Barry aime Bold* and a flash giveaway

Barry M Cosmetics is on fire at the moment and is spoiling us with amazing new products: a new TV ad, 4 magnetic nail polishes, 5 'standard' nail polishes and 6 new shades of creamy and waterproof 'bold eyeliners' (£3.99 each) to complement the black, the only shade which existed so far.




Personally, I found the eyeliners a bit too creamy for my personal taste but I couldn't deny how bright and pigmented they are. Despite their initial movement due to their soft as butter texture, I can confirm that these are definitely smudgeproof and waterproof. Once they are on, they're on.




OMG. how gorgeous are they!!





If you like the softness of the Urban Decay and Gosh eyeliners pencils (I seem to be the only one who doesn't like them) I can guarantee that you will fall in love with these. When you need to sharpen them, just make sure to put them in the freezer for 15 minutes beforehand and you'll be all right.

To celebrate their release (and also due to the fact that I've recently won some Barry M stuff which I already own) I am giving one of you the chance to win:
- one bold eyeliner of your choice
- one Barry M nail polish in navy
- and one Barry M bold eyeliner in black (reviewed by my friend Claire here)




All I need from you to enter this mini giveaway is to tell me which shade of bold liner you would most  like to win basically. Simples. The rules are the same for every of my giveaway. Open internationally. You just need to be a follower of my blog (Google Connect, Google Reader, Hellocotton,  Blog Lovin) blabla.


How to enter:
This giveaway is for all my blog readers from all over the world.
It will end this week end: Sunday 22 April 2012, 23:59 BST (UK).
All I would like you to do, to enter in this comment giveaway is to tell me: 

What is your favourite shade of Barry M Bold Eyeliner?

--- your name
--- your email address
--- how you found out about this giveaway

Additional Information: - There will be 1 winner and the winner will be sent the three following Barry M items (1 Bold Eyeliner in Black, the Bold Eyeliner of your choice and 1 Navy Blue nail polish
- Winner will be chosen at random with random.org
- The prizes are new, unswatched and unopened.
- * Barry aime Bold is a play on words, based on the fact that ‘M’ is pronounced the same way as  ‘Aime’ in French which means ‘loves’. So ‘Barry aime bold’ just means ‘Barry likes bold’

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Flipping Beautiful!

As if Fire Fantasy was not exciting enough, Mac Factor has expanded their  Colour Effect range with a line of new lipsticks called 'Flipsticks'. Colour  Effect Flipsticks are double ended lipsticks: One end features a rich and  creamy colour, the other a lighter lipstick shade.






You can wear each colour alone, blended together, one on each lip, or apply  the lighter/brighter shade just to the centre of your lip to give a highlight  effect to your lip.








Max Factor says:
To add a new dimension to lip colour, you can sweep one shade over your upper  lip and "flip it" to apply the second shade to your lower lip. Another way to customise lip colour is by outlining lips in one colour, then  "flip it" and apply the second shade to the centre, giving a graphic texturised lip.


I don't think I will ever wear the upper lip with one colour and the lower lip  with the other colour but I absolutely love the 'highlight' effect with the  brighter/lighter in the centre of the lips or 'graffiti' effect as Max Factor  calls it. The model wears Gipsy Red all over the lips and then flipped the  lipstick over and dabbed the gold colour in the centre area of the lips.

Let's have a look at some swatches, shall we? From what I can gather from the  website, there are 6 (double) shades available. My local Superdrug is only  storing 5 shades and I missing 'Salsa Red'.




Bloomy and Swingy leave me indifferent but Folky, Boreal amd Gipsy are to die  for! I don't know if I could pull off gipsy with my yellow teeth but I totally  understand why they chose that shade on the promotion picture. It is simply stunning and most of all, so much fun and has so much more depth than just a lipstick with a bit of gloss on.








The Flipsticks are sold exclusively in Superdrug and are on special offer at  the moment. Buy them before by 10th April and you get them at £2 off: £6.49 instead  of £8.49

Will you be flipping it?

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The power of pictures

The power of pictures. We see them everywhere: on billboards, in magazines, on bus placards. Pretty makeup pictures makes us to buy everything in sight, others will make us want to forget that the makeup collection promoted ever existed. What is seen cannot been unseen.     


Have you ever been in a dodgy toilet, where, at some point, an unfortunate person might have found themselves running short of loo paper? I have and the walls and every surface around are not a pretty sight. Now have a look at this beautiful picture promoting the 'By Request Collection'...






Anyway, if you’re not put off, you can find out about the By Request Collection and Concept on here.
I think I might just give it a miss…

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My heart is beating for ... an Illamasquian Cleopatra

It's gorgeous, it's breath taking, it's a celebration of colour at its most magnificent and it's a new collection from Illamasqua unveiled yesterday in London. I wasn't present at the blogging event, nor was my presence solicited but it doesn't matter. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will have noticed that not getting press releases doesn't stop me from expressing myself and talk about beauty products which excite me. And boy, this is an exciting collection.




The colour themes and the looks created for promotional pictures (The modern Cleopatra one is my favourite!) are absolutely divine. I'm itching to recreate the stunning jade and purple cut crease and play with my face paint in an attempt to create the arty white eyeliner.

“Human Fundamentalism is an explosion of your alter ego. It’s becoming who you are and not who you’re told to be. Beauty isn’t conformity, but the fundamental human desire to express your inner self on the outside. To rise above mainstream limitations and exist in a world where individuality is received with celebration not derision, and breaking the mould is a sign of strength not instability.  

We stand for freedom of expression, embracing our glorious imperfections and showing the world we’re not ordinary but extraordinary, even if society refuses to accept it. We’re beyond conformity. Beyond control. Beyond hiding who we really are. We are not a religion, but the singular opposite. We are Illamasqua.
Get ready for a startling celebration of humanity’s connection with colour. Introducing the Human Fundamentalism collection, where blinding flashes of pigment provide a sharp contrast to neutral tones, creating a saturated palette that catapults your alter ego to new levels of self-expression. Mix contrasting textures to express your true self, spiraling from rich metallic to pale matt shades. This is nonconformity at its most fundamental. At its unpredictable best.”

  



 



Products wise, if money flowed a little bit easily these days, and if could select my favourites, I would have loved to indulge in pivot, the stunning lime green eyeshadow (£15.50), the white eyeliner of course (Precision Ink in Scribe, £15.50) and the sealing gel (£10.50) to go with it.





Anything from the collection which makes your heart beat?
Do you think Katy Perry has her eyes on 'Apocalips'?
If you were creating an eyeshadow called 'sex' would you make it white?

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Cosmetic Candies

The teasing is finally over and MUA Cosmetics has announced the release of their latest makeup collection. Just in time for St Valentine's Day, MUA Cosmetics have inspired their latest collection on the theme of the famous sweeties 'Love Hearts'.



     

     


The adorable collection comprises 6 pastel polishes and 5 lip balms. The prices couldn't be any cuter: Each item is £2.

    
    






    

No need also to wait for the items to arrive in your local Superdrug as they are already available on the MUA website, with a low shipping cost as usual (£2.95) and possibility to pay via PayPal. Don't want to fork out on postage? The brand has announced that they will be doing free postage offers :)


MUA Cosmetics didn't make their job easy with this collection. Good pastel polishes are notoriously hard to find. Have they cracked the formula? Will they be patchy? Time will tell :) I am very tempted to try 'You and I', the lovely yellow polish. But most of all, I am very much looking forward to try their upcoming BB cream which they will sell at £4.







Now, if the free postage offer coincided with the release of the BB cream, it would make my heart and purse very happy :)
  

     

Will you be getting some love hearts?

Pictures sourced from Mua Cosmetics Facebook Page.
Top picture was also sourced from Mua’s page and lil montage done by me x

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Christmas Coundown Slendertone Toning Challenge: My Journey and Progress

I've been pretty quiet on the blogging front lately,  nor have I been very active on commenting on my daily beauty  reads. This is not the usual me and I am not happy about that. But there is one thing which I am really really chuffed about: to have embarked on a body toning challenge routine and to have stuck with it implacably, which is for  me, something of a miracle.




Which toning challenge is that? Well... :)

 In the last week of November, I was approached by Slendertone to see if I would be happy to embark on a 'Christmas  Countdown Toning Challenge' and share my experiences on the 'Slendertone System Abs' belt with my readers. My  abdominal / tummy area is not too bad compared to the lower half of my body (bum, thighs and legs) but it has never  been as toned as I wanted it to be. Why? Because addressing this area with exercise is hard work and painful.


Ask anybody on what they think would be a good form of exercise to tone and improve the muscles of your  tummy and they will all reply in unison: 'crunches and sit ups'. I can't do crunches and sit ups. I try to do it for  2 days, and then I spend the whole week with stomach cramps, when laughing even becomes painful. Sit ups also give me  pain in the neck area. In fact, while I try to do my sit up, I feel more pain in the neck than in the tummy area,  which surely isn't right. So when I was given the opportunity to try this Slendertone System Abs, it was a no brainer, I had to say yes  and I just couldn't wait to start my challenge.



So what does this belt designed to do?

The Slendertone System Abs is a belt designed to tone your abdominal muscles. It delivers a complete abdominal  workout for the rectus, oblique and transversus abdominis muscles, giving you firm and flat stomach. Replicating  abdominal exercises, wearing the belt for 20 minutes is equivalent to 120 sits ups targeting the abs muscles (rectus,  oblique and transversus abdominis muscles)

Yes, you heard: 20 minutes is equivalent to 120 sits ups. I know!!

I was very impatient to try the belt but I was also very anxious. As I said earlier, I don't do pain. To give you an  idea of my pain threshold, I'd have some anaesthetic cream before a blood test, would usually have my whole mouth  numbed before dentist could approach me and categorically refuse to have my eyebrows threaded. I have my tache waxed every now and then but this usually comes with me swearing at the beautician and calling her a wicked witch. I knew I wanted to  have a firmer tummy but I was really scared to have an electrically charged belt around my tummy. Did I need to  expect a pain similar to electrolysis, or perhaps some mini electrical shocks?

 I received my belt bang on 24 November, which fitted perfectly with the Christmas Countdown Toning Challenge and  decided to start my slendertone adventures on the same day. The belt arrived in a nice posh box and ready to  use in 2 simple steps: charge the belt for 3 hours, stick the 3 pads on and you're ready to go. What does it feel  like? I felt so silly as I realised instantly that I had really nothing to worry about. Depending on what level the  belt is on, wearing the belt feels like a tingle or a strong massage of your tummy and whole abs area.



The way the belt is programmed is  brilliant and takes the guess work out of how long you should do the exercise. Their prime objective (the way I personally understand it) is to provide you with a safe and gradual/progressive work out. The belt has 7  programmes and the first time you switch it on, it activates the programme 1. The belt remembers how many times you  followed programme 1 and then it declares you ready to move on programme 2. I don't remember the figures but  it's something like once you've done the programme 1 five times, then the next time you switch on the belt they move  you on the higher programme.


No need to choose how long to wear the belt as the programme you’re on has a  predefined time. To top it all off, and to mimic the effect of a real work out session, each programme even comes with a  warm up and cool up phase. All you do is to choose the level of 'contraction intensity' of your workout and you are  encouraged to increase the level of contraction intensity as and when you feel ready.

 There is a special section in  the manual which gives you suggested intensity levels if you're doing a 4 week challenge. They recommend for example  to start it at level 20 the first time you switch it on (I started it at level 30 on my first work out, you'll understand why below) with a view  to progressively get to level 80 in your last week. A lot of emphasis is put on safety throughout the manual. While they encourage you to increase the level of intensity as you go through your 4 week challenge, they  also discourage you to put up with a work out which causes too much discomfort/pain.


During a 7 day week you are also supposed to exercise 5 days and give you 2 days of rest, to give you and your muscles a chance to rest. I find it  very sweet. When I wear my belt, I am usually sat on my fat arse, watching telly and they still ask me to make sure  to allow 2 days of rest :) aww.

 Which brings to my next point: How difficult is it to follow the programme day after day? To be honest with you,  doing the slendertone challenge is as easy as watching 'I am a celebrity Get me Out here on telly' for 20/30 minutes (minus the eating challenges which make it very uneasy watching)  I  have been naughty on a few occasions, whereby sometimes I have not allowed my body to rest after 6 or 7 days in a row  but other than that, I have followed my work out programme/challenge religiously for which I am extremely proud  about. I can't recall the last time when I have followed an exercise routine so assiduously! Probably never.


I started the programme on 24 November, wear the belt pretty much every night, (funny enough i like to wear during watching masterchef or best dish) and I am now on programme 4 and level  70. Level 70 is not for the faint hearted, it feels there was a massive gap between level 50 and level 70 but I am  really really happy. At the moment it feels like I am never going to be able to move on to 'contractions' further  than level 70, but I have still have some time before Christmas Eve to get there. What pushed me to move higher and  higher in my work out and keep stuck to it was this little diagramme I saw on the website. You see below why I wanted to be at intensity 30 from the very beginning.  I don't want a tingle, I want muscle contraction baby :)





How efficient is it? Does it work?


Yes, yes, yes. I really feel my tummy is much much more firm, toned and I am loving it. I am also a bit shell shocked  about 2 things: how I managed to stick to the programme to the letter and how the belt abs managed to tone while so  little input was made from me, as the most active things I've been doing have been walking to work and  watching tv. If I had to pin point one uncomfortable thing about the belt is this 2 second moment when you attach the  belt on, as your tummy gets into contact to the cold fleshy-like pads. It’s a bit like the mindset you would have before taking a cold shower, the 1,2,3 count you take before going in, but at a much  smaller scale as it is only 2 seconds. I really don’t like that 2 seconds bit though!

 I am  really hoping that the before and after pictures I am hoping to post when my challenge is over will show the  improvement. The system belt is not cheap (£119) if you don't already own a controller. But very little active input  is required from you, it's easy to stick it to so I really think it's a worthwhile investment. I don't know how you're  all doing with your party season / christmas diet but if you've fallen off the wagon or planning some form of  diet/exercise regime comes the new year, but if you have the funds, this seems to be like the perfect way to reward yourself, and have a little help while you're putting your 110% efforts cutting down in portions while your appetite is raging and you could eat a horse and everything else in sight.


See you soon for another update x



disclosure: the system abs belt was offered to me for review purposes and I still can’t believe how lucky to have been chosen for the experience/challenge

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Biscuit Nails by Next Oh So… Cosmetics

To promote the (recent?) release  'Oh so...' their affordable range of Cosmetics, Next is offering four shades of nail polishes when you purchase of copy of Easy Living Magazine. I had no idea Next was doing makeup, so this operation is perfect for me, if only for one slighty detail...





There is a problem right away: the magazine costs £3.70 and the nail polish retails for just £2.50. Ooops. But it's worth it if the shade is stunning, right?


There are 4 shades on offer: biscuit (nude) shimmer (white with golden shimmer shining through it) blush (a delicate pink) and metal (dark metal grey).





My friend and I went half and half and bought 'biscuit'. I now wish we bought shimmer and biscuit doesn't suit her nor me. The shape of the bottle will remind you straight away of the bottle from Beautyuk, apart from the top of the bottle which less round than the bottle of the Beautyuk.










Biscuit applied beautifully, had a little bit of dragging but gave me perfect coverage in 2 coats. Drying time was fantastic. I am very impressed by the quality. Sadly this shade is not for my friend, nor for me, and reminds me a little bit of Caramel from Nails Inc, another magazine/bottle of coke freebie, but not as 'horrendous'.





If any of you bought 'shimmer' and fancy a swap let me know and let’s do business

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Fury, Sulk and Revenge

Can anger ever be a good thing and lead to positive things? I'm never going to be  proud of the countless times I've lost my temper and said outrageous things in the  heat of the moment but I do feel that, if channelled properly, anger can lead to good  things, such as getting over a past boyfriend or help produce great pieces of  writing. 17 Cosmetics took inspiration from strong feelings and emotions a woman can go  through and produced a great collection of eyeshadows and nail polishes. They named  their collection 'A woman Scorned' after 'Hell has no fury like a woman scorned' a  verse from The Mourning Bride, a poem from William Congreve.


Today, I would love love  share with you my impressions on the nail polishes from the collection.









Emotional indeed I was when I first held the bottle of 'Fury' in my hand. After  rolling it in my hands, I felt my heart skipped a beat as I thought 17 Cosmetics  produced a dupe of Chanel Peridot. Well, Chanel Peridot it isn't but deep rich bronzy perfect gold it is, with specks of green and red shining though: red and green, incidentally echoing the 2 others shades of the nail collection.








'Fury' was a delight to apply and  opacity was achieved in 2 coats. The colour reminded me of my favourite gold nail polish from Avon mixed with a little stinker from Bodycare, which I had to throw away as the  smell was too bad. I was very impressed with Fury.







Revenge reminded me straight away of Chanel Paradoxal but redder and better. I only  own a dupe of Chanel Paradoxal but one things which annoys me is the elusive subtle  shimmer, which unless shown under the right lighting, won't show at all.






Revenge is  not moody as Paradoxal and will more readily show you its gorgeous shimmer inside.  Application was a doddle, required no clean up whatsoever (then again, I do apply my  polish 1 mile away from the edges) and dried very quickly.





And last but not least, this is Sulk, a gorgeous shimmery green nail, with bright  specks of lime green and blue shining through it. Don't be fooled by the apparent  brushstrokes on my pictures. Application was very easy, so easy that I rushed through  it, taken by the moment and forgetting that I should probably make more of an effort  knowing full well I was going to blog about it.






If you like one of the best seller  from 17 Cosmetics (Peacock) , Sulk ... won't leave you sulking *badum, pssh*

The best about this collection: the prices. Each polish costs £2.99, and if you buy 2  polishes at the moment, you get rewarded twice: a gorgeous festive gift with 17  cosmetics (containing a glittery eyeshadow, a black eyeliner and a lipgloss)  and a  no.7 voucher expiring in November. Be quick, the gift with purchase is flying off the  shelves. I went to Boots earlier on (yes, because no week end is complete with a  visit to Boots and Superdrug) and there was only one box left!

Fury, Revenge and Sulk: which one gives you envy?

What? 17 Cosmetics 'A Woman Scorned' Collection, Nail Polishes
How much? £2.99 each
Where? Boots
Disclosure: Samples provided by the company. I know I can't believe it myself! ^_^

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The foundation I've been looking for?

What time is it? It's time for another 'ghetto' press release. Brace yourselves. I don't know about you but I haven't found my holy grail foundation. I'm a bit bored of Revlon Colorstay, Mac Studio Fix is not helping my dry skin and the 3 latest foundations from Max Factor left me very unimpressed. What I need is full coverage and suited for dry skin. This new foundation from Revlon popped under my eyes today, as I was paying a short visit to Superdrug and I wanted to share it with you.


This is the latest from Revlon and it is called 'Age Defying with DNA Advantage' foundation.

NEW Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup combines makeup + powerful anti-aging skincare to help protect skin's DNA to fight the signs of aging. 96% of women saw flawless, younger-looking skin in two weeks. Lines and wrinkles are visibly diminished while skin is refreshed, hydrated, revitalized. SPF 20

There's some more blabla information on the website here, but I'll skip to the bit which got me more interested:

provides flawless, moisturizing, complete coverage to even out skin tone and hide imperfections.

Complete coverage did you say? This sounds like music to my ears.


Yes, the DNA bit sounds very fancy and they made an effort to replicate the shape of the dna in the design of the bottle but what I am most bothered about is how it looks on my skin really. Having a quick play with it in the shop, I found the lid to be a little bit on the tacky side but there was something which caught my attention: the non smell of the foundation. I would need to double check that, as I still can't believe it myself, but I *think* this has a virtually non detectable smell.

As you can see from my 'professional official photo' the foundation is on special offer and I am really tempted. Ageless Elixir from Mac Factor left me with too much glow on my face. Is the DNA age from Revlon going to be the same? I am scared.


I am scared and annoyed. There are only 4 shades. I am sure I can find one which will suit me, but is it too much hard work to stick to the same shades, Revlon? *grumpy face*

Have you tried Revlon DNA thingy bob foundation yet?

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Bourjois Bronzing Powder in a can: First impressions

There couldn't be a better time to discover the new range of Bronzers at Bourjois. They have a 3 for 2 offer on all Bourjois products at Boots (not just the bronzers range like in Superdrug) and you get a free pair of sunglasses when you buy 3 products. The range looks and smells absolutely di-vi-ne. A lovely delicate fragrant mix of chocolate and orange. You must have a little snif if you walk past the Bourjois stand.






Couldn’t the packaging look any more gorgeous? How luscious is that line of lime green out of a milk chocolate background!





One product which has caught my attention is the 'Bronzing Powder, for face and body in a spray can. I am inexplicably drawn to try this product, like I have been hypnotised to try it.
They say:

There’s nothing easier than a bronzing powder spray for the perfect tan!
In one quick and simple step, the powder mist delicately melts onto the skin for a perfect, natural and even tan.  No need to rub! This ultra-fine powder dries instantly so you can get dressed straight away!

I am drawn to try it but I am absolutely petrified at the same time by it.
What if I go all oompah loompah from it?
At least if I could rub, I could buff it in if it sprays too dark.


Anyway, today I went to the shop again to test it on my skin, in the shop. Instructions explicitly said to spray at least 30 cm away from your skin (that's the equivalent of the length of 2 CDs put together, British imperial system fans). I tried to bear that in mind but nothing came out. And then I sprayed too close (you know a bit like you try to get some ketchup out of the bottle and then *splouf* your whole plate is filled with ketchup. I didn't even spray for long. One minute there was nothing, and the next, this appeared:





They have 2 colours: the light (shade 12) and the dark one (shade 14). I sprayed on the dark one. Can you imagine if my face ends up like that? I'd die with embarrassment. I am even more scared to try it now. The fact that I need to spray so far away (30cm seem to be such a long distance) makes me scared that I am going to get some on my clothes, hair, or the wall/environment/kids  around it.


First impressions: I am more scared than ever and I am too much of a chicken to take the plunge to buy one. It smells ab-so-lu-te-ly lovely though. If you do decide to try it, have a go on a newspaper first, until you’re happy with how much product comes out and remember to keep your distance. I shall be on the look out on more reviews on this product before taking the plunge. For now I need reassurance.

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