Worth The Hype? Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Hey guys, so today I'm going to talk with you about the pros and cons of 'that infamous top coat' that every ones mother, brother and sister knows about. It retails for £9.00 at Boots and is acknowledged as the worlds most finest top coat. Seche say 'Its patented formula allows it to penetrate through the nail lacquer to the base coat forming a single solid coating over the nail plate for a much more durable finish which is guaranteed not to yellow.'

PROS:

- I did give a really nice glossy finish to my nails although I did notice that on the third/fourth day it had lost its shine and it had a semi-matte finish.

- It gave my nails a gel-like finish no matter how cheap or expensive the nail polish was.

- It made some nail polishes last a day longer (most nail polishes last around 3-4 days on me as I'm extremely hand heavy with taking A Level Art, Textiles and Food Technology, typing and doing housework)

- It does dry within seconds although the first 20-30 minutes are prone to wear marks.

CONS:

- I found that it did streak on some nails but maybe that was because I didn't use enough product (when using this you need a bubble to fall of on the end of the brush and then apply that to the nail, and as a result I have some blue nail polish in the bottom of my bottle)

- I found that it did shrink on some nails when I had to use more than three coats, which wasn't that noticeable but when I had noticed it did bug me.

- I have noticed that it has made my nail polish more prone to peeling. 

So overall, it's a nice product but I don't see why people are obsessed with it, but hey, each to their own. Have you tried this top coat?

Sam x

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December Favourites

Hey guys, today I'm going to be sharing with you my December favourites, I have a mix of makeup, hair care, fragrance and box sets.

Lets start off with make-up, I'm particularly loving the Maybelline The Volum' Express Falsies Flared Mascara it just gives me the most winged out eyelashes ever, it also makes my lashes longer and thicker.

Another make-up item I have been loving this month is the Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Balm, given that the weather has changed my lips have been feeling the chilly weather and are chapped most evenings so I put this on before I go to bed and when I wake up I have soft lips and no dryness in sight. I have done a more detailed review here.

In terms of hair care I have been loving the Tresemme Heat Defence Styling Spray. It smells amazing, it's lasted me a long time and I've also seen a difference in the ends of my hair as I've been using it religiously for the past 6-7 months and only now I'm starting to reach the bottom of the bottle. I have tried other heat sprays but they've left my hair greasy whereas this one doesn't.

Moving onto nails, I'm particularly loving the Maybelline Forever Strong Nail Polish line, It applies beautifully although you do have to do two coats if you want a fully opaque wash of colour and it dries quickly. This colour in particular is one of my most used shades, as for me it's the perfect 'I-don't-know-what-nail-colour-to-wear-but-I'm-in-the-mood-to-wear-this' colour.

My next favourite is Katy Perry's Killer Queen perfume, I received a mini sample of this in a Glossybox and I have been hooked ever since and luckily when it ran out I had got given a bottle for Christmas. The scent is so soft, sensual and feminine, I do think it's more of an evening fragrance but I often wear it in the day and get compliments when I do.

My next favourites are two box sets, I received both of these as a Christmas present as I adore these with a huge passion. Ever since I went to the Harry Potter Studios back in July I have been hooked on watching the films but I've been borrowing my neighbours so my mum thought it was about time that I had my own set. Another thing that my mum got me was The Big Bang Theory box set, I love this so much, I watch it all the time and if I watched the first 5 minutes of an episode I could probably tell you what happened in the episode and have a guess as to what it is called too, yes I am one sad human being...

So these were my favourites, what were yours?

Sam x

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Nail Of The Day #6

Hey guys, today I thought I would show you a quick nail of the today. On my nails today I'm wearing Ciaté's Nail Polish in 'Island Hopping' There is meant to be a bow on the bottle but my cat decided to play with it..

What nail colour do you have on your nails today?

Sam x

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Paris#2 Make Up and Nails

Hey guys, so as part of my Paris posts, today I'm going to share with you the make-up and nail varnish that I bought with me.

A tinted moisturiser as I'm not into foundations but I'll happily jump on the BB cream/tinted moisturiser band wagon. I found that this balanced out my skin tone, smells amazing and lasts all day.

My Autograph face palette, it has everything in it eye shadows, blushers, a small bronzer, lip gloss, a huge mirror, which made it perfect for me to take to Paris, it's also hand bag friendly too. 

My very loved No7 Exquisite Curl mascara, a lashing of this and I'm ready to go.

Some beauty tools, two eye shadow brushes to blend with, a mini blush brush and tweezers to pluck any unwanted hair with, I also took some eye lash curlers which I didn't photograph.

Yes, I did take five eye liner pencils with me and yes you have spotted a favourite eye liner pencil brand.. I took my favourite liquid liner pen by Soap and Glory, a black eye liner pencil for the tight line, a nude eye liner pencil for the water line, the taupe eye liner pencil makes a very good eye shadow, and a white eye liner pencil for the inner corner.

My Nuxe lip balm, I freaking love this stuff as I feel like it does help nourish my lips, review HERE.

And lastly, we move on to nails, I wore this one as I wanted to try it out, it's such a beautiful shade and didn't chip at all. A review will be coming soon!

So that sums up what beauty bits I took, hope you had a lovely week

Sam x

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Nail Of The Day #5

Hey guys, today I thought I would show you a quick nail of the today. On my nails today I'm wearing Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Pomegranate' 

What nail colour do you have on your nails today?

Sam x

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Nail Of The Day #4

Hey guys, today I thought I would show you a quick nail of the day. On my nails today I'm wearing Rimmel's Salon Pro with Lycra in '312 Ultra Violet'

What nail colour are you wearing?

Sam x

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Topshop Nails Review

Hey guys, today I'm reviewing a glitter delight from Topshop.

I've never really been on the glitter bandwagon until now and that's because this plain silver glitter goes on top of everything and it can make the nail varnish look 100 times better.

 For instance take a black nail varnish, which scares me massively but with a coat of the glitter, I would happily walk out the house with it on. It also goes nicely on pinks, blues, greens, reds etc.

Top row L-R; Barry M 'Bright Red', Rimmel Lycra Pro 'Pink Of Me', Topshop 'Air Kisses'

Bottom Row L-R; Barry M 'Greenberry', Maybelline Color Show 'Bubblicious', Barry M 'Black'

It applies well although I did use two coats to get the right amount of glitter I like on my nails. It lasted 2-4 days which is a pretty standard amount of time for nail polish to last on my nails, my only bugbear with this nail polish is that its a bugger to get off! 

What's your favourite glitter nail polish?

Sam x

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NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm

Today I'm going to talk about NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm. I had high hopes for this lip balm as so many people have raved about this lip product and boy it did not disappoint.

It smells like honey and lemon/orange, which usually I'm not keen on but this smells incredible. The texture isn't like your bog-standard lip balm it has a quite thick consistency to it which I love as you don't need much per application, also it sinks in almost immediately. It dries to a matte finish which makes it perfect as a base for lipstick. I find this lip balm to be more moisturising than any other lip product on the market. I mostly use this in the evenings as it stops my lips from being chapped the next morning and it makes them feel very soft and ultra nourished.

The only downside to this lip balm is that it's glass, yes it makes it feel more luxurious but there's always the fear of dropping it. The jar is also stupidly heavy for such a small product. But that still won't stop me from re-purchasing another jar when mine runs out.

Are you a fan of this lip balm?

Sam x

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The Body Shop Haul

Today, I thought I would show you a mini haul from The Body Shop as the first time I was in there they had a 30% off and a sale so I couldn't resist those offers and then recently they've had a half price off all their body butters and again I couldn't resist that offer.

As these were half price I bought two for the price of one, I bought a Satsuma one and a Grapefruit one, these smell AMAZING! 

I didn't need any more lip products but these were on a three for two or something so I bought a Grapefruit one and a Shea one.

A customer from work recommended that I try this hand gel as the smell lingers on the skin for a while, and as my hand sanitizer from wilkinson's had ran out I bought a new one.

A mini Satsuma body butter as I love this stuff and it's a perfect size for my bag.

I didn't need another eye shadow but it was £2.50 so I couldn't resist it.

What have you bought recently?

Sam x

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July Favourites

A month has passed, which can only mean one thing it's favourites time! I have a mixture of products from beauty, body, fragrance, food and drink.

Beauty

No7 Exquisite Curl Mascara - Holy cow this mascara is amazing, I love the brush as it gets all of my lashes and it makes my lashes look fuller and curvier.

Soap and Glory Supercat eye liner - This eye liner has been a life saver in the last month as the weather has been very humid and I've found that it does not budge at all. Could this be a holy grail eye liner?

Revlon Lip butter in 'Berry Smoothie' - I love this stuff as I'm not a confident lipstick wearer this gives just enough colour for it not to be over powering and for me it's a perfect everyday colour.

Topshop nail varnish - This is the best glitter nail varnish EVER it goes on so nicely on top of other colours and I've managed to get a lot of wear out of it.

Body

The Body Shop Body Butter - These smell amazing and I love the fact that the smell lingers on your body for a while too, also these are quite thick which really helps with my dry patches on my body.

Dove Summer Glow - Since I have the most obvious tan lines in the world, I've been using a gradual tanner to tan my white bits and it has helped as they're not as noticeable now, I would use a normal tanner but I'm scared of them as I don't want it to be streaky or too orange or for it to be darker/lighter than my own tan.

Fragrance

 

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue - I've been using this perfume as one of my go-to daytime scents, as it just smells amazing and very casual and 'breezy'

DKNY Red Delicious - This scent was made for the summer it smells so fruity and fresh, which personally I love, I often wear this during the day although I have worn it on occasion in the evening.

M&S Home Blueberry Room Spray - I love this room spray it's perfect for the summer and it fills my room with a lovely scent for hours.

Food and Drink

Kellogg's Coco Pops - I could eat this cereal everyday and never get bored of it, I love it so much that one day I ate three bowls..

Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino - I have drank so many of these bad boys in the past month, it's just a perfect ice cold drink.

What have been your favourite products to use in July?

Sam x

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Nail Of The Day #3

Today, I thought I would show you a quick nail of the day post. On my nails today I'm wearing Barry M's 'Greenberry' and a Topshop one from a gift set which annoyingly doesn't have the name on!:(

What nail colour are you wearing today?

Sam x

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Nail Of The Day #2

Hey guys, I thought I would show you a quick nail of the day. On my nails I'm wearing Barry M's 'Lychee'.

What nail colour are you sporting today?

Sam x

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Poundland Bargains

Recently, I've noticed that there are a few bargains to be had at Poundland's beauty section. They stock anything from Milani to Stila and Rimmel to Dainty Doll. As I was in there I picked up a few bits.

A lip balm as, well I just love lip balms. This usually retails for £1.75.

I bought these as they were such a bargain for the price. I especially love 'Pink Of Me' and 'Virtual Violet'. The Rimmel polishes retail for £4.59 at boots and the Sally Hansen polish retails for £2.00 online.

Even though it's a refill it still comes with a sponge which is always useful. It usually retails for £18.

I was so surprised to see Dainty Doll in Poundland as some of the products from the range are more than £10 each. The only colours in Poundland was a green, yellow and a brown, and as I'm not one for a bright eyeshadow I stuck to the neutral shade. It usually retails for £11.

The Maybelline duo eye shadow usually retails for £1-3 and the Milani quad retails for £3 online.

The mascara retails for £4 online.

All in all I saved a whooping £45.52! What is your best Poundland saving?

Sam x

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