Favourite Essie nail polishes

Hi Beauts.

Hands up, who else is a total nail polish junkie? Come on don't be shy. One of my favourite brands is Essie. The shade range is amazing, which is what sells it for me if I'm honest

Anyway, enough rambling. Today I thought I'd share with you my favourite five shades

'Lovie dovie' This is such a beautiful pink and perfect for spring and summer

'Bikini so teeny' I adore this shade, it's a pretty lavender shade with a little shimmer

'Mojito madness' Usually I'm not one for green coloured polish, but when I spotted this I just had to have it

'Carry on' I love love love berry, burgundy and deep shades for my nails, mainly in Autumn, but I've been wearing this so much through spring too

'Fifth Avenue' The perfect red in my opinion. It's bright and gorgeous, perfect for summer

So those are my favourite Essie shades, what are your faves?

Stacey x

April Favourites

Hi Beauts.

April has ended, rather quickly if you ask me, so I thought I'd do my first monthly favourites post. Here's what I've been loving throughout the month, both beauty and non beauty things.

Beauty

YSL Rouge Volupte in shade 01 £24.50 - The perfcet pinky nude shade. So smooth and moisturising.

Clinique Happy body smoother £25.00 for 200ml - Love this scent. I usually pair this with the perfume and always get compliments

Urban Decay  Naked basics palette £20.00 - A new purchase for me, I haven't stopped using this since I got it. UD shadows are definitely my favourites, so pigmented and soft

Smashbox photo finish foundation primer £25.00 for 30ml - Again a new purchase and something I have been able to put down. It's fast becoming my favourite primer

Benefit Coralista blush £23.50 (I got my sample size from ebay) - I bought this sample size because I didn't know if I'd like it, I love it!! Such a pretty shade, perfect for summer. Do you ever buy from eBay? I'm always a little wary but decided to try it out, and this blush seems fine

I Love....Calypso Dreams bubble bath and shower gel 500ml £1.00 (Discount shop) - Mango is one of my favourite scents, so as soon as I used this I knew it'd make it to my faves

Anitomicals 'Grease isn't the word' mattifying face mask 95p from Asda - I have a review coming up of this but I will say that it is amazing, and if you have oily skin definitely give this a go!

Non Beauty

Demi Lovato 'Heart attack', Bruno Mars 'When I was your man'  and Ellie Goulding 'Lights' - Three songs I've had on repeat this whole month

What made it to your favourites this month?

Stacey x

All used up in April

Hi Beauts.

WOW how fast is this year going? I can't believe April is almost over, hoping this means we finally get some nice weather.

Today's post shall be my first 'empties' I always find these posts and videos useful

Hair

Avon Cherry blossom daily refreshing hair mask £1.50. I didn't notice any difference at all after using this, and it only ever so slightly had a cherry blossom scent. REPURCHASE? No. RECOMMEND? No

Batiste Dry shampoo £2.99. This is Holy Grail fro me. It smells amazing (My fave is tropical) and does an amazing job at keeping my hair looking fresh. REPURCHASE? Absolutely. RECOMMEND? 100%

Face

Wilkinsons skinology tea tree blackhead cleanser 99p or 2 for £1.50. This is about my 4th bottle and I couldn't be without it. It contains Salicylic acid so it keeps spots at bay and I love it. REPURCHASE? Already have, multiple times. RECOMMEND? Yup, for anyone with blemish prone skin

Simple Soothing facial toner £2.99 for 200ml. I can't actually say I noticed a difference with this toner if I'm honest. I'm on the hunt for a great mattifying toner, I couldn't find one whilst out shopping so picked this up. If you have normal/dry skin then I think this is great. REPURCHASE? Probably, if I couldn't find another I liked/worked for me. RECOMMEND? Yes. And kind to skin hydrating light moisturiser £1.00 for 50 ml, £3.79 for 125ml. I loved this when I was younger because I had 'normal' skin, but as I get older my skin is getting oily. This didn't do anything for me (I received it in a gift set) however I did use it on my neck and chest, and it seemed to keep the skin soft. REPURCHASE? No RECOMMEND? Yes for those with normal/dry skin

Revlon  Colorstay foundation combination/oily £12.49. I love love love this foundation. It's the only highstreet/drugstore foundation that I've found to work for my oily skin. Holy Grail product for me. REPURCHASE? 100000% RECOMMEND? Absolutely!

Body

Nivea Diamond touch shower cream oil £2.55. This is one of my favourite body washes. It smells divine, lathers very well and makes my skin feel so so soft. REPURCHASE? Already have, numerous times. RECOMMEND? Definitely

Nivea Smooth nourishing hand cream travel size £1.55. I admit, I'm the worst person in the world for applying hand cream and I think I've tried almost every cream out there. This one is aimed at dry hands,and it seemed to work pretty well. REPURCHASE? Maybe RECOMMEND? If you're in the market for a budget friendly hand cream, then yes.

Soap and Glory Scrub of your life travel size £2.50. I love this stuff. It smells good enough to eat, and the particles aren't too small or too big. I love how soft my skin felt after using it. REPURCHASE? Yes. RECOMMEND? Yes

Soap and Glory The righteous butter travel size £2.50. My go-to moisturiser. Smells amazing and it makes my skin feel amazing! Love love and love. REPURCHASE? I've already bought the regular size! RECOMMEND? Absolutely!

L'Occitane Spring Cherry hand cream £8.00 for 30ml. I bought this after hearing so many good things about L'Occitane, however I can't say I think it's worth the hype. Sorry. I suffer from really dry hands and this just didn't work for me (Hand cream battle post to come soon) I bought this one purely for the scent, and thinking that all their hand creams worked the same. I may just try out another scent/formula if anyone can recommend a cream for very dry hands? REPURCHASE? No. RECOMMEND? Only if you don't suffer from dry/very dry hands

Well beauts, that's it for this months empties. Have you used any of these products? What are your thoughts?

Stacey x

NOTD - Ameretto Crushin'

Hi Beauts.

Today is a short but sweet NOTD post using MUA nail polish in Ameretto Crush and the nail Caviar I put up in my latest haul 

I applied two coats of MUA Ameretto Crush, which is a gorgeous salmon pink shade (perfect for summer) and then on each ring finger I applied the peach shade of nail caviar. MUA also sell nail caviar, and after trying this one out I'll definitely be buying there's too.

MUA never fail to impress. I love this nail polish, the shade is gorgeous, it dries pretty quick and the application is smooth.

Time to try and get the teeny tiny hardly visible beads back into their teeny tiny jar :P

Have you tried any of the MUA nail polish, or caviar?

Stacey x

Review No7 beautiful skin eye make up remover

Hi Beauts.

Up until about 6 months ago I used to be really bad at taking off my eye make up with an eye make up remover, I just used soap (bad bad bad!) but then I found No7 beautiful skin eye make up remover.

'This gentle dual action formula conditions while it cleanses, removing all traces of eye make - up even waterproof mascara'

This make up remover is different to most eye make up removers in that the liquid and oil need to be mixed in order for it to work. Once it has been 'All shook up ahaha' (sorry had to be done) the product doesn't start to separate for a good 3 and a half minutes. Yup I'm sad and timed it, purely because I'd read a few reviews that said it separates straight away....it doesn't.

Now onto the claims. It is absolutely gentle on the eye area. I shake the remover up well, dispense product onto two cotton pads and apply to each eye. It doesn't sting at all and only needs to be left on the eye for around 20-30 seconds then a gentle wipe and all make up is gone. I can't comment on waterproof mascara, but it definitely removes waterproof eyeliner with ease. One thing that I will mention is that it is quite oily, but with water the oil has gone and the eye area is left soft and make up free. I'm now onto my fourth bottle and still loving it.

If you're in the market for a good eye make up remover, I'd say give this a go. It is slightly more expensive than a lot of removers out there, but as they say 'You get what you pay for'

The nitty gritty

Cost - £8.50

Amount of product - 100ml

For all skin types

Hypo-allergenic

Fragrance free

Suitable for sensitive eyes

Removes waterproof make up

Stacey x

I've been shopping

Hi Beauts.

I've been trying so hard not to buy anything, but I failed big time. I've got a list (or a billion) the size of my arm of so many things I want to buy, and well I just couldn't help myself!

No7 Shine free primer £10.50

SEVENTEEN Miracle matte pressed powder £3.99

Urban Decay Naked basics palette £20.00

Smashbox Try it kit £19.00

Rimmel Volume flash the MAX mascara £6.69

Collection  Lasting perfection concealer £4.19

Nail Caviar from Poundland

I admit I didn't NEED any of this, well OK I needed the primer, powder and concealer but the Naked basics palette and Smashbox try it kit have been on my wishlist for so long!

Have you tried any of these products out yet?

Stacey x

Beauty cards: The lowdown

Hi Beauts.

A little bit of a different post for you all today. Still beauty related, but it's more of a 'getting more bang for ya buck' (I love that saying!) Let's talk beauty cards

I currently have three beauty cards, which I shall talk about individually: Debenhams, Superdrug and Boots

Debenhams Beauty Club reward card. 

* Collect 3 points for every £1.00 you spend

* 500 points are needed to be awarded £5.00, which can then be used as part payment

* Points have to be used within 6 months

*A maximum of 1500 points (£15.00) can be earned each month

* You can't spend points online

* You get free delivery with online purchases

* You need to spend £166.66 to earn £5.00 reward

* If you forget your card, points can be added on a later date - up to 2 months after date on receipt

* Free beauty make overs and expert skin consultations

Superdrug Beauty card.

* Collect 1 point for every £1.00 you spend

* Points can be used as part payment

* 100 points = £1.00

* If card hasn't been used in 12 months, it will be cancelled

* You have to have earned 100 points before you can spend them (multiples of 100) 100 points - £1.00, 200 points = £2.00 etc

* Card has a mirror on the front

* You need to register the card before it can be used

* I f you forget your card, points can't be added at a later date

* You can't spend points online

Boots advantage card.

* Collect 4 points for every £1.00 spent in store

* Points can't be used as part payment

* 1 point = 1p

* Points machines in stores where you can print off money off coupons and check points

* No expiry date on points

* If you forget your card, points can be added at a later date

* At Christmas there's events and triple points

* Boots magazine is free to advantage card holders, £1.00 to non card holders

* A letter is sent out every few months with points balance and vouchers - money off, earn extra points, earn double points etc

Now for a card that I don't have, but after reading up about it I'll definitely be signing up: The Body shop Love your body rewards card

* Membership costs £5.00 for one year

* you get 10% off purchases for a year

* You receive a birthday gift up to the value of £5.00

* When you've collected four stamps, you receive a free gift up to the value of £5.00

* When you've collected eight stamps, you receive a free gift up to the value of £10.00

* Invitations to exclusive members events

* Exclusive offers and special savings

Do you have a favourite/different beauty card?

Stacey x

Review Urban Decay De-slick oil control make up setting spray

Hi Beauts.

What better way to kick start my blog than with a review of one of my favourite products? Today I shall be reviewing Urban Decay De slick setting spray.

'De-slick is your ally against oil and shine! Mist before, and again after your beauty ritual to set your look for 16 shine-free hours. High-tech ingredients in our weightless mist cool the makeup's surface, control oil and help skin look beautifully matte all day'

As you can tell from my picture and the link above, Urban Decay have repackaged. Which I have to say I really like, looking very sleek UD!!

 Now onto the actual product and UD's claims. I can't really comment on the 16 hour wear because I haven't kept my make up on for that long, but this beauty did keep my make up looking perfect for 11 hours which I think is pretty amazing. I didn't need to powder my face once throughout the day, first time that's ever happened!

I have a few ways I like to apply this product, all work just as well as each other I just like to change up my routine every now and then. First up, I apply as directed - Spritz face before make up application and again afterwards, making sure the bottle is 8-10 inches away from the face. Secondly I spritz my foundation brush with de slick then apply my foundation, and then spritz my face when I have all of my make up on. And last but not least, if I have a short day but want my make up to stay looking great, I apply my make up then spritz my face. This way isn't as effective as the other two but it keeps my make up place for the length of time I need it to.

One thing I will recommend is not to apply your mascara until you have finished with the De slick. I've applied all of my make up, including mascara, sprayed this and then ended up looking like a panda....oops! If you have oily skin and want your make up to stay put, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this product. I only have a few uses left and will definitely be repurchasing 

 I can't compare this to any other make up setting sprays out there because I haven't used any, but after using this I don't want to try any others.

The nitty gritty

Price - £19.50

Amount of product - 118ml (Mine was limited edition)

Controls oil

Keeps skin matte

Fragrance free

Absorbs quickly

Also comes in a travel 30ml bottle for £9.00

Have you tried any of the Urban Decay setting sprays? What do you think?

Stacey x

Hi, hello, bonjour!

Hi Beauts.

I wrote a blog for around a year and a half until life pretty much got in the way and I stopped writing. However, I've now decided to start it up again, well start a new one, and join back in with the beauty fun.

I wanted to start from scratch instead of continuing my old blog because sometimes, I think a fresh start is needed.

What will you find on my blog? Reviews, TAG's, monthly favourites, bargain finds and pretty much anything and everything else beauty related. My posts will more than likely be every other day, last time I posted every day and it got a little overwhelming trying to keep up.

Enough of me rambling, I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

(picture borrowed from google)

Stacey x