Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo Review

When Maybelline released their range of 24hr Colour Tattoos, I read review upon review of them. So needless to say they were pretty popular. 

I've always preferred powder eyeshadows, and the thought of wearing something that was more of a cream didn't appeal to me in the slightest. One review (I can't remember which blog) however, made me consider giving this product a go.

I spotted this on offer in Boots one day, so after careful deliberation I chose this shade, On and On Bronze, over Permanent Taupe. When it came to giving it a go, I was quite surprised because I didn't expect it to feel so...dry so to speak. I really expected it to be a lot wetter than it was, and to take a while to fully set on my eyelids (which is what puts me off any liquid based eyeshadows). Fortunately this wasn't the case.

This product is slightly creamy when you stick your finger in it (assuming you apply it with your fingers rather than a brush) and when you apply it to your eyelids, it evens out to a powdery finish. Similar to how creme blushes go on application. Because of this, I would definitely consider buying a couple more of this product to use, and I definitely would like to add Permanent Taupe to my collection at some point.

I haven't worn this quite as much as I would like, simply because I don't like wearing too much on my eyelids when I'm at work, I tend to go for neutral/pale colours rather than something that will stand out.  The other reason being, that I personally think this colour would suit someone with brown eyes more.

All in all, I can see why these little pots have been popular, and I would recommend them to anybody who is an eyeshadow wearer who is a cream eyeshadow sceptic like myself! If this felt heavy on my eyelids, I most definitely wouldn't give it the time of day. I tend to wear Urban Decay's Primer Potion under this to avoid creasing, which works. I can't testify to creasing without the PP though I'm afraid.

The Colour Tattoo range retails at £4.99 and can be bought at your local Maybelline counter or online. I believe there are 8 shades available.

Have you tried any shades from this range? What are your thoughts?

Kate x

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Dark Winter Lips

With the weather getting colder, the seasons colours are also changing. Gone are the vibrant colours of summer, and in are darker berry colours verging on vampy. One popular colour at the moment is a burgundy/plum red colour on the lips. 

18 months ago I was in a make up outlet store near me and purchased a Benefit lipstick in the colour "No Complications", which although a bit dark for summer, I thought I'd have a use for it in the future - and here it is! I've dusted it off and started wearing it again!

Although Benefit's No Complications lipstick may not look that dark in the photo, it's plenty dark enough for me in person. I don't think this shade is still available from Benefit, but given that it is this seasons lip colour (or there about) you will definitely find a suitable alternative at most make up counters I would imagine.

One popular lip colour is 107 as part of the Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick collection. I don't own it yet, but I am sorely tempted to buy it next time I'm near a Rimmel counter. What lip colours are you wearing at the moment?

Kate x

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Topshop Creme Blush in Flush Review

I spotted a friend sporting a rather lovely looking blusher the other month in some photos so I promptly asked her what she was wearing and to my surprise it was a Topshop Crème Blush. I am a complete and utter novice to crème blushes so I thought it was high time I gave it a go. 

The first time I used it, I was a little nervous, and not entirely happy with the result. I’ve perfected my powder blusher application, so to now be applying it with my fingers seems completely alien to me. I’ve slowly got there with application and making it look more symmetrical on my cheeks. It’ll take a while before I’m fully confident with it. 

There’s not a lot I can say about this blush really. I’ve worn it a few times, and my favourite thing about it is that when it fades, it doesn’t go patchy. It fades evenly, so I’m not looking in the mirror at the end of the day with blotchy cheeks. This won’t last all day, but I wouldn’t expect it to especially considering how much I probably touch my face without realising it. 

I would definitely try more Crème Blushes in the future, overall, I’m not too sure this is the best colour for my skin tone, as I do get little red blotches on the tops of my cheeks occasionally, and having a bright pink blusher tends to accentuate it more. 

One thing I have to remember with this type of blusher is that 9/10 it is going to look extremely vibrant in the pan, but once applied sparingly it can look quite lovely. Obviously it can be built up for a stronger colour, but given how pale I am at the moment I’m better off going for more of a flushed look than anything and this can achieve it – it’s in the name!

Left: Blended (poorly) Right: Swatched

I will definitely try some more from the Topshop range, I’ve been recommended Head over Heels by the same friend and it is apparently by far the best colour from their range. I also have my eye on the MAC Crème Blushes, they look pretty nice too.

Topshop Creme Blushes are £6 and can be bought online or instore.

Kate x

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Please excuse the slightly grubbyness of the packaging. I originally took photos a while ago, but decided they were rubbish so retook them this evening.

MUA All in One Blemish Balm

I recently purchased MUA's All in One Blemish Balm from Superdrug, it was too good to pass up with a £3 promotional price (normally retails at £4), as well as hearing so much positive feedback about the brand. 

The only other BB Cream I have tried is the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector, which I bought last year now and am close to running out.

I don't like using foundation on my skin every day, partially because sitting in an office in the middle of the countryside doesn't exactly require a full face of makeup and because I just can't be bothered with the application of foundation each day. 

Trying to choose my perfect shade for the MUA BB Cream proved to be a little difficult due to the fact that only two testers were present (light and dark). I knew light was too light and would make me look so pale I would belong in the Adams family, but I wasn't sure if medium might be a touch too dark, so I opted for the shade in between, Light Rosé. Admittedly this is still a little pale.

Consistency wise there is a massive difference between MUA and Garnier. While Garnier feels creamier, and a little goes quite far, I felt it was quite the opposite with MUA. I don't even know how to describe it apart from, it was so thick a little definitely did not go a long way. I would start to rub it in, and within seconds it had dried almost. The positive of it was that it doesn't feel like it's sitting on top of your skin whereas if I apply too much of the Garnier BB it can feel like that. (It's probably worth noting that I use my hands to apply BB Creams) 

Coverage seems to be pretty good, and looking on MUA's website it is described as a BB Foundation, which confuses me a little, as BB's are almost a middle ground between foundations and tinted moisturisers. 

The major negative for me with this product is that because the consistency is quite drying/powdery (I still don't know how to describe it) it shows up every single patch of dry skin on my face - no matter how small or slight. It is such a shame, because I don't feel like I'm wearing anything which is always a bonus, but I don't want a product that highlights my imperfections when it's supposed to even out skin tone and blemishes. 

Given the fact that it is described on the website as a foundation, I would hazard a guess that that is why the consistency feels so incredibly different, polar opposite almost, to the Garnier one. 

Many can argue - what did you expect from a product that sells for £4, but following on the rave reviews of other products I thought this may be a keeper. I'll probably keep hold of this for emergencies but I won't be reaching for it in any other circumstance unfortunately. 

I would say that perhaps this formula is better for summer, or for oilier skin types. My skin is getting quite dry from the temperature change so perhaps it's just a case of trying this at the wrong time of year. Either way, I am a little disappointed. Though considering I only paid £3 for it, I don't feel like I've been ripped off or that it's overpriced.

MUA's All in One Beauty Balm (Foundation) is currently on promotion for £3 but retails normally for £4 and can be bought online or in Superdrug. 

Has anybody else tried this? What were your thoughts - positive/negative?

Kate x

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InStyle November Magazine Free Gift

I posted back in June about a couple of magazine free gifts that were very popular. This month sees some more exceptional free gifts with magazines. Now, I haven't gone out and bought every single one of them, but I have bought two of the InStyle magazine as they are giving away miniature Benefit cheek and lip stains this month. 

I've picked up Sunbeam and Cha Cha Tint. Just a word of warning - Sunbeam is literally like liquid gold. So hard to get hold of. Or for me at least it was. 

I've wanted to try Sunbeam for some time now, and coming in a miniature for £2.50 isn't something you can say no to. I rarely use highlighter so this is probably of more use to me than spending £25+/- buying a full size one. I initially bought Cha Cha Tint because I couldn't get Sunbeam, and I didn't want to leave empty handed. It is incredibly bright when first applied to your skin, but once worked in it is quite nice.

Sorry for the quality of the last two photos, but trying to get my camera to focus on my hand was rather difficult.

InStyle Magazine is £3.80 but Tescos are currently selling it on promotion for £2.50. The other tint available is Benetint.

Kate x

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Kiko Nail Polishes

This is a rather belated post. After my holiday in Berlin I posted some photos of a Kiko Nail Polish that I purchased while I was out there. I mentioned that I had infact bought 4 in total, but I never got around to posting photos of the other 3. This post is essentially to show you the other colours I bought.

L-R 343, 235, 344, 385

 

Kate x

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Benefit Dallas Ultra Plush Gloss Review

One of my favourite blushers of all time is Benefit Dallas, as it is a cross between a blush and a bronzer and the colour suits my skin tone far better than Hoola does (although I do still own Hoola and use it from time to time) so when I found out about the Plush Lip Glosses that Benefit were launching to complement the boxed blushers I got rather excited.

I own Dallas, Dandelion, Hoola, Georgia (which I think has been discontinued) and Coralista in the powders and when it came to trying out one of the glosses I couldn't decide between Dallas, Dandelion or Coralista. I eventually opted for Dallas as I love the blusher so much. 

It's quite funny really, when I first bought Dallas, it took me months before I liked it, and considered it a wasted purchase. Little did I know how much I would grow to love it. This and Dandelion are the only ones I've used so much that I've repurchased.

I bought this back in June and I will be honest I haven't worn it as much as I would have liked. I'm more into lipsticks at the moment and I don't really like it when my hair gets blown into my lipgloss. Rather irritating!

I genuinely think like with the Dallas blusher, this is going to take a little getting used to. When I first wore it a couple of times I felt as though it would go a little streaky which I'm not sure was a case of applying it to dry lips, or just not being used to such an opaque lipgloss as this is my first lipgloss that isn't particularly sheer. Either way, I can't say I've really noticed it anymore. 

I don't regret buying this colour per sé, but I definitely think if I'd opted for Coralista or Dandelion it would I would have worn it more over the summer months. Especially as I was heavily into bright coral lips over the summer. However, with the winter months approaching, it may be now that this colour comes into it's own.

If I had written this review straight after purchasing it back in June or July time, I think this would have been a fairly negative review, however, after giving myself some time to wear it I've definitely grown to like it and I will definitely be wearing this more and more.

Consistency wise, this isn't too sticky and feels more like I'm wearing a thick lipbalm than anything which is good because I'm not the biggest fan of sticky lipgloss. I don't really know about wear time as I've never had time to check myself in a mirror whilst wearing it. It smells lovely, although it may be a scent that some people may not like.

Benefit is bringing out a miniature box set of the glosses in time for Christmas for £19.50 which I may well invest in, as one normal size gloss costs £13.50 so £6 more for 6 miniatures is a pretty good deal in my eyes. Despite the fact that means I will get another Dallas gloss.

Do you have any of these glosses? What were your thoughts?

Kate x

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