Monday 30 September 2013

Blog Your Heart Out Award!







I was very happy to be nominated for the blog your heart out award by the lovely Sarah from Penny Pinching Polish
The rules for this award are to answer the 5 questions and nominate 5 other bloggers.

Here are my answers:

What/who encouraged you to start blogging?

I have always enjoyed reading other peoples blogs and I have always been obsessed with makeup and more recently nails. So I guess I  started it as a way to share my passion with other people and to make use of the pictures of nail art i have always taken!

How did you choose what topic(s) to blog about?

The topic (nails and beauty) is what I enjoy talking about and I love experimenting with my nails.

What is something that most people don't know about you?

I will keep this light, so I love rock music and even some heavy metal-Love a bit of Metallica! Not always what people expect from a girly girl!

What 3 words describe your style:

hmm...Girly, quirky and glam

What do you like to do when you are not blogging?

I love to shop and find bargains. I also love going to London to see musicals every now and again. I love to read (favourite author is Dan Brown) and play xbox (favourite games are Borderlands and Gears of war series) I also love going to the cinema (long live Orange Wednesdays!!)


The five blogs I would like to nominate for this award are:



You don't have to accept this award, If you have already completed it, However, I'd love to see you answers! Please leave the link to your post in the comments. 

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo


Monday 23 September 2013

Nails Inc Cadogan Gate and Lynnderella The Telltale Heart.




Today I'm going to be showing you a polish from a bargain set I picked up in TK Maxx.

It's from the Nails Inc iridescent collection, which I believe was a QVC exclusive.

 The polish I picked to use first was Cadogan Gate. A gorgeous cherry red in the bottle which leans slightly more pink on the nails. The pictures show two coats and I think in hindsight it could have done with a third as there is some VNL. These dry to a similar finish to OPI's liquid sands. They have a slight sand papery feel and a textured look, the sparkly bits help to break it up a bit though. It's a shame under most lighting the sparkles were nowhere to be seen! For the first time I left it without topcoat, I've always had a slight aversion to gritty nails but I didn't find this polish too bad.


indoors

Excuse the cuticles! They are undergoing some serious TLC at the moment! 


with flash
 With flash you can see the little twinkly bits of red glitter coming out to play!


indoors



Finally I added one coat of Lynnderella-The telltale heart on the pinky finger. It was more an 'ooh nail mail, let's try it!' moment than a planned feature of the mani, but I actually quite liked it!

What's your take on textured nails?
To topcoat or not to topcoat that is the question!

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo



Sunday 22 September 2013

Castle on a cloud at Les Mis!



What I wore, when I went to see Les Miserables for my 21st birthday!


I didn't just wear polish..I will add that I wore a dress too!

It all started a few months earlier...I went to see Les Mis at the cinema and fell in love! I then found out I was going to see the show for part of my Birthday celerations, this coincided with the first time I saw Castle on a cloud by Enchanted Polish; Which of course is named after the song, sung by the young Cosette in the show. I fell in love with the polish and drove myself (and everyone around me) crazy trying to get it! Somehow I got lucky and managed to get one in a snatch and grab restock!

So here she is: 

Pictures show: 1 coat of castle on a cloud over nails inc England's Lane and on the Ring finger is Enchanted Polish April 2013. I also used topcoat.





in sunlight

As you can see, not only is COAC a beautiful linear holo topper, but it shifts between pink and purple. It really is the most beautiful thing, I wish I could have captured it's true beauty. Maybe next time I will picture it over a dark base.


in over cast daylight

Obligatory shot with Big Ben in the background! 


in indirect sunlight.
In sunlight



Eeek it was so exciting!! I definitely want to see it again! It was exhausting though, a real roller coaster for the emotions!
I would highly recommend it, even for non-musical types...Even my Dad loved it!! 





We also payed a visit to choccy woccy doodah on Carnaby street, as It just happened to be opposite the MAC pro store, and well it would have been rude not to...!






Finally the result of a few hours shopping on Oxford street! I have never had enough time to complete that Topshop! The jewellery always distracts me!! Also got some amazing makeup in Selfridges-First trip there, but it definitely wont be my last, It was love at first sight! 

What's you favourite thing to do in London: Shops, Shows or something else?

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo



Saturday 21 September 2013

Leibster Award!







I am beyond happy to say that I have been nominated for the Leibster award by The lovely Tracey at Bite no more.

It's not so much an award, but a way of finding new and up coming bloggers, who's blog has less than 200 followers.
The rules are, you must nominate another 11 blogs who have less than 200 followers, and let them know you've nominated them. You are given 11 questions by the blogger who nominated you, which you must answer. You must give the blogs you nominate 11 question for them to answer. Finally you must link back to the person who nominated you.

Here are the answers to the questions I was asked:



1. Where did your blog name come from?

The name is really a mismatch of different bits of my personality. (Except for the lucky bit-i'm definitely not lucky normally!) The magpie comes from the fact that anything sparkly grabs my attention and the first time I was described as a magpie, was when I was in Harrod's  beauty hall and walked past the Benefit counter; only to catch a glimpse of a shocking pink glittery lip gloss, out of the corner of eye, well naturally I had to spin back around and buy it!! The luck bit comes from the fact I have an eye for bargain spotting and tend to find really great items on sale.


2. What inspired you to start blogging?

I've always loved painting my nails and have always taken a lot of pictures to prove it! I suppose I really started it to keep track of all the different colours/brands I've tried and to hopefully help people decide whether they need them for themselves or not.


3. Favourite and least favourite colour?

My favourite colour changes all the time! At the moment I would have to say it's between: Pink, purple and blue! My least favourite colour would probably have to be anything dull like brown or grey. EWW or Khaki!! Yuk!


4. How do you relax?

With a good book-anything by Dan Brown or I'm not adverse to a chick-lit or two, Lindsey Kelk is one of my favourite writers.


5. Summer or Winter?

Summer! Love a bit of sunshine, just wish we had more of it here!


6. If you could have one wish, what would you wish for?

For all my family and friends to be happy and healthy.


7. Has anything good ever happened to you as a 
result of your blog?

It's not something I intended to happen when I started blogging, but it is lovely when people ask me to review their products. Also I'm taking part in a book, about nails, that's a collaboration between bloggers, nail art fanatics and the polish obsessed. (I just happen to fall into all three categories!)

8. Best tip advice, beauty or other?

Best advice for nails that I've been given is in order to get rid of staining from dark/bright polishes use whitening toothpaste. Also eating a couple of cubes of jelly is great for strengthening your nails. Make up wise, it's boring but always take your makeup off every night and never forget to moisturise, your skin will thank you for it a few years down the line.

9. Comedy or horror?

Comedy-I'm a complete wuss!!


10. Has blogging taken over your life?

Not yet, but it is getting that way! I love it though, it's my little escape and I have met a lot of like-minded (polish nutters) through it as well, which has been lovely.


11. Where do you see your blog 10 years from now?

I never look that far ahead, I prefer to concentrate on the now. I just take my blog day by day for now and If it opens up different opportunities for me in the future then that's great, but for now I'm just having fun sharing my passion for nails and beauty with others!

The 11 blogs I'm nominating are:

2. nailcake
3. Jude's Nails
4. Penny-pinching Polish
5. Nails and nibbles
6. Nail the day
7. Polishtry
8. Hex Beauty
9. Lisa's Nails
10. Nails by Vanessa Marie
11. Knitty Nails

And my 11 questions for you all are:

 1. What started your nail polish obsession?

2. If you were stranded on a desert island, and could only take one beauty item with you, what would you choose?

3.  Does your blog name have a special meaning?

4. Favourite nail polish?

5. What other interests do you have?

6. Name one item you couldn't live without?

7. Who or what inspires you? 

8.  Sun or Snow?

9. what aspirations do you have for your blog?

10. What has been the best thing to happen since you started blogging?

11. What are your favourite blogs to follow?



Wow, I never thought it would be so hard to think up 11 questions! Please reply with your link, so I know you've accepted. I would like to say thanks again for my nomination!

thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo






Friday 20 September 2013

August/September polish haul:

I've been busy buying polish like a crazy woman again...



The first part is nail art supplies:



I'm wanting to try my hand at stamping, so when I see a few cheapy bits and bobs I've been picking them up. The top stamping plate has images of Hello kitty, Yes I may be 21, but I am still obsessed! 





The two nail art wheels, I picked up in Primark, for £1 each-they have all different sorts of gems and studs.

Lastly there was a little nail art stamping kit which I picked up in B&M for £1.50!



Sorry about the awful picture, but I also picked up some hello kitty fimo canes.





Here's my little storage solution for all my stamping plates, glitters, fimo canes etc. It was a £1 shop bargain!

Part 2 is of course the polish!





The shatters were all from the £1 shop. I'm really over shatters, but OPI for £1?! So of course I had to buy a few! I got: Shatter the scales, silver shatter, gold shatter, pink shatter and superbass shatter.

Next are more B&M bargains: Rimmel: Pompous and Green with envy for £1 each. I also got two hello kitty polishes: Shop teal you drop and Heather so in love for £1.50 each.








 Whoops sorry it's sideways! Next is a Disney Villains Nail polish set which I picked up from a group on Facebook for £4-The box is  battered, but what a super bargain!



Next I bought some beautiful polishes and killed a few lemmings! I got OPI DS Glamour, Exclusive and Couture.

with flash 



Two gorgeous Enchanted Polishes that I purchased from lovely ladies on Facebook and My First CBL: Colors by Llarowe: Dirty Diana.



Here are the two Enchanted's Without and with flash: Mr Burgundy and February 2013.



*DROOLS*


Row 1: OPI-Be a Dahlia wont you, Leighton Denny-Sensual Glam, Julep-Leah, Depend-mini holo, mini lacquerhead polish-in the moonlight and Darling Diva-Channeling Coco.

Row 2:  Essie: Beach bum blue, Sexy divide and funny face. Sally Hansen-Fire Opal and pink tease nail polish.

Row 3: Deborah Lippmann: Lady sings the blues, Cleopatra in NYC, Addicted to speed topcoat and Hit me with your best shot. Revlon-Gold coast.







 OPI: Shrek forever after mini set- What's with the cattitude?, Fiercely Fiona, Rumple's Wiggin and Who the Shrek are you?






Sally VAT free haul:

OPI: San Francisco mini collection: First date at the golden gate, Muir Muir on the wall, in the cable car-pool lane and Peace & Love & OPI. Dining Al Frisco, Peace & Love & OPI. Konad special nail polish in black. 






 Nails Inc iridescent collection: Elm park road, Cadogan gate, Lyall street and Raphael street.



Next up is a little parcel of loveliness from Norway Nails.




I always love their packaging and they always include little extras. This time it was two rolls of holographic striping tape! 


without flash

with flash


Wow! I swear this is the same polish! It's Kids by Enchanted Polish from the Time to Pretend collection. It's a turquoise polish with a purple duochrome effect and is linear holographic. The NWNs restock was as to be expected from EP launches a bit of a nightmare, I missed out on Water For Unicorns...again!! *sad face* but I can't be too disappointed as look as this beauty isn't it just amazeballs!!
 Expect a blog post on this Beaut very soon!



Last but by no means least: 


Mini Dollish polish in 'Say hello to my kitty' 
(of course inspired by Hello Kitty)
This arrived very  quickly and with postage from the states cost under £5! How is that even possible?! Especially when most companies charge around £9 to ship to the UK!


So I hope you enjoyed having a nosy through my new pretties! Did anything in particular catch your eye?

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo

Thursday 19 September 2013

September Glossybox review:

The London Edition


I had previously seen the packaging for the London box, which I love, so I had high hopes for the contents!








See what I mean..How cute is box and tissue paper! I'm a sucker for anything gimmicky! 

Now onto the important part-the contents!






As always I'll start with the most exciting item...which I'm having trouble picking. I don't know why but nothing in the box jumped out at me as being overly exciting.

Be A Bombshell eyeliner in onyx. This is a felt tip type liquid eyeliner. The tip is really thick but has a sharp point, so it's easy to control and achieve a thin subtle line or a full on feline flick.
full size-RRP: $14.00 (apprx £8.71)
 ($?? isn't this a London/British themed box?)

Eyelure pre-glued lashes. These are light weight and reusable. I have used eyelure lashes before, they're ok. I wasn't overly impressed to find them in the box, but they are something I will use.
full size-RRP: £5.06 
(what is the point of the extra 6p?!)

Rimmel stay blushed blusher. A liquid cheek tint that claims to last up to 24 hours. I  probably will pass this on as I don't suit liquid/cream blushers at all. I hate the fact that after taking ages with base, concealer etc you rub the blusher on and it uncovers all the imperfections that you took so long to hide! 
full size-RRP: £4.49

Elizabeth Arden untold. A luxurious and modern floral fragrance. I'm not keen on receiving perfume samples and always tick the not interested box. However I do prefer receiving a good sized sample in a little box, to a measly vial. 
Full size-RRP: £48 for 50ml - sample size of 5ml apprx:£4.80

last but not least...another hair item!! Toni & Guy Hair meet wardrobe, classic shine and gloss serum. I have oily hair and so what do I receive a shine...Serum?! Yeah I really could do with one of those! 
full size-RRP: £7.19

I hate being so negative about a box but I feel let down by this months offering. I miss the days when glossy box used to be about offering luxury high-end samples. Also I've been subscribed to glossybox for around 18 months and have not received a hd item, I think some people received a hd bronzer instead of the rimmel blush, this time. 
I know glossy box can be very hit or miss and I loved every box I was getting a few months back (probably because they all contained a nail item, seriously Glossybox bung a polish in and I'll be happy!) but for now they have some making up to do. Hopefully they can redeem themselves with the October box!

The only thing that is a good factor with this box is the value for money. The contents are worth apprx £30.25.

Did you receive any different items? 
Or were you happy with the items you received?

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo



Thursday 5 September 2013

Enchanted Polish...A little Fishy Told Me!

Review Of Enchanted Polish: A little fishy told me.


This polish is very special, it's in memory of Talia Joy (see my mint man for Talia HERE!) and a percentage of the proceeds went towards BASE camp. A charity which supports Children and their families, living with cancer. A beautiful polish and it's helping a very worthwhile cause! 

It is described as a mint polish. I wouldn't really say it was mint-as you will see it matches my duck egg blue handbag completely. 

It is the most stunning polish! It is a pale blue with hints of mint. Not only does it have the most incredible linear holographic finish but it has flashes of bright blue sparkle which suit the polish's name, perfectly! It is completely opaque in two coats and as with all EPs topcoat doesn't dull the holo effect!


out doors-indirect sunlight.

indoors without flash.


Sorry about this picture being pre-cleanup but it was as close to capturing, the flashes of blue, that I could get!

with flash

with flash.


Just look at all of that holographic goodness swimming around inside the bottle! The holo effect on the nails is much stronger in person too.

with flash


Are you ready for a bit of matchy, matchy??


dull indoor lighting.

As you can see it matched my marc b, duck egg blue, satchel bag perfectly. It might not look identical in the pictures but in real life it's spot on!

Also this polish was available to buy on pre-order, meaning no disappointments, or chaotic restocks and cart jacking! I wish Chelsea would do all the polishes on pre-order, I really think it's the way to go!

Do you own this beaut? Would you prefer EPs to be available on pre-order?

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo

Wednesday 4 September 2013

August Glossy box review

My very late review of the  August Glossy box!


Whoops, I've been so busy painting my nails, that I completely forgot to review my August Glossybox for you, Ah well here it is...in September! 
(I will keep this one short, as I'm sure you have seen lots of reviews about it already!) 




As you can see the theme was High flyers and promised to bring items from different countries around the world.

I wasn't hugely excited by this box, there was nothing that I would rush out to buy; but hey, I can't complain as I used my glossy dots,  so it was completely free!



I received:

Jelly pong pong (yes another JPP item in a GB!) 2 in 1 eyeliner and shadow. I received the shade-Black. I obviously wont be trying this as a shadow, but another eyeliner is always handy.
full size: £10.50

Oceane make up remover pen. It's one of those items that I never bother purchasing. I have used it when I had a small liquid eyeliner mishap and it worked...ish. (i had to replace tips halfway through) although it didn't irritate my sensitive eyes, you would get through the four tips provided in a couple of uses. I did find if you turn the tip around it doubles the amount of uses you get from it. 
 Isn't available in the Uk so I have no idea what it retails for.

Emite eyelash curlers. These seem pretty good. I just happen to love my shu uemura eyelash curlers which I've been using for so long! However it made a nice change to receive a beauty tool in a glossy box and also these come with a pack of 3 replacement cushions.
full size:£20

Urban Veda Daily radiance face cream. I can't really comment on this as it was the completely wrong product for my skin type. Knowing products like this always break me out, I'm not taking the risk of trying it. I emailed Glossy Box about this item and was told that they can't always follow your beauty profile (what's the point of having one then?) I was  told I could use it on my chest...An area that I also have to be careful of breakouts. Ah well my Mum will use it, so it's not a complete waste (unlike sitting down and filling out the beauty profiles!!) 

Lastly I received TRESemme keratin smooth 60 second treatment. If there's one thing I hate receiving in beauty boxes it's hair products! I just can't use anything like this on my hair; as it gets so oily on its own, without adding to it with lots of product. However, I shall be giving this to my Nan who has dry hair, as I'm sure she'll like it.
full size: £1.49

Hmm...I really hate moaning about a box, as much as I have about this one. It's just some Glossy boxes are hits, but this one was more of a miss. I ended up giving half of the box away! I do like the eyelash curlers and will be keeping them-I've just been spoilt by my Shu Uemura ones! 

Lets hope next month is a better box! (If all else fails I know I love the packaging!!) It seems to be a London/Best of British themed box; which I am actually quite excited about! 

Did you receive anything different? Did you love your box?

thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo




Tuesday 3 September 2013

Selfridge's Beauty Haul!

My first trip to selfridges: Beauty haul! 


I used to be strictly Harrods when it came to beauty shopping in London, but after seeing the TV series 'Mr Selfridge' I decided I had to pay it a little visit, and boy am I glad I did!!

WOW-I loved it!
 I'm going to show you a few bits and bobs that I picked up:

First up is Selfridges: the beauty box. With a festival theme. Now this is only supposed to be available online-so imagine my delight when I stumbled across a display of them in store!



As you can see it is quite a large box and it is overflowing with beauty treats! It costs £25 and the contents are worth £110!! What a bargain!



The box contains:

sol de Janeiro's refreshing coconut cooling mist.
Topshop lip crayon-powder room.
Eyeko skinny liquid eyeliner-Navy.
coloursmash hair shadow.
violent lips lip appliques-warm rainbow.
Illamasqua liguid metal metallic cream.
Bare Minerals pretty amazing moxie lip gloss.
Azature nail polish-champagne.
Cowshed antibacterial hand gel.
NPW mini scented hand and face wipes.
NPW chubby glitter stick.

Now I have to be honest and say the reasons I got the box were the: Azature polish, Bare minerals lip gloss and Illamasqua liquid metal. I can't really see my using the glitter stick, hair shadow or lip appliques...

The box is a great idea and an even greater bargain! I would highly recommend it, they are still available online now.


 My mini nail polish haul:



Chanel-Bel-argus, Azature-pink diamond and Nails Inc-Queen Victoria street.

Next I treated myself to a new perfume:




Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood.  I was over the moon to discover that the cute little charm around the lid, was actually a bracelet-Love it!! I also got  some little perfume sample freebies thrown in: Vera wang-Bejewelled, Marc Jacobs-Honey and Bottega Veneta-Eau Legere.

Last but not least:


Laura Mercier: Oil free foundation primer and Lip glace  in Bare pink.

and EOS lipbalm in Pomegranate/Raspberry.


Well I don't think I did too badly!
 I loved selfridges and it has definitely done the impossible and beaten Harrods for me! 

Have you made any beauty splurges lately? 

thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo