Beauty and the Beach 2 contest - My Make-up, hair and nail looks!

Hello lovelies,

this post is my entry to the Beauty and the Beach 2 contest by Travel Supermarket. This contest is running for second year so I've decided to enter. I usually don't show my face, I'm a bit insecure about it (and very pale atm, British weather sucks :D) but I thought I'll give it a shot.

The task was to create perfect holiday hair, nails and make-up. I took it a bit further and done the makeup and nails both inspired by a bathing suit I used to own years ago. It was yellow with black 'indian summer' pattern.

First up is HAIR: I chose to do a simple twisted braid which will work on medium or long hair.

Step 1: Comb your hair to the side and secure it with an elastic band below your ear
Step 2: Divide your hair into two strands
Step 3: Start twisting first strand of hair, then pin it to your top so it doesn't undo itself
Step 4: Twist the second strand of hair
Step 5: Take both twisted strands and twist them together, then secure with an elastic band

The braid will un-twist a little bit gaining a volume. Why I chose this hairdo? Because it's very easy to do, makes my long hair manageable and if you get it wet and then dry again it will leave your hair nicely curled...

....yes, just like that!

Next up is a MAKE-UP which I matched to my nails. I wanted something very light but also fun. I've matched gold eyeliner with the sunny yellow nails but the rest of the face is not heavy on the makeup at all.

Foundation: I have used Erno Laszlo Tinted foundation with SPF 15 for my whole face. It's my go-to product in the summer as it's very light and contains pearlescent particles that brighten the skin. 

Blush: T. LeClerc multi-usage powder in Aurore - it is a mixture of bronzing powder and pink blush with shimmery particles in it. It was a limited summer edition few years back so I don't think it will be available any more.

Eyeliners: I have used Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice (gold) and Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Black. If you'll plan on swimming choose waterproof eyeliner .

Mascara: Rimmel 100% Waterproof Mascara in Black.

Lips: Labello SUN with SPF protection 

And my favourite part, NAILS! You can see a big improvement in the pictures there :D As said before, these were inspired by a bathing suit I used to own and in which I have spent a wonderful summer. The bathing suit had exactly this pattern with unusual spiral depiction of sun.

I have used Clinique 70º and Sunny in a bright yellow. The black nail art patterns have been drawn on with Rio Beauty nail art pen and all sealed with Seche Vite topcoat.

So that's it, and that was me. Hope you'll have your fingers crossed for me and stay tuned for tomorrow's nails only post ;)
 

Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism collection for Spring/Summer 2012 - review and swatches of Nomad, Stance and Pivot

Hi everybody!

I've received very unexpected surprise last week - package from Illamasqua! I wasn't able to attend bloggers' preview of the Human Fundamentalism collection but I still got some lovely items for review including two new nail polish shades Nomad and Stance! About the collection:

Human Fundamentalism is an explosion of your alter ego. It’s becoming who you are and not who you’re told to be. Beauty isn’t conformity, but the fundamental human desire to express your inner self on the outside. To rise above mainstream limitations and exist in a world where individuality is received with celebration not derision, and breaking the mould is a sign of strength not instability.

We stand for freedom of expression, embracing our glorious imperfections and showing the world we’re not ordinary but extraordinary, even if society refuses to accept it. We’re beyond conformity. Beyond control. Beyond hiding who we really are. We are not a religion, but the singular opposite. We are Illamasqua.

“Human Fundamentalism is the unique spirit and fundamental human drive for individuality. It’s a belief, a movement and an emotion. A connection with the spirit of the age and its global motifs. You are your own human hybrid, a unique nomad of street cultures and global trends.” — Alex Box, Illamasqua Creative Director.

Here's the lovely package full of colourful feathers, lollipop, Freak perfume sample and promo materials!

And these are the products I will review today: Nail polishes in Nomad and Stance, eyeshadow in Pivot and Sealing gel.

Nomad - bright jade creme colour. Lovely and trendy shade which has very good formula. It applied very easily and finish is smooth. I've applied two coats and it was enough for a full opacity. It also dried fast and removal was without problem. Generally all Illamasqua polishes have very good formula and Nomad is not an exception.

Stance -  darker fuchsia creme. It was very hard to capture the right shade, camera didn't want to translate the bright fuchsia colour. I had to change the colour in Photoshop a bit but now it looks right. Really beautiful and vibrant shade, for me it's a must-have.

Stance has also very good formula - application was flawless and pigmentation is high. I'm wearing two coats and it's absolutely enough. Finish of the polish is very glossy even without topcoat.

 

Pivot - bright yellow green eyeshadow. Pivot is one of the new eyeshadow shades introduced in Human Fundamentalism collection. This is quite wild shade which I wouldn't really choose for myself but if you're curious how it looks or you like it, read more :)

It is not as much pigmented as I'm used to with Illamasqua eyeshadows but when I've used it together with sealing gel, the colour was very vibrant! Sealing gel is clear gel which is supposed to be used together with eyeshadow to create vibrant and water-resistant colour. It does! I definitely recommend eyeshadows, they are really great but I'm not too sure about this one - mainly because of the colour. It's not a shade I'd wear and I don't know anybody who would

Left to right: Pivot with sealing gel, Pivot over Too Faced eyeshadow base, Pivot on a bare hand

*Product were provided for a review

The BodyNeeds Blackened collection eyeshadows - swatches

Hello lovelies :)

I've recently purchased four eyeshadows from The BodyNeeds Blackened collection and since they are so beautiful I've decided to share this joy :) Each pot costs $1.99 and it's 5 gram jar. Available is also 10g jar.

I got Blackened Teal, Blackened Violet, Blackened Emerald and Blackened Bronze. The eyeshadow is very fine and the pigmentation is good. I would recommend to apply it over dark grey or black base as it will intensify the colour. I wore combination of Blackened Teal, Violet and Emerald on New Year's Eve over dark grey Benefit creme eyeshadows in Strut. They didn't crease whole night and looked very good. The only downsize is (as with most colours of this type) that if you blend it too much you can lose some of the coloured particles.

You should definitely check out Jangsara's swatches, she did awesome ones on her eyes and since I wouldn't do better, I will just recommend hers :)

 

Lucy's Stash: The Favourite Beauty Products of 2011

Hello lovelies,

I know my blog is mainly about nail polishes but I thought I might share my favourite beauty products of 2011. And after all it's my blog and I can write about anything I want :D :D Some of the products became absolute necessity for me and it might just inspire you :) So here we go:

Skincare:

Care Set Pure Nutrition by Santaverde - it contains 30 ml Medium Aloe Vera Cream and 30 ml Extra Rich Beauty Elixir. I love this stuff! I don't think I've ever had better skin care than this. Santaverde cosmetics do not contain water, but instead contain pure Aloe Vera plant juice and it makes wonders with my skin! I use the cream for a day and the Beauty Elixir oil for the night. I wake up with nourished healthy skin and all it takes is few drops. The set retails for £56 but you can get it as a gift if you'll subscribe to Amarya Beauty Box for a whole year!

Colbert MD Nourish Eye Cream - I had this eye cream in my Boudoir Prive box and stocked up on few more pots because full size (15ml) costs whopping £90! I really like its light but nourishing formula and it seems to help with my dark circles a bit (but really only a bit). I use it mainly in the evening but occassionally in the morning too.

Make up:

MAC eyeshadow palettes - I don't think these needs an introduction :) I use these four MAC palettes the most out of my all eyeshadows! I'd say I use Carbon, Smoke & Diamonds, Bisque and Shroom the most out of all. Nehru is missing in the picture, I still have to depot it :)

Too Faced Shadow Insurance - this has been my favourite eyeshadow base for about a year and a half. I much prefer it to Urban Decay Primer Potion which had left me like beige streaks on my eyelids. TF Shadow Insurance blends into transparent colour and it dries fast enough not crease when I open my eye after application. Also it's in a tube so you'll be able to use entire product not like with the UDPP (unless you cut the bottle and scoop the product out).

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack  - this is my all time favourite eyeliner! I've tried all different types from felt tip eyeliners through to pencils and liquid eyeliners but I like this one the best. I apply it with eyeliner brush :)

Sephora Perfecting Lash Primer - I never apply mascara without a primer, it makes quite a difference to me. I have quite long lashes but not really thick so the primer helps a bit with that. I'm currently using Silk Naturals' Eye Lash Conditioning gel to help my eyelashes grow but it's too early to tell if it works..oh and just few days ago I started to use Talika too :)

 

Maybelline The One by One Volume Express Mascara - stupid name but makes nice and separated eyelashes :) I never had an all time favourite mascara because I simply buy one, use it till it's dry and then purchase different one. I've been using this one for quite a while and I would recommend it, especially for the price.

Illamasqua Concealer - This has been my fav concealer for some time and I would probably get another one if I ever finish it. I like this creamy concealer because it is not too creamy (if that makes sense), it is thicker so after I dab it and blend it stays in its place and doesn't crease. I bought this one at Asos so I didn't get the right shade but after I apply makeup and powder it looks fine.

 

Revlon PhotoReady makeup - I've purchased this makeup only recently because I needed a heavier colour for winter and I am really happy with it. It's my #1 makeup right now. It matches my skin tone very well and it lasts on me whole day.

T. LeClerc Loose Powder - This has been my #1 powder for about two years now and I still really like but I'm slowly finishing my fourth jar and I think I will try Chanel loose powder this time. It is really nice powder, very fine, lightly colouring however the price tag hurts - £35 for 25 grams.

 

T. LeClerc Multi Use bronzing powder in Aurore - This has been my favourite go to bronzer/blush for the past two years. I use it from the late spring till the late Autumn. The colour is easy to regulate and it is not too bronze-y. I think it will last me forever.

My fav blushes MAC Harmony, Illamasqua Beg and recent addition Sleek Fenberry -Harmony is a great blush for contouring so if I fancy it I contour my face a bit with this one. Illamasqua Beg is insanely pigmented blush, it takes only a light dab and it is almost enough for both my cheeks. Sleek Fenberry is currently my go-to blush as it's new (I know :D) and it has really nice colour and pigmentation. I thought I would show you my top three blushes, I couldn't select just one :)

Fragrance:

Boss Orange by Hugo Boss - I got this fragrance from my boyfriend as a graduation present and for the past year it has been my absolute favourite of all times! Fresh citrusy scent that doesn't give me headache...I couldn't wish for more :D No seriously..I really have problem to choose fragrance as I can't stand most of them and they give me headache but this one is just prefect.

Hair:

Tangle Teezer - You surely must have heard of this little thingy. I cannot imagine my life without it! It helps me so much with untangling my very long hair and I would never ever ever go back to an ordinary comb!

So there you go, my favourites of 2011 :) I hope you've enjoyed this posted, maybe inspired yourself and I will welcome any comments and suggestions you might have :)

KIKO eyeshadow #174 - lovely taupe :) Review, swatches & makeup

Hello :)

I've recently purchased this KIKO eyeshadow #174 in Westfield Stratford store and I've decided to do a short review and makeup with it. It's a warm taupe colour with pearl finish but it's not too shiny.

It is nice size eyeshadow (3g) for £3. The pigmentation is very good and it didn't crease on me for whole 7 hours I had them on. Well I generally don't have problem with creasing as I have dry skin so I cannot guarantee that it won't crease on oily skin. It blended nicely and I will definitely try to pick few more shades (it will be hard though because they have looooots of shades!).

Eyeshadow comes in black box with hole so you can see the shade, something like MAC box only bigger.  The packaging is shiny black case with transparent lid and each eyeshadow has embossed word KIKO in it. I like this little detail.

 

And I did a quick makeup with this eyeshadow...nothing crazy, just nice day makeup :) For this look I've used Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MUA Shade 1 (champagne pearl) , KIKO 174 and a bit of MAC Carbon. As eyeliner I've used MAC Blacktrack.

The Berry Christmas Collection from Sleek! Review and swatches

Hi everybody!

When I saw first reviews of The Berry Collection from Sleek I knew I had to buy it! It went on sale on 23 November and I picked it up straight away :) The gift set costs £9.99 but if you have some Superdrug receipt, complete their online survey and you'll get 25% off Sleek products. You can also get it at sleek.com

What Sleek says: "Sleek MakeUP’s gift to you this party season is the limited edition Berry collection! Get berrylicious this Christmas with this three piece collection featuring rich, sultry berry tones. Add a flush of warmth to your cheeks with Fenberry blush, for the perfect wash of crimson rose. Flattering festive eyes will be yours with, Kohl Pencil in Mossberry, a deep burgundy chunky liner that is easily smudged for a cloud of berry-hued smokiness around the eye. Finally finish the look with True Colour lipstick in Cranberry, a matte mulled wine toned shade that will add a kick of spiciness to your party look!"

Kohl Pencil in Mossberry - the pencil is quite hard but I hope it is only the first top bit and then it will be better. The colour is in my opinion more suitable for lips than eyes but I'll give it a chance :)

True Colour lipstick in Cranberry is very nicely pigmented. it is quite dry but on the other hand it didn't 'bleed' on me and had nice rich matte colour. If it's too dark for you, just lightly dab it on you lips and spread the light colour wwith your finger. I like the colour, it reminds me Estee Lauder in Sarong or Mac Rebel.

Fenberry blush is very nicely pigmented it looks to me like it will be good for contouring or just adding a little colour to my cheeks. I had a little problem to get into the packaging, I had to use my nails to open it which I hate :-/ I have the same problem with Illamasqua packaging.

Swatches L-R: lipstick in Cranberry, Kohl Pencil in Mossberry, Fenberry blush

I find the swatches quite colour accurate in comparison with the pictures above.

Lightly stained lips with the lipstick

Fully coloured lips (excuse my chappy lips)