OPI Crown Me Already!

I love glitter nail polish, I especially love glitter nail polish which is dense enough to have opaque coverage. This is one of them! Crown Me Already! comes from OPI's Miss Universe collection, a small four piece offering.

Crown Me Already! is made up of a clear base with silver glitter and then hexagonal glitter pieces in various sizes. It is seriously eyecatching, I had a few people ask to have a look at my nails while I was wearing and telling me that they looked like disco balls! That was my initial thought about it too with the large hexagonal pieces making the light reflect in a similar way to a disco ball.

I thought it would be very gritty and need a couple of coats of topcoat to make it smoother. I used one and it felt like a normal glitter polish, not too gritty, however the free edge of my nails sometimes snagged of hexagonal glitter close to the edge so wrapping the free edge properly with topcoat is a good idea.

Removal wasn't actually too bad, I have had worse experience removing glitter polishes. I ended up soaking a cotton ball in remover and holding it to my nail for a minute and then dragging it downwards. It removed almost all of the fine glitter, leaving the hexagonal glitter. A little bit more soaking and they were easy to pick off.

I can imagine this polish being perfect for New Years manicures, it would look stunning at parties and would definately turn some heads.

What do you think of this shade? I love it :)

Jennifer x

About time Inglot!

Really exciting news from Inglot! To all of us in the UK who found it difficult or impossible to get to Inglot's only UK store in Shepherds Bush Westfield and wished they had a website for us to order from so we could all access the brand...

Well...

Guess what!

www.inglotuk.com

Head there now! It looks like a great site and now all of us can get on the Inglot train! YAY!

I'm so glad they have done it finally :)

Jennifer x

LUSH - Rose Jam Bubbleroon

I've been waiting for LUSH to bring out new bubble bars for so long, they are one of my favourite things that they make and the last few discontinuation rounds have lost some lovely products making the bubble bar line quite small. Over the last few months I have been going off Lush a lot due to the lack of products interesting me, the scents becoming quite boring and repetitive, nothing unusual, nothing distinctively 'LUSH'. It is such a shame because I used to visit LUSH often.

LUSH have just turned 16 so to celebrate, they have released 16 brand new products. I decided to take the plunge again and placed an order, pleased to see that they had new bubble bars to try out!

A new type of bubble bar that LUSH have invented is the Bubbleroon - shaped similarly to a macaroon, two halves of a bubble bar stuck together with a creamy filling of coconut oil.

Here is what LUSH say about this new bubble bar:

'Jam and Jerusalem!

If the Women’s Institute knew how to make bath products, this is what they’d make

A bath that helps you get out of it feeling better than when you got in. With lemon to bring clarity and alertness and rose to lift the spirits. The geranium oil in here will balance the skin, whilst the coconut oil and shea butter will leave you feeling smooth and soft.

This smells of roses, with the sweetness of jam – it shares the same fragrance as Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner.

The fragrance in Rose Jam was invented by Simon. Every year he visits Turkey during the rose harvest to see our rose absolute being produced. He talks about the smell of roses in the fields in the hot Turkish sun and the lunchtimes sat out eating rose jam with Hassan, our rose grower. The rest of us here at Lush think he’s jammy to have this aspect of the job - and we notice that it is always tales he brings back to us, not pots of the actual jam!'

Ingredients:

Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Lauryl Betaine, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Perfume, Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Rose Oil, Lemon Oil, Cocamide DEA, PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides & PEG-60 Almond, Titanium Dioxide, Colour 17200

This product is NOT Vegan.

As I purchased this online, I didn't get to smell it before hand, however I do like rose so went for it. As soon as I opened the wrapping I was hit with this beautiful rose scent. It made me want to sniff it over and over, it was a real perfumey rose scent - like when you were a kid and made your own perfume out of your Mum's roses by picking the petals and putting them in water to infuse... at least that is something I remember doing as a child! Rose Jam doesn't smell synthetic at all, really natural and real, you can tell that it is full of rose absolute. It also has a greeness to it like the leaves of the plant, probably to do with it being a real rose smell and not something you get in an airwick block. At the same time, I get a whaft of a sweetness cutting through the fresh perfumey rose, this is the jam part. It is delicious, it smells just like a picnic in a rose garden, so ideal. It isn't sickly at all, the greeness stops it from getting too sweet and sticky, the rose is sophisticated and it isn't overly girly

Using the bubble bar was easy, it crumbled with ease and made plenty of bubbles. The scent filled the bathroom and lingered on my skin for a few hours later. It left my skin feeling smooth and soft and hydrated. It made the water a lovely soft pink (my photos are a bit dark). It is certainly a product that I will be repurchasing in the future as I already look forward to having another bath with this.

Go check out www.lush.co.uk for their other brand new products. Is there anything catching your eye? I promise, the other new things I ordered also smell fantastic and I look forward to testing them out!

Jennifer x

My Inglot Palette

This is my first Inglot palette which I got about a month or so ago. I love these eye shadows, they are amazingly soft and pigmented. I really enjoyed being in the Inglot store in Westfields at Shepherds Bush, London. The staff were lovely and there were so many great products to test out. I like how the freedom system works, there are a few different sized palettes to choose from with different shaped pan slots.

First you pick which size you want and if you want circle or square pans. The square pans are a bit more expensive because they hold more product. I opted for the 10 pan square palette which I *think* was £56 although I can't remember exactly. The circle palette was around £46. The reason I chose the square version was because I just liked how it looked better and it made it different from my MAC palettes.

Once you have decided what palette you want, you get a magnetic sheet where you pick out the pans of shadow/lipstick/blush etc and place them on the sheet. You can move them around the sheet until you are happy with the order the colours are arranged in you give the sheet to one of the sales assistants and they will go and build your palette for you. The only downside I found to this was that there are only one of each colour in circles and squares so if someone else picks up a colour that you want in your palette too, you have to wait until they have finished with it before it is returned so you can pick it up.

I chose a lot of green shades because it is my favourite colour, along with some neutrals and golds as I wear those a lot too and they mix well with greens. I'd love to go back and get another palette with a more variety of colours in it, some purples, blues and pinks would be nice.

I do wish that Inglot had a proper naming system rather than numbers though, it is difficult to remember numbers so actual names would be easier to know what you have when you go back to the store. It is also very hard to get the pans out of the palette without damaging the colours (which is why mine have some dents in them when I tried to check what numbers each colour was) so you have to be very careful if in future you decide to move them around. I found that it is best to use something thin and sturdy like a sewing needle or a metal nail file and insert it at the corner (if the pans are square) which makes it easier to get under the pan and lift out. Don't use fingernails, you will dent them!

More pictures and swatches under the break!

MAC Me Over Review

Hi guys, sorry I have been away for so long, I've been away at my boyfriends for a a week and a half and then I caught a cold and just didn't feel like sitting down to write when all I wanted to do was sleep. I was going to post this review while I was staying with my boyfriend but never got around to it so it is about time I put it up! I also have some photos of my holiday at my boyfriend's house in Sussex and I will do a post with some of them as soon as he gets them off his camera. So without further ado...

... MAC Me Over!

This collection was released at the beginning of September here in the UK and it had quite a few nice things in it, a lot of autumnal shades - deep burgundy lipstick, dark smokey eye shadows and auburn shades. It was put into three sections, each with a different 'theme', one was very dark (Shirley & Nicole), one was much lighter (Xee & Sharon) and the other was more natural and brown tones (Rachel & Ian). Most of what I bought was from Rachel & Ian's part, apart from one lipstick and the brushes.

My Favourites - August 2011

1. MAC Blush in Coygirl. This has been my go-to blush this month. It is a mauvy pink shade and gives a rosy glow. I've been using it just on the apples of my cheeks as I don't like it applied down my cheek bones as I normally apply blush, it is quite cool toned and can look a bit much on me like that. Used just on the apples it gives me the appearance of pinched cheeks.

2. Eyelash curlers (or as my boyfriend calls them, torture devices haha). These are from E.L.F and before this month I hadn't really used them much even though I've had them for a couple of years. I don't normally bother because I'm too lazy and I thought my mascara did the job on it's own. However I thought I'd try these again and I am really impressed with the difference they make. My lashes are much nicer looking when they have been curled and it is easier to apply my mascara. I've seen a lot of people raving about other eyelash curlers such as Shu Uemura so I wonder what the difference would be with them so might check them out when I'm next in town.

3. OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil. I've been getting quite peely nails for a while so I've been trying to look after them better. I've been using this a few times a day, especially at night to let it sink in. I have noticed an improvement, they don't seem to be peeling as much so hopefully the oil will be doing good things to the new growth coming though.

4. Sugarpill Chromalust - Goldilux. I've been trying out loose eyeshadows as I've never really gotten on with them before without making a huge mess so decided it was time to practice with them. I really like this one, it is a beautiful gold colour and really sparkly. I like it to add a little bit of sparkle to my eye makeup. It can drop throughout the day so needs a sticky base or to be applied with a mixing medium/wet.

5. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer. This product is becoming a favourite amongst beauty bloggers and youtube gurus. I can really see why, for a budget concealer it is fantastic... in fact it is pretty good for a concealer of any price range. It is one of the best concealers I have tried, it really does cover what it needs to and it does last really well. It dries down so doesn't crease around the eye area or look shiny but it doesn't dry the skin out either.

6. MAC Superslick Liquid Liners. I have three colours pictured here, the top one is Desires & Devices (khaki with pearlised pigments), the middle is Smokey Heir (purple with pearlised pigments) and the bottom is On The Hunt (black). These originally came out with Fabulous Felines last year but are now part of the permanent range. I used to use liquid liner all the time and then switched to gel liners but decided to use one of these one day and then remembered how much I loved them so ended up using them almost all month. They have a fine sponge applicator which allows you to get precise lines and flicks. These are definitely my favourite liquid liner formula. Other companies have released their own versions of these liners which are supposedly the same formula but I haven't tried them, some have their own unique shades too. Urban Decay, MUFE and Illamasqua are some of the brands with this type of liner.

7. OPI Avojuice - Hibiscus Blossom. This is a lightweight hand cream from OPI, I'm not sure if this scent is available in the UK as I got mine in a set from QVC which it was exclusive to at the time. It comes in plenty of other scents though. Even though it is lightweight, it moisturises really well, not well enough for when my eczema flares up but is good for a day to day hand cream which will not leave greasy marks anywhere because it sinks in so well. Avojuice is basically a whipped up version of OPI's avoplex oil so has all of the qualities of their cuticle oil but in a cream. This one smells gorgeous too.

Jennifer xx

My Makeup Brushes Part 3 - Eye Brushes

This is my final part of my makeup brush post. This one is mainly going to be about my MAC brushes but also a couple of other brands thrown in at the end. So without further ado...

In order of appearance:
MAC 195 Concealer Brush: £16
What they say: 'A flexible synthetic fibre flat brush with slight pointed tip for precision application and blending of all concealer formulas and other emollient products.'
What I say: I used to use this for concealer but found that it absorbed a lot of product. I also found that I preferred using my fingers to apply it. Now I use this as an eyeshadow brush which it works quite nicely for as it is good at packing on colour.

MAC 210 Precise Eyeliner Brush: £16
What they say: 'Graphically precise with a finely pointed, tapered tip. Provides a controlled, ultra-fine application of any powder, liquid or cream-based eye liner.'
What I say: I bought this because it said it was precise, when receiving it, I found it was very very thin. It is very good at getting such a precise line but I always have to go back to the product to get enough to make the line along my top lashes. I also tend to go for a thicker line but if you do want a very fine line, this would work well.

Read on for more...

My Makeup Brushes Part 2 - Eye Brushes

Hello everyone, sorry for not being around for a while. I have another post on my makeup brush collection. I have a few different brands of eye brushes, Real Techniques, MAC, Bobbi Brown, E.L.F and some random ones. This post is going to focus on my Real Techniques brushes, the rest will follow is other posts so that they don't get too long.

In order of appearance:
Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush. Available in the Starter Set. £20.99 love-makeup.co.uk
What they say: 'applies a smooth, flawless foundation of color'
What I say: Like all Real Techniques brushes, this has synthetic bristles so is suitable for vegans or anyone who wants 100% cruelty free brushes. All of the eye brushes have purple handles and have their name printed on them so you know where to use them which is helpful for people who are just getting into makeup. This brush is larger than the majority of my base eyeshadow/shader brushes and the tip is fluffier than usual. You can use the sides to pack on colour and then the tip to soften and blend gently. A good handy brush.

Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. Available in the Starter Set. £20.99 love-makeup.co.uk
What they say: 'soft, oversized design for effortless contouring'
What I say: Again, this brush is larger than your average crease brush. It also has shorter, more dense bristles. It works so well for putting in subtle contouring for soft eye makeup or placing the shadow into the crease, however when using darker shades or doing crease work which isn't as subtle and requires more blending, I prefer using a more fluffy brush - just my personal preference as I find they move the colour more easily.

Read on for more...