Deborah Lippmann “Bad Romance” Nail Polish

(GaGa blackened fuschia -glitter)

With my silk nail extensions still in place (miracle!), but bored of the fading French manicure, I decided to give something different a go. The Bad Romance glittery Gaga inspired polish seemed like just the cookie for me! I'm not sure why it's called blackened Fuschia though, as I thought Fuschia was pink 

The bottle is beautiful and the polish itself looks different to other sparkly polishes in that is has larger speckles of glitter, almost like tiny sequins. I was sure it wouldn’t look as great on my nails as it did in the bottle, but as you can see, it aint half bad :0)  

Another problem I envisaged (a pessimist? Me? I don’t know what you mean hehe), was how difficult it might be to apply and to get the glitter bits spread evenly. I was again pleasantly surprised – it’s very thick and I started off with the usual wiping most of it off and painting on a thin layer but that just paints an almost black polish with little glitter. I tried again using a full brushful, and hey presto, one coat is all it takes. It takes a few tries to get the right technique, with a little bit of almost dabbing along the nail, but once mastered, it’s easy as pie. (Not that I’ve ever baked a pie, nor do I think it'd be particularly easy, where DO these sayings come from).

At £16 each, these are not cheap, but I haven’t seen anything else quite like them on the market, so perhaps worth it for special occasions? There are several other yummy sparkly colours pictured below, and they do of course do the usual non sparkly range of colours at £14.  

Only one bad thing to say - it's HELL to remove the polish with the non acetone remover you have to use on false nails. Be prepared to go through a wad of cotton wool and use plenty of elbow grease!

OMH – OMG!

OMH Therapies – Neck, Back, and Shoulder Massage

I have to tell the world about a wonderful discovery here in Edinburgh. It’s called OMH Therapies and is an oasis of calm, and I don’t say that lightly. Like many people I know, I hold tension in my neck and shoulders, and am eternally on the hunt for a massage therapist that can work out those tension knots. What I’ve found is that there aren’t that many therapists who can really “get in there” so to speak , and even so called Deep Tissue Massages have left me feeling relaxed yes, but still with the same knots and tension.

I’m a highly strung person, always on the move, and don’t usually find beauty salons or spa’s etc, particularly relaxing until the point I’m actually having the therapy, and even then I find it hard to switch my mind off and fully relax. Not so when I entered OMH therapies. You step down one small step and immediately you get the wonderful aroma of incense (not overpowering as can sometimes be the case) and there is a feeling of being welcome. The big open plan space is full of beautiful dark wood, cushions, and therapy chairs and soft background music playing. I was greeted with a genuine smile from Emily, and the team are dressed beautifully in traditional Sari’s which adds to the feeling that you have stepped away from the city for a moment. Emily herself seemed very calm, gentle, and warm which immediately put me at ease.

From the moment the actual treatment started, I felt totally confident in my therapist and managed to immediately relax into it and enjoy the experience. The treatment was gentle but firm, and I could feel the exacts points of tension being manipulated and released but without any pain, in addition to feeling a release in parts of my back I didn’t even realise were tense! By the end I already felt much looser and lighter somehow and the headache I had felt coming on had disappeared.

After the treatment you are given a refreshing cup of water with a hint of orange and mint, and left to gather yourself with no feeling of being rushed at all. The whole experience was a pleasant surprise. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect it to be horrible, but I am so critical that it isn’t often something happens like this that A. makes me so relaxed and so quickly, and B. ticks all the boxes with no criticisms!

Further details here: http://www.omhtherapies.com/

Silk Nail Extensions

Having my nail extensions done and maintained used to be as important to me as breathing. Ok, maybe not quite that important, but really really important. I had them done fortnightly and chose acrylic as they were the strongest. One evening, one of my beautiful talons caught on the toilet flush and tore not only the acrylic nail off, but nearly all my natural nail too, leaving horrible looking flesh and a bit of nail bed. Eeeurgh and Ouch!

Since that unfortunate accident about 6 years ago, you can imagine that I haven’t been overly keen on having false nails again! That and the cost of keeping them maintained.

However, I did think it would be nice to have them done for special occasions and the curiosity of the new gel nails proved too much. I have to say that they lasted a long time as promoted, but the downside is that you can’t soak them off yourself but have to go back to the salon to get them removed. (Goodness knows what they use, I tried with pure acetone which works on acrylic but it didn’t budget them) I just waited for them to grow off in the end, not pretty for quite some weeks!

Having a hankering for a new set of nails in the last month or so, I didn’t know what to try, until I found an Edinburgh Salon offering Silk Nails. Doing some research I found that Silk nails are more flexible than Acrylic (by which I interpreted will not take your whole nail with it if it comes off), so feeling brave (or a fool I hear you cry)  I decided to give them a go.

The process of actually having them done  was pretty much the same as with either gel or acrylic, except that instead of a paste or just gel, there was a small square piece of silk put in between two layers of a thinner gel type substance. The whole process took about 1 hour and 40 minutes and was painless. Again, the actual look of them is no different to any other type of nail, and they certainly felt as strong. The picture above was taken 3 hours after having them done.

Unfortunately, by 5 hours post full set, my thumb nail had broken. Putting aside my relief that my own nail was still in tact and I felt no pain, it was quite disappointing. Over the next few days I noticed that it felt rough at the sides on a couple of nails and there was a small indent which if it caught on anything would no doubt break the nail, so I filed them down a bit to smooth them out. This I think has prevented any more breakages.

They’ve been on for a week today and still look pretty good, but because I was too clumsy immediately after the polish and ruined it a bit (you’ll see if you look closely at my forefinger and thumb), I decided to take the French polish off and see what they looked like with a nice pink on them. I think they look better and not quite as stubby as they did with the French polish, which I think suits a longer nail best (or perhaps a thinner more elegant looking hand hehe!).

Lilash Eye Serum

Lilash Eye Serum has been one of those “I’m sure it doesn’t really do what it says but I’ll try it anyway” products that has ended up surprising me by actually working! I should probably start by saying that it costs at least £99 so it’s not cheap, and I bought it with some Christmas money over a year ago thinking I would probably be disappointed but at least my curiosity would be satisfied.

I have tried and tried with false eyelashes, and I don’t have the dexterity or patience with them at all, not to mention that I feel like I look slightly drag queenesque when I do actually manage to get a pair to stay on! So you can see the temptation of a serum you just brush on nightly and it produces long lushes lashes in 4-6 weeks….

Yeh right says Kaz, but unbelievably, this product really does work. I wish I’d taken a picture of my eyelashes before starting to use the stuff, hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it. I have a bit of a weird way of knowing that they have grown quite a bit though – I get oily skin daily (what’s that to do with eyelashes I hear you cry, but bear with me). What I have noticed now is that my upper eyelashes actually deposit mascara onto my eyes by the end of the day (I’m assuming the oil grabs it) where the lashes are now long enough to be touching my eyelid. I hope that makes sense. I told you it was weird!

It’s really simple to use – the brush is like an eyeliner brush and you sweep it along your lash line once nightly after you’ve taken your make up off, and leave it to do it’s thing. The only slight downside I would say is that my eyelids have been a bit red and sensitive since using it, but as I wear an eye base everyday anyway, it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I’ve literally only just ran out of it too, so it lasts about a year (taking into account I don’t always remember to use it!).

Now that I’ve run out, I’m going to try a cheaper version called Rapid lash, that I bought on Amazon for £27. I’ll let you know how they are looking in 4-6 weeks. Fingers crossed! J Here is the before and after photos from the Lilash Website.

My current Skincare regime

My current Skincare regime  

Johnson’s gentle eye make up remover – this is brilliant stuff that takes off any amount of eye make up you care to layer on, waterproof or otherwise. The bottle is great as it has a flip top lid, and at £3.05 from boots, it’s a bargain!

Johnson’s nourishing cleansing lotion – feels quite cooling on the skin, is thick and creamy and does the job nicely. Johnson’s cleansing lotion comes in “Refreshing” for normal skin and “Nourishing” for dry skin. I first used the Refreshing version as I have oily skin, but it seemed to take ages to take my make up off and felt like it was dragging my skin. This is much more moisturizing but not greasy, so no problem. Another bargain at £3.05 again.

RoC Perfercting Toner – from a toner I’m looking for something that will sweep the last remnants of cleanser and dirt away, and that can also be swept over eyes, for that perfectly clean feeling, and this is exactly what I get from this toner. Most toners I have tried feel like not much more than water! At £7.14 though and not lasting very long, I’m keeping my eyes and ears open for a replacement….

Zenmed Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30, or Vichy Normaderm Hyrdating Care (Day)

If I know I’m going to be outside like wandering round the shops for example, be it winter or summer, I use Zenmed Oil Free Moisturizer SPF30 under my make up. It’s nice and matt which in my experience is hard to find to get an SPF of 20, never mind 30. Hopefully this will help hold back the wrinkles for a while longer :0)

On work days or other days I know I will barely see the outside world,  I use my new found love, Vichy Normaderm as described in my previous blog.

Chanel  Hydramax+ Active Moisture Fluid (Night) or Normaderm Night

Normaderm night is my usual moisturizer, but I occasionally treat myself to Chanel Hydramax+ Active Moisture Fluid and although it’s a day cream, I like to use it as a night cream. Personally, I think it’s works for both. It feels really fresh and light yet very moisturizing, and has a really fresh decadent scent. As it’s £43.92, you can see why it’s only an occasional treat rather than a daily essential.

Vichy Normaderm

Vichy Normaderm Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care & Vichy Normaderm Night

I can’t say enough good things about these 2 moisturizers just now. Where have they been all my life?!

The Normaderm -Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care is a day cream and feels beautifully silky going on, is smooth and matt pretty much immediately, and gives skin a really lovely ready for make up feel. I have oily/combination skin and need something that isn’t too greasy, but usually this means that I get hardly any moisturization from the product. This however feels like its feeding skin as well as keeping the shine at bay. You really have to feel it to believe it.

The Normaderm Night doesn’t have exactly the same silky smooth feel, but feels ever so slightly grainy(which is strangely nice!) and more moisturizing again. It too goes on smooth and doesn’t feel too tacky but is much thicker than the day cream.

The day cream is £11.74 and the night cream £ 12.77, both from Boots, which isn’t bad in my opinion. The only slight disadvantage is that the day cream has no built in sun protection so you need to get that elsewhere. (I get it from my foundation).

Definitely helps with those pesky pimples and open pores too :0)

Concealer Hunt!

You will notice from my posts that my cosmetic choices are an eclectic mix of both low and high end products, and today’s post concentrates on the lower end of the market as is usually the case at the beginning of  my search for a new product.

Thus far, I have been using a foundation as a concealer, and brilliant as it is, it’s just slightly too thick in consistency so doesn’t blend seamlessly into my actual foundation. I’m using concealer more and more to cover new and not so interesting flaws so this new wonder product I seek needs to be quite a multitasker – I need to cover thread veins around my nose, redness on my eyelids (probably from the eyelash builder I use which is fab and I’ll review at another time), not to mention the odd blemish. Oh and I also want it to cover under eye darkness, I don’t want much from one product eh?!

I bought 4 products as per the picture above, and below is a picture of the colours on my hand – I’ve reviewed them in the same order as the swatches from top to bottom, and here is how I got on:

Gosh Touch Up Concealer in 1 – the little brush is very handy and I like that this comes in a very pale shade that’s not too pink. The first problem I had with this is that it really stung when I put it on my eyelids, not a great start! However, apart from that I did find this a good product for covering redness and dark circles etc, but not good for covering blemishes at all – too thin in consistency.

It lasted really well through the day and certainly brightened the eye area. I won’t be repurchasing this product due to the stinging but I would recommend it to anyone that doesn’t have sensitive skin and doesn’t need the spot coverage.

L’Oreal Infallible Concealer in 01 Vanilla – Creamy and easy to blend but with great staying power. Although it didn’t fade, it did noticeably sink into the creases in my eyelids by lunchtime. For me, the coverage from this is way too light and you need to layer quite a bit to cover any redness or blemishes.

 Maybelline Superstay 24hr Concealer in 2 Beige Clair – you’ll note from the swatch that this is a slightly darker shade than the rest as I bought one colour down from the lightest – my usual MO is to buy the lightest colour possible as all the others are usually too dark, but this looked like it might be a nice “light but not too light” one so I decided to live life on the edge and give it a go :0)

This is my favourite concealer by far but unfortunately there was still a slight stinging on my eyelid area. That aside, it’s the perfect shade with a yellow base but still very light and seems to blend well yet dry fast. It also visibly brightens nicely.

It lasted through the day with no creasing on the eyelid area, and no fading, and it did a good job of covering a few little spots too. I would highly recommend this to anyone that doesn’t have sensitive skin and isn’t looking for an ultra light colour.

Rimmel Stay Matte Dual Concealer in 010 ivory – it’s a cool concept of a concealer with a green coloured inner strip to mask redness and treat spots at the same time. A creamy consistency that’s easy to blend and I’d say a medium coverage. It does stay Matte but it didn’t have great staying power for me and needed a reapplication by mid afternoon. Didn’t overly impress or disappoint either way. I have a bit of a blah feeling about it!

So, the conclusion is….. I will be sticking to my foundation concealer for now while the hunt continues! Oh, and that foundation is Estee Lauder Maximum Cover by the way.

I may try Benefit Boi-ing at some point in the future but am slightly nervous about it being too creamy for my oily skin. If anyone has any recommendations for a good concealer, I’d be delighted to hear about it!

Gosh Eyebrow Palette

Eyebrow powder/pencil, has become one of those must haves for me within the last year or so. I’m not sure if it’s just one of those times when you use something once and then wonder how you lived without it (or is that just me?!), or if it really is a necessity due to my vigorous over plucking in a bid to have picture perfect brows!

I have tried many versions of brow perfectors, including the Benefit Brow Zings (too sticky), and most of the ones in the Boots aisles (Bourjouis, Revlon, etc), and my favourite is Clinique Superliner for Brows – the perfect texture, very thin pencil so easy to control line, and good colour, but the down side is it runs out extremely fast for a cost of £11 a time so I was looking for a cheaper option.

Having had a good experience using Revlon Vital Radiance Eyebrow fill in powder (but not being able to find the right shade), this Gosh Eyebrow Palette caught my eye, and at £6.49  I was much happier and even more so now I’ve discovered how good it is :0)

There are 3 separate shades and all very good in my opinion depending on the intensity you desire. The wax is just the right texture to not be too sticky, but hold the brows in place without feeling weird! The brush is also just the right thickness/angle to give you good control. This is my eyebrows with the lightest colour on:

See what I mean about overplucking?! Sorry excuse for an eyebrow I must say. New Years Resolution = stop plucking so much, though I fear the damage may be irreparable!  

The Gosh palette is bulkier than a pencil of course, but still quite thin and compact. I might even dabble with the darkest colour for a more dramatic night time look. My Clinique superliner will be kept for holiday purposes along with my Shiseido Liner hehe. My travel bag will soon be superlight, meaning more room to bring shopping home, grin. 

Lee Stafford Blow Dry Your Hair Faster Spray

As you will have noticed from my Hairdryer review, speed is one of the many things I’m looking for in my beauty routine, so when I saw the name of this product, it went in my basket without a second thought. I was a bit puzzled as to how spraying a liquid on to hair could reduce the time it takes to dry it, but hey, not understanding the technology hasn’t deterred me from buying before so why start now!

Good Points - I have used this for 3 hair washes in a row and I have to say that so far I DO think it’s helping in the speed stakes. As it tells you on the can, it does have a little bit of product designed to “hold” your hair and I can certainly feel a bit more oomph than usual. Oh, and it smells gorgeous!

Bad Points – I feel like I have a very slight greasy residue at the roots of my hair immediately after drying, which isn’t the norm for me (I’m not normally greasy till Day 2). I also like to put some kind of product in my hair that is specifically for heat protection, which means a possible product overload, but if my hair starts to feel a bit heavy I’ll just use my trusty TRESemmé deep cleansing shampoo.