Make-up

Five Looks to Rock Your World in 2015

March 6, 2015

The following is a featured post courtesy of Perfect Lips.

Well, ladies, 2015 in now in full swing – and with a new year comes fabulous new trends in the world of hair and beauty. But what does this year have in store? And what shades of lippy and liners should we be stocking up on? Let’s take a look at five trends to rock your world:

Beautiful Black Lines
Calling all rock chicks: Black eyeliner is very much IN for 2015; and the best news? However you wear your lines, you’ll be bang-on-trend.
Grab your trusty gel liner and draw on some fine lines or go bold with some strong flicks on your upper lid. Lower lid liner is also popular for this year, so you can really play around with your look to find something that works for you.
And, if you want to give this trend even more impact, team your luscious lines with a smoky shadow. Gorgeous!

Plum Perfection
Whether your best feature is your perfect lips or whether it’s your big, beautiful peepers, you can rock this trend in 2015; it’s important not to do both though – choose your best facial asset and work with that. Plum is a great shade for all skin tones, just choose the right level of plum for you.

Big Bold Lips
We’re forever fans of big bold lips, but this season, they’re dominating the nude lip look. The hottest lips this year will be showcasing bright reds, plums, orange tints, and powerful pinks. Don’t neglect your lip liner either – this can really enhance your look.

Brown-eyed Beauties
Fall in love with brown shadows this season; play with bronze powders and soft walnuts to find your ideal shade. This is the perfect look to take you from daytime casual to hitting the town – try a subtle brown for the office to enhance your eyes, but take it up a notch with bold wings or dazzling metallics for your evening look.
If you’re not a fan of shadows, you can still rock this trend with a sexy brown lip.

Pop of Colour
If you like to have fun with your look then you’re going to love this trend: it’s all about flashes of colour on your lids; the only limit to your look is your imagination.
Blues and reds have been key to this trend on the catwalk, but you can enjoy whatever shade suits you. Wear it solid for a more intense finish, or fade it out into a smoky eye effect.
Those are 5 of the hottest looks to rock your world in 2015, but which one is your favourite? Leave us a comment below.

About the author

Dr Rob, of Perfect Lips, is a facial cosmetic and dental surgeon with 30 years’ experience creating beautiful smiles, and now in creating the perfect pout. Get in touch to find out more about his pain free lip injections.

Make-up

Hershey’s and Pepsi Flavoured Lotta Love Lip Balms

October 28, 2014

I’m an avid collector of flavoured lip-balms, I think it’s because it reminds me of being a pre-teen and spending my hard earned pocket money on the little tubs from The Body Shop, so when I saw this set of four Hersheys balms for only £2.99 in my local B&M I snapped it up right away!

I thought at first they were import Lipsmackers, but they are made by a company called Lotta Luv who actually license lip balms from quite a few famous brands.

I’ll admit to only trying three of the four as not only am I allergic to peanuts but I hate the smell of them , so the Reeces Pieces balm will be finding a home with my boyfriend who loves the stuff (and stealing all my lip balms!)

Now the three I have used are marvellous Hershey’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s caramel are all very sweet chocolate scents, yet they all do smell different and like they products they emulate! I became a huge fan of Hershey’s chocolate when I visited New York, it doesn’t quite taste like anything we have here in England, and though you can find it here occasionally it’s quite difficult to track down unless you go to a dedicated imported sweets shop. Well now I can save my waistline and still indulge in Americana nostalgia!

Hershey’s and Hershey’s Kisses are lightly tinted, which I love for adding a touch of colour on lazy days. All three have a lovely buttery texture, and though novelty flavoured lip-balms never quite seem to have the moisturizing power of other less interesting balms, they make up for it with the fun factor!

As great as the little box set is, though, this Pepsi Wild Cherry balm is my absolute new favourite in the whole world and it only cost me 59p! As with the Hershey’s this is made by Lotta Love and has a similar texture, but the tint is much stronger making it a perfect contender for a casual day lip.

Unfortunately I haven’t seen any on-line stores stocking these lip balms, but both can be found on Amazon and Ebay with a little luck, else you can try and track them down in a local B&M store.

What’s your favourite flavoured lip balm?

Totally hellbent for all the yummy flavours with none of the yucky calories!

– Gem

Make-up

Avon Ultra Colour Bold and Soft Matte Lipstick Review

September 1, 2014

I bought these lipsticks on a whim a few campaigns ago. The Ultra Colour Bold lipstick range is pretty new to Avon and I paid £10 for 5 lipsticks out of my demo book before they were launched to customers. I don’t know why I felt that I needed another 5 lipsticks, but I was completely drawn to the bright and bold pinks that were on offer and thus a new era of Pants (the type that now wears pink lipstick) was born. If these wern’t enough, I also picked up another lipstick from the Ultra Colour collection, but this was an older colour and from the “Soft Matte” range in “Hibiscus” – again still in keeping with my new found pink obsession, but this was from the usual brochure and cost me £3.60.

The first thing I noticed about the Ultra Colour Bold Lipsticks is that they were packaged in wonderfully sleek boxes, clearly labelled and pretty “bold”. When comparing this to the Ultra Colour Soft Matte below, which was packaged in some cheap plastic, I think the Ultra Colour Bold collection is definitely more of a winner.

From Left to Right; Magenta Flash, Fearless Fuchsia, Ruby Shock, Hibisca, Rapid Rose & Pink Punch

Unsheathed, all of the lipsticks look absolutely gorgeous, and the actual lipstick packaging is the same. Each lid has a see through panel at the top so you can see the lipstick through it, which I thought was quite a novel idea. I like to store mine upside down so I can see the sticker and and colour, but I’m aware that a lot of companies don’t always use the actual colour on the bottom of the packaging. This was at least I can take a peek when choosing my shade.

I wasn’t expecting a great deal before I swatched these, but I was pretty blown away with how … bold … they were. With the exception of Hibiscus which was the “Soft Matte” which was a little less gloss and a little more matte, the rest really did pack a punch and give a generous helping of colour. All of the lipsticks glided onto the lips effortlessly and were so easy to apply, since trying them on my lips I haven’t needed to use a lip liner as there was little to no bleed around the lips. For standard lipsticks, the longevity of the colour was also pretty spectacular. Magenta Flash has been my most used and is probably my favorite out the lot, it also seems to go well with my hair colour due to it’s unfortunate fading to bright pink during the days spent out in the sun.

Overall I’m head over heels for these lipsticks and am definitely not regretting my decision to purchase them. If you’d like to try your hand at a few Pink treasures, check out the Ultra Colour Bold range from Avon here where they are currently on special offer for just £4.75.

Have you tried the Avon Ultra Bolour Bold collection?

Totally hellbent for rediscovering my inner girl and getting down with the pink

– Pants

Make-up

theBalm Rockstar Face Palette Balm Jovi Review

July 16, 2014

For those of you unacustomed to the ways of Birchbox, when you complete the monthly surveys on the products you receive in your box you are awarded shiny points. These can then be used to purchase things from the Birchbox shop. My last points purchase was theBalm concealer just after christmas, so when I had an e-mail with 20% off their online shop because I’d been subscribed for a year, I instantly logged in to my account to see how many points I’d acquired. After seeing I had over £20 worth, I set about scouring their products to see what joy I could pick up next;

Well it was only a matter of time really wasn’t it? I adore theBalm as a brand in general and after my NUDE’tude palette (warning retro post pictures incoming!), I’ve been itching to get my hands on some other signature palettes of theirs. The Rockstar Palette was the optimum choice and something that I really couldn’t resist – 12 eye-shadows, a blush, highlighter and two lip/cheek stains all in one! Not to mention the aptly named eye-shadow names – it really did pull at my “strings”. The palette also comes with a mirror and a few colour combinations to try out, which I found a lovely quirky touch.

The swatches are a combination of matte and shimmer shades, unfortunately I’m still suffering with “post first european festival of the year tan” syndrome, so my skin is a lot darker than usual, meaning that “Metal-ica”, “Adagio” and “Iron Maid-in” didn’t show up as well on camera – never the less I have high hopes for these on my slightly paler face! Of all the eye-shadow shades, the only two that I think may not be used are “Moderato” and “rem”, only because these are a dark mauve and lilac shade which does not suit my skin tone at all. All of the shades are absolutely gorgeous and completely versatile for any type of look, whether it be a day time natural or heavier dramatic eye that you are going for.

I swatched these on my arm and despite a quick shower, I could still see the faint outline the next morning – the last few dregs came off easily with some Mi-cellar water though and I have no doubts about the lasting power of these shades when I wear them out and about.

“Solid Gold” is the highlighter and it looks pretty spot on, as is the blush “Don’t You Want Me” – a lovely pink/peach colour, that is well pigmented and very build-able.

I also love that this come with two lip and cheek tints. Although I doubt with the consistency that I’d use either on my cheeks, they are both beautiful and wearable shades. A more toned down “Milly” gives a soft almost pink-nude touch to add a little something to the lips and “Vanilly” is a gorgeous bold red. Both were easily applied with my lip brush and the longevity of each was pretty amazing.

Overall this is probably one of the best palettes I’ve ever picked up – it literally has everything I could ever need for my face. It’s the sort of thing that I could take with me for a few days away and I really wouldn’t need to take any other products other than some eyeliner and mascara. Okay, I know – not that I could ever be sensible enough to take this one palette with me on such adventures, but if I absolutely -had- to choose just one palette and nothing else it would be this one.

This palette is available for £34 from the Birchbox shop, but with my points and 20% off I picked this up for only £3.95 – an absolute bargain! I’m so in love with this palette and can not believe it has taken me so long to be the proud owner!

Have you got this palette or are you thinking of buying it?

Totally hellbent for heavy metal references in one of my favorite brands products!

-Pants

Make-up

elf Mineral Lipsticks Review

July 2, 2014

I picked up three of the Mineral Lipsticks from the elf clearance recently, and one of the first things that struck me, was how sexy the packaging was! I am very keen on elf packaging as a whole, especially their Studio line which is often encased in beautifully curved black casings. These lipsticks were no exception and look absolutely stunning (and that’s before I’d even taken the lids off).

I have a fair few elf lipsticks already but I’ve never tried the Mineral Lipsticks. If I’d have known how gorgeous they were, I would have invested in some long ago. No surprise however are the colours I picked, basking in red and pink hues I went for Cheerful Cherry, Ripe Rose and Cool Coral:

All three are delightfully pigmented and I tried “Ripe Rose” out a few days ago on a very warm day out. It’s longevity was actually brilliant, after I declined to coat this in lipcote, it actually stayed put for almost the entire day. The other thing I like about these is that they don’t leave your lips feeling dry or cracked which I’m guessing is down to the essential oils, waxes and vitamins crammed into them to make such a moisturising formula. Each lipstick cost me just £2.00 in the elf clearance sale and are usually £5.00 available directly from elf’s online store here. Although I’m really enthused by these at the moment, I would have liked to see some brighter colours in this range as many of the shades are the classic berry, neutral and various shades of pink/peach. Alas I’m happy with my purchased shades and they will be added to my “daytime collection” which is expanding at an appalling and worrying rate.

What are your thoughts on the elf Mineral Lipstick range?

Totally hellbent for lipsticks that I can wear all day, that keen my lips soft and supple

-Pants

Make-up

W7 Rock ‘n’ Roll Eye Shadow Review

June 23, 2014

These were picked up from Poundland on my recent “Accidental May Haul”. I’m a sucker for green and blue shadows, as they really suit my hazel eye colour. A quick swatch in the shop and I knew that these were coming home with me.

Sage is actually more of a gold infused green, which is actually Okay with me, since I like to add a bit of sparkle when I’m wearing my hilarious gold Manowar t-shirt. Envy is a greeny blue and is just as gorgeous. I think the two will probably also work quite well together. Once I had a good play with these at home, I was hooked and instantly set about scouring the net to find out if there were any more shades. Thankfully there are, including a gorgeous grey/black colour called “sixpence” here which I may just have to invest in at a later date. I love the pigment of most loose shadows but I find applying them can be such a nuisance, Having a whole tube full of pigmented loose powder applied with a roller ball is an such a brilliant idea and makes application a dream.

Both of these were only £1 but online they vary from £0.99 to over £2.50 but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for other colours in my local Poundland.

Have you tried these yet?

Totally hellbent for surprising finds during accidental hauls

-Pants

Beauty Boxes, Make-up, Nails, Skincare, Travel

Glossybox June 2014 Review

June 16, 2014

This is the last of my beauty boxes to arrive this month, and Gem and I have been waiting on tenterhooks after a few spoilers were going around, but now the wait is over and I can finally see what is in my Glossybox!

The first thing I noticed, is that mine was prepared a little more shoddily than the usually impeccable presentation. My Glossybox (GB) sticker looked as though it had already been peeled off, and everything was just kind of “thrown in”. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with the contents, but one of the reasons I love GB so much, is down to the presentation and packaging.

That aside, let’s move onto the contents:

nailgirls – 3in1 base/topcoat & nail strengthener | Full Size Product | £13.50

I received a nailgirls in one of my boxes last month, unfortunately it was the most disgusting barbie pink that I am likely never to wear. The formula was amazing though which was a shame, so I’m pretty glad I’ve received another, this time more multi-functional product from them. I am running out of base coat (and at the rate I paint my nails it’s no wonder), so I was gearing up to look around and buy a new one. No need now though. Having base and top coat in one is going to be especially great for when I go away, knowing that I don’t have to fill my bag with lots of varnish. Because when you are on a 6 hour boat ride to a festival, you need to occupy yourself!

Teeez Trend Cosmetics – Beautiful Flat Stiff Brush | One Size | €19

This brush looked absolutely amazing, but from the moment I tipped the tip out of the box, my heart sank. There it was, the distinct sand coloured bristle that generally means some form of animal hair. I therefore narrowed my eyes and replaced this brush back into it’s box never to be used on my skin. Although my first impressions of the brush were that it looked fab, on closer inspection it is a mere spec on the horizon compared to it’s cruelty free counter parts and the bristles were quite stiff and and rough. I know it’s always difficult to know for sure if a brand is cruelty free, but for a company that thinks it’s Okay to use animal in their brushes, I don’t hold out any hope for the rest of their products. Glossybox take note.

Rituals … – QI Gong anti-perspirant spray | 50ml | £3.50 for 50ml

Moving onto a product that I am happy to use, Rituals QI Gong antiperspirant spray. A company who appear to be fairly transparent about their cruelty free products and state categorically that they do not test on animals, nor do they allow third parties to. Although they admit to using beeswax and lanolin (wool fat) I can live with these, although I know there a lot of Vegan’s out there who would disagree. Ever since I procured one a Rituals body wash, I’ve relished the chance to try more of their products. This is a perfect size for taking to festivals (of which my first is going to be a week on Thursday!!), it smells absolutely gorgeous – infused with “white lotus and Yi Yi Ren” it’s a light and subtle summery scent, with a slight musky undertone to it. This is definitely going to be packed and I can’t wait to use it.

QV Skincare – QV Skin Lotion | 15ml | £6.06 for 250ml

Really? Really Glossybox? Really? For anyone that is unfamiliar with QV as a brand, they are heavily regarded as one of the cheaper go to companies for Doctors when writing prescriptions for Eczema and dry skin conditions. It’s issued by a pharmaceutical company named “Ego Pharmaceuticals” so sticking with what seems to be today’s theme of cruelty free, the chances of this being animal friendly are probably very slim (thanks to my nursing knowledge of pharmaceutical companies *boo hiss*), I note that they seemingly appear to avoid any questions asked about whether the product is Vegan or Vegetarian through skipping through their website earlier. I have in fact tried QV Lotion before, due to my very dry and sensitive skin and it really didn’t help at all not to mention my sheer reluctance to use a lot of products issues by my Doctor. Anyway, as much as my skin is a pain in the backside at times I definitely prefer organic, natural products. I suppose it’s the thought that counts GB, and I should really presume that you were sending my this because you actually took note of my beauty profile. Although next time I want to test out pharmaceutical lotions and potions, I’ll stop by the Docs.

So Susan Cosmetics – Universal Blush | Full Size Z £18

And a nice end to half and half box. A lovely “cruelty free” (alleged) blush. I do love my blush – not quite as much as Gem, but this is a welcome product to my collection. The colour is a gorgeous shimmery pink/peach and the pigment is perfect. A quick swatch and I’m very pleased and excited to test this out. The packaging is adorable and if that wasn’t enough, this blush supposedly reduces redness and offers UV protection – you know how much we thrive off UV protection here at “Gem and Pants land of pale”. I’ll definitely be looking out for more products from So Susan Cosmetics, given this one is such a hit. My one criticism is the lack of shade/name, but I can live with it.

Overall, 3 out of 5 isn’t bad. That’s over half of the products that I’ve enjoyed right? If I’m going to be honest, this month’s box has put me in a bit of grump. Although there are three fantastic products that I’m really pleased with, the QV lotion and brush have really irritated me. I am definitely siding with Birchbox at the moment who are offering a lot more high end brands and more for your money rather than Glossybox who seem to be offering me products I can either pick up from Superdrug or from the local Doctor. I am really torn as to whether I want to keep my subscription at the moment but perhaps it’s time too move on to better and more animal friendly pastures?

Have you had this month’s Glossybox? What were your thoughts?

If you are wanting to try Glossybox out, you can do so for £10 a month + £3.25 p&p here.

Totally hellbent for not smothering my face in goat hair

-Pants

Make-up

Elf Studio Cream Blush Review

June 10, 2014

I’ve really wanted to try the elf studio Cream Blush pots for ages, so when they were in their recent clearance sale I was overjoyed! I picked out “flirt” which is bright pink and “tease” which is more of a peach/russet colour. When I pulled these out of their boxes, the first thing I noticed was how big the pots were. They are literally the size of my palm and packed with a lot of product. The consistency was quite nice to touch once I’d opened the pots and it took a little bit of playing around with my fingers to get to grips with this.

The formula is a cream to powder, I was actually surprised by how pigmented this was and also how well it blended and applied to the skin. Both swatches above were applied with my fingers, the left side of the swatch is more heavily pigmented as I blended the product towards the right, which worked exceptionally well and was very easy to work with. I was a little worried at first that I would end up with way too much product and struggle to make these look anywhere near natural, but the Cream Blush is easily built up for full control and even easier to blend. I’m yet to try this with an actual make-up brush and I think I’ll definitely need to play with it for a lot longer before I start applying this to my face with a brush and as much as I love the pots in all of their enormity I am afraid these will often be left behind on gig days and festivals because I just wont have space in my makeup bag! With that being the only downfall, I’m definitely going to keep a look out for more cream blush’s in the future.

I picked these up for £3.25 each instead of the usual price of £6.50 so if you hurry, you may still be able to grab it in elf’s 50% off clearance here.

Have you tried any of the cream blush’s? If so, I’d love to know how you found them in the comments below.

Totally hellbent for half price and surprisingly creamy wonders

-Pants

Make-up

Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette Review

June 9, 2014

On my first Makeup Revolution purchase, I picked up the Redemption Matte Brights Palette. I have no idea why I was drawn to these bright and crazy colours, but I couldn’t help myself. If you are unfamiliar with the brand, they have hit the beauty world by storm and have rivaled the firm affordable favourite MUA with their cheap yet amazing palettes and fab albeit eccentric lip colours to name a few. I had high hopes for the palette after reading some reviews on their others and couldn’t wait to try some of the shades out.

Unfortunately these eye shadows aren’t named but for a palette that only cost me £4.00 for 12 shades I really can’t grumble too much. The first three shades, a white, grey and baby blue were actually very disapointing, I really struggled to get enough, if any, pigment onto my skin as you can see from the swatches above and when I finally managed to build up some colour for the grey and blue it was so insignificant I probably shouldn’t have even bothered. The same can be said for the peach colour which is the 9th swatch along. I was really hoping that me and the grey could get along, but perhaps I can use this in the corners of my eye when going for a smokey black look. I’m afraid that the white was so rubbish, it wouldn’t even work as a highlight.

Now we’ve gotten over the disappointment of four of the shades, we can move on to the others. The orange was actually quite bright, and may even work with a brown/nude eye. It’s not too shocking, but wearable enough to add just a pop of colour. The first pink was darker than I expected, but still gorgeous as was the purple and the second pink, which although was a little brighter wasn’t too dissimilar from the first.

The most surprising shade by far was the yellow which was the most pigmented – I was expecting this to be the worst shade, but I was wrong. Beautifully bright and applied like magic, although I’m not sure when I will ever wear this. As I raved above, the peach was insignificant and hardly worth mentioning, but the first green is stunning, being more of a yellow green, this really does make it stand out, compared to a lot of other greens which often end up a little dull and more of a khaki colour. The blue was also incredibly bright and applied well along with the last green which has even more of a yellow undertone to it. I think these three together with a good blending session could create some very dramatic and amazing results!

Even though some of these didn’t swatch as I’d hoped, I really didn’t buy the palette for it’s exiting white and perfect peach colours, so overall I am impressed with how the palette swatched as a whole, especially given the price tag. It gives me high hopes for some of the tried and tested “safer” shades in the other palettes from Makeup Revolution and I’m really going to make an effort to actually use some of these shades rather than allow it to lay dormant on my dresser.

Totally hellbent for all sorts of ‘zaney’ colours to match my ‘zaney’ personality

-Pants

Hauls, Make-up, Nails

Elf Clearance Haul Part 2

June 7, 2014

It happened again – well actually no, this happened pre “accidental shopping haul” which is why I felt so guilty about going shopping, knowing that I had already ordered a box of goodies from elf. For those that didn’t know, one of their latest deals was a free “Mystery Collection” (worth £15) when you spent £20 in the clearance section, as well as free p&p. What actually happened, is Gemma asked me whether or not she should go ahead with her elf order (you can check out her haul here), I asked her what she had put in her basket and instead of being the good friend and telling her she didn’t need any more blusher, before I could begin typing my supportive message to her over Skype, I had already filled my elf basket and purchased my order.

Bad Pants … very bad Pants. So what exactly did I order? How many of these did I need? (Absolutely none of them … at all!!!!)

Mysterious Nail Polish Set – £2.25

Beach Party Nail Polish Set – £2.25

Studio Cream Blush in “Flirt” – £3.25

Studio Cream Blush in “Tease” – £3.25

Primer Eyeshadow in “Sexy Silver” – £2.50

Tinted Moisturiser in “Porcelain” – £2.25

Mineral Lipstick in “Ripe Rose” – £2.00

Mineral Lipstick in “Cool Coral” – £2.00

Mineral Lipstick in “Cheerful Cherry” – £2.00

Mystery Collection in “Movie Star” – £15.00

Because I spent £20 in the clearance section, I could choose a “Mystery Collection” for free, worth £15. There were three to choose from; Movie Star, Diva and Night Owl, but after seeing a glimmer of red in the preview, I hoped for the best and bet on Movie Star. Boy am I pleased with my decision, these products all look absolutely perfect and luckily are all things that I usually wear.

Included in the “Movie Star Mystery Collection” were:

Flirty Lash Collection – This includes 2 eyelash sets, an adhesive glue and a pair of tweezers for easy application.

Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon in “Gunmetal”

Mineral Eye Brightener – ( I think in layman’s terms, this is pretty much just a highlight/eye-shadow base)

Studio Lip Gloss Stick in “Movie Star”

Look out for some full reviews of some of these products very soon. Despite me not needing anything I bought, I’m pretty excited at being able to play with some of these, especially in time for festival season. If you fancy a little elf streak, check out their website at www.eyeslipsface.co.uk and see what offers they have to lure you into a purchase!

Totally hellbent for free gifts that come in my colour

-Pants