A few little things + POW Beauty Mini Giveaway

Hi everybody!
I'm currently on holiday at my aunt's house in the south o Portugal so that's why my blog posts have been sparse.
Also, today is my 5 year dating anniversary with my sweet wonderful boyfriend Mickel, unfortunatly we are still apart ( ='( ) - so any ideas how to celebrate? I might just post a nice celebratory blog post later xD

Finally, I'd like to share POW Beauty's new mini giveaway- please check it out and have fun. Here's the link:

http://powbeauty.blogspot.com/2011/08/mini-giveaway-benefit-topshop.html

Lot's o lipstick love,

Raven

ELF Review IV

Hello readers!

Ready for a new elf review? I know I am ^^

Today I will be reviewing these two elf products- elf Liquid Eyeliner in "Silver" and elf Matte Finisher Nail Polish.

So let's start, and remember I'll use my usual 10 star review.

elf Liquid Eyeliner in "Silver"

You can find it here.

"No more tugging or pulling on your eyelids with this easy glide liquid eyeliner. The smudge-proof liner is rich in color, creating a long lasting defined look. The fine tip brush creates easy and precise definition for natural or dramatic effects." 

From elf Website

I must say I'm not one for liquid eyeliner, I prefer pens, gels and pencils but from time to time a liquid eyeliner is refreshing. So what to say about this little product? I don't like.

I'm not saying it's horrible but it just doesn't work for me, I truly dislike this. However it does have a few pros. Here's a swatch for you.

elf Liquid Eyeliner in "Silver"

The pros:

-Vibrant colour; light; no need for powders to set it; pretty, reflective, shiny and sparkly.

The cons:

-Dries too fast during application; it's streaky and it's flaky.

So basically I wouldn't use it for eyeliner or for large effect applications, but if you just want it for small delicate efects without super high definition then sure go ahead, I found no need to set this with powder and to avoid immediate drying and allow you a little more time for application I advise you keep it in a cool space (also, applying it in the heat of summer might not work very well either).

All in all 4 stars out of 10.

elf Matte Finisher Nail Polish

You can find it here.

"Instantly transform your shiny polish to matte with this translucent top coat. This colour-lock formula with chip resistant shield gives long lasting nail colour. The aerodynamic bristle design glides colour on flawlessly, while the quick dry formula gives perfect application every time. Infused with Vitamin E for stronger, healthier nails.

Our formula is FREE of: Toluene, Formaldehyde, and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)."

From elf Website

I LOVE this product! It's sooooo cool! It really does mattify any nail polish and works as a pretty good top coat, however it needs to be used sparingly or it will end up very thick on your nails which can later make your polish peel off rather than chip ^^'

But rather than letting you take my word for it, let me show you instead with pictures, I'll start by showing you a normal mani and then the same one with the mattifier.

Normal manicure with elf and Barry M Polishes.

This one has the mattifier as a top coat.

And here are the two side by side.

The pros:

-Dries quickly; really does mattify any polish as promised; works well as a topcoat.

The cons:

-Must be applied in very thin layers or it will turn the nail polish into a thick and plastic like layer.

All in all it is great but still has a little room for improvement. I give it 9 stars out of 10.

That's all for this little review, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions go ahead and ask.

Love,

Raven

PINKY PARADISE PARTNERSHIP

Hello everyone!

I have some very exciting news- I am now in a partnership with the contact lens store Pinky Paradise.

They are the best online lens store I know, both in quality and price. Pinky Paradise operates from Korea with a large collection circle lenses, cosplay lenses, lens accesories and even other products such and the ever so popular BB Cream, make up, false lashes and so much more!

The customer service is also absolutly AMAZING and I love the fact that they show actual pictures on how real eyes would look with the lenses, rather than photoshoped examples =)

Check out Pinky Paradise at http://www.pinkyparadise.com/

So to share my love of this store with all my readers I now have my own personal Pinky Paradise discount code for everyone!

The code is ravenswrittings

By entering this code:

-Customers are entitle a FREE cute animal lens case PLUS mystery gifts
-The coupon code can be stacked, If you purchase 3 pairs, you will get 3 lens case plus 3 mystery gifts.

However, there is a minimum of 1 lens purchased to activate the code.
And the best part is this code has no expiration date ^___^

So if you are looking to buy coloured contact lenses (with or without prescription) please choose Pinky Paradise and please use my code!

Also I am making a comitement to hold a circle lens giveaway if at least 10 people use my code on Pinky Paradise before the end of 2011!!!! So spread the word to all your friends!

Have fun trying out some new eyes!

Love,

Raven

ELF Review III

Hello everyone!
I'm finally back to my elf reviews!

Like I stated before, I love elf, it is my favourite brands ever due to its' quality/price ratio and I am determined to review all the products in my huge list of elf products, HOWEVER not everything is a sea of roses and there are a few elf products that I will not be purchasing again and this little review will basically be more of a list of products with flaws I dislike rather than an actually review (though I will review all these products carefully with photos later).

Just remember, people, I'm not saying "these products suck, never buy them, they aren't worth it", no no no, far from it, I'm just saying they did not work for me.

Anyway, here we go, let's start:

-Natural Radiance Blusher in "Innocence"

-Mechanical Eyelash Curler

-Brightening Eyeliners (Plum, Coffee and Black)

-Studio Lip Primer & Plumper (just the Primer side)

-Liquid Eyeliner in "Silver"

-Duo Cream Eyeshadows ("Eggplant", "Black Licorice" and "Blueberry")

-Studio Complete Coverage Concealer

-Studio Corrective Concealer

-Tone Correcting Concealer (Apricot Beige and Honey)

These products really don't work for me. I also have some minor qualms with the nail polishes but I will review those carefully with each colour I review.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Also, please check out my full list of elf products at http://ravens-writtings.blogspot.com/2011/04/all-my-elf-products.html 

Love,

Raven

You Know It Lens Review- Funky Eyes 3 Tone Violet

Hello everyone,
As promised I'm finally getting back to my reviews and here is a review I've done before but since I revamped my blog, I think it's time to write about this one again.

Last October (2010), I bought some contact lenses from the online lens store You Know It.

I really wanted to try a flashy pair of coloured circle lenses for Halloween and since I LOVE violet eyes I decided to go with violet lenses.

You Know It offers a wide variety of lenses from various brands and several complete sets, I myself bought a complete set of Funky Eye's 3 Tone Violet Lenses.

This set included:

-a pair of violet lenses, each in its own glass flask

-a 60ml bottle of contact lens solution

-a lens storage case

I think You Know It's sets are wonderful because you get the whole package so cheap! The set I bought is now even cheaper because it includes free shipping, but at the time I bought my lenses I had to pay the shipping, however it was so cheap I just paid in total 22€.

The second best feature of You Know It is, as I stated before, the incredible variety of lenses they own.

As for the third best feature of this shop it was the shipping- it was so incredibly fast and safe! I got my lenses in 5 days! That's all thanks to the fact that this store is based in the UK, unlike most coloured lens stores with similar prices that are almost all based in Asia (Korea mainly but also Japan and China).

The customer service blew me away as well, they were incredibly nice, fast and effective. I helped a friend of mine buy a pair of white lenses for halloween as well but he accidentally ordered and paid for two pairs and I aided him in fixing the issue with You Know It, and guess what? The order was corrected and refunded in two hours! Excelent service indeed.

As for the lenses themselves, it was my first time using opaque circle lenses but they were surprisingly easy to wear. They were also quite confortable but a bit hard to see in, specially for a first timer like me, every time I turned my head my sight went white for a few seconds and from time to time things got blurry (mostly from the pupil being partially covered), mostly because the lens was very opaque and it was obviously a special effects lens so the goal wasn't perfect sight but perfect flashy effect.

All in all the lenses fulfilled their goal and even though they were 90 days lenses they were very sturdy and I bet they would have lasted much longer.

Here are the photos so you can see the results in terms of effect, please excuse the dramatic make-up, remember it was halloween.

Bare Eyes



With lenses



With lenses

In natural daylight -sorry for the quality it was taken with a camera phone

(By the way those are not false lashes ^^)

Even without the flash of the camera the lenses were very intense and noticeable. I loved the colour and how it made my eyes larger.

I'll give them 8 stars out of 10.

I would definitly advise you to check this online store!

Have fun trying out new eyes ^^

Love,

Rav

Sara Hassan's Blog's 3 Winners 1 Contest -Inoco

Hello everybody,

Here I am again to share another giveaway! I promise I'll get back to my reviews soon but for now here you have a new Inoco Nails Contest by Sara Hassan's blog!!

Here's the link:

http://www.sarahassansblog.com/2011/08/three-winners-one-contest-with-incoco.html

Enjoy and good luck!!
Love,
Rav

Love Makeup's Manly Pallete Giveaway!

Yup, here's ANOTHER giveaway ^_^
This is a personal favourite of mine, I've been wanting this pallete for a couple of years now so I'm trying my luck. Join me and enter :)
Here's the link:
http://lovemakeup-safira.blogspot.com/2011/06/manly-pallette-review-and-giveaway.html

Good luck everyone!

My Kiss 'n Makeup's Birthday Giveaway

Hi yet again!

Here I am to share another giveaway, because I'm just in a giveaway mood (even though I never ever win xP).

So, good luck everyone! Here's the link:

http://www.mykissenmakeup.com/2011/08/birthday-giveaway-international.html

D.G.S.Beauty's Summer Giveaway

Hi again,
Here is another giveaway I'm sharing.
This one is HUGE and pretty awsome, so try your luck.
Here's the link:

http://www.dgsbeauty.com/2011/07/dgsbeautys-summer-giveaway.html

Good Luck!!!

Sarah Hassan's Blog's Mineralissima Giveaway

Hello everyone!
I know I've been away, so sorry!
But I have a new giveaway to share and this one is simple awsome! Sarah Hassan's Blog is promoting a giveaway of a brand I adore so please, try it!
Here's the link:

http://www.sarahassansblog.com/2011/08/mineralissima-giveaway-contest.html

Good luck everyone!