Makeup Staples: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Just a quick one today to talk about my Holy Grail (HG) mascara which is Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara.  For years my favourite had been Clinique High Impact mascara until I tried this one early last year.  Mind blown.  I got this mascara for the first time in with one of their holiday palettes and fell in love immediately.  

Bonfire Night Eye Look - plus Fall/Autumn tag

Forget Halloween, I'm all about Bonfire Night.  It's always been my favourite night of the whole year.  It's always truly cold by then and is often the first outing of the scarf and gloves...and long socks and extra t-shirts and sometimes even a hat.  Growing up we had some really great public firework shows.  Childhood fireworks often seem so much bigger and better but the display I've been to for the last few years has actually rivalled those memories!

For those who don't know, Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes night) is the 5th November.  It's remembering the foiled attempt of Guy Fawkes and co. to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605.
It's always struck me as a pretty weird thing to celebrate (especially 400 years later) but I love it regardless.  It's a great excuse to have lots of fireworks and the occasional bonfire (it's been yearrrrs since I had a bonfire).  In my teens I used to host a house party every Bonfire Night after the local show.  Many fond memories.

I love to wear really sparkly, glittery makeup because I think it looks particularly good at night, especially with the fireworks glinting off it.  My local firework display is early this year, on Halloween actually, so I've started thinking about what I'll wear earlier than usual (yes, I ocassionally plan makeup looks well in advance).

Read on to see what I used and to read my tag answers.

Makeup Geek Dupes for the Batalash Palette

A few months ago the makeup corner of the internet was a-buzz with talk of the LE Saucebox Batalash palette.  8 shadows of amazing (!!!) quality chosen by the Batalash girls. I didn't think I was going to be able to get my hands on it but then it became available on a UK site and the rest is history.

As of writing this, the palette has been sold out in the US for quite a while now but there are still some left over at Cocktail Cosmetics for any European makeup lovers.

The shade range is great.  There's a range of warm and cool; matte and metallic; neutral and colourful.  The eye shadow pans are huge, 4g each (0.5g more than a Sugarpill pan).  My only complaint about the palette is that the copper and the warm brown are very similar in colour and I would rather have seen something completely different.

Because the palette was so popular and the shades work so well together, I thought I would try to dupe it with my Makeup Geek shades.  I was only choosing out of the colours I already own from Makeup Geek and was very surprised by how similar a palette I could create!  Read on to see the dupes in all of their glory.

OCC Lip Tar Swatches - Light and Dark

Next in my OCC Lip Tar series are the lighest and darkest shades that I have.  Some of these I happily wear on their own, others are good just for mixing new shades or giving a colour a different finish.  I've made a video showing how each Lip Tar looks on my lips, below, and further down in the post there are photos showing the similar colours side-by-side.

If you are new to my blog then I'll just let you know that OCC Lip Tars are my favourite lip products ever!  I love how versatile they are and how massive the colour range is.  They are highly customisable and very hygienic so a great kit staple!

Burgundy Monochrome Look with loose shadows from Aromaleigh

My latest video was a tutorial of a very burgandy/berry-toned look.  The eyes, lips and blush are in in sync and even though it's not something I usually do, I really like it!  I ended up using a fair amount of products but you can easily cut down on the number of shadows you use and you probably don't really need to wear 2 highlighters and 2 blushes.  You know me, I like to go overboard and apply ALL the makeup!

Here's the video if you'd like to watch.  If not, read on for a full product list and more photos of the look.

Makeup Staples: Duo Brush-On Lash Glue

This is the first post in a new series I'll be doing. Makeup Staples is pretty much what it sounds like; I'll be talking briefly about the products I use every day, the ones that never let me down and have become so much a part of my routine that I forget to mention them.  Most of them will be base products and tools as the more colourful products get swapped around every day.

My Favourite Makeup Geek Products

If you've read only a handful of my blog posts you'll probably have already realised that I'm head over heels for Makeup Geek.  A few months ago I even had Makeup Geek Week on here!
My latest YouTube video is all about my favourite products from Marlena's line, with swatches.

Read on to see some close-up swatches of my very favourite shades.

Red Smokey Eye with Makeup Geek

While I will wear any makeup, any time of the year, some things do trend with the seasons and it can be fun to join in.  Red and gold smokey eyes always seem to be popular during Autumn/Fall so this is my version on the look.  All the eye shadows I use are from Makeup Geek <3 and I paired it with the infamous Ruby Woo from MAC, which I'm sorry to say I'd pretty much forgotten about.

Read on for a list of all the products I used, plus some close-ups.

OCC Lip Tar Swatches - Nudes

Next in my OCC Lip Tar series (links to the rest at the bottom) are the Nudes.  Within this loose category I'm put my pinky nudes, beiges, and corals (I'm trying to have roughly the same number of colours in each group for the sake of my lips in the accompanying lip swatch videos).

OCC have so many nudes; they really do have a colour for you, no matter your skin colour!  There is a good selection of warms and cools, lights and darks.  Unfortunately I don't have all of the neutrals to show you but I think this is most of them.

If you want to see each colour worn on me, view the videos below (available in HD if you click through to YouTube).  Here I have swatched the similar colours next to each other for you to compare.  I really hope its helpful!

11 Things You Did Not Know About Me (Tag)

I was tagged by the lovely Gul over at Gul-e-Zehra's.  You can see her post here.

If you're tagged, the rules are simple: answer the questions at the bottom, tag some more bloggers and write your own 11 questions.  You can change all of the original 11 questions, or none of them, up to you.

Read on to see my answers.

Glitter YouTube Tutorial with Makeup Geek Shadows

This post is accompanying the video down below.  It's a glittery look, mixing a blue and a yellow glitter.  All the shadows are Makeup Geek ones.  I'd love to know your thoughts on it!

Read on for some close-ups and a run down of the products I used.

Giveaway!

I'm very excited to announce I now have a giveaway running.  I thought it was about about time I share some of my favourites with you as a thank you for your support.  Everything I'm giving away are products I have used and loved, many of which have been mentioned on my blog already.

The giveaway is open internationally.

Read on to enter the giveaway.

Anastasia Shadow Couture Word Traveller Look

This post ties in to the video tutorial I made below.  The Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture World Traveller palette (why such a long name?!?) has been a sure favourite the last month and I wanted to show it off in an eye look tutorial.  This look features neutrals with a pop of metallic pink, somewhat dramatic.  I like this look any time, any day, but maybe it would be an evening look for most people.  I've paired it with nude lips so that it's not over-powering.

I hope you find the tutorial helpful!  Read on for a list of all products used and more photos of the look.

Smokey Maroon Look

 I'm so gutted.  I filmed a GRWM video for this look but my files got corrupted which just sucks because I was so happy with how it turned out.  My photos saved okay so all is not lost.  

I knew I wanted to use the Saucebox Batalash palette on this day but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  It started to turn into a halo eye so I wanted something really metallic in the centre.  I ended up using Sugarpill Countess as the main colour so tied in the lips with OCC Lip Tar in Lydia.  I'll list all the products below, I'm just sorry I can't show you how I did it!

OCC Lip Tar Swatches - Pinks

If you saw my last Lip Tar post you'll know that I'm going through all of my Lip Tars in colour groups, with lip swatches on my YouTube channel, and arm swatches on my blog.  It's primarily to help anyone interested in buying these shades, as I know when I started off buying them I researched similar colours a lot.  I think a lot more people will purchase OCC Lip Tars now that they've been released in RTW (Ready To Wear) form, which is in a hard tube with a doe foot applicator.  This means you no longer have to take a separate lip brush around with you when you want to reapply.

I think Lip Tars are wonderful, which is why I have so many of them.  For professionals they are great in your kit as they're hygienic and easy to mix to create custom shades.  For the makeup fan they're highly collectable as they come in so many colours and the options are endless when you start mixing the different finishes.  You also only need to use the tiniest bit for opaque cover; a full tube will last ages!
No matter what type of colour you're looking for there will be a Lip Tar shade to suit you!

Anyway, here is my pink Lip Tars video and read on for side-by-side swatches.

First Impressions with the Saucebox Batalash Palette

I had just received this palette in the post and just couldn't wait to put it on my eyes.  I hadn't decided what kind of thing I would do and ended up using every colour in a bit of a messy look.

I might do a one palette, 5 looks blog post using this palette.

Rachel

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Mermaid eye look 2.0

Mermaid eye look left: 2014, right: 2015

I was asked this morning on one of the makeup forums I'm on to make a tutorial of a look I did a year ago.  The original look was inspired by one of Vintage Or Tacky's videos and uses very mermaidy colours with the blue, green and duochrome sheen.  I think I only featured the look on my blog in a sort of round-up post.  I recreated the look this morning using all the same products as last year, which I'll list below.

I hope you like the look and maybe find the pictorial I made useful.  I'd also love to know whether you preferred the first or second version!

Details below.

My Duochrome Favourites

If you've read even a handful of my posts you'll probably know that I flipping love duochrome makeup.  It's my favourite finish every and if I find a new combination of colours then djashdwenfkn... I'm all over it!

If you're unfamiliar with the term duochrome it usually refers to a product that has a base colour and a different reflect colour; from one angle looking one colour but then changing when you move it.  Sometimes there are than two colours, but it's two more often than not.  Not to be confused with holographic which means it reflects rainbow (also looks amazing!)

Below are my favourite duochrome products for eyes, lips and nails.

OCC Lip Tar Swatches - Reds

OCC's Lip Tars are one of my favourite lip products ever.  They are incredibly versatile and they have SO many shades.  They really have a red/nude/pink to suit everyone, and if you can't find what you want?  Mix it.  Lip Tars are great for MUAs as you can create any custom colour you want, and they're super hygienic.  A little goes a really long way; one of the full-size ones will last you forever, unless you body paint with it or something.

As I have an awful lot of Lip Tars I thought it might be helpful to swatch them in colour groups to help anyone looking to buy some.  I really support the brand too, so hope to get a few people curious about them!

This post ties into the YouTube video I just made in which I show the various OCC Lip Tars on my lips.

You can watch that video here

Top 10 Makeup Brushes Under £10

 Expensive brushes are luxurious; beautiful to look at, feather-soft and often reassuringly weighty in your hand; but most of the time there are cheaper brushes that perform just as well, if not better.  A good brush is not scratchy and needs to be shaped just right to perform the intended task.  

Sure, if you have the money to splurge, go ahead, but I thought I'd run through my favourite affordable brushes.  I have a few higher end brushes and I reach for these ones just as often.

Read on to see the brushes I rate highly.

Topshop Glow Domes - duochrome highlighters

Topshop Glow Domes

 I just want to reiterate my title: duochrome highlighters,  Let that sink in.  Yes, it's as good as it sounds.  Admittedly,  if your thing is the natural look you might want to pass these by, but if you like something a bit different or want a festival look, then these are the thing for you!

I just adore anything duochrome (post on my favourites coming soon) so as soon as I saw these on Fashionicide's blog I knew I had to make them mine.  They do no disappoint.  Topshop say that these are inspired by their Chameleon shadows, which I LOVE (blog post here) but these are cream as opposed to powder.

I have mainly used these to highlight by layering them under a blush, usually using a mixture of both colours.  They also work great as an inner corner highlight or just dabbed in the centre of the lid.

Read on for some close-ups.

A Palette A Day - Week 4

A Palette A Day Week 4

Week 4 of my Palette A Day challenge for January ended up being another neutral-based week, no particular reason.  As I've already said, the aim of the challenge was to use palettes I had forgotten about and possibly even didn't like very much.  Sometime I would come across a palette that has no highlight shade or no transition shade but I would still only use that palette.

Without further ado, here are the looks from week 4 and which shades I used in each palette.

A palette a day - week 3

A Palette A Day

The weeks go by so fast!  Week 3 of my Palette A Day challenge was definitely more of a neutral one, but largely is down to the palettes that got picked out.  It's all completely at random, they're written on pieces of paper and I pick one with my eyes closes.

If you want, you can look at Week 1 and Week 2's looks.

Read on to see what makeup mishaps I got up to last week.

Best of the brand - Essence

Best of the brand - Essence

Essence is amazing, just saying.  For years I saw this wonderfully cheap brand on blogs and wished I could get my hands on it.  Just under 2 years ago the brand hit British soil when it launched in 4 Wilkinsons stores.  None of these were near me so I waited, impatiently at first.  I actually sort of forgot to keep checking and then a few months ago I went to my local Wilko, and lo-and-behold, there was a huge Essence display.  Hurray!  Since then I've tried out quite a few of their products so thought I'd show you my favourites.

Dupes for MAC Blue Brown Pigment

Dupes for MAC Blue Brown pigment

I love duochrome shadows, LOVE them!  One of the first ones I had was Urban Decay Lounge which it now turns out it a dupe for the more famous Blue Brown pigment from MAC.  I recently realised I had quite a few similar shades in both pressed and loose form so thought I'd compare them all.  All of them are a fairly warm medium brown with a green/teal shift to them.

Duochrome shadows are a really easy way to take an average, every day look and make it stunning.

Read on for close-ups and swatches plus my verdict on which to buy.

A palette a day - week 2

A palette a day challenge

If you saw my Palette A Day post last week you'll know that each day in July I'm using a different eye shadow palette, each day picking out one at random.  I'm using solely those shadows, no others.

It's a way for me to use ones I've forgotten about or ones I find tricky to use and so avoid.

Below are the looks from each day, along with which shadows I used.  As you can see, I was drawn to pinks and purples again this week.

London IMATS 2015 - vlog, haul, tips

On Saturday 11th July I went to the London IMATS, a massive makeup trade show, for the 3rd time.

I definitely get more organised each time which helps to make the day even more enjoyable.

If you are an MUA, makeup student or just and enthusiast, then it really is the event of the year.  For just this weekend all of these brands get together offering great discount alongside demos by famous MUAs.  Many of the brands are difficult to buy online in the UK so it's a really good opportunity to stock up.

Now on Youtube, eeek!

For those who don't follow my Facebook  page you might not know that I'm now making YouTube videos.  I'd never used editing software before 2 weeks ago so I still have a lot to learn.

I am CCing any spoken videos so I hope that helps some people!

I'd love it if you could leave any feedback, I want to improve; and it would be amazing if you subscribed!

Videos below...

A palette a day - week 1

Every day in July I will be using a different eyeshadow palette to do my eyes, with no help from other shadows.  I tried this in January 2014 and it went well except for 4 days in hospital and then a few more in bed.  I'm trying it again, mainly to unearth palettes I've forgotten about.  I have more than 31 palettes (shock! horror!) so to keep it fair I've written them all on paper and pick one out at random each day.

Each Monday (or Tuesday if I'm late like now), I will do a round-up post of the week's looks.  Obviously July didn't start until Wednesday so I have just five looks today.  I'll show you which palettes I used and which shades.

June Favourites

June Favourites

Better late than never right?  I've had an unexpectedly busy week, I had barely any plans and then suddenly it filled up.  Hopefully I'll get more done this coming week...before everything goes on hold for IMATS (wohooo!).  The hot weather doesn't help, my inner workings seem to come to a halt when too warm.   Anyway, here are the beauty items I've been loving for the last month or so.

Read on for mini reviews!

Makeup Geek Week - A whole week of eye looks

All Makeup Geek shadows

Makeup Geek Week is officially over.  I thought I'd share with you all of the eye looks from the week.  I didn't do anything particularly fancy, all of it is wearable (for me).  There's a good mix of neutral and colourful looks, some with liner, some without.

All shadows are Makeup Geek.  Of course.

Keep reading for photos of each look with a description of the products used.

Makeup Geek Week - Foiled Shadows Part 2

Makeup Geek foiled eye shadows

I reviewed the first set of ten Makeup Geek Foiled eye shadows here.  They've gotten a lot of use and I really recommend them.  When I saw that a new set of ten were coming out I jumped on them immediately.  Where as the first set contained mainly neutrals, this lot feature a few brights mixed in with some beautiful pastels.  

Foiled shadows are pressed shadows that mimic the effect of applying a pigment wet (foiling).  These ones feel super creamy but are a powder.  These ones look super metallic and are very opaque with one swipe but can be built up to greater effect.  Because they are oilier than a normal shadow they can crease but a good primer and careful placement prevents that.

Read on for swatches and descriptions.

Makeup Geek Week - playing with Z Palettes

Makeup Geek plus Z Palettes

This is a bit of an impromptu post.  It's a case of not having much time for photos today so what would be quick to photograph.  I thought it might be interesting to a few of you to see how I have organised my Makeup Geek shadows.  I have a fair few of these lovelies so the best way to store them is in large palettes where you can see everything.  I had already used Z Palettes before and the Makeup Geek store sells them so it was a no-brainer.

I initially had my collection in one palette, then split neutrals and brights between two, before needing a third for the foiled shadows.

Read on to see my palettes in more detail.

Makeup Geek Week - Pigments

Makeup Geek pigments

Makeup Geek are one of my favourite brands ever.  Marlena, a makeup enthusiast and Youtuber, crated the brand because she wanted to see amazing quality products that were affordable, and she really has achieved that!  Despite us UKers having to pay a bit more for shipping, and sometimes a customs fee, the products are still worth it and you get a lot more bang-for-your-buck than you would from, say, MAC.  There seems to be a lot lined up for Makeup Geek in the next few months so I thought now would be a perfect time to showcase the brand.  All this week will be Makeup Geek Week on my blog, and I'll be wearing all Makeup Geek eye shadows (follow on Instagram to see).

To start things off I'm going to show you the 5 pigments that I have from Makeup Geek.  Read on to see more!

Look of the day - Purple Galore

Purple galore makeup

Sooooo I just watched a video where the lady recommended not wearing everything purple on your face.  Well, I did it and I'm probably going to do it again.  Purple is one of my favourite makeup colours so earlier this week I wanted to do a monochrome look with it.  I really liked the outcome and am considering doing a monochrome series with a whole host of colours but I'm not sure...would anyone actually want to see a whole look centred around yellow or green etc?

As I was using mainly cool-toned purples I thought I'd warm my face up with some fake freckles, not sure if you can tell above?  There'll be a close-up below.  I do naturally have some faint freckles but they never come out very dark anymore as I don't get much sun exposure ever.  I'm not sure how natural these ones look but I like them, despite my husband telling me it looks like a tub of cocoa powder exploded on me.

Read on for a product run-down and more photos.

Shaving part of my eyebrows

This post won't be for everyone, or at least the look isn't.  Maybe you're just curious as to why I've done this.  I've been wanting to shave off the tail of my brows for maybe a year so that I can change the shape.  I didn't do it earlier as I was starting work early in the morning and I thought if I was in a rush it might be problematic.  I've left the early mornings behind me so I thought, yes, it is time!

I wanted to shave my eyebrows off completely when I was 14-17 but like with all things, I was too scared. I was worried I would permanently damage my hair in some way and I think I was already concious that there might be photos to haunt me all my life.  Same with black hair, I longed for it but never risked it.  While the desire for black hair is gone, sometimes I'm still tempted to shave all of my brows off so I have complete freedom but I don't think I'll ever do it, partially because I'm too lazy.

Anyway, read on for before and after photos and how I shave the ends of my brows.

My MAC lipstick collection

MAC lipstick collection

I thought I'd show you my ten MAC lipsticks today; it's not a large collection at all but I feel like it's a beauty blogger rite of passage that I just have to do at some point.  About four or five years ago I thought MAC were the bee's knees.  I've become a bit disillusioned since then, largely because of the almost-impossible-to-buy limited edition collections which sell out in a heartbeat.  When it comes to their lipsticks they do have an impressive range of colours and finishes, though there are lots of cheaper dupes for many of the shades out there.

I haven't used lipliner for any of these swatches.  I'm starting with the LE shades that are no longer available.

Whole face with one brand: Maybelline

Whole face with Maybelline

Maybelline is probably my favourite highstreet brand.  While their range isn't fantastic across the board, they do have plenty of stand-out products with the Color Tattoos possibly being the best and most-reached for in my collection.  I'm coming to the end of brands I'm able to do a whole look with, possibly just MAC and Benefit left to do, but I thought it would be great to do a more budget-friendly one...if I added up the price of all today's items it wouldn't be quite so bad as the others.

Without further ado, let me show you what I used.

What difference does blush make?

What difference does blush make?

Blush/blusher (I slip between the two, sorry), is really important as it brings a life-like look to your skin. Blush is often the last thing I apply and it just makes my skin look instantly more natural. The higher coverage your foundation is, the more important blush becomes.  One of my pet peeves is people wearing heavy foundation but nothing else, it makes you look a bit like a mannequin.  

Affordable makeup storage ideas

Affordable makeup storage ideas

I've been meaning to do a post on makeup storage for months, so here it is.  For those with a big collection that you've been working on for years, this post probably won't contain anything useful as you'll have already worked out what can work.  I thought this might be interesting for beginners who are looking for cheap storage ideas, as the acrylic storage that is super popular right now is quite expensive (though I recommend checking out the bathroom section of TK Maxx for some affordable options).

Firstly are these little jars from Tiger, which are intended for storing spices and the like. At £1 each you can't go wrong and they have a few different colours (lid) available.  I use one to store all of my lips brushes and one to store my Wayne Goss and Hakuhodo eye brushes.  In the past I've also used them for storing a few cotton buds in.

5 looks with Shiro's Seven Kingdoms collection

Shiro Seven Kingdoms collection

Finally, here are 5 looks with my wonderful Shiro Seven Kingdoms loose eye shadows (see swatches here).  Sorry this post has been so long coming!  I've just moved house and so had a few weeks of utter chaos.  The chaos isn't over but I've found a smidgen of time to crack on with this.

Look One

A super simple look here.  I used Hodor to blend from my crease outwards, dragging a little under the eyes too.  Then I applied Mother of Dragons all over.  Very easy but MoD is such a pretty colour that it is by no means boring.

Battle of the liquid lipsticks

Battle of the liquid lipsticks

The matte lip trend has been going strong for the last few years and isn't going anywhere!  Matte lips are easiest achieved with liquid lipsticks, which come packaged like a gloss with their own wand, but dry down in minutes.  More and more brands are bringing out their own liquid lipsticks and to be honest, I don't mind as most of them are a bit different in some way.  Plus the more colour options, the merrier!

I thought it would be good to have a bit of a showdown between my matte liquid lipsticks, to see just how well they dry.  For each one I show a lip swatch (one layer) and then what my hand looked like when I kissed it 5 minutes later.  There's quite a difference in how they all perform.  I've got 12 brands to show you here so grab yourself a mug of tea!

My favourite Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils

It's no secret that I'm an Urban Decay junkie and one of my favourite products from the brand are their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  I was originally drawn in by their wide range of colours (which has since expanded) and kept using them because of the amazing quality.  They are the best eye liner pencils I've ever tried; they don't budge at all and the colour stays intense all day.  I love that they set really well, my eyes are slightly hooded and other pencils can transfer up to the top of my eyelid but these don't do that.

Read on to see swatches of my favourite eye pencils.

Shiro Seven Kingdoms collection review

Shiro overload!  So a few months ago...actually probably less than 2 months ago, I ordered 4 of the Seven Kingdoms shadows from Shiro.  Once they arrived and I had a play around I pretty much ordered the rest of the collection immediately.  I'm a big A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan so these shadows are cool as each colour is inspired by one of the characters.  While you can get smaller size jars of the shades, full-size was the only conceivable option for me as the full-size feature drawings by Robert Hendrickson of the show's characters.

 I'm so obsessed with these shadows at the moment that I don't really want to use anything else right now and couldn't concentrate on other posts until this one was done.  The collection features mainly neutrals that wouldn't be out of place in the ASoIaF/GoT world but that doesn't mean they are boring.  Quite a few of them are duochromes and, as I've mentioned before, duochromes get me really excited!  

Shiro's shadows are loose ones, so if you aren't used to using them there can be a bit of a learning curve, especially when it comes bringing out the sparkle in them.  As well as doing a '5 Looks with the Seven Kingdoms collection' post soon, I also plan on writing a guide on using loose shadows so hopefully that will help anyone new to the world of loose shadows.

Read on for swatches of all 15 shades in the Seven Kingdoms collection!

Lit Glitter

Lit Glitters

 It's no secret, I'm a makeup magpie; I love anything shimmery and glittery.  I have quite a good collection of glitters and some of my favourite are from Lit Cosmetics.  They are a Canadian company with a massive choice of glitters...wait for it...over 200 glitters!  Not only do they have a huge selection of different colours but you can also get them in different sizes.  There are four sizes to choose from.  Size #1 is the smallest size of glitter, it would give a really dense concentration of the glitter colour but would only sparkle a little bit.  #4 is the large cut and would give the most glittery effect from a distance but you might feel the pieces on you more.  It really depends what effect you are going for.  I tend to favour a chunkier glitter as I want all of the sparkle!  Lit's glitters also come in different 'textures'; Solids are just one colour, Shimmers are transparent with a rainbow holographic reflect and Holographics are solid colour that reflects all primary colours.

Read on to see the Lit glitters that I have.

Shiro "Cheekbones" contouring powders

Shiro Cheekbones contouring powders

 Told you to expect more Shiro Cosmetics!  It's also yet another post related to contouring but it is a big thing right now and I'm enjoying it, so neh.  This contouring set is rather novel, as well as amazing; they are inspired by Benedict Cumberbatch's cheekbones, which are rather desirable after all!  The containers feature a picture by Amy Zen of Cumberbatch in his Sherlock role, and the names of each powder are references to the programme too.  I'm a huge Sherlock fun so this excited me no end, but also the collection actually caters to all skin tones and contains some of the most cool-toned (grey!!!) contouring products I've ever seen!  Remember, natural shadows = cool toned.

30 Day Blogging Challenge PLUS the highlights

You may have noticed I've been updating my blog a lot more frequently than normal the past 30 days.  This is due to me signing up for Sarah Arrow's 30 Day Blogging Challenge over on Sark e-Media.  I was googling some blog-related tips, can't remember exactly what, and a note popped up asking if I wanted to sign up for the challenge.  I thought it sounded interesting so entered my details and didn't really thing anything of it... until 6am the following morning when I had an email spurring me on for Day 1.

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Polished Purple

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Polished Purple

Yes, I'm talking about another dark purple lip product.  No, I'm not sorry.  Purple lip products are my favourite and I love adding a colour unlike any other I have.  This is that.  Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Polished Purple is a really unique item in my collection.  

The Cream Lip Stains dry down to a matte.  Unlike similar products, it is a cream rather than a liquid so a bit easier to apply and doesn't run into the lines around your lips.

Melt Love Sick Stack w/ 2 simple looks

Melt cosmetics Love Sick stack

If you live on Instagram like I do, you will have seen Melt, they're everywhere.  Two friends and make up fanatics, Dana Bomar and Lora Arellano, set up Melt to make the products they wished they had.  First they released their lipsticks; super matte and super bold.  Then came these game-changers, their eye shadow stacks.  At the moment they only have two; this Love Sick stack and the Dark Matter stack, a more neutral set.  Four massive pans of eye shadows (honestly they're more blush-sized!) that stack together magnetically.  There's nothing quite like these on the market and I'm dreading the deluge of cheap copies that we'll probably see soon.

Melt cosmetics Love Sick stack: Promiscuous, Lovesick, Amelie, Fixated

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush

Max Factor Creme Puff blush in 15 Seductive Pink

 Recently Max Factor released a new line of blushes, the Creme Puff blushes.  These marbled blushes are available in 6 colours.  I've only bought one, 15 Seductive Pink.  It's a deep mauvey rose with some lighter pink swirled into it.  While it looks super shimmery in the pan, on skin it looks luminous.  No glittery cheeks here!

I like to apply this blush with my MAC 187 brush.  Because the duo-fibre bristles on this brush aren't very dense it means the hairs don't pick up too much product.  My brush is quite old and has completely lost its shape but that also helps.  It's quite a deep colour so a diffused application is best; these two products work so well together.  The Real Techniques Stippling Brush is a bit smaller but may do the job nicely as well. 

Read on for a close up and how it looks on.

3 Shiro Cosmetics High Scores

Moon Prism Powder, Yzma's Essence of Llama, Tardis

 You'll probably see a lot of Shiro Cosmetics over the next few weeks.  They're my most recently purchased items but also when you find a new brand you love it's similar to finding a new band that you click with straight away; stuck on repeat. 

Rather than bombard you with all of the loose eye shadows at once I thought I'd break them down into categories.  Today I'm showing you three from the High Scores collection.  Each month there is a Color of the Month and the High Scores are the most popular of these.