Monday, 4 February 2019

5 Looks 1 Palette - Morphe 35M 'Boss Mood';-

Ever since I posted my 5 Looks 1 Palette with the Revolution x Emily Noel palette I've been super eager to do another one and when I picked up the Morphe 35M palette I knew I had to do my next post with it. This palette has one of the most unique colour stories of any palette I own and there are so many different looks you can create with this, so I thought I would share my thoughts on this and show you five looks.
Morphe Boss Mood Review
I have to say nothing from Morphe has appealed to me in a long time. When I first got into makeup I really wanted one of their huge palettes, but the more makeup I own the more I want something unique and I think for a long time Morphe has recycled ideas and colour stories. But this is something completely unique in my opinion, especially for a budget friendly brand like Morphe. The unique colour palette makes me think of Halloween and witches, which might be better suited for fall, but honestly its my vibe all year round. I feel like Morphe could of thought of an amazing witchy name for the palette that isn't 'Boss Mood' which I kind of hate, but I suppose that doesn't really matter.
I wanted this when I first saw it, but it took me a while to pick this up. I talked myself out of this for months and months because I felt there were too many neutral shades and shades I could dupe within my collection. But after picking this up I notice there are actually only 6 true brown shades and the others that I thought were brown are actually deeper greens, I do still think that they could have included just two of these as there isn't that much variation between them. And the truth is aside from the greens I probably could have duped a lot of the shades, but there are so many colour combinations I would have never thought of if I hadn't seen them together in this palette and all of the shades have these amazing undertones that means that even the combinations I wasn't sure of blend beautifully together.
The formula of the matte shades isn't the most pigmented, they go on a little sheer and you have to build them up to get the desired intensity, this is a formula I like because it gives you a lot of control over the shadows. The shimmery shades I had a little difficulty working with, which I was surprised about as so many people rave about Morphe shimmers. A couple of the shades like the lightest shade and the shimmery browns are this gorgeous, metallic and almost reflective, super easy to work with and pack a lot of punch. However, some of the other shades are packed full of chunky pieces of glitter, which isn't bad in itself, but I've had a lot of trouble with glitter fall out both when I apply the shades and throughout the day. I picked up a glitter glue (which I reviewed here) which has helped massively with that, but I also think applying the shades with your finger or applying them wet helps too. Once you get the shades on your eye they are beautiful and really impactful it just takes a little bit of work to get there.
There are also a couple of shades I kind of wish were in the palette and I've reached for to pair with the shades, being a yellow which works really well as a transition for the yellow-y greens. A true gold as there is a yellow-y gold, but I think you could create even more looks with a gold shade. I also think you would benefit from a lighter matte purple to use as a transition in purple looks, I created a look with the purples in this palette and used a paler purple for my New Year's Eve makeup. I also would like another shade to highlight my inner corners as I feel there's only one in this palette and I got a little bored of it. I would take out two of the matte browns and the darker shades for these colours if I could.
Overall though, I'm glad that Morphe had 20% off for Black Friday so I finally picked this up (I hauled everything I picked up here). I feel like this palette has really helped me to experiment with different colour combinations like the ones below...

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
When I first got into makeup all I wore was browns and I feel like I've branched out a lot since then, I still wear browns, but I rarely get excited about them. However, I was super excited to use the shade 'Hawt Stuff' which is a medium shimmery brown. Its warm to the point that its almost bronze, super sparkly and goes on really opaque. It swatched so beautifully and I knew it would make a really effortless smokey eye. I began this look with 'Play it Cool', which is a matte, warm brown and I blended this through my crease. I then took 'Talk Dirty' which is a matte, dark, warm brown and I used this to darken my outer corner. I then used 'Hawt Stuff' all over the lid and along my lower lash line. I finished it off by using 'Light of The Party' the shimmery champagne on my inner corner.
As I went more neutral on the eyes I paired the look with a metallic deep red lip.

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
My next look is a red and purple combo. I definitely wouldn't have thought to use these colours together if it weren't for this palette, but its a look I've been obsessed with and I've worn quite a few times! Its definitely not a subtle look, but I absolutely love it.
First I went in with the shade 'Sweet Beets' which is a deep pink shade, I used a fluffy brush and used this as a transition. I blended this pretty high, just below my browbone. Next I took 'Grape Expectations' the deep, shimmery purple shade. I took this and applied it to my outer corner and blended it through the crease. I then took the shade 'Color Persona' which is a pink-toned shimmery red shade. I applied this on the inner part of my lid. Finally I used 'Daredevil' a shimmery grape shade and I used this to blend the darker purple into the red. I also used 'Grape Expectations' on the outer part of my lower lash line and blended it into 'Colour Persona'.
I topped the look off with a pink highlighter in my inner corner and applied liquid eyeliner. I paired it with pretty subtle lip and face makeup.


Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
The main thing that drew me to this palette was definitely the greens because they're completely different from any I own. They all have this kind of pukey/snot undertone, which sounds gross, but I still really love them. For this look I basically used as many of these shades as I could. I began this look with the shade 'Stroke of Luck' this is a very yellow-toned light green matte, I blended this throughout my crease. Next I took the shade 'Express Yo Self' which is darker yellow-green shade, I blended this into my outer corner. For the first shimmer shade I took 'Stand Out' which is a shimmery dark khaki shade and I used this on the outer part of my lid. I then took 'Popstar' which is a real yellow gold, I used this on the inner third of my lid. Then I used 'Bold Moves' a light sparkly green and I applied this to the centre of my lid and blended it into the other two shades. On my lower lash line I used 'Stroke of Luck' and 'Express Yo Self' on the outer part and 'Popstar' on the inner part. I finished it off with 'Light of The Party' the shimmery champagne on my inner corner.
I thought this look was great without liner so I just used mascara and paired it with a browney-nude lip. 

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
I definitely wanted to play with the greens in this palette as much as I could so I created another look using more of the matte shades. I really like this look because I think it really brings out the green in my eyes. I began my look once again with 'Play it Cool' the matte brown as a transition, the makes a lovely neutral transition shade and I have used this with quite a few looks. I then took the shade 'Express Yo'Self' which is a dark matte khaki green and I used this to darken up the outer corner and on my lower lash line. I then took 'Stroke of Luck' all over my lid. To finish off I also took 'Bold Moves' which is the lightest shimmery green and I used this to add a little shimmer to my inner corner.
I deepened up my upper lash line with a brown pencil and paired this look with a glossy, warm brown shade on my lips.

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
My final look is one that I wish I took a better photo of. This pairs some of the orange shades with some of the purples, another pairing I never would have thought of without this palette. I used the more aubergine purples as they had a little more red in them which I thought blended nicely with the oranges. I feel like orange and purple are super halloween-y colours, which is why I think I love them paired together in this look. I used this colour combo a few times, but always on evenings out which meant the bests photos are ones above that are taken very late in the day under my harsh bathroom lights.
For this look I began with the shade 'Fired Up' which is a bright matte orange I used this on the inner part of my crease. I then took 'Power Slayer' which is a deep aubergine matte shade and I took this into the outer part of my crease and blended it into the orange. I then went in with 'Indi-Glow Kween' which is a shimmery aubergine and I blended this onto the outer part of my lid. I then took to the inner and middle part of my lid with 'Bright Eyes' this is a super firey and shimmery orange. I blended the lid shades together with 'Grape Expectations' the bright purple shades. On my lower lash line I used 'Power Slayer' on the outer part and blended it into 'Fired Up' on the inner part. For my last shadow I used 'Light of the Party' as an inner corner highlight.
To complete this look I used a thin line of liquid eyeliner and as this look is pretty bright I paired it with a glossy pale pink shade.

If you want to see any more of my looks (I know I did another look with this palette) I post a lot of #FOTD posts over on my Instagram.


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Morphe 5 Looks 1 Palette Pinterest


Friday, 1 February 2019

Monthly Makeup Buys - January 2019;-

I posted my last Monthly Makeup Buys in December, but they were actually all Black Friday buys. I didn't buy a single makeup item throughout December and I've also been pretty good during January. This year I definitely want to try a few more higher end things, so I'm trying to save a bit of money before I splash out. I still thought it would be fun to share my opinions on the few things I have picked up.

Nyx Glitter Glue Mascara Review
I made one order this month, which was from NYX. I feel like I hear a lot of good things about NYX products. I've only tried a couple of lips products, but I really like them. I definitely want to try more from NYX.

NYX Glitter Primer
The thing I really wanted from NYX was their glitter primer. I've been finding that when I use my Colourpop Supershock Shadows and some of the shimmery shades from my Morphe 35M palette I get glitter fall out when I apply the shadows and even more falls down onto my face throughout the day and I was hoping this would help with this. The primer is a paste that has a little shimmer to it that you can blend onto your lid similarly to a primer. I tend to apply it over any crease or transition shades before applying this and it doesn't affect the look of the shades beneath. It leaves your lid tacky so any glittery shades will stick to it with less fall out. When I use this I also have less glitter fall out during the day and it makes shimmery shades more impactful and stand out more. I do still get some glitter fall out throughout the day with really shimmery shades, but it is minimal compared with not using this. This is also not something I'd use every single day because most weekdays I'm looking to simplify my routine, but I have been using this whenever I want my eyeshadow to stand out more or I have more time to perfect my look. I'm really glad I picked this up and I've really been enjoying the effect.

NYX Worth The Hype Mascara
When I ordered the glitter primer I knew that I was getting to the end of the bottle of mascara I was using, so I thought I'd pick up the highest rated mascara that NYX had. I've literally never heard of it, but it has 4.4 out of 5 stars. This is super black and lasts all day. I usually look for something that gives length and volume, this is kind of lacking in the volume department. But it makes my lashes look super long and seperated giving a look of fluttery lashes and I'm surprised by how much I like this. I don't think its my favourite mascara of all time, but I think if I was ordering from NYX again and needed a mascara I might pick it up again.

What are your favourite products from NYX?


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Friday, 25 January 2019

Revisiting my September Purchases;-

I've said it before and I'll say it again, first impressions mean nothing which is why I find it helpful to take a look at things I bought a few months ago and share my up-to-date thoughts. Back in September I picked up a few new bits from Revolution along with a mascara and of course an eyeshadow palette, you can view my first impressions here. Since we're in 2019 I thought I'd let you know if my thoughts have changed.
Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer in shade C1
First up is the Revolution Conceal and Define, I freaking love this stuff! I've nearly finished up my tube of this and I still think its great. Its high coverage, it does a really good job to cover up and brighten my undereyes. Its not enough coverage to cover blemishes, but I tend to prefer a pot concealer for that anyway. Its really easy to blend and doesn't cake up. I use this every day and its my favourite concealer that I've tried so far, I featured this in my 2018 Favourites post. I'll definitely be buying this again when my bottle runs out!

Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
Revolution Baking Oil
My first ever face oil! Honestly I think this revolutionised my skincare routine. Since I started using a face oil my skin has looked softer and more plump and I rarely suffer from dry patches anymore! I mostly use oils at night because my skin is on the oily side, but I have also used this under matte foundations and it stops it from clinging to any dryness and from looking flat on the skin. I finished this bottle a couple of months ago and I'm using another oil from Revolution's skincare line and if I'm honest it does exactly the same as this, but if you want an oil that works on a budget this is only £6.00 and I recommend giving it a try.

Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
Revolution Renaissance Flick
This is another product that ended up in my 2018 Favourites post. This eyeliner is super black, doesn't smudge or flake away. The nib is really thin so you can make a precise line. I think the curved shape of the pen is makes it really easy to hold, which is what sets this aside from other eyeliners in my opinion. I don't use liquid liner every time I do my makeup, but I've had this open for months now and it hasn't dried out at all!

Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
Barry M Showtime Mascara
This was the second time I'd bought this mascara, but I can't see myself buying it again. I liked this at the time mostly because it's cruelty free and cheap. But since then I've tried much better and in comparison this one is pretty crap. It's black and makes my lashes a little longer and thicker, but not a lot. If you're looking for a good mascara on a budget try the ones from Essence, NYX or Revolution because they're all better than this. I would give this one a miss because its really nothing to write home about.

Cruelty Free Makeup Haul
BH Cosmetics Take Me Back To Brazil 35 Color Pressed Pigment Palette
If you're looking for a rainbow palette, this one is so good. The shades are super bright, there are a lot more mattes than shimmers, but they perform really well and are really pigmented. I will say that you do get a lot of fall out, so its definitely best to do your eyes before your face with this palette.
During the summer I used this a bunch and did loads of really bright looks. I don't tend to use quite as bright colours during the colder months, but I have been reaching for some of the shades to use as transitions. I did a purple smokey eye on New Year's Eve and the lightest purple shade worked really well to blend out the look. I've also used the greens and the yellow will other looks.
There are two duo chrome white shades and a black, but I haven't used them at all so these shades I could live without, but I do love the rest of the shades. I know I'll be reaching for this loads when its warmer and I'd really love to do a 5 Looks 1 Palette post with this in the summer.


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Monday, 21 January 2019

Finish 9 By New Year, Finale;-

Project Pan Finale
So we're a little after New Year and I thought it was finally time to share the results of my end of year project pan. I've taken a couple of weeks break from panning to play around with the items in my collection and decide what I want to pan next. I'll be back with a new project very for the new year very soon. With no further ado here's my final progress.

Project Pan Finale
Vaseline Project Pan
 1 - Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera (Not Cruelty Free)
Unfortunately I just haven't managed to finish this one. I've made pretty steady progress in each update, but not quite enough to finish it up. I'm going to pop this one into my next project and hopefully finish this up during this year.

Project Pan Finale
Smashbox Project Pan
2- Smashbox Eyeshadow Primer (Cruelty Free)
My eyeshadow primer is another product that I haven't been able to finish. I think I only have a couple more uses left in this thing. I'm a little annoyed that I couldn't finish it up during my project, but I will be glad when its out of my collection and I can move onto the new primer I've bought.

Revolution Fast Base Project Pan
3 - Revolution Fast Base Stick (Cruelty-Free)
One product I have finished since my last update is my Revolution Fast Base foundation stick. I found this really easy to use up to be honest. I'm not sure if it's because it's a stick or because its so creamy, but its not my favourite foundation and I'm glad to be whittling down my foundation collection to the ones I love most. Unfortunately I don't have a photo to show you as I took the photos for my 2018 Empties post and then threw all of the empty packaging away!

Project Pan Finale
Collection Contour Kit
4 & 5 - Collection Contour Kit (Not Cruelty Free) 
What was I even thinking adding this collection duo to my project? There wasn't a chance in hell I was going to finish this. I've actually made decent progress with the highlighter, but that's only because what is left has become incredibly crumbly and chunks are falling out every time I go to use this. I would repress this to see if that helps, but I've never done it before and I'm not really that sad that this is going quickly because I have a few highlighters that are very similar to this. I think with the way this is going I will have finished this up in a few weeks time. I've made a little progress with my bronzer, but not nearly enough to come close to finishing it. I'm going to put this into another project this year and hopefully I'll be able to finish it by the end of 2018, which I think is more realistic.

Stila project pan
Project Pan Finale
6 - Stila Eyeliner in Starfish (Cruelty Free) 
Ok, I've made next to no progress on this eyeliner. I've accepted that I just don't like this. I wish I just threw this out rather than trying to force myself to use this. Since New Year's I've been using another eyeliner and I remember what I actually used to like about liner. I've rolled this all the way up and this is all that is left, but I'm not going to use it and this is going in the bin.

Project Pan Finale
7 - Ted Baker Nude Lipstick (Not Cruelty Free) (Done)

Revlon lip butter project pan
Revlon lip butter project pan
8 - Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (Not Cruelty Free)
Another product I haven't manage to finish is this lip butter, I have made a bit of progress. I mainly just need to flatten the lipstick so its diagonal like the packaging. I have used this quite a bit especially as my lips have been super dry and this lippy is really moisturising. I think Christmas is the main reason I didn't finish this I was wearing a lot of super warm looks and pairing them with a red lip. I do think this is more of a Spring shade, so I'm going to continue trying to finish this over the next couple of months.

Essence project pan
Essence Project Pan
9 - Essence Lip Liner in Wish Me A Rose (Cruelty Free)
I'd already given up on finishing this lip liner in my last update, but I only ended up needing to sharpen this once over the last month of my project. I think I bit off more than I could chew even thinking I'd get close to finishing this by the end of the project. I will probably put this in another project and trying to finish this in 2019.

I didn't finish as many things as I was hoping to, but I'm glad I made the effort to try and push a few things out of my collection. I will be thinking a little more about my next project to pick products I'm actually likely to finish.

Are you trying to pan anything at the moment?



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Friday, 18 January 2019

18 Eyeshadows in 2018, FINALE;-

We've entered 2019 which means my yearlong eyeshadow panning project is finally over! I posted my intro for this project back in March of last year and its crazy to me that I'm only just rounding this up. I'd never tried to pan any eyeshadows before and I knew it would be a challenge, but I also knew I needed to get my eyeshadow palette collection under control. I had a habit of buying more than I had room for and more than could ever use and trying to use up these shadows has been a wake up call, because it takes so damn long to even use up one entire eyeshadow.
I said in my intro that every time I hit pan on a shadow I would put 50p in a jar and I'd put £1.00 in when I finished one, I've currently got £13.00 in that jar. I had wanted this to be my entire eyeshadow budget, so I wouldn't spend more than what I have in the jar on palettes... I mean that definitely didn't happen! I love experimenting with eyeshadow so I think I'll always be adding to or changing my eyeshadow collection. But I have only bought three palettes this year, which is so much less than in past years! I also used to have this habit of holding onto every eyeshadow palette I'd ever bought and this year I've been so much better at decluttering palettes. I've got rid of quite a few this year. I've realised through this challenge how long it takes to use up eyeshadow so I only want to keep what I really love. Its also effected what I buy, I definitely put a lot more thought into the palettes I buy, I always consider if I have anything similar and what it will add to my collection. So although I will be buying palettes in the future I want to continue using up what I have, decluttering what I have fallen out of love with and only buying things that bring something different to the table.
As for the money I've saved I've decided I want to put this towards single eyeshadows. I do want to increase the amount of singles I have so I can use this for filling gaps in my collection, rather than picking up a full palette when I really only want a couple of shades. I currently have two magnetic palettes, the NYX one and a Freedom one that currently holds blushes, I want to make room in these palettes before I bring on any singles so I'll have to continue to work through the shades I have. I also want to continue to save money when I finish up shadows so I can keep adding to my fund for single shadows.
I've decided to include my photos from last March so I can show how far I actually came in a year. I know I didn't meet my goals with all of the shades, but I think I accomplished a lot, here is my final update and finale.

Smashbox Pan That Palette
Smashbox Pan That Palette
Smashbox Mini Trio - all shades left (DONE)  
This little palette was surprisingly such a challenge. Last March I'd hit pan on both shades and I wanted to use them up. Both of these shadows were such a hard job to finish, but I did it! I actually had one more use of the dark brown shade after last month's update. I took a photo of this empty for my All The Makeup I've Used Up This Year post, but then I threw away the packaging before I took a picture for this post. Although its small I'm glad to have finished a whole palette!

Mac Pan That Palette
Pan That Palette Mac
Pan That Palette Mac
Mac Quad - Shades 1(done), 2 & 3 
My aim for this palette was to finish the first shade and hit pan on the second and third and I did that! When I decided to put this palette in my project it was because I wasn't showing it a lot of love and I wanted to give it one last whirl before throwing what was left away, but I actually ended up really liking the shades. The taupe is tricky to work with, but pair it with a pink or purple in the crease and it makes a beautiful look. The pink shade is one of my favourite highlights for both the eyes and face, its super light and sheeny without chunky glitter.
I wanted to use the two shades a little more throughout December so I could come to a decision about what I would do with this palette once my project was over. You may notice a little change in this palette because I made up my mind. I decided I had similar enough shades to the taupe that I could live without it, but not without the pink shade, so I depotted it and replaced it with the light pink from my Freedom singles. I didn't love this pink as its not as pigmented as the Mac shadow and has a lot of glitter. The Mac shade isn't magnetic but it fits in my NYX palette that holds my singles, but it does rattle around a little. I'm going to be parting ways with the shades in this palette now.

Pan That Palette Freedom
Pan That Palette Freedom
Pan That Palette Freedom
Freedom single shadows - all shades 
My Freedom singles looked pretty much new in March of last year and I just wanted to hit pan on all of the shades. Out of the nine that were originally in the palette, I only managed to hit pan on three, which is honestly pretty crap. I wanted to include this palette because the shadows were getting lost in my collection so I feel like I did show them a lot more love. I also thought it would add variation to the looks I was able to create if I didn't just include neutral shades, but it was difficult to make looks that I felt comfortable wearing to work. I noticed with these shadows that it took around two months of wearing a shade most weekdays to hit pan, which is why the colours I didn't wear to work (the steel and purple shades) barely look used. I like to use my weekends to experiment with other palettes in my collection so that they didn't just collect dust while I did this challenge. I definitely think if I was to do a project like this again I would probably stick to more neutral shades, and mix them with colourful shades from other palettes.
I am happy that I managed to show this more love, it meant that I know which shades I like and which I don't, which is why I've got rid of the light pink shade. I tried in the last month to hit pan on the second red shade, but I didn't quite manage to. I'm thinking I may declutter this as both of the reds are pretty similar and I don't need two. I want to continue to use this palette, as I said I want to pick up some new singles and I want to make room in this palette to fit them in!

Pan That Palette Sleek
Pan That Palette Freedom
Sleek iDivine Eyeshadow Palette in Au Natural - Shades 1,3, 5 & 6
You may remember I initially included this Sleek palette but it only lasted from March to July. This was one of the first eyeshadow palettes I picked up when I started to get into makeup and I knew it was getting pretty old. I noticed when I was using the mattes that they either weren't performing the way they used to or I've discovered formulas that I like a lot more than this one. I then decided it was definitely for the best if I threw this away. I'm really glad I put this in the project though. I used to be a bit of a hoarder when it came to palettes and I never binned them. After putting this in the project it kind of turned on a switch in my head and I started a chain of decluttering. I thought keeping them all meant I'd have lots of variation in my collection, but the thing is a lot of my palettes were similar and there were a lot of dupes. Because of that there were a lot them that I wasn't using and were probably going bad just like this one, so I began throwing them out. In future I'll definitely be thinking a lot more carefully about whether a palette offers anything new before I pick it up and I also want to continue to declutter palettes I'm not using.

Pan That Palette Revolution Iconic 2
Pan That Palette Revolution Iconic 2
Pan That Palette Revolution Iconic 2
Revolution Iconic 2  Palette - Shades 1-5 
So back in September I replaced my Sleek palette with this Revolution palette, which I had a little more luck with. I put this palette in because its another one of my oldest palettes that I wasn't reaching for that often (at this point I can't even remember which of my palettes I was reaching for).  I just wanted to show it a little more love, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make noticeable progress.
 In three months I managed to completely finish up the cream shade which I'm really happy about. I also hit pan on the brown shade which is great. I also had really good fun playing with the other three shades. I have this tendency to reach for and buy really big palettes, but this showed me that I can make a lot of looks with my smaller palettes. I've rekindled some love for this palette and even though its very neutral I'm actually excited to keep wearing it.

All in all I only actually met my goal on 10 out of the 18 shadows, but I feel like I learned a lot more along the way. I've decided for the next year I won't be doing another palette panning challenge, I want to experiment with my other palettes and I don't want to restrict my use at the moment. For 2019 I'll be doing a year-long project pan and I think I'll include a couple of eyeshadows. I'm also going to be using one of my palettes a month and do more 5 Looks 1 Palette post like this one.

Do you have any panning projects for 2019?





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