Review: Primark French False Nails!

If you have seen my Primark haul from last month then you would have seen that I bought a set of the French nails. The main reason I decided to buy them was the £1 price tag which is a bargain compared to most other sets of false nails that usually come in at around £5-£6. These nails are a flesh toned colour so they are not a pink colour like some other brands. They are also quite thin and flimsy which means that they are not bulky on your nails. As well as this they come with a variety of different sizes so they cater to most people which is always handy for me as I have tiny hands and nails!

I have slightly mixed views about these nails because I love the way they look on and the £1 price tag is amazing, but the glue that they come with is appalling! I didn't have high hopes for the glue that they came with, as after all they were only £1 and also they eyelash glue that comes with their false eyelashes isn't very good, but I used it when I first applied the nails just to see what it was like, and within 24 hours they had all fallen off! However I then reapplied them using the Elegant Touch nail glue and they stayed on fine, lasting for around a week which is roughly how long false nails usually last for. Another downside to these false nails is that they had a lot of imperfections where part of the tips were missing and the also had dirty marks on them that would not come off. When buying them I looked at all lot of the packets and most of the nails were the same, which means they are not the highest quality. 

Overall I would recommend the Primark French nails because they are amazing value for money and ideal if you need a set of false nails but do not want to spend a lot of money, so I will be buying them again, just this time I won't be using the Primark glue!

Have you tried the these French nails? If so what did you think of them?

♥

ELF Haul #2

Last week I made an order from ELF because I had been needing some new make-up brushes and when I saw that they were doing free delivery for the weekend I made the most of it, so I thought I'd share with you what I bought. 

The first thing I bought was the Studio Kabuki Face Brush which was £6. This is one of their more expensive brushes but I liked the look of it and read some good reviews so thought I would give it a try. I bought this brush because I needed a new brush to apply my face powder with and so far I've been really liking it! It's really soft, picks up a lot of powder and doesn't seem to shed!

The next brush I bought was the Essentials Fan Brush which was £1.50. I bought this brush to apply highlighter to my cheek bones and the bridge of my nose. So far I've been quite liking it, it's not the best brush ever but it does the job. It picks up a good amount of the highlighter and it's easy to use but the only problem I have found with it is that the brushes tend to spread out a bit when using it. 

I also bought the Essentials Eye Crease Brush which was £1.50. I already own their blending brush which I really like but I needed another brush; one to apply colour to the crease and outer corner of my eye and one to blend it out. I use this brush to apply the colour to the crease and outer corner of my eye which it does a really good job at because it's smaller than the blending brush and so it's more precise. 

The final brush I bought was the Studio Angled Eyeliner Brush which was £3.75. I use this brush to apply gel eyeliner to my eyelid and so far I am loving it! It has a thin nib which makes it really easy to achieve a thin line of eyeliner as well as a wing on the outer corner of the eye. The fact that it is angled also makes it easy to use because the nib is angled in the right direction. 

I repurchased the Essentials Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara which was £1.50 because my old one had gone a horrible colour from where it had picked up the eyeshadow powder. I really like this product, it's simple and does the job as it holds my eyebrows in place and the powder does not smudge. I don't use the mascara end as I do not wear clear mascara but it also works as an eyebrow gel if needed.

The final thing I bought was the Essentials Therapeutic Conditioning Lip Balm in Strawberry Creme which was £1.50. The main reason I bought this was because in order to get the free delivery I needed to spend a pound more, so I bought this lip balm because I needed a new lip balm and so I thought I'd try it. I actually really like this; it's really moisturising and it can either be worn by itself or under lipstick to make them shinier and more moisturising. It also doesn't really have a colour to it and just looks clear on my lips. 

p.s. sorry for the bad quality in some of the photos; the lighting was awful due to the weather and time of day and I didn't have my usual camera to take the photos with!

Have you tried any of these products? If so what do you think of them?

♥

Review & Swatches: Barry M Lip Paint 154 Nude

This has been a lipstick that I have been contemplating buying for a while because I had read some good reviews on it but I was always wary as I had previously purchased another Barry M Lip Paint lipstick which was so drying and like chalk on my lips. (Could have been the colour Marshmallow). It was also nothing like the colour it looked in the tube and was almost white once I applied it which put me off the Barry M Lip Paints for a while! But despite this I decided to purchase it this week in the hope that it would be better than the last shade I tried and I was glad I did because so far I really like it! I purchased mine from Boots for just £4.49.

It looks slightly darker in the tube than the colour it actually comes out as once applied to the lips so you do need to bear that in mind. 154 is a really nice nude colour with a pale peachy pink undertone to it which gives it some colour and prevents your lips from looking like they have foundation or concealer on them. 

Swatched on the back of my hand

As I mentioned before, the Barry M Lip Paints do tend to vary a bit with their texture and formula with some being completely matte and very drying on the lips and some being creamy and moisturising on the lips. I would say that shade 154 is somewhere in-between the two because it doesn't moisturise my lips and it does tend to dry my lips out a little, as when it begins to fade it goes slightly patchy, but it is also not completely matte as it does glide onto my lips easily so it is slightly creamy. Although I do not find it glossy at all. This lipstick also has no scent to it whatsoever which some people may like and some may not. Personally it does not bother me as to whether a lipstick has a sweet scent or no scent at all!

I have yet to find a pale pink/nude lipstick that stays on my lips for a long period of time but this one does do a better job than most. I have only used it around twice so far as I only purchased it this week, but when I have used it it seems to stay on my lips for between 1-2 hours. So far I am really liking this lipstick and am glad I purchased it!

Have you tried this shade? What do you think of it?

Also do you know of any good quality pale pink/nude lipsticks that I could try as I still haven't found my Holy Grail lipstick!

♥

25 Facts About Me!

Firstly, sorry I haven't done a blog post in a while..I have been super busy with work and college and this is the first day off I have had and so the first chance I have had to do a blog post! So I thought to make up for the lack of blog posts, I would do the 25 facts about me tag that has been going around for a while so that you can find out some more about me!

1. I have naturally long blonde hair and if I had £1 for every time someone asked me if it was natural I would be very rich!
2. I am 5ft 7"
3. I have stupidly small hands and wrists that are almost out of proportion with the rest of my body
4. I am naturally a very shy and quiet person until I become totally comfortable with someone and feel like I can be myself 
5. I have no idea what I want to do with my life career wise
6. I love visiting new places and I am going travelling in two years time when I've saved up the money!
7. I have been driving for six months now
8. I have been called Barbie on several occasions because of my appearance (although I don't see the resemblance at all!)
9. I am too much of a wimp and a scaredy cat to watch horror films and get scared at everything!
10. I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever and I still get easily lost in the place that I have lived for 18 years!
11. I have been to Egypt six times
12. I much prefer having a small group of close friends rather than a large group of friends who I am not close to and don't really know and trust
13. My middle name is Mae which I love because it's quite uncommon
14. I have shockingly bad eyesight and would not be able to see a thing without my contact lenses which I wear pretty much 24/7
15. I have never broken a bone
16. I used to do gymnastics when I was younger and one time I fell off the vault and nearly broke my ankle. It's safe to say I never did gymnastics again after that!
17. My favourite colours are duck egg blue and pale pink
18. I am petrified of mascots and all large costumes including those like Mickey Mouse at Disney Land (weird I know!)
19. I don't have tonsils as I had them removed when I was four years old
20. I once won a competition to name a restaurant - which still exists!
21. I have one younger brother and I cried when he was born because I really wanted him to be a girl and not a boy as I desperately wanted a sister!
22. I hate not being tanned and I feel so much happier and more confident when I do have a tan
23. When I was younger I wanted to be a marine biologist because I thought it included swimming with dolphins
24. I was once stung by a jellyfish but luckily it was only a baby one
25. I love going to music concerts and seeing artists perform live. Concerts I have been to previously include Professor Green, Ed Sheeran and the Rizzle Kicks!

If you have done a similar post then leave the link below so I can be nosey and find out some things about you :)

♥

Review: Elegant Touch Flawless French Manicure Kit

As you may have seen on one of my previous posts, my Mini Superdrug Haul, I purchased the Elegant Touch Flawless French Manicure Kit as I loved the idea and the concept of it (as I am hopeless at painting the white tips on myself), so thought I would give it a go whilst it was half price. I was waiting for my nails to get a little bit longer before I used this kit so that they would look nicer and so the other day I decided to give it a go! 

I was really quite disappointed with this product! Once applied they look really nice and just like false nails, so at this stage I was really pleased with them and planned on buying another box so that I could wear them regularly. However after just 24 hours the tips began to fall off and so I was left with little white bits all over the tips of my nails which just looked a total mess! 

I don't think that I did anything wrong to cause this to happen as I used plenty of glue and held the tips on for long enough to allow them to stick to my nail. I also tried applying the recommended number of coats of nail varnish and then tried applying more to see if thicker coats would make a difference but they still just fell off. 

I haven't included a picture of my nails with this kit on as they started falling off before I had the chance to take one! So hopefully you can imagine what they looked like for yourselves!

Have you had the same problem with this kit or is it just me?

Please comment and leave me a message so that we can chat or leave me a link to your blog so that I can check it out :) 

♥

February 2013 Wishlist!

1. Topshop: Knitted Textured Crop Jumper in Burgundy - Available here 

I recently bought a pair of high waisted disco pants (a bit late on the whole disco pants trend I know!) and I have been loving wearing shirts/blouses tucked into them as well as pairing them with crop tops. I think this cropped jumper would be perfect to pair with my disco pants while the cold weather is still here! 

2. Topshop: Lipstick in Saint - Available here 

So I have a bit of an obsession with nude and pale pink lipsticks, I tend to wear no other colour at the moment! I love the colour of this lipstick and the topshop lipsticks are such good quality. I also like the look of the topshop lipstick in the shade Nevada which is a nude colour. 

3. Missguided: Mia Chronograph Watch in Rose Gold - Available here

Over the last few months I have seen so many people wearing rose gold watches, with quite a lot of them being the Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch which I absolutely love, but unfortunately for me, cannot afford! I really like this watch, it looks pretty similar and is only a fraction of the price of most others. The other thing I really love about this watch is the cute cross, heart and peace sign detailing on the display.

4. Smart Buy Glasses: Ray Ban RB2132 New Wayfarer 710 - Available here 

I love Ray Ban sunglasses and have previously owned a pair of their avatar sunglasses, but my favourites at the moment are these brown-colour wayfarer's which I think would be ideal for the summer. Ray Ban's can sometimes be quite pricey so I love that this store has discounts on all of their sunglasses as this definitely makes them much more affordable!

Would you pick any of the items from my wishlist?

♥

Review: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara

I am always buying a different mascaras as I like to try them all out and see what effect they have on my eyelashes. Jordana was a brand that I had never heard of before as it's not widely available in the UK, until I was watching a youtuber that I regularly watch and they mentioned that this was their favourite mascara. This intrigued me as their eyelashes were really long and looked amazing so I looked at the reviews of it online and they were all good so I did some research into where I could buy it from and eventually bought it from Beautyjoint, where it was $3.59 which is just £2.31! Although you do have to pay postage/shipping to the UK so you may wish to buy a few other items at the same time like I did! The Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara is also available from other online stores such as Cherry Culture and the Jordana website which also charge postage/shipping to the UK. 

I LOVE this mascara! As you can see from the picture above the wand is a pretty simple, standard mascara wand..none of these fancy designs like some mascaras now have! It is a quite wet mascara and it does get quite a lot of product on the wand so I do sometimes have to wipe some of the product off on the top of the tube so as not to waste it. The wand is quite long and thin which means that it is easy to get in both the inner and outer corners of the eye and make sure that you've got all of your eyelashes and not missed any out!

One of the things I love about this mascara is that it makes my lashes longer and more voluminous without causing clumping, which is what everyone wants from a mascara right!? To prevent clumping I tend to apply one coat of mascara and then give it a chance to dry before applying another, otherwise they can clump together. It is also very long lasting and stays put all day without having any fall out or causing panda eyes!

As far as I am aware the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara only comes in one colour and that is 301 Black. The colour is another thing that I love about this mascara as I think it is possibly one of the blackest mascaras that I have ever come across! This is great because it makes your eyelashes really stand out and it means that you don't have to apply numerous layers of mascara to build the colour up. 

I would definitely recommend this mascara, especially for the cheap price tag!

Have you tried this mascara? What do you think of it?

♥

Review: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

Say goodbye to the blowing on your finger nails that comes with painting your nails!

I have never really enjoyed painting my nails as I always found it too fiddly and time consuming waiting for them to dry, but despite this I am forever painting them as I get bored of them so quickly and like to change them up. This means that I spend a LOT of time not being able to do anything because of wet nails! Until now....

This is the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat which claims to help prevent your nail polish from chipping, fading and discolouring which I can say that it definitely does. It also makes my nails look noticeably more shiny which I love. 

To use this product you apply one layer of the Insta-Dri top coat two minutes after applying your colour nail polish and after just 30 seconds it's dry and you're ready to go! I wouldn't say that it's as quick as 30 seconds but it is considerably quicker than using no drying top coat at all. I tend to find that it stops my nails from being wet and smudging after about a minute but it does still leave them 'soft' before they have set properly and so you do have to be careful until they are fully dry. 

I purchased this product from Boots for just £5.99 which is a very reasonable price and doesn't break the bank like some polishes and top coats which is always ideal! 

I would give this product about a 8/10 and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a good drying top coat at a cheap price.

Have you tried this top coat? If so what do you think of it? 

♥

Mini Superdrug Haul

I was on the Superdrug website about a week ago and was just browsing  and looking at the different products when I noticed that they were offering free standard delivery for every order until the 14th February (which means it's still available!) and so I decided to make the most of the free delivery and order a few things.

The first thing I bought was this Flawless French Manicure Kit by Elegant Touch. I had never seen this product before but I wear false nails all the time so I was looking at the different false nails that they had and noticed that all of the Elegant Touch false nails and some of their other nail products were half price. I liked the look of this product and thought it would make a change from wearing normal false nails (and also give my nails a break!) As well as this it seemed to have good reviews so I decided to try it out. 

I bought this Flutter Belle French Manicure Set because I needed a new white nail polish so I was looking to buy one and spotted this set which was in the sale of the leftover Christmas gifts for only 99p! Yes, 99p for three nail polishes! This was cheaper than any of the other single white nail polishes so I decided to buy this set instead.

The final item I bought in my mini Superdrug haul was this Salt Spray by Superdrug. I had been looking for a cheap salt spray for my hair for ages because I am a big fan of quick, messy hair as I naturally have quite flat, straight hair. This salt spray was £2.49 for one bottle or there was an offer on two bottles for £3.49 which worked out as only £1 for the second bottle so I thought why not!

I haven't tried any of these products out yet but if you would like a review on any of them then please leave me a comment and I will do that once I have tried them :)

Have you tried any of these products? If so, what do you think of them?

♥

Primark Haul!

So I went into Primark at the weekend because I had a few things that I needed to get, and I ended up buying a lot more than I went in for - I just can't help myself! Whoops!

The first thing I went into Primark for was a pair of the plain black dolly shoes as I wear these all the time because they're just easy to throw on and go with pretty much everything! I've owned so many pairs of these and my old ones were starting to look  a bit knackered so I figured it was time for a new pair and these were only £5! 

The next thing I went into Primark for was a plain white cami/vest because I have one of these already and I wear it all the time as it goes with everything and it's ideal for layering under other clothes, especially in the winter, so I needed to buy another one so that I had two of them to choose from! Plus they're only £2!

The final thing I initially went into Primark for was a pair of jeggings because again, I already own a pair of Primark jeggings and I wear them quite a lot so I needed another pair to give me two pairs to choose from! I got these in the colour indigo which is just a dark blue colour and they were £7.

I had been wanting a denim shirt for a while now because I've seen so many people wearing them and I think they're good for layering so I bought this one because I really loved the pale denim colour and I thought the poppers to fasten the shirt were really pretty! 

The next thing I bought from Primark was this really cute vanity case. I loved the quilted pattern on this and the cute pink bow on the front so I bought this because I thought it would be ideal to store all of my make-up in as my old case that I used to use is now too small due to the fact that I keep buying more and more make-up! 

I bought this gold statement necklace as I love wearing necklaces like this with simple tops as it's a simple way to make an outfit look more interesting. I had also seen this on a lot of people's blogs and thought it looked really nice so I decided to add it to my collection!

I had seen a lot of double fingered cross rings in places such as topshop but decided not to buy them because of the price, so when I saw this ring in Primark I decided to buy it straight away! I also love the fact that it's adjustable as I have really skinny fingers and so the fact that it's adjustable means that I don't have to worry about it fitting my fingers! They also had this ring in silver.

The next thing I bought from Primark were the french nails. I had never seen these in Primark before but I thought I would give them a try because they were only £1 and if their false eyelashes are anything to go by (which are also £1), then I have high hopes for them! They also had a variety of both different coloured nails and patterned nails.

The final thing I bought from Primark was this set of four nail polishes. I have never bought any of the Primark nail polishes before because I have always been a bit sceptical of the quality due to the fact that they're only £2 for four nail polishes, but the colours of these along with the really cute packaging really drew me in and so I decided to give them a try!

Have you been into Primark recently? If so, what did you buy?

♥

Review & Swatches: Makeup Academy (MUA) Heaven & Earth Eyeshadow Palette!

I had been looking for a cheap, good quality, neutral eyeshadow palette for so long and I have found it with the MUA Heaven & Earth Palette! I LOVE this palette which I bought from Superdrug for just £4 after reading really good reviews, hearing people rave about it and comparing it to more expensive high-end palettes such as the Urban Decay Naked Palette. It can also be bought from the MUA Website. This palette lasts me for a long time and I just repurchase it whenever it runs out. It contains 12 beautiful shades, all of which contain a shimmer, although some are more shimmery than others. For me this is the only downside to the MUA Heaven & Earth palette, as it contains no matte shades, so if you do not like eye shadows with a shimmer then this palette probably isn't for you. As well as this it also comes with a double ended sponge tip applicator, although I prefer to use my own eyeshadow brushes. All of these eye shadows are very pigmented and give a good colour at the same time as being very soft and easy to blend without giving a large amount of fall out like some eye shadows! Every one of these eye shadows stays on all day and only fades a little without a primer and with a primer the eye shadows stay on all day with the colour not fading at all and looking exactly the same at the end of the day as it did when it was first applied in the morning!

The top row

The top row swatches

The top row in this palette contains six shades including two pale, quite sheer colours that are good for base colours or a highlight, two gold colours, a pale brown/bronze colour and a dark brown colour. The pale white/cream colour on the far left is my favourite colour to use as a brow highlight and as a highlight in the inner corner of my eye whereas the gold colour on the far right is my favourite colour to use all over my eyelid as I find that it is the shade which makes my blue eyes 'pop' the most.

The bottom row

The bottom row swatches

The bottom row also contains six shades including one pale, quite sheer colour, a light brown colour, and four different dark brown colours, some of which have a more reddish tone to them. All of the darker brown colours are good for crease colours and for creating a brown smokey eye look, which is a look that I do daily!

This is an amazing palette for creating a variety of different everyday eye shadow looks and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes natural colours and shimmery eye shadows! Overall I would give this product a 9/10 just purely for the fact that it does not have any matte shades which lets it down slightly!

Have you tried this palette? What do you think of it?

♥