Limecrime Venus 2 Palette

Yup, here we are again with another Limecrime item, this was purchased way back in December along with the original palette but it's taken me this long to get around to reviewing it and actually having a mess around with some of the colours. I'm currently head over heels in love with the pigmentation and colour of the original Venus palette, and would honestly be happy if it was the only palette I used for the rest of my life, so many grungey opportunities in the making.

This palette definitely has more of a range of colours going through it, although Fly, Mustard, Jam and Mud definitely wouldn't look too out of place if placed next to their predecessors. Ther other four colours have gone for a more nature theme, with Pigeon and Boot being really glittery and multi-faceted, especially Pigeon, which is completely gorgeous. Marsh is also a lovely pale green, the likes of which I've not really seen around too much, and lastly Filter is a sky blue, which is perhaps the one that seems the most out of place, and also was one of the most disappointing to swatch when I was trying to take pictures.

Now after several months of use of this palette I've got some firm favourites, and I would whole heartedly recommend buying both this and the original Venus palette as they are worth the money and are oh-so-versatile to create different looks. This palette is also perfect for festivals as the mirror is decent sized and the packaging is good enough that you know your pans are not about to be destroyed during packing (a constant worry of mine). 

Marsh and Mustard are probably my two favourite high impact shades as both can be worn on their own to quite a stunning effect but all of the shadows, even the weaker glitter colours of Boot and Pigeon are beautiful, they just require a bit more of an application to really stick.

Thanks for reading,

Megan x

LimeCrime - The Venus Palette

Firstly, lemme apologise for these not so perfectly shot photos, as I definitely thought the light was better but alas, the Cornish winter light has not been kind so this was the best I could do! Secondly, I feel a bit apprehensive showing this brand as there is such controversy surrounding them, especially at the beginning of 2015. However, given the amount of time that had passed since then, and how cheap the palettes were in the bundle (also free UK shipping) I thought, why not? So yes, welcome to the first of 3 posts I thought I'd write about what I got, the next two will be up in the next couple of days when I get around to swatching the other products. Oh, to not be a lazy student.

Firstly, let's talk packaging and how I found LimeCrime to be in general. Honestly, I found them to be completely fine. I checked out with PayPal just to be safe, and that was that, the parcel then took about a week to get here, which was incredibly impressive considering it was ordered over the Christmas period and it had to get over the Atlantic ocean to get here first. It also arrived in the cutest little boxes which you can see in the background a few of the photos. This one I've actually turned inside too as when you get it it's all white, then you open it and suddenly it's this beautiful flowery inside. It then came wrapped in yellow tissue paper and bubble wrap so I was very impressed by this. Both palettes were also wrapped up separately to each other too. I definitely feel like a lot of effort when in this to ensure it arrived to me safely, which I was really impressed with.

Now onto the actual product, and everything about it. Firstly, let me just put it right out there now that the packaging is absolutely gorgeous. The case is almost like a hard back book covering, and even has LimeCrime written on the spine so you could even store it that way and it would look nice. I was also really surprised by how robust it feels too, and obviously do I need to talk about the design on the front? Clearly it is totally beautiful. The mirror inside is also of useful size for once too, which is great. I mean, I never really use the inside mirrors but I appreciate the thought of it being a useable size.

The eye shadows themselves are nicely spaced out, meaning I don't end up with tonnes of one colour mixed in with another (does this happen to anyone else??). The names are all written in gold writing too, which matches the cover which is a nice touch. The colours are all pretty decently pigmented, and there is a nice variation within the colours while still sticking to the 'grunge' theme of the palette. The darker shades like Venus and Muse are probably my favourites, as the lighter matte shades were just a little bit harder to get the colour pay off I wanted but as you can see in the picture below it's still pretty impressive! The two shimmer shades are also really interesting, as they are quite multi-faceted and photos just couldn't really do them justice.

All things considered I am really happy that I impulsed bought this the way I did, as I don't really have any other shades like this at all and I'm super excited to give some of these a go when I finally emerge from my house and start using make up again (ahahaha....).

Shades from left to right -Venus, Shell, Aura, Creation, Icon, Rebirth, Divine and Muse

Keep a look out for some more posts on what I got from LimeCrime and maybe a make up using the palettes too. Thanks for reading.

Megan

MAC - Lightscapades

Before I bough this highlighter, I'd heard quite a lot about it. My friend Sam and I had discussed it and how beautiful it was and how pretty it looked and also how it nearly always seemed to be out of stock for this very reason. So when I went into the MAC store at Covent Garden and tentatively asked if they had it in stock, the shop assistant gave a  very worried look, and said that it was unlikely but she would have a look for me. And look at that, I struck lucky and she came back with a handful that were lurking in the store room! In the pot it looks, to me, a bit like what the surface of a gas planet looks like. There's so many colours in there, from gold, to bronze to a silvery lilac colour, so it looks a bit daunting to first put on. Lightscapade is a mineralize skinfinish highlighter, so it's all shimmery and very light on the skin.

I just use this as a normal highlighter, and blend on on the top of my cheeks, inner corner of the eyes and down my nose etc, but what I really like about this is that it's subtle enough that it just blends really easily and adds an extra dimension to everything. There's no real specific colour, it's almost like a shimmer, when I place my finger to get a denser colour it's almost opalescent with all the colours that are visible! On the skin it comes out with the tiniest hint of palest pink, with lots of subtle sparkles that really just lift and highlight so well without being like you're covered in glitter. Honestly, what more could you want from a highlighter! This also means I think it would suit absolutely everybody, whether you're wearing it quite subtly for the highlight or quite heavily for the glow that it can give!

If sparkles really aren't your style, then I've also heard that Soft & Gentle from the same collection is also a brilliant highlighter for all skin tones too and it's definitely something that I would love to look into when I have more spending money! (sigh)

Thanks for reading!

Megan x

LUSH - Mint Julips Lip Scrub

Not only does this wonderful lip scrub have a rhyme on it's lid, it's also super tasty and literally does smell exactly like it says on the tin. I looooooove Lush's sugar scrubs and I bought my first one back when I was 16, and I believe that was the more chocolate based one. They also have a bubbegum flavour and when I popped in the other day I'm pretty sure I spotted a cheeky limited edition rose version too.

These are lovely little pots of goodness that kinda, exfoliate the dry and unwanted skin on lips to make a lovely smooth lip which is oh so desirable at this time of year. I always have really chapped lips in winter, so these are a massive help for me, and a necessity before applying lipstick as it creates a smooth finish and makes your lips look so much nicer!

Benefit Christmas Blush & Bronze Palette

From top to bottom: Sugarbomb (all colours mixed), Balabamba, Dandelion, Rockateur, Coralista and Hoola

Hello again!

This is a palette i got a few weeks ago for my birthday, but it's part Benefit's Christmas release of palettes and oh my gosh it is the coolest palette ever!! It contains six different shades, five of which are blushers and one is Hoola, their best selling bronzer. On the top photo going clockwise, we have Dandelion, Balabamba, Sugarbomb, Rockateur, Coralista and finally Hoola. This also comes with a small sample of Watts Up their creamy highlighter that I love putting on my brow bone for that little extra glimmer with an almost pinkish hue, which suits my complexion quite well but is also blendable enough that it could become quite sheer if only a little was used!

All the blushes are quite sheer, but they're buildable and they're all shades that suit pretty much everyone and the variability in this palette means that there's definitely something for every single look that you want! I love mixing some Rockateur up with some red lipstick for a night out, or only lightly adding some dandelion to perk up my cheeks when it's cold out!

My love for benefit is pretty much unconditional, I love their packaging, all the staff are always so personable and friendly, and they just seem to have a laid back atmosphere that brands like MAC don't quite seem to have! There's no faffing around with this palette, the packaging is cute, but the pans of make up are as big as the real deal so you get your moneys worth and about three times more, as this palette was only £30!

Buy it for someone you love at christmas, or just go straight ahead and buy it for yourself, but if you are looking for a place to head into the foray of blushers, this is the place to start yourself off!

(I have a feeling this palette may only be available from their Carnaby Street flagship store, as I've never seen it available anywhere else, so if so, why not plan that London shopping trip now, eh?)

Autumnal Smoky Eye with Barry M Natural Glow Palette 2

Hello everyone!

Today I messed around a bit with some of my more recent palette acquisitions, which includes Barry M's Natural Glow Palette 2 (basically a Naked dupe). For general face stuff, I used Garnier's BB cream in light and a bit of Benefit's Rockateur blusher (which I have in the nicest palette, stay tuned for a post on that soon!). As I primer I used Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original, and as a concealer for under my eyes I used Clinique's airbrush concealer in 01 Fair. These two products are definitely top on my would recommend list, I use them nearly every single day, and they definitely do the job so well.

Now, for the eyeshadow application I use Real Techniques brushes from their Eye set, using the base brush and the deluxe crease brush.

The Barry M Natural Glow Palette 2

For the base of this look, I used the third colour from the left, a sort of dark pink, nearly purple colour. I put this all over my lid, and I really like the coverage of this palette, as all the colours that I have used so far have been nearly exact to how they look in the palette. For the second shade, I used the fifth shade from the left, and just blended that in, which created such a lovely plum colour that I would never normally wear but this was too lovely not to try it out.

To finish it off I used some Rimmel Glam Eyes mascara, used my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette for my brows and used Soap & Glory's Sexy Motherpucker gloss stick in Rapunzel (these are kind of like Clinique's chubby sticks, super cool).

This is such a good palette, and it's really good value for money. That primer that comes with it isn't excellent, and it comes with those annoying sponge applicators, but use this with a good brush and a high standard primer and the colours look beautiful. The mixture between matte and shimmery is also good, and even with the shimmers they aren't too overpowering. Definitely worth investing in!

 Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the post!

Megan x