OPI My Pointe Exactly

Morning All

I'm hopefully back in the swing of my beauty posts! It feels like ages since I've had the time to write properly. The last few weeks have passed in a blur. As the weather is getting worse I found myself drawn to My Point Exactly. I picked up the New York Ballet Mini's collection two years ago at the airport. It was an impulse purchase and I've not really used them all that much. 

I've not used some of the colours as much as I'd like as they are sheer formulas and I don't always have long natural nails. I'm a nail biter!

My Pointe Exactly is a sheer grey polish. It takes a 3 coats to build up to this level of coverage. I really like the finish on this. It's quite a subtle but done look to the nails and great for work when bright nail polish isn't allowed.

Grey in this shade isn't a colour I'd usually go for but I did receive a few compliments on it. I think for when my nails are longer I'd like more sheer polishes to try.

I find with these thin layers work better and a good top coat. Thick layer just peel off.

These are still available on Amazon.

Have you tried this collection?

Love M

xxx

NOTD White Nails

Evening All

I'm just cwtched up on the sofa waiting for Made in Chelsea. I've finally managed to stop biting my nails again! I'm so pleased I managed to go through all my exams without biting any of them.

I've been loving being able to paint them loads again and find having them painted helps me to stop biting them. I'm not the tidiest at painting them so please ignore that.

My housemate has been recently painting her nails white and I love the look. I'm thinking I'll do them white for my brother's wedding with glitter on. They'll be perfect for Cyprus with a tan.

I find white just looks clean and tidy. It can look messy though and the brightness of white I find highlights mistakes. It can also be hard to find a good white that looks opaque and not streaking. I've been using the white from my Guerlain french manicure set. It's amazing after two coats!

Today rather than glitter I decided to add a top coat of OPI alter ego. It just gives a soft peal finish.

What's your thoughts on white nails?

Love M

xxx

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Best of 2013

Hi all :)

I hope you all had a great Christmas. I was unfortunately working, struck down by the flu and had a million things to do so my blogging got left by the way side for the week so apologies for my lack of posts last week.

Today's post is a summary of my favourite product discoveries of 2013. I've trawled through all of my posts from the past year and picked out my favourite products for one reason or another. I tried to pick an even number to satisfy my OCD but I came out at 17 so I hope you enjoy!


1) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

Love this pastel neon colour, it was one I'd seen many times on Pinterest so had to snap it up in the end. It was a good buy and I can see myself having to buy it again if its going to decrease at this rate!

2) Vichy Dermablend

Many bloggers have bought this and in the end I had to try it....and obviously fell in love just the same! Perfect for good and bad skin days this covers all types of blemishes, scars and uneven skin tone.

3) OPI Liquid Sand Bond Girls in Jinx

This was one of my first Liquid Sand polishes and the coral and gold glittery combination made it a perfect one for me. Look at it glimmer! I wore this all summer and upgraded to a full size after initially buying the miniature set.

4) MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow

I picked up a palette from MAc so that I could depot all of my previously owned eye shadows into one easy to carry palette. All That Glitters is a beautiful shimmery nude, described as a beige with a gold pearl. It's nude enough to be worn every day without being too glittery yet shimmery enough for a night out also, a very versatile shadow.

5) Clarins HydraQuench

The Hydra Quench range was something I'd never tried before but having tried the cream and masque this year I can safely say I'm a fan. I'd like to repurchase this in future but I think the price will put me off. There are others that I have used that are just as good for less so I will probably stick to those whilst I'm saving!

6) Dr Organic Eye Serum

This was an unexpected love for me; I love Dr Organic products but had never tried an eye serum before. I have really sensitive and dry eyes so try to moisturise them as much as possible to help. This product has been a nice little saviour for me and I can see me buying it again and again; great product, great price and its organic.

7) Lacura AQUA Complete Serum

The Lacura Aqua Complete Skin Serum was an absolute bargain from Aldi. I was looking for a cheaper one to save my from spending cash I don't have, and this was less than £4 and contains hyaluronic acid, glacier water and aloe vera. Its an amazing bargain buy and I will be getting it as soon as I get to Aldi next!

8) Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream

This eye cream was in one of their Christmas sets this year called Love Me B.right and after treating myself to it, it was great to find that the eye cream really worked even on my sensitive eyes. It's so hydrating and the pot is actually pretty big for an eye cream so it's worth the pennies.

9) Benefit Erase Paste Concealer

Another Benefit love! As a general fan of Benefit it can be hard to pick out specific products but the Erase Paste concealer is perfect for undereyes, blemishes, scars and just about anything you can think of. I would not be without it!

10) MAC Desert Camouflage Full Face Kit

This was a buy from Cosmetics Company Outlet, the Desert Camouflage Full Face kit has 4 eyeshadows and a compartment underneath containing a creme blush which is more like a creme bronzer due to the colour. I wear these colours every day as my go to palette for work as its so easy to blend and isn't too over the top. If I ever go somewhere straight from work its just a case of reapplication and a heavier hand with the darker colours!

11) Real Techniques Brushes

Having finally cottoned onto the hype, I snapped up every set in the range over the year in different deals from different shops. My make up wouldn't be the perfectly applied masterpiece it is today without them. They're pretty, easy to use, fairly priced and can be washed back to whiteness....winner.

12) Label M Protein Spray*

We may have mentioned this a few times over the past few months...this Protein Spray from Label.M is unbelievably lightweight, conditions hair without leaving it greasy and lasts a very long time. My long hair wouldn't be without it!

13) MAC's Insanely It

One of my best all time buys from CCO; this Sheen Supreme lipstick is a beautiful pink that makes my teeth look whiter, my complexion brighter and it can be worn for any occasion. 

14) Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

I was extremely excited to try out Silk Creme after hearing lots of hype about it. Initially i was disappointed, my skin was really bad at that point and nothing seemed to cover it enough. As my skin has slowly improved (thanks to the skincare products in this post I hope) this has been amazing. It covers without looking like its caked on, matches my skin very closely and definitely makes me look a whole lot better whilst giving me that 'is she wearing make up?' look. Love. The only downside is the price at £33. but I'm almost certain I'd pick it up again during a weak moment on pay day.

15) Antipodes Divine Oil

This has been a revolutionary product for me. I had never used an oil before this and it completely changed my perception of them and my skin has thanked me for it. At £18.50 for an organic product I'd recommend everyone try this! It hasn't overloaded my oily skin at all but has rehydrated my dry skin and helped scars fade dramatically.

16) Murad Cleanser

This cleanser is one I use 2/3 times a week to polish off the dull bits of skin. It's not abrasive at all yet leaves my skin with a glow. It's comparable in results to Origin's Modern Friction which is another favourite of mine and although the tube costs £34 it has lasted me such a long time that it's worth every penny.

17) Origins Make A Difference Rejuvenating Treatment

The smell, the texture, the results = LOVE

I picked up the Origins skincare set for Christmas just so I could own this lovely product again (and the others obviously!) 

Totally changed my skin and I wouldn't be without it now. Plus it smells like heaven in a pot.

So there we have it, my favourites of 2013. A hell of a lot of skincare, what a junkie I am!

However as at the beginning of the year I had acne and was stressed to the max I think it have played a massive part in getting my skin to what it is today. I still get spots (obviously!) especially those annoying under the skin bumps which just don't seem to go (RAGE) but it's still 10 times better than it was.

I hope 2014 brings me even more product joy (after a considerable 3 month ban though...its feeling necessary after my Christmas indulgences).

What were your favourite products of 2013?

We're you a skincare junkie? Lipstick lover? Nail addict? Or a Palette Queen?

I'd love to see what your favourites were, maybe they could be mine for next year!

L xxx

Nail Polish Haul!

Hi there!

I've been on a sort of spending ban ever since I bought my car. Owing £4k makes me uncomfortable and I cannot wait to get that debt paid off....but Christmas and offers are killing me and I've ended up succumbing to so many deals and eBay especially!

Have you ever bought nail polishes off ebay before? I'm always dubious but can't resist especially when some of the ones I wanted were limited edition and only sold in shops for a number of weeks.

Recently I have picked up polishes from Essie and OPI and kept my fingers crossed they were genuine.

First up at the OPI polishes, both from the James Bond 007 set that came out last Autumn/Winter time. I'm a HUGE james bond fan and couldn't resist collecting them all. But unfortunately for me at the time I'd been out of work for almost a year because of uni so having minimal funds left meant I couldn't afford all of them even in the Christmas sales. So it has long been my mission to get my hands on all of the colours (aside from the real gold flake top coat....£30 for a nail polish I just cannot justify!)

2 that I was still missing were Live and Let Die, a dark green gold shimmer polish and You Only Live Twice; a red/pink shimmer.

Both of these looked gorgeous in the bottle and in online pictures so seeing them on ebay for around £6 instead of £11ish I was excited to use them.

Live and Let Die is shown below:

These pictures were taken with 2 coats of polish and one of top coat and you can see that they come out very uniform and not streaky at all.

The colour is a lot darker than I thought it would be and the shimmer doesn't show up as much which was a bit disappointing.

It's more of a sludgy green in comparison to how it photographs in the bottle but it might get used over the winter months.

You Only Live Twice is shown in the pictures below:

Excuse the awful lighting...I had to take a picture super quickly as I got to work as the lab seems to kill any manicure I have within minutes!

Again this was uniform and opaque in 2 coats and seemed to come out more true to colour than the previous polish.

I'm glad I didn't pay full price for these polishes....not only did they not come out as I imagined after comparing them to my other Bond polishes they are most definitely fakes!
The labels on the bottoms are not the same font or size and these 2 polishes smell very strongly in comparison to the others. This is an unfortunate part of ebay and what tends to put me off in the first place as you never know what chemicals were used to create them and they aren't regulated at all.

I highly doubt I will use these again as I'm always wary of suspect chemicals....definitely learnt my lesson with OPI polishes!

Essie polishes were a different story!

I purchased these three from 2 different sellers who I will link below.

After a quick browse one day on ebay I couldn't resist snapping up Recessionista and Miss Fancy Pants. Both of these are my favourite colours for winter; I love berry shades on my nails and nudes are always welcome particularly Essie ones! I believe they are from a previous winter collection though I'm not sure which.

I bought them from this seller who has a range of products including Essie for a mere £3.62 so I snapped them up and they combined postage for me too which is always lovely.

Beyond Cosy is a polish that I have previously bought in the Winter Collection from Essie last year (see here) and I've used this one plus Leading Lady quite a bit since! I knew I was going to have to pick up the full size one soon and luckily for me Fee from Make Up Savvy put up this post with a link to a discounted version on ebay I couldn't help it! 

I ended up getting it from this seller who Fee mentions in the same post and it's such a gorgeous colour!

Here's a design I did with Beyond Cozy underneath and Recessionista on the top; its one of my favourite ways to wear metallic and glitter polishes!





The flash used above is my awful iPhone flash and is very blue so the colour is not very true here but the gold glitter shines so nicely!

I have used Miss Fancy Pants since purchasing it but didn't take a photo. As I already owned Chinchilly (also by Essie) it was only natural that I compare the two and found that they are very similar, which MFP being slightly lighter.

The picture below shows Chinchilly just for reference; I'm sure MFP will make it into a NOTD soon as I can't stop using any of them!

What do you think about buying cosmetics off eBay?

Most of the time I avoid it but nail varnish is normally ok; save for the OPI ones as they're such big money makers!

Do you like my purchases? Will you be buying any of them?


L xxx

Inspiration: Hunger Games Catching Fire

Hello all!

I'm sure like everyone else on the planet you are all excited for the latest installment in the Hunger Games trilogy. When I first heard about it from a friend a while ago i thought....what the hell?!

But she persuaded me to read the books and I was HOOKED. I loved them and couldn't wait for the films!

In light of the latest film coming out this week I have decided to do an extra post with inspiration from the film and the districts, I hope you enjoy the ideas!

Unfortunately I've been struck down with some kind of flu; I've been suffering with the usual aches, swollen glands and ear ache so I've been confined to bed and watching a lot of tv.

Because I'm not looking quite as attractive as normal (ha!) I decided to stick to simple ideas and have a lip and nail idea for you. They're quite simple which is what i like best and i took inspiration from the name Catching Fire. 

First up is the nails, here's what I used:

China Glaze Smoke and Ashes (from the Official Hunger Games Capitol Colors Collection)
OPI Bond Die Another Day
OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Jinx
OPI Goldeneye
Revlon Sequins

Excuse the messy mid-way photo, I used to sponge to apply a gradient polish effect. I started with the black and green glitter from China Glaze and progressed from left to right using the polishes in the above photo.
I used a sponge to do this in multiple layers layering to the gold colour which i used on the tip.

The gold glitter is then applied all over for a 'spark' effect; you can't catch fire without one you know!

I hope you like my nail design, i had lots of fun doing it whilst sat in bed. It's always the best place to be when you're ill. I've even got myself some tea and homemade cake, lush!

My other inspiration idea was an ombre lip, similar to the nail design. I used the following products:



Rimmel Kate Moss 107, Rimmel Kate Moss 12, Maybelline Color Sensational 912 Electric Orange.





I also used Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner, Rimmel Scandaleyes Kajal and L'oreal Color Appeal Eyeshadow in Pure Gold.



I applied 107 to the outer corners of my lip, 12 to the middle and then Electric Orange to the centre of my lips blending together as I went.
In order to make the lip line neater I used the red lip liner to give my lips more definition and shape, and then used the black kajal pencil to make it darker at the outer corners.



To make the middle of my lips look even lighter I then used the gold shadow to highlight the centre and just dabbed it on the centre.



This was a lot of fun and a completely different look than I'd normally choose. I love playing with eye make up and this was a fun change from that; I'm not the biggest fan of taking photos of my mouth as i see some that look ridiculous and my lips aren't the biggest so have the worst pout!

What do you think of my Catching Fire inspired looks? Will you be trying either of them out?
Have you see or will you be seeing the latest film?

We're going Tuesday, i cannot wait!

L xxx