Had decided that I love Max Factor Dazzling blue on my toes for my holiday pedi but was torn between something totally different on my fingers or something different but toning, class or clash if you will!
Whilst I was deciding thought I'd give Max Factor freebie Disco Pink a whirl. I just don't get it. If I was going to give someone a free sample of a product of mine in the hope it would encourage them to buy more they would get the very best of everything that I could offer and yet every time I get a freebie sample nail polish (Nails Inc on InStyle magazine) the brush is ten types of crap. This one has horribly splayed bristles that drag the polish and make neat application nigh on impossible, why would you do that. I compared the paid for Dazzling blue brush with the one in the freebie pink and they are leagues apart, both same size and design bottle so thats no excuse.
Anyway rant over, the pink is nice but nothing fab, just doesn't have the hotness I was hoping for, bit too dark toned. I had hoped it would be just right as the clash option for my holiday mani but having seen it next to dazzling blue its just not cutting it so have opted for Rimmel Sky High, I love this polish, it wears well, goes on nicely and works really well with the dazzling blue, I think.
Swatch application not proper mani btw and managed to smudge the Rimmel whilst smearing cuticles with a bit of hand cream into the bargain! So thats this evening sorted, bit more packing and then paint my nails!
Sally Hansen Instant Nail Shine, Natural nail finish is a miracle worker and my nails are looking very healthy because of it, thanks mum! xx
Who doesn't love a freebie? Even if half the time its stuff you don't want or need!! I needed another bottle of Max Factor Second Skin foundation in Creamy Ivory ready for my hols (Corfu, on Friday, can hardly wait!!) So having had a rummage to check that Second Skin was the way to go, haven't bought the same foundation 3 times in a row in like forever, I think - that's how good this stuff is, absolutely love it! Noticed that if you spent £15 you got a lil' make up bag with some stuff inside and thought that as the foundation was £13.99 I only needed a wee tiny thing to have spent enough and Lo! there was the Max Factor Max Effect range sitting there looking all sparkly and shiny and I had had half an eye on the Dazzling Blue nail varnish since I first saw them, for £3.49 I think? Teeny bottle but it just looks like a really nice blue/gold/purple duochrome, although actually that would make it a triochrome and they don't really exist do they!
Isn't it lush? Have a feeling that I might be disappointed by it in real life, it has a real opal look to it in the bottle but often this kind of thing doesn't convert in the wearing so we'll have to see - I promise swatches asap.
So onto the freebie. This cute make up bag, I have bazillions of make up bags and still don't have too many. Some one please explain this to Steve. Thank you.
And inside an array of loveliness.
I am actually really surprised. Black kohl eye liner, Em nabbed that straight away. Masterpiece High definition Black mascara, worth a try - my go to is L'Oreal precision - the comb makes my non-existent lashes actually show up - but I am happy to have this to try. Disco Pink Nailfinity nail varnish, cheesy name or what? Nice vibrant pink cream though, could be very Corfu! Earth Spirits eye shadow in Ultra Aqua which is a lovely pearly aqua shot with a bit of gold - TV Db rides again! Even if I only wear in on holiday with a bit of a tan and my new turquoise maxi dress! And a mini lippy which is no. 804 Hint of Red. I HATE lipstick, too dry, too claggy too vile, I always use sheer lip stuff, dont do gloss as am too old and dont like the gloopy feel, current fave is either the UNE lip balm or for a bit more colour Dior Serum De Rouge in Raspberry - £24 bought in duty free last November and it is fantastic, creamy, smooth, lightweight, nice hit of colour but sheer enough not to look old lady AND it'd doing your lips good, allegedly. This Max Factor lipstick has blown me away, its a do'able shade of red, pretty sheer and really really moisturising, feels lovely on.
And if that weren't enough you get two sample sachets of Second Skin foundation - Natural and Golden, both of which will probably be too dark for me and finally a £3 voucher off Second Skin foundation, which is fab! Oh and a pair of those weird toe separator thingies for when you do your pedi, so all in all just perfect as a pre-holiday selection of loveliness!
Had a fab weekend in the Lake District so photo blog will be getting some updates soon too, btw!
It's been ages again hasn't it, if everyone is bored to death of this non-event of a blog I would so understand, loads of stuff going on and not enough time to do the things I want to, sure you can relate! As is usual when I have time to do one post I generally do two, have updated my photo blog today as well with photos of Tom on his last day at school - he is too handsome!
Not my usual sort of colour this one, don't really do pink but Em wanted it to match the maxi dress she has bought for her hols and having seen it on her I rather fancied it for a change. Its one of those nice electric pinks with a sort of bluey ish flash. For some reason I have always associated this colour with my Aunty Helen, who I met when I was 14 and filled with self-loathing and in inveterate nail biter! She has the most gorgeous hands and fantastic nails and I was so envious and was convinced if I could stop biting my nails they would look like hers. Hmm, not so much! So in my head this is "aunty Helen pink"!
S'cuse the rather gleaming cuticles, grabbed my brush and oil combo and was painting away when I remembered that I had recently dipped the brush in the olive oil I was using so instead of a bit of gentle moisturising I was achieving full on oil slick!
Really like the Rimmel formula, not mad keen on the brush - I have very small nails and on my smallest the brush is almost too wide. The polish is lovely though, this is 2 coats with no top coat yet. Just a shame the Rimmel colours aren't more exciting, much as I love Barry M colours I don't think that anyone would argue that the brushes and the formula on some of them can be a bit tricky. That said bought the bright green one at the weekend, more of a jelly than the more recent pastels I have bought but I loved it on, must take photo next time I wear it! Oh and Em and I got the Barry M blue glitter which is craaaaaaaazy - looks fab on her, not sure I wouldnt be back in transvestite territory but might give it a whirl!
Now with links that work - sorry about that!
Leanne at OCD tagged me and so I am playing along, although I only have 3 followers and they all follow Leanne's blog too so maybe I can tag you and you can play along by commenting on here instead? I will tag another blogger that Leanne didn't yet and hope they spot this, just to keep things moving along - preferably someone with rather more than 3 followers!! Aagh and I have just noticed that I was also tagged by Sexy Mutha pukka - but as Deborah Smyth Photography, my alter ego - sorry Shabana!
So the rules are:
Link to your tagger and list the rules
and
List seven random facts about yourself.
So here goes, seven things you never wanted to know about me:
I am 44 years old and so older and much wiser than many bloggers. And saggier and more grey haired too, oh the joy.
I have crap nails, they flake and peel and I spend my entire life trying to coax them into looking nice.
I like making people laugh. Although prefer if that can be "with" me rather than "at" but will take either!
I hate all forms of exercise apart from spinning, which is pretty contrary considering that I could do yoga but prefer 50 mins cycling for my life lathered in sweat and gasping for breath.
I am Taurean which is my excuse for being "curvy", self indulgent and self obsessed.
I am an amateur photographer and would love to earn my money through photography.
I currently own a guest house with my husband Steve in West Yorkshire but earn my money selling advertising on an agricultural machinery magazine.
I tag:
Rebecca at Nails Etc
Victoria - just leave me a comment, or tell me at Cereals and I'll post them for you!!
Rebecca - just leave me a comment too please, please, please!
After reading Leanne's post on the Body shop Monoi Miracle Body Oil I decided I needed to make a detour to check it out, in spite of seriously limited funds at the moment! The oil is lovely but I have a feeling that the one they had on display had been sat open for some time as it had a slightly unpleasant petrolly whiff to it which rather masked the "holiday" smell that Leanne was getting from hers. Did pick up a travel mini of the Aloe calming cleanser - my £10 bottle has run out and like I send being careful with the pennies so a travel size bottle for £3 was perfect not least because I am away for work next week.
Whilst I was in the The Body Shop I spotted a fantastic nail gizmo - am probably years behind everyone on this and you have all been using them for ages, but in case not this is a heads up! In their Almond hand care range they have a fab Almond nail and cuticle oil, it comes in a pen with a brush and you turn the base to load the brush and then run it round your cuticles and nails. Mum bought me something similar ages ago which I kept on my desk and used religiously, as she said something about using the brush to apply and then massage in the oil seemed to really help and of course its quick and non-messy. So all great so far but nothing outrageously fab, where this item got kudos from me is that instead of just having a cap on the brush it is fitted with a good sturdy plastic hoof, like those flimsy ones you get on the old traditional hoof stick which frankly never seemed to achieve much in my opinion, although to my shame I have been known to use some pretty dreadful things in an attempt to shift my cuticles including an old false nail and the edge of the nail cleaner on a pair of metal nail clippers, isn't that awful? I always use an orange stick because they work I have always felt the proper hoof stick rubber tip didn't quite do the trick but as I say the one on the Body Shop nail oil looks much sturdier. This costs £7 which seems like a bargain to me - she says moving her half litre of olive oil that cost £1.50 to one side!
I do have to confess to a couple of purchases today - a Rimmel nail varnish in a light teal/turquoise called Sky High, a real splurge on Paul Mitchell Relaxing hair balm my excuse being that I have bendy hair that drives me insane and only good styling products will do the trick!! and some Sally Hansen Acetone free nail polish remover, used up the last of the Co-Op cheapo stuff last week and am paying the price; the skin is quite literally peeling off of my hands, ouch.
This is Sky High - taken with flash because it's beyond dreary outside!
I tried to tweak the colour to show you that its much more of green turquoise than a blue one.
And just to prove that even though I have the Barry M turquoise, it leans blue and this leans green so I did NEED it!!
Although that photo would suggest otherwise!
And a quick update on Barry M blues - just for comparisons sake:
L-R: Pale Blue, Cyan Blue, Turquoise
