So I'm back from Italy, and will just give you a rundown of the makeup related portion of the trip before DISPLAYING THE PRETTIES.


 

 How and where to start? Well, we went to Italy and on the second day, we went to buy jewellery. While waiting around for the jewellery shops to open, we walked into a beauty store (reminded me of Superdrug) and there, on the walls, was the most gorgeous Labello display I've ever seen.


Naturally, I tried to get my mum to let me buy some but she wasn't having any of it ('We've got lip balms at home!') entirely missing the point which was that I NEED THESE FOR THE BLOG GAWD

Eventually, I admitted defeat and reasoned that we could come back another day and buy them. But as the days passed and Mum finally realised the IMPORTANCE OF THESE LIP BALMS, it became clear that we weren't returning. sob. And by the time she was prepared to help me buy them, it was a bank holiday in Italy (any excuse for a day off work, you slackers). And we were leaving the day afterwards! We stopped at two superstores on the way to the airport but all I turned up were these two poxy imposters.


By this time I was pretty furious, seeing as I'd SEEN what I wanted to blow my 30 euros on on like the second day, but I wasn't allowed to buy it. And they were only 1.50 euros each, compared to what I'd pay if I wanted to buy online from the UK (upwards of four quid including postage) so I totally sulked my way through security. Had a sneaky check in Duty Free but couldn't find anything but overpriced Toblerones.



On the way to the gate, however, I saw a Kiko store and SQUEALED. Yey for Kiko!
I should have taken photos but it was getting close to the time for them to open the gates, so I quickly chose what I wanted and left. The polishes were priced at 2.50 euros each, which I found very reasonable, but they also had a discounted bucket full of polishes at 1.50 euros which was even better. The majority of the cremes were 2.50, and the rest 1.50. I paid 15 euros in total (my Mum bought a polish too which isn't pictured. See, she can buy nail polish, but I can't buy lipbalm. no capito) and I'm pretty happy with what I got in return.



I'm genuinely upset about my Labellos, though. As soon as I regained internet access (no thanks to you, TalkTalk) I spent like three hours looking for sites that ship to the UK but it was a lot more expensive than it would have been to buy in Italy (1.50 versus nearly £3.70 a lipbalm, often not including postage) so yeah. Depressed. If anyone knows any reasonable sites that do it, please let me know!

My Kikos are beautiful though. Kiko Makeup Milano. Doesn't that just roll off the tongue?



Kiko Makeup Milano sounds like a name for a chav baby. I still like it though. For a cosmetics company.



Before, when I thought of 'Kiko', I thought of the gorgeous Japanese model Kiko Mizuhara. But then she had the bad taste to go out (not confirmed but it's so obvious) with the hideous lead singer rapper thing from the tryhard and tragic boyband Big Bang so she's on my shit list anyway. I fully embrace Kiko Makeup Milano as my new go-to Kiko of choice.

OK, not really BUT HEAR ME OUT. THERE IS NAIL POLISH AND OTHER PRETTIES AT THE END. Although I am /currently/ in riot-stricken England, by the time you are reading this I will be in sunny Italia. No, don't be jealous because it's probably going to be rubbish. No internet access and it probably won't be like Rennaissance Italy like on Assassin's Creed. That is the only Italy worth visiting - as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, of course. (the guy cloaked in white on the front cover of the video game)

Anyway, before I went, I scheduled enough posts for this week (I'm off for a week, lol) so won't be responding to comments and emails :( I also photographed all the makeup and nail polish that I'm taking with me, and I thought I'd share the snaps with you...

While this looks excessive, it totally isn't. When you break it down into groups (all, of course, are completely essential)

Nail Bases and Colours


My base and top coat are pretty much out of the picture, but it's the usual Barry M base and NYC top coat that I feature regularly. For colours, we have Barry M 'Spring Green' - which I'm currently wearing on my fingers - Essie's 'Bermuda Shorts' (currently on my toes) Nails Inc's 'OMP!' and 'Yellow Peril' by BeautyUK. Having worn the neutral 'Mushroom' (by Barry M) for most of this week, and faced with the prospect of actual sun in Italy (about the only benefit, to be honest) I was longing for some colour, so packed four bright, summery shades.



'OMP!' is out of the picture because I was clever and forgot to photograph it.

Now, I like jazzing up my nail colour of choice regularly, so bought three easy ways to alter my manicure - a black crackle polish, Hello Kitty nail stickers from the Born Pretty Store and a glitter topcoat (Funky Fingers). Ample, no?



Finally, nail care (once again, 100% essential). Cuticle oil, nail files, a nail nourishing strengthening thing that I will talk about later on in the month (probably. If I remember) and a hoof stick. BOOM.



Enjoy more pretty pictures while I'm being miserable in the land that isn't anything like it's supposed to be (in Assassin's Creed)

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.