Nails Of The Day - OPI Coalmates - Holiday 2017

So my nails aren't any longer than they were just over a week but I've got another dark colour to show so in my opinion the length doesn't really matter.

Coalmates is another shade from OPI's 2017 Holiday Collection, Love OPI XOXO. and whilst at first glance the colour in the bottle might appear to be dark and un-festive, in reality it's anything but.

Again none of my photographs will ever do this polish justice so do yourself a favour and pick this one up before it's gone for good.

OPI Coalmates is a beautiful metallic, deep charcoal grey, with is crammed full of multi coloured sparkle, in certain lights it looks almost black, and in others it's almost a silver, pewter shade. It's looking a touch blue these pics but I think the camera is just picking up on all of that fabulous blue sparkle.

Application was a breeze, the first coat was a touch streaky but two coats was enough to achieve full on, glossy, sparkly, smooth perfection.The wear time was also excellent and I managed a good 4 days without a top coat, and because it's just sparkle and not glitter it was also pretty easy to remove.

I know dark polishes aren't for everyone but even if you don't like them, you definitely need a shade like Coalmates in your life. I honestly can't fault it, compared to Feel The Chemistree (read my review here) the application was easy peasy and the colour is truly beautiful. The dark metallic, charcoal, pewter shade, looks incredibly sophisticated on the nails, and the subtle multi coloured sparkle adds just hint of holiday magic. For me this polish is pretty unique I've been wracking my brains to see if I own anything similar and I can honestly say that I don't think I do. I do have a couple of previous charcoal, and black shades from previous OPI Holiday Collections but I don't think any of them have both the metallic and the multi coloured sparkles. I'm definitely going to have a root through my epic nail polish collection and see if I can come up with anything but I'd love to know if you've got a similar colour in your nail polish collection or if you've seen anything similar on the high street - Let me know if you have x

Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland 2017 Advent Calendar - Part 1 - Days 1 - 12

I don't know why it is, but at this time of year I always tend to look back at Christmas's past. Christmas has changed so much since I was child, but so many things have stayed constant and one of those is the excitement of opening the doors of an advent calendar and counting down the days until Christmas.

Advent calendars have came a long way since I was a child, my earliest memories of advent calendars were those traditional cardboard calendars, which my mam usually bought from the local newsagent, that were sprinkled with glitter and had a festive image behind each door. I know you can still get them and personally despite their simplicity I loved them, but I just don't think that a lot of today's children would be too happy to get just a little picture in their advent calendar! Things have changed and in a big way!

Being a chocoholic though the introduction of chocolate advent calendars were a big thing for me, - I mean what could honestly be better than eating chocolate for breakfast! erm not much in my opinion, and even at my age both myself and Mummy Lou, always count down to the big day with a chocolate advent calendar or two. Over the last few years or so though I've jumped onto a relatively new bandwagon and I've added a beauty advent calendar to my festive traditions.

Nowadays there seems to be a new breed of advent calendar, the luxury calendar which is almost like an early gift in it's own right. No longer content with just a piece of chocolate, you can now get advent calendars geared towards both children and adults containing everything from beer, to gin, to cheese, to nail polish and LEGO, and this year I've even seen one which contains shall we say, slightly more adult themed toys. What will they think of next? I think it's been well documented that some of these advent and 12 days of Christmas calendars are just plain rip offs but some of them do offer genuine value for money and are well worth picking up,

In the last two years I was lucky enough to get my hands on the M&S Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar, and whilst this years little house themed version looked amazing and is probably their best one to date I decided to try something different. As I say advent calendars have become more like presents in their own right, and my lovely mummy kindly offered to buy me a calendar as part of my Christmas present I was pretty much spoilt for choice. My initial aim was to get the QVC UK TILI Advent Calendar but it sold it in seconds creating all manner of problems for QVC's poor social media team, so instead I went for the Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland Advent Calendar.

This calendar retailed at £79, and whilst it certainly wasn't the cheapest one on the market, it certainly wasn't the most expensive of this years offerings either. I have to be honest and say that this is one of the prettiest and most useful calendars that I've seen.

Although the calendar contains images of deer and fir trees it isn't obviously Christmas themed, instead it features a beautifully illustrated fairy tale theme.

The fact that it doesn't scream Christmas means that this calendar can definitely serve a dual purpose. Made of a good quality thick card, this calendar is basically a mini chest of drawers, which will be perfect for storing make up or beauty products, or even crafting supplies, knick knacks or jewellery.

Open the midnight blue decorated, magnetic fastening doors and the surprises just keep on coming. The top section which is empty features a flip top lid, with ribbon hinges and a large mirror. Underneath that are 4 good sized sturdy drawers with white grosgrain ribbon pulls.

The drawers contain 25 numbered, removable boxes, to help you countdown the days until Christmas day. Inside the boxes you gift of the day comes beautifully wrapped in tissue paper which is covered in drawings of beauty products and wording in keeping with the Alice In Wonderland theme such as Love Me, Swatch Me, Apply Me, Use Me, Spritz Me, Lather Me and Smell Me. Every aspect of this calendar has been so well thought out, it would have been so easy to just wrap the products in plain tissue but Look Fantastic really have put a lot of thought into this calendar, and every aspect of it just works and adds to the appeal and the excitement, honestly it really is beautiful and my not the best winter light photos just don't fo it justice!

Okay it looks beautiful, and it's reusable but what's the contents like? Well, it been hard to resist opening all of the boxes at once but I've been good and I'm sticking to my days and my calendar and I'm only opening one box a day. I know I've posting pictures of the contents on Instagram but I thought I'd share the contents with you as well - so this is what the Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland Advent Calendar contained on days 1-12

Day 1 - Illamasqua Lava Lipstick - Vixen - 3.6g - Full Size

This first item was a beauty and it was a full 3.6g Lava Lipstick from Illamasqua in the exclusive to this calendar shade, Vixen.

These lipsticks were a limited edition anyways but this colour is an exclusive and it's a beauty I'm not really a red lipstick wearer but at the time of year nothing screams Christmas like a red lippy.

This one isn't a scary red though, there is a bit of white in the marble effect which definitely tones it down a bit, it was creamy and easy to apply and it wore well.

The RRP of the other Lava Lipsticks was around £20 so value wise, this was an excellent start.

Day 2 - Ciate Fierce Flicks Precision Tip Liquid Liner - Black - 1.7ml - Full Size

Day 2 was another make up item, and another full size make up item at that. This felt tip style liquid liner from Ciate retails at around £15. I struggle like hell with liquid liners but I'm going to persevere with this one, it's pretty fine, and it's a proper deep, black.

Day 3 - Grow Gorgeous Scalp Detox Exfoliating Pre-Wash Treatment - 50ml

I know some of you will probably be thinking what is this girl on, but I'm slightly obsessed with hair products, I love trying new things and new brands. Grow Gorgeous is a new brand to me and this slightly grainy treatment is designed to clarify the hair and remove product build up. It contains a combination of white willow, pomegranate fruit enzyme and Castor oil beads. The brand is cruelty free and vegan and the products are paraben and sulphate free. I'll definitely be trying this out soon so look out it in a future empties post. The full size of this product is 190ml which retails at £28 and whilst this is just a travel size it's perfect for holidays and for trying out a new product and a new brand.

Day 4 - First Aid Beauty - FAB - Ultra Repair Cream  - 56.7g

This cream has a bit of cult reputation as a skin saviour. Containing oatmeal, shea butter, ceramides and eucalyptus, this cream is designed specifically for dry, chapped, itchy, and flaky skin. You can use it from head to toe and it's approved for use on skin condition such as eczema and psoriasis. I've been using this on my hands and believe me it is good! Allergy tested with no added parabens, fragrance or colour, this thick white, slightly eucalyptus scented cream absorbs quickly and makes an almost immediate difference. This 56.7g tube retails at around £10 and it's well worth that as a little bit really does go a long way.

Day 5 - Balance Me Flash Cleanse Micellar Water - 30ml 

I've acquired a couple of these little bottles in the past few months, but as yet I haven't managed to try any of them. I'm a bit of a fan of micellar waters though so I definitely need to give this a go. Containing mandarin essential oil, and pea protein, this liquid is suitable for all skin types, and you can even use it around the eyes. This is a little bottle but it's perfect for travel and for trying out a new product without too much of a risk.

Day 6  - This Works In Transit Camera Close Up -15ml

This is something else that I've got a few of now and again it's something that I haven't managed to try yet but I do love multi use products so again I need to get this used. Victoria Beckham is supposedly a fan of this mask, moisturiser and primer in one, which supposedly hydrates, brightens and evens out the skin.

Day 7 - James Read Gradual Tan H2O Illuminating Tan Mist Body - 30ml

Glitter! Where would we be at Christmas with out a bit of glitter or at least a bit of shimmer. This isn't a body glitter though this is actually a gradual tanning mist from tanning guru to the stars James Read. Containing rose water, hyaluronic acid, and caffeine, this is a clear gradual tan spray that contains subtle gold sparkle which is perfect for the party season and for getting rid of that white / blue leg look. I haven't tried any of James' products before  but this is something that I'll definitely be trying out over the next few weeks. I think that this is quite a new product, so it's great to have it in the calendar

Day 8 - Redken No Blow Dry Airy Styling Cream For Fine Hair - 30ml

Another hair care product and this time something from top salon brand REDKEN. I've never heard about this product before but as someone who more often than not, leaves their hair to dry naturally this little tube could be a godsend. Basically the cream / gel inside this tube is designed to make your hair dry more quickly, naturally, and it' supposedly makes your hair easier to style without heat. I've been prepping my hair for a salon visit tomorrow but once I'm done and dusted I'll definitely be giving this a go next time that I wash my hair.

Day 9 Bellapierre Banana Setting Powder - 4g - Full Size

I know some people hate face powder but I'm not one of them - I love it, my oily skin needs all of the help that I can get and nothing gets rid of that shine quicker than a dusting of face powder. This full size loose powder from mineral make up company Bellapierre is a yellow toned powder, so it doesn't just help you keep your make up in place, it can also act as a colour corrector and help get rid of and tone down redness and discolouration. My skin is prone to a bit of redness and I can't wait to see if this makes a difference. This powder is a full size and retails at around £25 / $35

Day 10 - Oskia London Renaissance Mask - 10ml 

I've got to be honest and say that I'd never heard of this brand before but after finding out about the ingredients and what this mask does I can't wait to try it. OSKIA are a British brand, and this gel like mask which is suitable for all skin types contains a mixture of papaya and fruit enzymes which aims to increase radiance, even out the skin tone and minimise the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles. The full 50ml size retails at £51 so this is easily a £9 or £10 product.

Day 11 - Molton Brown Gingerlily Body Wash - 100ml  

I've used Molton Brown for a long time now, and I remember using this under it's previous incarnation Heavenly Gingerlily. This is one of their longest standing and most popular products, and it's easy to see why. Exquisitely blended with ingredients from around the world this has a slightly unisex scent to me with just a hint of floral. It contains ginger, tuberose, cedar wood and lily, and whether you use it in the bath or the shower a little goes a long way. Although Molton Brown do a larger size, this generous travel size retails at £10.

Day 12 - Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet - 15ml

Although I've tried a few Caudalie products over the years I can honestly say that I've never gone out and bought one specifically or used any of their products for any real period of time, and to be honest I don't know why that is. They are a French brand that base a lot of their products on grapes and grape extracts hence the name Vinosource. This cream gel based moisturiser is perfect for sensitive skin, and with regular use it can help to soothe, strengthen and hydrate the skin, and it can also help to reduce redness. I tried a little bit on day 12 and I was really impressed, I don't like thick and gloopy moisturisers and thanks to the lightweight texture this one absorbed into my skin really quickly and it left it feeling really smooth. The full 40ml size retails at £23. 

Well what can I say so far so good, you've got a good mix of make up items, skincare, hair care and body products, with a couple of high value products and a couple of decent value and sized products. Couple that with the aesthetically pleasing look of the calendar, and for me it's definitely worth the money so far and I'm certainly looking forward to opening the remaining doors. I'd love to know your thoughts on this calendar, and advent calendars in general, did you get an interesting one this year? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to keep an eye on my Instagram for some sneak peeks of what you can expect to see in part 2, which I'm hoping to post on Christmas Eve - eek! x

Benefit Cheek Parade Beauty And The Beat Blush Kit And Some Cheeky Gift Ideas

I've never made any secret of the fact that Benefit Cosmetics are one of my favourite make up brands. I know some people are put off by their fun and quirky persona but take my advice and if that's not your thing, get past that and see what lies beneath the cartoons and the colour.

I've lost count of how many Benefit products that I've tried over the years, but something that I always keep coming back to are their boxed blushers and bronzers. From long discontinued blushers like Georgia and Thrrob, to newer kids on the block like Rockateur, and Dandelion, it's pretty much always been love at first swipe.

Why do I like them so much? well not only do they come in a wide variety of colours to suit all skin tones, but they also smell amazing and those little boxes seem to go on forever and ever. I love them but they aren't always the easiest things to store - don't get me wrong I love the design of those cute chubby boxes even more so now that they've included a mirror in the lid, but they are a bit chunky and if you want every single one that they do they can take up a bit of room.

Obviously you could depot them and stick them into a magnetic palette but if messing around with flat irons and magnetics isn't really your bag then there are other options. Knowing the popularity of their boxed blushers and bronzers Benefit sometimes release handy palettes contain several different shades so you can increase your cheek colour collection in one go, and this time of year is the perfect time to get your hands on some Benefit cheeky loveliness.

As per usual Benefit have gone all out for Christmas, and you can currently get your hands on a couple of cheek themed gift sets and palettes include the Benefit Cheeky Stowaways Make Up Gift Set, which contains a palette with a mini Hoola, Coralista, Rockateur and Dandelion, and mini mascara and eyeliner which retails at around £31.50 and if you're more into bronzing, highlighting and contouring then you can also get your hands on The Complexionista Face Palette for around £26.50 which contains two shades of their famous Boi-ing concealer, as well as Hoola and Hoola Lite bronzing powders, Watts Up cream highlighter, and Dandelion Twinkle powder luminiser.

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Kits like those are great for travel or if you want to try some new shades or even try out Benefit for the first time, but none of the products in these kits are full size, and as much I love my minis sometimes I want a little bit more for my money.

The Benefit Cheek Parade Beauty And The Beat Kit came out in the Spring of this year, and I'm not going to lie, it's pretty hard (although not impossible! ) to get your hands on now, if you can find it though it's well worth picking up and I'm sure it would make any make up junkies day if they were to find this under their Christmas tree in just less that a fortnights time!

Even if you can't find it though, you can still buy ever colour in this palette individually in their own cute little boxes, but to be fair if you can find this kit why would you buy them separately?

The value of this kit in its simplest terms is insane, and that's probably why it doesn't seem to be a permanent item. This kit contains 5 FULL SIZE Benefit cheek colours, which when bought individually would retail at around £122.50 (that's around £24.50 each!) compared to the retail price of this kit which is just £49.50.

So what are you getting for your money and where's the catch? Well in it's simplest terms there doesn't seem to be a catch. The brightly coloured solid cardboard palette features a magnetic fastening, a tips and tricks leaflet, and a good sized mirror, you also get a full size version of Benefits famous square box cheek colour brushe.

In the palette your getting a nice combination of amazingly fruity scented (odd but true) blushers and bronzers, old favourites, and new products, to try. On the top row you have Hoola, Galifornia, and Rockateur, and underneath you have Hoola Lite and Dandelion

I've spoken many times about my love of Hoola bronzer but I think it may have been overtaken in the bronzer love stakes by it's paler cousin. You can read all about my love of the original Hoola here and here, but in summary despite being a pink toned pale person, it just works for me, it isn't muddy, it isn't orange, and it isn't sparkly, it's just gives me a bit more colour, and my face a bit more of a shape. I'm not gonna lie though, in the winter months, I can only wear it, by being super light handed and by blending it in really well, I guess that's why Hoola Lite has become my new best friend.

You can see the difference between the two products from the swatch above, if you're pale and you thought that bronzer and contouring was a no, no, then try Hoola Lite! Obviously it's lighter, it isn't as warm, and it's perfect for giving my face just a hint of warmth, and for doing that invisible contouring thing that just makes your face just look better. It isn't that obvious from the pictures below just how well this works on my skin tone, but I can assure that it really does make a difference and since this was pretty much a tan free year for me, I've been using this an awful lot just to get rid of that blue, grey, ill look that I can often get to my skin.

Hoola Lite isn't the only newish product in this kit, it also gave me the opportunity to try Galifornia. Released in the UK this year just in time for the spring and summer season, Galifornia is the perfect summer colour. It's a lovely mix of peach, gold, pink and coral, alas the golden sunburst is an over spray but it's still beautiful even without the extra golden hit. Again my picture isn't doing this justice at all but hopefully you can see even just a hint of the peachy, golden pink.

Alongside the Hoola cousins, and Galifornia, you also have two mainstays in Benefits boxed blush collection, the beautiful brightening pale pink of Dandelion

and the pink, nude, rose gold tones of one of the best selling blushers currently in the UK, Rockateur.

Although you can't see them too well on my face, the pigmentation in all of cheek colours is spot on. They are smooth and almost creamy and velvety to the touch and they apply and blend like a dream. Sometimes you get the impression with some palettes that the contents is slightly compromised to make it better but not in this palette, the quality and shades seem to me to be identical to the individually packed products.

I was lucky enough to get this palette for my birthday way back in May and although I've just got around to talking about now it has been one of my go to's. Yes I know I'm one of those people who likes to switch up a bit but for some reason I've just kept coming back to this palette. Maybe it's the convenience of having everything in one place, or maybe it's down to the wearability of all of the shades, I'm not really sure but one thing that I am sure of is just how pleased I am to have this palette in my collection.

As I say it isn't going to be the easiest thing to track down now but have a little search online and you may just find somewhere that has the odd one or two left. This would make a great gift for yourself or for someone else but even if you aren't lucky enough to find it, hopefully this post has given you a few ideas of some other Benefit gift sets or even boxed cheek colours that you could buy for presents or to treat yourself. Do you have a favourite Benefit boxed cheek colour? Let me know x

OPI Holiday 2017 - Nails Of The Day - Feel The Chemis-tree

Well I hope you're all warm and cosy on this December evening, unlike a lot of the UK we haven't got any snow but it's been stuck in the minuses all day and it's freezing! I don't know whether it's down the plummeting temperatures, the fact that the central heating is ramped up to the max or my own failing body but my nails are (to put it mildly!) crap at the moment! They are so dry and brittle and they're refusing to grow - grrr!

Never mind, some nail polishes do actually look better on a shorter nail, or at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself anyways. No but seriously, darker shades can look very sophisticated on  shorter nail, and a case in point is this shade from OPI's 2017 Holiday Collection - XOXO.

Excuse the not so good paint job and the short not so chic, chubby nails and try to imagine what this beautiful shade looks like on nicer nails.

Feel The Chemis-tree is a gorgeous metallic plum, purple that is shot through with gold or is copper? shimmer. It's not quite as bright as it looks here, it's a lot more plummy in the flesh, and although the shimmer is visible in certain lights, it isn't that noticeable in the majority of my pictures or in real life.

As I say this isn't the neatest manicure that I've ever done, and that's not only down to my short, chubby nails tips. For some reason I really struggled to paint this polish neatly, it was quite gloopy but at the same time it was quite runny! It took two coats to achieve this level of colour and shine. It did take a little while to dry as well which in my experience is quite unusual for an OPI lacquer.

Something else that was unusual was the relatively short wear time, I got my first chip within 24 hours :( The one plus with that is that it was pretty easy to remove. Since the shimmer element is so fine you don't ending fighting with a ton of glitter on your nails

I know my pictures don't do this polish any justice at all but I can assure you that it is beautiful in the flesh, even more so when you catch it in the right light and see the shimmer. The colour is beautiful but for me and unusually for OPI the formula just didn't cut it. I'm really hoping that my experience is just a one off and more down to my own shoddy nails and painting skills, than the polish itself. If you've tried this colour I'd love to know your thoughts, so let me know your experiences in the comments. OPI Feel The Chemis-tree is a limited edition polish and retails at around £12.95 for a 15ml bottle. To be honest though I very rarely pay full price for my OPI colours so I would definitely advise that you shop around a bit as you can usually save a little bit on the RRP if your prepared to hunt around x