NOTD: Essie Top Coat in A Cut Above

Ooooh glitter. The light is terribly bad in my house, and its dark outside so I haven't captured the true beauty of this polish. I saw a pinterest of rose gold glitter nails ages ago, and just knew I had to have something similar. When I was in Boots last I saw this new Essie shade (I think it's new?) and I grabbed it and I'm glad I did. The top coat is quite sparse and to get a full coat I used about four shades, so it does take a little bit of patience, but it really pays off. Its the perfect colour to team up with winter colours (looks great with a khaki jumper!) and is even better for the party season. The light reflects perfectly off the particles and gives an amazing shine. When it says 'multi dimensional', it really means it!

NOTD #3: Barry M Matte Nail Paint in Crush

Oh I have a love affair for matte nail varnishes, and until very recently, did not own a single one. And then Barry M released a small line of matte shades, and I snapped up two. I think there are four in total but I chose the best two. I chose a matte grey/neutral shade, and this baby - a deep vampy red that I am super excited about. It's such a gorgeous red, in some lights it can look almost black, and its the perfect colour for autumn/winter/Halloween/Christmas/whenever you are feeling it. I would love to say it is the easiest to apply - but it isn't. Matte shades are not forgiving when you have a wobbly hand and the lines will show up as you can see on my imperfect set. This in daylight won't look too bad, but on camera it shows up a hell of a lot! It definitely needs two coats as well to perfect the gorgeous shade. When I first applied it, it came out a really shiny colour and I was convinced it wasn't going to go matte. Shame on my impatience, a couple of minutes in and it goes a lovely texture which I have been loving. I definitely recommend this varnish for those who love a good red, and have a steady hand.

COMING UP SOON: Budget Halloween Makeup!

Empties #4

Woooo I have lots of empties again. I have been trying to narrow down my collection of half used beauty items by attempting to use up everything that I've got, but as you can probably tell from my most recent hauls I'm not really doing very well with narrowing down my collection! I've managed to use up a mini Aussie conditioner, although this used to work for my hair, it doesn't so much now as now my hair is much longer it has the tendency to tangle, and this doesn't cut it anymore, I used it anyway! Make up wise, I've gotten through an entire Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation, and I've already bought another one because as you are all well aware, its such a fantastic foundation and I use it every day to spare my eye wateringly pricey ones. I also used up a Benefit They're Real! mascara, although I can't tell if I used it all or if it dried up really quickly. I did quite like it although the brush was a little spiky for my liking and I always ended up poking myself in the eye with it. I didn't review it as there was so much hype surrounding it already, I thought you guys would of heard enough about it without me putting my two cents in. I also got through yet another Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, and yes of course I bought another one! I love love love this concealer as it covers my super dark circles that nothing else seems to touch. I got through a mini Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference serum for combination skin, although this didn't take long as it was such a tiny little tube. I did like it but I don't think I liked it enough to buy a full size, for now anyway..

I absolutely loved this Avon Anew Line Corrector, I don't think I'm really at that stage where I have enough lines to correct, but it did make my skin feel super soft, but for the price of it, it wasn't mind-blowing enough for me to grab another one. However, I won't forget about you Avon! The Body Shop Dry Oil in Shea is a multi-use tool and can be used for pretty much everything, however I solely use it for shaving my legs. It gets amazing close shave, leaves my legs feeling super soft and the razors last longer because of the oil. I will be grabbing another one of these when I remember to!

I've been trying to get through all my half used shampoos and shower gels. Bed Head's superstar shampoo gives such good volume and it smells like strawberry sweets, and I'm a little bit sad to see it empty. You get a huge amount for the money though and a little definitely goes a long way, so I may have a little splurge once I've gotten through my others. I also used up a mini Rehab shampoo by Lush. I didn't really feel like this did anything for my hair, but I did love the smell of it, but I don't think that's enough for me to part with my pennies. Sorry Lush! Of course I've gotten through another Batiste cherry dry shampoo - the cherry is my favourite scent at the moment and I'm dying to try the new oriental one. I've also finished my Bed Head Health Goddess detangling spray, which I did absolutely adore but its discontinued now, waaa. Lastly, I finished up my Original Source Lime shower gel, which smelt like sweet limes and I think its a definite dupe for everyone's favourite Soap and Glory Product! If I could recommend one product out of these for you to try, it would definitely be the shower gel, who doesn't want to smell like a zingy lime?

Lips of the Day #7: Rimmel Kate Moss in 107

So in my most recent haul, I finally picked up a Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick. I've heard amazing things about the Lasting Finish Matte range, so naturally I went for the most beautiful red. I can't figure out if I love this lipstick. I LOVE the finish, the colour isn't as deep as I would of liked, but it has wonderful blue tones that make your teeth sparkly white, and I can definitely get along with that. The lipstick has amazing staying power and glides on the lips so easily that application takes seconds. I enjoy the packaging too, it feels nice in your hand (is that a weird thing to say?!) and is sturdy enough to not open itself in your handbag. The lipstick has a smell to it, its kind of sweet, and I do like the smell, but I don't like it in a lipstick, and I notice it for ages after application. This is an easy red that anyone can get along with though, and I think that explains it's popularity, and I'm happy to have it in my collection.

A Boots and Superdrug Haul

What's wrong with me? Why do I keep buying things? I popped into town today just to get my eyebrows threaded, and I wanted to nip into Boots just to buy a couple of things. As we all know, one can never just nip into boots and buy a couple of things. Boots had an offer on Rimmel products where if  you spent £10, you got a free mascara. I've been eyeing up the Kate Moss lipsticks for so long now, I felt like it was about time I chose one, and of course, I chose a red, because it's pretty much all I wear in the winter. And then I saw the new Stay Matte foundation, and the rest is history. I haven't used  the Natural Collection Peach Melba blusher since I was 16, so I bought it again to relive my youth in a very rock and roll style. I've seen some fantastic reviews on the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint and I'm rather hoping it is a good high street dupe of Benefit's Boi-ing concealer, so we shall see!

I bought my usual eyelashes, because they were on my list, and I bought a couple of Toni and Guy mini's because I'm away from home at the end of October and I didn't fancy taking a separate bag for all my full size products. And then everything got a bit crazy, and I bought the new MUA ever after palette, because the it occurred to me that I don't have an eyeshadow palette, and that it must be corrected immediately. I also saw the new Barry M matte nail paints and I think I chose the best two colours. I also ended up with another Real Techniques brush, they just seem to jump in my basket. I'm really sorry bank balance, I hope we can still be friends.