Click and Make-Up Beauty Blog: May 2012

Tuesday

Current Candle Loves

I love having a deliciously scented candle burning while I'm blogging and wanted to share a few of my favourites with you. I got a really good deal on all of these Yankee Candles from T K Maxx, they were about £6.99 to £9.99 - nearly half the typical RRP.

I probably wouldn't have picked Clean Cotton for myself - it was a present - but it's turned out to have a really lovely scent, especially if you've got people coming round. I love gourmand scents but I bet the infamous Vanilla Cupcake never hits discount stores. I made do with Blueberry Scone and Lemon Zest. They smell incredible to me but may be too sweet for some - especially if you live with a man! Sweet Pea is nice, but I don't think I'd repurchase.

I was sent the NEOM Serenity candle and while I wouldn't have selected that particular scent myself as I don't really get the Vanilla coming through, it is quite comforting and the quality of the candle is amazing - it's made from natural vegetable waxes and pure essential oils rather than paraffin wax and synthetic fragrances. It's also burning a lot more evenly than the Yankee Candles, but that may be to do with it being in a smaller container.

I'm getting through my candles at a rate of knots, so please leave your recommendations below on any others I should try!

Monday

Favourite New Eye Products - No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in Pewter and Fudge

I find it hard to let those No7 £5 off vouchers go to waste, but since I've stockpiled enough eye make up remover, wipes and hot cloth cleanser to do me until 2015 I had to find something else to spend it on. Down the years I've tried a lot of No7 make up courtesy of these vouchers and have been left distinctly underwhelmed by most of the permanent line, apart from the Stay Perfect Foundation, Tinted Moisturiser and some of the Limited Edition collections.

The Pewter eye mousse caught my eye first as I am going through a major obsession with taupey/purple/grey eye shadows at the moment (hello Bobbi Brown Fawn and Chanel Fauve!) and thought this would create the perfect base. Plus how easy is this to swipe on in the morning rush?! I've only tried them with eyelid primer and they 'stay perfect' all day, even in the heat, but I'm yet to risk them on their own. I also go over with some shadow to set further. Both of these colours really compliment blue eyes.

I'm not sure I'd be happy to stump up the full £9.50 per tube as they are pretty small and it's a little hard to control how much you squeeze out, so there can be a little wastage, but £4.50 is a pretty good bargain. My next No7 voucher has the lovely pink champagne colour's name on it. There are about 3 or 4 other shades in the range so it's definitely worth checking out if you have one of these vouchers burning a hole in your pocket!

Below: Pewter left and Fudge right

Tuesday

Amazing All Things Nails GIVEAWAY! (Nails Inc., L'Oreal, Kiss, PIXI and more!)

Well it looks like summer has finally arrived! Hurrah! To celebrate this delightful occurrence Angel and I have another stonking giveaway for our readers and watchers and this time it's all about NAILS!

Thanks to those of you who entered the So? perfume giveaway - the three winners were announced here.

HOW TO ENTER THE AMAZING ALL THINGS NAILS GIVEAWAY!

1. Follow this blog publicly via Google Friend Connect: CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW or hit the blue 'Join This Site' widget in the right sidebar. Anonymous/private follows will not be counted/removed from the comments as it's only fair for the prizes to go to an actual reader of this here blawg, right?

2. Go to Angel's YouTube Channel and click 'subscribe' (you can use the same account you use to follow this blog and it's free!). Giveaway video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR5coWEXmpw

3. For a second entry, tweet:

@clickandmakeup and @angelarmogida are hosting an amazing All Things Nails giveaway! Have you entered yet?! http://tinyurl.com/d2kcdpy

4. Leave a comment to let me know you want in, include your YouTube username and if you tweet don't forget to include your Twitter handle.
EDIT 30th May: duplicate comments will be deleted and not be counted

**The giveaway is open internationally and closes midnight 18 November (updated 12 November). The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced here and on Angel's channel on 19 November**

The prize comprises:

Nails Inc. Pink Diamond Nail Jewellery in Princess Arcade

Nails Inc. Westbourne Grove

Nails Inc. Portobello

Nails Inc. Notting Hill Gate

Nails Inc. Jermyn St.

Nails Inc. The Thames

Nails Inc. Cadogan Square

Barbara Daly Whimsy

L'Oreal Colour Riche Magic Croisette

L'Oreal Colour Riche Mythic Carpet

L'Oreal Colour Riche Mystic Blue

Posh Polish Beauty UK - No 1. Silmaril

Pixi Glow polish in Pirouette Pink

Nailease Nail Varish Strips

NCLA Self Adhesive Designer Nails Wraps

Kiss Impress press on nails

Broadway Fashion Diva press on nails - 2 sets

Good luck!

So...? Eternal Perfume Giveaway Winners

Hi everyone,

Here are the three winners of I and Angel's So...? Eternal Perfume Set giveaway:

Congrats ladies! xbaybeiipollieex I'm still waiting for your postal address to pass onto So...? to send you the set below so please shoot me a Twitter DM or email with it.

Here's a link to the winners announcement on Angel's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIQzz6pqGw

Standy by for an AMAZING NAILS GIVEAWAY very soon!

Friday

Sleek MakeUP Ultra Mattes V2 Darks iDivine Palette

This is my nth Sleek MakeUP post this week but I know how much you all love the brand so I'm sure you don't mind! I have lots of amazing things to review which will be going up in the next few weeks but this weekend I'm off to sunny Essex to visit a friend so there will be no time for blogging...booo!

A couple of weeks ago I tweeted this new ultra mattes v2 dark palette and it seemed to get your juices flowing, so here are some more close ups and swatches for you. Being a magpie, I'm drawn to shimmering shadows *hello Urban Decay!* but as the years pass and gravity and weakening collagen bonds take their toll on my eye skin it will soon be time for me to put away childish things and accentuate my eyes with grown up, subdued mattes. Le sigh...

But all is not lost because look at this stonking beauty! Drugstore brands have long had a patchy reputation when it comes to pure mattes, but Sleek have gone and pulled it out of the bag with this palette. As you'll see in the swatches below, it does slip up on some of the lighter shades: Dune, Pillow Talk and Thunder, but on the whole for £7 (online) you can't beat this with a stick for some quality mattes.

Favourites are Villan, seen below in the sloppiest application of all time - it was after work, I had an oily lid situation, the rest of my make up had melted off, you know the drill - and also Paper Bag which could be a great brow shadow or flattering crease definer. Ink and Highness are very pretty too and would look amazing on brown eyes. Orbit is almost the exact colour of the Topshop Kohl pencil in Petrol I sometimes use on my waterline or lower lash line to make my eyes look bluer and to jazz up an otherwise neutral eye, so I'm thinking Orbit will help me create a more smudged, sophisticated version of this. Everyone needs a matte black, with Noir fitting the bill nicely as it's not too pigmented, but enough to create definition and even the lighter less pigmented shades like Pillow Talk work ok as a subtle eyebrow highlight as too much shimmer there can look overdone.

There is also a Brights matte palette and this launched along with the Darks on 9th May in Superdrug and online at www.sleekmakeup.com.

* Press sample provided for consideration

Wednesday

Sleek MakeUP - Berry Collection - Still Available Online!

I was sent this adorable little Berry gift set around Christmas time but as you may know I was on my sad little blogging hiatus at the time so I never had the chance to show it to you. Well I'm delighted to say it's still available online for £10 for anyone who missed out on it in store.

The set comprises a Matte True Colour lipstick in Cranberry, Fenberry blush and and Mossberry Kohl pencil. I know everyone is looking at Summer Brights rights now, but the weather we're having in the UK is making me want to wrap up warm and wear bold, comforting colours on my lips and cheeks. I'm not normally drawn to dark lippiesas they can make my already pretty thin lips recede even more, but Cranberry somehow works for me. It makes my eyes appear bluer, teeth that slightly bit whiter and patted on as a light stain with some balm over the top it's a really striking look. The only downside is as a matte formulation it's quite drying, so you would definitely want something over the top.

On my pale skin Fenberry blush works best as a cheek contour used with a very light hand. On me it almost gives the same effect as Benefit Dallas at a fraction of the cost. I didn't get on too well with the Kohl pencil as using a plummy red around my eyes makes me look a little like the undead, despite making my eyes look super blue. Great for Halloween but only wearable on those with brown eyes smudged along the top lash line methinks. Sharpened to a fine point, it can also double as a good lip liner match for the Cranberry lipstick.

What do you think of berry shades? Wearable or should they be left in the 1990s?

* Press sample provided for consideration

Monday

Sleek MakeUP Blush By 3 in Pumpkin

Sleek MakeUP blushes are some of the most richly pigmented and unusually coloured cheek products you can pick up on the highstreet, so these sets of three Blush By 3's have been causing quite a stir recently. There are five compacts to collect: Pumpkin, the one shown here, Lace, Pink Sprint, Flame and Sugar. Pink Sprint and Flame have really deep maroon/plummy shades but Lace and Sugar are simply gorgeous and will definitely be my next cheek purchases. For £10 you get three full sizes blushes and although I've seen some in Superdrug, they are normally sold out so your best bet is to try online.

I'm a blush addict so I could easily carry this gorgeous little threesome around in my purse all day as it's a great way to switch up your look. The compact is durable and the mirror in the lid is huge and great for touch ups. When I get my hands on Lace it will definitely be a great travel companion.

Pumpkin offers Latern, a shimmering coral-orange, Squash - my favourite - a bright semi matte pink and a pure matte orange - P Pie. For those of you who missed out on Aruba blush from the Limited Edition Caribbean Collection last year, I can pretty much vouch for these two being the same shade.