Two Things Thursday

This week the two things are cosmetics I've had for a while, that I'm only just getting into using.

1 - 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in Very Berry. I like this because it's a lovely dark pink that's fairly long lasting.
2 - Collection 2000 Shimmer Squares in Way to Glow. I've just recently realised that it is basically a one product face - more on that when I review it soon

FOTD: Subtly sunned

Products used:
- Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Way To Glo.
- Collection 2000 Colour Intense Trio Eye Shadow in Cookie Dough
- 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle

Review - Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious

It's been hailed as a dupe of Nars' Deep Throat Blush.

It's been compared to Givenchy's Le Prisme Blush.

But what's the fuss about with Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades Blush? Here I'll review the blusher palette and then I'll review the bronzer at a later date.

Here are the colours swatched separately - but one of the best things about this blush is how the colours look all mixed together - it's a really lovely pink that produces a natural-looking flush.

This blusher sells for £4.19 from everywhere that stocks Collection 2000 - Boots, Superdrug, Morrisons... the list goes on. Often there are 3 for 2 deals, so it might be worth waiting for one if you want to get this.

Packaging

As you can see, it comes in a chunky clear plastic block that's about 8cm square and a centimetre thick. Admittedly, not particularly high-end looking, and no mirror for on-the-go application (but who does blusher on the go anyway...?) but it's durable and you can easily see what's in it. If I ever use this blusher up I'm going to use the casing to put elf custom elements in - it's just that durable.

Another good thing about this packaging is the catch. It feels securely shut, so you could be sure you wouldn't get blusher all over your make-up bag/ handbag/ suitcase, but it's not so tricky to open that it hurts your nail polish.

Does it live up to its promises?

On the Boots website, it says:

Release the shimmer queen in you, and create a soft glow that lasts all day long with new Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades. These delightful little compacts will give you a sun kissed, radiant glow normally associated with spending time under the exotic sun.

With two palettes to choose from, prepare to dazzle as the four merged blocks combine shimmer with shade for a multi-tonal and natural blend of colour.

There is one part of that promise that doesn't ring true - this blusher is not at all shimmery. I was worried that the shimmer would make it difficult to wear, but as there isn't any it doesn't. The bronzer palette is slightly less matte, though.

They're certainly not lying when they say the product lasts all day long - I wore it yesterday for a party involving lots of dancing and screaming the words of 90s songs, and it was still there when I got home. I was impressed!

The 'multi-tonal' part is certainly true - one thing I like is that I can lightly swipe a mixture of the bottom two shades around the jaw to serve almost as a bronzer - for a tiny bit of amateur contouring.

Would I repurchase?

Well, to be honest with you, I doubt I'll ever finish this - there's a stonking great 12 grammes of product there. But if I did use this up, I would definitely repurchase it. Lily likey.

(Other products worn in that photo: elf 32 shade eyeshadow palette, elf shimmer eye pencil in Plum Passion, 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in Very Berry)

FOTD: It's Party Time!

It's my friend's birthday party tonight, which I'm really excited about

Products used (in order):

• elf Nail Polish in Purple Pleaser (mentioned here)
• elf eyelid primer (mentioned here)
• Hello Kitty Liberty eyeshadow palette (the white shade in the inner corners of the eyes, and then the dark reddish and the dark silver glitter over the eye)
• Collection 2000 Extreme 24H eyeliner (upper lash line)
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Black (lower lash line)
• Natural Collection LashCurl Mascara in Black
• Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious
• Natural Collection Loose Powder
• Benefit Watt's Up! highlighter
• 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in Very Berry

FOTD: Red Lips and Cat Eyes

Products used:

• Elf eyelid primer
• Elf eyeshadow in 'driftwood'
• Collection 2000 Extreme 24H eyeliner
• Elf blusher in 'shy'
• 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in 'very berry'

FOTD: Recreating Zooey Deschanel's look from the new sitcom 'New Girl'

If you're anything like me, and since you're reading this you probably are, I bet you have a girl-crush on Zooey Deschanel. She's great, and so pretty! I've been watching her new sitcom, New Girl, and it's really funny - in last week's episode they attempted to defrost a turkey by putting it in the spin-dryer.

Anyway, I thought I'd have a go at recreating her look from the show.

I used the following products, in this order:

• Natural Collection Corrector Stick (it's light green, to neutralise red cheeks)
• Natural Collection Cover-up Stick (beige)
• 17 BB Cream (Light shade) - review to come
• elf Eyelid Primer - review to come but mentioned here
• elf eyeshadow palette - review to come but mentioned here
• Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hr Felt-tip liner - review to come but mentioned here (on the top lash line)
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil (black) - mini-review here (on the bottom lash line)
• Natural Collection LashCurl mascara (black) - review to come
• Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious - review
• Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rose Bud - review to come

Gosh, looking at the list here it really emphasises how much stuff I already have that I haven't yet reviewed for the blog - thank heavens for Project Pan, eh?

Are any of you Zooey fangirls too? Let me know

FOTD: pretty in pink

Products used:

• Rimmel Colour Rush Quad eyeshadow in Urban Flower - I used the pale pink matte shade all over the eyeshadow as a base (reviewed here)
• elf Custom Eyes in Wisteria (swatched here). I found that I wasn't really using this shadow to its full capability, only as an interest point to lighten up other eye looks, so I wanted to use it as a focal point. And it's really pretty!
• Boots 17 Photo Flawless Eye Pencil in Carbon Black/ Copper.(reviewed here).
• Boots Natural Collection WaterGuard mascara in Brown/Black
• Collection 2000 ShimmerSquare in Blushalicious (currently with £1 off at boots.com, which means it's down to £3.19)
• Benefit Watt's Up highlighter
• Boots 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle

Face of the day - family dinner

Quite a simple face of the day here - apologies for the photo, I wrestled with my camera for long enough...Eyes: I used the pale pink and the green from Rimmel's colour rush quad overshadow in 016 urban flowers and elf's sage colour from their elements range. I lined my eyes in collection 2000's Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner, which I decided on as a replacement for my liner that got dropped earlier in the week... I then used Natural Collection LashCurl Mascara in black which is amazing, and I will get round to doing a review soon, I promise...

Face generally: Boots 17's BB cream which I love - it's so light on, for a start, and it does enough of a foundation job for me at the moment. Then my new Benefit Watt's Up highlighter, which is courtesy of britishbeautyblogger.com's giveaway. It's so amazing. Love the packaging as well - it looks like a lightbulb!
Then I used a really, really old Marks & Spencer blusher in Ginger, which I gaily went for with my total face brush and then realised I'd made a terrible mistake. Once I blended it out a bit though, and removed a little of the excess, it was fine. I then used the Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rose Bud, which I picked up in a 3 for £5 deal as my third item and never expected to like as much as I do - the colour is lovely, it's long lasting, it doesn't come off on glasses etc, and it really is moisturising. Plus it was only £1.99

Emergency, emergency!

Right, so, due to my liquid eyeliner (which has gone from never-used to loved in the space of less than two weeks) smashing all over my bathroom floor I have started in my quest for a new one.
Here are the top candidates:

An exact replacement
http://www.boots.com/en/17-Liquid-Eye-Liner_927276/
It's cheap and I know it works, but maybe I should be more adventurous...

Collection 2000 felt tip liner
http://www.boots.com/en/Collection2000-Extreme-24hfelt-tip-liner_1160659/ (the picture's wrong for some reason - don't know why, I did look on the superdrug site but they didn't have it at all)

Some other liner - I have hours to kill in town on Saturday so will probably spend forever browsing both superdrug and boots. Suggestions very welcome :)

FOTD: inspired by Chloé A/W 2011

I was browsing the blogosphere, and found a really interesting article:

http://pretty-easy.tumblr.com/post/12323011680/get-the-look-chloe-a-w-2011
Normally when I see posts like those, they need a particular shade of eyeshadow, for example, that I don't have. But to my joy I actually have everything needed to do this look - or at least a slightly toned down version of it.

I started with my trusty Natural Collection ShineAway Foundation. You know what, it may not be the best foundation in the world (I'm really looking forward to trying Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse when I've finished this foundation) but it's still darned good for what I need.

Then I used a black Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil to line my eyes, as the original post suggested, to allow it to smudge... which it did, all over my face.

Then I used my much-neglected Collection 2000 'Color Intense Trio' in Cookie Dough. I don't tend to use this much, mainly because the shades are next to each other and shed quite a lot, and also because it just doesn't go on as well as the 17 eyeshadows. Plus they're not particularly pigmented. They were, however, just right for this look. I used the palest shade as a base and then blended the darkest shade with it, but not all the way out as the picture showed - I wanted it to be wearable, after all.

The next step was to use a little of the same shade as a blush/bronzer under cheekbones for definition. I wasn't sure which brush to use for this, and initially tried my blusher brush, but that loaded on way too much of the powder. So I decided to use the 'Way to Glo' shade of the Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades, as it's slightly less pigmented. That worked better.

The original blog post suggested black mascara, only mine's a bit dried out, so I used my Natural Collection Brown/Black one.

For a natural and neutral lip, I used tinted lipsalve, and then the No7 High Shine gloss in Whisper.

And a spritz of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Toilette to finish.