Love me Beauty - August 2014

L-R - Marsk mineral eye shadow, Oriflame liquid eyeliner, Mirabelle lip liner, A la carte eyebrow definer

Yep this is a little late in the month - until today, I've literally had nowhere to take blog pics as we've had stuff everywhere with trying to get the nursery sorted. So, lets see what was inside :)

MARSK - Mineral eye shadow in 'Foiled Again' £14.49

What's nice about this brand, they're strictly cruelty free.  You can use this product dry or wet.  It's not super glittery (certainly big glitter) but small shimmery particles - I'm looking forward to creating a silver and black smokey eye with this :)

A LA CARTE - Eyebrow definer in Blonde £23

This has a long thing felt brush tip with a fine point on the end to help you emulate their hairs on your brows to keep it looking natural.  Use lots of small strokes to define your brows, to soften the look, dab with cotton wool.

ORIFLAME - The one eye liner stylo in black £8.45

Admittedly I've only swatched this, but I was at least impressed with the swatch, it was jet black from the get-go - looking forward to giving this a road test :D

MIRABELLA - Lip lustre liner in 'tart' £10.50

The first time I heard of Mirabella was in one of my monthly Wantable boxes.  This liner includes aloe vera to help keep the lips and application soft.

What do you think of this box?  I really liked it - they're all products I'd use, especially the liquid eyeliner, probably the one product I couldn't live without :)

If you're interested in checking it out for yourself, you can try it for just over £10 a month +P&P - have a look over on their website.

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*This blog post contains a PR sample

Project B August box - Prepare

If you're not familiar with Project B, it's a monthly subscription box aimed at mums-to-be like me. So, if you're a mum-to-be or if you have a friend who is expecting, this could be a lovely treat.  

This months theme is 'prepare' and aimed at mums-to-be who are 30-34 weeks pregnant, cue me.  Lets take a look at what was in the August box :)

Deep Freeze pain relief cold patch

This is a self-adhesive cooling patch which provides pain relief to the affected area for up to 3 hours. I can see this being used on my lower back when I'm in labour/being induced.  It can be used at any stage of pregnancy, but I think I'll save this beauty for the hospital.

Laboraide

Described as a new, innovative natural birthing device to help reduce pain and the duration of labour. It's basically like a mouth-guard and works by relaxing the jaw and keeping the mouth open, which then eases the neck and shoulders all the way down to the core muscles.  (worth £19.99)

Nature breast pads

I'm probably right in thinking this happens to all mums-to-be/mums - but during the latter stages of pregnancy and after having the baby, breasts leak milk and most mums wear little pads in their bras to prevent the milk from leaking through their bra and top.  I've not had any leakages yet but I have plenty of pads at the ready for when it does happen.  These come individually wrapped and have some adhesive on to help them stay in place.

Divine milk chocolate caramel bar

Is it sad to think this was one of the things I was most excited about in the box? Firstly because Divine is one of my favourite brands of chocolate, secondly because I love chocolate and caramel and thirdly because well... I can't have chocolate now because of the gestational diabetes, so this is something now in my cupboard waiting until I've had the baby :D  If you didn't know, Divine is a farmer-owned Fairtrade company using the best cocoa from Ghana.  It's seriously amazing chocolate that I've been buying for years :)

Nursing Oil by Weleda

They say that massaging the breasts for the last two weeks before birth will help promote circulation in the tissue which helps to stimulate milk production.  So my plan, to do just this, with this which will hopefully help my milk production :)

TENA Lights

About 69% of pregnant and new mums experience 'little leaks' - I can confirm this :/  These are designed for light leaks and are only 3.5 mm thick.  Whilst it's embarrassing to admit, I really should try these as I've definitely been leaking a little, which is perfectly normal.

Extras

Also inside the box was a little handbag size pack of Femfresh wipes, 3 individually wrapped pukka tea bags, a lipgloss and nail varnish, as well as some liquid iron and a Weleda Citrus hydrating body lotion :)

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*This post contains a PR sample

Makeup Revolution intense lip lacquer

It's seldom I say this, but holy freakin' moly, look at the pigmentation of that red! I mean, I feel like I should censor my language here and swear my head off!  I was NOT expecting such crazy pigment from a £3 product.  

Well, needless to say I'm a fan, especially of the red (shade: A love like that).  It's not a particularly thick formula (which I love), it didn't transfer on to my teeth (yay!) and it seems to be the perfect red for my skin tone (whoop) - as an added bonus, it has blue undertones to help whiten the appearance of my teeth.

They also last well, a good few hours before you need to reapply, which in my book, is good.  Out of the two shades I was sent to try, the red is by far my favourite.  The pink (shade: I gave you all my love) is nice too, I just don't think it's the right pink for me and my skin-tone, but that red! ERMERGHERD I'm in love with it!

I have to say, I feel really self-concious about writing so many rave reviews about Makeup Revolution, especially since all the products of theirs I've reviewed so far are PR samples.  I didn't expect to be so wow'd by the brand, especially after seeing so much hype (I'm not normally one to jump on bandwagons).  But I really genuinely love everything I've tried of theirs so far, the palettes are amazing quality and I reach for them nearly every day, as are these and other products too.  I'm sure I'll come across something that doesn't wow me at some point, after all, you can't please everyone.

If you're interested in checking these out, they come in 7 different shades, ranging from red to pink to coral and cost £3 each.  For the coverage and lasting power you get, I'm not sure you get much better than that.

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*This post contains PR samples

MeMeMe Coral blossom cheek tint

** Excuse the slightly blurry pic **

** Foundation-less face, just eye makeup and the cheek tint **

While I don't have a massive MeMeMe collectio, what I have tried from them I've always liked - like their creme shadow in Willow (stunning colour and really long lasting) and their Fat Cat mascara.

They're also pretty well known for their Benefit-dupes like their moon beam and beat the blues highlighters - very comparable to Benefit but for a fraction of the price.  So when this little beauty landed on my door-step, I was quite excited to give it a road test.

As with any/many tints, it's not going to be crazily pigmented, after all, it's a 'tint' and supposed to be subtle.  You can even use it to layer another blusher on top of, to give more depth and vibrancy (a little trick I learnt from Benefit in how they use their tints and blushers).

This, as it's called, is a beautiful coral colour and not over the top.  I had plenty of time to blend it in and create a beautiful soft sheen on my cheek that had a slight luminescence and glow to it.  It stayed put all day and had only faded a little when I came to remove it.

At £5.50*, it's quite a bargain and deserves it's rightful recognition as a great cheek (& lip) tint.

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*This post contains a PR sample

Makeup Revolution vivid blush lacquer

Looking for a super intense creme blusher? Look no further!  I must admit, I had a giggle the first time I used this, I had done all my makeup (I always do blusher last) and put about half a pump of this on one finger and applied it to my cheek, only to discover, half a pump would have been too much for both cheeks, needless to say, I did look a little like a clown and needed to tone it down with lots of pressed powder over the top :P

That aside, the next time I used it, I used what I think was just under half a pump and that covered both cheeks - I think it still might have been a little much for me, but I do tend to wear blusher very light and subtle, so it's just been a bit of a learning curve realising how much/little I need.

When you do manage to get the balance right, it really is a beautiful colour and lasts really well. Considering how little of this you need, it'd bound to last for a really long time too.  The only thing I'm not keen on with these types of blushers (creme in a pump) is that they can wipe away the foundation underneath when you apply them - I've yet to find a good technique that doesn't do that.  Any recommendations?

This blusher comes in 6 different shades (this shade being O' Boy) and only costs £3*, bargain!

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*This post contains a PR sample

Michael Kors lipstick and lipgloss

Just lipstick

Lipstick with lipgloss over the top

Just the lipgloss

Excuse all the lip pics!  I thought I'd review the Michael Kors lipstick and lipgloss together, as when layered up they're pretty spectacular!

The lipstick, by itself is surprisingly hydrating and buttery, as well as really well pigmented.  The buttery texture and hydration is thanks to the shea butter and vitamin E, that's what makes it feel so luxurious.  I have the shade 'Bombshell', an intense deep pink.

When you layer the lip gloss over the top, in shade Siren, it really comes to life and gives more depth as the gloss has very small shimmery particles in it - think of the glaze on a krispy kreme donut (the one with the pink glaze) :)  The lip gloss is pretty sticky, not to the extent of the MAC dazzle glass (the stickiest lip gloss I've ever seen) and it's easy to remove.

The lip gloss by itself has a lovely finish and pigmentation, it's not overly intense making it very wearable.

You can expect to get a good few hours of wear out of these before needing to reapply.  Both of these I applied directly from the applicator/bullet - I think I would have got better results with the lipstick if I'd applied with a lip brush, but that's just my personal preference.

Both are lovely products and feel very luxurious, and then there's the gorgeous packaging, how luxe are they!?

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*This post contains PR samples

Clarins Autumn makeup

You may recall last week I posted about some amazing Clarins releases for this Autumn?  Well, I was a very lucky girl and the lovely people at Clarins sent me some of the products from their Autumn line up, and golly, did I get lucky!  You see the eye shadow in the pic above - yeah, it's pretty much my favourite eye shadow right now!

Anyway, instead of me rambling on in glee at how pretty these are, how about I talk like a normal non-squeeing person about them eh?

First up, the eye shadow primer.  It reminds me of the Urban Decay Eden primer, in that it has a skin colour which evens out your lids, as well as prime them ready for eye shadow.  I've used it every day this last week, with different eye shadows, not just the ones above and for quality I think it's pretty much on-par with Urban Decay too.  I get about the same amount of crease-free hours (about 6 - I have VERY oily lids) and it does create a lovely even base for my shadows to sit on.  However, for me and my extreme lids, I do still find the Smashbox 24 hr eye shadow primer lasts longer - but if you don't have terribly oily lids like me, this shouldn't be a problem (I think I'm a little unique in this respect)!

Next, the creme shadows.  The formula for these isn't like anything else I've experienced.  It feels and behaves like a powder, with the pigmentation and creaminess of a creme shadow - they really are very unique from anything I've ever tried.  I received three different shades: 05 sparkle grey, 02 nude pink and 06 earth.  All are gorgeous and play their different parts in their Autumn line-up.  The nude pink creates a beautiful base for a soft day look, the earth shade is perfect for a warm smokey look or all over brown, and lastly, my favourite, sparkle grey - the only shade which isn't really a matte, but has a soft shimmer, is a beautiful grey/gunmetal/taupe colour.

These shadows blend beautifully, especially sparkle grey, I absolutely love wearing this, it'll be perfect for Autumn.  These 'creme' shadows are the first ones I've used where I haven't applied a normal eye shadow over the top (normally, creme shadows crease on me within an hour) but because of their unique formula, they behave more like a shadow than a creme.

All in all I love all of these, especially the sparkle grey and earth ombre matte creme shadows, they're fantastic quality and the colours and pigmentation are amazing, I'll certainly be wearing these a lot over the cold months.

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*This post contains PR samples

Makeup Revolution - romantic smoked palette

 

Another beauty from Makeup Forever is the redemption palette romantic smoked.  The 6 shades on the left are shimmery, and the 6 on the right are matte - all very well pigmented.

This palette has some really lovely, well thought out colours - where you can mix mattes and shimmers to create cool or warm smokey looks.  My favourite look is to put the 5th shade all over the lid, and the 6th shade on the outer third/half - it creates a really pretty soft everyday look, which could easily be darkened with the 11th shade in the crease and outer v.

The colours are all very well pigmented, creamy and easy to blend, and when you look at the price tag £4*, you get great value for money.  There really isn't anything I don't like about this palette, it's great quality, lovely shades that are very wearable and very me :)

You can see it for yourself either at a Makeup Revolution counter in a stocking Superdrug, or on their website.

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3000 Follower giveaway

It's been a while (months) since I've had a giveaway on here, and reaching 3,000 followers was such a big milestone for me, it couldn't go unmarked.  This might well be the last giveaway I do where I buy the products myself (and not a collaboration with a brand) as once the baby comes, my money will dry up and what little I have, will go on the baby :)  With that in mind, I wanted this giveaway to be a special one, so I've picked a palette by the Balm that I would love for myself, and one from Makeup Revolution that's stunning too - I love the quality of palettes from both brands, so both of these will make great prizes.

This is a big thank you to all who have followed me and supported me and my blog over the last 2.5 years.  This giveaway is open internationally, you MUST be a follower of my blog via Bloglovin' and GFC.  I will be checking all entries, and if there are any false entries by a person, then all their entries will be removed (i.e. if you say you've written a blog post, and all you've done is share it on Facebook, or you've done nothing - all your entries removed.  Or if you say you're following me on Twitter, and before the giveaway is over you unfollow me - all your entries will be removed).  This is to keep the giveaway fair for everyone.

The giveaway will run for 1 month.  There will be 2 winners, the first winner will win the Balm palette, and the 2nd winner will win the Makeup Revolution palette.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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