'Heirloom' swatch by Ciate

I think I may have found my favourite Autumn/ Winter nail polish...

Correction: I think I may have found my favourite nail polish EVER! That's right, I said it!

I have probably said this before, but this time I really mean it!

I have had a love affair with this polish for a very long time.
It started when I saw it swatched a few years back, and ever since that day I pined over it, but I swore I'd never be lucky enough to have such a polish in my collection.

I knew every year it made a feature in the Ciate advent colour, and therefore I thought it would only be available through that, until one day this year, on a cold winters morning, I decided to venture into the online world of finding it.

I couldn't find her at first, but after searching through the riff raff of glitter polishes that try too hard, I found her there, waiting to be purchased on some obscure online site. I had my doubts, I did, as such a gem could not be so accessible surely? But alas, there she was, waiting to be taken.
I punched in my card details with the hope that such a polish would arrive as soon as possible.

They say good things come to those who wait, and indeed it is true. 

HOW FRICKING STUNNING IN THIS NAIL VARNISH?!?
I am jealous of my own hands in these pictures it just looks utterly fabulous!!

Heirloom by Ciate is a dual toned nail varnish and it is sheer perfection. The glitter formula is so fine that every grain of glitter refracts the gold pink tones which make it extra sparkly, and put over a black base as I have here, I honestly can't keep my eyes of it.

It really is my favourite nail varnish. For just £9, I can see this being a polish I buy over and over again.

The reason I know I love it it because:

• I have worn it three times consecutively which I never do.
• I haven't added any nail art to it because I think it is honestly just so flawless on it's own.
• And lastly, I usually hate glitter polishes because of the removal, but as I said above, I have worn it THREE times since I got it, and as the glitter is so fine, the removal is no chore whatsoever.

When it starts to chip it genuinely makes me really sad about my hands, and sad for the people who didn't get to witness it in its best state.

Here are some snaps from my SLR camera but I think it doesn't show them of as nicely as the iphone camera.

Pictures do it no justice, it is simply marvelous.

Bliss Mask A-'peel'

Hi all! Today I will be talking about this new face mask just in time for #FaceMaskFriday

The latest mask from Bliss comes in the form of 'Mask A-'peel', a rubberizing peel off mask that exfoliates, brightens and tightens. The box itself contains 3 little pots of the powder so you can get 3 uses out of each box costing £20. Each pack also comes with a handy spatula to help you apply the mask, especially in the hard to reach areas such as nose creases. Make sure you wash the spatula off after each use as the mask will harden and ruin it.

To mix the mask into a paste, there is a water line on the inside of the pot, and you fill it up to that line and then mix the powder until it becomes a really thick bouncy paste.

Once the paste is mixed, I would recommend applying this to cleansed skin as soon as possible as it does dry out quite quickly.

I applied the mask on quite thick, but after about a minute or so, the paste started to dry up and became crumbly when applying so this was my end result.

As you can see the right side of my cheek area is applied thickly and resembles the front of the packet, however my forehead and left temple area is where the paste started to dry up again, so maybe apply a little more water after a while to keep it bouncy.

From here, you leave the paste on for about 20 minutes until it becomes rubbery and starts to feel as if it trying to detach from the skin. The actual mask itself contains detoxifying seaweed to rid impurities and deeply cleanse. It also contains Bilberry extract to quench and hydrate the skin, and finally vitamin C to brighten the complexion as well as gently exfoliate using fruity enzymes. As well as this, the actual peeling motion of removing the mask, will lift all the dead skin cells, revealing a brighter complexion underneath.

I found the mask naturally started to become loose when I moved my face around, so you then have the incredibly satisfying job of peeling it off. My boyfriend also did this mask with me, and he found a few facial hairs came out in the mask too, but other than that, it is a very gentle mask and won't pull skin that isn't ready to be lifted.

The result afterwards was really, really touchable smooth skin, as well as glowy and bright. I found I did have to put a little moisturiser on afterwards as I felt a little tight, but only because my skin is very dehydrated at the moment.

This bouncy rubbery mask is great as a general skin service, or if you want to look especially bright for an occasion, so perfect for the pending Christmas party season.

 This mask is so much fun to do and will leave you with a spring in your step!

Soaper Duper

I am so excited to finally be able to write about this brand!

If you have been keeping up with my blog then you may have seen that I have been interning at a Beauty PR company (if you want to read the post then click here). Since I've been there, this brand has been bubbling into the success that it has become, and I have been able to see the whole process!

Having been sworn to secrecy in it's infancy, it is now out there loud and proud in the beauty world, and I am so glad it has been so well received.

Soaper Duper was created by Marcia Kilgore, creator of Bliss, Soap & Glory, and Fit Flop.

Her new brand is all about natural and green ingredients which I am such a huge fan of. At the moment, the range has 3 fragrances, Zesty Lemon , Zingy Ginger and Fruity Tuberose. There is a body wash in each range, and then various little extras.

The Lemon is the largest range so far, with a body wash, body lotion, hand wash and hand cream. As the name suggests, it really does have a zingy scent but not too much to make you smell like a lemoncello, as it has a verbena note to bring it down but also nuetralise and sweeten it. I have been using the hand wash, and I find it leaves my skin soft and clean, and without that stripped feeling a lot of foamy washes can leave. The gel like formula lathers up nicely, and leaves your hands softly scented. 

The next fragrance is fruity Tuberose and I have this in the body lotion. Tuberose is a love/hate scent, and unfortunately it is just one I can't seem to enjoy. Some people smell floaty and floral, and I seem to get rubbery undertones from the fragrance.

That said, this body lotion fragrance is one of the best Tuberose I have smelt. I think the pineapple really lifts it and gives it that light edge as like the lemon, it is very soft, and really doesn't have that rubbery smell. I don't think I could cover my whole body in it as I'd find it overpowering, but it really is fruity and light. This fragrance comes in this body lotion and a matching body wash.

Finally, my favourite scent is the Zingy Ginger. This comes in a body wash and a body butter, which is a thicker consistency to the lotions. I like this kind of thick butter during the colder months as it really helps hydrate dry skin. The zingy Ginger fragrance is like Christmas at first, very sweet and almost slightly cinnamon-y, and then as it is rubbed into the skin, you get a really earthy tone, and it just smells scrumptious! The mix of almond oil, eucalyptus and shea butter really nourishes the skin, and the twist of lime and grapefruit extract adds a fresh zing.

The whole brand is green, in terms of packaging and ingredients, and things like SLS, parabens, mineral oils, microbeads and other nasty chemicals will not be found in any of these products. 

Another thing worth mentioning is the price point of this brand. Usually natural brands have to charge more due to the expense of growing all the natural ingredients needed in the products, but this is really reasonably priced for a green brand, with the most expensive product being the body butter at £11.00.

 I can't wait to see this brand grow more, and expand to be a really accessible, green brand. They also support water aid so are just completely faultless! At the moment, Soaper Duper is only available in Liberty London, or alternatively be bought online.

Skull and Roses

If you saw my blog over the weekend, you would have seen that I posted a review of the Wet Brush. If you did not see it, then find it here.

I love the design of my candy skull Wet Brush, and with it being Halloween, I thought it would be a great skull inspired mani.

I have done a sugar candy skull manicure before (see here), but I think this one is a little more grown up and gothic, especially with the rose detailing.

The roses and detailing were done with my Models Own Nail art pens in the pastel collection, and I just used a plain White and Black base from Barry M.

Hope you all have a super Halloween!

The Wet Brush

If like me, your hair is thick, knotty, and always a bit of a nightmare, then you will know the struggle of needing a brush that doesn't hurt, but can do it's job.

Tangle Teezers have been on the market for ages now, and although I have used one for a long time, I never felt like they lived up to the hype that I had heard about.

Enter the Wet Brush!

This hair brush may look like any other hair brush, however it is so much more! The brush can be used on wet hair (obvious from the name I know) whereas other standard brushes can't. The bristles are designed to move flexibly with the hair, without causing pain and breakage, however they are firm enough to massage the scalp which I never felt with the flimsier Tangle Teezer bristles.

It is an American company and the likes of the Jenners have been said to be a huge fan of the brush, as well as stylists all over the USA. What I personally like the most about the brush, is the fact that it has a handle. The main problem for me with the Tangle Teezer was the funny palm shape. Although some may like it, I found if I had a particularly large knot, the brush would fly across the room because I had no grip. I also felt the bristles weren't quite long enough for my shaggy mane. If you liked the fact the Tangle Teezer had no handle for hand bag size etc, the wet brush also do minis, which can be used for travel.

This brush really does go through my hair so much easier, with little pain and I feel like it goes through every layer of my hair, not just the surface.

The other cool thing about the Wet Brush is the huge array of patterns, designs and styles they have.

My one is a Candy Skull and I absolutely love it! They release knew ones all the time for every date in the calender, and they retail at around £12.00. Although this is a couple of pounds more expensive than the Tangle Teezer, I think spending that little extra will make a huge difference.

I would highly recommend if you want to steer away from the Tangle Teezer and have an amazing hair brush.

Halloween Nails 2014

Hi guys! Here are some Halloween nail ideas I did from 2014!

Eyeballs

These nails are inspired by 'Wah Nails' eyeballs from their first book. I just used different less natural colours for each eye. The blood shot red veins are rather creepy!

Mummy Nails

I did these Mummy Nails by painting a white base and then getting my 'Rose Dust' colour from Mavala and wiping most of the colour off the brush. I then brushed the nail lightly to get the old mouldy looked. I then drew on the eyes and features with a nail art pen.

Skeleton Nails

 I was sent these nails on Pinterest years ago and I thought they were so cool and I've been meaning to do them for ages. These are my favourite of my Halloween creations. These were simply done with a nail art pen.

Cat Nails

These are slightly less gory and more innocent nails that you could have on a child. You could wear them anytime really. I used a my purple Ciate 'talent scout' as base which I got in my Glossy box and am loving, and then I just painted on black semi circles at the tip of the nail, with two triangular ears poking out. I outlined the cat to make it stand out and did white shapes for the eyes, and then filled in with green afterwards.

Here is my little cat Mitten enjoying the fellow felines.

What are your favourites? Let me know below!

Trick or Treat Nails

 Halloween is fast approaching! Usually I would dress up and go trick or treating with my younger sisters on Halloween and I still could not pass up the opportunity to do some trick or treat themed nails so here is what I came up with! 

To create this look I used two different shades of pink of green and used a sponge to get the ombre effect. The colours I used were Jessica 'Radioactive' (told you I would use this soon!) and 'Spring Green' by Barry M. For the pink shades I used Barry M colours. 'Strawberry' for the pale pink, and the other colour I don't know due to the sticker falling off! Its just a hot pink colour though. Sorry!

For the lettering and highlighting and little cobweb I used my trusty nail art pens.

Please excuse the green cuticles in these pictures, it is really quite tough to get off! I need to invest in some acetone.

I wanted to do more to them, like add sweets and eggs and ghosts etc. but I think it would have over crowded it too much, so maybe I'll save those for another time! I did however take the opportunity to pose my manicure with some halloween-y treats just for a change!

Let me know what you think!