Matte Finish: more high-end than rat look.

No one told me that matte black nail polish looks so classy. A subtle change that works well, I'm really pleased with the expensive effect a matte top coat creates.

First a good base is needed. Nails stain easily but the stains can't be removed that easily. Trust me; I've done it too many times to think about it.

Dark nails make fingers look longer and slimmer. I wasn't overly keen on a crackle coat until I bought a lovely gold colour, so wasn't convinced I was going to achieve the Chanel Black Velvet effect I was striving for.

After a recent post I went in search of a mattifying top coat gratefully aided by my beauty loving friends. I had seen an Essie version but was not willing to pay the £8.99 price tag.

Bourjois & Rimmel Matte topcoats.

Well I was just beside myself. Boots had an offer buy one get second half price (I think boots have eventually cottoned on that three items would be considered a haul and therefore frivolous). I opted for the cheaper of the two and made a handy little beauty set how to guide. 

Please do feel free to comment and leave links, have you ever tried matte finish or so matt? What did you think? 

I endeavor to let you know how long this mani lasts!

High-end nails in no time.
with Nails Inc., Rimmel London

I am really surprised with the effect it creates. I'm pretty darn sure Morrissey wouldn't recognise it as a fake. 

Nail Wraps for the National Front Disco

One of my pet hates is painting my toe nails. They all seem to squish up against each other so I end up with painted toes rather than nails. I would do anything to have them done in an instant. I'm so clumsy that I generally steer well clear of nail art that requires precision; the one hand will look fine, well the other? We'd best not mention that.

Nail art is a trend that sooner or later you just have to try. Colour changing nail polish, magnetic patterning polish, holographic, heavy duty glitter, safe to say there is much more than your average UV top coat that was scientific feat way back in the '90s. They even sell nail wraps in Primark now. Encouraged by my last experience: MUA's Nail Constellation in scorpio I gave some cheap glittery nail wraps a try.

When I bought them I found I had to wade through big piles of patriotic union flag nail stickers and foils. There has been a very specific trend that glued itself to the country's nails for two whole weeks this year; the one where everyone, I MEAN EVERYONE tried to paint a union flag on one, if not all of their nails! I just wore the earrings and a tee shirt I thought revolutionary in 2004. 

Anyway. I tried nail wraps and they worked! All you need to do is choose the right size, possibly shape too. Most seemed to fit my nails nicely even if I did have to jump two spaces on the nail scale leaving me with the thought that my feet are really strange. After that you fold the excess wrap over and file downwards until the nail peeps through. It makes the wrap perforate and separate from the nail easily. Seal it with a top coat 'for a longer lasting effect' or in my case to stop me peeling off the sticker that it really is!

Despite the weird toes I think it is quite a good effect. No painful toe separators needed, just a little bit of patience and a nail file. Now I know I'm no expert but I could do them!

WE ALL KNOW I LOVE A BIT OF GLITTERING GOLD LEOPARD PRINT.

I'm saving my finger nails for a treat with a matte top coat tomorrow, but that's for another time.

Have you tried anything new? You should, you could surprise yourself!

What a difference it makes...

I can't begin to describe such a little thing that makes a big difference.

Being a big believer in skincare I have found another product that I totally adore thanks to a beauty box. A She Said Beauty Box. Pleased with the large sample I smothered it on, not thinking it would last the whole week.

Lovely cream that seeps into the skin, locking in moisture overnight. Tendency for very dry skin, especially during the winter months. It took a week to use the 5ml sample from the She Said Beauty box. At first I did not think it was rich enough, and the smell was a bit grannyish, but I have found my skin to be beautiful and supple in the mornings, without leaving a layer of grease. It didn't feel as if it was clogging my pores making fertile ground for spots and black heads but rather left my cheeks fresh and ready for make up!

I love my night time routine. I trick my body into falling asleep. So much so that I actually have grown fond of the rose granny scent. I reminds me of a few summers ago when I wore nothing but Paul Smith's Rose. Delicate is the word I am looking for.

[Tenuous Morrissey link: All his fans want to get on stage and give him a blue rose. Not me, I just have quiet admiration from a distance and that is enough for me]




So if 5ml lasts a week then 30ml should last a month. So £14.95 for a full size tube is a reasonable price for one made so environmentally and Morrissey friendly. I'm just lamenting the end of my free sample. Still, it could always be worse.

I said I couldn't begin; before you know it I've ended my beauty diatribe.



Do you have any night time tricks? I'd love to hear about them.

Budget Beauty Wishlist #1

Bereft of brain space to think up a witty title.

So as I have been wandering the blogosphere I have discovered how beauty bloggers work. Key words are: haul, swatch, wishlist, trend oh and not forgetting giveaway! This afternoon I went to look at make up in my local town centre. It's a good hobby; so many free sprays.

I was planning to do swatches on my arm and take photos but the rain and the angry Newportonians soon put me off doing that. The trouble with Newport is the lack of a good department store.  The only one,'Wildings',is a scene straight out of  'Are You Being Served?' The problem caused by the lack of a good department store is the the scarcity of high-end make up to try and well I just love high-end make up and fragrance. (I especially like trying it for free.)

As I brave the internet sales torture I am going to compile a high-end wish list and a budget wishlist. I thought of this when I tested some cosmetics at your standard boots make up counter. (Note, and note well that I did not look at Boots No7 or the the tiny clinque bar - strictly High Street if you will.)

Lusting over Chanel's 'Black Velvet' nail polish for too long before I realise it was only a special edition will teach me not to try things sooner.

As modeled here by the beautiful Karen-O. So I know right, I know I want the Kate Moss lipstick with matte black nails. Superb. Make the bling stand out even more, right? The Chanel one isn't to be found, especially in the deepest darkest depths of Newport. It came out over a year ago, would it be retro to bring it back? 

Had my paws all over the nails inc. and OPI websites. Do you think I could find one? NO. How could you make a polish go matte? Oh Essie, they have the answer to everything nail related.

Essie's matte about you in Superdrug. £8.99. I'm sure I have seen it cheaper but I can't remeber the brand. Still I suppose I could make any of my polishes have a matte appearance with this and not just have a rarely used Chanel piece in my polish collection. 

This happens to be another budget beauty item on my wishlist.

I saw Rimmel London's gel pot eyeliner in aubergine priced at a reasonable £6.49 in Boots and Superdrug, both of which have associated cosmetics offers. It is a rich pigmented waterproof liner that takes some work to get moved! The best thing about the product is the brush which is kept in the lid. No more fussing and finding the tiny applicator brushes you get with other sorts of liner that comes from a pot. I have this in black, and violet or aubergine rather will look rather spectacular against my deep brown eyes. Sometimes, it's a handy trick to dip a kohl pencil in the pot and use that to set the eyeliner in place. 

I'm looking forward to 'doing a haul' and sharing the results. Tell me of any budget beauty finds you keep on your wishlist or links to your blog. I like them too!

This blogging malarkey is catching on, addictive isn't it?

This Charming Girl

I would go out tonight but I don't know what make up to wear.

So, I like to sit at my blog and see where serendipity takes me with my posts. Well it landed right in my lap this morning. For some reason unbeknownst to man I switched on to The Wright Stuff. I just cannot abide Jeremy Kyle and the weather appears to have knocked out all hope of any other channel. IT IS USEFUL; it forms some kind of background noise with a handy little clock and twitter ticker on the screen even if it is the odious Matthew Wright.

(Yesterday I choose BBC Breakfast and I can't begin to articulate how surreal but utterly lovely it was to witness men talking.or gushing rather, of their love for Morrissey.)

Now that's what I call Bromance 2012

Where was I? Yes anyway, the topic du jour of this morning is why women wear make up. Not too general there? Preceeded by 'Hi-Vis Jackets of Shame', followed by Syria and 'telling it how it is', a little part of me dies inside, especially when Lorraine Chase starts squawking about a bit of slap. 

They are thinking of introducing High Vis VESTS OF SHAME in schools! 

It is a regular beauty bloggers tag that features regularly on the blogs I like to peruse on a daily basis. 

So why do I wear make up?

Well for starters, I need eyebrows (thank you Lorraine!) to pull a good expression, they frame the face. Despite the pain they can be to maintain there are a million different products to play with, thick or thin? It doesn't matter. 

You can't pull a good Morrissey face with no eyebrows.

When Morrissey goes on stage he adopts the presence of a performer; I like using make up as a shield to the world, an armor against digs, but the best thing? The best thing about wearing make up is to take it off and slump sumptuously into my night time skincare routine of rich cream and currently Welleda's Wild Rose Soothing Night Cream that came in my beauty box this month. That is a whole separate post entirely!

Oh dear, the topic of conversation has now moved on to children and screens. A breeding ground for Daily Mail readers. I sigh then switch it off. 

 WHEN WILL IT EVER END?

Scorpio Rising?

MUA's Nail Constellation - Scorpio

 Nail art is so popular these days. I remember not so long ago begging Sally Hansen via the medium of twitter to release their nail foils in the UK. Now you can even buy them in Primark for under a pound. So like me to be late to the party, I've totally skipped over half moon manicures and am heading to space with MUA's nail constellation.

I have bought the Scorpio colour scheme. (Someone once described me as having a bauble of every cololur on my Christmas Tree.) This seemed to be the most fitting for me. So I sat down to do my manicure, totally wary of the mess it was going to make but also a little excited by the thought of childishly playing with glue and glitter.

Firstly, I went through the usual routine of coating my nails in a strengthening base coat. One painful lesson I learned after an experience with stained nails and bleach is to  ALWAYS USE A BASE. I painted my nails with a generic pinky-purple colour first because I am always destined to miss a spot. Shaking the little pot felt a bit like shaking a full and stuck ketchup bottle. I mean you really have to do it with quite some force.

I was expecting the tiny little balls (which you are essentially gluing to your nails) to go everywhere. It was a stroke of genius to do to it in the lego box lid that my 'bling pallette' is kept in. Although next time I think I shall line it with a piece of card for even easier use.

Once I'd got the hang of squeezing the mini-blings on to the nail I had obviously spilled a load too. So I dipped my nails into the pool of glittery balls. Initially I was thinking of doing only one finger on each hand but I got carried away with the play.

Now I am not the greatest nail artist, but it was a relatively easy and fun way of making my nails blingin' bruv. The purple, gold, lilac and green baubles are supposed to resemble a 'constellation of stars' and it pretty much does. Every shake produces a unique pattern on the nails. Then you press them into the layer of tacky nail polish, not forgetting to set with lashings of clear top coat. I'm not even going to give thought to the ordeal that getting them off will be.

This product is alarmingly cheap, so I'll perfect the shiny mini blings look by the Strictly Final! You can buy this product from superdrug at a verrrrry reasonable three pounds.

I'm so tempted to go back in and take advantage of Superdrug's wonderful 3 for 2 cosmetics offer and try some more MUA polishes. 

On the plus side I feel like my nails wouldn't go amiss on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor. My nails are extremely blingy without lots of mess. Add to the bling with an item from my wishlist! My ultimate phone case.. Oooooh magpie, MAGPIE!

Stop me, oh, stop me....................

Such a little thing.

"Such a little thing..."

My trip to the threading bar.

Yes, I know it's Movember. I'd love to be a mo sista, but my pride lets me down. I just cannot leave my upper lip lined with downy blonde hair that people assure me they can't see. A side effect of PCOS that drives me to the biggest Tesco in Europe of a Thursday to get my facial hair threaded. Great fun. I've started something here, the first time I had it done. I have to get myself in to a trance like state in the middle of a busy supermarket. Is a supermarket salon is a step up from a shopping centre or the window of a Superdrug? I'm not too sure. Halfway through when I am on the verge of feinting I have to drag myself back from the brink. I always consider walking out after one eyebrow now it happens right before she tells me she is done. 

I just love the benefits of threading. I don't so much love the pain. Next time I think I'll have ten pots of porridge and a sugary tea to deal with the kind of shock my body goes through when being errrr threaded? Such a little thing, but it makes such a huge difference to my make up and face. 

I have heard them be described as HD eyebrows as '"it's what the celebs do when they are going to be on high definition TV."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     So I googled 'scousebrow' and images of Kate Middleton appear. See, classy? Refined? 









































 I like to call them my HD scousebrows. I absolutely love it when thick heavy eyebrows are on trend. So therefore I like mine thick and groomed and full of colour. 

Can you imagine how mortified I was to discover that the ummm threadist had taken pretty much all of my brows except for a tiny line? Well, very is the answer. Thankfully I have an amazing product to help me colour them in on a daily basis. 

You can't mention brows without mentioning Benefit's amazing browzings. If I am going for a more dramatic look I will always use the pigmented wax separately; defining the shape. Then I use the lighter powder to keep them all in perfect nick ALL DAY! If i'm in a rush I tend to use the wax and powder all at once and it also does the trick and lasts for ages.

There are three different shades to choose from. As I have red hair I chose the medium variant and I love how rich the colour is. The hard angle brush and smooth wax consistency makes the product gilde on without leaving a heavy residue. Gone are the days of clear mascara or vaseline to hold the enormous brows in shape. 

Thing is, now that I have started threading, I'm just going to have to carry on. I could never go back to plucking, tweezers are evil and it makes the hair grow thicker. After an unsightly rash on my top lip after using a depilatory cream I couldn't bring myself to buy another. So that is how I ended up sitting in the middle of a supermarket on a Thursday evening, well in the zone.A month of psyching myself up for the next round in the threading ring.

Still, they help me pull a good non impressed Morrissey face.

Two free samples from awesome total moisture range or porefessional here!

The Girl Least Likely To.

Well I just know there is a real scarcity of beauty blogs out there I thought I'd try my hand at it myself. You need a unique angle. You see, it appears to me that the most die hard Morrissey fan is generally male I figure I'll have a niche audience.

What, should I be plaguing companies for samples, showing them my writing portfolio? Nah, I've got a wealth of product right here. So I'm going to review some of my skincare staple diet.

First up; Soap & Glory's Night in Shining Armour.

You can't mention Soap & Glory without commenting on its glorious packaging. We all know that, it is the first rule of beauty blogging. This cream is a sumptuous treat for the skin. If you have overly dry skin like mine but a tendency to break out in spots, also sadly like me, then this cream is a little greasy but it remarkably soaks in to the skin overnight. So I woke up with the skin of a radiant goddess even if I didn't feel like one at six forty-five the morning after. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't already sold on the witty name, but that's just me.

It would be a sin against beauty blogging if I didn't mention my secret weapon. Should I? Really? Go on then; Benefit's Moisture Prep Toning Lotion.  Helps with daily radiance, I like daily radiance. The shinier the better, I'm all for a dewy face! It primes the skin for the treat of night cream. Smoothing it over the skin before some BB cream in the day works well too.

Using this my skin feels supple and moist. That is always a bonus as I seem to scrunch my face into a thousand expressions in a single day.