Wet N' Wild Beauty Benefits Bronzing Powder

This is a really cute product that I got from an outlet for £1! So no matter what it's faults I really can't complain! I have sensitive skin and it doesn't cause any reaction unlike a lot of powders do, so in terms of quality for your skin it seems very good. There are a few shades in the bronzer, some lighter colours and different colour tones, so there is bound to be a complimentary shade there for everyone, even when mixed together. It isn't overly glittery so you won't end up with a glitter ball face either. The design is pretty... well before you use it and it gets ruined! And to top it off, it isn't tested on animals either, which is definitely a benefit.

Brush and mirror inside the compact


This is a pretty design for a bronzer, it seems a shame to ruin it by using it!


Swatch of the bronzer colours


It also says it can be used as an eyeshadow, so I had a go;



There was too much fall out, and it involved mad layering as the colours really aren't pigmented enough to be eyeshadows. So you could have a bash at using it for eyeshadow, however it isn't ideal.

Laura's Look Book; Pinky Goes To The Dark Side

Yes, not the most wearable pink look, so pink has gone all dark!



Products Used;

MAC Phloof!,
MAC Da Bling,
MAC Passionate,
MAC Beauty Marked.

I love my new sigma brushes I earned off Luuux, products like passionate that were a nightmare to use normally was a lot more usable with these brushes. I also didn't need to clean up, it worked out pretty well. Hopefully this is a sign I'm getting better with the brushes and with make up :]

Inspired Looks - Pixie Polish - Peacock Nails

So, I saw this Indian Peacock look by the lovely Lyndsay of Pixie Polish, and wanted to try my own version. She is a very talented lady so it wouldn't be nearly as good as hers, but I love the look anyway. I had the Bundle Monster plate, so why not? :]



I tried to recreate a free hand peacock feather.... and failed, it's fair to say I'm no good at art! My first time using my nail art brushes and acrylics, so I feel I can be forgiven! Here's what I tried to accomplish;


(image from allposters.co.uk)

Products Used;

Urban Decay Aquarius,
Urban Decay Hashbury,
Konad Special Polish Black,
Black, brown, blue & green acrylic,
BM plate 15.

I found the bundle monster peacock so difficult to use, it was impossible to get the whole image picked up on the stamper for some reason. I had a good bash at it anyway :]

Laura's Look Book! Bright Pixi Look

So I did this using the Bottom row of the pixi palette that I show you and review here!



I love this look! It is pretty simple, anyone can do it, and it is lovely to enjoy the last days of summer with a bright eye look! I just used the lighter greeny colour on the lid, and then brought the bluey teal into the outer corner and crease. The colours required a little layering to get the colours to the optimal pigmentation, but they are very easy to use. For £10, this palette really provides for some great looks!

Shop review; Beverly Beaute

So, in my last post I promised a review on the shop I bought my last polishes off, and this was Beverly Beaute. Now this has UK in the URL however it is actually an American store that ship to the UK.

Here was my order;


Cost
Shipping is a steep £5, however this is flat rate, so no matter how much you buy it is £5 to ship it. This means it's best to fill your boots to make it worthwhile. Is it worthwhile? Well OPI is well below retail at £5.95 which is virtually half retail price, and China Glaze is £5.50 per bottle, so I would say so.

Selection
There are allsorts of brilliant products such as Essie, Nubar, China Glaze, Orly, Zoya, OPI, Seche and more, and lots of different collections past and present of those brands. So I managed to get a China Glaze 2009 collection no longer available in stores. So, the selection is varied and often pretty good with no longer available polishes part of their catalogue, however you aren't guaranteed that they will have what you are after, as they don't have every polish from every collection.

Communication
Communication is poor, nay, worse then poor. I registered and never received an email with any details or anything, and then I couldn't even get back onto my account, it just came up with a pop up with gobbledegook written on it, and because I couldn't get into my account and they never sent me a confirmation email of my order, or an email saying whether my order has been despatched or not, I had no idea if they had sent it or not! So, I emailed them enquiring about my order and inability to get into my account and received no reply. So, in terms of communication, what communication!?!

Time Scale
The products arrived in a week, which is really good going, so in terms of despatch and arrival, it was pretty quick. Though, I don't know when they despatched due to their communication (as stated above) being beyond abysmal!

Product
Luckily my products showed up and in good time, and I received the right products which is always good, however a couple of my bottles had scrapes and bashes on them;

It's purely cosmetic and not a big deal, the products still great, but as a perfectionist it is a little annoying to me! I did get a free nail file, cuticle stick and toe separators though, not sure if that is with every order or if it is because of the damaged bottles I got. Probably just freebies with every order.


So overall? I would shop here again but I will definitely be using my precautions in future (and you should too). The product is good (if not a little dog eared), it arrived in good time and at a good price.

Here are my step by step precautions for internet shopping. I would advice you carry out these when shopping on this website, or any other new website you are unfamiliar with;

1) Pay credit card, that way you have more protection if your order doesn't turn up. If they offer payment through PayPal then do that rather then giving them your details.

2) This is a biggy, especially in terms of Beverly Beaute. Print screen the completed order page where it says what you have ordered, your payment and your address, or print out a physical copy of this screen, so if it doesn't turn up you have evidence for the credit card company that you did buy from that website, and they know exactly what you purchased and when you purchased it. Remember try to get the page URL, products you ordered, your address, the date and payment details in the screen shot or on your print out. This is vital evidence you may not need, but if you do at least you have it. In Beverly Beaute's case it is very important to do this, as they do not send any confirmation emails, so you have no evidence of what you have bought, when you bought it, or how you paid for it sent by them, and you can't even contact them to get these emails as they do not email you back. When shopping elsewhere make sure you keep confirmation and despatch emails.

3) Make sure you have the contact details of the company for any enquiries or problems you may have.

4) Keep an eye on how long your order is taking, remember when you ordered it, their estimated delivery date (if they provide it) and how long it has been since you ordered. If it's over 3 weeks or an unusually long time and still your order has not arrived, then it may be time to contact them, if they ignore your enquiries and you still haven't received your order and you are pretty sure that it isn't going to arrive then contact the credit card company.

5) Know the action you take. Make sure you know what number to call or the protocol you undertake
when getting in contact with the credit card company. Familiarise yourself with the things you need to do when claiming.

I will update this protocol when I think of more steps. I hope this helps both in terms of shopping online, and with this company in particular.

China Glaze Romantique Polishes

I got some China Glaze polishes I am VERY excited about!! I missed this collection, so when I saw them for below retail I jumped at the chance to buy them. This was the spring 2009 collection. (I will be reviewing the shop I bought them from in my next post! Please stay tuned for that!)

So here we go! I have taken a picture of a swatch with the bottle in both bright sunlight and normal light, I have also provided a scruffy swatch of how it performs in konad stamping. Excuse the picture quality, I had to do them on my iPhone.

I bought Harmony, Emotion, Cherish, Devotion & Adore

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Firstly, Harmony. This is a beautiful metallic deep grape purple. It covers well and is a lovely deep colour without too much silver, it isn't too frosty. It does very well with konad as it is a pigmented one coater!

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Emotion. This is a lovely deep pink, not quite dusty rose, but along those lines. This is a one coater that also does very well for stamping and isn't too silver frosted, yet it maintains the metallic feel.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Cherish. This is a lovely light yellow-based green. This is has been described as mint before now, however I wouldn't say that was too accurate, as mint tends to be more blue based, whereas in person this just doesn't look too minty at all. It appears a little more frosted, however the colour pay off is still good.

Bright sunlight

Natural light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Devotion. This is a lovely metallic silver shade, though in some lights it looked a little purple, though maybe that's just me going a little bit loopy! Anyway, it is a staple silver metallic that everyone needs; it is pigmented, smooth in application, and is great for Konad stamping. It's very frosted, but very gorgeous.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


And Finally, Adore. This has to be one of the most beautiful blues ever! It is a bright and beautifully metallic blue, though not overly frosted. It is very pigmented and very smooth to apply, it is also thick so great for Konad stamping. Who doesn't love a blue like this? It is definitely one of the beauties of the collection.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


So, my overall thoughts. I am always on the lookout for normal nail polishes that apply well, dry well, are beautiful in colour and texture, but also can Konad stamp, and these polishes tick all the boxes. They are very good quality, pigmented, beautifully metallic and very well textured polishes. If you can get your mitts on them, I say do so! :]

Asos Exclusive Pixi Wake Up Eyes Palette in Bright and Light

Picture heavy post! I apologise if it takes forever to load, but I wanted to give a really detailed view of it. Now, this is named by Asos as the Wake Up Eyes palette, however the name on the actual packaging is "Winter Wakeup Eyes" so I am not sure what this called!




This is version 1 Bright and Light, though this was the only one available. It was a pretty good bargain at £10 considering you get 12 different shades. The shadows are a mix of shimmer, glitter and matte, though the orange is the only proper matte in there, other colours do have a matte like texture and appearance even though they are not technically mattes.

In terms of the colour selection I absolutely love it! There is something there for so many looks, that it need be the only palette you need to take out, and if you are travelling light it is ideal. Smoky eyes, neutral eyes, pastel eyes, bright eyes, everything is possible. It is small, light and has a mirror in it, so it really is perfect for travel.

Small but perfectly formed! This fits in the palm of your hand so will fit easily in a make up bag or handbag.




The colour selection.


In terms of the quality they are pretty pigmented and apply easily. They aren't the smoothest shadows or the most pigmented, but for the price they look good and do their job. They were very easy to use, and you don't need to many layers to get the optimum colour. The camera didn't show the colours up very well, they are a lot more visible and bright in real life!





The packaging is a little cheap, the shadows are a bit wonky here and there, and there isn't any room between shadows so powder can transfer from pan to pan, but also the surrounding packaging just being cardboard stains from the loose product and can get a bit dog eared. The packaging is pretty though, but plastic would have been more practical, especially when keeping the shadows fresh.

Overall, I love this, it has everything I need in a small and convenient form, and the quality of the shadows is good for the price! I'd grade it 8/10 if I had to.

Laura's Look Book! Simple Neutral

I have been away for a while, and I do apologise! Job hunting, uni applications, volunteering and work have gotten in the way. Luckily, I have been accepted to uni so that is one job ticked off the list! So I have a look and a review for you tonight, first up a neutral look I have been wearing a lot recently.

This is a really simple neutral look that anyone can do, I'm not even a lover of neutral eyes normally, but I absolutely love this colour combination!



Products Used;

MAC Phloof!
MAC Shadowy Lady
Barry M Black Liquid Liner
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero

I used Phloof! on the lid, just until the outer corner. I used Shadowy Lady for the first time in this look, and wish I'd discovered it sooner! I used it in the outer corner and crease and blended a little but not enough to lessen the contrast between colours. I then used a 213 to apply Barry M liquid liner across the top lash line, and the 24/7 liner on the lower lash line and water line. Et Voile, a simple but lovely neutral! Hope you like it.

Review on an Asos exclusive Pixi eyeshadow palette to follow!!