MUA Going For Gold Review

To celebrate Team GB's AMAZING victories this weekend I popped into my local Superdrug to pick up the MUA Going For Gold Palette. This limited edition palette has 10 shimmery eye shadows in various shades of Gold, Silver and Bronze which is perfect for getting into the Olympic spirit! 

Despite being fairly new to MUA's eye shadows I can say I am so impressed with every aspect of this product. The packaging is a relatively minimalist black plastic which is aesthetically pleasing but keeps the product safe from bumps. I threw this in my bag after purchasing and it stayed as good as new! 

This palette is fairly different to other MUA offerings as the pans are square in comparison to the standard circular ones. I feel this is much better as it feels like you get more product, as well as having more space to swirl your brush around! 

I am so amazed by the high quality of the eye shadows! The pigmentation is astounding and it is such good value for money. The shimmery shades will can create a modern twist on the smokey eye, and they are ideal for highlighting too. Too be honest I was a bit taken back by the brightness of the colours to begin with, especially Shade 5 (top far right) as in the pan it's very 'in your face' but in hindsight it can be really wearable when blended with other shades. 

Despite being Olympic Inspired palette I think these will be lovely 'holiday' shades and would look gorgeous with a tan! I have definitely been converted to MUA palettes, having recently picked up Undressed and Heaven and Earth as well, and I will definitely be going back for more palettes! 

Have you tried any of the MUA palettes? What do you think of the quality of money in comparison to other brands? Let me know! X 

MUA Going For Gold is available in selected Superdrug stores and online here for £4, but it's currently on offer for £1 off! 

Weekly Wants #4 - Bedroom Buys!

Hi guys! Today I was planning on sharing with you all my haul from today's trip to London, but it's pretty much non existent! I picked up a few pairs of shoes and a shirt from Primark in Oxford Street but there really isn't much exciting to report back to you all! One of the pairs of shoes was on the wrong hanger so I picked up a size too small and the only top I wanted the smallest size they had was a 12 but I picked it up anyway! 

So this evening I've decided to create a different twist on my Weekly Wants and focus it on bits I want to pick up for my bedroom. My bedroom has quite a vintage shabby chic feel to it but I'm always searching for new bits and pieces to add to it, and here's the things I'm currently lusting over!

1. Owl Cushion £14.95 from www.sassandbelle.co.uk - How cute are these cushions?! I saw them in Camden Market earlier but didn't pick one up and now I'm really kicking myself for it, definitely ordering one of these cuties, although after browsing their website there's so many lovely cushions!

2. Birdcage £9.99 from Dunelm Mill - I swear no-one my age should love Dunelm Mill as much as I do! This Birdcage is just so lovely and I think it'll look gorgeous in my bedroom, so I'll be keeping an eye out for this when I next pop in

3. Teapot Lamp £30 from Next - Love the Kooky, Alice in Wonderland style lamp I think it's brilliant! It's definitely a statement piece!

4. Heart Shaped Mirror £39 from www.beau-decor.co.uk I haven't currently got a mirror in my bedroom and it can be quite frustrating at times, but I'm quite picky and I need 'the one' and I think I've found it! The heart and shabby chic feel to it will fit perfectly in my bedroom!

What do you think of the pieces I've picked out for my bedroom? Would you like to see a tour of my room and my vintage-esque finds? X 

Front Cover Rainbow Eyes Reborn

Eye shadow palettes have always been quite popular as they provide complimentary shades and are usually good value for money in comparison to buying each shadow individually. Recently we have seen the much hyped Naked Palettes and their more affordable counterparts, MUA's Heaven and Earth and Undressed Palettes, but I felt it was about time I introduce you to my favourite palette of all time...

Front Cover Rainbow Eyes Reborn offers 25 eye shadows in a huge array of colours, and is my number one go to palette time after time. I find there is plenty to choose from and it is so incredibly versatile. I've had mine for about 18 months now and I haven't hit pan on any of them, which must be a good thing! I was originally under the impression that this product was exclusively released in Boots over the Christmas period, but after some research I have found that it is actually available on the Boots website all year round which is brilliant news for me! 

Below I have swatched each of the colours to demonstrate how piigmented the shadows are, as well as show off the gorgeous shades!

Nudes: (L-R) Blanc de Blanc, Mother of Pearl, Biscuit, Hazel, Clove

Cools (L-R) Moonstruck, Eucalyptus, Cerulean, Wisteria, Black Iris

Warm (L-R) Blossom, Pink Lemonade, Blush, Viola, Chocolate Truffle

Jewels (L-R) Fern, Bluebird, Riviera, Clematis, True Blue

Wow (L-R) Wild Lime, Buttercup, French Blue, Carrot, Super Pink

As well as 25 amazing eye shadows Rainbow Eyes also provides 'Shadowline' a transparent liquid eyeliner which you can use on any of the shades to create a eyeliner colour of your choice. I think this is a brilliantly innovative product, and I haven't brought a liquid liner since buying this! Below I have demonstrated the difference between using a shadow by itself and with the Shadowline. As you can see it makes a more defined look. 

Mother of Pearl, Left swatched, Right Shadowlined

Overall I cannot recommend Rainbow Eyes Reborn enough, and I don't feel I really need to buy anymore eye shadows so this is definitely an investment buy. Front Cover Rainbow Eyes is available online at Boots here for £31.50

Have you used any of Front Cover's eyeshadows? What do you think of them? X 

4 Weeks Hair Challenge

Image from weheartit

Recently I've had a bit of a hair disaster. Not long after I Ombréd my hair I had to have quite a bit of it chopped off as it was dry and breaking, and generally in appalling condition. I had about 4 inches chopped off which is quite drastic and it's left me not feeling too great about my hair! 

Whilst reading some Blogs last night I came across the lovely JessicaLeigh discussing her 4 Weeks No Heat challenge and the benefits she saw from not using any heat on her hair and it inspired me to do something similar! I've set myself a few rules in order to try and make the most of my heat free time:

1. Use My Tangle Teezer! As silly as it sounds I love my tangle teezer but I don't often use it! I actually have two so I will be popping one in my handbag and the other will be going on my bedside table to remind me to use it!

2. Don't wear hair in a topknot Usually when I'm having a lazy day I just shove my hair in a topknot to get it out of my way, and I'd often pull it quite tightly to ensure it stayed in place and I hate to think about the amount of damage I caused! I'll still wear my hair in a topknot occasionally but I will take much more care in how I do it

3. Absolute no hair dye In my time my hair has been an array of colours and this has definitely had a negative effect on my hair. As you all know I recently bleached half my hair to death so I will be steering away from the Hair Dye section in Boots to lead me away from temptation. 

4. Change Products At the moment I'm using the John Freida Full Repair range which I cannot recommend  enough but somedays it will work better than others which can be a bit strange! For my 4 week challenge I'm going to use the Lee Stafford Hair Growth range to give my hair a little encouragment, as we well as ensuring it is well protected against any damage. 

Hopefully this will put me in a good position to get the best looking hair possible while maintaining it's good condition. My hair usually grows quite quickly anyway but I want to ensure that as well as growth I also have the good condition of it! The end of my 4 week challenge will be the 30th August 2012 but if I see a considerable change in my hair it may go on for even longer!

Have you got any tips for me to keep my hair looking it's best? X 

Glamorous UK Wishlist

Forgive me for saying but up until recently I wasn't too familiar with Glamorous UK, but I've noticed quite a surge in popularlity on blogs and Twitter, so I quickly followed their Twitter and liked their Facebook page to keep up to date with their products. Having spent what feels like hours browsing their website I have complied a list of my favourite items, most of which I will be definitely hoping to buy when payday arrives!

1. Black Disco Pants - £29.99 - EVERYONE is talking about Disco Pants and I'm desperate for a pair, but I don't want to spend too much on them so these are a brilliant alternative and I can't believe they're so affordable! These are at the top of my payday wishlist! I love the Gold ones Glamorous do as well but I don't think I'm brave enough to wear them, so I'll stick with black for now! 

2. Bird Print Dress - £29.99 - I have obviously once again chose bird print as I absolutely adore anything Birdy haha! I love the dip hem and soft feminine print of this dress, I instantly fell in love with it the second I saw it! 

3. Studded Jumper - £36.99 - I'm appalled at the fact that a jumper is featuring on my blog a day before August, but I have found myself reaching for my Jumpers and Hoodys the past few days! I think I'll probably buy this a size bigger than I usually wear and have it for lazy days, I love the studded shoulders! 

4. Sleeveless Top - £13.64 - I love the summery paisley contrast to this top, and it's quite versatile to be dressed up on nights out, or dressed down with skinny jeans or leggings, I've got quite a few top's like this already but I just cannot get enough! 

5. Cream Playsuit  - £29.99 - I love love love love love the vintage feminine print of this playsuit, and it's so summery and cute! It's perfect for warm days

 6. Peplum Vest - £24.99 - I love Peplum finishes at the moment and I love the lace detail and the sheer fabric of this vest, this would look lovely with the Black Disco Pants so I can feel that I'll be having quite a large order come payday! 

All of the above products are available on the Glamorous UK website, and all prices are correct at the time of publishing! Since browsing the Glamorous UK website I have definitely fallen in love! Have you seen anything on their site which you are lusting after? <3 X 

NOTD: Pacman!

Hi guys! Before I start with today's NOTD I'd like to apologise for being absent for the past few days, as some of you may be aware I've just been placed on the contraceptive patch and it's not giving me a good time of it at the moment! I'll spare you all the gory details but I've been in a lot of pain adjusting to the changes! Anyways enough girl talk and on to this slightly different NOTD... 

Pacman nails! I'm a big fan of statement nails, and these are definitely eye catching! I originally 'created' this design whilst at University last year. As you may know I had a dreadful year at uni, and I hated living on campus and at times I felt very isolated and alone, and one night the internet in the entire university stopped working, which, as silly as it sounds, devastated me! Having no means of accessing Facebook or Twitter was a nightmare so I got out my nail polishes and set to work entertaining myself! I remember first seeing a design similar to this online but sadly I cannot remember where so I cannot link you to it :(! Heres how I created the look:

To create the design I used my OPI Natural Base Coat and Top Coat, Collection 2000 in Blue Hawaii, a H&M polish in Summer Sunrise and a Natural Collection Black Liquid Eyeliner - this is just because I don't own a nail art pen, and eyeliner and a topcoat work just as well!

I began by drawing a cresent moon shape on my thumb nail in the yellow polish. As you can see it's not too neat but it doesn't have to be at this stage, the black outline neatens everything up later on. 

I then used two diagonal lines to create the shape of Pacman. Again it looks quite messy but it's not important at this stage. As you can see from the above picture the polish is quite uneven, so I added another coat of the entire shape once it was dry. 

On my other fingers I painted over the whites of my nails with the blue polish. I used the Collection Blue Hawaii as it is a really vibrant blue which is quite traditional to the Pacman games. At this point you could probably attempt to draw Pacman Ghosts, cherries or the little Pacman dots on these nails but I personally didn't want to overload it!

Once everything is dry you can move on to outlining the shape of your Pacman with your nail art pen (or eyeliner if you're as frugal as me!) This gives a chance to hide any 'wobbly' bits and neaten the whole thing up. Next you add a dot in the upper section of Pacman's face to create his eye.

I again outlined the blue on my other nails, to accentuate the blue and make it 'pop' more.

And here's the finished result! I chose to leave my nails unpainted underneath the design, but alternatively you could have painted a black base coat to make it look more like the Pacman game, and make it look more retro, but personally I chose to keep it a bit more natural!

Hope you enjoyed this mini tutorial! I have few more 'different' NOTD planned! What do you think of the design? Is it something you'd wear? X 

Teeny Tiny MUA Haul

As payday isn't until the end of next week I was feeling like I wanted to treat myself but I didn't want to go overboard on my poor bank account, so I popped into my local Superdrug store to see what MUA could offer me. Despite the Superdrug in Central Milton Keynes being a generous size, they only stock the most basic MUA range, which is an absolute nightmare with all of these lovely new products they've been releasing! Admittedly the display wasn't greatly stocked so I decided to pick up a few Lipsticks. I usually have a love-hate relationship with lip products and I don't have a huge collection so I decided to pick up a few in varying shades. 

Shade 4, 9, 11, 14

When I do buy lip products I always seem to opt for rosy light pink shades which I don't feel suit me too well, so I decided to divulge into some more neutral tones to broaden my collection of lip products as well as give me a bit more of a choice when doing my make up! 

Shade 4

Shade 9

Shade 11

Shade 14 

Of all of the above shades my favourite would be 'Shade 14 - Bare' which I believe is one of their newer shades, guessing by the fact that it has a name! The name says it all really and it's a cool nude colour which is extremely wearable and I think this may be going a long side my MUA shade 7 and Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait in my make up bag! However I'm incredibly impressed with the pigmentation is so impressive for the price, which makes MUA such an impressive Brand! Knowing the brilliant quality of these products makes me really envy people who have a bigger selection of MUA products in their local stores, but I will definitely be searching out a Superdrug store on my upcoming trip to London to get my hands on their PRO line and some of their newly released products!

MUA Lipsticks are available for £1 for 3.8g of product online and in selected Superdrug stores!

Have you tried any MUA lipsticks? How do you feel they compare to more expensive products? X