Avon

Affordable Marvellous Mints

- Vicki 21 Comments

I don’t have a huge selection of mint nail polish in my collection but the three I do have I love. Mint is such a pretty shade and I think its good for every season. It always looks fresh and sophisticated.

Mint Polish

Mint Polish

Mint Swatches

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Sea Breeze £6 – This isn’t the longest wearing polish (prone to chipping) but the colour is pretty. I thought the formula was a little watery & needed 3 coats. This shade leans to the green side. You also get 12ml of product so thats quite a big bottle.

elf Nail Polish in Mint Cream £2.50 – This polish is almost identical to the Avon one, but its slightly brighter. This takes quite a long time to dry but applies evenly and two coats will give you a good colour. One coat is far too sheer and looks streaky. I would say if you have time go for three for that pop of colour. Just be a little more patient than me & wait for each coat to dry.

Canmake Colourful Nails in Peppermint Cream – My friend bought this back from Japan for me & it is a brand I don’t know too much about. The polish itself is really long wearing and the colour its beautiful and dries to a glossy finish. The bottle is sweet & quite small. A brand I will be trying more from.

NYC Quick Dry Polish in Blue Sky £1.79 – I wouldn’t say this was Sky Blue, more of a Sea Green but it is my favourite of the bunch, it’s more of a turquoise mint but it is bright and pretty. I like the brush on these NYC polishes, it is quite long and wide. The polish applies evenly and dries quickly. NYC is such an affordable brand and their nail polish section had quite a few pretty colours. I will be popping back for some more as they’re so affordable and really good quality.

Maybelline Color Show in Green With Envy £2.99 – This is similar to the Canmake polish in colour. The formula of this polish is the better out of the line up, its easy to apply and looks glossy when dry. You will have to be careful not to apply too much polish as it will look streaky and I had to reapply as a few nails developed little bubbles in between coats. So take your time and you will get a much better finish.

Apart from the NYC polish I would describe the other 4 as being creamy pastel mint in colour and the NYC one is a little bolder and brighter.

Although there isn’t much that separate them on colour I like each and everyone one and they all look pretty, Mint is going to be my Spring nail colour.

What are your favourite Mint Polish?

These are a few of my favourite things

- Vicki 13 Comments

Favourite Things

Avon Plump Pout in the shade Nude Pout – This is a lovely nude gloss, with a hint of pink. Not too sticky. I’m not normally a gloss wearer but I have been enjoying this. Its an easy colour to wear and handy to have in my bag. I’m going to try a few more of these glosses from Avon.

Estee Lauder ANR II  £65 – I only have love for this & use is most nights. This is aimed at repairing the damage done during the day by environmental aggressors and keeps your skin hydrated and looking fresh and smooth. I have noticed a big difference in my skin, it isn’t so red and my breakouts don’t leave such visible dark spots. A little goes a long way with this serum and it is lasting me a very long time.

L’Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Iced Latte – This is a very pretty finely milled loose shadow. The colour is so pretty, it’s a champagne with a metallic finish and is very pigmented. Makes the perfect inner corner highlight, it brightens up my eyes. I reach for is almost daily.

Burt’s Bees Honey & Grapeseed Oil Hand Cream  £9.99 – A non greasy hydrating hand cream. It smells a little odd, but it’s so nourishing and keeps my hands smooth that I can get past the smell.

Favourites Favourites

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Lioness  £14 – If you want a liner that lasts all day then this is for you. You can smudge it out when you first apply it, but then it doesn’t budge. Its a twist up so you don’t need to sharpen it which is very handy.

Moroccan Oil* £13.45  – Hello miracle worker – this tames my unruly hair and makes it look sleek and glossy. Don’t worry about this making your hair greasy or weighing it down as it is lightweight (as long as you don’t use too much product) – I find two drops / pumps is enough.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm*  £17 – This is a lovely lip treatment for the winter. It’s very thick and hydrating. I use it at night before bed and wake up with smooth soft lips.

Me Me Me Bronzer

Me Me Me Shimmer Stack in Bronze £9.99 – I love this, it is pretty and can be used as eyeshadows or as a shimmer highlight. It works great as both. I have used this a it since I bought it last year, but its perfect for a night time look as it does have quite a metallic finish.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own. 

Hand Products

- Vicki 4 Comments

Hand Care Products

I suffer from quite dry hands and if I don’t make a real effort my cuticles get flaky too, especially in the winter months and so I promised myself that this year I would take better care of them and I thought I would show you some of the products I’ve been using over the past few weeks.

Bath & Body Works Island Nectar Pocket Bac – This is me trying to hold on to summer, well the smell of it at least. This has a really fruity scent. It reminds me of sipping cocktails on the beach. I always have hand sanitiser on my bedside table and put it on before applying hand cream. These are really handy and I hope that Bath & Body Works open a store in the UK soon.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream* – I use this if my cuticles are particularly dry or need a little TLC. This is so nourishing and helps cracked skin. It performs overnight miracles. I do use it on my lips too, its a wonder products it really is.

balance Me Rose Otto Hand Cream* – This has such a calming scent and its perfect for before bed. I massage it in to my hands and it leaves them very soft and not at all greasy. The cream is very light and easily absorbed its is just lovely and very soothing for sensitive skin

Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme – This is quite the cult product, Ive had this tin for a couple of years now and it hardly looks like I have used it. This lemon butter lasts forever. Mine will need replacing soon as it is starting to dry out but this is another product that smells lovely. If you like citrus scents then you will like this. I use this all the time and take it when I fly too and my nails get very dry. I have this tin sat on my desk and use it after I wash my hands just to make sure my cuticles don’t dry out.

Avon Cuticle Conditioner – I use this when I take my nail polish off to really hydrate and condition my cuticles. I brush it around my nail and over my cuticles. It dries quickly and seems to be helping keep my cuticles in good condition.

Avon Pearl Shine – Not really a product for hand care but on those days I don’t want to wear a colour on my nails but want them to look healthy, I use this. It leaves them with a pearly shine thats really subtle and pretty. It looks nicer than just wearing clear polish.

What do you use to keep your hand looking hydrated and moisturised?

Products marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do the reviews are 100% my own.

Too Many Mascaras

- Vicki 5 Comments

I did a post a last October about the mascaras I was using, I think most of those have been and gone and I have a tin full of new ones. I seem to have so many on the go at any given time. I tell myself that they each do something different.

Mascara Mascara Line up

Avon Mascara

Avon Super Magnify Mascara – This has the weirdest brush with smallest bristles & at first I thought it was too small to do any thing with but I since realised that this mascara gives the most amazing length to my lashes. Don’t expect volume with this mascara because its not going to happen. It makes my lashes look so natural, healthy and very very long. I really like this.

Covergirl Mascara

Covergirl Flamed out Waterproof Mascara in Very Black Blaze – This is a nice mascara if you just want to use one coat and be done. It puts alot of product on the lashes very quickly. It is very black and gives the eyes drama not length but great thickness. I use this most days.

Barry M Mascara

BarryM Lash Vegas Mascara in Black* – This has a very wet formula and I found it quite messy to apply. The brush wasn’t great at grabbing my lashes either. If you like the look of thick black lashes, almost spider effect then you might like this. But I wasn’t bowled over by it.

Clarins Mascara

Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara in 01 Wonder Black – I love the brush on this (I only have a small sample with purchase tube) but it seems to be lasting for ages. The brush is dense and quite big so it grabs all your lashes in one go. It adds volume and length, i have to say this mascara makes my lashes look WOW amazing. I am going to buy the full size.

sagmascara

Soap & Glory Thick and Fast Mascara in Super Jet Black – I really didn’t like this mascara at fist but when the formula dried up it redeemed it’s self a little as I stared to use it more. I often use this as a base coat and add another mascara on top. It’s not the blackest in colour and now that its almost coming to an end I wouldn’t repurchase.

Covergirl MascaraCovergirl Lash Blast Luxe in 855 Black Emerald – I seem to have a thing for Covergirl Mascara. I just really like their formula and they last for ages. They never flake on me either. This one is lovely it gives amazing volume to my lashes and helps keep my lashes curled. This colour has a slight shimmer in – but you can’t really see that on the lashes. I also like the plastic brushes on these I find them easy to work with.

Revlon Mascara

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara – LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I have to say right off the bat that this is my most used mascara out of the bunch. I really like the natural look it gives my lashes and it makes them look really long and separated. This tube has lasted me a while and it’s not dried out or flakey. It’s a really amazing mascara and I’d buy it over and over again.

Benefit Bad Gal Mascara

Benefit BADgal – Sample Size, not a huge fan of this. I used to hate it and then try it again a few weeks later. I find it messy and it always ends up really flaking and landing on my under eye area. Not a fan of this at all.

Rimmel Mascara

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless 001 Black – It took me a few attempts to master the brush on this, as it is so bendy. I do like it and it gives crazy length to my lashes. I would say build it up slowly otherwise you will end up with clumpy lashes. This lasts well on me and its another mascara I reach for alot.

Covergirl

 

Covergirl Lash Blast 24 hour Mascara – This is my favourite mascara in my collection. Its so black on the lashes and the formula is perfect so you can build up to quite a dramatic look. I like how this separates and creates length. My lashes look almost false when I am wearing this. It gets 10/10 from me, I wouldn’t be without a tube in my collection

Have you used any of these mascaras? I would also love o hear any recommendations for black mascaras that give good length to the lashes.

*I received the BarryM Mascara at a bloggers event and I am under no obligation to use or review it.