JUST LOOK AT THE PRETTY*



*slightly sarcastic, I am aware that my cuticles are minging. The dry, unforgiving winter air decided to vacuum every last drop of moisture out of my already Gobi-esque hands. Thanks winter. I really appreciate it.

This is the free Nails Inc polish, 'Basil Street', that Glamour magazine were giving away, over which a layer of Kiko nail polish is applied. I quite like the 'flaky' effect that this one gives, and I don't own any other top coats like it, so I consider it a good buy.



As always, the Kiko polish had an impeccable formula and this manicure lasted for about four days without chips, which is a big thing for me as my nails are quite chip prone :/ Basil Street took about three coats to get to the level of opacity that I really like, but two are more than sufficient for most others.



I decided to go classier this year and stick to a nude polish. The Kiko topcoat creates a sort of shimmering effect, almost like rain or snowflakes. Christmassy enough? Probably not. I didn't really put any effort in *hangs head*.

Wishing all blog readers a really happy Christmas!

Don't care how late to the party I am on this one. It's awesome.



£10 from Superdrug, this was a birthday present from my lovely siblings. The set consists of a blush, a lipstick and an eye pencil.





I'm enjoying this a lot more than Sleek's holiday offering from last year, the Sparkle palette. To me, it feels like better value for money (buying a blush, an eye pencil and a lipstick from Sleek seperately would cost you more than £10) and they're all full sized products, not to mention imminently more useable than a palette full of glitter.

Left to Right: Fenberry Blush, Cranberry Lipstick, Mossberry Eyeliner

I actually find it hard to go overboard with my application of this blush, even though it's as pigmented as all the others in the range. There's something about the dark, dusky finish that just looks more natural than the others in my collection. That may just be a skintone quirk, though - I'm thinking that if you're lighter or have different undertones then you may need to exercise caution with this just as with any other darker blush.


While the Eye Kohl (Mossberry) is pigmented on any other part of my body, I find when I apply it to the eye I'm just not getting the pigment out. It's too hard to press effectively on such a delicate area, which I found a bit of a shame. I've got no problems wearing that colour near my eyes, however.

Instead, I've used it as a lip liner in these (seriously poor) photos. It matches the lipstick really well and has decent lasting power, so why not?

 

The lipstick, Cranberry, is described as matte, but I don't find that entirely true. It seems like a cross between Sleek's Sheen formula and their old matte formula for their pre-revamp True Colour lipsticks. It's more moisturising and appears slightly more glossy than a pure matte lipstick, but still has the lasting power required to make it through a few drinks (I tested this out in the name of blogging, by the way. College Christmas party on Monday...enough said, really.)

Anyone else have this one?

Not too long ago, MakeupSavvy  posted about an awesome offer from Klorane. The deal was, simply register and indicate your choice of product, and they'd send you a full sized shampoo and conditioner, absolutely free. Naturally, not having heard of this brand but thinking it was a good opportunity to test it out, I went for it.



The day afterwards, MakeupSavvy edited her post, saying that the brand had contacted her and told her the offer had changed. Now, it was a sample sized product they were giving away, and they weren't accepting any more applicants anyway.

I'm not sure there's another way a brand could have put me right off their products, permanently, any more forcefully. Contacting a beauty blogger to promote your products and giving her incorrect information...not on, at all. Brands wouldn't make this sort of huge mistake (assuming it wasn't deliberate) in their dealings with magazines, would they? So why isn't this sort of professionalism found in brand/blogger interactions?

Companies, bloggers aren't toys and they're not inferior to magazines. Klorane, your samples are going in the bin.

My Mum recently gave me a mini bottle of an OPI polish that she wasn't keen on the colour of. That was my first experience of an OPI product for myself, actually.

 

 

 Unfortunately, I don't actually know the name of this polish as OPI don't put names on the bottle of their mini polishes...can anyone help me out here?

 
These are adorable. Will probably get used up in three or four more applications, of course, but they're just so cute.

 

It's not too visible in the swatches, but there is a faint silver shimmer running through the polish. Not the most unique colour, but a good staple that I've been lacking in my collection for some time. I don't own many pink polishes, strangely enough.

And yes, those are moustaches on my nails. I did these on the last day of Movember.

I finally got paid from my job, and promptly took it upon myself to spend lots of money. As you can tell.
This was the first of many shopping trips - and now Christmas is coming up, I will spend even more...



Luminous Pressed Powder (Shade 3) from Sleek, Superdrug Facial Wash (99p)



Having heard good things about their mud masks, I put one of those in my basket as well. This is the 'Deep Cleansing' type. While I will probably do a quick review on it, I've used it twice with good results so far.


I also picked up a tube of MUA's new Professional Eye Primer. My much disliked Elizabeth Arden primer is finally nearing the end of the tube, so it's time for a new one.

Completely unrelated, but I found an Asian Supermarket in Brighton! My friends were entirely unenamoured with the place so practically dragged me out, but I was in love. Definitely returning.

The Krispy Kreme was unrelated. Basically, while we were out shopping, we went into a Krispy Kreme and the man serving us was not only hilarious but offered us free samples. After one taste, we unanimously decided to buy the counter take three. Brilliant salesman, him.