Rimmel Rita Ora Nail Varnish in Roll In The Grass

Now we are definitely in Autumn in the UK, this seems like an inappropriate nail colour to be posting about. But if we can put that to one side, although it's a great colour, I'll be telling you about why I love this nail varnish from Rimmel.

I purchased this a while back as it was on offer when I purchased the Kate Moss Rimmel nude lipstick, I think it was buy one get one half price on lips and nails. I didn't want to get two lipsticks so I opted for a new nail varnish, not that I need one. As I said this was a while back, probably nearing the end of Summer which made the colour appropriate then. I am a teal lover and I do think the colour looks great with a tan therefore I must be getting the fake tan out over the colder months for this nail varnish.

This was a really affordable nail varnish and I hadn't tried this particular formula before. If I'm honest I wasn't expecting a lot because of the price tag but this nail varnish is great! The colour was fully opaque after two coats, which is the max number of coats I will go to with a nail varnish. I used a base and top coat and found that this lasted quite a long time on my nails. I also wore this colour on my toes on my holiday to France and it lasted the whole 8 days without any chips! I was really impressed with that but I know you can't really expect that on your hands.

Overall I'm super impressed with this nail varnish and I love the formula. Unfortunately the collection is aimed at Summer colour so they aren't perfect for this time of the year but I would recommend checking them out. As I mentioned they are super affordable, I believe around the £3 mark. Let me know your favourite Autumn nail colour so I can get into the colder months better :-)

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in Fairy Godmother

When Tanya Burr's beauty collection first came out, I couldn't resist purchasing something from it. Recently she has rebranded and released new products, again which I couldn't help peeking at and then ended up purchasing just this one nail varnish.

To begin with the packaging is all new and a whole lot better than when it was first released if I'm honest. The gold packaging is beautiful and I love the rectangular shaped bottle. It just looks a lot more sophisticated than it did the first time round.

The colour of this nail varnish is what caught my eye and it's in the shade "Fairy Godmother" - all hail cute names. This is the perfect pastel cornflower blue which I absolutely love. I think a colour like this, although maybe slightly more summery, can still be worn all year round.

The application of this nail varnish isn't the greatest unfortunately. To get fully opaque, which is what I like from a nail varnish, you really have to apply three coats. I can find painting my nails a chore so having to apply three coats just makes the process slightly more painful. On the other side once it is applied the colour is just what I wanted. It's such a lovely colour and it looks even better with a tan which I luckily had when I wore this colour recently.

Overall I love the colour of this nail varnish but the formula unfortunately isn't my favourite. The packaging and rebranding is pretty and I love the look. I would love to try other products from the range as I've heard good things :-)

Disappointing Products #2

Anything to help prolong my nail varnish, especially on my finger nails, always attracts me. Working in a nursery my nail varnish never normally lasts very long, so when I saw this product I thought I would give it a go. I've heard of the brand Orly before and know that they are a well known nail varnish brand. I found this product in T K Maxx a while back now and it was reduced to an affordable price so I couldn't leave it.

I've used this product a few times now and just don't notice any kind of difference in the length of wear of my nails. I find that it's exactly the same length of time as if I were not to use it therefore I find myself not bothering. It also is another layer of nail varnish you have to apply and wait to dry, which means that painting my nails takes even longer than normal. I can sometimes find painting my nails a bit of a chore so adding another product into that process doesn't really attract me. Of course if the product was to help prolong the wear of my nails then I would jump at using it. But because this one just doesn't help me personally at all, then I see it as a waste.

If you've found a product similar to this one that you believe works then leave recommendations in the comments below, not only to help me but others reading this post :-)

5 Ciate favourites

December just gone I finally got my hands on a Ciate advent calendar (you can see my review here). Behind every door I got such a variety of different shades, colours, glitters and shimmers. It was such a lovely advent calendar so I thought I would share my top five shades from it with you. When I put them all together they actually look super pretty next to each other, which I was secretly pleased with. I have previously tried Ciate nail varnishes so I know they are great quality and worth it.

The mini size of these nail varnishes are great! It actually means I may finish one for once! They are super cute and easy to take a few more with you than usual when you are travelling. As I mentioned the range of colours I received was incredible and I could have chosen many more for this post but wanted to stick to five. So onto the shades I picked as my favourites..

First on the far left is a shade called 'pillow fight' which is a muted purple/grey colour. It's such a beautiful colour and perfect for this time of the year. Next to that shade, up the top, is a similar shade but in blue which is called 'chinchilla'. If you follow me on Instagram (@natalieellis23) then you will have seen my post wearing this exact shade. Again perfect for this time of the year. Underneath that shade is a glitter called 'snow globe'. It has iridescent chunks of glitter included and also small pieces too. It is honestly the prettiest glitter shade and would look perfect over any of the two polishes I've just mentioned. Back up to the top is a shade called 'starlet'. I don't know if this kind of polish has an exact name but it's kind of pearlescent and in different lights it looks different colours. Such as grey, blue, purple and gold. It's such a beauty and I'm not sure any photo would do this justice. The final shade is called 'fit for a queen' which is simple a plain silver shade. The glitter is intense and just looks amazing by itself on the nails.

There we have it, 5 Ciate favourites which fit into the January blues category pretty well. They will cheer up any girls nails this dreary month. I honestly cannot wait to continue testing out the rest of the nail varnishes I received in the advent calendar. I'd love to hear your favourite Ciate polishes and I hope you all had a lovely weekend :-)

Seche Vite dry fast top coat

This is such a hyped up and raved about product in the beauty blogging world, I cannot believe I hadn't tried it sooner. It's a relatively pricey product, for a top coat, but I recently found it on Amazon for just a little over £4 which was an absolute bargain. So I couldn't resist and I caved and purchased it. I was super excited about trying it and was praying that I wouldn't be disappointed and I can tell you I wasn't.

I am the absolute worst when it comes to painting my nails and then having to wait until they're dry. I smudge a nail without a doubt every time and I get so frustrated that I've spent a lot of time painting them and then they're ruined. If you are in the same boat as me and haven't tried this product then I advise you to go ahead and purchase it right now. This product is absolutely insane and works wonders for me. I kinda knew it was going to be good but I didn't realise actually how good this was going to be. Honestly within less than a minute I felt confident enough to move and do something. Yes I was still careful with what I was actually doing but I could touch my nails and they felt dry.

The glossy coat this gives your nails also is incredible and they actually look really like gel nails. You actually apply this product onto wet nails which I was slightly curious about but it works and does not ruin your nails that you've just painted either. The lasting power is great as well but I find the main point of this product is the fast drying time. And that key point is more than enough to warrant buying this product. If you haven't tried this yet then I cannot recommend it enough. It really is the perfect product to use when painting your nails, whether you are in a rush or not. It just stops those smudges and marks you get before your nails are completely dry.

You can still purchase it from Amazon, not quite as cheap as I purchased it at but still cheaper than normal retailers. I'd love to know if you've tried this product and your thoughts on it. I hope you all had a lovely weekend :-)

Ciate Mini Mani Month

It's fair to say I'm slightly behind putting this post up 11 days already into the Christmas countdown, but as I always say better late than never. I'm getting so super duper excited for Christmas this year and cannot believe how quickly it has come around.

Beauty advent calendars have become a huge part of the Christmas countdown and many beauty brands have grasped onto this concept. The Ciate one is one that I have always wanted to try myself and I finally got my hands on one this year. TK Maxx had them at a great discounted price, so they're obviously not this seasons shades, but the different range of colours you get is great. I think mini nail varnishes are great, I mean I don't think I've ever actually gone through a whole full size nail varnish?! Crazy. So the fact these are small may actually mean that I finish one!

You get a whole range of colours, glitters and also their caviar decoration (which I don't think I'll actually use) but it's a great diverse selection. The last picture above is day number 1 which is a gorgeous holographic glitter varnish. It's a really nice little concept that you also get a little beauty quote when you open each door.

So yes I've already opened 11 days of this calendar and am really enjoying it so far. I don't know if I would ever pay full price for this advent calendar but you may want to give TK Maxx a quick look around to see if they have any left as for their price it's definitely worth it! Let's continue the Christmas countdown! :-)

TK Maxx Haul #2

TK Maxx beauty section has really been on point recently and I haven't been able to stop myself from purchasing rather a lot of bits that I've seen as you can probably tell. They always have great brands at a discounted price so it's great when you find something you've been after for a while at a fraction of the price.

The first thing I picked up was from Orly and it's their Primetime which is basically a nail primer which claims to prevent chips. Anything to help my nail varnish last longer is a winner for me so if this product works I'll definitely be raving about it on my blog. I'm not however one to make the process of painting my nails any longer than it can already take. So if this product is not a fast dryer then hopefully it will make up for the no chipping. This product was a bargain at only £2.99.

Next I got this lovely set from Macadamia which includes 6 different products inside and was only around £15. This was something I was really excited to get my hands on as the brand, Macadamia, I've heard so much about. The products are quite expensive when bought separately so I was pleased when I found this set. The products include; a shampoo, conditioner, oil, mask, treatment and a comb. This is a brilliant way to try out all of the products and decide what you like/dislike. I have already dived into this set but I'll do a separate post on all my thoughts.

Finally I picked up a whopping four products from Elemis, again a brand I'd heard so much about but had never actually tried. These were all a great price ranging only from £7.99 to £9.99 so I couldn't resist them. From left to right I picked up; soothing eye rescue, treatment gel, matte attack (including a moisturiser and face wash) and an overnight serum. I've already started a couple of these products but not all of them yet but I'm definitely excited to do so and to get a good opinion on the brand.

And that's it, my TK Maxx haul! If you live near a TK Maxx store then I definitely recommend you popping in to check out the beauty section as there are so many amazing products in there at the moment. You can also check out the TK Maxx website here if you don't have a store near you. I hope you enjoyed this post and keep your eyes peeled for reviews in the future of these products :-)

My Summer nail varnish favourites 2014

A slightly miserable day to be sharing these gorgeous nail varnishes but hopefully they will brighten the weather up ever so slightly. Today is also one of those days where I'm practically doing nothing and being lazy. Although I'm praying for it not to rain so we can have a bbq with the family later. I thought I would share my top summer favourite nail varnishes with you. All be it rather late as it's supposedly already summer here in the UK but hey ho, better late than never.

Rimmel Salon Pro in 317 Hip-Hop

This formula of nail varnish is one of my all time favourites. It's from the Kate Moss range and they are just one of the easiest to apply and they really do last a good amount of time. This shade is the perfect coral for summer, nice and bright. I'm not a huge fan of pastel coral so this colour is right up my street.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Lychee

I love a nude nail varnish all year round but this one is perfect for the summer months. It's a nice and fresh looking nude and again this formula from Barry M Gelly range is lovely. Super glossy and easy application makes them lovely. The other colours in this range are also lovely as there are now so many to choose from. A nude is always a winner with me as whatever outfit you pair with it, it will always go!

OPI Nicki Minaj collection in Did It On 'Em

This is a firm all time favourite nail varnish of mine, I just am in love with the colour! It's a gorgeous yellow/lime and absolutely amazing in the summer. This colour does look great when you have a tan but seeing as there's no getaway for me this summer it does also look great without too, so don't worry! OPI as I'm sure we all know are amazing nail varnishes, yes they come with quite a large price tag but they do feel super luxurious.

Essie in Madison Avehue

Essie have the best colour range possible, I swear every colour is just super pretty, and this one is no exception. It has tiny flecks of glitter in which just make this nail polish that extra bit girly. It's the perfect combo between pink and purple and just the prettiest colour. Again you can't really fault Essie's formula, they are simply just amazing.

Rimmel Lycra Pro in 500 Peppermint

You can't not include a gorgeous mint in a summer nail varnish post hey. This one is the perfect mint colour, again something that would look great with (or without in my case) a tan. Rimmel do amazing nail varnishes and this one again I cannot fault. The lasting power is amazing, I have a feeling it's something to do with this lycra in them? I'm not sure but it must do super things to their nail varnishes. I own many of this collection and love everyone of them!

And that is it! My favourite summer nail varnishes for this "current" summer. I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post today and it has given you some inspiration of what colours to pop on your nails when the sun is shining :-)

Tanya Burr lips & nails: Exotic Island & Penguin Chic

Feeling slightly sleepy already due to waking around 6:45am on a Saturday when I don't start work until this afternoon.. annoying or what! So having done most of the lazy things you tend to do on a weekend morning I thought I would now share a new post with you, one that I've been meaning to share for a very long time. The gorgeous Tanya Burr launched her own lip gloss and nail polish range a while back and I picked up one of each to test out.

When these first launched they were pretty darn hard to get hold of. I ordered mine from Feel Unique and due to the high demand delivery did take rather a long time. But I did finally get my hands on these and I'm super excited about both and love them both - bonus! There are such a wide range of both lip glosses and nail polishes including your bright bolds, hot pinks and neutrals. This made it super hard to decide which shades to choose from (all of which also have super cute names making it even harder). But in the end I opted for a bright lip gloss in Exotic Island and a neutral nail polish in Penguin Chic.

Firstly the lip gloss.. The colour is just oh my, so beautiful. I really was hoping this would be as pigmented and bold as it looks and I can tell you it definitely is. It glides on effortlessly, not sticking to any dry patches which I tend to suffer from. It's a lovely hot purple toned pink which I think is perfect for the coming summer months and nights out. As I said it's super pigmented meaning you can afford to just wear it on it's own but you've also got the option to put it over the top of lipstick maybe for a night out. The packaging is simple which I love and I have to tell you about the smell. These lip glosses just smell absolutely incredible, literally like strawberries and cream or something sweet! I'm never normally a huge lip gloss fan but this one has definitely won me over, it's not too tacky/sticky and gives the perfect amount of colour. All in all this is a great product and definitely worth the £6.99 price tag.

Next the nail polish, I picked up the shade Penguin Chic which is a gorgeous brown/purple/grey, nice and neutral for everyday/every season wear. The formula is lovely, I would recommend more than one coat to achieve the super glossy look which I love. These are easy to apply and dry relatively quickly. They do leave your nails looking nice and glossy although I also apply a top coat to prolong the wear. I absolutely love the packaging again, very chic and simplistic which I think makes the product look a lot more up market. At only £5.99 these nail polishes are affordable and worth it. Again the colour range includes all of the must have colours for each different season which is perfect.

Overall I definitely recommend getting yours hand on either a lip gloss or nail varnish or even both if you feel like splashing out. They're both amazing quality for the prices you pay and in my eyes worth it. Tanya Burr's collection is now available in Superdrug which is a lot easier and means you can really see what all the shades are like. So pop down to your local and see what takes your fancy (also give the lip glosses a whiff!) Enjoy your weekend :-)

Models Own sale haul

Wow this post is long over due, I apologise. These were at the bottom of my 'yet to photograph' pile, hence forth got photographed late. But I finally got round to it and yay for this post! It really was ages ago that I ordered these and the Models Own sale speaks for itself. They don't do it very often but it's definitely worth the wait.. Everything is half price! A nail polish for £2.50? Bargain I say. So I also tried to restrain myself due to having SO many nail varnishes already but couldn't resist purchasing the new Hyper Gel polishes and something different from the Velvet Goth collection.

Firstly I picked up 3 of the Hyper Gel collection called (from l to r) Naked Glow, Lilac Sheen and Cornflower Gleam. These were super hyped up at the time so I was really excited to try them, hence why I ordered 3. So these are supposed to achieve that gel nail look but without the UV, which I think is a lot but if it works then great. I love the colours of all 3 of these polishes, it kinda looks like I opted for a pastel/neutral theme! I have only tried the cornflower one so far actually and can't say I was overly impressed, albeit painted in a rush. I really want to test out another colour to really get my feelings on these polishes and when I do I will let you know!

Now onto the Velvet Goth collection, I picked up 2 of these in the colours (from l to r) Valerian and Amethyst. I've actually already also got the red one from this collection (sorry unsure of the name) and I really enjoyed it! I used that one over the top of another polish and really liked the effect so wanted to try out a couple more from this collection. Again I love the 2 colours I chose and also love how much colour they give off as well as glitter. I'd love to try one of these without a base colour underneath to see the effect and as above when I do I will let you know! But so far I really love this collection, although now it's Spring they're not really quite the right colours.

I hope you liked this small haul, however late it actually is (who's counting?) I'd love to know if you purchased during the Models Own sale and have a look at your hauls :-)

Bourjois Laser Toppings in Aqua Purple

After having 10 days off from work going back to it has certainly been difficult! I had a lovely time away just simply chilling with friends and family. I didn't want to go back as I'm sure many of you will understand but hey I have and am already feeling the tiredness. But anyway before I went away I quickly stopped at my local (work) Boots and picked up some goodies. Bourjois had a 3 for 2 offer on so I easily picked up three, this nail varnish top coat being one of them.

Laser Topping is a new range from Bourjois consisting of three colours and is a clear varnish which contains different coloured strips of glitter which Bourjois refer to as light reflecting fibres. The one I got is called Aqua Purple which contains flecks of pink and purple glitter. I've always been a sucker for glittery top coats and different effects so when I saw these I just had to pick one up. Mind you I was stood there for rather a long time deciding on the colour!

I paired this with my 17 Lasting Fix varnish in 'Woo Me' which is a lovely pale lilac. I really like the contrast between the two varnishes and also think over black or white this top coat would look really effective. I definitely think a nail varnish is needed underneath simply because the fibres are relatively sparse although I do think compared to other glitter top coats these do come out more so than others which surprised me. In the pictures above I used two coats of the Laser Toppings and was very happy with the outcome.

I did apply a top coat as I always do with my nail varnish as I find with this kind of top coat that it can leave a slightly rough finish on the nail. Also I found that a few of the fibres can sometimes poke straight up over the edge of your nail so I tended to try and use the brush to alter this or when it's dry just snip them off! The brush on these varnishes are quite wide which I like as it covers your whole nail in one sweep.

The other pain of glitter top coats is the removal. Now I can say this lasted up to around 6 days if I remember correctly which I was very impressed with. Then one night before I was heading out with my friends one whole nail of varnish just came off in one go! This annoys me sooo much (as I then had to pick all the others off) so I can't comment on the removal with nail varnish remover but the fact that they all peeled off nicely just before I headed out was a bonus.

Overall I really enjoyed using this top coat and found the look of it really interesting. It really caught the sunlight and glistened which was lovely. These are £5.99 in Boots which is a pretty reasonable price and would definitely recommend trying them and experimenting with what colour varnish to put underneath :)

I'd love to know if you've tried any of these polishes and if you've got any pictures on the different colours you used! xo

Rimmel Salon Pro in 447 Barmy Blue

Nearly every month I swear I cave in and buy new beauty bits, it just cannot be helped sometimes. This time the same as any other, Boots currently have a buy one get one half price on make up so I headed down and picked a few bits up, this being one. I've always been a fan of Rimmel nail varnishes but since these new Kate Moss ones launched I never got my hands on one.. until now.

Boy am I glad I picked this beauty up, there is a pretty wide range of colours so it took a rather long time of staring at a ray of colours until I chose this one in 447 Barmy Blue. It's a gorgeous colour with the hint of electric blue but a splash of navy blue. It's such an interesting mix of blues which is what drew me to this colour. Yes I love the colour there are also many other shades out there which I would love to get my hands on but the application of this nail varnish is just oh my, brilliant. The brush is quite wide which I like as it fits over the nail perfectly and simply just glides on. I only needed two coats and this nail varnish was fully opaque which is another winner, anything needing more than two coats bugs me.

These retail at £4.49 which is a bargain for the quality you're getting if I do say so! I cannot yet comment on the lasting power of these varnishes as I only painted them today but fingers crossed that's just as good as everything else about this varnish. I definitely recommend buying and trying this varnish and check out the range of colours! I will 100% be going back for some more shades in this range.

I'd love to know if you've tried any of these varnishes and which shades are you favourites? Also if you have, what the staying power is like? Leave me a comment below :-)