A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Nails Inc still isn’t a favourite brand of mine.  I find the formula a little too thick – great for achieving opacity in 2 coats or less, but not so good for clumsy types like me.

Belgrave Place is a beautiful inky blue and although I love the colour, this polish isn’t a keeper for me.  Despite use of a base coat (I’m obviously not using one good enough), this stained my nails quite nastily upon removal.

Will I ever find a Nails Inc. polish I’m in love with?  The search continues – recommendations very welcome!

Sorry for so many NOTD posts, it feels like a bit of a lazy cop out as they’re much easier to do than full on reviews.  I have some MMU haul posts as well which I really need to be doing and I have a HG to share with you all – ‘citing!

I had a go at entering Tali’s fantastic contest over at The Gloss Goss which closes tonight, so get your entries in quick!

I was inspired by the sweetie house in Hansel and Gretel and I’m representing the wicked witch portraying herself as innocent, enticing and friendly – just before revealing her true identity (and intentions) to the 2 hapless children.

Erm, I hope that 3rd one isn’t porno lolly – it was supposed to suggest a hint of the witch’s true intentions!

Products I used:

Good luck if you’re entering!

A lovely, lovely nude that’s a dream to apply.  I enjoy being able to get away with keeping nudes on my nails a bit longer, especially this one which only suffers minimal and even tip wear.

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Anyone else looking forward to the UK ELF Studio launch as much as me?  When it comes to cosmetic shopping and looking after the pennies I often (shamefully) fail in the attempt to beat down the quantity over quality urge.

After the initial “Look how much makeup I got for £20” excitement fades, I inevitably conclude it’s all a load of crap.  I look in my collection and see that I’ve already got 30 cheap eyeliners that pull and scratch so how stupid must I be to waste my hard earned money on more?

I must shop with an innocent but ultimately futile optimism that I’m going to uncover the next high end dupe for under a fiver – pfft!

Now with this, you can understand my skepticism with regards to ELF’s new Studio range.  Oh. My. God, I so want it to be as good as the hype.  I know it won’t be.  I will be more than satisfied though if I can find a couple of pieces to become make up bag staples until the next big (cheap) thing comes along.

In particular, I’ve got my eye on: (all photos nicked from the ELF website):

Eyebrow Treat & Tame:

They say: <snip>…Treat your eyebrows with a hair re-growth, vitamin infused gel formula to help stimulate hair follicules so your once thin and sparse brows become thicker.</end snip>

I say: Wha?  Hair Regrowth?!  Really?  Really really?  You’re not exagerrating or overstating are you ELF?  Will this really be the solution to overplucked eyebrows everywhere?  Sign me up!

Complexion Perfection:

Some of the forums I read have this down as a bit of a miracle product – I’m ultimately dubious, but that of course isn’t going to stop me from buying it anyway.

Blush/Bronzer compact:

*eternally optimistic inner el-cheapo ego* Oooh look, it’s just like Nars…

*slightly more realistic alter ego* Don’t be so fucking stupid.

Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter:

I’d love this one to be the business.  Oh, to be able to conceal and highlight under the eyes effectively with one portable little wand.

Anyway, I’m practically peeing myself in anticipation of  the ELF Studio release.  I know it’s pathetic and my little optimistic self is probably going to be cruely crushed and bruised come mid august when the dust settles… but I can’t help it.

What are you looking forward to trying most from the line?

So, I’ve been thinking…

My latest FOTD was quite bright (for me), it’s my 28th birthday today and I’m someone’s Mum.

Should I start being more aware of my age when it comes to cosmetics?

I currently don’t give it much thought.  It’s just not something that inhabits my radar when shopping. 

Perhaps it should be?  I mean, loads of factors influence my purchasing decisions: skintone, seasonal trends, cost, if something is work appropriate/occasion appropriate etc…  But I have never questioned myself on whether I might perhaps be a little too mature to wear that sparkle infused lip gloss.

I’m not the kind of person to bathe myself in glitter, but I do find myself more drawn to shimmer than matte.  It might not have the sophistication of matte, but ooh look! pretty!…

I also spent most of my childhood rubbing my eyes.  Why my eyes always itched and why no-one took me to a doctor to get drops I’ll never know but anyway, I digress, where was I?  Oh yes, Consequently, my eyelids aren’t particularly smooth.  They’re quite creased, which probably isn’t going to look good combined with increasing wrinkles.   Throw in some shimmer eyeshadows and it’s probably not the best look past the age of 30.  That’s not to say it’ll look THAT bad, but it’s just not going to be the best way to draw attention to my features.

I have a confession.  I own a rather pretty NYX dark red glitter polish.  When it came in the post, I ooh’ed and ahh’ed over it, twirling the bottle between my fingers and making my husband agree with me at least 5 times a day that it was the sparkliest, prettiest polish he had ever seen…

I wore it once, and honestly… it made me feel massively self-conscious.  I took Leila to the surgery to get weighed and I hid my nails convinced they’d snatch my daughter off me citing the reason that I obviously wasn’t emotionally mature enough to care for a baby if at the age of 28, I was still painting my nails with red glitter.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who occasionally thinks this when indulging in a bit of sparkle or a lovely bright colour?

The whole thought of having to consider age as a factor when shopping for cosmetics is quite frankly, depressing.

Youth, as they say – is most definitely wasted on the young.

Now please excuse me, I’m off to play with my Dazzle Dusts and Opi Brights.

Products Used:

Face:
EGM Foundation – Danielle
EGM Blush – Cool Pink

Eyes:
UDPP
EGM Eyeshadow – Bering Strait (foiled on lids)
EGM Eyeshadow – Finnish Waters (as a liner)
Avon Colour Trend Mascara (still using this up)

Lips:
ELF New Moisture Care Lip Color in Pink Lemonade

As you can see, I’m still well into my mineral makeup and I have to say I flippin’ love Earthen Glow Minerals.  Aside from the quality of their products (which is fab) I’ve simply never received better or friendlier customer service with an e-tailer anywhere.

I’ll have to do a post dedicated to my fab experiences with them and swatch some of my lovely piggies, but in the meantime definitely try them out for some gorgeous shades.

Confession time… this is… hand on heart, the first time I’ve ever worn a blue eyeshadow.  I just don’t usually go this bright.  Even as a teen, the brightest my eyeshadow got was Lilac.

As a result, I spent the day feeling pretty self-conscious and wondering if it looked a little…

Ooh, I’m getting brave!  Go me! Who knows, I might even try green next *insert faux shock face here*

Much love, me xxx

I love GOSH polishes, I find them consistently good quality, with lovely pigmented shades that are easy to apply – never needing more than 2 coats to achieve opacity.

This one is no exception… look!

Hello beautiful!

Carmine is a lovely shade which is pretty hard to describe (and photograph).  It’s a beautiful rich, sophisticated magenta with flashes of scarlet and gold.  Applies like a dream… this is 2 coats:

This photo sadly does not do it justice at all.  It looks scarlet here and doesn’t show off the beautiful hot magenta.  I think you can just about make out the magenta more towards the tips and the gold flashes more at the base of the nail (particularly on the little finger), but it’s far, far more apparent in real life.

I’m flippin’ loving GOSH this summer – and it’s back on a 3for2 in Superdrug at the moment!

I’m off ‘oop North’ for a week to introduce my lovely daughter to her paternal grandparents.  Hope the weather follows me!

I don’t have any posts lined up, I’ve been incredibly slack this week, I even let my next NOTD post slide and am now sporting chipped nails with no photos taken of them back when they were fresh (and thus no blog post) *sigh*

To make up for it, I’ll leave you with a current Benefit discount code celebrating Wimbledon…

Enter code: BENETNNI at the checkout for 10% off all orders valid ’till 5th July.  Click the Benefit logo above to be taken to the Benefit (UK) website.

If you happen to make good use of the code, let me know what you bought!  Since I’m now spending every penny I earn on Pampers and Gripe Water… I’m living vicariously through your hauls however big or little they may be!

Cheerio for now fellow beauty addicts xx

I shouldn’t even call this ‘bronzing’… it’s more about finding a summer look that works and toning down the blueness of my complexion and replacing it with a subtle wash of warmth.  I’m liking this simple and fast look for the summer.

Products Used:

Face: Cory Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in Ivory Beige
Cory Cosmetics Mineral Blush in Whatever

Eyes: Sleek Ink Pot in Black
Avon Color Trend Mascara in Black (trying to use up this nice but dull mascara!)

Lips: NYX Round Lipstick in Darling

I’m loving the quality of these NYX lipsticks, and I shall definitely be hauling some more shades soon…

Ceto:

Chaos:

Darling:

Rea:

Hmm… after seeing these, I think I’m prefering the subtlety of Ceto over my original fav Darling.  Share your favourite NYX shades so I can develop some more lemmings!

A gorgeous, vibrant shade shot through with a sophisticated glitter.

This polish is fantastic and would easily make it into my top 10 list. 

It’s a lush cherry red that I can’t stop looking at!  It goes on smoothly and evenly.  The texture feels a little gritty thanks to the glitter, but it’s nothing that a sweep of top coat wouldn’t fix. 

The above image shows 1 coat(!) after 4 days of wear.  There is very minimal and even tip wear.  This is my first experience with China Glaze polishes and I’m so impressed by the formula of this one, I’m looking for more!  Anyone care to share their favourite CG polishes?

Quick PSA thanks to catching this on moneysavingexpert.com before heading off to bed…

If you’re near an Elemis counter (John Lewis) today or tomorrow (Friday/Saturday) – take any old bottle or jar of moisturiser that you don’t use anymore (even if it’s empty) and swap it for a shiny new 15mls of Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream (apparently worth £22.50) – perfect for travelling!