Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo - Laguna and GOSH Natural Touch Cream Blush in Peachy Rush

These are a couple of items I bought in Brighton last week, so I thought I'd review them and show you some swatches.

First off, are Accessorize allowed to call their bronzer "Laguna"?  Surely that's a blatant rip-off of Nars?  I've not tried the Nars one, so I can't compare the two, but I was looking for a baked bronzer, and this one appealed to me as the colours were cooler toned and less orange than most bronzers, so when I saw the name I thought I'd have it. It cost £6 from Superdrug.

There are two different colours in the pan, a darker and lighter one.  They are both pretty pigmented, so I've fallen foul of using too much bronzer a few times since I bought it.  I've found that just a quick swirl round the pan (mixing the two colours together) gives plenty of product to bronze my whole face.  I think I prefer the lighter colour on its own, as I'm slightly scared of over-doing it, but I do like both mixed together.  I'd steer clear of using the darker shade alone (but I am really pale).

L to R: Darker colour alone, blended, lighter colour alone

L to R: Darker colour alone, blended, lighter colour alone

I quite like this bronzer.  I don't think it'll become an all-time favourite, as it's not the easiest product to blend and work with, but I do like it and like the glow and contouring it gives to my face without too much shimmer.

I really like cream blushes, but I only have a couple of Mac ones, so I thought I'd try a less expensive one.  I really want an Illamasqua one in a similar colour to this blush, so I thought this would be a sort of dupe.

I really like the colour, but I'm less impressed with the product.  It's a bit too slippy and watery without much pigment.  It sort of disappears on my skin, so I have to load on several layers to get a good colour, and then I stray into danger territory of having too much blush!  Although it's slippy, it's not that blendable and it fades into my face during the day.

I'm pretty disappointed with this blush actually - I was expecting better  as it wasn't the cheapest cream blush on the market (costing £7.49 at Superdrug).  I think I'll steer clear of these blushes in the future, maybe trying Topshop Cream Blushes (if I can ever find a store selling them) or forking out for Mac and Illamasqua.

Here are the least horrific pictures of me modelling both items for your viewing pleasure - if you look closely, you will note my rubbish blending of the blush!

What's your favourite cream blush?  Mine is a very old blush and lip combo from The Body Shop I used to use about ten years ago - I wish they still made it!

Thanks for reading! xx

NOTD - Accessorize Magical Mocha

Hi everyone - here's my NOTD for you - Magical Mocha from Accessorize.

 
Whilst I love this colour, and Accessorize polishes are quite good value, I've not been impressed by this polish, or by the previous one I've tried.  They are a pain to go on, with a fiddly brush that doesn't seem long enough, they dry ok, but then they chip like nothing else.  Literally this lasted less than a day and that was with a top coat!  I expect better from a polish, and you can get better polishes than this at similar prices.

However, the colour, a bronzey, brownish sparkle with a slightly mauve tone is lovely - does anyone know of any dupes?

I've since totally destroyed what was left of my manicure digging up the last of my potatoes in my garden, so it's time to start again!  Here's a picture of a massive potato I dug up about a month ago, with a mini Babybel for size comparison - it did for a whole meal of mash for two, with plenty left over!!!

Thanks for reading! xx

Just a little haul...

...or not!  Hi ladies, I’ve had a very busy week, staying away overnight at a roadside Travelodge yesterday, before going to Brighton and back today. Anyway, I had a spare half an hour in Brighton (one of my favourite cities) to pick up a bit of shopping and I managed to stock up on a lot of products.

Beauty addict's paradise... Mac, Bare Escentuals, Aveda, Kiehl's and Shu Uemura

If you’ve never been to Brighton, you will be in for a shopping treat.  I think it’s the best place for shopping in the country outside London, catering for all tastes, including high street, high end and designer, independent and quirky/hippy shops.  In particular, their beauty shops are fantastic. I used to live there when I was a student and I remember a friend coming to stay with me and us spending 3 whole days covering all the shops!  My best friend still lives there, and we always hit the shops when I’m staying with her.

I went to L’Occitane and finally got some Almond Shower Oil which I’ve been meaning to get for ages.  I then popped into Mac to get some concealer and bumped into a former colleague of mine who works there as a MUA – I’ve not seen her for over a decade, so we caught up whilst I also decided to buy Satin Taupe.  Then I went to Bare Escentuals to get some more Mineral Veil.  In Oasis I got a couple of pairs of earrings and Butter London polish in Marrow.  Finally, I went to Superdrug to stock up on bits and bobs.  Some Garnier BB Cream, an Accesorize bronzer, and GOSH cream blush, as well as other stuff.  Phew, that was a lot of shopping in half an hour!

Believe it or not, I’ve not spend much money on beauty products recently, and other than nail polish, I don’t think I’ve bought any makeup all summer!  

Wedding Outfit 2 - Ideas and Styling - Please Help Me!

If you regularly follow my blog, you will know I'm going to 4 weddings this year!  2 down so far, only 2 more to go!  One coming up is my sister's wedding, so I want to get the styling right, as the photos are likely to be sat on my Mum's shelf for years to come...

I've bought a dress from Phase 8 and it was very expensive.  I do like it, but I'm not 100% sure about it.  I might need to try it on again, or carry on looking to see if I find a dress I like better.

Anyway I've had an attempt at styling the dress - really only to get ideas for jewellery that would match, as well as shoes, accesories and makeup colours etc.  If anyone had any other suggestions as to what would work with this dress, please help me!!!  I find styling outfits, especially formal outfits soo difficult!  I'm relying on you ladies to work your magic...

Dress - Phase 8
Shoes - Nine West
Jewellery - Dorothy Perkins, Next, Warehouse
Scarf - Vintage (my Granny's)
Nail Polish - OPI
Eyeshadows - Accessorize and Mac
Eye pencils - Eyeko and Avon
Hair Feathers - Independent shop
Cat - blogger's own

Thanks ladies - all your help is much appreciated! xx

My Nail Polish Collection - The Greens

So yesterday I posted my blue polishes - today it's the turn of the greens.  I seem to have quite a few green polishes - really quite amazing, as I never thought I'd be wearing green on my nails.

From left to right: Accesorize Aztec, Illamasqua Veridian, Chanel Khaki Vert, Mavala Bronze Green, 17 - not sure of the name, I think it has something to do with mints, Revlon Minted, Revlon Emerald City.

Here's another one I forgot to include in my earlier photo - Nails Inc Neal Street.

I've done NOTD posts of the Nails Inc, Accesorize, Illamasqua and Chanel polishes, but none of the others.  I've not even worn Emerald City yet.  I really loved the colour of Minted and have tried to do a good application of it for a NOTD post loads of times.  Unfortunately the formula is terrible - one of the worst I've ever used.  It bubbles, is streaky, needs about 4 coats to turn opaque, takes forever to dry and chips like anything.  I've never successfully applied it.  It's strange, as I love all the other Revlon polishes I've used.  My favourite colours are Veridian and Khaki Vert, although shockingly, I've only used each one once.  And I went to a lot of trouble to get Khaki Vert as well. 

Are you a green polish fiend? 

Thanks for reading! xx

NYE Nails of the Day - Accessorize Shade 38

I picked up this Accessorize nail polish whilst out shopping the other day.  It's shade 38 and it cost a very reasonable £4 for such a gorgeous colour.  It's like a glittery peacock, combining green, purple and blue shades, like the colours of petrol mixed in water.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be my New Year Eve nail polish.

I must say that I don't like the application at all.  The brush is too stubby and difficult to work with and it's really hard to apply.  I also hate the quality of the polish.  Within a few hours of application, I had a horrible chip on my other hand and have since developed a few more, despite using a good quality top coat.  I've also found that another shade of Accessorize polish I have chips really badly (which is why I haven't bothered doing a NOTD on it yet).

Saying that, my left hand has remained intact for photography purposes and still looks pretty good.  I used a ridge filler as a base coat, two coats of Shade 38 and a top coat.  Drying time was ages as well.

So, on the plus side, I love the colour (and there is a good range of other unusual colours), but I hate the application and the quality is awful.  For £4, there are much better quality polishes out there, but if you fall in love with one of the colours, it's not too much to pay for a cheap polish that'll just about last 24 hours.

Have you tried these polishes yet?  Have you had better experiences than me?

Thanks for reading!  xx