London Fashion Week 2011

Hey guys! Well just a quick update - LFW was amazing, it was very busy, but it was enjoyable, lots of buzz and TONNES of designer bargains! I am glad my friend Kathy came with me! it was good fun, had a good gossip and such like, also a LOVELY late lunch at The Wellington on the Strand (very good prices considering its LONDON!!) 


Below are some photos - a proper blog will follow :p xx

Testing...Testing...1...2...3

This is a test email to see whether this works, I have sent a photo of Ben (boyfriend) and I heading into London in the car - not very good quality but meh! X
Sent from my lovely BlackBerry®

What a Fantastic Weekend so far!

Well I have been looking forward to the weekend all week, my new bf (who has been my best friend for like 2 years) took me out to The Narrow restaurant in London, it is one of Gordon Ramsey's and is right on the river and at night all the lights were reallllly magical - I LOVED IT! I forgot to take a photo of my look for the night, but I bought some lush new wedge shoes, I have never been a fan of them but they seem fashionable, so I tried them and loved them, I feel a lot more stable than with heels! I also went for subtle smoky eyes and a cute pink highlighter on my cheeks (keep tuned in for the review....its called W7 Silky Smooth Blusher in Diamond Pink) - it looked subtle but stunning (apparently ;) )
The restaurant was lovely and the portions were a good size so I easily ate 3 courses! I was impressed but I did starve myself so I would savour my lovely meal. 


The next bit of excitement is London Fashion Week tomorrow, been excited for it for ages, I am going with my friend from work, and fellow blogger Kathy, it should be good, see if I can bag a bargain, seen lots of jewelery on offer! yummers! I will try and post some photos during the day as I can email my blog from my phone - its almost like technology overload!!!! :O) 

Wet'N'Wild Eye Trio

Product Description as Advertised:

 ~*~ highlighting, lining and contour your eyes. Silky soft powder formula ~*~

The verdict:

First Impressions:  Having seen and used many different brands of eye-shadow, it is getting increasingly difficult to make packaging that impresses me, however this little palette has a special little something, especially for us ‘on-the-go/public-transportista’s’ …. A little slide out mirror!  *INSERT PIC WITH MIRROR HERE*

I feel this gives it a little bit of an advantage over even the Maybelline which I LOVE so so muchly (and at a lower price I might add)

Application:  As with most eyeshadows, I prefer to use a brush, I feel the colour goes on better this way, and I always use a cream base  layer on the lids and crease of the eye to achieve a stronger colour. I was impressed with the dark purple colour and the lighter pink, but I would have preferred a stronger browbone colour, possibly with a little bit more shimmer in it to add to some depth. I will attach photos shortly of the look I achieved with it.

My Personal Likes

The price and the mirror! I LOVE it – as if it’s designed for on the go girlies. Also the casing is sturdy and I don’t fear dropping it and it shattering.

My Personal Dislikes

The colours need to be a little stronger for it to be a real contender, and also the applicator needs to be bigger, not that I used it.

Ideal if….

You are a fan of being a ‘running-late-for-train-public-transportista’ (like me!!) or you are searching for subtle and natural warm look.

RATING 4/ 5

COSMETIC KINGDOM PRICE: £1.49

Constance Carroll Duo Eye (99p!)

Constance Carroll Duo Eyeshadow (shade:31) 

Product Description as Advertised:

 ~*~ Gorgeous soft, powder eyeshadow with applicator ~*~

The verdict:

First Impressions:  Since starting my cosmetics reviews, my eyes have truly been opened to all kinds of cosmetics by different brands, different packaging etc, its similar to most things in life – you pay for a brand and a reputation.

With Constance & Carroll I had never really heard of them until I went on C-K and discovered the little gems! The great thing is that they are a UK company and the products are also made in the UK too. But best of all – everything (yes everything) is priced 99p! So you can build up a fantastic collection and make a huge saving.

Application:  I found like with most of my eyeshadows that a small amount of adhesive is needed on your eyelids, I use my Technic shimmersticks.  I feel this makes the colour stronger and last for longer. The colours are strong and the powder is indeed soft and glides on.  The two colours blend really nicely and I was impressed – after still getting to grips of the ‘smoky eye’ look.

Additionally you can utilise the colours with other looks, they don’t have to be used together and separately they still work wonderfully.

My Personal Likes

That is is 99p and is fantastic value, also compact and comes with a handy applicator. 

My Personal Dislikes

You do need to apply a couple of layers to get a decent strength of colour.

It is not widely available in the shops and only online, I reckon they could be huge if their products were widely available.

Ideal if….

You are learning how to blend colours/learning the smoky look/not a fan of spending lots of pennies on make up.

RATING 4/ 5

COSMETIC KINGDOM PRICE: £0.99

The Postman Brings Treaties!

I am so happy right now, just got another few bits from Cosmetic Kingdom - this will keep me busy for another month or so! 


Got lots of new products that are not even on the site at the moment - already VERY impressed with the Mini Bourjois Dressing Room Eye Wheel where you can actually customise which four colours you put in there - another fab space-saver for all you ladies who hate lugging a make up bag bigger than your handbag! 




All these products are 99p or under and my aim is show (as with the MUA range) that cosmetics don't need to be pricey to be amazing and give good results.


I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Deborah from Cosmetic Kingdom who has given me this great chance to get myself out in the world - start at the bottom and work my way up! at last I have a concrete idea of what I want to do and the fabulous thing is that I can actually achieve it and will have so much support.

Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation

Product Description as Advertised:

~ Skin appears visibly improved and looks so natural, so healthy.

The Verdict:

First Impressions: The bottle appears small but not a lot of foundation is needed to achieve the look.

Application: This foundation has a lovely feel on your skin.  My personal preference is that foundation can make or break a look, it’s essential to get the base right.  The Mineral Power collection boasts a completely natural list of ingredients. No waxes or oils , this would explain the lack of weight to the foundation which is ideal if trying to achieve a flawless natural look, or for general all day use.

I used the ‘Tan’ colour which would normally be too dark for me but because the foundation is not heavy or matte in colour it didn’t look like a tango moment!!

My Personal Likes

I liked this product very much and I will definitely be using again, sometimes I get stuck in a rut with foundation and I am glad I found this little treasure and its encouraged me to explore a bit more

My Personal Dislikes

I know they have altered the amount per bottle a little so there is more, but a bigger bottle for the price would be better.

Also despite mentioning earlier that not a lot of foundation is needed, you do need to layer it around twice to maintain a decent coverage, but still because the foundation is light and natural you do not feel any more weight! Perfect!!


COSMETIC KINGDOM PRICE : from £4.99

A Girl Converted: Maybelline Smoky Surprise Eye Trio

Hey all! I have been so busy with work and other drama, I have finally found some time to sit down for a rest and to properly try some of the lovely treaties sent to me as competition winner from Cosmetic Kingdom in January.


The main product I was excited to try was the Smoky Surprise, being a fan of smoky eye look and never been brave enough to do it through fear of 'over-blacking' and looking awful, but I wanted to be outgoing, so I tried it - I LOVED the results!!! 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The colour's look lovely and strong, the foam applicator is an OK size, but I prefer to use a brush really.  It is a good size for a make up bag.  The reason I LOVE this product is that it saves carrying around 3 pots of individual colour, so its nice and easy to get a fabulous look and the colours are designed to blend together well.

Effect & Application

After initially being a little wary of trying the smoky eye look I was keen to see how well it would work - knowing and trusting the Maybelline brand I was looking forward to this.  I used the colours and did as I was instructed, I was VERY happy with the results and now I am converted to the look as I know it can be done and not look awful.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

I LOVE this product, its easy to use and fantast for first time eye make-uppers who are a little unsure of what colours work and blend, this is a good confidence builder and has definitely made me more keen to try challenging looks with black eyeshadow.

Very Happy Girl ~*THANKS COSMETIC KINGDOM*~

Well I have had a pretty crummy week in honesty, its been a long few days full of headache and heartache - but alas! the weekends here and I cannot be any more appreciative of its arrival! 


I woke up to some lovely goodies sent from Cosmetic Kingdom so I can get reviewing, I asked for a couple of foundation samples - as my personal opinion is that the basis to a glamorous and gorgeous look is the skin, keeping skin in good condition is key, since working in sales and marketing I drink HUGE amounts of water and my skin is really feel lovely, I mean come on! it should do, I am 22! but hormones still kick in - and I guess they always will do. *sad face*


My personal favourite foundation is Rimmel Match Perfection, the coverage is great and it covers all areas and is lovely and light. the key to good foundation is for it to look like your skin and not blatently obvious, I am fan of keeping it as natural as possible and Match Perfection lets me do this.


Debbie at Cosmetic Kingdom is happy for me to write some reviews and she will post them for me -this is very exciting for me, the first step to getting to where I want to be :) got all my friends to thank for helping and pushing me to do this :) *extreme happy face*


Here are the treaties I was sent. I am going out all day tomorrow so I will try out one and see what reaction it gets :) 

1. Maybelline Pure Make Up *light*
2. Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation *medium*
3. Express Make Up 3-in-1 Foundation *gold shimmer*
4. Maybelline Mineral Power Blush *true peach*

Well what a whirlwind week!

I don't know if anybody regularly checks into this, I don't really have anyway of telling if I am honest! This week has been crazy, my job is...well...still demanding, its in a job I really don't like so the days drag and I am trying so hard to find something else! but at the moment instead of 5 people going for a job, it could even be 15 or 50?! so you really have to shine....or sparkle in my case ;) 


my money situation got the better of me, so I have made some biiiig changes (cut the credit card, reduced overdraft etc) I just don't ever want to be in this situation again! 


However my ONE treat this week is to go out with my friends one evening, so I am going to savour every minute of that! Also I am getting my eyebrows tinted for the first time, because my hair is dark and my eyebrows are light I really think it would look better for my make-up shots if they were dark too! so that shall be an experience and I will post photos when it has been done.


Some other VERY exciting news is that I contacted Cosmetic Kingdom in regards of being like a guest reviewer with them and they said they are definitely interested but maybe in a month or two, but to my surprise I sent a message yesterday and they are sending me some treaties so stay tuned for a weekend of review crazy typing-ness and LOTS of photos - I am going to focus on foundation and blush now and leave eyes for a while :P 


So all in all....like usual....it has been a rough'n'tumble rollercoaster ride this week, but alas....it is something that I am use to. :) 

OMG! HOW TOTALLY COOL!

I am so happy right now, I had a great date last night (FINALLY) and also I won the Weekly Up For Grabs competition from Cosmetic Kingdom, winning these lovely goodies below! I haven't won a competition before :O 

Ideal I think for the prospective Valentines Day! Many thanks to Deborah at Cosmetic Kingdom.


I shall be writing an indepth review into these little treaties when they arrive and I have heard it shall be featured on the Cosmetic Kingdom Review/Blog section.


Things are finally picking up, I just wish I could get a decent job I didn't hate going to :( then life would be tres rosy. 


I hope you are all well, if anyone regularly checks in here, I haven't posted much as my elderly dog was put down last week and I have been working my a** off at work all times of the day :'(