November Glossy Box

I'm one of those "suckers" that signed up to a bunch of beauty boxes, and the time has come to weed out the winners from the loser and right now the biggest loser is the much talked about "Glossy Box".

At first I was quite pleased with the contents of my monthly Glossy boxes, but it all started going downhill, hitting a low point with the October Box and the lowest with the November box. And people have tried to justify the lowly contents by say "It's a sample box, what more do you expect?", right, it is a sample box but the least the Glossy Box team could have done is listen to their followers and the resounding opinion that Perfume samples are not what we signed up for in a beauty box. Sure, throwing one in for an added extra, a la Feel Unique Beauty Box, is a welcomed addition, but classifying it as one of the five monthly samples is pretty weak. I get sent different perfume samples every week, for free, and purely because I fill my details out on their pages under the "Request Sample" section.

And why do they bother asking you to fill out a Personal Profile when that profile is disregarded. If it's too much effort to fulfill the individual needs of each subscriber, then don't bother asking.

ANy way, after all this ranting, I must admit that I know it's all down to personal opinion and every one has a different one. I am waiting for my December box to make my final decision, so it's just a waiting game now.

Foundation

I am a fan of beauty blogging. I would not consider myself to be an expert on beauty, however, sometimes a product bowls you over with such force that it seems only natural to share your love of it with the world. 

The most recent product to figuratively bowl me over has been the Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Foundation.

Now, I have never really been a "full coverage" type of girl and the thought of "full coverage" has always made me think of faces caked with foundation, I prefer a more natural look. I ordered a sample of this from a wonderful website called Just Beauty Direct, but the little sample jar sat in my makeup drawer gathering dust until I rediscovered it some eight months later. I tried it and I loved it! I had ordered it in the two lightest shades and the little sample pots, which cost a whopping £1 inc. V.A.T, lasted me a good two weeks (used sparingly). 

I have never spent over £20 on a foundation before and I thought long and hard before ordering it, but I did purchase it, and at a discounted rate from the wonderful Just Beauty Direct, which offers a range of top quality beauty products at amazing prices.

I apply this cream foundation with faux "Beauty Blender" sponge and a light dabbing produces a flawless, beautiful finish. 

I am surprised that this foundation has not received the hype it deserves, and my review is perhaps a bit late, as I have been informed that it is soon to be discontinued :o( So, if you happen to find yourself reading this and you want a fabulous foundation, then give it a bash ;o)

Slight disclaimer: I am in no way connected to Just Beauty Direct, I just think it is a fabulous website and I think more people should know about it. The sample/colour match service is fantastic and allows you to actually use the product before shelling out major cash. They also offer a Gift with Purchase if you spend over a certain amount and the gifts are usually full sized products.

Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Foundation is £22.46 inc. V.A.T. at http://www.justbeautydirect.co.uk

GOSH Eyeshadow Sticks

G.O.S.H Eye shadow Primers

I have never really been convinced of the necessity of eye shadow primers, up until now I have always been satisfied by merely applying a bit of liquid foundation and setting this with a dusting of powder foundation, or just using one or the other on its own. Both have worked fine and I have been quite happy with the non-creasing results. But, on a recent excursion out to find a white, cream eye shadow base to use under my fluorescent Sleek eye shadows, I came across the GOSH Eye shadow sticks.

 I purchased the GOSH WATERPROOF eye shadow in “Love That Beige” and the GOSH WATERPROOF eye shadow Primer.

I am so happy with both of them!

“Love that beige” is a pale golden colour that glides on smoothly and stays all day! It’s a lovely golden base to use as a primer under brown, golden or warm toned eye shadows.

The Primer is a white/silver/lilac iridescent colour of the same texture as the eye shadow stick mentioned above. It’s perfect as a base under cooler toned colours.

Overall, these are great products and quite affordable, I managed to purchase them along with the GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer in a 3 for 1 deal at Superdrug, that was a bonus ;o)

So, if you are in need of a primer, check these out! (The eye shadows come in a range of lovely colours, but if you’re only going to buy one, then I recommend “Love That Beige” for its versatility)

Kelly

xxx

A Great Blog Post- "M.A.C Looks and Manual"

“M.A.C Looks and Manual”

I just wanted to share this fantastic Blog!

http://listmaker.wordpress.com/mac-looks/

“beauty on a budget” has a Blog post on the different looks from M.A.C and has also included links to download the 2005 M.A.C Training Manual, a blank face template (to help you design and safe your makeup looks) and a fantastic Youtube tutorial on how to design a makeup look using a face template.

Definitely worth a look!

Xxx

Kelly

BB Cream ?!

Are you pale?

Do you have a hard time finding a foundation pale enough to suit your skin tone?

There is a fantastic product everyone needs to know about!

It’s called “BB Cream”, or Blemish Balm (but on the products it is actually referred to as “Beblesh Balm”, due some crazy copyright laws in Korea?!). Anyway, it’s supposedly some sort of wonder cream that works for your skin in a variety of ways.

What does it do? (More like what doesn’t it do!)

(Check out http://www.squidoo.com/b-b-cream for a whole lot more information)

• ·      Light to full coverage, like a foundation, but without the appearance of foundation. It basically conceals the blemishes, gives you a flawless appearance and looks like you aren’t even wearing any makeup.
• ·      Helps perfect the texture of your skin, and promotes healthy skin renewal. It helps to prevent breakouts but when breakouts do occur then it helps to clear them.
• ·      Has SPF protection.
• ·      Has “anti-wrinkle” properties and wrinkle prevention properties.
• It basically cuts down your morning routine, as you’ll only need one product- BB Cream! Works as your moisturizer, concealer, foundation and is a pretty good makeup base for the rest of your make-up.

I have been using my BB Creams for about a week… So I will definitely need to give them more time before I can post a review based on my own experience, but I still wanted to give a little shout out.

BB Creams are made in Korea and are subsequently a little difficult to find. You can buy them online but be careful, there are a few sellers on eBay, but I don’t really trust eBay all that much (it also would’ve taken a really long time for my shipment to arrive, so I decided to shop elsewhere).

I recommend only buying a BB Cream from a reputable website, when making your first purchase. That way you’ll have a good understanding of what to expect, should you choose to purchase them off eBay at a later date. I bought mine from yesstyle.com here is the link to the BB Creams page:

http://www.yesstyle.com/en/list.html?q=bb+cream&ss=120&bpt=48

The ordering process was a little bit strange, but only because it seems like you need to pay a certain amount, then right before you pay they add on a whole whack for postage fees and as I was so keen to try them out, I just went for “express postage” which ended up being a bit expensive, but hey I really wanted to test them out.

Anyway, I bought MISSHA Perfect Cover BB Cream in No. 21 Light Beige (there is also a darker shade) and miniature set of four different BB Creams from SKIN79.

MISSHA PERFECT COVER BB CREAM (50ml) US $ 22 £ 14

I am really pale, so I went for the lightest shade and it matches my skin tone perfectly! I struggle to find foundations pale enough, and was surprised to find a perfect match without even testing it, but I definitely think darker skin tones might struggle a bit. This, of course, is due to its target market being predominately Korean, where paler skin is favoured over darker skin (yay for pale girls), but some brands do it in a range of tones, so you still might find your match ;o)

It is a thick consistency, very similar to a tinted moisturizer, but offering the coverage of a foundation and it feels very light on your skin.

Conclusion?

I LOVE this product! It is perfect for when you couldn’t be bothered with fluffing around with foundation and for when you don’t feel like wearing too much makeup.

I haven’t been using it for long enough to see definite results, but even if the long-term results aren’t that noticeable, it’s still a great product (definitely worth the money).

SKIN79 BB Cream (5g each) US $ 18 and £11.24

The little pack of four includes:

1 BB Diamond Collection- The Prestige Beblesh Balm

(Has a hint of shimmer, great to use as a highlighter)

1 BB Diamond Collection Pearl- Luminous Beblesh Balm

1 Super Beblesh Balm with whitening, UV protection of SPF25 PA++ and Wrinkle improvement

1 Super Beblesh Balm- Triple Functioning with Whitening, UV Protection of SPF 25 PA++ and Wrinkle free (whatever that means)

The two Diamond Collection have a bit of a more liquidy texture, with the Super Beblesh Balms being a little thicker in consistency. They don’t come in different shades, but they are slightly (though not really noticeably) darker than the MISSHA one.

They are all lightly scented, it’s not really strong enough to pick up on any specific scent, but it is definitely not a horrible scent.

I haven’t really tested these, except the sparkly one (which is lovely!), and I will wait before I give my overall opinion.

So, if you have pale skin and struggle to find a light enough foundation, then you should give these a go. There are tons of brands available (though not many good reviews on the Skinfood brand, so perhaps give that one a miss).

Hope you found this helpful! I should be doing a follow up review in about a month!

Xx

(P.S I also received a pretty little purse from YESSTYLE, because it was my first time using the site. Yay for freebies!)

Introductions

Hi, my name is Kelly Gardner and as this is my first post, I would like to use it as an introduction to explain the objectives of this Blog.

I am by no means a make-up artist, I know very little about proper application techniques, brushes, or the best brands to use. What I do know is that we can learn from each other and are interested in other people’s opinions. This Blog is therefore all about my own opinions; the brands I enjoy using, products I like and dislike and makeup styles I think are beautiful.

I have been a Belly Dancer since 2001 and would like to share what I know about makeup for belly dancers. I know there are many people who belly dance but are not too sure about the style of makeup or how to apply makeup that best suits belly dancing, so this Blog will also be about that sort of stuff.

Lastly I will be including a few reviews on products I like and dislike because no one likes to waste money, so hopefully a few honest reviews will shed some light on a product before you shell out the cash :o)

I am not an elitist and understand that not everyone thinks spending tons of money on top branded cosmetics is necessary, I agree with those people, so I will be using brands that the “every day” woman can find and afford. I am situated in Scotland at the moment, so please bear in mind that the products I use will be stuff I’ve found in local drugstores, but there are definitely similar products all over the world, wherever you are.

So that’s is for introductions, I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts and opinions!

Best wishes,

Kelly