Urban Decay - The Ultimate Make Up Temptation

* BEWARE - THIS IS A PICTURE HEAVY POST :)

Well, when I got back to reading everyone's blogs and catching up I realised that Urban Decay not only had a new Book of Shadows out, but a 15 Year Anniversary palette. I have all the other Book of Shadows palettes and I'm a sucker for "limited editions" so I just had to get both in the end. I'm glad I did as they feature less duplicates than their palettes normally do. Perhaps they've finally listed to their audience? I think the two palettes only share one or two eyeshadows that are the same, and the rest are brand new shades, which got me quite excited. Luckily Debenhams in the UK were offering free delivery when I purchased and they only took 2 days to arrive.

Urban Decay colours are always so bold and bright, or sparkly for the more neutral colours. They are so different, I haven't really found anything I love as much. I enjoy mixing the colours together as I find the textures make it incredibly easy to blend. I have done a few looks already, I'll feature one for you on my next post. I might also be looking at doing a 30 day Urban Decay challenge for the month of November. 30 eyeshadow looks using different colours everytime. With 6 palettes and 95 shades I think it is doable, but only if I plan well, based on using on average 3 shades for most looks.

Anyway, here are my pictures:

Beautiful colours

15 Year Palette, you can use the purple box to put other useful items in!

Pretty box, lots of funky stuff going on

Speaker, primer potion, mascara & eyeliner add to the usual 16 eyeshadows!

I love the fact that this palette came with a mascara & eyeliner as I'd not tried them before. Thats the bonus when you get these palettes, you get to try other products without having to purchase them separately!!

I love the liquid eyeliner already and I'd only used it once. But I'm not much of a pro at putting it on, but it was so easy!! I love the lasting power too, it definitely lasted the whole day, I could not see that it had budged at all.

I was so happy with my purchases I decided to give you an extra few shots of my pets today, my two cats who are 18months old. And my lil puppy who is only 5 months!

Guinness

Cosmo

Jake

Green NOTD

I have painted my nails properly for the first time in a while! These days I paint my left hand then get interrupted and do something else. Then I find myself not bothering to do the same with my right hand as I know it will take longer. My colleagues at work often pick up on this and think I'm mad. I used my normal No.7 base and top coat, Models Own - Green Grass and Rio Nail Art Yellow.

What do you think?

Have you created any Halloween looks; nails or FOTD? Doing anything special for the occasion? Let me know! xoxo

Make Up Brushes - Thank You Groupon

So I seem to have been very busy lately, I would like to blame the wedding planning, but I think I've also been fairly lazy and have been watching a lot of TV. From Downton Abbey to Gossip Girl, there's just too many good shows on right now!!

Anyway, today I am returning with details of my recently purchased professional make up brushes from Louise Walsh, view the website for more info. I managed to use a group code to get the £99 brush set for £19. Bargain.
I haven't used the brushes yet so will follow up with a review shortly. I need to wash my hair before using them for a FOTD for you :)

The set includes:
– POWDER BRUSH
– CHISEL POWDER BRUSH
– TAPERED BRUSH
– ANGLE BRUSH
– CHISEL BRUSH
– DELUXE OVAL SHADOW
– DELUXE SOFT FAN
– ANGLE LINER
– BROWN/LASH GROOMER
– OVAL SMUDGER
– FLOCKED SPONGE
– FOUNDATION BRUSH
– MEDIUM SHADOW BRUSH
– BLENDING BRUSH
– CONCEALER BRUSH
– POINTER MASCARA APPLICATOR

I am definitely looking forward to testing the quality of these brushes, this could be my greatest saving yet! I am also not so patiently waiting for my two new Urban Decay palettes to arrive; the 15 year anniversary palette and the Book of Shadows IV. Luckily my partner got to keep a little bit of money he owed a company that went into administration so we treated ourselves. He got a new mountain bike, I got some clothes from Jane Norman and some make up!! Sums us both up perfectly! xoxo

Nail Designs

Well since recently becoming a qualified Nail Technician I have been working on some bits and bobs to help clients choose the nail design they want, and which colours they would like. I have over 200 nail polishes and this also showed the other half just how different they all are!

Below is a picture of my first nail design wheel;

The colours I have used above are the Barry M, Saffron, 2Tru and Essence  polishes I own. I've painted 9 others in my nail polish colours using all other brands, such as No.7, Models Own, 17, Collection 2000 and more. Now I just need to add all the detail. It helps when you don't try and do all of them at once, otherwise I start feeling like I have no more ideas left. Just going back through my nail posts on my blog will likely give me inspiration!

What do you think? Have you ever done this, either for yourself or clients? I think it's also gonna help me choose what I want on my nails each week!!

Thanks for reading! xoxo

Hello folks!!

So as I have recently qualified as a Nail Technician I have tried to get a nail business up and running, first starting with prices, flyers and a website. Well, 1/3 ain't bad!

This weekend I have managed to try something new in the beauty world...rebel nails! They are very similar to the Minx trend that celebrities everywhere are wearing.

You use heat on the transfer and your nail, then smooth it out from cuticle to tip. If any bumps appear you just need to reheat and stick back down. Sounds simple right, well this made me skeptical.

I started off finding it a bit tricky knowing which sizes (out of 8) I needed for each nail. Once you've got that down the rest just comes with practice! I used an infrared heat lamp, but the instructions say you can just use a hairdryer. One hand probably took about half an hour so after a few more tried I could probably do both hands in half an hour. I'm not normally a fan of leopard print but I find this is quite unique and fun!

What do you think?
Have you tried Rebel, Trendy or Minx nails?
Until next time xoxo

Car Boot Sale Glory!!

OMG today was a very exciting day, the season of car boot sales is upon us and boy did I annoy the other half with all the time I spent deciding what to buy. I recently sold my old GHD's so was glad a had a spare bit of cash to play with.

I spent £45.50 and got a lot of bargains-

• 3 Mac pigments (unused) Chrome Yellow, Orange & Shimmer Moss
• 5 Mac eyeshadows; Freshwater, Electric Eel, Creme De Violet and 2 from the Liberty of London collection labeled 11 & 12.
• 8 pc Mac brush set
• Black and gold patterned clutch bag
• Jessica nail polish
• Avon nail polish
• Mustard high heels
• Purple chinese style 200 page photo album

I know all the above Mac items are fakes but I've heard this 8 piece set is extremely close to the real quality of MAC. I also know the Freshwater eyeshadow is real as this was bought from someone's personal stall, rather than a business stall like the rest of the items.

What do you think - have you ever bought fake items and found them to be good or bad? Let me know :D

Back with a bang!

Well I just noticed it's actually been 2 months today since I last blogged and I have a lot to catch up on. There's a lot of stuff sitting in my "waiting to review" box which are all the things I have purchased since my last reviewing session.

I will list them below so that I can take them all out of the box and actually find them a home!

• Elizabeth Arden - Bronze in Bloom
• Bare Minerals Get Started Complexion
• Smashbox Beauty To Go Photo Finish Foundation Primer Set
• YSL Touche Éclat (Radiant Touch)
• Mascara Volume Effect Faux Cils (Luxurious Mascara For A False Lash Effect)
• Sleek Caribbean Collection Curaҫao Palette
• Sleek Primer Palette
• Sleek Mediterranean Collection Monaco Palette 
• Front Cover Go!Go!Go!
• BeneTint (free with Glamour)
• Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Grapefruit (free with Glamour)
• Boots Expert Sensitive Daily Defence Moisture Cream SPF 12
• The Body Shop Lip Scuff
• The Body Shop Lipstick in Soft Sienna
• The Body Shop Big & Curvy Mascara
• No.7 Exquisite Curl Mascara
• No.7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Almond
• No.7 Eye Awakening Gel
• No.7 Spring 2011 Limited Edition Eye Palette
• No.7 Spring 2011 Limited Edition Lipstick in Grace
• No.7 Spring 2011 Limited Edition Eyeliner in Turquoise
• Max Factor Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation in Warm Almond
• 17 Natural Radiance Foundation in Caramel
• 17 Skin Perfecting Shine Free Foundation in Caramel
• L'oréal Infallible Make Up Long Lasting Perfecting Foundation in Vanilla
• No.7 Lift & Illuminate Foundation in Almond
• 17 Metallic Eye Pencil in Gold
• 17 Metallic Eye Pencil in Silver
• 17 Metallic Eye Pencil in Green
• 17 Metallic Eye Pencil in Bronze
• No.7 Beautiful Brows Pencil in Brown/Black
• Rimmel Professional Liquid Eyeliner in Dark Chocolate
• Models Own Eye Pencil in Neon Hot Pink
• Models Own Eye Pencil in Peacock Green
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Orangeade
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Hot Red
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Pale Jade
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Bright Grass 
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Emerald Green
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Bright Turquoise
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Purple Sky
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Gold
• Models Own Powder Eyeshadow in Brown & Gold Sparkle
• Models Own Nail Polish in Pastel Pink
• Models Own Nail Polish in Vintage Pink
• Models Own Nail Polish in Red Alert
• Models Own Nail Polish in Cherry Pie
• Models Own Nail Polish in Lime Green
• Models Own Nail Polish in Lilac Dream
• Models Own Nail Polish in Becca's Brown
• No.7 Speed Dry Nail Colour in Violetta
• Barry M Nail Effects in Black
• Barry M Nail Effects in White

Please let me know if there are any items you would like me to start reviewing first, otherwise I will slowly go through the list one by one. I won't be buying much in the next few months - or the next year as I have a wedding to save up for!!

I'm going to start reviewing my most recent purchase first because I was so excited when I saw them on the Sleek make up stand. I had hoped they were on 3 for 2 like the last time I bought my Sleek palettes, but no such luck!! So this week I will be reviewing my new Sleek palettes - Caribbean Collection Curaҫao, The Primer Palette & Mediterranean Collection Monaco.

Summer Bright NOTD

Today I've decided to go for something really bright and textured. I picked up my selection of jelly nail polishes by Essence. I haven't used these as much as I would like, the Bubblegum pink is lovely!

Here we have Very Berry by Essence, part of their Jelly Baby nail polish collection.

 With flash

Without flash

I also added a bit of flair with the black and white nail art pens. What do you think?

Outfit Of The Day (OOTD)

Today I was looking for inspiration on what to wear with my high waisted denim shorts as it was a lovely sunny day in the UK! I came across this picture of Rachel Bilson and found the perfect outfit for my day spent in the park reading "The Brightest Star In The Sky" on my Kindle.

Cardigan - Dorothy Perkins
White vest - Republic
High waisted denim shorts - Republic
Gladiator shoes - New Look
Necklace - Gift Shop

What do you think? Do you ever copy a celeb style - who's your guru?
Thanks for reading! xoxo

New video up on Youtube

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well and looking forward to Easter?
I've been enjoying the lovely weather we're having in the UK at the moment and am getting excited as I go on holiday in 27 days!

I finally managed to upload a YouTube video - yes!!

Stay tuned for more. Thanks for watching xoxo