Hi Guys!
I was lucky enough to get a little bit of sun today, so could wear something a little more summery! Although it was not quite warm enough to wear a dress or a skirt, I could get my arms out which is something I haven't been able to do in a long time! I took a few photos of my oufit for you guys which I will add to this post tomorrow :)
I have been loving the peplum style at the moment and think it looks SO flattering on almost any shape so that is what I decided to wear with a simple pair of black trousers - it was a really easy outfit to throw together yet looked stylish at the same time.
Did any of you get any sun today? Are you loving the peplum trend too?
xxx
Thursday 19 July 2012
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Summer Blues!
It has been raining non stop where I am, so despite the fact it is meant to be summer I find myself still reaching for my winter clothes, which mainly consist of grey and black items so after needing a pop of colour in my wardrobe I came across Barry M's new line of Glitter nail varnishes!
The one that I decided to buy was the Aqua blue colour (number 340, £2.99) and soon as I got home I couldn't wait to give it ago! I found that the glitter was actually quite sparse when I first applied the nail varnish and the colour of it was mainly clear with a few blue pieces of glitter in it. Therefore I think it would be nice to apply over another nail varnish, though I decided to build up the colour by applying a few more coats!
I found that I actually needed to apply 5 or 6 coats in order to get an opaque colour, so I think it is a nail varnish designed to be applied over another, nonetheless due to it being a glitter nail varnish it hardly made a dent in it! I really loved the colour of this, in some colours it looks green and in others it looks blue and the glitter definitley makes it very eye catching. This nail varnish has both small and large flecks of glitter in it which adds texture to the nail varnish and enables it to reflect the light!
I love the colour of this nail varnish, it actually reminds me of mermaids! It is really great for adding a splash of colour to a dull day and I will be trying some of the other colours within the range - they make a nice change to the current pastels of this season!
Are you loving glitter nail varnishes or still loving pastels?
xxx
 |
| Haha, I couldn't open it so had to use my teeth, hence the tooth mark! I was so desperate to try it!! x |
Are you loving glitter nail varnishes or still loving pastels?
xxx
More Clinique!
Following on from my previous post I decided to upload my review of the Clinique Colour surge eyeshadows. Sorry it might be a little long, but I had so much to say about these fab eyeshadows! I feel that often Clinique makeup can often be overlooked and people mainly go to purchase the skincare, yet I have found their make up to be of great quality and actually prefer their eyeshadow range over that of MACs. All my reviews can be found on the following link:
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/member/jimmychoogirl/
I have been a fan of Clinique for a long time now, mainly due to their skin care and although I have dabbled with a few of their make up products I have never really branched out past their basics. However, recently whilst shopping in Boots I decided to take a look at the make up Clinique had on offer and although it was a fairly small range compared to other larger make up providers I decided to give it a shot. The item I decided upon buying was that of the eye shadow, mainly due to the fact I wear eye shadow on a daily basis but also due to the fact I have not tried too many 'high brand' eye shadows and wondered how they would compare to the cheaper brands and whether the difference in quality would be that great.
==~~What is it?~~==
This is an eye shadow by Clinique. They have a few different ranges of eye shadows within the colour surge range them being; soft shimmer, super shimmer, stay matte and velvet. The velvet and stay matte range seemed to be more of a matte range, opposed to that if the super shimmer which were very highly pigmented, almost glittery shade. This particular review will be on the soft shimmer range which seemed to be the range on offer which combined both parts of the previous. They were very soft powder formula shades, with an ever so slight, almost metallic looking shimmer to them.
Clinique claim that it is a lightweight powder eye shadow with an intense colour in as little as one stroke, as well as being easily blend able and long wearing - so to me it sounded pretty much like the perfect eye shadow!
==~~Price and Availability~~==
For the single eye shadow it is fairly expensive costing £15 for 2.5g of eye shadow and personally I would not normally spend that much on an eye shadow but having been impressed with most of the Clinique products I have tried in the past I decided to splurge out on one!
Clinique products, along with these eye shadows are now available in numerous places. It can be purchased in Boots, House of Fraser, Debenhams and also all their online stores, including the Clinique online store. I always tend to buy products from the Clinique online store (though not always if it is the first time I am buying something as I like to test it out first) mainly due to the fact I tend to find they have better offers on and you also receive a couple of freebies with your order!
==~~Colour variations~~==
There were a few colours on offer, most of which being a very soft, almost pastel colour which is reflected in their name 'soft shimmer'. Although the colour range was not the widest, I was impressed with and could not really find a colour that I did not like. Of course it did not offer brighter colours such as that of blues or dark colours such as blacks and greys but this was mainly due to the fact they did not fit under the same 'soft shimmer', though could be found within their other eye shadow ranges. I opted for a colour called Linen (which I think is number 18) which was an icy looking cream/white as I was after a colour that I could use both to brighten my eye duct/inner eye are and also to apply lightly just under my brow bone. Since then I have gone onto purchase many others, inclduing that of Sierra Glaze; a subtle, brown colour.
==~~Packaging / The sponge applicator~~==
I think that the packaging of a product is very important, in particular that of a make up product as it can often sway my purchase. As with most Clinique products the packaging is very 'clean' looking in mirror style packaging which when opened has one side in which the eye shadow is in and the other in which where there is the sponge applicator. I really liked the packaging as it was very subtle, yet at the same time I found it effective and it had a very 'clean' look to it. The flip top style eye shadow was very secure and the lid has never opened when the eye shadow has been knocked about in my make up bag and neither has the eye shadow cracked so I do think they have designed it very well.
I personally never tend to use the sponge applicators as I often find them to be of poor quality and very difficult to apply the eye shadow with, nonetheless I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of this applicator. The sponge end was quite thick and bouncy in texture and was very soft and did not have the same scratchiness to it that some of the cheaper ones have. I also found the sponge applicator to be slightly bigger than some of the other ones and for this reason found that it sat very comfortably in my hand and was easy to use. The eye shadow does apply very well and smoothly when applying this mascara and although I do prefer to use my eye shadow brushes, this sponge applicator is great for when out and about or travelling as the quality is very high.
==~~Applying the eye shadow~~==
As stated, I prefer to use my eye shadow brushes when applying eye shadow and so this is what I used when applying this eye shadow also. The eye shadow transferred very well onto my eye shadow brush, just using simple swirling motions. Although this was not a loose eye shadow, I did find that it was very soft and for this reason did not have to be worked too hard to build up colour. When applying the eye shadow to my eye it felt incredibly light and very smooth, almost silky in texture. Despite it being a very light eye shadow, I was pleased to see that there was no fallout when applying the eye shadow and for that reason it was very quick to apply.
The colour was very intense and opaque in just the first 'coat' of eye shadow and I found that I didn't really need to build up the colour. I found that despite the eye shadow being a powder formula, it did have a slightly creamy feel to it and for that reason was very pleasant both to apply and wear. The colour Sierra Glaze was really lovely to apply and was an almost red based brown colour and was extremley warm. It was a slightly darker colour that I used to apply to my crease and I was so happy with the way in which it blended with the other eye shadow I was wearing. It blended very quickly and almost effortlessly into the other colours to create a very soft looking colour, whilst at the same time was able to maintain the intensity of the colour enabling it to still define my eye. I was not sure how a brown based colour would look with a shimmer in it, as I often tend to opt for matte based browns otherwise I find that they can look gold rather than brown; this was not the case of this colour. It remained looking brown and even with some of the slightly golden based shimmer particles in it the colour remained very intense and worked well both to define my eye and bring out my natural eye colour - despite that being very dark!
I found the original colour that I bought, being Linen, worked very well for both the inner eye area and the brown, it was bright enough to really stand out on my eyes and the soft shimmer to the eye shadow softened the slightly icy look to it, yet it was not too bright so that it was hard to blend.
Since buying Linen and Sierra Glaze, I have gone on to buy a few other shades and have been equally impressed in the way in which they apply to the eye.
==~~Results~~==
I was very pleased with the results of this eye shadow, which is why I have since gone on to buying a few other shades since purchasing my first. The colours are very soft looking on the eye and although they do all seem to be quite pastel based, the colours are still very intense and in no way do they look faded on the eye. I love the 'soft shimmer' they have to them as it is not too glittery and neither are they completely matte. Although there are some very slight glitter particles in the eye shadow, these are extremely subtle and reflect the light perfectly without looking too sparkly.
I was very impressed with the longevity of this eye shadow. I found that it lasted all day on my eye (even when going to the gym!) and neither did it crease or fade on my eye. My eyes can sometimes be a little watery and so when wearing eye shadow on the underneath of my eye I can find that it often smudges or wears off throughout the day, however this eye shadow remained in place all day and I found that there was no need to reapply. Even the slightly darker, more intense colours did not lose any of their opaqueness - so would definitely agree with Clinique's claim of them being long wearing!
Despite the fact they lasted all day, they were still very easy to remove and I found that there was no need to scrub my eye. Even when wearing some of the darker colours, such as that of a brown, I found that there was no stain left behind by the eye shadow and found that a just a make up wipe removed it all.
==~~Overall~~==
Overall I have been thoroughly impressed with this eye shadow range and would not hesitate in recommending them. I know they are a little expensive at £15 per eye shadow, yet I do believe the quality is truly reflected in this and for the results it is worth paying this price. I have also found that they last ages and I have barely made a dent in mine after using them almost every day for the last 3 or so months, which again makes them good value for money.
I really loved the soft shimmer finish to these eye shadows as I believe the subtle glitter gave just enough depth to the eye shadow without making it look overly sparkly or obvious. I think that this high brand of make up is far better than others I have used previously and although some high street brands may come close in quality, I don't believe they quite match up and for that reason believe that the difference in quality is far better than I had expected it to be.
This is an eye shadow that I would definitely recommend, as it has met both my expectations and the claims of the products and I am looking forward to trying some of the other ranges of eye shadows that Clinique have on offer!
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/member/jimmychoogirl/
I have been a fan of Clinique for a long time now, mainly due to their skin care and although I have dabbled with a few of their make up products I have never really branched out past their basics. However, recently whilst shopping in Boots I decided to take a look at the make up Clinique had on offer and although it was a fairly small range compared to other larger make up providers I decided to give it a shot. The item I decided upon buying was that of the eye shadow, mainly due to the fact I wear eye shadow on a daily basis but also due to the fact I have not tried too many 'high brand' eye shadows and wondered how they would compare to the cheaper brands and whether the difference in quality would be that great.
==~~What is it?~~==
This is an eye shadow by Clinique. They have a few different ranges of eye shadows within the colour surge range them being; soft shimmer, super shimmer, stay matte and velvet. The velvet and stay matte range seemed to be more of a matte range, opposed to that if the super shimmer which were very highly pigmented, almost glittery shade. This particular review will be on the soft shimmer range which seemed to be the range on offer which combined both parts of the previous. They were very soft powder formula shades, with an ever so slight, almost metallic looking shimmer to them.
Clinique claim that it is a lightweight powder eye shadow with an intense colour in as little as one stroke, as well as being easily blend able and long wearing - so to me it sounded pretty much like the perfect eye shadow!
==~~Price and Availability~~==
For the single eye shadow it is fairly expensive costing £15 for 2.5g of eye shadow and personally I would not normally spend that much on an eye shadow but having been impressed with most of the Clinique products I have tried in the past I decided to splurge out on one!
Clinique products, along with these eye shadows are now available in numerous places. It can be purchased in Boots, House of Fraser, Debenhams and also all their online stores, including the Clinique online store. I always tend to buy products from the Clinique online store (though not always if it is the first time I am buying something as I like to test it out first) mainly due to the fact I tend to find they have better offers on and you also receive a couple of freebies with your order!
==~~Colour variations~~==
There were a few colours on offer, most of which being a very soft, almost pastel colour which is reflected in their name 'soft shimmer'. Although the colour range was not the widest, I was impressed with and could not really find a colour that I did not like. Of course it did not offer brighter colours such as that of blues or dark colours such as blacks and greys but this was mainly due to the fact they did not fit under the same 'soft shimmer', though could be found within their other eye shadow ranges. I opted for a colour called Linen (which I think is number 18) which was an icy looking cream/white as I was after a colour that I could use both to brighten my eye duct/inner eye are and also to apply lightly just under my brow bone. Since then I have gone onto purchase many others, inclduing that of Sierra Glaze; a subtle, brown colour.
==~~Packaging / The sponge applicator~~==
I think that the packaging of a product is very important, in particular that of a make up product as it can often sway my purchase. As with most Clinique products the packaging is very 'clean' looking in mirror style packaging which when opened has one side in which the eye shadow is in and the other in which where there is the sponge applicator. I really liked the packaging as it was very subtle, yet at the same time I found it effective and it had a very 'clean' look to it. The flip top style eye shadow was very secure and the lid has never opened when the eye shadow has been knocked about in my make up bag and neither has the eye shadow cracked so I do think they have designed it very well.
I personally never tend to use the sponge applicators as I often find them to be of poor quality and very difficult to apply the eye shadow with, nonetheless I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of this applicator. The sponge end was quite thick and bouncy in texture and was very soft and did not have the same scratchiness to it that some of the cheaper ones have. I also found the sponge applicator to be slightly bigger than some of the other ones and for this reason found that it sat very comfortably in my hand and was easy to use. The eye shadow does apply very well and smoothly when applying this mascara and although I do prefer to use my eye shadow brushes, this sponge applicator is great for when out and about or travelling as the quality is very high.
==~~Applying the eye shadow~~==
As stated, I prefer to use my eye shadow brushes when applying eye shadow and so this is what I used when applying this eye shadow also. The eye shadow transferred very well onto my eye shadow brush, just using simple swirling motions. Although this was not a loose eye shadow, I did find that it was very soft and for this reason did not have to be worked too hard to build up colour. When applying the eye shadow to my eye it felt incredibly light and very smooth, almost silky in texture. Despite it being a very light eye shadow, I was pleased to see that there was no fallout when applying the eye shadow and for that reason it was very quick to apply.
The colour was very intense and opaque in just the first 'coat' of eye shadow and I found that I didn't really need to build up the colour. I found that despite the eye shadow being a powder formula, it did have a slightly creamy feel to it and for that reason was very pleasant both to apply and wear. The colour Sierra Glaze was really lovely to apply and was an almost red based brown colour and was extremley warm. It was a slightly darker colour that I used to apply to my crease and I was so happy with the way in which it blended with the other eye shadow I was wearing. It blended very quickly and almost effortlessly into the other colours to create a very soft looking colour, whilst at the same time was able to maintain the intensity of the colour enabling it to still define my eye. I was not sure how a brown based colour would look with a shimmer in it, as I often tend to opt for matte based browns otherwise I find that they can look gold rather than brown; this was not the case of this colour. It remained looking brown and even with some of the slightly golden based shimmer particles in it the colour remained very intense and worked well both to define my eye and bring out my natural eye colour - despite that being very dark!
I found the original colour that I bought, being Linen, worked very well for both the inner eye area and the brown, it was bright enough to really stand out on my eyes and the soft shimmer to the eye shadow softened the slightly icy look to it, yet it was not too bright so that it was hard to blend.
Since buying Linen and Sierra Glaze, I have gone on to buy a few other shades and have been equally impressed in the way in which they apply to the eye.
==~~Results~~==
I was very pleased with the results of this eye shadow, which is why I have since gone on to buying a few other shades since purchasing my first. The colours are very soft looking on the eye and although they do all seem to be quite pastel based, the colours are still very intense and in no way do they look faded on the eye. I love the 'soft shimmer' they have to them as it is not too glittery and neither are they completely matte. Although there are some very slight glitter particles in the eye shadow, these are extremely subtle and reflect the light perfectly without looking too sparkly.
I was very impressed with the longevity of this eye shadow. I found that it lasted all day on my eye (even when going to the gym!) and neither did it crease or fade on my eye. My eyes can sometimes be a little watery and so when wearing eye shadow on the underneath of my eye I can find that it often smudges or wears off throughout the day, however this eye shadow remained in place all day and I found that there was no need to reapply. Even the slightly darker, more intense colours did not lose any of their opaqueness - so would definitely agree with Clinique's claim of them being long wearing!
Despite the fact they lasted all day, they were still very easy to remove and I found that there was no need to scrub my eye. Even when wearing some of the darker colours, such as that of a brown, I found that there was no stain left behind by the eye shadow and found that a just a make up wipe removed it all.
 |
| From left to right swatches of; 06 Frosted Blossom, 03 Lucky Penny, 02 Dark Shade Mink, 18 Linen, all are available within the Pretty Eyes and Lips set - a lovely small, easy to travel with palette by Clinique! |
==~~Overall~~==
Overall I have been thoroughly impressed with this eye shadow range and would not hesitate in recommending them. I know they are a little expensive at £15 per eye shadow, yet I do believe the quality is truly reflected in this and for the results it is worth paying this price. I have also found that they last ages and I have barely made a dent in mine after using them almost every day for the last 3 or so months, which again makes them good value for money.
I really loved the soft shimmer finish to these eye shadows as I believe the subtle glitter gave just enough depth to the eye shadow without making it look overly sparkly or obvious. I think that this high brand of make up is far better than others I have used previously and although some high street brands may come close in quality, I don't believe they quite match up and for that reason believe that the difference in quality is far better than I had expected it to be.
This is an eye shadow that I would definitely recommend, as it has met both my expectations and the claims of the products and I am looking forward to trying some of the other ranges of eye shadows that Clinique have on offer!
Clinique!
Over the past year or so I have become a huge fan of the Clinique brand! I have tried a few of their products now, though by far my favourtie is their anti-blemish solutions make up foundation. I often suffer from breakouts and this is fab at both helping to prevent and also to cover them! It is a little pricey at around £23, though I find a little goes a long way and it lasts me around 5 months so feel the price reflects in this. I have repurchased this foundation on numerous occasions and will continue to as long as it works for me!
The only slight mishap I have with it is that it can sometimes leave the skin a little dry due to it being a fairly matte finish, though aslong as a good moisturiser is applied beforehand this can be avoided!
I have also purchased a few of their eyeshadows recently, I have written a review of these on my review channel and one will be up here soon! They are so silky and smooth to apply and last a dream of the eye and come in lovely soft colours!
The only slight mishap I have with it is that it can sometimes leave the skin a little dry due to it being a fairly matte finish, though aslong as a good moisturiser is applied beforehand this can be avoided!
 |
| Shade 01 - I'm so pale at the moment - hurry up summer!! |
I have also purchased a few of their eyeshadows recently, I have written a review of these on my review channel and one will be up here soon! They are so silky and smooth to apply and last a dream of the eye and come in lovely soft colours!
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