Illamasqua Haul!

Hello my beauty boffins!

So this time round I wanted to share with you my haul that I got from Illamasqua which is my all time favorite brand :) I got one of their Mystery Collection boxes which looks a little like this:

The box costs £35 (and they have a 10% sale going on in Debenhams just now, though I'm not sure how long for) and you get 6 full sized products. I'm not sure if or when they rotate their boxes, but you know two of the products that you're getting. For me it was the gold pigment and the eyeliner. I will update when I find out :) I also bought a lipstick.....because they have pretty lipstick....

So here's some reviewings of the individual things I got :D

1. Liquid Metal - Electrum

This is like a cream eyeshadow, absolutely stunning gold colour! It's very highly pigmented and doesn't feel heavy at all when wearing :) I really love this and I can see myself getting this in all it's beautiful variants in the future! 

2. Precision Ink - Glister

 This is a gold-y pink colour liqud eyeliner. Really cute colour and the applicator is quite short which means much easier use! I do like this colour but it isn't something I can see myself using every day. Still love it though!





3. Nail Varnish - Velocity

As any of you know know me well know, I am a girl who likes her purple! I love this colour, it's a very muted purple though it does turn out a little darker than it looks in the bottle. I love the varnish bottles, they're cute! This is a really nice colour and I'm stoked it was in there :D Woo!


4. Nail Varnish - Strike

WOW!! This colour did STRIKE me right in the lovelyness! This blue just isn't done any justice on the camera. It's from a different range than velocity and it's all metallic and shimmery. I would literally paint my room this colour if the bottle was bigger....
Stunning colour and I would definitely buy this one on it's own!



Did I mention I really like this one?



5. Powder Eyeshadow - Fame

Green isn't usually a colour I tend to buy in eyeshadows but this one is really nice! I wouldn't wear it on it's own, maybe in a blend with another colour but it's a really nice mint green colour. Ironically it's Easter and this is rather fitting :D
Very nice powder though, will be using it lots in the future ^_^





6. Powder Eyeshadow - Imagine

When I first saw this colour I was a smidge disappointed. I wasn't too keen on it but thought 'meh I can give it a shot' and I'm SO GLAD that I did! It's more of a sky blue when it's on the skin and its beautiful! Really suprised but I love it.









7. Lipstick - Liv

 This was something I picked up with my box and it is STUNNING!! It's a lovely pale pink colour and it feels great on. It is also a bitch to get off which to be honest I see as a plus to any lipstick, specially pale ones as they tend to come off really easily. However it does take a few swipes of the stick to get some decent coverage, BUT the stunning colour of it makes up for that tenfold :)

So my little Beauties I would say that if you haven't tried illamasqua the beauty box is perfect to give it a shot and see what you think since you get about £90 of products for £35 and its exciting to see! Even if you are a long time illamasqua user it's nice to have the suprise of not knowing what you're getting and you might find some new faves that you wouldn't go for normally :)

STATUS: RATE
Cannot rate this brand enough! It's amazing quality and incredible value for the box. It is a little more expensive but for a make up bag staple it is worth it :)

Super Sale Haul!

Hello my Beauty Warriors!

So I am back at work now since I'm off my crutches! Yay! But it does mean I won't be hitting you up with all my fabulous opinions as often, I know it hurts but I still love you all the same!

So I have two hauls that I done, this is the first and it's mixed :)
Superdrug do these awsume sales every now and again when a product discontinues a line, they put the products down to 10p :D I HAD to get in about this kind of sale! Obviously thinking of you lot ;)

As this is a massive haul and I pretty much Rate it I'll be scoring the individual stuff I got :)

So here we go!

LIP STUFF

1. Bloom - 017 Petal

So the first thing I love about this is that it is not tested on animals. It carries the BAUV symbol and I'm a big believer in not sticking makeup on animals, they're cute enough already! But before I end up on a rant....
The colour is pretty nice, as you can see near enough through me I'm so pale it's nice to be able to wear a darker nude pink without looking like I've passed my sell by date. It wears pretty well and isn't dry or anything along those lines, a pretty good makeup!

7/10 Ratings



2. G.O.S.H - Velvet Touch Lipstick 147 Sunrise

First off....how cute is the packaging?! They paid lots of attention to detail here and it paid off. Wow. The colour is nice, the only thing is that on pale skin it goes a tad fluorescent. Sort of nedette shade but it is a really nice colour for a lipstick and I can see myself wearing it more come summer time :) It doesn't feel like velvet at all (I hate velvet) which I'm glad of but it does feel moisturising and it is well pigmented. You don't need a lot of this bad boy either so I can see it lasting. I think they still have this type of lipstick running but different colours :)

8/10 Ratings 


3. G.O.S.H - Soft N Shine Lip Balm - 31 Passion Pink

First impressions : This smells like sweeties but please do not nom this balm. It's a stunning reddy pink colour (for some reason it didn't show up like that on the camera) but it is really pretty! I'm one for looking like a rainbow's puked on me so this kind of colour is fantastic! It does as it says on the stick and it is a good balm, but you do need to reapply quite a bit. Other than that it's a pretty steady stick :D

8/10 Ratings




4. G.O.S.H - Soft N Shine Lip Balm - 33 Scarlet

As far as scarlet goes, this looks nothing like scarlet to me. Bit disappointed with the colour, but what can I complain about, it was 10p! This one is okay, colour is a tad bland but it does the job for day to day wear and it goes with just about anything.

6/10 Ratings







5. G.O.S.H - Soft N Shine Lip Balm - 35 Antique Gold

I LOVE THIS COLOUR! It's very girly and cute! I love it because it gives you a really nice hint of goldy colour without being BLING UP IN YO FACE. It's subtle but still enough that it wouldn't feel like a waste of a balm. Only problem is this colour does wear very quickly so you do need to reapply lots but I would say it was worth it.


9.5/10 Ratings


EYE STUFF

I felt like showing you these colours all together as this is how I have been wearing them the past few days and I think it looks amazing!

6. G.O.S.H Lets Twist Eyeliner - 102 Hot Flamingo

Very nice colour, only problem is that you do need to go over the same bit quite a few times and really put some elbow into it to get the colour to show properly. I know that pink is a hard colour to get to show properly in eyeliners but this one's worth it when you put in the effort :)

8/10 Ratings





7. G.O.S.H Lets Twist Eyeliner -Soft Splash

Really nice icey blue colour. Doesn't take as much of a going over as the first one, but does take a few attempts to get it looking bright. Slightly lighter blue than what's shown on the pencil but that's usually the case. Fab wee pencil :)


8/10 Ratings





8. G.O.S.H Lets Twist Eyeliner - 103 Kamikaze

So I got this colour because it looked a bit mental. I didn't think I would like it, but I adore it! It doesn't show up on this camera as green as it actually is but it is a beaut of a colour! This one goes on bright straight away and takes no extra effort at all. I don't usually wear green eyeliners but I really like this one :D


10/10 Ratings



9. G.O.S.H Glamorous Eye Shadow - 21 Violet

So this one was a let down. Can't all be good can it? So from the looks of it in the pot it looks very pigmented and lovely. When you put it on....you look like someone has walloped you in the face with a shoe. I will be using it, but more for my FX makeup work rather than anything that I would use when I wanted someone to look at my face without wincing and asking who beat me up or what I walked into.
I would have been rather pissed off had I not only spent 10p on this! I doubt anyone works the 'bruised babe' very well but hey....

2/10 Ratings



So that is all for my haul! Hope to see you again soon for the next installment of my opinion in your head :p x

Goldie Locks Hair Extensions

Hello you Possible Rapunzels!

So here's my story of how I came to know about hair extensions of nearly every kind:
I dye my hair too much. It's a different colour every couple of months, so my hair never really has a chance to grow since most of the colours have an aspect of bleach in them. So I tend to spend a small fortune on additional hair to give it some decent length. Due to it being every colour in the rainbow I also had to try different brands to get the right colour. So here goes with my latest find :)

So whilst searching for decent extensions I was looking for a weft piece, so that I didn't have to spend forever putting in my extensions in the morning but I could still get a decent amount in. A weft piece means that there are 3-5 layers on the one piece. So ideally since I have thick hair, put in two, you get 10 layers which covers all short hair :) Simples you would think.....

But I came across Goldielocks, who offer just such a weft! You can choose between curly or straight, the length (18"-22"-24") and so many different colours (INCLUDING RAINBOW :D :D). They generally tend to start at £9.99 so its cheaper than the usual. The material used is called Kanekalon, which looks identical to human hair and can also be styled with heat appliances (up to 160, so not crazy hot GHDs!)

So I was particularly impressed with this site because they actually had my exact shade of reddy/purple/brown (it's an odd shade that happens when red and brown react together!). But nowhere else stocks it, but these guys cater to just about every hair colour out there! Including neon colours.

So here's what the ones I got look like:
Before:

                         After:





So the colour matches extremely well and they are very comfy to wear. I think it's also a very good price for what you get as the pieces are very thick and in this picture I'm sporting two of them (my hair although very short is very thick, horrible burden when it comes to buying extensions!).


STATUS: RATE!
I love these and rarely go out without them in now. Great value for money and they look very natural. The shipping was also pretty quick which is also a major plus :)
Send pics if you get some!

Urban Fudge Straight Hair Stuff

Hello my Beautiful wee Angel Faces!

Todays little beast we can add to our assault on beauty is the Urban Fudge Straight Hair Stuff (not just my way of talking that's what they actually call it! I'm loving it!)

So first off, the name is beautiful :p It's right in there, no fancy doilies, just hair STUFF. Brilliant! If you were looking for it, this is what you look for:

So it's Fudges' colour of bright orange as you tend to see across the majority of their products and it has a very grungy trendy design. Personally I love it! Even if I do hate the colour orange. Don't know why! But I do. But there you go.

Now anyone who has read any of the other blogs know that products need to smell decent or else it's a defo nono from me. This stuff smells like a summer afternoon in Oz while dancing with faeries. Legit.

So it looks good, smells good, but does it do the job? Short answer is yes! It is sunshine and puppies and kitties in a bottle (not real ones like) but it protects the hair really well and stops that ever so elegant burnt hair smell (we all do it, you know exactly the one I mean). All of this costs around £6.99 and can be found in the usual girly haunts like zees one. Well worth the price!

STATUS: RATE!!
Great value for such a spiffing wee product. So glad I found this!

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

Hello one and all!

This one is a sure staple in everyones makeup bag/box/sack/room.

It's a gel eyeliner and it's only available in black but it's game for some WOWs :D

So what do I look for in an eyeliner? I look for something that doesn't need topping up constantly, doesn't make me look like something out of a horror film when it rains (which being in Glasgow it does 90% of the time) and something that doesn't break the bank when I need a new one.

Whey hey! Found it!

It goes a little something like this:

Not as artistic as the last one but there you go. So in the box you get the eyeliner brush (which in itself is actually pretty awsume quality and perfect size. Mine has had quite a bit of service time so it's not as pretty as it was before....
You also get the gel eyeliner funnily enough :p
So it comes as a gel in a frosted looking pot. My first thought was 'oh there isn't a lot in this' but a little goes a long way with this wee thing. I use a tonne of eyeliner practically every day and I found that it lasts ages! It's fantastic!

It's easy to use, fantastic quality and lasts for ages. It's £7.99 and I reckon for a very good quality it's pretty decent :) You can find it in most of the usual haunts! E.g Boots and superdrug etc etc :D

STATUS: RATE!
I totally adore this eyeliner and it's a staple in my bag of tricks :p

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

Hello my fellow Beautyists!

I welcome thee to another review from the musings of Mandypops!

So I've done lots of hair stuff, some eye stuff and some boxy stuff, so lets do the stuff that you plaster over your moosh!

That tricky one! Foundation! I spent YEARS trying to find a decent foundation, due to my VERY VERY VERY (did I mention VERY?) awkward skin tone. I am what I like to call 'Zombie pale' which is extremely pale with blue undertones. I went mad spending a fortune over time on foundations that made me look like I'd been smacked with a Tango truck. Nothing worked for me as those pesky blue undertones made everything go orange. But before you bring out the man size tissues, I found a solution!

So whilst wandering a wee department store type thing in Glasgow, I was searching through the make-up bit and perplexing the make-up girls with how I could still be alive with a skin tone like this when I seen thee most different shades of pale foundation I had ever seen!

So here comes my knight in shining armor!....Well.....the right foundation on a shelf anyway! It's Illamasquas Skin Base Foundation. Such perfection in a wee tube!
The artists impression is so:

Cute foundation eh! So this stuff feels very light on the skin and doesn't feel like you have to pour it on the desk and rub your face on it to get an effect. A little drop of this heavenly stuff goes a long way, so it lasts for ages too. My skin tone troubles don't just stop there though! I have an array of freckles that aren't the cute dainty kind. It's the kind people say 'Oh it's a beauty spot!' when what they really mean is 'Wow spot the dalmatian over here looks like she's been in at the fountain pens again!' But it covers them too. It's like superman but disguised as a kick ass foundation!

It costs £27 from the Illamasqua website and to be honest you won't find it cheaper anywhere else, but you pay for what you get and I think it's amazing quality.

STATUS: RATE!
I adore this! I will be rebuying once it has ran out

March GlossyBox!

Hello my Little Beautettes!

How are we today? Great? Woo! Of course you are since you are about to meet another knowledgeable ally in your quest to Beauty Know All!

So anyways *ehm* I am a subscriber to Glossybox, I am not paid for these reviews (but Gads that would be nice!) so it's all just Mandy Musings for the sake of any listening ears who may be interested.

So I bought this months box with my GlossyDots, which are like points that you collect when you do the surveys about the products you get in the box or when you refer someone to Glossybox. The surveys don't take long at all and it's worth it when you can claim them against a box :D

Oh! I got all artsy for the photos today :p Can't say I'm not good to you!

Une GlossyBox:

 Told you I got all Artsy! :p Tee hee hee.

So This is generally what a box looks like. It's usually pink, with stuff in it and a thingime telling you all about your stuff. The box costs £10 plus P&P (Oh look at me I could be on one of those awful TV adverts at stupid o'Clock in the morning). You find that the stuff you get is more often than not pretty awsume value for what you pay!

First product:

Juicy Couture- Couture La La                                      ( )( )
So I'm usually the first to make a face like this  (>x<) at this brand, since lots of people have the velours and such like. Buuut I must admit I LOVE this perfume! It's a very light sweet smell and I am planning on drowning my pride and going to get the bottle :p

Full Size Price: £63 for 100ml

Second product:

Nails Inc - St James
I have no idea who James is or why his colour is Red but I dig it! I've always liked nails inc and these wee sizes are good to try out colour without wasting it if you don't like it :D So happens....I rather like this red! It says 'Come Hither' rather than 'Seabiscuit got nothing on me'.

Full Size Price: £11 for 10ml

Third product:

Jelly Pong Pong - Lip Blush
This is fab! Lip stain so you can do all the snogging you want and not loose the colour or leave a trail of your victims with bright red lippy round their face looking like a zombie after a buffet AND its moisturiser too! This can only be a winner eh?

Full Size Price: £12 for 2.5g

Fourth product:

Elizabeth Arden - 8 Hour Cream
Ok so where do I start here. This stuff is like GLOOP. As for the no fragrance claim? NOPE. It smells like old ladies. I'm not usually a fan of Ms Ardens' products due to the latter but my goodness this one was a shocker! So first off it tells you nowhere on the tube where you're actually supposed to put it, so like a good blogger I read the thingime telling me what it was, it CLAIMS to be something you can put anywhere, eyebrows (yes that was the suggestion on the sheet!), nails, lips, hands and anywhere else on the outside of your body. So thinking 'Hey, this sounds pretty versatile...ok' I put it on my hand and wallop! Big dod of gloop that's a kinda rose colour comes out. It's thick, it's sticky, it stinks, I do not want this anywhere near me! So yes I hated it.....*murmers* Granny Gloop.....

Full Size Price: £25 for 50ml

Fifth product:

TRESemme - Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray
Finishing on a good note with this one! It's another good hairspray from TRESemme, great hold (I usually have silly hairdoos) and it's not sticky or bleh :) Not much to say about this one but hey ^_^ I liked it.

Full Size Price: £4.69 for 500ml

So occasionally you also get wee cute things in there too. This month there was an adorable wee travel guide with stickers and top places to go in loads of places and why it's a nifty place to visit. It featured places like Stockholm and Brazil, not just the main holibag destinations :D It looked a little like this:

 Well actually it looked a lot like this considering this is the book itself :p

So if my rambling has inspired you to check it out or even subscribe take a peek Here

STATUS: Rate!
I usually love the stuff in GlossyBox :) I do like this box, wasn't their best but I like it =^_^=

Inecto Glossing Shine Spray

Hello my Enchanting Wonder Buddies!

So here's a spoiler, this product I am reviewing for your very peepers today is AMAZING.

So to give it it's Sunday name it's Inecto Pure Coconut Oil Shine Enhancing Glossing Spray. Phew! Try saying that five times when you're drunk! So for a wee nickname I'm knighting this Gloss Spray.

So usually I am very wary of these things as they tend to make hair very greasy very quickly and for me having dry hair, for it to do it to me that's bad.
But this one doesn't! It also smells divine which is a massive thumbs up for me.

So it looks something along the lines of this:

Very Simple. I like. Nice size to take out and about with you too!

So usability: Easy!
Take off lid
Aim
Fire
That's it :)

Price wise, I think this is pretty decent. You can get it on amazon for £5.70 (Open Treasure Chest) But I found mine in a wee beauty shop for £2.99 so shop about :)

STATUS: RATE RATE RATE!!
I love this wee product! I dye my hair so often it's nice to get some shine back without feeling like I'm drenched in greasy product! Woo!

Halo Heat Protection Mist

Greetings Lovelies!

On our quest for knowledge today, I have for you, Halo Heat Protection Mist!

It looks like this:

Now I have to hand it to them, pretty bottle!....That's about all the positive things I have to say about it.

So I got this product when I had a weave put in a while ago. I was told it was amazing and thought 'hey its amazing, lets give it a bash!' but boy was that disappointing! Like being told you've won a million pounds....but it's all in vouchers.

So for starters this stuff smells horrible. I can't even describe it, just nastyness! I imagine it's like flowers on a summers day....if the flowers had rotted....months ago....and it was on a farm...
I'm really picky with my products and if it doesn't smell nice I won't use it unless it's ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE at that it does.

Which brings me onto the usability of it. I have dyed/straightened/blow dried/tortured my hair, so I use heat protection all the time. This one however, doesn't work. At all. I ended up with that appealing burnt hair smell au perfume and none the better for having used this.

I bought this from a wee shop in Glasgow, I can't even remember the name, but a quick Google search shows you can buy two for £5 or some nonsense like that, I'd rather spend my money on unicorn hay.

STATUS: HATE
As much as if it had walked up and kicked a puppy.

Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Quad

Hello my Angel Faced Make Up Warriors!

The product I will be reviewing for your very eyes today is the Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Quad in Violent Violet. Before you go running for your swords let me enlighten you as to what I thought of this!

So this is what it looks like, quite cute eh?
The packaging is nice, the mirror comes in handy for touch ups if you take this with you and it's also a handy wee size for handbags of any proportion! The brush you get with it also isn't too bad, it doesn't fall to bits when you use it like its cheaper relatives!

The only thing I was not so over the moon at is the muted colours. Violent isn't reeeeally the word I would use here, maybe slightly annoyed but not violent. HOWEVER, if you like an understated eye that doesn't need much work (they give you instructions on how to do a smokey eye effect) then this is the one for you.

What I also found in my quest was that it doesn't stay on as great as some other products,  but being able to take it with you makes it easier :)

Price has also currently (correct at time of publishing!) went from like £8.50 to £5, so not a lot for a quad eyeshadow( Linky Linky) but I would liked to have seen some more BOOM colours in there, or a re-naming :p

STATUS: Hate
I don't so much HATE the product but it's just not up there in the Rate bit :p
As always let me know your opinions!

Ion Styling Colour Mousse

Hello Everyone!
I used this for so long I thought this could be my first review :) So this can of lovelyness makes the colour in your hair all boosted and beautiful, as any firey redhead will be aware, the red pigment in any hair dye just doesn't last long at all and goes a weird pinky-orangey colour, not what you want!

Instructions for use are:
Shoogle can (preferably away from your face in case whoever last used it forgot to close it properly!)
Open lid
Skoosh into hand
Rub on wet hair
Dry
Look fab!
Easy peasy!

So when you get the mousse it looks a little like this:

So it shows you the colour on the bottom of the bottle so it's pretty numpty proof! They do a range of colours too so it's not just lucky red heads :D

It's also pretty good value for money as the can lasts ages and the smallest amount covers a large area.

I got mine from Sallys (Salon Services) So I'm just gunna pop the link in here :
Adventure On to Ion at Sallys!

Boop!

So they sell a can online that looks slightly different but its the same thing and it's retailing at about £4.99 currently, so its not going to break the bank!

The only thing I would say is it does have dye in it so don't use it wearing your Sunday best :p It does still stain clothing and surrounding areas and objects, so please don't go headbanging until you've dried your hair ;)


STATUS: Rate!
Let me know your opinions if you use anything I review!

*Drumroll*

Hello Everyone!
The obligatory first post that tells you what the deal is!
So my idea was to keep it simples, you either rate something or you hate something!
I plan to be enlightening your dark corners in regards to products I have used in terms of hair and makeup and any other general beauty stuff I get my hands on.
We do all the testing so you don't have to!
I also do the  Glossybox, so I will be reviewing all the stuff  you get in there too as I use it. It'll be like a big glittery BUMPER POST, aren't you lot lucky devils!
Thank you for reading the boring bit!
MandyPops xx