Nails Inc TSV tomorrow!

Just thought I'd give you the heads up for the Nails Inc TSV at midnight.  This is what it looks like, as for cost, I have no idea. But I love it!

Enjoy ;o)

Sephora by OPI

(L-R Teal We Meet Again, Metro Chic, Ocean Love Potion)

How lovely are these?? These are my Sephora by OPI treats from The Boy.  I had long been lusting after Metro Chic, since the lovely Laura (aka lollipop26 on YouTube) had it in one of her haul videos. It was love at first sight, so I was very pleased to find it for my own collection. Its got a fab mauve undertone, which certainly makes it stand out when compared to Essie's Mink Muffs. I think I might wear this for work tomorrow.

Ocean Love Potion was my NY substitute for China Glaze "For Audrey".  I was desperate to find this colour, but didn't seem to come across anywhere that stocked the China Glaze line.  It is, in its own right, a gorgeous colour. Not a million miles away from the famous little blue boxes (of which I now have two - aren't I spoiled??).  I love how it looks both in the bottle and on the nails. I was worried about how it would apply, but it went on really smooth and evenly.  I put on 2 coats and then slapped on a bit of Seche Vite (thank you Nic!x) Think I might use OLP as a base for some Konad stamping over the weekend. I'll post the piccies on here afterwards, of course.

Teal We Meet Again (which has got to be THE most difficult colour to photograph!) is simply stunning. Its the most amazing colour in the bottle.  I haven't tried it on the nails yet, but I hope it lives up to the expectation. The shimmer particles of green, blue and aqua make this colour really quite unique.  This colour also appears in the set I got Nic, so I'd be interested to hear what she thinks of it.  I am quite jealous of the coral colour in Nic's set, but I'm sure if I'm really good, she'll lend it to me??!!??

Spoiled!

Can I show off my New York goodies?

LeanneOCD brought these back for me from her trip and I love them, just LOOK!



A black and gold macy's bag. Covergirl Lashblast Volume mascara (I haven't tied this yet), Victoria Secret Lip Gloss in Bubble It Up which I LOVE beyond all reason it smells exactly like bubblegum (everytime I wear it I'm blasted back to the 80's, do you remember the bubble gum that you got in strips or in the bottom of a Screwball? Well it smells just like those) and a Sephora by OPI nail polish kit in Havana Nights. Here's a close up of the colours.



L-R they are Teal We Meet Again, Read My Palm, Rumba Romance and Caliente Coral. How Lucky am i?!

Z Palettes Bargain!

For a while now I've been lusting after a Z Palette after seeing Kandee Johnson mention them in one of her YouTube videos but I didn't really want to pay £18.55 for one so when I saw them on http://www.love-makeup.co.uk/ at £14.99 for a large and £8.99 for a small I snapped a couple up. I know it's not a huge saving but as you know every little helps! I chose a large zebra and a small pink as you can see.




I'm going to depot Urban Decay Book Of Shadows II to put inside them as mine is a little bit shabby now! I'll show you when it's done.

OPI Haul

I got some lovely bargainous OPI polishes from the Brand Alley summer clearance a couple of weeks ago. Sadly they're sold out now so I'm just teasing you with these but check out Brand Alley it's great and you never know they might do somthing similar again. Let me know if you need a referral and I'll send you one (although I think you can just sign yourself up at the moment, I did).

I chose this kit which came with a lurid pink bag which was quickly (thankfully) stolen by my children leaving me with the contents - a papaya citrus scrub, papaya citrus massage lotion, a mini file and cuticle pusher and mini sizes of Didgeridoo Your Nails, Passion, Suzi Love Sydney and RapiDry Topcoat.

I also got last years limited addition valentines set with full sizes of Love Will Blossom, Heart To Resist and I Pink I Love You. My daughters LOVE Heart To Resist it's clear with glitter and red love hearts sprinkled through so how could they not! What could be prettier on tiny fingers and toes?!

Lastly (and my faveourite) a mini BrightPair Collection with shorts Story, On The Same Paige, A Grape Fit and RapiDry Topcoat.

NailsInc.com SALE!

Just a quickie to say Nails Inc have a sale on at the mo.  I've just been lured in and have purchased 6 lovely nail colours and it only cost me £20.  £3.33 for a Nails Inc varnish is awesome! Check out the sale here

Happy Shopping :o)

(PS Nic, this is all your fault!! x)

NYC Drugstore Nail Varnish Haul

I

 (L-R #14 Spectrum, #16 Laser, #23 Blazing Blue, #05 Vibrant and #07 Shining)

I spent quite a bit of time in Walgreens and Duane Reade while I was in NY.  I love having a look around shops like that and this is where I came across these Sally Hansen nail varnishes.

We have Sally Hansen in the UK, but there was certainly more choice of formula and colour in the States.  I was first drawn to Blazing Blue (about $6). It reminded me of OPI's Russian Navy, which I love.  Although on closer inspection I noticed that the shimmer particles were a bright teal/blue (almost the same colour as Spectrum) which  were shot through the polish, giving it a rather unique look. This particular polish is part of the Insta-Dri range and it did just that.  I wore this for the 5 days we were in NY and it didnt flake or chip.  The only thing I will say, is that when I removed it, my nails were tinged with blue.  So I had to follow Snowdrop85's idea when I got home and soon normal nail order was resumed.

On another trip, I spied the HD range (about $6.50 each).  I mean, how could I miss them! They have the most amazing multi-dimensional colours, including yellow, green and orange.  I went for Laser, which looks very blue on my pic, but it real life it has a purple undertone. While Spectrum is a gorgeous bright blue/aqua.  I cant wait to give those a try. I'm sure they will look stunning in daylight.

Vibrant and Shining were my bargains! They were on special at a Walgreens near Central Park for $3 each. Which is currently about £2 ish.  Shining is a very rich, red with a hint of shimmer.  Although its totaly different, it reminds me of Nails Inc Victoria.  Its a very classy statement colour and I loved it when I tried it out.  Vibrant I havent played with yet, but that was my wild card purchase.  Not a colour I'd usually go for, but it looked pretty and it was on sale, so what the hell!  I like the fact that there is a gold shimmer throughout the colour, meaning its not a flat regular pink.  I'll see how it goes when I try it out.

I'm really jealous of Nic's Nails Inc collection and I think I will have to make the Sorbet Collection mine! Although that will be a bit of a step awy from the norm for me.  What nail colours are you loving at the moment?

YouTube is a very dangerous place for people with Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder.

Does anyone else feel the overwhelming impulse to purchase after watching the YouTube Beauty Guru's?  Yeah, I thought so. So glad I'm not alone!

So it started with the lovely Sara (SWalkerMakeup), who got this brush in Sephora in Dubai and then mentioned it in one of her videos.  Then the fabulous Gemma (gemsmaquillage) picked her's up in Sephora in Spain (where she lives) and gave it a go. Both of them really rated this brush, so when I went to Sephora in NYC, which brush do you think I headed straight for?? The Sephora Professional mineral powder brush (#45) of course!!

I followed the ladies tip and used it for liquid foundation, ignoring the designation on the handle.  They said that it made applying a liquid base flawless and airbrushed, and they were not wrong!

I don't know what it is about this brush, but my Max Factor Second Skin foundation just seems to glide on in an effortless sweep.  It literally takes no time at all to apply, which is great for the morning rush. It doesn't seem to cake the foundation on,  it just provides the right level of natural coverage to even out any post-bedtime blotchy skin. And due to the synthetic bristles, it has washed really nicely.  I think its fantastic and I've used it every day since I bought it!  Thanks again Sara and Gemma for the head's up and for all your informative videos.  Keep'em coming ladies  ;o)

J'adore Buxom Babes

Nope, I'm not changing teams. I'm just in love (or should that be lust?) with the Bare Escentuals Buxom Babes lip gloss.  I have long been a fan of these lip glosses, having received a few different colours in various BE sets purchased on QVC.  Until I went to NY, my favourite colour was Zena, although I was quite partial to Amber.  Now I've been lured away by these little lovelies in the Sailor Girls collection, called Marina (shimmery pink) Skipper (shimmery coral) Misty (a very pale pink/clear with lots of iridescence) and Sunny ( you guessed it, shimmery bronze).

 They are just lovely and the perfect size for throwing in a pocket.  I usually carry about 8 different lip glosses with me, so size is not usually a factor for me, but these are too cute.  I get the feeling that these maybe limited edition for Summer, however I cannot corroborate that thought.  Its just usually the way. You find something that you love and they discontinue it!! Apologies for the pics, but they were really difficult to photograph in such a way that you get an idea of the colours.

(L-R) Sunny and Misty

(L-R) Marina and Skipper

Nails Inc Hauling and Collection

Finally I can show you my recent Nails Inc purchaces.

Best of Press Collection £20.00 + £3.45 p&p from QVC The colours are devonshire row, birdcage walk, chalk farm, spring mews.



Special Effects Collection £20.00 + £3.45 p&p from QVC The colours are barnsbury road, hays mews, chester terrace, countess road, augustus street.



and from nailsinc.com I chose 5 polishes for £30 from the pick and mix collection, I ordered when a free pair of Fabris Lane sunglasses were being given away so you can see those beauties, love them, AND I also joined the reward scheme and got a free polish (South Molton Street)so I was very happy indeed! Colours are basil street, seven dials, south molton street, neal street, the hurlingham and bruton street.




While I was snapping away at my goodies I decided to grab the rest of my Nails Inc stash to show you too, please don't judge me! I can't name them all right now but if you want me to get back to you on any of them just leave a comment and I'll let you know!











Phew! So thats my Nails Inc stash of shame (OPI, China Glaze and HighStreet brands are yet to follow)...I really don't need anymore nail polish but just look at this Sorbet Collection! I heart it!

I finally got some!!! Lacura Multi-Intensive Serum is mine.

After all the hype about this Aldi super serum, I have finally got my mitts on some.  At £3.49, I hope it works as well as I have heard/read. It will save me a fortune in Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Serum.

I got both the Anti-Ageing and the Aqua-Complete variants and I've started my regime already in preparation for the BIG birthday. Maybe I should take before and after photos. Hmmm what a scary thought....

Feeling HOT HOT HOT! The Body Shop new DeoDry Roll on deodorant

Whilst mooching around town on Sunday, Nic noticed these new DeoDry deodorant's from The Body Shop.

They are currently priced at £2.50 (usual rrp £4.00) and they contain no aluminium salts, so its kind to your skin.

The other great thing is that these deodorant's are kind to the environment too.  Refills are available for £2.00 and are recyclable. What a total bargain!

The scents are Clean and Breezy, which is the one I went for (pictured here).  Nic decided to try the Cool and Zesty and they also have a Fresh and Floral scent. They are all pretty nice to be honest.

Given our good fortune with the great weather in the UK at the moment, I am road testing mine this week at work, and believe me, I was sweating buckets this afternoon listening to my country squeeze through to the final 16 of the World Cup! So it had a fairly decent workout.  

 Initial impressions are that it dries quickly and smells fairly nice. Although I'll reserve final judgement until I have seriously put it to the test for a bit longer than 3 days. Although, I'm feeling HOT HOT HOT in the office at the moment! ;o)

PS The Body Shop have a sale on at the mo. Check it out online here or in your local store!

Philosophy. Smells good enough to eat, with ZERO calories.

I'm ruled by my sense of smell and I simply adore foodie scents. And its not just Philosophy products, this quirk extends to my passion for Yankee Candles (which I purchase from QVCUK.com or Yankeedoodle.co.uk)  As you know, I am a Philosophy Girl, in every sense of the word.  And while I was pounding the streets of New York I came across these fab sets, which I purchased from birthday money kindly donated by the In-Laws (Thank you).

"Greetings from Maui" is (I was told by the SA!) an exclusive to Macy's.  It smells like cocktails, tropical holidays and cake all in one. It actually made my mouth water.  I'm serious! It was in my basket before you could say "Maui Wowie".   Macy's website says "the sweet, tropical fruit scent of aloha colada inspires the ultimate hawaiian pick-me-up and makes every day feel like a day on a white, sandy beach. paradise is just an aloha away".  Well, I couldn't have put it better myself and after writing this, I might sneak off for a tropical dip before bed.

The "Ice Cream, You Scream" set came from Sephora on Times Square.  The Boy went off on a scouting mission and returned with this sweet treat, whilst I was lost in the aisles.  That place is like the Magic Kingdom for those of us with Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder.  It is set out like a sweet shop for beauty fanatics. Every counter is pristine, as a team of cleaners work silently to ensure that everyone has the perfect (clean) Sephora experience. No grubby stands here, not sure about messy customers though!  I generally like to colour every available section of skin on the back of my hand, with various different eye and lip colours.  Usually, I look like I have been struck down by some rare tropical disease, colours merging into each other as I make use of every millimetre of space I have to hand (see what I did there?). Sephora even caters for the aforementioned finger painters (such as myself), as they provide stations that include disposable applicators (for lips/eyes/face), cotton wool, tissues and bottles of make-up remover/rubbing alcohol.  I didn't once feel bad about my handy work (surely you got that one??) in there.  Any-ways, I digress... The Boy returned with this set and promptly dragged me over to the testers for a sniff.  All the scents in this kit were divine and the packaging was super cute.  The Caramel Drizzle, smelt as though it had come straight from Starbucks (of which there was one, every half block or so!!). Totally yummy.  Bad news is, that The Boy now prefers my lovely Philosophy goodies to his Lynx/Gilette manly shower gels. He does treat me to quite a lot of these kits for Birthday/Christmas, so I suppose I'll have to live with him occasionally scrubbing his arse with my lovely girlie products.  Good job I love him, or there would be trouble!!

My BonBon Balm is here!

I told you about the fabulous BonBon Balm, offering free samples of their lip balms. Well, mine arrived today (Thank you Sally!).  I now have a rather generous sample of Mint Tingle lip balm, which I shall road test and report back on.

Can't wait!

I'm back!

What an amazing trip to NYC,  all thanks to The Boy.   I loved every single second and obviously made Sephora my second home! He positively encouraged me to purchase lots of lovely goodies and even treated me to a few bits himself.  Bless his cotton socks!! ;o)

As you can see, there are lots of new products to tell you about.  But I wont go into all that now, its late. Will blog more about it over the weekend.

Does anyone else have anything exciting to report??

BBB and the Book of Shadows III Scoop.

OMG!! BritishBeautyBlogger (I LOVE her blog!) has the scoop on the new Urban Decay BoS III, which is so gorgeous.  Its all based on NYC (hmmm, I do have that on the brain at the moment!!) Read about it here!!

Roll on September....

Body Shop Monoi Miracle Oil - Love it

When Nic and I went shopping last week, I picked up the Monoi Miracle Oil  at The Body Shop. They had their "Smile, and save 30%" promo on - result!  I had a little sniff and instantly I compared it to Elemis Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt , except this little beauty is a third of the price.  I've been using it all week and I am addicted.  I use it every night when I get out of the bath, directly onto damp skin.  In just one week I can feel how soft my skin is. The scent is lovely and exotic. Reminds me of holidays, which is always a good thing. It feels somehow decadent, using a scented oil on your body. And I am all for a bit of daily decadence!! 


I later discovered that the lovely OxfordJasmine has featured this product in her monthly favourites video.  She recommended me to use it on my hair.  So I am sat with it on now!  I can't imagine anything taking the place of my beloved Ojon, but I suppose we shall see. This is one body product I'll certainly re-purchase.

I am completely EXTREMELY sorry!

I adore Charlie and Lola so I'll take any excuse to mention them!

I just needed to pop in to aplogise for not being around much over the last couple of weeks, real life seems to be getting in the way at the moment which is very unfortunate as I have so much I need to tell you about!

I finish my Fashion and Photographic Makeup course next week and my little ladies will be back in nursery so I'll have much more time for chattering about makeup, skincare, fake tan, hair and my shameful Nails Inc obsession while Leanne jets off to New York...some people have all the luck!

Tag.You're it!

Lily from Girls are Princesses tagged me (Thanks lovely!x)

The rules:

Link to your tagger and list the rules

List 7 random facts about yourself

Tag 7 people (and make sure you check back and see what they say!)

If you're tagged, play along and pass it on!

---

• I'm going to be 30 in almost a month's time and I will share that very big birthday (all birthday's in fact!) with NicolaOCD!
• I went on a school exchange to Russia (St Petersburg) when I was 15.
• My favourite flavour of Ben and Jerry's is Cookie Dough
• I'm obsessively early for everything, I cant stand being late.
• I love "scrubby" scrubs , especially the No7 Microdermabrasion exfoliator.
• I'm going to New York next Wednesday (an early birthday present from The Boy!!!).
• My favourite nail varnish is Russian Navy by OPI.

I Tag;

NicolaOCD

Snowdrop85

Debbie

Nikki

Dove Visible Care – Brightening Creme Bodywash Review.

I bought this on a whim whilst mooching through the aisles at Tesco.  The Boy was off looking at Lego, so I had to amuse myself somehow!  I think it was on offer for about £1.24, so I thought it’s cheap enough, why not?   Dove is not a brand that I usually go for, as the scent puts me right off.  I can’t even put my finger on what it is that I dislike about it, I just know that I don’t!

After much sniffing I realised that this product didn’t have the generic “Dove” scent so I threw it in the trolly.  I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and to my surprise I actually quite like it.

 

The consistency is very thick and luxurious.  It feels more like a rich body cream than a shower product and it lathers up into lots of lovely densely packed, creamy little bubbles.  And while this rich texture is a plus, it’s also a problem.  I found that it required some considerable elbow grease to get it out of the tube (morning workout anyone?), particularly when the tube became less full.  Because the shower crème is so thick, it refused to move down the tube.  And towards the end of use, it has required a touch of mild disassembling to actually get at the product at all.  There is nothing worse than fighting with packaging to get at product that you know is still in there!  Maybe a pump dispenser would have worked better.

The packaging claims “proven visible skin improvement within 7 days”.  Did I see a brightening effect on my skin? No, nothing that I was aware of.  Did my skin feel smooth and supple? Yes and extremely hydrated. 

I certainly would consider buying this again, if not for the faff with the packaging. But maybe I could give it another go.  Well actually I’ve still got the “Renewing” version to play with, that was also a £1.24 bargain at Tesco!

Give it a try and see what you think.

Happy Endings.

I shared this momentous news with Nic on Saturday, but for the first time in my whole life - I think I am actually reaching the bottom of an eye-shadow/blusher! Now I know this may not be earth shaking news for some, but I have honestly NEVER seen the pan....EVER!  I get bored of things, I give them away or lash them out. I do not, ever get to the bottom of makeup!!

So here are some very proud pics to illustrate my delight.

Here is my Urban Decay Revolver pallet and look, down there in the bottom right you can see the pan on Sin, exciting, no? I use this almost on a daily basis. I find that its my go-to shade for a quick, easy work look. Please excuse the grubbiness, but Polyester Bride seems to get everywhere, which might be why I don't wear it!!

Benefit Dandelion, now this may have only taken me about 2 years (which may or may not be that hygienic!) to get to the bottom of,  but here a very sizeable amount of pan on show. Whoop Whoop!

And finally we have Smashbox Softlights in Dolce Vita.  This was probably helped along by the fact that I dropped it last week and it kind of shattered.  The Boy awoke to a fair amount of effing and blinding that morning.  I use this every day, so I was truly devastated to drop it on our hard wood floor at 6am. Grrr, its still good though, for now.

What are you coming to the end of? And more importantly, will you repurchase??

This is a Bonbon deal!

You know me, I'm a sucker for a bit of lip balm/gloss. So that was how I stumbled across Bonbon Balms a few weeks ago. Sally is a plant scientist who has started creating and selling her natural lip balms.  The range of flavours had my mouth watering! I cant wait to try the Pina Colada one. Cocktail lip balms, how very Sex and the City!!

So here is the good bit! Sally is offering free mini testers of her Bonbon balms (in Mint Tingle, Strawberry or Highly Original) for the first 200 people to "like" the Bonbon Balm Facebook group. I've already requested my mini Mint Tingle, so if you fancy giving a natural lip balm a go Bonbon balms are on me! (well they are on Sally actually, but you know what I mean!). Just thought I would share this with you.

I hate being ill!

I'm off work today as I'm ill and I very rarely get ill, so I'm not taking it very well. No online shopping as the self imposed spending ban is still in place. Roll on the 9th June!


Just lying in bed with the laptop watching YouTube tutorials and reading people's blogs.  Anyone got any recommendation's for me?


All suggestions gratefully received ;o)