wishlist wednesday

hello fellow bloggers :) this week i want..

• this lovely little bolero from h&m. i actually have no idea what a bolero is, i'm just taking h&m's word for it. it's £19.99 on the website, down from £34.99 so you could call it a bit of a bargain! i'm obviously not sure what it looks like in real life, but i'm imagining it making a beach outfit just that little bit more special, or being thrown on over an LBD and worn with matching heels maybe? i don't know, i just know i want it!

• the shorts are £14.99, also from h&m. they don't look all that nice in this photo, but if you click this it should take you to a page of shorts and they're on the far right. they come in kind of a navy blue too, i think i want both of them. so cute!

• i've never heard of a trapeze jacket before, but i really want one! this one is £70 so it's unlikely i'll end up getting it, but i'm keeping my eye out for a cheaper copycat version.

this is the link to it.

• lip pencils are growing on me, thanks to the posts on mouldy fruit. i really, really want to try a nars velvet matte lip pencil. i'm not sure in what colour, i think i need to hunt down a nars counter and see them in real life to pick a colour.

that's it for now:)! so i'm going to mess around on blogs for a bit, then hide the laptop and get craking with some revision :(

o.p.i lites to dark

MY FAVOURITE O.P.I POLISH EVER. lincoln park after dark. i think it's safe to say i'm in love.

it's special without a top-coat, but with top-coat it's just amazing! i love how people will look at it from afar and think it's black, then the light will catch it a certain way and they'll be like "oh, it's purple?" i don't have any problems with this nail varnish, it's so perfect. perfect perfect perfect. PERFECT.

o.p.i lites to dark

next up, meet me on the star ferry. in the pack, it looks like a purple version of princess rule! (the exclamation mark is part of the name, i'm not overly excited). it's actually really deceptive, meet me on the star very is the purple version of what i wanted princess rule! to be.

in real life, it's actually much nicer. it took three coats but it applied fairly well and didn't take that long to dry. not my favourite out of the set, but still nice.

wishlist wednesday

• i'd like for all the bad stuff happening in Libya & Japan etc. to end.
• so many more dvds! i already have more than 100 just on one shelf, never mind the rest of the dvds in my house..plus i have a list of about 50 on my phone that i add to whenever i think of a new film :') atm i really need to buy all three pirates of the caribbean films, dead poets society and when harry met sally.
• JOHNNY DEPP. he's old enough to be my father but there really is just something about him, and i think he's one of the best actors ever.

• so much more time! the amount of work i seem to have at the moment, i'd like a few more hours per day. i think two should do it :).
• i really want to invest in some nars and mac stuff. i'm usually strictly a high-street make-up brand girl, but there's something about expensive make-up :)

o.p.i lites to dark

next up, princess rule! it looks like teenage dream in the bottle, only less glittery. in actual fact, it's a sheer polish. basically a sheer, clear holographic nail varnish with a hint of pink. i was initially annoyed because it wasn't what i expected, but then it grew on me. it's a nice twist on clear polishes and i think it may make a nice addition over the top of some other nail varnishes. i'll get back to you when i've tried it out :).

try as i might, i just couldn't capture the perfect glitteryness (made up words ftw) of it. application of this was much better; two coats and they dried brilliantly. i didn't use a base or top coat. it's experiences like this that make me think o.p.i are a complete hit and miss brand. still can't help loving them though, which annoys me, then makes me annoyed at o.p.i for making me love them. it's an endless cycle.

o.p.i lites to dark

i've come to a decision. i like o.p.i, i really do. but i don't like paying full price for their products when they're so incredibly over-priced. so, from now on, i'm going to stick to mini-sets. i never use a whole nail varnish anyway, so what's the point of buying a full sized bottle? o.p.i lites to darks includes 4 colours: sweet heart, princess rule!, meet me on the star ferry and lincoln park after dark.

today, i'll review sweet heart. o.p.i describe it as "the sweetest, softest pale pink" & i'd agree with that statement.

that gives a pretty accurate idea of the colour. it really is so pretty.

there is a huge downside. to get a finish like the picture, i used a base coat followed by FOUR coats of sweet heart. four. if i had the full sized bottle, i probably wouldn't complain. but considering i have the mini bottle and o.p.i bottles run out pretty quickly, i will complain. seriously, four coats. however, i am a sucker for their shade-names so will continue to buy o.p.i and put up with all their downsides (and there are oh so many of them).

notd :)

if you read company magazine, you may know that barry m was voted best nail polish in their beauty awards. over-all, i think this was about right. the only thing i dislike about barry m polishes are the names - so unimaginative! o.p.i came second, and i suppose that was because of people like me who like brands that have good advertisements and campaigns haha.

you may have noticed by now that i adore blue nail varnishes; and this lovely colour may be my favourite ever barry m nail polish. it's called "cyan blue", seriously..is that all they could come up with?! i suppose that doesn't really matter when you get such a nice colour for such a good price with one of the best applications ever. two coats, no base or top coat used, left no streaks and lasted two days on me (this is brilliant because i scratch a lot..i imagine it could last upwards of 4 days on most people).

notd :)

for all the trouble i had with eyeko's posh polish, i still really like the colour. so i thought i'd try my usual trick of putting china glaze's doll house over the top..

it's looks rather leopard-print-like in this picture, but in real life it's much peachier.

i just took ^that^ picture because, despite the flash, it shows the eyeko polish better :)

i really loved how it turned out, and also really like chucking doll house over the top of random nail varnishes :)

wishlist wednesday

• anything from illamasqua's toxic nature collection. it seems to be all over blogs at the moment and the nail varnishes look amazing!
• this ring from asos, it's £14 and i so want it!

• also this ring. it's £8 from asos and also comes in lime green and a bright purple.

• i think i'm in love with this necklace from this charming girl.

for those of you that don't speak french, it roughly translates as "i love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow." aww :)

i don't know why, but i have such a thing for jewellery lately. i came across some of my nan's old brooches and i just fell in love with them :). i'd also quite like some nail varnishes from the models own crackle collection, some more stuff from korres, and last (but definitely NOT least) my r.s teacher back :( she hasn't been in since christmas and apparently isn't coming back at all, so we may never see her again. and we may also fail our exam.

eyeko fat balm - strawberry

my second fat balm:)!

fat balms are definitely growing on me. is it a lipstick? a lipgloss? nope, it's a fatbalm *cheesy smile*

i'm yet to try this on my cheeks, seems to red-based. love it on the lips though.

btw, the polishaholic has a brilliant giveaway on atm, definitely worth a look if you like nail varnish :)

blue my mind

i didn't even make up that name, this nail varnish is genuinely called blue my mind :') it's a lovely cobalt colour and, in my picture, there seems to be almost lilac undertones.

it's a h&m nail polish and only costs £2.99. for that, you get a good strong colour, nice shade name and decent packaging, easy application, and quite long lasting nail varnish. definitely a winner in my book!

p.s..i'm annoyed i had to label this "h and m" because "&" isn't allowed in a label.

my plan for tonight (there'll also be lots more junk food & maybe another film)

my first ever urban decay purchase!

there are a number of reasons urban decay never appealed to me. firstly, "urban decay" sounds like a name that's trying to be too "down with the kids" if you get me? also, i hated the packaging. not quite sure why, i think i'm just prejudiced because of the name haha.

that was until i came across this baby!..

meet big fatty waterproof mascara :) i have no idea why, but i totally fell for it. i kind of resented paying £15 for it since it was my first purchase from the brand and i hadn't had a chance to google reviews, but it was well worth it. you get 18ml of product, which is about twice as much as some cheaper products so it works out as being actually reasonably priced :)

i wore this on a night out and was so impressed. it lasted from about 6pm until almost 4am without smudging even a little bit and i'm sure i remember crying of laughter and also my eyes watering from the cold, but this little wonder product just wouldn't budge :)!

this shows two coats. i took it off my phone camera so the quality is rather awful, but if you look you can see that the ends of the lashes have faded on my picture. in real life they really haven't, my lashes go on for miles and it's totally black!

i think this shows three coats on the top and one very light coat on the bottom, though i have to admit all the pictures of my eyes confused me a little bit haha.

all in all, i love this product! some of the girls i wore this out with had fake lashes on and they honestly didn't look all that much bigger than my feeble little lashes wearing big fatty! (also, i love the name). i can definitely see myself repurchasing and maybe buying a little something else from urban decay..

korres wild rose mask

my local(ish) korres shop in cardiff always has some sort of offer on. the last time i went there it was buy one get one free on all cosmetics, this time..it was buy one get one free on everything in store! i picked up the wild rose "instant brightening & illuminating" face mask. it cost me either £16 or £16.50 (well not really, it was my free purchase :)) and for that, you get 40ml of product. korres recommend using it once or twice a week.

the images above (sorry about the size difference) show the packaging :) every single bit of the packaging is recyclable, yet another thing i love about korres. the picture below shows the inside of the pot.

korres say:

A pure white mask for a clear and radiant complexion, suitable for all skin types. An instant brightening effect is immediately visible from the first application. Wild Rose oil is a natural source of vitamin C, which demonstrates significant repairing activity to fine lines and skin marks. At the same time, a complex of herbal extracts targets skin discolorations, adding brightness and radiance to the skin. An instant brightening effect is immediately visible from the first application of the mask.

i have to be honest..i agree with every word of that. i used it after a night of alcohol, not much sleep, an unusually bad cold, and a lot of crying and it honestly worked wonders! i have extremely sensitive skin and there was no irritation at all :) i'll definitely be repurchasing this, even with the £16 price tag.

wishlist wednesday

i was just about to post about something else, then realised "oh..it's wednesday!" today's wishlist is going to be a bit of a gloomy one, i'm afraid. so, i want..

• a cure for cancer. all types of cancer. or an effective prevention method.
• a cure for dementia.
• more time/a time machine.
• advice on what to do with my life, i'm so screwed!
• maybe a therapist?.. haha, i'm so down in the dumps at the moment it's ridiculous! though i did a bit of retail therapy on sunday so i've still got a few new things to review :)

primark purchases

primark either gets it really right, or really wrong. thankfully, i think they got it really right this time :D

in real life, the shoes are the same colour as the picture with the bag. i just used the picture below to show the front detailing. if you look on the left shoe (not the shoe on the left, the shoe that goes on the left foot..which is on the right in my picture) there's a scuff at the front. i didn't notice it until i already bought them, but it didn't bother me that much. it makes them look more distinguished :'). they fit perfectly, but i walked in them for about a mile yesterday and they gave me blisters. suppose that's what i get for buying shoes from primark though. i'm hoping my feet were just being sensitive yesterday and the shoes are actually good quality :)

i LOVE the bag. my mother thinks it looks like a carpet, but i like it anyway. you can see the handles on top of the bag, and it can be used with those little handles or with a removable longer strap :)

NOTD :)

no7 stay perfect nail varnish in "milan" is yet another of my nail varnishes that i've just chucked in amongst my collection and left it there for a while before even bothering to try it out. fortunately, i tried it on the other day and have seen the error of my ways..

this was taken from cosmetic kingdom from google. has anyone ordered from them before? i only came across them when i googled this picture, but they seem amazing. lots of discounted make-up and if the products are genuine and they deliver well, this is an incredible website!

these are some pictures i took myself..

it was just so hard to capture the brilliance of this polish! it's so pink and so glittery, without being tacky. amazing. and it doesn't feel rough at all. i'm not sure if this is holographic? whatever it is, i love it! it's staying power is brilliant and it applies well too. one thing i will say is that it seems to get more silver the longer it's on the nail, despite starting pink.

shine on

rimmel is a brand that i don't think i actually like, but when i look through my stash i realise i actually have a lot from there, and they're actually some of my favourite products, weird haha.

today i'm wearing rimmel's vinyl gloss in "pin up", or shade 190. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. also love the name of it :). it's described as a "voluptuously shiny lipgloss" and, as you can probably tell from the title of this post, i definitely agree with that statement! it's one of the shiniest lipgloss i've ever came across, it doesn't feel even the slightest bit sticky and it weirdly feels like it's moisturising my lips. the colour is also really pigmented, this is definitely one of my better purchases!

the colour is actually pinker in real life but the pictures give a fair idea of what it looks like. think it may be on its way to becoming my favourite lipgloss. i picked this up in my local chemist for £4.99 i thinkkkk, i assume it'll be available from anywhere that sells rimmel :)

NOTD :)

why must barry m shade names/numbers be so inconsistent?! my notd today is "vivid purple" but i think i've seen it under a different name before, and it has two numbers on it and i can't work out which is the actual number :/ the numbers are 161 and 939, if that means anything to you.

this is one of those polishes that i've had for so, so long and just didn't really appreciate how good it was until i'd neglected it for a while.

neither of my pictures do it justice, but i think the top one gives a better idea of it. it's so shimmery and such a rich colour, i think it would work with most skin tones too.

i've had this since christmas 2009 and the formula is still brilliant. application is really easy and it doesn't take long to dry at all. i can't even think of one negative for this polish, and i'm even considering putting fake tan on to see what they look like together!

wishlist wednesday

i'd planned to wish for my new storage box to turn up..but then it turned up this morning! score :). the things i still want are..

• some nubar and orly nail varnishes. i've never tried either before, shocking i know.
• for american idol to chuck clint off and bring back jaycee :( he's so adorable and his voice is so much better than clint's!
• black wedges. none in particular, just a nice new pair of black wedges :) my mother has amaazing leopard print ones from office and i'd quite like a pair exactly the same but in black.
• sleep, sleep, and more sleep. it seems like half term only made me more tired than i already was.
• self restraint! i've resorted to buying myself one of those money tins that you can only open with a can-opener. it's going to break my heart to put £10 notes in there but desperate times call for desperate measures!
• winter. i know it hasn't exactly gone yet but i miss the lead-up to christmas and the snow :(

how pretty is that?! i miss seeing snow fall :( the picture is off bbc, i think.