PIXI + It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette + Giveaway - CLOSED

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas or a lovely long weekend if you don't celebrate! After a couple of days of overeating and family time though I'm ready to get my brain working again, and I thought I'd write a little (or maybe not so little!) blog post for you.

If you were lucky enough to receive a little bit of Christmas money, and you fancy splurging on some new make up then I might have a little recommendation for you, especially since it's something that now appears to be on sale from a few retailers

I've tried a couple of products from cult brand PIXI over the last year or so, but up until recently I hadn't tried a lot of their make up, but now I have and over the next few weeks I'm going to treat you to a few PIXI make up reviews. Given my recent eyeshadow palette splurges I didn't really need this palette, but to be honest what has need got to do with it! I have so many neutral palettes in my collection but there was something about about this one that called to me

Apologies That This Picture Is A Bit Washed Out 

PIXI are one of those brands that have embraced the whole social media thing and they are famous for their collaborations and work with bloggers, and You Tubers. and this particular palette was created in conjunction with You Tube star, Judy Travis, aka It's Judy Time.

The PIXI + It's Judy Time - Get The Look - It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette contains 12 super silky, and blendable eyeshadow shades, that are designed to take you from day to night

The sturdy plastic palette features an adhesive mirror so you put it exactly where you want it. I like to see the shadows in the palette through the clear lid so I've stuck my mirror onto the back of the palette.

The palette contains 12, good sized 1.2g powder eye shadows in a combination of matte, metallic and shimmer formulations . This is the perfect neutral palette and the shadows range from golds, to neutral browns and taupes, to coppers, and bronzes, with a few dark chocolate colours, and 1 deep, slightly shimmery, charcoal shade which is perfect for creating a smokey eye.

The shades are - 1st row from left to right - Snowflake, Bubbly and It's Mommy's Life,

2nd row from left to right - Good Morning, Brick and Honey Bear,

3rd row from left to right - Tu Tu, Getaway and Ping,

and 4th row from left to right - Dark Chocolate, Aww Snap, and Night Night

Having never ever tried an eyeshadow from PIXI before, I was really impressed with both the feel and the pigmentation of the shadows. The matte shadows particularly impressed me, they have a smooth and silky almost cornflour type feel and the shadows are pigmented and not in the slightest bit chalky.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was blown away by this palette, the colour palette was perfect, the shadows with smooth, silky and pigmented and they blended like a dream and wore well. The PIXI + It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette isn't tested on animals and it's free from parabans and it has a recommended retail price of around £28. It is currently available from the PIXI website, ASOS, and Marks and Spencer and I know I'm always saying this at the moment but shop around and you might be able to make a little bit of a saving on this palette, I've seen it online for as little as £14 from M&S so get moving quickly if you want it x

This palette is a real winner and you can be a winner too, if you enter my kind of festive giveaway. I've got one PIXI & It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette and a lovely clear and eyelash print NEXT cosmetic bag to give away to one lucky reader. All you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below x

Terms, Rules And Conditions

Unfortunately due to postal issues in the past this giveaway is open to UK residents only
If you are under 18 please get your parent or guardians permission before you enter as I will need your contact details if you're the lucky winner.
Entries will be picked at random using Rafflecopter
I reserve the right delete any entry that hasn't fulfilled the entry criteria or redraw the winner
The giveaway will end at midnight on 27th January 2018
The winner will have 7 days to respond to my email, if no response is received in this time I will draw another winner
This prize was purchased with my own money I have not been compensated from holding it and this giveaway has not been endorsed in any way by PIXI or NEXT.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for reading if you have any questions leave me a comment and good luck x

Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland 2017 Advent Calendar - Part 2 - Days 13 - 24

So the Christmas tree lights are on, my new PJ's are on and I'm sitting here with some cheese, mulled wine and The Muppets Christmas Carol, well what else would I be doing on Christmas Eve! Although I'm not a little person anymore I still love the excitement and the anticipation that you feel on Christmas Eve even if sometimes as an adult it does feel a little bit stressful!

As promised my last post before Christmas is a summary of Days 13 - 24 of the Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland Advent Calendar (you can see what products on got on days 1 - 12 here). I've really enjoyed every aspect of this calendar, I love how it looks and I've really enjoyed discovering some new brands and some new products, some of which I will definitely be buying again.

Day 13 Moroccanoil Morrocanoil Treatment - 15ml 

Now I've heard a lot about this brand and as you know I'm always looking for products to improve my hair so I can't wait to give this a proper try. I've already tried a little bit of this thickish yellow oil in my hair and so far so good. I do love a hair oil and this oil which contains argan oil and linseed oil claims to detangle the hair and leave it smoother and more manageable, and boost shine. I can't find a price comparison for this size but a 25ml size retails at £13.45.

Day 14 - Korres Wild Rose Advance Repair Sleeping Facial - 16ml 

I'm a huge fan of Greek brand Korres but the only products that I've used are their shower and body products, and their lip butters, so on day 14 I was given the opportunity to try out a new product for a brand that I already loved. This leave on mask is designed to sooth and brighten the skin and reduce fine lines, discolouration and pigmentation. It contains wild rose, vitamin C, hyaluronic,  and linolenic acid. I love anything like this so I can't wait to give this a try, especially over the festive season and the winter months when your skin can look a little bit dull. I can't find a price online for this size but the 40ml size retails at around £26

Day 15 - Rose Gold Look Fantastic Branded Face Brush 

Now the next item appears to be an advent calendar exclusive. It is a gorgeous soft, face brush with a gold tone handle. It has a very designer look and it's reminds me a lot of the Real Techniques Bold Metals collection.

Day 16 - Model Co Instant Brows - Light / ,Medium  - 1.5g

From someone who used to pretty blase about their brows over the last 18 months they've became one of the most important parts of my beauty routine and whilst I have my go to products now I still love trying new things but unfortunately I haven't really got on with this one. With a brow spoolie at one end and a soft slanted wax at the other end you can either use it to draw in individual hairs or to fill in larger areas. Designed for all day way this product was just too soft for me, the minute that I put any pressure on the tip it snapped. The colour was too light for me as well but I'll use it up as a brow highlight. I've seen this pen for sale at a couple of different price points between but for this size it usually retails at between £14 and £16.

Day 17 - Omorovicza Queen Of Hungary Mist - 30ml 

This is probably one of my favourite discoveries of the entire calendar. With a limited edition bottle, this is basically a toning mist which you apply after cleansing to refresh the skin and according to Omorovicza revitalise the spirit. It contains orange blossom, rose, and sage water, apple pectin and Hungarian thermal waters. This spray feels beautiful and cooling on the skin and it smells AMAZING, the mixture of rose and orange blossom means that it smells a little bit like the Courreges fragrance Girl In The Air! This size retails at around £15.

Day 18 - Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm- 4ml 

This is another cult product that I haven't tried before I've had a couple of these in the past but I've never used them . This lanolin filled balm can be used on any sore or dry areas including lips, cuticle, dry patches and of course on nipples. I've used this on my lips a couple of times already and a little goes a long, long, way and whilst it's thick it absorbs quickly and a little goes a long way. This is a tiny little size but the full 15ml size retails at £12.

Day 19 - Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Ultra Moisturising Hand Therapy 25g 

I've tried a few hand creams from heritage brand Crabtree & Evelyn but I've tried this one from their famous La Source range. With a fresh and clean, aquatic scent, this hand cream which contains green seaweed, red sea algae, Shea butter, myrrh, ceramides and hyaluronic acid, has a lovely creamy texture and absorbs quickly into the skin. This size retails at £8.

Day - 20 - Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream - 15ml

I was thrilled to find this little tube in my calendar. I talked about this cream an awful lot and just in case you've missed my musings, this is without a doubt my favourite ever moisturiser. I love the fresh scent, and I love the cream / gel texture. It's lightweight, non greasy and absorbs really easily into my oily / combination skin. I love it and my godmother who is 87 and has drier, mature skin also loves. This is a good size and although I can't find a direct price comparison, a 30ml pot now retails at around £52.

Day 21 - Magnitone Wipe Out The Amazing Microfibre Cleansing Cloth 

I've got a few of these wipes now and I'm not sure how exactly but they really do work. Simply dampen down the microfibre cloth with warm water, and use it to remove your make up. You don't need a cleanser just plain water, but for stubborn make up you can still use one if you like. I'm not sure if this is a full sized cloth but 2 full size cloths retail at around £14.99.

Day 22 - HD High Definition Eyeshadow Palette 002 Foxy - Full Size - 5 x 0.8g

This palette comes from the brand previously known as HD Brows and their brow products were the only things that I'd tried from them but now they've branched out into other types of make up and believe me this palette 002 Foxy is a beaut. In an expensive looking matte rubberised effect packaging, this palette features a large mirror and contains 5 beautiful matte and satin shimmer, neutral eye shadows, and a double ended shadow and liner brush.

The shades from left to right are Bare, Golden, Honey, Bronze and Truffle, the pigmentation and the texture is excellent. The shadows contain emollient oils, anti oxidants and vitamins C and E. This palette retails at £29.

Day 23 - Doucce Maxlash Volumizer Mascara 

I've never heard of this brand before but I do like the sound of this mascara. It aims to add outrageous volume and length, and they also claim that it is clump resistant, flake proof, smudge proof and humidity and sweat resistant. I'll let you know what I think about it when I try it x I don't think that this is a full size product as there is no size on it but it does seem to be a decent size

Day 24 - Dr Botanicals Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil - 15ml Travel Size 

Well this is one product that I don't think I'm going to have the chance to use. Mummy Lou loves facial oils and she's loves anything with rose so I've given her this as an early Christmas pressie. This facial oil contains Moroccan Rose, vitamin C and A, and almond and is rich in antioxidants and moisturising properties. This size retails at around £35.90.

Unlike a lot of advent calendars out there this one also has a Number 25 so I'll be updating some time soon about what was in the box. In the meantime I'd like to take this opportunity if you celebrate, to wish you a very, Merry Christmas. Tomorrow will be a quiet family one for me, and I know I'll cherish spending time with people that I love. Hopefully it will be a happy day for me and my family, but please remember that life goes on, on Christmas Day and problems don't always go away, so please, please remember that you are not alone on Christmas Day or on any other day of the year, and if you need help or someone to talk to there will always be someone there to listen x Merry Christmas x

Treat Yourself Or Someone Else - Too Faced Best Year Ever 2018 Make Up Set*

I know it doesn't always look like based on the amount of hauls that I post but in 2017 I really tried to cut down my spending, and in particular I've tried to cut down the amount of money that I spend on make up. Even with regularly trimming my stash, and passing on products to friends and family, my make up stash is starting to become a little bit unmanageable, I'm starting to forget what I have, and I'm eventually coming to the rather obvious conclusion that I have way too much make up for just one face.

Sometimes though you see something and as shallow as it sounds you can't imagine your life without it! Get a grip Louise I hear you cry, and yes you're probably right there are much more important things in life than make up, sometimes though you have to indulge in that whim, throw sense out of the window and buy something that you know will make you happy even if it's just for a few moments in time.

I know a lot of bloggers feel the need to justify what they buy, and most of the time I'm not one of them, but this is one of those purchases that I guess I had to justify to myself. The reason why I took the plunge and bought this item was quite a simple one, well as well as looking gorgeous that it, I just don't own a lot of Too Faced make up, and I really don't know why. Like Benefit and Urban Decay it appeals to my quirky side but for too long it gone largely unowned and unloved in LouLouLand. Don't get me wrong I regularly lust after their Chocolate Bar palettes and their cheek colours, and I've received the odd thing in beauty boxes and as gifts but I've never been tempted enough to make a purchase, however a few weeks ago all of that changed.

I must admit that it was love at first sight when I saw their 2017 Holiday releases, I loved everything but I was ultimately torn between two sets, the Pretty Little Planner Make Up Gift Set which was slightly cheaper at £34 and the set that I eventually went for The Best Year Ever 2018 Make Up Set which was slightly more expensive at £46.

Before I talk about the kit itself though lets talk about the box, okay if you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet I either think you're very strange, or incredibly brave, I am not a last minute shopper but if you are this would make a lovely gift, the outer box is gorgeous and very festive. In a gorgeous metallic gold it features stamps or maybe advent calendar doors all with cute little festive cartoon images on them, including puppies in antlers! If you think the box is cute though then wait till you see what is inside!

Open up the box and you're greeted by a beautiful metallic gold make up bag, which fastens with a gold tasselled zip. Printed on the front of the bag which is rather ironic, given the first paragraph of this post, are the words "I have way more makeup at home"and the Too Faced heart logo. The reverse of the bag is in a pink and gold diagonal design, and the diagonal design is also carried through to the bag lining which is in a black and white fabric. This bag certainly isn't an after thought, it's good quality it's a good size, and it would make a nice gift in it's own right.

As beautiful, useful and giftable as the bag is though,  it is really about what's inside and there is lot to look at.

The first thing thing that you can see in the picture is a little piece of paper, The Too Faced Best Year Ever How To Glamour Guide, which shows you 4 festive looks that you can create from the products within the kit and it also gives you a little bit of information about the product that you can see below

This kit contains a deluxe, 4.8g size of the famous Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Despite already having a mini waterproof version in my unused mascara stash, I haven't actually tried this yet, but it's definitely something that I'll be talking about on the the blog in the new year. I've heard some good things about this mascara and I'm really looking forward to trying it.

The Best Year Ever is described as a make up set and that's exactly what it is. Inside the bag you get three magnetic fastening, sturdy cardboard make up palettes, each one contains a 1 x 5.39g face colour, and a combination of 6 metallic, shimmery or matte eye shadows, each weighing in at 1.14g. All of the shades in all of the palettes work together so if you wanted to treat yourself or give away the whole set to one person then they will have a lot of make up to play with, with a mascara, 18 eye shadows and 3 cheek colours,  however if you're counting the pennies you could very easily give each of the palettes away separately without even wrapping them up as each one features a To and From section printed on the back

All of the palettes are themed, and to the best of my knowledge all of the shades inside are limited editions as they all have holiday, Christmas, party and winter themed names.

The first palette is the pink palette which is covered in hearts, is unsurprisingly named "I Believe In Pink" and contains 6 neutral toned eye shadows and one blusher.

The eyeshadow shades from left to right are Snowgirl, Mink Pink, Pink Rink, Pink Christmas, Spoiled Rotten and Wish For It.

The blusher Pink Poinsettia looks like quite a bright pink in the palette, and whilst it's bright it's still very wearable and it blends down nicely and gives you that perfect I've been out in the fresh air colour.

The next palette "Natural Beauty" is pale blue in colour and features a cute cloud, rainbow and unicorn design.

Like the previous palette the shadows are in mainly neutral tones, with a couple of metallics and shimmers thrown in for good measure. Instead of the blusher though in the palette you get a bronzing powder.

The shadows from left to right are Angelic, 5 Golden Rings, Oh, Deer! Pretty Pecan, Sleigh My Name, and BAETHOVEN.

This palette comes with a bronzer, and it's nice one, it's called Warm My Heart and it's a slightly shimmery, copper toned, bronze.

The final palette is black and features a metallic champagne bottle, champagne glass and bubbles design.

Although this palette is definitely geared towards a more party look, it still contains a similar combination of neutral toned matte, metallic, and shimmery shadows, and the cheek colour in this case is a highlighter shade.

The eyeshadow shades from left to right are Lucky Star, Cozy Cashmere, Tipsy, Oh What Fun, Sleighhh Girl and No Peeking.

The highlighter in this palette Dashing Through The Glow, is a gorgeous pale golden, champagne colour, with lots of shimmer, and sheen.

I'm not going to lie I haven't managed to use all of the products on my face yet but I have to say I have been pretty impressed by the ones that I have used. All of the shadows are soft, and have an almost creamy feel, and as you see from the pictures the pigmentation is superb. Some of the matte shades, especially the paler ones are a little chalky, but they feel velvety soft and the pigmentation is still decent. My favourites shades so far are Tipsy, Sleighhh Girl, and  Sleigh My Name - I love a bit of shimmer! and I'm also loving wearing the two cheek shades, Pink Poinsettia and Dashing Through The Glow together, you get a bit of in idea of what they look like in the picture below and I'm also loving using Dashing Through The Glow as under brow highlight.

Christmas gift sets from make up brands are nothing new but they can vary dramatically in quality. On a lot of occasions even the highest and most prestige brands can release Christmas gifts and sets that don't live up to their usual high standards but congratulations Too Faced this one is a winner! There is not a single duff item in the set, the make up bag is perfect, the mascara is one of their best sellers, and the neutral, and super wearable shadows are smooth, pigmented and blendable, you honestly couldn't ask for anything else from a make up gift set, except for maybe a lippy, a mirror and a brush but that would just be greedy, this isn't the cheapest of kits but in my opinion it's worth it either as a Merry Christmas to yourself or as a super last minute gift or 5. The Too Faced Best Year Ever Make Up Set retails at £46 from selected Debenhams stores and if you can wait till after Christmas it's still available online, and who knows it might even be reduced in a day or so x The set has definitely ignited a bit of a Too Faced love in so if you have any Too Faced recommendations other than the KVD x Too Faced Better Together Cheek And Lip Set, which I already have then I'd love to hear them.

*Paid For In Part By An Intu Gift Card