Models Own Sale

Yes you heard right, Models Own will be hosting a sale on their website as soon as they get 100,000 likes on their facebook page. I remember this time last year they held a sale for reaching 50,000 likes and it was awesome! I spent about £80 and bought loads of stuff for my sisters birthday (and plenty for me of course) This is what helped me build my Models Own nail polish collection, and I have lots of new polishes added to my wishlist!

Along the way, Models Own will constantly be holding giveaways, usually for liking statuses or answering questions and so on, I wonder whether they will be holding nail art competitions at all? I'd love to see that anyway! I think last year one of the giveaways was every single nail polish of theirs! 

So, everybody must spread the word! Blog, tweet, post a status, whatever your favourite social interaction is these days, get everyone over to their facebook page and start liking it! Giveaways start at 80,000 likes, and they're almost there! They need to reach 100,000 likes by 30 September, so we have just under a month! Just think, quality nail polishes for £2.50.........

Just a heads up, the minimum spend before discount is £25 but I'm sure everyone will have no problem reaching that! Also, the new mirrorball polishes will be excluded from the sale. And finally, P&P isn't included in the discount.

What's your favourite Models Own products/shades? I think I'll post about mine in the run up to the sale, get me more excited haha :)

xo.

KIKO Haul

Carrying on the Birthday haul from when I went to Stratford... I found the KIKO store which I was interested in visiting. I have read about KIKO on a few blogs, and wondered if the Italian make-up brand was worth investigating. I've mainly heard about their nail polishes to be honest, and when I walked into their store I could certainly see why. I wish I had taken a photo now! They have hundreds of nail polishes and it stretches along one side of the shop. I've googled it and found a picture, which is from this blog here. 

Just imagine this, but stretched out and housing 200 polishes. W o w. I was like a child in a sweet shop, and it's safe to say that I spent quite some time browsing and swatching, whilst my boyfriend waited (im)patiently, but to be fair he did behave quite well compared to other shopping trips! Something that I will try and remember to take on nail polish hauls in the future is scotch tape. Scotch tape you say? Yes! They had holders which you could pull out some tape and put on the back of your hand and swatch away on there with no mess. Genius! I don't know why nobodys thought of it before! I've used scotch tape for manicures/nail art before, and I know they are good to paint on, but I didn't even think of it either! They also had bins built into the wall, which was another good idea.. ;) 

I came away with about £30 worth of stuff I think? Which was quite good for me, I was trying to save money to hit Forever 21 and MAC aswell! The polishes worked out at £2.50 each, which is BRILLIANT, considering it's 11ml of polish! I think they were on offer though, because there were signs in the shop window? But the website has them on sale for £2.50 aswell, so I'm not sure! I'll show you what I got though :) 

It was so hard to decide on the colours, I wanted colours I hadn't really seen before but I ended up getting colours I just really couldn't take my eyes off. And really, the colours I bought are pretty similar to other colours in my collection! But these are the ones I settled on anyway, aren't they preeeetttyy?! I also picked up my very first magnetic nail polish, a single eyeshadow and a concealer. On to the swatches!

This is colour 300. (They don't have the names in store or on the bottle but they do on the website, so I'll find the names for you aswell!) Pearly Malachite Green. It's a gorgeous pearly blue/green, it's also got shimmer in too. The picture doesn't really express the vibrancy of this colour. 

Colour 319 Light Dove. This is the only colour I haven't worn properly yet, but it's your typical taupe/mink nude. I wasn't going to get it as I think I do have such similar colours, but it's gorgeous, I had to! Looks nicer in person aswell.

Colour 290 Dark Magenta. This colour has more purple in it, but the camera hasn't picked it up. It's really creamy, but this is one coat and it's still got a visible nail line. This colour doesn't seem so unique, but I picked it up because in the shop it seemed a bit similar to NARS Ratin Jot, part of the new Thakoon Nail collection. It's not as purple unfortunately, but the NARS polish has been on my list for a while, so this has filled my needs for the time being! And at £2.50 I can't complain! 

Colour 375 Bois De Rose. Gorgeous dusky rose, again I have similar, but it's just so pretty, I love it! Don't really think these sort of shades suit my skin tone, but ah welllllll.

 Colour 341 Cobalt Green. Again, the colour isn't completely accurate in the picture. It leans a bit more turquoise, and in store this totally reminded me of OPI Fly (Nicki Minaj collection), and I L O V E that colour! I only have the mini version of it aswell, so obviously I couldn't put this one down, and I now love this one too :) 

Colour 255 Violet Microglitter. Holographic glitter in a dark purple polish, do I need to say more? I was just mesmerised by the bottle! The tester bottle was SO dried out and used up, I've never seen one like it! Cheekily swatched another bottle and fell in love. When it dries, it dries a bit grainy and bumpy, so I just whack a glossy top coat on top and I'm good to go! Worth a look if you like your sparkle!

Magnetic Nail Polish Colour 703 Wine Red. My first magnetic polish, and I wanted a colour that was a bit different, but when I saw a pink one I couldn't not have it ;) According to the website it looks like they have 8 magnetic polish colours, including a gorgeous light pinky silver colour! I like that you buy the magnets seperate to the polish, so you're not stuck with just one in the cap like other brands. Unfortunately they only offer 2 designs at the moment. The polish is £2.50 and the magnet is £1.90, so hardly bank-breaking at £4.40 in total! 

This was one of my first tries, and I accidently smudged my middle finger by holding the magnet too close, oops! I found that it doesn't seem to be too strong a pattern, maybe it's the colour? But then again maybe the colour/formulation isn't great? But it's not too bad for my first try!

 

Single Eyeshadow Colour 121 Matt Dove Gray- £4.90 This caught my eye just before going to the till, it's a colour I don't think I have, or that I would usually be able to find anywhere. Turns out the colour name is the same of the nude polish I bought! So I assume they're supposed to be the same colour! So it's a taupe/grey, matte finish, that's why I was drawn to it. It's really soft and buttery, but had to swipe it a few times for the swatch. I still haven't worn this yet, so I can't comment on wear time or anything. 

Natural Concealer Colour 04 Green. When I swatched this in the shop I saw how straight away it covered redness and brightened instantly. Really creamy and pigmented, I thought it would be perfect for  me and my stupid redness :( So chucked it in my basket. I've used it a few times, and it definately covers redness, I wouldn't say it lasts all day, I end up putting other concealer on aswell. But I swipe this along the bottom of my face under my foundation to help cover my red cheeks and it does help.  This cost £5.50

This was something I noticed when I had moved on from the nail polishes, the prices rise dramatically. The blushers were £7.50, but when swatching them I found them to be horrible! Chalky and not pigmented at all. I think the only products there that really impressed me were the nail polishes. I've worn them all but one so far and I love them! Coverage is great, drying time is alright, the lid is easy to hold, the brush isn't my favourite sort, but I love bigger brushes like Essie's diffusion line and such. They're all pigmented, and none of the polishes I've picked up are watery or runny, or too thick and gooey. So a massive thumbs up from me. I suggest you have a look on the website or if you do visit Westfield in Stratford I urge you to go and have a look around the shop! There's a bright blue that's very similar to Nails Inc Baker Street, and I'm pretty sure this isn't the only dupe available!

Also, on the website at the moment KIKO have a great offer running, click the picture to go there! They also have a sale running, with a minimum of 30% off products, and they even have nail art brushes in the sale! 

xo.

Bourjois 1 Second Polish Remover

If you haven't heard or seen this product yet, then where have you been?! I don't know you could escape it, seeing as it's been on pretty much every blog! I've had this for well over a month, and it's been well and truly tested, so I thought I'd add my two cents. 

I have a similar product to this, which I bought from Boots aaaages ago. I found it to be pretty rubbish, so when hearing about this, I didn't really expect much. After reading a few reviews, I thought it sounded like it was worth a try, and ventured out to try and find it. BUT NO SUCH LUCK. It was sold out in every single Boots and Superdrug I went into, it was impossible to find! I ended up ordering from Boots' website, as I desperately wanted it - You see, I'm a child.. When I can't have something, I want it so much more! 

When I finally got my hands on it, I was surprised to see how big it was. This is probably due to the other similar remover is a tiny little pot, but either way it's not huge, and feels like it's houses more polish remover inside. When taking off the lid, you are blown away by the strong polish remover scent - which definately confused me, as everyone was saying how much it smelled like fruit. I persevered though!

When dipping my finger in, the sponge is incredibly soft, and very wet, which is a good thing! Because obviously the wetter is, the easier the polish will come off, and the longer the remover will last. I would say, that sometimes if you have cuts on your fingers around your nails, sometimes when you dip your finger in, it can make it sting, just something to note! 

I wouldn't say it takes a second to remove, but when I use it, I dip my finger in, and just twist slowly, and it pretty much removes all the polish in one go. And when removing my finger it leaves a very sweet fruity smell, which I absolutely love! I didn't believe that it would, but it really honestly does! Using this product has made me want to change my polish constantly, because it's so quick, easy and convenient to remove. Rather than going through the hassle of using tonnes of cotton wool and scrubbing away, it takes 30 seconds to do a whole hand, and it's left smelling gorgeous! 

As for glitter polish, I've tried it once. I was wearing Models Own Ibiza Mix at the time, and I had to let my fingers soak for a bit longer, and twist quite a fair bit. It did finally come off, but obviously the glitter was all left inside the pot, and when I used it for a while after, every time I pulled my finger out, the glitter would come out stuck to my finger! It was like this for a little while, but it's okay now. Meaning the glitter is either stuck inside the sponge somewhere or just sitting at the bottom of the pot. 

All in all, this is a great product, good value for money, and worth the 'hype'. Great for impatient people like me! It's £4.99, so could be deemed expensive for some people as there's only 75ml. But I think it will last for quite a while, and you can always top up with some other polish remover if need be. It's worth a go, I think it's definately re-ignited my love for nail polish, just because it speeds up the process for me. So I'm totally glad I purchased, and would re-purchase over and over again.

xo.

Models Own x Hed Kandi - Ibiza Mix

Just a quick swatch, Left = 1 coat, Right = 2 coats

Another product I got over a month ago... I searched for this polish high and low in every boots store I could, and still I never see it! So I resorted to ordering it from the boots website along with some other products I couldn't find in store. 

I saw the press release for this aaages ago, and it wasn't mu cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, the colours in this collection are all gorgeous, but as I'm so pale I just can't pull off a neon orange as well as tanned girls! In the press release pictures, this polish looked like it was black with multicoloured glitter, so it was a surprise to find it was a clear glitter - a nice surprise though! 

I've used this a few times so far, and find that it goes really well with lighter pastel polishes, such as Models Own - Utopia, and 17 - Woo Me. I think it works better with these tones due to the glitter actually being pastel, and not so bright and in your face. I think it's absolutely gorgeous though, and it's the perfect summer glitter!

If for some reason, you don't own this yet, I recommend you get it! It's different to other glitters I've seen, and believe me, I own way too many! 

Have you got this and/or others from the Hed Kandi collection? Have you got any good combos I can try?

NOTD

I can't believe I waited so long to purchase this polish. Its Nicole by OPI, and part of the Kardashian collection. This shade is called 'Khloe had a lam-lam' and I just love the name! There are quite a few nice colours in the collection, but this is the one that really stood out for me. It's a dark racing green that leans teal in the bottle but for me it ended up more green when on the nails. It's a gorgeous colour, I had to build up 2-3 coats to make sure it was even, but it was totally worth it. Coated with Seche Vite Topcoat, it looked so glossy and shiny. Unfortunately my pictures don't show how nice it looks on nails. My boyfriend even kept staring at them, and he never gives me the time of day with my make-up or nails haha! I think it's probably a boy colour, and reminds him of a car colour maybe that's why ;) 

x

OPI Original Nail Envy on BuyaPowa

Only 100 available! And they're going to go fast!! I've already purchased mine :) Can't believe how cheap it is! Thought I'd share the good news.

Also, until 8am tomorrow, Illamasqua are offering 20% off everything on their site to celebrate reaching 50k followers on facebook. Just use code 50KFANS. There's also FREE delivery! Don't you love it when this happens?! 

x

Fearne Nail Polishes

Picked up these polishes the other day from Boots as they were on offer for 1/2 price. I had always looked at the colours and admired them, but always went for other nail polishes instead. But for £2.75 each I couldn't really say no. There wasn't that much choice left, and all the bottles had obviously been there for a while, as they were all a bit scratched or dirty, but I ended up going for the Lime Green and Mint Green. I don't usually ever wear lime greens, but this is a perfect colour, really creamy and more yellow based, I will definately wear this in the warmer weather, it just screams summer! The second colour I picked up was the Mint Green, which is very blue based, and I would say the colour is very similar to Tiffanys blue! I've got plenty this sort of shade, but it's always a favourite colour. For the picture above, I quickly applied one coat each, I think they've been sitting for a long time, and so they were quite streaky. But if I was to apply two coats they would definately even out. The bottle design is quite cute, simple, a little bit different, but I still think it was never attractive enough to make me purchase it when it was full price. They're still on offer on the Boots website here, and I assume if there's stock left, they'll still be in store.

What do you think of these colours? Do you have any of Fearnes cosmetics? What do you think of celebrities bringing out make up collections?

x

NOTD

Nails Inc Porchester Square and OPI Rainbow Connection.

The base colour looks a bit more green toned in the picture, but it is grey, which leans beige/brown. I had it on my nails for a day, then added Rainbow Connection to it, and topped it with Seche Vite. There are endless combinations with this popular glitter polish. Still want to try Models Own Utopia, a dusty pale pink, and black with it. You can see that my nails all have a different amount of Rainbow Connection on. It can be built up for a huge glitter explosion or just lightly for a hint of detail. Either way it's so colourful and eye catching, and I understand why it's so popular and a total sell-out. 

If you can't get your hands on Rainbow Connection, try Nicole by OPI's Rainbow in the S-Kylie, part of the Kardashian collection, which is an exact dupe. You can get it on ASOS or Lena White, a UK official OPI stockist.

x

Nicki Minaj for OPI

Probably the most sought after nail polishes at the moment. For ages I couldn't decide if I liked them enough to purchase. I knew I wanted the turquoise one and the pink one (not like I need another!) Anyway, as I kept putting it off, I finally saw it pop up on Buyapowa for £8 and thought it was too good to pass up! 

Moving on.. Nicki Minaj's collection consists of 6 polishes, 2 of which aren't in the Minis pack. A glitter polish called 'Save Me' which has bar glitter in (so 90s!) and 'Super Bass Shatter' which is a shimmery dark purple, which does look really good over the colours, but I never wear shatter polishes as it is. 

The colours that come in the pack are very vibrant and catapult us straight into that summer feeling. I've already sported 2 of the 4 polishes on my nails and love them.

The colours from L-R are; 'Did it on 'em', 'Fly', 'Pink friday' and 'Metallic 4 Life'.

I have to say, 'Did it on 'em' isn't really to my liking, it reminds me of OPIs 'Who the Shrek are you?' which came out with the Shrek collection. Don't get me wrong it is a nice colour, but on my oh so pale skin it just makes my hands look so washed out and awful. On medium to dark skin tones this will look so good! But for me, it's a no no.

'Fly' is a beautiful turquoise/teal which leans more blue. I find that after 2 coats I still have visible nail line, but it's not really obvious. It is a gorgeous colour though, and I think it's a favourite amongst most.

'Pink friday' is obviously appealing to all girly girls across the globe! I'm a sucker for anything pink, it could literally be a pink toilet brush and I will want it! Sad I know... It's a thick creme polish and applies well, opaque after one coat, but perfect after two! I've already worn this and I love it. It's more of a warm pink than cool, and will suit most skin tones.

Finally is 'Metallic 4 life', another one I have already worn, and it looks great on nails. It's a sort of jelly finish, and on the nails translates as a grey/charcoal colour. You build up the colour to how you want it. Obviously I wanted it to be more black, so 2-3 coats is what you need, depending on how thick you paint it. Has different sized silver glitter in. Another polish that will look great on all skin tones.

All the swatches are 2 coats each. And you can see how they all finish off. Look for the VNL on 'Fly' and a bit streaky on 'Did it on 'em'!

What do you think of this collection? Have you got it? Or do you want to purchase it? Buyapowa keep listing these on their site, but be quick - they keep selling out!

x

NOTD

Neglecting my cuticles a bit... :( Anyway, this is a Nails Inc polish, in the shade 'Cromwell Road'. It's a very light nude with a tiny hint of shimmer in. Really pretty and not over the top. I prefer creme polishes, I'm not a huge fan of shimmer but I love this. It's so natural and perfect for everyday work. 

On a side note - I got my Nicki Minaj OPI Mini Polishes in the post today finally! Love them, I'll post pictures of them shortly. On another sidenote - I have wellll over 200 nail polishes, (not bragging, I'm running out of room! I think I'm mad!) but do people like seeing stuff about nail polishes and nail art? Because I do a bit, so I could post some stuff and swatches and stuff if anybodys interested! 

Any good polishes out at the moment you can recommend? Always open to more haha

x

MAC Shop MAC, Cook MAC Collection

MAC Shop MAC, Cook Mac (Shop Shop Shop, Cook Cook Cook)

"Try and Buy a delicious, delovely, delectable, divine, degorgeous, de-with-it, degroovy assortment of Eye Shadow x 4 in wearable brights perfect for Spring. Treat yourself to Lipstick in heavenly hues, mouthwateringly Kissable Lipcolour and Cremeblend Blush. This Spring, shop ‘til you drop with a tongue-in-cheek collection that elevates the everyday into the extraordinary. Whether it’s detergent or diamonds, produce or Prada, everyone loves to shop, shop, shop!"

Available in UK from March.

I've been reading about this collection online for a good few weeks now, but only now has Temptalia posted the official collection pictures, and there are full descriptions available. I love the look of this collection, and I'm particularly excited for the lipsticks, so I'm posting the pictures and the descriptions are available on Temptalia, as I think it's still not on everyones radar yet. 

"Ladle on an extra helping of foodie fun with an appetizing assortment of temptingly tasty Tendertones, nearly black Fluidlines, Studio Careblend/Pressed Powder, Opulash Mascara, two Brushes and nosh-worthy Nail Lacquers in fun, bright shades sure to satiate even the most discriminating gorgeous gourmands. Cook M∙A∙C has spring’s no-carb, no-calorie recipe for kooky, kitschy, kitchen kouture insavoury shades for Eyes, Lips and Nails."

Lipstick (Limited Edition)

Innocence, Beware! Light yellow pink (Cremesheen) (Repromote)

Watch Me Simmer Bright pink orange (Amplified)

Naughty Saute Bright pepto pink (Cremesheen)

Quick Sizzle Bright pink (Matte)

Dish It Up Berry pink (Lustre)

Runaway Red Rich red blue (Satin) (Repromote)


(I'm posting the lipstick descriptions as these are what I have my eye on!)

I like the look of this collection, the packaging and the bright colours, it's a great way to welcome Spring. But to be honest, the more I look at the pictures, the less interested I actually am in this collection. The packaging is bright blue, yellow and pink, yet all the items don't seem to compliment each other. You have lipsticks and kissable lipcolours that are all pretty much pinks, opposite red and turquoise nail polish and bright paint pots. I would never wear them together. The eye palettes are somewhere in the middle also. I just find this combination really weird, and I think it will be a case of people buying select items from the range and not looking to get a complete look. Although the cremeblend blushes look quite nice too, but once again they're different to the other products. Does anybody else feel this or is it just me being crazy?! 

It's a shame only the outside packaging has this design, as I think it would be really good on the actual cosmetic casing. But you can't win them all! I think the promotion pictures have a bit of a 50's housewife feel to them, but with an obvious modern twist, but I love it. Especially the 'pink' look on the model with pink dress, it looks great on her skin tone.

This range comes out next week in the USA, so there will be swatches available soon, so I'm looking forward to seeing them! There are a few more collections coming out over the next few months of course, and I know Beth Ditto has just been confirmed for one which could be quite interesting. I still need to get my hands on some of the Naturally collection that has just been released.

Do you like the looks of this collection? Interested in anything?

x