Saturday, 20 April 2013

April's UK Birchbox

April's UK Birchbox!

I hardly ever get my Birchbox first so I'm putting it straight on the internet! This is the third box since Joliebox/ Boudoir Prive changed to Birchbox. It's not a bad box, but it's not a great box either. 




So what did I get?
 The best item in the box is undoubtably the lipstick pencil. I've not used Mirenesse before so it's a first for me. It's quite a nice colour too, although nothing 'special'. I have to admit I won't be using it on the cheeks, but then I never have really enjoyed the whole two products in one thing. If it works on the cheeks it's too drying for the lips... if it works on the lips it's shiny on the cheeks..








So what did you get?
And what did you think of it? I'm now going to hunt the internet for spoilers and see if I got the 'good' box or the 'bad' box.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Viva La Diva? Viva La Summer Staple!

'Absolutely Fabulous Make Up' declares the Viva La Diva strapline, and I can't disagree with them, especially looking at the array of funky colours and on trend collections. I got this lovely little palette from a cosmetics swap I recently did with a wonderful Swedish person called Mimi. She sent me some stunning things, including Swedish favourites such as Idun and Bjork and Berries. Within the parcel was this fabulous little kit.

The eyeshadows as you see are mostly shimmery, and are a very well chosen selection of warm nudes but that suit the cooler skintones. Perfect for me! They apply well, and have good colour payoff but without fall out. I can get some good strong shades from them without a primer or with, but I can also blend lightly where needed. I have been using these shadows for about a month now, but chatting to Mimi I realised... another surprise! There is a drawer underneath that opens up to display powder and blush!


Now I think you will agree that the blush here works perfectly with the shadows for a nice summery look! Because I'm fairly pale at the moment, the powder makes a fabulous contour shade for me too. Double bonus! And this is what it looks like on:





 I can see this becoming a firm favourite of mine over the summer. The packaging is also a wonderful example of Scandinavian efficiency and is more than sturdy enough to throw in the bottom of my bag for using my tube travel time effectively.