illamasqua cream blusher in zygomatic

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Zygomatic

Today, Illamasqua launched it's brand new collection Naked Strangers and it's a thing of absolute beauty. There are a couple of repromotes in the shape of the neutral palette from Human Fundamentalism and a liquid metal, but the most exciting thing are the brand new products. There are three new nail varnishes, two new lipglosses but my favourite things come in the shape of a brand new powder blusher and what i have to show you today, a new cream blusher. Naked Strangers is Illamasqua's take on a neutral collection, but of course with the usual Illamasqua risque-ness. The collection is full of naked and natural hues but also sidelined with metallics and golds, bringing a sexy edge to the neutral vibe.

When I saw the collection the piece I wanted the most was Zygomatic, mainly because I know how good the quality of their cream blushers are but also because the shade is just absolutely to die for. On my paley skin, it makes the most perfect rosy contour. I've been using it as a base for more pink toned powder blush to sit on top of, and also blended in with liquid foundation using a stippling brush for a really natural summery looking kiss from the sun. I think it'll be perfect on pale girls like me but on darker skinned girls I think i'll make for a great contour and highlight.

Zygomatic retails at £16.50. Naked Strangers went on sale today and can be found instore and online at Illamasqua.com.

What do you think of Naked Strangers? Are you going to be picking up anything from this wearable collection? What do you think of Zygomatic - isn't it beautiful?

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: I was given Zygomatic free for consideration by Illamasqua.

mua undressed palette

MUA Undressed Palette

I've been chatting a lot about neutral palettes lately, first I showed you Stila's In The Light palette, and just yesterday I showed you an offering from Diego Dalla Palma but none have got me as hot under the collar as this palette from MUA - oh no. Unrivalled on the high street for their continuous high quality pigment eyeshadow shades, MUA whip up a frenzy for their palettes like no other. I'm telling you now girls, the frenzy is about to begin even harder than the Heaven and Earth frenzy of last year! I was so blimmin' excited to get my grubby mitts on this new palette that I barely even had time to look at it all untouched before I had it all over my fingers and arms squealing with joy!

Undressed consists of three matte shades, and nine shimmer shades all ranging from soft nudes, to golden taupes, deep browns and then two blue toned shades. They're all super soft and really pigmented bar one matte shade that didn't transpire that well on me but one shade can be forgiven. It's not awful but it's just not as pigmented as the others. The shimmer shades are absolutely incredible, and my favourites are the first two on the bottom row! They're just gorgeous.

Because I know a lot of you will have the Heaven and Earth palette from MUA already, i've included a photograph of the two of them side by side so you can see the difference. I feel that Heaven and Earth is much more of a warm golden brown palette whereas Undressed is more nude, and pink toned golds. They are of course, both neutral palettes so are similar in that respect but I do think they're very different. But you lot will make of it what you will, I guess it's just the same as the Naked/Naked 2 debate. Thing is, i'd much much rather spend just £4 on my palette...!





MUA's Undressed Palette will retail from July 4th for just £4 from Superdrug and online.

What do you think of MUA's new neutral palette? Will you be getting Undressed? (Hehe) i'm head over heels in love with my palette, honestly. It's right up there for me as ultimate holy grail. I believe every single girl will love this palette - and if you can prove me wrong I challenge you to!

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: The MUA palette was gifted to me from MUA.

diego dalla palma for snow white and the huntsman

Diego Dalla Palma's Snow White and the Huntsman Palette

Seeing as the film itsself lands in cinemas on Friday, I thought now would be a good time to show you the little tribute to the film by new Italian brand Diego Dalla Palma. DDP launched at the tail end of last year/start of this year in our UK markets and landed straight into the open arms of Tesco. I know, right? Tesco. Apparently they sell beauty there now. Crazy. Diego Dalla Palma overall has always felt quite expensive to me, and i've never bought anything from it because of that. It falls in line with the mid range brands like MAC/Illamasqua and well, give me the option of spending £14 on a lipstick at DDP or Illamasqua and i'm sorry but it's Illamasqua every single time... But something about the brand has always peaked my interest so when I saw this palette I just knew I had to get my paws on it and have a play!

It consists of six eyeshadows which are three shimmer and three matte, which instantly surprised me - you usually only get one or two mattes in a palette! There's a blood red lipstick and a deep black pencil too. I immediately set to work playing with the eyeshadows and while half of them are brilliant, half of them aren't quite so much. Guess which half? The mattes, sadly. The deep brown shade - Battleground - is a nice shade and does transpire quite well but not well enough for how high end DDP sits itsself. I've got some better quality matte shades from £1 eyeshadow brand MUA! So that left me a little disappointed. The other three shimmer shades are just beautiful though with my favourite being the soft gold Shield, this works fantastically on my skintone and is perfect for summer. 

I was however, very impressed with the lipstick! It's beautiful, soft and easy to apply and the colour is a gorgeous blue red. It's almost pink in some lights. I absolutely love it. Just a warning though it smells very very heavily scented so if that's not for you you might not like it. The eye pencil is also great quality too and i've been using it on my upper lash line for definition and it's lasted well throughout the day.

Overall I think they definitely priced this palette right - it's definitely worth £25. But the eyeshadows don't fill me with hope for the rest of the DDP eyeshadow collection, which retail at a very pricey £14 each! I wouldn't rush out and buy them after sampling them in this palette. I do think the lipstick is absolutely gorgeous and I think this would make a really lovely gift for someone.

Diego Dalla Palma's Snow White and the Huntsman Palette retails from Tesco Direct for £25. 

What do you think of Diego Dalla Palma? Do you think it's worth the money that it costs? Would you buy this palette? Are you going to see the film at the cinema?

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: The palette was provided free for consideration from Diego Dalla Palma. 

trouble is temporary, time is tonic

| top: zara | shorts: topshop | shoes: h&m |

Aw I miss being on holiday already and it's only been like five days since I came back. Sad times. Here's yet another outfit post just while I get my life back in order - sorry for the gap in posts there, I had to settle back into stuff and get back into the swing of life here!

My top is one I picked up in Malaga from Zara, they probably sell it here too. It was only 12 euros (why doesn't my laptop have a euro symbol? waa.) so was a complete bargain and I like the obvious Nirvana connotations in it. I liked the acid wash colour of it and I think it compliments my pink hair well - apart from when it's all faded like it is in these photos!

Sometimes I love throwing on a simple outfit of just a tee and some shorts and some little flip floppys and going for adventures. Walking wherever your curiosity takes you, doing that thing where you have your iPod in your ears and the world is your music video. I felt quite a lot like that quite a few times on holiday and of course it's not shaken now the weather is the same in the UK. I'll wander anywhere my feet take me, yesterday I went for a walk in Richmond Park and was gone til the sun went down.

Love, Zozo 

x

Disclaimer: I paid for everything in this post. What's with that? (i'm joking, i'm joking.)

spanish sahara

| top: workshop | shorts: h&m | shoes: very.co.uk |

I've been on holiday now for what seems like forever but is realistically around two weeks. Sadly enough, i'm going home tomorrow! Sob sob. It better be warm over there in England! While here in Europe i've had to change my wardrobe drastically from what it was like in England when I left - it was bordering on coat territory. I've reworked some old favourites, including this workshop tee, into nice summery holiday outfits to ensure I keep cool in the heat. I bet I can tell what you're thinking... "you're not on holiday Zo, you liar, you're still as pale as a sheet!" I don't suit a tan or any sort of tan plus I don't actually have the pleasure of tanning even if I tried, I just go a tasty lobster pink and then just white again so when i'm on holiday I cover up with factor 50+! So don't expect any tan lines from me haha.

I picked up this floppy hat on the cruise ship I went on last week, which was the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. They had a $12 rummage sale on the last night and while 90% of it was tat, I picked up this because I wanted a hat that was dark enough to suit me - all the ones I tried on from Primark/h&m were too pale in colour. Quite happy with it actually, and it's done a fantastic job of shading my face and shoulders from the sun - some days it's been over 30 degrees here! These shorts are amazing, they glitter and sparkle in the light. Once again H&M you never let me down.

I'm half looking forward to coming back tomorrow and half not. I've really enjoyed travelling around and I feel that right now (it was my birthday while i was away so now i'm 23!) is the time of my life I should pack up sticks and go off round the world...but I adore London with all my heart. I'm feeling a mixed bag of emotions, and may look into some further longer haul trips for the latter part of the year. I'm hoping the festival season which is hot on my heels and the general amazing impending British summer will cheer me up for now though. See you all in England very soon!

What do you think of the hat? How do you rework your wardrobe ready for the sunshine or your holiday? Do I need to stop shopping in H&M quite so much... haha. Nahhh!

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: The very.co.uk wedges were provided for me for free from Very.

bobbi brown pot rouge in calypso coral

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Calypso Coral

I love coral at the moment. If you had told me a year ago i'd be wearing coral on my lips, cheeks, feet or as clothes etc.. i'd have laughed in your face. To be fair though if you'd have told me three years ago i'd be a beauty blogger i'd have carted you off to a place where you could get some help immediately! I love cream blushers, this is no secret. I've shown you my Illamasqua stash, two weeks ago my Topshop fave and now i'm bringing you one from the gorgeous much loved brand that is Bobbi Brown. As soon as I saw this shade in store I fell in love with it so when I got to have a play with it I was beyond excited to stick my fingers in it and get it on my skin. It's called a Pot Rouge, so it's not strictly a cream blusher. It can be used on lips too, and well, even on eyes as a base if you so wish.

It's soft, but not drying. It's creamy but not slippery. It's more similar to my Illamasqua ones than the Topshop ones - some of my Topshop ones can go a little dry/powdery and are useless on the lips. This isn't at all. It's such an unusual shade, it's very pink but also very coral, and also leans towards being a bit orange. It's quite a stark contrast on paley over here but when stippled on the cheekbones softly it's rosy and beautiful. I'm loving it at the moment because i've been/am still on holiday and as my skin is darkening (only slightly though, mind!) it's warming up my cheeks but still keeping my natural rose undertones. I've hardly even dented this, and it's in the prettiest little glass pot too (although they've just updated them to a little compact.)

I would say yes it's pricey, but it will last a long time and it's just so pretty. I think this shade sits unrivaled as i've not seen a coral quite like this one in a cream blush form. Now I know you could get three Topshop cream blushers for this price, but the quality of this means it's much more versatile than the Topshop ones. It's also a little less pigmented, so it's not as daunting as the others may seem and can be worked gently to build up a wash of colour.

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge retails at £18 from Bobbi Brown counters and online.

What do you think of Bobbi Brown? Do you like her cream blushers or will you stick to other cheaper brands? I love this, i'm so glad I own it. The magpie in me now wants them all (check out Raspberry and Pale Pink, how beautiful?)

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: Calypso Coral was given to me free for consideration from Bobbi Brown. Well, not the lady herself, I wish!

avon nailwear pro+

Avon Nailwear Pro+ Collection (top to bottom: Starry Sky, Real Red, Coral Reef, Pastel Pink, Star, Lemon Sugar, Sea Breeze, Cosmic Blue, Viva Pink, Pastel Pink (why not do it twice?!), Decadence, Romance and Licorice

I've had this collection of nail shades from beauty veterans Avon for a little while now, but I just found out that they're currently now at a full on bargain price which is less than half price of what they originally sell at, so I thought now might be the best time to share them with you! I've found that they're very glossy, and do apply well - you know sometimes when you buy a pastel shade and you're all like "sweeeet, this shade rules!" then you stick it on your nail and it sucks big time, i'm talking streaks, uneven application, bad brushes... I find that happens all too often these days. What happened here was that I found myself incredibly impressed actually at how well the soft pastel shades of these applied, there was much less of all that rubbishness I mentioned above and more of an even, precise application.

I do find Avon on the whole a little bit dated. From the whole catalogue ordering even down to the choice of main ambassador Alesha Dixon, who I don't think is the best choice. For those reasons, it's not a brand i'd usually purchase. But for me, these nail varnishes have pulled it out of the bag and definitely redeemed Avon in my books. I had a little mixup with my parcel, and the nail varnishes ended up at my boyfriends parents house - who's mum thought they were wonderful. I do think it's definitely aimed at a more older market, and I see what they're trying to do by bringing in Alesha and the amazing Pixiwoo sisters (who I adore!) but there's something overall that still doesn't clinch it for us younger generation I think - I think given the choice of say an alternative brand at the same price point, maybe Topshop, we'd all pick Topshop  every time.

I whole heartedly encourage you to try a couple of these polishes though - the longevity alone is worth it! I found these lasted about five days on me before chipping which I think is amazing! Normally it's much less. The shades i'd recommend as must-haves are Coral Reef and Sea Breeze - both equally beautiful!

Avon Nailwear Pro+ shades are currently just £2.50 each (oh em geeeee!) instead of £6 from Avon's website.

What do you think about Avon? Do you agree with me in thinking it's pretty dated or do you still rate it? Are you going to pick up some of these polishes while they're so cheap? Let me know!

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: The Avon polishes were sent to me free for consideration but my opinions on Alesha Dixon are all my very own. (Soz Alesha, i'm sure you're nice - you're just not my toe tapping salsa dancing loud cup of tea. Hey Alesha gimme a ring..... I CAN'T 'ERE A FING!)

holiday lip essentials

Clinique Chubby Sticks, Carmex Moisture Plus, Bourjois Effet 3D Lipgloss & MAC Viva Glam Nicki

Travelling can be an absolute nightmare when it comes to choosing between makeup products. Alright alright, that was a right 'first world problems' sentence to start this blog post with but when you're a girl who not only loves her home comforts away from home but also wants to ensure she looks gorgeous on holiday, it can be a minefield. I've in the past found myself chucking in loads of makeup, only to find I either break it, lose it, or it sits unloved for the entire week just taking up valuable suitcase space (every cm counts!!) so I decided to make some more informed decisions about which lip products in particular I needed - as we've all seen the contents of my lip product storage and it's enough to fill a small shop. I am currently in Europe, having been on a cruise ship around Spain/Italy/Corsica i'm now settled for the week sitting here on my balcony in the Costa Del Sol in Spain so what better time to show you how they held up and why they're for me, 'holiday staples.'

So here's why I packed what I did. I've got two Clinique Chubby Sticks, one Carmex Moisture Plus Stick, a Bourjois Sweet Paris Effet 3D Lip Gloss and my brand new Nicki Minaj for MAC Viva Glam lippie. Out of all of them, the Clinique Chubby Sticks are probably my favourite. Bet you're looking at those two shades now thinking, "they're very similar Zo, have you gone nuts?" and yes I know they're similar but Mighty Mimosa (which I featured here in march) actually has more of a golden shimmery finish to the pink. But I couldn't choose so um, I packed two. But I should have really practiced what I preached earlier and just picked up the one - but seriously these are a holiday must-have! They keep lips well moisturised, they make them look glowy and add a gorgeous tint and argh just seriously I want them in every single shade!

The Carmex Moisture Plus has been a godsend on days where i've been out on trips, or not been just lounging around. It's got that same Carmex tingle to it, and it's kept my lips soft as well as protecting them from the sun. It's tinted pink too - and although this doesn't really transpire on the lips very much, it's a really nice touch and I prefer this to normal Carmex by a long way. The Bourjois Lip Gloss is purely for a different finish, the soft baby pink compliments the MAC Lipstick well and I think it's a good 'safe' shade to pack, plus I like the brush applicator.

MAC Viva Glam Nicki is a beaut. It's quite bright, so it's not for the faint hearted. It's definitely a yellow toned pink so I did have my doubts about it suiting me but I absolutely adore it on. The reason why it's so perfect for holidays is that you can team it with just a slick of mascara and it completes the entire look! Of course, you could take any lipstick in this place - but I love this shade so much and I think it compliments the sunshine well!

Clinique Chubby Sticks retail here for £16 each, Carmex Moisture Plus retails on ASOS for £4.50, Bourjois Effet 3D Lip Gloss retails at Boots for £7.69 and MAC Viva Glam Nicki retails here for £13.50 with profit going to charity.

What do you think of my holiday lip choices? Have I made informed decisions? Am I still kidding myself and five is still too many? Let me know what you think! Are you off on holiday soon?

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: The Clinique Chubby Sticks, Bourjois Lip Gloss and Carmex Moisture Plus stick were all given to me separately free for consideration and the MAC Viva Glam Nicki I purchased full price with all profit going to charity.

giles deacon for new look sultry purple eyeshadow palette

Gold by Giles Deacon for New Look Eyeshadow Palette in Sultry Purple

Fashion designer Giles Deacon has just recently collaborated with New Look to start his own diffusion makeup line which is sold exclusively in New Look stores. Similar to Topshop Makeup, it's trend led and boasts now quite a large range of different products at affordable prices. This item in particular is one of their little eyeshadow quads and the shade range is Sultry Purple. It's got four complimentary shades from pure white to shimmering violets.

The eyeshadows are soft but often a little chalky - if you see where i've swatched you can tell they apply a little 'lumpy' due to their very talc-style nature. They're very very well pigmented though and I was incredibly impressed when I swatched them! I wasn't expecting them to be so brightly pigmented. My favourite shade has to be the deep violet (swatched last on my arm) because it's so gorgeous to use as eyeliner. I generally do quite like using purple eyeshadows anyway so this for me is a great mix of actually wearable purples and while matte white isn't top of my eyeshadow choice list, it's always handy to have just in case. I'd recommend giving these a go, for the price you pay they're great quality and while the packaging and the general feel isn't the best, it's totally worth it for technically £1 an eyeshadow!

Gold by Giles retails in New Look stores and this palette costs £3.99.

What do you think of Giles Deacon's range for New Look? Do you think the pricing is good or are you put off by the packaging and general vibe? Do you like the shades in Sultry Purple?

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: I purchased Sultry Purple with my own money - not much of it though, mind!