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Sunday 31 July 2011

Silver Elegance NOTD

I love wearing silver on my nails but I always find it’d a difficult one to pull off without your nails looking tacky so I thought I’d show you my favourite way of wearing silver which I think looks pretty elegant actually :)
I do one coat of a matte white polish (Barry M white)
Once it’s dry I apply a dark gray strip at the top (Barry M Gray)
Then a quick coating of a glittery silver polish all over (Collection 2000 inca silver)
Then finish off with a single thin white strip
(Just a little close up oh how pretty the small pieces of glitter look)
It takes less than 10 minutes as I just use very thin coats of everything so it takes no time at all to dry and it never fails to get a compliment whenever I wear it!

What do you think? Will you be trying this out or do you have another favourite way of wearing silver polish?
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Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

Saturday 30 July 2011

iPhone

It’s pretty fair to say that I don’t post hauls very often, my last one way my Newcastle Haul from October last year! But I just wanted to show you my latest purchase!

I’ve been long overdue a new phone for ages, my last one was several years old and had been slowly dying for the past few months so I finally took the plunge and got myself the White iPhone 4 and even though I’ve had it less than 24 hours I’m in love :)I know this is completely non beauty related but it’ll no doubt appear in a few future posts and it means I’ll be tweeting more & fingers crossed it’ll help me reply to some of your emails and questions a bit quicker!

So anyway I don’t want to ramble too much but..
Do any of you have any suggestions for apps?

I’ve got one or two but I’ve no idea which are the good ones!

Hope this hasn’t been too boring!! x

P.S any suggestions for cute cases? I’ve only seen boring ones so far & I want something pretty!!

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Strawberries and Dreams

I decided a little while ago that I didn’t really want to buy anymore from Lush, for a few different reasons, so I had to look for alternatives to satisfy
my adiction for handmade soaps, bathbombs, bath melts etc.
which is where Bomb Cosmetics comes in.
I’ve already done one review of the cookie bathblaster and there are a few more planned.
But anyway onto the Strawberries and Dreams (cutest name) bath brulee, it’s £2.99 for 160g and you get between 3-4 baths.
Bomb cosmetics isn’t a huge company however they have quite a good online store where they stock everything from soaps, bathblasters to candles.
You can also find your nearest store on the site and see if there’s one near by
(I’ve been to two different ones and I really love the quaint, personal feel of their stores!)
I didn’t read the directions before use so I did it a little differently – you’re meant to drop the entire thing into your bath and let a part of it dissolve. Then remove it before too much has fizzled out. I just broke a bit off.

The scent is the main reason I got this and it is just right – it’s not overpowering but it’s strong enough that it's noticeable. The fragrance sweet but not in a sugary way, it’s slightly fruity, slightly floral and generally just a really girly, summery scent which I really love!

Once it was in the water I got a lovely milky bath.
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Strawberries and Dreams is meant to soften your skin through a mixture of cocoa butters and essential oils and my skin was definately soft and lightly scented afterwards. Overall I really love this and is definitely something I can imagine me repurchasing in the future!

Have you tried any of Bomb Cosmetics things? Or do you know any other Lush alternatives I should take a look at?
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Hope this has been helpful!! x

Monday 25 July 2011

Standard FOTD

This is another little fotd I wore while going to the cinema with some friends (this time we saw Horrible Bosses.. it was OK, didn’t love it though)It's pretty much my standard 'go to' make up which i fall back on whenever I'm stuck for inspiraiton!
(click the pictures if you want to enlarge)
(I wasn't going to include the picture on the left as I took it by accident but it shows the texture of the products so well and is truer to colour so I thought i'd use it anyway)
Face
BB cream
MAC studio sculpt concealer nc20
MAC MSF in Pearl (I missed the two colours together for a blush – review here)
A light dusting of LancĂ´me setting powder in translucent
Eyes
Smashbox duo in avante grande (great little combo)
Urban Decay twice baked in outer corner to darken it up a little
Maybelline Lash stiletto mascara

Lips
I popped some of E.LFs baby lips liquid lipstick on as I running out the door
Hair
& I didn’t do anything with my hair, I let it dry naturally and just had it down

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

P.S let me know if you like these FOTDs or you prefer my usual reviews and nail posts!

Friday 22 July 2011

Manicure Stripes

I tend to go for brights in summer but this year I’m just loving pale shades. And I’ve been wearing a simple manicure nearly every day (great tutorial on how to do your own manicure here)
But sometimes a simple manicure can get a little boring so this is one look I’ve been wearing when I want something a little prettier but nothing complicated!

I applied a coat of models own buff pink(this is a a very sheer milky pink perfect for manicures)
Then I just applied different coloured stripes to the top of the nail.
(I used white, Gold and Peach melba from barry m)

This is another simple look that I seem to be doing constantly on my nails :)
What do you think?
Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Pink Passion

I love my blushes. I’ve never had a problem with needing to inject colour into my cheeks but for some reason blushes always call to me and I have quite a few now. With my most recent addition being Pink Passion from E.L.F’s Studio line blushes

As you can see it’s an incredibly vibrant almost neon pink in the pan. And it’s a colour I have absolutely nothing like in my collection. I wouldn’t normally go for something like this however because it’s quite cool toned I love how this looks with a tan just on the very apples of my cheeks to add a pretty contrast.
Once swatched it isn’t as scary although its still quite bright it looks a little bit more like a baby doll pink.

I’ve only worn it a handful of times as it’s obviously not one that you can just throw on with anything. As far as the formula goes it’s a little chalky in comparisons to the other two blushes I own from this collection (peachy keen and twinkled pink both of which are gorgeous) But with a colour like this your obviously going to do a fair amount of blending and it does blend seamlessly without leaving a powdery look.

Would I recommend? I would if you’re after a bright colour but don’t want to spend a lot as you won’t be wearing it every day!
Hope this has been helpful!! x

P.SI just want to briefly mention E.L.F have a 3 different collections.

+ The Normal Line where everything is £1.50 ($1)
+ The Studio Line where everything is £3.50 ($3)
+ The Mineral line where things vary from £3 (US prices seem to vary)

Sunday 17 July 2011

Strawberries and Cream NOTD

After having a really positive response to my previous simple nail art looks (bubbles, Midnight Sparkles,Strawberry Libertine and Glittery green gradient)
I thought I’d post one more which absolutely everyone can do and takes barely any time at all!
I apply two coats of Rimmel’s Strawberry libertine
Once it's dry apply a swipe of Barry M White nail effects in the corner.
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Up close I think this looks quite pretty but it’s more when you catch a glimpse of it or from far away where it somehow looks really lovely.
I've got both the black and the white nail effect polishes & I've been figuring out a few different ways to wear them however this is by far my favourite!
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Hope this has been helpful!! x


P.S I’ve got a new header and favicon (the little icon you see next to the web address) & I know I’ve changed my blog’s look a hundred times but I think I’m finally happy – what do you think?

Friday 15 July 2011

Lipcote

I bought this from urban Outfitters and I wasn’t expecting much as it was in the sale for only £2 (normally around £4) but I thought I’d give it a go as the promise of my lipstick lasting longer sold me!
To use you need to apply your lipstick as normal, blot then apply a coat over your lips. It does say on the box it should tingle a little when you apply it which had me a little worried- I really don’t like tingling lip products wimp..
But the tingling faded almost instantly leaving my lips with a weird texture, not quite matte but not quite glossy! This did have an annoying side effect of making the glitter in the lipstick stand out. But despite the glitter lipcote really did add a lot of longevity to my lip colour!
I’m not sure I’ll repurchase as you don’t need much so I imagine this little bottle will last me quite a while! I do like how you can transform all your lipsticks into long lasting stains with just one product and I’m definitely glad I picked it up!
Have any of you tried this before?
Hope this has been helpful!! x
P.S I used L'Oreal Plum Passion Lipstick

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Nude Rose FOTD

Another little FOTD :)
I went to the cinema with some friends to see Hangover 2 (Loved it) and I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures!
Face:
Skin 79 BB cream (I finally get why BB creams are raved about!)
Diorskin Sculpt concealer in 01
LancĂ´me Tropiques Minerale in Ochre Doree & E.L.F Tickled pink
Eyes:
Urban decay Foxy cream shadow (this is the same colour as my skin with a bit of sparkle)
Bobbi Brown Gel liner in Black ink (love it)
Avon supershock mascara
Lips:
E.L.F first date lip stain (review here)
Hair:
I just threw it up in a messy bun as I’m still on my 40 heatless days challenge and I couldn’t really be bothered messing with it :)
But my favourite thing was this gorgeous scarf from Urban Outfitters, designed by Pins and Needles. I completely love it :)
I wore it with the rosy cardigan (which you can see) also from Pins and Needles at urban Outfitters and then a simple black dress from H&M
(I attempted an ootd but getting a decent picture is a nightmare–noidea how you fashion bloggers do it!)
Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

Monday 11 July 2011

Monochrome NOTD

I wasn’t going to post this as I’m not completely happy with it but I thought I might as well as hopefully it’ll be somewhat inspirational to someone :)
I can’t really do a tutorial on this as it really is very simple. Just apply an opaque white base coat then taking a cocktail stick draw on some random patterns in a plain black polish!

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! X
P.S I’ve done over 100 posts!

Friday 8 July 2011

Semi - Precious

I’ll confess to being something of a MSF(Mineralize Skin Finish) addict. I love how the natural colours instantly warm your complexion and give you a healthy glow all year round – I just can’t resist the finish these give my cheeks!
So the Mac’s recent Semi Precious mineralize collection got my attention straight away as it had 4 MSFs. I had originally intended to get them all, as I really do love them but after reading one or two reviews I plucked for Pearl and Goldmine. I ordered them both online as although I didn’t expect this collection to sell out I didn’t want to take the risk.

The only problem with ordering online is can’t pick your own, and with mineralize products each one is slightly different. Some will have a bigger centre, others will have more gold than pink etc. but both are exactly what I would have picked (very lucky!)
Anyway onto Pearl… The outside is a warm champagne highlight with some golden reflexes while the centre is full of golden bronzes, plums and some white sections. Together the outside and the inside create a beautiful coral which doubles as a highlight.
(if you don’t like shimmery blush this may be one to avoid)
And Goldmine... This was maybe the one I was more excited about, although I think I love them both equally now, as it’s a warm golden highlight surrounded by a bronze tan shade which I know I’m going to get a ton of wear out of in summer to deepen my colour and to just give me that healthy radiant look.

Do I recommend? If you love your MSFs then definitely! I am completely in love. The size reduction is annoying, these are only 0.22g instead of the usual 0.35g, but even with that in mind baked products like this never seem to go down and last forever.

Have you picked up anything from the Semi-Precious collection?
Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

P.S I know 3 reviews in a row is a little much but I was just so excited to talk about these I couldn’t wait. NOTD coming up next though!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

First Date

I recently made an E.L.F purchase when they were offering 50% off(good deal right?) and I picked up one of their lip stains as recently I am really loving stains and I wanted to give a cheaper version a go.
This is normally £3.50 from the studio line available online here E.L.F(eyes, lips face) is predominantly an online brand however it has recently become available in Sephoras in the U.S
I got mine in First date as the hot coral/pink with golden reflexes shown online looked gorgeous and it’s pretty true to colour in real life only the golden shimmer is much more muted and is only noticeable in certain lights.
(L-R Bare lips, just the stain and the stain with the clear gloss on top)
(I think I’ll get the most wear out of the stain and just use the gloss every so often)
You get two products for the price of one with this, a stain and a gloss. The stain looks beautiful on its own if you want a matte finish, and I much more day-time friendly look. And the gloss is actually surprisingly nice! It’s not remotely sticky and lasts really nicely.
The stain wore pretty well, there was some patchiness however it wasn’t horrendous and I did test this out quite thoroughly (going out for a meal and then drinks with friends)The formula isn’t drying either which is a problem I find in most stains like this.

Overall I don’t think I’ll get any other shades as this one suits my needs perfectly however I would recommend this if you’re looking for a long lasting colour on a budget – I do genuinely like this product and would probably pay a lot more than £3.50!

Have any of you tried E.L.F’s lip stains? What were your thoughts?
Hope this has been helpful!! x

Sunday 3 July 2011

Maxfactor miracle Touch 'creamy blush' Soft Rose

I’ll start of by saying I love this blush.
I love the consistency, colour, finish, price – everything :) So you’re now officially warned this review is likely to turn into me raving about it!
First of, you get 3g for around £7 which I generally wouldn’t be impressed with as you don’t get a ton of product. However I’ve been using this non stop for the past 3 or 4 months and I barely seem to have made a dint in it. So as far as value for money goes- I’d say it’s pretty damn good as I’m not sure I’m ever going to get to the bottom.
As for the colour range goes it does seem pretty poor. I can only find 4 different shades available at boots – Soft Pink(this one) Soft Murano, Soft Copper and Soft Candy. But even though the colour range is somewhat limited I do think the colours available are pretty versatile and I’m sure there’s something there for most people.
Soft rose is a mid toned bright pink which initially scared me a little as it looks quite bright but when applied it blends out into a lovely soft pink (or you build it up no problem for a bright statement blush)

I’m only going to mention the consistency and finish briefly – it’s not as pigmented as mac blushes nor is it as heavy instead it’s light and incredibly easy to blend and it dries to a pretty natural finish – neither matte nor dewy.

Overall I know I’ll repurchase as this is a great basic to have that I can throw on without much thought knowing it will go with any look and unlike some cream blushes I’m not worrying about trying to blend it.
I actually prefer this in many ways to some of my mac cream blushers!


Hope this has been helpful!! x