Make-up

Make-up

W7 Honolulu Bronzing Face Powder Review

April 18, 2014

Benefit style box powders at a fraction of the price? Yes please! Despite the fact I’ve been raving about Benefit’s Dallas (reviewed here) for a while, I couldn’t resist this cheeky little treat when I saw it. As a pale-faced lady I’ve really struggled with the idea of bronzer for a long time, I instantly associate it with orange trendy types and dismissed it as a part of my routine until very recently when I discovered the glory that is contouring.

This is such a great contour bronzer for pale skin. It has a matte finish and is definitely more of a warm brown tone than anything close to unsavoury orange. It has a good build-able pigmentation and surprisingly great lasting power. The fact that it is so matte really makes this a must have for me, as almost all bronzers have at least a little shimmer to them making them less than ideal for using for contour.

I definitely never want to use bronzer as an all over face product (too much of a dirty goff to want to look even slightly sunkissed!) but if you do like the healthy glow look, used sparingly this gives a suitable tone without the tell-tale all over shimmer.

The little brush is no better than it’s Benefit counterpart, but at least is synthetic! I’d personally rather stick to a “proper” face brush, but if you had no alternative it would suffice.

Available for only £2.95 from FragranceDirect.co.uk.

Totally hellbent for finally finding a cheap matte bronzer

– Gem

Make-up, Tip Tuesday

Tip Tuesday – Avoiding Mascara on Your Eyelid During Application

April 15, 2014

Do you ever apply your mascara, and as as you look upwards for that final sweep of your bottom lash thinking you have completed your look, you peek in the mirror to see you have in fact managed to cover your upper eyelid in mascara since your top lashes weren’t quite dry?

Well to keep today’s Tip short and sweet, apply mascara to your bottom lash first! Honestly, I’ve been applying my mascara this way for years, such a simple change but I’ve never smudged it, or ended up with an eyelid full of mascara since. Give it a go and see what you think.

If you have any suggestions for tips you’d like to read about, let us know in the comments below!

Totally hellbent for perfect mascara application every time

-Pants

Make-up

A haul full of bargains!

April 15, 2014

I’m always one for a bargain but I think I got some real steals in this haul!

As always this wasn’t planned…I was just going to look! Then suddenly I remembered I had a boots gift voucher and it all got a bit..out of hand. No regrets though as I already love everything I picked up!

My story starts in Superdrug as I decided this would be the day I finally fulfilled my long desire for Sleek’s Rose Gold blusher. Handily enough the Sleek counter faces the MUA counter so it was a no-brainer that I’d turn around and pick something up. I settled on the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Laquer in Reckless as Amie loves hers in Atomic (reviewed here) and it’s the only thing she’d found that can survive an hour under stage lights!

My next stop was Boots, and how glad was I to have saved my gift voucher from my birthday haul when I spotted the Sanctuary Illumination Moisture Lotion and Soap and Glory CC Superfluid and Sit Tight Intense XS in the clearance section! I also took a swing by the Bourjois counter where I found the light Delice de Poudre (which I’ve been looking for for ages!) and powder blush in 41 Healthy Mix.

I can’t resist the bargains in Poundland, and so picked up a Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Colour in Silver Elements, Nail Rock Nail Caviar in Acid Caviar and Mars some Deep Heat and Deep Freeze style sprays as I pulled a muscle in my Body Combat class earlier in the day (owie!), a Love Hearts scented candle in Very Vanilla and some bright blue face cloths for my gym bag.

My final stop was Bodycare where I found my favourite nail varnish remover – Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover – for half it’s usual price and then did a little happy dance as the Technic Electric palette was back in stock!

The best part of all was that (with my £25 boots voucher which covered all the purchases there AND gave me some change!) was that all this came to only £21!

Totally hellbent for all the shinies at a fraction of the cost!

– Gem

Make-up

MUA Power Pout in “Runaway” Review

April 13, 2014

This was a sheer accidental purchase. I didn’t need it, but as always when browsing the MUA stand, it slipped and fell into my basket. Well it would be rude not to take it home after all that wouldn’t it?

I chose this because it has a beautiful coral look to it. I didn’t actually realise that this was more of a tinted lip balm until I got home, but I still absolutely love it!

Considering this is just a tinted balm, the pigment is actually pretty amazing and I was really impressed with how it applied. It was easy to use, my lips felt nice and soft afterwards and it gave enough colour to satisfy my inner “coralove”. The longevity was about the same as a usual lip balm, but because of the consistency it applied well enough to top up without a mirror whilst out and about. It was also easy to remove – unlike the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer’s that are very unforgiving if you make a mistake during application. This is definitely a new favourite grab and go balm, for when I don’t want to apply lipstick, but fancy a touch of colour in a hurry.

I’m so impressed by this that I’m going to grab a few more next time I’m in Superdrug. For a bargain price of £3.00 you can’t really complain at all. You can grab these from Superdrug online here or in store – next on my purchase list will be the “Broken Hearted” shade.

Have you tried these out yet? If so I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Totally hellbent for surprising balms with a flash of colour

-Pants

Make-up

MUA Up All Night Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

April 10, 2014

A One Direction palette on HBFL? Sacrilege! Minus fifty krieg points!

This collection came out last year much to the excitement of far too many people who need more Norwegian black metal in their lives (shame on you!). I was pretty put off by the 1D branding for the longest time, but then I stopped to take a look at the colours (and realised the only 1D reference was on a sticker!) and soon enough it was in my basket.

The Up All Night palette comes in the usual MUA black plastic packaging which is more than sturdy enough to leave on the dressing table, but doesn’t stand up to much if you plan on taking it out and about. I’m very happy to say that the back of the packaging has a plan of the palette with the names of each shade (the older palettes have numbered shades instead) as well as a few suggestions on how to wear the colours, which is a nice touch for the teeny market this is aimed at.

The usual sponge applicator is included, but honestly ladies if you don’t have make-up brushes you are better off using your fingers!

Alright, onto the colours! There are ten shimmer finish shades in the Up All Night palette that lean towards metallic, one of my favourites, Love, has a glitter finish too. The only colour I was disappointed in was Debut, as it just didn’t apply very well. All the other shades are very pigmented and have a lovely creamy texture. We’re not talking the best eye-shadow in the world, but I challenge anyone to find better shimmer eye-shadows in this price range!

With a primer you can expect the colours to last out the day (or the night!) with minimal creasing.

And now the best bit – onto the lovely shimmery swatches!

If you’re after some cheap yet impressive brights, this palette is definitely for you! Another winner from MUA in my book! Unfortunately I don’t think this is available online any-more, but I’ve seen them in-store at most Superdrugs still, and you can find them knocking around on Ebay too!

Totally hellbent for taking off that pesky 1D sticker!

– Gem

Make-up

Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush Review

April 9, 2014

I am -rubbish- at applying eye-liner! Considering it’s one of my make-up staples you’d think I would be better at applying it by now, but no, every day is a war on even level lines that I inevitably loose and then have to start all over again…till now!

When I first saw this brush launched I just knew I had to add it to my Real Techniques collection, I’ve been on the search for -the- eye-liner brush since forever and with the fantastic reputation of the brand I had a good feeling that this could be it.

First up let’s go over the basics, as with all Real Techniques brushes the Silicone Liner Brush has a signature colour coded handle (purple for eye brushes) with a black end; simple but effective and iconic. The handle itself is very slim as to be expected with a fine liner brush, but doesn’t feel too fiddly.

As for the tip itself, make from flexible silicone it is soft enough to not cause drag along the eye-lid, but rigid enough to draw the straightest of lines. The tip is tiny and perfect for getting right into the lash-line, in fact as a whole the brush is versatile enough to do everything from the most subtle lining to the biggest most dramatic looks you can imagine. I had no problem whatsoever picking up product with it, though of course it’s not as absorbent as a bristle brush so I did have to reload between eyes.

One of the things really worth raving about though is how easy this brush is to clean! Deep cleaning brushes is the bane of every beauty lovers life and it takes me a good few hours to get through my collection. Lip brushes and eye-liner brushes are always the worst though, often setting hard making them completely unusable till you’ve used half a bottle of brush cleaner on them – well no more! You can simple wipe away any residue with a tissue or baby-wipe after each use and it looks band spanking new again!

Overall I can’t recommend the Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush enough, in fact that goes for every Real Techniques brush I’ve tried (you can check out my review on the Duo-Fibre set here and Amie’s massive post on the Core Collection, Starter Kit and Travel Essentials here). There’s a reason they are so coveted amongst bloggers and make-up artists, because they consistently deliver fantastic brushes at a more than reasonable cost.

Have you tried this brush yet?

You can pick up the Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush for £5.99 from Boots.com

Totally hellbent for anything that makes eyeliner fast, simple and easy!

– Gem

Make-up

Sleek Blush by 3 in Lace Review

March 29, 2014

I’d been eyeing up the Sleek Blush by 3 Palettes for quite a while before I finally gave in and chose “Lace” on a recent Gem and Pants shopping trip. Out of all the colours I figures this would be the one I would get the most wear out of.

One of my favourite things about the Sleek range is their packaging. It’s so … well … sleek I suppose! It has a real luxurious feel to it and reminds me of NARS with it’s matte black casing but without the hefty price tag. On opening the palette, you are greeted with three stunning bold blushes.

Lace is a trio of matte and shimmer pink/peach shades that are absolutely gorgeous. As always, I’ve resisted using it until I’d taken my pictures and how I managed to keep my hands off it for that long I don’t know. These three shades are perfect for me and I’m looking forward to being able to pick between three different blushers (instead of just one shade that I have to pick and chuck into my make-up bag) when I take this out and about on tour and for gigs. I’m definitely going to pack this for my upcoming trip to Scotland!

Onto the swatch:

These were stunning to swatch. They feel so soft and silky and literally glide on. I love the coral/peach colour on the far right which along with the first shade is a Matte colour. The middle has a beautiful shimmer to it and will be perfect for a more glamorous night out.

There are eight shades of the Blush by 3 range at the moment – some of them are quite daring colours for blusher but I definitely want to get my hands on a few more – especially “flame“, “pumpkin” and “California I.A“.

I’m am most certainly overwhelmed by how beautiful this palette is and think it’s money well spent. For £9.99 you can pick up one of the many shades directly from the Sleek website here.

Have you tried out any of the Sleek Blush by 3 palettes? If so I’d love to know your thoughts.

Totally hellbent for silky soft corals – all over my cheeks!

-Pants

Make-up

Make-up Palette Storage

March 24, 2014

After Gem and I had finished one of our Gym classes last week, we decided in our infinite wisdom that we would “pop into” the local shopping centre to purchase some new Gym wear and obligatory red and blue yoga mats. Unfortunately, this meant we were unsupervised and within reach of a variety of shops where we could easily spend all our pennies. We do have a habit of going a bit crazy when we are both together, but it does mean between the two of us, we manage to find some ultimate bargains. One of many last week was this adorable little toast rack which Gem spotted in B&M a cheap and cheerful “full of everything” shop on the local high street.

Although this isn’t much use to me as an actual toast rack – it is the absolute perfect size for storing all of my palettes!

I love having things on show on my dressing table – but I like this to be in an organised manner so that when I am getting ready, I have everything to hand. This is probably one of the most adorable things I have on there and for a bargain price of £1.99 it was more than justifiable considering you can spend at least £20-£30 and more on acrylic make-up storage – so next time you are in your local “odds and sods” shop – take another look at some of their bargain items and see how you could use it for other means!

Have you picked up any weird and wonderful items recently that you’ve used for storing your make-up?

Totally hellbent for shopping with my bestest Gemma

-Pants

Don’t forget to enter our competition to win MUA and Etos goodies!

Make-up

MUA Mascara shade 3 Review

March 17, 2014

You know how it is when you’re casually browsing the MUA stand and you just can’t help picking up a few bits and pieces even though you promised yourself you wouldn’t? Yeah well, that totally happened to me (oops!) and I ended up with a couple of things, this fabulous shade of mascara being one of them!

The tube is opaque plastic and not as I thought clear showing the colour inside. The mascara itself is less greeney/turquoise hued and more blue than the tube, but we’re only talking marginally so it’s not really a massive deal.

The wand is pretty standard with fairly short even bristles, it’s not the best by a long shot but it isn’t completely terrible either.

The formula isn’t really anything special either, it wasn’t particularly curling or thickening, however you do have to take into consideration that this is a £1 mascara!

So-so brush and lacklustre formula aside though I actually do really like this mascara. The colour is gorgeous and currently a pretty close match to my hair. It takes a few layers to build up, and you have to be fast because it clumps quite easily, but if you get it right you’re left with a very bold and bright look.

I won’t be reaching for this on a day to day basis but I’ll definitely bust it out when I fancy a little pop of colour!

Available for £1 from Superdrug.com

Totally hellbent for all things turquoise!

– Gem

If you haven’t already don’t forget to enter our competition to win MUA and Etos goodies!

Make-up

MUA “Pretty Edgy Eyeshadow Palette” – The Studded Palette Review

March 13, 2014

When Gem and I had heard MUA had launched a “studded” palette under their Luxe range, our imaginations ran wild with what many delights this could entail, and thankfully a lot of this ran true. As suspected, they had released a beautiful palette, covered in gold studs. What could be more heavy metal than that?

During the festive period, this was sold out everywhere, including direct from the MUA website, but luckily Gem had procured this for my birthday in February – adding to the many many spoils she had already purchased. I was literally overjoyed when I opened this and it looks so amazing with my other palettes.

This palette comes with ten beautifully dark yet neutral shades and rather than the usual circular pans, the shadows span the entirety of the palettes inside. It’s also blessed with a large mirror and the usual rubbish sponge applicator which I doubt will ever be used.

Usually MUA have a habit of giving their products numbers instead of names, so my insides danced a little with excitement when I saw they had named this set.

The top row, from left to right: Antique, Bow, Toile, Ruffle, Flounce and Envy are very shimmery shades and swatched beautifully.

The bottom row, from left to right: Sinful, Gothic, Wrath and Envy are more Matte shades and I was really surprised with how well the pigment came through.

Here are the individual swatches:

My favourites are – Antique a really shimmery pearlesque colour and Lace which has a subtle maroon undertone to it, I also really love Sinful, which is like a very light mauve – I’m really looking forward to experimenting with some of these colours as there is a definite purple hue to some of these, which is not something I’m generally brave enough to try or get away with.

Overall I am mega impressed with the swatches and colours. Honestly – I didn’t even want the palette for the colours when I first cast my eyes upon it, the magpie in me was completely drawn to the packaging and it could have been filled with “My First Corpsepaint” for all I cared so I’m really glad I have another palette that I am going to love and use adoringly.

If you want to get your hands on one of these superb palettes, you can buy them here from Superdrug for £8 – slightly more expensive than their normal palette range, but definitely worth every penny. Be warned though – they sell out fast!

What are your thoughts on the new Luxe range by MUA? We’d love to hear your thoughts down below.

Totally hellbent for heavy metal make-up

Pants