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Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts


Several weeks ago, Illamasqua had a huuuge sale on to celebrate Christmas and me being me just had to get involved. I went onto their website with the mindset that I'm 'just going to have a look' and 'maybe get one or two bits'... yet after several hours and over £100 later, I'm here writing about the things that accidentally 'fell' into my basket. Accidentally. Yep, accidentally...




I bought this as I thought it would make the perfect contouring powder. I've almost hit pan on the one I'm currently using and surprisingly I have no alternatives! It's slightly on the yellow-y side but I think it'll do the trick just fine.







Ahh eyeshadow palettes... my kryptonite. The one thing I just can't resist - even if I already have more than Boots themselves! This is a gorgeous palette with a fairly creamy texture, which surprised me but in a good way. It's not reaaally creamy - it kinda just feels like a wet powder, if that makes sense. 







As soon as I saw this back in October I fell in love. I wanted to buy it there and then but I was trying to be good with my money (that lasted long) so with a face full of mourning, I closed the window and stayed away from the website to avoid temptation. I'm glad I waited now as it was so much cheaper in the sale!






Pink eyeshadow is something I've really been enjoying experimenting with for quite some time now. I like to apply it in the centre of my lid, blending it out and then applying brown shadow in the crease. It looks natural but still girly, feminine and classic. So when I saw Dizzy in the sale, I couldn't not get it!







I'd been considering purchasing this for well over a year but because I'd never smelt it in person, I was put off. But when I saw how cheap it was to say it was a 75ml bottle - mixed with the rave reviews - I thought I'd take the plunge, and I must say, it smells amazing.







A few years back I got a white eyeliner pencil for my waterline as I knew that it helps make your eyes look bigger and brighter but because I have a blue sclera (the 'whites' of your eyes - I have brittle bones so mine are blue) it just looked odd against the contrast. Vow is more fleshy-toned so I thought it would be more effective - and natural - than my old white eyeliner.







Resist is very similar to one of my other Illamasqua lipsticks in Glissade - except this one is slightly lighter and is matte. Therefore, because it wasn't exactly the same AND because it was the perfect raspberry pink, I needed it. Don't judge me.






I'd been wanting this as soon as I saw it, but I had a gel eyeliner yeeears ago that went dry really fast, so it put me off buying any more. As for the brow gel, I was worried that it would make my eyebrows look unnatural, so I was put off buying any of that too. Despite this, my fears quickly dissipated after reading the rave reviews on the Illamasqua website. Customers were saying how amazing the products were and that the brow gel was a staple in their makeup bag, so obviously I had to jump on the bandwagon.
I wasn't too bothered about the Vintage Metallix, so it was more of a bonus for me. I love the pots that they come in as well, they look so sleek and classy! Not to mention, the matching rose-gold box is suuuper adorbs.







As you can see in the picture above, my eyeliner came covered in this weird white creamy stuff (take your heads out of the gutters, please) and I quickly tweeted the lovely social media team at Illamasqua, for them to tell me that I should e-mail them, which I did. To be perfectly honest - I was kinda pissed. Usually their deliveries come in flawless condition (I should know, I order from them often enough) but for some reason, during this sale period, they seem to be slacking as I wasn't the only one with a problem with one of my products. Many others opened their packages to find their Reflection Palette broken - and I'm pretty sure when they e-mailed Illamasqua they were faced with the same reply - send it back for a refund or exchange. When I read it I thought 'Right, okay, I'll just send it back and ask for an exchange. Simple!' Except, it wasn't simple. Now, if you haven't already noticed - I'm pretty lazy. I like things hassle free, especially when I'm not the one in the wrong. The paperwork that I had to fill out for the exchange was bordering on a joke. You'd think that I'd found a thumb in my can of Coke there was that much to fill out and do. So typically I left it for a few days, which turned into a few weeks, and a few days ago I thought 'Ahh screw it!' and I cleaned off the white stuff with hand sanitiser and then sharpened the pencil. I haven't tried it on my eyes yet but lets just hope I don't end up blind *knocks on wood*.


Now, despite my big old sigh over that order - it hasn't put me off ordering again. I got an e-mail last Thursday from them saying that more lines had been added to their sale, so obviously I had a look. Aaaand I may (or may not) have added three more lipsticks to my ever-so-vast collection...




The perfect nude. Something I've always been looking for, and to be honest aren't we all? This is why I ordered it - I had a feeling it could be The One. The verdict? It very well could be. I'm gonna have to see how it fares for a little bit longer, but for now I'm pretty chuffed with it! Ahh, it's so pretty!






"I don't have any pink lipsticks... Not any this exact shade anyway" is what I said to myself when I clicked 'Add to Basket'. Truth be told, I have a lot of pink lipsticks, the hefty majority being from Illamasqua. But this one is different - as unlike the others it's a dark, almost-but-not-quite vampy, raspberry pink. Honestly, I don't have a lipstick like this. 'It looks just like Resist!' I hear you cry - yeah it does but it's darker. So hush. I thought it was much brighter when I was ordering it, but to my surprise it wasn't. And I'm even more happy about it now as it brings the guilt levels down...







I wanted a mahogany lipstick for a while, so this was the perfect chance to get one! Although Autumn is over and Winter is coming to a close - I know it'll look great when September rears it's head again. When I tried Growl on for the first time, it's safe to say I fell in love. I can definitely see this shade quickly becoming one of my favourites. It's so gorgeous!


I'm really gonna have to put a serious spending ban in place as I've been wanting a Mini for years and if I'm not careful, I won't be able to afford one. So if you see me shopping, you have my full permission to remind me that I don't need that extra eyeshadow...or those 5 lipsticks in my basket. Okay?!


Did you order anything in the Illamasqua sale?

"I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being." - Abraham Lincoln
It wasn't until a few weeks ago when I was on holiday that I'd noticed that although my blog was a cruelty-free blog, I'd never written posts regarding companies and their animal testing policies. This is why I'm going to start writing up the e-mail responses I've been given by these companies, to help you know which ones are cruelty-free and which ones aren't. If anyone has any requests on companies that they'd like to know are cruelty-free or not, you can pop on over to my ask.fm account where I'd be happy to e-mail that company for you.

If you haven't noticed, there is a new addition to my navigation bar up above. The Cruelty-Free section of my blog is where you'll find all things to do with these e-mail responses. I'm also going to compile my very own Do and Don't Test lists from the responses I've received from these companies, to aid you in shopping the animal-friendly way.


the Katy Perry lashes are definitely my favourite lashes of all time - and not just 'cause they're hers!

First up is Eylure. I've always been a big fan of their eyelashes, and it wasn't until about a year ago that I realised that they could be tested on animals. I was pretty oblivious, to say the least. I scoured the internet, and nowhere could I find anything regarding their animal testing policy. I sent Eylure the usual questions (Do you test any of your products/ingredients on animals? Also, do you sell in China?' on the 17th August 2013, and Original Additions (creators of Eylure) responded two days later:


'Hello There,

Thank you very much for your e-mail.

Our products are not tested on animals. I am afraid we do not currently have a distributor in China.

I hope this information is useful to you.'


I'm pretty happy with the response. They got back to me quickly and answered all of my questions, and I'm so chuffed that they're cruelty-free! Now I can add them to my Don't Test list.


Eylure's website - http://www.eylure.com/

Original Additions website - http://www.originaladditions.co.uk/