Saturday 22 October 2011

NOTD - Retro black and pink

Helloo lovely people!

I have spent a silly amount of time doing my nails for a Saturday afternoon so thought I would share them with you. I found a fantastic nail tutorial on Youtube for this look by aushnakilops (you can see it heeere), admittedly hers are better than mine but hey ho! The colours are Barry M Nail Paint in 47 Black and e.l.f. nail polish in Fuchsia!

Have a great weekend and feel free to comment, I love hearing what you guys think xxxxx

Thursday 20 October 2011

NOTD - Hallow's Eve

I guess it could be argued that this is a little early, but I already bought a stupidly big pumpkin so it's time to embrace Halloween haha! This won't be everyone's cup of tea I know, but I like the black and orange combo. Black is Barry M in '47 Black' and the orange is from missguided.co.uk and is MissTaken Orange Nail Splash. Let me know what you think :)


The candle is from Sainsburys! ;) xxx

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Review: A few Avon goodies!

Hi guys,

Huge apology for such a delayed post here, I've been a little snowed under with Uni work but have found a little time to write you a shiny new post. I've just bought a couple of Avon products and as I am a rep myself, I thought it was about time I shared these with the world. Hope you enjoy! :) I'll post the links of where you can buy these online from Avon Shop, or alternatively you can buy from your local rep - sometimes this is a better choice if your rep has their own offers (I offer 10% off when you spend £30).

First are two pencils, one is a double-ended kajalstick from 'color trend' and the other is a double-ended cream superSHOCK eyeshadow pencil (the same line that produced the well reviewed superSHOCK gel eyeliners, raved about by various Youtube gurus and available here for £4.00).


The pencil I have here is 'Chocolate Melt & Cream Dream' which as you can see is a medium brown colour on one end and a creamy vanilla on the other. Personally I would use these as a base under eyeshadow, but after swatching these and leaving them a while I can see that they set in place so could easily be used alone :) If you fancy one of these for yourself or a look at the other colours, they're currently £4.00 reduced from £7.00 here. The other pencil is from 'color trend' which is a collection of more affordable Avon products and though a little hit and miss, the pencils from this range are AMAZING. The one here is emerald and black - really well pigmented and easy to use. These double-ended eyeliners haven't been released just yet (they will be late November) but the formula is the same for regular color trend pencils available here for £2.50.

Above - colourtrend kajalstick, emerald and black / Below - superSHOCK eyeshadow pencil,
So moving on, I bought three lipsticks but from different ranges so I'm going to cover them separately here. This is all three..


The first on the left is from the new Little Red Dress collection which includes four new lipstick shades, two eyeshadow palettes, two nail polishes and a mascara - the packaging is all a beautiful red so will go great together in your collection if you're a fan :) This lipstick shade I have is Vino Royale, the darkest of all the shades and I love this - perfect for winter as Christmas draws nearer and we reach for those warmer shades. I found it good to apply but it is pretty creamy so use with a brush and definitely a lip liner. It'll be available to buy from Avon from 22nd November for an intro price of £5.00.

Avon Little Red Dress Lipstick - Vino Royale
Sorry for the awful condition of my lips, this cold weather is ruining me!

Next up is another product from color trend and that's a lippy in the shade 'Amethyst'. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this one as it really didn't look the same colour as seen in the advertising swatch. Nonetheless, the colour is pretty but I'm not sure I'll be wearing this one often as it is pretty damn pink. These are £2.50 a pop and you can get them heeere!

color trend kiss 'n' go lipstick - Amethyst
In direct light - you can see this has a little bit of a purple edge
Finally, this is definitely the most wearable one of the three, I'll probably be wearing this on a regular basis as it's mess free and pretty suited to my natural lip colour. As a stick, this looks like it would come off pretty brown as nudes go, but the pay off is quite sheer and gives a great finish. The product is Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick (phew!) in Never So Nude retailing at £5 at the mo. What do you guys think?

Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick - Never So Nude

Again, my apologies for my crazy dry lips here, time to invest in a industrial strength lip balm for the winter! As a final thought, here are two other Avon products I am in love with at the moment.

Avon Naturals Room & Linen Sprays
These room and linen sprays are amazing, and only a couple of pounds (the prices on these are constantly fluctuating as they're often in 4 for £5 offers and such like - check with your Avon rep if you fancy one!). I have Sugar Plum & Vanilla and Black Cherry & Nutmeg. I use Yankee candles too which I know cost an absolute bomb, and these rival those smells make my room smell gorgeous. Definite recommendation!


Avon Naturals Body Whip
This new Naturals body whip is such a reliable moisturiser, smells gorgeous (Milk and Honey is my favourite) and is like a thick whipped texture. For such an unassuming product this really leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturised. I've recommended these to friends who have fallen in love too, you can get them here for £3.00.

Anywho, I hope this post doesn't come across as some crazy rep trying to sell you things - there are Avon products I don't like, and will openly say so, but these are a few I am quite fond of :) Hope you're all having great days - please leave me some shiny comments with what you think, or what Avon products you enjoy! xxxx

For more Avon reviews, check out my other blog -  Confessions of an Avon Rep :)

Sunday 16 October 2011

Lazy Sundays

Hello :]

Before I make a start on our roast dinner, I thought i'd nip on here and write about a couple of products that I really like at the moment so would recommend you trying if/when you can!

As some of you may have read, I bought a few bits and pieces from e.l.f this week including a couple of nail polishes, so yesterday I thought I'd try them out. I was really disappointed with the 'Metal Madness' polish, it was really thick, gloopy and didn't apply well at all. I'm not sure whether this was just my pot or whether you're not supposed to apply more than one coat...i'm really not sure, so any advice would be appreciated!! Instead, I decided to try out the e.l.f 'Gum Pink' with the 'Matte Finisher' and the results really did impress.

Close up of matte looking nails

e.l.f Gum Pink nail polish - £1.50

e.l.f Matte Finisher nail polish - £1.50

My nails/hands are in really bad condition at the moment but you get the idea with the finish. It's so different from the usual Barry M Crystal Clear top coat I use and I really can't wait to try it with my Ciaté colours.

Speaking of Barry M, I recently watched a haul by Foundonfilm where she mentioned the new shade of lipstick, Pale Nude. I don't wear lipstick or lipgloss as I never seem to find any colours I like but I instantly loved this one. Since then, i've been going to boots everyday to see whether they have it in stock and finally on Friday they did :] yay! I haven't worn it to work yet but if i'm brave enough, then I think I will tomorrow. My lips seem to be really dry at the moment, so i've popped some lipgloss over the top. What do you think? Does it suit me?
Barry M Pale Nude (154) - £4.49
 
Swatch - Pale Nude

Sorry, my lips aren't very nice at the moment :[
What do you think? :]
It's Sunday, so i'm not going to put loads of slap on just to take a picture but if you could let me know what you think of the colour?

Hope you're all having lazy Sundays and starting to enjoy autumn?

xxxx

Thursday 13 October 2011

NOTD - Berry Ice Cream

I had to write a little post about this new Barry M Nail Paint I've just bought. These retail at a pretty amazing £2.99. Such a beautiful colour, hope you guys are a fan too! Let me know what you think :)

Barry M 308 Berry Ice Cream
xxxxx

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Max Factor False Lash Effect & Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Hello lovelies,

I have struggled for a long while now with trying to find a mascara that could transform my rubbish short, straight lashes into something with a little substance. At the moment I'm using two products (I know, it seems a little excessive but don't give up on me yet!) on a daily basis and they are doing the trick nicely for me, adding length and thickness to both my top and bottom lashes.

The first is Max Factor False Lash Effect which is available from Boots or Superdrug for £10.99. This mascara has been raved about a fair bit and does offer great pay off - the wand is pretty large though, so if you're one for more delicate application this may not be for you. The second is Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara also available from Boots (and other Clinique stockists) for £10. I've been hunting for this for absolutely ages as it has forever been out of stock - I think this is mainly due to the affordability and uniqueness of this mascara. It really is like nothing else I've come across, the brush is absolutely teeeny and allows you to reach the lashes you may not have been able to before, or if you're anything like me ended up with a huge mess if you tried! Anyway, I know the writing part of this is dull so here are some sparkly pictures for you :)

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara wand (teeeny!)

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara wand
Some before pictures (observe my rubbish lashes!)





..And after!


Hope you enjoyed this one, please feel free to comment and I'll reply back!
xxxx

Tuesday 11 October 2011

e.l.f ♥ Love or hate?

This morning I was so pleased to received my massive parcel of goodies from e.l.f but after opening the packaging and swatching, i'm not so sure.

I kept seeing e.l.f splashed over Youtube and figured maybe I should start wearing makeup properly again, so why not start with a brand everyone loves? That's when I realised pretty much 98% of makeup on their website it only £1.50 - BARGAIN...Right?

So, £32.00 later, lots of pictures and my first impressions...



Nail Polish
First impressions: I think they'll need a couple of coats as they don't look very pigmented.
L-R: Metal Madness, Nude.
L-R: Gum Pink, Blush.
Matte Finisher - Clear.

L-R: Metal Madness, Nude, Gum Pink & Blush.
Concealer, Eyeliner, Primers & Eyeshadows 
First impressions: The colours look natural/nude, so hopefully i'll like them once they're on.

Tone Correcting Concealer in Ivory
Liquid Eyeshadows in Cream Dream and Sultry Satin. Cream Dream arrived dry and isn't useable :[
Eyelid primers in Pearl, Sheer and Champagne.
L-R clockwise: Ivory concealer, Champagne primer, Sheer primer, Pearl primer and Sultry Satin eyeshadow.
Brightening Eye Colour in Ethereal


As far as i'm aware, each colour doesn't have a name but you get the general idea.
Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black
Swatch of the eyeliner, not very pigmented.
 Other bits & pieces
These are mostly tools and random bits :]
First impressions: The quality doesn't seem too bad, but i'll have to really try them before I can comment.
Blending Eye Brush
Balm in Vanilla Creme
Cuticle Pushers x 2
Nail buffer :] looking forward to using this!
Last item, Zit Zapper.. apparently this is good, so bring on the spots!
  
Overall thoughts?
For products that are £1.50 each, they're not that bad but I think I was expecting something different. All I can do now is try them out and see how I get on!

Has anyone else used e.l.f before? If you have, what were your experiences like? Please let me know!

xxxx