How To Ship Colourpop Goodies To The U.K

As you all are aware, Colourpop do not ship to the U.K… YET! I came across loads of people in the U.K who had somehow managed to get a hold of Colpurpop stuff, and got super excited. So I went ahead watched a few YouTube videos and blog posts by just Googling 'how to ship Colourpop to the U.K'. Ship It To and comGateway where the two most common sites mentioned, I browsed both and felt more comfortable with comGateway, so signed up. It was a quick and easy process, you just fill in your basic details such as name, address, contact details etc.. Then the site provides you with an American address. This is a warehouse address which is used to store parcels in the States until you are ready to release it for shipment to the U.K. They also provide you with the telephone number which I assume is also located at the comGateway warehouse where the parcels are first shipped to, which is a good idea just incase you have issues and can contact someone quicker than waiting for an e-mail response. 

I'll begin by going through the ordering process on the Colourpop site. I just added whatever I wanted to the cart, and once I got to the shipping address details I just copy and pasted each section of the American address I was provided with into each corresponding section, such as state and zip code. Remember, you will need to enter the same American address as the billing address also. I paid through Paypal just to be on the safe side. I also got free shipping as shipping within the US is free on orders over $30, or its a flat rate payment of $4.99.

My order took 5 days to be processed, Colourpop states that standard shipment takes between 3-5 days. It then took another 5 days for my parcel to arrive at the comGateway warehouse. It is then up to you when you want to release the order for shipment, I shipped mine straight away, literally straight away, I recieved the e-mail about 1-2am and just simply clicked the link in the email and followed the easy steps. You are able to choose what shipping method you want to use. There’s three different options and the price varies depending on your parcels weight. Mine weighed about 1kg, I figured this out as comGateway have a weight estimate method which makes it easier to make estimations if you’re not very good with weights etc. There is a drop down menu where you’re able to choose what kind of products you have ordered, so I chose whatever was under the beauty section where you can narrow the options further to get a closer estimate. It then gives you different examples of numbers of products and how much they weigh, so for instance I remember it gave the weight of 5 shampoo bottles, eyeshadow palettes and so on. – You can get a live quote on the comGateway site before you’ve made an order if you like.

You are manually asked to enter your parcels declared weight, just be as honest as possible so nothing goes wrong, I put in the exact amount in dollars. I then chose the cheapest shipping method, the standard shipping which cost $30.83 which is about £22.64. I was then redirected to another page where I was to enter my card details for the payment to be processed, from what I remember here, there is no option to pay through Paypal. Your U.K address is stored in the accounts section of your comGateway account, so make sure it’s correct, you are also able to alter and change this in the final shipment stage. You are then provided with an estimated delivery date, my parcel was estimated to arrive on the 10^th of March, but arrived a day early, 9th March, 16. Everything is e-mailed to you at each stage which just makes it easier to keep a track of. You are also provided with a tracking number. Its quick and easy as you don’t have to manually type anything, just click the link provided in the e-mail sent you, you’ll then be directed to your order en route to you page on comGateway and just click the order you would like to track and all the information comes up, it provides all the times, locations and so on about your parcel as shown below.

As you can see the information is all very helpful and you can keep a track at each and every stage. My parcel was released very quickly the next day once my payment had been made. comGateway say that packages should arrive within an estimated of 3-8 working days, mine took 5 days to arrive, which is pretty decent as it's coming from the United States. 

So on the Wednesday the 9th of March, 2016, I woke up to this box of goodies!

And that is basically it. I would only recommended using this service if you are making a big order. I ordered about 18 products, so when I split the shipping costs amongst each item, it worked out really good. As people are selling Colourpop liquid lipsticks for between £10-13 each on average. After splitting everything I roughly spent about between £5 to £5.50 on each lipstick. If you are planning to order only a few lipsticks, I personally don't think it's worth it, if you really desperately want to try out the brand, maybe have a look through Depop and eBay.

I really hope this helps any of you who are contemplating about ordering using these third party sites, and that all the questions asked on Instagram were answered in this post. Especially comGateway, it's really simple to use and get your head around. They have various tools on the site to help and guide you such as a Buy For Me service and live quotes. Everything included, my order took about 2 weeks to arrive and was definitely worth it! Till next time, take care ladies!

- Farzana xo

Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette Review

Hey guys! I'm back after having abandoned my blog for more then two months now. Lifes been really hectic the past few months because of final year uni and stuff, but now that's all over, I can finally get back to blogging!

I've been really naughty the past few months, and made A LOT of cheeky trips to Oxford Street and somehow also managed to make time to make loadssss of online orders in between all my work! - ain't nothing stopping me when it comes to makeup, not even my dissertation LOL. 

Anyways, amongst one of the many online orders I made, I finally caved in and ordered from Sephora! One of the things I HAD to pick up was the Kat Von D Shade & Light Palette. I heard lots of reviews, and people raving about it, and because I'm all about contouring and highlighting, I had to pick it up. Here it is..!

The pans come in a rectangular palette. Here's a closer look at the packaging, palette and mirror inside the palette, which is a pretty decent sized mirror.

I love the detail on the packaging, but the only bad thing I have to say about the palette is that it is pretty heavy, so is not an ideal palette to take away on holiday etc with you. In regard to the mirror, even though it's really nice and big, it does not stand up on its own, so you cant really use it unless your holding it in your hands because it flops down, this is what I mean if that doesn't make any sense to you ladies lol.. So basically it's pretty useless.

The palette also comes with a contour and highlight guide, which is a really nice touch. It gives you step by step guidelines on how and where to place the product to achieve a good contour and highlight.

There's three highlight shades, on the top row, each weighing o.08 oz each and three contour shades, on the bottom row at 0.16 oz each. The contour shades are all very warm toned, which for me personally, is not an issue as my skintone is also of a warm undertone, so works well. Here is a closer look at all the shades. 

Top row: Right: Levitation (highlight) + Sombre (contour)
Bottom row: Left: Lyric (highlight) + Shadowplay (contour), Right: Lucid (highlight) + Subconscious (contour)

Left: Highlights - Top-Bottom: Lucid, Lyric, Levitation
Right: Contours - Top-Bottom: Sombre, Shadowplay, Subconscious

When I first received the palette, I assumed that I'd least dislike the contour shade Sombre, and thought that I'd automatically prefer the darkest out of the three, Subconscious as I like a (harsh-ish), visible contour. However this is completely the opposite. I LOVE Sombre, it's such a lovely shade to work with, and works so well on my skin tone! Because of how light it looks in the pan, I thought I'd get the least use out of it, but it's actually the only shade I  use every single day. I also like mixing the middle shade, Shadowplay with Sombre just to intensify my contour a little more for day time, everyday looks. For more evening appropriate makeup, I do use Subconscious, but find that I can never use either on their own, without first starting of with Sombre.

Overall the texture and finish of all of the contour shades are pretty much the same. All are matte finishes, and have a matte to satin texture/feel. Their super easy to apply and blend into the skin effortlessly. Nobody likes a harsh contour where there are visible unflattering lines, so using this palette really helps give you a natural, flawless finish. What I also love about the shades is that their buildable. Even though the shades are really pigmented, you're able to build it up gradually to your desired look. I always mix the shades and they all work together, I never just use one on its own. Another thing is that unlike a few palettes and contour products, the contour shades don't look muddy or orange on my skin, which is also another bonus as I can draw the contours where natural shadows would fall on my face, making it look very natural.

Out of the three contour shades, I found Shadowplay to be the most powdery, which gets a tad bit messy. The other two however are not powdery, and apply more seamlessly.

For the highlight shades, I tend to get the most use out of Lyric, which is the most yellow toned highlight out of the three. I have used the other two, but not as much. I mostly use Lyric to set my under eye highlight/concealer, and OMG! I love it! It's soooo pigmented and just brightens up and lifts your entire face, and yet again, makes you look flawless! I've found that with some other powders, regardless of what under-eye brightener or concealer I'd use, it'll crease on me within a few hours, but using the Kat Von D palette, my under eye has not been creasing at all! - and I'm not just saying that because I love this palette. Moving onto the other two shades, I don't really like using them under my eyes because of the tones. Lucid is too pinky toned and Levitation is too peachy toned to use for my under eyes. However I do like to use either of these to empathise my contour line a little more, by dabbing a small amount just beneath the contour to make it look more visible.

I like to use two specific brushes when using the palette. Both are Sigma brushes, I like to use my Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour to contour obviously, its my favourite contour brush ever! I highly recommend it! For setting my under eye I like to use the Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki. I like this brush because there's different ways to use it. If I am in a rush, I just sweep the product across my under eye, or sometimes for a more highlighted look, I like to pack the product on slowly by dabbing it across. The brush is really dense but soft at the same time, so it doesn't tug or hurt that sensitive under eye area.

                                                                                                 Left: Sigma F40, Right: Sigma F86

Overall I adore this palette, and haven't used any other products to contour and highlight for the past month, since I've bought it. I highly recommend it, it retails for $46, which is equivalent to about £30, which is really good considering the amount and range of products you get. I do wish the highlight shades were slightly more larger, because I know I'll hit pan on Lyric pretty soon! *cries*, but saying that, the contour shades are pretty good sizes. Its a really nice palette if your just starting out on contouring and highlighting, the guide included also will be of great help for beginners. In regard to staying power, it lasts a long time. I've gone full 10-12 hour days and when I've come home my contour an highlight still looks good, although it will obviously look less fresh an begins to look a lot more faded then when I first applied it, it lasts a long time; so that works for me! There's a range of shades and intensities to suit your desires, and although the palette drifts for better use by people of medium - tan and deep skin tones, fairer people can use this to! However I don't see all three of the contour and highlight shades coming in good use for them. 

Hope this helped lovelies!

- Farzana xo