Monster High Monday: Dance Class Howleen

You'll have to bear with me while I catch up on posts I've missed this week. My little sister and I bought tickets ages ago for The Big Reunion tour (the show on ITV2 that reformed 90's bands) and so we set off on Tuesday and stayed overnight in Glasgow and got back yesterday. Can you believe it was the first time I've been away since I went to my friends wedding in Aberdeenshire 3 years ago? I definitely don't get out much, so it was a nice little break. I'm pretty shattered and sore from the trip, but keen to get back into a routine. Monster High Monday was pretty much a disaster this week though. I woke up on Monday feeling fine, then within an hour I started sneezing. Not just once or twice, about 60 times in 20 minutes. Sneezing constantly is exhausting! I wasn't sure whether it was allergies or the cold, but then my nose started running and I figured it was the worst possible moment for me to start feeling ill. I couldn't breathe, my nose was blocked, but running like a tap, I sounded choked up and I was still sneezing. My nostrils were so sore and all red, that the last thing I felt like doing was putting on makeup and getting dressed to go out. However I did. Strangely enough I still felt sick on Tuesday morning, but it subsided throughout the day and other than being left with a sore nose, I have no signs of a cold whatsoever. Must be my temperamental hay-fever which disappears for years and shows up when it feels like it. Anyway, besides feeling like poo, I completely stuffed up the makeup on MHM. I thought Howleen would be easy to emulate because it involved a lot of neutrals and looked simple enough. How wrong was I? I spent around 20 minutes on Sunday colour matching and thought I'd come up with close enough shades.
 
Come Monday, I felt my colours weren't as perfect as I'd thought and it turns out I'm not much of a brown eyeshadow fan (always knew that), so I was struggling to find something close enough. I have a neutral drawer of colours and besides looking through every eyeshadow in that, I refused to start sifting through mixed-palettes for the correct colour. There's literally thousands of eyeshadows to check through and off the top of my head, I couldn't even think of any and there's only so many hours you can dedicate to finding the right products. Now you see why I rarely use palettes! Add to that the fact I don't think I even got the lips right, this week felt like a fail for me. I might just write it off or maybe try it again some other time if I ever have the patience to find better colour matches.
So starting with the face, I applied Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclat in BR10 with Dainty Doll Hot Pour Concealer in 001 Very Light under the eyes and on blemishes. I finished with Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in 00 Transparent Opal and also used a little MAC Legendary powder blush on the cheeks. Although Howleen doesn't wear a cheek colour, I needed it and it's a light enough peach to not detract too much from the rest of the face.
Now is where it gets complicated and I use a lot of colours, so I'll break it down. Howleen has a highlighter/sheen shade along the lower lashline and under the brow. She has what looks like a very pale pink on the lids up to the crease. A black thin line along the crease and then a reddish brown between the crease and highlighter shade. So that's four different shades. For the highlighter I used the pale pink shade from Lancome Ombre Subtile Duo in 351 Rose Garden. It didn't look quite frosty enough, so I applied some Lancome Poudre Superbe in 02 Argente over the top, which is a shimmer powder rather than eyeshadow.
For the pale pink lid shade I used the bottom left colour from Givenchy Prisme Again! Eyes in 3 Purple Emotion. For the black line in the crease I applied The New Black from my Lancome Color Design palette and decided it wasn't quite intense enough, so added a little Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pot in Little Black Dress. My eyeliner is YSL Waterproof Pencil with Lancome Artliner for the flicks and mascara is Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless.
So far, not too bad, but it was the warm red toned brown 'crease' shade I struggled with. Colours were either too bronze or brown, not enough red, too light, too dark, too shimmery. So I ended up applying a pale but pigmented peach shade from Versace Eyeshadow Duo in V2038, then applied Givenchy Prisme Again! Eyes in 1 Zen Pastel (the top right colour) over that. It's a peachy, mauvey brick reddish colour, but I felt I was lacking the brown base. So over them I applied Prisme Again! Eyes in 2 Brown Caress (the top right shade) which is brown.
I still can't say I'm happy with the outcome, it was a little too orangey and less tan than Howleen. Plus it was shimmery looking and Howleen's is matte, but the finish was the least of my worries to be honest! At this point I got Mum to come and kill kindly release a huge spider (thankfully I didn't freak too much because I thought it was a couple of really black moths or a beetle or something) that was wedged between the pleats in the top of my curtains. I got a 'you can barely open your eyelids because they are so heavy from all the makeup you're wearing' comment from Mum and knew it was time to finish up!
For the lips, I'd found a couple of close-enough shades on Sunday that I thought I could mix together to get the right colour. They were both MAC lipsticks, so I applied Colour Crafted (Frost) as a base and Creme Cup (Cremesheen) over the top and my liner was MAC Naked Liner. I'd describe the colour on Howleen as a dull peach, but I found in reality it leaned either too coral or too nude, it was really difficult to find a balance between enough colour but not being too bright. I can't recall what I thought at the time of my finished lips, I think it was that they were lacking in the coral shade, but in the photos it's come across as much brighter, lighter and more colourful than real life (like a lot) but actually looks to be a perfect match to Howleen here. Again, my lips looked really shiny and on the doll they look matte, but she's painted and I'm using real makeup, so that's my excuse!
I have no plans to revisit this anytime soon, but would like to re-attempt it at some point. I think I mismatched my colours and finishes and my nose was red-raw and I couldn't pose for photos without having to stuff a tissue up my nose!  I have a hilarious uncropped eye close-up where you can just see the tissue blocking my runny nose! Attractive (!) I'm definitely finding a trend of those dolls that look complicated turning out to be easier than I thought and the simple looks being difficult to replicate. How do you think I did this week? Howleen certainly lived up to her mischievous and troublesome nature!

PHP's Beloved Beauty Bits (April)

It's been a bit of a strange one this month, with no colour products and only two 'makeup' items making it into my favourites. I think it's probably because my skin has been suffering so much, that I've been concentrating on treating that and makeup wise I haven't really tried anything new or exciting. I've been really disappointed after months of searching for the Oxy Seaweed range, only to find it, use it and it's not worked wonders on my skin like it did last time. The stress of being spotty again definitely isn't helping and I'm finding areas that used to be blemish free are breaking out too (I'm really getting exasperated). I finished my last jar of Clarins Multi-Active and although I didn't think my skin was overly enamoured with it recently, it seems to have broken out in sympathy spots asking for the pricey stuff back ("no chance" at the moment face)! So I really need to rethink my whole skincare and makeup routine this month to get control over the situation. Anyway, first up is one of the makeup items, Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in 00 Transparent Opal.
I've had this for a while but only recently started using it exclusively. I was surprised to hit pan one day though as I hadn't realised I'd used it quite that much! I remember being disappointed when it arrived, as it looked much darker than I'd expected, however it actually applies very light. It feels like silk, very lightweight and does a good job of keeping my face matte for most of the day. It's not overly powdery or matte looking though, it leaves my face looking very natural.  I prefer to apply it with my Urban Decay Powder Blush, rather than the applicator in the compact. I'd definitely consider repurchasing this once it runs out.
 For the past year or so, I've gotten out of the way of using concealer. My foundation (and powder) cover pretty well, so I felt it was an unnecessary step in my routine. Now that I've had more breakouts than hot dinners, I've been back to using concealer! I bought Dainty Doll Concealer Hot Pour in 001 Very Light and 002 Light and am especially fond of 001 (shown here). I'd been using it under the eyes to brighten and kept 002 for spots, but for the past couple of weeks have just been using 001 for everything. It's a creamy pot concealer, so I just apply it with my finger, patting it until it blends into the skin. It doesn't 100% conceal to the point you don't know there are any blemishes there, but it does a pretty decent job of masking the redness on large spots and does cover smaller pimples.
A couple of months ago I mentioned I wanted to try another of my Harajuku Lovers 'Wicked Style' fragrances after using Baby lots. So I tried 'G' and am really loving it this month. It's a refreshing, fruity-aquatic scent which feels perfect for summer. Usually G contains coconut in her fragrances but there's no 'tropical' tone to this, which made for a pleasant change. Upon application it's quite strong (not overpowering) but fades. There's apple, raspberry, pineapple and watermelon coming through and although it's not my all-time favourite, it's been a playful scent that I've enjoyed wearing.
I've also been a big fan of Sunshine Cuties G. So much so, that I've finished one bottle and asked my sister to switch 'bases', so I can use hers too (they are only 10ml unfortunately). I like to wear a light scent in bed and this one is really subtle, so perfect for that. It's mainly coconut and vanilla and quite sweet without being sickly. I definitely prefer it to the original coconut G. I only wish they'd made the SC range in 30ml sizes because I have several favourites from that collection now.
I've been feeling lazy this month when it comes to applying body lotion, so Soap & Glory Girligo body mist has been the perfect product for me. It's like a liquid form of Righteous Butter (the original pink fragrance) that just sprays on. Obviously you still have to rub it in (it's as watery as milk), but there's something about not having to dip my hand into a big tub, that's had me reaching for this! It's also nice and light for summer. I've just finished my first bottle, but have about 4 more in my stash, so it better remain a favourite!
Generally my hands are pretty good in that I don't suffer with dry or cracked skin or any problems. I do apply hand-cream every night before bed regardless of how my hands feel and what time of year it is though. So imagine my horror when down the right side of my right hand, I got what I can only describe as 'old lady' hands! It was so dry it was rough (literally felt like sandpaper), it looked cracked and it felt like it belonged to a hard working, 85 year old (no offence). So after a quick freak out, I found this No7 Revitalising Hand Savour in my stash. I got this ages ago with a GWP, but thought it was worth a try before throwing it out. Wowzers, this stuff is good! It's a bright yellow scrub, which you apply to dry hands. It's gritty, very gritty, especially dry and once you've rubbed it in, your hands feel a little greasy/oily. You wash it off and you're left with the softest, smoothest skin you've ever felt! It's brilliant! I've been applying it a couple of times a week and finishing with hand cream and it's sorted out my hand issue. I'll definitely be looking into buying this next time I have a voucher.
Before my hand problem, I had a dry elbow issue (what is wrong with my entire body and face this month?)! I put it down to working at the computer all day, with my arm rubbing along/resting on the hard arm of the chair. I've used Soap & Glory Flake Away for years, but have to admit to losing interest in scrubs recently. While Flake Away isn't quite as yummy smelling as The Breakfast Scrub, it's still a delight to use. It's a sugar and salt scrub with small but very scratchy grains, so if you have sensitive skin this probably isn't for you. personally I like an exfoliator to feel like it's really scrubbing, so am alright with this one. It washes off to leave an oil like finish to the skin which feels like it's really hydrating. I always finish with body lotion to seal that moisture in. After one good scrub of the elbow and some body lotion (see below), my elbow was fixed.!
 
As well as using Girligo this month, I've been treating my problem areas (elbow and hand) with Jergens Ultra Healing body moisturiser for extra dry skin. I got this tube free with Look magazine a few weeks ago and it's certainly come in handy. It's got a really subtle, warm scent and contains vitamins C, E and B5 to penetrate beneath the skin and heal dry skin at the source and lock in moisture for 24 hours.  I expected it to smell quite clinical and be a really thick cream, but it was neither.  It was easily absorbed into the skin and I'd say after 2-3 applications, my skin had recovered completely.  
Told you it was a funny bunch of items this month!  Is there anything you've been loving or anything you like here?

ASOS Maxi Cat Dress & 10% Off

I can't take this no-money situation much longer, it feels like it's gone on forever! The £80 I'm supposed to survive on (!) every 4 weeks is going straight to my Mum (I pay her more than that each month usually, so I'm in debt to her) and I'm left with nothing each week...each month...it sucks BIG time! I'd been eyeing this Cat Face Maxi Dress on ASOS which was thankfully out of stock in bigger sizes meaning I didn't have to torment myself too much.
I'm a qualified stalker though (wish I got paid for that), so today they had an 18. Great....maybe. I had just enough money left in my account for it. So I've spent the last hour trying to justify it to myself, do I need it? Will it fit? Will I renew my Premier account which lapsed in December (well done me for not renewing before now) with it? Will it arrive when nobody is home, so I won't get 'caught'? Ah decisions, decisions! I'm pretty sure the cat will be distorted across my chest and there will be an unflattering fit on the hips/tummy area, but I ordered it anyway. Like I said, I can't take much more of this!
I'm going to The Big Reunion tour (5ive ahhhh!) in Glasgow next week (MAJOR for me to do all that travelling and actually go somewhere!), which was booked before the horrid money situation, so I'm thinking this dress would be perfect for wearing to that. If it fits. I'm actually having a panic about packing for an overnight and which shoes/clothes to wear. I want to be comfortable, not pack too much but still feel good. I'm struggling to come up with a pair of shoes that will go with multiple items and that I'll be able to walk in all day (any suggestions?). It's so long since I've done anything like this! Anyway, let's keep our fingers crossed the dress fits. It's still available here (no 4's, 6's, 14's or 16's just now but stalking can pay off) for £28 and I used MAYBDAY2013 for a sneaky 10% off too. Remember if you buy anything from ASOS using my links or any of the ads in the sidebar, I can earn a small commission and I'm determined to meet the required target so I actually get paid for the first time ever! Every little helps right now!
Oh and if I were made of money, this would be going straight into my basket. Moschino just do the best handbags and this Cheap & Chic 'Notes' bag has been on my wishlist for months. For a cool £380 I'm sad to say it will remain there!

Monster High Monday: Swim Class Lagoona

One of my newest dolls this week, Lagoona Blue from the Swim Class line (exclusive to Smyths if you're looking for her in the UK). Is she not just the most beautiful cutie-pie you've ever seen? I love her! For once I organised myself in advance for MHM (you'll have seen sneak-peeks if you follow my Facebook) as I knew there were several shades involved and it could take time to find matches within my collection for this particular doll. In the end all the colours were perfect dupes, I definitely need to try and prepare ahead of time more often! Lagoona has shimmering blue skin, green eyes with pink, purple and turquoise eyeshadow, purple eyebrows, lots of freckles and a bold but dull coral-ish pink lip. Told you it was tricky! I found the best lipstick for it though and I even attempted the purple brows this week.
On my face I'm wearing Pout Face & Body Illuminator mixed in equal parts to Lancome Teint Miracle in 005 Beige Ivoire. On blemishes and under the eyes is Dainty Doll concealer in 001 Very light and I finished with a light dusting of Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in Translucent Opal and I also added a little MAC Pearlmatte powder in Flatter Me on the cheeks (I think Lagoona would approve of the shimmer).
For the eyes, I applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance as my base with some Paul & Joe Eye Gloss in 05 L'Aurore (shimmery) concentrating on just under the brow. For even more shimmer like Lagoona, I applied the highlighter/base shade from my Lancome Color Focus palette in 103 Golden Frenzy.
I applied MAC Haunting eyeshadow (turquoise) along the lower lashline and above the crease. On the lids up to the crease I used the pink shade from MAC's Eyes On Manish palette.  At first I thought Lagoona was wearing a neon shade similar to MAC Viva Glam Nicki lipstick, but upon close inspection the lids are actually pink and not orangey or coral (phew because I have no idea how I would've duped that), so the pink from the Manish palette was the perfect colour.  I took a thin brush to apply Estee Lauder Pure Color eyeshadow in 29 Orchid directly along the natural crease. I also used this shade over my brows for a purple look like Lagoona. I finished with YSL Waterproof Eye Pencil and Lancome Artliner for a little flick and Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara on my lashes. The images below are before the purple brows and without liquid liner (also the EL Orchid shade looks plummy, it's not, it's bright violet).
For the lips I lined and filled using V-Sculpt Lip Liner (Victoria Beckham) in 702 Cool and then applied lots of YSL Rouge Pur in 138 Pink Orchid.
So how do you think I did this week? I quite liked the fun brights and the application was easy enough.  If you want to see the whole outfit, then head over to The Shoe Girl Diaries where I've already posted that (fab  heel-less shoes that you need to see too).

Review: Braun Silk Epil 7 SkinSpa Epilation & Exfoliation System*

I've been busy working on a new video review this past week of the latest epilator from Braun (Silk Epil 7 SkinSpa Exfoliation & epilation System 7931). You will maybe recall I reviewed the Silk Epil 7 Dual Epilator back in 2011, well this device is basically similar (the Silk Epil 7), but without the Venus blades and with a really unique attachment of an exfoliating brush.
Now I would like to think my video review (below) this time is a lot better as I have my fancy camera and the sound has improved greatly. I was nearly tearing my hair out after spending an entire morning filming though, only to realise the continual focus was on and you could hear the whirring noise over my audio! So I had to delete all that and start again! As a side note, it's a strange system on the camera, because you either have to put up with the noise and have everything in wonderful clear, crisp focus no matter what moves where or lose the noise and deal with things going out of focus at times. Surely they could come up with a better solution? 

Anyway, I find video reviews of items like this a lot easier because it's quite a lot of reading in one blog post. That said, some things I didn't mention in the video are that the Silk Epil 7 can remove hair from as short as 0.5mm, that's like a grain of sand! So epilators have really advanced now, that there is no waiting for hair to be 'long enough' to epilate. Results can last up to 4 weeks, but you'll find the more regularly you use the system and longer you use it, the less often you'll need to epilate. Over time hair will grow in smoother, finer and the regrowth will be less and less. The system is a cordless device that can be used dry or in running (shower) water for extra comfort, which I think is great. It also features a high frequency massage system as it's epilating for extra comfort.
Yes it is uncomfortable (polite for "it hurts"), but over time as your skin adapts to the process that will go away. If you haven't epilated before or haven't for a while then you may experience redness, this is perfectly normal and will go away quickly. I think it's best to epilate at night and then you have no worries about the redness being gone by morning. I have to say I've never gotten into a regular routine with an epilator to be able to prove conclusive long term benefits and have only used Braun devices so have nothing to compare it to, but then everyone is different, your hair is different, your pain threshold is different, so it's all subjective really.
 
I think the addition of the exfoliation brush is a super idea. I really love it. The 10,000 bristles moving at 3000 micro-vibrations per minute make it four times more effective than applying a scrub by hand and offers similar results to professional exfoliation. It works brilliantly alongside the epilator to reduce the risk of ingrown hairs. You really are getting two beauty appliances in one.
Overall the whole device is simple to use with clear instructions. It's easy to clean and charge and with repeated use over time will hopefully provide visible and long-lasting results.  I hope you enjoy the video, thumbs up and all that!