Nail Art #2

Since I had crazy shifts at work when I came back from my little Scottish holidays I didn't really have time to write a review. So I thought I could post some of my nail art I did in the past year or so, plus my first nail art post got quite a bit of hype. I am planning to get back into nail art once I move flats next month, I will live a few steps away from my work place which means I will have plenty of time to do more blogging too. Can't wait. Anyway, hope you like them. All of the nail polishes I used are from a drugstore, mostly Rimmel, Maybelline and Miss Sporty.
Do you like nail art? Would you rather have natural or fake nails?

xoxo

MAC Lipstick in Crosswires | Review

After picking up Vegas Volt I decided to get another summery lipstick, well actually I was going to MAC with Ruby Woo in mind but decided to get something less 'red' as I'm just not brave enough for this one. I found Crosswires and fell in love with it, the colour caught my eye straight away, I was surprised I haven't noticed it before. The lipstick is a nice pinky-coral shade, it's quite bright but not neon-ish or in your face. It's good for going out as well as completing an everyday makeup look, it's a perfect statement lipstick. It also has a nice golden sheen to it, which you can see in the last photo. The lipstick is buildable, two swipes are enough to get an opaque look but you can apply less or more depending on how strong you want the colour to be. It's well-pigmented, smooth and long-lasting, usually 3-4 hours, however it leaves a pretty stain on my lips so I tend to re-apply only once or twice. The product doesn't dry out my lips or settle into liplines, which I've noticed some people complained about, it works just brilliant for me. I absolutely love the creaminess of this lipstick and how comfortable it feels on my lips. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a statement lipstick but are afraid of a full-on red lips look. This one is a winner for me.

Have you tried Crosswires? What's your favourite MAC lipstick?

MAC Crosswires: £14

xoxo

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara | Review

I've seen this mascara in a couple of magazines, but it's not getting as big of a hype as Maybelline's previous mascara - The Rocket. I also have read a few reviews, and not everyone was impressed by it. Now it's finally available in Boots and Superdrug so I decided to give it a go myself as I loved (and still love) The Rocket so much. And now that I've been using it for about a week I have to say I'm quite impressed, it's not the best mascara I've ever tried, but it's definitely not the worst either. It's a good mascara, it just lacks that wow factor that for example Falsies has. The wand is quite big and flexible, however I didn't get any mascara on my lids as I tend to do when wands are as big as this one. It doesn't leave any clumps on my lashes, might be a little hard to get it right on the bottom lashes but nothing a cotton bud can't fix. I'm mostly impressed with how long it lasts, I had it on for about 18 hours (I was travelling from London to Glasgow) and it didn't leave any nasty marks under my bottom lashes or my eyelids up until the moment I got to bed. I don't think I would re-purchase this mascara since there is so many better ones out there, but it is a good product and if you are looking for a long-lasting mascara, that might be it.

Have you tried Mega Plush mascara yet? What's your all-time-favourite mascara?

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara: £7.99

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Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots Nail Polish Collection

I have found these by a complete accident, I went to Boots to check out Maybelline's new mascara and ended up getting a few more things too, and these varnishes were my best find I think. As soon as I saw them I just grabbed all of them, it's only four colours in the collection (at least the Boots I went to had only four) but for £2.99 each it would be a shame not to try them out especially for me aka nail polish addict. I have a soft spot for nail varnishes, I used to do nail art on daily basis so whenever I see something new, I want it (I know, it's bad).  Anyway, Maybelline came out with a new collection of their Color Show nail polishes, which is called Polka Dots and it's basically varnishes containing lots and lots of little black and white dots of different sizes. As you put layers on the dots create a cool 3D-like effect. The shades I got are Chalk Dust, Shooting Stars, Rain Forest Canopy and Speckled Pink (I love the names of these products, they are just so cool). I liked the layering so much I put like 5 or 6 layers on the first time I tried them. The only downside is that they are an absolute pain to take off but you can't have everything, right. Personally, I will only use them on spacial occasions, but I reckon they would look brilliant put on one of the nails while the rest of them is just a plain colour similar to the Color Show shade.

Have you tried Maybelline's Color Show Polka Dots yet? Do you have any similar varnishes?

Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots Nail Polishes: £2.99 (each)

xoxo

Stila Convertible Color Dual Lip and Cheek Stain in Lillium | Review

I've actually planned to get Stila Convertible Color in Gladiola, which I mentioned in my April wishlist but got this one instead. I fell in love with it straight away after swatching it on my hand, it's called Lillium and it's a really nice, natural-looking pink shade. It doesn't have any shimmer to it, it's more of a matt colour which is great because I've noticed most of my blushes are shimmery. The product can be used on lips and cheeks, however I don't ever use it on my lips, it just doesn't look too great. It looks amazing on the cheeks though, it's my new favourite blush in fact. It's best to be applied with a brush, as it's really well pigmented and I always tend to accidentally put too much when I use my fingers. Lillium gives my cheeks a healthy look and if you are as pale as me, this shade is just perfect. It lasts up to 6 hours, which is fairly good and can be layered over with a powder blush to help it stay on longer. I absolutely love the creamy texture of this product, it's so easy to blend and it's buildable, you can use as much as you want to get the desired amount of flush. It didn't leave any patches on my skin or made it greasy, so yeah. That's Stila Convertible Color in Lillium, my first Stila product actually and definitely not last. In fact I still want to try Gladiola but again, there is a shade I want to try a little more - Gerbera. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try out cream blushes or is just simply looking for a new blush.

Do you prefer cream or powder blushes? What's the best cream blush you tried?

Stila Convertible Color in Lillium: £16

xoxo