Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish | Review

I don't often buy nail varnish, and when I do I almost always go for Rimmel because they're cheap, but brilliant quality with the best brush ever. However, I was in Boots looking for some neutral shades and none from the Rimmel line took my fancy, so I went over to the Maybelline stand after hearing good things about their nail varnishes and I picked up two shades from the Color Show collection.
I'm quite fussy with nail varnish, there's lots of things I look for as I'm impatient waiting for them to dry (anyone else always suddenly find loads of things to do just as they finish painting their nails?!), the formulation has to be the perfect consistency i.e. not runny but not gloopy, and the brush can't be too thin. So, does Maybelline Color Show get the thumbs up from me?

The shades I chose were Love This Sweater, which is a pink/mauve nude shade and Cool touch which is a bluey grey. I thought these shades would be really lovely for Spring time, and they'd go with almost anything.
I really like the packaging…it's simple but there's something about it that makes it feel nice, and not cheap. I prefer it to Rimmel, but the preferences don't extend any more than that.
The brush is quite thin, it's not the thinnest I've seen but not so thick you can do your nail with 1 or 2 swipes, which is annoying.
The formulation is fairly watery, by no means do I like gloopy nail varnish but I do like it thick enough that I could get away with doing one coat if I'm in a hurry. With Maybelline I need at least two coats, but I normally opt for three, otherwise the colour looks too sheer.
Drying time, which is another thing I find important, is not terrible but not anything amazing either. I left it about 3-4 minutes between coats, and that was long enough.
The wear is better than expected considering the fairly thin consistency, normally nail varnish chips within a couple of days on me, this one lasted about 3 or 4…that's with a base coat but no top coat.

Overall I don't think I would repurchase this brand of nail varnish again…I'm glad I bought the two polishes because I really do like the shades, but the formulation doesn't cut it, however for the price of £2.99 I didn't expect anything outstanding.

What's your favourite brand of nail polish?

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My Current Eye Makeup Routine!

Doing my eyes is my favourite part of my makeup routine, I'm definitely a lipstick lover but I enjoy doing my eyes the most - choosing the shadows, applying them, blending, choosing an eyeliner and mascara, ahhh. The last few days I've been reaching for the same products when it comes to do my eye makeup.

I've been using Stila eyeshadow in Champagne, which you can see swatched HERE all over my lid, then in the outer corner I've been using a grey shade from a Rimmel palette called Brixton brown, you can see that swatched HERE, then I blend them. I take whatever's left on the brush slightly under my eye. Then I use Maybelline's black gel eyeliner to draw a thin line and a slight flick.
I finish off with a couple of layers of Maybelline's volum' express the rocket mascara.
I like this look because it's not OTT but it's pretty and neutral, all the products last a long time as well.

What's your current favourite eye product?

My Favourite 3 Eyeliners

Finding a good eyeliner can be quite tricky. You want one that's a good colour, easy to apply, easy to blend, isn't expensive, is nicely packaged and lasts all day. I've tried a lot of eyeliners, and these are my top 3 that I reach for most often and absolutely love.

The first one and the one I use most often is the Maybelline gel eyeliner in black. I use this all the time! It's amazing, it comes with a little brush which makes it easy to apply, it creates a lovely look and it lasts for as long as you need it to! For £7.99 I think it's a bargain.

Next up is Rimmel Scandal Eyes Kohl liner in black. This eyeliner is waterproof so I mostly use it on my waterline. It doesn't budge all day, it's easy to apply and blend and the colour is jet black. Sometimes I find black eyeliners come out almost grey, but that's not the case with this. It retails for £3.99!

My last favourite is a liner I actually only really use around Winter time because it's slightly festive I think. It's the Avon Glimmerstick Diamonds Eyeliner in black ice. This is a twist up creamy pencil liner  (yay for no sharpening!) that has slight specks of glitter running through it, it's super pretty and would be perfect for Christmassy parties! This is only £6!

Top to Bottom -
Maybelline Gel Eyeliner
Rimmel Kohl Liner
Avon Glimmerstick Diamonds

What's your most used eyeliner?

What's In My Handbag Makeup Bag?

Yesterday I had a little trip up to London for a meeting, and in my handbag was my little makeup bag that I carry products in that I might need to use for a touch up during the day, I thought I'd share it with you!

My makeup is new, my gran gave it to me so I have no idea where you can get it but it's by Hardwells.
It's so nice, the fabric feels really durable and it's such a cute design.

You may think I carry too many products around, but actually I only normally touch up with powder, sometimes concealer, and of course lipstick throughout the average day…but I always carry around things just in case! The day I don't will probably be the day I need the products!

My Rimmel Stay Matte powder is always with me, it's the best powder I've used - not heavy but doesn't let shine through and lasts well. I have a NYX blush in peach which is actually pink, and also my Nars luguna bronzer which I adore. I carried my Real Techniques blush brush to apply those 3 products.
The fashionista eyebrow kit is something I can't live without, so that was with me! As was the concealer I'm loving at the moment - Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory, perfect for covering up those under eye circles which were in full force on the day - getting up at 5:30am on a Saturday wasn't ideal…damn early trains! I had Maybelline's rocket mascara which I love, and I think I now prefer it to the falsies.
Lastly the two lip products, Carmex to keep my lips soft, and my new lipstick which I might do a review on - Kate Moss for Rimmel in 03, it's beautiful nude that doesn't completely blank the lips out.

What makeup products do you carry around in your

handbag?

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Bourjois Colour Edition Eye Shadow in Petale de Glace - REVIEW

Bourjois have brought out their own range of cream to powder eyeshadows in their AW13 colour edition collection! I don't actually see many of these on the highstreet, apart from the Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 hour ones, which I absolutely love, and when I received the Bourjois product I thought how similar it looks! Both state they last 24 hours, which seems to be an obsession in the makeup world currently, but really who wears makeup for that long? The packaging is similar, although Maybelline's is a glass pot and feels more expensive compared to the plastic Bourjois pot and they're both a similar concept.

As the concept and packaging is very similar to the Maybelline colour tattoos I expected the product to be similar too, but it's really not.
These bourjois shadows are much less cream, more powder. They are quite dry and also fairly firm when you try to get some on your finger (I found my fingers was the best way to apply them), however I found them very easy to work with once on the eyelid and blend beautifully.
The shade I got was Petale de Glace, nowhere on the pot itself does it say a name so I had to go from other blogs, it's a gorgeous shade but quite difficult to describe, it'd say it's a browny champagney colour with a hint of purple and lovely and shimmery.
The colour payoff of this shadow is good, not amazing but good and can definitely be built up.

Bourjois claim these last 24 hours but I highly doubt it, after about 8 hours it started to fade but didn't crease (hurrah!).

I do love this product and it's a welcome addition to my makeup stash and the colour is right up my street and really looks lovely, but I still prefer the Maybelline colour tattoos and as the Bourjois ones are £2 more (retail for £6.99 as apposed to Maybelline's £4.99) I would recommend Maybelline more.

Buy them HERE!


(Bourjois very kindly sent me this product, thank you Bourjois!)