Gemma – Hellbent for Lipstick

Fragrance

Lady Gaga Fame EDP Review

May 28, 2014

I’ve got a secret to confess. I love Lady Gaga.

I really disliked her at first, but one day after some intoxicating substances my drummer decided to convince me of her merit and somewhere along the line of that night I became a Gaga convert. I had absolutely zero interest in this perfume before that day, but recently it’s been skirting higher and higher up my wishlist till I saw it on offer for only £10.00 in Superdrug and couldn’t resist.

First up I have to say the bottle was a big draw for me, I love the golden claws and black liquid (though it’s worth noting it’s clear once sprayed on the skin – magic!) and think it looks slightly dangerous in the most fabulous way. When I saw the design I was definitely expecting quite a dark, musky quirky scent, but actually the perfume itself was really something quite normal in comparison!

The official description says “Tears of Belladonna, Crushed Heart of Tiger Orchidea with a Black Veil of Incense, Pulverized Apricot and the combative essences of Saffron and Honey Drops”

I’d say it’s not nearly as dark and complex as the blurb suggests. Don’t get me wrong – it’s lovely…but that’s the thing, I sort of wanted it to be not lovely. I wanted something heavy and unique, this is very very sweet and fruity, you can definitely pick out the apricot!

Wear time unfortunately is only a few hours, but I’d think layering it up would give it a little longer.

Am I gaga about it? Hrm, yes in a lot of ways I really love this perfume, but I just wanted something with a little more edge.

Currently only £10.00 from Superdrug.

Totally hellbent for HOW DOES IT GO FROM BLACK TO CLEAR?! HOW DOES IT DO IT! SORCERY!

– Gem

Make-up

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

May 26, 2014

So it turns out I’m pretty bad at enforcing a cosmetics spending ban! In my defence I definitely did need a new black gel liner, so when my friend Red suggested that Amie and I might like this I snapped one up rather quickly!

From what I can make out this is a re-brand of an existing product to match the packaging for the new Kate Moss Rimmel London range, this time including a short eyeliner brush. I can’t find out if the brush is natural or synthetic so I won’t be risking it on my face till I know 100% it’s not made from animal hair (yuk!)

The liner itself, it’s very black. Black black. Spiritual black dimension black. Heart of Varg black. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so pigmented but I’d go out on a limb and say this is one of the blackest gel eye-liners I’ve used.

The consistency is quite thick but I had no problems at all loading it onto my Real Techniques Silicone Liner brush (reviewed here) and it didn’t tug, pull or smudge at all upon the lid itself. I’d say it was just creamy enough without the risk of being too messy and I got a pretty good line on both eyes without too much effort.

It claims to be waterproof, so I decided to keep it on whilst I dyed my hair. I’m happy to say it survived two trips to the shower without budging at all. Once this stuff sets it really is there for the whole day, yet came off with a quick swipe of my Garnier Micellar Water (reviewed here).

I’d honestly expect these kind of results from a much higher end brand, so for a bargain find I’m really impressed. The Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner comes in three shades (black, brown and green) and is available at an introductory price of £4.99 in some stores (I got mine from Sainsburys) or £6.99 online at Superdrug.

Totally hellbent for the blackest black

– Gem

Nails

Free Nails Inc. With InStyle

May 17, 2014

I seem to have quite a collection of Nails Inc. polishes, yet I’ve never purchased a single one at full RRP! Most of my collection has come from free gifts with magazines and I was over the moon to spot another freebie this month with InStyle.

There are three shades to choose from, but as I’m (supposed to be) on a spending ban this month, I only picked up one shade (booo) – Sao Paulo Streets. I’m not sure of the names of the other two shades, but there is a pink and a coral red that both look lovely.

Sao Paulo Streets is a lovely mink nude with a subtle lilac undertone, very grown-up and understated. As with all Nails Inc. polishes application is a breeze and you’re guaranteed at least a few days wear before chipping.

Have you picked up one of the three Nails Inc. shades from InStyle yet?

Totally hell bent for a quick magazine freebie pick me up.

– Gem

Beauty Boxes

Glossybox May 2014 – Summer Beauty Edit With Superdrug

May 16, 2014

Glossybox have been massive teases this month, dropping loads of hints about their upcoming collaboration (we all guessed it would be Superdrug though, right?) but boy was all the suspense worth it! This is hands down my best box ever with a whopping five full sized items and two samples! I’ll use absolutely everything and can honestly say there’s nothing I would change.

Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer

This alone is worth more than the cost of the box! I wear as much SPF as possible once the sun comes out and having an extra SPF 20 in a primer is an absolutely magical notion for me. Combine this with my foundation (SPF 15) and my moisturiser (SPF 20) and I don’t even have to worry about extra suncream unless I’m planning on being out in direct sunlight for a long time! A quick swatch blended in smoothly and quickly and left a lovely base for make-up, I can’t comment on how much it affects longevity yet but it definitely helped application!

Full Size

£10.99 from Superdrug.com

Maybelline New York Great Lash Mascara – Very Black

This is a classic iconic mascara and I can’t believe I still haven’t ever tried it! I wont be opening it just yet as I’m still working through my L’Oreal Miss Manga and Rimmel Scandaleyes Rockin’ Curves at the moment. Mascaras don’t have much of a shelf life so I like to use only one or two at a time, this is definitely on the top of my list to open next though! A lovely addition to the box and another full size item!

Full Size

£4.00 from Superdrug.com

GOSH Cosmetics Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Blueberry Ice

I can’t say I’ve ever tried a frosted lilac eyeliner before, but the texture of this was so lovely when I had a quick swatch on the back of my hand that I had to try it on my eyes IMMEDIATELY! The result was a beautiful shimmery silverish shade that I think would actually make a lovely highlight for beneath the brows! This blends out wonderfully into a pretty shimmery eyeshadow too. I think I’ll be seeking out a black GOSH eyeliner based on the quality of Blueberry Ice.

Full Size

£4.99 from Superdrug.com

B. Sheer Conditioning Lipstick in Flamingo

Okay so when I said earlier that I wouldn’t change anything, I -might- have preferred this in a less girly shade. Flamingo is a very shimmery frosted pink, but it’s so creamy and feels so soft on the lips I find it hard to even complain that I would have preferred something a little more vampy. The very pigmented yet somehow sheer lipstick is enriched with Vitamin E, shea butter and aloe vera which explains why it feels absolutely divine on! Another product that has made me definitely want to seek out different shades in the range.

Full Size

RRP £6.99 but currently available for £3.49 from Superdrug.com

Vaseline Spray & Go Coco

I pulled a bit of a face last time there was a Vaseline product in a Glossybox, as I tend to think of it as a very boring brand. Well I’m eating my words now, this is an amazing product that I’ve instantly decided I don’t want to live without! Spray on moisturiser that actually leaves your skin soft and smelling delicious? Whodathoughtit?! The coco butter scent is to die for and I can see this being perfect for the gym bag or even festivals…or you know everyday. I’m a little bit in love.

Full Size

£4.99 from Superdrug.com

Garnier Oil Beauty Lotion

The first bonus product (aka sample size product!) was a generous 10ml sachet of oil-infused nourishing lotion. Despite having greasy skin I’ve become quite the convert to body oils, and with an infusion of argan, macadamia, almond and rose oil I’m quite sure I will enjoy this as much as the more expensive offerings I’ve tried of late.

10ml Sample

£4.00 for 250ml from Superdrug.com

GHOST Fragrances Eclipse

Ahh yes, perfume samples, the bane of every beauty box. WELL. This one is -gorgeous- and I couldn’t be happier to have found a new scent to lust after! Fruity-floral with a lovely romantic warm scent this would be perfect for the gorgeous weather we are currently having in the UK and I’ll be popping off to Superdrug very soon to pick up a bottle!

2ml Sample

£33 for 50ml from Superdrug.com

I can definitely see this box selling out with the amount of gorgeous full size products inside, so if you want to get your hands on this amazing box head over to Glossybox.com where you can purchase one of your very own for only £10 (+P&P)

Totally hellbent for the best beauty box ever ever ever

-Gem

Travel

Holland Adventures

May 11, 2014

You might have noticed we’ve been very quiet this week! I’ve just returned from the mainland where I spent the week with my lovely boyfriend in his home-town of Rotterdam, NL. Long distance relationships do have massive downsides, but I get a lot of European mini-breaks that help make up for the arduous time spent apart!

I had a lovely week that was filled with lots of time outdoors (despite having thoroughly British weather that couldn’t decide if it wanted to burn my skin or drench me in freezing rain!) and even more time snuggled up in the warmth being utterly lazy.

If you follow my Instagram you will likely have seen a few of these, but here are a some choice shots that sum up my adventure nicely.

Totally hellbent for only three more weeks till my other half is in England for the summer =)

– Gem

The view from the balcony

My favourite spot in the city

Roode and Mr. Slicky getting some love

Baby Ducks!

Finding a pretty pagoda on our jog to the Euromast.

Lovely vegetarian Surinamese snacks

Representing the home of metal | Roode loving off terrible British junk food | Pulling silly faces | Being an utter poser

Make-up

Internet Haul – Real Techniques & Make-Up Revolution

April 29, 2014

I’ve been doing some big hauling recently, but this is the last for one a loooong time!

I’ve been dying to try out some of the bits and pieces from Make-Up Revolution, so when I saw their Easter offer of a free gift with every purchase I had to take advantage!

The first thing I knew I had to have was the Scandalous Lip Collection (£1 each), the blue lipstick in particular called out to me and I’m already in love with it! I haven’t tried foiling eye-shadow in a while so I thought I’d give the Awesome Metals Foil Finish (£4.00) set a try. No Make-Up Revolution haul would be complete without trying out one of their much talked about eyeshadow palettes! I chose Sticks and Stones (£4.00) but really I want them all! My last pick was the Vivid Blush Laquer in Bloom (£3.00), I figured I have a whole host of bright blushes but not many subtle ones! My free gift with the Easter special offer was two Pure Pigment Eye Dusts in Levity and Cautious (worth £1 each), a black Kajal (worth £2) and a lovely minty nail polish in Cool Days (worth £1)

So far the quality of all the products looks amazing for the price and I can’t wait to have a play with them all!

I’ve been after some more Real Techniques brushes for a while, but when I found this amazing offer on Ebay I had to grab them right away! I got the Core Collection, Travel Essentials and Eye Starter Kit worth just over £60 for only £40 (with P&P added in) from this American ebay listing! You can read Amie’s review of all the sets here! I also got a cute NYX lipgloss as a free gift!

My to-review pile is stocking up, so I’m now officially on a spending ban! No more beauty products for the whole of May, can I keep it up? Argh. We will see! I still have packages to come from Latest in Beauty and Geek Chic Cosmetics so that should keep me going!

Totally hellbent for one last spending splurge!

– Gem

Make-up

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Striking

April 27, 2014

After discovering my love for matte lip finishes with the MUA Matte Lipsticks I was eager to have a look around and see what other shine-free offerings are about. The Revlon Colourburst Matte Balms have been all over the blogosphere recently, and with all the good reviews I’ve seen it was only a matter of time before one accidentally fell into my shopping basket.

I chose Striking, a orange-red (of course it was going to be a red!). The balm is very buttery and has a nice minty scent that makes it feel more like a traditional balm than a lipstick, the finish however is far more pigmented than I expected. It applies very smoothly and you do get a slight sheen at first, but after a few minutes the gloss fades and you are left with a lovely bright velvet finish that surprisingly last for hours.

I wouldn’t choose this for an evening or stage look, as I think some of the brightness fades away, even if the colour remains, but for daytime wear this is absolutely perfect for a pop of colour without being too in-your-face.

Unfortunately for my bank balance I’m a real fan of this product and definitely have my eye on a few other shades (especially the much coveted Shameless!)

Available from Superdrug.com for only £5.99 at the moment! (Normal price £7.99)

Totally hellbent for this whole matte look thing after all!

– Gem

Skincare

Nip + Fab Viper Venom Eye Fix Review

April 23, 2014

I’ve got a lot of love for Nip + Fab, so I picked this up with very high expectations. We all want those wonder products that fix everything and perform miracles, and there are so very many with such extraordinary promises that don’t follow up. This however is not one of them.

The Nip + Fab Viper Venom Eye Fix is a cooling eye treatment in with a roller ball applicator that claims to smooth the look of fine lines and wrinkles and target dark circles, now I’m lucky enough not to worry about fine lines (at least not just yet – eek!) but I do suffer from dark circles and tired looking eyes.

I’ve been using this for a few weeks now and I have to say it really has made a huge difference to my dark circles! I’ve tried a few other roller ball style eye treatments in the past and none of them have come close to the refreshing cooling sensation you get with this. It really does brighten and tighten the area, and the longer I use it the better the results seem to be.

The Nip + Fab Viper Venom Eye Fix is a great fix for the morning after the night before or just for those super early mornings when you need a little pick me up, but personally I’ve started using it almost every day just to keep myself looking bright eyed and bushy tailed no matter how little sleep I’ve had!

Overall another amazing Nip + Fab product to add to the collection, and I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!

I’d be really interested to find out if it works as well on fine lines, has anyone out there seen any results from using this?

The Nip + Fab Viper Venom usually retails for around £14.99 but I’ve found it here on Allbeauty.com for only £5.95!

Totally hellbent for a wonder product that actually works!

– Gem

Beauty Boxes

Love Me Beauty Box Review April 2014 – Menu 1

April 22, 2014

It’s the 22nd and my April Love Me Beauty box has only just arrived!

Unlike other beauty boxes Love Me Beauty allows you to pick from three menus, so you know exactly what you will get in each monthly box. This month I picked menu 1, and here’s what I received!

Betty Hula Secret Wonder Oil Roller Ball

There’s been loads of oils in recent beauty boxes, and I was a sceptic at first but I’ve quickly fallen in love with the natural herb-y scents and amazing results! This reminds me of the Balance Me Radiance Facial Oil only for your body instead. I love the vintage design on the packaging and can definitely see me buying another once I’ve worked through this one!

Full Size

£6.25 from Bettyhula.co.uk

Models Own Nail Polish in Coral Reef

I’m a big fan of the Models Own polishes and love a good bright coral shade so this was a perfect product for me! The bright pinky red went straight on my nails and gave such amazing coverage I only had to use one coat!

Full Size

£5 from Modelsownit.com

Neal & Wolf Silk Smoothing Blow-Dry Balm

I’m pretty lazy with my hair as unless I’m in a hurry I just leave it to dry naturally. On the occasions I do use a hair dryer I find that I get lots of flyaway and frizz so this will be great to try out! It claims to provide moisture, balance and manageability and leave hair sleek straight and silky-smooth so I’ve got high hopes! It’s definitely worth mentioning that the smell is absolutely divine too!

Full Size

£12.50 from Nealandwolf.com

Redken Colour Extend Conditioner

Considering I’ve had blue hair for about six years now, I’m always looking for ways to fight against fading colour and thus save me the hassle of a six hour hair dying session for a little longer! I’ve tried various conditioners for coloured hair over the years but none have really taken my fancy, I’m always willing to try one more though! There’s only enough for one use on my long thick hair, but if you have shorted hair I think you could get a few washes out of this.

25ml Sample

250ml for £9.99 from Gorgeousshop.co.uk

Hello Fresh Gift Voucher

This card wasn’t advertised as being part of the box so I was quite surprised to find it, however having peeked around a few other blogs it seems that everyone received one this month regardless of which menu they chose. It’s worth £25 but the cheapest thing you can purchase is £39. Definitely a perk if you use this service or are interested to try it, but not something I think I will use.

www.HelloFresh.co.uk

Overall I think it was a pretty good box with three full sized items. Nothing I’m ga-ga crazy about but nothing I dislike either (other than the voucher which I wasn’t expecting anyway).

If you want to try a Love Me Beauty box of your own you can order them from Lovemebeauty.com for £10 + P&P!

Totally hellbent for so many full size products!

– Gem

Make-up

MUA Matte Lipsticks Review and Swatches

April 21, 2014

I actually picked these up a while ago, but they’ve sat in my “to be reviewed” pile for far too long so I thought it was finally time to break them out and give them some wear! I picked up all five shades available (l-R) Peachy Keen, Pouty Pink, Totally Nude, Wild Berry & Scarlet Siren, though I’ve seen that there are two more shades floating around now (which of course I will need to find and add to complete the collection!)

The packaging is identical to the usual £1 MUA lipsticks, only the plastic tube is white instead of black which I think I strangely actually prefer. This is my first real foray into matte lipsticks as I’m usually a fan of glossy bold shades, but I have to say I really like them. All five apply really well and give good coverage for a budget brand, however I wouldn’t say they are absolutely true colours on the lips, especially Wild Berry which is unfortunately no-where near as dark on the lips.

All five have a nice creamy consistency and though I was worried they might dry my lips out, they actually made them feel quite moisturised which is a nice perk!

The MUA Matte Lipsticks are a great way to try out the matte finish without splurging on more expensive brands, but I do think they fall down massively in one place and that’s longevity. Without Lipcote (which I almost always use) they barely last an hour without fading, though I do expect a lot from my lipsticks when they have to survive me puffing on my E-Cig and chugging down water constantly. Lipcote however does extend their wear to a good few hours, so if you don’t mind adding another product into the mix you can get a lot more wear out of all the shades.

Overall I think it’s a good range of colours and I’ll likely get wear out of them all except for Totally Nude which I think is a bit “concealer lips” (is that in fashion again?).

At only £1 each you can’t really make too many complaints, and I will be seeking out the two new shades added to the range once they go on sale.

Available from Superdrug.com

Totally hellbent for a purse-friendly fun range of colours!

– Gem