GIVEAWAY! WAH Nail Art Book, Nail Art Pens and a Bit of Glitter

"Give it away give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away give it away now"

Give it away by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

 It's been a long time coming, but here it is something to get those creative nail juices flowing!

The Rio Nail Art Art Set has all the basic colours to recreate nail art designs. The dual ended nibs means you can have a dotting nib or use the brush function. I have another set of these myself and have found them really easy to use, unfortantly my artist flair has been lost recently but I find they are brilliant for doing neat smile lines for french style manicures. There is some small pots of glitter to add some shimmer your designs.

WAH Nail Book is what you expect from the top of the Nail art tree, trendy and cool designs that can be easily recreated by their step by step instructions. You also get a history on how they've got to this point and are introduced to some of the staff.

The whole set is worth £35 and is open to anyone in the UK from today until 0.00am on 13th October. The giveaway is supplied by myself with my own money and will be sent out as soon as the winner has given me their details (as soon as possible would be appreciated). All run through Rafflecopter, all details collected are only for the giveaway so I can contact the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck 

NOTD - Vamp by Leighton Denny

Now months ago when I ordered my BBBBeautyBox Number 3 my eagle eyes spotted this mini polish in the luxury sample zone of LatestinBeauty. I have seen this brand at numerous trade shows and have their colour charts but had never came round to owning one. This is also after watching many hours of him painting nails on QVC, I have even resisted temptation.

The polish is what you expect from a pro, easy to paint on, leaving an even and level finish. The brush holds enough of the lacquer so it paints on well without overloading. It took two thin coats to get the correct coating here and dries in a reasonable time. I would be confident to pick Beth up if she was crying after a few minutes of painting.

RRP £11.00 for 12ml of varnish. I have my eye on Hollywood collection's emerald green, Click Click Flash Flash.

NOTD - Rouge Louboutin by Chirstian Louboutin Nail Colour #BeauteLouboutin

Sales assistants, this is what happens when you leave a sample bottle unattended with a few beauty bloggers around. It the #SummerLondonMeet where the group of us was perusing Selfridges that the preview display was spotted. As the sales assistant went on her sales objective, I snuck to one side and painted my blank nails in Rouge Louboutin rather than the assistants paint them. I need to feel how it works for me as I'm not going to have someone around to paint them for me.

The bottle is inspired by his Ballerina Shoe from his collection and is visually stunning, would look perfect on a pinterest designed dressing table, but not for my nail varnish tray in my make up tool kit. I actually like the long handle and didn't have too many problems using it. The brush however is a different story, it has a small brush that doesn't fan out, this makes it harder to distribute the polish evenly over the nail. It does even out when it dries when you do finally get the whole nail covered.

I did paint this on a blank nail with no base/top coat so this will affect the result of wear which was half a day. I will say the formulation is thick (which is useful trying to apply with a small brush), I smudge it about 5 minutes after application thinking it would be dry by then, my mobile still have nail varnish marks from where I was wrong.

 Is it worth the £36 price tag? No, not at all, there are other ranges that do perfectly brilliant matt pillowbox red varnishes, with a quick dry time and have far better brushes. This is for the ladies who lunch that can afford the shoes and would probably like the idea of having the polish to match, but then isn't these the people who have the time/money to have a manicure/pedicure as often as I have cups of tea? I'm scratching my head for who is this really for - the nail lovers will love the packaging but hate the polish and the people who admire the brand from afar but can't afford the shoes, will also think a few times about the price tag.

At the moment there is only the Rouge in range but there will be other colours being added, but seeing the range there is nothing that really, "Wows" me. This is one range I'm very happy to leave on the shelf and put the money towards owning a pair of the shoes, so that's 12 bottles of Louboutin Varnish for So Kate Suede heels I need to save.

NOTD B.Makeup Nail Varnish in Seafoam*

My Mint Candy Apple has finally departed me and I need something to to fill its minty hole for the Summer. I had always been a fan of B.Skincare so when I offered a chance to try some of the make up range I was very eager.

This was included in what I received and instantly thought it would fill that minty hole left behind. Side by side Seafoam is a tiny bit bluer but that's if you look really hard and make yourself go cross eyed. Formula wise, I did two coats on the picture above but felt I could of easily done a third coat coat to get it more solid and brighter if I wanted. It does go on smoothly and found it levelled well when drying which dries quickly.

Seafoam will set you back £4.99 exclusively at Superdrug. I have my eye on Matador (A deepish Matt red) and Woodland (A deep green) for my AW varnish update.

* Seasfoam was given for my consideration, all the views are my own

NOTD - Essie Spin The Bottle

This is the varnish I received in the #BBBBeautyBox Number 3 I think from reading other blogs that I was one of rare lucky ones to get the more neutral polish. Not that I don't love a bright, I have many, but with me having little time to varnish my nails, neutral polishes last longer and hide chips easier.

Being an Essie varnish you can expect the high  quality, easily to paint on, smooths out, dries quick and lasts a while. It even pasts the hot water test, as I am constantly washing bottles in hot water. I love this colour, such a milky caffe latte nude and is perfect all year round even though it is from the Spring 2014 collection.

Oh and a quick note: There is a BBBBeautyBox 4 in the works, start saving now!

NOTD - Superdrugs Limited Edition Barry M Nail Paints

Looking out the window I see Summer has actually arrived for the two weeks of the year it exists in the UK, this prompts a quick rush to bring out all the bright polishes and quickly get them on before it all disappears again.

These are rather special as they are Limited Edition and can't be purchased, spend £6 or more in Superdrug until 1st July and one of these will be yours to take home. There is two colours a frosted bright pink called Promenade and ocean blue called Seaside.

I was more draw to the pink as I haven't got anything like it in my collection. I painted it on, easy application and two coats are perfect. I had more problems with Seaside, it goes on more sheer, so you need to build up more layers up to at least 4. The wear time is reasonable, considering I have my hands in hot water several times, it last 3 days before a slight chip happened.

Note: Many thanks to Hubby to got roped in to be my photographer for this (so blame him).

NOTD - Essie's Bikini So Teeny

Who remembers when this was the varnish to wear in the Summer of 2012? Who remembers struggling to get hold it? Me too. Fast forward a few months later and I find it on Fragrance Direct for £1.99, so this and a few other were added to my collection.

Inspired by the ocean and crystal blue skies it was the top selling polish of the 2012 Summer season and one of Essie's top 5 top selling colours. The cornflower blue has a sightliest of subtle shimmers, it screams of Summer time. It also up to Essie's high standard of polish for formulation and wear. I have one slight grumble, it start to separate a lot quicker than other ones I've had before whether this was because of storage or the nature of the colour, I don't know.

Is now part of permanent range RRP £7.99

NOTD - Boots No.7 Totally Teal

Teal is huge again for Spring/Summer for this year. I had OPI's AmazON AmazOFF on my New Mum's Wishlist, it only made sense when I had a voucher for their £3 off Boots No.7 to see if I could spot any dupes. It's not a faultless dupe, the OPI seems a brighter teal while is more blackened.

The formulation is a thick consistancy, you would get away with one coat but two coats gives a more even colour. Dry is reasonable you can paint a full set and it'll be already dry for the next coat. The wear time is also a highlight, with the amount of times I out my hands in hot water, it lasted 4 days before it started chipping badly.

I am a big fan of the No.7 varnishes for many years, they colours are always on trend and they are starting to rival some of the bigger names in varnish (I have a Chanel dupe you will love, trust me). I am finding, and just not only the varnish, that Boots prices are starting to get rather expensive for a own brand range. A Boots varnish is £6/7 which now matched Essie's price range but not colour range. They've also got stingy on the vouchers two, by cutting the make up discount to £3 when it used to be £5.

NOTD - Model's Own HyperGel Naked Glow

You might reconise this from my New Mum Wish List as one of the four varnishes I wanted for Spring/Summer update, as it went live I went out and brought it the very next day.

This is part of the new Hypergel range, a gel like finish with lotus oil, they say they are high pigmentation to provide a salon finish for £5. The fomrulation I found really thick, this does need to be built up in thin layers, but once dry does have that glossy finihs without the topcoat.

Wearwise I have had this on for three days with my hands in/out of hot water cleaning baby bottles and apart from a small chip on the thumb where I knocked it has survived. I instantly loved the colour as being so pale trying to find a milky enough nude has always been a challange, it has the right tone of colour and yellow base to match my skin tone.

Model's Own can be brought in most chemists or their website for £5 - My recommendations is to invest in the pastels of Lilax Sheen, Cornflower Gleam and Pink Vaneer.for Spring

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.

Craziness at Professional Beauty 2012

I do really love  a good trade show, it's a time where I can divulge in my obsession of varnishes, oils, make up and everything remotely girly. This year would be the first year that I went as a owner/director of my own company, previous years I had gone as a therapist. I was fully prepared - I had the floor plan (working my route that I had rest stops for the knee injury I'm still in recover for :( ), made a short list of companies I wanted to talk to, hyped up on coffee (which I am now starting to re-think after Monday nights Embarrassing Bodies - Eek!), and had spent hours on the train getting there 20 mins after opening.

Getting there early was the first master stroke - within an hour i couldn't move in the place! Art Deco (who are now doing a make up line for Dita Von Tease) was already crammed, I grabbed their brochures and hoped I could see them later. Next I wondered to another stall with a table full of products opened (and hygienically with sticks in), they smelled divine and sunk in wonderfully. I started chatting to a member of staff and found there were a Dutch company who had been going for 50 years and wanted to grow in the UK market. I did struggle with the name, Webecos, but the company was something I was connecting with. I actually spent half an hour with the director of the company as well as their new make up consultant of their new line, Dr.Tadlea.

One more note before I move on: The consultant was worth a huge mention as she had little training material and had only had the products given to her Thursday night. She was a true professional and answered everything she could and gave me free reign on her kit. The products themselves are launching was a small core collection (about 8 eye shadows, 3 foundation lines, 2 blushers, 8 eye liners, 12 lipsticks, 12 varnishes, 8 loose eye shadows, and some other bits at the moment I can't remember), this will then be topped up four times a year with limited edition lines. The packaging I really like: simple classic silver with the lipsticks having magnetic lids so you cannot lose them. I came away fully glossed up and with lots of skin care samples.

I then went to have one of my nails Trendy wrapped - They're a adhesive sticker that gets heated up (to make more pliable) and then stuck to the nail after being buffed ready. Then they are trimmed and file the edges down to fit the nail. I must of met the least excited rep of the day as she blandly put one on. That's where it started to go wrong, they wasn't filled round the edges enough and by the time I got home (8 hours later) they were already coming off from the bottom. I was told they would last 2 days - Very disappointed.

However there was something I did fall for - Gel varnish. I had already heard some good reports about this latest system: lasts for weeks, leaves a glossy just manicured finished and well sounded too good to be true. All the leading names had launched theirs - OPI, etc. They also come in many different formulations, which I am investigating further. The one I tried was Calgel a hybrid of varnish and gel that needs no prep time and is dried under a UV lamp for 3 minutes, it can also be used on top of existing varnish. The tech was a salon owner so while working away she could me a honest break down of it benefits to her business, shall we say I'm already crunching numbers and seeing about training.

I did have the misfortune of bumping into a male model there, face first into his (rather yummy smelling) naked pecs, I know I went bright red mumbled about something smelling nice and tried to scuttle off. There was  a lot of flesh on show around the tanning area, which made me fell a white as anything. Did I bump into any of the TOWIE's that seemed to be everywhere? Yes but I didn't realise until I got home and saw who she was online - a girl called Frankie, so there you go my TOWIE claim to fame.

By the end I was shattered 4 hours in my knee was rebelling, I was getting grumpy with anyone and I was starting to want to get out of there. I done what I wanted to do (include a 20 minute wait on Dermalogica to get face mapped and get my prescription samples), and with the horde of people I'd admitted defeat and went home for a cuppa.

Now its the mission to go through all the samples/brochures/products and see what I want to invest in/use. Fours huge bags worth should keep me busy for the week.....

NOTD - OPI Designer Series in Lapis

When initially saw this is I wanted it, the goldilocks of blues (not too dark, not too light) I was instantly drawn to it enough for it to feature in my AW Wishlist. I then went onto buy it at Olympia Beauty when I saw the swatches they had on stand.

OPI Designer Series is a collection of polishes are a step up from they normal collection, they are holographic or full of fine glitter. The two they launced for AW12 is this one and Pewter (a mix of black/grey), what I didn't realise until I painted them on was they dry completely semi matt, the above picture taken with no top coat.

It went from being something I though was beautiful to something that was challenging Essie's For The Twill of It as my number one AW13 varnish to wear. The wear time is good, was still chip free when I took it off a week later and removal was very easy for a glitter polish.

The Designer Series is more expensive than the main line - RRP is £16.75 compared to RRP £11.50 but for the simple WOW factor it's worth that little bit more investment.

NOTD - OPI's Silent Stars Go By (Mariah Carey Xmas Collection)

This is one of the mini's that are in the box set that is currently in my giveaway (finishes this weekend!).

It is one of the Liquid Sand formulations, it has more of a grittier texture than a 'normal' glitter polish. It does dry out more smoother and has a matt finish. You are to wear it without a top coat and it took all of my will not to do, it is however worth it.

Silent Stars Go By does catch the light and really glitters, which is perfect for the Christmas period. I wore this champagne toned colour to work as it is smart enough to wear but has that little bit of glamour to it.

I know exactly what you are thinking - What is removal like? For something that is filled with glitter, it was surprisingly easy to remove with acetone soaked pads held then rubbed, I would say to take off all 10 nails took about 10 minutes with. I had visions of me being locked in the bathroom for at least half an hour and the husband banging on the door.

I wasn't overcome when the original Liquid Sands came out, but I must admit I'm glad I gave them a try as they have surprised me.

NOTD - Essie's For The Twill of It

This has been on my wish list since I first saw the swatches on the Essie Twitter. It is a mixture of green/pink duo chrome in a dark grey base with a metallic finish. I got my bottle last weekend at Olympia Beauty so I have the professional formulation but I have noticed a difference between this and the diffusion line on the high street.

You cannot rush the painting as it can show brush streaks so I find it easier to take it slow with thin coats of polish (this was done in two coats). It is however worth it, my instagram feed went berserk with hearts when I uploaded it and my work colleagues where asking when and where they can buy it from. I personally have not stopped staring at it's multi-tonal beautifulness since I've put it on.

Keep an eye out in Boots stores as it will fly out of the store once in stock (£7.99)

 

Olympia Beauty 2013 - Haul included (it's a long one)

There is two things I learnt from this weekend: It is not wise to go to a day long event while recovering from Laryngitis and pregnant. I had been unwell with a virus for nearly two weeks but I insisted on going, I love trade shows, not only from a blogger point of view but also as trade.

I arrived about 10.30 as normal the trains confused me (and I know I wasn't the only one), and headed straight to the Media centre. The really wonderful thing about Olympia Beauty is that they do fully embrace beauty bloggers and they are welcome into the rest stop of the media centre. After grabbing a cold diet Coke, I headed into the masses for initial walk around to assess who was there and see if there was any brands I wanted to speak to/spend money on.

After an hour I was back into the media centre for the PR meet and greet, this where the brands who are there come and have a chat with the media about new launches and form new relationships. This was great as trying to speak to anyone on the floor was impossible at this point, the crowds where huge!

I may have done a little fan girl sequel at OPI being there, as many of you know I am a huge fan of their polishes and used them when I first trained as a manicurist. They were there to show off the new Limited Edition Mariah Carey Christmas Collection - rich reds, plums and gold glitters. The part I instantly needed to have was the liquid sands, which have to recently not really bowled me over.

These will be available on the OPI website, on being told that I could buy them at the show did invest in the liquid sands (notice the plural), and if where eagle eyed enough on my Instagram (unevenlemming) you also know that I might have got a set to giveaway.

While I was at Olympia I also refreshed my subscription to Scratch Magazine (Professional monthly magazine for nail technicians which featured Karla Powell's amazing Pop Art make up and nails.) as well as Professional Beauty Magazine (updates on the industry and trends coming through). With Scratch I got a gift worth around £80 with nails foils, OPI mini kit, Morgan Taylor varnish and top coat, files etc.

I also targeted Essie for the AW13 Collection - If you had read my wishlist I had been hankering after For The Twill of It and was determined to get my hands on it. It does not disappoint in person, and after a show and tell to Kat (Tales of a Pale Face) , Alice (Bright Town Girl) , Dani (So Many Lovely Things) and Natasha (Shot of Beauty) we know all now own one (I am not an embalmer - honest). I also managed to pick up some bargain false lashes for £1-£2 each to pop into my kit.

Unfortunately after a long day in London, the Laryngitis returned leaving me with no voice and also open to getting another cold, hence why I'm few a days later than I wanted with this entry as I've been curled up feeling sorry for myself. Lesson learnt.

Autumn/Winter 2013 Wishlist

These are the items that invade my dreams at night, the ones that I loving look at swatches online and sigh that they are not mine - yet. I really love AW collections, they seem to suit my tastes and skin tone much better than Summer.

1. Poisonberry by Lime Crime - This I truly blame on Jayne from Jayne's Kitschen, every time she wears it I get lipstick envy and keep telling her that I need to buy it. I have looked loads of berry shade lipstick swatches and find that I have got something close to it already, this I haven't at all. I have a huge obsession over this colour.

2. Sleek Make Up i Divine in Vintage Romance - I really like the quality of Sleek Make Up, I got my first palette last year (Sparkle 2) and was blown over by the quality of the palettes for under £8. Perfect AW colours of soft berry and golds, I could see this being used everyday as a break from brown/beige.

3. Illamasqa Lipstick in Shard - This one compared to Poisonberry is much more red but deeper and matt, same again saw swatches of it around the launch date and kept going back to them. I love the way you could wear big and bold or as a stain (see? It's multipurpose lipstick, two for the price of one). Just read they are going to be at Olympia Beauty this weekend (does a little fist pump).

4. Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner Black (available at all High Street chemists) - Another AW trend is the catflick, something I really hadn't embraced before. I have had liquid liners but found them fiddly and gave up after a while. I'm hoping that this will encourage me to bring out my inner cat woman. This recommendation came from the very talented Scottish MUA, Andrew James.

5. Essie For the Twill of It - Now I was left in a tizzy over this because OPI has also Love & Peace & OPI which is the exact dupe of this. After reading a few comparisons it came to Essie as I read the formulation is a one coat and looks better on.

6. Bourjois Java Rice Loose Powder (At all High Street Chemists) - Vintage style packaging? Check. Lightweight and slightly illuminating? Check. Good Price? £9.99, check. Been embalmed by other beauty bloggers to buy it? Triple check.

7. OPI DS Extragance Lapis (Also known as Granite) and Pewter - I wasn't too bound over by the San Francisco Collection apart from Love & Peace & OPI (See number 5). Then I saw these glitter infused beauties and realised as an lover of OPI I don't own any of the DS Extragance range. I'm more driven towards Lapis at the moment with a want to look at Pewter (I think my Illamasqua in Creator that I got in the sales could be close to it).

This weekend I will also be heading towards London (for will be one of my last times before Minilemming) for Olympia Beauty - a beauty trade show that contains half of this wish list. I had an absolute great day last year and look forward to bumping into people I know this year, please feel free to say hello etc.

So the question goes to you, what do you want this AW?