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.

Recent nail roundup

He we go with another recent nail round up and I have been really lucky recently with some nice gifts and freebies.

Lets start off with a lovely gift brought back from the states by one of my best friends. I had asked him to pick up the new Hello Kitty palette from Sephora which I will be reviewing soon and he also picked up this cute Hello Kitty polish for me. The shade is called Blueberry and it kind of a periwinkle/forget me not blue and I love it. It is such a sift shade and suits my pale skin very well although I can imagine it wold look awesome with a tan.

The application was good and it was a fairly thick and pigmented polish so 2 coats is more than enough and it was a very easy to control brush.

The next is something I couldn't resist picking up and that is the new pirates of the Caribbean collection from OPI, this is mermaid tears with the silver shatter and the finish is beautiful. They have managed to make the shatter really sparkly so it is quite sheer this allows a lot of the base colour through.

Another freebie and this was part of the recent Nails Inc give away with Instyle. Whilst I love Nails Inc polishes I have only ever parted with cash for one and that was before they started giving them away. I feel the brand would do slightly better if they stopped giving them away and reduced their prices a little (£11 a polish is more expensive than OPI). Their polishes are lovely and their colours are always on trend but I am never compelled to part with my cash for them.

This is Candy Orange.

the last one is a bit of an experiment, it's OPI catch me in your net with the Barry M blue crackle over the top. Not sure I like this one it was very bumpy!

This was my week

So I have had a fairly alarming week, I was all set to give you a review on the newish Loreal infallible eye shadow in No15 Flashback Silver and then my day took a weird twist. I am was sat at my computer when all of a sudden I was seeing spots (just like someone had taken a flash photo of me). As I tried to concentrate on the screen I became aware that massive chunks of my field of vision were missing. At this point I started to worry and asked my friend and another of the company first aiders for advice. We agreed that I should switch off my monitor and and relax my eyes for a little while but within 5 minutes I had lost sight entirely in my left eye and the pharmacist (I work in a pharmacy) was called.

Long story short I had an Acephalgic Migraine which means you only get the visual symptoms. in the three and a half hours I was at the eye hospital, Western eye hospital are great by the way, my vision was starting to come back and I was sent home.

My lovely husband however did not tell me I had travelled home looking like this!

Massive pupils and eyes stained with fluorescein, the eyeshadow is lovely and did last really well and the colour os more lilac than silver. I will try to give it a full review soon.

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

NOTD and one of my addictions

Nails of the day are Models Inc Pro - Black Grape. This looks stunning in the bottle dark purple base with pink purple and blue micro glitter. This is the first time I have used one if their polishes but I had hear good things. This however was a bit meh.

Application was a bit of a nightmare, it bubbled, I haven't had a polish bubble on me in ages. Also it wasn't shiny at all, I put a coat of good old Seche Vitte and that seemed to revive it and you could almost see the shimmer in the right light but when I woke up in the morning the polish had eaten the top coat and the nails were a little dull and rough. Not completely horrible but one of the worst I have tried in a long time. wah wah waaaaahh!

natural light

under a Halogen spot - you can almost see the shimmer.

Next up is my addiction and as you can see it's all things Cherry Blossom. I love them I love the smell, the look, the colour I'm just crazy about them.

Just a few of the Cherry Blossom themed stuff I have.

Top Row - Guerlain eyeshadow palette, Body Shop Body Butter, Guerlain blush.

Bottom Row - OPI D.C Cherry blossom, Mac Sakura blush, Shu Uemuera UV base, L'Occitane Lip Gloss.

A couple of slightly different looks for me

Ok so I am a creative person and and i'm not afraid of colours but there are certain looks and styles that stray out of my comfort zone. There are few things I avoid because I know they look wrong for me things like tanned skin and liner on the water line. Now there are ladies out there who rock this look effortlessly every day and look like wonderful godesses but on me it just doesn't feel right.

Lets explore shall we.

What started this was a little sample bag from MaxFactor (I think they were given away at christmas) The foundation samples are always in medium or nude which is about 2 shades to dark for me but I was interested to see if the formula for lasting finish was the same as this is what I used all through school and uni and loved it.

Products used

Max Factor lasting finish in 106 natural beige all over the face and jaw line

The I contoured like crazy through the cheekbones, jawline, temples and nose with Illamasqua in hollow (I can't begin to tell you how much I love this product) and then highlighted with a Tokidoki.

I then lined the waterline with a black Maxfactor Khol which I hate doing as it never stays put and I end up with little black globs in the corners of my eyes and them looking red and watery.

Shaded in my brows with my normal Natural collection shadow and put on a coat of Collection 2000 Big Fake.

The gloss was also in the give away bag and it is Vibrant Curve Effect in Majeste, which smells really strongly of Melon but is quite nice not sticky and quite long lasting.

Next up we have a bright lipstick, and I mean really bright which is a long long way from my classic red. I am not one to shy away from a bold lip but this is very different for me so here in all it's glory is Mac Candy Yum Yum and I LOVE it!

Please excuse the goofy face and nerdy specs

FOTD and An Experiment

So lets start off with a very quick face of the day.

Products used

L'Oreal Collagen Eye Filler

No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream

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

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyeshadow - Boy Crazy all over the lid, Azuki bean in crease and under lower lashes, Moshi Moshi to high light in the centre of the lid.

Cheeks - Mac Sakura Blush

Lips - Poppy King for No7 in Confidence

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

Now on to the experiment!

I blogged a few days ago about the amazing staying power of the Integrate nail polish I had tried and how I was unsure if it was the polish or the Orly Bonder that cause the phenomenal wear. I decided to set up an experiment I gave myself a new manicure using a cheapy Polish (actually it was free with the big fake mascara) from Collection 2000, it's one of their new "hot looks" and the colour is 43 fruit salad.

The experiment is as follows, the left hand is Orly Bonder and the right hand is OPI Natural Nail Base Coat.

Right Hand - OPI

Left Hand - Orly

Pretty colour huh. Both were topped with my normal Seche Vitte, Let see the damage from Saturday morning to Tuesday night.

Right Hand - OPI

Left Hand - Orly

As you can see the thumb and the index finger on the OPI have chipped a little but but considering I am right handed thats not bad going.

Right thumb

Right index

I am a little bit bummed about this to honest I wanted the exceptional wear to be down to the Orly Bonder (I have decided there was no clear winner they both wore about the same) but it does seem to look like the Integrate is just a really really good polish. Is it crazy that I would consider flying back to Japan just to get my hands on some more bottles of this.

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)

nail of the day - Integrate RD701

Integrate is a Japanese brand which comes under the Shiseido umbrella. So no surprise this was part of my mini Japanese haul, I had hoped to haul more but shopping was cancelled due to the abrupt nature of our departure. This was picked up in a 7/11 very late on the night before we left in a last ditch attempt to find some souvenirs. As you can imagine I was not expecting it to be up to much but what an absolute gem this little nail polish is.

The colour can only be described as a warm toned version of Paradoxal by Chanel. It is a slightly pinker beige purple and with a very light champagne flash instead of the lilac of Paradoxal. It is an absolutely beautiful shade, subtle but definitely interesting I am now wishing I had bought a back up.

On a second note this is the first time I had used Orly Bonder as an undercoat so I don't know if the longevity of this polish is down to the polish itself or the base (an experiment to follow) but I painted these on monday night and these photos were taken on Saturday morning. Check out the wear only minimal tip wear and a slight chip about to happen on the index finger. I can't believe how long it lasted and still looked pretty much perfect.

Indirect sunlight

direct sunlight - beautiful shimmer

indirect sunlight again

If anyone know where I can buy back ups of this online please drop me a line and let me know because I can't be without this in my life ;)

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.

Japan experience and NOTD

So i'm back sorry it has been such a long time without a post but there has been a lot of processing I have had to do.

On Thursday 10th of March me and my husband boarded our flight to Tokyo for an 8 day holiday, We love Japan and have been before so were really excited to be going back and although we had no firm plans the possibilities were endless. After a 12 hour flight and 1 hour airport transfer we were at the hotel, they let us check in early and I set about unpacking and settling in for the week. We decided on a short nap then a shower and we were off out for some wonderful Japanese food.

We had been napping for about on hour when the room started to shake, my husband looked at me and said "what was that" "were having and earthquake I joked" but then it didn't stop. It got worse and worse the room shook, swayed, rattled and we dropped from the bed to the floor crawling into the door frame of the bathroom not knowing quite what to do. Finally the juddering stopped and only the swaying remained it was like being on a ship in a storm. We decided we should try and see what to do so we staggered out into the hall where the hotel staff told us we should remain in our room.

We could see people pouring on to streets as the aftershocks rolled through we flicked on the news and as the full horror of what had happened began to sink in we realised things were bad. Needless to stay we had a very different holiday until we were finally ordered home by my husbands company a few days early. My respect for the Japanese nation is immense and if anyone reading this can spare some money for the Japanese red cross please help the people who have lost everything other than their dignity.

Right so that is where I have been now on to the nail of the day! With crackle top coats being the main nail story at the moment so I decided to check out Boots 17 Nail Xtras crackle top and I think you will agree it's a corker. It is a very light gold colour and I think it will compliment a lot of different colours, it looks stunning over blues. You have to be extremely sparing with the application to get the crackling effect but it does crackle very nicely.

I have paired it here with a little nail polish I picked up in a family mart in Tokyo. The brand is MFC and the colour is either RS-3 or 07D but I don't read Japanese so I can't be sure. Anyways it's a nice beige pink colour and applied really well.

Direct sunlight

in the shade

Illamasqua - Toxic Nature

So you have probably seen this all over the blogosphere already but it is worth sharing. I wasn't lucky enough to make it too the blogger event on thursday night but the lovely team at Illamasqua invited me round to the flag ship store on Saturday for a sneak peak.

The collection is based around what would happen if nature stuck back and was conceived when Alex Box was stuck like lots of others by the ash cloud last year. It set her cogs in motion as to how we really have no power over mother nature and she can wipe the floor with us whenever she wants.

Aren't the promo images just beautiful, so inspiring. The look is all around distorted proportions with large eyes, slim noses and low cheeks. There is a lot of contouring and playing with shapes and I love it.

To me the crux of the collection seem to be the new matt cream pigments

top row - Bedaub(mint green) Delirium(rose taupe) Mould(grape purple) Hollow(toffee beige)

bottom row - Dab (lilac) Emerge (peach)

The standouts for me were Emerge which makes such a beautiful blush on us pale skinned gals. Bedaub which can be blended out as a colour corrector on red patches and Hollow which is an awesome contour colour. The can be used anywhere and I will definitely purchasing a few of these to play with.

But the fun doesn't end there there are also two lipsticks and glosses and 4 nail colours.

This is Divine the fuchsia pink gloss blended over Atomic the fuchsia violet lipstick. Then flare the neon orange lipstick and finally Glister but I will come to that in a bit. There is also Torture which I forgot to swatch but it matches the lipstick perfectly.

There are five polishes

Purity - peach

Bacterium - pearlescent ash ochre

Radium - lime shimmer

Stagnate - grey mauve

Gamma neon - orange

Below is Bacterium which everyone is going nuts for and I can see why, it applies like a dream as with all of the polishes I have tried from them and it is such a unique colour very mother of pearl/oyster it just catches the light so beautifully I can't stop staring at my fingers.

Under room lights

Natural light

The show stopper for me was Glister the Nude Anti-eyeliner eyeliner. It takes a lot to drag me away from my good old black cat eye so I want to give this a proper review o it's own because it is really something quite special.

I had a wonderful time at Illamasqua and they make you feel so welcome, this brand really is going from strength to strength and it because of their dedication to letting their customers express themselves and constantly challenging themselves to push the boundaries.

So get over there now and start pre-ordering!