Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Enamel
Unboxing my First Illamasqua Order
11Illamasqua are a brand that have intrigued me for a long time. They’re British and known for being cruelty-free, and being a British vegetarian myself I am all for local, ethical businesses. Their website states that they are dedicated to ‘self-expression through make up art’ whilst ‘challenging the conventions of the make-up industry’. I have never been one for sticking to conventions, so I was really drawn to their wide range of unusual colours and cosmetics when I discovered them many moons ago. The brand have been around since 2008, but despite my long term obsession with their make up, I received my first ever Illamasqua order today. I know I’m a bit late to the Illamasqua party, but better late than never! I don’t usually do unboxing posts as they can be a bit boring and I did only order two items from the sale that I’d been eyeing up for a while, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of what I’ll be reviewing in the coming days/weeks 
From what I’ve seen on other blogs, all Illamasqua orders come packaged in a black cardboard box like this:
Not terribly exciting to look at, but that ‘beauty box’ element makes it feel a little bit more luxurious than receiving your items in a plain ol’ jiffy bag.
Upon opening the box, I was greeted with my receipt and a flyer about their Skin Base Foundation.
Underneath the flyer were two little freebie items. When I placed my order I was given the opportunity to add one, both or neither of the freebies to my order, so obviously I went for both of them! I was sent a 1.5ml sample of Illamasqua’s new fragrance ‘Freak’, and a booklet of their Human Fundamentalism collection which I’m really looking forward to browsing. It has some great pictures inside of different and unusual make up looks which I’m sure I can draw some inspiration from!
I tried the perfume out earlier and though it isn’t as sweet as the perfume I would normally choose, I have really taken to it. It’s also lasted a long time on my skin and smells as strong as it did when I first put it on a few hours ago.
And now, onto what I actually bought… Sheer Lipgloss in ‘Tantrum’ for £7.50 (RRP £13.00) and Nail Varnish in ‘Snap’ for £5 (RRP £13.50). I must point out that I absolutely love Illamasqua’s classy black packaging!
I’ve already swatched both products and they seem promising! ‘Tantrum’ is a gorgeous pinky purple shade, described as a ‘deep berry pink’ on their website, and ‘Snap’ is ‘rich pewter’ with a ‘shimmer finish’. But that’s all I’ll say for now! Keep an eye out for my review posts of everything, including the ‘Freak’ sample, which I’ll be doing soon
Have you tried any Illamasqua make up?
Naomi x
NOTD: Avon Colortrend Nail Enamel in ‘Vixen’
3
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Today I am sporting my latest nail varnish buy – a beautiful shade called ‘Vixen’ from Avon’s newly revamped Colortrend range.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… These new Colortrend nail enamels are SO much better than they used to be! They are creamier in consistency so they apply without streaking, and you only need two coats for an opaque look.
‘Vixen’ has a shiny, jelly finish and the colour is absolutely stunning. It’s a deep raspberry pink, I’d say, and it looks so rich and luxurious. People keep telling me how pretty it is and I’m inclined to agree! I’ve only had this on for a day so I can’t really comment on the lasting power, but so far so good.
What do you think? The new Colortrend range has fifteen stunning shades and they’re all currently on offer in Brochure 14 for just 99p, which is an absolute BARGAIN! If you would like to try them for yourself, you can order them from me by visiting my personal online brochure here.
Naomi x
NOTD: BYS Glow in the Dark Top Coat
13
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
After seeing a few blog posts recently about Julep’s glow in the dark nail varnish, I decided to see what glow in the dark nail products were available in the UK. I’ve always loved glow in the dark stuff and I even have glow in the dark stars stuck all over my bedroom ceiling, so I was excited about the prospect of having glow in the dark nails too! After a short search I came across this Glow in the Dark Top Coat by BYS on Amazon for just £2.25, so I ordered some so I could see for myself whether it actually works!
The product says to apply between 1 and 3 coats of top coat over your nail colour, and to allow the varnish to ‘charge’ in unnatural light to make it glow. So, I excitedly applied a base coat, two coats of MUA Shade 13 and then two coats of the glow in the dark top coat! This is what the top coat looks like over coloured nails. If you want to see what this shade looks without a top coat, you can see it here. I think the top coat makes it look a bit smoother and more yellowy, and it feels really nice to the touch, almost soft.
Once the top coat was dry (and it dried very quickly so I didn’t have long to wait) I let the fun begin! Firstly, I held my nails in the dark without ‘charging’ them to see whether they glow at all after being in normal light conditions, and unsurprisingly they didn’t glow much at all, but the bottle did say that! I then held my nails next to a bright light bulb for a minute or two, and then went back into the dark… And did they glow? Yes they bloody did! The effect is quite amazing – my nails were glowing a really bright yellowy green, much to mine and my mum’s delight, and the glow lasted for a very long time. I surprised my fiancé with them at night and they didn’t stop glowing for hours. I have to admit, that was slightly annoying as it was difficult to get to sleep with my fingers lighting up, so I had to hide my hands under the pillow and quilt haha.
I tried to get some photos of my nails glowing but it was a very difficult task indeed! Not one of my cameras could pick the glow up very well, so the nail photo isn’t a true representation of how good the glow is, but the one of the bottle gives you a better idea…
I really love this product – it’s such fun and it doesn’t cost much at all. I’m really glad I bought some because I like surprising people with my glowing nails! What do you think? Would you wear glow in the dark nails?
Naomi x
ONE WEEK Left to Enter my First GIVEAWAY!
0Hey,
This is just a quick reminder that there is just ONE WEEK left to enter my first ever Giveaway! The prize is made up of Avon products and includes lip gloss, nail varnish, face mask and two fragrance vials. To enter, visit my original Giveaway post here. A big thank you to everyone who has already entered! Good luck all
Naomi x
Star Gazer Nail Varnish – 712 Black with Silver Glitter
3
10 years
by Naomi in Nails
On Saturday I discovered a basket of Star Gazer nail varnishes in a local shop and they were on offer for £1.25 each, down from £2.50! I had been wanting to try a Star Gazer varnish for a while so at that price I snapped up Shade 712 straight away, which is a midnight black and full of silver micro-glitter.
I applied this for the first time yesterday and I have mixed feelings about it. The varnish went on smoothly and dried quickly, but it is very watery and looked barely there after one coat. The photograph below was taken after two coats and it doesn’t look too bad, but I think three coats would have been better. You can’t tell from the photo but you could still see my nail underneath the varnish in parts.
The glitter looks stunning in the right light and really catches the eye, but it feels quite rough, even with a top coat. The varnish is quite hardy and stays put, but it peels off if you pick it and I got quite into peeling it earlier so I ended up removing it this evening with nail varnish remover. Unlike a lot of glitter varnishes, this one actually comes off really easily (even if it does catch on the cotton wool a bit) so you don’t need to scrub at it for ages which is a positive thing.
Overall, I love the colour of this and how well it lasts, and that it can be removed easily, but the consistency isn’t great and it doesn’t feel very nice to the touch. For £1.25 though I’m not complaining… I think I’ll pick up another shade this week without any glitter to see what it’s like!
Have you ever tried any Star Gazer nail varnish?
Naomi x
