Dupe Alert!! Benefit '10' vs. W7 'Double Act'

A video went up on my YouTube channel about a week ago, all about two Benefit dupes I have come across. The posts would be all too much and photo heavy to put them both in the same post, so the Benetint v. MeMeMe 'Pussy Cat' will be up tomorrow morning!

W7 'Double Act' vs. Benefit '10'

My version of '10' is a gift set type thing, so to compare packaging, I have photographed the 'Double Act' next to my box of 'Sugarbomb'.

Pretty similar packaging, don't you think?

Now, onto the actual goods! 

The 'Double Act' actually claims to be a blush/bronzer duo, instead of highlight/bronzer, but when they are swatched the blush isn't all that pigmented, just slightly more pink toned than the '10' highlight.

As for the price, I paid €3.99 for the 'Double Act' and '10' retails at €30 or £25 here.

So, what do you think? Is Benefit 10 worth splashing out on?

Personally I am quite impressed with the W7, it has more than a passing resemblence to Benefit!

I'd love to hear your opinions! :o)

Love H xx

Lipstick Lover Review: Benefit 'Pinking of You'

Today in the Lipstick hot-seat (ha!) is a Benefit Full Finish in 'Pinking Of You'!

Colour/Scent? Benefit describes this as a 'pop of pink' however I would describe this as a pinky-coral, with silver shimmer. I'm pretty sure this is unscented, however it might just be because I have a cold and all sense of smell is out of the window for me! (ok.. you didn't need to know that!).

Consistency? Ok so this is the strange bit. When this lipstick is applied, you can actually feel the glitter when you rub your lips together. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I know it may do for some people! Other than that, it glides on nicely.

Longevity? Pretty good, but constantly rubbing my lips together because of the glittery chunks made it wear off more quickly.

Pigmentation? It is mildly sheer in texture, but a very buildable colour.

Packaging? Sleek and black, just the way I like it!

Price? £14 or €21 - dearer than MAC fyi.

Other shades available? The UK Benefit website has 10 shades in stock.

Available from? Benefits website or any Benefit counter.

The Verdict... I like it! I don't have any shades like this, so I do like that. If it weren't for the chunky glitter, I would love this loads. I am willing to oversee that though, for the nice colour. To be a little picky, this lipstick falls into my category of mean euro price conversions. 

Have any of you tried Benefit lipsticks? What do you think? 

H xoxo

Naughty Naughty! Copycat products

So yesterday, in my ELF haul I mentioned the uncanny resemblance of the Studio blush to a NARS blusher.  

Can you see the similarities?

Same clasp opening, same outer packaging, same inner packaging. The only difference is that ELF is shiny plastic and NARS is rubbery and matte. Also, the ELF blush has a window below the mirror. 

Even more so, take a look at the bottom of the blushers, they both have the raised bottoms in the same shape AND as you can see on the right, they are the exact same size.

Needless to say, the product isn't comparable in the slightest. Full review of that to come.

Still not convinced? Look at the film inserts in the blushers.

 Also on my naughty list for today are the MeMeMe benefit dupes. I only own Benefit Poppy Tint (how old is my bottle? I''m pretty sure I bought this when it first came out ugh! But I do know that MeMeMe stock a range of tints/highlights that are all too comparable in name and packaging. Below is the only one I own from MeMeMe, the Pussy Cat tint (Reviewed here).

Here is the full range that they sell:

L-R Pussy Cat (Benetint), Poppy Tint (Posie Tint), Sun Beam (Moon Beam), Beat the Blues (High Beam)

Source

Have any of you tried these? Are they benefit-comparable or is it just in the packaging/product/name?

Honestly I love dupes and I get quite a buzz from finding them, however in these two instances I think it's a step too far.

I would love to hear your opinion..

H xoxo

Hello Mr.Postman!

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you will know that I am super excited to have gotten a PayPal account..finally! If any of you were wondering, I got a 3V card which you can top up and then use online as a Visa card. I topped up mine by €50 to try it out and I may have spent it all already. Oops!

Anyway here are some goodies that got delivered today:

 The Carmex isn't very exciting, but I bought it as on ASOS my transaction had to come to £20 to use my Diet Coke code for a fiver off. I love the cherry flavour, although I wish I had been more adventurous and gone for the mint.

Next I got my very first Benefit lipstick in the shade 'Nice Knickers'. I have managed to cut off the top of the picture here but it is a sheer raspberry red. There will definitely be a Lipstick Lover Review about this very soon!

Next was another 'first', my first purchase from Illamasqua. I have heard quite a lot about this brand lately, especially their Lipglosses. It is an Intense Lipgloss in 'Indulge'. These look incredibly pigmented from my pre-purchase research and I honestly don't have a neon pink like this in my slightly extensive lip gloss collection. I really think this is going to be a winner! I love it already.

That is all that I bought from ASOS, just thought I'd let you all know that you can use your Diet Coke vouchers on sale items. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I was checking out!

Today I also got a very exciting package from the lovely Karen from Band of Blushers (check out her blog, it's fabbo!). It is a NARS lipgloss in 'Orgasm', I am really hoping that it will match my much loved Orgasm blusher. 

 Also I must mention the extremely exciting package that I received from Aussie on Friday!

As I am an honorary Aussie Angel, I was asked to take part in their Lusciously Lighter challenge- I chose 'Style' which will involve me trying out some potential hairstyles for a style overhaul! They also gave me a bottle of their Luscious Long Conditioner which I will be trying out very soon.

What do you think of my  purchases?

H xoxo

PS. What do you think of my Blog layout change? I love it!

PPS. I am thinking of starting a continuous Blog sale page featuring make up and some clothing, let me know if that is something you may be interested in.

Payday Treats! Vol III

Early on Friday morning I dashed out to the shops for a little payday splurge! On Saturday, my mum and I went on another little splurge!! These are the results....

First up, the lip products!

 My first purchase was my very first Soap and Glory purchase! This is the much raved about 'Sexy Mother Pucker" gloss in Peach. I have tried many 'plumping' glosses, but this one is special. If you haven't tried it, you need to (Boots has 1/3 off S&G at the moment!).

I do have a lot of love for Urban Decay 'The Iconic' lipsticks, and this one in the shade Wanted is a welcome addition to my collection. Do not be put off by the extremely dark colour in the bullet, the colour payoff is a mauve-pink.

I picked up this Barry M gloss in Toffee on a whim and I love it, it is the perfect neutral gloss. Most importantly it lives up to its name and is infused with a toffee scent. Yum.

My very first Benefit Eyeshadow!

I picked these up in two shades, Soft Shoulder and Moody.

Cleverly not I have mixed up the swatches, on the left is Moody, a greige colour similar to what has been extremely popular in nail polish lately. Soft Shoulder is a brown with a slightly rusty undertone. It looks gorgeous as an all over lid colour.

A few random bits; Isa Dora bronzer, Stila glitter eyeliner and Sally Hansen blush brush.

 I am unsure if Isa Dora products are available in the UK, it is a drugstore brand in Ireland though. I picked up this bronzer in the shade Terracotta Glow mainly just to experiment with contouring. The swatch is barely visible on my skin tone, but I quite like it.

No idea why I chose this Stila glitter eyeliner.. I do like it, and it is of a reasonable quality. The shade I picked is Sea Green, if you enlarge the photo you can see the swatch more clearly. Any suggestions as to what I could use this for?

Finally... a couple of random purchases!

Do any of you use Radox Shower Smoothies? I absolutey love them however I think the price is quite excessive for a shower gel. This is the second flavour I have tried, and honestly these are good enough to eat! This one was on offer in Boots so I snapped it up. It smells like coconut yum yum!

Finally, a practical purchase. I have been known to lug 400ml cans of Elnett around in my handbag for fear that my hair would fall flat during the day shock! horror! This mini can of Garnier hairspray will now have pride of place in my handbag for those emergency touch ups.

What do you all think? Please let me know :o)

Love H xoxo

OOTD #3: Christmas Day

Hi everyone!

Well it's that gap in Christmas day after the excitement of all the dinner and before the good TV starts. My family are all watching a movie on TV so I decided to take the opportunity to post a blog! :o)

Here is what I wore today, Christmas day...

**CLOTHING**

Here is the top, a turquoise chiffon Pussy Bow blouse from New Look, priced €29.99. Similar found here.

I purchased these boots from Asda, found here. Not only are they incredibly season appropriate and stylish, they are made from a lovely soft grey leather-type material. Also, they are comfy and have a very cute leopard print lining!

**ACCESSORIES**

These silver bracelets (above) are a set from New Look and the gold and red was a Christmas present.

**FACE AND HAIR**

Santa brought me a set of Babyliss Thermo Ceramic rollers and with this (and my first attempt) I was able to achieve BIG bouncy curls. I have struggled for ages to be able to get a good curl to my hair but to no avail. I have tried curling tongs, GHD's and velcro rollers, none of which have worked for me, hopefully this will solve my problem!

My make up consisted of:

Cheeks: Benefit Posie Tint

Lips: MeMeMe Pussy Cat tint

Face: No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse Foundation in Tan

Eyes: L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara and Eyeliner

A very MERRY Christmas to all that celebrate it!

Can't wait to make more blogs in the new year :o)

Love H xxxxx