Collection 2000 Big Fake Mascara

After the highly anticipated release of Collection 2000's supposed dupe for Maybelline's 'The Falsies', an unexpected silence reigned over the make-up blogging sector of the internet. 

Personally, I was extremely eager to test and trial this mascara as soon as I stumbled across it at a Boots store in Westfield Shopping Centre. The packaging is very obnoxious and, as the name gives away, visually 'loud'. I love the cap of the mascara, and the only problem I can imagine occurring in the future is the tube being bulky in my handbag. 

  
The actual formulation of the mascara is extremely watery and has a tendency to clump lashes together as a result. For this reason, I never use this mascara  without a good few coats of another beforehand. The 'claw' brush is not exactly innovative, and follows in the steps of it's predecessors: 'The Falsies' and 'The Colossal Cat Eyes'. In my personal opinion, the brush would be a good deal more effective if it's size were decreased slightly. Due to the width of the brush, it is nearly impossible to coat the lashes evenly without applying mascara to the rest of the eye area! 

Above is a picture of my lashes after one coat of the 'Big Fake' mascara. The result is one of thick clumped lashes, not the look that I would usually aim for. However, if you are a fan of less 'fanned-out' lashes, this mascara would be perfect for you!

The Best Things in Life Come in Fours

I am going to be completely honest and admit that I have no recollection whatsoever of where this palette was from, other than that it is obviously a Clinique palette. It was given to me during the summer months, which was acutely fitting, as each of the four colour just scream 'summer'!

My favourite colour, by far, is the beautiful 'Strawberry Fudge' shade. I am in absolute love with this colour, and love how it is so versatile to use. The possibilities are endless. The shadow colour be used as an all over lid colour, contour, brow hilight, facial hilight, or for the purpose that I most commonly use it for, as a tear duct 'brightener'. The peach colour appears on camera and in the palette as a frosty pink, although one applied it is clear the the shadow is in fact a veluxe pearl. The colour applies as an indescribable concoction of golds and satin pearls: simply breathtaking. Below are the colours swatched without a flash, and then secondly with a flash. (Left-Right: 'Beach Plum', 'Strawberry Fudge', 'Like Mink Duo'. 

I have to admit that my joy for the palette is bitter-sweet, as half of the colours, namely the 'Like Mink Duo', I am not very impressed with. The colours both appear as beautiful neutrals in the palette, but once applied, appear to be very poorly pigmented and, for lack of a better word, 'washed-out'. The nude colour is barely visible once applied, and I can only imagine it looking semi-professional on very dark skin tones. 

Despite the fact that the 'Duo' is not what it was destined to be, I am still besotted with this palette. The purple is amazingly pigmented, and I love how all of the colours synchronise so well with each other. I would definitely recommend this palette, as not only are the colours gorgeous, but the packaging is compact and pretty too!  

Yves Saint Laurent Top Secrets Flash Radiance Skincare Brush Review

I was a very lucky girl this Christmas, and received a lovely YSL gift set from my Nan. The set consists of three different YSL ‘cult’ products, and I have to admit, I have so far been extremely impressed. Out of the three products that are in the beautifully decorated box, it was the radiance primer that shocked me most with its impeccable quality and results. I am aware that if you buy the primer as an individual purchase, it comes with a brush, simultaneous to the one attached to the end of their radiance foundation. However, I feel that a lot of product would be wasted this way, and that the product would be difficult to apply. You only need a pea sized amount to cover the entire amount of your face.

I love how the formula is not hideously thick, and feels like a virtual film of air caressing your face as you apply the product. I simply use my fingers and blend outwards, concentrating on the inside of my face, where it is more common for oil to appear. I have to be honest, and say that when the make-up artist applied the primer to my hand in Boots, I noticed a much greater significant difference in the way that the lines on the back of my hand appeared, compared to how the product fills in the pores on my face. I do not notice much of a ‘smoothing’ effect like the product promises, but the wonder product does make my make up last all day. If it wasn't for the ridiculous price tag, I would buy it again and again! You can purchase the primer here. 

Coastal Scents Warm Palette Review

This Christmas I was lucky enough to receive the Warm Palette from Coastal Scents. I have lusted after the perfect palette for many months before receiving it, but had so far been repelled by the extortionate £8 shipping cost. The palette arrived in cardboard packaging, without a scratch on the palette. I believe that the surprisingly thick cardboard packaging will come in handy when it comes to travelling. 

The plastic exterior of the palette is wonderful. The plastic is a sophisticated matte black, and the first thing I noticed was how the 'Coastal Scents' logo was no longer the most prominent text on the palette. In my opinion, the palette's casing looks double it's innocent price. 

The only downfall to the sleek packaging is the amount of fingerprints it attracts to it's perfectly matte finish. Needless to say, it was smothered within seconds of my opening of the package!

 

The individual colours are not arranged in any particular order, which my become an annoyance for people who love organisation. Personally, I like how spontaneous I can be with my colour choices as a result of the arrangement. The shades range between a muted, matte white, to a charcoal, silver shimmer black. The palette is a strictly matte and shimmer palette, thus lacking both frosts, pearls and lustres. However, if you are willing to spend a little extra time playing around with the shadows, you will soon discover that multiple finishes can be achieved from the two textures, using minimal effort. My favourite shade is a cream, with a powerful gold iridescent. In fact, when my eyes meet the shadow more studiously, I can almost detect a slight pink undertone, making the particular shade suitable for hilighting. 

The quality of the shadows reach both ends of the pigmentation spectrum, hitting a few mid noted in-between. Some colours are beautifully pigmented, but a few shadows need a generous application of primer to achieve a glimpse of their full ability regarding colour pay-off. The only shadow that I can recall being slightly chalky was the block white colour, situated at the top left hand corner of the palette, but I would be surprised if somebody handed me a white eyeshadow that wasn't chalky!

I am obsessed with the mirror embossed inside the lid of the palette. The mirror does not mimic the quality of others of its kind, which are usually flimsy and plastic. I love using it throughout the whole of my make-up application, regardless of whether I have my light-up double sided mirror present. Below are a few of my favourite shades. The dark brown shimmer was a real stand out shade for me; I just love the way that the golden glitter is so beautiful and subtle until one is standing in a certain position. I have already mentioned the beautiful cream iridescent, and the four matte peach shades are beautiful lid corrector colours. 

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette. You can purchase the Warm Palette here. Thank you for reading!

Garnier BB Cream

As the unfortunate possessor of oily skin, I am always willing to try new skin-fixing solutions that promise a smoother, more even complexion. I was ecstatic when I read that Garnier were releasing 100,000 samples for everyone to trial. Being a complete 'beauty-junkie', I jumped at the chance. When the samples arrived, they were in a box containing a generous three sachets. The sachets each contained a hefty ... of product. I believe that a full tube of the BB Cream would last you a very long time, as a single sachet lasted me a good four application. 

The texture of the BB Cream pleasantly surprised me. I love thick textured face creams, and so my first impressions of this cream were positive...sadly, my opinion of the once loved cream was soon to change. I began to blend the Cream into my face, much to no avail. It seemed that the more I attempted to blend the greasy mess, the more streaky the finish appeared. Having oil/combination skin can often be a problem for people when it comes to products like this, as oil+oil=disaster. Even though the product is meant to be a step down from foundation regarding heaviness, once I had applied the Cream to my face I immediately felt as if my skin couldn't 'breathe'.  

As for coverage, the results were neither awful nor amazing. With a little concealer applied to red patches and imperfections, my skin looked of an average finish. I cannot report on the product's staying power, as I removed the product nearly as soon as I had applied it. 

If I were to rate the unpredictable cream out of 10, personally I would rate it at a pretty average 6. Maybe in the summer months I would be more prepared to use this product on my face. This cream would possibly be better suited for dry-normal skin types. 

Thank for reading, Merry Christmas! 

Bourjois Little Round Pot Eyeshadow & Bourjois Intense

I have never made it a secret that I love (with a capital 'L') Bourjois. My first real make-up item ever was from Bourjois, and all of their products just seem to work for me. I love their foundation, mascaras, eyeliners...and today I experienced the amazing quality of their eyeshadows.  Today I ventured out to achieve a spot of Christmas shopping with my sister, and we both spent a lot of time deliberating over what colours and products suited us best, and I ended up purchasing not one, but two Intense Shadows (It would have been rude to take just one), with my sister buying an original LRP Shadow, in a much more sensible shade than I purchased.  I brought the shades Extrait 03 and Extrait 1. 

My initial impressions of the shadows were, of course, positive. The shadows have a beautiful, mystical quality to them, and I can't express my love for their glittery base in a way strong enough. My favourite part of the shadows is how they are visible as a baked shadow, feel like a baked shadow, and even have the same colour pay-off as a shadow: but apply as glitter! I am spellbound by how extraordinary these shadows are, as the apply to the eye just like a normal shadow, but when you study the decorative pattern you have applied onto your lid, the shadow is clearly in a glitter form. 

Although the colour quality appears as very sheer in the photo above, in 'real life' the colour pay-off is far more extravagant, considering how shimmery and glitter the shadow is. The colours are currently featured in the Bourjois Winter Collection, and I am unsure of whether the colours will be permanent; judging by their numbers, I believe they shall be. Below is a shot of the original Little Round Pot shadows, for comparison purposes. The intense pigmentation of the shadow can be witnessed in the below portrait, and the shadow itself has a smooth texture that is very versatile to blend. Neither or the LRP shadows I have so far experienced are chalky. 

You can purchase the classic Little Round Pot here, or alternatively find out more information via the official Bourjois website located here. If glitter is more your type of thing, you can find the Intense Little Round Pots located here. Again, if you are only interested in finding out more on the shadows, log onto the official Bourjois website page located here. 

Merry Christmas and thank you for reading!

Face of the Day: Drought Season

This FOTD is inspired by the rough drought plains in the Midwest. 

I attempted to make my awkward-length hair appear 'tousled' and unruly, but completely failed, and ended up drenching my hair with water to try and achieve the look. 

On my eyes, I am wearing my Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Eyeliner in black, My home made primer, Body Collection Pressed Powder (furthest shade to the edge used in my crease and outer eye), a Lancome Hypnôse Mascara in Noir 1, and a Natural Collection Solo eye-shadow in Milk Chocolate. 

On my face, I am wearing my Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Vanilla, my No7 Natural Blush Cheek Colour in Honey, my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light 2, my Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder in Translucent, and lastly, I made use of my Body Collection Pressed Powder. I avoided using any kind of hilighter product as I wanted to achieve a dead-pan, flat look that would realistically resemble the deserts' empty colour. 

I am totally aware of how unruly and scraggly my brows look in all of the above shots. The reason being because I am 'growing them out' so that I can have them waxed into a thicker shape, as this is the shape that is dominating the catwalks this winter. 

Thank You for reading. Please leave any suggestions for posts in the comment section!