Bloggers Week on BuyaPowa

Most of you will have heard of BuyaPowa. They are quite possibly the best company out there at utilising social media to make their business work and this week is extra special for us beauty bloggers as we've had the chance to choose our very own co-buy. 

"Bloggers Week" has begun. It's pretty exciting and having seen the line up of my favourite bloggers and their recommended products I'm looking forward to grabbing some serious bargains. I do unfortunately feel the need to mention that I am not being compensated in any way for lending my name to one of todays deal. I am as always just pleased to have been asked, I love working with BuyaPowa and it fits in with my blogging ethos perfectly. It's not that I don't like high end products it's just that I don't like their high end prices.. enter co-buying. 

So the product I chose was Benefits latest 'blush in a box' release "Hervana". I can't say it's my favourite product as I don't even own it but having swatched it every time I pass the Benefit counter it has been top of my wish list for weeks but lets face it.. £23.50 for a blush is..well... a bit much! I've been waiting for BuyaPowa to have it on offer so jumped at the chance to get it there myself. £17.50 is still not exactly budget friendly but if your a Benefit blush collector like myself you won't be able to resist!

As I said it will be a week of blogger picks and I will be coming to you with my favourites as and when they go live. I have added the Buyapowa ribbon to my sidebar so that you can check back for the latest co-buys in the meantime. If you're totally new to co-buying you can read my explanatory post here

For now my co-buy is live and kicking and selling fast

Get yours here

Miss BB

Smokin' Eyes at Smokin' Prices

After the success of the Nails Inc Magnetic nail polish deal I'm really pleased to be telling you about this one. I was as sceptical as the next person and wasn't sure whether the Nails Inc deal would be a one off but its looking like those among us in the market for beauty bargains will grow to love BuyaPowa.. our bank accounts perhaps even more so. The current deal is for Benefit's Smokin' Eyes Makeover Kit. It's a handy handbag sized palette perfect for travelling, touch ups or even to keep in your desk drawer for those impromptu post work drinks. It's all you need to transform your makeup from day to night.

As you can see from the picture below the price drops from £28.50 to £17.50 immediately and providing 75 people buy everyone will pay just £13.00!! Postage is free too!

You can currently buy this palette at House Of Fraser for £31.50 including delivery where it's been given 5 star reviews by customers who've paid full price. If it's a great product at £28.50 then it's a fantastic one at  £13.00, wouldn't you agree?

If you're interested in the offer you can click here to view it live..

By the time you're reading this it could already have reduced in price!

If you have any questions check out my blog post here which hopefully will answer most of them and give you a bit more info about BuyaPowa and how it works.

If you've got a suggestion as to what their next deal should be leave me a comment there.

Benefit - They're Real Mascara

Now I consider myself to be over the "Benefit Craze" and haven't felt the urge to go out and buy any of their new products in quite some time but when I first heard of this mascara I'll admit.. I was excited. I'm not a huge mascara freak (though you'd think so from the size of my collection) I don't have fantastic eyelashes and no matter how high end the product I don't seem to have ever achieved amazing results. It's the one beauty item that I don't lust after because I just don't really believe it will do anything for me. I have a large collection because I'm always open to trying new things but I am rarely willing to part with more than drugstore prices. Benefit's "They're Real" was offering something totally new. Volume, Length, Curl and Long-lasting results all in one tube. At £18.50 it's definitely on the pricey side for me but with all the hype I just knew I was going to have to try it.

Let me tell you a little bit about the brush.. it's a new-style rubber wand as opposed to the traditional brush. It's different to any other wand I've tried. Many have likened it to the phenomen'eyes from Givenchy and I can see why. It has definitely taken inspiration from that design with the end of the wand utilized to get every little lash covered and the "spiked" style bristles to separate and prevent clumps when applying more than one coat. It was tricky to get used to but I think over time it will work better for me with practice.

Now as I said, my lashes are nothing special to begin with. Here's my before and after shots...

After these pictures, while I was filming my review I lifted my lashes by pushing them with my fingers and the difference was huge. My intention the next time I apply this is to curl my lashes AFTER. I think that could really work for me. I will of course take photos and share if it works well. The formula is good. It does lift, lengthen and create volume and as I write this post 9 hours after applying my makeup I can tell you I have no flaking and the lift is still going strong so I would say that it is indeed a long-lasting mascara.

Bottom line, I am impressed with this product, It does what it claims but it's not QUITE as wow as I'd hoped. Perhaps that's my expectations that were too high and I should really have known better but I truly believed this was going to be the mascara to end all other mascara's for me.. I thought I'd finally found "the one" that was going to make me fall in love with Benefit all over again... but.. I'm not sure I have.

Granted I have used this so you never know, with practice I might change my mind but right now I don't think I'd part with the money again. It's twice what I'd usually spend on mascara and I have to ask myself.. is it really TWICE as good?

Mascara is a really personal thing. You're ultimately only going to get the best results with the best natural lashes so there will be some of you that will find everything this product that I wanted to. Don't let my uncertain opinion put you off trying what might be the best mascara you've ever owned but for me.. it's just not quite hitting the spot.

*They're Real launches nationwide today*

You can check out my video review below...

Bella Bamba & Sugar Bomb

I made a lunchtime trip to benefit today *yay* I've been toying with buying Bella Bamba for a while but sugar bomb was calling out to me too... So I figured it's been my birthday treat weekend... Why not buy both?

Sugar Bomb is A LOT tamer.. More of a warm glowy highlight really, not mega colourful, the 4 shades might look nice on the eyes in summer too.. I'm excited to experiment as it could prove to be a handy little compact!

The Bella Bamba in contrast is very highly pigmented with little effort.. You can tell when swirling your brush that there are less binders as the powder comes away from the pan very easily, it's almost loose! It's a really beautiful shade that I can already tell will complement my hoola tan nicely!

So.. Who else has been waiting to Bamba? I think I'm going to need the whole benefit powder collection.. Theyre just so pretty..

What's your favourite? What should I go for on my next trip?

xoxo

Miss BB

Fabulous New Benefits...

Knowing how I feel about Benefit Cosmetics..

How excited was I to discover these two new MUST HAVE products launched in the same month???

VERY!

I'll admit I haven't thought much of some of the stuff they've brought out recently but I LOVE these...

I'll post the little promo blurbs beneath each picture and the link to where you can buy them

(DEBENHAMS OF COURSE --- gotta get those points girls)

I am more excited about the pore minimising primer but a little highlight never hurt anyone right ;)

Quickly minimize the appearance of pores! Apply this silky, lightweight balm for translucent pore coverage and smoother-than-smooth skin. Pores now you see 'em, now you don't! Complements all skin tones.

BUY HERE

http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123901977699_-1?breadcrumb=Home%7EBeauty

Luxurious liquid pearl the perfect accessory! This soft golden-pink liquid pearl glides on for a breathtakingly luminous complexion. Customize your pearlessence with the easy-to-use twist -up package a few clicks for a subtle sheen, more clicks for a "whoa!" glow. Pat the luminous liquid on over makeup or wear alone for dewy lit-from-within radiance. It's pure pearly pleasure!

BUY HERE

http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123901926699_-1?breadcrumb=Home%7EBeauty

xoxo

miss bb

Friends with Benefit

You guys KNOW how much I love Benefit cosmetics..
It's come up in many tags and my earlier videos were pretty much Benefit only.
Well I'm finally getting around to posting my fabourite Benefit products, I of course made a video but there are so many it would have waaay over-run so I kind of blasted through it and here I will go in to more detail...
So here goes, please hold questions till the end x

So these are my favourite products by Benefit...

In order,

Dr Feelgood

I lovethis product, It's been gifted to every woman I know, I'd recommend it to anyone starting with makeup and not wanting to wear anything too heavy like a full foundation as it's a kind of mattifying balm but it also smooths lines and is a fantastic primer. It contains healing ingredients too so it's great for spot prone skin like mine!

Moonbeam

I know highbeam is a big bestseller for Benefit but I'm more of a golden girl and I love this, it's a kind of peachy sheen rather than a pink/white highlight and for me it's just perfect.. it lasts all day and you can wear it alone, under powder or mix it with your foundation for a gorgeous dewy glow!

Bo-ing (shade 2)

This has always been my favourite concealer.. it really is "industrial strength" it covers all manner of sins and is ideal for a really bad breakout and dark circles... both of which I often suffer from.

Badgal Lash

The biggest selling point of this product is the brush! this mascara wand is a magical one creating both volume and length.. my only regret is I'm yet to try the plum version (they also do brown)

Lipscription

This is a 2 piece set with a tube of lip buffing beads and a tube of lip caring balm ... together they really do create the softest lips your significant other will ever have kissed! the perfect partner for trendy bold shades!

Lipstick (ladys choice)

The creamiest lipstick ever, non drying and it's really nice wearing. This colour particularly for me is a lovely daytime shade, very polished and proper.

Lipgloss (life on the A-List)

The act I bought this in New York and the scent reminds me of that night is probably a big factor in my love ogf this gloss but its a really nice sheen over a niude lip and its sticky enough to stay put but liquid enough to wear off without going bitty or drying your lips.

Eyeshadow (Soft Shoulder)

This was a find for me when I was on the hunt for a nice warm brick kind of brown that I failed to find at mac. It's so versatile, it can be worn sheer or layered as a bolder colour and it really blends so beautifully.

It Stick

Ideal for pin pointing spots/ problem areas, I like this to carry in my bag as it's difficult to damage in transit being a solid pencil and all...I also like to use this as an eyeshadow primer.

Eyebright

The original eye brightener.. a great uk equivalent to NYXs milk pencil, good as an eyeshadow base, for lining your waterline to widen eyes and to adding to the inner corners of your eyes to perk you up a bit on those mornings you need it :)

here are the swatches...

I hope you enjoyed my review and love these products as much as I do..

Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.

love always

Miss BB

xoxo

Naked Palette Dupes...

Hi Guys!

Firstly thanks for all the kind and supportive message from everyone regarding the harsh hater comments left on formspring yesterday. It really means a lot that you guys would go out of your way to be outrgaed on my behalf lol.. Shows a united front to these people!!
Anywho, on to the swatching, I'd like to take this time to remind you AGAIN that this is NOT MY ARM!!!
It's a loaner arm for the purpose of swatching... my arm was already covered in swatches from me trying to find the right colours as I went a long, Hope you like the post and here's the link to the blog I found the original swatches from and tried to match up to (sometimes unsuccessfully I know)
http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2010/07/31/urban-decay-naked-palette-swatches-review/
This is my budget way of obtaining the unobtainable Naked Palette!!!

and here are the products I used

The toughest thing I found when finding dupes for Urban Decay colours (ever) is finding shimmers as highly pigmented! the closest I cam to any really great dupes I feel were the sahdes I had as kind of loose pigments.. very few of the pressed shadows gave the same kind of depth of colour you get from the UD palette.
So... I guess I still really do "need" the palette after all, but for the time being this excercise has at least refreshed my memory to some of the fabulous neutral shades I already own and maybe that will quench my beauty thirst... for now.

Miss BB

Summer Must-Haves