Thursday Thoughties - MUA vs Sleek Pressed Powder ♥

Hello! It's Thursday again and time for a Thursday Thoughties review post. This week seems to have gone pretty quick I think! 

I've got the MUA pressed powder, and the Sleek Luminous Pressed Powder which are both products I have purchased recently. I had the Sleek Powder before the MUA, and it was priced around £6.00, available in larger Superdrug stores. This is a luminous pressed powder with SPF15 in it, and is very fine with a slight shimmer to it. The MUA pressed powder is only £1.00 and it is a completely matt powder, and has a slightly 'chalkier' texture - that is the only way I can think to describe it!

Both very reasonably priced products, especially the MUA powder, as you can see I have hit pan on the Sleek one. They are both great for the money and I use them both as setting powders over my foundation. They are both great for different reasons, I think the MUA is a perfect everyday powder, it seems to be long lasting in the pan and lasts around three to four hours before my super oily T-zone gets the better of it. 

The sleek powder I prefer for nights out, as it adds a lovely 'satin' finish on the skin, rather than being so mattifying. It seems to last around the same time as the MUA powder, maybe oh-so-slightly longer! Packaging wise, MUA is very basic and it is literally the product you are paying for, but I don't mind that for a pound! Sleek however does come with a mirror, and a sponge applicator so it is great for carrying around on the go.

This is how they both look swatched. The left is Shade 1 by MUA and the right is 01 by Sleek. As you can see, the colours are very much the same, it is just the added shimmer in the Sleek powder. As an overall thought, I don't think I shall purchase the Sleek powder again, as I prefer the matt look of the MUA, and I'm saving myself a fiver! Win win! Still, they are both great products for drugstore brands and worth a try!

Rating out of five

Sleek ****

MUA *****

Ciao for now! XxX

Thursday Thoughties - Collection Naturally Matt ♥

Hellooo! So from now on, I figured that I am going to do a review type post on a Thursday. I always say I am going to do a review on products, and never seem to get round to it, so from here forth - I shall! I purchase many different cosmetics as a hobby really, because that is what makes me happy - and you should always do what makes you happy! So, I am going to share my thoughts with you, because if there is something you are thinking of getting but you aren't sure, then you can save your pennies until you make your mind up from my opinion!

Of course it will always be what I personally think, I have never been sent and item or paid for any review, so it is 100% going off my own purchase and my own opinion!

To get started then, in my previous, recent haul, I purchased the Collection 2000 Naturally Matt Foundation. I am a tad on the oily side so it is always nice to try a matt foundation. I recently tried the Number 17 Matt foundation and it could only be described as disastrous - but we won't continue with that.

Packaging wise, it is a nice and easy squeezy tube, and says all it needs to on it! I like the black packaging, I think it is always a safe option to look smart. This retails at a pretty shocking £2.98, which I feel I should of paid more for! 

I got it in the shade Blonde 2, which is second in line I believe. They were all out of the lightest shade and I was so desperate to try it I got it anyway. It is a real shame because it is a couple of shades to dark for my skin tone, but hey - nothing a bit of fake tan can't sort out!

Swatched on my hand it looks like this. It is a fairly light consistency with a medium coverage. The top swatch is how it first applies, and underneath you can see it blended in just about. You do have to work fairly quickly with it before it starts to dry, but it does give you enough time to work with, not like Number 17 that is just cake.

For the money, I actually really like the coverage. My everyday foundation is now NARS sheer glow, so I find it really hard to go back to a drugstore after that. At the moment I am trying to savour the last bits of my NARS, so this Collection one is stepping in during the days I am at work. It is mattifying and this is how it looks on. 

Overall, I think it is a really great Matt foundation for how cheap it is, obviously not suitable for dry skin because it will just patch up in the dry areas. However for me, with combination to oily skin it is great! I only wish I had the correct shade, so I am going to have to go back and see if they have it in stock!

Hope this was helpful to you, and if you are are looking for a less pricey Matt foundation, I'd definitely give it a go! Thumbs up from me!

Rating out of 5 = * * * *

Ciao for now! xXx

Recent Make up ♥

Hello lovlies. Today is a little bit of a haul post I guess. I have gone a bit mad over the last week or so on getting some cheapalicious bargains, and then having a naughty treat or two! As you know, I am not one for splurging a lot of money on one product because I was a born bargain hunter, but I have finally purchased a couple of higher end products because well...I have given in.

Ed and I went into Birmingham on Sunday, for a bit of retail therapy. Well, me dragging him round really. It was nice though because we haven't done anything like that in a long time. When you have a business like he does, it really does become your life and quality time away from it doesn't come up very often. I am very proud of him and everything he does, but sometimes you just need an hour or two together in a different scenery. So anyway, we headed to the Bullring, and I dragged him to Selfridges, somewhere I very rarely go considering it is on our doorstep.

Sorry about the picture quality it was taken at night, but at least you can make out what there is. So I have my first EVER MAC products! I am so excited! Ed was very kind enough to treat me to them, because I think he knows how much it means to me (cheesy as it sounds). I am so grateful to have them, and hopefully it is the start of my collection. So I thought I would buy a couple of staple items, the queue for a foundation test was 20 minutes long so you can see why I haven't began with that. I got the lipstick in 'Hue', that many 'Youtubers' and beauty bloggers say is a great all round nude lipstick to have. I have to agree, it is a lovely creamy formula and a nice neutral colour that will go with any make up look. Then I got the Fluidline gel liner in Blacktrack, which is another staple for me as I wear gel liner most days. I did want the 263 brush to go with it but they were sold out. The next items were part of their new collection which is Chenman Love and Water, which is an oriental inspired collection. The lipstick and Lipglass shades are called Force of Love, and they are a bright coral-pink. I absolutely love the colour and couldn't just walk past it! As for foundation, I went over to NARS and managed to get a consultation immediately. The lady on the counter was so helpful and friendly, whereas the MAC staff seemed pretty narky and stressed out, but they are really busy I guess.

This is the Sheer Glow foundation and it looks awfully yellow in this picture! I actually don't have the skin of a simpson, but I do have dodgy lighting! So this is in the shade Deauville light 4, and is the perfect match. I am saving it for the weekends though, don't want to waste it for work!

We then went to Superdrug, where I was really after the MUA love hearts collection but they didn't have it?! It's one of the largest Superdrug stores I have been in, and they hadn't got the Love hearts stuff in. I was a bit gutted, but maybe they are having it in later...So anyway, I got some dry shampoo because I had ran out, and I have used this brunette coloured one now, but it did still make my hair grey! I'm not fussed about it because I give it a good rub in, but I know a lot of people hate that so it might not be for you. I thought I would try out one of their new brushes too, this was £5.99 and is the 'slanted eye liner brush'. As I was let down with the MAC 263, I thought for the price I'll give it a bash. Then I got the Poptastic Palette from MUA as it had been reduced to £3.00 and I could do with some brighter shadows! Then I got two of the bronzers which were a pound each, and one is shimmery and the other matte. The Matte shade is very similar to the Laguna bronzer the NARS make up artist put on my face, but about £25.00 cheaper...Bargain!

So enough rambling, I thought I would just share a vile picture of myself with you just to demonstrate what the new Number 17 miracle matte foundation did to my face throughout the day! Blotchy Blotchville. I can't even see that I have any foundation on and this is about 8 hours after I first applied it, which I know is pretty hardcore but I would like to think it would look as if I had even the tiniest of layers on. I am not a big fan of the freckles I was unfortunately blessed with so I like to at least cover those. This foundation isn't really great for me. I do have combination skin, so I thought it would be OK as my T-zone gets incredibly oily through the day, but it kind of just clung to the little hairs on my face rather than sinking in to my skin - Cakey! I personally would not re-purchase this, but I have seen some people that very much like it, so if you have super oily skin, it may be one for you. 

Ciao for now! XxX