YSL Nail Polish in Black Indigo swatches & review

You all know that I'm a sucker for things that are gold right? YSL's packaging always pulls me in.  That gold cap is very alluring.  The only issue is that it picks up thumbprints, so excuse my next couple of shots with my fingerprints on it :)

YSL black indigo was on sale at Debenhams for only £10.01 (odd amount), so I had to grab it.  I really wanted to get the other two as well, but I wanted to show some form of restraint, so I only got one.  I guess I have a thing for blue polish, so naturally this one was purchased.

Application: The formula was quality, but I am not crazy about the brush.  It doesn't allow control of the amount of polish you place on your finger, but I can forgive this.

Coverage:  One coat opaque goodness!

Packaging:  As I mentioned before, I love the gold caps

Retail: £15 for 6ml, but currently £10.01 on debenhams with free postage if you have a beauty card with them.

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TUNE OF THE DAY

Rita Ora - R.I.P (sorry for the repeat, but this really is my tune of the day lol)

Nail Polish Haul - Chanel Blue Rebel, Dior Waterlily, Illamasqua Nomad and YSL Black Indigo

I finally have the next two days off, so I will be doing tons of swatching and listening to music.  I've been in this odd space where my life is moving along, but I feel like I'm not really going anywhere.  Does anyone know what I am talking about?  Music seems to be the only thing that is keeping me going. I'm not very good with words (despite trying to write on this blog), but music helps me express myself.  So I'm actually going to show you my haul from this week, and then I am going to share with you all the songs that have been very close to me this week.

So, I did a massive haul and really splurged on some high priced polishes.  Not the smartest thing for me to do right now, but I really couldn't help myself.  They were all purchased at a discounted price, if that means anything? lol

YSL Black Indigo, Dior Waterlily, Illamasqua Nomad, Chanel Blue Rebel

I think I'm in a very green & blue mood this spring/summer.  I've been a bit naughty, so I'm going to have to chill on the NP haul front.  Plus..I'm running out of drawer space, but I love these.  Swatches up tomorrow.

So onto the tunes that I have on repeat this week...

Nina Sinatra - Bang Bang

Rita Ora - R.I.P. ft. Tinie Tempah

Shirley Bassey - I who have nothing

 

The Shangrilas - Remember Walkin' in the sand

Lana Del Rey - Video Games

My YSL Inspired Nail Art

YSL has recently gotten a lot of press for their Black Collection.  I have loved YSL polish for a long time because of their beautiful tall rectangular bottles and golden logo cap.  

So this is my inspired manicure today.

(Sorry Kitty! The holo madness will have to wait haha)

From ysl

 

I am really tempted on using my advantage points for one of the YSL black collection polishes.

Gorgeous and Elegant!

What's your favourite YSL polish?

My October Lemmings

I can't believe it is October. I would have moved to England 7 months ago. Wow. Time really does fly. Well it's gorgeous here and we're having an "Indian Summer".  I love it, but I'm also looking forward to my favourite fall weather.  With Fall comes new beauty and fashion trends.

Here are my lemmings for October.  You will notice that I have added non beauty items.

Photo taken from selfridges.co.uk

YSL Shocking mascara in Black Burgandy

I quite like slightly tinted mascara, I think every brand should do this.

Photo taken from sephora.com

Dior Mitzah Quint

You slap the word "Limited edition" in front of anything and it will drive me crazy!

I love this palette along with the other Mitzah leopard palette (which I have yet to get also).

Dior is killing me this season!

Photos taken from Alexanderwang.com

I don't wear dresses, but if I do they are always black. 

Here is the latest from Alexander Wang that really caught my eye.

Definitely out of my budget, but I'll be watching this around January when the price will drop significantly :)

(edit)

I completely forgot to add this necklace that I saw recently in a magazine, and have not been able to take my eyes off of it. Just the right amount bling, and it's long.  You all know how I love my long necklaces!

photo taken from cosmo

And lately I've been on a hunt for black knee high wedge boots!

I can't find a pair that I like, what's up with me?

If you see any, comment below and let me know please.

I obviously need all the help that I can get.

What have you been lemming for?

Shoe lovers unite

It is true...I once had an addiction to shoes. It was bad, it consumed me. Well my shoe habit has been maintained, but it's not gone completely.  I only moved onto an obsession with beauty products.  It is cheaper, but I still love a pair of fierce shoes.

After speaking with another blogger, she convinced me that that I should do a shoe post.  

I wanted to share some of my favourite pairs of shoes with you.  I know this is a beauty blog, but what girl doesn't love shoes?

So onto the show and tell...

 

Jeffrey Campbell - Clinics

These are my shoes when I know I'm out on the town and on my feet all night long. They are so comfortable and the wedge heel on these are killer!

 

Chanel

My 30th birthday Chanel present to myself 

 

Christian Louboutin Scissor Girls 

One of the 7 pairs of designer shoes that I won in Las Vegas

Lovely shoes with lovely memories

 

Christian Louboutin

I'm not even sure what these are called

I just love the art deco style to these

They are a size too small for me, but I still squeeze myself in them

 

Christian Dior Extreme Sandals

Yes one pair wasn't enough, I had to get two.

I blame sex in the city for making me broke for a month while I purchased these!

 

Miu Miu Sparrow

Not every ones cup of tea, but there is something mod, quirky, and feminine about these

I just need a navy blue military fitted jacket, and my outfit is set!

 

YSL Tribue Sandals

You know....I have yet to actually wear these anywhere, but I love them.

I stare at them, I like how the grey flannel makes it look almost casual.

They are so comfortable considering the stilettos on these babies.

 
The one difference between collecting shoes and collecting beauty products for me is that there are stories behind each of these shoes.  There are memories connected to them unlike beauty products.  I still get the same thrill and excitement, but there is just something about shoes that will always have me running back to them.

It has been a long time since I bought a new pair of shoes, considering my current financial state, I just can't seem to allow myself to splurge on a pair of shoes.  Which is mainly how I got into collecting beauty products anyways. I will say that I  have been looking for a pair of knee high black leather boots. That has been my staple pair of shoes since 2000, and I don't have one anymore and there is a void that I need to fill.  

Flat? Wedge? Leather? I dunno exactly what style, but I know when I see it, I'll know I want it.

Any shoe suggestions???

Banter of a Bored Beauty Blogger

Hi lovely people.

I've been on the go the last 2 days, so I haven't been able to blog, let alone even go online.  So now that I'm done what I had to do, I'm trying to wind down and finding myself extremely bored lol. When I get bored, I talk non stop lol!!

I'm going to warn you that this is one of those posts where I'm just going to ramble, mumble, groan, moan about everything and anything that has stuck out to me in the last couple of days that I've been offline and away from my blog. haha. So if you aren't interested, click below to another post :)

Ok so I warned you :p

I was flipping through the free Superdrug beauty magazine (highly recommend picking it up), I noticed this......

 

Ok now seriously people.  For heaven's sake. What in the world does this little boy know anything about perfume? let alone nail polish, heck let alone music.  I'm sorry but this is marketing at it's worst, and this is why I don't trust the pop music industry, because they want to pawn off anyone onto different industries just to make money.  HAHA. Don't know why this one got me all fired up, but I'm sorry I won't be taking any fashion leads from the little boy or his team.

To balance my complete shock from that, I did happen to see something that was interesting.

The new Sleek collection - nude, demure, could be worth a look.

 

What do you all think of this?

 

And last but definitely not least, Superdrugs is having a promotion already on the BB Cream.  For those who have never used BB Cream, this BB Cream by Garnier is slightly different than the Asian BB Creams.  It is fresh/fruity scented, and has a more prevalent glow/shimmer.  I personally really like this.  If you have £8 to swing, try this BB Cream, before investing the more expensive ones. 

And you get an extra 25 bonus points too :)

Then I popped over to Boots as per usual (and 2 hrs later popped out lol), and saw this Revlon nail polish.  It looks like a wannabe Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance.  I use that term wannabe in a nice way however :)  Black base with purple hexagon and small to large glitters.  NICE!  Here is the gorgeous Facets of Fuschia. 

 

Just found out that there is a £2 off Revlon right now, so with the 3 for 2 sale making it a much better bargain (£6.49 rrp) that just made my mind up! I just wonder why I didn't get one last time I was there. Strange. I must go back in and investigate!!! :)

I also got the new Burberry Body perfume in the mail today.  It isn't the usual scent I go for, but it didn't "offend" my nose either.  It is a delicate, but warm scent.  I usually like fresh, slightly fruity/citrusy, "blue/water" based scents, but this one is quite understated sexy.

 

If you want a sample, you can go to their facebook page and follow the instructions there.

You can also go to the lancome facebook page and follow the instructions to pick up a free Lancome Visionnaire serum as well.  I had mine sent to my iphone, and showed it to them at the counter and it worked just as well.

Also on the 21st of this month, stop by your local YSL counter.  They will be giving out a sample of their mascara. I will be going to my local Debenhams to pick mine up and to also try out the Black Collection.  

YSL - Black Collection Nail Vernis

While I was at Debenhams recently with a friend, she picked up the Lancome #29 nail polish.  It is part of their new range.  I am not going to bother to do a whole post on it, but of course I tested it out.  I did the usual base coat, 2 coats, and seche vite topcoat. The gorgeous copper flecks inside the inky black base was stunning on the display.  My friend who usually doesn't buy expensive polish, fell in love and bought it immediately.  I'm here to tell you all to SAVE YOUR MONEY.  It is gorgeous to look at, but on your nails it is just a bumpy plain black polish.  You can barely see the golden/copper flakes (even in direct sunlight).  So I felt it was a completely waste of money.  

Speaking of "freebies", you all know I'm a sucker for free goods, but lately I've been obsessed with this extreme couponing lol.  

I'm not as into it as some are, but I can feel that rush of getting freebies, and none better to learn from then the people from my new favourite website

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

 Check out their beauty deal page, there are a lot of freebies going on right now.

Speaking of freebies. What is up with the magazines this month?? There isn't anything other than a tote bag for free this month. What gives?  I feel completely obsessed with my monthly magazine freebies, that I feel so empty without them this month.

And here's Oscar to tell you all he missed you guys xx

woof woof!

OK if you guys made it to the end of this post, then you are a trooper and you actually like reading what I write LOL

Write the words "GIVE ME MORE T&O" in my comments below, and I will pick one person to receive a mystery surprise package during the upcoming holidays :) xx

YSL Rouge Volupte 2 Sensual Silk

As you all know, I am a sucker for packaging.  I can not look away when something is so beautifully packaged.  I believe this is one of those items that sold me on the large beauty lot that I purchased last month.  It's a gorgeous gold tube with YSL cut out in the middle to give it that extra luxurious touch.  I thought the mirror on top of the lipstick tube was clever, but after the lipstick rattles around the makeup bag, the mirror does get scratched up pretty badly.  But I won't harp about that, because the rest of the packaging is just really lovely.

On top of the beautiful packaging, the colour is perfect for me.  It is a creamy nude with just enough pink in it to not wash me out.  It is lightly scented, and highly pigmented.  

 

I think that with every expensive lipstick, comes the question whether it is worth it or not.  Some base it's worth on whether or not it moisturizes your lips, and others base it on if it lasts a long time or not.  I personally found this to be one of the creamiest lipsticks that I have ever tried, so for that luxury alone, I would say that it is worth every penny just to feel this silky creamy texture.  If you want a lipstick that will last you all day long while you are at work or out on the town, this may not necessary be the lipstick for you.

Favourite Products of August 2011

Despite having tried and liking a lot of products, I wanted to show you the 4 products that I reached for everyday.  These are my favourite for last month.

Guerlain Meteorites Powder in Mythic 01

I actually have had this for almost 2 years now, and it continues to smell just absolutely amazing.  I love it. It's along the same lines of Physicians Formula Happy Booster powder, but 100x better.  It just puts me in a good mood.  I love the sheer matte coverage it gives me, and it sets my makeup without making it look too cakey.  Absolutely love this.

Laura Mercier Pink Suede Lip Palette

Well Laura Mercier and I do not get along. I just don't like how that company tries to pass off their expired makeup every year during their "friends and family" sale, and I decided to not purchase from them again. Well I didn't purchase this for per say, it came inside that huge makeup lot that I keep talking about.

I will however give credit where credit is due.  This is one of the best lip palettes that I have tried in a long time.  The palette offers 3 different colours, but because they all compliment each other, you can wear one, or mix two or mix all 3 together (which is what I do).  It gives me a perfect nude pink for day time.  So despite not liking this company, I have to say that this product is actually quite good.  I'm going to miss this once I'm done with it, but I will stick to my "boycott" and not repurchase this.

YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch in 1

I had some mixed feelings about this product when I first got it, but after using it all month long, I really have noticed that it helps a lot with making my face look brighter. I kept this in my bag with me along with the Laura Mercier lip palette. 

Last but definitely not least...

Christian Dior Forever Extreme Wear foundation in 022

This is a god set product for me, especially during my break out periods.  I love the coverage and love how it's the only liquid product that hasn't broken me out either.  It does say extreme wear and it is quite a heavy coverage, but I don't apply it all over during the day.  It's covers up 99% of my blemishes, and I love it very much.

I've definitely been obsessed with having flawless skin these days, so I'm always seeking out products that help me achieve that. I'm quite happy with my Dior extreme wear foundation. I'll be trying the Chanel Pro lumiere soon, and I hope to compare how those two worked for me.

So that's my favourite products of last month.

On other news, I finally finished my 6th product for my project 10 pan.

Goodbye MUFE duo mat powder

3 more to go!!

Thanks for visiting me today xx

and just a quick reminder that there is less than a week left on my

50 Follower Blog Giveaway!!                                                       

http://tokkiandoliver.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-time-is-it-its-giveaway-time.html

YSL Baume D'Ete tinted Lip Balm 6 Toffee

This is one of those products that I didn't think I would like, but boy was I wrong.

The YSL Baume D'ete tinted lip balm came part of my massive makeup lot that I was talking about a few days ago.  It was the least alluring of all the products, but slowly it has become my favourite.  I think initially I was put off by the "slightly too brown" colour, but on my lips, it was anything but brown.  It gave me a gorgeous nude gloss that highlighted my pink lips.  It is very nourishing and moisturising as well.

Also it says lip balm, but if you're like me, you are expecting a thick consistency.  This item is more like a lipgloss texture, so it's really easy to wear.

This lip balm ranges anywhere from £8-£18 online and on ebay :) I highly recommend it for those who want a lipgloss that is not sticky. This is really lovely ladies.

YSL Touche Brillance 3 Pink Quartz

YSL Touche Brillance Sparkling Touch For Lips lipgloss is a shimmery gloss that is pumped out of a pen.  You apply it with the brush end.  I think I'm so use to applying lipgloss with a wand, that I initially had mixed feelings about this.

After using this, I realised how much better it was to apply lipgloss or any lip product for that matter with a brush.  It helps control the application better.

  

3 Pink Quartz is a shimmery (slightly frosty) baby pink.

I would probably use this as a topper instead of on it's own due to the frosty shimmer to it.

 It also smells and taste fruity (and not in a bad way). It's surprising, because I usually don't like anything to taste like food on my lips unless it's actual food, but this has a sweet and pleasant scent, so for me that is a huge bonus.

You can purchase this for £21 at Boots, Debenhams, Selfridges and anywhere else YSL products have a concession.  

Would I repurchase this? Probably not, the colour is too frosty and for £21, I would probably invest in another Chanel lipgloss because they are by far my favourite lip glosses on the market.

DIY Lip colour: Illamasqua Explode and YSL Rouge Pur 59

How many times have you seen something online, and when you get it in your hands and apply it, it becomes your worst nightmare come true.  Sometimes lip colour doesn't work out, and then you are either stuck with that or trying to pawn it off online or onto your friends? 
Well today I got two that were horrible on me.  I mean you couldn't pay me enough money to go out the door wearing these.  I'm sure it looks good on someone, but it didn't on me.


YSL Rouge Pur 59 was way too warm for me.  It was a beautiful peach/gold lipstick, but on me it just looked way too orange.  
Illamasqua on the other hand was way too cool for me.  On my lips, it made me look super pale and like a corpse.  The blue was way too prominent on my lips.

Believe me, the YSL is much more orange/gold than that in real life

So what to do??? Well, I tried layering the YSL on top of other reds hoping that the gold would subside, but instead it protruded even more.  I seriously had orange lips this morning.  And although I'm sure some really funky a$$ girl could pull it off, I don't think I could.


So...I rummaged through my lippie bag, and found the Illmasqua that I threw in there weeks ago and remained neglected.  The fact that one was too warm and one was too cool, actually worked in each other's favour.  When mixed, I got this awesome colour

Gorgeous isn't it? Perfect day time colour for me. I think I need to rubber band these two together, since they will become a pair now.

So the moral of the story kids is, don't just reject a colour because it doesn't work out immediately for you.  Combine to see if you can discover a new colour that you will love xx

YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Shade 1

I really wanted this about 2 months ago, and then I got the Becca skin perfecter, so I thought I didn't want this, but when TJ Hughes was closing and I saw this in the locked up showcase, I just knew this was my chance to purchase this expensive highlighter at a fraction of the cost.  I ended up getting it for 30% off and I got instant gratification, because I could buy it then and there instead of hunting ebay for this (and possibly even getting a fake).  


I ended up purchasing Shade 1, which ironically was the only colour they had in stock.  I am glad YSL came out with more colours, because frankly what about all the warmer skinned girls?  So glad they came out with something to match woman of all colours.


This is what this pen looks like...

 

This is the clicker on the bottom

I literally had to click this about 15 times before my first pump came out, I was really worried it was faulty, but thankfully it finally started to come out

I drew a line around the colour, clearly my face isn't as pale as my arm, so it really does help brighten up my under eye, chin, above the eyebrow and any other place that I need some light to reflect on.

So what do I think about it?

I think that this pen costing $40 USD/£21 is quite an expensive highlighter for what you get.  I would like to say a little goes a long way, but it really doesn't.  I was also expecting the formula to have a bit more shimmer to it, but it really didn't.  So if you have dry skin/dry patches, this would appear to cake on that.  It does brighten up your face, but I guess for $40, I really expected it to brighten my eye area a little bit more.  I do find that the brush is soft and quite suitable for the eye area, but I'm just not that convinced this is a must have.  I will say however that it is convenient to take with you, and will be in my bag for this summer to highlight my areas. I also like the packaging, it is luxurious and nice to look at.  I wonder if the new colours have changed in formula, but like i said considering all the ads have the model's faces glowing, i was expecting more of a shimmer effect, but instead I just sort of got this lighter concealer/foundation type of finish.

Overall, I like it, but I probably won't repurchase this. I'm just glad I didn't pay $40 for it.

How do you like to wear this highlighter?

Does it work for you?

July's Top 10 Favourite Products

It's that time again. Another month gone, wow. So this month has been the month for pulling out the old products that I've had and frankly need to use before their shelf-life expires.  So there are some new products, but definitely some oldies.

My top 10 favourite and most reached products of July 2011 are:

* Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream

* Make Up For Ever Glossy Full Couleur lipgloss in 4

* Lorac Behind the scenes eye primer

* Lorac Front of the Line liquid eyeliner in black

* N.Y.C. Color wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Peach Glow

* NARS Okinawa eyeshadow trio

* Dior Diorsnow Whitening UV Spot Corrector

* MAC Seriously Hip Nail Polish

*Chanel Peridot Nail Polish

* YSL macara singulier

* W7 Mega Matte lips 

NARS OKINAWA

 

I usually shy away from matte eyeshadows, but these are not chalky at all and completely blend-able.  I just love the great pigmentation as well.

NYC Blush & Lorac liquid eyeliner

 

I reached for this blush quite a bit this month. Not sure why, I think I liked the neutral look of the pink/peach shade.  It wasn't too glitzy, just a nice matte colour for my cheeks.

The Lorac eyeliner is great.  I hate how some liquid eyeliners really drip and apply super heavy in the beginning and then tapers off to nothing, but as you can see, I was able to control my strokes.

MAC & CHANEL NP's

 What can I say, I loves these two polishes so much.  As I previously mentioned, the colours are wonderful and unique and the formula is superb.

Make Up For Ever lipgloss

 

It looks quite bright and bold in the bottle, but it is very sheer on the lips.

This gave me just enough brightness to liven up my face this month.

 YSL Mascara

I got this back in January as a gift in an exchange, and I didn't use it until this month.  The brush is one of my favourites to date. Doesn't clump and gives an even distribution of formula on the lashes. No spider eyes here :)

 Dior concealer and Lorac eyeshadow Primer

 

 I didn't knw if I could believe the hype about the Dior concealer actually lightening up my scars, but it does.  At least for me. I've noticed a slight lightening of my scars. Now I'm not sure if it's the concealer that's doing it or my BB cream, but whatever it is, it's ligthening up my face and I couldn't be happier!

The Lorac eyeshadow primer is just as good as my usual urban decay primer potion (which I ran out of).  It really helps keep my shadows on :)

W7 LIpgloss

 

As I mentioned in a previous post. I love this little cheapie lippie. It suits me, goes on wet, dries matte, but doesn't leave my lips dry either.  I am contemplating going back and buying more of these!

These are my most reached products this month?

What is your number 1 product you reached for this month?

Share please, I'd love to see what everyone is using xx