Nails of the Day: Sparkles!

Today we we're going to a wedding fair and then to see a friend and her boyfriend I haven't seen for ages, for food and drinks in Manchester.

Beforehand though I really needed to clean our apartment, with us both being so busy with work and then me being ill last week we've just not had chance to get organised! I have to play with things as I tidy them away and am extremely inefficient, which is a constant frustration for Adam who is like a cleaning whirlwind once he gets going.

During my perusal of things whilst organising my dressing table I rediscovered this nail varnish, which is one of my all time favourites. I wore it pretty much constantly last winter as it's so sparkly and festive. Despite being only half way through cleaning our room I stopped and sat and painted two coats plus top coat onto my nails. Absolutely ridiculous, but I couldn't resist & at least my nails are sorted for tonight now!

The shade is Yellow Topaz from Barry M, and as you can see it has glitter and sequins of varying sizes, in a clear polish. Aaaah I love it. It's still available for £2.99 from Superdrug.

What's your favourite Barry M shade?

Suzy 

Xx

Sunday Spending Spree

I've been such a Moaning Myrtle this week; if you follow me on twitter you'll have been subjected to my woes all week while I've been in bed with gastric flu. I've felt much better this weekend so I decided to treat myself to a little pick me up:  Yesterday I went wedding dress shopping with my mum (more on that in my wedding series!), and today I went to the Trafford Centre with Adam armed with my list of things I wanted.

Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC30

I mentioned on my September wishlist post that I've wanted this for ages and I'm really excited to try it. My skin has been super oily lately and my foundation hasn't been lasting too well so I'm definitely up for trying something different. Currently trying to resist taking off my make up so I can put it on.  So tempted!
This was £21.50 in Selfridges.

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in Light Porcelain

If you have eyes you can't have failed to notice how hard Rimmel have been trying to flog this new foundation; countless tv adverts, magazines, and promotions in Boots/Superdrug.  Normally I resist such determined marketing at all costs, but I'm so taken in by matte products that I had to buy it.  I know.  I'm ashamed of myself too..!
I will potentially live to regret my colour choice, but the Ivory shade came out alarmingly orange on my hand so I went for the lightest shade.  If all else fails it's nearly Halloween!
Stay Matte is £5.99 in Boots and Superdrug.  I bought it as part of Superdrug's 'buy one get one half price' offer.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow
Stay Matte Powder was my 'get one half price' in the aforementioned offer.  I honestly haven't used this since I was about 16 so I'm interested to see how it does.  I only bought this because Superdrug were sold out of my favourite power - MUA's Matte Perfect Loose Powder.
Full price this is £3.99. 

VO5 Refresh Me Quick Dry Shampoo

Best dry shampoo ever.  And half price at £1.72...YAY!


MUA Nail Polish In Plum Noir
I posted here about how much I love MUA's £1 nail polishes and I thought this shade was absolutely perfect for autumn.  It's a beautiful rich purple and i'm going to use it with my new favourite topcoat - Barry M's All in One Basecoat, Topcoat & Nail Hardener to give it a bit of extra shine and longevity.

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Eau de Toilette 30ml
I've wanted this for about 2 months now, and now I have it I cant stop sniffing myself.  It may pose a problem.  I just smell tooooooo good! It's red plum & freesia and it's a sweet scent but with darker notes that are presumably the 'seduction' aspect of it.  I was really happy that Adam picked this one out of all the ones we tested, because I think it's yummy.  I decided to just buy this one for £11 today since I was buying so many other things, but next time I'm going to go for the 3 for £24 offer and get the body mist and a different eau de toilette too - there's so many amazing scents, I'm currently covered in about 10 different ones because I couldn't stop spraying!

So that's it for my little Sunday spree, I'll update with that I think of the foundations once I've given them a good test!

Have you tried any of these products?


Suzy
xx

 

Nails of the Day! The last of Summer!

With the new academic year starting I've been so busy at work and shattered by the time I've driven an hour home that I just haven't even thought about painting my nails in the last two weeks. I've still showered and stuff, worry not!

After yet another crazy day where I didn't even get change for a wee (TMI, sorry!) or  chance to retouch my make up (hi there oily t-zone..), I decided I deserved a little bit of me time.

With the slightly warmer weather this week I thought I'd seize the opportunity for probably the last summery nails before I resurrect all my winter plums, reds, and navy polishes. So out came Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in the shade Grapefruit, which is a vibrant pink colour. I cant say the shade especially reminds  me of grapefruit, but it's gorgeous nonetheless.

I wore this colour to death in the spring and tired of it a little but it was so cheery and bright looking up at me from my nail box that it was the obvious choice.

I'd forgotten how much I love this colour and the formula of the Barry M Gelly polishes. I'm so very impatient waiting for polish to dry and usually end up smudging them as i cant sit still long enough,so this is perfect because I can get away with one coat of it as its lovely and thick.

It's really shiny too and I'd say the shine lasts for a good 3 days on me.

This nail varnish isn't really a chipper; I find it tends to start to peel instead after 3-4 days, which is pretty standard for me.

Currently £3.99 from Barry M, Boots and Superdrug.

Which is your favourite Gelly shade?

Suzy

Xx

MUA Review Series #1 :Frozen Yoghurt Nail Polish

 When packing to come to my parents' house for a couple of days I noticed that i've accumulated quite the collection of MUA products over the last couple of months, some of which have wheedled their way in to my basic daily make up routine and some that were relegated to my 'urgh' drawer almost immediately upon opening.

As i've found the brand to be a little hit and miss so far so I'm going to do a review series over the next few weeks to pick out the best and worst- they're only a bargain if they actually work!

 Theirs are pretty much the cheapest make-up products available on the high street in the UK - elf are affordable too but only available online at the moment and I can't help but want to swatch everything and clutch it in my little paws before I make any commitments to purchase, so I'm happy that they're available in Superdrug.

After reading that the brush had been improved, the packaging changed and the polishes were only £1, I made a

20 mile trip to the Trafford Centre (they have the best MUA stand locally), spending more on petrol than on nail polish. Logic.

The shade 'Frozen Yoghurt' caught my eye so home with me it came! I really, really love the colour, it's just so cheerful and summery. 

Formula-wise I wasn't expecting much given that its £1, but it's actually pretty good! The brush is a good size, it paints on really smoothly and it's opaque after 2 coats. Some might want to give it an extra coat but I'm of the opinion that life's too short for that!

 Without a top coat it lasts 2 days max on me, with a top coat; 5 days. That being said, any nail varnish chips on me like you wouldn't believe, even the higher end ones, so this is about average.

I find the packaging quite amusing as its such an outrageous copy of Essie's bottles, both are cute though! 

This shade is currently sold out on the MUA website, but is probably available in Superdrug stores - their stock seems to be a bit sporadic but go early in a morning and you should be okay.

I'd definitely recommend this colour and trying the £1 polishes in general. I didn't get on so well with the shade Pistashio as I found it more runny and difficult to apply, but there are several gorgeous options and its worth a go for £1!

Suzy x