REVIEW: Sleek MakeUP 'Candy Collection' Blush Palette and iDivine

Sleek MakeUP's latest collection is one that's bound to get your sweet tooth tingling and hands shaking coins out of your purse...Pastels, pinks, girly hues and pops of loud tropical colour - the 'Candy Collection' looks the perfect addition to anyone's Summer make-up routine. Counted your coins yet? Got enough for a palette and some parma violets? Excellent, lets begin...

Firstly, I have to say that I really like the outer sleeves! I'm a sucker for packaging, we all know this by now - how long until it's looking a bit grotty in the bottom of my make-up bag, though?!

 The 'Sweet Cheeks' blush trio consists of three sugar sweet shades in different textures. Each shade is well pigmented and blends beautifully, though I have a feeling some may struggle getting 'Dolly Mix' (the central shade) to show up on their skin seeing as it is so pale.

'Cupcake' is a pink-plum, cool toned cream blush which makes a nice base for the other two shades. The central shade, 'Dolly Mix', is a very pale, matte pink-lilac which would work well on milky white complexions but probably quite ashy and synthetic on anyone with a darker skintone. I'm fairly certain 'Candy Floss', a warm, flattering, shimmering coral pink with hints of lilac is set to be everyone's favourite from this trio!

 To compliment the purple-pink tones of the blush trio, we have the Candy Collection iDivine palette - pairing ladylike hues of pink with lively kicks of chartreuse and aqua. Packaging is the standard iDivine variety - plain black with a large mirror. The palettes are fairly sturdy, but be careful since the hinges have an annoying habit of snapping, leaving the lid loose.

The first half of the palette contains three shimmery pinks, a deep matte purple, matte black and a slightly purple-grey toned steel blue.

The second half is home to three shimmery greens, a frosty white and two matte shades - purple and blue.
Each colour is named after a retro type of sweet - sour apple, aniseed, parma violet, pear drop, mint creams...If you don't end up with a craving for something sugary, weighed on old fashioned scales and popped into a brown paper bag then I'm simply lost for words. I mean...come on. 
Better make a move if you fancy owning one of these palettes, as they are limited edition. The blush palette will set you back £9.99, the iDivine £7.99. Available online and in Superdrug.
Are you tempted by any of these sweet treats?
* Items received for review consideration. All opinions 100% my own and 100% honest - as always!
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REVIEW: Sleek MakeUP 'Matte Me' and 'Gloss Me' Lip Colours

Whether you're a matte miss or a gloss girl, Sleek's new collection of lip colours has something just for you. Celebrating an array of shades from nude to neon, Sleek MakeUP is well and truly on the ball with these 'Matte Me' and 'Gloss Me' lip colours.

'Matte Me' shades are 'liquid lipsticks' - much like Sleek MakeUP's pout paints, but creamier, matter, longer lasting and with better packaging. I found that since these are so strongly pigmented, you have to be very careful applying directly from the tube to avoid wobbly lines and patchiness. They appear a bit glossy at first, but once they've dried down - super matte.

 [ Sleek 'Rioja Red' and 'Brink Pink' matte me lip colours ] 

When I say that 'Matte Me's are long lasting, I mean loooooong lasting. As an idea, I applied 'Rioja Red' as 4, stormed 20 minutes down the road in the boiling Sun eating a Magnum lolly, arrived home at 6, had a brew, then had to scrub if off with olive oil. My friends, that is one Hell of a long lasting lip colour.

The downside is that they're quite drying and prone to patchiness if you're not careful with your application.

'Gloss Me' glosses are super shiny and full of sparkle. They aren't sticky or gloopy and feel comfortable to wear. The shades I received are semi-sheer and look lovely over lipsticks to give a bit more dimension.

[ Sleek MakeUP 'Rosé' and 'Kiss and Tell' gloss me lip colours ]

'Gloss Me' glosses are fairly long lasting, but as with all glosses don't expect them to last through brews and butties.

'Kiss and Tell' - Blue toned red with baby pink and violet sparkle.

'Rosé' - Sugar pink with pale pink and silver sparkle.

'Rioja Red' - Blue toned, deep red.

'Brink Pink' - Neutral, eye seeringly neon pink.

Sleek MakeUP 'Matte Me' lip colours will be available in six shades and launch on August 28th in Superdrug stores, July 28th online. RRP £4.99.
Sleek MakeUP 'Gloss Me' lip colours will also be available in six colours, with an RRP of £4.99. Launch date July 31st - I'm assuming both online and in store.
Overall, great products very worthy of at least a little swatch session should you spot them in store. Are any of these shades taking your fancy?
Products received for review consideration. All opinions 100% mine and 100% honest - as always.
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VEGGIE TASTY: Super Chocolatey Rolo Brownies

Oooh, it's been a while since I posted anything for 'Veggie Tasty', hasn't it?! Fear not, for I am back with a recipe both herbivores and omnivores would happily devour - gooey, chocolately rolo brownies! I'll admit that I'm not usually a brownies kinda gal, 99% of brownies I've ever had have been dry, bland and generally 'meh' - not what you want from a sweet treat. I decided to try and rectify their usual short falls with a crap tonne of chocolatey goodness...

INGREDIENTS 50g Cocoa Powder  250g Caster Sugar 50g Golden Granulated Sugar (or brown sugar) 250g Self Raising Flour 100g Milk Chocolate Chips/ Chunks (optional) 4 eggs 4 Packets of Rolos 1 tbsp Hersheys Chocolate Syrup (optional) Slog of Vanilla Extract (optional)

1. Fling everything but the rolos into a bowl and blitz with an electric whisk until smooth. You don't even need to sift the flour or cocoa powder - seriously - just chuck it in!
2. Line a 4cm deep baking dish with grease proof paper. I always ignore dish sizes in recipes - just eyeball it, so long as the dish is fairly deep and a reasonable size, you're fine. You can use a bit of butter to keep the paper in place.

3. Pour roughly half of the mix into the dish and smooth it out a bit. Cut the rolos in half and press them lightly into the mix, You can be all neat and fancy like me (for once) or just chuck them on - either way, it'll taste the same!

4. Once your rolos are in place, spoon the mix over the top and be sure to cover all the rolos (this will stop them from burning).

5. Cook at 180 degrees for 35 minutes, then cover in foil and bake for a further 10. Prod all over with a pokey thing (technical terms) to see if it's cooked through - keep in mind it will still be a bit gooey thanks to all of that molten chocolate and caramel.

6. Leave the brownie in it's dish for ten minutes cooling, then turn it out onto a wire rack (the grill rack will do) and leave it to cool completely. Slice it up and enjoy!
Looking in the cake tin this morning and seeing only five pieces left, I can see it was quite a success with my family! I can't blame them really - all of those rolos and chocolate chunks melting into the sponge makes this a seriously good brownie recipe.
VARIATIONS
Orange Chocolate Brownies - Swap the rolos for Terry's chocolate orange and the vanilla extract for orange essence. 
Not Really Brownies Raspberry Brownies - Leave out the cocoa powder and use 300g or flour. Use white chocolate chips and a layer of raspberries instead of rolos.
Mint Chocolate Brownies - Swap the rolos for mint aero chunks or mint cremes. I wouldn't advise swapping the vanilla for mint essence unless you like the idea of toothpaste flavour cake...
Grown Up Brownies - Leave out the rolos and swap milk chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips. Add 3 tablespoons of any decent alcohol (rum, baileys and coffee liqueur seem popular).
Oreo Brownies - Swap the rolos for crushed up oreos.

Are you going to try rolo brownies or any of the variations? Do you agree that they're usually pretty bland? Link me to your favourite brownies recipe!
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FOTD/ Catch Up: Rockabilly Beat

Hola! I figure it's about time we had a bit of a catch up since the last one feels like forever ago. Go grab a few rich teas and a brew and lets see where we're up to...

A few of you may know that recently I started working behind a bar to get a few extra pennies in over the Summer. I wasn't sure what to expect since I'd never done bar work, but it's been a lot of fun! I've only done a grand total of three shifts, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Heck, can't knock a bar that plays The Cure, The Clash and Fleetwood Mac though, can you?! 

This is what I've been wearing on my face while pulling pints, mashing mojitos and other such tasks.
EYES: TFSI, FashionistA brow kit as eyeshadow, MUA liquid eyeliner, Avon gel eyeliner, NYC black eyeshadow, mascara.
FACE: Collection 'Lasting Perfection' concealer, Maybelline 'Fit Me' foundation, Illamasqua 'Hussy' blush, NYC bronzer, Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder.
LIPS: Rimmel lip pencil in 'Red Diva'
Somehow, it survives eight or more sweaty hours rather well - even the lip pencil. I think it's down to my super bargain £1 Asda's own mattifying moisturiser!

I spotted a massive bunch of lillies in Morrisons reduced to £1.89 AND THEY HADN'T EVEN OPENED YET...so my sister bought them for me. We do excellent shopping. They looked a bit crushed once they'd actually started opening so they're now spread across three vases. 

Speaking of my sister, she's due to have a baby in just a few weeks, on my dad's birthday to be exact! The whole family is obviously super excited, I can't wait to meet my niece/ nephew and be the only favourite aunty.
What's going on with you lot lately? Anything new and exciting happening? Do tell!
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REVIEW: Ren 'Moroccan Rose Otto' Body Wash

Ren have been kicking up a bit of a quiet storm in the beauty world since their launch thirteen years ago. It's easy to see why when you know how they use only pure, simple, effective ingredients and leave out a huge list of 'nasties' and irritants - ideal for sensitive skin. I've been keeping an eye on Ren for quite some time but with so many lovely products I simply couldn't decide what to buy, so you can imagine my delight when 'Moroccan Rose Otto' body wash came through my door...

Moroccan Rose Otto oil is produced from hand picked roses grown up in the Atlas mountains - so luxurious is this beautifully scented oil that it is now one of the most expensive in the world. Ren combine this gorgeous oil with palmarosa and geranium oils to create the uplifting, relaxing fragrance ideal for winding down in the evenings. 
I found the scent to be sophisticated and mature, yet not over bearing. It is fairly strong in the shower but leaves behind a light rose scent on the skin which shouldn't muddy perfumes or body sprays. I loved following this with simple Palmers cocoa butter body lotion as it created a stunning 'roses and white chocolate' fragrance - amazing!

Not only is Ren's 'Moroccan Rose Otto' body wash lovely to smell and use, but it's free from ingredients that many people avoid, it's made in the UK, packaging is responsibly sourced and it's won the InStyle 'Best Body Wash' award for eleven years in a row! Impressive? I think so.
200ml will set you back £17, which I would usually call extortionate for a body wash, but considering the research, formula and ingredients which have gone into 'Moroccan Rose Otto' body wash I think Ren can just about get away with it.
If you fancy an indulgent treat, you can purchase this body wash from the Ren website. If you think 'Moroccan Rose Otto' sounds perfect for your mum/ aunt/ sister/ nan/ whoever, check out the gift sets!
* PR item received for review consideration. All opinions 100% mine and 100% honest as always!
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Lady Boys of Bangkok Make-up Challenge with Stargazer

Not too long ago, myself and a few other bloggers were chosen to be part of a make-up challenge to celebrate The Lady Boys of Bangkok 'Glamorous Amorous' show. Stargazer were kind enough to sponsor the challenge and provided everyone with some intriguing bits of make-up to include in our looks...

The lady boys of Bangkok always have very clean, elegant, beautiful make-up yet Stargazer scream 'FUN! BOLD! GLITZ! LOOK!' to me - so I tried to merge both styles. I kept my base pale and loaded on the black 'liner - deciding if I were in the show I'd definitely be the odd looking outcast! My act would be singing 80's goth songs in a diva-esque way - fabulous.

The eye make-up consisted of a base of Stargazer white foundation with matte white eyeshadow applied over the top, a rich metallic red blended through the edges, the black eyeshadow blended through were the red and white meet...

I then dabbed Stargazer gold glitter eyeliner all around where the red blended into my foundation and applied black gems with eyelash glue.

To finish the eyes, I lined the upper and lower lashline and applied two sets of lashes - natural ones on top and some gold glitter tipped Stargazer ones on the bottom. I love applying lashes to the bottom lid, it can completely transform a look.

For the lips, I fancied an ombre style. Starting by filling the lips with Stargazer 137 (deep metallic green) to darken the bold cherry red I applied over the top, I then blended a deep red from the edges, then applied Stargazer 134 (red bronze) lipstick in the center. I then dabbed some Stargazer gold glitter eyeliner over the top.

I finished the look with some Stargazer bronzer and the slightest touch of Stargazer blush in number 12 (bubblegum pink) and that was that! Lady Boys of Bangkok look complete!
To learn more about The lady Boys of Bangkok 'Glamorous Amorous' show or treat yourself to tickets, head here.
To have a peak at what Stargazer has to offer, head here.
What do you think to my look? Are you loving those glitter lashes as much as I am?!
* Some Stargazer product mentioned received as part of the challenge. As always, I would not post about products/ events/ companies unless I freely and happily choose to.
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GIVEAWAY - 10 NYC Nail Polishes!

NYC sent along a bunch of polishes from their most recent collections and they're all yours. Or could be...if you enter to win them!

Check out all of those lovely colours! Included in this giveaway are...

Three new Spring shades in 'Raindrop', 'Spring Tulip' and 'Blue Sky'.

Gold foil polish and a smoky topcoat.

The whole 'Foil Explosion' collection - super '90s! To enter, do any of the following: 1. Comment with your email address or twitter name. 2. Tweet 'I've entered @beautysbadhabit @NewYorkColor nail polish giveaway - have you? http://bit.ly/10sWf49' 3. 'Share' the post on facebook from my page and tell me in the comments here, with either your email address or twitter name. Sorry, but this is open to UK residents only due to customs restrictions.  Entries will close Friday 31st May - good luck! Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter