Elf Eyeshadow primer & Elf Eyelid primer rewies & swatches

Hello lovelies :)

Sharing with you my opinion on Elf eye shadow primers.

The couple I currently own:

Elf Mineral Eyeshadow primer & Elf Eyelid primer

Illmasqua Liquid Metal - Surge review + photos + swatches

Hello beautiful people :)

I'm hoping you all are having a great day or night :)

I'm back today with a review on Illmasqua Liquid Metal cream eyeshadow in the colour Surge.

This is a picture heavy post, mind you!

OK, this is the baby in pictures

And... my opinion on this product..

Well, well, well..

Oh GOSH! :) (Review, photos, swatches)

Hello everyone! 

Today I nipped to Superdrug.. with no intention of buying anything.. but I couldn't resist.

This time it was a GOSH!

I think they have a few new products there, eye shadow quads, lipsticks, lip glosses, eyeliners etc.

I originally wanted their waterproof eyeliner in a different shade to what I've got, but after seeing couple of new products I could not hold myself from getting them too.. and they also had 3 for 2 offer on GOSH brand in Superdrug.. So here we are :D

Things that I got:

GOSH nail polish in 009 Bright Idea,  lipstick in 150 Kitten Pink & waterproof velvet touch eye liner in Metallic Brass

 

 First, Bright Idea nail polish from GOSH.

 All I have to say is - I'm so in love with this colour and formula. 

How gorgeous is this colour? I'm a huge fan of neutral nail polishes for every day wear. 

And this colour is brilliant, creamy nude, not to light like Essie, not a dark nude, not orange.. just pure perfection in my eyes anyway..

I thought I would compare it to other nude shades so you can get an idea of the colour :)

L to R: Essie Marshmallow, GOSH Bright Idea, No 7 Practically Perfect, GOSH Miss Sweety

GOSH Bright Idea nail polish

 This nail polish is a limited edition apparently :( I feel like I need a back up of this.. 

The most amazing thing about this nail polish is that I needed only 2!!! coats to get an opaque colour!

Even with some more expensive brands you sometimes need more coats.. and especially nude colours tend to be very sheer.. 

I would definitely recommend this nail polish if you like nudes and you better get it now as it is a limited edition and once it's sold out it's gone :(

Now is the lipstick.

 I compared it to other pinks I've got as well.

 As you can see they all look pretty much the same.. warm bright pinks...

GOSH Kitten Pink is in the middle.

Ithink it is very close in colour to MAC Viva Glam Nicki but less neon and more wearable, and also more creamy. The pigmentation is wonderful. So I would say if you thought Nicki was too neon bright, or you want a cheaper alternative, GOSH Kitten Pink is the one. 

Looking at how many pink lipsticks I've got I think I've got to stop buying them lol 

 Out of them all, in terms of shade, I think my favourite is Nyx Fig, as it is the most wearable out of the all, which I can pull off to work, for instance, whereas the rest are well out of my comfort zone but still great :)

L to R: L'oreal Freshly Candy, Nyx Fig, Gosh Kitten Pink, MAC Viva Glam Nicki, Sleek Heartbraker

L to R: L'oreal Freshly Candy, Nyx Fig, Gosh Kitten Pink, MAC Viva Glam Nicki, Sleek Heartbraker

 And.. Finally..

GOSH waterproof velvet touch eye liners

The top one I've had for a while and have used a lot (It need sharpening, sorry for that)

These are great eye liners. They last a long time but there are longer lasting eyeliners.

But I still think they are great quality for a drugstore brand.

They are very soft and velvety, so easy to apply.

They look wonderful on waterline too, though you would have to reapply for an intense effect.

They are also great for smokey effect as it is so easy to blend these.

I would say these start to smudge after 8 hours of wear which I think is pretty good.

Top: Black Ink     Bottom: Metallic Brass

Top: Black Ink     Bottom: Metallic Brass

Metallic Brass shade is gorgeous. 

I can see how it will look wonderful with a smokey eye or on a waterline.

I quite like some products from this brand.

I really wanted some of their blushes for a while but they seem to be sold out all the time in my local Superdug.

I better check them somewhere else.

What do you think about GOSH brand? 

Are there products from this brand you really like and would recommend?

Would you like to try products from this brand?

Please share.

I'm curious to know your opinion xx

Thank you for reading.

I hope you found something useful.

Tanya xx

(P.S. Sorry for not posting very often or visiting your blogs as much. There are some studying I need to do in my spare time)

BB Cream Overview (MUA, Missha B, Garnier)

Hello lovelies,

I think many are familiar with BB creams now days. They have been out for a while in Asia. Europe companies started creating something similar recently. I noticed that more and more companies come up with this idea.

I think BB cream are generally a great innovation as they can be a skin care product and foundation at the same time, which I think works very well. BB cream helps to prevent applying too much different products at the same time and saves time. 

So here you go, I have 4 BB creams, from 3 different brands.

Garnier BB cream Light shade

It has a lightweight formula that provides a dewy finish, which Ithink is the most shiny looking out of them all. I would recommend Garnier BB cream for dry or normal skin type. 

The cream moisturises the skin well, Venus out skin tone but doesn't cover imperfections well. I usually have to use a lot of concealer with this. The only thing a really liked about this BB cream is the healthy glow this stuff gave to my face. The skin looked healthier and glowing, beautiful. From the photo you can see it's quite dark even though it's a light shade, but bare in mind i switched those on inside of my hand so skin there is much lighter than my face. 

However, I have to use too much concealer with this and it doesn't last long as well. I really liked it at first, and almost finished the tube by the way, but I don't think I will repurchase unless Garnier will improve the formula.

50ml £9.99

MUA BB cream Light shade

 First of all, I was very impressed with this BB cream. Looking at the shade is just perfect for me. I'm a big fan of the texture of it. It seem thick and heavy like a thick foundation. It is difficult to blend the cream but it seem to go on smoothly. The only thing I'm disappointed about this product is that BB creams suppose to be skin car concept and plus the foundation, whereas there is just a combination of primer, foundation and concealer. So it doesn't provide any benefits to the skin. Despite this I thick the quality of this BB cream is excellent for the price. This BB cream provides pretty good coverage, like a good foundation would (having Revlon colour stay in mind) and it is buildable as well. The skin feels smooth and the finish looks natural with this product. MUA BB cream also lasts all day. 

Overall I'm very impressed, again, I would highly recommend to try this. For this price, you can't go wrong. The shade is perfect for my skin tone. For reference, I have a strong yellow undertone, and you can see from the picture how yellow it is.

In terms of quality of this BB cream I would say very close to Asian BB creams, without a skin care concept. Even formula feels similar.

30ml £4

Misha BB cream #21 & #23 shades

These are my first Asian BB creams. I can't really fault these, they have anti-ageing properties, high SPF, good coverage and they are easy to use. The cream again has quite a thick consistency but still blendable. I love these, but the only problem I have is the shade. You can see from the picture both shades are very cool toned, #21 is almost grey. They suppose to adapt to your skin tone, and they do, but not as much as I wished they did. They still have cooler undertone to them. I'm sure they would be great for those who have neutral or cool skin tone. I wouldn't repurchase this just purely because of the shade, otherwise I think they are great. Besides that, the coverage is good and builable. I'm sure someone who don;t have a lot of imperfections on their skin will be able to get away without using concealer. Another good thing about them  is that they stay on all day.

 20ml around £6-7; 50ml around £10-12 from Ebay

My favorite is definitely MUA BB cream.

Do you use or think of trying BB cream?

What is your favorite or which one would you like to try?

Thank you for reading,

Tanya xx

Elf Candid Coral & Giddy Gold studio blushes review

Hello,

I find Elf to be one of the best drugstore brands out there, if not the best, considering the value and the quality for money. I have couple of their studio blushes and I want to share my opinion on them.

Candid Coral

This was my first blush from Elf and I think one of the first purchases from the company. I think this the time when I started getting into make up and trying new products. 

I actually rediscovered this blush the other day day and reminded myself how gorgeous it is. candid coral is a nice coral pink blush in my opinion.

 It gives gorgeous glow to the face and looks fresh, soft, a little shimmery  and not too much in colour. I didn't really see anything as good in other drugstore brands, so I think Candid Coral is a must have, if you like shimmery blushes though. 

Some may say it's not pigmented enough, but I think it just give enough colour and isn't overpowering. Another fact is that it doesn't last long. Honestly, I have more expensive blushes that last just as long. So I would say this blush is great value for money and the colour is gorgeous. 

My only problem with this is shimmer. Lately I've been loving more matte blushes. I would definitely recommend to try this blush if you are starting out with make up from Elf or just looking for a good everyday blush.

Giddy Gold

I went through orange blush phase and I had to purchase this one. Again I didn't expect it to be that shimmery. It is also not very pigmented, which is a good thing in my case because the blush looks extremely orange. I usually apply this over coral or peachy blushes to give that extra bronze glow.

 I think this blush can be used to give a bronzed glow. I love to use it when I'm tanned. If you are looking for this kind of affect or an orange glow this is a good blush to get.

Elf studio Candid Coral and Giddy Gold blush swatches:

As I said, I think Elf blushes are good value and quality for money.

I think they are great staring point if you are just starting out with make up, looking for the shades that would suit you or if you are studying and not working etc.

 I would love to see matte shades from Elf. Otherwise I don't think I will be purchasing anymore from this line. I will be trying their cream blushes. 

What was your experience with Elf studio blush line or cream blush line?

Thank you for reading,

Tanya xx

MAC Viva Glam Nicki review & swatches

Hello everyone!

Just got my Viva Glam Nicki today.

 MAC Viva Glam Nicki in its packaging:

 This is such a gorgeous bright pink, almost(!) neon colour.

If you don't like bright pinks, this isn't something you would like, though I'd still recommend to try it.

You never know.

 Viva Glam Nicki is a warm yellow pink which really compliments my complexion even though I'm fair skinned. I have a strong yellow undertone in my skin.

 This colour isn't something I would be comfortable to wear to work, for example, but on other casual occasions or maybe parties I can see myself reaching for it very often. I also think this will look beautiful in summer with a little bit of tan.

Viva Glam Nicki is a Satin formula which is one of my favourites from MAC. Satins are fairly pigmented, creamier than matte formula but still quite long lasting. I find some satins are dryer than the others, but Viva Glam Nicki didn't dry my lips out.

MAC Viva Glam Nicki on my lips

Overall, I'm happy with this lipstick. I'm currently into pink lipsticks and this one is definitely on of my favourites.

I think MAC lipsticks offer excellent quality for a good price.

I compared it to other bright pinks I have:

I hope you found the swatches useful. What do you think about Viva Glam Nicki? Will you be buying it?

Thank you for reading.

Tanya xx

SHOP MAC Collection - Watch Me Simmer lipstick review

Hello lovelies!

One of my recent purchases from MAC is Watch Me Simmer lipstick from their new collection - Shop MAC.

Watch Me Simmer stood out the most out of this collection and it came out in the right time because I just found my passion for bright warm pink lipsticks. Watch Me Simmer isn't just warm pink, it has also got coral undertones to it, which makes it so vibrant and unique. It's so gorgeous and has definitely became one of my favourite lipsticks.

Many people describe this lipstick as coral, but for some reason on my skin tone it's more of a hot pink with coral undertone :) I guess it may depend on the skin tone. Although this lipstick may look different on each skin tone, I think it is still universally flattering.

MAC Watch Me Simmer on my lips:

MAC describes this lipstick as "Bright Pink Orange" and I agree with this.

 I think it is more than just a coral!

This lipstick is an amplified formula which is one of my favourites. It is very pigmented, opaque and creamy, in one word - just perfect! It's quite long lasting compared to other creamy formulas of lipsticks I've tried. 

I personally find this formula creamy enough and I don't need to top it up with a lip gloss. Especially I'm very happy with the colour and I wouldn't want to tame it down either. 

Going bright is definitely the way for me!

I definitely think this is great lipstick to have in the collection. 

I will be great for the summer as well.

Obviously I will use it not just in summer :)

Check it out. I think there will be enough for everyone this time as this lipstick comes out twice this year. 

I actually wish they would have it as permanent, like many other limited edition ones. They are just so good.

Does anyone know how similar it is to Mac Impassioned? This is another one I'm interested in.

What are your thoughts on Watch Me Simmer? Are you planning to buy it?

Thanks for reading,

Tanya xx

MAC Naturally Collection Perfect Day & Sweet Sunrise lipsticks haul(review, swatches, comparison)

Yes they finally reached UK just a few days ago.. Well, maybe more than a few, it took a while for MAC to deliver the goodies..  Anyways, I finally got them and I'm very happy I got hold of these nude lipsticks are amazing. 

I got Perfect Day(Amplified) and Sweet Sunrise(Lustre).

These are 2 wonderful pink nude shades. I wasn't sure whether I should get them at fist as I thought I had some pink nudes and I hardly ever worn them.. But still something got over me and I decided to purchase them, colours seemed very wearable and because these are my first limited edition babies! I'm very glad I got them as it ended up I have nothing else like them colour wise, although Elf Nostalgic is a bit similar to Perfect Day, but not near as good the quality of MAC.

Lips swatches:

 

Sweet Sunrise is gorgeous pale pink nude shade.. I fell in love with this lipstick straight away and I can see reaching for it very often and choosing it over Myth. It's just perfect pale coral nude(if this makes sense) that I was looking for ages. This would work great with a smokey or a bright eye look. This is a luster formula and isn't very opaque and pigmented.. which is a shame because I would love to see this gorgeous shade in Amplified formula! Lustre gives a nice glow and shine like lip gloss, but it also seems to run out very quick.. which is a bad thing as Sweet Sunrise is limited edition.. Well, I hope they bring in more colours like this and I would love to see them in permanent line.

Perfect Day.. What a perfect nude shade you are :) I can see this could be an easy nude shade that would go with almost everything and can see myself reaching for this lipstick every day. I love the shade, it's like my lips better shade but lighter. I can't seem to figure out what colour it is.. It seem to be pink beige coral nude, maybe? Colours seem to be very balanced, which makes me think that this lipstick would be universally flattering. I just adore the formula as well. It is so creamy and so easy to glide it on, and it just feels really nice on the lips. I think nudes are best with amplified creme formula, they just look perfect with that formula. I hope MAC will create more nudes with this formula.

I compared MAC Sweet Sunrise and Perfect Day lipsticks to other nude lipsticks I own(Myth, Plink, Viva Glam II and Freckletone) and included swatches as well:

To summarise:

I'm really happy to add Sweet Sunrise and Perfect Day nude lipsticks to my MAC lipstick collection. The only thing I'm not happy about is why all good things have to be limited edition? 

Has anyone of you bought any of Naturally collection products?

I decided just to stick with lipsticks as I have enough blushes and other things and I just adore MAC lipsticks. These shades are gorgeous and extremple wearable, and I don't regret at all that I got them.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found swatches helpful. 

FTOD: Make up look for green eyes :) + Collection 200 lasting perfection concealer review

Hello :)

My make up look for today with lilac eyeshadow from MUA palette. I think these colours are a great choice for ladies with green eyes (like me) as they make them really stand out. It may seem that lilac colours won't work with warm skin tones, but I personally think they do, especially with yellow skin tones as lilac and yellow contrast with each other. I personally have warm undertone to my skin and I find wearing lilac/purple eye shadows with cool pink or purple doesn't fork for my compxion, so instead I choose warm nude lip colours such Sleek Naked lipstick.

MUA eyeshadow trio in Passion, which I used for this eye look. I really like colours in this palette but I'm not fun of the texture of the eye shadows. They seem quite sheer in application and difficult to work with. I much prefer 12 colour eye shadow pallets from MUA in terms of the texture. Though the colours are lovely and I may try other ways of applying these eye shadows.

In this post I'm also doing a review on my new concealer from Collection 2000 which I got today because I've completely finished other 2 concealers I had from different brands.

Product list:

Mascara overview

Today I'm doing an overview of the mascaras I currently own and telling you my thoughts about them.
I don't have any high end brands at the minute, though I've tried some before and they didn't really make the difference.

Here is the picture of the ones I own:

Elf Mineral Infused Mascara, Elf Lengthening and Defining Mascara, Gosh Serious Volume Mascara, Maybilline Pulse Perfection Mascara

There are a lot of different mascara brands out there and some of you may really like one and somebody else may absolutely hate it depending on what effect you want to achieve.

Whatever Mascara I used it always wasn't good enough for me so I still don't have a favourite and I'm still trying to find one. I naturally have very short and light eye lashes that aren't very thick either. I have tried conditioning them with different oil and it has never done anything different to my lashes.

 You can see how my lashes look without any mascara below.

 

Neutral make up look + 28 Neutral/Natural eyeshadow palette review

This is a neutral make up look I came up with today for work. I actually really like this look as it is suitable for the day and night when paired with darker lip colour such as red. This especially would look rally good with orange red lipstick. The camera didn't pick up a little smoky effect achieved with smudged eye liner which is a shame.

Anyways, this is how it looks:

Products I used:

Elf lipstick collection + swatches + review

Here are all Elf lipsticks I currently own:

 

I think Elf lipsticks offer good value for money, especially the essential line which is £1.50 each.

 I like the finishes of Essenitial line lippies which is kind of semi matte I would have thought. I don't feel like they moisturise my lips and they don't feel drying either, so that's good. Pigmintation, in darker shades especially, is quite good actually, coulours come out near enough like in the tube.If you can see I already broke Nostalgic lipstick. I think they are not so easy to apply as they are not very creamy and I end up pressing to hard.

I prefer Miniral line formula better as it seems creamier and easier to apply, but I don't have shimmery ones from this line. 

Swatches in the same order as in the picture above:

 

Natural nymph is a pale beige pink nude that gives an opaque finish. You can see how pale it looks on my skin and I have a pretty pale skin generally. This lipstick will probably go very well with dramatic smokey eye look. I've had this lipstick for a while now as it was one of my first purchases from Elf. I absolutely loved it back then but now I don't reach for it very often, mainly because I realised this is not an ideal shade for my skintone, so I suggest this lipstick for those who have pink undertones in their skin tone and for someone who is just starting out with make up this is an ideal candidate if looking for this type of effect. 

  

Nostalgic from Essential line is my preffered nude shade, as it's not too pale for my skintone. It also has a nice warm pink tone which is nice. I would definitely reccomend this lipstick, especially when the price is so nice, but bare in mind it won't stay on your lips for very long. 

I featured this lipstick in Smokey eye look found here:

http://tane4kacol.blogspot.com/2012/01/inexpensive-smokey-eye-look.html

 

 

I've got to say that Captivating is my favorite lipstick form Elf ever. This is a gorgeous toned down orange that is perfect for fair skintones, as the shade isn't tobright. I'm willing to put up with lasting power and pigmentation is truly wonderful. 

Elf Voodoo lipstick on my lips

Voodoo is a spicy warm red shade as described on Elfs website which I thought would be warmer than it is. This is not a problem as I like the shade anyway. This is quite a deep red compare to other red lipsticks I own. To me Voodoo is more of a brown red than true red, definitely not a bright colour. This would be great option for winter and is quite wearable during the day.  I don't wear deeper reds very often as they make me look very mature or vampy at times so I have to find an occasion for that, but it is lovely to have a different shade of red in my collection and especially if it is very inexpensive, like Voodoo.

 

 Fantasy is a nice brown lipstick that may be a good nude shade for darker skintones.The coulour of this lipstick actually reminds of chocolate :)

It doesn't look bad on my lips but now days I find brown lips a bit boring whereas I used to wear them more often before. This shade is cooler than Bare Brown from Mineral line and I prefer the latter.

 

Bare Brown is a lovely brown shade with warm undertones. This formula is creamier than essential line formula and provides more sheer application. This looks very nice with a lip liner. 

I hope you found those swatches usefull and excuse me for them being not very neat.

So these are all the lipsticks from Elf I currently own. As I mentioned earlier I think they are good value for money as they offer not bad quality and they are not overpriced like some other drugstore brands.