Nails of the Day #4

There was lots of talk on these little nail polishes in the beauty world, especially the colours 'Fantasy Fire' and 'Graffiti'. I went into Superdrug and there was three for two on everything (seem familiar? ;) so I decided to buy two of their shades which included 'Soft Toffee' which is pictured above. Fantasy Fire was a beautiful duo chrome purple/blue which I was going to get but I though that I wouldn't wear it so much in the summer compared to this. As the name suggests it is the perfect creamy brown nude and I have been loving it on my nails recently. It takes two applications for an opaque colour and dries really fast which is something I always look for. The one downside is the brush as it's quite thin but it's nothing I can't work with for such a nice subtle and classy colour.

Recently, I have loved painting my nails as it is a therapeutic break from revision. Are there any other colours from the collection you can suggest? 

Hayley xxx

GLOSSYBOX, May 2012

This is the first month I have been a subscriber to Glossybox and I knew it would be a good'un as this month is the companies 1st birthday. 

The box came beautifully packaged slightly differently than usual with printed tissue paper and as soon as I

                                                            unwrapped it I got excited.

As you can see from the picture, these samples are really decent sizes with the above containing 75ml. The Noble Isle Summer Rising bath and shower gel  is described as inspired by the natural and cultural riches of 

     the British Isles. I've had a little whiff and it smells so fresh and summery! I can't wait to use this.

Next up are the Lolita Lempicka Eau de Parfum and Si Lolita and I haven't worn them  yet so I can't comment on notes however from what I have read they are heavier musky scents which are probably more appropriate for evening wear. From an initial smell I like them both but prefer the Eau de Parfum. 

This is the Apivita  Express Beauty mask and this is where Glossybox really impressed me as when you subscribe, you fill out a beauty profile where you tell them your hair colour, skin type etc.. My skin is dry so they sent me a moisturising and nourishing mask which my skin will probably really benefit from. I have really high hopes for this product and isn't too overpriced at £3.50 per sachet. As a bonus this product also contains no parabens, silicones or propylene glycol.

Now, this is definitely the product that made the whole box for me. It's the Berber Oil Hair Treatment which contains argon oil. I have wanted to try hair oils/serums for so long however it is quite an investment to get a good quality one that improves your hair and not just coats it to make it look shiny. The full size is £19.99 for 100ml which is a lot however it might just be worth it. I will definitely be testing this out asap!

These Eldora false lashes were probably the most disappointing item in the box. As you can see they are comically long and blingy which really aren't my style at all. Maybe other boxes had more wearable lashes? These won't go to waste though as I am thinking of trimming them down (a lot) to achieve a more natural subtle look. 

Lastly, there were a few added bonuses to celebrate Glossybox's birthday with the first being a compact which a double mirror inside and the second being a balloon. Both are really nice gestures and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of the compact (and maybe less so out of the balloon.)

I amm really impressed with the service Glossybox provides and I am excited to use all the products I received this month. I will definitely keep my subscription and I am already excited about next month! Which monthly boxes are you subscribed to?

Hayley xxx

Losing My MAC Virginity

As the title of this post suggests, I have only recently just purchased my very first MAC items. Now, I had put these off for a long time for a few reasons. The first being that I am only in my first year or so in really getting into make up so wanted to experiment with cheaper makeup first and not just waste my money on lots of expensive pieces that I may have not liked. The second is that I will soon be a poor uni student and lastly because I knew once I got one thing, I would want everything. And boy is the last reason true! I debated long and hard for what items I wanted to get first. I wanted something that could be multi-functional as well as something that hadn't got many other really good cheaper alternatives. I ended up entering the MAC store in my nearest Debenhams with two make up pieces that I had in mind. One being Harmony blush and the other being Soft and Gentle MSF.

I have heard from numerous people that the MAC staff aren't always very helpful but my lady was lovely and took the time out to help me. Harmony powder blush was £17.50 whilst the MSF was £21.50 and when you spend over £40 in Debenhams you get a Beauty Club Reward Card with a £5 voucher on it. Because I had only spent £39 I decided to get a pencil sharpener for my eyeliners which the lady said was a really good quality one which keeps the pencils in good shape.

 When I said I wanted Harmony for a contour she MAC lady said it would be perfect because I am fairly pale but it would also work for me in the summer for when my skin gets a bit darker which I thought would be good as I can use it all year around and not just seasonal. So far I have really loved it because it's not too orange toned and warms up my complexion without looking unnatural. I have also experimented with this in the crease of my eyes to contour and it really works to give some dimension and warmth when you have cooler shades across the lid.

I have heard so many good things about this highlighter and thought it was a great item that I could use for many different things. So far I have used it to highlight my cheekbones, inner corner of my eyes as well as my brow bone and I really love it. I can imagine it would be a good colour to just have swept across the eyelid to make me feel a bit more put together if I am in a rush. I also knew I wanted a highlighter as I was yet to find a good high street version.

Above are a few quick swatches and as you may have already figured out the one on the left is Harmony blush and the one on the right is Soft and Gentle. The camera is showing Harmony to be a bit more orangey than it is in real life however you can probably still tell that it is a great contour colour as it's completely matte. Soft and Gentle has a little bit of pink running through it which is great as it doesn't look so stark white on the skin so it makes it more natural. In saying this it isn't as natural as other highlighters as there are a few chunky bits of shimmer here and there which makes your face look very healthy and radiant.

I am really happy with my first few bits from MAC and now I think it's a bit of a slippery slope as I am already eyeing up other pieces. Any recommendations? 

Hayley xxx    

Online Cosmetics Website Review: Cheap Smells (Beware!)

I had heard of  cheapsmells.com from a number of blogs and YouTube videos over the years and I recently decided to purchase an item from their website. I decided to purchase a MAC item and I wont say which yet because I will be writing a blog post on it soon. I will however say that it is the first MAC item I ever bought. The reason for this is that I am young and will soon be a poor student living in halls. 

Cheap Smells is an online website in which you can buy perfume, make up, hair care and skincare for discounted prices. I had a bit of another look today and the most discount I saw was £25 off the RRP! You may be thinking- 'yeah, but the stock is probably older stuff no one wants'- but there's everything from items in MACs permanent collection to Clarins skin care to OPI nail polishes. Too good to be true? Well.......

That is probably where the good points finish. I ordered my item pretty late in the evening and chose standard delivery because I didn't mind waiting a bit longer for free shipping. I got an email straight away telling me that they'd received my order and it got dispatched the next day. The website stated that you should wait 3-5 days which I did and when it didn't come I decided to wait a few more days as it said to wait for up to 8 days before emailing them. I did this and got an apologetic email back straight away and my order came 2 days after that.

I was so excited to receive my MAC item however when I opened the packaging I had reservations about the authenticity straight away. This is saying a lot as I have never owned a MAC item before. The colour of the product didn't seem to fully match the swatches and pictures that I had seen from the internet and the packaging seemed cheaper than I had expected. In saying this, these details were only very small and the item could easily get away with being genuine. I did more research about Cheap Smells and their MAC products to find that quite a few people had the same problem as me. Some had even emailed them and got a reply saying they were 100% genuine when it was clear they were not. I also read a blog post (which I can't find sorry!) saying that they thought maybe the packaging was different because it was old stock however the company emailed back saying they never sell old stock. This seems strange as the code on my item refers to 2009 which I would class as older stock.

Because I didn't want to waste my money, I sent the item back for a refund which I eventually got after two weeks of waiting. With the email of confirmation that they had received my return came this from the Customer Service Team:
'We’re very sorry to hear you weren’t satisfied with your MAC purchase. We’ve spoken to our supplier who has offered a 100% assurance that all our MAC stock is completely genuine. Despite this assurance, and in response to a small number of customer comments, we have decided to remove all our current MAC stock from the website for further inspection and internal testing to ensure it meets our strict quality guidelines.' 


To me, this shows that they have had a lot of other people complaining about fake MAC items and surely not all those people were wrong? I am glad to see that Cheap Smells are going to test the products for authenticity however such a well know website should really do this before they sell the items instead of just taking the word from their suppliers.

If you are worried about fake MAC items the I will be doing a comparison post soon of how you can tell if your MAC purchase is real or not.

I know this post has been very negative however I can say that the customer service is very good. The free shipping as well as the long returns policy is also brilliant. Keep in mind that this post is only about MAC products from Cheap Smells and other items on the website may be completely genuine. Will I buy from the website gain? No, I would rather just pop along to MAC and pay a few pounds more.

Hope you have found this post helpful and tell me about any other discount beauty sites that you have had good/bad experiences with!

Hayley xxx

Review: Real Techniques Brushes

Recently I purchased both of the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman makeup brush sets. These brushes used to be exclusive to online websites so were pretty hard to get but now they are stocked in most Boots stores so it couldn't be easier to get your hands on them. The first brushes I knew I wanted were the Core Collection (orange handle) which I had seen used so many times by Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo and the second was the Starter Set (purple handle).

Firstly, I love the design of the brushes. They are lovely to hold because they are so lightweight and they feel really sleek. They all have flat bottoms to them which allows you to stand them on your desk. This is great if you just use a couple daily so they are there for you in the morning however if, like me, you have a vaster collection of brushes it can be quite awkward to get them all to fit into a holder. They also come with a brush stand (as pictured above) which is useful if you like to have your brushes on display. It can also be doubled up as a travel case that folds in half so that your brushes aren't damaged while on the go which I think is a brilliant addition.

~ Buffing Brush ~

This brush by far is my favourite out of all the real techniques brushes. I solely use this brush for foundation whether it's liquid, compact or mineral and it looks great being used with all three. First, I stipple it onto my face then use buffing motions to create a really flawless finish to my skin. I have heard others use this brush for bronzer and setting powder too.

~ Contour Brush ~
Funnily enough I use this brush for contour. I love the way it is small enough to fit into the hollows of your cheeks. You would imagine that with such a small brush it would leave a harsh line however the really soft taklon (synthetic) bristles allows your makeup to be beautifully blended. This too is one of my favourites.

~ Pointed Foundation Brush ~
I have to admit out of all of these brushes, this is the only one in which I have yet to use. I have never used the 'paint it on' style foundation brushes and would be interested in giving it a go however this brush just seems too small. I would be scared that my foundation would start to set before I have fully blended everything. In saying this I will try it out at some point which may force me to eat my words but at the moment I don't want to use anything other than the buffing brush, that's how much I love it! I have heard that some like to use it for concealer so keep that in mind too :)

~ Detailer Brush ~
This teeny tiny brush is for the little details that finish off your makeup such as concealing small areas or using it as a lip brush. I tend to use it with a light eye shadow for highlighting the inner corner of my eye because it is the perfect size. It also works as a perfect lip brush however I only tend to use a brush for applying lipstick when it is a darker shade so that it lasts longer on the lips.

~ Deluxe Crease Brush ~

I think after the buffing brush this would be my favourite. I always used to use my ring finger to apply concealer however I have been loving this recently. It is just like a mini version of the buffing brush which just seamlessly applies your concealer. It is marketed as an eye shadow brush which I have yet to use it for because after seeing the Pixiwoo tutorials with them using this brush for concealer, I haven't used it for anything else. 

~ Base Shadow Brush ~

As the name suggests, this brush is used for eye shadow. I really like to use it for just a sheer wash of colour as well as putting a darker colour through the crease of my eye to add subtle definition. Many have compared it to the MAC 217 however I haven't got that brush to confirm the similarity.

~Brow Brush ~

I don't do my eyebrows on an every day basis however when I feel like they need a bit of filling in I do use this brush. I find its a bit wide for the ends of your brows where you may want a stronger line but for filling in random sparse patches it is perfect. I also use this sometimes for applying colour underneath my eyes with eye shadow as well as above the  top lashes.

~ Pixel Point Eyeliner Brush ~  

When I first saw this brush I was a bit disappointed as it looked to chunky for gel eyeliner which is what I intended to use it for. I gave it a shot expecting a really thick messy line however the bristles all clump together with the product which actually allows a really thin line if you use a light hand. I also really like it for applying gel liner onto the top and bottom water lines as it tickles much less than a thinner brush. 

~Accent Brush ~

Lastly is the accent brush which I didn't really know what to use for at the start. After playing around a bit I have found you can use it for a load of different things which include highlighting the inner corner of the eye, applying eye shadow to the lash line as a liner and smudging out kohl eyeliner. It's a really great multipurpose brush which comes in useful when doing your eye makeup. 

Overall I really like these brushes and I think they are amazing quality for the price. As an added extra everything about them is cruelty free which is never a bad thing in my eyes. Also, some brushes tend to eat up product as so much gets lost into the hairs however these don't seem to do that. I have washed both sets once so far and they wash well and have kept their shape without loosing any hairs. The only negative point I can find is that you can't buy the brushes separately. I love that they come in sets initially however if I was to loose one brush or if I wanted a back up, it would mean I would have to purchase the whole set again.

I hope you enjoyed this rather long post. I hope it makes up for the lack of posts lately as I have been ill. I blame it on all of my looming exams :( Have you tried any of the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman brushes, if so, which are your favourite? 

Hayley xxx

April Favourites

Above are two of my favourite brushes for the month from Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman. The top one is the Contour Brush which enables a really great, well blended contour and bronze. The one below is the Deluxe Crease Brush which for me, is the best brush for concealer because it's just like a mini buffing brush which blends concealer under my eyes seamlessly. In a few posts time there will be a review all about these brushes and others in the collection so keep your eyes peeled :)

I bought this Bourjous felt-tip eyeliner a while ago on a whim but never really used it because gel eyeliner had taken over. However, I have found that the pointed shape means that you can just place the pen on the outer corner of your eye and pull inward to create a perfect mini wing. I am not a fan of long winged liner but I feel just a little stubby one can really make your outside lashes look much fuller so I have been loving that look this month!

On an every day basis, teamed with the eyeliner I use the No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara because it gives me full, thick lashes but nothing too crazy for the day time. The actual brush itself is really unique and I tried to photograph it but it just came out as a black blob. One third of the wand length ways are shorter plastic bristles, the next third has long bristles for more length and then the last third has sort of small paddles which really add volume. The tip of the wand also has bristles coming out of it like a ball so its great for building up the outer lashes. It's pretty hard to explain so I guess you'll just have to do and take a look at Boots but I really love this mascara for both the wand and the consistency as you can layer it without it looking clumpy or spidery.

I know what you're thinking...'Why on earth would you wear bright pink eyeshadow?' I thought exactly the same thing when I received this sample of one of the No7 Stay Perfect eyeshadows in Antique Rose No#42. I thought it would have been more of a blush colour however when you swatch it, the pink hardly transfers which leaves a lovely neutral golden shade which is actually really subtle and nice for every day wear. I will include swatches at the end of my this post if you really don't believe me :P

Lastly, this is the Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in the colour Cotton Candy. I bought this last month because of the really opaque colour but once I got home I was hugely reluctant to wear it because of  the smell. It's a really sweet, sickly, vanillery, strong smell which some people may love but I think it just smells too artificial. I do love this thought because of the colour and the consistency. It applies really creamy then once it drys it doesn't transfer like a lipstick which I really look for in lip products because I don't want to have to check my lips and teeth every few minutes for colour. I want to get more of these but at the moment they only do two other colours. Do you know of any other brands which do a similar product?

As i promised before, here are a few swatches of the products I mentioned. The first is the eyeshadow and as the photo shows it's a great all over lid, sheer wash of colour which I love. The next one is the felt tip liner and the last in the lip cream. As you can see, the colour is so opaque and rich!

I hope you have enjoyed my second ever monthly favourites!

Hayley xxx