October Favourites

October is over and we have stepped into my birthday month, yey! There hasn't been all that much going on over October, mostly working and making awesome Halloween videos for you all (you're welcome ;D). Nearing the end of the month I did manage to land a 3 month internship starting at the end of November, so from now until then, I'm going to be a blog photography machine and get all my posts done and scheduled ready for that time. 

I also went ahead and treated myself to a shiny new Sony A5000 compact camera for vlogging. I'm planning on doing Vlogmas this year (weekly vlogs, not daily ones) and I wanted a good quality compact that could shoot in 1080p. I've done a test vlog, you can watch it here, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the quality. It's a little on the heavy side but you can change the lenses, which as a film graduate is very exciting to me. There's loads of features as it's pretty much a small SLR, which makes it perfect if you're looking for a camera for blogging. 

Other than my shiny new camera there's also been a few makeup bits I've been loving. I finally went and purchased the full size of the YSL Fusion Ink foundation after my sample ran out. I wont blab on about this too much as I've already done a full review raving my backside off about this. It is a beautiful foundation though and if you haven't tried it I would suggest picking up a sample. 

Another new item in the makeup bag is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lip lacquer in Nude-ist! I picked this up when it was on offer and I didn't know what to expect of it. I was very surprised when I applied it and fell in love with the formula. It glides on, lasts for hours and the pigmentation is amazing, I'll definitely be getting more shades in these. 

Then there are some old favourites, the Seventeen Doll'd Up mascara and the Barry M Liquid Eyeliner. The Doll'd Up mascara is one I always go back to as it's super cheap but gives amazing separation and length. I love the size of the wand as it fits my tiny eyes perfectly, so there's limited eyelid smudges. The Barry M Liquid Eyeliner seems to be lasting me forever and I always keep it in my makeup bag for when my eyeliner pens run out. The brush is easy to use and it doesn't smudge, plus it lasts all day and is super pigmented. 

Finally, there's stripes. I'm obsessed with stripes at the moment and I have so many striped pieces on my 'to buy' list you could be forgiven in thinking I was an old fashioned sailor. There's something so flattering about horizontal stripes on a baggy shirt or dress that I just love. With being extremely un-body confident, if that's even a word, I love anything that will help me to look a little slimmer and more stylish. 

Let me know in the comments what you've been loving this October and if anything particularly exciting has happened that you just want to tell the world about! 

Blog Sale

After doing my Shopaholic video I got together a fair amount of products that don't get used as much as they should. There's a good mix between high-end and drugstore items, all only used a handful of times, if at all. 

This is my first ever blog sale and I was a little hesitant in doing one, just because there's always an element of danger when it comes to selling things online. However, all these lovely products need a new home and they deserve one. You can find the array of goodies by heading to the top nav bar an clicking Blog Sale, or just click here! 

Have a mooch around, see if anything catches your fancy. I'll be keeping the Blog Sale page on the top nav bar for a fairly long time so you can always check back. 

Happy shopping guys! 

Barry M Blueberry

Say hello to a new member of my Barry M family! The Gelly Hi-Shine Blueberry nail polish is here to join my many other polishes ready for spring. The formula of the Gelly's is so amazing and long lasting that I tend to reach for them over the original nail paint formulas these days. With this polish it only took two coats to get a brilliant opaque colour and it has lasted rather well without a top coat. 

The shade is a soft baby blue and goes really well with my pale skin tone. I have found blue polishes to look a little harsh on me in the past but because this one is more of a pastel shade it looks so soft and pretty. I would suggest using a top coat to really make this go the distance, it doesn't really need one in regards to shine as the Gelly formulas are super shiny on their own, but without a top coat you will probably get about 3-4 days out of it. 

Have you added Blueberry to your collection yet?

Barry M Dusky Mauve Nail Paint

One of my all time favourtie Barry M Nail Paints, Dusky Mauve, is also one of the most unusual shades I've ever seen. It is equally as good as other Barry M Nail Paints, it takes only one coat to get a fully opaque colour. It's also super chip resistant and lasts for days! 

I really like this during the Autumn, it's a nice dusky brown shade, but when it hits the light you get the iridescent purple shining through. 

What do you think of Dusky Mauve? Love it or loath it?

June/July Collective Haul!

  I'm not going to lie, I've been a bit naughty with my money lately. I am supposed to be saving for a potential tour of the US after graduation, but I'm the worst saver ever! I have managed to bag a few things that I've been eye balling forever though, so I suppose I can justify my spends right?  

This haul right here is a bog ole' collection of the goodies I've bought in the past two months. Some of it I needed, some of it I just plain wanted!

First up is the Fast shampoo and conditioner set. I did a sort of starter review on this here, I will be doing updates on how my hair is getting along with it though. I've used it in the past and it proved succesful so thought I'd give it another bash now that it's available in Boots.

Then we have the Barry M Gelly nail paints. You probably already know that I'm OBSESSED with Barry M. They are by far the best nail polishes I have ever used and I have quite a few in my collection. I decided to take advantage of Superdrug's 3 for 2 nails offer and grab the entire summer collection. I also picked up a confetti nail effects polish in Sour Apple to complete the offer (there's only 5 shades in the summer collection).

If you read my July lust list, which can be found here if you're interested, you will have seen this little gem. This is the Urban Decay Glinda Palette and I've been in love with it since it was first released. I love the fact that the actual palette can be kept and reused, it really makes a lovely addition to my palette collection. You also get a free 24/7 pencil in Rockstar and a Saturated Lip Color in Glinda, bargain. 

 I also picked up another Nivea Regenerating Night Cream because I ran out of my last one, I decided to try the normal to combination skin formula this time around. I usually go for the dry to sensitive skin version but fancied a change. 

We then have the products that I've bought purely from reading blogs, you guys are not good for my bank balance. First we have the REN F10 Smooth and Renew mask. I bought this after reading Little Red's review and it was also in my July Lust List post. I wanted an exfoliating mask that was kind on sensitive skin and didn't contain any beads, this guy sounded perfect. I've never tried any REN products before so I'm excited to use this! I also got two lovely samples, one of the Glycolatic mask and one of the Hydra Day Cream.

I also grabbed a bottle of Moroccanoil from Regis in the Trafford Centre. I've heard constant praise for Moroccanoil but was always just too frugal to pay out. I only bought the 25ml bottle because I just wanted to give it a test drive, I have to say I will be purchasing the full size when this runs out.

Finally I picked up some of Clinique's Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I got this because Caroline Hirons was raving about it and I'm trying to stay away from frothy cleansers. I've had one go of this so far and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. 

So that's all I got guys, I will be doing reviews of everything so keep an eye out and make sure you're following me on Bloglovin!

Have you tried any of my recent purchases?

 

Fancy A Bit Of Mint Caviar?

Ok, mint caviar doesn't sound particularly appetizing. But hopefully this combo will whet your appetite.

I love me some Barry M nail paint and the Mint shade is my favourite, especially during the summer. The mint makes me feel all cool and refreshed and it also reminds me of mint ice cream, yum!

I wasn't too sure how I felt about this caviar trend when it first came about, but then I got a mini Ciate caviar nail set in last months Marie Claire. I have to say I've been converted. I don't think I could wear it on every nail though, I like my nails to be silky smooth the majority of the time.  I decided to experiment with polish, bead combos and this one I love!

These are the Ciate caviar beads in Shooting Star, even though in the picture the label for the beads was stuck on the nail polish bottle that came in the set, silly sticker-putter-onner. The beads are mostly gold, but they do have a scattering of mint and lilac, tying it in with the mint nail polish perfectly. 

Someone asked me how I managed to get these little devils to stick properly. Well, let me tell you. First paint all your nails like normal, then apply a thick coat of the polish to the nail you want to apply the beads too. Then just pour the beads onto the wet polish, this is best done over a piece of paper so you can pour the left over beads back into the bottle. You might also have to use your finger just to pat a few beads down so they stick nice and good. Then apply your clear top coat and voila! You are done!

The top coat does dull the beads a little, but without it these little suckers won't last a day, so it is a VERY important step! 

What do you guys think of this combo? Do you love or hate the caviar look?

BarryM Lash Vegas Mascara Review

Today I’m going to do a cheeky little review of the Barry M Lash Vegas Mascara! I did a Beauty Bite review on it, if you don’t like to read reviews or if you’re just in one of those “I can’t be bothered with words” moods.

I’m going to jump straight into it, so here we go…

What Barry M say  

'New Lash Vegas Mascara features a new spiral shaped brush that has been specifically designed to separate, define and reach the smallest of lashes giving exceptional length and unrivalled definition.

Featuring bristles that work close to the root for ultimate oooomph, this brush promises to give you show-stopping volume!.'

First of all the packaging. The packaging is sleek, simple and stylish all at the same time. I love the cylinder shape, similar to the Maybelline Falsies mascara packaging. It’s the perfect size and I love the lid! Unfortunately that’s all the positives you’ll be getting for a while.

Now for the actual mascara. Well… the first thing I will say is this, I hate the wand. In my opinion the bristles are way too short, the wand just doesn’t feel like it’s gripping and coating the lashes properly. It’s a rubbery brush, flexible bristles, even though it doesn’t make much difference because they’re so short. It’s also a sort of hourglass shape. The reason I say sort of is because it’s barely noticeable. I feel like, to get the most out of an hourglass shaped wand, you need to go all the way. This sort of feels like they weren’t 100% sure what shape they wanted it to be.

Moving swiftly on to the actual product lurking inside that fabulous packaging. The consistency of the mascara seems a little too thick to me. I know it’s supposed to be volumising, but it clumps the lashes together to make 3 or 4 giant eyelashes (ok maybe an over exaggeration). It also dries really quickly on the lashes, making it really hard to get a lash comb through to separate them. It’s definitely a rich black shade however, but that seems to be one of very few things it has going for it. In the description on Barry M's website, listed above, It states that this is also a lengthening mascara. I can safely say I didn't see any improvement in the length of my lashes after using this. 

Overall, I’m pretty disappointed in this product. Barry M make some really amazing products, unfortunately this just isn’t one of them. I think with a better designed wand, this would be a really good mascara, but the wand really lets it down. I may even try it with a different wand to see if it’s any better. For now this will have to stay in the bottom of my mascara collection. Sorry Barry M.