Topshop Haul

Killing time is dangerous when there is a Topshop nearby. Today's haul ladies & gents...

A very cheap ring for only £1 at Topman.

wearing Chanel - Peridot

A pair of sandals which aren't really my style but they were £12 from £28 and I am lacking in cheap flats to wear on holiday (whenever that may be lol).

 

£13 down...I swear it is so hard for me to save. I do love my items, but of course the guilty feelings come with it as I'm saving up for some heavy hitting items like my Rococo, CL simples, Ray ban way farers, and of course my cruise that I've been dreaming about.  On top of that, my visa renewal is going to cost me £580, so I really shouldn't be spending money on accessories, but bah...I did, and I can't go back now haha.

I also got Chanel - June today with my Boots points, so I will do a post on that soon.

Well this is just going to be a short & sweet post, as I have so much work to do left today, and the weather is so hot that it's making me cranky and lethargic :)

Have a fantastic rest of the day!

Nail Mail: Tom Ford Coral Blame & Illamasqua Selfridges Pantone 109 Set

There is something so exciting about nail mail.  I guess the cliche statement is true, great things come in small packages.  I should really name this old nail mail as I've been sitting on these two awesome polishes for quite some time. 

I've been wanting to try Tom Ford makeup items for quite sometime, but the price tag has scared me away.  I had an amazing swap on MUA and this beauty landed on my doorstep from the states.  As usual, it was cheaper there than there.

I requested Coral Blame as I am loving these coral, tangerine, bright colours this summer. I almost said spring as the UK is just now getting spring/summer weather (about time!).

The package exudes luxury from it's textured box to the Tom Ford golden logo'ed square bottle.  It's heavy and for some odd reason I equate expensive with heavy things (I apply this logic to handbags too). I'm so happy to have this polish despite not swatching it yet.

 

My photos made the box and cap look black, but it's a very dark dark brown in real life. 

it's very luxurious to say the least.

I'm so in love with anything Tom Ford at the moment, so I welcome this little piece of TF into the collection.  The formula looks creamy and absolutely amazing. I can't wait to swatch this one.

Retails £25 

The next polish was an exclusive set for Selfridges.  It is my favourite shop in the UK, and when I heard that one of my favourite brands was doing an exclusive set that featured a bright yellow, I just had to jump at getting it.

Retails £21 exclusively at Selfridges

 

The duo comes with Self and Scorch. I really bought this duo for Self, but the Illamasqua ad really won me over.  I love the contrast of two very bold colours. Superb!

 I have actually worn Self recently and I got loads of compliments and also loads of odd looks as this really is a solid bright yellow creme.  The only downside to Self is that it does stain, and yes I even wore a base coat.  It is still worth the colour pay off, so I will just spend extra time scrubbing my nails, that's how worth it the colour really is.

So these are my two newbies to the collection.  I'm trying not to splurge too much on polish at the moment as I'm saving up for the AW rococo bag, but when products like this come along, I am too weak to resist.

What have you gotten in the mail lately?

Julep Essential Cuticle Oil Review

A couple of month's ago, an American friend sent me this Julep cuticle oil and boy did I really need it.  My cuticles are absolutely horrible these days.  My day job has me using my hands quite a bit, and I'm constantly washing them and forgetting to put hand cream on.  This cuticle oil is a god sent!

I'm going to show you what my cuticles looks like pre Julep and post Julep, and you will see the HUGE difference.

PRE JULEP CUTICLE OIL

POST JULEP CUTICLE OIL

The proof is in the photos.  This is an amazing cuticle oil and it sucks that I can't get it here in the UK, because it's just that awesome.  Plus it is a roller ball, so it's so convenient to have in your handbag and use anytime you want.

Elevation Polish Nail Polish in Froze to Death

Oh you ladies ain't ready for this.

Froze To Death is one of my favourite Elevation Polish, and here I have it to finally show you all.

Leighton Denny - Daylight Robbery (undie)
Elevation polish - Froze to Death (on top)

Now tell me that's not gorgeous?!

Formula is easy to apply and smooth as can be. What you see is two layers, and you get ample amounts of topper.  What more can you ask for, right? This is a glitter, nail art, indie-lovers dream come true.  

You can purchase Elevation polish on her website

http://elevationpolish.bigcartel.com/ 

Currently Froze to Death is sold out, but she restocks on a monthly basis :)

Leighton Denny Nail Polish in Daylight Robbery

Leighton Denny is ridiculous expensive here, and I basically save my pennies for Chanel and Dior at that rate, but TK Maxx had a great deal on Leighton Dennys, so I nabbed a few.

Daylight Robbery is muddy greenish dark blue base with a subtle violet shimmer. I don't like "blurples", but this one works for me as the violet shimmer is very subtle and the blue base is a greyed out muddy blue. 

The first layer is very sheer, you will need at least two or three coats to make this opaque.  That was a bit disappointing as I really can't stand sheer polishes.  But the end result made up for this.

I'm on the fence about whether to keep this one or not.  I like it, but the formula is just too thin and sheer.  I'll have to think this one over or use it as an undie.

What's your favourite Leighton Denny?

Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in 080 Delicious

This is the first that I have used a Revlon Colorstay nail polish, so I had to do my online research to learn about this new Revlon line.  I also wanted to know what was so special that it merited a £7.99 price tag.

Revlon claims:

"Revlon® Colorstay Nail Enamel with Shade Lock Technology™ - for colour that stays true throughout the life of your manicure.  Inspired by salon gel nails - super high shine and chip-resistant colour.
Wide angle brush for a smooth, even, streak free application"

I completely agree that this is a better polish range, not sure if it's £7.99 better, but definitely better.

* High shine polish - check

* Amazing wide angle brush for smooth, even, streak free application - check

* One coat opaqueness - check

Delicious is a beautiful red/orange polish that is perfect for this upcoming season.

As far as long lasting, that is debatable.  Because of the slightly thick gel like formula, the dry time on this is very long.  

So I don't think I will buy another Revlon colorstay unless I found it at pound land or something, but not at 7.99.  What about you? Have you tried these?

Smashbox Halo Hydrating Pefecting Powder in Light Review

A very generous online friend gave me this to test and review for this blog.  The Halo powder has been out for awhile, but I was always reluctant to pay this much money for a Smashbox product.

I have nothing against Smashbox, but out of the few products that I have used from them, I was not overly thrilled.  I felt their eye shadows were way too powdery, and even amongst the height of their success (i.e. tokidoki collaboration), I was never fascinated by their products.

So when the Halo powder came out with a $59 price ticket, I just didn't even think about trying it.  Now I finally get too.

 

 

 

 

When you turn the compact to the right, it shaves the powder and you get fresh loose powder.

As much as Smashbox wants to go on about the benefits of this powder, I could not find anything that I liked about this powder.

* I love black packaging, but I hate the fingerprints that it shows up.

* This product is hefty and quite bulky.  I guess it has to be that way since it's basically holds a powder and a device that shaves into a loose powder.  Basically, it's just too big for me.

* This powder will exaggerate large pores or dry skin, so if you suffer from these day things, you want to avoid this powder

* This is in shade Light, and yet there is this awful orange tint to the powder.  Unless you are a sunbed worshipper, I can not see this fitting any one's natural skin tone.  My photos make them seem golden, but in real life they are truly orange...yuck.

There was one thing that I liked about this product however..

The fact that you can turn the compact to shave fresh loose powder is amazing.  I absolutely love that feature and wish other brands would start doing this.

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Flash in Little Red Dress (856) Review

Red lips are for strong women, so what about those of us who want that but too afraid to rock it? lol.  This is the answer.  It's a highly pigmented glossy lip gloss in this candy apple red.  Where has this been all my life? I embrace this lip gloss with open arms :)

I do love the clear cubes that these come in, it's like a Popsicle inside a cube of ice, absolutely alluring.

 

It's super moisturized, pigmented, and highly shimmery. You don't have to do your lips perfectly to be able to rock the hot red lips.  It's very easy to apply and has staying power.  It's one of my favourite Dior products this year.  Little Red Dress and Orange Pareo (soon to be featured) are doing heavy rotations in my handbag.

Retail £21

Big thanks to the wonderful gal who swapped this with me :)

Christian Dior Haul: Sunset Eye gloss and Diorshow Extase in Prune Extase

I have a love/hate relationship with promotions, especially when I end up spending money that I don't really have lol.  I ended up buying the Diorshow Extase in Prune Extase (purple) and their new Eye gloss in Sunset.

DIORSHOW EXTASE in PRUNE EXTASE (871)

 

I am not a huge mascara gal, because I'm so lazy but I did love this purple mascara.  It seemed to have brightened my eyes, without looking too obvious.  It's a very subtle purple tinted dark mascara.  The wand itself is very unique with it's winding spiral staircase like structure.  It's so unique that I plunged and got another mascara that I will probably never use again haha.

The next product that I ended up getting during this promotion was the new eye gloss in Sunset. 

I played it safe and got a "safe" colour.  Sunset is a nude with a slightly pinky/peachy shimmer.

The shimmer is a very adult shimmer.  It is very sparkly and shiny, which works very well with the whole summer collection.  

When the eye gloss is blended in, it is very natural and I found it to be not only a great eye gloss but a wonderful highlighter as well.  The only downside to this was that after several hours, the colour did fade away and all that was left was my bare face which looked like I got hit in the face with fairy dust LOL!

I probably wont be buying another eye gloss, because of it's lack of staying power.  This is of course with the use of an eye primer too.  I will say however that the colour pay off is GORGEOUS with the initial application, so that is what won me over and will probably win a lot of people over too.

The Cost:

Mascara: £21

Eye Gloss: £20

What's your experience with these eye glosses?