Thank you!

Just wanted to send out a quick message into cyberland for those who bid on my ebay auction to help raise money for my local RSPCA.  I was able to raise £17, where £12.80 of that went to the RSPCA.  Sure it's not a lot of money, but every little bit helps.  That money will feed a dog or cat now for a month, or help pay for shots, or help reimburse someone's travel to go and socialize and play with the them. So thank you for those who bid on the Gosh Holographic.  It was a wonderful polish to own, but my heart and mind feels so much more at peace knowing that I did a little something to help a lonely and abandoned animal.  That feeling is 100% better than any nail polish could ever do for me :)

My Dior haul, awesome SA, and other news

I just had to write a post about my awesome SA at Boots.  A couple of years ago, I bought the Dior powder brush and I have experiencing shedding, so when I told the SA at Dior, she was kind enough to replace it for me.  Now that is what you call customer service.  I was so pleased that I splurged on the Amber Diamond that I wanted for quite sometime but was too afraid to pay the £32 price ticket on it. 

Oh well, you only live once right?

Might as well enjoy it :)

Amber Diamond is suppose to be that lovely golden highlighter sheen that all the bloggers are going crazy over, and I can totally see why.  I have used other highlighters yet nobody use to compliment me, yet everyone complimented me when I wore this.  I love it!  I'll get some swatches up soon, but just wanted to quickly show you this.

In other news, the Allure beauty box is back on sale in the states and I died a little inside when I saw the amount of goodies that you got for only $39.95.  SO JEALOUS!

I mean look at all this.....dayum!

• ALOXXI COLOURCARE Leave-In Conditioner
• BIORE Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser
• Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer
• CERAVE SA Renewing Lotion
• CETAPHIL DERMACONTROL Oil Control Foam Wash
• CETAPHIL DERMACONTROL Oil Control moisturizer SPF 30
• CLEAN & CLEAR MORNING BURST Skin Brightening Facial Cleanser
• DR. LEWINN BY KINERASE Instant Dermal Wrinkle Filler
• FEKKAI GLOSSING Cream
• GILLETTE VENUS & OLAY RAZOR
• NEW! JERGENS NATURAL GLOW & PROTECT Daily Moisturizer with SPF 20
• JOHN FRIEDA FRIZZ-EASE Sheer Solution Lightweight Frizz Control for fine to med. hair
• JOHN FRIEDA FULL REPAIR Style Revival Heat-Activated Styling Spray
• JOHN FRIEDA Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray
• MISS Nail Lacquer
• NEUTROGENA Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunscreen SPF 70
• NEUTROGENA MoistureShine Lip Soother with SPF 20 in Gleam
• ORLY Nail Lacquer
• OSCAR BLANDI Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray
• PANTENE Normal-Thick Anti-Breakage Shampoo
• PANTENE Normal-Thick Anti-Breakage Conditioner
• PUREOLOGY PERFECT 4 PLATINUM Miracle Filler Treatment
• REDKEN POWDER REFRESH 01 aerosol hair powder/dry shampoo
• TANTOWEL LOOK GOOD NAKED Self-Tan Towelette

A $250 value for $39.99, plus $10 for shipping and handling.$5 from each purchase will be donated to The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Link to Allure Beauty Box 2012

Yeah, I really wish Allure UK would do this :(

I also wanted to show you how similar 17 nail polish in Fury (£2.99) looks like Chanel Peridot.  I picked this up for my friend, but before I sent it to her, I shot this photo.

I am trying my best to not buy dupes, so I didn't pick one up for myself, but this is a great money saving dupe. 

And last but not least, I am selling my only bottle of Gosh Holographic to raise money for my local RSPCA, so please head over there and bid if you love rare polishes, holo & animals :)

Link to Charity Auction

Until next time, take it ez lovelies!

***********************

TUNE OF THE DAY

Keri Hilson - Turn my swag on

CHARITY AUCTION: Gosh Holographics Nail Polish for sale!

Lately, my mind has been focusing on how I can raise money for a local charity where I'm currently living.  I don't have a lot of money, I don't even have a lot of time, but I decided to let something go that is very hard to find in order to raise some money, so if you are hot and heavy for Gosh Holographics, please make your way over to my ebay auction.

So if you love nail polish and you love animals, please check it out :)

Here is the linkage to my auction

Last Night's Accessories: Topshop, Models Own, Gosh, Louis Vuitton

Last night, I met up with a forum friend for dinner and movies.  It's so nice to see a friendship blossom from seeing them on a public forum, to an email, to a day out shopping, and then to a friendship.  We saw "The Woman in Black".  If you are a Hammer horror fan, you may be pleased at the modern Hammer film.  There was a good 15 seconds, where I froze in fear.  It was great!  :)  So last night, this is what I rocked.  Sorry I don't have an OOTD, but here are my accessories. 

I was still rocking my sponge nails, these are the polishes that I used:  Models Own Aciid and Gosh Lavender Love.

Models Own £5 - Gosh £4.99

 

  

I took another photo of this manicure, as my other post had an Instagram version.  Then, I pulled out a small bag, which is quite rare for me. I'm always using big bags, but for some reason, I wanted to pull this bag out.  This is the original Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse graffiti pochette, circa 2001.  This bag has a lovely story behind it, and I will always remember the kind lady that gave this bag to me, and I will never forget her :).

I also wore a new pair of earrings that I picked up at Topshop. It was a total impulse buy, but it looked fabulous last night, so I'm happy that I did buy it.

Topshop - £4

Then I woke up this morning from a horrible nightmare.  I was still a bit shaken from it, when I learned about the death of Whitney Houston.  What I'm about to say is very obvious, but I was a child in the 80's, and I remember her rocking MTV.  I will always remember her as the songbird diva.  We all have our demons, and that doesn't make us who we are.  I believe that what we accomplish in life is what makes us who we are, so I will always have respect for this amazing singer, and wish her a safe passage to the light, and condolences to her family. 

What I remember most of Whitney Houston (other than the obvious chart topping "I will always love you") was this female power anthem.  "It's not right, but it's ok, I'm gonna make it anyways" rings true to every woman out there who has ever been cheated on.  Thanks Whitney for this liberating song, RIP.

NOTD: Illamasqua Sponge Nails

I wish I could take credit for my awesome NOTD, but I can't.  I got an email yesterday morning from Illamasqua displaying their new series of Nail art, and I absolutely loved the sponge nails, so I gave it a go.  It's fool proof and so easy to do.  

 

The negative degree weather is really taking a toll on my cuticles.  I'm dumping loads of oil on it, and yet it doesn't look any better.  Roll on Spring!

So if you want to take a stab at sponging, check out their video below. 

 

In this video, they used Illamasqua MILF & Jo'Mina.  I love both of these polishes, but do not have them in my stash, so I ended up using Models Own Aciid and Gosh Lavender Love.

Gosh Nail Polish in Lavender Love

I'm so annoyed with ebay.  There is something about rude people on ebay that just drives me up the wall.  I refuse to be the type of person to have an argument over a lipgloss that went missing in the mail.  Thank god I sent it recorded.  Now my perfect 100% feedback will probably be ruined by some irrational crazy woman who blames me that royal mail lost her package. Wow, some people have nothing better to do than to annoy ebay sellers. UGH........

So I choose something a bit happy and airy today because I was just annoyed (common theme this week it seems lol).

Gosh's Lavender Love is the perfect periwinkle pastel.  It was a one coat wonder with great application and formula.  I like it, because it's not a pretty liliac, it has a bit of attitude.

 

Really happy with this polish.

Yes I'm a nerd, I like to wear happy polish to perk me up.

My New RAOK Nail Polish Package

I am so exicted about my new polish acquisitions, so I just had to share this with you.  My friend from the states has sent me a box, and when I heard Oscar barking like crazy, I knew it was the post man.  He brings a happy box to me, and I ran downstairs to quickly rip it open.  Oh the joy! Are you guys ready? I got some really rare beauties here, and none more greater than the gorgeous OPI Merry Midnight!!

On top of this package, my friend who stopped by to see me brought me Gosh's Black Passion after she found it at a charity shop for only 50p.  That's what I call a bargain!!

 

From top left to right:

Zoya Marina

Wet N wild Teal of Fortune

Nubar Peacock Feathers

China Glaze - Mummy May I

OPI - Merry Midnight

Gosh - Black Passion

China Glaze - Jitterbug

Orly - Royal Velvet

Zoya - Neeka

SOPI - Only Gold For Me

So watch this space for swatches and NOTD's.

What a FUN group of polishes that I was fortunate to be gifted.

Shopping Trip Photos

I had to meet up with someone today in town, so I made the best out of it by stopping by all my usual places; Boots, Superdrugs, TJ Hughes (everything is now 40% off, but not much left), TK Maxx (UK's TJ Maxx), and charity shopping.  I saw some really good deals, so I'm here to show you all.  I did do a little hauling (but of course!) but the sun is down now and so I'll have to post them up tomorrow when I can get some good shots xx

Anyways, let me show you guys some of the deals I saw that were really good, so if you like them, I'd check out your local stores.

First up,

At Debenhams,

A discounted (further discounted) 

MAVALA Nail polish set

That's not bad for 9 Mavala nail polishes

Also at Debenhams 

CIATE NAIL POLISH TRIO SET

There were a bunch of these black leather tri-folded makeup bags

and when I opened them, they came with 3 Ciate polishes.

Ciate retails for £9 each,

so for a set of 3 Ciate's for only £8.52 was a bargain.

Buy one get 2 free basically, plus a black makeup bag.

I really wanted to splurge and buy this set, because I absolutely LOVE Twilight (the middle polish), but I restrained myself.  It is the same likeness as Butter London's Wallis, Dior's Czarina Gold, and D&G Stromboli.  It is a beautiful black polish with gold flakie/glitters.

Swwoonnnn....but I should restraint since there were roughly 20 in the clearance section. So I'm testing my luck to see if they will decrease in price a little more :)

 Then at TK Maxx,

There was a 

Revlon polish set

for £7.99, it had inside: Lunar, Star, Belle, and one last purple creme polish that I couldn't make out.

Next stop...Superdrugs!

I never noticed this brand, but I have to show you all

2 True Nail Polish

2true is pretty inexpensive at £1.99 each or 3 for £5.

They had your typical range of colours like most chemist brands, BUT...

and I mean BUT...

#40 and #16 were DIVINE!

40 is a gritty steel colour with a mixture of microglitter in a rainbow shade.

It's hard to tell in the photo, but it was quite interesting 

and

#16 was just this beautiful jewel-tone purple/blue slightly duochrome shimmer polish.

I was on a time crunch, but I think I'm definitely going back for them.

Also at Superdrugs was the new Gosh nail polish collection.

I wasn't really keen on them, because they were all straight creme, but the colours are very nice for this fall.

Then my tired behind went to Boots, AND...

it's FINALLY here!!!!

 Garnier BB Cream.

RRP £9.99 

I'm surprised there wasn't a promo for that, I'll wait and see if they will do a special on this soon, since it is a big craze and it is the UK's first BB Cream to hit the market.

So that is my beauty picks for today.  I hope you guys like it, and I highly recommend all the products that I photographed.  

Tomorrow, I'll definitely take photos of my haul 

until then....Happy shopping xx

My Swap Haul For June

My DH is looking at me and giving me this face, because he thinks that the products surrounding me are products that I purchased.  I quickly put him out of his misery and told him that they were all swaps, so he leaves the room.  Why do men not understand our obsession? Well I guess it's in the same manner that I don't understand his electronics or dvd obsession.  I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about swapping again.  It's been way too long, and it really has saved me so much money, and I will continue to swap until I have swapped out everything on my swaplist.  For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm talking about makeupalley right now.  I've also met a lot of nice English girls on there as well, so overall it's been a great experience.  Now onto the haul reveal!

* Mac false eyelashes - These are the older packaging, but since it's not makeup, it doesn't matter.  I love falsies for when I go out, so I can never get enough

* Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 11 -

 Ok, I am a freaking idiot. When I agreed to swap for this, I must have looked at the wrong swatch, because I thought it would be my colour, obviously it is not.  It is for dark skinned girls, so that was clearly a dumb mistake on my part, but I did find a very clever way to use this.  I have placed 2 drops in my face lotion and have created a tinted moisturizer out of it, so this won't go to complete waste.

* Armani Fluid Sheer 13

This is a meant for an all over face colour, but clearly it is too dark, it is like a dark Burgundy tone which I plan to use mixed with some other cheek blush and blended, or even to use as a contour

Both formulas ARE amazing, and it just solidified in my head that I need an Armani foundation (in my shade lol) in my life.

* Bare Minerals - medium beige

This is my favourite mineral foundation, so I jumped on the swap when it was in my colour.  I love how it gives a great luminous day time look without looking cakey or overly done.  Sure you'll need a concealer for any blemishes, but this is quick and effective.  I just hate their infomercials so much though lol

LIPPIES GALORE

* YSL - Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick 1

* Guerlain Matte kiss kiss lipgloss in 03

* Clinique superbalm moisturizing gloss in 10 Grapefruit

* Chanel Glossimer in 117

* Edward Bess lipstick in Night Orchid

* 17 - Shine on lipstick in Flirty

YSL, Guerlain, Clinique, Chanel, 17, Edward Bess

Out of all of these, I am so excited to have the Edward Bess lipstick. I am definitely obsessing hardcore over all his stuff at the moment, 

I'm quite pleased with all of them, but the one that shocked me the most was the 17 lipstick. I did not expect it to be that nice and creamy. Wow! I'm a fan now.

* Rimmel - Lash Maxxx mascara

Something about the brush won me over. I heard this doesn't last long, but I'll be holding onto the brush for sure.

* Barry M - Glitter lashes

A little litter on the lashes - sounded too fun to turn away

It's actually not a mascara, but looks like a lipgloss and you just brush it onto your lashes.

* No 7 Amazing Eye Pencil in 05 Black

I can't say no to black eyeliners, and since I have never tried no 7 eyeliners, this was a great chance for me to try it out 

I will not need bath products for the next month.

I got 3 huge and i mean HUGE products to try

* FCUK Whipped Body Cream - 300 ml

* Sanctuary Body Milk Spray - 250ml

* Sanctuary Bath relaxer oil - 250ml

Let's see what all this Sanctuary hoopla is all about shall we....

Overall, great big items to last me this month :)

* Gosh stippling brush

I haven't used this yet, and quite impressed by the size. I'll have to give it a go and report back to you on how I feel about it.  I love collecting brushes hahaha, so glad to have swapped for this.

* MUA eyeshadow in shade 16 - Matt

So I have gone on and on about MUA eyeshadows only being £1 and being a good bargain, so I wanted to give another colour a chance. So far so good. 

* Chantecaille La Baleine Bleue

Eyeshadow Palette

OK....I never in my wildest dream would think I'd own a chantecaille limited edition item.

First, because they cost way too much.

We're looking at $95 in the states, and £85 in the UK

Who can pay that?!?! OK, I guess lots of people could, but not this person right here haha

So when the chance came to be able to swap for this, I did all I could to make it happen.

This is a gorgeous trio meant for a soft and subtle look, and that's what it delivers.

The shadow feels like SILK!!!! I think Dior just lost to the softest eyeshadows out there.

I'll do a separate post on this for sure, but I also love that 5% of the proceeds do go to the wild life foundation to help the animals that are featured in the palettes.

I love this so much.

* The Dior Travel palette (on the left) 

is gorgeous and you can find my review I did here

I have reached for this so many times this month and I just wish I had another one of this.

and last but definitely not least. 

* CHANTECAILLE BENGALI PALETTE

Coming in at a whopping $117/£110

I was floored to have made this swap happen.

I am in love with the size of this palette and the texture of the eyeshadows and blush.

They are just out of this world.  I know a lot of people probably didn't buy this due to the heavy sticker price, but if you did have the money to buy it, you won't be disappointed.  it is just so smooth, and with zero fall out, and it is honestly the best eyeshadow that I have ever tried.   I will be doing a separate post on this with better more accurate pictures, but just wanted to show you guys what was in the palette.

So that was my June swap.  I'll be doing this monthly to show you all can get some great items during a swap.  Why not right? Give away something that didn't work for you, in exchange for something that would work for you.  One gal's trash is another gal's treasure right?  Do you swap? What do you love or hate about it?






COME AND ENTER MY FIRST GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Battle of the Holographic Polishes: Gosh, China Glaze, Nfu Oh

ANNOUNCING THE CONTESTANTS IN TODAY'S BATTLE....

(drum roll please ..drdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrd)

Left to Right:

Gosh Holographic, China Glaze OMG, Nfu Oh 61

Who will win the battle of the best holographic Polish?

Who doesn't love holographic these days right? Just take a look on makeupalley, ebay, and other boards and you know that girls are just lemming and hoarding their bottles (or selling for a lovely profit). 

I was fortunate to be able to get all three recently and I wanted to see, which one was the best? Here goes the comparison.

After one coat

Index: Nfu Oh 61

Middle: China Glaze OMG

Ring: Gosh Holographic

After 2 Coats

After 3 Coats

Sorry about the edges!

See a difference?

DH says nope, but to the more knowledgable ladies of the nail polish addict world, we see a HUGE difference.

Here's my breakdown

Best color - most Holographic

Winner: Gosh Holographic

Runner up: Nfu Oh 61

Best formula - easy to apply

Winner: China Glaze OMG

Runner up: Gosh Holographic

Best Packaging

Winner: Nfu-oh

Runner up - China Glaze

Gosh polish packaging is just ugly in my opinnion lol

Best Price

Winner: Nfu Oh 61 (still being made)

Runner up: Gosh Holographic (Discontinued and can run you up to $30 w/ postage)

3rd Place and the most expensive: China Glaze OMG (Discontinued and up to $50 on ebay)

Here are some issues I had with these polishes:

China Glaze:  Easy as pie to apply and has a smooth shiny finish, but doesn't have the best holographic when compared to the other two polishes.  China Glaze took 3 coats to be opaque.

Gosh:  This does not last to save your life, and once you put a top coat on it, the holo dies a little and you are the same amount of holo as in the Nfu Oh.  Gosh took only 2 coat to be opaque.

Nfu Oh:  I had to restart and paint again, if you do not wait until the first coat is dried completely, it will drag and leave bald spots and you have to start again.  This was by far the formula application compared to the two, but the amount of holo that you get worth the difficult application. Nfu Oh took 3 coats to be opaque and 2 different tries to get an even coat.

So ladies, that's my experience with these.  Would I get back ups of any of them? Hmmm...hard to say.  I don't know if I was obsessed with these, because I loved the holo or if I was just a mere victim of the craze that surrounds these?  Would I pay up to $50 for OMG? Probably not, but I can see why some women opt for this over the others, because the formula is just so easy, just like all their other polishes.  Me personally...I'm over the holo craze, just like I'm over the shatter craze.  It is after all, just a craze right?  Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of the holographic pattern and I think it's really cool.  It reminds me of the 80's and I am after all an 80's baby :)

Disclaimer:  I purchased Gosh myself off of ebay, the other two were given to me by friends.

NOTD: Gosh Holographic

Damn my outdated camera. Oh only if I could stop buying polish and beauty products to pay for a new camera. lol. Note to self, stop and buy a camera.

I tried my hardest to capture the Gosh's holographic polish. I hope you enjoy the beautiful linear holographic polish. I sure do love it. It's such a blast from the 80's and I am loving that I can have this since I can not afford Chanel Holographic currently going on ebay for almost $300. No chance lol.

This polish is being discontinued and I know girls in the states are paying up to $30 for this polish, so if you find it and it's less, nab it....it will definitely rock your nails!