Hmph

So I read on Barry M's blog today that they have a new concealer pen, "Imperfection Correction", which will be hitting the shops in April (although you can buy it on their website right now).

Imperfection Correction has been devloped to "conceal blemishes, dark circles and signs of fatigue from the eye area, whilst illuminating the skin and adding a touch of radiance".

It even has anti ageing properties - "includes a UV filter to protect against UV rays and extract of White Tea which acts as an anti-oxidant."

I love trying new products out and for only £5.95 this sounds great, so I visit their website to see if I can find a suitable shade.....

Bummer.

Apparently these three shades "suit all skin tones". Really?? ALL?!

Screenshots taken from the Barry M website.

Colourful and comfortable flats all the way!

So yesterday I went out for dinner and decided to wear my new pair of heels that I had bought over the weekend. They pinched a bit but I thought it would be a good opportunity to wear them in and stretch them out..... bad idea! The first 45 mins were fine but after that, I swear they got tighter with every step. I managed to withstand the pain for another hour before admitting defeat - my squished toes couldn't take it anymore.

I made a beeline for the nearest shop which happened to be H&M. These beauties were the first shoes I saw and I promptly paid for them and wore them straight away.

These are from the Garden Collection, "made with environmentally adapted materials like recycled polyester, organic cotton and organic linen".  They are the prettiest and most colourful flats I own - all my shoes are black or tan!

Not bad for £9.99 right? They're slightly too big but nothing that can't be rectified with some comfy insoles. The only downside is that as they're made from fabric, they will probably get dirty quickly. However, looking down at them cheers me up on dreary days such as the one we had today.

You can view the rest of the Garden Collection on H&M's website.

Who doesn't love freebies?

This month I've managed to acquire the following:

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Cleanser - Woman&Home magazine are offering complimentary 30ml samples (comes with a muslin cloth) at participating John Lewis stores in exchange for this voucher. I managed to pick one up last week and cannot wait to try it out as I've read so many good things about Liz Earle skincare.

James Brown Intensively Glossy Rescue Treatment - Free in Glamour magazine (£2) this month! You can choose either this, a shampoo or a conditioner. I've used the shampoo and conditioner from James Brown's signature collection so will look forward to seeing how this compares.

Neal's Yard Power Berry Daily Moisture cream - This comes free with April's Marie Claire (£3.40) and at 50ml, this sample size  is worth £10.50. This is a great freebie as I've always been intrigued by Neal's Yard products but they're too pricey for me.

More Sleek Blusher Love

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know how much I love Sleek products, especially their blushers. I promised I would complete my collection and I am almost there! The two above are Flamingo on the left and Sahara on the right.

Sahara is a matte brick brown/orangey colour which gives my cheeks a really nice natural glow. Flamingo is a  hot pink with subtle shimmer - you only need a tiny bit of this as it's so bright.

I now own 4 out of their 5 blushers and all I need is Pixie Pink!

Sleek blushers are £3.29 and can be bought on their website.

E.L.F Studio Line Brushes

I really like the brushes from E.L.F's studio line which are for a more "professional look" apparently. The difference between these and the normal line of brushes are that they are black and more sleek looking? Also they are anti bacterial and made from Taklon fibres. They are very soft and less scratchy than the £1.50 brushes. The brushes in the photo above are the ones that I own.

Powder brush - This brush is amazing for applying blusher and I don't think I can live without it. It's also good with cream blushers because of it's flat top. I just need to get a bigger makeup bag for it to fit in.

Complexion brush - On the website, this brush is reccommended for applying blusher/bronzer/powder but I think it's far too large for blusher/bronzer. I don't really know why I bought this brush but I use it mainly for blending harsh lines after applying blusher and sometimes to sweep loose powder when setting my concealer.

Blush brush - I was disappointed with this brush as I was expecting it to be really fluffy but in actual fact it's flat which is no good for me! This would be great for applying blusher in a precise manner or just on the apples of your cheeks.

I think the next brush I would like to add to my collection is the fan brush.

These brushes cost £3.50 each from E.L.F's website.

Keira Knightley covers Elle March 2010

Source: Elle and Sweet-Keira

Not so convinced... I think she's had better covers.

Miss Sporty Fabulous eyes

I've had these pencils for quite sometime but never got round to blogging about them because I had much more exciting things to post. Just looking at them doesn't really evoke much excitement does it? Damn sticky tape residue!

I bought these way back when Superdrug were doing 3 for 2 on all makeup items because they were cheap (£2.19 each) and I couldn't decide on anything else. I chose "Brilliant brown" and "Peach punk".

Brilliant brown is a matte colour with a subtle shimmer whilst Peach punk is not peach at all, but a frosty pink with lots and lots of shimmer. I initially wasn't impressed, as I wore the brown on my upper lashline and it smudged and faded within the hour. However, the peach punk liner works well on the waterline as an eye brightener (I find white kohl is too stark on me). It also makes a great highlighter for cheekbones and eyebrow arches as it's easy to blend.

Miss Sporty markets these as "eyeshadow pencils to shade & define" so I assume that these aren't really meant to be used as eyeliners. Peach punk is great  but I think the brown would work better as a base with an eyeshadow on top.

Have you tried these? Are there any other Miss Sporty products you would reccommend?

My new favourite shoes

Ballet pumps, £16 from Topshop

I know it's still far too cold for this sort of footwear but I am sick of wearing big clumpy boots. I wanted to feel girly again! I have fallen in love with nude colours and this shade is just perfect. However the soles are so thin, sometimes you may as well be barefoot. Pedestrian crossings with the bumpy bits are so painful!

H&M: The Blues Collection

Source: Nitrolicious

Denim is a big part of my life so naturally I love this new spring collection from H&M. Even better, it's reasonably priced with dresses starting from £7.99 and jeans £14.99! I want the cropped denim jacket (£9.99) pictured above but can't find it anywhere?

p.s How gorgeous is Daria Werbowy? 

Review: Maybelline Collosal mascara

I've heard such good things about this mascara but was reluctant to try it with the disaster that is Lash Stiletto in mind (I had to throw it out because I seriously couldn't stand the smell). Thankfully Collosal has no discerning smell whatsoever and unlike LS,  it's a great mascara.

Fat brushes aren't for everyone but I love them, and this has a large bristle one which is great for gripping lashes at the root. As you can read above, it promises 7 times more volume in just one coat and no clumps. I can't say that I noticed 7x more volume but you can see the result for yourselves.

Without mascara

With one coat (top lashes only)

I am happy with the length of my lashes and prefer mascaras which provide volume. This certainly does the job as my lashes look much thicker and as it's  waterproof, it lasts all day with no flaking. You do need a good eye makeup remover for the waterproof version or else it won't budge!

Is it worth the hype? I think so and I will definitely repurchase this when it runs out.

I bought mine for £6.99 at Boots.

If I could only shop at one store, it would be Zara

I already own two trench coats from Zara but that doesn't stop me from wanting this grey one. With the soft ruched shoulders, it's almost exactly like this trench from the Burberry Prorsum S/S2010 collection. Now at £49.99 (taken from the Zara website), it's not going to make that much of a dent in my pocket....right? *convinces self*

MAC Ripe Peach Blush Ombre

I have never bought anything from any of the collections that MAC release throughout the year because I know I don't need any of it. However after seeing the swatches of the new Spring Colour Forecast collection on Temptalia, some kind of madness came over me and I became besotted with the blush ombres - especially Ripe Peach.

I love the gradient!

From L=R: the coral, the peach and swirled together.

The colour is from the Coral line and it is a peach with a pink/peach coral. It also has a very subtle gold shimmer which doesn't pick up in my natural light photos but can be seen above with flash. The colours swirled together produce a beautiful coral which was unfortunately washed out by my flash. For much better swatches, see Temptalia.

I was slightly disappointed by the pigmentation of Ripe Peach because I found it to be a little bit chalky (probably as the main ingredient is talc; see a complete list here) . I also found that it needs several applications to build the colour up. I wore this to work yesterday and by lunchtime it hasd disappeared so it does need to be reapplied throughout the day. Despite this, I still love it because the colour is gorgeous!

Next on my wish list is the Azalea Blossom blush ombre....

1960s eye makeup in A Single Man

I love love LOVE it.

...but I can't do it :(

Beauty on a budget: The 99p store

 

Have you ever been to your local 99p store? I know the general perspective is that they're full of cheap, plastic tat but there are some gems to be found.  Some of my favourite buys for the grand sum of 99 pence are as follows: 

 A set of 400 hair grips
You can never have too many of these especially since they always mysteriously disappear (where do they go??). I hate having to pay for a small pack of 30 when I know I will lose them all within a fortnight, so when I found this set I was more than happy. They are really good quality and I like that they come in a normal length and an extra long length. Super duper.

Evian Affinity Original nourishing lotion
My HG moisturiser which I can only find in the 99p store, and when I do, I stock up like there's no tomorrow.

Deep cleansing nose and face pore strips.
I have used Superdrug's own tea tree brand nose strips and I can honestly see no difference between them and these. They do the job well and I can't complain.

Slanted eyeshadow and lip brush
Random no name brushes which are good for practising with, especially if you can't afford to shell out £10+ on a makeup brush. These are surprisingly good quality - almost on par with my No7 brushes, which makes them an even better bargain.

Have you ever bought anything from the 99p store?