Accessorize Lovely Day Palette

Accessorize have recently released two new palettes into their make-up line, each filled with 32 colours ranging from neutrals to brights with metallic, shimmer and matte finishes. This is the Lovely Day palette which is overall more neutral in tone compared to the other palette which has brighter shades such as red and bright greens. 

Most of the colours in this palette are a metallic finish and apply so smoothly and beautifully and blend with little effort. They have such fantastic pigmentation and most of the shimmers follow suit. A few of the shimmers are a bit less pigmented and require a little more effort and the mattes aren't the smoothest. They are all good colours though and I've really enjoyed using the palette. I like having a lot of choice in one palette opposed to a palette full of neutrals which is what I normally pull out. This palette has enabled me to play with colour a little bit more in the morning because I don't have to hunt around for different shades as they are all close to hand in this. I love how slim and lightweight it is. The packaging feels sturdy and the pans are a good size. 

Some of the colours do cause a bit of fallout when applying them so care should be taken so that you don't end up with bright blue across your cheeks. The colours last well on my lids although I have found that the greens can look a bit muddy which is a shame. 

The palette is priced at £8.95 from Superdrug which I think is a bargain. It was actually on offer when I went to my local superdrug a couple of days ago at £5.95 (which I got the other palette for and one of these for my sister) so if you are interested in it, I'd go check your local store soon.

Swatches after the break...

Pretty and Polished - Sand Art

Here is another polish from the indie brand Pretty and Polished. It is called Sand Art and is made up of blue, green, pink and purple matte glitters (they don't sparkle like regular glitters and only shine when topcoat is added). I've used two coats over white, it might get to full coverage with a third coat. It was really easy to apply, the base is quite thick and holds the glitter well. This was a bit of a 'Marmite' polish with my colleagues - some liked it, some hated it. I liked it but think I would prefer it over blue as the white was quite stark but it did make the glitter colours easier to see. From a distance, it looks like you have splattered paint all over your nails. I think it is a really fun colour and looks totally unique.

Sand Art is available from Pretty and Polished at $4.75USD for a mini bottled (which is what I have).

Chelsea is not currently shipping outside of the USA or Canada due to some problems she has had with unreliable shipping. However, Llarowe will be stocking Pretty and Polished soon and they do ship worldwide and also stock a few other indie brands and various brands from around the world.
Jennifer xx

MAC Khol Pencil - Teddy

MAC's Kohl Pencil in Teddy is something that has been on my wishlist for a while. I've seen Pixiwoo use it in their videos and thought it was such a pretty colour. When it comes to brown eyeliner, I like something that is quite dark but still looks brown. Lighter browns don't look right on me as they are too light against my very dark lashes and I don't find that they give enough definition. Teddy is described as an intense bronze. It is a dark brown liner with bronze shimmer which makes it really pretty and sultry. As it is a khol pencil, you can smudge it and also use it on the waterline. It looks so good with gold, brown and bronze eyeshadow and is also pretty with green. I've mostly been using it along the outer part of my lower lash lines to give added definition and sometimes along my waterline. It is a flattering waterline colour because it is not really harsh like black can be and doesn't make my eyes look really small. I really like this pencil and would recommend it for any skin tone and hair or eye colour, I think it would work for everyone.

Jennifer xx

Candy Lacquer - Sea Nymph

Today I have a polish from Candy Lacquer, an indie brand which you can purchase from her Etsy store here. It called Sea Nymph and is made from fine sea green glitter and a touch of gold fine glitter and some holographic teal hexagonal glitter added. It is a full coverage glitter in two coats and is super easy to apply. You will need to apply a couple of layers of thick topcoat to it as it is very gritty. I used a layer of Gelous and a layer of Seche Vite. It is so sparkly and will get a lot of attention. I also like that is a unique combination of glitter, I've not seen light green glitters like this before. I really like the heart shaped labels that Sandra uses, they are really cute and the design and typefaces used are fitting for her brand.

I only wore it for a day because I find all full coverage glitters chip very easily on me, I have a feeling it is the Seche Vite causing it. I might try layering them over a creme finish polish to see if they stick better. If anyone has any tips on getting any full coverage glitter to stay put for longer, please let me know.

Sea Nymph costs $8.00USD and is available at Candy Lacquer.

Jennifer xx

Franken Polish - 'Robotic' and Ciate Purple Sherbet

This is another franken that I made using silver, holographic silver and gunmetal coloured glitters. I really like how it turned out. It is really simple but I think it is quite effective and will look good over a lot of colours. I think it works really nicely over pastel shades such as Ciate Purple Sherbet as the holographic glitter sparkles in pastel colours. I've named it Robotic because I think the large chunks look like pieces of metal or nuts and bolts and the holographic looks futuristic/sci fi.

Ciate Purple Sherbet was a freebie that I got with Marie Claire magazine. There are two other colours available to choose from too - Lollypop (bright pink with blue shimmer) and Bon Bon (lilac toned neutral nude). I used three coats of Purple Sherbet as my base colour as it was slightly streaky.

Jennifer xx

Glossybox May 2012

This post is very late as I have just got my June box today. Once I've had a little go at some of the products, I will do a post on that one. May's box was Glossybox's 1st Birthday so the products seemed to have a bit of a party theme.

Pretty birthday tissue paper

I quite liked my box but some other people got some really great products in theirs but that is the luck of the draw with Glossybox.

1. Lolita Lempicka perfume samples - Lolita Lempicka EDP and Si Lolita EDP
I thought they were quite nice scents, both floral. Si Lolita appealed to me more but they didn't last that long on my skin. My skin eats perfume.

2. Noble Isle Summer Rising bath and shower gel
This smells really nice and Summery. It reminds me of walking through fields where my boyfriend lives in Sussex. It has a floral and slightly grassy scent but it is subtle and feels really calming.

3. Apivita Express Beauty with Honey facemasks
Thankfully I got masks for dry skin. They are really lovely and made my skin feel soft and nourished. I will be purchasing them again when my skin needs to be perked up.

4. Berber Oil Hair Treatment with Argan Oil
This smells delicious. I like hair oils as I have dry hair although I often forget to use them. The make such a difference to my hair when I remember. It is nice to have one that smells great too.

5. Eldora False Eyelashes
Weellllll... erm... I will never wear these. Hahaha. They are huge and I will feel so uncomfortable with them on so unless I end up going to some mad fancy dress party, these will remain in their box. False eyelashes aren't really something I use anyway because I suck at putting them on but when I have worn them, I've gone for styles which just add more volume and a little more length. The glitter stuck on them looks like it would fall off into my eyes too - my camera makes it look better than they actually are as the glitter is sort of globbed on.

6. Glossybox promotional mirror
This is handy :)

  

Jennifer xx

Pink and Blue Leopard Print Nails

I saw these pink and dark blue Barry M polishes in Superdrug and really wanted to use them together in some nail art. I was going to do stripes but then decided to add the other blue in and do some leopard print. I've never freehanded leopard print before and this isn't great - it looks more abstract than leopard print. I liked it all the same though, I really love the colours together. It is so bright and fun. I didn't want to take it off but had to because I cracked my thumb nail and needed to fix it :(

Colours used:
Barry M Flamingo (pink)
Barry M Turquoise (light blue)
Barry M Indigo (dark blue)

Jennifer xx

Monthy Favourites - May 2012

Time for the monthy favourites (I'm a bit late again), these are products that I have been using all month/rediscovered or have stood out for me.

1. Paco Robanne Lady Million EDP

This is one of my favourite perfumes, I just love it but I hadn't worn it in a while. I got it out again and I still adore it. It is sweet with some floral notes and makes me feel special. I'm not overly fond of the bottle design but I do kind of like how the spray works. I just wish I could figure out how to decant it into a travello.

2. Lush Rehab Shampoo

I have used this shampoo before but stopped using it when I started colouring my hair. Now that my hair is it's natural shade again, I can use it. I went to Lush to get some toner but decided to find out if they sold a shampoo that will reduce build up from dry shampoo - which I use a lot and end up with quite a bit of build up. This stuff is great. It clears my scalp of all the crap left on it after a couple of days using dry shampoo and leaves it so much fresher. 

3. MAC Lovecloud Blush

This has been my go to blush this month. I'm not sure if it is still available as it was a limited edition colour. I really love it, it is so easy to wear and can be applied sheerly or built up. It is a pink with some coral in there to warm it up and works really nicely on my skintone. I also love the satin finish because it is so soft and natural looking.

4. Origins Vitazing SPF 15

This is basically a really sheer tinted moisturiser with SPF in it. I took this on holiday with me in case it was hot and I didn't want to be wearing foundation. Plus foundation wasn't really needed. It has these little greyish dots in the moisturiser which burst as you rub it into your skin and release a tint. This tint is supposed to be suited to all skin tones but I think very fair skins and dark skins might find it either too dark or light. Light to medium skin tones should be okay and it might even be okay for skin that is a bit darker. You don't get a lot of coverage with it but it does help to even the skin out somewhat and then a bit of concealer will cover the rest if needed.

5. SensatioNail Starter Kit (I have the red) - review to be posted soon.

Now this is a little gem! I love this piece of kit! I wont go into it too much because I will be doing a full review on it with lots of photos of it freshly applied and then two weeks later. If you don't know what it is, it is an at home soak off gel polish kit which includes everything you need to get started, including the lamp and one colour (either red or raspberry). It was quite dear when I got mine but the price has gone down a lot now so if you are interested, it is worth a go. I applied this for my holiday so that I didn't need to polish my nails while away and hopefully protect them better than regular polish would from working the locks and narrowboat. It held out brilliantly, as you will see in the upcoming review :D

Jennifer xx

Franken - Peacock Feathers

I have another franken to show you today. It is made up of blue, gold, greeny gold, and green glitters of varying sizes and also some strand glitters all in a clear base. I'm really happy with it. I was actually trying to make an opaque glitter but I think this is nice how it is and can be built up a bit although it would take a lot to get it opaque. I mixed the glitter into some fine blue glitter polish and added a fine gold glitter polish to it (these are the smallest glitter pieces) then put clear polish in to 'water' it down a bit. I'm calling it Peacock Feathers because the colours are peacock colours and the strands remind me of the long feathers.

For this manicure, I layered Peacock Feathers over OPI Jade is the New Black. I've also changed the shape of my nails recently, I had a couple of tears and some peeling and decided to get rid of it and chopped them down. Normally I go for an oval shape but I decided to make them more squared - squovalish. I didn't like it at first but it is growing on me, they are definitely more practical!

Jennifer xx

My holiday pictures - Stourport Canal Ring

Hi everyone, I've not been a very good blogger lately, I've been so tired and haven't had the energy to post. I thought I'd show you all some photos from my week on the canals near and around Birmingham. I had a really good time and I'd like to do it again one day. We were really lucky with the weather, it was soooo hot and sunny. We started in a place called Alvechurch, cruised along to Worcester, then made our way up to Stourport and Kidderminster, through Stourbridge and Dudley then lastly through parts of Birmingham. And we went to Cadbury World! Yum yum!

WAHEY! Me on the roof and my boyfriend standing on the side of the boat

Harvey enjoying his carrot for lunch after his swim. He loved swimming in the canal.

My boyfriend, Martin and I down the front. Sorry about the wet jeans drying out on the roof, our rudder came out and the boat wouldn't steer properly so Martin's Dad had to get into the canal to slot it back into position haha.

Asha blowing in the breeze, enjoying the views and new scents

Glug glug glug haha. Bulmers, yum.

Swans with the baby signets awww.
Harvey didn't like the swans, they frightened him.

Worcester Cathedral

My boyfriend, Martin and I at the front of the boat
(excuse the scrunched up faces, it was BRIGHT!)

Asha, being assertive

Filling up the lock to move the boat up into the next section of the canal

Pretty traditional narrow boat flower paintings on the doors

Going into a lock

Harvey the soggy doggy

Jennifer xx

Happy Jubilee Weekend Nails!

Happy Jubilee weekend to all my fellow Brits and all the other countries in the Commonwealth! I hope you are enjoying the festivities to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee year. I think it is a great achievement, 60 years as our monarch is a bloody long time and only Queen Victoria has got there before.

Here are my Jubilee nails to mark the occasion :)

My messy right hand

What I used:

White: Leighton Denny Pure White

Glitter: Nails Inc Jubilee 3D Glitter

Navy (pinkie) Barry M Navy

Gold for diamond: Barry M Gold Foil

red and blue Rio nail pen stripers for Union Jack flags

Jennifer xx