NOTD: Essies Neo Whimsical

Its been an eternity since my last NOTD post, I just totally forget to do them before my polish chips! This time I got straight to taking photos after painting my nails with Essie's Neo Whimsical.

I wasnt sure what to make of this polish in the bottle. Im usually a brights and glitters girl, so this lilacy-pinky-grey seemed way out of my usual comfort zone. However once I applied it to the nails it looked like this, and I love it!

Its much more of a pink on the nail than I was expecting, which I like. I love the creamy consistency and appearance of it, and generally just really enjoy the simplicity of it. 

It did take three coats to get to this opacity, but two could have been enough for people less OCD than me! 

I think itll look even nicer with a glitter topcoat over it, like I do to every other polish I put on my nails. But for now I think Ill enjoy it as it is!

xoxo

NOTD...Coral Sands

I havent done a NOTD post in ages so when I loved how my polish loked this morning I quickly took a few photos. Its so hard to get my camera to make the colours look like they do in real life but this phto got it just right.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in the UK over the past few days, Ive even been starting off my tan! So I found myself reaching for more spring time peachy colours than I have been in the colder months. Todays polish of choice is a bottle Ive had for literally about 4 years, and its only just turning to the gloopy side. Its Coral Sands from Avon and I absolutely love it. Its hard to tell in photos but its got a lovely goldy shimmer to it thats really pretty in the sun and is why I choose this polish over the typical flat creamy peach shades. This is how it looks after two coats.

 I used Sally Hansens Intra-Dri topcoat over the top which I love so much, couldnt be without it.

Sorry this is a quick little post, Im snowed under with uni work at the minute but as soon as it over Im all yours! ;) Haha. Whats your favourite spring nail polish?

xoxo

NOTD: Princess Pink Sparkley Nails

Instantly apologising for the cheesy title, but thats what they look like to me.
Normall I dont show you my nails because its noramlly pretty boring, but since I bought these polishes I had to show you!

This is my nails from last week but its taken me so long to get them up on my blog..sorry!

 Someone needs to show me how to sort out my cuticles!

 Honestly, the pictures dont do it justice, I couldnt stop looking at it, so pretty!

So what are the nail polishes in question?
Barry Ms Strawberry Icecream (2 coats)
Barry Ms Pink Irridesence (2 coats)
Sally Hansen Insta-dry (1 coat)

Honestly the Sally Hansen top coat makes all the difference, these nails lasted SIX days without a single sign of wear or any chips, when for me theyre norally chipped or wearing away within the first two days which gets really annoying.

I can tell Im going to be putting the glittery one over all of my normal polishes now
xoxo

Easy/Laid Back Summer FOTD/ OOTD/ NOTD

This is a bit of a mish mash post, as I felt my entire look today represented my entire look for summer, most days anyway. Not too much make up, something cool and comfortable and bright nails....

FOTD:

Face:
Avon Solutions Visual Perfection Tinted Moisturiser

Benefit Posie Tint
MAC MSF in Petticoat
ELF Makeup Mist and Set

Eyes:
MAC Paintpot in Vintage Selection
Avon Supershock Mascara
Avon Supershock Eyeliner

Lips:
Avon Glazewear Shine lipgloss in Pink Watermelon

Wearing lots of heavy make-up feels horrible on my face on a sunny day like today, so I usually opt for a tined moisturiser ahead of my usual foundation. Also the setting mist is a less cakey and more refreshing alternative to setting powder. A cheek tint is more ffective for summer as it stays put longer than a powder blush and gives a more fresh and natural look. I also dont want to bother with lots of blending of eyeshadows when Im sat in the sun all day so I jst sweep on a little of a paintpot and its simple and looks good all day. I love this lipgloss for summer as its so pigmented and gives a bright pop to my face.

OOTD:

My clothes are entirely from the River Island sale, shorts for £10 and vest for £4...BARGAIN. I love little demin shorts for summer paired with any vest top really. This is kind of my go to outfit for sunny days or on holiday. I jsut wore black flip flops from Accessorize and a pair of aviator sunglasses I found in New Look for around £4.

NOTD:

I just put on one coat of Barry M's Pink Flamingo this morning. It applies so well, for some reason even better than most of the nail polish I have from his brand. I put it on my toes too and I just love it for summer. Im more into bright nails rather than pastel nails for summer as I feel they really spice up your look and bring out a tan. This is my very favourite bright pink too.



Hope I didnt bore you with a loooong post! It feels good to be writing again :)
xoxo

NOTD...Pink Flamingo

This nail polish had been on a few days when I finally got round to taking a picture which is why my index finger is a little chipped, but lets just pretend its not. No amazing nail art or anything, just love the colour.

I love this polish, fab Barry M polish as always, and the colour is so bright and summery its amaaaazing. Im going through a miassive nail polish obsession right now, particularly on the hunt of the perfect summer polish. Right now this is up there with the best for me!

Its kinda strange as it looks really corally at night, but in daylight its such a pretty pink...so I guess its like wearing two nail colours at once if its coral at night and pink in the day? No? Just me then.

Favourite Nail Polishes For Summer!

The nail polishes I love totally change depending on the weather and the seasons. A few months ago I would have told you I would quite happily wear Barry M's Raspberry and Navy forever more. But then the sunshine came out, and suddenly my nails looked so wintery compared to the weather, and out came the lights and brights.

Heres my very favourites for the sunny weather...

Sorry for hte photo quality, my cameras on its last legs now :(

L-R
Accessorize "Aztec" - This is a polish that looks multicoloured depending on the way the light hits it, it looks really dark in the bottle but wen its on and the suns hitting it it looks bright and multi tonal and just amazing. Ive had so many compliments on this, it really stands out. You can see it better in this post.

Eyeko "Lilac Polish" - These polishes are really good quality and last ages on your nails. I love this lilacy colour, very springtime!

Eyeko "Nude Polish" - This is a really good summery nude. Not a dark browny nude, its quite light but not too light, just the right light peachy nude to have clean polished looking nails, lovely.

Avon Speed Dry "Coral Sands" - This is part of the Arabian low range of Avon products so its made to be perfect for the summer time. This is such a pretty peachy coral with gold and bluey  irridesence through it. It really sparkles nicely in the sun, but not in a glitter chunky way. This was the only nail polish I took with me on my last holiday to Majorca, its perfect for summer tanned skin

Barry M "Strawberry Ice Cream" - This is the perfect pastel baby pink polish. So creamy and very opaque, which is god as many baby pink polishes can be very sheer. Of course it has the fabulous quality of Barry M polishes too. I always feel very girly when I wear this, its so pretty.

Barry M "Pink Flamingo" - This is the perfect bright summer polish. If you love really bright happy colours for the summer this is a must have. Its almost neon, but not in a cheap way. It stands out and looks amazing on. Im going to be wearing this a lot I can tell.

Barry M "Coral" - This is a true coral colour, very strong and orangey, and would look amazing with a tan. It compliments all of my summer outfits and Ive been wearing it toes constantly since I bought it. It never budges either unless you want it to, I cant praise Barry M polishes enough, just fantastic

xoxo

NOTD...My New Absolute Favourite!

Gosh it feels like a millino years since I did a NOTD considering I wear nail polish every day of my life...

   The photos do this polish no justice at all, I could seriously sit and lok at it in different lights all day, and its Aztec by Accessorize. Depending on how the light hits on it its a shimmer mixture of gold, blue, green and pinky purple. It kinda looks like when petrol has been spilt on the ground and it leaves that rainbow effect.

This photo makes it look so dull so I included the wierd thumb shot below to give a better idea of it...but you really have to see it on in person to understand how gorgeous it is. I noticed tt actually looked amazing under the water when I was sat in the bath as the light was jsut bouncing off it in so many colours.

Its also grat for only £4, and it gets this opaque in two thin coats, and is really quick drying. They do a few other polishes with a similar effect but different shades which I think I will have to pick up, this polish makes all my others look so flat and boring now its that beautiful

As you can tell, massive thumbs up to Accessorize Aztec from me :)

xoxo

NOTD: Strawberry Ice-Cream

 Ive been wearing this polish for WEEKS now so I dont know why Ive jsut got round to posting this. Hoesntly I love it that much the last three times Ive done my nails Ive used this, and its Barry M's Strawberry Ice Cream.

It literally is just that, if strawberry ice cream was a polish, this is exactly it. I know Im late on the Barry M Ice Cream polishes, but hey its spring and I wanted a nice pastelly pink and this is pretty much perfect.

 Its so cute a girly and looks great when Im tanned and pale either way. Fabulous quality and value for money just like we've came to love Barry M for. Love it!!

Really crappy photo off my phone, slacker!

xoxo

NOTD...Pink Lemonade

Im kind of undecided about this polish...Its Pink Lemonade from Boot's 17 range. I got ths in a youtube giveaway around september time so I, unsure of the exact price but I think its only a few pounds. I love the colour, it took two coats to get it looking like it does here, but it really does represent its namesake.

I do have a few gripes with this though, Ive only had it 6 months and already its completely ridiculous to use. It was fine when I first used it 6 months back, but now I tried today and its so thick and gloopy and really hard to work with. The brush isnt dense at all and the sparse bristles stick out at all angles making it hard to apply the polish precisely. I managed though, and got the look below. But then an hour or so later I noticedugly looking ubbbles comnig up through the gloss looking like awful little bumps all over the polish. I guess this happens when it is applied thicky and air gets trapped, but this was unavoidable because of its consistency.

The colour is way more vibrant in real life, more corally peachy than it looks here, damn camera! Anyway I think I will have to get rid of this bottle and maybe buy a new one because  really love this shade for spring

xoxo



NOTD...Rising Star

Ive just painted my nails in preparation for a girly night out tomorrow night. I wanted to wear a colour I dont wear often saying as I always go for my nudes and pinks most of the time, and my trusty barry m navy and cranberry colours.
So today Ive went for a bit of a different colour to usual, which is OPI's Rising Star from the Burlesque Collection. Im actually amazed by the quality of OPI polishes, you dont understand until you try them how pigmented they are and how quickly they dry, well worth the price I think.

Excuse the awful photo, my cameras getting old and its really playing up with the lighting, it always washes out my photos and the colours come out a bit wierd. The polish isnt as orange as this picture suggests, its much more gold toned, and I love it way more than I was expecting, it kind of looks like gold foil over your nails, beauuuutiful :)

It does actually look nearly this orangey in the bottle which is why I had my doubts, I dont really like the thought of a bright orange nail for some reason. But this is only the miniature bottle and I so wish I had the full size...Ive said this about all of the Burlesque nail polishes so it looks as though that collection is very "me". Do any of you know if you can still get them??

You can enter my giveaway here! :)

xoxo

Haul: E.L.F

I recieved this parcel late last week, but with my blog temporarily unavailable to me this "haul" post is a little late...but I've had a chance to try the stuff out so I can give an idea of what I think of them. I made this order as I found that there was free P&P and a free makeup mist and set spray, heres what I got...

I got the daily brush cleaner, makeup mist and set, hypershine gloss in bubble gum, mineral bronzed glow, eyelid primer and a nail varnish in party purple.

The brush cleaner is really just for spot cleaning between uses, in times like when you want to use an eyeshadow brush twice in one look with different colours and need it clean quick. It has a spray top so you dont waste loads of the product. Ive jsut been spritzing it on the brush tips and then twirling them in a paper towel to get rid of the "dirt". It dries really quickly so brushes are almost instantly ready to use again. This didnt work at all on my foundation brush, but then again I never expected it to work miracles. It costs £3.50 for 250ml which to me seems like very good value for money. I use this each use before I put my brushes away, jsut to try and keep on top of them, but I still shampoo at least once every 2 weeks.


The studio makeup mist and set was free but is normally £3.50 for 60ml. This claims to do similar wonders as MAC's Fix+ claims, to have numerous vitamins and skin enriching ingredients in it to moisturise and soothe. It claims to prevent make-up from running or fading if it is sprayed on after make-up application. Ive used this a few times in the past week, and although I wouldnt say it works miracles, I really do like how it feels on my skin. It leaves you feeling fresh, especially after your make-up has been on a few hours it deos make it look refreshed. I cant really say if it is responsible for my make-up staying put, as at the same time i started using a new foundation, and the new eyelid primer. Maybe it is partly responsible though, so I will continue to use this.  I think it might come in handy in the summer.


I have really enjoyed using the eyelid primer and the lipgloss this week *insert photo with bad lighting*

I wasnt holding out much hope for the primer, at £1.50, I didnt expect much. However I absolutely love it, and now favour it over my other eyelid primer Lemon Aid from Benefit that I believe cost me a small fortune at around £15. It leaves a soft velvety base, rather than LemonAid's yellow stickyness. I actually had a whole night out with it on, leaving at 8:00PM and returning home at 3:30AM, I then went to bed in my makeup (naughty) until about 10:00AM, and when I eventually rose and looked in the mirror my eyeshadow hadnt budged at all. Not a smudge or crease in sight. I was so astounded I actually left the house with it on to go and show my Mam how amazed I was at its staying power. New favourite for my makeup bag!

The lipgloss is pretty, nothing special, but not offensive. I never really have opinions on lipglosses unless theyre absolutely disgusting, but this is nice and Ive been reapplying it all the time as I like the feeling of the brush on my lips haha. It looks something like this when worn alone on my lips...

Just a nice every day shine, I can see this being in my handbag until it runs out.

My wildcard purchase came in the form of the Mineral Glow in Bronze. There was a choice of "Bronze" or "Shimmer" and I went for the first one. However, upon opening it and tryig it out it looks more "Shimmer", and Im glad.

I like the "filtering thing" it comes with rather than an open pot of loose powder, a disaster waiting to happen! It costs £5.00 for 10 grams, but this will last you forever! This is the bronzeish colour, but I beg to differ, its the darker of the two tones, but still this is only just the same colour as my skin if not a little lighter, and they dont call me Casper for nothing. But I wouldnt really use such a shimmery powder as a bronzer, so Im pleased its more of a highlight type colour.

I tried to get across the effect it gives in this photo, you can see it where the lights hitting. Ive been using it on my cheekbones, and collar bones, its shimmery but not too over the top so Ive been using it through the day as well as evenings. The verdict: Lovely highlight and shimmer, but nothing like its name or colour on the website.

Lastly, a little NOTD with the nail varnish I got in the sale for £1.00 in the shade Party Purple. It is just that, a deep purple filled with silvery shimmer, I used two coats so its a rather dark colour but I do like it, and the sparkles are more clear in real life.

xoxo

NOTD

Yesterday I painted my nails with one of the new Burlesque OPI nail laquers that I got in my "Mini Tasters" set for Christmas. All of the colours were very festive, in shades of red, some more glittery than others, some more true reds while some are far more on the orange side. I chose the most sparkly of the bunch to have a go with, and I have to say I was impressed. These polishes dry impressively quickly, unlike ohers where my nails can be ruined even an hour later. It doesnt tell me the name on the bottle, but if Im corrent by memory, I believe this is called The SHow Must Go On, and I'm definately purchasing a full size bottle...

By Lamplight, trying to capture the sparkle. It looks beter in real life.

I strongly advise anyone who loves sparkle to go get this. Its not like full of grainy bits of glitter either though so its not a nightmare to get off. I need to try more OPI polishes, any good ones?

xoxo

NOTD

This NOTD comes a little late, as I have just removed this polish this morning actually. But here it is anyway, this is Romance from Avons Nailwear Pro range...

This is nothing at all like the kind of colours I go for. I'm normally a deep, warm coloured nails kinda girl. This is quite a frosty cold colour, and I got it free so I just had to try it anyway. It goes on a dream, and is rhas good staying power, with only 2 little chips after 4 days. The picture shows the colour very true to real life, and although its not what I would go for normally I do quite like it. What do you think? Too frosty or is it nice? I cant decide yet.

xoxo