notd | fantasy fire

Well, it lives up to the hype, I'll give it that. Yes, this is the famed Max Factor Fantasy Fire, which apparently was sold out everywhere, even though my Superdrug had plenty in stock and were on offer for £1 off!

This was two coats of the Miss Sporty nail polish, and three coats of Fantasy Fire. Originally I was going to only do one coat of Fantasy Fire, but it applied streaky, so I put on another, and another...

The purple looks almost neon in bright lights, but what makes this polish amazing is the duochrome. Wow. Just...just wow. Most of the time I see pink and peachy shimmer, but sometimes I get a glimpse of green and blue. I cannot, for the life of me, stop staring at my nails.

L-R OPI Nail Envy, Miss Sporty 344, Max Factor Fantasy Fire, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

I'd love to see how this looks over a dark purple, or black, or pink, or green...basically any and every colour!

Buy: OPI Original Nail Envy, £18.65
Miss Sporty 344, £1.99 (Grape Fit)
Max  Factor Fantasy Fire, £3.99
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, £5.99

What's your favourite nail polish? I think this may be mine!

wet 'n' wild mega liner in blue

This is the other makeup-y thing I bought from Direct Cosmetics, and it's my first non black/brown liquid eyeliner yay!

 I think the eyeliner I was sent was a bit old, as whenever I use it there's a few small clumps stuck on the brush, and it's not very wet, so doesn't glide over the eyelid as well as my other liquid liners. That being said, if you buy the product from a shop and not online then it's much less likely to be dried up.

The applicator is a brush, and creates very precise, thin lines. The handle is great as since it is long it allows you to have a sturdy grip, however if you need to stand really close to the mirror to apply your makeup the length might present a problem as the end of the handle will bang against the mirror.

As I said, the product I received was slightly dried up so that affects the pigmentation, but that said it's still pretty good and looks vibrant and stands out on the eye. If you'd excuse the incredibly over-used expression, I'd say it gives a "pop of colour" to the eye.

Pigmentation 6/10

Overall 7/10

Buy: Wet 'n' Wild Mega Liner in Blue, 99p

my nail polish collection - yellows and golds

If I were to do yellows separate from golds, the swatch wheel would only have two colours on it, and that seems just stupid, which is why I'm grouping them together. And because I'm awesome like that. I kid, of course.

I never really wear yellows, mainly because up until this month I have only ever owned one. I prefer pastels to bright yellows, and I don't particularly like dark golds either. And I'm getting really annoyed because I keep typing "glods" instead of "golds". Grrrr.

L-R Rimmel Sunshine, Miners Cosmetics Sunny Side Up, Collection 2000 Glam

Rimmel Sunshine - My very first yellow, this was a gift, and I don't tend to reach for it unless I'm doing a design that requires yellow, as the formula is quite opaque - well, for a yellow at least.

Miners Cosmetics Sunny Side Up - Hauled here and used here. I was disappointed with this, I thought that it would have taken less than four coats to get it up to opacity. I adore the colour though, it's the perfect pastel yellow.

Collection 2000 Glam - I can't remember the last time I wore this to be honest, but it's a nice sheer colour with a gold duochrome. I can imagine this would look nice over a nude or purple colour. Or maybe even black...now there's an idea.

L-R Laminelle, Claire's, Claire's - None have names

Laminelle - The tiniest bottle of nail polish I've ever seen, containing only 3ml, managing to get a second application of this was hard. I've had this for a year or two now, and it's not gone gloopy, so there's a good thing. I'd like to do a gradient look with this on the tips.

Claire's (middle in picture) - Argghh I hate nail polish without a name! Why? Why? WHYYYYY? Maybe I'm over-exaggerating, maybe I'm not. I love this colour so much, it's sort of a gold mixed with an olive green, I think this lasted around nine days on my nails last time I wore it, not because it didn't chip, but just because the colour is so pretty I couldn't bear taking it off.

Claire's (right in picture) - This is a really dark gold, almost copper. I'm really surprised how good the quality is on the big Claire's bottles, and they're not expensive either. I don't wear this often at all, but I bet it'd look stunning with ombre nails going from silver to this colour of gold.

wet 'n' wild twighlight glow

Yes, Wet 'n' Wild spelled twilight wrong. That annoys me a bit too much.

 The packaging is alright considering how inexpensive it is, with a see-through lid so you can see the colour clearly, and I was quite impressed with the fact that there is a slide-out mirror, albeit a flimsy one at that, but it gets the job done. Also included is a sponge applicator, which I binned immediately, because applying the eyeshadow with your finger would be a better choice than the sponge applicator, although using an eyeshadow brush would obviously be your best option.

I bought the palette because I was lusting after a mint green, but after playing around with the colours I seem to have fallen in love with the brown and the brownish gold as well. The formula and pigmentation is completely up to scratch and there's nothing really to complain about. Doesn't feel chalky, lasts an average amount of time and won't crease if you use a decent primer. I wish Wet 'n' Wild was readily available in the UK, as it seems the very definition of "cheap and cheerful".

Buy: Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Eyeshadow Trio in Twighlight Glow 15, 99p

a little box on my doorstep

I love my discount beauty websites, I really do. Recently I placed an order at Direct Cosmetics, and seeing as the whole order came to about £8, including £2 postage, I thought I should share the joy of unboxing things.

The products came encased in lots and lots of bubble wrap and those green bits of foam in the first picture, so you can be completely sure that anything fragile, like perfume bottles, won't get smashed.

This is the Mary-Kate and Ashley Coast To Coast perfume in Malibu Style, and for around two pounds for 30ml (unboxed), I thought "Why not?". Well, even for the cheap as chips price tag, it's not worth it. For the first ten minutes or so after applying, I couldn't even put my nose near my wrist, as the smell of alcohol was so strong. After the alcohol had evaporated away, it was near impossible to smell anything. Very faint and wears off almost immediately, I do not recommend this at all.

Onto an overall better purchase, this is a product that on the website says that it originally was a gift with purchase, but is being sold at around two quid as well. This is an Alexander McQueen "Book Of Magical Formulas", which contains a 10ml body lotion, 10ml shower gel, and a 5ml rollerball of the MyQueen fragrance, which smells amazing. It's not the sort of scent that I usually go for, I typically like Britney Spears-type scents, however this is really spicy, but still feminine - on the card it's described as floral oriental if you want to be fancy.

 

Last two, and they're both Wet 'n' Wild. The eyeshadow trio was the reason of the order, I've been on the lookout for a cheapish mint green eyeshadow, and this fit the bill, being only a pound. Also a pound was the blue liquid eyeliner, and reviews of both will be up very soon.

I seem to be hauling every single thing I buy, I need to stop that. Or I could just not buy anything...

maybelline on and on bronze

When I first heard about these Colour Tattoo eyeshadows, I thought they would be a bit of a gimmick, but after seeing endless positive reviews online, I decided to take advantage of the 3 for 2 offer at Boots. Today I have the shade On and On Bronze to share with you.

I believe that when these eyeshadows were first released in the USA, the shades were called different names. I think this particular shade's name across the water is Bad to the Bronze? To be honest I prefer that name, but since it's just a name I won't discriminate against it, because that would be mean.

The colour is (obviously) bronze, a mid-toned one at that, but under the really bright store lighting it almost gleamed taupe. I love slicking this on when I'm in a rush and don't have time to put on powder eyeshadow, and I don't have to worry about it fading away as that is one thing the Colour Tattoos don't do. If you have oily lids, I would recommend using a base underneath to prevent creasing, though. As it is neutral, everyday colour, this is the colour to get if you're only thinking about getting one because this will get a fair amount of use.

The formula is intensely pigmented, you wouldn't expect anything less, seeing as these have been compared to the MAC Paint Pots - I haven't tried them, so I can't comment. When I swatched the Colour Tattoos for the first time, I couldn't help being reminded that the texture feels very akin to a cream blush.

The glass jar fools you into thinking that you get more product than you do, it actually holds 4g, but does feel quite sturdy. Of course it is glass, so it will break if you drop it, but no leakage to be found here! Although I don't see how a solid product could leak anyway...I contradict myself a lot...

These eyeshadows have multiple uses, you could use them as an eyeshadow base, a liner (with a liner brush) or of course as an actual eyeshadow.

Pigmentation: 8/10

Overall: 9/10

Buy: Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24HR by Eyestudio in On and on Bronze, £4.99

Have you tried these out?

bellapierre champagne

I received this in my April She Said Beauty box, which I was ecstatic about getting, as the colour is so lovely, and it retails for around the same price as the whole beauty box cost.

The packaging is as about good as it gets with loose pigments - it has a sifter! Yayayayay. At least the whole 2.35g of product won't go everywhere when I open it. The She Said Beauty website says that the product has multiple uses, such as an eyeshadow, cream eyeshadow (when used wet), highlighter, eyeliner, lip colour, tinted mascara (dip mascara into the powder, bit weird - does anyone actually do this?) and also as nail polish, in which they instruct you to dip a nail polish brush with clear nail polish on it into the powder - sounds quite interesting and I'd like to try this out. Also, the shimmer powder is apparently 100% hypo-allergenic, and can even be used on the most sensitive of eyes, so there's a plus.

Blended out, the powder fades away to nothing but a slight shimmer, so although I can see how this would be a problem if you want to use it as an eyeshadow, however it'd work well as a cheekbone or inner corner highlight, or maybe as a body glitter for nights out?

The name hits the nail on the head, the colour is definitely champagne. Extremely sparkly though, so you will have fallout if applied to the eyes.

Buy: Bellapierre Shimmer Powder in Champagne, £12.99

notd | all buttoned up

I'm a big fan of easy nail art, and one of my favourite ways to add awesomeness to a manicure is, using a bended out kirby grip/bobby pin, apply some dots any way you'd like.

Two coats, although it was pretty opaque with one.

I used a nail art brush to do the french tip and then poured some black nail polish onto some scrap paper, then dip something in it that can make dots, like a kirby grip/bobby pin, dotting tool, and perhaps a toothpick would work?

L-R OPI Nail Envy, GOSH Lambada, Amuse Fave Nail Art Colour, Miss Sporty 080, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

A few of my friends commented that my nails look like ladybirds, personally I'm reminded of buttons on a pinafore or dungarees?

Buy: OPI Original Nail Envy, £18.65
GOSH Lambada, £4.99
Amuse Fave Nail Art Colour, Currently $1.49, approx 92p 
Miss Sporty 080, £1.99
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, £5.99

On a side note, the last NOTD I did lasted quite a long time, I was surprised at the wear of it. I don't have such high hopes for this manicure, as one of my nails has already chipped a little bit.

eotd | green grass

I did this look yesterday, and I was surprisingly pleased the way it turned out. What do I do when I like something? BLOG ABOUT IT!

The main eyeshadows I used were from a Max Factor trio in Queen Bee, but I don't like it, I really had to work to get some pigmentation on my brush, and then it wouldn't transfer from my brush to my eyelid. The mascara I used was the Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Cat Eyes - I absolutely love this stuff! It's drying up now, so I'm going to have to switch mascaras soon, and I'm not looking forward to it, I love how the wand is curved so you only need to do one swipe on your lashes to coat everything. My eyeliner is the 17 one I reviewed here. It's really good for doing winged eyeliner.

Oh and I love this lip combo:

It consists of New C.I.D's lipstick in Belle, which I think I got in a Carmine box, and a Barry M lipgloss in 03 - I think it's called Strawberries and Cream? Anyway that lipgloss smells ahmazing!

That is all, my children.

wordless wednesday

bm beauty loose eyeshadows

I came about owning these loose pigments when Glossybox was putting them in a beauty box, and mine had the shade Noir in it - I was gutted because I saw the other colours, and to be honest I would've preferred any of the other options to the black I received, although I really wanted the rose gold colour.

So I turned to eBay, and snagged Her Majesty for a few quid. I was a happy chappy. 

I've nothing to say about the packaging because these are sample sizes, they contain 1g, the full size has 2g. 1g is quite a lot in terms of loose pigments, a little goes a long way but since they are loose there will be a lot of fallout which is both annoying and wasteful. Like most eyeshadows, these crease without a primer.

Her Majesty, like I already mentioned, is a rose gold that leans more pink than gold with a lot of gold shimmer. The colour payoff is standard for a loose pigment.

Noir is of course a black, and I was slightly disappointed with the pigmentation of this. I expected it to be blacker than black but maybe because it's matte it thins out and takes on the appearance of a charcoal colour, I had to build up the eyeshadow for the swatch below.

It's still usable and maybe if you aren't going for an intense look this would be for you, but the combination of this not being pressed and not having intense colour makes me wonder if I'll ever use this and if I want a black I'll turn to the one in my Sleek palette.

Buy: BM Beauty Loose Eyeshadows, £7 each