TheBalm's Mary lou-maniser first impressions and swatch.

 So this morning I received a very exciting package from feelunique.com as earlier this month i discovered that they sell products from 'TheBalm' and I have wanted to try out some of their products for ages and most importantly their world famous highlighter.
My first impression of this when I first opened the product was that it was much more tanned and golden than I originally thought however this doesn't really effect my expectations of the product as I think that if I use it paired with warm toned eye makeup as well as  blush I think it would look really beautiful. My favourite aspect of this product is the way that it catches the lights and when swatted on my hand the reflection was phenomenal and the pay off was great, I'm really looking forward to wearing this on my face later and updating on the wear of it.

UPDATE:
Wore this out for the first time today and I got so many compliments on how glowy my makeup looked! I am already in love with this product and I am amazed with the finish of the powder when it goes onto your skin as you cannot see a powdery finish which normally reveals your pours in fact when applied on the cheek bones it appears as though you have applied a liquid highlighter it is that silky and smooth on the skin. I applied the highlighter on the high points of my cheeks, brow bone, cupids bow and teeny bit on the centre of my nose - i started off with a light hand and built up the intensity because if you went straight in with a lot of product it would be very intense and bright which for some people might be the look your trying to achieve!. To apply this I used a e.l.f cosmetics fan brush which I found applied the product in a straight line and i had to work with it to blend it out to look naturally so I think the next time I wear this highlighter I am going to experiment with a different brush and maybe a swirling technique (I think a duo fibre stippling brush would be great to apply this) Overall I would give this product a 9/10 I really can't fault it other than I had to blend out the  line however that could just be my brush. I think the colour would be great on every skin tone and they even 2 other shades which could be used for darker skin tones/bronzer which Im really wanting to try out soon. I ended up paying just under 15£ for the mary lou-maniser because I had a 15% off code for feel unique which was great because I saved a couple quid as I believe this is normally 17£. Give it a try it has plenty of brilliant reviews.

x

ALDI does skincare?!

Thought I would give a mini review at what I am trying at the moment which is this LACURA face care line which believe it or not is actually from Aldi however I thought I would give this brand a try after reading so many good reviews in magazines. This product is a serum which I have been applying to my face day and night. For daytime I have been applying it before my moisturiser and primer and at night I have been applying after my cleansing routine. 

First initial thoughts have been that when waking up in the morning I have found my face very moisturised and plump even my blemishes and redness have seemed to have reduced and not appear so dry and I am really liking the first outcome however I have been only using this for three days aprox and plan to give a proper update in a week or two.

Duty Free Purchases.

Recently I have been on a week get away trip to Crete (gorgeous place!) and on the way there of course I had a little browse in duty free and in all honesty I wasn't too impressed with the selection in there. I felt as though I already had the majority of products in their and nothing was really wow'ing me and standing out for me to purchase, however I did enjoy the new layout of duty free (being the interior design lover that I am) so thats always a bonus.

One of the main duty free indulgences is of course perfume and since I was there and its a holiday tradition I did have to buy something so I had a wonder and came across the little miniature versions of the Marc Jacobs perfumes now I was very let down by the sizes of these because the packaging was very deceiving and I thought the bottles would be slightly bigger for the boxes they were in, I paid 39£ for the set of 4 which works out roughly a tenner each. I justified buying these to myself by thinking it is a great way to try out the other perfumes to see if you actually enjoy wearing them before dedicating yourself to a larger more expensive bottle and I had heard a few friends say that Marc Jacobs daisy perfume was one of their favourites so I thought may as well try it out for myself along with Honey and Dot which were others I hadn't tried before. 

I knew that getting them was worth it also for the fact they including Daisy Dream which is one of my favourite perfumes anyways as I have a bigger bottle of this but I think I will give the miniature to  my mum.

To conclude I find that these little miniature bundles are great if your wanting to try out the scents before purchasing the bigger bottles and also they look so pretty on a vanity or desk!.

p.s here is some closer looks at the pretty little bottles.

x

Beautifully disney.

Its been 2 years since I started this blog and I have to admit it was embarrassing coming back and having a look at what it looked like and of course the original name *cringe*. Thought I would give blogging another go as a hobby and writing about things I have a passion for.

To kickstart this off I've decided to write a little review (my own thoughts and opinions) on a not so known makeup range that doesn't have enough credit. It may seem a bit gimmicky when first looked upon but this is intact a makeup range by Disney and sold within Walt Disney Resort Florida as 'merchandise'. I was first drawn to this range by the really beautiful princess esc packaging and as I tried the product I was really pleased with the quality and choice of colours within - for example one of the palettes I purchased which was a quad with 4 colours which significantly go hand in hand with each other and that could all be used to create one eye look or multiple with their being 3 neutral shades and a pop of colour which is the pink.

The colours their selves consist of a mid toned pink with a gold undertone which really ties it together with the other colours within this quad, a light vanilla colour which is a matte and can see has been one of my favourites (great for highlighting under the eyes), a matte neutral brown which is great for eyebrows and a transition colour and finally a really interesting dark brown with slight green/gold glitters through it which isn't too striking but just enough to make the colour interesting and unique. Along with their being a great combination of colours I've found the size of the pans to be quite a significant amount especially if they are being used on the eyes where you would need less product. The size of the pans are similar to the size of MAC pro long wear shadows or the pressed pigments.

In more depth on the quality of the shadows I find them all long wearing however I do find the darker shade rubs off lighter on the eye throughout the day bearing in mind my days being very long and enduring studying at college.

 Below is the dark brown shade with green/gold glitter running through.

Mid toned pink with a gold sheen and shimmer along side the matte vanilla shade.

neutral brown which is matte.

The branding itself really aims for a older target market whilst still keeping in touch with the disney theme itself.

Back of the quad 'enchanted kiss' where each shade is numbered.

Swatches of the quad on no primer or base.

To concluded I find myself very please with this not so known and sort after makeup product and I even purchased another palette called 'curioser and cruiser' which is inspired by alice in wonderland and also I have purchased a set of makeup bags by the 'beautifully' range aswell, being a huge fan of disney and visiting the resort in florida every year I would think it would be rude not to furthermore I will be having a look out for some more when I go next year!.

p.s I appologise for the grubby photos what can I say this product is well loved and its my first post having a go at blogging/reviewing again.

p.s.s I paid around 30$-35$ for this i think.

x