IMATS London 2014 Haul + Experience

Last weekend was IMATS London, and I was lucky enough to get to go. As a beauty junkie, there's nothing more appealing than walking around a huge room filled with discounted makeup and incredible, talented makeup artists. 

I went on the Saturday with my friend, Louise, as we thought it would be slightly less busy, and I'm not too sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't too crowded. Don't get me wrong, you still had to (politely) push your hand through the huge gathering of people, in order to get near that lipstick you wanted to swatch so badly, but getting there early really helped! We were queuing outside at 7.45am (the doors opened at 8.30am) which meant the booths weren't too busy.

I picked up some bits that I really wanted, but managed to hold back enough so that I didn't faint from totaling up the prices when I got home! 

Lime Crime Lipstick (Centrifuchsia) - £10

NYX Powder Blush (Taupe) - £4.50

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (Monte Carlo) - £4.50

Crown Brush (no number/writing) - £3

Crown Brush (C200 Deluxe Crease) - £3

Crown Brush (C149 Small Round Contour) - £2

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer (Shade 4) - £14.80

INGLOT 5 Pan Freedom System Palette - £6

INGLOT E/S (448 Pearl) - £3

INGLOT E/S (465 DS) - £3

INGLOT E/S (358 Matte) - £3

INGLOT E/S (420 Pearl) - £3

INGLOT E/S (389 Matte) - £3

Considering the amazing quality of INGLOT eyeshadows, £21 for a full 5 pan palette was such a bargain, and I'm so glad I finally got my hands on the MUFE concealer as it's so highly raved about! 

I also got to meet one of my favourite Youtubers, Grace, from UglyFaceofBeauty, who I have been watching for 3 years - she was super lovely and so easy to chat to! I also saw a few other Youtubers, which was so cool, and some incredibly talented artists, like Einat Dan and Neill Gorton. 

It was such a fantastic day, and I really can't wait to go again next year (providing my bank account has recovered by then!). 

Pixi Early Bird Palette

Hi Guys!

So this post is about a new palette I have recently accidentally aquired whist browsing the shelves of Boots (sorry this blog will be a little picture heavy!).

The Pixi Early Bird Palette retails for £16 and I must say, it is totally worth the money, however, I picked it up for £8 on sale.

Firstly, it contains 3 blushers, each printed with either a fairy of the 'pixi logo' on top.

They are silky-smooth and each have great colour pay off.

There is a slightly shimmery peachy shade, a slightly shimmery light pink and a matte dusky rose (but a little bit darker). They are all really wearable colours and I find that they really brighten the face up. 

There are also 2 bronzers and a highlighter. Unfortunately, both bronzers have quite a lot of shimmer in them and I prefer more of a matte finish, however, the 2 shades make it great for many different skin tones.

The highlighter, on the other hand, is gorgeous! It has a very smooth texture and adds just the right amount of shimmer, without it being glittery - I also think that the lightest bronzer (top) could work as a highlighter for darker skin tones.

Lastly, are the eye products. The range of eyeshadows are supposed to take you from day to night and I think that they really do.

The 4 products down the middle are 'eye bases' and are primarily, skin-toned colours which are quite opaque and are used under eyeshadows to even out any discolouration on the eyelid. Again, these have a very smooth texture and I like that there are different shades as it is suitable for different skin tones.

 

The 'day' shadows on the left of the palette contain lighter colours, with the one darker one being a forest green - a nice change from black. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with these eyeshadows.

All of the colours are shimmery (no mattes) which makes it difficult to define the crease. They are also mainly very light and very chalky. The first 6 (L-R) are extremely glittery and chalky which creates a lot of fallout.

I do quite like the mint green and forest green, but the mint colour is again, a little chalky.

The forest green (furthest right) is the opposite, smooth and shimmery, not chalky and glittery.  



Finally, the 'night' eyeshadows. Luckily, these are better quality and have better colour pay-off. They include one matte shade (similar to MAC omega, 3rd from left) and the rest are more shimmery than glittery. I particularly like the steel grey (2nd from right) and golden brown (5th from left).



Overall, I definately think the palette is worth the money, if only for the face products, however, the lighter eyeshadows are a little duff but the darker ones are really quite nice and comparible to some from the Urban Decay Naked Palette. Its handy for travelling and can create many different looks. It is my first product from Pixi and I think this is a nice one to start with.