Catsuit Nails

Sooooo following on from my earlier post on Look Magazine’s new Beauty range I have the polish that originally caught my eye and made me end up buying a couple more items from the brand.

It was fairly hard to photograph and the entire colour looks more turquoise then it appears in these pictures but the turquoise is sometimes reflected in the glitter… confusions I know.

On all my fingers bar the ring finger I used 2 coats of OPI’s OPI Ink as a base, topped by two coats of Catsuit. On the ring finger I used 3 coats of Catsuit alone.

This was 4 days in….it started chipping after 1 day and got bigger to this…

The turquoise of the glitter here is more like the overall colour of the polish, a combination of this turquoise and the colour of the whole nail in the picture above.

This last picture best represents the difference between the colour of 3 coats of Catsuit (leftmost nail) in comparison to the colour with 2 coats of OPI Ink and 2 coats of Catsuit.

Although I got this free in an offer at Superdrug, it would have been £5 had I bought it at full price. I would probably try one of these in another formula as there are a few nice cream polishes in the range. If that has the same slow drying time then I might not be bothered with any other shades unless they are really special. This was, as anticipated, an absolute PITA to remove.

When I get home I may swatch this against China Glaze’s Skyscraper to see the differences. If I have the patience to handle more glitter after this one’s removal.

To make up for lack of substance, have some bunny prawn…

Yellow as hell picture! Fluff and Brownie are not this jaundiced in real life.

Fluff is really laid back so you can often catch her flat out asleep like this. The minging floor is from where they have eaten it. Its horrendous. And please excuse the rabbit crap.

Have you tried any Look polishes and loved them?!

Look Beauty

Good evening ladies! I hope you have had a good weekend! I’m at the boys at the mo, had a lazy weekend and just finished watching the Brazilian Grand Prix. Creamy tomato pasta for tea and Mars ice cream for pudding, bliss!

In the week I went to my local shopping centre in the pursuit of some Christmas presents. That didn’t happen, but on perusal of Superdrug I saw they had replaced a few stands with the Fashionista and Look Beauty brands. Some things on the Fashionista stand did catch my eye but when I got to the Look Beauty stand and saw the nail polishes I was sold. I haven’t bought anything in ages due to lack of funds but Wednesday was a good day for me as I GOT A JOB!! So I thought treatage was well in order. I looked at the Look lipsticks and liked a few, looked at the blushers and I liked a few. Then I saw if you spent so much or bought 2 items of Look Beauty then you got a free polish! DONE!

I nailed it down to one lipstick, Shade 2 Tangerine Dream and one blusher, Shade 2 Flush, chosen by my brother. The packaging is cute, the colour is pretty and the pattern is adorable, it definitely adds interest into what could have been a bit bland and cheap looking with the text.

If you live in the UK you’ll know the light has been appalling lately, the sun doesn’t rise at all I swear! I tried to snatch a bit of sunlight earlier to take these, hence the hardcore shadows.

The lipstick is a little washed out here but you can get the jist. It isn’t as orange as I thought it would be from the name, it’s a pretty coral orange pink. I’m awful with shades. It is a wearable orangey pink…? I love the colour, it brightens up my face. I wish that I loved every aspect of this as much as the colour. Sadly I find a few things with this nag at me and make it less likely this will be a lipstick I reach for without thinking.

Firstly, the smell. To me this smells of cheap plastic. I’m not sensitive to smells and in the majority of cases they dissipate quickly but this lingers and I don’t like it.

Secondly, it’s a bit of a bitch to apply. On me even if I do exfoliate my lips with my Lush scrub and apply balm this still finds a way to go on patchy and sink into nooks and crannies I weren’t even aware existed. If I tap it with my finger and smudge it about a bit or blot and put gloss over it isn’t so bad but still, it makes it a lot less likely for this to be one of my handbag lipsticks.

The final nail in this lipsticks handbag residency’s coffin is the packaging. It looks gorgeous, having the pattern continued from the box. It has a magnetic closure which normally I would love the ingenuity of, however this closure is not strong enough for me to chuck it in my bag without it’s outer box. It’s not that I won’t wear this, it’s just that if it takes longer than a slap on to apply then it’s pretty much relegated to night out only makeup as I’m always in a rush of a morning.

I did like some of the other shades in the range, Baby Doll for one, but I will be sure to pay bettwe attention to the formula when swatching in store before purchase.

The other product I picked up, chosen by my helpful and ever patient brother who often accompanies on makeup hunting sprees when the boy is otherwise engaged…

The first picture pulls a little bronze as opposed to the second which shows the orange it is in real life. You can see the shimmer in it, it looks a little glittery here but it does pull shimmery. Some particles are larger than others but on the face it does look ‘glowy’ rather than ‘LOOK AT THIS SHIMMER’. Again the packaging is OK, it looks a bit plastic and again I don’t like the text. Magnetic closure again, again not very strong so something I am unlikely to let float around my handbag.

That is the only real negative I can thing of with this one though. The shimmer may be too much for some so swatch before you buy but for me it means I can go without an accompanying highlighter. It lasts pretty well on my normal/combo skin with a little powdering over it, I can definitely still see it after a work day.

The swatches are pretty colour accurate…

You can see what I mean about the lipsticks colour and the blushers ‘glowyness’.

I did have my eye on another blusher in the collection that was displayed at my local Superdrug, (which didn’t look massive in comparison to the look of it in the posts from the bloggers that went to the launch event?) and at least 1 other lipstick so a repeat trip may well be in order but I will definitely take better care in the swatching next time!

For completeness, a small FOTD, this is from the other day and it was 7am, I am semi-conscious (and look it!) so please be kind.

I used Bourjois Healty Mix in 51, a mixture of Bobbi Brown Concealer and Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection in 2 Light, Stila Kitten on lids and Revlon Grow Luscious mascara, along with the blusher and lipstick.

If you have made it this far, well done. You may have noticed I haven’t talked about the polish, you can look forward to that next time!

The lipstick was £7 and the blusher was £8, the expensive side of chemist prices.

Have you tried anything from the Look range? Have you any recommendations?

P.S. I have now finished the pasta and it was awesome.

High Fives - Blushers

Happy Saturday! I've been a total lazza lately due to work and keine geld hence why I am inside on a Saturday with greasy hair watching How It Works. Have you watched this shizzle?! I'm fascinated. I am a total geek mind, I like to think I'm useful to have around in the instance of a pub quiz.

I have been making an effort to 'shop my stash' this last week, the lack of money has meant no new purchases and it's likely I won't buy anything until xmas now (sob!) so I've been trying to use what I have in the hope of finding some new favourites. In the case of blusher however, it's only made me realise how much I love my favourites!

I did try and select my top five but the number slowly crept up until I had eight. Four powder and four cream mind, I don't think that's too bad especially considering blusher is one of my top faves. Also a warning, I took these pictures on my phone as it seems to capture some colours better than my camera and my Dad's camera inhales batteries every 6 seconds, so some pictures aren't brilliant but hopefully you get the gist.

Top L-R Benefit Coralista, 17 First Flush, Models Own Warm Glow, Nars Deep Throat

Bottom L-R Illamasqua Rude, NYX glow, Topshop Neon Rose, Topshop Head Over Heels

Argh nightmare picture, best of about 8000!

It depends what mood/rush I'm in as to whether I use cream or powder formula. I do prefer cream, if you use it sparingly you can achieve a natural-ish finish even if you are using a colour that doesn't look natural, if you get me. What I'm trying to say is I can wear more outlandish colours without looking like a clowny knob. Powders are better for a slap-on-and-go scenario, with the exception of 17's First Flush, wear this one at your peril! It is easy to go a little wild and over apply this one as I've found. If I'm on a night out and need my makeup to last longer/last through dancefloor clammy-ness I will use a cream then a powder. My current go to combo that seems to go with anything is Topshop's Head Over Heels topped by Nars' Deep Throat.

I don't think I can pick a clear favourite out of any of these! Another blusher that deserves a honourable mention is MAC's Ladyblush, a cream blush in the old formula that is now discontinued. It would have probably made this up to nine favourite's if it was in my blusher box as it was supposed to be....another sister related theft on my hands I bet.

So do you agree with these picks? Do you own any of these or have any to recommend? I'm always on the hunt for a new blusher!!

Dupey Dupe Dupe?

Happy Sunday morning! I hope you are having a fun weekend so far! I was helping my Aunty move yesterday, nothing too strenuous but lifting boxes and putting things away and my back is mangled today! Coupled with a lack of sleep and when I did nod off the randomest dreams would wake me up again so I’m not feeling completely with it today. Add on the stench of ammonia from cleaning out the rabbits at 8am and you have a tri-factor of semi-consciousness.

Onto more pressing matters, lipstick. Or rather, some of my favourite shades of lipstick. I was reading a blog recently, though I can’t remember for the life of me which, where the blogger was using Barry M’s 147 Peachy Pink lipstick and had heard it was a dupe for MAC’s elusive Ever Hip. They went on to say that they weren’t 100% sure as they didn’t have Ever Hip. I have both of these and thought it would be a good idea to put it to the test.

On the left is Barry M’s 147, priced at £4.49 and available from Boots, Superdrug and the Barry M website (where there is also a Cookie cam so you can watch their rabbit!!!) On the right is MAC’s Ever Hip, a LE which was re-released with the Fashion Flower collection in the summer. MAC’s lipsticks are £13.50 and available from MAC counters, stores and their website.

You can see they look similar, maybe Barry M is just a teensy bit pinker in the bullet.

These were all taken with a bit of Liposan (Nivea) blue tube lip balm underneath. On the lips it is hard to tell the difference. The flash pictures aren’t amazing but you can see without there is barely a difference between the two. I would say the biggest difference is the finish rather than any discrepancies between the shade as Barry M is matt (and rather drying and sometimes a bit patchy to apply) whereas Ever Hip is a cremesheen formula which glides on easily and I don’t find it as drying as a lot of other lipsticks.

I took some swatches of these and some other shades I thought could be similar-ish for comparison;

Catrice Ultimate Shine 080 Coralicious Pink, Barry M 53 Coral, Barry M 147 Peachy Pink, MAC Ever Hip, Illamasqua Obey, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Bolero and Topshop Ooh La La

You can see on these photos that the main difference between them is the finish. I do think if you have them both then great, they are a lovely shade that I do need to crack out more often. However if you have Barry M 147, or missed out on Ever Hip (I wasn’t going to bother but went to Cardiff a few days after the collection launched and asked if they had any left out of curiosity) then I’d say Barry M is a good substitute. It might take a little more work in application and a slick of lip balm beforehand but your saving nearly a tenner and thats off RRP, god knows what the mother that is Ever Hip goes for on eBay.

I don’t wear most of these as often as I should. I only got Nars’ Bolero a few weeks ago so that has remained in my handbag and I wore Topshop’s Ooh La La on a night out a few weeks ago and loved it so I’ve worn that a few times since. I also love Illamasqua’s Obey but as it is SO matt I do struggle with it sometimes and have yet to find it’s ideal gloss partner, if you have any suggestions please throw them my way!

Do you agree with this? Have you any other dupe suggestions?

Nip + Fab–Cleansers Part Zwei

Hi ladies!

I hope you are having a good week! I always forget how much waking up in the dark affects me! I actually hate it, it’s a valid call for hibernation I think. The dull days make me liable to nap is all I’m saying.

This is a continuation of my current cleanser collection. I came to the realisation that I’d gradually accumulated myself quite a collection and I should probably do something about that. I’m working my way through them and telling you what I think, the first cleanser covered was Alpha H’s Triple Action Cleanser.

I had been itching to try a cleansing oil. The oil takes away oil part does make sense to me and it feels like the kind of texture to be good at ‘loosening’ makeup so I had envisaged it good for double cleansing. These were my speculative thoughts before purchase.

I had fully intended to do my research on cleansing oils before I did get one. However, curiosity got the better of me and when I saw Nip + Fab’s Clean Fix Facial Cleansing Oil in Boots for around £10 I just grabbed it.

It claims to be a ‘2-in1 cleanser + make up remover that sweeps away daily dirt + grime, even stubborn mascara + maintains the skin’s natural moisture balance’ on the Nip + Fab site. For your money you get 120ml of product in a cute pump top bottle. It’s clear so you can see how much you have left and the pump dispenses a nice amount of product. The annoying thing about this is if I want to take it away with me. To ‘lock’ the pump top you have to push it down and screw it round, a bit wasteful and because I’m a clumsy idiot I sometimes have to have a second or third attempt (I’m a plonker at times!).

The oil itself has a nice viscosity and smell. I have used it both on dry skin as instructed and wet skin, I preferred using it on wet skin personally as I felt a little cleaner afterwards. On dry skin I felt this loosened makeup as opposing to removing it entirely and even when I wet my hands to emulsify the oil my skin didn’t feel entirely rinsed of it afterwards. This isn’t a gigantic problem for me as I use my rosewater and witch hazel toner after cleansing but regardless I didn’t like the feeling of my skin prior to it.

I only used this to remove eye makeup once and that is because it was a shambles. I don’t have particularly sensitive skin or eyes but when I tried to get rid of some mascara (not stubborn or waterproof by any stretch) it was a little stingy and I had cloudiness for over an hour, no joke. My eyes felt red and a little irritated. I only remove eye makeup with cleansers that explicitly say you can and I’ve never had this occur which is a bit annoying.

Another thing about this that might bother people…

The first ingredient is Mineral Oil. I don’t know much about this myself and what I do is gleaned from Wikipedia but I do know that some people avoid this in products. I haven’t looked at any of the other ingredients but I thought I would notify if this is something that you are concerned about.

I like it’s a UK company and made in the UK but that aside, there isn’t a lot about this I do like. Aside from everything I’ve mentioned already it’s started to go cloudy in the tube. This is not something I am particularly worried about but it is not noted anywhere to expect this…

If I use this as directed, I don’t personally feel this delivers what it sets out to. I don’t mind it as part of a double cleanse if used first, or to remove face makeup if I tone after but to use alone or remove eye makeup, no thanks. You may have better success and if you want an easily obtainable and not too expensive cleansing oil to try then give it a shot but I personally would not repurchase.

When I’ve used up a few more cleansers I may give another oil (mineral free) a try – do you have any recommendations?

I Don’t Like Space

It’s true. I don’t like it. It’s not just that I don’t like Prof Brian Cox, space is scary. Pretty but scary. No space, no apocalypses. Those are my rules.

Space nails however…..

I did attempt this ages ago and it didn’t go quite as I would of liked, it was pretty and all but not really spacey. It was high time for a mark 2.

And the thousand and one polishes I used for this?

LOL.

Save The Nail’s Toughen Up Basecoat and Wet Look Topcoat. I muuuch prefer this topcoat to the ‘quick dry’ one. In fact, this one dries way quicker, I’d swear they are in the wrong boxes!On the right is MAC Ming Blue, the base, and I then sponged the next few colours over it, started with OPI OPI Ink. If you don’t have it I urge you to look at it, It’s GORGEOUS! My top fave for sure.

Next to be sponged was Kiko 267, Essie Lapis of Luxury, Models Own Mystic Mauve and Beauty UK’s unnamed white.

I dotted ‘planets’ on with George Sunset Orange, China Glaze Gloulish Glow and OPI The Show Must Go On. The ‘stars’ are NYC Lights-Camera-Glitter and China Glaze’s Fairy Dust.

You like?

My final thought of the day…

AWESOME!! OM NOM NOM

Travelling Light??

Bonjour ladies! I hope you have had a lovely weekend, despite the weather getting chillier and chillier :( I have spent the weekend with the boy up in Yorkshire so I thought I’d do a quick ‘what I brought with me’ post.

The light is shoddy as so there are no swatches but if there is anything you want to see in more detail please comment and I’ll do a post…

First up is skincare

L-R Jergen’s Skin Firming moisturiser, Bioderma Crealine H2O, Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, Good Things Stay Clear Purifying Cleanser, Toner I made myself of rosewater and witch hazel in a Sanctuary bottle, HEMA Night Cream for normal/combination skin, Nuxe Creme Etincelante, Sephora Instant Moisturiser and Wet N Wild Megalash Clinical Serum.

This looks a lot but I am trying to use up the Good Things cleanser so brought it along and I don’t like using the Nuxe cream daily as it does contain fruit acids and though it makes my skin feel AMAZING I don’t feel it is needed every night so I alternate it with the HEMA cream.

Haircare

L-R Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner (free with John Lewis offer) L’Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 Conditioning Spray (not sure what it’s properly called as the writing is in Dutch), L’Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 Night Serum.

I got the Ojon shampoo and conditioner with the offer where you took an empty bottle into John Lewis. I was excited to see if £20 shampoo and conditioner would make a real difference. I do think this does but at the same time £20 a bottle is quadruple what I’d normally pay, it’s a possible repurchase for when I’m ‘in the money’ but happily I’ve got a long way to go because you need to use hardly anything.

I am really trying not to use L’Oreal products due to their animal testing policies but my Mum knows I have used and like them and buys them for me when they are on offer when she buys herself hair stuff so I have these to get through. I really do like these products and wish the EU ban would hurry up!

Makeup – Face

L-R La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, Bare Minerals Original foundation in Fairly Light, Mac Face & Body sample in N1, Make Up For Ever Face & Body in 38, Superdrug Natural High Brightening Eye Cream, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealers in 2 Light and 1 Fair, MAC Select Moisturecover in NW20, GOSH Touch Up Concealer in 1, Keromask masking cream in Ultra Light, Fyrinnae Fluff powder

I got the La Roche-Posay cream the other day and I love it already. Then I realise La Roche-Posay is owned by L’Oreal *capitalisation grumble* so I am annoyed at myself. Bare Minerals I use if I’m spotty or my skin is feeling a bit manky (technical term) and I was hoping to do a comparison in the next few weeks on the MAC and MUFE Face & Body foundations. The eye cream stays with my makeup because I apply it just before concealer so it doesn’t go *as* cakey. I brought a few concealers with me because I have loads and still nothing I am 100% happy with so I am experimenting with mixing etc to see if I can find something perfect! I love the Fyrinnae powder, I find it really blurs my pores and sets my makeup beautifully. I got a small jar but will defo be ordering a big one when I run out.

Makeup – Eyes

L-R Tweezerman Eyelash Curlers, Urban Decay Primer Potion Original, Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner Black, Bourjois Liner Feutre Black, Vivo Trio Eyeshadow Palette in Innocence, MAC All That Glitters, MUA Pearl Shade 12, Sleek Molten Metal 714 Pewter/Gold Leaf, Tweezerman Metal Eyelash Comb, Bourjois Volume Clubbing Black, Sleek Brow Kit Dark, MUA mascara Shade 1

The eyelash curlers have been my old faithfuls for years now. UDPP is essential and I’m trying to use it up because I’ve had it for a while. The eyeliners are my go to’s, MAC and MUA shadows are two of my faves and I’m testing out the Vivo palette. I haven’t used the Molten Metals since I’ve been here but wanted to try the palette over them. The mascara is ok, the only thing is it DOESN’T BUDGE! Which is a good thing in terms of wear but when removing? Pain in the ass! I’ve only had the brow kit a week or so and I do like it so far but it keeps encouraging me to do tranny/Brooke Shields brows which the boy is not a fan of!

Makeup – Blusher/Bronzer/Highlight

L-R Benefit Posie Tint (from Glamour), Vivo Baked Blush in Peaches and Cream, Sleek Blush in Rose Gold, Guerlain Meteorites Perles in Teint Beige 02, Benefit High Beam, Nars Laguna bronzer and Sleek Face Contour Kit Light

I basically stuck to old faithfuls here too, High Beam, Laguna, the Contour Kit and the Guerlain Perles. The blushers are ones I haven’t used much so want to see how well they last/apply/etc

Makeup – Lips

L-R Collection 2000 Lasting Colour 8 Sweet Tart, 17 Mirror Shine Beehive, MAC Ever Hip, W7 Mega Matte no shade, Sleek True Colour Sheen Coral Reef, Illamasqua Brink, Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss Papaya

Along with the ten trillion lip products in my handbag.

This may seem like a lot but I was in a mad rush packing and knew there were some things I wanted to test out while I was gone. When I’m at home I can be easily tempted to use products I know work or go with what rather than experimenting a bit so I try and bring a variety with me when I travel.

As I said if there is anything you want to see in more detail then just comment and I’ve linked to products featured in previous posts

Have a great week!

Tinsely Winsely

OH MY GOD I LOVE NAIL POLISH! I am actually dreading the day I get a ‘proper’ job because I won’t be allowed to wear nail polish. OK, not actually dreading, but I will be sad.

There isn’t a Sally’s in Bristol for normal people so when I go to Cheltenham or Hull I always have a snoop to see what catches my eye!

I got this on my last trip to Hull last week, one of China Glaze’s Let It Snow collection polishes for Christmas. It’s way too early to be thinking about Christmas but surely Christmas nail polish is different? Tinsel Town is the one on the display that I liked the look of straight off though I could easily have got another 2 at least!

It’s described on Fashion Polish as ‘Boldsilver, metallic glitter’. With it being a glitter I decided to layer it in the vain hope it would be less of a pain in the arse to remove, I used OPI’s Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous from last years Swiss collection. This is 2 coats of Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous and 1 coat of Tinsel Town. My index finger also has a coat of China Glaze’s Fairy Dust in the first two pictures

I then put 2 coats of Tinsel Town alone on my index and ring fingers.

As you can see the base colour looks slightly lighter and it is still very sheer, I would imagine it would need at least another coat, more like another 2 to make it opaque.

Despite my efforts to ensure an easier removal it was still a total pain! Worth it though, I love greys and the different shapes of glitter make it interesting and while not festive exactly, it’s fantastic for an occasion. Or everyday if you like glitter like me :)

Fairy Dust is on the left, Tinsel Town is on the right

AHH!!! Love love love.

Have you picked up any Let It Snow polishes? I am sooo tempted to go back and get more but I can’t afford to! I will definitely wear this a lot though, it goes with everything!

What do you think? Are you a fan of glitters?