Anastasia Beverly Hills | Modern Renaissance Palette & Swatches

Hey everyone!

I'm sure we have already seen so many posts about this palette, but thought I would share my thoughts and swatches anyways. I had my eye on this palette for a long time and it was sold out for awhile so when it finally got back in stock on Beautybay, I jumped at the chance to purchase it. Fortunately my cousin got me a gift card for £20 for Beautybay, so I knew straight away what to use it on! I must admit, I was a little torn as I didn't know if I should get the Huda Beauty Palette or this one, but I decided on the Modern Renaissance Palette in the end.

Let's begin with the packaging of this beauty. The palette comes in a sleek design with the cover in a lovely pink suede. Usually I don't like suede because of how dirty it gets but that's when it's black suede. This being a baby pink colour was a good choice as you won't be able to tell when it's dirty or see any uneven markings on the material. I'm absolutely loving rose gold these days, so I definitely like the embossed rose gold colour of the logo. The palette has a magnetic closure to it and also a ribbon inside to easily be able to pop out the brush that's included in the palette. This palette also includes a mirror on the inside, so it's perfect for on the go as it also includes the brush and it's a decent size to take with in your handbag/travel bag.

This palette contains 14 eyeshadow colours, including 11 matte shades and 3 shimmer shades. I love the berry tones in this palette, it looks so pretty. But there are also neutral shades to which makes this palette so versatile and you are able to create many different looks with this. Within the palette, you also get a dual ended brush to use with the shadows, although I never use the brushes that come with eyeshadow palettes. There's no reason why, I just always gravitate to my brush collection naturally. All my Urban Decay palettes also include brushes that I never use. I would most likely use it when taking the palette on the go.

Time to see the colours in action!

TOP ROW

BOTTOM ROW

The shadows are so pigmented and full of colour. I used this palette yesterday and the shadows are so easy to blend. The bottom row of shadows will allow you to create such a nice, warm and autumnal look, and topped up with that gold shimmer shade, a beautiful creation made.
There is one thing I did notice about some the shadows, which is that there is some fall out when tapping your brush in the shadows. It's not with all of them, but the one shadow I used yesterday, which is called Buon Fresco, had fall out when I used it with my brush. But this not bother me at all, the colour and formula of the shadows make up for this.

If you love a palette that has a lot of matte eyeshadows, berry and neutral tones, then I would really recommend getting this eyeshadow palette. I probably would have liked at least one more shimmer shadow in this collection, possibly a nice berry shimmer shade, but the 3 shimmer shades is still enough to give you that pop of colour and sheen to your eye look. This is the first product I've bought from Anastasic Beverly Hills and I'm not dissapointed. I'm glad I have this beauty in my collection.

This palette is currently in stock on the Beautybay website for £41, but be quick as they do sell out quickly. I would definitely recommend picking this up, it just feels and looks so beautiful, and definitely includes colours that I would use.

Have you got your hands on this delicious palette yet?

Birchbox Goodies | February

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

This post is about this month's Birchbox goodies. Please let me know if you like these kind of posts, or if you don't mind them. I just think it's good because it will give people an idea of how Birchbox is if anyone is on the fence about subscribing to them. And also, if anyone is nosey, like myself, and like to see what others get in their boxes, then these posts are also helpful.

This month's box is in collaboration with Papier. They are a stationary company - I love stationary! In this months box, we were able to choose which design of the box we would like to receive. Which is another reason why I like Birchbox because they sometimes give you the option to choose something about your subscription this month whether it be the design of the box or the shade of the product that you would like. A great touch! 

The other option was a white and green box but I chose this one. We also had the option to purchase a notebook for £8 - in which I did buy but I know I don't need it. I just like stationary and can't help myself. It has a positive message on it so I thought why not?

Let's begin with the goodies shall we?

Beaver Professional

Daily Moisture Conditioning Spray (50ml)

Birchbox Shop RRP: £21 for the full sized product

This is a herbal blend to detangle, nourish and inject moisture in your hair. I never use hair care products as I'm too lazy and never do different styles with my hair but this will be good if you wash your hair just before you need to go out and this will allow you to brush through your hair quicker and get through the tangles easier.

Whish

Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Acai Grapefruit (22ml)

Birchbox Shop RRP: £14.80 for the full sized product

This product will definitely come in use. This product has a non-foaming formula which also uses kind-to-skin ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil. Sounds pretty good to me!

POP Beauty

Bright Up Your Life Eyeshadow Trio in Champagne Mocha

Birchbox Shop RRP: £15.50 for the full sized product

I am an eyeshadow junkie and eyeshadow is my favourite part when it comes to doing a makeup look, so this was nice to receive. The colours go well together and I can quickly see an easy look to do with this trio. Simply use the middle shade for the lid, the last darker shade for the crease and outer V and the first lighter shade for the inner corner or brow bone highlight. They swatch pretty well on my hands. Cute colours that I would definitely use.

Spectrum Collections

Marbleous C06 Tulip Eye Contour Brush (Full Size)

Birchbox RRP: £5.99

We already got a sneak peak last month that everyone would be receiving this brush in their box this month and I was excited because I really like their brushes. I only have one other brush from them but I really like how soft they are and expected nothing less from this one. It does feel super soft as expected and it pairs well with the eyeshadow trio that we received in this box to. Not to mention the rose gold and white look to the design of the brush - can't go wrong there.

Keeome

Hydration Mask Therapy (Full Size)

Birchbox Shop RRP: £29 for 6)

I've been trying to get into my masks and use them regularly - atleast once a week or so. So this was a nice treat to get, especially as it's a Korean skincare item and I hear that Korean skincare is really good. This mask claims to revitalise the skin in minutes with its hydrating blend of vital vitamins and mulberry extracts that sinks into tired complexions. 

That's all folks!

I'm really impressed with all the products we received in this months box! So many goodies that I will definitely be getting use of so that's great. Thank you Birchbox! You're spoiling us and we are loving it! 

We already got a another sneak peak of one item that we will all definitely be receiving. We will be receiving a sample of a treat from Benefit - They're Real! Double The Lip. We also got the choice to choose which colour shade we wanted - I already chose mine. So that's a nice little something to look forward to!

What did you receive in this months box?

Product Empties (Fragrances) & Thoughts #2

Hey everyone!

Today's post is the 2nd edition of my product empties. I had accumulated so many empty perfumes so I thought I would group them all together, so fragrances is the theme for this edition of empties.

I use perfume on an everyday basis, usually every morning before I go to work. I think I use too much at a time, but I just want to make sure it will last me all day. With this in mind, it doesn't take me long to finish a perfume. A few pumps of sprits on the wrists and neck and I'm good to go! I'm always on the hunt for that perfume that people can smell on you when you walk past them. I sometimes wish I can stop a stranger and ask them what perfume they're wearing, but they will think I'm a weirdo so I don't but maybe one day I will be brave enough to ask.

Let's begin with the fragrances I have gone through so far:

Lady Gaga

Fame

This perfume is unique among the bunch because this is a black liquid! Something different but expected because we all know that Lady Gaga likes to be unique and different with her style. Bearing this in mind, I didn't know what to expect of the scent. But I bought it anyways and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it smelt! I love the scent of this and not what I expected at all. It's such a femine, light and sweet smelling perfume which is right up my alley!

Avon

Femme Icon

I never purchase perfume from Avon but I have a friend who was an Avon Representative so I thought I would try out some of their products and bought this perfume that came in a set with a body lotion to. The scent of this one is definitely very fruity and sweet.

Guerlain

La Petite Robe Noir

I absolutely LOVE this scent and if definitely one of my favourites. A very feminine, sweet smelling perfume. It has cherry, apple and blackcurrant notes and it all comes together so nicely. Definitely a smell you can get lost in if you're into this kind of scent. 

Vera Wang

Princess

First of all, let's a minute to admire the cute packaging of this one. A heart shaped bottle, with a golden crown embedded with lilac jewels. Obviously not real gold, but it looks so cute. This is another sweet smelling perfume, you might have found a pattern here already with the type of fragrances I go for. So many sweet notes within this fragrance and I like it. 

Lacoste

Touch of Pink

Another sweet smelling scent but a bit more low key than the others. Definitely wearable for the day time for a sprizs of sweetness.

Britney Spears

Midnight Fantasy

You can tell this has been a very well loved fragrance, I have 2 empty bottles here! A very deep, fruity and sweet perfume. Definitely one for the evening, but I often wore this during the day time. But I like the scent and it's such an affordable perfume. This is probably one of the sweetest perfumes of this selection here so I would not recommend this one if you don't like over powering scents, or just use sparingly. It's also a beautifully decorated bottle, so that's an added bonus as it will look nice displayed in your room.

Which perfumes are your favourite?

Morphe Kathleen Lights Palette & Swatches

Hey everyone!

How are we all?

Today's post is all about the Kathleen Lights Palette by Morphe Brushes! I was so excited about this palette, it sold out so quickly and I checked their twitter a lot to see when it would come back in stock. I bought it as soon as it came back on sale on their website.

If you haven't heard of Kathleen Lights, she is a Beauty Guru Youtuber and is one of my absolute favourites! I really don't need anymore eyeshadow palettes, but I just had to get this one and support her and seeing as I'm already a fan of Morphe's eyeshadows, I knew it wouldn't disappoint. Side note, she looks so cute here on the back cover of the box, also a sweet message for her fans.

The packaging of this palette is different compared to the usual Morphe eyeshadow palettes. The packaging of their palettes are usually in a hard black plastic with a click closure. This one is a made of a strong cardboard material and has a magnetic closure. Also the name of the palette is embedded with a red foil-like material, definitely something unique and different from their usual palettes. I like it because it makes the palette seem smaller, sleek and less bulky, which is a bonus for storage and also travelling.

As an overall view of the colours in this palette, you can see that there are a few different looks that can be created with this palette. It has all the colours you would need for a day or evening look. It also has the essential colours such as the vanilla shades on the top row to blend into the brow bone as well as the inner corners. Also a black shade to smoke out any look.

Time for the exciting part - Swatches!

TOP ROW

MIDDLE ROW

LAST ROW

I love how there's that pop of colour with that emerald green colour eyeshadow, one of my favourites from this palette. I also like the second row where it contains the lovely burgundy shades and colours that will compliment each other very well. As usual with Morphe eyeshadows, the formula of the eyeshadows are so nice, buttery and pigmented. What more can you ask for from an eyeshadow?

This palette has a mix of mattes and shimmers, so you can easily create a look and blend it out nicely with the matte shades and have that pop of colour with any of the shimmer shades.

This palette is limited edition but at the moment, it's still for sale on Morphe's website. It's priced at $14.99, but if you're like me and live in the UK, I had to pay quiet a lot for postage. Postage ended up being MORE than the actual palette. So do bear that in mind if you're from the UK and looking to purchase this palette. Fortunately, I did not get any custom charges, so atleast that's a plus.

Have you got this palette? Or do you have a favourite palette from Morphe Brushes?