Holibobs!

Guten Tag!

The time has come for me to pack my suitcase and head off for a European adventure. As you read this I'll be heading for Dover to say goodbye to Old Blighty. I'm going to Austria for a week for some well deserved rest and relaxation, sightseeing and of course, shopping!

I haven't had the time to arrange any posts for the next week so I'll be taking a short break from blogging. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for some holiday snaps!

I'll see you beauties next week! Auf Wiedersehen :)

NOTD: Stargazer #104

I am loving really bright shades for nails at the moment so when a Stargazer package* landed on my desk I was immediately drawn to this beautiful, hot pink. Unfortunately the photos do not do this polish any justice. It's super bright with a subtle shimmer and reminds me of my pink Sharpie highlighter. 

I've not tried Stargazer before, despite it previously being available in some New Look stores. The brand were exhibiting at IMATS London this year but unfortunately I didn't get chance to take a look, but I wish I had after trying this. The photos above show one coat of #104 sealed with a top coat. I was so surprised at how opaque the colour was after one application. Colour me impressed! This lasted 5 days on my nails before chipping and it was super easy to remove with the Bourjois Magic Remover.

The one thing that I dislike when it comes to polishes is no shade names and unfortunately Stargazer number their polishes rather than name them although they do have different categories. The shade above is #104 from their Underground Punk collection which is quite extensive and there are several shades that have taken my fancy. At £2.50 for 14ml my new obsession won't break the bank either!

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Have you tried anything from Stargazer? Send your recommendations my way :)

Makeup Shakeup #4

♥ Living Nature Foundation in Pure Taupe* ♥ 

I don't know about you but I never get through a full bottle of my 'summer' foundation. Now the summer is well and truly here, I'm definitely going to be reaching for this more often. It gives a lovely medium coverage without feeling heavy and if I'm having a good skin day this will be mixed with my usual moisturiser for a more sheer finish. You can read my full thoughts on this product here.

♥ Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Furore ♥

I love a bronzed look when the sun is out and what better time to reach for my pigments? Furore is a beautiful light champagne shimmer which gives a lovely finish to the eyes. This week for me is going to be all about skin so I'll be using sheer products to keep the look fresh.

♥ 17 Instant Glow Highlight & Bronze Powder ♥

This has been my favourite high street bronzer/highlighting duo. Nothing can compare to this for me but unfortunately it seems to have been discontinued :( The bronzer is just the right shade to give me a subtle bronzed look to my face. The highlighter is incredible and so finely milled, it's absolutely perfect.  I'll be gutted when its gone but can't wait to start using it again. Sparingly. Because you know, I don't want to hit pan on this. Ever.

♥ Illamasqua Cream Blush in Rude ♥

If you don't know it by now, I am a sucker for coral. I love it. Cannot get enough. Rude is a warm peach pink and used sparingly this gives a gorgeous glow to cheeks which I'll be embracing this week.

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Are you switching up your products this week because of the gorgeous weather? I'd love to know if you've found a great high street bronzer or have tried any of the newer Seventeen products!

Products of the month: June 2013

♥ Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser ♥

Moisturising is something I am notoriously bad at. I start off with the best of intentions then I get lazy and/or forgetful and before I know it I don't even think to do it then moan when my skin isn't in tip top condition. So anything that was going to make this a damn site easier to use and to remember to do was a winner with me. Simply pop this on after cleansing then wash off. I am left with such beautifully soft, hydrated skin that lasts. I absolutely love it!

♥ Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex ♥

Ok, so I know I tweeted that I didn't really 'get' this mascara, after a few uses I can see why people like it. I find two coats gives me volumised, lengthened, jet black lashes that retain their lash-like feel and don't go hard and spiky. It has been one of my most reached for mascara in the past few weeks because I like the effect it gives. Saying that, it flakes and its a pain to remove. Panda eye central, but nothing a bit of Bioderma can't fix. Still can't bring myself to love it though. Sorry Rimmel.

♥ Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh ♥

This is my go to summer scent and I have been reaching for this daily for weeks now and I can't get enough of it.

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Have you discovered any new products you're loving? What do you think of Rimmel's latest mascara offering? Do you have a go to summer scent? I'd love some recommendations!

Swatched: My IMATS 2013 Purchases

There's nothing better than playing with pretty new make up purchases is there? A few days ago I had a sit down and dug all my IMATS purchases out of their bag (can anyone else not bear to throw their IMATS bag away?!), had a bit of a swatching session, a bit of a play and put them pride of place alongside my current collection. So what better time to show you what I bought in full, technicolour glory!

I'm sure you all know by now that when it comes to foundation, I'm a bit of a Casper. I find it really hard to come across a foundation that works perfectly for me colour wise. And I've always struggled with finding the perfect finish. I took the plunge and bought MUFE's Mat Velvet + in the shade 15  which is the lightest shade in the range and had the perfect balance of pink to it. The formula is oil-free and dries to a matte powdery finish. I've used it once so far and first impressions are good. I'll review it once I've been using it for a while. 

The second purchase I made at MUFE was a cherry red Aqua Lip Pencil. They claim to be waterproof, long-lasting and non-transferable so I'm intrigued to see how it fares against this. After all, when you want a perfect red pout, you want it to pack a punch right girls?

My second foray into the world of NARS found me purchasing two of the Velvet Lip Gloss Pencils. I liked the idea of an easy to apply glossy lip colour and whilst the bullets look lovely I find the colour payoff not to be that great and they don't last long on the lips. A bit disappointed with these but at least I didn't pay full price for them.

I love stopping by Inglot because they have such a huge range of products in all colours imaginable. I adore the colour coral and I couldn't resist picking up this stunning lipstick which is a really wearable bright coral. This will definitely be my lippie of choice this summer.

I also bought a couple of liquid liners, the first being 'Silver' which I feel is an odd shade name because its not remotely silver at all. It is definitely more pewter and reminds me of Illamasqua's Precision Ink in Wisdom. The second liner I bought was simply 28 which has no shade name at all. It's a rich deep purple with a silvery shimmer which you unfortunately cannot see in this photo.

I'm not really sure why I bought this Body Pigment Powder apart from the fact that it's very pretty. That's it really. I am such a magpie!

Naked Cosmetics is an American brand which I don't believe is available in the UK so its nice to see them exhibiting at IMATS. I've seen them at the last three London IMATS shows and whilst I've always thought the products looked nice, I've never bought anything from them. This year I think they learned from previous experiences and lowered their prices from around £60 for a stack of 6 pigments down to £30 a stack or 2 for £50. Bicky and I bought ours together to save ourselves a fiver each.

I bought the Cabernet Blush stack and the Matte Shadow Base. I feel a bit ambivalent towards my purchase. The pigments looked so pretty on display and this was an impulse purchase for me. As you can see from the swatches above, when used alone they don't look that great. The most impressive are the lighter shades. However I think they really come into their own when used with the matte base. Although this isn't a base; used as such, it does nothing for the pigment. And it creases. Where this really comes in to its own is mixed with the pigment, which it mattifies, then applied to a primed eye. The pigments really come to life when used with this although it really dulls down the shimmer. I think these would be much better foiled, which I'll try soon and report back. Oh. And there are no shade names. Just numbers. Irritating!

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Have you seen anything here you like? Is there anything you'd like to see me review? Please send me links to your IMATS hauls, I'd love to see them!