These new little nail polishes have been in stores now for over a week but I decided not to buy as none of the shades stood out enough for me. However, today I saw "Marie Antoinette" and for some reason I thought - "I love this colour!". Normally I am not a nude person, as you know...
There is something about this colour that makes me want to like it. It's a peachy-pink nude sheer. This is 3 coats, I wanted it opaque as I didn't like the streaky finish I got on the first coat... The brush is lovely, but the bottle design is impractical - if you don't watch, you will definitely be knocking over the brush a million times. The formula on this sheer polish wasn't great, it just wanted to streak. I will have to get a darker colour to see if I have the same problem. Price-wise, I personally think £4.99 for 5 ml is a rip-off, but that may just be me...
I love the finished paint job however! It's very shiny in it's own right but you know me, I am addicted to speed-dry top coat :)
I took out something light today as I have a wedding reception to go to on Saturday and wanted to make sure my nails is tip-top for any polish I may choose to wear. This is 2 coats and you can still see a bit of my stained nails... Oops. Oh well. You certainly can't see it when you are not in macro mode so it'll do :) I slicked on a quick coat of MegaShine as usual. It's a super-sparkly white, but due to it's advancing age it's a bit thick and messy to paint with... I need to use some Seche Restore on this polish.
This fab new green polish is part of the Boots 17 spring collection I believe. I don't have a polish in this colour so I got it. This is 3 coats and a coat of MegaShine. I was going to do some funky nail art tips with my new Topshop nail art pen in "Visionary", but the polish is too soft right now; the tip of the nail art pen is VERY hard and sharp so would scratch right through the polish. I might jazz up the tips tomorrow with "Visionary" when the polish is fully hardened.
I have been trying lots of new stuff over the weekend, most of it from my Joliebox (formely Boudoir Prive), but I also go some of the new L'oreal shampoo + conditioner, EverPure!
I chose the Colour Care for dry hair formula. I love the light scent - the shampoo is subtly herby (rosemary and juniper) and the conditioner has a minty kick (rosemary and mint) to it. It lathers a lot for a sulphate free formula shampoo?? My hair seems to like this series as it's shiny, soft and tanglefree. But I am not a fan of the tube bottles. They are made of something almost metallic, and thus they crinkle up which makes them unattractive; it's may just be me but I prefer a bottle any day! I suppose the packaging is different from the Elvive bottles as they are marketed to a different demographic. But I am still liking this shampoo + conditioner, and I will continue to use it and hopefully have an updated review for you in a couple of weeks.
So it finally arrived! February's Joliebox introduces a drawstring bag inside now to hold all the samples instead of the crinkly paper wiggles and the tissue paper. A nice touch, but perhaps a bit wasteful?.. I can recycle the paper shreddings and re-use the tissue paper to pack stuff but I'm probably just going to keep the little bag just because it's a waste to throw it in the bin.
I am most thrilled about the little Jane Iredale Forever Pink Just Kissed™ Lip and Cheek Stain sample! It looks like a pastel pink in the tube, so not your average purple liquid here! I couldn't help to put some on my wrist. First it looked just waxy and shiny. Then after about half an hour, the waxy shine has come into a nice natural pink bloom! I can't wait to try it on my lips and cheeks :)
The Lavera Basis Sensitiv Hand Cream is lovely and rich - it has a light scent that is a bit herby. I don't see it replacing my beloved Jergens Naturals hand cream or Soap & Glory Hand Food
Taaj Micellar Tonic Makeup Remover will be a new experience for me - I've not tried any of the new micellar removers! I have no cotton rounds at the moment so I will wait to try it until I get some more. It's the biggest sample in the box - I would have liked a bigger sample of the hand cream if I'd had a choice, but after trying it I might change my mind.
I am looking forward to trying the Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Hair Masque. My hair needs some pampering now. Off topic, I am trying the new L'Oreal EverPure Shampoo and Conditioner tomorrow, I got them in Boots today. They are any 2 for £9 at the moment.
The RMK Cleansing Oil is calling to me - I love the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils so I am hopeful for this one!
Because I've been so busy with work lately, I still have most of the December Jolie box content to try and review as well. It's going to be an exciting beauty weekend for me :)
So this has been in my stash for, eh, 3 years?.. I've frankened with it. That's it. Not that that franken was a bad effort but I'm stumped now that it's on why I've never worn it on it's own. It's gorgeous! It all started this morning on the bus when I got an email from Nails Inc going on about their cobalt blue "Baker St" and how it's the polish right du jour. So I went onto the website and there was a news snippet that "Baker St" was the first polish Beyonce wore in public after having her lovely little sprout Blue Ivy. I thought 'hey, I have a Barry M just like that one'..
So here it is! This is 2 coats - you only need one! A bit gloopy but that may just be due to age. Lovely and shiny without top coat, but you know me, I need to have my quick-dry fix!
Crocus under the rhododendron bush looking a bit cold...
So the snow arrived overnight! :) I am wondering whether to put a blanket on my poor crocus and snowdrops that have sprung up!
My NOTD is probably a cry for summer to arrive already. I've been plagued by colds and flus this winter and general low immune system so I am so ready for some brilliant sunshine and nestling my toes in warm grass... I watched the live stream of Topshop UNIQUE A/W today, and felt it was dark and dreary and a bit 'steampunk' for my liking?.. But the model's hair was like mine - wash, don't brush, let dry naturally and et voila - hair in all directions with fly aways and dodgy partings. So I won't need to be trying to look cool next A/W, I will just have to "wash n' go" as usual! Anyway, back to my NOTD. This is 3 coats of "Glow" with a slick of MegaShine top coat. You have to be careful or you end up with a very brush-strokey finish. Please ignore the sore hangnail, I got it after a paper cut at work :( I love these golden-greens, I have a lot of similar ones including the coveted China Glaze "Moonpool". CrystalPolish has done a brilliant comparison of "Moonpool", SH "Glow" and L'Oreal "B.Strong", in case you want to see them side by side.
On the subject of green - I also saw a grand comparison on The Swatchaholic for dupes for Chanel "Peridot" - I am feeling lucky I got "Peridot" as I don't have access to any of these other brands in the UK??? But the photos are as usual fantastic so even if you can't get ANY of these, it's worth a look :)
And in other news; I have some new business cards from MOO, they are the 'mini cards' and are brilliant! I got a pink keyring box to keep them in as well. Brilliant for having in your handbag to hand out at any time :) I of course 'christened' mine and managed to get greasy stains on my first one from my Solaroil already...
On a completely different subject now: I soooooo wanted to love OPI's Muppet collection, but I didn't :( I liked "Warm and Fozzie" and "Meep-Meep-Meep" but the glitters were a disappointment. I have a really nice Claires chunky glitter that I prefer. I am yet to see the new Muppets movie, but here is a funny advert for milk (ehm, yes, milk) that is on just now - you just have to love Pepe :D 'Magic potato!'
My number one most popular post is the one about my home hair colour disaster! The world LOOOOVES to hate home hair colour. Well, I guess I should too because since that day 3 years ago, I have been colouring my hair - at home. I am not at which stage last summer I decided that it would be a good idea to go even blonder than I am naturally... I don't know what I was thinking. The white-blonde happiness was brief. I then spent a long time trying to cover roots. Anyway. I decided it was time to go back to my honey blonde 'roots'. But I decided I needed a darker honey blonde, as I think I am going darker as I age (shock! horror!). So I decided on Garnier Nutrisse Creme in the shade "8.0 Vanilla Blonde". It is a golden medium blonde shade.
So a little review on how the application is. It's your standard 'squeeze-the-tube-in-the-bottle' hair colourant. It's easy to mix in the bottle and because it's very gooey it sticks to your hair and doesn't drip. The first whiffs of this stuff isn't too offensive but whoa - once it kind of gets going it is very strong. I had to open the bathroom window as I thought I was going to choke to death.
25 minutes later and rinsing time. You lather it up and rinse it out. My hair didn't have that steel-wool feel. It felt soft. And that was even before the deep conditioner! After the conditioner, it was super-soft. I waited for it to dry - and I like it :) My hair is just that shade darker honey blonde that I was hoping for. I tried to photograph before and after of the same bit of my hair but it didn't come out very well but lets just say my result is very close to the box!
Before
After
Me loving it. Hopefully this means I won't have to hit the peroxide every 4 weeks like clockwork.... :)
