America’s Next Top Model Inspired Look

I am addicted to American shows and prefer hearing the American accent on screen. It has come to the stage where I am not even used to hearing a British accent on my laptop and have to do a double take when I do.

I’m not sure how many of you girls watched the first episode of ANTM Cycle 16, but it started last week. It’s rather hard to imagine how Tyra plans to top Cycle 15, but she’s definitely trying to prevent everything from becoming predictable.

Every time I watch ANTM, I’m astounded by how beautiful the models look and simply adore all the dramatic makeup they sometimes rock. For this week’s challenge, the look was simpler and this inspired me to do something similar. Take Molly's example – due to the lighting and the black and white photograph, you can hardly tell she’s wearing any makeup and this is what I wanted to achieve.

Here’s the final look:

Eyes:

UDPP

Mac Cut to Fit (crease)

Clinique Colour surge eyeshadow duo in Pink Slate

Nyx Latte Foam

Too Faced Liquif-Eye shadow collection Exclusive and Full Fontal

No 7 Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black

Diorshow Extase mascara in Black Extase

Face:

Benefit Boiing concealer

Cargo Beach Blush in Miami Beach ( 4 colours, used for contour, blush and highlight)

Lips:

Burt’s Bees pomegranate lip balm

I took several photos with different positions and lighting to show how it can look softened according to lighting. What do you think?

I also curled my hair using a straightener as it’s been a while – I’ve been using a curling wand for the past few months.

All in all, I’m really pleased with the result. Comment below and tell me what you think of this look or the current cycle of ANTM (I keep wanting to type ‘season’ and have to delete it!).  

Gosh Holographic NOTD

You may remember I hauled this polish from Superdrugs a few weeks back. Well, I’ve finally got around to wearing this and I’m really glad I chose this rather than a classic red. To satisfy my cravings, I decided to use the Jessica red to paint my toe nails instead, so I can admire my DIY pedicure during yoga.

Holographic has been withdrawn from the Gosh nail varnish range and such a shame it is! The colour applied quite sheer and was rather runny, which I believe is true for all Gosh polishes, as I used to own a coral that had the same consistency. It took two coats for a good finish and it dried smoothly and quickly.

I would advise not to put a top coat over it, as I tried it with my left thumb. The instant my Jessica Brilliance High Gloss in a Flash topcoat was over the nail, the holographic effect was dulled. After it dried, the effect wasn’t as stunning compared to the rest of my nails without the top coat.

However, the nail polish chipped on the second day of wear without the top coat, which is a bit of a bummer since polishes normally last at least four days on my fingers. So if you’re lucky enough to grab a Holographic, you’ve a choice to make: long lasting finish, or full dramatic effect.

If you can’t locate a Holographic, fret not because I did pick up a second bottle and am planning to give it away to a lucky UK follower of my blog when I reach 50 followers. Details can be found here.

Wanna steal Barbie’s pout?

Well, do yah?

I bought the Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout a few weeks back in Boots, when they had the £2 off deal and I was in need to lipstick comfort.

According to the good Revlon people, the lipstick range is supposed to ‘glide effortlessly across lips, depositing rich, beautiful matte colour without any drag, cakiness or resistance.’ Doesn’t it sound beautiful? Power of advertising for you, but let’s go on to the actual product, shall we?

The packaging is plastic, but nice and solid, with a clear transparent top on the lid so you can easily spot the colour in your stash. The colour is a pretty, light pink with a hint of mauve to make it more wearable.

In the photo, both the swatch and bullet appears a tad more mauve whilst on my lips, the pink really shines through. This is reflective of how lighting affects the lipstick shade and I believe demonstrates truly how wearable it is for everyone.

Application-wise, I’ve got to warn you that it isn’t something you can slick on and dash out. As the finish is matte, any dryness on your lips will be exaggerated. I’ve highlighted the tiny portion on my lips with showed horrid flakiness because I didn’t exfoliate properly. I recommend applying lip balm first, blot it off, and then apply lipstick. This way, the lipstick applies smoothly and gives me a great matte, pink look that seems natural and fresh.

It lasted nicely into the day and survived around 4 hours of wear, in which I continuous drank water. This is probably due to its matte nature and the tendency to stick to the skin, as opposed to some creamier or shimmer lip formulas that slide right off.

Review Summary

Packaging: 7/10 (Nice and sturdy, with convenient see-through top)

Cost: £7.49

Formula: 8/10 (You need extra preparation steps. If exfoliated and moisturised properly, the lipstick glides on smoothly and gives beautiful colour pigmentation and long lasting wear. Otherwise, flake-city beware!)

Final Verdict: I really like this colour but I probably won’t repurchase this colour as I’ve yet to finish off any lipsticks, hence won’t need a backup. However, the matte finish is really natural and perfect for low-key looks, so will be purchasing more colours in Revlon’s Matte range.

Nyx Round Lipstick in Lala Review

I posted details about my Cherry Culture haul last week (you can check it out here) and have now had the chance to try some of the things out.

Out of the 12 items I got, the one I was most sceptical about was the Nyx Round Lipstick in the colour Lala. I saw a really beautiful swatch of it online and wanted to stray away from my usual palette of pinks and reds. However, in person, the colour seemed much darker than I expected. As described before, this is a purple-based pinkish mauve colour.

It definitely earns a unique place in my lipstick collection, but I am unsure how often I will be choosing this, especially considering the cool weather at the moment – when applied, the cool tint makes me look cold. Perhaps I will rock it in the summer for a chic gothic look, or for a twist on the sophisticated plum lip evening look.

Application-wise, this is A*. Everything about the formula is great – moisturising, pigmented, long lasting and no scent! I get more than four hours of wear from this. Since the colour is very strong, it fades into a pretty stain on my lips.

I really am crushing on all my Nyx haul products and can’t believe the quality. I generally prefer to use more expensive items for the sheer indulgent pleasure, but because I invested quite a lot of time researching all my purchase colours and such, I’m getting the same endorphin rush!

Review summary

Packaging: 6/10 (The plastic feels cheap, but I do like the font and design print, plus the transparent base that shows the colour and the top sticker with the colour name)

Price: 10/10 (£1.50-ish, taking into account of the Nyx sale and currency conversion on Cherry Culture)

Formula: 10/10 (Pigmented, long lasting, moisturising, smooth application, no scent)

Final Verdict: Something that I will definitely repurchase. Perhaps not in this shade, but I’m very impressed with Nyx Round Lipsticks and really want to delve into their extensive colour range on offer.

Laura Geller Ethereal Rose Baked Brightening Powder Review

How gorgeous is this blush? Look at the delicate swirl of rose, berry and lilacs and don’t tell me you are not enraptured. I saw this and had to have it – rather like a kid seeing a brand new sparkly toy on the shop shelf really. It’s probably a similar price to a new fangled Bratz doll that can sing and dance as well, costing £27.25 for a decent 9g of product from QVC.

I have simply no self-control, but seeing as I’m the proud owner of this lil’ pretty gem, I dare say it’s not a bad thing really.

Anyway, back to the review...’once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...’

Top: Sateen Subtle Berry
Bottom: Ethereal Rose

The blush is split into two uneven sections, the pinks dominating the darker side. The Ethereal Rose side is really more of a dusky light rosy pink colour. It has lilac veins running through it, rather like Mac’s Moon River or Accessorize Pretty Pink. The darker Sateen Subtle Berry contains heavier bronze veins, a few purple accents and a cream highlight base. According to QVC, it boasts ‘swirls of subtle tan, yellow and white shades’. Personally, I think my description sounds not only better, but is more accurate. I mean – ‘yellow’ = the Simpsons!

The artistic design of the baked blush is enough to make me stare at it for hours.

The swatches I made are very sheer simply because the baked blush formula is very dry and powdery, lending to a very light finish no matter how heavy-handed I am. Both sides contain a light shimmer and there is a small amount of finely milled glitter in the pink side which can be seen in the photo.

Left: Sateen Subtle Berry, Right: Ethereal Rose

When applied, the effect is quite drastic. It’s one of those ‘no makeup’ makeup products which boosts your natural beauty. The bronzer side gives the cheekbones a gorgeous, natural sun-kissed glow whilst the blush highlights the apples of my cheeks. As I said before, it’s quite hard to over-apply this, making it a great duo to have on the go in your makeup bag (assuming you’ve also a brush in there), especially since there’s a clever mirror on the lid as well. When sitting in your blush collection at home, the clear half of the lid is very useful to remind you of the blush shade.

Review Summary

Packaging: 9/10 (Mirror and clear lid combo a clear winner here)

Formula: 8/10 (I love the colours and how pretty they look, both in the pan and on my skin)

Cost: £27.25 from QVC

Final Verdict: I really, really love this product and think it’s so convenient in terms of colour design and packaging. I’m not entirely sure I’ll repurchase simply because £30 is a bit dear for a student-budget, but I wager that the 9g will last me a very long time.

Also, now THIS font is YELLOW!

A de-potting exercise!

I’m pretty such that everyone knows Urban Decay’s Primer Potion has a very pretty but wasteful packaging detail. If you are a savvy, cost-efficient girl, it is prudent to saw the tube in half and rescue the contents before tossing everything into the bin.

Well, this pretty much applies to everything – even squeezy tubes.

I would like to show much how much product I saved from cutting a Clinique Anti-Blemish cream tube. It’s a pretty simple procedure using scissors as the plastic is very soft, but I would recommend making sliced cuts from the top of the tube downwards. This way, it’s easier to use a cotton bud to extract the cream from the walls of each section. You will find that there’s tons of product still left to the sides, especially around the neck area.

See how much moisturiser was still left in the left? (Bottom left section of tube).

I like to save my sample pots for such instances and use them here to store the last of my moisturiser. In this case, I’ve probably saved about 5ml from the original 50ml of product, which isn’t too much. However, I cut up my anti-spot cream from Neutrogena (review here) a few weeks back and saved just as much. Considering that was a 15ml tube, 5ml is very significant (a THIRD of the product!).

A full (actually overfilling) sample pot that will last me at least three full face applications!

Hopefully you will now eye all your ‘used up’ skincare items armed with a pair of scissors and extend the number of applications just that little bit further!

xoxo Cassie

NOTD- My Tiffany indulgence

What self-respecting girl doesn’t love Tiffany? It’s an overpriced, over-hyped jewellery company that charges over £100 for a sterling silver bracelet I can easily purchase for £20 elsewhere. Except then there would be no ‘T & Co’ or ‘Return to Tiffany’ stamped on the charm. Quite frankly, I want that engraving to let the world know I’m the type of girl who wears Tiffany. However, I think we’re getting off track here.

My post today is on a beautiful 17 Fast Finish polish in Catwalk Couture (is it wrong that I’ve watched so much American TV that I want to call it ‘Runway Couture’ instead?). I bought it a while back for £2.99, but only used it yesterday.

It’s a beautiful turquoise blue that reminds me of Tiffany blue every time I look down on my nails. I do believe Tiffany is a hint greener but since I don’t have my box with me, I can’t do a direct comparison. However, it is similar enough for me to love it regardless.

The formula applied a bit thickly and I needed two coats to get a good coverage (I normally will just do one, if I think I can get away with it). The brush is a decent size considering there’s only 8ml in the bottle. In any case, I prefer smaller brushes since as you can see from the photo – my nails are dinky!

Anyway, so here concludes my first NOTD post.

Hope everyone have a great weekend. I, for one, am going to crash early and snooze like a sloth. There’s nothing like planning ahead, eh?

xoxo Cassie

O Nyx, Nyx! Wherefore art thou Nyx in my life?

O Nyx, Nyx! Wherefore art thou Nyx in my life?

A modified quote from Billy S seemed in order to emphasise the dramatic moment of this post. Plus it’s quite appropriate to reference some history, given that the Nyx brand and many of their product names are derived from Greek mythology, no?

My Nyx haul from Cherry Culture finally arrived yesterday! I ordered these items at the end of January, when Cherry Culture had the Nyx sale and also a 20% discount. All in all, order processing, packaging and shipping took a grand total of 16 days, which isn’t too bad I guess, although this is the first time I’ve ever ordered from the States before.

I was careful to keep the total value (not including P&P) under £18 in order to avoid the horrid customs duty and Import VAT from the HM Revenue office. I did tick the ‘Gift’ box during checkout as well, as gifts under £40 would be exempt. However, the declaration on the box was still classified as Non-gift, probably because I bought the items as a commercial consignment and the package isn’t sent ‘from a private person outside of EU to a private person’. Ah well, I did keep to the £18 limit after all!

An interesting thing to note is that the package label described the items as ‘Art Supplies’! I was so confused then I picked this up, wondering when I was crazy enough to order paints from the US and not remember – memory-loss at my youthful age is not very reassuring, to say the least.

So here’s my order. I simply used a Currency Converter form Google to check the amount in UK sterling pounds. It’s necessary to note the exchange rate varies – the £ value I got at checkout when converted by PayPal was higher than the converted value from the Currency Calculator I found via Google. The total came to £25.48 (including a P&P charge of around £7), which is quite impressive considering I hauled a total of 12 good quality items, plus a free lip balm.

Click on photo to enlarge!

1.       Round Lip Gloss (RLG) in Peach, a coral pink colour

2.       RLG in Soap Opera Queen , a bright fuschia with pink and silver sparkles

3.       RLG in Doll Pink, a lilac pink

4.       Jumbo Eye Pencil in French Fries, a copper bronze with gold base

5.       Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha, a copper colour with silver base

6.       Single Eye Shadow in Latte Foam (Metallic), similar to French Fries but with a touch more gold shimmer

7.        Jumbo Lip Pencil in Soft Fuschia, a medium pink-mauve colour

8.       Diamond Sparkle Lipstick in Sparkling Copper, a shimmery hot pink with a touch of mauve

9.       Round lipstick (RL) in Lala (Unsure why I bought it now...), a purple based pink

10.   RL in Flower, a rich rose pink with light shimmer

11.   RL in Tea Rose, pale nude pink

12.   RL in Spell Bound, a rose pink similar to Flower, but more emphasis on the ‘rose’ part

13.   Free Cherry Culture Bubble Gum lipbalm (a colourless balm with a strong punch of Hubba Bubba bubblegum scent. Applies smoothly but feels like a layer on wax on lips).

So there you have it – I am no longer a Nyx virgin!

I know the items are as cheap as chips, but the effort I’ve spent researching all the colours and the Revenue fine prints to avoid a massive surplus charge has made my lil’ collection as precious as my more expensive items.

Plus you know what? It was damn well worth it!

Wordless Wednesday: My First Nyx Haul arrived today!

I tried to upload a detailed account of the hauled items twice already but somehow Blogspot keeps deleting/editing the contents and layout so I’ve given up for the day. Instead, I thought to entice you with some pretty pictures of my haul :D

Transform your ordinary eyeliner!

ELF has a Studio product called ‘Eye Transformer’ that is used to ‘Convert your shadows into brand new shades with... opalescent shadows.’

From the pictures, it looked a lot like my No 7 Pastel Shimmer eyeshadow trio which I bought in my first year at uni, so I unearthed the said item and tried a few experiments on black kohl swatches.

The results are frankly amazing – it completely changed the colour of an ordinary black liner! Are the colours not gorgeous?

From LH: No 7 Amazing eyes kohl pencil in black, blue shimmer on top, pink shimmer, yellow shimmer

When I used it on my eyes, the line is smudged out and not as harsh, which is great for a day time neutral look. I used a sponge tip applicator to apply the shadows, since it’s necessary to really press the powder into the kohl.

I experimented this technique with a few other shimmery eyeshadows in my collection and found only the really opalescence shades have the dramatic transforming effect. Nevertheless, it’s a great idea and a simple way to jazz up your boring black!

Manual Clarisonic

I saw a few Youtube videos featuring facial brushes and knew I had to get one. I plumped for the BodyShop version due to its dinky packaging, which features a transparent lid that allows you to drain excess water from the brush after use.

I use the brush 2-3 times a week. I wet my face and massage in my cleanser, then rotate the brush around my face in circular motions. The bristles are firm but soft and are a great exfoliator. The small size makes it perfect for me to move it around my nose area.

After using it for over a month, I’ve noticed my skin to be a bit smoother in texture around the cheek areas. It did little to shift my breakouts, but I didn’t really expect it to, since I’ve long realised my breakouts are hormonal and linked to my sugar consumption. However, in combination with a regular exfoliator, face mask and skincare routine, my skin is looking brighter and smoother. How much this is due to this little facial brush, I cannot say, but it has definitely played a key role.

Review Summary:

Packaging: 9/10

Formula: Nice bristles

Cost:   £3

Verdict: Cute little thing that does what it’s supposed to. It’s a must for those who wants to try the Clarisonic but cannot afford to. The plastic lid is so useful in keeping the brush upright and draining away excess water.

Weekend Wonders

My package from my recent Debenhams haul arrived yesterday and I was really excited to try them out.

I really enjoyed using the Bliss Best of skintentions moisturiser (SPF 15) today as it's a light moisturiser which sinks in quickly without leaving any greasy residue. It's not as intensive as my Lancome Priomordiale Skin Recharge but it will be nice to rotate between the two on a daily basis.


It's really easy to mix a bit of Lancome Colour Ideal foundation with either of the two moisturisers and create a tinted, semi-flawless look. For a normal school day, I find it too bothersome to apply a full face of makeup, plus I feel my face need to look somewhat tired, even if just to convince my tutors I'm actually studying and not spending all my free time primping! Therefore a tinted moisturiser is best - it hides the worst of my skin's redness without going overboard.

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On a personal note, I'm so glad that it's the weekend. School work is piling up so it won't be 100% relaxation, but I've less than two more years before I graduate. Of course, internship pressure followed by job hunt is to come, so I'm won't be entirely off the stress-market. However, I really want to move away from the academic educational side for a little while and experience something new. After all, I've spent most of my life (like the majority of the population) in school, whether it is primary, secondary, Sixth Form or university.

Anyway, here are my Weekend Wonders:

1. Not waking until 11am because there will be no builders outside hammering away at 8.30am. Today, it was a loud delivery truck what wouldn't shut off its engines.

2. Eating brunch simply because I woke up this late. Followed by lunch.

3. Taking time to fully exfoliate, cleanse, tone, apply serum and moisturiser. There's something so relaxing about a long facial routine! If I remember, I might just pop a facemask on too.

4. Having the time in the world to browse around the shops (eg. Boots) without constantly checking the time to see if I'm going to be late.

5. Not going to sleep until 4am simply because I don't have to get up so early anyway.

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So there you have it: my Top 5 Weekend Wonders. Let me know about yours!

xoxo Cassie

Straws are a Girl’s Beauty Best Friend

Forget diamonds – what good are those shiny, exorbitantly expensive things? As Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffanys said:  “But it's tacky to wear diamonds before you're forty.” Therefore, I am focusing my energy elsewhere until I reach that pinnacle age.

I want to enthuse the virtues of drinking with straws today. It’s something I read that stars like to do ages ago, in order to prevent teeth staining. Think about it – drink coffee, tea or coke straight from a glass and you’ll risk the liquid coming into contact with your pearly whites. Use a straw and it’s problem solved!

I generally only drink water, but still like using a straw because it reduces the chances of me swallowing whatever lipstick or lip gloss I’m currently wearing. However nice a product tastes, I doubt excess consumption constitutes a healthy diet. An added bonus is that straws are less likely to ruin the perfect lipstick you've just applied. 

Straws are so cheap in multipacks – I got this from Asda for £1.50 (methinks). It’s a simple way of preventing teeth staining and (in my case) alleviates fears of consuming my lipstick with every sip.

Lush Ultrabalm Review - The New 8 Hour Cream? Skin Saviour Part II

Got this little baby in December and have been giving it steady loving since then. It’s a good, reliable item similar to Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Balm (which I prefer for everything except the price). It only has 3 ingredients (see photo below):

I like to use this on dry spots on my body such as shoulders, knees and elbows. It’s easy to massage in and helps to soothe the skin. There are little lumpy bits in the formula which does melt eventually on circular massage. The lumps felt harsh on my face so I stuck to the 8 Hour balm for those areas.

However, a bonus is that it does not contain that strong medicinal smell you associate with the 8 Hour range. There is a light scent when I stick my nose into the pot but cannot detect anything on application.

Review Summary:

Packaging: 6/10

Formula: 7/10

Cost:   £4

Verdict: This is a useful little thing to have when the central heating system is on full blast. I think it does a great job for dry patches of skin on my body and I love the price. Will definitely repurchase.

My Giveaway featuring Gosh Holographic when I reach 50 followers!

I've just returned from a lunchtime haul and managed to snag some really great cosmetic items from Superdrugs, including two bottles of the beautiful Gosh Holographic nail varnish, one for me and one for a lucky reader.

If you don't believe how beautiful this discontinued shade is, check out the photo:

I was in a rush so don't think this photo really does it justice. Google this and you'll find plenty of much better photos showcasing the beauty of this lil' gem!

I will also be giving away a Gosh lipglosses in fuschia (0077).

I have never tried a Gosh lipgloss before, so have purchased an extra for myself. On the Gosh website, they're said to give shiny, sexy lips with elegant shine and nice volume, PLUS keeping the lips soft and hydrated.

Initial thoughts are that they are very pigmented, spreads beautifully to give a good glossy effect without stickiness. The fact that there's no scent is a fantastic bonus.

All in all, this is a great little giveaway featuring some really pretty colours worth over £10. However, let's not forget that the Holographic nail varnish is discontinued and selling for around £15 on eBay, so if you've been leeming to own one, now it's your chance!

I will be holding this giveaway when I reach 50 followers since I thnk that's a good milestone, so subscribe and stay tuned for details!



FOTD/Wordless Wednesday!

Eyes: Good and Bad Girl Sleek Palettes (Morello, Underground, Noir)
No 7 Eyebase
TooFaced Lash Injection mascara
BeneFit Boiing concealer
Burt's Bee lipbalm

Miss April Playboy Lipstick Review

Hugh Hefner certainly has built himself quite an empire, has he not? I know there’s a wealth of items adorned with the bunny logo, but didn’t actually realise Playboy has a beauty line until a friend gave me a Miss April lipstick that I promptly forgot about. A recent NYX haul (will update when receive my goodies) on Cherry Culture resulted in me stumbling across the range and reminded me of the few Playboy Beauty items languishing in my drawer. 

The price is $14, which is around £8 – a high end drugstore lipstick. The packaging is very similar to Urban Decay, except rather than the dagger, there is a bunny head. It’s cute and stylish, although I am hesitant in popping the lipstick into a handbag simply because should the bunny head snap off, it’ll be hell trying to extract the bullet (this has occurred to a UD lipstick tester in Boots).

On the Cherry Culture website:

Playboy Beauty Calendar Girl Lipstick    $14.00
Create a sexy, youthful pout with this highly-pigmented formula. Weightless formula keeps lips soft. New technology blends a high level of color pigments for true color and shine enhancing polymers for long wear. Formula contains anti-oxidants vitamins A, C and E.

 From the description, I’m totally sold.

 Miss April is a beautifully rich berry red that is extremely creamy. There are sparkles in the bullet which vanish on skin contact. Application is lovely and pigmentation is very, very good. The lipstick kept my lips well moisturised and I really loved the colour on my lips.

With flash, the colour looks more coral.

No flash. A very good representation of the colour.

Patchy colour

However...if you look carefully at the photos of my lips, I’m sure you can spot the uneven colour (enlarge by clicking on the photo if you wish). That was the result of my smooshing my lips together as I always do in order to test the creaminess. The fact that such a simple action results in a horrid colour distribution has left me quite disappointed. Perhaps it will not occur with the use of lip primer, but I have yet to test that.

Review Summary:

Packaging: 9/10

Formula: 6/10

Cost:   $14 (£8-ish)

Verdict: Colour is gorgeous and the formula very moisturising, but creases too easily. Will not repurchase.

Has anyone else tried the Playboy cosmetics? Or did you even know it existed?