What I Got For Christmas

Hey everyone!

I know this kind of posts are very controversial, but I'm not bragging about what I was given - I'm just letting my followers know what I got this year... and I know it's a bit late now, but I wasn't sure whether to post or not! Anyway, I'll stop rambling...

First of all, I got the Nars Danmari Palette which I have wanted for months!

Top (left to right) Hungry Hearts highlighter, Orgasm, Desire
Bottom (left to right) Casino, Super Orgasm, Sin

I have already used all the colours in this palette and they are all so easy to wear - even for someone as pale as me! I especially love the Casino bronzer for contouring.

The next thing I got was the Marc Jacobs Daisy shower gel.


Daisy by Marc Jacobs shower gel

 I love all the Marc Jacobs scents and Daisy was the first one I ever bought. I love the scent and I'm so happy to have the shower gel so I can layer the scents with my Daisy perfume as well. I am really looking forward to using it!

I also got an OPI mini set from the Touring America collection:


Left to right: My Address is 'Hollywood', French Quarter For Your Thoughts, A-taupe The Space Needle, Honk If You Love OPI

 I have French Quarter For Your Thoughts on my nails at the moment and I love it! It's such a pretty, light grey which is perfect for this time of year. I can't wait to try out the other three in this little set.

The last thing I got was the OPI Correct & Clean Up pen:

OPI Correct&Cleanup

This is such a good idea because it has such a thin tip, it's so easy to get to the edge of the nail to remove any smudges that have been left from painting the nail. It's also really handy to clean up the cuticle so you get a perfect, crisp line.

That's everything I got for Christmas this year (other than a super soft Gucci scarf) and I'm so happy with everything I got! I'd love to hear what you got, so leave me a comment below? Don't forget to follow the blog with the link on the side and tweet me at www.twitter.com/celestecohen?

Thanks for reading,
Celeste xoxo

Gareth Pugh for MAC

Hey girls!

Gareth Pugh is a London based designer who is famous for his highly unwearable couture that until 2007, were only seen on catwalks and unavailable to purchase. He has teamed up with MAC to design some fabulous couture packaging for some products that are absolutely perfect for this time of year!

The packaging is very square and a lot of it is made from metal, so it's quite weighty! It features an uber stylish cross the products with limited edition packaging which is perfect if you're a collector... but perhaps a tad OTT if you're just a casual make up wearer!

Top: Deceit Pigment
Bottom: Guise Pigment

These are the two limited edition pigments from the collection. Deceit is a deep purple which is fabulous for a winter smokey eye and Guise is a very cool toned, silvery white pigment that would look stunning as a highlight with a totally matte look. Both of these pigments are £24.50 each.



Left: Ardent Cream Shadow
Right: Obscura Cream Shadow

 These two cream shadows are a cream to powder formulation and are supposed to leave a 'liquid metal' finish on the skin. Ardent is a deep purple, very similar to the pigment and obscura is a very shimmery greyish silver. These limited edition cream shadows, which come in mirrored compacts (handy!!) are also £24.50 each.

Flight Lash

These false lashes are £18, which I'm not too sure about as they're sooo out there, when would anyone ever get a chance to wear them!? They'd be fine for an avid MAC collector, but I doubt many people will buy these lashes.

Studio Fix Boldblack Lash Mascara

This mascara is £13.50, which is the normal price for the MAC mascaras. It has a plastic brush, so I guess it would be good for lengthening and separating. This mascara is supposed to be super black and really long lasting, so it sounds good to me!



Left: Graphblack Technikohl Liner
Right: Greyprint Technikohl Liner

 These mechanical liners aren't particularly unique colours, as you can get a black or grey mechanical liner anywhere. They're £16.50 each, which is quite expensive, so I think these liners will only appeal the the MAC or Gareth Pugh super fans!



Left: Fervent (Satin)
Right: Restrict (Cremesheen)

Fervent is a very vampy, deep purple shade that looks like it would only be for the bravest of us! I would love to wear this kind of colour, but as I am so pale, it just makes me look so dead! Restrict is a pale pink, nude which would look fabulous on some people, but not myself, so I'll be giving these lipsticks a miss too. The lipsticks cost £20.50 each.

Left: Outrage Lipglass
Right: Vacant Lipglass

Outrage is a shimmery plum purple lipglass and Vacant is a pale, less shimmery, lilac colour. I'm not a massive fan of MAC lipglasses because they're just sooo sticky! These lipglasses cost £19 each which is a lot more than normal lipglasses.. but I do prefer the packaging.

Strada Powder Blush

Strada is actually a permanent PRO blush, but it comes in a compact with a mirror and the edgy design on it which is carved into every powder product of the collection. It's a nice, pale pink which would look really pretty as a highlight... but it costs £26!!

Elude Beauty Powder

Again, another pale pink which is quite similar to the Strada blush. It comes in a compact with a mirror as well... but is almost double the price at a massive £44! Yes, you did read it right, this product is £44. Enough said.

Left: Hyper Nail Lacquer
Middle: Inert Nail Lacquer
Right: Ascension Nail Lacquer.

Hyper is a deep blue, pearlised nail polish that's a bit metallic and is very on trend for winter this year. Inert is a greyish nude that also has a pearlised finish and Ascension is a grey polish with blue and violet reflects in it. All of these polishes are very appropriate for the season and come in seriously stylish bottles - these are £19 each.

Square Handled Buffer Brush

This is a Kabuki styled brush on a modern square base which I'm sure would be very useful to a lot of people, but I don't think the square handle would be very comfortable to hold and MAC make buffer brushes that are cheaper than this anyway. It's £41.50.

Gareth Pugh for MAC Make Up Bag

I don't know whether this bag is leather or not, but it's quite sleek and I like the glossy finish... but I don't think I'd pay £60, just for an empty make up bag!

Overall, I love the packaging and there are a few nice products in this collection, but it's just not good value! Everything is too expensive, so I won't be making an order this time but I'd love to see if you get anything form the collection! It's on sale now in the UK and the US, so I'm assuming it's on sale in other countries as well.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and don't forget to follow!

Thanks for reading,
Celeste xo

November Glossy Box

Hey everyone! I'm sure by now, all of you will have heard of the Glossy Box. If not, it's a box of deluxe, high end samples that you get at the end of each month.

I've seen on a lot of blogs that some people have started to fall out of love with the Glossy Box and started drifting towards other boxes, such as Boudoir Privee, Carmine and Feel Unique. Although there are always hits and misses in the Glossy Box, I still like it on the whole.

In this box, I got:

Arbonne FC5 Cooloing Foot Creme.

I haven't used this yet, but I quite like the smell. It's not overly perfumed; it smells quite fresh and clean. I think I would have probably got more use out of the hand cream, but I'll definitely give this a go. f I don't like it on my feet, I'll just use it on my hand anyway. It's non-greasy and is supposed to 'hydrate rough, dry skin' and be a soothing and cooling cream. A full sized bottle will set you back £19, so I'll let you know if I think it's worth the money or not!

The next product I got was the Dead Sea Spa Magik Dead Sea Bath Salts.

The exfoliator from ths brand was sent out in Glossy Boxes back in September and I loved that, so I have some high hopes for this product. Although it's not particularly high end, at £5.50 for 1kg, there are some big claims made by the company! Dead Sea Spa Magik won at the 2011 Beauty Awards and claim that this product is 'fantastic for alleviating dry skn condtions' as well as t being a 'natural exfoliant'. These bath salts are supposed to 'remarkably improve skin texture'. I am always sceptical of claims like these, so I will defintely be giving these a go and seeing if this product lives up to the hype!

The third product from the box was the Monu Skin Perfector

This is a super light cream that is supposed to even out your skin and fill in any lines. It says it's a perfect base for your make up, so I'll be trying this out in the mornings. I hope it's not going to make my make up just slide off my face though! It smells okay - a bit perfumey for my liking, but it's bareable. This is a full size product and it retails for £16.25. I'm looking forward to giving this a go!

The next product was the Nail Rock Designer Nail Wraps.

Nail Rock is another brand that has been in the Glossy Box before. I'm not too keen on the design, I'm not really as massive fan of animal print! These nail wraps are supposed to last 7 days on finger nails and up to 8 weeks on the toe nails. The company say that these won't chip or stain your nails and don't take any time to dry. A set of nail wraps cost £6.65, which isn't too bad - if you like the pattern! I think I'll be giving these away.

The last sample in the box were 2 perfumes. The first was L'eau Serge Lutens and the second was Vitriol d'Oeillet. Both of these are by Serge Lutens.

Both these fragrences are designed to be worn by both men AND women, which I'm not always very keen on. I do really like L'Eau Serge Lutens, which s in the white box. It's a very clean smell and doesn't smell too old. However, Vitriol d'Oeillet is horrible! It's SO strong. It's supposed to smell lke carnations, but it's super over powering and I don't like it at all! For 50mls of these perfumes, it's £78 and for 100ml, it's £86... I think we can see which size is better vaule!!

Overall, I am quite happy with my box. I'm not overly excited about it, but it's got a few nice things in it.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow me here and on Twitter! Let me know what you got in your beauty box this month and what you thnk of it in the comments below!

Celeste xo

MAC Glitter and Ice Haul and Review!

Hey everyone, I'm so sorry for being MIA lately; I've just been so busy with exams lately, but hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon! :)

I was so excited to see that the MAC holiday collection is finally out, so as soon as it was out, I made my order. I decided to get one of the gift sets because it came with a snowglobe pallet, a lipstick, a lipglass, 3 short handled brushes and quite a cute little make up bag. I thought this was quite a good selection of products and was great value for £42.50, which by MAC standards is cheap!!

All the packaging from this collection is white, which I'm not too keen on because it gets dirty SO easily, and I love the original, sleek and professional looking, black packaging. It just looks more classy, in my opinion.

The first product from the 'warm' Glitter and Ice set is a snowglobe inspired pallet. I think the top is quite cute with the glitter snowglobe. It's quite a novelty for Christmas time.

The snowglobe pallet

Anyway, this pallet came with 4 square eye shadows and a blush. Two of the shadows are permanent: Omega and Carbon, but I think these are staples in anybody's MAC collection as they're perfect for any neutral look. The two new shades are golden flurry and soft brown, which I think are really nice as well.



Top (left to right) Golden Flurry, Soft Brown
Bottom (left to right) Omega, Carbon

Golden Flurry is the only non-matte shade in this pallet. It's a frosty pink lustre which makes a really pretty highlight colour with a matte eye or a slightly sparkly lid colour - I like it both ways!

Soft Brown is a terracotta toned brown; it definitely has orange undertones and tt's a matte shadow. I really like this as a crease colour because it's not your average dark brown. It looks good as an outer corner colour as well - I like to use it to smoke out a lighter brown to add a bit of depth to my eye.

Omega is part of the permanent line and is a matte, pale brown. I love this as a lid colour because it's not too dramatic, so you can really play up the crease or the outer corner, which I love to do. I already have this in pot form, but this is great for travelling with, and it means I won't need to get a back up yet!

The last shadow is Carbon, which we all know is a matte black. I like to use this to smudge into my lash line to give me a really soft line when I don't want a really crisp liner. I think a matte black is a staple in any girl's make up collection, as it's really useful and versatile!

 

The blush on the left is Seasonal Appeal.



The blush which is hidden under the shadows is a matte shade called seasonal appeal. It's an orange toned, VERY sheer blush, which I'm not too impressed with, to be honest. I'm sure it would look lovely on darker skin tones, but as I'm so pale, it just makes me look dirty. I will, however, try and use it as a contour bronzer as it's so smooth and I don't want to waste it.



Frost Lipstick in Mellowarm



Frost Lipstick in Mellowarm

This lipstick, Mellowarm, is again an orange toned red. It's a really good colour for winter because it's dark-ish, but not unwearable. I find the formula of this quite drying, but under a lipstick, it's not too bad. It's easy to build this from a light coat right up to a strong red colour. I wore it to school today and to a party at the weekend, so this is good for all occasions, I think!

Lipglass in Join The Party

This is an orangey-brown lipglass, which looks like nothing in the bottle, but on the lips and over the lipstick, it's actually really nice! I don't usually go for brown toned colours for my lips, but I love this! It really improves the finish of the lipstick and looks good on its own too. As usual for MAC, it's quite a sticky texture, but I don't mind too much, as it can always be reapplied anyway, right?

Left - Join The Party Lipglass
Right - Mellowarm Lipstick



Left to Right - 275SE, 266SE, 129SE

 I already have all these brushes full sized, but I think these are really handy to have a back up of. The 266 is my all-time favourite brow brush, the 129 is quite nice for blush details and the 275 is great for crease details! They're really good quality brushes, as usual for MAC and getting extra brushes in a set is never a bad thing..

Make up bag

Ths is the clear, plastic make up bag it all came in. I quite like the silver pocket on the front, I think that would be quite handy for tools etc.

Overall, this is a really nice set and would make a perfect present to anyone (including yourself) and is really good value! The rest of the collection is nice if you like frosty, cool tones which are quite appropriate for winter.

Thanks for reading everyone, let me know what you want/have got from this collection or what you think about it!
Lots of love,
Celeste xxx

October Glossy Box

Today, I came home to find my October Glossy Box. The theme for this month is 'Six Pack' as it is the 6th ever Glossy Box. To celebrate the 6 month milestone, the Glossy Box team included an extra item so there were 6 samples to try out this time.

As always, I was excited to see what treats they'd sent me, but this month, I have some mixed thoughts. I am all for trying new products, but as a 15 year old, I don't think I need any anti-aging treatments just yet.

There were 3 products from Dermalogica's 'AGE smart' range in the box:

(Left to Right) Dermalogica Multivitamin Thermafoliant £40.50, Dermalogica Renewal Lip Complex £22.50 and Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque £33.

There was also a small pouch to hold the 'Six Pack' that came in the box which I thought was a cute addition to the box.

Anyway, as I said, I am a teenager so I won't get the most use out of these pretty expensive samples, so I've decided to donate them to my mum for her to try and I will let you know her thoughts soon.

Also in the box was a pale pink nail polish from Leighton Denny Expert Nails. I was quite excited about this as I have used Leighton Denny polishes before and I absolutely love them!

Leighton Denny Expert Nails polish in Baby Doll £11

I love pale pinks on my nails, so I was glad to see I'd recieved Baby Doll in my box because I know I will get a lot of use out of this colour.

I also got a Stila Smudge Stick in Moray. This is great because I only ever wear waterproof eyeliners and the colour is so pretty - I can't believe I've never tried it before! It's a greeny-grey, goldish metallic liner with tiny specs of glitter through it. I can't wait to use it because it's so different yet subtle; I think it would be perfect for autumn as it's not as harsh as black but still has something special about it.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Moray £13

The swatches don't do it an justice at all, so I didn't upload them, but I can assure you that it's stunning.

The last thing in the box were 3 samples of perfume from Robert Piguet called Fraces de Robert Piguet, Visa de Robert Piguet and Calypso de Robert Piguet. In my opinion, these scents are a bit strong for me and I don't think they suit me. They cost £65 per 50ml bottle which is pretty pricey, if you ask me.

Overall, the best things in the box were the eye liner and the nail polish which were both full sized products. This made the box value for money but I hope the beauty profile is online so I'm more guaranteed to get 5 things that I will be able to use and like. Reviews of all the products from this month's box will be up as soon as I've used them for long enough to have a proper opinion on them. Let me know what you recieved in your Glossy Box and what your thoughts are in the comments below.

Benefit - They're Real Mascara: Tried and Tested!

As I was repurchasing my beloved Porefessional from Benefit, there was an offer on for a free lipgloss if I spent over £30. This was about a week after the new They're Real mascara had been released, so I thought 'why not?' and decided to try it.

I'm a bit weary of mascaras that aren't 100% waterproof as they often smudge and by the end of the day, I've been known to resemble a racoon! But, the lovely sales girl assured me it was water resistant and as long as I didn't go swimming, it wouldn't budge.

I still don't use this mascara on my bottom lashes as they're long enough to brush on my cheeks so for them, I use either Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara or Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara. I used to use the Bobbi Brown mascara in my top lashes, but when I first tried the new Benefit mascara, I was so impressed! The Bobbi Brown mascara is good, but it doesn't lengthn or volumise or seperate anywhere near as well as 'They're Real' does!

They're Real (one coat)

No Smudge (one coat)

The only bad side to They're Real is that it's hard to layer the mascara without it looking clumpy as it dries so quickly! However, the little ball on the end of the wand (slightly resembling the iconic Givenchy mascara) is really good at getting right to the roots of the lashes and seperating each individual lash.

Overall, I think this is my new favourite mascara and after using a variety of Bobbi Brown mascaras over the past 3 years, I've finally found something even better. Benefit - They're Real retails for £18.50 and I would highly recommend it!