My Z Palette

Thursday, July 31, 2014
Being a travelling girl with a love for makeup has caused some problems in the past. Having several full 15 pan MAC palettes and a 20kg luggage limit makes things a tad tricky when it comes to packing, so my beloved Z Palette has been one of my most used and abused pieces of kit over the years. I tend to switch up the colours that it carries every time I go on a longer trip, but there are a few that seem to be permanent features (as you can probably see from the photos!) I'm not really going to talk too much about the colours in the palette apart from a brief description - as I have an upcoming post that will cover some of them - but I want to concentrate on the palette itself that has gotten me out of a few sticky situations in the past. 


- MYTHICAL (LE) (veluxe pearl)

- TEMPTING (lustre)

- PHLOOF! (frost)

- CRANBERRY (frost)

- PATINA (frost)

- TRAX (velvet)

- ANTIQUED (veluxe pearl)

- CARBONIZED (LE) (veluxe pearl)

- NAKED LUNCH (frost)


This is my current rotation of eyeshadows, but in the past it has looked pretty different. Some other favourites include; Sumptuous Olive, Omega, Woodwinked, Club and Copperplate.


Back when I purchased mine, I got it off of the Love Make Up website, and that still seems to be one of the best options for getting your hands on your very own Z palette here in the UK. The palette itself comes in a variety of different patterns and sizes, ranging from the smallest (which is what I have), to palettes specifically designed for domed makeup, to extra large palettes that can hold up to 35 MAC-sized eyeshadow pans. They are also very affordable; mine costing only £8.99, and the largest going for a very reasonable £21.50. It also comes with some very handy magnets to stick onto the back of any depotted eyeshadows that you might want to put into it. A little warning though, although these 'stick' incredibly well to the Z palette, they don't seem to be quite as effective when used in the MAC Pro Palette, and vice versa for the pre-magnitised MAC eyeshadows in the Z palette. However, this isn't too much of a problem, as they still stay put, just not as securely. 


I have used this countless times over the years, so if you travel a lot, or just want to put all of your most-used shades in one small palette, then I can't recommend this enough. I don't feel like the Z palette gets talked about much in the beauty community, but it's become invaluable to me over the years.

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Я в Москве! // I'm in Moscow!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014
So, as of two days ago, I'm in Moscow! After I left Russia in December, I decided that I still wasn't comfortable enough returning to my final year of university with my current level of Russian. So, in Spain I made sure to keep my Russian up, and I'm writing my dissertation in Russian, but I really need speaking practise. Therefore, myself and two of my friends have headed to Russia's capital city to complete a month-long language course. What does this mean for Isobel Rose you might ask? Well, I'm staying in the Language School's hostel accommodation, so my internet access will be fairly limited and although there is a hell of a lot of public wifi around the city, I won't be connected for most of the day whilst in class etc. I've been working extra hard to schedule as many blog posts as I can for when I'm away, so my posting schedule should be fairly regular, but if I don't reply to comments, tweets or I have a post missing every once in a while, then you know why. I'll be back in the UK from the 24th August, so all should be back to normal by then, but I just wanted to keep you guys up to date just so you know what's going on. As per usual, if you want to keep up with my trip, then head over to my travel blog! Wish me luck - до свидания!


P.s. How cute is this матрёшка (matryoshka) set that I brought back from St Petersburg? 

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What I've Been Wearing #27

Sunday, July 27, 2014
I've been itching to get my hands on this ever since Maddie from Qworter Life Crisis compared it to the Chanel Les Beiges Powders. It comes in an an extremely travel-friendly little compact, and so far I'm really liking it. It's very finely milled, so it looks pretty flawless and not at all cakey on the skin, and the shade really works with my skin tone. My only complaint would be that it is quite 'powdery', so a bit tends to go flying when you swirl your brush in it, but hey, that's nothing major. 

Bourjois Volume 1 Second Mascara (£9.99):
When I left Spain, I left my mascara behind because I despised it (honestly, it was rubbish!) so when I got the chance to pop into Boots, I decided to try out the new release from Bourjois. The likes of Kate and Jess have raved about this, so I decided to give it a go, and so far I am really liking it. I haven't had it for long, so I can't say too much, but it reminds me a bit of one of my favourite mascaras, the 'They're Real' Mascara from Benefit. 


Botanics Ionic Clay Mask (£6.99):
I've spoke about this rascal of a mask before here, so I won't go on too much, but it really helps to calm down my skin when those pesky hormonal spots come 'a knocking. In the post, I compared it to the Origins Clear Improvement Mask, and although I do like that when my skin is being a right nuisance, I've decided that if I somehow managed to lose both, I'd repurchase the Botanics one first without a doubt - it just suits my dry, sensitive skin that much better. 

P.S. I'm flying to Moscow today, so if I don't reply to comments quickly, that's why! I will be able to see them though so make sure to comment away :)

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The Condensed Blogger's Kit:
Blogging on the go

Friday, July 25, 2014

PHONE:
For invaluable apps like Evernote, Twitter, Bloglovin', Blogger and hundreds more to keep your blog ticking over.


TABLET:
Access to the same apps mentioned above, but on a larger scale. Plus, paired with a travel-friendly keyboard and a word processing or blogging app, you're unstoppable.


BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD:
Light and easy to use and travel with; I take mine everywhere with me in case inspiration strikes or I need a change of scenery in order to get on with some work. 


COMPACT CAMERA:
Let's face it, lugging around a DSLR on a daily basis just isn't practical, so finding yourself a quality, more compact camera is vital for snapping on the go.


SPARE BATTERY AND MEMORY CARD:
In case of emergencies and overly snap-happy days.


PHONE BATTERY PACK:
Because, let's face it, smartphones always need that extra juice, and there's nothing worse than a drained battery and a urge to Instagram your latest haul or the delicious dessert you're about to devour.


NOTEBOOK:
For jotting down ideas and inspiration whilst out and about.


MEMORY CARD READER:
To get photos from your camera to your tablet, and then onto your blog post in minutes whilst on the go. I got mine here.

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Eyes for Kiko

Monday, July 21, 2014
Before I left Madrid, I knew that I had to visit Kiko one last time to see what treasures I could uncover. On the recommendation of Brittany, I headed straight for the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 05 (6,90€), a gorgeous super-metallic taupe-gold - perfect for a summer eye. The pigmentation, colour and lasting power of this is really impressive, and I can see myself getting a whole lot of use out of it all year round. Next we have one of their eyeliners, the KIKO Twinkle Eye Pencil in the shade 05 as well. I was actually heading for the till when I saw this - typical eh? - and I spotted this in the sale section. This gorgeous metallic deep aqua eye pencil was mine for 3€, a total steal in my opinion. I love colours like this for my lower lash line in the summertime. You can order KIKO online from their website, and I would seriously recommend it if you're on the hunt for some great quality, great value makeup bits!

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