A mini Boots haul: NYX Cosmetics Prismatic Eye Shadows

There had been rumblings about NYX Cosmetics coming to Boots for quite a while but I never thought in a million years that my local Boots would get its own stand. If one did come to Weston-super-Mare I thought it would probably mean it would be in the store in the town centre, not the one that's near me but low and behold I saw a sign on the front doors saying it was near!

The new counter was finally 'launched' at my local store on May 3 and when I popped in it was absolutely swarming with girls checking out the latest offerings. Now I know NYX isn't a new brand but now it's much more accessible and because of this, I've finally been able to give it a try. I ummed and aahed over what to buy but finally ended up picking up two of the Prismatic eyeshadows.

What really caught my eye about these was the fab range of colours available and the cute silver pots with bow shaped catch. I picked up a gorgeously pigmented bright copper colour, called Bedroom Eyes and I also opted for something a bit different for me in the super metallic green Jaded shade.




Just looking at the shades in the pot I could see they were super pigmented and at £5 each, these are great fun to mix and match. When I first plonked my brush into the pan I was really surprised at how soft the shades felt under the bristles, almost velvety. They apply like a dream too, the pigments cling onto the eyelid and stay super bright and sparkly all day long.

As you can tell I'm really impressed and these are two cute little additions to my make-up collection. The silver pots are just adorable and look much more expensive for £5. They are bargainous eyeshadows with great colour pay off and staying power, proving you don't need to spend the big bucks on a high-end name.




Have you tried anything from NYX cosmetics? Are you excited about NYX coming to your local Boots? Let me know in the comments.

Zoeva En Taupe Palette

If there's one brand that I'm so happy to have discovered in 2015, it's Zoeva. I can't believe I didn't try it out earlier. I'd always seen the brushes and palettes on various blogs and I always thought it was super expensive, but when I saw the Cocoa Blend palette I thought, what the heck, and paid the website a visit only to find that the palettes are actually really reasonable. You can check out my thoughts on the Cocoa Blend palette here - it was perfect for creating a rose gold eye look.

Recently the brand released its En Taupe palette and it went straight on my Christmas list. Thankfully Santa was very kind and bought it for me and I'm already absolutely loving it. The palette contains a mix of warm and cool nudes and neutrals so there is really something to suit everyone and all skin tones. The darker taupe/brown shades are definitely very me - 'Outline' and 'Wrapped In Silk' are definitely my go to shades at the moment for greating a lovely shimmery brown look with a grey hue to highlight. I also like to pop on a bit of the 'Old Master' shade, which has a lovely golden shimmer to it with a slight purple undertone. On its own 'Old Master' is the perfect shade for wearing on a night out or special occasion if you fancy lots of sparkle.

En Taupe has a more futuristic feel to it, which may be down to the packaging, but I think the combination of shades is signifying a change in the way we do a smoky eye look. Traditionally we would go for blacks and greys but you can create something so much more everyday and subtle with browns/taupe shades, it looks fab!

Every shade is super pigmented, beautifully blendable and lasts all day long. I don't think it's going to be long before I have every single Zoeva palette as part of my collection. I also can't wait to see what the brand releases in 2016!

Have you tried the new Zoeva En Taupe palette? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Makeup Revolution I Heart Chocolate Pink Fizz Eyeshadow Palette

Back at the beginning of the year I was absolutely raving about Makeup Revolution's Naked Chocolate palette. It was full of gorgeous shades and it had a slight chocolatey whiff about it as well. I was devastated when I accidently broke the hinge but carried on using it until I think I left it in a hotel room, argh! I did order another one to replace it and love it just as much! When the brand released a couple of new palettes recently, including the Pink Fizz palette, I knew it would be pretty fab!

I was very kindly sent the Pink Fizz palette and on first impressions it's not a palette I would usually go for shade wise. I usually go for neutrals/browns/nudes etc but Pink Fizz is full of super shimmering and matte pinks/golds as well as a couple of browns. I was immediately drawn to the brown shades of course but to change things up a bit I have been experimenting with the prosecco pink fizzy sort of shades and actually really like them.

They're super pigmented and blendable and perfect for the upcoming party season. I would have liked it to come with a better brush as I don't think anyone is keen on those horrible eyeshadow sponges but other than that I'm super impressed with this palette. The shades stay put all day and I think they'll suit anyone! You probably won't find any pink eyeshadows in my collection so this palette is staying firmly part of it now and I'll be whipping it out this New Year.

Have you tried the new Pink Fizz palette? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

*This post contains a PR sample.

Rose gold eyes for autumn/winter

I was recently given a Beauty Bay voucher to spend so decided to pick up a couple of bits from brands I hadn't tried before, Zoeva being one of them. I've never tried anything from Zoeva, but have seen them on lots of different blogs in the past and always wanted to give them a go. Alongside two brushes, which are both absolutely gorgeous by the way, I picked up the Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette.

A few weeks later I was kicking myself that I didn't wait and buy the En Taupe palette but with Christmas coming up, I'm hoping Santa might get it for me!

I always thought Zoeva palettes were ridiculously expensive but I was clearly wrong as the Cocoa Blend palette was £15.50, which I think is pretty reasonable, especially since it has some gorgeous colours in it. A lot of blogs have said it's a good dupe for the Too Faced Chocolate palette but at a fraction of the price!

My favourite colour combination, and the look featured in this post, is a mix of the brilliantly red/berry shade Warm Notes with Subtle Blend, which is a lovely gold shimmery shade. Used together these create the perfect rose gold look. I knew I was onto a winner when I went for an eyebrow wax and the beautician complimented me on my eyeshadow, she said they were prefect for autumn and I definitely agree!

Aside from Warm Notes and Subtle Blend, there's also a gorgeously glitzy/black shade called Infusion, which is perfect for a smokey look. The rest of the shades are perfect for more neutral/autumnal looks with a hint of auburn from the Freshly Toasted shade. All in all I'm so impressed with this palette and I feel like I need the entire range now! The only downside is that it doesn't have a mirror, which would be so useful!

I'm so glad I picked this up on a bit of a whim and you'll be pleased to know I have sent a link to the En Taupe palette to my boyfriend in case he's wondering what to buy me for Christmas!

Have you tried any Zoeva palettes? Let me know in the comments.

Makeup Revolution New-trals vs Neutrals Palette

There's a really fine line between a berry/autumn eye look and looking like Gerard Way from the Three Cheers era. It's all about the autumnal eye make-up look at the moment so I thought I'd give Makeup Revolution's much hyped New-trals vs Neutrals Palette a go as everyone else seemed to be raving about it so much.

As much as I still love MCR to this day, I'm keen to not go down the red/pink eye look and I think the key to this is to use more plum/berry tones than red/pink ones. The New-trals vs Neutrals Palette does have a couple of red/pink shades but they can be toned down by using some of the darker plum/berry shades. For this finished look I went for a mix of the red and pink with the shimmery deep purple, a couple of the taupe shades for the base and the copper glitter all over. In my opinion I think it's a good berry look without leaning too much on the 'been punched in the eye' side.

Each shade in the palette is super pigmented and blendable. There's a good range as well from very basic bases right through to the super glittery copper. It's a nice change from my usual neutral palettes, which are all different shades of brown, the go-to neutral these days is a more plummy tone but I rather like it. I think it works especially well on brunettes but I could be bias.

For £6.99 the palette is a right little bargain! The shades have fab staying power as well so you really get your money's worth here.

Have you tried the Makeup Revolution New-trals vs Neutrals Palette? Are you ready to embrace the berry eye? Let me know in the comments.

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Makeup Revolution Black Velvet Palette

Just when I think Makeup Revolution can't possibly bring out another eyeshadow palette, it goes and brings out its Black Velvet palette, which is not only full of beautiful eyeshadows but the packaging itself is covered in its namesake, with a jeweled heart for decoration. Unfortunately it was a bit tricky to photograph so I'll leave it to your imagination!

Now down to business. The palette is full of 13 matte nudes and neutrals and 3 glitzy shimmer shades and once again it feels like the palette is tailored exactly to my tastes as these are so my sort of colours. While I've created a pretty nude/brown eye look, I do rather love the deep plum and grey shades - these are perfect for creating a more glamorous look.

The shades are really lovely to apply and there's very little fall out, which I'm really pleased about. They blend really nicely with each other and there's a shade for your every need, whether it's a day time look you're creating or something more glitzy. The shadows have great staying power too and remain in tact throughout the day.

The Black Velvet palette has gone straight into my pile of everyday palettes. For £7.99 it's extremely affordable and definitely one all makeup lovers need in their stash.

Have you tried the Black Velvet palette? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and tweet me the looks you've created with it at @cherryp13.

Introducing: Make-up from Crownbrush UK

2015 is the year of make-up for Crownbrush UK. Initially the company was well-known for its professional brushes but is now not only providing the tools for make-up application, but also a new range of great make-up aswell.

I was very lucky to receive a couple of new products from the range, including the new Matte Bronzer, which I was pleasantly surprised with as it's not a scary looking, dark bronzer, but actually one especially for fair skin, to just add a little hint of colour. Great for the summer months.

I also received a Chubby Eye Pencil in Dark Chocolate, Eyeliner/Eyebrow pencil in Dark Chocolate, a Chubby Lip Pencil in Vegas Nights and a Lip Liner Pencil in Cappacino.

All of the products are available now and are really reasonably priced. The chubby eye and lip pencils come out at £3.99 and the normal eye/lip pencils are just £2.99. The bronzer palette is £6.99 so you're really not going to break the bank with this stuff, which is great!

As you can see, the dark chocolate shades of eyeshadow and eyeliner/eyebrow pencil I've been sent are super rich and chocolatey and just my style I have to say. Perfect for a dark, smokey eye and beautifully soft to apply too.

The lip and lip liner pencils are gorgeous natural looking shades, and the chubby pencil has just a hint of shimmer in it. These are perfect for people like me who aren't keen on bold lip colours so prefer something more nude and barely-there looking.

On first impressions I'm super impressed with the products, the pricing and the packaging. The range is definitely big competition to highstreet brands and I can see myself really growing to love this brand. There's still lots to look forward to as well with trio eyeshadows, glitter eyeliners, gel eyeliners and mascaras are still to come…

Have you tried Crownbrush UK make-up yet, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

*This post contains PR samples.

Makeup Revolution Naked Chocolate Palette

As Makeup Revolution palettes go, this one has got to be my favourite! Not only does it actually look like a real white chocolate bar but the shades within it are all completely my sort of shades. There's 16 in total and they range from great base shades, to highlighter shades and onto golds/coppers and darker smokey browns in a lovely mixture of matte and shimmers.

There's just so much to choose from with this palette. To create the look above I used the lighter shades 'Smoothly' and 'Way' and blended them with a couple of shimmers 'Mocha Lover' and 'Frosted Choc', finishing off with 'Delight' and 'Sweet Shop'. They all blend wonderfully together and there's very little fall out - something I've become much more aware of since getting contact lenses. They also have brilliant staying power and last for most of the day.

The Naked Chocolate Palette* is just £7.99, which is really very reasonable for such great colour and pigmentation pay off. It's perfect for creating every day looks or using it to create something a little more glamorous for a night out.

This has quickly become one of my go-to palettes and is supposedly a great dupe for the Too Faced palette, but unfortunately I don't have it to compare.

Have you tried the new Naked Chocolate palette yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

PS - make sure you take a quick sniff of the palette too as it contains real Cocoa to give it a chocolately smell!

*This post contains PR samples