Disappointing Products #7

You've probably heard about my rant around high street/drug store foundation primers and if you haven't then I'll briefly fill you in. Basically there just isn't many affordable ones out there and if they are out there, then I've probably tried them and there's probably a reason why I haven't repurchased. I got rather excited when I saw this new arrival on the Boots website from Barry M. Again I'm sure you probably know, I suffer from spots which mean redness so this colour correcting one seemed right up my street.

So there are a few claims on this product: for anti-redness, pore minimising, smoothing and mattifying. The anti-redness claim being the main one for this product and I can safely say that it doesn't help my redness at all. It does smooth over the face nicely but where my spots may be, there is no difference in the look of them. I can't fully comment on the pore minimising factor as I don't suffer badly at all with pores, I occasionally do get some around my nose but I can't say either way really as to whether this product helped to minimise them. As I briefly mentioned this product does apply nicely and smoothly over my face. I simply just use my fingers to apply this and I don't need to worry anymore about it as it settles into the skin quite quickly as well. I do suffer with an oily t zone so again I was intrigued by the mattifying element. Unfortunately again I cannot say that this product helped my oiliness at all. The formula of this product is quite thick and once applied all over there is no evidence of any instant mattifying.

I've been using this product for the past few weeks now and after applying the rest of my make up, I find that my make up looks good/normal. This product doesn't ruin the look of my make up, I just find that where this product hasn't helped my redness I need to focus on that area a bit more than usual perhaps. My make up doesn't last very long, mainly just my t zone, when using this product but I was kind of prepared for that when I could see that it hadn't helped my oiliness after application. I simply just 100% know that I need to re-powder my face whenever I get that chance.

Overall I'm not impressed with this particular product from Barry M and will continue my hunt for a great high street primer. Barry M do offer some great products, unfortunately I cannot say that this is one of them. Let me know your favourite primer and your thoughts if you have tried this product :-)

I Spent Even More Money On Make Up...

When Boots have 3 for 2 on all make up I cannot resist. I purchased six make up items that I really don't need but wanted, isn't that always the story? There were actually a few new releases make up wise and after watching some YouTube videos about the best of the high street brands, I obviously needed to try those too right.

Firstly influenced by Fleur from FleurDeForce I picked up the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Palette. I'm not one to always wear eye shadow but when I do I like to have choice depending on what I'm wearing. In this palette there are six neutral shades which are all totally wearable for everyday and on a night out. This palette was as cheap as chips so I'm looking forward to see if it's any good.

Next is a new product from Barry M and it's their Flawless Colour Correcting Primer. This particular one is aimed at redness but there is just a normal one on offer too. I've always said I find it hard to find high street primers so when I saw this one I knew I wanted to try it out. I then picked up the new Rimmel Super Curler Mascara which I read mixed reviews about. This mascara is supposed to curl your lashes without the need to use an eyelash curler. I'm not sure whether this will work or not but I'm excited to see whether it does or not as I'd love to not curl my eyelashes daily!

I then picked up the Bourjois Brow Natural as my current brow product is nearly all gone basically. Unfortunately when I went to try this product out, it didn't work. I took it back to Boots to get another but it was the same so I didn't bother again. This was a shame as I love using felt tip like brow products but it simply just wasn't meant to be.

Next is the Revlon Colorstay Concealer which I have wanted to try for a very long time. I've heard it is supposed to be a dupe for the Nars concealer which I do really like. Hence why I wanted to try this one as it's a fraction of the price. Finally I picked up the Bourjois Mat Illusion Bronzing Powder simply because I wanted a matte bronzer. I've got the Bourjois chocolate bronzer but it does have some shimmer in it which for the autumnal/winter months I didn't want. I do love Bourjois as a brand so thought I would stick with it and found this matte one which I haven't heard anything about so thought I would give it a go.

That's it for this Boots haul (again). I definitely need to stop buying make up for quite a while now and use up more that I have in my stash. I do love when Boots do 3 for 2 though as it's such a good time to save money and try out new things you've always wanted too. I hope you all have a lovely weekend :-)

Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Paint

Recently I've become slightly more tame with my nail varnish collection, I used to be obsessed and my collection was (maybe still is) rather large. Nowadays I'm trying to cut down buying them and only trying to buy them if it's a colour I don't own, a formula I know I love or something brand new which these ones are. I've always loved Barry M nail varnishes and that's mainly what the brand is known for. They have had quite a few new releases recently these Sunset Daylight Curing ones being just one of them.

I saw these recently on Asos, when I was having a big of a beauty splurge, and they had some money off so I thought I would give them a go. The colour of this particular nail varnish is what took my fancy to begin with, this one is in the shade 'Peach For The Stars' (I also love how all of these nail varnishes in this range have names related to top pop hits!). When you buy any nail colour from this range you also have to buy the top coat in order for it to work properly. Although I'm guessing if you just wanted the colour then you could use it alone with your own normal top coat you just wouldn't get the benefits of what this nail varnish duo has to offer. Barry M claim that this duo will create a gel like finish and the aim of this is that they bond together using day light, hence the name.

I recently tried this nail varnish duo at the weekend and absolutely loved the application. I used my own base coat and the colour applied really smoothly. The brush is quite large and square which is like my perfect nail brush. I applied two coats of colour and then applied the top coat which again went on really well. Now where I live in the UK it was pretty gloomy on the weekend I applied this and I'm not sure whether or not that has a huge effect on whether this duo works or not. I was painting my nails for that particular night as I was heading out but by the end of the night I saw several chips on a few nails.

Therefore I can't say I was best pleased with this product but as I mentioned I'm not sure whether the weather was a big factor in this particular application. I will definitely give it another go as I absolutely love the colour of this varnish and it honestly is the perfect coral for summer. That is the only reason I can think of as to why this nail duo didn't bond correctly but if you've tried this duo and know of why it might not have worked for me then let me know! I don't want to give up on it yet as I love Barry M nail varnishes and think this could work. Let me know if you've tried this duo and your thoughts :-)

Asos Beauty Haul

I know I said I haven't done a haul in a while in my previous haul and look here, it's another one! Recently Asos had some offers on all of their beauty items so of course I headed on over to their website and of course placed an order.

If you follow me on Twitter (@natalieellis23) then you'll know I've been after a new primer and just hadn't really found any that sounded like they suited me in the drug store other than this offering from Bourjois. But spending £11 seemed a lot for the high street so when I found it on Asos for just over £7 I did not hesitate. I was humming and harring between the luminous and matte version as I have both oily and dry skin but in the end I opted for the matte version. Simply because my oily t zone is the first thing throughout the day to come out and I really hate that. I just hope this works well with my dry skin also, I'm hoping it will with a good moisturise and my Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation.

On that Rimmel foundation note I then picked up this BB Cream Radiance from Rimmel. This was something I had never seen on the high street before whether that's because it's new or I just haven't noticed it yet I'm not sure. But it immediately reminded me of my favourite Wake Me Up Foundation and I thought this would be a great alternative for the summer months when I want something even lighter. This product claims a lot so I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

Next I picked up the new Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing nail varnishes. I've seen many reviews of these recently on many blogs and I thought the concept was very interesting. I'm not normally one to go and get my nails done so anything can achieve that look at home is always a winner for me. I picked up this peachy pink shade and the top coat which I'm super excited to try out and see if it actually works. I also then found this Hawaiian sun lotion in my little package which was a nice little freebie to receive. I'm heading on a couple of summer holidays so feel this little travel size will come in super handy.

That's everything I picked up from Asos and I'm really pleased and excited to try all of these things out. Let me know if you've tried anything that I picked up and your thoughts on them :-)

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint

I used to be so into painting my nails a couple of years back, my schedule changed and now it seems I'm just too busy during the week. But I do like to get painting my nails on the weekends now as they're my free time. It also means that they should stay painted for at least the weekend before going back to work and getting all chipped. But hey ho, two days is better than none.

Recently Barry M have released this collection called "Speedy". Any nail varnish that claims a quick drying time is right up my street. Most in the past have never worked and the only thing recently that has been a life saviour is Seche Vite (you can read my post here). But as soon as I spotted these when browsing the Boots website, one immediately made it into my basket. The shade range all seems pretty nude/pastel at the moment but I'm not sure if anymore are going to be released. I picked up the shade "Pit Stop" which is basically a grey colour, which believe it or not I actually don't have in my collection.

The brush is brilliant, it's square so fits the shape of your nail perfectly in one movement. This made application super easy and painting my nails a breeze. I applied two coats of this nail varnish and it was fully opaque which is great. I hate having to do any more than two coats with any nail varnish. The speed this nail varnish dried at was incredible! It was honestly the quickest drying time nail varnish I have ever used. I didn't let myself do anything drastic to ruin my nails for a little while after painting, but I never do as I don't want to smudge them. But these dried super fast and I could really tell the difference compared to a normal nail varnish. Also this nail varnish lasted so long on my nails without chipping, even whilst at work. This is such a bonus for me as they normally chip within the first two days of me wearing them. This honestly lasted a good 5 days without chipping which is amazing.

For the price you pay, which I believe is £3.99, it's such a great nail varnish. I will definitely be picking up some more on my next trip to Boots. It's also still currently 3 for 2 on all Boots make up so if you're looking to splurge then definitely check these out! You can buy them here and also check out the other shades available. Let me know if you've tried this formula and your thoughts! Hope you've all had a good weekend :-)

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 :-)

Review: Barry M Gelly Nail Varnish in Lychee

Just earlier this morning I put together a couple of sentences in my head which were going to be the start of this blog post, and guess what? I didn't write them down and sitting here now my head is completely blank.. bad blogger alert, not to self: write it down!!

Ha ha, anyway if you've seen my latest haul post then you'll know I finally picked up one of the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polishes. I'm like a nail polish fanatic so for me to not have picked this up earlier is crazy and now after using it I wish I had. I opted for this colour called 'Lychee' I swear when looking for new nail varnishes I am just drawn to bright colours and glitters polishes, hence why my nude colour varnishes are pretty much non existent. Hence why I picked up this particular colour, as I have pretty much every shade of bright colour so this one really appealed to me.

This was super easy to apply, I have always loved Barry M nail varnishes and this one is no different. The consistency of this polish is pretty thick and just needs two coats for complete opacity. Like this says on the bottle it is 'Hi-Shine' so no need for a top coat unless you want it super glossy and slightly more long lasting. In the pictures above I did use a top coat as knowing I was going to work the next day I wanted it to last slightly longer. I can't really comment on the lasting of this varnish as I swear whenever I go to work it just kills my nails and ruins all nail varnish.

I absolutely love this varnish and think the colour is totally wearable for all, with the price tag of just £3.99 it's totally affordable as well. Have you tried any of these polishes? I'd love to know you're other colour recommendations are within this range?