Medusa's Shadow Brush Review

I received this brush from Medusa's make-up a few weeks ago now but I have only just gotten around to trying it and honestly, I really love it! It picks up eye-shadow fantastically, and when I say this, I mean it does it with so much ease. I have models own brushes and they set me back around £30 but this brush which costs £5.94 ($10), works 100 times better. 

I used this brush with my Bourjois trio eye-shadow set and used the lightest colour which my models own brush has so much difficulty getting any of the product on (which I thought was due to the eye-shadow) but this brush, picks up a hell of a lot of it and in all honesty, I am really really impressed. The bristles in the brush are really soft against the skin and the brush is really gorgeous. It's bright pink with Medusa's make-up printed on one side and on the other side is the type of brush, in this case, shadow. I am completely blown over by this brush! 

I would definitely recommend this brush if you use highly pigmented eye-shadows or baked as it picks up a lot of product. The bristles are really delicate on the skin and the brush feels very high quality. It's a very well priced as well but if you live outside the US, be aware that the shipping costs $23.75 (£14.11) which is a lot of money (nearly triple the price of the brush!), but, if you are buying multiple items, I would say it is definitely worth it. I'd give it 4.5/5 due to the cost of shipping being so damn high!

TBT (Throw back thursday) - Little bit late

This is a music related post as well as a TBT! This is about the single most amazing day in my life (and after 20 years of being on this planet, let me tell you, it was a very incredible day).

I am a huge fan of fall out boy, more than I could even begin to explain. I have listened to most of their albums, learnt every song off by heart and been very giddy each time one of their songs has been played on a night out of drinking and dancing. After 7 years of being a fan, I finally got to see them live for the 1st time. I saw them in Birmingham (England) on March 16th with The Pretty Reckless and New Politics as their supporting bands. Not only were these two bands great (and I have a new found love for Taylor Momsen) the atmosphere they created building up to the main event was unbelievable!

We stayed in Copthorne's hotel located in Birmingham's town centre and it was a lovely little room. After having a good ol' McDonnalds and a starbucks or two, settling down for an hour or so and just sorting out our bags, taking a few pictures and becoming very hyped up about the event, me and the other half decided to have a quick wander about before heading to the stadium. 

When we got to the queue for the concert, it was a huge line. We got there around 1pm and the doors weren't open for another 6 hours. Because of how long the queue was, they decided to move us somewhere else, so we went from being at the back of a queue with around 300 people in front of us, moving somewhere where there was around 50 people in front of us was a pretty amazing (we walked pretty fast so we wouldn't be stuck at the back...pays to have long legs and being a fast walker sometimes). When we sat down, we met a very lovely couple who were called Tash and Jordan (the nicest two people I have ever met). The boyfriends went on a few coffee runs and food runs whilst we sat and talked about each-other and laughed about random things. We stayed with them through the gig and it was incredible!

What's the best gig/concert you have ever attended? Let me know in the comments down below!

Also, enjoy The full uncut new album from Fall Out Boy

Stargazer nail polish & nail caviar!

So I finally got around to painting my nails and decided to use the nail caviar stargazer had sent me to try out. Now, I very rarely paint my nails as it is so using something which is really small put me off massively but as I have a free day today, I thought hey, let's give this ago.

Price: £3.00

Colour: Silver

Click here to buy

Nail caviar is basically very small metal beads which can be used in nail decoration. All you need to do is prepare the nail by filing, buffing and sticking on an undercoat. Then you use a nail polish as a base then pour these over the nail. Best to do it inside a box or on top of a plate as these little balls have a habit of getting everywhere! They're surprisingly easy to use. Any left over, just put back inside the tub. Finish off by putting a clear nail polish over the top to give them a bit more support so they stay on longer. It is as easy as it seems. They can be a little fiddly if you need to a bit of clear up but that's the only problem I have with these. Try and use a nail polish close to the colour of the caviar as well because they can become coated in the nail polish.

Price: £3.50

Shade: 129

Click here to buy

I've used this for a long time now and refuse to use many other black nail polishes because they are far too light and you have to apply either a really thick coat or 101 coats before your nails are actually black. This, however requires 1-2 coats to achieve a nice black colour and any places where you have painted your finger by mistake, it cleans up with ease, unlike a few stubborn nail polishes. It's a great colour and really does last pretty well too. Anyone wanting a decent black nail polish should definitely go and buy this one.

So how do my nails look now...

I think they turned out much better than I could have hoped. I did a french tip (sort of) with the stargazer nail polish and I used the caviar on my ring finger and on part of my thumb. I think they look rather fancy but it did take me a while to do. The most time spent however, was doing the french tips. They just took forever to do but the caviar took probably a few minutes on each finger. 

I would definitely recommend both of these products. Overall good price, easy to use and they let you create fancy looking nails in your own home. A must buy if you want something new to decorate your nails with or even just to try out these products because at that price, it's definitely worth it.

Lush Snow Fairy!

I'm pretty surprised I haven't written anything up on this product yet because it's my all time favourite lush product. It's only sold for a few months of the year before disappearing again, leaving fans of this product crying. It is sold in 3 sizes:

• Small (100g)
• Medium (225g)
• Large (500g)

I can not remember the prices of these because they do change them every year (and the fact I haven't bought any since November 2013 - it's sold between October and January each year) but they generally range from around £3 (for the smallest) to £12 (for the biggest) if my memory serves me correctly. I usually end up buying a large bottle or two for myself to last me the year and family members always buy this product for me as well as it is in a lot of the gift boxes which are sold at Christmas time. I have been buying this product for nearly 4 years now (it may even be more than 4 years) and even when I smell it, it reminds me of Christmas. 

It's a very bright bubble gum pink in colour and smells fantastic. It smells like a sweet shop. A mixture between candy-floss and candy canes, just pure bliss. If that wasn't enough, there is also glitter in the bottle which just makes it look even more brilliant. A little bit of this product can go a long way. It can be used to wash your body but also your hair, and it lathers up really well.

If you haven't tried this product yet, you really need to! It is absolutely great and I will be buying some more as soon as it's back in shops. 

I've fallen in love?

Okay this is not make up or fashion related but I have fallen in love with a game. Yes a game. This game is basically a mix between day-z (a zombie game) and minecraft (a game where...you mine and craft..)

This game is amazing! Seriously, I can play this constantly for quite a few hours at a time before I even want to take a break! My other half bought it me through steam by getting a two player pack for £30 which means on his days off from work, or when he is able to play at night time after work, we are playing it and screaming like little girls. It's fantastic. It's still in alpha (alpha 8.8 soon to be alpha 9 in August) so there are a few bugs and issues with the game as it is still sort of being developed and ironing out any issues. 

The basic idea of the game is exactly what it says. You need to survive. There are different ways to do this in this game. Building your own house, living in a pre-built building (after clearing out the tonne of zombies which have decided to squat in the building) and loot everything possible from cars, pre-built buildings, dead zombies, and the various other things situated in the map (old back packs, rubbish, trash cans, ect). You also need to protect your house from hordes of zombies. There are several different types of traps to do this. The game also has structural integrity. If you have played minecraft, you know you can build a huge 1x1 tower and then build a house in the sky. This game however doesn't allow you to do this. If the building is not supported properly, it WILL fall down and collapse. Subsequently, if you do not keep an eye on any material your house is made of, zombies will break it and get their way into your home. You can repair blocks with either a stone hammer or a repair tool. Zombies in this game are also smart. They can dig underground to find way a into the home. Zombies also go at half speed as long as they're in light. So day time they are really slow. Night time however, they are fast as hell! Inside buildings where it is dark they are also very fast! This can be changed in the menu if you are a beginner.

There are 4 different bars which you have to keep an eye on. Health which is replenished by things such as paracetamol. Hunger which is replenished with food (of course) , thirst which is topped up by drinking clean water and sprint which decreases when you run (but it goes back to full when you rest for a little while - as long as your hunger and thirst bar isn't too low). You can also gain damage by being hit by zombies, falling from great heights and starving/dying of thirst. You can also bleed out (this is solved by using bandages) and be infected by radiation, bug bites, I believe being bitten by a dog and  being hit by a infested police officer's vomit can also cause infection (but I am not too sure on these).

There are a total of 5 difficulty modes:

1. Scavenger (very easy) - for beginners
2. Adventurer (easy) - more advanced but yet not so hard
3. Nomad (normal) - default
4. Warrior (hard) - advanced players
5. Survivalist (insane) - professional survivalists

You can also change different aspects on the game. You can increase the drops from planes (supply drops), how hard zombies hit, how hard you hit, day length, ect).

It is seriously a great game and I love it! If you are a fan of zombie games this is one you need to buy! It's currently available on PC for £18.99 or £29.99 for two player pack. The game was released in December 2013 so it's still a fairly new game but with how greatly it's been developed and how fast updates are happening it's a game that holds a lot of possibility. You can play on your own but it has the option to play on multi-player too with a server. It's compatible to host a hamachi server which is great for smaller multi-player games with you and your friends. It also lets you set up a password so no one is able to come join the game without this password.

Maybelline Fit Me Powder Flawless

What it claims: 

Flawless that lets the real you come through.

Beyond matching: Fresh, Breathable, Natural

It's make-up that doesn't mess with you.

• Natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, flawless

• No oils, no waxes, no nonsense

Price: £5.99
My shade: Classic Ivory

Also available: Fit me foundation and concealer

Pro's:

• Long lasting
• Great consistancy/isn't heavy
• Great price
• Mirror inside the case

Con's:

• Shade is a little too light

Would I recommend: Yes. If you have the fit me concealer and foundation this fits in very well with the collection of products. It's very reasonably priced, long lasting and feels very natural. It's not heavy and feels like one of the best powders I've used to date. The mirror which is included in the case is very helpful though it would have been better if it was a mirror that showed you close up to rather than just a normal mirror (but that's just me being picky here). A great product though I am not too happy with this shade even though its meant to match the foundation and concealer I bought.

Medusa's Make-up Lipstick (Red Square)

Price: $12
Item: Lipstick
Colour: Red Square
Where to buy: http://www.medusasmakeup.com/

What it claims: This bright and beautiful lipstick is a Luxurious Blend of Natural Waxes Color Rich Pigment, Creamy, Soft and Nourishing. The ingredients do not include any animal by products making. This a vegan lipstick

Pro's

• Smells really fruity
• Completely vegan
• Really soft on the lips
• Beautiful packaging

Con's

• Not as pigmented as I thought to believe
• Feels a little oily

Okay, before we get into the con's of this product, how adorable is the packaging? There's a rose on top of the lid which looks so pretty and the box it comes in has a sword on one side and a torso and head of a woman on the other all in negative colours. Inside the box is a very bright pink with the colour and name of the product situated on the top of the packaging. By far, this packaging is the best I've seen in regards to any lipstick. It's beautiful. 

The lipstick itself smells really fruity and I can not place the smell, but it's sort of orangey, but either way, the smell of fruit is gorgeous. It's very soft on the lips but you do have to apply it a few times to get a brighter red. It feels a little oily but not as much as the miss sporty red I have reviewed before. It's not very pigmented which is a little let down but if you apply it a few times it does come out much better.

Would I recommend: Yes! I love the product. I think for the price (in the US - it's very expensive for it to be shipped from the US as it cost me just over £13) it's very good at $12 which is around £7 for everyone in the UK. The consistency of the lipstick is very good besides the fact it is slightly oily. Pigmentation is a little bit of a problem as its not too bright but I would still defiantly recommend buying this product. I hope to try their eye-shadows and other lipsticks in the future.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder Medium/Dark

What it claims: The ultra fine and soft texture of Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder makes it easy to apply to your face and decolletage. The result is a totally natural, healthy, bronzed glow. Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder , with flecks of gold and infused with a sweet chocolate fragrance, you will smell as gorgeous as you look!

Price: £7.99

My experience: I used this product after applying my foundation. I used my models own brush and used this product for contouring. It was very easy to get this product onto my brush unlike their blush which I reviewed. I found it very easy to build this product up as I am not very confident with using bronzer, but I found I can easily start of using a little bit and apply more if needed.

Pro's

• Build-able
• Smells really nice
• Fells nice on the skin
• Easy to use/apply
• Great for people who are learning how to contour their face

Con's

• A little pricey

Would I recommend: Yes. This is a fantastic product. Easily build-able and very easy to apply. It also smells like chocolate which is always a plus point in my view. If you want to have a more natural look, this bronzer is perfect for this, as well as being perfect for a more dramatic look. Absolutely fantastic and I will be buying this again in the future. I think the only downside to this product is the price. I have used another drug store bronzer before which was miss sporty and it was very much like this one but half the cost. I do prefer this one however, but think it would be better if it was more towards the £6-£7 range rather than a penny under £8.

Maybelline Fit Me Conseler

What it claims: Introducing our first gel concealer made with no waxes or fillers. It conceals without feeling heavy or looking cakey, skin appears brighter and awakened. It instantly conceals to help reduce appearance of skin imperfections. Coverage the way it was meant to be… even, natural and breathable.

• It's make-up that doesn't mess with you.
• No oils, no waxes, no nonsense
• Natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, natural
• Exclusive translucent base and lightweight pigments allow skin's natural highs and lows to show through
• Non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested, ophthalmologist-tested, fragrance-free

Price: £5.99

My shade: 20

My experience: I apply this product after I have applied my foundation as it is much easier to blend it with my foundation already on my skin. It also helps find any blemishes my foundation has not managed to cover. I use this product also under my eyes. I apply this product using the wand and then pat out and blend with my fingers. I find it is very easy to blend out and does not leave that area lighter (or darker) than my actual foundation. I have also used this product on my bare face when I have been in a rush to hide any blemishes. It blends in very well with my skin tone and is not heavy at all on my skin.

Pro's

• Pricing is really good
• Really easy to use
• Great coverage
• Very light on skin
• Covers any blemishes
• Great consistency
• Easy to blend

Would I recommend: YES! It's a fantastic concealer. It works really well with the skin. It's light weight, great at covering any blemishes and easy to blend out under the eyes. The pricing I feel is spot on and the shade match with the foundation and powder is really well matched. Great product overall and I can't find any faults with it at all.

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher

What is claims: The baked texture transforms when applied to the skin into an ultra-fine pressed powder, which is easy to apply and blends impeccably. One stroke of the brush reveals the irresistible aroma of the rose scented powder.

Price: £7.99

My shade: 34 (rose d'or)

My experience: I used this product after putting on my foundation (maybelline fit me foundation) and my concealer. I applied this product with my models own make up brush which I also use for contouring. I found it very VERY hard to get any of this product on the brush. No matter how hard I tried, it just refused to budge. I found the product itself rather rock solid so I used the top of my brush handle to scrape a little of this product (to loosen it so I could actually get something on my brush. I found this product very light and did not look nice what so ever. You have to build up this product for it to make any impact.

Pro's

• Smells really nice
• Handy case with mirror inside the lid

Con's

• Hard to apply
• Hard to get any product onto a make-up brush
• Colour far too light

Would I recommend: No. This product is terrible. Although it smells really nice, its very hard to get any of this product onto a make up brush without having to physically scrape it. It does smell rather nice - just like the bronzer, but it is definitely not one I will be buying again. The mirror inside the product case is handy but again, this does not make it worth £7.99.

Body Shop Rainforest Radiance

What it claims: Leave-in conditioner to soften, add shine and protect vibrancy of colour-treated hair.

Price: £6.50
Size: 250ml

Can be bought from:
http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/haircare/rainforest-radiance-detangling-spray.aspx


My experience: I decided to try this product after seeing a YouTuber review it in her hair care video and as she has bright hair, I thought it may be a good idea to try out. The price shocked me as its expensive for what the product is, but knowing how good body shop products are, I decided to try it out. 

I usually apply this product after I have had a shower onto wet hair. I just spray the product into my hair and brush it through then dry as normal. I have also applied this product to dry hair but it can leave the hair feeling a little sticky now and then so I think in my personal opinion it is best to be used on dry hair. I find it difficult to spray any product out of the bottle if I try to spray it in certain angles. If it's held upright it is fairly easy but as soon as i flip my hair and try and spray underneath it, I have found this to be rather difficult. Whether this is because I am close to running out of it I am not sure. I have used this product for just over a year now and I am planning on buying it again when it runs out (which will be very soon). I am very tempted to try more of the Rainforest Radiance range as they also have a shampoo and conditioner.

Pro's

• Smells incredible
• Leaves hair feeling soft
• Great on the hair
• No silicone/Parabens

Con's

• Can leave the hair feeling slightly sticky
• Can be hard to spray in certain positions/product does not come out
• Little expensive

Would I recommend: I would recommend this product. Not only does it smell amazing, its really nice on the hair. It doesn't contain any silicone or parabens which means its also really good for the hair. The only off putting traits this product has is that it can leave hair feeling a little sticky if applied to dry hair and can be a little difficult to spray the product out of the bottle in certain positions. I think the price may be a little steep as well for this product, if it was more towards the £5 mark, I would definitely believe its worth the money but at £6.50 I think it's a little over priced.

Directions Turquoise and Directions Spring Green

I know I have said this before but this dye is amazing!!!

Price : £3.75 (I bought mine 3 for £10 from a shop in my town centre)

What I did: Prior to dying my hair, I spent a few weeks trying to lighten it as much as possible. Not only by using a bleach bath on my hair but also using an anti-dandruff shampoo to remove as much as the colour from the previous dying of red. I had lightened it to a pale orange but it would not lighten any more without just completely bleaching my entire hair and this was not something I wanted nor needed to do - even though they do recommend this. I knew how pigmented the green was going to be, same with the blue (though I had not used these colours on my hair before, I know sort of the pigment of these kinds of colours as I have used several of their blues in the past as well as the apple green). 

I diluted the turquoise to lighten it as I thought it may come out too dark with the ratio 1:1 (one part of the dye to one part conditioner). I had also lightened the green. I did a little strand test with the green on the end of my hair whilst I was waiting for my roots to lighten but I think it was diluted far too much as it just washed out completely, so I used the product straight from the tub instead. I separated my hair into two plaits as I was going to ombre it - turquoise being on top and the ends of my hair in the green. 

I applied the spring green to my ends first, undid the plaits then covered the rest of my hair in the diluted turquoise mixture. I left this on for around 20 mins. I did apply this to damp hair (which is okay to do so, though the dye works better on completely dry hair). When I rinsed it out, I noticed the green was very bright and the turquoise wasn't as bright as i though it was going to be so I shall be re dying my hair with the turquoise un-diluted next time. The final result looks like this: 

As you can see, the green is very much more prominent but the turquoise not so much so I will be re dying it very soon. I do love how the green came out though, very pigmented and very bright indeed. 

Pro's

• Good coverage
• Good price
• Very pigmented
• Leaves hair feeling soft

Con's

• WILL STAIN EVERYTHING POSSIBLE

WARNING: Make sure you wear gloves with these colours as they will stain your hands and skin. I am currently sporting blue finger nails as it had stained them because I didn't wear my gloves half way though because they had split. The dyes also stained my hands but after a lot of scrubbing, that disappeared. Expect to see a nail varnish review soon because I need to cover up my stained nails.

Would I recommend: Yes. Yet again, good solid product. I think this product is more likely to stain clothes, floors, surfaces and body parts if you don't take care much more than other colours I have tested. It is very pigmented and if you are looking to go bright green or turquoise then these are definitely the colours for you! I am rating this a 4.5/5 because of my blue fingers though as it will stain everything!

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

What this product claims: 

• It's make-up that fits you.
• No oils, no waxes, no nonsense
• Natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, natural
• Exclusive translucent base and lightweight pigments allow skin's natural highs and lows to show through
• Non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested

Price: £7.99

My experience: I used this product after I had washed my face with my face scrub. I found it very easy to blend. It managed to cover up most of my blemishes as well as any redness I had in my cheek area. I used around one pump of this product and that managed to give me enough coverage. I have the product in 120 Classic Ivory.

Pro's

• Comes in 10 different shades
• Good even coverage
• More yellow tones so it fits well with fake tan
• Feels very light on the skin
• Build-able
• Can be used if you want a thin coverage
• Good price
• Blends very easily

Con's

• Can leave skin feeling a little oily

Would I recommend this product: YES! It is such a fantastic product. For me it's probably the best foundation I have used to date! Easy to use, good coverage and it's a really reasonable price. The best thing about this product is that there are also powders and concealers in this range so it's very easy to buy them in a shade to match the foundation. It's really easy to also find a foundation to match your skin tone due to the fact there are 10 shades. I myself have pale skin and usually finding a foundation to match can either result in it being too dark or too light, but with this foundation, I have found it to match my skin tone perfectly! It has definitely been my holy grail foundation for nearly a year now and I am in love with this product!

Items bought today!

These are two items I will be trying out very soon. Both were picked up for £1 and I have never tried them before. I hope they are hidden gems and great products. Here's to hoping!

The first is Mellor and Russell's simply bright hair colour in electric blue. This product claims to be a permanent dye. Now, after dying my hair for several years now in various bright colours (I've basically gone through the rainbow and back), I've noticed bright colours don't really tend to be permanent, they have always been semi permanent. I have tried a bright permanent colour before which was a live XXL colour, in a very vibrant red...which came out orange and pale. Not pleasant at all. I've also had friends use products like these and they have come out very very dark and not what was shown on the packet.

The second is derma V10 rescue oil. This is a oil which I think may be similar to the bio oil which is for stretch marks and any damaged skin. I myself have damaged skin on my legs which is very dry due to heat damage. I have no idea f this product will have any effect on it 

I bought both of these products to day and I will be looking forward to trying them in the next week and letting everyone know my thoughts on both of them.