Challenge: 4 For The Month!

Hi ladies! While I was on the tube earlier, I was thinking to myself about some type of challenge I could do on my blog. I know there's NO way I could do a Project 10 Pan, because I'm incapable of going on a spending ban, LOL, but I thought of something I'm going to call the 4 For The Month challenge.

Basically, I'm going to set aside four products each month that I must use continuously throughout the month, and then at the end of the month, I'll do a little post reflecting on the products I used and what I thought of them and whether or not I could of done without them and whether I'd ever repurchase them.

The point of this challenge is to get me using some of my products I normally neglect. I have a lot of palettes and lip products that I just don't touch because I get into a routine or they end up at the bottom of my drawer. So I figured if I picked 4 products that I had to use throughout the month, each month, I'd begin to use more of my stash!

This month I've picked an eyeshadow palette, a lipgloss, a lipstick, and a cream blush, but the types of products will vary by month. This doesn't mean I'm not allowed to use anything else in that month, or NO other lipsticks, etc, BUT it does mean I have to use the chosen products at least a few times throughout the month. I kind of naturally do this already, picking something and finding out I like it and then using it loads. But I figured this way it would be official!

Anyways, here's the 4 products for this month:

1. Sleek Storm Palette:

Probably the most coveted out of the Sleek palettes, the Storm palette is full of gorgeous neutrals and darker colors perfect for a smokey eye. I really do love this palette and I love the pigmentation of all Sleek palettes, but I just haven't been using it enough because I have so many other eyeshadows, so now I'll get more use out of it!

2. MAC Shy Girl Lipstick:

My very first MAC lipstick, and one of my very first MAC products ever, Shy Girl is a gorgeous nudey coral (if that makes sense?) and is perfect for an everyday lip.

3. NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Smokey Look:

Basically the best lipgloss to go with Shy Girl or it looks lovely on its own! Plus I love the smell of NYX lipglosses, haha!

4. NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Rose Petal:

I got this in a Cherry Culture haul a little while ago, but have yet to use it. Partially because I haven't bothered with blusher at all recently, and also partially because it's a cream blush and I haven't used cream blushes before, well, until today that is! It's a gooorgeous color and you really do need the tiniest amount (I used too much today and it was only a tiny swipe of my finger, but man did I need to blend it out!)

Well that's it for this month! What do you guys think of this idea? There may already be a challenge out there that's similar, but I just thought I'd make up one of my own!

February Favorites

Hi ladies! Today I've got a post on the products I've been loving in February. I can't believe it's March! We all know what that means....soon we'll be getting lovely and warm weather! Hopefully anyways. Spring/Summer are always so gorgeous in London. I love going to the parks and just enjoying the weather and I can't wait to do that again this year.

Eyes:

Nothing too fancy this month, which I feel was my motto for the majority of this month with all my makeup. I did very neutral eyes and often didn't bother with a crease color.

L'oreal Telescopic Mascara: I like mascaras with thinner/smaller brushes (like this one) because of my small eyes because it makes application easier. While the brush is a bit flimsy, which I feel leads to some minor clumping, it's fine when you wiggle it about.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese: I've been using this in my inner corner to make my eyes pop. I've used it once or twice as a base, but I do prefer using my MAC Bare Study paint pot instead when going for a neutral look.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Eldorado: When I felt like adding some fun to my eye look, I'd line part of my lower lash line with this pencil, in place of a white pencil like the one above.

MAC Satin Taupe: Such a lovely color for all over the lid, and then I work it up into the crease for a really simple look.

MAC Bare Study Paint Pot: I've been using this just about every time I've worn eye makeup. I always put it on over a primer though, just to be safe. I find it adds a bit more of a pop of color to any shadow I put over it, whether it be Satin Taupe or Sin from the Naked Palette.

Lips:

Once again, I've kept it very simple this month with the lips.

MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass: I really haven't been wearing much on my lips this month, because anytime I've gone out I've been going out with the idea of stopping to grab a coffee and I haaaate when I get lipstick all over my coffee cup, haha. So instead, when I have worn color, I've just worn this lipglass because it's such a gorgeous color and it's easy enough to wipe off before I sip.

Nivea Milk & Honey Lipbalm: Been using this pretty much daily. The scent has grown on me. I'd still love for it to smell like Lush's Honey I Washed The Kids though...:D

Face:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup in Buff and Revlon Photo Ready in Vanilla: For the majority of the month, I've been mixing these two foundations and feel it gives me such good coverage. The only con being it can feel a bit heavy, so on days when I don't feel like slapping on so much makeup, I'll only wear the Photo Ready.

Body:

It's Raining Men Shower Gel: MMMMMM is all I need to say, really. Smells amazing and leaves the skin feeling soft. The scent lingers on your skin once you leave the shower as well, which I love in a shower gel.

The Body Shop Love Etc Perfume: I've been favoring this over my DKNY perfume. I can't help it, it just smells sooooo nice. I really do need to get the full size at some point...

What were some of your favorites this month?

*I have a nail polish in the first photo, but then I realized it was one I actually used in January, not February, so I didn't end up including it in the rest of the post. Thanks to my lovely sister for pointing that out!

MAC Haul!

Hiiii ladies! My MAC order came today, wipee! Lol. I made an order so I could pick up Emily's lipstick (which I'll be posting to you tomorrow!!) and couldn't resist picking out some things for myself. Naturally. -shakes head- I have so much stuff to play with because of Christmas so I need to give it a rest for awhile (yeaaaah sure Lauren). Anyways, I've been dyyying to try the paint pots from MAC, and when I saw the Cham Pale ones I was determined to get those...until I saw the swatches. I just wasn't impressed, so I decided to go with ones from the permanent collection, the ones that people rave about. Anyways, let's get into it:

Bare Study Paint Pot:

A shimmery champagne color perfect as a base to neutral eye looks.

(looks a bit pink here, not sure why, must be the lighting!)

Rubenesque Paint Pot:

A lovely gold base!

Swatches:

-swoons- Goooorgeous. I can see myself using Bare Study for everyday looks, and then Rubenesque for when I want to do a gold look. I could even use them on their own! w00p.

Then I decided to show you ladies just how wonderful these paint pots are (as if you weren't already convinced):

I swatched two colors from the Urban Decay Naked Palette over the paint pots and BAM! Hahaha, sorry....

As you can see, the paint pots don't intensify the colors THAT much (I mean come on, they're Urban Decay shadows, they don't need help with intensity), buuuut:

Look how well the shadows hold up against the evil tissue paper WITH the use of the paint pots. Impressive. :D

Blacktrack Fluidline:

I've been wanting to try out a gel liner for my upper lash line for awhile now, so I decided to pick up this one from MAC, because it's another item I hear people raving about. And come on, if you're gonna shell out 12-15 pounds for each item, it damn well better be for something people scream from the rooftops about. ;)

Swatch:

(no, I don't know what I began doing at the end, I just wanted to see what it looked like with a thicker line, hehe)

It's lovely and creamy and black, what more can I say? Can't wait to test it out on my eyes, let's hope it's not too much of a disaster my first time.

Did I pick up any of your favorites?

MAC Christmas Haul

Hi ladies! Today I've got swatches/thoughts on the MAC goodies I received for Christmas!

First off, the lipsticks:

Myth:

On the lips:

Satin finish nude color. I've often heard people calling this their HG nude lip color, so I really wanted to try it out. I gotta say, when I first applied it I was a bit shocked, LOL. It's pretty intense and NUDE but when I applied a pink gloss over it, I liked it a bit more. This is a color I'm definitely going to need to play around with to find out how it best works for me.

Angel:

On the lips:

Frost finish pink color. Another one of those colors I've heard great things about. I LOVE this lipstick. It's the only one out of the bunch that I've actually tried out and worn for a couple days, and it's soooo pretty, exactly the type of color I love. I can see this becoming a color I come back to day after day.

Snob:

On the lips:

Satin finish LIGHT baby/powder pink. I'm really loving the satin finish lipsticks, I love how pigmented they are and how they almost look matte on the lips, but with a tiiiny hint of sheen.

Swatches:

Eyeshadows:

From left to right: Trax, Satellite Dreams, All That Glitters, and Satin Taupe.

Trax:

I was a little disappointed when I swatched this because it wasn't as pigmented as I expected, and it looks like the glitter will cause fall out, but hopefully primer will sort that out! Either way it's a lovely color.

Satellite Dreams:

I really wanted a purple eyeshadow from MAC and this is the one I chose. Nicely pigmented and not too sparkly or anything.

All That Glitters:

I can definitely see this becoming a favorite of mine! A gorgeous gold color.

Satin Taupe:

A beautiful neutral color that will be great for everyday wear.

I have a gift card to spend and I'm tempted to get some things from the new collections that just came out, but I'm not sure, thoughts?? I think I may already have too much makeup to take back hahaha.

*I also received the brush cleanser, but I want to do a separate review post on that once I've actually used it, which should be soon! I've got some dirty brushes to sort out, hehe.

100 Followers Giveaway!!!!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.

Hey girlies! So here is the giveaway I promised you!

Prize:

1 M.A.C Lipstick of Your Choice! (it obviously has to be in stock, lol, and not some like limited edition one that's not available unless I go on Ebay and pay twice for it, haha!)

Rules:

1. You MUST be a follower (I will check, trust me, I have no life.). New followers are more than welcome!

2. Open Internationally!

3. +1 entry for responding with a comment saying "Enter me!"

4. +1 entry for posting about the giveaway on your blog (you MUST link to the post in your comment)

5. +1 entry for posting about the giveaway on your sidebar (it MUST link back to the giveaway post)

6. I will not be held responsible if for some crazy reason the post man loses your package in the mail! (I guess that's obvious, I'm just covering my a$$, tehe)

7. The giveaway will close Friday, January 14th, 2011.

To make it easiest, just fill out this form and post a comment with it:

Name:

Email:

Did you post about the giveaway on your blog? (yes/no, if yes, provide link):

Did you link it in your sidebar? (yes/no):

Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, I wish you all good luck ladies! Your follows/comments mean the world to me! Happy Holidays!

My M.A.C Virginity...has been broken!

Hey ladies! My first ever MAC purchase came the other day. I only picked up a lipstick and a concealer. Ohhh how I lusted after more, but I figured I should be reasonable, seeing as it's almost Christmas. :D

I picked up the Studio Finish Concealer in NW15 and a lipstick in Shy Girl. It also came with a free sample of the eye makeup remover which I'm excited to try!

Studio Finish Concealer in NW15:

Seeing as my beloved No7 concealer is basically gone, I decided to try out one from M.A.C! While I find the No7 concealer to be amazing, it doesn't always cover my spots/acne scars THAT well, and I swear I used it up in like...a month? Haha. I used this yesterday and today, and I'm quite happy. Not positive yet if it's that much better than the No7 one, but I'll have to see! I did notice though, that because the No7 concealer is so creamy, I end up using quite a lot of it. But since this one is a bit harder, I found myself using less, so I like that!

Concealer applied to my face. I'm pretty impressed, but at the same time, it's not exactly flawless, is it? But then again, since I can't be arsed with proper foundation (mineral only please!), that's kind of my own fault, tehe.

Cremesheen Lipstick in Shy Girl:

My friend, who was very helpful in me picking out these products, suggested I get Snob. While I did like the look of it, I already have a lot of pink lippys, and while searching, I found this one! People call it the perfect nude, and I have to agree, it's gorgeous!

On me lips:

Another shot of it on me lips:

One of my first thoughts when I tried on this lipstick was that it was similar to my Natural Collection lipstick in Rose Petal. As you can see from the swatches, Rose Petal is far more of a light pink color than Shy Girl. It also looks a lot more POW on your lips, while Shy Girl is more understated. BUT, I was right about my second assumption, that it would be a perfect match for Revlon's Lipgloss in Nude Lustre. On the far right I've also included a swatch of the concealer, just incase anyone was curious!

Natural Collection Lipstick in Rose Petal and M.A.C Shy Girl, not quite dupes, haha.

M.A.C Shy Girl and Revlon Lipgloss in Nude Lustre, a match made in heaven. ;)

The two on my lips:

And again:

And finally, a photo of the eye makeup remover! When I use it I'll make sure I do a review post. I still need to try my sample of the Bare Minerals primer, so maybe I'll do a post together.

That's all, folks! I'm really happy with my purchases and look forward to soon becoming a M.A.C addict. Any advice on what to get next? ;)