Eyes Of The Day - Purple Smokey and Smouldering

Products Used - 

Sleek Oh So Special Palette - Shades Wrapped Up and Celebrate 

Eyeko Purple Graffiti Eyeliner Pen

17 Photo Flawless Eye Pencil Black Blue 

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Purple shadow/liner against my green eyes is one of my favourite combinations - it is incredibly flattering. The purple enhances the whites of the eyes, makes the eyes pop and increases the depth of the green.

Holiday Makeup By Day

In the days running up to our family holiday I was umming and aahing about which make-up items to take with me whilst trying very hard to keep it light. To a beauty lover this is no mean feat, but in the event I think I managed to achieve what I had set out to do...

The majority of the time we were going to be either in the pool, by the pool or at the beach so I didn't want anything too heavy during the day.

5 items made up my daytime 'look' but obviously I alternated the gloss so in reality it took just 4 items to look lightly sunkissed and beach ready.

17 BB Blemish Balm

Absolutely love this product,it is light in product and packaging, evens out skin tone and contains SPF25, perfect for holiday.

17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze

One of my favourite products this Summer, so it was only natural this came with me on my holiday. Big brush, swirled across all the shades and applied across the cheeks provided a pretty and subtle beach glow.

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Mascara in Black (Waterproof version)

I didn't set out to buy this mascara, I was actually after a L'Oreal waterproof mascara but annoyingly Tesco pull down the shutters on their make up stands (who knew!) and the Rimmel London stand was the only one that remained open. 

This looked good from the description, came in bright orange packaging (won't get lost) and was temptingly cheap seeing as I was really only needing it for the week. It promises to have - Like the regular Scandaleyes mascara Max density brush is 50% larger to cover whole lash line and capture every lash. Triple collagen + Keratin formula plumps even the thinnest lashes -Waterproof- Lasts all day.

I really didn't like this mascara, the wand was so huge it wasn't ideal for my small eyes. I found it hard to coat each lash as I was just making mess everywhere, I found it clumpy and although it does provide volume, it didn't provide any length or definition which was disappointing but maybe unreasonable for me to expect it.. Most importantly it didn't perform well as a waterproof mascara. It smudged terribly and gave me panda eyes. Not good!

Clinique Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Juicy Apple

I have done a post on this previously but this is a fab gloss, sheer, nice hint of colour, it lasts and contains SPF15 ideal to protect lips.

Lancôme Juicy Tube in Mangue

Every makeup bag should contain a juicy tube! I like this one as although it looks rather scarily bright orange in the tube it comes out far more subdued but really brightens the face - perfect for Summer! Sadly this shade is now discontinued.

17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick - Gold Bronze - Review

Product rave and bargain alert!

17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze forms part of the Instant Glow collection and the minute I laid eyes on it I knew I had to buy it. As it happened I was handed one at the Boots Summer Press Show but I would have quite frankly bought one if I hadn't as it is such a steal for a great product.

17 say

The Instant Glow Shimmer Brick is described as 'a shimmering powder that creates a beautiful golden bronzed glow. Sweep a brush through all 4 shades then lightly dust onto cheekbones'.

My thoughts


Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze consists of 4 shimmery shades ranging from light to dark - silver/white, taupe, golden bronze and dark bronze. They are super smooth and soft to apply, not gritty at all. Individually the shades work just as well as eye shadows but my preferred use of the Shimmer Brick is as a highlighter on my cheeks.

I have become a little addicted to the glow and radiance I can achieve by using a highlighter and just love the instant lift effect that it gives to my face. I have quite a few highlighting products in my collection and still I keep getting drawn to more!  I love watching the sun catch the shimmer.

Swatches of Gold Bronze Shimmer Brick

Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze Blended

Yesterday I applied this on top of Benefit's Cha Cha Tint and it gave me a beautiful and naturally radiant coral glow which lasted all day.

Drawing comparisons with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick (the BB version has 5 strips and costs £30.50) the 17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick is a beautiful product at an extremely affordable price. Snap it up.

17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick is available in Gold Bronze and Pink Bronze and cost just £4.99 each

The Winners of the 17 Makeup Goody bags are...

Time to reveal the 2 lucky winners of the 17 Cosmetics goody bags....

As selected by Random.org the winners are ...

Lucy V Morgan


JenLa

Congratulations ladies. I will be in touch to arrange your prizes :-)

Thank you all for entering and look out for more chances to win in the future.

Bettina x

Giveaway - Win a 17 Cosmetics Goody Bag of Make Up! *Closed*

Following my taking part in the 17 Beauty Blogger's Beauty Challenge to create a Spring Look using 17's Limited Edition Spring Collection, the lovely people at 17 have given me two goody bags filled with the following gorgeous products from the Spring Collection for lucky BeautySwot readers to win -

·         17 Blush and Glow in Peachy and Bloom (2 blushers)

·         17 Spring Fling Eye Palettes in Spring Bright and Hazy Days (both palettes!)

·         17 Berry Kiss Lip stain in Cherry Berry

·         17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Spring Petal

To be in with a chance of winning one of these goody bags please see details of how to enter below -

The rules

• You must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below asking to be entered into the giveaway with your name and a way to contact you, so that I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. - Please state how you are following the blog.
• It's easy to follow my blog - just click the FOLLOW button on the right of the page and follow the instructions. This will gain you one entry. 
• You can gain an extra entry by tweeting about this giveaway. Just tag your tweet with @BeautySwot at the end so I can see it. 
• You can also gain another entry if you blog about / have a link to this giveaway on your side bar - please post link to show you have done this. 

The (not so) Small Print -

• Maximum entries per person is 3
• Open only to UK residents
• All entries will be logged and numbered, and the winners will be selected by www.random.org
• Entries close at 23.59pm, 23rd March 2012 (GMT) 

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

 Thank you and good luck!

17 BB Blemish Balm All In One Magic Make Up - Review and Swatches

As part of the 17 Spring Beauty Challenge I was sent the two shades of 17 BB Blemish Balm All In One Magic Make Up.

I have to admit to being somewhat baffled originally as to why I would need a Blemish Balm, in my head it seems just like a tinted moisturiser or primer, or could it be both? See what I mean, I find it confusing. To be perfectly honest I still am not entirely sure..however simply put it is a product that should provide good coverage to provide flawless looking skin, be light enough in texture to look natural and offer skin benefits and protection. Using it over time you should find that your skin improves. Originating in Asia, some Asian brands also offer skin lightening and/or anti wrinkle benefits.

17 BB Blemish Balm claims -

The weightless all in one creamy formula blends seamlessly into skin; moisturising, concealing, smoothing and protecting.

Covers - conceals skin imperfections with full coverage and helps oil control.

Enhances - smooths and evens skin tone for a flawless finish.

Protects - promotes healthy skin with SPF25 protection.

My thoughts - 


I first used this when I had moments to spare before taking the little one to pre-school and it was pretty damn amazing. I used the light version and just a small amount gave me flawless skin. I was pleasantly surprised to be honest at the level of coverage as having never used a BB cream I had no expectation. It feel quite thick and creamy on the fingers, but once on the skin I couldn't feel it at all. My redness was covered and so were my pores. I was entirely happy to leave the house with just a bit of gloss and mascara.

When I returned home, as I was doing the beauty challenge, I applied the 17 Miracle Matte Foundation over the top of it, and the BB cream made an excellent base for a lasting finish.

Since then I have worn it with other foundations and have found it to be a fantastic primer, although if I need to get out in a hurry I use the Blemish Balm on its own and just apply a foundation later if I am going to be out the whole day. The redness is beautifully concealed, my pores are hidden and it keeps shine at bay. My skin looks and feels soft and smooth. Imperfections? What imperfections. If you are looking for a full coverage product, then you cannot go wrong with this.

With the addition of a SPF of 25 this is pretty much perfect, just one thing though. - on my box it says that it is SPF25 but on the Boots website it is stated as being SPF15. I am assured that it is SPF25.

This product really lives up to its claims, it really is Magic Make Up and I love it. So much so it has been added to my beauty essentials page

17 BB Blemish Balm Swatches 

L-R Light and Medium

Although in the swatch the two shades do not appear too far apart in the spectrum, blended in, the medium is a fair bit darker.

17 BB Blemish Balm All In One Magic Make Up costs £6.99 for 30ml and is available from Boots in shades light and medium.

17 Limited Edition Spring Make-Up Collection - FOTD - Bloggers Beauty Challenge

'
I was recently asked if I would like to take part in a bloggers beauty challenge to create a 'Spring Look' using the new limited edition Spring products from 17 Cosmetics. The winner will be chosen by 17’s makeup artist, Vanesa Guallar and be treated to an exclusive at home makeup masterclass with Vanesa for them and their friends, as well as being given two goody bags to give away to readers.

I was sent a collection of products to choose from to create my look and after looking at what I was sent, I had an image in my head of how I would like to look this Spring. The products in the picture above were the ones needed to create this look. I think it really helped that today was the perfect Spring day to try out the look I was going for.

I like to think of it as pretty but sophisticated, with the accent of colour and brightness on my lips but a pop of subtle shimmery colour on my eyes.


My Base -

I used the Blemish Balm to even out my skin tone and whilst it was quite fresh and dewy looking, I wanted something that would last all day and so opted to apply the Miracle Matte foundation for extra coverage where I needed it. Ordinarily I would always opt for a light dusting of bronzer all over my face with a bit of contouring just below my cheeks but for this look I wanted to keep it as fresh and pale as I possibly could.

My Eyes -

Using the gorgeous Spring Fling Palette in Hazy Days I gave my eyes the most beautiful wash of colour. I used the palest creamy white shade all over the entire eye lid, then applied the green leaf which is a pretty pale green, pistachio shade with shimmer from half way and covered entire lid and took it out to the corners of my eye and just under the eye. I used the light bronze in the crease of my eye to create depth and warmth. I finished my eyes with a few strokes of the Va Va Voom black mascara for long, flirty lashes.

I absolutely love the light green in the palette, I feel that it really picks up the green in my eyes and instantly brightens them, I will be recreating this look again.

Cheeks -

I used the gorgeous Blush and Glow peachy shade which in fact I found was quite pinky, the blusher has two halves - one side is the matte blush and the other has a shimmery, light bronzer. I swirled my brush into it all to get a very slight shimmer in my blush for a slight flush of colour.

Lips -

Using the Berry Crush Lip Stain pen I coloured my entire lips and then added extra shine with the Vitamin C enriched balm on the other end of the pen.

My Spring Look -

The products used to create the look


17 BB Cream All In One Magic Make-Up - Light
17 Miracle Matte Foundation - Fair 
17 Va Va Voom Volume Mascara - Black 
17 Blush and Glow Blusher - Peachy 
17 Spring Fling Eye Shadow Palette - Hazy Days 
17 Berry Crush Lip Stain - colour unknown


All items are available to buy now at Boots except for the Lip Stain which will be on sale mid March.


Wish me luck!

17 Trio Eye Shadows - A/W 2011 Collection

The 17 Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection consists of 3 nail polish shades and matching eye shadow trios.

I have already featured the nail polish in a nails of the day post which you can see here. I am not overly keen on putting the colour green on my nail so I am afraid it is still sitting around waiting to be tried..

The eye shadow trios are -

Enraged -

Swatches of  17 Trio Eye Shadow in Enraged

Enraged instantly grabbed me as I find that browns and golds are extremely wearable and they really enhance the green in my eyes. Needless to say this trio has had a lot of use. The shades in Enraged are a soft rose gold, a gold and a darker,warmer gold, they are all fantastically shimmery.

Texture wise the shadows are buttery soft and smooth, easy to blend and surprisingly there is little fall out. I find they have good pigmentation and last well but I always wear an eye shadow base so I am unsure how they would fare if you don't wear a base.

Broken Hearted

Swatches of 17 Eye Shadow Trio in Broken Hearted

The Broken Hearted trio has a shimmery, bordering on metallic brilliant white/silver, a metallic silvery/grey and what appears to be a bottle green with a lot of glitter. I love the silver and grey a lot but not entirely convinced about the green. It swatches as a matt, flat colour with random flecks of glitter. I was hoping it would be more vibrant.

Vengeance 

Swatches of 17 Eye Shadow Trio in Vengeance

For some reason I haven't actually worn the Vengeance trio yet but having swatched it I plan to wear it this weekend, I think the actual swatches are really pretty. The lightest shade is a shimmery lilac, the middle one is a rather pleasant light taupe/purple shade with a metallic sheen and the one that is supposed to be purple leans more to a dark brown/purple shade with a hint of shimmer which I really like.

Overall, I think the 17 Eye Shadow Trios are really worth seeking out and trying if you haven't already. They are great value at £5.49 each and available to purchase at Boots stores.

*PR Samples

NOTD - 17 Autum/Winter Collection 2011 Fast Finish Nail Polish

I was recently sent some gorgeous 17 Trio Eye Shadows and their complementary 17 Fast Finish Nail Polishes and today's nail's of the day uses two out of the three that I was sent.

On the left is Fury, a gold/bronze shimmery shade. On the right is Revenge, a darkish purple with shimmer.

I am wearing Fury and have chosen to use Revenge as my 'statement nail'. This is where one nail is painted differently to all the others....

These are one coat fast drying polishes, I noticed afterwards that although Fury looks covered if I look really closely I can detect slight patchiness. Revenge needs 2 coats, the first coat came out watery and pale. I had real trouble translating the shimmer of Revenge on to my small nails. Once dry it looks matt and I cannot detect the shimmer which is a real pity as it looks so pretty in the bottle.

17 Fast Finish Nail Polishes are £2.99 each

Another FAB product from 17 - Wild Curl Mascara

I won this in a twitter giveaway contest, of course I was delighted. I love putting mascaras to the test....

17 Wild Curl Mascara promises to give 6x more volume, and to keep that curl held for up to 10 hours!

The mascara comes in an eye catching animal print tube, black and mirrored gold. The actual wand isn't huge (excellent for small eyes) and is different in that if you look at the picture you can see that the brush is 'wild'. The bristles are soft and of uneven lengths, this really does enable you to reach the roots of your lashes easily and lift them.

Wild Curl Mascara is available in a choice of 3 shades - Wildest Black, Black and Brown

I was sent Wildest Black

So the before and after pics...

I really LOVE this mascara, no clumping, no flaking and it picked up pretty much all of my lashes. Plus the curl held for hours!

Excellent mascara at a great price.

17 Wild Curl Mascara (9ml) costs £6.29 from Boots Stores.

What do you think ?
Have you tried this mascara?

17 Photo Flawless Primer - A winner!

17 Photo Flawless Primer is part of a new range of make up products from 17 called Photo Flawless created to leave you with a photo flawless finish.

This is marketed as an affordable primer that promises to minimise pores and prolong foundation wear. I have primers that do one or the other but not both and they cost quite a bit more per ml so I was really looking forward to testing this primer out.

The product comes in a squeezable tube in sleek black and gold packaging, looking far more expensive than it actually is.

It comes out as a slightly creamy texture - very similar in fact to Benefit's 'porefessional' except it is whiter.

It is easy to apply and glides on beautifully. I found that it really did create a perfect base for my foundation. This primer left my skin feeling wonderfully smooth and silky, in fact I had to keep touching it to believe it.

Once my foundation was on I had a fantastic flawless matte base, my pores were covered completely and there was not a hint of shine. It also prolonged my foundation, on one of my test days I walked for nearly an hour, breaking a sweat and my make up still looked fresh upon arrival at my destination. In fact hours later my skin still looked good.

I am seriously impressed with this product and I think it may be a very strong contender to be added to my Beauty Essentials Page. It may just be my product of the year....but of course it is only February.

If this is your first dip into the world of primers, at this price, I really think you cannot go wrong!

17 Photo Flawless Primer costs £4.99 for 15ml and is available from Boots stores and online.

Vamp it up this Halloween....

I am loving these items from 17 for this Halloween and at such great prices too!

Lasting Fix Lipstick in New Black - £3.49

This is a deeply pigmented colour that is purple/black - Make sure your lips are in tip top condition though as you do not want the colour to sit on dry skin, it will really show by being deeper in colour. Long lasting colour. I did a swatch on my hand and the remnants were still there a day and many washes later.

Fast Finish Nail Polish in Gemstone  - £2.99

This promises to dry in 60 seconds and it does, fantastic for a busy mum like me who doesn't really have the time to wait for the polish to dry... gorgeous plum colour too that I will be wearing long after Halloween is over. The applicator is quite short, so its quite fiddly to apply. This picture is of one coat.

Make sure you wear an undercoat though as this stains!


What will you be wearing this Halloween?