Mini MAC and Stila haul

I popped into MAC on Carnaby Street the other day to get a replacement for my Mineralise powder which had run out. I much prefer the MAC Pro shop on Carnaby Street as I feel that the Selfridges stand is always manic and the makeup artists always seem a little standoffish (maybe because they're so blooming busy). A quiet Wednesday afternoon was perfect to browse in peace. I'm not as obsessed with MAC as many people seem to be but I absolutely love their foundations. However, when it comes to eyeshadows I prefer the consistency of Urban Decay and Stila (see below). I think what MAC does better is provide such a wide range of makeup for all skin types; other companies would do well to take note.

I really wanted to try the Face and Body foundation so I asked for a sample and I picked up a couple of eyeshadows in 'Antiqued' and 'Ricepaper'.

The mineralize skinfinish natural in "Deep Dark" is my go to powder and I use it every day, either to set my liquid foundation, or I wear it alone for lighter coverage. I think it gives me a nice 'glow' without looking like I've showered in bronzer. Highly recommended.

 I've been dying to try these eyeshadows for a while now and I'm really happy with them. I'll do a FOTD soon with these so I didn't swatch them.

I found these Stila eyeshadows on a clearance website for on 97p! Yep you read that right. Stila eyeshadow's usually go for around 12 quid so I couldn't believe my luck. I snagged the last of these in "Jezebel" (left) and "Twig" (right). I've been wanting to try Stila eyeshadows for a while since I love their smudge pots so this completely came at the right time. They're in a pan format so I may get an empty palette to put them in. Love, love, love them.

Love, life and colour

Domzy
x

Urban Decay Book of Shadows III and FOTD!

I finally received my Urban Decay Book of Shadows III from Debenham's a few days ago and after I jumped up and down in joy for a few minutes, I took a few pics for you guys. There are far more detailed pictures and swatches by Yinka of Vex and the City and also on Lipglossiping you can check out but I wanted to show what the colours looked liked on a darker skin tone like mine. I'm an NW45 in MAC foundations as a reference. I also used it for the first time yesterday and I swallowed my shyness and apprehension to show you my first ever Face of the Day (FOTD) so be kind.

The top of the box

Lift the lid and you get a cool light up, pop-up effect

The shadows with a mini primer potion and 24/7 eyeliners

I took some swatches of the colours and believe me when I say that my camera does them no justice. I took a set without the flash and a set with the flash to give you more of an idea of the true colours in the set.

From left to right:

Perversion- a matte charcoal grey/black colour; Uzi- a silver shade with  silver glitter pieces; Loaded- a deep, dark green; Kush- a bright green with a silvery sheen; Midnight Cowboy Rides Again- a neutral champagne/ beige with glitter chunks; Last Call- pinky purplish; Rockstar- aubergine purple; Money- a platinum with a slight tinge of blue-green.

Haight- a lovely teal; Maui Wowie- a pale gold with glitter; Smog- bronze; Bordello- lighter pink with small bits of gold glitter; Radium- a bright metallic blue; Snatch- a peach with bits of glitter; Suspect- pearlescent dark beige; Psychedelic Sister- medium purple

The set also comes with two of Urban Decay's 24/7 liners in Ransom (a bright purple) and Zero (a jet black) in addition to a mini vial of their primer potion. I've already gone through several "zero" liners and while it goes on great on my upper eye lid, it just doesn't agree with my waterline because it melts itself into the corner of my eyes. I still love their liners though because they go on so damn smoothly! As for the primer potion, there's nothing I can say that hasn't been said before and I heartily recommend using this before applying any eye shadow.


As for the colours, once again my camera really does them no justice. My favourites so far are "money", "haight" and "loaded" but I'm sure that will change from week to week. I absolutely can't stand "uzi" as it's a certified glitter monster. I already own the full-size eye shadow of this I got in a sale a couple of years ago and I've only used it once. The silver glitter pieces really do go EVERYWHERE. The other glittery eye shadows in this collection aren't anywhere as bad as this.


The box itself is quite big so I can't imagine it'd be very portable for everybody but I carry huge bags anyway so I wouldn't blink at carrying this around with me. The packaging is really cool though and the lights in the pop-up section are a nice touch.

Turn around Bright Eyes

For the past few months I've noticed myself getting dark circles around my eyes and although I initially put that down to my failure to remove my eye make-up properly before going to bed (horrible habit I know). However, after trying to be a good girl and actually taking my make-up off properly, I still noticed dark circles around my eyes. I think it may be a general lack of beauty sleep accounting for that though. Anyway, thus begun my search for something to remedy this.

L'Oreal Visible Results Contour Perfector is attempting to do the job right now. I got this on sale for £4.99 down from about £8.00 so I thought I'd give it a try.

I definitely noticed a difference when I first used this as my under-eye area looked significantly brighter. However, on closer inspection, I noticed that it had a slight pale shimmer to it and this was what was causing my eyes to appear lighter. L'Oreal chooses to call this "correcting micro-pigments" and they definitely work. I'm still not 100% sold though because I wonder what's fundamentally different between this and a concealer? I've been using it in the morning and evening and I'll give it a month to see if it makes a difference beyond the superficial. Will my eye area appear lighter even if I haven't applied this product?

For now though, it's doing the job and I recommend it to anybody trying to reduce the look of dark circles around their eyes.


Love, life and light
Domzy x