Polish Pondering...

I have recently become a nail polish fan, I was always taken with a french manicure and well shaped nails but was never keen on painted nails, at least not on me.

The last time I owned polishes I was probably around six or seven, had a good few of them, and painted with them occasionally, mostly walls and soft-furnishings...

I think polished nails look better with a tan, particularly colours which otherwise would make you look a little, well, dead. Blues, greys and purples for example. I love Barry M's bright colours but again not on me, so when I decided to buy some polishes I did it tentatively and safely, neutrals with a hint of shimmer and in warm autumnal colours, and so far the cheapies are winning.

I own Barry M, Revlon, Collection 2000, 17, No.7, Stargazer and Rimmel...

Barry M have a fanastic colour selection, are reasonably priced and are of good quality.

Revlon have some great colours, are a good size, have good colour pay off and seem to last pretty well.

Collection 2000 I will pass on in future same with No.7.

Stargazer are very afforable, have some great colours, dry very quickly and 2 coats make it opaque, they also last for a good amount of time.

Rimmel are a bit blah, blah colours, blah pricing and blah quality.

But my winner so far? 17 Fast Finish. Good price, some great colours, quite good drying time and last really well. The best part for me is the brush, I'm guessing its the length of it, it is quite short and stubby but I find it the easiest to use, it is easy to control and I rarely "go over the lines" and need touchups.

After reading BeautyMarked19's blogpost on their new shades I had to try them, I already owned Toasted Almond, a shimmery neutral colour that goes with everything and always gets me compliments.



So thanks to her for the recommendation, 3 for 2 at Boots at the minute too, so I was a happy camper! Also I might have "borrowed" her image as mine looked keek in comparison, I got the brown shimmer, ruby shimmer and a rich green shimmer (not pictured).

Happy Shopping!
xo

Losing my Eyeko Virginity...Then Regretting It.

Eyeko was still stocked in Superdrug back when I worked there and I was mildly curious about trying their range, but never did.

Since then the blogging community has apparently fallen in love with this range, which has meant a considerable increase in their prices *tut tut*. After reading on many blogs about some of their "best" products I decided to give it a go...

The website was well laid out and their branding is really quirky, quirky but not very expensive looking. Shipping within the UK is free, which is always a bonus and luckily I had an embassador code to use, which also means a free product. So far, so good. Apologies for picture quality, they are taken on a super warm fleecy blanket because I'm not well :(

The first item I picked up was the Eyeko 3-in-1 cream. Gemsmaquillage did a video on this a while back and I was very tempted by it, even though the price has increased from £5 to £8...

When it arrived it did not seem completely full, has anyone else experienced this?




I noticed the pot is not the size it appears from the outside either, the base is raised so less product is in the pot than you may first think.

The product works well as an eyeshadow base, especially for shimmery colours. When I used it as a highlighter over my foundation and bronzer I found it very difficult to blend and the result wasn't overly great. When I applied it on foundation and then applied bronzer on top it blended much better but wasn't as noticable. I definitely won't be trying this product as an eyecream! Disappointed by this, I was expecting more, especially for £8 and I don't think I will be repurchasing unless I can figure out what to do with it.

The next item I purchased was the new Eyeko Magic Mascara. I think the packaging on this product is gorgeous! It takes a lot for me to try new mascaras as I find most of them are over-priced and under-deliver on results. When I heard my holy grail Loreal Voluminous was being discontinued in the UK I bought 4 of them off eBay!

I couldn't get a really great picture of the product but Zoella has one on her blog. She had raved about this product so I thought I would try it. It arrived with a dent in the bottom, which I would have overlooked had I thought it was a really good mascara... It seperates lashes really well, and gives them a good curl, but it is not very thickening or volumising, which results in my lashes looking slightly spidery. Fine for a daytime look but for night I would layer another mascara over it.



Another I won't be repurchasing I think...

I have recently been getting more into nail polishes and thought I would try Eyeko's as they get good reviews. I liked the look of Vampira and Cosmic. The website was offering Vampira for free when you spent a certain amount, so I was quite happy to purchase Cosmic. The polishes look a little on the small side, and although some bloggers like the packaging, I think it looks a little cheap.

However, I can't fault the product itself, the glitter is lovely in both of them and one coat is pretty opaque. I haven't worn these for long enough to know how well they wear, but I really like the colours. I am unsure if I will repurchase as I think some brands on the highstreet offer great polishes in a wide range of colours at a similar price.




The final product I purchased was the Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Black. I love this product!! I have tried Eyeliner Pens before but the angle you have to hold them at to apply always meant the fluid did not come out right. This is the best liquid eyeliner pen I have ever used. It allows you to create a really fine, straight line, which is buildable and it does not come off easily. Would definitely repurchase and consider other colours, which I think they should expand upon too!



Finally my free embassador code product, well, I didn't get one. Apparently it is stated on the site that each customer can only recieve one promotion at a time, which is fair, I was just unaware of it and was expecting a free gift.

Overall, if it were not for the eyeliner pen this would be a very depressing post. If the items were a little cheaper it may not have been so disappointing but when you consider the quality of brands such as Sleek, 17 and Barry M at the prices they charge, I do not think I will purchase from Eyeko until my eyeliner pen runs out...

Goodies!!

Decided to treat myself today as I have been a little down. Went into town and after much deliberation decided to try out gel nails. I have seen lollipop26 talk about hers on her blog and YT vids and I have always been curious so I gave them a go! What pushed me into it was the 20% student discount...not bad eh??

I went for round tips as I feel square ones are too noticable and I wouldn't be comfortable with them. I am really pleased with them and I can see how people would never want to take them off as they are so pretty, won't break or snag and you can paint them if you want. However, I know that having them on for long periods can weaken and damage your nail underneath so I think I will take these off (if I can bear it!) after a while and stick with manicures. But I will definitely be getting them for special occaisions like my birthdy and Christmas.

Superdrug and Boots are getting their 3 for 2 Christmas goodies in, which always excites me as I end up buying stuff for me too at great prices. (My "two for you, one for me" philosophy never lets me down!) I showed some restraint today though as I am not 100% better yet so I will leave xmas shopping until the bf is with me to carry it all :)

I got my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and there was a Bonus Offer on where if you bought any 2 products you got a great mini makeup set free. So obviously I couldn't say no! I usually wait for this offer before purchsing my foundation as they happen two or three times a year. I wanted to get on board with the whole 80's Fame thing and try one of the coloured mascaras as I heard great reviews from Pixiwoo...But they were all sold out :( I couldn't decide on what else to get but I didn't want the offer to pass me by so I got a back up of my foundation...

But the most exciting news for me today was that my Superdrug finally got Sleek cosmetics! I was so happy it was ridiculous! So I snatched up a black ink pot to play around with, if I like it I might invest in a high end gel liner. And I got two palettes which I was thrilled with. I plan to do a review once I've had time to play with them. The colours look gorge and for under £5 I think they are fab, the pigmentation is really good and some colours are comparable to Urban Decay.

:)