Pretty "First Date" Drugstore Makeup

I've had several requests for a full face of drugstore makeup and a couple for "first date" looks so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. I'm uploading my tutorial to YouTube now but it's a bit blurry (I've had it with trying to film using my SLR) so here are some photos of the look and a run down of the products I used. Hope it's helpful.

I used mostly MUA, their new pro range has some fab stuff. I threw in my new 2true liner as an alternate as I don't have a basic black from MUA and I must say I was impressed. I'll be using that again! I love the overall look but the standout discovery for me has to the mosaic blush. When I first bought it I didn't think much of it, it didn't seem to have an colour pay off when I swatched it and I don't think it ever even made it on to my face. Well... I'm very glad I used it in this tutorial 'cause it's awesome! It gives a really sheer wash of colour and a beautiful sheen, not sparkly at all just glowy, I wish they did a neutral highlight powder in this formula because for £2.50 that would be my number one drugstore product. I have a mosaic bronzer too so I'll be trying that out tomorrow. Just goes to show you should give things another go.. I am often too quick to judge and once something is put away in my collection it could be lost forever.. I would have been seriously missing out.

I also want to point out I used a tiny bit of lipstick with the gloss to create a more tinted lip.. this lipstick is a really bold pink when used normally.

Mosaic Blush in English Rose £2.50

Dusk Til Dawn Palette £4

2True Khol Liner £1.99

Extreme Curl Mascara £2

Lipstick Shade 3 £1

Lipgloss Shade 4 £1

Here's the tutorial video...

What are your favourites from MUA?

Glitter Tips

I tried so hard to get a good photo of this.. These were the best I could do on my phone. I'm not sure it really does the blue colour justice. I used MUA dark blue with really fine glitter.. Impossible to read the shade number. On the tips I used OPI Coronation.. First time I've used this.. Very nice! I sealed it all with my favourite Sally Hansen top coat.
Have to say.. MUA don't get enough recognition for their polishes, I have most of them and they never fail to impress me for quality, this shade in particular looks so much more expensive than it's £1 price tag.

So thats my nail art for the week... Whaddayathink?

Friday Night Swag

I love a bit of Friday night, after-work shopping, don't you? The only thing is I see things I don't buy and then the next day is Saturday so I inevitably return to purchase those items I've decided I must have after all.. d'oh! The whole point of late night shopping is to avoid the weekend crowds!!! Anywho. I thought I would share a few offers I noticed. Number one on my list was Boots are giving away a free Glam Eyes liquid eyeliner with any purchase over £5. Now they did me good 'cause I went in for the mint green nailpolish you see here which was £4.49 and there was no way I could find something for 50p to top uo my purchase so I ended up replacing my Stay Matte powder which died recently. Rimmel's Exaggerate liquid liner is my all time fave so I'm really looking forward to trying out the Glam Eyes. Second deal of the evening was Maybelline's new Colossal Cat Eyes mascara was down to £5.99 from £7.99 in Superdrug for it's launch PLUS you get 300 beauty card points with the purchase!! bargain! I know I bought a new mascara last week but with that kind of logic this one was practically free (expect pics and review very soon). Unfortunately as I am a total numpty I forgot to give them my beauty card when I got to the till so I'm more than a little peeved but am hoping they will add my points from my receipt.. I haven't opened it just in case.. I figured I was probably going back today anyway.

Not all of you will be interested in this next one but as I'm getting more and more fat.. okay, pregnant, I am developing the worst cellulite of my life and it's all the way down to my knee!! I know us girls are plagued with the orange peel, dimpled thighs but it's getting beyond a joke. I seem to remember getting a little obsessive about cellulite the first time round so I'm hoping it's just a symptom that will go away but none the less I couldn't resist half price Perfect Slim from Loreal. They do a whole range of "sculpting" type gels and creams and they are all half price in Superdrug right now so if you love them or have ever wanted to try them now is the time to go pick one up! I did also buy a new MUA eyeliner I've never tried before as well as a Models Own nail art doodah that I've wanted forever but they weren't as exciting as my final buy.. Coconut Oil. I forget the exact price but it was under £2 for sure. It can be used on the skin as a moisturiser, it can be used as a leave in conditioner on your hair and it can be used as an intensive mask for those with dry or damaged tresses like mine. Result! I slathered (lying - Lee slathered) it all over myself last night and this morning I am feeling pretty darn moisturised. It's a bizarre formula that is hard in the tub and melts on contact with your skin to a kind of oil. I will post about it in more detail but I urge you all to go out and get a tub.. I will be trying it out on my hair this morning too.. can't wait!

I also feel it necessary to mention this awesome jumper I got from Primark for the fabulous price of £10

I am totally in love and very excited that these plain, chunky knits are back in fashion. They are so my style and what I like is so rarely "in" so I will be embracing this trend to replenish my wardrobe for years to come. One of the items I'm going back for today is a Zara cardigan that I just can't stop thinking about. I dearly wish brands would give up putting weird elbow patches on stuff but the ones in Zara are the least vile so I think I must have it.

Do any of you indulge in a weekly spree? what awesome finds did you pick up this week?

Depotting Drama

In anticipation of my Z-Palette and Unii Palettes being delivered I thought I'd start depotting my single shadows so they're all prepared and ready to be popped in when they arrive. The main reason I wanted the palettes was for my many MUA shadows that don't get much use because they're singles, unfortunately they are the hardest things to depot ever!

Unlike MAC singles they don't seem to have a pop out insert so you have to burn all the way through the bottom of the packaging to push out the pan. Some were easier than others but for some reason the matte shades (my personal favourites) were the worst for cracking. I planned to depot all of the below shadows..

I ended up just doing the MUA's and the W7s (top left 3) for now. The W7's were actually much easier, they were pretty much the same packaging as MAC ones, just bigger. I did do a "how-to" video on depotting MAC shadows a while ago so check that out if you're interested in how to do it. I know there are many methods out there but this is how I did it...

I basically used the same technique to push the pans out of my MUA shadows just without pushing out the inserts. If any of you are aware of an easier way to do it or that you can actually push out an insert then PLEASE let me know because I'm going to pick up replacements for the one's I broke at the weekend as well as the few I am missing (for £1 each I want the whole colour range!) so I will have to do some more and intend to make a video for those of you that have requested one so if you have any tips you'd like to share then go ahead and leave me a comment.

So excited to receive my palettes. Have any of you depotted your shadows for a Z/Unii Palette???

MUA Pro Heaven & Earth

Firstly let me start by saying I LOVE this palette. It may just be the best £4 I ever spent.

I'll get the formalities out of the way now, you can buy this from MUA Pro exclusively at Superdug here and if you're a tweeter like myself you can follow MUA here

This particular palette goes in and out of stock frequently so if you want it and you see it in store or online grab it 'cause you just never know when you might get your hands on it again. One thing I would say about MUA is that unlike other brands they haven't increased their prices as their popularity has risen which I hope they stick with because it's what's made E.L.F a household name in the states and I'd love to see them accomplish that kind of success and branch out in to that kind of product range. for us Brits.

Anywho... on to what I came here for..

I intend on making a series of tutorials with this and other palettes from MUA so if you have any requests please leave me a comment and they will be considered before I film the next one. I will also be doing some direct comparisons with the Naked palette which should be fun. For now I thought I'd show you my go-to everyday look I've been sporting recently. It's just a really basic, contoured eye. I thought I'd start simple and work up to the more elaborate, creative tutorials.

Check back for the video here when it's live!!!

7 Day Palette Challenge - Take One

A while back I set myself this challenge on the back on EmilyNoel83's video about getting out of a makeup rut. I chose Urban Decay's Book of Shadows III which in hindsight wasn't so smart seeing as I now work in an office and bright blue or green shadow would be a little OTT. I thought I would share the 5 week day looks that I did manage.

Suspect, Smog and Perversion

Last Call, Rockstar and Bordello

Maui Wowie, Loaded and Money

Smog and Perversion

Money, Loaded and Snatch

I love the looks but there's not a tremendous amount of difference between them all. I would really like to complete the 7 day challenge so I'm going to try again with the Heaven and Earth Palette from the MUA Pro range (below). I was going to use the Naked but I have really love this palette recently and think there's almost more options than with the Urban Decay neutral option. I will start next week when I'm back at work.

Have you done this challenge? leave me your link if you have!

MUA Pro - First Look

I have been eagerly waiting for this new range to launch since I heard it was coming and it has not disappointed! I have always thought MUA did the best drugstore shadows hands down and the price was just amazing at £1 each so I was holding out a lot of hope for some palettes on this new pro line. When I heard it was finally on Superdrug's website I was like a giddy schoolgirl at a Justin Bieber concert.I think I was very restrained given that I wanted to try EVERYTHING, I picked up 2 Palettes, one Extreme Metallics quad, two Mosaic powders and the Extreme Curl mascara.

First I'm gonna hit your with some swatches...



Heaven and Earth Palette
£4





Dusk Til Dawn Palette
£4





Extreme Metallics in Go Getter
£3




Swatches on left are dry and right are wet




L-R
Mosaic Bronzer in Natural Glow & Mosaic Blush in English Rose
£2.50





Bronzer : Top, Blush : Bottom

 



Extreme Curl Mascara
£2

 Ok so I don't have a swatch for the mascara but you can take a look at the wand/brush and it was black I assure you!

So they all look awesome and the prices look even better but what did I think of the products when I got them home?

Eyeshadow Palettes

They were exactly as I thought they would be.They have learned from their initial bargain range that although matte shades add variety to what they are offering they aren't so great for colour pay off so all of the formulas in the two palettes I have seen are metallic/shimmery and some even hold some glitter... very Urban Decay-esque. The Heaven and Earth palette was uber popular and sold out online nearly straight away. It's all neutrals and of the two it's definitely been my most used so far. I will at some point do a direct swatch comparison with the naked palette because while it's different in many ways I think it's the best drugstore equivalent I've seen and the price is incredible for 12 shadows. The Dusk Til Dawn is still fairly neutral but it throws in some party colours too.. if you were to pick only one it would probably be better value for money as it would offer more options.

Extreme Metallics Quad

This is dubbed as "a stunning range of colours that add intense shine and shimmer to instantly bring your eyes to life" They are advertised as wet and dry shadows which is why I've swatched them both ways above. Firstly I'll say across the board the light colours from MUA don't give a lot of colour pay off, you get a great sheen or shimmer but not much else but when you use these wet they are fantastic. They transform in to an almost cream consistency and really do look full on metallic on the skin. They look like a rimmel colour mousse or a MAC paint pot, they truly are as intense as they say! I will say this.. I doubt the formula is different to the regular shadows.. we all know most eye makeup gives more bang for your buck when applied wet and I would wager that these are similar if not the same as the others just spun as speciality shades but like I said these are just my first impressions here so I have time to change my mind.

Mosaic Bronzer/Blusher

Here's where I felt a bit left down I'm afraid. With everything else MUA is so impressive and the pro line is no different but the two Mosaic Powders... not so much. As with most things it all depends on your expectations. I was expecting some colour but in actual fact these bronzers and blushers give more of a sheen . I haven't had enough time with them to truly review them but so far for me they're not what I look for in a bronzer/blusher.

Extreme Curl Mascara

This was also a tricky one for me because I don't have great lashes for curling mascara.. I don't actually know why I bought it. I can tell you that it didn't perform any worse than supercurl from Urban Decay on me but I am going to refrain from sharing my opinion on this one until I've tried it on my long lashed friend.

I do intend to buy the volume mascara that I probably should have bought instead! For £2 I can afford to try them all!

What have you tried anything from MUA pro yet?

MUA - shade 6

So it turned out the Nails Inc sparkle didn't last so well and I ended up repainting my nails on xmas morning with this shade (6) from budget brand MUA

I love this happy red colour.. Very fitting :) what colour did you guys wear on your nails this xmas?

xoxo

Miss BB