No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter and Pop & Glow Cream Blush

When I was at Boots the other day, these little pretties caught my eye.  I'm a sucker for anything tipped to make my life easier, and these crayon designed blushes and highlighters fit the bill.

The highlighter doesn't have a shade as currently they are only available in this beautiful champagne colour.

I picked up the blush in Classic Rose but there is also Mango Sorbet and Rose Blossom available.

They are super pigmented, and glide on effortlessly.

You can barely see the highlighter, but it is the shimmery line just above the pink.

Perfect for depositing colour which is then blended out with either your fingers or a bush.

So far, I am completely in love with the highlighter.  I thought I would love this blush, but I think I need to practice getting just the right amount of colour.  I think I might need the other two colours to aid this.

On the whole I hate products you have to use straight from the tube, and although there are certainly designed with this in mind, they are chunky enough you could easily run a brush over the top to prevent product to skin contact.

No7 is exclusive to Boots, which, although a UK company, do have stores in other countries such as Thailand.

Rae Morris Magnetic Brush Review

When Rae Morris released a new set of brushes, I was in 2 minds.
Do we all remember The Bitter Brush Debacle of 2012 (I knew that title would come in handy one day) So when I heard there was to be a new brush range released, I just wasn't sure how I felt.

Being the makeup brush addict I am, I was fighting a losing battle with myself.
I pre-ordered the Eye Brush set

and the Signature Kabuki set

I already had a few of the Kabuki set from the previous range, but they are still quite different.

I had 2 Flawless Shaders from the previous range, one, the original I was sent, which then leaked dye, and the second one that was a gift from Rae at IMATS, read about it here.

The new one is a perfect symmetrical and rounded brush.  

The new bristles, and EVEN SOFTER than the older range, and the handle looks more finished.  The brush does the same job, only now it is softer.

The Deluxe Kabuki is an unrecognisable upgrade from it's past self.  The brush is shorter, which isn't a bad thing, the bristles are denser and much more tapered.  It is less traditional looking than its predecessor, but functions better, there is now also a magnet in the end of this brush, which the last range left off the Kabuki brushes.

The most obvious physical different between the brushes is the shape and the magnet location.  On the old set it was in the ferrule, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but then we put the brushes in cups and they ALL stuck together, making it annoying to grab a single brush while working.  

On the new range they are located in the end of the brush, which is now flat.  There is a plate available to buy on which you can stand the brushes.  I have not purchased this, and have no immediate plans to do so.

The old brushes had a slant to the tip, which I think was purely for aesthetic reasons, what I have found from using these brushes over the past 2 years is that they get damaged from storage in a cup because of this shape, so I was glad to see this go.

The bristles are all softer than the originals, and I'm not sure why (maybe I got crap ones originally?) and nothing had been officially said about this.  When I spoke to Rae at IMATS in 2012, she said they she wasn't happy with the manufacturing and would be swapping, I don't know if this was before or at the same time as the new brush range.

All in all, I love these new brushes, some of them are just different coloured versions of the older brushes, such as the Mascara Applicator (I don't even use this, the idea of a metal comb that close to my eyes is a NO NO), and others which might seem this way, such as the Precision Bent Liner, are inexplicably better.

My stand out brushes from this range (of the brushes I have) are:

#2 Mini Kabuki- my new preferred highlighing brush

#3 Ultimate Cheekbone- lovely for contouring

#4 Square Kabuki - perfect for under the eyes

 #8 Point Shader -  really great smaller blending brush, perfect for blending up into the brown bone

 #8.5 Crème Shadow Shader -  great general blending brush

 #9 Detail Precision Shader - perfect, of my eyes at least for blending IN the crease, I do this while my eye is open and this being is a bit small is perfect. Ideal fro a cut crease.

#11 Medium Oval Shader - perfect for placing colour on the lid, especially the base colour

#15 Precision Bent-Liner - just works, generally I do not love bent liners, I refer angle liners, but this is a great brush.

Eventually I would like to add to this collection, but in immediate future, my eyes are set on the Wayne Goss Brush Set because I think they look like a great set of Hakuhodo brushes.

Do you have any of these brushes? What are your favourite brushes? What do I need to try next?

Miss Sporty Mono Eyeshadows

I love makeup, the only thing I like more than 'normal' makeup, is cheap makeup, GOOD cheap makeup.
In Australia, makeup is expensive, but the real annoyance is the difference between a 'drug store product', and a 'premium product' is not huge because 'drug store' brands are SO expensive.  In the UK ( and America, but I'm not living there) the most noticable difference is that the divide is bigger.  The premium products, are a bit cheaper, but the drug store products and HUGELY cheaper.  Further to this, there is a better range, so while the Loreal, Revlon and Max Factor products are readily available, and so are the Maybelline, Rimmel and Bourjois, there is, and always has been a good selection of even cheaper drug store brands.
Australian bloggers already know some of these secrets, such as the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, the MUA eyeshadows and the Sleek Palettes and blushes, but I'm going to showcase a few other items from a some other 'cheap' brands you might have never heard of.  Mostly just for fun.

Today, it is the turn of the Miss Sporty Mono Eyeshadow.  Most of you probably know that my relocation of the UK was not a move, but a move 'back'  I was born here, and lived here until I was 17. At that time, on a teenager's budget I used to use all of these brands, and I remember feeling like there was a higherachy of drugstore products, with Miss Sporty and Collection (Collection 2000 back then) at the bottom.  Isn't it funny that 12 years later, on a grown up budget, I am now CHOOSING to buy these products, because if there is one thing that (sometimes) comes with age, it is wisdom, wisdom that 'names' don't mean a thing when it comes to quality.  So without further a do....

Miss Sporty Mono Eyeshadows in Candy -a metalic teal and Romance a matte pinkish bone colour, with just the slightest hint of a micro glitter.

I must admit, when I bought these, I actually bought them for my 4 year old, who has decided makeup is fantastic, and rather than let him have my Inglot palettes to play with, I decided to buy him his own.  At £2 each, I figured it was the best bet.  HOWEVER, when I got them home and swatched them, I fell in love, needless to say I bought Jamie some other ones.

You can't really see romance, maybe the hit of a pale matte finish to the left of Candy, and this photo doesn't even begin to do justice to the stunning pearl finish Candy has.

I wore these colour together, over a primer (of course) Romace as the base and then Candy throught the crease, they easily managed the full day, although that might have been due to the hard working primer.

The only real issue I have with these are the names, Romance is a true nude shade, so I suppose I could see the name choice, but Candy? Where the hell are you getting metalic teal Candy? 

Am I missing something? If you can shed some light on this name choice, answers on a postcard....alternatively....you could just leave a comment.

Samples Challenge Week 4

Thankfully I am getting through these samples, although I must say, I seem to have collected a few more over the last few weeks.

This week, just 2 samples, as most of the samples I have left are either perfume or skin care, I will only use a 2 at a time.  Although I don't have sensitive skin, I hate to use too many new products in one hit, so if I do react, I can figure out what to.  I also don't wear perfume every day, so I simply woudn't get through too many samples.

This week:

Marc Jacobs Daisy- I love Marc Jabcos perfumes, so looking forward to it.

and Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish I've never used a Laura Mercier product that wasn't makeup, or at least a primer, so I'm eager to give this a shot.


How's your sample stash? is it dwindling yet?

Rimmel London- Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer Review

I'm a complete eyeshadow primer devotee, it's just not worth it to not wear a primer.  That being said, I am ALWAYS on the hunt for a good value primer.

I picked this up the other day out of interest more than anything.  I have no idea how long it has been around, and with such plain packaging I might well have passed it by many times.

What they say:
Rimmel's unique primer to maximise the colour and wear of your shadow!
Makes colour waterproof! Apply to lid, let dry, apply eyeshadow colour.

What I say:
This is a budget primer.  The applicator is the same as a traditional lip gloss wand, which I hate because it feels gross to rub it on your skin and put it back in the container.  I do tend to put it on my finger and apply that way.

This has a fair amount of slip, a liquid feel rather than a cream, it makes it easy to apply, once set, it acts as an excellent grippy base for shadows.  Sometimes, with the cream basked primers I find that they can be tricky to blend with, either because you didn't use enough and so the edges are rough, or because they are thicker on the lid.  This was not the case here, it was a dream to blend over, and a full 12 hours later my eyeshadow still looked as fresh as it did that morning.  I haven't yet put the 'waterproof' claims to the test...

For the money, and even though it has a less than fab applicator, this is an amazing primer.

You can get this in the UK from Rimmel stockists for £4.99, but always look for specials!
A quick look over the Priceline and ASOS websites tells me this product is not currently available in Australai, but use the powers of social media to find out and nag!