Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Good morning!

This is a quick post from me today, as me and M are both away this weekend for one of our friends hen weekends!
Fingers crossed it will be so much fun and I know there's an afternoon tea on the cards!

For a little while now this has been my go to top coat for whenever I do my nails, this is Essie's Good To Go Rapid Dry Top Coat:

I'm one of those people that changes nail colour every other day, which mostly means that top coat doesn't matter for protecting nails for a long length of time.
But they get a battering at work so they chip really easily and anything that prolongs the chipping is good by me!

This top coat also dries really fast which is a huge bonus for me as I also am really impatient and cannot wait at all!

This polish also gives great shine and I think its worth the £8.99 price tag, it lasts a while as I had the first bottle for a year before it ran out, which is impressive considering how much I paint my nails!

Both the photos below show Essie's Watermelon and Tart Deco with the Top Coat on:

It looks shiny but not too gloopy, it's super easy to apply and dries pretty fast, and when I've put it to the test to see how long it lasts I've managed a miraculous 5 days without any chipping.

I definitely would repurchase as I already have and would again!

I haven't used Seche Vite before but I really think this might compare, what's your favourite top coat?

Have you tried Essie's Good to go Top coat? Or any of their others?

L xxx

Real Techniques Kabuki Brush

A little while ago I bought the Real Techniques Foundation brush, but unfortunately after using it a few times the bristles started to fall out, which as we all know is a rare occurrence with these brushes.

After contacting them and sending them a photo, they promised to send me out another. I was so surprised when in the package there was not only a replacement brush but also a kabuki brush as an apology!
I was amazed at the service and customer care i received and would recommend these brushes to anyone.

I hadn't seen the kabuki brush in store before, which is not surprising as apparently Boots don't stock it, but you can get it from online sites such as Feel Unique and Escentual.
It's really disappointing that Boots don't sell them all as I like the see them in the flesh before purchasing.

I'm sure you can tell from the picture below how amazingly soft and fluffy this brush is!
I thought the blush brushes were super soft but this one is on another level!

You can see the tapered shape of the brush, and because of this shape I adore it for applying bronzer to the hollows of my cheek bones to help sculpt some shape into my face.
It picks up any product (my favourites being Benefit's Dallas or Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer) really easily but doesn't seem to overload on application to the face. Any uneven application is also easily buffed away with this brush and it is even great for application of setting powder to the entire face.

Let's just appreciate how big and fluffy it is again:

Another feature of this brush is that it separates in half, and is held together by a magnet. I haven't used it as a flat brush very much yet, but according to the accompanying video on YouTube (found here) it's better for applying bronzer so I will have to give it a go!
The YouTube channel for Real Techniques is brilliant for tips to use their brushes so you should check it out.

Do you own the kabuki brush?
The magnet halves intrigue me, unfortunately mine doesn't seem to be magnetic any more but it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Real Techniques are a very popular brand and I can definitely see why, I've loved every brush I've ever bought from them and their customer service is fabulous!

Just have to decide what brush to buy next....

L xxx

Sample Stash

This is a bit of a random post, I have been sorting out my room recently and have obviously been going through my stash of products.

It has slimmed down slightly from what it was....but it still takes over the majority of my room and I drastically need to curb my spending!

I've been doing pretty well and haven't bought much for just over 2 months and I've been trying to go through my stash of samples to keep me going with trying new things.

Does anyone else have a massive pile of samples they have collected from various places??

This is mine:

It overloaded not one box, but 2 and a beauty box bag, so I'm a little overwhelmed!

Here's a few pictures of what's inside:

I am hoping that instead of buying new products, I can use these up, therefore making space and saving money all at the same time.

I hadn't even considered this before as I honestly didn't think I had that many, and it seems silly now!

Have you used all of your samples up recently? I have so many skin product ones that I'm sure it will keep me going for a few months!

I've already used some Avene samples and they've been great, really moisturising but not overloading, I'm looking forward to trying the Bioderma ones next.

Could you do the same as me for 1 month and save yourself some money??

1 month could make all the difference to me with saving up for a car!

I can't believe I've kept them all for so long, I'm definitely a secret hoarder!

L xxx

Review: Benefit Rockateur Box O' Powder

I was so excited when I heard Benefit were bringing out a new blush. As a huge fan of their Dandelion box blush (reviewed here). I'm a fan of softer colours on my cheeks usually so I thought this would be one for me.

As soon as I heard Swansea was having a one day sale of it I headed on the train down as I really wanted to try it. The benebabes there made me need a World Famous Neutrals palette. See my review here

It comes in the typical box like all Benefit blushers and I'm always surprised how well they last in my make up bag. This is the 'provocative one' hence the packaging have a lace print.

There was some controversy when this blush was released and people found out it only contained 5g of product. I didn't know before this that benefit box blushes aren't all the same size. They vary between Dandelion 7g, Hervana 7g, Hoola 8g, Coralista 8g, Sugarbomb 8g, Bellabamba 8g, and Dallas 9g. (these are the current amounts advertised on Benefit website). Though it is a lot less Benefit released a statement stating it was due to different ingredients used in the blushes and to keep them all at the same price. This didn't bother me and due to how much I love Dandelion and the fact it lasted over 6 months before I hit pan and that was being used 5 times a week I wasn't too worried.

Rockateur comes with the new shaped brush. I love the brush with dandelion and use that over others but I prefer this one. It's angles at the tip to make it easier to apply to the cheeks.

It also contains a small mirror which I have come to think is more of a gesture as it is a little to small to use in my opinion. I love that this is an embossed blush and has rock imprinted in it and has a a sparkle over it. This doesn't translate onto the cheek though which I like.

To me Rockateur is a mix between coralista and dandelion. It has more of an orange tint than dandelion. It;s really soft to the touch and sits well on the skin and lasts all day.

On the cheeks it translates to a natural colour, and has a great pigmentation. One sweep and I'm done which is always great for the mornings. I do think as the colour doesn't require building up it should last well. I really love how it looks. It's the perfect inbetween orange and pink blush, not overly shimmery but looks healthy and lasts!

Here it is on outside. It makes my skin look so healthy and works well against the very light tan I have.

The size issue doesn't bother me too much. It's a really pretty colour on the skin and I love the way it looks. I'll update on how well the product lasts. 

Will you be picking up Rockateur? Does the amount of product bother you if it's a great colour and lasts all day?

Rockateur can be bought from the benefit website from August 22nd.

Love M

xxx