Haul from today!

Just some little bits from today, I actually intended to get a lot more but Wolverhampton doesn't have the best choice in their drug stores! 

Left-Right TRESemmé Spilt Remedy Conditioner, MUA Undressed Palette, TRESemmé Texture Style Divine Definition Spray, MUA Nail Varnish in Natural Days, TRESemmé Spilt Remedy Spilt Mend and Protect Leave-In Conditioner and Barry M Nail Varnish in Ruby Glitter.

I'll do proper reviews when I've had the chance to try them out (:

TRESemmé claim that after only 3 uses of the Spilt Remedy collection, reduces spilt ends up to 80%. Now I recommend using the shampoo and the conditioner together, but it really does work, my hair is looking a lot more healthy since I've been using it. 

I got the conditioner for £4.99 from Boots, who have a 2 for £5 offer on all of TRESemmé shampoo, conditioner and intensives! I decided to get the Spilt Remedy Leave-In Conditioner instead of the shampoo because I have tons of it! I'm definitely looking forward to using it, I've got a thing for leave in's! 

My other TRESemmé buy is from the new Texture Style collection, which I'll probably end up buying all of because I'm a massive fan of products like this. I decided to go with the Divine Definition one because my hair really needs a lift, so I'm hoping it will help and I'll be reviewing this as soon as I can :) Also in the new collection is Backcomb Dust, Tousled Wave Spray and a Velvet Créme. I bought this for £5.50. 

I've been wanting the MUA 'Undressed' Palette for ages but I've been waiting for my skin to clear up before I bought it, my eyes are especially bad. However, the time has come to finally buy it and even in the palette the shades look amazing so I can't wait to try. I got this for £4 from Superdrug. 

I also got one of the new MUA nail colours in 'Natural Days' which is a very pale pink colour which will go perfectly with their new 'Fur Effects' in Fluffly Puff (which is why I bought it). Cheap as chips at £1. 

And finally, Barry M Jewel Glitter Paint in 'Ruby Glitter' which I'll review now as I've already tried it! 

I love sparkly nail varnishes, I have so many so I probably shouldn't be buying more but I couldn't resist. I apologise now for the rubbish lighting in these photos but it gets dark really early now so I just had to make do! From the bottle this looks like a black based varnish with flecks of pink glitter but I advise you to look closely at colours like this because they won't turn out like what you expect them to. 
Upon closer inspection, this is a clear varnish with large hexagonal hot pink, burgandy and black glitter particles and very, very fine black flecks. 
I only applied one coat of this to my nails so you can see what it's like by itself but I do recommend, either, layering it or applying it over a different base colour. I should also advise you to not touch a thing whilst you're waiting for this to dry, a lot of it comes out and I had to be careful that it didn't dribble onto my fingers. However, it only took 5 minutes for it to dry completely.

For £2.99, I definitely think this is a lovely varnish and I imagine it would look stunning if you had the time to sit there and layer it up. However, it's one of these that look far superior in the bottle than it does on your nails. 

XXX

 

 

Super easy New Year's Eve nail ideas

Hey guys!

Here are a few nail art ideas for New Year's Eve. I say 'nail art' but there really is no art involved at all, they're all really really easy to do and  use affordable products, all of which I'll really briefly review as I go!

Carnival by Technic

Carnival Glitter polish by Technic, without flash

Carnival glitter polish by Technic, with flash

 Jenn got me this amazing Technic glitter nail polish for Christmas, the name is 'Carnival', and it's a clear polish loaded with flecks of different size and colour holographic glitter. At the moment I can see red, gold, silver, blue and green but I seem to notice another colour every time I look at it! Carnival and other Technic nail products are available from Bodycare, but I'm not sure about the price as this was a gift.

#1

For this one, I brushed Carnival onto my nails in the usual way I would apply a polish. I didn't use a base coat so this was to give a nice shine to my nail and add a few flecks of glitter here and there. Applied in this way, not much glitter actually gets onto the nail. For the tips, I applied Carnival in a dabbing motion instead, which allowed me to concentrate the glitter on the ends of my nails. 

#2 

 

To add a bit more sparkle, you could use the dabbing technique to apply more glitter to the top half of the nail, gradually getting less and less towards the cuticle for a glittery ombre effect!

#3

 

And if you wanted to go all out, dab the glitter all over your nail and layer as much as you like! (It is new year's eve!)

 All in all I love this nail polish, it's really easy to  achieve a subtle look with one coat or a reaaaally glittery one with just a few! Loving the colours and different types of glitter, especially at this time of year. 

Black Multi Glitter by Barry M

Black Multi Glitter by Barry M, without flash

Black Multi Glitter by Barry M, with flash

  Black Multi Glitter does what it says on the bottle, it's a highly pigmented black polish with loads of really fine multi-coloured glitter mixed in. Most of the glitter looks silvery but when the light catches it you can see glints of pink, red, green blue, etc etc! The thing I have about this one is that it looks amazing in the bottle and from the description, but I've used this a few times now and been disappointed with how it looks on my nails. I thought I may as well show you...

 

 Although it's really pigmented, I still needed two coats to get full coverage. I think the top picture looks pretty much like any plain black polish, and although the flash picks up the glitter a little, I don't really think it's much to write home about. I've seen other reviews and pictures of this polish on nails and it looks amazing, but never seems to work that way for me! It just seems to dry really gritty and dull on my nails, and base and top coats don't seem to help, am I doing something wrong!?

If you want to give this one a go yourself, I had mine from Superdrug although I can't find it on the Boots or Superdrug websites! It's also available from ASOS for £2.99. 

Gold Mine by Barry M

Gold Mine Glitter by Barry M, without flash

Gold Mine Glitter by Barry M, with flash

 In complete contrast to the previous Barry M polish, I LOVE this one!! Gold Mine Glitter is a really pigmented black polish with tonnes of large-ish gold flecks, perfect for a night out or if you fancy something a bit more special than plain black. You can purchase Gold Mine Glitter from Boots or Superdrug, £2.99 from both stores.

#4

This, again, is impressively pigmented for a black, but to get completely full coverage you ideally need 2-3 coats. I find this one to be really difficult to remove so rather than layering it (and to save wasting it) I'd advice using one layer over a plain black polish. In this picture I'm wearing it over Barry M Black Multi Glitter (above). 

 And my personal favourite...

#5

 

I really like dark nails, so I wanted something dark but with a bit of sparkle for New Year's Eve. I think this combination of Carnival over Barry M Black Multi Glitter is perfect, it reminds me a little of fireworks on the night sky! I tried adding a bit more Carnival glitter for a more full-on look (below), but at the moment I'm thinking of keeping it subtle.

#6

 

I wasn't wearing any top coat in these pictures as I was removing the polish and re-applying really quickly, and I think you could probably get away without it. I pretty much always wear some top coat when I do my nails properly, just to give them that extra shine and protect the polish underneath. Just in case you're interested, this is my favourite:

Wet Look Top Coat by Save the Nail

It gives a really high shine finish, goes on smoothly and lasts really well. I also think it brings out the colours of the polish underneath and really makes them pop! Definitely worth the money as it's lasted me ages (£6.95 from Boots). :)

Thank you so much for reading and happy new year guys!

Sophie xxx