Collective Haul: February 2012

This month was a fairly heavy buying month mostly, nail varnish.

Most of the make-up items that I got were earlier in the month and were featured in this post.

My excuse for all the nail vanish you're going to see?....new collections and they ALL called to me. What's a nail polish addict to do?

China Glaze Electropop collection. The 'Lights' part.

                           

L-R Fuchsia Fanatic, Dance Baby, Electric Beat, Kinetic Candy, Sweet Hook and Gothic Lolita.

Most of the OPI Holland collection. I absolutely adore this collection and I think I'll get the final 3 as well. I've never being more in love with a collection.

L-R I Have A Herring Problem, Dutch Ya Just Love OPI, Pedal Faster Suzi!, Red Lights Ahead...Where?, Did You Ear About Van Gogh?, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, Thanks A Windmillion, I Don't Give A Rotterdam and Vampsterdam.

Some miscellaneous nail varnish I picked up.

L-R Butter London Trout Pout, OPI Bikini Envy, Venus di Violet, Fly, China Glaze pull Me Close and Magnet, Essie A Crewed Interest, Go Overboard, Navigate Her and Van D'go.

And I still managed to pick up some more make up stuff!

L-R Bioderma Créaline H2O, Boscia Black Mak, Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, Nars Eyeshadow in Lhasa and Maybelline Falsies mascara.

Phew! That was way too much spending this month. Definitely not buying much for the next few months!

Some Current Favourites

I haven't done a Favourites post in months. I started doing them when I first began my blog because it seemed like the thing to do. However, I found that I wouldn't have always have favourite each month so I prefer just to do them when I feel there is things that warrant a place in a post like this.

There has been a few things that have really stood out to me in particular this month, both beauty and non-beauty.

First up is non-beauty. I spied this new Extra Strawberry chewing gum a couple of weeks ago and decided to try it out. It's been years since I tried any fruit flavour chewing gum. 

I think an overload of Juicy Fruit when I was about 10 kept me away from it. Besides I love a really strong fresh, minty chewing gum so I never felt the need to try a fruit one again. Anyway, on a whim I got these and I love them! They taste good. Not exactly realistic but not ridiculously artificial either. 

I then decided to venture out and try the Extra 5 in Flood which is berry flavoured. Again these are really nice and they make your handbag smell great lol! But yea, I've found these great for when you're craving something sweet. They help to hit the spot:)

Second favourite is a Tropical Topper from Juice. This particular one is mango frozen yoghurt with pineapple and kiwi. It tastes so good, you really feel like you're getting a treat. They're also surprisingly filling so they are great to have during a break at work. And they are really low calorie, only 197 in this one, much better than snacking on a chocolate bar! I'm also partial to the Berry one:)

First make-up favourite is my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Redhead, applied with the 129 brush. This gives such an amazing glow to the skin. Sometimes I wear it alone but I also wear a light dusting of it over my blush and it adds a great extra dimension!

My new Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I honestly didn't think it would be as good as I hoped but it was! It makes a big difference to my lashes and in turn to the application of my mascara.

NARS eyeshadow in Galapagos. This gorgeous coca brown with gold shimmer has being responsible for smoking out my everyday neutral a lot this month. It's a very buttery soft eyeshadow and applies lovely.

My final favourite for the month is this Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose. It doesn't apply as strong as it looks in the pot but it does give enough colour to look red. Perfect for daytime if you don't want to rock a full red lip.

What items have you being loving lately?

Rimmel Blue Vogue

This is a shade that I simply adore. A dark blue, nearly navy colour. Add a deep shine/shimmer and I'm yours!

This is Rimmel Blue Vogue.

Very easy to apply. Ooh it's like an ink stain all over your nails :D

Bourjois Violet Laqúe

My second and final Bourjois nail varnish.

                           

Violet Laqúe is a deep pink, like a cerise-raspberry colour.

Excuse the blurry pictures but it does show the colours accurately!!

I need to wear these older colours more often. Due to my own fault of continuously buying new nail varnish, these gems are often overshadowed. Shame on me!

Does this happen you? Are you always in awe of a new nail varnish that you tend to forget about some of the rest?

Benefit Coralista

Ah, Coralista how I love you. This stunning coral, is the epitome of summer.

Jam-packed with a golden shimmer, every time I wear this I feel like it gives you such a glow- no additional highlighter needed!

It is very pigmented, probably the most pigmented of all the Benefit blushes I have. 

As usual the top swatch is the heavier one and the bottom is just a light wash.

Anybody else longing for summer?

Nail Polish Collection Breakdown: Part 8

This Saturday is the last one in February, I can't believe that we are nearly in March! Going to post my Spring nail varnish picks soon.

Today's post is all about Essie. When I got my first Essie nail polish I wasn't that keen on them but I definitely changed my mind!

L-R Topless and Barefoot, Chinchilly, Cocktail Bling, Sew Psyched, School of Hard Rocks, Fair Game, Mint Candy Apple, Turquoise & Caicos.

L-R Tart Deco, Braziliant, Your Hut or Mine, Angora Cardi, Sexy Divide.

So many of these Essie polishes are firm favourites of mine, in particular Your Hut or Mine and Fair Game. Adore them.

Wishlist!

Ah, wishlists. Lists in general are a favourite of mine and wishlists are just one section of my list making skills. I'll make wishlists for everything from books to places I want to travel to but one that I love making is one of things I want to save up for and get (Some may be more realistic than other, but we can dream!)

Sometimes it's nice just to be completely materialistic.

Starting on the the top row, left to right.

1. Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM. I love this bag. It's what I would consider a good everyday bag as it's medium sized so practical enough for everyday use. It's a tote and the side strings can be used to cinch the bag in. As for the Louis Vuitton monogram? I was on the fence over it for a long time, mostly due  to the trashy ways it is replicated. However, despite this it has earned it's way on to my wishlist!

2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Mouse Flats. Squee! These have to be the cutest shoes ever. I really don't need to say a lot about them other than Look, Look at them!!! Oh, but I do have to include what my mother said when I showed them to her :

"ah, they are cute aren't they? Pricy for what they are though, sure there'd be no support in those! Do you know what you could do? Go into Penney's and pick up a pair of glittery pumps and stick some of those googly eyes on them." Yes Mother, that wouldn't look weird AT ALL.

3. Chanel 2.55 Handbag. Probably the most classic bag of all time. How elegant and grown-up would you feel with this on your arm? Black would be the first colour of choice but if I was ever to get a second one (as you do) I think the grey one would be superb.

4. Chanel Bow Sunglasses. Want. So. Badly. I've actually tried them on before and they really suit my face. I find it hard to find sunglasses that look good on me, so I should get these, yea? And although we live in Ireland don't forget that mad, glarey winter sun when we're driving people.

5. Christian Louboutin Pigalle 120. Any Louboutins really. Ideally these in black and nude. Then we'll move on to the peep-toes in black and nude. And then the Daffodils. The blinging ones.

6. Michael Kors RoseGold Watch. A watch is probably the most practical thing you buy. And I currently only have one watch so it's not like I would never get around to wearing it. 

7. Hermés Birkin. Another handbag. This is the most unlikely thing on this wishlist, but hey it's a wishlist! This is such an amazing piece of craftsmanship. It is stunningly  beautiful. There's a waiting list. And it's very very expensive. I would settle for a Kelly, I suppose.

Obviously I want everything on this wishlist, it is a wishlist after all. Some items are within easier range of course, like the sunglasses and watch, which I would love to purchase at some stage this year:)

What's on your wishlist?

China Glaze Electropop 'Lights' Spring/Summer 2012

Most of the Spring nail varnish collections have impressed me this year. I bought 6 of the 12 colours from the China Glaze Electropop collection.

Fuchsia Fanatic

A bright fuchsia pink. It shows up brighter on the nail, it's not quite a raspberry colour.

Dance Baby

A lightly blue toned candy pink.

Electric Beat

A medium to light blue, verging on a dusty blue.

Kinetic Candy

Mint greens haven't gone anywhere this Spring! Sufficient amounts of blue in this particularly minty shade. Quite a muted shade.

Sweet Hook

A beautiful, soft lilac.

Gothic Lolita

A deeper purple that still remains very bright.

The formula on all of these was kind of thick, yet runny. Globs of polish kept falling off the brush and on to the table. It was also kind of a sticky formula.

Whilst the formula wasn't favourable, the colours are gorgeous so if any of them take your fancy I wouldn't necessarily let a troublesome formula stop you from getting them.

China Glaze Orange Marmalade

Orange Marmalade hails from the Summer Days Collection (2009).

I think the name of this nail varnish is so apt! It's a juicy orange shade, with golden speckles and it's a glass-flecked nail varnish, which I think is a stunning finish for a nail varnish.

Orange Marmalade is quite a sheer colour. The photos here are 3 coats I believe and you can still see some visible nail line. I think the next time I wear it, I'll layer it over another orange so that I don't end up having to do 4+ coats!

Essie Cocktail Bling

Essie Cocktail Bling hails from a recent collection, Cocktail Bling Winter 2011.

Cocktail Bling is a greyed out blue with the gentlest hint of a purple undertone.

I felt that this was a really smooth and sleek polish both in looks and application. It feels like a very articulate and elegant colour to wear. 

E.O.T.D Feat. Urban Decay Naked Palette

I haven't done an E.O.T.D. in an absolute age! Last week as I was getting to ready to go out for a late breakfast (midweek!) I found myself reaching for my Urban Decay Naked palette.

I know I'm more than a little late showing an E.O.T.D. using the Urban Decay Naked palette, especially considering that the Naked 2 palette has already being released! 

However, this really is a great palette. It was the only only eyeshadows that I brought with me when I moved to California for 3 months last summer. It was used every day and every night and never failed me. 

So after all the hard work it did for me, I think it deserves to be used in an E.O.T.D.!

I wanted to create a soft smoky look. 

The shadows I used (after UDPP in Eden and Mac Paintpot in Bare Study as bases) were;

Sin all over lid

Sidecar on outer lid

Smog on outer lid and 'v'

Darkhorse in crease and lower lashline

Creep on lower lashline

Virgin on browbone

Other items used to create this look L-R

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden

Mac Paintpot in Bare Study

Maybelline 'Cat Eyes' Mascara

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Bourbon (Upper lashline)

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Black (Upper waterline)

Urban Decay Browbox in Brown Sugar

The Naked Palette. 

This turned out to be a real Urban Decay lovin' post :D

Are you still using your Naked Palette? Have you deserted it in favour of Naked 2?

Ravishing Reds

Today it's time for some swatches of red nail varnish. I really need to wear reds more often!

Ciaté Mistress

One of my favourite bright tomato reds.

Essence Cherry Kiss

A red with slight shimmer throughout.

Wen n Wild Red Red

A flat, cool-toned red.

Rimmel Hot Gossip

A strong bright red.

No 7 Rose Truffle

A very pink tinged red.

Catrice Caught on the Red Carpet

An eerie blood red.

Out of this lot I think my favourite is Mistress by Ciaté