Barry M matte nail paint in 'Espresso'

Hi Beauts.

When it comes to nail polish, Barry M is probably my favourite brand. I find it to be long lasting, super inexpensive and the range of colours and finishes is huge, not to mention the brand is cruelty free. 

Speaking of finishes, one to hit the shelves not too long ago were the matte polishes in a range of  5 shades. I did actually buy the shade 'Burgundy Crush' a few weeks ago, but the one that I really wanted to try (but was always out of stock) was the shade 'Espresso' which is a black. 

Black polish is pretty much a staple for me and the idea of a matte black drew me in hook, line and sinker. I know from past experience that Barry M nail paints last quite a while without chipping, but wasn't so sure about how well the matte finish would hold up. Let me tell you, it lasted on my nails for 6 days before the tiniest chip appeared! Not bad going right? 

To be honest, if my nails hadn't have grown a little bit I could have painted over the little chip up and nobody would have even noticed. This formula also seems to be the quickest to dry, I applied one coat and by the time I got to my little finger I was ready to apply a second on my thumb. 

As for the matte finish, it really is matte. I did notice that towards the end of the week my nails got a tiny bit shiny but not at all as glossy as a regular polish. 

If you haven't already added the matte shades to your nail polish collection, I definitely think you should.

What is your favourite nail polish finish from Barry M?

Stacey x

March Favourites 2014

Hi Beauts.

We've reached the end of March already which can only mean one thing: monthly favourites time. I've actually been loving quite a few products this month, a lot of which are new things to me.

Here we go: 

* Nspa melting gel cleanser - I have a full review here if you'd like to read what I thought, but in a nutshell this is amazing. It's a gel like fae wash that turns into a cleansing milk when it comes into contact with water. This melts away every inch of make up and leaves the skin soft and radiant

* Nspa mango shower gel - One of my all time favourite scents is mango. This shower gel has to be the strongest scented shower gel I've ever used! It smells amazing, lathers amazing and leaves my skin smelling gorgeous

* MUA eyebrow kit - This eyebrow kit is my every day eyebrow product but there has been one shade in particular I've been loving - the warm toned colour. I've been using this shade as a transition shade for my eyes and it has worked perfectly at allowing other shadows to blend and warming up my eye looks

* Primark P.S Love felt eye liner pen - A new product to me and one that is super easy to use and extremely pigmented. I have a full review here if you'd like to know more about it. But this could actually be my new favourite eyeliner

* MUA Lash Boom mascara - Again another new product to me and one I have a full review on here. This lengthens, separates and adds volume to each lash without any clumping. Not to mention it has a pretty funky wand

* Barry M matte nail paint in 'Espresso' - I have enough nail polishes to last a life time, but eventually caved and picked this one up. I wasn't sure how much I'd like a matte nail polish, but I really enjoyed using it. It was definitely matte, super opaque and long lasting

* Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Sugar Apple' - This, in my opinion, is the perfect nail polish for spring, and is the best mint green I've come across. As with all Barry M Gelly Hi-shines, this is so glossy, smooth to apply, spigmented and lasted pretty much all week. If you're on the hunt for a mint green, look no further! 

Thats it for my March favourites, what have you enjoyed using throughout the month? 

Stacey x

Barry M flawless finish matte foundation

Hi Beauts.

The main thing I have trouble with because of my skin type, is finding a good high street foundation. And it's even harder now that I only buy cruelty free products. Way back last year Barry M released some new products, one being their flawless matte finish foundation. 

When it was first released I didn't really think of picking it up as I was enjoying using the foundation I already had, so pretty much overlooked it. 

However, Barry M is cruelty free and I was on the market for a new foundation so decided to pick it up and give it a go. The flawless matte finish foundation comes in 5 shades, ivory being the lightest and the one I went for. 

I will say that although this is light, if you're super pale then I don't think this will be one for you. I'm quite pale, however my chest is a little darker so I can get away with using this. 

However Barry M do a white foundation which is for mixing into darker foundation to get your shade, so maybe that would be worth looking into. 

I usually go for a full coverage, or a buildable medium at the very least, as I have a few scars on my chin and I have quite a few freckles which I'm not overly keen on. I'd say this is a light to medium coverage and can be built up to a higher medium and even not full, with no caking up.

I find this to apply and blend better when I use my fingers as opposed to using a brush or my beauty blender, and I get a better coverage doing it that way. I was expecting this to dry pretty much straight after applying (as it's a matte) but it's still pretty tacky. However it doesn't look dewy and once powder is applied it's matte. My face did stay shine free throughout the day with and without a primer, however I did lose a little product on my chin and nose which are my 'trouble' areas. All in all, I'd say this is a foundation that's definitely worth checking out if you have oily/combination skin. And for £5.99, I'd say it's a pretty great buy!

Have you tried this? What's your favourite cruelty free foundation for oily skin?

Stacey x

Empties #1

Hi Beauts.

Time (eventually) for me to post my pretty loooooong and first empties post of 2014. Grab your cuppa, this may take a while......

* Tesco Deodorant - I first picked this up because it's the only deodorant I could find that was cruelty free. After using this once I'd found a favourite (weird to have a fave deodorant I know) it smella amazing and does the job. REPURCHASE? Already have, I'm now onto my third RECOMMEND? Yes

* S&G Body spray - I'm a massive fan of S&G, mainly the scent of their products, so when I spotted this on the shelf I couldn't resist. However, I was disappointed. It doesn't smell like the sweet candy scent that most of their other products smell of, it has more of a vanilla scent to it. REPURCHASE? No. RECOMMEND? Yes if you like vanilla scented products, No if you want the sweet S&G scent

* Nspa body spray in Raspberry -A while back I won an nspa gift set on twitter and this body spray was part of that set. I loved this because it was so easy to chuck in my bag and spritz whenever I felt the need. I loved the smell too, so refreshing and it'd be perfect for summer. I do prefer the liquid type body sprays to the aerosols too as I feel you get more bang for your buck. REPURCHASE? Yes. RECOMMEND? Yes

* Superdrug shampoo & Conditioner - Again, these were the first products I found which are against animal testing. And to be honest, I'm not one for fancy hair products anyway, as long as they clean my hair, I'm good to go. Theae did just that. They didn't leave my hair extra shiny or smooth, but they left it clean. REPURCHASE? Yes, however I've just picked up some from Tesco which I want to try out. RECOMMEND? Yes

* Batiste tropical dry shampoo - Always an essential and always a repurchase. This is something I use if I haven't had time to wash my hair, and it smells amazing. REPURCHASE? Absolutely RECOMMEND? Absolutely

* Nspa shower gel - Another product in the Nspa gift set I won, and another body spray I love coco butter so knew I'd like this. The formula was like that of gelly, the scent was amazing, lathered brilliantly and left my skin so soft. It made a great bubble bath too! REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Yes

* Nspa scrub - Last goodie from nspa, this time their shower scrub. I very rarely use scrubs if I'm honest, but when I do I like them to do three things: Smell nice, have enough but not too much, particles and leave my skin feeling soft. This one did all three. REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Yes

* MUA extreme felt liner - I've used this pretty much since the first day it was released and I still love it. It's very black, opaque and waterproof. It's also really easy to use because the tip is quite flexible. REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Absolutely

* e.l.f waterproof eyeliner pen - I'd ran out of my MUA liner whilst in NYC so picked this up to see if I'd like it. And like it I did. Like the MUA liner, this was highly pigmented, waterproof and easy to use. This on had a slightly finer and firmer tip which I found made it easier to create a thinner line and wing. REPURCHASE? Definitely RECOMMEND? Yes

* Barry M flawless matte finish foundation - I bought this when I decided to stop using products that were tested on animals, and this was the only foundation I could find that was matte. I usually go for full coverage to hide my freckles and scarring on my chin, however this one was more of a light to medium but could be built up to full. I actually really enjoyed using it and found it to feel quite lightweight on my skin which I like. (Full review to follow soon) REPURCHASE? Yes. RECOMMEND? Yes 

* Along came Betty Fix Me - My new all time favourite product ever. This was a god send! It was basically a mattifying primer in stick form. I'd apply this to my T-zone and blend in with my fingers. It kept my skin matte throughout the day, my make up didn't budge all day and I just can't rave about it enough. REPURCHASE? I already have 2 back ups. RECOMMEND? ABSOLUTELY!!

Phew that was a lot of empties!! Let's see what I can use up next.

Stacey x

February favourites 2014

Hi Beauts.

Time for my second favourites of 2014!! I'm going to have to say it....HOW FAST HAVE THE PAST TWO MONTHS GONE?! Anyway on with the products I've been loving:

* Nuxe Rêve de Meil lip balm - I bought this at pretty much the beginning of February and I've used it every day since. I have a full review coming up soon, but I will tell you that it has sorted my dry lips out big time. I use it every night before bed and every morning before I apply my make up, and it has worked wonders!

* Along came Betty 'Fix Me' - This product shall be surprise to any of you who have red my previous review post. There was no way I couldn't add this to this months favourites. This is basically a mattifying primer in stick form, and it's the best thing I've ever used. It mattifies my skin and keeps my make up in place all day long

* Sleek 'Garden of Eden' palette - I'm a massive Sleek fan, especially their blushes, so when this beauty got released I knew I had to have it. Again, I have a review drafted up, but I will say if you haven't got this then go buy it ASAP! It's a palette perfect for brown and hazel eyes, filled with gorgeous purple and green shades. I've literally used this every day!

* Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Blueberry - This has been my go to nail polish this month, and it's one shall continue to reach for. I have a full review here if you want to read my thoughts on it. It's a gorgeous blue/purple shade and lasts a good few days on the nails! Such a beaut!

Well that was short but sweet wasn't it? What have you been loving this month?

Stacey x

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Blueberry

Hi Beauts.

I seem to have a bit of an obsession with Barry M nail polish, and can't seem to stop buying more shades. I think so far, my favourite formula has to be their Gelly Hi Shine because they're so smooth to apply and look so glossy, hence the name 'Gelly Hi-Shine'. 

So far I have 3 shades in my nail polish collection but definitely want them all. One in particular that I've had my eye on for a while is 'Blueberry', it's such a gorgeous blue/purple colour and reminds me of Bluebells.

I could resist no longer and had to make a purchase before I talked myself out of adding yet another nail polish to my overflowing collection. I'm so glad I finally bought it and I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't buy it sooner. 

This is most certainly a shade that would be perfect for the spring and summer seasons, however I don't play by the rules so I wear lights and brights in winter and darks in the summer, and vice versa obviously. Rock whichever shade you like ladies!

Like I mentioned earlier, this shade reminds me of Bluebells because it's not quite blue but not quite purple either. And from swatches I've seen, I think this could be a good alternative (not so much a dupe) for Essies Bikini so teeny.

I always find Barry M nail paints to apply smoothly and always only need 2 coats to get a beautiful opaque colour, but I do think because the Gelly Hi-Shine are so glossy, they do apply a little more smoothly. The finish is what you'd expect - glossy and gelly like, and what I love is that over the days the glossiness and shine doesn't fade.

Last but not least is lasting power. I'm kind of naughty with nail polish and never wear a base or top coat, but even without both of these I still get a good 4 - 5 days wear before I notice any chipping. I do think, if I wore a base and top coat I'd probably get another day or 2. This shade shall definitely be making it to my February favourites, that's for sure!

What's your favourite shade from Barry M?

Stacey x

Small haul

Hi Beauts.

Over the past week or so I've picked up a few things that were on my latest wish list and thought I'd do a quick post and share them with you.

Skincare 

Asda currently have 3 for £10.00 on their Nspa products, so I bought the oil free moisturiser, melting cleansing gel and youthful eye cream. I can't wait to try them out!

After reading a ton of rave reviews of the Nuxe Riev de Miel lip balm, I decided to try it it.mige used it for the past week or so and I'm really enjoying it

Make up

As soon as Sleek released their new palette 'Garden of Eden' I knew I had to get my hands on it. It's filled with purples and greens, my favourite colours!

Barry M nail paints are my all time favourite nail polish, in particular their Gelly Hi-Shines. So I bought the shade Blueberry which I've wanted for ages

Random

I a HUGE fan of Wallace and Gromit, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. So when I spotted this in Aldi for £3.99 it when straight in my basket!

Well that's it folks. I've been trying not to buy too much lately, but couldn't resist this lot. What I've you been chucking in your shopping basket recently?

Stacey x

My favourite.......Face products

Hi Beauts.

A couple of posts back, I shared all of my current skin and hair care products with you all. Today I wanted to do a little post on all of my current favourite face products, please bare in mind I have oily skin so these won't be loved by everyone. Using all of these products together seems to really work well, and I've been loving the staying power and finish a lot.

Foundation: Barry M flawless matte foundation. I usually go for a full coverage foundation or a buildable medium at the least, but I'd say this was a light to medium coverage. However I love using it none the less. I wouldn't say it was a matte finish, but it does keep me shine free

Concealer: Along came Betty all concealed in Light/Medium and Gosh Click 'N conceal in Light. I mix the light and medium shades together in the Along Came Betty concealer kit to hide any scars or blemishes and use the Gosh concealer as an under eye concealer. Full reviews on both coming soon, but I will say they last all day, conceal great and don't cake up or crease at all

Setting Spray: NYX matte finish. I absolutely LOVE this setting spray (Again full review to follow) I've used the Urban Decay De slick and I have to say, this is just as good in my opinion. It helps my make up last all day, and definitely keeps me matte

Blush: Along with highlights, blush is one of my favourite things, and I have so many I love. Flushed by Sleek is one that I probably love using the most. I also love MUA cream blushes too, they work surprisingly well with my skin type

Bronzer: Bourjois chocolate bronzer. I never used to bronze up on a daily basis, just on nights out, but had this sitting in my drawer feeling unloved so decided to start using it. I use it every day now, and love the nice glow it gives to my cheeks

Highlight: The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer. I'm a complete highlight junkie, I just can't get enough of them. This one from The Balm has been my favourite since the day I got it and for a cream highlight, I've been loving Along Came Betty's starlight shine highlighter in glow. It gives such a beautiful glowy sheen to my cheekbones

I'm still on the hunt for a cruelty free setting powder if anyone has any recommendations?

What are your favourite face products? 

Stacey x

Brands that are against animal testing

Hi Beauts. 

You probably all already know by now, that I've stopped buying products that have been tested on animals. It's something that's actually hit me pretty hard after seeing a picture online (by accident) and it's something that I feel really strongly about.

I've made it my mission to find out as many brands as I can that don't actually use animal testing, and wanted to post a list of the brands I've found. A couple of lovely girls actually sent me links to online lists, so I shall link those too at the end.

Not everyone has the same opinions on animal testing, and that's fine. I'm not going to bang on about it in every post I write, but I just wanted to give my two cents in this post. Anywhoo, for those that are interested here is said list I have compiled: (I've tried to link as many as I could)

A

Ardell

Along came Betty (Sold at Tesco)

B

Burt's Bees

B. Skincare and make up

Barry M

Balm Balm

Butter London

Beauty UK

Balance Me

Bourjois 

Batiste

Balmi

Baylis and Harding

C

Ciate

Carmex

China glaze

CoverFX

D

Deborah Lippmann

Dermalogica 

E

E.O.S

elf

Essence (Can be found in some Wilkinsons stores)

Eyeko

Eco Tools

F

Fake Bake

FashionistA

Famous Cosmetics

G

Gosh

H

Hard Candy

I

I love.......

Illamasqua 

Inglot

J

Jergens

John Frieda

Josie Maran Cosmetics

K

Kat Von D

L

Lush

L.A Colors

Lime Crime

Liz Earle

Lee Stafford

Lavera

L.A Girl

Look Beauty

M

Miners

Marks and Spencer (Own Brand)

MUA

Molton Brown

Melvita

Models Own

Model Co

Murad

Milani

Mavala

N

NSPA

NYX

Nars

Nails inc

Nubar

Next (Own brand)

Neals Yard

O

O.C.C

Orly

Organic Surge

P

Paul Mitchell

Physicians Formula

Prestige

Pixi

Q

R

REN

S

Superdrug (Own branded products)

Stila

Sugarpill

Soap and Glory

Sainsburys (Own branded products)

Sally Hansen

Soft Lips

Sleek

T

Too Faced

2 True

The Balm

Tesco (Own branded products)

Tarte

The Body Shop 

U

Urban Decay

V

Vivo (Stocked in larger Tesco stores)

W

Wet and Wild

X

Y

Z

Zoya

* The Body Shop and Urban Decay are both owned by L'oreal, however both brands are PETA/Leaping Bunny approved

If you know of any other brands I've missed out, please feel feel to leave them in the comments and I'll be sure to add them in. 

For more brands, PETA has an endless list of others too.

Another great site with a more extensive list is HERE and HERE

Hope this is helpful to some of you.

Stacey x

Superdrug, Barry M and The Body shop haul

Hi Beauts.

Today I wanted to share a few things that I bought whilst in town, mainly from Superdrug, but first I wanted to share my thoughts on something that has hit me pretty hard - Animal testing. 

Now, if you follow me on twitter then you'll already know this but I've decided to stop buying any and all products that use animal testing in any way. I won't go on too much about it as I'm drafting up a post solely on the subject, but I saw a picture on a website that literally broke my heart. I've always known that animal testing happened, but I didn't realise the extent of it or how many brands and companies use/allow it.

After hours (yup hours) of looking into which brands do and don't test on animals, I found out that one of my favourite shops doesn't test it's products. Which shop is that? Superdrug. Superdrug's OWN BRAND is NOT tested on animals. After binning my current hair care, skin care etc i headed out to Superdrug (and a few other places) to stock up on their own branded products (Which I've actually heard great things about anyway) and thought I'd share what I got. 

Superdrug 

* 48 hour protection Anti perspirant deodrant in Cotton - 89p

* Pro Vitamin full volume shampoo and conditioner - £1.12 each

* Cucumber facial cleansing wipes - 99p

The Body Shop

* Seaweed deep cleansing facial wash - £8.00

* Seaweed mattifying moisture lotion - £11.00

I had a 40% off code, so instead of my total being £19.00 it was £11.40

Boots

* Burt's Bees lip balm in grapefruit - £3.69

* Rimmel stay matte pressed powder in translucent - £3.99

Tesco

* Barry M Gelly-Hi shine nail polish in Lychee - £3.99

* Barry M flawless matte foundation in Ivory - £5.99

* Barry M matte nail paint in Crush - £3.99

Tesco currently have Barry M products on a 3 for 2 offer

I'm so pleased that I've found a few more of my favourite brands don't test on animals!

Hope you've all had a fab Sunday Beauts! 

Stacey x

Barry M Gelly-Hi shine in Greenberry

Hi Beauts. 

Lets talk nail polish today shall we? One of my favourite highstreet brands has to be Barry M. I find their nail polish to be great quality, easy and smooth to apply, they have a wide range of shades and finishes (matte, glitter Etc) and best of all they're only £2.99.

A recent polish added to my collection is the Gelly - Hi shine in Greenberry :

I added sinful colors nail junkie to my middle and ring fingers

This shade is a stunning bright aqua and I absolutely love it. It would have been perfect for the summer, but as usual I was late to the party and only bought it recently. Although, to be honest like I've mentioned before, I'm not one for 'brights for summer, darks for winter' Rock that bright aqua in the middle of winter gurlllll ;)

The Gelly-Hi shine polishes claim to give a high shine finish, and well they do just that. I never wear a base or top coat when I paint my nails unless I want added gloss, however there's no need with these bad boys. They're super glossy from the minute you apply to the day you remove.

As with all of Barry M nail products I've tired, this stayed on chip free from Saturday afternoon to Thursday evening. And it only chipped because I bashed my hand off a door whilst walking past - yup I'm accident prone.

The application was smooth and easy, I found they dried relatively quickly and I only needed two coats. I love the formula and finish of these so I shall definitely be adding more to my collection.....I also have my little eye on the matte polishes too!

These retail at £3.99 for 10ml of product

What's your favourite shade of these? 

Where to buy:

Barry M website - here

Boots - here

Superdrug - here

Stacey x