NOTD: KIKO Milano Smart nail lacquer "32 Peacock Green"

I did get a few nail polishes in my KIKO haul, and this is the one I decided to try out first! The more budget range in KIKO is called 'Smart' and has eye shadows and eye pencils too.

I did 2 coats, here, nice and smooth! The brush is perhaps a bit small but you can work with it. It is quite quick drying which is always great. I topped it with my trust Sally Hansen MegaShine as usual.

I can't get the camera to pick up the duochrome in this as usual. It's not as strong as some other similar ones I have but it's definitely noticeable even in lower light levels :) The base is also more navy than this bright blue. My camera always struggle with these type of polishes.

Anyway I really like this - good start for my first foray into KIKO nail polishes!

BLACK FRIDAY MADNESS: KIKO Milano

I tend to get over-excited about large discounts (January sales anyone?) AND new makeup so it was a no-brainer I was dying go to the store opening of the new KIKO Milano store in Aberdeen today. Also there is the Black Friday offer of buy 3, get 3 free. I mean, it's just a mindbogglingly good deal. It's online too, if you don't have a store near you!

So in the past I've resisted buying from the online shop as I like to try things before I buy. And there is a definite lack of swatches online for some reason despite KIKO being very popular in Europe so I am not sure why this is.

I wasn't the only one excited for the new store! As you can see - there was a long queue to get in... And once inside, there was elbows at the ready to actually get to see things. Then a gargantuan queue for the tills. In more quiet conditions I think I could easy be in there for an hour but my inner panic alarm was starting to go off within about 2 minutes...

But I made it! With a 6 product haul :)

However on my way home from work, I may have returned for another 6 product haul... Just too good a deal to pass up! Some of these products will be Xmas presents so it's not all for me :) Despite being late on in the afternoon, the shop was even more crowded... But I did get a free cupcake to keep me going in the queue to the till!

I can't wait to wear test it all, look out for the swatch and review posts! :) If you have tried anything from KIKO what's your favourite product??

REVIEW: Boots Ingredients Sheet Mask "Super Hyaluronic" Hydrating + Nourishing

I am loving sheet masks, just like everyone else! :) I saw this and was like, yes, of course I need more sheet masks! And at £2.50 RRP so it won't break the bank either.

My skin is starting to go from it's well-behaved summer state to the angry, dry winter state so I am forever trying to quench it, even if I drink my recommended 8 glasses of water a day and use really rich skin care. I was drawn to this offering due to this, and I also bought the "Luminous Youth" one.

This is rather drippy, which is also my issue with the Garnier Moisture Bomb (still loving that by the way!). But it seems to stick to my face quite well but as with other sheet masks, it's waaaaay to large for my face.

Initially when I put it on, it did feel almost like it was stinging my skin... I did however stick with it, and it went away after a couple of minutes. I guess it was the hyaluronic acid doing it's thing.

When it came off, I was thrilled at the resulting soft, plump skin! :) As I've come to do, I then applied it to my chest as well. Well worth it for the price of a Starbucks Gingerbread Latte! I am now really excited to try the 'Luminous Youth' one, hoping it works well enough that I can get IDed for buying alcohol in the supermarket afterwards ;)

UPDATE: Essie Gel Couture Wear Test

What a waste of money!! After only a day, I had a lot of tip wear from very little typing, and by day 4, the chipping was so bad I wanted to take it off, but resisted. By day 6, this is what it looked like. It was even lifting in places along the sides. I've had cheap £2.99 normal nail polish that lasts better than this!

Please avoid this line like the plague. A short Google session later and it appears I'm not the only reviewer with these results...

Nil points, Essie.

REVIEW: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick Palette "Blackmail"

I had been lusting after this particular palette since I first caught sight of these as previews from US bloggers during late summer. I couldn't believe my eyes when I realised they had released over here and immediately ordered one! It's currently only on the Urban Decay website but I've been assured Debenhams will get one of them in (not sure which one, but guessing it's "Blackmail" as it's more sellable to non-bloggers).

This palette has more wearable shades that it's sister, the "Junkie" palette. It has all six new formulas from the Vice lipstick range. It comes with it's own little retractable lip brush but I found this to be a little too small for my liking, but perhaps girls with thinner lips might like it. I have ended up using a concealer brush from Avon which works wonderfully. I load the retractable brush with my chosen shade in the morning for top up during the day and just carry it in my makeup bag so I don't have to take the whole palette.

The only shade I think I may get limited wear out of in this palette is 'Blackmail' itself - it's such a dark matte shade I would  have a hard time pulling it off other than Halloween :)

My favourites so far, which may end up being bought in full size, are 'Sheer Shame' and 'Amulet'. If there was one washout it has got to be 'Vanished', which I found didn't do anything else for me than what a clear lip balm would :( I haven't done any swatches of these, as I was hoping instead to do some Lip of the Day posts...

The packaging is amazingly luxe! The inside has a huge mirror in the lid, and the lid stays up so you can use the palette as a proper makeup mirror. There is a cover that flips over to offer additional protection to the wells of lipstick. You could also use this as a palette to mix colours up if you wanted. The brush as I said is quality but a bit small for my personal preference. The only negative about the packaging is the finish attracts fingerprints like nothing else...

Loving this! I can't wait to wear more of these shades out and about :) If you love lipstick this is a great palette. This is £31.50, so for me, it's within the range of affordability and a nice thing to have if you don't already own gazillions of lipsticks!

NOTD: Essie Gel Couture "Fairy Tailor"

I needed something new and nude for my nails for some upcoming events, so I decided on this combo - the new Gel Couture from Essie. Gel Couture is a no UV gel nail polish, so you have to use the proprietary top coat with this too. The polish and the top coat retail for £9.99 each but you can get buy 1 get 2nd half price in Boots right now on all of Essie's range!

I had seen some swatches of this online, and I must say I am possibly doing something wrong but this is very streaky. I followed advice from the Essie rep in the video in this review by Beautygeeks how to apply it and how long to wait in between coats, but damn, it's not pretty. It's wearable if you don't look too close (or know anything about manicures), and I intend to give this it's 14 day run for a proper wear test. Or as long a run as it gets before it's chip city. However based on this initial experience, it's likely this set will go to my mother...

The colour is very close to my wedding manicure from Essie, "Vanity Fairest", minus the shimmer. I really like a slick of "Vanity Fairest" and some super-shiney top coat for a last-minute chic manicure (sometimes need those), and was hoping this would be similar.

It does apply smoothly, and is fairly quick dry, but I just didn't feel the formula gave me the finish that I was looking for in terms of the coverage.

I will update you on the wear test in a couple of weeks time :)