Current Nails: Essie Fear & Desire

Currently I am wearing...

This bright satsuma neon orange colour by Essie called 'Fear & Desire'.

I love Essie nail polishes, as I find that a lot of their colours are unlike anything you can find elsewhere. Also although with this 'new formula' I don't notice much of a difference in appearance or general wear, the brush is so so amazing.

It's a thick wide-spanning one so literally one swipe and your whole nail is covered! Makes painting nails super quick!

To see more Essie posts:

I did a 'current nails' with 'Bikini So Teeny' a while back, a beautiful shade. The pictures on that are a lot better as I didn't have time here to get out my proper camera and I had to rush off!

I also featured 'Bikini So Teeny' in last year's spring nail polish edition 'Put a Spring in your step', a blog post of my favourite spring polishes. It's definitely worth a read!

And in my winter nails selection I featured another beautiful Essie shade, 'Velvet voyeur'. 

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Update: A couple days after, I got bored as I so often do with my nail polish.

Instead of taking it off and putting on a new colour as I so often do, instead I did something I sometimes do, which to change up the nails without the full bother of repainting, I just whacked on a matte topcoat! Done.

And hey presto your nails are like new.

The best thing about using a matte topcoat is that it dries super quickly, way quicker than any glossy topcoat I've tried, so rejuvenating your nails takes like 20 seconds and then you can get on with your life!

In my 'Ultimate Nail Polish Tips' blog post I named my favourite matte topcoats, and the one I used here is the Rimmel pro matte finish one, it's so cheap and I can't complain at all it's all you need in a matte topcoat. I also gave loads of other good nail polish tips.

I also have a nail care megapost which gives my top tips for healthy strong nails- it's definitely worth a read!

What nail polish do you currently have on? What's your favourite nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

Eye Makeup: Gold and Blue Smokey Eye

Friday 20th June Eye Makeup Look

As I mentioned in the last eye makeup look I posted, which was very similar to this just using purple and silver, I know I'm going to be going out quite a lot in the coming months so I've decided to document each funky eye makeup look I do and give a quick description of what I did. It all stems from the conscious decision I've made to branch out with my eye looks and add pops of colour to make them more artistic and adventurous.

So for this party on friday I did something I've done once before, using a gold shadow all over the lid and a bright blue in the corners and under the eye for a pop of colour.

I hope the picture quality is okay, I know it's not as good as last time because I was getting ready at a friends and didn't have my huge Canon camera.

I know this look may not seem that adventurous, and it's not pretending to be, I just have recently liked doing a tiny addition of colour to amp up the drama in my eye makeup for a night out.

For anyone interested, now I'm going to describe what I did.

I used a matte white as a browbone highlight and then a medium cool-toned brown just above the crease and into it as a transition colour. I then used a pigmented gold shadow from the innermost part of the eye even using it as a highlight there also, and carrying it across 3//4 of the eyelid, but not dragging it much into the crease. I mirrored this placement under the lower lash line too. Then I placed a bright blue shade on the remaining part of the eye and blended it into the gold to make a smooth even transition from gold to blue. Again I mirrored this on the lashline by placing blue 1/4 of the way across and blending it into the gold underneath. I finished it off with black eyeliner into a wing on the upper lashline, and a few coats of mascara.

I just love the gold-blue eyeshaodow colour combination! I really didn't think I would be able to wear gold shadow because I'm so so pale, and it generally looks better if its not a stark darker contrast to your skin colour! But I really like wearing it in this look and I'm going to branch out and maybe try some gold-based smokey eyes in the future.

Here are the products I used:

I used the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk for the eyeshadow base/primer. As you can see, it's my favourite one and I've used it loads.

For the lid colours, the gold and blue, I used two colours from the Urban Decay sustainable Palette which is really old now- it was my first palette! And I'm trying to use it again as the colours are amazing (just a bit chunky on glitter, and not as smooth in texture as their more recent eyeshadow additions). The colours were Half Baked (a huge favourite of many, and in many Urban Decay palettes, and Kiddie Pool (which I just think is the best name ever, especially for this shade). They're next to each other in the bottom right of the palette.

For the browbone highlight and matte brown transition shade I used the Soap and Glory Lid Stuff quad in the shade What's Nude, (for the browbone I used the lightest shade, and for the transition a mixture of the two other matte colours (so the only one I did not use was the 4th colour, the sheeny dark brown)).

For mascara I used the Maybelline One By One and Clinique bottom lash mascara.

And for eyeliner I used the L'Oreal Linear Intense eyeliner in Carbon black which is my favourite eyeliner by far and lasts for ages- I will never find an eyeliner I love this much.

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That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading about this look, it's so simple but looks amazing. I'll be posting another one of these looks very shortly so hope you guys love reading that one too!

Would you wear this eyeshadow look? What's your go-to slightly different eye look? Let me know in the comments below.

Burt's Bees Body Wash: Empty-Review

Empties: Mini Reviews

Today I finished: this Peppermint and Rosemary Body Wash from Burt's Bees.

This is slightly smaller than the normal size as I got it in a gift set a few months ago.

I used this to clean myself in the shower, it has a nice, fresh scent which might be a bit overpowering for some people, but I liked it. Also the formulation is quite thick but I found this was a good thing and not a hindrance.

I don't think I'll repurchase this as I have other body washes or shower gels ready to use, and others I probably prefer more than this. A good alternative but still a similar product to this are the shower gels from The Body Shop which I actually prefer to this.

What's your favourite brand? What product did you last use up? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Skincare Miracle: Tea Tree Oil

My Experience with Tea Tree Oil

I've had this for almost half a month now, and have been using it nearly every day.

I originally bought it in yet another attempt to somehow heal my grossly infected tragus piercing... *sigh*, the troubles of a pierced-gal (anyone got any tips??).

For that, I've had little luck as of yet- it seems way too harsh and just burns the skin and irritates it even more (and yes I did dilute it!)-, but I'll have to keep you updated.

However what I have been using it for, and loving the long term effects it's been having, is as a sort of skincare treatment on my face.

I initially began doing so because obviously Tea Tree oil is well-known for its skincare-redeeming properties, and is found in many skincare items such as cleansers that I have already tried. I have such a huge tub that I wanted to try it for things other than ear piercings, as I had read the reviews where I bought it saying it was a completely multi-use product.

Before I started using this, I don't know why but I was going through a really bad skin period. And I'm not just talking a few spots that grow bigger and then gradually fade away, oh no. 

I began noticing spot-like bumps, mainly on the sides of my face, like the cheekbone area, (which is somewhere I know acne-prone people usually get hormonal spots, not that I personally have ever suffered from acne), and these bumps would not grow or shrink really and maybe go away but after a while.

Have you guys ever experienced it? I had no idea what I was dealing with.

I also got rough spots in other places around my face. It was horrible.

Since then I've been using tea tree oil every day or every two days as a wash over my skin, and have also reduced Clarasonic use (I might do a 1 year on blog post on this soon, let me know if that interests you) to once a day instead of twice a day. And my skin has cleared up a LOT.

This has helped with my spot-bump things, and definitely would be amazing for a spot treatment when you get those huge oily gross spots- I know I get those, and this is the perfect product for it.

HOW I'VE BEEN USING IT:

• Once or twice a day
• Soak a cotton pad in either a cleanser (bioderma, not like a foaming one), toner (the Clearasil and Garnier ones are my current favourites), or a sea-salt mix
• Afterwards, drop 3-4 drops of tea tree oil onto the soaked pad
• Diluting it is extremely important: this stuff is strong. A little bit is refreshing, but if you put too much on, it's going to burn your skin, and clearly this is not good for it. Be careful about putting this on open spots, as it burns any open skin. Also, I have dry and sensitive (perhaps broken skin) around the nose, and I have found that putting it here stings loads, so I hardly put it over that area
• I then wipe my cotton pad all over my face. Again, because it's so strong, avoid the eye area
• Despite being an oil, it's not too thick and does fully sink into the skin

This really feels like it cleans and cleanses it, making your skin fresh, pristine and smooth.

Because of these properties, I have tried using this in the morning (I usually just use it at night) to see if it works like a primer and mattes my face, making it better for makeup application. It does not. I do find it makes my skin slightly oilier in the long run, and therefore I have stuck to using it at night and not during the day under makeup.

I think a little bit would be fine, and would give your skin a dewy look whilst being great for it- something you can't say about most makeup! 

I have also tried adding a couple drops to moisturiser and this works amazingly.

I think the easiest place to buy a product like this is either amazon or ebay, and here is the link to where I bought mine, off Amazon for £7. This price is something I see as reasonable considering it's 100ml, AND you dilute it, so it'll probably last me forever. As you can see, I've used very little.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BBVZLPG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have you tried Tea Tree Oil, and if not, will you be? What's your current skincare miracle? Let me know in the comments below.

Eye Makeup: Silver and Purple Smokey Eye

Thursday 19th June Eye Makeup Look

Recently I've made the conscious decision to amp up my eye makeup looks. I always do a standard silver eye with a brown crease when I go out, but I decided to branch out and start doing some different looks. I realised I have so many beautiful colourful eyeshadows, and I love experimenting so am really trying to wear some different and interesting eyeshadow looks out- the best time to try something a little bit crazy is when going out at night! 

I'm going to post pictures of these eye looks when I do them. Some might not necessarily be looks suitable for daytime, but hopefully will give you guys some nighttime inspiration, an insight into what products I use when I go out, and inspire me too to keep up the "branching out" style. 

I'm going to be going out quite a lot in the coming months as exams are over- woooo! So these posts might become a regular thing. Let me know if you like them!

I used mainly the colours from the Lime Crime Palette d'antoinette (at the end there will be a picture of the products used and a full list), which I featured in a haul and did some up close swatches of each colour, so check that out if you're interested.

Basically I love this palette, and I plan on doing a green-orange look with it soon. The colours are creamy and apply beautifully, easy to blend and super pigmented. And surprisingly, there really isn't much fall out at all.

As you can see, the look is quite subtle and super wearable! But the pop of colour slightly adds to your usual eye look and gives it a little bit of something extra. You could definitely put the purple into the crease below the brown if you wanted even more drama, I might try that out next time.

I used a matte white as a browbone highlight (under the brow), then brushed a matte brown shade into the crease as a transition colour to really pull the look together. I then placed the silver from the palette from the very inner part of the eye from an inner corner highlight right to about 3/4 of the way across the lid. Then I placed the pink, overlapping it slightly and adding a few layers to intensify the colour, and right at outer edge of the eye I placed the purple, again blending them all together. I repeated the silver-pink-purple structure under the eye, as well as smudging a bit of brown on the outer 1/4 of the lower lash line.

Here are the products I used.

For the lid colours, the silver, pink and purple, I used the Lime Crime Palette d'antoinette (top left).

For the transition crease shade I used the top right shade from the Soap and Glory Lid Stuff quad in 'What's Nude' (the middle product).

For the browbone highlight I used the white (bottom row, three from right and well loved, as you can see, I've hit pan) from the Coastal Scents Smokey Eyes palette you'll see on the right of the picture, which is really great for colourful looks.

For eyeliner I used the L'Oreal super liner slim, and the normal super liner, both in black, and my mascara was The Rocket by Maybelline.

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This is a new thing for me to try so I would really love to hear your feedback, let me know in the comments below if you like this format and also of course if you like this look!

Current Nails: OPI Teal The Cows Come Home

Currently I am Wearing...

This metallic bright blue by OPI which I got in a minis set of 5 that didn't say the names on any of them, but I've researched the colour and I do believe it is called 'Teal The Cows Come Home'.

I couldn't find the set of minis on the internet anywhere for some reason (I bought it from TK Maxx I think for a discounted price), but if you like the colour shown here you can still buy the full size.

Aren't the OPI names just amazing? ;') And obviously the application is wonderful too, I think their formulation is my favourite by any brand.

My nails are finally longer and healthier! To see my tips and tricks, read my nail care megapost!

Two coats of the nail polish over a basecoat

What are you currently wearing on your nails? What's your favourite brand of nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

E.L.F. Loves and Loathes: Face Edition

E.L.F. Loves and Loathes (Face Products)

This is last in a three-part blog post set, I've already done eye products and lip products.

E.L.F. is an online brand but in other parts of the world you can even get them in drugstores! They're so popular because their products are really cheap, and yet they aim to dupe a lot of more expensive products out there.

Can I just firstly say that these are my opinions and my opinions only- some of you may love the products I hate, and vice versa!

So let's get into it!

I'm gonna start off with the so-so products, I don't have any loathes for this category, just to get them out of the way...

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SO-SO PRODUCTS (5)

1.
Shimmering Facial Whip
£1.95

I love using a liquid highlighter on the top of my cheekbones sometimes as it gives an even more natural finish.



The product is clearly aiming to be somewhat the Benefit High Beam, and it's not quite there. But for the fact it's 1/12th of the price I'd say it's probably a fine alternative. Really it's a very similar product.

Three stages of blending

For the price it's really good, especially since with the 50% off that ELF always seems to have, this would be just under £1!

2.
High Definition Powder
£6.95

This is a much more expensive product compared to the rest of the ELF line! I got it ages ago when there was only the translucent shade, but now they have a couple other alternatives too. I wouldn't suggest buying this if you're very dark skinned, as it doesn't completely blend out so it could give a bit of a white cast, but it's nothing I notice.

The powder comes with a powder puff which is good enough, and a sieve-thing too but I took that out to get to the rest of the powder as I begin to run out. As you can see, it does tend to get a bit messy and go everywhere.

This powder sets your makeup amazingly, which is something I find actually most powders don't do. If you put this over the top of concealer, it actually wont budge at all or be able to be blended. It also mattifys the skin really well.

The problem is that it isn't finely-milled enough! If you have this you'll know what I'm talking about- there's slightly bigger grains too which haven't been fully crushed. Sometimes you see these on your face, and overall it can tend to look a bit powdery unless you're careful.

3.

Contouring Blush and Bronzing Kit

£3.95

As you can see I depotted mine. It now comes in other shades and even a cream shade, which to me is just so exciting! I really want to try those.

I found that my bronzer was so unpigmented! It literally didn't come off at all when I tried to use it. This is why I cracked it (on purpose, yes), and that improved the pigmentation loads. But I'm willing to accept this is not the ordinary, as people usually complain about it being too pigmented!

The blush is amazing, really glittery and pretty. It's similar to one of the studio blushes as seen below called Twinkle Pink, and it's also been described as a dupe for NARS 'Orgasm', as has the bronzer in this been seen as a dupe for Laguna bronzer.

The texture of these is really nice and super blendable. I do recommend this product, and I'm sure most people who try it would agree.

4.
Studio Blush
£3.95

I have 4 shades, and to me they're okay but not quite worth the hype that everyone gives them!

There's a nice colour selection and they're quite pigmented, which is good, but they can be a bit chalky. However I do still like them, they're just not the best.

The packaging is no doubt amazing, but the product lets it down.

Twinkle Pink, Pink Passion, Tickled Pink, Giddy Gold

4.
Tinted Moisturiser

£4.50

I have the two lightest shades, Porcelain and Nude, and they're both too dark for me right now. The coverage is extremely light, but that's fine, it's what you'd expect from a tinted moisturiser. It does make your face look moreso one colour, which is nice.

It's really light on the skin and looks super natural.

So yeah it's alright, I'll continue to wear it but not as anything other than a really sheer coverage, it's nothing close to a foundation.

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AMAZING PRODUCTS (3)

1.

Tone Correcting Powder

£3.95

This I loved, as you can see by the massive dent.

As with the other powder it can tend to be powdery if you're not careful, but otherwise it's so nice as a mattifying setting powder. I don't use this all the time but I will be sad when I run out.

It has 4 tone correcting shades and it's meant to tone correct your skin. I can't say it necessarily does this?? But it's a brilliant powder nonetheless- give it a try!

2.

Mineral Infused Primer

£6.95

Another more expensive product! It's worth it though, when you have the 50% off voucher. It's amazing though. It's a transparent gel that feels smooth on the skin. I can't really comment on making your makeup stay on longer, but it does seem to slightly blur your skin and definitely mattes it (I could wear it alone with no foundation), but not as much as the Garneir perfect blur one I love.

What's annoying is that you can't see when you're running low! I did a final pump of my first one of these and was like 'oh! it's now empty!' haha. But yeah, it's good, and I've repurchased this (this is my second one), and probably would again.

3.

Mineral Mist and Set

£3.95

Final product! Now this is good for the price. People have complained about the smell- I agree it's a bit off but it's not awful and I'm 100% fine with it.

I don't know what to say on if this makes your makeup last longer- again, this is extremely hard to measure, but what I mainly use this for (and as you can see I've almost used all of it), is spraying it onto a brush with eyeshadow on to make it into a more liquidy shade- especially amazing with metallic shades, this makes it even more pigmented and metallic. It's also amazing to use on black eyeshadow on an angled brush to use as eyeliner (much easier than liquid liner). Does anyone want a full post on this technique? I'm thinking of doing one.

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I'd quickly like to mention the ELF spot treatment products available. The Zit Zapper is a roll on chemical liquid that kind of burns off your spots. I quite like it, but spot treatment is very personal so you'd really have to try it for yourself. The Mineral Blemish Powder is completely different. It's a loose powder that comes with a brush, and this is amazing for drying out those oily spots. It is very drying though, so don't put this on any dry spots!




Quick shoutout to ELF brushes- they're amazing. These are the ones I love loads.



I have the Powder brush, stipple brush, small stipple brush, and face kabuki. They're all so cheap and around the £3 mark. And they're honestly brilliant quality. The powder and kabuki brushes I use for packing on powder foundation or setting powders, the larger stippling brush I use for application of bronzer and blending all my face products nicely together, as well as for powder sometimes. And the small stipple brush is perfect for blush, especially cream blushes.

I love these brushes so so much and ELF brushes are no doubt worth a try. I use them every day.

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I hope this was interesting and helpful to you guys!

What are your favourite face products from ELF? What are your least favourite? Let me know in the comments below.