Beauty | Direct Cosmetics Makeup Haul*

Hiya lovelies!

I was recently contacted by Direct Cosmetics who offered me some items to try. I chose several different make up and nail polish products, which all came to under £30 which is fantastic value.

I think we've probably all had a bargain makeup experience at some point where the items received are battered and past their best but everything I received was utterly pristine aesthetically and of a quality you would expect if you'd bought it in a high street store. My order came in a sturdy box with plenty of bubble wrap to protect everything. With a few different options available, P&P starts at just £1.95 in the UK. They also ship to some European countries. I can't fault the service from Direct Cosmetics in any way - it's a big thumbs up from me. They also do fragrance, skincare, bath and body, haircare and tanning products and there are so many bargains to be found. Just some of the brands on offer are Maybelline, Clinique, Bourjois, Max Factor, NYC, Revlon, Urban Decay, L'Oreal etc etc.

I picked 3 W7 eyeshadow palettes (two of which are duplicates - dupes - of the Urban Decay Naked palettes), 5 Nicole by OPI polishes and 4 Sally Hansen polishes.

I got:

W7 In The Buff eyeshadow palette £4.99 (UD Naked palette 2 dupe)
W7 In The Nude eyeshadow palette £4.99 (UD Naked palette 3 dupe)
W7 Naked Nudes eyeshadow palette (not on website currently but I think it was between £2.50 and £2.99)
Sally Hansen nail quad with makeup purse £4.95
Nicole by OPI Nail Strengthener £1.99
Nicole by OPI Back In My Gloria Days (purple) £1.99
Nicole by OPI I Stop For Nicole (red) £1.99
Nicole by OPI Pink-Nic In The Park (sheer pink) £1.99
Nicole by OPI Great Minds Pink Alike (bright pink) £1.99

Top palette In The Nude/Bottom palette In The Buff. Nail polish top Back In My Gloria Days/middle I Stop For Nicole/bottom Pink-Nic In The Park

Can a girl have too many neutral eyeshadows? (Or eyeshadows in general?) Nope!

I'll be posting swatches and reviews of the rest of the products in the near future. If there's anything in particular you want reviewed and swatched first, let me know in the comments.

Have you ever purchased from Direct Cosmetics?

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

*Products supplied by Direct Cosmetics. Opinions are honest and my own.

Famous Leopard eyeshadow palette

Hi honeys!

**EDIT** Famous went out of business in 2014 I believe.

I love Famous Cosmetics. The packaging is glamorous without being tacky and the products are really good quality. I first became aware of Famous a couple of years ago when it was stocked in Superdrug. I used some of the testers and was blown away with the pigment and blendability of the shades.

This palette has 16 eyeshadows in earthy shades which are highly pigmented and blend very easily. If you're not a fan of shimmer shades perhaps this isn't the palette for you. My philosophy on life is you can' never have too much sparkle, so I love this palette.

There's a small mirror in the palette and a couple of the usual useless brushes which come in sets. There's a laminated sheet with the shade names on which goes over the eyeshadows to protect them from damage.

I remember years ago when cheap make up was pretty awful. I'm so glad in current times we can get good make up for a good price - MUA, Famous and many other brands. I believe in splashing out on certain things - foundation and skin care, for example - but we can get so many of the basics at a great price now.

What's your favourite bargain make up brand? Or are you a high end lover all the way?

Thanks for reading!

MUA cream blusher swatches & review

Hi dolls!

I have 3 MUA cream blushers to show you today.

L-R Bittersweet, Dolly, Yummy.

I have 3 of the 4 shades available here. They are very sheer but buildable colours. You can be as demure or as bold as you like with these lovelies!

Because I've never used a cream blush before I have nothing to compare these to, but I think for £2 each they are a pretty good deal.

The pink lipstick is by Barry M and I'm not entirely sure it suits me, but as a part of my 'be more adventurous with make up' plan for this year, I thought I'd wear it anyway. It's growing on me!

I know it must seem like I'm obsessed with MUA, and I suppose I am, because I'm a bloody cheapskate! I also have some make up to show you from VIVO, Illamasqua and Famous coming up soon, as well as a peek at Lady Gaga's perfume.

Have you used a cream blusher before?

Thanks for reading.

P.S. If you love a bargain, MUA have a 50% off deal on until Thursday at 5pm. Enter code MUA50 at checkout for 50% off AND free worldwide delivery. MUA Store. Min spend £30 which goes down to £15, obviously.

Lacura concealer pen review - great for older skin!

Hello lovelies!

I've tried many concealers with limited success. I vaguely remembered someone saying their Aldi concealer pen was as good as - if not better than - famed wonder concealer Touche Eclat, so naturally, my interest was piqued! When we dropped our friends off at their home near Aldi last weekend, we popped in for some bits. When I went to the make up section I saw their concealer was only £3.59. I was set to buy, and when a quick Google session on my phone revealed Aldi don't test finished products nor their ingredients on animals and haven't done since 1992 I went for it. Wunderbar!

Here's what they have to say about it on the Aldi website:

With the light-reflecting micro-pigments of the Lacura^® Concealer Pen shadows, lines and fine wrinkles around the eyes are concealed, pigment disorders are covered and surface irregularities of the skin are balanced out. The complexion looks smoother and more radiant. The special "NMF" - Natural Moisurising Factor active agent complex, based on high quality ingredients like amino acid, urea and alantonin, reduces dark shadows around the eyes and keeps the sensitive skin in the eye area soft and supple and stops it from drying out. The product is long-lasting , smudge-proof and suitable for all skin types. The soft brush applicator enables a very precise application and the ideal amount can be released with the push button applicator.

Now naturally you might assume because it's from Aldi, and because it's cheap it'll be a bit, errr....shit. Thankfully that isn't the case!


The concealer is a click pen, just like YSL's Touche Eclat. If you buy one, don't be alarmed if you have to click the button on the bottom of the pen about 50 times to get the product to come through to the nib, it's totally normal. Once you've given yourself mild RSI getting the product to come to the nib, you only need about one click per eye, and it's a lovely full coverage thick cream without being heavy or cakey in any way.

Click photos for larger images.

I thought at first glance this shade would be too dark for me, as I'm several shades of Edward Cullen minus the glitter, but not so! It blends in beautifully. I got the lightest shade, Cashmere.

You can clearly see in the photo below the unconcealed eye has a purplish tinge to it whereas the other eye looks bright and fresh.

In the photo below I've concealed one eye and one half of my nose thickly so it photographed well, but you can see the massive reduction in redness on my nose and the lack of purple under the concealed eye.

Most importantly for me, the concealer didn't sit in the fine lines under my eyes, which tends to happen with most concealers I've tried. When that happens it makes my under eyes look more crepey, and deep horizontal lines appear which then makes me look old and tired. As an older lady, trying to find a concealer which wouldn't make me look 100 was a bit of a mission - until now. The concealer dries matte and doesn't smudge at all. It can also be used as an eyeshadow base so I'll be testing that soon.

I dare say this is my holy grail concealer and I'll be holding it to my ample bosom and rocking it like a baby! Next time I'm in Aldi I'll have a peek at some of their other make up offerings. And is it as good as Touche Eclat, in my opinion? YES, better! Touche Eclat does very little for me at all - I can barely notice a difference when using it.

What's your favourite concealer?

Thanks for reading!