Something Glossy For the Guys

I was SO excited when I saw this advertised in last months Glossybox. My other half is very much a modern man, somewhat of a "metro-sexual" you might say so I knew I had to subscribe to the new

Glossybox for Men

In this post I'll show you what he got in his first months box

His review with more product info will follow once he's had chance to try them out.

Personally I like the first box. The products are all things he'd try and nice sizes, The Cool Fix for example will last him a few months. I'm sure the Goldwell hair gel will go down well as he's always looking for something that will tame his unruly barnet but would never pay Goldwell prices. It's also a nice little tub to reuse for travelling.

It's great that someone has finally acknowledged that men want to look after themselves too. I think this is the perfect way for guys that don't necessarily feel comfortable going up to a counter and asking for advice to try lots of different products in the comfort of their own home and potentially find something they love in the process. Of course It won't appeal to all men but I know it will appeal to mine!

Glossybox for Men is a quarterly service in which you will receive 7 luxury sized samples.

It's priced at £15.00 per box + shipping and you can subscribe here

Miss BB

MAC Glitter & Ice - What I bought

So I finally picked up what I decided were the must-haves of the new MAC Glitter & Ice Collection last night. The Paint Pot in Morning Frost and the Glitter Polish Unconditionally Fabulous.

The polish was one I knew I'd regret if I didn't buy it and I wasn't wrong. It's beautiful and would absolutely "Christmas Up" anything you applied it over the top of.  The glitter is dense enough you could build an opaque glitter polish with 2 or 3 coats and it's nice and evenly distributed for it to work well as a topcoat. For those wondering the polish I have on underneath is Soft Grey from Beauty UK (look out for NOTD post soon). I thought it would look nice and frosty and it really does, very festive!

The paint pot is a very neutral shimmery shade.. on my hand it looked perfect and I must mention it is super long wearing. Once it was on there was no budging it and on my eyes it didn't seem to crease. I am disappointed though, it's a lot lighter on my lids than I anticipated. I thought it would give more impact but it's kind of blah. I didn't buy "let's skate" because it seemed really similar to "Chilled on Ice" which I purchased from the Champale collection. I do love my neutral tones but this is nothing special. Not many paint pots do it for me but i was so hoping this one would. Shame. 

I picked up a foundation and concealer while I was there but I will blog about those separately.

There's nothing else I'm DYING for from the Glitter & Ice collection. I loved the Snowglobe beauty powder, mainly because of the name but when I swatched it in store it really was beautiful and I'd also have loved to get a brush set but this close to baby and Christmas I'm trying to reign in the spending a touch. I figured I was entitled to a little pre-birth treat though ;)

Miss BB 

MAC Glitter & Ice Must-Haves

This year hasn't been fantastic for MAC Collections in my opinion so I wasn't excited about the Holiday sets.. in fact I wasn't even aware of them until yesterday when they were already available online. I believe they launched in stores today. What appealed to me with this collection was the packaging first and foremost. Its got the classic clean MAC lines we all know and love but it's WHITE! It's like they've joined forces with apple and then sprinkled it in glitter... beautiful! I'm a sucker for anything festive and with names like Snowglobe I was sold almost immediately. I knew I had to have something in white packaging and I thought it would be tricky to choose but it really wasn't. There were other bits and pieces I wouldn't mind either but these are my top picks...

Mineralize Eye Shadow in Snow Season £16.50

Paint Pot in Morning Frost £14.00

Lipstick in Such Flare £14.00 

Make It Perfect Brush Kit £39.50

Nail Laquer in Unconditionally Fabulous £10.00

Beauty Powder in Snowglobe £20.50

 OK so that's a pricey shopping trip... I think my must haves will be the nail polish, the beauty powder, the lipstick and the paint pot which comes to...£58.50?... eek! Now I remember why I stay away from the MAC counter. Beautiful though!

Will you be picking anything up from the Glitter & Ice collection?

Barry M Silver VS Barry M Foil

When I first saw Barry M's Foil polish launch I immediately thought of the old "Silver"

I always thought the silver came off as a "foil" or "minx" like finish so I was dubious as to whether they were just rebranding the old formula at a higher price. Being the curious blogger I am I had to test it out...here's what I found...

Surprisingly they are totally different! I thought I'd hate the foil and begrudge paying a pound more for something I effectively already have covered from Barry M but far from it. I must stress that the pictures below show my nails after ONE COAT of the foil effects polish... that puts it way up in my estimations already but also.. it's a totally new addition to my collection. As you can see from the below pictures the silver (on my thumb and forefinger) is very much a sparkly finish. It's made up of lots of fine glitter and took three coats to achieve a full coverage. It's still a lovely polish but I have to admit if you're looking for foil... it doesn't compare. I may even go out and buy the gold one now.

Man I hate to be wrong!

Have you tried this yet?

NOTD - Miners Plum

Plum, a beautiful, wearable raspberry shade. The easiest formula I've applied in a long time, I might have been able to get away with just the one coat. Even within one brand formula can be hit and miss so I'm really pleased with this one.

I'll remind you this is from the A/W collection I blogged about previously.

This is the only colour that's not *new* for the season. It's a relaunch but it's my favourite of the five.

You can shop the A/W collection here for at £2.99 each

New Nails from Miners - A/W '11

This week I received the new Miners A/W Nail Polish shades to review. When I first saw them online I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, they are so different to last years A/W collection. This time around they've gone for glossy opaque colours where as previously Miners have favoured the shimmery/frost finishes which I'm not entirely on board with. Before I even begin I love "Weekend in Paris" which may seem like a boring old red but it's a little on the pink side and different to any other I have in my collection. As we near the festive season I can't get enough of red nail polish. Without further ado.. here they are..

L-R - Fairytale of New York, London Calling, Bangkok Blues, Weekend in Paris and Plum

The first I tried was Fairytale of New York, it's the one colour I'd have never picked up so I guess I was out of my comfort zone. I wasn't expecting much and I wasn't exactly wowed. I don't think green is the best colour on me and this is not the autumnal shade I'd have chosen. It's more like a racing green. I really love the Miners formula, they go on nicely in two coats and are reasonably chip-resistant so I will definitely get through the rest of the collection and post as and when I wear them.

You can buy the new range from Miners.co.uk priced at £2.99 each

Have you tried anything from this budget brand?

Fashionista Arrives at Superdrug

You may already have heard about the new Fashionista range that hit Superdrug this week. I'm not sure if it's available in stores yet or just online (nowhere near me has it yet that's for sure). If their site is anything to go by the range will be a comprehensive one but right now all that's launched are the custom palettes. Lucky for me that's what I was most interested in!

The palette itself retails at £5 and there are 49 eyeshadows and 12 blushers which fit in the palette each at just £4. You could create a seasonal blush palette, an eyeshadow quad or mix and match for travel. I LOVE customisable ANYTHING as you know so this is what really has me excited about the Fashionista brand. You may remember I posted about The Saturday's magnetic nail polish? Well that's part of this range too! I'm interested to see everything else they introduce and will be getting my hands on a palette as soon as they arrive in my local store.

For now you can buy it from Superdrug online here

Have you tried anything from this range yet?

*EDIT*

I've since bought a palette..

you can find my swatches and review here

All New Eyeko?

I'd heard a little about the Eyeko relaunch but to be frank I couldn't have been less interested. Back when I was a newbie blogger I signed up to their ambassador scheme as it seemed 'the thing to do' at the time and sure I made a little money but I wasn't that interested in their products. I had bought some stuff to review in the hope I'd generate some commission but I just wasn't that impressed. I got rid of my affiliate badge from my blog and tried to forget about the whole sorry affair. This was quite some time ago and you can see why I didn't jump up and down when their new site launched.
That being said..something made me want to take a look today and I have to say... I'm interested. First and foremost their new stuff is available exclusively at Harvey Nichols (talk about re branding) and secondly their packaging is completely different. Their previous cartoon-esque designs seemed to devalue the products and nothing seemed good value for money. This was supposed to be a budget brand originally sold in Superdrug stores.. it all just seemed over-priced for what it was. The prices haven't reduced by any means but the products look a little more high end and well.. worth it.

The relaunch isn't yet complete. Right now all that's available is a variety of mascaras and eyeliners but the range will expand slowly over the coming months. Unfortunately where I would usually wait to see what bloggers have to say before I take the plunge and make an order Eyeko seem to have them all blinded by their affiliate commission so it will be tricky to find an honest review. I know this because I myself was sucked in to the same scheme.. I just find it so hard to promote something I don't really love. So I'm asking you.. my readers.. as and when and if you already have tried the new Eyeko range.. let me know what you think! If I make a trip to Leeds before the baby is born (it's possible) I will be sure to check out the Eyeko counter myself but in the meantime if you see a review you think is genuine or try something for yourself I would love to know. I'm willing to give them another go.

You can find Eyeko's new site here
Prices currently start at £9.50 for a skinny eyeliner

Look!! New Budget Beauty Brand!!

This is just a quick buzz about the new makeup range launching from Look Magazine. It arrives in selected Superdrug Stores today but as far as I can tell it's not online yet. It's a comprehensive debut offering everything fom foundation to nail polish with prices ranging from £4 to £18. I've heard the packaging  is a hit and miss with beautifully comissioned artwork on some items and nothing but clear perspex on others... Why not keep the branding consistent? It's all speculation at this stage as I haven't seen any of it in person but any new budget makeup brand is going to peek my interest so I thought I'd let you know what I do so far. As soon as I know more or better still have it in my hands I will post again, in the meantime if any of you have managed to get a peek already.. what are your thoughts??

The Saturdays Launch Magnetic Nail Polish

A few days ago I blogged about the uber-hyped Nails Inc magnetic nail polish that hit the beauty world this week.. well now there's something new! Since I put up that post I learned Boots 17 have their own version coming out AND The Saturdays are launching a range too. It's an exciting time for your fingertips!

Now I don't have all of the information yet but I couldn't wait to share my glee in anticipation of this arriving in Superdrug next month. There will be 5 shades available retailing at £6 each, the magnets will be available separately at £3 each. What I'm hoping is that there will be 5 different patterns to choose from (magnet-wise) because that's what I think its really missing from the Nails Inc line, the ability to create different effects in the shade of your choice. I'm also very interested to see whether these magnets will be interchangeable from brand to brand. You'd expect so, I mean a magnet is a magnet, right? But if a brand can make it exclusive to their product I know they will. I can't wait to see how these work in practice and you can be sure I'll be trialling as many versions as I can get my hands on but these are the one's I'm most looking forward to.

Have any of you tried magnetic nails yet?

Magnetic Nail Polish????

Excited? Me too!

Nails Inc have launched this fabulous new polish and you can buy online here

At £13 a bottle it's not cheap but is it not the coolest nail polish EVER???

There are 3 shades to choose from,

Big Ben : Metallic Gold

Trafalgar Square : Metallic Silver/Chrome

Houses of Parliament : Metallic Purple

I'm finding it really difficult to choose between them but I'm leaning towards the silver.

It's not on the boots website yet so I'm not sure if it wil be in their stores. I'm putting in my order online now.. not risking missing out in store... must try this as soon as humanly possible.

Have any of you managed to get your hands on this stuff yet?

Tell me it's as awesome as I hope!!!

Can you keep a secret?

I "borrowed" the images above from the Nails Inc website...

I'm advertising their product for free... I figured they wouldn't mind