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Category: Bargains

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Bronzing Powder #03

I picked this up on a recent expedition to one of my local Boots stores.

Prestige are originally a US brand, now sold in over 45 countries globally. Over here, they’re available in larger Boots stores.

When I saw the Skin Loving Minerals Brozing Powders, I was surprised to see one of them so pale in tone… infact, sad old git that I am… I got quite excited and practically skipped to the checkouts. Although, not before adding half the Bourjois stand to my basket.

Anyway, shopaholic tendencies aside, how does this stack up?

It’s a baked, marbelized pressed powder with a lot of shimmer, but no glitter. Texture is smooth enough, but not as smooth as some…. I’m thinking of the LE No7 Highlighting Powder which glides like velvet onto the skin (I don’t own it – I think 4 pale gold powder highlighters are quite enough for one makeup addict’s collection – at least that’s the mantra).

I really like the packaging, it’s not fancy… it’s not even particularly pretty, but it feels quite modern and I can’t think of too many producs that are housed in little clear perspex-esque boxes like this. It’s functional and clean. Thumbs up.

You can see how shimmery it is (maybe the shade name “Pure Shimmer” should have given me… yano… a freaking clue!). You need a fairly light touch and I use it as a highlighter not a bronzer… I’m not a discoball. I think it’s even too shimmery to use on the crests of your facial contours… I wouldn’t want a strip of this running down the bridge of my nose for example…

But, as a highlighter, I really like it. It imparts a healthy glow and does all that lovely shimmery stuff when you turn your head slightly. Compared to NARS Albatross, it’s not a bad dupe at all really colour/shimmer-wise. Mr. L couldn’t tell the difference. But before I start shouting DUPE Alert left, right and centre… I’ll have a proper look at both under some natural light, I think the Prestige may be a touch more golden…

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Bronzers are available in 3 shades and are currently on offer in Boots stores nationwide, priced at £6.99 each (a saving of £2 on the RRP)

Posted in Bargains, High Street Brands, Powders, Prestige, Reviews | 14 Comments »

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Mavala Miami Nail Polish NOTD

The lovely liloo is in search of a potential nail polish delight. She’s looking for a wearable (ie. not too bright or shocking) blue-based pink. Think MAC Snob in a bottle.

I’ve been through my collection and can’t find anything suitable. This was the nearest.

I picked Mavala Miami up when I raided the Debenhams sale last summer, it is blue based… perhaps not strongly enough to fit in the ‘Snob’ category, but it’s getting there.

As for my polish requirements. I LOVE it. It’s pink and girly, but stops short of being sugary thanks to it’s definite brightness. I feel all summery wearing it and I may even have to reapply before moving on to another shade (high praise indeed!).

Application was tremendous. 3 easy, easy coats achieved a perfect finish, but as with a lot of Mavala’s, it doesn’t quite have the high-gloss finish I love, so I added a top-coat to get that glass-like sheen. Longevity is average, a bit of tip wear towards the end of the 2nd day, but it’s not too noticeable thanks to the forgiving shade.

I’m really pleased I picked this Mavala Miami shade up and I may have to start dragging myself into some more spring/summer-like shades!

Anyone have any nail polish “Snob” suggestions for Liloo?

Posted in Bargains, Mavala, NOTDs, Nail Polish | 10 Comments »

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner in Coffee

My last foray into ELF’s eyeliners was not a successful one. About a year ago, I picked up a couple of the liquid liners they do and HATED them. Scratchy and lacking in pigmentation made them a huge fail for me so I was ready to be disappointed when I accepted the offer to try a liner from the new ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner range.

I chose Coffee, a medium brown shade. There are currently 4 shades in the line up: Coffee (medium brown), Black, Midnight (dark blue) and Ivory (off white pearl)

The packaging fits in nicely with the rest of the Studio line, the jar is plastic with a solid, chunky feel. The lid screws on with a satisfying click when it’s fully tightened. Lightweight and portable, it’s not the sleekest eyeliner in the world, but it’s fully practical.

The texture of the liner is *incredibly* soft, perhaps a little too soft. When I dip my brush, the fibres sink downward straight into the product which makes it a little hard to stroke across the surface without picking up too much product. A couple of times, I’ve picked up a whole clump of eyeliner on the brush instead of an even coating.

You can see the tip of the brush sinking straight into the product in the shot above. Whilst this might mean it takes a little more care to load your brush, it makes for the smoothest application of any liner I’ve ever used. And I’ve used a lot. Note, that this only applies to this particular shade as I know texture can vary between products in the same line.

Pigmentation is medium, I needed to go over the line twice to build it up to my desired strength, but when a liner glides as smoothly as this one does, it’s not a problem.

The above swatch shows 3 swipes of the liner. It takes about a minute to set before becoming truly transfer proof. Even on my hooded eyelid it stuck fast for hours, by bedtime the line had faded to about half it’s original intensity, but the fading was even.

I’ve also used it as a cream base which worked really well thanks to it’s super-soft texture. Blending was a delight and I love wearing it under greens to create a more ‘old gold’ kinda shade. I haven’t noticed it partcularly increasing longevity on eyeshadows though, so I still combine with a slick of eyeshadow primer underneath.

I’m amazed by the quality of my ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner, and at £3.50 you really can’t go wrong.

Posted in Bargains, ELF, Eye Liner, Reviews | 14 Comments »

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Diamond Cosmetics – Decadence NOTD

So, Diamond Cosmetics nail polishes have had rave reviews across the pond, and I thought it was high time I picked up a couple for myself!

The first one I’ve tried is Decadence. The picture below was taken with sunlight streaming through the window, so looks a bit warmer here than real life.

A neutral toned brown shimmer that goes nicely with a cool skintone. The shimmer is strong as you can see and I love it. I suppose it’s more of a cool bronze than a plain ol’ brown because of the sparkles. Note, this isn’t glitter – just shimmer.

I had no issues with application and applied 3 coats to achieve opacity (I apply fairly thin coats, so it may only take 2 coats for you). The finish is smooth and glossy. After 3 days (the photo was taken on the 1st full day) I have no chips, but tip wear is quite extensive on a couple of fingers. We’re talking 2mm easy.

Still, the polishes are priced at £3 each, so I was still pleasently surprised by the quality of the formula and finish.

Have you checked out Diamond Cosmetics polishes yet?

Posted in Bargains, Diamond Cosmetics, NOTDs, Nail Polish | 9 Comments »

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Not so Sleek

I was recently sent two products from Sleek Makeup’s range, focusing on a couple of shades that are suited to this year’s Spring trend.

On the left we have the Dip It in Pastel Green and on the right, an Eye Dust in Livid Lilac.

I’m a beauty addict with eclectic tastes and try not to discriminate based on price or accessibility of products. So, I approach this review with a fully open mind. Even when I held the Dip It pot in my fingers, twirling it…. marvelling at how incredibly cheap Sleek had managed to make it look.

The eye dust packaging doesn’t fare much better. I mean, they’re both obviously plastic, but they’re SO lightweight I’m surprised that they’re not defying the rules of gravity.

Having said that, I ultimately only really care about how it looks if I’m gonna be seen in public with it (shallow soul that I am), how about the actual contents?

How ABOUT those contents…

Well, there they are. In all their ’spilled across my new desk cos the sifter fell out when I tapped the bottom of the pot’ glory. You can only imagine how much I was loving that purple Eye Dust at this point.

When I grumbled about my little dust-spilling incident on Twitter, it turned out that I wasn’t the only one who had nearly ended up with a lapful of Livid Lilac. Something for Sleek Makeup to investigate perhaps?

Anyway, the colour is pretty… it’s more vivid in the pot than it is swatched, a good thing seeing as it’s called ‘Livid Lilac’ afterall and looks thoroughly ‘Royal Purple’ in the container.

The top swatch shows the Dip It liner in Pastel Green. It’s an opaque mint, and really does look like a fabulous shade for Spring. Livid Lilac is far softer once swatched (dry) and slightly metallic. I was really impressed with the choices for this season’s shades.

Application of the Dip It was a bit tricky. The wand and narrow tip allowed for a precise sweep across the eye lid, but as I was drawing the line, I found that the applicator dragged at the pigmentation leaving the line of colour less pigmented in the centre than at the edges. To be fair, nothing that a second coat didn’t remedy. The liner dried almost instantly without transferring to the hooded part of my eyelids.

I had no issues applying the Eye Dust, it blended smoothly and the colour depth was nicely buildable.

Here’s a FOTD, don’t laugh… the shades are a bit bright for me, but I enjoyed playing!

Unfortunately, that’s where the fun ended, 20 minutes later, I looked in the mirror and saw that the eyeliner had begun to flake…

Bits of Dip It kept getting caught in my eyelashes, so I ended up using an eyeshadow brush to work back and forward until I’d dislodged all the flakes. I wasn’t left with much.

Fast forward to bed-time and my cleansing routine. I cleansed with my ever faithful cleansing oil and a blob of Cetaphil to finish, towelled my face dry and then shrieked at the mirror when I saw a matching pair of pink-dyed eyelids looking back at me. I would have photographed them for the comedy value, but it was kinda late and I’m kinda lazy so you’ll just have to use your imagination instead.

On the plus side, it showed that my sense of symmetry has improved. Those dyed patches were perfect.

Overall, I was disappointed at the quality of the 2 products I was sent by Sleek Makeup which is a shame, because in the past I’ve been mostly impressed (how ’bout them 12 pan palettes eh?).

Sleek Makeup products are available from selected Superdrug stores, the Eye Dusts and Dip Its both retail for £2.99 each.

Posted in Bargains, Eye Liner, Eye Shadow, FOTDs, High Street Brands, Reviews, Sleek | 20 Comments »

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Models Own – Red Alert NOTD

Application was smooth enough on this 4-coater, but the formula was a little thinner than I’d have liked. It has an almost semi-jelly finish with a undoubtedly glossy sheen. Red Alert is an orange-based red that somehow manages to look ok on my skintone. It reminds me of a 1950s pin-up red and I’m a definite fan of the shade.

I have an issue with longevity, suffering a chip within 24hrs of application is not a way to win me over, but strangely enough tip wear was non-existent even after a full 48hrs. If you’re looking for a hot red with retro leanings for your tips or toes, definitely consider Red Alert by Models Own. But maybe employ a good top coat.

Available from the Models Own website, priced at £5

Posted in Bargains, Models Own, NOTDs, Nail Polish, Nails | 9 Comments »