17 Get Bronzed GWP

In my haul in my last post I showed that I'd got a 'Get Bronzed' gift with purchase, and I wanted to cover in a bit more datils what was in the kit and whether I think it's worth having.

In the kit is an Ultmate Volume lipgloss in shade In the Nude, a cream blush in Bronze, and an eyeshadow in Statuesque.

The lipgloss is pretty, but not really my colour. I think it would look amazing on black skintones, and would certainly work for medium white skintones, just not my extremely pale one! This is a plumping lipgloss and it does get quite tingly, which personally I don't mind, but if you do, this might not be one for you

The cream blush isn't really a blush at all. It's a very very shimmery, greasy orange cream. The texturereminds me of those garishly coloured 'makeup' sets you would get when you were about five, which were esentially washable greasepaints. Even making the hand swatch for this took a lot of effort to make it show up!

Top-Bottom - Statuesque, Bronzed, In the Nude

The eyeshadow is lovely. It's a very wearable colour and I think it would flatter most skintones. It doesn't require too much effort to get decent colour payoff, and it lasts well.

My overall impression of this set is that if you were going to spend £5.99 on 17 cosmetics anyway, then go for it, but otherwise, I wouldn't go rushing to get it. The lipgloss and eyeshadow are worth having, but the cream blush is terrible.

Maybelline SuperStay 10h Tint Gloss Review

To forewarn; this is a scheduled post written a few weeks ago as I am currently teaching in Uganda. You can read about that adventure here

A few weeks ago I saw a video by FleurDeForce raving about the YSL Glossy Stains. I was really intrigued and desperately wanted to buy one several. However, being a student broke, I couldn't afford to drop £22.50 on one lip product. Then I saw an advert for Maybelline Tint Gloss, and a lightbulb went off in my head. I don't think their similarity is a coincidence!!

I have the shade Lasting Pink, which looks like a bright fuschia pink in the tube, but comes off more red on the lips.

The applicator for this gloss is really interesting and well designed, it is a loop rather than the standard doe-foot applicator, which pulls more product out of the tube, and distributes it more easily than a doe-foot too. More gloss wands like this please!!

When I applied this, I took Fleurs application tips into account, despite that fact this is a different product. I applied one coat which I buffed into my lips, and then another to give a glossy, even finish. I have included a lip swatch because the colour is quite different on the lips than on my arm, though my mouth looks like it belongs to an 80 year old lady in all the pictures, so please ignore that!! (and the two dark spots are lip freckles, they're wierd, I know.)

This lasted a fair few hours, and was not at all drying like a lot of lip stains are. I don't think it really lives up to its claim of being bright and glossy for ten whole hours, but it lasted a lot longer than a regular gloss. And at just £6.99 (here) I think I can live with needing to touch up.

I originally swatched this on my arm, planning to see if it remained after 10 hours. The problem is, I only decided to do this at about 9pm, so there was quite a high risk of me being asleep at the 10 hour mark, and of my getting bright pink stain on my bedding. Needless to say I removed it well before the 10 hours were up. Check out the swatch anyway though, as the colour is quite different to on the lips. Something to bear in mind when purchasing!

The bottom line? Totally reccomend. Great for summer!

Swap with Marla!!

hey girls! I'm so sorry I've been so scattered lately, but I've wored myself up into a bit of a blogging frenzy, so you can look forwards to scheduled posts for the next few weeks!

A few weeks ago, I did a swap with the lovely Marla, and here is the long overdue haul from it. I thoroughly reccomend reading her blog if you don't already, her eye looks are amazing!

this is an overall of everything she sent me. (I hope I haven't forgotten anything!!) The pink makeup bag is so cute, though i have no idea where it's from.

The lip butter by Revlon in Cherry Tart is absolutely gorgeous, a lovely, moisturising formula and pigmented enoughto show, but not so much that it's scary.

Revlon colour tattoos are something I've been lusting after for ages, it was a pretty funny coincidence that the day my package arrived containing this one, Bad to the Bronze, was the same day that they went on sale in the UK! I've now got five of them and I absolutely love them, they absolutely could replace MAC paintpots, though the texture is slightly different. This is a great shade (called on and on bronze in the UK) which is perfect for simply sweeping over the lid with some liner as a lazy, one colour look.

Maybelline dream bouncy blush is the wirdest formula of blush i have ever come accross, but I love it. You really do have to feel this to understand but it's so strange, a kindof semi cream, semi powder forumla in a squishy dome shape.... So wierd but just so right! I have this in the colour Pink Plum.

Last up for makeup products is the Physicians Formula Magic Mosaic Multi-Coloured Custom Blush (phew!) in soft mocha/mocha. this is a really nice bronzer wth a tiny hint of shimmer but not too much, so its goos for contouring, as well as creating a bit of a sunkissed glow!

Top-Bottom, Revlon lip butter in Cherry Tart, Maybelline colour tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, Dream bouncy blush in Pink Plum, Physicians Formula bronzer. 

Marla also included some sample of Julep hand scrub, brightener and cream, which I'm yet to try, but I'm excited to use the scrub especially!

And finally, she also sent me some cheeto's which we used to be able to get in the UK but sadly they are no longer. Apparently my flatmates missed them more than me as they made off with them as soon as they set eyes on them! 

So thats it for my swap! It was such a great experience, and I'd love to do another one soon! If you could, what products from another contry would you try?

LOOOONG overdue IMATS London haul!!

hey girls!! i'm SO sorry this has taken me so long, but i was super busy with my job and family stuff, so i took a little break from blogging. i have now quit my job (YAY!) and so i' hoping to get back to my regular blogging schedule.

anyway, i promised to do a haul from IMATS which was last month, as i bought quite a lot of stuff! before i go into this i just want to give a little disclaimer, i am in no way trying to brag or show off about how much money i have or how much stuff i have, i saved up for months proir to IMATS to enable me to make some big purchases at reduced prices, which is really a money saving way to buy.

anyway, into the haul!!

when i got home, before i played with or opened anything, i had to take lots and lots of pictures!! these are all of the bags i came back with, i was so excited!!

this is eveything i came back with all laid out. it looks like more than it actually is because i included all of the bags and literature. come on, i love that stuff!!

first of all i got quite a few new tools. crown brush was really well priced and inexpensive, so i picked up a few brushes there. i also got some disposable plastic spatulas. i think this entire bundle cost around £20, so really good value!

i picked up (from left to right) a small fan bush, a tiny little blending brush, a fine detailer brush, a badger (so soft!) flat shader brush, a HUGE natural hair shader brush, a badger crease brush, a tiny synthetic smudger brush, a square liner brush, and a badger anglpenil brush. let me just say that these brushes are LOVELY. i have had zero shedding (unlikemy 3 MAC brushes!!) and they are all super soft.

i really wanted a big flat-topped kabuki brush, and Royal and langnickel were having a big sale on their kabuki's, selling them at only £6 each.  

this brush as been a bit of an obsession of mine! it's so soft, and absoutely brilliant for buffing mineral and powder based products into the skin.

sleek had a big stall shaped like one fo their iconic eyeshadow palettes, and they also had some great discounts!

they were doing pout paints at 3 for £10, and lipsticks at 4 for £10, which was a complete bargain, considering pount paints are usually around the £6 mark and lipsticks aound £5!

the i-Divines were discounted, but only by about 50p individually. you could buy all of them for a bigger discount but i already had most of them, so i just got the PPQ palette, which i haven't seen before.

 as always, the shadows are super pigmented, and are a mixture of shimmery and matte formulas.

the lipsticks i got. they are (L-R) cherry, mystic (matte), candy cane and baby doll. baby doll is FAR too pale for me to actually wear, but it looked nice in the tube!! the colours here are really washed out, but i just couldnt get a true picture. to give you an idea, candy cane (3rd from left) is actually a super bright pink toned red, but it comes out here looking like a pastel pink. and cherry is really dark and vampy, but here looks more like candy cane does in real life. i'll put swatches up eventually, as i really like the formula of these lipsticks.

i also picked up some pout paints, so that i now have the complete collection.

i stopped off at Beatuy So Clean to get some cosmetic sanitiser, as i'm a bit of a germ freak!! the other day i told one of my friends that she coud help herself to use any of my makeup, and then i nearly freaked out when i saw her sticking an eye pencil in her eye! i was very glad for this spray that day.

i cant actually remember what stall i bought this at, i just remember they were selling beauty blenders and BEAUTIFUL foundation palettes which i was sorely tempted by, but it was the nd of the day by then and i'd already gone over my budget! this palette is lovely though, even though the surface of each shade is quite small, they go down quite deep and the coverage is great. i managed to snag this for a cheeky tenner as the show was closing, which i was so excited about!!

i actually bought these at the first stand i visited, i belive it was 3 for £5, and they are super soft because they're human hair.

i also bought some lash adhesive from there, but i havent tried it yet so i can't tell you much about that one!!

NYX had a HUGE line the whole ime i was there, so i went back just before the show closed to get what i wanted. it was slim pickings, so i just got 2 lipliners in dolly pink (front) and pinky (back) 

there was a stand called backstageshop.com which i was SO attracted to. it had the usual cosmetic stuff, but also quite a lot of theatrical and stage makeup too. i bought quite a bit from there and went back several times!!

the pack in th back of this shot was like a special effects starter set, and was a bargain at only £15! it contains: a lip colour/balm, liquid latex, arterial blood, spirit gum, and wound wax, all made by makerm and all in clear plastic cosmetic bag. i think the individual items had about a £35 value, so it was a great price for the bundle. i also picked up from this stand the ben nye mist and set (which unfortunately i had a bad experience with!) a ben nye concealer quad and a lipbalm they gave me for free because i bought so much!

i also picked up at this stall my biggest and most exciting purchase.... an airbrush system!! i decided not to go for one of the big brand systems because A) theyare very expensive compared to generic systems and B) a generic system will be easier to sell on if i decide i want to invest in a branded system, as a generic compessor has more practical uses.

the whole bundle, including 2 types of cleaner, airbrush and compressor cost only £100, compared to the £280 benchmark of the big brand names! so far i'm loving airbrush makeup and application, it just looks so flawless!

after i bought my compressor i was super excited, and went out looking for some makeup to go in it. OCC was my first port of call, and they fulfilled my needs perfectly.

i got a full sized bottle of foundation in my own colour, which is Y0, and then sample packs of all the yellow and red based shades, plus the blush, bronzer and highlight shades.

that about wraps it up for this haul, hope you enjoyed!

whats on YOUR whishlist?

Some New Goodies!

Hey girls! I know I just posted saying that I wasn't going to post but I got a LOAD of work done in not very much time so I thought I could write a post so.....

I went shopping the other day and I went again yesterday, (though I blame my sister for that one) and I got some new stuff, so I thought I’d show you.

Both times I went to the new Westfield centre in Stratford, which I really like. The first place I went to was MAC, which is fast becoming my favourite place, where I checked out the new Glitter and Ice collection. I picked up a paint pot in Morning Frost and an eyeshadow in Satin Taupe from their regular line.

 Top: Satin Taupe, Bottom: Morning Frost

Next I went off to Superdrug where I got most of the other stuff. I got 3 MUA lipglosses in shades 1, 4, and 5. I’m really impressed with the pigmentation of shade number 4, it comes off really opaque and pretty. I actually bought 4 of these, but when I opened the red one I got (can’t remember the shade, sorry!) the lid broke and I had to throw it away, or it would have spewed lipgloss everywhere. Thankfully they were 3 for 2 so I didn’t actually pay anything for that one!

 Shades 4,5,1

Clockwise from top: 4,5,1

I also got a new foundation, powder and concealer. I have been wanting to try a highstreet foundation for a while now, as currently I’m using Bobbi Brown, which is pretty pricey! I got Rimmel Stay Matte as I’m also wanting something with a bit more coverage and shine. I haven’t tried it yet, but when swatched it feels really creamy and nice, which is a plus. I’ll post again soon and let you know how I’m getting on with it. I got their Clear Complexion powder in transparent to go with it, which I’m loving so far. I also picked up a Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer which is so worth the hype, and I picked up the Barry M Lash Modelling mascara, which is a great and cheaper alternative to Maxfactor False Lash Effect fusion, which is what I was previously using.

Lastly I went to Boots where I got a set of 3 jumbo lip balms, which I thought I could break up and give to my sisters as little extra Christmas presents.

And that’s my haul! Have YOU finished your Christmas shopping yet?

Whats in my Travel Makeup Bag?

hey girls, so it's no secret that i'm going travelling at the beginning of next month, but before i go off on my volunteering trip, i'm going on a family holiday to Turkey, where i will be staying on a yacht.

i am hoping hat this trip will be a little more glamourous than my volunteering trip, so i will be bringing a few cosmetics items. below is a photo of everything laid out, with brushes ad tools in the top left, face products in the top right, eyes in the bottom left and lips in the bottom right. it looks like a lot but it all fits into a fairly small makeup bag (minus my ELF HD powder whihc comes in a huge box)

please click for a larger image!!

ok, so going from left to right, top to bottom we have:

the eco tools foundation brush (which i use to apply my white Barry M foundation creme as a base to my actual founation)
eco tools finishing kabuki (which i use for my 'actual' bobbi brown foundation)
a crease brush from my fraulien 38 brush roll
a retractable lip brush fro the same brush roll
a No7 'precision eyeliner brush' which i use for my brows
a generic flat shader brush
a No7 eyeshadow blendng brush from a setat christmas a whle ago
NYC eyelash curlers

Bobbi brown foundation SPF 15 in shade 0, Porcelain
Barry M Foundation creme in White
Bobbi brown Pot Rouge in shade 21, Cabo Coral (makes a nice lip colour too)
Ruby and Millie cheek colour in C33, Orange (but its actually red and doubles as a nice matte lip colour)
ELF HD Powder

Rimmel colour mousse in 006, Get Fresh
Ruby and Millie eye base
Max factor Smokey eye effect eyeshadow in Bronze Haze
Collection 2000 eXtreme 24 hour felt tip liner in Black
GOSH eyeliner pencil in Black
Max Factor False lash effect fusion; volume and length mascara in Black
Sleek Storm Palette

Ruby and Millie lip gloss in Clear
17 mirror shine lipstic in shade Plum Perfection
and Nivea sooth and protect lip balm with SPF 12

so thats my travel makep bag! too much? what's in YOURS?

all packed and ready to go!

Love, Lucy xxx

I'm Gonna be a Grown Up So I'll...Go Gothic?

hey ladies!

it's my 18th birthday on friday (i dont know how important 18 is in the states, but in the UK its the big one, 21 doesnt really mean anything here), and i'm going out in Camden town with my sisters and a couple of friends.

as far as i know anything goes in Camden, and you'll find people from every walk of life, but i was thinking of a slightly vampy gothic look. i'm planning on wearing a cream tiered lace dress, and this is a look i hope will look good with it...

so this is the look, its basically a cool complexion, (using my trusty white foundation cream from Barry M), with heavy winged liner and a very strong dark berry lip. i'm normally terrified of strong lips, so this is a bit of a venture for me!

so basically, i'm posting this because i'm not sure. opinions?? help!

Lucy xx

Clinique Givaway Alert!

hey guys!

so today i was in sainsburys with my mum, (she hates shopping on her own!) and i spotted glamour magazine by the checkout. this is nothing special in itsself, but they were giving away clinique products! there are 10 different ones to choose from, including lipstick, gloss and mascara, as well as what looks like most of their skincare products!

the till i was at only had a facial cleanser or moisturiser, so i went for the moisturiser, though i plan to check out some other shops in search of the lipstick! the magazine is only £2, so its a big saving.

i am currently using Clean and Clear shine control moisturiser, but the clinique one is a travel size 30ml so i'll be keeping it in my handbag.

whats your fave clinique product?

Lucy xx

Barry M giveaway in The Sun

hey guys, just wanted to let you know that the sun newspaper is giving away a Barry M makeup set to every reader of todays Buzz magazine. seems too good to miss!

Included in the set is a nail paint, a lip gloss and an eyeliner pencil, all in limited edition shades, and apparently worth over £9

Lucy xx

GOSH premium gift set

so in my last post i mentioned how i had bought a gift set from GOSH cosmetics on sale for £10. i think it was originally £20.
here is a picture of it and its contents:

the set contains; GOSH velvet touch foundation primer, GOSH trio eyeshadow in TR2 smoky, GOSH velvet touch eyeliner in black ink, and ON STAGE cool lip jam in shade 107.


when i was eyeing this up, the main thing i was interested in was the foundation primer. i have never been a big one for foundation primers, though i love Benefit's 'That Gal', its a completely different concept to this. i went back to the GOSH stand for a quick check, and yep, the primer on its own was more expensive than the cut price gift set. that sealed it, i had to have it!the extras it came with looked nice enough, and i was pleasantly surprised when i got into the box.


the primer is a clear gel in a pump bottle. this is what it looks like straight out of the bottle

when i worked this onto the back of my hand, it came off feeling a little greasy, but as soon as i put it on my face i was really happy with it, it felt really nice, but not greasy at all, and it provided a really nice base for my foundation, and made it last for EVER! so i really like this primer, but i havent been using it for long enough to know if it will do any damage to my skin, like causing breakouts or anything, but so far so good, and if its going to react, my skin usually lets me know STRAIGHT away.


so onto the other stuff included in  the set.  the little eyeshadow trio is nice, though i dont think i would use the colours together like they suggest.

the top line of swatches shows one swipe with my finger in the pan, then onto my hand, the bottom row is done with a brush. the only wierd thing about these is that they kinda ball up. its really hard to describe, but if you click the picture to make it big, you will see some ugly dark chunks on the top line of swatches especially, and its like the powder stuck together to make like a paste, so when it was rubbed onto my hand it formed little sausages and balls of product. weird, but not really a problem when i used a brush.


next things in the box were a gloss or 'lip jam' and an eyeliner. the eyliner is actually a really nice, soft, smooth formula, and i will definitely get a lot of use out of it as it's black. the lip jam is a nice consistency too, but with a rather strong bubblegum scent. it does have menthol and causes a bit of a tingle, which i personally like, but if you hate that sensation then this might not be a good product for you.


so its an overall thumbs up for my bargain gift set left over form christmas. i really do think these are one of the few things worth buying in the january sales.


what do you think of foundation primers? do you like shopping the sales?


Lucy xx


Disclaimer; i bought this product myself with my own money

Elf Haul!!

hey guys, today i decided to do a somewhat belated elf haul. i originally made a video for my youtube channel on this, but i am persistently having trouble uploading to youtube and i have kinda given up on it before it even really got going. so i recieved this a couple of weeks ago but havent used much of it because i wanted to do a haul and reveiws of it all. so lets get started!

everything was ordered on the saturday and it arrived on the thursday, though the delivery may have been slowed down by me messing up the order and having to change it! it all arrived in this box;

it was nicely arranged in the box with some bubble wrap, and nothing was broken (though i didnt order anything pressed powder-y)
i ordered 18 items, which are as follows;
elf shimmering facial whip in spotlight
elf shimmering facial whip in persimmon
elf lipstick in voodoo
elf super glossy lipshine SPF15 in juiced berry
elf super glossy lipshine SPF15 in iced latte
elf nourishing cuticle pen with avocado and almond oil
elf waterproof eyeliner pen in black
elf eyelid primer
elf theraputic conitioning balm in vanilla creme
elf Zit zapper
elf studio high definition powder
elf nail polish in smoky brown

i also got the all over coloursticks in all of the colours;
toasted
lilac petal
pink lemonade
warm peach
persimmon
and spotlight

here is everything all laid out on my bed. click the pictures to enlarge, andlet me know what you want to see reviews and tutorials with!

have you ordered from ELF? what do you think of their products?

Lucy xx

Disclaimer: I bought all of these products myself with my own money.