Little Mini Fragrance Direct Haul

Hellllo,

So a couple of weeks ago I discovered Fragrance Direct, yeah I know a little late to the bandwagon but hey ho! I ordered a couple little things and they arrived a couple of weeks ago but I wanted to wait until I'd used them all before I wrote a post about them;

The first thing I bought were a few nail varnishes. I've never owned Essie nail polishes before and I've heard people raving about them so I picked up a couple of them. First colour I picked was "To Buy Or Not To Buy". I absolutely love this colour, it's a very pastel lilac with a blue glittery sheen to it. The next Essie polish I bought was in the shade "Mojito Madness". I really wanted a bright green nail varnish and this wasn't exactly the colour I wanted, I like the colour but it's not quite bright enough so I don't think I'll use it that often.

I also picked up Rimmel's Crack Your Colour in the shade 'Black Graffiti'. I've only used this once but it's good, similar to other cracked nail varnishes so nothing particularly special about it. It does the job!

My nails are really damaged at the moment and keep breaking and flaking, not a great look. I was going to buy the Sally Hansen nail treatment that everybody raves about but I opted for the slightly cheaper option of "Harder & Tuffer" from W7. So far I really like it, I've definitely noticed my nails feeling stronger and breaking less. If weak nails is something you suffer from I'd recommend this.

I also picked up a new powder because I smashed my old one to pieces. I bought Miss Sporty So Clear powder in "001 Transparent". The powder is nice, definitely finishes off my make up nicely, I've been applying it with my E.L.F full face brush. For some reason, I absolutely hate the packaging. I don't know why but for some reason it looks so cheap to me. The mirror is good but other than that I can't stand it. The actual product is really good though.

The final thing I bought was a new lipstick. I picked up a W7 lipstick in the shade 'Ruby Red'. I have kinda weird lips and sometimes I find it difficult to find a lipstick that will stay on my lips. I really like this one, it lasts a long time and it's really pigmented. The picture doesn't show it that well but it's a very rich red, just what I was looking for.

Overall, I really liked the products I picked up from Fragrance Direct. I would really recommend having a look on the website if you haven't already. My order arrived in a matter of days and it's so much cheaper than the highstreet.

Late on the bandwagon | Review - Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint

Hiyaaaa, 

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in shade GNP7 Satsuma

So I'm sure by now you've all read about 1000 reviews of this product but I've only just got round to buying it so here's a late one in case you missed the hype!

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint (try saying that five times fast!) is the new range from Barry M. The basic premise of them is they are meant to give a really high gloss finish. The colour should be more vibrant and have a nice shine.

I've been on the hunt for a nice, bright orange nail polish for a while now plus I've been dying to try this out. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and opted for GNP7 Satsuma.

The thing I really like about Barry M products is the intensity of the colour and the Gelly Hi-Shine is no different. I put two coats on just for good measure but one could have been suffice. It's a really lovely, rich orange and the "bottle to nail difference" is pretty minimal.

I was a bit worried that the product wouldn't live up to the grand promises it makes about 'extra gloss' and 'high shine' but I think it does. The finish was really nice and definitely glossier than most other nail varnished. So much so that I didn't bother with a top coat  which I know is a cardi-nail sin (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?! PUNTASTIC!)

Overall, I absolutely love this nail colour! I think I may have to buy it in a couple more colours before they inevitably stop making it (all good things come to an unfortunately early end...especially in make up terms!). The colour range is gonna be great for summer - I'm currently eyeing up shade GNP14 KeyLime and GNP12 Green Berry.

Oops, forgot to take a non-Instagrammed picture of it. Here it is on the nail...with a filter

Sooo, have you tried the Gelly Nail Paints? Did you like them as much as I did? What colours? 

DIY Stencil Nails

I really like changing up my nails and having cute little designs on them so when I saw a tutorial video of how to do stenciled nails on Michelle Phan's YouTube I knew I had to give it a go...

For this look you will need some plasters, 2 colours of nail varnish (1 will be the base and one will be the design colour and a top coat)

Firstly paint your base coat colour. This can be whatever colour and arrangement you want. I chose to put the white accent on my ring finger because this was the one I was going to have the design on but if you're planning on putting the design on all your fingers you'll need to paint your nails accordingly... Then apply a top coat

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DIY Lace/Dabbed Nails

So I recently saw a tutorial for this on YouTube...I'm not totally sure if I like the effect. Right now I think it looks a bit messy and I kinda wish I'd chosen different colours but you live and learn eh? The idea of these is it's meant to make your nails look like there's lace on them or that they've been dabbed in a vaguely impressionism-esque way. So here's how I did it...(I am aware that these photos are shocking quality - sorry)

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My 2012 Make-Up Favourites

In the year just gone I made a conscious effort to invest in better, more effective make-up rather than drowning in heaps of cheap lipsticks which I never use. So it's much easier for me to decide on my favourite products of 2012 because in truth I didn't buy that many...

I recently bought myself Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair. I bought it mainly because of the huge amount of hype I've heard about it on YouTube and it definitely lives up to it! Before this I used a concealer which was really hard to blend. This one on the other hand blends beautifully and is a great match for my skin, plus it's a total steal at £3ish... Another skin product I've been loving is Rimmel Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder in Transparent. I really wanted a matt powder but I was a bit nervous about ending up with that orange dust so this was a right find! It's transparent so matches your foundation beautifully. I've been applying this with a E.L.F Total Face Brush which is a great blending brush! I use it to apply powder but also just to even out my foundation etc. and it works brilliantly!  I love E.L.F brushes - they feel professional and soft and are really reasonably priced!

Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer, E.L.F Total Face Brush, Primark Crackle Nail Polish, Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick, Bourjois Liner Stylo

There's been a big trend for nail art this season but considering I am a fiendish nail biter I didn't want to invest in super expensive stuff. I opted for Primark just so I could test the waters, for £3 I got a base coat, crackle coat and top coat! They work brilliantly and the top coat is so useful for brightening up other colours! Another product I cannot stop singing the praises of is Bourjois Liner Stylo in Noir. I love a good kohl eyeliner and this is the best one I've tried. It lasts all day which is often a problem with pencil liners and gives a really good dark colour - the only slight problem I have is with the packaging which is really easy to break if you're as heavy handed as me...

When I said I was investing in good-quality, slightly more expensive make-up I may have told a slight white lie! One of my favourite lip products this year was Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick in Damson. It offers a really vibrant pink colour which is extremely long lasting - enough to rival the Clinque Chubby Stick or Revlon Just Bitten! And the best part is it's from Poundland's make up range and cost £1! Ah-mah-zing!

So what have your favourite products of 2012 been? Anything to recommend? What should I try in 2013?