A Blast From The Past - Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish - 640 Twinkle

I first blogged about Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in Twinkle, way back in 2010, after purchasing it on a whim in my small village chemists. Although I wasn't really that happy with the post or the photographs, I had no plans to rewrite it or re shoot it. Then of course Photobucket started charging for their services and a lot of my old pictures disappeared, so I deleted the post and to be honest I forgot all about it.

Recently though I was having a sort through my extensive nail polish collection and I rediscovered quite a few polishes that I'd forgotten about. Time hasn't been kind to some of them and even on first glance the bin was the best place for them, but this one looked okay in the bottle so I thought I'd give it a go.

Rimmel Twinkle is a fabulous pink, lilac shade, packed full of tiny specks of silver and multicoloured sparkle. In some lights it looks warmer and more pink toned, and in others the sparkle really comes into its own and it looks cooler, with more lilac tones.

My memory isn't that great but it doesn't apply quite as well as I remember it, but the brush is decent and that always makes a big difference. Given it's age I think the consistency is a little bit thicker than what I remember, but at the same time the coverage wasn't quite as good. The first coat was a bit streaky and a bit patchy, but I found that two coats were enough to give full coverage on most nails.

Now this is one of Rimmel's 60 Seconds polishes, which are designed to dry in believe it or not, 60 seconds or less, but I found that it took a couple of minutes, again probably down to age.

The finish wasn't quite as nice as I remembered either, without a top coat it had quite a rough feel, which was a bit surprising considering the fineness of the sparkle; You could also see a few visible brushstrokes which is one of my biggest pet hates when it comes to nail polish.

Given its age, I was actually really impressed with the wear time, I know polishes with sparkle usually last a bit longer and this one was no exception. I always skip top coat when I'm trying out a polish, and even without it this lasted for nearly 3 days without any chips or wear. I'm notoriously hard on my hands so that was pretty decent by my standards. Again down to the glitter content I was expecting it to be quite hard to remove but because the glitter is so fine it actually wasn't too bad, with just the odd bit of sparkle hanging around on the nails and transferring onto the skin.

This isn't the easiest colour or finish to capture on camera, it's hard to capture a uniform colour in all of the pictures, and as always it's hard to show off the true sparkle on camera. I had a few goes and the eagle eyed Instagram watchers amongst you may have have already seen, a since deleted picture of this polish. I've had a play though and whilst I still don't think my pictures do the sparkle justice, these shot taken at night with the flash, give you a better idea of what it actually looks like on the nails.

Given that I first talked about this polish around 9 years ago now, it's not really any surprise that the formulations seems to have changed slightly, and whilst  Twinkle appears to have been discontinued by Rimmel, my bottle certainly isn't ready for the bin just yet. Despite a few drawbacks, it's a really pretty, wearable shade, that's perfect for when you want a safe colour, but with a bit of glamour at the same time x I'm now off to see what else I can rediscover so I'd love to know if you've rediscovered any beauty products recently? Let me know you rediscoveries in the comments  - I'd love to hear from you x

Nails Of The Day - Rimmel I Love Fruities Lasting Finish - 053 Apricot Punch

Before I start on a run of unboxing posts - I thought I'd share a quick re shot and redone post with you. Although I said in my last post that my nails were pretty shocking at the moment, after a week and a bit of TLC my nails don't actually look too bad. and whilst they're still quite short, they're long enough to paint.

I originally posted this review way back in 2010, and after looking back at a few older posts, I realised just how bad this one actually was, the pictures were awful and the writing was even worse, so when I rediscovered this polish in a long forgotten make up I thought I'd paint my nails, and take some pictures

Although the weather seems to have turned today, it really feels as though summer is on its way, we've had a few warm and sunny days recently, and this fabulous slightly washed out bright coral, orange seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Despite its age this polish really impressed me, it was a touch thicker than it originally was but if anything that seemed to make the application even easier. The first coat was a touch streaky but I managed to achieve the full coverage that you see here in just two thin coats.

It dried pretty quickly and most crucially for me the wear time was superb. I really didn't expect much from a nearly 10 year old, relatively budget friendly nail polish. I'm notoriously hard on my nail polish and I managed a good three days with this one even without a top coat. Normally when I'm testing a polish I go without a top coat to test the wear time, but in this case I went without for a different reason.

One of the quirks of this particular polish is the scent, now you shouldn't go around smelling nail polish, it's full of all sorts of things that you probably shouldn't be sniffing, and this one for a time is no different. When you first apply it is smells like nail polish, but when it's dry it has a subtle, fruity apricot scent. Why on earth would you want to smell your nails? I really have no idea, but at some point I obviously thought it was a good idea, and added a few more scented polishes from Models Own to my collection.

Alas given its age this polish has now been discontinued and will be very hard if not impossible to find, but if your can forget the scented element, that I would think that it should be quite easily to find something similar. It really is the perfect summer colour which will look great both with a tan and with all of the bright summer fashions that are now flooding the high street. This polish surprised me on so many levels, I can't quite believe that a polish this old from a drugstore brand could still perform so well, it just shows you that despite what everyone says, you really shouldn't throw anything out, even 10 year old scented nail polish! Please tell me that I wasn't the only one to buy into the scented nail polish trend, let me know if you succumbed as well x

A Collective Beauty Haul - Video

Hi Guys x I don't do this very often but today I've got a pretty epic haul video for you x I meant to do a proper haul post but since I want to review a couple of the items in this video I thought that this might be the best way to proceed x If you can't see the video below you can watch it via this link.



Well done if you watched it and made it to the end - I salute your perseverance but if you didn't watch it (shame on you lol) don't worry as I'll reviewing some of the products in it on my blog. Obviously I've already spoke about Benefit Dew The Hoola in a previous post so I won't be reviewing it again, but I will be reviewing the Benefit Porefessional Instant Wipe Off Masks, and the Rimmel Sculpting Powder at some point for you, and I'll also be showing the nail polishes in some up and coming nails of the day posts x

Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel and of course don't forget to follow my blog x

Trimming My Stash December 2015 Edition - Empties And A 2015 Round Up

Happy New Year x I hope you all had a fabulous New Years Eve - My was quiet, TV, fizz and snacks and I was in bed before midnight, but I'm refreshed and ready to go, and ready to face another year head on.

Before that though I'm going to wrap up the last loose ends of 2015, by finishing up with December empties post x

Queen Cosmetics Eye Make Up Remover -50g
Rolanjona Shea Butter Smoothing And Whitening Hand Mask x 1 Pair
Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation - 100 Ivory - 18ml
Tresemme Heat Defence Styling Spray - 300ml
Mally Volumizing Mascara - Black - 10ml
Total - 5 Items

It wasn't an outstanding performance by any means but I managed to finish nice variety of products including a couple of make up items and a couple of products that I thought would never end !

1. Queen Cosmetics Eye Make Up Remover - 50g

Eeek - I've probably been using this product for way longer than I should have been according to the use by date but if it smells the same, and the texture hasn't changed then by my rules it's still good to go. I reviewed this on the blog quite a while ago now ( read my review here) and whilst I prefer a liquid eye make up remover, this one really does the business - it removes anything without causing any sensitivity or irritation. I can't guarantee I would personally repurchase but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this.

2. Rolanjona Shea Butter Smoothing And Whitening Hand Mask x 1 Pair

This was an ebay purchase that I bought and never used. What it was, was basically a pair of thin fabric / paper gloves, infused and dripping wet with a moisturising Shea butter, based solution. Just just pop the gloves on for 15-20 minutes and the idea is that you end up with silky soft hands, and believe it or not you do. My one complaint is that the gloves really are soaking wet, there is no outer glove or plastic cover so you're pretty much incapacitated while you're wearing them - I put my hands on a towel, to stop the drips, and lay down and relaxed for about 20 minutes. My hands are really dry at the minute and this made an immediate visual difference and my hands felt silkier, I'm not sure whether they made a difference in the long term but for a special occasion at just £1 ish they are well worth it.

3. Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation - 100 Ivory - 18ml

I honestly thought I'd reviewed this but I've only reviewed the original liquid foundation. I've loved the original one for quite a while and even more so now they've introduced some pinker shades, this one was similar but it had a completely different texture. Instead of the liquid texture this one had a much creamier texture. It felt nice on the skin, and the coverage was good but it wasn't for oily skin so I could only use this on my drier days. As time progressed it did have a tendency to dry out and cake so I wasn't sorry to finish it. This has been discontinued now but I preferred the original anyway.

4. Tresemme Heat Defence Styling Spray - 300ml

I've lost count of how many bottles of this I've gone through. I use every time I straighten, blow dry or curl my hair and it's a lifesaver. Although I've been trying to lay off the heat in the last 12 months or so I still swear by this spray, it smells gorgeous and you really feel as though your protecting your hair.

5. Mally Volumizing Mascara - Black - 10ml

Although the Mally range is only available from QVC in the UK, this mascara has a cult following and I can see why. It adds length and volume, and it wears really well, in fact some reviewers refer to it as bulletproof. I retails at around £25 for 2 tubes so it isn't cheap and whilst I probably wouldn't purchase it on it's own I would happily buy it in Mally kits which would make it more economical x

So they were December's empties and since we're starting a new year, it's time to add all my monthly totals together and to see just how many beauty products I managed to finish in 2015

January - 4 Items
February - 6 Items 
March - 4 Items 
April - 10 Items 
May - 4 Items
June - 6 Items
July - 9 Items 
August - 6 Items
September - 6 Items
October - 10 Items
November - 8 Items
December - 5 Items
Total - 78 Items 

Well I finished 78 items in total and whilst that' a lot of stuff when you think about it, I'm 6 items down on last years total so I'm a touch disappointed. Never mind onwards and upwards - I still have way more beauty products than one person needs so Trimming My Stash will be continuing in 2016 with a renewed vigour.

As well as trying to cut down on what I buy (after Christmas and the January sales obviously!) I'm going to be having a good sort through my products, and I'm going to work out what needs using first, and I'm going to sort out all of those half finished products that I'm sick of the sight of, and get them finished.

I'm also going to have a good sort of my make up stash - I don't know whether I'm going to go down the blog sale route but I definitely need to have a good sort and I'm seriously debating doing another Project 10 Pan in 2016 to help me both stop buying make and to help me use some of it up.

A new broom sweeps clean and since 2016 is going to be my year of organisation I'm going to start with beauty products. If you're doing something similar this year let me know, and link me up x

Trimming My Stash October 2015 Edition - Empties, Updates And Mini Reviews

A nip and a punch for the first of the month and welcome to November! It's quite a scary thought but there are only about 8 weeks left of 2015 - argh where has this year gone! My life is passing me by Never mind the start of November means that we're one step closer to my favourite holiday - Christmas! 

I'm trying not to get too excited just yet - there is a lot of water under the bridge between now and then, and I'm just trying to focus on the here and now with my imminent oral surgery (sobs) and a few home renovations. It seems as though we've been changing decor and furniture for nearly all of 2015 and it looks as though it's going to continue to the very last moment, so it's going to be a mad dash to get everything tidy and organised ahead of the big day.

I'm trying to focus on a couple of rooms, my bedroom and my office / craft room and just when I think I've made a dent in my beauty stash I find another box of goodies. I'm doing my best to use things up as quickly as possible but sometimes it seems like such a slow process.

Prada Candy Florale Eau De Toilette -30ml
Collection Limited Edition Mardi Gras Lip Balm - 1 Green Apple
Mal All In One Body Wash Cedarwood And Fig - 150ml
Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipe For Combination Skin x 25 Wipes
Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Wash - Rebalancing Green Tea & Jasmine - 200ml
Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm - 30g
Decleor Systeme Corps Moisturising Body Milk - 75ml
Madara Multi Action Micellar Water - 100ml
Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover - 150ml
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara -001 Black - 7ml
Total - 10 Items

That said in October I did manage to finish 10 beauty products, equalling my best monthly performance of the year. I still have a long way to go to get my stash at an even vaguely manageable level but every little helps, and over the last month I've managed to finish a good variety of products.

1. Prada Candy Florale Eau De Toilette - 30ml

When Prada first started making perfumes, I have to say I was disappointed. Fragrance is such a personal thing and up until this one, nothing appealed. Prada Candy Florale is the most recent additions to the popular Prada Candy line, and whilst it has some of the caramel, candy sweetness of the original, it has something else that made it more me -both fresh and floral notes. I'm useless at describing fragrance but I'm lead to believe that the notes that are appealing to me are peonies and limoncello :) My sense of smell is a little awry at the minute so this is smelling a little strange to me but this is easily in my top 3 fragrances now. I love it and since I have a 50ml bottle and a roller ball to use up, so happily this fragrance is going to remain in my collection for quite some time to come.

2. Collection Limited Edition Mardi Gras Lip Balm - 1 - Green Apple

This pocket money friendly lip balm was originally released as a Limited Edition but it's now being integrated into the permanent collection line, all be it though in different packaging. This is a traditional, twist up, stick style lip balm, with an apple, melon, like fruity taste. It's very moisturising, on the lips, and seems to absorb without being too sticky or tacky. This lip balm comes in a few different flavours and it retails at a very budget friendly £1.99.

3. Mal All In One Body Wash Cedarwood And Fig - 150ml

This was a product that I received in a goodie bag quite a while ago now, at the Newcastle Meet Up At The Mal event (read my post here). The body wash is one of the complimentary products that you will find in your bathroom if your lucky enough to stay in a Malmaison hotel. Sometimes the products that you find in hotel bathrooms aren't up to much but this was decent. A little went a long way and it had a pleasant warming woody, fruity aroma. If you stay in a Malmaison hotel make sure that you take this one home with you x

4. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipe For Combination Skin x 25 Wipes

You must be sick to death of seeing pictures of these on my blog but I really do buy them and use them up. As I've said about 100 times now I don't tend to use wipes on my face so these are really just for emergency or lazy person use but I do use them to freshen up my hands and for cleaning up swatches. They have a light tea tree aroma and of course they have the antibacterial properties that tea brings. I buy these pretty much every time I'm in Primark, and for the price, they are a really useful item to have have in your beauty stash. These wipes retail at just £1 for 2 packs so they are definitely worth a try.

5. Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Wash - Rebalancing Green Tea & Jasmine - 200ml

This was a produce that I was sent for review purposes and you can read my full review here x I really enjoyed using this, I'm a huge lover of shower foams, as they seem to add a bit of indulgence to the pretty basic showering experience. This one had a lovely fresh, slightly floral scent, and it lasted for ages. There are a few different fragrances to try, so your bound to find something that you like.

6. Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm - 30g

This is something that I'm planning to review in the future for you so I'll try and keep this one brief. This is a melting, balm cleanser, that's packed full of essential oils and good skincare ingredients, add a bit of water to it and it transforms to a creamy milk that dissolves the heaviest make up in an instant, leaving the skin soft and hydrated. I like this but I don't love it, but I have a super size which I'll happily use up, and if it came in a kit I would use it again, It's good but I personally prefer the Emma Hardie Moringa Balm.

7. Decleor Systeme Corps Moisturising Body Milk - 75ml

This wasn't the hugest bottle of body lotion but it was something that I found in one of my long forgotten and ignored beauty piles. From French brand Decelor this is described as a body milk but that makes me think of something runny and watering, this has more of a thick, lotion consistency. It has a nice gentle, neutral fragrance, and it leaves the skin, silky soft and hydrates. This isn't the cheapest of products but a little goes along way and I would definitely consider a repurchase, if I didn't already own the worlds body lotion mountain.

8. Madara Multi Action Micellar Water - 100ml

This product was one of my regular My Pure and it was something I only reviewed a couple of months ago (read my review here). After finishing the bottle the same thing still applies, I'm still not sure about the smell, but it does the job and removes make up, and even eye make up, without drying or stinging. My only issue is the size of the bottle and the price, and that's what puts me off making a repurchase.

9. Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover - 150ml

Get the violins ready, the tissues and the sad music! It's not often that finishing a product makes me sad but this one has. The original Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover was my holy grail eye make up remover. I bought bottle after bottle of it, it removed my eye make up in a couple of swipes, and it didn't sting. The new reformulated version however did sting my eyes like crazy so I bought it once and never again. I've found a couple of replacements but this original product still holds a special place in this beauty lovers heart x  You can read a full review of this here x

10. Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara - 001 Black - 7ml

Yeah a make up item! I know mascaras are normally the quickest thing that we finish but I normally have about 3 on the go at once so it can take a while. This was a pretty decent, drugstore brand mascara, I personally found it a bit fluid, and it did have a tendency to gloop and to travel but it made the lashes look long and pretty decent. As well as being a lengthening mascara this one also contains lash conditioners, and claims to help the lashes to grow longer, unfortunately I didn't see any real difference in the length of my lashes in the the long term but this was still an okay mascara but I probably wouldn't repurchase.

I'm pretty pleased with this little last, I tried really hard and it definitely paid off. Another 10 items will be a hard target to reach in November but I'm going to do the best that I can to up my yearly total. I'm aiming for a few hair products, maybe a skincare item, some shower products, and maybe a make up product or two but who knows - Make sure your following my blog to see how I get on and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x

Huge Collective Beauty Haul Featuring QVC, Essence, Chanel And More x

Hey Everyone x Following on from yesterdays Iced Rainbow post I'm back with another haul post and this time it's a pretty huge collective beauty haul. There really is something for everyone in this haul, lots of different things and lots of different price points.

We'll start off with some budgets from one of my favourite brands at the moment, Essence. Over the last few months, I've managed to make a couple of trips to Wilko purely to buy some bits from Essence. I was recently sent a package full of Essence goodies and it only succeeded in whetting my appetite for more.

Although my nails are pretty dreadful at the moment, they had too many pretties to ignore x Reviews and nails of the days to come but I got a few nail art bits including some nail foil and some foil transfer solution. I used to use foils on my nails all the time about 10 years ago and since these bits appear to be being discontinued I stocked up. Foiling is a technique that I love and I can't wait to give it a go again when my nails are a bit longer. As well as the foils I also got a couple of colours - Essence Holo Graphics Effect Nail Polish in 22 I ♥ Magic and Essence Holo Jewels Effect Nail Polish in 12 Bejewelled.

I also picked up one of their Nail Art Designer set. This contains 3 different textured sponges for creating an airbrush effect, and a very thin striping brush.

As well as the nail bits I also got a couple of make up items including the Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder. I love both the Laura Geller Matte Maker and the MAC Prep + Prime clear / white powders but they are both pretty spending so I'm hoping that this similar looking product will be a good substitute. I also picked up one of the new Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascaras in 02 Browny Brows. According to some of the reviews that I've this is supposedly a good dupe for Benefit's Gimme Brow, I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I'll let you know what I think when I do x

Another product that's been talked about and hyped up is Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 063 East End Snob. This has taken a bit of finding but I'm pleased I got it in the end.

I've just been wearing this nude, pink, mauve shade over my entire lips and topping it with a bit of gloss but if anyone can recommend a lipstick that goes well with this shade, then I'd love to know x

Another Avon haul, and another nail polish. If there is a sale supplement in my catalogue that;s always what I read first and I was super happy to see some of their Stardust Nail Enamels. I only a couple of these but I love the demi matte finish which is packed full of sparkle. This one is Polished Plum which is packed full of multi coloured glitter. I'm really disappointed that they've discontinued these but fingers crossed the new Mineral Crush polishes will be similar.

Alongside the nail polish I also bought a perfume from Avon. I know it's hard buying a fragrance that you haven't tried before, but after trying the scratch and sniff panel in the brochure I had to buy this one.

Cherish is the perfume that Avon created in association with Abby Clancy and her mum. It's a bit headier then most perfumes that I own but it includes my favourite scent, Jasmine so it's a winner with me.

Next ebay, and although I've bought quite a bit from ebay lately I've only bought a couple of beauty things x One items arrived just a little bit too late for inclusion in this post but I did get these eyebrow razors in time.

These are a zillion times better than the last ones that I got. They are stupidy, sharp so I have nicked myself a few times but they are amazing for getting rid of all of those fine hairs, and strays that ruin the shape. Unfortunately thanks to ebays layout changes I can no longer find the seller, but these ones should be quite easy to find.

Another budget buy came courtesy of Poundland, I seem to mention this shop in pretty much every post that I write at the moment but I can't help it, they have so much good stuff in at the moment. Operation bye bye bath is still ongoing so as well as trying to use up all my bath products, I'm trying prepare myself for the inevitable, not by buying shower gels, I already have tonnes of those but by buying shower caps - I can't be doing with washing my hair every time I have a shower so I'm going to need plenty of these on standby. This is the Miss Piggy version but I'm definitely going to get the Minnie Mouse one too.

From one off, fun, pocket money friendly items, to a few purchases that I've had to think a little bit harder about. The first product in the higher end section of this haul is something that I've wanted for a long time so it certainly wasn't an on the whim purchase.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 54 Boy is one of those lipsticks that is truly iconic. The name makes reference to Coco Chanel's love affair with Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel, and it's truly one of the nicest lipsticks that I now own.

Although it looks very pink in my product pictures it actually more of a nude shade with just a touch of sparkle. The formula is very hydrating which does effect the wear time slightly but there is no better feeling then opening that black and gold tube, and smelling that traditional rose fragrance. Lipstick heaven in a tube we'll just pretend we didn't see the £24 price tag.

Lipstick, lipstick, how I love thee, I have so many lip products it's insane but on the 3rd March QVC had a special day where all on air items were on 3 easy pay. I just intended to watch a few shows but I got engrossed in a Bare Minerals order, and as if by magic the place order button appeared on my screen. To be fair I've tried a lot of Bare Minerals products but I've never tried any of their lipsticks.

The Bare Minerals Nude Perfection kit comes with 3 Mini Marvelous Moxie Lipsticks, all in varying brown, and nude tones, that can be wore alone are mixed together. As well as in the limited edition kit that I got all of the lipsticks are available as full sized items separately so I'll definitely be adding these to my to review pile x

Something else that I ordered from QVC came from the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty brand. I've watched the presentations a few times mainly to hear the wit of Ms Collins but you can't help but marvel at the glamour and style of her products and packaging. Seeing as I really don't need any more make up I decided to try something else that she offered, the Class Act Lash Growth Treatment. I've used a certain lash growth product in the past with some success (which I also must review for you at some point) but it is a bit price prohibitive so when I saw this one for under £20, I thought I'd give it a go. Obviously I'll give it a through review when I've had a chance to try it but based on first impressions the packaging is gorgeous and really high end so I'm really hoping that the contents matches that. With every purchase from the line you also get a sample pack of her First Base Foundation to try. The little pack contains every colour that they do so you can pick the perfect shade for you x I think that is a fab idea and I think that it's something that all brands should do. Again I'll let you know what I think, in a future sample Saturday post x

My final QVC purchase (for now!) came from the Alpha H range. I love Alpha H and I'm a huge fan of their star product Liquid Gold. This special offer kit came with both a 50ml and a 100ml bottle of Liquid Gold, and a canvas tote bag. I love this stuff but shame about the bag which absolutely stinks to high even and is currently being aired off in the porch.

The last things I have to show you are all magazine freebies, I've spent a little bit of time in hospital waiting rooms over the last month so I've needed something to relieve the boredom. If you're quick you might be able to get your hands on these x  Harpers Bazaar came with a free 15ml tube of Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream, Marie Claire came with a free, full sized, limited edition Nails Inc polish - this is Fiesta, and Glamour came with a free item from Balance Me - I went for the 100ml tube of the Super Moisturising Body Wash.

So that was my pretty huge, and pretty expensive collective beauty haul. I'm going to try and review as much of it as I can but if there is any specific review you would like to see then please let me know x Thanks for reading and I'll see you tomorrow with a review or two xx