Rucksana Reviews.....MAC Painterly Paintpot

Where has the time gone, I apolgise for my hiatus but I've been somewhat busy and time has ran away from me.

Today, I am going to review MAC's Painterly paintpot.

I purchased Painterly in December 2009, I bought it from the MAC counter in Selfridges in Birmingham's Bull Ring.

This was my very first paintpot, and initially I wanted Bare Study, but on the day it was out of stock so after some gentle persuasion from the sales assistant I ended up with Painterly.

I won't lie to you when I got it home and played around with it I hated it, I felt it didn't blend well, my eyeshadow didn't sit nicely and so after a couple of uses it was relegated to the bottom of my makeup drawer and forgotten about.

However, it wasn't until a few months ago when the gorgeous Cami from Camiloveskiwi, mentioned Painterly in one of her videos that got me thinking about my unloved, neglected paintpot, so I decided to to dig it out and see how I felt about it.

I wore it under Bourjois's intense eyeshadow in number 1, and lo and behold I fell in love with it.
I applied a thin layer of it and it held the eyeshadow in place for well over 12 hours. The eyeshadow blended well over it and due to the matte, creamy texture of the paintpot, it grabbed onto the shadow, so it was true to colour and didn't alter it (which I feel Bare Study can sometimes do).

Painterly is packaged in a glass/glass substitute jar with a black lid. The packaging for the paintpot is pretty ubiquitous, if you are familiar with the brand you will know the packaging from their other products such as fluidlines, chromilines and concealers. If you have other MAC products that are packaged in similiar jars then finding what you are looking can be bit of a hassle. I think MAC, should change the packaging so it is easily distinguishable from others.

The lid has to be screwed on tight otherwise the product wil dry out, again a bit of a packaging flaw..

The product lasts a good 12/16 hours on me, I never got any creasing or fading, however how long it will hold eyeshadow in place will very much depend on your skin type. I have dry skin and don't have much of an issue with eyeshadow once I have used a primer, it will then lash until I chose yo remove it.

The longevity of the product itself depends on how well you store it. I have had mind for nearly 2 years and it is still in perfect condition, if you screw the lid in tighly and store it upside down You should be able to extend the life of it.

Painterly, along with other paintpots is avaliable from most MAC counters, stores and online. It is priced at £13.50

The product Is a creamy matte, eyeshadow, that can be used under eyeshadow to act as a primer, it is flesh toned in colour. It cancels out any pigmentation in the lids so you can a blank canvas upon which you can apply eyeshadow over. However, if you have very apparent yellow undertones then you may want to opt for something like soft ochre of groundwork, as Painterly may look ashy on you

It grabs hold of the shadow, without changing the texture or colur so it will appear true to pan form. In addition if you have a eyeshadow with poor pigmentation, then the creamy texture of it will grab the eyeshadow so it gives the illusion of extra pigmentation.

I am really impressed with this, after disappointing first impressions, I have grown to love and it has superseded, my Bare Study and Urban Decays primer potion. I am really happy I have it another chance ( something I dont often do) and it has now become my go to primer. I will no doubt repurchase this again.

I award if 4/5

Iphone :)

I have got my new phone, the iphone 3gs..

It had taken nearly 3 weeks and endless phone calls to 3 but finally its arrived.

Im hoping to blog using the blogger app and also take better qualities so watch out for them...


R xxx

The A to Z of me

I've seen this tag on many blogs and I really like it, so i'm borrowing it for mine, it will be a nice way of you getting to know a little about myself, so here goes :)

Age: 22 although I will be 23 on the 13th of October!! Can't wait!!

Bed: Double, I love my bed, I would gladly spend most of my life in there, its incredibly comfortable and warm!!!

Chore: Erm, where do I start, vacuuming, changing the bed sheets, in fact i loathe that the most, washing dishes....

Dogs: I hate dogs, if i see one on the road, i cross the road, so i don't have to walk past it, if one walks past me, i scream like a kid...

Essential start to the day: Washing my face, brushing my teeth and combing my hair, and getting changed...These are a must, i'm not one for spending the day in my pyjama's, no matter how comfy they are, i cannot look like a tramp even if i no plans for the day, i have to at least look presentable..

Favourite colour: Pink and White..

Gold or Silver: I like both, so am not fussed, my favourite ever earrings are gold and my favourite ever ring is Silver, so i fall under both camps!!!

Height: 5'6, i think, although im pretty sure i may have grown a tiny bit since I last measured, although it may just wishful thinking...

Instrument you play: None...

Job: Student...

Kids: None and at this moment in time, i don't want any...

Live: Birmingham, United Kingdom!!!

Mother's Name: Mom!

Nicknames: Rucks, Roxy...most  people just tend to call me Rucksana though!!

Overnight Hospital Stay: Once, in August 2004...

Pet Peeves: Okay where to start, drivers, who don't indicate on roundabouts, im not a mind reader that i know where your going. Drivers who drive too close to me, people who park in others parking places (we have a garage, where i park outside, but sometimes people park there) People who block others driveway's, rude, jealous people....i could go on and on but lets move on...

Quote from a movie: YABBBA DABBBA DOO, okay technically The Flintstones where a cartoon, but in my defence there were a couple of Flintstone movies

Right or left handed: Right Handed

Siblings: One older brother, who is 12 years older than me..

Time you wake: I don't really have a fixed time when i awake, but usually im awake by 10.30/11.00, however there is not really a fixed time...just called me lazy chops

Underwear: Erm, somethings a lady shouldn't share with the world...

Vegetables you hate: Cauliflower

What makes you run late: nothing really, i fear being late for something, so if i have to be somewhere, or have an appointment im usually there, half an hour early

X-Rays- Chest X-ray, once.

Yummy foods you make: Samosa's, Chicken Biryani..

Zoo Animal: Lion and Tigers, so cute!!

Rucksana Review's.....Penny Vincenzi's An Absolute Scandal

I promised a book review, so here it is...

The book I am reviewing is Penny Vincenzi's "An Absolute Scandal"








I first stumbled upon this book in the now defunct Border (RIP, I loved that shop and still mourn it's loss) and i picked this up a couple of times, but always got distracted by something, and so Penny Vincenzi and her books remained unexplored and unloved bu myself!!!

It wasn't until April 2010, when i purchased another one of Vincenzi's book, The Best of Times, it took me forever to read it and i wasn't too impressed, but nevertheless i decided to read a few more of her books to see if they were an improvement. After The Best of Times, i read a further 2 and I was blown away by how good they were and so i decided to read An Absolute Scandal...

An Absolute Scandal is long, at nearly 900 pages long, and to read this book you would need alot of free time, it took me nearly nearly 3 weeks to read it from start to finish, never has it taken me so long to read a book before, but alas I enjoyed it very much and don' regret a minute of it...

The book set in the 1980's and 1990's is based around the scandal of Lloyds of London Scandal and how it affected some of the "names".  Now i had never heard of the scandal as it happened in 1988 which was the year i was born in (my birthday is just over 2 weeks away eeeeekkkkk).

The book focuses on 3 family's who are affected by the scandal, The Beaumont's, The Fielding's and The Cowper's. The story tells of who Lloyd's start demanding money from the "names" and how the sum increases yearly leading to the financial ruin of Lloyd's of London names. People who are extremely rich are forced into ruin, wrecking working and family relationships.

The book starts with a prologue, which is a very clever way of drawing the reader in, the prologue begins with a tragedy, a death of one of the main protagonists of the story but Vincenzi, does a very good job  of keeping the deceased a secret.

The story is well written and easy to follow, it is told from the point of view of the main characters and Vincenzi does a good job of forging relationships between the characters, who at the beginning are total strangers living in different parts of the country. In addition to focusing on the Lloyd's scandal, there are also sub plots based around others people of the affected families, some of these are a little wishy washy and pointless however they all come together pretty well as the book heads into the conclusion...

As a reader I found i went through many emotions whilst reading this, happiness and sadness, there were also many laugh out loud moments.

Personally i really really enjoyed reading book, and I am going to say that it was probably one of the best books i have read all year. I loved it so much that I want to read it all over again

Since then i have Purchased the rest of Vincenzi's book and look forwarding to reading them.

I award this book a 4.5 out of 5

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY :)

Today I am the happiest i've been for 14 months exactly, reason as to which i am so happy, are personal and so i won't divulge, but there is a smile on my face as big as the world, i doubt very much that there is a happier person than me around today!!!




Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.  ~Jacques Prévert


The quote above is so true too my life, these last 14 months have been long and hard, but today i feel like a different person completely, despite how hard it was i knew that what i was so desperately missing in my life, would come back and indeed it has!!!

Rucksana Reviews..... Accessorize Eye Dust in Copper Rose

So to kick off, im going to start with a review of one my favourite eye shadows...

However you'll have to forgive, as there won't be many images, that is because at the moment i don't have a functioning camera, well i do but the cat decided to eat the cable, however im getting an iPhone next week so they'll be many photos, to come!! Just bear with me...

Onto the review...

So one cold morning last October, I caught the bus to the Bull Ring Shopping Centre in Birmingham, the aim of the trip was to return a purse i brought from new look that i didn't like, however once on the bus, i realised i left my purse and all my money at home...silly fool

after returning the purse i had £10 to play with, i wanted to cry and more-so once i spotted the clean, gleaming Accessorize stand in Superdrug, I liked the products and the prices were reasonable for a drug store brand..when my eyes fell upon the eye dusts, it was love at first sight!!!

I picked up Molten Truffle and Copper Rose...which were £3 each

I came home and took of my make up and rushed to apply the copper rose and was very impressed by the  quality and pigmentation for such a cheap product, but the color was mind blowing...

In the pot, it looks like a brick colored, dust and doesn't look incredibly pretty however once applied onto the eyes, it transforms into a warm raspberry shade, with hues of pink and gold, it also contains specks of glitter but nothing to obnoxious.

The eye shadow itself, is well pigmented and a little goes along way, however when applying the shadow there is a bit of fall out, but that is to be expected with loose powder shadows.

I have used it over both Urban Decay's Primer Potion and MAC's Painterly and Bare Study Paintpots. Personally i love how it looks over the Bare Study as it brings out the shimmer and makes it "pop". I also think it would look very pretty over a dark base, which I will try next.

I get over 10 hours wear, without creasing or fading, but i do have dry skin and don't tend to suffer with creasing very much. 

I wore Copper Rose, for about 6 months consecutively until i realized i was neglecting my other eye shadows, however if im ever stuck for what look to do, i always reach out for Copper Rose.

I love this colour it is gorgeous....I urge you all to buy it :)

You can see it here, on the Superdrug Website, where it is selling for the bargain price of £1.50

R xxx

p.s. come and folllow my on twitter, i can be found at beautyness1319

Errrrrmmmmm......A Fresh Start

Woah, its been a long time! Okay so I originally started Walking In a Beauty Wonderland over 2 years, however I was a bad blogger and after a couple of sporadic posts, disappeared...

However, for the last few months something has been niggling me in the back of my head, and i have decided to re-commence with the blog.

I have planned many posts, up to know and posts will include, beauty hauls, reviews as well as general life posts, including a bool review, planned for a few posts away from now...

So i hope you all forgive me, and welcome me back into the blogging world, I promise to be a much better blogger this time around!!

Oh and a update on the first few posts,

1) I passed my driving a month after the disastrous test I blogged about

2) I still love Original Source Tea Tree and Mint shampoo and conditioner!!

See you all Around

R xxx