Collective Haul: April - June

Looking at the products laid out in front of me, I've not been buying a great deal over the past few months. It felt like I had but a lot of what I purchased were replacement products. I've also been investing more in clothes after havihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng a mad eBay clear out. I bought the most lovely Nicole Farhi silk top (I used it as a fabric background in this post) which I think I'll wear to death this summer. Also picked up a handful of maxi dresses which I tend to live in during the "warmer" months - whatever that means in the UK . Mostly, I've been saving. Mostly...



A few bits from Space NK. I haven't tried the new cleanser yet, I'm finishing up my Mario Badescu products (which I'll be honest, are not amazing. Stand out products are the buffering lotion and whitening mask. I didn't like the moisturiser at all and the cleansers were alright but quite drying)I also picked up a Nars blush in Deep Throat, Sheer Glow foundation and Shu Uemura Nobara foundation. Both are great and give good coverage while remaining light on the skin. Sheer Glow's coverage really surprised me! If I need to build it up, I use a Beauty Blender sponge (another I-love product) to stipple it on. Perfect.



A handful of things to try from BeautyBay.com. I'm excited about adding a toner to my skincare routine again. I haven't used a toner since Lush's Tea Tree Water and miss the squeaky clean feeling you get afterwards.



After scouring blogs and eBay, I'm 1 (Oh So Special - I didn't include the new Curacao palette as I just bought that today) palette away from completing my Sleek collection. If interested, I'll do a large review/swatch catalogue of all the Sleek palettes past and present.



I broke my nail polish ban and went a little nuts...the two Illamasqua nail polishes were STUNNING and I bought two of each to send to a couple of my friends. Perfect for a vampy night out. The Barry M colours are beautiful summer brights - the coral is by far my favourite. Seche Vite is hands down, amazing. Ah-may-zing. My nail colour lasts a good week without any major chips despite me working with my hands a lot.



I bought a few Soap & Glory products, one of which was the boddy butter seen and the other was a facial scrub and shower gel. LOVE the shower gel, LOVE the body butter, a little unsure about the scrub. It kind of burns my skin when it's meant to give a tingly sensation. The boy loves it so as far as I'm concerned he can have it! I'm giving one of these body butters away soon :)

Check out the adorable mini High Beam and Posie Tints free with Glamour magazine! Didn't get Benetint as I've got the full size, but aw, so cute!

I purchased (IMPULSE) a couple of MAC shadows - Vellum and Beauty Marked. Beauty Marked really stands out to me, it's dark but really brightens up the eyes. Vellum is a fab highlighter on the cheeks and cupids bow.

I'm also giving away a couple of Lord & Berry glosses that I bought a while back. I loved it so much I went back and picked up two. The perfect shade for any skintone, lovely texture and I actually like the smell of them. They're not MAC vanilla scented, but they're not plastic/playdough scented either! The lipstick I am less crazy about (weird considering I'm not much of a gloss girl) The New CID products, I've yet to try out yet but I'm excited about them. I've dangerously fallen in love with Illamasqua eyeshadows. They're dense, apply very well and stay vibrant until you take them off. I recently bought this matte purple called Fallen.





Recently, the fella and I went down to Brighton for a couple of days. We stayed in a beautiful hotel by the beach front and whilst pebble beaches aren't my favourite, I had a wonderful time. While having breakfast on the beach, we had a little debate on whether pebble or sand beaches are better. My argument was that you could build sandcastles on sand beaches...so John made a stone castle which he said was "more realistic" so better. I'd still rather get sand up my butt any day. Pebble beaches hurt right?!



I made some divine (if I may say so myself) lavender and lavender and lemon cupcakes (with my own recipe for lemon curd). So light you don't feel too guilty for eating more than one!

I've got reviews planned: MUFE HD foundation, Mario Badescu (the week-by-week thing didn't work out because honestly...I wasn't getting the results I'd hoped for but there are some great produts within the range) and a new foundation routine. I'm hoping to start pre-writing posts during the weekend as I'm so busy during the week. Though lately my weekends have been pretty crazy too! We'll see...but I miss blogging a lot! Thanks so much for reading!

NOTD: Models Own Champagne & Barry M Nail Effects

I got to play around a little more with Nail Effects and coupled it with Models Own Champagne. I'm glad this didn't sell in my blog sale!

Mimi update:

Growing for sure. We're getting her spayed soon. She and Reggie get on so well now, they even curl up and sleep together. She gets jealous when I'm making a fuss of Reggie and comes and sits in my lap.

Silly as ever:



Special Delivery...

I didn't stick that on her, we came home and she was trying to get it off her head!

Birthday Haul & Giveaway Win!

The past week has been quite eventful. I celebrated my 23rd birthday at home with my boyfriend and the cats! Bo-ring some may say, but it was perfect for me. I got to speak to my mum and brother for ages over the phone - something I don't get to do very often (as they live in the Philippines and Hong Kong) so I was really happy! It was a quiet yet very joyful day with lots of food, a bit of poker and copious amounts of tea (as I don't drink alcohol).

Here's what I got:









Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. III from John. Amazing! It's very, very pretty. I haven't yet had the chance to play with the shadows yet but I'll try get a few looks and swatches posted in the next few days if that's something you're interested in.



Hugo Boss Orange - again from John. I love this perfume! A very modern bottle, this perfume offers sweet scents though not as much the spritz of orange as you'd expect. Very floral with strong vanilla notes. Womanly rather than girly and playful like the adverts suggest.



Flowers from my girl down in Cornwall! A really lovely surprise to come home to after work.



Will get a better photo of Nail Effects. I was so excited to break these out I used both!



Barry M Dusky Mauve & Nail Effects. I actually bought these a while ago but promised myself I wouldn't touch them until my birthday due to P5P...and so these are a gift to myself for being so blatantly crap at not spending but making up for it by not using what I buy!

I also received some jewellery, clothes and a bit of cash which I've tucked away in an old biscuit tin for when I finish P5P which is imminent...I've got about 1/4 through the eyeshadow duo and 1/2 way through my UDPP!

This evening (well, yesterday evening now) I was lucky enough to go to an HP and Palm event at Westfield London Shopping Centre. I got to check out all the awesome new laptops and phones and got to have a go on the new ice rink. I'll be blogging about this for work so will post the link up when it's published. My last blog post about the Blog for Sales session is here in case you're interested.









At the event, I gratefully received a £50 Westfield gift voucher which I swiftly spent in Inglot afterwards. I picked up 10 shadows in the Freedom System and an angled contour brush. I think the concept of the Freedom System is amazing and is an excellent way to customise palettes whether you're a makeup junkie or a makeup artist starting your kit. Inglot offers fantastic quality products at very, very reasonable prices. 10 shadows plus the palette came to £35! Buy 10 shadows and a palette from MAC and not only get less product (in terms of grams) but pay £101! I can honestly say, that these shadows meet and some exceed the quality of MAC shadows. For example - Carbon...crap. Inglot's matte black is incredible (see bottom left swatch). A little powdery but amazing pigmentation. It's such a shame that this isn't a brand that is readily available. The store at Westfield is the only one in the UK and as far as I know, you can't order online. I also really love the magnetic palette. It's very strong and I feel confident that it would take a lot for this to break! The only thing I'd change is the frosted lid, though you can roughly see the colours in the palette through it.



One more thing that I received this week was a 100ml DKNY Be Delicious EDP from Sarah that I very unexpectedly won. I really, really love this fragrance. It's sweet, fruity and long lasting. It's ideal for me.

In between everything, I've had doctors appointments (been having some health problems, blood tests etc...eugh) and puppy sitting weaved in. It's been hectic but I'm glad to have a nice relaxing day tomorrow. Today. Whatever! It's 3am. I'm off to bed!

What are you doing this weekend? Hope it's fabulous!

xx

August Wins & Fails

So I think I'm going to start doing these favourites slash regrets posts. I like to be with the in crowd yanno?

WIN:

Models Own polishes - beautiful formulation, great staying power.
Pantene Aqua Light shampoo & conditioner - really is super light and a delight to use.
MUA MakeUp Academy makeup - bargain and beautiful pigmentation.
Swaps! - need I say more? Well...I have.
MAC Humid eyeshadow - a perfect shade to transition into autumn/winter makeup.

FAIL:

Maybelline Dream Mousse eyeshadows - next to no pigmentation, difficult to work with.
Barry M body glitter - falls off within 3 seconds of applying it. Don't ask why I decided to wear body glitter...
Clinique Superfit foundation - broke...me...out...looks lovely on though!

What are your wins and fails?

Barry M Nail Paint Review

In recent months, I seem to have acquired a small handful of Barry M nail polishes so I thought I'd give my opinion on them.

These are the colours pictured:

115 Red Black
I'm not 100% sure about this but I think (because of the numbers) that this may be one of the earlier colours they came out with so it perhaps has a different formulation. This is quite a sheer colour and needs 3-4 coats to be opaque. It's a lovely dark red, maroon/burgundy colour with no shimmer.

136 Tangerine
Shimmery bright orange.

150 Red Glitter
Clear with large flecks of bright red glitter. Great to create gradient nails or as a top coat but also very pretty for that "Ruby Slipper" look. You'll need roughly 5 coats to achieve this and it can be very hard to remove. I recommend using a piece of felt soaked in nail polish remover to get it off.
261 Vivid Purple
Dark purple with shimmer.

272 Shocking Pink
Bright pink with no shimmer.

291 Cobalt Blue
Flat bright blue.

292 Navy
Navy blue with shimmer.

293 Grey
Flat dark grey, no shimmer - my favourite colour!

299 Racing Green
Deep green with shimmer.

Generally, I really enjoy Barry M polishes. They go on well, don't chip within the first two hours of wearing them and there's a huge colour selection. It's all anyone really wants from a nail polish!

Without a top coat - which I never wear - please feel free to recommend a good one, I've yet to find one - these polishes remain chip free for two days, then I'll start seeing the odd chip at the corners of my nails. By day four, I've got to get the nail polish remover out and repaint. I get bored of the same colour after a few days anyway!

With the exception of 115 Red Black which is slightly runnier, all the polishes in my collection have a thicker but not gloopy consistency which means that many times, I can get away with just one coat of polish if I'm in a rush.

I've read other reviews that say Barry M polishes stain their nails but I've never had this problem and I never wear a base coat. I'm rather sloppy with my nails. I don't push or clip my cuticles, I file in a sawing motion and I often peel or scratch my polish off! The one thing I do for my nails is use a lip scrub or a mixture of sugar and honey to exfoliate my cuticles instead of pushing and clipping them...then I apply hand cream. I can NOT be trusted with sharp tools!

I highly recommend these nail polishes. At £2.95 a pop, it's worth grabbing a handful of colours to try out!

Bags, Barry M & adorable kittens

It's been a long time since I've made a handbag purchase that hasn't left me jabbering on to John trying to justify it. It'll usually go something like this:

Me: "It's not like it's THAT expensive...but I don't know that I'll use it enough"

Him: "Then return it"

Me: "But it's sooooo pretty"

Him: "Then keep it"

Me: "I just don't think I NEED another bag...you know?"

Him: "mmmhmmm"

And 8 times out of 10, I'll return it. This doesn't just go for bags but clothes too. I don't usually regret returning things but every so often I feel a little pang....a little yearning for that thing I sent back. With this bag, I would feel that.

So I'm not returning it!

It's the Fiorelli Mackenzie Large Shopper.







AND I LOVE IT!

Although it's not real leather and faux leather can never replicate that beautiful buttery feeling...it's so soft. It really is a beautiful bag.

I'm not the biggest fan of the cheapo lining but it doesn't bother me too much. It cost £49. You get the standard pockets for your phone and a vanity pocket, then a divider with a zipped pocket plus an outer zipped compartment. It's perfect for me since I chuck half my life into my bag before I head out the door so at least now I can have an organised mess in my bag instead of a pile of crap buried under more crap. It's comfortable to carry, it's nude so it'll come in handy with the Spring/Summer trends and will go with just about anything. It's just an easy bag above anything else...and I'm a huge fan of easy fashion.

Another thing I'm loving at the moment are Barry M nail polishes. I have a few colours, but decided since it was sunny today, I'd put on a colour to match.



This is 136 Tangerine. Lovely bright pearly orange. I've acquired quite a few Barry M polishes recently so I'll have to do a review on them.

Also had to give this guy his deworming tablet today.



Always an eventful time. Even though he's only 9 months old and has been dewormed a grand total of 3 times...he knows...when the blanket comes out to wrap him up with he shoots out the bedroom and hides under the stairs. He hates it! Even when I wrap it in a little bit of chicken...nope. Eats the chicken, spits out the tablet. So I have to wrap him up so I don't put too much pressure on him holding him down...and poke it down his gob then massage his throat to make sure he swallows. Silly kitty. I dewormed my housemate's kitten too who was absolutely no trouble.

This is THE Tigger.



I love that picture!

We had another kitten named Arnie who really sadly died last November...Tigger is his brother.

He's so much like our Arnie and it makes me miss him so much more.



Party cat



Arnie and Reggie were the best of friends and he's really missing him even now.

I worry that when John and I move into a place of our own, Reggie will be lonely without Tigger so we've been in touch with several rescue centres to see if we can adopt another one or two. If anyone around London has a cat up the duff, let us know!

Barry M nail paint review coming up!