We Heart Hi Shine

One of my favorite nail polish ranges has got to be the Gelly Hi Shine nail paints from Barry M. They are so cheap compared to other brands and apply wonderfully, I mean what's not to love? 

The polishes give you a gel salon-esque finish for a fraction of the price, and you don't even have to leave the house. They wear well, with minimal chipping and come in a great shade range.

...Here are my current gems:

from left to right

Blueberry, Blood Orange, Blue Grape, Greenberry, Lychee

My fave out of the bunch is 'lychee'. You know you have that one nail polish that you go to everytime you have no idea what colour to choose? Well lychee is mine. Purely because it's such a classy, sophisticated nude that goes with any look or outfit. I would highly recommend picking this colour up if you don't already own it - it's a must have in anyone's polish stash and probably my most worn polish of 2013.

The other colours I have are a little more 'fun' - for some reason I was really drawn to the royal blue and classic red shades for a pop of (patriotic) colour. And then of course we also have the standard pastels that just call for summer to get a move on and give us some sunshine!!!

L'Oréal: in two minds

Maybe it's just me but every time that moment comes when you need to triple pump to get the last sorry remains of your foundation out of the bottle, it's a 'same old or try something new' situation.

So when my trusty Clinique foundation ran it's course I did some blog searchin' and found a whole lot of love for the L'Oreal True Match foundation (with it being likened to Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk foundation :O) and so hit the nail on the head and purchased the shade N1 Ivory ASAP. It just so happened that L'Oreal was buy one, get the second half price, and by magic my make up wish list grew by one (I was yet to decide what one was). Eventually picking up the Super Liner Blackbuster in a bid to wear eyeliner more.

So after a week of trial and testing I am in two minds about these L'Oreal products. I haven't used their make up before and so these recent purchases have well and truly split my opinion 50/50.

The foundation is perfect, maybe a little on the light side in terms of colour but the formula is a lightweight liquid that can be built up to a great medium coverage, with minimal product. It has a pump (score) and SPF 17 which is always a plus. I need a few more weeks wear to fully review this foundation, but I think I'm onto a winner!

Now for the eyeliner... What can I say - it ain't 'blackbusting' for a start! I found the colour was far from intense and it took me a while to build up a strong black line. The nib is good, not too hard and just the right size but you can't achieve a good cat flick in a few swipes, a complete no no for if you are on the move a lot (or mostly late for work).

It can be said, I'm quite a novice when it comes to liquid eye liner and I'm afraid I don't think this particular liner is going to help me on my journey to cat flick connoisseur.

Are there any L'Oreal products that are a must have? What am I missing out on?

spill...

Nail Polish Storage

I'm always intrigued to see how other people store their make up and beauty products - partly for inspiration, partly due to pure nosiness. So if anyone else is as equally as nosey as me, here is how I store my (current) nail polishes.

I picked up this vintage tin in good old T K Maxx. I am a sucker for their home range and as I live on the same road as one it's hard for me to keep away! I think this was around £4 and was one of many cute vintage designs. I picked this Coca-Cola one up as my bedroom has a slightly red theme and this adds a nice touch.

Top Tip: the metal tin also keeps the polishes at a lower temperature, preventing them from become gloopy for longer - as c'mon it's inevitable!

How do you store your nail polish collection?

Current Mascaras

It's a common theme in the beauty world to have multiple mascaras on the go all at once, all serving a slightly different purpose. Here are four drugstore mascaras I am currently trialing.

1. Collection Volumising Mascara(£3.99)

I very recently bought this mascara on a whim as the '£1 off' drew me in (poet and I didn't...). First impressions weren't too great but I am going to preserver with this one. The wand is huge with short plastic bristles, which I love. I find these types of brushes prevent clumps and I for one can't stand uneven lashes (picky, I know) so thumbs up there, BUT this 'volumising' mascara doesn't seem to add much more to my lashes - there's no oomph! Nevertheless, I'll give it a second chance.

2. Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara (£7.99)

I have had this product for a while now and my love for it yoyo's. With quite a thin plastic wand it adds length to your lashes no doubt. I prefer my lashes to be thicker rather than longer and so I normally have to use this alongside another mascara to get the look that I want. I usually use this masacara as a quick fix on weekdays for work.

3. Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara (£10.00)

S&G make up is regularly hyped up by bloggers - to the extent I feel I need more of the stuff in my life! This mascara came with the hugeeeee Christmas set that I most gratefully received from the rents. It's big fibre brush certainly does give you thicker lashes with minimal effort but I feel it's downfall is that you I can easily over apply and be sporting spider lashes in an instant. The formula is very wet and can be a bit messy, it probably needs a little drying before it's on top form.

4. Maybelline The Falsies Mascara (£7.99)

You may already know my thoughts towards this mascara so I won't go on for long... I'm a bit mehhhh about the whole thing. After all the hype around it I was sure I'd love it, but no. I do still use it every now and again to try and regain my confidence in it, but for now it's definitely the mascara that's most nearing the back of my draw.

Birthday Lips

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday with friends, music and vast quantities of Disaronno. Of course with it being my birthday it was an excuse to buy yet another red lip product. I had wanted to try something from NYX cosmetics for a long time - well since I discovered NEXT stocked them - so I popped down after work on friday for a post work/pre birthday treat. Unusually for me, I decided to go down the gloss route and picked up one of their Xtreme Lip Creams in the shade 'spicy' which is a dark cherry red.

My first impressions were great to say the least, it applied really easily with no mess and didn't leave my lips feeling sticky at all. I immediately fell in love with the colour and it smells pretty damn good too. These little glosses are great to throw in your clutch on a night out and keep that bold lip bold!

Now I was lucky enough to receive another NYX lip product for my birthday a day later, coincidence eh!? This time it was a Matte Lipstick in the shade 'indie flick', a bright orange/red colour. Orange toned reds are my all time favorite shade to wear - it makes me feel very 1940's.

The formula is relatively smooth, it is a little drying - but aren't they all! The colour pay off is brilliant and it lasted the whole of the night, even after countless purple rain cocktails and classic singalongs.

I think we can safely say that my first encounter with NYX costmetics was far from disappointing. I am keen to try out more of their products, I mean their Love In Paris palette has been on my wishlist for some weeks now...

I Can't Wait To Wear: Summer Nails

As mentioned in my last post I have been giving the ol’ laqured nails a miss recently in a bid for healthier looking hands. Due to lacking colour on the tips I obviously had to get my fix another way and what’s better than doing I hear you ask!? Planning! You cant beat a good list (or two).

So here's my picks for Spring/Summer nail colours to get us in the mood for some long awaited sunshine. I feel this is a range of staple colours that every girl needs wants in their summer stash…

Essie - Cascade Cool

Collection Hot Looks - Bright Lights

Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Colour - Mint For Life

Bourjois 1 Second Polish - Melon

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine - Green Berry

Not gonna lie, at least one of these shades will most probably be on my hands by the end of the week.

(sorry I'm not sorry)

BURT'S BEES Lifesaver

One of the things I hate most about winter is its effect on our bodies. Bitter winds plus over usage of central heating just sucks the moisture out of our skin and it's hit me hard this year. I feel like I have 10 (and then some) moisturisers on the go, all just not quite hitting the spot.

My hands have suffered considerably. Although, I must admit I have the worst habit of picking at my cuticles (TMI alert) and yes I am hanging my head in shame…BUT this little pot of lemony goodness has saved the day!

After getting severely frustrated with the state of my hands I hit good old Google and spotted this Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream on the majority of the top hits. Safe to say I was in boots no longer than 10 minutes later!

First thing to comment on is the smell, very very lemony - one of those smells that makes you think ‘this product is going to work wonders’ before you even try it. It’s quite a hard balm, slightly more solid than Vaseline and needs to be worked with your fingers to soften it before applying. Yes, it is greasy but rubbed in well enough it sinks into the skin within minutes (ahoy there girls on the go) and softens the skin immediately. 

I currently have this little magic pot glued to my desk so I can apply it throughout the day and after a few days I feel my hands are well on their way to recovery. On that note, I am also 5 days into a nail varnish boycott – hoping I can last two weeks without lacquering up my nails in order to give them a breather. 

Burts Bees Lemon Cuticle Cream 15g - £5.99

THE Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm

One hot topic of January has to be the release of Revlon's newest lip product - the matte balm. A moisturizing yet matte balm that gives lip nourishment with a pop of colour. I recently picked up the colour elusive as I lack true pinks in my collection. Elusive is a muted rose shade, perfect for the transition from winter to spring!

The product itself is very creamy and silky on the lips, the bullet makes it super easy to apply and the colour glides on with one simple swipe. Elusive is quite pigmented and before you know it your donning a show stopping bold lip - I have however heard that some of the other shades are more sheer. On the shade front... Revlon have pulled out all the stops here with an amazing array of matte lip colours (quite literally something for everyone)!

The only gripe I have with this product is the obvious - dry lips never fall short of a matte lip product, but nothing a little lip therapy can't sort out.

Now, when's the next 3 for 2 eh...

Maybelline 'The Falsies' Mascara Review

I'm very particular about my eyelashes, my 'OCD' almost always gets the better of me when applying mascara. So when it came to needing a new tube of the stuff I decided to pick up this Maybelline mascara. Having heard a lot of great things I eagerly rushed home and whacked it on...(as you do) to find I absolutely hated it! I was so disappointed with this product as I had super high hopes that I was on track for a holy grail mascara to which I would never look back.

Firstly it's not build-able, and this is a major thumbs down for me. I need to be able to work with my lashes until they succumb to my obsessive compulsive needs. I feel the mascara doesn't give much lift and dries super quick to a crusty (bleh) texture. Another thing was that I actually didn't realise that the wand was curved, this would have definitely made me think twice about buying it - do your research Alison!

I also got a lot of smudging underneath my eye with this product, ain't nobody got time for that!
I mean it's good, but not much more - I probably won't repurchase but I'm not aiming it at the bin just yet.

Perhaps The Rocket would have been a better choice!?

Beauty Wish List

My current beauty lusts!

(clockwise)

1. YSL Rosy Blush Collector Palette

2. Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

3. Shaun the Sheep Tangle Teezer

4. NYX Love In Paris Palette in 'Cest La Vie'

5. Anastasia DipBrow Pomade in 'dark brown'

6. Barry M Hi Shine Gelly Nail Polish in 'Blue Grape'

Sorry the blog has been a little MIA recently, real life rudely got in the way!

Blogging normality should resume shortly.

xoxo