Iconemesis Phone Case Review

Hey guys.

I know I haven't posted since before christmas but I have been crazy busy with exams - which finished on Monday :)

Anyway, I am going to try and get back into a regular posting schedule but it will probably only be once a week as I need to focus on school this year. 

Today I have a mini haul / review for you.

I recently purchased the Fifi Lapin 'Cupcake' case from Iconemesis.

Right, can we just admire the beauty of this case? How fricking adorable can a phone case get -- A bunny and a pink cupcake with a cherry on top :) 

The colouring is a bit off in the photo - it is a beautiful pale lilac in real life. 

I love switching my phone cases regularly to match the season or just how I feel at the time..

Another thing I love about this phone case is that the design carries on around the sides. I really don't like it when a phone case is pretty on the back and the sides are just blank..

Iconemesis is an online shop which makes phone cases to fit the iPhone 3 and 4. They aim to 'give

you the option of expressing your individuality through your case.' 

They definitely fulfil this aim as they have around 40 different designs which cater to everyone's style.

Personally, I don't think this is the last time I'll be purchasing cases from them. They are really good quality and I feel like the case is really protecting my phone, unlike some cases I've had before..

If and when I purchase more cases, I absolutely love this Cats case, Bushy Baby case and the Fifi Lapin Teacup case.

iPhone 3 cases are £19.99 and iPhone 4 cases are £24.99.

The lovely people from iconemesis have offered my readers 25% off all cases on their website until the 7th February at 11.59pm using the discount code: 

PFM25

Thanks for reading,

Pin It

YSL Volupté Sheer Candy Lipstick - Number 4

Sorry for no post yesterday, my Dad's family are down so I went for lunch with them and I just didn't have any time to write something up for you all!! 

Anyway, today I am doing a review on the YSL Sheer Candy Lipstick in #4. Hope you enjoy! 

YSL Sheer Candy Lipstick 'Number 4' - £23.50 from Debenhams 

Pros:

- Hydrating. This lipstick feels like a lipbalm on the lips.  

- Packaging. The tube is silver with the Yves Saint Laurent logo in gold. It also has the colour of the lipstick on the outside which is also a nice feature. The tube feels heavy and luxurious. I am in love with the packaging!

- Scent/Taste. All YSL lip products smell amazing. They smell like watermelons and kiwi and lovely fruits. They also taste like they smell!

- Colour range. There are 10 shades which range from nude to berry. A colour to suit everyone!

Cons:

- Price. At £23.50 a tube, it is extremely expensive. However, I have had mine for a while and I don't feel like I have used much at all (I use it at least once a week, reapplying throughout the day.. You also have to take into account the packaging which is very snazzy and luxurious. You wouldn't mind pulling this out of your handbag thats for sure!!

- Staying power. I feel like I have to reapply this more than other lipsticks. That could be because they taste amazing though - I can't help but lick them off!

Overall:

Packaging - 5/5

Luxury - That's all I'm saying.

Product - 4/5

Easy to use. Good colour selection. Awesome scent.

Price - 2/5

I feel like there must be better sheer lipsticks out there for a much cheaper price. However, the packaging is so amazing. It depends if you want to pay that sort of money..

Thanks for reading.

Pin It

MAC Paint Pot Collection - Review and Swatches

So, as you can see, I have 9 of MAC's Paint Pots. These can be purchased for £14.50 each from MAC

Top row (Left to right) - Let's Skate!, Bare Study, Morning Frost

Middle row (Left to Right) - Nubile, Treasure Hunt, Rubenesque

Bottom row (Left to right) - Genuine Treasure, Idyllic, For Effect

MAC Let's Skate! - Glitter & Ice Collection

Light pink with gold shimmer. Doesn't look overly shimmery in the pot, but when swatched, it is very shimmery!

MAC Bare Study - Permanent Collection 

Cool toned beige. This is probably my favourite of my collection because as a primer it makes your eyes look much brighter. I also love using it as an inner corner and brow bone highlight, it's beautiful!

MAC Nubile - Posh Paradise Collection

Creamy peachy beige. This is a bit darker and pinker than my skin tone but I love using it as a base for my eyeshadow. This would be perfect for someone with a slightly darker skin tone.

MAC Morning Frost - Glitter & Ice Collection

Frosty taupe brown. I love using this on it's own if I'm feeling lazy! It makes your eyes look brighter and it is so simple to just sweep on in the morning!!

MAC Treasure Hunt - Posh Paradise Collection

Cool toned yellow gold. This is great as a base for golden shadow!

MAC Rubenesque - Permanent Collection

I love using this in the Summer. I will be taking it to America in October when I go on holiday. It is perfect for sweeping over the lid when you don't want much makeup on at all! Perfect summer colour.

MAC Genuine Treasure - Posh Paradise Collection

Glittery antique gold/bronze. Due to the glitter, the texture is pretty rough and gritty. It is also not as pigmented as any of my other Paint Pots. For those reasons, I don't use this very much..

MAC Idyllic - Posh Paradise Collection

Frosted burgundy red. I really like this colour but have not used it much at all. I think I will use it more when Autumn and Winter come around because it's definitely not a Spring or Summer colour. Very pretty though!!

MAC For Effect - Glitter & Ice Collection

Charcoal grey/black with silver shimmer. This is gorgeous as a base for a smokey eye. I will be using this more in Autumn and Winter because again, I don't think this is a very summery colour. 

Pros:

- Versatile. These can be used as a primer for your eyeshadow or can be used as a cream eyeshadow on their own or for a complete eye look.

- Quality. The MAC paint pots are extremely pigmented and creamy (with the exception of Genuine Treasure). They are also easy to work with as they are easily blend able and don't crease on me.

- Value. A 5g pot will last you a long time. I got my first Paint Pot (Bare Study) around 9 months ago and I have barely made a dent in it!

- Packaging. The glass pot makes the product feel very luxurious. However, if you don't like sticking (dirty) fingers in a pot, then maybe you could check out MAC's Paints which also retail for £14.50. If anyone has tried MAC Paints then comment below because I'd love to try one!!

Cons:

- Price. At £14.50 a pot, they are very expensive. However, they last a long time so you have to consider that too.

- Colour range. The colours in the permanent collection are all neutral. MAC release Paint Pots occasionally in limited edition collections but not that often.

Overall:

Packaging - 4/5

I love the luxurious feel of the product. Very impressive!

Product - 5/5

Long wearing. Easy to use. Pigmented. Creamy. Versatile. Awesome.

Price - 3/5

For how long they last, I can just about justify the price. For a cheaper alternative you could try Maybelline's Colour Tattoos which are £4.99

Tell me what you think of MAC Paint Pots in the comments!

Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It

Make Up Academy 'Immaculate Collection Palette' Review and Swatches

MUA 'Immaculate Collection Palette' - £8.00 from MUA Store

As you can see, this palette comes with 24 shades. There are 4 matte shades in this palette - Shade 4, Shade 13, Shade 16 and Shade 20.

My favourites out of these 12 shades are definitely Shade 2, Shade 7 and Shade 11. Shade 4, the matte black is fairly pigmented - I had to layer a few layers to get it that opaque though. 

My favourites out of these shades are Shade 14, Shade 15, Shade 18 and Shade 21. 

Shade 15 and 24 are both really pretty and unique. Shade 15 is a green/gold duo chrome and Shade 24 is a pink/purple duo chrome colour. 

Shade 16, a matte grey is fairly pigmented and would make a good crease / blending colour. 

However, the other two mattes in the palette - Shade 20 (matte white) and Shade 23 (matte brown) - are not pigmented at all. You have to really dig your finger in to get some colour!! 

All of the shimmery shades have good pigmentation and texture and the matte shades are questionable to say the least. 

Pros:

- Price. At £8 for 24 eyeshadows (around 33p per eyeshadow) - most with great pigmentation and texture- you can't really go wrong. 

- Quality. 20 of the eyeshadows have amazing pigmentation and texture!

- Colour selection. There is a great range of colours in this palette. You get everything from neutrals to brights!!

Cons: 

- Packaging. I don't know if its just mine or what but I struggle to open this palette. The opening is very stiff and I feel like I'm going to break it every time I open it - However, I haven't yet!!

- Mattes. Bad pigmentation for the most part.

Overall:

Packaging: 3/5

I like the clear window that allows you to see all the colours; however, the palette is fairly difficult to open. Perhaps to secure..

Product: 4/5

The majority of the shades have amazing pigmentation and texture. However, MUA need to work on the formulation of their matte shades.

Price: 5/5

£8 for 24 shadows (33p a shadow). Amazing!!!

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this palette!

Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It

Urban Decay 'Naked Palette' - Review and Swatches

Urban Decay 'Naked Palette' - £36 from House of Fraser

The palette came with a mini 'Eyeshadow Primer Potion' (in the old packaging) and a 'Good Karma Shadow Brush'. I really like this brush as the bristles are really soft and it is good for packing shadow onto the lid. I also love the Primer Potion. I bought a full size of this in the new packaging and I prefer that packaging but they both work!

The palette consists of 12 warm neutral shades. There are 2 matte shades in the palette.

Left to Right - Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked.

Virgin - Frosty creamy beige - This makes a beautiful inner corner colour. Not as harsh as white.

Sin - Metallic light pink - More cool than the other shadows.

Naked - Matte light nude/brown - for darker skin tones, this would be a good brow bone highlight.

Sidecar - Metallic pink toned brown - This is one of my favourite colours to sweep over the lid.

Buck - Matte darker brown, slightly red toned - Nice, natural crease colour.

Half Baked - Metallic yellow gold - This is super buttery and applies like a dream.

Left to Right - Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal.

Smog - Metallic deeper golden bronze - This looks so pretty in the outer corner.

Darkhorse - Frosty dark brown with gold sheen - Great outer corner colour or liner colour.

Toasted - Frosty medium pinky brown - This is another one of my favourites. So pretty!

Hustle - Metallic purple toned brown - Great crease colour


Here come the swatches!!

Top Row: Virgin, Sin, Naked (matte)
2nd Row: Sidecar, Buck (matte), Half Baked
3rd Row: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted
Bottom Row: Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Pros:
- Quality. The shadows are all really pigmented and buttery. They blend really well too!!
-Wearability. These shadows are all really wearable. I don't use Creep or Gunmetal as much as the other colours but that's just personal preference.
- Packaging. Magnetic flip-up lid with a mirror. Sturdy - Good for travelling.

Cons:
- Price. £36 is quite a lot to pay for some eyeshadow. However, that makes it £3 per shadow so it is good value for money if you look at it like that.

Overall
Packaging: 5/5
Feels really sturdy but is still easy to open.

Product: 5/5
I seem to reach for this all the time when applying eyeshadow. The shade selection is amazing. Perfect for everyday and special occasions. Shadows are good quality. Blend easily and are the perfect texture.

Price: 3/5
It is a lot of money for a one off purchase but if you think about it, it is really good value for money. It is just a lot of money to be paying at one time...


Tell me what you think of the Naked Palette in the comments!
Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It

Revlon Kissable Balm Stains - Review

As you can see, I have three of Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I have the colours 'Honey', 'Lovesick' and 'Romantic'. These are available from Boots and Superdrug at the introductory price of£5.99 (they will be £7.99 so go and check these out while they are £2 off!)

Pros:

- Purse friendly (they are considerably cheaper than Clinique Chubby Sticks)

- Packaging is good, they twist up rather than needing to be sharpened!

- Moisturising. I don't need to apply a lipbalm beforehand.

- Long lasting. The staying power is as a stain should be.

Cons:

- Scent. I personally am not keen on the minty scent however know others who are so it is just a matter of personal preference.

- The moisturising feeling tends to only last around 30 minutes so you need to keep reapplying for the moisturising feeling. 

- The colour selection wasn't amazing. The only other one I may pick up is 'Crush' which would be lovely in Autumn and Winter.

Overall:

Packaging - 5/5

Wouldn't mind pulling one of these out of my handbag!!

Product - 4/5 

For a 'balm' they could be a bit more moisturising.

Price - 4/5

At £5.99 they are very good value for money, don't know if I consider £7.99 too steep though.

Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It

Burt's Bees Lip Balm - Review

This is definitely the best, most effective lip balm I have ever used! 

I have two different types of this balm. I have it in Honey and in Mango.

Burt's Bees 'Lip Balm with Mango Butter' - Buy from Boots for £3.69

Burt's Bees 'Honey Lip Balm' - Buy from Boots for £3.69

I honestly don't have a preference out of these two. They are both equally moisturising and nourishing! I think the Mango one glides onto the lips more smoothly and is more glossy in general. The Honey one goes onto the lips smoothly as well but I feel like it looks more matte on the lips which I like because it looks really natural. Since I have used these lip balms, my lips have felt super smooth and have not chapped at all like they normally tend to occasionally. 

These lip balms also last a long time. I have been using them for about 2 months and they have barely gone down at all.

I really want to buy the pomegranate and acai lip balms too but I am going to wait until I have used these for a bit longer because I don't really need 4 lip balms right now do I?

I also want to try Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms, so leave a comment if you've tried them!!

Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It

Current Morning Face Routine - Skincare and Foundation

I have been using this morning skincare routine for around 3 months now and I like it, it's easy, however, I can't help but feel that it could be better. If anybody has any suggestions for oily/ combination skin, please comment!

Cleanser - Clinique's 'Liquid Facial Soap - Mild' - Buy here

This cleanser is actually the dry skin formula because I had a sample of this one and really liked it as it didn't dry out my skin like some cleansers do. I have acne prone skin so some cleansers tend to dry out any acne I have and makes it more noticeable and more difficult to cover up. 

Anyway, this cleanser lathers really nicely and is fragrance-free which is something I like in a cleanser. Also, the 200ml bottle has lasted me a very long time which makes the £14.00 price tag seem reasonable. However, it is a very gentle cleanser and I'm not sure it really does anything to combat my acne. I think I may try a different cleanser when I run out of this one. 

Eye Cream - Clinique 'All About Eyes' - buy here

After cleansing my face, I apply my eye cream by lightly tapping it under my eyes. This pot is actually a sample that I got in one of Clinique's gift offers that they frequently do - you had to buy two products, one being skincare, in order to get a free gift. This mini pot is 7ml so contains half the product of a full size tub which retails for £23.00 at Boots. This tub has lasted me for about 2 months and I am only around a third of the way through it. I have definitely noticed a difference when using it as it definitely reduces puffiness and minimises dark circles. Overall, a great product and I think I will repurchase it, although I do really want to try Bobbi Brown's 'Extra Repair Eye Cream' but it is £40 so I don't know if it's worth it. Leave a comment if you have tried it!!

Moisturiser - Kiehl's 'Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15' - buy here

After I apply my eye cream, I pat this moisturiser all over my face. It sinks in to my skin really nicely and quickly however does leave my face feeling kind of greasy but it doesn't bother me that much because I usually just apply makeup afterwards so it doesn't stay that way for long. I love that this has SPF15 in it for the Summer and I honestly don't mind the slight sunscreen scent of this product although I know some people can't stand that smell so I guess it's a matter of personal preference.. 

 Setting Spray / Primer - Urban Decay 'De Slick' - buy here

I use this religiously every morning that I apply makeup (because we all know sometimes you just can't be bothered!!) about 10 minutes after applying moisturiser and before applying my foundation or BB cream. I then use it after my foundation (but before my powder) as well to help me stay vaguely shine free and help my foundation last longer. I think this product is well worth the money because a bottle does last a really long time and also, the cooling effect of the spray really wakes you up in the morning!

Foundation - Revlon 'Colorstay' - buy here

Because it's Summer (not that you'd know it in the UK) I haven't really been wanting to wear a full coverage foundation every day so have generally been reaching for one of the two BB creams below. However, I have been wearing my trusty colorstay foundation when I want something that covers my blemishes fully or when I know I will be out all day and want my foundation to stay put! I do really like this foundation however I find that you have to blend it fairly quickly because it does dry pretty fast.. I have been through about 3 bottles of this foundation though and will definitely be repurchasing it when mine runs out. I apply this with my Sigma 'Flat Top Kabuki' brush which can be purchased from here.

BB Cream #1 - No7's 'Beautiful Skin BB Cream' - Buy here

I got this BB Cream in 'Light' however although it blends out to be fairly sheer, I would definitely say that this would not suit very pale girls. This BB cream has a medium to thick consistency but in my opinion is a light to medium coverage product. Therefore I feel the need to use quite a lot of concealer to cover up blemishes and acne scarring and this makes it feel slightly more cakey and thick than I would like. I bought this with a No7 £5 off voucher so it came to £7.95. I don't think I would repurchase this at £12.95 however I would repurchase if I had another £5 off voucher as unlike Dr Jart's BB cream (below), this BB cream doesn't tend to be as drying on the skin and does have a really nice natural finish when applied with your fingers.

BB Cream #2 - Dr Jart's 'Regenerating Beauty Balm' - Buy here

As I said above, I thought this BB cream tended to dry out my skin slightly however not so much that I don't love this product. For a BB cream this product has amazing coverage. The cream is very thick however blends like a dream. I'd say this product could be either light, medium or heavy coverage depending on how it is applied. I find that the highest coverage is achieved when applied with your fingers. I also use concealer and powder over the top and find that coverage is enough for me. It also doesn't feel heavy on my skin at all but I do find that I tend to get a little shiny throughout the day so you do need to add powder to combat that. This product was very pricey at £21.00 however I think it was worth it because a little really does go a long way!

Concealer - MAC 'Studio Finish Concealer' - Buy here

This concealer is very creamy and blends very well. However, it does tend to look a little cakey and make my makeup feel more heavy. I really don't like that feeling and feel like there must be better concealers out there so I won't be repurchasing this. However, it does it's job for now and it does cover blemishes and dark circles fairly well but I don't think it works for me personally...

Powder #1 - Maybelline's 'Dream Matte Powder' - Buy here

I use this powder over the one below when I am paler or when I haven't applied fake tan as it is lighter than the MAC powder. I love this powder and feel like it completely keeps shine at bay! I apply it with the powder puff that it came with and then brush off any excess powder with my Sigma 'F30 - Large Powder Brush' which can be purchased from here and it works a dream!!!!! Seriously, go get some!

 Powder #2 - MAC 'Mineralise Skinfinish Natural' - Buy here

This powder is the one I use when I am tanned and honestly I would say save your money and just get the 'Dream Matte Powder'. I wish I had just got Maybelline's powder in a darker colour because I don't feel that this does as good a job at keeping me shine free.

I will be posting my current nighttime skincare routine soon so stay tuned for that and leave any suggestions for products you think I might like!

Thanks for reading. xoxo

Pin It