Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup Review

Hey everyone!

I recently was one a few winners chosen over on Revlon UK's Facebook page to receive a free Revlon Age Defying  with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup (£13.99). I had high hopes for this foundation, because I'm currently switching between Make Up Forever HD Foundation (difficult to get hold of in the UK) MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation (which I really like, but find a bit shimmery for me, plus it's expensive). The foundation has definite pros and cons, which I'll show below, but I'm pretty sure I won't be repurchasing. 

I will say I have a soft spot for the bottle - the twisted double helix (which reminds me of a Stila foundation) is pretty cool. Even my boyfriend thought so. I think it is meant to represent the fact that the foundation contains anti-aging ingredients as well as the actual foundation. Plus, it's good that it came with a pump - I've yet to buy a foundation without one!

Here is a pump on my hand. I got sent the shade Soft Beige which I think is darker than I would normally go for. The formula of this foundation is really light and emollient. It feels like a serum, almost, very fluid and blendable. My mum tried some of this on her hand and was surprised by the texture too. 

This is it blended out. You can see, by comparing the two photos, how dark this is on my skin. I think you can also tell that is is a medium coverage foundation with a very smooth finish. I did find this easy to blend, it was smooth but not slippery. I think if you have more oily skin than me it would be greasy on your skin, though.

Here I am, wearing it on my face (and also wearing my work uniform, looking sooo fashionable!). I'm also wearing a little MAC Pink Swoon blush, a little mascara (I forgot which, sorry) and 17 Beehive lipstick. I feel like the colour looks really dark on me? Also, whilst the formula is pretty hydrating, I did notice that in my dryest areas (around my nose and in between my eyebrows) it made my skin look a little flaky.
My biggest downside, and the thing that will keep me from buying this again, is how shimmery it is. I know that the MAC Mineralize Satinfinish also has shimmer in it but I have never personally noticed it. This I did, when I looked in the mirror in the sunlight. Indoors it doesn't show up much but when viewed in direct natural light I looked sparkly all over. Whilst I enjoy a bit of glitter, I don't particularly want a whole glittery face!
If you like shimmer then this may be for you although I wouldn't recommend it for oilier skin types.

It's a shame, because I do love Revlon. It's one of my favourite drugstore brands and I've been so impressed with them in the past. I may have to try Colorstay because people seem to really like it and I'd like a slightly more affordable drugstore foundation. Any recommendations?

S xx

Fashionista Blushes: Juicy Apricot, Glowing, Cinnamon, Amber Glow Swatches and Review

Hey everyone!
I briefly showed you the Fashionista blushes I got in my haul post, but thought I'd do a proper swatch and review separately.
You can get the palettes (£5.00) in either black or red. I picked up black purely because I preferred it. Then each blush or eyeshadow you choose is £4.00. They have so many awesome shades to choose from - I haven't tried the eyeshadows yet but from swatches online they look pretty cool. And it's also handy that you can remove the blushes from the palette and carry them individually. Another cool feature is that the bottom of the palette has circular holes in it which allows you to see the product name - a feature that might be handy in MAC pro palettes.

Clockwise from top left: Cinnamon, Glowing, Amber Glow and Juicy Apricot

I got four blushes: Cinnamon, Glowing, Amber Glow and Juicy Apricot. They are £4 from the Superdrug website but currently a 4 for 3 offer is on so you can get 4 for £12.

The massive mirror in the palette is also a nice touch. You get 2.5g of blush per pan, which is small (what with a MAC pan being 6g) but I find that I have yet to hit pan on a blush so perhaps the smaller size is good!

Here are the swatches:

L-R: Cinnamon, Glowing, Juicy Apricot, Amber Glow.

Cinnamon, blended out on the left and heavily swatched on the right. This is a reddened brown with great pigmentation. It's a lovely matte and will be a lovely warm shade used with a fairly light touch on my skin tone.

Glowing is a shimmery is a dark, mauvey neutral which hasn't picked up as well as I'd liked on camera - it has a touch more pink to it than shown, and a light shimmer. 

Juicy Apricot is an orange toned coral with a tiny, barely noticeable shimmer. So far this is my favourite shade. It is so pretty! It could be a little much however so I use it with a light hand and then build it up.

Amber Glow is a pink-orange coral, darker and redder than Juicy Apricot and with a more noticeable warm golden shimmer. I think this would look good in summer with more of a tan - the shimmer doesn't bother me as it's not overwhelming but again, a light hand would need to be used.

The blushes are a little powdery but I found them very blendable and long-wearing. There are a lot of colours to choose from so I encourage you to check these out - I can imagine I'll be using these a lot as it gets into springtime.

Have you got any Fashionista blushes or do you have a favourite?

S xx

Manchester Trafford Centre Collective Haul: Fashionista, MAC, Muji, Miss Selfridge & New Look!

Hey everybody!
I can't believe it's been almost 10 days since I last posted! Sorry for being a bit AWOL - I started my last semester at University last week and then I had a trip down to England to see some friends at the weekend. I'll try hard to keep more regularly updating in future!
Anyway, while I was in England my friends took me to the Trafford Centre in Manchester. I'd never been before - we don't have malls that big in Scotland so it was pretty shocking for me! And amazing. I popped into some shops and got some clothes and beauty things. I'll show you the clothes in the main picture but you'll see them in more detail in some upcoming OOTDs I have planned.

Here you can see the MUJI Drawers, Ardell Lashes, MAC Brushes and Eyeshadow, Fashionista Blushes and New Look wedges that I'll show you later. Also included are a body, two tops, and a skirt from Miss Selfridge. Those I'll show in upcoming OOTDs!

I also picked up two sets of Ardell Individual Lashes (£5.20) - one Medium and one Short. What's rubbish is that Boots didn't stock the LashTite glue you are supposed to use with them instore or on the website so I'll have to buy it separately. I want to use the right glue so that I can test whether they last as long as claimed, so I'll post a separate review of these once I've tried them out.

I was running out of space in my current MUJI drawers, and there was a MUJI concession in the Selfridges in the Trafford Centre, so I picked up the set of two wide drawers with a flip-top lid (£11.50). 

I was so excited to finally get a couple of MAC brushes. These were no small purchase for me! They are quite expensive, but already from the feel of them, and what I've read online I think they are a worthwhile investment purchase. I'd been saving for a while, and I have a list of MAC Brushes I'd eventually like to own so this is the start. I did a brush collection post a while back, and once I've adjusted my collection to the way I'd like I'll do a post on what brushes I think are worth keeping! I picked up the 208 Angled Brow Brush (£16.00) and the 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush (£26.00) as my brows are my 'one thing I can't leave the house without doing' as Romzs would say, and I wanted a duo fibre brush for the longest time. I think I'll use it for buffing, highlighting and cream blush. If you have one what do you use yours for?

I also went into Superdrug while I was there and was pleased to see they had a Fashionista concession - something I've yet to see in a single Scottish Superdrug. So, since the blushes were 4 for 3, I picked myself up a few - Juicy Apricot, Amber Glow, Cinnamon and Glowing (£4.00 each) and a palette to put them in (£5.00). I plan on doing a swatch and review within the next few days of these, so keep looking.

I love making lists, so it shouldn't surprise you that on top of my 'dream MAC brushes' list I also have a master list of MAC eyeshadows I want to own. I put aside a little money, just change, that I know I get to use any time I go to a MAC to pick up a pro palette pan refill shadow. This time I picked up Brule (£10.00 - by the way, the price went up 50p? Or is it just me?) a warm toned satin finish beige. This should be a good base or blending shade, I think, as well as a flatter highlight shade. 

I also picked up these brilliant leopard print wedges from New Look  (£24.99). Aren't they amazing? And pretty comfortable for such a high heel too.

I've also noticed that I have recently surpassed 200 subscribers! I'm so excited and just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has subscribed to me! I'll be organising a giveaway soon to celebrate so keep checking back! Remember you can also follow me on tumblr, bloglovin' and twitter by clicking the buttons in my sidebar!

As a happy way to finish I thought I'd show you the triple layer chocolate and peanut butter cake I made my boyfriend for his 22nd birthday last week! What do you think?

S xx

How I Ombre My Hair

Hey everyone!
I was dying my hair yesterday when I thought I'd photograph how I do it, just in case anyone was interested. I'm in no way an expert, this is just how I do it and I'm probably doing a million things wrong, but it works for me! Also be aware that my hair, especially at the ends, is super dry from years of bleaching it and dying it all crazy colours, and it's only recently that I've been growing it out, so it looks pretty dry.
Anyway, here's what I do:

You will need:

1. An old t-shirt (I used an old t-shirt of my boyfriend's).

2. Your bleach of choice (I used Garnier Nutrisse Multi-Lights Highlighting Kit in 1, which I got from Boots but can't find on the website).

3. Some conditioner (I use James Brown Photo Fabulous Moisturising Conditioner).

4. A hair smoothing treatment (I used Lee Stafford Argan Oil).

5. Tinfoil/ aluminium foil for any Americans.

6. A book to read while the dye sets (I read Michael Chabon's Manhood for Amateurs).

This is my hair before I died it - you can see my natural hair colour roots creeping in - I plan to leave them to grow in, see what my hair colour is. Since I haven't seen it since I was 13! I put on my old t-shirt: 

Then I mix my dye according to packet instructions and wearing the gloves provided. If you haven't used the dye before, a skin test is recommended. But since this isn't going on your scalp, I don't know if it applies. Better to be safe than sorry!

I don't bother using the spatula or comb provided. Using my gloves, I separate my hair in half, making sure I get it all. Then, one piece at a time, I rub the dye through, up to the point I want the ombre to begin. Because I want a softer, faded ombre effect rather than a harsh line, I rub my hair between my hands at the join between natural and dye. Then I apply more dye as I go further down towards the tip, with most at the tip. Here's how ridiculous I look!

Not as ridiculous as in the next step though! I wrap my dyed tips in tinfoil. This means that if my hair rubs against anything, it will only be more dyed hair, and it won't rub off. It also intensifies the dying process, as you'll know if you've had highlights at the salon before. 

Then I read my book for half and hour:

Then I wash the dye out, using a healthy amount of conditioner and leaving it to rest on my hair for 5 minutes. If your hair is really dried out, you can put conditioner on, wrap your hair in clingfilm and sleep in it over night as a sort of homemade deep conditioning treatment. I just washed out as normal, towel dried and applied my argan oil. Then I let my hair dry naturally, as I'm trying to avoid using heat. Then I applied more argan oil to my dry hair in the morning, and this is how it looked today:

My boyfriend says I look like a Vulpix, although I think he meant Ponyta. Yes, Pokemon. I am that cool.
Anyway, that's what I do to my hair! I only ombre my hair now because I get the ends trimmed every so often anyway so it doesn't really matter if they dry out. Although I do try to counteract it. Any tips for hair hydrating products I should try?

S xx

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara Review

Hey everyone!
I mentioned a few posts back that I picked up my first ever high-end mascara in the Boots sale, and I'm posting about it today. It's the Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara (£20.50) and I love it. I actually got it in a set, which I can't find online, for £14.89, which contained the mascara, a mini Lancome Crayon Kohl Eye Pencil Liner in Noir (full size £12.00) and a mini Lancome Bi Facil Make Up Remover (full size £20.00). I've got swatches to show you and then I'll get right into the review.

The kohl crayon is nice - in fact I'd been looking to buy a new plain black eyeliner so this saved me the trouble. It's not a pigmented and black as I'd like though, so it's not my favourite eyeliner, but it'll do and it came in the set so there was no point in buying another separately.

I actually quite like the packaging - the hourglass shape of the tube and the little signature Lancome roses printed on the side. The conical wand is new to me as well - I've never seen this in a mascara before and it is by far my favourite wand shape now that I've tried it. The tapered end is great for getting the small lashes in the inner corners, while the wide end fans out your lashes on the edges.

I would say this mascara lengthens and volumises, but definitely not to the extent the advert would have you believe! I'm not the best model as my eyelashes have no curl in them whatsoever and also I appear to have a bit of a double layer of lashes at the outer edges which is strange, but even I can see it lifting and separating my lashes nicely.

One thing I would mention is that this is prettily heavily perfumed with the scent of roses, which I like but on more sensitive eyes may be an issue.

Eye without mascara.

Eye with mascara

Eyes without mascara

Eyes with mascara

This mascara is long lasting and I didn't find it smudged on me at all - and it didn't dry my lashes out either. It's also not a total nightmare to remove - I used my normal Liz Earle Cleanser and Tonic, with a little cotton bud dipped in Bi Facil to get rid of any stubborn bits. 

I really like the fluttery, feathery effect this mascara gives and it's by far the best I've tried - enough to convince me to repurchase at full price.

Have you tried this mascara, or any other high end brand? Do you have any recommendations, especially for girls like me with long lashes that don't hold a curl naturally? I'd really appreciate it!

S xx

17 Wild Metallics Cream Eyeshadows: Swatches and Review

Hey everyone!
I'm posting pretty regularly at the moment but next week I start back at Uni so I might no be so regular then - forgive me! I'll also be popping down to England to visit a few friends this month so expect some shopping posts when I'm back; I've been saving.
I got a Love2Shop voucher as my Christmas Bonus this year (how lovely?) so I popped in to Boots and got a couple of things. One is a very nice mascara that will be showcased in it's own, separate post. Here though, I thought I'd talk about the 17 Wild Metallics Cream Eyeshadows (£3.99) I picked up.
I don't own any other cream eyeshadows or paint pots so I can't compare these to any others, although I will say I'm intrigued by the new Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows that have been doing the blog rounds lately, and think they might be better than these. But we'll see when (if) they ever make it to the UK!

I got Wild Midnight Blue, Wild Purple and Wild Green. Which is which should be fairly obvious! I'm not a massive fan of the packaging but this is a budget brand so I'm not too fussed. You do, however, get quite a lot of product! A little goes quite a long way with these.

In the jar, I love all of the colours. There are also a few others (a silver, a bronze, a nude...) but since I had a lot of golden neutral colours I opted instead for these. Here they are swatched on the arm - each is swatched heavily and then again blended out:

L-R: Wild Midnight Blue; Wild Green; Wild Purple

Wild Midnight Blue is a deep black-based blue with large silver glitter, Wild Green is a shimmery dirty olive green and Wild Purple is a rosy shimmery lavender with a fine silver shimmer. I love all of these colours! The only bad thing is that Wild Midnight Blue can leave something of a black stain on skin so make sure you have a good makeup remover or cleanser!

Worn over a primer and blended out, these colours would last me a short workday. Worn with powder over the top to set they last even longer. Worn heavily, however, they have a tendency to crease rather quickly. Using a powder to set can help but I wouldn't recommend layering it very thickly. However you can build up the colour or use it as a base. 

I love these - although I suspect that if I get my hands on a MAC Paint Pot or the Maybelline Color Tattoos I may switch alliegances. However, for £4, and in a few very pretty colours, these work well. The colours blended out are very soft and pretty, although I did experience a little glitter fallout with Wild Midnight Blue. 
I wore Wild Purple all over the lid both blended out and heavily to show you. Please excuse my terrible mascara application - I was in a rush! Mae up your own minds whether these are as pretty as I think they are!

Blended out:

Layered on:

What do you think? Have you tried any of these or would you? And has anyone tried the Color Tattoos yet?
I'd also like to apologise for my contact lens being so visible! It kind of weirds me out!

S xx