Review: Sanctuary Salt Scrub

It was in my February favourites post that I said I would do a review on this and I'm only getting around to it now, eep!

As I mentioned this in a favourites, I obviously do like it and I'll break down my reasons why.

Pros
As I've said before, I have extremely dry skin. This body scrub left a residue of oil on my skin when the scrub was washed away. Of course this may not be a pro for everybody but for me and my dry skin it was fantastic. It left my skin very moisturised and soft unlike other scrubs which can be very harsh and leave your skin nearly raw. There was also a very pleasant, nearly luxurious scent off this which of course is always a bonus! The tub that the scrub came in was huge, so it's lasted me ages. It cost around €12 for it, which is pricy, but because you get so much good, quality product for your money, it really isn't an issue for me.

Cons
One word suffices for summing up the cons of this product - salt! This is obviously the main ingredient in this scrub and it works very well. Just don't forget that it's salt. Any little nick or cut on your body and  the salt will get in it and ooooohhhhhhh the pain! Ow ow ow. My cuticles haven't being the best lately, and I tell ya getting salt in those is not fun.  Once you're aware of it though, you can avoid it and if you were very prepared you could even put a waterproof plaster over the cut to keep it safe while your scrubbing away.

Overall 
For me, the pros outweigh the cons. I really love this scrub. I think that it's worth the money and I will definitely be repurchasing it!:)

OPI'S Diva of Geneva Vs. The One That Got Away - Dupes?

I debated for quite some time, whether or not to get The One That Got Away from the Katy Perry Collection simply because I already had Diva of Geneva from the Swiss Collection. Even though I hadn't being able to compare the bottles side by side, I felt that they were going to be dupes of one another. However, my need to have at least one complete OPI collection broke down my logic and I caved and bought The One That Got Away. 

When I got home and compared the two bottles, they were identical. I didn't know which was which without looking at the name. The first picture shows that they look identical but the lighting  in the second picture highlights the pinker tint in The One That Got Away.

Diva of Geneva and The One That Got Away

 

Diva of Geneva and The One That Got Away(Pink tint more apparent)

Thankfully when I swatched both of them it became evident that they were no where near dupes as Diva of Geneva was more purple whereas The One That Got Away was more of a pink/magenta shade.

 

The One That Got Away

Diva of Geneva

And finally, the nails side by side to show that they are nowhere near dupes!

(Left)Diva of Geneva & (Right) The One That Got Away 

The application of the both of these was perfect.

I'm delighted that I bought The One That Got Away and I'm now the proud owner of an entire (mini) OPI  collection! (Yay! :D)

OPI -My Private Jet

Just a quick post on this. I've read a lot of complaints that the last few batches of My Private Jet are no where near as holographic as the original batch. And yeah, that's true. The one I have is nowhere near holographic, just a stone gray with glitter suspended in it. Very very pretty but certainly not holographic!
 I actually haven't worn this in a while but as far as I recall, application was up to the usual standard of OPI - smooth with good chip resistance:)

'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling' E.O.T.D.

Haha such a cheesy title!! I couldn't stop myself lol!

So Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody, this is part 2 of my green themed posts. I didn't actually wear this look today, I did it last week but I think it's the perfect day to post it.

 

1. UDPP in Eden as primer all over eye area.
2.  MAC Sumptuous Olive all over lid.
3. No7 Golden Leaf on inner corner and lashline.
4. MAC Humid in Outer V and creeping slightly into crease and lower lashline.
5. MAC Springtime Skipper in Crease.
6. Bourjois Vert Pétrillant along upper lash line (used damp with Fix+)
7. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero on upper and lower waterline.
8. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in 1999 on lower lashline/waterline.
9. Maybelline Falsies Mascara.

I was really happy with how this look turned out. I wanted it to be as green as possible, not green-blue.

OPI Jade is the New Black

As part 1 of my green themed posts, I decided to post a true green nail varnish. Personally, I find with green varnishes there tends to be either a blue tint to it making it turquoise/aqua etc or a gold hint to it like China Glazes Peace on Earth.
I love Jade is the New Black, not only is it a 'proper' green, like most OPI's that I've tried, it's pretty faultless and I have to say, I found this one perfect!

 

Keep an eye out for tomorrows green themed post , wink wink (,'')  

Kiko Nail Varnish

This nail varnish has been in my collection for a few years now. I bought it in Italy about 4 years ago in a dedicated Kiko shop I believe? I'm presuming it's an Italian brand. I've never seen or heard of it before or since I found that shop. It was on a street not too far from where the Duomo is in Milan. I remember it was a pretty small shop but had rakes of coloured nail varnish.  I bought this one and I got an orange one, which I don't have swatched yet:-/

Anyway, it is a beautiful kind of teal/turquoise blue. Unfortunately there is no name, only a number 157.
It had a good application and smooth finish. The photos are two coaters which gave very decent coverage.
The colour is a bit lighter in real life than the photos are showing.

 

 

 

Bad application, anyone?

 

This photo shows how it is a bit lighter in real life, yet not as light as that!

 God, I'm bad at photos lol!

 

And just for cuteness:)

A Quick Update!

It feels like ages since I've posted! This week has been hectic with college and unfortunately the next five weeks are going to be the same so I'm not going to be able to be as dedicated as I would like be.

I'm going to try my best to post as often as I can, but come mid-april, I'll be able to post way more!:) 

I've a nail post coming up now and two green themed posts ready to go up during the week in honour of St. Patrick's Day, so it ain't going to be as empty this week! 

OPI Melon of Troy

I picked up this gem during the week. It wasn't a shade name that I had heard of before but as soon as I saw it, I loved it. A beautiful coral peachy shade, with a hint of gold shimmering throughout, it's the perfect shade for summer and ideal this time of year to brighten up a drab dull day. It applies smoothly and was a lot more opaque than I imagined. I genuinely thought it was going to be one of those disappointing colours that is so sheer that it's practically clear. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover the opacity it had even after only one coat.  I honestly can't remember if the photos are 2 coats or 3 but I've a feeling that they're only 2.

 

You can really see the gold shimmer here 

 

Hope you're all enjoying some yummy pancakes this Pancake/Shrove Tuesday!

Catrice Nail Varnish

After spying a stand of Cartrice nail varnish beside a stand of Gosh, I decided to try them out. With a wide array of colours and priced at only €2.79, it would be rude not to!


I only bought two because I didn't want to buy a bucketful only to discover that they're useless and at that price I wasn't holding out high hopes to be honest.
 Oh-ho but they are far from useless. The coverage is amazing. The following photos are just one-coaters. Yes, one coat only!! Good chip resistance and a dream to apply, I will definitely be buying more of these. (Not that I should be buying more nail varnish but meh it's cheap!:p).

First up is I Sea You

     And then we have It Blue Me Away! This is definitely my favourite out of the two.                                                                

 

Cute colours, cute names and cheap prices - Catrice is a winner for me! 

Essie Chinchilly

Chinchilly is my first and only Essie nail varnish. After hearing great reviews about the brand I decided to try one out. The colour of Chinchilly to me, is a kind of  greyed-out mink brown. The application and coverage was fine, I loved the colour and there was fairly decent chip resistance.

Would I purchase Essie again? Yes, but not in the same way that I buy OPI or how I plan to buy more China Glaze. Essie just doesn't really do it for me. Yeah, there's one or two colours that I like the look of such as Turquoise and Calicos and I'll probably get that, but I'm not going to be keeping track of the collections or seeking out the best colours.

(The application looks dreadful in that picture!)

All in all, it is a good varnish, I can't deny that, but as a personal preference I won't be aiming to build up a collection of Essie nail varnishes!