It feels like a fair old while since I’ve actually written anything beauty related on my blog, however I am starting to get quite a collection for the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnishes! I am totally loving bright and bold colours and, although I must have about a billion nail varnishes kicking around my house, Superdrug are really naughty in leaving their nail varnishes at the till for me to scoop up at the last minute. Which was the case for two of these beauties.

As the name suggests, Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish provides an extra glossy finish. I really love how reflective it is, but I completely recognise that it’s probably not to everyone’s taste! I’ve held onto Greenberry and Pomegranate for a while now and these were the nail varnishes I loved when I was holidaying in Antigua, back in March. Greenberry is still on my feet and is becoming my favourite toe-nail varnish. Pomegranate reminds me a lot of another Barry M favourite I have, which is Raspberry. I bought Dragon Fruit and Papaya at the weekend and totally love how subtly bright they are. They look like pastels, but with the shine, it really adds something a little extra and Papaya is bang on trend, being slightly neon.

Greenberry is amazing for quick opaqueness in just one coat, and the others need two or more, definitely. The staying power is pretty awesome, lasting for a whole week when I was away and they all dry fairly quickly for a speedy manicure.

Have you tried Barry M’s Gelly Hi-Shine varnishes yet? What’s your favourite spring/summer shade?

Good afternoon, my beauties! Can you believe it’s going to be MARCH this weekend?! It totally feels like this year is flying by already!

With March hot on our tails, it’s time to get out those brighter colours. And the other month, Look Beauty had a free postage and packaging offer and, seeing as there isn’t a Look Beauty near me, I asked for the advice from the lovely Lisa at BrunetteBeautyBanter, who is always raving about Look Beauty products and she recommended Double Hit Lips, so I popped them into my basket!

I scooped up two shades in Pink Punch (shade 3), which is a bright neon pink and in Rose Riot (shade 5), which is a orangey, corally shade. Double Hit Lip is a lipstick at one end with a lipgloss at the other. The lipstick doesn’t appear to have much fragrance, but the lipgloss smells incredibly yummy and vanilla. Noms.

The lipstick for me feels quite drying, but I think that’s more because my lips are generally dryer in the winter and I’m constantly reapplying lippy as a result. I would say the longevity is increased when you use the lipgloss over the top, but you can definitely use them as individuals if its better for you. I really love the packaging, the ease of having both matching lipstick and lipgloss in one tube and that’s probably the biggest seller for me. The colours are definitely a massive ‘pop’ to any outfit and I love how Pink Punch definitely makes my face seem a whole bunch more interesting than just a normal nude lip. I definitely will purchase in other shades when I’m off of my spending ban! Look Beauty Double Hit Lips are £8.00 each and currently available at half price on the Look Beauty website >here<

Have you tried Look Beauty products? Or do you have the problem of counter less drugstores in your area?!

Soap and Glory, ‘You Won’t Believe Your Eyes’ Illuminating Under Eye Serum, £10.50 from Boots >available here<

Ozzy has been sick a lot recently. Last month, he had an operation on his eye and last week, he had kennel cough that he’d picked up from absolutely anywhere and it made me feel like a terrible owner, even though he can pick it up from a walk or from doggy day care or from anywhere else he has been! It sounded like he had something lodged in his throat and he was coughing to the point of throwing up and keeping us up all night! My eyes have suffered because of it, so I trundled down to Boots to pick up some exfoliator and, when I saw Soap & Glory products were on special offer, I decided to give their ‘You Won’t Believe Your Eyes’ moisture serum a go as well.

I don’t really use Soap & Glory products. There’s no reason why I don’t; I’ve just always found other alternatives that I have been in love with for years and have just kept with those. I have been using The Body Shop gel for eyes, but it doesn’t really do anything to my delicate eye skin. It’s just absorbed and I don’t think anything else of it.

YWBYE uses Live Yeast Cell Derivative which is posh for ‘the stuff that you find in haemorrhoid cream that people with baggy eyes have been using for years and years’, which lifts your eyes and depuffifies them, making you look almost human again. YWBYE includes moisturiser and anti-wrinkly bits for good measure as well.

The applicator is like a little roll on with three rollerballs, that you roll on your lower eyelid, from the inside out and I’ve been dabbing it dry and then chucking concealer over the top. The product is white, but turns to clear on application and is fragrance-free. I have to admit, this has been my saviour over the past week! I can feel the tightening under my eyes as soon as I’ve applied it and I’m sure it’s been brightening the underneath bits as well – just not brightening enough that I feel confident to leave it at that without the concealer.

I will definitely be repurchasing this product – although I don’t think that will be for a fair while, as you don’t need to use too much product each time.

Have you tried Soap & Glory products? Which would you recommend? What other eye products do you use?

I know, I know, I’m on my spending ban. But I have just been to lunch with a friend and I needed to pick up my Blue Corn exfoliator from The Body Shop for this evening, but The Body Shop was shut, so I had to make do with Boots!

Firstly, I picked up some Boots cotton pads. I prefer the Boots or Superdrug cotton pads, compared to the ones from supermarkets, as they’re a lot softer on my skin. They’re usually on some sort of deal, so I always pick up two

I picked up some of my favourite Garnier eye make up remover. I found this is the best one for me; the camomile ones for sensitive eyes still sting around the corners of my eyes and I don’t actually have any reaction to this one at all!

Lastly, I picked up some Soap & Glory bits to replace my exfoliator for this evening. I picked up Face Soap and Clarity which is a daily face wash; I have to admit, I thought this was exfoliator… But it smells nice and will make a change from my boring cleanser that doesn’t appear to be doing much to my face at the minute. In substitute for the masking effect of my usual, I picked up The Fab Pore, which is a facial peel, helping tighten pores and smooth the skin. I’m planning on using this for my Sunday night pamper sesh. As the Soap & Glory range is on three for two at the moment (cue: run to your nearest Boots!), I also picked up You Won’t Believe Your Eyes, to reduce the puffiness of not enough sleep. I’ve never really got into Soap & Glory before, but I’ve heard good things, so I’m looking forward to trying them out and I’ll let you know how I get on in due course

Have you splurged recently?

Don’t you just love it when your Mum goes through her make up and gives all the stuff that she doesn’t want and leaves it in your hallway in a little Boots carrier bag? No? Just me then?

I was super excited to come home the other day and find that Mum had left me some presents in my hallway – mainly because I’m on my spending ban until the beginning of March (>link here<) and I’ve started getting withdrawal symptoms!

Turns out Mum is a massive MAC eyeshadow fan and I was super thrilled to have these in my collection. Luckily I don’t have them already! So from left to right, we have Omega, Espresso, Vex, Contrast and Knight Divine. I would say I’m really excited to play around with Vex, which is a frost finish and looks really pearly. Omega and Espresso are matte,  neutral shades; I’m going through a real neutral phase with my make up at the mo, so I guess I’m going to get quite a bit of use out of them! Contrast is of a velvet finish and I’ve actually used this eyeshadow before when I very first started getting into make up and wanted my eyes to look bluer Knight Divine is ‘veluxe pearl’ (I’m not sure what this means yet, but I’m guessing is  blendable) metallic grey shade, which I would probably use on a night out.

Next up, Mum has given me two Bobbi Brown lip glosses. I’m going through a bold lip phase at the moment, rather than glosses, but I’m sure I’ll get my use out of these. I’m worried that Rose Sugar 3 is a little bit too orange for my skin tone, but I’m sure if I put it over the top of another colour, it’ll look fine. I haven’t tried Bobbi Brown lip glosses before, so I’ll let you know how I get on

Lastly, Mum gave me these limited edition MAC lipstick and lipgloss in I Love Winter and Deelight. I got these for Christmas from my brother in 2011, so Mum obviously bought herself them as well She also gave me the lip pencil in Pink Treat, which looks very similar to these colours so I can probably get away with using them all at the same time

Hooray for Mums and beauty junkie daughters! Have you inherited any make up from your Mum recently?

Right now, I’m trying to grow my hair. Like really grow my hair. It’s never been past my shoulders but I’m all for trying new things, be it styles, colours or lengths and I’m just quite intrigued to see how far it grows. There are a few things I’ve learned whilst trying to grow my hair. Things such as hair grows quicker when you are nicer to it in terms of ‘stop dying it, Franno!’ and using nicer products on it so, when I was offered the opportunity to try Twisted Sista hair products*, I jumped at the chance.

Twisted Sista is a UK-based brand that caters for all  hair types from straight to curly and was formulated in conjunction with hair are professionals at a London based salon to deliver quick, easy to use, high performance products that care for and protect the hair. Originally formulated to control frizz, the brand has evolved by introducing twisted fix which promotes hair health and strength – amazing, because I have wavy hair that I have damaged (due to my experiments with hair dye!) and am always straightening, so when I do have a non-styled day, my hair goes all sorts of insane frizz. Each product is free from sulphates, parabens, phalates and mineral oil to maintain healthy condition. This is massively appealing to me because, although I haven’t had a proper flare up in a while, I do have an eczema-prone scalp, so I try to avoid as many chemicals as I can to not aggravate it! A few years ago, Twisted Sista was aimed primarily to ladies and gentlemen with afro-type hair, however it seems like they are trying to expand their market. My hair is not very coarse and it is quite fine, but there is just a lot of it; I therefore cannot comment about what the products may do for your hair

I received this samples before Christmas so this review is slightly overdue, but wanted to try these out properly before giving a full on review. I haven’t tried the straightening blow dry cream I received or the hot curls perfector, as I don’t use heat to curl my hair and most of the time, I don’t have the time to blow dry my hair either

 First of all, I tried Twisted Sista’s leave in conditioner. I have been applying this massively to my hair after every wash, whilst it’s still damp. The scent is extremely fruity; it sort of reminds me of the Baptiste dry shampoo in that it’s fruity but very powdery. The first time I tried it, I noticed my hair got kinda huuuuuuge, because I decided to let it all dry naturally. I’m sure, if I’d bothered to straighten it, it would’ve made a much better impact on my first impression. I would say it left my hair ridiculously soft and my boyfriend commented upon how well it cleared up whatever eczema flakes I actually had in my hair. Massive plus for me.

Next, I decided to try the straightening thermal perfector, as I do straighten my hair quite frequently. The scent of this one was so in your face, it made me choke when I first sprayed it, but this didn’t stick around on my hair, so it was quite a nice product to use for the end result. I also noticed that my hair actually stayed straighter for longer when using this product, which I only used to spritze when it was damp, rather than apply section by section. I was pleasantly surprised and I have been reaching for this a whole bunch more than I thought I would’ve with the empowering smell.

The last product I tried was the curl activator. I have naturally wavy hair, so usually, I can get away with just chucking in a load of mousse and scrunching it up until I’m surrounded by quite tight ringlets and I had the same expectations for this. I had to use quite a lot of product in my hair; I don’t know if it was because my hair is quite thick as well but, whereas the layered parts of my hair around my face were super curly, I found that the back of my head wasn’t curling as much as it would do with a mousse. My hair was also feeling a bit frizzy, although it was still soft around the properly curled bits.

I am definitely impressed and still using my leave-in conditioner and straightening protector, and I can’t rave about these enough! I think the price is reasonable and, although upon first applying, the scent is quite overpowering, it does die down and leaves your hair smelling quite fresh. Maybe if I used even more product from the curl activator, I may have had a better effect.

Through lots of googling, I can’t seem to find a UK-based website for Twisted Sista, but more information can be found on the US site which is here. Twisted Sista products are available at Tesco from £3.99.

*I was sent these products to review and this is still my honest opinion of them.

Ozzy has a thing for make up in long tubes. He has such a terrible habit of reaching over on my dressing cabinet and actually moving his little paws to reach whatever is closest. Needless to say, he destroyed my L’Oreal Super Liner in Black Carbon, which has been discontinued and was my favourite liquid eyeliner of all time. Le sigh.

When I was headed out at Superdrug, on a shopping binge for yet another of their amazing deals, I grabbed L’Oreal’s black lacquer super liner in black vinyl. I swiped it across my hand and it looked amazing. Because of the vinyl effect, it doesn’t look as black but sort of reflects light, as you would imagine from a vinyl record to appear, which I didn’t mind.

No eyeshadow primer or eyeshadow!

I wore this eyeliner everyday with or without eyeshadow and with or without eyeshadow primer. Firstly, to apply, the liquid eyeliner has an amazing applicator, which I think made me fall so in love with it’s predecessor; it’s easy to create a slim lined effect, getting right into the corner of the eye and it only takes a few seconds to create the most fashionable of winged eyeliners, but if you wanted a thicker line, that’s no problem too. Unfortunately, the product did not work for me without an eyeshadow primer, which I am gutted about. It smudged all over my eyelid and started feeling really, really sticky – so much so that, after four hours of wear, I’d had enough and had to take off all of my eye make up and redo the whole thing all over again.

Four hours after first application… smudge! Boo!

I really wanted to love this product, but now I have found myself on the hunt for a better liquid eyeliner…

Do you have any recommendations? Have you wanted to love a new product after loving the old one so much?!

Hi guys! Today, I’m reporting to you live from my car! I’ve been running around in my little car for quite a while this week, due to crazy times at work and being really busy doing family things before my Mum and brother head off to the Land Down Under, so I thought I’d give you a snippet of my lifesaver that stays in my car for those “Oh my word, I need some lippy!” times!

Here’s my No. 7 Stay Perfect lipstick in Coral Rose. I bought it a few months ago when coral was massively ‘in’ and it’s stayed in my car ever since as my go-to “I’m in a rush!” product. The staying power is not massively long lasting like you might find in a more expensive lipstick, but I absolutely adore the colour, which is a bit more pinky-orange than my lip colour. It’s lovely and moisturising as well, so I’m overall really chuffed. Here’s a before and after.

Wow, I was obviously really happy about going to work today… The No. 7 lipsticks are available from Boots and cost £9.00 each.

Do you have a lipstick that stays in your car for emergencies? Or is that just me…??

As promised, I’m introducing you to another of Top Shop’s Dark Side of Nude product and this time, (surprise, surprise…) it’s their lipstick in Wicked.

I bought this online, after seeing GemsMaquillage‘s video on her favourites, but I was a bit worried about the colour of this when I opened it up. It looks very brown. But upon swatching, it looks pinky and when I put it on, it looks like a red! It’s a glossy finish and feels moisturising on my Wintery, scaley lips. And, as with all Top Shop lipsticks, this stays put for a fairly long while before topping it up again.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Franno, you’ve already bought a plum lipstick from Top Shop called Inhibition! You are right! And I’m wearing it out with the amount of times I’ve worn it since I’ve bought it. So, what’s the difference?

Inhibition is actually a little bit bluer than Wicked, so it achieves a little bit more of a gothic look. I think Wicked is probably more wearable for every day bold-lipped look, rather than Inhibition, which I think is more of a dramatic night on the tiles kinda look. What do you think?

Wicked lippy

Inhibition lippy

Excuse the lack of face make up today – I had a facial this morning and I’m not allowed to apply anything for 24 hours… Burying myself indoors and tidying up around the house today

What do you think? Which do you prefer? What’s your favourite plum or wintery lip product?