Todays Ruffian NOTD:

I wanted to do something a little different with my nails today so I spent a few moments searching for inspiration when I came across this image of Chanel's Haute Couture nails for A/W 2012.

I absolutely love the combination of pink and gold and hadn't done a ruffian mani in a while so decided to give it a go.

I used Nailteks Foundation 2 as the base coat, OPI's Your Royal Shineness and Mod About You then finished with the ultra glossy, fast drying Seche Vite :)

Do you love/hate the ruffian trend?

L'Oreal Rouge Caresse:

It seems to me that lately drugstore brands have really been stepping up when it comes to the products they're releasing. Not only have I found a new favourite foundation (more later!) but the amount of drugstore lip products in my traincase has more than tripled over the last few weeks. Maybelline are becoming a firm favorite, but today I want to showcase some lovely new lipsticks from L'Oreal.

Rouge Caresse is a new range of lipstick from the brand, promising a lightweight, silky veil of color. Though smaller drugstores seem to be stocking only around 4-6 shades, there are 10 available in total and I recently picked up five after falling in love with a swatch on my hand.

Fashionista Pink and Tempting Lilac.

Lovely Rose, Impulsive Fuschia and Nude Ingenue.

Fashionista Pink - Tempting Lilac - Lovely Rose - Impulsive Fuschia - Nude Ingenue

I'll start with the shade I dislike the most and the only one of the five I own that really accentuates any dryness I may have on my lips. In the tube Fashionista Pink looks like a pretty pastel pink, but on the lips its almost frosty looking and settles with a white-ish cast in any cracks. The texture is lovely but it's not a shade I will be reaching for again.

Tempting Lilac is one of my favorite colors of the lot and I've already worn this a fair few times. The swatch was taken at the same time as the one above, but you can see how it smooths over the lips and doesnt accentuate dryness like Fashionista Pink. It glides smoothy and really moisturises the lips whilst giving them this gorgeous pink, almost mauve like tint.

Another shade I probably won't wear a lot or repurchase again, Lovely Rose is a medium toned pink which isn't flattering to my skintone and like Fashionista Pink, tends to settle into cracks in my lips a little. It's a nice shade that will suit many other skincolors but may require smoother lips or a little scrub before applying.

Impulsive Fuschia is such a gorgeous, glossy and bright pink that has quickly become a staple in my makeup bag. As you can see from the haphazard application above, it does take a little care when applying as the silky texture does tend to smear a little if you're not careful. But it's a beautiful, pigmented shade that really brightens up the face and works with a ton of different skin tones.

Nude Ingenue is a pretty, brown based (but not too much so) nude which is decently pigmented and glides on the lips smoothly. This one is perfect for everyday wear or with a dramatic eye.

These remind me a little of Yves Saint Laurents Rouge Voluptes, but not all are so pigmented as those and the texture not quite so luxurious and creamy. But for around 8.99 GBP they are definately more budget friendly and worth checking out!

Whats In My Makeup Bag?

It's been over two years since I last made a 'Whats In My Makeup Bag?' post, so of course a lot of products have changed. A few however, of my tried and tested trusty favorites are still here.

This isn't my only makeup, nor is it the makeup I carry around in my purse. This is pretty much a collection of my most used products that I can reach for and rely upon on a day to day basis :-)

Firstly my base products: Smashbox Photofinish Primer, in the regular/oil free formula. I love this stuff for creating a smooth base on which to apply my foundation - Revlon's Colorstay Whipped in Ivory. I switch foundations as often as my underwear but this one is a firm favorite at the moment. Feels fresher and more natural on the skin than the original formula, in my opinion. Next I conceal undereye circles with Bobbi Browns Corrector in Porcelain Bisque, and any other blemishes with Smashbox's HD Concealer in Fair/Light. I set underneath my eyes with Laura Merciers Secret Brightening Powder and all over the face with her Translucent Setting Powder -

Next for my cheeks, these three products have been used for the past three years or so. Scroll back through my blog and I'm sure you will see these mentioned plenty of times over. Dainty Mineralized blush for my apples, Tenderling to just warm up my face a little and Lightscapade MSF to highlight. All from MAC Cosmetics -

The eye primer I have been loving recently is Too Faced Shadow Insurance and my most worn eye products are Urban Decays Naked all over the lid or to highlight and Victorias Secret's Between The Sheets which is a beautiful warm bronze. I tend to stick with MAC Teddy as an eyeliner lately, either on the waterlines or smudged all over the lid for an easy smokey eye. Mascara is Bourjois Fast & Perfect - the one that spins - and my brows are filled in with Anastasias Brow Duo in Strawburn before being set lightly with her Brow Gel in the shade Caramel -

And last but not least, the lip products currently in my makeup bag are a No7 Lipliner in the shade Nude, a Maybelline 14Hr Lipstick in Perpetual Peony (absolutely love this and really does go the distance) and another all time favorite which is constantly repurchased - YSL's Rouge Volupte 02 Sensual Silk -

Link me to your makeup bag posts!

Berlin There, Done That!

Welcome a new favourite polish - OPI's Berlin There, Done That from the Germany collection.

I only purchased four shades from this collection, the rest were a little shimmery for me and similiar to others I already have. I regret not picking up Don't Pretzel My Buttons at the same time, but may order that one over the next few days!

I'm absolutely loving creamy nudes and neutrals at the moment and this one works really well with my skintone. The formula is great, this was three coats but two would have sufficed :-)

Nail Of The Day and New Polish:

I rarely recreate the same nails twice. Regular colors, sure. But nail art or fancy stuff? Not so much. Todays NOTD however has quickly become a favorite of mine and this is perhaps the third time I've worn it. I knew it would go so well with my outfit and jewelry, that I couldn't resist a redo.

The gold half moon is Orly's Luxe kept glossy while the OPI Black Onyx is mattified using Essies Matte About You:

And just because Chloe decided to photobomb, I thought I'd share an image of one of my favorite polishes and my all time favorite puppy.
OPI's Ski Teal We Drop. Absolutely love this and the formula is to die for:

And last but my all means not least, here's my little OPI German haul that arrived in the mail this morning. I'm absolutely in love with all of the colors and almost tempted to try them out right now. But since it's midnight and I spent a good thirty minutes perfecting todays manicure, I think it can wait:

My Very First Knockwurst - Nein! Nein! Nein! OK. Fine! - Berlin There, Done That - Every Month Is  Oktoberfest

I am totally gutted to be missing Oktoberfest this year. It was all planned and then fell through :( Oh well. I dont like beer anyway.

Looong Time Coming & OPI Collection:

Oh my gosh, it's been so long it just took me about an hour to figure out how to use the 'new' Blogger layout. That and the fact that I just turned 24 whilst my last post was written at 22, makes me a very bad blogger. I won't promise I'm back for good, (because I never keep them!) but I hope to post a little more frequently. I miss you guys and I'm totally out of the loop.

Another about that, here's my OPI collection which has grown vastly during my break from blogging. I'm not a polish snob, but I like consistency and OPI just happened to be the brand I choose most frequently. Enjoy! I'll have swatches up if anyones interested:

 Turquoise Shatter - Into The Night - Roadhouse Blues - Swimsuit, Nailed It!, Ogre The Top Blue, Ski Teal We Drop, What's With The Cattitude?, Austentatious Turquoise, Not Like The Movies, Yoga-Tu Get This Blue, How You Blue'in? 

 Mermaids Tears - Just Spotted The Lizard - Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow - Who The Shrek Are You? - Gargantuan Green Grape - Teenage Dream x2 - Fresh Frog Of Bel Air - Gone Gonzo! - Pirouette My Whistle - Spark Di Triomphe - Servin' Up Sparkle - Divine Swine

 Mimosas For Mr & Mrs x2 - Tickle My Francey - Makes Men Blush - Alpine Snow - My Boyfriend Scales Walls - My Pointe Exactly - White Shatter - Designer, De-Better! - Up Front And Personal - Steady As She Rose - You're A Doll - Play The Peonies - My Private Jet - You Don't Know Jacques (Suede) - Espresso Your Style - Number One Nemesis - Your Royal Shineness

Play Till Midnight - A Grape Fit - Do You Lilac It? - Lucky, Lucky Lavender - Purple With A Purpose  - Russian Navy - Pandamonium Pink - Rumples Wiggin' - Funkey Dunkey

Bastille My Heart - Big Apple Red - Marinello On The G.L.O.W - Got The Blues For Red - OPI Red - Monsooner Or Later - Hot & Spicy - Y'All Come Back, Ya Hear? - A Roll In The Hague - Need Sunglasses?

Italian Love Affair - Mod About You x2 - Otherwise Engaged - Suzi And The Lifeguard - Elephantastic Pink - I Eat Mainely Lobster - Grand Canyon Sunset - La Pazitively Hot - Strawberry Margarita - Ladies & Magentamen 

 William Tell Me About OPI - We'll Always Have Paris - Midnight In Moscow - I Brake For Manicures - Lincoln Park At Midnight - Light My Sapphire - Lincoln Park After Dark - Siberian Nights - Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees - Black Onyx - Vamsterdam - Black Cherry Chutney

My favorites are definately the vamps and neutrals, especially now Autumn is coming, but there will always be a place in my heart for Mod About You!

I wish I could show you the super cool way I store these, but since I'm pretty much a nomad these days they're color coordinated in ziploc bags and that's nothing I feel the need to show!

Is anyone reading this? Am I too late? Comment :)

Honey, I'm Home

Long time no post! I have been incredibly busy and tired and what spare time I do have I like to spend at the dog park with Chloe - she deserves as much play time as she can get!

But, I am getting more and more used to my routine and a little more free time here and there so here I am :)

Lots to talk about - I finally found the perfect foundation (and it's cheap too!) - but for now here's a little review of my current nails courtesy of Gelish soak off polish :)


So basically, since the move abroad my nails just do not grow. I used to have naturally long and strong nails but for the past 3 months they have just been splitting and tearing like never before. I toyed with the idea of getting acrylics again, but I remember the hassle I had once they were removed last time so decided against that (For now!) and tried something new - Harmony's Gelish Soak Off Polish :)


My local salon offers this service with a manicure for $27.00 though I chose not to get the manicure since I keep my hands and nails are in good shape anyway, and prefer not to be attacked with the cuticle snippers! I filed my nails completely down, paid $18 for this gel and chose the color "Pink Smoothie" - no surprises there.

Above is the polish on day 1: Super shiny, neat and crisp. It is important not to get the gel on your cuticles at all as it will just peel the whole thing off, so my technician stayed away from the skin.

And below, is today - day 8: I added a Nubar Flakie in shade 2010 to the polish because I was getting bored of looking at the same colour. As you can see the regrowth is pretty bad already, but honestly in real life its not all that noticeable and very much worth it to see my nails grow without chipping.

These can apparently last up to 3 weeks, though I plan to remove them at 2. The edges are starting to peel every so slightly, and I have a bad habit of picking at imperfections in my nails, but I will try my best to keep them on for the next week.

Although the removal is included in the price, I plan to soak them off myself and take my time because I saw a lady in the salon using a metal cuticle pusher to dig them off a customers nails - ouch.

Nail Of The Day x3:

My blog is focusing on nails lately it seems, primarily because I havn't worn makeup for months but also simply because I'm very much in a nail phase right now :)

I did my 'montly trim' a week or so ago and filed them all back to shorties. I like to do it once a month or so, not only because my nails grow super fast, but because I feel it helps me maintain stronger nails.

Nubar 'Hotel Baby Pink', 2 coats:

You probably know by now that I love light pastel pinks and this one is a firm favourite. It's a little less lilac toned than most and has more of a baby, almost peachy tone to it in real life. Soon I will post a comparison of all my seriously similar shades.

Orly 'Luxe', 2 coats:

Luxe is one of the most metallic golds I have ever tried and holds up really well (I use a mixture of Nailtek 2 and CnD Stickey for my base coat) unlike some other foil type shades. It has quite a silver tone to it in daylight with silver flecks scattered throughout. Not my favourite shade but a nice change :)

Barry M 'Dusky Mauve', 2 coats:

LOVE this shade. Love how the topcoat gives it a super glass like finish. Nothing else to be said really, great application as with all Barry M's :-)