Pucker up with Back2Mac!

Hello, I hope you all had a lovely weekend :)

I finally got around to gathering together my empty Mac containers to swap them for some new lipsticks with the Back2Mac program. I'm sure you know what Back2Mac is but just in case you're not it's Mac's recycling program where you return 6 empty Mac containers and in return get a free lippie.

I knew I had a few empties but was surprised and a bit excited when I realised I had exactly 18 which meant 3 new lippies woo hoo! So these are the 3 gorgeous colours I went with. . .

I had my sights on Vegas Volt for ages so this one was a definite. Vegas Volt is a beautiful creamy coral with a tiny hint of pink. Can't wait for summer to pull this one out!

My second choice was going to be Hue but they were sold out so I went with Shy Girl instead which as you can see was a good decision. I have already made my mark on this baby. It's a peachy nude with a really smooth formula. Would be perfect paired with a smokey eye. 

I struggled to choose a 3rd colour because they are all great but decided to go with Girl About Town as I don't really have anything like it in my collection and I'm glad I did. Girl about town is a bright and bold fuchsia pink. I haven't worn this one too much yet but am itching to try it when I have somewhere appropriate to wear it!

Swatch time...

Girl About Town, Vegas Volt and Shy Girl 

What can I say apart from I LOVE Back to MAC! What girl can argue with free lipstick whilst saving the environment?! 

So far I am happy with each and everyone of my new lippies. Expect some FOTDs featuring them soon in the near future.

Enjoy the week, 

Imogen :)

Battle of the Highlighters!

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Happy Tuesday!

It hit me the other day that I am a highlighter addict. I love glowy radiance skin and am a sucker for a good illuinating product. There are so many great products on the market  I thought I would give a bit of an overview and comparison of my favourites. I managed to narrow it down to the top 6, it was hard but I did it!

 

So we have;  

♥ Mac Cream color base in Pearl - Love this. It's one of my favourite highlighters. It's an off white cream colour with no obvious glitter. It creates dimension and a lovely luminscent glow. This product is the definition of dewy and glowy!

♥ Prestige Sun Baked Mineral Bronzer in Pure Shimmer - This is the cheapest of the lot and I think it's great. It gives a great natural sheen to the skin and considering the price it gives great glow and not glitter. I like that it's not too bronzey, pink or white it is sort of a great mix between all three colours.  

♥ Nars Albatross - As you can see mine has had plenty of wear and tear, I think it's a reflection of how much I love it! Albatross looks a bit white in the pan but adds a gorgeous golden warm glow to the skin. The golden shimmers are finely milled so it appears really natural. I use it on my cheekbones but it is also an amazing inner corner and brow bone highlight! 

♥ Dior Amber Diamond - I love this highlighter! I have posted about it before here if you want to read me rave on about it more. Gives a beautiful ultra-sheen to my cheeks. Don't know what I did without this. I especially love using this on nights out for that extra glow. 

♥ The Body Shop Shimmer Waves in 02 Blush - This was one of the first makeup products I ever bought and I have since repurchased it. I use it just as a highlighter rather than a blush. It's a great pinky toned highlighter with a very fine, satin like shimmer.

♥ Nars Multiple in Copocobana - This highlighter looks very frosty in the tube but once on the skin it's actually really flattering. It blends right into the skin and gives a natural, subtle nude sheen. I like that it creates more of a sheen than a shimmer. This is is great for the fair skinned ladies! 

L-R - Mac Pearl, Prestige Pure Shimmer, Nars Albatross, Dior Amber Diamond, The Body Shop Shimmer waves, Nars Copocabana.

I honestly cannot choose one favourite. I love them all and wear them all at different times for different occasions.  I think they are all great products for providing a gorgeous, luminous radiance. If I had to choose only one it would be a toss up between Amber Diamond and Mac Pearl.

Although I love all of these I could always do with more glow so I have my eye on Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl. I need it in my life!


What is your favourite highlighter? Share it with me!

Mac Virgin Isle Dupe

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Hi Girlies,

So I was going through my makeup stash the other day and realised I have a really similar product to Mac's Virgin Isle cream colour base. I love Virgin Isle so have to share this discovery! It's Max Factor's Miracle Touch cream blush in Soft Candy (07) and although it's not a perfect dupe it's definitely in the running. 

Here's the comparison...

and swatched...

L-R: Max Factor's Soft Candy applied heavily and blended and Mac's Virgin Isle applied heavily and blended 

Soft Candy does look darker in the pan but once applied they are alike. Soft Candy has more of a red tone whilst Virgin Isle is a bit more coral toned.  Virgin Isle is more pigmented which isn't necessarily a bad thing as you do have to be careful not to use too much product or hello clown cheeks! One of the differences between these two is the finishes. Soft Candy has a glossier, dewier finish when applied to the skin, both products provide that great glowy look to the skin. Although their finishes are different the colours are really similar especially once they are blended into the skin. I would give Soft Candy a B in duping, what do you think?

So if you can't get your hands on Virgin Isle or want a cheap alternative I would recommend Soft Candy for that great corally pop of colour!

Much love, 

Imogen 

May Lovin'

Hey ey e

Hey hey, 

It's the end of May which means 2 things, it's my mum's birthday and it's time for a favourites post! So here are the things that have been floating my boat over the past month or so; 

  We have -  

♥ Lush Dream Cream,

♥ Orly Cuticle Oil

♥ Revlon Matte lipstick in Pink Pout

♥ Mac Nylon eyeshadow

♥ Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

♥ Mac Well Dressed blush 

  

Lush Dream Cream - First up we have Lush Dream Cream. I bought this stuff after hearing numerous rave reviews and I would now have to agree with them. I have terribly dry skin and with the cold weather taking over I thought this would be a great product to have. It's a great moisturiser that leaves my skin soft and smooth. I lather it on after my shower and find it really calms my skin, especially after shaving my legs. It's not too sticky or thick but still has enough oomph to get the job done. This will be a definite repurchase.

Orly Cuticle Oil - Bought this stuff on a whim when my cuticles were going though a shocking stage and it has worked pretty well. I have been applying it the evening and it leaves my cuticles softer and moisturised.

Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout  - I have had this lipstick for ages but only recently rediscovered it. I have been going through a bit of a light pink phase with my makeup and this has been getting quite a bit of use. I like that it's not way too pale yet not too bright. It's sort of a lilac toned pink. Looks great by itself or with a gloss!

Mac Well Dressed blush - I did a whole post dedicated to this blush a while back (check it out here if you're interested) and I am still loving it. As I said I am going through a light pink makeup phase and this is perfect. Gives my cheeks a great pop of colour and glow.

Mac Nylon eyeshadow - As you can see by the picture this shadow has been through the wars, it just shows how much I love it! The most perfect inner corner colour I have come across. It is a beautiful shimmery white/gold toned highlighter which instantly brightens the eyes. I would recommend this to everyone!

Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner - I was going on holidays and wanted a cheap liner to take with me so I picked up this one and have really liked it. The colour is definitely a true black and it has a really nice creamy texture which applies smoothly. Long lasting too. I own both Mac and Bobbi Brown gel liners and I think this one is up there, especially when you consider it's a drugstore product.

Swatches! Left to right: Revlon Pink Pout, Mac Well Dressed, Mac Nylon, Maybelline Gel Liner 

And that's it. What has been on your love list this month? 

Imogen 

x

Bodyneeds2 Haul

Hope everyone has had a great start to the week :)

I recently ordered some Mac samples at the thebodyneeds2.com when they had a sale. I have ordered samples from The Body Needs 2 before and they have provided really great service both times. I love their 1cent specials which they have each week, who couldn't resist for 1c! The last three samples are thebodyneeds2 1cent samples. Here is what i got...

 Mac Fluidline in Macroviolet, Blitz & Glitz, Rich Ground & Waveline and Mac Paint Pot in Dangerous Cuvee

Mac Cream Color Base in Tickle Me Pink & Hush 

Mac Pigment in Vanilla, Naked, Spiriualize & Antique Green

 

Mac glitter in reflects gold, Reflects Pearl & 3D Silver glitter

Bodyneeds2 samples in Silver Dusk Iridescent powder, Regard Sable Nacre & Elegance

 I love getting samples. It's so great to get sample before jumping in and buying the whole product and I don't feel guilty about spending more money on makeup. I'm really glad I got samples of the fluidlines. They are ok but I'm not going to buy the full size products. I now have my eye on the Bobbi brown gel liners. I also use so little of the pigments that I really couldn't justify buying full size for most pigments anyway.


Imogen x


 

Blush Crush

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I am a blush addict so I thought I would share my latest blush crush: Mac's Well Dressed.

I think Well dressed in an amazing colour. For some reason I often overlook it but have been loving it the last few weeks. On my light skinned complexion it's perfect. It's a light baby pink with a slight hint of shimmer. After one application it's really light which is nice and subtle for the daytime but it can be built up to add a nice pop of pink.

Well dressed is amazing for those fair skinned ladies so if you’re pale go ahead and try it!

:)

MAC Pink Nouveau dupe

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Good Morning :)

After wearing Mac Pink Nouveau lipstick the other night (you can check it out here) I realised that I owned another lippie which was really similar. That would be Revlon's matte lipstick in Stormy Pink. 

Both lipsticks are bright pinks with similar undertones. Stormy Pink is not as vivid in colour as Pink Nouveau and is definitely not as pigmented but you can build up the intensity.

Here is the swatch..

Left - Revlon Stormy Pink, Right - Mac Pink Nouveau 

Although they have slightly different finishes - Pink Nouveau is a satin finish and Stormy Pink is matte, they are not worlds apart as satin lipsticks have a semi-matte finish. Stormy Pink definitely deserves an A in duping, what do you think?

I prefer Pink Nouveau as it's a bit more intense and not as drying as the Revlon matte lipsticks but If you want a cheap alternative for Pink Nouveau or maybe are not sure as to whether or not Pink Nouveau is the colour for you I recommend you check out Stormy Pink.

 Much love,

Imogen

Orange Crush

Hey everyone, 

I'm loving orange at the moment! I think it's really great for the hot weather. I'm not sure if orange suits me as much as other colours but I love it anyway! Some days I like to steer clear of pink and orange is a perfect substitute.

So here of some or the orangey toned  products I am loving. Some of them are probably more coral toned but for the purpose of this post i'm considering the to be orange :p

Benefit's Sugarbomb, Ulta3 polish in watermelon, Revlon lipstick in 24K orange, OCC lip tar in cha cha, Revlon polish in tropical temptation, Mac peached blush, Mac virgin isle cream colour base, Innoxa lipstick in rockmelon

Occ lip tar in cha cha, Revlon lipstick in 24k orange, Innoxa lipstick in rockmelon, Benefit's sugarbomb (just the orange section), Mac virgin isle cream colour base, Mac peaches blush

 

Without a doubt my favourite product here is Mac peaches blush, after a long search it was one of the first Mac blushes I ever bought and absolutely love the pop colour it adds. 

I'm thinking I might have to invest to Mac Morange lipstick - now that's an orange lippie!

Are you an orange fan?

:)

A few Mac purchases

Hey there, 

Here are a few Mac items I picked up a while ago and have been meaning to share for ages now so here goes; 

The first think i got was Plink!

 I actually had intended to purchase Hue but when I went in they were sold out. I ended up getting Plink instead. It's a nice pinky colour which is quite sheer. I like the colour but I do find it is quite close to my natural lip colour so it doesn't show up heaps. It's a good everyday lippie but I still want to to get my hands on Hue at some stage.

I also finally got my hands on the ladyblush blushcreme

I have been wanting this for ages but whenever I went to get it they were sold out. As you can see I have already made a complete mess of it but am loving it so far. I do have to be light handed on my pale skin but it's a lovely colour. I think it will be great in summer, especially if I get a bit of colour (this might be wishful thinking, I am always so pale, I can only hope!)

I know you've seen it before but I also got Painterly paint pot

 Nothing new here, it's a great base which as you can see has already got lots of use!

Another one you have no doubt seen before, sable eyeshadow

It's a medium golden brown which is a gorgeous colour. Another neutral for my collection!

I also got eye kohl in Smoulder. Didn't think you need a swatch as it's just a plain black eyeliner.

Have you tried any of this stuff? and what do you think of it?
x

Current Loves ♥

So as the title suggests this post is going to show the products which i am really enjoying at the moment. 

 ♥ Coralista by Benefit - Ever since I bought this I have been in love!  It's a beautiful coral blush which has great pigmentation and a nice amount of shimmer. This has been my go to blush for the last few weeks as I find it really brightens up my face adding a nice pop of colour. It is pricey but I think it is well worth it. This will definitely be a summer staple blush.

♥ Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment - This stuff is amazing. It's a multi purpose ointment which is fab. It's kind of like Elizabeth Ardens 8 hour cream in that you can use it in heaps of different ways for heaps of different things but without the horrible smell. I mainly use it as a lip balm but i also love it for my cuticles and dry skin. I think this would be about my 10th tube and I can't say enough good things about it. 

♥ Revlon polish in Lilac Pastelle - This is a fairly new addition to my nail polish collection and I love it. It's a great purple pinky colour which applies beautifully. I have been wearing this loads lately.

 

♥ MAC cream colour base in Pearl - This is stuff is amazing. It has been my absolute favourite highlighter for the last few months. I would highly recommend this to everyone as it blends so easily into the skin giving such a gorgeous natural glow.

♥ MAC Face and Body Foundation - I've had this for a while and rediscovered it the other week. I had sort of forgotten about it but really do love this stuff. It gives a light coverage which I find applies easily and has a nice dewy finish. If anyone is wondering I have it in C2 and am normally a NW20 in Mac. Now the weather is warming up this will no doubt become a staple again. 

What are your current loves?

Battle of the Corals

While reorganising my makeup the other day I discovered I have a growing collection of coral blushes. Coral toned blushes are definitely my favourite (obviously!) I just love the flushed natural glow they give.  

So without further ado here are my favs; 

Here are descriptions they give on their websites; 

Mac Stereo Rose - Coral with golden/bronze shimmering nuances

Benefit Coralista - A warm coral cheek powder for a 'tropical flush'

Mac Dainty - Light yellow pink with gold pearl 

Nars Orgasm - Peachy pink with shimmer

 Without Flash: Left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Benefit Coralista, Mac Dainty, Nars Orgasm

 With flash left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Mac Dainty, Benefit Coralista, Nars Orgasm  

Ok onto my thoughts;  

♥ Stereo Rose is the bronziest of the 4, I only did a post recently raving about it. It has a bit of  rosey tone to it (hence the name!) and is probably the least corally out of the four. It makes me look really fresh and like lots of the good Mac mineralize skinfinishes gives a beautiful sheen to the skin. 

♥ Coralista is a beautiful peachy coral. It's quite sheer but can be built up to add a bright pop to the cheek. It's great for my NW20ish skin and it smells really good too! I think this will be my summer stable blush.

 ♥ Dainty is the pinkest of the 4 and has a noticeable shimmer in it which you can sort of see in the photo with the flash, but it's not an over the top shimmer. It is quite a pigmented blush too so I have to be careful not to overdo it on my NW20ish skin.

♥ And lucky last is the famous Nars orgasm. You all know about it. It's a great shimmery coral peach blush which looks great on most skin tones. It has a gold shimmer in it which some days I love and other days I'm no so keen on - depends on the day. I'm sure you've heard it all before but I have to agree that it is a great coral pinky blush.

Left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Benefit Coralista, Mac Dainty, Nars Orgasm 

And the winner is... 

Ugh please don't make me choose between may choose, it's too hard!

They are all gorgeous good quality blushes and as you can see from the swatch above they are all super similar. If I could only have one of these I think I would go with Coralista. It's a tough choice though.

You might think I would have satisfied my coral blush love but I still do have my eye on a few other corally colours. You can never have enough right!?

What is your fav coral blush?

 

Love love love - Mac Stereo Rose

This bad boy arrived in the mail last week woo hoo!

I was the very lucky winner Pretty as Peaches 125 subscribers giveaway. I know there has been crazy amounts of hype around Stereo Rose and I have to say (reluctantly) I totally get it now. I say reluctantly because of the fact that it is limited edition.

I saw heaps of pictures of it in the past and thought it was pretty but I was not overly keen on running out and buying it mainly because I thought it would be a bit dark for my NW20ish complexion. However after seeing it in person this is really a stand out MSF.

It is absolutely gorgeous. It gives me a beautiful corally warm flush. I use it as a blush and it brightens up my face giving me a great glow. It's unlike any other blush I own with its unique shimmery, peachy, corally, bronzey, rose gold colour.

It has a great consistency - well pigmented, not too shimmery, no chunky glitter and is really finely milled.

As I said I was a tad scared as first seeing it and after seeing how pigmented it was when I swatched it on my hand. I was worried that there was no way I could get it to work for me but luckily I was completely wrong.

You can sort of see in the swatches just how pigmented it is but if i apply it lightly, like the bottom swatch, it looks great. As stupid as it sounds when I first put it on I kept glancing at my reflection to admire my cheeks!

I want to say a huge thank you to Lindsay for having such a great giveaway and making me very happy by giving me this little gem!

I see it is going on ebay for crazy amounts, one was US$119. So with that in mind is there any blush that you splurge on if it became hard to get?