FashionistA Customisable Palette From MUA

I'm sure most of you will have seen that MUA are now stocking FashionistA products, which to be honest are a brand I'd never taken any notice of. I do love MUA for their amazing quality bargain products and when they announced they would be bringing over 200 new products to their website I was pretty excited to see what they would be offering, expecting some new MUA products. I was a little disappointed to see it was a different brand and the concept of a two-brand website is a little confusing to me, I can't see it working as the MUA products are cheaper, but I did like the idea of a customisable palette. At the moment, you can either choose a 4 pan palette and fill it for £7, or a 6 pan for £10 which seemed a bargain to me so I went for that one

I really like the idea of being able to choose the shades you want as no matter which palettes I seem to but there are always shades which I don't use so picking my own seems perfect. I also liked the idea of having one palette with everything I needed in it, so it would be good for when I am away. With that in mind I decided to fill my 6 pan palette with 3 eye shadows, 2 blushers and a bronzer. I have to say though, I have never been a fan of online make-up shopping as the shades are never quite what they seem so i would recommend having a nosy at the shades you like in Superdrug before you order as a couple of mine weren't quite what I expected from the pictures. 

My delivery arrived quickly and in perfect condition, and I couldn't wait to open it up and test it out. The pans come in little black cases so you don't have to have to have a palette you can just use them as they are or switch up different shades if you get bored. They very easily pop out of the packaging and click into place in the palette. Within a couple of minutes my beautiful, unique palette was complete.

When you pop the pans out the shade names are on the back so you can always see which you are using which is a nice touch. I was also expecting quite small pans and I was surprised to find they are a really decent size for the price.

Eye Shadows.                                                  Blushers and bronzer

           l-r Double take eye shadow in Radiant                                     Blush in Juicy Apricot and London                    
Mono eye shadow in Auburn Glow and Bronze                Custom design bronzer in Dubai

First up the eye shadows, I went for shimmery bronze and nude shades as those are the colours I tend to use the most. I really love Radiant and Bronze, although I was a little disappointed with the colour pay off with Auburn Glow. There are some lovely shades though and I am considering getting another with some darker shades for a night out smoky eye look. I would definitely check out the shades first though. This is due to the bronzer actually, I liked the look of Dubai on the site but it is far too dark in really life.

The blushers in this range are gorgeous and I love the two I have chosen, although I did expect Juicy Apricot to be a little peacher rather than pink, so again check out the shades first! London is gorgeous though!

I love the colour of Dubai although I think I will use it as an eye shadow as it is too dark as a bronzer but check out the colour pay off from one little sweep of my finger! 

I am pretty impressed with these palettes for the price and I'm considering getting another whilst the offer is still on. £10 for 6 large shades is a bargain and I would recommend giving them a go. I haven't been tempted by any of the other FashionistA products but I can see these being a success. The palettes are available from the MUA website and are currently on offer with a free lip plumping gloss and nail polish if you spend over £15. 

Have you tried any of the FashionistA products yet? Do you like the idea of a custom palette? I reckon MUA should do their own, I'd be buying those!

Barry M Confetti Nail Effects

Ever since I saw the Nails Inc Feather Effect polishes I have been lusting after the perfect feather dupe. I posted a while ago about the lovely Invogue Feather polishes in Jaye Bird and my favourite, Parakeet. As much as I loved those I couldn't help myself picking up one of the new Barry M versions. I guess its common to hear how amazing Barry M are from a beauty blogger, and I personally also love them. I was a little disappointed with the sequin polishes so was glad to see another new release which was more up my street.

There are five different coloured confetti polishes, but I went for Marshmallow as it was nothing like the Invogue ones I have. Marshmallow is a lovely pale, summery polish with pale pink and white strips in a clear base. I decided to layer it over Grapefruit to show a stronger colour behind the confetti and used Papaya, my new favourite Gelly for the other nails.

Although I'm not as keen on this colour as the Invogue feather polishes, I have to say I am impressed with the formula. This was one coat and a little touch up, so the strands go on much better than the feather effect polish which needed a good few coats for this kind of coverage. I have to say I think Parakeet is still my favourite feathery polish, although Barry M's Dolly Mixture looks very similar and a lovely colour. I am tempted to get Sour Apple too, although I'm not too keen on green it does look really nice in the bottle.

Have you tried the Barry M confetti or the Invogue Feathers? Which is your favourite?

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

I have tried plenty of different mascaras in my time and found a couple I have loved but most just don't live up to my expectations why is a shame when they all seem to claim so much; volumising, lengthening, extreme black...picking a new one to try can be a huge decision. I don't usually go for the new releases when they first hit the shelves as I prefer to stick to my tried and tested ones, but something about the new release from Maybelline caught my eye. Gel eyeliners and nail polishes have been hyped up for ages, but I had never heard of a gel mascara and I wanted to see how it would work. The Mega Plush Mascara also claims to have 40% less hard waxes than their original formula and create massive volume. I do love a volumised look as my lashes are quite long but not particularly full or dark.

I love the look of the packaging, the colours completely drew me in, which I know has no relevance to the quality of the product but I do love something that looks pretty. The brush to me is amazing too, I love large plastic brushes, which I know some bloggers hate, but for me they seem to work better. The length of the bristles mean that you can get right down into your lashes and easily coat them without too much movement of the brush.  

I wasn't too keen when I first used this mascara as I didn't find it volumising and it didn't seem to stick on my lashes, as in they didnt't feel held in place, or solid as some mascaras can. I did persevere though and now I absolutely love it! You do need a good few coats (I'd say 3-4 for proper volume) but it doesn't clump which I assume is thanks to the gel. After a few coats it really does build up amazing volume without feeling hard on your lashes. I also found that because it doesn't clump or go solid, you can add extra coats later, if you were going out in the evening and wanted a stronger look.

Overall, I would consider this a perfect day to night mascara as it is so versatile and can be used for a natural look or built up for a going out kind of look. I have been really impressed with it and have bought another few mascaras to try now I have realised there may be better ones out there. 

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara is available now from Superdrug and Boots for £7.99 although I did get it on an introductory offer for £5.99. 

Have you tried the Mega Plush Mascara? Do you have any better ones for me to try? Although I love this I still don't feel like I've found my holy grail mascara, so the search goes on!

NOTD: More Barry M Gellys

If you read my posts regularly you might have noticed that I have a slight obsession with the Barry M Gelly collection at the moment. I am totally in love with them and own pretty much every shade going. I bought the entire Spring collection as soon as it came out and adore those colours, particularly Papaya which is fast becoming my favourite shade for Summer, its an adorable coral colour. That being said the Summer collection didn't excite me as much and I surprisingly didn't want all of the shades. I did like the look of a couple though, so when I saw them in my local Superdrug on 3 for 2 I had to get some. 

I loved the look of Guava and fancied a change as I don't own many red shades (I'm a purple and coral kinda girl) so Passion Fruit caught my eye. I wasn't massively keen on Mango but I had seen some nice swatches online so got this as my freebie. 

I absolutely love Guava, it is a perfect summery shade as its so bright. I don't usually go for blue shades but this is amazing. I have been so impressed with the newer Gelly shades, they give perfect coverage and the colours are so strong. This colour actually lasted about 3 days which is a long time for me. This is only two coats and they dry really quickly.

I decided to give a bright gradient a go with Mango and Passion Fruit. I thought this might be a nice summery effect but to be honest although I like both colours I'm not too keen on them together. Mango is a really bright, strong orange and Passion Fruit is a deep red with a hint of coral. This again lasted longer than usual and the Gellys are the perfect consistency for gradients as they cover well even when being sponged on.

At £3.99 a go I can't resist these polishes and they are by far my favourite range for quality. I'm actually considering doing a "top 5" of my picks for drugstore nail polishes under £5 and these are my first choice for the top spot. If you haven't tried the Gellys then why not? They are seriously impressive and I hope Barry M continue to bring out more shades as I will happily keep on buying!

Have you tried any of the new Gellys? I'd love to see some ideas for nail art with them!