RE LAUNCH COMING!

Hey Guys & Dolls!

Just a quickie post to let you know that I will be re-launching the blog in a couple of months!

I am finally more settled into my new job, finding time to balance that with the pony and Ed. Now the only trouble is finding a new laptop/PC set up as mine is completely ruined!! Luckily I have everything backed up on a hard drive!!

The Relaunch date is to be announced so I hope you're as excited as I am.

Love you all so much and cannot wait to get back to writing about beauty and all sorts to you :')

All the love,
Natasha xxx

Glitter Sticks for Face, Body, Anywhere! For HOW Much!?

So today I wanted to share with you yet another one of my FANTASTIC The Works (A Chain Store here in the UK :) ) FINDS! This one is rather exciting too!


It's these pwetty Glitter Sticks that go on your face, body (arms, legs etc) and Glisten, Gleam & Glitter! (and Sparkle but that was going to ruin my 3 G's :P).

Front Packaging

The Tubes themselves! How cute?? :3

The Product Sticks

The Packaging

 Don't you think this packaging is somewhat reminiscent of Benefit's Hello Flawless font?? Soo adorable!

Packaging

Back of Packaging-Instructions!

Swatches

Swatches in Pure Sunlight! To show you the shimmer :D

These aren't pigmented sticks with glitter in them. They're purely glitter sticks! I quite like them and think they're perfect for festivals! Only thing is they do stay sticky for quite a while after application, so keep that in mind when you buy them. Now to amaze you with the price...£1.99! They also came in a huge variety of colours, like blue, green, red etc. These were just the two that stood out most to me :)

I know! So amazing! I really want to re-iterate my love of The Works. It's such a good shop! make sure you ALWAYS give it a look through! Like me, you may get some gorgeous bargains.

My Makeup Bag is one of the many things I've picked up from there: http://tinyurl.com/osvugb4

June Faves, featuring Sleek, Bourjois & More!

Most are newbies which is exciting! :D

First up: Bourjois Bronzing Primer. I bought this on a whim in Boots with my points as it looked so pretty and I didn't fancy the BB Cream thing they also had. So, at only £4.99 I decided to pick it up. WOW I AM SO PLEASED I DID. I LOVE this. It's so fantastic at contouring, making your face all bronzey and is so easy to blend out to a very natural tan. If you accidentally take too much it can be easily blended back down to a really natural looking bronze. It's so gorgeous, I am so madly in love with it. It says it has an addictive scent (of coconuts) but I wouldn't agree with that-It's pleasant but not addictive (like a MAC lippie for example :P). You can easily use it with your fingers or Real Techniques' Countour Brush (S'up to you :)). This product is making me seriously consider buying all the other stuff in the range too :')

Bourjois Bronzing Primer <3

Next: Bourjois Max Volume Glamour Blue Mini Mascara. They released a few colours (blue, green, blue & purple) and Boots only had one blue one left when I got there! and I so wish they had all of the others as the blue is so gorgeously pigmented. PLUS It's a truly fantastic mascara-fanning out my lashes, giving them a great length :') Wow I love it ever so :D I just wish it was more sunny so I didn't look as strange but they do brighten up my eyes (even with black liquid liner) :).


Sleek Pout Paint: Lolipop-from the Candy Collection. I have never actually tried a sleek pout paint, so when they had this and the blush by 3 from the collection (but no palettes in stock D:!!!) I thought well, no palette, might as well get the lip paint. Firstly. This is the most fantastic pigment I have ever had out of a lip product. It was beautifully opaque and lasts ageeesss! It doesn't dry out the lips and does have an almost gloss finish to it (but this maybe because it is so thick).

Sleek's Lolipop Pout Paint on my lips & all 3 of the blush by
3 Candy Colours on my cheeks :') also wearing Sleek's Primer Palette
colours in Pink Frost on my eyes with a thick gel liner from collection

 Sleek Primer Palette: Really nice soft, shimmerey colours that can be built into quite a colour block. They do crease without use of a good base/shadow on top so I quite like to use a neutral color tatoo or paint pot just lightly blended out over my lid as a base. The consistency is nice though & they are very true to the colour they are in the pot (the swatches didn't come out very strongly as I didn't really pick up much product-but this shows they can be blended out nicely).

Primer Palette Swatches

Primer Palette

Eyelash Curler (Tweezerman for Benefit): I don't know why I EVER STOPPED curling my eyelashes!? WHY? Why did I stop?? I picked up my curlers the other day to help create one of my Vogue Advert looks (post coming soon) and I suddenly remembered how fantastic the results were! Just one small little crimp of these on my lashes and I have beautifully long, featherey, sexy lashes that I would normally take 3 coats of they're real! (Benefit's latest & best ever mascara). This made me try it with my new fave Bourjois Blue Macara and I was so shocked how huge they were! Very, very impressed :')

ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in the shade Spotlight: I bragged and bragged about how much I loved this in my Elf Haul Post (http://tinyurl.com/kgej4wn). I really don't know what else to say....? I am going to buy all the other shades!? I think that's a good testament.

MUA Matte Perfect Primer: I said that this was a new Benefit Porefessional dupe. I meant it. I LOVE this ever so :') I use it almost everyday now. See my MUA Haul post here: http://tinyurl.com/prlb7t8

 Did you have any similar June Favourites? Anything here that makes you think I might actually go out and buy that now? Let me know! xxx

Barcelona! Pt. 2 Makeup, Accessories and What I'll be taking with me!

So here we go for Part 2! I am just gonna jump straight in with Accessories (this includes Jewellery, sunglasses, things like that :P).

Sunglasses & Waterproof Bag :D

I have a lot of different pairs of sunnies but I think that these 3 are all so different they can rise to every style and occasion :) It just so happens that all of these are from Primark, as is the Waterproof Bag-Which I am so in love with!
It's made out of that weird soft jelly material (not like the weird kids' shoes :L) and I simply love the colour and everything, think it'll be great for holding my phone etc in when we go to the beach :)

Various Hair Clips, Necklaces etc.

 I think this is, like the sunglasses, a good mix of different styles and finishes. Yes most of it is Pink, but hey! What's wrong with adding touches of pink through your life?? :P

My Rings :)

 Here's a close up of the rings I was thinking of taking. I know Ed won't be overly happy of me taking more than one ring (the one we're promised to each other with) but I feel like these aren't fussy nor will they get caught or snag on anything. He should be proud as I normally have MASSIVE rings with me :P




 Now, for some bags...


Seeing as we're only taking Hand Luggage any bags I take need to be able to roll and fit into my carry-on (shown below). I think the Gaga Canvas bag (also from Primark, omg D:) will be easily stored away in my flight bag and also will be able to fit quite a bit in it, if needed!

I was also pondering on taking this Ed Hardy Bag (I can always shove knickers or something in it in my luggage) as I have actually taken this on practically every holiday I go on, it's useful as it's actually made of that cool lunch box type material and therefore you can shove a bottle of water in it and it won't go warm (well...too quickly anyway :P).

Lastly, my (ALSO PRIMARK :L) Rucksack-y type bag. I really like this bag as it's cute, made of very thin material so folds to very small and yet can carry and hold so much! -Love this :P




But, I shall have to discuss all of this with Ed...and I am pretty sure he'll just say the first Gaga bag and pool party clutch thingy... >.<







ONTO MAKEUP! (and a bit of skincare...)

Facial Products

Now, one thing that is hindering me slightly here, is that every has to be less than 100ml-due to us being cheapos and not wanting to pay £60 to put luggage in the hold :P I've decided that Tinted Moisturisers, Good Powders and a strong concealing kit are all I need...plus a bit of colorstay for a hot night out ;)
Pictured above (starting from very top and working clockwise) is Aveda's Mineral Tinted Moisturiser (my most favourite tinted moisturiser EVER!), Benefit's You Rebel-for beachy days only as it has a good SPF and little coverage...any pictures will be from far away and I can always mix a tad bit of colorstay to up the coverage if I need. Next up is Tarte's Amazonian BB Cream I WISH I HAD BOUGHT THE BIG ONE!!! I LOVE this :'( May have to see if I can buy one on eBay before I leave :P, Benefit's Perk Up Artist Mini Concealing Kit is up next! (containing a Bright Eyes, Lemon Aid & Boi-ing), Benefit's Hello Flawless Powder (though I'll probably be preferring my Green People Mineral Foundation Powder...). Revlon Colorstay (for oily skin...of course ;) ), M&S' Tinted Moisturiser (this is actually great!) and lastly, Boots' Skin Clear Range's Mattifying Lotion (no oil is escaping with a splodge of this baby :P).
Next up-COLOUR!

Colour Products

As it's going to be a beachy, night timey kind of holiday-I've decided to embrace the glow and go for softer creams that are highly pigmented. So, here we go (working from Top Left) Ted Baker Lip Balms (recieved as gift at Christmas)-these are actually really nicely pigmented and not overly balmy, I like them a lot. With that is sat a Rimmel Apocolips Lip Laquer (in Stellar) -This is obvs a matte lip colour and I thought that if I wanted to switch it up, this would be bright and bold enough to do it with! After that I have a Jordana lipgloss thingy which is just a gorgeous coral-ey orange, L'oreal Glam Shine lipgloss in "everlasting beige" in case I want a more nude lip and then all the Revlon Lip Butters I own (Cotton Candy , Peach Parfait & Candy Apple-I would buy more but I can't see them being used as I already own soo many different lip products :/). Benefit's Fine One One Cheek Color stick (this is such a gorgeous coral-ey peach colour and just Perfect for the beach :') Then we have a Revlon Photoready Cream Blush thing (not totally sure what they call it, nor the name of the colour) but this is just like a MAC Cream Blush-just a lot cheaper! Then, lastly, a Stila convertible colour in Gladiola (a true, bright orange that is very pigmented and lasts all day-really nice and glowey too...but is quite thick and slightly waxey so be warned!).


Moving onto EYE Products...

EYE-type Products

I've literally dreamt of Silver/Ice coloured bases with SPLASHES of Bright colours over the top! I now also have the Sleek Ultra Mattes V1 (Brights-Not Pictured) and plan on taking that too. Above there's the snapshots palette (left) and the Lagoon palette (right). In the middle I have a Maybelline Color Tattoo in the colour - , Benefit's Foiled Creaseless Cream (yes, it's a mini one!) and MAC's Bare Study Paint Pot as a more nudey base. I then have decided on Benefit's They're Real as the BEST mascara to take as not only can I get intense and dramatic looks out of it-but Waterproof ones too! (they say They're Real is "Water Flexible" but, yah, it's waterproof :P). I then also thought that, LOOK's Flirty Flick Liquid Liner is perfect too! This DOES NOT BUDGE!!! It's crazy! Love It XD. Lastly, I added MUA's Undress me too Palette (when packing) as I thought it's just perfect for shimmerey soft nudes if I feel like doing that one day :D

Everything in Bags :')

All my Clothes that fit in my Suitcase just thrown on my bed! haha, it all fits Thank GOD! :D

So that's it! All packed up and ready to rumble!! I am so excited as there's a massive long list of things to do and places to see! If you didn't see part 1 of this post all my clothes you can here:

I hope the weather's nice while we're away but I can't lie I am soooo looking forward to instant sunshine! Keep an eye out for my posts while I am away (as I don't think I can get to a pc) I have lots of random cool things coming up like a make-up artists' bag I found for under a fiver! A Makeup Storage post and of course, my normal 52WODN post :) xx

Primani Strikes again, this time.....Make Up..... O.o x

As you all know, I absolutely adore Primark, 90% of my clothes are from there and I do think it's excellent value for money. I used to be a bit of a snob though, and never ventured to try their makeup through thinking 'arghh, it'll probably be crap-for £2 AND it's in Primark'. How WRONG could I have been. My friend Lucy bought me an eyeshadow palette for my Birthday and I have not looked back since!

Here's what they look like, there's a light and dark one (with light and dark packaging, handily!)










 So let's start with the Light Palette:

Light Palette, With Flash.

Light Palette, No Flash.

Light Palette Swatches, With Flash.

 As you can see the pale pink shade (second from left) is literally the same colour as your eyelid's skin, so, that works nicely to help tame my oily lids!
The bottom row of shadows are ever so richly pigmented and the very first shadow are smooth as butter, very nice to work with and blend :')

Light Palette Swatches, No Flash.
(as you can see it was a horrible overcast day :P)

 As you can see the pink shade practically blends into my skin perfectly :') And the (bottom right) raspberry shade just looks so rich and pigmented, I cannot wait to do something awesome with this!
The only shade I am slightly disappointed with is the (top right) grey shade that's not really frosted/not matte, it's somewhere strange in between but isn't as smooth or as rich as the others :(

Dark Palette, With Flash.

Dark Palette, No Flash.

Dark Palette Swatches, With Flash.

I really like all the shadows in this palette apart from one, which happens to be the grey (second from top left) Maybe Primark just can't make a nice pale grey? Don't know :S I am not overly keen on the far right (top) which is also a dark grey (coincidence? :P)
But I do really love the two in the bottom right, they're gorgeously rich and pigmented with an ease to blend.

Dark Palette Swatches, No Flash.

I am not sure about the two blues (bottom left) but we'll see :D
I do, however, really like the purple! No surprises there ;)

 Overall, I just cannot get over the quality of these shadows. They're (majority) very blendable and smooth, most are nicely pigmented-some very richly pigmented which is always a nice surprise :)
I think, mainly the sheer value for money here is just astounding, I mean, consumer surplus through the roof here! XD
Did you catch my massive postey review thing on cream eyeshadows and bases? You can here: http://tinyurl.com/mhyvyqu

 I've put in some eye looks below with the shadows I used next to them :) Please note that any creasing is due to my extremely watery eyes-suffering from awful Hayfever at the moment! :'(

Purple from the Dark Palette, all over lid (lightly) with Benefit's
Magic Ink lining upper lashline only.

Nice nude look created with the light palette, no liner.

Silver-ey Grey from light palette, with the brown shadow
lining the top lashline.

Smokey Eye Created with almost all the shadows of the Dark
Palette :) Kohl lining lower lashline.

Pirate Party! ooo-ARRGGGGHHH!

Nicki is having a "Pirates Vs Mexicans" Party for her Nineteenth, so I am as going as a Pirate and Ed is going as a Mexican. As a group, we LOVE pirates (I am talking long hair, beards, guns and swords, rum-drinking, cool type pirates) and so this party is Ace for us! haha! Now when I was first thinking about my outfit I thought ooh I can buy a really pretty one off of eBay and after talking to Ed about it, I thought actually, Alestorm (a Pirate metal band) would be proud of me if I dressed as an awesome rock-chick Pirate!


So, this is what I am planning on wearing...

My Pirate Outfit!

 Everything is actually from Primark! Haha, I swear most of my clothes are... o.O But I love it! haha so, yeah, all I did was grab some cheap leggings (black and white stripey seemed quite pirate-like :P) and Thought oooh a Floaty Blouse tucked in will look great!

Without the Waistcoat

Rings

 I cannot decide which ring to wear though....I'll probably see how I feel on the day :) I really think the Far Left (that almost covers the whole finger!) would be perfect...that or my Pearl Pair.

Now to decide on a bandanna...

Shoes :)

 If I wear my Red Snakeskin Boots, chances are I'll wear my red Bandanna, but, If not then I'll probs wear my Black Cowboy Boots. We'll see... XD

And this is the Make-up Design I've done :D

Pirate Makeup Design


As you can see, this look is quite Dirty in that, Pirates were dirty, so I'll be using quite a bit of benefit's Hoola matte bronzer all over the face to not only contour but to make me look a little like I haven't washed in a while....But! In a sexy way....course ;) I'll probably layer it with some Nars' Laguna to create a more multi-tonal contoured look.

The eyes are quite red based, this is because red/brown etc are quite pirat-ey colours to wear, so this look is all about smokey, smudged up brown eyes framed with gorgeously thick lashes (crackin' out the falsies I think). The brows aren't overly strong and that's because I just want them neatly groomed but natural as no Pirate Lass would've had too much time to go over her brows in the mornin' before making prisoners' walk the plank! haha! :D

The lips are going to be the main focal point, they need to be red as red can be, hence I am using Mac's Ruby Woo (riri woo is exactly the same) and line with black kohl underneath for a more dirty, pronounced look.




This is rather exciting as I do love dressing up / making different makeup looks, so, I am really looking forward to rocking this look XD If you'd like to see some of my other looks here's a couple:
Yellow Doll:http://tinyurl.com/cvweqln
Magenta RHPS:http://tinyurl.com/or23ayt

Cream Eyeshadows....what's the BIG DEAL? My Recommendations and Reviews xx

Cream eyeshadows are my absolute favourite product to try out and use. I am ALWAYS hunting for new ones that are richly pigmented, stay ALL DAY, don't crease etc. And So, here's my absolute guide for all things cream-ey eyeshadow-ey base-ey type things :') x

My Main Tray for Creamey Bases

Let's start with my first (and still favourite Love) of cream eyeshadows in the form of Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows (note they've just re-vamped the whole collection with new colours, some still available, most not. With all new packaging but the same formula). These are smooth, nicely pigmented, don't dry instantly so give you enough time to play with them and shift them a bit-But once set are NOT going to crease, move or change colour. They're pricey-at £14 a piece, but do last a long time. For instance, I've had this pot of Bunny Hop for over 2 years, it's still creamy & wet and I've still got a while till I hit the bottom....

Bunny Hop

Here's some swatches of the colours I have, you can see that they're wearable on practically everyone and have a nice frosted finish :) My must-have out of all of these: RSVP.

Swatches of Benefit Creaseless Creams

Next up we have a little mix of some products, Lush's Liquid Eyeshadows, MAC's Paint Pot & Stila's Shadow Pot:

(L-R) MAC Paint Pot, Lush's Lifted & Sophisticated
Liquid Eyeshadows & Stila Shadow Pot

Out of all of these the MAC Paint Pots have to be the best, very, very similar to the Benefit Creaseless Creams but sets a tad bit quicker leaving you not as much play time-They're around the same price for a bigger pot with an ever so slightly richer pigment, though, so-maybe worth the dosh? I think this one in Bare Study is an absolute Must-Have.
The Lush Liquid Eyeshadows really differ between them, Lifted (the yellow) is kind of watery and not very pigmented (blends into nothing on the eye) whereas Sophisticated is just like a Benefit cream only it's in liquid form and therefore takes a longer time to dry and if you're not careful, creases a tad bit. These are also around £14 a piece but are slightly smaller in size and volume. Cute lil' bottles though! XD
Next up is the Stila Shadow Pot in Ice-I really like this- It's a little difficult to blend in that bits of the shadow stick in lil' clumps, but using your finger to blend into the lid makes it more smooth. These range from £3-£15 though, depending on where you buy them from (obvs Stila is an American Brand but has recently been introduced to Boots and also is available on eBay from reputable sellers) It does crease after a looongg day but I mean a long day, it takes a while to crease but holds it's colour nicely :)

 

Next are some more affordable Drugstore Brands-

Boots' Seventeen Cream Eyeshadows, B.Beautiful Vibrant Eye Shimmer & Bloom Eye Paint

Boots' Seventeen Cream Eyeshadows-These are very pigmented and only crease if you overload the eye with too many layers/too much product They're a good size and at around £4 a piece so WORTH IT! I love the colours I currently own and am hoping to purchase more in the future (there's a very pretty Green one I am eyeing up ;)) My recomendation would be the Wild Purple as the Wild Nude is quite a deep brown.
B.Beautiful Vibrant Eye Shimmers- (Available at Superdrug) These are AMAZING. They're beautifully pigmented, a nice sized pot and EXACTLY THE SAME IF NOT BETTER THAN BENEFIT'S CREAMS! They DO NOT crease. My only gripe is that I wish they had more light colours, all the colours in the range are really quite dark and therefore not my favourite to use as a base. However, at only £6.99 (and usually on offer) I really cannot complain, my Must-Have colour would be Golden Sand-Beautiful Golden Nude Colour :')
Bloom Eye Paints-Rose; (No longer available at Superdrug) I got this eye paint in the sale as it was closing from Superdrug, It's awful as an eye base. It's a nice pigmented colour but creases awfully and tends to move everywhere but doesn't stay on your eye. So, if you see these in a discount shop/online, stay away.

-BEST BUY ALERT-

MAYBELLINE COLOR TATTOOS.

 I am sure these really don't need much of an introduction. The maybelline color tattoos are THE BEST DRUGSTORE PRODUCT EVER. Pigmented, fantastic amount of product, nice packaging, fantastic colour pay-off and NO CREASING! Also, they will not budge from where you set them until you take them off. Gorgeous. and at £4.99 each. I want the WHOLE collection. Truly beautiful, stunning creams. They're really more of a gel and maybe that's what makes them so perfect. Be careful though, matte shades like Permanent Taupe don't have much playing time at all.

 Now moving onto Pen/Pencil/Stick type products :)

Elf Jumbo Eyeshadow Sticks and Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick

 The Elf Sticks thoroughly disappointed me. At only £3 these make nice eyeliners and that's bout it. unfortunately French Lace (when viewed up close) has massive chunks of gritty glitter in it-quite unattractive. These crease like a ----- and are really not worth the hassle. It's a shame, I do like to use Rockstar and Turkish coffee as eyeliners now though as they don't crease when smudged well into the lash line. These are NOT a good base product though.
The Revlon Smoky Shadow Stick, however, is a completely different story-at around £7 you get 2 colours and they do not crease! Yes, they're a tad bit drier than other products but build and set well and with a good primer will stay put all day, great when you're in a real hurry and can't decide what to do. They also come in a nice variety of colours.

 Some more high end Sticks now (with the addition of a cream I forgot earlier :P)
Clinique Chubby Sticks for the eyes, Nars' Touch Shadow Pencil & Illamasqua Liquid Metal

 Unfortunately, like the Elf sticks, the clinique ones crease pretty much upon application :'( This greatly disappointed me as I thought wow these are clinique they're gonna be fantastic. They're not worth £1 let alone the £16 I paid for each. It's even more of a shame as the colours are very, very pretty! Bountiful Beige is a gorgeous nude, pink colour and Mighty Moss is a beautiful gold green. But alas, they're very, very poor. Grade= U.
Nars' Touch Shadow Pencil is a bit of a funny one. It is meant to be used the same way, all over the eye and blended out and when used alone, it does crease and smudge around a lot. But, when blended atop a primer (like UD Potion) and Set down with a translucent powder/eyeshadow. Stays all day and looks divine. Would I buy another one? Well, the latest yellow/gold one "Corcovardo" is definitely catching my eye over and over :P But at nearly £20 I don't think they're really worth splashing out on, go pick up a Nars Blush instead :)
Illamasqua's Liquid Metal is a similar story to the Nars Pencil in that it needs a primer. However, the Illamasqua Liquid Metal is a lot better in that it can be used on anywhere on the face and produce nice results-It is a whole lot more pigmented than the Touch Shadow Pencil and is better/more easy to set. At around £17 it's not totally worth it-get it when it's on offer or in a gift set-It's a nice addition but not necessary.

Some of my collection :)

So that was all of my cream base/eyeshadow/stick etc etc collection, Here's a quick sum up of my recommendations:

-Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows in whatever colour takes your fancy as they're all very wearable with a fantastic formulation
-MAC's Paint Pot in Bare Study, The Ultimate Base for ANY eye look
-Maybelline's Color Tattoos in any colours you like as they're just fantastic-remember they're under a fiver each!
-Seventeen (from Boots) Metallic Cream Eyeshadows-Definitely perfect for those wanting to try out cream eyeshadows for the first time as they're good quality, easily blendable and don't break the bank :)


I hope this has been helpful to you (tweet me! @JanBeautyful !!) and hope you're weekend is going well :) xxx