FOTD 22/10/10

Here's today's FOTD:

• Foundation Primer by Sephora
• No 7 Intelligent Colour foundation in Medium
• Dusting of Benefit Hoola bronzer
• ELF blush in Tickled Pink
• Nouba Dubble Bubble e/s in 23 (silver / blue shimmer duo)
• MAC e/s in Contrast on upper and lower lash line
• Nouba Rainbow eyeliner in 27
• YSL Faux Cils mascara in Noir
• MAC lipliner in Magenta
• MAC lipstick in Up The Amp

Hope everyone has exciting weekends planned?  We're not up to much, we're trying to save up for our Center Parcs holiday at the beginning of December however I do fancy getting all wrapped up and going for a walk around the local country park and then coming home for hot chocolate and marshmallows n Sunday :)

And the winner is....

Can you see that?  No?

Well, the winner of my Nouba giveaway is Leanne OCD!  Well done Leanne and thank you all for your lovely feedback.  An email is winging its way to you now Leanne.

Hello to my new followers too!  I'll do another giveaway in the near future so stay tuned :)

FOTD 03/10/10

Fin's had a good couple of days behaviour-wise so he and my Husband ventured off to see the Thomas movie this weekend, leaving me to have a couple of hours browsing the shops.  I didn 't buy much but did have my eyebrows threaded in Debenhams for the first time and the result is a much more defined shape than is usually achieved by wax at my local salon.  Threading is the way forward for me now!  Plus, as a bonus, my eyes didn't water half as much as they usually do with wax so I didn't have to face the Sunday shopping crowds with panda eyes post-treatment!

So, here's today's FOTD (prior to eyebrow tidy-up!)

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  Lioele BB cream as foundation
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  Couleur Caramel Rosy Beige Blush Powder dusted over as bronzer
• 
  
  MAC blush in Dame
• 
  
  MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot used all over eye as primer and high-light
• 
  
  MAC Idol Eyes e/s all over socket
• 
  
  MAC Contrast blended in from outer socket
• 
  
  Body Shop Kohl in Brilliant Blue on lashline
• 
  
  YSL Faux Cilis in Black
• 
  
  Nouba lipstick in 176
• 
  
  Couleur Caramel Pearly Pink Lip Gloss lightly swiped over the top
• Benefit Bluffdust to finish

Hope you're all having a good weekend!  Don't forget to enter my Nouba giveaway - ends on Saturday :)





'Welcome to my Blog' Giveaway!

Ok, I'm going to let you all know about one of my favourite cosmetics brands, a hidden gem if you like!

Nouba is an Italian cosmetics brand who produce sleek, high quality, well pigmented colours that aren't tested on animals.  I have not been disappointed with any of the products I have, from eye shadows to lip glosses to liners.  The one thing they all have in common is their longevity, I have never had a lip gloss outside of the Nouba range that is still present after 6 hours!

I've built up quite a collection over the past couple of years after a friend recommended the brand to me but it's something that I rarely hear about on beauty blogs.

I love the Quads - quite Chanel-esque don't you think?

I've bought Nouba from Be Beautiful Boutique and there are often some good deals to be had from Amazon

Onto the giveaway...

I thought long and hard when placing an order for the products I am offering.  I've taken account of the specific products I love and also the fact that we are moving into Autumn when making the colour choices.

Here's what you could win: (please excuse the shoddy photos)

• Lipstick Classic in #55 - I'd describe this as russet.  Not too overpowering but a great, easy to wear shade that's just a bit more interesting than a neutral lip
• Single Eyeshadow in #30 - Taupe shimmer.  Blends well and lasts for ages!
• Single Eyeshadow in #18 - Rust shimmer
• Rainbow Eyeliner in #11 - Chocolate brown.  Quite precise, easy to apply and with all Nouba products - will last the day!
• Rainbow Eyeliner in #56 - Bronze glitter.  Gives a solid line with a bit of sparkle.  I have loads of these eyeliners and they're great for adding a bit of glitter to an eye without going overboard and looking like a Christmas tree!

The rules...

• The giveaway is open to anyone, worldwide but you must be a follower.
• For 1 entry, please comment on this post and offer me some feedback on my blog.  It's early days but I'd like to know what you want to see more of / less of or if you have any tips about how I can improve as I'm still very much a beginner!
• For an additional entry, post about this giveaway on your blog or add me to your blog roll and post a link to show me.
• The giveaway will close at 11pm (GMT) on Saturday 9th October so 10 whole days to post your comments :)
• The winner will be contacted by email on Sunday 10th October so please ensure you include your email address.
• If I have no response to the email within 3 days, I will offer the prize to someone else.
• The winner will be drawn at random.
• All products are new and unused and have been purchased by me specifically for this blog giveaway.

I hope you like my choices!  I love these kind of colours in Autumn, specifically this season when camel and khaki are everywhere, fashion-wise.  Hopefully, the winner will also become a Nouba fan, just like me :)

Wishlist!

I love looking at other peoples' wishlists for inspiration so here's mine.  Some of these are more within reach than others whilst some are and always will be pipe dreams!

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  Nude Topshop pumps

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  Topshop mirror earrings

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  Essie Sew Psyched and Sexy Divde (Thanks to LeanneOCD for the rec!)

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  Next cream lace dress

• Mulberry Sparkle Tweed Alex (definite pipe dream!)

• Whimsical Wren Moon Fairy necklace

Nouba Lipstick in no.12

• French Connection Voulez Vous skirt

Phew!

Hopefully, at least a couple of these will become a reality once payday arrives.

Thanks for looking x

New perfume plus my first FOTD / NOTD

If there's one thing that excites me on a similar kind of level to nail polish, it's perfume.

I feel naked if I'm not wearing it and could easily waste an hour in Boots oohing and aahing over the latest releases.

I don't have a 'type' but tend to go for pretty bottles or perfumes that have had a lot of hype (yes I am a sheep, baa!)  Marc Jacobs' Lola fits both of those criteria perfectly, however my latest perfume doesn't.

It's this:

There was a sample towelette in this month's glamour and I was instantly hooked.  I'm rubbish at explaining scents so I'll leave it to the experts:

Calvin Klein Beauty evokes the ultimate power of femininity and sophistication, while capturing the spirit of a woman who is beautiful from the inside out, with an aura that radiates

The feminine, sophisticated fragrance opens with top notes of Ambrette Seeds, middle notes of Jasmine and dries down to base notes of Cedarwood.

For me, CK beauty bridges the gap effortlessly between contemporary and sophisticated.  It's potent without being headache-inducing and longevity is good.  There's a hint of floral and an underlying burst of freshness.  However... the bottle!  Thank you to Glamour for introducing this fragrance to me as I can honestly imagine me re-purchasing this over a long period of time, but had I have been browsing the perfume aisles, I would have skipped straight past it.  I want a bottle of perfume to look good on my dressing table, like MJ Lola where the packaging has proven to be equally as exciting as the scent. 

Aesthetically,  CK Beauty is snoresville! 

Thankfully, the scent more than makes up for it and I imagine it will be a favourite for a long time to come.  I got mine from Boots for £34 for 30ml.

Anyhoo, here's my first FOTD.

The lips were doing the talking today!

• 
  
  MAC Mineralize Satinfinish foundation in NW20
• 
  
  Benefit Bluffdust
• 
  
  Benefit Hoola
• 
  
  MAC Powder Blush in Dame
• 
  
  Urban Decay Primer Potion
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  UD e/s in Virgin on the brow bone
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  UD e/s in Naked all over the lid
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  UD e/s in Toasted on the inner socket and blended outwards
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  UD 24/7 eyeliner in Whiskey on the upper lid and waterline
• 
  
  YSL Faux Cills Mascara
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  No 7 Lipliner in Nude
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  Nouba Lipstick in 183
• 
  
  Chanel Briliant Levres Lip Gloss in 68 

And NOTD: OPI - Meet me on the Starferry

Thanks for reading!