LOLA IT Girl Range

LOLA is an exciting New British designed make up brand. Created by professional make-up artists, LOLA offers a wide range of colours, High quality textures and professional artistry tools. LOLA is retailed exclusively at Marks & Spencer.

To date, the only products I have ever owned from LOLA was a miniature kabuki Brush which I got in a beauty box and it happens to be pretty fantastic and one which resides in my everyday work make-up bag and a finishing brush which came in a You Beauty Discovery Box.  So when I was offered the chance to try out some of the make up from the range, I jumped at the chance.

The products found in the IT girl range are inspired from three of the periods (60s and 79s) most iconic IT Girls - Edie Sedgwick, Debbie Harry, Angie & David Bowie.  The range features Lip Gloss, 6 eyeshadows, Automatic pencil, Eye Pencil, an intense lipstick shade, Matte Lipstick, 3 nail polishes.  I have some of the products** from across the three looks - Icon, Factory Girl and Studio 54 which are Eyeshadow in Satinado which is a dusty pink shade, a eye pencil in gold dust and a lip gloss in 009 which is Hot Pink.

The first thing I noticed about each of these products is how lovely they look within their packing, the white writing on a black background looks very classy to me and really standing out.  Then the actual product inside is just amazing. 

Both pinks shades suit most skin tones, even mine which is very pale and the lip gloss and eyeshadow can be used to give a light smattering of colour or built up to give a really edgy shade, depending on your preference. 

Have you ever tried a product from Lola?

Little Mix Make-up - New Releases!

Jade Thirlwall, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, better known as girl group Little Mix, have been working with the cosmetics brand Collection to produce a range of make-up, some of which is available in both Boots and Superdrug.

Source

I was very kindly sent a package of new products to play with and when I first saw them, I was a little dubious that I would like them, but I was always taught never to judge a book by its cover and here is what I thought.

Recently, the Little Mix girls have extended their range to include moisturising lip balms, which are available in each of the girls' signature shade and favourite scent.  The lipbalms will have an RRP of £1.99 each.

Each Lip-balm is held within a black plastic tube with white see through plastic cover and the signature of each girl matches the shade of their lipbalm.  

Jade has gone for a raspberry flavour which is a baby pink coloured balm and when applied to the lips, it is really moisturising.

Jesy's lip-balm is a funky purple colour which is a vanilla scented lipbalm and sadly there is no colour transfer to the lips at all, but it does feel quite moisturising.

Leigh-Anne has opted for a mint flavoured lip-balm and the balm itself is a lovely mint green shade, again as with the other two balms, it is moisturising on the lips, though it leaves no hint or trace of the mint green colour behind,

The final lip-balm comes from Perrie, which has no scent to it, because apparently she has no sense of smell, is also colourless, instead it is called a natural shimmer and is a brilliant white shade, but this one differs slightly to the other three in that there is a shimmer to it. Within the lipbalm itself are teeny tiny little particles, which when applied to the lips, give them a bit of a shimmer.

I am a big fan of these lip-balms, they remind me of the Maybelline Baby Lips, which I happen to really like.

Also added to the range is the All About The Eyes Palette which will retail at a very pocket friendly price of £3.19 and includes six shades; Feather, Sunkissed, Golden Sand, Dazzling Brown, Cocoa Dream and Blackbird.

I actually really like this palette, it is a nice mixture of brown shades which are quite pigmented which is a lot more than I expected and they all work quite well together.  It is said that each singer within the band uses this palette to create their own signature look.

This is what each shade looks like:

 From left to right Feather, Sunkissed, Golden Sand, Dazzling Brown, Cocoa Dream and Blackbird.

Have you tried any of the Little Mix range so far?  

Do you like what is on offer here?

These lip balms and eyeshadow palette will be available to buy from Superdrug from 30 July.

Lily Lolo - my introduction!

I have seen Lily Lolo products on so many blogs but have never branched out and tried them myself, so when the chance to do just that was given to me, I jumped at the chance. They claim that "Whether your skin is dry, oily or anywhere in-between, Lily Lolo makeup will give you a light, flawless and seamless finish without clogging or irritating" which I am interested to check out.

Lily Lolo is a British brand launched by Vikki Khan in 2005. Named after her two sisters Lisa (Lily) and Lorraine (Lolo) though for some reason I keep calling it Lily Lilo, don't ask why!

Lily Lolo have just re-branded their make up range which you can see on their website and in recognition of that I was sent two of their products to try and review.

Natural Lip Gloss in English Rose (£7.99)** - I would describe this as being a dusky pink shade which looks really pink when you first apply it and then as it settled down it becomes quite a pale pink which I really like. It is perfect for wearing on its own or over the top of a pinky/nude lipstick to add a little glossy look. One of my bug bears with some lipglosses is the tacky feel they leave on your lips, this lip gloss doesn't have this *hurrah* it is not sticky at all, it simply glides on. This gloss does also contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil to nourish and protect.

Mineral Eye Shadow in Miami Taupe (£5.99)** - This is most definitely the shade I would opt for, it is perfect for daytime or nighttime and one of those shades which you can have as a light coverage or build it up so that you can have a much deeper coverage, which to do you simply use it wet and the video I have mentioned below shows you how to do this. It is highly pigmented and as the shade suggests it is Taupe which is described as being a dusky browny grey shade or warm grey.

Now if like me you often struggle to decide how best to apply certain items of make-up, I was pleased to find that there are some really handy tutorials online, one of which you can see HERE. 

Which are your favourite Lily Lolo products?

The range itself is  BUAV approved as well as being free from parabens, synthetic fragrances, dyes, fillers and there is no animal testing.

My Favourite Products 2013 - Part 4

Having brought to you my favourite products for my lips, body and hair and then face, today I am bringing to you my favourite Make-up products of 2013, these are products that I have gone back to time and time again and absolutely love.

Make-Up

Make-up is one of those 'terms' and some of those 'products' that I love to use.  I am by no means an expert and nor I am overly confident in what I am doing which is why you will rarely see a FOTD post from me.  I tend to stick with what I know and like and experimenting isn't something I am good at, but here are my favourite products of 2013.

Seche Vite - Whilst I need to look after my nails a little bit more than I do to ensure they are not as weak and brittle as they are now, Seche Vite is by far one of the best products I have used on my nails.  I always use it as a top coat whenever I polish my nails and it dries so quickly and gives me a few extra days of no chipping with my nail polish.

Rough Dior 649 - I reviewed this lipstick HERE and it is to date my most favourite lipstick.  I was introduced to it at a Debenhams Beauty event that I was lucky to attend and have my make-up done by Dior and I was so impressed with the lip colour, I now own two for myself.

Porefessional - The first product I am to feature from Benefit and one of my favourites.  As a balm that minimises the pores I love that it does exactly that for me and I have gone through quite a few tubes of it to date and I am now using up my mini samples before deciding whether or not to re-purchase or try something else.

Fine One One - Another product from Benefit and one that I won from a Blogger Competition.  I wanted this product as soon as it came out, but I held off for ages reading review after review of it, some great and some not so great.  I love it and use it more as a highlighter on my cheek bones and it gives this really lovely shimmer and sheen once it is applied.

They-re Real - My current favourite mascara, the first time I used it, I knew it would be one of those products that would stay in my make-up bag.  I love how it makes my lashes look and appear longer, how it doesnt clump or flake once it is applied and it lasts a really long time once it is on my lashes.

Dream Weave & Co. Original Lash Extension Magnet Mascara - I was introduced to this product in October when I was kindly sent one to try out and review which you can see HERE.  I am so impressed with it that it is always in my bag.

Hoola - Again from Benefit, Hoola is my all time favourite Bronzer and when I was first given this I thought it would be far too dark for my very light skin-tone, however, I was mildly surprised that it actually looks really good on my skin and as long as I don't apply too much of it, it can look really natural.

Suede by Sleek - This product was my first introduction to the world that is Sleek make-up and it is currently my favourite product from Sleek.  I reviewed it back in October which you can see HERE and I pretty much wear it everyday because it is quite subtle and gives a lovely colour to my cheeks.

Hello Flawless - My all time favourite powder from Benefit and I wear it everyday, usually over a BB Cream as I am yet to find my Holy Grail foundation, they always seem too dark for my skintone, so I stick with a BB cream and this to give me a look I am comfortable with and it has an SPF15 which impresses me.

That Gal - Yep another Benefit product from me and I use That Gal quite a lot because I like it a Primer, it definitely does make my make-up last much longer and I dont get the feeling of clogged pores from using it, which is something I disliked from a similar product from another brand.

Collection Eyeshadow Pencils - I bought two of them on a whim a few months ago and Vintage Blush which is shown above is the shade I use more often than not.  As well as an eyeshadow, which is really easy to apply, I have also used it as a highlighter and it works really well.  I reviewed the two crayons  which you can read HERE

Max Factor Colour Elixir - I was introduced to these products when I took part in my very first beauty box swap and I instantly liked them.  My favourite colour of the two was Subtle Coral which is featured in the photograph above and reviewed HERE and I like the shade they give me when I wear them.

There you have my favourite make-up products.  

Do you think I am missing out on using anything or is there a product you think I should try?

December Glossybox

After last months 'iffy' Glossybox where upon which none of the items would ever feature on my wishlist, we now have December, a box I had been quite looking forward too given some of the spoilers I had seen and the fact Glossybox themselves seemed quite chuffed that every box would have a Maybelline product inside.

Here we have what was in my box.

So already I am really impressed with the packaging and surprisingly it is actually Christmassy and something I would expect to find.  The candycane tissue paper is really pretty and inside, protecting the items is a bright green tissue paper, clearly in keeping with the Christmas theme.  Now to the products:

So we have:

Beautiful Movements Cosmetics - Pinky Nude Lip Gloss (Picture to come)

BMC is a company that has been set up by former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt. This gloss has no scent and thankfully hasn't got the horrid sticky quality to it like so many lip glosses do! The colour is a fairly subtle, it is kind of pretty and thankfully it doesn't make you lips overly pale or orangey. I like this but I don't love this and I wouldn't necessarily be purchasing this again and probably wouldn't choose it over another colour. 

Wilkinson Sword Intuition Naturals Razor

Not too sure how I feel about finding this in my "luxury sample box" to be honest with you nor why it would feature in my Christmas Box and not at any other time of the year, like the summer when I am more likely to have my legs out.  

Maybelline New York Colour Tattoo 24hr Eye Shadow - Everlasting Navy

Whilst I am happy to see a Maybelline product and as beautiful as this one is, sadly it is not a colour I would ever choose to wear.  If there is someone out there who reads my blog and would love to try it, please let me know and I will send it to one of you because I would hate for it to go to waste.   

Seche Nail Lacquer - Audacious

I am a huge fan of Seche nail polishes and I was quite chuffed to see this, not usually a colour I would choose and it is referred to as being 'Red Fuscia' I am more than willing to give it a try.

Lipsy London Glam Perfume

Hmm mixed feelings about this 'sample' of perfume. The brand new perfume from Lipsy is described as being "Strikingly gorgeous, amazingly beautiful, exceptionally glamorous and forever aspirational" well, it isn't a perfume that I would ever buy to wear, though the actual bottle is stunning. As for the scent, it is said to combine fruity honey and sweet top notes, the heart notes complement with Orchid, Jasmine and Peony and the base notes are deep with Amarylis and black incense. I find it a bit too strong for my senses sadly.

I've come to the conclusion that 'samples' of perfume in these beauty boxes should be just that, a sample and not an alternative for someone else.

Overall, I was more excited about the actual box and tissue paper than the contents. It is estimated to be worth just over £30, I could have got a lot more for my money.  

What do you think?

My E.L.F Haul!

I finally took advantage of the 50% Discount Offer from E.L.F at the weekend and my god do they ship things super quick, I was really impressed.  

I had had my eye on quite a few products from the E.L.F range since being introduced to them HERE and decided now was as good a time as any to bite the bullet and make a purchase and this is my haul.  First off the packaging, not exciting I know, but everything was so well packaged, a few Beauty Boxes that I subscribe too could learn a lesson here!

Then the actual contents of the box - there are two items missing from my haul as they are for a competition winner and I don't want to spoil her surprise.  Everything else is for me!

Here we have the Baked eyeshadow Palette and the name given to this product is Texas. It is packed full with 10 gorgeous shades that I would wear and it is a perfect addition to my palette collection.  I have been wanting to try a baked eyeshadow for a long time and this little set cost just £10 and it comes encased in this stunning, really well made palette and it has a mirror, which is naturally really really helpful

I am determined to get the hand of eye-liner and am on a mission to find a product that makes life easy.  I am a HUGE fan of lip crayons, like a serious convert and my collection is growing rather quickly.  When I saw this Waterproof Eyeliner crayon, I thought at £3.75 it was worth purchasing to give it a try.  The colour I chose was Pitch Black.

You can never have too many lip exfolators, especially in this weather and this is one I intend to keep in my work make-up bag which I keep in my desk drawer at all times. Described as follows "A sweet sugar and smoothing sensation, infused with Vitamin E, Shea Butter, Avocado, Grape and Jojoba Oils to nourish and protect. This Lip Exfoliator treats and smoothes lips for a conditioned and revitalised feel". it costs just £3.75 and is a total bargain.

I had originally purchased this product for a friend for Christmas, I loved the look of the Beauty Book as soon as I saw it.  This is the natural set which includes 6 eye-shadows, 1 Eyelid Primer, 1 Eyeliner Pencil, 1 Built-in Mirror and 1 Dual Ended Applicator.  Everything I need in one package, plus some helpful guides and instructions and all for £6

No beauty order is complete without a nail polish or two right? well I saw these two stunning polishes and decided that I needed them in my life. To the left is Dream Maker and to the right is Fairy Dust, both of which are simply perfect for this time of year and will be shown in a future post.

Did you take advantage of the 50% off offer with E.L.F? What did you get? Have you got any of these products?