The Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Colour - Review

L-R; Gorgeous Grey, Mint Cream, Got The Blues, Rosy Cheeks

The Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Colour £5*

The Body Shop have released 24 colourful nail varnish shades which are inspired by nature. The shades contain no harsh chemicals, they're totally vegan and they are not tested on animals. The formula is enriched with silky Community Fair Trade Marula Oil and is quick drying with a high gloss finish. They are a perfect addition to the existing Colour Crush family of eyeshadows and lipsticks. 

I have tried three out of the four shades above and I absolutely love all of them. With two thin coats, they are opaque and with a top coat, they last a few days without chipping. As they have a high gloss finish,, the top coat isn't necessary but I wanted it to last a little longer. One night, I applied a base coat, two thin coats and a top coat before going to bed; they are so quick drying that I woke up the next morning with NO imprints from my bedding which is usually the case!

With 24 shades to choose from, there are enough choices to suit everyone and every season. Some of the brighter shades, I would save for Spring/Summer but there are some beautiful shades for Autumn/Winter, such as Gorgeous Grey, which is the most sophisticated nail polish I have ever worn and I received lots of compliments. 

A bonus is that they are only £5 - I'll definitely be picking up some more shades!

Rachel x

The Body Shop's Argan & Nails Blogger Event

Last Sunday, I was invited to The Body Shop in Preston by the lovely Rachelle from Inspired by the Retired. The event was to have a nosy at the new launches, in particular - the Wild Argan Oil range and the Colour Crush nail varnish collection. I met Rachael (From Rachael Claire) on the train and we headed into Preston together. Three Rachels in one day, all spelt differently! A little confusing! We did a little bit of shopping in Primark first before making our way to The Body Shop. We were greeted by Rachelle and lots of yummy nibbles with Bucks Fizz!

She introduced us to the new Wild Argan Oil range and briefly explained the products to us. Rachelle and her co-worker had brought in all the Moroccan decor which I love and I now want to decorate my house in the same way! I'll have to visit Morocco! I had a play around with some of the products and my favourites were the solid oil lip balm, which I purchased on the day, and the body scrub. (This will no doubt be a future purchase!) 

For me, the most exciting range of the day was the Colour Crush Nail Varnish collection. I adore nail polish and have a pretty big collection already but it didn't stop me walking home with 5 of the shades! I purchased Gorgeous Grey, Meet Me At Dusk and we were kindly gifted Got The Blues. (I already had Mint Cream and Rosy Cheeks which were kindly gifted to me for review by The Body Shop PR - look out for a review soon.)

I almost purchased this too but as finances aren't great right now, I was very sensible and put it back as I already own most of the Vitamin E range along with even more skincare products from other brands! But it looks super luxurious and I will DEFINITELY be trying it out in the near future. Rachael did purchase this so she may review it on her blog if you're interested.

Both Rachael and I, purchased a Colour Crush Shine lipstick (in exactly the same shade!) We picked up shade 15 which is called Fuchsia and I cannot wait to try it out. (Obviously, it's got to be photographed first!) I haven't tried much of TBS make up before but I love the Honey Bronzer and the texture of the lipstick felt lovely when I swatched it. 

I didn't actually purchase anything from the Honeymania range but as I love honey and include it everyday in my breakfast, I may be picking up some products soon! I still have loads of body butters and body scrubs etc that need using up first. Maybe one for the Christmas wish list although the gingerbread scent will hopefully be making a return!

I adore the Almond Hand & Nail Cream but unfortunately, I'm coming to the end of my tube. (Side note - I must buy one of those tools to squeeze all the product out.) I wanted to try something different this time. TBS have recently released new hand creams but they're only minis which would only last me a week! Instead I picked up the Vitamin E Hand & Nail Cream based on Rachelle's recommendation. 

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful rainbow wall made out of body butters. I have a few in my collection but this makes me want one in everyone colour to make my own rainbow! 

Thank you Rachelle for organising and hosting another fabulous event. I love seeing all the new product launches and obviously I love meeting up with new bloggers and existing blogging friends. 

Have you tried any of the new products from The Body Shop? 

Rachel x

Mini Haul #4

I am trying not to spend as much money on beauty. I have so many lipsticks and so many nail polishes and so many hair care products and so many MUA eye shadow palettes. But can I help myself? No! Everytime I go shopping, I seem to buy more stuff I don't need. I just want them! Being a beauty blogger definitely does not help! I see so many bloggers raving about the latest product and I just have to have it! I don't go shopping as much as I used to, which is a good start. But when I do go shopping, I go shopping! I spend money I don't have and time just passes before my eyes. I can't be the only one! 

Denman Classic Styling Brush  / Denman Dressing Out Brush / Denman Professional Comb

My hair is in very bad condition. Years of heat styling and colouring is not good for anyone's hair especially if it was dry to start with! I have always used cheap brushes and combs for my hair. I don't know why as my mum always has a Denman brush. I just thought I'm not spending that much money on a brush! Considering it's something I use everyday, several times a day, I should have just purchased the above years ago! I'm obviously tight with my money! 

I bought a Tangle Teezer the other month as my hair is always tangled and when using my 'cheap' brush I could actually hear my hair snapping! Not good! I thought what's the point in spending £10.99 on a Tangle Teezer when I continue to use cheap brushes as I'm not going to see the results. So I decided to take the plunge and invest in some good hair tools. I'm sure you're all aware it was 3 for 2 last month in Boots, which I definitely used to my advantage. I purchased a Denman Classic Styling Brush, which was only £6.99. I don't know why I thought they were more expensive. My hair is extremely thick and volume is something I try to avoid, rather than create, so a backcombing brush/comb was the last thing I thought I would buy. After watching a video on PixiwooMadness, I saw one being used to smooth hair rather than create volume or backcombing the hair. I knew I had to get myself one as I always have flyaways and frizzy bits of hair and I hate them! Sam actually said she bought a pink Denman one, obviously I had to have a pink one! So I bought the Denman Dressing Out Brush. I'm really looking forward to testing it out! 

As my hair is long and thick, I tend to always have a wide comb in the shower for when I am washing my hair. Yes, you guessed it, I am currently using a cheap one. It looks disgusting now as most of the paint has come off! It was definitely time for a new one and as it was 3 for 2, it would be rude not to! I stuck with Denman as I wanted quality brushes and combs in my collection. So I bought the Denman Professional Comb. I use my Tangle Teezer on wet hair once I'm out of the shower but the instructions said to keep heat away from it and I have my shower pretty hot so the comb is for in the shower. I usually comb my hair when a conditioner or hair mask is on. 

Tresemme Platinum Strength Deep Conditioning Treatment / Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Spray / VO5 Treat Me Right Deep Conditioning Treatment

I am a little bit obsessed with hair treatments at the moment. I use a mask almost everytime I wash my hair and usually always apply oil before drying my hair. Tresemme Platinum Strength Deep Conditioning Treatment is a fairly new product and many beauty bloggers have shared their love for the range. I caved into the hype and thought I would try the deep conditioning treatment. 

Another product that gets a lot of love is the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Spray. I love applying oil to my hair and I have really noticed a difference in the texture of my hair. I'm looking forward to using an oil spray as it will leave less mess and I think it will allow for even distribution. The oil is lightweight and claims to defrizz hair - perfect! It can also be used on wet or dry hair. I shall report back on this. 

I have tried a couple of products from VO5 recently that I have really enjoyed using so I thought I would give the VO5 Treat Me Right Deep Conditioning Treatment a try. It claims to intensely condition, strengthen and repair dry, damaged hair and leave hair smooth, silky soft and radiantly shiny. Sounds promising! 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation / Collection Colour Lash Mascara in Clear / MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette / Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer / Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 16 / Topshop Lipstick in Innocent / Topshop Nail Polish / 17 Doll'd Up Mascara / Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream / Natural Collection Blusher in Peach Melba

To be honest, Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation wasn't a foundation that I was interested in. I prefer a matte finish with my foundation and Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation gives a healthy, radiant glow. There is a lot of hype around the foundation, with many bloggers preferring it over high end foundations, but that still didn't draw me in. Usually this foundation is £8.99 and in the end a special offer drew me in. One week when I was doing the weekly shop in Morrisons, I spotted it on offer for £4.99! It's definitely worth a try for that price.

Collection Colour Lash Mascara in Clear is a repurchase. I use this to set my brows and you can see what I think in more detail here. Mascaras don't have a great shelf life as it is but as I'm using this on my brows, my current one looks disgusting so I had to purchase another one. They're only £1.99 so I plan to repurchase every two to three months. 

I already have three MUA palettes but does that stop me wanting another? No! I already have the Undressed palette, which is a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked palette. So when I heard they had brought out a new palette, which was a dupe for the UD Naked 2 palette, I had to have it. I don't own either of the UD palettes but when I look at comparison posts they look so alike. MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette looks amazing and I cannot wait to start using it. It's only £4 and all the other MUA palettes are amazing quality. 

Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer have taken the beauty world by storm. They are a hybrid lipstick and lipgloss product and offer a fresh take on lip products. It's taken me awhile to jump on the bandwagon mainly due to not knowing which shade to choose. In the end, I settled for Celestial and Nova. These look like perfect colours for me and from first impressions, I love their texture. 

I have two Rimmel lipsticks by Kate Moss but both are from the matte collection. When I was purchasing the Apocalips, it was 3 for 2 and I spotted Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 16. It looks like a beautiful Spring/Summer shade and I'm looking forward to seeing how the formula differs from the matte collection. Another lipstick I have purchased lately is the Topshop Lipstick in Innocent. This is actually a shade I have been wanting for a while but on this particular day, I couldn't resist. It's the third Topshop lipstick I have purchased and I love the others so no doubt I will love Innocent too. 

Whilst browsing the Topshop make up stand and purchasing Innocent, I spotted there was an offer on Topshop Nail Polish - two for £8. They are usually £5 or £6 so it isn't a massive saving but I simply couldn't resist. I love a blue nail polish so AWOL was so appealing to me and High Voltage is a lovely pink shade perfect for Summer. To be honest, I have lots of pink nail polishes but the Topshop formula is lovely and I couldn't resist the polka dot packaging. 

I have to be completely honest here - the only reason I purchased Seventeen Doll'd Up Mascara was because I had a voucher. The mascara is usually £6.29 but I got it for £2. Completely worth a try! Another product that was purchased because of a voucher was the Natural Collection Blusher in Peach Melba. I had a voucher to get extra points on my Boots Advantage card if I purchased something from Natural Collection.   I decided on the Peach Melba Blush as I had seen Lily Pebbles rate it so highly. She usually uses high end products so for a blusher that costs £1.99 to make it onto her face, it must be good!

Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream in Cotton Candy was only £2.99 and I had heard Llymlrs mention it in a few videos. I have already tried it before writing this post and I LOVE it. The formula is amazing - it feels very moisturising and dries matte and the colour is beautiful. It lasts several hours on the lips and for such a cheap product my first impressions are wow!

Which products have you purchased lately? Are there any products on your wish list?

Rachel x

Lost In Lipstick

MUA Nail Polish in Amaretto Crush - Review

MUA Nail Polish in Amaretto Crush £1

Yes, you read that correctly! £1! Bargain! This is one of MUA's newer shades, released in Autumn 2012. A lot of people have said they prefer the new shades as they have names rather than numbers. To be honest it doesn't particularly bother me but naming a nail polish a number is pretty boring. MUA is such an affordable brand for everyone, does it really matter? 

This is the first nail polish I have bought from MUA but I thought it was time I give them a try as I have used so many of their other products and loved them. One thing that put me off is the size of the bottle. It's tiny and doesn't fit nicely in my nail polish collection! OCD! Again it's only £1 and lets be honest, do we really use all the nail polish in a larger bottle or does it go off before we get chance to! I know mine does, it usually dries out, but I have a large nail polish collection!

The polish is actually really good quality for £1. I was pleasantly surprised. One thing that annoyed me was the small brush but that's down to the small bottle. It was quite difficult to apply with such a small brush. The polish, at first, applied a little textured but soon smoothed out. I only needed two coats and the colour was opaque. I used Models Own 3-in-1 as a base coat and as I was in a hurry, I didn't apply a top coat. Without a top coat, it lasted two days before it began to chip because of housework! So with a top coat I reckon it would last about 4 days, which is totally amazing for £1! 

I will definitely purchase more shades of nail polish from MUA. I do wish the bottles were the standard size so they wouldn't look so out of place in my collection. I would pay more. Maybe if they double the size and double the price!

Have you tried any nail polish from MUA? Which shades do you recommend?

Rachel x

Lost In Lipstick

Mini Haul #2

Topshop Lipstick in Rumour Has It £8

Topshop Nail Polish in Pool Party £5 (review here)

No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Calico £14

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover £4.99