Summer Nail Picks! (...Where Is Summer?)

I felt like a bit of a prat walking around with a different colour on each fingernail.
It had been a (one and only so far) beautiful sunny day and I foolishly thought that might mean the start of summer.
Little did I care to remember Summer in the UK Equals Rain.
I know, I know- it's a well known formula, I should have known better.
So yes, walking around in the rain with fingernails that look like a circus is F.U.N
But now, I...oddly can't get enough.
*Sigh* I'd do anything to stand out from the crowd.
I'll keep it short and sweet today, much like my nails :) *bask in own self-importance*
So without further ado, these are my top summer nail picks....

l-r Rimmel Lycra Pro Coral Romance
Collection 2000 Hot Looks Electric Dreams
Barry M Yellow
H and M Blue My Mind
Rimmel I Love Colour Pop Your Pink

Sleek Blush- Rose Gold

SOMETIMES (okay, all the time) I want to be Carrie Bradshaw.
Is that so much to ask?!
Yes, some of her clothing choices which in their day were hailed as fabulous, well, aren't.
But the fabulousness of it all!
Sleeping in, partying late, walk-in wardrobe, writing one column a week and managing to afford an NY apartment?
*Sigh*
But, according to my so-called 'friends', changing my name, getting a perm and upping sticks to the Big Apple would be a bit weird.
So instead, I humour myself in my delusional little world by trying to be the CB of *certain county which shall remain nameless*
And when you consider there are more cows than people in *certain county that shall remain nameless* it can't be that difficult- can it?

Well, first up, the CB glow.
Carrie's make-up is very glossy 90s.
A look, incidentally, that is very 'now.'
Every SATC fan worth their salt knows her peachy-rose glow is down to Nars Orgasm.
And every blogger worth their salt knows of a little well-known dupe.
Sleek's Rose Gold.

Could I really channel Carrie on just £4.99?
She spends more than that on coffee in a single episode.
Now, I don't I have Nars Orgasm here to show you. But from my experience, these two are very, very similar.
Except for the price, of course.
But what you lose on price you don't lose on quality.

Just look at that glow!

I won't be using this as my everyday blush (you know I love this).
But for days when I need a little 'pick-me-up', facially, *okay, maybe that is every day*...a sweep of this goes a Carrie long way.

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Resolution- #Glitterbomb? MUA Review

I usually avoid glitter like the plague.
Sneaking in to all my enlarged pores and crevices and crow's feet? No thanks, sparkly friend.
I'll stay on the side of matte.

But *sigh* as you know- Imma glow getter.
And I am fangirling all over Kate Bosworth and Jessica Beale and their 'from within' sheens right now.
But, because I'm not blessed with great skin/ an A-lister lifestyle/ a facialist on call, I'm on a constant quest for products that will give me a great 'fake it until you make it' glow.

So imagine my delight when I found a nice highlighting shade nestling amongst a budget palette.
This is the MUA eyeshadow trio in Innocence.

Now, a quick Google shows me other bloggers have picked up on this  as well.

I really like this shadow-palette.
Despite my aversion to glitter.
Aswipe of the three colours suggests they're not too ridiculous on the glitter-front (despite the budget price tag).

The instructions on the back of the compact suggest using all three of these colours at once- but that, I feel, would definitely be glitter overload.
Though to be honest, the highlighting colour is probably worth the £2.50 price tag alone.

I haven't had the chance to try the new MUA highligher, but I'm wondering if it might be similar to this?

Wear-wise, these aren't the most long-lasting.
You definitely need to re-apply before they look 'bitty.' And if wearing as an eyeshadow- primer is a must.
Plus, the little brush that comes with this? Nice gesture, MUA. But just useless.
Who actually uses those little brushes?!
Do I have tiny little baby hands? No, MUA, no I do not.

Fingers and the old 'blend blend blend' technique definitely work best. 
The darkest colour (right) is the one I can least get onboard with.
Having blue eyes, I try to avoid (now that I'm not 12-years-old and in the early noughties) any product that makes me look as though I've got pink-eye.
But blended with a matte brown (and if you're on a budget, MUA actually do a nice one) I like this for an 'everyday but making a bit of an effort' look.
...On the days I don't get up late and end up slapping my make-up on during the drive to work, of course. 

The darker shade, I tend to wear as a subtle wash over the lids paired with L'oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash in Princess on my lips with bronzer, in a nod to the 90s...

...Good 90s. Not Mr Motivator 90s.....

Overall, if you're on a budget, this is well worth a look.
It's really light and easy to carry in your bag. Plus the colours are buildable- great for any 'work-to-bar' emergencies.
Not that I have many of those. My evenings mainly consist of drinking green tea and pressing the 'refresh' button on Twitter. 











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REVIEW- MUA Power Pout

Hello, my name is Chubby Stick and I'm made by Clini...oh no, wait....I'm a Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stai....no, no wait a second...what does this writing say?
Oh okay, sorry, let's start again.
Hello, I'm a Power Pout Tint and Balm from MUA.

Well to be fair to the little bright fellow, it can't be easy not to get confused when you look so much like something else. 

It looks so much like the Chubby Stick and Revlon balm stains that I had to do a double take earlier. 

Balms and stains have made waves in the blogging world of late- it's little wonder that budget brands are now bringing out their own formulas. And good on them!, I say. 

But it's all very well selling yourself as a dupe of something- you have to make sure you've got a decent formula inside.

Just like the Revlon Just Bitten, this has a minty scent.
It is slightly chemical-ly, though not at all unpleasant.
When first applied, this gives your lips a bit of a tingle.
Maybe this might be doing something? It does say it's a 'balm' afterall...

Colour-wise, this stuff is faultless.
Runway is a deep coral-red colour and the packaging pretty much matches what's on the inside.
I haphazardly applied this in my first test-run and didn't look in the mirror properly. When I did, I was really (unexpectedly) taken with the colour.
Thedensity is much thicker when applied to the lips than the hand, but even blended out, this leaves a gorgeous glossy hint of tint that really lights up your face.

The downside?
Well, this stuff slips and slides.
While the initial feeling you get from applying this is 'wow, that was so easy', look in the mirror five minutes later and you'll find bleeding right across your cupids bow.
So the best way to put this on is little layers, plenty of blotting.
Which, unfortunately, makes a product that is designed to have a seamless and quick application a bit more of a faff.
And makes it more drying...ironic for a lip balm.
The bleeding might not be such a problem with the nude shades, such as Rendevouz.
But Runway really stands out.
Especially when it's on your chin.

Inevitably, these are going to be compared to the Revlon Just Bitten balm stains.
But that's to be expected when they're such an obvious dupe.
I know a lot of bloggers are saying they're almost identical, but I...*deep breath* have to disagree.
These are definitely more of a balm than a stain.
The formulation, in my opinion, doesn't stick and comes off with one careless swipe of the back of a hand.
To be fair though, these not once call themselves a 'stain'.
So as a 'balm' and a 'tint'? Yes- they definitely live up to their descriptions.
For £3, it's definitely worth a little treat. I'll be cracking this out a lot in the summer. I'll just be be very careful about where it's applied...



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Resolution- #Blush. L'oreal Paris Le Blush

That's right. I've gone French again.

I showed this blush (briefly) in my little L'oreal haul at the beginning of the month.
Their products were on 3 for 2 offer and I spent about *longer than necessary* stood salivating over the products, in a proper quandary about what to buy.
And I decided to go for blush.
Why? Well, day-to-day, it's not really work 'appropriate' to be sporting a lot of facial colour.
And I have enough lipsticks for after-work hours to last a lifetime.
Mascara- I'm all set thanks- and eyeliner, too.
Plus, since my skin's been clearer *YAY!* I've become a little more in to a little more rouge.
And there's only so long you can be in Superdrug swatching products before they start looking at you like you're a freak.

So with time of the essence, I did a quick test and decided True Rose was the way to go.
But once I got it outside and first started dabbling, the old glitter alarm bells started going off in my head.
Oh heyll no, I ain't no fan of glitter.
But this- this is ever so workable.
If you run your finger over it, it almost feels like a cream blush.
And my face brush doesn't pick up too much of the product so that either a) I waste a lot of it tapping it away or b) I use too much and look ridiculous. (I do have plenty of other ways of being ridiculous, don'tcha know)

Since my hair is lighter for summer, this is definitely a true match.
In fact, I only really noticed this when I was back in Superdrug picking up some more crap much needed essentials and I caught sight of myself in the mirror.
Usually, catching sight of myself in any mirror in the middle of the day is enough to give me the willies.
But this day, I was pleasantly surprised.
This blush gave such a natural flush- it picked up my face (and totally hid that drunken weekend and late Monday night).
Plus, as you know if you've been reading my blog for a while (hey mum, one and only fan), I'm a bit obssesed with 90s pared down glam right now. This is the perfect shade for that look.
Wear-wise, it fairs pretty well.
But if you're re-applying your base, you'll need to re-apply this too.
Otherwise it stays put (under a light setting powder) for most of the day and (the winning factor) doesn't just leave sparkly bits dotted across your cheeks come 5pm.

Individually, this blush costs £7.99.
I know- that seems pretty steep for a drugstore product of this size.
But it has now become my go-to rouge for every day and it's changed the way I think about applying blush.
Which, my friends, you can't put a price on.







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Resolution- #Go Back in Time and Listen to the Hype

If only I had a time machine.
Would I go back and stop myself from a hundred embarrassing hairstyles/ even worse make-up/ the many times I drank a little too much and did something more than a little cringe-inducing?
No.
I'd make sure I bought Healthy Mix as soon as I heard the great reviews rather than waiting so bloody long to confirm what I'd been thinking.

Yes, this has become my favourite ever foundation.

And yes, that is a big deal considering a) the problems I've had with my skin over the years and b) the sheer amount of foundations I've tried.
I wasn't necessarily 'in the market' for a new foundation. But during this year, I've really started to get in to skin and I've realised how much difference a well-made-up face can make.

YES, this has been reviewed by the world and his wife (adding to what I said about kicking myself for not taking notice sooner).
So I'm probably not going to say anything here you haven't already seen before.
On someone else's much better blog.

The snobs among us might be thinking '£10.99? All drugstore foundations are a bit shit, surely?' Well I assure you not.
This stuff is *sing it* ahaaamaaaazzziiiing
It blends well, has good coverage, feels light on the skin and lasts all day.
I don't think I have a bad word to say about it.
Only the glass packaging- that is not a clumsy oaf's dream.

I have the shade 52, which is around about the perfect colour for my skin.

These foundations do tend to be on the yellow side, which works well at balancing out my redness, but might be a problem for some.
I really like the gel-texture. When I compare other foundations to this now, they feel very watery.
In fact, I've been testing out a couple of other foundations for review which cost the same price *watch this space for my thoughts soon*...and I have to say, when I use this baby, I really notice the difference. 

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Resolution- #Have That Childhood Feeling- L'oreal Haul

Every now and again, you want to feel a bit special.

Although L'oreal is a drugstore brand- for me- it always has that luxurious feel.
When I buy a L'oreal product, it's always special treat.
I've talked about this before.
Maybe it's the packaging? Or the clever use of Cheryl Cole? Or the fact that when I grew up (in the 90s and early 90s) I remember L'oreal being an 'iconic' brand.
I always wanted to play make-up with my mum's L'oreal.
And there's something about the smell of Elnett that takes me back to those times.
It feels like a proper, proper treat to have L'oreal.

L'oreal reminds me so of the 90s.
And we all know I love the 90s.
(Carrie Bradshaw 90s...not *Bewitched  90s)

So, with pay-day and a 3 for 2 offer at Superdrug came the chance to have that 'naughty' feeling again.
(HOW sad, ey?!)
Here's what I got in my little L'oreal haul...

*The downside? L'oreal is a bugger to photograph. STOP SHINING DAMMIT!

Growing up with no money is tough.
Not least because when you are an adult and you have your own money, you always have that 'oooh this is very naughty' guilt feeling in the back of your head whenever you buy anything.
So today's #Resolution is to stop associating L'oreal with that feeling and remember the eight-year-old me, playing dress-up, and how excited she would be.
...But to stop short at applying make-up like the eight-year old me, of course.
Smeared lipstick-across-face does not an iconic look make.


I'll be writing reviews of all of these products very soon.
In the meantime you can check out here
and here for previous L'oreal reviews.






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