A Little Haul

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Today I have a small haul for you of a few things I've picked up recently...

Firstly, I picked up Bliss' Foot Patrol foot cream - a product I first tried in one of my Birchbox's. When I tried it, I instantly fell in love with it and knew I wanted to buy a full size version once I was done with the sample! It's a super softening, refreshing cream that gives your feet some much needed TLC.

Next up is the REDKEN All Soft conditioner. I'm not one for being overly fussy with shampoo's as to be honest, I don't look for anything special in them. I do however, want conditioner's with a little something extra particularly for the ends of my hair which tend to be quite dry. This conditioner is supposed to be loaded with keratin and conditioning ingredients to soften and moisturise the hair.

I also got for my hair the Schwarzkopf Got2B Powder which is basically a volumising powder that you pour onto the roots for some extra lift. I haven't tried it enough yet to give you my honest opinion on it - it's a different kind of product than I'm used to using so we'll see!

Lastly, I got this awesome case from Cath Kidston, I'm a sucker for all things vintage looking and floral and so when I saw this for half price, I knew it had to be mine! Hey, it's practical too though, right?

And that's my haul! Thank you for reading and feel free to leave any comments you might have!

Levinia. xo

Review: Makeup Revolution's Ultra Contour Palette

Contouring. It's something I've only recently made a staple element within my makeup routine and even then, I'm not quite carving out new features into my face or anything like that. I am a fan however of the subtle contour - one that just emphasises your facial features in a natural, flattering way. 

With that in mind, I have been exploring the world of contouring products and one that I came across a few months ago was the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette.

What Makeup Revolution Says:

"The complete contouring and highlighting palette is here! The ULTRA CONTOUR PALETTE has 8 powders for perfect contouring and sculpting. Including 8 brand NEW shades for contour and shaping, with an additional 2 of our favourite merged baked highlighters for illumination". 

The Shades:

Top Row

1. A light beige with barely any shimmer - this is a great shade for setting under eye concealer but can be used all over the face without looking like a disco ball!

2. This a yellow "banana" shade which is popular for setting the under eye for a bright, highlighted effect.

3. This shade makes a nice, subtle highlight and has a slight peach undertone to it.

4. This is a super intense, white highlight  - great if you like a strong highlight but can also be used in the inner corner of the eye as one too.

Bottom Row

5. This a medium brown with a warm undertone. This is great for bronzing the skin for lighter skin tones.

6. This is a cooler medium brown - I like to use this as a contour shade and it works really well. It's subtle and not overly harsh so it's great to be used in this way.

7. This is another warm toned brown which is darker than shade #5, it's great for a more intense bronzed looked on lighter skin and should also be suitable on medium to darker skin tones too.

8. This is another highlight, this time with a bronzed undertone to it - good for layering over bronzer or used on the cheekbones and certain areas of the face for a sun kissed look! 

My Thoughts:

This palette comes with 8 shades as mentioned above and this was the first thing that encouraged me to want to purchase it. There's a good variation here not just for my skin tone but other people's and for a palette of this kind, that's important. I don't think (as far as I know) this palette comes in a Light, Medium or Dark variation and so having a good selection of colours does help to make up for this. Another important point for me was that the bronzing / contour colours have different undertones meaning that I actually CAN contour with them as well as bronze up the skin if I'd like to as well. Paler skintones generally are more flattered by ashier tones of brown more so than warmer ones and this palette manages to cover both well.

I think that all of the shades blend well into the skin and are actually highly pigmented for their price point - particularly the bottom row of shades. They are finely milled which helps them to blend so nicely into the skin and I've found that they do last all day. My personal favourites are shade's 2, 4 and 5. At what works out to be £1 a shade, I'm really impressed by the quality of each in this palette and you're getting essentially four products in one in the form of a setting powder, a highlight, a bronzer and finally, a contour shade. This not only makes it easy and convenient to use but great to travel with as well. 

A Fragrant Christmas...

Hello everyone! I hope you all had an awesome Christmas and a fabulous New Year! Whilst the holidays are almost over, I thought I'd take the chance to reflect on some of the wonderful gifts I received in them. 

Working over Christmas at a fragrance counter has lead me to develop what some might call an unhealthy desire to own several beautiful smelling fragrances - if I didn't own enough already! So, with Christmas near to me, I took that as an opportunity to drop some not so subtle hints on the fragrances I'd love to receive off of my loved ones. Being the awesome people that my loved ones are, those hints were listened too and I was lucky enough to receive some fragrances that I'd been lusting over for quite some time! In this post, I thought I'd share with you and with the aid of Google, I shall be attempting to describe their scents to you as well!

1. Marc Jacobs - Oh, Lola!

This a sweet, floral and fresh scent that I've wanted for quite a while now. Like a lot of Marc Jacob's scents, it's light enough to wear daily and as always, comes with beautiful packaging!

Scent Notes:

Top Notes - Strawberry, Raspberry and Pear

Middle Notes - Magnolia, Peony and Cyclamen

Base Notes - Sandalwood, Tonka Bean and Vanilla.

2. Marc Jacobs - Decadence

The newest fragrance from Marc Jacobs, this is one I have only recently discovered. It is quite a mature scent to the ones usually released by this brand and indeed, to ones that I'd usually go for. It's a very sophisticated and luxurious smell and one that would be perfect for night time - though still light enough in my opinion to be worn in the day, too.

Scent Notes:

Top Notes - Plum, Iris and Saffron

Middle Notes - Bulgaria Rose, Jasmine and Orris

Base Notes - Amber, Vetiver and Papyrus

3. Thierry Mugler - Alien

A much loved and raved about perfume, this has always been one that I just haven't been sure about but have always been interested by. There is something so unusual about this fragrance that has always attracted me to this scent - it's a lot more intense and arguably muskier than scents I am used to wearing and so I've always been unsure of whether to get it. It's a very unique smell and one you'd definitely recognise instantly.

Scent Notes:

Top Notes - Jasmine

Middle Notes - Wood

Base Notes - Amber

So, those are the wonderful fragrances I received for Christmas. Are any of your favourites up there? If not, what are they?

Levinia x