Hello April...

(Source)

The last day of March is here... This month has absolutely flown by! But I say that every month. However this month in particular, I'm glad is over. I have had countless university assignments due in, 3 of which being this week alone! (hence the lack of posts this week - sorry about that) But  I can reward myself when the weekend comes, as I am going to be in Southend to celebrate my 20th birthday that is coming up on the 7th April!

I'm not going to lie, I'm super scared about turning 20. But a good kind of scared! I remember being in infant school saying to one of my friends at the time that 'we'll never be teenagers as that's sooooooooo far away'... But now I'm almost at adulthood. Which - off topic - confuses me, if 19 is teenager and 21 is adulthood then what is 20?? Some weird in the middle age like 17 was...

April is a really good month, I have asked everyone to get me those Cadburys Marvellous Popping Candy Easter Eggs as they're my favourite chocolate everrrrrrrrrr. And my birthday is a pretty big bonus too!

What's your favourite Easter Egg? 

Emma xo

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The Glamour Spring Beauty Edit

As some of you will know I don't have a good history with Beauty Boxes. I really didn't like Glossybox, and Birchbox was alright but still 'meh' in my books. However by the time I'd taken interest in Glamour's last beauty box it had already sold out. But not this time! I managed get myself one before it got away, and receiving 9 products worth £99 for just £16.99 - I couldn't have gone wrong!

Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Enamel & Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat

I'm really happy with the colour I received, I have not seen a fellow blogger yet to have gotten the same! I literally googled 'the glamour spring beauty edit blog' and looked through the photos but nope... Either way I absolutely love a nude nail... a nude lip, eyes... Nude is just good in whatever context.

Moroccan Oil Intense Hydrating Mask

This is 100% my favourite out of the box, I have nearly finished it already so I'm definitely going to look in re-buying a bigger version! It makes my hair look and feel incredible, even at the thirstiest of times and I cannot recommended it enough! (being un-naturally blonde makes hair very thirsty) 

Beauty UK High Brow All-In-One Brow Definition Kit

I have never tried Beauty UK, I've seen their stall/section at Superdrug but I never thought of trying them. This includes everything you would need for your brows, three different powders, a wax to set and shape your brows, an application brush as well as tweezers! What else could you possibly need to do your brows!?

Rimmel Oh My Gloss! Lip Gloss

This is one of Rimmel's newer products, it claims to have a 'non-sticky formula'. Although it is definitely a lot less stickier than other lips glosses, it is still a bit sticky.. But something THAT shiny is going to be a bit sticky, come on. I got the shade 'Cosmic 730', although it doesn't make a huge difference to my lips, it gives them a lovely sheen. I still need to put the 6 hour wear to the test yet, but so far so good!

Nuxe Creme Fraiche 24 Hour Soothing and Rehydrating Fresh Mask

I'm yet to try this, but I'm super excited to do so! I have combination skin, but the dry areas are always up for some rehydrating TLC.

Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow

Ahh, so Kiko is a brand I have heard so much about but never actually bothered to try them out for myself. But there is no better way to do it than an eye shadow stick! I love eye shadow sticks for when I'm in a rush in the mornings and I don't have time to faff about with an eye shadow palette. No dust giving me black eyes along with super simple blending...what isn't there to love?

Model Co Creme Rouge Cheek and Lips in Just Peachy

I'm not going to lie, I probably won't use this. Not often at least, but this doesn't but a downer on the box for me at all! I'm just not a cheek/lip colour kinda gal. I like nude lips and I just use bronzer and highlighter on my cheeks (boring, I know).

Elie Saab L'Eau Couture

This is such a pretty scent for spring. I would describe the smell but I have no idea what lingo to use... it's good? It smells really good! (Looked it up and found out the 'main accords' are almond, white floral, sweet and vanilla. Source)

So Glamour have definitely restored my faith in beauty boxes and I know I will 100% be getting the next Glamour release (shame it's not monthly), I can truly say everything is this box is actually worth having. Have you tried the Glamour Spring Beauty Edit?

Emma xo

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theBalm: Mary Lou Manizer aka The Luminizer

I have an awful habit of ordering make up off the internet without having seen it in person first... But don't we all just love a good highlighter? Until a month or 2 ago I hadn't even heard of theBalm Cosmetics, let alone this gorgeous highlighter but I'm super glad I've (finally) discovered them. Plus I'm an absolute sucker for the whole vintage looking packaging on products!

Where do I start? The Mary Lou Manizer is a gorgeous golden champagne-y colour, it has amazing pigmentation and is so buttery for a powder! You don't need to use a lot to make a difference, just a light swipe will do the trick... But that does increase the risk of getting carried away and making your entire face sparkly, which I'm definitely guilty of at times. I'd highly recommend using a slim contour brush so you don't end up sprinkling it all over your face.

Next off, the packaging! The first thing you see about any product is the packaging, and theBalm seems to be another brand like Benefit and Soap & Glory that have gone for the retro/vintage/pin up/50s style that I love more than anything. I know you shouldn't love a product for its packaging but it is a really, really, big bonus... It was also bigger than I expected, you get a lot of product for your money as I've had it a month and barely made a dent in it!

This has become my go-to highlighting product very quickly, the issues I had with my other highlighters were them being either extremely subtle and barely there or they just left chucks of glitter on my face instead of that radiant glow we all desire, the Mary Lou Manizer doesn't have either of those problems so in my eyes this is a win-win.

Have you tried anything from theBalm cosmetics?

Emma xo

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Review of: Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer

I don't know what it is, but I've been absolutely concealer crazy lately! Foundation and concealer are a must in any make up routine. However I find that finding a concealer that doesn't just act like a foundation is hard and I do not understand the hype over the Collection concealer... But I do love the strength of Benefit's Boi-ing concealer and I crowned it my holy grail concealer very quickly, but I'm always open to trying (buying) new things, so I thought there is no better brand to try than Soap & Glory! (plus there was a 3 for 2 on at Boots, and I'm an absolute sucker for deals)

Now I'm going to start on packaging... I feel Soap & Glory are probably best known for their super cute packaging on every product they sell, and this one is no different! Who doesn't adore the packaging on Soap & Glory products!? Their packaging style reminds me very much of Benefit but much bolder, in your face and pink.

Anyway, what makes this concealer so different to all the others that I have tried it that it's actually got three steps...

Step 1: this is a pinky/peachy toned concealer which is for underneath the eyes to help erase those pesky dark circles that we all hate. I love how lightweight the formula actually is, but it's not too light that it doesn't mask the under eye circles! There is very rarely any creasing but when there is you can easily blend it out using a finger.

Step 2: this is a yellow toned concealer which is perfect for covering any blemishes and redness. I actually never thought about using two different toned concealers for different areas of my face before, then I ended up getting frustrated that it worked really well on one area but not the other...

Step 3: then this is simply a pressed setting powder, I didn't think this was anything special but it does the job. I do tend to just skip this step though and use another translucent powder that I use on my T-Zone too.

The only downfall I can find with this concealer is it has an awful range, you can either get it in light or medium. And the medium one isn't even that dark... However I do think this is such a good little concealer for just £10 (here) as you get 2 concealers and a powder, which would normally cost you more separately! And the fact it's 3 in 1 makes for more compact make up storage, especially when you're travelling.

Have you tried any of the Soap & Glory cosmetics range?

Emma xo

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March 2015 Wishlist

Wishlists are dangerous. My last wishlist became my shopping list at the expense of my bank account, and it probably will be again this time. But I just found it so much fun that I really wanted to do it again this month! Besides what's the point of having money if you don't skint yourself till payday just so you're surrounded by pretty things... right?

1) theBalm timeBalm Concealer | 7.5g £14.75
I've gone a bit concealer crazy lately at the moment but I have been loving them so much! You can not beat a good concealer.

2) MAC Cinderella Stroke of Midnight Eyeshadow | £38.50
I'm sure you've all heard about the MAC Cinderella range... As much as it pains me to say this, I don't think I'll be able to get my hands on any because as soon as it went live on the MAC website everything sold out and is being re-sold on Ebay for extortionate prices... I know Debenhams and Selfridges are going to stock the range but probably not for long.

3) Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner | £6
I use eyeliner everyday, I just feel naked without it! And because I've loved all the other products I have tried from Soap & Glory I can imagine their eyeliner will be just as good.

4) Zoeva Rose Golden Eyeshadow Palette | €17.50
Ah yes, more eyeshadow... I just can't have enough eyeshadow, it's honestly an unhealthy addiction.

5) Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | 400ml £4.99
I've seen this everywhere at the moment but I still haven't tried it! I've been so happy using my Simple make up remover for years now, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to test the waters. Eh get it? Testing the waters? No...

6) MAC Studio Fix Fluid | 30ml £21.50
The only high-end foundation I've ever owned is the Benefit Hello Flawless! Oxygen Wow foundation. I've never really had a problem using my drugstore foundations, Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation has been my favourite for what feels like forever and has to be my most re-purchased make up product...ever!

7) theBalm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette Naughty | £30
I've obviously included a third eyeshadow palette... But I've actually already bought this one, I of course added it to my wishlist before I ended up buying it, but now I own it I realise that it really is such a stunning palette!!! I'll definitely have to write a review in the future.

8) Bourjois Rogue Edition Velvet, Nude-ist, Peach Club & Happy Nude Year | £8.99 Each
I love nude lips, I also like matte lips so my thoughts are why not try the Bourjois Velvet lipsticks? They offer plenty of shades to choose from and they're all gorgeous!

9) Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel, Strike | £18.50
Last but not least is the Illamasqua Brow Gel...I've been feeling experimental with my eyebrows lately and I stumbled across this product, it looks so much like gel eyeliner but for your brows! I reckon this could end badly, but I'm still interested to try it out all the same!

Are any of these on your wishlist too?

Emma xo

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Maybelline Lash Sensational vs Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

I remember when I opened my Elle Magazine with the free Roller Lash sample inside, I'd never been more excited to try a mascara and what made it even better was the fact I then fell straight in love with it too! So when I hear there may be a dupe on the loose for half the price I was more than intrigued to get my hands on it...

Top: Benefit Roller Lash

Bottom: Maybelline Lash Sensational

Sometimes you can tell when a product is a dupe before you have even used them, like W7's Absoulute Lashes is such an obvious dupe for Benefit's They're Real mascara as the packaging is almost identical! But Maybelline have gone for their own style, which is a gorgeous metallic-y lilac colour, although it does sort of remind me of the brush lid from the Roller Lash samples, but let's not get picky...

The wands on the mascaras slightly differ in size, Lash Sensational has a chunkier brush where as Roller Lash is slightly thinner. However the bristles on both brushes are almost identical, on the inside curve of the brushes the bristles are quite short and on the outside curve they're a bit longer.

From reading other blogs and talking to my friends I've found that Roller Lash is one of those mascaras you either love or you hate depending on your lash type. If you're like me and your eyelashes are naturally curly then it will work a dream for you, but those with straighter lashes will probably need to use an eyelash curler to achieve the same effects.

Both mascaras have given me very similar lengths to my eyelashes, when I was applying them I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two. But looking back at the photos I can see there is a slight difference... The Lash Sensational appears to be less clumpy? Or is that just me? But Roller Lash didn't make as many of my eyelashes stick together as Lash Sensational did, due to having a thinner formula... But I honestly couldn't tell this before looking back at my photos!

Either way I really like both mascaras, how often am I going to take close-up eye photos? Have you tried these mascaras? What did you think?

Emma xo

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Makeup Revolution: Iconic Pro 1 Palette

Don't we all love a good dupe? Here in the UK it's so hard to get your hands on the Lorac Pro Palette. But, hope is not lost as Makeup Revolution have brought out their new Iconic Pro 1 Palette*, which is so much easier to get your hands on and it costs a lot less. Win, win right?!

Top L-R: Ghost, Luna, Must, Enigma, Fade, Drama, Afflicted, Pitch

Bottom L-R: Need, Dawn, Getter, Breathe, Too Grey, Stage, Addicted, Player

If I'm honest, the very first thing I noticed about this palette is the packaging! I own quite a few Makeup Rev palettes and they are all black with gold writing and have a big mirror inside. But there's something different about this palette... It's a matte black instead of their usual glossy black, it's a very small and simple change but I adore it all the same! You cannot go wrong with matte (unless you spill foundation on it...). 

Another thing from this palette I'm genuinely really excited about is the new brush, I have never liked those stupid spongey foamy things in any drugstore eye shadow palettes. I have a hard time blending eye shadow as it is, why make it harder with weird spongey things? The brush has the same style as their other brushes, but this brush isn't sold separately, you can only get it from either of the Iconic Pro Palettes. They've name the brush "PRO 1989 Double-ended Eyeshadow Brush", like the name suggests it is a double ended eye shadow brush, with one side being quite flat, which is really useful for application then the other side is quite rounded and fluffy making it perfect for blending. I really hope they use this brush or something similar for future palettes, as I would happily say goodbye to those spongey brushes!

Anyway, on to the actual eye shadows (finally!) there are 8 stunning matte shades and 8 pretty shimmery shades to use. I own quite a few eye shadow palettes, it's borderline obsession... But this is one of the very few eye shadow palettes I own where I like and would happily use every single shade! My favourite shades have to be Fade, Need and Dawn, they're perfect for a cute everyday look. Also, the pigmentation of the palette is very build-able, so you can work a nice subtle everyday shimmer or go in for the more bolder colours and get creative with your eyes. I was also pleasantly surprised at all of the matte shades. I was a little scared they might be a bit chalky but Makeup Rev proved me wrong as they are so pigmented for matte shades - even the white! 

I think I may have to go get the Iconic Pro 2 now as well, as the shades in that palette are equally as stunning! Which palette do you prefer, Iconic Pro 1 or 2?

Emma xo

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*PR gifted product.

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My Blogging Equipment

During my time a blogger I've noticed that I've needed a few things to help me run my blog, all of which have helped All That Shimmers become what it is today. Funny enough, when I started blogging I didn't own any of this equipment, but as time went on my needs changed and my equipment changed with me! So I thought I'd share with you my current blogging equipment.

Nikon D3200
I thought I would start off with photography, you don't need an SLR to have good blog photography. You can get some really stunning photos from your phone, like the picture I've used on this post was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S3. Although I have well and truly fallen in love with my SLR, it's the best present anyone's ever gotten me and I will forever be grateful to my boyfriend!

Ikea Lack Table
I've seen so many other bloggers who use this for their photographs as well, it's just simply a small white table. I've used it for almost all of my blog photographs since I got it! (Again, including this post) and it's only £5, how cheap is that!!! But it also weighs less than most my University textbooks so that's probably why...

Lighting
I don't use these very often, but if it's a dark gloomy day and I'm desperate for some blog photos this is really handy. I got some cheap £20 travel set off Amazon and it's done me well!

My 'to review/photograph' Box
I don't know about you guys, but when I buy products I have to take photos before I use them. So to stop things getting jumbled up I keep the 'to review' products separate to everything else by putting them all in a box. One day a week I will spend an hour or more taking photos of all the new products that are in the box, then I'll start using them and eventually end up reviewing them.

Cath Kidston 2015 Diary
Year after year I bought myself those little pocket diaries but after a week I would stop using them. But now I've splashed a little more cash out onto my diary I've really fallen in love with it and I use it everyday! You can tell I use it very often by how tatty it's gotten already... I find the diary really handy for planning posts, as at the front there is a month by month view which I use purely to plan what post will be posted on what day. Then the week by week view is mainly personal life and uni...

Blogger App
I'm not a massive fan of this app, I've never written a whole post using it. Maybe the Apple version is better but on Android it's a bit naff. However I do use it when I'm on the go and I've thought of a blog idea, I just save a draft titled with the idea. I am sooooo forgetful when I come to thinking of blog posts and I always end up kicking myself when I can't remember the idea I had, so being able come back to it later on is super handy.

Notebook
I bought a notebook that is just for my blogging notes, I tend to make lists of what I need to photograph and more recently things to say in my YouTube videos (keep your eyes out for my second video...it will happen eventually I promise!!) it's just nice to have it all in one notebook instead of scattered everywhere.

HP Pavilion Pink
Last but not least, is my laptop. This is a purchase I probably shouldn't have done as I had the same laptop before but in red, I sold it to my boyfriend when I found out about the pink ones so I could change the colour... But I do love it so that's all that matters, right??

What blogging equipment could you not live without?

Emma xo

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Review of: W7 Gelly Sandwich*

W7 Cosmetics are fast becoming a favourite brand of mine, it's hard to find a makeup company who have both really good prices and quality! They really are the best of both worlds and I was so excited to try this out.

I think I may have mentioned this before in past posts, but I get my nails done at a nail bar as I cannot paint my nails for the life of me, so I just leave my hands to the professionals. However I still have to paint my toenails as I don't think I could cope with anybody touching my feet for longer than a second...the struggle is real!

But it feels like I'm forever topping my toes up from the nail varnish having chipped off, which is a total pain in the arse! That's where this products comes in, it's meant to replicate what they do at nail bars so your nail varnish lasts just as long.

In the box you get a base coat and a top coat, so you simply start off by removing any remaining nail varnish you may have, then apply the base coat onto your clean nails. Then once the base coat has dried you can paint a colour of your choice, literally anything! I used a lilac colour as it's one of my favourite nails colours ever. Then after the coat of colour has dried, you just apply a finishing coat on which is quite shiny, then viola!

I found the drying times were quite good, as by the time I'd finished painting all my toes I could already start another coat. Also at the time of writing this I haven't painted my toes in over a week now and they still look just as good as when I first painted them! (I would have posted a picture, but I really don't want my feet on my blog...)

Honestly I didn't have high hopes for this product, but it pleasantly surprised me! I can't believe my toenails have lasted a week when they normally look so tatty by now! It only costs £6.84 on Amazon and thanks to how long it lasts I really can't see it running out any time soon.

Have you tried anything from W7?

*PR gifted product.

Emma xo

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Review of: MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick

So I got my hands on the infamous Velvet Teddy! When I posted my February Wishlist many of you commented saying that it's always sold out - so in determination to get my hands on this lipstick I went on to the MAC website and it was in stock! So of course, I bought it right away and I can safely say I haven't regretted it one bit.

I'm not much of an adventurous lipstick girl, I fear I'd look silly if I stray away from nudes and pinks... That is the downfall of having small lips, but I love a nude lip so it's totally fine with me! But I don't really get excited over nudes and pinks, until I saw Velvet Teddy floating around my Pinterest and I just fell in love with how stunning the colour is! I can honestly see why it's always out of stock, who wouldn't want some Velvet Teddy in their life?

Now I've never really strayed from drugstore lipsticks due to the fact I don't stray from the nudes and there are plenty of those to choose from when browsing the aisles in Superdrug or Boots. But the quality of using a MAC lipstick is undeniable, it has amazing staying power - something I've never had in a lipstick as I've always needed regular top ups! And it sat perfectly on my lips, which I was surprised about as it's a matte formula and me and matte lipsticks really have not gotten on well in the past.. so it was nice to actually have a creamy matte lipstick that didn't make my lips look horrible and dry!

It's a bit pricey for a lipstick at £15.50 when all my other lipsticks range at around £5 but it is 100% worth the price tag for the gorgeous shade, quality and staying power! I have well and truly fell in love with my first MAC lipstick and I tend to invest in some more very soon!

What's your favourite MAC lipstick?

Emma xo

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