Maybelline Color Show Coral Craze Review

This is the third of my Maybelline Color Show nail varnish reviews. The first was Lavender Lies, the second Marinho and this one is the striking orange; Coral Craze, 342.

This colour is super summery, which is why I wanted to review this one last; in the hope that summer might finally be here! I love bright coloured nail varnish but have never tried anything with yellow or orange hues, so this is a first!

This colour is exactly how it appears in the bottle, as are all of the Maybelline Color Show varnishes I've tried so far. I love the fact that there are no surprises!

This particular varnish had been sitting on my dressing table for a couple of weeks before I went to apply it and I did notice that some of the orangey/yellow colouring inside the varnish was starting to separate a little, just where it had been sitting stationary for a while. 

You always want to make sure that your colour is perfectly mixed together, so I used a cotton bud to stir the varnish gently and then gave the bottle a good shake as usual. That sorted it!

As you can see, the colour of this varnish is stunning. It's bright, colourful and because my hands have caught a little sun lately, it makes them look super brown!

I can definitely see myself rocking this on the beach in a few weeks time!

What do you think of Coral Craze, Lavender Lies or Marinho? Have you tried any of the Color Show range?

Deetz; A Label to Love

Flicking through a magazine today, I came across a really cool label that I'd not heard of before; Deetz. This print-led line, created by Scottish designers Amy Currie and Lauren Milligan and inspired by Winona Ryder's character in Beetlejuice, launched earlier this year.

The collection includes playsuits, dresses, tops and scarves and with the cost of these gorgeous pieces starting from £205, it's not something I'm going to be able to afford to rush out and buy, BUT, the pieces themselves deserve some attention. It's no wonder in my opinion, that Harvey Nichols has already snapped up the line for it's stores.

I've picked out a few of my favourite pieces, starting with the La Famille Top, £265. This top is made from 100% silk crepe de chine and digitally printed to enhance the brightness of the graphics. 

It has a snakeskin embossed pattern on the front of the top and (my favourite), a detachable leather collar! Wearing it here with a leather, pleated skirt and pointed black boots, it's such a cute, wearable look.

The second piece I particularly like is the Direction Playsuit, £295. With it's all over triangle print, candy colours and green silk collar, it looks really cute with a waist belt and boots. 

I really love the playsuit look and this one is certainly different, which is a huge plus in my opinion. Again, this is made from the highest quality 100 per cent silk crepe de chine and therefore must be dry cleaned, but who cares when the piece is so cute! It's worth the dry cleaning bill, right?

The last piece I particularly like from this collection is the Pixel Parfait Cape Dress, £365. The soft hues of this lavender and pale green dress, plus its detachable 100% leather belt and elasticated neckline, makes this dress truly stunning. 

This dress has so many ticks, it even has an elasticated hem so that you can adjust its length! It's such a shame that the price is totally out of my league!

I really love this collection and think it has something for everyone, so dig deep ladies!

What do you think of this little gem of a label? Would you invest in a key piece for your wardrobe?

MUA Plum Noir Nail Polish Review

Today was a new toe nail polish day and I decided on MUA' s Plum Noir, which is just £1 and available from Superdrug.

MUA's new nail polish range has new shades, a new bottle, which is cleverly similar to Essie nail polish and a new and improved brush. 

I applied two coats of Plum Noir to my toe nails and was really pleased with the colour and coverage. 

As is quite usual with most nail polish, the colour looks different on the nails, compared to the bottle. The bottle looks like a pink/plum and in reality the colour is more purple/plum, which wasn't a disappointment, as it's just as pretty. 

I think the look of this nail polish is great. It's easy to apply with the new, improved brush, really smooth in application, dries quickly and has a super shine to it. And, it's just £1, which is fantastic value if you're anything like me and like to change your nail polish A LOT!

What do you think? Are there any MUA nail polish colours you've tried? I want to try them all!

Check out my other MUA product reviews.

Primark Summer Haul

Popping into the Tottenham Court Road Primark (which is by far my favourite of the Primark  stores in London), I picked up a load of really cute summer bargains, to boost my wardrobe. 

I'm going on holiday soon, so I thought it was about time I started thinking about my holiday wardrobe and thought I'd share some of the bits I bought with you.

The first is this really cute cross body bag, in grey, which was just £7. I like to carry lots of bits and pieces when I'm out and about on holiday, so this bag is perfect, as it has lots of pockets and is cross body, so my hands are free. Always a plus. 

The strap is a good length and is adjustable and I especially like the plait and buckle detail on the front pocket. Very cute. 

I don't seem to be able to go into any store without being drawn to the makeup isle but I have to admit, Primark was not a place I thought I was likely to see any makeup that I would like. However, I did! 

This lovely Eye Shadow & Shades Palette, with eight gorgeous summery shades, mirror and applicator brush, attracted my eye straight away and for just £2.50, I had to buy it!

The colours are gorgeous, ranging through the dusky pinks and greys, to the green, purple and browns. I'm really excited about trialling and reviewing this palette, to see if the shadows are as pigmented as they look!

I also love the fact that some thought has gone into the packaging of this palette, with the cute Japanese inspired pink bird and flower lid. Love this.

The next cute item I picked up and thought I'd share with you is this White & Navy Striped Tube Dress, £8.

The reason I thought I would share this with you is because  if you're like me and under 5'5", you will probably have tried on about a gazillion maxi dresses and skirts and found them all way too long!! 

So when I tried this dress on and found that even when wearing flats, this dress skims my ankles, I leapt into the air and let out a small squeal of excitement! I've finally found a maxi dress that doesn't swamp me! It was a very exciting moment.

What I also love about this dress is the slightly elasticated waist, which creates a lovely shape around the waist and across the bust. I can see how this would look really lovely with a tan coloured belt too, if I want to dress it up a little.

The next item I'm sharing is this really cute Nevada Sunshine Highway Racer Back Vest, which was just £3. 

I bought this item in a much larger size than usual (I'm usually a 10 and I bought a 14), as I wanted this vest to look oversized and relaxed, when wearing it with denim shorts.

I really love printed t-shirts and jumpers at the moment and this vest is the perfect combination of print and gorgeous pastel colours (which are also my favourite as we're coming into warmer months). I'm really looking forward to wearing this with denim shorts, an oversized handbag, flip flops and sunnies at the airport!

The final bargain I'm sharing with you from my Primark Summer Haul are these really cute Paisley Denim Shorts. 

These shorts were just £7, have a really cute draw string waist and turn-ups. They're a twist on the standard denim shorts and I absolutely love the paisley print. 

They're a really light weight denim too, so perfect for hot, sticky holiday days or could be dressed up in the evening with a cute white peplum top or swing vest and white pumps.

I hope you like these bits I've shared with you today. Let me know if you've got any of these or whether there are any maxi dresses or skirts out there, suitable for my height, that I may have missed!

Matalan Aztec Top

I thought I'd share with you a little cheeky purchase I made today from Matalan. I think it's me being hopeful that we WILL get a summer this year, because I was drawn to all the strapless tops, which are so cute when the suns shining and you want to avoid those pesky tan lines!

I'm really loving Aztec print clothes which seem to be taking the fashion world by storm at the moment and my eyes were immediately drawn to this peach and black Aztec print strapless tube top at just £3! I thought it was so cute I just had to have one!

There's no especially exciting design to it, no, it's a straight tube top with a little stitching down the centre of the bust, but it is really cute all the same. I'm picturing it now with black denim shorts and flip flops!

The pattern is really gorgeous and with a hidden support inside will be fantastic for sunny days and sultry evenings. Well, I can wish can't I!

Let me know if you've picked up any Aztec pieces lately!

ASOS Maxi Skirts Galore!

Looking through the ASOS site today, for my much longer maxi skirt, I stumbled across so many lovely designs, that I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.

1. Maxi Skirt in Floral Print with Splits, £35

I love the bold pattern and colours of this skirt. It looks gorgeously slim fitted and seems something that could be dressed down or dressed up for a work environment.

Made from a soft-touch jersey fabric, stretchy, high waisted, floral print throughout, deep splits to the hem, regular fit.

2. Oh My Love Maxi Skirt in Tall Flowers Print, £35

This beautiful floral skirt looks really floaty and girlie and I can just imagine wearing it on a warm summer evening, with a vest or crop top and flip flops.

Made from delicate sheer chiffon, stretchy, high waist, fluid main with soft pleating, deep side splits, regular fit.

3. Maxi Skirt in Aztec Print, £35

This maxi is really gorgeous. Aztec prints are so popular right now and this skirt would be right on trend. This would look great with gladiator sandals and a simple vest top.

Made from a soft easy-care jersey fabric, geometric print throughout, side split to knee, high waisted, regular fit.

4. Maxi Skirt in Grunge Stripe, £25

Monochrome is very popular right now too and this skirt is really cute. I can see this skirt on a festival field with wellies, or in the office with sandals and a blazer.

Made from printed jersey, monochrome stripe, stretch waistband, split to reverse, full length maxi cut.

5. Seafolly Brazil Maxi Skirt, £84

A little pricey for a skirt? But it's beautiful. Who can deny that these colours are simply gorgeous and would be sure to make people notice you! This is such a holiday skirt. I love it.

Bold contrast print, stretch shirred waistband, fluid maxi cut.

6. Federation Bonjour Skirt, £95

Again this one is at the much higher price range but is also really gorgeous. I love the contrast waistband too, which would look great with a crop top.

Made from a breathable woven fabric, high-rise waist with a striped waistband, all-over print, fine pleating, regular fit.

If you're more of a dungarees girl than a skirt girl, check out my dungarees post instead!

Now, which one to buy?!

Lavender Lies & Beige Spotty Nails

I had a little play today with a new nail polish I've bought from the Bourjois range, 03 Beige. I thought I'd share the look that I tried with you!

I've only recently painted my nails with Maybelline Color Show Lavender Lies, so thought I would add some playful dots to my ring finger. Well, why not!

I removed the Maybelline Lavender Lies from my ring finger, added a couple of coats of Bourjois Beige, waited for it to dry (which was pretty fast) and then added some Lavender Lies dots. 

For a first attempt at freehand dots, they're not too bad, but would be much better with a nail art pen, which I'm dying to try out!

I think it's quite a cute look and really want to invest in a nail art pen now to try more precise designs!

If anyone knows of any great nail art pens I should try, let me know!

Step by Step Aqua Under Eye Makeup

When I opened my makeup box this morning, I had the urge to wear something other than my usual neutrals and wanted to share the look I came up with.

I've always been someone who predominantly uses eyeshadow on the eye lids as well under the eye but I've not tried it purely under the eye before. 

I created this really simple look, with just a couple of products, in just a few easy steps and I think this look would be perfect if you're new to under eye colour!

This look was created with four brushes, left to right below; 

1) GOSH Kabuki Brush
2) GOSH Foundation Brush
3) M&S Eyelid Crease Brush (part of a set)
4) GOSH Slanted Eye-liner Brush

Step 1: Applying the base

I first used Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid in Cameo over my whole face, using my GOSH Foundation Brush, making sure to only use a tiny amount on my eyelids. 

Step 2: Setting the base

I then dusted Maybelline FIT me! Pressed Powder in 125 Nude Beige, on top of the foundation, to set it in place, using my GOSH Kabuki Brush. I made sure to pay special attention to my T-Zone as this can tend to look a little shinier.

Step 3: Adding the eye base colour

Because the focus of this look is under the eye, I used Naked (top line, 1st on left) from my MUA Undress Me Too Palette and with my Eyelid Crease Brush coated the whole of my top lid and up to my eyebrow. This creates a lovely neutral, matt finish to the eye.

Step 4: Adding inner corner colour

I then added a little of Shy (top line, 3rd from the left), to the inner corners of my eyes, to help open them and create a brighter eyed look. This particular colour in this palette is really well pigmented and a little goes a long, long way!

Step 5: Adding under eye backdrop colour

I then took my trusty (as you can see!) Barbara Daly, Tesco eyeshadow in Truffle to draw a smudged line again with my Eyelid Crease Brush, under my bottom lashes. This was just a faint smudge of colour, as a backdrop to the aqua.

Step 6: Lining & brightening the eye

Using my GOSH Liquid Eye Liner Pen, I drew a thin line across the lid of each eye. I didn't take this out into a cat eye flick on this occasion, but it would look gorgeous that way too.

I also added Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Liner Pencil in White inside of the eye. This really helps your eyes to 'pop' when adding bright colour shadows.

Step 7: Adding the aqua colour

The fun stuff! I then took my H&M Glitter Eyeshadow Palette and used the top row, 1st left aqua shade, with my GOSH Slanted Eye Liner Brush, to draw a line under my bottom lashes, on top of the already applied Truffle eyeshadow. I then used my Crease Brush to smudge the Truffle & aqua together a little, to create a merged line free colour.

Step 8: Mascara

To finish, I added my new favourite mascara, They're Real, from Benefit, to top and bottom lashes, ensuring good coverage and the look was complete!

This is a very simple way of wearing colour if you're not used to it and can be done in almost any colour shadow or liner. 

What do you think? Is it something you'll try?

Current Wardrobe Favourties

I go through phases every now and then of having a few pieces in my wardrobe that I wear again and again. At the moment I have three items in particular that are by far my favourites and  I thought I'd share them with you.

My first wardrobe favourite at the moment is my Leather Jacket from Dorothy Perkins. I love this jacket because it's light weight and is perfect for the in between stage of wearing big wool coats or nothing at all. 

I love wearing it with skinny jeans or pencil skirts and blouses but I can also see how it will look gorgeous with flirty summer dresses and boots come the warmer months.

My second favourite at the moment are my coloured jeans and in particular my Pink Love Label Jeans from Very, £25. They are so bright and cheerful and never fail to put a smile on my face. 

They look stunning with a black top and heels, for those days when it's dreary outside and you want to wear a little slice of sunshine and I'm really looking forward to wearing them with white swing vests and sandals in the summer.

My third 'can't live without' item at the moment is my Dorothy Perkins Satchel bag. I really wanted a satchel bag as I've always liked the style but I also wanted something that would fit my IPad and note book, plus all my other gazillion standard handbag items. 

This bag is really gorgeous and with the cross body strap, I can still pick up my daughter without losing my bag. Perfect!

What are your wardrobe favourites at the moment?

Maybelline Colour Show Lavender Lies Review

With the new Maybelline Colour Show nail varnishes on sale in Tesco at the moment for £2, I thought I'd pick up a couple! The first I grabbed, which I've tried today, is no 554 Lavender Lies.

What I particularly like about these nail polishes is the thickness in which they go on to the nail. One coat and I was done, which is quite rare. Often when a polish says it's 'one coat', it lies! This one however was perfect after one sweep on each nail. 

Considering I used so little polish to do this look, these bottles will last and last, which makes them an even better bargain.

These varnishes have a transparent gel base, which gives them a fierce fashion finish. They're so shiny, they look like I've used a top coat. 

The Maybelline Colour Show range has 38 shades including some of my favourites 6 Bubbilicious (a teal green), 110 Coral Reefs (a pinky/coral) and 262 Pink Boom (hot pink). There are also some really brave colours like 754 Pow Green (a neon greeny/yellow) and 341 Orange Attack (orange with a punch)!

I think that Lavender Lies is absolutely gorgeous and can't wait to try the others that I bought. 

What do you think?