Diorshow Extase Mascara

This mascara is the newest edition to the Diorshow Mascara 'family' which, according to Debenhams website, consists of 8 mascaras. Before I get on with the review, here's a bit about my lashes, I have long lashes with a little bit of a curl, but they're not as full and 'false' as I'd like.

I chose Extase out of the Dior mascaras about a month ago as my first high end mascara (other than mini Lancome ones from my aunt) it claims to be an 'Instant Oversize Volume Mascara' with a 'couture brush', offering both length and volume along with a 'lash care' ingredient, I picked this one partly because the sales women at both Dior counters were pushing this one and were very reluctant to show me the other mascaras and if I asked about them they would refer back to this one and since it was the same price as the others, I figured it was worth a try since I had birthday money. On to the mascara its self...

It comes in a shiny gold tube which is very pretty and quite classy looking, with black writing showing the name of the mascara, the tube it's self is very sleek and it has a 'click' when you close it which is nice as you know that air is not getting into the mascara and drying it out. However, the top of the tube is to wide and lets too much mascara onto the brush which could lead to very clumpy lashes so you've got to sort of wipe it off in the tube which is a bit of a fuss. The mascara its self is quite wet feeling and thickens the lashes nicely, it can easy go clumpy though and if you have any left over mascara from the night before which didn't come off, it will clump pretty quickly as the brush can't separate the lashes, I'm not sure if that's because of the brush itself or because it has too much mascara on it, either way I find it difficult. For me, it holds a curl okay, but I've got a crap eyelash curler so I think it's difficult for me to say if this will or won't. This mascara only comes in black at the moment and isn't waterproof, neither of these are serious flaws for me, as I think brown mascara is weird looking with my dark hair, brows, lashes and eyes! and waterproof is often irritating for my eyes. One this that I didn't expect this to do and I assumed was just marketing is the fact that my lashes feel much stronger and look much nicer since using this which I think is due to the lash caring ingredients.

Overall I'd say this is a pretty decent mascara, nice volume and length, I'm not sure if it's right for me though, for others, it may be HG but for me I think I need considerably more volume! I'm not returning to the drugstore just yet as Diorshow Blackout is next on my list!

May Favorites

I cannot belive that may is over! it's really scary how fast this year has gone by, I think it needs to slow it down. Sorry for the lack of posts which is due to the fact my exams are here, It sounds weird but I'm really happy my exams are upon me. Now, I'm not one of these people who just love exams (Anyone Hermonies face in harry potter when exams were cancelled?) but we've been building up for these preparing for about two and a half years so I can finally just get them over with and move on to a life without school. So yes, back on topic, I've been revising alot recently and then doing other things too to help my mother with the guide dog puppy who's recently become a nightmare as he enters the doggie equivalent of the terrible two's which seems to involve alot of chewing. 


Moving swiftly on, I can seriously talk for England. 


So in the past month, I have been loving...

Topshop Cream Blush in 'Crushed Berry' 

Since getting this, I think I've used it most days it's creamy and smooth but doesn't look OTT grease or anything. I disagree with the cream-to-powder formula it says it has as I think it's a bit more of a satin finish on me, but either way it's very good. It looks natural despite the fact it's a berry colour but it comes out more pink. I'm really egar to try the other blushes in the line (Flush and Pinch are on my list!) excuse the ickyness of the picture, i tried to use a too fluffy natural hair brush in it...just don't do it

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

This is my daily foundation and I truly love it, I normally only have one foundation open and 'in use' but I do currently have two on the go, the other being MAC's studio Sculpt which I plan to do a review on at some stage, and this is the one that I choose everyday to wear, I love the finish of it and it lasts all day without feeling heavy see my review here

Illamasqua Loose Powder

I love this powder, I got it back in December for Christmas and used it to set my revlon colourstay foundation, but the look wasn't good for me, overly matte and highlighted all my winter dryness, so I instead swapped to MAC and these were left in the draw. Until recently when my Illamasqua loose powder has been busted out and used to set my Sheer Glow, I have the colour 115 which is described as having golden undertones, I personally consider this to be crap as I cannot detect the slightest golden hint in the powder when in the jar or on my skin, but this powder does a great job of setting my foundation without making the foundation matte, but it does prevent me getting oily and the foundation transferring. It's a daily essential for me, even though people have told me that because I have dry skin I shouldn't use a setting powder I find it to be necessary to making foundation last and this does an outstanding job.

MAC 'A Rose Romance' Lipstick.

I recently got this in a swap so I've only been wearing it for about two weeks, but the colour is beautiful, the pink is just right and the formula is quite pigmented for a lustre. The slightly gold hint to it I think is what makes all the difference it feels pretty and summery. I must say, it is slightly more drying than other lustres I've tried but I'll put that down to it being more pigmented than others I've tried.
Image property of Temptalia 

NARS Eyeshadow In Ondine 

This is a lush colour to use in the crease or outer-v the purple is great on my dark eyes the colour is just perfect to use lightly over the lid for a wash of colour too.
Image found on google

NARS Eyeshadow in Mekong

This eyeshadow is so pretty, the picture doesn't at all do it justice you really need to have it! it's beautiful pushed over the top of black liner (I use a 212 brush and pack it on) to give a beautiful deep espresso brown and gold glittery finish but it also works nice in the outer-v and crease, I reach for this everyday! 


What have you been loving this month? or what things have you been hating this month? 

Big Boobs = Big Bra Budget!

Is it just me? or does it seem that the bigger your boobs the more you have to pay for a bra. I'm not talking about bra sizes going up to bigger size and costing more, but as in being able to find a nice bra, for a reasonable price! 
I'm a bit stingy when it comes to spending money on things such as underwear which are hidden 90% of the time but the going rate for a nice looking bra which fits well seems to be about £14 which to me seems pretty reasonable price and even though it is hidden most of the time, it makes me feel confident to have a nice looking bra on! The problem, however, lies in the fact that in general, these bra ranges seem to finish at a D. DD is your lucky maybe, but that's way to small for me! 
After my mother told me that my bra was looking awful and making my boobs like as if I was about 50 years old, I went to deb's for a bra fitting (I'd normally go to M&S but after the last bra..no thankyou) and when the woman told me my size  (I'm a 34F) I seriously sighed. My previous size of a  34DD to E was hard enough to find bras which are nice looking and fit well on a budget but at an F! Now, I do know that there are loads of places that cater for bigger boobs (Bravissimo, Figleaves...etc) but at prices of about £24 a shot I think it's a bit over priced since a smaller bra costs about a tenner less! I tried on a lovely freya bra that was super comfy but it was so expensive! lucky I managed to grab it on sale along with two which were reduced to £16 pounds so I'd have some bras which fitted me nicely! now these bra's do fit but I was so put off by all the prices, the ranges designed for bigger bras seem to cost so much more, and my question is just why!? 
Also, a little rant about all these lovely looking structured dresses around with cups in them, I actually think I could pull one off but I don't think I could get half a boob into one of those cups!
Anyone else think this is a bit of a scam?


Anyway, rant over just something I've noticed that's bothered me for a while now. 
GCSE literature exam on Tuesday and I'm ever so slightly bricking it! Poems and of Mice and Men are my subjects for it :( 

40 Beauty Questions.

I'm currently sat here, purple from my hair dye (it's black by the way, not purple but it stains purple) so I thought I'd do this beauty questions quiz.


Skincare Questions



How many times do you wash your face daily? I was my face twice a day most of the time.
What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo) I have super dry skin that's also currently suffering with clogged pores =(
What is your current facial wash? I don't use a wash actually, I use like a milk cleanser to take off my make-up and an oil cleanser too.
Do you exfoliate? I do about twice a week.
What brand do you use? well I'm currently between brands, I just bought the body shop facial buffer today and I'm looking for a nice exfoliator.
What moisturizer do you use? Avene rich compensating cream at the moment at night but I have the light one for the day
Do you have freckles? No, I don't actually.
Do you use eye cream? No, but I am planning on getting one to see if it makes my eye area look nicer
Do you or did you have acne prone skin? sort of, I don't get spots but I do get clogged up pores, so is that sort of the same thing?
Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? nope.

Make-up Questions

What foundation do you use? NARS Sheer Glow

How about concealer? MAC's moisture cover but I don't like it anymore so I think I'm after the Bobbi Brown one now

Do you know your undertone color? I think I do I'm neutral with a slight lean to cool

What do you think of fake eyelashes? I love how they look but I aruge with them to look nice so I think I'm going to stick with corner ones, but I think I'll get full on falsies for my prom.


Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? I do but I also know that is a lie and it's really 6 months.


What brand of mascara do you use? Currently Dior, after I found that it's really 6 months and I have been lied to I bought a high end one I'd craved.

Sephora or MAC?
I'm in the UK so MAC, but If we had Sephora I'd go for Sephora.


Do you have a MAC Pro-card? No but I'll be able to get one next year :)

What make-up tools do you use in make up application? Brushes and sometimes fingers but I like using brushes.

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? I do, I use a Paintpot or Too Face Shadow Insurance but I prefer Paintpots.

For the face? I'm useing a GOSH one but its not as good as the sample one I tried for the new one that comes in a pot, with dry skin I think using a primer helps with application but not with lastings power is has no impact on me. I'm going to get the Laura Mericer one soon I hope.

What is your favorite eyeshadow ? I love NARS Fez or Mekong, I wish I could wear Mekong all over all the time!
Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? Liquid pen liner thingys or Pencils, I love both.
How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? Too often I'm natural clumsy and misjudge the distance.
What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? I like the Naked one I have from MAC but I'm not too into loose shadows.
Do you use mineral makeup? NO. I don't get the hype.
What is your favorite lipstick? MAC's Girl About Town.
How about lipgloss? I love my new Dior one, they're such pretty colour all of them!
What is your favorite blush to use? Either Azalea Blossom or I love Topshop Crushed Berry
Do you buy your makeup on ebay? Not often but I have done.
Do you like drugstore makeup? Yeah, I like Revlon alot and sometimes Rimmel.
Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets) No, Uk girl :( I shall be visiting in the US though and hauling like a mad woman
Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? I am actually doing a theatrical make up course in September and I can't wait.
Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? no, I think I'm pretty good but I've got plenty room to improve on my skills.
Name a makeup crime that you hate? Spindery lashes, too thin brows, and being orange.
Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? Bright lips neutral eyes.
Which celebrity always has great make up? Kat Dennings, Dita Von Teese and Leighton Meester are all beautiful with great make up. I love Taylor Momsen too but not everyday.
If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use? Foundation, but I'd look dead with no blush on too.
Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on? Yeah, I do quite a bit.
Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? no, I don't look very good.
In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? NARS I think, I love MAC's range of products but sometimes things are hit and miss on quality.
What do you think of Makeup? I love Make-up! shocker, I know.

I so don't get the deal with...

I don't know what it is about LUSH, but I really don't get it. I've tried and tried to like it and I just can't manage it! I will admit I liked the Butterball bath bomb's smell but I didn't like greasy feeling on my skin, it was too much or me! I also loved the smell off the melting marshmallow moment but it gets sickly after a while, along with the fact it dyed my bath pink for a couple of weeks after. I did buy a sugarscrub from them for my lips which tasted amazing but on it's own it was super hard to use so I mixed it with vasaline, and I do like it, but a 25g pot costs £5.00 and I think I could make it myself for cheaper! (I have also tried a handcream from here but lets not get into that one, when it comes to handcream I'm a very very fussy person)
I will say, I've not written this brand off yet, the shower jelly sounds like a fun concept and the 'Honey I Washed The Kids' soap might be one for me, but from the products I've tried I'm not getting the hyper around this brand.

Mineral Make-up, this is the one brand I've tried myself but I don't quite understand the appeal. Me and my mother were wondering Debenhams (The Monday before Spring Colour Forecast came out which my counter wouldn't yet sell :( I was very sad ) and a woman from the Bare Minerals counter pounced on us and offered to try some products on us, seeing as we had nothing better to do we decided to take her up on her offer as she was also giving away 10 day samples to people who tried the foundation. My mum went first, and loved it! the primer erased all pores, fine lines and visible imperfections (I must say though, my mum has very few) and the foundation colour was a great match and easy to apply, at this point I was sold too and let her take of my foundation and try it on me. Lets just say it wasn't a success, my face felt awful with it on and the lightest colour was all 'off'' and looked very very weird, it also took away from the fact I'm pale, and I may be one of the few but I like that I'm pale! after three hours of wear, I took the foundation off and the next day; spots galore! I thought this was meant to be good for your skin? not make it break out and feel sore and sort of clogged up? This has put me off the idea of mineral make up, but some smaller companies do look good but I've herd a few dozen re-packaging scandals *cough*Limecrime*Cough* I'm not sure who to trust!

I don't know what it is about these but I don't get it. People RAVE about Urban Decay's 24/7 liners but for me, they don't do anything more than any other liner does. Zero is meant to be the be-all-end-all of liners for the waterline but on me, it just looks sheer and doesn't stay on any longer than MAC's Feline or those cheapie Rimmel Kajal liners do and they do it with about 5x the intensity. Coloured eyeliner does very little for  me, but as a base these liners can work pretty well, but not well enough for me to want to buy a full-size, and they are actually about 2/3 the size of a MAC pencil (Which when I first got I was shocked by the size of). I actually don't get Urban Decay in general, I always look but never buy, nothing seems to grab me too much, there eyeshadows are meant to be really good but the one I tried was fallout city! I did want to dry the Alice palette but something stopped me getting it. I do wonder about their lipsticks though...

These are all things I often here talked about, but I just don't get the deal with them! What products do you hear people rave about all the time but just don't understand the hype?

FOTD 1 (Which is actually a face of Saturday...)

You can't see my eye make up very well thought but this was the only one where my face didn't look really bad! my liner was actually even in real life, Promise. This was my look for going to lunch and shopping with my best friend.


Face
NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia 
Illamasqua Translucent Loose Powder
Topshop Crushed Berry Cream Blush
Illamasqua Katie Blush (Lightly to add to staying power)
Eyes 
MAC Blanc Type
NARS Abyssinia 
MAC All Races
NARS Ondine 
Maybelline Define-A-line Liquid Pen Thingy 
MAC Feline (Tightlining)
Dior Show Extase Mascara


Lips 
MAC Girl About Town Lipstick
Rimmel Eastend Snob lipliner (I wear this under practically all lipsticks)


I think this looked nicer in real life and I can't find a good picture for my eye make up! I know it's not the best but I think once I get some better brushes I'll be able to do nicer looks (My 226 is on it's way in a swap!) 


Any blog posts you'd like to see? I have a Fafi Eyes Quad on the way in a swap too so I'll do a review and a look or two with that but are post's you'd like to see? Reviews of anything? If I don't have it I'll see if I can acquire it.


Also! Big thankyou to Camiloveskiwi for the mention on her blog! it was so sweet and thankyou to my new followers because of it!

In's and Out's

I love reading these so I thought I'd do my own.


In's


Clip In Extensions. Something you guys may not know or might have worked out, but my hair isn't my own, it's extensions, for some reason I decided to go blonde about two years ago and my hair is paying the price in having been cut short and my hair is taking forever to grow! so extensions it is and recently I've gotten into the habit of wearing them again after saying to myself it was too much effort when it takes me like 5 minutes! and I look so much nicer with long hair.


NARS Mekong. I'm using this everyday right now over liner pushed on with a 212 brush so all the glitter says on it and looks amazing rather than just flat black! 


The end of school - Thankgod! I've had a horrible 5 years and I can't wait for it to be over, and I must say if school day's are the best of your life then I truly have something to worry about


Glee. I'm a Gleek and proud! I love this show and I'm so happy we started recording it. 


Out's


With the end of school, comes the revision and the exams, when waiting for A MAC package the dogs went into full blown "ZOMG THAT MAN HAS THE CHEEK TO PARK HIS FAN IN MY STREET!!!!!" mode and my mother went to answer the door, as I'm getting excited that this is my parcel from MAC...nope. £50 of revision guides and work books from CGP...


The Sun. I'm a girl who's suffered with migraines for around about 5 years now and apparently the sun is now a trigger for my migraines so the summer means that could get alot worse but hopefully the new medication I've been given will help so my holiday to Florida will just mean alot of having to remember sunglasses, water and Migraleve pink pills.


MAC. Now, I'm not meaning to be blasphemous here but I'm sick of the new collections! all the time I feel like I've just recovered from the money I spent last time and they hit us with a new one I keep trying to stay away from hype but it's so hard.