Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Woop woop the day finally come last week.  I now own the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette woohoooooo!!!!!

My husband gave me a challenge that I successfully completed, and the prize was...the Naked 2 palette (yes, he is awesome).

I already own Naked 3 and am not sure I am going to bother with Naked as I don't think the shades will suit my complexion, we shall see though. 

All in all, one happy girl this weekend when I got to put it to the test on Friday night date night, it looked amaze-balls.

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Blank Canvas Cosmetics - F30 Sculpt Brush (Nars Ita brush dupe)

Hey guys

 

This is a very quick post just to tell the world that my F30 Sculpt Brush from Blank Canvas Cosmetics has arrived and that I am extremely excited about this!

 

I was sooooooooooo pleased when I saw this brush used by a favourite of mine on YouTube, The Makeup Chair (you can find her channel by clicking here) as I had spent a lot of time about 6 months ago researching dupes for the Nars Ita brush and the only one I managed to find by Everyday Minerals was constantly out of stock everywhere.  Then, like a vision in the night, this little beauty popped up on my screen and I just couldn't delay in purchasing it!

 

Also, Blank Canvas Cosmetics, thank you for the gorgeous purple envelope, love it!

 

I am a HUGE fan of contouring (self-taught) and spent a lot of time researching it last year as I did my own wedding makeup.  This brush would have made it 100 times easier and I wish I had it at the time.  Nevertheless, I own it now and cannot wait to have a play around and see the results.  This brush is the PERFECT brush for contouring, especially chiselling out the definition in your cheeks.

 

You can buy this brush from Blank Canvas Cosmetics by clicking here.

 

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May Beauty Favourites TAG

Hey my lil sparkles

Today's post is to tell you what beauty products I have been loving this month.  So without further ado, lets kick this thing off!

  

L'Oreal Elnett Satin Heat Protection Spray

 

I use this product every time after I have washed my hair before I apply any heat to my hair.  Simply spritz a few pumps evenly through your damp hair and then dry it with a hair dryer without the worry that your hair is unprotected.  Also, if your hair is already dry but you are going to apply heat to it by way of hair straighteners for example, just pump a few sprays in your dry hair and straighten away!

 

 Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Spot Wand

Sorry about the well used product in this photo but I use it a lot, this little wand has been a life saver.  It has two ends with different product in each end.  One wand is for "Day" and one for "Night".  Obviously when to use each end is self-explanatory but let me tell you this little beauty really helps to clear up any pimples I see coming before they turn into corkers.

Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturiser 

I am probably a bit slow to join the beauty blogger party on this one but I still wanted to give it the air time as I think it is great! I have already got through a tin of the green aloe vera style, and I am now halfway through this cocoa radiant one.  There are three cons to this: the can doesn't last for very long / go very far; bit on the pricey side for the amount of time it lasts; and it is cold to apply! That said, those three reasons are still not enough to stop me using this! It is so quick and easy to apply and if left long enough you don't even have to rub it in, smells gorgeous, makes my skin soft, love it!

Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

If you are into nail stamping like I, you will know how difficult it is to find a good white polish to stamp with.  The Konad whites are in my opinion, a little on the pricey side so you could imagine my amazement and delight when I discovered that this little bad boy stamped really well.  And at a snap of only £1.99 per bottle in Boots.  If you are looking for a cheap white polish to stamp with, look no further than this.

Argan Oil of Morocco - Boots

This is like using a spa treatment for your hair.  Once I have washed my hair, I place a small blob of argan oil in the palm of my hand and run it through the length of my hair focusing more on the ends of the hair than the roots.  It leaves my hair feeling super soft and also smells gorgeous.

Do you use any of these products? If so, what ones?

Thanks for reading!

 Robin Sparkles

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NEW LAUNCH: HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette in Foxy including wax

 

 

 

Hey guys

 

Okay, there is good and bad news to this story.

 

Bad news

 

I was getting ready to go out for a fancy dinner a couple of weeks ago.  Luckily I had just finished my makeup so was not odd faced however, I dropped my HD Brow palette on the floor and it shattered the shadows.  Well, it shattered the two shades I use of course, not the highlighter or black that is also in there that I don't really use, GRR!

 

Good news

 

I went on the HD Brows website and found that they had a new style palette launching the following week which included a new wax to help the brows and powder stay in place throughout the day, jackpot!

 

I ordered mine here in the shade Foxy. This is the medium shade.  They are also available in Bombshell which is the light shade and Vamp which is the darker shade.  Choose what you are comfortable with based on your hair colour, I find Foxy works best for me even though I am blonde I am a natural dark blonde.

 

I bought my first palette a year ago and I had AT LEAST another year left in it and I used it every single day.  With this in mind, I know the palettes are expensive at £25.00 a pop plus postage so pretty much £30.00!  However, with similar products such as Benefit Brow Zings or Sigma Brow Powder you do not get a highlighter or black so you are getting more products for your money with the HD Brows palette in my opinion.

 

I must confess I haven't got round to using the wax yet, have you? Does it work well? I don't actually know whether you put it on separately or at the same time as the powder with the powder? Does anyone know?

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Superdrug Pamper Face Masks - Montagne Jeunesse dupe!

Hey guys

 

The other day I was shopping looking for the Montagne Jeunesse face masks and wasn't sure if they did them in Superdrug.  I am going on holiday soon and wanted to pamper my face beforehand as last year my face ended up peeling where it had been a little dry and then I was overly moisturising it on holiday and I lost my tan on my face!

 

Anywho, when in Superdrug I noticed these little beauties.  Well, there were about 8 different ones in total.  They were £0.99 each and were on a 3 for 2 offer!  I decided then and there that I would give these a go instead. 

 

Annoyingly, whilst writing this I have seen the Montagne Jeunesse ones I was looking for are for sale in Boots for only £0.67, breathe!  Not really a dupe when it is more expensive, I suppose I should change the title of this post!

 

Anywho, so far I have only used the Fruit Sorbet peel off mask and must say that it has made my skin softer and clearer.  I do suffer with dry skin on my face and it looks a lot fresher today.

 

I am going to try the other two over the course of the next few days and shall report back if I am happy or not happy but I have a feeling judging by the first one that they will work just fine.

 

What face masks do you use and would recommend?  Have you ever used Superdrug or Montagne Jeunesse?

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GHD V Gold Max Styler hair straighteners

Hey guys

 

This post is a bit delayed but basically I got some new GHD hair straighteners for Christmas and never blogged about it!  It might be more useful coming from me now anyway, as I have used them for the last few months.

 

I still have my old GHD's and they work totally fine, they are the slimmer ones.  However, those of you who have seen pics of my hair, or probably more appropriately my mane, will guess that it took quite a while to get through my tresses with thinner straighteners.  So I finally asked for the wider GHD's for Christmas and Santa (my husband) granted my wish!

 

Verdict?? If I am totally honest I don't really notice a difference.  I can take slightly bigger chunks of hair at a time which would make the overall time to do my hair quicker, HOWEVER, I find I cannot get as close to the roots of my hair with these so I either have to take small chunks (the same as I would have taken anyway) to get closer to the root, or I have to use both pairs of straighteners thus rendering getting a new pair a bit pointless.

 

Don't get me wrong, if I'm just quickly straightening my hair these make the task way way quicker, but I am somewhat of a perfectionist and when I know I have a little wavy bit at the top of my crown it drives me mad (my husband pointed this out to me on Saturday once we were out and I had only used my larger tongs!). 

 

I'm sure over time I will get used to them and find ways to manoeuvre to get to the roots easier.  I am still pleased I got them as they do get through the main body of my hair very fast and they come with a barrel cover so that you can pack them whilst they are still hot!

 

Do you have GHD straighteners? If so, what ones?

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Urban Decay Naked3 Eyeshadow Palette received from Cohorted.co.uk!!

Hey guys

 

Today I wanted to tell you about a recent discovery I made for a very new and up coming website, www.cohorted.co.uk and the awesomeness they are providing!!  The general idea is that they put up beauty products such as the Urban Decay Naked3 Palette, the more people who commit to buy this item, the more the price comes down! 

 

I got the Urban Decay Naked3 Palette with 50% off which was the lowest it could go, that's £18.50 rather than £37.00!!! BARGAIN!

 

There are only a limited number of products each time, I got 1 of 20 palettes they had available on launch night so you have to be quick!

 

I'm now hoping they will launch the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette as I really want to add that one to my collection then I will be a happy bunny.

 

Everyone should check this website out, it is a new way of shopping and I think it is going to change the way we shop in the future.  How they afford to do it I really do not know, but it's awesome all the same!

 

All in all, Cohorted you are awesome, keep doing what your doing, and fingers crossed please let me have a Naked2 palette!!

 

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BaByliss Curling Wand Review

 

Hey my sparkles

 

Today I wanted to show you how I style my hair using my BaByliss Curling Wand which I absolutely LOVE.  PLUS it comes with a funkay Michael Jackson heat glove.

 

I have been on a mission of years to have "Carrie Bradshaw-esque" hair and if you want it too, you need a curling wand!

 

Few obvious tips, the bigger the wand barrel, the looser the waves.  The curling wand I use is thinner at one end to the other. Equally, the bigger sections of hair you take the less shape hold will occur.  I always use my curling wands on the highest heat setting so that the curls last until I next wash my hair (3/4 days) and just make sure you use a good heat protectant on your hair before hand.  I am currently using the L'Oreal Paris Elnett heat protectant spray.

 

May I take this opportunity to say please excuse my roots, I am having them done tonight!! Full head of highlights coming my way baby!  I have been rockin' the ombre hair do for a while but want my blonde locks back before my holiday.

 

Anywho, back to the curling wand in hand.  All in all I think this is a fabulous product and would definitely recommend it to anyone.  There are more expensive ones out there but for me, it is not necessary.  I have really THICK and LONG hair and yet this still copes with my hair effortlessly and really does hold. With the right heat protection spray, hairspray and heat then this works perfectly.

 

I wish I had the time to use this more often, if it didn't take so long for me to do then I probably would.  I take approximately 1 inch sections of hair at the time.

 

Do you use a curling wand? If so, what one?  I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to see a YouTube tutorial of how I style my hair then please also let me know.

 

I will end this on a light note with a photo of my best "Cousin It" impression!

 

 

 

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Tanya Burr #TanyaBurrLipsandNails - Lip gloss review and swatch - Just Peachy

Hey guys

I have been eagerly awaiting the launch of Tanya Burr's lip gloss and nail polish range since the day she announced on YouTube that this was what she had been working on, boy oh boy was it worth the wait!!

I am a nude lips kinda gal and had a look on Katie's Beauty Blog before ordering as she had the full set of lip glosses and had swatched them all.  I had also read that the colours online weren't true to the colour they are in real life so I thought this step was important as I knew I wanted the most nude looking lip gloss from Tanya Burr's range.  After looking at Katie's Beauty Blog and a couple of other blogs I set my heart on owning the "Just Peachy" lip gloss as I felt this fitted exactly what shade I was looking for.

All the lip glosses and nail polishes are available to buy at Feel Unique.

I must take a moment to confess...this is the first lip gloss I have owned.  There, I said it! I own several nude lip sticks but not lip glosses but I am so pleased I lost my lip gloss virginity to this little beauty.  It is an absolutely stunning colour and I cannot stop rubbing my lips together at the smoothness!

As for the smell/taste, it is UH-MAZING! It's a gorgeous sweet smell and taste, like a bag of pick 'n' mix in a tube! Love it!

I am really really pleased that I purchased this lip gloss and really wish Tanya Burr the best of luck with this launch and hopefully more products to come in the future!

 

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Muji UK Acrylic Makeup Storage Unboxing

Hey guys

Just wanted to give you the heads up about some of the videos I have posted on YouTube lately.  This is to show you the video I filmed of me unboxing my new Muji Acrylic Makeup Storage and how it looks once added to my existing setup.

I am going to film another video soon of how my final setup looks with all my makeup put away in them.

Please please give it a watch and if you like it, a thumbs up too! :0)

Until next time bloggerinos!

Robin Sparkles

How to: Easy Leopard Print Nail Art YouTube Tutorial

 Hey guys

I just wanted to let you know that my Leopard Print Nail Tutorial is now LIVE on YouTube so be sure to click the link and check it out!

I really hope you like the video.  I know its not quite up there with some of the brilliant nail tutorials I watch but I have put a lot of time into it, especially editing the video (wow, editing is hard) so depending on how it goes down I would really love to make some more, practice makes perfect afterall!

Thanks for all your ongoing support and let me know what you think.

Robin Sparkles

‘Devine Nails’ Company & Product Review – False Stick on Nails custom made

 

 

Today I would like to review an up and coming company that I recently discovered on Twitter and Facebook thanks to the genius #hashtag that is #twittersisters which takes place on a Thursday evening between 8:30pm-9:30pm GMT.  Devine Nails make and design custom made stick on nails, you pick the shape, design, colours and let them do the rest.  The company is based in Northern Ireland but can post worldwide.  All the nails are hand painted by Laura at Devine Nails.

I spent AGES trawling their Facebook and Instagram pages seeking out what design I would like most and in the end finally settled on one with a small amendment. 

 

 

 

I simply messaged Laura through her Facebook page and discussed my requirements with her.  She will send you out a nail size guide which basically consists of 10 different sized blank false nails which you tally up to your own size finger nails and let her know what size you need for each of your fingers.  Laura will then get to work straight away with making your custom design!

 

 

I think a set of Devine Nails are really great value for money, my set cost me £7.00 including postage.  They get sent in a cute organza bag with a couple of spares in case you lose any and also with a small tube of nail glue.  I must admit I chose not to use the nail glue and instead use some Elegant Touch false nail stickers which I picked up from my local Boots which meant I can just peel them off and reuse the nails without spoiling the underneath of them with glue.

 

 

I received really great feedback from friends and colleagues at my work Christmas party about my Devine Nails and was very proud to show them off!  All in all I received a great service from Laura and really cannot thank her enough.  I find it is very rare to find something that is good value for money nowadays but these certainly are.

Make sure you take a look, ‘Like’ her Facebook page, Follower her on Twitter @DevineNails1 and nab yourself a set ASAP!

Robin Sparkles

NYX Cosmetics Makeup Haul - Dec 2013

NYX Cosmetics Makeup Haul

 Hey girlies

I recently placed an order with NYX Cosmetics, how I did not know they had a UK website sooner is beyond me!  I ordered some gifts for a work colleague who was sadly leaving us, but made the most of the free postage and purchased some items for myself too!

I am going to rate the three NYX items I got out of 1 to 5 (5 being the bestest).

High Definition Eyeshadow Base - 5/5

I have an all over face primer that I use and am happy with but I wanted a specific eyeshadow primer so when I saw this one on the website I thought I would give it a go.  It cost £7.00 and looks like a foundation kind of colour on the stick.  It is UH-MAZING!!!  Not only does it help my eyeshadow colours go onto my eyelid in a much stronger high definition colour, but it also did exactly what it said on the tin; kept my eyeshadow on crease free for an entire evening at my work Christmas party.

NB: They also sell a powder eyeshadow base for £6.00 which comes in three shades.  I have personally not tried this product myself but after seeing mixed reviews on Amazon for this product, I am very pleased I spent the extra £1.00 and went for the product I did.

Liquid Illuminator in shade Sunbeam - 4/5

I found out about this product when I was searching for dupes of the Benefit High Beam and there were lots of videos on YouTube claiming it was the perfect dupe so I ordered this as well.  I am very impressed with the quality and sparkle of this product and shall certainly be placing another order if/when I run out.  You get a huge amount of product for the bargain price of only £7.00!! I think Benefit High Beam would cost something crazy like 3 times the price of that.

NXY Liquid Illuminator in Sunbeam

NXY Black Label Lipstick in shade Nude - 4/5

This is the perfect nude lipstick for me.  I prefer to wear nude lipsticks as I have blonde hair and blue eyes and I seem to find wearing nude lips make my eyes pop more as I like my eyes to be my feature when I do my makeup. This is just perfecto! It glides on soooo smoothly and leaves your lips feeling very soft.  Only downside to this and the only reason it is not 5/5 is that it doesnt last very long and I found myself re-applying quite frequently.

NYX Cosmetics Black Label Lipstick in 'Nude' BLL 174

NB: I could not find this lipstick available on the UK website so I had to order this from a different online location.  I am certainly going to order a couple more to keep my stocks up in case they decide to stop making this product! LOVE IT!

What are your experiences with NYX? What are your favourite products?  I would love to hear from you.

Robin Sparkles