Bargains That Really Work: Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer

One of the really rewarding things about make-up shopping is finding a "perfect" item for you in the total-bargain section. This is what I did a couple of months ago with the Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer. I'm afraid that I literally just could not get a good photo of mine without it blurring, so here is a stock image (boo.)

£4.99 from Boots or Superdrug

Available in: Natural, Naked and Glow

First things first, I do not believe that this illuminates. I use this almost every day and it does not highlight anything on me. However, it is a fantastic concealer. I use this under my eyes, around my nostrils, on the bridge of my nose, on my chin and anywhere that needs a little bit of extra coverage. I use this in natural and it is just the perfect shade for me. It blends into my skin tone invisibly. 

I'm not wearing any make up here apart from that smudge of concealer. The picture on the right is blended out.

I've seen a few reviews of this where people say that for them this really does highlight and doesn't work as a flat concealer for them. So keep that in mind! I have also read that some people find this to be cakey and dry. I haven't experienced this myself but I do apply with a moisturising foundation and a light hand, so it's possible that I have counteracted that problem without realising it. All in all, I really do feel that if you are looking for a cheap concealer that really works, this is the product to go for. 

The only negatives I have is the small selection of shades and the lacklustre packaging. I'm fully aware that at £4.99 I can't expect the earth but I would have at least hope there would be a few more shades. If my skin had been much darker than it is this product would not be available to me which is disappointing.

Have you tried this? Do you recommend any other concealers?

Lauren

NOTD: Nails Inc, St James

So sorry, I had this drafted yesterday but I just didn't have the time to post it. Such a busy Saturday. Luckily I have today to relax and maybe even get in a facial later!

Everyone and their mother picked up Glamour this month for the fantastic free nail varnish. I actually read Glamour regularly anyway, so I'm happy to say I didn't get it just for the freebie...but I might have.

There were four colours to choose from,

Elizabeth Street: A sheer pale pink/nude
Motcomb Street: A deep, dark navy
St. James: Blue toned red
Glamour Glitter: A golden glitter topcoat created exclusively for Glamour

It was such a difficult choice for me to choose between Motcomb Street and St. James! But I reasoned with myself that everyone needs a classic red, and it can be worn all year round. Red nails never really go out of fashion, just like red lips and black dresses.

So here it is on me!

This is the most expensive varnish I have ever used and I can honestly see why. St. James was so smooth and lovely and easy to apply. The colour was rich and bright. I even noticed a very, very light red shimmer running through which was just so beautiful and exciting to see. I've had a few people ask me what shade/brand this is and it's so great sharing it with them. This is a colour that I will be wearing all year round. I can't really fault it to be honest. Ordinarily you could expect be shelling out £11 for a Nails Inc varnish, so get one (four) right now!

Which shade did you get? What do you think of it?

Lauren

Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated today by Gillian at Glam Up Everyday to take part in the Versatile Blogger Tag! If you're not already a fan of Gillian get over there now because you should be. She is so lovely, has a great blog and was actually my first ever follower! Thank you Gillian.

So here are 7 things you probably don't know about me:

1. I've actually been in a relationship with my boyfriend since I was 15. Our 4 year anniversary is coming up on December 4th.

2. I lived in Africa for 6 months when I was 11.

3. I love sweet food. So bad but so good.

4. I sleep for around 9 hours every night which is way too much.

5. I'm a natural blonde.

6. I'm currently cold-turkey growing my hair out so I can get back to blonde.

7. I still don't know what I want to be when I "grow up"!

Illustration of Fact No. 2

The mermaid statue that fronted the Café where I spent a lot of my afternoons.

Tunisia, Hammamet

I actually only have 6 followers at the moment and I think they've all done this...  and I'm not sure who would even see it so I will nominate some lovely people when I have some more followers. :)

Lauren

How I Stopped Biting My Nails

I had been biting my nails for as a long as I can remember. I can never recall having lovely white tips and shiny nails as a child or teen. It's actually a really irritating habit and can be quite painful; no end of times I had been ripping away at my nails or skin and suddenly they had begun to bleed and sting. I was constantly berated by my Grandmother for it and she would smack my hand away whenever she saw me do it! Plus, I was always very aware that people could see my nails and I became paranoid that they were judging me because of it. "Was she nervous and liable to make mistakes?" "Did she have no self control?" "Did she just not care about her appearance?" None of these things were true about me. I simply found myself doing it every time I wasn't fully occupied. I would do it when I watched films or sat on the internet or when I was waiting for anything! It was unsanitary and unattractive.

So this year, I decided that being 19 was a ridiculous age to still be nibbling at my fingers, and more than anything I wanted to be able to have lovely long nails that I could file and paint.

1. I made sure to think about the bad things associated with nail biting (is there anything good?!?) and kept them in my mind whilst I went cold turkey.

2. I bought a great hand cream so that I could nourish my dry fingers and cuticles. 

Hand Food by Soap and Glory (Buy at Boots) was my choice. At £5.00 it was affordable but not so cheap that I could think about wasting it by not keeping up with moisturising.

But no matter how soft and lovely my hands were I just could not stop focussing on my nails. As soon as the tips started sprouting I kept unconsciously bringing them to my mouth and stopping myself as I noticed. (Disgusting I know...) So,

3. I bought a multi use nail block.

This six-sided battered-beauty came from Boots at a mere £2.50. 

For about a month I was not seen sitting still without this with me. Every time I got the urge to bite I would file, buff and shine my way to satisfaction. My nails gleamed. People would ask me if I had a clear varnish on. It was a great feeling. Seeing my nails growing and gleaming was so encouraging and I couldn't wait for when they had enough growth so that I could paint them!

4. Finally! I bought my very first nail polish, aged 19. It was Barry M's Coral and a Top and Bottom coat to go with it. 

 I spent the entire length of The Little Mermaid (very appropriate for the colour I thought) carefully applying my varnishes. I was thrilled with the result but it felt so strange having these bright orange/pink nails and I would keep noticing them when I was walking or reading etc. 

Once I could paint them it was so much easier to keep up with my new lifestyle choice. No longer being able to see the white tips stopped me thinking about biting them all together. At that point I was changing the colour every two or three days because as soon as it started to chip I would get the urge to bite again. Humans are so weird. 

This is not to say that I didn't ever slip up. I absolutely did and I felt so awful that it completely strengthened my resolve. 5 months later, I can happily go varnish free and it no longer bothers me. I officially destroyed a life long habit, and it feels great! 

Have you beaten this habit or are you still suffering with it? How did you stop?

To sign off I'll leave this list of celebrity nail biters for you to chew over. (Puntastic! I'm so ashamed haha)

David Beckham

Phil Collins

Uma Thurman

Britney Spears

Elijah Wood

Lindsay Lohan

Kylie Minogue

Bruce Springsteen

Lisa Marie Presley

Prince Harry

Eva Mendes

Tony Robbins

And many more!

Lauren

Star Product: The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter

I tend to get really dry skin and this translates to really dry lips, especially in winter. It would get so bad that when I woke up in the morning my lips would split as soon as I opened my mouth meaning I would constantly have this cracked bleeding part in the middle of my lips. Needless to say, it was painful, frustrating and unattractive. I always used to use the Vaseline lip pots in cocoa butter or aloe vera and whilst they worked fine during the day, they just weren't enough to keep my lips hydrated throughout the night.

On one of my first trips to The Body Shop the sales assistant brought my attention to their new lip butter.

The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter £4

The first thing that needs to be mentioned about this product is that 100% of what you pay goes to charity. This is such a wonderful idea and it really does make you proud to be a part of it (even though I would happily by this again even without the charitable element!) You are also able to choose your own charity which means you can directly support something that is important to you.

I chose BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.)

Now for the actual product. First off, the packaging is super cute with the colours representing the skin of the dragon fruit. You get a nice amount of product and this stuff smells AMAZING. It is literally one of the best smelling products I have ever encountered. The product itself is very thick and cream coloured and very little is needed. I have been plowing through this for about a month now and I'm not even half way down. I literally cannot recommend this enough, it is so so effective and I use a little of it almost every day and slather it on every night. I haven't split my lip in the morning in weeks and I know it is because of this gem. Even my boyfriend has started using this at night because of how great it is.  

Have you got one? Can you recommend any other great moisturising lip products?

Lauren

Review: Barry M Lip Paints: Part 3, Peach

The long awaited third instalment is here! In all honesty I've been putting this off because I don't like the way it looks on me and I wanted to find a way to make it work. Plus it's good to have some variety on here. Without further ado:

Peach 54 £4.49

This was the only paint I bought out of the Ultra Moisturising range and it was purely because I want to see how the colour would look on me. It looks like a really nice peachy nude in the bullet. Again, same cute packaging and no strong scent.

It was really difficult to get an accurate picture of this on me. In actuality it is really really bright peachy-orange. Like when they would give you a "skin" coloured pencil in school, that was the colour. I'm sure that this would suit some darker skin tones as it is though. It needed to be really toned down to make it wearable for me personally. 

I blotted quite a lot of the colour, evened it out with my finger and then applied a translucent peach gloss over the top. there was still plenty of colour pay off but I would actually wear this in public! It's really a shame because I loved the texture of this and it was so matte and smooth and pigmented. 

You can see in this swatch how much more smoothly it applied.

What do you think? Have you tried Barry M's Lip Paint in Peach?