Nail Varnish

Nails

H&M Nail Varnish – Mad Mint and Mad Confetti

July 18, 2013

Amie went on an epic arduous adventure into Birmingham today to buy much needed hair-dye for our upcoming photoshoot with Tony from Stagedive Photography, and as she is the bestest friend ever she bought me back a few spoils to play with!

I’ve not used H&M’s nail varnish before but I instantly loved the two she chose for me – Mad Mint and Mad Confetti.

Mad Mint is a gorgeous and bright minty green, and I know I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of this over the summer.

Mad Confetti is a mix of large and small glitters in silver, blue and purple.

Despite their tiny price tag of 99p for a cute little 3.2ml bottle they both applied amazingly on the colour wheel with two thin coats.

Because I love all things zebra she also picked up this adorable zebra fold-away shopping bag, so I can have safari-eco-friendly shopping trips!

Totally hellbent for being spoiled!

– Gem

Nails, NOTD

NOTD – OPI I don’t give a Rotterdam & Revlon Stunning

July 17, 2013

This was my first OPI varnish and I have to admit it was the name, not the colour that sold it to me. I purchased “I don’t give a Rotterdam” purely on the basis that I missed my boyfriend (who lives in Rotterdam!) and the name cheered me up!

Luckily I found it on Fragrance Direct for £3.99 so managed to grab a bargain with full RRP at around £11.50!

It’s a lovely bluey grey with a light shimmer, a really unique shade that I’ve never seen elsewhere. It applies as well as you would expect an OPI shade to, and is quite lovely alone.

I decided however that I needed to up the game a little, so added two layers of Revlon Stunning for a little extra va-va-voom! Stunning is a mix of micro and hexagonal glitter that is slightly holographic. I found it in a local Poundland saving myself a few pennies, and it is quickly becoming my new favourite glitter varnish.

Finally a touch of Sally Hanson Clear for take-off to stop that horrible scratchy glitter feeling! This is a great top-coat, both fast to dry and long lasting. You can find it here on Amazon for £6.99.

Totally hellbent for giving a Rotterdam about fabulous nails!

– Gem

Make-up, Nails

Elf haul part 1 – Gemma

July 17, 2013

I accidentally talked Amie into ordering a massive Elf haul with me on one of their frequent 50% off days recently and here’s what I chose!

Mineral Infused Face Primer – Clear

This has been on my wishlist for a very long time! I love a good primer and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this one! I’m also tempted by the green toned one at some point to deal with my awful red cheeks.

Clarifying Pressed Powder – Ivory

Can’t ever have too many pressed powders, right? This photographed quite dark, but at first look it should be okay for summer. Definitely not Ivory enough for my pasty winter skin though!

All over cover stick – Ivory

Despite having a long term love affair with the much hyped Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer I figured I could use something with a little more coverage for stage wear.

Eyelid Primer – Sheer & Pearl

I’ve been a huge fan of the sheer eyelid primer for a long time, in fact I think this is my third or fourth repurchase, so I figured I’d give the pearl finish a try too.

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick – Movie Star

Lip crayons have been big news for absolutely ages and I can’t believe this is the first one in my make-up collection! When I try out a new lip product I absolutely always for a bright red because it’s my most worn colour.

Lip Stain – Crimson Crush

This has been out of stock for every ELF order I’ve placed since they released the line about a year ago, so I’m very pleased to finally get my hands on it! I love lipstains for day wear as they are so long lasting. Note also bright red!

Lipstick – Fearless & Nostalgic

Last time I bought Fearless I managed to fall in love with it and swiftly break it in half a few hours later, again this has been out of stock for a while so I grabbed one whilst I could. I love the ELF lipstick formulas so I could have gone mad and happily ordered all the ones I don’t own if Mr. credit card hadn’t frowned at me so sternly.

Nostalgic looks a lot more cream than nude and I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t give me “concealer lips”…

Bamboo flat brush & smudge brush

Like discount eco tools – bamboo handles and synthetic soft bristles. I already have a few brushes from this line and they are lovely.

Nail Polish – Metal Madness, Glitter Glam, Chocolate, Fire Coral, Smokey Brown & Innocent.

I have such terrible issues with my nail varnish collection that I didn’t even realise till the order arrived that I already own two of these…oops! Elf nail polishes aren’t my favourite, but are far from terrible and were only 50p each…I just couldn’t help myself!

Also I have a feeling that I will be very good friends with Metal Madness for a very long time!

So there you have it, now do excuse me whilst I go dive into my big box of make up! Swatches and reviews coming soon as well as Amie’s ELF spoils!

All products can be found at http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/

Totally hellbent for another ELF bargain haul!

– Gem

NOTD

NOTD – essie “braziliant”

July 15, 2013

A few months ago I had a coral Revlon nail varnish sent to me in a beauty box. I though “hmm not really my colour” but gave it a whirl anyway. What can I say, I am not a convert! I am really into the coral shades at the moment, especially with the sun turning my hair into a lovely “coralesque” shade *frowns*, but no a real beautiful shade that works well with most skin tones and just the right amount of red-pink-orange ratio.

This essie shade is only a 5ml bottle but it’s so adorable and I really love the shine it gives off.

Downsides – erm my bank balance after wanting the whole essie collection?

Totally hellbent for “not quite orange”

-Pants