Can't think of a title. Just another post with a look & swaps.

[Sorry if this post is badly written, I'm pretty tired.]

*The pics for the palettes collection post have been taken ;) & that'll probably be up next. Unless it's the tags. I'm behind on my tags again. (I always am, it's getting ridiculous...)

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimising Skin Refinisher mini, unused Veet facial wax tube, and some extras.)

I love Bourjois stuff :D. The extras were pretty nice too ;).

Swap 2 [England].

(For my mini Juicy Tube and lots of extras, 'cause I was just so happy about hers ^_^.)

Bourjois powder in Miel Dore (my new fave contouring shade), and as an extra, a Red Earth (my first item from that brand ^_^!) eye shadow in GR048 (a beautiful sparkly blue grey) :).

Swap 3 [Scotland].

(I got her a Korres Jasmine Lip Butter and added extras too ^_^.)

We agreed to swap for the Sleek Safari palette (and isn't it gorgeous :D?), and I also asked for the Jemma Kidd kabuki brush as an extra. But she added even more extras ^_^! I got a sample of Lush's Daddy-O shampoo (recommended - leaves hair clean but not dehydrated & does enhance its blondeness ;D), a Barry M kohl pencil in 4, and catalogues :D - well, a Benefit catalogue & a GOSH make-up look card ;). I love this kind of paper stuff but rarely receive any, so this was an incredibly lovely surprise ^_^.

Swap 4 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper].

(I got her a Korres Quince Lip Butter, Manhattan waterproof mascara, Oriflame Seeing Is Believing eye cream, Oriflame rose face cream, my two Lancome mini sunscreens, and of course, extras.)

The palette's by a UK brand called W7 - yes, I know I already have too many eye shadows, but I was craving a palette like this one :-P. Also pictured are GOSH On Stage Cool Lip Jams in 101 (blue) and 105 (purple), Lip Smackers lip gloss in Starburst Raspberry, Revlon eye shadow in Riviera Blue (had that, swapped it to her & got the very same one back, lol), NYX Chrome eye shadow in Java and ArtDeco eye shadows in 206 and 376. The double-ended lipstick (Astor Double Excellence in 017) was an extra ;).

Close-ups:

This swap actually arrived with a relatively large hole on the envelope, but somehow nothing was missing :D. (Am I lucky or what?) I suppose the palette stopped things from falling out ;D.

Oh, and this palette has 77 colours ;).

Now for the look. I promise to do a look with no blue on the eyes next :-P. This one's blue based again though, 'cause it's just such a pretty colour ;D, especially with dark eyes like mine.

This look's very simple (almost too embarrassingly simple to blog about :-P), yet has impact ;).

Apologies for this pic's [lack of] quality:

Skin: I tried my Avon loose mineral foundation (in Soft Ivory) for the first time today, & I must say I'm very impressed - it's so beautifully pale :). NYX Concealer In A Jar in Fair took care of the under eye area, and as usual I used my Tigi Fixx-It Stick on any spots.

Eyes: I started with Revlon Riviera Blue matte eye shadow, then changed my mind >:-D and covered my lids (over the Revlon, why not :-P) with Mark Retro Peacock. (The shades are quite close, but Riviera Blue is matte while Retro Peacock has fine glitter.) I filled in the area from lid to brow with white (I used the very top right shade from my W7 Paintbox - probably just to be difficult & make my products picture look bulky :-/, 'cause any white will do) and lined the lower lashline with silver (Oriflame Visions glitter pencil in Silver Snow). Finished off with curled lashes & mascara. That's it.

Cheeks: The cheek colour from my Too Faced Love Lisa palette on the apples & spread out. Looks nice & glowy but you can't quite pin down whether there's a product on there ;). I like that effect :).

Lips: Boots No7 Moisture Drench lipstick in Cameo.

More pictures...

I wish this next one hadn't come out faded. But I still like it & will post it anyway.

Or maybe I like it because it's faded >:-D?

I almost deleted that one because of that shoebox, but ended up keeping it.

Thanks for reading :). Regular quality blogging should resume soon.

My fifth (!?!) award, and MANY things received from swaps ^_^.

[Note to self: Must not neglect my blog or I'll just have way too many things to deal with!]

I received this lovely award from Vonnie ^_^. Thank you so much for your kindness :).

Terms & Conditions For the Award Recipient:

1. Paste the Award Logo in your blog

2. Give out the award to 10 Blogs that you feels the most inspired and most friendly.

3. Make sure u back linked the recipients' blogs to your blog.

4. Inform the recipients about the award by leaving them comments on their blog

5. Give some love to the person who give you this award.

[I won't bother with the broken English XD. But for the record, it's not me, it's the original award text as received by me :-P. And anyway, it's the thought that counts ;) :).]

I know that while reading one of the 200+ blogs I follow, I saw somebody wondering where these awards originate. It's true, you know - don't you wonder too? Perhaps I'll create one someday and see how far it spreads :-P ;D...

10 Inspired Friendly Bloggers:

*Chomsiri
*Ji
*Posey
*Sofie
*Gracie
*Claire
*Care
*Kristine
*Kasumi
*Miku

This is what happens when one neglects tags >:-). I tried to pick people who haven't received this yet, and it was hard. And I'm not even 100 % sure that I've succeeded XD.

Alright, and THIS is what happens when one neglects swaps >:-D...
Or rather, neglects posting up her swaps ;). If anything, I swap too often :-P. Here we go though...As you will see, it's about time.

Swap 1 [Australia]. A.k.a. My Swap With Claire ;D ^_^!!!

(For my Lancome Travel Exclusive Sublime Seduction palette, and some extra stuff ;D.)

This is not the swap XD. This is a lovely note she wrote me :). So kind of her ^_^!

This is the actual swap ;)...

2 Chi Chi eye palettes in Cheerleader and Doing Cool :). And extras too :D! Soap ^_^! I love soap :). Much prefer it to shower gel, nice people take note ;D.

[Her handwriting is so pretty...Mine's so unreadable in its cursive form that I have to write in print when I need others to be able to read what I've written >:-).]

I gave the Fig one to my sister 'cause she loves fig, natural products, and receiving little gifts from me :-P. Am keeping the Godmother though, it smells amazing :).

Cheerleader is a fun colourful selection ^_^. Doing Cool is more of a practical palette ;). For me at least, its colour selection works well for daily looks: there's blue & brown, and a pink and an orange :).
I love both :D. Thank you SO much Claire ^_^.

Swap 2 [The USA].

(For an Elizabeth Arden quad & Avon duo in Starlight.)

The jewellery was a much loved Easter gift to my sister ;D :). The Lancome pouch is mine though :). I normally abhor animal print, but for some reason I was really attracted to this, and I love it ^_^.

Swap 3 [The USA again, different swapper].

(For 2 Maybelline quads in Sapphire Ice & Emerald Isle, one L'Oreal Milla Jovovich Star Secrets trio, one Rimmel shadow in Saucy Mint, one Rimmel Duo in Sky, one L'Oreal lipstick in Nude and one Maybelline lipstick in Natural Rosewood.)

4 L.A. Colors palettes in Soiree, Wine & Roses, Enchanted and Tranquil, 3 KleanColor trios (they don't have names :-/), one Revlon Matte eye shadow in Riviera Blue, one Physicians Formula quad in Earth Minerals, and one lime waterproof mascara. Impulse swap on that one XD. Better than impulse buys :-P ;D.

I swapped the L.A. Colors & top KleanColor trio off 'cause I know somebody who had them on her wishlist, and I could survive without them ;). Will swap the Revlon off for the same reason. But I'm so happy with the things I'm keeping ^_^!

Swap 4 [The USA, yet another swapper].

(For my Elizabeth Arden lip balm tin in Berry Sun, Stila lip tint in Berry, Maybelline Forever Metallic Lites lipstick in Red Star, and extras ;D.)

Prestige eye shadow in Love (finally found it ^_^, it's the perfect true rose), an Estee Lauder gloss in Raspberry Pop, a Mike & Ike lip balm that is much more like a gloss, a Hershey's chocolate gloss that is much more lika a balm (lol), and a Bourjois mini pigment in 9. May swap that one off 'cause it's similar to my new Annabelle pigment in Azure, but I'm still undecided ;).

The Hershey's was an extra :), as was the Dove sample. Swapped that off, I hate Dove XD >:-).

Swap 5 [Sweden].

(For my Elizabeth Arden Perfect Cinnamon lipstick, and extras ^_^.)

This arrived gift-wrapped :'). I should've taken a pic, but of course I was too excited & opened it immediately XD.

What caught my attention about this BeYu (German brand, if I'm not mistaken) polish was the 'handle bitten by a 2 year old' in its description. I'm weird >:-).

But this is The most gorgeous lime I have ever seen. I am so happy to have it :). Will wear it a lot this summer ;D...

And she included some kind of purple hard sweets as an extra XD. They're surprisingly OK :-P, or maybe I just like the challenge of chewing them up >:-D.

Swap 6 [England].

(For my L'Oreal Transparent Red & Maybelline Forever Metallics Orange Fusion lipsticks.)

I got the Bourjois white chocolate powder ^_^!!!

And there's more XD. A Models Prefer blush in Pretty In Paisley that has the most beautiful blush compact I have ever seen, and a Dior lipstick in Golden Mirage (been looking for a gold for a while, I hope this works) ;).

Extras too: an Olay mask (that I gave away) and Milani Luminous. I know somebody who wants this & have messaged her about it ;D...

Unboxed:

Opened:

Swap 7 [Italy].

(For my Maybelline Burgundy lipstick, a L'Occitane almond soap and Lancome Miracle mini shower gel.)

This arrived in an extra cosmetics pouch ^_^! I'm not thrilled by the fact that it's Playboy >:-), but I love that sheer pink fabric so I'm keeping it :).

Sunscreen. Thank God. And since this has been tested on the Himalayas, it should work in Greece >:-). A blue mineral eye shadow in Cloudless Sky (can't find the brand written anywhere and I don't remember what it was >:-D), and an orange lip liner. For the summer ;). The brand is Goldfinger.

Swap 8 [Belgium].

(For a Korres shampoo I bought her.)

Clinique Comforting Cream Cleanser ^_^, Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Make-Up Solvent (had the chance to try this in the meantime & it's good, I may buy a full-size one), Estee Lauder mini Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Creme SPF 15 (that was for my mother), and Pupa loose eye shadow in 1. That Pupa is so much better than I'd expected - it's amazing. Swatch it if you have the opportunity & you'll see what I mean ;).

Swap 9 [The USA, another swapper].

(For a Saledo eye & lip duo, and extras ^_^.)

My first ever Mark palette :), in Sydney. 7 more to go XD. (Well, actually 6 'cause one is on its way to me ;D.) And a MAC extra...Black SolarBits :). Unbelievable.
Will need to come up with a good look for these, 'cause I don't want to waste them.

Opened:

And you can flip the palette around ;). Like this...

Swap 10 [The USA again & yet another swapper].

(For 2 Glamour palettes and one L'Oreal holographic eye shadow.)

Mark eye shadow in Vintage Khaki (will need to swap for a case), NYC blue liner (that thing is long), and a Skittles Lip Smacker :). The Dior foundation sample & Cover Girl shadow were extras ;D. Swapping the Cover Girl off, and I gave the Dior to my sister 'cause it was too dark for me ;).

Up next: Contest entries, reviews, and that HUGE swap ;)...

Thanks for reading :). And don't hate me for swapping so much - what can I say? I like nice things :-P ^_^.

My Make-Up Collection Part 1: The Rimmel Case.

As you may (or may not :-P) know, I have collected so much stuff that I need more than one case to store it in. Some bloggers keep their stuff in clear cases or train cases...Not me though - mine have to be cute :-P ^_^. In fact, two of them are Hello Kitty ;). (These, I will cover later.) But I chose to begin this series (yes, this will be on-going until I cover all my stuff ^_^) with another much-loved case...

This was a present from my sister for my 19th birthday :). I specifically asked for this XD, and not because of the make-up it came with (wasn't much: Rimmel mascara, nail polish, a shadow duo and a foundation sample that was too dark so I gave it to her, but it was too dark even on her and she had issues getting it off 'cause it was a long-lasting one so she had to go to school with a mismatched face - lol, sorry for getting off-topic there XD)...I fell in love with that case :). It's just so nice and black and red and lovely ^_^.

Close-up of the Rimmel logo 'cause it's pretty :-P.

So...What do I keep in there ;D?

Well, the top section houses this lot...

Yup. Pencils :), and whatever tools I don't keep in the Shoebox ;D (will do a post on that too eventually).

Read on for pictures and lists of everything I have in there ^_^.

Tools and similar stuff:

*A little Clinique zip-up case I use to store various sponge applicators, little brushes, spatulas, eyelash curler spare pads, and any tiny tools (so they don't get lost). There's also a lash & brow comb in there ;).

*My 2 sharpeners: Tigi for normal and fat pencils, and Styli-Style for their flat pencils.

*Mascara wands, I keep them ;).

*Brushes: a MaxFactor one that came as a gift with (lol) sanitary pads, so I'm not even sure it's genuine :-P, Estee Lauder (lip and eye - but my sister discovered that the lip one works great as a liner brush :-/) and Oriflame (eye and lip).

Styli-Style Flat Pencils:

Styli-Style Flat Pencils in Rio, Paris, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Venice, Cairo, Left Bank, Soho, Monte Carlo, Madison and Aspen.

Another pic of these, from the back:

For your information, I didn't steal that 'Tester' pencil, they let me have it :-P. They had no Left Banks left except the tester, so they didn't need it anymore ;).

Eye shadow sticks, and mechanical liners:

Avon Colour Trend Bright Lights Shadow Stix in Pink Pops, Orange Crush, Vibrant Violet and Totally Turquoise, Rimmel Lash Maxxx Shadow & Liner in Pink Impact, and Oriflame Daydream Eye Definers in Free Spirit, Escape, Wander, Peace and Serene.

Pencil liners:

Oriflame Visions Dynamic Duos in Laurel & Hardy, Jekyll & Hyde, Aladdin & Yasmin, Batman & Robin, Thelma & Louise and Tom & Jerry, Oriflame Retro Chic Kajal, Avon Arabian Glow liners in Gold, Turquoise and Emerald, ArtDeco Kajal Liners in 20 and 32, and Soft Kajal Liner in 68, Tigi Bed Head Big Fat Fun Liner in Lilac, and Styli-Style Line & Seal in Smokey Quartz.

Lip liners:

ArtDeco Magic Lip Corrector 01, Oriflame Visions Read My Lips lip liners in Don't Talk Just Kiss, Nibble My Ear and Loud 'N' Clear, and Styli-Style lip liner in Tangerine.

Fat and little pencil liners (lol) ^_^:

Oriflame Visions Eye Shimmer Pencils in Shimmer Pink, Shimmer Silver and Shimmer Gold, Oriflame Visions Snow Scene Glitter Eye Pencils in Pink Ice and Silver Snow, Pupa eye liners from the Optical Red palette (gold) and the Optical Rose palette (silver), Miss Sporty Eye Pencil in Sapphire, Rimmel Eye Liner Pencil in Big Blue, Styli-Style Line & Seal eye liners in Twilight Crepuscule and Tanzanite, the silvery grey end of an old Oriflame Visions duo pencil (I used up all of the white end), and ArtDeco Camouflage Stick in 3.

That ArtDeco concealer is too dark for me, so if anyone wants to swap for it, let me know ;). And it also was something they let me have, for the same reason as Styli-Style Left Bank :-P.

That was the top section. The lower section contains...

Lip balms :).

A whole lot of lip balms ;D. I tried to collect them all for the blog, and I think I have, but there might be another one or two somewhere in a bag or pocket, you know how these things are XD. But I think they're all there :). Except the Burt's Bees lip balm from my swap with Sarah, 'cause I took the pics before receiving that ;).

Lip Smackers:

Frosty Favourites Collection (contains 2 Lip Smackers and a clear gloss), Giant Lip Smackers in Cotton Candy and Strawberry, and Lip Smackers in Strawberry Kiwi, Vanilla Lights, Berry Heavenly, Magical Melon, Cool Raspberry Ice, Party Berry, Marshmallow and Spun Sugar Shine - these were all from a party pack.

Labellos:

Top row: Limited Edition Classic, 2 different Limited Editions of Pearl & Shine, Velvet Rose, Sensitive, Med Protection and Hydro Care.
Second row: Cherry Kiss, Strawberry Kiss, Passion Fruits, Sweet Melon, Mandarin Vanilla, Sun and UV Alpin.

Oriflame (the first four are from Visions):

Strawberry, Berry, Mint, Tropics, Lollipop, Cranberry, 2 Winter Balms, and the classic Oriflame Lip Balm. I think I'll swap one of the Winter Balms away, but the problem is that they look identical so I have no idea which has been used (I used one of these maybe once or twice, and the other one's brand new).

Others:

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula SPF 20 Lip Balm, Avon Care Vita Nourish Lip Balm, Avon Care Valentine's Day Special Edition Lip Balm, Softlips Cocktails Mexican Sunrise lip balm, and Bebe Young Care lip balms in Rose Tendre and Silky Vanilla.

That was the Rimmel case, ladies :). Next: Hello Kitty Eye - that is, the Hello Kitty case that houses my eye shadows...But I may have to move them soon, 'cause it's literally overflowing XD. I have so much eye stuff...And I still want more :D! Lol. They're all different though ;). Mostly XD.

Swatches and reviews on request ;).

If you want to swap for anything, you can ask...But I may say no :-P. Or I might say yes. Depends on the items ;).

Thanks for reading :D! I hope this post was pleasurable :-P...I know I love looking at other people's collections :), so I hope some of my readers do too ^_^.