Danielle's Beauty Blog

Monday, 11 January 2016

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection

Hi everyone! So I know I’ve been saying a lot recently that I’m going to be a bit more mindful of my spending and stop buying makeup because I certainly don’t need anymore, buuuut… I got some late Christmas money and a £10 off QVC voucher in the post last week and it would have been rude not to?

Anyway, I ended up getting this set and a blusher from the Illamasqua sale and I’m going to stop now! Hopefully. Tarte has always been high on my radar because it’s always been so hard to get a hold of in the UK but now through QVC it’s a lot easier and after being impressed by a mini blush set I got before Christmas I decided to treat myself to this set!

The Holiday Blockbuster Collection comes with four portable palettes each with four eye shadows and a blush, a Lip Surgence Lip Cream in the shade Ravishing and the Lights, Camera, Action 4-in-1 mascara. There is also a little holder included so you can take whichever palette you want with you on the go and the set cost’s £35.

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection inviting blush

Eye shadows clockwise from top: Sparkling Decor, Feeling Fizzy,Chocolate Fountain, Pop the Cork. Blusher: Inviting

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection jolly blush

Eye shadows clockwise from top: Tinsel & Tulle, Merry Mocktail, Plum Pudding,Vintage Cuff. Blush: Jolly

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection cozy blush

Eye shadows clockwise from top: Paper Snowflake, Up on the Rooftaupe, Sweater Weather, Light my Fire. Blush: Cozy

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection swanky blush

Eye shadows clockwise from top: Sequin Centerpiece, Suit & Tie, LBD, Platinum Bauble. Blush: Swanky

As with the Tarte blushers I've tried before, the four in this set are super pigmented and long-lasting! I’m usually not a fan of blushers in the same palette or side by side other products but the pans are a really good size so my brush doesn’t get mixed.

Similarly, the eye shadows are all neutrals with a nice mix of shimmer and matte shades and the palettes are all coordinated but obviously you can mix and match to your hearts content!

So far I’ve only tried out one palette of eye shadows and the payoff was brilliant and they lasted as well on me as my Urban Decay and Makeup Geek eye shadows! I've used two of the blushers and they are such gorgeous colours and give such a beautiful flush to my cheeks although I can imagine it could be easy to go overboard with the shade “Inviting” especially!

Tarte Lip Surgence Ravishing lip pencil swatch

I haven’t tried the mascara yet as I have a few I want to finish first but the Lip Surgence pencil is a lovely bright pink colour and has a minty scent. I think at some point I may look into depotting these into a Z palette as the main storage box is quite large if I did want to mix and match!

Can you tell eye shadows and blushers are my weakness? Closely followed by lip products! I definitely feel like the blush and palette tag might be done at some stage this year! Have you tried any Tarte products before? What are your favourites?

Danielle xx

Beauty Bay Haul #2 Makeup Geek and Z Palette

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I have had the loveliest couple of weeks off work and I hope you had too! The week before Christmas I did a sneaky order from Beauty Bay and treated myself to these guys! Like everyone else it seems I jumped on the Makeup Geek bandwagon and bought myself a few shades to see what the fuss is about and boy am I glad I did! I also invested in a mini Z palette to house them in and these are a match made in heaven!

Being the neutral lover that I am, I went for some brown shades in a mixture of matte and shimmer finishes including Homecoming –a medium brown shimmer with gold, Taupe Notch – a shimmery taupe shade, Barcelona Beach – a medium brown matte shade and Mocha - a deep matte brown shade. Each pan is £4.95 from Beauty Bay and they fit perfectly into the Z palette with a satisfying magnetic click!

This palette is perfect for travelling with and I loved having it with me a few days ago when I was in Amsterdam! I used the two matte shades for during the day with Barcelona Beach all over the lid and Mocha in the crease then at night I either used Homecoming or Taupe Notch all over the lid with Mocha again in the crease! I also took the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette with me so used that for highlight and liner!

l-r top row: Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Barcelona Beach, Mocha

All four shades are beautifully pigmented and some of the best payoff I’ve ever got from swatches for blog photos! They blend so easily and it won’t be long before I fill the rest of this palette up with more from the brand! I actually went to order a few more but one that I wanted was out of stock and I know Beauty Bay sold out really quickly when they first started stocking them but they seem to have a good selection back in stock now!

makeup geek eyeshadow swatches homecoming taupe notch barcelona beach mocha pans browns neurtrals

l-r: Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Barcelona Beach, Mocha

The small Z palette which was £8.95 also comes with magnetic stickers for any eye shadow pans that may not stick by themselves! I actually regret not getting a bigger Z palette now as I have a few depotted Benefit eye shadows that I have in a cheap plastic palette from eBay which I glued in so I might get another one at some point and re depot! It doesn’t bother me that it doesn’t have a mirror on the inside as I like to use a big mirror anyway but if there was one thing I would change it, would be that the palette didn’t swing back on its hinge when opened as it sometimes closes by itself when I’m in the middle of applying the eye shadows!

As I have hooded eyes and am blessed with oily lids I find no eye shadow lasts all day on me however these wore away evenly and didn’t transfer but if you have any eye shadow primer recommendations I’m all ears! I currently switch between Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Benefit Stay All Day and love the consistency of both but they’re not long lasting enough for me! I’m thinking of trying the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base next but would love to hear your suggestions!

Just a quick word on Beauty Bay too as I see so much negative press on their Twitter page but I order from them all the time and have never had a problem! I ordered this (along with a Zoeva eye brush set) late at night on the 21^st and it was here on the 23^rd and they also do great samples when you spend over a certain amount! Everything’s always been packaged well and dispatched quickly so I would really recommend them!

Have you tried Makeup Geek shadows before? Any neutral recommendations for me?

Danielle xx

What (Makeup) I got for Christmas 2015

what I got for Christmas 2015 makeup soap and glory zoeva too faced

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got everything you wanted! I’ve just got a quick post today on the makeup I got for Christmas, I haven’t got a chance to use everything yet so I’ll hopefully do a few more posts in the New Year with swatches and reviews but here’s what I got!

Too Faced Melted Kisses and Sweet Cheeks Christmas 2015 melted lipsticks love flush blushes

I've had the Too Faced Melted Kisses and Sweet Cheeks set on my wish list for the longest time and I’m so glad I have it now! It includes three mini melted liquefied long wear lipsticks and three of their love flush blushes. The set includes the melted lipsticks in the shades Nude, Fig and Peony and the Love Flush blushes in the shades Love Hangover, Justify My Love and Your Love is King!

I also asked for the Zoeva Naturally Yours palette which is full of gorgeous neutral tones and has a mixture of mattes and shimmers! I know everyone seems to really love the Cocoa Blend palette but this one stood out to me more!

Soap and Glory The Perfect Ten eyeshadow palette Christmas 2015

Soap and Glory Well I'll be Glammed Christmas 2015

I then got a few Soap and Glory bits and pieces including the Perfect Ten eyeshadow palette and Well I’ll Be Glammed makeup set! As you will have seen from posts here and here, I’m no stranger to Soap and Glory makeup so when I saw this set with a few of my favourites like the Archery brow pencil and Solar Powder bronzer in, I asked for it too! There are a couple of products in it that I’ve tried in the past that I know I don’t like such as the blush which I get no colour payoff from and the mascara which does nothing for my lashes that I will probably pass on to other family members but I love everything else in the set and the brushes are so soft!

So that’s everything makeup related that I got for Christmas! I was also really lucky to receive some other lovely presents including a FitBit which I've wanted for ages! I’m hoping it will give me a bit of motivation to actually get fit! (I love seeing how many steps my iPhone counts in a day but I don’t have it on me all the time so hoping to see a lot more with this!)

You may also have seen a few bits I treated myself to for Christmas over on my Instagram and I may have been tempted by a few of the sales too so keep an eye on that if you want to see what else I treated myself to!

Let me know what you got for Christmas and if you found any bargains in the sales!

Danielle xx

A Nail Polish Obsession #2

essie midnight cami nailpolish on nails swatched

First off, when did it become Christmas Eve! This month seems to have gone so quickly and I can’t believe its Christmas tomorrow! Anyway, I thought I would put a quick post up today, a little earlier than I usually would, to show you the latest colour I can’t stop repainting my nails with - Essie Midnight Cami. This shade has not been off my nails the past month and it will be on them all over Christmas too!

It's described by Essie as a deep twilight blue with shimmer and I absolutely love it! It’s so dark its almost black but when you catch it in the light you see a gorgeous subtle shimmer that gives it a little extra somethin’ somethin’.

My photo of this shade on my nails (and cuticles - oops) really doesn’t do this nail polish any justice but hopefully you can see the shimmer a little more in the bottle! (Sidenote - photography and editing are two things I really want to work on this year!)

Essie midnight cami nail polish blue navy shimmer

As usual I have been using my trusty OPI Nail Envy as a base coat and Seche Vite as a top coat. I usually find that Essie polishes chip very easily on my but this combo is working really well and its at least three days before I have a few chips at the top of my nails! The Seche Vite also saves me so much drying time! The Essie brush is wide enough that three swipes does my full nail and the colour is opaque in two coats and it the most perfect wintery deep blue!

What do you think of this shade? Can you recommend me any others I might like?

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and get what you wished for and thanks so much for all your comments this year!

Danielle xx

Danielle's Beauty Blog

Monday, 11 January 2016

Tarte Holiday Blockbuster Collection

Monday, 4 January 2016

Beauty Bay Haul #2 Makeup Geek and Z Palette

Monday, 28 December 2015

What (Makeup) I got for Christmas 2015

Thursday, 24 December 2015

A Nail Polish Obsession #2