Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Chanel Jade and Ciate Apple and Custard

Chanel's jade nail polish is being sought after by every fashionista, but unfortunately they are at present only releasing a few hundred bottles.



If you too are lusting after this season's most talked about nail varnish, but do not want to join the hundreds of people already on its waiting list you do not have to be green with envy! Ciate have brought out a beautiful milky green polish called Apple and Custard, which is the closest dupe for Jade I have been able to find.

This polish is extremely opaque, yet it dries very quickly. One coat gives you beautiful milky pistachio nails, and after two coats the colour is even richer.

I have tried several Ciate polishes in the past and as well as their pretty packaging I know I can trust them to be good quality. I am particularly a fan of their cream formulas as they are not at all streaky and quite dense so the colour you see in the bottle is the same as what you get on your nails. If you are interested in checking this colour out it can be found here.

What do you guys think of the Jade hype and will you be painting your nails green this autumn? I am still not too sure, but I just had to see what the fuss was about with this colour. After wearing it for a day I actually think it is pretty wearable, and much prefer it to MAC's celebrated peppermint patti :).

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Eye Colour Series- Hazel

A fun arabic inspired eyeshadow tutorial that looks great on all colour eyes, especially hazel. If you have hazel eyes you can also check out the tutorial for green eyes using warm purples :).Products used:

Face: Dior forever foundation spf25
NARS Laguna bronzer
Peachy neutral blush from ebay palette

Eyes:MAC greenstroke painpot
L'ancome silver eyeshadow
Pure Luxe minerals
MAC club and espresso eyeshadow
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in zero
L'ancome Hypnose mascara

Lips- MAC subculture lipliner
Bodyshop colourglide lipstick in latte swirl.


Hope you guys can try this one out as I think it will be universally flattering! xxx

FOTD- Saturday and Maxie being a little thief :).

This weekend was a relaxing one with the boyfriend- plenty of good food (Sainsbury's are doing a recession friendly offer for a two course taste the difference meal and a bottle of wine for two for only £10!), DVDs, and X-Factor. However, on Saturday night we managed to dislodge ourselves from the couch for some drinks and a few giggles at a comedy club.



 (Luke always boasts that he has longer eyelashes than me, but I think I win with a little help ;). Who do you think wins, nature or Revlon? Hehe).

Never missing a chance to play with my makeup, but only having a few minutes to get ready I decided to keep it simple, but add drama with lashes.
Eyes- MAC naked pigment over my lid, with burnt burgundy in the crease (love this for green eyes).
MAC blacktrack fluidline
Maybelline pulse perfection mascara
REVLON Intensifying lashes 99500- add subtle length

Lips- MAC subculture lipliner
Bodyshop Colourglide lipstick in Dusk Pink (No. 42- smells so yummy)

You may be wondering why I would fuss with lashes if I am trying to be speedy, but I will let you in on a little secret, they took less than 30 seconds to put on! These lashes come with adhesive already on them, so there is no mess, no sticky fingers and no time spent dancing around the room, waving them about to get the glue tacky. I just peeled them off, stuck them on, and surprisingly they stayed put all night! Success!!


The downside of these is the adhesive band. For my liking it is too thick, though this makes it easier to adhere and adjust. It is also shiny, so it can look obvious, and I much prefer a clear band. This to me seems strange as these lashes are made to look very natural (especially compared to some of the monstrosities I have previously worn on photo shoots etc.), yet the band would not blend in to the lashline without fairly thick eyeliner.



However, I would definitely recommend these for beginners, as they are much less fiddly and you won't be getting glue all over your eye makeup. Kindly, they come with a little lash applicator, which you can use to make them more secure, or manouevre them down so that there are no obvious gaps between the band and your lashes. There is also an extra adhesive strip so they can be re-used, and after that you can of course use them with your own glue :).

If you are on old hand at false eyelashes, these may not be for you, but I really like them and will be stocking up on a few pairs for those clumsy days when DUO just doesn't co-operate, or if I am in a rush.


Unfortunately, I can't re-use mine, as the second I took them off Maxie mistook them for a spider and decided to chew them to death! I really wish I had a camera to capture the moment he proudly sauntered up to me with an eyelash casually hanging out of the corner of his mouth. With all the stollen brushes, Q-tips and lipsticks I think Maxie is becoming a modern man and has started to build his own make-up collection ;).

Natalya
xxx

Nubar- Going Green Collection.


Since my first experience with Nubar nail varnish was somewhat dubious (remember the matte purple that chipped within hours to end up in my green curry?) I was hesitant to wear it again. To be perfectly honest I am pretty lazy with my nails and just don't have the energy to re-apply nail varnish every day. However, in the interests of all you ladies who are enjoying the green polish trend this season I decided to try a different NUBAR nail polish formula from their new Going Green collection.


 The polish I am wearing here is called Wildlife. It is a very unique colour, and it really has to be seen in real life as it is quite difficult to describe. In the bottle it looks like a golden olive green with a pink duochrome effect. On application the first coat was a little streaky, but with the second it seemed to even out and give a dense colour, which dried fairly quickly to a shiny finish.

I don't own many hollographic nail varnishes and I was surprised by the way it came to life on my nails. Depending on which way you look at it the colours transition from a dark muddy green, through gold, to a bright, pearlescent pink.


Unfortunately, this was difficult to capture on camera, but you can see here how the pink really stands out at the right angles.

Fortunately, I can report that this Nubar formulation is much longer lasting than their matte range and although I did experience a few chips (my nail varnish always chips on the first day be it OPI, essie, china glaze etc.) there was no flaking and peeling of the polish as before.

Overall, if you are interested in green nails for this season I would recommend checking out Nubar's new Going Green collection here as they have a great range of colours and are "3 FREE" as well as cruelty free :).



Sunday, September 27, 2009

Nicky Clarke DesiRED Hair Straightener Review

Simple Sunday Makeup and Maybelline Pulse Perfection Review

A very relaxed, quick and easy makeup look to bring out your natural beauty.




Products used:
Maybelline dream liquid foundation
NARS laguna bronzer
MAC ladyblush cream blush

E.L.F. Butte/Pecan cream eyeshadow
MAC feline khol power eyeliner
Maybelline pulse perfection mascara
Bodyshop colourglide lipstick 


Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!
xxx 

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Smart OOTD and high-waisted trousers?

A few days ago I had an appointment and had to look professional. I am probably one of very few people who loves power dressing, and always feels more confident in sky high heels and a tailored suit, but I didn't want to over do it this time. Instead I opted for a floaty cream blouse tucked into navy high-waisted trousers.



Being a curvy girl with an hourglass figure I love the comfort of high-waisted trousers. They almost feel like a corset as they nip me in at the waist while holding my tummy in and ensuring I can sit down without worrying about anything riding down or digging into my hips. After all we have all seen those awful muffin tops in the back of Glamour, which still give me nightmares!

For some these may be a massive no no as they can make your bottom look flat and generally alter your proportions. However, for me they hug in all the right places and fit my shape much better than regular or low rise trousers.

Blouse: ASOS
Trousers: Penelope and Monica Cruz for Mango

What do you guys think of high-waisted trousers? Do you find them flattering?