Black Friday 2016 - Urban Decay and Kiko Milano Bargains - Cruelty Free and Gorgeous Finds

I originally hadn't  planned on buying anything over Black Friday. Its not a UK thing and I hadn't been expecting the high street here to offer anything. Also I really didn't need any more make up. 

That being said.... Debenhams sent me another £5 beauty club voucher (I had one two weeks ago when I bought the Naked Ultimate Basics palette) and had a further 10% off all beauty. I decided to wander through and just check if there was anything I wanted, that was my first mistake.

The moment I got as far as the Urban Decay counter I realised I was splashing some cash. I had thought about getting the Spectrum palette, but I realised I already had a bunch of bright palettes that I never ever used. My other option was the new Moondust palette. On one hand I was like its really glittery and you only want it cause its shiny. On the other hand, I really don't own anything this sparky or shimmery, well not that has such insane colours. So it would be filling a gap in my collection. You already know which hand one.

So with the discount and my £5 off I got this for £26.50, so I saved £8.50, which I thought was really good.

More gorgeous photos. I'm going to do a full first impressions post on this palette with swatch photos and the like as part of Blogmas. It wont be a full review as I would want to use it for two straight weeks before hand and I wont be doing that because its not something I would be wearing day to day normally.

The only other place I went was Kiko Milano on Saturday. Again I hadn't planned on it but they were doing a buy 3 get 3 free. I don't own many Kiko products but had heard good things and was always swatch brilliantly when I go for a lunch time wander up to the Buchanan street store. 

I ended up getting four lip and two eyes products, and only paid for three of them. It was a really good deal if you just wanted to buy things to have a play with. We need to start by talking about how much they are killing it with the packaging. The lipgloss and lipstick in the middle both look and feel so luxurious. So much love.

So left to right I got the: Unlimited Double Touch Liquid Lipstick in 101 Soft Rose, 3D Hydra Lipgloss in 22 Sparkling Red Garnet, New Unlimited Stylo Lipstick in 17 Tulip Red and the Everlasting Colour Precision Liner in 415 Sangria.

I know it seems completely out of character for me to willingly buy a lipgloss but I've swatched the Hydra Glosses a couple of times in store and never found them sticky on my hands. I have tried this on my lips since I took the swatch photos and it is not sticky at all. The glitter does make it slightly grainy but its not an issue (much rather have slightly grainy that super sticky). It also looks so pretty. I might need to get more of these, but that's an after Christmas thing.

The last thing I picked up was two of the long lasting stick eyeshadows in 06 Golden Brown and 21 Passion Fruit. These are also something I've swatched in store and man do they cling to the skin. I am really excited to use these on my eyes and see how they last. I'm also hoping they might speed up my morning routine if they're something I can just rub on, blend a bit and go. I'll let you know how that goes.

Did you get any awesome Black Friday bargains? Let me know what you got or leave me a link in the comments

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com

Review: Primark PS... Love to Glow Face Mask - Cruelty Free Skincare

If you've read any of my other posts, and I mean any, you'll know I love a beauty bargain. Back in mid July I finally tried some of the PS... range from Primark, with mixed results (lip liner, yes. Eyeshadow, total failure). However with the vast majority of the products being under £5 (right within my budget) I decided to give some more ago before I made my mind up completely.

A while ago I found myself on Sauchiehall street, an area of Glasgow I don't usually get a chance to visit, with some time to kill. So I had a wee gander at some of the shops that are out that way, especially Tiger (love me some Tiger), and ended up in Primark. My first thought was heck, this one is far cleaner and tidier than my local one. The make-up and beauty area in this one is up the escalator, so I guess people are less likely to run in, rip stuff, make a mess, and leave. I got to actually look at things without the fear of getting covered in something broken and icky.

One of the first things that caught my eye was this mask. It is the PS... Love to Glow face mask with Argan Oil and Vitamin E. And costs £3 for 50ml (1.69 US Fl. Oz.). Pretty cheap for the amount you get. Also up until then I wasn't even aware Primark made skincare, I thought it was just make-up and a limited amount of hair care. So I had to try it, for science.

Packaging wise, the box is ok. Its a box, it describes the contents, its not ugly. Job done. Now for the jar. Its glass, not plastic, which is a very nice touch, however the cheap lid lets it down. Also grey product, with a grey label and grey text, not a smart move. For £3, its pretty much what you would expect though.

First impressions, grey, mudlooking, pot of goop. Its really, really perfumed which is a bit offputting, but not so offputting I wouldn't rub it all over my skin and leave it there for ten minutes. Texture wise its thick and a bit grainy but not gloopy or super wet. Better than a foil package mask but not as nice as some of the "mud type" masks you get in tubes.

Proof I actually rubbed this stuff all over my face. I actually had to do it three times to get this post finished.

Ever pull a face and then think, oh god why? Yeah, thats me right now. Why did I do that? Yikes.

The first thing you notice when applying the mask, after the smell, is the cooling feeling. As it doesn't claim to be firming or tightening, so I think whatever is doing this has been added only to make your skin feel cooler and tighter as you sit with it on your face.








So this mask claims to be Exfoliating, Smoothing, Brightening and Moisturising. I'm just going to break it down one by one and let you know what I thought.

Exfoliating: I wouldn't say I found it exfoliating. I wash my face with super soft microfibre clothes so that might have had something to do with it. It is grainy so if you wet your hands and rubbed at it once its dry, it probably would exfoliate pretty well.

Smoothing: Yeah ok, my skin did seem a bit smoother. If that was its only function I would be disappointed though.

Brightening: Anything that rubs off dead skin should in theory brighten, right? I've never really thought of my skin as being dull so I don't know if it really needs brightened up. My skin does feel nicer once I've scrubbed it off though. So win, I guess.

Moisturising: My skin isn't super dry at the moment and, in all honesty, I've been missing moisturiser some evenings. Does it moisturiser? Probably. Did I notice? Nope. Mehh...

Overall this facemask is mehh. My skin feels nicer-ish when I've used it but nothing major. I had to use the mask three times to get this review finished so I feel like I got a fairly good idea of everything thing mask has to offer . It doesn't offer much.

4 out of 10. Try it if you're curious about the PS...Love rang as its not terrible, but if you're looking for amazing results, you wont get them here. Probably wouldn't recommend.

xoxo Scruffy

Primark Matte Liquid Lipsticks. Worth the money?

Why can't I leave Primark without picking up make-up these days?...Arghh

Any way, at the till on a recent visit I clocked some of the PS. Super Matte Liquid Lipsticks in the weird fishbowl things they have next to the queue. So obviously I ended up buying all three shades that were there.

The cost only £2 each, which makes them the cheapest of the cheap where liquid lipsticks are concerned. But were they worth the money?...

Left to Right: Nude, Kendall and Purple

The ones they had were Nude, although the bottom of it says Kim, (whats that all about?), Kendall which is a nice mauve greige colour and Purple, which is really red and not purple at all. Well done on that name Primark.

The tubes feel pretty cheap to be honest. I own a lot (I mean a crap load) of liquid lipstick and packaging wise, these are by far the nastiest. Its made worse as the tubes are square and when you screw the lids back on it doesn't line up properly. Huge pet hate of mine.

That being said, the colours are so pretty.

The formula is OK. Its definitely better on the two lighter shades than the red. The red is slightly drier and doesn't apply nearly as well. It feels like you're wiping the same product around rather than actually applying it smoothly. However, once I was able to apply it, I was impressed by the colour. Its still not purple though. They dried down nicely as well which I was surprised about.

Once I was confirmed they weren't going to stain the heck out my face I decided to try a couple. The nude is just a nude so I didn't play with that.

Now, full disclaimer. These photos are not cute. Focus on the lips please.

Here's Kendall. Its a lot like Ghoulish by LA Splash but feels a bit more comfortable. At this point I'm pretty impressed.

And Purple is... Still not purple. It is a nice dark red. I did have the same problem applying it as I had swatching it. Once it was on I loved it though.

So does it pass the wear-ability test.

First drink, small amount of smudge and fall out but no where near as bad as I expected. Also this was all that came off throughout my whole cuppa, so its performing better than some liquid lipsticks that cost 5x as much.

And after dinner it was still going strong.

Sorry 'bout the sparkle. Swatched something glitterbomby and its gone everywhere.

OK so there's a little flaking and fading round the centre but it performed so well. My dinner wasn't particularly oily, and they're known for stripping liquid lipsticks off. But I'm still so impressed. I mean, how good is that?

Removing the lipstick was a bit of a pain, but no more than some of the other long wear lipsticks I own. I learned a while ago that if you rub a lip balm (I have a cheap Nivea one) over the lipstick and let it soak in for a couple of minutes, usually they will just wipe off with a soft cloth or facial wipe. This worked a treat and within seconds I was lipstick free.

To summarize, I'd give these lipsticks a 8 out of 10. The pigmentation is great, and they seem to last a crazy long time. My only reservation is the application of them, the doe-foot is one of the weird long ones and the formula is a bit hard to work with but once applied they're great.

Definitely worth the money.

Primark Beauty Haul - First Impressions

So on Sunday, which is now three days ago and I started typing this up the day I bought it. I've been busy trying to sell half my wardrobe on eBay and lumbered with technical problems. Anyway thats changing the subject. I discovered something amazing. All of Primarks PS. range is completely cruelty free, and it is cheap as chips.

 So heres what I got.

 

Nothing I bought cost more £2.50, which I though was great, however I couldn't get everything I wanted as the displays were nothing short of disgusting. Full of busted packaging and smashed powder over everything. It took me maybe 5 minutes to find 2 lipliners in the very large display that weren't opened. I wanted a couple of the lipsticks but I couldn't find any I liked that hadn't been opened and rubbed all over who knows what *boke*

 9 Shade Eyeshadow Palette £2.50

This really didn't impress me. The packaging was nice and chic however the pigmentation was pretty crap and they were so chalky and powdery. Also most of them look the same. Can't see me ever using it.

 Bronze 3pk Nail Polish £2.50

There's are really pretty. I've been rocking the copper tone on the left for 3 days now and its just beginning to chip. It doesn't dry hard as quickly as I'd like but for under £1 a bottle and colours that are this gorgeous, I can deal with it.

 Liquid Foundation in Ivory £2.50

Yicks, I hate full foundation. Hardly ever wear it. Maybe I should as my skin is constantly crapy, but I can't do it. I hate things that feel heavy and sticky and hot on my skin. I walk over a mile in my newly applied makeup to work before anyone even sees me in it. I've not put it on my face yet as my skin has been really sore and aggrivated lately and I don't want to risk making it worse. The colour looks like it would be the one closest to my skin and I will definetly give it a shot and let you know what I think .

Lipliners in Light Pink and Nude £1 each

I'd heard great things about these so I was annoyed when I could only get two that werent all funked up and ruined. I was needing more wearable lipliner colours so these were a good shout. They are really pretty good and I will be looking into getting some more of these. The nude one goes really well with my favourite work lipstick (NYX Butter lipstick in Pops). Winner.

Smudge Liner in Black £1

I haven't played with this much yet but it seems very nice. Very black, can make a sharp line but when smudged it can be softened to a nice smokey glow. Will use this some more and report back in.

Two Pack Eyeliner in White and Natural £1

Two eyeliners for £1, yes please. I was really unsure about these but once I swatched them on my hand I was sold. The white is super bright and the natural one is different to anything I already own. Not waterline tested them yet but again will test some more and file my report with you.

Items I didnt photograph

Loose face powder £2.00

It's loose powder, didn't know how to photograph it, didn't know why you would want me to. Its nice enough, rivals some drug store stuff. Holes are a bit big in the packaging but nothing disasterous.

Perfume stick in Fuchsia £2.00

Solid perfume in a pencil stick. It smells nice, not super strong but thats not bad. The pencil means you don't need to get it all over your fingers and the clear wax is great as you don't end up with a coloured streak on your neck or arms if it doesn't get rubbed in right. Now it lives in my handbag.

Texture Spray £2 (or £2.50, I can't remember)

They make haircare so I might as well try it.  It smells nice and helps beachify my hair. Like it

All in all I'm impressed, even if the displays were gross. I'm probably not going to rush back for more anytime soon (although they are launching a "pro" range which I might need to checkout).

Tried any Primark Beauty, let me know what you think.

xo Scruffy

Introductions and so forth

Hi Everyone.

I'm Kirstie and I probably knitted the pair of socks I'm wearing right now.

Does that cover everything you wanted to know? Probably not.

I like strange coloured lipstick and the smell of disinfectant.

My five favourite films are (in no particular order) Waynes World, The Muppets Treasure Island, Ten Things I Hate About You, Blade Runner and Demolision Man.

I own seven tshirts that have pictures of Harley Quinn on them but none with the Joker.

I probably own more buttons than you.

I've eaten salt and vinegar crisps for dinner more times than I can count.

I've had the same playlist for years, it only got updated recently when I suddenly wanted to listen to the Corrs because... Just because OK?

Somedays I want to be a Wicked Queen, a magical rainbow fairy that can make the world a more fluffy place or able to fly. Mostly I just want an extra hour in bed and a cup of tea though

xo Scruffy