Beauty Bargain: Powda Wowza

One of the things I love the most about Christmas are the amazing cosmetics/beauty sets you can get at faaabulous prices. Of course these are intended to be purchased as gifts but there's no rule against buying gifts for yourself! Whilst in a particularly self pitying and stropping mood on my break from work I passed the benefit counter (I say passed, I fully intended to go there but I like to justify presents to myself by claiming that it caught my eye or that it was the last one there...) and picked up this little beauty;

I was pretty shocked at how teeny-tiny this is, but for £19.50 it's a bargain, it had caught my eye on ASOS but it wasn't until reading Yu's post that I decided it just had to be mine!

The set contains mini 3 gram versions of Benefit's most popular boxed powders; Coralista, Bella Bamba and Hoola and also a mini brush. A little note on the brush, some hate this others don't really mind it I personally don't like it as I find it leaves me looking a little stripy - however that could purely be down to lack of skill on my behalf.

I have wanted to try the much hyped Coralista blush for a long time and after having Balla Bamba applied (if you can use the word applied, I was basically attacked with it) at a benefit counter it's been on my "to buy" list for ages. I wasn't too fussed about Hoola, it's a product many love but I have my HG bronzer (Chanel Bronze Universal) I haven't really used Hoola as a bronzer just yet however as it's matte I've been using it as a contour shade and so far I like it, due to the tone however I think I'd have to use a light hand if using it as a bronzer as I am very pale.

Top - Bottom: Hoola, Bella Bamba, Coralista

They're such gorgeous shades, I'm glad now that I didn't fork out the £23.50 for full sized versions of these products as although I'm only getting 3 grams in this set it's highly unlikely (at least with my ever growing blush collection - call me obsessed) that I'll use these up! I can see this being a great product to take on holiday as it's so compact!

Do you have Sex Appeal?

Now, if you follow me on twitter I'm sure you'll have noticed that I have been extremely excited about a certain package from Nars and it arrived today! I ordered 2 products the first of which I shall show you now.

It was a bit of a blind purchase as I was intending to buy "Deep Throat" (oh Nars...) however it was sold out both on the Nars Website and ASOS so I purchased this one instead as it's just so pretty and I liked the look of it from the (few) online swatches I managed to find.

The blush is a matte peach with a hint of pink, it's quite chalky and extremely pale. It's a buildable colour, by no means sheer however I think this blush would only be suitable for those with pale skin (I for example am NC15 and it gives me a subtle glow). This is definitely a natural glow-y blush, something which makes you look healthy and radiant rather than providing you with a stand-out look.

I'm not sure if you can even see the swatch, it's such a pale blush that it was incredibly hard to capture on camera (I took about 20 pictures and this was the best of the bunch!)

Please excuse the disgrace that is my eyebrows :(

As you can see the blush translates a lot better on my face, the picture was taken with flash in order to try and give you a better idea of how it looks. I'm happy I bought this blush as it makes me look glow-y and healthy, something which isn't so easy when you're as pale as me! It's also the perfect blush for when you're doing a very stand out smokey eye or something similar as it's effect is extremely subtle. 

This blush costs £20.50 however if you buy Nars cosmetics of ASOS you're eligible to 10% student discount with a valid NUS card.

Orly Mini's & NOTD

I recently read a post in which "Rage" by Orly was featured and I completely fell in love. I googled it right away to see where I could get it and to my surprise I found it on Cheapsmells! Admittedly I only found the mini 5.3 ml version but for £3.95 I couldn't pass it up!

I bought 2 polishes available "Rage" a beautiful rose gold (apparently a dupe for MAC's L/E Soiree nail lacquer) and "VIP" a gorgeous glittery pink. I did notice however that although both polishes were bought from the same site the packaging is slightly different, "Rage" contains 5.3ml whilst "VIP" contains 5.4ml of product. The symbols on the back are also different, this may be due to the polishes coming from a different batch.

I haven't used VIP yet, but judging by a quick swatch it seems more suitable as a top coat than a colour in itself. I have however been loving Rage and haven't taken it off since it arrived!

Excuse the *ahem* less than perfect nails.

Di Palomo "White Grape" Inspired by Italy Skincare

I was recently contacted and asked to review 2 products from the Di Palomo "White grape" skin care range, I hadn't previously heard of the brand but after a little research it seemed like these products would be right up my street. I have to be extremely fussy when it comes to skincare, not through choice but because I have extremely sensitive skin and I can say, thank fully I have not experienced any sort of irritation when using these products.
I was sent a Bath and Shower Creme and a Body butter from the range;

Both products contain Aloe and Di Palomo describe the products to be soothing because of this ingredient, I must say they do feel lovely on the skin. I love the smell of the products, they have a subtle grape smell which is not at all artificial, after using these products I feel like I smell clean, something which is hard to achieve with heavily perfumed products. 

The Bath and Shower creme is in itself extremely moisturising and feels lovely to use. 

Hopefully the picture above illustrates the texture of the Body Butter, it's a hard texture that melts onto your skin through the heat of your hands, it's lovely and extremely moisturising and a little goes a long way. The only flaw is that it does take a little work to actually soften up the Body Butter on your skin however that can easily be solved by just working it into your hands a little before hand to warm it up slightly. 

The products are priced mid-range at £9 for the Bath and Shower Creme (250ml) and £15 for the Body Butter (200ml). As much as I like these products I'm sure that cheaper alternatives could be found so I'm not sure I'd repurchase both products. I'd be more tempted to repurchase the Bath and Shower Creme however as it does leave your skin feeling lovely in a way that many body washes don't. 

I also have to comment on how beautifully the products were packaged, you definitely get your money's worth in terms of luxury packaging and attention to detail.

A Beauty Blogger's Dilemma

I like to buy pretty things, especially pretty limited edition make up items however after a conversation with a friend concerning one item in particular I have come to the conclusion that maybe I'm just wasting money...

Do you recognise this box? I featured this product in a haul a while back which you can read here. Now don't get me wrong I'm not going to pretend that I am sensible with money because I am not, hours after getting paid my bank balance again be back to a comfortable 37p or so and I resign myself to being poor until I next get paid, this is my life I would change it but I like buying myself presents too much. The problem with this particular present to myself? It's too pretty to use!

I'm all up for buying things that I don't necessarily need as I can justify such items by saying that I will use said items. I haven't used this though, so it feels extremely wasteful. 

So ladies (and boys) what should I do? Keep forgetting this I have this little beauty or just bite the bullet and use it?

Decisions, decisions.

October Favourites!

I have quite a few favourites to share with you as (being boring as usual) I pretty much did my make up exactly the same every day in October with only a few variables. I know a lot of these products have featured in previous favourites posts but I just love them!

Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream, Etude House Precious Mineral Make Up Essence, Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette, Sleek Luminaire Concealer.

I wont talk too much about the two Etude House products as I recently reviewed them so if you're interested you can read what I think of the BB Cream here and the Make up Essence/Primer here. I'm really loving using these two products together as it leaves my skin looking naturally flawless.
I've been meaning to post about the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette since I received so expect a post soon! I love this, it includes three concealer shades (a light concealer for blemishes, a peach-toned concealer and a green-toned concealer) and a setting powder. I love the creaminess of these concealers, they're so easy to blend and offer great coverage.
I use my Sleek Luminaire concealer under my eyes every single day, it's brilliant - under the eyes it gives the same effect of YSL Touche Eclat but is a fraction of the price, it conceals and illuminates under eye circles amazingly!

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, MAC L/E MSF "Crystal Pink", MAC Matte Blush "Melba"

Since dying my hair brown I've been using my Soleil Tan De Chanel every day to warm up my complexion so I don't look too washed out. It gives a lovely, subtle, sun kissed look which is very dewy and natural looking. Bronzers are quite hit and miss for me as I'm very pale but I feel like I can pile this stuff on and still not look like I've been tangoed! 

I fell in love with the "Crystal Pink" MSF when it was released with the semi-precious collection was released as it is extremely pretty however I didn't reach for it very often. I have since dug it out and started using it as a highlight over Soleil Tan de Chanel as they make a very lovely pair!

Gosh I seem to be piling it on this month! My final cheek product is MAC's Blush in the shade Melba it's a lovely, natural colour which looks so pretty!

Inglot Freedom Palette, Bourjois Volume Clubbing Mascara, Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner, Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara.

I was so excited when Inglot started shipping to the UK but as I had to rely on online swatches when choosing my shadows I was quite nervous about whether I'd actually like my palette (click here if you would like to see swatches). I was over the moon when it did arrive though, the colours are so gorgeous and I'm definitely going to order again! Oh and if you were wondering, I prefer my Inglot shadows to my MAC shadows, they are as good as everyone says!
I've been using mascara quite a lot recently due to my excessive use of fake eyelashes resulting in gaps in my real eyelashes :( I'm not really one for subtle lashes, I like them big so I've been pairing Bourjois Volume Clubbing mascara and Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara surprisingly I love the effect they have on my lashes as you'd think they'd just end up in a big clumpy mess!
I've also been using my Dolly wink liquid liner quite a lot as it's so quick and fuss free! It's such a deep black and you get a lovely precise line.

MAC Vegas Volt, MAC Russian Red.

I've been going for a bright lip recently and I've alternated between MAC's Vegas Volt and Russian Red. I love how a bright lip transforms a boring look, it's so effortless and gives the impression you've spent a lot more time on your look than you really have!

So, that was quite a long winded one wasn't it! What have you been loving this month?