Let Us Drink Tea Amongst The Trees

After the lovely parcel of wonderment from Vix I didn't think my week could get much better, but along came another delivery (this time I was expecting it) from Urban Outfitters!

I love Urban Outfitters for their quirky and whimsical homeware, I do enjoy a good nose around their website every now and again. I wish I lived near an Urban Outfitters shop but alas I do not. I recently discovered that they have a Hallowe'en section and upon browsing I became instantly drawn to one particular item.. I needed, wanted and longed for this item!

So I ordered it.

I also went ahead and ordered something else which I had been eyeing up since around June. I even managed to save £4.99 as there was a Halloween promo code for free delivery. Yippee!

Say 'Hello!' to my new, and utterly charming, Alice in Wonderland cup! It's a whopper! It doesn't look so big in these pictures but I assure you it is quite large! It is called the 'Large Alice Mug' afterall. I will now be able to lose myself in Alice's world whilst drinking a large mug of hot chocolate in style!

Lemon Daisy cupcake courtesy of Asda!

This is the Hallowe'en item I purchased. As soon as I saw it I just had to have it! It's everything that I adore.. black, spooky and odd! (Pyf may or may not be getting me one for Christmas, I have 62 days to go until I find out!) I need a cluster of old wizened trees to hold all my earrings!

It sort of reminds me of Vix's appetiser tree.

Vampira!

Thank you Urban Outfitters for bringing these wonderful things into my life!

Now if you don't mind, I'm off to eat a certain cupcake!

Gifts Of Autumn Cheer From The Vixen!

Yesterday, I had a very lovely surprise in the form of the postman holding a large parcel from Vix! I had no idea what it was as I wasn't expecting anything but upon opening I knew who it was from right away, even before I read the card! She is such a thoughtful and beautiful person inside and out!

So many wonderful treasures!

Vix must be a magical witch because I have recently been looking at these Anna Sui mirrors on eBay! I love its gothic look and it came in its very own little black draw string pouch!

Super sparkly fish net tights!

Another charming Pierrot to add to my collection! I think it might be a candle holder. Isn't he lovely?!

A beautiful card with a lovely message on the back. I love the image on the front which depicts Pamona - the goddess of fruitful abundance. Look at cheeky little Pierrot trying to get in on the action!

A close up of the detail on the fan. I absolutely adore this beautiful autumnal fan. It's colouring reminds me of Autumn so much and wouldn't look out of place displayed at Christmas time. It is a very welcome addition to my small collection.

Last but not least.. the pièce de résistance!

I was over joyed to receive this shawl. I can't help but admire Vix when she's wearing one of her many shawls that she always manages to attract when treasure hunting! I've always thought to myself how much I would love to find one, so when I pulled this out of the parcel I was so very happy!

Look at all the gorgeous detail that has gone into the making of this shawl. I will always cherish it!

Thank you so much Vix, you amazingly wonderful hippy chick! This parcel of goodies has made my week!

I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday!

Glossy Box: October 2011

This month I got my very first Glossy Box and for those subscribers of mine who have no idea what I'm talking about I will fill you in..

Glossy Box is a UK based company that each month offers 5 luxury product samples (a mix of perfume, skin care, hair care and cosmetics) for the sum of £10 plus £2.95 delivery. It's a great way of discovering and sampling products from different well known and not so well known high end brands in the comfort of your own home (no being bombarded by sales reps trying to get you to buy something you didn't even know you needed). Not only that but you also receive discount codes on certain products.

Each month you receive something completely different, so it's kind of like a surprise box of beauty treats! There have been 6 Glossy Boxes so far and in the past there have been full sized makeup products from brands such as NARS and Illamasque (gimme gimme!) The value of your samples and full sized products almost certainly far outweighs the £10 subscription fee. For a product list from past boxes click here.

The subscription works on a monthly basis by direct debit so you are able to cancel your subscription at any time within 14 days prior to delivery. Money is usually debited around the first week of each month as boxes are always sent out mid-month.

Glossy Box currently only ships to the UK and the Republic of Ireland, but GlossyBox is also available in France, Germany, Brazil and Korea. If you live in America then Birch Box is the same type of thing.

I had seen so many reviews on the past 5 boxes and some of them were amazing.. a full sized NARS Orgasm Illuminator worth £21.50 anyone? Some people have said that there is a pattern forming with these boxes - May's box was brilliant, June's was Ok, July's was brilliant, August's was Ok and so on. I decided to get October's box to see for myself.

The presentation and packaging itself is beautiful. They really couldn't improve on it if you asked them to. The actual Glossy Box itself is very re-useable and could be used to store jewellery or makeup, it definitely wouldn't look out of place on your dressing table with its pretty shabby chic pale pink colour.

Dermalogica Age Smart MultiVitamin Thermafoliant

Full Size - 75ml or 2.5 fl oz / £40.50

Sample Size Received - 15ml or 0.5 fl oz / Approx. value £8.10

A powerful thermal skin polisher that combines physical and chemical exfoliants to refine skin texture and enhance penetration of age-fighting actives into skin, while advanced technology ingredients condition and treat the skin. Contains no artificial fragrance or colour.

Dermalogica Age Smart MultiVitamin Power Recover Masque

Full Size - 70ml or 2.5 fl oz / £33.00

Sample Size Received - 15ml or 0.5 fl oz / Approx. value £7.77

A powerful masque of concentrated antioxidant vitamins to help skin recover from damage while enhancing barrier properties and promoting healthy tissue regeneration. Contains no artificial fragrance or colour.

I am very much looking forward to testing these Dermalogica items out! I have read a good few reviews on products from this company and anybody within the beauty industry will know that Dermalogica are one of the best skin care companies around. The price tag reflects this fact too! I cannot afford to go spending £40+ on any one skin care product (in fact my whole skin care regime costs less than that) so to get the chance to try a few of these products our for myself is great.

Leighton Denny Nail Polish in Sex Kitten

Full size Received - 12ml or 0.40 fl oz / £11

Beautifully groomed hands and feet are always in fashion and with Leighton Denny Nail Colours, it's easy to keep them that way. Mix up your party look and make a style statement. Fingers and toes will purr with delight when painted with this cool blue hue.

What can I say about this? It's a nail polish.. you can never have enough nail polishes so the more the merrier!

STILA Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Moray

Full size Received - £13.00

Stila's highly pigmented, waterproof eye liner glides on delivering intense, vibrant colour with staying power.

I have several Stila Products and I love them but I've never tried a Stila eyeliner before. This wouldn't be a colour I'd automatically pick up from a cosmetics display as I tend to go for blacks, purples and greens but I was very pleasantly surprised by this colour. It's a gorgeous tarnished antique gold shade with a hint of olive green. I have had the swatch in the picture above on my hand since about 8.30 this morning and it is now 9 o' clock in the evening and the colour is still strong and super shimmery, it doesn't appear to have budged very much at all. I'm really impressed with this eyeliner! It's my favourite item from this months Glossy Box by far!

Robert Piguet Eau de Parfums

Full Size - 50ml or 1.7 fl oz / £65

Three Sample Sizes Received - each 0.8ml or 0.027 fl oz

Fracas de Robert Piguet, Visa de Robert Piguet and Calypso de Robert Piguet are three signature scents from the 'most Parisian of fashion designers'.

Fracas de Robert Piguet - Tuberose combines with jasmine, jonquil, gardenia, lily of the valley and iris in a lavish profusion or fragile white flowers.

Once the signature fragrance of the French elite, Fracas has grown to become one of the most coveted fragrances in the world by those seeking a scent of a glamorous, bygone era. Classic femininity and modern sensibility collide within Fracas’ lush white floral fragrance.

Visa de Robert Piguet - White vineyard peach, pear, violet leaves, bergamot and yellow mandarin mingle with heart of yland, rose, immortelle and orange flower absolutes before revealing a base of patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, moss and vanilla beans.

Over 60 years after Robert Piguet’s Visa made its debut, the classic oriental fragrance was re-launched and rebalanced to merge modern styles with its timeless glamour.

Calypso de Robert Piguet - Bewitching and romantic, Calypso is a mesmerizing mix of fiery and lush floral facets. It blends top notes of geranium and mandarin with a heart of rose and iris before revealing a seductive base of patchouli, amber and suede. Calypso is for the woman who delights in her power to enchant.

The captivating myth of Calypso exudes romance, seduction and power. The fragrance Calypso de Robert Piguet captures the mystery and allure of the eponymous nymph in dazzling sophistication with its reintroduction.

I have currently only tested Visa de Robert Piguet and so far so good. In the vial it smells like any other super strong 'heady' perfume but once it's dried down on the skin it smells really nice. I'm crap at describing scents but I can definitely pick out the hints of peach, patchouli and vanilla! Perfect for an evening scent!

With this being Glossy Box's 6th box they have marked the occasion with a 6th product, plus a small beauty-related item..

Dermalogica Age Smart Renewal Lip Complex (with beauty bag)

Full Size - 1.75ml or 0.06 fl oz / £22.50

Sample Size Received - 1ml or 0.03 fl oz / Approx. value £14

A daily lip treatment that restores delicate tissue, minimizes contour lines and helps prevent the signs of aging. Contains no artificial fragrance or colour.

This is the only Dermalogica item I have tested so far. I've applied it twice today and I really liked the texture and feel of it on my lips. It moisturised really well and left my lips feeling smooth even after the product wore off when eating. I think this product would be really useful for the coming winter months when lips tend to become chapped and need extra moisture but for the full price of £22.50 for a little under 2ml worth of product this would definitely only be used before a night out so that lipstick applies smoothly! I'll definitely be stretching this beauty as far as it can go!

The bag is a great little addition and will definitely come in handy for travelling! I always need little bags to store more fragile things in when visiting home so this bag is perfect for me.

Overall I'm really happy with October's box and I am really looking forward to seeing what's in next month's box! It won't be a monthly thing for me but the good thing about Glossy Box is that you can cancel your subscription whenever you like and then re-subscribe at a later date as there is no minimum subscription term.

Glossy Box also offers Glossy Dots which is a review based reward system. For every product review you leave on the website you earn 20 Glossy Dots. Once you have 1000 Glossy Dots you get one free Glossy Box. This month they are introducing a new and quicker way of earning Glossy Dots, for every 'Refer A Friend' that you do you will get 200 Glossy Dots, so for every 5 friends that you refer you will get one free Glossy Box. This Refer A Friend system wont be up and running for another week or so. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

Why don't you treat yourself to next months Glossy Box or gift one to a family member or friend? You'll definitely get your moneys worth!

Glossy Box Website

Glossy Box Facebook Page

Glossy Box Twitter

Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull Makeup

I'm slightly in love with Sugar Skulls. They are colourful, beautifully decorated, they have a wonderful meaning behind them and they are SKULLS!

Sugar Skulls or 'calaveras de azúcar' in Spanish are a form of Sugar art which was brought to the New World (America) by Italian missionaries in the 17th century. The first church which mentions sugar art was from Palermo (a city in southern Italy) at Easter time when little sugar lambs and angels were made to adorn the side altars in the Catholic Church.

Mexico was abundant in sugar production but too poor to buy fancy imported European church decorations, so they learned quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious festivals i.e. Day of the Dead. Sugar skulls represent a departed soul and sometimes has the souls name written on the forehead which is then placed on the home altar or gravestone to honour the return of that particular spirit.

I have wanted to try doing my own sugar skull makeup since last Hallowe'en, but unfortunately I was ill then so with this year's Hallowe'en fast approaching I thought I would give it a go!

I'm really loving how it turned out!

What you looking at biatch?! (ode to LaDama)

I have listed the items used below. It's too confusing stating what I used for what but I'm sure you will get the idea!

Face:

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Stargazer Loose Face Powder in White

Sugar Skull Decorations:

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Black Bean

Too Faced Lava Gloss Eyeliner in Super Black

Rimmel GlamEyes Liquid Eyeliner in Black Glamour

Sugarpill eyeshadow in Love +, Buttercupcake & Midori

NYX Matte Black Eyeshadow

Small Red Rhinestones

Medium Clear Rhinestones

Revlon False Lash Effect Mascara

Lips:

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

MAC Russian Red Lipstick

Only 17 days left until Hallowe'en!!!

Mail From America

Today I received a much anticipated parcel from Justine of Justine's Halloween, who if you can't tell by her name, is a fellow Hallowe'en fanatic! I adore her blog, it's always such a pleasure to read and we more often than not end up getting into lengthy conversations over her posts as we do seem to have quite a lot of interests in common! Not only is she a fantastic writer but she is an artist too!

A little while ago she hosted a 100 follower giveaway and I was over the moon to have won it! The prize was a Hallowe'en art print of my choice from her Deviant Art shop and since I had been meaning to buy a deck of her Old Maid cards from her Etsy shop for quite some time, I thought I might as well go ahead and get it so both the cards and print I had won would arrive at about the same time. I'm still waiting on the print but these cards will definitely keep me entertained in the mean time!

There are 38 cards in all featuring 19 of her spooky character paintings, which if you're interested in, you can buy in larger prints from her shop! I absolutely love them and I can't wait for my print to arrive!

Lastly is a package of loveliness from the Queen of Pink herself, Krista from Peetee's Palace! For those of you who don't know her she is the most colourful person I have ever met in blog land! We also have quite a bit in common, we both love metal, we both adore My Dying Bride, we both enjoy gaming and we both love lowbrow/pop surrealism art! She had emailed me a while ago saying she wanted to make me one of her cute necklaces and I gladly accepted!

When I opened the parcel there was more inside than I had anticipated!

I absolutely adore the necklace! The pictures just don't show how beautifully sparkly this necklace really is, not only does it have sparkle and the cutest little purple sugar skulls but she has also added a Jack Skellington pendant! This would go very well with my Jack earrings! I'm also loving the charming little ring too which has been on my finger all day, the purple scrolling band is gorgeous!

Not only did she send me all this loveliness but I also received two MAC eyeshadows! She sent me Nocturnelle and Stars'n'Rockets which I already own but they are two of my favourite MAC shadows to use together so it's great to have a back-up of both!

Thank you so much Krista! I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for anything which screams your name and send a little appreciation parcel your way!

Who's looking forward to the premier of season two of The Walking Dead this month?! I can't bloody wait! It's been almost a full year since The Walking Dead aired last in the UK and I don't think I can wait much longer! In the meantime here's something that I made last night using Photoshop..

I've been Zombified! Grrr arg!

~ ♥ ~

Sigma Synthetic Face Kit Review

Where has this week gone?! It feels only yesterday that I was super excited that October was finally here and now we're a week in already! Ahh well, it's just bringing me closer to my favourite holiday of the year and an obvious one for me - Hallowe'en!

I've been busy planning Hallowe'en with my friends from the music to the food and which pubs to hit. Our first pub of the night will be one of the local Glastonbury pubs which was founded in the late 1300s and is rather Medieval looking. It's called The George & Pilgrim Hotel and is rumoured to be haunted!

Besides getting over excited about that and dealing with work men I ordered myself the Sigma Synthetic Face Kit from LoveMakeup.

I have been really wanting to get this face kit ever since I saw LetzMakeup's review of it on YouTube about 6 months ago. I had seen Sigma brushes being used in makeup tutorials way before then by some of my favourite YouTube gurus, but Siobhán's Review of the brushes sold them to me instantly.. well not instantly.. 6 months later!

I've always wanted MAC makeup brushes but at £37 for a large powder brush or £32.50 for a Duo Fibre stippling brush.. I don't think so! Even their eyeshadow brushes range from £16 - £22 each. I have always wanted to get their 217 blending brush costing £16 because it is the best blending brush around.. apparently! Maybe Santa will bring me it this Christmas.

For those of us who don't want to spend a massive amount of money on makeup brushes there is E.L.F. Their brushes are good quality and well made and look far more expensive than they actually are at only £3.50 per brush from their studio range. I have every single E.L.F brush going and I love them but they don't do a great selection of face brushes.

Along comes Sigma with their brushes ranging from £4.99 to £13.99 each. They are priced way below MAC brushes but oh boy they are in the same league! The Sigma brushes have been raved about across the beauty community for how excellent they are, some people even admit that they prefer some of the Sigma brushes over similar MAC ones they own.

The Synthetic Face Kit contains three of their best selling face brushes, F80 F82 and F84. Each brush serves a purpose and these three brushes are pretty much all you need for flawless face makeup application.

Beautifully presented in a large organza bag with a booklet containing information on each brush.

F80 - Flat Top Kabuki

• The F80 Flat Top Kabuki brush with Sigmax HD Filament is perfect for applying and blending liquid, cream and powder products onto the skin. The flat surface allows perfect buffing with flawless results.

This is the brush that everybody raves about and probably the brush I was most looking forward to trying out for myself, in fact this is the only brush from the kit that I have tried so far.

I used it on a section of my cheek with my Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation and I am already impressed. Its flat surface blended the foundation into my skin wonderfully and left no sign of streaks, almost like an air brushed finish! I don't wear foundation all that much but this brush is certainly a holy grail for nights out when you want your skin to look its best! I was originally using the elf studio powder brush for foundation as it was the closest thing to a flat top kabuki that I had and I thought the result it gave me was good but the Sigma F80 has certainly outshone it!

F82 - Round Top Kabuki

• The F82 Round Top Kabuki brush with Sigmax HD Filament simplifies precise makeup application under the eyes and around the nose. This brush is also perfect for achieving flawless coverage using liquid and powder products.

I've not used this brush yet but I can imagine it being a great finishing brush for me. After applying foundation with the F80 this brush would be perfect to finish buffing the foundation into all the grooves of the face. It's very dense (in fact these are the densest brushes I have ever owned) making it perfect for buffing. It's stiff enough not to be flimsy when blending but it's also the softest brush ever giving a lovely finish! In fact all three of the brushes feel luxuriously soft on the skin!

F84 - Angled Top Kabuki

• The F84 Angled Top Kabuki with Sigmax HD Filament is the perfect brush for precise, yet blended application of products on the cheeks. It seamlessly applies cream, powder and liquid products.

This brush is the perfect shape for contouring cheeks and applying blush. It is also extremely dense which means you need to be very careful when applying blush or bronzer. You barely need to tap the brush to pick up the product, if you're too heavy handed you could end up looking like Pennywise the clown! (Which could be perfect for Hallowe'en!)

Individually the F80 and F82 both cost £13.99 each and the F84 costs £12.99 from LoveMakeup. The Face Kit costs £36.99 saving you £3.98 but if you choose to buy the Face Kit you will get a free travel size E25 Blending brush worth £8.99!

E25 - Blending Brush

• Oval-shaped brush with gently chiselled sides. Blends and softens the look of powder or cream shadows. Ideal for applying eyeshadow primer, base eyeshadow colours, and blending harsh lines.

The E25 has been compared to the MAC 217 by many as a very close dupe. That makes me happy because as I've said I am really wanting the 217! This brush is perfect for blending out your crease colour to achieve a lovely gradient into your highlight colour. I have seen people use this brush and the 217 in YouTube tutorials and the result is always gorgeous!

I've yet to wash these brushes as I really need to get myself a decent brush cleanser as I usually just use a mild soap for cleaning my brushes, but these babies deserve to be pampered. If it will keep them in shape and feeling soft and clean then it's worth it!

Overall, I really love this kit, the brushes are superior quality and well worth the money in my opinion. Will I be buying more of their brushes? Hell yes! I would love to get my hands on some more of their eyeshadow brushes so I can compare their makeup application to my E.L.F brushes because people say that great quality makeup brushes can effect your makeup application greatly and I want to put it to the test!

What are you up to this weekend? We'll be making a start on building our bookshelves tomorrow which should be fun!

No matter what you're doing this weekend I hope you have a good one and don't forget to smile as it is World Smile day after all!

~ ♥ ~