Review of 'Barry M Silk Collection' in 'Heather'

Hi everyone! We slowly easing our way out of winter which means it's nearly spring time meaning new spring collections are being released! Barry M have released their spring collection in the form of these new 'Silk' nail varnishes in 6 different colours. I picked up the colour Heather for £3.99 as I thought out of the 6 it was the one I'd be most likely to wear. It's sort of a lilac colour infused with pink and it's definitely not as dark as the colour I'd associate heather with is.

I don't really feel that this silk trend is a new thing as I remember the kids kind of nail varnishes used to have a similar look and to be honest I never really liked it because I always felt the brush strokes were really visible. However, I did discover that this drys matte which is something I don't remember my old ones doing which is why I wanted to give it a go.

I used my Sally Hansen base coat first which dried super fast; always a plus with nail varnishes!

I then applied the first coat of colour. It wasn't too streaky like I remember my old ones being and if I was in a rush I think it looked actually okay with just one coat of colour. It drys really quickly and once it was dry it sort of reminded me slightly of my holographic one from Topshop. It also seemed to have a sweeter scent to normal nail varnishes when I was applying it but it still dried with no scent!

I applied a second coat even though one probably could've been enough but I had the time! I found it was better to kind of dab it on or just apply a thicker coat because it eliminates any sign of brush strokes.

Originally I didn't apply a top coat because I thought it would ruin the matte look but I did test a top coat out on one nail and it didn't actually look too bad. I don't think I'll put it on the rest though as the matte finish is what I think makes this nail varnish original.

Personally it's not my favourite kind of nail varnish because I'm not too keen on matte finishes and it just reminded me of something a small child would wear on their nails when they had first been allowed to paint them. But despite of that the nail varnish it's self is just like all the others from Barry M in quality so if you like that style I'd recommend you go check it out! Let me know if you've tried any others from the collection and which is your favourite, thanks for reading!

Review of Tanya Burr's Nail Varnish in Penguin Chic

Hi everyone! So I'm sure you have all heard about the lovely Tanya Burr releasing her own line of nail varnishes and lip glosses and if you haven't where have you been! In the collection there are 12 lip glosses and 10 nail varnishes. I ordered mine from feel unique but they are now on Superdrug online so I imagine they will be making there way into store soon! I chose 'Penguin Chic' because it's not a colour I have at all in my collection and I didn't want to just be buying one for the sake of it at the price of £5.99. It's not a hugely costly product but it is a little dearer than my usual choice of Barry M!

Online I have to admit it looked more of a grey but when it arrived as you can see it's sort of a browny grey kind of colour which isn't a bad thing - it's just different! I love the signed packaging as I think it really lends a personal touch to the product and looks really cute.

I used my new Sally Hansen base coat this time which I got from Fragrance Direct at a bargain price of £1.50! It's cheaper than my usual Barry M one and dried a lot quicker which is a huge bonus!

I then applied the first coat of Penguin Chic. The consistency feels very similar to the Barry M Gelly Collection and although it's not advertised as a gel nail varnish I think it must be. I found with the first coat it was a little patchy is some places but that just be because I put on pretty thin coats. I couldn't believe how glossy it was though! I hadn't even applied a second coat or top coat and apart from a little patchyness it looked ready to go!

I then applied a second coat of about the same thickness as before and they were done! I didn't apply a top coat because I painted them quite late at night and was worried that another coat wouldn't dry before I went to sleep and I really didn't want them to smudge.

In terms of applying a top coat for a more glossy effect you really don't need it. It's so shiny and gel like the only reason I would apply a top coat is to protect the colour from chipping. I've worn this on my nails for a few days now without a top coat and they still haven't chipped which I'm very impressed with!

Although the price is a little more than I would pay for a normal nail varnish I would definitely recommend you have a wander into Superdrug when they a released in store to have a proper look at all the colours! Let me know if you have or are going to try it out! What is your favourite colour from the collection? Thanks for reading!

EuroQuest: Day 8 - Vienna/Prague

Hi everyone! So we were packing up getting ready to leave Vienna and head onto Prague and as we were waiting outside of the hostel for everyone to get there we noticed a lovely young man doing his morning exercises by the stairs. He was incredibly strong doing handstand push up and pull ups on the bars with his legs in pike... all whilst not wearing a top! (I mean it was in the high 30's!) As our leaders came out they also noticed him and whilst the rest of us were happy watching from the distance, they had no trouble in walking up to the poor guy and asking for a photo! Safe to say we were laughing the whole way to the train station. I don't really remember much from the train ride because as per usual I fell asleep!

In Prague we went out for a little explore around and we bumped into some Belgium Girl Scouts! After that we went on the hunt for some food and Marianna (the lady who showed us around Slovakia) had told us to try Langos when we were in Slovakia but we never got the chance. Luckily a stall was selling it and we all got some! I got mine with just cheese and it tasted so good although it was extremely greasy and I imagine in contained well over my daily allowance for fat and probably calories but who cares - it was delicious, although very filling so sadly I didn't finish it.

We then had seats booked to see a Marionette puppet show as that is one of the things Prague is famous for and it was definitely an experience of a life time! Not being a huge fan of puppets, Vici, Tash and myself sat towards the back of the theatre. It started and it was all very strange! We could see the puppeteers hands which I'm pretty sure were supposed to be hidden and the female puppets all had the breast out on show! Every time we saw a hand or an arm suddenly come into view we found it very hard to suppress a giggle! It probably didn't help that we had no idea what was going on as obviously none of it was in English and we hadn't thought to search a synopsis before hand! It all ended rather abruptly with one of the puppeteers dropping her puppet by accident and then proceeding to make her way onto the small stage to retrieve it before saying something we couldn't understand and bowing!

After that we were very doubtful to what the next show we had booked to see would hold. This was a show being put on by the Black Light Theatre and it was safe to say this was one of the best shows I've seen! It was so cleverly done; they wore all black and the stage was pitch black so you couldn't see them at all when suddenly these luminous shapes appeared and they looked like the were floating. There was an underwater scene at one point and they were moving the fish in such a way that it really looked like they were swimming! If you ever get the chance you should defiantly go see a show!

After that eventful day we headed back to our hostel which again had a lovely balcony area but this second floor was much closer to the ceiling than the one Hungary I could barely stand up! We had plenty of beds though so I got a whole bunk bed to myself which came in handy as a make shift washing line!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent in Vienna & Prague as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.
VIENNA VIDEO: COMING SOON

PRAGUE VIDEO: COMING SOON

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturiser Review

Hi everyone! So I mentioned in my post on my New Years Resolutions that I would make more of an effort to moisturise my skin and we're a month into 2014 now and I've actually been sticking with it! Okay I've not moisturised everyday but I'm doing better with this one than my other resolutions. This has been mainly thanks to this wonderful product - Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturiser in Cocoa Radiant! It's £4.99 in most shops and I think I picked mine up from Boots using my Boots points!

I was a bit hesitant with it because I didn't really know how much like they advertise it would be, but I was pleasantly surprised! I tend to use it in the morning once I've had my shower and all you have to do is spray it on and give it a quick rub and you're done! Granted, it doesn't dry as quickly as it's portrayed in the advert but it still drys full in about a minute and then you can go ahead and get dressed.

As for the packaging I like that you can lock it by twisting the nozzle part round which means you can pop it into your suitcase without the worry of it accidentally spraying all over your clothes. As for the scent, it's nothing special really, just a sweet cocoa smell and I find it doesn't last for a huge amount of time which I guess could be a pro or a con.

I'd really recommend checking this out and if cocoa isn't your thing there are 2 other scents. Let me know what you think of it if you've tried it. Thanks for reading!

Fragrance Direct Haul

Hi everyone! I know you shouldn't start with an apology but this is going to be a really quick small post because I've been so busy this week with Guiding stuff, my DT coursework deadline and preparations for mocks! However, I will post another one during the week to make up for it!

So I just wanted to tell you about this amazing website - Frangrance Direct! My sister came across it and then told me about it and now I'm telling you - it's basically a website that primarily sells perfumes for great discounted prices but also has a huge selection on make up, hair products and items for your bath & body and more!

I ordered an Essie nail varnish in All Tied Up, OPI nail varnish in Congeniality Is My Middle Name , Sally Hansen nail varnish (just a base coat), Bourjois 3D Effect Lip Gloss in Coral Artistic and an UNE Smart Length Mascara all for £13.22 (which included P&P)! That was basically a saving of just more than £30 which is amazing; especially being on a tight budget! I did question how they were so cheap, so I did a little bit of snooping around and it seems some were sent to shops as testers but never used, or are a slightly older range (I know the Essie nail varnish I got was from their Summer 2012 collection) and some are just missing a bit of packaging but who keeps the boxes anyway!

I was so happy to test mine out when they arrived and they were all full and sealed still in their original wrappers and cosmetic seals which gave me great confidence in the company! Be prepared for some individual item reviews soon! They tend to only have a small amount of stock for each item so I'm checking back every week to see what new stock is in and I will without a doubt be placing an order again! Let me know if you've got anything from Fragrance direct before or if you'll use it in the future! Thanks for reading!