All That Glitters & Sparkles..

Orly Rage

2011-08-27T10:00:00.002+01:00

I spotted this polish on a Youtube video quite some time ago and decided to buy it, I have no idea why but I've only used it twice and I've had it since about April.

Its a beautiful Rose Gold foil shade. The times I've worn this I've had lots of compliments as its so eye catching.

This is 3 coats but you could get away with 2. The wear was really good, it lasted for 5 days!

OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

2011-08-25T10:00:00.000+01:00

Another polish from the Touring America Collection that caught my eye, I Eat Mainely Lobster is a gorgeous coral polish with subtle shimmer.

This is 3 coats which I needed for full opacity, applied easily and lasted really well. I am loving OPI at the moment, it has to be said. This is a must have from the collection.

OP My Private Jet

2011-08-24T11:34:00.000+01:00

I've read there have been a few versions of this polish, I'm not really sure what the other versions have been like but when I spotted this in Sallys recently, I had to have it.

Its a gorgeous holographic brown, which catches all the colours under most lights. This is 3 coats which I felt it needed but it applied easily and again, lasted well. I can see me getting lots of wear out of this in the winter.

OPI My Address is Hollywood

2011-08-24T11:26:00.000+01:00

When I saw the pictures from the Touring America OPI collection this is one of the colours I knew I NEEDED. I placed a little order on eBay and had my polishes within 10 days, this is the first one I applied.

Its a lovely rose pink with a subtle shimmer. Application was 3 coats for full opacity, I do love this shade and I'm glad I bought it.

Blog Sale MAC, Nars, Illamasqua, Estee Lauder...

2011-08-17T12:58:00.001+01:00

Hello!

Time for another blog sale, I was very brave today and decided to get rid of anything I either haven't used for a long time and things I am unlikely to ever use. So here we go.

Sorry for the rubbish pictures, my camera is broken!

If you think my prices are too high, make me an offer!

Some people are having problems replying, if so email me xjenniex2003@hotmail.com

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation 2C1 Pale Almond 02, just over half left its too dark for me £10 inc P&P

Nars Dogon eyeshadow duo used 2-3 times £18 inc P&P

Urban Decay Sin cream highlighter £8 inc P&P

3x MAC Depots in an Elf palette, Satin Taupe (used has a slight dip), All That glitters (used probably about half left) And Naked Lunch which turned to a funny consistency when I depotted it (in the oven!) Now when i swatched with my finger I got a lot of colour off but not sure how a brush would work, it was brand new when I depotted. £10 inc P&P

Front Cover custom palette - I've forgotten the names of the colours but there's a light shimmery cream, a gold/bronze, a deep sparkly purple, and dark sparkly blue/navy. £7 inc P&P

Illamasqua Purity and OPI I want to be A-lone star £5 each inc P&P

11 Loose eyeshadows, 3x Barry M 24, 39 & 100, Accessorize Molten Truffle, GOSH Mink, 1 small MAC Pigment 'cheers my dear', 3x MAC Glitter samples 3D Gold, Grey Glitter & Jam Session. 1 MAC pigment Sample 'Mauvement' £11 inc P&P for all of them

Sonia Kashuk Foundation Brush SOLD& Eco Tools Concealer brush £3 each inc P&P

GOSH Bubblegum...

2011-07-11T16:41:00.000+01:00

Having £5 in my pocket burning away one day whilst browsing the aisle's in Superdrug I decided to try another GOSH polish seeing as I was really impressed with Lavender Love. I've really wanted a good bubblegum pink for a while that is pretty opaque in not many coats, Bubblegum caught my eye.

Eek! Ignore the cuticles, they look very painful here and were mega dry!

Anyway, as you can see, a true bubblegum, Barbie pink! I love this colour, it brightens up dull outfits and is just a really pretty polish. The wear was pretty good too, I think I got 4 days wear out of this which is good for my nails.

This was £5 from Superdrug.

Battle of the Neutrals....

2011-06-29T12:36:00.000+01:00

I think you all know I love neutral coloured eyeshadows, and in fact I have far too many. However this week I have bought 2 new palette's and had to come and tell you about them!

Since I got my Urban Decay Naked palette, I think I have used it about 90% of the time, the other 10% is when I've wanted a bit more sparkle so have used my MAC Pigments but I will always reach for my Naked Palette as its so versatile. However, some of the shadows are getting really dipped and I'm worried I'm about to hit pan. After seeing lots of blog posts this week about the new Sleek 'Oh So Special' palette I went straight out to buy it, and I'm glad I did!

You can see the beautiful shades and I have to say this is the best offering we've had from Sleek for a while. It does remind me of the Storm palette but I like that this has more Matte's and less gold and bronze. I think Gateau is a pretty good dupe for Sin from the Naked palette (review is here) which is my most used shadow. Gateau looks good with The Mail and Boxed in the crease, or with just Wrapped Up in the crease and outer corner. I love Glitz for a gorgeous shimmery blue smokey eye. I got this for £6.99 from a lady on our local market but she also has an eBay shop here. You can also purchase it from Superdrug.

After buying this I saw lots of talk on Facebook and Twitter of the new MUA Pro range, I've had a look in my local Superdrug and it hadn't arrived yet so on my trip to the Trafford Centre today (I passed my driving test! I can do all the shopping I want now) I had a look in Superdrug and spotted the stand. Luckily they had the Heaven & Earth palette in and I picked it up and went straight to the till. A few people have likened this to the Naked palette and I have to say, they're right. This is a fabulous palette, for only £4 you get 12 fabulous eyeshadows with great pigmentation. I think MUA could become the new Sleek with these new palettes as the Sleek ones did used to be £4.99 and have recently shot upto nearly £7 (which IMO is still a bargain). These MUA palettes will definitely catch the eye of many teenagers trying to make their pocket money stretch, or in fact anyone with a love of makeup!

Gorgeous colours! You can there's some lovely taupes, bronze, gold and creamy colours. The third shade on the bottom row is a fantastic dupe for Sin - even more so than the Sleek dupe. However my camera just would not pick the colours up. I haven't used the palette yet but they feel the same as the single eyeshadows from MUA and I love them, and feel they last a good amount of time. I'll definitely be looking at the other palette's once they come into my local store (to find out if your store will have the pro range check out these links stores and additional stores)

I'd like to say I won't ever need another neutral eyeshadow again, but I'd be lying as I just can't resist buying them. Have you tried either of these?

Orly Cotton Candy...

2011-06-15T10:05:00.000+01:00

Hello lovely followers!

Sorry for the long gap in blog posts, I've been on holiday and have been feeling a bit lazy with the blog lately but I'm feeling a bit more motivated now.

You'll have seen this polish in my eBay haul and it is my favourite of the ones I bought.

Its a beautiful creamy peachy pink colour which I have been loving for the short spells of sunshine we've had. It does take three coats for it to be opaque but I find it dries quite quickly. It lasted 3 days (which Seche Vite) before peeling off.

If you don't have this, and peachy pinks are your thing - you need it!

Nail Haul...

2011-05-17T13:40:00.002+01:00

I have been wanting Orly Rage polish since I saw it on Fleur in one of her videos so I went to http://stores.ebay.co.uk/enchantedbeautyspot after seeing loads of posts from people buying polishes cheaply. I thought it was a bit pointless only ordering one so I ordered another 3! I ordered 12 days ago, it cost me around £18 including P&P for all 4 of them and there was no customs charge.

l-r Orly Cotton Candy, Orly Rage, China Glaze Spontaneous and Nubar Amazon Coral

I also ordered a sample bloggers pack from Vivalanails. I did get the last one but haven't got round to using it. This one is nail wraps, I have used nail wraps before and wasn't keen but we'll see how these ones turn out (if I can figure how to get them on!). The "Burberry" wrap is rather questionable.

17 'Coral Pop'....

2011-05-16T10:13:00.000+01:00

I went to Boots a couple of weeks ago intending to buy Barry M Peach Melba, however they didn't have it (and neither did the 2 boots in Manchester city centre! Do Boots just not sell it?) so in the mood for a new polish I wandered around and the new Supreme Shine polishes from 17 cosmetics caught my eye. I picked up Coral Pop, a beautiful bright pinky coral shade.

It was easy to apply, opaque in two coats and dried pretty quickly. However, these are supposed to be 10 day wear polishes. Say hello to my chipped index finger after 2 days...

I really don't have much luck with 17 polishes, they always chip quickly on me. But this is a gorgeous shade, you can't see the true shade in these pictures but its very wet and dull outside so the light out there won't pick it up either.

This was £3.59 I think from Boots.

Lost Treasure....

2011-05-11T14:37:00.000+01:00

Do you ever tidy up and put away a random makeup bag away and for months wonder where you put it?

I did this, only it has been gone for about 3-4 years. It wasn't lost - it was in a cupboard I very rarely go in, it was even at the front of the cupboard!

Inside was a 2 ended pencil sharpener (which I needed so I was very happy!), a Body Shop Highlighter that looked like a Nars Multiple and also seemed to be unused, and a Liz Collinge eyeshadow. I'm not even sure if you can still buy Liz Collinge makeup but I was so pleased when I opened it and saw the shade...

Its a gorgeous bronzey/taupey colour, my favourite type of eyeshadow! Its so soft and pigmented, applies and blends like a dream.

I've been using it a lot since I discovered it, I can guarantee when I first got this eyeshadow I will have dismissed it and said "I'm not wearing brown eyeshadow" but now I love it! Here's today's makeup with the eyeshadow...

Collection 2000 Lasting Finish & MAC Studio Fix foundation

Witch concealer

MUA Powder

Xen Tan bronzer to contour

Beautyuk baked blush in shade Royal Rose (I think?)

Urban Decay Sin highlighter

Liz Collinge eyeshadow in Truffle

Loreal gel eyeliner

Estee Lauder Sumptious mascara

Benefit lipgloss 'Who are you wearing?'

Aussie Lusciously Light Challenge...

2011-05-09T10:57:00.000+01:00

Not long back Aussie set us Angels a challenge. We could chose to do the Lusciously Light Self challenge or Lusciously Lighter Style. I chose Style as I'm not feeling upto changing too much of my lifestyle or diet at the moment!

I'm glad I chose Style as its been quite fun to take part in. The lovely people at Aussie have sent me 2 different style Wigs to try and then I will be going to a salon and getting a new style.

The first wig was a sleek black bob with a fringe - it reminded me very much of my mum's hair (which isn't a bad thing!)

Hmmm...I'm not keen. Its too dark for me and I don't like the fringe.

Prepare yourself for this one...

I think I should win a prize just for posting a picture of myself in this wig for all of the Internet to see!!

Its safe to say I will not be having my hair cut like this.

So the wigs have helped me know what I DON'T want! But what do I want in my Lusciously Lighter Style?

Well here is my hair now...

Its not been cut since September (oops!) I dyed it not long back and it went a big darker than I'd like and it hasn't faded as quickly as I wanted it to.

I do want to start to go lighter (again I know, I will not be doing a home bleach job this time!) I'm thinking about caramel highlights. But I don't know what to do with the length. As I said on my last post it's gone very thin. I don't really have much time to do much other than dry and straighten it.

What do you, my lovely followers, think I should do? You have until Friday to let me know...

Hair loss..

2011-05-03T10:16:00.000+01:00

Have any of you ever suffered from hair loss?

For the past couple of months I've noticed after brushing my hair, drying it, straightening it I will get up and my bed is covered in my hair. Not just a little bit, quite a lot.

And then a couple of weeks ago I noticed it has gone very thin on my scalp and you can actually see my scalp a lot more than you used to, I've always had quite thick hair and I can tell how thin it is now. I don't over dye my hair, I don't use loads of heat on it and I haven't bleached my hair for about 7 months now.

I'm nearly 100% certain its down to stress. As you know I lost my nana at Christmas, which has knocked me and I still really struggle with that. Then we lost my husbands Gran very recently, which whilst she wasn't my gran its not nice to go through us both losing our grandparents so close together. I've been taking driving lessons, I had my test (the same day as my Husband's Gran's funeral! Not a good idea) and failed, but before it I was very worked up about it. But mostly its the fertility problems we've had that have caused me most stress, its been over 2 years since I had my ectopic pregnancy and I still can't get pregnant. In February we were told to start saving for IVF. Now IVF costs a lot of money (around £8000, you can do egg share to make it cheaper - around £1000 - but I'm not sure how I feel about donating my eggs), because we already have Alice we get no help, and my infertility is unexplained as there are no problems (only having one tube doesn't hinder fertility that much apparently). Anyway so I have spent the last few months completely stressed out about this which I know doesn't help but it's hard not to. It feels better writing it down and sharing with other people, especially because this will explain why my blogposts are so thin on the ground, I just have no motivation to blog with all of this going on.

If you've suffered from hair loss/hair thinning did you find anything helped it to stop falling out or to grow back? I'm very paranoid about it now its getting to summer and I like wearing some of my hair clipped back and when I do that you can clearly see my scalp.

GOSH Lavender Love...

2011-04-14T17:11:00.000+01:00

I spotted this lovely weeks ago but have been talking myself out of buying it because I thought I had dupes at home.

However, today I succumbed and I don't think I do have a dupe of this gorgeous colour.

Without Flash

Its a beautiful cornflower blue, a brilliant colour for spring. Application was easy, it dried quick, you could get away with one coat with this but I used two.

Lavender Love is Limited Edition along with two other polishes, a lilac and a stone/beige - I have also been lusting after both of them! These are definitely worth a look next time you're in Superdrug.

OPI Not Like the Movies...

2011-04-06T08:00:00.001+01:00

Like most people I recently purchased the £20 ASOS voucher from Groupon for £9. There was no clothes on there I wanted, I'm on a eyeshadow ban and I got impatient before they loaded the Illamasqua Toxic Nature Collection and ordered that direct from Illamasqua. So I spent days deciding what to spend my voucher on.

The new Texas Collection by OPI appeared so I decided to do some googling for swatches (Anyone find they can't purchase makeup without doing this now?) and popped I Vant To Be A Lone Star in my basket and this little lovely from the Katy Perry collection.

Sorry for all the photo's, this was so hard to photograph I just decided to show you the best ones I got (even those didn't capture the true colour of this polish.

Indoors...

Outdoors...

I think the outside ones show the colour to the most true shade. Outside it came across as mostly purple with flashes of green down the sides of my nails, inside it looked silver. Nonetheless, it's a gorgeous duo-chrome polish and I'm glad I chose it!

Illamasqua Stagnate...

2011-03-29T15:10:00.001+01:00

Another product from the Toxic Nature collection. This is one I wasn't so sure on as other people's swatches made it look a lot like Models Own Purple Grey, or just like any other "greige" type colour, I was asking about on Twitter for more swatches when the very lovely Karleigh offered to send me hers as she wasn't very keen.

I'll show you a picture but will warn you, I have some very dodgy false tan on that's fading so badly on my hands and its very obvious!

You can see it is just a standard purple grey colour, but its a very nice one! I loved the application and finish. No bubbles, dried quickly and my nails feel lovely and smooth. Its not very "Spring-y" but I still like wearing it.

Available from http://www.illamasqua.com/ and http://www.asos.com/ for £13.50

Aussie Lusciously Light Conditioner...

2011-03-29T09:00:00.001+01:00

I was recently sent the new Lusciously Light Aussome Volume Conditioner from Aussie and have been trying it out so thought I'd let you know how I got on with it.

The new range of lighter conditioners contain lightweight conditioning ingredients designed to not weigh hair down. They still have the same lovely Aussie smell and still make your hair very soft.

Unfortunately this gave me such an itchy scalp, and on further inspection it had really dried my scalp out and giving me a little bit of dandruff. I've stopped using it now and the itching has calmed down so its all I can think it can be as I haven't used anything different.

Apart from the itching it did make my hair feel nice and not weighed down at all. Maybe I just have a very sensitive scalp.

Recent Buys...

2011-03-23T10:00:00.001Z

So rather than a few little hauls I saved everything for one big haul!

This has all been bought over the past month, I have had my birthday which is why there's more than I would usually buy.

3x Barry M Instant Nail Effects

Estee Lauder Double Wear (repurchase)

Maybelline Eye Studio Drama Gel Liner

got2b volumising powder

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal Baby lipstick

China Glaze polishes Ruby Pumps and Naked

Seche Vite

Illamasqua Purity

Urban Decay cream Highlighter in Sin

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil eyeshadow in Rehab

You've seen the post on the Barry M Polishes, I think I've already reviewed Double Wear. But I will tell you what I think about the other things..

I love the Maybelline liner! I was going to buy a Bobbi Brown gel liner but I saw this in Boots on offer for £5.99 I decided to give it a go and I haven't been disapointed. It goes on easily, its well pigmented and it stays put. I would definitely reccomend you try this, I've used MAC Fluidline and I would say its better.

I'm not so sure on the volumising powder, I have used the Label m powder before and hated it. This one at least isn't visable in my hair but I don't think it really works? Maybe I'm using it wrong but I rub it in my hands like it says then massage it into my roots but it just falls flat. This was on offer for £2.04 at Boots, I probably wouldn't have tried it otherwise.

I saw the Estee Lauder lipstick in a Pixiwoo video and thought it looked lovely so thought I would treat myself to this when I bought Double Wear (I also got a free gift because I bought 2 items). Its a nice lipstick, it applies nicely, its not drying and quite glossy. But I'm not wowed by the colour, I like it and wear it but it looks so different to how it looked in the videos I saw it in. I think these are £18 but Debenhams had 10% off.

I got the China Glaze and Seche Vite from Sally's, I think I paid about £5 for the China Glaze and £6 for the Seche Vite. I love them all, Ruby Pumps is a beautiful red, though I didn't expect it to be so sparkly.

And finally the last two items from Urban Decay. They're new releases from them for the spring and had only come in the day before I bought them, but I knew before I went shopping I wanted them.

The Sin highlighter is beautiful and so creamy, and the eyeshadow pencil is fab. The colour is like a taupey brown, they dry so quickly so you have to apply it over Primer Potion to give you chance to blend it out. I've worn this lots but everytime forgot to take a picture for my blog, next time I will remember!

Illamasqua Purity..

2011-03-22T13:13:00.001Z

As soon as I saw the images of the new Illamasqua collection "Toxic Tale" I was intrigued, they seem quite whimisical and the mix of colours really caught my eye.

Image from http://www.illamasqua.com/

A couple of the nail polish's were what I was most interested in so on Friday I ordered Purity from the Illamasqua website. It came this morning and I applied it straight away. The only other Illamasqua nail polish I have is Jo'Mina which I LOVE! I love the colour, the consistency and the longevity. And Purity is no different ( though I can't speak about longevity as I had to post this as soon as I finished applying.

One coat was patchy, but the second coat finished it perfectly. This is perfect for spring and I can see I'll be getting lots of wear out of this.

Did you get anything from Toxic Nature?

New Barry M Instant Nail Effects...

2011-03-18T11:19:00.001Z

My Barry M order finally came today (not too bad I ordered about 4.30pm on monday) and straight away had to have a go with the new Instant Nail Effects.

I only ordered pink and white but I'll most likely get the blue one when they become available in the shops.

I'm wearing Nails Inc Denim polish underneath...

White Frost (excuse the orange fingers!)

Pink Fizz

Both work the same as the black and are just as good! I like having a bit of choice now and not just black. I do wish they'd have included a silver though.

The new Instant Nail Effects are available from the BarryM Website for £3.99.

Want to be an Aussie Angel?

2011-03-17T09:32:00.000Z

Well here's your chance...

This spring the rather lovely people at Aussie are giving 10 lucky people the chance to become part of the Aussie Angel activity!

The successful people will have a chance to join the rest of us Angels on our Lusciously Light journey. To enter all you have to do is create a blog post answering this question

"Put a spring in your spring! Tell us, how would you lighten up your life? #AussieLight”

The more creative the post the better to be in with a chance of winning you do do videos, songs, slideshows, and stories. After you've posted your blog tweet the link to Aussie @YummyHair

The closing date is midnight on Sunday March 20th so get your skates on!

Barry M New Release...

2011-03-14T16:51:00.000Z

I've just seen on Twitter that Barry M have released new shades of the Instant Nail Effects polish. Currently only available online they have added Pink, Blue and White to the collection. I've just ordered Pink and White, hopefully they will be here soon and I can play with them!

They're £3.99 on the Barry M Website

Exciting news from Models Own..

2011-03-10T11:25:00.002Z

You all know how much I love Models Own, so I was so excited yesterday to see they are releasing their own range of Smash-Up Crackle polishes in conjunction with WAH Nails.

Black and Silver will be available in Boots stores and online from April 20th. The other colours will be available online on the Models Own Website from April and will be £6 each. I have my eye on the silver and black one!

Photo taken from Models Own website.

OPI Pandamonium Pink...

2011-03-09T10:12:00.001Z

This is one of my favourite nail polishes at the moment. I love how easy it is to apply and it dries quite quickly. I do need three coats to get it opaque.

I expected it to be pink when I bought it but as you can see its more lilac. Such a pretty colour and will be perfect for spring.

Small MAC Limited Edition Blog Sale....

2011-02-25T10:33:00.004Z

I've decided to sell some of the MAC items I really don't use. It feels pointless them sitting around not being used. I know I've done blog posts recently on some of the items, I haven't changed my opinion on the product there are just others I use more!

So prices include P&P, if you want them just leave your email address below and I will email you with my Paypal address and if you could send the money as a gift that would be great. I am open to Reasonable offers!

1. MAC Ripe Peach. Has been used but not a lot, there is no dent or uneveness to the pan at all £17 inc P&P SOLD

2. MAC My Highland Honey blush. Again this has been used for really not much I think I got it in December and used it about 7 times. £15 inc P&P

3. MAC Chilled on Ice Paintpot. I got this on NYE so haven't had it long and its been used about 4-5 times. £12 inc P&P

4. MAC Victorian Lipstick. You can see how much this has been used which isn't a lot. £12 inc P&P SOLD

Repurchased products...

2011-02-16T07:00:00.001Z

As a beauty blogger I come across so many new products and new brands that its rare I repurchase something as I like to try something else to see how it compares.

However sometimes there are a few exceptions and some products are ones that NEED to be in my collection and I use them every day.

So, the products I have to buy as soon as they run out are...

Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder - I love this for setting my foundation. I know its not a high end brand but I find it does a fantastic job and its only £3 or something.

Collection 2000 Perfect Finish foundation - I was using Lasting Perfection before I tried this but even the lightest shade is too dark for me in the winter months so I switched to this one as weirdly, the lightest shade in this is perfect. Because I'm a stay at home mum, I can't justify using expensive foundation everyday I tend to go through a bottle a month so if I used MAC it would be about £20 every month whereas with this its less than £5 and I love the finish it gives me. I do buy probably two bottles of expensive foundation a year for when I go out and they tend to last me.

Sleek Waterproof mascara - I've included this in lots of monthly favourites so I don't need to write more about how fantastic I think this mascara is!

Rimmel Sunshimmer Bronzer - This bronzer is something I've used since I was a teenager and I really like it. Why change it if its not broken? I do like the St Tropez bronzer but like foundation I can't justify it when I don't work.

Urban Decay 24/7 Zero liner - I've bought this a few times and now they're all tiny! Luckily I have the one in my Naked palette to tide me over. I have to say though, Avon Supershock liner may take over this being a favourite as I've been very impressed with that.

Sleek Storm palette - This is my second Storm palette, I think I bought the first one in around april/may 09. As you can see in the photo below, the dark brown is almost all gone as that's what I use to fill in my brows, and the lightest shade and the darker gold has completely gone. A few other colours have hit pan. I wish Sleek would release individual eyeshadows because those 3 colours are the ones I use a lot and it would be handy to be able to buy them rather than the palette. Maybe they should do a brow set? Does anybody use the darker shades in the storm palette? I've never used them as I just don't know what to use them for, plus as soon as I apply them they end up all over my face. Post in the comments if you do and any links for posts you may have done where you've used them.

Are there any items you always repurchase or do you like to keep trying different products?

Bargain Alert...

2011-02-15T15:28:00.000Z

This morning I was looking for storage for all my Makeup and Nail Polish and went into Home Bargains to see if I could see any. I didn't but I did find...

Girls Aloud Festival Lashes for 99p!! They had all but the Sarah lashes, none of the other lashes really took my fancy but thought I'd give these ago seeing as its my birthday in a couple of weeks I'll save them for then!

So if you need some cheap lashes check out your local store, I think sometimes they can be called Quality Save too.

Rimmel Beige Style...

2011-02-14T07:00:00.003Z

I saw this polish on a friend of my Mum's in July and kept meaning to pick it up but didn't actually buy it until very recently.

I don't know what took me so long as its a gorgeous nude shade which is so easy to apply, dries quickly and with a good top coat lasts nearly 7 days which is amazing. Without the topcoat it lasts about 4-5 days which is still pretty good going considering its a drugstore product.

It depends on how tanned my skin is as to how this shows up, in daylight with no tan on its a very pinky nude. However if I have a tan you can barely see the polish, which personally I quite like as sometimes I don't want a colour on my nails but I want to cover up my nail bed as they're quite yellow from permanently wearing polish.

I think I'll be having a look at the other shades in the Professional Finish range as this has impressed me in terms of application and staying power.

Recent MAC Purchases...

2011-02-11T07:00:00.003Z

Buying new goodies from MAC is always a novelty for me as though I seem to manage to get something from most collections, I can't buy as much as I want so its mostly saved for times when I have a bit more money like Christmas or my birthday.

This year for Christmas I asked my brother for the Tartan Tale Cool Thrillseekers pigments which I got (I did have to go and buy it myself and then give it him to wrap!) and then after Christmas I had a little bit of money to spend which I allocated to new clothes but couldn't resist picking up one of the paintpots from the Cham-Pale collection.

Chilled On Ice Paintpot is a lovely champagne colour with shimmer in, I do like using this with gold coloured eyeshadows or on its own all over the lid.

Cool Thrillseekers pigment set includes Reflects Pearl which is a glitter, Silver Fog, Softwash grey which is sometimes quite purple depending on the light, Cheers my Dear, and Mauvement. I have had a sample of Softwash Grey before but sold it, however I don't remember it being the same colour as the one in this set, I also have a sample of Mauvement but its a really lovely shade that I use lots anyway.

Pigments can be a bit of a nightmare to use but I love the colours in this set and use it whenever I don't want a neutral eye.

Urban Decay Naked Palette...

2011-02-09T07:00:00.003Z

I know I'm way behind on this one and you'll have already seen a million posts on this palette, but it is brilliant and I feel it deserves another post.

I got my Naked palette from my parents for Christmas and as soon as I got it I sat down, took off my make up and started playing with the colours. All of them are fantastic, great quality, good colour pay off and very easy to blend.

Its impossible for me to pick a favourite, so I picked three - Sin, Sidecar and Hustle.

The only shades I haven't used are the matte shades Naked and Buck, I love shimmery eyeshadows and have never worn matte eyeshadow.

With this palette you can create everyday looks or nice smokey eyes for a night time.

My favourite look which I do most days is...

Virgin all over the eye

Sin over the lid

Toasted in the crease

Hustle in the outer corner

Whiskey eyeliner to line the upper and lower lashline.

Its a really pretty combination that brings out the blue of my eyes fantastically.

I was worried I would run out of the shades I love most quite quickly but I've just noticed in this palette you get 1.3g of each eyeshadow compared to 0.80g in the BOSII. All of my other eyeshadows have been very neglected since I got this and suddenly my collection seems redundant as I love the versatility of Naked.

One thing I was really disappointed with,was that the mini Primer Potion was completely empty and had never had any product in. But seeing as I had only just bought a full size Primer Potion I couldn't be bothered to take it back.

Do you have the Naked Palette? Which are your favourite shades?

Barry M Racing Green..

2011-02-08T09:26:00.001Z

So I've not posted for nearly a month! I'm really sorry it's took longer than I expected to be able to get back to normal after losing Nana, it doesn't help that my daughter started nursery and seemed to get every illness under the sun for the past 4 weeks passing them all onto me and now I have an ear infection! I hope this is the start of regular posting again from me, I'm also going to be posting a couple of videos on here reviewing a new product once I'm better.

This is Barry M Racing Green nail polish, its a gorgeous shimmery deep green colour and one I reach for a lot when trying to decide which colour to wear.

This is a good Barry M polish, some are a nightmare to apply and just never seem to dry but this applies beautifully and dries pretty quickly. It lasted about 3 days which is average for my nails.

I've seen a couple of blogs say its a pretty good dupe for Illamasqua Viridian which came out with the Art of Darkness collection. Barry M nail polishes sell for £2.99 in Boots and Superdrug and on the Barry M Website

MyPure reviews: Living Nature & Lovea Bio

2011-01-10T11:11:00.000Z

Hello lovely followers!

I'm back, sadly I lost my Nana on Boxing Day and haven't had the will to blog or anything else since then so that's why its been so quiet over here. But I'm trying to move on and get on with everything I did before. There will be a lack of photo's in this post as my camera is broken!

This month's products from MyPure were Lovea Bio Burkina Shea Moisterising Hair Mask and Living Nature Foundation.

First up, Living Nature Foundation. I decided to try this as I hadn't tried anything from the Living Nature range, or any makeup from the MyPure website and as I'm always on the look out for a new foundation I thought it would be worth a try.

The foundation comes in a glass bottle with a pump, you get 30ml for £17.99 and it comes in 6 shades. I chose Pure Taupe but it ended up being too dark for me and I'm usually a MAC NW20. The foundation has a bit of a strange smell that I could smell even after it had settled and been powdered, it also didn't provide me with enough coverage for my taste. It didn't last the whole day, but it did quite well and lasted about 6 hours. Its not for me however because of the lack of coverage, but if you like a lighter foundation and are looking for one that is sulfate free, paraben free & phthalate free then this is worth a try.

You can buy it here MyPure Website

The second item was Lovea Bio Burkina Shea Moisterising Hair Mask. I chose this as my hair still hasn't recovered from the bleaching incidents back in August and I've been trying a few conditioning treatments to help. This comes in a 300ml tub and costs £7.99 which I think its great value.

The conditioner smells lovely, however when applying it to my hair it didn't seem to smooth out my hair like a normal conditioner would. When I washed it out my hair didn't feel soft then either, once it was dry it was soft but not as soft as I would expect after using a conditioning treatment. I was also a bit confused about how to use the product and the writing was in foreign languages but from what I could understand they didn't tell you how to use it either. There are instructions on the MyPure Website however.

I wouldn't really recommend it as I've found other treatments to be more effective.

Blogging hiatus...

2010-12-20T16:29:00.000Z

Just to let you all know the reason I haven't posted, and why there will be no posts for a while is because my nana is very poorly and we've had really bad news. So blogging is the last thing on my mind and my heart just isn't in it.

X

Today I am..

2010-12-11T11:00:00.001Z

Over on Emily's blog http://www.sparkleandshade.com/ for a little interview.

Go and check it out and if you're not already follow her!

X

Avon Violetta & OPI Mad as a Hatter...

2010-12-11T07:00:00.001Z

So I'm unsure on Matte nail polish. Seeing as its Christmas, the season of glitter I attempted to change my mind with a bit of glittery polish with my Matte mani!

I added OPI Mad as a Hatter to my ring finger. It looks so much better in real life, I couldn't stop staring at it (however since doing this mani I have lost the OPI!)

The two go together so well.

The Avon Matte didn't last so long without a topcoat, one day at the most! However with the Rimmel Matte topacoat, it kept the polish looking good for 3 days.

I do love this colour, it keeps catching my eye as I'm getting on with my day. I just hope I can find my OPI Glitter again as I love the two together.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-10T23:10:00.000Z

I just thought I would share some recent photo's from the holiday season. Christmas is truly my favourite holiday, and winter is my favourite season. I think it helps that, currently, I don't drive so I don't have to drive through the snow, I don't have to try and get into work. I can just enjoy the pretty snow falling in front of my house and then go out with Alice and have fun building snowmen....

Alice putting the Fairy on our tree

"Alice's" (i.e Mine) Snowman

Enjoying the yummy Mulled Wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets

Our Tree!

Putting Mum's tree up (this is my little sister)

Keeping occupied on snowy days by baking!

My neighbours perfect lawn of snow that remained untouched for over a week until it rained and melted all the snow! I was so tempted to run over it every time I saw it..

Dear Santa...

2010-12-08T07:00:00.001Z

This year I have been very good and I would like to wake up on Christmas morning to these lovely gifts...

MAC 5 Cool Thrill Seekers Pigment/Glitter £27.50 includes Mauvement, Softwash Grey, Cheers my Dear, Silver Fog and Reflects Pearl.

Available from http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/

Neal And Wolf Indulgence Tranquility gift set

£23.95 from Neal And Wolf

Includes Indulgence scented candle and Harmony Intensive Care Treatment

Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette

£27 available from http://www.boots.com/ http://www.beautybay.com/ http://www.asos.com/ http://www.debenhams.com/

Benefit Somebeauty to Love Christmas set

£29.50 from http://www.boots.com/

Eyeko Sugar Lips set £15 from http://www.eyeko.com/

Use Ambassador code E12858 and get a free gift when you spend over £15.

Avon Matte Nail Polishes...

2010-12-07T10:24:00.001Z

Avon isn't a company I tend to buy a lot of cosmetics from. I've purchased the odd thing but I can't say its the first place I would think of to have a little splurge on new makeup. So I was quite surprised to see some recent video's raving about the new Supershock eyeliner, my Sister in Law is an Avon representative so when I ordered one of the liner's, she showed me the new Matte nail polishes which she ordered.

There are five shades L-R Black as Night, Violetta, Red Velvet, Inky Blue and Grey Cement.

The grey and black are matte in that they have no shimmer, whereas the red,violet and navy all have lovely shimmer in them. Its most obvious in Red Velvet when its applied to the nail..

This is two coats, they apply really easily and dry super quick. Violetta and Red Velvet are my favourites, the colours are beautiful and the shimmer is gorgeous.

These will be available from Avon from December 23rd and whilst on offer will cost £3, full price is £6. I definitely recommend you try them.

My current favourite look...

2010-12-03T12:10:00.000Z

Now don't fall over I've actually managed to do a FOTD! Go me

I've been wearing this look a lot recently, and I really do love it. The sparkle in it makes it festive but its still not over the top. Its an eyeshadow I've never paid any attention to despite having about 4 of them - Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy.

I apply Midnight Cowboy (or Midnight Cowboy rides again if you have that will do, its just a bit more sparkly) all over the lid, Then in the crease and outer corner I use Stray Dog (which is a taupey shade you could use Mushroom if you have that it will create a similar look) and Oil Slick in the very outer corner to make it slightly smokey. Then I just line my eyes (I've used a MAC liner here) apply some mascara (this is Avon Supershock) to complete the look.

Its so easy and requires no thought which is why I love it.

Alva Rhassoul skincare...Part 2!

2010-12-01T06:00:00.001Z

So as I said last month, with my My Pure blogging parcel this month I would review the toner and moiseriser from the Alva Rhassoul range.

I've been using them for the last month and I'm undecided.

Last week I had a huge breakout of rather big, very sore spots. I don't think its the Rhassoul cleanser as I have been using that for 2 months now and have had no reaction from that. I'm inclined to think it was the moisteriser, like I said in my last post on this, I struggle to find a moisteriser that works with my skin. So the hunt for a new one starts once again.

I like the toner, it makes my skin feel well cleansed and helps get rid of the last traces of my make up that I may have missed with the cleanser. The smell of it is really strong, like the Repair Spray, and my husband (and even Alice) have commented on how they don't like it. I don't mind it but I can see how it would be off putting for some people.

I've stopped using the full range for now until my skin clears up so I can determine which product was causing it by introducing each one seperately.

Alva Rhassoul Aktiv Creme is available from MyPure for £12.50 for 75ml

Alva Rhassoul Clear-Up Active Facial Tonic is also available from MyPure For £11 for 100ml

All I want for Christmas...

2010-11-30T07:00:00.003Z

...is gorgeous hair!

Cloud Nine have put together two gift sets for this Christmas, the "Gift of Straight" and the "Gift of Volume".

Gift of Straight includes the full size Cloud Nine iron and the handy micro iron which is tiny! This costs just £154.95. It would be a great gift just for you, or if your partner needs a mini straightener (could be a good way to convince them you NEED this set!)

Gift of Volume includes TheO Pod, 4x30mm rollers, 4x40mm rollers, 4x50mm rollers, a Cloud Nine Amplify Spray, a Sectioning comb and a gorgeous limited edition case. This costs £199.95

Both sets can be purchased from the Cloud Nine website http://cloudninehair-direct.com/

I will be putting TheO on my Christmas list but I know Santa has already got my present so I doubt it will be under my tree on Christmas morning but a girl can dream...

What do you want for Christmas?

November Favourites...

2010-11-29T15:00:00.001Z

Its that time again! We only have one month of 2010 left, and this will be my last monthly favourites for 2010 as I'm planning something different for next month.

Urban Decay Primer Potion - I finally gave in and bought the full size. I'm glad I did as I really can't live without this stuff.

Lush Snow Fairy shower gel - I was so excited to buy more of this as I love the smell and I love using it. I'm going to go and buy another big bottle of it before the end of their Xmas range so it will be last me through the next year.

Avon Supershock mascara - My Sister in Law gave me this as she is a Avon Representative, I really like it! Makes me lashes look fuller and longer, I'll be doing a review soon.

Aussie Take The Heat spray - I was sent this from Aussie in October and I love it. I feel like it definitely makes me hair feel less "fried" when I've styled it with straighteners.

MAC Creme Cup lipstick - I chose this a Back 2 Mac freebie a few weeks ago and have been loving it. I can see me buying this over and over again.

MAC My Highland Honey blush - I've wrote a post on this so won't write much but I do still love it.

Urban Decay Book of Shadows II - I'm sure this has featured in many of my Monthly Favourites this year but I really do love this palette. Its got a good mix of shades so lots of different looks can be created with it.

NYC Prince Street...

2010-11-29T11:35:00.001Z

I got this polish from Sam from Makeup Advice Forum to review for her, and I've never tried a NYC polish before so I was interested in this as its such a gorgeous purple.

Application was really easy, though it did need 3 coats for full opaqueness. It dried really quickly and lasted 3 days before chipping. The colour is quite a bright purple, I felt it was quite bright for this time of year on my hands but I'd be happy with it on my toes. I did wear this on my hands on holiday and I thought it was a good colour for that, so I expect this will get lots of wear next summer!

NYC In a New York Colour Minute polishes are £2.59 which is fantastic! I'm definitely going to go on the hunt for more as they have some lovely colours.

I need your opinions (possibly quite rambly..)

2010-11-23T13:16:00.000Z

I'm sure you will have all noticed I don't blog much.

The reason being, I don't have a lot of time with the whole makeup looks thing with having a little monster at home in the form of an almost 3 year little girl who is more than a handful. But also, I don't work so when I do get a bit of spare cash I don't really buy a lot of makeup (I know I don't do bad and a lot of the time I don't even do hauls on what I buy but I tend to repurchase a lot), so I don't have much I can post about.

I'm also sure you will have noticed I do a lot of nail posts, now this is where I need opinions. I could easily post more nail posts as I have a lot of polishes I haven't swatched and I paint my nails every few days and that's always done when Alice is in bed so doesn't take as much time as makeup does. But I don't always post them as I feel like I'm cheating you all a bit by just posting a nail post. So, my idea is to post a lot more nail swatches? I would still do little hauls and possibly some makeup looks (I have planned to do Christmas party makeup which I know I need to get a move on with but I'm not full of a cold - yes again!) but it is likely to be mostly nails.

Would you all mind? I know a lot of you started following me as a makeup blog and I seem to be heading more into the realm of nail blogging (although its not very exciting nails as I'm not very practised in nail art and such)

I did warn you this is quite rambly, also there are lots of brackets!!!

Don't worry about offending me (unless you are going to say "yes I'd like lots more nail posts because you're really ugly and I don't want to see your face anymore" because that's not very nice and would make me cry!) and say "No carry on posting makeup I don't care if you have nothing to say about it or if you look like a dogs dinner"!

Tiny MAC Haul...

2010-11-10T13:57:00.000Z

Unless you live under a rock you'll know this year's holiday collection from MAC has been released A Tartan Tale. As usual it has lots of parts to it but there wasn't much that interested me this year. Last year I purchased a holiday palette and it ended up not being used as I wasn't very impressed with the pigmentation of the shadows.

So this year I only bought a blush which has no tartan to be seen and is very pretty...

My Highland Honey and a sample of Prep + Prime Face (which I've used before and think is fab!)

Its a lovely matte peach shade

I only own one other MAC blush which is Ripe Peach which is a very similar colour so I decided to compare the two.

So you can see that the lightest part of Ripe Peach is really similar to My Highland Honey whereas the darker park is a lot darker. Ripe Peach has shimmer, My Highland Honey is matte. I can't say which I prefer as I haven't had chance to use it properly yet, but Ripe Peach has been my favourite blush since I bought it in March.

Did you buy anything from this collection?

Accessorize Notourious...

2010-11-08T11:16:00.001Z

I promised this picture over a week ago and its only just happening! Oops

Anyway here is Accessorize Notourious, a dark grey polish with green and purple glitter. It looks different in all lights, it's definitely an interesting one.

In this picture it looks purple

And in this it looks green which is mostly what it looks like under artificial lighting depending on the angle you hold your hand at.

Its a beautiful shade, easy to apply, quick drying, but it lasts one day before chipping. I've given this 2 goes now and each time it chips badly. Which is a shame as its a gorgeous polish with everything else going for it.

You can buy Accessorize polish from Superdrug and the Accessorize website for £4 each.

Free Nails Inc with Glamour Magazine

2010-11-05T05:00:00.001Z

With this months Glamour Magazine you get a free Nails Inc polish! The magazine is £2 and the nail polish is worth £11 so its a great offer.

There are 4 colours available, I subscribe to the magazine so I didn't get to pick my colour and was sent Hampstead Heath which is a deep red/raspberry. At first I wasn't happy with it but after 3 coats its a beautiful colour. I did take pictures of it on my nails but they didn't turn out well, will try again at weekend.

There are 4 colours to collect

Hampstead Heath, Warwick Avenue, Saville Row and Jermyn Street.

When I pop out to the shops this weekend I'll be grabbing a Jermyn Street.

October Favourites...

2010-11-04T11:52:00.000Z

Oh my god it's November already! Do I say that every month? I think I do but this year has gone so fast, I love this time of year the weather is usually nice (I say this as I look out at a very wet, rainy Manchester) there's usually loads of parties and nice shopping trips and of course we're on the countdown to Christmas! Exciting.

Here's October's favourites...

St Tropez bronzer - I love this bronzer!! It does have a slight shimmer to it, but I really like that. Its not mega obvious so if you just want to add some glow back to your face this is really good, its very natural and doesn't give you a tangerine glow! The only thing is, I've had this since mid September and as you can see I've made a pretty big dent in. I don't use a lot when I apply it but its very powdery so when you swirl your brush in it, you get loads of fall out all over the pan. If that make's sense?

Sleek Waterproof mascara - Still loving this mascara, its starting to dry up now so I'm going to be buying another.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation - Love this foundation. There's not much I can say that you won't have heard already.

MAC MSF Natural - Sets SFF really well.

Eyeko Grafiti liner - I've been using this more out of laziness than anything else. I do my make up sat on my bed with a sleek palette as my mirror. To do pencil liner I have to get up and to go my mirror so I can use two hands. Using liquid liners means I don't have to get up - so yes very lazy but this is a really good liquid liner.

Barry M Dusky Mauve - This is a beautiful wintery nail polish. I'm sure you'll all know its a very good dupe for Chanel Paradoxal too.

Sleek blush in Rose Gold - This is a gorgeous blush, great pigmentation, a few people have said its a dupe for NARS Orgasm. I'm not sure, its very similar but I prefer this, its a bit more peachy.

Alva Rhassoul skincare...

2010-11-04T11:34:00.000Z

I've never been able to find a cleanser that works really well with my skin type. When I was a teenager I had really bad acne, it cleared up a lot in my late teens but I do still suffer with the odd breakout. I have only ever used Dove soap on my face which is what I was told to use by the Dermatologist at the hospital that treated me for my teenage acne, which was always fine but now I'm nearing my mid twenties I figured I best start a skincare routine if I want to look after my skin. I'm still struggling to find a moisturiser that works well for my face but I have found my cleanser.

Alva Rhassoul mineral wash cream " is intended for the deep cleansing of skin pores with volcanic mineral clay. Minerals, trace elements and naturally pure essential oils support the skin during washing in the fight against pimples, blackheads and excessively oily skin. Courtesy of Rhassoul lava clay's 55% silica content, this highly effective yet gentle cleansing cream is suitable for the whole body including the scalp, where it even prevents dandruff, reduces the inflammation and redness associated with psoriasis on the scalp"

I've only used this on my face so I can't comment on how it acts on the rest of the body. But, I've been really happy with this cleanser. My breakouts are less often, in fact I barely get any spots since Is started using this a month ago. The smell of it isn't too unpleasant, and the consistency is quite runny but with gentle "gritty bits". Depending on how my skin is I leave it on for 1 minute or wash it off straightaway. The only problem I have with this is the mess it leaves afterward I empty the bath or turn off the shower there is still lots of brown grit in the bottom of the bath. Not really a problem but worth mentioning.

This costs £10.50 for 150ml on the My Pure website

Alva Rhassoul Repair Spray "Alva Rhassoul Repair Spray is an anti-bacterial repair spray formulated with tea tree and manuka oils and 90% aloe vera to combat spots and provide moisture and healing nutrients for irritated and problem skin. "

I haven't used this as much as the cleanser as obviously you only use this if you do get a spot and I haven't had many since getting it. However, I have a few under the skin spots which (shamefully) I have been trying to get rid (yes I mean squeezing!) of and have resulted in a little breakout around that area. I have used the Repair Spray a couple of times and it has really helped, they appeared yesterday morning, I used it in the morning, last night and this morning and they have gone down a lot. So I'm really impressed with this stuff. It smells pretty strong, but it does have Tea Tree oil in so that's understandable.

This is £11 for 75ml on the My Pure website

I think the next thing I'm going to try is the Rhassoul Balance cream to see if I can find the impossible - a moisturiser that works with my skin! So look out for that review next month.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T00:06:00.000+01:00

Happy Halloween everybody!

I know not everybody enjoys it but I love Halloween and it seems lots of people in the UK are starting to celebrate it as much as American's do which is fab because its such a fun "holiday".

We had our Halloween party on friday night, it wasn't a big one just a small gathering but we got dressed up anyway...

Alice look gorgeous in her Alice in Wonderland dress

I was supposed to be Lady Gaga, I attached a big silver triangle to my dress but it just wouldn't stay put so I ended up having to cut it up and ended up feeling more like Barbie!

Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween whatever you're doing. If you're dressing up what's your outfit?

A little Haul...

2010-10-28T16:40:00.000+01:00

Today I have been running round like a mad woman with my mum trying to get everything together for our Halloween party tomorrow night. However, I asked my lovely mum to stop at Superdrug on our way home to grab a Bad Gal palette from Sleek. During my mad dash in there I spotted the Accessorize stand!!

I was so happy (which is pretty sad) as our Superdrug until recently was really rubbish but we acquired the Sleek stand and now Accessorize.

Anyway I decided to just grab two polishes today and I picked up Notorious and Magical Mocha! Hopefully I'll have swatches up for you tomorrow of both. But for now I'll show you the new Sleek palette.

This is a new improved Graphite palette and - good news- its part of the main line. Hoorah! I love my Graphite palette and like to use it whenever I do a smoky eye so I was sort of on the wall about this. However I saw swatches last night on Deborah's blog I decided I did indeed need to purchase it as they have taken out some of the greys (which are all very very similar) and replaced them with greens and indigo blues.

Hello orange hand and sausage fingers!

What's great about this palette is they have decided to name the shades. They're written on the plastic sheet that they place over the shadows which I usually throw away so I'm not sure how long it will be around for before I get fed up and chuck it.

Names of the each are (L-R)

Top Row - Innocence, Gullible, Blade,Gun Metal, Underground,Noir

Bottom Row- Intoxicated, Envy, Obnoxious, Abyss, Twilight, Rebel

I'm unsure of the texture of Underground and Envy, they don't feel as soft and smooth as the usual Sleek shadows. However, this is a lovely palette and one I'm sure I'll get lots of use out of.

Accessorize do Cosmetics...

2010-10-18T14:02:00.000+01:00

I was so excited recently to hear Accessorize have released a line of new cosmetics to be sold on their website and in Superdrug stores. I love everything Accessorize sell, they're jewellery is beautiful, well made and affordable so I was pleased to hear they were heading into the world of cosmetics.

Released at the end of September, the new new range consists of five themes to choose from - Rock Star, Exotic Brights, With Love, Illusion and Je t'aime.

Rock Star encourages you to "embrace the edgy, glam-rock look emerging this season with bold eyeliner, dramatic nails, eye catching shades and glittery shadows."

I love the sound of this range for this season, I love a smokey eye and dark nails to see me through autumn to winter! The Rock Star Hot Smudge for £5 looks fantastic.

With Love claims to be "The ultimate handbag beauty buys, boasting a selection of on-trend lip colours and blushes, classic eye shades and baked bronzers to give you an all year-round glow"

I love the sound of the baked bronzer £6, and the blushes £5. They look like good dupes for the MAC Mineralize skinfinishes and blushes. The coral coloured lipstick £5 in the promo image looks amazing and will be one I will definitely be looking out for.

Exotic Brights - "Turn Heads wherever you go with this deliciously daring selection of nail colours, sparkling eye crayons and neon eye dusts"

The pastel nail polishes look gorgeous, for £4 each I think they're great value. I'm also interested to see how the sparkling eye crayons will perform as I've had troubles with eye crayons creasing before. It would be great if they perform well as they're only £3 each!

Illusion - "Luxurious gold packaging and playful glamour makes this collection a dressing table essential. Dreamy hues including dusky pink, purple shimmer and bronze, all with an iridescent beauty, make every day a dress up day"

The first things to catch my eye are those gorgeous iridescent nail polishes, they look like they could be good dupes for the recent polishes from the MAC Venemous Villains release and the Orly FX collection, for £4 they're definitely worth a try. The baked eye shadows cost only £4.50 and they look beautiful!

JE T'AIME - "Experience love at first sight Je'Taime's smoky eyes and dusky nail shades. Parisian beauty is captured with a selection of pretty pinks, purples and slate grey shades"

I love the look the the taupey-mauve shade at the front, and the slate grey behind it! Again for £4 you really can't go wrong.

I'm really impressed with the thought that's gone into the collections and the ideas behind them. The packaging doesn't look cheap and would appeal to all markets. The price range makes it affordable for everyone with the most expensive item being the primer for £9 and the eyeshadow palette's for £8.

I can't wait to try it, what are your thoughts on the collection?

Bourjois Bio Detox Foundation..

2010-10-18T05:00:00.002+01:00

Recently Bourjois released a new Organic foundation that claims to "even out the complexion, minimize pores and conceal imperfections". One of the ingredients of Bio Detox is chlorophyll from plants which gives oxygen and filters polution which should leave your skin pure and fresh.

Picture taken from Bourjois website.

They say its non-pore blocking, oil free and anti-shine....

I used this on friday, the smell of it when it comes out is cucumber which isn't too unpleasant. It was quite hard to apply and found it difficult to blend, the coverage is full coverage as Bourjois say. It left my skin looking very matte, I didn't use any concealer and set it with my usual MSF Natural and applied some San Tropez Bronzer to put some glow back in my skin!

Well two hours later my face was shine city and I could smell the foundation which had started to smell like old fashioned make up, you know that really perfumed smell? It really made me feel sick and my face felt so horrible and oily. Now, my skin is combination skin and throughout the month it changes at the moment it is a little on the oily side but when I've used my Lasting Perfection foundation or my MAC SFF it's been fine and has stayed put without shinyness. As the day went on it just felt worse, it changed colour and the smell just stuck all day I couldn't wait to wash it off.

There's so many mixed reviews of this foundation, people with normal skin are saying it dries them out, whereas others love it! If you don't want to shell out £7.99 for the foundation, there is a sample inside this month's Elle magazine (which you also get a free Clinique lipgloss with!) I'm glad I didn't buy it as after the first good reviews of it from the girls who went to the Bourjois event, I was really looking forward to trying it but it was dissapointing to say the least.

Cheryl Cole's new hair colour...

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000+01:00

I'm sure by now you will have all seen Cheryl Cole's new hair?

But for those of you who may live somewhere without TVs and newspapers (which is highly unlikely if you're reading this post!) then here's a picture

Photo courtesy of Daily Mail

There's been so varying opinions on it but personally I love it! However if you've been following me since the beginning you'll know I loved it last year when she did it and she inspired me to go red. This time I'm glad I went back to red before Cheryl so I don't look like I'm copying here but I love the colour!

I read in The Daily Mail that she used Loreal Casting Creme Gloss in Mahogany, which seems odd for someone with all her money and I'm not sure I believe it but she is the face of Loreal. I've used this colour before a few times and it does give a similar effect. Another similar colour is Loreal Ferria Plum Power which is what I used the last time and its very close in colour to Mahogany.

What do you think?

OPI Barefoot in Barcelona...

2010-10-12T10:00:00.001+01:00

I bought this in the ASOS sale last week, usually I don't have much luck with OPI's they can be gloopy and chip within hours on me but with this being only £4 I was willing to give it a try.

I would say its more of a red toned brown but its a really gorgeous colour, it also applied beautifully and no chips! This has been the first OPI I've been impressed with and I'm so glad I bought it - I can see it being a staple in my collection.

A New hair FOTD...

2010-10-11T10:00:00.001+01:00

So the tale continues of me and my ever changing hair colour! When I posted my FOTD last week I mentioned how I can't get rid of the gingerish tint to my hair when it was blonde, I tried to do my own roots this week and it was disasterous so I decided to just give up on the blonde and go back to my usual colour. But I was told because of the bleach I had to put on a red dye which I did and used my ever faithful Plum Power by Feria...

I'm a lot happier with it now, the ginger in my hair was driving me mad before and no amount of purple shampoo or Lee Stafford Hot Shots was fixing it enough for me. Now I feel much more wintery and more like myself, I definitely prefer my hair a darker shade.

Now for the FOTD...

MAC Studio Fix Foundation

MAC Studio Sculpt concealer

MAC MSF Natural in Medium

Rimmel Bronzer

MAC Ripe Peach blush

White Rabbit eyeshadow from the Alice in Wonderland BOS all over the lid

The dark silvery colour in the same BOS

Dark grey from Sleek Graphite

Eyeko Graffitti liner in black

Sleek Waterproof Mascara

Collection 2000 lipgloss in Glow

The Future's bright, the future's....Tangerine?

2010-10-09T10:00:00.003+01:00

This is Tangerine Queen from Models Own and I was sent this to review by Sam at MAF just before my holiday. I have to admit orange is not a colour I would ever choose for myself so I was very wary when I tried it.

When it's applied, it dries matte rather than shiny this is 2 coats.

Yes its very bright!!!

I have to admit this really isn't for me I don't go for bright colours like this, I'm more drawn to pinks, neutrals and dark colours - I'm very much a boring lass!

However, I can imagine on someone who tans much better than me this would be fantastic! Unfortunately it just made me feel very self conscious about my hands. I didn't keep it on long enough to chip but I imagine as with all Models Own Polishes it lasts very well!

Saturday Night's make up..

2010-10-08T10:16:00.000+01:00

Last wednesday was mine and the hubby's 2nd wedding anniversary!! I'm so shocked at how quickly its gone. Anyway seeing as we had only just got back from Majorca in the wee small hours we didn't do anything to celebrate until Saturday when we went to our favourite Italian Restaurant.

Here's the make up I wore..

MAC SFF foundation NW20

MAC MSF Natural in Medium

MAC Studio Sculpt concealer

MAC Ripe Peach Blush

MAC Pigment in Mauvment all over lid

MAC Satin Taupe in outer corner

MAC kohl liner in Ebony

Sleek waterproof mascara

MAC lipstick in Speed Dial

A bit of a MAC face but I really liked it, it was simple but still nice enough for a special night out. The camera has really bleached my face in the first one to make it whiter than my body! But you can see in the second it isn't that bad. Next time I do a FOTD you might have a bit of a shock as I've had a big change!

Here's some pictures of the yummy food...

Yummy starters - Garlic bread and ribs! I didn't eat all of the pizza to myself, we share starters although I did only get one rib as Colin enjoyed them a bit too much!

White profiteroles! Oh they are the best dessert in the whole world! No matter how full I am, I can't leave without having these.

Thank you Aussie!!

2010-10-04T10:00:00.001+01:00

This year I have been an Honorary Aussie Angel, I missed out on applying to be one the last time round but the lovely Aussie girls allowed me to join them at their fantastic parties and to mingle with them and lots of other gorgeous bloggers!

At each party they had a box out for us to put hair suggestions in, and they combined them all to make a fantastic Style Bible..

Here is my tip, I have a feeling it won't make sense to a lot of people as I wrote it after a few too many cocktails...

What I actually meant was pull your hair to the opposite side of your head when you're drying it to create more natural looking volume!

Thank you Aussie for sending me the Style Bible and for letting me be part of the Aussie gang! I had so much fun and I can't wait to meet up with you all again!

Today's make up...

2010-10-02T09:00:00.002+01:00

I'm so happy Autumn is upon us, I love dark colours and I always feel odd wearing darker colours during summer.

So I took the opportunity today to wear a bit of a darker eye with MAC's Gold Stroke Pigment..

Its such a lovely colour, I tried it whilst I was on holiday and it didn't feel or look right but now I'm home and the temperatures are a lot cooler. Here's what else I used

I used the middle blusher from this palette

In the crease and outer corner I used the brown from the Sleek Safari palette.

I have no idea why my hair looks a bit gingery in the last picture, some pictures it looks fine and others its like that. When I look at it in daylight outside it's fine. I'm not sure what to do with it now, as the underneath is starting to go a orangey colour, any suggestions?

Duty Free Haul!

2010-10-01T10:00:00.002+01:00

I got back from Majorca earlier this week, we had a great time and I'm not happy to be home (but I am happy to have my own comfy bed!) Before we left I indugled in a little bit of Duty Free shopping!

Our flight was at 00.50pm so Duty Free was empty! We had the whole place to ourselves and we got to browse MAC in peace without getting dirty looks from sales assistants.

Here's what I bought

Huge Boss Deep Red - Again another perfume I used to wear loads when I was younger and I forgot all about it! I really love this scent and it was only £36 for 75ml!

MAC MSF Natural in Medium - I ran out so this was just a repurchase!

MAC Studio Fix Fluid - I've never bought this foundation before but I have used it and I really like it! At the moment because I have a bit of a tan I only have to use a little bit and stipple it on with a 188 for a more natural look.

MAC Speed Dial lipstick - I've been wanting to buy this for months, but everytime I'm in MAC I talk myself out of it. This time I just decided to go for it and I love it. Such a gorgeous shade of pink!

I also got some little samples of Gold Stroke Pigment, Pro Longwear foundation, Strobe Cream and Mauvement pigment. I really didn't like Pro Longwear, it went orange on me very quickly! And it looked far too matte on my face. I wore Mauvement nearly every night on holiday its such a pretty colour, Gold Stroke is a lovely bronzey brown colour - perfect for autumn!

Speed Dial

Mauvement

Gold Stroke

I love Duty Free shopping! Its all part of my holiday and I always have to treat myself.

September Favourites

2010-09-30T12:08:00.001+01:00

I can't believe September is over! I didn't do a monthly favourites last month but I'm back into the swing of blogging now and I'm hoping I'll get more on track now.

Here's this months favourites...

John Frieda Tone-Refreshing Shampoo & Conditioner - Since I've gone lighter I need to use this once or twice a week to try and tone down the orangeness in my hair. Because I had red hair before it does keep seeping though but this really helps, and works even better with my next favourite.

Lee Stafford Hot Shots 4 Blondes - These are pretty expensive at £6.99 for 3 little bottles but I only put it on the area where I have highlights which is just the top section of my hair so I manage to get 3 uses out of one little bottle and I try to do it once a week, sometimes I'll do it twice depending on the colour of my hair. I've just got back from Majorca and my hair was gone really light on top, I used this when I got home and its gone lighter. It definitely works and I really like it.

Models Own Utopia - I've been wearing this lots this month, its a pretty simple colour and it lasts really well as with all Models Own polishes.

Max Factor liquid liner - I was given this in the goodie bag from the Aussie Aussome Volume party I went to and I've used it a lot ever since. Its really easy to use and has great staying power.

Sleek waterproof mascara - I won this in a giveaway on Facebook and I love it! Its not very waterproof but it does give my lashes great length and volume.

Issey Miyake perfume - I used to wear this loads when I was younger and just haven't bought it since then, but my mum gave me this little bottle and I've rekindled my love for it! Its such a lovely scent and its one that my husband doesn't complain about!

Let me know what you've been loving this month.

x

Lovea Bio Argan Oil Cell Renewal Body Scrub

2010-09-22T10:00:00.001+01:00

This is another item I received from Mypure this month.

Using false tan you really need to use a good exfoliator, generally I apply false tan every 10 days or so and like to exfoliate every couple of days in between to ensure the tan stays even.

So I was happy when I received this from Mypure as its always good to try new things, which is why I like the MyPure blogging scheme so much because they always send things I probably wouldn't think to try myself.

Firstly the packaging was a problem for me, I was really hard to get any product out of the tube through the cap, I had to take the cap off to get it out. I think it needs a bigger hole to come out of.

The smell is nice, its very similar to the Lovea shampoo and moisturiser I have already reviewed. The texture of it is pretty "scrubby" it feels hard enough to give you a good scrub without it being too harsh.

Afterwards, I was left with really soft skin and it has helped my tan to stay even.

A'kin Vitamin Hair Masque

2010-09-20T10:00:00.001+01:00

This was sent to me as part of this months mypure blogging parcel.

Luckily it came in very handy! If you've seen my recent post about my hair you'll know I bleached it, and we all know the damage bleach can do to your hair. I put this on the day after the first two lots of bleach and popped a towel on my head and got back in bed for an hour before I washed it out.

I really do think this helped, afterwards my hair felt so much better than it had before I used it, I then used it three days later and again my hair felt fantastic. When I eventually went to the hairdressers to get my hair rectified they told me my hair wasn't as bad as it should have been considering how much bleach I had put on it.

So I think this review really speaks for itself, it definitely works, it makes your hair feel nourished and soft and healthy.

One problem I did have was the bottle, when I squeezed the product out, a big hole opened in the top of the tube! I don't know if I have just had a duff bottle though.

I really do reccomend this if you like to use conditioning treatments.

Rubber Sole...

2010-09-15T15:32:00.000+01:00

Like all girls I love shoes! I have 3 wardrobes full of them in my house and am always in trouble with my husband for having so many.

Actually, that new Heineken advert would be our dream house!

Rubber Sole are a website which sell lots of shoes, from Haviana's,Uggs and Converse to Ted Baker and Calvin Klein. They offer free next day delivery too which is fantastic if you need your shoes super quick. I ordered the Calvin Klein Rylan shoes in black very late on a Friday night and they came first thing Tuesday morning. Obviously its not next day over the weekend, but I have used Rubber Sole before during the week and have had them the next working day. Their service is fantastic considering they don't charge for postage.

I love my new shoes! They're so lovely and are actually the most expensive shoes I own (apart from my Uggs of course)

Excuse little legs in the background!

Peep toe black patent shoes are my staple, I bought a pair from New Look for my 21st birthday party and ever since have worn them to death, they're still in great condition but I wanted a higher pair.

These have a very high heel and a hidden platform. They're cushioned on the insole so are really comfortable on the bottom of your feet. However, I struggle to walk properly in them. I think my feet need to mould them a bit more as they keep slipping in and out when I walk and then I have to stop to get my foot in, I have to walk ridiculously slow to stop it from happening. I'm sure once they've had a few more wears they'll be better.

If you're looking for new lovely shoes then check out Rubber Sole and for an extra 10% off enter code SPARKLES in the coupon box.

OPI Jade is the new black..

2010-09-09T10:20:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

So here's another nail post, I had surgery on tuesday and I'm still recovering so for now I'm carrying on with the nail posts, they're nice and easy!

I'd only had this on a day when I took this picture, I really don't like OPI polishes as they just don't last long enough for me. I started off liking the colour, but eventually I hated it and it just didn't suit my skin tone.

So a big thumbs down from me on this one!

Models Own Utopia

2010-08-31T19:49:00.001+01:00

Utopia is a milky lilacy/grey colour. I was a bit unsure of it at first but after a couple of days wear I really like it. As with all Models Own polishes it applied beautifully, 2 coats and it was opaque and it lasted really well.

With Flash which I think shows it to its more true colour than the natural light picture.

Hair update!

2010-08-27T23:23:00.000+01:00

Well you all know what happened with the bleach. On Thursday I went to my salon and discussed it and they took 2 bits of hair and tested them, one with dye, the other with bleach. The dye one didn't change at all! It stayed ginger. The bleach one just broke off at the ends.

Anyway, all week I have been missing my dark hair..but at the same time have still wanted blonde so I just asked them to take it darker and add blonde. Which they did and I'm so pleased with it! I'm definately keeping it like this...

So here is the before picture

Excuse the double chin and paleness!

So you can see it lifted pretty well at the roots but the ends were ginger!

Here is the finished result

I'm so happy with it!!

Made with Love..

2010-08-27T14:48:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago my two sisters set up their own hand made jewellery website. They make loads of gorgeous designs, and will also custom make anything you want.

Here is one they made for me..

Its such a cute bracelet with silvery/pewter beads and a little charm. You can pick your own charm or have it without. Fantastic for everyday wear and for nights out!

They also do Pandora style bangles and bracelets.

Links style bracelets.

And beautiful coloured bracelets.

They're all fantastic value for money and if you use discount code GLITTERS you will get 10% off your first order. Orders can be made through their Facebook fan page Here

Models Own Haul & My collection!

2010-08-24T14:39:00.001+01:00

If you saw my post a while back about Models Own trying to get to 10,000 likes on Facebook you'll know they have hit their target and their 50% sale is now on! Not being one to miss out on a bargain I placed an order on Friday night which turned up today. Pretty impressive considering how many orders they seem to have had.

Left-Right Purple Grey, Purple Poppy, Utopia, Lilac Fantasy, Turkish Delight and Beth's Blue.

For these 6 polishes it was £15 and free P&P. They should have cost £30. I will swatch all of these soon so you can see how pretty they all are, so far Beth's Blue is my favourite! I know they are all sort of similar colours but I have a thing for purples at the moment.

A few weeks ago, Col did try to get me to stop buying polish when he looked at the shelf on my side of the bed one night and noticed my collection had expanded quite a lot. The day after he said it, I went out and bought 3 more. Never try and stop a girl from buying nail polish!

I thought I'd show you my collection

And it looks pretty from underneath where you can see all the lovely colours

They're mostly Barry M, Models Own and 17 but I have a lot of Nails Inc which have come free with Magazines and a couple of OPI's as well as Illamasqua Jo'mina. I think Models Own are my definite favourite's, I would go as far to say they're better than Nails Inc and OPI, I find them ones can sometimes be gloopy and they don't last long. I like Barry M for a cheap polish, they can be hit and miss with their consistency but mostly they're spot on. I think there's about 50 polishes here (a couple are missing) and I know its nothing compared to most, but this time last year I owned one nail polish!! That nail polish isn't in this picture as it was very gloopy and got chucked a long time ago.

So there we go, now you know why I've had so many nail posts - there's a lot to work through.

If you want to make an order with Models Own visit their website http://www.modelsownit.com/ and the 50% code is FACEBOOK50.

Beauty UK Peach Melba

2010-08-24T12:03:00.001+01:00

Before I start this post I just want to say I'm sorry all of my posts are nail posts. I'm feeling a bit stuck in a rut with my make up at the moment, I have a couple of reviews to do but I'm just giving them a chance before I tell you about them. And with my hair now a funny colour I'm not doing any FOTD's until its fixed and until I adjust to blonde make up! So until then I do have a lot of nail polish posts coming up as I have been buying a lot of them. Today's is Beauty UK's Peach Melba..

Its a really pretty peach colour, it took 3 coats to get it opaque and it lasted pretty well, 4 days at least. Again, its £1.79 which is a complete bargain and I definately reccomend this one, I love it.

Blondes have more fun?

2010-08-23T11:28:00.000+01:00

Well I'm not sure, I have been blonde in the past. Up until 4 years ago I had always been blonde, recently I started to miss it and decided to experiment a bit.

My hair was really dark and it had had a lot of red dye on it in the past. The past few months I've just been using a normal brown dye to try and tone down the red but once the brown faded the red tint was still there.

So this weekend I used a lightening kit and tried to get blonde hair. The first go on saturday was a disaster and my hair was so orange! The next day I went off to buy more lightener and a light ash blonde dye to counteract the orange and ran off to my mum's house in a woolly hat covering up all the hair. Mum's friend tried to fix it for me, the ends where all the colour build up is, are so stubborn and won't lighten enough but once I put the Ash blonde on it looks a lot better.

It's still not perfect so I'm not going to post pictures but I'd just like some advice from anyone who's done this on toners to take away the orangeness/yellowness? Aveda has been reccomended but I don't want to pay that much money. In a few weeks I will be going to the hairdresser and asking them to make it look more natural, in the mean time I'm using lots of conditioning treatments and laying off the straighteners to limit the damage to it after all the bleach. At the moment its still in good condition and feels healthy but I know if I went to a salon and told them what I'd done they'd worry about putting more peroxide on if my hair was in a bad way.

So reccomend me some affordable toners, and I need make up tips! When I was blonde before I only used to wear foundation, bronzer and mascara. I'm really struggling to make it look normal, as after all the years of being brunette I've gotten used to the way I do my make up. I've also had to slap some false tan on as the blonde is really washing me out...good job I go on holiday in 4 weeks!

x

Blog Sale...Estee Lauder, MAC, Benefit & more

2010-08-18T11:42:00.002+01:00

Time for another blog sale.

Postage on all items will be £1.25, 50p extra for additional items.

I will accept payment by Paypal or a bank transfer.

None of the items have been sent to me for review purposes..

Estee Lauder Pure Colour lipstick in Crystal Coral - this is such a good dupe for Jazzed from Mac! £8

Benefit One Hot Minute - Used a few times £10 including P&P

Urban Decay Foreshadow palette - barely used £5

OPI polishes Lemonade stand by your man, Past Present and Fuchsia and Pearls night out £4 each

Sleek Nailed polish Turquoise £2

Sleek twist up eyeliner black £2

Eyeko Graffiti liner in Navy £2.50

Benefit It Stick used once never sharpened £2

Benefit Bad Gal liner, used a couple of times never sharpened £2

Barry M Lipgloss Bubblegum £2

Barry M Lipstick 146

Barry M Dazzle Dust 100 never used £2

Revlon Lipstick Baby Pink used twice £4

Rimmel Matte Finish & Models Own Gun Grey

2010-08-14T14:27:00.000+01:00

I've wanted a Matte coat for a while now as Matte nails really intrigue me. I didn't want to go to the effort of buying different colours of Matte polish I wanted to just be able to change my own polish. When I saw Rimmel had one I had to have it.

It was either £4.49 or £4.99 in Boots...I'm not too sure. But still not a bad price.

I decided to experiment as soon as I got home and put it over Models Own Gun Grey. I don't have a picture of Gun Grey before hand, I'm sorry but there will definately be one at some point as I really like it.

The result was interesting...I wasn't sure at first but it definately grew on me over the course of the night.

In this one you can see the glitter...good old bathroom lights! But unless you're under good lights then its really not apparent with the Matte coat on.

I haven't yet tried it with my other polishes, I have Barry M Navy on today and am tempted but it will take away the lovely shinyness of it which is what makes the polish for me.

Have you tried Matte nails, what do you think?

Beauty UK Smoky Lilac

2010-08-13T10:39:00.000+01:00

I picked this up a few weeks ago when I was having one of them days where I just didn't know what to buy. I bought 3 Beauty UK polishes and I've been pretty impressed.

This is 3 coats and it lasted pretty well, at least three days. It applied easily and dried quickly, the colour is really pretty too. For £1.79 each I think these are a good bargain!

Models Own 50% Facebook Sale!!

2010-08-09T19:44:00.000+01:00

Models Own are trying to get to 10,000 likes on Facebook, they're currently halfway. If they get to 10,000 before August 31st then us lucky people will get 50% off their products on their own website! Fabulous.

So, what are you waiting for all it takes is a click on the Like button and you'll be on your way to half price nail polish and make up!! Clicky here

You could have lovely eyes, cheeks and nails just like me..

Happy 1st Birthday!

2010-08-06T15:12:00.000+01:00

Oops I just realised I missed my blog's first birthday which was on Tuesday!

Thank you to everyone who follows me and comments on my posts, I know I'm not always great with updating and sometimes replying to comments its quite hard to blog, be a mum and a housewife! But I enjoy it and I really enjoy being part of a nice community!

July Favourites..

2010-08-03T12:18:00.000+01:00

I missed out June as by the time I got round to doing it, it was very nearly August!!

This month's favourite's are..

Urban decay Book of Shadows VOL II - I have used this so much this past month, I've really been enjoying it again. And I've not only been sticking to the more neutral colours, I have been wearing the brighter colours. I'm sure the people on my Childminding course were a bit shocked to see me turn up with a heavy purple smokey eye!

Nars Orgasm - I know this features I lot in my Favourite's but I really do use it a lot. I have just hit pan on it this weekend, its a tiny little hole so you won't see it on the picture. I think I bought it last October, so I haven't even had it a year. At least its not limited edition.

MAC Studio Sculpt concealer - I bought this at the beginning of July after they didn't have the concealer I usually use - Select Coverup I think it was. And I really like it, I apply it with an Eco Tools concealer brush and then blend it with the No 7 contour and blending brush.

Models Own loose shadow in Mocha - this is more carried over from June. I wore this lots on my holiday and I really love it. It complimets by blue eyes and its just effortless to wear all over the lid with nothing else, and looks nice with smudgy black liner. See my review of this here

Illamasqua Jo'mina - I only recently wrote a review of this here. I've worn it lots this month and have lots of compliments!

Aussie Dual Personality Aussome Volume Mouse - I got this in my goody bag from the Aussome Volume party a couple of weeks ago and have used it most days. It gives my hair really nice volume and doesn't make it feel sticky.

Umberto Gianni Backcomb in a bottle - I've had a lot of nights out this month (which is very rare for me, I've had a years worth of nights out in one month!) and I've been using this to give me some more volume. I really like it and it does work! It can leave my hair feeling a bit sticky though.

That's it for this month! What were your July favourites?

Apologies..

2010-08-02T10:29:00.000+01:00

I just want to apologise for the lack of posts from me at the moment.

Firstly we're potty training Alice which takes up a lot of time and energy. And the terrible two's have kicked in so by the time she's gone to bed at night I just want to sit down and relax.

And I know I posted something a few months back about having tests at the hospital and I got my results and now I'm on some medication which is taking some getting used to. Its draining all energy from me, so that coupled with potty training and tantrums just leaves me with no motivation to even think about blog posts.

Hopefully it won't last long and I won't be on the tablets for long either. But until then, bear with me. It could just be one post a week and it will possibly just be a nail post as its the only thing I can be bothered with at the moment x

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

2010-07-26T11:58:00.000+01:00

Thursday night was the Aussie "Aussome Volume" party in Manchester. The whole night was 60's themed and was help in the basement bar of Bluu in the Northern Quarter.

The whole night, as you can probably guess, was based around how to get huge hair. And what better theme to have than the 60's.

Amber and Zara the Aussie hair stylists used my hair to show everyone one way to get lots of volume by using heated rollers and backcombing.

And the finished result..

Voila - Huge hair!!

As the rest of the Aussie angels got their hair styled we were treated to lots of yummy cocktails and nibbles and a fab singer called Shola Kaye. It was a great opportunity to meet all the girls from Aussie again, they're so lovely and great fun.

Of course there was lots of other bloggers there and their friends and it was lovely to catch up with old faces and meet new ones!

At the end of the evening there was some rather entertaining kareoke!

Me and my sister had to leave early so missed out on the rest of the fun, but thanks so much to the Aussie girls for inviting us. We had a fab time and everyone was really lovely.

My first Wahanda experience..

2010-07-23T15:09:00.000+01:00

When I was contacted by Wahanda asking if I wanted to help them promote their deals in Manchester, I jumped at the chance. I think what they do is fantastic, they always have fab deals on and I know they're already very popular amongst bloggers around the country.

Wahanda offer daily deals on spa and beauty treatments in London, Manchester, Birmingham and now Leeds with up to 90% off. You all saw the post I did on Monday about their £2 deals and that's just an example of the fab offers they do.

Here's how it works if you're not familiar with them:

1)Using the power of collective buying, Wahanda negotiates special volume discounts with top spas, salons and studios to offer one exciting MobDeal every day from Monday to Friday.

2)The deal is open to everyone but is only available for 24 hours, and only comes into effect if enough people sign up for that day’s MobDeal (the number varies by day and deal).

3)Customers are encouraged to share the deal with friends via email and social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter because if the minimum number of purchases is not met, no one gets the deal.

4)Once a MobDeal has been purchased by the minimum number of customers, the unbeatable deal is officially “live” and is available for the rest of the day for anyone to purchase

They also donate £1 to a charity called Water for every purchase made, which is pretty amazing.

I had a voucher for a hair cut and an intensive conditioning treatment at a Mahogany salon in Manchester. When this was on offer it was £25 for the voucher and its value was £77 so that's a saving of £52 which is a massive saving! I would be more than happy to pay that for a haircut in a city centre salon as I'm sure well know a decent haircut doesn't come cheap.

When I arrived I was taken to a chair and told Karen who is a senior stylist at Mahogany what I hated about my hair (its lack of volume and that I'm trying to grow out a graduated bob) and what I liked (the length at the front). I asked her not to make all of my hair the same length as when I'm growing out my old graduated bob as it just wouldn't suit me and I expected to be told it would look silly but she listened to me and I was lead to the sinks to have my conditioning treatment. After it was applied I sat under the heaters for 20 minutes and was looked after very well!

I told Karen I tend to leave a long time between appointments as I have a phobia of having my hair cut, hairdressers just seem to get a bit scissor happy on my hair. So I may have put her under pressure to make sure I was happy but I was really happy with it! Generally hairdressers make a pigs ear of my fringe but she cut it really nicely and made sure it lay right. As she dried my hair she was giving me tips on how to get more volume and she also gave me some colouring advice.

As I dye my hair at home I tend to buy different colours all the time so I thought I had to put it on all over my hair for the full time. However she told me that all the colour has built up on the ends and the follicles have sucked it all up. So the ends of my hair are a lot darker than my roots, she told me to put the colour on my roots and to leave it on for 20 minutes and then whack the rest of the colour on my ends for the last 10 minutes. Which is what I did the day after my appointment so I'm hoping I'll soon have healthy hair!

The treatment left my hair feeling lovely and soft and healthy looking and I was really happy with it. The cut looked fab and I left feeling really happy. I don't have one bad thing to say about the salon they made me feel comfortable and confident in their hands.

There are some fantastic Offers on the Wahanda website for hair cuts and treatments at the moment and I definitely recommend you go and have a look and buy one, a lot of them are in London but there's a couple in the Midlands! When its time for me to have my next cut I'll definitely be looking for another MobDeal!

If you're looking for deals in the Manchester area check out this link as they are still offering the £20 worth of treatments for £2.

My new hair! I did have to clip back my fringe as I'm not having a good fringe day! x

Saturday night..

2010-07-20T10:00:00.001+01:00

I hope you all have Whigfield stuck in your head now because I do!

On saturday I went away for the night for mum's 44th birthday! We stayed at a Village hotel and we were watching "Fake That" in the evening. As well as mum there was lots of her friends and my sister! We had a fab time, although I did pay for it yesterday which a rather bad hangover. Seeing as I haven't had a proper night out since my hen night nearly two years ago, I think it was well deserved.

I'll share some pictures with you

My Face of the night which was

Dior Forever foundation

Xen Tan bronzer

Nars Orgasm

Eyes were done with the Sleek Graphite pallette

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero

MAC 7 lashes

17 Bee Hive lipstick.

I think there's something wrong with my sisters camera as all the pictures look grainy!

My outfit..please excuse my horrible muffin tops!! Argh I hate them I really need to get stuck back into WW!

Anyway, dress is from Primark, shoes are New Look and the jewellery belongs to a friend so I'm not sure where its from!

Me and mum harassing "Jason Orange"

Classy!

The Birthday girl.

As you can see "Fake That" looked nothing like Take That, and they weren't on for very long either. Apart from that we had a great time and a lot of wine was consumed, I really reccomend these nights for a girls night out!

Wahanda £2 Mob Deal is back!

2010-07-19T10:59:00.000+01:00

I'm sure many of you have heard of Wahanda already, if not then this is a great oppurtunity for you to check them out and get a bargain in the process!

Wahanda already offer fantastic beauty deals in Manchester, Birmingham and London, now they are launching in Leeds!

To celebrate this they are offering £20 worth of treatments in all four cities for just £2! Bargainous eh?

To find out more head over to the Wahanda website Wahanda

This post isn't affiliated with Wahanda but if you do use my link I get a lovely £5 voucher which would come in very handy! Sign upto their newsletter and you will also get £5.

Keep your eye on my blog later this week for my thoughts on my first Wahanda experience.

The Hills...end of a era!

2010-07-15T13:19:00.003+01:00

Picture from MTV.com

So I just watched the last ever The Hills, and I feel sad its all over. I only started watching it 2 years ago but after watching one episode I just went online the next day and spent a couple of days getting up to date with all the episodes. I love the drama, the clothes, and the friendships.

I hate Spencer (Pratt by name, Pratt by nature), Heidi seems to have lost the plot, Brody doesn't deserve any of the girls, and Justin Bobby definitely doesn't deserve Audrina.

There's been so much talk over whether its real or not and you do find out at the end of the episode (I'm not spoiling anything for anyone but its likely you already know as I read it on the Daily Mail website) And as much as I didn't want to, I started to like Kristin.

I think my favourite person is Lo, I love her. She's cute and she's normal and funny. She's not been in it as much as she should have been but I loved hers and LC's friendship and is the one I identify with the most.

Have you seen the episode yet? What did you think and do you have a favourite character or favourite moment from the whole show?

Illamasqua Jo'mina

2010-07-15T11:23:00.003+01:00

This is such a beautiful nail polish and even the photo's don't show it.

I've never had an Illamasqua polish before as I have a bit of a problem with spending over £10 on one nail polish, but I've wanted this colour for a while and spotted it in the ASOS sale for £7.75 and with a bit of persuading from the girls on Twitter I ordered it. And I'm so glad I did.

I worried it would be very similar to the other lilac polishes I have, but its completely different and I've had a lot of compliments on it. It applied easily and dried quickly, this is 2 coats but I did add another coat as it looked a bit patchy (possibly my application). I've not had any tip wear with it, but I haven't been using my laptop the past couple of days I've just been catching up on the iPad. I got 2 days wear before it chipped which isn't bad! This is easily one of my favourite polishes now.

MAC Jazzed vs Ever Hip..(and a little rant!)

2010-07-08T11:32:00.003+01:00

SO if you follow me on Twitter you will know the nightmare I've had the past couple of days with DHL and MAC. My order was supposed to be delivered on tuesday but it didn't come, DHL told me it had to be here by 9pm wednesday evening or they will be breaking their contract with MAC. Anyway it didn't come and this morning I had to phone the big DHL call centre, then the local one and then the driver to find out where it was, and he told me DHL had given him too much work and he'd forgotten about it. I really don't think this is good service and I know I'm not the first person to have problems with DHL but I was quite relieved to have my lipstick because its now sold out!

Anyway, a lot of people have been saying Jazzed is similar to Ever Hip, which I didn't hear until after I ordered it and I was a bit worried I'd ordered a dupe but when I compared the two they are definately different.

No Flash

With Flash.

So you can see Ever Hip is more Pink than Jazzed.

Here is Jazzed on the lips

And Ever Hip

I hope you can see the difference between the two, I can in real life but I'm not sure it comes across in photo's. I love them both, they're both very wearable. Its just a shame they're both limited edition.

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick..

2010-07-05T10:00:00.000+01:00

I know I'm a bit slow with this but I had to blog about it! I wasn't actually planning on buying them but Boots gave me £5 of points today for signing upto the Prescription Collection service (boring!) and me being me the points were burning a whole in my purse so I had a little browse and was about to buy another Models Own loose shadow when I remembered the Revlon lippies!

I bought the first one I picked up which was 020 Baby Pink

I really like the packaging, its black and sleek and I wouldn't be embrassed to take it out in public.

Its a standard light bubblegum pink lipstick

I love the embossed Revlon on the actual lipstick, I'm not sure why but I just like looking at it.

On the lips is slightly frosted which you wouldn't think from looking at it in the tube! I was slightly disapointed but I do like the colour, it's more of a lilacy pink

The consistency is nice, I would compare it to MAC, not too soft and it lasts well. There's also no nasty tastes or smells! This was on offer in Boots for £5.99 they're usually £7.99 which I think is a bit steep for a drugstore lipstick. I'm really starting to prefer lipstick to lipgloss, which was a shock as I always felt like I'd been raiding my mums make up bag as a kid when I wore lipstick but its so much easier than sticky gloss's.

Have you tried these? What did you think?

Lovea Tahitian Monoi Moisteriser..

2010-07-04T10:00:00.001+01:00

The other product from MyPure!

I must admit to not using moisteriser very much but my husband uses lots of it, he has very dry skin! So I let him try this one out, I've used it a couple of times but we've just been on holiday so my skin is a little bit dry whereas usually its fine.

Ingredients -

I really love the smell of this so when it came I packed it in our suitcase ready for our holiday as it does smell like holidays! We never use a proper aftersun, we usually buy Vaseline Aloe Vera moisteriser.

The consistency is quite thin but a little goes a long way. So, seeing as I didn't really use it I'll let Col tell you what he thought...

"As you've already been told I have very dry skin, I'm constantly rubbing moisteriser into my skin to try and get it smooth. We took this away with us last week and I did burn a bit, as soon as I got in I applied this and it felt soothing on the sunburn and when I started to peel it helped to stop it and put moisture back into my skin. Its easy to use, no slippy hands trying to squeeze stuff out of a tube and it smells like a holiday! I've also started using it as a balm for after shaving and its better than the Nivea cream I usually use. I probably use more lotions and potions than Jen. I give this a 5 out of 5 and will be buying more of it!"

This can be bought from the MyPure website for £6.99 for 200 ml

http://www.mypure.co.uk/lovea-b136/tahitian-monoi-moisturising-body-lotion-p1156

A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Light Conditioner..

2010-07-03T10:00:00.000+01:00

This was one of two items I was sent from MyPure this month.

I was a bit dubious when I saw the bottle, I thought it looked a bit old fashioned but I put that to one side and took it to my shower with me!

I still don't think I'm used to the smell of organic things as it took me a few days to get used to the smell and I quite like it now.

The blurb from the MyPure website - "A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Conditioner combines certified organic lavender flower extract combined with cold pressed Australian jojoba to provide light conditioning and natural lustre to fine or oily hair."

When I applied it I noticed it didn't feel as smooth to apply as usual conditoners and my hair didn't feel as soft as normal conditioners make it feel. Once I dried it I noticed my hair definately did feel softer and was so much shinier! I'm really impressed with this product, if I had a bit of spare money to treat myself I would definately repurchase.

Ingredients in the conditioner

And lovely soft, shiny hair!

You can purchase this conditioner from the My Pure website for £7.49 for 225 ml http://www.mypure.co.uk/akin-hair-care-b2/jojoba-lavender--conditioner-p13

DuWop Lip Venom Gloss..

2010-07-02T10:00:00.000+01:00

DuWop isn't really a brand I know a lot about, I think they did the Twilight make up last year? But I've never used anything from them. This lipgloss claims to give you full,soft, hydrated lips by "Blending that same spicy concoction of cinnamon, wintergreen and ginger with skin softening ingredients like jojoba, avocado and sunflower oil, beeswax for protection, and green tea for soothing"

I have it in shade Pink Champagne which is a lovely nudey pink colour, it comes in a squeezy tube with the plastic angled applicator.

The first thing you notice when you apply it is that it is a thick gloss, and it is the sticky kind! Then your lips start tingling as you get with these plumping glosses. Its not an "Oh my god quick get this off my lips" tingling, its actually quite nice. I'm quite addicted to the sensation actually!

I feel like when I look in the mirror I can see a difference in my lips but when I took photo's it doesn't show.Maybe I just pout a bit much when I'm looking in the mirror! I'll post them anyway seeing as I went to the effort of taking them...

Before

After

I do like the gloss, but at £15 I don't think I'll be repurchasing as I can't justify the cost. I would reccomend it if you have £15 to spend on a plumping gloss however.

Have you tried this gloss? What do you think?

Eyeko Graffiti Liner..

2010-07-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

I was sent this (with a number of things that I'll review this week) from Sam at http://www.makeupadviceforum.co.uk/

I haven't used many Eyeko products, just a couple of their polishes. So I was happy to try this, and I have a bit of a thing for liner pens rather than gel liner.

I just applied it with a shimmery eyeshadow this morning and did a big of winged liner with it. Its been really hot today and I've been sat outside in the sun, my hayfever has also been quite bad so my eye's have been watering and I've been rubbing them. But its been on for 9 hours now and its still perfect!

Purple isn't a colour I would've picked but its a nice bright colour to brighten up your face when its too hot to be wearing tons of eyeshadow. It looks like a felt tip pen and its really easy to apply, it makes quite a thin line so I did have to go over it a couple of times to make it thicker.

Overall I'm really impressed and will definately be purchasing the black one, for £5 it would be rude not to.

Hairdryers...

2010-06-30T13:00:00.003+01:00

So it's an odd thing for ask for reccomendations for, but my current hairdryer is a Sassoon one and is seriously on its last legs. You know where they do that thing where they overheat and you have to wait for it to cool down before you switch it back on? Yeah, its doing that. It's lasted pretty well but I wanted to know if any of you have a hairdryer that you use and would really reccomend to people? The one I had before that was one of them Remmington Big Shot's but they don't do them anymore do they? Well I can't find any. That lasted really well too.

Let me know in the comments below..

OPI Past Present and Fuschia..

2010-06-30T10:00:00.000+01:00

Another one that I got free with the Glamour subscription! This is my favourite of the three, I can't decide if its a bit tacky as it is a lot shimmery than it shows in the photo's - but I still love it!

OPI Lemonade Stand by your Man..

2010-06-29T10:00:00.000+01:00

I got this free with 2 other OPI polishes and a polish remover with the Glamour Magazine subscription.

I've never worn yellow polish before (well apart from a pastel lemon) so I was very dubious

And I was right to be! It's really not right with my skin tone, I imagine it would be lovely on darker skin but its not for me.

Today's make up...

2010-06-26T10:00:00.001+01:00

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection (mixed with Revlon Photoready)

Xen Tan bronzer

Models Own blush "Warm Glow"

MAC Dazzlelight all over upto brown

Models Own Loose shadow "Mocha" on lid

Urban Decay 24/7 Zero pencil

Collection 2000 Big Fake mascara

I still haven't quite got the hang of my new camera!

17 Orange Soda and Models Own Fuzzy Peach

2010-06-25T10:00:00.002+01:00

Orange Soda is one that I have had for a while and have only used once. Its a bright pastel orange which dries really quickly and is quite creamy. This is 2 coats which I think you definately need.

I noticed it looked very similar to my recent Models Own purchase Fuzzy Peach..

They look very similar in their bottles.

On the nails, Fuzzy Peach is on the middle finger and little finger, Orange soda on index and ring finger. Can you tell the difference? I can't by looking at it. When I applied Fuzzy Peach, its not as creamy but it dries quickly and the finish is excellent. It does last longer than Orange Soda, which only lasted one day before chipping, where as Fuzzy Peach lasted 3 days.

Orange Soda is £3 for 8ml where as Fuzzy Peach is £5 for 14ml.

Models Own review..

2010-06-24T10:00:00.001+01:00

As I showed you earlier this week I made my first Models Own purchase!

You've seen my post on Golden Peach and tommorow there will be a post on Fuzzy Peach.

The blusher is in shadw Warm Glow and its a pretty coral-pink. I've read a few posts comparing it to Benefit Coralista but I don't have that so can't compare it. It applies beautifully and blends really easily. This is easily going to become my more used blush.

The Loose Shadow is in shade Mocha. Its a really lovely brown-gold glittery shade. I applied this over UDPP with a flat brush (MAC 242) and then blended it. When you blend you lose all of the colour and glitter so you have to apply it again onto the lid. Not so much of a problem as I do this with most shadows its just quite sad to see all of the sparkle disapear!

I would definately buy more of the blushers, and there is another loose shadow which is a similar colour which I want but there aren't any other colours that stand out to me.

17 Mint Choc Chip

2010-06-23T10:00:00.001+01:00

Another messy job sorry - my new camera is showing everything up!

This is a cute blue polish, goes on easily and dries quickly. It lasted 2 days before chipping. I don't think I can pull off this colour, I found myself trying to hide my hands. I'm not sure why but it made me feel like I was a kid again and had my first nail polish on!

Recent Purchases...

2010-06-21T10:00:00.003+01:00

I haven't bought anything for ages but I have sold quite a lot of stuff recently so I've been able to treat myself.

I got:

2 Models Own polishes in Fuzzy Peach and Golden Peach
Models Own Blush in Warm Glow
Models Own loose powder eyeshadow in Mocha
Collection 2000 Big Fake mascara
Barry M Dazzle Dust in 100 - I think its rust (free with More Magazine)
MUA eyeshadows and eye dust
Ring from Peacocks £4
Sunglasses from Peacocks £6

I was so happy to see our local Boots stocking Models Own as I really didn't expect them to get it. I'm really impressed with the things I bought and I'll do a seperate post on them.

I'll review the Collection 2000 mascara in a few weeks when I've given it a chance!

And I was also suprised to see our local Superdrug stocking MUA, again I didn't expect it as it wasn't on the list of stores with it. They had sold out of a lot of the stuff - cheap make up is obviously popular in my area! I already have one Pearl eyeshadow from them and wanted to try a couple more so I got Shade 10 and Shade 9, and I got an Eye Dust in Shade 5

From Bottom - Shade 9, Shade 10 and Eye Dust shade 5.

Considering they are only £1 they are good quality and are well pigmented. Shade 10 is really crumbly and causes terrible fallout.

And a swatch of Barry M Dazzle Dust 100

Its really glittery and pretty and my camera struggled to pick up the colour in the sun because of the glitter. The sunglasses are just for my holidays, and I bought the ring as I have wanted a big flower ring for ages but I have fat fingers and can't get dress rings to fit, when this did I had to buy it!

And lastly I bought this pefume..

Which is Diamonds from Next. I'm sure most of you will have seen a few posts on this on other blogs but its a dupe for Miss Dior. At £12 for 100ml you can't complain and is definately a more affordable alternative.

Models Own Golden Peach..

2010-06-19T10:00:00.001+01:00

This is such a pretty summery shade I love it. I've had it for a week now and have wore it for most of that time. It lasts pretty well, 2-3 days before chipping and its really easy to apply and dries quickly. I'm really liking Models Own polishes. This is 3 coats but it looks nice with 2 coats, especially if you have a tan.