Archive of ‘Beauty’ category

First experience with MUA

Hi All!

So this is basically a haul post and first impressions/review of this mountain of MUA products I received last week. A couple of weeks ago this UK based makeup company had a Halloween sale where if you spent over ten pounds you received three free gift products. Needless to say that was all the convincing I needed to place my first ever order with them and try out a bunch of their products. This brand of makeup is known for being low in price but pretty high on quality and considering a lot of their products are between 1-4 pounds it was hard to resist. Anyway, here is what I got and what my thoughts are so far :)

First up here are the 3 gift products they were giving away. First up is their trio eyeshadow in Smoke Screen. These three shimmery shades are rather gorgeous and very pigmented. I don’t often do extreme eye looks but I’m looking forward to trying this combo on a night out. Second was one of their 1 pound nail polishes in shade 8 which is a rather nice pink-toned red. I haven’t tried this yet so not sure what the quality is like. Last up in the gifts is an eyeliner (not a lip-liner like I first thought) in the shade Bright Orange. This is so smooth and pigmented! I was pretty surprised. Now I just have to figure out how to use it in an eye look…I don’t normally rock orange liner but this is such a nice product I feel I have to try!

Blusher in Shade 4 and Mosaic Bronzer in Natural Glow
So the first two products I chose were a blush and a bronzer (I actually have never owned a bronzer, weird right?). The blush was £1 and is a small size but a gorgeous pink colour with some peachy undertones that I was looking for coming into summer.There’s a bit of fallout when I apply this and its not hugely pigmented but I love the colour and for me a subtle and buildable blush is better than a highly pigmented one purely due to lack in application skills haha. The Mosaic bronzer (£2.50) is in the shade Natural Glow and has a mix of pink, brown, taupe and gold shades that blend to create a nice subtle bronzer that luckily works well on my skin tone. Keen to start using this to bronze up a little over the summer.

Gel Eyeliner in On The Move and Mega Volume Mascara in Black Waterproof
I have never tried gel eyeliner before so decided to grab one of theirs for £3 in the shade On The Move. Seriously, this colour is gorgeous! A stunning rich brown with copper shimmer throughout it. Seems really pigmented but I haven’t tried this for a whole day so unsure as to how well it will last. Comes with a little brush tucked away in the lid. The mascaras on MUA are £3 and I was interested in giving one a go so decided on the Mega Volume Mascara (waterproof). I’ve used this a couple of times and I like it a lot but it’s not mega volumising on my lashes. For me it gives my lashes really nice definition with little clumping and provides a little bit of extra length and volume but not to any dramatic extent which is kind of what I was hoping for. Definitely still a mascara i’ll use up quite happily but could have done a bit more volume wise.

Undressed 12 Shade Eyeshadow Palette
Last up for the eyes is probably the product I was most excited to try. This is the undressed eye shadow palette which is a teeny £4 for 12 amazing neutral shades! This palette contains quite a few close dupes for some of the Naked shades with the shimmers being amazingly close from what I can tell but the matte shades are definitely less pigmented despite being lovely colours. I love the variety of  shades in here with a dark metallic navy, a rich golden shimmer to pale pinks and champagnes. Absolutely stunning! Below are some swatches of some of my favorites on the palette but you can also see a great review here.

Left to Right: Shades 8, 9, 7, 6, 12, 1

Hot Lips Lip Balm and Nail Varnish in UR FAB
Next are two of the products I chose from their Love Hearts range which I thought was such a cute concept! I grabbed one of their tinted lip balms in Hot Lips which is a stunning hot pink that gives a pink flush to my lips that looks pretty natural. Not hugely moisturizing but cute right? The nail polish I chose after putting every single on into my basket was UR FAB which is a warm pink colour. Not sure how to describe it but pretty close to the photo really. These were £2 each.

Lipsticks in Shade 3 and Shade 1
Okay up to my last products finally! These are my favorites in tie with the undressed palette. These two lipsticks were £1 each. I expected rather little for such a tiny price tag but I seriously adore both of these. Shade 1 is the rich red which has a bit of a pink tone to it once on my lips and shade 3 is a gorgeous hot pink that is almost neon. These aren’t drying, are hugely pigmented and last a decent time on my lips without much bleeding into the lines around my lips. Tempted to get all 16 of these lipsticks for such a small price but I’ll resist for the moment haha!

Shade 1 and Shade 2 Lipsticks 

Well there is my pretty extensive “haul” from MUA and there’s so much I love and not much I don’t so overall I was pretty pleased! In NZD this came to around $50 including the shipping so not too bad considering the huge amount of products I got. In England MUA is known as a pretty amazing brand but I think people overseas and here in NZ/Australia should definitely look into their products especially some of their eyeshadow palettes and their lipsticks. No more shopping for me that’s for sure!

Xx

October Empties

Hi All!

So I don’t normally do empties posts and to be honest am still second guessing this but I enjoy reading other peoples and what is a blog good for if I can’t try things out? I don’t use heaps of makeup and beauty items so this is less of a monthly empties and more a every couple of months or so but we’ll see how it goes :)

1. Health Basics Nourish Nail Polish Remover: This is my go to nail polish remover because it is cheap (around $3) but works well. Contains acetone which is a must for me as I don’t want to spend forever trying to scrub off my polish but I don’t find it super drying and just make sure I moisturize my hands and cuticles after. Repurchase? Yup!

2. OPI Top Coat: So I liked this for a while but as you can see there is a bit left that is almost impossible to use and bubbles like crazy once I get it out anyway. Before it went bad I found it did a fine job but considering its $25 price tag I think their are better alternatives. Repurchase? Nope.

3. Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream with Colloidal Oatmeal: I was so sad when I finished this! I thought this handcream was perfection. Extremely hydrating and not at all too greasy. One of the few handcreams that would last me through all sorts of handwashing and dishes and still leave my hands feeling hydrated. No fragrance but that means it was perfect for my sensitive skin. At around $8 it’s reasonably priced so I will definitely repurchase.

4. Lucas PawPaw Ointment: Everyone and their Great Aunt knows about this miracle product. Although I go through phases with this pawpaw ointment I always have one on hand and lately it has become another handbag essential. Although there are other brands I personally love this one and don’t care particularly about its criticisms so long as I feel it works for me. Repurchase? Already had a spare one lined up!

5. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner: This was okay but not my favorite eye liner. I find others a bit easier to use like the Maybelline Liquid precise (or something) so a repurchase is probably not on the cards.

6. Garnier SOS Repairing Hand Cream: So in case you haven’t gathered I love hand cream. I get eczema especially when I’m stressed and my hands often get very dry and red. So a good handcream that won’t cause further irritation is an essential. This one was fine, cheap at around $4 but the moisture wasn’t super long lasting and with a few out there I like better (see above) I probably won’t bother repurchasing.

7. Pantene Pro-V Night Miracle Leave On Cream Serum: I don’t use many hair products if any at all other than shampoo and conditioner but this is something I bought on a whim, as you do, and it was pretty good. Using it as an overnight leave in serum, especially on my dry ends, made them a bit more manageable in the morning but it was nothing mind blowing. Repurchase? Maybe if I see it on special but will probably try something different instead.

Well that’s it! Let me know what you think of these posts and whether they are worth doing? I know some people will have no time for beauty blogs but I enjoy tuning out from life to indulge in some shallow beauty posts 😉

Hope you are all having a lovely week

xxx

Foxy Favorites for October

Hi All!

October favorites are a bit late just due to exams and whatnot but here they are! Somehow I didn’t end up with many favorites which was a bit of surprise but I think study has stolen my inspiration and so I just went with a few basics I have been using throughout the month and loving.

Body Shop Fragrance in Indian Night Jasmine

First up here is my favorite fragrance for this month: Indian Night Jasmine from The Body Shop. I was lucky enough to win this and wasn’t expecting to use it that much as it is quite a strong, musky scent but after a few times the sultry scent of jasmine really grew on me. The “heaviness” of such a musky scent is less noticeable than I expected and the floral jasmine notes are rather delightful. Definitely a slightly more grown up scent and great for nights out (although I also use this during the day). The lasting time is good but not amazing but one spray is all you need to get a good fragrance that isn’t too overwhelming so having to reapply isn’t much of an issue.

Chi Chi Viva La Diva Matte Lipstick in Boy Magnet

Next up is one of my two favorite lipsticks! I have a few of these ChiChi lipsticks and I am seriously impressed! I chose Boy Magnet to show you because I was so happy to find a great matte red that looks amazing and lasts forever! Bimbo would be the other amazing shade which is a matte hot pink. Definitely check out the ChiChi range of lipsticks if they’re available.

Nivea Hand Cream: Pure and Natural (Protection)

This hand cream with argan oil from Nivea is my new favorite! It’s very affordable (I believe I got this for around $4 on special at the supermarket) and has a good level of moisture without leaving any greasy feeling behind. There are definitely hand creams that are more moisturizing but I like using this in the day when I’m on the go. The scent is lovely too, normally I stick to unscented hand creams just due to sensitive skin but the fragrance is fresh and subtle, and I haven’t experienced any skin irritations.

Covergirl Exact Eyelights for Blue eyes (#710)

I don’t often wear a lot of eye makeup if any at all (besides mascara) but this quad palette from Covergirl is one that I constantly reach for if I want to wear something a little different. I love the green sage shade in the crease and the highlight shade the most. All the shades have fairly good pigmentation except for the blue. Whether it works well in brightening my eyes or not, I have no idea but all in all an easy to work with set of shades.


Maybelline Coloursensational in Pink Me Up (045)

I have had this for ages but it got lost in the bright pinks and reds for a while but lately I have been reaching for it a lot. This shade is a beautiful light warm pink that comes off as a soft nude pink on my lips. Very easy to wear and although it doesn’t last much more than a couple of hours its a breeze to reapply and isn’t very noticeable while it fades. I wear this all the time when I don’t feel like keeping a bright lip maintained throughout the day.

Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate oil

I have so many lip balms it’s actually ridiculous so when I first tried the original Burt’s Bees lip balms and not liking it at all I was disappointing and a bit confused after hearing so many people rave about it. I gave the brand another chance when I tried this replenishing lip balm and I absolutely love it. The red balm gives a very slight tint to the lips but I mainly love it because it is incredibly moisturizing and leaves my lips feeling hydrated for ages! Has a slight scent but its not at all unpleasant. Sorry for its rather rough condition, this is one of those lip balms I just chuck in my bag each day.

OPI: Every Month is Ocktoberfest

Last up here is my nail polish favorite. This is the only nail polish from the Germany collection that I got but I absolutely adore it! It looked a bit average in the bottle but once on the nail its complex mix of mesmerizing burgundy/copper shimmer (which is obvious in the bottle shot) and a beautiful purple in the light (which is kind of captured in the second shot). Once I’m in the sun I can’t stop looking at it. Seriously, it gets pretty embarrassing. A beautiful colour especially for autumn/winter but as usual I can’t stop wearing it regardless of the weather.

There you go! My beauty favorites for the month of October. Keep an eye out for some random favorites which will be up tomorrow :)

Hope you all had a great month and that next month is even better.

Xx

Sample Bar Glam Pack!

Hi All!

So today was an exciting moment for me as I received my first ever beauty subscription box! Sample Bar has started the only New Zealand beauty subscription service and this is the starting box that they have sent out to the first 400 people who were on the waiting list. The service is $25 each month to receive a pack of 5 products. So I thought I would show you guys the products that are in this first box and give you some of my first impressions. Firstly I think the way it is packaged is really elegant! I love the black and white simple design and have many ideas for what I can use these boxes for in the future… (okay not that many, but I’m still thinking!)

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August Favorites

Hi All!

So September has arrived and I am full of mixed feelings… I am happy that officially Spring has arrived and I am so over Winter it isn’t funny. Winter for me means continual colds and walking around uni in the rain after the first week of winter when I lose all my umbrellas. So even though it means my leg shaving regime has to be stricter (to much info, I know…Sorry >.<) I can’t wait to wear skirts and t-shirts again…oh and pastel nail polish! (I have a whole post on my spring nail polish picks coming up in the next week by the way!). So apart from all those things, spring means Uni just keeps pushing forward as I fall further behind. Oh dear.

Anyway! On a more makeupy kind of note here are some of the makeup/beauty products that have been commonly featured in my life this month!

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My 10 Autumn/Winter Nail Polish Favorites

Hi all!

So this afternoon was the first time in a what feels like forever that I could have a break from university work. After the first 6 weeks of the semester we now get a two week study break and after handing in my 2 assignments today I gave myself the afternoon to relax, watch some America’s Next Top Model (another guilty secret) and put this blog post together. In New Zealand we are slowly coming out of the Winter season so I wanted to put up my 10 favorite nail polishes that I have been loving over Autumn (Fall) and Winter this year. In the future I shall try to put up my nail polish season favorites before the season begins.. Let’s get straight into it!

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5 Winter Essentials

For New Zealand this winter has been wet and pretty miserable (for me at least) but thankfully spring is around the corner and that means pastel colours and *hopefully* a little less rain. These are some of the products that I have been reaching for this winter.

1. The Body Shop Body Butter in Candied GingerImage

This stuff is like heaven in the winter! I got this for half price ($20 NZ) as I assume it was part of their Christmas stock but in NZ Christmas is in the summer and I think this is much more appropriate for the winter time! The scent firstly is incredible…makes me smell like sweet ginger bread. The cream itself is thick and highly moisturizing (like most of their body butters) and thus I tended to use it more at night time before bed but it wouldn’t be too greasy for the daytime in Winter (in my opinion). I have dry and sensitive skin and this didn’t cause any irritation and did a great job at preventing dryness.

 

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