Mother's Day Nails

Happy Mother's day to all the mums out there. I know I have been saying I can't do nail art at the moment due to my nails undergoing a strengthening treatment, where I have to apply a coat everyday of the week so wearing polish is just pointless. It has been really hard as it is such a huge hobby of mine. But yesterday I had to wear pink nail varnish for a event at work, so I have leaped at the opportunity to squeeze in some nail art (I was at the end of my weeks treatment where I have to take it off and start again anyway so I'm being good I promise! The nail treatment I am using is Nails Inc A&E so I will let you know if it works in another post!)

The pink colour I used as my base coat is 'Arty Pink' from the new Mavala Technicolour range which I reviewed a few weeks ago, (post here) and the lettering and roses were done with Models Own nail art pens.

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend!

Lush Face Mask

Friday night is perfect time to prep for the weekend, and what more could you want that a super duper, complexion reviving, antioxidant packed face mask? I was bought this Lush face mask called 'The Sacred Truth' by a good friend for my birthday, and I love to use it when my skin is feeling a bit drab and grey. This mask protects from ageing as well as enhances your skin's vitality.

It may look like green gunk, but the wheatgrass gives it a chunky feel to it, and you can really smell the green tea and ginseng, which gives it the aromatic smell. The fresh papaya also helps to give radiance. You apply the mask on to clean skin and leave for 5 to 10 minutes. The natural ingredients mean you can leave it on for longer if you want as they aren't going to do any damage. The mask lightly hardens on your face, and you simply wash away with warm water to reveal fresh, radiant, glowing skin. I love this mask and the tub will last you ages as long as you keep it in the fridge for freshness (as well as giving you a cooling sensation when you pop it on your face!)

Aveda Smooth Infusions Shampoo and Conditioner

I have tried quite a few natural haircare brands now, and have found they have been a bit hit and miss. I have still not been completely sure whether to completely convert to natural haircare due to the endless amounts of pros, or whether a few chemicals and perfumes will just have to slide when it comes to hair, after all, we cut it off and it grows back. 

My main problem with some natural haircare, is that due to natural shampoos not containing foaming agents, I find I have a bit of trouble getting a proper hair wash. As my hair is so thick, I find they just sit on the hair and don't properly wash it.  I have however finally found a completely natural brand that gives my hair a good clean. Although the products Aveda make are natural, I find I get just enough lather, to give my hair a good wash. 

The smooth infusions range from Aveda helps thick hair like mine reduce frizz, and smooths the hair down. The added bonus of the natural ingredients means the hair is not coated or weighed down, so the hair can be smoothed but still have a weightless feel to it. I shampoo my hair twice with these products. The first time to remove any dirt from the hair, and the second time to actually clean the hair. I find the second time is when I really feel the benefits, as it lathers more and really gets to work. By adding more water you create more lather, so you don't need to use much product meaning less wastage.

The smell of these two products are quite citrusy, which is really refreshing and uplifting. The conditioner is great at detangling, and again, doesn't coat the hair making it feel weighed down. After using these products I find my hair dries faster and is a lot more manageable, whilst still being weightless and easy to style. I have had these products a while now and still have loads left. If you want to try natural haircare, I would suggest starting at Aveda as their range of products is huge when it comes to hair types. They also do styling products for each range, which I really want to try. The small Shampoo is £17.00 and the conditioner £19.00. Or you can buy huge industrial sizes for £50.00 and £69.00 which are great value for money.

Have you tried Aveda before? If so what are your favourite products and why?

feel free to leave comments below :)

February Birchbox

I am now onto my second Birchbox and I am still loving all the goodies I have been getting! This one in particular scored well in my eyes, so I will get straight to it and tell you what I got!

Gilchrist and Soames Shower Gel

I have always thought Gilchrist & Soames was a very posh brand that you only ever see in expensive hotels, so I felt very posh indeed when I got my shower gel from them in my Birchbox. The smell is  really lovely, one I can't explain. Its a very luxurious shower gel.

Urban Veda Exfoliating Polish

I have received Urban Veda in a Glossy Box before. I got the purifying day cream pictured on the right, which is for more oily skin. At the time I had very dry skin, but recently my skin is been more oily, so getting the polish reminded me to give it a try. I really like both of these products. I thought the polish would smell more fruity, but it actually smells quite spa like. The polish is quite abrasive so you get a good old scrub. The day cream smells like tea tree and moisturises my face whilst mattifying the skin and balancing the oil. Urban Veda is an entirely natural brand which I love, and the products are really reasonably priced for natural products. The scrub is £8.99 and the day cream £8.99. I think I may explore into this brand a bit more!

Beauty Protector Hair Oil

I am a huge fan of hair oil, and this Beauty Protector oil is a lovely addition to my collection. It smells like vanilla, and it protects against heat and UV rays. It tames fly aways and prevents frizz. My only wish is that it came in a spray bottle rather than one you pour as it can get a little messy. It is a nice little product but I think I prefer some other hair oils I have tried in the past.

Leighton Denny Nail Polish

I was really happy to receive a full sized Leighton Denny polish usually priced at £11.00! I would preferred a brighter colour, but you can't go wrong with a classic black for your collection! This colour is called 'maneater' and it is a very deep black, it has no shimmer or metallic, its just a flat, black high gloss polish. 

Eyeko Liquid Eyeliner Pen

This was the absolute god send of this box. I saw a Space NK store advertising Eyeko products with Alexa Chung as the face of it all and was instantly intrigued. The liquid eyeliner pen has been my recent most favourite product, and this Eyeko one really is the best one I have come across. The colour is really good and the the nib is perfect for precise cat flick eyes. It is waterproof so it can go on the lash line and goes on effortlessly over eye shadow. There is also a matching mascara that goes with the eye liner, so I think I will give that a go when I repurchase the eyeliner which I certainly will!

I also received a little Green and Blacks choccy which was a lovely little touch. I'm really into dark chocolate at the moment plus its better for you!

Mavala Technicolour range

Hi everyone! Today I am going to be showing you the latest collection from Mavala. Mavala are certainly on top when it comes to bringing out new collections, as they tend to do two for every season rather than one. The latest addition to their collection is the Technicolour range, which aims to be quite bold and individual, rather than the usual pastel summer colours we see coming out this time of year.

Antarctic

White is the nail colour of the season, and plain 'tippexed' nails are the latest trend. This white from Mavala has a gentle shimmer to it to make it a bit more 3 dimensional.

White looks perfect on short healthy nails. Mine are a bit flaky at the moment and I feel the white almost highlights that, but otherwise, a very chic colour, and one I will be wearing lots when my nails are healthier.

Black Night

In direct contrast, we have a black colour which is also another colour that everyone has to have in their collection. Black is a timeless classic, but this one stands out for me, as it has very faint green glimmer to it which I think makes it a bit more special.

Black is another colour that looks great on short nails, and its adds a graceful shape and extra shine. The green shimmer is not blatantly obvious, but under certain lights it just adds that bit of interest.

Cobalt Blue

I. Absolutely. Love. This. Colour. If I was to describe my absolute favourite colour in the whole world, it would be this. I adore electric blue shades, and when I saw this come out of the box I would not put it down. 

This is not to dissimilar from the Nails Inc 'Baker Street' and the new Mavala formula promises to give extra high gloss. My love for this colour is just unspeakable. This colour is very matte (which I also love) so I didn't do a second shot. It comes as it is, and I love it that way.

Arty Pink

Another colour I really love in this collection. When I saw this and the blue, I put one colour on each hand because I wanted to wear them both so badly! 

Arty Pink has a very light pink shimmer going through it. It is almost unnoticeable but it adds a bit more excitement to a candy pink shade.

 Cyber Yellow

This is the controversial colour of the collection. Some people absolutely hate this colour, and others love it. This is a real metallic yellow/green colour which is very larey.

I personally don't like the way it looked on my nails. Again, because it highlighted all the damage my nails currently have, but the colour just did not suit my skin tone. Being fair it is almost impossible for me to wear any kind of yellow, but I think this would look really good on a olive or black skin.

Orange Fusion

I have quite a large soft spot for orange polish on the nails. As I can't wear yellow, I find that orange is my next citrus-y colour that I can go to if I want summery, tropical nails.

This colour has a yellow/gold shimmer running through it which really makes it warm up the colour. Again, I really like this colour and think it will be one of the popular ones.

Overall, I think the whole collection is really quirky and different, but still has a summery aspect to it.

What do you think? And which is your favourite colour?

St Patrick's Day Nail Art

Happy St Patricks Day everyone. Apologies about the huge lack of nail art posts recently. My nails have been in such bad condition and I'm trying so hard not to paint them. I almost considered not doing any nail art for St Paddy's but my mum offered her nails so I couldn't say no. It was quite fitting actually as my mum is half Irish so they suited her more anyway!

My mum hasn't quite worked the angles of a swatch but I hope you understand the rainbow is meant to go into a pot of gold?? I got the inspiration for this nail art from an instagram user called jewsie_nails

I used my trusty old Ciate Emerald collection for this nail art, with some help from some Barry M polish and nail pens.

Hope you like it guys :)

Maybelline Eye and Brow Makeup

When I go into Boots, I usually ending up just picking up the product I need, without taking much notice of the brand they are from. Recently I have really enjoyed all the products I have been using on my eyes, and I came to realise that they are all from Maybelline.

My favourite product of all the goodies, has got to be the liquid eye liner pen.

This pen is so good and precise and gives you a perfect cat eye flick so effortlessly. The nib is really thin and can easy draw on thin lines, and also a thicker line for more dressed up occasions.

The colour is really good, although you have to go over it a few times to get that really jet black colour.

The other eyeliner I have tried is the kohl pencil, which I received in my latest GlossyBox. I tend to use liquid eyeliners more, but this one is good at adding a touch of smoke to the eye. I use this mostly on my top lid line to reach under the lashes where the pen can't quite get too.

The next product I also received in my GlossyBox at Christmas (which I am yet to review, apologies). The Smokey Eyes, colossal volume mascara is what I am using at the moment.

I wouldn't say this mascara gave me 'colossal volume', but adds more length. It isn't the best mascara I've used but it is good for everyday wear.

My next favourite products are the colour tattoo eye shadows from Maybelline. They stay on amazingly well hence the tattoo part name of the product, but they are not stubborn when it comes to removal.

  I first tried the gold colour and fell in love with it. It adds a really subtle shimmer which instantly brightens the eye.

I was so impressed I went out and bought 'pomegranate' which I must say I am not as overwhelmed with as the colour isn't as dense on the eye as it came out on the swatch. It looks amazing on my friend who has darker hair so that may be why it doesn't pop as much on me?!

Next are the eyebrow products. With celebrities like Keira Knightley, Cara Delevingne, and the Olsen twins rocking the bushy eyebrow look, eyebrows are becoming quite a statement maker. I must admit that only up until recently I have never really bothered with making up my eyebrows, but now I have started I won't be able to stop. The maybelline eyebrow pencil is double ended and has a small eyebrow brush one end and your colour of choice on the other. I went for dark blonde which is perfect for my eyebrow but in these pictures it looks slightly ginger. The pencil is really soft and smudges really easily so you don't have dramatic lines all over your eyebrows.

It is perfect for filling in gaps to make the brows look more even, and the little brush neatens them all up and keeps them together.

The final product I want to show you is the eyebrow wand. To be used just like a mascara, you sweep the wand over your eyebrows to hold them in place so they don't stray. There is a slight colour to the product so again you need to choose one that suits you, but it is not dark at all and just adds a bit more depth. It leaves a slightly crispy residue on the eyebrow but nothing uncomfortable or unsightly, it just keeps the eyebrow in place.

Have you tried any of the Maybelline products above? Or can you suggest any others to use? I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment below.