EBay 15 Eye Shadow Warm Palette [Review]

You know how sometimes you're on the hunt for a particular shade of shadow, and you can't find it anywhere? Well, I'd been looking for the perfect warm, reddish shade and after searching high and low for one to no avail, I ended up on Ebay [all of those who are addicted to Ebay please raise your hand ... My name is Lorraine and I am addicted to Ebay, oh well]

The shade which I'm talking about is the one slap bang in the middle of the palette. All the other shadows in the palette came as a bonus, especially since the whole palette costs more than one 'normal' branded eyeshadow.

I got mine from this link HERE and it costs just €2.96 / $3.15 including shipping. 

It took about 3 weeks to arrive, and it was packaged well - nothing was broken, phew!

As mentioned in the title, you get 15 matte shadows. Even though it states that it is warm, there are some shades which are more cool toned.

Pigmentation is also quite good, and all shadows are easily picked up both with a flat shadow brush or a fluffy one. However, some of them are a tad powdery.

They are blended rather easily too. 

Staying power is also decent, however it is always advisable to use a primer [even if it's just normal concealer]

Get this palette if you're still experimenting, if you're on the lookout for an extremely cheap matte palette with decent pigmentation, or if you're a teenager.

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara [Review]

I always get super excited when trying out new mascaras: the fact that they always promise to give you this and that result always gets me in a frenzy to try them out. Sometimes however, I'm let down by empty promises, and these mascaras find their way deeper and deeper inside my mascara drawer.

So you can imagine my excitement when I received this Max Factor False Lash Effect in the post. 

What caught my eye first was the simple black and gold packaging. I'm so used to multicoloured mascara packaging that this came as a nice surprise. 

The wand (as pictured) is quite stubby with very short plastic bristles. In my books this is a good thing because you can easily reach all of your lashes. Even though the wand is on the large side, I have no problems using this on my lower lashes.

The formula is quite nice also: it is neither too wet nor too dry. It also has a quick drying time (which is especially good for people like me who always mess up their under eyes with mascara). However, you do need to scrape off the excess from the wand, as the sifter is rather big (probably to accommodate the largish brush)

It also feels very soft once dry - and it is also easily removed with just soap and water.

Even though it is easily removed, it is smudge proof - therefore you won't have the tell tale black smudge on your under eye after a day of wearing this.

One coat of the Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara on my left eye

Even though this mascara claims to give you a false lash effect, I was pleasantly surprised with the effect it gives. While it does elongate and darken my lashes, it does not make them spidery and clumpy, but makes them really dark, thick and separated. 

This Max Factor mascara is also really buildable - you can easily apply three coats without it going clumpy.

On a final note ... this Max Factor False Lash Effect is right up my alley!

Keep updated with Max Factor by following them on their FB page here.

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Pupa Milano Soft & Wild Limited Edition Autumn Collection [I'm Lipstick 003 | Blush Reviews]

With every season Pupa Milano release a limited edition collection: for Autumn 2015 the collection is called Soft & Wild. 

This LE collection has, as the name implies, really soft, feminine shades [unlike the usual plum and burgundy that we normally see around this time of the year]. It's quite a fresh approach, really.

The packaging is uber cute: the outer box is pink with  velvet leopard print trimmings. The actual products are all encased in mirrored, gold packaging. 

** Photo courtesy of Pupa Milano in Malta **

I got two products from this line: the Soft & Wild Blush and one of the I'm Lipsticks.

** Sample packaging - for the actual packaging, scroll down **

This Pupa Milano Soft & Wild Blush is totally gorgeous and right up my alley. It combines 3 shades into a leopard print design: you get a pastel pink, a darker pink, and a golden highlight. 

You can swirl your blush brush over all the shades for a healthy, pink glow, or else you can pick up the colours separately with a smaller brush. I especially like to do this with the gold shade, and use it to highlight under my brow bone, the inner corners of my eyes, my cupid's bow, or to use it as a normal highlight on my cheekbones. 

It is nicely pigmented and it is picked up easily with a brush. Even though at first glance it looks quite light, it does show up on my olive-toned skin tone. 

The blush retails for €14.40*

I also got to try the Soft & Wild I'M Pure-Colour Lipstick Absolute Shine in the shade #003 Wild Red. There are four total shades in the collection, ranging from nudes to pinks.

I'm no stranger to the I'M lipstick range so I knew what to expect from the lipsticks in this line [you can check out another review of mine for I'm lipsticks here]

The shade I have is a dark red shade with plum-ish undertones, making it a red shade which can be easily worn both mornings and evenings. 

Although the name states that it gives Absolute Shine, I do think that it is more of a cross between a matte and a cremesheen rather than anything else. It starts off quite shiny, however over time it becomes more matte. 

It is highly pigmented and a total joy to wear and apply. It is super comfortable on the lips because of its melt-like properties.

It is quite long-lasting, and fades into a light plum shade on my lips. 

The I'm lipstick retails for €12.45*

Some of the other products which form part of this Soft & Wild collection are: 

Soft & Wild Vampi Wet & Dry Eyeshadows [4 different shades] - €11.70

Soft & Wild Vampi Duo Liner & Kajal [deep black] - €11.80

Soft & Wild Lasting Colour Gel Nail Polish [4 different shades] - €6.00

Soft & Wild Animal Print Effect Top Coat - €6.00 

You can buy the I'm range from selected outlets and pharmacies across Malta and Gozo.

You can also follow the Pupa Milano in Malta facebook page by clicking here

Love,

Lola

xoxo

***Disclaimer: This product was given to me by Pupa Milano for review purposes. I was not paid to do this review. What I wrote in the review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer vs LA Girl Pro Conceal [Review]

Let me start this review / smack-down by saying that one of my makeup weaknesses is indeed concealer. I'm always on the lookout for the latest [and bestest] products on the market. 

This post tackles two very much raved about concealers: the MAC Pro-Longwear and the LA Girl Pro Conceal. Many bloggers say that the LA Girl is a dupe for the MAC one, so let's see shall we?

I got the MAC concealer from Malta [finally!] for €19.20, and the LA Girl Pro Conceal $4.29 / €3.88 [I bought 2 of them from this link HERE]

That's quite a huge difference in price.

The MAC Pro-Longwear Concealer [my shade is NC35 - however I think that I should have got a shade lighter ]. There's a good range of shades so you can easily be colour matched. It comes in a small glass container with a pump. I hate this pump because it dispenses quite a lot of product.  You cannot really control how much product comes out. The concealer is quite lightweight, however it gives a pretty impressive coverage. I'm not really fond of its smell, though.

The LA Girl Pro-Conceal also comes in a vast range of shades. Mine is in the shade Creamy Beige. It comes in a plastic, squeezy tube with a brush. The product in itself is on the thick side, but it also gives medium / full coverage.

Both of them apply really easily and blend really well, however the LA Girl one needs to be worked in more because it has a thicker consistency. 

Both cover under-eye circles extremely well, and I'm finding that I'm reaching more and more for the LA Girl one. 

However, when it comes to concealing blemishes, redness etc., I find that the MAC one works best, since it is more lightweight and does not tend to 'sit' on the skin like the LA Girl one. 

Longevity wise, these both last the same for one [once set with powder], and they don't tend to settle in my fine lines. 

Both of them have fast drying times, but you have to work really quickly with the MAC one. 

Truthfully, I don't think that the LA Girl Pro-Conceal is a dupe of the MAC Pro Longwear concealer. While they both work amazingly well, they are quite different consistency wise. Having said that, I find that I cannot really live without having /using both of them: depending on whether I want a more natural, lightweight finish [MAC], or a Kim K highlighted look [LA Girl]. 

Hope this review helps.

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Brush Cleaning [Brush Guards | Review]

What to do on a grey-skied Sunday? Except watching films / lazying about / lounging / eating / drinking tea? 

Readers, I was so bored that I actually went ahead and cleaned my brushes. I use a mixture of vegetable oil mixed with my often lemon-scented dish washing soap, dip said brushes in, give them a good swirl about on my hands, and rinse thoroughly with warm water.

What I usually hate the most is when it comes to dry the brushes [I used to lay them down on a towel, but it took up so much space], so when I saw these mesh brush guards, I immediately bought them. They were a steal at $0.71 / €0.63 for 10. 

I got mine from this link HERE.

They fit pretty much all of my brushes: from my Kabuki brush to my thinnest MAC Angled Brush. 

As you can tell from the photos, these guards not only help with the drying time, but also with retaining the shape of the brushes. 

Hope this helps with speeding things up for you,

Love,

Lola

xoxo