Review and FOTD- MUA Glitter Ball Eyeshadow palette

Something has been playing on my mind for a while now. At the risk of being ostracised from the makeup blogger community, I’ve got to admit it. I’m not a huge fan of the MUA palettes. I love a lot of the singles and I agree that the palettes are cheap as chips but while everyone else was gushing about how marvellous these were, I was decidedly less impressed.  I bought Glitter Ball a few months ago, so I’ve given it a good go.

I can see lots of good with the Glitter Ball palette, apart from the low price of £4 for 12 shadows. The colour family is good; all the shades can be worn together and they are all very wearable. It’s a great mix of neutral with bright. The packaging is not bad; it’s nicely compact and sturdy enough to carry around. I love the concept of the mix of glittery shades. There are a few colours that I think are amazing. However, there are more than a few negatives.

Mini Haul- Boots No7, 17 and Benefit

I’ve not bought much makeup recently. Christmas is coming and my family are demanding presents. Selfish! These are the few bits and pieces I’ve picked up since my last haul.

Boots No7 Stay Perfect Nail Varnishes in Violetta and Oyster

Oyster and Violetta

Now I know I said after my last nail haul that wasn’t going to buy any more nail varnishes… But I lied. I had Boots £5 vouchers burning a hole in my pocket. These shades are Oyster and Violetta. As with all No7 Stay Perfect polishes, they are easy to apply and last reasonably well on me with OPI Rapidry. Violetta covers in only two coats and is a dark blue/purple cream; this used to be a Speed Dry shade and have zero lasting power but they've improved it. Oyster takes three and is a neutral pink with a little shimmer. They aren’t worth £7 but definitely worth using your £5 vouchers on.

17 Wild Metallic Eyes Cream Eye Shadow in Wild Nude

17 Wild Nude

Review- Max Factor Ageless Elixir

Let me begin by giving you a disclaimer; I did not buy this- I was sent it by Super Savvy Me for the purposes of trial and marketing. The fact that I have received this for free has not influenced my opinion at all.

Max Factor describes Ageless Elixir as a 2 in 1 foundation and serum, with the aim of protecting the skin from aging. It contains SPF15 which they claim will reduce melanin exposure thus reducing further age spots and wrinkles caused by UV damage. Max Factor also claims that this helps care for your skin with anti-oxidants and moisturisers. The foundation is supposed to help even the skin tone without clogging in fine lines and wrinkles and diffusing their appearance with light reflecting particles.

FOTD and Review- Sleek Oh So Special Palette

Shades L to R from top: Bow, Organza, Ribbon, Gift Basket, Glitz, Celebrate, Pamper, Gateau, The Mail, Boxed, Wrapped Up, Noir

I’ve bought a few of the new Sleek palettes in the past week. I managed to get hold of one of the last Oh So Special palettes from the website. There are loads of swatches out there, so I’m not going to pollute Google images with my inferior swatch photography. I’m just going to tell you what I think. 

NOTD and Review- Pink and orange with 17 Crackle Top Coat

Natural Light

 A few months ago I promised Eyelining Obsessions (check her page- she’s one of my favourite beauty bloggers) that I would show how I use Boots 17 crackle polish. My nails are a mess at the moment due to cutting down conifers and digging up weeds but here you go, pink and orange with gold crackly divide.

Natural Light

 I got Max Factor Nailfinity Disco Pink a few years ago as a GWP and I love it. It’s a creamy hot pink and it lasts for ages on fingers and toes. It applies without streaking or drag and is opaque within 2 coats on a normal nail. Using it this way, it covers over the orange in a single coat. I heartily recommend buying it.

Natural Light

I bought the orange Mememe Laura polish from Poundland. You’ve got to love those Famous Brands bags although I feel a bit of a cheapskate rifling through the rickety and dishevelled displays. Mememe’s Laura isn’t available anymore, as the brand has recently gone through a rebranding. This is a bright tangerine orange cream, very vibrant. I can’t say I’m overly impressed beyond loving the colour. It stains, even with a basecoat. It also chips and peels within 24 hours. However, the colour is lovely and it perfectly complements the hot pink. I hope the Mememe rebranding has including improving their polishes.

Flash

 17 Nail Xtras Crackle Polish is a gorgeous colour- a pale cool toned shimmery champagne gold. However, that is where the good stops. For a start, it doesn’t crackle as much as other brands and tends to obscure the base colour. It seems to cling to the wide brush so it’s hard to get a thin coat. Because of this it tends to wrinkle when the top coat is applied. I can only get it to work as a colour partition as the amount it crackles matters less and it doesn’t seem to wrinkle with a small amount on the nail. I much prefer the MUA Nail Quake and the W7 crackle polishes but it looks very pretty here. If you are having trouble finding ways to use your crackle polishes, try it this way!

 

Max Factor Nailfinity Disco Pink costs from £2 if you shop around.

Mememe Laura costs £1 from Poundland (if you can bear to hunt through plastic packets)

17 Nail Xtras Crackle costs £3.99 from Boots

Nail Decorations cost £1 from Poundland