoy this time of year when plums, wines, burgundies and purples hit the counters as these are some of my favourite colours. And they do look lovely with the inevitable blacks and greys that come around with winter clothing as well.

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MAC Lip Pencil in Nightmoth

One of my favourite lip shades ever ever ever. SImply kick ass.

Revlon Embellised

Revlon Colourburst lipgloss in Embellished

New for autumn 2013, this toned-down vampy gloss is a subtler nod to the trend and looks great layered over…well, pretty much anything else in this post!

Illamasqua Shard

Illamasqua Lipstick in Shard

A tad patchy, but the beautiful, buildable blackberry hue is stunning.

Collection Revenge

Collection Gothic Glam lipstick in 3 Revenge

Collection(2000) came out with a trio of three vampy lipsticks and nail polishes and this was my favourite of the three. It’ll suit most and was only £3, hurrah!

MAC Film Noir

MAC Film Noir

The browner tone of this lippie is gorgeous and ties it in to the 90’s revival as well.

Milani Black Cherry

Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Black Cherry

It’s a fairly slick formula so you need to keep an eye on it, but I love everything else about it, especially how white it makes my teeth look!

MAC Hang Up

MAC lipstick in Hang Up (Cremesheen)

This is an awful swatch, I do apologise! There are certainly dupes for Hang Up but if you’re a fan of the Cremesheen formula and want a shade in this colour family, you won’t be sorry you got Hang Up.

LA Colours Smooth Plum Liner

LA Colors Lip Liner in Smooth Plum

LA Colors are hard to get in the UK, but if you have a Beauty Base or a extensions/wig store near you, they often carry them. This lipliner is AMAZING and was 99p. If you do happen upon the range, get the reds as well.

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Barry M Lip Paint in 141 Royal Raspberry

I love the jewel-like quality of this lipstick. Perfect with a simple wash of taupe on the eye.

Wet n Wild 918d Cherry Bomb

Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick in 918d Cherry Bomb

I know a ton of my makeup friends will agree with me that this lipstick is awesome. One of the best mate formulas around for only a couple of dollars, you really can’t beat the Megalasts for the quality you get for the cost. The flat bullets do mean a lip brush is a necessity but who cares? Wet n Wild have a good range of vampy and purple shades if that’s your bag and I had a hard time choosing just one from the range!

Well, that’s yer lot! Honourable mentions to MAC Rebel and Sleek Matte Me in Fandango Purple for a couple of brighter options, and if we’re talking about fall lipsticks I’d *like* to own… Well now! Milani Double Espresso, OCC Black Metal Dahlia, Illamasqua Howl and Salacious…to name a couple! What’s your favourite lip colours in the wine/berry family?

Sunday, 20 October 2013

Quickie Review: Scarecrow Love Bites teeth

With Halloween coming up, I needed to buy a good but reasonably priced pair of fangs for my costume. After doing a bit of Googling and reading a few negative review of other brands of false teeth, I saw lots of recommendations for Scarecrow brand. After reading on Amazon that these are perfect for a ‘delicate ladies gob’ (seriously) I was sold and placed an order.

 

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Your fangs come in a cute little carry case (it does have a clear cover as well)

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The card is awfully cheesy with a vampire love scene and goffick font, but don’t let that fool you! The back has super detailed instructions on how to apply, as well as links to videos on how to apply them as well. Combined with the vial of powder and potion inside, I was a bit nervous about fitting them but ploughed on ahead, somewhat heartened that detailed instructions might actually mean they were decent! I was an eejit and didn’t watch the video beforehand.



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Very basically, you mix the two parts together to create a paste, apply this into the centre of the fang, which is hollow and push it on to your natural tooth. Mixing it all up is a bit of a pain in the arse, and I won’t lie, it really stinks. There is more than sufficient product to fix your teeth, though, and to correctly fit them again if you bugger it up the first time. The top to the liquid part doesn’t go back on so once they’re properly moulded, you can’t keep it – so make sure you’re happy with the fit! I’ve heard that the paste does change over time and eventually you’ll need to refit them, so I don’t get why you get 6 vials of powder and one bottle of liquid you can’t reuse, but oh well.


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The absolute worst part of this is waiting for the solution to set. You have to do one fang at a time, keep your lip away from your tooth and keep your head back so you don’t drool. For five minutes! I found it easier to hold my lip back with my finger rather than sit there with a flared lip. Once the first tooth is done, you have to fit the second and then leave *both* on for another 15 minutes, making sure not to drool everywhere or dislodge them with your lips.  A pain in the arse to be honest!

Fitting the teeth initially was also interesting. One went on pretty easily, and  other didn’t fit to my  tooth very well. It does say on the product that most people’s teeth aren’t symmetrical, but I almost felt like one of the teeth could have been bigger! It’s odd because when you have a larger tooth than normal, you can really feel it on your lips and mine don’t feel even! It’s odd. If I really flare my lips and you were looking closely you could probably tell they’re not even at the gum line, but that’s more to do with my natural teeth than the product and they look pretty even when talking and for photos. I would say that these particular fangs do seem to be quite small, and if you’ve got larger or broad teeth or you’re a dude this version might not fit you so well – try the Classic, Sabre or Shredder versions which are larger and scarier. This type however are the perfect size as fangs – they’re not too long so as to be uncomfortable or too ridiculous looking, yet not too small so that there’s no point in wearing them.


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Trimming a little off the fangs, checking the fit each time.I’d not recommend doing this with your lips already made up, by the way! Lips are Darling Girl Don’t Teal me You Love Me.


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You can see in the purple photo that after trimming, some of the glue is still visible. Lips are Sleek Matte Me in Fandango Purple with Rimmell Embellished gloss.

Once both are dry and set – it’s recommended to take them out and leave them overnight, you can trim off the excess mixture. The package says not to take it away from the sides of the tooth or the back, but the top can be taken away as an anything large. Nail clippers or really sharp scissors will do this and I checked mine as I snipped away to make sure I didn’t take away too much. As you can see from the blue-lipped photo, the gum dries roughly the same colour as the fangs so anything you do have to leave isn’t that noticeable unless you’re super close up. I still want to take a file to the glue because as you can see in the purple-lipped photo, some glue is still visible and it’s annoying me!

I certainly wouldn’t eat with these, but drinking seems fine. I’d worrying about them staining so I’d stick with clear drinks to be on the safe side! Talking is… well, I have a little lisp with them, but it’s not awful, and you can close your mouth comfortably and you’re not drooling everywhere – that’s about all you can ask for really isn’t it?  They seem to stay put really well and you don’t need another adhesive each time you wear them as they fit so snugly to your tooth – no chafing of gums or anything either.  You can sort of ‘click’ them off as well, which is super easy too. The colour also matched my teeth pretty well – they’re not a fake, sparkling white which is actually a good thing! I’d also advise not to wear lipgloss or anything on your lips that will move around or stain as your fangs *will* rub against your lips.



For £9.50, I think these are a pretty good deal and even  with the hassle of fitting, and even if you only wear them once for your costume, I think they’re well worth it as they stay in place and look fab! For mass produced fangs I don’t think you’ll get better for your money.

Friday, 18 October 2013

Quickie Review: Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now

 

I picked this up on a buy two, get one free Soap and Glory offer a good while ago and it was a surprisingly good little find. I do like a bit of Soap and Glory, I must admit. Their scrubs and shower gels last for ages and are pleasingly enormous to boot!

Rather annoyingly, I believe Soap and Glory have changed a lot of their packaging, so if you’re looking for this in store, I think it’s now a white plastic tube. I actually prefer this sort of ‘metal’ tube as you can get every last bit out.

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soap and glory

Bright Here, Bright Now is a soft golden champagne colour in a fairly thin, lotion-like formula which claims to  be ‘brightening, illuminating and radiance-boosting,’  have a ‘tightening and lifting effect’ and that it ‘minimises fine lines & wrinkles, moisturises, smoothes & energises.’

There are really mixed reviews of this product online, which as with any ‘skincare’ item is probably to be expected. The comment I’m seeing most is that it’s balling up/flaking off. It does have silicone in it, so you’re going to want to check what other products you’re using it with it, but I’ve never had that problem when using it at all and find it glides on easily and my foundations play well with it. The tightening claims though? Nah. I never buy into those claims past a temporary effect anyway, but I’ve certainly not noticed anything. However, I do find it lightly moisturising which is a bonus and I really, really like the brightening effect that it has.  I use it all over the face except the T-zone, and have even ran a little down the centre of my legs and my décolletage as well. It’s very subtle, and one of those things that someone else wouldn’t notice, but I do personally notice it and I really like it. Being so subtle on the face, it’s really hard to capture in photographs….

…See? You’d have no idea I was wearing it, but rest assured*I* did! A nice subtle illuminator is a mini confidence booster.

I’ve become really accustomed to wearing an illuminator under my foundation and this has become my go-to. I’ve been wearing it with Revlon Nearly Naked or Dr Jarts BB Cream for the last couple of months, and I’m interesting to see how it plays with Revlon Colorstay which is my winter foundation of choice.

For £12 this is a nice little product, and a nice find when many high street illuminators seem to be very pink! I really recommend this little lovely for winter, and if you keep your eye out in Boots, Soap and Glory are quite often on offer.

Monday, 14 October 2013

Quickie Review and Swatches: VIVO Colour Stain Lip Crayons

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Once again, here’s a lip trend I seem to have missed the first time around! A little while ago everyone was cooing over this sort of style of twist-up lip crayons while I somehow managed to remain oblivious, so when Vivo Cosmetics very kindly sent me a few shades I was very interested to test them out indeed!

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Much like the Clinique Chubby Sticks, these are nicely chunky twist-up pencils, with the packaging corresponding to the colour inside which I think is cute.

Vivo Color Stain Lip Crayon


L-R: Miss Independent, Thing Called Love, Sweet Dreams, Wide Awake

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‘Thing Called Love’ (left) reminded me of Viva Glam Cyndi (right) and I excitedly went to grab it to see if it was a dupe. As you can see VGC is less sheer and more pink, so not a dupe but certainly in the same family.


Vivo Miss Independent

Vivo Sweet Dreams

Vivo Thing Called Love

Vivo Wide Awake
Wearing Sweet Dreams
Wearing Sweet Dreams with Fyrinnae Equality on the lid, Kiko Color Explosion Multi Tone Blush in Active Mauve.


Overall, I really like these! I’m always on the lookout for sheerer lip products now I have a job where I have to be more conservative, and Thing Called Love is going straight in my handbag for work, it's that pretty! Sweet Dreams is a close second and a nice way to dip your toe into the berry trend for autumn if you're shy of all the vampy colours around at the moment. I also love that all the shades are named after songs and I’ve had Katy Perry stuck in my head all day!



I do think the name of the product is slightly misleading as I only found Sweet Dreams to stain and that was only a light stain. They’re certainly more of a tinted lipbalm than a stain and they’re actually pretty moisturizing – I’ve tried products like this that aren’t anything special in the moisturizing stakes despite being labelled a balm (*coughpinkBabylipscough*). The wear on these is reasonable – two or three hours which for this type of product is pretty decent – they’re not so balmy or glossy they’re going to slide right off but you’ll certainly need to keep it in your bag for applying after eating and drinking. They have a light minty scent not dissimilar to the OCC Lip Tars, but it fades on initial application.




These bad boys cost £3.99 and are available from vivocosmetics.co.uk where they have free worldwide shipping which I think is pretty good!




As always, where products are sent to me all views are still entirely my own.