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Sunday 28 August 2011

For Audrey

The classic ‘tiffany box blue’ is one of my all time favourite colours and so consequently Chinaglaze For Audrey (which is pretty much the exact same shade) is one of my all time most used, and favourite, polishes. The formula, finish and obviously the colour are all lovely but getting hold of Chinaglaze polishes in the UK can be a bit of a pain as they aren’t easily available.
(I actually hunted for about a month looking for ‘For Audrey’ until I finally found somewhere that shipped to the UK without charging the earth)
So when I was perusing the George’s nail polish range I quickly picked up Smarty pants as all I could think was that it looked pretty much identical to For Audrey.

As you can see they are pretty much exact copies. Smarty Pants perhaps has a slightly more greenish cast than For Audrey but that’s only if you are really scrutinising the two. The formula of smarty pants isn’t as nice as the Chinaglaze however it’s not clumpy or streaky nor is it difficult to work with.
So if you’re looking for a For Audrey dupe which you can get hold of easily this is definitely the closest I’ve seen (and I’ll admit I do have more than a few shades which come close to being dupes but don’t quite match)
And the best bit is it’s a measly £1.45!
Have any of you tried For Audrey? Or do you have another dupe for the Tiffany box blue?
Hope this has been helpful!!x

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Cherry Pie Utopia

Now this may surprise you, but I’ve never actually tried any Model’s Own normal nail polishes. I’ve tried Buff Pink from their manicure range and some of their glitters but never quite got around to trying their standard ones. So when I was sent these two I painted my nails pretty much straight away!
Utopia
This is one polish I’ve been meaning to get since I first saw it, it’s a beautiful blend of lilacs, nudes and gray meaning it is the prettiest, girly-yet-chic muted shade and I already know this is going to be one of those colours I’ll end up having to repurchase as I’ve already found myself reaching for it time and time again
The formula is also really surprising as it’s incredibly opaque yet it’s not too thick or difficult to work with.

Cherry Pie
This definitely stands out in my nail polish collection as I just don’t reach for dark shades very often as I think they can be a little too harsh but because of the red and burgandery shimmer running through this I actually really like it.
The formula is lovely, two coats and you get a very rich deep red

Definitely going to try and get my hands on more Models Own polishes as the formula of these two is gorgeous!
They actually have a 50% off sale online if you ‘like’ their facebook page so you can get a polish for a tiny £2.50!
Hope this has been helpful!! x

P.S Sorry about the lack of recent posts, there’s just been crazy amounts going on in my personal life and blogging has had to take a bit of a back seat!

Friday 19 August 2011

Z Palette

I finally, finally found the perfect palette for me which is the lovely Z Pro Large Palette! Z palettes have been floating around the online beauty community for a while but for some reason I never looked into getting one until last week when I ordered one from GenieMakeUp.
Bascially for those that don’t know what these are they are hard palettes without the slots normally found in make up palettes. Instead the base is just one strong magnet which allows you to fit your pans of any size into it. It also has a clear lid so if you have several palettes you can easily see what’s inside without having to open any
(small and large come in a variety of patterns but pro extra large only comes in plain black)
So far as sizing goes there is a Small one which is a little larger than a mac quad, a Large and finally the Pro Extra Large, which I opted for. The Pro large is described as having room for 28 mac sized pans as well as room for a small brush. But I’ve fit in 32 mac shadows with room around the edges for any smaller pans I have.

Z palettes is an American company and so in the UK you have to either go through a second party such as GenieMakeUp, or Amazon where consequently prices do vary somewhat. Or you pay the higher postage fees by shipping directly from the US via the Z palette website. But generally for the Pro large expect to pay around £20, large £15 and small £10

Have any of you tried a Z palette? or how do you store your eyeshadows?
Hope this has been helpful!! x

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Pastel Stripe NOTD

I’ve been meaning to do some striped nails are for months and I refuse for pay £20 for nail art polishes and I couldn’t figure out how to do it with a standard brush. But I played around with it yesterday and I think it looks pretty good considering I didn’t use any nail art tools!
I used...Barry M Fuschia, Baby pink, Mint green, White, Peach melba, Berry ice cream and Cyan blue
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Basically just get all the light, pastel colours you own and do lots of stripes :) This didn’t take anywhere near as long as I was expecting it too and I can’t wait to do more stripy looks!
Have any of you tried stripy nail art without nail art brushes?
Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

Monday 15 August 2011

Collection 2000 Cream Puff

I first heard about these through Lisa Eldridge, and for those of you who haven’t heard of her she’s amazing at what she does. And quite simply if she recommends something you know its going to be good!
Now aside the slightly strange name, that I just cant help but smile at, these are quite a new release and have a distinctive finish and texture.

They’re described as being velvety soft matt finish lip creams and although that’s a mouthful it’s pretty accurate. The texture is light and soft with an almost whipped texture while it dries to a lovely matt finish.
These supply all the bonuses of a stain, longevity and a natural matt finish but with one huge advantage. They’re incredibly creamy making them lovely and non drying (I wouldn’t say they were moisturising themselves but they don’t need to be)

The colour range is a little limited as there are only four shades. There’s Fair Cakes a pretty coral, Cotton Candy, a mid toned pink, Powder Puff a light nude and Angel Delight a mid toned brown. So despite the lack of colours I can’t help but think there’s something for everyone whatever you like!
All the shades are quite muted so don’t expect anything too bright but again I like this feature as it makes them all really wearable.

The only downside is it doesn’t wear amazingly, after a few hours it will become a little patchy but I haven’t found it to be anything major – quickly reapply and your sorted for another hour!

Have you tried these yet? If not are you tempted?
Hope this has been helpful!! x

Friday 12 August 2011

147 Peachy Pink

I want to start off this review by saying this lipstick was one of the hardest colours I’ve had to photograph! In some photos it looked very orange, in others very peach or pink or coral, and I think that’s because this is perfect mix of all of them!
I only got this a few days ago after Vivianna mentioned it reminded her of Topshop Head over heels blush (which I have fallen head over heels in love with) so naturally I went on the hunt for it and I luckily got the last one in my boots.
(they aren’t identical but they are definitely in the same colour family)
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This definitely stands out in my lipstick collection, and I think it’d stand out in most as it’s quite a unique colour, think of the prettiest peach, mix it with a little bit of pink, some coral and a little bit of orange and you’d end up with something like this – love it!
It’s a matte formula which I think is perfect for such a bright colour as it allows it to be easily wearable for during the day, I know that for me, with a gloss this would be a bit too bright to comfortably wear.

The other bonus of it being matte is it lasts a good 3 hours on me, although the wear time obviously depends on how lipstick wears for you. But matte finishes in general do last much longer as they’re less likely to just slip off!
The only negative to matte lips for me, is they can be a little drying so make sure you apply lots of lip balm before you put this on.

I’ve recently been loving wearing slightly brighter and bolder lip colours, I think it’s because you can get away with anything if the sun’s shining!
Have any of you got any favourite bright shades?


Hope this has been helpful!! x

P.S hopefully you can see how different this colour looks in all these shots, in real life it's a bit of a mixture of all these

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Tropical NOTD

I think it’s fair to say the weather this summer has been a bit rubbish in England - It started off well with June being gorgeous and then it’s steadily gone down hill!
So to cheer myself up while dismal rain clouds are looming overhead I did some fun, bright and most importantly SUMMERY nails :)
I just wanted something warm, fun and simple.
I used Barry M Yellow, Fuchia and Red and quickly did stripes of them, roughly on my nail. I applied each colour while the previous polish was wet and I got this effect!
After a few days of the tropical look I applied a thin coat of a white polish.
Once it was dry I simply took some nail polish remover and ta-da, a completely different look!

Let me know what you think of both of these looks and whether you’ll be giving either a go!

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x
P.S I know these slightly messy looking nails aren't for everyone but I quite like them as a change from my usually neat nail art!

Monday 8 August 2011

Head Over Heels

I normally ensure I use new products for at least 2-3 weeks before writing a review (I always test out skin care products longer) just so I know I’ve thoroughly tested the product out. But I’ve only have this for a little over a week but I honestly love it!
(the packaging is definitely a bonus – so cute and yet so simple)
Topshop make up has been out for quite a while now and despite praise from other bloggers I was just never sure. I did however take the plunge last week and ordered Head over Heels Cream Blush online, along with a few other bits I got in the sale…

And I regret not trying it sooner! It’s the perfect blend of peach, pink and coral which makes it instantly flattering on my pale skin and looked just as pretty after I fake tanned!
The formula is creamy, easy to blend and dries to a powder finish. I’ll admit I would prefer it to have the dewiness associated with cream blushes but the powder formula does allow for a slightly more natural finish and for you to add your own highlight

Topshop make up is available in most large Topshops as well as online at £6 for 4g which is a pretty standard. The formula makes this definitely one of the best drugstore cream blushes out there at the moment!

I’ll definitely be checking out their other colours however for me Head over Heels is the blush that really stands out as shades like this are always a bit of a rare find at the drugstore!

Hope this has been helpful!! x

Thursday 4 August 2011

Magenta Divine NOTD

Every so often I get bored with cute, elegant or edgy nails and quite simply I want something a little bit tackywe all have bright pink sparkly craving every now and again!
And this is how I have my nails when I want something bright and girly which never fails to brighten up my mood! How can you be feeling down when your nails are screaming Barbie and summer?
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I use Barry M Fuchsia and then applied two coats of Models Own Magenta Divine.
I got magenta divine originally because I expected it to be like their champagne with is an opaque glitter however I love this look enough to forgive it for being a bit sparse on the glitter front
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What’s your favourite thing to do when you need a little ‘pick-me-up’?
Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x
P.S I took these photos a while ago back when I decided to chop off my nails so I could show you a few nail art designs suitable for short nails!

Tuesday 2 August 2011

A Rushed FOTD

Before this summer I was pretty much never late, occasionally a few minutes delayed but usually bang on time or quite often early. But since I’ve finished college this year I seem to be constantly rushing around because I’m late!
Face
Skin79 BB cream
Mac studio sculpt concealer
A little bit of Benefit Georgia & Mac soft and Gentle MSF
(but mainly my natural cheek colour as it was so hot)
Eyes
Nouveau lashes which I got in my Glossybox(I didnt think I'd like them but I love them!)
Mac All that glitters all over the lid
Avon white eyeliner as a subtle highlight
Lips
Just a BodyShop lip balm – I can’t cope with anything heavy on my lips in summer!
(These are some sneaky shots I took inside Topshop’s changing rooms because I didn’t have time prior to going out to take some shots of how the waves looked!)
Hair
Once again my beloved Babyliss waving wand which I love & a bit of hair spray

Try to forgive how rushed these were, I tried to quickly take one or two decent shots while running out the door (I actually took them in the car) as I really liked how this looked :)

Hope you've enjoyed!! x

P.S this was taken on a sweltering hot day last week- I want that weather back!