New Mum Wish List

Now Bethany is finally getting into some sort of routine and we are starting to adventure out, I can now start to think about giving myself some TLC after the long nights, nappy changes and feeds. This is currently what I am daydreaming about:

A Haircut (after dying it)

My hair is starting to get really long, frizzy and in need of a trim before Beth starts pulling on it. I have a hairdresser that comes to my house who will trim me up for £12, she's also been cutting my family hair for many years (she also did the hair for my wedding at a very good rate). It's not going to be anything extreme, just a tidy and shorten.

Eyebrow Threading

After the disaster of my last visit (When Threading Goes Wrong) I've been growing my eyebrows back out again to get them done by another place. This one is my priority as I do not feel right now I've discovered the difference it makes to my face when they are done.

New Nail Polish for Spring

It's Spring and a season so it means I need to update the varnish wardrobe, but the trouble I have is decided what to get. The short list is as follows: OPI's Jade green AmazON... AmazOFF (Brazil Collection), Essie's Ice baby blue Find Me An Oasis (Resort Collection) and Blue/Turquoise Hide & Go Chic (Spring Collection), and Model's Own Naked Glow (Gel Collection).

Bra's

Now my chest has returned to 'normal' I require new bras that have some support to them and look pretty as well. I have two bits of trouble with my twins: I am on the large side of sizes and unusually the middle does not lean against the sternum in the middle so I cannot wear certain styles or it does pierce my skin. This is my most frustrating thing to go shopping for because the ones I like are the ones I cannot wear. Any suggestions are welcome in comments.

Jean's

I must be the only person I know who lost weight in pregnancy (apart from baby), once Beth was born I was soon back in my pre-pregnancy jeans. A week later they were hanging off of me like when I lost the weight to get pregnant. I have to admit defeat and get new jeans to fit me, there's only so much a woman can wear jogging/PJ bottoms!

Joan Collins Beauty Divine Lipstick and Nail Varnish in Helene

A red lipstick and nail varnish with my name, it's fate.

NOTD - Pink to Make The Boys Wink

Inspired, of course, by my little girl, this is a mixture of two polishes for a pale pink fench style manicure.

After base coat of OPI Nail Envy in Matt, I applied one coat of Essie's Sugar Daddy for a nude pink finish, on the tips is one coat of OPI's Make Him Mine Liquid Sand (Christmas 2013 collection) dabbed onto the tips. All sealed with a top coat of Sechi Vite.

Very simple, but very effective.

NOTD - Nails Inc. Victoria

Love the vampness of this polish, makes me feel all Pulp Fiction and want to start jiving in a burger bar.

With having to shorten my nails before labour I wanted a colour that looked classic and glamourous (even though at the time I didn't feel it), as well as something I can wear with my PJ's as well as anything I decided to get dressed in.

You will need to coats to get an even layer and it lasted on me for about 5 days until the edges started to fade. As it is a cream finish the removal is easy, but you will need a base coat to stop it staining the nails.

The classic is available from Nails Inc website RRP £11.00 but is available in 3 for £22 mix and match offer currently running.

Rose Quartz Nail Varnish by Barry M

Rose Quartz with There She Rose by OPI

I had spotted this polish on different peoples blog and always though it was pretty but it wasn't until I saw it on Fee's Blog Makeup Savvy that I was convinced that I had to hunt it down. It is a mixture of small rose gold glitter with fine hologram glitter in a clear base.
Fee had put hers over a nude/white polish while I put mine over a rose tone (OPI's There She Rose), it did look beautiful but to me the glitter seemed to blend in with the polish. The is when I turned to Nail's Inc. Porchester Road

I prefer this as the finer parts of the glitter seem to show more on this slightly darker colour but still in the nude genre. Trying to take it was no longer than any other glitter polish, just a lot of patience and acetone but it well worth getting as it is just beautiful.

Available at all high street chemists/online RRP £2.99

Nails Inc Couture Varnish using Hyda Park Corner

I honestly love this prize, not only is it from one of my blogger heroes, Jane from British Beauty Blog but I also had the huge task of creating a bestoke Nails Inc varnish for myself using the current line up of colours.

Nails Inc Couture would make a great for someone who loves thrie polish. You start with choosing the lids to go on top, from diamonte to pearls, then to the polish to go inside. The polish took the longest to pick as I had to throughly research each colour to make sure that I hadn't already had it as well as something I would wear (Thank you to google and the hundreds of swatch images I spent two hours pouring over!). You then write what you like to have written on the bottom of bottle instead of the shade name, as well as what stickers you are decorating the box in.

I themed mine around a keep sake for me on the birth of Minilemming. I had the idea of something that was really 'me' but gave a huge nod towards that changes that are coming. The varnish colour is Hyde Park Corner, a lilac/heather toned grey with a dark sparkle grey cap. It is named, "Baby Gray, January 2014" and decorated in yummy mummt stickers.

It is normally £20, compared to £11 for a 'normal' Nails Inc varnish and it is purely as a one of kind gift for a beauty junkie. I had a huge amount of fun putting this together and it does really mean a lot to me already, a fushion of Mum and Bubba.

NOTD - Moss Behaving by Cheeky

Cheeky are the younger sister of Cowshed, they will be launching in 25 prestige Superdrug stores at the end of October. They still keep the core of Cowshed's philophy of simple and natural products, but are more accessible and fun for people who cannot get the Cowshed Spa. They will offer treatments for the person who wants to keep maintained but want it now.

As well as cheerful range of products they are also bringing out 21 nail paints that will retail for £7 each or if you are lucky enough to get to Superdrug store can have a file and paint for £12 as well as take the colour home with you.

The range has a vast array of colours but the one I was really intrigued by was Moss Behaving, just screamed AW trend but was completely different to the berry tones the other were wearing. I had a file and buff as well as a paint which was not only quick but technically perfect. My manicurist was passionate about her work and I couldn't fault her.

The colour itself I found took on different colours, in the warm light of indoors it went a deep green, but once it was outside into the white light of day, it went to this beautiful blue/green. I have had this on for 5 days now and it still going strong, even with showering and constantly typing.

I am a Collection Halloween Nail Art Finalist :)

I am really excited, my simple black and white Halloween nails have been picked by Collection Cosmetics (used to be know as Collection 2000) as their finalist for their Halloween nail art competition. I wanted to do something that mostly anyone can recreate themselves, and show a little of my (cheeky) personality.

There are four other really good designs up for the running, in the end I am happy to be there. If you want to vote for me it's very simple - Go to the Collection facebook page here and click the one you want (if me, then I'm number one).

Good luck to the other entries and thank you if you do vote for me.

Olympia Beauty 2012 (Picture Heavy)

I have finally recovered from the onslaught of 259 stands of beauty heaven. On Sunday I travelled across a (partly closed down - grr) London to Olympia for their yearly trade showcase.I got in just after doors opened and got in very quickly even though I had to pick up my ticket. I'd already had checked out the floor layout so I headed straight to the media centre for a quick coffee hit before embarking on the madness.

I did really like the layout, the stalls were downstairs while on the galley on the top is the media centre, competition areas and lecture areas. It meant that you could look down and watch the masses.

After the coffee hit (or 3!), I had some time with the fantastic people at Filthy Gorgeous. These are based in London and offer the pamper service with girlie gossip. They were so fab they're getting their own entry with compulsory pictures of the stunning nails they did for me.

I couldn't put it off enough and did a walk of the floor, it was busy (this was about lunchtime) but enough were I could get round without too much trouble. The only really busy bit was Sweet Squared you are the UK distributors for Shellac, the Que for the stand not only around the stand but across the walkway and half way down the door! The first picture above on the left has part of the Que in.

OPI's German Collection

SPARitual - Resisted remixing nail varnishes

China Glaze - I really wanted the one closest!

I also walked around the Make Up Competition, which for some reason I didn't get any pictures. However, I did get some of the Nailympics which you have never seen nail art like this before!

It was a very very tiring again, I really wished I had time to go Monday and watch the results of Nailympics. My arms and back were/still aching from the amount of bags I had, and the amount of reading I have for the next week. Many thanks to the wonderful team at Olympia who went out their way to make sure that everyone not only media but tradespeople were looked after. Only next time please get more toilets, there was not enough for the 50,000 visitors!

How I am spending my weekend

I am rather excited this weekend, I am going to Olympia Beauty 2012 in London. It is a once a year event that the beauty trade goes to see what is coming for the next season as well as share ideas and be tempted by loads of pretty things to buy look at. I missed last years after being on crutches, so I'm determined to make up for it!

Not only it is one of the biggest trade show, but launching this year is the first ever The Art of Make Up competition for New and Junior make up artists. This is alongside Nailympics, where nail technictions compete for 10 trophies and 96 medals. This is where you'll find the creme de la creme of the nail art world. This is one of last years winners, Maria De Loudres Destassiaux Vargara, who won Division 3 in Fantasy Nail Art.

If you want to find out more about Nailympics then go to here, they also have last years winners to browse over.

If you are a trade person who wants to go please visit the show website to register as your ticket will be free (it is £20 on the door).

I'm attending on Sunday and will be tweeting throughout the day, as well as avoiding temptation (like OPI and Essie - Oh dear!)

NOTD Portabello Road's Asylum

I woke up today and forgot that I painted my nails last night (yes that does happen!). I gave myself a fright with these, I'd forgotten how bright this polish is!.

This is Nails Inc Limited Edition Portabello Road with Finger Paints Asylum over the top. I'm trying to grab onto the last few days of summer with a  polish that's cheery and bright. I put top coats of each on, but I think the Nails Inc could of done with another coat.

I wish it was sunnier to show you how stunning Finger Paints Asylum is, it's a beautiful iridescent glitter that can be built up. I wrote about here.

Ebay is naughty but I couldn't resist a nail bargain!

I am now on a spending because well I have no money to actually buy anything. I have been selling some of my old varnish's off on eBay just to get some money back and clear out my collection. All was going well until I checking out the competition (it's my defence and I'm sticking with it!), there was a huge a job lot with 12 varnishes, a stamper set with spare bits (My wishlist had this on). I stuck it on my watch list to see what it would go for.

At work I got a ping to tell me not to miss out, and well I had a look it was still at good price a minutes to go. I got itchy fingers and before I knew it it was paid for, a whole £14 including P&P. Today it arrived, after the terrible day at work it defiantly something that brightened  up my day!

This is the stamper kit bits including a still boxed up set that has plate B26 (Hawaiian themed). The other plates are B56 (designs for edging) and B01 (flowers, butterflies and girlie bits). Needed a wipe with varnish remover but cleaned up well, eager to try these out!

Rimmel varnishes L-R: Funtime Fuchsia, Grey Matter, Strawberry Fizz, Instyle Coral, Camouflage Chic, and Aqua Cool

Others L-R: Sally Hansen Cafe Au Lait, Orly Lemonade, Nails Inc Tate, Nails Inc Portobello, Nails Inc Notting Hill Gate, Nails Inc Haymarket.

Altogether there is at least £70 worth of items there, and I'm over the moon. Should give me more than enough to play with while on the spending ban!

My Giveaway win and NOTD with Fingerpaints varnish

In giveaways I don't normally win, I try and enter ones of people I already follow (or at least have a read through previous enteries to see if I would like to afterwards). There is an awesome blog I follow which combines my favourite items trainers and nail varnish called Lacquer and Laces by The Sneakerette. She does find some of the best indie lacquers that are on the market, photos are superb and the trainers are to die for.

She did an brilliant NOTD using Wet 'n' Wild black, Finger paint's Asylum and matt top coat. It's beautiful Check it out here the prize was these two above - Finger Paint's Sparkle Top Coat and my own bottle of Asylum.

Couldn't wait to get asylum on my fingers - This is with two coats of SpaRituals Undercurrent creme blue with one coat of Asylum over the top. The photos really don't do it justice! I have worn the Sparkle top coat over a soft pink for a daytime look, it's packed with glitter and glimmers beautifully in the sun (since I did the manicure there has been no sun to get a decent photo! I'm determined to get one!)

 

They are from America :( but can be viewed here

If I didn't have a mortgage to pay

As being more of a 'maturer' bblogger it takes me a lot longer to purchase the stuff I really want. Most of the time by the time I can afford it, I'm already onto the next big thing that everyone is raving about. Being a blogger I do change my a lot, entry to entry, as I skip through my read list. There are however items that no matter what I still really want.

 

1. War Paint: Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein - Their Lives, Their Times, Their Rivalry

I am a bit of a book nerd, my current to be read list is over 20 books already and my amazon wish list is over 100. This charts of the very first rivalries in the beauty world, before women even given the vote, these women created their own business which are two of the most respected companies in the industry. One of the many beauty books on my wish list.

2. Flake Away by Soap & Glory

 

I love a good scrub, not an exfoliated. I like to feel like it is getting rid of dead skin, not just giving them a little tickle. A mixture of Shea butter, sweet almond oil with the duo of salt and sugar scrub, it's not scrubs but leaves skin super soft. The scent is divine as well, for £7.00 well worth it.

 

3. OPI German Collection - German-icure 

 

OPI and I have a very long love affair from when I was first training about 8 years ago to today. If I won the lottery I would buy all the colours in every part of the range. I literally will have to hold myself back at Olympia Beauty next month, because before I would know it I'd probably buy £100's worth without blinking. I have allowed myself one - this one from the AW12 range around Germany. It's a chocolate brown burgundy shimmer that is on trend for the season. (I might sneak in Every Month Is Oktoberfest, a shimmer rich purple but shh)

 

4. Real Techniques Stippling brush

 

First it was sponges, then it was foundation brushes, now it's all about the stippling brush. It suppose to give an airbrushes finished and can be used with a majority of face products. This is suppose to be the F1 of all the brushes, developed by the Pixiwoo girls and everyone who has used them adore them, the more I read about it the more I want it!

 

5. Konad stamping set

 

I actually missed out on buying one of these earlier this year at The Ideal Home on a massive discount because yet again I was broke (I picked up free tickets to go to the show). I've now seen on lots of nail blogs how fab they look and can be done with them, I'm chopping at the bit to get a set. If any has recommendations of sellers then please let me know.

 

6. YSL Le Teint Touch Eclat Foundation

 

I use the concealer for the days I look a little tired, which currently is everyday. When I read this was coming out I wanted to try it, when I started seeing swatches it upgraded to longing. I will be investing in this as I like the look of the finish and colour range.

NOTD MUA Comestics Nail Varnish Shade 13

Time for an unplanned NOTD post!

I painted these in Shade 13 last night to match the cardigan that I was wearing to work today, it is an exact match which I didn't realise when I brought it. This was brought when MUA did 25% off their products a while back (as well as refreshing my BB Cream that I love! Read the rave here, eye shadow palettes Going For Gold and Undressed, blusher in shade 4 AND primer. Phew). I was drawn to the green and well it is £1 so if it wasn't right then I hadn't spent a lot.

The pot is so small it boarding on cute, this does affect the brush as it smaller than an average brush. I still found it easy to use and the lacquer itself goes on evenly. It has so far survived at day at work, including having sellotape stuck to it and not flaking. I even had a mail customer say that my nail colour was funky and that he really liked it.

I am already thinking about what colours I can get next. I really want to call this Green With Envy, what do you think?

Nail Trends AW 2012

It only seemed right that on the day that it actually feels a little grey and wet that I should look forward into the nails trends of the next coming season.

Metallic

One of the key inspirations of the catwalks was the look of metallics on nails. A simple way to get high shine and shimmer on the nail with the lease amount of fuss as seen in Christopher Kane and Dolce & Gabbana.  Mavala five piece Heavy Metals is a inspired by catwalk colours with China Glaze providing a collection of multi jewel toned shimmers.

Chocolate

I love the way fashion always come back, late 90's chocolate brown was in fashion I was dying to get my hands on the right rich toned shimmer brown. I never did, however this time around I am spoilt for choice: Sparitual yet again producing a gorgeous toned light gold and brown shimmer toned varnishes alongside it's earth spirited collection.

Indian Summer

Red never really goes far from being in fashion, beautifully classic, it's the tone that falls into the fashion styles. This time it's the deep crimson that comes back, Orly's Fired up range brings plum reds and gold tones. This while hot to have, Essie brings out Stylenomics Collection a mixture of reds and nudes with a deep green that stands out

Midnight Hues

Here we are talking about deep navy and purples, slight glitter and shimmer. Nubar's fall collection has sevenal navy, indigo and peacock hues. However, it is OPI that yet again seems of caught onto this trend succesfully with their german collection with the shades of Every Month is Oktoberfest, Germani-cure by OPI and Unfo-greta-ble Blue that are the people who stand out (Launched 8th Aug RRP £9.95 each)

I would like to give one brand an honourable mention, I know in the blog world any kind of crackle is so two seasons ago, however I cannot help be drawn to Diors Jungle Croc varnish. This a warm shimmer gold that has a khaki croc crackle top coat that lets the shimmer come through. One problem - it's £26.00, which works out at £13.00 a varnish, but still a huge dent in my already dented bank balance.

NOTD: Undercurrent by SPARitual

I shall call it . . . Mini Varnish (brings pinky to lips)

SPARitual are lovely body/face company that believe in making vegan products that not only smell just divine but ooze luxury and pampering. I knew they did varnishes but not nearly anyone had used them and wanted to give them a whirl. I was browsing and lusting over the website when over at the varnishes I noticed they had just launched little mini's. These are smaller versions of their larger salon based ones, which are more affordable from £5 - £8 (instead of from £8 - £10).

This colour was part of the S/S 2012 collection that was inspired from water and oceans. This is a deep blue cream, that has the slightise green to it to echo the deepest part of the ocean. I took this during the daytime but at night it seems to go nearly blue/black like the ocean. I love the detail and thinking into that.

The bottle has the grip of the larger sized, but it missing the soft rubber grip that the larger ones have. This doesn't take from it and is easy to handle. The lacquer paints on easily and self levels with ease. The finish is great and even without a top coat comes out glossy. The bigger bonus is the smell, my husband hates me painting my nails because of the smell. This is time not one complaint, as the scent is miniscule.

I now have my eyes on one from their Pigment range called Henna, a purple/pink hybrid which is what I'm missing from my collection. www.sparitual.co.uk/

Ciate's Bon Bon Vs. Nails Inc. Portchester Square

Left: Ciate in Bon Bon. Right: Nails Inc. Portchester Road

I never really been a nude nail girl, I'd rather have my nails making a bold statement, but then I may be mellowing in my old age and starting to think about getting some nudes in my collection. Marie Claire has this one in their magazine as a freebie (it will be ending this week so grab then while you can, there are two other colours to collect). I did wear it for a while (NOTD here), and while it's a reasonable varnish, the colour really didn't bowl me over.

I then did an order with LatestInBeauty (Here) where they were (and still are) selling this colour for £6.00 instead of £11 and thought why not? I received my order on Saturday and while watching the F1 (wasn't it an awesome race?!) painted my nails and wondered how the two together would compare.

Taken on daylight (when it was sunny!)

The first thing that strikes me is that the Ciate Bon Bon is acutally more of a lilac, while the Nails Inc. Porcester Square is a lot more of a nuder brown. I also found the Bon Bon against my skintone was right at all, while the Nails Inc complimented more. Painting wise, I found the Nails Inc much more easier to use and in these pictures it's only one coat while the Ciate has two.

I also put them to ultimate manicure test - I painted each hand in the colours and did two hours of housework (scrubbing, hot water, cleaning chemicals, the whole thing!). The Ciate didn't fair well and started to chip towards the end. However, the Nails Inc stood up to the test and still look reasonable glossy.

So sorry Ciate as pretty as your bottles are, when it comes down to giving it some punishment it didn't stand the test of a good house clean. Nails Inc wins!

NOTD: Avon's Starry Night

My 50th Post goes to the new amazing "Starry Night" by Avon. I've now worn it for 3 days and it has only started to show the smallest (and hardly noticeable) sign of wear. It is a shimmer of silver with I've found a few slightly larger pieces, it reflects light very well to the point that my husband said that it looks like I've painted mirrors on my fingers. The brush I find is good to paint with, and you don't need to wipe too much excess lacquer off to cover the nail. Two coats will give a strong colour, and would be easy to use in nail art.

Avon are defiantly now one brand to look in for affordable varnish and they currently are running an offer of 2 bottles for £8 (Normally £6 each) HERE. I brought Romance, a shimmer pink/mauve, at the same time and am now looking forward to trying it now.

In artifical light (with Instagram, just painted)

In daylight (after 3 days wear)

NOTD No7 Pink Grapefruit

No7 £5 vouchers are now back! Love these vouchers means I can update my varnish's. No7 are great quality and always as colours that are not only in fashion but they have enough to tailor to a wide age ranged. I've used they're varnish's for many years (since I worked for them in 2002, I used to top up my phone just to get vouchers), and own a collection of colours.

This one is my favourite summer pinks, not a bright but not too coral number. Not bad for someone who's not normally a "pink" person :) The nail stickers are a eBay purchase which are floral with a little glitter, looks great against the matt cream pink colour.

Masterclass - Gel Varnish's

Carrying on from last weeks discussion on nail enhancements (Here if you missed it), we now look at the ever increasing range of gel varnish's that are now hitting the market. Gel varnishs are the next evolution on gel enhancements, the drying time is quicker and the wear time is longer. The ones I shall touch on here are going to be the ones that come in brush on varnish as I consider these more gel varnish's rather than gel enhancements (the ones that come in pots).

The main difference between the gel varnish vs. enhanements is that with the enhancements you get the added advantage of strength. The finish of varnish is like having them freshly polished but has the long wearing of having a gel enhancement. There is also no waiting time after they have been cured/dried under a UV or LED light, you can go into your handbag after treatment and not chip or smudge your nails. Prices to have this done is salon is £25-£30 for a finish that would last until you get bored (most brands have quoted between 2-3 weeks for hands, 2-4 for feet).

Removal still is best done in salon to prevent damange done to the nails, each system has their own way of removal and if not done properaly can cause some long term damage. The same does also apply to the application as well.

What I wanted to do this week is talk about the main 3 top names in these ranges as well as talk about the do-it-yourself system. First the salon only brands (click the headlines to go to their website):

CND Shellac

When I went to Professional Beauty to talk to these guys about using their system I couldn't get near them, the queue at one point was going back out of the front door. They say that Shellac stand out because of the science and working with professionals for over four years to get the perfect formula that is buitl up in layers, lasts for weeks and is easily removed in 10 minutes. Most professionals I've spoken to have finished their training in this range becuase of ease of use. One word of warning: Shellac is designed to work as a package that includes the equipment, check that everything used has the CND logo (including the lamp) or you will be dissapointed with your results. Currently has 35 colours in the range.

 Gelish by Harmony

Claims to last 3 weeks, has 102 different colours including two new Magneto - the new gel magnet design varnish. Removal time is qouted at 15 minutes. Colours I find are bang on trend and was dribblnig over the colours they have. One of the original companies to do gel since 2010.

Gelcolor by OPI

When OPI annouched that in February of this year they were launching their own gel varnish, the beauty trade went into buzzing mode. OPI are one of the biggest names in the nail industry, I myself have been raving about them since I qualified nearly 8 years ago. This 100% gel formulation is applied like a varnish with it's distinctive bottle and brush, it has also been clamined that is fours times faster than previous gel with a full set done in four minutes. Lab tests have claimed that it is 23% longer lasting with a wear time of 2 weeks (shorter if clients have thin and flexible). At the moment has 30 of their top selling colours from their perament range, with colours being added.

Red Carpet Manicure (DIY Set)

This kit has everything to do the gel manicure for yourself at home, for the price of two salon based treatments (£59.99 or £79.99 for the pro kit). Now I may be a manicurist but I still have problems with my left hand painting my right hand (the other way round always comes out perfect!), and this is my problem with this system. There is no easy clean up if you make a mistake and I worry that people who have had little experiance of painting they're nails would struggle with it. I also have question marks over the quality of the actually product. However, reviews have been glowing for it and they've been featured in a few glossys so it must be doing something right.

Any used any of above and want to add their feedback?