SPRING SHADES: Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly Polishes

 

Another day, another nail varnish shade. The fact that I'm not allowed to wear nail polish at college has forced me to develop the habit of changing up my nail shades after a day or two. And aside from one polish that will be featured in my up-coming April Favourites, these three have been amongst my most reached for.

 

Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine Polishes are a fresh take on regular nail varnish - extra shine, extra pigmentation, extra beautiful shades. Seriously, the shade range for this line: delicious. I have several of the pinker shades on my lust list, but these three are the ones I currently own 'Blueberry' (the lightest blue), 'Blue Grape' (the darker blue) and 'Prickly Pear' (the lilac). They give gorgeous colour and shine within two coats and last really well paired with or without a top coat.

 

Blue Grape is definitely my favourite, paired with an all black outfit and red lips, although Prickly Pear has started to grow on me on sunnier days. And how adorable is that shade name? Cute.

 

xx

Current Go-To Nail Shades

 

 

Spring is approaching! And as distant as that may seem due to the impending weather difficulties in the UK, I am holding on to the hope that it's still on it's way. Obviously due to the previous point, the weather has put my spring clothing on hold so I have been embracing the pretty shades and textures and patterns in such a way that doesn't look too bad paired with my coat and scarf of choice: nail shades.

 

Here I have a mix of textures and colours, all my current go-to polishes (for the days that I'm allowed to wear nail varnish - college rules). Sorry about the dodgy quality of the photo - I had to take this snap within the two minutes the sun managed to break through the dark clouds and so I just went with the best shot I was able to capture! Coloured polishes pictured above are: Revlon's Cupid (the pink), Revlon's Cloud (the pale purple), Revlon's Blue Lagoon (the shimmery blue) and Barry M's Mint Green (the mint green.. obviously). And the three textures are: Sally Hansen's Sugar Coat, Avon's Opal Top Coat and Rimmel's Matte Top Coat. 

Textures:

 

Following the overwhelming but now out-dated success of the 'Crackle' nail varnish, I find it difficult to find unique nail varnish finishes that aren't a little tacky. I may or may not have previously mentioned the Rimmel Matte Finish Pro, but I'll be surprised if I haven't as I adore it. It literally changes any nail varnish into a matte one, whether it's a glitter or a regular polish. The Sally Hansen Sugar Coat is a new find of mine, which leaves my nails textured with a gritty, sand like finish. It's a little scratchy but gives full coverage in one coat and is a bright, clean white. Finally I have my last little grasp on Christmas - a glitter top coat. This one is a bit more subtle and features flecks of shimmery pale glitter, meaning it's great for the pastel spring trends.

 

Colours:

 

As you may have seen in my OOTD birthday post, I absolutely adore Revlon's Cupid: a bright bubblegum pink that gives full coverage in just one coat and lasts for ages. It's probably my most worn colour from this collection, as it always catches my eye if I'm a bit unsure of what to wear. My other two Revlon picks are Cloud and Blue Lagoon. Cloud is one of those shades that has a hint of so many colours that I don't know what to call it - a grey-ish lilac-y blue? It's super flattering despite it's split personalities, colour wise, and despite it's paleness, it only requires two coats to give intense colour. Blue Lagoon is a pretty pale blue laced with a subtle silver sparkle that works really well with my silver crown ring as it sets off the shimmer. Finally Barry M's Mint Green is my green of choice, but it's quite wishy-washy so I sometimes apply a white polish as a base to get maximum colour. 

 

Again I apologise for the poor quality of these photos - hopefully the weather will lighten up a bit soon! I hope you all had a good week.

 

xx

Christmas Gifting: For The Girls (Mum, Sister, Mother-In-Law)

Hello lovelies! I hope you're all well and feeling prepared and excited for Christmas.

 

Today I thought I'd give you guys a little sneak peek into what I'm going to be gifting people for Christmas this year. Don't worry, there's no chance of any of these people finding out about their gifts: most of them don't even know I run this blog! My boyfriend and I were on a strict £10 per person budget this year so I thought I'd show you guys in case you needed a little budget inspiration. I'm very very happy with what we've bought and think all of the individual people are going to adore their gifts!

 

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My little sister is only 6 years old but has definitely fallen in love with what she calls a 'spa bath' which is to say a lovely warm bath with a lush bath bomb and a delicious lit candle (of course she is supervised at all times!) so this year for Christmas I thought I'd stop her hacking into my Lush stash and give her the beginnings of one of her own.

 

 

Of course the obvious choice was FUN: Lush's 5-in-1 product that acts as a shower gel, bubble bath, shampoo, soap and a sort of play-dough. We chose the Limited Edition gold version (although they do offer five other shades that are permanent in the Lush range) which has the same scent as their Honey I Washed The Kids soap. This was £5. Next we decided upon the Space Girl bath bomb which is shaped like a planet and is dusted with glitter. This has a blackberry scent and is packed with popping candy which I'm sure she's going to love! This was £2.25. From Tesco I picked up the bauble filled with miniature bath bombs which was on sale for £1.50 and should keep her going for a while. Finally her last two gifts I got at Sainsbury's: the pink Smarties tube (£1) and the Ice Cream Print Notebook (on sale for 89p). I just have to get some accompanying felt tip pens and she's all sorted!

 

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Honestly this year the hardest person to buy for was my mum. Whilst she likes candles and perfumes she isn't the sort of person who enjoys long soaks in the tub or slowing down with a good novel - trust me, I've tried to sway her - so I decided that instead of giving her something to help her relax, I'd gift her something I know she'll actually use.

 

 

 

 

 

I dreamed up this sort of survival pack to keep in her bag when she goes to work. It contains chewing gum, lip balm, mini hand sanitisers, nail varnish remover wipes and her favourite Hand Food hand cream by Soap & Glory. As a little nod towards the pampering side of things I also threw in her favourite Barry M Nail Varnish - Mushroom. The lip balm, chewing gum, hand sanitiser and nail varnish wipes I picked up in the Poundshop but the Hand Food and Barry M Nail Varnish I got from Boots.

 

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My boyfriend's Mum was also quite difficult to buy for this year as she's the direct opposite of my mum - she loves a good pamper - but has really sensitive skin so can be allergic to some things she's received for Christmas over the years. I thought the safest bet was to go back to Lush and pick up her favourite Porridge soap: a lovely soap packed with porridge oats to help gently exfoliate and sooth skin. The good thing about Lush's soaps is that you can choose a piece to suit any budget (as long as it's over 100g). We also got her two Butterball bath bombs for their soothing cocoa butter and delicious scent as she prefers the simpler bath bombs that doesn't require her 'picking rose petals out of the bath' as she once told me. The Bath Bombs were £2.50 each so we got her a £5 piece of soap to make up her £10!

 

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As for my best friend - she does know about my blog and even though I told her I'd be posting her gifts so not to go on here, she might do just because I asked her not to. So I'm afraid I'll be keeping her gifts as a secret just in case!

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and have hopefully gotten a few more ideas for last minute gifts! I should hopefully be posting a 'Boyfriend Edition' of this post as I haven't wrapped his presents up yet but that wont be for a few days.

 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

 

xx

My Top 4 Statement Lips (Best & Worst!)

 

 

Okay, so I have this little obsession with lipsticks. I don't really know where it came from as up until last year I had the opinion that lipstick was for more mature, sensible women than me and I was completely all about the eyes.

 

But since the day that I changed all that, I've grown quite a collection. I think lipstick is the thing I have the most random purchases of - even if the colour definitely isn't suitable for my look or my skin tone, I always buy it... just in case.

 

So today I thought I'd show you guys my top 4 Statement lipsticks (best & worst).

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Nivea Volume Shine Lipstick in Mauve Parure - Barry M Lipstick in 129 - Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rogue - MUA Lipstick in Nectar

 

 

Nivea Volume Shine Lipstick in Mauve Parure -

 

One of my post recent purchases - a gorgeous deep berry toned purple. The formula of this is very thick and is one that definitely needs a brush to be applied or it will go everywhere. It has good staying power once applied in layers and adds drama to any outfit. I would recommend keeping all other make-up simple for a day look, where-as adding lashings of mascara and a cat-eye looks amazing with it for a dramatic night-out look. I got this for £1 from Poundland.

 

Barry M Lipstick in Shade 129 -

 

This lipstick is the 'worst' mentioned in the title. I was so excited when I bought this lipstick as I've been dying for a pale purple lip shade but sadly this was such a disappointment! The formula is so shiny and never dries so the slightest touch of your lips will cause a blur! The shade is completely un-wearable for me as it makes everything seem so yellow! My skin looks unhealthy and sallow and it's not very flattering for even the whitest teeth. Such a shame as it's a lovely pale pink toned lilac but it just doesn't work for me! I paid £4.25 for this from Boots.

 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rogue -

 

Although it looks much darker in the tube, this lipstick has a lovely deep red tone. In my photo it doesn't translate well (I think it was the bright lighting) but it works very well with my pale skin and looks perfect with just a few slicks of mascara for a ' I look like I've tried when I actually haven't' look. The staying power of this is incredible - I applied at 8am and it was still going strong at half past 2pm - and once dry it's not too matte or shiny. My lips simply look moisturised! I got this for £1 at Poundland.

 

MUA Lipstick in Nectar -

 

This lipstick is definitely my favourite out of the bunch. A gorgeous bright, wearable orange that sits beautifully upon lips and lasts for hours. It's brightness doesn't wash me out at all, in fact it seems to give some life to my face! It applies really well straight from the tube but does require layers if you want it to last all day. This lipstick can be taken from day-to-night with just an outfit change, I love it! I picked it up from Superdrug for just £1!

 

So there you have it! My top four best and worst statement lipsticks.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xx