31.5.10

How to Depot Mac Eyeshadows

Good evening ladies (and gents)

So, I have received a few emails/tweets asking how to depot Mac eyeshadows... I think the easiest way to explain this is with a blog post!! Beware, this is photo heavy :)

What You Will Need
Sharp knife, wire cutters, super glue (or a magnet), eyeshadow pallet... and an eyeshadow

    Step 1
    When you open your eyeshadow, you will notice a little gap between the two parts of the container. Stick the knife carefully into this gap and wiggle it about, until they click apart. Once that happens, remove the bottom part of the container, and keep it - you can exchange this in the Back2Mac scheme!

    Step 2
    Taking the wire cutters, snip the eye shadow case at both sides of the opening... but be careful, you don't want to crack the eyeshadow!

    Step 3
    Once you have cut both sides of the opening, bend the flappy part back, and (if possible) remove it altogether. 
     
    Step 4
    Slide the knife, carefully, into the gap that you have created, between the eyeshadow and the case. Wriggle it about, and loosen the eyeshadow (which is glued in place!!) Again, be very careful that you don't crack the eyeshadow.

    Step 5
    Add some glue to the pallet and firmly place the eyeshadow on top... hold it down for a few seconds, making sure you push down on the edges (otherwise you might smush your eyeshadow)
     
    Look at my poor broken eyeshadow on the right... bloody baggage handlers at the airport throwing my bags around :(

    Hope this helped some (or all) of you... I love making pallets - any excuse to buy eyeshadow!!
    Hope you're all having a wonderful Monday :)

    28.5.10

    Sex and the City 2 - UK Premiere

    Round two for the SATC ladies, as they showed up to the London premiere of their new movie last night. Sarah Jessica Parker paid tribute to Alexander McQueen in a stunning black gown that the designer had created for her, and a comemorative black arm band, complete with a Philip Tracey hat.
     

    Kristen Davis shone in a vintage gold Norman Norell dress and Jimmy Choo shoes, with flowing locks and a simple clutch.

    Kim Catrall wore a black vintage Mugler dress and Manolo Blahnik shoes, complete with marcelled hair, red lips and simple jewels (again).

    Cynthia Nixon wore a blue-green floor length Narciso Rodriguez frock with a pair of Louboutins and a simple clutch purse

    Any thoughts? Which of our favourite foursome looked best? And how did the London premiere compare to the US one? Personally, I love Kim Cattrall's black number - she looks stunning, as usual.

    27.5.10

    Sex and the City - US Premiere

    Ok, so we all knew that the Sex and the City 2 premiere would be filled with fabulous dresses and shoes, but our four favourite New Yorkers look absolutely stunning!

    First up, Sarah Jessica Parker (aka: Carrie). SJP wore a beautiful Valentino gown, paired with understated jewellery and shoes. Well, the bright yellow is probably statement enough!


    Next up is the beautiful Kristin Davis (aka: Charlotte), wearing a hot pink vintage John Desses dress. She looked absolutely stunning with a perfect, Charlotte inspired, updo and minimal accessories.

    Thirdly, Cynthia Nixon (aka: Miranda). Cynthia went for a classic black Carolina Herrera frock, and kept it simple, like her co stars, with minimalist accessories.

    And last, but definitely not least, Kim Cattrall (aka: Samantha), wearing a gorgeous, shimmering gold, Naeem Kahn empire-waist gown. Kim channelled old Hollywood glamour with bright red lips (and nails) and marcelled hair.

    I think they all these ladies look absolutely stunning, and my personal favourite is Kristen Davis and her hot pink gown - although, the colour could be what's selling me... I love me some pink!!

    What do you think? Who looks best?

    25.5.10

    Review: Kosmea Eight Natural Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum

    Next up on my MyPure review list is a product from Kosmea, another Australian company, who produces a "complete range of skin care based around organic rosehip oil". Kosmea boasts that all their products are suitable for every skin type, and that you can use their products all year round.

    The lovely ladies and gents over at MyPure sent me a bottle of Kosmea's Eight Natural Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum, which uses patented anti-wrinkle technology and "instantly lifts dull and tired skin", to try out. You can read more about this product on MyPure's website by clicking HERE.
    I first used this in the morning, and my initial reaction was not a positive one. I found that, after I applied this product, my face felt sticky, and I had to wait about 10 minutes before applying my makeup. As it is, I get up at 6:20am to commute to work, and I don't see myself getting up 10 minutes early to use this!!
    Although I was initially unimpressed, I decided to give this product a chance to redeem itself, and decided to use it as part of my nighttime routine, when I have 10 minutes to spare. Second time around, I was more impressed - my skin felt remarkably soft and moisturised, once the initial stickyness had subsided!!

    Scent
    I really didn't like the smell of this product - I found it a bit overpowering, and that is saying something because I am a Lush fiend and I usually love heavily scented products.

    Price/Size
    This product is a little bit pricey for a broke student like me at £25 for a 20ml bottle and £49.99 for a 50ml bottle.

    Skin Types
    Once again, I enlisted my mother's help for this review. These are the results we complied:

    Oily v Dry (Moisturiser)
    Oily skin (me): Sticky at first, then moisturised
    Dry skin (mummy): Very sticky, and then relatively well moisturised (she wasn't too impressed)

    My mum reckons the stickyness was awful on her dry skin, because it felt very tight and uncomfortable, whereas I just didn't particularly like it!! However, we both noted an increase in moisture levels after we had used the product!!

    Young v Mature (Anti-Wrinkle Technology)
    Young skin (me, age 22): Moisturised, soft, "supple" according to my boyfriend
    Mature skin (mummy, age 50+): No real difference noted, but reckons her skin was more moisturised!!

    As an anti-ageing product, with "anti-wrinkle" technologies, this product should help prevent wrinkles in young skin and limit their appearance in older skin. I will have to get back to you about the wrinkles, because I didn't have any before I started using this, and I still don't. I will, however, monitor my mummy's (very few) wrinkles and see if they magically disappear over the coming weeks!!

    Overall Opinion and Rating
    To be perfectly honest, I'm not mad about this product... and my mum really dislikes it. As I have oily skin, I never have an overwhelming need for an intense moisturier - most work well for me, and to that end, I doubt I'll be repurchasing this product.

    Unfortunately, I'm rating this a low 3/10 (only redeemable quality is the moisture it added to my skin... marks lost all over the place for scent, price, and stickyness!!)

    Hope you enjoyed this review, and apologies that it wasn't more positive!!
    Take care,

    Please note: I was sent this product free of charge, but was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own - they are completely honest and unbiased. I am not affiliated with any of the above mentioned companies.

    24.5.10

    Review: [A'kin] Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist

    One month ago, I had never heard of [A'kin] before. [A'kin] is an Australian skin care range, that produces vegan, organic skin care products. And, the products are free from sulphates, silicones and artifical colours, as well as many other nasty ingredients that appear in many skin care products. You can see a more extensive list at MyPure by clicking HERE.

    MyPure sent me a bottle of the anti-ageing, moisturising, Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist, and I've been trying it out for the past week and a half.
     
    I can honestly say that this is becoming a HG product, especially because the weather has been crazily warm of late. I spritz this little gem on in the morning, after I wash my face but before I do my makeup. And then, I use it occasionally throughout the day, to refresh my skin/makeup. In weather like this, it is an absolute God send (the air conditionning at work is no match for me!!!!)

    Scent
    This beauty smells like rose water (obviously) and as I absolutely love roses, it suits me down to the ground. For those ladies (and gents) that are fussy about scents, fear not, the smell is very subtle and even my mummy, who hates anything smelly, loves it.

    Price/Size
    This product costs £12.99 for a 125ml bottle, which seems really great value to me - and I'm broke. Also, this seems like it will last for a decent length of time, because I've been using it solidly for almost 2 weeks and I've barely made any headway with using it up.

    Skin Types
    This facial mist is suitable for all skin types. I have combination-oily skin, and it doesn't make my skin too greasy or shiney, and it soaks in really quickly. My mum, on the other hand, has very dry skin, and it makes her skin feel dewey and moisturised, which she loves. It also has anti-ageing ingredients in it, so it would probably work well for the more mature ladies out there... but it still works for us young girlies too.

    Rating
    10/10 - I LOVE IT.

    Hope you enjoyed this review loves,

    Please note: I was sent this product free of charge, but was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own - they are completely honest and unbiased. I am not affiliated with any of the above mentioned companies.

    23.5.10

    MyPure Goodies

    Good afternoon ladies - hope you're all enjoying the gorgeous weather!

    Last week I was incredibly lucky and was selected to test out some beauty products from MyPure. I got three products which I will be testing out over the next 2/3 weeks and then I'll post a review of each!

    Eight Natural Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum
    The first product I received was an anti-ageing, moisturising facial serum from Kosmea. You can check out what the MyPure website has to say HERE.

    Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist
     The second product is also anti-ageing and moisturising. It's a facial mist by [A'kin] and you can check it out at MyPure by clicking HERE.

    Moroccan Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo
     Lovea provided the third product, which is a shine boosting shampoo and can be seen HERE.

    Can't wait to test these products out!! Have a wonderful day in the sunshine loves, but don't forget your suncream...

    15.5.10

    Getting To Know You Tag

    Hey ladies...
    So, I finally finished my exams today and I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Summer starts right here :)

    So, I was browsing my favourite blogs, and I noticed that the beautiful Becky (aka: The Beauty Basket... visit her blog HERE) had done a wonderful little tag that I was dying to do - so I'm stealing it!! It's the "Getting To Know You Tag"

    Things You Are Passionate About
    Makeup
    Music
    Languages (Irish, French, Spanish)
    Friends & Family
    Cleanliness
    Sleeeeeeeeeping
    Blogging
    Facebook (lol)

    Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die
    Travel around Asia
    Learn Italian
    Make a music record
    Buy my own house
    Get married and have a family

    Things I Say Often
    I don't mind, what do you wanna do?
    I'm tired
    I love you
    New shoooooes

    Books I Have Recently Read
    I'm gonna be reading LA Candy next week for the bloggers book club... but lately the only books I have been reading are college books!!

    Songs I Could Listen To Over And Over Again
    "Killing In The Name" - Rage Against The Machine
    "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz

    All of The Midnight Beast's songs (go to their YouTube HERE)
    "Wherever You Will Go" - The Calling
    "Zepher Song" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Anything by Stephen Lynch (comedian - not suitable for minors)



    Traits I Like In My Best Friends
    Loyalty
    Honestly
    Good Sense of Humour
    Kindness
    Chatty

    Hope you enjoyed this blogpost lovers... I promise, now that my exams are over, I'll be better at keeping this up to date (and if I'm not, you all have permission to cyber-yell at me!!)

    2.5.10

    Cheapest Haul Ever (and a Shoutout)

    Hello Lovely Ladies,

    I have the CHEAPEST haul ever for you today. I went to Boots the other day and picked up a tub of "Rose Lips" Vaseline (my HG lipbalm) and a bottle of Vaseline's "Healthy Hand & Nail Conditioning" cream. I had never used this stuff before, but it's bloody brilliant... and the smell is delish!!

    I also received a wonderful package in the mail from Rita (who also has a beautiful blog which you can visit by clicking... HERE) who had a mini competition the other day, which I won!! She sent me the dreamiest photo of 100 Monkeys (including the gorgeous Jackson Rathbone) and a box with a mini Tarte eyeliner and mascara. I have used these products a couple of times, but I will do a proper review soon!!

    Peace out ladies xx