I HAVE MOVED

I've started a new blog over the last couple of months so be sure to hop on over there and follow it for frequent posts about all things beauty 

www.alittlebitmarvellous.com

xx

My Autumn Must Have Nail Polishes

We're officially well into autumn and FINALLY on the count down to christmas (44 days to go) so it's finally time to start layering up in wooly jumpers and cosy socks, tuck into roast dinners on sundays and watch christmas films... eee! 

But it being November also means its officially time to start changing my nail polishes from pastel bright colours to more warm and autumny colours. Usually I'm reluctant to do this as I'm far fonder of summer colours but this year I've picked up some really lovely autumnal colours ready to paint my nails with for the chilly season. 

The products I mention I'll try and add links/prices to but one or two of them were bought last year so may not still be available, however I'm sure there are similar dupes around in drugstores! I've picked 6 of my favourite polishes in my collection that I'll be wearing throughout autumn this year.

Tophop Nails: Bad Habit 202
This colour applies so well, it's really pigmented it only requires 2 coats and lasts well without chipping. This nail varnish retails for around £4 in Topshop stores that stock their make-up range.

Revlon: Vixen 570
This was given to me as a gift last christmas and has seen some use since, the bottles writing has rubbed off but it's a beautiful colour and again has a lovely application and requires very few coats. This retails for: £6.50 in Boots

Essie: Sexy Divide 47
One of my new loves is Essie nail polishes, after being a loyal Barry M buyer, I started branching out recently and have truly fallen for Essie. I can't fault their products and this is one of my absolute favourite colours. Essie products cost £7.99 in Boots and are definitely worth every penny.

Sally Hansen: Red Zin 610
Sally Hansen nail varnishes are another new find of mine. This was the second one I bought (the one below being the first) and to begin with I though the brushes were going to be too big for my nails however I LOVE them! It applies so well, its durable and doesn't need a top coat to last for ages. I bought mine from Boots and these polishes cost £6.99.

Sally Hansen: So Much Fawn 260
The product above pretty much sums up my love for Sally Hansen, I think this is a perfect colour for the early autumn as its not too dark and still could be worn throughout the summery days that we still have left. This again, I bought from Boots and was also £6.99.

Barry M: Indigo 146
This is the only blue in my autumn nail polish collection, but its a darker colour and after several layers it is a very midnight blue kind of colour. I've always loved Barry M's nail polishes and this product is no exception. The only thing I find with Barry M is that it tends to chip quicker than more expensive nail polishes but in this case its very reasonable considering the price. It costs £2.99 and I purchased this one from Superdrug.

Left to right-
Sally Hansen-Red Zin, Essie- Sexy Divide, Topshop Nails- Bad Habit, Sally Hansen- So Much Fawn, Barry M- Indigo, Revlon-Vixen

So that concludes my staple nail polishes for the autumn. Deep reds and pinky-purples are my favourite in the lead up to the festive period. What are your favourite nail paints for this time of year?

x

I went shopping!

With prom being a week away, I felt a justified trip to buy some make-up was in order.

I did spend more than I intended on, however, I will use all of what I purchased today, more than once so it's ok!

Firstly I bought the Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection sponge. I have been meaning to pick one of these up for ages! I haven't used it yet, however after hearing nothing but good things about it on Youtube etc I don't think I'll be regretting this purchase. I bought it from Superdrug and it cost around £4.99. It looks like this:

It's basically to blend in the harsh lines left from foundations, powders etc.

Secondly I purchased the Collection 2000 Primed and Ready primer. Again I Haven't tried it yet, however after testing it on the back of my hand it gave that silky base, perfect as a foundation base. I cant wait to try this product properly next Friday! This cost £5.99 which I thought was excellently priced.

Next I bought the Collection 2000 Fast Stroke eyeliner, this cost £2.99. It has a nice thin nib and applies nicely, however it does require more than one layer as its a bit sheer when applying. Other than that it is brilliant value wise.

I went into Superdrug in desperate search of a MUA palette, however both of the Superdrug's in my town weren't stocking it! Major panic! However I found this cute little eye shadow collection from a brand called Famous. The selection wasn't brill, however I found one that I felt would be able to go well with my dress for prom! It was only £2.99 so definitely worth a try!

Finally out of the new items that I purchased today came my new mascara. I'm always reluctant with mascaras, you never know which is going to be worth the money and I always rely on recommendations. However, when I was in Boots today, the new mascara from Rimmel as a follow up from Scandaleyes which I actually have was the Scandaleyes Show Off. It cost me £4.99 as it had £2.00 off which was a result! I haven't tested this yet either!

So those were the new products that I bought today, if you'd like a review on any of them then I can happily do that. Is there any new products you've tried that you would recommend?

x

Brush Cleaning

I'm one of these obsessive brush cleaners, I clean my foundation brushes in particular after every time of using them. I just can't use a dirty brush, it prevents the product from applying nicely. 

When I first starting using make-up brushes properly, I wasn't overly fussed about cleaning them so I didn't really try and products. Now however I have tried quite a few and have settled with my favourites.
The first one I tried was the ELF Daily Brush Cleaner, I haven't got a picture of this one as I chucked it away. It was ok, however I felt it didn't clean my brushes as thoroughly as I wanted. You may find it different, maybe I wasn't using it right. It retails on the website (http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/) for £3.75 which in all honesty is great.

Next I ordered the Mac brush cleaner. This cost me £8.50 which after trying what I did next, I realized was overpriced. This product again i felt didn't do the job as well as I expected. It left my foundation brush still a little full of foundation which wasn't ideal. For the price of this product, I would have expected a little more I think.

Finally, after spending time using the previous two brush cleaners and not having the results I expected, I did some research, read some reviews, watched some youtube videos and many people seemed to think using things like body wash, shampoo or hand soap works well. "Why not try it" I thought, it would be cheaper than buying special bits. So I started using a raspberry and blackberry body wash. This works amazingly well! It gets all the product out and leaves the brush smelling yummy for next time! It helps because it lathers well and therefore really gives the brush a good cleaning. 

Over any brush cleaner I've tried, I would most certainly go for using a body wash of some sort! It's cheaper and it leaves all the brushes smelling lush!

Have you tried any brush cleaners that worked really well? Let me know and maybe I'll try them out too! Also if you want to see a guide on how to clean brushes I can do that also:-)

Hair care routine

I've only recently become conscious of my hairs condition which is awful! It got to the point where I was straightening my hair everyday and it was just snapping and breaking whilst doing it. It had to stop or in a years time I'd be bald!

I'll give you a little hair history so you know what I was dealing with: Since the age of about 10/11 I've been straightening my hair everyday. I have horrible natural hair, not straight, not curly, not wavy, not really anything just a frizzy mess. I began colouring my hair in year 9 too, as well as washing and blow drying (and straightening) every morning. Overall, I've put my hair through hell.

So since about November last year, I've changed how I look after my hair.
So lets start with washing:

I use Herbal essences Beautiful ends shampoo and conditioner because of the horrible condition of my hair. It's brilliant, you'll see in a minute how much I love this collection. But yeah it's great, it has restored health in my hair and given in plenty of volume!

Next I use Lee Stafford's hair growth treatment ' for hair that never grows past a certain length' You can buy this in any supermarket or highstreet shop such as boots or superdrug. This stuff is  my absolute savior. I've re-purchased this about  7 times, it retails for £7.99 in most stores and is worth every penny. It anchors your roots and promotes growth and its fabulous. My hair has grown loads and I've been using this since October '11. I use this every time I wash my hair which is usually 3-4 times a week.

However once a week I do use this. This is Herbal Essences beautiful ends split ends protection intensive mask. This is also amazing, I don't condition if i use this because it basically acts as a conditioner but better. This has saved my hair too and is well worth however much it costs ( I can't remember!)

Once I'm out of the shower I use copious amounts of heat protect before iI blow dry and straighten if I do.

This is what I use first, it's got2b guardian angel heat defense. I use this on the top of my head, roots mainly but not my ends. I love this product, again you can get this from any highstreet store or supermarket. It last a long time too which is always a plus!

And finally, I use Herbal Essences beautiful end heat defense! (Told you I loved this range!) I use this on the length of my hair and particularly the roots. I pump it onto my fingers and run it through my hair. This protects my ends particularly well from becoming split. Its brilliant!

I've also cut down the amount I wash my hair which keeps the natural oils in well. I now straighten my hair maybe once or twice a week if that which is so much better for it! My hair is now growing nicely and it becoming fuller and nicer! 

Review: Topshop Nail Varnish

I'm an absolute sucker for nail varnish. I always have my nails painted, even throughout my exams I've had my nails painted (we're not supposed to oops...) But yeah, I'm known for my colourfull nails! So obviously, when Topshop brought their cosmetics range out I was soo excited to purchase their nail varnishes!

I've accumulated I think 7 now, and I plan to get loads more as there is very few colours that I don't like!

So here is my collection:

From left to right: Celestial, Big Smoke, Domestic Goddess, Country Bumpkin, Peaches and Cream, Mannequin, Nice n Neutral.
In the school I attend, we're not supposed to wear nail varnish which annoys me as i never ever go without! So the colour Mannequin is perfect for discreteness as its almost the same colour as my nails naturally.

Topshop nail varnishes are my absolute favourite, I cannot fault them; they provide great coverage of your nail, I usually do 1 or 2 coats and that's all I need! The colour variety is mind blowing. I was in the Stratford Westfield Topshop and they hold all of the nail paints. I was in complete ore! However my boyfriend restricted me to buying one :-( So I purchased Celestial as I felt this was a nice summery colour. Not only all of that, but they are affordable too! 

I might treat myself to a few more when my exams have finished as a well done! 

Top 5 essential drugstore products

As I'm still in school and am currently hunting for a part-time job (not an easy task believe me!!) I haven't got lots of money to spend on the make up and clothing I'd really like to, like MAC for example, what I'd do for a makeup bag full of their products! So i do go hunting for the golden products you can find mixed in the drugstores. I generally shop in Superdrug or Boots, or if I cant be bothered to go into town, I'll go into the makeup stands in my local supermarket.

So, as my first blog post I thought I would take my current favourite products and do a wee post about them to get the ball rolling.
Sorry about the bad quality photos also, I'm saving for a nice camera but for now we'll have to put up with my iphone camera.

So here are my essentials that i use every day: 

So from left to right we have:

• Boots own brand 17 lipstick in the shade Hot chilli. This is a corally orange coloured lipstick. I really love the colour, it's extremely pigmented and lasts for ages. Only criticism I have is that it cannot be put on with dry lips and with the weather at the moment, my lips are extra dry. So I cant use this product as much as I'd like
• Rimmels Wake Me Up foundation in 100 ivory. (I'm paler than i thought!!) I am absolutely in love with this foundation, I apply it with an elf stipple brush and the two combined are fabulous. The foundation has glittery bits in which gives you a glow, however these aren't obvious on my face.
• Rimmels Scandaleyes mascara, this has a hugemungous brush! I wear this along with 2 others that aren't brilliant so I find this essential. It clings to my lashes nicely and also doesn't clump them which is brilliant. Im running out of this so I'm going to re-purchase soon!
• Natural Collection Concealer in the lightest shade there is (not sure which) I've always used this concealer, it applies nicely and blends in nicely with my foundation.
• Body Shop Kohl eye liner, I haven't had this for too long however im in love with it completely. It lasts for ages and it came with a smudger so when i use it for my lid, that's also handy!

So there it is, my top 5 products! 

I might do more descriptive reviews in the future of these or of more that i discover :-)