Too Faced Sugar Pop REVIEW AND SWATCHES

Today is FRIDAY! Yay! Weekend time! How about treating yourself to an amazing new product for your makeup bag? It's tempting ,yeah? As part of my series of palettes today's pallet review will be the Too Faced Sugar Pop palette!!!! Stay in touch to get even more palettes reviews soon! 

I ate the sweets following this photograph. They were very nice. 

Here is the palette! It is so beautiful it's unreal! So stunning and pretty. This is so cute, girly and an all round winner. Too Faced is pretty easy to get hold of, they have their own website and many major department stores stock their products in the UK. 

Lets talk about price. We all know Too Faced is a premium product, this palette retails for £32 in Debenhams . For 9 eye shadows in a small tin this could seem a lot of money for any product. The product comes in a cardboard package and the palette is made from metal with a magnetic lid. No brush is provided in this palette, but there is a mirror, behind the leaflet and the leaflet contains ideas for looks. I like that it contains advice as it is helpful to see how the product was designed to be used.

Here is the inside of the palette. There are 9 shades. Of the 9 shades there is 1 matte shade and 8 sheen/shimmer shades. The shade colors in this palette really vary in tone and undertone. Some of these colors are cool toned and some are warm toned. The palette is designed to be used using the largest pans going across to create 3 looks. However, like everyone else i'll mix and match to my own liking. 

Here are the 9 shades up close. You can see the names of the rows: Sweet and Spicy, Sugar Plumb and Candy Coated.

Here are the swatches of the 9 shades. I have written 1,2 and 3 above the shades depending what row they are on to help you see where each shade is in the palette.

 Starting from top left which is labeled row 1 called sugar and sweet:

Rock Candy- The over all base shade is a yellow toned sparkle shade with golden glitter. This glitter isn't too heavy and you can brush the glitter away if you don't want it. It looks almost matte on the eyelids very easy to apply with good pigmentation. 

Macaron- A warm rusty orange with orange/golden glitter and a sheen/shimmer finish. Fantastic pigmentation, so easy to apply a color I love and wear all the time. 

Malted Milk Ball- The last shade in row one is a warm mid tone brown with minimal glitter and a metallic finish.

Middle row- Labeled on arm as 2- Sugar plumb

Strawberry Ice- This is a beauty base shade with a lovely soft sheen with lilac undertones. It is really pretty and not overpowering making it a very wearable shade. 

Sugared Violet- This is a deep blue purple shade with a hint of pink glitter. This has a metallic finish which is very shiny and is very easy to apply and build. 

Blackberry- The only matte shade in the palette. This is a true cool plumb shade, this is so stunning and a smokey eye look or used as an eyeliner. The pigmentation of this shade is really phenomenal.  

Bottom row -Labeled on arm as 3- Candy Coated

Peach Fuzz- An orange toned based shade with golden glitter, this has a matte finish with glitter. I struggled to get much color out of this shade and it took a few swipes for anything to show up. This might be because it is close to my own skin tone. 

Bubblegum- A cool toned bright pink neon shade. This is very bright in real life, this needs no base and has a metallic finish with a hint of glitter (glitter does not show on eyelids). Pigmentation is beautiful.

Blue Raspberry- A true turquoise.  A very bold and unusual color in eye shadow. This makes an amazing pop of color in any eye look. Can also be used as a look with a thick black liner where this eye shadow is placed just above the liner. 

I put this picture in to show you in reality how big this palette is. If you're wondering what is on the left it is an average size soap bar (simple soap was the bar used). This palette is small, the pans are small too. The whole palette has 11.4g of product which isn't a lot. These shades are for the most part very pigmented and easy to work with. This palette has some very good everyday shades and more daring playful colors too. 

One downside I found with all three base shades is there was a considerable amount of fall out unless using a slightly damp brush for packing it on. Using any brush dry just seemed to create a lot of powder on my cheeks. The best formulations in this palette is Macaron, Malted Milk Ball and Blackberry. They were very buttery and easy to build and blend. 

Overall the lasting power of these shades is really good, they will last all day with a base. Would I recommend this product? yes, I think it's fun with some very good basic shades and some real pops of color. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you enjoyed reading this please feel free to find me on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. 

Laura xx 

Want more  palette reviews? Find the Sleek Sunset here, the Sleek V1 here and the Sleek Snapshot Here. 

W7 In The Nude

This is the W7 In The Nude palette. This contains 12 eye shadows which have a pink undertones. This is most well known as the dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, but I don't want this to be another dupe post so i'll assess it on its own. W7 is a UK based brand which is cruelty free and not tested on animals, the brand was launched in 2002 and now has many product in their line. This palette is available online for £9.99 direct from W7 HERE. This is also readily available from Amazon and other online stores. It is also available from Argos in the UK for £7.49 find the link HERE.

The package is made of metal, the back of the packaging tell you the names of the shades and the ingredients. I have had this palette for around 12 months and have really enjoyed it. 

Here are the shades in the pans. The palette comes with a brush which is pretty useless, this was thrown in the bin months ago. The eye shadows contain 3 matte shades, 8 metallic shades and one glitter based shade. 

The shades are pretty and feminine. The only thing I would mention about the shades is with such a warm pink undertone this is a difficult color for many people to pull off. I find pink pretty but it can make other people look like they have irritated eyes. 

Here are the swatches and the palette. I will list the shades from left to right and describe the texture and ease of application. All eye shadows were applied using a damp brush and using a sticky eye shadow base (I use a base with all eye shadows). 

Latte- The lightest shade in the pallet, you almost cannot see it as it is the same shade as my own skin almost. This is a matte shade and did take a few swipes for true pigmentation to show. 

Angel- This is my favorite shade in the whole palette! This is the glitter shade in the pallet and is a baby pink with silver glitter. This does have a lot of glitter fall out if using a dry brush with no base. I prefer to apply this with my finger over a primer base.

Venice- a beautiful metallic warm beige shade. I love this so much!

Marilyn- The second of the matte shades is super pretty, easy to apply with little fall down. 

Copper pot- A very light pink with a beautiful sheen. A really pretty metallic.

Sun Kissed- Is a golden shade with a stunning metallic finish. 

Alice- The final shade which is matte. This is so, so beautiful. It is a warm deep pink almost purple shade. So pretty on anyone. 

Bad Manners- A very easy to use brown, easy to blend and build. 

Coffee Cup- I am obsessed with this color it is so pretty. The perfect warm deep brown. This has a metallic finish.

Mud Slide- A warm purple tone shade with a beautiful metallic finish. 

Tokyo- A beautiful cool purple shade with a silver undertone with a metallic finish.  

Fashionista- The darkest shade in the palette! This shade is a deep dark plumb color with a dark pink glitter. The glitter is no where near as much as Angel but it does show up on the eye lids. Although this has glitter in it this has a metallic sheen.

Overall I really like this palette. I think it is pretty and girly with some beautiful shades. I am so in love with the shade Alice!  They are easy to work with, easy to blend and long wearing. I did get some fall down using this palette but if you use a good primer base this will not happen, and I get fall down (fall out) from high end products too. I think this is a fantastic affordable eye shadow palette for beginners and makeup lovers alike. 

I really hope you enjoyed this post. Feel free to come find my FACEBOOK page or my TWITTER page. I will be making more posts like this soon! Please share this post with people who will love it. 

Laura x

Want more affordable palette reviews? Find the Sleek Sunset here, the Sleek V1 here and the Sleek Snapshot Here. 

  

Purple Lipstick On A Budget

It is that time of year again when we go from one season to the next. It can spark great clearances of wardrobes up and down the country, throwing out now unwanted winter wool jumpers and worn out wellies. But many of us, cough... Me. Want to start a new season in beautiful new shades of cosmetics. Over the past few months I have observed many brands releasing a few more 'out there' shades with unique colors and finishes. It is all well and good to see the new 'thing' emerge, but not everyone's pockets are so deep. I love a good brand, but I also like a good product regardless of branding.

So I hunted the high street for you all to find a really affordable lipstick in some stand out shades. I actually came across these three by accident. I had gone into my local superdrug to pick up deodorant. While browsing the isles of cosmetics I also picked up a more spring time blush. The last time I brought a blushes was in late autumn and this is really reflected in the shade of that, it was Mac Pinch Me blush compact (imagine a port wine color which is slightly pinker). So, I thought it was time for a mix up, and time to abandon the winter shades for a fresh funky new look.

So here they are, there very unique and out there shades of funky purple. These cost £1 each! Just £1! I have to admit if they had been much more I wouldn't have brought them as these are very daring for me. But for £1 they seem to swatch nice on the hand and didn't have that horrid cheap cosmetic smell. I brought three, from two different brands. I thought I would trial these and if they were any good go back and get the shades I would wear all the time. There are two from Makeup Revolution and one from MUA.

Lets start with the shade from MUA, this was £1 not on sale and is in the shade Lilac Belle. The lipstick is a matte finish with 3.8g of product. The texture is nice and is not hard or chalky. It is very creamy for a matte and has a nice finish. This is a warm lilac shade with a hint of pink. This lipstick had no glitter and was super pigmented, this would rival more expensive brands easily. 

This is from Makeup Revolution in the shade Collection Rebel with cause. This is a plumb toned purple with a lovely buttery finish. There is not glitter or shimmer in this lipstick. The formula is very pigmented and rich, but is not drying on the lips. 

Finally! We come to that acid purple shade. I thought I would leave the best till last. 

This is a true violet purple from Makeup revolution in the shade Scandalous Depraved. This is such an amazing unusual color. This was a bit patchy in comparison to the other two but the lipstick is super pigmented! I have seen so many brands doing there own version of this color but they have all been to expensive to try, considering I probably wouldn't wear this on an average day. But for £1 this was an okay price to pay for an experiment. 

Here are the hand swatches 

In conclusion of these product I am utterly amazed by these for £1. Okay, the bright purple is super scary. But the formulation of these is lovely. Even the matte shade is soft and buttery and does not apply patchy. I am utterly amazed by these for the price. For the finish they gave I would have been happy to pay much more. I will be returning to MUA for more lipstick shades pronto. Would I call this the best lipstick ever? No. But, would I say for £1 this is a good buy? Yes! It is a great price to pay for these. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. You can now find me on Twitter , Facebook  and at the Little Beauty Blog page. 

If you liked this post please +1 or comment. 

Laura x 

Discontinued Beauty Products 2016

I will miss these little products 

So many brands have a high turn over of new cosmetics, or limited edition products it can be really hard to keep up. However here are some product which I love which have now been discontinued in the major stores, they are still available online at amazon and other online web stores.

Soap & Glory 

I love soap and glory, their products are so lovely I could eat them! I love their clean on me shower gel and their hand food, lets just take a moment to remember how amazing these products are! Let me just tell you if you haven't tried their bath products you are so missing out! Everything I have ever had from them from bath gel, shower gel, hand gel, body butter and hand cream has been utterly wonderful. I don't know what life would be without these products. But I spotted in a drug store that they were discontinuing the sexy mother pucker super fill gloss and gloss sticks. I used to borrow my friends lip swell gloss which she swore by for fuller lips. She would religiously put it on before any night out.  So I thought it was worth the investment in getting these which should last me a long time and keep my lips looking good.

From left to right above is the lip plumping gloss in Clear, and Half Naked. The three gloss sticks are in the shades Nudist , Rapunzel and Bashful. 

Here are the swatches in the same order as the picture above. I didn't swatch clear as it does not have any color.

What I love about these product

I love the lip plumping of the first two products in Clear and Half Naked. They really do make my lips feel more voluptuous. I also love the gloss sticks for there pretty shades and soft finishes.  

I hope you enjoyed reading

Laura x 

Bold Bright Smokey Eye

Every girl loves a smokey eye, here are two simple looks I created using the Sleek V1 and V2 pallets. These pallets are full of matte shades which are phenomenally pigmented! I think for £7.99 I don't think you could miss out on this amazing pallet. I am totally in love with this, it is better than some super acid shades from Mac and Urban Decay!

Bold Sunset

On another post I made a simple sunset, this is much bolder and a real stunning eye look. This look does take longer but it is so worth it. The warm bright sunshine look is amazing. If you would like to read the other review on a simple sunset find the link HERE. 

Bold Blues 

Blue is such an unloved color, this bold yet fun look is much darker in reality. I just couldn't get my camera to pick up the depth of this look. This look used many eye shadows from the V1 and V2 pallet. They are so pigmented and easy to use. Now I will be honest, this wasn't my favorite look. I am not a makeup artist but I like having fun and having a go. 

Want to read the original review? Find it HERE where there is more information and swatches of all the colors. 

Tip: To get the intensity of the eye shadow in these images use a damp brush and a white/cream shadow base.  

I hope you enjoyed looking at these two looks. Let me know if you would like me to do more of these posts. If you have any advice on how to make these looks even better get in touch. I'm not a makeup artist I just enjoy playing with makeup because it looks so pretty. I hope you all have a lovely day.

Laura x

Amazing New Skin Care

Skin care is a difficult area for everyone. We can spend years searching the internet for products which actually work and are good for our skin. We hope with fingers crossed that our skin will look better when we wake up in the morning, or that our makeup will look more pristine and perfect. 

Is that search over? I am always trying new skin care products in the hope that it will be my holy grail product which every one searches for. I spend a small fortune on skin care, and as long as it works I really don't mine. But what if that skin care was amazing and affordable? 

Upon a trip to a Body Shop I stumbled across this range called the Vitamin E range. I got this as a gift set which also came with some cotton pads. This came with a vitamin E over night serum, cream cleanser, toner and intense moisturizer cream. I love the body shop and shop there all the time, I love that they don't test on animals, use fair trade ingredients and make really good quality products. 


So lets look through the 4 products I have brought from this range: 

This is the over night serum oil, this comes with a dropper which makes this product easy to apply. I much prefer controlled application than overloading product on my face. This product also smells great, and is simple to use. This retails for £15, which is medium range for my skin care. This is non greasy and absorbed into my skin really fast, which was amazing for an oil based product. It didn't leave my skin greasy feeling. This is going to be a fantastic product to use through the harsh winter period. If you would like more information about this product click HERE where I have linked the product. 

This is the cream cleanser and hydrating toner from the vitamin E range. They retail for £9.50 each which is expensive for a cleanser. The cleanser is designed for the face, but not they eyes. In saying that I buy a separate eye cleanser regardless as the eye area is even more sensitive than facial skin. The toner cleans every scrap of dirt and grime off my face both visible and invisible. This is also non drying and hydrating on the skin, which is great as my skin isn't left tight and uncomfortable. Find the link for the CLEANSER HERE and the TONER HERE. 

This is the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream , this retails for £13 for a 50ml pot. This is so smooth and refreshing. It is non-irritating to my skin  and leaves it ready to apply my makeup. I love this and will be re-buying this when it runs out. Find the link to this product HERE.

To buy this whole range full priced costs £47. This sounds a lot right? But the body shop often does mega deals and great discounts if you sign up to their emails and their loyalty card. I brought all of this for far less than £47, I think I paid about £28! Keep your saving cap on and keep in contact with the shops you're interested in. What is great is that you can find an amazing skin care range in one shop. 

Find me on Facebook , Pinterest and find my whole Blog Here 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. 

Laura x 

Sunset and Mermaid eye shadow looks

So, on advice from a friends who said my posts were missing something, suggested I photograph some make up looks with the products I post about. So here it is. 

So using this pallet I made two looks, there might be more to come. But I wanted to show everyone how well these eye shadows perform. Find my original review HERE. 

The Sunset 

Sunset eyes are beautiful, so I thought I would attempt my own using the sleek pallet. The shades used for the shades are Strike(Bright Orange), Bamm (Bright Yellow), Pucker (Dark Pink), Floss (Baby pink),Creat (Grey), Pow (white). I also used a brown eye liner from No 7 and mascara called Badunkadunk by NYX. 

I took the yellow (bamm) all over the eye lid over a base (cream de nude Mayballine), Strike was then blended in from the middle outwards. I then placed pucker in the outside V blending up into the crease. I then blended creat, pow and floss into the crease using a fluffy blending brush. I then finished with eye liner in brown and mascara. 

The Mermaid 

Greens, blues and yellows are beautiful. Using them in eye shadow can be a challenge. I did smudge a bit of my mascara in this photo, clever me. But I thought this was still simple and pretty. This also used winged eye liner and glitter gel over the black eye liner. The eye liner was Maybelline gel studio eye liner in black, and the glitter was Urban Decay Heavy Metal. The Mascara was NYX badunkadunk. For a base for my eye shadow I used Mayballines 24 hour color tattoo gel in Creme de Nude (nude/white color matte).. 

I took the yellow shade (Bamm) and covered my lid. Taking the green shade Dragonfly I packed on green from the center to the outer corner. I then blended these together using a fluffy blending brush. I then repacked Cricket a bright neon green into the outer corner and blended. I then took Bolt a neon blue and packed into the outer V of the eye. I then went back with a mixture of Pow (white), Cricket (green) and Crete (grey) into the crease. I then highlited the browbone and inner eye area with the shade Pow in white. 

I hope you enjoyed looking through these looks. Let me know if you would like any more of these looks. 

Laura x 

Current Skin Cleansing routine- Winter

It's the middle of dull winter. Heating and chilly winds make it living hell for our skin. I fight this by taking extra care of my skin making sure it has the best products available for everyday. These bottles have been living in my bathroom experiencing daily abuse by being used. These 4 products are my current favorites, they are a combination of high end/premium skin exfoliate and affordable washes and masks. 

So what is my skin care routine? I wash my face in the morning with the L'oreal skin perfection soothing gel wash, and in the evening. If I have been to work when I come home I wash my face makeup off. I always moisturize afterwards, cleanse and tone. 

The three treatments in this picture are the Elizabeth Arden Visible Diffrence exfoliating cleanser, the Quick Fix Facials face clay face mask and the Cole Face from Lush. I use these a couple of times a week and use a mask once a week. 

A really good tip I got from a lady who did facials- Don't rub your face dry, it damages the capillary under the skin causing damage and pigmentation. It is also irritating and can cause dry patches. 

Prices? 

Because lets face it (no pun intended), it's all down to cost.

L'oreal skin perfecting wash retails for £4.49 a bottle (150ml) in Boots, this wash is great for sensitive dry skin, it is very creamy and washes all traces of makeup away. I'm yet to have a break out using this wash. 

Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference exfoliating cleanser retails for £18  in Boots(mine was part of a gift set), I love Elizabeth Arden, I use the visible difference moisturizer every day. I really think it makes a real difference to my face. It is expensive but it feels so wonderful on the skin and leaves it more radiant and fresh. 

Quick Fix Facials anti-blemish mud mask for oily and spot prone skin, this retails for £4.99  in Boots. I have been loving this and I love the fact it is in a bottle. I was so used to using sachets which were messy and very fiddly to open. I can remember having to rip them open only to loose a nail, nightmare!!! I won't be using sachet masks again. I'm a total bottle convert. 

Finally is the black brick thing on the face cloth, this is by Lush and is called Coal Face. Ages ago I asked for a sample because it has a strong smell and was worried I would react badly to the ingredients. I loved the sample so much I asked for this as a present off my sister. I am so in love with this! I love the fact you can have your own slice cut to your own budget. I really do LOVE Lush. 

I hope you enjoyed reading. If you liked this post please +1 or comment. If you can think of good posts for me to write please let me know. 

Laura x

Current Skin Care Routine- Winter

So I admit to the fact that I am in love with skin care! I also spend a fair amount on it each month. This is my current skin care routine. I am a walking advert for high end expensive beauty brands. I am trying to buy cheaper products (emphasis on trying). But I keep coming back to these products. Some of these are pretty new to my skin care, and some have been in my collection for years, repurchased of course. Some of these were parts of gift sets because I had brought make up or products from their range. 

So it is the middle of winter! Our poor skin is going through the toughest time of year; outdoor cold and indoor heating makes our skin tight and dry. This is my winter skin care routine. 

From left to right: 

Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream skin protectant, this was a sample size and I only ever use it on extremely dry patches. I have had this sample for about a year and it's nearly all gone (i'm scraping the last bits out). I find this is amazing on my sensitive skin, and works wonders on chapped hands. I have had several full sized bottles but this is what i'm using at the moment. The fill sized product retails for £26, it does have a strong herbal smell but the healing benefits are phenomenal.

Elizabeth Arden Hydra Splash toner, this is my back up toner as I tend to use Tonique Douceur from Lancome, but I brought this back up as it was on offer. I am not sure they make this anymore in the main Elizabeth Arden stores, but I think it retailed for £18. I love buying back up products so when I run out I have another one ready. 

Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream lip balm, this was £9.99 which I felt was fair for a good quality product. I know many people would fear spending so much on lip balm. But I end up with lips like cracked snake skin during the winter. I love the formula its so rich and hydrating.

Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference moisturizer is my go to for every day. This has been my moisturizer since I was 15. Unlike so many other moisturizers it sits under my makeup really well and doesn't agitate oil production or cause breakouts.   I have tried so many but this always suits my skin the best. A jar lasts me about 2/3 months and retails for £30 a jar. 

Lancome Tonique Douceur is my favorite of all time toner. I also like the Elizabeth Arden one I have but I love the smell of this and my skin feels so fresh and ready to face the day. This is a sample bottle but I have had several full sized, this was a free gift but the full sized retails for £23. I think when this is gone I will be making a trip to the shops to buy another big one.

Christina Breton Eye Care Anti-Fatigue eye gel is the best I have found, it is expensive and retails for around £35. It smells like fresh cut lavender which is so amazing. It really cools down tired and puffy eyes. You can often find this gel on offer. Generally this is a french brand, but you can order it online. 

Philosophy Hope In A Jar Night is an amazing product, if you haven't tried philosophy go and try their products are amazing! They make some of the best skin care out there for any skin type. This retails for £35, but can often be brought in gift sets for far less. 

A really good tip: Remember if this is out of your budget I have used tones of products and most of them work. Try products which are right for you, just because these are good for me does not mean they will suit you. Ask for advice if you're struggling to find good moisturizers, and if you're sensitive skinned ask for samples so you can try before you buy.  

So there we have it my average weekly skin care range. I do have my washing care routine to write up soon . I hope you enjoyed reading if you enjoyed this post please +1 or comment. If you have any ideas for me please let me know. 

Laura x