My First NYX UK Cosmetics Haul.

Hello lovelies, I'm back with another post and today will be a quick haul type post on my recent order with NYX cosmetics. Now, I rarely do hauls but wanted to with this one as it was my first ever purchase from NYX when they recently had their free shipping on orders over £25 offer.

 

I was really gutted at IMATs as the queues were far too long for me to actually have a good look around and buy stuff so I really jumped at the chance of getting free delivery and of course adding some stuff to my ever growing makeup collection!

 

I am really loving NYX Cosmetics at the minute, they have a wide range of products all at affordable prices as well as hearing really good things about some of their blushes, lippies and jumbo eye pencils. Unfortunately in the UK, there isn't actually a store where we can go buy their products so online it was. And of course, it was an excuse to really make good use of my pro discount with them too.

 

 The products arrived beautifully and carefully packaged in about 2 days if I remember correctly via interlink. I am rather fond of Interlink as I love the fact that they text /email you  to say when your delivery is arriving, whom by and what time so you can make sure you are available and know what time to expect it rather than waiting around for it all day as I have often done in the past with Royal Mail!

These are in no particular order and seeing as I have only just received them, it wouldn't be fair to post a review on them, instead, Ill be explaining why I purchased the particular item, (some will have a better explanation than others I reckon) and so on. I'm sure you get the drift...:-)

I promise, Ill try and keep this post short and sweet and let the pictures do the talking (I know I always say this and then ramble on!)  Oh and do excuse the quality of the pictures, I am relying on my poor old reliable IPhone just until I buy myself a nice little camera. Here goes....

 

Of course I just had to order their Jumbo eye pencil in Black bean, after using their Milk Jumbo eye pencil I was super super impressed. Check out my review on it here. I am really looking forward to trying this to create really dramatic as well as subtle smokey eye looks and play around with the darker colours. I said in my previous post that I had my eye on this didn't I, and here it is :-) I am pretty sure that this product will not let me down.
 

I also decided to pick up their SFP HD Finishing Powder from their HD Studio range. I have always had my eye on the Makeup Forever and Kryolan version of this but have always been a little vary seeing as they are a little on the steep side so thought I would give this a go. Yes it is white and no I haven't lost my marbles, it is simply a 100% mineral finishing powder that apparently is perfect for setting foundation. NYX describe it as "This powder leaves your skin looking radiant and luminous, while absorbing oil for that flawless matte finished look". Sounds like exactly what I need. I plan to use this on special occasions if I am off to a party or a wedding. I have really high hopes for this and fingers crossed it does what it says on the tin.

Across the blogger world and Twitter I have heard some great stuff about their blushers and decided to give Cinnamon a go after having a good hard look at all the shades available, yes there are 25 of them so naturally you'd want them all! This cute little thing is in powder form and upon my first swatch of it, it seems super pigmented, easy to blend and goes well with my complexion. I am definitely picking up some other colours next time and at £6 you really cant go wrong. Money well spent.

About a year ago, I came across this orange concealer pot which was only available at Mac Pro and sadly, I couldn't seem to find any other alternatives anywhere so when I realised NYX did their concealers in Orange too I couldn't have added it to my cart any quicker! Now orange concealer?! I hear you ask. Orange concealers can be used where the dark eye circles are really quite prominent and where a normal skin tone concealer isn't adequate to conceal it well. You simply dab a bit of the orange stuff around the eye area and then apply your normal concealer on top and voila! Now thankfully, whilst a mother wouldn't be a mother without any dark circles around the eyes as a sign of what once felt like endless sleepless nights, my normal concealer (I use Kryolan paint stick  in FS36) does the job of concealing just fine with nothing else required except a bit of setting powder, if not even that. I thought I'd try this when freelancing for any mature clients that need a little help in the under eye areas or anyone else that may suffer from them bad due to any reason.

If there is one thing I dislike about eyeshadows is the fact that sometimes you find that they crease, have fall outs and isn't maybe as vibrant as it looked before applying and apparently their Eyeshadow base in skin tone comes to the rescue. Here is what NYX have to say about it "Maximize the intensity, longevity and unashamed brilliance of your eye shadow statements with our eye shadow primer pots. Each of the three NYX Eye Shadow Bases—for vibrant, pearl or neutral tones—creates a smooth canvas for color, increases its durability and prevents fallout."  Here's hoping this is a good dupe for the UD primer potion as annoyingly, replacing the primer potions every so often isn't very good for my bank balance.

Along the way I also picked up a dual ended pencil sharpener seeing as I now own not one but TWO Jumbo sticks! Of course I already have a sharpener and yes a dual ended one at that but you can always end up losing one somewhere right?

I really do not know why I purchased some eyelash glue. I already have a few in my kit so I guess another one wont hurt right but I am glad I did pick this up as I got a pair of eyelashes in Fabulous absolutely free!

I am really into eyebrow powders at the moment to really define eyebrows and give them a shape and find that powders work much better than pencils (from experience anyway) to give them a more natural rather than the fake, harsh look. I chose to purchase dark brown as I find black is too harsh and really give me the drawn on look. This cute duo compact come in two shades, Dark brown and brown, a little pot of wax to groom stray hairs, a little slanted brush for definition as well as a round wand brush to shape and style. All you need really and you really cannot go wrong for £5.50.

I had to obviously have some glitter somewhere in there and so I picked up a
Liquid Crystal liner in Crystal Gold. I plan to use this on clients that want glittery eyes or a gold eyeliner for adding a sparkle to their lovely eyes.

Lets move onto the lips shall we. As always it is very difficult to rely on on line swatches for anything as it may vary from on screen once you purchase it. I definitely wanted some lip products too and so picked up two matte lipsticks in Shocking Pink and Indie Flick as well as lip pencils in Fushcia and Coral to match with it. Besides a classic red, every girl needs a pink and a coral lippy in their collection and these colours are great and I plan to wear them when I want to brighten up my day. The corals go brilliantly with the Cinnamon blusher. Result! They had a sale on some of their products and so I decided to pick up just one lipstick not allowing myself to go crazy. The lipstick is from their Black Label Lipstick range and the colour I picked up is Midnight Dinner. Truthfully? I am not so keen on the shade, on line it looks like a soft rose pink but actually is a mild berry colour if that makes sense. Not really a shade I would go for but never mind, I am sure I will find some use for it somewhere....

And there you have it. My first NYX Cosmetics haul! Do you own anything from NYX? Have a NYX Wishlist?

See you soon with another exciting post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMATS London 2013 + Haul.

  I am a month late with this post and almost didn't publish it for that reason, but rather than the 'been busy/ haven't had time' excuses I normally produce, I can be let off seeing as I had an eye op and had two weeks of complete eye rest so no phones, Internet or TV. Absolute torture if you ask me! Seeing as it has now healed well, I thought I'd better knuckle down and get this post written before having my other eye operated on..

Anyways, enough of eyes and back to the post. Today's post is a very exciting one for me as after much hesitation,  it was my first time ever attending the International Makeup Artist Trade Show in London, or most commonly known as IMATS and it was even more exciting seeing as I had just qualified. For those of you that do not know much about IMATS, it is basically like the Ideal Home Exhibition except its all makeup, with many exhibitors offering discounted products, a chance to meet some well known artists and bloggers, key speakers and of course, a chance to swatch all the wonderful makeup!

Like myself, if you are fanatical about makeup then you know this is the place to be each year it takes place. Tickets cost approximately £40 for one day and this year it ran for a period of three days; I decided to attend Saturday 22nd of June at the National Grand Hall in Olympia.

Needless to say, it was going to be a long day. Up at 6am, out of the house by 7am, Starbucks in one hand and a brolly in the other (there was light rain, so polished straightened hair went out of the window!) with my little sister who kindly decided to accompany me seeing as though it was only the third day after my eye op and she didn't want me to travel alone, bless her! I must point out, she has no interest in makeup whatsoever nor any desire to spend her Saturday walking around countless makeup stands. As you can imagine, travelling with an eye patch on wasn't exactly the most ideal thing, I did feel as though I would take a drop at some point when walking down the stairs and on top of it, I had to insert eye drops in every two hours, so I suppose that's what you call dedication and passion for makeup!

First thoughts? Well, when we finally did get out of the what seemed like an hour queueing time, excitement kicked in at the realisation of actually being there, having put on a wrist band and being handed a string bag to load with goodies! Thought number two? It wasn't as big as what I imagined it to be but then again seeing as I hadn't been before, I didn't really know what to expect.

 


Once we actually got into the trade floor and arriving nice and early, I instantly familiarised myself with all the brands I knew of. After much ooiing and aahiingg, I rushed straight to the Crown Brush stand for fear of their lovely brushes being sold out, yet there was no chance of that happening as it was all nice and fully stocked with lots of lovely staff around to help. Of course, just before I started to grab a whole load of brushes, I was incredibly starstruck at seeing Karla Powell demonstrating her pop art look.





She was even more gorgeous in real life! What a lovely lady and an extremely talented one at that. Definitely the highlight of the day

.

At the risk of this post turning into three, Ill just quickly mention the stands that did/didn't stand out for me and why. Of course you had the usual Mac Pro, Bobbi Brown, Temptu, NARS, NYX, Kryolan, Makeup Forever, Stargazer, Inglot, Zukreat- Artist of Makeup Cosmetics, OCC, Royal Brushes, and of course exhibitors stocking Limecrime, Sugapill (I sadly happened to miss both), Ben Nye, Graftobian and so on. Illamasqua were notably absent which I was a little gutted about; I would have definitely liked to have swatched their products and taken advantage of any discounts.


I have been closely following Artist Of Makeup Zukreat on her Instagram and Youtube Channel for the launch of her AOM range (see my interview with her here) and I was very eager to meet her and check out her products. What a lovely, genuine person and of course, her husband too. Again, very starstruck, (as was my sister!) and it was definitely another highlight of our day.


  I don't think AOM Cosmetics anticipated just how busy they would be and sadly would have benefited from a larger booth. I was a little bit gutted, as expected, as many of their fantastic products sold out which meant that I had to order them. In the end, I opted for their six foundation palette which I am really looking forward to receiving. It was there that I also met the lovely Selina aka Miss Beauty Adikt as I had recognised her from her Youtube channel. She was just as lovely and down to earth as she appears on her makeup channel and blog. I would have loved to have met Wayne Goss too as I absolutely adore his work, but wasn't sure if he attended Saturday. Hopefully, next time though...

If I am honest, aside from Crown Brushes, the only other two stands that really stood out to me were Makeup Forever and Inglot. Why? Well, they both had discounts of some sort, were fully stocked, had products on the outside which we could swatch, we had to write down our orders on slips of paper that were given to us and then the staff, who were all INSIDE the whole square booth/ counter then processed our orders accordingly. Overall, both stands were very efficient and organised, and it showed

.

NARS on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment to say the least. Firstly, their booth was very badly organised. They had a stand of all their permanent line, however, none of it was fully stocked which was a little frustrating as with a place like IMATS, people expect stock from their permanent line especially where a 60% discount was being offered. Also,  I thought having a stand with their

most popular products such as the Orgasm Blush where people were repeatedly swatching them was a little misleading. You don't want to go to IMATS, swatch a product you like and then have to go to say John Lewis or Selfridges to buy it.

All the products that were being sold were all placed on one stand at the right of the booth so you can imagine just how crowded and badly organised it all was. Having
 said that, though, I did manage to pick up a few bits and pieces from there.

NYX again was a bit of a disappointment. Although, they were well stocked, not everything from their range was there and queuing time was up to an hour long. Of course, at a trade show like IMATS, you would expect shoppers to take photos just in general or for their blog/vlog/Youtube, only having being told by NYX staff that photos could only be taken if you were a blogger and had a business card of some sort! It was a bit of a shame especially since NYX cannot be purchased from an actual store here in the UK and is only available on line.  Sadly, I didn't actually end up buying anything from NYX.

By around midday, as you would expect, we were absolutely starving and broke and decided to make a move. We did manage to have a quick browse of everything and I also picked up a few Stargazer glitters and glue, the much hyped about Ben Nye Banana Powder, a small bottle of Makeup Brush Cleaner from Crown

and an Inglot customised palette.

If like myself, you will be attending the next IMATS for the first time or simply not so for the first time, here are a few simple do's and don'ts for the day.

DO:

• Do ensure you have plenty of cash as some exhibitors will not take payments via card, the queue for the cashpoint will be horrendous and can you imagine the horror if the cash machine decides to go out of order?!
• Do take some snacks and a bottle of water as you will be feeling peckish later on and the food prices in the hall will be sky high. Besides, who wants to waste time queueing up for food.
• Do take some handy wipes with you as you will be swatching loads and some of the exhibitors may not offer wipes.

DON'T:

• For the love of God, do not wear high heels and instead opt for your flats, you will be on your feet all day long  and chances are, you will probably want to chop half your foot off rather than taking another step to walk. Why torture yourself.
• Do not wear any extra layers of clothes. It will be so hot and crowded in there, regardless of the weather outside, it will be uncomfortable.
• Do not bring any other valuables you will not be requiring. Nobody wants to be pick pocketed whilst swatching your favourite M AC lipstick. If possible, try and bring a bag that you can wear over yourself or place on your shoulder. It will definitely be much more comfortable.
  
  
  I didn't pick up as many products as I would have hoped but seeing as I was still recovering from my eye op, I didn't want to overdo it. I will however, definitely be attending again next year and hopefully meet lots more people and bloggers and of course pick up more goodies! All in all, we had a great day out and IMATS was a fantastic experience. Did you attend this year? Will you be attending next year? What did you buy?

xxx

My 1st Illamasqua Haul + Swatches.

You may need to sit down with a cuppa for this one......
 
 
Recently, I have been a very active member of the whole blogging community and of course Twitter and time and time again I have seen nothing but one big hype about Illamasqua and their products. Intrigued,  I decided to take a look into them and boy was I impressed. It was only until they decided to have a whooping 50% off sale online for reaching 50k followers on Twitter that I decided to take the plunge and buy a few things for the very first time. And seeing as it was such a generous offer, it would have quite rude not to!
 
I was taking a huge risk here, I'm not just talking about the hole in my wallet that I was going to create, but the fact that I have never tried any of their products so I didn't know what to buy and what not to and which shades would suit me and so on. I had just simply taken others word for it. And I'm glad I did. Yes I did break my spending ban. And no, I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty simply because it is not every day you get to see such an offer.

Like myself, if you were caught up in the whole hoo haa , you would have known that on Friday 18th of May, the whole world and his wife were on Illamasqua's website frantically adding things to their basket before the 5pm cut off time and its no wonder that the site crashed numerous times resulting in a few people missing out on the fantastic offer, some were not afraid to express their frustration and anger.
 
For me, it did mean having to add all the items to my basket at least six times and then waiting almost an hour at the checkout stage but thankfully I made it  just in the nick of time. It was very tempting to give up half way through but in true makeup addict style, I was just so determined desperate to get hold of their items at half price.
 
I wanted to have a good thorough browse but truth be told, the site just kept crashing so it was quite tedious going back and forth. in the end, I opted for their much talked about Skinbase foundation in Shade 12 (They had a comparison chart and Mac NC40 was a SB12), a satin primer, precision gel liner, Lipsticks in Eurydice and Over, blushers in Hussy and Lover and a Gleam highlighter in Aurora. I did have my eye on their Sealing gel and their Hydra Veil, reportedly to work wonders under their Skinbases foundations but as I expected, they were out of stock. In fact, sadly, a lot of things were.
 
Anyway, enough of the rambling, I have done a breakdown on each product below and I promise to keep it short and sweet :-)  Seeing as I have just received my delivery, there wont be a full on review on each product, just a few main points and swatches.
 

 Skinbase in Shade 12

It has now been a while since I have started to get bored of my Mac Studio Fix. I just feel it doesn't give me that 'wow' factor anymore, its great to wear for buildable coverage but think some MAC products do tend to be way too over hyped. (Sorry MAC!)

Illamasquas Skinbase foundation has quickly found its way into my top 10 favourites and think it will stay there for a very very long time. I have got to admit, when I first saw the foundation, I was shocked at how tiny the bottle was, it was almost like I had paid for a travel size version of it.

Yet, they do say all good things come in small packages and this definitely deserves all the hype it gets. What I just couldn't understand was how on earth can something so light give insane coverage? it covered literally everything and I mean everything, although, personally you do still need to apply your concealer under your eyes if like me, you are a sufferer of dark circles.
The consistency of it resembles that of a BB cream and a little goes a long way. It feels so natural on the skin despite its great coverage and you almost forget you are wearing it. It blends like a dream and just melts into your skin and if applied correctly, (I like to use my beauty blender or a stippling brush), it will give a flawless airbrushed finish.

If I was to knock a few marks off it, it'd simply be because of the cheap plastic bottle which I know most people frown upon. I guess I'm just too used to the glass, pump bottles buy hey,  on the plus side, its easier to travel around with. Another downside If I may? It doesn't contain any SPF in it but then that means its great for taking photos as there are no flashbacks. Win win!

Would I repurchase? Indeed I would! Yes at £27 it seems a little on the steeper side but the fact that it has amazing pigmentation as the case with all of Illamasquas products, it caters for all skin tones and it has amazing coverage compared to some of the other higher end brands is just why it is rapidly becoming the go to foundation.

Blushes in Lover and Hussy.

If you ask me why I got these two particular shades, the answer is I really do not know.
These stood out to me the most but as the site kept crashing I couldn't have a good browse around. But according to a few bloggers and Youtubers, I couldn't have picked a better two colours. Lover and Hussy (Ooo Ilamasqua have gone all provocative on us!) are a match made in heaven. I've heard so much about how greatly pigmented their blushers are so at 50% I just had to buy them and pray they would go with my complexion.














Lover is a soft apricot corally type colour and Hussy is a bright candy pink both with a matte finish. you just cannot go wrong with a coral and pink blush, you can wear them separately or layer them on top on one another perfect for spring and Summer and I am absolutely certain these would suit all skin tones. It looks chalky but infact the texture is quite velvety and smooth and blends seamlessly. I just love their trademark square pots too. Tres chic!
 

Precision Gel liner.

 

I brought this simply because I was getting it for nine pounds which is an absolute bargain I reckon especially after reading up reviews on it with it 'staying put', and 'glides on with ease'. I have had my eye on Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack for some time but always hesitated after reading a few mixed reviews on it. Cant wait to give this a go and see how I get on. Illamasqua describe it as "Soon to be the mainstay in the make-up bags of every beauty enthusiast, Precision Gel Liner recreates the fluidity of a liquid liner in the ease of a gel. Creating a smooth, rich black line from the first application, the long-lasting and water-resistant formula is guaranteed to stay in place all day"

Lipsticks in Eurydice and Over.

 
I've seen a few beauty bloggers and YouTube gurus wearing Eurydice and I just knew at that moment I wanted it. I have been long searching for a matte bright pink for bold statement lips and I have finally found the one! I think every girl needs a statement red and pink lippy and seeing as I have found 'the one' for red in Mac Ruby Woo, Eurydice definitely has made itself a little home in my collections of pinks.
I was a little wary about buying this as I thought the bold colour wouldn't compliment my warm skin tone but I was wrong. It doesn't dry out, the pigmentation is superb and the colour is a gorgeous vibrant pink. I just cannot wait to wear this on a night out, best of all, all it takes is a few coats of mascara, a bit of concealer and Eurydice to really make my lips the focus of my face. The colour itself will do just that!







Applied without a mirror so excuse the messy application!

I thought Eurydice would go well with Hussy and the shade Over would go well with
Lover since it is a bright coral pink. Nude or semi nude lippies are very hit and miss with me. I have made a few faux pas in the past where I would wear a bright nude with heavy eyes, only If someone had told me I looked like death. Over seem to be perfect for that natural shade which can be built up in terms of coverage and pigmentation. Think I will reach for this more on a day to day basis.
 

Satin Primer






 Well we all know how important it is to prep and prime the skin first and Mac's Prep+ Prime disappointed to say the least, and I already have the Strobe cream from Mac which is okish so really wanted to give this a try. Illamasqua claim this "Containing UVA and UVB filters, Illamasqua Satin Primer lifts and highlights the face, creating a stunning dewy effect to enhance the siren within" I quite like the consistency of this compared to MAC Prep and Prime and the smell isn't overpowering too.

I had wanted to get the Smashbox primer initially but I am quite keen to give this a go and see how I get on, I am quite liking the dewy look at the minute.  
 

Highlighter in Gleam- Aurora

 
First thoughts? What a gorgeous champagne colour that is creamy and lightweight that gives a lovely glow enriched with very fine shimmer. I brought this because aside from the fabulous reviews it has, I quite like the idea of highlighting and contouring and felt this would deliver. I had never tried a cream highlighter before and lately, I have had a love/hate relationship with my Benefit High Beam highlighter, it just doesn't seem to want to stay put on my face.
 

 The highlighter itself doesn't seem to be overpowering thankfully which makes it quite wearable although you can build up the density if you want that strong lustrous look. It isn't frosty which I quite like and has the perfect amount of luminosity for my skin tone. Another plus point? Since it is a cream  highlighter, there are no shimmer fall outs and you can even apply with your fingers if you wish.

 And lastly, the Under Eye Concealer in 215.

 
What do Illamasqua say about this?
 
"Make your eyes stand out. Designed to keep dark circles and imperfections firmly under wraps, this moisture-rich formula blends easily and leaves skin feeling soft and even. A secret that no one knows but you. "
 
Yep, sounded like exactly what I needed. We all know after having kids, the sleepless/late nights are quite frequent and sadly I have always suffered from dark eyes. If there is one product I specifically look for when shopping for makeup is anything that will conceal them well. My relationship with them haven't got any better as of late, it seems no matter what I do, they always remain shadowed.




 It retails for £13 which I think is quite reasonable for a luxury brand and the first thing that stood out to me about this was the coverage. I'm just not sure I made the right decision with this one. The main purpose of using concealers for me is to cover my dark under eyes hence I thought it made sense to buy the under eye concealer. Sadly, the coverage isn't quite as thick as I'd like it to be. The little compact is a great size and you do get a tiny cute mirror with it but because its quite light and creamy I don't think it would hide my bags that well, at least it doesn't irritate my eyes I suppose and I'm sure I can find some other use for it.
 
So there you have it,  my slightly over the top long winded haul. Did you manage to get anything in the sale? What are your must have Illamasqua products?
 

 

Until next time...

 

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makeup Haul- Urban Decay and Sleek.

Hello Lovelies,

Today's post is going to be a haul on Sleek and Urban Decay but before continuing, I must add that as of the 22nd of April, I put myself on a spending ban, cannot believe it is nearing to one month already, it feels like forever!

Now, very quickly, I initiated the spending ban for myself not because I am on the verge of bankruptcy (not yet anyway haha!) but for the first time in my life, I really wanted to be in control of my purse strings. They have been occasions in the past where I have spent ridiculous amounts on junk, felt guilty about it the minute I got home, tried to shift it on EBay and failed miserably and so it was an endless cycle. I then later decided to make the ban just on all things beauty related as I felt I was constantly buying a whole load of brushes and makeup at one stage, a lot of the times just simply out of boredom.

But that's enough about spending bans, lets move on to the haul shall we? I am soon to be a qualified Makeup artist or MUA as it is more commonly known, my dream, my passion, my hobby. It seems like everybody wants to be an Mua nowadays, yet if you know me well, you would know that this is a dream I have been chasing for many years and have finally plucked up the courage to get myself qualified, all it needed was the constant love and support of my family.

For any aspiring MUA, you would know that building up your makeup kit/collection will take a great deal of time, effort and money and isn't something you can build overnight, unless you have the B balance of Mrs Beckham of course, in which you could even pay someone to build it all up for you, but then where is the fun in that?

I thought it was wise to start getting a few bits and bobs together well in advance, particularly taking advantage of sale and discounted items just so that I can gradually and successfully build a kit. For once, it was a beautiful sunny day, so Starbucks in one hand and handbag in the other, off I went for a little spree, it may seem like I didn't buy much but it almost cost me £100 so it is a little much I reckon but after all, I'm investing in this kit of mine and surely, as its not solely for me, it shouldn't affect the ban?

First stop? At the Urban Decay counter! I have been contemplating for the famous Naked pallete for far too long, every blog post, every You tube guru featured this and I wondered what was the hype all about until the lovely lady at the counter demonstrated on my hand using the primer potion first and then using Half Baked and I kid you not it didn't even smudge or come off, even after washing my hands twice. I love the fact that you get a brush and the primer potion with it, the full sized version is about £15. This palette suits most Asian complexions and is the ultimate palette for creating neutral, smokey eye, cut crease, you have it all. Best of all? they had a 10% off offer.

Next stop? Good old Superdrug and straight to the Sleek stand. Ever since they first came out, I have been eyeing up their Blush By 3 for ages, the pigmentation is amazing and I just love the colours. The only palette that appealed to me most was the Lace one, (below) I loved the fact that it had a mixture of matte, satin and shimmer so you can really play around with it and is suited for most skin tones.

Since they had a 3 for 2 offer, I decided to pick up their contour kit in medium as we all know just how important contouring and highlighting is when applying makeup. The fact that it had the sculpting powder, highlighter and bronzer all in one compact was perfect and I felt the shades in medium was best suited for most skin tones.

And lastly, all 4 lip quads! (Siren, Showgirl, Tease and Ballet) I have been drooling over these since their launch on the 8th of May and I just haven't seen anything like it. I own a few of their lipsticks so I know just how good they are but its almost like the lovely people at Sleek decided to get the best of 4 shades and depot them all for you in one compact  with a little lip brush (which personally I wouldn't use.)! Brilliant! 4 gorgeous colours in one, creamy textures not to mentioning saving loads of space? Perfect! Of course, at £8.99 each it may seem steep in hindsight but one lipstick alone is around five pounds and I'm getting sixteen shades for around £18 with the offer on, that's the way I'm looking at it :-)

Who is heading over to IMATS London this year?

Hinnah

xxx