Barry M Instant Effects!

Hi there! Long time no blogging!

There's a lot of buzz around the new Barry M Instant Effects nail paint and I had to pick up myself a bottle. Thankfully, I managed to get the two for £5 offer at Superdrug and got my housemate a bottle as well.

I'm sure most of you will know what this nail paint is about but if you don't here's the low down - This is a paint which claims (and delivers!) and instant nail effect which I could describe as the bottom of a river bed once it has dried up (if that makes any sense at all!!). You apply it over your normal nail varnish once dried in one coat (don't overlap!) and the effect appears in around 30 seconds. From what I gather there is an OPI varnish which would do this if anyone from the US is interested in trying something very similar to the Barry M.

I did some research before applying and from what I gathered, the thinner the coat, the thinner the lines will appear when you apply the paint. I also found out that if you apply this whilst your nails are still wet from your base coat you will get shrinkage of the polish leaving parts of you nail exposed.

So! I set work and I applied a couple of coats of Essie's Baby's Breath and let it dry completely. After this I applied the effects nail paint. I topped this off with Seche Vite top coat for a glossy look as the effects polish itself is matte. Which I do like! It gives the nails more texture.

Here are my results:


Please ignore my granny hands and bad lighting!! I took this picture at night.

Overall thoughts: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! I can't wait to try it out with other colours and patterns such as stripes underneath. I hope Barry M manages to develop more colours in this product. I'd love to see a white colour in this. I'm planning on applying this on halloween over my Illamasqua glitter varnish in Harsh which is a SUPER PACKED silver glitter polish.

Have you tried this yet? What do you think of it?

Bryden x

Review : Model Co - Lashcara

I picked up this product at my local Tj Hughes not knowing much about the product at all. It's only selling point was that I managed to get it for £5 (the RRP is £13 http://www.hqhair.com/make-up/modelco/lashscara) and I had heard good things about the brand. This was a few months ago now and when I finished my L'Oreal Voluminous I broke open the mascara and to my horror I was faced with this:



WHERE WAS THE BRUSH!? I have never ever bought a mascara like this before and to be honest if I knew what was lurking inside the horrendous bright pink tube then I wouldn't have bothered buying it. Right, Well I'll admit this now, I was wrong and this mascara is bloody brilliant! I've been using it for a few weeks now and I was soo happy with it's results.

Here's a quick snap of one coat of Lashcara:



It volumises and lengthens lashes and the results remind me of when I was using my Lilash and my eyelashes were really long and thick. I have stopped using Lilash for about 3 months so my natural eyelashes aren't looking too hot at the moment.

One thing I don't like about this product is the packaging. There's nothing much to it and it's very cheap looking. For the RRP of £13 I would expect a higher standard of packaging. Even if the packaging was plain black with the silver writing it would look considerably better (I bet this would be cheaper to manufacture aswell!)

Is this value for money though? At a RRP of £13 I don't know if I would actually pay that much for a mascara on a regular basis. I would definitely pay £5 for it and I would probably pay a maximum of £8.50 on a regular basis. At it's current price of £13 I would only buy this every now and again.

Do I want to buy it again? Yes I do. I think it's a great product. Despite the look of it, It's really easy to apply and thickens your lashes instantly. I'd prefer to buy it from Tj Hughes for the discounted price of £5 but if I can't get my hands on it there then I'd invest in another tube as a treat.

Bryden x

RAVE RAVE RAVE: Maybelline Liner Express

I have tried loads of liquid eyeliners in attempt to find THE perfect one. I have tried a benefit one, Rimmel glam eyes and exaggerate. I also had a brief fling with some gel eyeliners. I have tried MAC, Sleek, Pixi, Kate and Urban Decay Ink for Eyes.

The thing is... I had already found THE perfect eyeliner. When I was younger I had been using Maybelline Liner Express and totally forgot all about this product until a few months ago when I found the old container in my drawer. I quickly bought a new one and what can I say... This stuff is amazing. The brush is more of a felt pen style and is very thin and easy to use. From what I have seen from Lancome Artliner I can say that the 'brushes' are very similar, however I have not tried this product so I cannot do an in depth comparison. This product however is a much cheaper option. The colour pay off is very good and I've never had to go over a line twice.



If you haven't tried this eyeliner and you're looking out for a new one, give this a try. I don't think I'm ever going to use another!

Bryden x

What I am using:

I haven't done one of these before and when I saw this on Suzi's blog @ http://suzit86.blogspot.com/ I had to have a go myself. I'm currently trying to use up as many products as I can as I am trying to down size my collection.

So! Here we are:

Shampoo: Aussie Luscious Long

Conditioner: Aussie Luscious Long

Styling products: Bed Head Serum

Shower Gel: Nivea Waterlily and Oil Shower Gel

Body moisturiser: Victorias Secret Guilded Ginger Creme

Deodorant: Mitchem

Fake Tan: I prefer to stay pale

Cleanser: Lush Baby Face and Clinique Mild Facial Wash

Exfoliator: MAC Volcanic Ash but I do hate it. I prefer Cliniques exfoliator.

Primer: GOSH

Foundation brush: ELF Studio Flat Top Powder Brush

Concealer: Tesco Barbara Daly in Light

Powder: MAC Studio Fix NW15

Blusher: Prestige Mineral Blush in Pink (Can't make out the exact shade)

Bronzer: None

Highlighter: Tesco Barbara Daly Soft Focus

Eyeshadow base: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Eyeshadows: NYX Shadow in Vanilla, A Dior Palette

Eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack, Sleek Gel Liner in Black

Curler: Shu Uemura

Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous

Lipstick: Rimmel Nude Delight

Lipgloss: A cheapie True Gold Liquid Liquid in a pale pink shade.

Nail Colour: OPI for Sephora Metro Chic and China Glaze Victoria with Essie Matte about it

Sorry and lost Pink Fish :[

Hi, Sorry I haven't posted any updates for ages. I've had a lot of work to do for university.

I've made a new years resolution that I will post more often and to encourage myself to do so I also have bought a new camera!

One thing that is a little annoying is that I lost my MAC Hello Kitty Pink Fish TLC and I can't find a replacement anywhere. At one time there were loads on ebay and now they're no where to be found. I'll have to be patient and keep an eye out for one. I really miss it!

Take care everyone and I'll get some posts up asap!

Bryden xx

Haul :]

I went into town yesterday to pick up some things I needed from boots (boring things like cotton pads and faces wipes) but I also picked up a few things as I was walking around.



Boots have an offer at the moment for Soap and Glory. If you spend £12 you get a Scrub of your life body scrub for free. It's described as 'the ultimate super-smoothing body butter' and after one use and I can say I love it already. I much prefer it to the Flake away scrub which I find can leave not only me, but my bath oily! To get this product free I bought the Soap and Glory Eau de toilette 'Formula 2'. I am sooo glad Soap and Glory have bought out this fragrance. It has the same smell as their products and it is LOVELY. It is described as having top notes of citrus, bergamot, mandarin, jasmine and freesia on a mix of musks, sandalwood, vanilla and amber. I have no idea what this means as I am rubbish and fragrance smells but I can confirm the smell is lovely. If you like fragrances like Britney spears fantasy and Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb then you will most probably like this!

I also picked up some Botanics Face super balm as my skin is suffering from the drastic change of weather. It's soo cold at the moment. I have used this a couple of times after buying it and soo far soo good.

I also caved into buying the L'oreal Lash renewal serum. To be honest I don't have much faith in this product as I have and currently use Enormous Lash to keep my eye lashes long. It seems weird to me that you have to apply this product to the whole of the lash rather than the roots. I will have a go at this product in hoping it will keep my actual lashes in good condition and I will carry on using the Enornmous lash.

The last thing I picked up was the Lee Stafford Matt Fat powder. First of all... For £8.99 I would have expected a lot more product in the container! The container is half full. I checked the others and they were all like this. I haven't tried this as of yet so I can't comment on the performance. I'll keep you updated!

Bryden xx

Natural Skincare!

When I went up to Fife in Scotland a few weeks ago I found a little shop in a village called Aberdour. The shop was called 'Mystique Moments' and they sold all kinds of 'witchy' type things like aura sprays, stones, candles and herbs. They also had their own all natural skin care line called 'Green Witch'. I picked up a few products including their light cleansing cream, moisturiser (two types - oily skin and all skin types), 'Morgaines Fountain of Youth - Lip and Eye formula', witch hazel toner and a rose water toner. I did buy the lemon and lime lip balm but it seems to be lost.



All the products apart from the toners and the lip and eye treatment are beeswax based. The cleansing cream is very effective at removing eye make up and is very very creamy. It does leave a slight residue once tissued off but I find that happens a lot when I try to tissue off a cleanser so I normally rinse with water after. The moisturiser is based on a mixture of beeswax, almond oil and coconut oil and then depending on the moisturiser you purchase certain essential oils will be added to that. For example the moisturiser for all skin types contains lavender water, french lavender essential oil and chamomile essential oil - smells wonderful!. The consistancy of the moisturiser is very daunting at first as I am used to using a cream or a lotion and these are more of an oil once applied to the skin. I haven't used the lip and eye treatment enough to comment on its performance but I can describe the product for you. It is an oil based formula which is rolled around the eye and lip area to delay the signs of wrinkles. The ingredients are not listed as they are a secret blend.

Regarding the toners - They are pretty overpriced for what you get and I expect that you're paying for the glass bottle. However, I am enjoying using these. I use the rose water when my skin needs more moisture and the witch hazel when I feel my skin needs a deeper clean.

I would reccommend this skin care line to anyone. I have noticed a lot less breakouts and skin seems to be more of an even tone. You will have to have an open mind about the moisturiser as it is rather oil like. I have noticed that the moisturiser for oily skin is less like oil and would feel more comfortable to wear on oily skin. The toners are fantastic but at £4.00 for the witch hazel and £5.00 for the rose water I am going to look elseware for cheaper alternatives. I can then store the cheaper version and top my glass bottles up when needed.

If anyone is interested in these products they are available online here: http://www.greenwitch.co.uk/cms/

Bryden x