Miracle Matte! FACT!

I totally missed the buzz around this new launch.. was there one? I was wandering around Boots at the weekend and spied a big display.. couldn't resist! I haven't trialled many foundations in the past 6 months.. not since I started using BB cream but I'm on a roll now and after the Maybelline foam disappointed me I thought I'd give this a go. Matte is always what I'm aiming to be but I rarely achieve it, I suffer from an oily t-zone and the occasional dry patch so it's tough to find a foundation that suits my combination skin while leaving me shine free.. this ticks all the boxes!If you're looking for something mattifying but non-drying this might just be for you. I didn't even need a powder!

I was also really impressed by their shade range for us paler girls. It's not going to be great for anyone darker than "biscuit" which I know isn't ideal but I can so rarely find a shade pale enough and with 6 colours from the paler side of the spectrum I'm pleased!I think this colour match is better than my beloved NARS mont blanc which is HUGE and definitely has me considering other 17 foundations.

It does need blending well around creases/pores as it will be visible if not. You can see in the photo below.. this is AFTER blending, effort is required and that might not be for everyone!!

That's my one issue with this foundation.

It offers a medium coverage.. I wouldn't want to build on a matte finish. Once dry they don't blend well so if you want something heavy this isn't for you but amazingly this stuff stayed matte ALL DAY! In the house all day with central heating on, getting out with the pushchair to school... not a single sign of shine. I can't tell you how impressed I am. 

 

I picked mine up for the intro price of £4.99 (link)

But the RRP of £5.99 is so affordable for what has instantly become my new favourite matte foundation. The funny thing is I went in to Boots seriously considering treating myself the new Chanel Perfection Lumiere (£36 here) but they couldn't match me, ha!

Miss BB

Saturday Sparkle

I popped to Boots today on the hunt for these new 17 Wild Metallics eye shadows and came home with a few more bits all of which seemed to lean on the sparkly side.. hence the title of this post. I can tell you I am more than happy with my purchases and I got everything in this post for less than £15! That's 3 Nail Polishes, 3 Eyeshadows, a Liquid Liner and a Lip Gloss.. now that's bargain hunting! First up I had to decide between the gorgeous new shades from 17. I must admit I was drawn immediately to the neutrals and I may just have to go back for them later but I decided to go for these... more party friendly for the upcoming season I thought.

Wild Silver and Wild Midnight Blue. The consistency is more mousse than cream/gel. I'd liken it to Maybellines Dream Matte stuff crossed with Rimmels Colour Mousse range.. consider it a sparkly lovechild of the two. The reason I decided to go for these shades in the end was my absolute hatred of glitter fallout. These seem to have just as much impact as your average glitter-packed shadows without any of the annoying side effects migrating to your cheeks. I can't wait to try them out in a look.. I'll try and make it a tutorial and really road test them for longevity for you guys. I'd imagine as with all cream-type eye colours these will crease but that shouldn't be a problem if you use a primer or even a powder shadow over the top.. again this is all speculation.. I will let you know once I've tried it for myself. I'm almost certainly going to be going back for more colours as they are just £3.99 (can be bought here).. very reasonable if you ask me!

Another awesome bonus from 17 is the free gift you get right now if you purchase 2 or more products. I already knew I had to have at least 2 of the new shadows so I was on to a winner before I even stepped in the store. The Femme Noir gift set is a really cool freebie, the contents of which exceeds my total purchase price for the other 2 products as it is so really terrific value for me.

In the set you get a Glitter Eyshadow in Night Sky (which I cannot wait to try over the metallic silver!!!), a liquid liner in black and an Ultimate Volume lip gloss in Very Berry. The glitter shadow is a wash of gun metal sparkle, the liquid liner is pretty basic but will be used and the lip gloss is GORGEOUS! The absolute perfect shade for the holiday season.. I just can't believe it was free!

Lastly here are the other bits I picked up. I was on the look out for Models Own Juicy Jules which unfortunately was out of stock so for the same money I bought 2 polishes from Barry M. Hologram is a repurchase.. Mine dried out forever ago and I've been meaning to replace it for the longest time and Peach Melba is a relatively new addition to the range which having seen all over the blogsphere was also on my list so it didn't take long to pick once I was at the stand. After I'd paid for my purchases I received one of those lovely £5 off No7 vouchers which was nice so I went and got ANOTHER polish (money) which ended up costing me £2!! It was a great day for bargain hunting!

I also bought my wedding dress from Primark for £17 for anyone interested... I posted about it on my other blog here. Like I said... great day for budget shopping.

I feel like I haven't shopped in forever, I've just had no spare cash and now I'm saving for a new laptop I really don't want to part with any that I don't have to but I guess I'll have to get used to spending less with the baby on the way.. still... don't expect my blog to run dry. I will always have something to say as long as you're here to listen.

Magnetic Polish in Practice

This magnetic nail polish trend seems to have really taken off. I was really excited about it when I first heard and couldn't wait to try it. So many brands are launching their own version I wanted to try as many as I could to let you guys know which was best value.. so far I've tried two and I thought I'd share some pictures and my experience so far...

17 Magnetised in Gun Metal £5.99

&

Nails Inc Magnetic Polish in House of Parliament £13.00

I would like to point out I bought my Nails Inc polish from BuyaPowa last week in their deal. It ended up going for £7.00 so I paid 46% less than the RRP.

Here are some pictures of my nails...magnetised....

Ok... now you've seen them I have some thoughts I'd like to share. Firstly...Magnetic nail polish... not easy! It looks like it would be a piece of cake, right? Like the simplest nail art ever... not so! It is really really tricky to master. I've only done it twice and I can tell you that one formula was definitely easier than the other but I haven't perfected the application just yet. I haven't read anything about how the polish actually works but if I had to guess I would say it contains tiny iron particles (like the games you got as a kid where you could move the guys hair around... remember?) so when you hold a magnet over-top it draws those particles to the surface. I had a real tough time with the 17 version, You have to get the magnet (in the detachable lid) very close to your nail to draw out the pattern and I was convinced I was touching my nail and messing up my polish but it turned out the polish was touching the magnet... not the other way around...

From what I can tell the thickness has a lot to do with this. This is where it gets really tricky. You really only have one chance to get a full coverage per nail and you're advised to use a generous coat of polish but I think that's a mistake. The thicker the coat of the polish the more the iron particles lift toward the magnet and smudge your nails. Unfortunately if the application is too thin the magnet wont pick up any pattern at all. This is where the two brands differ. The 17 version needs a couple of coats or one really thick one if you're going to get an opaque finish, the Nails Inc is a one coat job. It's so difficult to explain in a blogs post which is why I have a video review in the works but I hope you don't find this totally pointless.

You can see from my pictures the Nail Inc polish gave me much better results.. the 17 was smudged due to the lifting problem I experienced. I have seen lots of positive reviews about the 17 version so don't think my review is the be all and end all... it's just my opinion. Perhaps these people have laid down one thin coat first and then another coat which they've gone on to magnetise.. I don't know. I will keep at it and once I've perfected it I will do my best to produce a How-To, right now I just wanted to share my experience so far.

Neither brand made this an easy effect to achieve and both chipped quickly which was very disappointing given how long it takes to apply. I like the effect, it changes depending on the lighting, the angle, allsorts. It's very unusual but I don't know whether it's worth all the effort.

Have you tried any magnetic polishes yet?

Thoughts?

No17 Mirror Shine

I saw these first on pearls and poodles blog and I knew I had to have them. 

They are No17s sheer lipstick range "mirror shine"

It's like a cross between a lipstick and a gloss and it feels balmy when on your lips, gorgeous! I picked up two shades... only one was in a fit state to photograph unfortunately but I will be repurchasing the second and going back for more so you can expect further posts on these because I love them! 

They remind me of something no7 did years and years ago, My Grandma gave me an old lipstick that looks like a very dark plummy red but on my lips it was a really sheer "just bitten" shade and I loved it. At the time I was probably only 9 or 10 but I fell in love with that lipstick and I've never found anything that was so similar until now. There were two many to choose from but I will definitely expand my collection while the 3 for 2 offer is still on at Boots. I picked up Hollywood (pictured below) and Nudist Peach which is an incredibly flattering and easy way to wear a nude lip if you're scared of going the full hog - I will swatch as soon as I can because that's my favourite colour for sure. Since I bought these I've looked up so many reviews and the stand out recommended shade is Beehive, it's commonly compared to Hue by MAC which intrigues me.

How many of you were already on this glossy bandwagon and why did nobody tell me about it?????