Barry M Textured Nail Effects

Barry M is my absolute favourite brand for nail polish on the high street. They have such a massive range of colours and they're all of a really high quality. They're also pretty quick when it comes to new trends too - releasing products similar to higher end brands at a fraction of the price.

 

Nails Inc have recently released a concept called "concrete nails", which as the name suggests, creates a finish similar to concrete on your nails (basically, it has a textured finish). Barry M have since released their own collection of extremely similar polishes - the textured nail effects. Barry M's offerings come in four shades - Atlantic Road (blue), Ridley Road (mint green), Station Road (pale yellow) and Kingsland Road (pastel pink), which is the one I have to show you today!

 

 

 

 

 

The photos above show 3 thin coats of "Kingsland Road". As you can see, the finished effect is matte and grainy.

 

In terms of application, this applied pretty much like any normal polish (the effect doesn't begin to show until the polish starts drying). It does have a slightly thinner consistancy than the regular Barry M nail paints, but it doesn't make it difficult to work with at all.

 

 I have only worn this on the nails once, and so I can't really give a fair comment on the staying power, but it lasted roughly 2 days or thereabouts.

 

I do think it's a really cool effect, but I'm just glad Barry M have brought out an affordable version as I couldn't see myself spending £12 on the Nails Inc one! I'm sure the Nails Inc one is probably better quality/longer lasting than this, but as I change my nail polish pretty much every other day, it doesn't matter all that much to me.

 

The Textured Nail Effects are priced at £3.99 each and are available from Boots and Superdrug.



Benefit Sun Beam

As the weather is getting slightly better, Ive found myself reaching for this more and more. I use Benefit's High Beam almost daily and I love the look it gives, but as the sun is showing itself at the minute, I find myself using Sun Beam more regularly instead.

 

 

 

 

 

This is essentially the same concept as High Beam, the difference being it is gold/bronze-toned whereas High Beam is pink-toned.

 

"This golden bronze highlighter gives you a natural, sunkissed radiance. Dot & blend over makeup on to cheek & brow bones for a bronzed glow that complements all skintones. It’s liquid sunshine in a bottle!"

 

I think 'sunshine in a bottle' is a perfect way of describing this. It makes your cheek/brow bones look like you've spent a week in the sun! I tend to use this on my cheekbones mainly, and I actually find it's a lot more subtle on my skin tone than high beam is.

 

It gives just the right amount of colour and shimmer without looking over the top. It's really easy to blend and will stay put on top of your make up all day.

 

This is a miniature version (4ml) which you can buy here for £8.00. The full-sized version (13ml) is £18.50 and available from Benefit and Boots.



L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Tempting Lilac

I am not a massive fan of lipsticks - I love how they look on other people, but I always seem to dislike how they look on me. If I do wear a lip product, it will be a nude or subtle colour rather than a bright, bold lip.

 

I have a few of the Revlon Lip Butters, and I always find myself reaching for them. I had heard a lot of comparisons between the Lip Butters and this offering from L'Oreal, and so I decided to purchase one of them, in the shade 'Tempting Lilac'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A flutter of kissably soft, lightweight feeling colour. It's delicate texture glides onto lips creating a veil of colour with a luminous shine".

 

This is essentially a product which claims to have the pigmentation of a lipstick, but with the moisturising properties of a lipbalm. Whilst it's not quite as pigmented as you'd expect from a standard lipstick, it does have a relatively good amount of colour payoff. Personally I like this as I am not a bold lip lover, but I would say it's pretty buildable should you wish.

 

Despite the name "Tempting Lilac", to me, this isn't really a lilac at all. It's more of a mauve colour, but personally I love it. It's a very neutral colour and I think it would suit most skin tones.

 

These are extremely similar in consistency to the Revlon Lip Butters - they are really hydrating and leave a lovely sheen on your lips. I would say these are even more moisturising than the Revlon ones though!

 

The glossiness lasts around an hour on me, but the colour stays on fairly well - I'd say it lasts around 4 hours before I feel the need to touch up. It also wears off evenly so it won't look ridiculous if you forget to take it out with you for touch ups!

 

These are available in 10 different colours, and I will definitely be picking up some more! I do think they're a little on the pricey side, but they're definitely worth it!

 

These are £8.19 and available from Boots and Superdrug.

W7 Nail Polish in Mosaic

I had been eyeing up the Nails Inc 'Sprinkle' polishes for a while, but I just wasn't sure if I'd get enough use out of them to justify spending £11 on one. However, while I was looking through a website called Nail Polish Direct the other day, these W7 polishes caught my eye. After googling them, I found this one was a pretty good match to Nails Inc 'Pudding Lane', so at £1.95 and free delivery, I had to get one!

 

 

 

(L-R 1 coat of Mosaic over Barry M Turquoise, 3 coats of Mosaic)

 

The polish has quite a sheer blue base, and so it takes roughly 3/4 coats to make it opaque. You can obviously layer it over a similar blue colour like I did with the Barry M Turquoise, but I personally prefer the effect it gives when you layer it up alone.

 

The finish of this is quite matte, and the glitter particles feel quite rough once it's dry. Despite using 3 or 4 coats, it dries really quickly, which is great as it means you're not waiting around for it to dry!

 

In terms of lasting power, it's not the greatest. However this doesn't bother me much as I change my polish quite regularly anyway, but if you like a polish to stay on for a week or so then this won't be for you, as I find it only lasts around 2 days.

 

I do like the effect this polish gives, but I am glad I didn't splash out on the Nails Inc one as I'm just not sure I will wear it all that often. That being said, for £1.95 it's a complete bargain, and there's also two other colours which give a similar effect.

 

I'm not sure if you can buy W7 on the high street. I got mine from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk and I would 100% recommend them. I chose the free delivery option and my order arrived the very next day! Impressive.

Sanctuary Foaming Shower Mousse

Wow, it's been over a week since I last wrote a post! As much as I'd love to give you some exciting reason why I haven't blogged this week, the real reason is that I've been rearraging my bedroom and buying new furniture etc, so as you can imagine my room's been an absolute chaotic mess this week! Hence, no time for blog posts!

 

However, my room is now tidy and complete with new storage systems and wardrobe so normal blogging shall resume as of now!

 

I picked this up in Boots on a complete whim - I had heard of Sanctuary before but I had never tried any of their products. I thought this looked really nice so I picked it up and decided to give it a whirl.

 

 

 

"This indulgent liquid to Sanctuary Foaming Shower Mousse instantly envelops your body in a rich and creamy lather for a really sumptuous soft skin feel."

 

This contains a "blend of protective vitamin E and B5 along with sandalwood and patchouli essential oils known to soften and smooth".

 

I really like the mousse consistency of this - it's really lightweight and it sinks into your skin as soon as you apply it. Despite it being lightweight, you can really feel it cleaning your skin, and it smells amazing too, really fresh and clean.

 

The packaging is lovely too, and the 'nozzle' that the foam comes out from feels really well-made and sturdy.

 

This has fast become one of my favourite shower products and I will definitely be repurchasing when this runs out.

 

This is £5.50 and available from Boots and from the Sanctuary website. 



Soap & Glory Goodies

I actually received this Soap & Glory set for Christmas from my parents, and I was going to post about it ages and ages ago but never got round to it, so I thought seeing as you can buy all these products individually throughout the year I'd do a mini review of each of them.

 

 

 

 

The set I received was "Shower Trip", which contained minis of 'The Scrub of Your Life', 'Calm One, Calm All', 'Girligo', 'Clean on Me', 'Hand Food' and 'The Righteous Butter'.

 

The Scrub of Your Life (£7.00 for 200ml)

This is one of Soap & Glory's most popular body scrubs, and I can definitely see why. It's scented with the traditional S&G fragrance, which I personally like but I know it's not to everyone's taste. It's not a particularly harsh scrub so it's good for daily use and it works really well. It's good for smoothing the skin and keeps your skin feeling silky smooth all day.

 

Calm One, Calm All (£5.50 for 500ml)

This is a bubble bath which S&G claim to have a "built in body lotion". It foams up really well when you pour it into your bath water, and it does seem to make your skin feel moisturised after use, however I do tend to still use a body butter afterwards! It smells lovely too, and the bubbles last for ages in your bath water!

 

Girligo (£6.50 for 250ml)

This is the product that confused me most! It's marketed as a 'body moisturising mist', but after finding this out I was still none the wiser! I think it's basically just a moisturising liquid which you spray all over the body after you've showered or had a bath, and I must admit that despite being slightly baffled by it at first, it actually is a really good product! It smells lovely and makes your skin extremely soft and moisturised without leaving your skin feeling greasy!

 

Clean on Me (£5.50 for 500ml)

This is one of S&G's best selling shower gels. As with all of these products, it smells beautiful. It's slightly different from a 'traditional' shower gel, it's more of a shower creme, but it works wonders for making your skin soft. It lathers up really nicely too, so you really feel as if your skin is getting cleaned thoroughly!

 

Hand Food (£5.00 for 125ml)

Ah, Hand Food. I have used this for an absolute age now and I am always grateful for a backup supply of it! In case you don't know (or didn't guess from the name of it), Hand Food is a hand cream! I may have a slight obsession with hand creams, but this is by far my favourite and is one I always seem to end up repurchasing, no matter how many others I try! It sinks into the hands really quickly and leaves them feeling moisturised for hours. I honestly suggest everyone tries this asap!

 

The Righteous Butter (£10.50 for 300ml)

I actually have already done a more in-depth review of this which you can read here, but this is one of my all-time favourite body butters. It's amazing for moisturising and soothing the skin, and the skin remains that way for the entire day. I actually prefer this body butter to the infamous Body Shop ones!

 

As you can see, I am a huge fan of every single product in this set. In fact, I'm just a huge fan of Soap & Glory in general. I do love all of these products, but it's not necessary to have them all at the same time, as a lot of them do similar jobs, but I guess it's nice to chop and change products every once in a while!



MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

I had been umming and ahhing over this for literally the longest time, and shockingly (maybe) this is actually the first mac item I have purchased. I have long lusted after their amazing range of lipsticks, but I just don't wear lipstick often enough to justify spending nearly £15 on one. However, I did need a new face powder, and after reading numerous amazing reviews on this, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it, and god am I glad I did!

 

 

 



 

 

"A luxurious domed face powder with minerals, slowly baked to provide a dimensional yet natural-matte finish. Provides perfect low coverage. Use to set and fix foundation or as a touch-up throughout the day".

 

This powder is genuinely the best I have ever used. Yes, it's expensive, but it really is worth it. When you apply to your face it feels very silky and soft, and you can really tell it is good quality. The finish it gives is amazing, and it really does make your skin look flawless. It mattifies your skin without making it look dull.

 

The only negative about this is that it's not the most amazing powder for controlling oil, so if you have extremely oily skin I probably wouldn't recommend it, but if you have just slightly oily skin like me, or dry skin then this would be perfect for you.

 

I generally use this to set my foundation, but on the rare occasion I have worn it alone, it makes your skin look even and although it doesn't conceal much, it does make you look healthier and more awake.

 

I would recommend this if you're on the lookout for a new powder. It's really good quality and it makes your skin look almost flawless. I have found that no matter how much you apply, your skin will not look cakey, although you do only need the tiniest amount.

 

This is £21 and available from Debenhams and House of Fraser.