How much is your face worth? 2 versions

I’ve been loving all the “How much is your face worth?” posts that I’ve read recently… It’s so interesting to see what other people use on a daily basis and I nearly fell off my chair when I saw one for over £300… Seems scary when you think of it like that!!

I rather like bright eye makeup (partly cos I usually wear my glasses so I always opt for something that stands out) so figured I’d do two basic looks, both with bright eyes/pink lips… the only difference being that I’d only drugstore goodies for one and only high end goodies for the other :) Oh and I took each pic after I'd been wearing the makeup all day to give an idea of how it holds up! (apart from the lip stuff which I had to reapply)

Smashbox photo finish primer £29
Dior nude foundation £29.50
Estee Lauder disappear cream concealer £17
Too Faced ooh la rouge blush £13
Urban Decay brow box £16
Urban Decay Deluxe Palette £23
Bobbi Brown mascara £18
Lancome Artliner £19.92
Urban Decay lipstick in Jailbait £12.50
Too Faced lipgloss in Lilac £10
Total : £187.92

My makeup using the more expensive stuff

Primark prime of your life £3
NYC natural matte foundation £3.95
ELF tone correcting concealer £1.50
MUA blush £1
MUA eyeshadow in brown (for my brows) £1
MUA eyeshadows (shades 2, 5 and 6) £3
Natural collection mascara £1.99
NYC liquid eyeliner £2.99
17 shine on lipstick in sweet sizzle £3.49
Miss sporty lipgloss in 22 £1.99
Total : £23.91

My makeup using the less expensive stuff

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Too Faced silver shadow dupe

If I’m shopping for new eyeshadow I usually wouldn’t even think of stopping at the Rimmel counter but I’m not entirely sure why… I mean I love their foundations, mascaras and liners but for some reason the eyeshadows just don’t grab me
Well that was till I spotted one of the individual Colour Rush Mono shadows in Glitzed. I’m not even embarrassed to admit that I got really excited when I saw this! It looks just like one of my favourite ever shadows – a silver Too Faced one from a duo called Ooh and Aah
You can tell how old my duo is as it’s the old chunky square container, whereas the new version comes in a cute little round one. Aaaanyway, I’m just about to hit pan on my gorgeous little Too Faced duo and wasn’t looking forward to splashing out £14.50 for a new one, so I was delighted when I came across the Rimmel shadow for the bargain price of £3.99
They dont look identical on my hand but when I've actually applied them to my eyes they look exactly the same. Pretty good value cos I'm essentially getting twice the amount of silver shadow for a 3rd of the price! Maybe not exactly a 3rd (maths isn't my strong point) but it's definitely way cheaper :)

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Giveaway

Figured it was about time I did another little giveaway… I chose all the goodies myself because they’re bits n pieces that I absolutely love. Chances are I'll pick up a few more items to add to the final prize ♥

To enter you must be a follower of this blog

For one entry simply type enter me in the comments section below. Oh and include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Doing any of the following will give you one additional entry, and obviously more chance of winning :) so do any many as you please

Recommend a beauty tip or trick that you swear by

Post a link in your sidebar about this giveaway (including the pic at the top)

Post a blog entry about this giveaway (including the pic at the top and a link to this post)

If you post the links on your blog please mention this below!

This giveaway is open to everyone, including international readers and I have decided to choose the winner using random.org on 20.03.2011

Good luck all :)

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Eyes, Lips, Face

Just thought I’d do a post on a few of my favourite items at the min!

Firstly I have to mention Cool Touch Shadows by Rimmel. A recent discovery and I have fallen in love with them! At first I expected these to be like the No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse (which I also love) but they really couldn’t be more different

Icy, Champagne Frost, Cool Down

The texture is extremely watery so they have to be applied with a very light hand and they dry super fast so you have to work quickly! I’ve found that these make the most perfect simple, shimmery, non-creasing base for any makeup look. Or they can be used for a nice subtle day time look because they have a little shimmer but aren’t too OTT

I’m a bit of a lip gloss addict and every time I come across a gorgeous pink shade I just have to have it! Which actually kinda sucks cos it means I have far too many favourites and I have some serious trouble choosing which to wear! Anyone else have a favourite lip gloss that you just couldn’t live without?

Oh and I wanted to mention my Too Faced Ooh La Rough blush in Pink Provocateur! I love the Too Faced eye shadows, lip glosses and of course Shadow Insurance so had pretty high hopes for this blush and wasn’t disappointed!
It’s the perfect pink shade and I only have one teensy little complaint; totally don’t get why they have included a pale highlight colour... surely if you wanted a highlighter you could buy it separately instead of being stuck with something you wont even use? I’d have preferred a container full of the gorgeous dark pink :)
Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

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Seriously overrated products

I was trawling through my makeup recently cos I just fancied a change but can’t quite afford to treat myself to anything new (it's my nephews birthday this month and I like to spoil him!) and I came across sooo many products that I really regret buying

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just return all the beauty stuff you’ve ever bought and hated for a full refund? I’d be loaded! Well until I spent all the pennies on more products – half of which I’d probably end up wanting to return. Hmmm I think I see a pattern there :)

With that thought in mind I figured I’d mention a few things that I picked up and wasn’t particularly happy with. These are things that came highly recommended by people with impeccable taste (i.e. my friends and sisters) so the disappointment was all the more irritating when I wasn’t keen on them. Obviously it’s just my humble opinion cos I know a lot of girls swear by these products!


Boi-ing concealer by Benefit – Possibly the worst concealer I’ve ever used. Horrible texture and none of the shades seem to be skin coloured. Didn’t do a good job of concealing anything either! It leaves little dry caked sections where it’s been applied and I found it to be an all round big fat disappointment

Bobbi Browns Skin Foundation SPF 15 – This was my introduction to Bobbi Brown products and I was very unimpressed. It’s more like a tinted moisturiser, doesn’t give great coverage, doesn’t last long and costs 3 times as much as other (better) foundations!

Cliniques dramatically different moisturizing lotion – Personally I didn’t see any difference between this and dozens of other moisturisers! It’s not the worst product ever but I reckon it’s just ok

Soap & Glorys spray-on body moisturising mist – Now I adore the Soap & Glory range so had pretty high expectations of this and it just didn’t deliver. Claims to leave skin softer, smoother and more supple and it didn’t. Personally I just felt greasy. Though on the plus side it smells scrummy!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance – This is something I absolutely adore and have used for a very long time but I’ve included it because I don’t get the new fascination with primers. I think they’re dead handy if you’re gonna be wearing your makeup for hours and hours but for every day wear I think it’s just another step in the makeup routine that isn’t really necessary

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Mostly MUA makeup haul

Good evening all, and what a horrid evening it is! Can you believe how miserable it is out? Bloody typical what with this being the first day of my two weeks off :(

Figured I’d mention a few MUA (makeup academy) items that I picked up recently because they’re fantastic quality and cost an incredible £1 each.

Mascara - shade 4 (dark brown colour, traditional brush and doesn’t clump – what more could you ask for?)

Lip sticks – shades 8, 9 and 11 (essentially 3 pretty pink shades with a little shimmer)

Eye shadows – shades 11, 15, 14 and 2 (2 dark browns and 1 dark green that are perfect for smokey eyes or using in the crease of the lid. The lightest colour is a totally gorgeous iridescent white which is the perfect highlight colour and very similar to MACs White Frost)

Blush – shades 1, 2 and 3 (I absolutely love shade 1 and it has replaced my Too Faced Ooh La Rouge in Pink Provocateur as my favourite “go to” blush that never fails)

Lip gloss – shades 2 and 3 (I wasn’t too sure about the colours because they’re so dark in the packaging but they’re not nearly so scary when applied! Although they look like a deep dark red and rich pink they’re actually fairly tame and could definitely be used as subtle every day colours. The texture isn’t too sticky and they leave a high level of shine without that thick slick of gloss that comes with so many products and just looks tacky)

Oh and I also got more Too Faced Shadow insurance, which I couldn’t live without and some Calvin Klein Infinite Matte foundation. Finding the perfect foundation is something I’ve been aiming for for quite a while and I haven’t tried any other CK makeup so reckon this should be worth a try...

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Itchy, flaky... eyebrows?

Possibly the worst place to get dry skin but for some reason my eyebrows seem determined to get in the way of me having perfectly applied eye shadow and beautifully defined brows. Yeah, ok, so the paltry 5 minutes I spend doing my eye makeup every day could also be a contributing factor but the beauty sleep comes first damnit!

The strange things is that the rest of my skin could definitely be described as normal/oily and I’ve never once had dandruff – though no doubt I’ve jinxed myself and shall wake up tomorrow with cornflake sized flakes all over my head – but no matter what I use on my eyebrows they end up dry and slightly flaky by early afternoon. Now I know this isn’t exactly a disaster on the scale of the gulf oil spill or global warming but it really gets on my nerves

At the minute I’m using the Replenishing Face Cream by Eucerin before sleepy sleeps and then Cliniques Moisture Surge Rich during the day, followed by my Too Faced Shadow Insurance (however did I live without it!?) and I’ve even tried using cream eye shadows to see if it makes a difference. Alas, it would seem I’m destined to end up with unsightly flaky eye make up by 4pm everyday as opposed to the spectacularly pretty face framing brows sported by the exquisite Miss Hepburn

Aaanyway... I’d actually intended to review a new mascara but I seem to have rambled on a bit so I’ll save that for another day =)

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Amazing make up for £1

I love a bargain as much as the next girl but to be honest I’m always slightly wary of exceptionally cheap products. Now I’m far from a makeup snob – I hate paying more than I have to but by the same token I know that an E.L.F lip gloss probably wont measure up to one of my favourite Juicy Tubes!

However, that doesn’t stop me from going for quantity over quality sometimes, particularly if I’ve stumbled across a new brand and feel I have to try every product to see how it measures up. Which is exactly what happened when I was browsing in Superdrug and came across MUA (Make Up Academy) goodies. Every item is £1 so it’s like 50% cheaper than E.L.F and the best bit is that you can try everything before you buy, as opposed to a lot of the other seriously cheap brands where you can only get them online! I tried a few items on the back of my hand and was pleasantly surprised but of course it’s pretty hard to tell what you think of a new product until you try incorporating it into your every day makeup routine. Perfect excuse to try one of everything I reckon =)

I shall do a proper review of my purchases (whole collection of yummy make up for an amazing £17!) once I’ve used them for a while but I just had to mention the blusher straight away because I was blown away by the quality. I’d previously been using Ooh La Rouge in Pink by Too Faced but have been converted to my MUA in shade 1, and not only cos I was complimented 3 times on my skin on the same day – my mum and sisters totally count! – but because it’s just so easy to apply, gives great colour, looks incredibly pretty, girly and gives that sweet “flushed” look I’m always after.

No idea if you can get this brand anywhere other than Superdrug yet but if you come across it on your next shopping trip then I definitely recommend giving it a go. After all, even if you’re not keen you’re only gonna be a quid down...

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