Beauty | VIVO eyeshadow palette in Dreamy

Hiya!

I've decided to designate weekends as beauty post time. Today I want to talk about an eyeshadow palette I'm reaching for most often at the moment because the colours are sublime. It costs just £4 and it's the Dreamy palette from VIVO (who are out of business as of August 2015) another cruelty free brand (and one I think is very much underrated.)

Their range is small compared to their peers MUA and Makeup Revolution, and new lines are few and far between, but what they do, they do well. I love their lipsticks (which smell divine), their blushes and their eyeshadows, which are always very well pigmented. Here are a couple of previous VIVO reviews.

There's nothing boring at all about neutrals when they're done well, and these are beautiful. 10 of the 12 shades are super pigmented, with the 2 neutrals lacking punch (but still great for blending out bolder colours.) I use shimmer shadows up to my crease only and blend upwards with matte shadows to minimise the crepiness of my eyelids.

There are creamy taupes, lovely chocolate shades and coppers and golds. This palette makes my heart sing. It's currently out of stock on the website, but will hopefully be back in stock soon. The Unprotected palette is just as pigmented, is in stock and is another neutral palette by VIVO.

I'm using the 3rd shade under my bottom lashes, shade 8 on the upper lid and shade 10 on the outer part of my top lid. 

What's your favourite neutral palette?

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Beauty | Sleek Makeup Blush by 3 in Pink Lemonade

Howdy!

Sleek Makeup is one of my favourite makeup brands. I love their pigmented products at pocket-friendly prices, their cruelty free status and their wide range of colours to suit almost all skin tones.

I find their blush products particularly good. A single blush is £4.49, but it's far more cost-effective to get a Blush By 3, three full sized blushers in a mirrored palette for just £10. They're available in 7 colourways on the website currently, and they're brilliant.

This blush palette is called Pink Lemonade, and has 2 powder blushes and a cream blush in the middle.

Now, there's some argument about the individual blush names on various different beauty blogs. Looking at the palette from underneath but facing up the shades read Pink Mint, Macaroon, Icing Sugar, which some blogs list L-R. But if you turn it over to look at it they read Icing Sugar, Macaroon, Pink Mint and some other bloggers have that order L-R. There's no clarification to be found on the website as the individual blush shades are named differently to in the palettes (I'm not even sure if all the colours in the Blush by 3's are available singly - some might be limited edition.) Bloody hell, whoever said makeup was simple?! I guess it doesn't matter, but to save confusion I'm going with on the left/the first shade - a gorgeous pink powder blush with fine sparkle. In the middle we have Macaroon, a gorgeous pink cream blush, and the third shade is a ruddy coral powder blush. My favourite of the three is the first colour, which makes me feel like I'm a 5 year old obsessed with princesses again.

Out of focus shot so you can see the sparkle in the first shade

The third shade looks a little daunting in the pan but it's actually quite lovely on - I'm wearing it here. (I'm also wearing green shades from the Sleek Original eyeshadow palette which I talked about recently.)

You can buy Sleek on their website, in selected Superdrug stores and on Superdrug.com. 

What are your favourite makeup brands?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

Beauty | Makeup Revolution Mermaids vs Unicorns & FOTD

Hello you!

I haven't done a beauty post in a while so let's crack on. This is the Makeup Revolution Mermaids vs Unicorns palette, which is £4 for 14g and packed full of vibrant colours.

9 of the 12 colours are pigmented, with the first three being a bare wash of colour, and they're all sparkly. I'm never a great fan of palettes which have several blue shades as it's a colour which is very hard to look right on me, but the mixture of greens, blues, pinks and purples was too good to miss. The two right hand blues look pretty similar, but they're easily distinguished close up as the 6th shade has silver sparkle in it. The swatches were done dry on bare skin (no primer) and will be more vibrant used over a primer or applied wet.



Here's a really quick face of the day I did so you can see a couple of the shades on. I'm wearing the 1st shade under my eyelashes (which is the barest wash of pale mint) and the 3rd shade on my top lid, which is a deeper, almost blue-ish green. The colours are slightly buildable as you can see in the bigger photo below (one eye has one pass of shadow, the other two.) As ever there's a little bit of fallout with these shadows on application, but nothing terrible. They last all day on me with an eyeshadow primer.



I'm wearing some fun sunglasses from our holiday. On one evening we had a little party for me and our other friend whose birthday was the day after mine. I love everything kitsch.

You can buy Makeup Rev on their website, in selected Superdrug stores, and on Superdrug.com. It's my preference to buy direct from them as Superdrug takes some time to get in new lines.

Leah xoxo

I Feel Good

Hiya pickles,

I haven't taken part in in Vicky's monthly I Feel Good challenge for a couple of months, so here I am again. (My bad.)

"You know sometimes when you spend ages getting ready for a night out, an event or even just a blog post, and the reflection in mirror isn't what you hoped? This challenge is for those times when you look in the mirror, no pre planning involved, and think "I look good today".

We all have our good days and our bad, but this challenge is to record those good days and to remember that confidence, at any size, is beautiful."

I liked my makeup here a lot so thought I'd share. I'm wearing eyeshadow called Hiccup by Chinovi Cosmetics on my top lid, Hollywood Lights by Darling Girl Cosmetics on my top lid, and Stila lip gloss in Dazzleberry.

Thanks for peeping!
Leah xoxo

A FOTD & how I take my DSLR selfies

Hello earthlings!

I was looking back through last month's make up photos when I realised I hadn't posted these photos of a look I did with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I can't remember exactly what I used on my eyes. I *think* I'm using Liar over the main part of my lid, Buzz on my lower eyelid and Darkside in the outer corners and blended out.

Brows - Fashionista
Eyes - Urban Decay Naked 3 palette
Liquid eyeliner - VIVO Plum
Mascara - Soap & Glory Thick & Fast
Foundation - Fashionista Luminous foundation in Nude - this foundation is amazing and is £3!
Contour/blusher - Dainty Doll Money Talks blusher - old product, might turn up in discount stores
Lippie - MUA Luxe lip velvet in Criminal

You can see the green in my eyes in this one

Necklace, Black Heart Creatives
Hat, Primark (old.)

I take my make up selfies with flash 90% of the time because we lack complexion-flattering sunlight in the UK for most of the year. I have quite rosy cheeks and I like the lightening effect that using flash close up gives. That's why they use a shitfucktonne of bright lights on professional photography shoots. It's all about the light, daaaahlink! It masks minor imperfections and gives skin a bit of 'oomph' that it might otherwise lack in the dismal grey light we get here most of the time. Flash can wash out the intensity of my make up sometimes, but I'm a vain bitch so I'll take that over looking ragged (and I usually slap on extra make up to account for that.) I usually use the AV setting on my camera (aperture value) and set it to a low aperture like 4.5 so anything in the background is very blurry and my face is the main focus. Vain fo lyfe! Of course, on a sunny day I'll be searching out the real stuff, but we don't get too much of that. ;)

Do you use flash or natural light for your make up selfies?

Thanks for reading.

Naked 3 and face spam

Hiya!

I've mentioned a couple of times recently I'm coming/have come out of a Fibromyalgia flare up. I've gone from getting out of bed a couple of hours after I wake up because I just can't face the day, starving myself until tea time and doing the very bare minimum around the house to being almost human. IT'S FANTASTIC!

The only downside is I now want to do all the things at once and have taken about 27000 photos this week of outfits and my face. ;)

LOOK 1
Demure make up and freshly henna'd hair. I showed eye close ups from this look here alongside Naked 3 palette swatches. I used Strange under my brows, Dust in my inner corners and along the bottom lash line, Buzz on the main part of my lid and Blackheart in the corners and smoked out. I also used:

Eyes
Primer - Too Faced Shadow Insurance Lemon Drop
Urban Decay Strange, Dust, Buzz and Blackheart from the Naked 3 palette
Liquid eyeliner - VIVO plum
Mascara - Soap & Glory Thick & Fast
Brows - Fashionista brow kit

Face
Fashionista Luminous foundation in Nude
Illamasqua concealer in CC115
Dainty Doll blusher 003 as contour
Famous Make up shimmer brick in Pink as blush/highlight

Lips
MUA Intense Kisses lip gloss in Kiss & Tell

The Fashionista foundation is the best colour foundation for my pale skin I've ever found. I'm going to stockpile it. The lip gloss by MUA is a pink based red which shows up pink with flash.

Here, have a bonus shot of my newly henna'd head, along with a stained scalp. The redder parts you see are the henna over grey hair. The greyer I get, the fiercer my hair will look. Awesome! The henna is really conditioning and makes my hair thicker and shinier for a week or so after application.

LOOK 2
Neutral eyes and a dark lip

This time I used Strange under my brows - it's a 'my skin but better' colour - and Factory with Trick over the top to make a browny gold shade but I don't think it shows up too well. I used Darkhorse in the crease and blended out. I actually think the bold lips need a vampier eye but there's always next time.

Hooded eyes and eyelashes that refuse to curl!

Eyes
Strange, Factory, Trick, Darkhorse from Urban Decay Naked 3 palette
Mascara - Soap & Glory Thick & Fast
Brows - Fashionista brow kit

Face
Fashionista Luminous foundation in Nude
Illamasqua concealer in CC115
Dainty Doll blusher 003 as contour
Famous Make up shimmer brick in Pink as blush/highlight

Lips
MUA Luxe velvet lip in Kooky

That's enough of my face for now, I'm sure!

Thanks for peeking.

Recent make up and nails, and a health update

Hiya pickles!

I thought I'd post a recent make up and nail look I did in the absence of other things. Again, my skin isn't Photoshopped (I don't even have Photoshop, I use Corel Paint Shop Pro - ha) it's a mixture of camera flash, ELF HD powder and my new regime.

I used colours from the Sleek Au Naturelle palette on my eyes, a Fashionista brow kit and foundation and a £1 red MUA lipstick, which is a pinky red which photographs more pink.

The nails are two ELF shades, a pearly colour called Moonlight, and a sparkly one called Twinkle. I used one coat of Moonlight and about 4 of Twinkle. Neither colour is still available as ELF have reformulated their nail polishes, but you could easily do something like this at home with a nude polish and a sparkle top coat. I think of this as sparkles on snow.

-------

I've been feeling really ill recently, much more so than usual. Regular readers will know I've been struggling with insomnia for a couple of months, but I've been on the slide since June. I'm sleeping more hours now, in fits and starts. I can go to sleep any time from 11pm to 8 am but I don't sleep through - I wake up a few times and can't get back to sleep for an hour or two each time. Depending on how long the periods of wakefulness are and how often I wake, I can still be in bed after sundown some days. On a rare day when I'm up in daylight, I forgo all else and take photos for the blog. Because my sleep is so broken and unfulfilled I need a nap every evening, so I spend a huge amount of time every day laying down. I've lost my appetite almost entirely and am forcing down one meal and a snack every day to keep myself going. I'm pretty sure I'm malnourished (oh the irony - a fat malnourished person!) as I've had deep splits in the corners of my mouth for about 6 weeks now. The thought of food actually makes me feel sick most of the time and I've become so weak. My asthma has got much worse and even bending over knocks the wind out of me. I feel like the life is slowly draining out of me and the stress of getting everything ready for Christmas isn't helping.

I usually love Christmas, but this year it's too much. I've cut back on posts because I have no energy, although I do have a few Christmas outfits to share. Christmas is a time where we dart about here, there and everywhere to see as many people as possible, but I fear I'm going to be spending most of my time asleep. Is this it for me? Has the CFS/ME got worse? Is this my new reality? I hope not. I'm scared. I'm struggling. I'm worried I might soon need a carer or a cleaner - I can't do it all any more. I haven't discussed this possibility with my husband but there's a very real fear I've crossed the line into needing care, and I don't know if I should be fighting this with every fibre of my being in the hope I can make myself stronger, or give in. There's so much loss with chronic illness, and right now I've lost the ability to look after myself and my home. I feel so sad right now, but am hoping for better days.

Thanks for listening.

ELF HD Powder AKA miracle skin!

Hiya!

I did a post recently with a photo of my skin looking amazing, and realised it was in part down to ELF's High Definition powder. I've been taking really good care of my skin recently and it has improved it no end, but the powder adds a soft focus finish which really tops it off.

Here's a photo of me the other day with no HD powder on. (Excuse the lank hair - I used Batiste XXL on it and when I wash it the next day I have to use double the shampoo and conditioner I'd normally use just to get a brush through my hair!)

As you can see there's a bit of shine going on.

Here we are after the powder.

Wonky eyebrows fo lyfe!

As you can see it gives a soft focus look to the skin. I took these photos really quickly in between washing up, getting tea up and taking sunset photos so I didn't buff the powder in enough - it's on my fine face hairs - but hopefully you can still see what a difference it makes.

Here's the product itself - very well used, as you can see.

It's a very large pot of extremely fine milled powder. It's the fineness of it which I believes gives the soft focus finish. It's like it covers every tiny little pore and makes me look amazing. It also reduces shine. You get a generous 8g for £6 and it comes in 3 colours - translucent (which I have), shimmer and colour correcting yellow. You can find it here.

About the container - it's big and clunky and due to the fineness of the powder every time you open it a small puff of powder escapes into the air. If it were a stingy container it might be a problem, but I estimate there's enough product in this container to be used every day for a year so it's not a huge issue overall.

Will you be giving this HD powder a go?

Thanks for reading.

Sleek Vintage Romance look #1 Berry all over

Hiya loves!

I'm enjoying my new Sleek palette a lot and here's the first look I did with it.

Shine on you crazy diamond

I used Pretty in Paris as an inner corner highlight, Honeymoon in Hollywood all over the lid and Love in London in the outer corners.

Excuse the un-plucked brows.

Mascara - Soap & Glory's Thick & Fast (full review coming soon.)
Lips - Vivo matte lipstick (over gloss) in Deepest Plum (it's not on the website at the moment.)

You're going to see some different photos from this set in the next couple of days as I show you some photos taken without ELF's HD finishing powder, and then with it so you can see the difference. I'll give you the full run down of what I used on my face (blush, foundation etc.) then as you'll be seeing more of my fizzog!

Are you feeling berry on the eyes and the lips or is it too much for you?

I'm not quite sure myself yet! Thanks for reading, as ever! :)

EOTD with MUA Smokin palette

Hiya!

I bought the MUA Smokin palette (swatches here) for one colour only, the gorgeous green shade Chaos.

I used it over the black from the palette which gave it extra depth. I absolutely love it, it's stunning.

I also used the black eyeliner which comes with the palette. Two words - don't bother. About ten minutes after I put it on, it had spread about an inch below my eyes. Ugh.

Excuse my greasy eyebrows. I was trying eyebrow wax for the first time and went rather OTT.

I think I'll do a look with the plum or blue shade next.

Thanks for looking.

Sleek Au Naturel palette EOTD

Hiya!

Here is a look I did from the Sleek MakeUP Au Naturel palette (click to see swatches.)

I used Nougat, Taupe, Conker and Regal.

Conker and Regal are very similar colours, but Conker is shimmery and Regal is matte. They make a great duo to use in conjunction with one another. I used Conker on the main part of my lid and Regal blended up towards my brow, because very shimmery shadows on my upper lids highlights my slightly scraggy eye area. I used Nougat under my brows and Taupe in the inner corner of my eye above the tear duct area.

There's no full face shots because on this day I had a lot of redness on my face. I get a burning red rash occasionally which is common in people with Fibromyalgia. It refuses to be concealed - it virtually glows. Ha!

I'm going to do an all matte look from this palette soon.

Thank you for looking.