February Favourites 2013

Hey Ladies! 

Rimmel Match Perfection In Light Porcelain -  I'm in love with this foundation at the moment. It's a great colour for me, best I've found so far. It gives me a good medium coverage and looks very dewy on my extremely dry skin. 

N.Y.C HD Felt Liner - I reviewed this recently and I'm really liking it, I don't find it as easy to use as my gel liner but for the price it lasts a great time and looks really good on the eye!

The Body Shop Carrot Cream - I've used this cream for years, I'm basically trying everything at the moment to help my fry skin and I've re-discovered this one. Light and moisturizing and not too heavily scented. 

Dainty Doll Eye Shadow Base - A recent purchase for me! I've been using it as a base for my eye shadow for the last week and I love how it just brightens my eye and keeps my eye shadow looking great all day :-) 

MUA Undress Me Too - I've been using this palette ever since I bought it! I't a great palette for neutral shadow lovers. I've reviewed it here. 

MUA Brow Pencil in Brunette - Before this month I had never filled my brows, all I did really was pluck them but I've recently been wanting to try out some brow products and for a £1 this is one I'm really liking so far, I also want to try out the MUA Pro-Brow Kit. 

Dainty Doll Lipstick in Saucy Sailor - I love red lippy's and this is a beautiful one! I reviewed it here. 

Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion - I've been suffering with bad skin lately, so I've been purchasing alot of skin care items. I've always heard a lot about the Simple brand but after trying the makeup wipes I wasn't that impressed. I recently splurged though and bought this cleansing lotion after I heard that using a lotion to cleanse can help dry skin. I'm really loving it and use it day and night. 

Roberto Cavalli EDP - One of my all time favourite perfumes ever! I know I love a scent when I feel like I could bathe in it and not get bored. It's a sexy oriental and I can't say enough good things about it. I'll be reviewing it soon! 

So those are all the products I've been loving this month! 

What have your been loving?

Linzi xxx

REVIEW - Dainty Doll - Lipstick - Saucy Sailor

Hey Ladies!

I've always been a fan of red lipstick but for a long time I actually only owned one, which was M.A.C Red. So when I bought the Dainty Doll bags from TK Maxx without knowing what was inside them I nearly did a happy dance when I saw that one of the lipsticks was a bright firetruck red. 

This is a great quality lipstick, it's creamy and pigmented and after it's been on your lips for a good hour it leaves an even stain. Which means that instead of reapplying the lipstick through the day I could just re-apply a gloss or balm. 

That isn't me though, I just love putting on my lipstick :-) It's nice to have the option either way! 

Sadly due to lighting my camera couldn't pick up how bright the lipstick actually is. 

So I'm including a picture of me wearing it when I went to a Charity Gig last weekend with some friends! I'm the one on the far right with the bright red lips :-)

It's safe to say that I'm in love with this lipstick, it doesn't show up my dry patches and stays around for good few hours. 

You can buy this lipstick - HERE 

Do you have a favourite red lippy? What is it?

Linzi xxx

REVIEW - NYC - High Definition - Liquid Liner - Extra Black

Hullo Ladies!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you may now I'm a big fan of the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liners. That and my MAC Fluidlines are the only thing I like to wear.

I have tried other liners over the years. Some of them liquid. 

I've been reading a lot of reviews lately on Felt Liners though, ones that have the look of felt pens and apply like one too. 

I heard of some good ones from Brands like, Soap and Glory and Maybelline but didn't want to spend too much money on one until I knew if I liked how a felt liner applied first. If I found it easy and usable. 

In the end I picked up the NYC High Definition Liquid Liner in Extra Black. What I found strange was that on the Superdrug Website and in the store it's called the High Definition Felt Tip Liner but on the actual packaging It's called the High Definition Liquid Liner....Strange! 

On to the liner itself, It took me a few goes to learn how to do it, which may sound silly to you but I can be very fussy with how my liner looks. 

At first I could only create really thick lines like in the picture below because I kept making mistakes and had to go over them by making my line thicker instead of wiping it of and starting all over again! 

I realized soon after that this might have been my fault, I was using it like I would my gel liner, not taking into account that I needed to put slightly more pressure on the pen to create a neat line. 

It's not the blackest liner I've used but it has great pigmentation and doesn't go on patchy at all. 

I don't find problems with slow drying either, I have a habit of blinking when applying my liner and sometimes when using a liquid liner or ever a gel one this could mean that I end up with my liner nearly touching my brow bone! 

That is one of the reasons I love my Bobbi Brown so much and also why I like this, It dries very quickly and doesn't budge easily. 

I applied this liner around Twelve this Afternoon and took it of seven hours later and It looked the same as when I applied. 

I do not suffer with creasing or oily lids naturally so that may be why It sticks around for so long but if you do have those problems then It may be wise to use a primer/base of some kind first. 

All In All, I really like this Felt Liner, it's good quality, inexpensive and It's great for everyday wear when I don't feel like using my more expensive gel liners. 

You can buy this product for £2.99 in Superdrug - HERE 

Have you tried any good Felt Tip Liners recently? 

Linzi xxx

My Foundation History

I've just read a great post written by Maeve from Thrift O'Clock ! 

It's A Make Up History 'Tag' where you just talk about certain products you've tried throughout the years. At the moment though I'm just going to be doing my Foundation history as its really the only part of my makeup history that I can remember what came first! I can't imagine trying to do my lipsticks....it would take  me forever!! 

I'm sure we've all been through it, trying out foundation upon foundation trying to find that one that fits us. One that would fit me perfectly is something that would be light in colour and stay that way, wouldn't show my dry patches too much or make them worse and would also have a good medium to full coverage to help cover redness and blemishes.  

15 years old -  At this point I wasn't really interested in makeup but I was going to gigs with friends and didn't want to be the odd one out so I asked my mam to take me to Superdrug and buy me some goodies. The foundation I picked up was the Maybeline Dream Matte Mousse. 

It was a long time ago so I can't be totally sure on what colour I picked up but I can imagine it being ivory. I remembering it being very cakey on my and drying. Slightly orange toned too. In fact I think I only wore it twice before I gave up on it. 

18 Years Old  - I didn't wear any makeup for a long time after that but not long after my eighteenth birthday I started to experiment with makeup and through the internet read lots of great reviews on the Rimmel 16 hour foundation. I bought it in store and although it wasn't a perfect match for me it was usable. That was until it started breaking me out. Not fun!

After having some problems with drugstore foundations I decided to treat myself to something a bit more high end. I went into Debenhams and started chatting to a Clinique MUA. I told her that I was looking for a foundation that helped with redness and she tried the Clinique Even Better foundation in Alabaster on me and I really liked it. It wasn't the exact colour match but with blending worked great. I used that foundation for a long time but was still trying to find a cheaper alternative. 

19 Years Old -  Not long later I heard about a very pale foundation on some Youtube videos and decided to give it a try, It was the GOSH Exceptional Wear In Porcelain  Nearly a great match for me. Some days it would look great the overs it would make me look ill it was so pale. So I decided to try the next shade up and that was too dark. I mixed the two and used them until they where empty. I liked that they gave me good coverage and lasted a long time on my skin. What I didn't like is that they did show up my dry spots and make my look "flakey"  at the end of the day - Ewww.

Then in the Summer me and my family went on a holiday to Spain, in the Airport on the way home I was dying to pick up some High End makeup. I had heard so many great things about Estee Lauder Double Wear so that's the counter I went to first. I was approached buy a MUA and we swatched some colours and because I was slightly tanned at the time I choose a darker colour than I usually would, but in the winter I just add a lighter foundation and mix them to get a closer match whilst still keeping that full coverage. I love this foundation and hope to be using it for many years and hopefully be matched with my correct shade one day!


Not long after I decided to keep looking for a drugstore foundation I'd love, I came across the Maybelline Superstay 24 hour foundation. I picked the lightest shade they had and although it was slightly too yellow toned at first it worked fine. Then I noticed that after about 30 minutes on my skin it oxidizes badly. Making my look almost orange in colour! It also clung to my dry patches making them look flaky.


20 Years Old -   After hearing so much abut the famous Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealor I decided to try it out, when I got to the store I saw that they also did a foundation In the range - also called Lasting Perfection - and picked that up too. I got the lightest colour but when I got home it was too dark for me, I mixed it with a lighter foundation and wore it for a few weeks. It's definitely medium to full coverage. I've started to believe it was breaking me out though and have stopped using it. I suggest giving it a go though, If you need a fuller coverage and you can find your colour match. It may not do to you what It did to me.

My latest foundation purchase is one I'm very excited about, It's the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in Light Porcelain. I've only been wearing it a few days so I can't tell you much or if it breaks me out like my other Rimmel foundation but what I can tell you is that It's my perfect colour match, It doesn't cling to any dry patches If i'm using my moisturizer and it covers my redness! I'll be reviewing it fully in a week or two so keep an eye out     :-)

So that's my foundation history/timeline there's no doubt a few I've missed but If I can't remember them they probably were not that interesting!

I loved writing this post and I hope someone gains something from it, whether it's to help buy a foundation or to stay away from one and remember that this is my personal view on these foundation but as we all have different skin types, may not be yours.

Linzi xxx

REVIEW - Dainty Doll Blusher - Money Talks

Hullo Ladies!

I hauled some Dainty Doll products a few days ago and I've been trying them out for you so I can write up some new reviews :-) 

Dainty Doll Is a brand that was created by Nicola Roberts.....in other words the pale one from Girls Aloud!

I grew up watching these girls become the band they are today and in the beginning I always thought Nicola was the prettiest, I loved her hair and how pale she was...then something horrific happened. Someone important didn't agree with having such a pale girl in the band and Nicola was told to wear fake tan. 

Images taken from Google.com

I think the photos above show just how important it can mean to embrace your natural skin colour. 

I never really understood the reason why so many girls go to, sometimes, extreme measures to change the colour of their skin. 

It doesn't help that make up brands have been neglecting certain skin tones for years, those of us that are very pale and those that are very dark. For some reason they apparently believe we should all just be some colour in between. 

Like many of us, Nicola Robert's disagreed with this idea and brought out a brand of make up that suited her and a whole lot of neglected faces! 

Money Talks is a subtle bronze/taupe colour that gives me a gorgeous glow. 

It's very pigmented so I make sure to be light handed with my brush.

I've never worn a Bronzer that I haven't immediately wiped of my face so I was pleasantly surprised with this product. 

 Blended out swatch  and  heavy handed swatch

One thing I noticed very quickly about this powder was how soft and finely milled it was. It's very high quality and worth the £13.50. Although you can get them much cheaper from some places. I know that Boot's sometimes have the brand on sale. 

I'm having a lot of fun trying out the Dainty Doll products I've bought and will be reviewing the others soon! 

Have you tired this brand before? 

Linzi xx

Another Small Haul!

Hullo Ladies! 

I picked up a few products today that I thought I'd haul for you because I'm thinking of doing a few reviews on them in the near future. 

First I stopped in Superdrug as I really was in need of a foundation that was at least somewhat close to my skin tone  Apparently some high street brands have finally realized that 'Porcelain' doesn't actually mean orange! well Rimmel has anyway..... Yay for them :-) I managed to pick up their Match Perfection Foundation in Light Porcelain on offer for £4.99 and so far all I can say is.......LOVE! 

Then while food shopping in Asda I managed to pick up some skin care products :-) 

I'f your thinking..."Linzi...you didn't tell us you had a child" don't worry I haven't been keeping some poor baby hidden away! I've just always bought baby wipes to remove my makeup. To me they are the same thing and I've never had a problem with them irritating my sensitive skin like I do most beauty brand makeup removers. I picked up this big pack of Huggies Soft Skin for £1....amazing :-) 

My skins been horrific the last few months, spotty and dry!!  So I've been trying to find some product to help and after looking for nearly twenty minutes in the isle I picked up the Clearasil Clear n' Refine Daily Scrub and the Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion, I've already started using them and after a few weeks use I should be putting up some reviews for you! 

Cotton Wool Pads are something I find extremely overpriced in stores like Boot's and Superdrug and It's why I hardly ever purchase them. I never thought to check out the Asda ones though. I picked up this two pack for a £1. 

So that's all I bought today :-) 

Have you tried the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation? Love it or hate it? 

Linzi xxx

REVIEW - MAC Fluidline - Waveline

Hullo Ladies, 

I'm not really one to wear blue eye products, they just remind me too much of the eighties, even though I wasn't even around!

 Another reason for not wearing blue on my eye's is because whilst doing my Art GCSE's I used to sit next to a girl who always wore blue eye shadow and she really didn't know what she was doing with it. Kind of put me off for life....poor girl! 

So I don't really know what the hell I was thinking when one day whilst browsing the Debenhams website I decided to buy a blue gel liner. After nearly a year of owning it I'm finally glad I did. 

I own one other MAC fluidline called Rich Ground and I love it, when I first tried this one out though I was very disappointed. Once out of the pot it wasn't as pigmented and seemed to go on patchy. 

In the pot it looks gorgeous! Dark and purple toned. 

It look's quite different when swatched though. 

So for a long time I put it away and forgot about it, until recently when I decided to try it out again. 

I don't know whats happened, it's still quite patchy but not as much as I remember. I also really love what it looks like on my eyes. Shocking!! 

It somehow really makes the colour of my eyes pop. 

So I'm not saying I've had a dramatic turn-around and I'm off to buy as many blue eye products that I can get my hands on but I'm definitely open to trying out a few more colours in the future that I might have thought wouldn't work for me :-) 

Which is always a good thing! 

So I apply two coats to the eye to make sure it's not too sheer or patchy, another thing you could do to make it even more opaque is to go over it with a blue eye shaodow. I don't feel the need to though, I like how it looks on its own :-) 

On me, with a good primer, it wears a good 4-5 hours without fading. 

Have you tried any of the MAC Fluidlines? Which ones do you love? I really want to try Blacktrack!

Linzi xxx 

Saturday Haul - TK Maxx Finds and Statement Necklaces

Hullo Ladies!

I spent today shopping with my Nan and I found some great things. 

First up was TK Maxx.

I went into TK Maxx hoping they might have had some more Too Faced Palettes in as I really want the Natural palette, sadly they hadn't but I did manage to find some hidden gems from the brand Dainty Doll. I've always wanted to try this brand as it's aim is to enhance pale skin but I wasn't willing to pay the price for a brand I hadn't heard much about!

I was so happy to find two bags for £7.99 each that both had one blusher, lipstick and eye shadow/eye shadow base. Such a great price! 

The Blushers In the bags were My Girl and Money Talks. You can find them both here. 

The eye shadow is called Treat Her Like A Lady and can be bought here.

The Eye Shadow Base is called Frankie Girl and can be bought here.

These are the swatches of the two lipsticks in Saucy Sailor and Stripped which you can buy here.

Next I popped into New Look to look at the necklaces as I've been loving the statement pieces I've been seeing everywhere lately! 

I love this necklace, sadly my camera isn't picking up the true cobalt blue colour of it though. I can't wait to wear it! £6.99 from New Look.

I've been wanting to pick up some clothing with the peter pan color for awhile now but the only ones I've really liked are out of my price range so I decided to pick up this beautiful collar necklace.! You can get it for £7.99 here. 

At the moment Boot's have a third off alll Dainty Doll make up so make sure to check that out!

New Look has a buy one get one free sale on all jewelry too :-) 

So that's all I got today! 

Have you ever bought anything from Dainty Doll? 

Linzi xxx

My Valentines Day Eye Look

Hullo Ladies! 

I don't document my eye makeup often but for some reason I really wanted to today. I really liked what I came up with! 

I used my Urban Decay 15th Anniversary palette, the MUA Undress Me Too Palette, my Bobbi Brown Black Ink Long Wear Gel Eyeliner, The Maybeline Colossal Mascara and I also used my Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer but forgot to photograph it. 

From Left - Right - MUA Naked, MUA Shy, MUA Lavish, UD Junkshow and UD Blackout

After applying my primer, I used the MUA Undress Me Too palette, taking 'Naked' all over my lid. Then from the same palette I placed 'Shy' along the bottom of my lid, the inner corner and brow bone. Taking 'Lavish' I blend it through my contour. 

To brighten it up and give it a pop of colour I very softly touched my brush to 'Junkshow' from Urban Decay and blended that into my contour. Then taking blackout I dabbed it on my outer corner, making sure to blend it well. 

Then I lined my eye with my favourite liner Black Ink by Bobbi Brown also taking it half way across my bottom lash line. Then I finished the look off with some Maybeline Colossal Mascara. 

So that's the eye shadow look I used today.  I haven't used my 15th Anniversary palette for ages so It was a nice change from the Naked palette. 

Hope You Have All Had A Great Valentine's Day! 

I'm finishing mine off by eating some chocolate and watching Death Note....can you tell I'm still single ;-) 

Linzi xxx

REVIEW/SWATCHES - MUA - Undress Me Too - Eye Shadow Palette

Hullo Ladies! 

It's only been two days since I bought the MUA undress Me Too Palette but I've been really busy trying it out and have a few things to say about it, so although I usually wait around two weeks before reviewing a product, I'm going to review it for you now. 

The palette contains 12 shadows, some are shimmers and some are matte. All of them are neutral colours and easy to wear. 

A great plus with this palette is that MUA have finally started naming the shadows.  Maybe not as fun as some other brands but interesting none the less. 

Top Row L-R - Naked, Devotion and Shy

Bottom Row - Fiery, Lavish and Dreamy.

Top Row L-R - Tranquil, Exposed and Reveal

Bottom Row - Wink, Obsessed and Corrupt. 

My favourite shadows from this palette are :- Shy, Lavish, Exposed, Reveal, Wink and Obsessed. 

So we have all heard that this is supposed to be a close dupe to the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, as I don't own that palette I can't tell you if it is or not. Although as I have a few Urban Decay Palette's in my collection I own some of the shades from Naked 2 anyway. Here are some swatches of Blackout and Half Baked next to the MUA shades that are supposed to be dupes for them 

Left - Urban Decay Blackout 

Right -  MUA Corrupt. 

As you can see this really isn't a great dupe. In fact 'Corrupt' in my eyes,  is probably the worst eyeshadow MUA have ever released. It's a black matte colour but had hardly any pigmentation to it at all. Where as Blackout from Urban Decay is amazingly pigmented. This isn't just a problem for drugstore brands though, good matte shadows seem to be difficult to make for anyone. 

I once had a MAC palette that had one shadow that had even less colour pay off than this! 

Left - Urban Decay Half Baked

Right - MUA Devotion

Devotion is where MUA really show off their skills, its a gorgeous high shimmer gold, it's not the exact same colour as Half Baked but the finish and smoothness is the same, with an eye shadow primer it lasts just as long. This is one colour I know I'll be using a lot in the summer, it's gorgeous! 

Another important fact to point out is that I find that I can wear all of these shadows comfortably, unlike Urban Decay, none of them are stuffed so full of chunky glitter that I'm scared to wear them. 

The only thing I suggest is to make sure you use a good primer, this will make sure the colour stays true and lasts longer. I find with MUA that without a primer the shadow's can vanish within a few hours where as with a good primer they can last all night. 

All in all, I think MUA have made another great palette, with gorgeous shadows. 

I'm still going to be wearing some Urban Decay shadows but I'll also be using MUA along with them :-)

Undress Me Too isn't a perfect palette but for the exceptional price It's well worth the purchase. 

Are you going to be buying this one or are you fed up with all the neutral palettes that are so popular at the moment? 

You can buy this palette for £4 Here 

Linzi xxx

EDIT: Looking at some online swatches other people seem to have no problem with the eye shadow Corrupt. I'm wondering if maybe it was just my palette? If anyone has tried the shadow and has found the same problem, I'd be really grateful if you could tell me in the comments! Thanks! x

Wednesday Wishlist (Makeup and Skincare)

MUA Brow Kit

I've been a lot more focused on my brows lately and I agree that they can really frame your face, I've been reading up on a lot of different brow kits and really like the look of this one. I bought the MUA eye brow pencil today but would loved to see how a shadow and fixing gel looks on the brow. 

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

I'm becoming obsessed with eye shadow palettes apparently this week and I'm loving the look of this one from Urban Decay. 

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

I've heard a lot about Clinique's skin care and as my skin is really playing up at the moment I'm starting to think it's time to invest in some quality products. 

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette

I blame the Eleventh Gorgeous girls for this one, they both use this palette constantly in their looks and they make it look so easy! I want!!

Sleek Life's A Peach Blush

Okay....I know this looks way scary...but with spring well on it's way I'm craving for some colour in my makeup routine and it's surprising how boring my blushers look right now...pinks...pinks..PINKS!

So that's what what I've been obsessing over the last few days! 

Do you have any of these products? 

Are they worth it??

Linzi xxx

Small MUA Haul - Includes The 'Undress Me Too' Palette

Hullo Ladies! 

I went shopping today and picked up some MUA products from Superdrug. 

I've been really looking forward to picking up some products from MUA's new range and also trying out some of their older products that I've been wanting to try for ages! 

I managed to pick up their new palette called Undress Me Too which is already being named as a close dupe for Naked 2. 

A great treat for me was that this new palette has names for every eye shadow! 

I can't wait to write a review and show you some swatches!

I only have one highlighter, it's from ELF and I have to be honest I'm not in love with it but when I saw this Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter on their facebook page I got really excited. It looked so gorgeous in the swatches and I've been looking for a really good inexpensive highlighter. I think this might be it! I love it already :-) 

I tried out the new foundation but wasn't impressed with the colour range and either my Superdrug wasn't stocking them or had already run out but I couldn't find the new primer either :-( Hopefully they'll have them next time! 

I also picked up their Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette. I'm trying to decide whether it's too dark for me or not but for a £1 I'm happy to just where it on nights out and pick up the lighter version for day to day wear. This is the first eye brow pencil I've ever used and I really like it! 

I've also been looking for a new eyeliner and for £1.50 I saw the 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Liner In Black, I'm loving it already on my water line and I've been playing around with it to see how it looks on the lid. I'll let you know how much I like it in a review :-) 

So that's all I bought from MUA and honestly so far I'm loving everything that I picked up! 

Linzi xxx

REVIEW/SWATCHES - MUA - Lip Boom - It's A Situation

Hullo Lovely Ladies, 

It seems like ages since I've done a review on a product!

I think I've just been rather boring of late! I'm thinking of changing that though and I'm looking forward to writing a lot more reviews in the up-coming weeks. 

This is a product I picked up from Superdrug a few days ago.  

I'd heard some amazing things about the MUA Lip Boom's  and really liked the look of them everytime I walked past the MUA stand. 

I've been loving the 'vampy' look lately and I really wanted another dark lipstick but didn't want to pay a big price for it, then I remembered reading a blog post about this lipstick 'It's A Situation' by MUA. 

For £3 I went straight to Superdrug and picked one up for myself. 

On one side of the Lip Boom you get a lipstick and on the other you get a lip gloss. 

You can wear these Lip Boom's in four different ways.

1) Just using the lipstick for a matte look. 

2) Using the lip gloss for highlighting the center of your lips to give your lips a bigger look.

3) Putting the gloss all over the lipstick to give you a high shine look

4) Wearing the lip gloss on it's own for a sheer glossy look. 

*Don't you just love an untouched lipstick?*

The lipstick is highly pigmented and a gorgeous deep berry red. 

It comes off more matte than my silly camera is making out. 

For a matte lipstick it has a very smooth texture which is almost moisturizing and not drying like you would expect. 

I love the fact that even though my lips are not in the best condition the lipstick doesn't stick to any dry patches. 

Both the lipstick and the lip gloss have a deliciously sweet fragrance that reminds me of caramel. 

As you can see from the swatch, the lip gloss has very big pieces of glitter, which while looking stunning on the lips doesn't feel to good. 

That and the fact that after thirty minutes I seem to find glitter all over my face, is the only downfall to this product. 

If I had paid a high amount for this duo I might have been upset but I'm willing to pay the £3 for just the lipstick alone. I simply just forget about the gloss. 

Though if unlike me you don't mind the downside this is what the lipstick and gloss look like on together.

This lipstick on it's own lasts a good amount of time on my lips, it does become patchy after a few hours so It's best to keep it on you for when you need to re-apply. 

So that's my review of the MUA Lip Boom in It's A Situation. 

You can find this lip product in Superdrug Stores and Online. 

Have you tried any of the MUA  Lip Boom's? 

Which ones are your favourite?

Linzi xxx