Essie Camera

Camera natural lighting and camera flash

Phone camera flash

I recently bought Essie's Camera from Fragrance Direct for £1.99. I already owned Lights and Bazooka from the collection, and really wanted to try this one too. Camera is one of those coral shades that can't make its mind up between being red, orange or pink. I think it leans towards red, and the photos above display this. I've included a flash photo from my phone because my phone is better at picking up colours. In the above photos, I have on two coats of the polish, but you can see some visible nail line in certain lights and at certain angles. I think 3-4 coats would make it completely opaque and avoid this. It was easy to apply because of the smooth formula, and the brush is great. The downfall to this polish is how easily it chips. I don't normally mention chipping in my nail posts because polishes last well on me, even without a base and top coat. However, after a day, my thumbs and index nails are incredibly chipped. Not just small chips, either. You can now see more bare nail than polished nail because it's just flaked away. The sheerness and how easily it chips has let this polish down; the colour is beautiful. I'm glad I got to try it, but I wouldn't have been pleased if I paid full price for it!

Swatch of the Day

Look Beauty's Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp

20th Birthday Presents

On the 20th January, I turned 20! I wrote a birthday post, like I do every year, and showed you my delicious birthday 'cake'. Thank you so, so much for the birthday wishes! 

Here's what I received. I normally tell my parents what I would like and they buy it. Although this takes away the surprise factor, I'm guaranteed to like what I get. This year, I asked for 10 books. Look at them! I'm so happy. After I've finished my current book, I think I'm going to read City of Bones. My sister bought me the fox cushion, the giraffe money box and the Tinker Bell pen. Again, I chose the fox cushion and giraffe money box because my sister wanted to make sure I loved my presents. My friend bought me the hedgehog cushion, the 'l' bunting, a Malteaster bunny and a load of Parma Violets because she knows how much I love them! I was so surprised and happy to see that she'd got me the hedgehog cushion. I really wanted it, and my sister was actually going to get it for me, but we decided on the fox one instead. The last photo shows my new cushions, along with my owl one, sitting on the bed. My sister bought me the owl one for Christmas 2011. I think they make perfect gifts because they're not something you would want to buy yourself (seeing as they're £15+), but they're still something you would love to own. Although they're more expensive than your average cushion, you've got to look at them gifts, and as gifts, I think they're well worth it.

MUA 50% off haul

Last week, MUA reached 50,000 'likes' on Facebook, and celebrated this with 50% off and free delivery. There was a lot of drama and angry customers over a variety of things. Fast forward to today, and I received my order! I'm going to be showing you my sister's products as well as mine, just to make it a little more interesting. I'm also going to give the full prices of the products, and not the prices I paid, seeing as the offer is no longer on!

Let's start with nail polishes. The ones above are Amaretto Crush (sister's), shade 16 (sister's), shade 12 (sister's), Frozen Yoghurt x2 (one for me, one for my sister), and shade 5 x2 (one for me, one for my sister). These retail for £1 each. I've already bought a load of nail polishes this month, so stopped myself at two. 

I also bought the Nail Constellation in Leo for my mum, which is £3 full price.

My sister and I then both bought the Cream Blusher in Blossom, which is normally £2.

My sister also bought the Heaven and Earth Eyeshadow Palette, which is £4. I already own this and really like it. She was going to buy some individual eyeshadows, but this worked out cheaper.

The rest of the products you see are for myself! The Bronzed Perfection Bronzer is huge and only £3! It looks promising.

I then bought the Cover & Conceal Concealer in Fair, which is normally £1.50. I love concealers, and this shade is perfect for me, so I'm hoping it's good.

Lastly, I bought some brushes! From top to bottom, I bought the E7 Eyebrow Brush (£1.50), the F2 Foundation Blending Brush (£3), the F6 Blusher & Contouring Brush (£3) and the F4 Powder Brush (£3.75). They are surprisingly good for the price! They're not quite as soft as my beloved ELF ones, but they're not far off! I'm particularly impressed with the Eyebrow Brush and Foundation Blending Brush (the stippling brush). Compared to my ELF Studio Stipple Brush, this one if smaller and denser. 

And that's everything! I didn't go crazy because I already ordered from ELF and Look Beauty beforehand. Did you order anything in the 50% off sale?

Wordless Wednesday

Shopping!

This is my 6th haul this month! You can see why I'm going on a spending ban in February. To be fair, there's been a lot of sales this month, and it was my birthday. So, here's my most recent purchases! I'll start with the duvet set. I bought a similar one at the end of December and love it so much. Like that one, this was also in the sale, and then I had a 25% off code on top of that. I ended up paying £27 instead of £45. £27 is still more than I normally spend on a duvet set, but I loveee it. The squares on this one are all different sizes, and the patterns are different. The reverse is equally as beautiful.

Next is the purple, pink and orange floral fleece throw from Primark, which was only £6. It's so pretty! I can have up to 5 cats and a dog on my bed, so need a throw to keep my duvet covers clean.

I then bought a couple pairs of Super Cosy tights for £3.50 each. I love Primark tights, but I've never tried their Super Cosy ones, which are always raved about. They feel so nice, so I can't wait to wear them. I also bought some pig socks for £2. I love my novelty socks! In terms of animals on your toes, I now have pigs, cows, sheep, foxes and bumble bees.

I then bought a bra from New Look for £11.99. I fell in love with it straight away. The camera doesn't pick it up, but it's blue with purple lace, so it looks almost duo chrome. I also have this style of bra in green and yellow, and really like them.

When cleansing my face, I either use my fingers or a pair of exfoliating gloves. I didn't have anything in between. So, I bought the Botanics Facial Brush from Boots for £6. It feels soft for a facial brush, which is just what I wanted. I used to have a small one from The Body Shop, but it was far too rough for everyday use.

Finally, I bought a bottle of Original Source Spearmint shower gel for £1 from Savers. Original Source has gone up in price in a lot of shops, so I'm glad it's still a pound in Savers. I have about 10 bottles of shower gel stocked up in my drawer, so I shouldn't have bought this, but it smells so nice! I love the scent of spearmint. Some mint scents can be overwhelming, but this is perfect.

That's it. No more shopping for me for a month! I do have an MUA order on its way though which I placed last week, so look out for that. I also have a birthday present post coming up and a few reviews!

February Spending Ban

While other bloggers have been on a spending ban this month, I seem to have been doing the opposite and spending more than I normally do! Things I've bought this month include a Cath Kidston bag and purse, a BHS duvet set, a load of cosmetics from ELF, Look Beauty and MUA, and various things from Primark, Superdrug and Boots. Oh, and let's not forget an expensive camera. So, for the month of February, I will be on a spending ban. I'm up for the challenge. I don't know how well I'll cope though. I can go weeks without buying something, but that's on my own terms. I think it's going to be hard if there's something I really want. To stop temptation, I'm just not going to browse any online shops. However, I read a lot of blogs and follow a lot of bloggers on Twitter, so there's still going to be a lot of temptation, especially when someone posts a haul! 

I'll update you guys half way through February and then at the end of February.

It's not a final idea yet, but I'm thinking of doing a spending ban every other month. So, I can spend in March, but not in April, for example. We'll see! UPDATE: I'm now thinking once a week every month. I'll still be saving money, but it'll be easier to achieve!

Is anyone else currently on a spending ban, or planning to be on one?