J'adore Dior!

I have been a very, very bad girl! After reading Tali's posts recently on the Dior Ultra Shimmering All Over Face Powder in Amber Diamond here, I just HAD to buy it! I am a certified highlighter addict and I thought it looked so tempting! The product looked amazing on Tali and her friends and I wanted a piece of that action! But along the way, I managed to slip another item in my online basket...the Dior Bronze Matte Sunshine Bronzer in Honey Matte. The Dior packaging always makes my mouth water, it's luxurious looking, sturdy and always looks gorgeous. I also love the felt pouches they provide to stop your compacts getting all grubby. These products are NOT cheap but I think they are well worth it when you consider the high quality they provide and how good you feel when you're wearing them.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I opened the Amber Diamond compact, it's sooooo pretty and shimmery and gorgeous! I love the Dior logo set into the powder and also the different panels of colour...

This highlighter is perfect for creating a really lovely glow on the cheeks that is in no way glittery or overly shimmery. The powder itself is buttery smooth and the shades varying from opalescent white to golden peach to golden amber are just divine. This is actually a challenger for being crowned my favourite highlighter (previous title holder being Nars Albatross!). If you love Albatross then you will love this, it's warmer in shade but equally as amazing. Here's how it looks on the skin...
The bronzer in Honey Matte is a product I wanted to get because often, I don't like to use bronzers in the daytime that have shimmer in them, they're fine for night time use but for the day, you want to have a natural looking glow and fool people into thinking you have the perfect complexion! I always laugh when people tell me I have a lovely skintone because more often than not, it's all down to fake tan or bronzer (I WISH I was that colour naturally but alas it's not to be!). I had never tried a Dior bronzer before so I was interested to see how this one would compare to other matte bronzers I own such as Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte. This is what the product looks like in the pan....

Once again, a delicious design that just makes this bronzer so desirable! The Honey Matte shade is super natural and just adds the right amount of colour to my complexion. It's really smooth to apply, non streaky and long lasting. It's a cinch to blend in and doesn't look at all powdery on the skin. I must admit that I almost didn't want to ruin the design in the pan though!

Here are the swatches....

I am soooo glad I got both of these products, they were expensive but so worth it. I love how luxurious they feel to use, I love how they look on my skin and I love the packaging. So that's another couple of things crossed off my lust list. I really want to try the Dior Maximiser Gloss so that may be my next Dior purchase!

This will be my last post until next week guys...it was my last day at my current workplace and I have to admit that there was a chorus of "HALLELUJAH!" ringing in my head as I walked out of the door at 5pm. I feel liberated and I'm really excited about the future. I am heading off to my fiance's homeland of Ireland tomorrow to visit his parents and I will be away until Tuesday so I will catch you guys when I get back!

Be good girlies!

Why reading magazines is bad for my wallet!

I have had a wonderful Saturday morning padding around the apartment, surfing the net, watching my guilty pleasure programmes on Sky Plus, blogging and sifting through the latest copies of Marie Claire and In Style. I love lazy weekends!

Reading magazines always gets me into trouble with my bank manager because I always end up spotting things that I really want...some are realistic and some, not so much (we're talking a lifetime of saving all my cash before I could afford them!). But a girl can dream can't she...

I felt compelled to share some of these images with you:

The perfect Dune sandals with a slight heel to take me into summer...

I'm loving the makeup and super big hair in the new Guess ads...how fabulous!:This new Empreinte De Chanel Highlighting Radiance Powder is stupidly expensive (as is most Chanel makeup) but it's so beautiful, I'm just mesmerised by it!...There are many designer bags that I covet but at the moment this fuschia Gucci bag is top of the lust list (I'll be lusting a long time for this...it costs thousands and thousands and...)Who would have thought that sheer black glitter ankle socks could look so good! Dior have outdone themselves with this amazing hot pink sheer dress ensemble complete with bows (but let's be realistic...in real life, there would have to be a nude coloured slip added to this outfit!)What inspirational beauty/fashion images have you seen lately? How are you spending your Saturday?

All images are courtesy of Marie Claire and Google Images.

Review of Clinique Self Sun Body Tinted Lotion

I'm all excited about my new layout/design of my blog (does that make me sad???)...I just have to work out how to centre my damn header! arghhh! I can easily spend about 4 or 5 hours just tinkering around with my blog, tweaking bits here and there. I am definitely a perfectionist! If only I could do this as a job! Now that would be amazing!

Anyways, down to the important stuff...fake tan!ha ha. As you may remember, I had posted something a while ago about which fake tan would be best to use for my upcoming wedding (only four months to go!) and I had said I would be testing different brands to find my HG. To refresh your memory, you can read that post here.

For the past 2 weeks, I have been testing out Clinique's Self Sun Body Tinted Lotion priced at £15.50 for 125ml.

I have the Light/Medium formula as I don't want a really dark tan on my wedding day. My dress is ivory so I just want a nice golden colour that looks radiant and natural. Ivory or White has a tendency to make you look more tanned naturally so I don't want to go overboard on the tanning. I'm the type of person where I looove to use fake tan but I don't necessarily like other people to notice I'm wearing it! (ok, so I know that I'm in Scotland and there isn't much sun here so people will notice when you have a tan but I like to live in denial!ha ha).

The Clinique website describes this product as giving an "instant colour, golden "tan" develops in just a few hours. Looks smooth, even, natural. Self-tanning plus: No surprises-it shows where it goes. Oil free, non-acnegenic. Dermatologist tested. 100% Fragrance Free".

I prefer self tans that have a guide colour because it's easier to see when you have missed bits. This lotion has a subtle golden tint that doesn't rub off on bed sheets as much as other brands I have tried like St Tropez. The lotion is very light and a little goes a long way, it also dries really fast with no sticky after feeling. This is a huge bonus in my eyes because I hate having to wait around for self tans to dry. This also means that you don't get messy bed sheets which can be really gross. I didn't notice any fragrance with this lotion after it had been applied and also, I didn't notice that usual biscuit smell in the morning. I personally hate walking around smelling like that! Urgh!

The colour developed overnight as I slept and it gave me a really natural, streak free tan. The colour is more reminiscent of the shade you go after a couple of days of applying a gradual tanner like Dove Summer Glow. If you wanted a darker colour, you can just go for the Medium/Dark formula instead. The advantage of applying this product is that it doesn't go patchy or streaky, whereas applying gradual tanners over a couple of days can cause the colour to accumulate on knees, ankles and under arms which is NEVER a good look. No one wants tell tale signs like that.

I applied the lotion all over my body, including my face and it left my skin feeling really soft and smooth. It didn't cause any irritation or breakouts on my face at all. I washed my hands directly after applying it and once the product had developed, there were no signs of fake tan on my palms which is also a huge bonus, but I guess you could always wear a mitt or gloves otherwise. I have had many an embarassing experience of tanned palms! Trying to do everyday tasks without letting people see the palms of your hands is harder than you would think! ha ha.

So overall, this product really impressed me and I loved the super natural colour it gave me, it lent a nice golden glow to my complexion like I had spent a day in the sun.

To give the best possible decision on my fake tan for the wedding, I am going to continue to test out different self tans. I want to try out all the tans I have in mind before deciding on the most appropriate one. This Clinique self tan will definitely go in the YES pile for consideration though!

Have you tried this product? What did you think of it?

Dealing with unwanted blemishes (is there any other kind???)

After moaning yesterday about having a horrible big sore spot on my chin, I had to break out the secret weapon that I have read about on other blogs in the past and stored in my memory for times such as these. I’ve never actually needed to use this concoction until now. The spot on my chin was one of those ones that resembles an insect bite, it seems to originate from deep under the skin and my face was beginning to hurt when I moved it!
So, on my way home from work yesterday, I bought some pharmacy/drugstore own brand aspirin (it only cost £1.50 and it’s best to get the uncoated, dissolvable kind). I crushed one tablet on a plate until it was in powder form then I added a couple of drops of water to create a thick paste. I always think it’s best to wash and cleanse your face before applying it otherwise all your makeup or dirt from the day could end up making the spot worse and hindering the magic of the aspirin mask. I applied it directly onto the spot and left it for 15 minutes. After that I just wiped it off with a face wipe and settled down for a good night’s sleep.

I wanted to find out why aspirin works so well, so I did some research and apparently it is a form of Beta Hydroxy Acids or BHA’s, which are actually found in many skin creams on the market. BHA’s work by exfoliating the dull, dead layers of skin and drying out any blemishes, whilst restricting the blood vessels to fade redness.

When I woke up the next day after using the aspirin mask, the swelling had gone down completely and the spot wasn’t noticeable anymore. I had a BIG smile on my face! I am going to apply it again tonight just to get rid of the blemish completely but when I applied my makeup today, I only had to apply a tiny amount of concealer to hide it (a truckload wouldn’t have hidden it the day before when it was at it’s worst!)

I did think about doing before and after pictures but to be quite honest, I doubt any of you want to look at my zits! I certainly wouldn’t…it would put you off your dinner! Next time you get an embarrassing blemish, give this a whirl and you’ll see what I mean.
If your skin is continually breaking out then you can also make an exfoliator/mask to be used every other day by mixing the aspirin with tea tree oil and honey. It’s best to use a good moisturiser if you’re going to use the mask regularly as the aspirin can dry your skin out otherwise. Just apply the mixture, avoiding the eye area, wait a few minutes and then very gently rub the mask in for 20 seconds or so. It really helps to clarify the texture and tone of your skin with regular use.
So, if you ever wake up with an awful spot on your face, you know what to do…break out the aspirin, it’s cheap and it really does work wonders!

My Quest For Beautiful Lashes And Brows

Unfortunately, I have fine hair which means I’ve never been blessed in the lash or brow department. Before I started using Revitalash , my eyelashes were pretty pitiful to be honest. They were sparse and not very long but after around 6 months of alternating between one month of Revitalash (applied every night) and the next month using Loreal Lash Renewal Serum (also applied every night), I was really impressed with the results they gave me as a combination. I found that Revitalash only added length whilst the Loreal serum gave me the volume I wanted.

The reason I alternated between these two products instead of just using the Revitalash was that if you used it too much i.e. for more than a couple of months at a time, then you do start to notice that you are shedding more eyelashes than normal. Nothing scary, just maybe a couple more than normal every day. I didn’t want to lose ANY of my new found glossy lashes so I decided to stick to alternating. I have had a lot of compliments in the past couple of months, both on my blog and from people I know. My lashes are now really long and reasonably thick (I would like them thicker!) but a couple of coats of a good mascara such as my fave, YSL Singulier can sort that out!

Since the Revitalash worked so well for me, I was excited beyond belief when I heard they had now released a similar product for brows called Revitabrow! Everyone knows that nicely shaped eyebrows frame your face and define the eyes. It’s amazing how much difference they can make so I want mine to be at their full potential.

My problem with my brows is that they are so blonde that they taper off to what looks like nothing, so I always have to fill them in. This can be tricky getting them exactly symmetrical when I’m in a hurry and I would love to have slightly thicker, more defined brows naturally. I have never really had to pluck my eyebrows that much, just a couple of fine hairs underneath the arch. I remember when I was younger and I had no makeup on one day, my dad said to me “Laura, you have gone a bit overboard with the eyebrow plucking!”…he didn’t realise that that’s how my brows look when I haven’t filled them in! It’s embarrassing when people think you have made this huge beauty faux paux when actually, it’s how they grow naturally.

Revitabrow contains peptides and botanicals to strengthen, condition and nourish your brows, to encourage them to be thicker and fuller. I don’t want to end up with really thick, strong eyebrows, I love this look on actresses like Jennifer Connelly, but it simply would not suit me. I just want to slightly thicken the outer section of my eyebrow and fill out any patchiness in the inner section.

I was actually really surprised when I found out a little more about the creator of Revitalash and Revitabrow. His name is Dr Brinkenhoff, he has been an ophthalmologist for over 25 years and he actually developed the formula as a gift for his wife, when she developed breast cancer. Obviously the chemotherapy she received caused all of her hair to fall out so he wanted to develop something that could at least aid growth for her eyelashes and eyebrows. This was very humbling and it put things into perspective when I read this. It made me seriously re-think how much I worry about shallow things!

The instructions advise to apply the product daily on clean eyebrows (so night time would be best) and by doing this I should end up with fuller, thicker and healthier looking brows within four to eight weeks. I have only been using this product for a week now so I will update you guys on my progress after 6 weeks of usage. I will take a before and after shot for this upcoming post so you guys can see the difference it has made.

Have you used this product or anything similar? What kind of results did you see?

Good Times/Bad Times

GOOD TIMES

1) We picked up the wedding ring at the start of the week and it’s just perfect…platinum with diamonds…so beautiful. It compliments my engagement ring really well and it makes the whole thing feel so much more real! I can’t wait to be Mrs Murphy! Only 4 months to go! It’s weird because I was so busy planning the wedding for months and now everything has gone quiet. I sometimes get a bit nervous that I’m missing something or have forgotten to do a heap of stuff but people keep telling me that it’s normal for things to go a bit quiet at this stage.

And here it is worn with my engagement ring...
2) I only have 5 working days left at my current job and I’m now certain that I’m doing the right thing by moving on. I really needed a change and new challenges so I’m excited about the future. It’s a great feeling when you take charge of your life and make positive changes…it’s very empowering! I will really miss some of the people I work with but I’m hoping that, now we won’t see each other every day, we will make more of an effort to do things outside of work hours.

3) My fiancé, Chris, managed to survive his Stag weekend in Liverpool! He went away with 19 of his friends (half of them Irish) so it was a VERY rowdy affair. They had a brilliant time but Chris was mortified when they stripped him completely naked in the middle of a pub and forced him to wear a very small woman’s swimming costume! Needless to say they took a lot of pictures and videos of the whole event! I’m so glad that hen weekends are a whole lot more civilised!

4) Wolverine is settling in well and he has Chris well and truly wrapped around his little claws. The first thing Chris does when he wakes up is to go and check on Wolfey and make sure he is ok. He even bought him some fresh salad yesterday to chomp on (even though he can only eat a tiny amount of it). Every time he walks past the cage, he can’t help but pick Wolfey up. The latest thing is Chris saying “I think I’m his favourite”. It’s certainly brought out his paternal side! ha ha.

BAD TIMES

1) I woke up yesterday with an almighty spot on my chin and it’s REALLY sore. It’s almost like an insect bite and it’s all swollen, it actually hurts when I move my face. I have done the best I can to camouflage it and although you can hide the redness with concealer, you can’t hide the lump! I never normally get spots like that and it’s no fun. I will be trying the age old aspirin mask trick tonight to try and get rid of it because it feels like it’s just getting bigger!

2) We are still undecided on where to go for our honeymoon and I’m getting nervous since we don’t have a whole lot of time to organise it. I mean, a holiday is hard enough to plan at the best of times, but chuck a wedding into the mix and you’ve got yourself a stressful situation. The original plan was to go to Rome or the South of France for a week directly after the wedding and then go to New Zealand for our proper honeymoon in January/February 2011. But now we are thinking of going somewhere in the Caribbean instead of New Zealand. I’m just worried I will get bored if we go on a beach holiday, a couple of chill out days would be lovely but I can’t sit around for a whole week, I need activities to keep me occupied! Whatever we choose to go with, we need to get it sorted out soon rather than later, the longer we wait, the more expensive it will be. Any recommendations for destinations welcome!

Reiss Haul

After my post recently about how much I love what Reiss are doing right now (my ramble can be read here), I couldn't help but take advantage of the sale that's on at the moment. I only picked up four pieces but I really like everything that I got!

First up is a gun metal grey mini skirt with black ribbon detailing from the 1971 range... I can totally see me dressing this up or down! Next up is a blush pink silk skirt that will be gorgeous with a nice blouse tucked into it...it kinda reminds me of what a park avenue princess would wear! (like Charlotte from SATC). I love the colour and the fabric is gorgeous, it looks and feels expensive. I have the perfect strappy cream shoes to wear with this skirt from Aldo that I blogged about here.

This next top would be perfect teamed with the skirt above. It's a really pretty cream silk top with plait detailing on the shoulders and three quarter length sleeves. I think it would be gorgeous with skinny jeans too. All the items I bought are quite understated and simple but I was really lacking in that area in my current wardrobe. I wanted to buy things that could be put together with various outfits.

The last item I got is a lovely short sleeved pink silk top with chest pocket. I bought this top so I could keep up with the current layering trend and team it with a grey cardigan, using a thin belt to nip in my waist.

Have you had a look in Reiss recently? What trends are you loving at the moment?

FOTD Using New MAC Products

I don't know about you but I always feel so much better once I have had my hair coloured and this time I got three different shades of blonde highlights. The result is quite a cool shade but I really like it. My hairdresser is fantastic, my highlights always look really blended and natural.

So on to the makeup...

I had a couple of requests to do a FOTD with my new MAC products and I was happy to oblige.
I never thought that I would be able to wear a white eyeshadow with intense blue/purple as a contour...but it totally works! I absolutely adore this combination now especially with a nude lip... Face: Revlon Photoready Foundation in Cool Beige, MAC Moisturecover concealer in NW20, Benefit Hello Flawless Powder in Shell, Gorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer in no.1, Sleek Contour Kit, RMK Blush in Holographic Coral, MAC Colour Cream Base in Shell (as a highlight on cheekbones).

Eyes: Benefit Brows A Go-Go kit, MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ocre (as a base), MAC Gesso e/s (all over lid and browbone), MAC Crystal e/s (all over lid), MAC Beautiful Iris e/s (on outer corner of eye blended out), MAC Parfait Amour e/s (in outer corners and in crease), Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeliner in Black Plum (along top lashline), MAC Penultimate Eyeliner (along top lashline and flicked out), Benefit Eyebright (on waterline), YSL Singulier Mascara.

Lips: MAC Naked lipliner, Estee Lauder Pure Colour Lipstick in Vanilla Truffle, MAC Cremesheen liogloss in Boy Bait.

I also wanted to RAVE about a new moisturiser I have found that is amazing for people like me with combination skin. The product is Matis Shine Control Purifying Care Gel-Cream.

The website advises that this cream "both regulates and absorbs sebum and is a genuine “air-conditioner” for the skin. Its unique texture leaves a powdery film on the skin and is perfect for ensuring long-lasting make-up. Matified and protected, the skin can really breathe all day long.• It purifies, protects and re-balances combination and oily skin. • Neutralises the spread of bacteria". This cream claims to improve dilated pores, a dull complexion, uneven skin texture and imperfections. It has absorbent microbeads that continuously neutralise excess sebum. Sounds good huh!

I always struggle to find moisturisers that will combat the shine I get on my forehead, nose and chin after a few hours. I hate having to apply powder over my makeup because I don't want to end up with layers and layers of makeup on my skin. I like my skin to look natural. This cream has a really fresh scent and it feels like it's priming the skin. I didn't feel like I had to apply anything else after it like I usually would because it really felt like it was multitasking. It was moisturising, while mattifying my skin and I also noticed that a couple of blemishes I had disappeared after using this for a couple of days.

It seems to really clarify your skin as you're wearing it. I've never come across a product that does all these things in unison so I was really impressed by this! I can't say that I felt like it left a 'powdery' film on my face, it just left my skin matte and really soft. Although the product is a bit more on the expensive side, I think in my case the benefits are so worth it and also, you only need to use a tiny amount for each application. Because it acts as a moisturiser AND primer, it will be great for travelling and worth the price tag in my opinion. I am wearing it in the pics above so you can see that it doesn't make your skin look dull at all.

The cream is priced at £29.99 for 50ml and you can get it here

Beauty Blog Link Love

Another week, another list of fantastic blog posts to check out:

Over at theNotice, Rae shares an amazingly pigmented bright blue eye -- done with shadows from the drugstore!

This week, Louise gets an (almost!) exclusive look at a Lancome mascara that has them queuing down the aisles in Harrods, and promises better lashes in a month.

Yinnie Dances with the fairies with her fairy inspired EOTD.

Phyrra dishes with Britton from Haus of Gloi for this month's Indie Spotlight at Fresco Phyrra.

Blaq Vixen Beauty decides to treat her skin to a Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector Regimen!

Retrodiva checks out three new innovative drugstore foundations. See which ones she would recommend!

Krasey Beauty takes a trip across the pond to bring you complete swatches and a review of MAC's newest, Give Me Liberty of London.

Looking for a great cream eyeliner that won't break the bank? Lipglossiping may have just the thing...

Sophie from melovemakeup talks about how much she loves Trilogy's Everything Balm.

TheLipPrint adds a little more Allure to her life with Chanel.

Michelle at Lipstick Rules laments her Liberty Of London lipstick purchases... but then finds a way to make it work!

Check out the swatches of Yummy Mummy by butter LONDON at Makeup4All.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed falls in love with the 10 year anniverary editions of Lancôme Juicy Tubes!

Follow Jellyminx's step-by-step tutorial for a pinky-coral look for Spring.

Over at Music and Make Up, Jo celebrates her birthday with a purple smokey eye courtesy of MAC's Violet Pigment.

***
Beautywoome has a giveaway with Europe's coolest new beauty brand. Win 1 of 10 Ellis Faas Ellis Red lipsticks.

Audrey Dao is giving away $89 worth of Napolean Perdis makeup as part of her 1 year blog anniversary.

Mz More at The Glamorous Gleam is having a giveaway in honor of her 200+ Followers. Check out the goodies galore!

Cindy from Prime Beauty gives you the Golden Ticket to win a Bliss "Best of Bliss Set".

Urban Decay Eyeshadows

I hope you guys have lovely things planned for the weekend. I will probably spend most of the weekend stressing about my other half. He is in Liverpool with 19 of his friends on his stag weekend! They have got all kinds of things planned for him but I just hope they don't end up hurting him! He thinks it's really unfair that his stag do includes being stripped naked and humiliated while my hen weekend will be full of pampering, fine dining and cocktails.ha ha. Us girls are much more civilised! ha ha.

I can remember the first time I ever bought an Urban Decay eyeshadow back in the days when I only ever wore one shade over over my lid. I wore this eyeshadow religiously and the shade in question was Midnight Cowboy...a gorgeous neutral pink toned beige with glitter. Yes, that's right...I risked fallout to rock this lovely eyeshadow. At least now I know to apply it with a guard under my eye! I find that fixes the problem but I must admit that I would only wear this eyeshadow at night now...when tiny glitter particles can't be seen quite so easily!
Maui Wowie is the perfect dense gold shade for my colouring and I just love pairing it with brown shades like MAC's Woodwinked or Satin Taupe to add a bit of depth and definition. It looks fantastic with flicked cat eye liner.

Goddess is a really pretty petrol blue with shimmer. It looks amazing as a crease colour with Urban Decay Strip, a lilac based silver. I especially like this eyeshadow because it is buttery smooth and has no glitter particles so it's easier to apply.

Here are the swatches...

I really need to do a FOTD to show you how these eyeshadows look when applied! Maui Wowie is just divine as you can see from the swatch above!

What are your favourite Urban Decay eyeshadows? Do you have any tricks to avoid fallout?

Random Ramble: If It Ain't Broke...

I had a thought the other day…I was wondering why I continue my search for HG products when a lot of the time, I have already found them and they are nestling in my existing makeup collection. I just can’t seem to help myself from hankering after something EVEN better, something that will transform me and make me feel amazing.
It’s like the old saying “the grass is always greener”. I find a product that meets my needs, works wonderfully and makes me feel good about myself. Then a couple of months down the line, I get bored using the same product all the time. I start looking at new launches and all the pretty packaging and start to wonder what those new products have to offer. So I end up cheating on my HG product! I am a serial HG product cheater! *hangs head in shame*. I can’t help it though, I start to take products for granted and the initial excitement wears off. Then it occurred to me…I have a dysfunctional relationship with my makeup collection! I am always tempted away by shiny new compacts with pretty designs.

But the best thing about this is that after a couple more months, I use my old HG product again and rediscover the magic! I realise how good it is and always was. It’s like rediscovering a great song on your iPod…you can’t believe you ever forgot about it or stopped appreciating how good it was. So I need to change my makeup mantra once and for all…”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I’m not promising anything though…I may need therapy or something…

What about you guys? Do you find yourself perpetually searching for products with HG status?

MAC Haul!

I was NOT impressed when I came home to find the DHL man squashing my precious MAC package through the letterbox! I almost snatched it off him! That really annoyed me that he was taking no care whatsoever with my goods...I mean, I have paid a handsome sum for these products and he was haphazardly forcing them through the door! He just said "well, you weren't in...so what was I supposed to do?"...eh, deliver it to a neighbour...leave a card! What an idiot! Ok, grumble over...but if he had shattered any of the products, I would definitely have been making a complaint!

Ok...I'm back in my happy place now...here are my goodies... I had a real urge to splurge so I got:

E/s in Crystal, Mulch, Honey Lust, Shimmermoss & Gesso
Lipstick in Pretty Please
Lipglass in Pink Lemonade
Penultimate Eye Liner
Moisturecover Concealer in NW20
Fluidline in Blitz & Glitz
Cremesheen Glass in Fashion Scoop
Lip Pencil in Naked Line
Paint Pot in Soft Ocre
I had wanted to get Gesso ever since I saw the amazing look that Alpha Blonde a.k.a. Aleksis created with Parfait Amour e/s. I can't wait to play with it now! Everyone talks about Mulch being a gorgeous brown and it really is. I wanted to get Crystal to complete my purples collection...it will be a great base for a purple smokey eye!

Shimmermoss has always appealed to me. It's just such a lovely colour and I think Gesso could also be used with this to create a really interesting look for summer! Honey Lust just looked so pretty on some of the swatches that I had seen...it would be rude not to get it!

I looooove the Fashion Scoop Cremesheen, it's such a pretty baby pink colour and a perfect gloss to go over Pretty Please. I really like the consistency of these, they really do live up to their name! I may have to get a back up because I just know this will end up being a fave of mine. The Pink Lemonade Lipglass was alot brighter than I anticipated but I love it all the same. It will be gorgeous in the summer months worn with Honey Lust eyeshadow and golden skin.

Pretty Please is a lovely subtle glaze of a lipstick, just a touch of girly pink. It's another lipstick that can only be applied to really smooth lips though. Better get the lip scrub out again! I have wanted to try a MAC lipliner for a long time to see how they compare to my fave Estee Lauder ones. I really like the super natural colour of Naked and it will be perfect for accentuating my pout without looking too obvious.

Since I love Fluidline in Blacktrack so much, I have been coveting it's disco cousin...Blitz and Glitz! It is shot with gold pearl so it will be perfect for nights out on the town when I want a bit of extra glamour. I just HAD to pick up another Penultimate Eye Liner as it's just the easiest way to create neat flicks at 6:30am in the morning. A couple of my friends have tried it and love it too. I always think it's great for beginners.

I had seen Kandee The Makeup Artist talking about how Soft Ocre is the best Paint Pot to buy, rather than Painterly as Soft Ocre is yellow based and is better for covering up redness on the eyelids and just brightening the eye area overall. I guess this makes sense since Painterly is more pink based. I will be trying this out soon to test the theory! I have heard so many people raving about Moisturecover Concealer that I finally caved in and got it. A review will follow in the coming days!

I always get so excited when I know I'm getting a MAC package in the post! Let's hope that next time the DHL guy refrains from trying to crush all my lovely products!

Have you experienced anything like this before?

LE Sleek Bohemian palette and my new pet!

Sleek sent me their new i-Divine palette to try...I didn't even know they were releasing a new one! Sleek say that the palette is inspired by antique trinkets, vintage finds and Sienna Miller. The exterior packaging looks very tempting... And I was surprised to see that they have broken the trend of black packaging...

I must admit that there are scary colours here that I know I will never use (yellow and green...would NOT look good on me!) but I was very intrigued by the taupe, bronze and cranberry metallic shades on the left hand side...

I've noticed in the past that the lighter metallic shades are always more pigmented than the lighter matte ones. Here's comes the swatch....

This limited edition palette launches on 17th March and willbe priced at the usual £4.99.

AND as promised, here are some pics of my our new hamster...Wolverine! We named him that because his black stripes reminded us of Wolverine from X-Men and his big side burns. hee hee. He is a long haired Syrian and the cutest little guy ever! We got him last Thursday and after I got over the nagging thought that hamsters are only for 11 year olds, I am really enjoying having him around. He is very entertaining!

We had wanted a pet for ages and since our apartment is too small for a cat or a dog, we decided we could get a hamster until we get a bigger place. Chris has totally taken to him and can't help but check in with him every time he passes the cage! I must admit, it's so cute to see him fretting over Wolverine and being so caring towards him.