Saturday 10 March 2012

Find me on Tumblr

As you can tell, I'm really awful at updating this blog. I'm much better (though still not brilliant!) at updating my Tumblr, so I've decided to just stick to that one.

You can find it here. Hope to see you over there!

Thursday 5 January 2012

Revlon meets OPI

I love a bargain. That's kind of the point in this blog, right? So when I was in Poundland and I saw a Revlon nail polish, I knew I would be buying it. It was Emerald City, the first matte nail polish I've ever bought. I've had my eye on them for a while, so it was perfect.


This was a rush job, so it's only one coat, and it's an iPhone photo, but you get the idea. I LOVE the colour. I'm a sucker for green polish, and this one perfectly matches an eyeliner I have AND a cardigan I got for Christmas. Win win. But, the texture of the polish is horrible. It's like having really fine sandpaper on your nails. I didn't know what to do about a top coat. Matte top coat seemed unnecessary - what's the point in buying a matte nail polish if you're going to put a matte top coat on anyway? And other than that, I've only got a really shiny one, which would mean it wasn't matte any more. Oh, the dilemma. In the end, I just left it because I couldn't cope with the stress.

On to more bargains. Before Christmas, I ordered Rainbow Connection for my friend in Australia. The Ebay shop I bought it from argued with me over sending it to an alternative address (even though it was through Paypal), and in the end they refunded me, and I bought it from another shop.

The day after using the Revlon polish, I went back to work after a long break due to Christmas and being off sick with pneumonia. There was a package waiting for me. Confused, I opened it, and found a bottle of Rainbow Connection from the original people I bought it from. Yay for free nail polish!

So, not wanting to join the exclusive club of people who have spent hours applying and removing this beautiful glitter, I thought I would just add a relatively thick coat over the green I already had on.


Again, iPhone photo. I'm a slacker, sorry. BUT, I really love it, and now I want to apply Rainbow Connection over every single polish I own to see what it looks like. I have yet to take it off though, so that might change my mind.


Wednesday 28 December 2011

Lush Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic

I realise I've been a terrible blogger, but I've been ill with pneumonia for two months, and have had no motivation at all to sit down and write a decent post. I'll try to make up for it!

In light of that, this post it a bit late, as it features a Lush Christmas product. And a lovely product it was at that!

A golden present that jingles, and has stars inside. What more could you ask for? I have nothing but good things to say about this, so instead of gushing, I'll just show you what it looks like.













I cannot speak highly enough of this bath bomb, I love love love it.


Christmas beauty haul

This is the first haul I've ever done, and it's only a little one compared to some I've seen floating around! I only had the chance to take iPhone photos, so please excuse the quality. Here goes...


E.L.F. cream blush. I used this today and I really love it. I thought it might have been too pink, but it's just right.


Barry M Nail Effects in Black Magic Crackle.



Lipsy Nighttime Goddess palette.


Nail art kit (Konad rip off, but it's essentially exactly the same).


A glass nail file. I've never used one before, are they any good?


No7 polishes in Violetta, Beautifully Black and Betty Blues. The photos don't do these colours justice, so I'll post swatches when I get around to wearing them. Betty Blues is particularly gorgeous.


OPI polishes in Green-wich Village and Dating a Royal. I love both these colours, particularly DaR. They're creme colours, which is great, because I do tend to go for more shimmery polishes.


E.L.F. Beauty School 32 piece eyeshadow palette Volume 1. I used this today also, and I love it. The photos make the colours look quite pink, but in actual fact, there is a great mix of creams, browns and blacks. Ranging from very light to very dark, and from completely matte to very shimmery/glittery. There are even a couple matte colours which have glitter in them. Gorgeous.

On top of these lovely gifts, I was completely spoiled by my amazing friend Matt with these presents:


A Lush gift set. The name escapes me at the moment and I feel stupid. I'll edit when I remember ha.


A set of nail art brushes.


My very first MAC lipstick! It's in Patisserie, and I think it might have just become my favourite lipstick.


And Chanel's Peridot nail polish. I seriously would have been happy if this was the only present I got!

Also, not pictured, my mum gave me a set of mini glitter nail polishes from Claire's, a nice 17 blue nail polish and a set of make up brushes.

I'm so grateful to my friends and family for such lovely things.

What was your favourite gift this Christmas?

Thursday 1 December 2011

And the winner is...

Emilee94!
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Congratulations! I’m about to send you a message. Please make sure you respond within 48 hours, or another winner will be chosen :)
Thank you to everyone who entered. There will be more giveaways in the future, so watch this space! 

Monday 21 November 2011

Lush bath ballistic - Phoenix Rising

When I heard about this product, before I'd even seen it, I fell in love with it. Purple is my favourite colour, I love shiny things and phoenixes are pretty awesome. What's not to love?

Then I heard that it sinks to the bottom of the bath, and rises again, revealing a green centre. Even more love.

Then I saw it, and let me tell you, it is just beautiful.



See what I mean?

The Lush website says that it will "release gentle shea butter, cocoa butter and jojoba oil to leave your skin feather-soft. Exotic essential oils of fruit and spices take your mind on a flight of fancy to distant shores where you are lying on a beach drinking spiced rum."


The fragrance is quite musky, but it's not overpowering, and doesn't linger too long.


I'll be honest and say that once I put this in the bath, I was a bit disappointed. The colour is really beautiful, and perfectly matches the walls of my purple bathroom. But I didn't really see any sinking, or the green centre. 



I'm not sure if it came from a duff batch, or maybe I left it too long after buying it. The fragrance and colour of this bath ballistic are enough to make me think that I'll buy it again, and I'd definitely love to see if a different one would work better according to Lush's description.


Have you tried this one? What did you think?



Wednesday 9 November 2011

Giveaway!

Beauty on a Budget giveaway!
I never thought I would reach 50 followers on this blog. I know 50 is insignificant compared to others, but I am thrilled. So I wanted to do a little giveaway to say thank you to you all. 
The prizes: 
  • Batiste dry shampoo in Blush
  • Model’s Own ‘smash up’ nail polish in silver
  • Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in ‘850 Hard Edged’
  • Rimmel Stir It Up eye shadow in ‘300 Sure…’
  • Revlon Mix & Mingle lip palette in ‘270 Tango with Mango’
  • PLUS 2 items of your choice from the Lush Christmas range (excluding gift sets)
The rules:
  • You must be following this blog
  • To enter, just comment on this post with your Google Friend Connect username, and your email address so I can contact you if you win.
  • For an extra entry, follow my Tumblr, and reblog the giveaway post.
  • This giveaway is open internationally
  • I will be choosing a winner on the 1st December. The winner will be announced here, on my Tumblr and will be contacted. They will have 48 hours to respond, or I will choose another winner.
Good luck, and thanks again!