Swatches: Daniel Sandler Liquicolor - Raspberry Shine!

I bought this Daniel Sandler lip-gloss at the Professional Beauty Show last month and I’ve only just managed to take a good look at it. The colour, Raspberry Shine’ is quite a bright pink that I feel would be quite flattering to most skin types.

It appears to have tiny reflecting particles in it, but it’s not at all glittery, the shine is exceptional considering there’s no glitter element to it. The consistency is quite thick but it’s not gloopy or overly sticky considering it is a lip gloss and the pigmentation is fantastic – which means you don’t need to slather it on to get a decent colour!

Without flash:

Because of this, it actually lasts quite well and I’ve found that even when the shine has gone I still have a bit of colour stain left on my lips, which helps to keep them looking nice until I can top it up again. I think this may be a little bit more difficult to get hold of now, but if you do find yourself considering a purchase then I do recommend it from my experience.

OPI Burlesque Collection - 10 Polish Swatches!

 

When I first saw the Burlesque range I just knew I had to have it, I was completely taken by the sparkles and shimmers of this range and thought it perfect for the upcoming party season (that is getting ever closer). I finally managed to collect 10 out of the 12 colours, which I am over the moon with – the pictures do not do it justice (partly to do with my camera phone and partly to do with my bad photography) but it does give you a bit of an idea as to what to expect.

I’ve done just 2 coats of the colours, I do think 3 would be preferable for pretty much all of them, but I said I would get this post up today so only managed to get 2 coats on – I can add a third though and update if you’d like (leave a comment if so).

I have to say, the glitters are fab! They’re absolutely perfect on their own or can be used over the top of any polish you may want to jazz up, or even layered over each other to create a variety of different colour glitter effects; I just love the versatility of them. I do recommend a good helping of base and top coat to help the polish last longer on your nails, and create a smoother finish since glitters are a bit rougher to the touch, but as far as glitters go they’re not too bad actually!

The polishes, as with most glitter polishes are a bit of a pain to remove (again, as most glitters seem to be); however they’re so worth it that I really don’t mind having to spend a bit longer removing them.

The other polish finishes are quite shimmery and glitzy, but without glitter and are SO great when being worn on the nail – they’re just a little sheer after 2 coats; an extra coat would resolve this though so it’s not a deal breaker by any means. They do look very similar on the picture, and they are a little but I’m happy that I have all of them as I do notice the difference between them especially between ‘Let Me Entertain You’ (this edges more towards a pink colour) and ‘The Show Must Go On’ (has a bit of a gold sheen to it in some lights)!

These are quite pricey (as with a lot of OPI polishes) and will set you back around £10 each (although you can get them slightly cheaper on eBay – not much though)!

 The picture below is without a flash: 

 

 With flash (glitter background as this shows how sheer some of them are):

 Without flash:

Avon Glimmersticks Diamond Eyeliner - Swatched!

Along with the Avon gel eyeliners that I recently wrote about and swatched, I also purchased the full set of their Glimmersticks Diamond Eye Liners too; these are also currently in the half price sale for £3 each and there are 6 colours available.

Top L-R Twilight Sparkle, Black Ice, Brown Sugar, Sugar Plum, Emerald Glow, Smokey Diamond

I’ve swatched using my flash for most of the pictures, to show the sparkle effect but there are photos without flash that I will mark as being without flash as I go, so you know which is which! I've also tried to show a few angles so you can see how the light catches the sparkle.

Colour payoff isn’t quite as spectacular as the gel eyeliners but with a few swipes I was able to get a very decent colour and effect! A little trick that helps is to slightly warm the liners by rolling in your hand for about 30 seconds, it just helps for a smoother, easier application with no drag!

Without flash:

I actually kept the liners on my hand overnight as I thought I’d see how well they lasted being brushed by the duvet (luckily one of our darker ones) and generally moved around, and actually they lasted really well (see the pictures below). If they can withstand that then I feel confident they’d last on a night out.

The morning after (without flash):

I love the sparkly colours and would completely recommend them if you want to jazz up an otherwise neutral makeup look, or also perfect for if you want to go bold and make a statement with your eye makeup!

Lucas Papaw Ointment!

My lips can be a complete pain – literally. They get so dried out at times that normal lip balm just doesn’t cut it. I quite like using Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream as it really does help to keep them hydrated, but the smell can be a bit overpowering which is something I’ll put up with as it’s providing such a decent protection barrier on my lips (which stops them drying out even more) but it’s not something I love either.

I found Lucas’ Papaw Ointment by accident really as I saw it when browsing the Cult Beauty website for other things. I read the reviews and then decided that I had to give it a whirl, especially after reading that it was a great moisturiser for chapped lips because it didn’t taste chemical and also that it was odourless.

I decided to play it safe and just purchase the one 25g tube of it, as I didn’t want to buy loads of it if I didn’t know how well it was going to work. I made the right decision as this stuff lasts ages anyway; you only need a tiny amount on your lips to do the job.

It’s made from fermented Carica Papaw fruit which doesn’t sound at all enticing but as it said on the product page, you can’t taste or smell anything really, let alone anything ‘bad’ so I haven’t been too bothered about this at all.

Applying the product is just a case of squeezing out a little product and rubbing it into the area you need it – be that your lips or any other dry or problematic areas of your body. The consistency of the product isn’t oily as such, but it is quite slippy and silky (it has a similarity in texture to Vaseline but a bit softer) which to me is great on the lips and it does give a lovely sheen; but I would say that it does need a short time to dry/soak into areas like your fingers where you may come into contact with other items or clothing – just to eliminate any risk of ruining something.

I tend to reapply the product to my lips every 2-3 hours or so, I don’t think it needs to be reapplied more frequently as even when the initial shine has gone, I can still feel some moisture on them. I noticed quite quickly that my lips were much softer and whilst there was still dry skin on there, I found it buffed off much easier using both a toothbrush and also a dedicated lip scrub leaving much smoother and moisturised lips.

I’ve been so impressed with this that next time I think I will go for the big tub (75g or 200g) as well as a tube of it (for my handbag) as although it does go a long way, I do find that I’m using it all over my body where I have dry areas so buying the big tub for this would present even better value!

Some interesting information from the website:

“Lucas' Papaw Ointment is a world-wide proven remedy of over 100 years standing.
Lucas Papaw Ointment has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and may be used as a local topical application on the following.
Minor Burns Chafing Cuts
Gravel Rash Minor Open Wounds
Nappy Rash Scalds
Sunburn Splinters and Thorns


Also:


Temporary relief of the symptoms of dermatitis and eczema


Papaw or Papaya we all know as a delicious fruit, but the beneficial qualities of Papaw greatly aid the skin.
Lucas Papaw Ointment is made in Australia from pure Australian papaws.”

Urban Decay Liquid Eyeliner (Honey) - Swatched!

I’ve had this eyeliner for a while now and I think it’s really lovely. The colour I have is ‘Honey’ which is a fantastic metallic gold colour – perfect for party season, actually. I thought I'd show you some pictures of it on my skin (sorry about the bad camera/lighting - hopefully this is only temporary as I'm waiting on delivery of a day lamp, and my normal camera starting to work soon) so you can see for yourself.

I love the brush/handle on this as it's a bit shorter than most I encounter, which enables me to have greater control over where the product applies. You get 7.5ml of product for your money (usually between £12 and £13 but can be found even cheaper if  you look, at least for certain colours anyway) and it does seem to last very well – helped I expect by the highly pigmented colour, meaning you need to use less.

This is another multifunctional product as it can also be used as a metallic shadow just by painting over more of the lid- if you were going for more of a striking look.

On the skin the liner retains its metallic shine and gives a great colour payoff due to the great pigmentation of the product. There are 13 colours available in the range, according to the Urban Decay website and they all look equally as fabulous.

Having worn this several times I have to say that the product lasts very well, withstanding being rubbed (I always seem to forget that I am wearing eye makeup, which is strange as that’s the makeup I tend to like wearing, messing about with and experimenting with most) and lasting perfectly on a night out!

Recommended. :-)

Winner of Cutex Manicure Correction Pen!

I used Random.org too choose my winner!

"Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2010-11-15 00:06:17 UTC"


So congratulations to:  Girl In The City/Ann, you have won the Cutex correction pen!

I'll email you for your address details in the morning.

Swatched: Models Own - Black & Green Sparkle & Black & Gold Sparkle!

I recently did swatches of my Models Own glitter/sparkle eye shadows - well now I have 2 more to show you; this time it’s black with green sparkle and black with gold sparkle. I love dark colours and a bit of sparkle, so was attracted to these pretty instantly. In the Models Own Glitter & Sparkle there are a total of 12 colours available on the website and I could easily see myself owning at least 10 of them (magpie that I am) - especially as they're just £5 each, and even less if you buy multiples from the Models Own website!

Application was a bit more difficult than I am used to if I am honest as the powder and glitter don’t really work together when trying to get a nice finish as the glitter can tend to clump in one area rather than go on evenly. This isn’t a deal breaker as the finished effect is rather lovely; it just means that you need to spend a bit more time applying it very carefully! There is also quite a lot of fall-down, which is to be expected really, as it's a powder so make sure you protect your base, or do it after applying the powder.

I would definitely say to use a primer when using these so that the shadow stays put – because the loose particles could get displaced more easily than usual. Again, it’s no deal breaker as I generally always wear primer as it gives a better, longer-lasting result and doesn’t cost the earth to buy.

The pictures have been done with and without flash, and I’ll indicate which is which as I place them on. Also the thin line is where I've applied it went - to see how it applied and the effect it gave after doing so; it wasn't really any easier to apply this way and I'll let you decide how successful the effect was.

With Flash!

 

Without Flash!

Sleek 50% Sale Extended!

Due to its popularity, Sleek have extended their 50% sale until midnight tonight so if you haven't been able to order, or just didn't know about the sale then here's your chance to grab a bargain. I really do recommend the Bad Girl palette if you do decide to make a purchase.

I think this is great news as I have seen a lot of people that have been very frustrated about the website going so slowly and baskets being emptied before being able to be checked out, so hopefully this makes up for the issues and allows everybody to get their orders in!

The codes you need to use to get the discount are as follows:

GBP50SLK 

Who can use this code? >UK CUSTOMERS ONLY


EUR50SLK

Who can use this code? >MAINLAND EUROPE USERS or those where the € sign is automatically selected as the default currency upon visiting the website


USD50SLK

Who can use this code? >EVERYONE ELSE or those where the $ sign is automatically selected as the default currency upon visiting the website