February Wish List

Tropical Graphic Tee, Forever 21, £9.35 // Speckled nail polish in "Fragile", Illamasqua, £15 // "Shooting Firework" Leggings, Romwe, £20.14 // Maeve Pin Stud Flats, Missguided, £19.99 // Hot Pink Coco Nail Polish Phone Case, Phonefancy, $35.00

I'm loving big and colourful prints at the moment, so both the top and the leggings are right up my alley right now. There's just nothing to cheer you up on a dreary, grey winter's day than a big splash of colour all over your clothes.
I also admit that I am starting to develop an unhealthy obsession with Illamasqua make-up and their latest collection "I'mperfection" is another one of those where I just want to buy everything! If I had to choose just one item though, it would be this greyish blue speckled effect nail polish.
I've also gradually worn away pretty much all of my flats and these are exactly what I've been hunting for in high street shops, but could never ever find. I can't get enough of studs and spikes on shoes, bags and jewellery!
And last, but not least, the ultimate phone cover for pretty much any beauty blogger. As soon as I saw this featured in a post on makeupsavvy.co.uk I was smitten. There's also a dark blue version, but as these cases have become so popular, the manufacturer's actually on a backlog right now, so it would take forever to get one now - not fair!

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Elate

Funny little review for you today, as I'll be talking about a product I didn't even want. You see, I was CONVINCED that I bought a nice light nude/flesh coloured eye pencil, a shade I'd been hunting for for ages. Then I got home, unwrapped everything and realised that it was in fact a white pencil. I'm 100% sure that I asked for "Cane" but ended up with "Elate" in my bag. The problem is that I already own another white pencil which I don't even use an awful lot, as I feel the effect it gives is just a little too stark. Nevertheless, I didn't fancy driving back for another hour, so I just stuck with it.

Eine etwas eigensinnige Review habe ich für euch heute, denn ich stelle euch ein Produkt vor, das ich eigentlich überhaupt nicht wollte. Also, das war so: Ich war ÜBERZEUGT, dass ich einen hübschen Nude-/hautfarbenen Kajalstift gekauft hatte - etwas wonach ich schon längere Zeit gesucht hatte. Dann kam ich nach Hause, packte alles aus und saß plötzlich mit einem weißen Stift da. Ich bin mir hundertprozentig sicher, dass ich um "Cane" gebeten hatte, doch in meiner Einkaufstüte landete "Elate". Das Problem ist halt, dass ich schon einen anderen weißen Kajal habe und den benutze ich sowieso kaum, weil mir der Effekt einfach etwas zu stark ist. Dennoch hatte ich keine Lust, eine ganze Stunde lang wieder zurück in die Stadt zu fahren, also saß ich mit ihm fest.

Now if you were waiting for a turn in my little story where I exclaim, "I didn't want this, but now I love it!" then you'll be disappointed. I still don't love it. Buuuuut it's marginally better than my other white pencil (which is by Artdeco), so I got to give it some credit for that.

Wenn ihr jetzt erwartet, dass ich im nächsten Satz so etwas sage wie: "Ich wollte ihn nicht, aber jetzt liebe ich ihn!", dann muss ich euch leider enttäuschen. Ich liebe ihn nämlich nicht. Aaaaaber er ist schon etwas besser als mein anderer weißer Kajal (von Artdeco), also gibt es da schon Bonuspunkte.

Talking just about the pencil in general it is of very good quality. The texture is completely spot on. It is neither so hard that it tugs on the delicate skin in the eye area, nor is it so soft that it runs everywhere. Application is a very pleasant process as a result and it also allows you to work as precisely as you'd like, depending on how much you sharpen the tip.

Wenn man nur den Stift im Allgemeinen betrachtet, dann ist er schon von sehr guter Qualität. Die Konsistenz ist einfach nur perfekt. Er ist weder so hart, dass er an der empfindlichen Augenhaut zerrt, noch ist er so weich, dass er überall verläuft. Das Auftragen wird somit zu einer sehr angenehmen Angelegenheit und man kann auch so präzise arbeiten, wie man möchte, je nachdem, wie stark der Stift zugespitzt ist.

Sharpening itself is a quick and easy process, though as with all wooden pencils you do lose some product every time you sharpen it. However, it's been bashing about in my make-up bag for a while and I haven't had it break, snap or crumble on me yet. After application it lasts about 6 hours on me, regardless of whether I wear it on the lashline, eye lid or on the water line. Six hours on the lid is fairly average, but six hours on the water line is actually really good, so I am impressed!

Das Spitzen an sich ist ein schneller und einfacher Prozess, doch wie bei allen Holzstiften geht etwas vom Produkt bei jedem Anspitzen verloren. Jedoch hat er jetzt längere Zeit in meiner Make-up-Tasche so Einiges durchmachen müssen und er ist trotzdem nicht zerbrochen oder zerkrümelt. Nach dem Auftragen hält er bei mir etwa sechs Stunden, egal ob ich ihn am Wimpernkranz, auf dem Augenlid, oder auf dem Innenlid auftrage. Sechs Stunden auf dem Lid ist eher durchschnittlich, aber sechs Stunden auf dem Innenlid ist eine sehr gute Leistung; ich bin beeindruckt!

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Elate hand swatch

"Elate" is described as a pure white and I couldn't agree more. It is very pigmented for a white pencil - no half-arsed bit of waxy transparency here - so it will allow you to create some fairly dramatic looks should you want to use it for that. Unfortunately I didn't want a white eye liner because I was looking for something LESS dramatic, so I just can't find it in me to love this shade. I do wear it from time to time on days where I look positively dead and it does help to make me look less... well, dead.

 "Elate" wird als pures Weiß beschrieben und dem könnte ich nicht mehr zusprechen. Für einen weißen Kajalstift ist er sehr pigmentiert - keine lustlose wachsige Transparenz hier - und könnte somit gut für dramatische Looks eingesetzt werden, sollte jemand das Bedürfnis danach haben. Leider wollte ich aber gerade deswegen keinen weißen Liner, weil ich etwas WENIGER Dramatisches wollte, also kann ich mich einfach nicht dazu bringen, diese Farbe zu lieben. Ab und an trage ich sie schon auf, beispielsweise an Tagen, an denen ich entschlossenerweise tot aussehe und der Stift hilft mir dabei weniger...nun ja, tot... auszusehen.


Aside from that, a very good product and I'd happily repurchase it in any other colour, but next time I'll make double sure I get the right shade!
Illamasqua Medium Pencils retail at £13.00 each.


Davon einmal abgesehen, handelt es sich hier um ein hervorragendes Produkt, das ich mir sehr gerne jederzeit in einer anderen Farbe nachkaufen würde, doch beim nächsten Mal passe ich halt besonders darauf auf, dass ich auch den richtigen Ton bekomme!
Illamasqua Medium Pencils kosten je 15,55€.

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover Review

You know those times when you're looking for something for ages and as soon as you find it it seems to pop up everywhere? This is one of those times. I was looking for a matte apricot blush and found it in this beautiful offering by Illamasqua. As soon as I bought it I seemed to spot them everywhere, but I guess that's just life.

Kennt Ihr auch diese Vorfälle, wo man ewig nach etwas sucht und sobald man es findet taucht es plötzlich überall auf? Darum geht es hier. Ich habe ein mattes, Apricot-farbenes Rouge gesucht und in diesem wunderschönen Produkt von Illamasqua gefunden. Sobald ich es gekauft hatte, sah ich plötzlich überall ähnliche Produkte, aber so ist manchmal das Leben.

A word on the packaging first: The blush is housed in a sturdy black plastic case with a transparent window which will make it easy to find the shade you're looking for if you're in a hurry. Some people may prefer a mirror in the lid, though for me that's not an issue. The pointy corners make for a unique design which certainly isn't going to get lost in your stash, though I found it often difficult to open and if you have weak finger nails like me, beware, as you may lose one or two in the process.

Erst einmal zur Verpackung: Das Rouge sitzt in einem stablien schwarzen Plastikgehäuse mit einem durchsichtigen Fenster, welches es ganz einfach macht, die richtige Farbe zu finden, sollte man es einmal eilig haben. Manche Leute bevorzugen einen Spiegel in der Verpackung, aber für mich spielt das keine Rolle. Die spitzen Ecken sorgen für ein individuelles Design, das in euren Sammlungen mit Sicherheit hervorsticht, doch leider fand ich es oft schwierig, das Gehäuse zu öffnen. Wenn ihr auch so dünne Fingernägel habt wie ich, dann seid vorsichtig, denn ihr könnet leicht einen oder zwei bei einem Öffnungsversuch verlieren.

The compact houses 4.5g of product which is generous and will last for a long time.

Innen drin befinden sich 4.5g vom Produkt. Für ein Rouge ist das großzügig und wird lange reichen.

The blush itself is a warm apricot which leans orange in some lights. The texture is buttery soft and very pigmented, so you'll need to use a light hand when applying this! On the skin it has a velvety finish and can be layered up without caking or settling into pores or lines.

Der Blusher selbst ist warm und aprikosig und hat bei mancher Beleuchtung einen Orange-Stich. Von der Konsistenz her ist er butterweich und sehr pigmentiert, muss also leichthändig aufgetragen werden! Auf der Haut liefert er ein samtiges Finish und kann ganz leicht aufgebaut werden, ohne dass Flecken entstehen oder dass etwas sich in Poren oder Fältchen einnistet.

This colour would look stunning with a tan or on naturally darker or warmer skin tones. Of course there's no reason paler skins couldn't wear this either, though I personally found that it really emphasised my freckles, so I'll be laying this off until I get a bit of a tan in the summer months!

Diese Farbe würde bezaubernd aussehen auf gebräunter oder von Natur aus dunkler Haut. Natürlich gibt es keinen Grund, warum auch hellere Hauttypen dieses Rouge nicht tragen könnten. Für mich persönlich hat sich herausgestellt, dass es meine Sommersprossen sehr stark betont hat, also lasse ich es lieber bis zu den Sommermonaten liegen!

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover - swatched in natural light

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover - swatched with flash

This blusher retails for £16.50 and for the formula and pigmentation I definitely recommend it. It's just a shame that after so much searching for this particular shade it ended up not suiting me after all!

Dieses Rouge kostet 19.73€ und für die Konsistenz und Pigmentation würde ich es auf jeden Fall weiterempfehlen. Schade nur, dass sich nach all dem Suchen nach dieser besonderen Farbe herausgestellt hat, dass sie mir überhaupt nicht steht!

Available online from Illamasqua.com here.

Illamasqua Nail Polish in Elope

I mentioned this last month when Illamasqua were running an offer where you got a free nail polish with any two purchased products at the counter. The freebie shades that were available were quite limited and it was between this and a gorgeous pastel lilac, but eventually I decided to go for the one out-there shade, which was Elope!

This is a bright green shade which I would describe as grass green, which translates very well from the bottle to the actual nail.

Unfortunately, I seem to have had nothing but trouble with this nail polish. First of all, let's talk about consistency. It already seemed strangely runny in the bottle, which was more than disastrous on the nails. The brush is your bog-standard thin brush and whereas I tend to favour the wide ones it's not usually a problem. With this formula, however, it meant that the polish slipped and slid all around my nail and I had to get the coats extremely thin.
Coat number one was incredibly streaky - in fact, the messiest finish I've ever had on my nails. Coat number two somewhat remedied the streakiness, but I could still see the white nail tip shine through the colour. After coat three nothing much had changed, so I decided to call it a day.

The polish dries to a semi-matte jelly formula and I'm not entirely sure if that finish works so well with this particular shade. I normally discard anything that takes more than two coats, but I really wanted to like this nail polish, which is why I applied three. At least the layers seemed to dry very quickly, so after three and a half hours (!!) of sitting around I assumed it would be safe to go to bed.

Wrong.

This is what I woke up with:

Boo! You can still see the white nail tips and the polish is covered in scratches and smudges. Not pretty.

As I said before, I really, really wanted to like this product. I've been nothing but impressed with all my Illamasqua purchases so far and after a bit of googling I couldn't find anyone else with a similar problem. In fact, the polish seems to look completely different on other people, so I'm thinking that maybe I got a dodgy bottle? In fact, the Illamasqua website claims this is a glossy finish, which I did not achieve at all! I can't complain that much, seeing as it was a freebie after all, but I don't think I'll ever be using this again, as there's no way I can spare upwards of four hours to wait for my nail polish to dry.

These normally retail at £13.50 each for which you get a 15ml bottle - one of those big enough to probably never be used up.

Have you tried any Illamasqua nail polishes and how did you like them?

Beauty Haul

I spent almost all of yesterday out and about in town and treated myself to quite a few beauty purchases, so here's a haul video featuring all the lovely items I came back home with. I hope you enjoy!

Face of the Night - NYE 2011

For some reason when I think about New Year's Eve the colour silver springs to mind. I've also been dying to try out an Illamasqua eye shadow which I bought in the summer and tonight was the perfect occasion! I'm not going anywhere fancy, but that doesn't mean one can't make an effort.

Products used:

- Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation B10
- Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
- ELF High Definition Powder
- Bourjois Delice de Soleil in 51
- MAC Blusher in Mocha
- Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Surge
- Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Gimp
- Blink + Go High Definition Mascara
- Barry M Dazzle Dust in 91 Silvery Black
- MAC Viva Glam V Lipgloss

I hope you all have a wonderful evening, whether you're all glammed up and going out or staying in with your pyjamas on. Have a wonderful 2012 and may this be the year all your dreams come true. And good luck with your resolutions if you've made any!

See you next year!