This is just a quick post to make you aware (if you’re not already) that Technic are doing a dupe for OPI’s Rainbow Connection. It’s just £1.25!! a bottle over at Lovethymakeup

Updated Pic of it Layered ♥

Now, I don’t own the OPI version, but from looking at swatches online I would say that this is VERY similar and totally worth picking up if you’re into your glitter polishes. Above is just one coat (I was in a rush) and I was impressed with the amount of glitter it deposited. Hopefully it’ll layer well.

It’s worth noting that the first swatch doesn’t do the glitteryness? justice. As you can see in the last pic my camera phone couldn’t even cope with the shine it gives off. It’s much more sparkly IRL.

Leave “Enter Me” below if you would like to be in with a chance of owning a bottle (as I bought two). I realise that it’s not an expensive prize, but it is free so….. *shrugs*

I’ll pick the winner via random.org on Sunday night. No third party entries (ie money supermarket etc). Will post worldwide. Over and out

xo

I was delighted when I learned that the recent #ASOSsavvysunday was going to be 50% off Winter Coats. I am big into my outerwear. Living in these chilly climes you can be sure that a good coat will never go to waste.

My first choice was this Aztec number. Normal RRP £100. Sale Price £50
I cannot describe how disappointed I am with this coat. It ticks so many boxes for me in terms of colour, pattern and material but sadly it’s let down by sizing and fit. The sleeves are meant to be full length but they hit that really annoying wrist point on me, which I’m guessing would only be exasperated with knitwear worn underneath. I’m positive that I would constantly be trying to tug them down. The other issue is that this is the size SMALL. Now I realise that there is a certain amount of balloon design to the coat but it really is just utterly shapeless from the front. All the more annoying as I love how it looks from the back.

So my dilemma is this. Do I see if I can let the sleeves down slightly and re-sew or is it really doing nothing for me? Honest opinions please. EDIT: My lovely fashionistas have spoken and it is unanimous that the jacket should be returned

Next up is this shaggy faux fur. Normal RRP £80. Sale Price £40
I saw myself channeling my inner Rachel Zoe in this one. It’s a nice fit and length on me, the arm length is acceptable but again far from generous (and my arms are not above average in length I assure you). What’s with the stingy arms ASOS?! The material itself is soft but I dislike the colour tone (almost like dirty snow in good lighting) and it looks very plastic/ shiny IRL. *le sigh* This will definitely be returned.

On the plus side I’ve just saved myself the guts of £100

The only success from my order was the 2 Models Own Nail Polishes from their new Beetlejuice Collection. I opted for Pinky Brown (with this being my stand out fave so far) and Purple Blue (jury’s out)

xo

It’s not often I admit I was wrong (Matt can confirm this…)

However I’m gonna hold my hands up high and admit that I was VERY wrong to write off Chanel Paradoxal as a “crap looking colour” Oops.

This is special. Yes you heard me right. Special.
A sophisticated sexy grape with depth and a multitude of finishes depending on the light.

The above is just one coat and as you can see it covers pretty well. Application is a cinch with just the right balance of liquid to cream, and to be honest that’s when my purse starts to not mind having spent the guts of £20 on it.

Two coats is ideal though and knocks it up a notch on the sexy scale.

If you’ve been considering Paradoxal but are yet to take the plunge I highly recommend you do. This will be an Autumn/ Winter staple for you and it’s still available here

xo

My love affair with cute white tops and jeans continues… I hope this doesn’t mean I have to change my name to whitetopjunkie… that’ll never do…

This was another warehouse bargain. £15 in their recent sale.

I added a lace bodysuit underneath which gave the whole top a cap sleeve effect, sexed it up a bit and also added some much needed warmth!

The nails were a fun manicure that I gave myself. Models Own Peacock Green topped with Silver Spangle. Absolute bitch to remove but glitter polishes always are.

Jeans are a fit & flare pair from A-Wear, navy wedges with brass buttons detail from New Look £20 (uber comfy), belt… ummm can’t remember.

The jacket is from River Island and was half price at £20 just the other week. I adore the military braid & button detail and the shoulder pad definition totally rocks too.

In other random news I just turned my heating on for the first time in 3 months. Brrrrr!

xo

Don’t they just!

I think it’s the best bit of PR I’ve seen from a cosmetics company in a long time!

The premise of the deal was that if Models Own got to 100,000 likes on their Facebook page then they would throw a 50% off sale for one week on their website.

They reached that number last Friday and I don’t think that even they were prepared for the sheer volume of traffic the site would receive. Since then it’s been constantly falling over but with perseverance and a hell of a lot of patience orders can be made! Trust me!

I placed my order late Friday and it arrived this morning. Tbh I didn’t expect to see it for a few weeks so kudos to the staff. I’m very impressed by any company that doesn’t just fold under the pressure of a big sale.

Also loving that each polish was individually bubble wrapped. To me this says Models Own are a company that care about what state my purchases reach me in. I like!

On to the haul….

Well… initially I had 4 polishes in my basket but OBVIOUSLY the lure of 50% was just TOO much of a bargain. I ended up with 8.

Total was £20 inc free p&p. Now that’s flipping fabulous! I already have several Models Own polishes and I believe that even at £5 they are ridiculously good value for money. £2.50 each is just a steal!

I got:

L: Pearly Queen R: Snow White

Pearly Queen is very subtle pretty pink and the name is apt. It’s pearl earrings in liquid form.  The Snow White swatch is a bit pointless but basically I got this as a base for the blue glitter.

L: Champagne R: Nude Beige

Going on sight and swatches alone Champagne is the stand out beauty, a rich pearly light gold. Nude Beige on the other hand is slightly disappointing, definitely not as nude as the site swatch. Much more minky than I was expecting. Jury is OUT!

L: Raspberry Crush R: Tickled Pink

I love both of these. Raspberry Crush is much more cerise than it’s appearing here, really vibrant and it’ll make a great toenail colour. Tickled Pink is a great glittery rose. Super feminine.

L: Blue Sparkle R: Silver Spangle

I’ve wanted both of these for an absolute age but I probably wouldn’t have bought them unless the sale was on. Why? Well crazy glitter polishes always seem like a bit of a waste. Lets be honest I’ll rarely wear these. I am looking forward to experimenting with them though.

Initially the glitter seems like it will be easy to place on the nail. If I had to pick a negative I’d say that these took almost twice as long to dry on my swatch card. Definitely not ones to be apply if you’re in a hurry.

Overall I’m delighted. I really hate spending big bucks on nail polish, unless it’s something super special, because quite honestly it’s not my favourite beauty product. However I’m well chuffed that I have eight new shades to play with and they didn’t break the bank.

You can still take advantage of the offer here up until midnight Friday the 27th of August. Make sure you add in the code FACEBOOK50 at the checkout

xo

We all know it makes sense don’t we? Yet for some reason when we see that new MAC Collection pop up online we can’t help ordering somewhat blind.

Recently I’ve really wised up and put the foot down. I dread to think of the hundreds (maybe thousands eeek) I’ve wasted on make-up that I thought looked gorgeous on a computer monitor/ in a bottle/ on a sticker!?!  but of course is actually completely different IRL.

I’ve no one to blame but myself. Testers are everywhere. Granted some of the high end counters can be “funny” (and no, not in the haha way) about giving them out. However I’ve come to the conclusion that if a sales assistant truly believes the product is as good as she is claiming, then she won’t blink twice at giving you a sample. After all, logically you’ll be back to purchase the full size bottle/ shadow/ cream etc.

This has worked really well for me recently. Estee Lauder in particular displayed excellent customer service by refusing to foundation match me on a dull day under artificial lights in Debenhams, Belfast. Instead she gave me generous samples of both the shades she felt I would fall into and told me to “try them, and see how they wear for you in the next few days”I did exactly that, and went back just under a week later and bought the full size from her. Now that’s smart business.

The other place where you can perhaps “try before you buy” a little more freely is of course your local Boots/ Superdrug. Not all of them provide wipes to remove said testers from the back of your hands tho, so my advice is to carry a travel size pack in your handbag.

I can spend over an hour in my local Superdrug and I don’t have any pushy MA looking over my shoulder, trying to force a sale. I swatch and wipe, swatch and wipe. If I try something I like, I leave the store, go do something else (….shopping!!) and then re-evaluate an hour or so later. Does the colour still look good? Has it worn off? Is it creasing? A lot of the times it will look rubbish and I’ll have saved myself £5 – £12 ish. Not to be sniffed at in the current economic climate!

The most recent example of victory for the “try before you buy” thinking was yesterday. GOSH cosmetics have a whole new smokey collection in Superdrug. Part of which is the stunning “Night Passion” Nail Polish you see below. Look how sumptiously gothic and rich it is in the bottle…..

Now look at my thumb nail…. not so beautifully black and beautiful looking is it? Granted the glitter shavings are lovely, and they really do catch the light. However the polish formulation is like dish water. I applied a second coat and it was little better. Needless to say I walked out without purchasing and £6 better off.

How utterly crap it actually is was confirmed again later that evening when I glanced down to see it all but chipped off! How disgusting is that colour? Yuck! Narrow escape.

So the moral of the story is “try before you buy” and if they refuse to let you try, chances are it’s probably a bit rubbish anyway! xox

My anniversary gifts from Matthew were two books (1st Wedding Anniversary gifts are traditionally paper), I can’t wait to get The Time Travelers wife read before I see the film. It looks like a complete romance/ tear fest!!

I also got this stunning Eternity ring and I absolutely adore it!!

As a result I want to give my rings centre stage on my hand today, and so I’ve picked NYC Quick Dry Polish in Soho (222B) to wear. It’s a very muted frost pink. I’m not actually sure if I like the shade all that much but Matthew says he thinks its sweet and feminine, so its staying…. for now

Soho With Flash

Soho Minus Flash

Oh, and if you were wondering what I got Matthew….

For the paper element I got him a novelty present, a little local newspaper mock up, edited with our personal details. Just a bit of tongue in cheek fun

I actually can’t recommend the company I got this from highly enough “In The Paper”

The process was quick and easy, and most of all fun to do, too many of these personalisation websites are long-winded. This is definitely not. They also shipped very quickly (2 days from mainland UK to N.Ireland) and packaged the picture securely, as well as including a free A4 copy of the mock up which I plan to give to my mum. Best of all they were relatively inexpensive, so ticked my bargainista box too. Check them out.

I also got Matthew The Sailing Bible & some Cebe Polarized Sunglasses as he is learning to sail

I’m off to get ready for my night out now, hope you all have fun whatever you get up to this weekend xox

The weather here in Northern Ireland has taken a gloomy turn for the worse. Boooo hissss!!!

I’m trying to take any little positives I can out of this, and so today I thought I would test out the A/W nail polishes I’ve been stocking up on…. without looking like a Goth in summer…..

This vampy and seductive deep wine number is NYC’s new “In a New York Color Minute” Quick Dry Nail Polish (how catchy……) in Manhattan (248B).

This is one coat which is sufficient but I think one more would take it to full opacity. I can happily report that it did dry in under a minute too with little to no tackiness.

I think you’ll agree that it’s a gorgeous shade with a beautiful high shine finish. I can’t put my hand to the Superdrug receipt, but I’m almost sure that this was on 2 for £3 so bargaintastic as well as beautiful!

What nail polish are you wearing today? xox

I am officially nail obsessed

After 3 days wear of Barry M Pink Flamingo I only had minimal chipping around the tips. Not bad going at all considering I’m a busy mum!

However I had bought two Collection 2000 Hot Looks Nail Polishes last week & I’ve been dying to give them a whirl as well.  There just aren’t enough days in the week for all the colours I want to wear now (perhaps I should just paint each nail a different shade…..or not.)

These were on a 2 for £3 deal in my local Superdrug. Bargaintastic!

L-R; Hoola Hoop, Dynasty

The shade I chose this evening is called Dynasty. It’s a beautiful warm lilac/ lavender, very creamy, but it did require 2 coats for me to get the bottle shade.

Minus Flash

With Flash

I’m not complaining though as it did dried quickly and I love the result! Quite a departure for me really, I normally gravitate towards the safety of pink and red polish. It gets a thumbs up from the other half too.

Are there any other drugstore “must have” shades that I need to know about?

xox

Exactly 4 weeks ago I embarked on a little tidy up nail campaign.

Nails on 9th June 2009

My main gripes were nail bed discolouration, manky cuticles and general length/strength. I have to be honest and say that I’m still abusing my nails with all manner of bright polishes.

However I have been applying my Sally Hansen Miracle Growth once a day and these are the results so far

Ok, so they still need work but there is a marked improvement, most notable in the fact that they are no longer peeling/ breaking and are maintaining length. I see beautiful long nails in my not too distant future

How’s everyone else getting on?

xoxo

Jet Set Blue, and I really really like it

I’m not the best at applying nail polish, so its far from perfect, however that said, this is the finished result with ONE coat??!!!! I think the coverage is bloomin’ amazing!!!

I needed a deep navy to pick out the colours of some flowers in the dress I’m going to be wearing this evening. I’m unlikely to wear the dress again (yes… a little oddity of mine, one wear Annie)… and therefore I didn’t want to spend £6+ on a polish in a colour I’d likely never wear again too.

So I rocked up to the Miss Sporty stand and lifted this little polish at £1.95! I didn’t have high hopes, simply thought it would serve a purpose…. didn’t even think that it might be FAB!

It covers opaque, its easy to work with, the colour is sumptious AND it dries to a high shine finish in around 60 seconds!

I can highly recommend these, anyone else tried them?? If so what colours do I need in my life??

xoxox

Even though I used a good base coat with my St Patricks Day Nails, the Rimmel Green Grass Polish has stained the nail bed and surrounding cuticle a gorgeous yellowy green hue. Not very attractive!

In an effort to hide the horror I broke out my latest Revlon Nail Polish “Tropical Temptation”, its a gorgeous vibrant pinky coral, bordering on neon in some lights!

I really can’t recommend Revlon Polishes enough, the colour choice is fab, the price is affordable (around £5 per bottle, currently on 3 for 2 in Boots) and one coat is normally more than up to the job of achieving the bottle colour. The lazy gal in me loves this!

xoxo

Once again it’s a Revlon polish, I am totally loving their colours at the moment, they are bang on trend. It also helps that the coverage is amazing! May look runny if you check out a tester but don’t be fooled, this stuff is opaque.
Currently a few pounds off them in Superdrug, this was a little over £4.

097 Plum Seduction – a wonderful magenta pink

Under flash

What’s on your nails this week? xox

I picked a China Glaze Nail Polish up in Sally’s a few weeks back and I’m honestly pretty disappointed with it.

It was hard to apply, would need at least 3 coats to get to looking anything like the bottle colour (Ravishing, Dahling), took an age to dry and has that horrible inconsistent colour under flash, see below…

Minus Flash

It does look a lot better without the flash but day to day I’d be under direct light and would hate for people to think my nails looked rubbish. Is it just me? Am I being too hard on China Glaze? xo

We have two Sally’s in Bangor, I’d already looted the main street one which was disappointingly thin on the ground for bargains. This morning I turned my attention to their Conlig (Balloo Industrial Estate) site.

The sales assistant was really friendly and helpful. She was explaining to me that a lot of people don’t use her store as they mistakenly assume it is trade only, hence a much better level of stock and reductions. I was in heaven.

The entire O.P.I “Holiday in Toyland” collection was reduced to under half price. £3.99 each and that includes the VAT already. The collection consists of 12 beautiful Christmas shades, predominantly red as it was the festive season obviously. I’ve bright reds coming out of my ears and so I picked out “Sheer” Your Toys. A beautiful light grey, mauve undertones and the most subtle red fine glitter throughout. I tried to capture it on the camera but its far too fine to pick up.

I don’t have good nails. They have always been weakish and a set of acrylics for my wedding last summer just sent them over the edge.

I also have to keep my nails short for working on people’s faces, I’m not allowed to wear polish at all in college due to clients’s potential allergies, and the constant hand washing for hygiene and brush cleanser use is also playing havoc with the density of my nails and the skin on my hands. Solution?

Well… I mentioned a while back how I had purchased O.P.I’s Original Nail Envy and its been an absolute “nail” saver. My nails are improving everyday and they aren’t tearing like they were. I’m also still using Seche Vite as a top coat and can’t recommend it highly enough. I know a few people use the Sally Hansen Rapid Dry Spray to set their nail varnish. IMO this is much better as it doesn’t dull the polish where I find the sprays do. The lacquer keeps its high shine. You can purcase it on Ebay for a few pounds.

Whats on your nails today people? xox

Thanks to Revlon I’m all sorted for festive looking talons

The colour is 760 Cherry Crush.
This is far from your everyday flat red. This is a sumptuous ruby red, with a gorgeous cherry iridescence under direct light.

I like Revlon Nail Polish, don’t be put off by the fact that the formulation is quite watery. The colour is opaque and you normally only need one coat (I have a single coat on below).

This is a massive bonus, I do not have the patience to wait on 2 coats drying.
I know from experience if I use a polish that requires two coats (yes I mean you Rimmel London) then I inevitably add the second coat too soon after the first and mess up the whole lot. Nightmare!

Revlon saves me on a lot of swearing

What polish will you be working over the Christmas period?

I may have been half asleep while in the newsagents this morning, but not so asleep that it stopped me noticing December’s issue of Glamour magazine complete with free nails inc. polish.
£2 for the mag (which is a great read anyway) but on top of that a gorgeous, quick drying, sassy nail polish??!!! Too much good value for words!!
I am sporting mine in shade “victoria”. A deep sexy red, and with 2 good coats almost a black blood red. Am in love. Hurry and get yours before its too late!!