Illamasqua Sculpting Duo

I have had a little bit of a splurge this month... It's been make up, make up, make up, dress... And no, none of those were Christmas presents they were all for me :-/ Oops! 

That being said, within the array of products I have purchased, some of them are now some of my favourite things to use on a daily basis, with this little treasure being one of them. 

I have been loosely trying to acheive the whole contoured look for over a year now  but never found the right colour blusher to sit with my skin tone. (Previously I was using a Mac matte blusher in Harmony and Gingerly for when I had some tannage going on) 

What this delicious little product does is that it makes the whole contouring this easy, and gives you the cheekbones you've always desired a la Kim K! And whether you like the girl or not, her make up always looks flawless. 

The two colours that you get in the palette are a soft brown - Heliopolis and a champagne gold - Lumos. 

Heliopolis is the perfect brown shade for us pale ladies which does not look in any way orange! Always a plus :-) the other benefit is that you can apply this colour with as much intensity as you like to suit your skin tone or the type of look you are trying to acheive.

For the day I use my sculpting duo with an angled blusher brush for a soft contour but I have been using my Illamasqua blush up brush (pictured below £28.50) for a more intense evening look. 

The Heliopolis shade can also be used as a bronzer, which I love because I hate that most bronzers are glittery or orange which is why Hoola by Benefit has always been a firm favourite of mine. 

Lumos is highly pigmented but does not look overly glittery on the skin - perfect combination in my opinion. 

The product comes in the usual Illamasqua black gloss square (I'm finding myself flicking through eyeshadow quads and powder foundations in my collection to find the correct one) it also comes with a mirror so is perfect for on the go. 

Retailing at £26 it's not cheap however, very little of the product is required to create the desired look so you will get your money's worth and your cheekbones will have never looked better! 

Rhian Xx

Sleek Brow Kit Review

Here is a guest blog post courtesy of the beautiful Miss Jody Watts

I have been following 'prettygreeneyes' for some time now and stumbled across the blog about the new Tesco beauty department and decided to see what the fuss was about. 

I was very impressed! I gravitated straight towards the 'Sleek' brand which I have never heard of before. The display was impeccable and the product packaging was really attractive (not to mention the prices). 

I usually use Benefit 'Primpcess' to fill my eyebrows in but I understand this has now been discontinued. I wasn't even looking to replace my current method (I've not run out just yet) but I was intrigued by 'Sleek'. 

Now onto the Product.

Sleek Brown Kit comes in two shades, dark and light and comes in a cute square compact case with a mirror attached (perfect for on the go touch ups) 
Within the case there is a small blending brush, an angled brush and a small tweezers. On the back of the packaging there are clear instructions on how to use the product (perfect if you are new to eyebrow makeup) 
The product itself includes pigmented wax to define and powder to blend. 
 
 
The wax is a really good consistency, it is thin enough to glide on with ease but thick enough to make an impact. I found that the more you put on, the darker the look so you are best off putting it on thin and adding more if necessary. The angled brush is very effective for creating the desired shape but can be a little fiddley as it is so small. The powder goes on evenly and blends well with the wax. The powder is considerably lighter than the wax which compliments the contours of the brow. 
All in all I am extremely happy with the overall finish. It was a quick and easy application and I will definitely be using this in the future. The only drawback would be the length of the brushes but At £8.49 I really can't complain and it didn't effect the overall finished look! 

Definitely worth a try!! 

9/10 

Thanks Jod! Looks fab!! And for £8.49 it looks very similar to the Benefit BrowZings for less than half the price. 

Ultimate Supermarket Beauty by TESCO

We've all been there... Wandering around a supermarket to pick up the odd bit of make up because it's convenient. 

I don't know about you but as someone who gets happiness out of make up shopping and trying products out I find the whole prospect of supermarket make up some what soul destroying, and not because of the product. Some supermarket own brand product is great! But it just never feels like I'm getting a treat. 

Until now... My local Tesco (Talbot Green) has had a complete make over (excuse the pun) on ots entire health and beauty department and I have to say. It's FABULOUS! 

Now before you get too excited let me manage your expectations. You are not going to see your favourite department store brands in Tesco, but the layout is exciting and bright... Gone are the usual racked units all the same with boring branding. Tesco have upped their game entirely while still understanding the market that they are in. The brands that they have in branch are pitched at the right level to the usual supermarket shopper, however it's colourful and enticing and there are also beauty advisors on hand to help out! 

Some of the brands now available are; 

Barry M

Fake Bake

Sleek 

In addition to the classics;

Max Factor

Maybelline 

Collection

Lorèal

Bourjois

Sally Hansen 

But this is no ordinary run of the mill Boots rip off beauty hall. Oh no! This beauty hall comes complete with beauticians and manicurists - no appointment required. 

The brow and nail bar is named Beauty by Regis and you can have everything from threading to tints and false lashes applied. The nail bar also offers manicures using OPI colours and gel polishes. 

Pricing is extremely competitive with treatments from £5. 

The Brow and Nail bar is running opening promotions until November 30th which include;

3 for 2 Threading Services

£10 OPI Gel Colour

Opening times of the bar are; 

Monday - Saturday 10am-8pm

Sunday 10am-4pm

Well done Tesco! I'm impressed. 

There's a couple of quick snaps below but be sure to check it out for yourselves. 

Rhian Xx

Illamasqua Empower Palette

I've had this palette for quite a while now... Yet I've hardly used it. 

As far as Illamasqua eye palettes go, I have two. This one and my favourite eyeshadow quad of all time the Compliment Palette - 4 shades which perfectly suit my green eyes. 

Back to the Empower Palette. 

The four shades you get are;

Blink - an ultra natural matte shade, great for contouring the eye to create depth. 

Synth - a highly pigmented pink, ideal for highlighting the brow bone. 

Slick - a liquid metal shadow in charcoal grey. 

Fervent - a blue/brown shade with a reddish undertone. 

     

Each of the shades are excellent in their own right and mix well with other Illamasqua colours. 

As you would expect the colours are long wearing and easily blendable. 

It's also easy to mix these shades with each other to create other striking colours. 

I don't wear this palette as often as the colours aren't as natural as those in the compliment palette but I have had a little play around today and I'm happy with the results. Teamed with a little slick of black eyeliner to finish it off. 

The palette retails for £34. 

The products used in this image are as follows;

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Illamasqua Empower Palette (all colours used)

Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner

Benefit They're Real Mascara 

My lashes are Eylure fine to full individual lashes which have been on for 5 days so you will need to excuse them slightly. 

Rhian Xx