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? 

♥

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?

♥

ELF Haul

A couple of weeks ago I did a big ELF haul, all of which I ordered from the ELF website. Some of the products I ordered were in the sale, some were repurchases and some were new products that I thought I would try.

32pc Eyeshadow Palette - Natural - £5

This was a new purchase that I thought I would try because it had a large range of colours and was only £5! I have only used it a couple of times, but so far I'm not that pleased with it because the colours don't seem to be very pigmented and don't have a very good colour. They also don't seem to have very good lasting power and they tend to fade throughout the day, although that may just be the colours that I have tried so far. 

Eyelid Primer - Sheer - £1.50

This was a repurchase as I previously bought the Beauty Book and really liked the mini eyelid primer that came with it as it glided on well and blended in properly so that you couldn't see it on the eyelid. It also improves the lasting powder of any eyeshadow that I wear and so I bought the full size tube for when it runs out. 

Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder - Luminance - £1.50

This was a repurchase as my previous one ran out and so I bought this to replace it. This product is labelled as a bronzer, however I read reviews that it was a good highlight colour as the colour luminance is way too light for a bronzer so I thought I would try it and I love it, I find that it is the perfect colour for a highlighter. 

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - Turks & Caicos - £3.75

This was also a repurchase as my previous blush and bronze duo ran out. I love this product as I find that the bronze is perfect for contouring because it has hardly any shimmer to it and the colour isn't too dark but it is buildable. I also love the blush as I only like to wear subtle pale pink blushes with a bit of shimmer, and so this blusher is the perfect colour. Both the blush and the bronze also have a good lasting power so I don't have to reapply them throughout the day.

Studio Stipple Brush - £3.75

I bought this brush as I read good reviews on it, although I haven't used it yet. It doesn't seem too dense, but it is very soft and doesn't seem to shed any bristles.

Blending Eye Brush - £1.50

This brush is really soft and does the job of blending eye shadows into the crease and the corner of the eye so it is a good blending brush. The only downside I have found to this brush so far is that it does seem to shed quite a bit. 

Eyelash and Brow Wand - £1.50

I use this wand to comb through my eyebrows and shape them before I fill them in so it definitely does the job.

Studio Mascara Primer - £3.75

This was a repurchase as I bought it so that when my other mascara primer runs out I will have this one. I used to use another mascara primer previously but I stopped using it as it was too expensive and it was only a small tube so it didn't last long. I find that this primer is just as good as any other one as it lengthens my eyelashes and helps to prevent them from becoming thick and clumpy.

Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara - £1.50

This was a new purchase as I needed a product to set my eyebrows in place and prevent them from fading and smudging throughout the day. It definitely does the job as they do not move and look the same when I get home in the evening as they did in the morning. So far I have only used the brow clear mascara as I don't like wearing clear mascara.

Matte Lip Colour - Nearly Nude - £3.75
Matte Lip Colour - Coral - £3.75

I previously owned the Matte Lip Colour in Natural and I liked the product as it is long lasting and has a good colour that was very pigmented so I decided to try it in two other colours; nearly nude and coral. I always tend to wear pale pink and nude lipsticks and so nearly nude is my favourite shade as it is a pale pink colour and lasts a long time on the lips. I also like the coral colour although I don't tend to wear it as often as it isn't the type of colour that I usually wear everyday. The only downside to these is that they are quite drying on the lips because they are matte and I have quite a lot of lines in my lips so it tends to highlight them more than a moisturising lipstick would. 

Nail Polish - Innocent - usually £2.50 but bought for £1 in the sale
Nail Polish - Rosy Raisin - usually £2.50 but bought for £1 in the sale

I have other shades in the ELF Nail Polish but these two shades were new purchases and I bought them because they were in the sale. I like to wear pale and nude nail varnishes and so Innocent is the perfect colour for that, although it does take 2-3 coats to form the colour as it is a very pale colour and so not too pigmented. Rosy Raisin is a shade that I love as I wear a lot of deep red and burgundy colours and this nail polish is my favourite deep red colour that I have found so far. 

If you would like a full review or swatches of any of the products that I have mentioned or you just have a question then please leave me a comment!

♥