Swatch/Bottle Comparison: Models Own Lilac Dream

Well.. some of you may find these posts totally stupid.. but whenever I buy a nail polish I swatch it on a glue-on nail. I just like to see a polish before I actually paint all my nails with it. And I like to see how close the actual polish colour is to the bottle :) I figured I'd share some of my swatching with you.

True Colour Against White Paper - 2 Coats

Swatch To Bottle Comparison - 2 Coats

Most of the models own polishes I've swatched match almost perfectly to the bottle, this is no exception. The formula is lovely and smooth and settles really well onto the nail. I don't love the brush so much, I find it quite thin, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.

I honestly think colours look different on everyone depending on your skintone and how dark the pigmentation of your nail is, so swatching against pure white is what I deem 'true colour'. Just my opinion :)

Any favourite Models Own polishes?

xoxo

Yet Again.. I Forgot..

On my last day in America I had to pop into target for a few bits, lo and behold I found several products I had been on the hunt for forever!

I've known for a while that Sonia Kashuk did a range exclusive to Target, and since we don't have Target in the UK I decided to pick up the #11 smudge brush. I've been watching Tina from The Fancy Face using the L'Oreal Colour Truth Creme Eyeliner for a while now, it always looks so precise and I've never been able to locate it on any of my local L'Oreal displays. Certainly a 'must try' for me. I've also been watching Marlena over at Makeup Geek using Ardell Wispies for well over a year now and I've never located them in any of my local stores so I was keen to pick up a pair. And finally I picked up some waterproof Duo Lash Glue, which I much prefer to the standard glue. The tube is also smaller meaning direct application to the lash is a hell of a lot easier :)

xoxo

NOTD: OPI What's With The Cattitude?

Well, I'm currently waiting to get an appointment to get my acrylics taken off. They've grown up quite a bit and are wayyyy too long for me now. I'm not going to try to get them off myself, I don't think I quite trust myself to do that.. But if any of you lovlies have any tips on filing them down a bit until I can get them taken off it would be super appreciated!

I've done a bit of painting today, just to try to make them look a bit less bad from a distance.

You can clearly still see the line in the photo, but from a distance it doesn't look too bad :) This is the light blue from OPI's Shrek Collection 'What's With The Cattitude?' Sorry for the weird angle.. This is a bottle from the mini's collection so I could only fit my thumb in properly!! This is a really pretty pale blue, I'm waiting to see how it compares to the pastel blue I ordered from Models Own, if my order ever arrives :(

What's your favourite pastel blue?

xoxo

Shoes Of The Month

So since I've been doing do OOTD posts I thought I'd show you lovely ladies some of my favourite shoes. I'm going to start with the ones I've had the longest :)

Black Lace Detail Heels;

New Look £25

I love the design on these shoes, it's very subtle but when the light hits it right it looks lovely :) I've got quite little feet for a 17 year old at a size 4, occasionally a 5 in running trainers, I've had these shoes since I was 15 and I still adore them. In a way it's nice that I stopped growing when I was younger because I don't grow out of things.. but I do get jealous of the tall leggy girls :( Some of my closest friends are really tall and I feel extra small next to them so I tend to wear heels a lot :)

What are your favourite kind of shoes?

xoxo

A Day In Taxachusettes

So when I'm trying to save a bit of money, where do I go shopping?

Only the state with one of the highest sales taxes in the United States! I do adore Boston though, I'd love to live there for a few years at some point. I'm so disappointed that I only got to spend one day there this summer and compared to last year I was quite good about my spending!

I took two quick trips to MAC and Sephora, I knew what I was going in for, got what I wanted and then left. That took some serious self control! Plus I had to be quick because my lovely, patient boyfriend was in the Apple Store waiting for me or waiting outside for me! We had lunch on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Center, it was so weird to think I was twice as high as that when I went to the top of the Empire State building! The Top Of The Hub is my favourite restaurant and the views certainly make for good table conversation. If you're ever in Boston you HAVE to eat there, Sunday brunch is my absolute favourite! It's so surreal to look out from that high while eating a casual lunch, plus the food is truly scrumptious!

In Sephora I got MUFE's HD Foundation in Shade 123. I decided to splurge a little bit and get this becuase it's so hard to come by in England (not to mention more expensive!!). I then popped up Newbury Street to MAC and bought Opulash in Bad, Bad Black and another Dazzle Lipstick in Win-Win. I adore Naughty You and really wanted to pick up another Dazzle. The opportunity presented itself when MAC were out of both Saint Germain and Creme d' Nude. I've used Opulash once and I've got to say.. It's pretty odd! It feels so weird when it's dried onto your lashes. Definitely worth a post to itself!

I've done a lot of little hauls lately, I think a spending ban is in order fairly soon!

xoxo

Yesterday's FOTD

Super simple FOTD from yesterday. I had zero time to get ready so there's really no creativity here :s

MAC Face & Body Foundation in C3

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium

NARS Power Blush in Orgasm

NARS Powder Bronzer in Laguna

Benfit Dallas

MAC Eye Brows in Fling

MAC Kohl Pencil Eyeliner in Teddy

MAC #7 Lashes

MAC Lipstick in Please Me

I've used Laguna to contour, and I couldn't find a brown eyeshadow so I used it to contour my eyes too :)

I'm basically wearing the same look today, I had to get up super early this morning to drop my boyfriend off at Reading Festival and I went to bed so late last night.. I just couldn't be asked to get up early enough to do much to my face this morning :s

xoxo

Current Perfume Loves

Since I share almost everything else beauty related I figured I'd share my current smelly favourites :)

DKNY Be Delicious Green; Gwen Stefani Harajuku Lovers "G"; Hugo XX Summer

I'm the kind of person that asks for makeup for birthday/christmas and gets perfume.. always. If a friend is round mine and says they like one of the ones I don't I just give it to them.. I mean, I'm not going to use it so why not?

These three were the favourites for this summer and the ones I took with me on hoilday. I've had DKNY the longest, I just love apply things.. I even have an apple scented hand sanitiser in my car! My boyfriend gave me "G" at the end of last summer.. he originally thought the bottle was cool and knew I'd like that, but now when I wear it he turns around and goes "You're wearing the Gwen one, aren't you?" :) I got Hugo for my 16th birthday and I only wear it in the summer, I think it's just right to wear it only then!

These are all really girly scents, I'm really bad at describing smells so I'll say head to your local perfumery and smell for yourself.. I swear they say everyone interprets smells differently so there wouldn't really be any point in telling you all what I smell, would there? Hmm..

I just tried my Kate Moss perfume that I got for christmas this past year, I didn't like it then, but it's growing on me now and I get friends asking what I'm wearing so I think that's a good sign!

What's your favourite everyday perfume?

xoxo

50 Follower Giveaway! - WINNER

So I've finally finished totting up all the entries my lovely followers earned themselves! I ended up with 153 individual entries which I think is awesome for my very first giveaway.. But without further ado..

THE WINNER IS

LORA_505

 

Congratulations!!

Please email your address to lorabenzie@hotmail.com asap so I can get your prize on it's way to you!

I also want to thank everyone who entered, I've got another smaller giveaway lined up for fairly soon so keep on the lookout!

xoxo

MAC Lash Series - #7 Lashes

Okay, so here are my other pair of 'regular' wear lashes. These are probably my most used lashes simply because they look reasonably natural and fill in all my gaps :)

Recently I've had several emails from readers asking about why I apply my mascara after I put on my lashes. The simply reason is that I find it easier to apply lashes without mascara already there and in my way of seeing the natural lash line and I find my natural lashes blend much better because I apply less mascara overall.

MAC #7's - No Mascara

 

MAC #7's - Plush Lash in PlushBlack

This isn't the right way to apply lashes, nor is it the wrong way. Everyone develops their own little tricks as they learn and this is just the way that works for me :) I can't figure out how to use tweezers to do this, my fingers work great for me..

What's the best way you've found to apply lashes?

OPI Ogre-The-Top-Blue NOTD

So on my last trip down to the mall in America I came across the last few bottles of the OPI Shrek Collection in Trade Secret. There were all such lovely colours and I had seen a few people wearing them across the blogosphere and I had to have them. I decided the cheapest way to get them was to buy the set of mini's and then the two remaning full sizes separately. They had Ogre-The-Top-Blue and the mini's set but Funkey Donkey was out of stock :( I've tracked it down on the net and it's on it's way to completing my collection though! These are my first OPI polishes and so far I'm adoring them. I've had the Base Coat, Chip Proof and Top Coat for a while and I can't fault them so I've been waiting to find a collection I love to try them out. I'm very attached to Models Own, but OPI hasn't disappointed me!

 OPI Ogre-The-Top-Blue

I applied this last Tuesday, and I've purposely waited this long to take the photograph. The tip-wear, which is predominantly from my excessive typing, is so minimal it's a bit ridiculous it's been almost 10 days and I have minimal tip wear and absolutely no chipping.

I also got a little bored the other day and decided to experiment with the Bedazzle Nail Art Nailene sent to me :)

I used the Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Diamond Top Coat, because I didn't have my OPI one with me, to keep the jewels in place, but it went a bit bubbly when combined with the glue from the jewels. I'm going to try my OPI one next time and see if it works a little better!

What's your favourite colour polish right now?

xoxo

xoxo