February Carmine Beauty Box

I was so excited to receive my Carmine box yesterday. I managed to get it for £5 including delivery as they had an offer on at the time I subscribed. This month us subscribers were treated to 3 full size products plus a bonus perfume sample. 

Here is what I got in my box:

Steam Cream 75g *full size* 

This is a multi-purpose moisturiser, which can be used all over including the face. I was so pleased to receive this as I needed a new moisturiser, and this one seems to be suitable for sensitive skin. I absolutely love the packaging, I will definitely be reusing the pot for storing my trinkets. Worth £10

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Polish in Matthew 5.5ml *full size*

Andrea Fulerton creates this nail polish, hence the name, who is a celebrity manicurist. I have never heard of this brand before, and it’s always nice to discover new brands. I had the colour Matthew, which is a nice nude slightly peach colour with some micro glitter in it. Worth £4.99

Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Wash 125ml *full size*

This body was is 99% natural and does not contain parabens, sulphates, petroleum, mineral oils, silicone, dea, pegs, propylene glycol, artificial fragrances and colours. It does have quite a strong scent to it with hints of ginger; this could definitely be a unisex product. It may not be every ones cup of tea, but I love it. Worth £8.00

Diego Dalla Palma Il Rosetto The Lipstick in Shade 47

This lipstick is by the Italian brand Diego Dalla Palma, which have recently launched in the UK, exclusive to Tesco. I had the shade 47, which is a nice bright coral colour, great for spring summer. It says it has anti-ageing properties and SPF, which is great. It is a tiny sample size, but nice none the less. The fullsize is £14, im not sure I would spend that much money on a lipstick personally.

Rubbish pic, but does give an idea of the size

White Glo Proffessional Choice Whitening Toothpaste

If you had asked me before I received this whether I would want a tooth paste in a beauty box, I probably would have told you no. But finding this in my box, I was pleasantly surprised. I don't have brilliant white teeth, so am excited to try this out. Full size is £4.00 odd, so not too expensive. Im not sure how much the sample is worth but I am guessing around £2.00

Overall I am very pleased with this months box, 3 full sized products and a bonus sample of perfume, and I only paid £5. Even if I had paid full price, I would still be pleased. Personally I like getting a mix of high end and more budget products, and I think Carmine do a good job providing this. 

There was also a bonus sample of Yardley Peony Perfume. Its not my cup of tea, but still nice to receive. 

You can sign up for Carmine here.

Gem x

Real Techniques Stippling Brush Review

I love the Pixiwoo sisters and their tutorials on YouTube, so I was very excited that my local boots now stock their range of make up brushes, Real Techniques.

Let me begin by saying that this is the first stippling brush I have used, so have nothing to compare to, but I still think that my review will be useful.

I decided my first purchase would be the stippling brush. It was £11.99, and I am so pleased that I bought it. Its amazing. I use Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, and it has a tendency to go patchy on dry areas of skin, but using this brush it was so much less patchy on a dry area of skin on my forehead. It gives my skin a much more flawless appearance than just using my fingers to apply my foundation. 

I have also used it to apply blush and highlighter, and again in both instances it gives a flawless finish. The brush is lovely and soft and has dense fibres. I love the handle on the brush, it is very comfortable to hold, and it also stands on its own which I think is great.  

I will definitely be looking into getting more brushes from this range, The core collection is something I am very interested in getting. 

Overall I think this brush is well worth its £11.99 price tag, and is definitely something that I would recommend. 

Have you used any other brushes from Real Techniques? I would love to hear your opinions on them :)

Rating: 5/5

Perfect Peach: Collection 2000 Volume Sensation Lipstick in Peachy Keen

So I have been loving peach colours at the moment, and needed to find a nice peach lipstick. I spotted this one from Collection 2000 for £2.99, it seemed a lovely peach colour, and a bonus it was a volumising lipstick. 

The colour I have is called Peachy Keen. It is a lovely true peach colour, not too orange or too pink. It goes on smoothly, and makes my lips feel slightly tingly, but not overly so. Its strangely quite a nice sensation. 

It doesn't dry out my lips at all, unlike some other cheaper brands of lipstick I have tried.  

It has a slight frosty sheen to it, but nothing too bad, I think it looks really nice. It lasts quite well, nothing amazing but lasts about 3 hours, and for the price I think that is great.

Overall I love this lipstick and will be purchasing other colours from the range.

Rating: 4/5

Gemx

Spring/Summer Wardrobe Wishlist from Boohoo.com

My favourite on-line fashion website is Boohoo.com, and I was browsing the other day and decided to make a little wishlist for my spring/summer wardrobe this year. I have dropped 3 dress sizes since last summer, I am now a size 12, so I am in need of a whole new wardrobe :D

Pastels seem to be a big thing for the upcoming season, and I think these pastel pink jeans with polka dots are so cute and would be great for summer with wedges and a nice floaty top.

Lindsay Polka Dot Skinny Jeans £20.00

I want to show off my new figure a bit, so a cut out would be an option for me. I absolutely love this tribal print cut out swimsuit:

Cut Out Tribal Swimsuit £18.00

A cute day dress is a must for any girls spring/summer wardrobe, and this one could even be dressed up with heels for the night. 

Connie Lace Prom Dress £20.00

Floral shorts are everywhere and I definitely will be getting a pair. I love these ones

 Mitsy Ditsy Poplin Shorts £12.00

This bandeau top would be great for catching some rays. I would pair it with a high-waisted skirt.

Sindy Tropical Floral Bandeau £6.00

Finally shoes, its so hard to choose just one pair, but for spring/summer it has to be wedges. I am in love with these shoes, they are amazing and so summery and they would look great with the tropical bandeau top.

Laurel Green Contrast Corsage Peeptoe Wedge £35

**All images from Boohoo.com**

What will be in your wardrobe this summer?

Gemx

Bargain Blush: Vivo Cosmetics Blush Duo in Sweet Peach

Vivo have recently launched their cosmetics line into Tesco stores, and I have heard good things about them. They seem to be good quality as well as being affordable. So I decided the next time I was in Tesco I would pick something up from their range. 

I had been on the lookout for a peach blush so when I saw this one I had to get it. Its a lovely peachy-pink colour with the added bonus of having a highlighter included. It is priced at £2.39, but when I took it to the checkout it scanned at £1.19, result. I'm not sure whether these are on sale, as the price tag was £2.39, so it may have been a glitch at the checkout. 

The blush is matte and well pigmented, and it is easy to build up the colour for a more dramatic look. I love the colour of this blush, just the right combination if peach and pink to complement my skin nicely. The highlight is quite subtle with a hint of pink and gold but it is mainly a white colour with a little glitter. I like the fact that you can used the highlight separately or you could mix the two together to create a shimmery blush. The powder blends nicely onto the skin, and gives a lovely peachy glow to my cheeks.

I used about two layers of blush to get this effect on my cheeks. I think it looks nice and subtle. I had to do a half face because my skin is so bad at the moment its awful :(

It lasted pretty well on my cheeks, about 5 hours after which I needed to reapply the blush. I think that for the price the quality of the product makes it well worth it. The only downside is I would have preferred the highlight to be a bit more shimmery, but this is my preference. 

Overall I am so pleased with this product. I love the colour and the way it blends onto my cheeks. I am definitely going to check out the other colours they have in the duo, and am definitely going to try out more products from their range.

Rating: 4.5/5

Gemx

99p Nails: Tesco Nail Polish Bargain!

I spotted these nail polishes while I was shopping in Tesco today. You get 7ml of nail polish for 99p which I think is a bargain.

I apologise for the bad pictures but lighting is terrible.

They had a few colours at my local store, but 'Oyster' caught my eye. It is a gorgeous light nude pink which I think complements my skin tone perfectly. It only takes two coats to get a great opaque colour, and the drying time is quite good too. 

I would definitely reccomend picking up one of these next time you are in Tesco. 

 Gemx

Beautiful Brows: MUA Eyebrow Pencil Review

I had been using a taupe coloured eye shadow to fill in my brows, but I decided to upgrade to a pencil, so when I saw the MUA eyebrow pencil in Superdrug for £1, I had to try it. I chose the colour Blonde as I have naturally light coloured eyebrows with blonde hair, so I think any other colour would have looked too harsh on me. It also comes in the shade Brunette.

Image from MUA website

I love the fact that it comes with a little brush on the end of it, very handy.

The colour is perfect for me, its a light brown slightly bronze colour, but it blends perfectly with my brows and looks as natural as possible.

Its a very soft pencil which is great as it means it is quite hard to be too heavy handed with it. However there is a drawback as it has to be sharpened after every use.

The staying power of this pencil is great, it lasted all day. I highly recommend this pencil for someone who is fair, why spend more money on an eyebrow pencil when you can get an amazing one for £1. 

The only draw back is that it only comes in two shades. Hopefully they will expand the colour options soon because this is a great product.

Rating: 5/5

For Sale or Swaps :)

I have to swap or sell: *Revlon Photo Ready Foundation 004 Nude used once, £5 *Eyeko Lipgloss Shoreditch used once, £1 *Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner Emerald used once, £4 *Eyeko Fat liner black used once, £5 *Orly Mini nail varnish deep red colour, £1 *NYX lipgloss sweetheart, light pink, used once £1.50 *Mini Benetint 80% left, £3 *Murad primer sample, used once, £4 If you are buying, Postage will be dependent on the size of the item, and I will conside swaps of similar value. If you are interested in swapping or buying, leave a comment below :) Wish List *Any genuine MAC *Eyeko liners in other colours *Blink and go neutrals palette *Cargo Lipglosses

Revlon Lip Butter and Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 hour eye

I am so excited about these products being released in the UK. They have both already been launched in the US and there are many many blog posts raving about how great they are.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows

I am hoping that the Maybelline Colour Tattoo eyshadows are a good cheap alternative to MAC Paint Pots, and reading the reviews they seem to be just that. They come in a nice variety of shades, lovely neutrals and some brights. The only colour I wouldn't be interested in is the orange, but only because I am quite pale, and I think this would look awful on me. I have no Idea when Maybelline Colour Tattoos are being released in the UK unfortunately, but hopefully it will be soon.

Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter

Revlon says: Buttery balm with beautiful shiny colour to give you baby soft, healthy glowing lips.

They have an amazing shade range, with 24 shades in total. Looking at the swatches online, I want every colour but I really love the colour Peach Parfait, which happens to be the colour Emma Stone is wearing in the picture above. I have heard that the Revlon Lip Butters are being released in the UK on the 14th of March, and I for one cant wait.

Gemx

Battle of the Beauty Boxes: Glossy Box VS Carmine January 2012

Somehow I have managed to subscribe to two beauty boxes...

I subscribed to Carmine first as I had a discount code, I think if you google 'Glossy Box' a link comes up in the ads section to get your first Carmine box for £5 (correct at time of writing this article, January 2012). So I told myself I would get the December box and cancel it after I received it. Well I 'forgot' to cancel it and ended up with the January Carmine box.

Then I found a code to get a Glossy Box for £7.95 delivered, so I had to take advantage of that! So now I have the January Carmine Box and the January Glossy Box. I am pleased with them both, but I have to cancel one as I don't really want to be paying for two. If I could afford it though, I would definitely keep subscribing to them both. So this article is as much to help me as it is you, to help me decide which one I am going to keep subscribing to. It will be based on first impressions of both boxes, I wont be doing a detailed product review of what's in each box.

PACKAGING

Carmine Box : The box itself is nice, just plain black,nothing special on the outside, with a bright lime green interior which personally I don't find very appealing to the eye. But all this is aesthetic, what really annoys me is how hard it is to open! It took me about 5 minutes to eventually open it. The lid and the base of the box seem to be vacuum sealed! Its a bigger box than the Glossy Box, handy to store things in and very sturdy. Like the Glossy Box the products come wrapped in tissue tied with a ribbon and with those annoying little bits of crinkled paper in them that get everywhere. 

Glossy Box :  I love the colour of this months box. They are usually a pale pink, but as this months box is Valentines day themed, they have gone with a hot pink theme. The box, to my delight, is very easy to open and comes with the same tissue, ribbon, paper combo as the Carmine box, but this too is all pink, which I think is a very nice touch.

Winner: Overall for packaging I definitely think that Glossy Box has the edge over Carmine. I hope that they take note that a lot of people find it difficult to open their boxes, and do something about it! Also the fact that Glossy box seems to pay more attention to detail with a theme in their boxes as they also did a Christmas themed one which was red I believe. 

PRICE

Carmine Box: Usual price is £10 a month plus £2.75 postage 

Glossy Box: Usual price £10 a month plus £2.95 postage

So obviously Carmine wins this one, with a 20p price difference in postage costs, it isn't much but every penny counts!

PRODUCTS

Carmine:

• Eldora False Lashes 
• Korres Wild Rose Moisturiser
• Eyeko London Fat Stick
• Balance me Oil
• West Lab Himalayan Bath Salts

I love the false lashes, I only wear them occasionally but will definitely be wearing these on a night out. They are not to obviously false looking, and seem good quality. 

I needed a new moisturiser so was excited that I had the Korres to try, as it is a natural product I am hoping that it agrees with my sensitive skin.

I have benefits bad gal black eyeliner, which is very similar to the eyeko fat stick, but none the less I was pleased to receive this, and I will always use a black eyeliner.

The balance me oil I was looking forward to trying as I do suffer from breakouts and have not found a product that will get rid of them without totally drying out my skin, so I am also looking forward to trying this.

The bath salts didn't exactly excite me, but I like the fact that they are detoxifying and will be giving them a try.

Glossy Box: 

• Eyeko skinny eyeliner in Emerald
• Weleda 2-in-1 Cleanser and Toner
• FAB body wash
• Murad Skin Perfecting Primer
• Mini Orly nail varnish in a ruby red colour

I received the skinny eye liner in a dark green colour, which I was disappointed with. I don't really see myself wearing this colour at all. I think for someone who has green eyes this could look lovely on them, but I have blue eyes and blond hair and I just imagine a horrible colour clash if I was to wear this. 

The Weleda Cleanser was something I was quite happy to receive. I believe it is 100% natural so I am hoping this may suit my skin and not break me out. I have tried this and it stinks of lemon, but I can get past that if it is good for my skin.

I wasn't really bothered about the body wash. I will get around to using it I suppose, but it wasn't something I was excited to receive.

The primer is something I will be happy to try out, but every primer I have tried has broken me out, so I don't have high hopes for this one unfortunately. 

I really don't like the colour of the nail varnish at all. I will never wear this, I may give it away. I think they should have had a hot pink nail varnish in there to complement the whole theme. 

Carmine is the winner here, I am not really bothered about the value of the products, its whether I am excited to receive them and if I would use them myself that I am more concerned about.

OVERALL

What it really boils down to is what is inside the box, and this month I think I preferred my Carmine Box. I will continue to subscribe to Carmine as they seem to have more products to my taste. However I have subscribed to a new beauty box called She Said Beauty. I'm sure you would have heard about it. If you sign up now you can get 25% off your first box HERE. Oops,

 Gemx

Jennifer Lopez in T.H.E Inspired Eye Look Using MUA POP Palette

I saw the video for Will-i-am's new song The Hardest Ever (T.H.E) feat Jennifer Lopez the other day, and I absolutely loved JLos makeup in it. One of the looks that stood out was a dark blue cat eye look. Here's a screen shot:

 So I decided to try and recreate the look, bearing in mind I look nothing like JLo...

I love the way it turned out, its not exactly the same, but pretty similar. 

Products used: Elf eyeshadow primer

Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk

MUA Poptastic Palette: The Navy blue on the end and the Light blue above it.

I also confess to using sticky tape to get the straight edge :)

MUA Poptastic Palette 

Gemx