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

Make Up Haul, MUA, MAC, Illamasqua ♥

Ahoy there! Did everybody have a nice bank holiday weekend? I hope so! Even with less than a week to Beauty UK, unfortunately I could not fight the make up minions that live inside my brain, and well and truly overspent in Birmingham. Although I only got two higher end products, it all adds up and I ended up in Primark too! Man alive, am I paying for it now.

You only live once is one of my favourite sayings ;)

So I'll just whizz through, just to give you an idea of what is out there at the moment! As you may or may not know, MACs new 'Hello Sailor' collection was launched this week, and as only this year I have learnt about MAC *shock horror*, I haven't had any of the patterned, limited edition collections. I loved this one though,  so I had to get something from it! I picked up the Frost lipstick in 'To Catch a Sailor', and it is a gorgeous sheer gold colour. I know the frost lipsticks aren't the best for colour, but I find that this one is buildable, suitable for everyday wear, or build it up and it is a very metallic bronze gold. It is a different colour for me, but I'm all into trying new things! That was £14.00. 

Talking of new things, I have been lusting after Illamasqua's Apocalips since the Human Fundamentalism collection came out! As you know, my hair is turquoise so this is a must have! Obviously not for everyday wear, but it's just something I need in my life! It is a little darker than the advertisement photos, but with a blue lip/eyeliner, or a white one underneath, that soon brightens it up. The make up artist in Selfridges put it on me so I was walking around town with blue lips, which made me look like a drag queen because she extended my cupids bow, and didn't do the best job. I don't want to tell my grandmother how to suck eggs, but I soon wiped it off. That was £15.50.

Primark have bought out their own lipbalms! They smell a bit dodgy I must admit, like more clinical than the smell they are meant to be, but for £1.00 I got two, just to shove in my bag!

I have got a fancy dress party for Ed's brothers birthday in June, which doubles as our Queen's jubilee date so we have to dress all patriotic! Most people are going as the Royals, so I thought I would be different and go as a Union Jack! I have a Union Jack dress, deely boppers, lip tattoo...the list goes on! In Primark I found these nail wraps for £1.00! I have never tried nail wraps before, but they are perfect so I will give them a go! 

I then came across this spray rapid dry for nails. It was on the test table at Superdrug and I was extremely sceptical about it. I had a go however, and it works like a dream! It's a bit wet at first but I felt the nail after about 30 seconds and it was already pretty much dry. I am looking forward to properly trying it out, and I shall later review it. This was £3.59. Next up, MUA.

We all know and love MUA, and I have tons of the stuff, but I hadn't got the red lipstick yet! Louise at Sprinkle of Glitter always says how much she loves it, and I have four other pink shades but not the red, so for £1.00 I had to get it! I am yet to try, but I'm sure it shall be fabulous!

I also naughtily got a couple of other bits while I was there. I am actually determined to have the whole collection. I got the face powder in shade 1, because I usually use the Sleek Luminous face powder, but this is £1.00 so I thought I should try it, and compare. I got the two remaining blushers that I don't have, in shade  2 and shade 6. I absolutely love the MUA blushers, I couldn't recommend them more because the colours, application and price are all beautiful.

I then picked up the new brush on concealer. I don't think this is going to be a product I stick with, as my 'go-to' concealer is of course the Collection 2000 lasting perfection. It is in one of those applicators that have the twisty, clicky bit on the bottom, to which you have to wait a lightyear for the product to come out - then it all comes out at once! Does that happen to you? It seems to dry quickly too so not that easy to blend, and although it is the light shade, it is still a few shades dark for me. That was £2.00.

And finally the last few items. Eyeliners and plumping lip gloss. In Illamasqua, when I had Apocalips put on, the Make up artist lined my lips with a blue liner, and then put on the lipstick. Of course, she tried to sell it to me, but I knew I could get the exact colour from MUA for a pound!! And lets face it, I'm not gonna wear it everyday. It is in shade 'Turquoise' and is a very close dupe to 'Debonair' from Illamasqua, just £12.00 cheaper. I got the 'Royal Blue' shade also, and the Illamasqua dupe is called 'Paddle'. I can't believe how close it is really!

For the lippies, I got two of the plumping 'Out There' glosses, which were £2.00 each. I got them in 'Shocking Pink' and 'Buff'. They do sting a tad! But no pain, no gain!

So I hope you liked my little haul, please go out and try the MUA products yourselves if you haven't already, I think you would be pleasantly surprised! 

If you are still with me, here is an adorably cute picture of our bunny, Peanut. She is the most spoilt bunny in the world, and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

Ciao for now XxX

Vivo and MUA ♥

Hola Chiquitas! I have recently purchased a couple of items from the much loved brands Vivo and MUA, and thought I would share my thoughts with you! First up is Vivo, I first heard about this brand just over a month or so ago, and it is readily available in larger TESCO stores. It is extremely reasonably priced, and I now have quite a few items. To find my last blog post on Vivo click here. 

So now I have decided to jump on the BB Cream bandwagon, and give it a go. I usually wear a medium coverage foundation, but since I have been on holiday I have had a major freckle outburst, and I am peeling like mad so I haven't worn much foundation. I have been concealing the blemishes and then just going ahead with bronzer etc. So on the days now where I feel I need a little more, but I don't want to do my full on foundation routine, BB cream I feel is the way to go. I got it in the shade light, because although I have a freckly almost-tan, it fades pretty darn quick so I will be a few shades lighter. 

It has quite a thick consistency, and I used the real techniques buffing brush to buff it into my skin. I really could see the difference on the side of my face that I had covered. My skin does get red and blotchy when I have no make up on and the Beauty Balm really did seem to even it out, with still having all my freckles showing through. It was quick and easy to apply, and can also be applied with fingers like a cream, so it's handy to take around with you too. It lasted about 4 hours before it looked like I needed to re-apply, but I do rest my head on my hands for most of the day and touch my face a lot, so that is mostly my own doing. I would definitely recommend this to BB cream beginners, because for £4.00 it's a steal, and I was impressed! 

Secondly is the Shimmer and Shine Lip Gloss in frosted pink. OoO I love this product! I am looking forward to going back to Tesco to get all of them! It is a bargainous £1.50, and I just love it. The colour is a really lovely light pink with a shimmer to it, and reflects light perfectly, leaving your lips all shimmery and shiny. It lasted on my lips for a good couple of hours before re-applying and it isn't too sticky. It has the most AMAZING smell to it like watermelons nom nom nom! It also has a long doe-foot like applicator, so there's no missin' any part of that pout. It is now a staple in my make up bag for work, as it is shimmery, sheer and not too much!

Shimmer and shine lip gloss in Frosted Pink on my lips. Shine-tastic!

The Beauty Balm in shade light. The first swatch is as it comes out of the bottle, and the second is where I have blended it in, but not fully, so you can see it starts to merge into your skin.

Next is MUA. I am sure everybody will of heard of this brand but if you have been living under a rock and somehow haven't, here is the low down! It is a budget make up brand that lives in Superdrug, where all the basic products begin at £1.00. It is fantastic actually, and the majority of products I would re purchase over and over, because they are actually great quality. I decided to try their blushers most recently, so I got them in shade 1 - a baby pink with a light shimmer, and shade 4 - a peachy matte shade. I have tried out both on separate occasions and I don't have a bad word to say. This is a very positive review post day guys!

For one British pound, you get yourself a nice 2.4g of product, in nifty little packaging for your make up bag.  

They are both super pigmented, gorgeous colours which are buildable, so from a light dusting to a heavy colour block, it's up to you how you wear it. Here they both are swatched on my hand. I can't wait to go and get the rest of the collection! My opinions are 100% my own, and I can't give enough love for all the products mentioned in this post, especially because of the price!

I hope this was helpful for those of you that haven't had the pleasure of trying VIVO or MUA yet. If you have a spare couple of quid knocking around, I would go and treat yourself to a few products from these brands because you can really stack up your collection with great quality products! Enjoy, beauty heads!

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

Mini Haul & Update ♥

Oh my life it's been ages since I've managed to do a blog. It just shows you how much the hours at work buggers up my day. I'm so tired, and feel so sluggish compared to when I was off, all I want to do is get into bed. I was planning to do that after work today, but I ended up going for a little mooch around the shops, when I really shouldn't have because I'm fully skint, but oh well! So first I have a few pics to put up which I have been meaning to do.

This is Rupert, giving me a big kiss! I love him he is my in laws dog, who is a Briard who is just like a big cuddly bear. Aww he's just so cute <3

This was Sunday lunch for this week at the in laws. We had a chinese themed dinner for chinese new year, which was really nice, but we had grapes in the fruit salad for pud... We were highly amused. Don't we all look hot?

This is a half eaten Lumpy Bumpy cake from work. It is like a toffee sponge, with cream in and a fudgey, caramel topping. Oh my god it's like heaven. My diet has literally gone down the pan, but for Lumpy Bumpy, man it's worth it. I won't be able to have this once I've left work, so I am fully making the most of it. I have decided I'm going to join weight watchers too once I move on, because the hours are normal, I'm going to be able to attend the meetings, so fingers crossed I follow that through, or no skydive for me =S

Lucy, doing her usual smiley with grub! Hilarious! Bit of a squished beef cob I think she called it, we were obviously busy at lunch time... =D Btw, like my pink ski jacket in the background? It's very sexy. Especially with the lovely blob of black paint it has down the front, just really adds to it.

This was a look of the day about 2 days ago that I wore to work. We can't really get away with heavy colours on our eyes, which is hard for me because I love my brights, so the only way of introducing them is to put colours on as a liner. I created this look with the Gosh Quad Pallette 32 Evergreen. I have had it for 2 years I think and still haven't quite ran out. The colours in it are gorgeous and I've used every one of them. They are highly pigmented so you don't need that much. I use a basic tube of lipbalm on my eyelids as a primer before eyeshadow. You can get like a trio of lipbalm tubes from Wilkinsons or bodycare for about a pound, and they really do make great primers. I find with liquid primers you get a lot of creases in the socketline, with the eyeshadow moving about, but with a more firmer base like lipbalm they stick really well - and it's a good moisturiser for your eyelids! ;) The Gosh quads are around £8.50 in Superdrug at the moment, I always find they hold all day too, so a good investment. Emeralds & Turquoises suit brown hair and/or brown eyes too I think, my eyes are hazely with squints of green so that's why I like to wear it. 

Here's my mini haul! It's mostly from Superdrug and Bodycare because I only got cheap things as I'm skint! From Bodycare I got the tail comb, because the two I previously had have gone walkies, and that was about 75p. I got some St. Moriz medium mousse tan, about £2.19 and the mitt was around the same. It is the best 'budget' fake tan I have ever used. My friend from Uni got me onto it, and I've never looked back. It's a really natural glow, instant, and not streaky in the slightest. You have to be quite quick with the application though otherwise it will streak because it works by clinging onto the skin rapidly. I tend to apply it in circular motions rather than up and down, always works a treat for me, so have a go. For 2 quid, it's hard to resist! I also got the 'Scandaleyes' mascara from Rimmel. It has been reduced everywhere to £4.99, so I am wondering why. I am yet to try it so I'll review it after I have, and see if there's a problem!

From Boots I just got a Barry M nailpaint in Grey. A lady came into work with the same colour on, and I just thought it looked really nice, and would be great with a glitter topcoat. Then I hit Superdrug, or I should say Superdrug hit me. The MUA range in there is the really cheap stuff, most of the things are all a pound. I have already got a couple of products, including a cream highlighter eyeshadow, which actually I swear by and it is really pigmented. I have bought a blue mascara before and it wasn't that great, so I think it's one of those ranges that have lucky finds in them. So I bought most of it...

I got 5 eyeliner pencils, which have the in-built sharpener in the lid a bit like the E.L.F ones, 5 eyeshadows, a lipstick and a lipgloss. I swatched the lipstick in the shop and it still stayed on my hand for a good while, so hopefully it's a winner. The lipgloss actually smells amazing too. Again, I am yet to try it all, but more than likely will do tomorrow, and will let you know which I think are the best products. I also got the accessorize 3D glitter nail polish in 'Dream'. This was £4.00 and I had seen some youtubers talking about the accessorize range so I thought I'd try it. I have put it over a No. 7 dark blue colour called 'Sing the blues', and it actually looks really nice. I shall take a picture to see what you all think, and put it up tomorrow!

I'm finally where I wanted to be all day, bed. So catch you guys later.

Ciao for now xxXxx