Nars Andy Warhol Palette

As I was spending four weeks away over the Christmas period, my parents gave me an early Christmas gift to go away with. I'd asked for this a few weeks before and the day before I left they gave it to me. I was really pleased to receive this, especially as it's not the cheapest palette.  

I do love the NARS brand, as well as Andy Warhol, so when I heard they were coming out with an Andy Warhol collection I knew I would end up buying something from it. There were lots of variations of palette's, three different self portrait palettes and three different flower palette's. I chose this one as I loved the design and the colours I'm more likely to use, it's perfect for a smokey eye and being quite compact is great for travel and putting in your makeup bag. I have so much eyeshadow already in lots of different colours and I'm not that adventurous with it so I knew if I'd gone for the colourful ones it would never get used. Black is something I usually use, even as eyeliner.

The packaging is great on this, I'm a fan of the matte black NARS packaging already (even though it gets so dirty!) Instead of the normal black box, this comes in a silver one with Andy Warhol written across it. The same design is seen on the actual palette. On the mirror inside there is a quote "Art is what you can get away with", this was such a nice detail but also manages not to take up much of the mirror so isn't so distracting. The quotes are different on every palette. 

The portrait on this is unfortunately an overspray so it will eventually rub off. I've bee trying to keep it there for as long as I can, it's just too nice of a picture :) As for the eyeshadows themselves, I've only used them a few times but they are really easy to apply and work with. The two grey/silver shadows are very shimmery as you can see in the above photo but the black has more of a matte finish. It's not fully matte though and does have some small glitter pieces, nothing too noticeable. 

The NARS Andy Warhol collection has much much more on offer than just these palettes. I've been looking at the edie gift set for a while now but I'm trying to hold back from buying it! It is limited edition though, so if you do find anything you like I would get it now. The collection is still available from www.narscosmetics.co.uk  www.selfirdges.com  and  www.sephora.com

Have you tried anything from the Andy Warhol Collection yet? What is your favourite NARS product?

The Crimson Amulet

With the premiere and release date of the Tim Burton film Dark Shadows being this week, I thought it would be fitting to do my post on the NYX palette themed around the film. I only saw this by chance in ULTA back in March/April time, I think they got it prior to the release date. I'd always heard good things about NYX as a brand in general and their palettes always got good reviews, and as I'm a huge Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fan I could hardly say no to this ;) NYX is hard to get in the UK and I know palettes like this rarely get released in Europe or the UK so I thought I'd pick it up while I had the chance. 


I liked this palette because you can create more or less a full face, it has a selection of neutral and colourful eye shadows along with a few blushes, highlight colour, an eyeliner and a base for the shadow. I also liked that it gave you tips on how to create the makeup looks from the film. I know that they won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I like the makeup looks for creativity and fun. Maybe not for every day but there's a lot to offer in terms of a natural every day look. There are a mixture of both matte and shimmer shades in this palette. Something I like about NYX is that their cosmetics are cruelty free!


The packaging isn't the best, some might say tacky. I like it just because I like anything with novelty and am into the whole Tim Burton thing. I was quite disappointed when first swatching these, the eyeshadows and cheek colours are quite chalky in formula which isn't something I like, very few eyeshadows came off well on my hand. Obviously when applying them I wouldn't use my hand but if a swipe on a finger isn't showing up well I wouldn't expect it to with a brush. I think with the eyeshadows though, you can work with them, some have very good pigmentation and if blended in well can pull off a nice eye look. 


The thing I was most disappointed with was the highlight colour, and some of the blushes. In the swatch photo above the highlight shade is just below the blushes and this took about four heavy swipes just to get it to show up a little. Not very much pigmentation and quite chalky. I prefer to have something that is high in pigmentation that I can use with a light hand and then build it up as I please. The blush colours are mostly ok, the darker shades have the most pigmentation and will show up better on skin, but some were not coming off so well. I think these would be good for an everyday look as they are quite sheer and will give just enough colour to look like a natural flush.


I loved the eyeliner, not a fan of liquid eyeliner in general but this one had a nice formula to it. Not too watery or hard to work with and quite opaque. The eyeshadow base was something else I was impressed with, not sheer at all. I like an even base on my eyelids to cover any veins/blemishes and this covers them nicely.


The lip creams aren't something I really use, I'm not a fan of using a lip brush but the pigmentation was ok. I find lip creams, of what I've used so far, aren't huge in pigmentation but give a nice sheer colour to the lips. Overall I think this palette is good value considering how many different products you get inside it. 


This palette retails for $25 and is available from ULTA

Sweet As Candy

Wet 'n' Wild is a brand I hear a lot about over youtube and blogs and for some reason I was slightly reluctant to try their products, maybe it was down to the cheap price tag? I've never heard bad things about their products so I'm surprised it took me so long to try anything of theirs. And I have to say I'm really glad I did! It's probably one of the cheapest makeup brands I've come across and I always expect the product to reflect the price. But this was not the case, I picked up this palette as I liked the colours and wanted a naked/nude eye look but with a tad of colour thrown in (this is me being adventurous lol)

The first thing I do when buying a product is to see how it swatches, obviously a product is not going to look the same when applied on your eyelids as it does when you swatch it. But it gives you a good idea as to how the product feels and how pigmented it is. One small swipe of this and the colour is so rich and vibrant! I'd say that these eye shadows would rival even the big name brands like MAC. I only own two MAC eyeshadows but when comparing the quality of those with these, Wet 'n' Wild gets my vote! This is good quality for something you would buy in the drugstore, and one of the cheapest brands too. I don't find these eye shadows to be too chalky either which is something I've encountered with cheaper makeup. I haven't noticed creasing with this trio but I do use a primer and have never experienced that with other brands. I think that these 3 colours also make a change from what I'm used to wearing on my eyes. I'll always go for browns but with this you have the light pink colour. I also like that it's clearly stated where best to put each colour, obviously there's no rule that says you need to put each one in that specific place but it's a nice indication and great for anyone who is just starting out with makeup.

Instead of going for a 6 or 8 palette I went for the trio to test out in case I didn't like the product, I'm starting to wish I'd bought more and know that when I get the chance will definitely be getting more!

If you have the chance of checking this brand out, I would definitely recommend their products. This product sells at Walgreens and CVS for $2.99

For your chance to win a Sweet As Candy palette, enter my giveaway here

100 follower giveaway! (closed)

Sorry this post has taken SO long to put up! I've been so busy lately, with uni, hospitals, job seeking etc etc but it's here! My 100 follower giveaway! I'm so glad I decided to pick up some things from my recent trip to the USA, I'm so thankful to everyone that I've met and all the people who follow my blog. I really didn't think anyone would ever want to read it lol

This giveaway will be a UK only giveaway. I'm hoping to have an international giveaway in the future though so hopefully you can all enter that :)

These are the things I've picked out for my giveaway:
Wet 'n' Wild trio palette in Sweet As Candy
Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting
EOS lipbalm in Summer Fruit
Slatkin & Co mini candle in Mango Beachwood from Bath & Bodyworks

To enter you need to be following me through GFC or Hello Cotton, please leave a comment on this post telling me which one you follow me on. If you follow through both you'll get 2 entries :) Just make sure you tell me your usernames in the comments below. I would do the same for Blog Lovin' but it doesn't tell me who my followers are :(

If you want to earn one more entry if you tweet this "@Linnetbirdxx is having a 100 follower giveaway, check it out here! greenfinchandlinnetbirdx.blogspot.com"

If you tweet just let me know your twitter username as well in the comments.

I hope this all made sense, you can earn up to 3 entries!

This giveaway will end on the 14th of May 2012 :)

Nude Tude Palette

This is the first all "nude" palette I own. I haven't bought the naked, naked 2 or the natural eye palette's yet. Every time I go to buy them, some limited edition products/collection gets released and I find myself spending the money on that instead because the others "will always be there". This was probably the hardest to find palette I have ever purchased, including the Alice in Wonderland book of shadows long after it sold out. 

I knew I wanted to try this palette as soon as I'd discovered TheBalm brand and my love for it is increasing with each product. I did some searching online around November/December time and found a few UK websites that sold this… but to my disappointment they were all sold out. FeelUnique.com and Next.com both claimed to stock this item but still after 6 months of checking their websites neither have restocked and I doubt they ever will. I'd rather they just remove it altogether. 

{Free makeup bag with my order}

I finally decided to order from the official website but had to settle for the "nice" version. This palette comes in two different designs, the nice version and the naughty version. Basically as the palette is "nude" the naughty version has naked women behind each eye shadow pairing. Don't worry there isn't any real nudity it's just a bit of fun with packaging and I personally loved this idea. Unfortunately this version was sold out on TheBalm's website so I figured I'd purchase the nice version or else I could be waiting another six months before having the chance to buy it again. I think it's a good idea that they have the option to buy both as the naughty version may not be everyone's cup of tea. One thing I will mention is the shipping on this item was very reasonable (I shipped to a US address) and my items were shipped the day after purchase which I was very impressed with, I also received a free makeup bag with my order!

The packaging of this palette is very 50s style as with most of TheBalm's products. There are 12 eye shadows in total and comes with a double ended eyeshadow and liner brush. Each of the twelve shadows are named with an "S" word which I thought was a cute idea and ties the whole palette together. 

The shades in this palette are a little different compared to what I've seen in the Urban Decay palette's there seems to be a bit more colour which I think is great because they're subtle enough to still fit the description of "nude". There are no matte shades in this palette, some have a subtle sheen to them and the rest are quite shimmery but not in the chunky glitter way. As far as formula and colour pay-off goes, these eyeshadows are great quality very pigmented and smooth to apply. They're also quite long lasting and I never noticed them creasing. I would still recommend using a primer with them though. I haven't used the brush that comes with it as it looks quite scratchy but I keep it in there anyways in case I ever have to use it. 

This palette costs $36 and is available from www.thebalm.com and www.sephora.com 

Have you used this palette? Are you looking to purchase it? What is your favourite nude palette?

All you need is faith and trust…

And a little bit of pixie dust!

Ok I admit it, I LOVE Peter Pan and I always ride Peter Pan's flight when I'm in a Disney park with all the other 'kids' (best ride ever, no?)

So when I came across this palette about 4 or so weeks ago, I knew I'd love it. I mentioned it in my ASOS haul but hadn't yet had a chance to play around with it. This is my first PIXI purchase and I've been wanting to try their products for a while. The packaging is what drew me to this to begin with, I love that it's not the usual cartoon version of Tinkerbell we always see. The box itself is a light shade of yellow where as the palette itself is classic pixi green with the same drawing by Disney artist John Quinn. What I like about this brand is the hands-on approach the creator Petra Strand has.

This palette is quite a neutral palette in terms of the colour selection which is good for people who aren't that into colour and I think will appeal to a bigger audience. I know some people will probably think that the packaging is quite childish and/or tacky but if you really like the product inside I'm sure the packaging can be overlooked. The palette itself is quite small and compact, and easy for travel. It comes with a double ended eye brush, double ended lip brush and a blush brush. Although these brushes may not be the best in quality I think it's nice to have them for when you are on the go. 

All the eyeshadows featured in this palette are shimmery, so if you aren't into that or prefer something more matte this palette may not be for you. As far as colour payoff goes, the pigmentation is pretty good in the eyeshadows. The blush palette is made up of 3 different shades, all quite shimmery and more like highlight colours. Unless you are using a small brush it would be quite difficult to use the shades individually. 

I really liked trying out the lip colours for this as I'm not usually into lip creams. I applied them using the brush provided in the palette and although they didn't give a lot of pigmentation I like the sheen and colour they gave my lips without looking overly done

{Eyeshadows}

{Blushers}

{Lip Creams}

I love that PIXI has teamed up with disney to create a palette themed around one of the most famous pixie's, Tinkerbell.  The PIXIGLOW Fairy Face Palette retails for £36 and can be found at www.boots.com, www.pixibeauty.co.uk, www.asos.com or alternatively you can visit their Flagship store just off Carnaby Street. For anyone in the states, PIXI products are also sold at Target.

What are your thoughts on the PIXI GLOW Fairy Face palette? Have you purchased from the PIXI brand before?