REDISCOVERING AN OLD FAVOURITE: MAC ANGEL LIPSTICK

REDISCOVERING AN OLD FAVOURITE: MAC ANGEL LIPSTICK

MAC Cosmetics Lipstick in 'Angel' - £14 - maccosmetics.co.uk

When you have as many makeup items as us bloggers, it becomes very hard to remain loyal to just one product. You'll know as well as I do that as soon as the new big thing appears on the scene, you forget about all your others because you JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT. However, lately I've been wondering if, IF (very unlikely) I decided to have a makeup cull, which products would remain in my collection and which would I be saying goodbye to.

And I'm certain that this would be the only nude lipstick that would make the cut. This is the lipstick that I recommend to all my 'normal' (re: not makeup obsessed) friends when they ask me what they need to buy from MAC, or when they want a pretty, everyday lipstick. This is my 'I really have no idea which lipstick will go with this outfit' colour, and one that, although I might not reach it for that often, is fool-proof and safe.

The perfect off-nude for my pale skin, this lipstick is creamy and almost warms to your lips to adjust to your skintone. It is just the right shade of pink as I really can't often pull off beige shades. I find that nude colours are really hard to buy on the high street and I've never really found one that I've been able to work with so I'd always recommend spending a bit more money on one.

So here we are, an ode to MAC Angel. Because if you don't own it yet, you really need to put in your basket. (I think debenhams have 10% off at the moment. Go. GO.)

SALLY HANSEN MIRACLE NAIL THICKENER

SALLY HANSEN MIRACLE NAIL THICKENER

Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener - £9.99

You may have seen me complaining on Twitter recently about the state of my nails. All of a sudden, they had become weak, thin and flaky. I could barely go a few days without a bit flaking off the ends so I frequently cut my nails down as short as they could go, thinking that I could cut off any damage and they'd miraculously grow back. This didn't happen. So, I decided, enough was enough!

After seeing the Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener in a magazine, I decided to give it a go. The product is like a gel; which you can layer up or just leave at one coat, depending on how weak your nails are. It does give a nice glossy effect to the nails which I like because it looks a lot more polished than wearing bare nails.

The product dries quickly upon application and instantly smooths over the nails, providing a protective barrier against damage. I feel that this should be considered more of a 'cover the problem up' product, rather than something to actually fix the problem, however it did protect my nails from breaking or chipping away which is obviously a good thing. I tried it as a base coat but I did find my nail polish chipped very quickly so, although providing a smooth base, might not be a great product if you intend to wear it under nail polish.

It claims to provide '70% thicker nails in 4 days!'. This is only true because, well obviously, if you are putting something over the top of your nails, of course they will be thicker. *duh*.  I do think this is a slightly false claim because your actual nails don't really change at all.

The thing I like with this particular nail strengthening product is that it doesn't require much upkeep. Other products I have tried require application everyday whereas this is pretty much put on and go. I can't see this being a long term fix for the problem but alongside the use of an actual treatment, I believe this could help my  my nail recovery.

BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipsticks in Live It Up and Risk It All

BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipsticks in Live It Up and Risk It All

I was recently contacted by Bare Minerals to ask if I'd like to try some products from their new 

Marvellous Moxie lip product lines. Bare Minerals has introduced a range of creamy lipsticks 

and automatic (twist up) lipliners to complement the popular Moxie lipglosses. The lipsticks 

 contain abyssinian oil and omega fatty acids to keep the lips supple, and vitamins A, C and E.

Live It Up lipstick is described as a tomato red, and Amped lipliner is described as the perfect 

red.

The texture is extremely comfortable and non-drying, although you do need to allow the lipstick to 

set for about a minute after applying to avoid it travelling or blot it gently if you don't want to wait. I 

find the texture similar to the discontinued Suqqu Creamy Lipsticks (in the square white tubes) 

which I loved.  I find these best applied with a lip brush but I can get away with applying straight

 from the tube, particularly if I use the lipliner afterwards to neaten the edges.



On the lips - Amped lipliner is a good match, although slightly more neutral/less orange than 

Live It Up. I imagine it'll also work well for the blue red lipstick in the range, Call The Shots, 

and for other red lipsticks. Live It Up is a creamy orange red. Most of the shades in the range 

are a cream finish although there are a couple of shimmer/pearl shades.

Risk It All lipstick is described as a hot pink, and Jazzed lipliner as electric pink.  

Both are clear, cool pinks. 

Risk It All is a creamy deep, 

bright fuchsia pink. It's very similar

 to MAC Girl About Town.

The Marvellous Moxie lipsticks are £16 each and the lipliners are £13. You can purchase 

online at www.bareminerals.co.uk, or at Bare Minerals counters.

THE FESITVAL NAIL EDIT

THE FESITVAL NAIL EDIT

The prospect of going to a festival is exciting for many reasons but personally, I am really looking forward to bringing some colour to my hands and finally being able to start using my bright coloured nail polishes again. I thought you might like to have a look of my narrowed-down selection of shades.

My first pick is a pastel offering; the cult Mint Candy Apple by Essie. This looks good on ANYONE and is a failsafe summer colour for me. Reaching to the more Neon end of the spectrum, Shocking Pink and Flip Flop Fantasy are my two summer favourites, looking funky and bright and always bringing a smile to my face. I don't often reach for blue hues, but two super cheap favourites are Blue my Mind which is a cobalt blue by H&M and 60 by Miss Sporty, a gorgeous Peacock shade which looks really grown up and actually has a lovely formula. Finally for some glitter, Carnival by Technic is an obvious dupe for OPI's Rainbow Connection and Pink Dazzle by W7 is a really in-your-face discoball type colour.

MARK HILL MIRACOILICIOUS MOROCCAN ARGAN OIL

MARK HILL MIRACOILICIOUS MOROCCAN ARGAN OIL

Mark Hill MiracOILicious Moroccan Argan Oil -£9.99 

I love a good hair product. Whilst i'm partial to a lipstick or two, my hair product collection is definitely the most extensive, spreading from room to room in various boxes and on various shelves. I really just can't say no.

I'd say in the last year or so hair oils have become really popular and although I already have quite a few, I was very keen to try the Mark Hill MiracOILicious Moroccan Argan Oil* as a budget-friendly alternative to some of my more expensive ones. The thing that really drew me to this was that it is aimed at heat damaged hair. Although I try to only use heat  a couple of days a week, my hair is still very dry and brittle on the ends and it's something that really bothers me. I'll admit, I kind of wondered how good it could really be. After trying so many different oils - all with much nicer packaging - I was pretty convinced that this would be dismissed and put back in the drawer with the others.

However, I have been more than pleasantly surprised. The packaging, although not very pleasing on the eye, is practical and substantial. This is great for travelling (something I seem to do a lot to-ing and fro-ing almost daily from my house to my boyfriends) as it has a sturdy lid. The pump is great too - I hate the idea of having to tip an oil into my hand so this is perfect. Mark Hill does claim that this will help your hair dry quicker but this isn't something i've noticed. It does, however make my hair a lot easier to brush which is my number one priority when it comes to hair care products.

The thing I like about this in particular is it is quite multi purpose. It works well on wet hair to condition, but also works well on dry hair to smooth and soften. It doesn't leave my fine hair at all greasy. I really look forward to using this in the long term because even after one use my hair felt lovely. Obviously I can't tell if it has repaired my hair as I don't think any product can truly do so, therefore this isn't something that really bothers me.

I really can't fault this product at all. Application is easy, the packaging is practical and it really makes a difference to the softness of my hair. I prefer it to some of my other more expensive and high street products and i'm very glad I gave it a try.

EBAY MAKEUP BRUSHES

EBAY MAKEUP BRUSHES

When I saw Louise post about these amazing makeup brushes I couldn't stop myself ordering them. Less than £3 for a makeup brush? Win! More than anything I was curious to see how they perform, as I do own a few real techniques brushes and they are quite obviously a dupe (although I do wonder if they are infact too similar...). When they arrived I knew as soon as I opened them that I couldn't wait to blog about them. 

Despite the cheap price tag, these brushes are incredibly soft.They feel sturdy but I have experienced shedding from number 04 (the red one).  They are exactly the same size as the RT alternatives but I can't comment on whether or not they last as well because I haven't owned these long enough. Number 04 is a foundation brush, much akin to the Real Techniques buffing brush, which you cannot buy alone. This was the main reason I picked the foundation brush, because I couldn't justify paying £21 for the kit when I only wanted one brush. Initially I thought it could have been more dense, but after giving it a go I can conclude that it applies foundation beautifully, leaving a really lovely finish with the perfect amount of coverage. I find the contouring brush (number 01) a tad small for it's purpose (which is why I initially bought it) but it does work well for concealer or highlighter. They wash well and although not quite as soft as when I bought them, they are still pleasant to use and still fulfill their purpose.

You can find them from this seller. I got  number 01 (pink) and number 04 (blue). They arrived in a week or so, which is fab because they come from Hong Kong. 

DOVE NOURISHING OIL CARE LEAVE-IN CONDITIONING SPRAY

DOVE NOURISHING OIL CARE LEAVE-IN CONDITIONING SPRAY

I'm going to start this post by saying... How the hell did it take me so freakin' long to try this out?!

I'd seen Kate rave about this multiple times (and as she's one of my favourite bloggers, I usually take her word as LAW) so I had a little look in Boots to see what the price was like. 

£3.39. Thats three pounds and thirty nine pence. Less than £3.50. So obviously... it went in the basket.

I really, really didn't need any  more hair products. I had to chuck some away the other day because I have so many but i'm so, so glad I picked this up. This leaves my hair softer than any oil ever has, even some of the more expensive ones I've tried. I really struggle with brushing my fine hair and this makes a world of difference. It also smells gorgeous; I find myself spritzing this into my dry hair just to make it smell lovely! I don't stay anywhere without chucking this in my bag because I can't imagine getting out of the shower and not using it; it has definitely become a holy grail product for me and I could honestly live without all my other hair oils/ leave in conditioners and be quite content with using this.

I find myself picking this up over any of the other products I own and I just can't believe it's so cheap.This is certainly a drugstore product worth buying!