November Favourites

Hi everyone, it feels like forever since I have written one of these posts. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I want to get back into the swing of blogging and forcing myself to write these posts is part of that.

I shouldn’t really say “forced” because I do enjoy blogging. I’ve just been forcing myself to prioritise it and make time for it instead of going for a nap or something.

The past few months I would literally sit and write my list of what I was going to include in this post, but I would either forget or not make enough time to take the photos. Anyway, yay for this month.

The Body Shop Hand Sanitiser

This has been one of my favourite new purchases of the past couple months. I have two of these, the strawberry one you see in the above photo and another satsuma scented one. They smell amazing and are a nice small size so you can take them everywhere with you (i do).  I think, I only paid about £2.50 for it, I don’t know if that is expensive or not in hand sanitiser world but I’m obsessed.

Eyelure False Lashes

Since I finally mastered learning to apply false eyelashes I cannot go out without them. I LOVE THEM. Eyelure ones are the best for the price and one set can last multiple times as long as they are looked after properly. As you can see in the photo, there is a nice 3 for 2 sticker on that, I got these in Miss Selfridge and I think they might always have that deal on. It’s 3 sets of lashes for a tenner and that is a bargain I cannot argue with.

The Body Shop Strawberry Body Mist

You can probably see a little strawberry theme on this post, smelling like strawberries is clearly something I’m very into right now. Not gonna lie I didn’t think I would love this product as much as I do, thought I would be like “okay thats fine” but it is so much better than fine. It has such a refreshing and sweet scent that lasts a good few hours after spraying yourself with it.

Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette

I stole this photo from a previous blog post because I’ve already reviewed this palette which you can read here if you’re interested. However, I have a new found love for it as it is the perfect autumnal, warm toned palette. I wear this palette too often for it not to be mentioned in this favourites post.

Lush Snow Fairy Body Conditioner

The Lush Snow Fairy range is iconic because it is amazing. I am a huge fan and some of my favourite Lush products are in this range. The body conditioner smells of candy floss, bon bons and everything sweet and nice. There is a subtle shimmer after you’ve applied this and I love it.

The Good Place

This TV show has become my favourite thing since my flat mate suggested I should watch it. It’s so light and funny, and there is an amazing plot twist at the end of season one which I am not gonna spoil for anyone. Normally I hate comedies, but I love this and also have a new love for Kristen Bell. You can watch this on Netflix and it’s also just been renewed for a third season.

So, this has been all my favourite things from this month. Hope you all enjoyed reading this. What were your favourite things from this month?

Siobhan x

 

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Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette Review

The Zoeva Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette has been a staple product in my eyeshadow collection for about 18 months now and I still adore it. This palette features 10 warm toned shades ranging from beige to plum to copper. There is 5 matte finishes and 5 shimmer finishes in this palette which makes it create for creating different looks with different finishes. Zoeva is also a cruelty free brand and the shades in this eyeshadow palette are enriched with vitamin E and is 100% free of parabens, mineral oils, perfume and phthalates.

The Cocoa Blend palette is obviously chocolate inspired which makes it all the more alluring for chocolate lovers and make up lovers alike. The packaging of the palette is styled to look like a luxurious chocolate box with the brown and golden themed pattern. On the inside of the palette it reads, “with superb ingredients selected with love for the taste of temptation”. The Zoeva website states the palette is “Inspired by warm truffle colors, delicate nougat shades and shimmery marzipan tones for a seductive glamour makeup look.”

The palette is thin but sturdy and made out of cardboard. It probably isn’t the most durable packaging for an eyeshadow palette, so you would need to be careful if you would be taking it out and about. The palette did come with a protective card cover that slides on and off with the same pattern as the palette itself, however since I have had this product well over a year I got rid of that a long time ago.

Bitter Start – a light beige with warm undertones and a matte finish. Soft and creamy texture, good for a base eyeshadow.

Sweeter End – a soft, shimmering lilac with gold undertones and a metallic finish. This is my favourite shade in the whole palette. The texture is so creamy and so pigmented.

Warm Notes – a rich, bright cranberry red with gold and copper undertones and a metallic finish. Another one of my favourite shades in this palette. The texture is so so creamy and pigmented with amazing colour pay off.

Subtle Blend – a medium dark brown with a golden bronze shimmer and yellow undertones. Intensely pigmented shade with a buttery consistency making it easy to blend out on the lid.

Beans Are White – a blackened brown with a matte finish. This shade is quite chalky with not good colour pay off.

Pure Ganache –  a light-medium, golden copper with orange undertones and a metallic sheen. Great colour pay off with a buttery texture making it easy to apply and blend on the eye lid.

Substitute For Love –  a medium, orange brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. Soft and silky texture, this is one of my most used shades in the palette

Freshly Toasted – a rich, deep, reddish brown with warm orange undertones and a matte finish. This shade was a little bit powdery but still had a soft, silky texture and good colour pay off.

Infusion – a blackened brown with red undertones and a gold satin  finish. A little on the chalky side but still blends well when applied on the lid

Delicate Acidity – a medium mauve with warm undertones and a pearly sheen to it. Good colour pay off.

Overall, the shimmer shades were so much more pigmented than the matte shades. The colour pay off for Warm Notes, Subtle Blend and Pure Ganache are amazing whereas with Bitter Start, Beans Are White and Infusion the formula just isn’t as good. One of my favourite things about this palette, and Zoeva palettes alike are the circle pans for the eyeshadow. It’s great you get a little bit more space to swirl your brush around compared to the thinner and more narrow rectangle shaped pans other brands go for.

This is definitely one of my favourite warm toned palettes as I don’t think any other brand has managed to capture the shades like Zoeva have. Don’t get me wrong, I still have tonnes of warm toned palettes but for shade range, quality and price Zoeva are the winners here. This is my most used palette out of the three Zoeva palettes I own (Rodeo Belle and Blanc Fusion are the other two).

I got this palette for £18 from Beauty Bay and as you can tell from this review I love this palette. I completely recommend this to anyone. The price is one of the main things that attract me to Zoeva eyeshadow palettes as it is more than half the price of the eye shadow palettes from the likes of Urban Decay and Too Faced for a product that is similar in quality.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this review.  Let me know in the comments what you think of this palette or if there are any other products from Zoeva you think I should try.

Siobhan x

Zoeva Rodeo Belle Palette Review

Hi everyone, today I’m gonna review Zoeva’s Rodeo Belle eyeshadow palette. I’ve been using this palette most days for the past few weeks so I thought it was about time I did a little review of it.

First thing I talk about when reviewing eyeshadow palettes is the packaging. This palette, as all other Zoeva palettes are covered by a thin cardboard protector which slides off for you to get to the palette. The protector and the palette are both of the same pattern.

The shades in the Rodeo Belle palette range from colours of reds, blues and greens with textures of matte and shimmer finishes. This palette is so beautiful to look at, the shades are all quite out there and normally this is not a palette I would have bought myself. I was actually gifted this palette by one of my friends for my birthday last year and I have only really started using it in the past few weeks. There are 4 matte shades and 6 shimmer shades to this palette. All shades are of a very high quality and very pigmented.

Top (L to R) – Early Sunrise, Rodeo Ready, Cactus Flower, Western Diva and Bang Bang.     Bottom (L to R) – Yee Haw, Hot Wind, Smoking Gun, Day Money and Deadshot.

Early Sunrise – soft peachy beige colour with matte finish. Perfect for using in inner eye corner.

Rodeo Ready – medium dark cocoa brown shade with slight golden shimmers through the formula. Ideal for transition colour in the crease. Very pigmented shade.

Cactus flower – dusty rose pink with a matte finish. This shade is a little bit more powdery than the others with less pigmentation.

Western Diva – I adore this shade. This is a dark coffee brown shade with golden glitter though it. The shade comes up mostly matte but you can see the golden sparkles when the light shines.

Bang Bang – I LOVE this shade! It is a beautiful pinkish metallic red with a satin finish. The texture is so creamy and it is so pigmented.

Yee Haw – peacock blue satin shade with a metallic shine. There is a green undertone to this shade as well, it is so beautiful.

Hot Wind – sea foam green colour with a golden undertone. Very creamy and pigmented shade too.

Smoking Gun – medium metallic dark blue shade with silver specks. Very pigmented and easy to blend.

Day Money – dark grey shade with deep blue undertones. This is my least favourite I found it applied quite chalky and patchy.

Dead Shot – dark black shade with a golden shimmer throughout.

I love all the shades in this palette so much. I definitely think it is one of the most beautiful palettes I own with the widest range of colours. I have to be honest and say I wouldn’t have bought this palette for myself as a lot of the colours are out of my comfort zone but I am so glad my friend got me this. I can’t wait to try out new looks and expand my eye make up comfort zone.

Major pros of this palette is that it’s affordable and amazing quality. I have three Zoeva eyeshadow palettes and each one is filled with top quality, smooth, highly pigmented eyeshadows. As I mentioned in my review of the Blanc Fusion palette, Zoeva is a cruelty free brand and their products are also free of mineral oil and parabens.

Overall, I would rate this palette an 8.5/10. If you like the colours in this palette, I would 100% recommend to go out and buy it. If you don’t like the bright colours and won’t use blue eyeshadow I wouldn’t recommend it as most colours wouldn’t be getting used.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review,

Siobhan x

Zoeva Blanc Fusion Palette Review

Hi everyone, in this post I am going to be reviewing the Zoeva Blanc Fusion palette. This is one of the newer eye shadow palettes Zoeva have introduced. I was given this as a present for Christmas from my bestie who clearly knows me so well buying me amazing make-up.

First thing to talk about is the packaging, the palette is covered by a thin cardboard protector which slides off for you to get to the palette. The palette is sleek and sturdy, the same as the other Zoeva palettes. Both the protector and the palette have the same cream background with a golden triangular pattern on top. The golden design on the packaging gives the impression of luxury, which is nice considering this palette is priced at an affordable £18 on Beautybay and Cult Beauty.

All of the 10 eye shadows in this palette are at a very high standard. There are 5 shimmer shades and 5 matte shades. These shadows are very pigmented and when applying the shadows go on velvety smooth with minimal or no fall out which is good. Overall, this palette has a good mix of cool and warm tones throughout with a few bright pops of colour like golden yellows. This palette has a good selection of shadows varying from satins, mattes, metallics and pearl finishes. 

The swatches I took are a bit messy, still trying to master how to get them in a straight line on my arm. The photo above was my second attempt. I swear it is more difficult than it looks and I am not just totally dim. The shades go as followed:

Noble – a pearly white shade with a golden sheen, this is a nice icy highlighting shade perfect for the inner corner of the eye. .

Single Orgin – a light cool toned gold with a shimmery finish. This shade looks best when applied to the eyelids, it is a very build able colour.

Visions of Gold – a bright yellow gold with a satin finish. This is probably one of the most out there shades in the palette, definitely the brightest. This shade is definitely something out of my comfort zone so I don’t know how much I will use it.

Late Bloomer – a lovely orange gold with a metallic finish. This is one of my favourite shades in the palette, I think this will be paired nicely with Questions of Taste. 

Sweetness Lingers – a light brown with taupe undertones and a metallic finish.

Travel Inspired – this shade is super hard to see in the photo of the swatches, partly due to my pale skin but more than likely due to the bad lighting. This shade is a creamy beige with a matte finish.

Joy in a Box – a cool toned light brown with a creamy matte finish.

Conched – a medium dark brown with a matte finish. I think this shade will be paired nicely with Sweetness Lingers.

Questions of Taste – a warm caramel toned brown with a matte finish.

Last Bite – a cool toned matte dark brown. This is the darkest colour in the shade, and it isn’t very intense so if people are going for quite a smokey or dark look they would probably have to dip into another palette to find a deeper/darker brown.

I have already noted that the overall quality of this palette is amazing, as is all Zoeva products I have tried. I think this palette has a good variety in their shades and you would be able to create many looks from it. Other good things about this palette are that the shadows are enriched with vitamin E and free of parabens, mineral oils and perfume. Zoeva is also a cruelty free brand which is another reason to buy from them.

Hope you all enjoyed reading,

Siobhan  x