NOTD: Confetti Topcoat; A nail varnish wedding!

A union of Nail Varnish

I'm jumping on the confetti bandwagon, and who can blame me? It is amazing! I was a bit put off by the price (£4.99 for a topcoat?!) but when you consider the Illamasqua Speckle nail varnish is £14.50, this varnish is a steal. 

I decided to pair the L'oreal confetti topcoat with Model's Own's Pink fever.

I adore Model's Own nail varnish; the colours are always beautiful, the finish is glossy and the application is streak free and dries quickly. I applied the varnish twice for a really deep colour:

I could easily wear Pink Fever on it's own but I thought it would look great with the confetti top coat..

What do you guys think? Are you loving L'Oreal's Confetti Topcoat and Model's Own Pink Fever as much as me? I never want to take my varnish off again!

Also, did you know you can view this post in the new beauty blogging platform Baobella? Click here to see it!

Ahh it's the Apocalips!

I gave in and jumped on the Rimmel London Apocalips bandwagon. I went for the 101 Celestial colour which is a lovely creamy tone. The wand applicator has a little hole in the middle which allows for a store up of the gloss so there's no need to reapply mid application.

From Left to Right: My lips naturally, My lips with the Apocalips, My lips after an hour of wear

 From the photo, you can see that the Apocalips Celestial is a really good match for my lip colour and looks really natural. The gloss is smooth and creamy and doesn't dry out my lips. It isn't sticky either so that's an added bonus!

 I decided to try out how well the gloss stays...

Drinking and eating: The gloss transfers slightly onto the glass I drunk from but the majority came off when I was eating. I expected this to be honest as Apocalips doesn't claim to be long lasting or a lip stain so it's only natural for it to transfer.

Kissing: My boy never kisses me if I wear gloss so I generally don't have to worry, but I planted a kiss on my arm to see if any of it transferred and it did. This demonstrates why the boy doesn't like kissing me with gloss ;)

I can see why bloggers are in love with this range. I love the creamy texture and the colour and will be going back to Boots to pick up another colour soon.

Apocalips retails at £5.99  and comes in a whole range of colours.

Will you be jumping on the Apocalips bandwagon?

Argan Oil

Moroccan Argan Oil is my current favourite product. My hair takes a lot of heat abuse and the ends are quite dry and weak due to my dip-dye so I need a pretty hardcore product to get it back to a good condition. I've read about this product on Laura's Blog and when my parents said they were off to home bargains, I told them to keep an eye out for it. Luckily for me, they returned £2.99 poorer and with my Argan Oil.


I have the treatment oil which you apply to damp hair. The oil itself is quite thick and smells quite sweet. You take a few drops of the oil and work into toweled, but damp, hair before blow drying.


This brilliant Moroccan Argan Oil gives the hair UV protection (UV dries out the hair and makes it brittle) and the vitamin E found in the Oil helps keep hair frizz free and healthy.

Here are the results on my hair:

Oil on hair whilst wet

My hair dried

While my hair looks pretty normal in the photos, I can assure you that the Argan Oil has made a big difference. My hair is smooth and silky, my split ends are controlled and my dip dyed ends aren't so dry. The sweet smell of the oil has also transferred onto my hair and it's much easier to brush. I was worried about my hair becoming oily but after not washing my hair for a week (the things I do to test products ;) ) it was still silky smooth.

This is my absolute star buy and for £2.99 you get 100ml which should last quite a while as you only need a couple of drops for each application. I would definitely recommend going down your local Home Bargains to dig out this little wonder.

Have you tried Moroccan Argan Oil?

MUA constellations; Stars in your nails.

 I recently purchased Nail Constellation by MUA in the Scorpio colour scheme. There are five different colour options in the Constellation range; Scorpio, Pisces, Leo, Gemini and Libra. You might have noticed that there's only five out of the twelve constellations so I'm hoping that MUA will expand the range. I went for the Scorpio set because of the colour of the beads; green, gold and pink.

 

Before I paint my nails, I use 'OPI Nail Envy' nail strengthener. I love this product for a number of reasons; it strengthens my nails, protects them from staining and dries really quickly. To compliment the gold and pink, I paint my nails in 'Barry M's Nail Paint' in colour 334, Teal. In the pictures below, I am wearing two coats of the nail polish for a fantastic deep colour. To protect my nails from chipping, I use 'Rimmel Pro Super Wear', a top coat, which gives a really amazing high shine and protects from chips for roughly ten days.

On my ring finger, once my second coat of nail paint had been applied, I sprinkled the MUA constellations onto the wet nail until it was completely covered. I would advise doing the constellations over a small tray as they do go absolutely everywhere otherwise. Once I was sure that my nail had dried and the constellations had stuck, I gave a quick once over with the Rimmel top coat.

I'm really pleased with the result of the nail constellations. It gives my nails a really high end look but on a budget. I would definitely recommend.

Have you used the MUA nail constellations? What did you think? 

Winter Graduation Outfit

On the 10th of January, I became a Master of Art in Philosophy. Choosing an outfit was difficult for the occasion for a number of reasons;

1. It was a graduation and the dress code states smart wear,
2. As it's winter, my outfit needed to be warm,
3. I needed  an outfit that wouldn't clash with my University colour of green and sash of pink,
4. Finally, I needed something that covered up the unsightly external fixation on my leg.

Overall, I think I done well choosing an outfit. The Skirt and Blouse were £25.00 each from River Island online. I ordered the Skirt in a size 14 and I'm 5'3 so it was an inch or so too long for me. The outfit was a hit as looked smart, it didn't clash with my graduation robes and the maxi skirt was perfect for covering my leg. The only problem with the outfit was that the light materials did not keep me warm but had my graduation been in the summer, I would give 10/10.

I accessorised the entire outfit with a cute gold ear cuff and a bangle stack in peach and gold from New Look. The shoes were a nude ballet pump from Internacionale. 

Everyone commented how good I looked and I really did feel it.

What outfit would you wear to a winter graduation? 

Indian Night Jasmine

One of the presents I received for Christmas was the Body Shop Indian Night Jasmine set. It came in a beautiful red box, packaged by workers in Nepal. The pay for the packaging goes to disadvantaged girls to get an education; a good cause and a great product.

Beautiful Packaging.

Inside the box there's the Indian Night Jasmine Fragrance Mist and the Perfume Oil. 

Indian Night Jasmine Fragrance Mist. 

I found the best way to use the mist is right after a shower or bath and spray it all over. The fragrance is sweet and musky with floral undertones. It's a pleasant smell but the scent doesn't last for very long and I wouldn't wear it on it's own. 

Indian Night Jasmine Perfume Oil.

The perfume oil is amazing when paired with the fragrance mist as it lasts so much longer. The bottle is quite small but great for popping in your handbag for a top up when out and about. 

Have you used any of Body Shop's fragrance mists or perfume oils? What did you think of them? 

Mini Haul

Today I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and needed a little treat so off to Boots I went. This is what I got:


1. Montagne Jeunesse Mud Pac- Dead Sea, Anti Stress. £1

I've used this brand before and I've enjoyed them. It's good to find a face mask that simply washes off rather than peels off- I hate the peel off masks. The mask is suitable for all skin types and vegetarians. On the back, it informs me it contains Dead Sea Salt, Bergamot, Lavender and Seaweed; all are very balancing and great for circulation but appear quite far down on the ingredient list so probably won't make a huge difference to my skin. I will be using the mask soon and will do a proper review then so watch this space!




2. Balmi- Raspberry. £4.99

I must admit that when I picked this up off the shelf, I thought it was Eos Lip Balm, a blogger favourite. Despite it not being what I was after, I thought I'd give it a go. Balmi is really fragrant and has a 15 SPF  protecting the lips from UVA/UVB. You apply it straight to the lips, saving you dipping your finger in greasy lipbalm (something I don't like doing). It sinks into the lips after a few minutes and gives a good shine on the lips. The Balmi also has a little keychain attachment to hook onto your bag/phone/keys - handy for anyone who loses their balm easily (like me).



3. Peaches and Clean- 4 in 1 Wash off deep cleansing milk. £6

I've read great reviews on Soap and Glory and really needed a new everyday wash which isn't too harsh for my skin. I have combination skin and my T-Zone is very oily, something this product promises to help with. The product smells pleasant and is gentle on the skin, I'll review the product again after a few weeks of using it and let you know whether it clears my skin. 

Have you used any of these products? What did you think of them?

-Roxy