The Friday Review: Nars One Shocking Moment Blush Palette

For the last few years Nars has released a limited edition blush palette as part of one of their autumn collections, and or the past few years, it sold out before I managed to get my hand on it. This year I signed up to the mailing list and I ordered it the second I got the email and I couldn't have been more pleased when it turned up on my doorstep last week. It's my first experience with Nars' base products and the palette contains a lot of permanent shades so I figured I'd give you the run down.

The packaging for the palette is lovely, nice and sturdy feeling and it has one of those "good click" closes that seems to be all important in the beauty blogging world. The lid of the palette is nicely decorated with a photograph (pictured above) with a text overlay. When you open the palette the lid is a big mirror and there's 7 products inside, four of which are Blush in: "Robotic" (limited edition), "Blasphemy" (limited edition), "Luster" (permanent) and "Dolce Vita" (permanent), there's also the "Paloma" Contour Blush Duo, and a Bronzing Powder in "Laguna" which is twice the size of the other powders in the palette.

In terms of value, I paid £49 for the palette and can't find any information on the value in pounds but Sephora are advertising this at $69 with a $169 value and looking at the amount of product you get in here, I can see that being about right. The blushes are all 3.5g of product (full size are 4.5g so slightly down sized), the contour blush duo is 3.5g each (full size is 2.7g and 5.5g so slightly more highlight and slightly less contour) and the bronzer is 8.5g (full size is 8g so slightly smaller than the palette size)

The two limited edition blush shades "Robotic" and "Blasphemy" are pinky shades with shimmer. "Robotic" is quite a subtle hint of blush that will play nice with a bolder lip look while "Blasphemy" is a slightly bolder blush, it's a mid-tone pink that will give more of a blushed look to the cheeks but it's still very wearable.

The permanent blush shades are nice as well. "Luster" looked like a shade I didn't think I'd get much use out of but after actually wearing it I can safely say it's my favourite out of all the products in the palette, it's a nice peachy bronze-y shade on the cheeks and is good to warm up a lighter skin tone. "Dolce Vita" is the boldest blush in the palette and will give the cheeks that winter-y "I've just been out in the cold" type flush and used lightly on the skin it's really pretty.

Looking at the shades in the palette to me there's something for every season, "Robotic" will be a spring-time staple, "Luster" will give you that summer time golden goddess look, "Blasphemy" will work well for autumn and then "Dolce Vita" is a nice winter blush pick. My only complaint with the blush shades is that everything's a bit shimmery, if they'd thrown in at least one matte shade I think that would have balanced things out a bit better.

Out of all the products in the palette, the Contour Blush Duo was my least favourite. On me the highlight shade looks like a normal setting powder, but if you're of a medium skin tone the highlight might actually show up on you. The contour shade was also a little out, it's just a bit too warm, even the bronzing shade looks cool toned beside it. I'd rather use "Laguna" lightly to contour and use the contouring shade in place of bronzer. I was a littler worried that "Laguna" would be way too dark on me at first but providing I use a light hand with it I can just about get away with it.

The palette is available now on narscosmetics.com and sephora.com and is also available for pre-order from Space NK.

October Favourites

I can't believe October is pretty much over already (I know this is a bit earlier than I normally post my monthly favourites but that's the way the schedule fell due to other posts I've got lined up). I've been testing out a few new bits this month and I think I've found some good picks for this one.

On the make-up front, I know I gave these an honorary mention last month but I just wanted to mention that the Fluer De Force Lip Gloss has been a true favourite this month, I've worn the shade "Written In The Stars" at least twice a week since I picked it up and it's just a great fuss-free everyday neutral.

With me keeping it simple on the lips I've been going for a bit of a stronger look on the eyes and have been gravitating towards my Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in "Golden Quartz for Hazel Eyes Day" it's a great rusty bronze with golden shimmer that seems to give a subtle hint of green to the lids and I love the uniqueness of the shade. The formula is great too, nice and quick to apply and lasts well.

My final makeup favourite for the month is the Bourjois Sourcil Precision Eyebrow Pencil. I have the shade "07 Noisette" and it's a great eyebrow pencil. It's a bit waxier than other formulas and I find that I don't need to use a brow gel with this one as it's got a little hold to it and my brows aren't particularly unruly. My only bug-bare with this is that the brush on the lid is a bit pants, if they swapped that out for a good spool-y brush this would be perfect.

Possible TMI here: as it's been getting a bit colder I've been finding that my feet have been getting a bit gross looking/feeling. I've been popping on the Soap & Glory Hell Genius Amazing Foot Cream under my socks on a daily basis and it's sorted out any dryness or general winter-woes pretty quickly. A great SOS product.

For skincare I have two new favourites, one high end and one budget. For high end I've been loving the Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud Cleanser. It's a lovely, cooling creamy cleanser and while it can be used both day and night I find that the cooling sensation is just exactly what I want in the morning to wake me up.

My budget skincare find is the Nspa Oil-Free Moisture Gel, this is an insanely good product. I'd moved on to using oils instead of moisturisers 9 times out of 10 because moisturisers just weren't cutting it for me. Having oily but dehydrated skin made it really hard for me to find something hydrating enough but that wasn't too heavy or greasy to wear under makeup but this product has it down. It's a nice hydrating cream that sinks in almost immediately.

And there we have it, I still can't believe how fast this year is going.

Weekend Beauty Routine From A Carry-On

So as you're reading this I'm currently flying back from a weekend away in Ireland for my best friends 21st birthday. I love those travel-beauty posts so I figured this was a great opportunity to share the products I took with me for the trip. With it being a weekend of nights out this is more than I'd normally pack for just a weekend.

So for skincare I had to be careful because we were flying with just hand luggage. I stripped my routine right back and it's all tiny travel sizes as restrictions on liquids is pretty heavy even on domestic UK flights. First off I have a tiny bottle of Bioderma Micellar Water, this isn't a product I have any loyalty to but it was the smallest make-up remover I had on hand and will be enough for the weekend. The cleanser I took was the Omoravicza Foam Cleanser which I really like, it's a good SLS-free foaming cleanser and it's not stripping at all, and the fact that it's foaming meant I didn't need to take up room in my tiny case with a million flannels.

For skincare treats I've got a trial size bottle of the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner which is one of my favourite exfoliating toners, I love that Clarins are really good with giving you samples with your purchases as usually they're mini's of things I already love that are great for traveling. For hydration I have a mini Caudalie Premier Cru The Elixir which is a nice oil for night time but will also work under makeup if my skin is feeling a bit lack-luster. My travel eye cream of choice is Sunday Riley Start Over I like this for travel as it's good for AM and PM and it's a good sample size, can't see myself going for a full size though. Finally for skincare I have Benefit Dream Screen SPF, it's a really dinky bottle and it's SPF 45, I can't imagine we'll be getting much sun in Ireland at the end of October but I always wear a high SPF on my face just incase.

In the miscellaneous beauty product category I have a mini Mitchum deodorant, single-use sachets of the R+Co Gemstone Colour Shampoo and Conditioner and my mini pot of Bumble and Bumble Prêt-a-Powder. We're staying with my friends parents so I figure I can use the shower gel they already have but I use sulphate-free shampoo, since I wash my hair every other day so the single-use sachets should be fine. I'll be using the Prêt-a-Powder between washes if things get a bit shiny and it also doubles up as a styling product since it adds volume to the hair and best of all? It doesn't take up any of my liquids allowance. I haven't tried the Mitchum deodorants yet but everyone raves about them and I figured this was a good excuse to give them a go, I'll report back and let you know how it compare to my usual Dove Invisible Dry.

Makeup was the hardest thing to whittle down, because we're going out a lot I wanted options but I didn't want to end up taking half a case of makeup but I got there in the end. For base I've got Estée Lauder Double Wear Light because it's a nice buildable coverage and it's light on the skin but it will last well for a night out. I've also packed the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer because it works equally well on blemishes and imperfections as it does under the eyes and for setting powder the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot obviously. The Nars One Shocking Moment Blush Palette arrived the day I left for the trip so I packed that, I probably could have condensed my face products a bit more but it's got everything I need in there and I wanted to give it a good testing but you'll hear more about that later this week.

For eyes I took Urban Decay Primer Potion for a base and the Maybelline The Nudes Palette as it's got everything you'd need for a neutral eye and it can go a bit smokey for evening too. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in "Perversion" is a nice one for a night out because it's creamy and you can use it in a few different ways but it lasts like nothing else and the Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara will be making sure my lashes are on their best behaviour. For brows I have the No7 Beautiful Eyebrow Sculpting Pencil because the pencil is nice and it has a good spool-y brush built in.

Then for lips I've been really good and got it down to just two options: a nude and a dark. For the nude I have the Fleur De Force Lip Gloss in "Written in the Stars" which has been a total favourite this month as it's a great your-lips-but-better shade. Then I have Rimmel's Lasting Finish By Kate lipstick in "107" which has become a bit of a cult classic, it's a great vampy berry for autumn.

The Friday Review: KIKO Lash Growth Mascara

I've had this one in the working for a while but the packaging said it takes 30 days of consecutive use to work and with it being a lash growth product I thought it would be more fair to follow the directions for use. I've recently gotten quite into using KIKO products and I'm super excited to hear that they're opening a location in Manchester soon (although I will soon be penniless I can imagine), and this really intrigued me.

The packing for the product is nice, it's quite a standard size for a mascara and the metallic finish on the tube is a nice touch. You get 8ml of product and it's around £8 a tube which is a good price for mascara, considering brands like MaxFactor and L'Oreal are charging £10+ for mascaras these days.

Since it's supposed to be worn as a regular mascara I figured I'd mention how it wears. The effect on the lashes is very natural so if you're someone who likes big fluttery lashes this might be a disappointment but I used this as a base coat and often went in with a more dramatic formula on top and this gave me the look I liked whilst still being able to use the lash growth. It didn't flake or smudge on me either.

In terms of it's effectiveness as a lash growth serum, I'm not sure. I tried to take before and after photos but it's actually really hard to photograph your own lashes and I'm not at the point where I have a cameraman to help me with the blog so I don't have anything to compare but my ashes do seem to look a tiny bit longer. It's definitely not a dramatic growth and if you have short lashes to begin with (like me) you might not see much of a difference but I feel like my mascaras are sitting on my lashes better these days.

All in all, it might be a bit of a gimmicky product and I'm not sure the amount of growth I've got from the mascara made it worth the 30 days of extra effort applying my makeup. If you're really struggling with short lashes though it might be worth picking up, I suppose mascaras always work differently on different people.

Supermarket Skincare: Nspa At Asda

Nspa is a skincare range I've been wanting to try for ages and on a recent trip to Asda I managed to find quite a good selection of products from the range. The price point for this range is amazing with most products being £6-£8 and the range often being on a two-for-£8 offer which basically makes it buy-one-get-one-free. I love the packaging as well, for a well priced brand the packing doesn't look or feel particularly cheap.

So the first product I picked up was the Hot Cloth Polish which is a creamy hot-cloth-cleanser. I like this for a morning or second-PM cleanse as I prefer an oily texture for makeup removal and it's nice. There's definitely cleansers out there that I prefer but for the price point this is a nice product. The scent is nice and clean as well.

I find that one thing that I really struggle to find in low-cost skincare ranges is really nice serums so I decided to give Nspa's Double Action Youth Serum a go. The packing says this can be used alone or under a moisturiser and so it seems to be a moisturising serum and for me, it's just not what I want in a serum. It's very similiar in texture to the moisturiser I picked up from the range and while I don't think it's a horrible product by any means, it's definitely not the best serum out there. If you're looking for a budget serum, the L'Oreal Revitalift Filler Renew is much better and is only a little more expensive.

I love a good facial oil so as soon as I saw the Deep Hydrating Facial Oil it was finding it's way into my basket. It's nice for an evening oil but is a little too heavy for daytime wear. The scent is warming and clean again and it sinks into the skin nicely. I think oils are another product where you get what you pay for and the ingredients are obviously not going to be the same quality in this oil are they will be in a pricer product but it's definitely a good find and my skin really seems to like it.

And finally, I have the Oil-Free Moisture Gel and of all the products I picked up, this was the one I wasn't sure I'd like. Even though I have oily skin I seem to have a real hard time finding day-time moisture products that offer a nice level of hydration to my skin, without being too heavy or greasy. That being said, I actually really like this one. I'd previously been using the Clarins Lotus Facial Oil as my day-time hit of hydration and my skin loves it but I've been going through it pretty quickly and it's not particularly kind on the purse. The Nspa Moisture gel is non-greasy and feels nice and light on the skin but manages to give your skin the moisture it needs to not drink up your makeup now that the weathers starting to cool down.

So all in all a nice range. I can see myself picking up more from the range and probably even repurchasing some of the one's I've mentioned here. I dare say this has been my most succesful supermarket Skincare post to date.

Empties: Round Three

As part of my pledge to use up my stuff, I'm here with another empties post. Sadly my backups drawer seems to fill up just as quickly as I manage to get through stuff (I blame the Boots 3-for-2 offers). It's a good mixed bag this year with lots of bath and body, some hair, skincare and even a little bit of makeup, so since we have a lot to talk about, lets get on with it.

So I've worked my way through 2 shower gels this month (is it just me that seems to have 2 or 3 different shower gels in the shower at any one time? Hopefully not?). The first of which being the Radox Nourish Shea Butter & Ginger Shower Cream. This is a great shower gel that you can usually find on offer for £1-£2 and the scent is amazing. Lathers well, smells great and lasts quite a long time for the price, a nice unisex shower gel that I would repurchase if I didn't have more shoer gel than I'd care to admit waiting to be worked through. I've also finished a mini Life NK Ultimate Unwind Body Wash. The scent on this was just a bit bland and it was pretty expensive for how average it was to use. Wouldn't pick up another.

I used up two of my back-ups of Lush Butterbear Bath Ballistic. They're essentially the Butterball Bath Ballistic but slightly smaller, cheaper and bear shaped and were a limited edition release last Christmas. I picked up a few because I like to put Butterball in the bath with bubble that doesn't give you that hydrating feeling to make them a bit more luxurious but I only have a little bath in my bathroom so the smaller-sized christmas releases are usually more than enough. I hope they bring it back this Christmas.

I've also used up quite a few body moisturisers. One I wasn't so keen on was the Soap & Glory Girligo Spray-On Body Moisturising Mist. I love S&G's body butters and body creams but this spray was a bit flimsy for me and my skin didn't really get on with it, I'd rather just go for one of the other formulas from them in the future. I also used up the last of my Aromatherapy Associates Renewing Rose Body Cream. This is one of the nicest smelling body creams I've tried in a while and I was sad to see the last tiny bit be used up, at £36.50 for the full size it's a bit overly pricey for me to justify a repurchase when the texture wasn't much more than that of a £10 S&G body cream but it was a treat to use up.

If you want a body lotion that's a bit of a treat but that won't break the bank quite so hard as the Aromatherapy Associates choice, let me point you in the direction of the Cowshed Gorgeous Cow Blissful Body Lotion. At £18 for 300ml, it's not too expensive but the scent and the texture on this is really nice. One thing to keep in mind with this one is that the scent is really quite strong and it will linger on the skin, Space NK are currently advertising a gift set with this body lotion and the shower gel that might just make it onto my Christmas list this year.

A few picks for hair, I'm sure no one will be surprised to see the L'Oreal Pure Colour Shampoo in an empties post. This was my favourite shampoo for a while but last time I went for a repurchase it was out of stock and since I've tried the Ever Strong from the same range and I think I actually prefer that one. The L'Oreal sulphate-free range in general is a really nice one and I'm sure you'd be able to find a formula to suit your own hair needs.

I've also got two heat protectors in this empties. The Vo5 Heat Protect is my all-time favourite that I continually repurchase and will continue to use and love and I've been through another one of those but I also tried the Bumble and Bumble Hairdressers Invisible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer and used up that. It's a nice formula and the scent is lovely but for me it was just a bit too heavy in the roots of my fine hair and while it was nice through the ends and I did manage to use it up, I'd rather just stick to my Vo5 next time.

I finally made it through my giant pot of Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. I will more than likely be picking up another eventually but right now my cleansing cabinet is so over-flowing that I can't justify it just yet. It's a lovely cleansing balm that's equally good for make-up removal or an AM/PM main cleanse. Another skincare pick I've worked my way through is the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel. While I used this up and didn't mind how it felt on the skin, the texture was a bit lumpy and it's not quite as cooling as other formulas I've tried so I can't see myself repurchasing this one.

And finally, some make-up picks. I had a mini of the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and thankfully it dried out on me pretty quickly. I really didn't get on with this mascara, it did nothing for the length of my lashes and just made them look clumpy and spider-y. I also made it through another Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot Powder, need I say more? I've got back-ups upon back-ups of this now and have pretty much given up on testing other formulas, it's my favourite setting powder by a long shot.

And there we have it, another empties over. If you have any recommendations for things I should try that could make it into the next empties post, give me a shout in the comments section.

The Friday Review: Esteé Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation

So this isn't a new release by any means, but I mentioned it in a favourites post not too long ago and thought it deserved a post of it's own. Minus my brief stint with the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, I've never been a big spender when it comes to foundation. That being said, I'd been struggling with foundation breaking down on me this summer and wanted to try this to see how it faired.

First off, the shade range on this foundation is pretty good. I feel like brands on the whole have gotten a lot better with their shade ranges as I always used to struggle to find something light enough to suit my ghostly complexion. The packing is also quite nice, both in the sense of it's pretty with the nude bottle and the gold lid but it's also good for travel since it's a plastic squeeze-tube container.

The formula itself is nice, it goes onto the skin like a moisturiser and has a buildable light to medium coverage. It evens the skin tone out well but I'd still go in with concealer to cover up any blemishes or under-eye issues. I like how my freckles peek through this foundation a little and feel like this helps he foundation to look really skin-like. The finish is quite middle-of-the-ground, it's not super matte and it's not super dewy. I still like to set it down with a powder to matte it down a bit, but if you're a dewy girl you could mix this with a liquid highlight to get some more glow.

The wear-time is nice. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't a foundation in the world that can handle my summer t-zone so I always find myself having to touch-up that area but everywhere else wore perfectly through full work days. If you really struggle or you need it to last it pays nice with primers to give it an even more long-lasting effect on the skin. This is the foundation that I reach for when I'm going out after work because it'll only need a tiny bit of touching up to look decent again once I've clocked off.

My Autumn Beauty Boosters

So the mornings have started to get quite crisp round these parts lately and the sun seems to be setting earlier and earlier every day and that can only mean one thing: autumn is well and truly on it's way. Autumn is my favourite season and I'm looking forward to snuggling back into my chunky knits and boots. So now the weather's settling down and the light is starting to fade a bit, here's my autumn beauty edit:

 In the summer I actually took a quick break from my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel in favour of a more creamy cleanser, but now it's cooling down I'm back to using this more in the evenings as a nice pre-bed-time treat. Another skin treat I've coming running back to now the summer's saying its goodbyes is the MV Organics Rose Plus Hydrating Booster. It's a deliciously rose-scented oil that hydrates the skin well and it's another bed-time beauty boost.

I always like to go a bit darker as autumn comes in and two lipsticks I'll be reaching for a lot more will be Illamsqua "Growl" and MAC "Rebel". I've also been wearing Fleur De Force's Lipgloss in "Starry Starry Night" a lot lately but my top dark-lip pick this autumn is the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in "107". I've resisted for a few years but I finally caved and it's such a beautiful colour.

If I'm not feeling a dark lip the eyeshadow palette I always come back to in the autumn is the Urban Decay "Smoked" Palette. Unfortunately they've since discontinued this and released the Naked Smokey which doesn't compare really, but you can pick up a lot of the shades in "Smoked" from UD's permanent range, my favourite is "Mushroom", a metallic grey-brown that makes a great neutral smokey eye.

For hair I like to go to town with the texture in autumn. For general volume I love the Color Wow One-Minute Transformation. It's a product I love all year long for giving my fine, flimsy hair a bit of volume at the roots. I also like a good sea-salt spray to give the ends of my hair that laid-back lived-in look. Autumn is the season for wooly hats and scarves and I think nothing goes better with a wooly hat than some messy texture in your locks. (And I know I'm not the only person who has those emergency hat days when autumn comes around).

And finally, for nails, while I'm not normally a nail polish girl I can get behind one of two nail trends that seem to come back every autumn. I love a dark or metallic nail once the days start getting shorter. I think it might be because darker nail polish formulas seem to be easier to apply than the pale/pastel colours that come back every spring and summer and a darker/metallic nail is a lot less maintenance. Whatever it is, it's a trend I can get behind and a couple I'll be cracking out this year are Essie "Bahama Mama" and Tanya Burr "New York Night", nice vampy red/purple shades are my favourite.

My Nail Polish Collection

Whilst I've been updating my beauty storage (comment if you'd like to hear more about that?) I've been doing a lot of decluttering and I figured since I had all my nail polishes out, I might as well do a post giving you a round up of what I have.

So Firstly, Blues. I love the colour of Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in the shade "Duvet Day" but it's just a nightmare to apply. For me it's thick but somehow still quite sheer and I haven't managed to apply this and make it look nice on the nails.

The next three are all shades that I mainly wear on my toes, KIKO Nail Lacquer "336", Misa Nail Lacquer "On The Edge" and Inglot Nail Enamel "942" are all lovely mid-tone bright blues and I love a bright blue on the toes, however I rarely wear any of these on the fingers.

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish "New York Night" is a nice vampy purple that I'll be cracking out now that autumn is on it's way, her darker shades seem to be a much nicer texture than the lighter shades and this one looks almost black on the nails. I also think that No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour "Violetta 44" would be a nice autumn nail pick, it's slightly lighter and brighter than "New York Night", but it's still quite autumnal.

I like Topshop Nails in "Parma Violet" and this pink O.P.I Nail Lacquer which unfortunately doesn't have a shade name and was limited edition for spring. They're both nice pastels and while they take a bit of work to apply, you can get a nice finish from both.

My Favourite nail polish of all time for my fingers is the Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Disco Pink", I've very nearly finished this bottle and I'm currently on the hunt for a new bottle as it's just an amazing bright shade for summer that I just love. KIKO Nil Lacquer in "361" is also  nice bright pink but for me it doesn't compare to the Maxfactor, I think it would work for a beach-y holiday worn on both fingers and toes but so far it's not been a shade I've reached for a whole lot.

I come back to the Essie Nail Lacquer in "Bahama Mama" every year once it starts cooling down. It's a great burgundy and just can probably get away with just one coat if you were in a rush, I'd always go for two just to make sure though. A very similar shade is No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour in the shade "Queenie 60". It's that same tone of burgundy as "Bahama Mama", but instead of a creamy gloss finish, the No7 has a hint of golden shimmer running through it which gives it a more metallic finish on the nails.

I don't wear an awful lot of red on my nails (so naturally I have 3). I bought Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in "Riding Hood" online and was expecting it be a bit darker than it actually turned out to be, It's actually quite similar to the Procco Nail Apparel in "7294 V.I.P Creme" which is my go to polish if I'm doing red. I also have a mini O.P.I Nail Lacquer which again was from a limited collection but it's not my favourite anyway.

I have three orangey/coral shades and I don't like any of them. Ted Baker Orange, LOLA Barcelona Nail Polish in "Rambla" and Wah London Nails in "384" are all amazing colour but I'm starting to think there's just something about orange-y shades that makes them horrible to apply. I'm holding onto them incase I discover a way to make them work because the colours are really something.

I love warm grey nil polish for autumn/winter and I have two. Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Boji" which was a limited edition one that I wear every now and again but my favourite is Essie Nail Lacquer in "Chinchilly". I think Essie polishes are generally a nice formula and "Chinchilly" is a great goes-with-everything shade.

I've already mentioned Butter London's 3 Free Nail Lacquer in "Knackered" on here and it's really something. It takes about 3/4 coats to get it to a nice opacity but it's worth the little bit of effort. It's a really unique colour, a green/pink dual chrome colour that give's that almost oil slick finish to the nails and it looks great with an all black outfit and my Whistles Small Clutch in "Oil Slick".

I'm a sucker for a good glitter topcoat and I have three. The NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in "105 Starry Silver Glitter" was the first one I picked up and it's like a slightly multi-coloured version of Topshop Nails in "Ice Crush" which is my favourite glitter top coat. I also have the O.P.I Nail Lacquer in "Silver Shatter" which is one of those crackle-finish nail polishes but this is a metallic shimmery silver one.

A couple of metallic nail polishes that I like are the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in "Night Silver 92" and Topshop Nails "Crystal Clouds" and I like both of these year long. The No7 is a little bit more autumn/winter but I love it and the Topshop is a polish I'd happily wear year round.

And finally, a topcoat and a nail care product. I rarely use a topcoat but when I do I use the O.P.I Rapidry Top Coat, it's nice and shiny and helps your polish last longer. Normally I just go in with the Orly Colour Care Nail Strong which is a shiny clear nail polish that can be used alone or under/over other polishes and helps strengthen your nails. I have problems with flaking on my nails and I find that this helps a lot.

The Friday Review: A TMI Post - My Thoughts On The Braun Epil Silk 9

So in this review post, we're going to get maybe a little bit more personal than normal, we're talking hair removal, my experience with hair removal and one hair removal device in particular: the Braun Epil Silk 9. This device is the first time I've tried epilating but previously I've used electric razors and waxing for my legs and manual razors for everywhere else. So with that introduction out of the way: here we go.

So I heard Lily Pebbles talk about this razor in one of her videos a while back and I picked it up for £120 from Boots on sale, the RRP of this product is around £170 depending on the retailer. I'd been waxing my legs and shaving my under arms for years and I was having problems with both of these methods, For waxing, I hated having to wait for the hair to grow back and to get an appointment when I was only getting 1 week out of 4 where my legs were actually smooth. With my underarms, because I was shaving they grew back quickly and I was finding myself having to do them every day because of regrowth and it was becoming a bit of a chore. (For review purposes, these are the areas I've been trialling the Epil Silk 9 and I still use other methods in other areas).

My experience with the Epil Silk 9 has been great. On my legs it's no more painful that waxing and I can maintain it myself on a weekly basis. While it is quite painful on the underarms, it's dealt with my regrowth issues and I can now epilate them once every 2-3 weeks and shave between and I'm finding it much more manageable and the hair has become much thinner over just a couple of months use. I wouldn't use this on my bikini line just because of the pain issue but if your pain tolerance is higher than mine that might be an option for you.

The Epil Silk 9 comes with 2 other attachments as well, an electric razor head and an exfoliating body brush. The electric razor head is great, works just as well as any other electric razor and this might be a better thing to use if you're finding the epilating too painful in some areas. However I found the exfoliating body brush to be a bit of a let down. The motor doesn't do much to power the brush and it just vibrates slightly on the skin and for me personally, I find a standard body scrub to be much more effective.

A Thing For Eyeshadow Sticks

I've loved eyeshadow sticks since the days of MAC Shade Sticks and while my original cream shadow stick is long gone it's nice to see that the format is coming back and other brands are releasing their own take on this convenient, multi-purpose product. In this post I'm going to have a look at some of the highs and lows of what's on the market at the moment.

So lets just get the most disappointing pick out of the way shall we? I'd heard lots of great things about New Look's recent beauty launch and some of the face products I've tried have been lovely, but their Pure Colour Eyeshadow Sticks didn't hit the mark for me. The colour is so sheer that I can't imagine anyone would be satisfied with the colour pay-off enough to leave it as it is and i just needs to be topped with a powder shadow. With that in mind it's been really ard to test the actual lasting power of the product, because really it doesn't manage to last through the blending process, never mind the day.

I had a very similar issue with the NYC City Proof 24hr Waterproof Eyeshadow. I couldn't really test the lasting power or the waterproof claims of this products because it's so sheer that for me it's an eyeshadow base rather than an actual eyeshadow. This product also has the disadvantage of having the worst packaging for an eyeshadow stick, the lid isn't secure at all and will 100% fall off if you tried to travel with it.

The No7 Stay Perfect Shade And Define eyeshadow sticks are a little better. A decent colour selection and the colours show up nicely on the eye but these one's struggle with wear time. If you're out for a couple of hours this might be an option for you but it does crease even when set with a powder shadow after a relatively short amount of time.

Things are starting to look up with the Bourjois ColourBand Eyeshadow & Liner. These are actualy really nice, creamy to apply, nice pigmentation and wears well on the lids. The only problem I have with these is the shade selection is quite small. They do have classic black, brown and champagne colours as well as a few wearable brights but the colours are generally a bit shimmery and they could do with expanding the range a bit more to include some more unique colours.

A comparable product to the Bourjois is the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleons. These are great eyeshadow sticks that are pigmented, easy to apply and last well on the eyes. The thing that sets the Colour Chameleons apart for me is the shades, I have the shade "Golden Quarts for Hazel Eyes Day" and it's so unusual. I'd pitch the shade as a rusty gold with green-ish undertones and it has flecks of golden glitter and it was just love at first swatch. They also have an amazing green and a gorgeous smokey purple that I may have to pick up in the future. At £19 each they're a treat but hey aren't too crazy for what they are.

If you're looking to really treat yourself and are looking for an eyeshadow stick, you don't have to look any further than the By Terry Ombre Blackstars. They've been mentioned on the blog before and whilst they are unbelievably pricey for an eyeshadow pencil, they are also really nice. The shade selection for these is so on point, there doesn't seem to be a single colour that doesn't look pretty and they're so unique that I can just about justify spending the money on them.

However my top eyeshadow pencil pick is the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows. They're pigmented, long-lasting, easy to apply AND they're £6.90 a piece. So you can pick up 4 of these for the same price as just one of the By Terry and they're so comparable. Last month in my "Highstreet VS Highend" post (clicky link here) I mentioned KIKO's "05" being a pretty perfect dupe for By Terry's "Misty Rock" and with 31 shades in the collection, I can imagine they'll be something for everyone.

The Cult Beauty Box by Caroline Hirons Number 2

When the first Cult Beauty Box by Caroline Hirons came out, I resisted hard. As much as I liked the look of a lot of products and the savings were great I just couldn't justify the £140 price tag it came with, especially when I was only actively seeking 3 of the 8 products, and 2 of the 3 were trial or deluxe sizes. This time around though 3 of the 5 full size products were on my wish list and the rest looked interesting and with the price point being a slightly more kind-to-the-bank-balance £100, I decided to put in an order. So while the box is no longer available, I figured the products are still for sale individually and so I'd let you in on how some of them performed.

A Caroline Hirons top rated product that I'd been dying to try for a while was the Pixi Glow Tonic and it really didn't disappoint. The packaging is practical and I like how the pastel green label looks on the orange bottle. The formula is 5% glycolic acid and contains aloe vera to sooth the skin whilst exfoliating, it's also alcohol free which is nice. It's gentle enough to use morning and night but does leave the skin feeling soft and smooth and as an added bonus it has a light fresh scent to it which I enjoy. It's left me itching to try more of the Pixi range, especially the Glow Mud Cleanser and the H2O Skindrink.

The other two products I really wanted to try were both cleansers, and I thought it was interesting that Caroline chose to include two cleanser in the box but I'm glad she did. The first one is the RMS Beauty Raw Coconut Cream and this one's my favourite of the two for make-up removal. It's really solid in the jar but once it comes into contact with the skin it instantly melts down into a smooth, silky oil that removes makeup easily. I like the soft hint of a coconut scent that the product has and would more than likely buy it again, I like to use this in rotation with my Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil.

I was pleased to see that the Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud Cleanser had been included in the box as well. I've been wanting to try some more products from Skyn Iceland since the moment I used their Glacial Cleansing Cloths and this cleanser has definitely put them on my radar for sure. It's a really nice soothing, creamy cleanser. Skyn Iceland aim their products towards "stressed" skin, which is something I think we can all relate to at some point or another and this for me is a really nice calming morning cleanser, I just love the cooling sensation it has on my skin in the morning and it's a nice way to wake yourself up. This cleanser also doesn't seem to have any kind of artificial scent to it which is nice.

The Odacité Pomegranate and Rose Geranium Hydration Serum Contentrate had me a little confused at first, the bottle calls it a "serum" but for me this is a little heavy for a serum step and I'd put it more in the "oil" category of skincare. I liked this product but I don't think it's anything special, when you consider that the full size is £33 on it's own and for that you get just 5ml, I don't think it's any better than the Sarah Chapman oils (£46 for 15ml) or the MV Organics Rose Plus Booster (£70 for 30ml), while they're both more expensive product, the price per ml makes them a much better value product in my opinion.

A product I wasn't sure I'd like was the Skin Owl Eye+, as it's marketed as a "nourishing and youth stimulating eye concentrate" and as I'm just about nearing my 23rd birthday, I figure "youth stimulating" isn't really something I need just yet (I hope!). That being said, I have noticed my under eye area is a lot smoother after using this and the beginnings of very faint dehydration lines have disappeared since I started using this. I love how cooling it is on the under eye area on application and that you can feel a light warming sensation shortly after applying. My only issue with this one is the packaging, as nice as the glass jar is, it's not the most hygienic way to package eye cream and it does make it slightly difficult to pick up the right amount of product.

The box also contained a full size Pommade Divine and small sizes of the Alpha H Essential Hydration Cream and REN's Vita Mineral Omega 3 Optimum Skin Oil but I haven't quite gotten around to trialling those yet. All in all though, this box was a nice collection.

September Favourites

Another month down and its been a good one this month both for finding new favourites and rediscovering old loves that I'd forgotten about. With it being the end of skint-tember, not everything will be high-street this time around but there's some affordable products in the mix. An honourable mention needs to go to the Fleur De Force Lipglosses, I love these at the moment but haven't had them long enough for them to qualify as a monthly favourite but I didn't want to leave them out.

A couple of products I found when testing affordable products for Skint-tember are the L'Oreal Le Blush and the Maybelline Master Drama Khol Liner. The blush is a nice peachy pink that's easy to apply and just brightens up the complexion and the texture is lovely on the face, I wouldn't necessarily have picked this up if I hadn't been trialling products specifically for the posts for last month (one day I'll show you how the blush drawer has gotten out of hand since the blog) but I'm really glad I did because this was a nice affordable find.

I've been picking up a few pieces from Maybelline's Master range lately and it seems to be a line of on-point releases from what I can see. I discovered the Master Sculpt Contour Palette last month and that went straight into a favourites post and this month I picked up the eye liner from the range and again it's shot straight to the top of my love-list. It's a nice strong black eyeliner that wears well but is creamy to apply.

On the topic of the Maybelline Master Sculpt, I may have been cheating this month. Birchbox sent me a small size of The Balm's Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush and I've been liking this for a contour shade lately. It's a bit deeper than the Maybelline so I do have to be a bit careful but it's been nice for popping in my makeup bag when I'm on the go.

I've also shelved my long-loved L'Oreal Pure Colour Shampoo for a while. I ran out a few weeks back and when I went for a repurchase I couldn't find it in stock anywhere, so after a few moments standing at the display in dismay I decided to try the Ever Strong from the same range. The Pure Colour is marketed for "Flat, Coloured Hair" and the Ever Strong claims to be new and is for "Fine, Flat Hair and Delicate Scalp" and it's still sulphate-free from what I can see so good for the colour too and I think it's my new favourite. It's just so much better for giving texture and volume to the hair and I like it a lot.

I've recently been investing in some nice quality brushes as well. I've been using a set I picked up from Frauline for the last few years and they were a great, affordable starter set for me but they've gotten a bit old and need replacing and I've decided to slowly start switching them out for really nice ones (if anyone wants an update on all of my recent brush buys let me know and I can do a post on that). After finally picking up a MAC 217 I don't know how I've managed without one for so long and I'm tempted to go back and pick up this brush in duplicate. It's makes eyeshadow application so easy and if you don't own this brush and you're into eyeshadow, I'd recommend giving it a go.

A re-discovery this month has been the Aromatherapy Associates Bath & Shower Oils, I particularly like the "Relax" and "De-Stress" sub-ranges and will more than likely be picking up a full size of some of these soon. I've been saving these oils for special occasions but I've decided I need to just get using them because they're lovely. I like the miniatures set because I think it contains a mini of all the ones in the range and you can sample which ones you like best before you buy. And if you have a small bath like me you can get 2-3 baths out of each bottle. They're also a great size for travel.

And finally, I wanted to throw in a random favourite this month. My boyfriend and I have made our way through a marathon of most TV series' by now and we decided we wanted something new to do together and decided on getting an xbox game to play. He's really into gaming and I've been known to have a dabble at things here and there. So after much deliberation, we decided that the Lego Games range would be a nice way to introduce me to gaming as they're aimed for a younger audience and generally a bit easy. We picked up Lego Jurassic World a few weeks back and it's been great, the two player is good and there's lots to do so you get a lot of game time for you're money, we've also recently picked up Lego Star Wars so we've got some variation and hopefully I'll pick up some Xbox skills and we'll be able to get something more difficult next time but we're really enjoying it so far. If anyone has any game recommendations for next time we're all ears.