I Got Dior-ed.

I was all up for some Dior-haulage on Monday after my stressful week prepping for my visa appointment. I had some vouchers off family, and thought I'd use them on things I usually couldn't afford/justify. I still get pangs of guilt though - Dior is, afterall, a luxury brand and I'm a student and unemployed :P Yep. Bless Emma, I texted her completely freaking out at whether I was mental or just excited - I came to the conclusion that it was a bit of both :P

First up is what I originally went in for, which is the ever-hyped Dior Amber Diamond :) I lacked a natural powder highlighter so I naturally went for the beauty blogger's favourite ;) 

Phwoarrrrrr. Need I say more?

I absolutely LOVE how unique this product is. You can highlight in different ways, like using the lighter side for defining the cheekbones, and a colour more similar to your skintone for a natural glow, AND you can also use it as an e/s or even contouring.

I feel like Amber Diamond isn't your average highlighter though, because it gives almost a duo-chrome sheen, instead of your conventional, lighter-shade highlight. So although I love it for what it is, it's not HG just yet - I think I need get to know it better first! :)

This is the goodie that I wasn't supposed to buy :P As I said in my wishlist post, I've been looking for a sheer peach lippy so I picked up a Dior Addict Lipstick in Miss Dior 343 after the MUA tried it on me :)

It's PERFECT.

This lipstick is nothing like what I thought it would be - it's not watery, slippery, or a colourless mess but balmy, naturally glossy and decently pigmented. It's what I always wanted tinted lipbalms to be - that little bit more pigmented! :) It's also my answer to a better quality 17 Mirror Shine.

I'm really glad I bit the bullet because it's perfect and I can see myself using it everyday! But it is quite expensive, so I hope I find a cheaper alternative before I run out :P It's a little treat to myself for now ;)

Dear Natalie Portman, please may have your eyebrows and eyes? Thanks.

As a quasi-hippy, I do have a little problem with Dior's packaging being unnecessary extravagant. In the future, I hope to make an effort to choose other brands over Dior because of this, unless the product is just undupe-able - which these two I think are!

But there you go :) I'm really happy with my haul, and spend less time feeling guilty the more I use them.  They filled big gaps in my collection, and I know I will get almost daily use out of them - very excited! :)

How about you, have you ever got Dior-ed? :)
What's your favourite product from them, or what do you want the most?! :)

Keep your eyes out for some FOTD's with these gorgeous products!

<3yu

Judgment Day: Shu Curlers

Another cult product happened to fall into my make up drawer (funny how they do that, isn't it :P) when I returned to Japan almost a month ago, and it's the very much talked about Shu Uemura (pronounced shoe oo-eh-moo-rah) eyelash curlers.

Admittedly these only "fell" into my make up drawer when I realised that many people are being somewhat ripped off, as these sell for £9 here in Japan, and £20 in the UK. Now I had a perfectly good pair of eyelash curlers, but if you could test a hyped-up product for £11 less - who wouldn't go for it? I feel kind of guilty if I'm honest. Needless to say, the severe consumer exploitation does bug me a bit..

To me, Shu curlers have gone down the track of NARS Orgasm, in the sense that it's not the universal 'curler of all curlers' that it has the reputation of being - in my honest opinion, there are people who would really find this helpful (like me), and there are people who are better off saving some dosh and buying cheaper ones - atleast in the UK.

The first thing I asked the sales assistant was this: "What makes your curlers so special?" And she pretty much read what it said on the box to me - the shape of the curved edge, the hinges and the silicone band.

1) They claim that the shape of the curved edge fits various eye shapes and prevents it from pinching the skin - just keep in mind that they don't fit ALL eye shapes before you go and splurge! Mine happened to fit, so these work wonders but it would be a shame if yours didn't. I heard from Sam Chapman on Pixiwoo that the arch on these curlers are relatively flat - these would miss the outer and innermost lashes for anyone with deeper curved eye surfaces.

2) They also claim that the shape of the silicone band prevents the crimped look - I disagree. If I use this just at the roots of my lashes, it does what any curler does - give me L-shaped lashes. I like clamping several times along my lashes towards the ends to give a natural curl - so nothing special here for Shu!

3) The hinges make ALL the difference though - it's 100% true that it regulates how much pressure you apply on your lashes, and I think it's because the metal bars that comes off the silicone part is longer and covers more width than my old ones. It applies just enough pressure and in a way that your curls last all day!

This long-lasting curl is the part that Shu Uemura should really be selling, in my opinion. How many posts have you read from bloggers who say they have the world's most stubborn lashes that wont keep a curl? Because I'm one of them!

I have short, flat, thin and therefore easily weighed-down-by-mascara lashes, and while the shortness and thickness can be solved by mascara, the curl and lift is really difficult to find. If I curl my lashes with either eyelash curler, they will last the same time. However, the difference shows when the mascara's layered on. One will droop and end up flat, and the other will droop just a little bit, and it'll stay this way for a good few hours.

I think what these curlers have saved me, is the need/want to recurl my lashes during the day. Now I'm not 100% sure that's worth £20 - in a way I suppose they are, especially if you don't own curlers that you think are working for you, or if you never wear eyeshadow and only mascara and so maybe you're really sensitive about your lashes. It's a case by case basis really, I think my point is to ignore the hype, and think logically about spending £20! Me personally - I adore these and look forward to using them everyday :)

If you can rely on a mascara to give you the curls or if you can rely on a cheaper curler to give you curls for hours - then don't submit to the hype, because they're not going to do much more.

Shu tells you to rebuy them every year because the hinges weaken, and he enforces this by not selling the silicone bands separately - a bit far don't you think? As you can probably tell, I'm not very impressed with the brand itself and all of the testers they gave me were absolute rubbish.

So all in all - use common sense, ignore the hype :)! If what works for you now is fine, then don't feel the need to spend the extra dosh just because they're supposed to be amazing - these curlers don't have magical powers, and wont guarantee everyone better lashes - I think you're more likely to get 'better lashes' if you're like me and struggle with the lasting curl. Try it in store and ask to apply your own mascara on top and wait til you get home to see if it's worth the £20 :)

Hope that helps! :)

What is your experience with Shu Uemura?

How do you find the curlers if you own them? :)

You can buy these from Selfridges for £20 :)

<3yu

EDIT: If you can see in the last photo, the Shu curlers don't open as wide, so this might not be great for people with extremely long or curled lashes as well! Even I have a hard time making sure all my lashes are in, and I have quite short and straight lashes. Thought I'd throw that in :P

I Miss You, Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser.

I know the title is very.. romanticised, but this is actually a review, hehe. I'm sure you guys have all read reviews of this Hot Cloth Cleanser, and to make mine a bit different from everyone else's reviews, I waited until I finished it up, and went back to the cleanser that I used to use to really figure out the difference that this product makes. Here's what I came up with:

1) It STRIPS the dirt on your face - you really feel like all the grime and dead skin is off your face, but it's not done so in a drying and stinging way, but in a very natural way by exfoliating your face with a muslin cloth. It doesn't feel like there's some chemical reactions going on on your face, and it doesn't feel intrusive at all. Since I've gone back to my old face wash, my face never feels completely clean and smooth.

2) It makes your moisturizer sink it a lot better. It must be the fact that the layer of dead skin cells are gone, as my face drinks up the moisturizer, and in the morning, my face is supple. Now that I've gone back to my face wash, I feel a bit greasy in the morning, like with moisturizer residue on my face, rather than plumpy and young.

3) It's SUCH an easy routine. No drippy watery face in between getting product on your hands and lathering it up, because you just massage it directly on to your face.

4) It calms down your skin in every which way - I used to have normal/combination skin, but during the time I used this product I felt like I just had normal skin. Now that I'm going back to my old face wash, I'm feeling the oily patches come back. I'm also experiencing a lot more pimples and redness than I did when I used the Hot Cloth Cleanser at this time of the month (sorry for TMI).

5) My skin was literally 'polished'. It was so so so smooth - smoother than when I used my St. Ives Apricot Scrub! I miss it! :( This obviously makes the make-up go on so much nicer as well.

Admittedly, this cleanser didn't work on me straight away. I only started seeing the miracle results after 1 month (although people around me started to see the difference after the first use!), so for those who used it a few times and wasn't amazed, I urge you to keep trying, even if it's so you can use it up. Also, do NOT be stingy with this product, unless you can see the opaqueness on your skin, you aren't using enough! It makes a big difference in the results - trust me, I was stingy at first :P

Also, I didn't like using it as a make-up remover. I know it says it can be used to remove make-up but I just thought it was a waste of product, it made the muslin cloth unnecessarily dirty, and it just wasn't great at removing waterproof mascara and eyeliner in between my lashes. £1 baby wipes and oil-based eye make-up remover can take care of that :)

The main thing I didn't like was the packaging - it's so beautiful and elegant, but you can't twist open the pump, which means even when you think you're done there's still loads of product in there that just can't be sucked up with the pump. It's not the cheapest of products so I wish there was a way to use every last drop!

But yes, I deeply miss my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser. These 2 points are things that I am more than willing to ignore because the product itself is amazing - 10/10 for sure! Also, the company has so many environmental and other ethical incentives that earns them mega brownie points from me :)

I'm a P&P hater so I was going to wait until I got myself to London or Manchester to repurchase, but I have a strong feeling that I wont be able to wait that long!

Who else is a Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser lover? Has it NOT worked for anyone?

<3yu

P.S. All my non-single ladies! Keep an eye out for the Man Review of the Men's Hot Cloth Cleanser - the boy is currently using the man version, and will be sharing his thoughts hopefully in a couple of weeks :)

The Big O.

I've finally done it girls. I've got one of the biggest cult items on YouTube/Blogger - the NARS Orgasm blush :)

When I first saw it I was surprised at how bold and bright it was! I'd heard that it was an everyday blush, so I was thinking it would be something more tame.. yeah, no.

Not the best picture, especially cuz I'm not wearing proper foundation in this picture (a third year student in the period before deadlines and exams usually doesn't..) so I didn't have as smooth of a canvas as I usually do, but I really really liked the colour! :)

Sure there's a bit of a gold sheen that everyone that doesn't like Orgasm (who doesn't? Har har har, bad joke) freak out about, but I don't see it being any more frostier than the Frost blushes from MAC, like one of my faves, Style.

I'm really excited to try this out over time, and see if I'm in the O-camp or the Deep Throat-camp - or both?! :) EEP I'M SO EXCITED, I feel like a proper blogger/YouTuber now that I have a cult product hahaha -lame person right here-.

Are you an NARS Orgasm hater or lover? What are your favourite cult products? :)

 

I think I may be a lover :P

<3yu

P.S. Quick question to those of you who have bought a NARS product recently - do you find the 'NARS' on the front is bigger and the edges are squared as opposed to rounded? Mine is, do companies change these kinds of things a lot? :/ I bought this Orgasm from ASOS so I'm assuming it's genuine..