Friday 30 May 2008

Review: Gosh Brushes

As requested by n123, I am here reviewing the GOSH brushes I bought few weeks ago. I must apologise that this is my first ever review so I may not be able to cover all the queries you may have. Gosh! This is like writing an appraisal when I was on my nursing course ha ha ha! Anyway, I'll try to be brief and comprehenive so I'll write this review in step by step basis.

As what I've said on my earlier blog, I've decided to buy these brushes because of the great reviews I've read on few magazines as being identical to MAC's. So before trying them on my make up and face... my question was... are they? Obviously, I had to wash them first using my usual Johnson's baby shampoo and conditioner (Please read the bottom of this post if you want to know how I do it). As I was washing them, I was amazed that the bristles remained intact. I was expecting for at least a few bristles to come off but they didn't and when they were dry, they were just as soft and fluffy as they were when before washing them... and they were shiny too!

When I've eventually started using them, all I could say was... 'WOW!'. They really are brilliant! They feel soft and gentle on my face. I didn't itch, which I always try to avoid when using make up brushes because of my sensitive skin.

The price? About half of what you would pay for MAC brushes but just as good! Unfortunately, they don't have as much choices as MAC have but they do have enough to cover a set of necessities.

I'm afraid, I can't tell you the kind of hair that they've used on these brushes but a few of them are made of nylon. However, as what I've said, they didn't cause any itchiness on my face infact one of them was labelled 'hypoallergenic'.

So, girls (or guys if you're planning to surprise your ladies) if you want good quality brushes but on a tight budget to afford the expensive counter part, MAC... this might be the one for you!


Washing my brushes:

I wash my brushes the way I wash my own hair... Shampoo, rinse thoroughly and soak in conditioner for at least 30 minutes then rinse again thoroughly. I then give another quick soak for about 15 minutes on clean water just to make sure that there are no residues left then, squeeze the excess water out... using clean tea towel, I then gently squeeze them one by one, reshape and leave them on a glass or cup to dry. That simple!



The other inexpensive brushes that I have tried and been satisfied with their performances are Body Shop, Max Factor, ELF and Everyday Mineral.
I hope I've covered the basic information about GOSH brushes otherwise, feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try my hardest to answer them.
Thank you for your time reading this post. Until next time!
Gracie xxx

At last! My Shu Uemura Make Up and More!

At last! I got hold of the most wanted Shu Uemura make up and eye lash curler... and oh, brush cleanser as well ;). I wasn't expecting that until tomorrow but when I passed by Space NK after I've had my hair done, I thought I'd pop in just to have a look. The beauty consultant has invited me for a Shu make over last month but because my son was moaning that we were there for so long (After he sat in the salon for 3 hours whilst I was having my hair done all he wanted was his McDonald treat.) so I told her, next time. Kids!



As you now know, I don't just stop in one shop when I hit the town ha ha ha!

I've been putting my hair through a lot of abuse that it's about time I think of looking after it too. So, I've got these James Brown hair mask. I've never tried this line of hair care product before and I hope it'll do something good to my hair.



Since I've tried Agent Provocateur Maitresse Eau de Parfum, I thought, I've gotta have it so I did. I became befriended with the beauty consultant whose been a Vivienne Westwood representative for a while (she's been voted the beauty consultant of the year where she went to Paris for the ceremony... everything paid for!... Jheng! That could be you in the near future! ;)) and she has been kind enough to give me a few gifts (Agent Provocateur scented cushions and body lotion with 24K gold sparkles in them and Vivienne Westwood Let It Rock body lotion). I really love the scent of this perfume and I think you should try it if you haven't done yet :)





My most wanted Shu Uemura haul! Eye lash curler, Brush cleanser, 6 Pressed Eye Shadow, Lipstick and a Blusher! I want more! I've now decided to get a set every pay day until I've had enough of Shu ha ha ha! Will I have enough? I'll find out! :P



Gorgeous and I can't wait to try them on!






That's my loot of the day!
TTFN!






Thursday 29 May 2008

My precious son

I was just tinkering with my new digicam but I couldn't find a better subject than my beautiful son (He shouts 'handsome!' whenever I say that.)... He was having lunch whilst I was doing it but I'm posting it anyway :)



We do eat a lot of rice as you can see :P





My baby!

FOTD: Too Faced Lucky Charm Dou Eye Shadow

I've been so excited about playing with my new toy (My new digicam, you dirty minded people! :P). I always feel like this whenever I've got something new so forgive me :)

Anyway...! I wasn't going anywhere as it's been miserable outside the whole day but because of excitement, I put some make up on and took FOTD using my Too Faced E/S.

I've posted many again this time... sorry... :(


























Be afraid... be very very afraid...!








I love Lancome Virtouse Mascara... It's simple as curling lashes and applying the mascara on its own... not other tricks but gives the result I could only be happy with.

As you can see, I only apply mascara on my outer corner lashes... that's just my preference.


Still practicing to apply cream eyeliner. I'd like to crack doing it eventually.




MAC Frost Lipstick





Wednesday 28 May 2008

Just another afternoon shopping

I didn't plan to go out today as it was miserable outside (just wet, cold and gloomy!) but I've got my NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) package prompting me to pay for my registration so I felt like I didn't had any choice but kick my lazy bum. Aaack!

As I've been wanting to take advantage of Lancome gift offer, I've decided to nip in Debenhams and came out with my new goodies ;). After my Debenhams visit, I remembered I was running out of my hair essentials so I nipped in Boots where I ended up getting more stuff than I planned fetch. However, on my way to Boots, I passed by Dixons and popped in to check out their digital cameras as I've been sooo frustrated with trying to take good quality photos and... surprise, surprise! I came out with a brand new Canon Digital Camera... This better be good :P... My son then asked me if he could have a DVD and since he's been running after me in town, I thought, he also deserved a treat ;)... I ended up with 3 CDs for myself :)

So... here are my afternoon loot...!










My brand new Canon Ixus 9701S... Wooo! It's 10.0 Mega Pixels, 5x Optical Zoom and Optical Stabilizer... It cost me £249 plus £69.00 for 5 years insurance. They could've thrown in a case for that price but they didn't and there wasn't any to fit this baby so I have to go somewhere else :( to find one.








As you can see... I'm loving Aerosmith, Kate Nash and Duffy music




My Lancome haul




Express Cleansing Water Face, Eyes, Lips



Remove-All Deep Cleansing Oil Face and Eyes

Le Crayon Noir (01)




My Lancome generous Gift:


Make Up Bag

9 Lip Colour Palette

Balm to Oil Massage Cleanser

Express Cleaning for Face, Eyes and Lips

Primordial Skin Recharge Cream - Visibly Smoothing Renewing Moisturiser

Primordial Skin Recharge Eye Cream - Visibly Smoothing Renewing Eye Moisturiser

Juicy Tube Lychee Lip Gloss

Blusher Brush

Virtouse Mascara - Divine Lasting Curves and length Mascara in Black (Not in photo)




9 Lip Color Palette:

Top from right: Rose Nature (11), Beige Or (277), Brun Sepia (76)

Middle from right: Rose Nu (06), Pense a Moi (131), Rendez-Vous (230)

Bottom from right: Grant Rose (399), Rose Cashmere (390), Rouge Rayonnant (47)



Urban Decay Make up




Urban Retreat Brush on Blusher in Pretty Pink

Too Faced Eye Shadow Dou in Lucky Charms




TRESemme Heat Defence (as I put my hair through a lot...)
Optrex Lubricating Eye Drops

TRESemme Colour Shine UV Filter, Firm Hold Hair Spray











FOTD: Jemma Kidd Make Up School Eye Wardrobe



Since I bought my Jemma Kidd Make Up School stuff... I've been wanting to try the Eye Wardrobe Plum Quartet but as you all know, I've been spending my last 2 months shopping for stuff that I barely had time to try them on. I've tried this eyeshadow yesterday and my boyfriend liked it so I thought, I'd do it again and take FOTDs.


I know, I know... I tend to post too many photos everytime but I just can't help it. I just couldn't decide which ones to post... and hey...! I think I'm getting good at taking photos... Have a look to find out if you could see the improvement I think I had :)



Face:
  • Olay Definity Intense Repairing Anti-Ageing Serum and Sheercover Nourishing Moisturiser with SPF15 (I mix the two product together to get the benefit of anti-ageing and SPF15 formula)
  • Christian Dior R-Flash Instant Ultra-Smoothing Fluid used as primer
  • Sheercover Mineral Foundation with SPF15
  • Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat under my eye area and side of my nose
Eyes:
  • Yves Saint Laurent Lisse Expert Advanced Eye and Lip Intensive Anti-Wrinkle Care
  • Elizabeth Arden Eye-Fix Primer
  • Jemma Kidd Make Up School Eye Wardrobe Plum Quartet
  • Shiseido The Make Up Accentuating Cream Eye Liner (Top lashlines and corner of bottom lash lines)
  • Lancome Virtouse Mascara (On top lashes)
  • Clinique High Impact Mascara (On bottom lashes)
Cheeks:
  • Yves Saint Laurent Blush Variation in Rose Cendre/Ash Pink (9)
Lips:
  • E.L.F. Feather Proof - Moisturising Lipliner in Bitter
  • E.L.F. Custom Lips in Sugar Plum
(I had to cover the lipliner by the lipstick as it was too red but turned out fine)

























I'm still trying to apply me cream eye liner right... as you can see... it looks a mess at the moment. Any tips guys?













Phew! It took me over 3 hours to get ready today... I'm just glad I didn't have to rush. I've been watching Panacea on youtube (Not sure I've got it right) doing great EMU tutorial for 10 minutes and I wonder how she does it!

TTFN!