What's In My Makeup Bag

It has been too long since I last blogged. It's been quite difficult to find the time blog these days. Perhaps I'm just too lazy. Enough with the rambling and onto what's in my makeup bag. I don't usually carry a makeup bag with me, I just chuck a bunch of makeup products into my bag and then spend ages trying to locate things in my mess of a bag. I have a ton of lip products and so when I'm trying to find a particular one, it's always the last one I pull it. So, I decided to put it all in a makeup bag and not have a million things loose in my bag.

My makeup bag is from Elizabeth Arden and it came with the 8 hour cream set. I thought it was going to be too big but is actually a perfect size to fit all my makeup.

First, I have my Carex hand sanitiser in Grapefruit and Lime. Smells really fresh and everyone needs hand sanitiser in their bag.

And after I sanitise my hand, I use hand lotion, and my favourite is the one from Soap & Glory called Hand Food. Smells amazing and is a pretty decent hand lotion. I think I mainly like it because of how GOOD it smells.

I have Tiger Balm because you never know when you'll need it. I get pretty bad aches and pains (I swear, I have the body of a 60 year old woman).

An Altoids tin that has cotton pads and cotton swabs inside, because you never know when you might need them. I also have a comb, pretty self explanatory as to why that's in there. Ditto for the mirror.

Weleda One Step Cleanser & Toner. Got this in my Glossybox and haven't used it. There might be a time where I feel like I need to clean my face. Bottle is ickle at 10ml and so it doesn't take much room or weigh too much.

A sample of Maybelline BB Cream. I've yet to try this out so I have no idea how this is. But there's no way I'm carrying a full bottle of foundation. Takes too much space and would weigh a lot. Plus, I have quite a few sample sachets of foundation, so if for some reason, I need to put on some foundation. I can just use a sachet. The chances of me ever needing it is very slim so there wouldn't really be a point of carrying around a whole bottle of foundation with me.


Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, this is the small 15ml size. I swear by this as a lip balm. There is something in certain lip products that my lips just don't like, and they become crusty beyond belief if I use it. Sucks because I'm a lip product person, so I feel like I'm taking a risk whenever I try out a new lip product. This was the only thing that makes my lip feel anything other than crusty. Only thing is, it's too expensive(!)

Clean & Clear oil control film, probably the best blotting sheets I've used. Unfortunately not available to us here in the UK. A friend got this for me when she went to Hong Kong, but I'm sure you can find some online on eBay.

ELF Clarifying Pressed Powder - I've only just opened this to include in my makeup bag. It's pretty small, compact, and dirt cheap. You never know when I may need to powder my face. I do tend to grease up pretty bad during the day.


Clinique High Impact mascara. Pretty bog standard to be honest. Only carry it in my makeup bag because it's a small sample and I had quite a few with free gifts with purchase. I think it's in every single free gift with purchase that I've seen, so I really wouldn't waste money on purchasing the full sized one. It's nothing special, does not justify the price tag.

MUA eyebrow pencil in brunette. Comes with a little brush on the other end. At £1, can't really go too wrong really. I use the HD Brows palette when I'm at home. Taking that with me would be too bulky, so I just opted for a pencil. Quick and easy.

Urban Decay Cream Shadow in Rehab. Perfect neutral all over the lid colour. It's a light brown frosty shimmery colour. When blended, it's almost the same colour as my skin, but gives it a subtle shimmer. Lasts pretty much all day. No mess, no fuss.
Stila smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in Damsel (dark brown). Pretty much stays put and doesn't budge once it's set. One of the best eyeliners I've tried.






Essence liquid eyeliner in non-waterproof black. Have heard some good things about this brand. Got it in when I was in Budapest as this brand is not available in the UK. I wish the applicator was finer and had a sharper point. But it stays on all day, doesn't smudge or flake. Inexpensive too, I think it cost about £2.

ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen. Now my other eyeliner pen (K-Palette) is pretty much done and so I just opened this eyeliner today. And well, it's very dry. Didn't cost much so I didn't expect much. From what I drew on my hand, it stayed on really well. It's just too dry. Don't think it'll last too long.

Onto my lip products and fragrances. And believe me, there are a lot.

Three Carmex lip balms. Just because. I have the Cherry, Strawberry and Mint ones. These did help a lot with my chapped lips before I used the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. They just smell a lot nicer. If you haven't used the Eight Hour Cream, I would highly recommend you smell it before you purchase it, or purchase the unfragranced one. When I first smelled it, I always retched. And putting it on my lips was just plain nasty. If it wasn't a miracle cure for my lips, I prolly wouldn't have used it again. I've gotten used to the smell now so I don't mind it so much.

Three No.7 Sheer Temptation lipsticks. Sheer lipsticks are my favourite formula which is why I was so excited when the Revlon Lip Butters came out. I got the one in Candy Apple (I think it's called, but it's the red one) and Lollipop (hot pink fuschia). When I used the Candy Apple one, my lips reacted really badly to it so I had to give it to a friend and I'm eBaying the other one. Anyway, the lipsticks are in 15 Tempt - sheer hot pink fuschia with glitter. 70 Sassy - sheer plum purple with glitter. 20 Entice - very sheer aubergine (eggplant) colour with glitter. It is very very sheer so applies with the slightest purple gloss on the lips. Not noticeable at all.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick. Smells just like the Eight Hour Cream but in my opinion doesn't perform as well. At only 3.7g and I think costs around £20, I would highly recommend getting the tube rather than the lipstick form. Works well, but not AS well as the tube.

Collection (2000) Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Fairy Cake 3. Nice warm dark-ish pink colour. Smells like cake and has a matte finish.





Two Revlon just bitten kissable balm stains. I have the colour Crush which is a pink purple colour and when sheered out on my lips, becomes a deep fuschia colour. It has subtle glitter in it. Very pigmented and smells like Mint Areo (mint chocolate) which I love. Lovesick is the other colour that I own and is a very hot pink colour and is highly pigmented. I find them to be quite drying, but the colours are kickass so I just make sure to keep my lips hydrated.

I have two Travelo perfume atomisers. Well, one is a real Travelo and the other is an imitation that I got from eBay that was half the price. I have a feeling that the imitation isn't as air tight as the Travelo so I have a feeling that the perfume in the cheap knock-off might be slowly drying out. But that just might be me being paranoid because it was less than £4. In the cheap one (the metallic navy colour), I have Nina Ricci's Nina in it which is the "original"(?) apple fragrance from Nina Ricci (who else). It's one of my favourite perfumes and I own four other variations of the Nina Ricci apple fragrances. I have Diesel's Lovesick in the Black Travelo. It has a slight vanilla, liquorice scent to it which fades as it wears. It's pretty strong and I prefer smelling it in the bottle than actually on me. I think after a few hours, if I spray too much, it makes me feel a bit lightheaded. So spray with caution.

I also have Escada's Taj Sunset which I can only describe as sweet and fruity. Smells GOOD. Shame it's not in spray form, makes it very difficult to wear, but just smells too good.

I also have a Jelly Belly Blueberry rollerball that smells like blueberry (what are the odds of that). Why not?

And finally I have three cheapo hair ties. Oh and an ELF Kabuki brush for powder.

I would say that's it, but that was a whole lot. I'm sure I could cut this down to the bare essentials if I wanted to. But I don't.

And if you're wondering why I don't have blush in my makeup arsenal, it's because the lip products can double up as blush. I would have included bronzer, but all my bronzers have chunky packaging and it would require another brush. I say that, but I'm sure I could fit it in if I didn't have so many lip products but in a battle between my lip products and bronzer, the lip products won.

And until next time..

Diem xo

Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoo - 40 Permanent Taupe - Review + Swatches

I know these have been out in the States for a while now, but they've just been released here in the UK. However, I don't think they released as many colours as they have in the States. The only colours I saw in store was the taupe colour I'm reviewing, a bronze colour, a bright blue slash teal colour, and a gold colour. I've just checked out the Boots website and the colours in the Superdrug I was in stocked: And On Bronze, Eternal Gold, Turqouise Fvr, and the one I bought - Permanent Taupe. The other colours on the Boots website are: Endless Purple, Immortal Charcoal, and Eternal Silver. I believe the names have been changed as well as I am quite sure that this Permanent Taupe colour is the same as Tough As Taupe. 

If you don't know what these are - they are cream eyeshadows that are meant to last 24 hours. They can be used as a base to intensify any eyeshadow colours placed on top and to make them last longer, or it can be used on its own as an eyeshadow colour.

I really should have taken pictures before I swatched this, but I was just too excited. There wasn't a tester of this colour in store so I wanted to test this out to make sure that this was the Tough As Taupe colour. This is the only one I got, although I thought that the And On Bronze and Eternal Gold colours were beautiful too. I believe Boots and Superdrug are doing a 3 for 2 on Maybelline products and thinking about it now, I should have picked those two up >< However, I am supposed to be abstaining from purchasing any cosmetic products, which I have failed. But I really wanted to check it out and do a review ^^. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are retailed at £4.99 each because I thought they would be around £6 each.

The top two pictures are what the cream shadows are like when first applied to the skin. The top left is with flash and the top left is without flash. The bottom two pictures are what it looks out when blended out (left without flash, and right with flash).

This taupe colour looks matte but it actually has really small flecks of glitter, but it is very subtle. This dried pretty quickly, so it's not as creamy as I thought it would be. They do blend pretty well though. I know they are comparable to MAC Paint Pots, but I don't slash have never owned any, so I can't comment as to whether or not that's true. What I can say is that I am super impressed with this product. I love the colour and I love that once it dries, it just does not budge. This is going to be GREAT for those with oilier lids, and for the hot summer time. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion and an eyeshadow from the Naked palette and by the time I reached work (around an hour later), my eyeshadow had already creased! I know this is going to happen a lot during the summer, so I am glad that I have this as an all-over lid colour. But now I'm a little bummed that I didn't take advantage of the 3 for 2 offer. I swatched the And On Bronze colour which reminded me a lot of Half Baked from the Naked palette and it when I washed my hands a few times (with soap of course!), it still didn't budge.

Overall, I think these Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoos are amazing. I would totally recommend on getting your hands on these! I know that this is going to be a handbag staple - it's quick and easy to use.
I would give this product:
❤❤❤❤❤ (5 out of 5 hearts) ^^

This is the first time I've given a product five stars, and well deserved I might add.

I feel like I won't need any more eyeshadows, all I need are these in a few colours and I am good to go! Perhaps when I finish my no makeup buying challenge, I will purchase 3 more of these =DD

And until next time..
- Diem xo

Models Own 'Concrete Mix' Nail Polish - Review + Swatch

I just finished painting my nails and thought I would do a blog post on the the colour. Apologies for the quality of my nails and how poorly I painted them. I'm desperately trying to grown them but they just keep breaking. Even though I use a nail repair base, it just doesn't seem to like me >< I was also watching NCIS whilst painting them so I got a little distracted - oops.

This is the first time I've used a Models Own nail polish and I've to say - I like. I actually own four Models Own nail polishes and this is the first one that I opened. I got this polish in a trio on asos.com for an absolute bargain of £5.50 (one polish is £5). As you can tell by the name of Concrete mixer, it's a concrete colour which is a matte nude grey colour. I'm liking the formula of this nail polish - the colour looks really creamy (if that were possible?!) When I paint my nails, I like to use medium-thick coats, but the trouble with that is that it could end up with air bubbles. I think I got one or two really unnoticeable air bubbles, and out of seven fingers that I painted, that's not too bad (I painted the other three fingers a different colour, as see in the above picture.) They dried pretty quickly (quicker than the other colour) and is really glossy. It didn't dry too quickly when I was painting them which is one of my pet hates in nail polishes. It didn't come out streaky and was pretty opaque. Although the picture shows my nails with two coats, I think if I was in a rush for time, I could have gotten away with just the one coat. The colour is very true to how it looks in the bottle.

Overall, I would give the Models Own 'Contrete Mixer':
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

Hope you guys have been enjoying spring and daffodils, and until next time..

- Diem xo

HD Brows - Review + Swatches

As you may rememeber, many months ago,  people received a HD Brows kit in their Glossybox. I've just opened mine to check out if it's any good or not. The main reason why I cracked it open was because I wanted more matte colours - most of the neutral colours I have are all shimmery (blast you Naked palette for only having two matte colours).

Let's get started on the review:

The HD Brows palette is in 'Foxy' and comes with four colours:

Nude (first colour in swatch, top left in quad) - The lightest of the colours. I have natural black hair so I obviously won't be using this for my brows, but I will be using this colour to blend out my eyeshadows when I'm doing a smokey eye because it's quite close to my skin colour (as you can see in the swatch above).

Warm Brown (second colour in swatch, bottom left in quad) - this is a brown with very warm undertones. I use this for the outer half of my brows, as I find that using this for the whole of my brows leave them too dark. Although the swatch shows that it's not anywhere close to a natural black colour, it is actually a colour I would recommend for those with dark brown slash natural black hair.

Carbon (third colour in swatch, top right in quad) - Though it shares the same name as the matte black from MAC, it's actually an extremely dark brown colour. Although I have natural black hair, this is a colour that I CANNOT use - this is too dark for me and any attempt in using this will make my eyebrows look drawn on. Perhaps those who have thick brows will be able to get away with using this, but I sure as hell cannot. It may also be suitable for women of colour as the other colours may be too light on the skin (and too ashy looking). I will also be using this as an eyeshadow rather than for my brows - I don't have a dark matte brown eyeshadow colour in my collection.

Ash Brown (last in swatch, bottom right in quad) - although this colour looks quite light and taupe in the swatch, when applied to my brows, it actually is quite dark. I could definitely get away with using just this colour for the entire of my brows.

I find that this palette is perfect for filling in my brows, but I don't think it would be suitable for those who do not have dark brown slash natural black hair, even though this is described for brunettes. They have a palette called vamp which is said to be for dark hair, but I think palette is already dark enough for natural black hair. So if you have light or medium brown hair, I would suggest to get Bombshell which is meant for blondes.

I wouldn't use the brush it came with, but I wouldn't use the brush that most palettes come with so I don't really care about that. The eyeshadows(?) themselves are pretty nice. They are pigmented, finely milled, and feel very silky and smooth. They do crumble slightly when I use my angled brush (Real Techniques Brow Brush), but it's not too messy. I have also dropped this on laminated flooring and it didn't completely crumble (thank god!). The packaging is nice, it comes with a reasonably sized mirror - perhaps it could have been a bit slimmer and sleeker.

Overall, I am extremely happy with this quad, I think it's perfect for my brows as well as using for my brows. I'm not sure what 'Bombshell' and 'Vamp' compares, but I would definitely recommend this quad for those with dark brown to black hair. Unfortunately, when I went to their website, it was sold out. I think it did retail for £19.95, but hopefully they'll have more stock soon.

I would give the HD Brows
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

I'm defo gonna get some good use out of these, and I'm extremely happy I was sent this in my Glossybox all those months ago.

Until next time..

- Diem xo

No Buying Makeup For The Next Month? + Makeup Collection/Storage

I must admit, I am completely addicted to buying makeup and I must stop. A lot of my makeup aren't even open because I already have loads open and I don't know how long it'll take for me to get through all my products! I've been giving away part of my unopened collection and throwing away really old products that I don't think I'm going to use anymore. I've probably given away slash thrown away around a quarter of my entire collection. I probably won't need anymore for a while, so I propose a self challenge of no buying makeup for AT LEAST the next month. Since getting into makeup, I don't think I've gone a month without getting ANYTHING. There's always a sale, or a free gift, or some sort of bargain, so I just spend, spend, spend. >< But no more, I say!

That means, no:
Makeup (Eyeliner, eyeshadow, blushes, foundation, etc)
Makeup brushes
Nail polishes
Lip Balms (even though I wanna try out the new Body Shop Born Lippy lip balm sticks)
Perfumes (with the exception of the new Nina Ricci fragrance which my mum will get at the airport - VAT free ^^)
Skincare products (face wash, makeup wipes, moisturisers etc.)
Body products (Shower gel, bath products, body lotions etc.)
Hair products (Hair sprays, gloss sprays, hair oils, etc.)

I have more than enough products to tide me over for the next three months - at least!

 In saying that, I've been waiting FOREVER for the Revlon Lip Butters and Maybelline Tattoo what-you-call its - if they come out, I will get them! Although, I know that the Revlon Lip Butters have sold out on Boots online =(( So I will buy them WHEN I can get my hands on them, but I was planning on getting only two of each, so that's not too bad. Actually, scratch that, I can get them when this challenge is over. I want to see how I last.

Here's a couple of snaps of my collection:

As you can, I don't need any more nail varnishes, I have all the basic colours, and then some! These are two nail polish stands that I got from my local nail supply wholesaler - and I love them! I had about 75 nail polishes, but I've given quite a few away to free up some space - I don't have enough rough on my drawer to fit another stand. I just ordered 24 nail stripers from eBay - for £8!! I only have one row free so I will have to store some somewhere else. My favourite nail polish brand would be either Barry M or the 17 Supreme Shine ones. I also just tried out a Andrea Fulerton (available at Superdrug) and it was pretty amazing too! Nails Inc disappoints me, and for the price, it's a complete waste of money. I would rather get something from ELF. The Nails Inc polishes I own mainly come free from magazines, I would never spend £11 on it. I think Essie is overpriced too, the colours are AMAZE, but I'm not too fond of some of the formulas, some can be too streaky. My absolute worst nail polish was a Collection 2000 Hot Looks (I think its called?) one. It was really cheap (£1.79) and it dried waaay to quickly, was too streaky, and no matter how thin a layer I applied, I always wound up with air bubbles. Now I've been told that they were a friend's favourite, so I was completely bafted. The ones she owned were metallic and maybe they were a different formula because the one I tried was a matte mint green one and after using it a few times, I gave up and gave it away.

I got this drawer from Ikea and its complete crap. If you put anything remotely heavy in it, the drawers collapse - don't get it! It has three drawers, and I did keep my unopened makeup products, hair and skincare products in here, but it got too heavy and the drawers would just collapse everytime I pulled one out. My makeup collection also grew so I ended up getting another drawer (which you will see below). The top drawer has some hair products in there - hair sprays, leave in conditioner, etc. and some random stuff, like blu tack - lol. The second drawer has makeup tools and false eyelashes. Makeup tools include eyelash curlers, puffs, new makeup brushes, etc. I cropped out the bottom drawer because it had too much junk in there - it contains my makeup bags, new body puffs, my shower cap, and other random stuff.

This drawer is where I keep a lot of my makeup. The first drawer contains most of my face and body skin care products which includes: makeup remover, makeup wipes, sunscreen, primers, moisturisers, deodrants, body lotions, etc. The second drawer contains unopened makeup products - eyeliners, eyeshadows, lipsticks, concealers, foundations, etc. The third drawer contains unopened face, body, hair products - body butters, shower gels, hair tamers, body scrubs, primers, etc. The bottom drawer contains empty packaging that I'm either saving to do reviews or comparisons as well as packaging I can save to return back to the store in exchange for a free product - Back to MAC, Lush. As you can see, the drawer is the most empty because I rarely use up a product, it just tends to get old and I throw it out. I hope to see that drawer a lot more full and the other drawers a lot less full before I start to buy any more products. I got this drawer from Morrisons, but I think you can get one similar to this at Wilkinson too. I think it cost around £15? It stores a lot too.

I also have a few other bath products stored elsewhere, they're pretty big and heavy and I didn't want to keep them in this drawer in case it got too heavy and it broke it, but the drawer is pretty sturdy. I also keep my nail polish stands on top of this drawer too ^^

This is where I keep my opened makeup. Apologies for the mess on top - I haven't had a chance to clear it out, I really should! The makeup brush holder is from ELF and cost me £6 (RRP: £12). I keep my face makeup brushes in the left, makeup tools and cheek brushes go in the middle, and eye brushes in the left. On top is too messy, The only things that should be on there are my ELF mist spray (completely useless btw), my Avon mini eye makeup remover, and my ELF kabuki brushes - the pink diamonte one is rubbish and rough and coarse, but the studio one is luuuuurvely. The top left drawer contains all my opened eyeliners and mascaras. The top middle drawer contains all my opened blushers. The top right drawer contains all my opened lipsticks. The right middle drawer contains all my opened foundations and bronzers. The left middle drawer contains all my opened eyeshadows and pigments. The bottom drawer contains a lot of junk - samples sachets, my false eyelash cases, my unopened contact lenses.

Let's see how long I can last without buying anymore - I must avoid bargains and sales! And I know Clinique are gonna have free gift with purchase soon, but I shan't be tempted. Sales and free gifts are always happening. I can wait until I NEED to get something before I buy.

Arghhh, this is gonna be hard!!!!!

Until next time..

- Diem xo

March Glossybox - Harrods Edition

I've been a subscriber to Glossybox for a while now - I think I signed up for the June box. They've had some hit and misses, but they're edition themed boxes (Christmas and Valentines) have been pretty awesome. So when I heard that the March box would be a 'mystery' box, I was more than intrigued. Each day, the Glossybox Facebook fan page were revealing a few letters each day and all the fans were trying to work out what this mystery box would contain. After a few days, people thought that the box was spelling out 'designer' and of course, it excited me. It was finally revealed that the letters spelt the word 'Knightsbridge' which could only mean one thing - HARRODS. All the items in our next box could be found in Harrods - exciting much?!

So, what did I get in my Harrods Glossybox - I know that the Glossybox team said that there will be variations so this is what I got in my box!

The Glossybox came in a white glossy box with the Glossybox logo and the Harrods logo at the bottom.

Inside of the box is the same but it had a Harrods green ribbon instead of the pink, and a Harrods sticker instead of the Glossybox one.

And now for the goodies! The first thing I saw was the YSL item and I was immediately excited. At first I thought it was a lipstick, but they come in a gold box so I was kind of disappointed, but hey, it's still a YSL product. It turned out to be the YSL - Forever Youth Liberator Serum. The next thing I saw was the Burberry item which I thought was going to be a miniture perfume but got really excited when I saw it was actually a mini lipstick! I've seen many YouTubes with Burberry lipsticks and knew I would never spend that much on a lipstick, but now I have a mini version (SO CUTE) that's the perfect size to pop in my handbag! The other three products were the Narciso Rogriguez - For Her eau de parfum, Molton Brown - Heavenly Ginger-Lily Moisture Bath & Shower, and the Clarins - Extra-Firming Body Cream.

Here is another look at the products in the Harrods' edition Glossybox.

 The YSL - Forever Youth Liberator Serum (5ml) is not something that I would use. I know people say that you should use anti aging products early on for preventative reasons, but I don't see myself using them until I'm at least 25. However, this is definitely not a waste or something I'm disappointed to have because my mum was super excited to be given this. Any anti aging products I receive in my beauty boxes go straight to my mum, who is a very happy receiver. She was more than happy to receive this product, especially because it was from YSL.

 The next item was a 50ml sample of Molton Brown Heavenly Ginger-Lily Moisture Bath and Shower Wash. I've never tried Molton Brown products before and I'm not a HUGE fan of ginger, but it is a perfect size for travelling and I'm intrigued to see how moisturising this will be. I'm sure I'll like it - I'm not a huge lover of bath products in my perfume, but at least I'll get some use out of it (unlike most of the perfumes). This will save me from buying travel sized bath products whenever I go travelling so I will save it for then.

 Also in the box is the Clarins - Extra Firming Body Cream. I've never used Clarins before, but it's a brand that I have been wanting to try out. I am happy to have gotten this in my box because who doesn't need an extra bit of firming in the body? Not sure how effective this will be, but I am excited to see if this works. And if it doesn't, it means that I didn't waste money on buying the full sized product and trying it out. This sample comes with 30ml of product which is a very decent sample size.

The next product is by far, my most favourite out the box, and perhaps of all the boxes I've received. The Burberry Miniture Lip Cover comes in the colour Rosewood No.4 and is a very nice rose-brown lipstick which a subtle hint of gold shimmer. From what I've seen on other blogs, there was a variation as to whether you received the Lip Cover or the Lip Mist. The Lip Mist is a sheer lipstick and came in the colour Copper. Although I prefer sheerer lipsticks over the more opaque ones, I feel like they don't last as long as lipsticks do. And seeing as this is such a luxury item, I would prefer to have an opaque lipstick over a sheer lipstick. I must admit that the copper colour looks absolutely gorgeous, but I have a similar colour in my lipstick collection so I'm not too disappointed. I love the packaging although it's a lot lighter than I expected. If memory serves me correctly, the full sized lipsticks have a magnet that locks the lid and lipstick together, I may be mistaken, but this is not present in the miniature lipstick. The actual lipstick also has the signature checkered pattern which I love! It's such a small detail but makes it all the more luxurious. The sample is 0.8g and the picture above depicts how far it winds up. All in all, I'm super happy about the lipstick and will definitely stay in my handbag.

As with most people, I'm sure, I HATE receiving perfume samples in my boxes. It's not just that it's so hard to cater for everybody's preference in fragrance, but it is such a cop out! I can easily get a free sample of this from anywhere! Unless it's a more substantial sample, I really think that this cannot be described as a luxury sample. If it were one of those bigger samples that come in the mini (and oh so cute) bottles, I wouldn't mind as much, even if I didn't like the scent. I've yet to receive a perfume sample that I like and would actually wear, let alone liking enough to purchase the full sized. I've seen other people received a Versace perfume that came in a miniature bottle, but oh well. I probably would have given it away anyway, so I guess this is all moot. I've smelled Narciso Rogriguez perfumes before and I am not a fan, at all. However, my mum said she doesn't mind it so this will be going to her.

Overall, I am happy with the box, I'm glad to see some high-end brands in the box, and I recognised all the brands that were in the box. I'm still going to stay subscribed to the Glossybox, but to tell you the truth, I'm unsure as to how long. I'm also subscribed to the Carmine box, and they also have some really good products in their box. I don't know whether or not I need to be subscribed to two beauty boxes a month, but I'm undecided as to which box I prefer. I'm also tempted to check out the Boudoir Prive and the Feel Unique box, but four boxes is definitely too excessive.

I hope you enjoyed reading about what I received in this month's Glossybox and maybe you can decide whether or not you want to subscribe. You can visit their website here. I think they've also started a Glossybox service over in the States so yay for all you Americans! And until next time..

- Diem xo

Standout Make Up Products of 2011

I was going to do this blog yesterday but then I got distracted, so even though it's a tad late, better late than never right?

My first product will have to be Urban Decay's Naked Palette. Twelve amazing colours - perfect for the neutral everyday look as well as colours perfect for smokey eye looks. These eyeshadows are extremely pigmented and not at all chalky. I must admit that that Sidecar has a lot of fall out and is pretty chunky compared to the others. Naked and Buck are the only matte eyeshadows so they're perfect for filling in brows. You would be surprised that Buck can be used for people with dark brown/black hair - you should go for a colour that's lighter than your actual eyebrow hair colour. My favourite colours from this palette would have to be Sin, Sidecar and Toasted - they're beautiful. Even though it is considered pretty pricey (I think they now retail for £35), I think it's well worth the money. If you are a beginner or just want the one palette, this is the one to get. I know there are quite a few dupes on the market - MUA (Makeup Academy) from Superdrug have one called Heaven and Earth and costs only £4. I would still happily pay that much more for this palette, the quality is amazing and you get a mini primer potion which seriously makes your eyeshadow last all day and night long without creasing. If I am travelling anywhere, I just bring this palette with me, it has the colours that I need, whether it be just a day out with friends, or a night out at a bar slash club. It's also the only eyeshadow palette I'm planning to bring to my trip to China.

My next standout of the year would have to be the ELF Studio Powder Brush. Although I don't actually use this to apply powder, it'z amazing for liquid foundation. I use this brush to either stipple or buff my foundation in and gives the perfect finish. It also has super soft hair and doesn't shed at all! And the best part of it, it's only £3.50. It's perfect for people who don't have the money to spend on more expensive makeup brushes such as Sigma or MAC, and it doesn't mean you have to accept poorer quality. I have a few MAC and Bare Essentials brushes and I find that the ELF and MAC are very similar in it's softness (Bare Essentials brushes shed and is very coarse). I also got this when they were having their 50% off sale so I only paid £1.75! It's an amazing brush and I would happily pay the full price of just £3.50.

The next product is not really makeup, but it's considered as one of my holy grail products. Cure Natural Aqua gel is an exfoliator but isn't gritty like most exfoliators. It's a gel that takes off the layer of dead skin, and it most definitely works. You take a few pumps of product and apply to DRY clean skin and you massage it in gently and you will find that it takes off a layer of dead skin. You will be able to literally feel the dead skin coming off which sounds gross and slightly daunting, but I can assure you that you won't be walking around with no skin on your face! It only takes off dead skin so no need to worry about it taking off much and damaging slash scarring your skin. This is an amazing product for people who have dry skin and find that when applying foundation slash powder onto your face leaves you will dry flaky patches. I was never ever able to wear liquid foundation because of this problem and now I am able to thanks to this genius product!
I got this from a site called beautycarousel.com and it costs around £22. The shipping is pretty expensive unless you spend around £45, and then you can get free shipping ^^ If you want to try out the product without spending £22 on a whole bottle, you can also get a free sample on this site, but you will have to pay for the shipping charges. This is what I did before I went ahead and purchased it - shipping cost around £2 and I would highly recommend it to people who have found that they have the same problem. I've made 2 orders to beautycarousel and have "purchased" the free samples (if it's free, why not?)





My next standout product is the No. 7 Sheer Temptation Lipstick in 70 Sassy. I absolutely LOVE this lipstick! It doesn't highlight the dry areas of my lips when they are chapped. I love the dark berry colour and wears off nicely - I cannot stand lipsticks that leave a white residue or don't wear off on the outside so you look really cheap and tacky like when you use a darker lipliner and don't blend it into your lipstick. It has a bit of glitter in it but it is quite subtle. It's my favourite lipstick colour and lipstick type in general. I've tried many lipsticks from different brands and within No. 7, but I just really like their Sheer Temptation collection. It's a real shame they don't have much of a colour range ><

My final favourite makeup product of 2011 is Laguna by NARS. I love this bronzer and have been using it every time I wear makeup since I've gotten it. Interestingly though, I do not like Orgasm or Albatross (the blush and highlighter in this trio). I am extremely disappointed with how chunky and glittery Orgasm is and I cannot stand how yellow Albatross is >< Although Laguna is not matte, it has a subtle shimmer that isn't obnoxious like Orgasm is. I can use Laguna to contour and bronze, as well as just using it alone. I cant remember how much this cost, I think it was around £40 which was one hell of a splurge. I would never repurchase Orgasm or Albatross but would most probably repurchase Laguna on its own, I might also try out Casino. I think they cost £22.50 on its own, but I could be wrong.

A quick mention (with no picture) - I loved Soap & Glory Righteous Body Lotion this year. It smells incredible and I find it more hydrating and moisturising than The Body Shop Body Butters but I am not sure if I prefer the lotion or body butter version which is why I'm not including it properly into this blog. Although I've used them both, I am still undecided, but I would recommend trying out either because they both smell the same - the body butter is much thicker and more suitable for those with dryer skin!

Anyways, I am looking forward to seeing what makeup products I discover this year and hope you guys find your holy grail products too.

Until next time..

- Diem xo