Christmas nails #2 - snowflakes

I decided to up my game a little more on the Christmas nails and went for a snowflake look! I absolutely love the way this came out :)

I first layered a coat of Rimmel Azure over one coat of OPI's Eurso... Euro before drawing the snowflakes and dots on with Barry M's white nail art pen. I finished it off with a nice slab of Essie's Good To Go and voila!

Left hand - with flash

Closer shot of left hand - with flash

Macro thumb shot - with flash

Left hand - with flash

Left hand - no flash

Right hand - no flash

Both hands - with flash

Christmas nails #1 - Christmas Trees!

For the first of my Christmas themed nails I decided to keep it simple and go with a classic - a Christmas tree! I like how they turned out but do feel they are missing something.. Can't figure out what though!

September/October favourites

Another monthly favourites blog coming up and this time there is a lot! I haven't written one for nearing three months so I've culminated some real treats in that time. Here are the ones I've loved the most!

1. Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer £25 (full size): I first tried this when I'd read reviews from a couple of bloggers claiming Smashbox to be a really great brand. I decided that rather than going all out and trying the full sized products that I would buy the little set you can get which has three different primers in it - including this and my number 2 favourite (see below!). I tried this when I went on holiday to America, fell in love with the first use and promptly headed to Sephora to grab the full size bottle. I expected this mini size to run out fairly quickly but I've been using it daily for nearly two months and it's still going strong! Bravo, Smashbo, bravo!

You can get the kit from Boots here for £14: http://www.boots.com/en/Smashbox-Its-Your-Prime_1308778/

2. Smashbox - Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer - £21 (full size): As stated above, this came in the little set I got from Boots. At first I was unsure what difference this would really make but boy was I wrong! It totally eliminates those pesky cakey lines you can sometimes get with certain concealers and keeps the concealer in place all day! I have barely even scratched the surface of this tube but can see myself picking up the full size bottle when I eventually run out!

You can grab this from Boots (be warned, it's not cheap!) http://www.boots.com/en/Smashbox-Photo-Finish-Hydrating-Under-Eye-Primer_1281414/

3. The Body Shop - Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream - £11: TBS are one of my favourite brands for moisturisers and this does not disappoint. I've been using it overnight as towards the colder weather my skin tends to struggle but this keeps a nice moisture in my skin when I pair it with number 4 of my favourites.

Get this from TBS here - http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-night-cream.aspx 

4. The Body Shop - Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15 - £11: This is basically the day version of the item above so it's a little less thick but also has the added bonus of SPF 15 which, even during the winter months is a big bonus to stop from any kind of sun damage! It's lasted for ages as I picked this up months ago and have barely used any despite daily use!

You can grab this here: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-spf15-moisture-lotion.aspx

5. Ulta - Vanilla Sugar Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel Sanitiser: I picked this (and the next few!) up from shops in America which unfortunately don't ship to the UK so I have no way of sharing these to my fellow Brits but this baby is amazing! I can't remember exactly how much it was but it wasn't a lot and smells absolutely divine! It's essentially the same as any old gel hand sanitiser but that smell... Yum!

6. NYX - Matte Finish Setting Spray: I absolutely ADORE this setting spray - when paired with the next item it holds my makeup on perfectly and keeps a fantastic matte finish which is especially great when you have oily skin! Oh how I need this to be sold in the UK!

7. Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder: Oh this is glorious! Urban Decay is a brand I've been wanting to try for so long based on recommendations but have never really been able to justify the steep price tag for. In America literally EVERY beauty product is so much cheaper so I decided what the heck? I'd go for it! I'm so chuffed I did, too, as this is a wonder product. The powder initially looks a white/lilac colour and when I opened it I was like woah, this is not what I was expecting. However, it literally is incredible - it just takes away that shine instantly and lasts for ages. It really is true that what you get is what you pay for! The packaging is really cute too which shouldn't really matter but... It does!

8. OPI - Alcatraz...Rocks!: This was another purchase from the USA but can also be bought over here (for a much steeper price, mind you!). I did a review of this some weeks back but this liquid sand shade has jumped to my favourites with it's purple /gold sandy goodness! 

9. Tarte - MultiplEYE Lash Enhancing Liquid Eyeliner: Another America purchase and boy, did I buy right! This is hands down the best eyeliner I've ever worked with. It goes on like a dream with great pigmentation and stays put all day with no real smudging. Plus, it claims to have "lash enhancing" qualities which I really do feel is true as my eyelashes look longer, fuller and feel softer. 

10. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Pro Lip Tint - Runway Rose - £8.49: I've tried quite a lot of lip tints now and this is definitely my favourite. It's got great colouration which is long lasting and it also smells amazing! 

I picked this up at Superdrug here: http://www.superdrug.com/loreal/loreal-pro-tint-lipstain-runway-rose/invt/496450

11. Police - To Be Queen - £30: Yes, I know, another perfume! But I have truly found my favourite now - this is just a beautiful smell! For 125ml the price is also incredible and it was well worth the buy!

Get this from Superdrug here: http://www.superdrug.com/fragrance-for-her/police-to-be-queen-edp-125ml/invt/757857

12. Thor 2: The Dark World: The above was the last of the beauty items and now we move on to the randoms. This film was literally incredible - easily my favourite Marvel movie ever (and if you know me, you know how much I love that Marvel!) I couldn't personally find a single fault and everything was just done right. I shall definitely be heading back to the cinema to see this again!

13. Yankee Candle - Christmas Cookie: Oh goodness this candle is like heaven in aroma form. Well, well worth the money for the hours of amazing scent-filled bliss! I loved this so much that I purchased the giant size after burning out the smaller within a few days!

14. Pokemon - X: We're rapidly approaching the end of the favourites and the last three are games. I have adored Pokemon since I can remember and this is no different! I actually picked up a Nintendo 3DS specifically to play this game (sad, I know)! It's a typical Pokemon game but has somehow been greatly entertaining still!

15. Grand Theft Auto V - Xbox 360: Whilst impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Xbox One, I decided to purchase this game after my brother had been raving on about how good it was and it hasn't let me down! The online game play is so much fun that I genuinely haven't completely any more the of the story than was necessary to actually access the online part of it!

16. Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag - Xbox 360: We've reached the end of the favourites for the last few months and have arrived on my favourite game of all three. The Assassin's Creed franchise is easily my favourite on Xbox and this has exceeded the previous titles by a long way (though perhaps not Brotherhood). Well worth the money as the story has kept me playing for a long time and I'm still only 40% complete!

OPI - Liquid Sand nail art

Ever since I saw the promo pictures for the film The Great Gatsby, I loved the art in the background. I then proceeded to fall in love with the idea when Sammy from The Nailasaurus did her take on it too. Combining the idea of that and the fact that I've also wanted to try out some proper textured nail art, I put them together and came up with this!

I have to say, this is probably one of my favourite nail art looks that I've done! It turns out that liquid sand is a very forgiving texture to work with as many of the usually wiggly lines that I usually create are just hidden by the texture!

For this look, I combined my new love Alcatraz... Rocks! (of which you can check out my review of here!) with another of OPI's liquid sand shades in Honey Ryder. After adding some random lines and triangles, this is the final look!

OPI - Alcatraz... Rocks swatches and review!

I'm finally back from holiday to America (which was so good that I didn't want to come home!) and decided to do some posts of the polishes that I got whilst I was there. OPI is ridiculously cheap in America compared to the UK so I made sure to stock up! I'd been wanting Alcatraz...Rocks! since I saw the first images come out and leapt on the chance to buy it at basically half the price!!

Alcatraz...Rocks is another liquid sand formula from OPI and true to form, it totally rocks (see what I did there? Oh, the wit! *ducks rotten vegetables*). It's a gorgeous deep purple glitter (though I've seen it described by many as a cobalt blue which personally I can't really see!) with flecks of multicoloured glitter throughout - gold, pink, green - you name it! It's seriously, seriously awesome!

The finish is the usual "sandy" feel and I only needed two coats for full opacity. In the shade this colour is beautiful but when the sunlight hits this baby, wow does it shine! I have to say, it's probably one of my favourite ever nail varnishes! I can also say with some confidence that even if you don't like the liquid sand finish, you should get this polish as with a top-coat this would be a stunner!

With flash - just look at that glitter!!

In the shade

Macro-shot of the glitter-bomb beauty!

Multicoloured animal print nails

Bit of a blast from the past today with these animal print nails! I tried these out previously during the 31 day challenge and decided to revisit this look as I loved it! All of the colours I used here came from Sinful Colors - man they do a good polish.

Pinstripe flower nail art!

I know it's been a horribly long wait for another post and I apologise! I've been working a lot of hours and have had very little time to really do anything with my nails - nightmare, I know! I've got a few posts lined up including another nail art look and my skincare routine which all should be up within the next week or so :)

On to todays look!

Now this was completely inspired by Sammy from The Nailasaurus from a few weeks ago! I fell in love with the look straight away and knew I had to try it. It didn't turn out anywhere near as good as hers but I was still pleased with the results anyway!

For my base coat I started off with the ever trusted OPI Natural Nail Base Coat and followed it up with two coats of Sinful Color's Snow Me White. After letting that dry a little, I took Essie's Licorice and a striping brush and carefully striped each nail with black. After that dried, I dabbed on random dots of Sinful Color's Why Not? and swirled around Snow Me White to create the "flower". After they turned out okay I drew on the leaves with MaxFactor's Cactus Green and topped it all off with a coat of Essie's Matte About You!

I do like the way this came out and it lasted literally around a week and a half - and with the work I've been doing that's impressive going!

 

Fragrance Direct haul!

Fragrance Direct has very quickly leapt into my "favourite website" spot. How could you not love a beauty suppliers website that saves you a huge amount?! On this haul I saved a whopping £60 on the RRP which is absolutely amazing! I thought I'd do a quick post showing exactly what I got and how much I saved per item!

Burt's Bees Beeswax and Banana Hand Cream (57g):
"This super rich, all-natural hand cream is made with aloe vera and vitamin E to moisturise dry skin and beeswax to help seal and shield your hands from the elements."

RRP: £9.99
FDP: £7.99

The first item is some hand cream that I'd been eyeing up for a while and decided to grab when I saw it on FD. Whilst this item wasn't hugely cheaper than the RRP, it was still a saving of a couple of quid and it's so worth it - this smells divine! I must admit I haven't tried it out yet as I'm still working my way through a bottle of Vaseline hand cream which is serving me well but can't wait as all reviews I've read for this have been amazing!

Astor Anti Shine Foundation - Super Matte in 100 (Ivory):

Transparent microfine powder and oil absorbing for the ultimate supermatte finish all day long.

RRP: £9.99

FDP: £2.99

I've mentioned before that I suffer with slightly oily skin and so have been on a drive recently to buy beauty products that are "matte" designed. When I saw this foundation I initially had reservations as I'd never heard of the brand Astor before but thought that for £2.99 I might as well give it a go! I'm really glad that I did as this is perfect! It matches my skin tone very well and gives a nice finish. The bonus is that the matte power lasts for ages! I used it for the first time today and it kept my face "dry" all day! I'm ridiculously happy that I managed to get it for £2.99!

Rimmel Stay Matte Concealer - 010 (Ivory)

Rimmel Stay Matte Concealer, effectively covers the blemish without clogging pores, whilst the inner core treats the blemish. 

RRP: £4.99

FDP: £1.99

As mentioned above, I've been wanting all the matte products and decided to snap this up for the stupidly low price tag of £1.99. I have been using a liquid concealer which I tend to favour as I feel it gives a more even and less chalky coverage but thought what the heck? And yet again this product has proved my initial thoughts wrong! It gives a fantastically pigmented coverage and even has the "green dot" centre which claims to reduce redness. It matches my skin tone really well once more so I hit the money on this baby!

NYC Quick Dry Nail Polish - Big City Dazzle:

Quick drying formula with minerals! Features cutting edge shades with high impact shine. Infused with high levels of pigment for brilliant colour & a touch of shimmer for dramatic depth and shine.

RRP: £1.99

FDP: £0.99

I'm a massive fan of the NYC cosmetics range (in fact the next two items are also from NYC) and had seen a few bloggers swatch Big City Dazzle. Immediately I knew I wanted it but couldn't seem to find it anywhere. Even Fragrance Direct didn't seem to have it when I first looked a few weeks back but I happened to check again and saw it sitting innocently on the list as "in stock" and I'm pretty sure that bullets have left guns slower than the time it took me to press "add to bag". Love the glitter topper, love the measly 99p price tag attached!

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm - Garnet Gala and Apple Blueberry Pie

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm will deliver colour, shine and moisture in one single swipe! Fun and fruity with a hidden apple core of care it?s also delightfully moist. This ?oh so cute!? apple-shaped core reinforces the moisturizing properties of the rest of the balm and gives your lips a healthier look! The fruity apple scent will makes your lips irresistibly kissable.

RRP: £2.49

FDP: £0.99

Do these babies need any introduction? I've already got two other shades of the lip balms and they are simply incredible so when I saw the colours that should only be available in the US and not over here in the UK I was like oh hell to the yeah (and yet again over the moon at the 99p price!!) and got them straight away. So prettyful!

Garnier Pure Active 2-in-1 Tinted Roll On - Fair 

Garnier Pure Active 2in1 Tinted spot roll-on conceals and targets spots in a single step! Invisible, long-lasting spot coverage thanks to a high concentration of mineral pigments which don't block pores. Targeted action. The metal roller ball allows you to target imperfections. Thanks to a high concentration of a drying active combined with HerbaSoothe, it helps calm and soothe skin and has an instant drying effect to help protect against spots before they appear.

RRP: £7.99

FDP: £2.99

This purchase was one of those "why not?" moments. My skin has had a couple of breakouts recently and I wanted something that packed a punch to combat them. I haven't had enough time to find out whether it's that effective yet but given time I'm hopeful that it will! It does give a good coverage, especially on top of the Rimmel concealer that I bought too!

Coryse Salome Anti Cellulite Active Cream with Seaweed:

Coryse Salome Anti Cellulite Active Cream. Body slimming formula with "lifting effect" containing seaweed.

RRP: £20

FDP: £5.99

Now, some of you may be wondering why an 18 year old with no cellulite has gone and bought an anti-cellulite product and you have a legit point. I saw this product randomly as I was trawling through all the brands and the reviews for it were phenomenal. All of them were saying how much firmer it made their skin look and, whilst I may not suffer from cellulite yet, my legs could always do with a bit of improvement on their appearance. Plus, for a saving of £14 I felt that I was almost being forced to buy it down to the huge saving. I've only had the chance to use it once so far so can't update with any skin  miracle results yet!

Dainty Doll Eyeliner and Mascara duo - 002 (Shape Up):

This duo product combines two must-have beauty essentials that no makeup addict would ever be seen without. The rich liner smoothes effortlessly onto skin, whilst the lash boosting mascara adds the finishing touch to a stylish eye look. Forties glamour has never been so simple!

RRP: £17.50

FDP: £1.99

A whim purchase once more, I'd never heard of the brand Dainty Doll. After a little bit of research I'd found out that it was the brand of Nicola Roberts, the notoriously pale member from Girls Aloud. The product range is aimed at those of the paler-skinned variety so I felt that getting any kind of facial products like foundation would be a no-no. However, I stumbled across this nifty eyeliner and mascara 2-in-1 duo and felt like trying it - especially when there is a whopping £15.51 off the RRP! I again haven't had the chance to try it out yet but will definitely be trying it soon!

Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Cuticle Eraser + Balm:

Salon Manicure Cuticle Eraser & Balm: Combination remover and creme 2 in 1 formula with white tea & cucumber quickly eliminates excess, ragged cuticles & hangnails as it conditions nails and healthy cuticles. You Have: Dry cuticles & nails. You Will Get: Instantly healthy, beautiful, conditioned cuticles that look up to 80% smoother.

RRP: £9.75

FDP: £1.50

Bravo, Fragrance Direct, bravo! I have been wanting to try this for months after seeing Sammy from The Nailasaurus say that she used it. I've never really justified the tenner price tag that everywhere seems to have (Boots, Asda etc) and was jumping for joy when I saw this for only £1.50! How ridiculously cheap are these products?!

Almay Time Off Revitalizer Daily Solution 112 pads:

 - A Dermatologist approach to visibly rejuvenated skin 
- Helps your skin to look more radaint, less lined, more even toned 
- Time-Off beauty treatments reveal smoother, brighter, fresher, younger looking skin 
- Improves the texture of your skin, leaving it smooth, visibly rejuvenated with dry lines diminished 

RRP: ?!?!?!

FDP: £2.50

I can't seem to find out much about this product, including the usual price tag. Again this is a product you would probably not connect with an 18 year old but I felt like £2.50 was a steal for something which claims to make skin appear firmer, brighter, smoother and visibly rejuvenated. I've only used it twice and already my skin does feel firmer so I have high hopes for these pads!

Witch Oil Control Foaming Face Wash:

Witch Foaming Face Wash is a gentle foam that has a deep cleansing action to wash away excess oils and impurities. This product will leave your skin feeling tingly clean, refreshed and smooth to the touch.

RRP: £3.99

FDP: £2.99

Not a huge saving on this one (though anything is better than nothing so no complaints here!) but I wanted to try a daily face wash that would help control the oil and Witch is one of my most trusted skincare brands so I had to go for this! I've used it a few times and so far, so awesome! I really like this product and within one day of using it (in conjunction with the new matte foundation and concealer) my skin seems so much better!

Forgot to take a picture of this one.. whoops! Y'all get the drift though ;)

Overall I'm ridiculously pleased with this haul and I'm so obsessed with the Fragrance Direct website that I trawl through it near daily to see if there are any bargains that I can snap up! Hope this provided a little inspiration  - go spend!