Polka Dot Nails

I heard about these new nail varnishes from a friend recently when she'd picked some up in Boots. They are the Maybelline Color Show Polka Dot varnishes. They come in four great colours, and are super cheap and easy to apply.

L-R Shooting Stars, Speckled Pink and Rainforest Canopy

I popped in to Superdrug who were doing a 3 for 2 offer at the time and picked up three of the colours. The fourth colour which is a dark chalky colour has been sold out at all my local stores since these have been released. I'm definitely looking to get hold of that colour when I can.

L-R Rainforest Canopy, Speckled Pink and Shooting Stars

The above finishes were achieved with only 2 coats each. They are really easy to work with and didn't chip at all on me using a Sally Hansen top coat. I think they look great.

Overall, in my recent nail obsessions (seriously, I'm buying far to many nail varnishes recently) I really enjoyed using these polishes. They are a cute edition when looking for something a little quirky and different on your nails.

Has anyone tried these? What's your opinion?

Farewell Google Reader!

So in the next couple of weeks we will be saying goodbye to Google Reader which has sparked rumours of 'What about Google Friend Connect?'. GFC has helped us bloggers connect and keep up to date with each other for so long.

I’ve recently been going through all the people I follow on GFC and making sure I’m now following them on Bloglovin.

So this is just a very quick post to say, let’s embrace Bloglovin, personally I prefer it anyway, it’s a great platform for following your favourite blogs.

Also, I don’t want to lose any of you lovely readers, so please follow me on Bloglovin here if you don’t already. :)

And as another reminder, if you haven’t entered my giveaway yet, you can do so here. A great set of Urban Decay eyeliners to be won. I’m using these so much recently, I love them and hope the lucky winner enjoys them just as much.

Thanks it for now folks, and much more to come soon!

New Bourjois Bronzing Products

I love popping in to Boots and seeing what’s new in the makeup world. Recently I spotted these new items from Bourjois, and being a fan of the brand anyway, thought I’d give them a try.

The new line revolves around ‘bronzing’ which couldn’t be more perfect for this time of year, especially when the sun doesn’t seem to be making much of an appearance! The items consist of a bronzing primer, a bronzing BB cream and a pressed powder bronzer. I picked up the primer and the BB cream, as I’ve never tried these products when they include a bronzing agent before.

Bourjois boasts that the shades are universal and will match any skin tone, but my immediate impression was, ‘wow, it’s dark’. The primer especially looks incredibly dark when you first place it on the skin. After blending it in, it did seem to match my skin tone, whilst adding a bronzing effect to it too. I really don’t think this product would suit a fair skin though, I have a bit of a tan anyway at the moment, and was still worried it was a little too dark for me.

After I had applied the primer, I wasn’t sure if I liked the finish of it. I normally use the Smashbox Photo Finish primer, which leaves a really satin smooth finish to my skin and foundation glides over it perfectly. I let the primer set in to my skin, and I must admit, my skin felt better to the touch within 5 minutes. It did seem to matify my skin, which is a must for any primer.

L-R - BB Cream, Primer

With BB creams, I normally like to apply them with my fingers and massage the product in to my face, but this seemed to dark to chance it. I decided to try to apply it with a duo fibre face brush. Again, it seemed very dark going on the skin, but it was easy to blend using the brush. The BB cream markets itself as an 8 in 1 cream, promising to even skin tone, give a sheer tint, boost radiance, give 16 hour moisturisation, smooth skin, prolong tan, give a refreshing sensation and it also contains SPF 15.  

Bourjois state that the products have an addictive scent, and they are definitely right, especially the primer. Anyone ever tried Bourjois’s chocolate bronzer? It smells like that, but better in my opinion!

I'm definitely going to give these products a good trial over the summer months. Anybody else tried them? What do you think?

June Glossybox

The June Glossybox arrived on my desk at work this week, and it never fails to cheer up my day! Nothing like a beauty treat on a dreary rainy day in the office. Here's the lovely items I received this month.

This month’s box revolves around the theme ‘Summer Looks’, which will be quite apt when the sun finally decides to show an appearance. Fingers crossed for a warm summer to set in soon eh?

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse OR

I love NUXE products, but have never tried their oils before, so I’m definitely excited to give this a go. It’s a multi purpose dry oil which you can use to either hydrate your face, illuminate the body or strengthen your hair.

Figs and Rouge Lip Balm in Cherry Blossom

I’ve wanted to try one of these lip balms for aaages! So I was happy to see it in this months box. It smells lovely, and feels super moisturising on the lips. And best of all, it’s 100% natural! It can be used on other areas to moisturise, a bit like Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour Cream, but I think I’ll use this just on my lips.

Monu Professional Skincare Hydrating Moisturiser

I’ve tried a couple of products from Monu before including a moisturising facial tanner which I enjoyed using. This product is a moisturiser with an anti ageing element thrown in. It includes an SPF which is essential for a moisturiser in the summer months, especially if you tend not to wear foundation when it’s warmer. It also offers to blur imperfections and correct skin tone. Sounds perfect, looking forward to trying this one.

Helen E Cosmetics Shimmer Eye Powder

I’ll be honest, I’m not a massive fan of loose eye shadows, I prefer pressed or cream based shadows. But, the colour and shimmer finish of this is lovely, so I’ll definitely be giving it a go.

MeMeMe Cosmetics Long Lasting Nail Gloss

I love nail varnishes, and you’d only need to take one look at my twitter feed or blog posts to guess that! So as you can imagine, I’m always happy to see a nail varnish in my Glossybox. I got the colour Wild which is a lovely deep purple colour. There may be a little shimmer to it, but I can’t confirm as not tried it out yet.

Green and Blacks Organic Dark Chocolate

And becoming more and more frequent is a Glossy extra. I love getting something a little extra on top of the normal 5 items, always makes the box feel a little more special to me! So thanks Glossybox for the chocolatey treat! :)

So that’s all for my Glossybox this month, looking forward to trying all these products out soon.

Anyone already use any of these items? What did you get in your beauty box this month?

 

Limited Edition Real Techniques Brushes

I simply love all of the brushes that Real Techniques make up guru Samantha Chapman has released, they are such great brushes for such cheap prices!

I hadn’t heard about anymore being released until I saw this set in Boots. I was incredibly excited as I love duo fibre brushes and again, here were 3 for the incredibly cheap price of £23.99!

For base face make up I use nothing else than the buffing, expert face, stippling and powder brushes by Real Techniques. I use them every single day, and have no reason to replace them. I do have other brushes that I use on occasion, but I favour these over most.

This limited edition set includes an all over face brush, a contour brush and an eye shader brush. I love the new sleek, white design of the brushes and my experience using them so far has been positive.

These brushes work perfectly with cream, powder or liquid products, and really do give a gorgeous airbrushed finish which you come to expect from duo fibre brushes.

You don't see many high street duo fibre brushes around, they tend to be from the premium brands, so it's great that these are affordable, work great, 100% cruelty free and are a perfect addition to any brush collection.

Well done Real Techniques, you've got it just right again!

Anyone else tried these brushes? What's your opinion?

My First Giveaway - Now Closed

Exciting times for me! I'm hosting my first giveaway on my blog!

I've been so busy in recent months and am ashamed to say my blog has had to take a backseat occasionally. But i'm back, blogging regularly and with lots of ideas coming up! :)

Anyway, those who have read my previous blog post, will know that I have been loving using the Urban Decay 24/7 Smoked Eyeliners recently. So much I thought they deserved a full review on my blog, which you can read here.

I also mentioned that I’d enjoyed using these so much, that I purchased a brand new set and have decided to give them away on my blog!

Please enter using the rafflecopter below. Good luck to all and I hope the lucky winner enjoys using these as much as I have recently! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Urban Decay Smoked 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencils

I was in the market for some new eyeliners, and spotted this Urban Decay set on Look Fantastic’s website a few weeks ago. I’d heard great things about these liners and they certainly didn’t disappoint when I tried them out.

The set holds six mini eyeliners from the Urban Decay range including two limited edition colours. The colour range is fantastic as they have a good mix of wearable shades against brighter shades, and some matte, some shimmery finishes. They are so soft and super pigmented, and they’re probably the easiest liners I’ve used when creating a smoky eye effect. They are waterproof so last really well on the lash line as well as the water line.

L-R - Uzi, Zero, Demolition, Smog, Empire, Mainline.

This set includes the colours Uzi (gunmetal taupe with silver glitter), Zero (standard black matte), Demolition (deep brown matte), Smog (Copper), Empire (dark eggplant with satin finish) and Mainline (dark green/blue matte).

I’d heard people compare these to the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Kohls and I have to admit, they are incredibly similar, so if you were wanting a cheaper option you could definitely check those out. However I think this set is perfect, as you can own a little of each colour and finish, all for £26. What I love is that all the colours are really useable, normally there’s always a couple I don’t use in a set as there too bright for me, but Urban Decay have definitely got it right here. This set is basically all you require for your eyeliner needs.

I have enjoyed using these eyeliners so much, that I have decided to purchase another set to giveaway on my blog. My first giveaway, how exciting! I’ll be posting details on how you can enter that in the next couple of days, so keep checking back for more information! :)

May Favourites

It’s the beginning of June and time to reflect on products I've been loving for the last month. This month has been super busy for me, and I’ve found myself using the same products, so picking my favourites this month has been quite easy.

Moroccanoil Light

I have been loving using this oil recently. I used to swear by my Damage Reverse Ojon oil, but after trying this I’m torn between the two! I use this on dry hair daily to finish off the styling. It smells amazing and has really made a difference to my hair. I’ve wrote a full review on this product which you can read here.

Yves Saint Laurent Shocking Eyeliner

I couldn't resist picking up this eyeliner recently in duty free, due to the fact I love YSL’s Shocking mascara so much. I absolutely love this eyeliner, the precision and definition it gives on the upper lash line is immaculate. It’s so easy to use and although it doesn’t say it’s waterproof, it doesn’t budge all night. I wrote a full review on this product, which you can read here.

 

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Eye Shadow Duo in Raisins

Again, I picked this duo up in the airport on a recent trip and literally haven’t stopped wearing it since. It’s perfect for daytime or just a subtle look for night. It has a light pearl shade which I use all over the lid, then a dark brown colour which I use through the crease for definition. I was pleasantly surprised with the darker colour as it looks more like a dark plum on me and is a really pretty colour. As always with Estee Lauder, the packing is beautiful and comes complete with a mirror and little two ended applicator.

Revlon’s Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick

I’d not used this product for such a long time until I picked it up again earlier this month, and I’d forgotten just how much I love these stains, and especially this colour. It’s a lovely vibrant fuchsia colour, but is really wearable at the same time. I love how you only have to apply this product once, and it gives you colour all night. I do reapply to get the balmy effect, but you really don’t need to. Great product with fab wearability.

L-R - Revlon Lip Stain in Lovesick and Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple

Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple

Red lipsticks scare me… and I think I’m not alone in the world when I say that. However I’ve found the perfect one for me in the shape of this lip butter from Revlon. I love the lip butters anyway as they’re so moisturising, and give great colour. I usually only wear this particular colour whilst I have a bit of a tan, so have been loving wearing it this month. It’s not a really vibrant red, so I think it’s quite wearable, and if you’re looking for a subtle, slightly glossy red, this is definitely for you.

Topshop Cream Blush in Flush

I only recently starting wearing cream blushers, again whilst I have a bit of a tan. I absolutely love this range from Topshop, they have the prettiest colours and the formula is perfect for easy application. They seem to have got it just right with the amount of pigmentation. I’ve been loving this particular colour this month as it gives a lovely pink flush across the cheek. I definitely want to try other cream blushers, any suggestions?

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

This is something else that I haven’t used in a long time which I’ve rediscovered. I used to apply my foundation with this brush and absolutely loved it, but recently I’ve been favouring the Real Techniques buffing and expert face brushes for this task. I also have a couple of Sephora brushes I enjoy using for foundation application. I picked up the stippling brush again to apply cream blusher, and it works so well. It blends the colour perfectly, and picks up just the right amount of product. Who else loves Real Techniques brushes?

Benefits Total Moisture Facial Cream

I can’t speak highly enough about this cream, it has been an absolute god send this month while my skin has felt dried out from the sun. I’m looking forward to trying other products from the range to see if they’re as good. I wrote a full review on this moisturiser here.

Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter

Again this product has been great this month while I’ve been more tanned than usual. We all know when our skins tanned, it’s effectively damaged, and that’s why we have to work so hard at keeping it hydrated when we get home from hols. This body butter does just the job with minimal effect. It feels really thick and luxurious, smells absolutely amazing and sinks in to my skin beautifully.

Daisy by Marc Jacobs

I have been wearing this fragrance for years, and seem to pick it up again every spring. It’s such a pretty floral smell and is perfect for the summer months. I always think it smells so fresh on my skin, and I have received lots of compliments on the scent since wearing it again. The bottle is gorgeous and I love the flower bottle top, it looks lovely on my dressing table. If you like pretty, girly, floral scents, then I would definitely recommend this perfume.

Have you tried any of these products? What have your monthly favourites been?