Happy Christmas Eve!

Prizes:
Revlon 'Love is On' gift set 

• 'Perfect Pair' gel envy nail polish
• Colorstay 16 hour eyeshadow palette
• Photoready 3D Volume mascara
• Lip Butter (doesn't say which one is included, I guess it's a 'nude' shade) 

KIKO 'Skin Trainer - Anti Spot' SPF 20 serum
Clinique Sculptwear Lift and Contour serum for face and neck
OPI 'Avojuice' coconut and melon hand and body lotion
Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in 'Sparkling Ruby'
Mini BedHead Manipulator hair styler putty gel thingy
Multiple random skin care samples

Rules:

Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm well aware we're nearly finishing February :(



Johnson's Face Cream - already repurchased because it's classy and has SPF in it and it's also very cheap and I like all of those things.

Barry M Base Coat - may repurchased, may not, I liked the fact that I could use it right down to the very last drop and it didn't thicken or anything, but it wasn't great at stopping chips. I'll shop around, see if there is anything better at a similar price point because again, this is very cheap.

MUA Pro 3 in 1 Eye Liner - I used this as a quick and easy eyebrow fill, but don't really like it as an eyeliner - far too soft, and not black enough. Wouldn't spend money on it.

£2.99 well spent, I'll give you that.



A very nice nude polish on my skin, but it's not one dimensional in colour as so many other nude cremes are. When I first saw this, I was convinced that the undertones were yellow, but viewing it outside in overcast weather, it looked almost like a muted purple. Most of the time, it hovers somewhere between the two depending on what angle you view it from. An achievement for a budget creme polish, yes?



Compared to Barry M's previous naming efforts, I'd say the title of this one is spot on.

Feel free to view it SUPAH SHINEE



I usually don't add an especially shiny topcoat onto my nude polishes if I'm aiming for manniquin hands, as the human body isn't especially shiny (unless you're sweating buckets or something) so I find it looks unnatural. But since this isn't any old nude polish, I thought it called for it.



Random fact: I think I prefer this with one coat, compared to two. No idea why...though in these pictures, you're seeing two coats.
This lasted, chip free (minimal tipwear) for four days on me - pretty damn good when polish is often falling off my nails within the hour.

The NPLQ is the qualification you need to lifeguard in a pool in the UK, and it's a week long course that I've just completed. Basically, they teach you how to save someone in the water, CPR, First Aid and all the sorts of things you'd need to know to do your job effectively. And we were in the water for hourssss each day (OK, perhaps not 9 and a 1/2. But a LONG TIME.) Naturally, I couldn't NOT wear makeup where other people were around...but I had to improvise.

Behold:



We have an Active Cosmetics Eye/Lip palette, a Barry M 3 in 1 (supposedly) Nail Strenghthener, Base Coat and Top Coat, an MUA nail polish in 'Shade 9', a NYC top coat, an Urban Decay 'Zero' eyeliner and an MUA Pro twist up eyeliner. Apologies for the somewhat natural background, as we've moved house I'm yet to find another suitably brightly lit, flat white surface to photograph products on. Until I construct a light box (or miraculously locate such a surface) photos will be taken outside...



The soft texture of the MUA pencil makes it easy to blend, which is why I use it primarily for filling in my eyebrows. It's not the blackest black, which means that I can overapply a little and I don't look scary/angry. It's slightly oily texture means that it holds up decently in the water, as long as it's not rubbed, and I was too busy desperately trying to follow instructions and swim while dragging big heavy teenage boys to the other side of the pool to start fiddling with my eyebrows, yo. The two lines underneath are the MUA pencil. The big 'UD' is the Urban Decay one...sensible to wear a waterproof pencil in the water, no?



I was planning to have painted nails all week, but these were my hands by the end of the first day - not great! I remember the teacher trying to teach us how to do a spinal board (google, because it's too long to explain here) and we had to support the casualty with our palms facing down. I was staring at my hideously chipped nails as opposed to worrying about the 'casualty' with a potential spinal injury...

At first, I suspected it was merely the brand (even though I'd had no problems with chippping using MUA polishes in the past) so I then painted them with a Barry M polish the next day (same thing) and finally a Nails Inc one (not even a freebie, a genuine, £11 bottle of Nails Inc polish) and the exact same thing happen. Clearly, no brand is immune to prolonged immersion in the toxic soup of chlorine, baby vomit and piss that constitutes poolwater.



Please excuse my photographing of hideously used and abused makeup (I guess that vouches for it's effectiveness? Lol...) but we've misplaced the baby wipes in the move so it's not even like I could clear this up. Regardless, I used one of the lip colours as a blush and a lip tint in the pool, because it's waxy texture meant that it's somewhat water resistant.


A tiny dab like that, mixed with a little moisturiser on the palm of the hand, then BLEND BLEND BLEND like it's the UN truck out of a war zone once applied to the cheek. Then you're good to go. Apply to the lips as normal, though I think I stopped bothering with lip colour after the second day.


 I never had it quite that bright, though...


 This cloud is a seven.

It was actually rather pleasant taking photos and blogging outside. Might become a regular thing!


The mini trampoline which I was lazing around on while taking photographs.


 New garden!



I stumbled upon some rare, highly sought after blue grass. It doesn't look at all like it's been painted with MUA's Shade 9...

I say slightly redundant because I've pretty much not hauled anything this month. Between Duke of Edingburgh, family members coming to stay, and that huge boner kill of not having any funds, it's been a spend free month :( Apart from prom shopping. That was essential. and expensive.

Regardless, here is like a collection of stuff that I've cumulatively hauled from 2001 last month. Feels like forever :(


 Nails Inc/Fabulous polishes: I collected the tokens, so now I have a spare set which I was going to give away until I got back from D of E and then everyone hated the News of The World so I thought it might be best to leave that...alone for a bit.
Two Miners polishes which I should add to the blogsale, not really that enamoured with these.
Last month's Glamour offer. I picked up Benetint and High Beam.




Two Barry M crackle polishes, the pink one and the black one - these are sooo cool and were my first foray into the dark crackle underworld...does anyone want a full review on these? I'm under the impression almost everyone has already done one.
Everyday Minerals rollerball eyeshadow! It scares me how easily I fall for a gimmick...
I bought Pears soap on the basis of a review I saw by Fee on how non-drying and gentle it was on sensitive skin, which really excited me. But when I got home and talked to her on twitter about it (@MakeupSavvy) I realised she'd actually done a follow up post to say they'd changed the formula and it was now quite harsh! #learntoresearchlena
I cut it up into little cubes and we're using it for hand soap at the moment. At least it was (relatively) cheap.



Lastly, my new nail polish love: 'Copacabana' by Nails Inc. It's this gorgeous coral colour which everyone and their pet of choice needs in their life this summer...bright but not off putting and applies really well. I had to buy two Dove deodorants in Boots for this offer, which wasn't too bad as I usually use Dove anyway. I then went back for two more so I could get another bottle...obssessed much? The other colour, 'Havana', was really boring and looked sheer so I left it alone. They should have named it 'Sand' or something. If I think 'Havana', I think something vibrant and colourful, not yet another greige nude tea colour. grumble, grumble.

It's a bit of a composite haul, as I bought three polishes in one session and two in the other, but Boots were doing 3 for 2 on Barry M Nail Paints - would have been rude not to! So two Barry M polishes - basically £6, which means this haul (minus the one polish that went into the giveaway) cost me £12? Not bad at all, for six Barry M nail polishes. Boots can actually be rather generous at times - compare this to Superdrug, who were doing 2 for £5 - only after you've spent £6 instore. Nowhere near as good - and these are offers running simultaneously!



From left to right: Dusky Mauve (Chanel Particuliere - how do you even spell that? - dupe) Lemon (from the Ice Cream Paints collection) Mushroom, Base/Top/Nail Strengthener and Black.

Lemon's formula isn't actually horrendous - shock horror - and Mushroom is the most GORGEOUS nude on me and people with my skin tone. Love love love. But obviously, there will be full swatches and reviews coming up.

But I LOVE Mushroom.

For some mad reason I now have over 300 people that want to read my nonsensical rants and general insanity. Can't think why. Anyway, to reward you guys for supporting such a weird person, I've been collecting bits and bobs for a Barry M themed giveaway.



I have for you:

The limited edition Barry M Nail Paint
Barry M Kohl Eyeliner in Black
Barry M Nail Paint in Blueberry Ice Cream
Barry M Lip Gloss
Barry M Glitter Dust (like the Dazzle Dusts, but mega glittery) in Shade 18.

If you're interested in seeing swatches of some of the products (my own products, yours are be clean and untainted) then follow this link.

I know it's only little, but I hope it makes someone out there happy. I know Barry M are basically cult now, so it will hopefully give someone the opportunity to try them out or add to their collection!

This is open to the international lovelies as well! It runs from today until around the end of my exams, so 20th of June.
One extra entry for taking the time to blog about it, and one if you tweet about it.

If you fancy tweeting, just copy and paste this phrase:

@BarryMCosmetics giveaway over at The Student's Guide to Nail Polish! http://tinyurl.com/barrymtsg

No need for comments, just fill in this form!



But seriously, thanks so much for reading and commenting. I appreciate it SO much.

I kid, I kid. Thought I'd try and sneak the Royal Wedding in there somewhere.

It's taken me a lengthy amount of time but I've finally looked at the Barry M kit, the one that they were giving away free with The Sun Buzz. Why is this relevent to you guys? The promotion ended a long time ago. Well. I have another kit, to give away (with some other goodies, of course) when I reach 300 followers. Which I am only two followers away from! Yey! Thank you!



It consists of a lip gloss, an eye pencil, and a nail polish. I was most interested in the nail polish, not even going to pretend. It's a rather unique colour.





Wow, that was heavy on pictures.

Under artificial light, this polish appears almost terracotta - it reminds me of flower pots. I don't really like it when it's that colour. Under natural light, this turns into a gorgeous tea rose-esque colour. I love it.
Three coats, the formula was rather decent. They should make this one permanent, just because it's so unique.


The colour of the lipgloss is just completely, one hundred percent, no no no no no WRONG on me! Looks gorgeous on lighter skinned beauties. Just not on me. I was watching a Nigerian TV channel the other day and the presenter had on the most ridiculous, baby pink lipgloss/lipstick hybrid. It was so badly applied it made the left side of her top lip look rectangular. I was like, "What are you DOING? Get off the air. No wait, get out of the country. You deserve to have your passport revoked for crimes against cosmetics. Urgh."

It's a shame though, because I find this gloss really moisturising. I don't need a balm underneath or anything, and it makes my lips feel really soft. It's scented with this sweet taste that I can't place - not unpleasant, but these things differ amongst people. I find if I use this really, really sparingly, it just lightens my lips a little and I can get the moisturising benefit without the stupid lip colour. I'll be looking out for this gloss, in a different shade.

The kohl is bog standard. I like it because it's in an actual pencil and not a plastic surround. Quite hard, but you waste less when you sharpen it so it evens out?

I was actually back on Sunday/Saturday, but was far too knackered to post, and school is seriously arsewhipping me at the moment so I couldn't post on Monday, either - sorry.

I recieved the freebies from that The Sun Buzz promotion today, actually. I did send off for two (no, I'm not being greedy, I was going to add it to an upcoming Barry M giveaway prize pack!) but I only got one. I figured it would happen, to be honest, as they usually only let you claim one for these things, don't they? Even though I purchased two copies. And I don't read the Sun. *shudder*. Still, it's a pretty decent offer, isn't it? Only one token to collect, and you get £9 worth of Barry M products for the cost of one paper! I think it was about 80p? 60p? Can't quite remember. It was cheap! The magazine inside was worth a read, but the actual newspaper...no. Just no.

A rather craptastic photograph. Sorry guys, I'll retake them if I have an in depth look at the products.

I bought the copies of the paper on Saturday. My Mum came back from the airport having purchased two copies (at the airport, naturally) - but oddly, they were lacking the magazine inside - which was the part that I needed! I then made a mad rush to the local newsagents and bought two more, which did have the magazine inside, cut out the tokens, and then gave one to my Mum who was going up to town to get herself a new pair of shoes. I kept the other as I had an orchestra rehearsal at school (on a flipping Sunday, call ourselves a Catholic school) the next day. I reasoned that I could quickly pop into the Superdrug there, exchange the token and pick up a couple of makeup items while I was there.

Unfortunately, I went down there to find that all the stock had vanished within the first hour - on Saturday. My Mum reported the same thing. So we'd have to send it to the Sun Buzz offices (at our own cost) to redeem the tokens. Great.
I do feel like the Sun Buzz should have seen it coming. It's a one day thing (as in, you don't have to go and collect all the tokens over x number of weeks) and it's a very popular newspaper - many women and men read it, and were likely to take the offer up. Therefore, they should have, or the people in charge of that decision should have manufactured and distributed more sets so that readers wouldn't then have to send it off at their own expense.

I'm probably just being ungrateful though. The products do look really nice. I know that the lipgloss will never suit me, so I've put that away for a giveaway/swap/love package use, but I think the nail polish colour is rather unique and everyone loves a black eyeliner.

EDIT: Today, I recieved the second package - so the Sun Buzz are honouring all tokens, and it's been added to the giveaway prize ;)
Did any of you guys take up this offer? Did you manage to get it instore or did you have to send off for it?

Barry M have just released three more colours of their polish line - a blue, a white and a pink. I've linked the photos here.

I saw this on "Lady from a Tramp"'s blog and thought I'd let my followers know as well.

I wonder if the white is really frosty, like the name? I don't like frost polishes at all. Will wait for swatches before I decide whether to buy it - I haven't been able to find the original Black Magic colour yet...completely sold out where I live.

Still finding the Model's Own colours more attractive, myself. What do you guys think?

I was all geared up for the gorgeous, flourescent coral that I saw in the bottle, but unfortunately it didn't translate that way on my nails.

 It just pulls really orange on my skin. Nothing wrong with that. I just thought I was getting a coral :P It's still traffic light flourescent, which is cool.
That's about all this polish has going for it. It has a pretty poor formula, mildly streaky and takes quite a while to dry. It began to chip the morning after I'd painted it. No thanks.
It's ignited a coral lust I didn't know I possesed, though. I want to check out the MUA coral polish, looks interesting. Probably will have a better formula, too.

I do paint both hands but rarely show them both to you because invariable one hand looks fabulous (read, not so disgusting) and the other looks tragic.

I actually felt kind of good about these ones, though, so do have a look...

Left hand thumb.
 Left hand. I used Bundle Monster Plates for all the designs shown here save the ring finger (Hello Kitty), which was done using a Konad plate. Rhinestones purchased from eBay, glitter topcoats are generic and Boots Best Friends respectively.
 Claw hand strikes again! The leaves on the thumb and middle finger were made with a green nail art pen.
 This is my right hand. All were Bundle Monster this time. I think. The index finger /might/ be a Konad plate. Base colours are Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green and the generic pink that came with the generic glitter.
 Dots were made with the dotting tool in the cheap brush set I ordered from eBay. I think I will have to investigate more on that front, I prefer my dots a little larger.
Right hand thumb; this is a Bundle Monster design surrounded by sequins that came in that one Poundland haul.

Lol. Everything that I'd ordered off the internet was just chucked in here into one huge long nail art spam. I did this for a not so special occasion. Those of us participating in the West Side Story musical at school (which includes moi, being in the orchestra) were ordered back to school on a Sunday, of all days, to go and rehearse. Yes, a Sunday. I kid you not. This is a Catholic school, and the beautiful irony is that the Church that they are affliated with does it's most popular mass during the times that we were meant to be at school. So I couldn't go to Church. I'm pretty lazy anyway so this wasn't a big deal for me but it's the principle, no?

I decided to be all rebellious and flout the "no long/remotely long/things on your nails/no fun nails" violin law and the "no nail polish at school" rule in one fell swoop.
Not that anyone noticed. But our music teacher is a legend - he totally ordered us pizza. So it wasn't all bad. Six extra hours of school = pizza and brownies.

In this post, three polishes basically represent their entire line as from those I've tried, the quality has been quite consistent. Here we go...

MUA Polishes

For a pound, these are seriously decent! I've finished the clear one (used it as a topcoat) and not only was there not very much chipping, but it stayed nice and runny until the end. I find so many topcoats go all thick and nasty near the bottom, making them impossible to apply. If Superdrug can do this for a pound, Sally Hansen, why can't you?
Nice range of colours and good drying time. Thumbs up for MUA.

Sally Hansen Strengthening Base Coat

Thankfully, this is nothing like that disastarous topcoat. It seems to help prevent chipping and I love the green glass bottle it comes in. Makes me feel like I'm a pharmacist or something.

Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours "Metal Shine"

Unlike the yellow from this line, this is great! I've had it for about seven months and it remains nice and thin, doesn't chip easily at all and dries really nice and hard so you don't have to worry about dents if you hit your nails against something. I really like this!

ASOS Paints

Crazily opaque, really cute bottle designs and they dry quickly. What more do you really need from a polish? The cost is a bit prohibitive but if you get them on sale like I did, that's not an issue.

Barry M Nail Paint in "Raspberry"

Still one of my favourite reds, this is opaque in one coat and goes darker with the second. You get a good amount in each bottle and it has an awesome brush. It's just a lovely classic shade that everyone should consider owning, in my opinion.

EDIT: Forgot the Nails Inc! The one pictured is "Lowndes Square" but I've found the whole line to go on well, with no application problems, they have great staying power and come off easily with nail polish remover.
As they bloody well should for £10. Just sayin'.

Honoury mention - Tesco's Nail Polish Remover. While not a polish (quite obviously, lol) it really makes light work of removing nail polish and a little goes a long way. Plus it's dead cheap. I'm actually quite impressed by it!

The "Year End" series is almost over! Just a couple more posts to round it out.

 This is part two because linked to this is part one.
Anyway. This first picture is a load of belated birthday/christmas presents from my friends (I had my party two weeks after my actual birthday, lol...) and apparantly they ordered the rest off the interwebs so they'll be coming soon. O_o

 I just thought this was really cool! If any of you remember my blue/orange leopard print manicure, when I went to take it off this happened with the remover...it amused me enough to take a picture of it.
 This product is a nice little bunch of nasty.
 I accidentally left this out of the "Products I've Disliked Using" callout. It's a very oily lipbalm. Too much and it makes you look as if your lips have been lacquered...I put this on without a mirror in an orchestra rehearsal and my music teacher full on stared at my lips for like a minute. Most uncomfortable rehearsal ever. *shudders*
This dries my lips out more than it moisturises and took forever to finish. But I've finished it now, so yey!
 But the rollerball thing is all kinds of cool. Perhaps another brand can put this innovation to good use? This was from Blistex, by the way.
 So futuristic. Pity the product doesn't actually deliver.
 Finished. 'Twas satisfactory. I still prefer spray deodorants, though.
 They see me Fauxnadin', they hatin'.
 This design is from the Bundle Monster Plates. This is ASOS Megan as the base colour, with Boots "Berrylicious" as the design colour.
 Same design, different colours. Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours in I don't know what, the silver one that I've reviewed here once before (Chrome? Liquid Metal? Plain old Silver? Did this even come with a name?) and the design is in ASOS Alexa.

And the rest was me pic whoring.

OK, vault cleared satisfactorily.