Illamasqua Pure Pigment, Fervent...what a lot of sparkle!

I've recently got a real liking for Illamasqua products. I'd never really used them before, but I'd heard some great reviews. When I went to the Clothes show in December, there was an Illamasqua stand where you could purchase three Illamasqua products for £15.00, which is such a bargain. I fell in love with the Pure Pigment samples, and therefore bought quite a few!

The Pure Pigment is placed with the eye shadows in the shop, and can be bought from the website in the "eyes" section, so obviously I thought that this product was simply for the eyes....but I was wrong! Illamasqua say it's "A metallic, high-shine, pure-colour powder that highlights eyes, cheeks and brows. Mix with eye shadow, blusher or use it on its own to intense effect". Personally, I love it on my eyes the most. It's quite dramatic, and very shimmery, so definitely not to be used for a daytime look! It works really well with a creme based eyeshadow, and makes the pigment last a lot longer, as well as being easier to blend. It retails at £15.50 which I think is quite pricey for something so small, but I have a feeling it will last a long time as it doesn't take much to make your eyes look beautiful and sparkly! You can buy the Pure Pigment from http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/catalogue/category/eyes/products/pure-pigment/21/ and select from a range of colours.

Models Own offer- free nail art pen.

I've never really tried Models Own nail varnishes or beauty products, but there's nothing like an offer to tempt you into trying something! Currently at Boots, buy two Models Own products and receive a free Models Own nail art pen worth £6.00.

I love the colours. I think they're perfect colours for spring. I was really impressed with how many nail polish colours were on offer, and it took me a really long time to pick. The offer included any Models Own product, but I wasn't really impressed with the variety of make up they had. The nail varnishes were only £5, which I think is a real bargain as they're quite large. I've been wearing Utopia since Friday, it's only just managed to chip, which I think is pretty good seeming as I've been doing lots of cleaning and things!

This nail art pen is really impressive. When I first opened the product, I hadn't read the box properly and got really annoyed because it had been described as a pen, but was simply a very difficult to use brush. Actually, it is also a pen luckily, which is really easy to use. The brush, however, is not. It seems to gather so much of the liquid at the bottom, and blobs everywhere so you can't create simple lines. I have to be honest, and say I'm glad I didn't pay £6.00 for the nail art pen as I don't think its really worth that, but it's definitely a very good freebie!

Oh, she's such a natural beauty!

I use moisturiser religiously....I have three that I swear by, and one that I love to lather on in the morning is Nivea Visage Natural Beauty. The smell of it is just so deliciously gorgeous, and the texture is so creamy. It has been named Radiance Boosting Moisturiser due to it's lovely touch of shimmer.

When I returned home from university my mum saw me slathering it on everyday, and I could tell she was intrigued. I accidentally left it at home when I returned to uni, and presumed it would be waiting for me on my bedroom floor where I left it...

I couldn't find it anywhere, and later discovered that my mum had been using it, and loved it so much that she finished the whole pot and had bought the whole Nivea Natural Beauty range.

Well, it's clearly loved by all ages then...

As you can see from the image, it just looks so velvety. If you have lovely skin, then it is the perfect moisturiser to use, as it gives you such a natural glow. I also use the facial wash in this range, just so I can try and boost my natural beauty! 

It retails at £6.99, and is definitely worth buying...even just for the gorgeous smell!

17 Wild Metalics Eyes

I'm quite into my usual eye shadow creme (Estee Lauder, Ivory Lace) which I use everyday, and absolutely love. I rarely change this product...but then I heard quite a few good things about the 17 creme based eye shadows, and I thought that it needed checking out! I like quite neutral colours on my eyes, so lots of creamy colours....so 17's Wild Nude was just perfect! I really think it is a wild nude too....quite a neutral colour with a slight shimmer to it.

The texture of the eye shadow is so lovely. It's quite creamy and soft and glides really well a long the eye lid. What I also like, is that you have to build up the creme for it to become the copperish colour that it appears in the pot. Some may find this annoying, but I was actually really happy as the first swatch is lovely- nice and natural, with a subtle shine. The only down side, as with most drug store make-up, is that it doesn't always last as long as high end  beauty products. The creme seems to last around three hours before it creases, which is more apparent if you apply lots of layers of the eye shadow.

 

The pot is lovely and light, so perfect to pop in your hand bag when you need to reapply. There are other colours available, but this colour appeared to be the only one that was quite neutral, but if you love something a little more bright and sparkly, then they definitely have some lovely shades.

Sorry for the massive makeup review overload this week! As you know, I'm on placement, so I haven't been or seen anything interesting this week, but I'm more than excited for weekend sale shopping...again!

I hate not being a student anymore...I now completely understand when working people say that they live for the weekend!

Elizabeth Arden Bronze Beauty Boxset

I recently purchased an Elizabeth Arden bronzing set, including a Bronze Beauty bronzer compact, a Pink Clover eye shadow duo, a High Shine Lip Gloss in Berrylicious and a blusher brush. The set is meant to create a beautiful, bronze, goddess look, and let's face it....that is not going to happen naturally with the weather at the moment. I just look so pale, so I thought I needed a little beauty perk to try and make me look bronzed and sunny.

The bronzing powder duo is lovely. As with many bronzer duos, it has a more shimmery, highlighting powder, and then a shimmery bronzer. I absolutely love the compact too. It's quite light, but gives the impression that it's really heavy. I think it looks really glamorous too...especially the gold edges.
The actual powder is a little too shimmery for the day time look, which I was a little disappointed by, so I'd probably wear this on a night out or to give me a little glow if I was on holiday. The powder's quite thick which means you don't have to use much when applied with the Elizabeth Arden blusher brush. It looks lovely on the cheeks though, and on the brow arch. It's quite subtle and not a powder which gives a caked-on appearance. It smells lovely too...

I love the blusher brush...it's perfect. The size makes it perfect to put in your handbag, and it's really light. The actual hair of the brush is so soft, and works really well in blending the powder and giving an even coverage. I've used brushes in the past that don't seem to sweep even amounts of powder on the face, so you're left with what looks like a blob of blusher on your cheek...not a good look!

 The Pink Clover eyeshadow is equally s lovely. I use quite a lot of gold or bronze eye shadows, so this is quite a different colour for me to use. It doesn't actually say how to use the eye shadows in terms of blending, creating a smokey eye or just using individually. I haven't actually used them yet, but I've done a swatch and the colours have a slight shimmer, which I quite like.

I'm a massive fan of this lip gloss. It really is high shine, and perfect for a more glamorous look. It lasts a good two hours before it starts to glide off as well, which really impressed me. It's a dark, shimmery pink in colour, and looks so complimentary when worn with the bronzer....which I guess was Elizabeth Arden's intention.

The best part though, is the price! The box set was purchased from Tkmaxx, and had an RRP of £24.99, which I think is already very cheap; however, the lovely sale had it reduced to £12.00! What a bargain!

Ohhh, to be Olivia Palermo...

 I love Olivia Palermo. She never fails to look effortless. Whether she's wearing and styling clothes from the high street, or wearing designer clothing and couture, she has the most fabulous style. I can't say I was a huge fan of her personality in The City, but it was clear that she had a talent for styling.

                                                                                                                                                         Photo: Google.
 

Olivia Palmero by s-steventon featuring prada sunglasses

So, in true Olivia fashion, I tried to recreate her look, both by using clothing from the high street, and mixing it with more high end labels. What do you think of Olivia's style?

Oooh dahling, you smell gorgeous...

Firstly, before I begin the post, I just want to apologise for my terrible photography! If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I've just began a placement. This means I leave early in the morning, and get back late in the evening...this means I won't get to take photos in natural day light until the weekend. This is a real pain, because I think photographs looks so much better in natural light. Anyway, I just had to do a post on my new perfume, because I just love it...

Estee Lauder Sensuous Eau De Parfum Spray.

"Estee Lauder Sensuous was created to evoke the warmest most feminine side of a woman. A warm, woody fragrance surrounded by atmospheric florals, Pepper, Mandarin Orange Pulp and Honey". 

 This perfume is just beautiful. I enjoy wearing quite sweet smelling perfumes, particularly Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, so if you have a similar preferences then I definitely recommend this perfume. I don't like an overpowering scent, as it can be quite sickly, but this has just a touch of sweetness to it. What annoys me about some perfumes, is they can smell beautiful in the bottle and when first applied on the skin, but within an hour you can no longer smell it. This perfume however, seems to just sink into the skin really well, and lasts most of the day. I'm really impressed. I've had some lovely compliments too, which I've never had with previous perfumes.

Hope everybody is having a lovely day. I've just got back from my second day of placement and am absolutely exhausted! I also got soaked walking home in the massive storm that seems to have taken over Lancashire!

Jelly Pong Pong giveaway winner!

In December, I did a mini giveaway of Jelly Pong Pong treats...and the winner was selected on December 31st, 2011.

Congratulations, Allie!

http://allieuk.blogspot.com

Thanks to the girls that entered. Hope everybody is having a lovely day...I had no idea that today was a bank holiday. I went into town and everywhere was closed, and I was so confused! I start my placement this week, so I'm getting prepared by selecting my outfits for the week, doing my nails and tonight I'm going to have a lovely, bubble bath and apply a face mask!

Hello, 2012!

I'm so excited about this year. This is the year I graduate from university and get  job! Well, I like to think I will. This is also the year that I will go to New York...I haven't booked it yet, and no, I have not a penny in my bank account, but I think it's good to dream. I never really have new years resolutions, but this year I decided to set myself goals, and attempt to follow some achievable dreams. I think going to New York is a pretty good start.
Last night, I welcomed 2012 in a gorgeous French Connection dress. It was so floaty and pretty, and a great dress to show off some of my amazing dance moves....ha.

 I styled the dress with an over sized clutch from Primark, that is now reduced to £3(bargain!), and my black, patent Kurt Geiger shoes. I then wore my black, fitted Zara blazer because it was beyond freezing last night. 

I celebrated with my boyfriend, my friend, Sophie, and her boyfriend. We had a couple of drinkies and nibbles and then hit the city to dance the night away!

What did you do? I'd love to know how you all celebrated. My sister went to Paris which I am extremely jealous about...what a way to welcome the new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!