Superdrug Splurge

I had a little splurge in Superdrug a few weekends ago. I call it a splurge but it didnt exactly cost alot.

Im always getting sucked in by expensive cosmetic purchases but these little beauties prove you dont have to spend alot to get good results.

Here are my purchases

I bought the Saturdays Magnetism Nail Polish in Notorious Silver, Vaseline Creme Brulee Lip Balm, Maybelline Forever Strong nail polish in Rosy Sand, 2true nail polish in Shade 9, 2true eyeshadow in Shade 10 and 2true eyeshadow dazzler in Shade 3.

I have to say Im quite impressed with all my purchases except the Vaseline Creme Brulee ! I dont think it smells or tastes like Creme Brulee so I think I'll stick with my Cocoa Butter Vaseline for lips for the moment.

I was really surprised by the Saturdays Magnetism nail polish - It cost £3 for the magnet and £6 for the polish - it went on smoothly, great sized brush and had a really nice effect. I will definately be heading back to purchase some more of these polishes in other colours. It didnt last long before chipping but then I chop and change nail polishes all the time but it would be great for a night out.

Another surprise was my 2true purchases.  I tried the eyeshadow tester in the store and thought it was really creamy and quite pigmented for the price - I didnt think I could go wrong when it was three products for £4.99. The polish went on really nicely and to be honest I thought it felt a little more expensive than it was. This lasted me two days before chipping and I thought it was a really nice neutral colour.

I also tried out the eyeshadows I bought - I thought the lilac colours would be excellent on green eyes.

I used Urban Decay primer in Sin all over the eyelid area, then I applied a shadow from the Urban Decay Naked Palette in Virgin all over the eyelid and brow bone.

I applied the lighter lilac shade up to the crease and used a brush to tap the eyeshadow dazzler all over this. I used the darker shade in the crease of my eye and also lined underneath my lower lashes with this, I then  followed up with a coat of Mac Zoom Mascara.



Finally here is the Maybelline Polish in Rosy Sand it cost £4.09. It gave a nice finish and again lasted a couple of days before chipping. I will definately be looking at other colours in the Nudes range.

I think Superdrug might be my new favourite shop.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

xx

Nails Inc - Gliteratti

As I was strolling through Harvey Nichols a couple of weeks ago I spotted the Nails inc manicure station. It was like Mecca calling - ha. Unfortunately the place was mobbed so there was no hope of getting a manicure but something caught my eye.

Someone was getting a gel manicure using the fantastic purple glitter polish called London Bridge which is part of the Nails Inc Glitterati Collection - the effect was fantastic and I decided I had to get this colour for myself. I bought the whole collection and can I just say how impressed I am with the quality. The colours are fantastic for Christmas and would look fab on your toes as well as adding a little sparkle to your fingers.
It would even make a great Christmas gift. The Glitterati Collection costs £25 which means you are paying just over £8 a polish - Bargain !

                          

Left to right the colours are : - Hatton Garden, London Bridge & Chelsea Embankment

   

Whilst I was surfing the website I noticed that Nails Inc also do a fantastic couture service giving you the opportunity to pick your nail colour, a vajazzled lid, personal label and a message for your gift box. This would make a brilliant gift for Christmas if you've run out of ideas.

Couture by Nails Inc costs £20 - I hope someone buys me one of these for Christmas.

Anyway here is London Bridge - this is 3 coats.

The quality as you would expect from Nails Inc is excellent. All of the three polishes applied easily, the brush is the perfect size and most importantly it dries quickly. With the glitter polish I sweep the first coat all over the nail , dab the second coat to get the coverage and then sweep the last coat all over the nail before allowing to dry for 5 minutes then applying my top coat - top coat is really important with a glitter to get that smooth finish.

The next colour I tried was Chelsea Embankment. All I can say is WOW !

This is the nicest gold glitter nail polish I have ever tried - the glitter is really fine and I felt like I was painting gold dust on to my finger nails.

The last colour is called Hatton Garden and its like having holographic diamonds on your fingers - Amazeballs !!

Money well spent !

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

xx

Shellac

I love Shellac.

Ive been doing Shellac as a treatment now since August and I must say its fantastic.

One of the most important things about Shellac is the aftercare that you carry out at home.

Aftercare is really important to get the most out of your treatment and extend the life of your manicure.

When you are wearing Shellac you should introduce yourself to CND Solar Oil - you can usually purchase this where you have your Shellac nails done.

The one thing I will say is that it does annoy me when you have a treatment at a Salon and you think they are trying to sell you everything in sight but when it comes to Shellac, Solar Oil will be your new best friend, you should use it twice a day to help keep your Shellac in tip top condition.

Shellac will last around 14 days and is pretty indestructible with normal wear and tear, which means you have to add a little protection to your nails if doing tough jobs like household cleaning and gardening and hobbies which might be rough on your hands.

Something you have to watch for with Shellac is if you are on holiday you have to be careful when using sun tan oils or insect repellent solutions -  many of these products contain solvent oils which will cause major damage to the Shellac colour coat. Some of the more delicate Shellac colours can fade somewhat if your hands are in chlorinated water followed by excessive sun (remember that chlorine is a bleach and sun  intensifies the bleaching action). Dry your hands and nails after swimming and before sunbathing to minimize any colour fading. Shellac is designed to be applied to healthy natural nails so if you are usually a fan of acrylic or gel nails then its probably advisable to wait a couple of weeks after you have your false nails removed till you have Shellac applied to your own nails otherwise you may find the Shellac peels off.

I did my own Shellac on Saturday and its a lovely little cocktail of Strawberry Smoothie and Zillionaire - its really subtle but really pretty. I also wanted to keep it quite light as my nails are really short just now. The other great thing about Shellac is you can paint over it - so if you went for a nice neutral mani then you could use your usual polish over it at the weekend - just make sure you use an acetone free remover to take off the nail polish or you could end up removing your Shellac.

 I achieved this look with two coats of Strawberry Smoothie all over the nail and then two coats of Zillionaire all over the nail. The pictures dont really do this justice - Zillionaire gives the pink a lovely sparkley sheen  and makes your nails twinkle.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

xx

December Amarya Beauty Box

For anyone mulling over the idea of subscribing to a beauty box and wondering whether they are worth the money I would say go for it. I decided to subscribe to a few to see if they were worth the monthly subscription fee and the first one to arrive this month is the Amarya Beauty Box.
Amarya charge £10 per box with no extra fee for postage which is another little bonus. The Amarya Beauty Box promises Organic and Natural products for you to try and they also say that each box will contain a full sized product or products worth atleast £20 as well as trial sized products and samples of the newest products on the market and an exclusive mystery offer which is only available to beauty box subscribers.

So whats in the box ?

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box.

The first product I looked at was the REN Neroli Duo Gift Set. The box has a beautiful de Gournay design and will be perfect for keeping some goodies in.

This product retails at £28 and I received the exact set seen below - You receive 200ml of  Neroli and Grapefruit Body Wash and 200ml of Neroli and Grapefruit Body Cream - Ive tried these out over the last few days and must say Im really enjoying them - they have a lovely fresh fragrance and I feel that they are gentle on my sensitive skin. This is the first time I have tried any REN products - I dont know if I would pay £28 for this set if I hadnt received it in the beauty box but it is definately quite satisfying knowing that you have received good value for money.

I also received a 30g trial size of Dr Haushka cleanser which Im really pleased about as Ive been tempted to invest in a new cleanser - this gives you the opportunity to try before you buy and the 30g is a great size compared to some of the testers you receive if you visit the beauty counters. This is a very gentle cleansing cream which you use on damp skin by gently pressing into the skin after you remove your make-up. This gives you a deep cleansing effect - the pressing sort of acts as a vacuum clearing the pores.

The final beauty product I received was a sample of the Acorell Eau De Parfum in Wheat Almond - the scent reminds me of the Creative Nail Design Almond Spa Manicure products I use in my salon - very yummy. I hadn't heard of Acorelle before but having tried this it would definately make me think about buying a full size product. I received 1.5 ml of this but have copied the full size for you to see. The bottle is very simple but classy and there are eight different fragrances as well as the wheat almond to try.

I also received a £10 voucher to spend if I buy £50 of products before the 31st of December and an Amarya bag . If Im being really picky then I would say it would have been better to offer a voucher which you didnt need to spend £50 to be able to redeem. Overall Im really pleased with the Amarya Beauty Box and looking forward to seeing the next one.

If you would like to receive a free Amarya Beauty Box when you subscribe please contact me at Lipstick-Fridays@hotmail.co.uk and I will give you details on how you can extend your membership and receive a free beauty box.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

x



Keep Calm and Get A Tan

Hi everyone

I hope that you are getting in the Christmas mood - its not long now until Santa arrives. My wish list is getting bigger by the day !
The Christmas period is a really busy time for me with spray tans and nails so I thought I would put together some top tips on how to get the most from your spray tan this Christmas.
Spray tanning is one of my most favourite treatments to do and believe me it takes practice to give someone a fantastic spray tan - I like my clients to look like they've just returned from a week in the sun rather than looking like they've been tangoed !!
It is important that your salon provides you with the best advice to get the most out of your tan after all some salons can charge as much as £25 for a tan. The advice below is advice I give my clients to make sure they leave my salon with a fantastic tan.

For best results exfoliate before and after your spray tan. Whilst in the bath or shower use an oil free exfoliator all over paying particular attention to your hands, elbows, knees, ankles and feet.  

Before Tanning 

• Tell your therapist if you have any allergies
• If you are taking medication always inform your therapist - this may have an impact on how your tan turns out
• You should always receive a patch test 24 hours before you are tanned to determine whether the tanning agents are suitable for your skin
• Dont use any other self tanning products for atleast a week before your spray tan
• Wax or shave atleast 24 hours prior to your spray tan
• Do not wear any make up, deodorant, perfume, body oils or lotions as these may react with the tanning agents

Immediately after tanning

• Wear dark loose clothing and sandals or flip flops
• Keep your skin dry - watch when drinking as this could remove the tan around your mouth
• Allow the tan to develop - generally this will take 6-8 hours
• Avoid any other beauty treatments
• Avoid activities that make you expire

After your tan has developed

• Rinse off remaining colour guide with warm/hot water - once the water runs clear you can use a mild soap
• Avoid products with AHA's as these will strip your tan
• Avoid swimming pools as chlorine can fade your tan
• To prolong your tan use an oil free moisturiser daily to lock in colour and hydrate your skin
• 5-7 days after your tan gently exfoliate every 2 days to ensure your tan fades evenly and prepare your skin for your next tan .

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

x

Sigma Bunny Collection

Sigma have just released a new collection of synthetic brushes called The Sigma Beauty Bunny Collection. Sigma brushes guarantee perfect makeup application without product absorption into the bristles.

The Bunny Collection features a full-size and travel-size kit. The full-size kit contains 12 brushes from Sigmas Essential Kit and the travel-size kit contains seven best-selling brushes from the Essential kit (E30 Pencil, E40 Tapered Blending, E55 Eye Shading, E65 Small Angle, F30 Large Powder, F40 Large angled Contour, and F60 Foundation). The brushes are available in classic black and a new light blue handle with a pink ferrule. Both kits come in a functional container that turns into two brush holders to keep you stylish, organized and vegan-friendly!

Go to http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=155463 to get your Sigma Brushes now.

A mermaids tail

Here is a swatch of the Deborah Lippmann nail polish I wore on Friday night to go out for yummy cocktails - mmmmh mojitos , I could die a happy girl.
The colour is called Across The Universe but to be honest I think that Lippmann should have called it Mermaids Tail - I feel that the iridescent mix of blues and turquoises looks exactly how I would imagine a mermaids tail might look.

Although I didnt really like the application the end result was quite spectacular - this is three coats - lots of compliments from the girlies on it so that cant be bad at all .

With Love

Lipstick Fridays





Nail of the day

Today Im wearing Sally Hansen Insta-dri nail colour in Quick Sand - loving the colour but to be honest, this isnt a patch on the Sally Hansen complete manicure nail polish. Its a pain to put on, went a bit streaky and the wide thick brush which I previously tried and liked was a bit jagged so it made it really difficult to get a neat and tidy finish.

With Love
Lipstick Fridays

Nail of the day - Bourjois Rose Corset

Hi Lovelies

Got a few compliments on my nails today -  Im wearing this rather pretty pink called Rose Corset by Bourjois.

It applied well although is quite sheer - this is 3 coats on my nails.

Ive never really been a fan of Bourjois polish but I figure if Bourjois is good enough for Kate Middleton then its good enough for me.

Going out for cocktails tonight so planning on wearing my new Deborah Lippmann poish Across the Universe - which is a lovely glittery turquoise colour, I'll do a little swatch later.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

Duped ?!

After a little internet surfing the other day it I had managed to find out that Next diamonds perfume is apparently a dupe for Miss Dior Cherie (one of my most favourite scents).
I excitedly logged into my Next Directory account and purchased the Diamonds Eau De Parfum and patiently waited for my parcel to arrive.
I got it today and I dont get it ! The bottle is a little crappy looking and I dont think it smells anything like Dior Cherie ! Am I the only one ??
Dont get me wrong its a nice enough perfume I sprayed it a couple of hours ago and Im still picking up hints of the scent but I just dont think it smells anything like Dior.

If you are looking for a dupe of Dior Cherie then look no further than Katie Price Stunning - I find that it smells exactly like Dior and people always ask what Im wearing when I have it on.

With Love
Lipstick Fridays

Jigsaw Shoe Boots

Ok
So this is primarily a blog about make up and beauty stuff  but I thought hey what the heck - my Jigsaw shoe boots arrived a couple of days ago and I felt the need to share them with someone, my husband really doesnt appreciate what a good shoe can do for a girl.
Anyway these were £79 reduced from £149 I think - yes it is still expensive but to be honest I dont buy clothes and shoes all that often so they were a treat !
They are sky scraper high but oh they are so pretty xx

With Love
Lipstick Fridays



Mac Haul

I seem to have gone mental for Mac !!
I really have to build up my Mac collection - but I think I went a bit mad with the Glitter and Ice collection.
Ive tried to do some swatches but the light isnt that great today so I'll try again tomorrow.
Here is everything I got:-
3 Dazzleglass Lipglosses in Glitter and Ice,Dressed to Dazzle and Spanking Rich - dont like the Dazzleglass as much as the Lipglass - I find it a bit stickier !
1 Nail Varnish Dazzlesphere containing Style Tip, Mistletoe, Much Adored and Dark Angel
3 Paint Pots - Lets Skate, Morning Frost, For Effect
1 Mineralize Eye Shadow in Winterized
Make It Perfect brush kit
3 Nail Lacquers in Festive Finery, Get Noticed and Unconditionally Fabulous
1 Beauty Powder in Snow Globe
Here is a picture of everything I bought - swatches and proper review to follow

Sorry about the picture - my camera seems to have cut the bottom off !!

With Love

Lipstick Fridays



Please read - A message to everyone

Guys

Tomorrow is black Friday - it is the biggest shopping day of the year.
To celebrate this day Sigma make up are offering free worldwide shipping.
Get your brushes here:-

http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=155463

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby - aaaahhhhhh !

Hi Lovelies

Thank you to the Selfridges delivery man - I just received my Mac Mineralize eyeshadow in Smoked Ruby. Can I just say that if you havent ordered anything from Selfridges before and are thinking about doing so now then expect your delivery in a bright yellow jiffy bag with lovely Christmas paper and a little happy Christmas sticker - Is it really that time already?
This is gorgeous, tts a lovely blackened red colour and it just looks stunning.
The pigmentation in the Mac Eyeshadow is amazeballs ! ! I cant wait to try it out maybe for a nice Christmas night out . As you will see by my previous post I havent been into Mac before but I am quickly becoming addicted.
Anyway here is a sneaky peek of Smoked Ruby in all its glory.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays



Pretty Pewter

Mmmmh - Does anyone else think this seems to be turning into a blog about nail polish ??

Well I got a little present last night and felt the need to wear it today - Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous - a pretty pewter colour with a hint a glitter. I feel like it looks like a starry night.

First coat goes on pretty thin and second coat was a bit patchy so I applied a third coat which made all the difference. I love OPI polishes and I love the wider brush - it suits my larger fingernails !

Any way here it is ..

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

xx

Christmas on your fingers

Hi everyone

I managed to get my hands on a bottle of the limited addition Chanel Rouge Carat. Im an avid online shopper, it beats trudging through the streets in this horrible winter weather . Unfortunately all my usual haunts seemed to have sold out but thanks to Harrods online I managed to get my grubby little paws on a bottle and here it is in all its lovely glory.

I feel like Im wearing Christmas on my fingers !

With Love

Lipstick Fridays

xx

Weekend Nails

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Well another weekend seems to have flown by ! Where does the time go ? I swear the clocks seem to go on over drive the minute Saturday arrives.
There was still enough time to paint my nails though !
I was wearing Facets of Fushcia by Revlon, Im still not totally sold on the consistency and application of Revlon polishes but I love the colours. Maybe its just me but they always seem to go a bit streaky when Im putting it on.
This one definately needed two coats to get the brilliant effect of the fushia glitter which seems to be suspended in the black polish.I love the effect so much Im willing to over look the application !

With Love
Lipstick Fridays

Pretty Revlon Nails

Hey everyone

Today I decided to go for a twist on the french manicure.
For my all over cover I went for Sheer Mauve and I used Lilac Pastelle as the french tip and accent nail.
I dont know if its because I seem to have big nails but the Revlon brush feels a bit small for me - I dont think this would put me off buying any other colours from Revlon but I dont feel that the Lilac Pastelle went on all that great - just didnt seem to glide on as easily as some of the other polishes I have. Not sure it really shows up in the picture though.

Aside from the Lilac being a bit patchy I think the overall effect is rather pretty.

With love

Lipstick Fridays







Chanel Peridot

Hi

Just a quick post - Im in Love with Chanel.

I was lucky enough to pick up one the three fall nail polishes from Chanel in Peridot. I think I may do an ebay hunt to find they other two colours as they seem to be sold out in stores.Maybe its my way of owning a little luxury as I cant afford expensive shoes, handbags or clothes - maybe thats because I spend all my money on beauty products ?! Ha x
I dont go out of my way to purchase Chanel as they are a very indulgent treat - I tend to get the limited editions if I can get my hands on them before they seem to fly off the shelves.
Anyway Peridot seems to be three colours in one. In some lights it looks gold, in some lights it looks bronze but as I type at the keyboard now it looks like a goldy limey green ! Really hard to get a decent picture of it but as you can see from the picture below its coming out bronze.
The colour goes on easily and dries quickly but I do find that Chanel polish seems to chip quite quickly or is that just me ?! I do however feel like my fingers have been dipped in gold - lovely x

If I manage to track down the other fall colours I will post these as swatches for you.

With Love

Lipstick Fridays