Me, Myse.l.f and I (USA haul)

My friend Bria was in America  last month and lovely girl that she is brought me back a few things from e.l.f, as I often rave about them. Most things are available in the UK but the glossy lip shines in Strawberry doesn't have the sparkles which  isn't such a bad thing.

Left to right- Super Glossy lip shine SPF 15  Juiced berry, strawberry, Honey-Do £1.50 each

I really like these colours they are moisturising and not too sticky. Juiced berry (new) tastes as amazing as it smells and has a soft colour to it. It is very high shine so if you don't like that don't get this product.

Honey - Do also has a lovely light on trend wash of  colour to it. The previous 2 are SPF15 yay. Strawberry is not my fav  because of the sparkles but I still could wear it. All the colours look great and better still at night. They can be used for all occasions, on their own or over lipsticks. I for one will definitely be stocking up on more E.L.F suupergloss lip shines.

Above- All over face cover stick in toffee £3.50.  Tone correcting concealer  in spice £1.50

In hind sight this isn't the best picture. I wanted to show the colours on an un- pigmented background for various people to see how it matched to their own skin tone. I really like the e.l.f all over cover stick. It is very thick but light so it requires a deft hand and a lot of blending but allows my skin to breath. After some experimentation I find that fingers work best. I would use this as an under eye concealer/ highlighter. Toffee is the darkest colour but as I hadn't previously used this before this is the colour Bria got me. It is a perfect match for me. As a dark skinned girl my motto is when in doubt go for the second darkest to darkest and work it out.  The tone correcting concealer is very thin and watery, no bonus points there. I like a texture I can play and work with. It took a bit of experimentation to find the best way to use it on my skin but it can be useful. The best way I have found is mixing it with the coverstick for a better blend for my skin as on its own it can be a bit patchy.

These will definately be used in my late spring and summer make up routines as the lip shines are lovely and the face products are light,offer medium coverage and are breathable.

Toodles
Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo

Don't forget to come find me and  Follow @GirlWednesdays  

Viva Vivo! - Tesco make up review



Mini Vivo haul

 Launched exclusively at Tesco in September 2011, Vivo is a very new cosmetics brand which has already gathered a cult following. Vivo certainly live up to their tag line "Alive with colour".

Ladies and a few gentlemen , if you are not already acquainted let me introduce you to Vivo Cosmetics.

Right to left: Pearlised Mink shade 6 and  Expresso shade 11.
£1.50 each

 Well it has definitely been a while since Tesco has done something to really thrill me. Not since tasting their deep dish chocolate pie have I swooned with such abandon.

Whilst in Tesco I happened to wonder into the cosmetics department and one section just seemed to be beckoning me closer. The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that everything ranged from between £1.50 - £6 and boy do they have a lot of stuff! Of course my mind immediately leapt to ahhh nasty drug store make up, (we all remember that random gloop in shops as kids) why the hell would tesco make make up?! I now know and I LOVE it

Curiosity got the better of me and I reached out to test a few eyeshadows, which to my amazement looked great and were really pigmented.  The matte colours were not chalky or flaky and the pearlised ones had a lovely shimmer but not enough to make you look like a Essex Christmas tree and I don't even like shimmer!. Blendable tones? Tick. Smooth texture? Hells yeah. By jove I must have these- straight into the shopping trolley they went. I then moved on to lipsticks and snapped up 2 of those as well.



Pearlised Pale gold shade 14  and matte Rich chocolate shade 4
£1.50 each



Just as my eyes  alighted on their baked blushes and bronzers and found them not wanting. I thought it best to try out what I had and go back if they worked out well.  I had enough for research. At these prices I can definitely say I am going back.

As many know I am a MAC girl through and through. Their products are used as a base for everything else. Vivo complements my MAC products well. Although it has been benchmarked as the "MAC of super market make up brand" I wouldn't compare the two brands. Vivo holds up well to a select few of the drugstore brands I use. In times of economic crisis we all have to cut back and tighten our boot straps. Having to cut back is by no means an invitation to scrimp on quality or sacrifice luscious pigmented quality for generic swill. I didn't head towards the foundations as I am well aware they won't have my shade so didn't even bother.



Sugar plum trio eyeshadow £2.50, Barely there shade 8 lipstick,
Very berry shade 6 lipstick £1.99 each .

Vivo passes the test on some levels but not all. As a woman of colour it is extremely important that if I decided to wear makeup it is of high quality so I don't go out looking like a ashy faced, caked up clown- bo bo the clown is not in residence here! 

As with many brands they have a way to go before they can fully cater to our needs, pigments and various skin tones. In regards to the products I have used they are great and for the price it is a steal.

I would absolutely recommend Vivo to anyone. One down side is that it is not available in all Tescos, so if you don't have a big store near you your in for a hunt.

 I will definitely be doing another review when I have more items in my repertoire. For More information check out  the Miss Vivo Blog for updates and product information. They will soon have their own online shop for international folks and those who can find the brand in store.

Smooches

Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo

Don't forget to come find me and  Follow @GirlWednesdays