3rd May, 2013
Today I have a review on a make-up palette by one of my all time favourite brands, Sleek MakeUP. It’s an affordable UK drugstore brand that is all about amazing pigmentation and intense colour. They are hands down the best make-up brand I’ve tried when it comes to eyeshadow pigmentation. Nothing beats them, especially for the price!
This is one of their limited edition i-Divine eyeshadow palettes, the Sleek MakeUP Sparkle 2 palette. It was launched for Christmas 2012 but you can still grab it at the awesome online cosmetics store, Licila.si. Make sure to check out their site as they have many other Sleek palettes and Sleek MakeUP products available! (I am totally eyeing up the pout paints and the new Showstoppers palette! 
)
These are the 12 shades that come in the Sleek MakeUP Sparkle 2 palette. From left to right: Chocolate Penny, Blue Spruce, Mulled Wine, Truffle, Mistletoe, Illusion, Festive, Gold Ribbon, Glitz & Glamour, Tinsel, Twinkle and Starry Night. All shades contain a lovely fine shimmer. It’s definitely a very festive palette!
These are all twelve shades up close. As you can see it’s a nice mix of shades. They’re all quite vampy shades, perfect for sultry smokey eye looks. Though you can definitely create a wearable everyday make-up look with it as well using the browns and grays. I love that there’s a very broad mix of shades but they still work really well together.
These are the swatches which I’ve made on my arm over an eyeshadow base. How crazy pigmented are these? I was honestly blown away. I think out of all my Sleek MakeUP palettes this is by far the most pigmented palette I own! Especially the top left shade, Chocolate Penny, is so intensely pigmented I was honestly gasping out of amazement.
Finally here’s the eyeshadow look I created using the Sleek MakeUP Sparkle 2 palette. I used Chocolate Penny across the inner half of the lid and blended Mulled Wine and Starry Night in the crease. I think this came out as a fairly wearable look but it’s still intense and smokey.
You can find this awesome Sleek MakeUP palette at Licila.si, as well as many other great Sleek Palettes. They’re €11.95 a piece which is a great price for 12 high-quality intense pigmented eyeshadows. If you’re not from Slovenia you can easily navigate the Licila.si site using Google Translate. Are you a fan of Sleek MakeUP like me? Which of their palettes (or other products) do you own? Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments!
9th April, 2013
I have a review on another MUA product today! This time one of their lovely make-up palettes which was provided by Maja, the owner of Licila.si. Ličila, which means “make-up” in Slovene, is a Slovenian online store that carries an amazing range of brands such as Barry M, Sleek, MUA, Urban Decay, and many more. You’ll find all the hottest make-up, nail polishes and tools at affordable prices. Make sure to check out their site if you live in Europe! If you’re not from Slovenia (like me!) you can easily navigate the site if you use Google Translate. And if you have any questions, simply drop the lovely Maja an e-mail, she’s the sweetest person ever!
On to the MUA palette! This is the new Undress Me Too palette that was recently released. It’s said to be a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. I can’t compare as I don’t own the Naked 2 palette but the swatches I’ve seen online say it all! This is a lovely budget alternative to the Naked 2 palette at a significantly lower cost. Dupes aside, this is a lovely neutral eyeshadow palette that is a must-have for any make-up lover on a budget.
There’s twelve shades in total in the MUA Undress Me Too palette. You’ll find nudes, coppers, medium and dark browns and a black. It features both matte and shimmery eyeshadows. It also comes with the standard dual-sided applicator. I really love the sleek white packaging MUA opted for with this palette. It looks really beautiful and stylish!
Top row from left to right: Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish, Dreamy
Bottom row from left to right: Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed, Corrupt
These are all twelve shades swatched on my arm over an eyeshadow base. Look at that pigmentation! It’s so amazingly pigmented. Especially the shade Devotion which had me gasping when I swatched it. It’s so lovely and creamy and applies like a dream. The matte shades are nicely pigmented too, though Naked was too close to my skintone to show up properly.
Finally a simple and neutral eyeshadow look I created using the MUA Undress Me Too palette. I started with my favourite eyeshadow base (Zoeva!) and I used the shade Shy as a highlight on the inner corner. Fiery and Devotion across the lid and a mix of Wink, Obsessed and Corrupt blended in the crease. On my lashes I used the Estee Lauder Sumptuous Waterproof Mascara.
The eyeshadow stayed put all day long so I have to say I was really impressed with this palette. The quality is flawless, and especially for it’s extremely affordable price tag. You can find it for €7.95 on the website Licila.si. Make sure to take a look at the other MUA palettes and at the other products Licila has to offer! For easy navigation, simply click on my Licila.si sidebar banner.
5th April, 2013
A few weeks (months?) ago I noticed MUA was having an amazing 50% off sale and free shipping deal for all their customers. They’re a very affordable UK make-up brand with awesome products. Their prices are already very low so with a 50% off deal you can imagine things went a little crazy during the sale! Their server couldn’t handle all the make-up addicts grabbing anything they could get their hands on. In the end I managed to grab all the items I wanted despite some issues with payment and shipping.
One of the items I was dying to get were the Lip Booms. Created in collaboration with singer Alexandra Burke, these Lip Booms are amazing double-sided matte lipsticks/glittery lipgloss. When deciding which shades I wanted, I came to the conclusion I simply wanted them all!
These are all 8 shades of Lip Booms. From left to right: OK.COM, OMG, Cheeky, Vibe, Doin’ Good, Bring It, It’s A Situation, LMK.
When you open up the ferrel it reveals the matte lipstick. On the opposite end you can screw it open to reveal the lipgloss with wand applicator. I really love the range of colours! Going from nudes to coral to reds. Every single shade is one I’d love to wear! Admittedly, the darkest one was a gamble, but it looks pretty amazing on the lips. Yay!
F.L.T.R: OK.COM, OMG, Cheeky, Vibe, Doin’ Good, Bring It, It’s A Situation, LMK.
These are all the lipsticks swatched on my arm. I added the lipgloss over the bottom half of each shade. As you can see the gloss is very glittery and shiny. It really plumps up the lips and makes them look nice and full! I hugely love matte finish lipsticks. They can be quite drying, however but I didn’t notice any major issues with these. They felt nice on the lips and the colour payoff was pretty great, as you can see!
You can find these Lip Booms on the MUA website for just £3 a piece. They’re also available at Superdrug in the UK. Have you tried MUA products? Which of these lipstick shades would you wear? Let me know in the comments!
27th March, 2013
Recently Estee Lauder launched their new Pure Colour Shadow Paints. These are amazing cream eyeshadows, silky smooth in texture and very longlasting. They promise 12 hour wear and a soft, pigmented and easy-to-use formula. I was lucky enough to try the Estee Lauder Shadow Paint in shade Cosmic. Let’s take a look!
I was really blown away by the shade Cosmic when I first saw it! It’s a stunning copper brown with a ton of shimmer and dimension to it. I love wearing warm coppery brown shades so this was simply perfect! Here’s a confession though… I have very little experience with cream eyeshadow, purely because I tend to avoid them. When I think of cream eyeshadow I think of creasing, patchiness and tricky application. So as you can imagine, I was really anxious to try the Estee Lauder Pure Color Shadow Paints. Would this product work for me?
Here’s the Estee Lauder Shadow Paint in Cosmic swatched on my hand. Doesn’t the shimmer look amazing? I love it!
I first applied it on my eyelids using my fingers, and found it slightly tricky to get a perfectly even application so I took out my concealer brush which gave me a much better result! It enabled me to apply the colour evenly on my lids and get an amazing opacity. Hey, this seems to be working!
Here’s the finished make up look I created with the Estee Lauder Shadow Paint! I applied Cosmic all across my lid and along the inner corner of my lower lashline. In my crease I blended a dark brown eyeshadow to give the look more drama. On my lashes I used the Estee Lauder Waterproof Mascara. My first real venture into cream eyeshadows seemed to be successful. I managed to create a nice make-up look without too much hassle. But now, when does it start creasing?
It didn’t! I was extremely impressed with the wear. I applied this in the morning at around 10AM and when I looked in the mirror at 9PM in the evening, my make-up was still flawless. There was a subtle fade but there was no creasing whatsoever and Cosmic had stayed in place perfectly. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I’m hugely impressed with the Estee Lauder cream eyeshadow. The colour is stunning and application and wear were really impressive.
You can find the Estee Lauder Shadow Paints at all stores that carry Estee Lauder. They are part of the permanent range so they are readily available. In Belgium the RRP is €24,83. Other shades include Pink Zinc, Sinister and Steel, a silver shade, a nude and a charcoal black. What’s your experience with cream eyeshadows? Let me know in the comments!
Connect with Estee Lauder on Facebook, Twitter, and make sure to check out their YouTube channel too!
27th February, 2013
Today’s post is dripping with colour! A few days ago I received these stunning Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop lashes in the mail. I’m sure you can see why these instantly put a smile to my face! How beautiful is the pop art packaging?! These are sure to brighten up your day.
Katy Perry released this in collaboration with Eylure. There’s four different wearable styles, three full lash strips and one set of individuals. Let’s take a look at the four different styles!
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Ching.
These are the green full lashes. Even though these are coloured lashes, they are bright without being over the top. They are extremely wearable, so don’t be shy! The green fibres are mixed with black which gives a really fun but subtle colour effect. All sets include a small tube of lash glue with an easy applicator.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Ching.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Ching.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Boom.
These are the blue full lash strips. Ka-Boom are the most colourful ones I think. The blue really pops! These are really stunning. I love how the coloured lashes and black ones form a wispy criss-cross pattern.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Boom.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Boom.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Pow.
These are the purple ones. I really love these! They’re probably my favourites, which is why I used them for a look at the bottom of this post. 
The shape of these lashes is so beautiful and flattering. They’re the same shape across all three full lash styles. They feel very soft to the touch and they flare out nicely.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Pow.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Pow.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Zaam.
This is the set of individuals. It features all three colours, green, blue and purple, which come in short and medium length. This set includes lash glue and a special remover. There’s no less than 52 individual lashes in total! You can choose individuals of each colour, or go for an ombre style. Awesome right?!
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Zaam.
Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Zaam.
A cute extra, all four sets come with a sticker!
This is me wearing the Eylure Katy Perry Color Pop lashes in Ka-Pow, the purple ones. Don’t they look amazing and full? I love them so much! I feel like false lashes can look a little overwhelming on me since I have hooded eyes and small lid space, but these looked really great! I did have to clip down the sides slightly as they were too wide but that’s normal with false lashes.
Here’s a close-up! I wish you could see the colour better, it was definitely more visible in person. If you look closely you should be able to spot the pretty purple flashes of colour! So gorgeous!
You can find Eylure lashes across the globe so make sure to check out their list of stockists to find out where they are sold near you. In Belgium you can find these in Di stores, they retail for €8.50. I highly recommend the Eylure lashes, they’re amazing quality! These Katy Perry Color Pop lashes are no different. They were comfortable to wear and the shape was so flattering and wearable. Definitely check them out!
Would you wear these? What did you think of the cute packaging? Let me know in the comments!
14th February, 2013
I’ve barely found the time to blog this week, I’ve just been so busy! However, I do have some pretty exciting posts to share on here soon, so make sure to watch this space. In the meantime, here’s a recap of a few things I shared on Instagram the past few weeks. There’s also a question for YOU at the bottom of this post. So make sure to leave me your feedback, I’d love to hear your suggestions!
Follow me on Instagram: veryemily.
Left: When I saw this heart at Action for under $2 I simply had to buy it. It was being sold as a display for greeting cards, but in my head I immediately saw my necklaces dangling from the beautiful little hearts. I’m so glad I picked this up! It’s definitely one of my new favourite items in my room. Score!
Right: It’s been a few years since I bought a new duvet cover and I figured it was time for a change. I’ve wanted a Union Jack duvet cover for a while and when I was googling I found that 3SUISSES had the perfect one. I picked this up during their sale, it came in at around $50 including the four pillow covers. I love how it has a different design on the inside!
On 28 January, I had the most epic nail mail day ever! One of my bestest friends Alex (aka Algae Veronica! Please check out her blog, she’s an amazing nail artist) absolutely spoiled me with the most amazing package filled with goodies. I wish I knew what I did to deserve such kindness! My new piCture pOlish shades for my weekly swatchathon also arrived that day. I was, and still am, overwhelmed with all the beautiful polishes I was blessed with that day!
On 1 February my boyfriend and I celebrated our four year anniversary. I’m so blessed to have such an amazing, supportive and awesome boyfriend. I wouldn’t know what to do without him!
MUA Cosmetics was having a sale on their website not too long ago. All of their products were 50% off, and they were having a free international shipping deal. Given their products are so cheap already, this definitely was too good to pass up! So these are the goodies I picked up during the sale. Would anyone like to see reviews on some of these items? Let me know in the comments!
Left: Last weekend I had a haul at Action and Kruidvat. Action is quickly becoming one of my favourite stores, it’s basically like a Poundland or a Dollar Store. Everything is so cheap and the items they sell are awesome! They have a lot of great make-up products and cosmetics too. As you can tell from the duplicates, these goodies are not all for me! I also picked up some items for a few dear friends of mine.
Right: This is the Essence Popul-Art blush from the Vintage District limited edition. It’s so beautiful! I almost don’t want to use it. The gold is an overspray so I haven’t touched it yet. The effect is too pretty to ruin!
Meet my first ever decoden iPhone case! I got it at Born Pretty Store, it comes in a set with a clear iPhone case, large decoden pieces, rhinestones and pearls, glue and a nifty pencil for picking up rhinestones. I also used some other rhinestones I had lying around. I definitely went a bit overboard with the bling. I love it so much though! Especially the little nail polish charm. It’s just the cutest!
Left: Behold my very own OPI Euro Centrale display! When I saw the first previews of Euro Centrale I knew I had to have the full collection. I’ve never bought a full collection before but I simply had to have it, the shades were SO me! My friend Alex was able to hook me up with this, so a huge thanks to her.
Right: A little sneaky peek of my three favourite shades from the Euro Centrale collection. But more on that in my swatch post which should be going up this week or early next week!
And finally, here’s the new Born Pretty Store glitter polishes! I will be swatching these on my blog very soon! But this is where you come in… As they are mostly layering glitters I’ve been debating which colours I should layer them over. As there’s so many, I will only be able to show one layering combination. Either I can use the same colour for all glitters (white or black?) or I can pick a shade that I think works best with each shade. Please let me know what you’d prefer and what you would like to see me do with these!
Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for watching and reading!
26th January, 2013
So I’m back today with another blogpost, this time I’m reviewing products from online store KKCenterHK. They have an amazing range of nail decals but I’m personally a HUGE fan of their make-up! I was incredibly impressed with their single eyeshadows from the brand Cuicu and today I’m reviewing loose eyeshadow pigments from the brand Love Alpha.
Love Alpha is a brand that’s completely new to me, but I instantly fell in love with the packaging when I saw it on the site. There’s 18 different shades in total, I picked three shades that caught my attention.
From left to right: Light baby blue No. 09, Dark Navy Blue No. 08, Gold No. 13.
Check out this pigmentation! WOW! I swatched these on my hand, without eyeshadow base. I was completely blown away when I first swatched these. They are incredibly opaque and easy to use. A little product goes a long way!
Here’s an eyeshadow look I created using just the three Love Alpha pigments. I used the gold on the inner corner, the light blue on the lid and the navy blue in the crease. Capturing eyeshadow looks is so tricky! It’s really hard to translate to pictures, I thought this looked much nicer in person but I hope the picture still shows how beautiful these pigments are.
You can find Love Alpha eyeshadow pigments on the KKCenterHK website, not only are they amazing quality but they’re only $3.94 a piece. They hold 8 grams of product so you are getting a great deal! If you order with KKCenterHK, make sure to save some money by using my 5% discount code: “VERYEMILY”.
Do you like using loose eyeshadow pigments? Or do you prefer regular eyeshadows? Let me know in the comments!
16th January, 2013
I’m sharing a blogpost about Rituals today! More specifically, two items from their cosmetics range. Both these products are from their new collection, Metropolitan Boulevard, the winter 2012/2013 line.
This collection was inspired by New York, Tokyo and Rio. The shades are very vampy and sophisticated, perfect for a night out on the town! The two items I received are a baked eyeshadow palette and a nail varnish. Let’s take a look!
Rituals – Winter Glamour Baked Eyeshadow (€20,50)
First up is the baked eyeshadow palette! There’s two baked eyeshadow palettes in this collection in total, this one is called Winter Glamour. It features three shades, a soft brown, a peachy pink and a shimmery olive green. The eyeshadows are very pigmented and so easy to use. They’re really great quality! I was highly impressed. The label at the back tells me these are mineral eyeshadows, enriched with gemstones and formulated without parabens or perfume.
Here’s a simple eyeshadow look I created with the palette. I used the peachy colour in the inner corner and blended the olive green and brown shade in the crease. This palette is great for wearable every day looks but it also translates to more dramatic make-up for evening wear. It’s so versatile! I think the olive green shade really brings out the subtle green tones in my brown eyes.
Rituals – Sparkling Coral (€10,00)
Finally I have swatches of one of the nail polishes in the Metropolitan Boulevard collection. This is Rituals Sparkling Coral. It looks brighter in my swatch than in person, though it depends on the light setting. I would describe it as a burnt orange, leaning towards red. It almost has a vintage feel to it and is a little murky and dusty in person. I used just two coats for the swatch above! It’s incredibly opaque and glides on the nail. It has subtle gold shimmer that really emphasizes the luxurious feel of the shade.
Rituals is a high-quality Dutch brand, it’s vegan-friendly and luxurious but still affordable. This was my first experience with their cosmetics range and I have to say I was hugely impressed. The quality is just as impressive as their other products (such as the skin care range and shower products, which I love!). You can find Rituals in many European countries, make sure to check out their website to find out where this amazing brand is sold near you.
Have you used any Rituals products? Let me know in the comments! Also keep your eyes out for a post on some of their skincare products which I’ll be sharing soon.
5th January, 2013
A while ago I shared a review on the Technic Fashionista palette from Blush Cosmetics which was a great cheap alternative to the Naked palette. Today I am sharing a palette by Blush Cosmetics‘ own brand, Blush Professional!
The palette I am showing you is the 10 Color Blush Palette. When it comes to blusher I love grabbing towards a palette with multiple shades. You can instantly find the colour you need to match with the rest of your make-up. This is great for beginning make-up artists too!
These are the ten shades that come in the palette. As you can see it’s a nice mix of pinks, corals and contouring shades. I really love the middle shade in the bottom row and the pink in the bottom left corner. Some of these contain subtle shimmer but they all have a matte finish.
Close-up of the shades! The pans are quite large, they’re about 1,5 inches/4cm in diameter. The packaging is very sleek and sturdy.
As you can see the shades are nicely pigmented but not over-pigmented. I am definitely not a pro when it comes to applying blusher, so I like that these are not too strong so you don’t have the chance of applying too much colour. There’s four shades that don’t contain any of the subtle shimmer and that’s the first, third, fourth and fifth colour of the second row.
Overall I was really happy with this 10 Colour Blush Palette, it offers a really nice range of shades, mixing corals and pinks. And most importantly, Blush Cosmetics offers this at a great price too! For just £9.99 these ten beautiful blusher shades could be yours! Blush Cosmetics are based in the UK so it’s a great store to shop at for all the EU-based girls. If you are interested in palettes like this one make sure to check out the Blush Professional website.
Do you like to wear blusher? What types of shades do you usually grab for? Make sure to let me know in the comments!
5th December, 2012
I have another review for you today featuring a product from KKCenterHK. This time an eyebrow product by the brand Solone. Let’s take a look!
The Solone eyebrow product is dual sided and comes with a pencil and an eyebrow gel. It came in super cute cardboard packaging! I was drawn to this product because I love finding new and better ways to maintain and define my brows. Eyebrows frame your face and can really make a difference to your look. I’m a big fan of defined and fuller brows, they make your face look younger and fresher! I will never leave my house without shaping my brows.
On the left is the brow gel and on the right the pencil. The formula of the gel is waterproof and comes with 3.5g of product. The pencil twists out and holds 0.25g of product.
The shade I received is called Deep Brown. The gel matched my hair colour pretty well but the shade of the pencil was a little off. It’s a little ashy, almost greenish. In any case not a perfect match for me, sadly. I also haven’t found a way to easily sharpen the pencil so I found that a little inconvenient.
On the left are my natural brows and on the right I filled them in with the Solone eyebrow product. I think the picture shows that the pencil is a little too yellow for me. Too bad because the pencil is very nice! I found it easy to fill in my brows. I’m not a huge fan of the gel as it feels a little heavy on the brows. It holds your brows in place but you can feel it sitting there and I found that a little unpleasant.
Overall not a huge win for me. I enjoyed the product but the colour didn’t quite match me. You can find this Solone eyebrow product at KKCenterHK. Make sure to check out their site as they carry a ton of other great products like water decals, nail polish, eyelashes and more! If you order with them don’t forget to use my 10% coupon code VERYEMILY!
How do you shape or maintain your brows? Let me know in the comments!
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