Christmas Haul!!!

Hi ladies! So I'm FINALLY home in the USA and Thursday morning my family and I opened our presents and celebrated Christmas. I was a very lucky girl and got plenty of goodies that I can't wait to play with over the next couple of days. I'm just gonna show you what I got in this post, but I'll be doing individual posts with reviews containing swatches/my thoughts on the products over time! I also got an iPod touch but it's not pictured here cos I used it to take the piccys hehe.

MAC Goodies:

Look at those beauties!!! My sister wrapped them all nicely and put them into the Tartan Tale gift bag. I received 3 lipsticks (Snob, Angel, and Myth), 4 eyeshadows (Trax, Satellite Dreams, All That Glitters, and Satin Taupe), and the brush cleanser. I've only used Angel lipstick so far and I LOVE it, it's such a pretty pink, exactly the type of lipstick color I love.

PJ Pants:

Biiiiirdies! They're much more of a dark turquoise in person and vurrry comfy. I'm wearing them now.

Paramore Shirt:

I love this!

Socks & Paramore Hat:

CUUUTE!!

I also got the DKNY Be Delicious perfume, Urban Decay Ammo Palette, and Benefit Stay Don't Stray. The perfume doesn't smell like I expected but it's still really nice and has definitely grown on me over the past couple of days.

Scarf, Mittens, etc:

Gift Cards:

iTunes gift card and then an American Express one that I believe can just be used for anything. I wanted to get some new things from the MAC lines that just came out but I'm thinking I should hold back for now since I just received so many makeup items lol.

Lush Goodies:

Snow Fairy Lip Tint, Snow Fairy Shower Gel (the Snow Fairy stuff reminds me so much of Blue Raspberry Airheads!!), Honey Bee Bath Bomb, Candy Cane Bubble Bar, Mrs.Whippy Bath Bomb, and Melting Marshmallow Moments.

Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Ludwig, Kat Von D Kat Eye Brush Set, Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shampoo/Shower Gel, and China Glaze Nail Polish in Jitterbug, Bogie, Admire, and Emerald Fitzgerald.

Urban Decay 24/7 Jackpot, Urban Decay Primer Potion (professional size), and two candles (Creamy Nutmeg and Homemade Cookies).

Two samples and a coupon from Sephora, 3 Benefit boxed blushes in Georgia, Coralista, and Dandelion, two EOS lip balms in Summer Fruits and Honeydew Melon, L'oreal Studio Secrets Primer, and 2 Philosophy lip glosses in Coconut Frosting and Cinnamon Buns.

Books:

And lastly, my sister picked out two makeup books for me! I think they both look great and I can't wait to read them. I'm sure I'll find loads of inspiration from em.

Well that's it! In the coming weeks I'll be posting reviews/swatches on EVERYTHING so look out for those! =)

What did everyone else get for Christmas?

NOTD: Christmas Nails

I did this nail look a little while ago, but it's the look I did for the holiday parties with my boyfriend and his family.

Sorry I didn't photograph the nail polishes I used! But the green I used is China Glaze's Jolly Holly, the red is Ciate's Dangerous Affair, and the glitter is e.l.f's Glitter Glam. I used two coats of the red and green and one coat of the glitter.

I wasn't crazy about the overall look because e.l.f's Glitter Glam isn't really designed to be a top coat, not in my eyes anyways. It's too thick and opaque, so that if you apply it too heavy handedly, you end up not being able to see the color underneath. But anyways, it looked pretty enough and reminded me of Christmas ornaments!

What do you guys think? I'm thinking of painting my nails in a couple minutes. I'm thinking Jolly Holly with Party Hearty over the top. Christmas may technically be over, but it isn't for me! Hehe.

17 Glam Rocks Eye Palette

Hey ladies! Sorry for the lack of posts, but as I mentioned before, I was busy spending the holiday with my boyfriend and his family, and then 6am Monday morning when I woke up to check the status of my flight, I found out it was moved to the 29th because of the blizzard in the US. -sighs loudly- That's the third time it's been cancelled, and obviously it upset me and my family quite a bit. So I've been busy and a tad depressed, but I'm feeling better now! Still a bit stressed because I'm constantly checking the internet to see news of how well the clean up process at Newark Airport is going and blah blah blah. It's seriously been the story of my life lately. STRESS. But anyways, blogging helps me feel better, so I decided to blog about this 17 palette I got as a free gift when I was picking up some things for my boyfriend's sister. =)

I think 17 have some nice things for reasonable prices, especially their eyeshadows. I think the colors in this palette are gorgeous. My favorites are the two in the middle, the dark shimmery green and the dark brown / taupe color. (ignore all the random glitter everywhere, that's what you get for buying glitter wrapping paper and then proceeding to wrap presents with it on your bed, haha!)

I would recommend applying these with the use of a primer, but then again I'd suggest that with just about any eyeshadow. I love the fact that this comes with a mirror and it makes it incredibly handy for travel and it's the only palette I used while I was traveling around England for the holidays.

Swatched over Urban Decay's Primer Potion in Eden:

What do you guys think? Anyone else receive this?

Lush Bearded Lady Bubble Bar Review

Bearded Lady Bubble Bar: 2.50 pounds

Hi ladies! Today I've got a review on Lush's Bearded Lady Bubble Bar. This was the only one that put me off a bit when I first smelled it, but when I went to sniff it before I put it in the bath, it actually smelled really nice. So who knows! Anyways, let's get into it, shall we? ;)

What They Say:

"Our homage to all things hairy combines avocado and oat milk for gentle, softening, milky bubbles." (the avocado might of been what was putting me off at first, seeing as I can't stand the stuff! Lol.)

Basically, this bubble bar is supposed to be really good for leaving you with silky soft skin! And I must agree it did. I only used half and had a HUGGGE amount of bubbles. I didn't take a photo since the water was just a normal color (it went red for a few seconds but the white color overpowered it) but let me assure you, a massive amount of bubbles. And they lasted forrrever. I can't explain the scent, but it was pleasant, and almost soothing. When I left the bath I didn't feel like I smelled of anything in particular, so I don't feel like the scent stuck to me, BUT, my skin did feel very lovely and soft.

If you're looking for something to tackle the battle against dry winter skin, I'd recommend this for sure!

Has anyone else used this? Your thoughts?

I'm thinking of doing a post soon on the makeup I packed for traveling. I know I was going to do it when I got home to the US, but that's when I expected to be home Saturday! Tehe. We'll see though. =)

Snowed In! (the weekend from hell)

Hiya ladies. This is a bit of a non beauty post, but I just thought I'd share the experience I had with the snow this weekend. As I mentioned in my last post, I had a flight that was due to fly out to the US Saturday afternoon. When I woke up at 10 am Saturday morning, there was no snow. When I woke back up later, because the taxi man was calling to tell us to check our flight because most were cancelled, I looked outside and there was pleeenty of snow. So sadly my flight got cancelled. I then rebooked for Monday.....

...And if you've been watching the news or seen anything about the mess Heathrow is at the moment, you'll see where my story is going next. Today's flight has also been cancelled. And when I called up this time to rebook I was told nothing would be available until the 25th....Christmas Day....

So I immediately started bawling and my boyfriend took over the call for me and asked if there was anything we could do to get me home before Christmas. The lady said she could put me on a flight from Birmingham on the 22nd IF! (and this is a kicker, ladies) IF I paid a penalty fee of $1,800. In the heat of the moment, my mother and I were fine with the price, but then something happened and the lady hung up on us.

After having a chat with my twin sister, we agreed it would be silly to shell out $1,800 dollars for a flight the 22nd, especially when more snow is expected. So I rebooked for the 26th. I'm no longer upset about the situation anymore. The 25th is simply a date, simply a number, and me and my family can celebrate Christmas whenever we want. My family said they're going to put off Christmas until I get home. So for the meantime, I'm going to spend Christmas with my boyfriend and his family. So the way I see it, I get two Christmases!

And anyways, how can I be a little brat and whine about my situation when it's a lot better than most? A lot of people are still stuck at Heathrow, have no place to stay in London, and don't even know anybody here. I'm blessed that I even have a family to be spending Christmas with.

Always look on the bright side of life! DOO DOO DODO ODOO DO. Haha, sorry, my aunt sent me the video via FB when she found out about the situation.

Have any of you been affected badly by this snow?

NOTD: Festive Nails

I finally got to use China Glaze Party Hearty today! I used it over e.l.f's Moonlight nail polish. I had to use a good 4 coats of it for it to be completely opaque but I figured just as much.

I love it! I think it's so pretty and festive. Perhaps a bit LOUD but hey, Christmas is next week and I want my nails to have SPIRIT. Hehe.

My flight back to America is tomorrow! I'm all packed (I'll have a post on "What's in my makeup bag?" or something like that when I get home, to show you what I narrowed my collection down to in order to pack light) and just praying the snow doesn't go too insane that my flight gets cancelled. Has anyone else used this color recently??

Christmas List!

Hi ladies! I feel like I haven't blogged for ages. Just turned in the last big assignment of the semester, so WOOO HOOOO. And I fly home Saturday! Anyways, I just PERFECTED ;) my Christmas list for my parents (ahem, I mean Santa, of course) and decided I'd share it with you. I've narrowed it down quite a bit....I'd like to think so anyways, LOL, but then again I don't expect to get everything from this list, but it's just an idea for them!

Laur's Christmas List:

BIG GIFT:

• iPod Touch

Each year, as I'm sure it is with most, my twin, brother, and I each get to pick one "big" gift for Christmas. This year mine is the iPod touch!!! Yayy I can't wait. I use my boyfriend's iPhone so much and love all the games and apps, but not really fussed about the phone bit so I just figured I'd not bother with an iPhone. Plus, I'd have to buy it myself, here in London, and then I wouldn't have it to open on Christmas day and blah blah blah. ;)

ULTA STUFF:

• Gift Card
• EOS LipBalm: Honeysuckle Honeydrew and Sweet Mint
• Too Faced Pixie Pin-Ups Palette
• Philosophy Lip Glosses: Cinnamon Buns and Melting Marshmallow
• Philosophy Shower Gels: Red Velvet Cake, or Vanilla Birthday Cake.
• Perfume: DKNY Be Delicious?
• Benefit Stay Put Set
• Benefit Boxed Blushes: Georgia or Dandelion.
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil Jackpot Gift Set
• Urban Decay Ammo Shadow Box
• L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base
• China Glaze Nail Polish: Jitterbug, Emerald Fitzgerald, Bogie, and Admire.

We don't have a Sephora in my area, it's in the next state over, which is only a 30-45 minute drive which really isn't that bad, but I know my parents won't feel like going all the way there especially with Christmas shopping traffic, hehe, but thankfully we do have a Ulta quite close by! I've asked for a lot of things I've been wanting to try out and play with for ages now, like Philosophy goodies, Benefit blushers, and more Urban Decay products. I also asked for the DKNY perfume because I don't actually own a perfume and don't think I ever have. I have body mists and such, but I've never had a perfume. Can you believe it!?

BATH AND BODY WORKS STUFF:

• Slatkin&Co Candles: Frosted Cupcake, Homemade Cookies, Creamy Nutmeg, Leaves, and Sweet Cinnamom Pumpkin.
• Shower Gel: Twisted Peppermint and Vanilla Bean Noel
• Body Spray: Winter Candy Apple

I've been dying to try Bath & Body Works' Christmas range so I asked for some things from it to try out. Also, I've recently become a bit obsessed with candles (it's all the YouTube videos I watch, I swear!) and everyone raves about the Slatkin & Co ones which are available at B&BW. I've asked for quite a few because I want to stock up! In the past month I've gone through 3 candles and now they're all sitting there sad and empty so I really hope to get some more.

RANDOM STUFF:

• Scarves&Mittens&Gloves
• PJ's

I can always use more PJ's (it's all I wear in the house really) and winter accessories, especially gloves! I always get a few pairs then somehow I lose them. I have no idea how lol.

MAC STUFF:

• Gift Card
• Eyeshadow: Satin Taupe, Trax, All That Glitters, and Satellite Dreams
• Lipstick: Angel, Snob, and Myth
• Gift Set: Hark The Heraldry Face Kit
• Brush Cleanser

I figured what better time to try and add to my very tiny MAC collection than Christmas? I asked for some eyeshadows and lipsticks that seem to be considered Holy Grail by many. I also asked for a gift card because the Cham Pale collection comes out the day after Christmas and I think the collection looks absolutely gorgeous. I'm really lusting after the paint pots, the eyeshadow quad, and the lipglosses.

So that's it! I wrote this post a couple days ago and just found out from my sis that she ordered me some things from Sephora AND went to Lush so YAYYYYYYY. Hehehe. Have you asked for any of the same things as me?

Festive Holiday Look

Hi ladies! Tonight I've got a Festive Holiday Look for you. I was bored and decided I'd create another holiday look.

I went for a red lip and a neutral/subtle eye with a pop of color on the cheeks.

Close Up Of The Eyes:

How To Create This Look:

Face:

1. Use whatever primer/foundation/concealer you normally use.

2. Apply blusher (I used Sleek's Rose Gold for that nice 'I've just been out in the cold' flushed cheek)

3. Apply your highlight (I used a liquid one then a powder one to get really shimmery cheeks, since shimmer=festive in my mind!)

Lips:

4. Line your lips (or not!)

5. Apply a red lipstick of your choice.

6. Apply a gloss of your choice (I went for a color that matched the lipstick, but you could go for a clear one if all you want is a glossy effect or just even leave it matte if you want!)

Eyes:

7. Apply a primer.

8. Apply a gold shadow all over the lid.

9. Apply a dark brown on the outer corner/crease.

10. Apply a highlight under your brow.

11. Line your upper lash line / waterline.

12. Apply mascara!

If you have any questions on products I used, feel free to ask. =)

China Glaze Holiday 2010

Hey ladies! Just a quick post today showing you my China Glaze (first ever!) polishes that finally came today. I picked up Party Hearty and Jolly Holly. I'm sure you've seen loads of swatches on these already, but here are mine:

(yes, on a bit of tissue paper, tehe, but I didn't want to wipe off my latest manicure yet...even though I'm hugely tempted since I have these now!)

These colors are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to wear them. I first plan on using Party Hearty over e.l.f's Moonlight, since it's the closest I have to a white and Party Hearty looks ahhmazing over a white. Then after that I'll probably wear Party Hearty over Jolly Holly. Then finally, if time permits, I'll wear Party Hearty over a red...or maybe just e.l.f's Glitter Glam over a red. Isn't it pathetic I have these all planned out?! Yayyy I love Christmas manicures! :D

What are your plans for holiday manicures? Do any of them involve these colors? Do tell! Also, I go home next week for the holidays. I can't wait, I'll miss my boo but I'm so excited to see my family and spend the holidays with them. I'll be home for three weeks, but shall still be blogging, so no worries. ;) What are your plans for the holidays?

Lots of love! xxx

Forever 21 Cosmetics: e.l.f Knockouts For Higher Prices?

In browsing on the Forever 21 website when making my Christmas wishlist, I took a look at their cosmetics section. What I found really interesting was that they were selling items that look EXACTLY like e.l.f products and may even just be e.l.f products but with their own labels on them. ALSO, they're selling them for higher prices. That's the only thing I don't like about it. I'm sure they have permission from e.l.f, but why are they setting higher prices for items that are exactly the same as the e.l.f products that you could get for cheaper?

The Beauty Journal: Glamorous Smoky Eye Palette (this is the same as the e.l.f Beauty Book Smokey Eye Edition)

This is the inside, and I can promise you, it's exactly the same as the e.l.f one:

The only difference? The price.

Forever 21: $6.80

e.l.f: $5.00

Concealer & Highlighter Duo (this is the same as the Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter)

Again, the only difference? Price.

Forever 21: $3.80

e.l.f: $3.00

100 Piece Eyeshadow Palette (exactly the same as the one e.l.f does)

BUT, Forever 21 are charging almost $6 more!!

Forever 21: $15.80

e.l.f: $10.00

This annoys me slightly just because this is a clear case of paying extra for the brand. ANYWAYS, that's a slight rant I guess, but I noticed it and figured I'd share it with you ladies and find out your opinions!

e.l.f Haul

Hi ladies! Today I have a small e.l.f haul for you. I ordered this when a deal was going on, where if you spent at least 10 pounds, everything was 20% off. Normally I order and the next day I get an email saying it's shipped, and then I get it the next day. But sadly, this particular order took a week to process before it shipped out, and then I got it two days after that. So not a crazy amount of time, but a bit longer than usual. I expected it though because I ordered during the snow and when they had loads of deals going on. Also, I can't really complain because they sent me an extra brush on mistake! Tehe. Anyways, onto what I got:

Nail Polish in Moonlight & Glitter Glam: 1.50 each (on sale, so I got them for 1.28 each):

GORGEOUS colors. I bought Glitter Glam as a way to glam up the festive manicures I have planned. I used it in my NOTD that I posted yesterday and I absolutely love it. Moonlight is a gorgeous pearly champagne color and I plan on using China Glaze Party Hearty over it. :D

e.l.f Waterproof Eyeliner Pen: 1.50 (on sale for 1.28)

Since the liquid eyeliner from 17 that I bought has kind of been failing me (the brush just kind of goes weird and I end up making waaay too thick of a line and a mess), I decided to buy a eyeliner pen, thinking that might be the easiest way for me to line my upper lash line. I'm quite impressed! I found it super easy to apply this to my eye. The pen is nice and thin so you can create a thin or thicker line, depending on what you wanna do.

Also, it dries fairly quickly and it's almost impossible to get it to budge, LOL. If you rub it with some water, it does smudge a little, but then again, I didn't buy this because it's Waterproof, but because I liked the pen idea.

Swatches:

Used on my eye:

Quite happy with this product! Especially for such a good price.

Now onto the brushes I got. I ordered the Studio Powder Brush (it gets soo many good reviews) and the Mineral Complexion Brush because I really wanted to try out their new line of brushes. For some reason they also sent me the Studio Complexion brush, so waheyy!

Studio Powder Brush: 3.50 (on sale for 2.98):

I plan on using this for my blush. Very soft!

Mineral Complexion Brush: 5.50 (on sale for 4.68):

I plan on using this for my BareMinerals because the brushes that came with the set are shedding a bit and feeling a bit harsh on my skin. This feels loooovely and soft.

Studio Complexion Brush (free):

I didn't actually plan on receiving this, but I'm happy I did, I plan on using it to apply my highlighter, since the brush I use for that now is pretty crap now.

That's it! I didn't let myself get much, just what I saw as the "essentials" tehe.