Review / Pür Minerals Beautiful Creatures Palette

I'm utterly utterly in love with this limited edition Pur Minerals Beatiful Creatures palette*!

I haven't stopped using it since It popped through my letterbox few weeks ago; I'm a fan of Pur Minerals in general, everything I tried so far didn't disappoint so I'm happy to see that also the eyeshadows are of outstanding quality.

The palette has a magnetic fastening and it's pretty slim; it comes with a protective plastic cover, that you can remove, but I decided to leave it on to prevent smudges on the mirror.

You also get a shadow brush encased in the box; I adore the Chisel MakeUp Brush (NOT exaggeration here!) and I can tell that it's made from the the same soft bristles. I experienced some shedding at first, but unnoticeable and stopped after the first wash.

l-r: supernatural, siren, spellbound, forbidden

l-r: fate, fantasy, secret, cursed

The colours are beautiful and everything I go for, these days: you get a couple of fair neutrals, bronze, khaki, browns and purples. They are all buttery soft, blend beautifully and none is powdery; the colour payoff is excellent too and I honestly love every single shade!

To complete the set, you also get a black eyeliner and a lipgloss. Black Magic - the eyeliner - is on the hard side but works well to add thickness to the lashline and it doesn't smudge; Lust/Desire - the lipgloss - is very sheer in colour with an hint of pink but  the ideal complement for a strong eye look... and you can really go to town with these stunning eyeshadow colours!

The bad news? Apparently, it's not available in Uk - you can try on http://www.purminerals.com/ or I found this similar and lovely palette on the Marks & Spencer website.

A pretty great travel set indeed and now It makes me want to see the film Beautiful Creatures, too... hehe - Have you seen it? :)

Blog Update

Hello lovelies!

you may have noticed some changes on my blog - It was time for a makeover. I'm really pleased with it - love the slick white background and I'm all about pastels. :)
Hope you like it too!

Then *Most Importantly* I had to change the address! It is now: princessLeicaScrapbook.blogspot.co.uk -   fashion-olic really started to annoy me. I chose it 4 years ago and it just wasn't me anymore; you still get the odd fashion bits/hauls but beauty is my main focus now. I'm also really into lifestyle tips and I enjoy other people's posts so I have added two new sections to the navigation bar: 

- shop

Here you'll find knitted goodies and handmade jewellery from yours truly. I just really like getting crafty and - knitting especially - I find it relaxing and love seeing the progress row after row... but there's a limit to the amount of scarves a person can have. ;)

 - crafts/projects

as mentioned about, I love getting crafty so here is where I share DIY projects and tutorials... yesterday was the first post of this type - I received a fab response from you guys, thanks so much!

You will also notice that now I go by the name of Ale, instead of Alex. Simply because it feels more me, most people call me Ale... not that big of a change really, but could be confusing hence the explanation - Still me! :D

Finally, I have also created a Facebook page - and a reminder again of the ways you can follow me:

Bloglovin' /PrincessLeicaScrapbook

Facebook

Twitter @PrincessLeica

Instagram @PrincessLeica

Pimp Your Glassware!

 I have these boring looking glasses in the house that I've been tempted to throw them away few times; we just have too many glasses and running out of storage in the kitchen... until I saw some pretty marbled glasses tutorials on youtube.

 It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it and follow the instructions strictly: you will also only need stuff that you probably already have around the house and it's a great way to finish those dried up, half empty polish bottles that you can't bear to chuck in the bin.

You'll need:

- boring looking glasses (any glass really, I also saw this technique being used to decorate Christmas bubbles)

- nail polish bottles (including a clear top coat)

- nail polish remover

- plastic cup

- toothpicks (actually, these were incredibly hard to find! I went to 2 Tescos and they were out of stock in both... I resorted to use some braun ones from my electric toothbrush, but please use ordinary wooden cocktail sticks yourself)

- masking tape

Step one: tape off the bottom of your glasses;

Step two: fill the plastic cup with room temperature water;

Step three: the fun starts! Make sure you open all the nail polish bottles that you're going to use and start dripping the varnish into the water. You need to layer the colour one on top of the other;

Step four: take a toothpick and start moving the polish around, making patterns; you need to work quickly because the polish will start to dry.

step five: The most delicate step, where you need to practice and master the technique in order to get good results - It's time to transfer your design into the glass!

Now you need to place your glass on top of the water and, to avoid air bubbles to form, start from one corner and then flatten the whole glass on the water. You need to find the right balance here: you don't want to go too fast and break the polish but either too slow.

Let the varnishes collect on the glass, then give a little shake and remove the glass from the water carefully.

You should be left with something like that - I used glitter polish here too... the sparkle looks really nice in the sunlight.

step six: patience! You need to leave the paint to dry completely and, to be on the safe side, I recommend overnight.

step seven: add a layer of clear top coat to seal the pattern and again, let it dry!

step eight: remove the masking tape and use some nail polish remover on a cottonbud to clean up possible smudges. 

TADA! You're glasses are done :)

Tips:

=> you can reuse the same plastic glass, but just make sure to remove any polish residue from the water before starting dripping the new colours;

=> make sure the water is at room temperature, otherwise the varnish will sink at the bottom of the cup;

=> not all polishes and brands are going to work well; I can recommend NOT to use fast drying formulas, for example;

=> don't have your nails done the day before because you'll be left with a messy manicure, that's for sure! ;)

=> handwash only.

Have you tried this project before? I thought it was a lot of fun and I will definitely try it again - Show me your masterpieces on Facebook, if you decide to give it a go. :)

xxx

This week I'm in love with...

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub*

In case you never came across this product before, the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush is a multi award winning liquid cheek stain with an amazing staying power and blendability. 

I have tried similar products in the past but I found that they'd dry too fast, leaving a patchy finish; the Watercolour Blushes instead, contain Vitamin E and Jojoba to nourish the skin and improve application.

You really just need the tiniest drop (probably a quarter of the swatch below) and being waterproof, it will last all day.

If you never tried this type of product before, it may look intimidating but it's very easy to apply and goes on sheer at first so you can build it up without mistakes. I like to use my fingers but a stippling brush will work well, too.

Also, it's water based so it won't leave your cheeks looking greasy like some creamy blushers.

Cherub is a perfect cool tone, powdery pink that works in every season! I'm wearing it now - in Spring/Summer - when I don't want to wear layers of make up but still want to look put together; It gives the perfect flush to the apple of my cheeks and also add some glow to the cheekbones.

Can't wait to try it in winter as a finishing touch to pale skin and bold purple lips.

The squeezy bottle is really practical for dosing the right amount and not waste any product and will last you a lifetime! I've actually also got the limited edition - Pop for a while and not even made a dent. 

Really! If you need to invest in a blush - this is the one! You can get yours from Hairtrade.com, the Uk's leading online retailer of hair extensions, hair care and beauty products for £14.49 - Maaaany shades to choose from :)

Urban Decay Summer 2013 Collection - part 2

Hello again!

In yesterday's post, I introduced the new eyeshadows and palette from the Urban Decay Summer 2013 Collection - Today, I'm gonna talk about the best sellers and much loved 24/7 eyeliners...

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils are the best long lasting eyeliners on the market; they won't budge - you can be sure of that - and there are now 13 brand new shades and 15 re-releases (previously only available in sets), making a total of 40 colours for every taste. 

What makes them a world apart is the creamy and soft formula, easy to blend that becomes waterproof once it's set.They are also very moisturizing thanks to jojoba oil, vitamin E and cottonseed oil.

You can choose from tropical bright shades, metallic hues, matte neutrals and the colour saturation is always fantastic.

The brand new shades include Smoke* - a dark matte gray - Desperation* - another matte medium taupe with cool gray udertone - and Goldmine* - a warm gold with shimmer; Delinquent* - a cool dark aubergine with purple shimmer - is a previously exclusive shade instead.

top-bottom: smoke, desperation, goldmine, delinquent

Finally, there are also 2 NEW shades of the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils: Mushroom - a cool toned taupe with shimmer - and Noise - a bright fuchsia with silver glitter.

These chubby pencils have the same creamy consistency as the liners and perform with the same longevity and reliability; you can use them as eyeshadows all over the lid (they don't crease), as base colours like a primer or as an eyeliners too, of course.

Noise* is the perfect colour for me! I've preferred pinks and purples all my life - probably because they complement my eye colour - and only started approaching neutrals in the last few years.

So, it's a no-brainer that I'm gonna experiment and get full use from it. 

I wore it at work, the other day. I'm a fan of a superfast mono shadow look effortlessly blended on the lid, especially at 7 am. It's demure enough for everyday but still fun, if you wanna give a Spring update to your make up routine.

Noise & Delinquent are easily my perfect combo. :)
So that's all folks! Another deserving and fantastic collection from Urban Decay... what caught your eyes?
xxx