Happy Shrove Tuesday everyone! Also known more commonly as pancake day which my sister kindly explained to me (she understood) the meaning of this day to be when people used up all of the yummy things they had in their cupboards before lent. Seems plausible….
I thought I better add some words to this rather image heavy post with regards to my little impulse buy from 17 yesterday, I was interested in the limited edition spring palettes but The Boots I was in is rather small. The nail polish I picked up is from the new collection and how nice is it and guess what it’s a neutral. I’m just this very minute going to give myself a mini manicure and I’ll post a nail of the day; although it is soooo dull here today I’m afraid my pictures won’t turn out too well.
What else do we have as I previously mentioned they do have a buy three for two offer on and I got all three products for roughly £7.50 and I have to say that the quality of this brand is good. The eyeshadow single in statuesque is buttery, pigmented and a lovely formulation; quite hard to describe in terms of shade but it’s a warm, pinky taupe with a subtle shmmer through it nice as an all over lid colour.
Idon’t think I would head to 17 for what I call my make up staples namely foundation, concealer or mascara but for shadows and polishes it’s great value for money and had a wide rang of colours for reasonable prices.
Another neutral but a sightly more warm shade,we shall have to see when I apply it and I can give my full opinion. They also had a pale lilac but I have a China Glaze colour which is exactly the same (should I go and get it and tell you the shade?). This is a lasting fix formulation which professes to last for UP TO five days chip free colour which is a rather redundant statement when you think about it but I’ll reserve opinion and I’ll report back when the first chips appear.
The lipgloss I picked up in peach melba is GEOrgeous I love it more pink/red than peach but with a definite warm orangey glow. I have purchased quite a few liplosses from the ultimate volume range from 17 and these are lovely in terms of texture they are in no way sticky, rather quite moisturising and thick (in a nice way) in consistency, quite good staying power and pigmentation. The only reservation I have about this product is perhaps owing to the thicker consistency of this gloss it’s a little harder to get enough out of the tube onto the applicator in the first instance so you may have to put on a few coats! All in all a good lipgloss and a nice flattering spring apt shade. 
Here’s the obligatory swatches excuse my rather palid hand but I just can’t help it! St Tropez has worn off and I’m being lazy….
Good evening all hope it’s a pleasant one for you, a little review post for you tonight nothing too exciting or exorbitantly priced, rather a little purchase from online impulse buy favourite elf (eyes lips face). Not as in Buddy….SANTA I KNOW HIM!
My lovely boyfrind bought me a little present from the site to cheer me up when I was poorly. Along with the nail varnishes you seen in the previous post and a few other things I may review I opted for this blush brush from the studio line.
This brush is from the studio line the slightly more expensive line at £3.50, still a veritable bargain you must agree. This is a nice little brush, soft domed with a slightly tapered point, it is little though so good for precise application of colour.
This new anti bacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more absorbent and can be used with wet or dry products.
Sweep brush over cheekbones for a flush or color. Use the pointed edge of the brush to sculpt the face and contour around the hairline and jawline.
Says elf…
The shape of this brush is actually pretty good for contouring and adding colour through the back of the cheekbones and up through the temples. Or you can use the more flat side for a light even application of blush to your cheeks and it’s also soft enough to allow for easy blending. Interesting statement that it can also be used for blush creams, I have not tried it yet but I have ordered the duo fibre stippling brush from the same line so I’ll be reviewing and trying that brush out.
Food and Fancies rate this product:
Value for money – 4/5
Product quality – 3.5/5
Product effectiveness – 3.5/5
Would I recommend you purchase this product…. yes I would. Like all elf brushes it’s good value for money, effective, washes and lasts well.
Nail polish why do we love it so – in fact I know its the little bottles, the potential for fabulous packaging, all the beautiful infinitesimal array of colours and the potential for growing a huge collection.
Answered my own question there! I love how there can grow a almost fever pitch cult status around certain shades – Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Metro Chic or Chanel’s Black Pearl. To name but a few they have become cult must have, sometimes extremely hard to get a hold of products. I haven’t purchased any of those aforementioned shades but the four I got are rather pretty all the same.
ELF – Gum Pink £1.50
This is supposedly one of elf’s new formulation polishes I don’t know what that has entailed as I’ve not tried it yet. Its a pretty bold, blue toned fun bubblegum pink, think MAC Viva Glam Gaga. The thing with elf polishes is that they are just such damn good value, £1.50
ELF Mango Madness – £1.50
I’d had my eye on this shade for ages so I just went for it I mean £1.50 I had to be sure hehe… This polish shows up a bit more orange in this image in real life it is a much more red toned, sunshine warm shade just lovely. I’m wearing this polish right now I painted my nails on Sunday night and it’s still going strong not a chip in sight. The formulation is quit thin and sheer on first application but after three coats you get a nice opaque finish and as I said it’s not chipped and that’s been three days.
Essie – Sand Tropez £9 (ish) in the UK
Sand Tropez is from Essie’s French affair collection which I gave an introduction to Here. I was really excited about receiving this shade as I confess I am a boring neutral lover, I am never happier than when I am wearing a mink a griege or a grey on my nails and this shade doesn’t disappoint; it’s gorgeous see the swatch of my nail. It’s a creamy, flattering, sophisticated warm sandy beige lovely lovely lovely, get it.
Colour Club – Edie £4.50 (ish)
From my previous confession to my love of neutrals this shade is a bit of a contrast and to be honest I’ve no idea why I picked it although I do like it. This image doesn’t show up as bright as it really is it’s a turquoise green which I thought would be perfect for toes in the summer with tanned feet and sandals. I’m not sure if I’d wear it on my fingers as I’ve not swatched it yet.
Whats been your new polish aquisations? Have you succumbed to and indulged in any cults polish brands or shades?
You may remember my previous post Splish Splash in which I mentioned that I had ordered the Nip Fab clean fix cleansing facial oil from ASOS.
I was a little apprehensive of this product as typically when I had placed my order my skin changed and became slightly oily; that plus a facial cleansing oil eeek. Fear not as I am sure you are all on the very edge of your seat’s my skin is back to it’s poor old dehydrated state so this product has turned out to be invaluable.
It professes to:
2-in-1 cleanser + makeup remover that sweeps away daily dirt + grime, even stubborn mascara + maintains the skin’s natural moisture balance.
Lets have a look at these claims make up remover that sweeps away daily grime – big tick! You can feel all the daily accumulated grime being lifted and swept out of your skin. It removes even stubborn mascara – big tick. To me this is this products biggest selling point; I am a fan of blacker than black mascara, lashings of the stuff! No matter how I cleansed to remove my eye make up; removers, oil based removers, cleansers, facial wash it never removed it all. Still panda eyes in the morning or giving the boyfriend when you emerge from the bath with a mascara streaked face. This product removes, no eliminates every single trace of mascara….seriously it does! Fabulous.
I’m not sure about waterproof mascara as I don’t wear it but taking from the results I have witnessed I would say it would be just as good with waterproof.
To use this cleanser you apply it to dry skin, just a couple of pumps of the smooth light, nicely scented oil and massage it all over your face; gently ork into and around your eyes. Wet your hands with some look warm water and massage skin to emulsify the product and then rinse thoroughly.
The result – smooth, clean, make up free skin with no trace of dryness or tightness. Nip Fab facial cleansing oil is light and doesn’t feel exceptionally rich on the skin, it feels luxuriously and is nicely scented. If you want a product that removes make up and cleanses your skin thoroughly leaving it clean and comfortable then this could be for you. For dry skin I highly recommend it; it’s truly fab.
Get Nip + Fab from -
ASOS
Nip + Fab
Mine cost £10.20 for 120ml perhaps not the most purse friendly cleanser but it’s very effective and worth it in my opinion.
I just had to do a little post on Essie’s new nail trend collection for spring 2011 as it is utterly gorgeous and covetable each and every one of them here’s the branding…
Here’s a little run down of the new shades.
French Affair
A super flattering sugary lilac suitable for everyone on short or longer nails.
Coat Azure
This shade is quite unusua as it is neither a pastel or a dark blue but a medium shade shot through with a subtle shimmer.
Sand Tropez
This is the shade that I have purchased from the collection I love it my absolute favouite shades I don’t know how many beiges and greiges I have, this one is a soft sandy beige perfect for spring.
Nice is Nice
Unlike French Affair this is a lavendar but with blue undertones instead of the more sugary pink lavendar, perfect for more formal occassions work etc…
Topless and Barefoot
This one I also love Essie describe this as being a barely there soft beige pink perfect for when you want to look groomed but not draw attention as such to your nails. Lurverly.
Kisses & Bises
This shade is really exciting it’s a soft irridescent pink which Essie recommend layering over almost any shade to add an extra dimension. I can envisage this on toes over a pastel polish and sandals. Roll on summer!
There you go what do you think is Essie’s new spring collection? Will you be purchasing anything from it? I’ve got my sights set on Nice is Nice I think..
Image Source: Essie
Hello sorry for my absence. I thought I’d return with a little post about skin care as I have had somewhat of an epiphany! No longer do I look upon skin care as a daily chore which has to be done into something which excites me and has me reaching for the cotton pads every morning and night (sometimes)…
The reason for this revelation was due in part to my receiving a Biotherm skin care set for Christmas which I love and from reading A Model Recommends which is packed full of skin care reviews, ideas and niche/new brands. Following on from this I thought instead of spending a few £s on make up I decided to indulge in a new cleanser; after much deliberation and pondering around ASOS, Feel Unique etc… I settled upon a cleansing oil as it had received good reviews and it was reasonably priced.
The image above is the set I received for Christmas which contained a cream facial wash, softening water (I adore this) and a luxurious moisturiser all formulated for dry skin which I was at the time. I have noticed this morning though that my once parched skin was now a little more greasy but still in need of moisture; I hope the cleanser I have ordered will be suitable. Off track there slightly this is what I ordered:
The woman behind this brand is Maria Hatzistefanis the creator behind the global wonder high end skin care brand Rodial so I thought I have never used this brand but I am sure that Maria Hatzistefanis knows what she is doing no doubt!
Here is the blurb regarding the product:
2-in-1 cleanser + makeup remover that sweeps away daily dirt + grime, even stubborn mascara + maintains the skin’s natural moisture balance.
This multi-purpose 2-in-1 cleanser and make-up remover will gently remove daily dirt and grime and all traces of make-up – so effective it will even remove stubborn mascara. Enriched with skin caring essential oils including neroli oil to soften and rejuvenate the skin and calming mandarin for its purifying, decongesting properties, this hypoallergenic and non–comedogenic oil will cleanse without disrupting the skin’s natural balance.
- gentle oils cleanse + remove makeup
- neroli softens + rejuvenates
- mandarinpurifies + decongests
I don’t know about you but this sounds good to me and I must admit I am very excited about receiving this product. I ordered mine form ASOS for around £10 and the free super saver delivery. I have to admit I was a little peeved as ASOS announced free next day delivery offer the day after I had placed my order but hey ho!
You apply the product to your face add some warm water to emulsify the oil and rinse, I would also be curious to see if it would work by just applying and removing with a cotton pad.
We’ll see and I will be sure to let you know how I get on…
This kit was an exclusive for ASOS and while perusing the site before Christmas I spotted this beaut, immediately I asked read pleaded with my mum if this could be one of my Christmas gifts, to which thankfully she agreed. Here’s a pic (from the ASOS site my camera is charging).
Isn’t it pretty. So as you can see with this you get THE most beautiful false eyelashes, so beautiful in fact I don’t want to wear them I just look at them occassionaly! You get a pigment called Android which is stunning extremely sparkly gorgeous smokey gun metal grey, very blendable and buildable everything you want from a pigment. Prepare yourself for fall down though as there is going to be some use a primer and do your foundation after you’ve done your eyes, if you don’t mind a little sparkle then you don’t have to worry!
Apologies for pictures at least you can get an idea of the beautiful, irridescent shimmer that this product has it’s very fine in texture and application though so don’t worry about having big chunks of glitter on you eyes it’s very finely milled; definitely recommended.
You also receive a black khol eyeliner, I don’t use khol eyeliner a lot actually shock horror I don’t use eyeliner a lot at all apart from gel. I don’t really like the black khol in the water line I like the wide eyed look. This is just a reglar black khol, soft blendable and reasonably long lasting.
The next item is the eyelashes this is my favourite part of the set, as I said they are almost too pretty and as of yet I’ve not used them. Illamasqua eyelashes usually retail at about £14 so they are not for just using once and chuckinh away, their time will come! I am a massive fan of false eyelashes and these ones don’t dissapoint.
This set was an exclusive to ASOS and get this you can now get yourself one for just £17.50! This is excellent value when you consider what these items cost individually from Illamasqua.
I just had to HAD to write a bit of a rave review abou this product, I used it for the first time today and I am in love. I don’t know whether it’s the colour the application or the packaging I love so much, or just the product itself. Where I live we don’t have an Inglot (Scotland) which pains me so, please please Inglot open here! The only Inglot stores in the UK at the minute are in London, one has opened up in Belfast or Dublin but nothing in poor old Scotland boo!
Anyway I got my mits on this product because I spotted the the lovely Dara Belle Du Jour NYC was having a blog sale and she was selling quite a few lip products, I nabbed this another Inglot lipgloss and an Illamasqua gloss (reviews soon). Personally I don’t see any problem in buying three lip glosses and having them shipped over from New York, do you?! Oh, and the delivery was super quick, so thanks Dara!
Onto the product here it is I had to nab these from the Inglot website as I’m not near my camera just now.
I have it in shade 66 as Inglot don’t name all their products so it’s just plain old 66 here’s a swatch which really doesn’t do it justice. It’s a lovely slightly warm soft flattering pink with a smidgen of brown through it.
So what else the application, it goes on and feels like a lip balm when it’s on but with really great pigmentation and staying power, so it keeps your lips moisturised and gives brilliant buildable colour payoff! Oh and it smells like strawberries. I just apply this product with my fingers but for a more precise application you could use a lip brush.
I absolutely love this product and I’m so glad I tried it, if you have an Inglot near you go get one…..NOW.
Hello everyone! I am back into the swing of things after a rather little ahem ok longish break from my blog slaps self, I just had a little breather to recoup to gather some ideas and inspiration. I am pleased to announce I have now got lots of both and lots and lots of things to blog about reviews, pictures and just general chat! I have also given my blog a make over and I love it even if I do say so myself! I decided to make it a lot more clean with more emphasis on the images and the actual content! I do hope you like it…
Anyway I though I would do my first post on a beauty treatment I had yesterday, my boyfriends parents very kindly gave me some vouchers for a beauticians and spa. It took me a while to decide what to spend them on as there was an extensive list of treatments available; I opted against nails as mine are still recovering and I am still ummin and ahhing about eyelash extensions and I think I will ultimately get them. Anyway I went for the Dermalogica prescriptives facial as I am sure like a lot of people this weather are suffering from dry, dull unhappy skin. Although my skin is relatively clear and I don’t get too many breakouts it is so so dry. This facial seemed perfect, here’s what they say about it:
Leave your cares behind as we start this treatment with a power cleanse designed to restore your skins healthy radiance. Extractions remove any congestion while aromatherapy pressure point massage that follows will stimulate and revitalise tissues. A customised mask will condition your skin before finishing with a moisturiser tailored to your specific skin type.
I went along on Saturday in great anticipation of what miracles this treatment would work on my poor parched skin. Once I arrived I had to fill in a questionnaire which was designed around getting your background health and lifestyle information, this only took a couple of minutes. After that I met the therapist that was going to do my treatment Claire, who led me to the treatment room which was cosy and quaint, I then got all ready and was all tucked up in blankets and a fleecy throw.
The room was nice and warm and there was relaxing music playing in the background, the facial involved a soothing pre-cleanse which was like a really nice oil. Then I had an aromatherapy massage which was bliss! She massaged my neck shoulders and face so relaxing. The next step was a cooling hydrating face mask and while that was on the therapist gave me a head massage which I absolutely loved, the mask was the removed and moisturiser was applied.
I was half asleep by this point and I had a glass of water, while I was told to take my time and get dressed etc… I noticed an improvement straight away my skin was super smooth, even and glowing this treatment was so worth it and I highly recommend it for people with dry skin or even those who just want to relax. I’m alredy booked in for another in six weeks time.
I had mine done at Goddess Spa
Cost – £40
Duration – 1 hour
Rating – 5/5
Suffice to say we are in the icy grip of the big freeze public transport has come to a standstill, you are in fear of the well being of your vertebrae every time you step out the door and you are in a quandary; “Am I in the Christmas spirit or not?”
On my way home from work I went to get one last little Christmas present, as I’m actually organised this year! Well I think I am? When I come to wrap them I’ll probably realise so and so has got 8 presents and poor old so and so has only got two, aw well. I went into Claire’s Accessories not sure if it’s actually still called that and I know this might sound strange for a 24 year old women but, there are a few little gems to be had in there for fellow make-uo junkies. When I told my siter I had been into Claire’s she exclaimed; “I thought that was full of uber expensive junk for goths?” No offence to goths out there,much love! No, there is a few little goodies to be had eyeshadow sets, nail polishes, brushes, gems and eyelashes you should go and have a look!
I picked up a few things which I thought were worth further trial and that were realy reasonably priced a really nice eyeshadow palette for £4.50. Here’s a few pictures of what I picked up.
Pretty clear glitter polish with little stars and silver glittery particles, well it is Christmas!
Taupey coloured polish (like I need another one, I like these shades!)
Super sparkly glitter powder, Ihave visions of a really glittery eye look not me at all but I might fancy a change. Or it can be sprinkled on tacky nails and sealed with a clear coat of polish.
Find of the day this really nice palette quite shimmery and opalescent but really flattering smoky, taupey neutrals (ah safe territory!) Really looking forward to trying these out.
A Monday shopping spree, that well cheered me up…Merry Christmas!
