Nail Polish collection/favourite colours

 Introducing...my nail polish collection! Housed in one of my empty Glossyboxes (although at the rate I'm collecting, another box will be needed soon!) which are perfect for storage. As you can see, lots of them have little stickers on top, showing me what the colour in them looks like- very useful tip if most of your nail varnish lives in identical black-topped bottles.

 My collection is mostly a combination of Barry M, Models Own and cheap high street brands, although now some Essie is working it's way in ;) I think my best brand to go to is a mixture of Barry M and Models Own, both are good for consistency and offer a great colour range. I find Barry M lasts well on my nails, although there are a few exceptions (hello Mint Green!) but I guess there are in every brand.

 If you haven't already tried Essie's diffusion line, available in Boots & Superdrug, then I can really recommend it, they offer a lovely colour range, a good brush applicator and I think the polish has good longevity on the nails. Worth the money.

 Anyway, here are my best polishes in my own collection, some I reach for often, some I rediscover, wear to death and then forget about again for a few months...I forgot to include the Models Own/Wah Nails nail art pen in the picture- I love this product and it's really easy to use and add a bit of interest to your nails :)

 Top picture, L-R: Nails Inc- Victoria & Albert, Beauty UK- Aztec Gold, Barry M- Peach Melba, Models Own- Grace Green, Essie- Turquoise & Caicos, Barry M- bright blue, No7- Cheeky Chops, Essie- Watermelon, Models Own- Utopia, Ciate- nude, Barry M- Wine, Rimmel- Disco Ball, Sally Hansen- Hard as Nails base coat & strengthener.


 These are just some of my favourites and to be honest, I have too many to include them all! I also have put down possibly my best one somewhere and forgotten where it is (Barry M- Coral), boo!

 In other news, my Topshop boots arrived today and I love them, I hope they last me ages and they seem light enough to wear on damp summer days (well, this is England...). I will post up a picture soon!

X.

Glossybox: Feb 2012 LFW Edition

Duwop venom gloss (full size), Impress press on manicure (full size), Paul Mitchell quick slip (sample), BM Beauty pure mineral eyeshadow (sample), Como Shambhala invigorate shower gel (sample).

 Normally I wait a week to test everything etc, but today I was really bored and tried everything out today instead. To be really honest, this is another 'meh' box, and I am really considering terminating my subscription when I get to my free box. The venom gloss is surprisingly nice, not too gloopy on the lips- for me it feels like a heavy lip balm, it really tingles though so be warned!! The press-on nails are not really my thing or colour (neon pink, yuk), but I will try one out and see how it fares- can always give them to someone else ;) The eyeshadow is ok, it fades well, leaving a nice sparkle (reminds me of Beautymarked by MAC), but again, not such a friendly colour, as I'm into my neutral shades (can't win all the time though). The shower gel smells lovely, I'm coming to the end of my Rituals one, so it's nice to receive another brand to try. The Paul Mitchell quick slip is a little strange, it smells nice when you squirt a little onto your hand, but when using it after a while it develops a really odd after-smell, still, it left my hair feeling soft and in no way greasy, so I'm pleased with it.

I wish Glossybox would do a little q&a thing for everyone, where you could specify what you like, in terms of makeup shades and skin tone etc- their Beauty profile is a little bit crap in my opinion, and I don't think I've ever received any products that suit my skin or hair type/tone based on the answers I gave them. Considering their service is very popular I think they could bother to get it right more often and listen to what their customers want...

 Overall, this box is ok- nothing really grabs me, but it's nice to get some new products I haven't heard of before. I just don't know how much longer I'm going to carry on with this- £12 a month soon adds up, and to be really honest, I don't need endless pots of samples (however good) just lying around, especially the ones I can't/don't like using. I would honestly rather save up and buy more expensive products that I am actually going to use regularly and that I really want. Once I have collected enough Glossydots to get a free box then I think I will be unsubbing as I've said. This did brighten up my day though, and I enjoyed testing everything out :)

X.

galaxy/starry nails...

Step 1: select nail varnish. I chose Rimmel polish in Disco Ball & No7 polish in Betty Blues.

I used false nails for this look as I find it easier and less messy this way, plus they can dry without smudging. I used two nail varnishes for this look, although I've seen some more complex tutorials that involve sponges/cocktail sticks- basically I wanted to make mine less fiddly and quicker to do! I buy my false nails on ebay- European ones- and they work out at about £3.50 for 200 which is pretty good, they require some shaping but for that money you can't really go wrong.

Step 2: paint nails.

Paint your nails/false ones. I used two coats of the dark blue polish to get a good opaque covering- you could use black if you want a 'night sky look', but I prefer blue. When it's all dry, I applied 2-3 coats of glitter polish and let that dry too. Then apply a top coat of you want, I find that my false nails stay chip free, but it might be best to apply one to natural nails.

Step 3: apply nails if using false ones!

This is my new brush on nail glue from elegant touch- find it at Boots & Superdrug. Just a warning- when I removed my false nails, the leftover glue on my natural nails stank... I found washing my hands with really strong soap did the trick, but I'm not sure why it smells- something in the glue?! I do have clean hands normally...promise!

Step 4/5: enjoy!

There we go- 'galaxy' nails! Hope that was enjoyable/easy to do- it's just a quick alternative and I think it looks quite pretty, plus you can apply less or more glitter depending on how 'starry' you want them to be. :)

I was off from work today with a migraine that started last night- it was terrible, lights in front of my eyes, my head felt like it was pulsing. It's only just worn off, so hopefully I'll be back at work tomorrow to earn some more money. Time for some tea and pringles- we only have them at Christmas (soooo deprived) so I'm making the most of them haha.

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Glossybox: December 2011

How nice is the box?! Very festive. And a very good box it was too- I have used everything for once! On with the products...

Rituals foaming shower gel

Love this shower gel, it smells beautiful, quite musky and spicy. I like the fact it's an actual gel and you don't need a lot to get a good lather. I would buy this again, depending on how long a bottle can last.

blink+go hi-definition mascara

I've found myself reaching for this quite a bit since the box arrived, a nice glossy black mascara that does the job and doesn't smudge easily. Not sure I'd pay £15 for it though, I prefer testing out cheaper mascaras.

mememe seventh heaven face primer

Very heavily scented, so if you don't like smelling like strong lemon, avoid. Luckily I do, and I've used this quite a bit for when my double wear foundation needs a bit of slip on application. A nice little £5 discount voucher came with this too, but I'm not sure I love it enough to buy a full size bottle.

deborah lippmann nail varnish remover sachet

Ok, so I haven't used this yet, but I will be to get the glitter off my nails, and if this doesn't work then a chisel might be required... The packaging describes this as a 'mitt', but as nail varnish remover really dries my hands out, I have a feeling that some heavy duty hand cream might be required after using this.

razzle dazzle mini nail varnish

Love this! Needs a few coats to make a properly glitter encrusted nail and takes a bit of removing, but it's gorgeous! Dark vampy purple/red, looks surprisingly festive.

cargo cosmetics classic lip gloss

Not a big fan of wearing lip gloss but this isn't too bad and comes out as quite a nice colour on my lips, a little sticky, but I've never found a lip gloss that isn't. Not sure how much I'll use it, but I think it might look even better layered over shy girl.


Great box this month, apparently next month's is going to be pretty good, but we'll see, I'm going to save my glossydots for a free box then I might unsub from it all, £12 a month isn't too bad, but for someone saving to move out eventually, it does all add up. I put my new tripod up earlier and took some pics for a nail tutorial type thing. The light is terrible at the moment, so I've had to stand in front of my window- it might give the neighbours something to laugh about!

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, I'm definitely taking up jogging again in the new year...famous last words.

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that time of year

Happy Christmas Eve and all that- eat lots tomorrow and be happy! I'm so looking forward to turkey, presents and going for a long family walk armed with my camera. Standard.

On an entirely different note (but I really need to mention this), if you suffer from bad skin, or just love a full coverage look, then this foundation might be 'the one' for you, it is for me. Covers everything, stays put but feels like nothing's on your skin. Perfect.

Festive nails in the form of Rimmel's Disco Ball, looks even better layered over black/midnight blue, looking forward to trying out 'galaxy' nails now :)

Merry Christmas everyone!
Thank you for the last comments and the birthday wishes- I had a lovely time!

X.

Little things

Primark cardigan, ASOS dress, Barry M Mint green nail polish

Dorothy Perkins jumper & dress

Eylure 107 lashes, Barry M silver foil nail polish and Nails Inc. Basil Street polish (free)

Duac Skin lotion (prescription only), Garnier BB cream in Light

Just a few new things I've accumulated over the past weeks, also got some more new stuff coming from ASOS haha... Work has been busy this week, and so has my life to some extent, with doctors appointments and family arguments over moving house, but I still feel quite dissatisfied with my situation at the moment, everyone else seems to be moving out/away from here, doing interesting stuff and getting interesting jobs. I just seem to be floating around with no real purpose or direction, I think I'm missing the freedom and independence of University. Anyway, enough moping, I just hope that this time next year I'll be somewhere different and more exciting...
I finally got somewhere to sorting out my 'problem skin'. Apparently my hormones are faulty, so they can't really do much about that but I now have some seriously strong antibiotic gel (Duac Once Daily- on prescription only) to help keep spots at bay. It really dries the skin out, making it tight, flaky and itchy- I feel so sorry for people who have this all the time. These symptoms should disappear in 2 weeks though as my skin should get used to the peroxide (bit scary). To help my skin along (you can't use oily makeup while using the gel), I invested in the BB cream from Garnier, it's very moisturising and smells lovely. It doesn't really cover up blemishes but gives light coverage to the skin without any 'cakey' feeling. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good tinted moisturiser, or a light foundation that helps counteract dry skin. I apply it using a foundation kabuki brush, but you can use your hands if you prefer.
I also got some new eyelashes today, 107s from Eylure. I accidently hoovered my old ones up! I also picked up the Barry M silver foil nail varnish, to be honest I wanted a silver and this happened to be on the shelf, can't say it resembles tin foil, but it is a lovely silver shade. If you get Glamour this month there's a free full size Nails Inc. varnish included, I already had the red shade from a previous collaboration, so I opted for a nice nude/brown (actually nicer than how I've described it...). I'm also contemplating on going back to blonde now I have money. Decisions, decisions!

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Models Own

Peacock Green, Bubblegum, Green Grass, Utopia.

Models Own Wah Nails Pen- Black.

This is what I purchased in the recent Models Own 50% sale. Above are some designs and swatches I tried out on my false nails. Overall I'm very pleased with the products- they're a lot better than the Barry M polishes, but unless you push in the sides of the lid when unscrewing it the brush gets left in the bottle sometimes, not something I'd expect from a £5 bottle of nail varnish... But the coverage and consistency is brilliant. Unless there's another offer, or I'm feeling rich, I wouldn't shell out a fiver for one bottle, it's a bit over priced. The nail art pen is worth it however, and I'm really happy with it. I've been trying out lots of designs and my favorite to do is leopard print- really easy to achieve, it just makes your nails look a bit different.

I also got a No7 varnish too, only £2 with the £5 off voucher- a lovely dark blue with subtle sparkles in- I really want to try out 'galaxy nails' but I'll need a sparkle polish for that.

No7 Betty Blues

Today I'm watching the most cringe inducing day time tv in the form of Neighbors- when did it get so bad (or has it always been...)? Hopefully hearing about my interview tomorrow, I hate waiting for phone calls...

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