American bloggers, I need your help!

Hello lovelies!

I am currently very excited because I have a friend going to the US that is willing to bring me over some make up goodies we cannot get here in the UK!

I have already thought of a list I want but I cannot help but think that it's a small order. I really want some great suggestions. Here's what I have already asked for;

Milani baked blush in Dolce Pink or Coralina
Eons Lip Balm
Physicians formula Happy Boost Blush in Pink
Physicians Formula pH matchmaker lipgloss
Burt's bees lipgloss in spring splendor

Anyway, I would love some suggestions on drugstore brands that you find fantastic. I've tried to do my research and it fell a bit flat. But who else better to ask than experts like yourself?

Love
Raisa xxx

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes by Alber Elbaz in DO5

Hello lovelies!

I want to share one of my little treasures from my post-Christmas sales purchases. This year I found the sales to be utterly fantastic if you went to the right places (Debenhams in Nottingham still had some fantastic offers a week after Boxing Day).

I could not help but grab the Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Eyeshadow Pallette by Alber Elbaz in DO5. After swearing I would not spend my money on Lancome eyeshadows again (after purchasing a palette before and believing the pigmentation was not up to scratch), I caved as this was half price. Instead of being £38, this was £19. Not a bad reduction for Lancome. However you only get 2.7g of product in total! I would have been very annoyed if I had paid full price for this for very little product.

The packaging is very enticing. The designs by Alber Elbaz seem to be aimed more towards a younger, more 'kooky' market. I cannot imagine this is the kind of palette my grandma would have on her dressing table! I love how different the design is - it is right up my street.

The palette came with instructions on how to create perfect smoky eyes in three different intensities. This was perfect for me as I have always struggled to create a look that works (I'm getting there!). The colours come listed as 1 to 5 with the diagram showing which shades to use for the different intensities.

From the swatches, you can see that the shadows are quite pigmented apart from number 1 which is the highlighter. It is very glittery and cannot really be used independently.

The rest of the shadows are rather lovely. The colours are typical of what I would usually wear as they are very neutral. The pigmentation is not as fantastic as brands like Urban Decay, but it is better than my last Lancome eyeshadow palette.

The shades seem to blend really well too. I find many shows hard to soften out the harsh edges but this palette is almost like a 'beginners' tool to smoky eyes.

I would never have paid full price for this product because of its minimal amount of product. It is only just worth what I paid for it at sale price. 

That said, the colour are gorgeous and the instructions have been very handy for me. I don't regret buying this product but if it was a permanent addition to the Lancome line, I would not repurchase this.

Why would anyone have paid full price for this at £38? I would rather spend a pound less and indulge in a Urban Decay Naked palette.

Boxing Day/January Sales!

Hello lovelies!

I hope you have been enjoying the January sales as much as I have. This year seems to have been absolutely fantastic. If you got into the shops early, you would have found some true bargains.

My make-up collection is now at a point where I have had to nip to IKEA to buy a set of draws to store my stuff in (as I literally had just a make-up bag before). So what did I manage to get my paws on?

Soap and Glory Powder Trip

£20 £10

This was something I managed to claim for myself. My boyfriend was doing some after-Christmas Christmas shopping for his family (as we were going to see them at the weekend) and he was buying some Soap and Glory goodies for his sister. When we realised the gifts were half price we grabbed this and a bath set for her. However, I was too besotted with this to gift to to someone else.

I knew this was a bargain as these products individually are over the £10 mark. I have wanted to try the blusher for a long while and wasn't too fussed on the bronzer as I am so pale. However I have been using the bronzer more than anything!

Solar Powder is a must have for pale-faced bronzing.

Debenhams

bareMinerals - An Affair to Remember - £35 £17.50

Lancome - Hypnose Doll Eyes by Alber Elbaz - £38 £19

Two gorgeous, bargain eyeshadow palettes for the quality of the brand.

The bareMinerals palette I nearly didn't get because, again, it was a present for my boyfriends other sister (who loves big-named cosmetics). I regretted instantly not buying one myself and was on the hunt for it again after.

Luckily, Debenhams in Nottingham City Centre had loads of these left so I managed to pick one up. Then the reduced Lancome stand allured me and I had to buy a palette from their too. Total? £36.50. I also got 500 points on my beauty card for spending over £35!.

Stila Cosmetics online

Positively Pink Set

£13 £3.75

A fantastic value set. I bought this when Stila had free shipping and their sale. I had never tried their products before but I knew it was regarded highly. I bought two of these, one for me and one as a birthday gift.

The quality of both products is fantastic. I would definitely purchase in their sale again.

Did you get anything great in the sales? If you did, link me your page so I can look!

Happy New Year! What did December bring me?

Hello fellow bloggers!

Wow, I have not posted for a very long while. December is a very busy month for most of us, Christmas and the shopping! Which means that I have sooo much to blog about but not enough time to do it. So I have decided to do a round up of what I've bought or received last month, so sit tight: it's going to be a long post!

Fragrance Direct Haul December 2013

(Italicised text are the things I kept) 

Eyes

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Maximum Volume Mascara

NYC Eyeshadow in Gossip Girl and On The Radar

Lips

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Mischief

Maybelline Super Stay 24h Lip Colour in Infinite Petal

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Oxford St Fuschia

Dainty Doll Lipstick in In His Kiss 005

Nails - OPI

Excuse Moi

Steady As She Rose

Diva of Geneva

Congeniality Is My Middle Name

Pedal Faster Suzi!

Miscellaneous

MNY Blush 101

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Apple Blueberry Pie

Pets Rock Compact Mirror

A big(-ish) haul, huh? The reason I did this haul was my itchy fingers when I see new OPI colours come into stock on the Fragrance Direct website. I was desperate to get my hands on ' Excuse Moi' from the Muppets Collection.

Best product of the haul: Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Oxford St. Fuschia. I had heard people rave about this lipstick for a while and decided to pop one in my basket. Perfect colour and doesn't dry out my lips. I will probably purchase these again at full RRP if Fragrance Direct does not stock up again.

Most disappointing: Possibly the Mini Bourjois Nail Files shown in the first picture. I bought for my handbag to remedy snags away from home. These, however, just fall apart in one use. Not worth the 99p.

I wish I had kept: The Applelicious Lip Balm! I ordered two: one for my cousin and the other I had ordered accidentally. I was going to keep it but my sister needed bits for a stocking filler. She better like it!

Birthday (16th December)

With a birthday so close to Christmas, it is always difficult to figure out what you want. There is only so much stuff you can suggest to others to buy before running out of ideas. Now, I had asked my lovely BF for the Clarins 'The Essentials' Eye Palette and asked him weeks in advance. However, the last minute shopper that he is discovered that the shops had completely sold out. So this left him asking me if I wanted any fragrances. The only one I knew I wanted for my collection was J'adore Voile de Parfum. I didn't expect to get it because of it's extortionate price tag. However I was very lucky to be given the bigger size of this product (100 ml) to use. It is a gorgeous floral scent that is extremely classy. Gorgeous.

Secret Santa

I did two Secret Santa's this year: one with my University friends and one at my school (which was much bigger). I think I can safely say, those that picked my name knew me quite well. The budgets were £5 so I was pretty amazed with what I got.

The Secret Santa with my uni friends could have turned out to be a disaster. I was picked by a male friend of mine! Luckily, he had heard me gossiping in seminars with my girl friends. So I received two Claire's nail polishes which are all very Christmasy. I have yet to try them out but I will look forward to wearing them.

Next, I have no idea who bought me my Secret Santa when I I was at school but clearly I look like a girl who loves her make up! I got a three tins of lip balms in different flavours and a gorgeous eye shadow palette.

I could not have asked for better suited gifts!

Enough with this post. I will hopefully get round to posting a 'January Sales' post soon!

Did you get some lovely gifts for Xmas?

Maybelline Color Sensation Popsticks in Pink Lollipop (030) review.

Hello lovelies!

The day (or month) has finally come where I have gone mad over a make-up essential that I never had a craving before: lipstick! In my previous post, I showed you my lipstick haul from Fragrance Direct and so I want to review a product that has been slightly controversial. It has generally been given a thumbs down by bloggers. Yes, it is the Maybelline Popstick!

The reason this product has been slated is because of it's lack of colour pay off. Yes, this is true. But pick your colour right and it's not too bad!

After being allured by their pretty packaging and neon appearance, I knew I just wanted one. Yes, it was because of the novelty really but for the price of £1.99 online it was an inexpensive indulgence. After seeing so many bad reviews, I decided to swatch these in my local Superdrug before purchasing. This made me settle for pink lollipop. It was the most colourful and gave the best colour pay off. The others there swatched rather clear and the product itself looked a bit boring (cherry pop and crystal pink, I'm looking at you!).

This product is totally worth it if you want a sheer, natural lipstick.

When my boyfriend first saw this in the tube, he was rather afraid of what the results would look like. It is just a bright, neon-pink lipstick in the tube. The outcome is not so scary. It is incredibly sheer, just like a balm. As I have said, this is the lipstick I found to have the most colour pay-off with it giving lips a slightly pinker tinge to them - very natural!

Is this worth the full RRP of £7.19? No, definitely not. If I had bought this for that price I would be extremely cross for what is a glorified lip balm. For £1.99? This is worth it for those days where you want understated make-up to enhance your lip colour.

Have you tried these popsticks?

Three month haul!

Hello lovelies!

Wow, it feels more than forever since I've posted on here and I just hate it. I have managed to take some time out of my half term to write this so I'm very glad. Despite not posting, my love of beauty products has not stopped and hence why I am cramming my three hauls from the past three months into one post! Yes, that is one haul per month. My make-up bag just can't help be get bigger and bigger right now :)

August - ELF 50% off sale (+ free delivery)

What I hauled:

Minty Lip Gloss in Miami 

Pressed Powder Blush in Shy

Tinted Moisturiser in Ivory

Lash Lengthening Mascara in Black

Double Tip Concealer & Highlighter in Fair

Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips

HD Blush in Encore

5 Piece Make-Up Brush Set

Most of this stuff wasn't for me. I decided to haul a load of stuff for my Mum's birthday to make her up an entire new make-up bag. So the only two things I had ordered for myself were the Minty Lip Gloss and HD Blush. Most of these products I had to blind buy as I couldn't find pictures on the internet. Here are a few things I can say about what I received:

• I personally LOVE the Minty Lip Gloss. It tingles a little when applied and ends up tasting quite sweet when applied. It is really tasty! The colour is understated and the doe foot applicator applies the right amount of gloss - perfect!. The only downside is there isn't enough of this in the tube!
• There was only one colour left of the HD blushes and I was desperate to try one so I ordered on anyway. Encore is a very deep berry colour and was a bit of a mistake to buy. It is hard to apply as you only need a minimal amount otherwise you can look as if you have a ruddy complexion! In a lighter shade, I would have probably loved this.
• Lash Lengthening Mascara was a purchase for my Mum and my goodness she loves this mascara! She claims she has found her perfect mascara ever thanks to this purchase.

September - Superdrug Haul (Free Delivery)

What I hauled:

GOSH Velvet Touch Primer x 2

Barry M Nail Paint in Silvery Lilac

Accessorize Rock Star Gift Set

This was a small haul but a lot with it. I really wanted to own an Accessorize Blusher and this was a good value way to buy it. The set cost about £6.50 and a blusher is worth £4.95. So here is what I thought:

• The gift set without a doubt was great value for money. I use the blusher often even though it is not a shade that is in the shops (this one is in 'Starlet'). I put two of the nail varnishes in my Mum's beauty box and have yet to try the other products yet.
• I have already reviewed the GOSH primer. A little disappointing, yes, but some could make this work with their skin.
• The Barry M Nail Paint is something I had wanted for a while. My boyfriend bought it for his sister last Christmas and I wanted a bottle about 3 months later. I couldn't find it in the shops so I was thrilled to see this online. The colour is lovely but hard to put on, did not dry very quickly and chipped moderately. I only have no regrets because of the colour.

October: Fragrance Direct

What I hauled:

Maybelline 24 hour Super Stay Lip Colour in Pink Spice

Maybelline 24 hour Super Stay Lip Colour in Fire Garnet

Maybelline Colour Sensational Popsticks in Pink Lollipop

L'Oreal Color Riche Made For Me Lipstick in Rose Printemps 216

 Calvin Klein Delicious Luxury Creme Lipstick in Rose Rush 137

I went a bit made with the lipsticks. I hadn't really owned any before and now I'm a trainee teacher, I want to look as presentable as possible. 'Pink Spice' was a little bit of a mistake buy as I blind bought trying to use my Google skills which showed me a completely different colour, oops! Here are my initial views:

• The Super Stay Lip Colour's are a great buy if you know what colour you're buying. At £2.99 (as opposed to £8, like in the shops) for colour that hardly budges, this is a steal. I am thinking of blind buying 'Infinite Petal' next time.
• The Maybelline Popstick lipstick was surprisingly great for what I wanted. I had read a lot of reviews online and most of them said it was a waste of money as the colour pay off wasn't great. I agree, but I actually went into Superdrug to swatch these before I made my order (yes, I know that was a little cheeky). Pink Lollipop had the best colour pay off so I added it to my basket. I love that these are neon and clear. The colour on my lips is great. It rosies up my natural lip colour enhancing my lips for a natural look.

Hopefully, it won't be too long until I write my next post again (or be able to comment on a few of yours!).

Rêve by Van Cleef & Arpels EDP review

Hello lovelies!

To mark the middle of this week I thought I would review a fragrance! I love reviewing fragrances and have have just about managed to gain my sense of smell back!

I acquired this sample from a website that offers products for reviews. It is called 'What's In My Handbag?' and basically you sign up to 'try' various products by answering a few questions. When I spotted that I could try Rêve, I thought 'Why not?', I had nothing to lose. I had heard nothing about Van Cleef & Arpels before so had no idea what to expect.

My sample arrived within a week which I was more than happy with for a freebie! And the sample size is rather generous too. Most samples I have picked up from the shops before are around 1.2ml or 1.5ml and this was 2ml so I was happy with how much you are given to test out.

Inside, it states: 'Discover the enchanting garden of the new fragrance REVE: bouquet of delicate white Flowers, juicy Pear and mysterious Amber...'

In my honest opinion, this fragrance is quite 'safe'. White floral perfumes seem like a safe bet for perfumers and this for me does not stand out from the rest. I can smell white flowers and some of the pear notes, but I would have loved the Lily notes to be more prominent than the others to make this scent really dreamy.

The bottle of this scent is simple. It is a nice spherical bottle and not too complicated. Had this scent been outstanding, I could justify the simplicity of the bottle. And ironically, I feel if this bottle was unusual and pretty, I could probably purchase this on these grounds.

So for me, this is a rather underwhelming product. If I was bought this, I would not complain but I still would not spend my money on this product either. This gives me the same feelings as 'See' By Chloe - a little too safe and a bottle that does not help the product either.

But why not give it a go in the shops? I am sure it will smell fantastic on someone.