Blog Swap | USA to UK

I've done blog swaps before and I've actually already done a swap with Rena before - so last year we decided to do another. Various reasons meant this didn't happen sooner but better late than ever though! 
I tried filming the swap but a bunch of footage got corrupted, argh! But I thought I would do a little post showing some of the things I got - as more likely than not there will be some posts reviewing some of what I got. 
The box came very well packaged, and was in three layers- the top two were items Rena picked for me and the bottom layer was things I'd bought and had sent to her house (more on this in another post).

There was a fair amount of lip products in the box, a few lovely wet n wild colours that I'm excited to try, and the apricot Burts Bees Lip Shimmer looks amazing. 

SO MUCH EYE STUFF. Who knew Maybelline sold Colour Tattoo Crayons? The Wet n Wild palette looks lovely too, the colours look really pretty. The Wet n Wild liner has some glitter in it and I really really hope its a fair bit of noticeable glitter. I've so much to try out and I'm super excited. 

Final things are face products. KAT VON D! Hole-crap. This blush is hugeeee, and it looks so pretty, so many heart eyes. The Maybelline Fit Me concealer is the best concealer I've tried, the UK version of this is definitely not as good as the US version though, so I love when I can get my little mitts on the US one. 
I'll be testing these products out over the next few months, if theres anything you'd like to see a review on let me know and I'll be extra sure to review that for you! 

NYX Lipstick in Snow White | Review

Recently I did a swap with the lovely Rena from Kiss and Makeup and one of the items she kindly sent me was a NYX lipstick. I'm a huge lover of lipsticks, so this was more than welcome in my ever growing collection. 

The colour Rena picked out for me is Snow White. It is possibly the most perfect deep red, its quite a dark red I would say - maybe a bit vampy. But I love it. A lot of the reds I have in my collection are very bright, so this is quite different from the rest. The colour is actually really similar to my hair now that it's been dyed! 
Packaging wise, the NYX lipsticks remind me of the MUA ones. Basically just a plain black tube, with the logo for the company and a little bit of colour to give an idea of the shade at the bottom of the tube. 

 I really love the way this looks on, I think it really compliments my paleness - and I think it makes my teeth look whiter! This is definitely going to be one of my most reached for lipsticks - it looks like it would be absolutely perfect for all year wear. WOO! 

The colour does last a fair while, the deepness of the colour lasts a couple of hours then your left with a nice paler red. 

After trying this I think I'd be quite interested in maybe getting a few more colours, as I'm really really impressed with this. 
What colours would you suggest I get, do you like these lipsticks? 

★

Blog Swap | UK & USA

I don't even remember how long Rena and I have been planning and buying for this swap but let me tell you its been a long time! We set quite a high budget, and that is maybe why we took such a long time between starting and sending. But anyway, I've been reading Rena's blog for a year or so and I really enjoy reading all her posts. Her blog is Kiss and Make-up and I highly recommend that everyone goes and has a wee look and maybe gives her a follow. She is seriously good with make-up and I'm envious of her skills.
Rena received her box before me - which just made me even more excited to receive mine. I have to hand it to the Royal Mail, they managed to get it over seas so quickly. I dare say quicker than some British parcels I've sent....
My box arrived the day after Rena received hers, it came stupidly early in the morning but I was so excited I wasn't bothered my being summoned from bed at an ungodly hour. The box was a blooming nightmare to get into, you taped this up so well! When I finally got into it I had to contain my joy and stop myself from just ripping through the box. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of all the items together (at least properly) so it'll just be lots and lots of smaller groups of items.
Can I just mention how beautiful the card she sent me is? Like, wow, its definitely getting saved - might see if it will fit in my photo album. I did try to film me opening the box but half the film was corrupted so yeah, that was a fail. Obviously the pictures are in absolutely no order, but I'll try say a wee bit about each thing - like what it is and colours and such like, nothing too detailed.

 In this pretty little black and pink striped box was a few lovely little bits from NYX, it was such a cute wee detail to put them in a box. Rena got me two eyeshadows in Golden Amber and Nude - Nude looks to be the colour I've been searching for, it just looks like it will be the most perfect base. Also in the box was a Roll-on Shimmer in the colour Almond and a lip stick in the most gorgeous red shade, Snow White. Very fitting.

 So much Bath and Body Works!! I'm so happy! The candles all smell amazing, Hulas and Hibiscus smells really sweet I can't quite figure out what it reminds me of but it definitely smells like some kind of baked good. Rena also kindly picked up for me Peach Bellini - smells exactly like peach with the cocktail edge to it - and Pomelo Grapefruit, this smells exactly how it sounds. Heavenly all of them. As if the candles weren't enough - Rena you spoil me - she also kindly sent over a couple of lotions and shower gels. She sent a few things from the Sweet Pea range - shower gel, body lotion and body spray. Its the absolute best thing I've ever smelt, she picked these out because they are her favourite so thank you a billion times over. She also sent me a body lotion in Endless Summer, not a strong scent but it is really nice and Japanese Cherry Blossom. The final Bath and Body Works product she sent me was the Aromatherapy Sensual Bubble Bath and Body Wash - this really does smell sexy. Its kind of musky? Is that the word I want... Hmm, could be. But this really is an absolutely amazing scent when this runs out I'll be so so sad.

 I love nail wraps, they are the lazy girls way of getting really cool "nail art" looking nails. The designs on these are so cool and not only do I have some for my fingers, I now have some for my toes! I don't think I've ever seen toe ones in the UK so it will be really fun to use these ones.

 This I know for a fact was the last thing I got, since it was hidden right at the bottom of the box. But this little notebook is so sweet. The colours are right down my street, chevron blues with a pink band. Perf.

Oh Rena how I love thy choices, she sent over two trios and one - shall we call it a palette - palette. The trios are in the colours On Cloud Nine - which is a blue toned one - and Sweet as Candy which is much more of a neutral kind of one. I'm not sure how much use On Cloud Nine will get but I'm sure Sweet as Candy will get a lot of use. The palette she sent me is in the colour The Naked Truth - the colours in this look really wearable and I'll definitely be trying it out very soon. 

 I was sent a few more bits from NYX. Although we are able to get NYX in the UK its harder to come by and tends to be a lot more expensive than it would be in the States. Rena sent over two of the Jumbo eye pencils, a blusher, an eye shadow palette and a pair of eyelashes. I love eye shadow pencils so I was really happy to have received these - and in two lovely colours as well! The colours I received were Iced Mocha - a lovely bronze-y colour - and Cottage Cream - possibly the perfect silver colour for the inner corner? The blush she sent me is in the colour Dusty Rose, I was actually really close to buying this not too long ago so good job I didn't eh? The eye palette - in Adorable -  is the perfect kind of neutral colours, there is a pink shade in there as well but the palette is so so so wearable. Now for possibly the most beautiful eye lashes ever? These look so fluttery and feathery and just out right perfect. I can't wait for a night out so I can wear these bad boys.

 Two more eye shadow palette type things, my eye shadow collection has grown so much. lolz. The Almay trio is so pretty, the colours look perfect for everyday wear - not too shimmery either - and its the one designed for brown eyes. The ULTA palette is very bright but the colour that I homed in on was the blue colour - wow it is such an amazing colour, I've never seen a blue like that before.

Next up is some bits from Milani, the last swap I did I got a blush and a lipstick from Milani and I quite wanted to try some more from them. Wait a minute... Quite wanted? That is such bad English, but you know what I mean. Rena kindly sent over a shadow eyez pencil, an eye shadow, a lip gloss and a liquid liner. The shadow pencil - your feeding my love - is in the shade Sand Dunes, it looks to be quite a gold toned brown colour. The shadow is in the colour I Heart You and my oh my, can we just take a minute to appreciate how beautiful this colour is? I adore red eye shadows like this - I have a few cream ones in my collection - so this is going to get a fair bit of use. The lip gloss is in the colour Sweet Grapefruit - unfortunately it doesn't smell like grapefruit - and looks to be a really pretty pink shade. The liner really intrigues me, this seems like an odd thing to say but I've never owned a liner in this colour and I very rarely buy liquid liner, I really want to use this but since its blue I'm not sure where I'll find the confidence to wear it out.

 I've come to the conclusion that American beauty products use a lot of packaging in comparison to British ones. With that side note, two new mascaras to try. I'm not sure if we have these in the UK or not but I'm really excited to try them. The L'Oreal Volumious Carbon Black mascara looks amazing - so hopefully it will be as good as it looks. And the Maybelline Volum' Express Mascara looks really cool as well, this is one of the Mega Plush ones and is purple so it'll be quite cool to see what it looks like on the lashes.

Rena had said she would be able to get me a sample size of the Benefit Bad Lash and she did! The They're Real just doesn't work on my lashes so fingers crossed this does a better job. I'm assuming these are all sample sizes? Why don't we get samples when we shop? Tarte recently came the the UK on QVC and I was quite interested in the mascara so now I get to try it before I pay full price for it! Okay so I'm not 100% sure if this is for your brows or for your lashes but it is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius, I think I'll look up what its for then go from there.

 Liners, liners, liners! Pencil and Liquid. Rena sent me over two Essence liners in Teddy and Love Me Lavender, along with a Wet N Wild black liquid liner. The applicator nib bit for this looks like it could be pretty easy to use, it seems to be pretty thin so in theory no crazy thick lines. Right?

Rena also sent me a Stila lip glaze - I think I had one of these years ago - in the colour Strawberry Lemonade and a Pacifica Color Quench lip tint. This is in the shade Guava Berry and it looks really pretty, I love lip balm things and I'm always on the hunt for the perfect one so this will for sure get lots of use.

 Next up is a few products from ELF, we do have access to this in the UK but only if we order online and sometimes I'm a bit wary of ordering makeup online if I'm not sure of my colour. Rena sent over a set of three lip glosses - the darkest one looks pretty darn cool! She also sent over two Jumbo Eye shadows in Little Miss Thing - a lovely gold - and Midnight Rendezvous - a really pretty brown. The final ELF product was a Shimmering Face Whip in Lilac Petal, it looks like it will be a really pretty light highlight.

 I'm not sure if we have this concealer in the UK, but I'm excited to try it anyway. The colour Rena sent me matches my skin so well. The Maybelline Fit Me range seems to be a really good range.

 Face wipes are the thing I use when I'm too lazy to take my make-up off properly, I'd ran out of wipes but I now have these Green Tea ones to use.

 I know we do get NYC in the UK but its not a brand I've ever really been interested in. Until now though - the bronzer (in Sunny) looks like it could be even better than my NARS Laguna!!! She also sent over a Sparkles Eye Dust in the colour Amber Glitz.

Final thing now from the swap box! Miniature shampoos/conditioners by Paul Mitchell - I think we have this brand in the UK, although I honestly wouldn't even know where to get it from. I was sent the Awapuhi Shampoo and the Detangler Conditioner - after I wash my hair it gets very tuggy so it'll be interesting to see if this helps.

This post was massive! I hope you enjoyed reading it and thank you so so so much Rena for doing this with me I love everything you sent me! Any items you would like to see reviews on let me know and I'll try get them up soonish :) x

★

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil | Yogurt

I had never tried anything from NYX before, but I have lusted over so much of their stuff for months. The first NYX items I got were sent to me by Zoe. One of the items she sent me was a Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt. The only way - as far as I know - that we can get our hands on NYX products in the UK is by ordering from their site. A little annoying if you don't know how the colour is going to look.

Yogurt is such a pretty pale brown colour, at first I thought it was a champagne colour, but I now think its a very light pale brown. It doesn't give a very dark lid colour, it gives just the subtlest hint of colour - if you go to a school where you can't wear makeup or can't wear a lot then this would be a good colour for you.
It does crease, but only slightly. I think if you don't have oily eye lids then creasing wont be a problem for you. I found if I rubbed over the creased bit I could easily fix the creasing, so it wasn't a huge problem. Just draw this on the eye lid and blend it out with your finger, and now you have either a nice all over lid colour or a base for other colours.

Blog Swap

A couple of months ago I got in touch with Zoe offering to send her some of the products that she featured in her international wishlist post. We decided it would be cool to do a swap, that way we both get to try products that we can't get our hands on. There are so many products I'd love to get my hands on American products but postage prices make it near impossible to do.
I had a lot of fun picking out what I was going to send Zoe, and had just as much fun packing it all up. I was really excited sending it off, I get overly excited when giving people gifts. When Zoe told me her box had arrived I was so happy, I was really excited for her to see what was inside - and I was really excited to see her thoughts on it. It made me even more excited for my box to come through!
Zoe received her box 2 days before I received mine. And I was really excited when it came through - my mum was even excited to see what was inside.
When I opened the box there was a lovely little note from Zoe, it was so sweet and now makes me feel bad that my note to her was so rubbish. 100 million thank you's to you Zoe! ( I had no trouble reading your note, your writing is lovely). On most - if not all - of the items Zoe had left little notes with little bits of info on her feelings on the items or why she bought them.
To say I'm excited to try out these products would be an understatement! Any free time I have will be spent playing around with all these items.
Lets get on to talking about zee items!

The first things I opened were a little sweetie and a keyring, It was really sweet and thoughtful of Zoe to include these and I wish I had thought to do the same!(next time I shall!) This picture really doesn't do justice how lovely the keyring is - it has already found its home with my house keys.

In the same little bubble wrapped package was a Wet N Wild Colour Icon trio, I've wanted to try something like this for ages! It seems like the perfect way to get into eye-shadow since each colour is labelled so you know where it should go on your eye. The colours are lovely neutrals - just my cup of tea.

The next thing was a Maybelline Colour Whisper, we don't get these in the UK yet so I asked Zoe if she could get me one. The colour is Berry Ready which is a beautiful berry toned red - perfect for the winter months! I wish it was acceptable to use smiley faces in blog posts, this one would most definitely be covered in ":D".  The packaging is really pretty, I would say cute but I doubt many people would agree with me, its quite dinky so should fit perfectly in my little storage drawer.

The next item I unwrapped was a Milani lipstick. For whatever reason I hadn't thought of Milani making lipsticks - silly me - I was honestly under the impression they only did their amazing blushes (thank you Zoe). The colour of this is Plumrose, and I have to say but this lipstick smells bloody amazing!! It smells like a sweet, but for the life of me I can't remember what one... The colour is a lovely dusty/ vintage pink? Or dark pinky/ purple? I'm not sure, but it is a lovely colour. Not one I'd usually go for but I really like the way it looks on, and so does my mum. (I can smell the beautiful smell while wearing it, heheheh)

Apologies for the dark photos, but these are the next things I got. I love shadow pencils, they are such an easy way to add a little bit of colour to your lids. So these Wet n Wild ones will be getting an awful lot of love and attention. Zoe got me the colours Graphite and Pixie. Zoe said that she has the lighter coloured one and that its a great inner corner colour - I've been trying to find a really lovely inner corner colour for ages so I'll definitely be trying this for that. Graphite looks to be a really dark brown, I do love me some good brown shadows.

The camera has not picked up the colour properly at all! But anyway, another eye pencil! ( :D ) I fear soon I may need a separate drawer just for eye shadow pencils! This one is by NYX and is one of their Jumbo Eye Pencils. We can get NYX over here, but I think we can only get it online - not the best when yo can't physically see the colour so I've never actually placed an order before. Filled my basket up many a time but never actually purchased. I think if I enjoy using this then it'll be the little push I needed to actually buy some stuff. (so many "actually's" there) the colour in the picture looks really brown, but its actua more of a champagne pink colour, in the shade Yogurt. I think this will be a good colour for days when I only want a light wash of colour. Unfortunately the cello tape held on really tightly to the pencil and took a little of the white paint stuff off the packaging. Sad face.

This NYX Mosaic powder, is like nothing I've ever seen. Also is it a blush? Is it a bronzer? I'm not really sure, I thought it was a blusher till I realised it said powder.... It's in the colour Peachy - further making me think its a blusher. I'm going to have to have a little play about with this to try find what its best suited for, I'm going to have so much fun with this. It is a lovely colour though and I will make it work for me.

As soon as I saw the packaging for this I started saying "oh my god" over and over again. I also may have squealed and bounced about. To be honest with you, I don't know why I've wanted one of these for so long or even as much as I have. It could just be the beautiful packaging - that's actually probably exactly what it is. But none the less, I am really, super, no, immensely excited to use this!It really is a Happy Booster, since I was really happy before I saw this and afterwards - well I was over the moon.

This Milani blusher is possibly the most beautiful colour of blush that I have ever seen. This had me "ooooing" when I saw it. Milani blushers are always talked about by American bloggers and YouTubers and I've wanted to try them for so long! This is such a beautiful colour, Thank you Zoe!! The blush is in the colour Luminoso, I can't wait to see how it looks on! 

Wet n Wild seems like such an amazing brand, and this lipstick looks like such a beautiful colour. The shade is Purty Persimmon, it is such a lovely orange red colour. Beautiful!

Zoe had said that these were the best knock offs for Bath and Body Works, and my oh my. If these are knock offs then I wonder how good the real things are. This body mist smells heavenly, its by essence of Beauty, I think... Zoe said she got this scent so that I could have a little reminder of the Caribbean. In the winter I think this will be lovely and fresh and a lovely reminder of the sunny weather that will be back (hopefully). 

I love hand sanitizer, and Zoe got me a hand sanitiser in the same scent. I'll be taking this with me to university with me so I can have clean hands all the time! Yay for hand sanitiser, the smell is so lovely and fresh.

Another thing from the scent range is a hand cream, this will probably also makes its way into my school bag. Now that winter is coming my hands are going to need a little moisture boost, this shall do the job nicely. 

The final item is a face mask. I love face masks and finding a good one is brilliant! Zoe says she really likes this one, and said it removes all the dirty stuff on your face. This makes me really excited to try this, if I like it I'll have to try find out where I can get it from in the UK. 

Thank you again Zoe, I love everything and I hope you enjoy everything you received as well! 

I hope you've enjoyed this post and please check out Zoe's blog, you'll love her blog and her just as much as I do. 

Have you tried out any of these items? What do you think of them? 

★