Sleek Cherry Lips ... Oh! and the Graphite Palette too!

I stopped by Superdrug today looking for nothing in particular but ended up at the Sleek stand. Everyone has been going on about the new limited edition Graphite Palette but I hadn't really planned on purchasing as sleek shadows do nothing for me at all. However, once I seen it I thought for only £4 or so it really didn't matter if I ended up disliking it like. You see, the colours are the perfect smokey eye palette so the concept is ideal, the shades are spot on but I have yet to test the quality which for me never seems to sit well on my lids. Anyway, here is the palette - I haven't swatched them or tried them out yet but I am sure you have seen it on everyone else's blogs by now anyway.
What I have been on the lookout for recently is a lovely berry shade of lipstick. Once upon a time I only wore dark berry shades on my lips but since switching to mostly pinks, I find it hard to adjust to seeing myself in darker shades.

I have been determined to get just the right shade but while picking up the Sleek palette I had a look at their True Colours lipsticks... they are only £3.44 (I think?) so again I thought if it doesn't suit it's hardly a loss. I picked up the shade, Cherry. I also picked up what I thought was a darker shade but when I came home it turned out I had 2 of the same Ugh!
The lipstick comes in sleek, black compact packaging which is nice and doesn't look as cheap as it costs. As for the shade itself ... well, I take it as a good sign when my husband arrived home and told me 'Now, that's a red that suits you!' Cheeky so and so!
The lasting ability of this is particularly good - I have had it on since about 5pm, it's now 9.30 and I only touched it up to take a quick photo - other than that it was looking pretty reasonable. Certainly for a product as bargainous as this - I think it's great!

Has anyone else tried Sleek lipstick? What shades do you like?

x

NOTD - OPI Midnight in Moscow

When I was 13 I had my first manicure and requested my nails should be painted in Chanel 'Rouge Noir'. I was obsessed with Rouge Noir nails to the point of having pictures plastered over my wardrobe of hands painted in Chanel! Years later when I was 16 I managed to get my hands on the real deal and since then I have bought practically every vampish nail polish I come across. A deep berry red or darker than blood red is my all time favourite nail colour.

Anyway this takes me onto a purchase I made while on holiday. I came across a shop selling OPI and they happened to have the Russian Collection which is quite possibly one of my favourites of the OPI's. The shade that really stood out to me was Midnight in Moscow.It is pretty much a black with red shimmer so it is very vamp - absolutely gorgeous. It is very similar to MACs Baby Goth Girl but a more grown up version without the gold chunks! The only drawback to this polish is that it takes at least 3 coats to create the desired effect. Anything less and the colour just looks black and dirty - the 3rd coat is essential.

What are your favourite vamp shades?

x

B 2 the M!

Yesterday I popped my 'Back to MAC' cherry!

In fact this week I have popped a couple of MAC cherries. I have been using MAC products since I was 17 and have never depotted an eyeshadow. I have always thought it would be too much hassle and too messy ... well this week I found out how easy it was and 3 quarters of an hour later I was sitting with a mountain of 16 empties - enough for 2 lipsticks!

So, I had never back to MAC'd in the past, again out of sheer laziness, I just couldn't be bothered to save the empties and would bin instead! Criminal isn't it? As I discovered yesterday Nothing beats the joy of walking into MAC choosing a lipstick and walking away without handing over any money.

The lipsticks I chose were Girl About Town (left) and Angel (right). Here they are side by side with and without flash.
I have been eyeing up Angel for a while - I don't own many pale pink lipsticks as I think they wash me out but this seems to have quite a warm tone to it and works for me. Girl about town is one of those lipsticks that all my friends own and I envy - and of course it was made famous by Cheryl Cole. I love the vibrancy of it without it looking too gaudy on the lips, like a muted bright.
Terrible mobile pics as usual but we have Girl About Town on top and Angel at the bottom. Girl About Town especially feels very creamy on the lips - something I don't notice so much from other MAC lipsticks. I wore Angel to work today and as much as I love the colour I did find myself re-applying at short intervals.

Thanks for all the lipstick recommendations on Twitter - they were very helpful and I now have a healthy list for future Back to MACs :)

x

My new bangs!

Hmmm, I don't know what to think. At first I loved the new do, then I was a little indifferent - then I got home and my husband was a little 'iffy' on it but eventually decided he liked it. I'm not sure, I usually love having a fringe cut in for Winter but my hair is a lot shorter this time.
What I do love is the colour - I asked for it to be slightly darker and love the result! There is less fluro-red going on and more sophisticated mahogany.

So, I will open the floor to you guys, what's the verdict?? Hit me with it!

x

Burlesque Boudoir...

Welcome to my Boudoir!! ;D

Next month I am off to a Burlesque night which I am ever so excited about! I've been planning the outfit in my head and bit by bit I am picking things up for the look. Last week I picked up my tights come suspenders and at the weekend I bought the skirt. I have a few feathery things and masks around the house and various other things from my dress up box to add to this too.

I am going for more a sophisticated yet edgy look this time rather than my usual tongue-in-cheek Can-Can get up. No burlesque outfit is complete without red lips so I will be choosing between MACs Lady Danger or Russian Red.

Tomorrow I am getting my hair done and can't decide whether to have my fringe cut back in a la Bettie Page?!! I just don't know what to do but have less than 24 hours to decide - help!!

FOTD - Deep Truth

I love wearing dark blues and navy on my eyes, especially for a smokey eye look. My favourite blue shadow is Nars China Blue which I usually team with darker shades but yesterday I was depotting some Mac shadows when I found Deep Truth. I completely forgot I had this and thought I would try and introduce it into a daily face routine.

Deep Truth is a lovely bright navy with a satin like sheen to it. When the colour is built up on the lid it looks so vibrant and beautiful and even nicer over a dark base like blackground. However today I just wanted a simple dash of colour to suit a casual Sunday look.
The look was super simple ...
EYES:
MAC All That Glitters over my lid
MAC Brule to highlight and on inner corner
MAC Deep Truth lined underneath the eye and up slightly at the corners
Barry M eye pencil in navy blue (don't know name sorry)
MAC fluidline in blacktrack
Cover Girl Lash Blast
EYEBROWS:
MAC Spiked - as recommended by Dressjunkie :)
CHEEKS:
Nars Laguna
Nars Orgasm
LIPS:
Gosh Lip Jam - the peachy one, sorry unsure of name/number
FACE:
Rituals Foundation in shade 3
Mac MSF Refined to highlight

This look really is so subtle so would be perfect for anyone afraid of colour or wants to gradually introduce a bit of colour into their neutral routine.

Did anyone else play with colour this weekend? Subtle or otherwise??

x

Nars - Taj Mahal

One of the perks of my job is that every Friday I only work a half day so my afternoon is usually spent in town wandering around the shops!

Today was no different and I happened to stumble into Space NK - completely by accident, don't know how I ended up in there but I did! A 'No, i'm just looking!' to the sales assistant soon turned into a 20 minute chat about how great Nars blushes are and testing out about 5 different bronzing brushes! Before I knew it I was reeling off a list of products to take to the till. Ah, so much for not spending :/

One of my purchases was a Nars blush Taj Mahal. I always swatch this colour when I see it but for some reason never bothered to purchase. It's a great summer colour with its gold shimmer but equally it's perfect for Autumn with it's vibrant shade of pumpkin orange. It is very well pigmented and a little goes a long way.


These photos do not do this colour justice at all. It is so much more vibrant in the flesh!
This shade must be gorgeous on dark skin tones and I have to be quite light handed when applying it on my pasty pale skin but it still looks great, giving a lovely warm, autumnal glow. Hopefully once I have bronzed myself again I won't need to go so light.

Taj Mahal anyone?