Essence

Autumn / Winter Nail Polish

- Vicki 6 Comments

Nail Polish Storage Autumn / WInter Nail Polish

I bought two of these Kilner style jars from Clas Ohlson in Manchester for £3.99 they both have a pink screw lid & thought one would make the perfect storage for my current most worn nail polishes. I have my lip balms in the other, but thats for another post. So these are the nail polishes I will be wearing during A/W, I’m loving the transition into darker shades & I picked my favourite 8 polishes from my collection to put in this cute jar which now sits on my dresser. I love it.

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Mustard – This is part of Barry M’s A/W14 range *& I just love this colour (thanks to HayleyFromHome). Its is opaque in two coats & is the most perfect Autumnal shade. It is a pretty creamy Mustard shade & reminds me of Autumnal leaves. I have been wearing this a lot & I know I will continue to. I really like the formula of the Barry M Gellly Hi Shine polishes & have collected quite a few. They last a good amount of time on me – up to 5 days. I do like to wear a top coat with all my polishes, these included, as I find it prolongs my manicure & it makes these look even more glossy.

e.l.f – This polish was from a trio I bought a while back. It has no shade name but its the most beautiful rose gold shade & its pretty for everyday. Its a little more festive but it I have been known to wear this colour all year round. Its just a small bottle & is handy for travelling. It applies nicely and although it doesn’t last too long on my nails its such a pretty colour.

Essence in Circus Confetti – I love this glitter top coat. I bought it in Amsterdam a couple of years ago & before Essence released in the UK. Its so cool that we can now get our hands on this brand more easily now as they have a HUGE selection of polishes. This Circus Confetti is the perfect dupe for OPI Rainbow Connection. Its has so many different sizes & colours of glitter, I think it has every colour of the rainbow in there. I like to wear it over Models Own Balearic Blue or a Black polish, either way the glitter really stands out & makes your nails look super sparkly. You will need a top coast to stop the glitter feeling rough to the touch & I’d say two coats of this gives you a nice even spread of glitter. This is for sure a great Party Season Polish!

Leighton Denny in Vamp* – This is one of those dark polishes that I love. It looks good on toes too. Its a beautiful deep burgundy red that as the name suggests looks so vampy. Its warm and gothic looking, It makes the perfect A/W polish. This is a lovely polish to apply, no streaking whats so ever & it dries very quickly too. Its a well loved polish in my collection.

Current Nail Polish Picks Favourite Winter Polishes

Models Own Hed Kandi in Balearic Cool – This isn’t the easiest polish to apply & you will need to be patient in between coats as it takes a couple of minutes to dry. Even though its a bit of a pain I just love the snowy winter grey colour. It looks really pretty on the nails maybe a little stark but I like that. As I said it also makes a great base for glitter top coats & in particular Essence in Circus Confetti. I have to say that my Balearic Cool looks like a totally different colour to everyone else’s. Weird?!

Maybelline Forever Strong in Dark Denim – This is a dark midnight blue & it lasts so long on my nails. I do have to wear a base coat as it stains my nails, but using a base cost is an easy fix. This has a really nice brush & even though its so dark I’m able to apply it relatively neatly. I love this dark blue & it works so well for the colder, darker months.

Mavala in Pink Gold* – This is a pretty festive gold shade with a hint of a pink sheen running through. Its so festive & gorgeous as a Christmas Party colour.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Lipstick – Well A/W wouldn’t be the same without a bright red & this American Apparel offering is a bold ruby red. It is eye catching on the nails & looks like candy cane red. One coat is all you need and it dries quickly. Wear a base coat otherwise you will have red nails for weeks!

Let me know what your top A/W nail polish picks are & if you like any of the ones I have mentioned.

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.

 

Top Essence Makeup Picks

- Vicki 20 Comments

I have been working my way through the very generous goodie bag I received at the Essence Makeup Launch last month. There have been so many gems & a couple of misses too but I thought I would share with you 8 of my top picks. If you didn’t already know Essence is a very affordable German makeup brand that’s very popular not only in Europe but also worldwide and they have launched in all branches of Wilkinsons in the UK & also online. So we are all able to get our hands on them, very exciting.

Essence Makeup

German Brand Essence

Quick & Easy Sponge Nail Polish Remover £3.00

A lazy girls best friend, quite a few brands are doing these now just a big sponge soaked in nail polish but they’re so handy for quick nail polish removal & this Essence one is budget friendly & works a treat. It is also acetone free

Essence Kabuki Brush £4.00

Black & Pink …. how cute right! This is comparable to my elf Kabuki Brush which I have used almost daily since buying it 2 years ago. This Essence one has been taking its place, I apply my bronzer or face powder with this & its does a very good job. No shedding and the bristles are soft. I have washed it a couple of times and it comes up clean & goes back into shape.

Essence Colour To Go  Nail Polish in 128 Lets Get Lost £1.60 

I love this colour & this is the shade I picked at the event (as they had lovely ladies doing nails). Its a stunning vibrant summery blue, this lasted so well on my nails I wore it for a full week with minimal chipping. I now have this colour on my toes and my love for it is only growing. I have to say that if there was one thing Essence does very very well its all things nail related. They have a huge selection of polishes, decals and everything you could want for nail art. I have used a few polishes and I haven’t found a dud yet.

Essence Studio Nails Better Than Gel Nails Top Coat £2.50

OMG! This is my new favourite top coat, it has replaced my Orly and I can’t see me picking up anything else. This applies very glossy and dries in a couple of minutes to a very hard but ever so shiny finish. I have applied this over every manicure since I came home with it & its helping my manicure stay in place and looking fresh for a week at a time. It really is living up to its name.

Eyeshadow Quad

Essence Makeup

Essence Neutral Quad

Essence Quad in 05 To Die For £3.00

This is a good neutral quad, the two darker colours are a lot more pigmented but if you wear a primer and take a little more time over applying the lighter 2 shades you can get them to work. This a great quad for achieving a brown smoky eye. The two light shades have a slight shimmer to them & so to does the more copper toned brown, then you also get a fantastic dark brown matte colour. The lighter colours give a little fallout but nothing that can’t be cleaned up when you have finished, all the colours are easy to apply and to blend. I’ve really been enjoying using this quad & want to try a few more colour options.

Blush My Lips

Blush My Lips 12

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Blush My Lips 12 £2.30

This has to be my favourite product from the whole goodie bag. Its a bright pink creamy lipstick. It goes on the lips so smoothly and the colour is vibrant and beautiful. This is long wearing & thats on me (I’m terrible for lippies wearing off so fast & going patchy) but this one is great. The packaging feels more expensive than it is & the lipstick doesn’t have that cheap scent that many budget friendly ones have. Its a big hit with me & I have a few other shades that are also just as good but this pink stood out for me, it pretty & the perfect Summer shade.

Essence Big Bright Eyes in highlight it ….. pearly £2.00 

This is a cream coloured pencil which is fantastic under the brow bone or in the inner corner of your eye to brighten & highlight that area. This has a lovely creamy texture and a pretty iridescent finish so it catches the light. A staple in your makeup bag, especially if you like your eyes to look fresh & bright.

Essence Eyebrow Tweezers £2.00

Not as exciting as the pink lip stick but never the less still a vital part of my beauty regime. A good pair of tweezers is a must & these look cute and get the job done. Enough said ….. tweezers that work & look cute

If you have tried any products from Essence let me know what you loved & also what not to buy.

I received these Essence products at a recent event. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

 

Amsterdam Haul

- Vicki 7 Comments

This is just a quick post to show you what I picked up in Amsterdam. I really tried not to go to OTT & didn’t want to drag the hubby round too many shops. We had a lovely time & celebrated our 13 year anniversary <3

So I picked up a chemists own branded makeup remover (ran out of mine). I popped into Yves Rocher, they have a lovely store there and they were really helpful. I just picked up this Micellar cleansing water. Then i found the nicest Skincare shop called Skin Cosmetics it was heaven, they sell so many luxurious brands and it was a pleasure to browse. I did buy a really nice Aesop Masque and look forward to using that.

I picked up Mac Amber Lights, whata  beautiful colour that it. Also a mono Cartice eyeshadow in My First Copperware Party. And a smokey eyes eyeshadow from etos chemist. I look forward to trying all of these.

The first polish by ANNY I thought looked like a good dupe for the Chanel Peridot. I really hope so. I picked up this cute Essence glitter top coat in Circus Confetti. Also this NYC pink / purple glitter polish in Big City Dazzle. Lastly was this bright pink from Douglas which is a makeup & skincare shop the colour is called Lena 03.

Inglot is such a great shop / brand they have amazing choice in colour and products and I have a great time taking my time deciding. The staff in the Amsterdam store were so helpful and gave me tips and really leave you to browse you don’t feel rushed at all. This is a sneek peek of my palette as I want to do a whole post on this as it so pretty. I decided on a Freedom System 12 palette.

I will be reviewing my purchases in more detail over the next few weeks. Have you bought anything from Inglot or any of the other brands I picked up?