Spring Series: Hand and Nails!

Afternoon!

We're back again with another post for our Spring Series.

We've already covered Body Care and Fitness and you can read those here and here.

This week's post is dedicated to hands and nails, so if you're a bit of a manicure lover then this post is for you!

I used to be reeeeeeeeally bad at applying hand cream.

As I'm a contact lens wearer I'm always wary of using any kind of cream or soaps on my hands that may interfere when I put my lenses in, so have always avoided them like the plague.

(By this I don't mean that I never washed my hands, just avoided the thick scented ones that tend to stay on your skin!)

After realising that actually it takes 2 seconds to put my lenses in and I don't take them our for a few hours, I changed my tune and now working in a freezing cold lab I slather the stuff on!

I favour products that are organic and natural as I'm sure M does too so my favourite hand creams are from Crabtree and Evelyn, Dr Organic and L'Occitane.

All smell reeeeeeeeaally natural and sink straight into your skin.

As I'm new to the hand cream crew I cannot be dealing with waiting for it to sink in, unless it's when I'm getting into bed.

I also feel I should mention Soap and Glory's Hand Food as it is very popular and I also love the smell of that, but I don't feel like it is as good as it could be and obviously natural and organic wins out for me!

As for nails I am a firm believer in using a traditional 4 way block to file, shape, buff and shine my way to natural nails.

I have currently been using Model's Own and it's been great, love the bright neon colours too and the price is perfect at around £3.

As for nail colours for Spring....I'm a firm believer in nudes, pastels, metallics and pretty patterns.

You cannot go wrong if you pick any of the shades from the following pictures.

These are all of my favourite shades for Spring and I will making my way through each of them over the next few weeks!

As nail art is still so popular I can also see myself attempting M's Rose NOTD that she did a few days ago, or even a Spring version of my own layered polish pattern.

What are your favourite hand and nail tips? What's your favourite Spring colours?

L xxx

As with L I never used to apply hand cream as much as I should have. After realising how badly hands can age I thought it was time I took care of them. I also work in a laboratory so I have to wash my hands a lot and I find the soap very drying. As with L at first I loved Soap and Glory hand food but the more hand creams I've tried the less I like it and I think there are better out there for a better price. My favourite is an Avon Planet Spa one, in African Shea Butter. I adore the scent and it's a nice thick cream that moisturises without leaving hands feeling coated.



As I wear a lot of false nails now I don't tend to my natural nails as much as I should. To see what false nails I use and the tool I can't be without you can see it in my Rose NOTD linked above. I'll be doing a how I use the cuticle trimmer post this week.



I love using dotting tools and my striping tape to create different types of nail art. I'm not the type of girl who wears a plain colour much. I also favour the accent nail. For spring I think nude nails with a bright pink signature nail is a perfect look. Spring is also a great time to get out the pastel shades again.  Here are some of my favourite colours that I tend to gravitate towards for spring time!



Here is some spring inspired nails we did last year.



What's your favourite colour for spring?

Love M

xxx

Benefit Fake Up Event in Swansea

Hello!

You might have seen ours and a few others tweets about the amazing Benefit Fake Up event in Swansea on Tuesday night.

We were both so excited to attend and ran to the train station after work so we could get there in time for the 6pm start.

Our first thoughts when we got there was that they couldn't have picked a better venue, it was on the 27th floor of the tallest building in Swansea. It's set right on the water front and they'd hired out the function room in the Grape and Olive restaurant which had at least a 270 degree view of the city and shoreline.

We were also lucky enough to get there at sunset and the view was just spectacular!

We were greeted on arrival with prosecco and strawberries which was lovely and met up with some of the other bloggers we've met previously (including....). It was great to catch up with everyone again! Here's us with Jenny from The Pulse of Fashion:


It wasnt long before we were all mingling and digging our hands into the make up box that the girls had brought with them. We were left to play with the products and were eyeing up plenty, L was eyeing up a brow kit while M was loving Watts Up! We were both loving the perfumes too.

We couldn't believe it when 2 of the Benefit girls were the same ones we met at London Fashion Week when M won the tickets, it was great to see them again and lovely that they remembered us! Here's us having a picture with Lisa, she's so lovely!

The FakeUp idea is based around a Sherlock Holmes-esque female with a magnifying glass and pipe, so there were props everywhere and we loved them! The evening started off with everyone gathering round while Lisa gave us the low down on Fake Up. It started with asking what everyone knew about it already. M put her hand up and was extremely lucky to win a full size They're Real mascara. FakeUp is a new type of concealer. It's different than anything we've ever seen before. It has a hydrating outer ring around the concealer that contains vitamin E and apple seed extract. The moisturiser means that it's great for use on spots as it helps with drying out. The concealer hides dark circles and illuminates. Which makes it great for using under the eye area too. The fact it doesn't crease also means it can be applied to crows feet. We also loved that some of the Benefit ladies there had had the product since January to test out so you know they are really loving the product. After a quick chat about the product, we were left to be colour matched for the Hello Flawless powder which we were lucky enough to receive at the event.  While we were playing Alyson (a make up artist specialising in the South West) applied some Fake Up to both us and shared some great tips. Not only is Fake Up great for under the eyes it can also be used for other areas too. It's great around the nose especially in winter during flu season as it moisturises as well.  She also applied it around the bottom lip and to our cupids bow. This made our lips look so much fuller and more defined especially as we were both wearing a red lipstick at the time!  This will be our number one tip from this event, we cannot believe how much of a difference it made to shape of our lips and the amount that the lipstick colour 'popped'. Lastly it was applied around the brows to tidy and accentuate them. We both loved how it looked and again, made our brows look so much neater and the shape was perfect. We were lucky enough to receive all 3 shades of Fake Up (it comes in light, medium and dark). The ladies suggested using the dark Fake Up for contouring. We are both big contour fans (Kim K style contouring can be seen here and here) We both use bronzer and had been after a foundation or concealer to use instead so couldn't wait to test it out. M has been testing it out and is loving it. Although it's moisturising it doesn't add oil to her oily skin. Here's a before and after picture with easy peasy contouring: Another positive is it really does last. M usually sets all her concealers with her Real Techniques setting brush and powder, with Fake Up she's found best results not setting it and it still lasts. Both of us also love the packaging, it's quite simple but still girly and really functional for on the go as well as at home. It reminds us both of the Diet Coke cans due to the silver and writing!  The twist up stick makes it so easy to apply when you're in a rush so there's no excuse. I think it's fair to say we are both already big Fake Up fans. It can be used in so many ways. We have to say a huge thanks to all the Benefit ladies. They were all so friendly, outgoing, shared great tips and we had such a great night, especially with the additional gifts of Hello Flawless, They're Real and Porefessional! We also got told some big news to all our South Wales followers. Swansea is getting a Benefit Boutique at the end of April which is a huge deal. There are actually only around 4 in the world!  L and I can't wait to visit. It expands on the brow bar seen in some department stores and will offer waxing as well as fake ban tans (one of Ms preferred tan brands) and we can't wait to see it.   Fake Up will be available from the 30th of March and will retail for £18.50. Will you be rushing to the stores to grab it? With results like these there is already a waiting list in some stores and it completely sold out in America! Ready, set, ...go?? L and M xxx

Haul

I was very lucky when I went home last weekend and my mum had been picking me up a few bits. She's an Avon lady so got me a few bits from the new catalogue to as a treat. She's definitely been helping me through my ban. Though she has been teasing me a little too by sending me great deals.  

She popped into Buyology which is a cheap shop in Somerset which sells loads of stuff. You've got to hunt for a good deal. She picked my up some pore strips which I'm very grateful for. I've been wanting some more of these for ages. I've not tried this particular brand before so I can't comment on them yet.

She also picked me up some make up sponges. They were only 99p and I'm sure I'll find a use for them. I'm going to replace the tatty one in my powder compact first off. I don't tend to use them for foundation but I may try for that soon.

I picked this out of the clearance offers. I think it was around the £3 mark. I love body lotions and go through them so quickly. Plus I love the scent of this one. I have found a great body soufflé which is currently half price at the moment. £3.50 here

This nail art tool is great. It has a very small dainty brush and a small dotting tool so will be great for any type of nail art. Best of all it's half price and only £1.50 currently here.

Lastly I got some more lipsticks. I'm such a huge lipstick lover! I can't ever resist them.

The Color Trend lipstick (the pencil type on at the front) is currently only £1.99 here. I got the shade Reddy to Go. It's perfect for chucking in my handbag as it's great for on the go applications as it's a pencil type on so it's easy to apply. It's such a pretty red on. It lasts great but does dry a little after a good few hours.

The two silver lipsticks are from Avon Perfect Kiss Range. I love the silver packaging and the attention to details. They have Avon embossed on the bullet. I have these in the shades Berry Smooch (a bright pink) and Racy Red (a gorgeous red with a hint of plummy pink). I love these. They are long lasting and amazing colour. I want more of them now. There are so many colours and they are £8.50 each but currently on 2 for £12 here.

with flash

artificial light

I think the flash shows the colour of best. Top to bottom Reddy to Go, Fuchsia Flirt and Racy Red.

A huge thank to Mummy M for spoiling me with some treats. I'm so pleased to have new lipsticks. I needed some new lipsticks. She's good to me. Have you tried many Avon products? I've tried quite a few and love their lip products!

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Roses

I've seen many roses nail art tutorials so I thought it was about time I finally got around to trying it myself. I love being creative with my nails and love the look of rose nails but have never got around to doing them yet.

There are so many step by step tutorials online I've read lots so just did it from memory. I'm a nail biter. Last year was the first time I stopped so for nearly a year I actually had nice nails. You can see these in my posts from the start of this blog. Stress, uni and work has got me biting them again and I hate the way they look. Until I can kick the habit again I'm wearing false nails a lot.

False nails can get an expensive habit. I love acrylics but not the price and the damage they do, plus I like to do my own nail art. I get my nails from Boots. The kiss brand sell 100 nails for £6.49 (here) I can get between 5 and 10 uses out of these depending on if I file down the nails that are too big. It makes them great value. I don't like the glue in them so I get the Elegant Touch Brush on Glue £3.10 (here) This last ages. The combination of these two products means I can have nice nails reasonably cheap. The brush on glue is much easier to apply and less messy. I find it lasts about 5 days too.

For my nails for this look I painted all my nails except my ring finger in Ciate Dangerous Affair (Ciate polishes can be picked up here for £9) I found two coats gave a gorgeous pinky red shade. It's lasted well without chipping.

For my ring finger I painted them using the Ciate Cutie Pie. It's a creamy nude pink. I left this to dry well before starting the nail art. Once dry I applied 3 oblong shapes to my ring finger in Dangerous Affair. Then left those to dry.

Once they were dry I used my handing dotting tool and Ciate Cupcake queen to make the oblongs round with two lines of cupcake queen. I then applied a dot in the middle of the smaller one's and swirls to the bigger ones.

To add the leaves I used the dotting tool again, this time using Avon Midnight Green (reviewed here). I adding two leaf shapes using my dotting tool.

I left it my nails to dry then painted with a coat of my trusty Seche Vite (reviewed here) I can't be without this top coat now.

Sorry they look a bit scratched. They are four days old now!

One last thing I'm loving at the moment is this Nail file and buffer from Avon (found here for £3). It has a great cuticle trimmer on the end which makes neatening cuticles so easy. I don't like the file much but the £3 is worth it just for the cuticle trimmer in my opinion. I get much better results then any liquid cuticle remover.

Have you done rose nail art? Would love to see your colour combinations!

Love M

xxx