Bloggers Secret Santa

I am a little bit late to the party writing this up but I wanted to play with all my Secret Santa goodies before writing the post!

I took part in the 'Bloggers Secret Santa' organised by Gemma at Miss Makeup Magpie and Laura at Tease Flutter Pout-both absolute dolls with lovely blogs.

I was paired up with Gem-because I live abroad and wasn't arriving in the UK until the 21st December, Gemma kindly offered to be paired with me so I didn't massively stress about my partner not getting their gift before Xmas.  As it turned out Gemma's did arrived before Xmas and you can read what I got Gemma in return here.

Gemma did amazingly well with my gifts, she got me things (aside from the Revlon) that I can't get in Dubai.

Here are the 5 things she picked up for me;

NYX Black Label Lipstick in Poem, Zoya nail polish in Carly, Revlon Colourstay Creme Gel Eyeliner, Collection Colour Pro Intense Lip Lacquer in It Girl 3 and Sleek Blush in Suede.

The Collection Lip Lacquer has a long wand which makes precision application a sinch.

I love the glossy, mirror like shine baby pink!

I've never tried anything from NYX so was excited to try this 'Black Label' lipstick.  It's very creamy and smooth to apply and just glides onto the lips. It's also really hydrating and lasts a good couple of hours before fading.  'Poem' is a blue based almost barbie pink with a glossy finish.

I have wanted to try Zoya for the longest time after seeing a couple of rave reviews on Gemma's blog.  I have been blown away by the forumla of 'Carly', it was opaque in just one coat and applies evenly.  The colour is amazing!!  It has a glossy, almost foil like finish, a deep purple with a slightly red tone to it.  I am in love!!

In the photo above I am wearing the Sleek blusher in Suede and the Revlon Colourstay eyeliner.

I am pretty rubbish applying eyeliner but when I do, the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner is my liner of choice.  I have heard loads of good things about this Revlon gel eyeliner and rightly so.  I used my Bobbi Brown eyeliner brush to apply it and it is just as good as the Bobbi Brown liner for a fraction of the price.

The Sleek blush is possibly my favourite of the 5.  It looks like a very warm toned orange-y peach and I wasn't sure the colour would suit me but I really like it!  It's nicely pigmented but you don't need to be too light handed and the colour is buildable.  I was also impressed with how long it lasted on me-I applied it at 7.30am and when I got home at 7pm it will still there.  I actually bought another one in the UK but it smashed en route back to Dubai (sad face)

A massive thank you to Gemma for her great picks and to Gemma and Laura for the massive amount of effort they put into organising the Secret Santa