Colour Me In

I have become a bit obsessed with nail varnishes recently. I decided to clear out all of the ones that had gotten to old that they became goopy and difficult to apply.

The result of the clear out means I am left with the below collection:

I'm not really a nail varnish snob - I love trying out all kinds of brands, cheap and pricey. In fact, one of the best brands I've tried, which stays on the longest, is Boots 17 collection. They have such a gorgeous array of colours, and every time I pop into Boots I seem to add to my 17 collection! A lot of the colours are part of their 3 for 2 offer, so for just under £6 you can add 3 new colours to your collection. I couldn't resist their new Candy colours when I went into Boots on Friday, and I treated myself to the below three varnishes.



I especially love the soft green on the right, which is called Mint Choc Chip. I first saw Sarah of Temporary Secretary wearing this colour, and I fell in love with it! I'm definitely going to be trying out the other colours...maybe on my next lunch break!!

Next on my list though is Rainbow Connection by O.P.I. a colour which every blogger seems to be raving about. There are only a few places that stock this covetable colour online, so now that I have finally been paid for January (well, maybe it's Tuesday, I can't remember) I think I'll be ordering it this week. Whoo hoo!

Have you tried any new nail colours recently? Enjoy x

French Martinis and French Manicures Courtesy of Chambord!

Although I am not really a big drinker, I do love a berry flavoured tipple once in a while, and when I do indulge, I love to mix it up with some Chambord, an amazingly tasty black raspberry liqueur that can be combined a hundred different ways to create various yummy cocktails. Chambord also has a strong connection to the fashion industry and often works with various events around fashion week – another reason to take note of this stylish liqueur!

I was therefore excited when I received and invite about an event being hosted by Chambord this week, enticingly called “French Martinis and French Manicures.” The name intrigued me so much that I decided I had to check it out. Very simply, this event is a girly girl’s dream. Chambord is looking to attempt the most French manicures in an hour! A record breaker that every girl would hope to get into the Guinness Book of World Records!

So here is the lowdown on this glamorous record breaking event: Chambord held this event of French martinis and French manicures at London’s swanky Haymarket hotel on Wednesday 23^rd November.

Chambord together with a team of expert beauty therapists attempted to set a record for the most French manicures to be painted in one hour! Phew! After having indulged in a beautiful French manicure, all the ladies who attended the event were to be treated even further to a French martini (or two!) – never had one before, but I can’t wait! It consists of Chambord, vodka and pineapple juice. Sounds amazing! So yesterday my model and blogger friend Tola and I went along to the event to check it out.

First of all, the hotel was amazing. Beautiful, contemporary, luxurious but not pretentious! We were greeted and shown into the room where the manicures were taking place…and it was girly heaven! Two lines of tables with about 20 girls getting French manicures done at a time. We signed up at a table and waited our turn, indulging in the gorgeous canapés and delicious French martinis – made from Chambord – as we waited. 

When it was our turn, we sat side by side and were treated to a French manicure by beauty therapists, who were absolutely lovely too! They used nailgirl products, which I have never used before, but was really happy with the results. Our nails looked neat, polished and very chic! This is my first French manicure – I always opt for colour – and I am really happy with how they look.

The night ended with a second French martini and a gorgeous free Chambord umbrella. It was such a fun night and I hope the Chambord team start working on their next event soon. Here are some snaps of the event. Enjoy x

 

The Chambord Bar Staff

Gorgeous Tola enjoying a French Martini

Let the French Manicure-athon begin!

Lovely Lucie fro Eulogy PR who organised the event

Me and Lucie...Posing of course!

More posing!

Tola getting her nails did!

The result (ignore messed up nail in the middle!!)

A Make-Up Moment...or Two!

I suddenly realised that I don't do enough beauty and make-up posts, so I decided to rectify the situation - after all, I love make-up almost as much as clothes, and love learning about the season's latest trends, and hearing about exciting news in the make-up and beauty world!

So, be prepared for a few beauty related posts over the next few days!

One thing I love discovering is new and very affordable brands, who care about how their product looks, works, the packaging and the affordability. I remember last year when Primark released their own make-up range which looked almost as good as Benefit on the outside, and believe it or not, actually looked really great on too.

I was sent some samples to try out from Tesco's Barbara Daly range (which I have never tried but always wondered about) and from Wilkinson (yes the bargain-ness homeware and hardware store) who have just launched a range called Rebel. The first thing I check is the brands packaging. The Rebel range is colourful, fun and very girly. I was a bit surprised when I was told the range was by Wilkinson, but their PR assured me they’ve done make up and beauty products for a while but this year they have relaunched each different category which are all bench marked against the top brands.

The Rebel range includes some really fun (and ultra affordable pieces). I was sent a lip palette, an eye-shadow palette and some bath fizzes (one of my favourite things in the world). In terms of the whole range, the lip palettes come in really pretty colour combos, pinks and reds, in sweet boxes complete with a lip brush and a mirror - very handy for popping in your handbag., and at £1.50 (yes...£1.50) you can't go wrong really!

Next, a whole lipgloss set containing 5 double ended lipglosses for £3. The colours range from soft pinks to fire engine reds, bronzes and golds to deep berries. Basically, a colour for every mood. The gloss goes on smoothly and only a bit sticky, so much better then I was expecting for the super cheap price tag.

They also do a gorgeous 9 colour eyeshadow set which again holds all the standard colours - grey, black, blue - and also has some zingy colours like pink and yellow. It's not the best colour selection, but it's great for playing around with and having fun with your eye make-up, and again, for £2, what's not to love??

My favourite item from the collection has to be the vanity kit. This cute little kit comes with a sweet clasp and suitcase style handle, and inside is everything from lip glosses, lip and eye brushes, eye pencils, shadows, eye shimmers...and of course a little mirror to make sure your look is perfected. This massive kit is £15, and will make a brilliant present for any make-up loving girl.

The Rebel range will be hitting stores in October, so make sure you grab yourself the whole collection (trust me, everyone can afford it!)

Next up is the Barbara Daly range from Tesco. As I said before, I've never tried her range, but have wondered about it, so I was really pleased to be sent some samples to try. I was sent a gorgeous eye shadow palette, called the Bon-Bon range, which consisted of four colours - metallics and browns - perfect for my dark eyes and pale skin! This little kit is a bargain at £6.75, and the colours go on really well, and only start to crease after a few hours ware. Not bad for that price! 

I was also sent a couple of nail varnishes, one in a vampy dark indigo blue, very AW11, and the second in a beautiful light mink colour - perfect for those days when you don't know which nail colour you feel in the mood for, and very sophisticated too! I dont have images yet, but I will post them as soon as I do. I was also sent a skin primer, which I haven't used before. I know you can use these underneath make-up or alone instead of foundation. I don't normally use foundation, so I was quite keen to try this out, and I was really happy with the results. The primer went on smoothly and felt very light, and just left my skin looking really smooth and seemed to eliminate the shadows under my eyes! Yay!

I was really happy with the Barbara Daly samples that I was sent, and I will definitely be stocking up on her products when I nip into Tesco to do my weekly shop. Incidently, Tesco are also working with ultra fabulous, celeb hairdresser Denise McAdam (who kicked off her career styling Grace Kelly - not a bad name to add to your CV!). Tesco and Denise have created a series of webcasts to teach watchers how to "get the look." I've had a look at a couple of them, and have put a link to one below, which shows you how to make your hair go from work hair to party hair - essential with the holiday season fast approaching!

Enjoy x

Fearne Cotton's Makeup Range Makes a Return for Spring!

It's always exciting when a new make up range is launched, and even more so if it has a hot celeb fronting it! TV and radio presenter, style guru, fashionista and all round cool chick Fearne Cotton has just launched the second edition of her make up range "Fearne" (original no?) The first launch was at Christmas, which proved so popular, that a new edition each season was called for.

I was sent a selection of pieces from the new collection to review, and I have to say, I was very impressed. Super cute and girly packaging with quotes and sweet designs and fun and quirky colourways for face, eyes, lips and nails. I was sent two gorgeous nail polishes - a super bright coral (which I am wearing as I type) and a beautiful lilac (my new favourite colour), a chunky silver/blue eyeliner, a well put together eyeshadow palette, a lip set containing a lip pencil, lip gloss and lipstick, all in plummy pink shades and finally an eye shimmer.

The nail varnishes (£5.50) are fab - really bright, summery and fun - just want you want for a spring time manicure fix. the brushes glide onto the nails very easily and just a couple of coats suffice. I managed to keep my nails looking perfect for about three days before they started chipping, which isn't bad considering I was prepping for a photoshoot and doing a lot of packing and unpacking, so if you're careful, they would probably last a bit longer!

The eyeliner (£5) was my least favourite product, but that's more because I'm not a fan of silvery eye products (I prefer richer, earthier tones). It glided on well, but creased up as the day went on. However, I was able to apply my liquid eyeliner over the top, so that was a plus. I think I would use this again, but I would opt for a one of the other shades.

The eyeshadow palette (£12) is gorgeous. Loads of colour options which blend really well together and no shortage of combinations - and the palette comes complete with a mirror, and is really slim, so perfect for slipping into your handbag for a night out, or taking it away with you on holiday as a space saver.

The lip set (£10) is also a great little product, a small lip pencil lets you define your lips, a matching lipstick lets you fill them in and the gloss gives them a great shine. The colour I was sent wasn't my favourite - there is a darker plum shade which is more me - but this makes a great present.

Finally, the eye shimmer (£5) is a little pot of shimmer, which is perfect for applying on your eyes alone or over an eyeshadow to make it a bit more special. I have also dusted it onto my cheekbones to highlight them slightly. Of course, this works better if you have a more natural colour shimmer!

Over all, I was really impressed with Fearne's range. It's fun, colourful and has really reasonable price points, ranging from £5 - £12. The range has just launched in Boots, so why not nip out to your local store and grab yourself a little of Fearne's quirky beauty. Enjoy x

I heart Mad Beauty

Don’t you just love it when you make an amazing new discovery? A lovely PR sent me some gorgeous bits from Mad Beauty, and I’m not ashamed to say I actually squealed when I opened the package. For those unaware of Mad Beauty, it’s a great website where you can pick up all your beauty essentials, from make up and nail varnish to cosmetic bags and skin care products.

They have the usual make up, skin care and accessories section, but what really makes this website really stand out is their gift section, which is just brimming with goodies perfect for Chrismukah – also great if you want to pick a little something special for yourself!

Who could resist these fab little products – lip gloss in a sparkly stiletto container, lip gloss disguised as a cocktail shaker or a wrapped up present, or how about a jam jar of strawberry jam scented body wash, complete with toast shaped sponge? Genius and irresistible if you are as big of a make-up hoarder as me!

I will post some photos of the goodies I’ve been sent, but my cameras playing silly bugger at the moment. In the meantime, I’ve put a selection of images from the website below. Get onto the website now and get some amazing pressies for your friend, sister, mum, grandma or yourself! Enjoy x

Available to buy from http://www.madbeauty.com/

Cocktail Lipbalms £2.99

MAD's Lip-o-cino lipgloss £5.99

Present for the Lips lipgloss £3.99

MAD Toast and Jam Strawberry Body Wash and Sponge £6.99

MAD's Boot-iful lips lipgloss £2.99

Glitter Stilippo lipgloss £4.99