i'm a lipgloss addict.

you know that feeling when you're busy all day and you finally have a moment to reach into your stuffed-to-the-brim handbag to find that *shock* you only have one lip balm and *double shock* that MOST OF IT HAS GONE. 

well, yesterday i had this feeling and spent most of the day scooping my beloved nivea lip balm out with my finger. this is not an ideal situation, particularly for someone who struggles to go an hour without reapplying something (anything!) to my lips. so i went to the local chemist and found this little saviour. it smells like cherries and although it's not creamy or luxurious by any means, it certainly did the job.

a bit late for new years resolutions, but maybe i should consider making a new month resolution? soon, i intend to purchase a little purse to put my back up essentials in. that way, when i change handbags there will be a lot less hassle, and (hopefully) a lot less potential for nightmares like this to happen!

beauty uk lipstick - chelsea

 uh oh... there aren't many words for this lipstick. maybe it was my fault. i'm not really a lipstick girl although i am trying to branch out. i'm also quite pale and unfortunately this was the only lipstick without a tester. my lips also aren't in great condition at the moment which obviously shows a lot more with lipstick than it does with lip balms and glosses.

despite all this i still bought the lipstick and am regretting it now! the colour is really, really pale - a lot paler than it looks which just doesn't work (hence not putting a picture of myself wearing the lipstick up!) and the texture of the lipstick is quite dry and chalky. all in all a wasted purchase, and one that has set me back a notch or two on the lipstick-buying front which is a shame! better luck next time eh?!

NYC manicure - cute, pink and sparkly!

I picked up these two nail varnishes this weekend because they were cute, cheap and sparkly... probably my three favourite things in life! i've never used NYC nail varnishes before but so far i'm quite impressed.

like it's name, 'long time lavender' is actually more lavender than it has come up in the pictures and less pink. it has a frosty finish so looks really girly and soft. i felt it wasn't a particularly exciting look though, and as nails are the easiest place to experiment i decided to paint 'lights-camera-glitter' over the top. 


'lights-camera-glitter' has little silver sparkles in as well as bigger lilac and blue glitter pieces so i thought it went well with 'long time lavender'. i think the outcome is really pretty and it reminds me of how i used to paint my nails when i was younger for birthday discos :) 


i'm not sure about the 50% stronger nails claim, and i'd be hugely surprised if this manicure lasted 7 days, but following this experimental purchase i would definitely buy NYC nail varnish again. for only £2.49 you can't really go wrong!

soap and glory - hand food

soap and glory's 'hand food' was given to me as a gift for christmas. i've been carrying it round with me ever since, despite the fact that it's in a bigger tube than most other hand creams i've used. i love the packaging, it's retro and pretty at the same time - just what you expect from soap and glory.  i also like the smell - similar to soap and glory's 'the righteous butter' that i reviewed here. it is quite floral so some people may find it overpowering but i like the sweet scent of soap and glory's products so i'm not complaining!

i do find that if you use too much, it can be a bit greasy on the palms of your hands but ever since i've started using it my less-than-perfect cuticles aren't as dry as they were and look a lot nicer than they did pre - christmas. you can find soap and glory products in boots.

gold glitter manicure

this manicure was my task for wednesday evening and i have to say, it was more of a challenge than i expected! but i'm pleased with the outcome and my attempts at being creative (and patient) with nail glitter!


the base colour i used was 'dark navy' by e.l.f cosmetics. i'm a big fan of navy nail varnish, particularly because i'm pale and i think in general, black is too harsh for my skin tone. navy is a nice, sleek substitute and goes with pretty much everything!

the real challenge came when i brought out the nail glitter by gosh in gold. i've never tried loose nail glitter before but i was excited to attempt to use it without creating too much mess. 

once my nails were completely dry i used some masking tape strips i made and stuck them onto my nails taking design inspiration from here. i then painted on some clear nail varnish and shook a bit of glitter onto the nail. i carefully spread it around with my finger and tried my best to push it into all the corners! 

this takes patience and by the end of it the table looked like a 6 year old had attacked it on a craft day. however, once i peeled off the masking tape i was pleased with the results! some of the glitter did manage to make its way onto the taped areas but because of the navy and gold combination i have told myself that this looks like stars and was therefore planned ;) i finished with a top coat.

i'm looking forward to trying out some other designs with the glitter but it's definitely for a day when i have plenty of time to experiment! also, on reflection, i may invest in a paintbrush to make it easier to apply the glitter, and remember to put a bit of newspaper down beforehand too.

e.l.f cosmetics - mint cream

 

thought i'd jump on the pastels bandwagon and paint my nails with 'mint cream' by e.l.f cosmetics. it's a nice pale green colour and definitely a slightly different approach to the classic pale pinks and lilacs that i would usually choose.

it took two coats to get full coverage but so far no chips! pretty good going for a £1.50 nail varnish. which of course means i now have my eye on both 'nude' and 'golden goddess'...

 

 

tiny task mascara

i got quite excited when i saw that clinique had released a 'bottom lash mascara' made for performing 'tiny tasks' (cute!) but alas, the £11 price tag seemed just a bit too much to spend on a product with such a specific use that i may end up forgetting about once the novelty wore off.

luckily, e.l.f cosmetics have a 'coming soon' note on their new 'exact lash mascara' which is only £3.50! having used their products before i have faith in this being a good product that performs as it says it will despite their miniscule price tags. i've requested an email notification for when stock arrives, fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later!

h&m - hair flowers

thought i'd share these cute little hair clips from h&m. they were a birthday present from a good friend and they've done a nice job of brightening up my boring monday outfit.

i pulled my hair back into a ponytail after backcombing it with a tail comb and secured it with a clear band. after, i put some curls into the ponytail with 1" barrel curling tongs. i then separated out the curls, misted with hairspray and clipped in the flowers at the base of the ponytail. et voilà! happy monday :) xx

models own - grow-fast mascara

i recently branched out from my usual maybelline mascara comfort zone and started using models own 'grow-fast mascara'. it is 'designed to strengthen and increase the length of your lashes' and contains procapil and panthenol.

it took a bit of research (wikipedia and a balding blog, i kid you not...) to find out exactly what procapil and panthenol are. apparently, procapil is a plant complex that 'repairs, nourishes and prolongs the hair cycles of the telogen phase of hair growth', and panthenol is a 'provitamin of B5, emollient and moisturiser'. this all sounds promising but i am wary of certain statements made by cosmetic companies so will have to wait and see if the claim to strengthen and increase the length of my lashes does actually prove true. unfortunately, my cynical side says no.

packaging wise, i'm not a massive lover of green but it has come in handy for actually finding the product in an overflowing make up bag, a problem i never really thought would be solved!

the mascara wand itself is something i'm not used to aswell. usually i go for wands with big and thick bristles, but this wand is long and thin, and the bristles are quite rubbery. models own state they are 'diamond moulded'. i'd challenge anyone to find out what this actually means...

regardless of my high hopes for this mascara, i wouldn't say i've been disappointed. it provides good coverage and i've found the brush a lot easier to control than i thought i would. i have found that if i put on too many coats then my lashes have a tendancy to clump, but that's probably a result of my over-enthusiastic approach towards getting longer lashes. is this mascara too good to be true or worth pursuing? watch this space.

soap and glory - the righteous butter

 

 

 please excuse the pre-used picture of soap and glory's 'the righteous butter' but as soon as i smelt this i couldn't resist! for those of you who haven't already tried soap and glory... where have you been?!


this body butter claims that it is 'so virtuous, you might swear you're wearing velvet' and it's not wrong. i didn't apply it after the shower as directed, but it still worked well making my skin feel really soft and non-greasy. a massive bonus, especially because i slathered myself in it about two minutes before i heard my pyjamas calling my name!


the smell is quite hard to describe to those of you that haven't already tried soap and glory's products but it's got a yummy floral-but-not-too-floral scent, with maybe a hint of vanilla... and shea butter... and sweeties. amazing!


it comes in a big tub too, and i'm a massive fan of the cute retro packaging. you can find soap and glory's 'the righteous butter' in boots for £10.21 (full 300ml size) or try the travel sized version (50ml) for only £2.35.

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models own - blooboo

i fell in love with models own nail varnish a while ago when i saw their range of colours and pretty reasonable price tag. at only £5 it makes it relatively easy to experiment with what i consider to be a high quality nail varnish. 

blooboo is a light, sky blue colour, with a shiny and slightly pearly finish, and the large top makes it easy to keep a steady hand.

the only negative i would say is that all the models own nail varnishes i have tried so far require two coats. definitely worth it in the long run though!