InVogue launch new range of Brushes and Beauty Implements- Brush Works

Beauty Industry experts InVogue recently launched a new range of brushes and implements- *Brush Works. These brushes are very reasonably priced and are said to create a salon like finish. The range includes everyday essentials, including manicure scissors, tweezers, pencil sharpeners and nail files. The range also includes several makeup brushes. I could not wait for these little beauties to arrive in the post.

I received three items from the range to review, The EyeDuo Brush, The Emery Board and The Nail Clippers.

The First product I tried out was The EyeDuo Brush. I often go on weekends away, so this duo brush is ideal for me.... I would bring half my makeup collection if I could fit it all! I try to keep my travel makeup bag as minimal as possible. I usually take 4 or 5 brushes with me. This brush is perfect as it combines two brushes and has multiple uses. I used the angle brush to fill in my brows, the bristles are super soft and the handle is very sturdy. I used the flat shader brush to apply my eyeshadow, I usually apply one shadow for my day look so again this was perfect. I was very happy with the Duo brush, I think it will be a stable in my travel bag.

I used The Nail Clippers and Emery Board last week when I did my weekly mani and pedi. There isn't a lot to say about nail clippers, they either work or they don't, The Brush Works Nail clippers worked really well, it is small and again handy for travel. The Emery Board was great, it is a nice decent size, so I will get plenty of use out of it.

All in all I was very happy with these products, I think I may have to invest in more of the Brush Works collection.

The Brush Works Range is available online from several online stores, including Makeupbrushes.co.uk. The Collection ranges from £1.49-£6.99.

Has anyone else given this collection a try?

Pastels in Autumn/ Winter?

I'm sure like myself once the darker evenings roll in and the Autumn/Winter months begin I put my Summer nail polishes to the back of the drawer and the dark polishes make an appearance. While I was in New York, I picked up three gorgeous Essie shades, surprisingly I didn't pick up any dark shades. I'm usually a bigger fan of the deeper winter shades, I don't know what happened, but surprisingly I have been loving these lighter shades this month.

The Essie shades are called Urban Jungle (a pale nude shade), Mademoiselle (a pale pink shade) and Sparkle on top. I have worn all three in the last few weeks and absolutely love them. Essie have so many beautiful shades in there range, I wish it wasn't so expensive to purchase here in Ireland.

Mademoiselle with Sparkle on top 

Is anyone else enjoying some pastel nail shades this Autumn/ Winter?

Fall in love with Jessica's 'Autumn in New York' A/W 14 Collection

This season Jessica Nail's* decided to use inspiration from the beautiful colours you find around New York during the Autumn months. There are six shades in the collection, Soho In Love (Pale Pink), NY State of Mind (Blue Toned), Broadway Bound (Bright red), Mad for Madison (Rich brown), Meet at the Plaza (Evergreen), and Blue Harlem (Navy blue).

I was sent Blue Harlem and Broadway Bound to try out. I was seriously impressed with these polishes. They have a large brush applicator which makes application easy, they dry very quickly and leave an amazing shine! I applied two coats of the polish and it stayed chip free for about 5 days, by day 5 I only had a small chip on one nail. I absolutely adore the red shade. Red polish is my favourite colour to wear during the A/W months.

Check out the full Jessica's Autumn in New York Collection at The French Beauty Room. Jessica polishes are available from salons nationwide and online at The French Beauty Room. These polishes retail for €12.95.

Has anyone else given these polishes a try?

Sherbet Lemon Nails

Last weekend I rooted out my favourite pastel colours for spring, and decided to paint my nails a bright pastel yellow colour. This colour is from the 17 range at Boots. The shade is called Sherbet Lemon.

I used Essence basecoat, 2 layers of Sherbet Lemon (needed two coats to get it opaque) and finished it off with two layers of Seche Vitae Topcoat. I think it is a gorgeous colour for the spring months, and looks fabulous with a tan. What do you guys think?

Has anyone else picked up this colour, or recommend any nice pastel polishes for spring time?

I have tried my very best not to buy too much beauty products over the last week or so as I am off to London tomorrow to do some shopping!! Hopefully I will get my hands on some gorgeous new beauty products to review!! Eeeks!

Valentine's Day Nails

So I may not have a boyfriend or someone to share my Valentine's Day with but.....that doesn't mean I can't do a nice Valentine's manicure right? I was painting my nails on Wednesday evening and decided to be a bit adventurous...

I painted my nails with this gorgeous light grey colour from OPI, unfortunately it doesn't have the name on the end of the bottle anymore so I don't no the name of it. I was just going to leave my nails at that but I decided seen as I had my whole nail kit out I would try do a small design.

I added tiny light pink pearls and small white hearts to my accent nails. I got these decorations a while ago on eBay. eBay is the best for buying inexpensive nails accessories- sequence, nail files, wraps, cuticle tools, basically anything you can think off!

I finished off the manicure with 2 layers of Seche Vite Topcoat (Review). This is a brilliant topcoat, it dries in seconds and leaves a gorgeous glossy finish. I'm nearly at the end of this bottle. I read on someone's blog, cant remember who, Seche Vite will be at The Irish Beauty Show at the RDS this year and will be discounted, so I will definitely be stocking up!

Did anyone else do a Valentines Day Manicure this week?

Happy Valentines Day!

Hello Pastel Nails

January is finally over and I figure seen as we are soooo close to Spring time, it is now acceptable to wear pastels nail colours!

I absolutely love pastel colours on nails. This week I decided to go for a beautiful lilac colour from Essence. This colour is called Hello Marshmallow, it is a soft lilac colour with hints of light purple glitter. I think Essence polish is absolutely fantastic, it is very reasonably priced and last for days on your nails. The application brush is wide and flat which makes application very easy. I usually finish off my Essence manicure with the Gel-look topcoat, this is one of my absolute favourite topcoats, it allows my nail polish to last twice as long and leaves a gorgeous glossy finish. Review on Essence topcoat here.

I was thrilled to read on Beaut.ie that although Wet n Wild has replaced Essence shelves at Dunnes Stores, Essence will still be available to purchase at Penneys and selected chemists.


Have you seen the picture of the new Essence range arriving this Spring, photo below!

Source

I also caught a glimpse of the new Bloom Me Up! Collection which will also hits shelves this Spring, lets hope we see some of this in Ireland, Look at those brushes!!

Source

Did anyone else do a pastel manicure this week?

Any Essence products you would recommend?

Bling Nail Appliqués

Last week my lovely friend Maeve gave me a set of these as a gift. I have never tried nail wraps before so I was dying to try them out.

I absolutely loved the design, so unique. The pack comes with 18 stickers in total.

The application was very easy. You simply peel the wrap from the paper and stick it to your nail bed. Once you have it securely in place you can cut away the access wrap with a scissors. I was thrilled with how easy they were to apply.
I put them on my fingers Saturday morning and still had all 10 wraps when I was going out on Saturday night, unfortunately I managed to loose one while I was out but I still think they had great staying power as they lasted me the day. I would say these are more for a special occasion or one-off wear, I don't think they would last more then a day on your nails.

I am not sure of the exact price for these wraps as they were a gift.  The nail wraps are available from Penneys/Primark nationwide. They are several different shades and designs to choose from.

Has anyone else tired Bling Nail Appliqués?

200 Followers Giveaway!

200 Followers! I can't believe it. I started my blog just over a year ago as a small hobby but I have grown to absolutely love it. I love sharing my reviews and connecting with people who share the same love for beauty and fashion as I do.

As a big thank you to everyone, I will be giving away one bottle of my absolute favourite tan- Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan.

Disclaimer-
This giveaway is open internationally.
The giveaway will end August 5th.
The winner will have 3 days to reply to my email. If they fail to do so, I will redraw for another winner.
If you are under 18, please get your parent or guardian's permission to enter.

Best of luck lovelys! Thank you again for your continued support,

Amy,

xxx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bye Bye Google Reader!

Google Reader will be closing this weekend. I am not sure if this means the GFC (the blogger follow list) will also be lost, so here are some other ways to reach me...

Blog Lovin': Follow me here

Twitter: I always tweet my new posts. Follow me here

Facebook: I also use this page to upload my posts, Follow here

I have saved my own list of blogs I follow to Bloglovin', I would suggest everyone do this before Monday so you don't loose your favourite blogs, link on how to do this here. I never really use this interface but I guess I will be come Monday!

See you on the other side!

Amy,

xxx 

May Favourites

June is almost here! I can't believe it! I'm off to sunny Portugal in just over a week, I cannot wait! Anyway here's some products I've been loving throughout May. I will link up any reviews I have done below!

 

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion- I got this from a friend. I am terrible for regular moisturising as I hate waiting around for the moisturiser to dry, this is a great product, it dries very quickly and smells lovely.
Catrice Prime And Fine Highlighting Powder- Review
Nivea Double Effect Anti-Perspirant- I bought this Anti-Perspirant while I was in Superdrug last weekend and I absolutely love it. It has the most amazing scent! So girly!
Models Own Glitter Polish- Pink Fizz- I found this in my Nail Polish box last week, I forgot I had it, its a gorgeous Pink glitter. I used it on my accent nail with Essie Fiji, they were perfect together.
EzFlow Trugel Polish- Black Violet- I bought a few new Trugel Soak Off polishes this month. I tried out Black Violet and I absolutely loved it. I love dark nail polish colours, I decided to try it out in May before it got too far into the summer months when dark polish is kind of a no no! Trugel Review

Has anyone else tried out these products? Or written a May Favourites this month?

Amy,

xxx

Barry M Textured Polish

Last weekend I bought a few new polishes from Superdrug, One of which was a textured polish from Barry M- Ridley Road. I couldn't wait to try this out. I have read a few reviews about this polish and most people don't seem to be a fan of it, here is what I thought.....

I thought it was very easy to apply, I heard some people found the consistency to be quite runny but I thought it was ok to apply. It has a sort of foam like consistency with small pieces of grit in it. 
I was not sure about the textured finish. I think it made the manicure look a little messy. I finished the manicure with Seche Vite Topcoat. Once I placed this over the polish the texture seemed to disappear, but once it had dried the texture was still visible but not as prominent.
 

I would say give this a try if you are interested in funky, design nails, or nails with a matte finish. For the people who prefer a shiny glossy finish to their nails I'd probably say you could give this a miss!

Has anyone else tried out Barry M Textured polish?

Amy,

xxx

Soak Off Polish- EzFlow TruGel

Has anyone else tried out TruGel? I heard about it on a few blogs and decided to give it a try!

Trugel is a new soak off polish product from EzFlow.

What EzFlow say about it:
Build your clientele with innovative TruGelTM
* Strengthens nails with mega-shine & long-lasting color
* Safe for natural nails
* Protective gel formula leaves nails healthier & stronger
* Brushes on like polish for easier application
* Formulated to cure under both LED & UV lights
* Soaks off easily in 10 minutes - no drilling or filing needed They have  72 shades  fabulous colours!

I decided to choose just one colour and see how I got on with it. I went for a gorgeous colour called 'Tiffany'. It is an exact match for the Tiffnay & Co colour. I used Konad Plate m71 to create the bow design.

I applied my TruGel polish and wore the polish for 10 days and it still looked perfect on the 10th day. I decided to remove it as I wanted to try another colour. The removal process was great, removed without effort in 10 minutes.

I would definitely recommend TruGel to anyone.  The flat brush makes application easy and it removes like a dream. I have already ordered two new colours, cannot wait for them to arrive!

Order TruGel on eBay here

Find out more about TruGel here

Amy,

xxx

Essie Fiji

Happy Tuesday everyone, hope you all had a lovely weekend!

I did a little shopping over the weekend and I finally picked up the polish I've been hearing so much about- Essie Fiji. It seems to be very popular this spring, after seeing it on 'The Perfect Beauty' on Friday I decided to finally purchase it over the weekend.

It is a gorgeous pastel pinkish white colour. I had just applied my Cocoa Brown tan on Saturday morning and it looked fabulous with my tanned glow. It took two coats to get it completely opaque. I finished off the manicure with two coats of Seche Vitae Topcoat.

I have never used Essie polish before. So I'm not sure what kind of staying power it has. Seen as it is quite pricey I'm hoping it stays on and I don't find chips for a few days. I actually think I could leave it on forever, I am in love with this colour.

Has anyone else tried this colour?  or any other Essie colour you'd recommend?

Link to Essie range here,

Amy,

xxx

Shellac Sweet Dreams Collection - Cake Pop

My new shellac spring colour finally arrived last week, I could not wait to try it out! The colour is called Cake Pop, it is a gorgeous pink pastel colour, great for Spring/Summer.

Here is how the manicure turned out, I created a butterfly design on the accent nail using Monster Bundle plate BM-205, and Essence Marble Mania- Silver Twist polish.
I topped the accent nails with a 2nd coat of Shellac Topcoat.

I love the Spring Sweet Dreams Collection Shellac brought out in March, I think my next purchase will be Lilac Longing.

Has anyone else tried out these colours?

Amy

xxx

Nail Polish Remover Tutorial

This is how I remove my nail polish. I read about it on a blog last year and it really is a great way of removing nail polish, especially stubborn dark polish which can leave stains on your finger nails and skin around the nail.

Step 1-

Cut cotton pads into pieces

Step 2-

Soak each piece in nail polish remover and place on the nail

 

Step 3-

Wait 5mins to allow the nail polish remover to soak into the polish, then remove pieces of cotton from the nail

Step 4-
Remove any polish left on nail with a cotton pad

I found this process very helpful, less fuss and mess to clean up!

Hope you guys find it helpful too,

Amy

xxx

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat Review

I’ve heard so much positive feedback in the blogging world about this top coat so I finally decided to buy it this weekend and see does it really live up to the hype.

What Seche say about the product- 'Seche Vite™ dry fast top coat is widely acknowledged as the world's finest top coat. Specially formulated to penetrate through nail lacquer to the base coat forming a single solid coating over the nail plate for a much more durable finish. Guaranteed not to yellow while leaving nails silky, stronger and resistant to chipping and peeling'.

Good News-
Dry’s so fast, I was amazed, under one minute
Has a lovely shine finish
Nice and thick to prevent chipping

 
Bad News-

Quiet expensive approx. 10-15euro a bottle
I have read it can get gloopy quick quickly, only time will tell!

All in all I think this product is worth the money spent, it leaves a gorgeous glossy finish, very happy with the results!

Learn more about Seche products here

 
Amy

xxx

Pastel Nails for Spring

I usually prefer darker colour polishes but decided seen as it is Spring time I’d try a lighter shade. Essence has some gorgeous spring/summer colours out at the moment. I decided to try out a Pastel Purple colour called Hello Marshmallow!

I first applied OPI Natural Nail Base coat & 2x layers of Hello Marshmallow!

As glitter polishes are a huge trend this season I decided to add a gold glitter for some sparkle. I got this glitter polish in a Penneys Nail polish collection set.

 

I finished the manicure with 2x layers of Essence Better then gel topcoat. I was thrilled with the result, very springy!

Find out more about Essence polishes here

Amy,

xxx