Beauty | Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares palette

Hello love bugs!

Makeup Revolution continue to blow me away with their new releases. This eyeshadow palette is so pigmented and it's full of my favourite jewel shades. I love the mix of colours and the mirror in the lid. There are 12 shimmery shades and 6 matte ones.

No flash:

Flash:

I'm wearing a couple of the blue shades here:

Like any cheap eyeshadow these colours will work best over a primer. Although they're very pigmented shades, they do fade and smudge a little bit without a primer. I use Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MUA or ELF primers, all of which are great.

Are you into neutrals or brights? I think they both have their merits but probably wear brights less as then I have to wash my makeup brushes more. Hashtag lazy!

Thanks for peeking.
Leah xoxo

Makeup Revolution Iconic Palette 1 - Naked Dupe

Hiya pickles!

I'm continuing my love affair with Makeup Revolution with this palette, which is a dupe of Urban Decay's first Naked Palette. (A dupe is a dead ringer, usually at a cheaper price.)

It's a gorgeous palette full of nuanced shades and it's an absolute steal at just £4. You can find the Makeup Revolution Iconic Palette 1 here on the Makeup Rev site or (if you're lucky) in Superdrug stores and online. I usually buy direct from the website as they generally have more stock.

There's a little fall out but not too much and the colours pack a punch and last all day if you use an eyeshadow primer.

There's not much else to say, except go get yourself one! I used to think I had an MUA addiction, but my Makeup Rev addiction is even worse.

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

Sleek Vintage Romance palette

Hiya!

As soon as I saw swatches of Sleek's latest palette I did a loud squee.

If you've been reading a while, you might know I'm a major Sleek fan. On the whole I find their palettes to be excellent value, with a good choice and variety of shades, and usually the pigment is excellent.

It comes in the usual sleek packaging. Sleek....sleek....see what I did there? Yeah, I'll shut up now.

It's a quite 'samey' palette at first glance. It is and it isn't - there are a few taupe shades in the top row, which have enough variation between them to make them worthy inclusions, but the two berry pinks is one too many in my opinion as there's not much difference between them. Overall it's a good palette and I look forward to taking these shades for a spin, as I don't have many berry shades in my possession.

TOP ROW - PRETTY IN PARIS, MEET IN MADRID, COURT IN CANNES, LUST IN LA, ROMANCE IN ROME, PROPOSE IN PRAGUE.

BOTTOM ROW - A VOW IN VENICE, MARRY IN MONTE CARLO, HONEYMOON IN HOLLYWOOD, BLISS IN BARCELONA, FOREVER IN FLORENCE, LOVE IN LONDON.

TOP ROW - PRETTY IN PARIS, MEET IN MADRID, COURT IN CANNES, LUST IN LA, ROMANCE IN ROME, PROPOSE IN PRAGUE.

BOTTOM ROW - A VOW IN VENICE, MARRY IN MONTE CARLO, HONEYMOON IN HOLLYWOOD, BLISS IN BARCELONA, FOREVER IN FLORENCE, LOVE IN LONDON.

(N.B. I don't know why I do this. I HATE describing colours. These are just my humble, colour-uneducated take.)

PRETTY IN PARIS - a very shiny silver which I'll use as a highlight in my inner corners to avoid the 'tin foil eyelids' look
MEET IN MADRID - a pretty golden brown
COURT IN CANNES - taupe
LUST IN LA - slightly darker taupe
ROMANCE IN ROME - blackened blue with fine silver glitter - slightly gritty/poorly pigmented
PROPOSE IN PRAGUE - matte reddish brown

A VOW IN VENICE - berry pink
MARRY IN MONTE CARLO - berry-ish dusky pink
HONEYMOON IN HOLLYWOOD - metallic berry with silver glitter
BLISS IN BARCELONA - blueish purple
FOREVER IN FLORENCE - blackened purple with silver glitter
LOVE IN LONDON - not too intense black with silver glitter

I'll have a couple of looks up with this palette in the next few days.

Have you tried anything by Sleek? I know they can be a little hard to get hold of out of the UK.

Thanks for reading!

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!

Sleek Acid eyeshadow palette swatches, review & EOTD

Hiya lovelies,

This week is Sleek MakeUP week on the blog as I collate 2 Sleek orders I've made and also a birthday gift from a friend and bring you swatches and reviews.

Lip4 lipstick palette in Mardi Gras.
i-Divine eyeshadow palette Ultra Matte v2 Darks.

Today I have the Sleek MakeUP Acid i-Divine eyeshadow palette to show you.

Please click on photos to see larger images.

The Acid palette is a couple of years old so has no shade names and the familiar old 'waffle' stamped in each pan.

The stand out shades for me are the 4 neons in the centre of the palette - the neon yellow, orange, pink and green, although the blues and grey are pretty lush too.

I was impressed with just how loud these shades are. They are actually a little brighter than they appear here as due to the hour of day, I had to use flash and it's subdued the brightness somewhat. Hubby said I looked like a funky peacock with this make up look. I used neon pink, green and yellow, and white just under my brows. The white is a little weedy but the other shades I used apply easily and blend well. This is a look I love and will be sure to repeat. Neons are SO right now so I'm really happy to be able to reflect that in my make up. I'm surprised just how wearable these shades are. It's another winner for me!

Do you like neons? Have you tried neon make up?

Thanks for reading!

Sleek Ultra Mattes v2 eyeshadow palette swatches, review & FOTD

Hiya loves!

This week on the blog I'm swatching/reviewing a different Sleek MakeUP item on the blog each day.

Yesterday I posted about the Lip4 lipstick palette in Mardi Gras. Today it's the long-windedly named i-Divine Ultra Mattes V2 Darks palette.

It comes in a sturdy black case with a mirror and a frankly useless applicator, so I hope you've got some good eye brushes! ;) I use Real Techniques brushes.

Ready for some swatches? Good, coming up!

Orbit, Ink, Highness, Noir
Dune, Pillowtalk, Thunder, Maple
Flesh, Paperbag, Villan (sic), Fern

Orbit, Ink, Highness, Noir
Dune, Pillowtalk, Thunder, Maple
Flesh, Paperbag, Villan (sic), Fern

Here's a look I did with this palette using Pillowtalk (highlight), Villan (sic - blended up and out towards brow), Ink (lower eyelid) and Fern (all over lid.)

So, what's the skinny on these mattes? Let it be said, I'm not an expert on mattes. Glitter is in my DNA. However, some of these mattes are surprisingly blendable and easy to use. There may not be the same initial punch of colour you get from a glittery or satin finish, but given a little bit of work and patience you can still achieve a vibrant and well blended look. Am I now a fan of mattes? Hell yeah! I look forward to making some more looks with this palette. Colour me impressed (pardon the pun!)

i-Divine palettes are £7.99 each from the Sleek MakeUP website and Superdrug stores (although if my experience is anything to go by, Sleek stands in Superdrug are always low on stock and badly maintained, so buying online is my preference.)

I'm a massive fan of Sleek MakeUP (yes the 'up' has to be in capitals) because they don't just do colours for fair skinned fillies, but for darker skinned lovelies, too. In fact they have swatches on the site with light, medium and dark skintones for most items and it pleases me to know Sleek are more inclusive than a lot of bargain make up companies I could mention.

Have you got any Sleek eyeshadow palettes? I think I have 5 or 6 now and alongside my MUA palettes, they're my favourite and most reached for palettes.

Thanks for reading!

Famous Makeup Zebra Complete palette

Hi lovelies!

As well as MUA, another make up brand I'm seriously impressed with is Famous Makeup (previously called Sue Moxley Famous.)

I first came across Famous in 2011. I was blown way by the buttery smoothness of the eyeshadows and the way they blended so effortlessly. Soon after I discovered them everything went on 50% off in Superdrug, and I thought they'd gone bust in the recession, so I jumped in with both feet and stocked up. Luckily for me they were just going in for a full re-brand and created their own website to start trading from. Since that time they've often had sales or discount codes on so I've been able to stock up on lots of gorgeous goodies for very little cost.

At the moment they have 50% off everything and a free party purse (an animal print make up bag with 4 mini glitter polishes in it) when you spend £10 so it's a total steal.

Today I have the Zebra Complete palette to show you. It has 16 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, a bronzer and a pressed powder. I love Famous' packaging. Pink and animal print features heavily, so I'm in my element.

If you want swatches of everything just yell in the comments and I'll get to it.

Thanks for reading!

MUA Extreme Metallics quad eyeshadow in Starstruck review

Hello pickles!

I've got a quad eyeshadow from MUA to show you which I'm completely in love with.

Please click on photos to see larger images. 

I bought this quad about 5 months ago. All 6 varieties of the quads are out of stock on MUA at the moment. I really hope they come back into stock soon (and aren't being discontinued!) because the quality of them is phenomenal. As you can see all of the shades are really intense and shimmery. I don't do subtle! There's a lovely mint green, a rose gold, a champagne and a chocolate brown. I'm thinking up a chocolate mint eyeshadow look as I type. You get 5.9g for £3.00 on the MUA Store and in Superdrug stores/website. Please bring these babies back soon, MUA!

They are incredibly smooth and pigmented shades. They're as soft as butter and blend like a dream. I'll do a look with this quad soon.

Do you have any MUA eyeshadows?

I think I will tweet MUA to find out what's happening with these quads.

Thanks for peeking!

Illamasqua eyeshadow swatches

Hello lovely ones!

I made an order from Illamasqua in their sale some weeks ago and here are my spoils. I got 3 pressed eyeshadows and a loose pigment. They were a fiver each. They are pictured without primer but I think they will all be more vibrant over a primer.

Top row - Angst & Burst//Bottom row Savage & Zeitgeist.

Top row - Angst & Burst//Bottom row Savage & Zeitgeist.

Zeitgeist is just stunning with its silver sparkle

Expect a FOTD using a couple of these colours soon!

I also have some Illamasqua foundation and concealer to show you. The concealer smells like vanilla! Oh my days. Yum.

Have you bought anything by Illamasqua?

Thanks for reading!

Matte Naked FOTD

Hello lovelies,

I did some matte make up today, a kind of 'no make up' make up look. I saw a video by Lisa Eldridge yesterday from which I took my inspiration. I didn't follow her tutorial entirely, as I was in a hurry for my hospital appointment.

Click on photos for larger images. List of make up used at the end, plus Lisa Eldridge's tutorial video.

I really like this look on me. I look pretty but not overdone. I can see myself doing this look often.

On my skin I used Olay Firm & Lift day cream mixed with Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage foundation to give me a dewy look.

For my eyes I used Virgin, Naked, Buck and Creep from the Naked Palette 1 which are the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 11th shades in the palette (L-R.)

I used Virgin under the brows, Naked on my upper eyelid, Buck in my crease, and Creep pushed into my upper lashline from underneath and on top of my lashes.

On my lips I used Lanolips 101 Ointment.

I used MUA shade 2 bronzer lightly on my cheeks, Body Shop brow powder in shade 02 and Benefit Sun Beam as a highlight used sparingly on top of my cheekbones.

Do you like 'naked' make up?

Thanks for reading!

An elf-y FOTD and product reviews

Hello dolls.

I did a look t'other day with elf eye products and lips and being the gurning wench I am, I documented it with 327 photos.

I used ELF baked shadows in Burnt Plum and Enchanted, and the matte lip colour in Rich Red.

I overextended my lips in this FOTD. I do it occasionally, and I don't know why I do it, because I think it looks awful on me! My top lip is a lot thinner than my bottom lip, and it tends to disappear when I smile. Added to that, I carry a lot of tension in my jaw and mouth, so I often look tight lipped. Grrr. Someone who overextends her lips all the time is Tess Munster, and it looks great on her. I think because it's quite a new thing for me it feels all kinds of wrong. I think in hindsight it's something best done with neutral shades on me, not bright red. Anyway, you can see for yourselves.

I used Enchanted in the inner corners of my eyes and lightly under my bottom eyelashes. I bought it hoping to use it as a highlight colour under my brows, but it's much too glowy for that. Still, it's a lovely shade in its own right. I blended the burnt plum up towards my brows with Virgin, a skin tone colour from the Naked palette by Urban Decay. It's my most reached for palette by a long chalk and has been ever since I've had it.

It's just occurred to me I've never done a post about the brushes I use when I do my make up. Would anyone like to know which brushes I use and for what? All my brushes are bargain ones but through trial and error I've found some great tools for the job. If you'd like me to do a picture post with the brushes I use every day I will jump right to it!

REVIEW - BAKED SHADOWS

The baked shadows are pretty pigmented, blend effortlessly and photograph well. However, I was expecting to need less product to get a good effect, but colour pay off wasn't quite as rich as I was expecting on the eye (vs a quick swatch on my fingertip previously.) This may have been because the skin on my fingertips is very different to the skin on my eyelids. In comparison to say MUA eyeshadows, the elf shadow here doesn't apply so creamily, but it does blend equally as well and there isn't tons of fall out like you get with MUA. I did get good pay off with a couple of extra swipes. As the shadows are a bargain price (£3.75) for such a lot of product (3.5g) it isn't a problem. As you can use baked shadows wet or dry, using it wet would've given me a more vibrant look right away. All in all, I recommend these shadows. There's very little fall out and they look very nice on, being satiny without screaming party party!

REVIEW - MATTE LIP COLOUR

I have 5 of these in total (I got the other 4 for £1 each a while back when they were on offer) and they are all quite long lasting on me until I eat or drink. Being matte, they are a little drying on me, put that's the price to pay for long lasting colour. I apply them over a very thin layer of lip balm or gloss to avoid that painful drag of matte lipstick over dry Autumnal lips. I can't fault the colour at all. It's a gorgeous red which leaves a slight stain after removal, so if you wanted a more modest look you could apply then blot to defuse the vampish redness. I always put vibrant lipstick on over a little gloss. Because bright colours are so unforgiving a slip up can be hard to remove when applied straight to bare lips, so I use gloss to ensure I can easily wipe off a boo-boo. It's sods law that when using a neutral lippie mistakes are few, but when using something darker I invariably cock up. That's life ;)

Have you got anything by elf? What's your favourite red lipstick?

Thanks for reading!