Cosmopolitan Beauty Blog Award - Best Newcomer

Hey everyone!  This, I shall only ask once :)

It would mean oh so much to me, to be nominated for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards, I'd be in the category, Best Newcomer.

Please don't feel you have to nominate me, but if you do, I shall be most grateful :)

To nominate all you need to to is go here http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmo-blog-awards-2012/ and fill in the details :)

Thank you very kindly to those that do vote :)

Pixi3 out
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Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

Hey everyone!  I thought I'd do a quick review for you on what has become my favorite and 'go-to' foundation.  Before I bought it I did go to the Chanel counter and get a sample of it to try and I really really loved it!  So, combined with a jucy voucher for £15 I went and purchased it (total price £31, with my voucher I only had to pay £16).

What I really love about this foundation is how healthy it makes my skin feel, it feels so hydrating and nourishing, whilst still providing a light (if you layer it (which I wouldn't recommend), medium) coverage.  It covers standard blemishes, little red marks and such with ease.  I've also found the best way to apply it (personal preference) is with my hands, it doesn't need a brush to work it into the skin, which makes it really easy to use.  It's also got SPF15, so just a little help from the harmful sun rays too :)

It blends so nicely, it feels luxurious and creamy without being heavy and cakey.  I'll definitely be re-purchasing it when I run out.  But just because I love it doesn't mean you all will, so I'd recommend as it's an 'expensive' foundation, to pop to the Chanel counter to pick up a free sample first, or at least get them to apply it on your face so you can have an idea of how it feels first :)

Pixi3 out
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Get to Know Me - Part 3

Hello everyone!  The lovely Artistik1979 has once again this week supplied me with some questions for me to answer :)  You can find her on twitter (linked above) with links to her blog on there too ;)  So, without further ado, I shall delve in and answer her questions, thanks Artistik :)

Q.  How many piercings do I have?
A.  Just one at the moment (lip) although I used to have more.  I started with getting my tongue pierced about 13 years ago, and about 6 months after that I had my lip done and my eyebrow (now and then you may notice a scar on my eyebrow, well, 2 scars).  The eyebrow grew out after about a year, and I had it done again a couple of years later, but it never really healed and was really sore so I had to take it out.  The tongue piercing I only took out about 6 months ago, my tongue got swollen, really swollen and wouldn't go down, it got really painful then as the tongue bar was shorter than my tongue was swollen, so I took it out.  2 days later my tongue was better and the hole left behind by the piercing was healed.  So now, it's just the lip ring, which I don't plan on getting rid of just yet - however, I don't want to be an 'old' person clinging on to their youth with their piercings, so I probably won't have it for too much longer ;)

Q.  How tall am I?
A.  5ft 6in  (don't know what that is in centimeters sorry!)

Q.  What is my favorite smell?
A.  This is a hard one to answer, there's a lot of smells I like, for different reasons, so I'll break it down.
Perfume - would have to be sweet scents, my fav perfumes are ones like Lacoste a Touch of Pink, Chanel Chance, Ralph Lauren Romance etc.  In Life/Nature is has to be the smell of freshly cut grass even though it usually makes me sneeze :)  I also love love love the smell of Honeysuckle, when I was a kid we had a honeysuckle bush at the side of the house and I always loved how it smelt, I still do :)  I also love the smell of the perfume my mum used to wear (Vanderbelt), just smelling it now brings a tear to my eye as it reminds me of my mum so much ;)

Q.  What is my favorite flower?
A.  I have a couple of favorite flowers, my absolute favorite is Lillies, specifically stargazer lillies, they're so pretty and they smell soooo good!  I love tulips too for their simplicity and elegance, you also can't go wrong with a daisy :)

I hope you enjoyed that - feel free to answer those questions yourself too and post them as a comment below or do your own blog post on it and link back to me with it ;)

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend, I've spent the weekend down in Pembrokeshire visiting my step-dad, here's a couple of pics of the weekend for you :)

New haircut just before leaving for the weekend - had about 6 inches cut off!  Yikes!

Pixi3 out
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Updates

Hey everyone,

Sorry for being so slow with my blog posts at the moment, its all because of hubby's computer going poof!  He should have a new power supply unit in a few days (after the weekend), and I should be able to get on top of my posts again :)  So, thank you so much for your patience I really appreciate it :)

And as a thank you for all being so lovely, I'm going to tell you 1 thing that's in the makeup giveaway I'm going to be doing, it's a Fashionista eye shadow in the stunning colour (I seriously want to keep this myself!) Bewitched (shade 6) - basically, swirly purple :)

There are 10 other items, which include the makeup bag I've put them in for you :)

So, soon as we get to 50 subscribers, I'll launch the giveaway.  So, if you have a friend who likes to read beauty blogs, maybe give them a little nudge in my direction ;)

Thanks again lovelies!

Pixi3 out
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Get to Know Me - Part 2

Hey everyone, hope you've all had a fantastic weekend?

Well, I was planning on doing this yesterday, but about 1 hour before I was about to write it, hubby and I had a game of Age of Mythology on the computers, and low and behold, his computer exploded!  It was quite dramatic, a big bang and his PC just was instantly off... if you know anything about computers, read on, otherwise feel free to skip to my Q&A :D  So, what had happened was one of the massive capacitors in the PSU had exploded, which really shouldn't happen, especially as the PSU is only 1 year old, and the wattage is higher than needed... ah well, it had a 2 year warranty so we'll swap it out today :)

So, the question was kindly provided by the lovely Artistik1979, you can find her on Twitter here, and her blog here - she also has a lovely etsy shop making all nice bow things :D

Q: When is your birthday? How old are you? Why did you start youtube chanel? What's your hobbies? Fav foods? Fav restaurant?

A:  Well, that's a lot of questions!  I'll tackle them one by one :)

(When is your Birthday?)  My birthday is April 17th, so you've just missed it :)  

(How old are you?)  I was the grand old age of 33!

(Why did you start youtube channel?) Well, I'd been watching lots of beauty videos from people like beachbum06, emilynoel, sprinkleofglitter, missglamorazzi etc and really enjoyed watching them.  Making videos and putting myself on youtube scared the heck out of me, and it was really something I wanted to do.  So, I decided to hell with the scaredness (is that even a word?) and I just jumped in and started making them :)  I think for anyone that's been following my videos for any length of time will definitely see an improvement in them, not just in my confidence, but also where I film them, the fact I now look at the camera and not the screen.  I really enjoy making them, and love responding to people's comments on there too.  I also don't have anyone really in my life that I can geek-out about Makeup with, so this is a really nice way for me to do that :)

(What's my hobbies?)  Well, other than makeup, Gaming is a big one.  I play Minecraft a lot right now, Age of Mythology, World of Warcraft (Horde!), Halo, Sims 3... the list goes on :)  I also love painting and drawing, watching films, cuddling my cat :)  In fact, I did a TAG video recently on my hobbies, I'll pop that below as it does include a tiny bit of game footage :)

(Favourite Foods?) This has changed a lot in the last year as I'm now vegetarian.  Being typical to my Irish background, I love potatoes!  I literally have them every day :)  I also love fruits like mango, blueberries and melon.  I do make a mean Feta and Black Olive Tart, nom!

(Favourte Restaurant?) I have to pick these by location :)  In Reading, where I used to live, it has to be Mya Lacarte, this is where I had my wedding reception, amazing food and service, love it!  Here in Cardiff is has to be Jamie's Italian, much the same in amazing service and food.

Thanks to Artistik for those questions, more coming next week!  Don't forget to post questions below, or on my twitter.

Pixi3out

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Get to Know Me

Hello everyone!  As inspired by http://www.beautyfiends.net/ - I actually thought this was a lovely idea, to answer a couple of questions each week to 'get to know me'.  So, what I'm going to do is..... either, leave your questions as a comment below and/or tweet them to me, my twitter handle is @twinklinpixi3.

I'll start you off with 1 random question - for this I'm going to choose... umm.... ok, the question I'm asking myself (strange I know), is "What's your favourite kind of music"?

Ah, great question me!  I shall answer!

Answer
There's a LOT of different music I like, and I mean, a LOT!  My true love will always be Heavy Metal, primarily Slipknot, Slayer, KoRn, Disturbed, Foo's, RHCP (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age) and a zillion more.  As well as really loving Ska and Reggae.  But, I also cultivate a love for more... lets say, different music.  For example, the soundtrack to the film Juno, it's so quirky and happy I love it!  So... I'll try to list some random bands/singer/songwriters I like that aren't heavy metal too...

The Shins
Zero 7
Colin Hay
Nick Drake
Frou Frou
Luke Conard
Kimya Dawson
Air
Captain Accident
Aqualung
Daft Punk
Lemon Jelly
Morcheeba

to name but a few!  And, it goes without saying that I love Metallica, Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Led Zepplin, Jimmy Hendrix etc etc.  Then we go into another side of music I love, Swing!  So, Frank Sinatra, Rat Pack, then into Motown like Stevie Wonder etc - which then moves into Vietnam era music like Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones.  I'm also quite partial to classical music - well, piano classical.  Chopin's Prelude in D Flat Major (Raindrops) is one of my favourite pieces, then the popular Clair du Lune etc (excuse any spelling mistakes)!

So, I think it's fair to say my taste is, eclectic (hope I don't sound too ponsy!)

Hope that answered my question! :)

Pixi3 out
xXx

Boots 17 BB Cream

So I've had this a little while.  I've been wanting to try and get into BB creams, this was cheap and thought I'd give it ago since I hadn't read any 'bad' reviews on it.  It retails for £6.99 and you can get it in 3 shades, light, medium and dark I believe.

When I first got it, I tried it straight away and didn't like it, I felt that it gave pretty much zero coverage and made my skin a total grease-ball, but I figured that could have been a fluke, maybe I was having an 'oily' day or whatever.  So, I tried it again today (I actually set myself a challenge today to do my makeup with pretty much only drugstore stuff, and the cheapest of it at that), and I have to be honest, I still don't like it.  Now, I'm not letting that put me off trying other BB creams, I just wouldn't necessarily go back to this one.

It made my skin insanely greasy and shiny and just sits on my face as opposed to blending with it like a normal foundation.  I had to use a fair bit of concealer in places as it didn't even cover the most basic of light red tints on my face (blotches not pimples).  I've actually been tempted to take it off in fear of breaking out due it's greasyness.  I haven't any other blog posts of people having the same issues with it as me, so I'm putting this down to my skin type and not necessarily the product.

I am however a strong believe in 'you get what you pay for', especially when it comes down to foundations and alike.  I know a lot of people love 17, but I fell out of love with them as I left my teens and I moved on to other brands that aren't targeted at younger people.

So from me, it's a thumbs down *sadface* but, if you don't have skin like me (generally oily with dry patches), you might find it great, and for £6.99 it's not a massive waste if it's not to your liking.

Pixi3 out
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Maybelline Express Finish Nail Varnish

Yep, you read it right, 2 Maybelline posts in a row :)

The same time I bought the Tattoo's the other day I also purchased a new nail varnish, and I've totally fallen in love with the colour.  It's this beautiful teal colour called Turquoise Lagoon (number 862).  One thing I love about the Maybelline Express Finish varnishes is how well they last, how quickly they dry, and their longevity.  I've used a couple of them before and find that they easily compete with the likes of OPI etc.  On to the pics!

I included this Rimmel varnish as well as it went so well as an accent nail - just 2 coats on top of the Turquoise Lagoon was perfect.

I have to say, I'm loving Teal right now - I've changed my blog to it, bought Teal jewellery and wearing more of it on the eyes too.  Such a nice colour for spring :)

Pixi3 out

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Giveaway Update

Just a quickie, had to share this with you all.

I've just bought all the bits and bobs for the giveaway :)  I'll properly announce it by doing a video and blog post update including photo's etc once I hit 50 subscribers.

But as a teaser, the items are from MUA, Fashionista, Barry M and MeMeMe - and, one of the items is a highly sought after magnetic polish :)

Get sharing so we can get the giveaway started :)

And don't forget, it's open internationally too :)

Pixi3 out
xXx

Maybelline Colour Tattoos

I know the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's have been really well covered, but I wanted to do a post on them as I don't think it's something I've talked much about before.  I bought 2 a few weeks ago, but they didn't have the exact colours I wanted as they were sold out everywhere.  But I was desperate to try them so I bought Eternal Gold and Immortal Charcoal.  Then, I was in my supermarket a few days ago and they finally had them in stock, yay!  So I picked up Turquoise fever and On and On Bronze and man alive are they stunning!  So, to commemorate my love of these, I've done some swatching and some pictures for you :)  Enjoy!

Consistency and Longevity

I find that they work best with an eye shadow over the top.  As always, I still get creasing on my right eye as it's so hooded, but if I put a similar eye shadow over the top, it lasts ages!  If I use a primer, then a colour tattoo, then some shadow, I can get about 12 hours wear out of them without any majorly noticeable creasing.  But without the eye shadow, I get about 6 hours on the right eye, and at least 12 on the left eye.  So it really does depend how hooded your eyes are too.  They give a brilliant colour and can be blended in nicely, but you need to work quite quickly before they set.  

Other Use

Also, if you have an angled liner brush, you can use these colours as a liner instead, the blue one makes a fantastic liner colour, as they all do.  Other than that, they're not that multi purpose, but hey, I only bought them for my eyes so it doesn't really matter, and they're not that expensive.  The first two I bought at a deal of 2 for £5, and the second two were £5.99 each.  Personally I think they're great value for money, and I look forward to creating some great looks with them :)

Pixi3 out

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She Said Beauty Box - May

I selected this post to be featured on my blog’s page at Make Up Blogs.

Hey guys - well as promised here's my review of the May She Said Beauty box.

First impressions are that I love, love, love it!  I don't regret switching from GlossyBox to them 1 bit - much better products with much better value - I'll be subscribing for a while me thinks :)

So, without further ado - I'll bring in the pics!

The Vintage Cosmetic Company - Nancy False Eye Lashes

What I like about these is that they're not too over the top - when I wear false eye lashes I like for them to be fairly natural - but with a bit of flair, I like to look like I'm wearing false eye lashes, but not look like a done-up glamour model (as if!)

Inika - Certified Vegan Lip Whip

What really struck me about this was it's incredible pigmentation - if you want my video (below) you'll see me swatch it, 1 swipe and it's full on colour!  No scent (EDIT: There is a scent, a light apricot scent which is really lovely - I couldn't smell this the first time as I had so many other scents going on from the box), but that's a good thing - too many of these glosses have horrible scents - *shudders at remembering the DuWop Venom gloss from a previous GlossyBox* and this is nothing like the DuWop one I'm pleased to say.

Natio - Lotus Soap Trio

These soaps (you receive 1 in the box but they're massive so that's ok!) feature all-natural Indian Attar perfumes which embrace the scents used during yoga - so calming scents.  The bar itself feels nice, it didn't feel too soapy in my hands as some can even when they're dry.  This soap smelt just lovely - I can't wait to finish the remnents of my Lush 'Honey I washed the Kids' soap so I can try this out.  The smell is quite floral, which isn't usually my cup of tea, but the scent is very gentle and not too over powering so it's ok.  Oh, and I love the simplistic branding too.

Green People - SPF 15 with Tan Accellerator

Now this product really confuses me... SPF 15, so a mild sun block, yet it's a tan accellerator????  I looked up the product on their website too and I'm still none the wiser... I think it helps to block out the harmful stuff from the sun, but at SPF 15 it'll only be a tiny bit, and helps you tan quicker... maybe that's better.  Personally I just burn straight away, I never go brown, so maybe if I had the same amount of exposure to the sun - say, 1 hr on a sunny day at lunch time, without it I'd burn, with it I'd start to go brown... hmm, food for thought!

Kim Kardashian - Eau De Parfum

Ok, this I was a bit dubious about for many reasons.  I shall list them.

1.  I don't like Kim Kardashian.

2.  All the perfumes I've been sent on prev beauty boxes have been horrid.

3.  Both of the above.  However, I do quite like this one.  The scent is nice, something slightly different than I would normally try - it's both sweet (yay) and floral (boo), but the application is fantastic, I love the little ball at the top, so instead of a spray, or stick in a bottle, you can roll this on which uses the perfume more liberally so it'll last longer.  Likey, likey!

Snowberry - 3 Sample Gift, thanks SheSaid!

I love the packaging on these, so pretty!  3 different creams, and they're the 3 I would use.  I'm slightly hesitant to try them, only because the moisturiser I use now is so great, it's cleared up my skin from acne a treat, so I'm worried about not using it.  But, this will only be for a couple of days so if I do get any adverse affects they'll soon be over :)

As this was my first SheSaid box I was a bit nervous about what I'd get.  Overall I'm super happy and so glad I made the switch from GlossyBox, I love everything about these.  The box, the packaging, the products, I can't wait to see what I get next month :)

Pixi3 out

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