Nars Mata Hari

Hey All

Another one from my Space NK haul! That store could literally suck up all my wages. I got my first Nars item around Christmas last year and it was truly love at first use! The creamy concealer is only just running out and I have my back up purchased. It is THE best concealer ever and worth every penny. You can see the review on that here. It's holy grail now for me!

I knew I wanted to try a Nars blush. They are always mentioned and you never seem to see a bad review on them. I had really wanted Sin but it wasn't on the Space NK website. Everybody raves about orgasm but for me it didn't appeal. As my beloved dandelion (and I hadn't bought the Benefit blush palette at this point!) is running out I decided to go for a pink shade ready to replace that.

I didn't do my research and just gambled on Mata Hari. It isn't one I had seen before or one I'd read about but it looked like a nice pink so ended up in my basket.

As with all Nars products it does have the rubberised black packaging that will get grubby. I love that in their blushes there are full size mirrors. I'm a on the go make up girls lately and mirror's in products are always appreciated. 

Nars blushes are 4.8g and cost £22.50. For reference Benefit Dandelion is £23.50 for 7g. Nars Mati Hari is a lot more pigmented though. I've been so impressed with it. It's a really pretty slightly cool toned pink. I find I need the smallest amount of this to give a soft pink glow to my cheeks. I love the natural blush effect it gives!

In these photos it has been on for 7+ hours. It still gives a natural finish to my skin. I'm in love. I think this has knocked Dandelion of it's top spot which is a massive statement for me. I love that it can be built up for more colour if desired!

Now I just need more Nars blushes in my life! Any colour recommendations?

Love M

xxx

Benefit's Christmas Gift Sets: Cheeky Sweet Spot

Good morning!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend, we are currently suffering with hangovers and craving a greasy breakfast after spending the weekend at our friends house for a Harry Potter themed party, tour around the studios included! No doubt the themed cocktails and games will be explained in an upcoming post!

A few weeks ago we snapped up the Cheeky Sweet Spot blush set from Benefit after seeing it in Boots, and what a beauty it is:

How can you argue with a range of blush like this?!

I can't get my head around what an amazing set it is, especially for the £29.50 price tag. Not only is there 6 blushes in a range of colours and finishes there's also a brush and a little pot of Watt's Up.

I love the packaging style, it's like a gingerbread house and I love the Christmassy trees and colours on it too.

The box opens up to show the palette inside and also contains a booklet with tips and tricks on the best ways to use the blushes and bronzer.

The image above shows the Box o' Powder products laid out in a palette and the names of each one.

I've had Dandelion for years and Coralista is a firm fave with me; I've been raving about it for ages! You can see it's own review here.

The others are ones I've been desperate to try but never actually managed to get round to it (I've been saving my points for ages!)



Bella Bamba is a pink toned blush with a shimmer to it that I've often been recommended but I've never tried it myself having been obsessed with Coralista. Bella Bamba is absolutely beautiful and I can't believe I haven't listened to those who have recommended it to me, even Lisa Benefit herself told me I should be wearing it and now it's my new obsession. I can see me buying this in future!

Sugarbomb looks amazing in the palette and I was excited to try this after the success of BB, however I was really disappointed with this one. It's a quadrant of different colours but all have the same finish. For REALLY pale girls this might be great as a blush but as a fairly pale girl myself I didn't find this had much pigmentation, so I've been using it with the other blushes as a highlighter and it works great for that, though not for every day use!



Hoola is a gorgeous bronzer that doesn't have any shimmer in it and can be great for contouring. I tend to save this for weekends as I use my Bourjois one for work but the Hoola one is a perfect bronzer for contouring the cheekbones and adding a more defined look to the face.

Rockateur is another gorgeous shimmer blush, but it tends to be another highlighter for me as it's such a light rose gold colour.



This has been a perfect buy for me and I've loved trying out the new colours (new to me). Not to mention it's a bargain considering the weights of the products where Rockateur is actually the same size as the product to buy on its own.

Watt's Up is also a beautiful highlighter that can be blended into the cheekbones and eye bone for a soft and dewy glow.

Would fully recommend this as a Christmas present for a loved one or make up addict...........or maybe even yourself??

BUY IT!

L xxx





Hey All

As L said we've had a great weekend catching up with friends in lots of Harry Potter themed goodness!

After a stroll through boots and seeing this beauty I took L to go and see it too! We were both totally persuaded! Who could leave such a beauty behind. It's a great way to try other blushes!

I own Dandelion and Rockateur. Dandelion is one of my all time favourite blushes. It's such a beautiful soft pink. You can see a full review on it here.

Rockateur is a warm rose gold colour and there is a full review of that here.

Cheeky Sweet Spot costs £29.50! It's such a bargain considering one powder is £23.50. The products are all different sizes. The rockateur in the box is actually the same size as the full size box! The others are less.

Hoola is a colour I've been wanting to try for ages. It's not got glitter or shimmer so is a perfect contour colour and doesn't have an orange undertone. So far it's not disappointed and is so pigmented.

Coralista is one of L's favourites but it's not a colour I'd picked up for myself. I'm not an orange girl. I never thought it really suited my skin tone. I was wrong this looks gorgeous on the cheeks!

Bellabamba is a colour I've never even considered. A shimmery pink is just a colour I didn't think I needed. It's great to shave shades in you wouldn't normally try. It looks gorgeous on pale skin and gives a nice flush.

Sugarbomb is a colour I've been a little disappointed in. It doesn't seem to be as pigmented as the others but it does have it's uses and does add a gorgeous shimmer over colours like Dandelion. It would also look good over hoola if you were going for a bronzed look.

Watt's up is another product I've wanted to try for ages. I'm a massive fan of highlighters but a cream one isn't that always appeals to me as I wasn't sure how it would be over powder. It gives a gorgeous subtle glow without looking like a glitter ball. It's perfect for day and night!

I absolutely love this!! I love the metal tin and it's such a great mix of all the colours you need so would be perfect for travelling! This is a must have set in my opinion!

Thanks benefit for such an awesome set. I can see a lot more of my money going on the gift sets! Are any taking your fancy?

Love M

xxx

Everyday Favourites: Make up

I've decided to start sharing some of my favourites with you all. I find it easy to forget the things I use everyday and love. I thought I'd start by sharing some of my make up favourites.

Bourjois Intuitive Liner (Review)

I've always been a gel liner girl and if I was using liquid liner I would use the ones with the pot rather than the felt tip style. This liner has completely converted me. It's so easy to use and I love the triple dot tip so it can be used to add thickness to your lashes or as a liquid liner.

Urban Decay Naked 2

I've actually never reviewed this on the blog. As there are so many reviews on it I didn't bother. I was one of those of those people who loved the MUA palettes and thought spending £36 on a palette was stupid and couldn't be worth it. In America last year I picked this one up and was so impressed. My poor MUA palettes don't get a look in. I use this most days. I love all the colours in it and have hit pan on some. It's so easy to use and can create loads of different looks. Definitely worth the money. I'm drooling over Naked 3 now.

Revlon Colour Stay in Buff (Review)

I recently rediscovered this. When I first tried it I instantly loved it. I had two bottles so when I used one up I left the other one until I had used up more of my products. I've recently been using it again and I love it. The colour choice is amazing for pale girls and the coverage is perfect. It doesn't cake and lasts pretty much all day on me. It great all rounder.

Benefit BrowZings (Review)

I look back at old photos before I used to fill my brows in and they look so pale. I love a good defined brow and think it makes such a difference. The powder and wax combination is great and easy to use. I don't personally use the brushes provided as they are small and annoy me. The lightest shade is perfect for me and my ever changing hair colour. I use this most days now and I'm definitely addicted.

Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer (Review)

This is literally a must have product for me. Since Christmas last year I'd say I've worn this 97% of the time. It's amazing. It's matte, the perfect colour and blends onto the skin flawlessly and lasts. I love using it to contour and bronze and I've only just hit pan now.

Benefit Dandelion Blush (Review)

I have only started using blush in the last 2 and a half years. As someone with naturally rosey cheeks I always used to use foundation to cover them and thought applying blush over the top was stupid. How wrong was I. I love blush now and this is my all time favourite. A soft pink colour with the softest shimmer and it's great for me as I can't go over the top.

So that's my must have make up items. Are any of these on yours? What are your make up items you can't go without?

Love M

xxx

Review: Benefit Do The Bright Thing

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win this kit on a twitter competition along with a few books. I love the benefit kits as it is an easy way to try a few different Benefit products. I love the colours on the packaging and the 70s feel to it. I also love that the Golden Gate bridge is in the background signifying where it all began in San Francisco.

As with the other kits benefit sell it comes in the case with the lid. I also love with this that once you've used up the products you can remove the tray and use them to store products. It would be perfect for eye liners. 

Do the bright thing kit contains products to help brighten the complexion. It contains That Gal, High Beam, Dandelion, They're Real and Bad Gal Liner. All of these are products I've used and liked with the exception of the Bad Gal Liner. This would be a perfect holiday kit as for evenings it's great to look glowing and the liner is waterproof.

It contains tip and tricks on the the lid and a mirror. The tips and tricks mean these sets are also perfect for beginners. 

Dandelion is still my favourite blush. I love that the set contains the perfect size brush for the blush. (review here) I also like that high beam is a decent size and larger than what you get in magazines.

This shows the products. High Beam really is a great high lighter and perfect for under the brow bone and on the cheeks. That gal is a light primer. Personally I prefer others to this. The liner is really soft and goes onto the eyes easily without dragging. It also comes out really black on the waterline. I could speak about Dandelion all day. I love this blush. It's perfect on my pale skin and I couldn't be without it. They're Real is a great mascara and I do like it, I do love how it doesn't stray from the lashes either.

I really want the bronze of champions kit as it's got lots of products in I want to try. Have you got any of the benefit kits?

Love M

xxx

Swansea Benefit Boutique

Last week I was Lucky enough to be invited to the opening of the Benefit Boutique in Swansea. Swansea Debenhams is the counter that sells the most products beating even Oxford Street so the opening of the Boutique came.

I was so excited to go. I've been lucky enough to meet some of the Benefit ladies before so couldn't wait to head down. The Boutique is situated within the Swansea Debenhams. On arrival we were greeted by Alyson and Joanne. We went through to the last room in the boutique. Everything is decorated all girly and pink. It's so cute all the way through and the attention to detail is great.

When we entered the make up room all the attention to detail was clear. The chairs had the Benefit ladies heads printed on, the walls had information about the founders (Jean and Jane) and the back wall had a great selection of Benefit Make up. There were even pink glittery welsh cakes!! YUM

The room can be hired out for 10pp for things like hen dos, birthday's or even girly catch ups. You then get the £10 redeemable against purchases so it's technically free and one of the great Swansea Benebabes will come and demonstrate the products and make up.

While there we got a tour of the waxing room and tanning room. The boutique offers two different types of waxing, the hot wax and the strip wax. Hot wax (the amazing blue coloured one, being demonstrated on Jenny from The Pulse Of Fashion, I'm in love with her trousers!!!) is used on the bikini and the strip wax everywhere else. Hot wax is more expensive but it's better for the bikini area. I loved the waxing area and was so impressed with Julie (expert waxer!!) that I've booked to go down in a few weeks.

They also offer spray tans using fake bake! This is in my top 3 fake tans. I love a good spray tan especially for nights out.

We  were also shown the new colour collection and allowed to play with it. There are some great colour lip glosses, hello an amazing coral one and new creaseless creams and eye shadows. The eyeshadows are £15.50 and are absolutely huge and the lip glosses are £14.50 and not sticky! The packaging for these are so cute!!

The colour range is so stunning with neutral colours and a few pastels thrown in. I'm loving always a bridesmaid ( a stunning lilac creaseless cream) and kiss me I'm tipsy (a beautiful brown longwear powder shadow). I will definitely be hinting for some of these for my birthday. 

We were also hinted at some of the new sets coming out. I will definitely be purchasing some of these I'm sure. I'm absolutely loving Benefit make up lately.

As we left we were lucky enough to be given Porefessional, BrowZings and They're Real. Thanks so much to the ladies, as L couldn't join me at the event and I know she is lusting after BrowZings and They're Real and I have both I donated those to her. I personally now love Porefessional but only find it works with certain foundations and due to how thick it is I try not to wear it too much.

Thanks so much for showing us round Alyson and Joanne. Hopefully see you soon.

Also Temptation Telephone ends tomorrow. Who else is dying to know what it is the ladies were sworn to secrecy and couldn't tell us anything.

And a quick FOTD from the Event. I'm wearing Mac Prolong Wear NW20 (review), Benefit Porefessional, Benefit Erase Paste (review), Naked 2 (foxy and tease), Benefit BrowZings (review), Collection Liqid Liner, Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes, Benefit Dandelion Blush (review), Liz Earle Healthy Glow (review) and Avon Perfect Kiss Lipstick Racy Red (review).

Love M

xxx

Review: Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer

This product has been on my wishlist for a while. I'd heard it was great for paler skin tones and from what I could see online gave a gorgeous natural effect. This was something my other half got me for Christmas. From L giving him a list.

It did come boxed but I was a bad blogger and used it before I photographed it. I like items that come boxed. It feels more luxurious. Though a waste as the box just goes in the bin.

The compact itself is navy with a slight shimmer. It's wipe clean and has stayed looking surprisingly clean. Even after I've got my mucky foundation covered hands on it. It's got a solid closure which is good for putting in your handbag and a good size mirror.

It has Liz Earle embossed into the product and as you can tell I've used quite a bit of mine. For around 6 weeks usage to be only down to the embossed layer is good in my book. The product is a gorgeous matte product. It's not super pigmented but this is why I love it. As if you are like me and pale it can easily be applied to the skin and built up if needed and you don't have to worry about having brown stripes.

Swatched on the skin it does look slightly orange but when on the face this doesn't translate. A word of warning don't be put off if you swatch in store and it doesn't really show up on your skin as this product comes across on the face a lot better. I'd recommend asking to have it applied.

Here it is on just foundation. As you can see it just gives my face natural shape back after foundation and makes me look like I have cheekbones.

This photo shows it's contouring off better. I have used this almost everyday since I got it in combination with Benefit Dandelion (reviewed here). For me these two are the perfect cheek combination. They are easy to apply without having to worry about over doing it.

You can pick it up for £19.50 in John Lewis (here) which I think is reasonable. It will last a long time. Lately I find myself swaying towards more high end brands. Which is probably what has put me on a spending ban. A great alternative for a contour shade is No7 blush in honey. I used it on a FOTD here so you can see the effect. This was my everyday go to before the Liz Earle.

Have you tried the Liz Earle make up? What do you use to contour?

Love M

xxx