May Haul/Review

I have decided that I am going to start doing a monthly haul/review sort of thing, though this could end up being a little difficult because I suppose some months there might not be anything that I have to show you :S

Anyway, I have done a little shopping last month and as we are now officially into June then I can show a completed May haul/review and I will apologise in advance for the picture to text ratio, so sorry about that!. Here we go...

First of all I picked up this Smashbox Try It Kit from boots for £19 and for that price I thought it would be worth a shot.

So In this kit (From left to right) :
1. Photo Finish Primer
2. Photo Finish Lid Primer
3. Limitless Eye Liner - Onyx
4. Hyperlash Mascara
5. Lip Enhancing Gloss



My first thoughts when seeing what was in the box was that it is really a decent starter kit and because I had never used smash box before than this would be the best was to get introduced to it. I have tried other primers/lid primers before so it is interesting to see how well they compare to the others.

I have actually used all of these products so here are my thoughts:

1. Photo Finish Primer:
I actually really like this! I have heard very mixed reviews and I can see why. I love the feel of the product on my skin and it does make my skin a little matte but not as much as I would have hoped for. It feels soo luxurious on the skin and it really smooths everything out. So over all I do like it and I would either consider buying it again or choosing another primer from Smashbox and I am very interested in trying the green colour correcting primer that they have as that is a very big issue for my skin.

2. Photo Finish Lid Primer:
I was using the Urban Decay Primer Potion before using this primer and I really love my primer potion, it is the perfect formula but I like this primer as well. The primer applies in the same way as Urban Decay but for some weird reason the formula feels a bit rough :/ It's also coloured to about a light medium skin tone which I'm really not a fan of because I have such fair skin...Actually after a bit of research, they only have one colour and it's described as warm beige. So as much as I think that it's a nice primer I think I'll stick to my Urban Decay.

3. Limitless Eyeliner - Onyx
I have wanted to buy a new pencil eyeliner for a while and it's great that I have this one to try. I was using the Clinique Quickliner but I was thinking about buying the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eyeliner. I just want something that would work well for tightlining (If you have any suggestions then let me know) so it needs to stay and be nice to apply. I found that this was nice to apply on skin but when I was trying to apply it to my tightline it was a little difficult to get on a first but then finally went on. It is a really nice quality eyeliner and stays on quite and the colour is quite intense, but I much prefer a gel liner for my eyes.

4. Hyperlash Mascara:
I LOVE this mascara, Its a standard plastic brush but one edge has a row of slightly longer spikes. It's fantastic for lengthening and volumising lashes. It's not a harsh formula that dries solid so touching up on your mascara won't hurt too much.I would seriously recommend giving this a try.

5. Lip Enhancing Lipgloss:
I'm always a bit dubious about new lipglosses, mainly because there is nothing worse than a sticky lipgloss, especially if you have long hair like me. This one wasn't too sticky but I would still have to tie my hair back, the colour is really nice - its like a sparkly champagne. There was one thing that I really didn't like and it was that after a while it felt really gritty on my lips so I probably wouldn't buy this again but I will finish it.

 This is another Smashbox mascara and I managed to only get this for £2! They were having a charity event at their counter in Boots Eldon Square where if you donated to Macmillan Cancer Support then you got to do a lucky dip :)

It's a really nice mascara and the formula isn't too different to the Hyperlash but the brush gives a fuller effect and I think this usually retails for around £17 so compared to some other brands then it's not too bad of a price.


I would like to just this opportunity to mention a bit more about Macmillan Cancer Support and how important their work is. They raise money so that there can be a higher quality of support for those who are suffering with cancer, providing them with the appropriate care and someone to be there for them because they believe that no one should have to go through it alone. I really feel that their work is exceptional and that more people should know about their work. Here's their website --> http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx

I have also been to M.A.C and bought myself a few little goodies :)

This first one is the Extra Dimensions Eyeshadow in Opalesse
and this makes a brilliant brow and cheek bone highlighter.

It's a two tone pearly shadow. Mainly white with a purple effect.

It's bigger than the normal eyeshadows and I think it casts about £16.50

I have heard loads of beauty bloggers talking about how much they like this lipstick and so I decided that I would give it a try!

I absolutely love the smell of M.A.C lipsticks and their colour range is fantastic. This is the colour Creme Cup and it is a Cremesheen finish and its a pinky beige colour which I think is fantastic for everyday wear!

The lipsticks cost about £14 which I don't think is massively over priced and they have virtually every colour you could ever want!

 I also bought my first ever M.A.C Nail Laquer and this is the colour Pistachio Creme which is a pale mint green.
It costs about £10 which is reasonable considering there are other  brands which would cost more.

It's similar to Essie Mint Candy Apple but I think this is slightly more blue and could pass for a Tiffany's Blue.

I love this and the packaging is lovely but if I do buy another then I think I will go for something a little more obscure and unique.

I was also in Lush and I went in specifically to buy the Karma soap but when I got to the counter to pay the sales assistant said that they also made a perfume in the same scent.

There are 3 different intensities to this perfume and the solid one (pictured) is the weakest but by no means is it subtle.
They have one in a long tube which is the second strongest and
then one in a black bottle which is the strongest.

The solid perfume only costs £5 so it's really inexpensive and it has the most amazing smell. Though I would suggest that it is more of an autumn/ winter fragrance.






I hope that I haven't completely completely rambled on and if you think that I haven't provided you with the answers you wanted about a specific product shown then just let me know and I'll get back to you ASAP :)
I hope you like this post :)
- Ruby

Benefit They're Real! Mascara Review

There had been a little bit of hype around this product and I really wanted to try this mascara because I have very short eyelashes and don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm expecting some sort of miracle where it suddenly doubles the length of my lashes or anything but I just wanted to see what it was like.

Actually I was quite fortunate because I didn't want to pay out for this mascara because it's certainly not cheap but I did manage to find a sample size of this in ELLE Magazine so really I only paid £4.00 for it!

So anyway, lets get on with the review!

I should probably apologise in advance for the lighting situation, it was getting quite dark outside :/

So I've started off with no mascara on, just so you can see where I'm starting from and yeah my eyelashes are really that short :(

This is the sample size that I got and again, sorry about the lighting  but also the packaging is quite dark.

The sample size is 2ml  and comes in black.

 This is the brush applicator, it looks fairly standard except for the little little cluster of spikes on the end which actually make it easier to reach the inner corner lashes.

 The lighting is a little weird but I hope you can actually see the difference between the left side and the right.

To be honest, those little spikes on the end were helpful but when its a new mascara you have to be so careful with how much product is on the end of the brush otherwise it will clump on your lashes.

 It dawned on me that  should turn on the big light instead of relying on the smaller lights haha.

But I did the rest of my make up, just simple cat eyes and to be honest, I like the loo of this mascara but I find that it was too hard when it dried (if that makes sense) some mascaras have a softer formula and don't make your lashes feel so stiff.

I like the look of the mascara but I think there are others that I actually prefer.

The mascara retails for about £19.50 and you can find it in most larger Boots stores.





I hope you like this review and keep an eye out for my next review.
- Ruby x

Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream Review

So this is what I thought of Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream:

First and foremost I know that this is far too dark for my skin tone but this way a sample and I had no choice  in the colour selection. Anyway, I am mainly focusing this review on the finish, feel and application of the actual product :) 

 As per usual, I have started off with nice clean skin but I have got quite a few blemishes to contend with.

I used the Neutrogena pink grapefruit face scrub to cleanse my face but I have also sprayed a little MAC Fix+ to help refresh and soothe my skin because unfortunately it is usually quite red. I also applied my Revlon PhotoReady Primer because it wouldn't be a true review if I didn't apply in in the same way I would apply my usual foundation.

 This was the little sample that I got. I buy so many magazines so I have a few of these but the unfortunate thing is that they must go by what the most bought foundation shade is and it is far too dark for me :(

So this is 002 Medium and it is not super runny in texture so it doesn't drip off your hand when you're trying to apply it but its also not as thick as I would like either.

 I applied the product to the right side of my face (left in the photo) and not to the other side to get a comparison.

Fortunately it doesn't show up quite as dark in photos as it did in real life. I tried to apply it with a sponge butt didn't do so well, I think it was too runny so the sponge was just absorbing the cream. I would probably suggest using a foundation/stippling brush with this.

So this is it fully applied and there is such a difference in colour between my face and neck!

I loved the feeling of this product because it was so lightweight and had a lovely matte feeling. I don't think the coverage was too heavy which is ok if you just want a natural look but add a little something to your look.

I would definitely suggest this to those with minimal blemishes because it really doesn't give enough coverage.

the removal was difficult though! it was like it had stained my skin :(

Anyway, I hope you liked this review, let me know your opinions :)

- Ruby x

Urban Decay De-Slick Spray Review

About a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture on my Instagram of the Urban Decay De-Slick setting spray and I recently bought this because I kept seeing reviews about how amazing it is and I thought it was worth testing out.

I bought the 30ml/1fl oz bottle because I didn't want to spend so much on something that I didn't like. This bottle cost me £9.00 but the was some sort of sale thingy so I got it for £8.10.


This was the picture that I posted:

I have been using this now for about 3 weeks now and I have to say that I actually really like it! I don't think I was too taken by it when I first use it because it felt like hairspray on my face and it felt a little weird but my opinion changed when my face didn't feel so stiff after a few hours of wearing it.

My foundation lasted really well with this spray but it was also in combination with a refresher spray before application of make up and also a primer which I think have both helped to make it last. 

The mist itself is comes out really nicely, its a very fine mist which spreads quite evenly and dries quite fast. It is virtually odourless. Also they changed the design of the bottle, from what I saw it was that very funky colourful bottle but not is a very sleek simplistic bottle which I think is just beautiful! The feel of the box and the bottle is also a little odd, it sounds weird to say but that have an almost rubberised finish which is almost fitting of the product.

All in all I would honestly recommend this as a must have product and I think it would be great for most skin types but I also think that you have to be careful with this, so if you have drier skin then I'd suggest that you make sure that your skin is extra moisturised but if you have oily skin then you don't really have to worry about that.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this review and let me know what other products I should test out ;)

-Ruby

NARS Deep Throat Review

I had never tried NARS products before but the cult following that some of the products have drew me and I eventually got round to purchasing my first bit of NARS make up, and I can promise that it will not be the last.

I find some of the names for NARS products just so funny and what's worse is when you have to ask the sales assistant to get you that certain product with a very risqué name. Though I always find that I gain a certain confidence when it comes to talking to people when it is something that I am interested in.

I had needed a blush for a while and I know that the favourite of the NARS blushers seems to be Orgasm and I had every intention of buying that one, but when I saw it for real it just seemed really sparkly but I suppose it doesn't look quite like that when applied. As I was looking at the other products I came across another blush which I had heard of but just seemed so much less scary to use.

This is the packaging and I have to apologise because it's quite dirty now but this sort of matte rubberised plastic gets messy so easily.

I do love the simple white on black design, it just looks so sleek and pretty :)







The colour is an amazing peachy rose colour with a slight shimmer and I know that a lot of people say that one of the Elf blushers is an exact dupe for this but as I live in the UK I don't know where I can actually get Elf products. I've used this so many times and it's barely made an impact to the original state of the powder.






This picture would just not go the right way for me :( but anyway here you can see the colour on one finger compared to a bare finger. It is quite a neutral colour so I would suggest that if you are just getting used to blushers and are intent on purchasing NARS then you should go with Deep Throat, I can promise it's worth it.

I would suggest that you should purchase a cheaper product first just so you can get to grips with the actual application of blusher and that way you won't actually waste any of the NARS.


I absolutely love this blusher, the colour is just perfect for me and the powder has just such a luxurious feel to it. I know that I am most definitely going to re purchase this.




I really hope that you liked this review and let me know if there are any other products you'd like to see a review of. Follow me on Twitter @kittysmurf
-Ruby