Cadburys Flake and Benefit and Illamasqua

So i've just found out that Cadburys Flake (still delicious though they've been bought out by Kraft, boo hiss) has a giveaway with Benefit going on (presumably only in the UK). They're giving away 1 million Benefit Lipglosses and Lipsicks. I found out because i sent Claire out to buy me chocolate and she came back with one for me because she'd seen the offer and knows about my makeup obsession. I ate the yummy yummy chocolate and then entered the code online and guess what, i won! :D
There are about 8 shades you can choose from (i picked Flirt Alert, what looks like a bright red) and they say it should be with me in less than a month. The offer goes on until Halloween.
I have a great girlfriend, she brings me chocolate to make my tummy feel nice and with it a lipstick to make my mouth feel nice :)

In other makeup news the new Illamasqua collection is coming out in April (sneaky peak here ) i am SO excited about it. It sounds amazing, i love the ideas behind it, but then i love the ideas behind all of the Illamasqua collections so far. I just love the idea behind Illamasqua really! In honour of this i am declaring next week Illamasqua week so i shall be reviewing all of the Illamasqua products i have :)

Apparently there will be some blogger events to celebrate the new collection. I so so wish i could go. I always get a little envious seeing people at Bloggers events because they just look so fun, meeting people you've only spoken to on the internet in the flesh and hearing all the exciting new things from the brand and getting to try things out before the public, it just seems like a lovely perk of being in some secret special club. And the Illamasqua ones just look amazing and so much fun, and as they are pretty much my favourite brand these days it would be such an honour to attend. But then because of my shyness i would probably die of nerves so it's probably for the best that i don't get invited.

Just saw Lady Gaga on Jonathon Ross. Love her so much and i want so many of her clothes. Today she was rocking an amazing 'living dress' and a hat shaped like a telephone that i desperately want. Now 'Clue' the film of Cluedo is on and i am very happy.

Trouble with Eyeko

http://eyeko.com/

Eyeko is a fun, drugstore-priced Uk based brand. I only own a few of their products, 3 colours of their new Nail polish collection: 'Cosmic' a black with multi coloured glitter, 'lilac' a lilac colour (shockingly :P) and 'vintage' a pale green with a hint of blue. I really like these polishes, the colours are lovely, they apply nicely and last well. My Mum uses their Eyeko Cream which is a moisturiser, eye cream and highlighter in one and loves it. I bough the nail varnishes through Asos.com when they were on sale. As i was happy with my polishes i decided to try a couple of their other products. I found out that the official Eyeko website nearly constantly has special offers or discounts on so i decided to buy from them  directly. I bought a set of 3 Line and Shine eyeliners which were (and still are) on 3 for 2 which was £8 and a nail polish from their old collection, Pastel polish (a pale blue) for £3. At the time there was a special offer on, 10% off if you spend over £10 plus a special surprise free gift. So i ended up getting everything for about £9, which i was happy with. There was also free shipping.

However i had huge problems getting my order. I paid via paypal immediately and got a receipt, but never got a notice to tell me my order had been shipped. The shipping was meant to take about 3 working days.
After two weeks i still had not seen head nor tail of my order. As i work from home there was no way i had missed the postman so i sent Eyeko a very polite and friendly email to tell them my order hadn't arrived and asked them when they had sent it.
After over a week i still hadn't recieved a reply so i wrote another, much more grumpy email about it, saying i was very unhappy and probably would not shop from them again and would have to make a claim via paypal if they did not reply.
This time i recieved a reply the next day, which just told me to wait until the next monday and if the order still had not arrived they would look into it. This slightly irritated me as by that time i had waited 3 weeks for my order. So on the monday when there was still no sign of my order i emailed again. After a few days the guy i had been discussing it with told me he would reship my order but again i recieved no notice to tell me it had been shipped. I waited another 2 weeks and there was still no sign of the order. It had now been almost a month and a half since i made my order. So i sent another email and as i didn't get a reply for a few days i started a paypal claim. I got a reply the following day asking if i would like them to resend my order again or just refund my money. I asked for a refund and recieved it a few days later, nearly 2 months after i first made my order.

The problem i had was not so much with the fact that my order never arrived but with the customer service i recieved. I did end up getting a refund on my money, but i did not like having to jump through hoops or have to threaten them with paypal claims before getting a reply. The fact they never replied to my first email really soured the experience, though they were polite in their replies.

As i said before i really like the products from them i tried, their prices are fair and i'm sure it was just a one off problem with my order, but i was really not happy with how my problem was dealt with, so i won't be repurchasing directly from Eyeko again, though i may try the products if i find them on another website or instore.

There are men on my roof

They're meant to be there, they are fixing the roof but i'm terrified. This is the first time i've been alone in the house with them around and i'm all shaky and nervous. I'm very scared to leave the house incase they see me so i've basically been hiding in the front room with the curtains closed. They're making really loud banging noises and things and it's really freaking me out :(  Whenever they talk to each other my heart skips a beat. They're going to be here for another week, but hopefully i won't be left alone with them again.
Also the front door has to stay open because they're using our plug sockets and it's cold! The poor dogs are going to have to wait until they've left for the day to have their afternoon walk because obviously i can't leave the house with the door open.

I've been photographing clothes to pop on my blog sale, i was wondering if maybe i should send the portion of the proceeds to Chile instead of Haiti now, i've already sent £30 from the sale to Haiti so maybe i should give some to Chile now? Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

I'm really failing at my No-buy :( I just can't help buying stuff, it really is an addiction. I'm trying so, so hard though. I bought a few bits last week with some discount codes, but now i have even more codes and i'm scared i won't be able to keep myself from using them. I think i've worked out the root of my shopping addiction and it scares me a lot. I realised that i think what i own sort of defines me and if it weren't for the stuff i have people wouldn't like me or think i'm interesting. I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, and in my head i know it's not true but i think it's a deep seated thing in my head. It probably relates to my social phobia. When i had cognitive behaviour therapy for my phobia a few years ago my therapist (who was useless) kept going on and on about how i dress (which really irritated me) and i had to try and work out why i dress so 'outrageously' when i'm so shy. I couldn't fully work it out, but i thought of a few reasons.
1. There might be no reason at all, i just like what i like.
2. I dress the way i do because it creates a sort of 'front' to keep people away, because some people can get a bad impression of me because i look so silly.
3. Because i can't express myself like ordinary people, by talking to people, i express myself through the way i look.

Hmm that was all a bit morose wasn't it?

Here's a photo of me from last spring (i was so thin back then D: want to get back to that size please body!) in an outfit i love:

FOTD's

Full faces from my Sugarpill review.
Yesterday:

Avon tinted moisturiser, avon powder, ELF concealer, MAC joie de vivre cremeblend blush, ELF Studio eyebrow kit  in light, Sugarpill pressed eyeshadows in Buttercupcake, Flamepoint and Poison Plum, Sugarpill Chromalust shadow in Goldilux, Barry M Lip Laquer crayon in Mandarin, Lancome Oscillation mascara.

Today:

 

Avon tinted moisturiser, ELF concealer, avon powder, ELF studio eyebrow treat and tame in light, Sugarpill chromalust shadows in Asylum and Goldilux, Lancome Oscillation mascara, Avon lipstick in Ruby in Gold

Right, time for bed! xxxx

Sugarpill Cosmetics Review

I've been a fan of Shrinkle's for a long time, i own several items from her clothing line, and have always enjoyed reading her blog posts because she seems like a genuine, fun loving, sweet girl. She introduced me to Kryolan makeup and I always giggle at her blog posts detailing her love for Ron Perlman and grow lustful at the photos of amazing food she often posts (and yet remains so trim, damn you Amy!) and i've really liked her bright, colourful style and tranny/clubkid/80s rainbow brite girl makeup. So when i heard she was working on her own makeup line i was obviously really excited. I was sure that Amy would be taking the Kryolan she sells as her inspiration and creating something even more bright and beautiful.
And i was not disappointed.

Mini Review - Nivea Caregloss and Shine

I won this in a giveaway by the lovely Cat (catslittleobsessions.blogspot.com).
First impressions on this are really great! It smells and tastes delicious (sort of berryish and slightly sherbety) and is a really nice shiny pink with a slight shimmer. The idea of this is really attractive to me, quite a well pigmented lip gloss but with the softening and healing effects of a lip balm. It glides on easily and feels nice on my lips, buttery and not at all sticky.
However after about 30 seconds this stuff starts to tingle on my lips, and the tingle turns into a sting. After about a minute it starts prickling me intensely, it doesn't really hurt but it's very irritating and i can't cope with it and have to rub it off. It's a bit like a lip plumper, only it continues to sting for as long as i have it on my lips. I don't know if it's just me that has a problem with this (i am allergic to some spices and similar things so it might contain something that irritates me).
So if anyone else has tried it please let me know how it felt to you.

Some new videos

A few new videos i made for my youtube channel including a review of the UD alice book of shadows (which i stupidly keep calling a 'box of shadows') and Sugarpill swatched in real time.









My proper Sugarpill review should be coming up tomorrow, i'm going to be using what i've already said about the packaging because i want everything to be together, so if you think i've just accidentally reposted please do have a read and you'll see my full review of it :)

Aromaleigh Sonic Rocks Swatches

So as you may have seen from my last post featuring my first Aromaleigh haul i bought a lot of the Sonic Rocks eyeshadows. These differ from Aromaleigh's other eyeshadows as they are not entirely mineral based, as a result you can get some really bright, neon colours in mattes, shimmers and glitters.
The Rocks shadow formula is being reformulated so currently you can get 35% off, also Aromaleigh are having a 20% off everything sale to celebrate the owner, Kristen, finally getting to have her honeymoon (http://blog.aromaleigh.com/blog/2010/02/aromaleigh-is-closing-shop-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MissKsAromaleighBlog+(Miss+K%27s+Aromaleigh+Blog)) , so in total you can get 55% off Rocks shadows right now :)
Here are swatches of all the colours i currently have. They are all named after songs which meant that as i swatched i kept irritating Claire by singing the namesakes :P Come on everyone! I'm an alligator! I'm a mumma-papa coming for yoooouuuu...


Big Neon Glitter, Atomic, Livewire, Velvet Goldmine, Agent Orange.


Heart of Glass, Helter Skelter, Peekaboo, Suspect Device, Pretty Vacant, Coral Fang


Lady Stardust, Blue Orchid, Boiling Point, Hit Or Miss, Spellbound, Funky Town, Body Electric, Purple Rain


Vive Le Rock, Raspberry Beret, Pretty in Pink, New Rose, Personality Crisis, Teenage Kicks, Psychocandy, Fanclub, I Want Candy, Lookin for a Kiss


Jigsaw Feeling, Lazy Sod, Poison Ivy, Venom, Just like Heaven, Strychnine, Googoomuck, Greenhell, Estranged


Destination Unknown, Planet Earth, Bluespark, Moonage Daydream, Ozone, Ocean Rain, Endless Sea.

A week of Indie Makeup Day 6 - Aromaleigh

http://www.aromaleigh.com/

Ok, here we are, the review of the Big Daddy of the indie mineral makeup world! Aromaleigh have been selling natural beauty products on the internet for over 12 years now! They were founded by Kristen Leigh Bell who remains the company president and creative director. Kristen was also the founder of the Mineral Makeup Mutiny (http://mineralmakeupmutiny.wordpress.com) a group which celebrates small cosmetics companies who create authentic handmade cosmetics. I find this a real hint towards the brands personality, that they are happy to advertise other mineral makeup companies who would be competition. She also only awarded Aromaleigh the Mutiny badge after she had sorted through all the requests from other companies.

Aromaleigh make basically every sort of makeup you could wish for: lip balms, lip sticks (both sheer and opaque), concealers, face lip and eye primers, foundations, finishing powders, blushes, bronzers, cream and powder eyeshadows and eyeliners, glitters, brushes, perfumes and various other bits and bobs. Samples are available on any powder product. Ingredients are included on each product as well as swatches and descriptions to give you a really good idea of the colours. It is easy to get in contact and they also have a forum.

Their prices are fair, they depend on the collection the products are from as well as the products itself. You can expect to pay less than $16 for a full 8g jar of foundation, $15 for a 7g blush, $8 for a 5 gram jar of eyeshadow and $7 for a lip product. These prices might be a bit pricier than some of the other companies i've reviews, but you get more product and a lot of the products are cheaper than what i've cited as well as them having costant sales on various items. International shipping is very fair, you pay a set price, sample orders up to $75 or all orders up to $40 pay $7.40 for insured mail anywhere and $14.40 if your order is over $75 (you can choose to buy non-insured mail and that would be cheaper).
All orders come with 3 free samples which you can choose yourself! With my order i also recieved a free sample of lip balm.

I ordered so many colours i can't swatch everything now, and i only tried eyeshadows but i have another haul coming with some other face products. I didn't try the lip balm either as i didn't like the scent (it was sugar plum fairy which smelled like cinnamon and spices which i don't like. I gave it to Claire who likes the smell but i don't know if she's used it yet) some of the other scents sound delicious. The order came prettily wrapped in tissue with an Aromaleigh sticker and invoice all within a bubble mailer.



I bought tonnes of Sonic Rocks eyeshadows, some samples and some full jars and then a lot of samples of other collections.

The samples are all 1/16 of a teaspoon, which doesn't sound like much but will certainly be enough for several applications no matter how heavilly you apply. The full jars come absolutely packed up to the sifter in fact i had to take the sifter out first because there was so much product it had compacted down and would not come through the holes. The quality of the shadows are absolutely amazing with amazing colours and finishes, great blendability and are really long lasting.
I did have one small problem though, as i said i took the sifters out of a lot of the jars and doing this i discovered that two of the colours were not fully blended. There were some little lumps of unblended pigment.





It was practically impossible to photograph this problem. I haven't actually used either of the colours yet so i'm not sure if they will look so streaky it will be a problem. The blue colour did streak when i swatched them but the coral didn't. However this was 2 colours out of the 30-40 i bought so really not a big problem at all :)

Would i purchase again? Well i already have :) And i really really want to try their foundations and get some more of the Rocks makeup which i love. They have a mind bogglingly large selection of products and colours of great quality and they seem like they really know their stuff. Kristen is a friendly, fun woman, who is fair and friendly to her competition (unlike some people who shall remain nameless), their prices are fair and i was overall really happy with my experience purchasing from them.

Swatches to come soon :)

FOTD Pink and silver using Sugarpill :)

First i did my face the same as usual (ELF concealer, Avon tinted Moisturiser and today Sleek's the One powder) but instead of using a blush i applied Dollypop eyeshadow very lightly over the apples of my cheeks. Then i took an angled brush and used Dollypop thickly to define my brows. I used Tako lightly on my browbone as a highlight and then a tiny dab of Tiara over that just to add some sparkle. Then i piled Tiara on thickly on my eyelids. I couldn't find a white eyeliner and wanted to brighten my waterline so i applied Tako thickly with an eyeliner brush and finished up with some black mascara (Boots No 7 extreme length, i like it!). For the lips i used Mac Gladiola with a clear pink gloss over the top and then dabbed a tiny bit of Tiara over it.

This is the first time i've actually written out the steps of a look i've made. Would anyone be interested or more of these or even some proper tutorials? Don't be afraid to say no :P