New Years Nails!

Baileys and Malteser Cheesecake

Baileys Hot Chocolate

Banoffee Cupcakes

Barry M Limited Edition Christmas Glitters!

10 Minute Morning Makeup

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Halloween Throwback

Zoeva Eye Shadow Primer

NOTD: My Favoute Ornament and My Vampire is Buff

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat

Top Tips For Statement Lips

It's no secret I love lipstick, and I'm a lot more likely to reach for a bold colour than a nude when I wear it. Here are my top five tips to wearing a bold lip choice:

Keep it Moisturised and Exfoliated. Making sure you're lips are properly exfoliated and moisturised is always key! It makes the lipstick easier to apply, because your lips are more nourished so it the lipstick is less likely to cling any chapped patches. 

Lip Liner. If you're using a lip liner, don't just line the outline of your lips, fill them in completely. This will help your lipstick last longer, and won't just leave a line around your lips if the lipstick wears away a bit. 

Keep it Neutral. Keeping the rest of your makeup fairly natural can help balance out a bold lip, and prevent your make up from looking a bit over the top for day to day wear. 

Don't Forget to Blot. This is always key, applying thin layers and blotting in between can help your lipstick last longer, and of course blotting can help prevent the dreaded lipstick on the teeth scenario. 

Battle of the Apocalips

NOTD: Gypsy Night

Bring on the Berry!

For me this time of year is when I start rocking the berry lips. They're an autumn staple for me and I have four I'm already obsessed with this year!

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie- This one was a favourite from last year, and is definitely one to ease you into berry lips. The moisturising formula of the lip butters leaves a light wash of colour on your lips in an almost 'your lips but better' way, and is great for everyday wear!

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 17 Rose In Tension-  Another favourite from last year, and a lipstick I think was well worth its price tag. It has more of a pink tone than the others, and has a glossy finish. I think this is great for making you look more awake when you're only wearing basic makeup; foundation, concealer, and mascara, and also looks great on a night out.

Soap and Glory's Super-colour fabulipstick in Pom Pom- This is a lipstick I don't think I've ever heard people talking about, but they should be! It's a creamy matte lipstick which isn't drying on the lips, and lasts for absolutely ages. Seriously, this lipstick lasts for hours, even through eating, drinking, and talking!

Topshop Beguiled- I haven't had this one for long, but it's already the one I've worn most this year! It may look a bit scary in the tube, but can be dabbed onto the lips with your fingers to give a light wash of colour, and of course applied straight onto the lips in all its vampy, berry glory! I can't wait until we're well into autumn so I can wear it all the time!

Alice xx

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Autumn Anticipation

The start of September means two things to me, my birthday and that autumn is on our horizons. Autumn is my favourite season because it means crisper weather and curling up with a hot cup of tea. The colder weather also means its time to crack out all those cosy scarves, jumpers, and boots. Let's not forget to mention the excuse it gives us to switch it up with our nails and makeup.

Warm and shimmery eyes. I can't wait to start digging back into my Urban Decay Naked palette, this summer if I've been wearing makeup at all I've mainly been sticking with my Naked Basic palette or the Mac paint pot in Rubenesque for my eyes, but now my naked palette is calling to me, and I know I'm definitely going to be getting my money's worth for it.

Berries and vampy lips. I've already jumped the gun a bit on this one and have already started wearing my Topshop lipstick in Beguiled. I love wearing this lightly dabbed on the lips with lip balm over top, or wearing it full force in all it's vampy glory!

Bundled and booted. I love jumpers from Oasis, they may be a bit higher in price but the quality of them is amazing, they last for years! For autumn and winter shoes and boots Topshop and New Look are the places to go, especially for affordable boots that are good quality. 

Television Talk: Harper's Island

Recent Reads: We Were Liars

Afternoon Tea at BB Bakery

My Dogsled is a Hybrid: NOTD Comparison

OPI Neon Collection 2014

Poolside Essentials

A few friends and I recently spent a week away in Corfu, and I have a few products that were essentials for my trip away!

NOTD: Juice Bar Hopping

OPI's Juice Bar Hopping is the perfect colour for summer, I couldn't get a picture to capture just how amazing it is! 

This bright, neon orange applies flawlessly, though it does have a slightly satin finish to it. 

When I bought the minis, this was one I didn't think I'd be needing in the full size, I was so wrong. This is definitely going to become a summer staple for me!

Any other summer nail polish recommendations for me? 

Alice xx

NOTD: Sittin' Pretty

I think I've found my new favourite summer purple! Essie's Sittin' Pretty is a beautiful, bright almost neon lavender. It has the most easy to work with formular, with such a glossy finish, you could easily get away with not using top coat! 

I can't stop staring at my nails with this on!

Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Alice xx

NOTD: Rose of Light and My Vampire is Buff

After just getting back from holiday my nails needed a bit of tlc, and fresh manicure. My Vampire is buff is an off white cream, and looks great on all skin tones, especially of you have a tan, and Rose of Light is a mixture of yellow and rose gold circular glitter, with small squares of iridescent, holographic glitter, it's beautiful! 

It's just what my nails needed after a week away. 

What have you got on your nails now? 

Alice xx

Summer Nail Polish Picks

Summer for me means bold and bright colours, so in summer I tend to stick to neons and creme finish polishes rather than glitters. Here are a selection I plan on getting a lot of use out of this summer!

Revlon Lash Potion Review

I have been trying out both the regular formula and the waterproof formula of the Revlon Lash Potion mascara recently.

NOTD: OPI Life Gave Me Lemons

This is my first foray into the world of yellow nail polish, and a daring one at that. Life Gave Me Lemons is from this year's OPI neon collection, which I currently only have in the mini's but after testing them out, am planning on buying a fair few of them in the full size. This yellow is a bright neon, highlighter yellow, though it does have a slight lime green undertone in certain lights. I was worried this wouldn't suit my skin tone, but I am so happily surprised by how this looks! I'm in love!

For those not in the US or North America where OPI is fairly easy to get your hands on, I would definitely suggest looking on Amazon and ebay, it makes them so much easier (and cheaper) to get your hands on!

Alice xx

Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Cream

For a long time, the Body Shop's Vitamin E range has been one of my favourites, and recently I've been trying out the Vitamin E Cool BB cream. This product retails for £10, and is available online and instores.

I've tried it a few times now and can't manage to work into my skin so it looks nice. I find that once applied it sinks in and exaggerates the pores and lines of my skin, and leaves my skin looking patchy. I've tried applying it with my fingers, my real techniques stippling brush, and also the expert face brush, with the same patchy result each time. It also seems to almost ball up along the jaw and hair line instead of blending out. Not a good look!

I've also found the colouring of this BB cream to be off, it appears very orange, even on my currently more tanned skin, and can't be blended out to make it more wearable. 

Overall I was really disappointed my this product. I'm such a huge fan of a lot of the other products in this range, especially the intense moisture cream, so this was such a disappointing product. 

Alice xx

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NOTD: Bikini so Teeny

For my Easter weekend mani, I decided to used Essie's Bikini so Teeny. This is a beautiful periwinkle blue/purple, with subtle shimmer in it. This polish is an amazing colour for spring and summer, and is one I'll be reaching for a lot. 

The only downside to this polish is that it can go a bit streaky when applying a top coat, even after it's dried completely, but it's still an amazing colour. 

Happy Easter

Alice xxx

NOTD: You're Such A Budapest

OPI You're Such a Budapest is a light periwinkle purple with very subtle shimmer in it. It's such a flattering spring shade which looks amazing on both the hands and feet.

Hope you're having a great day. 

Alice xx

Spring Nail polish picks

Spring means it's time for pinks and purples. Out with dark colours and in with the bright.  Here's a few of my favourites for this spring.

NOTD: Chasing Rainbows

I recently treated myself to a new glitter polish, OPI's Chasing Rainbows was a polish I knew I needed the moment I saw swatches to it, and it didn't let me down. 

It's a dupe for Rainbow Connection from the previous Muppets Christmas collection, and is packed full of multi-sized rainbow coloured glitter. 

I applied one coat over OPI Live.Love.Carnaval from the new Brazil collection and I love it!

Alice xx

Springtime Favourite Lip Products

In the Spring the colours that I wear on my lips change from dark, vampy colours, to light and bright ones, this year is no exception. 

See what I'm liking at the moment after the jump.

 

Valentines Day Nail polish picks

Even if you don't have any special plans for Valentines Day there's always the time for nice nails, and nothing says Valentines better than pink and red nails, and here are my valentines nail polish picks.

OPI Innie Minnie Mighty Bow

This is a frosted red with a silver shimmer throughout and is opaque in only one coat. 

OPI Live.Love.Carnaval

This is a bright pink coral, perfect for valentines day and one that will be perfect for the spring and summer. 

OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian

This polish is a bright, almost neon pink, which applies evenly in only two coats. 

OPI I Theodora You

This is a sheer milky pink colour, which applies evenly so it can be worn in a thin layer, or opaque with three coats, for a subtle, elegant look. 

OPI Steady As She Rose

This polish is a unique rosey lavender cream polish, which looks very natural and flattering on the nails. This polish is discontinued but it is fairly easy to find on Amazon or Ebay. 

OPI You're Such A Budapest

This is one of my favourite OPI nail polishes, and as a light lilac with very, very subtle shimmer in it, and is an amazing spring and summer colour which looks amazing on both the nails and the toes. 

Essie Splash Of Grenadine 

After my favourite OPI comes my favourite Essie polish. Splash of Grenadine is a magenta, fuchsia pink which I think is flattering on a lot of skin tones, and looks amazing throughout the spring and summer. 

Essie Watermelon

This polish is exactly what the name says, it's a beautiful, bright Watermelon pink/red. 

Happy Valentines Day

Alice xx

NOTD In The Cable Car-Pool Lane

Today's nail of the day is two coats of OPI's In The Cable Car-Pool Lane, layered with Accessorize's Molten copper on my ring fingers. 

Alice xx

Cold Weather Must Haves...

When the weather is cold, there's nothing worse than dry skin, here are my essentials to beat the cold winter months.

One of the worst things about cold weather is chapped lips, that's where my Lush lip scrub and Nivea Lip butter comes in. I exfoliate my lips every night, then I liberally apply the lip butter letting it soak into my lips over night. 

For my face I've been loving the Body Shop's Vitamin E Intense Moisture, this can be worn overnight or under foundation, and leaves my skin feeling thoroughly hydrated, and also helps with some discolouration and scarring for me.

The Vaseline deep conditioning cocoa butter has always been a favourite no matter what time of the year as it leaves my skin looking and smelling great.

Finally in the cold months keeping your hands hydrated is essential, as is a good hand cream. My favourite is currently the Norwegian Formula concentrated hand cream, with this stuff a little goes a long way, and has really helped with the dry skin on my hands. The very last essential for me is along the same lines and is a nail oil. I'm currently loving the Essie Apricot oil, and apply it every evening to the skin around my nails and directly onto the nails, allowing it to soak in a bit before I paint them, this has helped prevent hangnails, and if you keep your nails hydrated they are less likely to peel or break! Another great nail oil is the Sally Hansen vitamin E and cuticle oil, both have done wonders for my nails.

Happy new year! 

Alice x