Blend Collective Hydrating Hand and Body Lotion Review

If I get something new through the post,I get very excited. I didn't even read the packaging properly before I whipped out this Blend Collective product and slapped it on my hands..and my arms...and my legs..and my....well you get the idea! Feeling a bit guilty for using a hand cream all over my body, I sat down to write this review and realised - it's only a bloody hand AND body lotion! I didn't read the "body" part and continued to slap it on all over as a hand cream, intent on giving you my fantastic "tip" of using it as a multi-purpose product! Well it has certainly proved its worth in that department and I absolutely adore it, here's why:

It is completely non-greasy and soaks in extremely quickly, with a really light, citrussy fragrance of Sicilian lemon, may chang (whatever that is), myrtle (moaning myrtle?) and lime (I know what a lime is! SCORE!) that Blend Collective describes as "enlivening" and "invigorating" - LUSH!

Blend Collective Hand and Body Lotion is 99% natural, with the ingredients used occurring naturally in the organically sourced essential oils. It feels so luxurious and you can really tell its such high quality.

RRP £19.00 for 200ml

For me, this lotion is perfect for the hands because it soaks in quickly while providing excellent hydration - especially on the nail beds, my cuticles are feeling lovely! It's not really one for those on a budget, but as a treat or gift it really is SUCH a nice product.

I would definitely recommend Blend Collective Hydrating Hand and Body Lotion, here's that familiar face again...

Hope you're all having a great week!

Revlon Facets of Fuscia

This polish has been out for while, but I only recently decided to purchase it - I love glitter polishes but rarely wear them because I change my nails so often and glitters are an absolute PAIN to remove! Revlon Facets of Fuchsia looked too lovely to pass up though! Revlon seem to be making a habit out of duping Deborah Lippmann polishes, with Facets of Fuchsia widely regarded as a dupe for Bad Romance, and their recent release Revlon Whimsical bearing an uncoincidental resemblance to Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air!

Although I realise it must be irritating (to say the least) to large luxury polish brands to have their colours duped, I am glad that the Revlon equivalents are available because they are a fraction of the price - it makes them more accessible to everyone! On one hand, I wish Revlon would stop doing it, to save Deborah Lippmann's brand integrity, but on the other hand LOTS OF PINK GLITTER ON MY NAILS THAT DIDN'T BREAK MY BANK! My head says "no" and my heart says "GIMME!". It is a case of extreme inner turmoil, I tell you, I am a mess.

This is 3 coats of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, a black jelly base with pink glitter of different sizes:

 I added a Matte Top Coat which gives an interesting effect! Let me know what you think on the comments - I know there is a lot of buzz about duping in the polish community at the moment, where do you stand? Is it worth twice the money to support luxury brands and stand up for intellectual property rights? Or should big polish brands expect to be copied and are you glad to have an affordable equivalent that you may not usually have access to?

And what do you think of Facets of Fuchsia, I suppose, forgetting the politics of it all!

Easter Nail Art Tutorial - Cadbury's Mini Eggs!

This design was suggested to me by my best friend Sara - as soon as she said it, I knew it had to be done, if only as an expansion on the Cadbury's Chocolate Manicure! I worked tirelessly on a tutorial for it so you can all do it yourselves at home :D I know it's a bit early for Easter Manicures, but it's that time of year where Mini Eggs hit the shops an I love them! I don't know if you can get them in the US, but FIND THEM. THEY ARE LIKE EASTER-TIME CRACK.

This will also be part review for Boots 17 new nail polishes which I picked up last week. I chose 3 of them - Mellow Yellow, Glisten and Juicy. They're really fresh, bright spring/summer colours so I really couldn't resist. First up is Mellow Yellow, a gorgeous mid-tone yellow with gold micro-shimmer. It's beaaautiful.

The application of Mellow Yellow was lovely, this is two coats and there is no visible nail line (VNL). It's glossy and dries relatively quickly. From experience, 17 polishes go thick and unusable rather quickly so invest in a polish thinner like Seche Restore if you want to keep this bad boy for more than a few months.

The perfect yellow for a mini eggs packet, I hear you say? Yes, it is. Tutorial time!

1. Start with your yellow base and take a chocolate-brown polish like Barry M Mushroom. Draw large ovals in a sporadic pattern across the nail. This is the outline of the eggs!

                        
2. Take a selection of pastel coloured polishes. I chose American Apparel Office (green), Collection 2000 Candyfloss (pink), Natural Collection White and Collection 2000 Angel Wings (purple/grey). Paint over your brown ovals with the pastel shades, but leave a small brown outline.

3. Time to add some brown speckles to the eggs! Take a dotting tool (or a toothpick if you don't have one!) and take a small bead of your brown polish on the end. dab this gently onto your pastel eggs.

4. Take a purple polish or purple Nail Art Pen. This step is much easier to do when you have the control of a Nail Art Pen, but if you have a steady hand then go for it with a small brush. Write the words "Mini Eggs" in the Cadbury's font on your thumb. This is optional, you could always just draw more Mini Eggs!

5. Add a topcoat to protect your design from wear and tear and to make it super glossy. I used Seche Vite.

6. Stand back and admire your Cadbury's Mini Egg Easter Nail Art!

I added Claire's Matte Topcoat over the top to achieve that powdery look and feel that mini eggs have.

There you are! Cadbury's Mini Egg nails, perfect for Easter! If you've given up chocolate for lent then a) I don't know how you live b) You can enjoy chocolate in an alternative way!

As always, if you follow my tutorial I would love to see it so pleeease let me know!

I hope you have fabulous weekends!

Scaly Fingers - Barry M Croc Nail Effects

Sorry for leaving you all lonely for a week...

You'll all be thrilled to know, I'm sure, that I spent my weekend pretty much immersed in nail polish and therefore have lots and lots of new manicures to show you! I picked up Barry M's Croc Nail Effects the other day, but wasn't really expecting to like the results. I thought it would be too subtle and a poor alternative to the crackle effects - I was proved wrong, however, and I actually really like the effect it has given!

You apply the polish just like a crackle polish, with the thickness of the layer determining the type of crackle you get. the thinner the layer, the smaller the cracks, the thicker the layer the bigger the cracks (within reason - don't go plooping loads of it onto your nail, it will just get messy!) I started with a base of Barry M Gold Foil Effects, and found the Croc Effect worked better over a "touch dry" base, rather than a completely dry coat! I applied a medium coat and it took about 2 minutes to crack fully, leaving tiny vein-like cracks in the black polish - just like crocodile skin!

index finger - moments after Barry M Croc Nail Effects application

Barry M Croc Effects 2 minutes after application

This polish also dries shiny (as opposed to the matte crackles), so this is with no topcoat. i'm two days later and I have to say it has worn pretty well, considering it's just 2 thinnish layers of polish! Nice one Barry M! As I said, I wasn't really expecting to like this effect all that much and it is very subtle to the naked eye, but its really grown on me and I've ended up loving my scaly fingers! Mmmm scaaallyyyy.



A different kind of scaly, crocodile fingers

Thanks everyone, let me know what you think on the comments!

(Did I make up the word "plooping"? I'm pretty sure I did. I'm Captain Dictionary, over here.)

GlossyBox January 2012 Review

Ok, so I might be a little behind here, but I've done a GB review EVERY MONTH since I got their very first box, so I'm not about to stop now! I really like this months box, there was a definite mix of products and they're all really usable. It is a Valentine's themed box this month and I was terrified that it would be all soppy and couple-y and I would have to vomit in it and send it back. I was pleasantly surprised, however - I will use all the products, with all retching kept at bay, for now.

Products contained:

Authentic Cleansing Nectar

Authentic Moisturising Balm

First Aid Beauty Body Wash

Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner

Murad Skin Perfecting Primer

First up is the Authentic Cleansing Nectar -

Body washes don't really excite me, I have to admit, so was a little disappointed to find two in this month's GB. This is very floral smelling, and the smell does stay with you for a while, not unpleasant if that's your cup of tea! I didn't try is on the hair, but it lathers really nicely so I can imagine it's lovely! It has the same scent as the Authentic Moisturising Balm:

This was my favourite product in the box - it's a multipurpose, moisturising balm, but I've been using it mainly on the ends of my hair, as a mask! Hair has taken a bit of a battering lately and was feeling rather dry, but this has made the lengths feel much silkier.  You can also use it as a moisturising wash and balm for basically anywhere on your body! Cool!

It's a light but creamy consistency - not too heavy or oily.

The First Aid Kit Gentle Body Wash is very nice again, but just not all that exciting. it is soft on the skin but doesn't lather terribly well - though this is good for sensitive skin. It is fragrance free as well which is brilliant for dry skin, in this cold weather.

Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner up next - the colour I got was black. May sound a little boring to you, but I would've been mighty disappointed if I had received the powder pink one, for example. At least this shade I can wear on a daily basis and get my wear out of! It's a nice soft liner, though I do find it smudges and smears throughout the day, not staying put very well.

Nicely pigmented!

The last item is a Murad Skin Perfecting Primer - GB have had Murad in their boxes before in the form of an acne-clearing cleanser and I hoped to see them again. I find this more of a tinted moisturiser, as I don't think it leaves that velvety finish on the skin that really good primers can. Skin did feel perfected, though, and I will use this under my makeup. Murad is renowned for high quality so I think this will be better for my skin than other perfecters!

Let's not forget Glossy Box's little V-Day gift to me:

Glossy Box, baby, you know how to make a girl feel special. It tasted looovely thank you!

All in all, it was a very nice box, not necessarily the most exciting, but everything in it is so usable. I can say for certain that I will use every single thing I have received! Thanks Glossy Box!

xxx





Avon Shine Attract Lipstick Review

Goood evening everyone, we've had some cracking snow in the UK over the weekend, it is sadly melting away now just in time for the working week to start. DAMN.
I have three lippies to show you today that are probably rather different to any other lipsticks you may have seen before - I was so surprised when I took the packaging off! Avon Shine Attract Lipsticks have a coloured core, with a high-shine, gel outer 'layer' - which looks really cool!

See what I mean?! This has the benefit of adding a high gloss to your lips, as well as pigmented colour - a 2 in 1 product, if you like. These apply almost like a tinted lipbalm, the colour is subtle but buildable, if you want a really pigmented effect. The gel is lovely and moisturising, too, so won't dry your lips out - a hazard with some lipsticks.

Top - Guava
Middle - Copper Connection
Bottom - Happy Pink

You can really see the shine on the outside of the swatches on my hand. This does outline the only issue I have with these lipsticks - they are rather imprecise when it comes to application. In order to get the coloured core up to the edge of your lip, for definition, you end up with the clear gel outside the lip line - not ideal. I found it best to apply buy moving in small circles and smacking the lips together regularly. If you like a strong, crisp line in your lippy application, you will probably struggle with these. I don't really mind as I think they are designed as a natural looking product, with soft application.

Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Happy Pink

Happy Pink was the most pigmented of the three and really is a light, uplifting shade of fuchsia. I don't tend to wear a pink lip, gravitating more towards a coral or nude tone, but this is lovely and makes me think I should wear it more often! It did sink slightly into the creases of the lip, however.



Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Copper Connection

Copper Connection was my least favourite, but only because it simply didn't suit me. It is rather dark and doesn't really compliment my skin tone. It has a lovely shimmer though and applied very well - on the perfect skin tone it could look incredible.

Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Guava

Saving the best until last, Guava was the most wearable shade and looked lovely. It is a really warm toned, orangey nude and looks really natural and fresh - I am wearing it most days at the moment! I wish it would last longer on the lips, however, as an hour later I have to apply more. A slick of Lipcote should remedy this, however :)

For a girl who doesn't really wear lipsticks, I am definitely becoming a convert. These Shine Attract lippies, with the coloured core and gel outer layer, are perfect if you don't want to over do it, or are new to wearing a lipstick - they look natural, the colour is really buildable, the gel layer being moisturising with an SPF 15. You can apply a quick slick for a hint of colour, or really build up the colour for more of a statement.They also smell LUSH, a really fruity, fresh smell!

I would definitely buy another shade of Avon Shine Attract Lipsticks, and Guava especially is a hit! 

Have a great week, I'll post again very soon :D

*Products were supplied for Avon for review, but all opinions are 100% honest, my own and uninfluenced in any way. I was not compensated in any way for this post, besides the supply of the product. For more info visit my disclosure page! :)

Accessorize Nail Polishes - A/W and Metallic Collection Review

Greetings, all!

Today I have 2 Accessorize polishes under review - I remember when Accessorize first launched their cosmetic range and was SO pleasantly surprised when the quality turned out to be top notch. My Coral Crush Lipstick is still one of my favourite make-up items over 1 year after buying.

Accessorize have recently launched 19 new shades of Nail Polish, including a metallic range - woweee!

I decided to give you some Nail Art to perv over, rather than just do a standard, plain review - I'm just THAT kind to you! I started with a base of 2 coats of the Accessorize Winter Berry - a gorgeous warm-toned plum colour. It's the perfect wintery shade, in my opinion, and looks loooovely on the nails.

Now, if you follow the blog regularly, you'll know I don't really care for metallic finishes - they are not my fave - but they are PERFECT for stamping. This is especially the case for Accessorize Aquamarine, as it is a perfect one-coater and designed that way. I stamped the leafy image from Bundle Monster Image Plate BM210 and added a coat of Seche Vite to reveal the glitteryness.

used the flash so you can see the lovely glitteryness of Aquamarine!

Both polishes have a great consistency, with Winter Berry being especially glossy and easy to apply. They are brilliantly pigmented so these little babies will be great value for money. A definite YES in my book, I can see myself using Winter Berry constantly for a chic, winter look and Aquamarine for stamping. Excellenté.

You can snaffle yourself some Accessorize polishes from SuperDrug! 

Let me know what you think! Have you tried any of the new Accessorize polishes?

I think it's time that this guy made another appearance. Don't knock it, it is completely and utterly necessary.

xxx


These polishes were kindly provided by Accessorize for review. opinions are 100% honest and in no way influenced! :)