Thursday 28 February 2013

Khroma Beauty - Khloe Kardazzle palatte






So it may come as no surprise that the ever expanding Kardashian sisters are branching into there own brand of makeup.
Khroma is the new line released by Kim, Khloe and Kourtney, each with there own unique palettes and shadings to match the individual looks of the sisters.
Now i am going to be reviewing the palate customed to Khloe, called the Kardazzle palettes.

Khloe Kardashian Odom

So the palate has a snakeskin imprint, with the Khroma logo in the bottom corner, 
Now this palette looks a fair size but its the size of your palm and does have a great ideal for travel, with a big mirror enclosed. However the packaging is my gripe. Its plastic and feels very cheap, It doesn't look like that its on closer inspection that you will find this out. The bottom is a drawer and pulls out, however the whole bottom comes away so rather then a drawer and a solid bottom in which to keep the palate balanced and level. I would have preferred the drawer to be incorporated and not the whole bottom slide out. Its minor little details but i think this would elevate the product if these were addressed. (I also hope my explanation of that made sense, lol )


So the bottom drawer has the Blusher, Highlight and bronzer enclosed, the top section is 4 matte shades and the bottom 4 being shimmery shades.
The pigments are ok with this palette, they do take a bit more working then i would have expected especially the matte colours, i found they did apply and transfer really well but i needed to build the colour up to be able to get them to blend-able levels. The only colour i really had an issue with was the brow colour as i just could not see it at all. The shimmer shades are the surprise of the palate, they are easy to blend and also i did not have any issue with fallout and you look, you can see these are packed with glitters. You would assume as i did, that these would be a nightmare for fallout. They adhere to your brush really easily and also to the eye with such ease, that i was wondering how did it come to be that the mattes were so hard to get great colour payoff but these shimmers were on par with a high end glitter shadow. 
They really were the saving grace of the palette and i enjoyed using them. 



The Blush was not too overtly pigmented on application and was easy to achieve a nice flush glow of colour, the same with the bronzer. I prefer these types of shades and pigments when its spring and going into summer as you don't need to spend ages contouring and blending in with a palette like this and its perfect for taking out or travel. The highlight i found was the section i enjoyed and loved the most, it added a nice light to under the eye, it wasn't overly shimmery even though it looks shimmer central on the swatch. It was really easy to apply and you did not need much at all. Literally one dab of my brush and it was enough for the eye bone. These colours are buildable. 

Eyeshadow swatches ( Matte and Shimmer)

 Blusher, Highlight and Bronzer


So in conclusion, this wasn't a terrible palette if your looking to have some shimmer colours that don't have bad fallout. The highlight and the shimmers are the stand out features of the Kardazzle. However with it being a line associated with such high profile women i feel they really should have taken more time and effort to get the packaging more on par with the look of the outer snakeskin pattern, completely feels wrong when you realise its plastic. It cheapens it for me and yes it not high end and not claiming to be, it was a let down personally for me. I would have expected a more durable material. It however while minor adds to the whole perception of a product, so tweaking still needed and they are on there way. 
My look i achieved with the palette was a nice neutral with a shimmer eye. Lovely Bronze/Brown colours with a hint of Gold/Bronze shimmer.
Now I've also used the Khroma Mascara Set with this look and i will reviewing that set also.



Tuesday 26 February 2013

Luxbox - Feb 2013

Ok so this will be my last month of Luxbox, due to the reasons being personal to myself that im not happy with the service offered.

So within this months box, which i must admit i was a little surprised to receive given these boxes are notoriously late every month and its usually the following month before its arrived.


So this months box contains 


  • Inika - New and Exclusive Creme colour for cheeks and Lips - Rosehip
  • Colour Me Beautiful - Crimson lip pencil
  • Balm Balm - Single Note EDP ylang ylang
  • The vintage cosmetic company - Retractable lip brush
  • Murad - Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask

Now i am a bit on the fence with this box i wont lie, I love the Inika and general makeup products and tools, However this is the second showing in consecutive months for Balm Balm, last month being the lip balm. Im all for showing a brand to people whom may not have come across it but show your prime product so people go and see what else is on offer, not swamp them in products hoping you'll hit gold with one somewhere down the line. Its a mistake made by a lot of companies thinking that if you include a product in each beauty box people will fall in love with it and in a rare case that will happen but more often then not it will make people sick of the sight of it.
So the products -
The Inika creme blush and lip colour, is in rosehip which is almost an orangey-red colour to the naked eye. It is a lovely creamy formula that does not need any warming or working to get an easy application and is highly pigmented.

Swatch 
So the pigment is very good indeed with a great colour payoff, little was needed to achieve this swatch. It is a lovely dusky rose with a slight hint of a shimmer included but its not grainy nor noticeable to touch. It would be a great lip stain and cheeks you would literally need a dab which would be enough to get a workable colour. Am very excited if not a little apprehensive about this for look week as i have never used a creme blush before thats this pigmented, most tend to be lighter then build upon the colour. Im sure it will be fine and i will just need to practice with every new skill or product.

The vintage cosmetic company is no stranger to the beauty world and its range of tools are well known by most. This retractable lip brush is rose gold casing and a light pastel pink handle, it has lips printed in old style font along the side. The brush itself is a good size and the bristles are flexible enough to achieve precise lines. It is a lovely brush but again proof will be in testing but the vintage cosmetic company is well known for its quality tools.

Balm Balms single note ylang ylang essential oil, its cloudy to the eye and its a generous sample size. However it is not my cup of tea, its far to strong but i prefer fruity scents to overly floral. So if you like floral scents this will be good for you. Personally i wont be using this. 

Murads pomegranate exfoliating mask is a sachet sample, again this is a luxbox staple brand which i don't mind as Murad is well known plus very good. However when testing skincare not much can be ascertained by a sachet of product. I like pomegranate and the scent of fruit and have enjoyed there products before so i look forward to using this.

Colour me beautiful's lip pencil in crimson is highly pigmented and a nice vivid red colour. Its not a company known to me, but from what i can gather by the insert included its a home consultation company and provider of services such as bridal makeup, makeup lessons and parties. So I'm assuming that products can only be bought through there representatives. Brochures are available. The packaging is nice and the feel of the liner is creamy consistency plus applies easily so again with looks day we i will be able to see if it does last the day.

Overall its a box thats filled with well known luxbox brands and when you subscribe to a beauty box you want to be wowed by something new and innovative, on saying that these products are great quality and i cant quibble about that bar the Balm Balm which I'm not satisfied with at all. 


So did you receive luxbox ? If so what are your thoughts ?

Sunday 24 February 2013

GIG inspired Oscars Night Looks



So as part of celebrating the inspirational ceremony that is the Oscars, as a group decided lets have some fun with this, so as with all things i get quite flappy and well think hummmmm what to do as the oppertunity to get all free with a look can make me go 'yipeeeee' its the actual deciding that has me in a tizz .......

So i went with a cult classic and by all means i got inspiration as she is kinda a heroine of mine from loving the genre. Plus i love old style costume so this was kinda an obvious choice.


Now i picked to do the Look of Arwen, may i say i got inspiration ... im not going to ever look nor even come close to liv tylers beauty lol i wish lmaooo 



So i took emphasis on the flushed cheeks and rose bitten lips. Ive added some leaf assessories to my look to try and get the elven feel.


 So its quite a flushed look with definition on the cheeks and lips, the leaf hair band to keep in with the whole elfen look. Making the focus quite etherial. The hair is long and free like in most of the film Arwen's hair is free and in keeping with her style.
A bracelet i have that inspired my eye makeup with the greens and taupe glitters 


Another View 


So i hope you like my inspired look and that as the sun sets on our land of England and we tune in to the magic that is the Oscars we see some inspirational looks to set the tone for this new season in the world of fashion and beauty.

Thank you to 
Lisa Cope from LatinoLook
and
Debora from The Closet Lullaby
For organising such a wonderful tag post and all my Gig Girls xx 


Saturday 23 February 2013

What does one do at the Weekend ?


So what does my weekend consist of ? Well i don't know about you but i love to fully indulge in a little candle-light some one on one pamper time and also during the day some well earned play time with my makeup thats well a little creative.
Now we all like a little splurge come payday and i myself have my little treat budget to enjoy and purchase a few little items, now i don't go high end all the time but i do like to add one or two additions to my collection as well they  are products that will last me ages in a day, but the one simple fact is they make me happy. With life being unpredictable and short..... what the hell. Splurge a little and if that means going to boots and having a tinker around and spending a bit on yourself then so be it, i have months where thats my treat street as they say so make of it what you can.

Playing with my NARS happening Palatte and Wonderland Wig Hair

Had a little splurge in NARS 


Now i love Pamper Sunday, its where i kick back with a face mask, chill down with some Call the midwife on TV and have a good old twitter natter with my fellow bloggers. Sundays are a day of rest and well i fully take that statement to the max. If you cant rest on a sunday then make one day in the week to .... we all need a face mask, candle and some peace in our lives. Its too stressful otherwise and well you can only go on so long with stress. 


Im a 'LUSH' and well they send such lovely samples to try as well
Anyone need some moisture, Oatifix is a dream in a pot.


So the moral of this post is well there is none as i don't want to preach, however i do want to implore everyone to make some time for yourself no matter your vice or poison of choice, we all stress and worry to much. Let it go sometime as life's far too short and enjoy some simple pleasures.

A Yankee candle 




How do you like to spend the weekend ? Do you have a Pamper day ?

Thursday 21 February 2013

Mixed chicks Hair care




So Mixed Chicks a new Hair product to my knowledge and in the never ending cycle to find a product to control my out there, frizz bomb hair. The ethos and starting of the company are :

For years, multi-cultural people with hard to manage hair traveled from store to store, trying to blend products in a hopeless attempt to tame their locks. Wendi LEVY (left) and Kim ETHEREDGE (right), two "mixed chicks", created a product line because they needed it. Then, something happened...friends and family started encouraging them to package it, and soon they had a full blown business running out of the garage. After a little door to door hustling, a few celebrity endorsements, and a ton of online customer support, MIXED CHICKS is bringing their products to the world.


So Mixed Chicks is a range of haircare that is suitable for all hair types but aimed towards the thicker and more unmanageable sort of hair. However everyone can use this as i know plenty of girls with thin hair who have a nightmare with controlling the tangles.


So these little Trial packs come with a Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave in Treatment. 

Theses little sachets are really packed full of product and i managed to get 2 uses out of the sachets, The shampoo is really effective at getting stubborn products out and i find my hair needs 2 shampoos as i pack it with mousse and hair spray, serums and oils. So my hair is pretty weighted down with it all by the end of the day and i can feel it. It seems excessive but my hair is quite long and also i have to do this or else the bottoms, underneath and sides end up frizzy and then im a flashback from the yester-year of when flower power and frizz was all the rage. 
This shampoo really did remove all the product without stripping my hair down or it feeling like i needed to double wash. Once was enough with this shampoo which i was thankful for as well i like to relax and having to wash your hair and rinse it over and over, its not relaxing so this saved me a huge amount of time.
Same with the conditioner, I found it a lovely product and really did moisturise my hair as instead of frizz its now really soft, i still need products but not as much as i did before as my hair is now lighter from being cleaner. However my hairs bounced right up. I don't know if the conditioners had something to do with this or if its the fact the shampoo has cleaned my hair so good that its had this effect but its probably allowed for the conditioning product to penetrate the hair better.
So that will take a few more uses to see if the hair improves or if its just down to the shampoo cleaning so well. So i think i leave my judgement open to more uses and see if the conditioner is improving the quality of my hair.

The only part i didn't like was the leave in conditioner. It was really heavy and i found it sticky to apply even to damp hair. Maybe this is for more thicker coarser hair then mine as it sticks fast to your hair. Plus leaves a sort of crunch, that i get with an extra hold mousse so my hair wasn't frizzy but i didn't like the feeling the Leave in product left so i wasn't so keen on using it again.
I did however add this to my normal spritz bottle to add some conditioning agent to my spritz when i use it to style the next day or comb my hair out in the morning. That way it didn't leave that feeling and i didn't waste a perfectly good product.  As it still contains active ingredients , so if you find you have a product thats leave in and too heavy then a spritz bottle from a garden centre or pound shop is a really good investment. It lets you water down these heavier types of conditioner without leaving a residue. 

What are your holy Grail Hair products ? Any hair tips ?

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Urban Decay - Naked Flushed


So Urban decay have added more members to its ever growing Naked family, with the collection being complete for complexion, Naked Skin and Naked BB balm are now available and also a wide range of setting sprays have been released with the New Ammo 2 palatte. 
Now its no secret how much i love Urban decay as a brand and the quality of there eyeshadow has lead to me building up quite a collection. After i reviewed and loved the Naked basics palette, when i saw this new cheek palatte for contouring, highlight and blush. I was excited. I have the Benefit Fine one one but its not suitable when my cheeks are having a dry day so i was wanting this for those days when a powder formula is better. 

So the packaging is the same layout with the Naked line being across the centre and its roughly the same size as the Basics palatte, maybe a bit wider.

The Naked Flushed Palatte 

The reverse of the box 

The Inside and Product
Swatches ( Without flash)

With Flash 


So the Naked Flushed palatte is dedicated towards the cheek area and making the face pop with colour and radiance. 
So the Blush part is a lovely fine milled feel powder with a high pigment plus high colour payoff, so you do not need a lot of product on your brush and i would tap off the excess as the colour is a dusky pink which is easy to build upon but not so easy to remove if too much is applied. It blends well and it gives a lovely healthy glow on finish- Really is a lovely spring coloured blush.

The Highlight is a Champagne colour with a lovely light shimmer to it, its again a lovely feeling product and blends well on application. The colour will be good with any skin tone i feel as it radiates plus is easily blend-able. I really love this highlight and think its the most natural highlight i own and will enjoy using this in looks day. I really want to show this colour off as i think the powder version may payoff colour wise better then the cream one i own.

The bronzer is the biggest section which i would have preferred the highlight being a little bigger considering its such a lovely colour. I understand though that the bronzer is the most used out of the palatte. I do think this section was not as pigmented and took a bit more to build upon but i didn't mind that as i would rather build then look like I've been tangoed and its something easy done if your not too careful. Its a muted and matte brown colour which is brilliant as some bronzers have shimmer over load, If its summer fair enough but in the transitional months you really want a matte product. 

So il be using this tomorrow as i have been trying to use a highlight i have up but its on its last legs so i may just use this now and the mirror included is perfect for travelling. So this would be good to have with you. I cant wait to use this as I've missed being able to use my cream version (drags on my little dry patch ) but this will offer a great glow for me and the highlight colour is stunning. Again another wonderful offering from Urban decay and i think il be hard pressed to find a product of theres i don't like. 
I must say though that my skin tone is fair to medium. 


Tuesday 19 February 2013

Loreal - GlamShine (Caresse)





So exciting times from Loreal with the release of the Glam-shines Caresse which are being said to be a real alternative to the YSL Glossy stains. 
I must admit i don't own a YSL glossy stain, as much as i want one i cannot justify £22 on a lip stain.I have however seen many blogger review and done my homework on these stains and honestly bar the obvious change in brand i think these are a total alternative.

I will start with saying the packaging has to get a real mention here, as it is so classy and sleek. Rose gold and then the band around showing the colour inside. The Loreal logo embossed in a rectangle on the side and on the top the colour and code.


Loreal - Shines in Milady (Left) and Juliet (Right)


The wand and shade Milady 


So there is a choice of 6 colours available and i decided on the plum of milady and the red of juliet as these are 2 colours i have a lot of use out of plus i wanted to see if the pigments in the bright colours and plum did transfer to the product on application.

Swatches ( milady 402 top , Juliet 300 bottom)




So as you can see from the swatches the pigment is really intense and bright. Wonderful and i must say the stain was also just as pigmented on my lips. The wand is just like the YSL one and fits the lip perfectly making application really easy and no need to worry it will go everywhere. It fits the contour of the lip really well and also its so soft.
The stain is really light and transfers well to the lip, its not a sticky gloss but more of a light feeling and fragrance of sweet almost cherry like. I always usually apply a balm and when i first tried this product to see if it was needed then i must say it got a little drying so i would prime your lip before hand with a little balm just to add a little extra to the lips. I however personally have lips that do dry quite quickly so if you don't have this problem then you may not need this. Its just how my lips go in cold weather.
When i did it the second time and primed my lips, i didn't have this problem so it will i also think last longer if the lips are primed.

Colour is fabulous and the stain, well it stains the lips really and wont move. It is very similar in the sense of application method to pigment and finish from what I've seen, i will be very interested to see what people think whom do have the YSL , how this compares to it.
As far as if i think this is worth the £7.99 price tag then yes i do, as its defiantly the nicest stain I've tried in terms of the pigment, feeling and the presentation of the product is really stunning for the fact its a high street brand.
So it really does show that no matter what brand it is you can make it look beautiful like the high end of the market so i think Loreal have done a wonderful job on this product.

Do you have any of the lip stains ? How do you think High street is comparing to High end now ?

 

Revlon - Nearly Naked Foundation and Powder





Revlon a well known company and i admit i haven't used many products lately as ive been busy trying to use up what i have ( impossible task ...... another story lol ) plus i also love my Colour Match foundation so when i do find a foundation that works i tend to only change my powder until i find a new medium to full cover foundation thats on the High street. I wish i could afford higher end but well not going to happen.

So with the release of the new Nearly naked foundation and powder. Said to be a broad spectrum ( ?? ) plus SPF 20 protection. Well everyone across the pond is loving this so i thought humm give it a go. I keep on tabs of new releases in America so that when they are due for release i can gauge if its a product suited for me and my needs.

So the Foundation in Nude and Powder in Fair 

So on first glance i was thinking wow dark, plus i used the Revlon.com shade picker as i had seen it was a bit of a shade minefield. So I'm usually the first in medium but that was just ridiculous dark. So i dropped down to light and while out of the 2 choices this was more my shade as the fair was too light. 
It does however blend well and does leave a dewy finish so you will need to if your like me leave it to dry for a few minutes.  Plus i found one coat too light a coverage so when i do use this tomorrow i will have to apply another coat to my cheek area which has a bit of redness, my nasal area and t-zone.
I think it will cover really well even though it is very liquid formula and also NO PUMP !! Why do companies do that ? It means more mess and just waste plus with it being this liquid its just not controllable.


Powder in Fair 

So the powder is in a white casing and i really don't like this packaging, it doesn't need to be this big and if you want to show the powder then forget the mirror as this is one hefty compact to have in your bag, the sponge is really soft and has a satin look to the top. Honestly i never use the sponges included so again its redundant.

The powder looks so dark being that its fair and the lightest shade but again i had to go down a shade, im glad i did as even though this comes off quite light it is my colour. So i have no idea what fair tones are going to do ? 
It did set the foundation really well and its a nice feeling powder. Not chalky or loads of fallout, which surprised me as i did swirl my finger fairly firm to see the resulting fly-away i would get with any compact but this is really quite non existent. So thats a really good sign and well i do have a pet peeve of having clean compacts and no excess powder. 



So my thoughts .... well the foundation is still to dark and it almost is like a tanning effect that I've now looked at my hand again and I'm noticing the edges are going slightly darker then the centre which is fully powdered so i think maybe il need to change this for a shade down or leave it for summer. So i would implore you to try and get to a Superdrug to swatch before you buy as the range of shades is not too vast but its easy to go a little wrong with it and then look tangoed.

The powder is weird the packaging lets it down greatly being that its bulky in design and well with the advancements in makeup and innovative thinking, it just seems like a step backwards. I know some high end brands have this shape but its slicker in that the mirror is set better and the white is just a little cheap looking. However the actual product is great , again you will need to swatch as the powder looks really dark until you have it on your skin and can see if this is the right one for you. It feels fine and not chalky, doesn't give that fallout a lot of powders give and will the product out of the 2 I'm expecting to like better.
These 2 products will be in this weeks looks posts and will give you again a more detailed account as to wear and lasting power.


So what are your thoughts on the new Nearly Naked range from Revlon ?

Betrousse UK & Giveaway




So Betrousse is a French beauty box company the only difference being that you can see the boxes on offer and choose which one you wish to purchase. Well established in france Betrousse has now come to tempt us UK beauty box lovers with full sized products within there boxes at a low cost rate and some of the best of what French companies have to offer.
The products are the full size version and you can then get a realistic opinion of the products performance rather then a gauge like how you get from a deluxe size.

They are French brands mostly and well the jars of cream you receive are glass jars and really lovely. The jars of cream you love to display on your dresser as they hold a vintage chic to them.
I much prefer glass jars to plastic looking ones. My preference only though here lol

The Box 

So some of the products within the box
Hydra Cream Expert

Heat Massage Cream


So in my Christmas is coming box I was kindly sent to review.
It contains
- Charme D'orient : Relaxing body massage cream 100ml
- Saffron London : Cracking nail polish 14ml
- Skinetica : Anti blemish 100ml
- Tattyoo : Betrousse tattoo's
- Forte pharma UK : Turboslim Chronoactive tablets
- Laboratoire LDA-Soins experts : Hydra cream expert 50ml
- Montagne Jeunesse : Spa mask (1 included )

So the Massage mask is lovely and has a slight heat when you apply so this will be lovely for the dead of winter when your a bit achy and just need a toasty feeling. I dont use alot of heat release creams so this will probably be nice when I'm having the odd ache here and there to use.
Saffron Nail polish is a brand i know and i have a few products, I like the colour and crackle effect so will be good to trial in look week to show the effect and length it lasts before chipping.
Skinetica is a brand I've seen before and have heard nothing but good things about, Its for the treatment of blemishes and imperfections. Now the sizes I've seen have been tiny so this full sized bottle is a real asset as it will last me a good while plus i am always at the risk of a potential blemish here and there being a beauty reviewer so this is a really good product for me to have in my arsenal. Now there was 2 products in this box i wont personally use, the Tattoos but a younger member of my family will love these and its more a fun product to use and well its to easy to be serious about beauty but this box with it being aimed at christmas and the whole family dynamics. You will always have a younger generation around you and its defiantly a box i can see being used as part of a pampering scenario with the comfort of heat massage cream and then the facial mask plus nail polish. Christmas has passed but i can see the idea around it.  The other product i as a personal choice did not use is the Turboslim Tablets. I don't agree with them and cant take them either. Its a very debatable topic with me and as a matter of opinion not just Betrousse have done this, I had the same opinion when another beauty box included a similar product. I think they are a faux pas and shouldn't be included also as a matter of safety.

So the Montagne Jeunesse mask is a well known and easy facial mask to use, these are the new version which actually is a mask you place on your face and then peel it off when your finished and dispose. I really enjoy my pamper days and using masks so this will be with my other masks, but ive used this brand before and re-purchased as they are easy to use and a singular use.
The Hydra cream expert is a lovely jar of cream and i really have liked it when ive used it on the 2 or 3 occasions, Its soft and absorbs well without being clogging of the pores.

So i really do love the Betrousse box, Its convenient with the fact you can view which one you wish to purchase and also with the full size products it is a very good value for money.

Now the lovely people at Betrousse have kindly offered one of my readers a chance to win your very own box.
So this will be open till the 12th March and you must follow Betrousse UK on Facebook.
UK only unfortunately x
Betrousse UK Website



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Where have i been ?

Many of us use makeup as we have a passion or or it is nessesity of our daily life. For me it is a mixture of things. It is one of those ...