Category Archives: Beauty

Nails of the week: nude and red

nude and red nails somanylovelythingsYes, you read it right. I have nude on my nails at the moment. Yes, I also thought this day would never come… but I had a nail emergency: I came back from holidays, was going out the day after, had to be at work and had no time to sort out my nails. The previous mani was past its prime and I had to take it off… so came up with a quick fix: wear a base coat and do a red french manicure. But I loved it so much that I decided to do it properly, and they ended up being my new years’ eve manicure!

So I used Nails Inc Basil Street, a lovely nude that applies beautifully – no streaks and a solid coverage with two coats. Then I applied Colorama’s Tapete Vermelho on the tips to create the French manicure.

I am in love with this look – it is simple and so effortlessly elegant… a classic with a very little twist.

Durability has been great, seven full days – I did have a breakage, now both my thumbs are far from perfect (one is awful, hence being missed from the photos).

What do you think? I love French manis, really do… planning my next one already!

Rating:

5_star

Product review: myface.cosmetics blusher

myface.cosmetics blusher in lady monaco and costa del soul Myface.cosmetics sent me (via their lovely PR guys, NBPR) a lovely bag of products for my skin colour to try a while ago. This brand actually has a complete make-up for different types of complexions: fair, medium and medium dark, with foundation, concealers, powders, lip liners, lipstick and lip glosses in shades designed to suit your skin tone, and categorised as such, thus making the right choice a bit easier. They also have amazing eye shadows, eye liners, mascaras and nail polish!

I have been using some of the eye liners which are fabulous, and amongst the great make-up selection I received, there were two R&B rouge/blushers: lady monaco and costa del soul.

Really great products, very well pigmented, good staying power and easy to blend. Packaging is lovely – a mirror finish case with a small brush inside. It is slightly on the large side though, to carry around your make up back, but it is very slim so it just gets away with it.

Lady monaco is warm pink (but not too pink), almost matt, with a very subtle shimmer. Although the colour is very vivid to the eye, when applied it is very delicate and adds a lovely flush of colour to the cheeks. I tend to avoid pink blushers, but this one is very wearable, especially when wearing pinker lipsticks.

Costa del soul has a more orange based, a dark peach with shimmer without being too “metallic”. I love peach-coloured blushers, so this is a total winner. Again, looks stronger than it turns out on the face; it doesn’t look too harsh, creating a soft hint of colour to the cheeks!

They are now part of my make-up routine!

You can get myface.cosmetics here.

This post contains PR samples, however, this review is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on them.

Eye make-up look challenge: festive gold

Festive gold eye make-upOooh the festive mood… it is in the air… everywhere you look… Here, at So Many Lovely Things it’s no different. Nothing better than a lovely black and gold smokey eye to go with it, right?

I started by applying the gold eyeshadow across the whole lid. I then applied the black with gold flecks to the crease and swept out and upwards, following a 45 degree “line” from the outer corner of my eyes.

I then applied black eyeliner on the upper lash line, with a nice flick, followed by a gorgeous metallic eyeliner above it, creating a slightly longer flick.

I then applied black eyeshadow to line the lower waterline and lash line, and applied the gold eyeliner slightly below the lash line, creating another flick at the end, in the same direction of the upper lashline.

I then applied a light eyeshadow to highlight the brow bone and sprinkled the gold dust around the brow bone and towards the inner corner of the eye, and finished off with some mascara and gorgeous false lashes.

Great for New Years eve!!!

Products I used:

  • Urban Decays eyeshadows in zephyr (book of shadows IV), jagged and blitz (vice)
  •  Collection 2000 felt tip pen liner
  • myface.cosmetics liquid eyeliner in gil-ty
  • MAC eyeshadow in carbon
  • Mac Zoomlash mascara
  • Kryolan glamour sparks in golden
  • Eylure eyelashes in vintage 124 (if you look really closely you’ll notice they are not perfectly applied – had one of those nightmare days where the lash doesn’t want to sit in properly, unluckily  it was on my “model” eye… oh well)
  • Beauty boxes brushes (first time I used them – they are great!)

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Difficulty:

eye make up look - medium

My last minute spot at the BBloggersXmas event

I found out about this event very last minute, thanks to Grace from All that slap – and I am so glad they had a little place available for me.

This networking event took place really close to my home, at the Reebok bar in Canary Wharf and it was beautifully organised by Lola, from Lola Star Hearts and Victoria, from Victoria’s Beauty and Fashion Review blogs.

Lot of talk about it was going on Twitter (I am still not quite sure how I completely missed it!). Everyone was excited and thinking about outfits! I hadn’t thought about that yet, and panicked a little bit, as I was sure everyone was going to look lovely, so I settled for American Apparel wet(ish) leggings, a burgundy leather peplum from H&M, Louboutin black courts, a multicoloured necklace also from H&M, grey/black smokey eyes and burgundy lipstick (MAC’s Diva).

Around 65 bloggers, I hear, attended the event – an amazing turnout. There were some brands demo-ing their products, such as Slendertone, Aromatherapy Associates, Diva hair styling products, Bad Apple polishes, Bronze Ambition and Twisted Sista hair products. There was a quiz and twitter prize draws – lucky me here got a glass nail file with Swarosvki crystals!

There were cakes pops, Pop Chips (yum yum yum!) and lots of lovely bloggers to meet and chat away! The atmosphere was great! I find that people say bloggers are not very friendly to other bloggers, but I am not sure where people get this from – every event I attended, everyone I met was super lovely and friendly and I always have a great time!

Thank you very much Lola and Victoria, it was an awesome event, really well organised and a goodie bag to really die for – and early Christmas treat (it was like opening my stocking in the morning) and which will generate plenty of reviews!!!

Nail polish storage solution

I finally got round to  putting all my nail polishes, tools and accessories in one place. My boyfriend got me this box from Argos – a truly bargain buy!

It is really great to have everything in one place I can move around. The box, however,  is quite heavy when loaded. The box is of alright quality and all the movements are smooth.

Although I manage to fit everything I have… sadly, although it is a new solution, I am already running out of space!!!

Crazy!

What about you? Where do you store you nail polishes?

Nails of the week – green and purple glitter

purple and green glitter nails

click to enlarge

This week I am mourning. For the second time this year I broke a nail. I know, amazing all time record for me; my nails used to flake a lot, thus splitting and breakages were a constant. Somehow, the first six months of this year were great for my talons -not even a single breakage. Second half, not as great – twice, by the “hands” of a spin bike.

Anyway…. I wasn’t so inspired, so went for a “one colour will fix it” kinda mani. I chose Specialittá Hits Phenomena Moonbow, an amazing colour shifting glitter – its goes from green into blues to purple into a warmer fuchsia.

Application was a nightmare. Sadly, this polish has a clear base and it is not super saturated with glitter. I applied Collection 2000’s Bongo Beats (which matched the green shade of glitter) as a base and had to apply, and I kid you not, around six – yes, you heard it – SIX coats of the glitter. It was so difficult to work with, and to make things worse, it is not the quickest drying polish in the world, so there was plenty of gloopiness on the nail as the coats piled up. It looks pretty, got lots of compliments, the colour shifting range is AMAZINGLY STUNNING but seriously, when I finished applying, I was exhausted!

Durability, on the other hand, is great. As expected, it was awful to take off (yes, SIX coats of glitter). I was thinking about buying more of the collection, as the colours are undeniably exquisite but I don’t think I will – I just cannot bring myself to do it again. Gorgeous, but just a bit too much hard work for me.

Rating:

4_starfor the looks

starfor the application (traumatised)

Product review: Russell Organics Argan Oil

Russell Organics argan oilMy hair (and skin, for that matter) really suffers on the run up to the winter. Something in this transitional period really upsets my hair – it gets drier at the tips, lifeless and a bit dull, so anything that can do any good is very welcome, especially at this time.

I received the Russell Organics argan oil and on the same day started to use it. I’ve been using it for three weeks now on my hair. The bottle has 2 fl. oz, and a pipette, which I love! I applied a few drops on my hand and rubbed it to warm, applying then to the ends of my towel dried hair.

My first impression was that the hair naturally dried softer, heavier but not greasy, with less fly-aways. As the days progressed and I kept using it, I feel my hair has a little bit more weight to it and is less straw-y.

Something I like liked about this product is that it has no fragrance, no smell at all. Also, it can be used all over the body, as a moisturiser, on your nails and of course, hair and a few drop go a long way!

This product is 100% pure argan oil, carefully sourced from Morocco, and eco-certified. It is toxin and cruelty free, as well as vegan.

Their whole range uses pure natural ingredients. Packaging is fuss free, to minimise environmental impact, but very functional. Russell Organics, which carries the slogan “naturally luxurious”, is a carbon free organisation and also certified cruelty free and vegan – so goodness all around!

They also have a long toxin list on their site, to raise awareness about the ingredients we should avoid putting on and in our bodies! Nice!

They are a US company, available online and in various shops but will ship internationally, with reasonable rates, according to their site.

This product was sent to me by the company to try, and I became their media partner, meaning I will receive a product once in a while. This review is, however, based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on it.

Nails of the week: purple gradient

purple nail gradientSince I tried my first gradient a few weeks back, I’ve been dying to try another one, but this time with three colours.

I picked purples. I love purple on my nails! I chose a lilac from Nails Inc, Cambridge, a light purple from H&M, Pale Violet and a dark purple, also from Nails Inc, Belgrave Place.

First I painted my nails white using Natural Collection’s nail tip whitener. I then got my sponge and painted three lines on it, from lighter to darker and stamped the nails. I described the technique in more details on my previous post on gradient.

This took four rounds of stamping, more than my first one, to look good! But I am very pleased with the results. Again, after applying the topcoat there was a bit of shrinking, so I can see a tiny bit of the white, that bothers me a little bit!!!

Overall, loving it – caught the eyes of lots of people, even on the train, where I then explained the technique! Nice!

Rating:

5_star

Eye make-up look challenge: light pink and green

light pink and teal eye make-up

As this eye make-up was requested by the lovely Eilidh, I am naming it Eye-lidh! She asked me to use the Urban Decay vice palettes colours Provocateur and Unhinged, which are quite contrasting. Provocateur is a very light pink, quite cold and extremely shimmery. Unhinged is a deep metallic teal, with enough green and blue in it.

This look was very easy to achieve! After priming, I applied the light pink all over the lid, until a little bit above the crease. Using the pencil brush, I drew above the crease with the teal shadow, creating the cat eye shape. I then blended upwards only using a blending brush. I then saturated the colour a bit more.

I applied black eyeshadow with a shader brush to my lower waterline and then teal to the lower lash line. I applied the pink to the corner of the eye blending in the lower lash line.

After that, I applied the liquid liner in a lovely metallic charcoal colour (very pretty – a shame it didn’t photograph very well), creating a flick and then added some light eyeshadow, pigment and crushed pigment on the brow bone, just below the brow arch. To finish off, I put fake lashes on.

Products I used:

  • Urban Decay Provocateur (first on third row) and Unhinged (fourth on second row) eyeshadows from Vice palette
  • MAC eyeshadows in carbon and vanilla
  • MAC pigment in vanilla
  • MAC crushed pigment in white as snow
  • Urban Decay eye primer potion
  • Diorshow Extase mascara
  • Myface.cosmetics Slinky liquid eyeliner in black ice
  • Smashbox photo op under eye brightener
  • MAC brushes 219, 231, 239, 208 and 130
  • Urban Decay double ended good karma shadow and crease brush
  • Duo lash glue
  • Ardell lashes 107

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Difficulty:

eye make up look - easy

Genoa cosmetics and make-up trolley from Beauty Boxes

Genoa Cosmetics & Make Up Trolley from Beauty Boxes - So Many Lovely Things

A girl’s beauty dream

If you are a make-up mad person as I am, I doubt you never dreamt about having all your lovely cosmetics organised in a gorgeous beauty trolley.

I mean, just think about having everything visible, in one safe place that is mobile. Well, I no longer have to dream.

The Genoa trolley from Beauty Boxes is a “workstation on wheels” and it is suitable for make-up artists and beauticians, as well as to have at home. It’s not too big and bulky, so it sits comfortably even in homes that don’t have that much space (like mine), and because it is very pretty, it can (and should) be on show!

The delivery service was exceptional – next day and I got an email on the day specifying an hour time slot for delivery, and it came 5 minutes into the slot. In all my excitement, I opened the box to find an amazingly sturdy, finished to a high standard trolley, with very smooth hinges and sliders. There are two mirrors inside and it also comes with two make-up brushes holders which can be hung on the trolley when open. The top compartments have a good depth and the bottom part too – it’s deep enough to fit hair tools. It also has a key.

I fit most of my make-up in it, well, the usual suspects that is, leaving out many odds and sods, some palettes and a few products I haven’t opened yet! At the top I put my face and lip products. In the second fold of drawers I put my single eye shadows and all eye stuff. In the compartments at the bottom, I put my beloved Urban Decay palettes and bags with the other eyes, lips and face stuff I use less often. There were two empty compartments where I could put my other eye shadow palettes, skincare and/or hair dryer, straighteners, curlers and products. On top of it, when closed, I had the brush holders and my lovely Revlon mirror with lights, so the trolley is really versatile!

In terms of mobility, I found it is not too heavy when loaded. The wheels are smooth, and the handle strongly built.

It comes in three colours; mine, rose, a lovely bright-ish pink with a snake skin-like texture, baby pink and silver, both with a metal finish – all in 38.5cm width, 62cm height, 30cm depth and 7.4kg of fabulousness.

Would I recommended that anyone that has a considerable amount of make-up and cosmetics buy one? Definitely. If you don’t have that much, Beauty Boxes has an exciting range of practical, durable and versatile beauty boxes and trolleys which are also very pretty and stylish, to cater for varied needs – oh, and with free delivery!

Beauty Boxes kindly sent me this as a PR sample, and I could not be happier. Serious amount of excitement. Views are my own, based on honest experience with the product.