Poppy King for No.7 Lip Crayon vs Clinique Chubby Sticks

I was pretty impressed by the original Poppy King for No.7 range sold in Boots last year being a fan of Lipstick Queen, but was confused in my local store when they removed the No.7 Spring collection (which I wanted to buy) and replaced it with Poppy King. Again I thought? I didn't give it a second glance and rather stupidly, spent my £5 vouchers on mascara as I knew I already had the majority of the lipsticks and lip glosses from Poppy King. It was only when browsing the Boots website I realised a new product had come out, the Rain Drops Lip Crayon. Obviously I have been just as lax in reading beauty blogs as I have in writing my own!

Poppy King for No.7 Lip Crayons and Clinique Chubby Sticks

Firstly, let me confess I adore jumbo pencils/crayons of all types, be they eyeliner, lipstick, lip gloss, even concealer. I am lazy and appreciate anything that saves me time. I have long been a fan of the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils and tried out Clinique's Chubby Sticks last year, the latter turning into a gym bag staple. My only issue with the Chubby Sticks is that half the colours I don't find that appealing or exciting. I was very excited to see then the new Poppy King offerings as they are just my kind of colours. I have 3 Chubby sticks, 05 Chunky Cherry, a muted red, 07 Super Strawberry, a raspberry shade, and finally my favourite, 06 Woppin' Watermelon, a cool pink.

Left to right: Poppy King for No.7 Lip Crayons in Dancing, Singing and Playing

To keep things fair, I have purchased 3 Poppy King Lip Crayons to compare, in a vaguely similar shade range. Singing is a fuchsia pink, Playing a surprisingly vibrant coral and Dancing, a lighter pinky peach. The big difference between the two products is that the Chubby Sticks are twist up but the Poppy King have a sharpener attached to the lid. I prefer to sharpen them because my chubby Sticks were blunt after one use. This isn't a huge problem but it is easier to get a precise shape with Poppy King. This is useful as when swatched, her colours are far more vivid. They remind me more of a semi sheer lipstick rather than a tinted balm, similar in fact to the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils. I hope that the big difference in pigment comes through in the photos.

There are two colours left in the Poppy King range that I have yet to buy, a red and a dark berry. The lip crayons have surpassed my expectations and I will definitely be purchasing the other two when my credit card has recovered after the announcement yesterday of Le Metier de Beaute's arrival at Zuneta. No.7 was on 3 for 2 when I last checked so if you are interested in the lip crayons, now might be a good time to try them. There are £11.50 each from Boots but I never pay full price for any No.7 product, I always wait for either a voucher or a 3 for 2.

Swatches left to right: Poppy King Lip Crayon in Dancing, Singing, Playing, Clinique Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry, Chunky Cherry and Woppin' Watermelon

I still like my Clinique Chubby Sticks and they are slightly different enough colours to justify owning both, especially when I wear them daily, but Poppy King would win out if I was forced to choose only one brand. In terms of price and the amount of product you get, Clinique are more expensive at £13 but you get 3g of product, compared to 2.8g of Poppy King Lip Crayon. However, I prefer to think of the price of the Poppy King as around £7-8, as that is on average, what I pay when using the excellent Boots offers. If you wanted to try the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils but find them too expensive, the Poppy King Crayons are a great dupe. When I get a chance, I will do a comparison with those as well.

Poppy King for N0.7 is available at Boots online and in stores nationwide.

As a slight random aside, I saw the film Like Crazy today and would really recommend you see it if you get the chance. Starring Felicity Jones, it is probably the most realistic portrayal of young love I have ever seen on film. Along with Shame and The Hunger Games, it is my favourite film of the year so far.

Le Metier de Beaute arrives in the UK!

So probably every beauty blogger has possibly written about this today, I haven't checked, but today has turned into a wonderful day when the email arrived in my inbox saying Zuneta have started officially stocking Le Metier de Beaute, my favourite beauty brand in the world. What's more, they have the latest limited edition Northern Lights Lip and Eye kaleidoscopes in stock (lip one is now sold out).

I have been keeping up to date with kaleidoscopes thanks to some lovely American beauty bloggers but for once, I won't have to bother them anymore and can finally get Le Metier nail polish (you aren't meant to send it from the US to UK). I will try and write some posts in the next week on my favourite Le Metier items and contain my excitement but to give you an idea how much I love this brand, when considering holiday destinations last month I very nearly chose a cold Boston over Dubai and Abu Dhabi simply because they stock Le Metier. In the end hot weather won but not before I had worked out how much it would cost me to order the products I wanted from Nordstrom, expensive shipping and all. There is no other brand I would go to these extreme lengths for.

Less than two minutes after I saw the Zuneta email, I bought the latest kaleidoscope and I am having to sit on my credit card to not go crazy and buy more. Zuneta and Le Metier = one very happy Easter!

Beauty in Abu Dhabi & other random ramblings

I'm heading away for a couple of days on Sunday, very last minute and for the first time in about 5 years. We've finally decided on Abu Dhabi but as a beauty blogger, obviously my main concern (aside from how to look half decent in a bikini) is what beauty brands are available out there?

I haven't been to UAE for about a decade so I'm guessing it is a totally different place to the one I left behind. If anyone has been recently or is local or just generally has any more knowledge than me, I would love to know what brands are worth looking out for. Is anything in particular cheaper than the UK i.e. OPI nail polish, Tom Ford. Is Le Metier de Beaute stocked anywhere in Abu Dhabi, or is that too much to hope? I seem to remember someone mentioning Rouge Bunny Rouge had counters in Abu Dhabi, is that true? Which are the best malls to visit? I think you get the idea.

Finally, Heathrow Terminal 5. Any idea which brands are stocked in duty free aside from the traditional MAC, Estee Lauder, Dior, Chanel etc? As I've got older I have become more and more petrified of flying, so my plan is to take my mind off it by thinking about duty free instead. Typical that the one time I decide to go away temperatures are a very sunny 18C here in England!

As it has been a while since I updated, here are some very random things I had been loving recently.

Michael Fassbender as Brandon in Shame

Being a huge fan of Michael Fassbender, I was desperate but a little apprehensive to see Shame. My fears were made all the worse when I turned up to buy my ticket at the cinema and the guy serving me stared in disbelief that I wanted to see that film, and then checked to see if I knew what it was about. In case you have been living under a rock, it is about sex addiction. I happened to be the only one in the whole cinema, possibly a good thing, would have felt more awkward if there had been just one other person in there.

It was fantastic though. Fassbender is absolutely amazing, nailing a tough subject to portray and it is a crime he wasn't nominated for an Oscar. Much as I like The Artist, this performance was far superior. The director should also be praised for his whole approach, I have seen perfume adverts on TV that are more sex than the explicit sex scenes in Shame. I hope the film gets a wider release as I couldn't fault it.

Chanel Illusion D'ombre - Emerville

After months of wanting it, I caved yesterday and bought another of the Chanel cream eyeshadows that were released last year. I already have the khaki and mauve ones but don't reach for them as often as I should. Yesterday I chose Emerveille, a subtle coppery tone, and it is the perfect everyday shade for my green eyes. I tried it out today for the first time and love it. it stayed place all day, took seconds to apply with a finger and works well with the Chanel cream bronzer which I got to help hide my milky white skin when on holiday.

Late last year I stupidly switched from using Ellis Faas Skin Veil (amazing) to Chantecaille Just Skin. After spending what seems like a small fortune on Chantecaille's Future Skin the year before and being distinctly underwhelmed, you'd have thought I'd know better, but no. Aside from giving almost no coverage at all (I realise it is their version of a tinted moisturiser, but still I expect some improvement to my normal skin), it made my skin break out like crazy.

I've been using all NV Perricone skincare products, courtesy of another QVC TSV, to try and repair the damage with some Alpha-H Vitamin E serum and La Roche Posey spot treatment. Apart from the few very angry red spots that refuse to disappear, my skin is looking fairly good, and I have been using Perricone No Foundation Foundation successfully for the last month. What I do have a problem with though is concealer.

As I am so pale, the red/purple spots really stick out and no concealer covers without looking cake or turning orange. So Far I have been trying Bobbi Brown creamy Concealer, MAC Studio Fix and Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer. EL turns orange, MAC is too drying and BB does very little at all. I have Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage but after 5 years have still not got the hang of using it properly. Ideally I want a good colour match for NW15-20 skin, something that blends well and doesn't highlight any dryness. Any ideas?

Whistles Wild Meadow Dress from Spring 2012 Collection

Enough about makeup for now and on to clothes. I love all things Whistles and this week bought a dress and skirt in a slightly crazy bright print which I love, and most of all it matches perfectly my Nails Inc Baker Street Nail Polish. Once my local store gets them in stock, I will be getting some fabulous electric blue skinny jeans. The Whistles Charlie skinny jeans are the only ones I have ever found that are comfy to wear and come in amazing colours. Best of all, they inevitably go in the sale so cost about £40. Not bad. They also have 25% off with Grazia magazine until 13th March.

Marni for H&M - top: £39.99

Having bypassed Versace

Finally, I realise that this is a very long and rambling blog post, blame it on all the accurate, concise legal drafting I am having to do elsewhere, I have to mention the Oscars. I thought the BAFTAs were far more entertaining and was disappointed at the turn out on the red carpet. My favourites by a mile were Jessica Chastain and Michelle Williams. The latter almost convinced me change my hair to a blonde pixie crop but I chickened out at the last minute. Who was your favourite?

I'm not the only one who loves the sun!

NOTD: Nails Inc Baker Street

I own a lot of Nails Inc polishes, mainly because I have bought quite a few QVC TSVs in my time, and last week was no different. However, I tend to overlook Nails Inc in favour of Chanel, OPI and Butter London, partly because it had almost got to saturation point when bottles were given away with magazines and drinks etc and also because I can't stand the shade names. I don't live in London so hardly any are familiar to me and at least with OPI, when the bottles are lined up in a drawer I can tell which colour I am picking up, with Nails Inc they all look identical, and after picking up the 10th bottle to search for a specific shade I lose patience!

2 coats of Nails Inc Baker Street + Caviar Top Coat

Anyway, Baker Street is the exception. Being a big fan of Sherlock, this name sticks in the mind and the shade is perfect. A real vibrant, bordering on neon, blue. I have at least a dozen blues but none quite like this. It is a definite electric blue and I have my eye on a pair of Whistles skinny jeans in this shade. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I much prefer it to a nude nail and it adds some interest to the most boring outfit.

I had full coverage with just one coat of Baker Street but applied two just in case, and topped it with Nails Inc Caviar top coat. The only downside is that it has chipped a lot (one chip was just two hours after application). I love the colour so much though that I would still repurchase it and I will be wearing it all through summer. This shade has made me realise why I bought so many colours from the brand originally and I will enjoy rediscovering them in the weeks to come.

Emma Hardie on QVC Beauty Day

A very quick post just to alert you to a fantastic new Emma Hardie kit on QVC. I started using Emma Hardie products over a year ago after getting a lot for Christmas and I haven't really stopped since. The star product is normally heralded as the Moringa Balm but every product deserves a gold star (and I've tried all but one). The great thing is that all of the products are reasonably priced compared to similar brands, as the sizes are so much bigger.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face set available at QVC

The set I wanted to mention contains a full size Moringa Cleansing Balm, a full size Professional Eye Serum, a full size Moisturising Cream, exfoliating seeds, professional cleansing cloth, slippers and most importantly a Votive Candle. I got the candle in a gift set last Christmas and it was the first scented candle I had ever used, let's just say it has started a slight obsession!

The best thing about the set is the price, it is £79.20 and currently on offer in 3 easy payments of £26.40 so the cost can be spread over 3 months. The full product details can be found here. If nearly £80 is too much, there are some cheaper starter kits also available that don't contain the full sizes but allow you to try the range. Remember that anything bought from QVC can be returned within 30 days even if used, which makes it my number one choice for skincare, allowing costly mistakes to be avoided.

I was lucky enough to attend a special talk by Emma herself back in summer and found her really inspirational. A lot of brands can feel so similar but speaking to Emma, you can see how much of herself and her background she has poured into the products. When I can take a break from law applications/interviews, I will write about all the products I have used in more detail but this evening I just wanted to let you know about this particular kit.

Chanel Jade vs Dior Waterlily NOTD

As you might have guessed from the title, I am of course talking about nail polish. The release a few years ago of Chanel Jade was what really sparked my interest in nails and I have been collecting colours ever since. Jade was very successful and incredibly difficult to get hold of so I thought that as Dior have just released a similar shade, a comparison might be useful in case you missed out first time around.

As you can hopefully tell from the above picture, Chanel Jade leans more Aqua than green. Both colours have a subtle turquoise micro shimmer running through them. The main difference to my eye is that the Chanel is cool toned, whereas the Dior is warm. The Dior is also meant to smell of flowers I think but that didn't influence my decision to buy it. Smelling it now, it sort of smell alike bad air freshener, so I would not buy it for scent alone!

3 coats of Chanel Jade applied + Nails Inc Caviar Top Coat

2 coats of Dior Waterlily applied + Nails Inc Caviar Top Coat

I don't own many Dior polishes so the different shaped brush has taken a bit of getting used to. The formula is quite a bit thicker than the Chanel, not necessarily a good thing. I had to use three coats of Chanel Jade and two of Dior Waterlily. I applied Jade to my left hand and Waterlily to my right and although I can tell the subtle difference, no one else has been able to yet. It is not often I am happy to go out with different colours on different hands but this gives you an indication of how similar the two shades are.

Bottom hand: Chanel Jade, Top Hand: Dior Waterlily

As I have cool undertones to my skin, I am always drawn to colours that are also cool, so unsurprisingly my favourite is the Chanel. However, if you missed out on it years ago or have warmer undertones, Waterlily is a great choice. Both are around the same price but you get 3ml more from Chanel.

Sorry for having been very lax on the posting front but January is a hectic time in the law recruitment cycle. I officially have my law degree now so it is on with the training contract applications. the applications are probably more time consuming than my studies and having to travel to London for interviews etc means I am seeing far too much of St Pancras International, and not enough of Space NK and Selfridges. If by some miracle I do get a training contract through the Tom Ford counter will be my first port of call. Hopefully I will have a bit more time to blog in the Spring and I will hold a giveaway at 250 followers as a thank you, something Edward bess shaped I think.

A very belated Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy Christmas!

Sorry I've been a bit lax on the posting recently. Law application deadlines are looming and the whole thing is like a full time job!

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you have a lovely Christmas and New Year. This is my first Christmas with a dog, and despite my best efforts to keep wrapping paper out of her reach, she still managed to find something to chew!

Looking somewhat sheepish....

On a final beauty related note, the Zuneta and Space NK sales have started already. There are some nice bits from By Terry at the latter and if you like Guerlain, House of Fraser has some products in the sale. My aim for 2012 is to hugely reduce my spending on beauty products so I will be refraining, but to the rest of you, happy shopping!

The wonder of eyelash extensions - Daxita Lashes

Ever since I first heard about them a couple of years ago, I have always wanted to try eyelash extensions. I am useless with false lashes and if I do manage to get them on after attempts in double figures, I am usually too scared to leave the house wearing them for fear a few hours later they will be stuck to my cheek. Although my lashes are naturally long, they lack thickness and the tips are fair so the length is lost unless I use mascara, and finding a mascara that doesn't smudge is a difficult mission. I hoped that extensions would solve this problem.

I admit I am not too keen on beauty treatments. I like them in theory, but in practise, the thought of a stranger in close proximity to my face fills me slightly with dread. Luckily, my curiosity and desire for beautiful lashes outweighed my fear and I got a full set of eyelash extensions in summer, just in time for bridesmaid's duty at my brother's wedding.

Eyelash extensions in action as a bridesmaid at my brother's wedding (would have been helpful if I had dieted before the wedding rather than after....)

Eyelash extensions have become a lot more popular in the last few years, particularly for brides, and are far more widely available, but on average they take around 2-3 hours to apply. What sets Daxita lashes apart is that Daxita herself specialises just in lashes and eyebrows and has done for years. This has meant she has developed her own technique which minimises application time. It took me less than 45 minutes for a full set (although this is advertised as taking 1 hour), which when I have considerable joint problems, made a huge difference. There is no way I would have been able to last a couple of hours.

Daxita herself couldn't have put me more at ease and she is an incredibly relaxing person, making something I had been very nervous about an enjoyable experience. There are 4 different looks you can go for with the lashes, ranging from natural to full on fake. I chose the natural but with some added length at the edges and centre. The application wasn't painful at all, maybe an odd sensation for the first few minutes but you quickly get used to it.

Daxita prides herself on knowing what will suit her clients, from face shape to lifestyle, and mine were perfect. So much so that when I went to get my hair done on the day of my brother's wedding, all the girls in the salon wanted to know exactly where I'd had my lashes done as they were so impressed. It took one brave girl about 30 minutes before she finally asked if I had extensions, as they look natural, and then everyone was gathered around having a look. 

Olivia Palermo

I have often looked at certain celebrities and wondered quite how they get such a lovely eye shape, almost like a cat eye but not using very heavy liner a la Angelina Jolie, think more Olivia Palermo and Olivia Wilde. Now I think I know the answer, eyelash extensions. The whole time I wore them I used barely any eye makeup because I didn't need it. The fullness and slight curve of the lashes gave the effect of eyeliner and it is a huge and welcome boost to the ego to be able to wake up and look far better than usual. Add to that never having to worry about mascara smudges etc, and you begin to realise their true value.

This brings me to the one downside of extensions though, they can easily become a very expensive addiction. You very quickly get used to seeing your face with this added benefit so when the lashes are finally no more, it is a bit of a shock. The lashes can last up to 6 weeks but in reality, they do need a little maintenance. After a couple of weeks, a few of the lashes were slightly askew so needed moving back into place. Usually at this stage though you would return to Daxita for maintenance, which costs £45 for 30 minutes, making them as good as new again. This, along with removal costs of £15 for 15 minutes, should really be factored in when you decide to go for extensions. As I don't live in London, I fooled myself into believing I could remove the extensions myself. Big mistake, do not try it, whatever the youtube videos say! You are much better off paying £15 than have puffy, weeping eyes for over a week. 

Wedding makeup including eyelashes

I think I have been very spoilt by having only experienced Daxita doing my lashes as I have heard many not so great stories from cheaper places. A full set costs £150 which is definitely a lot, but I would prefer to spend that and have it done well, than a little less and be very unhappy. One woman even did lash extensions herself and admitted she couldn't have done them as well as mine, let alone in such a short time, a testament to Daxita's expertise.

A few weeks after the wedding, my cousin got some lash extensions done locally and in my uncle's words, 'she had spiders attached to her eyes'. Not a look many people would intentionally want, so if you are considering eyelash extensions, don't go for the cheapest price, do your research first would be my advice.

As I was rather preoccupied with my brother's upcoming nuptials, I wasn't very experimental with eye makeup when I had the extensions as I wanted to keep them in pristine condition. You must avoid using oil based makeup and eye makeup removers as this can affect the glue, and obviously try not to rub your eyes, but other than that they are hassle free and lasted beautifully the two weeks between application and the wedding. I really regret not taking more photos immediately after I had my lashes done, but Modesty Brown has a great post on her experiences of the same lash extesnions, complete with comprehensive before and after photos, which you can see here.

Eyelash extensions 2 weeks after initial application in the context of my whole face

My eyelash extensions just before I attempted DIY removal. You can see that a few gaps are appearing and this is normally when you would go for maintenance, but the photo does demonstrate how dark the lashes are that I chose.

Even though lash extensions are a very expensive beauty treatment, I do think they are worth the price. For weddings and especially this time of year when there are plenty of parties and functions, I think they can give that extra bit of confidence and save a lot of time in terms of getting ready. To be frank, if I was dating, I would definitely try and budget (live on baked beans) so I could afford extensions all year round, that is how much I love them. Luckily for my costly Tom Ford habit, I'm not in that situation at the moment but when the time does come, I will be making another appointment with Daxita as I don't think I would trust anyone else.

Daxita Vaghela Eyelash Extensions are available at Atherton Cox, which is just off Marylebone High Street in London. For more information see here.

Full set of eyelash extensions costs £150

Maintenance costs £45

Eyelash removal cost £15

Disclosure: I was invited to try out these lash extensions free of charge for review purposes

Favourite Nail Polish of the Year - Butter London The Black Knight

Title of the post says it all really. I tend to shy away from glitter polishes because some can seem very tacky and they can be awful to remove and often require 4+ coats to get an opaque finish. I have none of these problems with The Black Night from Butter London.

Butter London The Black Knight - £12

Released as part of the Butter London Christmas collection, it is a charcoal/black base with very fine red, fuchsia and blue glitter. It sounds like it probably shouldn't work, but it does. It is a sophisticated take on glitter, an alternative to red and metallics for Christmas and just two coats gave me a perfect finish.

I picked up Estee Lauder Metallic Sage (finally) this week as well and thought that could be a favourite, but when The Dark Night arrived through the post Metallic Sage was removed straight away to make room for this stunning colour. If you have been looking at the latest OPI Collection, which is very glitter heavy, but not necessarily the best quality glitter, I would highly recommend this. I doubt it will be coming off my nails until 2012!

2 coats of The Black Knight + top coat

I bought The Black Knight for £12 from www.beautybooth.com

Brand Favourites

Even though we are coming to the end of another month, I thought I would do a different type of favourites post this time. There are certain beauty brands that I have been using since I was about 14 so I thought it would be fun to take a look at the first product I bought from some of these brands and now which one product I would really recommend from them. I'd love it if others got involved as well, mainly because I'm curious by nature and find it interesting to see which other products people tried first and are now staples. Here goes.

Chanel - As far as I can remember, this was my first proper luxury beauty purchase. Before then I used to mainly use Boots 17, I think I owned every eyeshadow trio they did! My first piece of Chanel was a limited edition set called Les Gouaches de Chanel (I think). It looked just like an artist's palette and paints and to be honest, I barely used it but it was so beautiful! I actually still have it and will probably keep it forever, for sentimental value, and because it is such a unique kit.

Now, I buy a lot from Chanel but if I had to recommend just one item it would be either a blusher or a foundation. I used to love Teint Innocence which has been replaced I think, but all their foundations are great quality. What would be even better was if we got the wider shade selection that is available in the US. Then I would be very happy indeed!

Laura Mercier - Another vivid memory. I had read so much about this range in magazines and desperately wanted to try it but this was the time before Bluewater was built and there were far fewer Space NKs around. I first went to a counter in Boston, when I was away with my Dad and they used the Tinted Moisturiser, Secret Camouflage and a cream shadow in a silver colour on me. Courtesy of my father, these all came home with me and even though I still can't use the concealer properly, I always have a tube of tinted moisturiser on the go (and I have the eye shadow somewhere still, I am very sentimental!).

As for what I would recommend, it would have to be either the oil free primer or the tinted moisturiser, both staples.

Nars - I got my first Saturday job the day after my 16th birthday, at Body Shop, and despite being slightly terrified of the store, went into Space NK Bluewater and used my first wages to buy Lip Lacquer in Baby Doll. We weren't really allowed to wear any makeup to school back in the day but I could just about get away with this.

Although their eyeshadow duos can be a little hit and miss in terms of quality, they are still the product I would recommend, along with the Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. Favourites include Dogon, Misfit, Cleo and Rajasthan.

Some of my first Stila purchases

Stila - First product was their Lip Glaze in Strawberry and lipstick in Natalie. I haven't tried any of the newer (and cheaper) Stila range, but my favourites used to be their palettes and convertible colours.

MAC - I was a very late starter to MAC, only having access to the brand when I moved away to university in Scotland. I think my first buy was a Viva Glam lipstick in a light brown colour (very unflattering and yet I wore it to death) and Minted eyeliner.

Now I would recommend their eyeshadows and lipsticks, they aren't the very best quality but they have a fantastic shade range that can't be beaten. Shale and Patina are favourite eyeshadows and Impassioned a favourite lipstick.

Dior - First product was the eyeshadow quint in Beige Masai and despite having tried a small number of other products, this is the one I'd recommend.

Lancome - I think the only Lancome product I've ever tried is their mascara. Am I missing out?

Chantecaille- Grace London is guilty of getting me started on a number of expensive brands, this being one of them. It is impossible to read her blog and not tempted by beautiful things! The first item I bought was Lip Chic in Bourbon Rose and it is a beautiful everyday shade. I've tried quite a lot of Chantecaille products in the last 18 months but still the Lip Chics are my favourite, particularly the latest shade Violetta.

By Terry - First product was the famous Baume de Rose and I hate it. It does nothing for my lips and was a huge waste of money. It nearly put me off the brand completely but I tried the By Terrybly lipsticks and was a convert. I would definitely recommend Cherry Cherry if you like bright colours.

Le Metier de Beaute - I wish I had discovered this brand earlier so I could have stocked up before it left Europe, but my first purchase was an eye kaleidoscope in Chinoiserie Azure. The quality of it is amazing but now I have expanded my collection, this is my least favourite kit. I adore every product I have from this brand so picking a favourite is so hard, but I guess it would have to be a kaleidoscope and at a push, Le Cirque. I don't think you can go wrong with anything from Le Metier and it is one brand I am happy ordering sight unseen (thanks to lovely US friends).

YSL - First product was, obviously, Touche Eclat. Other than that I haven't tried much but my favourite is the Faux Cils Mascara, even though it smudges like crazy on me.

BECCA - First product was Eye Tint in Baroque but the one I reach for the most is Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Pearl, which I now use instead of MAC's Strobe Cream.

Bobbi Brown - Mainly because of its presence on QVC I have bought far too much of this brand in the last few years! I think the first product was a neutral eyeshadow palette or a shimmerbrick.

Benefit Face Powders

Benefit - Probably my favourite brand as a teenager, my first purchase was High Beam. I managed to smash my bottle on a flight (back when you could take glass on board) but then I became obsessed with their face powders. I own them all and would recommend any of them especially Dallas, Georgia and Dandelion, but their cream shadows are also excellent quality.

Rouge Bunny Rouge - Wen I first read about this brand on blogs I dismissed it, thinking it had something to do with the Playboy bunny! Luckily, after more and more reviews appeared I gave in and ordered the eyeshadow in Solstice Halcyon. I reach for this almost everyday and although their new cream shadows are also excellent, if you are new to the brand this is the shade and product I would recommend. Their blushers are also fabulous.

Urban Decay - Another favourite of mine as a teenager, my first buy was one of their palettes which I still have, containing 4 eyeshadows, 4 lip products and one cheek colour. What would I recommend? Probably no surprises here but it would have to be the Naked palette.

My very grotty first ever Urban Decay purchase

Tom Ford - I made my first purchase with apprehension, buying without even seeing the products in person let alone trying them, but I went for the lipstick in Pure Pink and haven't regretted it. It is one of the only products I have a back up of as it has been sadly discontinued. I haven't tried any non lip products (although their are some on my Christmas list) so my recommendation has to be lipsticks. I am not keen on the nudes or mid tone shades though so if you are going to spend a crazy amount of money on one shade, I'd go for one of the brights like True Coral, Cherry Lush or Violet Fatale. Lisa Eldridge has done a great You Tube tutorial on Black Orchid and how to get maximum use out of it, which helps go someway to justifying the astronomic cost.

I've probably left out a load of brands that later will become glaringly obvious, but these are what immediately come to mind. Which products were your first purchases and would you buy them again or has another item stolen your affections? Whatever they are I'd love to hear about them.

Finally, check out my blog sale for reductions, still Chanel, Armani, Bobbi Brown left!