Dainty Doll | Bargain Alert

I'm sure the countless tweets & blog posts have already made you aware of this offer already. But if you've been hiding under a very well placed rock these past few weeks, I'm about to let you in on something that will allow you to give yourself a slight exception to any spending bans you currently have in place, stretch the last few pounds in your bank account before payday and recreate the madness of Christmas sale shopping..It's a good'en. 

Dainty doll is the brain child of band member (and fellow pale gal) Nicola Roberts. The brand was created specifically for paler complexions. 
Despite the brand being around for the last 5 years, and being available online on websites such as Boots & Asos, it's not as easier to get hold of in stores, and seeing as I'm a swatch-before-you-buy kinda girl (especially seeing as the average product is priced at a heafty £13.00), I've never got round to purchasing anything.

And thats where the bargain alert comes in. Fragrance direct is a discounted cosmetic site that I have previously ordered from. It's a serious one to bare in mind when your looking for a bargain buy and I'd definitely recommend you all to save to your favourites. You'll thank me later.
In this case, when I say discounted. I don't just mean a slight reduction  - I'm talking MUA prices here and you could say I got a tad carried away..

I ended up purchasing six blushes all together; 3 powders  & 3 creme.
Looking back it does seem a bit OTT; I only have two cheeks and lets face it I'm not going to be wearing a colour on each! But for £1.99 It was all the justification I needed.

The packaging is very swish and bares some similarity to Nars' rubbery casing.. Not the most practical as far as finger print marks go, but looks great for the first week!
One thing that I did notice was that only the number of each blusher was visible on the back of the case - Not a deal breaker, but it makes it harder to remember which number correlates to which colour, especially if you own more than one shade.

Another thing to add is that you do get an extra 2g of product with the powder blushes compared to the 5g of product with the creme blush. Here's a run down of shades:

All colours have great pigmentation and colour pay off, I literally swiped my hand once to get the following swatches:

(L-R): Billion Dollar Babies, Orange County Girl, Paper Roses

(L-R): Hippy Shake, My Girl, You Are My Sunshine

My favourites are Orange County Girl & You are my sunshine I love the similarity to Nars Orgasm but for a fraction of a price!

I managed to also track down the lipsticks on another website and another post will be up soon.
I think another order with Fragrance Direct is in order.. It's perfect to make little birthday presents or even stocking fillers for Christmas - well it is only 8 months away..

Have you tried any Dainty Doll products?

♥

Elf 3 for 2.

After checking my daily emails I stumbled across a promotional email from ELF. 

I haven't ordered anything from this brand in a LONG time. I personally love swatching products before committing and buying, there's something about physically buying make up in store that makes it all the more satisfying.

Unfortunately ELF in the UK isn't all that readily available, to my knowledge I've only seen it being sold in Tkmaxx, and even then it's never a huge selection.

I'm always one for a bargain and I've had all three items on my wish list for a good couple of month after seeing many bloggers rave about each of them. Seeing as technically I would be getting one of these babies free - I finally took the plunge.

First up is a Mineral Lipstick called 'Runway Pink' described by many as a more affordable option to MAC's Creme Cup. I'm all for a dupe!

The packaging for this is pretty sleek. Nothing too garish which is a major plus.

It's nice and simple and almost verging on (dare I say it..) sophisticated.

It looks far pinker in the tube but once swatched its a matte brown colour.

I can imagine this to look great with a pink blush - perfect for everyday lips.

It's also extremely pigmented. I literally applied this twice to my hand and the results speak for themselves.

Next up is ELF's "treat and tame" I haven't been one to really pay my brows much attention. I'm lucky in the sense that I naturally have quite dark, even eye brows so I can afford not to fill them in on a daily basis. If I'm going out, or wanting to make more of an effort with my appearance I use Benefit's Brow-zing (I got a sample of this in a smoky-eyes kit which I've had about 4 years! And we're still going strong!).

The Tame side isn't amazing, as you can see from the photograph the wand looks to be of pretty bad quality and it collects a lot of product - far too much to apply it accurately.

The colour looks to be a good match for my hair though, I have a lot of red in my hair due to a past hair dye and this seems to contain a red tinge too.

The other side is the "treat" side. It claims to be a vitamin infused gel designed for hair regrowth. I have a feeling it's all a bit of a con - I wanted to get the eyebrow and eyelash gel but it was out of stock.

Lastly is a blush from their studio line. Pink passion is arguably their best selling product and I can completely understand why.

Admittedly it's pretty intimidating in pan form and comes across a bright "barbie" pink, but once swatched it's a gorgeous light pink colour.

Another really pigmented product, and you can't fault its price either.
Not to mention the packaging is pretty swish, It's really compact and even comes with a mirror on the inside lid.
 I already have "tickled pink" and "candid coral" but this is far my favourite and looks to be a feature in my travel make up bag which I'm going to take with me on holiday later this month (post to come).

One thing I have noticed about ELF is that it's really pot luck in terms of quality, in this case 2 out of 3 aren't bad.

What are your favourites form ELF?

♥

Soap & Glory Haul

I was scanning the aisle of my local boots on the weekend in the hunt in finding suitable Christmas presents for the people in my life that I just don't know what to buy for.

Naturally, I had to check out the nearby make up stands to see if there were any good offers available (not that I needed any persuasion..).

I haven't tried any Soap and Glory make up products before but I've read a lot of good reviews singing their praises.

The average pricing per item is around the £8.00 mark, which in my opinion puts it at the top of the drug-store brands, but still relatively affordable if you compare it to the average product in my collection.

Here's what I picked up:

1. Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick - 'Fuscia-ristic'

2. Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick - 'Plum Jam'

3. Supercat Extreme Eyeliner Pen - Carbon Black
4. Sugar Crush - 'Fresh & Foamy Body Wash
5. Hand Food
6. Hand Maid

When it comes to the Gloss Sticks I was amazed on their texture when I swatched the tester on the back of my hand in the store. They look scary in the tube but once used they're a gorgeous balmy-gloss with medium coverage. 

Fuscia-ristic looks a very bold, almost neon orange in the tube but transfers to a gorgeous peachy-pink and Plum Jam is a beautiful berry colour -  which again, appears far lighter than in the tube.

The gloss sticks apply evenly and they are also surprisingly wearable. I think this is mostly down to the high shine gloss and the fact that they are so buildable - you can apply a small amount for a 'light pick me up' or layer multiple coats for a more intense wash of colour.

The packaging is very Clinque Chubby Stick-esque with the same chunky tubes and twist up mechinism that reveals more product - so no need for messy sharpeners. 

The staying power is average for what I would expect from a gloss - you will have to take your gloss stick of choice in your handbag to reapply throughout the day but no need to use a mirror as the tip is the perfect size to apply the product. Large enough to do so quickly but not overly so that you have to watch where you apply, plus the coverage is great incase you make a mistake with no obvious smears to report if you go over the natural line of your lips!

Packaging wise - there really isn't anything to write home about. Soap & Glory aren't going to be receiving any awards here, which is a shame as I would have liked something along the lines of their bath product 'vintage' theme. There's nothing that screams 'Pick me up and swatch me!' and in all honesty had I not had time to really look at their products and swatch these - the packaging combined with the daring bold colours would be something I would most likely overlook. That being said, it's refreshing to see a brand that lets its products do all the talking - not relying on it's garish or copycat packaging (cough revlon cough..)

The only downsize (along with the unoriginal packaging) would be the range of colours - there are currently only three gloss sticks to choose from (the other being a nude).

I would definitely recommend you checking these out.

I decided to get the Eyeliner as part of the '3 for 2'. I've not owned a felt-tip liner before and have not really ventured too far away from my Loreal Carbon Gloss. I'm looking forward in seeing how this one measures up. I love that it is housed in it's own cardboard packaging (see 1st pic), It makes it feel so much more luxurious compared to the cellophane wrapped gloss sticks - not a deal breaker, but I love good presentation!
 Quite pricey at £10.00 though so I've got high hopes for this one!

I have recently run out of my Soap & Glory 'Clean on Me' body wash and was in need for a replacement. I loved this body wash whilst pregnant as it contained a good moisturiser within it which made it perfect because I couldn't always have the energy (or be bothered!) to apply moisturiser each day after my shower. I'm a massive fan of body washes that lather up though and although it did the job of keeping my skin moisturised It didn't contain enough foamyness for me!

I've heard good things on the sugar crush line and am excited in trying this out.

I also picked up two mini's. Hand food is an absolute staple in my handbag. It's lightweight in formula and quickly soaks into the skin but is rich enough to leave it feeling very nourished and moisturised. Plus the scent is the typical S&G smell - delicious!

Hand gel is a must for all mothers and the size is great to slot into Amelie's changing bag. It's gorgeously scented and the best bit - it doesn't have the smell of alcohol which is typical in other antibacterial gels.

What's your favourite Soap & Glory product?
♥

3 for 2 in SuperDrug.

Generally speaking unless there is something really specific I need, I normally buy something from Boots compared to SuperDrug. 

However, I noticed when walking through my local town centre that SuperDrug had '3 for 2' offers on many of its brands. Not wanting to be rude and ignore the bright posters in the window I felt it necessary to see what they had to offer.

Being only a local town centre store, for the actual size of the shop, I was very impressed with the amount of brands and products available in the store itself.

Being a Student, I only wear my expensive make up like Clinique and MAC at night, weekends or on special occasions, so I'm always on the hunt for a purse friendly make up alternative to wear during college or work. 

With it only being a local shop and therefore not being very busy, I had the advantage of spending my time exploring each brand and picking out my products carefully, would I really wear it? Does it really suit me? Do I really need it?

After spending time on each of the brands I found myself attracted to the Max Factor stand. I've always adored their mascara, I swear by the Max Factor False Lash Mascara - i really haven't found a better alternative; high street or designer.  So I was interested to see if the foundations and other products were of the same quality as their mascaras. 
Here's what was bought..

♡ Max Factor  Pan Stick in 'Nouveoux Beige - 13' RRP 6.99

I was instantly attracted to the unique packaging of this product, it was so small and thin - ideal to carry around in your handbag. It also has a little twist mechanism, similar to that of a lipsticks.

♡ Max Factor Second Skin Foundation in - 'Natural - 070' RRP 12.99

I loved the consistency of this foundation and the colour matches my skin tone completely.

♡ Max Factor False Lash Mascara RRP 10.99

my favourite mascara

♡ I then made my way over to the false lashes section.
I instantly found myself looking at the Girls Aloud lashes.
Having all the five members eyelashes available in store, it was very tempting to just pick up Cheryl Cole's lashes and make my way to the checkouts before i got tempted by anything else, but after analysing the actual shape of the eyelashes themselves I personally thought that Kimberley's eyelashes looked more my style. 
I'll just have to wait till next time for Cheryl's..


Review will be soon 
♥