First Impressions of some affordable W7 Make-Up!

Hi beaut's!

Today's post is going to be all about my first impressions of some affordable, pretty makeup by the up and coming cosmetics brand W7, and if your anything like me then I'm pretty sure you all love a good makeup related bargain and that exactly what you will get from W7 he he!

Over the last couple of months I've seen W7 featured quite heavily in the beauty world, they seem to be releasing some great makeup treats for us beauties including a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette, some fantastic looking makeup brushes which I've heard are pretty impressive and they are even branching out into the depths of skincare, wowza! I haven't tried a huge amount of W7 makeup however I do own all of their little boxed blushers and bronzers that are dupes for Benefit's boxed powders and they are firm favourites of mine that I use daily so I was super excited to see what else the brand had to offer!

W7 Butter Kiss Lipstick in Red Light* and Candy Floss*
The formula of these lipsticks is gorgeous, just like the product name 'Butter Kiss' would suggest they are super creamy and feel more like a moisturising balm on the lips than a lipstick. The pigmentation of both shades is good and I have to admit Red Light is by far my favourite out of the two, I'm such a sucker for nice reds he he. These are the sort of lippys I like to throw in my handbag as they are so easy to apply, give you a dose of moister when you need it and then leave you with a non drying stain afterwards. 

W7 Nail Polish in Tinkerbell*
Oh my goodness, look at how pretty this nail polish is, ohhhh I love it soooo much! I've always liked W7's nail polishes, the quality and shade range is very good and I've never had a problem with streaking of bubbling during application either. This shade in particular 'Tinkerbell' is a pinkened clear polish with lots of pink and silver holographic glitter particles running thought it, it works amazingly as a top coat over any pink polish and looks so sparkly, arrhh I'm in love! 

W7 Just Brows Waterproof Brow Pen in Brown*
I love the idea of this brow pen, it has a slanted felt tip style nib that's perfect for either adding individual brow hairs with light brush like strokes or you can use the width of the slanted edge so fill in more sparse areas of you brows. Because of the pens waterproof ability it means your perfect brows will stay prefect all day without them fading or smudging woohoo. 

W7 Souffle Mascara in Blackest Black*

As far as mascara formula's go I do really like this one, it's a nice deep black shade, it's not gloopy, it's not too dry nore to wet but the brush is just too huge to use with ease and comfort for me, those with bigger eyes will probably get on OK with the brush size but those with smaller eyes like myself have no hope unfortunately. I have only used this mascara once and after going through lots on cotton buds to clean up my entire eye area I was left with eyelashes with plenty of length and volume to them which is just what I look for, it's just a shame the brush is too large for me as I could see myself really loving the formula. 

W7 Lashtastic Mascara in Black*

If your looking for a dupe of Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara then I think I've just found it because I really cant see much of a difference between the two. The Lashtastic Mascara gives my lashes lots of oomph and makes them super fluttery and long which I love! The only negative I have it that I did get some black transfer smudging on my brow bone through the afternoon, this was because my lashes where so long they could actually reach my brow bone and because I suffer with the pain that is oily eyelids it made it a little smudgy, putting that's aside the mascara is pretty darn good. 

W7 Liquid Eyeliner in Black*
Dippy style eyeliners really aren't my favourite, that being said the longevity and pigment of W7's offering is incredible! Once this liner has set there is literally no budging it and you need a pretty good eye makeup remover to get rid of it in the evening too, so if you have trouble with your liquid liner's fading and smudging then I can 100% recommend W7 in that regard.

W7 Sheer Loose Powder in Biscuit*
Loose setting powders are always my favourite for setting my makeup as they seem to blend out beautifully and keep me shine free all day and W7's Sheer Loose Powder is just as good as any that I've tried before, the only difference is W7's offering does have a shade range that provides some coverage, but that's always great when your having a bad skin day and need something that little bit extra ha ha. 

W7 Wicked Whip Creme Foundation in Natural Beige*
The Wicked Whip Creme Foundation is actually very good! It provides a perfect matte finish but doesn't cling to a single dry patch which really surprised me. The coverage of the Wicked Whip I'd say is full, it really does cover well whilst feeling weightless at the same time and it blends out beautifully. Overall I love this little pot of joy!

W7 Marvellous Mousse Matte Foundation in Honey*
W7's Marvellous Mousse Foundation claims to provide a perfect matte finish coverage, with a weightless feel, to me this feels extremely similar to Maybellines Dream Matte Mousse so if you like that you'll love this! The Marvellous Mousse Foundation does feel quite lightweight on the skin and blends out great, I used my Real Techniques Expert Face brush which made light work of the blending. The coverage this foundation provides is light to medium and does have to ability to be built up, just bare in mind that it is best suited for oily skin types because it does cling to dry patches but then any matte, mousse type foundation will do that. 

 You have probably noticed I haven't included any individual prices for all the products featured in this post, the reason behind that is because W7 are available to purchase on lots of different websites and in lots of different retailers where the prices will vary, retailers include Fragrance Direct, Amazon, Next, Savers, TK Maxx, Xtras, Peacocks, The Factory Shop and that's just to name a few. After looking into the price range in more detail I have found that you can get most of the makeup featured in this post from £2.00-£4.00 which I think is great!

Overall I am really impressed with W7's wide range of makeup, I'd highly recommend the Butter Kiss Lipsticks, Lashtastic Mascara, Brow Pen, all of the W7 Nail Polishes and the Wicked Whip.

Whats your favourite makeup item form W7 beaut's?? I'd love to know.

nopin

Autumnal Nail Polish Picks from Fragrance Direct!


Hi beaut's!

Here in the UK we have just started to see the first signs of Autumn creeping in and the weather is certainly getting that little bit cooler and personally I love Autumn/Winter, it's my favourite time of the year. I just love everything about it but most importantly I love switching up my nail polish and makeup shades, it's time to say goodbye to the bright neon's and the pastel shades and hello to the darker, warmer, earthy tones! so today I thought it would be the perfect time to share my Autumn nail polish picks from my favourite discounted cosmetics website Fragrance Direct

Essie Power Clutch* £2.25 | RRP £7.99
You really cant beat Essie polishes can you, they go on streak free and completely opaque after just 2 coats and overall the quality is just great! I was drawn towards the shade 'Power Clutch' because it really reminds me of Parka coats which I love and always wrap up warm in during the Autumn-Winter months he he.

Essie Mind Your Mittens* £2.25 | RRP £7.99
 Essie's 'Mind Your Mittens' is essentially a creamy, dark Blue shade but in some lights it can look somewhat like dark Grey shade, just like Power Clutch above the quality is really lovely and lasts so well on my nails. I think paired with a nice glittery top coat this shade could look stunning for Autumnal nights out!  

OPI William Tell Me About* £3.99 | RRP £13.95
It's pretty amazing that Fragrance Direct sell OPI nail polishes at such a discounted price isn't it? OPI's 'William Tell Me About' is like one of those essential Autumnal shades, its such a pretty, rich burgundy-plum shade that looks amazing on the nails, and if your anything like me and like a little bit of sparkle then adding a glittery top coat over your accent nail with this shade will look stunning!

OPI You Don't Know Jacques!* £3.99 | RRP £13.95
Everyone needs a classic neutral nail polish for the colder months don't they, and OPI's 'You Don't Know Jacques!' is a creamy, mushroom-brown shade, it actually looks somewhat lighter on the nails than it does in the bottle but to me that's a good thing, so if your after a nice neutral for the winter Fragrance Direct have you covered he he.

OPI Pulled Out A Plum* £3.99 | RRP £13.95
OPI's 'Pulled A Plum' is more suited for Autumn/Winter evenings out, its a dark fuchsia-purple colour that contains minute shimmers that run all the way through the polish, because this shade isn't very creamy you do need 3 coats for it to be completely opaque but just like all OPI nail polishes the quality is lasting power is brilliant! 

Rimmel Salon PRO Red Award* £1.25 | RRP £4.49

This Rimmel Salon Pro shade 'Red Award' is very eye catching on the nails and seems popular to anyone who see's it, it's that's dark berry shade that's everywhere throughout the Autumn/Winter and is amazing for day to night wear! I also found the quality of the Rimmel Salon Pro nail polish was actually very good and feels alot more expensive than it actually is which is always nice.

And there you have it beaut's, a few of my Autumnal nail polish picks. I'd highly recommend taking a peek at the Fragrance Direct website for when the seasons change and you want to switch things up shade wise because its always nice to save some pennies and you can find such amazing bargains on there he he, I love a beauty bargain!

Whats your favourite nail polish shade from this Autumnal post beaut's?? I'd love to know! 

nopin

Meet my August 'Sparkling' Advertisers!

Hey beaut's!

 As we are nearing the end of August I thought it was about time that you lovely lot got to know my gorgeous August 'Sparkling' Advertisers a little bit more, hopefully you have seen their blogs sitting in my sidebar and have already had a cheeky little peek and found some great, new reading material... arrrhh I love finding new blogs to read, it's so inspiring and often sends me into wish list overdrive ha ha... Anyway enough of me rambling, please let me introduce to you all my August Advertisers!

Hello, I guess you are wondering what my little blog is all about... well my little slice of the Internet is a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blog all rolled up into one. I know there a lot of other people out there love the vintage style but not quite sure how to add it do the daily routine ,or not confident enough to go full hog. So I thought that I would start this blog to show you just how fun and easy it can be! whether you just want to have a small touch of vintage look or want to go full out, there is something for every one. My blog is full of review make up, beauty products, fairs, festival and fashion and all with a vintage twist.
Blog | Twitter

I'm Kirsty, I'm a Social Care  student and I'm from Edinburgh in "sunny Scotland".  I'm known to drink too much coffee, spending money I shouldn't and falling in love with fictional characters. You can also find me deep within my little space of the internet at kirstysnotebook.com,  which is basically a notebook of my life. It ranges from beauty posts, book reviews, lifestyle posts to personal chit-chat writing.
You can also find me on Instagram and Twitter under @kirstysnotebook - come say hello and let's have a good old chinwag!

Hi! My name is Michelle, I’m 30 year old girl living near Norwich. I have an office job, a husband and a lovely little boy called Freddy. These take up most of my time so when I’m not at work or running around after my 2 year old, I spend my time blogging! I started Thou Shalt Not Covet as a blog dedicated to my obsession with beautiful things, it has gradually evolved to include a focus on jewellery, fashion and make up, product reviews and features, nail art, wedding plans and diet updates – a bit of everything really! I'd love you to stop by and say hello! xxx
Blog | Twitter

I'm Bean.
I'm a country girl at heart.  I am from a farming family, so love nature and animals. However I'm also a make-up junkie and absolutely love testing and discovering new products. 

 One of my good mates suggested I start a blog months and months ago, I didn't think much of it at the time, however one day I discovered Blogger, and the rest, as they say is history. This has now turned into a real passion and hobby of mine.  I absolutely loving chatting with bloggers and writing helpful posts (hopefully!) I am a keen traveller, bubbly blonde, New York obsessed, makeup mad, happy girl.  Please come show my blog some love, grab a cuppa and settle in.  Ooooh and did I mention I am obsessed with my cat Tom? (hence my cat inspired blog design) x

If you would like to come a join in on the fun and advertise with HaySparkle all details can be found HERE!

nopin

Makeup Revolution Skincare Review ♥

Hey beaut's!

Makeup Revolution seem to be going from strength to strength at the moment and if their amazing quality, affordable makeup wasn't enough they have now delved into the depths of skincare, yup that's right, skincare! At the moment there is only two new skincare additions to play with, one of which is the Attack Anti Bacterial Face Wash (£10) and the other is a Defence Anti Bacterial Serum and Primer (£10). I love the fact Makeup Revolution have branched out into skincare, it's not something you expect from a budget/high street brand and to be honest I don't think I have ever seen it been done before, its always nice to see a brand continually releasing new and exciting products for us to feast our eyes on he he.

 I have been trying out these two Makeup Revolution skincare products for a super longggg time, skincare isn't something I like to rush and it can take me a while to cast an accurate opinion on so I'm sorry for the delay in my review beauties but its better late than never right? he he! 

Makeup Revolution Attack Anti Bacterial Face Wash* 100ml £10.00 
Makeup Revolutions Antibacterial Face Wash has been specially designed to cleanse and tone our little faces in one quick and easy step effectively saving us time, money and obviously keeping our skin clean and clear woohoo. The dual action foam formula pumps out together and helps clean those pores, reduce excess oil, prevent pesky spots, blemishes and breakouts sounds pretty amazing right? Like I said before I have been using this for a while now and I have to say I have noticed that my skin is much clearer in terms of my pores being reduced and the blackheads that I've had around my nose are now undetectable woohoo. I don't really suffer with spots that often so I cant say whether or not it will help clear up spots or ache but it has kept my skin clear for a good month and a half so that's a good thing right? The antibacterial facial wash is suitable for all skin types however if you are a dry skin sufferer like myself I would recommend only using this once a day like I do, just because foam facial washes can really dry out the skin and if you already have dry skin you wouldn't want to make it any worse,  I find using Makeup Revolutions offering once a day in the evenings either in the bath or shower absolutely fine on me, plus it's fragrance free too so it doesn't bother my sensitive skin either yayyy. The facial wash also doubles up as a great brush cleanser too, it's antibacterial quality's work wonders on getting your brushes squeaky clean and germ free.

Makeup Revolution Defence Anti Bacterial Serum and Primer* 30ml £10.00
Makeup Revolutions Antibacterial Serum and Primer is just like a luxury moisturiser to me with many uses, its main purpose is to obviously prime and smooth out the skin ready for makeup application and to pro long our makeups wear time and it certainly does that well, the thick cream quickly gets to work at providing a silky soft, even base for our makeup whilst giving you a moister boost at the same time, its great. I cant say whether the Serum and Primer is going to fill or disguise huge open pores because mine have been reduced by the facial wash, all I can say is that it evens out my smaller pores that I now have and my skin appears smoother after applying the serum, and my base makeup looks really even. The Serum and Primer is also enriched with vitamins A, B, B5 AND E which help prevent spots and blemishes and protects the skin throughout the day so used together with the facial wash it's like a match made in heaven. The way I like to use the Serum and Primer is by taking half a pumps worth in the morning before applying my makeup and smoothing it over my skin from my nose outwards, and then I also use it once in the evening after I'm all cleansed and toned just like the directions suggest, however I use a full pumps worth at night. It works so well as a stand in night cream if you have dryer skin because its creamy formula feels somewhat nourishing and healing, it really is lovely. Just like the face wash the Serum and Primer is for all skins types, fragrance free, dermatologically and clinically tested

Overall I'm highly impressed with Makeup Revolutions first skincare releases, yes the Facial Wash can be slightly drying for dryer skin types but used once a day at night has worked fine for me so I'd still give it a huge thumbs up, and the Primer and Serum is just great and I'd recommend it to everyone to try if you want smooth, even skin, moisturised skin and makeup that lasts that little bit longer than usual.

Have you tried either of Makeup Revolutions skincare products?? What did you think?? I'd love to know beaut's. 

nopin

Beauty UK Posh Eyeshadow Palette Review in No4 Galaxy

Hey beaut's!

Over the last couple of months Beauty UK have really been on it with their new releases, the shades all look amazing, the packaging has had a revamp, the quality of each product is great and most importantly the prices are still extremely affordable and totally budget friendly. Recently I've been trying out a few different makeup items from Beauty UK and as you probably already know I'm in love with their new Nails nail polishes, the formula is incredible and if you haven't tried them yet I'd urge you to do so as they are fabulous! Anywhoooo, today I have a review of one of Beauty UK's newest Posh Eyeshadow Palettes in the shade Galaxy.
Beauty UK's Posh Eyeshadow Palette in Galaxy* comes packaged in a fuss free, sturdy, white plastic palette that has a long mirror within the lid and a double ended applicator wand, which is ideal for any emergency touch up on the go. The palette itself contains 10 eyeshadows in total and is mostly made up of metallics and shimmers but they have also thrown in one matte shade for good measure. The shade range in the Galaxy Palette is stunning, theres a mixture of golds, bronze, purples and dark greys which I think would be perfect and best suited for evening/night out makeup looks because the palette is somewhat dark and smokey, I can definitely see that numerous killer smokey eye looks could be made from this palette that's for sure. The formula and texture of the eyeshadows within the palette is actually pretty good, they are all soft to swatch, the pigmentation is really good, the shadows are easy to work with and blend out beautifully and the colour pay off from your makeup brush to the skin is really good too. The only real downside I would say is that these shadows do tend to fall out slightly during application but it's nothing a foundation brush cant fix he he, I will just warn you that the gold shade in particular will have you looking like a disco ball throughout the day because it contains so many minute glitter particles they just work their way down you face which is never a good look so just be weary of that. As for staying power... I have no complaints at all really, they last on my lids a good 7 hours before I start to notice some fading happening and for such an affordable palette I'm not going to grumble at that at all, I do suggest using a primer if you have slightly dryer lids though. 
Overall I really do like this little palette, I think it will be ideal to use for more dramatic night out looks and the shade range really is lovely, it's also really affordable too and will set you back just £5.99, that's just around 59p per eyeshadow, what a beauty bargain!!!

Whats your favourite Beauty UK purchase beaut's?? I'd love to know!

nopin

August Glossybox Review


Hey beaut's!

So its that time again... Glossybox time!!! Firstly I have to say a massive Happy Birthday to Glossybox, that's right Glossybox are now celebrating their 3rd birthday in the beauty world which means we get treated to a birthday themed box, woohoo! I've always been impressed by the birthday themed boxes in the past because they are always crammed full of amazing treats so you can  just imagine how excited  I was to receive my box this month. After ripping open the outta packaging I noticed the box itself has been given a slight revamp, it seems to be alot stronger and hard wearing that the other boxes, next I noticed their was no magazine or menu card, instead the boxes menu is on a thick, fold together piece of card, I have no idea if this is how Glossybox will be delivered in the months to come or if it's just slightly different because it's a birthday box.

   So lets see what I received inside my '3rd Birthday' Glossybox...

Kryolan for Glossybox Highlighter in Cashmere | Full Size | £12.95
Kryolan are a professional makeup brand that I've heard alot about, they specialise more in supplying the film, theatre and television industries with their extensive range of makeup but this month they have worked together with Glossybox so that us beauty lover get to try one of their beautiful highlighters. The highlighter itself is extreamly creamy and lend out a dream, the shade I have is Cashmere which is perfect for the Summer when you want that golden goddess glow he he.

Figs & Rouge Mini Hand Cream | Sample | £6.95 for 80ml
I'm pretty sure that Glossybox featured a Figs & Rouge lip balm in one of last years boxes but this time around they've popped in a Mango-Mandarin nourishing and soothing hand cream. I do really like Figs & Rouge as a brand, I love the fact their products are pure and natural and the packaging ain't half snazzy too isn't it. I'm actually going to put this hand cream away to use during the Autumn/Winter months  because my hands get terribly dry when its colder and it the perfect size to pop into my handbag too. 

Yves Rocher Nail Polish in Rose | Full Size | £3.60
This Yves Rocher nail polish is what Glossybox are calling their 'Birthday Bonus' product, it's a teeny, tiny 3ml bottle of nail polish that would be perfect for when your on your travels but the shade I got 'Rose' is definitely more Spring time appropriate Id say, howvere I will get use out of it at some point, we all need a pretty, baby pink nail polish at some point don't we beaut's!

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer | Sample | £38.00 for 250ml
I'm actually slightly annoyed I received this Elasticizer from Philip Kingsley because I have already received one of these exact samples in a previous Glossybox but oh well I know have another to use up! The elasticizer is basically an intense, super conditioning pre-shampoo treatment for all hair types that will give your hair some life and oomph back into it. I would recommend it for damaged hair in particular because when I last used it I did really notice an improvement.

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Natural Beauty | Full Size | £2.29
I havent really heard to much about the makeup brand Essence but after looking at the website I'd definitely say it's more teen inspired and definitely quite youthful, that being said the shade of lipstick I received '07 Natural Beauty' is one of their new products for Autumn/Winter which is a plus. The lipstick itself is said to be long lasting providing your lips with intense colour payoff for hours without drying them out which is certainly something I look for and love in lipsticks so I'm looking forward to giving this a go, I will probably review in full soon too.

Lalique L'Amour Perfume Sample | £67.00 for 50ml 
Arrrhhh the dreaded perfume sample, I absolutely hate receiving these because I always tend to either lose them or throw them away, however it does smell nice and I will use it until I lose it haha.

All in all I think this is an ok box but it hasnt blown me away, that being said I will be trying everything that I recived in my box so its not all bad I just wish Glossybox wouldnt add the perfume samples and keep featuring the same brands often, mix things up abit Glossybox hehe.

What did you think of this month's box beaut's?? I'd love to know.

nopin