Models Own Haul

Models Own recently reached 250,000 likes on their Facebook page and to celebrate, they ran a 50% off sale. Of course, I had to take advantage of that! So, I thought I would show you what I bought, as I do love watching/reading hauls and also love writing them.

I firstly was really surprised at how nice the packaging was! It came in a cardboard box, with a Models Own sleeve. Inside the box, were the nail polishes wrapped in bubble wrap, and then wrapped in some tissue paper. (I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people who gets drawn in by cute packaging!)

When it comes to nail polish, I usually go for pastel and light colours. I find that dark colours really don't suit me, so I kept this in mind when ordering. Models Own had recently come out with a new range of polishes called 'HyperGel' which are described as:

10 brand-new mega-shine shades that are highly pigmented, long-lasting and chip resistant. Enriched with lotus flower oil, the gel-like finish gives the professional shine of a salon manicure.

The colours I went for in the end were Pink Fizz, Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin (both of which are scented), and Utopia. I also picked up Naked Glow, Lilac Sheen and Pink Veneer from the HyperGel collection. I've seen swatches of the HyperGel polishes on other blogs, and they look amazing, so I can't wait to try these out!

I haven't as of yet tried any of these out. But from reviews and from other polishes I own from Models Own, I think that these are going to be great. You can almost definitely bet that there will be swatches and/or NOTD posts in the near future, especially as it comes into Spring.

Did you manage to pick anything up during this sale?

2013 Favourites | Beauty

Today's post is continuing on from my previous post about my favourite products from 2013. This post is covering the beauty spectrum (anything that isn't makeup).

Nail Varnish:

Essie Fiji, Essie Neo Whimsical, Seche Vite Top Coat

Okay, so I couldn't really choose one product for this category. I'm not a big fan of dark shades on me, so I always go for pastel/light colours. 2013 was the year that I finally caved into the hype around Essie's Fiji, and I've got to say, I know why people love it so much! It't the perfect baby pink shade. Essie Neo Whimsical is a muted sort of grey-lilac, which I loved during the Autumn and Winter. And then, 2013 was also the year I brought the highly raved about Seche Vite top coat, and fell in love with how quick it dried my nail varnish! I'm one of those who once they've painted their nails, also find things that need to be done, so this has been a life saver for me!

Perfume:

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

This was without a doubt my go-to perfume. I did use a few different perfumes during the year, but I always seemed to go back to this one. It's a very sweet smelling scent, quite vanilla-y with a hint of musk and sandalwood. The lasting power is quite good aswell.

Haircare:

TRESemme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo, Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight

These were the two stand-out haircare products that I used during the year. The dry shampoo is the best one I've used. As long as you don't go overboard, it doesn't leave the white cast on your hair like a lot of others do, and the smell isn't too offensive. It also leaves your hair feeling and looking more refreshed. The 3-Day straight is what I use to blow-dry my hair, as naturally I have long curly hair, that takes a bit of taming, so this helps to smooth and straighten my hair, and helps keep it straighter that bit longer.

Body:

The Body Shop Peach Vineyard Body Butter

I love the smell of this! It smells so good! Literally like a peach! (Hard to believe, right?!) I love anything peach scented, so fell in love with this. This scent is a limited edition scent that The Body Shop only seem to bring out at summertime, so it may be available for a few months yet. This is a really thick body butter which absorbs into the skin really quickly and leaves it completely moisturised.

Skincare:

Lacura Aqua Complete Moisturiser

This has to be one of my best finds this past year! It is a really good moisturiser. It hydrates my skin really well, leaving it looking and feeling healthy and glowing. It has an SPF of 6, so it's not the best that way, but if you use a foundation or primer with higher SPF, this shouldn't really be a problem. And the best part I find is that it's only £1.99 from ALDI!

Lip Balm:

Balmi Raspberry

I picked this up on a whim, when I was after a new lip balm and saw it was on offer, and I have to say I'm so glad I picked it up! It really helps sooth my dry lips, and keeps them hydrated for a decent amount of time. Plus it smells so good as well, like raspberry ripple ice cream!

Stay tuned for my random favourites from 2013.

End of Uni Haul!

At the end of May/beginning of June, I officially finished university! To celebrate, I, of course, went shopping! Now, just to warn you, this is a big haul, and I didn't get all of this in one go, it was over the course of several weeks. So, to begin with, we'll start with what I got from Boots:

Top Image:

Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Expert Face Brush, Simple Kind to Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Mist x2, Simple Kind to Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Cream, Sinful Colors nail varnish in Mint Apple.

Bottom Image:
No7 Stay Perfect Base Coat, Essie nail varnish in Mint Candy Apple

Next up is Superdrug:

Top and Bottom Right Image:

Essie nail varnish in Fiji, VO5 Shockwaves Curling Mousse, Witch Tinted Moisturiser in 2 Medium, Nivea In-Shower Moisturiser for Normal skin, Collection Cream Puff in Fairy Cake, Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in True Ivory, Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in 2 Pink Shock

Bottom Left Image:

Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light

From House of Fraser I wanted to pick up one of the Ted Baker bow makeup bags.

I ended up choosing the Black bag with light pink bow and rose gold hardware. They had so many gorgeous colours, and it took me ages to choose, but I thought this looked more expensive, and wouldn't get as dirty as say a white one.

I ordered three Essie nail polishes from Fragrance Direct, in Cascade Cool, Neo Whimsical and Bikini-So-Teeny. From Lush I picked up a new Tea Tree Toning Water, a Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly, and a Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb. I've heard great things about the Seche Vite top coat, so when I saw Amazon were selling it for £5.50 (£9.99 in Boots!), I knew I had to pick one up.

Lastly, this is the most exciting purchase I made. I have wanted one of these for so long, since I'd seen MissGlamorazzi and FleurDeForce wearing them. It's a Rebecca Minkoff MAC Daddy bag in the colour Coral.

I love this bag! The colour is very transitional, i.e. it looks good in all seasons, and there's so much room inside. There's even a padded pouch for an iPad! I ordered this off Amazon, and got it for such a good deal! (Coupon codes and student discount rock!) Now, of course this is an expensive item, I know but it was a special purchase/celebration for me.

Well, that's everything. I can't believe I have now finished uni all together! Now to find a job!

NOTD: Cupcake Time!

Just a quick nail of the day. This design was based on a video by missglamorazzi (a YouTube beauty guru) where she did a tutorial on Cupcake Nails. I love the videos by missglamorazzi, as she is so beautiful, and she also makes her videos interesting. I really recommend that you check her out if you haven't already.

Colours used:
Bases:
Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours Nail Polish in Grape Fit
E.L.F. Nail Polish in Fair Pink
Barry M Nail Paint in Lemon Ice Cream
Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green
Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours in Blue Bath
Cupcake details:
White - Sally Hansen French Manicure set in Fair Nude
Red - Max Factor Max Colour Effects Mini Nail Polish in Ruby Tuesday
(Sprinkles are the same colours used as base)

Essie Nail Polish Haul: Swatches

These are the polishes I picked up from Fragrance Direct, in the previous post.

 Above: Essie - Tour De Finance, Essie - Muchi Muchi 

Above: Essie - Brooch The Subject, Esssie - Vanity Fairest 

Above: Essie - Navigate Her, Essie - Power Clutch 

Above: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Dive Deeper

Overall, all of the above nail polishes apply really well, and the colour is reasonably similar to that in the bottle. I can't see them chipping until after a few days, 3-4 at the max. So, yes, I am pleased with this purchase, and if I see anymore colours up for sale at this price, I will buy them! Haha

Disclaimer: I brought these products myself, I am not being paid to make this, all opinions are my own.

£1.99 Essie polishes?! Don't mind if I do!

So, the other day, I was casually strolling through the lovely Fee's blog, Makeup Savvy, and she had written a post about her recent buys from Fragrance Direct. Well, I was really shocked when she said that they were selling Essie Nail Polishes for, wait for it, £1.99!! Usually these nail polishes cost around the £8 mark, so when I saw this, I just couldn't help myself. I may have went a little mad, but I've found with Fragrance Direct, that sometimes, when they sell out of a certain colour, they either don't get it back in for forever, or it never comes back, so this sort of justified my reason for buying so many. Haha ;). Anyway, these are the ones I brought:

Below: Essie - Tour De Finance, Essie - Muchi Muchi, Essie - Brooch The Subject, Essie - Vanity Fairest

Above: Essie - Navigate Her, Essie - Power Clutch, Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Manicure in Dive Deeper

I also picked up a couple of other random things while I was shopping here:

Below: Sally Hansen Dry Kwik nail polish, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent

 Ciate Nail 3D Stickers in Butterflies and Roses

Well, I just thought I'd let you know about this, as it really took me by surprise, plus the colours are still up on their website now, so if like me, you've thought about buying a Essie nail polish, but don't like the idea of spending £8 on a single bottle, this is a great chance to own and try some out at a fraction of the price, go check them out, I'm really glad I did.

Disclaimer: I brought these products myself, I am not being paid to make this

NOTD: Glitter Galore!

Colours used:

Base colour - Miss Sporty in Green Lemon

Top coast - E.L.F. Nail Polish in Twinkle

Flowers - Two pinks out of the Fraulein 38 nail art set

NOTD: Gems and pink!

Colours used:
E.L.F. Nail Polish in Fair Pink
Stripes - Fraulein 38 24 Colours Standard Starter Polish Pen Set
Nail Art Rhinestones