Things I learnt in April 2012

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001. Being sensible and sober on a night out is not fun.

002. The benefits of your work rota being wrong = unexpected day off :D

003. Stalking my way through the #bbloggers hashtag has resulted in me finding lots of new blogs

004. I love it when a plan comes together.

005. Leopard print nails are my fail safe option of choice.

006. I should pay more attention to detail when booking things!

007. Nights out in Stoke are always interesting!

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008. I need to say yes more often and stop chickening out of things.

009. Scars take a long time to heal.

010. I hate being ill.

011. Waking up feeling like someone has attacked your head with a sledgehammer is not a cool way to start the day :(

012. I feel its time to let go of certain 'friendships'

013. I think trying something new could be the way forward.

014. I do like surprises :)

015. I need to pay more attention when eBaying!

016. Essie Cute As A Button polish is beautiful

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017. Moving on is a necessary part of learning and growing as a person.

018. The Hummingbird Bakery's recipes never fail to impress!

019. Work can be a laugh-a-thon sometimes!

020. Playing Shag, Marry, Avoid (Throw Off A Cliff): The Office Edition is highly entertaining!

021. I dislike queuing for mediocre coffee.

022. Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter looks gorgeous over Barry M Lip Liner in Shade 13

023. Some people have all the sympathy of a brick wall.

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024. Ewan McGregor is a bit cute.

025. I have a delayed reaction to grief.

026. Sometimes, you find there are good eBayers out there.

027. New opportunities + people having faith in you = winning feeling

028. Norwich is lovely :)

029. Turns out alcohol goes off. Who knew?

030. I think Illamasqua Scribe liner is beautiful but sort of think its more of a night time look. Convince me otherwise?

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How was April for you? Did you learn anything interesting about yourself or the world around you?

NOTD: Orly Passionfruit

I'm loving bright polishes at the moment and when I received Orly Passionfruit I thought it was the perfect  polish to do a super bright mani with. It's a lovely two coater with a satin finish and as I could still see my natural nail tips (doesn't that drive you crazy?) I decided to do a French mani with a bit of a twist. I'd recently heard that Illamasqua precision ink liners can be used for nail art so I gave it a go and it was so unbelievably easy! Quickest way to do a French tip.

Products Used

Orly Passionfruit*
Illamasqua Precision Ink Liner in Abyss
Illamasqua Precision Ink Liner in Alchemy
Seche Vite

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One thing that did disappoint me with this mani was Seche Vite. I think its well documented that we bloggers have a love/hate relationship with it. I did my nails quite late and the next morning I already had tip wear. How does one get tip wear when asleep? Heaven only knows. At the end of the following day, not only did my tips look terrible, Seche Vite had distorted the colour of Passionfruit. It looked like a gradient from the base from my cuticle to my tip of pink to neon orange. Most odd. So, I need recommendations for amazing fast drying top coats please :)

P.S. Apologies for going Instagram crazy. I'm a little bit obsessed with it at the moment!

*PR sample - read my disclaimer here

Dupe Alert! The Eyeliner Edition

I was having a rummage through my ridiculous collection of eyeliners the other day and I thought it was about time I downsized. As I was swatching away to see what I had, I found not one, but two interesting dupes. Excluding black of course. Seen one, seem them all right?

Dupe No 1

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Ransom

£13.00

vs

GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Liner in Purple Stain

£5.00

Top to bottom: Urban Decay Ransom and GOSH Purple Stain

Dupe No 2

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Moray

£14.00

vs

No 7 Metallic Eyes Pencil in 07 Camouflage

£7.75

Top to bottom: Stila Moray and No 7 Camouflage

♥ ♥ ♥

Have you found any good dupes lately?

As I obviously don't need both, pop over to my blog shop where you can buy the dupes :)

Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism Inspired Nail Art

I made an order from Illamasqua recently and I opted to receive the Human Fundamentalism brochure. I always love to flick through collection brochures from Illamasqua as they're full of inspirational make up looks. This time I was particularly struck with the nail art and I decided to put my own twist on it. I've had lots of compliments on my nails this week so I think I really need to get back into the swing of nail art! I was super chuffed that Rebecca Jade Wilson, the nail artist who created the Human Fundamentalism nail designs, tweeted to say my interpretation looked great. Wow!

Products Used

♥ Bourjois So Laque Polish in Bleu Model
♥ Zoya Charisma
♥ Illamasqua Precision Ink in Scribe
♥ Seche Vite

♥ ♥ ♥

Have you recreated any nail art or make up looks from the Human Fundamentalism collection? Leave your link if you have, I'd love to see!

John Frieda Salon Blends Giveaway!

I'm back with another giveaway for you! The lovelies over at John Frieda are giving you the chance to win one of the new Salon Blend Precision Foam Colour dyes. How exciting! If you fancy a change of hair colour for Spring/Summer why don't you enter?

On the back of their super successful Precision Foam Colour dyes, the new Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends range is the first professional, multi-blended home hair colour collection from the John Frieda® haircare experts.

A bespoke collection of five professionally pre-blended shades has been created with a specialist, salon inspired shade palette. Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends has been developed alongside the experts to allow you to achieve the next level of salon-quality colour in your own home, as if a professional had mixed the shades together.


The new Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends launches in five exclusive new shades blended from a professional base palette of Pearl, Beige-Brown, Natural, Copper and Gold for a unique collection of multi-tonal colours never previously available at home:

6.5PBN Salon Blends Lightest Cool Almond Brown
7PBN Salon Blends Dark Cool Pearl Brown
 6NBG Salon Blends Light Amber Brown
7NBG Salon Blends Dark Caramel Blonde
6NBC Salon Blends Light Bronze Brown


Based on the top-selling blended salon shades, the John Frieda® Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends collection continues to utilise the ground breaking foam technology of the original John Frieda® Precision Foam Colour range – the UK’s first permanent foam hair colour – covering even hard to reach areas effortlessly without the mess, fuss, drips or staining that are traditionally associated with home colouring.

As easy to use as a shampoo, John Frieda® Precision Foam Colour provides natural- looking salon colour from root to tip with 100% grey coverage. No patchy or uneven areas just beautiful, three dimensional color that will turn heads.

I've popped the link to my Precision Foam Colour review in the text above, so if you've not gotten around to trying this revolutionary dye, you can see how easy it is to do it yourself :D

On to the giveaway, and there'll be a few winners this time around as I have one of each of the new shades to giveaway!

Entry Requirements

♥ Answer the following question: How many shades are there in the new Salon Blends collection?

♥ Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway: "I've entered @_dottiek's @johnfriedauk Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends giveaway over at dottiek.com"

♥ Comment on this post with your answer to the question and your Twitter username

♥ UK giveaway only

Simples!

You can check out more about John Frieda and their newly launched Salon Blends range on their Facebook page where you can also enter their competition to win one of the new shades!

Giveaway ends 8am on Friday 4th May 2012

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Good luck girlies!

Maybelline 24Hr Colour Tattoo Eye Shadows

I should have just renamed this week as bandwagon week right? ;)

I'm back with another much hyped product in the blogosphere - the highly elusive Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eye Shadows! I *FINALLY* managed to pick up the shades I wanted. They'd been right under my nose in my local Boots whilst I'd been looking all over the place for them. I managed to pick up 3 whilst the 3 for 2 offer was on.

Clockwise from top: Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and on Bronze

Clockwise from top: Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and on Bronze

Clockwise from top: Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and on Bronze

Immortal Charcoal
Out of the three Colour Tattoo Shadows that I own this is the weakest in terms of pigmentation. I had to swatch it heavily in the photos below. It's a lovely shade though, but one I use more as a base rather than a standalone shadow.


Permanent Taupe
This was a shade I was going to give a miss until I read that it could be used to fill in brows. Unfortunately it's too ashy on me for that. Had it been a shade or two darker without the grey tones to it, it'd work a treat. I've been using this as a liner for my lazy days when I wanted a bit of colour and definition but couldn't really be bothered to make too much of an effort. 6am starts will do that to you. This is certainly the creamier of the Colour Tattoo Shadows and gives a very opaque finish. This also works well as a base for taupe shadows that need something to stick to for a better colour pay off.


On and on Bronze
This is my undoubtable favourite out of the three, and a bit of a must have. It has brilliant pigmentation and opacity with a gorgeous finish. This works perfectly on its own. I've been using this over a dab of Urban Decay's Primer Potion and it's stayed in place all day. No smudging, no moving, and absolutely 100% no creasing! I haven't worn it for 24 hours, but this is the most long lasting cream shadow I own. The only other shadow I own that can boast no creasing is my Chanel Illusion D'Ombre. And they're pricey in the grand scheme of all things eye shadow. So well done Maybelline, you've created a winner.

Swatches

Left to right: Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and on Bronze

Left to right: Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and on Bronze

♥ ♥ ♥

Do I need to pick up any of the other shades? I was quite attracted to the turquoise but I just *know* I'd never get the use out of it. Convince me I need it? Have you got it? Is it worth having? Are there any other shades I've overlooked?

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters

I'm somewhat amazed that I managed to waltz in to my local teeny Boots store and pick up three of the new Revlon ColorBurst™ Lip Butters. We're usually the last to get new ranges but they seemed to have the majority of them on the Revlon stand. As it was 3 for 2, I purchased three. Well, it would be rude not to, right?

L-R: Sweet Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, Peach Parfait

Sweet Tart

I don't quite know what made me pick this up. When I was having the obligatory swatching session, the colour reminded me of a YSL Candy Rouge Volupte that I own (and really should get more use out of) but a better formula. And of course, cheaper to replace if I lost it. A beautiful colour that I adore for Spring/Summer. It has a lovely buttery formula, reminiscent of my Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lip Balm, and its such a beautiful colour that it's a total winner for me!

Strawberry Shortcake

This was the only Lip Butter that didn't have a tester. I sort of got sucked in by the name as it sounds so lovely. I was pleasantly surprised. A very lovely pink. The formula is, again, soft and buttery. This shade is more glossy than Sweet Tart and it's a sort of lipstick/lip balm/lipgloss hybrid. I really like it!

Peach Parfait

I think this is the dud one in the range to be honest. Yes it's peachy and its soft and buttery and glossy, but it contains glitter. No thank you. Not my cup of tea at all.

Swatches

L-R: Peach Parfait, Strawberry Shortcake, Sweet Tart

♥ ♥ ♥

Well, consider this bandwagon well and truly hopped on ;)

What do you think of the Lip Butters? Are there any stand out shades for you?

Get your Groupon ;) - CLOSED

Who fancies a giveaway? You? Great! Read on :)

I've partnered up with discount deals website Groupon to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a £20.00 voucher to use towards an offer on the Groupon website.

 

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Entry Requirements

♥ Visit the Groupon website and find one beauty deal that you'd love to use

♥ Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: "I've entered @_dottiek's giveaway - pop on over to www.dottiek.com be in with a chance of winning a @Groupon_UK voucher"

♥  Leave a comment on this blog post telling me which beauty deal you'd most like to use and include your Twitter username so I can see you've tweeted the above.

Anyone who does not follow these rules will be disqualified. You snooze, you lose kids.

The giveaway is open until 08:00am BST on Friday 20th April 2012.

UK giveaway only

I will announce the winner on Twitter during the day and I will also DM the voucher code to the lucky lady.

~*~

Although this is a beauty themed giveaway, should you win, you are free to use the voucher on any deal across the Groupon website :) If you choose something which is less than £20.00 the remaining value will be credited to your account.

So, what are you waiting for? Good luck ladies!

Review: Royal & Langnickel Silk Greenline Brushes

Morning lovelies! Today I'm reviewing the Silk Greenline brush set I received from Royal & Langnickel at the IMATS 2012 Blogger Lounge*

The Silk Greenline range is an eco-friendly set of brushes made from a blend of synthetic fibres. They have chrome plated nickel ferrules that are durable and damage resistant so they won't rust or dent easily. The handles are 100% eco-friendly kiln-dried bamboo, and the set comes in a lovely sustainable cork carry-case.

♥ Liner GL-5

I've found that this brush is best used to line the eyes with a powder shadow for a smoky eye. For me personally, its too big to use on the waterline but perfect for lining the upper and lower lash lines with powder shadow. The brush is soft yet stiff enough to create a smudgy line.

♥ Concealer GL-11

I've been using this brush to apply my MAC Studio Finish concealer but its not a match made in heaven. If you're trying to cover a blemish, this isn't the best brush to use as its quite stiff and doesn't seem to pick up a lot of product, but it is good for tidying up around the eyes if you're winging shadow out.

♥ Lip GL-12

This is one of my favourite brushes in the set. It's lovely and soft, yet firm and applies colour to the lips effortlessly without streaking.

♥ Eye Shadow GL-3
A lovely firm brush with densely packed bristles, perfect for packing colour on to the eyelid. I find some shadow brushes can be a little prickly but this is quite the opposite and I really like it. A good staple brush for any collection.

♥ Smudger GL-4
Again, a densely packed brush, stiff yet flexible with it. I like to use it to smoke out my crease and blend colour on the lower lash line.

♥ Eye Fluff GL-6
This is a new shape of brush for me, and not one I'd used before. I've been using it to blend out my crease colour and also to add highlight to the brow bone as it has a lovely tapered shape and it feels quite soft.

♥ Eye Liner GL-9
I think this has to be my least favourite brush in the set. I've never really gotten on with flat liner brushes, although in a bind, I have used it to apply gel liner to my upper lash line. It's not the most flexible of brushes and not the softest. I think this is the one I'd get least use from.

♥ Eyeliner/Brow GL-8
I don't think I've ever come across a brush so small but I've found this is perfect for filling in my brows and especially to gently define the back of my brow. It's very firm and very small which is perfect for the job.

♥ Brow/Lash GL-10
I'd been lusting over a metal pinned lash comb for ages so I was thrilled to find this in the set. I was a little wary of getting it to close to my eye to be honest, but I've not had a mishap yet. I find this helps to separate my lashes if I've overdone the mascara. The brow comb is a standard firm comb that helps to shape my brows in seconds.

♥ Powder GL-1
A large headed brush with soft bristles, I've been using this to apply my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish to set my foundation. It picks up just the right amount of product.

♥ Foundation GL-7
I'll be honest, I hadn't used a flat foundation brush in years, but I thought as this was in the set I'd give it a go. I used it with my Jemma Kidd Light As Air Foundation and I found it was easy to use to apply the product, but I did have to buff it in afterwards to get a more flawless finish. Again, not a favourite, but I will get some use out of it.

♥ Blush GL-2
This is another favourite brush in the set for me. It features a rounded domed brush, which is soft and flexible and I find its just the right size to apply blush to my cheekbones without overdoing the colour as it picks up the perfect amount of product.

~*~

Overall I think this is a great set. 12 eco-friendly brushes in a well made case that have just the right selection for travelling/popping in your handbag for on the go touch ups. I've experienced zero shedding with these and I've found that they clean really well, again with no shedding.

You can find out more about the Silk Greenline brushes here and purchase them from the Royal & Langnickel website here.

♥ ♥ ♥

*PR gift - I was given this as a gift but not asked to post about it - I'm doing so because I love them! Read my disclaimer :)

Molton Brown Bath & Shower Gel Review

We all know I'm a sucker for lovely packaging but I absolutely love the Molton Brown bottles. Simple and stylish :)

♥ Heavenly Gingerlily Moisture Bath & Shower Gel

This has to be my absolute favourite out of the three. I was really taken with the sample in the March Glossybox so I was thrilled to be sent the full sized version. I love the scent as I'm a huge fan of lilies which is great as it lingers on your skin for a while. Did anybody else receive this in their Harrods Glossybox?

♥ Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod Bath & Shower Gel

Don't be fooled by the pink, this isn't a stereotypically girly product! For me, this is a slightly more masculine scent but it is absolutely beautiful and reminds me of summer and citrus fruits. This product claims to restore your energy banks and I have to say it does leave me feeling more awake after use. I've been reaching for this more and more and I definitely think I'll have to buy the full sized product!

♥ Travel-Reviving Campala Bath & Shower Gel

Blue is a calming colour so it's quite apt that this is marketed as being a reviving product. Again, I think this shower gel has quite a masculine scent and it's not one I'd typically reach for to be honest. If you're a fan of the stronger scents, this might be one for you.

All of the above can be purchased on the Molton Brown website

♥ ♥ ♥

Are you a fan of Molton Brown? Do you have any product recommendations for me?

Talking of fab fragrances, BuyaPowa are having a cobuy for a £50 voucher to spend at The Fragrance Shop. Interested? Pop on over to BuyaPowa and sign up to the email alert. What a great way to sniff out a bargain. See what I did there? ;)

* PR samples sent for my consideration - read my disclaimer

Things I learnt in March 2012

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001. I dislike having a list of things to do and not getting them done.

002. As much as I like to multitask, I can only do so many things at once.

003. Costa Red Berry Coolers are a lifesaver when the office air con breaks down...

004. My little Betsy is a goer!!

005. The littlest things can just make my day <3

006. I don't like inadvertently upsetting people :(

007. Retro is awesome.

008. Some people are frustratingly difficult to deal with.

009. I love teal green eyeliner and I'm falling in love with MAC Viva Glam Nicki!

010. Baby showers make me broody.

011. Sunshine + driving with the windows down + awesome music = WIN

012. I always worry that I'm not good enough.

013. I have decided that cream cheese on cupcakes just doesn't work. Yuck.

014. Middle aged people + technology = Fail.

015. Sometimes, the simplest of things can put the biggest smile on my face :)

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016. People do not understand the concepts of postcodes and country boundaries...

017. Having my own car is still a novelty

018. It amused me somewhat that someone at work called me Tweety Pie and Honeybunch today. We've barely spoken two words in the past haha.

019. Friends really keep me going :)

020. I'm forgetful

021. I do not appreciate being talked down to.

022. I'm in desperate need of retail therapy!

023. I love playing pool even though I'm a bit rubbish haha

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024. Never visit Primark on a Saturday. Hell on earth.

025. Work on a Sunday CAN be fun. Who'd have thought it?!

026. Gold eyeliner is awesome.

027. Change is good. Apparently.

028. Costa Raspberry Iced Tea is nice. Not really tea though. Or worth £2.15.

029. It winds me up that people have no perspective

030. I'm a busy beaver!

031. I cannot bowl to save my life.

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How was March for you?

These are a few of my favourite things

♥ Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer

Brilliant formula, lovely colour. Long lasting wear, doesn't budge and stays put on the waterline.

♥ Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation (LF120)

I've been loving this since IMATS, I think it might be my favourite Spring foundation. Gives a lovely light-medium coverage, dewy finish (although I do tend to set it with MAC MSFN or Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder) lasts about 10-11 hours and smells beautiful.

♥ Real Techniques Buffing Brush

The perfect brush for applying the Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation! No shedding either. Please excuse the fact its not clean! I think I definitely need a few backups of this. Shame its not currently sold separately from the Core Collection.

♥ MAC Viva Glam Nicki

A perfect super bright lippie for spring/summer. I can't really get away with it on its own, but a slick of gloss over the top makes it a lot more wearable

♥ Molton Brown Heavenly Gingerlilly Moisture Bath & Shower Gel
I adore this - its absolutely beautiful. *Little* bit addicted! Another Glossybox fave :)

♥ Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo
I mentioned this in my Hair Care Faves post and I have to say I am loving this for giving healthy, soft, sleek, shiny, touchably soft hair!

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Which products have you been loving lately?