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Tuesday 6 December 2011

NOTD -- Miss Sporty


Miss Sporty Lasting Nail Polish


The colour is a deep aubergine with blue microshimmer. This is one of their more pearly shades, and I love it. I bought it because when I was younger I used to have a nail polish almost identical to this, and it came in a teddy bear bottle. I loved it and held onto it for ages, but then when I was tidying my room when I was a kid, I must've chucked it.

The problem with Miss Sporty is that the polishes don't have the names on the bottles; they're just on the display stand in the store. The website allows for some identification, but they don't use actual photos of the nail polish, so it can be hard to match colours with names. This colour is pretty distinctive though, so you'd definitely recognise it if you were to go to Superdrug to buy it.

Monday 5 December 2011

NOTD -- It's Not My Name


Miss Sporty Lasting Nail Colour in It's Not My Name


I like Miss Sporty nail polishes a lot, these and the eyeshadow pencils are the only things I actually like from their line. The colours are bright, fun and they last quite well. This colour is really fun; it's bright pink with a blue flash, it's fantastic.

Sunday 4 December 2011

NOTD -- Miss Sporty Cherry


Miss Sporty Lasting Nail Colour in Cherry


This colour is the epitome of holiday colours without the need for glitter. It's a gorgeous pearly deep red, which reminds me a lot of the 17 polishes that came out for these holiday season.

Saturday 3 December 2011

NOTD -- Raindrop

Second of my *hopefully* regular NOTD posts!


Miss Sporty Lasting Nail Colour in Raindrop


I was a bit sloppy today, hence the one nail photographed. Side note, I change my nail polish ridiculously frequently. I don't keep the same colour on for more than 2 days usually. This isn't because my polish chips, but because I get bored, and I used to be a nail biter so sometimes I'll pick the polish off rather than let it chip off.

Woo for long winded explanations!

Available from Boots and Superdrug, and also the Miss Sporty website.

Friday 2 December 2011

NOTD -- BMX Bandit

To make up for the lack of posting, I've woken up extra early to get the sunshine in the mornings in my living room. Expect Nail of the Day posts regularly now :)


Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry Polish in BMX Bandit


I couldn't get the colour to photograph true to life, it's a little more purple than blue. It's a really nice subdued powder lilac. These nail polishes are in Superdrug and Boots for £1.79.

Thursday 1 December 2011

NOTD

I'm stuck in a swatching-block at the moment. Where I live, it's become ridiculously grey and overcast every day, so I can't get any decent photos. Apologies! Here, have a nail post.

Barry M Red Glitter layered over Barry M Black.

I love Red Glitter. It's perfect; this was one coat of it and it looked gorgeous.

My swatchfest has stopped as I have two pieces of coursework due in every Tuesday until Christmas, and also, I have rediscovered House :S

Friday 25 November 2011

2true vs MAC

Really quick post, because it's 5am, and I was browsing through my make up :P

So, I bought the Iced Delights Sultry Lip Bag from MAC, and the cremesheen glass Deelight looked suspiciously like one I already own. But this lipgloss that I already own was not from MAC, no, it was from 2true. 2true is in Superdrug and it's usually on one of those free standing little turning counter things. Think jewelry displays. Anyway. You can pick up three items for £5 usually, and this lipgloss, on its own, is £1.99. Worth a try right?


Here are MAC Cremesheen Glass (top) in Deelight, and 2true Colour Drench Lip Colour in Shade 1
They look pretty alike here, no? The colour is almost the same, but Shade 1 is a little darker.


L-R Deelight, Shade 1, Top-Bottom, Shade 1, Deelight


They both apply really nicely to your lips, but if anything, I like the slightly more creamier, and more moisturising feel that the 2true has; the cremesheen glass is a lot thicker. These two colours are my ultimate My Lips But Better lipgloss, so I'm super happy with that, they wear for around 2 hours or so. They're both very pigmented, I would say that they have the same level of pigmentation. Shade 1 is a tad more on the coral/warmer side, but I think the flash accentuates that, because in person, I could hardly tell the difference between the two colours. The smell they both have is of the generic (but delicious) vanilla scent, which is almost delicate when applied on the lips, and disappears after a while.

Overall, I think that both products are really good, but I'm definitely going to repurchase the 2true gloss. At £1.99, I'm more than sold :D

2true products are in Superdrug or 2true.com

Monday 21 November 2011

Models Own -- Beetlejuice

I fixed my camera, and now I'm putting off writing my memory study report.

I thought I'd share some of the prettiest polishes I own with you today. I have half of the Beetlejuice collection from Models Own, which are colours with a duochrome running through them. The colours are supposedly based on the colours of a beetle's back, and I find them all gorgeous. I have Emerald Black, Pinky Brown and Golden Green. I still need to get Aqua Violet and Purple Blue. They come at £5 each, 3 for £10 at ASOS or all 5 with a top coat for £20.


Golden Green, Emerald Black, Pinky Brown



Emerald Black, Golden Green and Pinky Brown


Emerald Black, Golden Green, Pinky Brown


It's really hard to capture the pearlescence and the duochrome to these gorgeous colours, so I'll sum them up verbally :)

Emerald Black: This colour initally looks black, but when you look closer, it's a beautiful dark shimmering green. It catches the light beautifully and glistens from teal to green
Golden Green: This colour is a very yellow green that in the light glimmers a dirty gold colour. This is my least favourite, and it's very sheer so you have to build it up quite a bit before it stops looking streaky
Pinky Brown: This is my favourite. In the bottle it looks an almost subdued fuchsia but when you get closer, you see reflects of gold and a little bit of green.

They all apply well, the polish is a little thinner than I'd like, but the polish is mainly microshimmer rather than flat polish, which helps give it that duochrome finish. The polishes last 3 days on me, with minimal tip wear (I don't wear my polishes for very long anyway), and I didn't use a top coat. The microshimmer particles are much more obvious in Pinky Brown, but as I said, I like it; it gives the polish a certain depth to it. The microshimmers remind me of the ORLY Cosmix polishes.

I think these are great polishes, and I can't wait to get the last two!

Available from asos.com or ModelsOwnIt.com

Saturday 19 November 2011

Hi!

I broke my camera. I think I did anyway. So, while I'm working out how to fix it, I can post two updates (I think) because I have enough photos stocked up.

Also! I'm waiting on my new glasses, because I ordered them at the Croydon Specsavers then they've been sent up to Bucks, but they're not here yet, so with my lovely failing eyesight, letters are blurring into one, and making reading hard. I'm just glad I can touch type :P


Have a bad quality webcam photo~


Got a couple of things from the MAC winter collection; I think I'm in love with the packaging rather than the products.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Eye Shape

This isn't a tutorial, in the video and step by step photo sense.


Changing eye shape with eyeshadow.


I feel that my eyes are very small, and that my features are squished into the center of my face. With this technique, I can make my eyes appear larger, without using light colours.



Sleek Inferno (pigment) in the inner half, Collection 2000 Inky (pigment) and Barry M Black (pigment) in the outer half. ELF's eyeshadow transformer (gold) in the inner corner.



What I did was I filled in the first half of the eyelid in the burnt red copper colour, then with the black/blue colour I then drew out an exaggerated wing, extending it to much further back than I would normally.


This makes my eyes look larger, and also, it would be good if you have close set eyes and need to make them look further apart.


Here you can see it making my eyes appear wider too.


What do you do to change the appearance of your eye shape?

Tuesday 15 November 2011

17 Magnetized Nail Polish

I broke down and bought into a new craze. Magnetized Nail Polish. Admittedly, I don't think it's as big at the moment as the crackle, but it has potential.


I have three of the 17 polishes, in Grey, Blue and Purple. There is another one, called Teal, but Boots are having 3 for 2 on 17, so I didn't get the fourth. These polishes retail for £5.99 in Boots stores and online.



As you can see, the large cap comes off to reveal a smaller one, which I find a lot easier to use. On the top of the cap is a magnet.



Magnetic effect.


Grey is a graphite colour. It reminds me of pencil lead from the school pencils. Applies the sheerest of all three. You definitely need to put two coats on. Has black lines when the magnet is used.
Purple this is a pearly purple. Very dupeable, in fact I think that 17 have a colour identical to this, and I know that ASDA have a nail polish this colour, incidentally called Purple. Has black lines when magnet is used.
Blue is my favourite colour, when applied by itself without a magnet. It's a nice medium blue, with a pink pearl. I tried to get a photo of the pearl, but it was extremely hard, so have this. Has darker blue lines when the magnet is applied.



How this works is that you apply one coat of the nail polish to your nail, let it dry, then paint on another coat, and while it's still wet, you turn the cap upside down so the magnet is facing your nail and hover the cap over your nail. There is a little lip so you can rest it on your actual finger just before the nail without the magnet hitting the nail. If you do hit the nail, then you'll be left with a blemish. I just paint straight over that again.
Leave the magnet in place for around 10 seconds, and you'll have your magnetic effect!


Grey, Purple, Blue


The effect in real life is almost 3D. Tilting your nails will make the lines appear to move. I have had far too much fun with this polish, they dry really fast, look great, and are a lot more cheaper than their counterparts (Nails Inc). I would definitely recommend these polishes; even if you don't like the magnetic effect, the colours are good solid colours and the formula is lovely to work with.
You do have to play around with the magnet to see what effect you like, and you're not stuck with just the effect in the photos above. You can rotate the magnet to get different effects.

Available from Boots stores around the country or boots.com

Friday 11 November 2011

Hair

Unfortunately they haven't developed bun nets for those with red/purple hair :P


:)

Thursday 10 November 2011

Update

I'm visiting my parents and grandparents for a long weekend, so unfortunately that means no opportunity to take swatch photos, as I have only old and battered make up with me; with which I did a quick travel make up post which is below.

I have, however, just placed an order for 3 of the 4 colours of the new Boots 17 Magnitised Nail Polishes. They're £5.99, so a lot more affordable than the Nails Inc ones, which I think are around £11-13(?). Nail polish is just one of those things that I feel you shouldn't have to spend a lot of money to get the best out of it. The most expensive nail polish I have in my collection is my GOSH 549 Rainbow, which is now discontinued, but is that flakies one. That was £5, and that was painful for me to part with that money to buy it. I am running low though! So I'm going to check out the Andrea Fulerton Gemstone Top Coat (£4.99), which is supposed to be a dupe for it.

Flakies are by far my favourite type of top coat, but I can't find them here in the UK for under £8.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of flakies? :)

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Travel Make Up -- Family

Travel Make Up! (For visiting family)

I'm visiting my grandparents from Thursday to Saturday, then going to my mum's from Saturday to Monday, and this is what I've taken with me.



Mini Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Came with my Pixie Pin Up set.


Storm Palette by Sleek (£6.49)
This is my go to palette, as it's just so easy to work with. The colours are there to go from day to night really easily and quickly.


Rimmel The Max Bold Curves Mascara (I got this for free when they were giving them away)
Truth to be told, I'm just using this baby up. It does the job, but I'm not a fan of Rimmel mascaras.


Rimmel Extreme Definition Two Tone Eye Definer in Funky Chick. I got this from Poundland a while back so I'm thinking it's been discontinued. This is my HG pencil eyeliner. I use the brown with a light hand to define my brows, and the teal to brighten up a neutral eye.


Barry M Supersoft Eye Crayon in Black (£3.99)


Vanilla Lip Balm from H&M (£1.99)
Love the smell of this, maybe more so than its moisturising properties!

For face, my skin is pretty balanced right now, so I'm just using a moisturiser, which is the Garnier Pure A Daily Treatment Moisturiser for the day time, and night is the Nivea Creme.

This is all I take if I'm visiting family -- My family isn't keen on make up at all, and I like to keep them happy. Brushes I take are the ELF Eyeshadow Brush and Blending Brush, both from their regular line, no pictures, they're nothing fancy.

But that's it! What do you take for a short weekend?

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic


Golden Wonder bath ballistic -- From lush.co.uk


Please click the thumbnails to make them bigger; I couldn't get the colours, or the stars, or the textures right if I cropped or resized the pictures, the best way to see it is if you look at them at their original size.

This bath bomb is from the holiday collection, and it's huge. I didn't take a picture of it before I dumped it in my bath because I was just so eager to try it. Bad blogger D:

Anyway. When you get it out of the little paper bag, it's glitter city, and being a bath bomb, it's dusty, but that's fine; after all you're going to be putting it in the bath. When you shake it, it rattles, and the woman at LUSH described it as 'a bath bomb inside a bath bomb', which is a pretty accurate description. It has that distinct citrus smell that I love, lime and a hint of orange. It's one of the more expensive bath bombs, but for the size of it, I'm more willing to pay the £3.25.


You drop it into the bath, and immediately you get a yellow fizz spreading out through the water, then suddenly a blue fizz starts up. I then stepped out of the bathroom, and then when I came back the pink had started, and there were stars, so I'm not sure if the stars came before or after the pink, but they're pretty awesome.

Stars, click to to make bigger.


The stars look like glitter, but they're not, when you touch them or get in the bath the stars disintegrate and you're left with a golden shimmer in the water; think if you spilt gold pigment in water. This shimmer doesn't transfer onto the skin though.


Used the flash to show the glitter, it was extraordinarily hard to get the shimmer to show up without it.

The shimmer reminds me of those bath cremes you get and they have silk in them, so in the bottle they're shimmery. Also, when you're in the bath with the bomb, the shimmer looks like it's silk fabric under the surface of the water. It's a texture that's hard to describe.

The smell dies off a little when you use it, but when you lay back in the bath, the citrusy goodness envelopes you and energises you. When you get out of the bath, the scent doesn't stay on the skin at all, but that's ok, because I'm not a fan of when stronger scents from bath bombs stay on; I like to lotion up with cocoa butter, and walk around smelling like chocolate :P

I love this bath bomb, and I am trying super hard not to buy another one, but I think it's definitely going to be on my repurchase list, along with the Candy Mountain Bubble Bar :)

Available from LUSH stores or Lush.co.uk

Monday 7 November 2011

Bad Girl Palette - Sleek

Bad Girl Palette

I know, I know, I'm probably the last person in the world to get this palette, but I never found a need for it. That was until I went shopping a couple of days ago. I was annoyed that I couldn't find the I Love... Chocolate and Oranges shower stuff and that the GOSH polish I wanted had been discontinued, so I decided that I would browse the Sleek stand.

I knew I definitely didn't want the nude palette, as I have the storm, and that seems to better; so I decided on Bad Girl.



All happy and nice in the box. Nothing amiss, right?



Wrong.



I opened it and the mirror was cracked, and the white shadow was damaged.


It's a nice palette, perfect for dramatic smokey eyes (as my sister always requests), and I am glad I bought it, I just wish that I opened the box, and checked. I'm terrified that if I do, a surly store detective will come up to me and demand that I pay for it anyway, even if it does have a crack. Either way, I can live without the mirror, and the damage to the white was only a small part of the shadow missing. I took the mirror out, because I didn't want the mirror to shatter one day, and I had a morbid thought of me one day brushing fragments of mirror into my eyelids... Yeah.

Nevermind!

Bought from Superdrug. Available at Superdrug stores and sleekmakeup.com

Saturday 5 November 2011

Quick Post -- Barry M Spring Green

So... I was rummaging around in my partner's nail polish stash, and it came to my attention that she has all the colours that I want in mine. I picked up a green, and thought that it looked familiar, so I checked the name. "Spring Green." I was sure that I had one too, so I checked, and I do! But it's not the same colour.


Barry M Spring Green 290


Apologies for the sloppy application, I wanted to document it quickly!

As you can see, one is definitely more of a bright green whilst the other is more of a minty creamy green. I think one must be an old bottle, but nonetheless, I love this colour!

Friday 4 November 2011

New Nail Polish -- Barry M, Miss Sporty, Revlon



These lovelies are the newest members of my collection!
Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, Barry M Black, Miss Sporty It's Not My Name, Barry M Grey, Barry M Cyan




Black, Grey, Cyan Blue

They all apply smoothly, and are thicker than the other Barry M polishes I have (Peach Melba I'm looking at you!) £2.99 from Superdrug, Boots or Barrym.com




Facets of Fuchsia over Barry M Black, GOSH 546 over Barry M Grey

The Revlon nail polish needs to be applied over a black. On its own, after two coats, the base colour is still a sheer black. It also reminded me of another colour I have in my collection, which is GOSH's 546 Rainbow, which is a polish with flakies in, and I love the flakies. They're similiar, but the GOSH has a clear base, and the Revlon looks like it has glitter in it rather than flakies. £6.49 from drugstores


It's Not My Name

This is from the Lasting Colour line of Miss Sporty nail polishes. I like Miss Sporty, they're cheap and their nail polishes are good. I don't buy their make up because it doesn't appeal to me. This colour is a bright bubblegum pink with a blue flash. £1.99 from Superdrug or miss-sporty.com


Also! I was in Tesco because I needed to get a printer refill kit, and I saw this and had to buy it.

It's a hippo stapler!