I'm Baaaaaa-aaaaack!

Hello hello hello!

I know I promised I would be back just over a month ago, and then I let you all down miserably. I'm really sorry to anyone who was dissapointed by my lack of posts, but I've been having quite a stressful time and I just needed a bit of space to sort everything out. I'm not going to pretend like blogging is the single most important thing in my life because it isn't, it's something I do beause I enjoy it, but recently other things have just been more important.

Not everything is sorted out yet but I've just finished writing a uni assignment and I fancied posting, so I'm going to try and get a few posts written up and scheduled.

Some exciting news is that I've started doing nails for other people and even making some money! If you are in London and want to get some original nail art done by yours truly, drop me a line! and whether you're in London or not, please check out the facebook page; www.facebook.com/unnamednails

Nailed; nebula. A Tutorial

I created this mani a couple of weeks ago now after seeing a few versions around the blogosphere, and I really liked how they came out. I couldn't find any tutorials that I was happy with and I ended up using an amalgamation one few different ones, so I thought I would add another into the mix, showing how I created mine. 

Start with a black base. I used Barry M black, and then cut a small piece of makeup sponge to use for the design. Pour a few drops of silver nail polish, I used Barry M silver foil effects, onto some plastic, and dip the sponge into it. Sponge random lines and swirls across the black

I put glitter over the black on my index finger and thumb, but I would actually recommend putting it on all of your fingers, and omitting it at the end, to give more depth. Next you need to take a light greenish polish, I used OPI Mermaids Tears and sponge that around the silver.

After you have done that, you might need to cut a new pice of sponge, depending on how big the piece you are using is, as you don't want the pink to go everywhere. Taking a pink polish, I used NYC fashion ave fushcia, dab a small amount through the middle of your silver bits, and around the edges of your nails, making sure you don't apply too much, or completely cover the silver. 

Next you need to get a dark purple, I used NYC expert last in midnight amethyst, and use it to soften any areas of pink meeting black. You can also use a nail art pen or small brush to add small clusters of white dots for stars, or use a glitter topcoat (or both!) 

Finish with a clear topcoat and clean up around your nails with cotton buds soaked in acetone. Marvel at the constellations on your fingers! 

 

Leopard nails, revisited

I have done leopard print type nails a few times now, but I recently bought some models own nail art pens, and the yellow one was such a nice colour, I knew I needed to use it for something straight away! I came up with these and loved them. I was really sad when I had to take them off! 

I used Collection 2000 French manicure white

Models own by Wah Nails nail art pen in yellow

Collection 2000 Fast Stroke liquid eyeliner in brown. 

Reasons Why I'm A Terrible Blogger....

Hey guys and dolls, I'm really sorry about the loack of posts here at present, but to give you all a rather crappy schoolboy type excuse, I've just moved house and I don't have any internet! I'm posting this by tethering my phone, which is probably costing me and absolute fortune and there is definitely no possibility of me uploading pictures as it would just use up too much of my data allowance. At present I don't actually know when I will be back online, it was meant to be about 24 hours ago at the lastest, but it hasn't really worked out and BT/TalkTalk have no idea when it will be sorted, which is driving me insane. What I'm planning to do is get some posts typed up on my ipad and just upload in bulk when I'm at uni using the Wi-fi there, but I wont be able to schedule so apologies for that!

Hopefully this will all be sorted soon and I'll be back to my regular 3 times per week posting schedule. Until then, sorry for the inconvenience guys!

Nailed: Essie Kisses and Bises Over Black

I bought this polish quite a few months ago now, but I neer got around to usingit because it's so sheer, I didn't know what I wanted to layer it with. I bought it in a set from TK Maxx, and it was incorrectly marked as being the shade Tangerine, which it certainly is not. I googled around and I'm 99% sure it's Kisses and Bises, from the Spring 2011 collection. I really love how it looks over black! I used Barry M black as a base, if anyone is interested, it's opaque in 2 coats. Kisses and Bises transforms the black into a duochrome-y purple that changes through pink, purple and gold. So pretty! I can imagine this polish looking really nice over a nude polish as well.

The Storage Issue....

While I was at Uni last year, I had the unexpected luxury of loads of storage space. I also had an enormous desk, which ran half the length of the room, which meant that I could have my makeup set up at one end, my TV at the other and still have enough space in the middle for all of my stationary and uni work stuff.

I had Perspex cups for my brushes and pencils, a letter organiser for my palettes, and a brilliant setup with my airbrush system, with the compressor stored on a shelf above the desk, with the hose and gun coming down only when I needed it. It was perfect. Even though the majority of my products were stored in the drawers under the desk, (in easy reach) they were just thrown in drawer organisers and at the time I didn't feel they were that well organised. How wrong I was!

Having spent several weeks looking for somewhere new to live for my second year of university, I have realised that I will probably never have such good storage opportunities again, and this led me to look for a better solution.

I've spent all morning trawling the net for big train cases, that not only would allow me to transport my collection very easily, but that I could also work out of, storing my makeup in it all the time, but easily accessing products I use every day.

I drew a blank. I found this incredibly frustrating, as I’m sure the product I’m looking for exists out there somewhere! I ended up designing my dream train case, and now I’m wondering if there is anyone I could commission to make it for me, and how much it would cost....

Basically it would be a big trolley case, but instead of having stacking sections like most train cases seem to have, it would open out to reveal drawers.

The drawers would be divided up in different ways....

I'm well aware of how sad this makes me look! I'm hoping my fellow beauty addicts will understand!

Having designed this, I now NEED it in my life!! Does anyone know of a similar product?

Having googled around a bit, I've found a few cases that would work, but none of them are availible to me in the UK *sadface*

The Muriel Location Station is perfection, but only availble to you lucky Aussies! you can find it here

It goes from looking like this, to....

THIS object of ridiculous beauty!

I also found this beauty, but the website didnt show prices or how/where to buy!

How do you store your makeup??

Going Barmy For Balmi?

I love lipbalm, but I dont apply it as often as I probably should. When I do, I generally go for my trusty Nivea Soothe and Protect, beause its cheap, convenient and I like the scent. I also think it works really well and moisturises my lips when they need it.

I took two Nivea Soothe and Protect away to Uganda with me, and came back with neither of them. Travelling around all the time meant that things got lost easily, (I also managed to loose my neon pink tangle teezer, boo) and the fact is when I was leaving I met lots of people who still had a while left to go, so I ended up leaving things like shampoo and shower gel behind for them, and it made more room for bringing stuff home!

Anyway, the upshot of this is that I needed a new lipbalm. I was perusing the aisles of boots, when I spotted Balmi. The little spherical balms reminded me instantly of the US cult favourite, EOS lip balms. I was intrigued, and seeing that they had SPF 15, I was sold.

They come in five flavours, strawberry, coconut, raspberry, blackcurrant and mint. I went for raspberry and I have to say the scent is lovely. It's quite strong, but it doesnt hang around for long enough to be annoying.

Then you open the container the balm inside is domed, so you can just mash the whole thing into your pout, and this makes it surprisingly easy to apply.

Some of you might not know this but I hate vaseline with a passion, because when you apply it it just melts down to too thin of a liquid, which I really dont enjoy the texture of, and I get this really wierd sensation of my lips almost like tingling but really unpleasant. I also really hate the petroleum-y taste that it has, and unfortunately, this is similar in taste and texture.

That being said, I know that a lot of people LOVE vaseline and will be jumping for joy at the fact that this is similar! I will still be using mine up, so it isn't as if my issue is a complete deal breaker either.

I also really love the idea of adding a keyring attachment to the bottom of the balm, it even has a removable clip so you don't have to hold your entire bunch of keys up to your mouth!

Great idea Balmi, but could you bring out a paraben and petrolatum free version? Pwetty please? I'd go Balmi for that!


 Balmi lip balm is available here and is priced at £4.99.

Nailed: OPI Mermaid's Tears with Your Royal Shine-ness

Again, apologies for the high number of nail related posts!

I absolutely love this mani, and didn't want to take it off! Definitely one I'll be repeating. OPI Mermaid's Tears (Pirates of the Carribean collection) with Your Royal Shine-ness (Serena Glam Slam) on the tips. Application was fine, tips were done with a small paintbrush, all smoothed out with a coat of Seche Vite. Removal was without issues :)

TK Maxx OPI Haul

Sorry to be coming up with so many nail related posts recently, I'm really trying to vary my content a bit more but I dont have much makeup with me at my temporary flat, just enough for 2 or 3 every day looks really, while I've got all of my nail stuff, so my nails have been getting a lot of my attention recently!

not long after I got back from Uganda I went shopping near my parents house on the Isle of Wight. TK Maxx has only recently come to the Island and is something of a novelty there! Obviously we have TK Maxx in London where I spend most of my time, but after nearly 3 months in the wilderness it seemed like a pretty exciting prospect!

I don't love shopping in TK Maxx for clothes, I find it kindof stressful and too much like a jumble sale, but for accessories and beauty products (and weirdly, ski wear) it doesn't bother me at all. I've never owned or even used an OPI polish before so I was pretty excited when I saw them!

I got two sets in the end, a trio, above, which was priced at £14.99, and a Serena Glam Slam duo, which was £9.99.

The trio doesn't seem to be from any particular collection, the colours are, from left to right, Mermaid's Tears, which was from the Pirates of the Carribean collection, Shatter The Scales, which was from The Amazing Spider Man collection, and Your Royal Shine-Ness, which was from a different Serena Glam Slam duo! I really like the colours though, and it's nice to have some limited edition shades.

The colours in the Serena Glam Slam duo are Pros and Bronze (right), and Love is a Racket (left). Pros and Bronze is definitely my favourite out of these two, its just so interesting! its a really coppery tone, and on the nail has a bit of a pink colour shift! It's so pretty and striking, I couldn't stop looking at it when I was wearing it!

 I was pretty pleased to get these at only £5 each rather than the usual price point of around £10. I like to change my polish often and although I like these, I don't think I could justify spending that much on one polish. If I saw them at this price again I would definitely buy more though!

Everyday Makeup 4

Face: Shu Uemura UV Underbase BB Mousse in BB Beige, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light, MAC Blush in Fleur Power, Collection 2000 Lastin Perfection Concealer in shade 1, Light

Eyes: MAC Paintpot in Rubenesque, MAC Eyeshadow in Mulch, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, Maybelline the one by one mascara in Black.

Brows: MAC Eyeshadow in Omega

Lips: Balmi Raspberry Lipbalm

Nailed: Barry M Neon Pink

I'm so sorry I've been MIA the past couple of weeks, I've been staying with a friend in London while I looked for a new flat/house to live in for my second year at uni, and I let my camera at my parents house. I've got it back now and found a house, thank God!

Anyway, recently I was in Tantrum in Westfield in Stratford, where they do nail art stuff, and recently seem to have added a lot more makeup and jewelry to their stock. They also do nail art for you in store, which I need to check out some time soon!

They had a big Barry M stand and seemed to stock the entire line of Barry M makeup. I was very excited about that as I have a bit of an obsession with Barry M Nail Paints, but I have the most popular ones which tend to be stocked at smaller stands! I found a few polishes that I don't already own, but it was the neons that really caught my eye, and I came away with Neon Pink and a blue nail art pen by Tantrum. I would link to their website but there isn't much of it, you can find their facebook page here

Neon Pink is a really bright, almost, but not quite, highlighter pink. The thing that makes it slightly more interesting than a flat neon is that it has a very fine blue shimer to it, which accentuates its brightness. If you enlarge the photo the shimmer becomes much more apparent. It was opaque in 2 coats but I'm a 3 coat girl and used 3 for a perfect finish. One thicker coat could even have given adequate coverage.

17 Get Bronzed GWP

In my haul in my last post I showed that I'd got a 'Get Bronzed' gift with purchase, and I wanted to cover in a bit more datils what was in the kit and whether I think it's worth having.

In the kit is an Ultmate Volume lipgloss in shade In the Nude, a cream blush in Bronze, and an eyeshadow in Statuesque.

The lipgloss is pretty, but not really my colour. I think it would look amazing on black skintones, and would certainly work for medium white skintones, just not my extremely pale one! This is a plumping lipgloss and it does get quite tingly, which personally I don't mind, but if you do, this might not be one for you

The cream blush isn't really a blush at all. It's a very very shimmery, greasy orange cream. The texturereminds me of those garishly coloured 'makeup' sets you would get when you were about five, which were esentially washable greasepaints. Even making the hand swatch for this took a lot of effort to make it show up!

Top-Bottom - Statuesque, Bronzed, In the Nude

The eyeshadow is lovely. It's a very wearable colour and I think it would flatter most skintones. It doesn't require too much effort to get decent colour payoff, and it lasts well.

My overall impression of this set is that if you were going to spend £5.99 on 17 cosmetics anyway, then go for it, but otherwise, I wouldn't go rushing to get it. The lipgloss and eyeshadow are worth having, but the cream blush is terrible.

Back to Britain Haul!

Since getting back to blighty on friday, there have been things that I have needed desperately, either because I took them to Uganda with me and left them behind, or because I finished the up before I left. Yesterday was the first time I had been able to get to the shops just for general shopping, and there were quite a few things that caught my eye, so I thought I'd do a haul!

The first place I stopped was Superdrug, where I picked up some oh-so-interesting tweezers, makeup wipes, and eyelash curlers. The eyelash curlers I'm ulikely to even use, I love my NYC eyelash curlers, but when the little rubber pads get worn out I generally just go and buy a cheap new one, whichever comes with the most spare pads! this one comes with 3, so thats why I chose it. The wipes are my usual Kleenex Eye Makeup Remover wipes, which are really soft and don't scratch my eyes like other brands seem to.

Next I headed over to boots, where I spotted 17 Colour Switch nail polish, which I was really intrigued by, so naturally I had to buy one! I also saw that Barry M seems to be doing a version of this too, but I chose the 17 one mainly because I liked the colour (Imaginitively named Silver) better. 17 had one of their free gift pack offers on too, if you spent over £5.99. I wasn't planning on doing so, but then I remembered that I could do with a plain boring clear lipgloss. I picked up what I THOUGHT was a lipgloss, but when I got home it turned out I picked up lash and brow gel instead! D'oh!

Although I wasn't tempted by Barry M's Chameleon polish, I DID notice that they had a couple of new glitters, which I was very interested in! I got Silver Multi Glitter and Aqua Glitter, which are both gorgeous!

Because I spent over £5.99 on 17 cosmetics, I also got a Get Bronzed set, containing In the Nude lipgloss, Statuesque eyeshadow, and Creamy Bronzed cream blush.

Lastly I skipped off to The Body Shop, mainly because I needed shower gel and moisturizer, which was sold out all over the country and online just before I left for Uganda.

I actually got some really good deals, I got my shower gel at buy one get one half price, the had the moisturizer in stock (winner, even if i didn't save any money!)  and as my Love Your Body membership had run out while I was away, meaning that I also missed my birhday gift voucher worth £5, the lady behind the counter was really lovely, renewing it for free, and then giving me a £5 voucher because I had enough stamps on my old card.

The RRPs of each item are; Hemp hand protector, £5. Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream, £9, Shower gel/cream, £4. so with all of that and my new love your body card it should have come to £27, but with all the deductions it only came to £13! bargain!

Boots 17 Miracle Matte

Hey guys! I'm back from Uganda and back to blogging with a vengance. I had an amazing trip with lots of highs and a few lows, which all of you will know about if you've been reading my travel blog, and if you haven't then i ssume you're not interested so i won't go into it here!

One of the best things about having been living on The Equator for nearly 3 months is that I've actually got a bit of a tan! I don't normally tan AT ALL, so this is something of a miracle. It does mean, however, that I can finally wear some of the foundations that I have bought on the high street but that were all previously too dark for me. For example, 17 Miracle Matte in Porcelain.

I bought this quite a while ago now, before I got my beloved MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus, but although i bought the palest shade availible, it was too dark for my very fair skin. now though, my usual foundation is too light for my skin (a phenomenon I have never experienced before!) and this is a perfect match for me! I also have been enjoying a less 'made up' makeup look since I got back; almost 3 months without makeup has changed me! This gives low to medium coverage, though you could probably build it up for a fuller coverage, it might feel a bit heavy on the skin.

My skin with just Miracle Matte is evened out, and almost matte. I'm glad it doesnt give a completely matte finish, as I think it would look a bit odd, especially as it still allows my freckles (which have been made 1,988,394,948,237 times darker by being in the sun!) to show through.

The packaging for this is actually really nice. Its a nice hygenic pump, though I'm not sure what it'll be like towards the end of the bottle, an dhow much wastage there will be. The packaging is clear matte plastic, so you can get a really good idea of the true shade, and you can see how much you've got left. The pump and lid are hot pink.

The finished look using Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, Max factor Max Effect Mascara in Black, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade (inner corners), MAC Eyeshadow in Omega (brows), MAC Blush in Fleur Power, Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 03, and ELF Studio HD powder.

Overall, I rate this. For the price (a mere £5.99, here) its shine control properties are good, it lasts as well as any other foundation does on my oily skin, it's oil free, which is always a plus for me, and it has SPF 15, which is also important to me.  

Taking a break...

Hey guys, just to let you know that I'm going to be taking a little bit of a break for the next 2 weeks, while I'm in Uganda. All of the posts in the last 8 weeks have been written before I left and scheduled, but I've run out of time and material, so for the final week and a half before I get back, I won't be posting. Sorry to disappoint anyone, but I'll be back on the 17th and hopefully back to blogging virtually straight away. Don't forget you can read about what I'm up to at the moment over on my Uganda blog, at 123lucyinuganda.blogspot.com!

Nailed: Barry M Pure Turquoise with Blue Glitter Gradient

Sorry to be bringing you another nail post so soon, but at the time of writing I'm all blogged out! I leave for my trip tomorrow (though by the time this goes out I'll be due back in 2 weeks) and I've been writing like crazy to make sure that I have plenty of content going on while I'm away, and in all honesty I've pretty much run out of things to write about! I wore this as my last manicure before going away, and ended up really liking it. Definitely one I'll repeat. 

Nailed: Essie Sole Mate

I bought this polish from what I assume is the new Essie diffusion line at Boots recently, and I was pleasantly surprised by the formula and brush. Sole Mate is a blackened red, almost plummy shade and was fine after two coats. It could even have been ok with one ticker coat, but I prefer to do several thinner layers. The brush is flat, and really quite wide, which can take some getting used to, but once you are used to it it's really quite nice and gives a really smooth finish. Removal was without problems. 

Bow Manicure from The Illustrated Nail

This is super old, but I just realised that I never posted it! A few months ago, a new Lola and Grace store opened at Westfield Stratford, and had loads of things going on the day they opened. There was champagne and cupcakes, a jewelry swap, free manicures and a DJ and party in the evening I think.

My friend Leonie and I went to check it out, and we arrived just as the girls from The Illustrated Nail turned up! We booked in for the first appointment and went to shop while they got set up. When we came back there was a huge queue, but as we had booked in we got to slot right in! She created a beautiful bow design on my nails and used Essie Mint Candy Apple as a base colour. I wish I had the skills to do nail art like this!

Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation Review

I bought this foundation a few weeks ago, to replace my previous one which was the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 (£29, here), which was nice but not really long lasting enough for me.

Que the purchase of the long lasting version! (£29, here) I have shade 0, Porcelain, which is very light, although they do go one shade lighter!

I usually apply this using a MAC 130 brush (£28, here) using a swirling motion. The coverage is light to medium, but can be built up to a much fuller coverage. This is quite a liquid formula, and once out of the bottle will run down your hand if it isn't level. This can be irritating, but it is also kindof useful, as a quick shake of the bottle will mix the contents completely.

One and a half pumps is usually emough for me to cover my whole face, with a medium coverage. If you were after a lighter coverage one pump would probably be enough, and 2 would do for high coverage. having a pump instead of a pot or tube is much more hygenic too.

The thing I like most about this foundation is that shade. For me, finding a foundation that matches me is virtually impossible, even MAC don't do a shade light enough for me in a liquid formula, and they have a huge shade range. If your skin is of more a medium tone then finding a match will undoubtedly not be such a big deal, but for me it's paramount! I found that this foundation lasted well for me, about 8-10 hours, though it did need re-powdering in my T-zone. It is also oil-free and I have not had any problems at all with breakouts.

Nailed: Essie Sole Mate

Totally in love with this polish. Great colour, great brush, perfect shine, perfect application! Not the best photo, but it's a gorgeous blackened plum shade.

TK Maxx and Boots Beauty Haul!

Sorry to be psoting another haul so soon, but at the time of writing this I'm running around trying to get everything sorted to leave for Uganda, which is in less than a week now! By the time this goes out I will have been there for over a month and will hopefully be having a great time! Anyway, I've been doing a lot of shopping to get essientals for going away, and I couldnt resist getting a couple of new beauty purchases too!

My friend Charlotte tipped me off that TK Maxx had quite a lot of Stila products, so I went to check it out. They didn't actually have all that many Stila products, only a couple of Lip Glazes and a mascara that had been opened by an inconsiderate shopper. I did manage to get a lipgloss though, a Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss in Euphoria, which is a dark, blue toned pink. These glosses contain 3.8ml of product, which is quite a bit more than cult favourite lip glazes, which only contain 2.4ml.  I think this particular line of glosses may have been discontinued, as I cant find it on the UK website. I was able to find it on the US site though. The TK Maxx price for this was only £3.99, a total bargain compared to its $22 reccomended price, which is about £14.30.

Also at TK Maxx I spotted several different trios of Essie polishes. These are the original formula I think, not the new, slightly cheaper diffusion formula. They were priced at £10 for the set. I have no idea what the colours are though, they are marked as Capri, Tangerine and Tangerine, but having googled these none of them are right! if anybody knows what they might be, let me know! Lastly from TK Maxx I picked up Sally Hansens Healthy Cuticles Now! which was £3.99.

Next I headed over to Boots where I picked up a polish from the new Essie Diffusion line, in Sole Mate (£7.99, here) which is a beautiful blackened plum shade. I also got Shadow Insurance from Too Faced, which I have never tried before, but I am in desperate need of a decent eyeshadow primer! (£14.03, here)

Lastly I popped to H&M where I bought this iPhone 4 case for just £2.99! Ive been looking for a completely plain case that wouldnt break the bank for ages, as I want to cover it in completely offensive glitter and sparkles. I like tacky, so shoot me!

Everyday Makeup 3

Face: Shu Uemura UV Underbase BB Mousse in Beige (£29, here), Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade 1 (£4.19, here) MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC15 (£19, here), MAC Blush in Fleur Power

Eyes: Vintage, Stealth and Wolf from the Illamasqua Neutrals Palette (£30, here), MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (£14, here) and MAC Eyeshadow in Omega on my brows (£12, here)

Lips: MAC Lipstick in Speak Louder (£13.50, here)

Nailed (Properly this time!): Shock.

Finally I got around to trying Shock by LA Colors with a white base. It's MUCH better, but also MUCH more labour intensive. I had to do 2 coats of  NYC white, and then about 5 coats of Shock.

With white base

Without white base