Hair and stuff :)

I went away to Wales for a few days around Mother's Day to have a family meal and I needed some travel-sized products, so I picked some (oh-so-cute!) baby bottles of Batiste Dry Shampoo (tropical), Tre Semme heat protect spray and Tre Semme Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner. I've not used Tre Semme in a while and I'd forgotten just how wonderful it is, so as soon as I ran out I went out and bought big bottles of both Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner - this stuff makes my hair SO soft, I am loving it. Very highly recommended as it's one of a rare breed of beauty products that actually does what it promises - salon quality haircare at a fraction of the cost.

I also had a little play with the hair dye again the other day. I have been many a colour in my 19 short years, and this one is a lot more subtle and closer to my natural colour than some of my attempts! I had quite a bit of root regrowth that needed covering so half my hair was dark brown, and the other half was a mid-brown colour which had faded and was generally looking a bit boring. I decided on L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in Black Cherry as it's semi permanent and didn't do any obvious damage to my hair. It's a dark purplish red colour and it came out exactly how I wanted :D

I got my hands on a few new bits this week, all of which will be reviewed in due time. These were:

Revlon PhotoReady foundation
Bourjois blush in Rose D'Or
Rimmel Colour Show Off lipstick in Pink Gossip.

I think I'll ponder them along with my Liberty of London haul blog which will probably be Saturday. I'm super duper excited! :D

Have a lovely Easter!

Lucy xx

Beyonce 'Video Phone' inspired look!

So today I was watching the 'Video Phone' music video by Beyonce and Lady Gaga, and I loved Beyonce's make up look at the beginning of the video. It's nothing too fancy, black shadow which is 'winged out' at the corners and lots of black liner, a contoured cheek and a nude lip. It caught my attention nontheless! :)



















As I'm off out tonight, I decided to have a go at
my own interpretation, which turned out like this:






I can't really pull off a totally matte, nude lip so I went for a pale pink lipstick instead. It took a lot of patience and I would definitely recommend doing your eyes before the rest of your face, but I was impressed with the result.

To begin, apply Urban Decay Primer Potion to make sure your shadow doesn't budge, then apply black liner in a thick stripe along the upper lash line. It doesn't have to be too neat at this stage, so you can blend the line upwards with your finger to darken the lid a little. Next, apply a matte black eyeshadow all over your lid and into the crease using an eyeshadow brush with a flat top. Make sure the curve is sharp and defined using the top of the brush to create a line which wings outwards. The shadow should taper to a point and stop just in line with the edge of your eyebrow. Next, bring it downwards towards the lower outer corner of the eye. Apply black liner along the waterline, and use a pointed brush to smudge a line of black shadow along the lower lash line. Make sure your lines join up at the inner corner of the eye, like Beyonce's in the picture :)
Next, apply a coat of your favourite mascara, preferably a thickening mascara rather than a lengthening one, as you want to keep that smooth line and not see lashes poking up! :) I skipped mascara on the lower lashes as they don't need it for this look.

Next, it's time for foundation. A full coverage foundation is the best bet for this look, as skin needs to look flawless so attention is all on the eyes. Use a tapered brush loaded with bronzing powder to contour your temples and upper cheeks, and use a neutral blush or highlighting powder to sculpt and shape the cheeks.

For lips, I applied a touch of concealer to my lips to tone down their pinkness, then applied a coat of Angel lipstick by Mac (my new favourite!) and that's it!

Give Me Liberty of London...give it to me now!

http://www.temptalia.com/mac-give-me-liberty-of-london-overall-round-up

I know they say you shouldn't wish your life away...but right now the 1st of April can't come quick enough! I read in this month's Cosmo that 1st April is the launch date for the Give Me Liberty of London collection by Mac and I'm so excited! :D

The packaging for this one looks divine, and there are so many things I'm lusting after I know this one's gonna break the bank (again. sigh!)

Petals and Peacocks lipstick is the main thing I've been drooling over as it's SUCH a beautiful colour. Honestly, I have never seen a hot pink more gorgeous than this! I really really hope it suits me :D

Also high up on the wish list is Shell Pearl Beauty powder, as it looks so amazing and shimmery in the swatches I've seen and it'd be a fantastic highlight powder. The beautifully patterned compact it comes in is also a bonus!

I've posted a link to the most comprehensive review I've seen on the ever-fabulous Temptalia so you can go and have a nosey at the product photos, swatches and whatnot. Let me know what grabs you in the comments! :)

Lucy xx

The Quest for Soft, Tanned Skin!

This past week I decided it was high time I cracked out the fake tan again as it's coming up for spring (yay!) so out came the Dove Summer Glow body lotion. This is a particular favourite of mine as the smell always reminds me of summer, it's a great smooth consistency and it gives a lovely even tan which you can build up over a couple of days. After many a fake tan disaster in my teenage years, and given that my complexion is quite fair, a gradual tanner was the best way to go.
It still has that unmistakable stale biscuit smell which seems to be unavoidable with tanning products, but it's nothing a shower won't fix!

To prepare my skin for tanning and get it nice and moisturised, there's only one thing I turn to - The Body Shop Body Butter. This product is heavenly! There are a variety of 'flavours' to choose from, my favourites being Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Mango, Grapefruit and Cocoa Butter. This week I have been using a passion fruit exfoliating scrub, also from The Body Shop, so it made sense that I use the passion fruit body butter to match. Just take a scoop of product with your fingers and warm it between your hands, then liberally apply to your dry areas such as knees, elbows etc. I also like to apply it to my wrists and neck in the same way I would a perfume, as the smell really is to die for!


The Body Shop Body Butters retail for £5.00 for a 50ml pot, and £12.50 for a 200ml pot. I'd recommend a small pot to start off with just in case you decide it's not for you, but there are also testers in store so you can try before you buy. Everything there is animal-friendly and fair trade so you can treat yourself in the knowledge that nothing and no one suffered, which is always a bonus in my book! :)

Have a nice weekend everyone :)

Lucy x

Look of the Day

Hello lovely followers :)

I decided to have a little play with my new goodies today and test a few of them out in one simple look. I think the blush and lipstick complement eachother well and would work nicely with something a little more dramatic on the eye for a night out.



Eyes: UDPP to prime the eyes, followed by a sweep of All That Glitters by Mac all over the lid and up into the crease. I then applied Cranberry shadow into the outer crease, followed by Twice Baked by Urban decay in the outer corner and blended inwards. On the lower lashline, I blended a little more All That Glitters along the inner lash line and defined the outer lash line first using Cranberry then layering Twice Baked over the top. I rediscovered Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara this morning - totally forgot how fabulous it is! So I applied a couple of coats to top and bottom lashes to separate and define. In my waterline, I used Prestige Soft Blend Kohl eyeliner in Chamomile.

Cheeks: I used Well Dressed blush on the apples of my cheeks for a subtle hint of colour, then used Avon Arabian Glow pressed powder in Shimmering Bronze to contour. Simply pout your lips to find the hollows of your cheeks, the use an angled brush to dust a little bronzer in a smooth, diagonal line and blend it out.

Lips: I applied a touch of lip balm (The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter...mmm) to soften and protect the lips, followed by a coat of Mac lipstick in Angel. I love this lipstick already! I've been looking for my perfect pink ever since running out of Avon 'Party Pink' and not being able to find a new one! In fact, I think this one tops it :)



Have a nice day!

Lucy x

Mac Haul!

Woo! Yesterday Mr Postman brought me some lovely new Mac goodies :D
I thought I'd get more Spring Colour Forecast, but in the end I only wanted Fresh Salmon lipstick and vetoed everything else in favour of other stuff! That other stuff being...

♥ Angel lipstick - I've heard rave reviews about this lipstick and I'm on the lookout for my 'perfect' pink! Hopefully, this will be it. It looks like it'll be a nice everyday colour.
♥ Well Dressed blush - pale, subtle matte pink. I fell in love with it at the Mac counter last week and had to have it as soon as payday came hehe! I don't own any blushes as pale as this and I'm hoping it will highlight my cheeks without being too overpowering.
♥ A new Mineralize Skinfinish Natural as I'm scraping out the corners of mine! :P
♥ Cranberry eyeshadow - gorgeous! I can see this being more of a winter colour if I'm honest, it's very Christmassy (please don't kill me for mentioning the C-word in March ;)! ) A deep scarlet shadow with gold reflects, which swatches more of a reddy-brown colour and seems more wearable than I would have thought.


Top: Fresh Salmon
Bottom: Angel


Fresh Salmon - Coral with gold shimmer and a lustre finish. Can't wait for summer so I can use this beaut every day :D

Angel - not as lilac as it looks on camera! Lovely pale, muted pink with a glossy frost finish.

I'm very pleased with this little lot :) Must curb excessive hauling for now though as I'm on a mission to save!

Look of the Day - Summer Corals

Yesterday I got the first part of my Mac Spring Colour Forecast haul in the mail so I was dying to try it out! The stuff I got was:

Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach
Tinted Lipglass in Electric Fuschia
Lipstick in Laugh a Lot
Eyeshadow in Hot Hot Hot.

I plan on ordering a few more bits tomorrow so I'll do a haul blog as soon as I've got everything to show you :)

So today I decided to try out a summery peach, gold and coral look using Hot Hot Hot and Ripe Peach. The sun was shining today and it was kinda warm for early March which was a nice suprise! So I decided to road test a summery look using some of my new stash :)



For eyes, I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion, then applied Mac Rubenesque paint pot all over the lid using my finger. I then applied Urban Decay eyeshadow in 'X' over it to bring out the colour a little more. Next, I used Mac 'Goldmine' eyeshadow in the outer corner and blended it towards the centre of the lid using my Body Shop eyeshadow blending brush. I applied Hot Hot Hot eyeshadow in the crease and blended it into the Goldmine shadow. Next, I lined my waterline with Urban Decay eyeliner in 'Zero', which is just a simple black liner. I applied two coats of Maybelline Falsies mascara to my upper lashes, and defined my lower lashes using Maybelline Volum' Express mascara.



For cheeks I used Ripe Peach swirled over the apples and up towards my temples. I love this blush! I can see why it sold out in less than 24 hours on the Mac website, I really can. It looks like a sunset in the pan and when you apply it..oh my! :) Beautiful.



For lips I used a combination of Mac lipstick in Myth and Mac lipglass in Underage. I think this is a good combination for a glossy, neutral lip. On me, Myth doesn't work alone because it just makes my lips disappear into the rest of my face which is not a good look, so I always have to use something else over the top. It's good for creating a blank canvas for other lip colours though so I can't really knock it. Swatched on my hand it looks dark and kind of peachy, but on lips it comes out skin toned.


Swatches l-r: Myth by itself, Underage by itself, both combined.




What look are you wearing today? Post me a picture in the comments! :D

Lucy x

Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette!

So, early on Sunday morning I persuaded the boyfriend to drive me all the way into Manchester (love you Chris!) to get a much coveted Alice in Wonderland palette by Urban Decay. I've had my beady little eye on this beauty for SO long, in fact, ever since Christine first blogged about it on Temptalia. They are only selling 2,000 of these in the UK so it is VERY limited edition over here. I was beaming ear to ear all day when I finally got my mitts on one! I am so in love with this palette, it's unbelievable.

The top section folds up to reveal a mirror and a beautiful pop-up scene of Alice as she ventures through Wonderland. The bottom section is a pull-out drawer containing 16 Urban Decay shadows, 2 miniature 24/7 liners and an oh-so-cute mini UDPP, which is great news for me because mine's running out :)

The shades included in this palette are all existing Urban Decay shades which have been re-named to fit the Alice in Wonderland theme. I am lucky in that only 2 of these shades are dupes for me, those being 'Underland' which is Flash and 'Alice' which is Painkiller. I don't own them as singles but I do have the Preen palette which contains them. I do believe that the Show Pony palette has these aswell, I had a look at it and it's exactly the same as Preen but packaged differently! The other shades included in the Alice palette are as follows:

Underland (Flash) - Cool, very pigmented purple with silvery-blue reflects.
Alice (Painkiller) - Bright, ice-blue with silver shimmer.
Oraculum (Baked) - Golden bronze, highly pigmented with a metallic sheen
Queen (Last Call) - Shimmery burgundy pink, comparable to MAC Cranberry but with a more purplish edge. Another of my favourites from the palette, looks great in the crease and outer corner.
Chessur (Chopper) - Lovely copper with silver and golden reflects
White Rabbit (Polyester Bride) - slightly off-white shade with silver sparkles. A good highlight colour for a 'going out' look, and also very pretty on the inner corner and tear duct area.
Wonderland (Maui Wowie) - a tarnished gold similar to MAC's Woodwinked, but not as dark.
Curiouser (Grifter) - cool pinkish lilac with silver particles. Not sure what to do with this one yet. Might be pretty in a pink look with MAC Sushi Flower and Swish. I also have a Maybelline shadow which could work well with this. Stay tuned for a future tutorial? :D
Muchness (X) - this is possibly my favourite shade of the lot. It reminds me of Rubenesque paint pot by MAC. It's a beautiful peachy pink with gold undertones and is great as an all-over lid colour.
Mushroom (Mushroom) - nice taupe colour with a slight shimmer. Looks great in the crease
Midnight Tea Party (Midnight Cowboy Rides Again) - eurgh. Why UD insist on putting this shade in EVERY palette I will never know. Sparkly and beige, it could be nice if the glitter chunks didn't end up all over your face when applied.
Vorpal (S&M) - gunmetal grey which would be perfect in a smokey eye look. It has a metallic sheen to it.
Absolem (Homegrown) - a gorgeous green with golden shimmer.
Drink Me, Eat Me (Sin) - a great dupe for All That Glitters by MAC. Lovely neutral pink-beige with golden shimmer.
Mad Hatter (Twice Baked) - a gorgeous chocolate brown with fine glitter particles
Jabberwocky (Oil Slick) - black with fine sparkles of blue and silver. It looks kinda matte in my swatches but thats my rubbish camera! It's gorgeous in real life.

The 24/7 liners included in this palette are Zero which is a basic black with some shine to it and Flipside, a bright aqua blue with some metallic qualities.



Swatches l-r: Underland, Alice, Oraculum, Queen, Chessur, White Rabbit, Wonderland, Curiouser.


Swatches l-r: Muchness, Mushroom, Midnight Tea Party, Vorpal, Absolem, Drink Me Eat Me, Mad Hatter, Jabberwocky.



Top: Zero
Bottom: Flipside.

Overall, I think this palette is a great investment for anyone as it's such a collector's item with beautiful packaging and a decent array of shadow colours. If you're new to the world of Urban Decay I would recommend this as it's £28, which is a total bargain for 16 shadows, plus you get the pretty packaging aswell! If you own a lot of the singles or have a couple of other palettes, there's probably too many dupes in this to make it worth your while, and it would have been nice for UD to throw in some new shadows exclusive to this palette, but nevermind. I am very impressed with mine and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it.