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GOSH Nail Laquer in Miss Grey

By Lina on April 30, 2010

Last post of ‘nail week‘, and to end we have GOSH Nail Laquer in Miss Grey! I have waited soooooo long for this to come out ever since I spied it at the Superdrug Summer Press Show all the way back in February! For those that remember that post, this was the colour they painted on me paws and I did my best to keep it for as long as possible knowing it wouldn’t be out for another month or so. Goooorgeous colour.

Well, finally, after almost week after week of constant pestering I got sent one last week (not sure if it has hit the shelves yet, any week soon now, I’m sure), straight away I painted my nails in it. What do you think?

The pic above was taken at the Superdrug SS10 Press Show, clearly painted with a professional hand, not my novice one. It has topcoat and everything.

I really like GOSH nail varnishes, they have a great consistency and dry to a really shiny, glossy finish! I found them second to only Ciate when you needed a speedy paint job as they dried so quick! You could definitely paint and be out the door in five mins with this polish, but admittedly it’ll look great on that night but without a topcoat it can be prone to the chip as soon as the next day.

A lovely shade, just wish it came out sooner as it’s a bit too cool for Summer and would have been perfect for Winter!

Not sure the exact release date but GOSH Nail Laquer in Miss Grey should be out anytime soon, when it is out you can pick it up at Superdrug for £5!

This entry is filed under GOSH, Nail Varnishes, Superdrug and tagged GOSH Nail Laquer in Miss Grey. | 1 Comment

Sleek Limited Edition Bohemian i-Divine Palette – Swatches and Review

By Lina on March 15, 2010

Oh la la! Lookie what I got sent in the post today! The new limited edition Bohemian i-Divine palette from Sleek!

I know a lot of you are kinda bored of the whole Sleek palette thing now, and admittedly I have been getting that way too. Although, if I’m brutally honest despite already owning about 4 of these sets I seldom ever use them to even get bored of them in the first place. I think it’s the fact that they’re so shimmery, it’s just not me.

So it was about time they bought out a neutral palette that boasts only three shimmery colours and the rest are glorious mattes! Hoorah! I really like this palette, despite it still containing some proper garish colours that will initially leave you aghast (I think you’ll come around to them though), they have a great base shade, a white bone/highlighter, a good dark brown, a navy, the obligatory black and lots of rustic shades. I for one have definitely noticed red, smudgy eye make-up making a return so those rustic shades could really help in achieving this look. I also do like the brighter, harder to wear shades although how often I’d use them is a different matter. The green is an interesting almost vibrant apple shade and the purple could be useful for a specific statement look (although in general I do kinda passionately hate the colour purple).

The good thing about this palette is that being predominantly matte, you’re not limited to the silly little applicator it comes with to achieve best results (as Sleek suggest) and can actually use your brushes! Woah. In the past brushes and Sleek palettes do not mix that well as the shadows are so creamy in consistency.

The shades in this palette are also not so shockingly pigmented that it looks like blocks of colour on your lids if you’re not careful, which makes this palette much easier to blend and work with compared to previous releases (Graphite, anyone?).

Being the Bohemian palette, Sleek have changed the palette case colour and gone with a white instead of black. Hmmm, not so sure about this as it looks a bit cheap to me, why didn’t they just go with a gorgeous mushroom brown? I think that would be far more fitting for the palette theme and also very on trend. But to be honest I’m not that bothered about it as I never carry my Sleek palettes out with me as they’re far to delicate for that, definitely not designed for wear and tear. As for outer packaging, I’m ALL over that! It’s truly gorgeous and a great step up from their usual transparent plastic!

Overall I like this palette, it’s not 100% a neutral palette with pure base shades as their press release suggest, but it’s a step in the right direction. I would love them to bring out a real basic palette with more wearable oranges and yellows (you’d be surprised how often these shades are used ever so subtly by the best make-up artists to really brighten the eye), and a whole range of matte browns and nudes. But so far, as this palette stands it’s a noticeable improvement and gets a thumbs up from me!

You can pick up the Sleek Bohemian i-Divine Palette from Superdrug for £4.99 from 17th March 2010.

This entry is filed under Sleek, Superdrug and tagged Sleek i Divine Bohemian Palette. | 7 Comments

Purity Organic Skincare are looking for 2 Brand Ambassadors!

By Lina on March 13, 2010

I’m just gonna be pretty lame here and regurgitate a press release – it’s 1am Friday night (and I have 7.30am start tomorrow, sob), so please cut me some slack. Simply put, it’s a great opportunity that I’m sure many of you will wanna jump on:

Purity Organic Skincare launches a nationwide search for two brand ambassadors with beauty and brains to help spread the message of organic skincare.

Purity Organic Skincare really cares about the environment, and wants its customers to do the same. That’s why Purity has teemed up with Superdrug to find two brand ambassadors in the UK.

We’re looking for real women with beauty and brains to help us spread the message of organic skincare. Our two winners will become Purity Brand Ambassadors, with the chance to star in Purity’s very first advertising campaign in Superdrug’s DARE magazine. You will also win a £250 Purity Organic Skincare goody bag full of our organic skincare treats!

TO ENTER

Simply buy a Purity Organic Skincare product of your choice at Superdrug to try the range and for proof of purchase. Scan your receipt and send it via email to purity@riverltd.co.uk along with the following:

Two photographs clearly showing your face, one must be natural and make-up free.

A paragraph explaining why you like Purity Organic Skincare products and why you think you would make a great Beauty and Brains ambassador.

For full T&C, as well as information of where to buy the products, log on to the DARE website at dare-magazine.co.uk. Closing date: 12pm, 12 May 2010. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over.

Sounds good, eh? Best of luck!

This entry is filed under Purity, Superdrug.

Smearings from Love, Hearts & Crosses

By Lina on February 12, 2010

I bought these lovely floral button earrings from Love, Hearts & Crosses a couple of weeks ago – I had just discovered the site and was excited about all the adorable things they offered. Unfortunately when they arrived one of the earring posts (the bit you stick through your ear) had come off the glass vintage button, so being the last pair in stock I had to send it back to be re-glued and finally got it back a week ago. Phew!

I also bought one of their ‘lucky dips’ for £10, which is a bag that contains 5 random items from their stock – mostly sale items but I think I lucked out (pun intended) and got something that was in their current season stock.

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The Big Wooden Rocking Horse necklace is available from their website for £8 (current stock).

Whilst I acknowledge the ‘lucky dip’ is a bargain, I’m not sure I would have ever chosen these pieces individually. I might wear some of the earrings but in retrospect I should have just picked something else for the price, something I would like a lot more.

I like the general customer service of Love, Heart & Crosses but think the delivery of the goods was a bit slack – for £3 postage I ordered mine on Sunday and only received it on Wednesday. The postage (including envelope) would have only have come to a £1 as it was sent second class so not really sure why they’re charging £3. I personally think if you’re going to charge £3 (as opposed to £2) then at least get everything out first class!

Whilst I’m talking about earrings, I also bought this pair yesterday from Superdrug.

They were having an event in their Westfield store for ALL customers (not just beauty press!) where you had the opportunity to get your eyebrows threaded, nails done with Barry M polishes or have a make-over. It was in ode of their new partnership with Fabulous magazine, and also as a precursor treat for Valentines day. I didn’t partake in any of the treatments but I did take part in their 10% off all purchases (see earrings above) and was lucky enough to grab one of their goody bags which were limited to the first 50 customers.

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We got these teeny tiny travel hair straighteners in the goody bag – very cute but I’ve checked the temperature and they only go half as high as traditional straighteners. I still might carry them around though; you never know when you’ll get caught in the rain!

This entry is filed under Jewellery, Love Hearts and Crosses, Superdrug. | 5 Comments

SS10 new products from Sleek, GOSH, Bloom and more!

By Lina on February 5, 2010

I went to the Superdrug Spring/Summer 2010 press day on Wednesday and here is the lo-down on the best new products to greet us in a month or two!

To start with I was quite impressed with Superdrug’s own sun care range Solait bringing out these gorgeous new bronzers!

The larger was a gorgeous dull brown, not orange, perfect for most complexions. And the shimmer brick, well, I have my heart set on that already…

Sleek have two new i-divine palettes coming soon.

And these gorgeous liquid eyeliners. They also have a yellow pout polish – woah!

Bloom are bringing out a gradual self tanner!

GOSH have these to die for nail shades coming out.

I actually got mine painted on the day with the very chic grey shade, although this unfortunately won’t be out for another month – sob! Hope this manicure lasts a while…

They also had two new priming products, and one line perfector – designed to fill in lines temporarily before make-up. The priming products were for the eyes and lips.

GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Primer

And new lip glosses, including a black which is fairly transparent but apparently best worn over a lipstick as it intensifies the brightness and makes it really luscious! I wore it here over my red lippy.

New eye quattros, too. Notice the change in package design!

Now here is the biggest success of the day in my eyes – Famous by Sue Moxley. I had never heard of the range prior but it looked so beautiful and the quality appears to be amazing! Cannot wait to get hold of some of these products and properly test them out!

These eye palettes are only £9!

Shimmer Bricks..

So that’s my round up of the best upcoming products for Spring/Summer 2010 from Superdrug! What do you guys think? I’m itching to try them! Oh, by the way – Superdrug are offering free delivery till 9th February, so check them out online HERE.

This entry is filed under Bloom, Famous, GOSH, Sleek, Superdrug. | 7 Comments

Colourworks Gem Detail Cosmetic Palette

By Lina on November 3, 2009

Arghhh! Sick AGAIN, ’twas only two weeks ago I was struck down with (alleged; I think doctors are too quick to diagnose) swine flu! Sucks. Bleedin’ immune deficiency, sometimes it’s quite fun to know you’re special and delicate, but most often it’s just a royal pain in the… moving on. What I have here is a Colourworks palette sent to me a few weeks back – not having tried much (okay, any) of the brand Colourworks prior I didn’t really know what to expect but I liked the look of the pretty textured pans of colour. After checking out the price (a mere £5.99) my unexpectations shamefully became decidedly lower, but fear not! Once I gave it whirl and tested this baby out, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly no Sleek Divine Palette which really is outstanding for its price, but this Colourworks Gem Palette actually does have some fairly good quality colours. I found the bronzer fantastic (there are two, I used the darker one) and the lip glosses were alright, although they were more tinted balms in my opinions; nice and moisturising and non drying. The eyeshadows were perfectly usable – not bad pigment but obviously not the best, you could easily create a pretty look with them but of course if I was faced with choosing between my regular shadows or these I would go for the regular product, but still, for a palette so cheap the products definitely felt a little pricier in quality!

Application

So here’s the breakdown, in the palette you get 6 eyeshadows, 2 blushers, 2 bronzers and 3 lip glosses. There are some gems stuck to the palettes casing (hence its name), and the actual imprinted design on the individual pans of product made the palette very aesthetically pleasing. I had only applied my foundation prior (Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation), and then pretty much stuck strictly to these colours in the palette!

The gem detail on casing

The colours I used were the blue (2) and white (1) eyeshadows on my eyes, and here I cheated a bit and used my Boots No7 Metallic Eye Pencil in Turquoise along the waterline – but that was all! No other eye make-up added, honest! I then used one of the blusher colours (3) across my left cheek and a different one (4) across my right (in an attempt to showcase the difference to you but they look kinda the same in the pics) and then finished the face with the darker bronzer (5) on my forehead, nose, and cheeks/cheekbones, etc. Then I tried all three lippies on, here you can seeeee…

Lip colour 6

Lip colour 7

Lip colour 8

Verdict

The lip glosses were good enough, but yes, they are essentially just lip balms and the two darker shades (6 and 7) were exactly the same, the pale pink (8) however was very pretty on. Whilst I loved the bronzers but thought the eyeshadows and blushers were just so-so, in total this is a pretty cute set for the ever so low price. The thing to remember is its’ market; teens will undoubtedly love this and it will make a really precious gift to the gal who is just starting to get into a more grown up make-up look (moving away from glitter to more understated shimmer), but anything for the more mature lady probably wouldn’t suit her needs. So whilst not one for ma, one for your younger sister/neice/school pal – deffo! You can pick the Colourworks Gem Detail Palette exclusively from Superdrug for £5.99 HERE, and currently they are on a 3 for 2 offer!