Maybelline Colour Show nail varnish in 'Burgundy Kiss'

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

To me Autumn represents preparing for the cold by buying anything that'll keep me cosy and wearing dark nail varnish. I've got my fluffy socks and water bottle ready so now its time to take care of the nails. I'm a huge fan of burgundy or anything berry toned come to think of it so this fitted the bill perfectly. Aptly named 'Burgundy Kiss' this polish screams autumn, a deep plum toned red with a hint of purple. Two coats is enough to give an opaque, shiny, and even finish. For £2.99 I can't fault these polishes, they come in a great selection of shades and have lasted just as long as any Essie polishes on my nails.

I'm now on the look out for more Autumn toned nail  polishes can you recommend any to add to my collection? 

Rimmel 'Stay Matte' liquid mousse foundation

       

     

      

      

      

     

Recently to arrive on the Rimmel counter and make its way into my make up bag is the new 'Stay Matte' liquid mousse foundation. I've recently started a new job with long hours and wanted an alternative to replace my Estée Lauder 'Double Wear.' A new job plus long hours means I need something long lasting with good coverage and had heard this might be exactly what I was looking for. 

The 'Stay Matte' foundation is marketed as a 'feather-light, liquid mousse that blends flawlessly for natural-looking, all day shine control. A silky smooth formula that leaves a perfectly matte, baby-soft finish. A lightweight texture that won't feel heavy or greasy.' I was pleasantly surprised at how lightweight the texture was for such a medium to full coverage foundation and how even the finish was.  I was worried it would cling to dry patches as I have dry/normal skin but so long as I moisturiser first I've had no problems. Being a matte foundation and having dry skin I haven't found the need to powder on top but if you have oily skin there'd be no harm in arming your self against the shine although you probably won't need to! I hate having to touch up my make up in the day so the fact it lasts all day at work for me is a big plus but the real winning component here for me is its blendability. It contains gel emulsifiers which help to really blend it into the skin leaving you a silky smooth, flawless base to work from.

For a drugstore foundation I think the colour range is much better than many too. It offers 6 shades starting at 'Porcelain' being the lightest. I have shade 103 'true ivory' which seems to match me well at the moment, I have more yellow undertones to my skin but I did see a more pink undertones shade so hopefully there would be one to suit you. There's something about the packaging I like, maybe its the change from foundations in glass bottles? I know the tube looks less expensive but with the matte finish something just works for me. It's super light and doesn't take up much room so will be great for travelling too! 

I never got around to trying the Rimmel 'Wake me up' foundation when everyone jumped on that bandwagon but after having such a good experience with this I think I might have to try it, I do like me some dew sometimes! 

Have you tried the 'Stay Matte' liquid foundation? 

My Week In Pictures #1

      

                       

                       

                        1. Almost Halloween time, we now have two pumpkins ready to be carved.

2. A cupcake that looks like a tub of ice cream?! Chocolate, honeycomb and fudge heaven! 

3. Vanilla creme brûlée shower gel I found whilst in town.

4. A new and intriguing release 'dry oil mist.'

5. Beautiful view from a week my boyfriend and I did yesterday to get out of the city.

6. Duck at a Michelin star restaurant, yum!

7. In a dressing gown at the spa ready to jump in the pool.

8. A long overdue clean of my make up brushes.

9. Magical mushrooms we found on our walk.

Hope you've all had a lovely week :) I start my new job tomorrow which I'm so scared about, wish me luck! 

Moroccan Oil 'Moisture Repair' Shampoo and Conditioner

         

   

         

         

          

          

   

Today I'm coming at you with possibly the best smelling hair care products out there. I've been a huge fan of the Moroccan Oil line for a long time now using the oil in my daily hair routine.

I received the shampoo and conditioner as a gift sometime ago and can't believe its taken me so to share with you! The shampoo and conditioner claim to " Gently cleanse while infusing hair with argon oil, fatty acids, proteins and nutrients whilst leaving hair soft, shiny and full of body." They are sulphate, phosphate and paraben free but do contain silicones. I've heard a few people say they've had trouble getting the shampoo to lather because of the no sulphate aspect but I don't seem to have had a problem.

I squeeze a small amount into my hand and massage the roots whilst dipping my head in and out of the shower to add warm water and then rinse thoroughly. After i like to use the conditioner on the lower half of my hair and concentrate mainly on the ends. I'm a big fan of the packaging these two come in, the semi matte bottles with a rubberised finish look great in my bathroom and I love me some turquoise and orange! The applicator squeeze nozzle distributes product easily whilst in the shower and the rubberised bottles means no dropping whilst handling them wet! Both the shampoo and conditioner have a thick texture which I prefer and a little goes a long way. Both products carry the heavy 'Moroccan Oil' scent which like I mentioned above I adore but I can see why you may not. They leave my hair nourished and soft without weighing it down and the scent lingers throughout the day. 

At £32.40 (which is the cheapest I've found them for) they are a luxury product. I like to use them as a treat as supposed to every day as they are very expensive for a shampoo and conditioner although if I could use them everyday I definitely would! Next on my list to try is the volumising range as I love me some volume! 

Lush 'Pumpkin' Bubble Bar

I know Autumn is among us for another year when I find myself wandering through Lush. I only tend to remember Lush during the colder months, maybe it has something to do with the super cute collections or just the fact I enjoy nothing more than a hot back after a long day- granny status right there! This little fellow if you hadn't guessed is part of the recently released Halloween collection. I've heard it's a reincarnation of the Mother's Day mumkin only a pumpkin! I'm not usually one for a product that turns my bath bright colours (did anyone else have the bath bomb that turned the bath a distinctive colour of yellow?!) but the gorgeous calming scent of ylang ylang oil and orange flower makes up for it. The pumpkin is complete with a liquorice hat and two (one in my case - I'm not sure what happened to the other!) chocolate drops for eyes. For steal at  £2.75 why not add a little Halloween love to your bath this year?!

Maybelline Baby lip in 'Peach Kiss'

Ever since the launch of these a couple of months ago I've been trying to get my hands on 'Peach Kiss' with not much success, until now. I was so excited to finally have it my hands I even managed to leave my card in the card machine in Superdrug! I'm not usually one to give in to the hype but these were hard to avoid.

For a reasonable price of £2.99 each, baby lips are the texture of a balm which moisturise and add shine. The range consists of 3 pigmented balms and 3 non pigmented balms making 6 in total. The colour pay off of Peach Kiss is very subtle which I personally like and goes on smoothly and evenly. It's a great everyday nude shade, perfect for creating that much sought after 'no make up, make up look' everyone is loving. Once applied to the lips there is a slight shimmer which seems to be undetectable at first from the stick. I much prefer the packaging of these to a dip your finger in a pot lip balm as they're much more hygienic and less messy to use. The scent again is subtle and of course peach which I adore (anything peach in my books is a good thing!) 

Overall if you are looking for a lip balm these are a great product but they are in there simplicity a lip balm. If its colour pay off you're looking for these aren't for you but to keep away the problems the cold weather brings to our lips they work wonders!

Sally Hansen '4-in-1' treatment

I'm always on the look out for a product that promises to give me longer, stronger, healthier looking nails so this seemed right up my street. The Sally Hansen treatment is marketed as a 4-in-1 product that claims to do it all.

A multi purpose product that can be used as a top and base coat, a strengthener and growth treatment all in one handy bottle. The bottle to start with is a winner for me, pretty and pink that Feels luxurious. I'm a nail bitter, I did once manage to stop for a few months but those damn habits always seem to creep back in so I'm desperately trying to stop and this treatment makes me want to not bite them. Although it can be used as a base and top coat I tend to use it as more of a treatment alone by applying one coat letting it dry and then applying another. It dries quickly and leaves my nails with a gorgeous shine. It fills in ridges leaving them smooth and primed for polish if you ddi want to use it as a base coat. The texture is fairly thick in a way that makes you think it's actually doing something (I have a nail product that feels like I'm just applying water!) and leaves the nails looking healthy and taken care of. It's difficult for me to comment on whether the treatment helps with growth but I'm really going to try and stop nibbling so ill get back to you on that one! The only down fall I've noticed is that once the treatment starts to chip it does tend to peel away very easily but this was only after a good few days of wear.

Have any of you tried the Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment or a similar product?

Essie Dupe!

If there was ever a product that bloggers made me buy, this is it. The infamous Essie 'Fiji' polish, described as a creamy, pale pink that everyone and their mum seems to own!

As soon as I spotted the Sally Hansen polish in 'Shell we dance' I knew it would be a great dupe. 

As you can see from the pictures they are pretty similar both are a very pale, soft, milky pink with white undertones. The only difference I find is 'Fiji' once built up has a stronger white undertone and is more opaque than 'Shell we dance.' Both polishes apply very sheer and take at least three coats to build up an opaque colour so if you are in a hurry these aren't the ones to be reaching for! I've gotta admit I find them difficult to apply, they tend to end up streaky until you build them up and take a lot of time. They need three thin coats and each coat needs to be completely dry before applying the next or it'll just go gloppy and smudge, trust me this happened many times! This being said if you've got the time it's worth it! Once applied they both have a gorgeous, creamy finish that looks glossy without a top coat and makes the perfect everyday shade. It goes with everything and is great for work or interviews. 

This was the first time I've tried the Sally Hansen polishes and I've gotta say they are giving Essie a run for their money in my books! They've recently launched in Boots so much more readily available in the Uk, are a pound cheaper at £6.99 compared to the Essie polishes at £7.99 and I think I prefer the brush. The Sally Hansen polishes have a thicker, larger brush that I personally find easier and quicker to use.

I want to try more of the Sally Hansen polishes and see how they compare to other Essie polishes before I can choose a favourite! Do you have any colour recommendations I should try?