NOTD: Dark Skies

Apparently snow is heading our way, which I'd really be grateful if it didn't thanks, because I've made this bargain with Mother Nature, and she promises that Spring is on its way. But, today's Nail of the Day I felt really matches the mood of recent weather. First of all, I just want to apologise for how rubbish my nails are looking at the moment, a couple of them are growing nicely, and others keep breaking (the nature of the breakage isn't important, right *cough*). But then I didn't do a very good job on the nails...I ended up smudging them and ARGH! But, I wanted to show you them, because the colours are so pretty.

So, here is what they look like:

This is what the colours look like, when you first pick up the bottles:

Left: Hidden Reef. I'm not sure that the photo entirely represents this colour, because I think that it's a bit more pink than it looks here. But, it's a gorgeous colour no less.


Right: Deep. When I first looked at this shade, it felt like a really drab grey, and I wasn't that excited about trying it out. However, I then looked more closely at the bottle, and realised that it actually had a little bit of a hidden secret behind it.

Indeed, both of these polishes have glittery undertones that really shine whent he bottles (or your nails) are held up into the light).

Here is a closer picture, of each, to try and show you what I mean:

The glitter is much more noticeable in the grey product on the left, but if you look really carefully at the peach one on the right, you can just make out a very subtle pink glitter. And I really love that, especially in the grey shade, because I am really not a fan of grey for nails, so was a bit sceptical when I first got this, however, the purple makes it such a secretly cool colour.

Both of these polishes are part of the SpaRitual Spring range:

Initially, when I first saw this image of the collection I was curious at to why it was called "Water", and I know that I really detest writing things out as a copy-and-paste jobby from the Press Release, but I wanted to share the inspiration for the collection with you, because I found it quite interesting:

"Nature’s purest distillation of life-giving energy. Drink in its powers while getting lost at sea. A hidden world, found in the depths below, beyond reflection.
Shimmering corals, deep watercolors and dense pastels rise to the surface. The effect is fluid, weightless and glistening.
Our collection is inspired by the beauty and life-giving energy of one of our most precious resources, water." 

All of the collection contains absolutely no Formaldehyde, Toulene and DBP, and they're Vegan products. And 20% of sales created from this collection, will be given to Surge, a Charity specialising in providing clean water, as well as awareness for the need for clean water.

Colours available in this collection, are:


Deep: Shimmery Grey
Ebb and Flow: Aqua Creme
Hidden Reef: Shimmery Coral
Lucid: Lilac Creme
Ripple Effect: Mauve Creme
Undercurrent: Blue Creme

Personally, I think these colours are stunning, and I'm loving wearing the grey and coral shades together.

What do you think?

**I received both of these products as PR samples, but has that effected how I blog? Not really. I only share the information that I'd be interested in, and any review is 100% honest**

Read More

Sunday Tips: Keeping your Brushes Clean

Today's Sunday Tip is courtesy of You Tub Guru Michelle Phan, and I'm passing it on because it really works (for me, anyway).

In the past I've had trouble cleaning my brushes so that the inside bristles get as good a clean as the outside ones, this has been especially so with foundation brushes. I've also struggled to get the bristles feeling lovely and soft.

The answer? Olive Oil.

I know, it sounds bonkers, but Olive Oil is a great ingredient in so many natural beauty products because of it's moisturising properties. So, you know that not only is the Oil not going to be irritating your skin with additives and yucky stuff, it will also keep your brushes soft whilst really digging out the dirt and grease.
It's best to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as this oil has been extracted from the first press of the Olives, which makes it the highest quality Olive Oil that you can buy.

Soooo, what do you do with the oil? I've found that there are a couple of effective ways of washing your brushes with Olive Oil:


1. Splatter a dollop of oil onto a plate, and swish your dirty brush around in it. Once your brush is sufficiently coated, swirl it around in the palm of your hand and rub the bristles in your fingers. This ensures that you get into the middle of the bristles. Rinse the brushes in tepid water (make sure the water isn't hot, as this will just soften the glue that holds the bristles in.

2. Fill a small bowl with water, and add a dash of oilive oil. Swirl your brushes around in the water, and you'll quickly see the oil has coated the bristles. Rub your fingers in the bristles to get the inner ones, and rinse the brushes in tepid water.

If you want you can add Anti-Bacterial Handwash or Washing Up Liquid to disinfect and make the brushes smell nicer.

Once your brushes are clean, place them upside down in a pot (using Brush Guards if you own them, or if you don't own any you can easily improvise with rolled up cardboard). This stops the water from running down the brushes which would soften the glue and thus encourage the hairs to shed, which of course we really don't want.

Good luck with your brushes, and please share your stories with effective ways that you use to clean your make up, and art, brushes.

Read More

Brush Guards Review

So, I originally wrote this blog a while back, but somehow Google Chrome managed to mess up so much, that it deleted it (cue moderate hissy fit!!), so I'm having a second attempt, this time using Firefox!

But, anywho. I actually discovered Brush Guards back in February in this video by Michelle Phan:




After seeing the video, I just instantly assumed that the guards would only be available in America, so I didn't really think anymore of it, until just over a month ago when I was scouring Ebay for some cheapy make up brushes, and I stumbled, completely out-of-the-blue across a seller of these guards, and the next thing I knew, I'd ordered a set of Extra Small ones for my eyeshadow brushes, which I have more of than any other type of brush.

How do you use them: The Brush Guards are really simple to use. All you have to do is slide the guard over the handle of your brush, the good thing is that the guards are really flexible so no matter what shade your brush is it'll adjust to it's shape. Next pull it down until the bristles are fully covered with a little hanging over.

What does this achieve:

1. It keeps your brushes clean
2. It stops the bristles from becoming misshapen
3. Best of all, when you clean your brushes, they allow you to dry them upside down so that your brushes aren't sitting in the dirty water

Does it Work: Yes and no. I've noticed that when I have my brushes upside down in my brush pot, and I come to take them out the brushes have been pushed partially out, which has encouraged bristles to get stuck in the holes of the guards, which makes them a little disformed.

However, I love the way that as long as the brush doesn't move within the guard, they dry is perfect shape, as if they're brand new.

Would I buy more? Definitely. I'm definitely going to be getting some larger ones for my foundation and concealer brushes. I strongly recommend everyone gets these guards, because it is so important to keep your brushes clean, and these help do that, and keep them in shape (most of the time).

Read More

Gentle Shampoo Review: Part One

For me, the most annoying part of having fine hair, is the fact that so few hair care products appear to be suited to the hair type. Which is completely bizarre when you consider that these days there are products aimed at every single hair type going.

Personally, I always feel drawn to shampoos that "cleanse" or are aimed at Greasy hair types (I do also have greasy hair), and the more obvious ones that are designed to give volume. But, for start, I'm permanently sceptical of how good Volumising products are, and secondly, all of those products seem to do nothing for my hair other than bog it down with what I can only describe as "crap". And of course, bogged down hair is heavy, and thus results in flat, limp andcompletely lifeless hair that could easily be flatlining right now, and you'd never know!!

When I was at Uni, I mentioned my problem to the friend of one of my housemates, who strongly recommended that I give Simple's Gentle Shampoo a try, of which I did (more on that in a second!). So, I decided that I'd do a mini series of "Gentle" shampoo reviews, to see a. if any of them actually work and b. which one is the best!

Inevitably, I decided to start with Simple's Gentle Shampoo:

Where to Purchase: Actually buying this shampoo is more difficult than you might think. The Simple website states that Simple products are sold through Boots and Sainsbury's, but it is for individual stores to decide what items they stock. When it comes to the facial wipes and eye make up remover, I'm usually okay, but shampoo is another issue entirely.  Somtimes I can find it, and others I can't. And sometimes I can find the shampoo, but they don't sell the Conditioner!

The only consistent thing about Simple Shampoo, is the bottles always seem to be dirty! I don't know if that's just me, but it certainly seems a bit strange!

Pricing: Although I did initially try this shampoo around six years ago, I've only just bought it again, as to be fair, the product is quite expensive, especially when you consider that it is £2.99 for a 200ml bottle,whilst you can pay £3.99 for a 500ml (over double the size) bottle of Pantene!

What the Bottle Professes: As with all Simple products, the shampoo states that it has "No Perfume. No Colour". And, I can certainly vouch for that. The shampoo does have a slight indescript smell to it, unlike most others that can be quite overwhelming, and the liquid is indeed without real colour.

I'm always interested when products state things like: "Active ingredients: Pro-Vitamin B5 and Chamomile Oil", however, when you look in the ingredients list, there's no sign of them as actually ingredients. Is that because they are referred to using their Scientific names? Are they part of another ingredient? I never know, and I wish they'd  just tell us, because wording is nice, but sometimes I just want a little fact to back it up! The Average Joe does not want to have to research every single ingredient in every single product!!

Using: On using the shampoo, it did genuinely feel lighter in texture not only in my hand, when it was like a thickened water, but also in my hair. It was definitely very nice not to be gassed out by the overpowering smell of perfume!

Afterwards: My hair certainly feels better after using it, however, I feel that I cheated my hair, by then using a heavier conditioner on it, which will have just bogged it down again, but when the shop only stocks the shampoo, what are you supposed to do?

Read More