Recent Nails

Once again apologies, I have been super busy at work and that has left me so drained in my free time that I haven't really had the energy to blog, I have missed it and I haven't stopped reading all the wonderful blogs out there (or playing with cosmetics). I have been trying out some fantastic products and some not so fantastic ones so I will be back sharing with you again.

First off I will give you a few of my recent nails

This one is my first little venture into Famous by Sue Moxley, the colour is 20 - Nude and you get a massive 14ml for 4 pounds. The texture is nice and the brush is suprisingly good. It took 3 coats for it to be opague and the colour reads a little darker on the nails than it does in the bottle. It's a pinky beige with a light gold micro shimmer and also dries super fast. Like I said it's a little darker than I like my nudes normally but I will certainly be giving the range another look as the formulation is a corker.

3 coats plus seche vite in the shade

in the most direct sunlight I could get on the day

The next is one of my go to brands and a polish range I have had before. I am always excited when Bourjois bring out new shades and I love how they have gone quite quirky and bold with their latest offerings in the So Laque "Paris Showtime" collections. This is the first that caught my eye and it is T44 Bleu Model and it is a great Tiffany blue type shade, not quite blue not quite green and slightly darker and bluer than China Glazes "For Audrey". The formula is super smooth and when on light a dream and even with the Seche Vite there was no shrinkage and no tip wear and it held fast for a good 4 days and I decided to change it way before I needed to.

in the shade

Direct sunlight - excuse the raggy cuticles

Lastly we have a little bit of fun, I know we are all completely over crackle polishes but when I saw the new MUA Nail Quake ones in Superdrug I couldn't resist. So here we have Shiver which is pink even though it looks a tad more coral in the bottle (I long for a coral shatter) but it's lots of fun and for £2.99 whats not to like. It's a nice rich, bod colour texture and cracks up really evenly. Shown here over two coats of Kylie by Andrea Fullerton.

Direct Sunlight

Shade

couple of FOTDs

The first look is quickly becoming my go to look. I used to go straight for the pale skin, winged eyeliner and either neutral or red lip. I am getting older now and I am finding that the winged eyeliner does not look as good on me as it used to. I am also a lover of a strong eye and love playing with colour but lately I have been loving the taupe as an easy and quick eye look.

Products used -

Base

Loreal wrinkle filler eye cream

Illamasqua cream pigment in emerge under the eyes

Clinique Super City Block

Stila angel light powder foundation in the lightest shade.

Eyes

UDPP

Boots NO7 simple eyes compact. Lighter shade on the inner third and the taupe blended across the lid and up into the crease.

Eylure eyebrow pencil in Medium/Dark

Chanel platinum rose eyeliner under lash line

Bourjois volume fast and perfect mascara

Cheeks

Illamasqua cream pigment in emerge

Lips

Clinique chubby stick in whoppin watermelon

In the next one I can't remember exactly what products I used but I took the photos because I was trying out a new eye product for me. A friend at work gave me some Gosh products that she wasn't getting the use out of and I was excited to try the eyeshadow base.

It is in a stick form and is a sheer white with a slightly bluish flash it was too pretty to cover up completely so I just blended in a colour from the 17 metallic nudes palette and finished with a little eyeliner under the lashline smoked out with the same shadow.

Make up looks of the week

I have been making more of an effort to try a different make up look everyday at the moment. Normally I get in a bit of a rut and tend to stick to the same few things day in day out. The first look is from some of my fav mac makeup at the moment.

Base

Shiseido prefect refining foundation in 100 (this is so good I didn't use any concealer)

Bourjois mineral radiance powder in vanilla

Eyes

UDPP

Mac boy crazy all over the lid and under lash line

Mac aduki bean outer corner and in crease

liner avon supershock gel liner in plumful

mascara collection 2000 big fake in ultra black

eyebrows rimmel dark brown eyebrow pencil

Blush

mac sakura

Lips

Guerlain rouge automatique in cherry blossom

The next look is a bit more of an evening one.

Base

Max factor weightless foundation in 40

Bourjois mineral radiance powder in vanilla

Eyes

UDPP

Accessorize illusion merged eyeshadow in cocoa all over the lid

No7 autumn palette used to blend and highlight

liner avon supershock gel liner in plumful

mascara collection 2000 big fake in ultra black

eyebrows rimmel dark brown eyebrow pencil

Blush

Illamasqua cream pigment in Emerge

FOTD and things i'm loving/hating right now

Konichiwa :D

Lets start with things I am love, love, loving right now.

Spring - it's awesome, sunny, warmer and cute baby animals.

Illamasqua Emerge cream pigment as a blush, perfect peaches and cream complexion - so pretty

Cherry Blossom - I'm a little bit obsessed with Sakura and I am finding a new Cherry Blossom tree everyday.

My Hair, growing out the black and going back to red.

Joan Harris - she pretty much rocks and I totally would!

Mac Candy Yum Yum lipstick, where have you been all my life Mwah x

Having some things to look forward to - Mani/Pedi booked, Red Panda feeding and possibly Royal Ascot Woo Hoo.

Things I am Hating (hate is a strong word but they definitely make me a sad panda)

Spring - time to break out the SPF and the Hayfever tablets lol

Cherry Blossom - it's pretty much over and every time I see a tree that was stunning last week with no blossom now it makes me want to cry

Mad Men - I have watched all 4 seasons and now they have put it on hiatus, I need my fix.

Whats happening in Japan - It is one month today since my world shook, luckily I had a home to return to. There is this phrase "your god never gives you more than you can handle" seeing the Japanese people act with such grace, humility and patience I have never felt this more.

So on the the very simple face of the day

This is my daytime work look at the moment

products used

L'Oreal Collagen Eye Filler

No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream

Shu Uemura UV under base mousse in beige

Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation in 100 (very light ivory)

Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer 01 (nude beige)

Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder 02 (vanille)

Eyebrows - Natural Collection eyeshadow in Midnight

Cheeks - Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Emerge

Lips - Guerlain Rouge Automatique in 161 (cherry blossom)

Mascara - Collection 200 Big Fake in 17 (ultra black)

Nails of the Week

Just a short update of the colours I have been wearing this week. Firstly we have the Bourjois So Laque! 37 Bleu asphalte, this is from the pretty ballerina collection which seems to be dusty pinks and greys and it is a nice change from the neon brights and corals which seem to be on offer in most spring collections at the moment.

It is their standard formula so I don't know why I found this a bit of a pain to apply but it just seemed a little bit gloopy. The colour is a bit meh too it is slightly more lilac in the bottle than on the nails and I wasn't expecting it to look quite so dark on me but perhaps that is because I am so pale. It also doesn't play well with the seche vite so there was a tiny amount of shrinkage but no chips.

natural light

artificial light

This is one from my Japanese haul, it's by Majolica Majorca and the colour is RD420. It is a vibrant red in the same vain as Mavala Rococo Red or China Glaze Ruby Deer. It is not creamy or opaque but it is really highly pigmented and it applies beautifully. This is my first Majolica Majorca nail polish and they do seem like pretty good quality. The wear was good also no chips or tip wear and it didn't leave my fingers all stained after removing it which is unusual for me and red.

***100th post giveaway***

So here it is readers, I have been blogging for just over a year and this is my 100th post. It has been a rollercoaster year for me and this outlet, reading your comments and all the other blogs out there has really given me some great relief. As promised I have an epic give away for one lucky follower.

the products are

Nails

Incoco - Sinderella

Ciate - Roses nail stickers

17 - Fast finish Grapefruit

Carlo De Roma - Bright Pink

Urban Retreat - Metalic Polish Duo(princess/mysterious)

Barry M - 313 Dusky Mauve

OPI - Nail Envy

Makeup

Bare Minerals - Foundation Sample medium beige with brush

17 - waterproof mascara travel size

17 - Ultimate Volume lip gloss Pink Ice

Carlo De Roma - Diamond Pure lip gloss

Bourgois - Ombre Stretch eye shadow 11 infinite green

N07 - Moisture Drench lipstick 55 pink crush

Urban Decay - 24/7 eye pencil travel size in zero

Darphin - Vitalbalm Lipcare

Bourjois - little round pot 12 Bleu Magnetique

Others

Green People - aloe vera everyday organic condition (normal/dry)

No7 - cleansing sponges

L'Occitane - verbena body salt scrub

Mavala - smoothing foot scrub

phew - all you have to do is follow my blog, leave me a comment saying you want to enter and you email address and the lucky winner will be picked on the 12th of December.

Thank you for a great year and now I have posted this Giveaway I can get back to a normal posting schedule.

Spread the word x

FOTD for a saturday out

So today I was off out to watch a preview of the new twilight movie eclipse and since it had been a rough week I decided it was time to dust off the makeup bag and do myself up a little.

I was a little worried that since have been walking to work I had taken quite a lot of colour to my face but to my relief my factor 50+ is holing true and my foundation still matches.

So the base was

No7 protect and perfect eye cream

No7 protect and perfect intense serum

No7 protect and perfect day cream (only a tiny amount on my drier patches)

Then I used my faithful Garnier tinted eye roll on under the eyes.

Foundation - just a touch of the Bourjois healthy mix foundation in 51

Concealer - Bourjois healthy mix, a pinhead amount of this in 51

Powder - Bourjois mineral radiance in 02

The eyes and the rest was

Primer - Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyeshadow - Togetherness from the MAC in the groove collection.

light lilac all over the lid

intense purple on the outer part of the lid and on the lower lash line

grey in the crease and also on the lower lash line

Eyeliner - Doir liquid liner on upper lash line and Urban Decay Binge on lower lash line

Eyebrows - Clarins eyebrow kit

Mascara - Bourjois Elastic

Then to finish I used a very very light dusting of MAC petticoat mineral skin finish which is also from the in the groove collection.

Oh and yes I thought the same of the movie as I thought of the other good but hard going and doesn't do justice to the book.

Recent nail roundup

Time for a run down on the colours I have been wearing the last couple of weeks and it has been quite a mixed bag.

Bourjois - 17 Noir de Chine

I have had this a couple of year it was a special edition I think with some reds that I also have, when I first got it it was lovely, as most bourjois polishes are but over time had dried out quite a bit which I find is another common problem with their ranges. A little OPI thinners made it just about fluid again to use but it was a struggle. Lovely shiny black though that is opaque in one coat.

Barry M - Berry Ice Cream

Ok so people have raved about this already so I won't go on about it too much but I can say I was dubious after the failure of Lucky Lucky Lavender, I am also not loving the light purple I have coming up later on. I am pleased to say I am pleasantly surprised with this though because whilst being a pastel shade it still has enough pop to it to compliment my skin tone. Application was fantastic and there was virtually no shrinkage from the Seche Vite. I lasted really well too which makes this an instant fave.

H&M - Goddess On Stage

Be still my beating heart, how much do I love this polish! If you can't bring yourself to splash out on Nars Purple Rain or Illamasqua Baptiste then this is the polish for you, deep and shimmery and very very Cadburys purple. The application was phenomenal for such a cheap polish (£3 I think) and it lasted and lasted this photo was taken on day 3 after lots of typing and generally bashing my nails off anything they came into contact with. Only problem is that it is more of a winter colour than a summer one and doesn't go with much that I am wearing right now but I can't wait for the right time to wear it again.

Nails Inc - London (free with diet coke)

Another free Nails Inc polish, I think it's an evil plan to get us all addicted to their product and I guess it is working as I like this one too. Yet another greige but you really can't go wrong with them on pale skin, I won't bore you with application and wear time because you know the drill, I will say this is very similar the the Mink given away by InStyle but up close the are quite different Mink is pinker and dark than London. The only bad thing about it was that it seemed to pick up some weird staining from somewhere no idea what that is all about.

OPI by Sephora - Metro Chic

Another cult greige, I have been after getting my clammy little paws on this for a while so when the lovely Jo from Music and Make up asked me if there was anything I wanted brought back from her trip stateside this was at the top of the list (along with the tokidoki make up which I will review at some point). Quite a dark one this one but man it is lovely, you can't see it from these photos but it is actually subtly purple. The shinkage you are seeing on the thumb is only because my Seche Vite was getting old and the coat went on too thick. I can see why people like this so much as it is very easy to apply and even easier to wear. I shall have to get a bundle box at some point so I can get some more of these polishes over from the states. Or you know Sephora could open a London store, just saying ;)

Nails Inc - Paris (free with diet coke)

Not really my kind of purple but once it was on I loved it, just as good as the other I have tried recently and I think this would look great with a bit of a tan or on toe nails. This one did suffer a bit of tip wear but still outstanding.

No7 - Decades Collection Mai Dress

Not like the swatch on the website at all. Another lilac that looks unfortunate on me with a lovely tippex like quality too it, it was also thick, gloopy, bubbly and an all round nightmare to apply. Some may love this I hated it the 70's obviously are not my decade and the whole thing was like one bad trip!

Bourjois Spring/Summer look

So as a lot of you know Bourjois has a new spring summer look out, I had to copy this from the web as my blog isn't well know enough yet for me to be invited to any events or sent freebies. Bourjois is my all time biggest makeup crush and I love every look they bring out, I look after their stand at my job and I always love to see what they will bring out next. The look is comprised of 2 shadows, pencil, lip colour and nail colour. I don't own the lip colour but I am sure it will find it's way into my collection soon as I am loving the whole matching nails and lips thing (very Coco Chanel).

So here are the pictures let me know what you think.

My base was

Bourjois healthy mix in 51 and the matching concealer. As always I used the Clarins kit for the brows.

I then swept 94 CITRON GIVRE over the entire lid from lashline to brow paying attention to the inner corners of my eyes and I also put some under the lower lash line. On the mobile lid I blended 93 TABAC BLOND stopping just short of the crease and inner corner.

Then with my trusty duochrome liner in 61 Vert Dore (the tutorial calls for 64 Tilleul Dore but I don't have that one) I lined under my eyes just to give it the extra definition. Topped off with the 1001 lashes in Black Quartz.

The nail colour is called 33 Tangerine Fatal and is an exquisite orange shade bordering on coral Like with all Bourjois nail polish the application was good, the only problems I find with them is that their cremes are a little sheer and the polish can be a little gloopy which means you use quite a lot up in just one application. Having said that though stunning colour and stunning finish.

with flash - doesn't it look different day and night!

So there you have it I might try again if I get the lips and the right liner but for now this is the only spring summer look I have bought into although the No7 one looks interesting. Which company has brought out you favourite look this season?

the quest for the perfect foundation (very pic heavy)

In my infinite quest to find the perfect foundation I have bought a lot over the years and because I am hoarder I never throw them away even if they don't work for me. Pretty much every shade I buy is the lightest one of of the range and the difference between companies becomes very apparent. As a result of this comparison test I will be throwing away a fair few of these because as you can see I would have to be mad to wear them and actually can't believe I ever did.

Everything was photographed in natural light on fresh clean skin.

Bourjois

1. 10 Hour Sleep Effect (71 abricote clair)

2. Brush Foundation (31 beige clair)

3. Healthy Mix (51 vanille clair)

4. Mineral Matte (81 tendre ivorie)

Bourjois is possibly my favourite brand of makeup and their foundations are second to none (same company as Chanel don't you know) Colour and texture is always great the only one I am surprised by is the mineral matte(4) as it looks a little dark but actually looks fine on my face. As you can see the healthy mix(3)is the best coverage and colour which is what I expected as it is my favourite liquid foundation.

Rimmel

1. Stay Matte Mousse (100 ivory)

2. Renew & Lift (100 ivory)

3. Lasting Finish (100 ivory)

Rimmel has always been hit and miss for me but as always the price of them makes them very tempting. Interesting that they are all named ivory when the difference is colour is so vast, I wanted to love the stay matte mousse(1) but as you can see from the picture even the lightest one is unbelievably orange and it is more jelly than mousse the texture just doesn't work for me.

Revlon & Max Factor

1. Revlon PhotoReady (002 vanille)

2. Revlon Beyond Natural (210 light pale)

3. Max Factor Colour adapt (70 natural)

4. Max Factor Second Skin (040 creamy ivory)

Wow, Just wow! look at the difference in shades on show here, the PhotoReady (1) is very yellow toned which actually works well for me as it balances out my pink tones. The Beyond Natural(2) is a great tone but is very light on the coverage. Check out the horror of the Max Factor(3) this is meant to be colour adapting, adapting to what? This was the lightest shade they had and it is just not right for me this one will be going in the bin. Second Skin(4) was my previous favourite liquid and the shade is a little dark but not too bad in summer when I have a bit more colour.

Mishmash 1

1. L'Oreal True Match Roll On (R2 vanille rose)

2. E.L.F Tinted Moisturiser (ivory)

3. 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation (fair)

4. Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid (010 ivory)

This is the foundation that makes me the most sad is the L'Oreal roll on foundation(1) just look at the application it is easy and even, light and soft. It is also orange and also the lightest colour it comes it, it is supposed to be "true match" but it just doesn't to it for me. Great product just not my shade. The E.L.F(2) is a lovely shade and a tinted moisturiser so not much coverage, it sits in my pores and makes me a little greasy so I need to find a way to work with this one. Another destined for the circular file is the Boots 17(3) great coverage and really does stop me getting shiny but just way to dark for my skin. The only foundation I have tried from Maybelline(4) and it is actually really nice lives up to the product claims if the shade was a touch lighter this would be perfect.

Mishmash 2 (sorry 3 and 4 are the wrong way round in the product shot)

1. MAC Select Founation (NW15)

2. No7 Essential Moisture Foundation (10 new ivory)

3. Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick (0 porcelain)

4. Avene Couvrance (01 porcelain)

This is the product that I was most surprised at when I swatched, I wore the MAC foundation(1) for my wedding and it works well with my combination skin I am just a bit shocked at how pink it has come out. I guess it works with my pink tones rather that fighting against them. The shade of the No7(2) is glorious but I have to be a little careful with the finish on my combination skin, lovely product though very impressed. What can I say about the Bobbi Brown(3) I love this foundation the colour is perfect and the coverage is perfect it also had great staying power which is what you would expect from a pan stick. Which leads us on to the only problem with this foundation is that it is a pan stick it leaves me greasy and I need to powder a lot to stop it slipping around, having said that though I have nearly used the whole thing and when it is finished I will be investigating their liquid foundations as the shade is so good. The Avene(4) one I got from work and whilst nice and kind to the skin is way too yellow.

So to sum up

top 3

1. Bourjois healthy Mix

2. Bobbi Brown pan stick

3. No7 essential Moisture

going in the bin

Avene, 17 and Max Factor colour adapt

hoping to find new homes for

the Rimmel Mousse and the L'Oreal