Collection: DIY Palettes #2

I decided to created my own mini palettes to condense my individual eyeshadow collection a little bit.  I was going to do them in the one post but it started to get a bit long so I am going to divide it up into 2 posts instead!  Here are my 3 palettes that I have so far:

In my last post I showed you the Unii Palette (the red one) and so the next ones to discuss are the small E.L.F. ones.  I actually have 3 of these but only 2 are filled at the moment!  These palettes are quite handy, they come with an insert to fit 4 standard size eyeshadows/blushes which E.L.F. sell individually on their website.  The palette and refills are £1.50 (well they were last time I checked, they are bumping up their prices something awful, argh!) which is quite a bargain!  In all honesty the refills are not the best, they are really gritty and I won't be buying anymore of these.  The palette however is great, you just need to pop out the insert and then using some double sided sticky tape, stick down the metal sheet which lies beneath the insert.  So then you can use however many products you want/can fit in it!  You can also decorate your palette as well if you want - I had little rhinestones on the corners but they fell off as I used to keep it in my make up bag!

So although they are quite small, for £1.50 they are really easy for putting together a few similar colours.  They are definitely not as durable as the Unii palette for travel, I had one eyeshadow smash on me in one, and that was with the insert in place!  But I think for the price they are fantastic!

In the left-hand side one I have got black and white themed eyeshadows.  They are by Too Faced (grey and black), Avon (the white and grey - not CF) and E.L.F. (the white one, see how gritty it is?!)

In the other one I have got some blushes.  The big one is Berry Merry by E.L.F. (love this blush!), beside it is Merlot by Arbonne, and the round one is another £1.50 E.L.F. one (again note the grittiness).

I am going to a post about my obsession with purple toned blusher at some point, I'd like to get my hands on NARS Sin first but it's just so damn expensive!

<3

Collection: DIY Palettes #1

I decided to created my own mini palettes to condense my individual eyeshadow collection a little bit.  I was going to show them all in the one post but it started to get a bit long so I am going to divide it up into either 2 or 3 posts instead!  Here are the 3 palettes that I have so far:

The first one I am going to talk about, the big red one, is a Unii palette.  These are really great as they are so sturdy and durable, and they also come with a sheet of adhesive magnetic for you to cut out and stick to your products.  Inside it has a massive mirror and a rubber bumper to help prevent any damages if it gets bashed, which makes it perfect for travelling.  It also comes with a little thumb grip but I have removed this as it was taking up too much room.

The downside to it is that it's really quite expensive considering it's an empty palette!  I think mine worked out to be about £21 if not slightly more, due to exchange rate and shipping.  However this was when they were relatively new and I got it directly from the Unii's US website, now they have a UK website which is fantastic and are available at an introductory price of only £15!  They are also discounting it if you buy in bulk, so if you buy four or more you will get them for £12 each!  The p&p is £2.95, which isn't too bad, and free for over £60.  Unfortunately they have totally changed all the colours and the one I have isn't available anymore, but they do have a nice selection of pastelly colours which are really pretty!

The Unii palette fits a lot of different brands which are all listed on their website (link above) and it also explains how to depot any products which have got packaging which is quite handy if you're not familiar with the techniques.

In my palette I have got quite a few different brands: Avon (not CF), Too Faced, MAC (not CF), Urban Decay (not CF) and Virgin Vie (no idea about their cruelty-free status but I would assume they are not!  I've never bought anything from them before, this was part of a gift set.).  I have tried to group colours together and this one is my earthy/neutrals palette!

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NOTD: Back To Blue

I have been trying to give my nails a bit of a rest, they've been peeling and breaking something awful recently.  I think it's been almost 2 months now without nail varnish!  Apart from the odd random finger painted with a tester haha!

So for my first manicure in agesss I decided to go with this really pretty blue which is Skinny Jeans by Ciaté.  I got this item in the only Glossybox I ever purchased, which was last summer I believe!  I'm not 100% sure about the cruelty-free status of this brand, I had a look on their website and it says: "Ciate is a 5 FREE brand completely free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (dibutyl phthalate), formaldehyde resin, camphor and is even cruelty free (never tested on animals)."  I have emailed them anyway to see what they say about ingredients, suppliers and suchlike.

Even though I have had this for almost a year I have never actually used it, and I found the brush a bit weird!  They have a sort of wide, flat brush, which is quite good in general but I found it difficult for getting a nice shape at the base of the nail - as you can see from the pictures - but maybe it will just take some getting used to!

I used two coats of that and then applied one coat of Models Own's Bluebelle on my ring fingers as an accent.

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EOTN: Makeshift Teal

Tonight my friends and I sang at friends and family night at a cancer unit.  We really enjoy singing as a group and have put together a choir totally just for fun!  We have been to a few different places now; we sang at that cancer unit and a care home around Christmas time last year, and we also sang at my friend Beckie's wedding (who is in the choir but obviously being the bride she didn't join in!).  Our general theme has been to wear black and then we all have different coloured folders for our song words which we match to our eyeshadow!  My folder is a dark teal sort of colour which is quite a tricky colour to find a matching eyeshadow for, so I just used blue and green and hoped for the best!

Photo from my phone, shows off the highlights better as they get washed out from the flash!

I actually hated this during the process but this happens most of the time for me lol!  I just persevered with it and ended up quite pleased with how it looked.  I used quite a lot of products so I will use bulletpoints below to try and make it clearer!

• UDPP all over the lid (no longer CF - grrrr).
• Covergirl 'green' all over the lid (not CF).
• I then pressed Barry M dazzle dust in 92 over the 'green' (which ends up blue anyway!)
• Then mixing Mildew and Oil Slick from the Urban Decay Ammo Palette (no longer CF) together on a tapered brush I applied this into my crease and blended it out.
• I then used the blue and green shadows from the E.L.F. Eye Transformer palette, blue around the inner corner and up then green under the brow bone, blending them together.
• I used the Covergirl 'green' under my lower lash line.
• Finally I applied black gel eyeliner along the upper lashline, and then mascara - Bourjois Fast & Perfect - on upper and lower eyelashes.

'Green' is second on the right - got this in Florida years ago

I used the two outer shadows here

The E.L.F. palette is fantastic, it is an almost-but-not-really dupe for the Naked Cosmetics Ivory stack.  These are perfect for highlighting the inner corner as they are subtley coloured.  From left to right they are green, gold, pink and blue.  You can also apply them over different colours such as black and it creates a really nice iridescent shimmer.

Oh and I had my music exam yesterday!!  It wasn't too bad,  it wasn't perfect and my nerves were definitely showing but we'll see in two weeks when I get my results!  I feel like I can finally relax for a bit now, phew!

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Mini Tripod

Sorry for the big gap in blogposts!  I have a music exam next week and it is stressing me out so much, even more so than my uni ones!  I think it's just because I have to perform in front of someone rather than just writing down some numbers, and I'm really bad with nerves.  I had a practice with the pianist who will accompany me in the exam yesterday and I was shaking so much just because someone else was there!!

Anyway!  Tonight I'm going to tell you about a recent purchase I made.  I had been looking for a mini tripod for a while, just because I don't have the best camera in the world and for some reason I need to always use the flash when macro is on otherwise it goes blurry, so having a tripod would eliminate the shakiness from my hand.

I had a look on Amazon and I was expecting to pay about 6 or 7 pounds, but then I came across this absolute gem!  For 85p, yes, EIGHTY-FIVE PENCE, plus 99p delivery - totaling £1.84 - you get not one, but two mini tripods!  I had a balance on Amazon meaning I would get it for free, and it having 13 5* reviews so I just went for it!

My dad's old camera as model!

Beside 100ml Daisy perfume for size comparison

Folded up - very compact

I was a bit dubious about whether it would hold my camera because the hole where you screw the tripod in is over to the side so I thought it might overbalance, however it was actually fine.  The legs are fully adjustable so you can set it to different heights or at an angle.  The total height of the tripod is 12cm however it will be slightly smaller than this once you adjust the legs to suit your camera.  The screw is also universal and should fit all cameras as far as I know!

Photo taken with my phone of my camera on it

I just can't over the fact you get two, it's crazy!  I donated the other one to my dad, cause I'm such a kind daughter!

You can buy these from Amazon here.

<3

Dorothy Bubble Bar

Here is just a quick post tonight as I've not done one in a while - I am sort of in the middle of a longer one which is going to take a while to put together!

Recently I did a Lush haul and I repurchased one of my favourite smelling bubble bars, Dorothy!  I thought I would do a mini review thing on it!

I love the smell of Dorothy, I wish I smelled of it all day long!!  It has the scents of gardenia, ylang ylang and orange flower, so it is very floral smelling but not overwhelming in my opinion, however it's not to everyone's taste!

It is also one of the cheaper bubble bars coming in at only £2.99, and I always get two uses out of it so I think this is great!

Look at all those bubbles!  That is with only using half, crazy!

Here I have tried (and failed evidently) to show the colour of the water.  This is definitely not a selling point as it is a sort of murky, browny, orangey colour!  However I certainly don't base whether I buy a bath product or not on the colour it makes the water - well unless it dyed me a funny colour in the process... (which it doesn't!).

During my research for this post I have discovered that Lush do a soap which smells like this called Figs and Leaves!!!  I am very excited about this and can't wait to get my hands on it!  It really doesn't look anywhere near as good as Dorothy does but as long as it smells the same I will be happy!

<3

P.S. Have a look at this statement Lush put out after the whole Urban Decay palaver - I love them so much :) link

Introducing My Cats: Hugo

Last but not least in this series introducing my cats is Hugo! The story behind him is slightly different... We've only had him about a year, if that! We had seen him wandering around the garden a few times but then one day our neighbour came round and said that this cat had been sitting looking in their back window for the past few days looking a bit pathetic, so referred him to us knowing that we were more experienced with cats! So I went round and picked him up and brought him in to our house and gave him something to eat, and he's stayed here ever since...  He is definitely a stray but we don't know where he came from, we went round some of our neighbours and showed a photo of him but nobody owned up!  We know he must have been someone's pet because his coat was well kept (feral cats tend to be quite unkempt and shaggy!) and he was familiar with the cat litter and cat flap.  So we think that someone has kicked him out because of his behaviour.

He is the most aggressive, psychopathic animal I have ever come across! He is crazy! He provokes all of the other cats and actively seeks them out for the sole reason of attacking them. He is actually a very clever cat because you can see him planning out before he does things which isn't something I've noticed cats doing before. He will sit and wait say behind the couch say, if he knows one of the other cats is coming that way then pounce on them! He is also very strong, we had to actually change the latch on my bedroom door to stop him coming in to attack Theo during the night because he would be able to push it open, even when I put my guitar and stand behind it, he still managed to open it!

One thing he did which was hilarious was that one night he was in the living room prowling around, and my black cardigan was lying in a heap on the couch. He snuck up and then attacked my cardi thinking it was Theo or Tia, it was so funny, he must have been so confused!!!

We have bought a Feliway plug-in which releases cat pheromones and it does seem to calm him down a bit, when it runs out he seems more aggressive and agitated. He doesn't attack us as much either - we all have scars from when we first got him - because he will get fixated on attacking Theo for example, if you get in his way he will just attack you as well. We know now to just leave him when he gets like that and remove any other cats in the vicinity!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my cats!

<3

Edit: Hugo went missing at the end of the summer and we've not seen him since :(

CutECOsmetics

I came across this website a few weeks ago on Twitter (not sure how exactly, I think someone RT or mentioned them!) and I think it's just such a great concept.

Basically they are called cutecosmetics, but with emphasis on the 'eco' in the middle which I think is so clever!  They specialise in supplying cruelty free, organic and vegan beauty products.  So they have done the hard work for you!  All the brands on the website are cruelty free, and then it is indicated if they are also organic, vegan or both.  You can choose to shop only vegan or organic products too if you want to only view items which fall into these catagories.

Some of more well known brands they carry are Butter London, Barry M, Ecotools and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, then they are also lots of other ones I haven't heard of!  I haven't actually bought anything from them yet but I am really looking forward to getting some bits to try out (not til next month though as I seem to have spent my wage already!  Whoops!) especially as it's free UK delivery!  I really grudge paying delivery even though < £3 is perfectly acceptable, I'm just a big cheapskate, so I love that it's free!

Here is a link to their website CutECOsmetics it's just adorable!  They also have a blog too, link here.

<3

Urban Decay's Change of Heart

I literally just found out about 3 hours ago that Urban Decay have decided to sell their products in China... Now, there is a law in China which means that cosmetics can be tested on animals by the government if they so wish, before they are allowed to be sold (which is obviously absurd!).  So Urban Decay are no longer cruelty free!  I can't even tell you how disappointed I am in them, I thought no matter what happened, at least UD would be around with CF alternatives, but no!

I found out this upsetting news from Liz who has written a good, more in depth post about it so click here to go and read hers.

I am just keeping this quite short as words have failed me, I'm in shock!  Urban Decay will be removed from my cruelty free list after this has been posted.

Source: Leaping Bunny

Urban Decay give their reasons here.

Hugo being naughty, sitting on a box on top of my wardrobe!

 <3

[Edit: Urban Decay have removed their press statement which I have linked to above which is even more shocking!  I wish I had copied and pasted :( ]

EOTN: Matching Coral

I went out for a 21st last Thursday and I was wearing orange shorts so I decided to tie in my make up (for a change - I tend not to match make up and clothes!) with this theme.

I used a primer then MUA in shade 16 all over my lid up to my eyebrow, then in the crease I used a few orange shades the Coastal Scents 88 palette (not CF), some are hardly pigmented so I just played around until I got the colour I wanted.  After this I applied a thin line of liquid eyeliner to my upper lash line and used a brown eyeshadow on my lower lash line for some definition.  Lastly, I curled my lashes and used my Bourjois Fast & Perfect mascara - I already had a layer on from being at work that day which is why it looks more spidery than normal!

For my lips I realised that my Lip Butter in Tutti Fruitti would be perfect!  It's such a nice soft orange colour which went really well.  I love this Lip Butter but so many people have done reviews and things on it so I will give it miss.  However if you do want me to do one I will be happy to, I just don't want to bore you all!

And here is a photo of my face... before doing my hair obviously, not that it looked much better to honest haha I'm so bad at doing hair!  I would show you my outfit but all the photos of me from the night are actually hideous!!!

 <3

Introducing My Cats: Tia

 
This is Tia!  She is the cutest wee thing ever!  We bought her from our local SSPCA animal home as a kitten (her mother had given birth in the home) and she is now 3 (we had to look this up... so bad at keeping track of our animals ages lol).

Although she is fully grown she is still a really small cat as you can see from the photo - that's her sitting on my slipper!  She also absolutely loves sitting in boxes, I used to do Avon so when the stuff arrived it was like heaven for her, she would just plonk herself down in a box on top of all the products while me and my mum were trying to sort it all out!

Despite her size she is quite a vicious wee thing and is partial to a bit of hunting (nightmare!), she also doesn't take any of Hugo's attitude which is hilarious when you compare her to Theo!  Hugo will run at her and she'll just growl and stare at him until he backs down.  But although I said she is vicious she has never scratched or bit any humans unlike other cats who will just attack anyone if they have been provoked or in an aggressive mood.  I really like this about her, Hugo will be squaring up to her and it's perfectly safe to lift her while she is growling whereas Theo will often try to get at me when I do this to him.  

Tia is such a cuddly cat, definitely the cuddliest out of our 4!  When you lift her up she just melts into your arms and makes herself cosy, it's adorable!

She isn't the brightest of cats though I have to say, she often forgets how to get out the catflap and tries to pull it open with her paw instead of just pushing through!  All you hear is BANG BANG BANG, yup, that's her forgot again, and you need to go and push out from behind...

Lastly is Hugo! :)

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