What's In My Handbag

Want a peek to see what's inside?

I'm not really a "bag" person per se, but for some reason or another I do seem to have accumulated quite a few down through the years so I'm forever chopping and changing bags (yeah, I've done the whole going out thing only to realise I've left my wallet in my "other" bag before too, eeek!) but here's a lil snapshot of what I've been carrying around with me lately.

Inside:

Nook Simple Touch Glowlight - this goes everywhere with me! I love being able to catch up on a good book whilst on the go. For anyone that's interested I'm currently reading Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey.

What should be in the photo but isn't: Samsung Galaxy S3 - again, this goes everywhere with me and it's not in the photo because it was taking the photos at the time :)

BRTC Jasmine Water BB Cream - good for dry skin and paler skintypes - handy for on the go as application is a cinch and it gives a nice dewy, medium coverage finish.

Boots No. 7 Dry Skin Rescue - comes in useful when you've got an annoying dry or flaky patch, this usually sorts it out in a jiffy.

Illamasqua Powder Foundation in 230 - I recently picked this up in one of their sales. It's a foundation for darker skin tones but I bought it with the intention of using it as a powder contour shade for my pale NC15 skin and it's absolutely perfect for the job!

ARTDECO Bronzing Glow Blusher in "Sundance" from their Tribal Sunset Collection - REVIEW

Gorgeous complementing shades of pinks, corals and bronzes - 

perfect for those with a porcelain complexion to give a radiant, sun 

kissed  glow. Buttery soft and richly pigmented - I love this!

Catrice Lipstick in Color Bomb from their Revoltaire Collection

This is one of my most favourite lipsticks EVER! A gorgeous coral matte shade. 

MAC Lipstick in Rebel

A lovely wine shade for evenings and just an all round really wearable and flattering plum shade for all skintones

Illamasqua Brow Cake in Thunder

Catrice Liquid Liner from the Spectaculart Collection

Super fine point on this makes cat eye flicks an effortless task

GOSH Velvet Touch Lip Primer
Perfect primer to use as a base before any lip products - it really does make your lips feel velvety smooth! It's also great to use on it's own to condition your lips throughout the day.

Collection Cosmetics Killer Curves Mascara - REVIEW

A decent mascara that does what it's supposed to without costing the Earth, what's not to like?

And finally a few brushes. I normally just bring the bare basics when it comes to brushes so here's three of my every day staples:

Sedona Lace FB 07 from their Vortex Set

E.L.F Mineral Powder Brush

The small size of this brush makes it ideal as a contour brush

Benefit Hard Angle Liner

I use this for filling in my brows, with gel liners and if I'm really stuck, as a lip brush when on the go - and it works a treat for all three tasks!

And that's it!

Thanks for looking, as always,

Friday Fragrance: Elizabeth Arden Untold & GWP

After Makeup, my second passion is most definitely perfume. I spend far too much on the stuff and have too many bottles that I'll probably never end up finishing up, so I really shouldn't have splashed out on yet another fragrance but I couldn't possibly resist when a lovely sales assistant aroused my olfactory senses with a splash of the latest launch by Elizabeth Arden, Untold.

Mini Haul: Estee Lauder Modern Muse & GWP

Whilst makeup is and always will be my first love, a close second is my fondness (well, obsession more like, but let's not get into that just now or we could be here all day...) for perfume.

So of course when I heard that Modern Muse was going to be Estee Lauders biggest fragrance release in 10 years since Beyond Paradise, well I just had to go and pick up a bottle. It would be rude not to. Right?

ARTDECO Bronzing Collection for Summer - Tribal Sunset

It's only March but as soon as I received a sample of the latest collection from ARTDECO - Tribal Sunset, I was immediately whisked away to thoughts of exotic and far flung destinations. This really did put a smile on my face and bring a little ray of sunshine into an otherwise dull and dreary day.

I'm a huge fan of ARTDECO - highly pigmented and hard workings formulas manufactured in Germany and available at very reasonable pricing over here. I've always been a fan of the brand and often felt that they're highly under-rated and don't get as much love as they should on these shores.

They've been playing a blinder recently with their fantastic collaborations with Dita Von Teese and more recently their gorgeous Butterfly Dreams release. Tribal Sunset is yet again upping the game and I am completely head over heels for it.

Frontcover Cosmetics

I remember my first ever purchase from Frontcover - it was back in 2008 heading towards Christmas, and the brand had just launched the Rainbow Eyes palette in Boots. I was instantly taken in by the "Makeup Book" look of the palette - a lovely big, glossy cardboard palette which opened like a book and could be placed on a shelf amongst your beauty books - I was instantly hooked!

ARTDECO Golden Vintage Look

Hi all!

Following on from my previous post yesterday on the amazing new ARTDECO Golden Vintage collection by Dita Von Teese which launches in December - which you can read here; I've been itching to try out the products to create a Dita-esque inspired look with an added touch of sparkle for that festive look.

The products above which I used in the look are:

ARTDECO Golden Vintage Lipstick in Muse Red (15) - RRP €19.95

ARTDECO Golden Vintage Eyelights - RRP €31.25

ARTDECO Crystal lined lashes in No. 43 - RRP €18.45

Other products used:

ARTDECO Clear Brow Gel

MAC Blacktrack Gel Liner in Black

Sugarpill Chromalust in Goldilux on the lower lid

I applied the lightest shade from the Golden Vintage Eyelights palette all over the lid.

Next I applied the dusky pink shade all over the lid.

Then I used the darkest taupe shade on the "Outer V" and along the crease line, making sure to blend upwards into the lightest shade.

As I was going to be using the gorgeous crystal lashes and given the shine and sparkle of the Golden Vintage eyeshadows, I thought that a metallic gold would really make this look "pop" so I applied Sugarpills Goldilux underneath my lower lashline.

Lastly I finished off with the ARTDECO Golden Vintage lipstick in Red Muse (15)

Just one coat was needed to get full coverage!

It is a classic red shade which is creamy and matte and I've found to be extremely long lasting without drying out your lips.

Thanks for looking! :)

If you have any questions or comments, please just let me know.

ARTDECO - Dita Von Teese Golden Vintage Collection

Although I'm very excited to be posting about the latest and dare I say, greatest, collection from Dita Von Teese by ARTDECO, I'm also a little sad as unfortunately this is, as far as I'm aware, the last Dita Von Teese collection in collaboration with ARTDECO and it also happens to be the very last release from ARTDECO for 2012. On a happier note however, I think that in this instance they have definitely saved the best for last and the Golden Vintage Collection is truly stunning.

The Golden Vintage is the third and final installment of Dita Von Teese collection and it's an absolute cracker!

You can read about some previous ARTDECO Dita Von Teese collections I wrote about here and here.

The 'Golden Vintage' Collection is inspired by the Golden Age of 1940's Hollywood. The 'Golden Vintage' Collection represents feminine elegance and luxury all displayed in timeless chic gold packaging. This Collection is limited edition and the last collaboration available from Dita Von Teese.

The Dita Von Teese 'Golden Vintage' Collection will be available in select Debenhams stores and select salons nationwide from December 2012. So not long to wait now til these beauties hit the shelves. I can see these making ideal stocking fillers or they would make an amazing gift if you were to buy a set to make up a beauty look for one of your makeup junkie friends!

The first thing that caught my eye with this collection is the packaging. Luxurious, elegant, sleek, expensive, chic. The products feature very expensive looking and feeling gold packaging which is etched with Dita Von Teese's initials along with feather filigree - very reminiscent of burlesque - think feather boas and martini glass routines. ;)

Golden Vintage Lip Lacquers 

No.28 Chinois 

No.70 Joliesse

RRP

19.95 Euro

Golden Vintage Lash Designer

A Beautiful mascara to add depth and drama 

No.1 Raven

RRP 19.25 Euro

DVT Beauty Marks

Various sizes and are fully adhesive

RRP 5.15 Euro

Luscious Lashes

Crystal lined full lash set  No.43

Crystal lined half lash set No 48

Full lash set without crystals No.26

RRP 18.45 Euro

Golden Vintage Lipsticks 

Available in three shades

No.15 Muse red 

No.28 Maitresse 

No.36 Valentina 

RRP 19.95 Euro

Mini Nail Lacquers 

No.10 Gilded Moon -  a gorgeous metallic gold 

No.12 Diamond Moon -  a chrome molten silver

RRP 6.45 Euro

Full Size Nail Lacquers

No.156 Narcisse Noir - a rich berry colour 

No.169 Sleight of Hand - a timeless rouge

RRP 11.05 Euro

Golden Vintage Eyelights

Three sparkling and glimmering shades in muted mink, pink and taupe.

Ménage à Trois

Golden Vintage Blusher

Enravish

A two-tone blush in delicate shades of pink

RRP

31.55

I was lucky enough to receive some select items from the collection ahead of it's launch to try out and share with you. I almost squealed with delight when I saw the package, it REALLY made my day! :D

First up is the Lipstick in No. 15 - Muse Red

The packaging on this is simply divine - chic, elegant and timeless. This is one lipstick you won't be ashamed of taking out of your handbag to reapply your lipstick with during the day.

As with the rest of this collection, it features the sumptuous gold packaging and is etched with Dita's initials along with the feather filigree.

Another nice feature is the ARTDECO stamped on the base of the lipstick itself.

The lipstick applies like a dream - super pigmented, rich and creamy, it glides on and you can get opaque coverage in just one swatch.

Muse Red is a classic red shade. It's not a blue based red, in fact I would almost say there's a hint or coral red in there, it's an extremely flattering and universal red shade however and should suit just about most skintones.

Please excuse the cheesy grin!

In the below swatch I had been trialing out the lipstick for 6 hours - and it's still holding up pretty great! No noticeable fading or bleeding 6 hours later... it's long lasting without being drying.

Next up are a set of 3/4 length lashes adorned with beautiful diamantes.

This set is No. 43

The set also includes some eyelash adhesive.

I'm a huge fan of false lashes and these are just stunning! They're densely packed and feature a very flattering criss-cross design and alternate with longer, fuller lashes in between. The diamantes are gorgeous and I can't wait to try these out - I can definitely see these getting a lot of use for the Christmas party season and New Year!

And last, but most certainly not least...

Included in the collection is a trio of eyeshadows - very aptly named Ménage à trois ;)

Again, the packaging of this product is simply lush - elegant, reflective gold, it feels sturdy and has real substance to it.

As you can see it also features a really good quality and decent mirror - handy for those touch ups on the go.

The shadows - I fell in love with them the moment I saw them. So sparkly, they feature finely milled micro-particles of silver and gold which really catch the light and add another dimension.

The three colours are a lovely, light mink shade which would be beautiful as a highlight, a dusky rose colour with silver flecks and a cool taupe with gold shimmer.

They're muted colours which complement each other nicely. I'm really looking forward to trying these out and doing a Dita inspired look with them.

I just love the embossing on the shadows itself, again with Dita's initials and that beautiful feather filigree makes an appearance again which matches the etching on the lid.

Swatches

It was very hard to capture the intense shine and sparkle on camera, but the above swatch should give you an idea of the luminosity these shadows produce.

Here the shadows are blended out, so you can see that they are quite understated and elegant whilst still giving a lovely hint of subtle sparkle.

I'm absolutely thrilled to bits with this collection and I can't wait for the official release so I can pick up a few more bits and pieces - seeing as it's Limited Edition, once they're gone, they're gone. :(

I'm going to attempt to do a Dita inspired look tomorrow using all of the products featured which I'll be posting tomorrow, so until then, take care!

If you have any comments about the collection I'd love to hear them!

Are you as excited about this collection as I am? I can definitely see this being a winning collection for Christmas seeing as the MAC Christmas collection has left me positively underwhelmed.