Monday, 13 February 2017

A Try not to Buy Haul

benefit blusher smashbox my digits charlotte tilbury secret salma pillowtalk review

I’ve been mentioning in different posts and on Instagram about my recent challenge to try not to buy beauty products so I thought I would gather a few of the products I have bought and give a little update as to how I’m getting on! I’ve been calling it a try not to buy as well because the word ban would have the reverse effect on me!

I started this just before Christmas and you will have seen my last big beauty purchase before trying not to buy anything last week with my custom ABH palette! This was a guilt free long time coming purchase as the single eyeshadows had been on my wishlist for the longest time!

Anyway, long story short, aside from being a spendaholic when it comes to beauty products, my hours at work have recently changed so I knew I would need to tighten the purse strings. I had been covering maternity leave for a woman and she came back a couple of weeks ago but wanted to job share so I’m still doing the same job just working part time now instead of full time. I knew it was coming and I’m still getting used to it, having days off is the best but I know I won’t be saying that when I see my pay at the end of the month!

I also started the process of applying for my Canadian visa/work permit late last year and it came through last month so I have a year to move to Canada and I will be spending my spare time researching and planning for that. I’ve always wanted to try living somewhere new and I know I won’t be able to job share forever so it seems like a good time to try it!

Ok, this is turning into more of an update/lifestyle post than I meant it to but basically, every year I am guilty of buying discounted gift sets and products in the sales so I thought late December was a good time to start trying not to buy. While it’s all well and good getting a bargain when you are a beauty addict, with boxes and drawers filled with new, unopened or back up products, buying more is pretty pointless when you are barely getting through what you already have and planning a potential move when you won’t be able to take it with you!

So, instead of snapping up the half price Soap and Glory Christmas sets (not necessary when you still have backups of backups from last year) or spending Boxing Day in the online Lush sale queue, I put my bank card down and man oh man do I feel all the better for it. I give into my greed way too easily; I can’t believe I haven’t taken this approach before. As you will see, I have bought some things but it’s nowhere near as much as usual and I don’t feel guilty for buying them!

smashbox my digits charlotte tilbury secret salma pillowtalk review

This was my first beauty purchase of 2017. I had a £15 Cult Beauty gift card that I had received in my last GWP and although it wasn’t due to run out to the end of January, I’ll admit, I wanted new makeup to play with! I went with Secret Salma in the end, a Matte Revolution formulation which I hadn’t tried before - a fact made all the sweeter that I didn’t have to part with the full £23 myself (now increased to £24)! I ended up having to pay delivery with this too which I usually refuse to do (I will buy things until I reach the threshold for free delivery!). I’m so glad I have it in my collection now though, it’s a beautiful deep plum/pink shade that is long lasting and though it’s the CT matte formulation, it feels hydrating and doesn’t exaggerate any dry patches I have on my lips!

This lipstick shade had been on my wishlist for the longest time so I had been exercising self-control over this for quite a while already before getting my hands on it! I was planning on waiting for my Boots points to pile up to buy this but my Godson (or more likely my aunt!) got me a Boots gift card for Christmas so after unsuccessfully trying to use it online (who knew they don’t accept them?) I finally got my hands on this when I got to a big Boots. It doesn’t disappoint either - it’s the most perfect pinky/berry toned creamy lipstick that wears off evenly and leaves a gorgeous stain! I had tried the formula before and you can see my review and some more swatches of other shades here!

I did cave completely when I saw this and had it ordered as soon as I got the email landed in my inbox but how could I not! Pillowtalk is my favourite lipliner so the matching lipstick had to be mine and the fact its limited edition meant it had to mine right now! Again, it’s the matte revolution formula and it’s a beautiful muted pinky nude with a hint of brown. I’d say the lipliner has a hint more mauve to it but I know I will get so much wear out of this!

smashbox my digits charlotte tilbury secret salma pillowtalk swatches
l-r: Smashbox My Digits, Charlotte Tilbury Secret Salma, Pillowtalk 

Large Z Palatte 
You might have seen a few posts on my Instagram about me depotting my Benefit blush palette. I never reached for it because the packaging was so bulky so I spent £17.50 (I don’t remember them being so dear!) on a new Z palette to pop them into! I know not everyone is a fan of Z palettes and they definitely are an expensive option for what is basically a card and a magnet but I love that you can see inside them and the sticky metal magnets that come included to stick on pans are so handy for covering the glue that sometimes remains after depotting! Since depotting, despite a few crumbles, I have been getting a lot more use out of the blushers and bronzer in the palette and I ended up depotting a few mini Too Faced bronzers as well !

Anyway, hope you didn’t mind that little try not to buy/update from me! Also, don’t be shocked if I cave and make a splurge on Cult Beauty if they do another GWP offer soon, I’m good but I’m not that good! Let me know what you’ve been buying recently or if you are trying to cut down your spending like me!

Danielle xx

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Monday, 11 July 2016

Geeking out over Makeup: Updated Makeup Geek Palette


makeup geek collection eyeshadow extra large z palette neutral shades

I think we all know by now that I am a huge fan of Makeup Geek shadows so when BeautyBay recently had 50% off, I couldn’t resist! I picked up some shades I had been meaning to for a while as well as some crowd favourites that people had recommended and I saw constantly popping up in other’s collections! My collection has grown considerably since my Makeup Geek Palette of Neutral Dreams post so this is a mixture of what I picked up in the sale and what I had picked up since that post!

I actually only put all the shadows in my extra-large palette for the purpose of this post, in reality I still have my small palette which I use day to day then a large palette which has the rest of the pans! The majority of my shadows are in the standard formula but I also have two foiled shadows in Starry Eyed and Mesmerised and one duo chrome shade in Steampunk. All the shadows are highly pigmented, easily blended and long-lasting, in the six months since I discovered them they have quickly become my favourite formulation! 

makeup geek collection eyeshadow pan extra large z palette neutral shades

So onto the swatches! I’m never overly happy with swatch pictures I take and these don’t do the shadows enough justice but I hope someone finds them helpful!

row 1 makeup geek eyeshadow swatches vanilla bean sand dollar shimma shimma starry eyed peach smoothie creme brulee latte
Row 1: Vanilla Bean, Sand Dollar, Shimma Shimma, Starry Eyed, Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Latte
Row 1
Vanilla Bean – light shimmer with beige undertone, I use this as a base or sometimes as a brow highlight (doesn’t really show up on the swatch as my skin is so pale!)
Sand Dollar – a matte light greyish shade, I use this as a base or near my inner corner to lighten before transitioning to a darker shade (again not showing up on my skin in the swatch!)
Shimma Shimma – a metallic champagne shade I used as an inner corner highlight
Starry Eyed – this is one of the foiled formulations and is described as a champagne shade too but obviously it has a lot more shimmer than Starry Eyed! I use this over the lid
Peach Smoothie – a matte peach beige I have been trying to embrace as a transition shade through the crease
Crème Brulee – a matte warm sand colour
Latte – a matte medium brown it looks a lot warmer on my eyelids than it does in the swatch

row 2 makeup geek eyeshadow swatches prom night homecoming taupe notch pretentious brownie points friend zone hipster
Row 2: Prom Night, Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Pretentious, Brownie Points, Friend Zone, Hipster
Row 2
Prom Night – a light purple grey shimmer though it always looks more bronze when I swatch it!
Homecoming – a medium brown shade with gold shimmer
Taupe Notch – a taupe shimmer
Pretentious – a bronzey gold metallic shade I like to wear all over the lid at night, swatches almost the same as Homecoming on me but looks different on the lid
Brownie Points – a cool milk chocolate matte, not as pigmented as some other matte shades I have
Friend Zone – a purple/grey/brown matte again not as pigmented as others
Hipster – slightly shimmery light taupe colour, I love this all over the lid, the shimmer is so subtle it’s gorgeous!

row 3 makeup geek eyeshadow swatches barcelona beach frappe cocoa bear wild west mocha mesmerised steampunk
Row 3: Barcelona Beach, Frappe, Cocoa Bear, Wild West, Mocha, Mesmerised, Steampunk
Row 3
Barcelona Beach – medium brown cool toned matte, another one of my favourites!
Frappe – medium brown warm toned matte
Cocoa Bear – a matte red brown
Wild West – another red brown matte, I need to give these three more love!
Mocha – a deep matte brown, love this for the darkening my outer crease or as a liner
Mesmerised – another foiled formulation this is a medium brown with hints of purple, no fallout and it looks gorgeous on!
Steampunk – my only duo chrome finish, this is a dark copper shade that I haven’t had the chance to wear yet!

row 4 makeup geek eyeshadow swatches moondust high tea twilight unexpected vintage bedrock concrete jungle
Row 4: Moondust, High Tea, Twilight, Unexpected, Vintage, Bedrock, Concrete Jungle
Row 4
Moondust – a silver taupe
High Tea – a greenish/grey/brown matte
Twilight – a mute purple shimmer
Unexpected – a matte purple taupe
Vintage – a purple mauve
Bedrock – a medium matte grey with brown undertones
Concrete Jungle – a deep matte grey
This entire row has been neglected by me! I used to wear grey shades all the time, Vintage and Unexpected always stood out to me whenever I saw them swatched and the other three will be great lid shades!

row 5 makeup geek eyeshadow swatches stealth taboo americano bada bing peacock drama queen corrupt
Row 5: Stealth, Taboo, Americano, Bada Bing, Peacock, Drama Queen, Corrupt

Row 5
Stealth – a medium slate grey matte with blue undertones
Taboo – a deep purple matte
Americano – a dark brown matte with burgundy undertones that I love for my outer crease
Bada Bing – a deep brown with flecks of gold, this works great as a liner
Peacock – this is my one out of my comfort zone shade and I haven’t worn it yet! It’s described as a matte deep teal blue
Drama Queen - a dark purple shimmer
Corrupt – a black almost matte with a bit of sparkle, this is super pigmented and one of the blacked shadows I have, it really gets into my upper lash line and defines it!

My favourite shadows are definitely Barcelona Beach, Mocha, Hipster, Shimma Shimma, Americano, Mesmerised, Bada Bing and Corrupt but all the shades are so smooth, pigmented and long-lasting!

I’m currently on holiday at the minute and will be back at the end of the week so I might be a bit quiet on the comments to then! I’ll probably do a few Instagram posts of what makeup and skincare I’ll be taking if you want to have a look there!
  
Do you love Makeup Geek just as much as me? What are your favourite shades?

Danielle xx




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Monday, 18 April 2016

What’s in my other Z palette? ft. Makeup Geek, Morphe and Benefit


blue large z palette makeup geek contour blush eyeshadow morphe benefit

Here we are, a little later than usual due to major laptop issues but I thought I would round up what’s in my large Z palette after my small Z palette post went down so well!

I actually bought this large palette to depot my Tarte Holiday blockbuster set then realised it didn’t fit. I was going to send it back then ended up buying a contour pan that didn’t have a home so kept it and got the extra large palette to depot the Tarte set!

large z palette makeup geek contour blush eyeshadow benefit

First up, I have two Makeup Geek contour powders in the shades Infidelity (cool fair) and Break Up (cool porcelain). I was so excited when these came to BeautyBay.com and they do not disappoint! Both are cool toned, finely milled and lovely and pigmented. They do kick up a bit of powder when I dip my brush in but are so easily blended I’ll forgive them!  

Moving down to the bottom of the palette I have a Benefit mixed blush in Dandelion and Gimme Fever which I depotted from a Christmas set I got a few years ago called the Groovy Kind-a-Love set. I haven’t actually used this, how bad it that! It’s a little too shimmery for my liking but I’ll give it a go now it’s in a palette I reach for daily!

Over to the right hand side I have my Makeup Geek blush in Spellbound. I wasn’t overly fussed on the other shades but I love this one! It’s a matte pink colour and actually really subtle even though it has the same Makeup Geek pigmentation!

makeup geek contour infidelity break up benefit dandelion gimme fever spellbound blush swatches
l-r: contour pans in Infidelity and Break Up, Benefit Blush in Dandlion and Gimme Fever and Makeup Geek Blush in SpellBound
Back up to the top row then I have six eyeshadows, five from Makeup Geek and one Morphe single eyeshadow! The top row is Makeup Geek Bedrock and Concrete Jungle then Morphe Granite and the bottom row is the Makeup Geek foiled finish in Starry Eyed and Mesmerized and finally another matte brown shade (my fave) Americano. I will probably switch my small Z palette around a bit now I have some more shades and I love Americano so that definitely needs to go in it! I wore Mesmerized out on Saturday night and it was gorgeous on! So shimmery and zero fallout! I also need to get my hands on more of the Morphe single eyeshadows, they are really pigmented and so affordable!  My continual stalking of BeautyBay shows no signs of letting up!
makeup geek eyeshadow bedrock concrete jungle morphe granite swatches
l-r: Bedrock, Concrete Jungle, Granite

makeup geek eyeshadow starry eyed mesmerized americano swatches
l-r: Starry Eyed, Mesmerized, Americano
 
Sorry the formatting of this post looks weird, Chrome wont open for me, think I will have to get a new laptop :(

What do you think of my extras? As always I’m open to recommendations :)

Danielle xx




 
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Monday, 4 January 2016

Beauty Bay Haul #2 Makeup Geek and Z Palette

makeup geek z palette beauty bay haul

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I have had the loveliest couple of weeks off work and I hope you had too! The week before Christmas I did a sneaky order from Beauty Bay and treated myself to these guys! Like everyone else it seems I jumped on the Makeup Geek bandwagon and bought myself a few shades to see what the fuss is about and boy am I glad I did! I also invested in a mini Z palette to house them in and these are a match made in heaven!

z palette makeup geek pans beauty bay

Being the neutral lover that I am, I went for some brown shades in a mixture of matte and shimmer finishes including Homecoming –a medium brown shimmer with gold, Taupe Notch – a shimmery taupe shade, Barcelona Beach – a medium brown matte shade and Mocha -  a deep matte brown shade. Each pan is £4.95 from Beauty Bay and they fit perfectly into the Z palette with a satisfying magnetic click!

This palette is perfect for travelling with and I loved having it with me a few days ago when I was in Amsterdam! I used the two matte shades for during the day with Barcelona Beach all over the lid and Mocha in the crease then at night I either used Homecoming or Taupe Notch all over the lid with Mocha again in the crease! I also took the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette with me so used that for highlight and liner!

z palette makeup geek pans beauty bay
l-r top row: Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Barcelona Beach, Mocha
All four shades are beautifully pigmented and some of the best payoff I’ve ever got from swatches for blog photos! They blend so easily and it won’t be long before I fill the rest of this palette up with more from the brand! I actually went to order a few more but one that I wanted was out of stock and I know Beauty Bay sold out really quickly when they first started stocking them but they seem to have a good selection back in stock now!

makeup geek eyeshadow swatches homecoming taupe notch barcelona beach mocha pans browns neurtrals
l-r: Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Barcelona Beach, Mocha
The small Z palette which was £8.95 also comes with magnetic stickers for any eye shadow pans that may not stick by themselves! I actually regret not getting a bigger Z palette now as I have a few depotted Benefit eye shadows that I have in a cheap plastic palette from eBay which I glued in so I might get another one at some point and re depot! It doesn’t bother me that it doesn’t have a mirror on the inside as I like to use a big mirror anyway but if there was one thing I would change it, would be that the palette didn’t swing back on its hinge when opened as it sometimes closes by itself when I’m in the middle of applying the eye shadows!  

As I have hooded eyes and am blessed with oily lids I find no eye shadow lasts all day on me however these wore away evenly and didn’t transfer but if you have any eye shadow primer recommendations I’m all ears! I currently switch between Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Benefit Stay All Day and love the consistency of both but they’re not long lasting enough for me! I’m thinking of trying the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base next but would love to hear your suggestions!

Just a quick word on Beauty Bay too as I see so much negative press on their Twitter page but I order from them all the time and have never had a problem! I ordered this (along with a Zoeva eye brush set) late at night on the 21st and it was here on the 23rd and they also do great samples when you spend over a certain amount! Everything’s always been packaged well and dispatched quickly so I would really recommend them!

Have you tried Makeup Geek shadows before? Any neutral recommendations for me?
  
Danielle xx
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