Pixi Makeup - Review

It all started with a sale on cosmetics at asos.com.
I was browsing through all the products and one set of three caught my eye.

The Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in EmeraldGold, which is a gorgeous teal green colour, I thought would compliment my skin tone and hair colour. The pen glides on incredibly smoothly and gives a lovely thick line. The colour pigmentation is incredible and really makes a statement on the eyes.

I also had the Pixi Seasonal Reflection Kit in Warm Wonder. It is a Face Palette which includes eight eye shadows and one blush in the centre. All of the colours are very natural browns, golds, pinks and a khaki green which really caught my attention. I have tried numerous different looks with these colours and they have all come out great. You barely need any eyeshadow on the brush and you can get a really dramatic or subtle look depending on which colours you choose.
It was recently my birthday and I wanted quite a subtle but special eye look so I tried using the gold colour on the right hand side of the palette and the medium brown at the bottom right on my crease and it came out looking amazing. I was really pleased when it lasted all day and into the evening.
As for the blusher, it's such a soft formula in a pretty peachy pink with a hint of sparkle, just the sort of colour I like.

The final product in the collection was the Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Nearly Naked.
Now after using the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Puckergloss stick, this product was going to have to do something special for me to favour it.
 I must say it put up a very good fight. The smell of the product, although I can't put my finger on what it is, is devine. Very fruity so a winner for me. I was a bit wary the colour may be a bit too orange and clash with my hair but it turned out to be not half as bad as I thought. I had dry lips the first time I tried the product and so it went slightly cloggy and the colour clumped up but second time when I had moisturised my lips the balm went on very smoothly and looked beautiful.

The only thing about these products I will dispute are the price tags that come with them. I am not a girl who goes for expensive makeup but seeing as these were in a sale for a total of £14.00 instead of £39.00 (I would have had to paid if I had bought them off the website) I am quite happy with my purchases.

As for the packaging of all the products, I am a big fan! I love the pale green colour and the pretty flowers in gold just compliments the name and style of the products.

All in all I think I have found another favourite makeup brand. Their makeup comes in such pretty colours and the formulas are incredible. If I found them in a sale again I wouldn't hesitate to try out more Pixi products.


Betsie

Autumn Haul

When out shopping looking for something, I can hardly ever find anything I want or like so find it frustrating when I come home empty handed. However, today I ventured out and had very little intention on buying anything. I came home with quite a few items. I thought I would share them with you in a haul blog.

I decided to have a look round H&M first. I can usually find something in there I like, whether I buy it or not is a different question.

I skipped the whole of the downstairs section and went upstairs to find the black leggings that I am in desperate need of for work. I have found H&M leggings are very good quality and fit.

I had a wander round and spotted a lovely pattern on a jumper, I had to pick it up. It looked like it wasn't going to hang very well on me so I took it into the changing room to try it on. The changing rooms had no one on the door so I walked straight in and found most of them had lots of clothes hanging up. I reached the end room which had only two pairs of trousers hanging. 

I tried the jumper on and decided I really liked the pattern and colour on me so decided to purchase it, even though I though it was a bit expensive.

The trousers hanging in the changing room were catching my eye. A nice khaki green colour and in the style I had been looking for, almost leggings. Guess what, they were in my size. So I decided to try those on as well and they fit like a dream. I couldn't argue with the price either, £9.99 was a bargain. 

I found a clothes roller at the checkout desk and decided it was about time I bought one. Having a black and white dog and wearing black to work every day is not a good mix. I am forever getting the selotape out and patting myself down before going out the door.

What made H&M even better was the fact I still had a gift card with money on it so used that up. 

My next stop, after a few unsuccessful shops was Primark.
I think Primark has become a lot more acceptable to shop in since the clothes started becoming a better quality.

I knew I needed some plain black tights going in to the winter so decided to get the highest denier and buy two pairs seeing as I go through tights like wild fire.

I have been looking for a coloured short cardigan for a while to put with black or grey jeans and a plain white or black top but just haven't found one. Today was my lucky day. It's nothing interesting to look at but it is so soft and I have a thing for green because I know it goes well with my hair colour. 

My next stop was Superdrug. I have been hearing all over the internet about the Sleek blushers and how pigmented they are and decided I needed to try one so went for the colour which is also being raved about, Rose Gold. I have tried to buy this before but it has been sold out so I have been unsuccessful but today they were fully in stock. I thought the price was quite reasonable and tried the tester in the shop before making a definite decision. I really liked the gold flecks in with the peachy pink and think it will go quite nicely with my skin tone. Obviously it's not an everyday wear one for me but I think it will look lovely on occasions.

My last stop was Wilkinsons who stock my essential make up remover wipes. At £1.00 for two packs of 25 you can't really go wrong and I find they are really good at taking all of my make up off.

All in all I found that a very successful shopping trip even though I didn't go out to buy anything I actually bought. I did want to find a nice dress for a couple of parties I'm going to in November. So you could call it a complete fail. But I will go with the positive! I enjoyed myself.

Now to find the dress...

Betsie

Barry M, Matte Nail Paint

I walked into my local Superdrug this week with intentions of buying a Tangerine orange nail varnish from Barry M, my favourite brand for nail poilish. However when I arrived at the Barry M counter a new nail varnish caught my eye. I saw a selection of five Matte nail paints in Black Espresso, Burgundy Crush, Light brown Caramel, Nude Vanilla and Brown Mocha. I was instantly drawn to the Burgundy Crush as it is a perfect colour for Autumn.

I expected the product to be a bit more pricey than it was but it turned out to be only £1 over the usual £2.99 price tag. Not bad for a new formula. And just the same price as the Gelly nail paints.

I have never worn any Matte nail varnishes before so this was a new venture for me. I was pretty excited to see the outcome expecting it to look slightly like smooth leather.
Guess what, it did and I was thoroughly impressed.

The application was smooth, even though I was not impressed by the brush which had bristles sticking out, and it didn't seem to take to long to dry. I did however underestimate the drying speed. I touched it to see if it was dry and seemed fine but after picking up my knife to eat my dinner I soon learned it was not dry at all. I took a huge chunk out of my freshly painted nails and was not best pleased. However over dinner they did dry completely. I did just have to repaint that one nail.

My nail varnish lasted five days before it started chipping which is quite impressive for me as I don't look after my hands very well. Nail varnish usually lasts less than two days. Although once it started chipping there was no stopping it.

All in all I highly rate this nail varnish and think it is a good purchase. I love the matte finish and think it's a nice alternative to the normal shiny nails I have.


Betsie

My un-styleable shoes.

I have a bad habit of buying shoes which I absolutely love but do not have a clue how to style. I can't help it, I buy these amazing shoes and really want to wear them but look in my wardrobe or on the highstreet and realise I don't know where to start when pairing them with an outfit.

I may be very bad at styling myself or just picky with my clothing choices but I need serious help when dressing myself. I either go out looking bland and boring or I make myself look very strange and regret wearing the outfit as soon as I step out of the door.

I need a personal stylist every day to guide me in to what I should wear.

I bought this pair of shoes because I just fell instantaneously in love with them. I liked the tapestry pattern and all the colours in the shoes. What I didn't think of was the fact I had no clue what to wear them with. I'm a bit of a matching freak sometimes and if something has a colourful pattern, I have to wear at least one of the colours. So I've tried these shoes with a cream top, a red top, leggings, jeans, trousers, dresses and I just don't know what goes best with them. Plus I'm slightly scared of wearing them. It's not the fact I might fall over because they are the comfiest heels I own and could walk for miles in them, I just don't want to look like an idiot and style them badly.

I would like to wear these shoes with a dress but I'm not sure which style of dress would suit them.

This pair of shoes shouldn't have been too difficult to style. A nice simple pair of summer wedges that would go with anything.

I was wrong. I have tried these wedges with so many combinations and they either make my legs look fat or they are too dressy for the place I am going to. I'm not a big heel wearer because of my job and so I find it difficult to wear all of my lovely shoes out. They would not be suitable for a gig or the pub so where do I wear them. Shopping? I think not!

These were just a spur of the moment decision on my behalf. I liked the colour, I saw the fur lining and my instant thought was... yes! I don't know if I will wear these going in to the winter more but I am slightly scared of the colour. It's very bright and on my already big size 7 feet will it make me look like a clown?

If you think you have a way of styling any of my un-styleable shoes please leave a comment in the comment box below as I need all the help I can get.

If I do miracurously find a way of styling them I will do another blog post explaining what I wore.

Betsie