July 2010 Faves! ♥

Wow, cant believe July's over!
Its quite scary how fast this years going! Next thing you know, it'll be 2011! eeee.

Anyways, I did alot of experimenting in July, Trying to find some HG status products.
I think i may have found a few good'uns (:

here are the products ive fallen head over heals for in July:

Dior Diorskin Nude Foundation.
Ive been on the search for the HG foundation. This is most definitly it! Sinks right into the skin , masks any flaws, feels fresh and light and adds a subtle glow!

Lush Tea Tree Water Toner.
I dont usually like toners because they irrittate my super sensitive skin like crazy. This one however, dosnt contain any alcahol so it isnt drying at all. It also has an anaseptic ingredient that kills any nasty bacteria on your face which stops those pesky spots popping up! genius! Ive used this every morning without fail and have only a little bit left in this hugeee bottle, Good job i have a backup!

Mac Soft and Gentle MSF.
Ive been interchanging this beauty with Dior amber diamond alot this month, but have been reaching for this a bit more. Its a nice simple shade that goes with any look. I use this wet with Fix +. Result = lovely dewy skin.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Bisque.
Simple peach based product that erases blue tones under the eyes like a dream! Its a tad expensive for this tiny little pot but you only need to dab your finger in it once and thats more than enough!

Mac Prep and Prime Face Powder.
Now, I'm one of those 'No powder' girls. Well atleast i was until i tried this! My foundation tends to shift around the nose and chin area, but stays put everywhere else, So i thaught i would take my chances with this. Im glad i did, because its the most finely milled powder ever and certainly does not look like your wearing powder at all. It gives a smooth 'Soft focus' effect on the skin also. This is a must have for me now.

Nars Gina Blush.
Gorgeous, long wearing, summery,Pigmented, dusty peach shade. Nuff' said.
Im'a peach loving girl.

Revlon Peach Petal Lipgloss.
Yummy milky peach gloss. Ive been reaching for this alot because its enough to wear on its own because its quite opaque. Lipstick is just far too heavy feeling when its hot outside!


None makeup related thing ive been loving and living off in the last month...Good ol' English Tea and Biscuits!
i'm addicted, yum.

Mac's Jazzed Lipstick Review + Possible Dupes?!

I finally got my mitts on Jazzed lipstick (:

Yay!
Jazzed has just been recently relesased with the 'In The Groove' collection from Mac. It sold out on the website quite fast. I was gutted as i didnt order it as soon as it was released and later found that it had sold out. I wasnt a happy girlie...
I am now though!

Colour?
Jazzed is deffinitly a summer lipstick. It looked pretty neon orange on some swatched i had seen which put me off slightly, However in real life, its a more muted pastel toned coral.
...And its wearable! Yay!
I can never usually find a wearable coral, so this is a big plus, thumbs-up Mac!
(It shows up a little bit brighter then in the pictures.)

Texture and Lasting Power?
Jazzed is a cremesheen, which is my favourite formulation that Mac does, Its quite moisturising and smooth and dosnt leave my lips feeling dry once its worn off. Be careful with cremesheens though, as when exposed to heat they will melt pretty quickly! Ive also heard of peoples cremesheen lipsticks snapping when applying, so be careful of that!
Jazzed lasted a good 2-3 hours on my lips but came off during lunch, which is normal with most lipsticks.

Dupes!
As with all limited edition products that i love, i try to find dupes in my collection in fear of running out.
I think ive found some pretty close dupes to Jazzed -

YSL Foubourge Peach & Boots Natural Collection Rose Petal.

The YSL is slightly darker and more pink and the Natural Collection is a bit more pale but both are rather close dupes in my opinion.
The swatches show how close they actually are!

Sephora By OPI - Call Your Mother ♥

I got these in the post this week, all the way from America, Exciting!

I purchased The well known Metro Chic and took a gamble on Call your mother.
They are both gorgeous colours, I havnt tried Metro Chic yet, Because i'm currently sporting (...and LOVING!) Call Your Mother.


Its a Realy unique musky lilac with dirty grey undertones. Its a very sophisticated colour thats fun and quirky at the same time. Ive been searching for a colour like this for ages. I think it will be perfect for winter!
(Please excuse the nails, they are in recovery process from when I had Acrylic nails!)

The brush is not like the regular wide OPI brushes, It's just your average nail polish brush. I much prefer the wide brushes, but its not a problem since the colour is so fantastic.
It goes on smoothly and I only needed 2 coats for it to be opaque.
As for the wear, Ive had the polish on for 3 days now, and have only a slight chip on my thumb nail and thats all! So, its quite hard wearing considering most polishes only last a day or 2 on me!



10/10!

Dior Amber Diamond ♥

Ive wanted this for so so so long. Its been going around youtube for a while now and i needed it!
well i didnt really NEED it, I just wanted it (:

Its Dior Amber Diamond.
I had some birthday money left over in my bank, so i thaught, why not? Its only £31...eeek.
Definitely a one off buy.

It comes in a little velvet pouch, which is a very nice touch, The overall presentation is so lavish and screams 'expensive!' to me. Its very sturdy also, very good quality.
Look how beautiful the packaging is! Looks so pretty sat on my dressing table.

Enough raving about the packaging, Now onto the actual product itself...
Its a gradiant of 5 shades a pearly white, Light beige, dark tan, light tan and then a peach.

The powder is finely milled and has zero glitter in it.
The effect on the skin is a gorgeous peachy glow, I think it would compliment a tan perfectly.
It would look beautiful on all skintones as it goes from light to dark and you can build it up to however dark you want it.
On my NC20 skin, it shows a bit more tan because i'm fairly pale.

Ive found that you get the best effect from this highlighter by applying it with a small stippling brush like Mac's 188 and buffing it in lightly. This dispurses the product more evenly onto the skin.
I did try it wet but I found that this made it look far far far too intense and metalic looking!

I packed it on quite heavy for the purpose of this review and as you can see it packs quite a punch of sheen, i'd never wear it this heavy though!

I love it!

Drugstore Gems ♥

Now, I must admit, i'm a bit of a brand snob. I love the feeling of pulling out a shiny Chanel compact out of my makeup bag and slicking on a lippie in a fancy gold tube, Its just...nice (:

I do try to love drugstore brands (...i really do!) but 99% of the time, they dont impress and i'm left underwelmed and dissapointed.
I have found a few cheap products that have impressed me and that I would put up there with the quality of higher end products.
Here they are...

Natural collection Fondant Lipgloss.
Ready for a major rave?
I LOVE this. Its actually my favourite lip gloss...ever.
It a peachy pink shade thats got just the right amount of pigmentation. Its fairly opaque so it nudes out the lips perfectly, but lets just a hint of natural lip colour shine through. Its not in the slightest but sticky either! (also smells like vanilla cupcakes...YUM!)
only cost £1.99 from boots. Perfect.

Loreal Studio Secrets Primer.
This is the best primer I own! I have a Nars one which costs double the price of this and its not half as good. This does everything a primer should! It fills in large pores and makes the skin feel silky smooth. It looks a bit weird though, its a light pink mouse, looks like marshmellow (:
Slightly pricey for a drugstore product at around £12.99

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Pure Shimmer Highlighter.
Looks suspiciously similar to a Mac MSF, yes?
My all time favourite product by Mac is their MSF's, i think i have about 7 or so. However they are a little prices at around £20 for one and this little gem is just as good as them at only around £8.00 for one! It's a great dupe of Soft and Gentle by Mac and looks almost identicle on the skin. Its by far the best drugstore highlighter!
Revlon Photo Ready Foundation.
Yet another amazing foundation by Revlon! I loved their colourstay but I'm really bowled over by the quality of this foundation. I'm not too keen on foundations that make you look matte as I like a bit of dewyness to my skin. This foundation delivers just the right amount of dewyness without looking greasy. Cant afford to pay £29 on Nars sheer glow?, get this! It looks the same on the skin to me. Lasting power is fab aswell (:
£12.99 from boots.

I'm also a fan of Barry M lippies. Especially 101 and 147. Great colour range and strong pigmentation. Only £4.25 each aswell!

Long live cheap products! (:

Mac Stereo Rose Review & Possible Dupe?!

So heres the legendary Stereo Rose...Beautiful, yes?

YES!
Stereo Rose is a Vivid Tomato like coral with a peachy bronze sheen (Best way I can describe it!)
Its by far one of the smoothest silkiest Mineralize skin finnishes, No chunkyness or glitter, and is very very soft.

Look how beautiful the veining is, every single one is unique as it is a baked product...

It's so pretty to look at!

Pigmentation is great also, one swipe on your brush is more then enough!
If you apply too much, you could end up looking slightly...Sunburnt? which I found out one morning when I just slapped it on.
This is about the only MSF that does not sink into pores and accentuate them. Its both a highlighter and a blush all baked into one product, so its great for travelling if you dont want to take too many items (be carefull about breaking it though!).
So overall: I'm in Love and its a relativly unique product, that i'm happy to have in my collection!

Possible Dupes?
Stereo rose sold out in hours on the UK website and is sold out in the US also i think, So i rummaged through my stash to look for some dupes.
The closest thing I found to stereo rose is Mac's sheertone shimmer blush in 'Springsheen'
Its a vivid coral with bronzey gold shimmer. Just like Sereo Rose is, However Springsheen is slightly...but only ever so slightly pinker, But that dosnt show up on the skin too much.

Also, with a swipe of Mac's melon pigment over the top of Springsheen, The outcome is exactly what stereo Rose is.
Springsheen + Melon pigment = Stereo Rose.

So, if you have Springsheen and Melon pigment, there is no need to pay ridiculous prices on ebay, chop off an arm or take out a loan to buy this procuct...Unless your a major collector like me haha (:

Mac Haul - In The Groove + More ♥

Oops, I did a bit of damage to my card...


...although not all at once, this was haul'ed over 7 days, so I dont feel too guilty (:
I felt a bit down last week, so what better way to brighten my mood then to go dig out the card and buy myself some new goodies!

What i got:
2x Stereo Rose Mineralize Skin Finnishes from 'In The Groove' £19.50 each.
Mineralize Skin Finnish in Soft And Gentle £13.50
Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle £8.50
Cream Colour Base in Crushed Bougainvillea £8.50
Lipstick in Vanitys Child £7.50
Holiday Palette Intriguing Scarlet Warm Eyes £21.50


I'm happy with everything I got, however I am in LOVE with the mineralize skin finnishes!
especially Stereo Rose. I totally get what all the hype is about. I ordered two by accident while frantically trying to grab it before it sold out. I'm glad I did though, because its so lovely and perfect for summer.
I adore corals.
*stares at prettiness*

Everything was purchased from my local CCO, except the Stereo Rose MSF's that I baught off the Mac website.
Anyone else manage to get Stereo Rose?