Little Mix By Collection - Perrie Lipstick Review

I am not a fan of Little Mix, but I am a huge fan of purple lipstick. Little Mix by Collection (2000) Perrie's Lipstick had been out of stock for ages in my Superdrug. though the other day I was in luck as there was one left so I snapped it up.

I really liked the colour of the lipsticks from MUA's 1D makuep, but the packaging is way too tacky and childish for me to even contemplate buying. I think Collection have done a good job on this though, its not too obviously aimed at pre-teens.

 I love the colour, its the perfect purple and I think it suits me quite well. Its a nice change from my usual choice of pink.

The formulation is great, like all Collection Lipsticks. It is pigmented and is not at all drying. I would say the finish is semi-matte.

It lasted a really good time on my lips too, around 5 hours which is perfect.

Overall I absolutely love this lipstick and am on the look out for a back up as I love it that much. At £2.99 its an absolute bargain too.

Gem x

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge Review

I have wanted to try a Beauty Blender sponge for ages, but at around £16 they were out of my price range. So when Real Techniques brought out a Beauty Blender dupe I was so happy. I saved up my Boots points as I was still a little begrudged to spend £5.99 on a sponge.

It was well worth the money though, It really is great. I dampen mine by running it under warm water and then drying with a towel. I use the flat edge to apply my foundation in a sweeping motion which leaves me with really light coverage, so I then go in and use the sponge in patting motions over the areas that need high coverage (which is basically my whole face at the moment). This leaves me with a really flawless looking complexion - The sponge does exactly what it says on the tin!

I love the way that the sponge is designed, the flat surface is great for quick coverage and the point is great for under the eyes and around the nose. Its also great for spot concealing.

Overall I absolutely love this sponge and am going to purchase another as a back up. Its great for when you want a flawless finish to your makeup. The only gripe I have is that it is really hard to get completely clean, but I can overlook this for the sake of a flawless base.

Have you tried this?

Gem x

Manicure Monday: Purple and Silver

This manicure looks really effective and is really simple to do too. first I painted my nails with the silver colour and let it dry completely. Then I used sellotape to create the triangle shape and painted over with the purple. Let it dry and remove the tape and you are left with these cute nails!

Gem x

Manicure Monday: Greenberry and Black

I think Barry M Nail Gelly in Green Berry is my all time favorite colour nail polish. I love it and just because its winter, it doesn't mean you cant wear bright nails. I added the black outline using Avons nail art tool, it takes practice and a steady hand. As you can see I do need a little more practice, but I still like the end result.

Gem x

Poundland & Boots Beauty Haul

I made a few cheeky purchases the other day along with some essentials and I thought I would share.

I have wanted the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge ever since its release, but I was a bit weary of spending £5.99 on what is essentially just a sponge. I decided to save up my Boots points and get it with them.

Even though makeup is currently 3-for-2, I managed to restrain myself and only get what I needed - foundation. I love Revlon Color Stay, it is the only drug store foundation I have tried that truly lasts all day on my skin. I get the Normal - Dry version and am using the colour Buff, which I think is second to lightest in the range.

On to Poundland- I went in to buy my shampoo as I have run out. I picked Schwarzkopf Gliss Total Repair up on a whim to begin with and was blown away by how good it is. Its now my regular shampoo, and a total bargain.

I spotted these makeup brushes, they are new to my Poundland so of course I had to buy them to try them out. A full review will be coming as soon as I have road tested them, but first impressions are that they are super-soft and look really cute!

Have you picked up any bargains recently?

Gem x

Sleek Face Form Pallette (light) Review and Swatches

I have had the Sleek Face Form Palette in my stash for a few months now and have been loving it. The contour shade is the perfect colour for my pale skin and the blush and highlight are gorgeous.

The powders are all very pigmented, so I like to use a light hand with them. I must admit I don't use the blush and highlight as much as the contour shade, as day to day I prefer a more matte look.

Overall, this is a great palette. Thoroughly recommended .

Gem x

Pride of Britain awards: the best-dressed

One of the highlights of the year, the Pride of Britain Awards aims to reward the country’s unsung heroes. While this means celebrities can take a back seat for one evening, they still got glammed up to show their support and present a few of the prizes. While there were plenty of fancy frocks on display, these celebs were undoubtedly the best dressed.

Kimberley Walsh

Full-length white gowns can be difficult to pull off, unless you want to risk looking like a runaway bride. Lovely Kimberley managed it, however, opting for a gorgeous sleeved gown with a peekaboo cut out and thigh-high slit. Her crimson lips and blonde bob polished off this update on classic Marilyn Monroe glamour that suited curvy Kimberley perfectly.

Rochelle Humes

Pregnant Frankie was missing from the red carpet but the rest of The Saturdays looked stunning together. Rochelle really stood out in a nude evening gown with a sheer skirt and baroque detailing. Finishing with a rich plum lipstick and sleek side plait, she was right on trend with a look that ticked plenty of this season’s style boxes.

Tess Daly

Tess is used to glamorous dresses as the host of Strictly, and she showed us just how to rock a slinky LBD. The on-trend sheer detailing across her arms ensured that the star wasn’t showing off too much flesh, while her gold accessories added a touch of class. Apparently Tess was such a fan of this fabulous number that she's even been seen wearing it on a date night with husband Vernon! Get your own versatile evening look from the fabulous range of AX Paris dresses.

Myleene Klass

Animal print is set be a hit this season, and fashion forward Myleene channelled her wild side in a gorgeous leopard print gown. The single shoulder maxi dress proved that this bold trend can be elegant and saw Myleene making it onto plenty of best dressed round-ups. Not one to let the glamour go to her perfectly coiffed head, the TV presenter was later spotted rounding off the night with a McDonalds!

Christmas Wishlist: Beauty Gift Sets

EOS Lipbalm Set  £16 | Clinique Whole Lot of Candy £20 | Benefit Groovy Kind a Love £29.50 | Soap and Glory The Yule Monty £60 | Nars Fling Lips Set £30 | Mac Stroke of Midnight Nude Lip Set  £32 | Urban Decay Smoked 24/7  £26

I love getting Makeup for Christmas, what beauty blogger doesn't? I thought I would share what gift sets are on my radar this year, it may give you some ideas to add to your wishlist too.

Whats on your wishlist?

Gem x

Manicure Monday: Blue Daisies

With the lighting being so rubbish, I had to use flash for this picture. The colour is a little darker in real life. These daisies are so simple to create using a dotting tool and the result is so pretty.

Gem x

October Favorites

Over the past month I have now accepted the fact that it is not summer anymore, and have adjusted my makeup accordingly. I have been loving berry and purple shades for the lips and matte smokey eyes.

Top L-R: MUA Shade 2, MUA Wild Berry, Cherry Me Baby Lips

Bottom L-R: elf Mellow Mauve, Bourjois Bronzer.

As you can see I have been loving a MUA cosmetics, they have really upped their game with the matte pallette, its very very good! And I am loving the new matte lipstick in Wild Berry, although it is a little drying the colour is gorgeous. I like to put baby lips in Cherry Me underneath, although this does affect the matte look, its the colour that I love.

I have been paring my berry lips with elfs Mellow Mauve studio blush. I love elfs studio blushers, they are great quality and come in lovely colours.

I have been using the Bourjois bronzer to contour my face, its the perfect colour for my paler skin as its quite sheer, but the colour can be built up.

What have you been loving this past month?

Gem x

Are You The Most Annoying Facebook User

Facebook are going to be celebrating their tenth birthday in 2014, but although most of us haven't been using it as long as that, we are still starting to experience a few irritations about the social networking site.

Worst of all, are the users – our so called 'friends'. There always seems to be at least a handful of them that cause severe annoyance – to the point where we're tempted to block the user from our newsfeed. Or worse still, remove them as a friend altogether. It's handy that we at least have this option on facebook, as in real life, we just have to put up with those people that annoy us the most.

In this fun infographic which the website, lovemyvouchers.co.uk, has put together to demonstrate the results of a survey they carried out, you can see a list of the top ten most irritating facebook types. These include the friend from when you were two trying to befreind you on facebook, when you haven't seen them for twenty years; the person to constantly posts photos of the food they are eating, as well as those terribly annoying people who are always updating their facebook status, no matter how little their updates will be of interest to anyone else.

Have you managed to escape the top ten, or can you recognise some of your own facebook behaviour in some of these? If so, careful, as you may suddenly find your number of friends going down!

A Little Boots and Superdrug Haul

About two weeks ago now I popped into Boots, you know the story - I only wanted a new foundation. But 17 was on 3 for £10 and then I accidentally went next door to Superdrug and picked up another foundation and some MUA bits.

I have been testing these out, and some I am loving but some not so much. The highlighter is absolutely gorgeous and the MUA Palette is brilliant.

Keep an eye out for reviews coming soon - or if there is anything you want specifically reviewed let me know!

Gem x