Lilac Nail Polish - Cheap vs Expensive

I have two lilac nail polishes. I faced a dilemma, which to use today? I could do a Harry Hill inspired "Fiiiiiiiiiiiight!" but that would be difficult to explain to my husband! So, a half and half was the next best thing.

So I took O.P.I Do you lilac it? and Eyeko Lilac nail polishes and did a bit of a quick comparison.

They look identical in the bottle. Take a look at these photos of the process!

Eyeko One Coat, you'd always need two.

O.P.I One Coat is enough if you're in a real rush.

Two coats + top coat

O.P.I is thicker and takes longer to dry, but lasts.

Eyeko is less shiny but doesn't snag as easily.

It's not news to us that with most things in life, you get what you pay for. O.P.I nail polishes retail for ~£10 and Eyeko for ~£3. I was impressed with the Eyeko but if I reach for a lilac again, it will be the O.P.I.

Who knows, Eyeko might bring out a colour that isn't in the O.P.I range!

I feel like I am wearing odd socks, as one hand is Eyeko, the other O.P.I.

New Lip Collection from e.l.f - swatches!

Normally I shy away from e.l.f reviews simply because you know that I do videos for their YouTube channel and I don't want to bring anyone's reputation, especially my own, in to question.

However I decided to break this vow of reviewing silence to tell you about their new lip ranges as I am quite impressed with them. A big box of them arrived the other day and I have been swatching and wearing them and I am liking them more and more.

I honestly don't know how e.l.f have managed to crack some of the most difficult products to get right such as the undereye concealers, eye shadow transformer, mineral make up and HD powder for such a great price. I remember asking them directly, how are they so cheap and are they worth it? Their reply was that it was all down to not spending a huge amount on fancy packaging, marketing and more on customer service and deliveries and good products which bring customers back again. I've been using their products for about a year and as time goes on, more of their stuff especially studio, has crept in to my professional kit. To be honest I think the answer to my question is simply that make up isn't that hard to make properly, we are just lead to believe that innovation means better and therefore we should pay more. I don't believe that, I think there is little left in the science of make up formulation, as I like to use products that are going to stick around rather than be here one season and gone the next.

Anyway, I think that is enough rambling from me on to the review!

I do firstly I want to thank my unwilling volunteer for allowing me to swatch the new products on to his arm, hence the hairy scary bits. I thought you'd appreciate it if I used a different skin tone as well as my own. It really shows how different colours and textures can look on skin tones.

So here are a few swatches from the new lipstains, 2in1 conditioning glosses, minty lipglosses and mineral lipsticks!

My initial review, having had a little play with them is that my favourite products so far are the lipstains, I am delighted that there is a lovely selection of 7 natural shades. My fave is red carpet just because it is so rich. Unlike other lipstains I have used, this one does come off with cream or oil based cleansers so if you get bored or fancy a change it's easy.

The lipstains are as ever a great price.

As ever the mineral lipsticks are buttery and sheer, the 3 new shades are natural nymph a cooler pink than nicely nude, runway pink a natural beige pink and rosy tan less spicy than rosy raisin.

The 2 in 1 Conditioning Lipglosses don't really show up on my skin tone unless they are the darker ones and they take a bit of getting used to, there is a definite knack of where to squeeze the tube to get both components out of the tube at the same time to get the colour and conditioner. They are in separate parts of the tube, looks cool but I am not sure why they have to be separate. Anyhoo, they are a decent size of 13.5 grammes which is the same size as the normal elf lipglosses.

The Minty Lipglosses are pleasantly minty, but not as minty as the plumping lip glazes but menthol none the less. I also love the flavour, a bit of a breath freshener as well, always good when in someone's face doing their make up! They feel nice too, not too sticky either.

I have yet to fully review the mineral lipglosses as well! Please, e.l.f, don't bring out any more lip products, my storage is bursting with them!

All of the products are £3.50 and e.l.f are always bringing out offers, I think there is an exciting one in time for Christmas too. I guess if you want to hear about them first, subscribe to their twitter/facebook and website for instant news.

There is a video on the elfcosmeticsUK YouTube Channel if you'd like to see more, I've just included a few images in this review.

I have also received from e.l.f the new mineral eyeliners, lip liners, ,liquid eye liners, Studio Pressed powders, lipbalm, eyeshadow duos, Studio daily brush cleaner and brush shampoo. A review will follow soon, but give me time to eat and sleep please!

Eye Lash Perm - is it worth it?

Having your lashes curled really opens up your eyes, it really can look good if you have small eyes or short lashes. I was having a facial the other week and the lady across from me was having her eye lashes permed. I thought I would give it a go as my lashes aren't super long but they are quite straight tend to point downwards so get tangled up in the lower lashes! I don't mind curling my lashes with a lash curler but I often forget if I am in a rush. I also don't feel like I need mascara all the time as my lashes are black and thick enough not to need to plump them. I just wanted a bit of curl that wouldn't droop away as the day goes on.

Costs

It cost me £5 as I went to my local beauty therapy college, a great way to get treatments for next to nothing from students who have been well trained - they are not let loose on you without having been trained! If they are not experienced then my advice is run, run for the hills and don't look back!

Time taken

It took 45 minutes from start to finish and I found it very relaxing, as long as you look away from the spatula very close to your eyeball!

How long does it last

The therapist said that if the perm takes well it should last 4 - 6 weeks.

Pros

It's cheap and if it works means lovely curled lashes which frame the eyes nicely.

No need to use an eyelash curler every day!

Cons

You need to have a skin test 48 hours before the perm, to make sure you don't react to the chemicals which are quite strong.

The smell of the chemicals is grim, like singed hair even before it's on your lashes!

If it doesn't take, you get nothing for your time and money!

Lashes feel a bit dry afterwards and the results are variable.

The results

Some of the lashes took really well, others now look a little bent rather than curled! See the photos to see what I mean.

During, cotton wool tubes are glued to the lashes and perming and developing solutions applied.

Conclusion

I don't think I'll do it again as I wasn't very impressed with the results. Perhaps a different therapist would do a better job. I think I was expecting the same amount of curl that I get from my lash curlers. Since not all lashes were curled, I am going to have to keep curling my lashes anyway! The therapist assured me that mascara on the lashes will help but I don't always wear dark thicker formula mascara so I think I will just use clear mascara to keep the curl uniform.

Make Up Storage! 100th Post!!

A natural follow on from having a rationalisation of make up for both a charity blog sale and moving house is to then broach the unenviable task of organising it! I've been putting this off for a long time and I couldn't procrastinate any longer! My reason being that I had been searching for decent sized, hard wearing boxes with compartments and hadn't found anything until I popped in to Rymans and found what I had wanted for less than £10 each!

After organising my make up and watching a few videos on other gurus' collections I have another reason to be happy I only collect cruelty free make up. I can fit my personal collection of make up in to two boxes. That doesn't take in to account my professional kit, that's another video in itself and my palettes, skin care, hair care and make up sets which take up a whole two drawers!

Other news is that my main DV camera is playing up, skipping sections of video which is frustrating and it's hard to go back and record sections of make up tutorials again! I see this as an opportunity to try out a few new HD cameras and see how they go. So over the next few weeks I will be trying a few for quality, editing and performance. Thank you for bearing with me whilst I am sorting this out.

The Charity Blog sale will be coming up shortly, items will be posted in batches as there is too much to put in one post!

Impending Blog Sale

Just a quick post to let you know I will be having a blog sale. At least half the money made will be going to the Macmillan Cancer Support Charity. I decided to do this as one of my best friends is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and I feel so powerless and angry on her behalf that I would like to do something.

If you have either swapped with me or are a company and sent me a product please do not be offended, I just have to be ruthless about the amount I can keep! I hope that you feel better knowing that I will not be profiting from the sale of something I received for free and the money goes to a very worthwhile cause.

A lot of the items will be from my personal collection and as I am moving house soon (fingers crossed) now is a good time to rationalise!

I'll begin photographing and listing soon, I will probably start the sale in small batches in the next few weeks. If you're looking for Christmas pressies for others or yourself, you might find something you like here and know that half of the money you pay will go to help those fighting cancer.

If you are a company and wish to donate something to the sale (all of the money raised from those items will go to charity) I would love to hear from you with donations!

Please note that all payments will go through Paypal only with no exceptions. I will post internationally and let you know what the postage will be on a per "order" basis.

xxx

A full review will follow, I just wanted to show you all the new colours! I have tried the nude one (the light pink 2nd in from the right) and so far one coat was enough for a quick application. I can't wait to try the others!

Fantasy Shopping at Aspire Style.

My favourite shop is Aspire Style, it's a small boutique with an array of beautiful, stylish and original clothes and accessories. I normally can't afford to go mad in this shop but I was lucky enough to spend the day at their store being styled for a photoshoot in a local magazine. I say styled but it entailed me in my pants and bra trying on everything in the shop until we had composed three wonderful outfits. I'd come prepared with a list of items from their website to try but ended up with only half of them as there were other items which suited me better!

I'll detail the outfits below, one is a day look and the other two are evening Christmas party looks. I haven't quite decided on which evening outfit to wear for the shoot, perhaps you could help me decide?!

It was a heavenly two hours of trying on dresses, shoes, coats and the accessories... I felt like a child playing dress up but this was very real and so much fun, I would recommend it to anyone need a little cheering up! The only downside is that I don't get to keep any of the clothes but who knows they may let me keep one or two items as thanks for featuring them in my article...

So here's what I got, some of the more professional images courtesy of the Aspire website! I haven't put all the prices in as I don't know then, so if you like the look of something, check the website for details!

Outfit one is a knee length violet double breasted jacket, with subtle lilac rose detail on the frilled cuffs and belt. I'm dressing it up with teal 80 denier tights, the most gorgeous suede embroidered half calf lace up (with zip) boots and the new love of my life peacock weekend bag. The rose headband will hold back my hair! The make up will be autumnal featuring browns, bronzes and purples with a hint of teal.

St Martins Kassie coat, purple (large) £155.00, Bobby Pin peacock weekend bag £55.95, Poetic Licence black boots (7) £129.00, Large rose headband (Plum) £9.95

The next outfit is one of the evening party outfits. This side fastening high necked jacket is so soft and the gold and black buttons make it very special. It's warm and cosy but feminine and fitted at the waist. I normally don't go for these types of jackets but I am glad that the lovely ladies at Aspire urged me to try it as it is gorgeous! This jacket is teamed with a black and gold sequinned stretchy tunic top. The black leggings aren't shown but the outfit will be completed by black round toed shoes and a gold sequinned clasp purse.

Fever Kobe jacket, black £95.00, Traffic People Tunic Top £?? Poetic Licence, A new day shoe, £75

The final outfit is a knee length black dress with golden daisy embroidery on the skirt, teamed with a small sequin see through jacket (not pictured), the same shoes and bag.

Fever Daisy Dress, £59, Belt £12.99

I haven't put in any photos of me in the outfits as these haven't been taken yet, but if the photographer is kind he/she might let me have a few to post on my blog and I will take a few on my camera too. Wish me luck!

Aspire Style Website is www.aspirestyle.co.uk