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!

October Favourites: e.l.f, No7, Wet n Wild, Models Own, M.A.C

There are a few things I've been using religiously this month. A few are past loves, a few are products I didn't think too much of when I first bought them and have found new uses for and some are products I've bought recently that have had a lot of use.

First up is a product I bought nearly a year ago and didn't really like. It was decent but wasn't something I reached for very often. e.l.f HD powder from their studio line. I use this to set my under eye concealer and find it does an absolutely fantastic job of that! I like using my Revlon contour crease brush for this. It's a little messy to use because of the square lid and round screw top but at a fiver, you can't complain much and if I'm using this to set under my eyes, it'll last forever.



Next is a product I received in a swap a while back. I've been using this a lot lately as the shades are very autumnal and we all know I love a good purple. It's the Wet n Wild ColorIcon palette in Lust. Gorgeous shades, incredible pigmentation. If you can get your hands on this I really recommend you do! I hear fantastic things about the ColorIcon shadows and am hoping to get a few more. If anyone on the other side of the pond is interested in doing a swap please get in touch! I'm guessing (and hoping) I'll be done with P5P by the end of November and the UK has a lot of awesome products available. Sleek and Barry M being the main brands and MeMeMe is one coming up in popularity.



M.A.C's Studio Finish concealer has been a staple of mine for a couple years now. It offers great coverage without looking cakey and the colour match is perfect. I have this concealer in NC20 and NW20 - NC I use for blemishes and NW I use under my eyes. I use this by applying with my fingers and patting in to blend.



M.A.C eyeshadow in Humid is another one I've been going to quite a lot lately. One of my Project 5 Pan items is a neutral Biotherm duo which is lovely on it's own but sometimes it's nice just to add a pop of colour and I love green on my eyes. I have small green patches dotted around my iris and this really brings them out.



I bought a Models Own blending brush in a set back when they had their 50% off sale. The size of this brush is perfect for my eyes. I have hooded eyelids and not much lid space so find that it's difficult to create definition in my crease while blending out well and not too far up for a daytime look. This brush is an ideal size for that. It's soft and washes well too. I've not noticed any shedding.





Last up is No7 Stay Perfect nail polish in Totally Teal. It's the most perfect creamy petrol blue colour. I usually change my nail polish up every couple of days because I get bored, but I find myself reapplying this one day after day! It also looks fantastic with gold glitter over the top. I have one of these polishes included in my giveaway! If you haven't entered, you can do so here.



What are your October favourites? Have you used any of these products? Share!

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?

Models Own Haul

Adding to the 6 polishes I purchased before the 50% off sale, I decided to order another 10 polishes. That is how much I adore them!

I only recently started getting into nail polish. I started building my collection about a year ago and think these polishes are great additions. Like I said when I reviewed my first Models Own polish, Golden Peach; these polishes stay chip free for days, they're easy to apply and they come in a range of gorgeous colours.



My Models Own collection (minus the free black kohl liner)

Swatches:



NP054 Top Turquoise



NP068 Misty Grey



NP092 Peach Sherbet



NP075 Nude Beige



NP073 Champagne



NP065 Matt Black (wet)



NP065 Matt Black (dry)

The next few are glitters (one coat):



NP006 Purple Haze



NP008 Gold Finger



Bluebell



NP010 Disco Mix

I believe the sale ends today so hurry over to www.modelsownit.com

Previous Models Own haul and swatches can be found here.

And the reason for my blog sale...August Haul!

I spent a lot this month! But it gave me a good excuse to clear out my wardrobe (and under the bed...and...the stuff stored on top of the wardrobe) so I'm happy.

I bought a ton of stuff for a swap I'm doing with one of my Twitter/BlogTV friends so I got mega excited about that! My first swap! I really hope she loves what I've bought her. I'll do a post when I receive her package and write more about what purchases I made for her and why.

I also bought a handful of things for my friend Joanna who is visiting from Hong Kong. Another separate post! I'm hoping to take her to the CCO in Bisceter Village.



More stuff for Jackie (who just got married!) which I'll send when her box is full up.



Picked up a bunch from Superdrug and made a few repurchases. First, a GOSH liner in Bananas - the best waterline colour. It's not as harsh as white and a nice shimmery alternative to my matt nude liner. They didn't have any Simple baby wipes in stock so I picked up some Pampers ones instead. Don't like them as much and they sting my eyes but they'll do for now! They had an offer on Barry M polishes so as well as picking up a few for some friends, I got Mushroom (finally!) and Lemon - a lovely pale yellow. Another item I've been wanting for a long time is Revlon's crease brush so I picked that up. It's so, so soft.

Same day, different shop. I popped into Boots and got a 17 Lasting Fix nail polish in Parma Violet and I'm very excited to try it. It looks so beautiful in the bottle. For some reason, I picked up a Miss Sporty Studio Lash mascara. Never used anything from this brand before, so it'll be interesting to try. Nice and cheap at £2.99. On my way to the checkout, I stopped to smell some of the body sprays and picked up a mango and papaya one - great for throwing in your bag when it's hot out. The smell fades quite quickly but it's a big bottle and wasn't expensive so I don't mind much.

Last two stops were The Body Shop where I picked up a few facial buffers and Lush where I bought another stash of Fresh Farmacy and CoalFace for John. These facial buffers...amazing. I now no longer need to buy a separate exfoliator!



I also picked up some ASDA own brand Skin, Hair & Nails vitamins. I've never been one to believe that a vitamin that costs 3x as much as another is any better. It all has the same stuff in it so why not save a few quid?

Pantene's new Aqua Light range pulled me in. I picked up the smaller bottles since they were 2 for £3 at Boots. I ran out of blades for my razor so instead of shelling out a ton for new ones, I decided to go back to disposables. I find they irritate my skin less - weird right?

A Filipino food store in Croydon opened up - I popped in and picked up a few of my faves including Young Coconut juice (YUM) - this is on the same excitement level as getting my hands on Mushroom!



The thing I'm most excited about (I think Reggie is too) is a No7 polish in Totally Teal 115. It was the last one on the shelf so I grabbed it quick! Of course, I bought it with one of my 500 No7/Ruby & Millie vouchers from Boots. I hate that whenever you spend one, you get one! I think I'll just have to resort to ONLY buying something with the voucher instead of...oh I'll just pick up some shampoo and conditioner as well. That's how they get us. Well...me.



My Model's Own order arrived a couple days ago and I've resisted opening anything until now. I purchased 5 polishes (buy 5, get £7 off!) in Betty Blue, Peacock Green, Jade Stone, Magenta Pearl and Purple Grey (meant to be a dupe for Chanel Paradoxal). I also got the three piece brush set and I got a free black kohl liner as it was my first purchase. Of course, the weekend after I placed my order...they hit 10,000 "likes" on Facebook and have a 50% off sale site wide. Just my luck. Go check it out - once again I highly, highly recommend their polishes.

Nail polish swatches (excuse my skanky nails):



No7 115 Totally Teal



Model's Own NP028 Peacock Green



Model's Own NP083 Jade Stone



Barry M Nail Paint 024 Lemon



Model's Own NP085 Magenta Pearl



Model's Own NP056 Betty Blue



Boots 17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Parma Violet



Barry M Nail Paint 310 Mushroom



Model's Own NP052 Purple Grey





I picked up Marc Jacobs Basil. It's a clean unisex fragrance with top notes of tomato leaf, lemon and basil, middle notes of orange blossom, freesia and jasmine and base notes of sandalwood, musk and cashmere wood. Now I don't know what any of that means, I just know that I like it. Though I do think it might be weird that John and I will smell the same on certain days. I think he'll be using this a lot more than I will as it's a slightly more masculine fragrance - and I'm more than happy for him to. It is after all, a huuuge bottle.

So that's it for now. I'm thinking of just posting monthly collective hauls. Sometimes I'll just pick up one or two items that don't really warrant a whole blog post unless there are reviews attached to them. What do you think?

Review: Models Own Nail Polish in Golden Peach

When I received this in the post this morning - I was really excited. Anything peachy - I love. Out of all my blushes, I'll reach for a peach toned one on a day to day basis. I love the colour on my toes; so summery and mood lifting! Even peach coloured clothing. And peaches themselves.

I've never used a Models Own polish before so I was eager to see what it was like.

It goes on smoothly - the standard two coats will leave a lovely finish. It dries reasonably quickly too. Dry to the touch within one minute and completely dry in 5.

Even on my reasonably pale hands, it looks lovely. Imagine how gorgeous it'd be with a tan!



This is one coat.



And two.

Beautiful isn't it?

UPDATE: This polish survived a weekend camping trip with no chips (not even the irritating ones in the corners) - it still looks great. Think I'll be making more Models Own purchases in future. Big. Fan. xx

UPDATE II: 4 days on and there are still no chips. Even after cleaning the kitchen and bathroom.