Whaaaaaaaaaaasup... the latest gossip

I have had a crucifyingly painful back for the last week - headaches abounding, pain so bad that frankly, I was close to tears the last couple of days.  The kind of pain that was making me feel dizzy, out of sorts and hard to concentrate.  This evening I finally managed to haul ass to the physio (actually a brilliant sports massage therapist) and she's worked some magic; pain is still there, but manageable, and back is sufficiently "unlocked" to allow me to start working towards something with it.  Anyhow, all of that is a precursor to explaining why this day's post is a little light; it's just a quick snapshot of stuff that's going on in the world at the moment, cosmetics-wise, that you might be interested in...

Catrice Liquid Gold Topper - review

Oh my giddy aunt I love Catrice, I really do.  Bargains like no other and very impressive quality.  This week I'm raving about the Liquid Gold Topper in Jungle Treasure from Catrice's LE Glamazona line (look here for more information).

Shimmery molten gloriousness.  In a nutshell. 

2013: The Year in Review

I started out this post thinking I'd do a recap of the products that I discovered this year and loved, then realised, nope, Make Up For Dolls has come a long way in the last year, and I wanted to do a recap, not in a boasty way, but just as a reminder of some of the highlights - things I got up to, things I posted about, stuff that was fun and different and interesting!

Of course the absolute crowning moment for me this year was the creation of my very own red lipstick, following on from a lot of researching and back-and-forth on the subject with the fabulous folks at Cosmetics a la Carte in London.  Read all about it here.  Go on.  I'm not remotely excited about this one, still, a year on :-)

As for the rest?  Well... read on!
 

Drugstore Challenge: full makeup kit and brushes for €160?

An entire kit and all brushes...

This is a long enough post but one I've been meaning to publish for ages as I'm continuously being asked to recommend "inexpensive" makeup that people can get in their local pharmacy or online.  Read on if you want to find out how to have an entire makeup kit for €160.  Before you choke - this as an entire set of everything, including brushes and products!  When you consider that you could easily drop this at a high-end cosmetics counter for two or three items, it's worth a read!

Curlformers Review (Or "How to look like a demented seven-year-old")

Curlformers.. ringlets in disguise... (promo image)

I can't stop singing the theme song to "Transformers - robots in disguise" along with this post.  Annoying eh.

I think I got these about a year ago, and it's taken me up until now to remember that I have them, and that I should try them out and see what they were like.

Inglot Milk & Tonic Makeup Remover Wipes

Make Up Wipes... actually these are not bad

While at a recent Inglot event, I was kindly given these to trial by one of the staff and although I'm not a huge fan of makeup remover wipes, on occasion, let's face it, using something like these is better than using nothing... when you're caught short on makeup remover, or when you're unexpectedly away, or when you're at a festival or...

Cheap-ass v Fancy-ass? Shiseido v Lidl in the Battle Of The Cotton Pads

The humble cotton pad / cotton round...

Today's post was written in two halves - by both myself and my friend @MontyC.  It's a review of something we all use and need; for makeup removal, for toning the face, for refreshing the eyes, for nail polish removal... the humble cotton pad.

Sleek Pout Paints v OCC Lip Tars

I know this post is a little late (ok ok very late, I have been meaning to publish it for over a year now!) but how and ever, better late than never...

For anyone who doesn't know, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) are a cruelty-free all-vegan cosmetics store who make a bunch of different cosmetic products and tools - but their pièce de résistance are their Lip Tars.  Ostensibly a pro product, these are great for anyone who likes to play with makeup.

Sleek Makeup (a drugstore/budget makeup brand that I absolute love) have released (oh, back in 2011 I believe) their version - called Pout Paints.

Here follows my compare-and-contrast.

essence trend edition for summer 2013: guerilla gardening

Guerilla Gardening is essence's summer trend-based makeup collection release, featuring botanical shades of both bright and dark green, earthy browns, bright pinks and intensive reds.
 

Sleek Magnitude Mascara Review

Sleek Magnitude Mascara

This stuff is a.mazing.  And it costs €6.  Six quid!  It's a two-step mascara designed to lengthen and voluminise lashes.  And boy does it.

 

New fragrances from Essence

Drugstore brand essence has released three brand new budget fragrances in April and these are available in-store (Dunnes and Penny's and pharmacies nationwide), together with the already popular first six fragrances by essence.  These will be available in two sizes, 50ml (€7.99) and a mini 10ml handbag-size (€3.49).

KIKO Cosmetics Review

While in Venice recently, I chanced upon a cosmetics store called KIKO, selling their eponymous brand of makeup.  It's a reasonably new venture, founded in 1997 in Milan and now has stores all over the world, including an online shopping branch in the UK as I've recently discovered while doing some further research at home.

Vying with Inglot for volume of shades and formulations of both makeup- and skincare- products, and looking a lot like a candy store, I was hooked.

Blog Posts: What to write about

Snapshot of some of the stats Google Blogger provides for a particular period of time
(these are for this week)

I took a look at my viewer stats this morning to see if I could get some inspiration on what to write about today.  I have a few posts started, but nothing near completion (or even near where they should be for editing down).  So instead I took a trip down memory lane on my postings in the last fiften months.  It was an interesting trip and revealed to me what people read the most.

If you're a blogger, or an aspiring blogger, perhaps this might prove useful.  If you're a reader, then maybe you'll discover some posts you haven't seen before!

Essence - Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II Shimmer Powder in Bella's Secret (Highlighter)

Essence Breaking Dawn Part II
Shimmer Powder - Bella's Secret

Irrespective of whether you fall into the "love" or "loath" camp for the Twilight franchise, this makeup is lovely lovely lovely stuff.

Take Four: Multi-task makeup brushes I'm loving

My four favourite multi-tasking makeup brushes:
MAC 286, Japonesque 234, Royal & Langnickel BE10,
Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush

If I have no other brushes with me, I'll have these.  If I have no room in my overnight case, I'll use these.  I'll usually have these with me in work.  I love these brushes.  One is LE-turned-permanent, one is only available in a set, one is cheap-as-chips, one is usable for absolutely everything...

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils (Black Bean, French Fries, Iced Mocha, Milk)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in #604/Milk, #617/Iced Mocha, #609/French Fries, #601/Black Bean

I've heard so much about these pencils!  The Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (in particular) is a very opaque white and I've seen it used a lot on YouTube as an eyeshadow primer.  In general I like NYX products, although they can be difficult to find in Ireland (I get NYX from Flair in Dublin, although they annoyingly don't stock the Jumbo Eye Pencils - these I bought online).

The colours, the pigmentation, the payoff?  Amazing.  The rest?  Read on!

BH Day & Night 60 Color Eyeshadow Palette

BH 60 Color Day & Night Eyeshadow Palette

Having recently seen a number of You Tube vloggers using these palettes, I thought I'd order one and give it a whirl... I have been occasionally tempted to purchase one of the plethora of bumper-pack-of-shades inexpensive palettes available online (think Coastal Scents etc) but haven't bothered to-date.  Time to change that.

Overall, it's been a very positive experience!

Burgundy Part II: And on to The Makeup!

Interpret burgundy however you wish; oxblood, wine, claret, bordeaux, aubergine, eggplant, cranberry, plum, purple, blood, maroon... I'm in lust.

Part I of this Burgundy trend-based mini-series shows some of the burgundy clothes, shoes, accessories that I'm currently loving... this post is all about the makeup... specifically, me raiding my stash to see what I had that is burgundy-ish.  So on we go :-)

Dupe alert: Paperself Lashes

After yesterday's mammoth post, today's post, bringing DupeWeekTM to an end ;-) is short and sweet..

Essence Cherry Blossom Girl paper lashes

How utterly gorgeous are these?  Essence's latest collection, called Cherry Blossom Girl, features a bunch of soft reds and corals and these gorgeous eyelashes.

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre: the Search for Dupes

More dupes!  The turn of the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shadows...

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shadows (permanent)

I love the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre formulation.  It's a bouncy, mousse-y, soft, not-quite-cream, not-quite-gel hybrid formulation that feels lovely and applies beautifully.  I prefer to use fingers, but flat brushes also work well for applying these (see this post for more information on lay-down eye brushes).

The shades above and here are those in the permanent line - until recently there were six, but there have been two new additions since, making up the eight shown above and after the jump...