kiko long lasting colour lip markers

Lots of brands have brought out lip markers - felt-tip pen style lip stains - in the last year or so, and I kept meaning to try one but I wasn't really sure as I thought you might need super smooth lips to pull them off.  I just thought they'd probably have a really drying formula.  

Recently I was sent these *lip markers from KIKO, so I'm finally giving the lip pen formula a try.  The colours I have are a bright pinkish red, a fuchsia pink and a more orangey-red.  The pink is my favourite and I couldn't wait to try it on, so I gave it a go without even prepping my lips and was surprised at how easily it went on without making my lips look flakey.  

As these are a stain product I expected them to be long-lasting - I got around 4 hours wear from each application, even when I was getting through lots of cups of tea.  The finish is matte and you get great colour payoff.  

I'm really pleased with these - lip markers weren't a product I necessarily expected to get along with, but I've really enjoyed using them.  They apply really easily too - I sometimes make a few mistakes applying a bright colour but I find the felt tip style of these makes it easy to be precise, even when I'm reapplying during the day.  My only negative is that my pink pen seems to have dried out a bit, I'm not sure if I managed to leave it with the lid off some how or something - the other colours are fine.

The KIKO lip markers come in 8 different colours and cost £6.90 each from kikocosmetics.co.uk

Have you tried a lip marker before?

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MAC baking beauties pearlmatte face powder in pink buttercream

I don't often buy much from new MAC collections - they're so frequent you could literally spend a fortune.  If something does catch my eye it's usually one of the limited edition lipsticks, but when I took a peak at the Baking Beauties collection I instantly new I was going to break that trend when I saw this pretty.

I've never bought a MAC powder before other than a MSF natural, and I didn't really expect to get one, but this was just too beautiful to pass up on.  The pearlmatte face powder in pink buttercream is a gorgeous pale pink powder with a shimmer.  The gorgeous floral pattern is made up of four shades - white, peach, pink and lilac.  

Each of the elements swatched separately - white, peach, pink, lilac.

Much as it pains me to mess up something so beautiful, here's a swatch of the colours swirled together.  A shimmery white-pink highlight.  

I didn't need it, but I wanted it so bad, and it makes me happy just to look at it :)

Have you bought anything from the MAC Baking Beauties collection?

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How to throw a rainbow first birthday party!

I love a bit of baking and DIY so a themed birthday party is right up my street.  My best friend's baby girl has just turned one, so I thought I'd show you what we got up to for her first birthday party.  Heather picked a rainbow theme for the party which gave us lots of scope to go crazy with colour....

Our table centrepiece was made up of a large birthday cake surrounded by rainbow cupcakes.  They took forever to make but looked so good once they were all lined up together.  

When the cake was cut the final rainbow surprise was revealed!  

Scrummy rainbow cookies made by Zara - lucky I'm on a diet because I could have scoffed the whole plate of these they were so good.

Marshmallow pops made by threading large marshmallows onto a stick and then dipping them in chocolate and covering them in rainbow sprinkles.  We used rainbow drops in a vase to stand up some of the pops.

Rainbow fruit platter with marshmallow clouds!  I love how this turned out, it's so pretty.

Multi-coloured sweeties in large jars / vases.

Rainbow party bags for the kiddies.

Check out that spread - there was also some real food to help people out of their sugar coma! 

And of course the birthday girl with her beautiful mummy.  She's not looking totally impressed here, I get the feeling she didn't quite appreciate all of our efforts.  I'll remind her when she's older!  

I made Isla's little birthday outfit to go along with her rainbow party theme.  I designed the babygrow and had it professionally printed.  The rainbow tutu was made using a few metres of bright netting and pink ribbon I bought on ebay and I made bow for her shoes from the leftovers.  I bought the baby shoes and leggings from Primark and used left over ribbon to stitch a little bow on to a hairband - shockingly she didn't pull it out of her hair!  I loved that she wore the outfit I made, and that she had the decency not to throw up on it.  

I can't wait to find out what themed we'll get to play with next year!  

What do you think of our rainbow party?  Isn't Isla the cutest? :)

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April beauty favourites

Okay okay so I know we're nearly half the way through May, but I still wanted to share my favourite products from April with you.  I missed March favourites partly because of my laptop disaster, and also because the products I was using hadn't really changed since February.  But, now that spring is finally here I've completely changed up lots of my products, some through want and some due to need because of the effects the changing weather has on my skin.  

I love pretty spring makeup and can't resist purchasing new things at this time of year.  I instantly fell in love with the world famous neutrals palettes from Benefit - I bought two of the three that came out earlier in the year, but this one's my favourite - glamorous nudes.  I must swatch this again soon (yep, lost all the original photos) and do a full review.  This goes so well with the sweetheart blush from Too Faced - I really fell for the packing with this beauty but it's a gorgeous blush too, so I'm really pleased I bought it and I've worn it loads.  In the back here you can also see I've been making a huge dent in my hello flawless powder - I reviewed that here and I'm still loving Benefit's fake up concealer which you can read about here.

I've tried a few new shampoos this month but my best new discovery is the full detox shampoo from Ojon.  I made a bit of a mistake when I bought this as I thought it was a shampoo for every day, but it's actually one you should only use every few weeks or once a week at the most.  My hair feels cleaner than I can explain when I use this shampoo.  It's a lot like Bumble and Bumble's Sunday shampoo.  Also on the subject of hair I finally got around to buying one of the Elnett heat protection sprays after one of my friends recommended them to me.  I bought the one for straight hair and it's really good for giving a smooth finish when blow drying without adding any greasiness or heaviness.

I've had to change up my moisturiser because the warmer weather has left my face a shiny mess most days.  The *Good Things miracle mattifier has been doing a great job - I still get shiny, but this makes a good difference to how shiny - it smells really nice too and is a good base for makeup.  I now need to find a new eye primer as my shadow has been creasing like crazy on my oily lids - I always used to use Urban Decay's primer potion but it's stopped working for me - sad face.

And lastly here you can see my new favourite perfume of the moment - Marc Jacobs Daisy eau so fresh sunshine - don't even get me started on how gorgeous the bottle is.  The fragrance is lovely too - a lighter more summery version of the original daisy, which I also really like.

My spring lips have been a mixture of pinks, peaches and corals.  Left to right these are YSL rouge volupte in 8 - kissable rose, MAC haute altitude, MAC cut a caper and Revlon lip butter in creamsicle.

After I went along to the Bioderma launch as well as getting to try out their world famous micellar waters, I was also given a tube of the *Sébium pore refiner which I've been really impressed with.  It does exactly what it says on the tube - it instantly makes my enlarged pores look smaller and much less noticeable.  I didn't expect it to be half as good as it is and now it's part of my daily routine.  

Lastly an old favourite in a new shade.  Esteé Lauder double wear is my holy grail foundation but I've always had a bit of trouble getting the exact shade right.  Even when I was properly matched at a counter I found the shade a bit dark so I've had another go myself and am now wearing Fresco, although I sometimes mix it with what's left of my darker colour to get a really perfect match.  Nothing else I've tried compares to double wear for my oily combination skin - it's an all time favourite.  

Are any of these products your favourites too?

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Models Own hedkandi 2013 collection - sunset chillout and bora bora review and swatches

We all know models own make some fabulous polishes, and there have been some great collections coming out lately (iced neons, fruit pastels and nail art pens), but when they release polishes in association with hedkandi, you always know there's something a little bit extra special on the way.  

The latest hedkandi releases don't disappoint.  *Sunset chillout and *bora bora are just crying out to be worn all summer long.  I thought I couldn't get excited about another gold polish, but bora bora has a special edge - it really does remind me of golden sandy beaches with its subtle fine glitter.  It works perfectly as a full coverage polish in two coats too.  

Sunset chillout is this year's answer to Ibiza Mix (I'm still in love with that polish too) - it's a multi-coloured, mixed-size glitter polish dominated by chunky blue glitter.  There's enough glitter packed in for it to be worn alone - although that's not my favourite look as I have an aversion to naked nails - but it looks great over pretty much any colour.  Here I'm wearing it over models own pastel pink as I thought it contrasted really well with the blue glitter in sunset chillout.  

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of Models Own's new Splash collection which is due to hit the shelves of Boots on 15 May - how beautiful are these sparklers?  

From left to right they're called aqua splash, pink paradise, red sea, golden shores and mermaid tears.  I hope they look as good as this in real life!

Have you tried any of the new models own collections?

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Cath Kidston Bicester Village outlet haul

I mentioned in this post about my sneaky Mulberry purchase, that I'd been to the Bicester Village outlets in Oxford.  While I was there I couldn't resist a good raid of the Cath Kidston outlet, so I thought I'd show you what I picked up.

My best bargain was probably this bag.  It's a really roomy shopper sort of bag - too big for me for every day probably, but great for times when I have a lot of junk to lug around.  It has expandable sides too, so you can really cram a lot in here if you need to.  I really like the pretty pink floral print on a deep grey background and this was only £16 so it would have been rude not to buy it!

I also bought a set of four star print mugs which come in a pretty tin.  They don't go with my kitchen at all, so like a bit of a mad woman I'm putting them away for when I get my new kitchen in the future.  They were £12.50 reduced from £25.

More star prints, but in different colours - I bought this massive clear umbrella.  I've always liked the clear domed sort of umbrellas and used to buy them a lot years ago.  This one's a regular umbrella shape rather than a dome and it seems really sturdy compared to the flimsy domed ones I used to have.  It was raining and snowing when I was in Oxford, so I justified this purchase as a necessity!  I had the tag snipped off in the shop for me, so I'm not sure of the exact price -I'm sure it was somewhere between £12 and £15.  

In this photo you can also see my new Cath Kidston table cloth - this was an intended purchase as I've wanted one for ages.  I bought the large size for my big dining room table and it was about £25.

On my way to the till I added a few more unnecessary items - a cute little makeup bag and purse.  I sort of needed the purse as when I use a small handbag my long Ted Baker purse doesn't fit inside, but I really didn't need another makeup bag!  The makeup bag was £6 and the little clasp purse was £4.

As they had some of my favourite prints in stock I also grabbed a couple of pretty tea towels for £4 each.

And lastly another thing to hoard until my new kitchen is these pretty nesting tins.  They were £10.50 and I had to have them as this is probably my all time favourite Cath Kidston print - provence rose.  

So all in all I was very impressed with the Cath Kidston outlet - lots of the things I bought are still being sold on cathkidston.co.uk for full price, so they definitely felt like bargains and I can't wait to see what they'll have next time.  

Are you a Cath Kidston fan?  What's your favourite print?

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Illamasqua Paranormal collection - Hydra Veil, Gleam - Supernatural and Ouija UV nail polish review and swatches

In this post I showed you the new Paranormal collection from Illamasqua and shared my first impressions.  Now it's time to get up close and personal with some of the products I was lucky enough to take home with me.

I should have saved the best until last really, but first up we have *Hydra Veil.  I thought this would be amazing as soon as I saw it and felt it.  I knew it would be amazing after David Horne explained exactly what it was, how it was developed and what it could do.  It was confirmed to be amazing the first time I tried it at home in the morning as part of my usual routine.  I can't get enough of this - I may need to request David to start selling a jumbo value tub version.  

Hydra Veil is not a primer or a moisturiser, it's an in between sort of prepping product which hydrates the skin making makeup application much smoother and giving a more perfect end result, especially around areas prone to being dry or flakey.  It's perfect for oily or combination skin like mine as although I have areas which produce oil-a-plenty, so I avoid any heavy creams and moisturisers, I also get some odd dry patches such as around my nose and lips.  Hydra Veil is also great for the under-eye area which can be an issue for most people - our eyes always look more awake and younger when the delicate skin around them is nicely plumped and hydrated.  

I had a long chat with David Horne about my skin and he was kind enough to listen to me moaning and gave me lots of tips.  One of the things he realised I was getting really wrong for my skin type is that I tend to exfoliate in the morning with a gentle daily facial exfoliating product - he told me that this is making my skin rough and angry in the morning when I'm trying to create a smooth base for makeup - common sense really! I've now relegated my exfoliating to night-time only and wow he was right, it makes a huge difference.  One morning I exfoliated accidentally without thinking and really noticed the problems it caused me when I came to put on my makeup.  

The first time used Hydra Veil I just put it on my dry areas - my foundation (Esteé Lauder double wear) applied smoothly even in the places where I'm used to it getting patchy or cakey.  I knew I was on to a winner so the next day I applied Hydra Veil on my whole face before my makeup and it was simply perfect - I even noticed that my foundation seemed to last longer and looked better at the end of a long day than it does usually.  You only need a little scoop of Hydra Veil for your whole face, so I'm hoping the jar will last me between 4 - 6 weeks and I shall definitely be purchasing when I run out.  

Hydra Veil is said to be really good with Illamasqua's skin base foundation, especially if skin base doesn't usually work for you.  I've owned skin base for a long time, but found it didn't seem to sit right on my skin - it's also a bit of a bad shade match for me - too dark - so I didn't persevere with it so much.  I tried using Hydra Veil with skin base and it made application really even so I thought all the problems were fixed.  But, by the end of the day I noticed the foundation had clumped in some patches and it had also oxidised on my skin and had gone a bit darker - my skin is extremely oily in places, so I think that's why skin base doesn't work for me, even when I combine it with the wonder that is Hydra Veil. 

The other exciting thing about Hydra Veil is it's unique consistency and levelling qualities.  Whilst I thought it was just a lot of fun to make it slime and goop around and to swirl it up and then watch it all slither back into a completely smooth tub full again, I'm also geeking out on the science bit.  How they make Hydra Veil self-level in the tub no matter how much you try to wreck it I don't know, but it's going to do the same magic trick on your face to even and smooth the surface.  Genius.

Next I got to play with one of the *UV nail polishes from the Paranormal collection.  This shimmery pink is Ouija. It's a multi-faceted polish, almost like a cross between a muted fine glitter and a subtle shimmer.  In natural light it has a slightly pearlescent shine to it - very other worldly!  Under a black light - unfortunately I don't have one to demonstrate - the polish glows a white hot pink.  Perfect for wearing to a club, theme park (I'm thinking of the spooky rides) or anywhere Hallowe'en related where there's likely to be black light so that you can show this off.  If you aren't encountering any black light, it's equally pretty as it is in natural daylight as well as being an excellent quality and hard-wearing polish.

And finally I got to try out Illamasqua's new *gleam highlighter in the shade supernatural.  This one confused me a bit as I usually expect my highlighters to be a little bit paler in colour, but hey this is Illamasqua so nothing should surprise me really!  I think this would be an amazing highlight on a deep skin tone - on me, as I have dark hair and medium skin, it actually looks perfect as a shimmery blush come bronzer.  It's a very buildable cream product - I've swatched it very heavily, but you can also get a much more subtle wash of colour from this too.  I think it'll look even better on me once I've gotten around to a bit of fake tanning.

I've ordered the new gel liner from the Paranormal collection and I'm really excited to get my hands on it, so I'll share my thoughts on that as soon as I can.

Illamasqua's paranormal collection is available now from Illamasqua.com, Selfridges and Debenhams.

What do you think of the products I tried out?  Do they interest you?

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