Nails Of The Day - Nails Inc For Instyle - Orgeon's Out

I'm going to be honest with you guys, I'm not the type of blogger that over edits their photographs. Yes I'll crop them, and maybe alter the colour slightly but I always try to stay as true as I can to the original photo; In this case though I'm going to have to make a bit of an exception, and you're going to have to deal with my slightly odd coloured skin.

If you've packed up this month's issue of InStyle UK, then you may have already managed to get your hands on a bottle of Nails Inc Oregon's Out. I love a freebie and  for me a full sized,branded nail polish is always a good one. There were 4 shades to choose from but I couldn't resist this beautiful, deep almost electric blue cream.

Try as I might though I just can't replicate it on camera so I've had to  use a lot of tints and filters to achieve the colour that you can see here, that still isn't quite right - in real life it's darker, inkier, and it has a little bit more depth than it does in my pictures

When I first saw this shade I thought that it looked quite similar to Nails Inc's trend shade Baker Street and it is very similar but if you're a real blue aficionado like me than you see that it's ever so slightly different. Oregon's Out is just a touch deeper and not quite as bright or electric as Baker Street. Do you need both in your collection? Probably not but if you love blue as much as I do you can definitely justify it.

Like most darker cream polishes, this was pretty easy to apply, this is two coats but on most nails I probably could have got away with one. Wear time unfortunately wasn't that amazing, admittedly I didn't top coat it but I only managed around two days wear before it started chipping :( That's nothing though, that a good top coat won't fix though, and if you like blue polishes or even if you fancy trying Nails Inc for the first time, than I would definitely recommend that you pick up a copy of InStyle magazine this month and give either Oregon's Out or one of the other shades a go.

A Little Nail Haul Featuring Models Own, Miss Beauty And Leighton Denny

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to pull the duvet over your head and hide? Well, I'm having one of those weeks! Mummy Lou hasn't been well, one of the cats hasn't been well and I'm not feeling particularly great myself! It never rains but it pours at times but you just need to plod on through it. Needless to say this weeks blog planning has gone out of the window but I thought it was best to get a post up rather than leave you with nothing, so apologies for the lack of variety but it's another haul post x

Although I haven't posted a nails of the day post for a while, nail polish is one of my real loves . I don't always have the best of nails but just seeing that flash of colour can make me happy. As well as being one of my loves, I guess you could say that nail polish is a bit of an addiction for me. I have an IKEA Helmer full to the brim and I still can't resist buying more.

I never need an excuse to buy nail polish but give me a special offer and I'm there! On a recent trip to the Metro Centre, I just so happened to walk past the Models Own Bottle Shop - Models Own are noted for their special offers and the offer of the day was any 5 items for £20, well it would have been wrong not to indulge, so I made a little purchase.

After a lot of deliberation I ended up going for four colours. The first two polishes came from the Sweet Shop range. These are scented polished that are themed around traditional sweets. On the left you can see NP215 - Fizzy Cola, an almost brown, taupe which is shot through with sparkle, and on the right is NP213 - Rhubarb and Custard - a gorgeous, deep, raspberry red, again shot through with gold sparkle. Both of these polishes supposedly smell like the sweeties that they represent when they're dry, I haven't tried them yet but I'll let you know what I think when I do.

The next colours that I bought come from the Models Own Hyper Gel line. These slightly thicker polishes supposedly have that gel manicure finish and wear time without the use of a UV or an LED light. In these colours  I went for two very contrasting shades - one bright and one neutral. On the left you can see SG031 - Tropical Green, which is a really vibrant lime green and on the right is SG027- Paradise Pink, which is a white based, pale pink with a hint of lilac.

To complete the offer I also got something from their make up line which I'll show you in a future post, but when I got to the till, the assistant started telling me about the Hyper Gel Gel Effect Top Coat. This wasn't included in the offer but she said it made the Hyper Gel colours last even longer and it turned any other shade into a Gel Effect Polish. I'm lazy when it comes to top coat but I decided to give this one a go anyway.

I also got a little free gift with purchase at the till, which was a mini nail buffer. I have so many of these but I can never find one when I need one, so this one was gratefully received.

Next up a couple of budget purchases from the new Miss Beauty London range at Poundworld. I've only seen a couple of videos on this range and to be honest its launch largely passed me be but on a recent visit to Poundworld I decided to have a little look. I'm going to be honest and say I was pretty underwhelmed when it came to the make up, nothing really grabbed me so I decided to try a couple of their nail colours instead.

They seemed to have two main polish ranges, a gel line, and  normal polish line, so I decided to try one of each. On the left you can see the Miss Beauty London Gel colour in 10 Lavender Dream, which is a gorgeous creamy, vibrant lilac, and on the right you can see the Miss Beauty London Nail Colour in 374 Tiffany, which as the name suggests is that perfect mint green, turquoise blue.

Again I haven't tried these but I'll let you know what I think of them when I do, for just £1 each they were worth trying.

The final nail item I want to show you is a magazine freebie from this month's Bazaar magazine. They regularly do tie up's with Leighton Denny. and in this months issue you can claim a free full sized Leighton Denny Nail Lacquer.

There are several to choose from ranging from deep reds, to lilac but the colour I went for was another one of those Tiffany blue shades, Morning Dew. It's a lot warmer and lot more bluey than the Miss Beauty one so I think I can justify the £4 or so that the magazine costs. Bazaar is probably one of the priciest monthly magazines out there but since the polishes are usually £11 each, it isn't a bad price to pay to try a designer nail brand.

I'm currently waiting for my little stubby nails to grow up a bit and then regular nails of the day posts will resume. As well as featuring all of the polishes in this post, and some other polishes in my collection, I'm also going to be showing you the prettiest OPI kit, and a couple of colours, which I also have to give away, so if you like nails then stick around for more nails of the days and some reviews x

My First MAC Haul In Ages and A Magazine Freebie Round Up

Hi Guys - I promised you a little MAC haul and here it is! I have to say MAC hasn't exactly wowed me over the last few months, a combination of Project 10 Pan and a few blaah collections has meant that I haven't added to my MAC collection very much this year but the new releases this month were right up my street, but I was still a good girl and only get 3 things. I have to say that I changed my mind several times over what I actually wanted from Fashion Flower, in the end I decided to move away from the usual suspects and things that I probably had dupes of, i.e Light Sunshine and Mlle and go for something completely, first up a lipstick, can you guess which one

Yes it's Ever Hip, a bright creamy coral which is way out of my comfort zone but I have to say it's gorgeous and nowhere near as scary as I'd thought - love it :)

Next up beauty powder - I had initially intended to get Light Sunshine but the more I saw of it the more I realised I could dupe it with things I already had, after all it's only a highlight shade, so I went for Alpha Girl instead

I love the flower design and it's almost too pretty to use but I'm sure I will as it's such a gorgeous peachy pink with a bit of gold shimmer- you can't see it too well here because I've fake tanned :)

Finally my one purchase from Semi Precious - as much as I love mineralize eyeshadows I have more than enough so I passed on those, which pretty much only left the MSF's I could easily have bought 3 but I just got the one - Rose Quartz

Close up of the centre splodge

This is a gorgous peachy / pink with a mass of shimmer and glitter in the middle

I have to say this is really pretty and I'm happy to have it in my all be it small MSF collection.
So that was it my MAC duck officially broken for the year - I have to say looking forward at future collections for the rest of the year there is every possibility my MAC drought will continue, the only things that really excite me are new paintpots, and the re-release of Porcelain Pink, and Lightscapade MSF, yes you heard me Lightscapade, it's my go to winter highlight and I will definitely be picking another one up, but hopefully I can be good and only buy things that I really need.
Oh and while I'm on about hauling just a heads up on this months magazine freebies, InStyle comes with either two Body Shop eye pencils or a mascara, Cosmopolitan as you saw the other day comes with a free Missguided nail polish, and today my mum picked me up a copy of this months Marie Claire magazine and with it comes a free Ciate Lipgloss

She got me the colour Ibiza which is a super hot pink - I guess I'm thinking positive getting all these summery shades

If that one isn't to your taste you can also get a nude beige shade - not only that but next months Marie Claire comes with a free Ciate nail polish, next months Cosmo comes with free Eyelure false lashes, next months Elle comes with a choice of 3 exclusive Mavala nail polishes and Red comes with a free Balance Me body wash. I don't know what it is but magazines are really upping their game as far as free gifts are concerned. If you have any questions on anything at all please leave me a comment xx

Pressies, Freebies and Goodies From A Fellow Blogger x

Despite my saying I wouldn't really be hauling, here is another what is in essence a haul post. It's a haul post with a difference I guess. First up the things that I paid for myself, and something your probably sick of seeing - yes the Benefit freebies from Glamour

I only picked up two copies and got the mini Posietint and Benetint. I already have half a full sized High Beam, and two mini ones from sets so there was no need to get one of those. I haven't actually tried Posietint or Benetint instead I have a couple of the high street dupes so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Next a parcel from one of my fellow bloggers the lovely Charlotte - I'd already purchased something from her blogsale and yes I went back for more - I got a Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties Fragrance and a Top Shop Lip Polish in Poetic for less than £6!!! - Definitely check her out if you haven't already xx

Poetic is gorgeous I don't know why I didn't buy it when it was released - it is gorgeous -a beautiful milky pink shade with a gorgeous vanilla taste and fragrance x
So that's me over my limit already for June eek I really need to be good from now on - HELP!!!!
LOL a tiny shred of salvation came this week from Momma Lou - yesterday we popped to IKEA to get some new storage for my bedroom and on our quest for a copy of Glamour we popped into the Asda Superstore. I love this Asda it is sooo much bigger than my nearest one, it's on two levels with a full George clothing and cosmetics section. I went to have a look at the cosmetics section and my lovely mummy treat me to a few bits. First up a couple of nail polishes - they are currently on special and are only £1 each - the colours I went for were 70 Shipwrecked - a gorgeous Aqua / Turquoise and 10 Indigo Dazzle - a gorgeous indigo blue with multi colour reflects

She also got me a lipstick  01 Natural Metallic which is a gorgeous shimmery mauve and was only £3.50

I will do some swatches of these in my upcoming George make up post as part of my Budget Beauty Series x If there are any brands that you would like to see featured in this series please leave me a comment or let me know x Any questions on anything else please leave me a comment xx Next up a product review xx

Rimmel and Revlon Buys, and a Magazine Freebie

Yes I admit I hauled again!! Just a couple of drugstore items this time and a few things I've wanted since their release. First up the Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm

A lot of companies appear to be doing these at the moment including GOSH and Max Factor but it was the Revlon one that appealed especially since it was on special offer. You get a double ended wand - one end has the fibre tip stain

and the other end has a moisturising lip balm

It was quite hard to choose a colour as the barrels can be pretty different from the actual pen but this time I managed to swatch them and the colour I went for was a bright pink - Passion - here's a swatch on it's own

and then applied to the lips with the balm over the top

This colour is a real departure for me again I seem to be buying a lot of brighter shades at the moment, it looks really bright if you apply it all over the lips as if you were colouring in but you can apply it more lightly for a softer look - I can't wait to have a proper play with this x

Next up a foundation and one I've been interested in trying since I first saw it advertised. It's the Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation in 100 Ivory. I love the original Match Perfection and really wanted to give this a go.

It has a gorgeous creamy texture but as you can see it leaves quite a matte finish

I really can't wait to try this out I am still pretty pale so it should still work for me despite the fact we are in June I really need to get the fake tan out lol

Finally yes another magazine freebie there are certainly a lot of them around this month, today my mum very kindly picked me up a copy of Harpers Bazaar which this month comes with a free full sized Leighton Denny nail polish that retails at £11.00 - there are 3 colour to chose from including his famous greige shade Supermodel but I already have that in the full size so I got Viva La Diva, a gorgeous juicy red, I've only ever owned this in the mini size so I am really pleased to have the large one it's a great summer shade especially on the toes x

If you look at my sidebar you'll see that I am already pretty close to my June limit which isn't great after less than a week - I must try harder! Any quesions please let me know xx

BYS Free Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

Hey Guys
Just another quick post from moi x I've had a request for some swatches and more info on the BYS palette I showed yesterday which was free with Top of the Pops magazine :)

The palette comes in a strong cardboard packaging and features 9 eye shades and a small sponge applicator

The top row of shadows are described as Pretty Eyes - from left to right - first up a peachy nude pink shade, then, then a brighter more neon pink - this isn't scary tho just fresh and pretty for summer and finally a darker pink shade

The second row is called Bright Eyes - from left to right - first up a minty turquoise shade - pale duck egg blue shade this is quite neutral toned, next up a bright blue turquoise very like MAC Electric Eel, and finally more of an aqua tealy turquoise

The row is described as Party Eyes - the three colours are perfect for creating a smokey eye look - from left to right - an off white colour, a lovely mid grey and finally a very dark charcoal grey

I hope this was useful for you - the shadows as you can see are really pigmented and they are really soft too and don't drag on your skin. I am actually really impressed for a magazine freebie and for such a cheap brand. If you like the look of this get a move on as the new issue of Top of the Pops magazine is out next Wednesday. Any more questions please ask x

Naughty LouLou - More Haulage and Some Gifts

Well after doing so well on my spending diet for the first two months of this year - this month has been a disaster, that's life though I've needed to by a few things and I've generally felt a bit blargh so shopping has been a bit of a pacifier. Anyhow onto the goodies - first up ASOS - I used my groupon voucher to buy my mum some jewellery bits for Mothers Day but thankfully Diet Coke has an offer on special where you can either win vouchers or get £5 off a £20 spend being a bit of a caffeine junkie I already have a whole load of vouchers - I believe the vouchers are on special packs till the end of April and are valid till the end of June, so it's well worth picking some up x I bought my mum something else and got a couple of bits for me including this beauty - Illamasqua nail polish in Bacterium
                                           

I really can't wait to try this out, the colour is like nothing I've seen before - I promise to do a NOTD with it soon - I also got this ring - alas even in the largest size it's a bit small but I can't wait to wear it as a pinkie ring until I can hopefully lose a bit of weight on my fingers

                                   

   pic borrowed from ASOS

It's a little cream mouse - it's has crystal eyes and the tail moves, so cute it comes in black too but I think that one is still full price x
 

I also popped to Boots this week and stocked up on Botanics eye make up remover - all the Botanics products are currently on 3 for 2 :) and some Veet wax strips which were 1/3 off - no pics I am sure you all know what they look like ;) I actually went to Boots to use my No7 £5 off voucher but they didn't have the product I wanted - thankfully my mum popped to the Metro Centre on Saturday morning and picked me up a bottle of this - the Boots Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser
 

I have a review on this coming up but since if I've got another one that probably tells you what I think of it.... ;) My mum was an angel and paid for it for me, she also got me this on Friday from the Factory Bargain Shop - I love this shop it's has all sorts of bits in and from Thursday to Sunday they had  25% off everything in store - so she got me this New York themed t-shirt 

 

They sell a lot of high street end of lines and seconds and this top came from Dorothy Perkins, and originally retailed at £16, Factory Bargains had it on sale for £6 and with the discount me mum got the t-shirt and a bag of M&M mini eggs (not for me;) for just £5.25 :)
 

As well as the t-shirt she also got me some other bits from the Metro Centre on Saturday including a few Body Shop Cocoa Butter things the creamy body wash and some more body butter -( there was an offer where you got a body butter and a shower gel for £12)

and she also got me the Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Stick that I wanted

I had heard a little bit about this and I really wanted to give it a go - It's basically a twist up stick of solid cocoa butter that melts on contact with the skin, I am intending to use it directly onto my ankle scar to help with healing

She also got my some of the new Earth Lovers Shower Gels with were on buy one get one half price - she got me the Lemon and Thyme version, and the Apricot and Basil fragrance, they smell amazing and I can't wait to try them out x

and because she had spent more than £25 after the in store and Love Your Body discounts she also got a freebie a full sized Vitamin E Body Butter - I've used the Vitamin E skincare before so I am interested to see how I get on with this - Vitamin E is supposed to be good for scarring too :)

All in all a lovely little bag from MummyLouLou - I am so grateful to her - she always tried to find ways to cheer me up when I am feeling down and she normally hits the spot perfectly. If you have any questions or if you would like and reviews please let me know xx