Nail Colours of Spring: Pastel Pink

Seems I've picked the darkest, murkiest day of the last fortnight to come up with this post haha. I'm getting in the mood for SPRING just lately and, having painted my nails this morning in a gorgeous, dusky, nude, pastel pink shade I realised that I have several such shades in my collection. Do I really need all of them? My mum thinks I'm bonkers when I declare that I NEED a certain shade of nail polish and then totally reject 5 or 6 shades fitting the description because they're just not 'right'. So I've decided to pull out my Top 5 of the pale pink shades in my collection and have a little swatch-fest.

Here are the shades under scrutiny today (L-R)

OPI 'Steady as She Rose' 

Nails Inc Gel Effect 'Mayfair Lane'*

Essie 'Fiji'

Nails Inc 'George Street'

and

Look Beauty Nail Pop 'Petticoat'

I wouldn't say that any of these shades are the same. A pink nail polish is rarely just a pink nail polish anymore (especially for a beauty blogger). Some are cool, some are warm, some are nude, some are.. you get the point. And a lot of them look completely different on the nails to how they look in the bottle. 

When you look at the shades side by side on the nail wheel it turns out that this is really a collection within a collection. No doubt I will wear all of these at some point over the coming warmer months. All of these shades are really wearable and look amazing with a bit of a tan. Fiji is the palest of the bunch while George Street is the deepest and also the most opaque. Favourites?? It's got to be a toss up between Steady as She Rose and Mayfair Lane but for completely different reasons. I love the grey tones in Steady as She Rose while Mayfair Lane is the perfect peachy pale pink. The Nude Award of the bunch has to go to Petticoat. This polish works on its own and also as a base for pink glitter polishes. So, basically, there is definite justification for me having all of them... HURRAH! 

I think I might stretch this post out into a series as I also covet mint greens and duck egg blues during the Spring/Summer months and none of the shades I have will be going unloved this year. So expect more swatching in posts to come!

What are your top Spring nail colours?? Must you have ALL OF THE PINKS?? Do you have a favourite shade of pink??

Look Beauty Airbrush Base Foundation: Review

Evening lovelies! 

Remember last week when i swore it would not be another week until my next post... Well, thanks to a CRAZY fortnight coupled with ME/CFS i have been stuck in bed with exhaustion since my last post and was advised to stay off the laptop (migraine city). However, i've had some rest and have taken the week off from Uni to recover and catch up with myself again, and tonight i would like to tell you all about the Look Beauty Airbrush Base Foundation in Medium.

I picked this up in January when Look Beauty had their 50% off sale on. I've actually heard very good things about it and was in need of a new foundation so decided to give it a try. 

Look Beauty do not actually give away much information about this product on their website. It doesn't say what degree of coverage it is meant to give, nor what kind of finish to expect. All i gleaned from the packaging is that it is suitable for day or night and gives a 'soft focus' finish. 

The product is thicker than a lot of foundations i've used. It comes in a glass bottle with a sleek, silver pump top. I've been using 4/5 pumps to cover my whole face (one pump doesn't seem to produce much product) and applying it with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Look Beauty advise to apply it with your fingers but i find i prefer to use a brush. Just my personal preference. Once it's on the face it spreads very easily and gives a very even coverage on top of a good primer. I've been using it with either my Murad or New CID primers, although Look Beauty do have their own primers. The colour is a pretty decent match on my NC30 skin.

I find this foundation to be of medium coverage, which can be built upon if needed. The finish on me is slightly matte but not too much so. It smoothes the appearance of the skin and i don't need to use a lot of powder on top of it. It also lasts all day, although if i'm going out at night as well, i usually feel like i need to touch it up. 

The only major downfall for this product is the packaging. Although it is very pleasing on the eye and i am a fan of pump tops on foundations (especially ones which unscrew so you can get at the last of the product), this one doesn't seem to work very well and occasionally the pump fails and doesn't produce any product and i have to unscrew it. 

The price is on the higher end for a drugstore foundation, but i'd say it's worth it for the most part and would definitely repurchase it at this price. This foundation costs £12 for 40ml and is available from selected Superdrug stores and also at lookbeauty.co.uk 

Have you tried Look Beauty Airbrush Base?? Are you a fan of their products?? What are your drugstore foundation recommendations??

Monday Manicure #3

Good evening my lovelies!!

This was almost a Tuesday Manicure! A little late on in the day for me to be blogging but i really wanted to do something with a Valentines theme again this year (last year it was girly, pink lipgloss) and this year i wanted to incorperate it as a theme for this week's Monday Manicure!! I'll be honest and admit that i consider the whole concept of Valentines Day to be a load of marketing BULLHONKEY, but i'm never one to resist a themed post and i've been enjoying dreaming up themes for my Monday Manis and couldn't let this one pass me by!! Plus it's an excuse to get all pink, girly and romantic (even though, instead of the man of my dreams, i'll be curling up with two ferrets this Valentines.... Face look bothered though???)

So here are the polishes....

Look Beauty Nail Pops in Bling and Petticoat

(The OCD in me is SCREAMING out about the smear on the cap in this photo, but it wouldn't shift)

I picked these polishes up as part of my cheeky little Look Beauty haul in January (see the full extent of the booty i snagged in my haul post HERE) and this is the debut outing for both of them. I did buy them with the intention of using them together somehow and they seemed very appropriate to the theme this week so i decided to go for it! I got the idea into my head that i wanted to try a kind of glitter gradient effect but, please keep in mind, that i was on a moving train when i did these and didn't have all the tools one would usually associate with doing a gradient effect. However, being a Virgo, i improvised...

(In artificial light)

This manicure consists of.....

2 layers of OPI Nail Envy

2 coats of Petticoat

A single coat of Bling

Finished with lashings of Seche Vite

For the (supposed) gradient glitter effect, in the absence of any type of sponge, i started by making sure that i'd wiped almost ALL of the polish off the brush to the point that it was almost a dry brush and started brushing from the middle of each nail, out towards the tip, adding more wherever i thought it needed it. I did also dab some extra glitter onto the very tips of the nails to ensure that the ends were more opaque and emphasise the fade between polishes. It's definitely not as effective as ombre/gradient nails done the proper way, but for a fast fix option i don't think it looks too bad at all!! I'm by no means an expert at nail art and do NOT have a steady hand when it comes to fiddly stuff, but i'm learning to experiment and am getting more creative lately!

(In natural light)

Petticoat is such a pretty pale, dusky pink nude. Reminds me of ballerina slippers, especially when teamed with the glitter! It isn't wishy washy like similar shades from other brands that i've tried and was lovely and opaque after two coats. 

Bling is reminiscent of it's ruby red cousin, Dorothy (see Monday Mani #1 HERE), only the glitters are ever so slightly bigger and are the most beautiful yet subtle pink colour. It gives a lovely sparkle without being too garish or over the top (i'm still coming around to glitter in things but my interest in glitter nails is mounting). As with Dorothy, if you're using this polish on its own, two coats is sufficient but you may want to use three depending on how much Bling you fancy. 

So that's about as much warm, fuzzy and romantic as you'll get out of me. I'll be going to bed on the 14th with a pack of choccy biccies, my electric blanket and my two fur-babies. 

Have you tried anything different with your nails recently?? What colours get you in the mood for romance?? Have you fallen head over heels for Look Beauty??

Half Price Look Beauty HAUL!!

Good morning my lovelies!!

My Instagram followers reading this will already know that i went a bit NUTS when i heard that Look Beauty were having a 50% off Sale in Superdrug this month. And my local one in Streatham just happens to stock it! Needless to say, i was off up there faster than a greased weasel.... and i actually went back TWICE more in the last week! Naughty naughty... Anyhoo i thought i'd do a little post to let you all see what i got.

Okay so it's not a MASSIVE haul... but for me this is the most drugstore makeup i've bought over a short period of time in quite a while! Especially from just one brand. In fact, these are my first ever Look Beauty purchases (apart from a single lipstick which i reviewed HERE) and i wanted to get my money's worth while everything was such a great price!! 

Nail Pop - £5 Each (I paid £2.50)

To be honest it was only really these that i first went in for. I've heard quite a lot about these polishes and i knew i had to get some while they were such a low price. The shades are as follows...

(L-R)

Kimono

Bling

Petticoat

Dorothy

The only one i have reviewed so far is Dorothy (post can be found HERE) but expect to see all featured on this blog during the course of the next few weeks.

Make me Blush Powder Blusher: Pinch £8 (I paid £4)

This is a bit of a different colour choice for me. It's a lot cooler in tone than i would usually go for. I expected to go straight for 'Rosy', which i do still want but i was admiring this colour so much and i find it so much easier to try new things when they're on offer. I haven't really had much opportunity to play around with it yet, but from a preliminary swatch the pigmentation looks really promising! I will report back.

Holiday Glow Bronzer: Rio £8 (I paid £4)

I grabbed this because i've been looking for a slightly darker bronzer for a little while now. I can't really afford to repurchase my shattered NARS Laguna yet (seriously upset with myself for managing to destroy something so beautiful) and wanted something that i could put in my travel bag as a bronzer/contour multitasking product. I'm hoping this might be it!!

Airbrush Base: Medium £12 (I paid £6)

I've heard amazing things about this foundation and i'm so excited to try it out. There will definitely be a review popping up on this at some point. It's a medium coverage, which is my preferred kind, and the shade match is great. I've had a little feel of it on the back on my hand and can't wait to play with it properly. I have really high hopes so i hope it doesn't let me down! 

Eye Brightener £4 (I paid £2)

Hmmm... I already have the BeneFit eye bright, but this nude shade really appealed to me as a more subtle tone as the BeneFit one (although i love it) is quite pale and pinky toned. It's also quite chunky, while this pencil is the same as a regular eyeliner. Hoping i will be able to use both to create different effects.

Loud Lips Liner: Rock Candy £4 (I paid £2)

There is a lipstick of the same name to go along with this product but it just looked so RAWR that i couldn't bring myself to buy it. I have fuchsia lipsticks already that i hardly wear. I bought this liner specifically to go with my MAC Quick Sizzle lipstick but i'm going to try it with other pinks such as my Viva Glam Nicki and Chatterbox and see what looks i can create.

Double Hit Lip: Berry Blast £8 (I paid £4)

I'm still on a mission to find a shade of purple lipstick that will suit me. I have green eyes so, in theory, it should be a match made in heaven, but my warm skintone is seriously hindering me!! I love that this one has a gloss with it that i can use on its own for a more subtle in situations colour when the lipstick is too daring. Can't wait to play with this badboy!! Expect swatches soon. 

As far as i know, Look Beauty is still half price in Superdrug (the last time i went in was Monday of this week), but the half price offer seems to have disappeared on their website. There are still markdowns to be had though! The blusher and bronzer featured in this post are both currently reduced to £5 as well as some other offers (including their Brow Kit - OMG how gorgeous is that) so do check the site out! In case you don't know it's

www.lookbeauty.co.uk

Do you rate Look Beauty Products?? What are your favourites?? Did you rush out to take advantage of the January Sale??

Monday Manicure #1

Good morning my beauties!!

I've been brainstorming in the last week as to how i can change up my blog a bit and incorperate more posts that i felt my blog has been lacking lately. I hit on the fact that nail polish is something that doesn't get enough attention at the moment and, as i've recently been painting my nails more and more frequently (usually on the train up to University on a Sunday afternoon), i decided that i would dedicate Mondays to my nails! So i'm getting the ball rolling today with this little beauty....

Look Beauty Nail Pop:

Dorothy

Because red glitter nails are for LIFE, not just for Christmas! I enjoyed glitter nails so much over the festive period that i have carried it over into 2013.

Look Beauty currently have 50% off ALL their beauty products in Superdrug and online. I've only ever tried their lipsticks before (read my review of Toffee Cup HERE) so i decided i just HAD to purchase a couple of their nail polishes. I picked up this one and another, which will no doubt be coming up very soon in another Monday Mani post. 

(In natural light)

This is 2 coats of Dorothy followed by Seche Vite topcoat (that's another post, i love it!)

(With Flash - Check out the pathetic, short middle nail that broke yesterday. Grrrrrrr)

This polish is visually stunning! These photos really don't do it justice. The glitters are quite fine, but not too much so and really catch the light perfectly. 2 coats provides decent opacity but i think i'd maybe go for 3 in future. It really is a dead ringer for the Ruby Slippers Dorothy wears in the Wizard of Oz! Wonder if i click my fingers 3 times i'll be transported to another realm haha...

Longevity-wise, this polish holds its own. I've had it on since Saturday night and it's just starting to come away from the tips. No chipping as yet. To be fair i haven't done anything very strenuous though. I like the size of the brush and the formula is easy enough to work with. I'm a messy self- manicurist and i  only had minimal tidying up to do after applying this. 

Look Beauty Nail Pops are currently on sale at £2.50 each (usual price is £5) and are available in a wide range of colours from selected Superdrug stores and from lookbeauty.co.uk 

I think i may have to make another trip because i'm hooked!!

What shades have you picked up in the sale?? Do you go mad for glitter polish?? 

Late Night Lippy Lovin': Look Beauty Toffee Cup

Good evening my lovelies! 

Late late late post tonight as i've been off gallivanting around the new Primark on Totty Court Rd all afternoon hehe (more on that to follow over on BrunetteBeautyBuzz tomorrow), but i couldn't let a whole week pass without bringing you my opinions on SOMETHING! So much University drama AGAIN this week, so my silence couldn't be helped really. My apologies. BUT i'm here tonight to talk about Look Beauty!!

Just like NYX the other week, Look Beauty is a brand that i've heard and read a LOT about but never really had access to until i moved down to London in July. Imagine my GLEE to find that my new local Superdrug stocks it!! Being the way that i am, i automatically went straight for the lippy and, being the way that i am, was bound to gravitate towards the nearest pinky-nude. So this brings us to the shade Toffee Cup!! 

This is such a creamy shade! It is very moisturising on my lips and has a taste like it may contain some kind of cocoa or shea butter (i can't seem to find any info to confirm this on the Look Beauty Website, but it tastes that way to me). One application was enough to give a lovely creamy toffee pink shade, although one coat doesn't seem to last that long (around 2-3hrs ish) so i'd recommend blotting it and applying a second layer or setting it with a powder to ensure greater longevity. 

This is a shade that, i think, is pretty universal skintone-wise. I'm pretty much slap bang in the middle but i can see it working on paler/cooler tones or even slightly darker skins. 

My ONE and only grumble?? The packaging. This lipstick costs £7 which is probably about right for the quality of the lipstick, but the casing lets it down a little for me. It has this magnetic-type thing going on to keep the lid on, but i frequently find that it comes off very easily and it makes me a bit wary to carry it around with me for that reason. I also find it a bit bulky. HOWEVER, this would not put me off buying this lipstick in other shades (i've currently got my beady eye on Rock Candy - a pretty, bright shade of pink).

All in all i am satisfied with my first Look Beauty purchase! I now feel totally justified in exploring their ranges a little further (sorry Mr. NatWest). If you'd like to view this, and all the other Look Beauty lipstick shades, or to browse their full range of products i'd highly recommend their website 

lookbeauty.co.uk

Look Beauty is also available in selected Superdrug stores!!

Do you love Look Beauty?? Which of their products do you rate?? Do you go nuts for a pinky-nude lippy too??

Birthday Shopping, Instagramming and HAUL!!

Afternoon lovelies!!

For some bizarre reason there's been a massive gap in my posting again. I've actually got no excuse this time but I've since done a Virgo and gotten myself organised and written a list of all the posts i want to do so hopefully September will be a great month for Brunette Beauty Banter! 

September is also my BIRTHDAY month! And the big 3-0 landed on me yesterday so i took the opportunity to shop my ass off and eat lots of naughty food! So i am going to post today about all of the things that made my day so AMAZING! Expect it to be picture heavy... 

Clockwise from Top Left:

1) Started my day with Choc Chip PopTarts from my lovely housemate Sharon. 

2) Woke up to a package full of family birthday cards that my mum had forwarded to London for me.

3) AMAZING Blue Cheese burger and Sweet Potato fries at Ed's Diner with the gorgeous Yu from lets-makeyuup.com. 

4) My birthday present to myself was a new iPhone 4s. I decided to upgrade early as my 3GS really wasn't performing for me anymore. I also treated myself to two new phone cases including this super-cute Penguin case from eBay (complete BARGAIN).

 The biggest surprise of the day was my present from my housemate/landlord. In the next couple of weeks or so we will both be going off to The Ink Parlour in Shepherd's Bush to get new tattoos! It was totally unexpected but i'm so excited because it's given me a kick up the backside. I've been wanting another tattoo for about 5yrs now but never done anything about it. I know exactly what i'm going to have and where i want it so i can't wait to finally go and get it on me! I'm not telling yet though so you'll have to keep an eye on Twitter and Instagram to see what i get!

These were technically pre-birthday treats (i popped up to Streatham High Rd the day before and couldn't resist). I picked up two tops from New Look as well as my first ever purchase from Look Beauty. I got their lipstick in the shade Toffee Cup. Can't wait to post about it!! It was also the first time i've ever seen Batiste XXL in stock ANYWHERE so i grabbed the last one on the shelf and made for the till!! 

So after we'd finished feeding out faces with burgery goodness, Yu and i went for a mooch around Selfridges. I didn't go mad, buying everything i laid eyes on, but i had a good idea of what i wanted before i went in. The names floating around in my head were MAC and Illamasqua and here's what i picked up!!

I FINALLY picked up some MAC Fix+. It's been on my list forever and i've heard so much about it so i knew i wanted to get some while we were in there. I can't wait to use it and i'll probably tell you my thoughts on it at some point, but i think most of us have probably read about it and/or tried it at some point already. I had intended to pick up some eyeshadow pans for my empty MAC palette as well, but decided that that was a mission best left for another day. 

Favourite Birthday purchase by FAR has to be Illamasqua Freak Eau de Parfum. It's been my favourite smell ever since i got my first sample of it in a Glossybox but, until now, i've been surviving from sample to sample and couldn't justify buying the full size bottle. 

 This perfume is stunning in every way. I adore the bottle. It's so dark, yet there's a little snail making his way up to the top. The scent itself is everything i like in a fragrance. It's a blend of what Illamasqua calls 'Forbidden Flowers' including Poison Hemlock and Datura. It's a floral scent but it's definitely 'of the night'. 

Yup, so i had to make a little trip to Primani didn't i. Even though i seem to have spent FOREVER in there lately for various bits and pieces i needed. I wanted to go in to pick up these lush velvet wedge ankle boots i'd spied whilst in there for other things. At £20 they're on the pricier side for Primark i guess, but totally worth it! I had a totter around in them last night and they seem really comfy. I hadn't intended to pick up anything else but i saw a gorgeous baroque-style printed top/dress for £11 and snatched that up as well. 

Last purchase of the day was my first EVER Essie polish. I've seen Essie all over blogs and Instagram but it just doesn't exist where i'm from in Derbyshire. You just CANNOT get it! So when i spotted the Essie display whilst skulking around Superdrug with Yu, i got a little bit giddy! The shade i chose was Fiji as i've admired it for a while and i can't wait to do a NOTD with it!! 

So i hope this post hasn't been too long winded and photo-heavy for you, but i'm really pleased with my purchases, and really wanted to show them all to you. I was trying to go for quality, rather than quantity. The only thing i'd planned to buy, but didn't was the Origins VitaZing and i'm majorly regretting that now. Think a cheeky online purchase may be in order somewhere down the line. 

I had an absolutely AMAZING 30th Birthday and thank you to all of you that Tweeted me, commented on Instagram or wrote to me on Facebook. I felt EXTREMELY loved!!

What have YOU been hauling lately??