Friday 10 November 2017

Colourpop: First Impressions

Hey,

Back at the start of the year, I made my first Colourpop order. Just unfortunately, being in hospital, I never got around to wearing it or even posting about it. However recently I've got stuck right into the products and thought I'd finally share what I think about this ever so popular brand...

When I made my order there was an offer on for free UK delivery, woohoo! (However I was hit by an £18 customs charge, boo!) As well as an offer, for a free brush with the purchase of any two Super Shock Shadows. So I took full advantage of course!

I got the Small Shader Brush for free, which If I'm honest, I'm never usually a massive fan of this stye of brush for shadow. I prefer a much denser brush or blending brushes instead. Though I tend to use flat cat tongue brushes for sharpening any lines and details with concealer. Which I have since used this for and it works perfectly due to its sharp edge.
The two Super Shock Shadows I went for to get the offer were Cricket and So Quiche. Basically I wanted to go for the more unusual shades and anything that may include glitter!

Purple is one of my favourite shades to wear, as it really brings out the blue in my eyes. Cricket is perfect for this, as it's a really cool purple with a pretty multi faceted glitter running right through it. Then there's So Quiche, which is a subtle green, again great on blue eyes. What drew me to it in the end however was the gorgeous purple shimmer. As well as also carrying a hint of gold too.

The formulation of the Super Shock Shadows are cream to powder. They're creamy and blend well, however once they set, they won't budge! You have to make sure the lids are really screwed on really tight though, so that they don't dry out. However the pans are actually quite shallow, so there's not a huge amount of product inside the chunky packaging. But for the price you really can't complain. 
I'm not one to shy away from bold colours. Give me brights and glitter any day! So I was really drawn to this little quad, the Studio 1400 collection. Unfortunately I cant find this exact set on the site anymore, but some shades are still available, so I've linked to the ones I can track down. 

All four shades are of a pearlised finish. So they are really shimmery, perfect for a bit of sparkle on he lid. I did notice, even though I didn't purchase any; the matte shades also have a sparkle running through them. So they're not 100% matte...

The quad is made up of 8 Track; an olive/antiqued gold shade. It reminds me of MAC's Woodwinked, but just not not as warm. Then there is Static; a really deep burgundy, perfect for Autumn/Winter. Donna; a rich jewel toned emerald green, which may just be my favourite of the bunch! However it is a close call between White Rabbit too. As orange tones, again look incredible on blue eyes. The warmth to this particular shade is stunning, this metallic copper just makes me want to wrap up all warm and cosy.
I couldn't decide between trying the much talked about Lippie Sticks or the Liquid Lipsticks from Colourpop. However Colourpop offer some fantastic sets, letting you try more for your money. So I went a tad out of my comfort zone and went with the Just Peachy Trio.

I don't tend to go for peach or orange lip products, I would much rather reach for pinks or nudes. But it's nice to try something new sometimes...

The Trio consists of two Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks; Instigator, which is a terracotta peach and Speed Dial; a warm deep brown. Then there is also one Ultra Satin Lip, Screenshot; the palest shade, but still a rich peach.

Consistency wise, the satin lips are much more comfortable to wear, they are just that bit more moisturising on the lip. That being said though, the matte lips aren't that bad. They sit a lot better on a well moisturised lip though. But both formulations will not move once set.
(Swatches: Left to Right - White Rabbit, 8 Track, Static, Donna, Speed Dial, Screenshot and Instigator.)
Overall I would definetly go for the Super Shock Shadows again. The amount of pigmentation you get from them for the price is incredible. I would also grab more of the Ultra Satin lips, though I doubt I'll be reaching for any more peach tones.

Eloise x
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Friday 3 November 2017

Illamasqua May Queen Collection

Hey,

I am so late with this post, compared to when this collection actually launched at the start of this year! But seeing as the majority of the products are permanent and utterly gorgeous! Plus possibly the prettiest Beyond Powder, ever to exist is back in stock! I thought I'd still share this stunningly glitzy launch with you.
The May Queen collection, mainly consists of new shadow shades. As well as a dreamy highlight and two previously launched lipsticks from the Antimatter collection. I don't have the two shades from this specific collection but they are; Binary (a warm coral) and Charge (a hot pink). Both beautifully bright but they can still be subtle colours, if you wanted to tone them down you can. They're the perfect pop of colour now that it's getting that bit drearier.
Illamasqua do the most incredible matte shadows, which have been firm favourites of mine for years. After the success of their shimmer shadow in Jubilance, from the Extinct Collection. They've decided to expand and release three new jewel like shades. Which include; Invoke (a cool bronze), Maiden (a soft yellow gold) and Ritual (a lilac pink).

All three shades have a soft buttery texture, with no compromise on the quality of the pigmentation either, wether you use them wet or dry. However when wet, they create a gorgeous liquid metal like finish. You just cant fault Illamasqua for the versatility of their products, including these.
A range Illamasqua do, which I don't think gets nearly enough love, are the Pure Pigments. You can do so much with these little pots of pure joy! This pretty subtle shimmer shade is no exception, Muse (a baby pink champagne) makes a lovely highlight, especially on a paler skin. As well as of course being a shadow shade, liner; when mixed with a sealing gel and you can even pop it on your nails!

The gem of this collection however is the Beyond Powder in Deity (a soft golden green shift). It's just such an usual shade, which sadly my camera just isn't doing justice! It became such a popular shade, with pleads for it to come back after it sold out so quickly in it's initial launch. But it's back, however I'm not sure for how long? I'd recommend grabbing it quick just incase!

I'm actually going to do a full post dedicated to the Beyond Powder range, as they've fast become my favourite way to highlight!
(Swatches: Left to Right - Deity, Ritual, Invoke, Maiden, Muse and Muse blended.)
If you fancy a bit of glitz and glam, I can't recommend taking a peek at these enough. I'm off to cover my face in Deity, as you can never have too much highlight!

Eloise x
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Wednesday 1 November 2017

Planning Ahead with Heidi Swapp

Hey,

I'm not exactly the most organised person on the planet. I mean I try to be, but then that all but lasts for two seconds and returns more to some sort of organised chaos. However now with my never ending list of hospital appointments, I have to get my act together!

For my 21st birthday, my Mum very kindly got me a Heidi Swapp Memory Planner. I think in the hope's that I would actually write everything down and not leave everything to the last minute for once!
The specific one I have is the White and Gold Polka Dot Personal Planner. Which is like a proper chunky American style planner. I love these as they're so great to customise and make your own. Plus I can use it for multiple things, aka keeping track of my shifts, planning my blog posts and everything that comes with it and of course for all the other appointments and what not that comes with life.

The memory planners do come in slightly smaller sizes too though. If you're looking for something a tad bit easier to travel with and carry around day to day.
I love that it has a calendar for each month, that makes it easy to see everything at a glance. However there are generous sized pages to scribble away on and fill up with all the important details for each day. I personally love them for organising blog posts and making sure I keep on top of content, as I'm great at changing my mind last minute when it comes to posts and shuffling them around. Now once it's in the planner, that's it! I'm doing it!

At the end of each month there is also a notes page, as well as a tick list and lots of boxes to doodle away in at the start. Great for keeping birthdays or special dates altogether.
When it comes to customising your planner, you're spoilt for choice with the Heidi Swapp range. I personally love the wee picture cards, which you can purchase in packs of around 24. To slot into the little picture binders each month. You don't have to necessarily use them though, you can customise them with your own photos instead! There are even little frames in different kits or packs to accessorise them with too.
I went all out and purchased three different sets to add to my planner. I got the Love and Hello Beautiful Foil Card Packs. As well as the Transparent Foil Cards, which can be layered over the top if you prefer or used on their own. You can even stick them on the pages with a bit of washi tape (aka my new found love!) to jazz them up a bit!
There is also a great selection of kits to choose from. All with different themes to help you organise different aspects of life and decorate accordingly if you with. I love, love, love these kit's! It's basically like an adult version of all the crafting I used to do when I was younger. Plus mainly because I've fallen head over heels for all of the little stampers...

I have the Keeping Everyday Kit, which comes with some fun bright frames, a couple of insert cards, bulldog clips and a selection of floral and quote stickers. As well as also including some gold glitter alphabet stickers and a sheet of washi tapes, which do also come in my other kit too, just in a different design. My other kit is the Keeping Time Kit, (very apt!), which features cute little letter paper clips, some stampers, stickers and memo cards galore!
Finally I picked up some cute Emoji Stickers, great to remind me to post on social media. I'm loving the camera ones for Instagram days especially! As well as Reinforcement Stickers to add some glitz to things, you can never have too much glitter!

Eloise x
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