Spring/Summer 2014 with Miners Cosmetics!

Hey girlie's!!

Today I'm going to be sharing with you some top Spring/Summer makeup picks by Miners Cosmetics! Miners Cosmetics is a sophisticated yet feminine makeup brand aimed at girls and women who love cosmetics and like to experiment with the latest looks and trends. Miners Cosmetics product portfolio ranges from show stopping Eye shadows, Pencils and Liquid Liners to mouth watering Lip Colour, Glosses and the award winning Tin o’ Tint, not forgetting Nail Colours that are available in an array of trend inspired shades, so there's certainly something all of us makeup and beauty lovers would enjoy!

This Spring/Summer Miners Cosmetics have teamed up with Hayley Sparkes, a top beauty expert and guru who makes regular appearances on ITV's This Morning, as Hayley is now the brands ambassador she has handpicked some of her makeup loves for Spring/Summer and I'll be sharing my thoughts on them for you today!

Fresh Faced Powder in Soft Sand* £3.99

This season is all about creating a fresh faced look which doesn't mask your natural skin tone and what better way to achieve that is by using Miners Cosmetics paraben free 'Fresh Faced Powder'. The Fresh Faced Powder is available in 3 shades and claims to be completely matte and can be used to create a natural base on its own or used as a setting powder over foundation. I have to say after using this powder both ways I'm really impressed, it's completely matte like the claim suggests an does an excellent job at eliminating shine and keeps those oily areas under control  it also evens out the skin tone nicely, I don't find it cakey at all and when used on its own it has great coverage, it wont cover every blemish but it does an amazing job.

Maxi Waterproof Mascara* £3.49

Whether your swimming, sunbathing or just abit hot and sticky in the heat a waterproof mascara is essential in the summer, I mean no one wants to look like a panda ha ha! Even of I am on holiday I do always like a wear a good waterproof mascara throughout the day as I have quite small eyes so I find mascaras really do help open then up and look bigger, I must admit this mascara didn't give me as much oomph as I'd like from a maxi mascara but the staying power really does stand out, I had the mascara on my lashes all day long and it never budged, transferred, smudged or flaked and even after my evening shower it was still in place, don't panic though, it is easily removed with a micellar water or cleanser he he. Overall I think it's a fab little mascara for your holiday's, it will certainly stay in place.  

Matte Effect Lipstick in Wonderland* £3.99

The quickest and easiest way to be on trend with your makeup during spring/summer 2014 is by rocking a matte coral or Orange lipstick, this gorgeous shade 'Wonderland' is packed full of pigment and even though its matte I find it surprisingly creamy upon application and doesn't drag on the lips at all. As for lasting power... This baby stayed put for around 3-4 hours and that with me eating and drinking which I think is great for such an affordable lipstick. Overall I love this beauty and I think the colour is absolutely beautiful.

Nail Colour in Jezebel* £2.99 

I absolutely love this nail polish, the hot pink colour is gorgeous and perfect for the summer, the formula reminds me very much of the Barry M Nail Paints so if you like them you'll love Miners Cosmetics offering! I found 2 thin coats gave me a nice opaque and rather glossy finish and the lasting power was also quite impressive, I started getting the odd chip on the 4th day of wear.

And there you have it... My thoughts on Hayley Sparkes for Miners Cosmetics top Spring/Summer picks. Overall I have to say these product have amazing quality for such an affordable prices and will definitely get you through the trends without breaking the bank. I don't think I can actually choose 1 product of out the 4 that I tried that I really disliked, the only thing I would change is that I'd love the mascara to give me some more volume and length but that's just personal preference.

Have you tried any of these makeup products from Miners Cosmetics?? What did you think??

Barry M 'Silk' Nail Paint | Review

Hey girlie's!!!

Whilst in Superdrug recently I noticed Barry M had released their first collection of the year in the shape of 'Silk Nail Paints' and oh my goodness they are gorgeous. The Silk Collection consists of 6 pretty pastel shades inspired by nature, all of which are designed to fit in perfectly with the up and coming Spring months. You may wondering why they've been named 'Silk' polishes but its all down to the finish the polishes provide, they all dry to a beautiful matte sheen, making your nails look luxurious and rather chic. 

I decided to pick up 2 of the 6 shades... Blossom, a super pretty soft pink and Pearl, a white shade with a pearl sheen to it. Both polishes apply rather sheer and needed a good 2-3 coats before they where completely opaque. The application process was nice, both polishes have a lovely 'silky' smooth formula so there was no bubbling or streaking and they dried rather quick too leaving that luxurious, matte sheen finish. 

Overall I absolutely love these polishes for Spring, the pastel shades in this collection really are pretty and I'd definitely like to pick the rest up soon. I also think the Silk polishes are a nice alternative to your standard matte nail polishes which I've never been a huge fan of, as even though the Silk polishes do dry matte they also dry with that lovely sheen which sometimes gives the illusion of shiny nails which I love.

Have you tried Barry M's Silk Collection yet beaut's?? What did you think?? I'd love to know.

Fragrance Direct Haul/Bargains

Hey girlie's!!!

I'm pretty sure most of you make-up and beauty obsessed girlie's will have heard of  Fragrance Direct before but if not, in a nutshell... It's an amazing website that sells branded perfumes, aftershaves, cosmetics, hair care, skincare and beauty products all for amazing discounted prices and lets face it, who doesn't like a beauty bargain... I know I do ha ha. I've made numerous Fragrance Direct order's before buying brands such as Essie, Dainty Doll, OPI, Sally Hanson, TIGI, Macadamia, Elizabeth Arden and that's just to name a few, amazing right!!! 

Now lets get down to business and onto the bits and bobs in my haul he he...

W7 Honolulu Bronzer* £2.25 (RRP £8.50)

I've been after this cute little bronzer for a super long time, firstly as its meant to be an amazing dupe for Benefits Hoola Bronzer and secondly as it just looks gorgeous. It's also a matte bronzer meaning you could use it to contour as well as bronze, it also comes complete with a nice little brush in the box too. 

Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo-Fiber Collection* £21.50 (RRP £23.99)

I couldn't quite believe it when I saw Real Technique brushes on the Fragrance Direct website, woohoo!!! The Limited Edition Set comes complete with 3 duo-fiber brushes, a face brush for lightweight application of face powder and blending pigments, a contour brush for controlled contouring and sculpting, and an eye brush to add finishing touches to the eyes. I'm so excited to try these out being the huge Real Techniques fan that I am, so look out for a full review on these bad boys soon.

ORLY Nail Lacquer in Cherry Bomb* £3.99 (RRP £10.95)

I've only ever tried 1 ORLY Nail Lacquer before and loved it, and it's amazing quality, so I'm so happy to have another in my collection. I picked out 'Cherry Bomb' a gorgeous bright orange/red shade that I think will look amazing in the summer (thumbs up for forward thinking), I also love fact that ORLY polishes are free from DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde and feature the award-winning Gripper Cap for ease of use and expert application. You also get a whooping 18ml's in each bottle too.

Revlon Velvet Touch Vent Brush* £1.99 (RRP £5.99)

Hairbrushes seem to be so expensive these days so thank goodness for Fragrance Direct. Ive been after a Vent Brush for a while as I find they brush out waves and curls really well for that softer look and as Ive been wearing my hair curly/wavy recently this is just the brush I need. It also vents for faster drying and styling, gently detangles wet hair and adds volume, it has ball tipped bristles that wont snag or pull hair and comes complete with a soft touch rubber handle for comfortable hold.

Lady Gaga Fame 30ml Gift Set* £9.95 (RRP £25.00)

Lady Gaga Fame eau de parfum is a sweet yet floral perfume, and is thought to be the first fragrance in the world to use a black liquid that turns transparent on contact with the skin. I absolutely love this fragrance, this is actually my third bottle too ha ha, I cant believe what a bargain it is on the Fragrance Direct website at just £9.95 for a gift set is pretty impressive if you ask me.

So that's all the goodies in my haul girlie's!!! Don't forget to head on over to Fragrance Direct    and grab yourself some beauty bargains and save those pennies ha ha.

Do let me know what your all time favourite Fragrance Direct purchases are and if you've made an order recently and took advantage of their January Sale. I'd love to know!!!

Barry M Texture Effect Nail Paint in Majesty | Review

Hey girlie's!!!

I've been getting extremely into the festive spirit recently and its definitely rubbing off on my make up and beauty purchases ha ha. After picking up Barry M's Red Glitter Nail Paint a few weeks back ( you can see the full review here ) I decided I needed to add a festive gold glittery polish to my nail polish collection, so I decided on Barry M's Texture Effect Nail Paint in Majesty!!!

Majesty is crammed full of super sparkly gold glitters, its so pretty.... As Majesty is one of Barry M's new Autumn/Winter texture effect nail polishes it does feel ever so slightly sandy/gritty on the nails once the polish has dried, personally I love the quirky effect!!! As Majesty is a texture polish I was worried this would effect the application, but it didn't, the polish went on evenly with no bubbling or streaking and only needed one coat to be completely opaque, which really surprised me considering it's a sparkly polish. As for lasting power... Majesty lasted a good 4 days on my nails with a top coat, I would definitely recommend using as top coat as I found the glitter particles in Majesty actually dry matte so by adding a top coat it really brings the gold sparkles to life whilst adding a nice shine to your nails too.

Overall I absolutely love Majesty, It's definitely a must have for any nail polish lover this season. Can you imagine how pretty Majesty is going to look for any Christmas/New Years parties that you might be going to, and at £3.99 a pop you cant go wrong!!!

Have you tried the Barry M Texture Effect Nail Paints yet??? Id love to know.

China Glaze | Loft-Y-Ambitions Review

Hey girlie's!!!

I seem to go nail polish crazy in the Autumn, and I just cant seem to resist a good berry tone shade, so say hello to China Glaze Loft-Y-Ambitions*.

Loft-Y-Ambitions* is a gorgeous deep, Burgundy shade perfect for this time of year, it also has ever so slight micro shimmers running through it that are only really visible in the bottle and not on the nails. You may notice this shade is very similar to Short & Sassy but without Short & Sassy's strong metallic sheen. Loft-Y-Ambitions applies really well without any bubbling or streaks and needed 2 coats to be completely opaque. The only downside to this polish is how darn fast it chipped, I used a standard topcoat and it was only on my nails 2 days before they could of done with completely re doing, I would definitely recommend a very good/strong top coat with this polish otherwise I'll think you'll be disappointed with its lasting power.

Overall I adore Loft-Y-Ambitions gorgeous autumnal colour but its lasting power really lets it down for me. I will just have to remember to apply a really good top coat when I use this shade again.

You can buy Loft-Y-Ambitions for £8.95 from beautychamber.co.uk, they have lots of other China Glaze polish shades to choose from including some sale polishes from just £5.00, what a bargain and great for stocking fillers for Christmas.

Have you tried Loft-Y-Ambitions before??? What did you think??? I'd love to know beaut's.

SensatioNail | NOTD | Autumn Nails

Hey girlie's!!!

Today I thought I'd do a swanky NOTD post, I've never done one before so I thought, what the heck!!!

Ive recently fallen head over heels in love with using the SensatioNail Gel Polishes, they give you 2 weeks worth of salon professional looking nails that wont chip, smudge, crack or lift, they have an incredible shine and whats best is they wont damage your natural nails. Whats not to love???

As we are now well and truly into Autumn I thought I'd go for a nice Autumnal shade but glitz it up slightly, I love abit of glitter polish he he!!!

The shades I went for are...

Miss Behave

Ohhh I adore this shade. Miss Behave is a dark Burgundy shade perfect for Autumn/Winter and has a gorgeous gloss finish, as with all the SensatioNail Gel Polishes you need to apply 2 thin coats for the polish to be completely opaque. I can see this shade being my staple shade throughout Autumn, ohhh I just love it!!!

Gold Glitter 
How pretty is Gold Glitter!!! Its crammed full of gold glitter particles and is opaque after 2 coats, I've used it alone just on my ring finger this time around but I'm definitely going to experiment with it, I think it will look cute used as a top coat or you could create a gorgeous ombre effect with it too.

I thought I would also include an easy way to remove your gel manicure at home without damaging your natural nails, if you do try to peel your gel manicure off you are risking damaging your natural nails. The best thing to do is....

1. Soak some cotton wool in some acetone.
2. Place the soaked cotton wool on the nail, then wrap with foil and leave for around 10 minutes.
3. Remove the foil and your gel manicure should be nice and soft and easy to just lightly scrape off with a manicure stick. It's key to remember that gel manicures wont damage your natural nails as long as your using the right procedure to remove the manicure!!!

 Overall I just cant get enough of the SensatioNail Gel Polishes, the fact they last on my nails for 2 whole weeks without a chip in sight just amazes me, its also helping me to grow my natural nails out too which is a bonus!!! You can buy your Gel Polishes on the SensatioNail website for £12.50 each.

You can check out my full review on the SensatioNail Raspberry Wine Starter Kit  here. 

I hope you enjoyed my very first NOTD post girlie's!!!!

Topshop Nail Polish In One Hot Minute & Blitz | Review

Hey girlie's!!!

After umming and ahhing for a super long time as to whether i should try the Topshop nail polishes i finally caved and picked up two gorgeous shades, i opted for 'One Hot Minute' and 'Blitz' both of which i thought would be great shades to wear during the run up to the Autumn/Winter months, although i did spend a while just taking in all the shades as there's just so many pretty colours to choose from, i was in total nail polish heaven. I also adore the packaging, i mean its just so cute, I'm a sucker for good packaging and nine times out of ten if it looks good ill buy it and these certainly look good and would look lovely on your dressing table or within your make up storage. 

Anywhooo onto what these pretty polishes are like...

One Hot Minute £5

One Hot Minute is a gorgeous magenta shade that has that lovely autumn berry vibe which i adore. The formula is great, it applies smooth and evenly giving you total opacity after just 2 coats and gives you a lovely glossy finish so you could skip using a top coat if you wished. The polish also dried in record time which is great considering no where on the packaging does it state its a fast drying polish, it also lasted well on my nails I'd say a good five days with a top coat. Ive also noticed this shade is a great dupe for YSL Rose Baby Doll, what a brucie bonus he he. One Hot Minute retails for £5 in most Topshop stores and on the Topshop website.

Blitz £6

                            

Blitz is a rich pinky/purple shade with an orange metallic sheen to it that i find to be only visible in certain light. Like 'One Hot Minute' the formula is great but i find this shade goes on alot more sheer and i found i needed 3 thick coats for total opacity and leaves you with a lovely smooth glossy finish on the nail. Blitz lasted on me around 5-6 days, one thing i have noticed is these polishes certainly don't chip easily which is great. Blitz is from the metallic range and retails for £6 in most Topshop stores and on the Topshop Website.

As a whole I'm super impressed with the Topshop nail polishes and i definitely want to get myself a little collection going, I'm now also intrigued to see what the make up is like he he.

Whats your favourite Topshop Nail Polish Shade??? Id love to know.