Blush Crush: VIVO Sweet Peach

You know that feeling when it just doesn't feel right to wear anything but a certain product, and it's just like that day after day? I love it! These days it's been happening to me with this gorgeous blusher:

(That's my cyclamen Bellinda in the background! :D)

This is the VIVO Blush with Highlighter Duo in Shade 3, Sweet Peach. I received this in my VIVO goody bag when I went to the TOWIB Winter Warmer, and out of all the products I thought I'd like this the least - how wrong was I?!

The left side is a highlighter, that on my skin turns out slightly ashy due to its pink-tones so I haven't really used it yet - although I think it might be nice as an eyeshadow, and better as a highlighter on cooler skintones. I have just read the back and it says that you could swirl the 2 colours together - I may give that a shot soon! The consistency is smooth and not powdery nor too stark!

The right side is the part that I am ADORING. It's just the prettiest peachy pink that goes with absolutely anything and is definitely natural-looking on my NC30-35 skintone. It's what I wanted MAC Melba and NARS Torrid to be! I am such a snob when it comes to make-up and while I do have my reasons (the biggest one being staying power, which admittedly this blusher does lack in comparison to my favourite high-end blushes), sometimes I do overlook the beautiful shades that are available outside department stores.

I also adore the metallic packaging and how huge the product is so you can just dunk your brush in there! :) I just wish it had a mirror (which would counter-act the minus of the staying power a bit, so I could take it out and easily top-up) but it's also nice that you can see the product from the outside.

Left to Right: Illamasqua Rude, MAC Melba, VIVO Sweet Peach, NARS Torrid, ArtDeco Blush 19

The most similar is indeed MAC Melba, but VIVO Sweet Peach is just a tad lighter and a tad pinker. It's also a satin-ey finish which is different to any of the colours swatched above, and adds to the naturalness of the finish. I apply this with my MAC 109 brush as I find it isn't SO pigmented that it is unnatural or that you have to concentrate on how much you are putting on, but it's pigmented enough that it shows up.

Would I buy another shade? Maybe if I find another perfect shade. The packaging, colour and finish is PERFECT, but staying power really is important to me as I am the crappest of crap at retouching make-up. I'll always pick the more expensive product if I know it'll last longer - mainly cuz if you don't have to touch up, you'll use less product anyway! At the end of the day, it may be less money, but it's still hard earned money!

But I probably wouldn't have picked it up myself so I'm really glad to have it - now I just need to find a Tesco to check out their other goodies! :)

Have you tried any VIVO blushers?

What has been your go-to blush recently? :)

<3yu

TOWIB: My First Blogging Event

Ever since I first heard about such things as blogging events, I wanted to go. But living in the middle of nowhere it was often impossible to make it to big events.. also probably would've helped to be invited to something LOL :P So for me, when TOWIB (The Only Way is Blogging) started happening, I was really excited!

Sadly, for the first event I was en-route to London with my boyfriend to pick up my parents from the airport - yeah, not so much a, "You can do it yourself right, I'll see you at the hotel!" kind of thing :P So this Winter Warmer was pencilled in as early as August so I can make sure there will be no family obligations in my way ;P This time it was at a bar in Green Park - lovely :)

Did I enjoy it? I did! Sadly I was an airhead as usual and brought a camera, a camera charger but no SD card so I'd refer you to other posts for photographs of the event :) But the event as a whole was a interesting experience for me, mainly because I got to see George and Anna again, and meet some bloggers I've been reading their blogs for forever like Siobhan and Lauren, and also got introduced to new blogs like Gem's and Suzie's. My main reason for going was to meet people, but the demonstrations by make-up artists were so fun to watch, and it was just really cool to see in real life how a pro does make-up on a model. I wasn't so sure about the setting/layout, or if the other talks were my cuppa tea, but others seemed to enjoy them which is always good! :)

The make-up artists that were there were from FashionistA and VIVO. They both had 3 presentations each - FashionistA had 3 from the runway, and VIVO had 3 that was more street-friendly. It was a good contrast to have! FashionistA did a blue smokey look, a feline look and a blusher look, and VIVO did a vampire, golden and bold lip look. Lots of variety and "Ooo"s and "Ahh"s on my behalf :P

I'd never heard of FashionistA, but really liked the idea of the customizable palettes - SURPRISE! :P So was really excited when we got to choose our own palette to take home and play around with! I'm hoping I'll see them around in store so I can get some more bits to put in :) The one I chose was used for a dark blue smokey eye - a bit scary but something I've wanted to try out for ages! The mirror is absolutely maHUsive (even bigger than my ArtDeco one) so I'm keen on carrying it around with me!

VIVO - how could you not have heard of them? When they first said they'll be sold only in Tesco, I was like, "Pshyeah awesome." Err, do you know how hard it is to find a bloody Tesco that's not metro or express in central London? So I was a VIVO-virgin, and am now so glad I'm not! I tried many of the products they gave us yesterday and I was really impressed, even with the packaging! The goody bag I got contained products that were used for a bold lip, subtle everything-else look, which I haven't got nailed down so I wanted to give it a shot again :) I love the metallic black packaging- it's very chic and SUCH a good change from a boring black plastic that many budget brands seem to resort to. And, the lip products - OHHHH MY. They smell DELICIOUS. I want to eat them.


I think my favourite product out of everything so far has been the VIVO blusher, which I thought was going to be my least favourite. The colour is GORGEOUS, it is a fool proof, peachy pink with a slight iridescence.

So yes, it's Monday again and I had a great weekend. Sunday was spent in Canary Wharf with the boy watching the Three Musketeers (AMAZING) and shopping around, as well as having a delicious and cheap Sunday roast! Today is actually kind of still the weekend for me as I have no classes, but I have a lovely dinner planned at a posh restaurant (did any of you take advantage of the London Restaurant Festival!? :)) for me and the boy's 3 year anniversary :) I cannot wait!

Do you remember your first event?

Have you tried any FashionistA or VIVO cosmetics? :)

<3yu