[EDIT: CLOSED] Giveaway Closing in a few hours! Enter to win an Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. III (NYC)

It seems like my giveaway has gone on forever but it's only been just over a month! I suppose the Christmas period got in the way.  Anyhow, it's ending in a few hours, at midnight GMT, so you might want to check you've entered and are following my blog via Google Friend Connect. 

I've really enjoyed reading all your comments and have made a note of some of the best beauty tips you guys recommended to me - I may do a post of the top 10 ones soon! I've also found loads of fabulous blogs to add to my Google Reader and might do a post of some of my best finds.  I've really enjoyed hosting this giveaway!

I started the laborious process of inputting the entries on a spreadsheet a couple of days ago as I do want to be able to announce the winner at some point tomorrow evening and there are loads to go through - I'm checking each one :s  Unfortunately lots of comments were not viable as their profiles were private and a couple of naughties entered more than once. You do get extra entries for following on Facebook, Twitter, etc., but not duplicate entries!

For details on how to enter CLICK HERE or on the photo below.

Happy Thursday and good luck ladies! XxX

NOTD: O.P.I Rising Star from the Burlesque Collection

I donned O.P.I Rising Star for NYE.  It's described as a lustrous, shimmering gold.  Click here for my post on the whole mini teasers set and where you'll see what one coat of this stuff actually looks like - not great.

The first time I tried this I put it under Take The Stage which is more of a burnt orange colour, but I needed about four coats to get opacity.  This time I applied two coats of it over 'London' by Nails Inc. as I figured it needed a neutral base colour to show up well against.

This is my first dalliance with OPI and I'm definitely not impressed by the coverage of their glittery polishes, but if you work with it, you can get a nice effect.

NYE FOTD & OOTD

I hope you all had fun, happy and safe NYE celebrations! I just had a small gathering with friends and family.

As usual I was running late with getting ready so my make up and hair were very rushed - I forgot to comb out my ringlets!

Face:e.l.f Mineral Infused Face Primer
MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NW15 mixed with No7 Lift & Luminate in Alabaster
Benefit Erase Paste
Benefit Georgia as setting powder
Maybelline Mousse Blush in Dolly Pink
MAC Mineralize Blush in Dainty
NYC Soft Skin Bronzer in Sunny to contour

Eyes:Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Bronze all over lid
MAC Amber Lights all over lid and under lower lash line
Random Charcoal eyeshadow in crease and outer corner from Almay palette
Stilla Kitten as inner corner and brow highlight
Lancome Kohl pencil in Noir on water line and tight line
Illamasqua Precision Ink in Abyss
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black
I was going to wear falsh eyelashes but ran out of time to apply them!

Lips:EOS lipbalm in Summer Fruits
Accessorize lipgloss in Captivating

So, as always, a tonne of products used for little effect (although this photo was taken well into the night...hence my red nose from eh...merriment!...and possibly Absinth...*cough*).  I really have to trowel it on like a drag queen to define my features :(

I went with this dress rather than the sequinned one as it was too much for just wearing in the house! It was a mission to track this Primark dress down on eBay after spotting it on a blog, and I had to get it two dress sizes too small! Thank god it's a baggy fit!  The belt is from Primark too and I eventually took it off as I kept snacking and things got a leeeetle tight!

The lovely ladies and I.  That's Angel from High Heels and Lipgloss on the right of me.  Her hair and make up were amazing as always!


Next, up my 2011 resolutions (I'm still figuring them out haha!) and my long-time-in-the-works round up of my top 10 beauty buys of 2010.

Free Glam Rocks Eye Palette when you spend £6 on 17 Cosmetics

This year was the first time in about a decade that I bought something from 17 Cosmetics, and let me just say, they've come a long way since I was in my teens! I adore Statuesque eye shadow and their Lipstick in Beehive, but I read that the Stay Matte powder was very pale and did a good job of mattifying oily skin, so I headed down to Boots pick some up, it costs £3.99 and I grabbed a blush in Plum Puff to take me up to £6 to get this lovely free palette...

I had a bit of a mission to track down the Plum Puff blush as it's a lovely shade and only £2.99. The palettes are going fast and probably very near the end of the offer, so if you want one move fast!

I love the shades and am very impressed by the pigmentation - they would work even better with a primer. My favourite shade is the middle one in the bottom row below.

I love the powder, the colour is perfect for my pale skin, the coverage is good and there's a really handy mirror in the lid of the very sturdy packaging. Not bad for £3.99!

  
 Plum Puff swatched.

What are your favourite 17 Cosmetics products?