This week's nails - Barry M 'Damson'

This week's nail post is about the second Barry M polish I picked up a while ago in my drugstore haul...

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in 'Damson'

'Damson' is a gorgeous bright, royal blue shade that's perfect for perking up an outfit!  I love the glossy effect you get from the Gelly range of polishes, and this particular shade dries super fast and is opaque in two coats.  It does have a rather strong plastic-y smell though, which may be offputting for some but I tend to do my nails in the evening so by morning the scent has faded enough that it's not much of a bother.

I'm one of those people that tends to stick to more neutral nail colours, so there's not too much going on if I'm wearing a bright lip or piece of clothing, but something about this shade just keeps me coming back (I've already painted my nails with it several times in succession...)  Definitely one to check out if you're in the market for a budget friendly blue nail polish!

xxx

The palest drugstore foundations!

Up until a few months ago, the only liquid foundation I owned that matched my skin was Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation in the lightest shade, Alabaster.  It's a great foundation, but with my skin having more dry patches than this time last year, it wasn't working as well for me as it used to.  I decided to give something new a go, but as I didn't want to be experimenting with high end products (which at about £30 a pop were a bit out of my price range) I had a look round Boots to see what I could find...

The first product I found was the Loreal True-Match Foundation in the shade 'N1'.  This is a little yellower in tone than the Bobbi Brown but once blended in with my Real Techniques sponge matches my skin really well.  I love how this gives really natural coverage, and the lightweight, runny texture of the product makes it really easy to apply.  The lasting power is pretty good for this - about 8 to 10 hours with primer and then it starts to separate on the oilier areas of the face.  It also, like the Bobbi Brown, has no discernible scent which is great.  Definitely one to give a go if you're on the hunt for a good light-to-medium coverage foundation.

A few weeks ago though, I saw that Rimmel had released a new shade in their foundation ranges called 'Light Porcelain' which is almost exactly the same as the Bobbi Brown shade - maybe even lighter!  I decided to try out their Lasting Finish Nude foundation, as I was still looking for something with longer lasting-power, and fuller coverage that would still look natural (okay, a little optimistic but hey!)  This does actually live up to my expectations though - a couple of days ago I left the house at 6 in the morning and it was still looking nice at 9 at night!  I haven't tried it out (or the Loreal one) sans primer yet though, as I know my skin will eat up the product by lunchtime - but it'd be interesting to see and compare lasting power without primer at some point... It does apply really nicely though, without emphasising drier areas of skin, and also has buildable coverage so you can layer on a little more where needed without any issues!  The only thing that lets this one down is that the product has a quite strong fruity-floral scent - luckily it doesn't affect me but I can see this being a bit of a letdown for people with sensitive noses or skin which reacts to added fragrance.  Otherwise, I'd definitely recommend it (especially since it's one of the cheapest foundations you can find in the drugstore!)

L-R: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation 'Alabaster', Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude
 Foundation 'Light Porcelain', Loreal True-Match Foundation 'N1'

xxx

Sephora haul!

A few weeks ago, I visited Rome with my family and to my great excitement whilst in the middle of sightseeing I spotted a Sephora store!  I knew that there were a few stores in Italy, but wasn't sure if there was actually one in central Rome (Google maps claimed the only one was at the station, which is a good hours walk from the city centre) so hadn't really expected to be able to pay one a visit.  However, we happened upon one and I immediately ran in and grabbed a few items whilst my family waited patiently (read: confusedly) outside.  I only picked up a few things because my budget was limited to the few euros I had in my purse - darn you roaming debit card charges!  But I'm really chuffed with what I purchased and thought I'd share my thoughts on them here...

I'd read quite a bit about the Cream Lip Stains, which are a range of beautiful matte liquid lipsticks that are priced somewhere between drugstore and Mac as they're from Sephora's own range (this was my only gripe about Sephora Italy - everything is a few pounds more expensive than in the States or France) but I think they're well worth the £10-ish price tag.  They have a pleasant light floral scent, and apply really easily - much much nicer than the Bourjous Rouge Edition Velvets which are the most similar thing around that price range you can get in the UK.  They also don't budge unless you eat something seriously oily, and even then they fade gently - and you don't even feel them on the lips!  I chose the shades '01 Always Red' which is a true, neutral toned red and '03 Strawberry Kissed' which is a gorgeous dark pink shade.

Next on my list was one of the brushes, from their own brand range again.  I picked out the Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush as I haven't got a brush quite like it, and I'd also seen quite a few rave reviews about it!  I'd previously been using my Real Techniques Setting Brush for undereye concealer, but this has blown it out of the water!  I find that if I start off by applying with fingers, and then blend out with the Pro Airbrush it gives such a smooth, even finish that doesn't look cakey at all.  I also like how the head of the brush isn't too big so you can be precise (i.e. not end up blending product all over the place instead of where it's really needed!) but it's large enough that blending only takes a few seconds.

There wasn't quite an "aisle of doom" in the store I was in, but there was a carousel full of travel minis right by the checkout!  I decided to pick up a little bottle of their Triple Action Cleansing Water (which isn't pictured as I've left it at home, sorry!) I have yet to try it, as I decided to use up my little bottle of Bioderma first but I thought it'd be great for travel and it was only a few euros.  I also grabbed one of their 4 Way Nail Buffers as you don't really seem to see them in UK shops anymore - and my nails can be quite rough sometimes after removing polish so I thought it might be interesting to try out!

I did have a look for the 'Formula X' nail polishes, but they didn't seem to stock them which was a bit disappointing.  There was a Marc Jacobs stand though, which was quite exciting!  All in all, I had a lot of fun shopping in Sephora and am really pleased with the products I picked up!

xxx

My new favourite mascara combo!

I love the pink and gold accents on the packaging
- which is usually just black all over!

On my last trip to Superdrug, I picked up a tube of Max Factor's False Lash Effect mascara.  Over the last couple of weeks I've absolutely fallen in love with the beautiful fluttery lashes it gives - the picture below is after almost 12 hours of wear, and you can still see the curl!  It's not massively volumising unless you start to build it up, which I actually rather like (as most of the time I like to keep my makeup natural looking!) but as I said before it really does hold the curl despite the fact it isn't the waterproof version.  It doesn't crumble or smudge at all, even with my super watery eyes and at the end of the day it washes off nicely with my usual cleansing oil.

After using the dinky little wand on Benefit's Roller Lash it did take a while to get used to the mahoossive wand on Max Factor's - but I quickly got the hang of it and now really appreciate how the larger wand allows for faster and easier application.  I do use a separate mascara for my lower lashes though (Clinique's Bottom Lash Mascara), as even with the smallest of regular mascara wands I tend to make a mess!  

Overall, I'm really pleased I picked this one up and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting super long curly lashes that are still natural looking.

xxx

Last week's nails - Barry M 'Eat My Dust'

I picked up a couple of new nail polishes last week, which I talked about in my drugstore haul - but now I've tested them out I thought I'd let you guys know what I thought of them!

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail paint in 'Eat My Dust'
£3.99 from Boots

The shade I used first, and am going to talk about here is 'Eat My Dust' from their Speedy Quick Dry range.  Applied over a base coat, it only takes a couple of coats for pretty much full opacity, and it dries fast (but not much faster than the Gelly polishes to be honest!)  I did test it out on its own to start with, sans base, but within a few hours it all began to peel off which wasn't great - so I'd definitely recommend using a base coat with this range even if you're in a rush!  The colour is beautiful though - a  creamy pastel blue with a hint of lilac.  However I did find that after a day or so the lilac tint disappeared and it became a true sky blue on the nails (as you can see in the swatches) and lasted chip free for about five days with my usual Sally Hansen Insta-Dry top coat.

For comparison I've popped it next to the shade 'Almond,' from their Gelly range, in the picture below.  Unlike 'Almond', 'Eat My Dust' hasn't got that greige-y nude thing going on, and is much lighter in colour which is perfect for springtime!  Also, compared to the Gelly range these polishes have a great sized brush, that's similar to the sort you get from Essie.  This makes doing your manicure a bit less fiddly!

All in all, I'm really glad I picked this shade up and really want to give the mint green from the range a go!
Next nail post I'll be reviewing the other Barry M polish from my haul, so keep an eye out for that in a week or so's time...

xxx

Wears of the week #3

Apologies for the dodgy pic - the lighting in my uni room is a bit rubbish :/

It's been forever since I did one of these posts, but to be honest there's not been much clothing excitement up in these parts!  However, since the sun decided to show it's face (somewhat intermittently) my outfit choices have become a little less jeansandajumper-y...


Asos Leather Shopper Bag (similar)
I purchased this a couple of months ago, and have used it on a daily basis since.  Even though it was only £30, the leather is beautifully soft and the bag itself is super roomy and lightweight.  My only bug-bear would be that the little Asos leather tag fell off within the first week, but the bag itself is nicely made, and only strains at the handles when you really overload it.  An excellent buy - am even getting my Mum one for her birthday!


New Look Pointed Flats
These, I've actually only had for a week - and I've worn them constantly!  They do rub a bit at the heels and where the laces meet but having gone for the size up they're super comfortable on my toes, and look gorgeous on.  They're a pretty good dupe for the Aquazurra pumps, which are waaay out of my price range but I love the style of these so much I may have to look on the high-street for a leather version that'll last longer...I think Dune do a pair?


H&M Striped Tops (here and here)
H&M have so many gorgeous things at the moment, that when I went in store armed with a 20 percent off voucher I had no idea what to get!  In the end I just picked up some more basics (their £4 t-shirts are ace) and a couple of striped tops.  The first is more of a fine knit jumper but is viscose so feels like a supersoft cotton, and the other is just a loose fit tee - the only problem is that my uni town lacks a store so I can't pick up any more till the summer vacation starts, boo.


Aubergine coloured Levis!
These shorts came off eBay, nearly a year ago now.  I adore the colour, and they're the most comfy things ever.  With a pair of black tights and ankle boots they look great - not too dressy but the colour adds a bit of interest.

xxx

Revlon Colourburst Balm Stains - Review and lip swatches...

I recently picked up a couple of extra shades of the Revlon Colourburst Balm Stains, which I briefly talked about in my drugstore haul post.  Having used them for a little while, I felt I could give them a proper review now and can compare all three shades that I own from the range!

'Honey' I've raved about multiple times previously...it transforms on the lips to the perfect soft pinky-berry stain shade that stains the lips beautifully.  The formula of all three of these dries out my lips a tiny bit, but is so lightweight and comfortable to wear - some people aren't fond of the minty scent but I love how it feels soothing - a little like Carmex.

'Lovesick' is a lovely bright cool-toned pink that because it's somewhat sheer, isn't too in your face!  This one stains the lips immediately though, so beware - any chapped areas will be left bright pink on removal.  I'm really looking forward to wearing this throughout the warmer months and hope that this will help me build up the courage to try out a more opaque version of the colour!

'Rendezvous' looks pretty daunting in the bullet - completely orange - but in reality is extremely wearable.  Because my teeth aren't the whitest in the world, I tend to avoid super warm toned lip shades but as this looks like more of a dark orangey red on the lips I can just about pull it off!  It does make dry patches more noticeable than the other shades, but much less so than other lighter lip colours I own.  It also did require a bit of building up to get the result pictured, but I don't
really mind as once you've applied it the colour sticks
around long after the product has worn off!

xxx

Huge drugstore makeup haul!

This time last week, I decided I'd head into town for a little shopping pick-me-up.  And ended up going a little bonkers in the aisles of Boots and Superdrug!  I thought It'd be fun to share them with you, as I don't often purchase this many items in one go - oops...

It's been at least a couple of months since I purchased any lip products, and since I absolutely love the Revlon Balm Stain in 'Honey' I thought I'd try out some other shades from the range.  In a post last week I mentioned I had a gap in my lipstick stash for a bright pink and an orange lip colour - so when I was in Boots I picked out 'Lovesick' and 'Rendezvous'.  They both look gorgeous, so fingers crossed the wear time is just as good as 'Honey'!  I also happened to wander past the Barry M stand, and I ended up grabbing a couple of their polishes - who can resist, right?  'Eat my dust' is a gorgeous pale, pastel blue that pulls a tiny bit lilac, and it's from their Speedy Quick Dry range which I was curious to try.  'Damson' is the most stunning bright blue shade, from the Gelly Hi-Shine range (which I've been super impressed with before).  Plus, they were buy one get one half price, so it was a win-win situation!

In Superdrug, there's also a 3 for 2 on currently but across all brands.  I'd heard a lot about the Max Factor Creme Puff blushes, and how they have a very similar glow-y effect to the Hourglass ones but at a fraction of the price.  Since I love Rimmel 'Santa Rose' as it's the perfect natural blush for my skintone, I thought I'd give '10 Nude Mauve' a go - which is very similar but adds a little more dimension to the face as it's not totally matte (I've already tried this out aswell, and it's super soft with very little fallout so applies like a dream!)  I also decided to try out Rimmel's (relatively new) foundation, which is the Nude version of their Lasting Finish formulation.  As I have a tiny bit more colour in my skin post-holiday, I think '010 Light Porcelain' should be a pretty good shade match - thankyou drugstore brands for finally catering to us super pale people!  Finally, I knew that my Benefit Roller Lash was on it's last legs so I was on the market for a new mascara.  In the end, the lovely counter staff pointed out that Max Factor's False Lash Effect had several pounds off, making it cheaper than the other two products which meant I got it for free!  I'd seen Suzie from Hello October talk about this, and since her lashes always look amazing I thought it was definitely worth a go.  Plus, the packaging is super pretty (I think part of the profits go to the Marie Curie trust, which is awesome too).

And just as a little add on at the end, whilst I was in Wilko (getting ice cube trays if you must know!) I stopped off at the Essence stand and chose one of their Longlasting Lipsticks in the shade '01 Coral Calling' It's a lovely, bright peachy coral and was only a couple of pounds.  It has a similar scent to their lipliners - slightly chemically woody cherry but isn't strong at all (or that offensive to be honest!)

xxx

Asos wishlist...

If I ordered everything that caught my fancy on Asos, my student loan would be gone in a heartbeat.  There are a few things though, that I've let myself add to my 'saved items' for when the next 20 percent off student sale comes along...



Becksondergaard Oversized Perrine Scarf
Throughout the winter, I've used my star-patterned scarf but now that it's getting warmer I fancied something more lightweight.  This one is still pretty pricey for just cotton, so I may wait until its in a  proper sale before picking it up - but the tiny red detailing round the edges is lovely and I can see this going with practically every outfit.  We shall see...

Vero Moda Lace Insert Blouse

I always find that viscose tops, although they crease like a b****, are the comfiest things around besides cotton.  This one is so pretty and summery looking, and I can see it being dressed up with a pair of heeled sandals, or dressed down with some trainers.  

Asos Oval Classic Retro Sunglasses
I actually only have a couple of pairs of sunglasses that halfway suit my face shape - and both are wayfarers.  One is a pair of ahem Ray-ban homages, purchased on holiday in Santorini and the others are Emporio Armani ones that I got for a great deal a few years back.  My Armani ones however rub a lot of my foundation/concealer off as they basically rest across the middle of my face - so I fancied a pair with nose pads that might do this slightly less!  Fingers crossed these fit my massive head...



Asos Triple Triangle Swing Earrings and Asos Tiny Triangle Earrings
I adore rose gold jewellary, but there hardly ever seems to be a middle-price bracket.  It's either the sort where the plating wears off in a week or the uber-expensive vermeil.  These fall into the first category I suppose, but as they're earrings only the post comes into contact with the skin so the plate should last much longer than say, on a ring.
The first ones look a little edgy, which is exactly what I've been looking for - I love the chandelier-type earrings but find they weigh down on my ears far too much nowadays and these look to be the perfect inbetween.  The others are much daintier, but since my very similar pair of Pia hammered studs have been worn on a daily basis I thought these would be nice for a change!  Also, I might have made a cheeky purchase in the shape of a rose-gold faced watch (Topshop have the 20 percent off for students promotion on right now) so these would go beautifully with it!






Vila Classic Trench Coat
Recently, I've been hunting up and down for the perfect trench coat.  I thought I'd found it in this one from New Look, but it just didn't look quite right as it fell a little too far past my knees.  This looks quite a bit shorter, but I love how it looks a bit like a pea coat but in much more lightweight material.



xxx

The best for blemishes!

You know those days when you take your makeup off just before bed, and discover that a real corker of a spot has risen from nowhere to take over the middle of your face?  Previously - I'd panic, squeeze and regret.  Regret a lot.  Recently aswell, as my immune system has been a bit haywire (thanks very much, Vitamin deficiency) even if I so much as gently prodded a blemish it would develop into a cyst from hell...
After a couple of months, I think I've managed to train myself to deal with my skin a little more gently and look after the breakout-prone areas a bit better.  A few products have helped with this, and I thought I'd share them with you today as some of them are real gems!

For that breakout-prone area...

Boots Skin Clear Ultra Treatment Cream is the main thing I'll use.  This, I dot pretty much all over my face before applying moisturiser in the morning.  I've taken to using a bit of Tea Tree and Witch Hazel solution aswell at this point, spritzed all over the face and neck.  I feel like both of these calm down any areas that might look a bit suspicious, especially those that may have flared up overnight.  Distilled Witch Hazel is also pretty darn awesome, if you've got a corker of a zit that hurts a lot it'll help a lot with the inflammation - plus it's dirt cheap!  It's the sort of thing that's kept upstairs with the Arnicare in Boots, but worth hunting down.


To stop that spot in it's tracks...

From the same Skin Clear range, the Ultra Rapid Action Spot Gel is amazing to use overnight or in the day when you're not wearing makeup.  It's the same sort of formula as the Nick Lowe Gel I used to love but a fraction of the price, and I think it works so much better.  It does dry out the skin a little, so if you're using it for more than a couple of days then make sure you use a super hydrating moisturiser on the healing skin afterwards.  Despite this, I now swear by this stuff.  Even if a spot has almost come to a head (gross, sorry!) this slowly but surely calms it back down - and if it's a small one then it can make it disappear overnight.  I've heard that Origins' Super Spot Remover is supposed to be like this, but is obviously much pricier, and I'm chuffed to bits with how well Boots' offering works.


And for when your skin feels clogged up...

On my skin, I trust the Origins Clear Improvement Mask implicitly.  If a particular area feels like its brewing up a spot, I'll apply a little of this for 20 minutes or so and I feel that it really does help with calming it down.  I do use this all over occasionally, but much more so in just treating individual areas as it can dry out the skin a little.

All in all, I try to avoid the strong, real antiseptics unless absolutely necessary as the bacteria on your skin can become resistant - which is bad news.  Instead, all the options I've mentioned here are either natural extracts or oils or are Salicylic Acid based, so you can keep the Savlon or Sudocrem for when you've got a proper cut or scrape!

xxx