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Posts tagged Models Own
Valentine’s Gift Ideas: 10 Under £10
1
7 years
For today’s Valentine’s Gift Ideas post I have put together a gift guide of ten Valentine’s gifts, all of which cost under £10 each. Around this time of year, the prices of romantic gifts, such as chocolate and lingerie, are often hiked up. However, as this guide shows, if you shop savvy you don’t have to spend a fortune to treat that special someone (or yourself!) to something nice. The guide features some traditional gifts, but also fashion and beauty themed items.
Hotel Chocolat Lovely Hearts Classic £6.50 / Thorntons Because I Love You Premium Collection £6.00 / ASOS Heart Friendship Bracelet £2.00 / Yankee Red Raspberry Candle £7.99 / George Entice Lingerie Set £7.00 / Floozie Red Heart Fairisle Scarf £6.60 / Tesco Rose Petals in a Jar £5.00 / LUSH Heart Throb Bubble Bar £3.65 / Models Own Colour Chrome £4.99 / LUSH The Kiss Lip Gloss £5.95
What will you be gifting to your loved one this Valentine’s Day?
Naomi x
Models Own Ice Neon in Pukka Purple
7
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Models Own are one of my favourite nail varnish brands, mainly because they constantly come up with new and exciting colours and finishes, and they haven’t disappointed with their latest offerings for Spring/Summer. Last week, Models Own launched their Ice Neon and Fruit Pastel collections in Boots stores, and since I had a £10 Boots voucher to spend I decided to pick up a colour from each. I couldn’t wait to give them a go, and since we’ve been having a lot of snow lately I decided it would be fitting to use the Ice Neon varnish first, which is the one I will be reviewing today.
The Ice Neon collection features five shades – Bubblegum, Toxic Apple, Luis Lemon, Pink Punch and, the shade I own, Pukka Purple. Each shade is intensely fluorescent, and comes packaged in a frosted glass bottle which is intended to be stored in the fridge, in order to preserve the vibrancy of the varnish.
As with every other Models Own varnish that I’ve ever tried, Pukka Purple has a wonderful creamy consistency and applies effortlessly thanks to the easy grip lid and long brush. The varnish is very opaque, and looks flawless after just one coat, but I still find it necessary to apply two coats in order to intensify the colour. It also dries impressively quickly – within a few minutes of application I was able to go about my business without any worry of smudges or dents.
All of the Ice Neon varnishes have a matte finish (which may explain why it dries so quickly, as mattes tend to in my experience), but can be made shiny with a gloss top coat. Unlike some matte varnishes, this one applies well over a base coat, so there’s no need to worry about staining. Though I love the matte finish of Pukka Purple (which is still a little bit shiny, but not in a glossy way), I did find that it didn’t last too well without a top coat. Within a day my nails were showing wear at the ends, and after two days the varnish was chipping. Not ideal, but the amazing colour makes up for the poor lasting power.
Pukka Purple is an absolutely beautiful indigo purple, and is unlike any other purple varnish that I own (and I own a lot!) I’m not usually a fan of neons as I think they can look quite tacky, but this has the bold brightness of a neon colour but manages to remain classy with its matte finish and blue undertone. It’s definitely an attention grabber, and has brought me many compliments over the last few days!
Overall, despite its tendency to chip easily, Pukka Purple is a stunningly unusual varnish and boasts Models Own’s characteristic high quality formula. A definite must if you’re looking for something a little bit different and on trend this season. All of the Ice Neon collection is available online, individually or in a box set, and can be found in Boots stores around the country. At £5 each (or £20 for the set) they are kind on the bank account too, and worth every penny.
Check back later this week for my review of Grape Juice from the scented Fruit Pastel collection.
Naomi x
My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2012
6In February 2012, when Bewitchery was born, I decided to broaden my beauty horizons and try as many new products as possible throughout the year, without breaking the bank. In my mission to discover new favourites I came across many products which were less than impressive, but luckily I also found a great deal of fantastic ones, a fair few of which I have used time and time again, and will continue to do so. In this post I will give you a round-up of just a few of the best products I tried for the first time in 2012, linking to my review of each with a little extract of my post, just to give you an idea of why I love it!
1. e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner
“In terms of lasting power, this liner definitely has it. I have been wearing it now since this morning and it still looks as bright as it did when it first went on, and the line is just as clean. I’ve been rubbing my eyes a bit today too and it hasn’t smudged a bit – amazing!”
2. Models Own ‘Disco Mix’
“The absolute best thing about this nail polish is the colour. My favourite colours are purple, turquoise and pink, and ‘Disco Mix’ combines turquoise and pink glitter to create a polish which looks purple at a distance. The glitter colours are SO bright and bold.”
3. MUA Professional Matte Foundation
“One of the things that drew me to this foundation was the fact that it is matte and claims to offer a long-lasting velvet finish. I suffer from an oily T-zone (especially during the summer months) and I don’t like the shine that the oil creates, so I am always looking for ways to minimise the shine. MUA’s Matte Foundation, as you would hope, does give a matte complexion, and it keeps most of the shine at bay.”
4. Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Body Butter
“The body butter itself is fantastically light and creamy and feels so luxurious on the skin. It is absorbed very quickly too, leaving no messy residue. The product contains coconut oil, shea butter and avocado oil to aid with moisturisation, but despite the oil content it isn’t at all greasy. The oils make the butter ‘Intensively hydrating’, and combine to give ’12 hour moisturisation’, and believe me, the softness really does last that long.”
5. TanOrganic Sunless Tan
“Though the tan didn’t give my legs an intense colour, it did make them look nicely, naturally tanned and lightly brown, and I am very pleased with the results. There are no orange blotches or dirty looking streaks in sight, and my skin tone looks very even and smooth. The difference is only minor, but it is noticeable, and that is what I wanted so it has done its job well in my opinion.”
6. Montagne Jeunesse Moisturising Lip Balm
“Not one of Montagne Jeunesse’s lip balms contain petroleum jelly, so they aren’t greasy at all. Rather, they are made from 100% natural beeswax and olive oil and are lightly creamy but intensely moisturising. The beeswax forms a protective layer on the lips making them long-lasting, and the olive oil gives them a subtle shine.”
7. Models Own ‘Northern Lights’
“Northern Lights consists of a very fine dusky pink glitter, and is studded with delicate flakes of holographic glitter which shine purple, blue, orange, yellow and green in most lights. Even in the bottle, the varnish is breathtaking, and I have never seen anything quite like it before.”
8. Nivea Express Hydration Primer
“The primer leaves a smooth, non-greasy base on the skin, and since I’ve been using this I have found that my foundation smooths onto my skin far more easily and evenly than usual, without going patchy on any dry bits. The primer keeps my powder and blusher in place too, so on the whole my make up lasts a lot longer, which I think is down to the lack of greasiness.”
9. Bubbles & Butters Crazy for Chocolate Shower Bubbles
“The gel is very creamy and lathers into masses of moisturising bubbles quicker than any other shower gel I have ever used! Because of its impressive lathering abilities, a little goes a long way with these bubbles, so a £2 coin size is enough for your whole body.”
10. Omni Massage Roller & Sports Oil
“The first time I used the roller I asked my mum to help me reach the tense areas on my back, and even though she used it over my clothing I was amazed that the roller was sensitive enough to pick out all the knots in my muscles. We could both feel them ‘crunching’, which sounds horrible but it meant she knew which areas to focus on. The shape and movement of the ball means that any focused pressure is distributed outwards slightly, so the knots can be worked out without any pain or discomfort.”
…and one that I LOVE and am going to review again because I didn’t write much last time…
Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover
“Unlike most nail varnish removers, this Sally Hansen offering smells lovely, almost like a body lotion, and doesn’t sting your eyes or nose with harsh vapours. It removes nail varnish quickly, with minimum effort, so you don’t need to sit for ages rubbing away to no avail!”
What were your favourite products of 2012?
Naomi x
NOTD: Models Own Jack Frost
8
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
It’s been a while since I last posted a Nail of the Day, what with only swatching varnishes from my Ciaté Mini Mani Month throughout December, so today I thought I’d show you one of my favourite glitters from Models Own – Jack Frost. Jack Frost is part of the Wonderland Collection which was launched during Autumn 2012, from which I own three of the five colours, as I posted about here.
Jack Frost is made up of a pale, iridescent glitter which changes from blue to purple in different lights, and is suspended in a cloudy varnish. The formula is rather thick and gloopy, but it applies easily and evenly despite this, and dries quickly too. The glitter is so densely packed in you only need one coat over the top of a dark base for amazing coverage. I haven’t used this on its own, but as a top coat it looks incredible and really comes alive. Here it is over two coats of Ciaté’s Power Dressing…
Isn’t it beautiful? Once on the nail, the glitter transforms and bursts with colour, not what you’d expect when looking at it in the bottle! I chose to use Power Dressing as a base as it is a deep navy shade, which really brings out the blue tones in the glitter. It reminds me of a starry sky on a clear, cold night, and the icy colours are perfect for winter. I found it really difficult to capture the true beauty of the varnish on camera, but it changes from blue to indigo to violet with the movement of your fingers, in both natural light and indoor light. I can’t put into words how much I adore this varnish.
If you want to add Models Own Jack Frost to your collection (and why wouldn’t you?), it is available online or in Boots stores, and costs just £5 for a large bottle.
Naomi x
Winterlicious Tag Post
8
Last week I was tagged in a Winterlicious Tag Post by the lovely Proper Sweetie (you should check out her blog, it’s awesome). I really enjoy doing posts like this every now and then, so I have finally got round to answering the tag questions, and will be tagging a few of you at the end. So, if you’d like to answer the questions yourself, please feel free!
1) Favourite winter nail polish?
My favourite nail polishes this winter are from the new Models Own Wonderland collection. They’re all SO pretty and glittery and perfect for Christmas, with their festive names. They remind me of snow and ice and Christmas decorations. I currently own three of the five – Jack Frost, Southern Lights and Northern Lights (which I reviewed here).
2) Favourite winter lip product?
Montagne Jeunesse’s Natural Beeswax Lip Balms have been life savers for me these last few months. I always get really sore, dry lips during the autumn and winter so I need to use a good lip balm every day to protect them. Montagne Jeunesse’s lip balms are really rich and moisturising, but not greasy, so they sit easy on the lips and do an amazing job. In fact, I forgot to use it for a couple of days and my lips got sore, but after a few applications of this lip balm my lips were as good as new. They come in a few different flavours as well which are suited to different lip problems.
3) Most worn winter clothing piece?
My purple shimmer Dr Martens boots. As you may have read in this post, I am a Dr Martens addict, and I always look forward to autumn and winter so I can get my big chunky boots out again. My purple ones are the classic 8-hole style boot and, without fail, they keep my feet warm and dry all winter. I love the colour and the shimmer factor – they’re just a little bit different to your normal winter boot!
4) Most worn winter accessory?
This year it has to be my cute Robin Print Snood! I bought it a couple of months ago from Primark for only £4, and I have been wearing it every day since under my coat. It’s made of quite thin fabric, but it’s really big so it wraps round nicely and is lovely and snuggly. The beauty of a snood is you can put it over your head without looking daft when it gets cold and you don’t have a hat/hood, but it also looks great accessorised with any outfit!
5) Favourite winter scent/candle?
At Christmas we tend to burn our usual Yankee candles, which always smell gorgeous, but yesterday my mum bought a cheap Glade candle from their winter collection and it’s divine! I do believe it was Spiced Apple scented.
6) Favourite winter beverage?
It has to be the classic hot chocolate or mulled wine. Although, I should hopefully be trying Chai Tea Latte soon which is lightly spiced, and I have a feeling that may become this year’s favourite winter beverage…
7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie?
The Polar Express! I have it on DVD and watch it every year. The end makes me cry every time, just because it’s so lovely, and it always gets me in the Christmas spirit. I want to watch it on Christmas Eve this year… I still believe!
8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song?
I hate to admit it but Last Christmas by Wham! is one of my ultimate guilty pleasures! Although, when I was a baby, the only song that would calm me down and put me to sleep was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, at any time of year 
9) Favourite holiday food/treat?
This one is hard to answer as Christmas is a time for indulgence and there are SO many yummy things I love to eat at this time of year! One of my favourites though has to be Lebkuchen, a traditional German baked treat which is a cross between a biscuit and a cake. It tastes like cinnamon and ginger, is sprinkled with icing sugar and is best dipped in dark chocolate!
10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year?
We haven’t actually put our Christmas decorations up yet this year, but at the weekend my mum bought a real Christmas tree which is going to sit in a pot outside on our patio all year round It’s covered in solar-powered coloured lights at the minute and it looks lovely.
One of my old favourite Christmas decorations was a huge purple and silver glass bauble. I loved it for years, since I was tiny, but it broke a few years ago so we had to throw away 
Thinking about it going still makes me sad! RIP pretty purple bauble.
11) What’s at the top of your wish list?
In all honesty, I’ve been struggling to think of things I want for Christmas this year, so I just want a few nice surprises. Although a bat detector and a Batman onesie wouldn’t go amiss 😉 (Geeky as hell, I know).
12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?
This year, like every year, I will spend Christmas Eve with my dad, and Christmas Day at home with the rest of my family. We eat lots of food, play lots of games, and share gifts and laughs and generally have lots of fun. I love it!
The people I tag to answer these questions are…
Cowboys and Crossbones
Product Hoochie
Justlikeplasticine
RaRa Reid
Nocturnal Beauty
Happy Blogging!
Naomi x
Freebie Alert! Models Own with More Magazine
6I know we all love a good freebie, so I thought I would let you know about a great one I found today whilst browsing the supermarket! Every copy of this week’s More magazine (Issue 774) comes with a FREE Models Own nail varnish or lip gloss, worth £5.00 each. The magazine only costs so £1.50, so you are getting a VERY good deal! Even if you buy four copies to get every freebie, you are still only spending £1 more than ONE of these freebies is worth – amazing, right? Oh and don’t be put off by the low price tag of the magazine… I know some cheap magazine freebies are ‘limited editions’ which aren’t actually up to scratch with the rest of the brand, but this is the real deal.
There are two nail varnish shades to choose from (Raspberry Crush and Nude Beige), and two lip glosses (a pink and a red). The freebie I went for was Raspberry Crush, a gorgeous raspberry pink which I actually had my eye on a couple of months ago – I’m glad I didn’t buy it at the time now! I haven’t yet tried Raspberry Crush on my nails, but it looks like it has a lovely creme finish and I can’t wait to give it a go.
The magazine also comes with a free Miss Selfridge Lucky Gift Card, which gives you a surprise discount in store, between £1 and £500. There are also several other exclusive discounts in the magazine, such as 20% off at boohoo.com, Rock N Rose, Essensuals Hairdressing and Motel, and 25% off a spray tan at the Tanning Shop. Oh and a couple of free drinks too.
The magazine itself might be a little bit trashy, but who cares when you’re getting a bargain as brilliant as this?! The next issue of More goes on sale on the 27th of November, so you have 4 days left to get your Models Own freebie.
Naomi x
Nail Art: Halloween Pumpkins
18Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween has always been one of my favourite days of the whole year, and every October 31st I love to dress up and cook up a big feast for my family and friends. This year is my first Halloween as a beauty blogger, so I thought I would create some Halloween inspired nail art to share with you all. So, here are my Halloween Pumpkins!
Aren’t they cute? The whole design took less than half an hour to do and I’m so happy with how they turned out. The colours I used to create this look are:
- Models Own ‘Orange Sorbet’
- NYC In A Minute ‘High Line Green’
- Primark ‘Black’
I hope you’ve all had a spooktacular day
Naomi x
NOTD: Models Own ‘Northern Lights’
30
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Welcome to my first long-awaited, much requested review of one of the beautiful nail varnish shades from the new Models Own Wonderland Collection. The Wonderland Collection features five sparkly shades, all of which are perfect for the festive season and have particularly wintry names, including Jack Frost, Southern Lights, Snow Flake, Northern Lights and Blizzard. They can all be used as a top coat for a hint of shimmer, or can be layered up to create a bold glitter look! The three varnishes I currently own and will be reviewing over the coming weeks are Jack Frost, Southern Lights and Northern Lights, with Northern Lights being featured today.
Northern Lights consists of a very fine dusky pink glitter, and is studded with delicate flakes of holographic glitter which shine purple, blue, orange, yellow and green in most lights. Even in the bottle, the varnish is breathtaking, and I have never seen anything quite like it before. Northern Lights is an extremely suitable name for such a shade, as it has so much depth of colour and appears to have a fluidity to it that alters the colour at every glance – it’s just SO pretty! I really can’t do it justice with words.
Like all Models Own nail varnishes, Northern Lights applies easily and evenly due to the long, wide brush. The glitter might be fine but it is also very dense, so it only took me two coats of varnish to achieve a completely opaque look, and as with most dense glitter varnishes it dries very quickly. The varnish doesn’t have a smooth finish and actually feels slightly rough due to the density of the glitter, but I suppose that’s to be expected. I added one layer of top coat over the top to see whether it would make it feel smoother, but it didn’t make much difference in all honesty.
Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Swatches! I found it quite difficult to capture the true beauty of Northern Lights, so since it looks different in different lights anyway, I decided to take several different swatch photos.
Inside with Flash
Inside without Flash
Outside with Flash
Outside without Flash
Close Ups
See, I told you, it’s amazingly stunning! Right? You can see the holographic shine in some of the pictures above, but none of them really show it in all its twinkly glory. You just have to see it to believe it really (which is a great excuse to go shopping in Boots if you ask me!). Northern Lights is worth absolutely every penny of the £5 I paid for it, although I did get it in a 3 for 2 offer which makes it that little bit sweeter. It’s perfect for this time of year too… It makes me feel so Christmassy and I’ve had countless compliments whilst wearing it, even from people I don’t know.
Northern Lights is also very durable and long-lasting. I applied it on Monday this week, and only yesterday (Friday) did it start to show wear at the tips of my nails. Today it has chipped slightly, but it stayed looking close to perfect for five whole days, and survived four long, hard days at work – impressive! Unfortunately, like most glitter varnishes, it is a massive pain in the bum to remove, so you need to have a lot of patience when taking it off.
Northern Lights is available separately or as part of the Wonderland Collection Box Set on the Models Own website, or can be found in most Boots stores for just £5. If you’re thinking of getting it but can’t decide then my advice is to go for it… I can guarantee you will NOT be disappointed!
Naomi x
Mini Nail Varnish Haul featuring Models Own and Barry M
20Hi everyone,
Just a quick post from me today as I want to share with you my recent nail varnish buys. As well as the Models Own sale items I ordered a few weeks ago, I have acquired a few more shiny pretties lately. In fact, they’re ALL glittery! It must be the time of year, what with the party season and Christmas just around the corner.
The most exciting new varnishes in my collection are three from the new Models Own Wonderland range. The range features five sparkly, wintery glitters, all of which give a different stunning effect. The three I went for are…
From Left to Right:
- Northern Lights (pink micro holographic glitter)
- Southern Lights (purple micro holographic glitter)
- Jack Frost (Blue micro glitter in clear varnish)
Aren’t they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?? The photos really don’t do them justice. I can’t wait to try them on! I nipped into Boots to buy these yesterday and was extremely pleased to find them included in a 3 for 2 offer, so I got all three for a total of £10, saving £5. If you want the whole set I recommend you grab these whilst they’re on offer as it works out cheaper than buying the full boxed set from the Models Own website!
The next varnish in my little haul is a new one from Barry M – Ruby Glitter.
Barry M released this shade along with a few other glitters a few weeks ago. There are quite a few in the range that I would like (especially Amethyst Glitter), but I went for this one first because I instantly fell in love with it. It consists of different sized flecks of black glitter, studded with red/magenta glitter. It reminds me of Valentines Day (my birthday) for some reason… It just has an air of passion and luxury about it! Like most Barry M Nail Paints, Ruby Glitter retails for an affordable £2.99.
The final little gem in this haul is one that my mum brought back from Portugal last week – a lush purple shade from a range called ‘Yes Love’.
This varnish is Cadbury purple with a delicate golden shimmer running through it. I’m wearing this at the minute and it looks really lovely on. Apparently it only cost a bargainous 1 euro as well, which is a miniscule price tag for such a good quality varnish.
I’ll be reviewing all of these varnishes over the coming days and weeks, starting tomorrow with the ‘Yes Love’ purple so keep an eye out. Which is your favourite so far?
Naomi x
NOTD: Models Own Green Tea
16
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
As promised yesterday in my Models Own Haul post, here is a review of one of the nail varnishes that I bought in the Models Own online sale – Green Tea. I don’t usually like to photograph products indoors or with flash, as the flash usually alters the colour, but strangely enough the only way I could get an accurate representation of the Green Tea shade was with the flash on. For some reason it just wouldn’t photograph well outdoors!
My collection of Models Own varnishes is slowly getting bigger and bigger, and with good reason. As I’ve said before, their varnish formula is fantastic, and Green Tea is no exception. The consistency is just thick enough for it to apply smoothly with no gloopy or runny mess, and the brush is long with a substantial handle which makes application effortlessly easy.
What impressed me the most about this varnish was how quickly it dried. The first coat I applied was quite a thin one, and it was dry to the touch in less than 30 seconds – I genuinely couldn’t believe my eyes! The second coat, which was thicker, took slightly longer to dry, but within a couple of minutes my nails were completely dry. I can only put this down to it being a matte varnish as they do tend to dry quicker in my experience, so you have to work quickly with it to stop it going patchy. It only takes two coats for fully opaque coverage though.
Green Tea is a very bold, earthy green and I have a really big soft spot for this colour, mainly because it reminds me of the poster paints I used to paint with as a child. It has a fun, childlike air to it which makes me happy whenever I look at it, yet at the same time I think it looks quite classy as it lacks the yellow undertone that some green varnishes have, so it isn’t overly bright.
As I mentioned earlier, the varnish has a matte finish which looks fab, but it also looks great with a shiny top coat over the top. The above photograph was taken after a couple of days of wear, without a top coat, and as you can see there is only a little bit of wear to the tips of my nails. In fact, it wasn’t until day 4 or 5 that it started to chip properly and that’s when I took it off, so it has fantastic lasting power, even without a top coat!
Green Tea is definitely one of my favourite varnishes from my recent haul. It only cost £2.50 in the sale which is incredible value for money, but even at £5.00 full-price it is still worth it. Models Own nail varnishes are available online, or in most Boots stores.
What do you think of this shade?
Naomi x
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