NYC Big Bold Volume Vs Yves Saint Laurent Babydoll

Can you tell the difference?

I'm a sucker for makeup dupes; any way I can get the same result from a cheaper product than spending a fortune on a high end one is always a good thing!

Both of these I bought after seeing reviews from other bloggers - So Sue Me and Casey Holmes.

 I bought the YSL Babydoll during the sales in Debenhams for €32.50 which came with a small bottle of YSL Instant Eye Makeup Remover. When I watched Casey Holmes on YouTube test it out I knew I had to have it. When I used it first the results where instantaneous, the wand is so fine and doesn't have that much product on it, so I didn't think it was going to do much but the lashes became separated, coated evenly and  gave huge amount of volume. It lasts all day as well so you won't be needing to top it up later in the day and when it comes to taking it off you'll need industrial grade eye makeup remover (No joke this stuff isn't budging).

I'm an avid reader of the So Sue Me blog and when I saw her rave about the NYC Big Bold Volume Mascara I just had to see what all the fuss was about. I bought mine in Pennys, I think you can get it in some chemists also. This was a lot cheaper than the YSL mascara coming in at only €3.49. The wand is very similar to the Babydoll wand but holds more product. It can get a bit clumpy on application but going over your lashes a few times helps make them more separated.  

YSL Babydoll (left), NYC Big Bold (right) 

After using both mascaras for a few weeks I noted that they both gave very similar results, so one day I wore both mascaras, one on each eye. Honestly I couldn't really tell the difference and half way through the day I completely forgot which one was which. 

I did a little survey as well and asked all my friends could they tell the difference and the results were pretty much split down the middle.

I did get better compliments on the lashes that had the YSL on them though, with some people saying that I looked like I had false lashes on.

Overall I preferred the NYC mascara, I probably won't be buying the YSL again unless it's on offer and really it's purely for the fact that I get pretty much the exact same result from the NYC than the YSL for a fraction of the cost.

Love Sarah xoxo

Urban Decay Smoked Palette Review

Morning All,

So if you've been following or reading my blog you'll know last week I had a "dilemma" about which palette to buy - Smashbox Full Exposure or Urban Decay Smoked. After much deliberation I chose the Urban Decay palette which I am so happy about. I bought it in House of Fraser as I had a gift card so it felt like I got it for free which is always a good feeling.

Firstly the packaging is amazing it's in a foamy zip up wallet which I've never really seen in any other palettes and will make it great if I ever need to go travelling or need to throw it in my bag. The box comes with a small Primer Potion, a 24/7 glide-on eyeliner pencil in Perversion and a little look book to help you create some step by step looks. As soon as I got home I just had to try it out!

Firstly I tested some swatches on my arm just to see what I was dealing with and to get a feel of the product. The colours come up so well, only a little was need to get the results in the photo above and there wasn't that much fall out. There are 6 metallic colours and 4 mattes, 2 of which are highlight colours (they don't come up that well in the pictures). 

So the first look I did using Loaded, Blackout and Asphalt as the main colours, it gave a dark and smoked green colour to my eyes. The only thing missing to complete the look where some lashes, which would have made it a real night time look.

(Look 1)

The second look I used Blackout, Backdoor, Rust and Asphalt, again this was a smokey look but a bit more wearable as it was mainly browns. I used the 24/7 glide-on eyeliner to create a winged look and put about 10 layers of the NYC Big Bold Volume Mascara so I didn't look like I was in desperate need of lashes.

(Look 2)

Overall I love this palette; it's very versatile and can give day and night looks. I think I will be mainly using this more for my night looks though (I did use it last Friday night but took so many snapchats I forgot to take any proper photos to show you guys :( ). I will give one warning, the 24/7 glide-on eyeliner literally stays on 24/7, I had to scrub my eyes to get it off and you really need to work quick with it as dries and that bad boy isn't budging once it does!

Oh and the lipstick in all the pictures is the Red P.S Beauty Love lipstick with the black lid from Pennys.

Thanks for reading,

Love Sarah xoxo

Pennys/Primark P.S Love Beauty - Part 2

This is Part 2 of my Pennys/Primark P.S Love Beauty range post, this time it's about my favourite subject - LIPs!!!! 

Now some people say I have an "out of control" addiction to lipstick and any lip product in general but I choose to ignore them all and continue to buy on a regular basis (OK so maybe it's a little excessive) but when I saw these Penny's lipsticks for only 2 euro each I had to pick up all the ones I could get my hands on. 

So I got 8 of them - 5 lipsticks, 2 lip gloss crayons and a lip stain pen. I'm so impressed by the quality of these products i'm still shocked that they're from Penny's. 

Firstly we have the 5 lipsticks, now not all the packaging is the same some have black lids and some are clear, the clear packaging reminded me a little of the Topshop Makeup design which makes it more expensive than it actually is. I loved the look of all the colours on me except for the nude brown, but nudes have never ever look good on me. I think it's because my lips are naturally very red so putting any nude brown on me makes me look very washed out. 

Now none of the colours in the range have names on them which I do miss, especially as I bought two red shades in the lipsticks - one with a black lid and one with a clear lid. I did in the end after much scrutiny find out that they where different, the lipstick with the black lid is a bit more of a pillar box red and the lipstick with the clear lid is more of a pinky red. 

The surprise favourite was the purple lipstick, which on first glance looks like a really dark purple (I thought it was going to make me look a bit grunge) but when tested it's actually very wearable, so much so I've worn it into work a few times.

None of the colours give either a matte look of an overly shiny lip, the balance is perfect. The darker red and purple when worn off leave a stain on your lips which I personally love and overall the lipsticks do last for some time - obviously after eating and drinking they do fade.

Onto the moisturising lip gloss crayons and when they say moisturising they really are. I can't remember if there are any other colours than these two, I suppose i'll have to go back to Penny's to test :) 

We have a light baby pink that has a little glitter in it which you might think your going to look like a 12 year old but it actually works and isn't too in your face. You can feel the glitter between your lips when you rub them together but lets just think of it as exfoliating on the go. The second is a hot pink, which is a bit more creamy than the other gloss and has a great pigment on it but isn't so over the top that your left looking like Barbie.

Finally we have the lip stain stick, the only other time I have bought a lips stain stick was with MaxFactor and it wasn't the best (that's me putting it very nicely), so I wasn't expecting much from this but I was surprised by it. It really does what it says on the package and does stain your lips for a good part of the day but it did leave them a bit dry so I would recommend putting a clear gloss or lip balm on top.

And I think that's it, overall I love everything about this new Pennys/Primark range, it's such a delight to see affordable makeup that looks and feels like it should be more expensive. I definitely recommend these products both from this post and my previous review on the new P.S Love Beauty range that I've tested out, I've missed out on a few bits especially the nail polishes so I might have another post in the future on them just keep your eye's peeled.

Thanks for reading guys, don't forget to like, subscribe, share, follow and everything in between, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Love Sarah xoxo

Pennys/Primark - P.S Love Beauty part 1

When it comes to affordability Pennys/Primark is the Queen of it. Just this month Penny's have launched a new makeup range P.S Love Beauty and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. I picked up a few things and tested them out this is only part 1 of my P.S Love Beauty blog post as there is so much to show I had to divide it up. 

Starting off we have this little eye shadow palette at €3.50, it's a great deal for 10 little shadows. The outside packaging is very pretty but when you take it out of the box its pretty plain, but it's whats on the inside that counts isn't it. 

When I saw it first I thought the colours where very similar to the original Urban Decay Naked palette, especially the dark blue at the beginning of the palette. It comes with a little eyeshadow wand which is handy but the tip broke after a few minutes of using it and I could'nt get it back into the stick, I probably wouldn't have used it anyway.

 

As you can see from the swatches on my arm they don't come up to well but they are build-able so just keep at it and they will come up, i'd also recommend using an eyelid primer or a good long wear concealer just to keep everything in place and make the colour stick and last a bit longer. 

I also got some shadow sticks (€1.50 each), I could only get my hands on the Purple and Cocoa (I think that's what its called I don't have it in front of me), they also have a gold one but they had none available in the Penny's that I was in. I havnt done a look with them yet but I was impressed by the look of them. The purple is really metallic and the Cocoa is less metallic but has a bit of sparkle to it, they looked great when I swatched them and they seem to stay on for a long time without budging!

I'm saving the best till last with this one, they call it a blusher but it is a gorgeous bronze highlighter (€2) that can double as an eyeshadow. I just cant explain how much I love this product, you all need to go out and get it. If you use a light amount of product on the tops of your cheekbones it will give you a lovely glowing highlight and using your prefered eyeshadow brush it will be great on your lids and seeing as bronzed golden eye looks are all they rage for spring/summer i'd recommend popping down to your local Pennys/Primark and getting your hands on this beauty!!

So this is just some of the products that caught my eye from the new P.S Love Beauty collection, the only thing that I don't love is that there are no names on the colours except for the eyeshadow sticks but other than that I can't really fault it, the range goes from €1.50 and the most I paid for one item was €3.50. You can find out more information at http://www.primark.com/whats-new/article/358,ps-love-beauty-range-new-at-primark.

Have a good weekend guys, 

Love Sarah xoxo

A very big decision

Evening

As pay day looms I have a dilemma - what palette to buy!!!!

I'm thorn between the Smashbox Full Exposure palette or the Urban Decay Smoked palette. I know I will eventually get both of them at some stage but at over €40 each I can't justify getting both at the same time.

I've done swatches of both palettes on my wrists and I was more impressed with the Urban Decay shadows. The pigmentation is pretty impressive I put only a little bit on my finger and the amount of colour you get for such a small amount is amazing. When I swatched the colours I was a little underwhelmed but I have heard some amazing things about this palette and seen some lovely tutorials and what the outcome can be. 

So which one will I get? If you have any opinions let me know, I think i'm leaning more towards the Urban Decay palette especially as I have a lot of neutral colours similar to the Full Exposure palette and I was more impressed on my first opinion of it. So roll on pay day :)

Love Sarah xoxo

My Best Beauty Buy of the Week

Morning Beauty Bunny’s!

So on Valentines Day I decided to treat my self to a little V-Day prezzie, and what says I love you more than YSL!!

I love anything Yves Saint Laurent, unfortunately for me it’s rarely in my budget but i decided to splurge on their new Spring 2014 La Laque Couture Spicy Collection, and by splurge I mean by one nail varnish. At €24 a pop it is a bit steep but when I saw the colour I knew I had to have it.

It wouldn’t be everybody’s cup of tea but it made me think of the sun and with the weather we’re having we all need a little bit of sunshine in our lives. I chose it in No.44 Ambre Gingembre – it’s a dark orange and will look even better on once I get a tan. It goes on like a dream, the applicator is just perfect and dries pretty quickly – I didn’t use a top coat so it did chip after a day or two but I was too excited to wait and had to put it on pretty much straight away!

So this was my top buy of last week and I think it will be my go too spring/summer colour 

Love Sarah xoxo

My First Post

Hello!!

My first blog post how cool, I hope you all follow my blog! I’ll be helping you keep up to date with all the newest budget makeup buys and a few flash ones too! I have such wanderlust, I love to travel so I’ll also be posting all the places I visit.

I’m new to this so be patient with me 

Love
Sarah xoxo