♡ The "Bloggers Make Me Want It" Beauty Wishlist ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I think I spend about 40% of my spare time, scouring blog posts, and instagram pictures/videos with pretty enticing portrayed products, gorgeous mini make-up tutorials and just pretty products in general. I do. I love make-up to the point, where it's slightly scary to how far my limits will reach, just for something make-up related.

I know, that I have my own routine, and have certain products that suit my problematic skin type, but there are just some (v.cute, v.shiny, v.me) things, that seem to scream out to me. Recently, I love doing make-up looks that involve either nudes, reds and/or glitter (especially from the Lime Crime Venus palette) and so I have found myself, looking at shadows based around this criteria. Other products listed, are from the countless youtube videos and instagram pictures, I manage to seek out from my favourite make-up guru's.

Violet Voss x Laura Lee Eyeshadow Palette // Violet Voss Holy Grail Eyeshadow Palette // Sugarpill loose eyeshadows in Penelope, Aslyum and Goldilux // EYELURE Vegas Nay False Eyelashes in Grand Glamour // MELT Rust Stack Eyeshadows

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette // Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Kit in Fair // BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl // Glam Glow Supermud Mask // Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in Snow // Farsali Rose Gold Elixir

Too Faced Sweethearts Flush Blush in Candy Glow // Too Faced Sweethearts Bronzer in Sweet Tea // Cryptic Cosmetics Gore Couture Collection // Artist Couture Diamond Glow Powder in Broadway and Mermaid Fantasy // Coloured Raine Matte Liquid Lipsticks in Classy, Roulette and Mary

So there we have it! Don't ask me how I am containing myself, in not purchasing every single piece right now... but I am *breathes into a paper bag* Looking back over it, it does seem like a lot bbbuuuttt it's not really?! *is in super denial about it all*

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ BeautyBay Haul; Makeup Geek + Gerard Cosmetics ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I am a sucker for offers on make-up, and a while ago now (like literally, back in May - that's how far behind, I am on things) BeautyBay was holding a "buy one, get one half price" offer on Gerard Cosmetics items, I swear that I was in there like a bat outta hell! And I couldn't resist purchasing some other goodies as well...

I'd had an empty Z palette lying around for ages now, and I knew that it needed to be filled, otherwise it would continue on being empty. So, seeing the selection of Makeup Geek pans on offer (and the fact that I got a free foiled eyeshadow pan after spending a certain amount) I decided to, just go for it and see what the outcome was, and the outcome was this! Oh,  and after sorting out each pan into alphabetical order (yes, this is what I do, w/ my organising) from left, to right, the pans go as follows;

○ Barcelona Beach ○ Bedrock ○ Bitten ○ Burlesque ○ Cinderella ○ Goddess ○ In The Spotlight ○ Latte ○ Vintage ○

I love these colours. I've been using all of these shades, besides the 'In The Spotlight' foiled eyeshadow, as transition shades mainly, and I've yet to use them just on their own? I feel that I probably need a primer for these pans though, as I did do tester swatches on my arms (which, the photographs turned out horrible, so no putting them in. Nope) and they needed, a good four to five swipes of colour, before they seemed usable? So basically, these pans are good for a build up of colour, and as I'm not using primer on my eyes at the moment, using them as transition shades, is the best option for sure. I do love these colours though, they are all, honestly, super pretty, and can be introduced to either everyday looks, or added to a glam look too.

Next up, are the stunning (and boy, do I mean s t u n n i n g) hydra matte lipsticks, as well as normal lipsticks, by Gerard Cosmetics. I love the hydra matte lipstick range - I even did a post about the colour CHER, which you can re-cap here if you so desire - because the formula agrees with me, on so many levels. They're creamy to apply, they don't dry to the point where the colour cracks, and makes my lips look awful, and the colours are just gorgeous in pigmentation. I cannot fault these liquid lipsticks... I really cannot. I also decided to get a few of the creamy lipsticks too, and I'm glad that I did! I really love these colours - even though I still haven't used them yet... oops! I will try to use them soon. Promise!

○ Gravity ○ Iced Mocha ○ Invasion ○ Mystic Moon ○ Rodeo Drive ○ London Fog ○

Oh, and I also purchased a pot of loose pigment powder from Makeup Geek - it's a beautiful champagne rose colour - which is a colour I have been after for a while, and it's just that extra bit of glitz, to make any eye look, well, pop!

So there we have it, a haul post that has been sitting in my drafts for over four months now *doom and gloom*, is finally finished! Boy, I sure do take my time... don't I.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ My First Colourpop Haul ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

Note; I was going to do swatches... but they turned out terrible - slightly out of focus because of shaky arms, even though I used a tripod, and the lighting was awful too, so  I'll do some proper lip swatches (with added reviews) as soon as I have some free time~

I messed up. Well, I didn't really mess up bbbuuuttt as I'm meant to be saving for my Japan trip at the end of the year... I messed up. Colourpop has been on my radar for a while now, and after seeing more UK bloggers purchasing pieces, I decided to dive in further. As Colourpop don't do shipping to the UK at the moment, the easiest way to do so, is by getting an American shipping address - I use Shipto - and doing it that way! You literally add items to your cart, enter the American address you've signed up for, in the shipping and billing sections and away you go! You wait (very patiently) for the email, saying that your parcel is in their care, then you pay a small service fee and the shipping fee from their warehouse, to you doorstep! It really is as simple as 1, 2, 3!

Now, I actually did two different orders - my first order being when Colourpop had a sale on, and the second one when they offered a free limited edition eyeshadow single, to celebrate their second birthday. I wasn't intending on doing the second purchase, but all I had to do was spend $30 (which is easily done) and voila! It happened... But basically, because both orders were put together, the shipping fee and service fee didn't mount up in the end - I paid less than $15 for both.

Eyeshadow Singles

○ Glow ○ Birthday Boy ○ KathleenLights ○ Cornelious ○

How stunning are these? Glow, KathleenLights and Cornelious are actually three single colours from the Kathleen Lights Quad collection, but when I did my first order, it was, sadly, out of stock - so I had to make do with these three for now! Birthday Boy just oozes that little bit of swish and glitter that could probably make any look pop!

Eyeshadow Collections 

○ Kaepop ○ Jenn Ne Sais Quad ○

Two stunning quads for $20 each? I was sold in all honesty. I love how different the formula is of these eyeshadows... they don't seem powdery? It almost feels as if it's a cushioned liquid/mousse kind of formula?! It's weird, but I'm super looking forward to using the beauties properly! On first impressions, the Jenn Ne Sais Quad appeals to me more, because of the two bottom colours (brick red and a blackened brown) are more... well, me I suppose? 

Ultra Matte Lip

○ Are & Be ○ Bianca ○ Cheap Thrills ○ Lumiere II ○ Trap ○ Tulle ○

Matte lipsticks are my favourite at the moment, and after searching through different swatches on google - the above six colours were my favourite! I will probably make my way through the whole collection in the future... but these six will satisfy. At first glance, I'm more pulled towards Cheap Thrills and Are & Be, compared to the others, and normally I would have a berry/bold red matte lip colour in ANY haul but this time, I stuck with nudes and pinks - for now.

Ultra Satin Lip

○ Dopey ○ Echo Park ○ Frick 'n' Frack ○ Marshmallow ○ Prim ○ Tansy ○ Toolips ○

As soon as I saw Marshmallow, I just knew that I had to have it. And it's shocking for me, because I don't have any satin lipstick in my collection any more? I just have a few Gerard Cosmetics lipsticks and some Etude House ones, but the rest are liquid and matte... that's how predictable I am these days. But it wasn't just Marshmallow I had to have straight away, Tansy and Toolips also won me over... Tansy because it's a little weird and Toolips because... I actually don't know why, but the swatch looked amazing. I am, so looking forward to using the beauties soon!

Lippie Stix

○ Cami ○ Creature ○ Lumiere ○ Pillow Talk ○ Taurus ○ Tootsi ○

I was slightly heartbroken, that Cami and Creature came a little bit weird? Cami was backwards and all twisted, whilst Creature was slightly twisted in the tube. None the less, all the colours are simply stunning. A couple of colours are from the Matte X collection - I think Cami, Pillow Talk and Tootsi? Lumiere was part of the Kathleen Lights collection, and hence why I got this was because of Lumiere II as well! I love all of these colours in all honesty... I really don't know how I'm going to choose whenever I need a lip colour!

So there we have it! I love each and every item, even the ones that are a little twisted, but I am looking forward to incorporating these items into my everyday - and extreme - looks!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks in Doll Parts, Gemini & Scorpio ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I don't think, that it really comes as a shock to anybody, any more, that I love the Jeffree Star's Cosmetics line. I have my eyes on the Beauty Killer palette, for when I get paid (SOON!) and, when the Skin Frost line comes back in stock, I am getting my hands on the Ice Cold version - I have the Mint Condition version on its way to me, but Ice Cold was my first choice originally.

But, before those items were released, I purchased three liquid velour lipsticks - two new colours; Scorpio (duh, it is my star sign!) and Gemini, and a restock of Doll Parts. I still want a few more colours - especially the two new colours, Rose Matter and Mannequin, but sadly I will have to wait for the next restock of those, because they get released five days before my payday, sob. But anyway, waiting over 10 days, very patiently, for these lipsticks was EXCRUCIATINGLY painful, especially after seeing lots of different swatches - videos and pictures - online, but it was worth it in the end, and lets just say, I was not disappointed~

All three colours are just, simply stunning in person, and the formula is still the best. Doll Parts is a soft, but beautiful cool toned pink and against my skin, uuuggghhh. So nice! Gemini is a terracotta warm-toned nude, and I didn't think this would suit me at first, but boy was I wrong! And finally, Scorpio (yyyaaasss!) is, like a love child of purple and grey and holy shit, it is a stunner.

As usual, I cannot fault these lipsticks for their formula. The colours are just divine, and my collection just keeps on growing every time! I love how, each colour can suit all skin tones, no matter what, even if it seems like that a specific one, wouldn't suit you because you're a... lets say olive complexion with cool undertones - any lipstick from this line would possibly suit you.
Also, I love how you can mix the colours together and create a totally, new and awesome colour! I just love experimenting, and I think you can find different mixes and matches from the shades somewhere online... I need to do the searching again!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Favourite Cosmetics of 2015 ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

2015 saw quite a few new cosmetics appear in my make-up bag, some have only graced it once, whilst others are now, permanently, stuck there. Not that's a bad thing... right?

Face

Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion in Mint is quite honestly, one of the best bases I could ask for. It helps covers my red cheeks, old acne scars and evens out my skin tone, whilst giving it a little brightness at the same time. On the same level, Etude House's Face Blur is another base/cream I can stick to. I love how that I can use this as a base underneath my usual BB cream (Skinfood Red Bean Cream) or I can use this for a (very) light cover - with powder over the top of course - and it can hide every.single.little.imperfection that my eyes can see. Pores, scares, redness you name it, it can hide it. Speaking of powder, Skinfood Buckwheat Loose Powder in Transparent is my loose powder love. There are days where my skin is oily beyond belief, and this powder is ah-mah-zing at absorbing all that excess oil, and leaving a matte finish on my skin. It smells lovely as well and feels super, duper soft once applied. I also use this powder after I've applied my moisturiser and before I apply my base/BB cream, as that helps keep those products on my face for longer throughout the day. Another powder love is Tonymoly's Cat Wink Clear Pact in Light Beige, and this compact is my favourite for bringing a teeny, weeny bit of colour on my face. Again, like the Skinfood loose powder, this one also helps with the absorption of oil AND it's handy to slip into my handbag. Heading towards the high end brands a little bit now, but the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Highlighter and the Yves Saint Laurent Concealer were impulse buys when I went to Stockholm back in May and boy, they were the best impulse purchases ever. I cannot fault these two products because they are fabulous in both their areas of concealing and highlighting, plus I feel a little bit like a Queen whenever I pull these out of my handbag because HELLO! Gold packaging!

Eyes

Onto my favourite eye products - Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara was a happy coincidence in trying from receiving a mini tube as a sample. I love using this mascara when my sensitive eyes do not want to play ball with false eyelashes. This mascara just gives the bit of a va-va-voom! Next is the MUA Elysium Eyeshadow Palette, another impulse purchase because the colours looks really pretty in front of me, how ever could I resist?! The colours are lovely and pigmented, which for a bargain £6 eyeshadow palette, that is amazing! I love all the different colour combinations I can produce with this palette as well. Even though the Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil in Brown isn't something I've found recently - it's actually been in my make-up bag for over four years now! But this little beauty is, hands down, the best eyebrow pencil I could ask for and I always go back to this time and time again, without fail. The Too Faced x Vegas Nay Stardust Eyeshadow Palette was something I fell in love with the moment I laid eyes on it and I'm glad that I've got it. I've only used it about 4 times since receiving it - because I'm a little bit sad and am making it last for as LONG as possible. And the final product is Fairydrops Volume Burst Mascara that I purchased in a little shop in Chinatown in London and let me just say, wow. I love using this as a base under my false eyelashes as it is such a light formula but it helps with that extra oomph!

Cheeks

There's only two products here as using cheek products has only been a recent addition to my make-up routine. The NARS Blush in Orgasm was another product from Stockholm and I adore the sort of 'doll effect' cheeks this colour can create against my skin tone. Plus if I accidentally put a little bit too much on, it can easily be buffed out to give a lovely faded effect, ugh dream blush. And the NARS Illuminatior in Orgasm obsession of mine started as a little sample bottle I had received with my Sephora haul back in Stockholm, to getting the full sized version when I realised that I NEEDED it more than anything! I adore combining these two items together as well, giving my cheeks a flushed, yet healthy illuminating look! Perfection.

Lips

It's no cosmetics list of mine without lip products. First off is Jeffree Star's Liquid Velour Lipstick in Celebrity Skin and Unicorn Blood and I freakin' LOVE the formula of this liquid lipstick. It doesn't dry out my lips, yes it shows the lines on my lips but not in a bad way. It's wearable, lasts an extremely long time throughout the day, especially after eating and drinking, and is able to be taken off easily. Not only that, one of my closest friends managed to get a couple of these lipsticks because I've been bugging her about getting them... HAH! Secondly is a collection of LASplash Liquid Lipsticks, and boy do I mean a collection of them. I have around 30 different colours over the range and I do not regret any of them. The formula is a little bit different to the Jeffree Star ones but, the pigmentation of the colours and the durabiliy of these lippies, I cannot fault. Next isn't a lipstick/gloss per say but a balm and it my LIFESAVER for my poor lips. The EOS Balm in Sweet Mint is a gorgeous balm that helps my dried, chapped lips become... well more lip like? I carry this little puppy around everywhere with me, and I use it as a base under ANY of my liquid to matte lipsticks, just to help my lips out that little bit extra. And the final lip product is a MAC lipstick in Pink Plaid. This one was a surprise for me in all honesty, I saw it originally in the Covent Garden store and thought the colour looked a bit iffy? But when I tested it out on the back of my hand, it's strange but you know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when something just feels right? Yeah, I had it with this lipstick and I haven't put it down since. It's my favourite vintage, rosy pink colour lipstick and I use it under LASpash's 'Rose Garden' just to give each colour a bit of a boost!

And there we go! No doubt 2016 will bring some other new products into my life, but I am so comfortable using these products and my skin loves them all as well, just because I'm not breaking out into rashes when I've come into contact with them. And I'm not going to lie, I've also been a bit of an influence on a couple of friends by being that initiator of MAKING them purchase certain products *coughs* You know who you are ♡

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Lime Crime Opaque Lipsticks ♡

みなさん、こんにちは! 

Last month I received a present from a very generous friend of mine and inside the parcel was three (yes that's right THREE of them) Lime Crime opaque lipsticks! I was extremely shocked when the three boxes fell out onto my lap... and my friend's excuse was that she had 'over purchased and so had spare laying around'... HOW CAN YOU DO THAT EXACTLY?! I KNOW THE PRICES WOMAN but luckily I got my own back on her and surprised her with a goody box full of her favourite English treats!

Anyway going off tangent here just a little bit... in the above right picture you can see that the three colours I received were 'Centrifuchsia', 'Mint To Be' and 'D'Lilac'. These were actually the three colours I've had my eyes on since the day I found out about Lime Crime and gosh it sure was exciting to finally have these three colours in my collection!

Normally if I receive more than one of the same item I would do separate blog posts for them but this time I'll do just one rrreeeaaallllllyyy long one... and maybe do long ones in the future instead of spreading them out... idek anymore ; n ;

Centrifuchsia 

"Fuchsia (deep pink), amplified to a cosmic degree!"

So first off is 'Centrifuchsia'... I love love love this colour for the dark pink as it sort of reminds me of something you'd want to use for 40s style make-up? All of the lipsticks are so so so creamy and easy to glide on and are so POW POW in your face - which I presume is the angle Lime Crime decided to aim for - and even the smell of these lipsticks are nice? I know... I'm going onto smell now but they kind of remind me of a mixture of popcorn and twizzle sticks where as other lipsticks I have used in the past - and I'm not saying that I go around sniffing lipsticks on purpose - but I have a rather sensitive sense of smell and so as soon as I open a box of something it's the smell that hits me first. Centrifuchsia is definitely the lipstick out of these three that I would wear the most and even most of my friends (and some of my colleagues from work) have said that this is the colour that suits me the most.

D'Lilac
"Crème de lavender, for post-modern Marie Antoinettes!"

Secondly is the ever so lovely 'D'Lilac' and again, like Centrifuchsia, this lipstick is so so so creamy and glides on nicely and smoothly. I did however have to use a lip concealer underneath this lipstick as my lips are extremely pigmented and so I was pretty paranoid that the colour wouldn't show up well and it was a good decision to do so as the colour (again) was very POW POW.

Mint To Be
"Pastel mint green"

At first glance... 'Mint To Be' has been my favourite colour since day one and it still is to this day (despite Centrifuchsia trying to battle for the top spot recently) and the picture I've taken of it here doesn't really give the colour any justice because it is such a lovely pale mint green colour. Again I had to use my lip concealer underneath this colour (curse you pigmented lips!!!) but it helped make the colour stand out even more so I don't regret using the concealer underneath at all.

Pros
↑↑ extremely pigmented colours with all three shades
↑↑ non chemical smell like other lipsticks I've used before
↑↑ great for making a change with your make-up
↑↑ can be used for day or night looks

Cons
↑↑ price...
↑↑ easily melts

Overall Verdict; ★★★★★
I love them... I love these lipsticks and even though I've heard bad and good things about this brand but in all honesty I've had nothing but good experience with the products.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Etude House Sweet Recipe Collection ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!
As it is a new year; I'm not in the slightest surprised at this newest collection by Etude House - the Sweet Recipe 2013 collection. I am, however, surprised at myself for being so in love with this particular collection because of reasons that are actually unknown! 

The faces of this collection are Sulli from F(x) and I think this other lady is someone from SNSD? I'm not a fan of that particular group so I honestly cannot tell who is whom from that group... sorry!

Oh and SHINee are a part of this project as well by making an appearance in the advert but they seem to be a part of the whole Etude House franchise as of late so it's not unusual to see them be a part of this one:

Compared to the Princess Etoinette collection, where that is based around feeling like a pretty princess and so has used packaging to entice the eyes, the Sweet Recipe collection are following in the footsteps with using sight to entice their customers into buying the products - not that I am complaining because the whole sugary sweet foods certainly appeal to me!

This collection doesn't have anything like the bath bombs or candles like they did in the Princess Etoinette set but they do have a couple of brushes as well as some usuals that we tend to use in our daily routines such as make-up sponges and cotton wall balls made to look like mini candy floss balls!

Do you see anything that catches your eye the most? Personally... the eyeshadows are more appealing to myself but I do like the look of a couple of the lipsticks too! Unfortunately I can't seem to find the collection online where they ship overseas... so we'll all just have to pine over these beautiful items on Etude House's homepage instead /s o b s/

Check out the homepage and Sweet Recipe collection here

Please note that all pictures displayed here are from the Etude House homepage and are NOT my own work. Thank you!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo