Lip Product Collection and Storage

I don't know when this happened. One minute I'm rarely wearing lip products, and the next I'm having to buy a third container just to fit them in! I didn't realise how many I had until I gathered them together for this post. I used to wear nothing on my lips because I thought I looked like a child playing dress up when I did. However, I wear very little eye makeup and have pale lips, so without some form of colour on them, I can look a little...  ill. The lipstick holders are from here, and I'm very happy with them. I'm able to easily see every shade I have, without having them scattered across multiple surfaces in my room. They're currently just £2.99, which is an added bonus. I'm not going to go through every lip product with you, but I'm going to link the posts and reviews to some:

My Lip Crayon Collection (with links to individual reviews)

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Fraise Remix

Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in 1,2,3 Soleil

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colours

What lip products would you recommend I try? I have some slots to fill!

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colour Swatches

Left to right, top to bottom: LM3 Gossip (raspberry pink), LM4 Show Off (coral pink), LM5 Chatterbox (pink), LM6 Screamer (peach)

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colours review here

P.S. These swatches look completely different on every screen I've viewed them on (four, would you believe), so keep in mind that what you are seeing is not 100% accurate. I also couldn't capture them in natural lighting for the life of me!

Getting Back Into Makeup - New Products & Mini Reviews

Up until recently, I hadn't bought any makeup for months. It didn't appeal to me and no new releases caught my eye. Then, within the space of a month, I go and buy the above. I don't know what changed, and I don't know if I'm back into makeup again or if this was a one off splurge, but I'm liking trying new products again! I thought I'd group them all together and tell you my thoughts.

Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer - £11.99

I've actually already reviewed this here. The packaging looks nice, but it could be improved so no product's wasted. The actual product almost blurs fine lines and pores, while mattifying the skin. Makeup then applies better, and you can feel the smoothness throughout the day. I'd repurchase, but only when it's on offer!

Revlon Colourstay Concealer in Fair - £6.99

Before this, I was using the Collection Lasting Perfection and MUA Cover & Conceal concealers. The Collection one became a little too heavy for my skin, while the MUA one was a little too light (in terms of coverage) and dewy. I wanted something in between. This concealer is just that. It has a medium coverage and satin finish. It's nothing special, and rather average, but that's what I was looking for.

No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter - £9.95

I didn't plan on buying this, but had one of those vouchers and it swatched beautifully, so couldn't resist! It's a beautiful candlelight shade, creamy, and SO easy to use. The shimmer is very fine, so you don't look like a disco ball. I'd actually prefer it to be even finer, so it's more metallic, but that's just me. I'll probably be reviewing and swatching this in another post, so look out for that. If you know of any other cream highlighters, preferably under £10, let me know!

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - £9.99

Everyone's been raving about this. I love my Maybelline mascaras, but thought I'd try something different, so picked this up when it was on offer. It's clumpier than my Maybelline ones, and starts to look bad if I put on two coats. It's more dramatic and gives more volume, but I won't be repurchasing. It's okay, but I don't know why everyone's been raving about it so much.

The Body Shop Colour Crush Shine Lipsticks in 15 Fuchsia Flirt and 18 Sunset Romance - £10

I'll be reviewing and swatching these soon! They're light, balmy, and perfect for summer. They look quite bold in the bullets, but they're sheer and give a nice wash of colour. They can be built up, though. They're similar to other lip products that have been coming out recently, so they're not unique, but worth trying when there's a great offer on (which is always).

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colours in Gossip, Show Off, Chatterbox, and Screamer - £3.99

I've already reviewed these here, but will be showing you them on my lips soon. I like them. They're pigmented, glossy, don't settle into the lines on your lips, and last a decent amount of time. You only need to use a small amount, too, so the 10ml tubes should last a while. I've read a couple people write that they're just pigmented glosses which don't last well. They're pigmented and they're glossy, but they're not glosses. I also don't know why they didn't last well for these people. Show Off lasted through three hours, a stir fry, and a whole lot of ice cream on me!

Do you go through phases of not being into makeup?

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colours

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colours in LM3 Gossip, LM4 Show Off, LM5 Chatterbox, and LM6 Screamer

Up until recently, I hadn't bought any makeup for months. I was happy with the products I was using and no new releases appealed to me. None of the Barry M products even caught my eye, but then I swatched these in store and ended up with four. At just £3.99 for 10ml, I didn't even wait for an offer! 

So, the Barry M Loud Mouths (hate the name) are similar to the likes of the Sleek Pout Paints and OCC Lip Tars, in the sense that they're a pigmented liquid lip colour. They smell fruity, a little goes a long way, they're glossy, last at least a few hours (on me), and fade surprisingly well. They don't seem to settle into the lines of my lips, either. I simply put a little on my finger and dab them into my lips, but you can also use a lip brush. When I first used one of these (Show Off), it lasted through three hours, a stir fry, and a bowl half a tub of ice cream, and was still visible, albeit very faded. They may separate as time goes on, like my Sleek ones did, but just try and shake them up or get rid of the excess oils with a tissue.

Gossip is a deep raspberry pink, Show Off is a warm coral pink, Chatterbox is a straight up pink, and Screamer is a peach. There's also two reds (LM1 Diva, LM2 Tease) and a nude (LM7 Tell-Tale) in the range.

I'm sorry I don't have lip swatches for you right now (pesky blemishes), but I'll try and get some up in the near future! UPDATE: swatches here.

Do you like the look of the Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Lip Colours?

New Things

I used my iPhone for the photos above because my camera and I aren't getting on at the moment. I may use my phone for future hauls, too, because it's a lot quicker! This week, I've received my dissertation and final assignment grades (all good, thankfully), updated my CV and applied for a job, finished watching Chuck, watched the first season of OITNB, started watching Prison Break, and shopped. All in all, it hasn't been bad!

I featured the necklace in my New Favourites #05 post. It's from Accessorize and was £6, which isn't too bad for them. It's small, sits on your collarbone nicely, and goes with most things. I also have my eye on another Accessorize necklace, but it's £15, so I'm going to wait and hope it's in their next sale!

Even though my ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light is still going strong, I wanted to buy a back up. I bought it here for £4.99 including P&P. Now that it's gone up to £3.95 on ELF's website and P&P is £2.95, it's cheaper to get it on eBay. I know ELF often have codes floating around, but I didn't want anything else.

I bought the No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter yesterday for £6.95 because I had one of those £3 off vouchers to use. I wasn't planning on getting it, but loved how it swatched. Also liked the BB Lips Beauty Balms, and wish I'd picked one up now!

I then bought the Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Liquid Lip Colour in Show Off for £3.99. It's a warm, coral pink, which is very pigmented and similar to the Sleek Pout Paints. I tested it out yesterday evening and it was still present after three hours, a stir fry, and a bowl of ice cream (half a tub, really...). It had faded, but it was even. I then went ahead and ordered another three shades, so look out for reviews and swatches soon!

The mug is from Wilkinson and was £2. The print is nice, but the main reason I bought it was because of its size. It's like a small bowl, fitting two normal sized cups of tea in!

The tins were from TK Maxx and cost £2.99-£3.99. I'm always on the look out for tins because they're great for storing my baking bits (and anything else).

The yellow satchel was from Primark and cost £6. I've only ever used bags for school/uni, so have never owned a small one. I loved the colour of this, though, so just had to get it. They also had it in mint and pink. This is probably my favourite item I bought yesterday because it's so different to anything I have!

The knickers were also from Primark, and were only £1 each. They have a nice shape and look good on, so I'm happy.

The last three photos are of boring items, but they're items most of us use. The lint rollers were from Primark and were £1.50 a pack. Lint rollers are a must in an animal filled house! The Bic Soleil razors were from Superdrug and were down to £1.83 from £3.69. I already had a couple packs stored away, but couldn't resist a couple more. They're something I'm always going to use! The Mitchum deodorant sticks were £1.48 and £1.66 from £2.99 and £3.35 (this offer isn't online, though). I started using Mitchum deodorants earlier this year and they seem to work better than others I've tried. 

I use Simple Baby Moisturising Wipes for removing makeup before cleansing, spot cleaning my brushes, and freshening up. They're normally around £1.99 for 80, which is great in comparison to standard facial wipes. However, I usually get them when they're 99p or 6 for £5 at Lloyds Pharmacy. My sister also happens to work at the latter, so gets staff discount. 67p for 80? Yes please!

The last photo shows my inner age. My new net curtains arrived yesterday and I really like them! It's surprising how much a new pair of net curtains brighten your room. I'm mentioning them because they were a bargain from eBay. For my large window, I paid £5.70 including P&P. You can find the listing here. You can probably get nicer ones, but for the price, these are great. They also look better than others I've had in the past.

What have you been buying recently?

Peaches & Corals

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Dixie, MUA Blusher in Lolly, NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler, Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in 123 Soleil, Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya, Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach

I'm so imaginative with my titles, I know. Shades of peach and coral are my favourite, so I thought I'd show you some of the best products I have in these colour families.

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Dixie - £18 - review here

This is incredibly pigmented, blends well, and lasts most of the day. It applies more pink than it looks in the pan, so the overall effect is warming and not in-your-face. It's not as creamy as my NYX ones, but it's still one of the best formulas I've tried. I bought this for £6.75 in the sale, so I'd definitely keep an eye out for their next!

MUA Blusher in Lolly - £1 - review here

This is the only orangey powder blush I own. It's a soft apricot with very subtle golden shimmer. It's soft to touch and blends well, but has a lot of fall out. Still, if you're thinking about trying an orange blusher, it's worth giving this a go first to see if the shade suits your complexion.

NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler - £5 - review here

My new favourite lip product. I normally dislike lipglosses, but this is something else. Pigmented, buttery, and lasts a few hours before fading evenly. I also have Apple Strudel, but don't like it as much. The colour is great, but it settles into the lines of your lips, which is a shame.

Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in 123 Soleil - £7.99 - review here

The formula of this range is similar to that of the Revlon Lip Butters, which I've become a fan of. 123 Soleil is an orange shade, but leans coral, steering it away from being garish. The formula's light, balmy, and lasts a few hours before fading evenly.

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya - £7.99 -  review here

This is a lot lighter, and is more of a peach/apricot, so looks natural. The formula is like the others, which I'm obviously a fan of at the moment!

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach - £7.99 - review here

I wore this a ton last summer. The colour is beautiful, and, again, the formula is light and moisturising. You can see what I prioritise in the warmer months!

Models Own Nail Polish in Beach Bag - £5 

I have yet to review this, but you can see a swatch of it on my Instagram here. It's a neon pastel peach, which is difficult to photograph, and takes three coats. If it was more opaque, it'd definitely be one of my favourite nail polishes, ever.

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya - £3.99 - review here

A bright peach that's opaque in two coats. It looks dull and dark compared to the others, but it is a beautiful shade.

Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Orange Cream - £1.99 - review here

This is the light peach in the photo, and it's one of my favourites. It has silver shimmer in, which I'm usually not a fan of, but it's very subtle and just lifts the shade. It takes 2-3 coats to become opaque.

Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Island Coral - £1.99

You can probably find a shade similar to this in every range, but I love it. Straight-up corals that change from orange to pink in different lights are my favourite. It takes two coats, too, which is great for £1.99.

What are your favourite peach and coral products?

Top 3 Nail Polishes for Spring

Sinful Colours Easy Going, Essie Go Ginza, Barry M Sugar Apple

I'm not one to only wear darker shades in the autumn/winter and lighter shades in the spring/summer, but I've been gravitating towards pastel shades recently, and they just so happen to be season appropriate. The shades above are the most pastel ones I own. The shades I considered pastel before these are no where near as light!

Sinful Colours Easy Going - £1.99 - review here

Easy Going is an off white pink, which looks clean and delicate on. It's beautiful on its own, but is also the perfect base for nail art. It takes three coats to become opaque, which isn't great, but I can deal with it.

Essie Go Ginza - £7.99 - review here

I used to stay far away from all purple shades, but in the last couple of years, I've come to love lilac and berry shades of polish. This is the lightest lilac I own, and I love it. Again, it's very clean. It takes two coats to become opaque, which is great for such a pastel shade.

Barry M Gelly Sugar Apple - £3.99 - review here

Sugar Apple is one of my most recent additions. Like I said in my review, it's a pastel, yet vibrant, aqua that can appear mint green in certain lights. It's thinner and streakier than the other Gelly polishes in the range, so takes 2-3 coats to become opaque. I was expecting better, to be honest, but love the colour so much that I'm willing to overlook this! 

What are your top nail polishes for spring?

Collective Haul

Going through my Instagram earlier, I decided that my small purchases here and there over the last couple of months could actually be grouped together for a 'haul' post. I show all the little things on Instagram, but then forget to even mention them on here until I review them!

So, the first photo is of OPI's Steady As She Rose, which I bought from Fragrance Direct for £3.99. It's a beautiful, light, dusky lilac. I've already swatched and reviewed this here, and have compared it to Models Own Utopia here.

I've also been buying more Bath & Body Works hand gels recently. I already owned Vanilla Berry Sorbet and Fresh Picked Apples, but then bought Tuscan Melon, Market Peach, Island Nectar, and Sweet Pea last month. They were all £1.99 including P&P from various eBay sellers, which is a rip off compared to American prices, but I really wanted them! They keep changing their prices and stock, so I won't link you to any listings, but just search 'bath and body works hand gels' and you'll find them. Market Peach is my favourite, which is no surprise! They all smell exactly like their names, and Island Nectar smells like really sweet mango with a hint of floral.

I then bought Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Sugar Apple from ASOS because I wanted it (obviously) and could get student discount and free delivery. You can see my swatch and review of it here. The formula's not the best, but it's a beautiful shade.

I don't think I suit sunglasses at all, but want to start wearing them more because I seem to squint outside a lot, and squinting = more wrinkles when I'm older. I bought the ones above from Primark for just £2. The style is a lot bigger than I'm used to, but I like them. I may buy some without the brown tint next.

From eBay, I bought these white rose fairy lights for £11.99 including P&P. They're quite expensive for what they are, but I wanted some fairy lights that looked good turned off as well as on. They're not very long, but they're just the right length for the header of my bed.

After finishing writing my dissertation last week (handing it in Thursday!), I decided to go shopping, but didn't really buy much. I did buy some pretty bras from Primark, though. I love the style of them, and they were only £4 each.

I bought the NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler from eBay for £6-7 because I didn't want to pay £5 + £4.50 P&P on the NYX website. I should have waited, though, because I ended up ordering from them last week as they had free P&P! I've already swatched and reviewed this here. It's my new favourite lip product!

On the same day I bought the Primark bras, I also bought Models Own Beach Bag in Superdrug. It was £5, but I had some points to use on my beauty card, so it was cheaper. It's the first polish that's caught my eye from them for a while, and is a neon pastel peach. You can see me wearing it here, but I don't know if I'll be blogging about it because I'm not 100% happy with my application! It's also hard to capture on camera.

Finally, two products which arrived today (after Interlink screwing up): NYX's Powder Blush in Taupe and Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel. They had free delivery on orders over £10, so thought I'd pick up a couple products I'd had my eye on! The blush is for contouring (or attempting to), and I wanted another Butter Gloss because I love Peach Cobbler so much. This one is beautiful, too. I'm not usually one for lip gloss, but these are something else!

I've also just ordered from The Body Shop because they finally have a peach body mist! I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw it on their website. What have you been buying recently?

Barry M Gelly in Sugar Apple

Natural

Flash

Barry M's new Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Sugar Apple arrived in the post this morning, and I couldn't wait to apply it. The formula's not as good as the other polishes in the range; it's thinner, and the first coat was very streaky. A second evened most of it out, and a third made it completely opaque. I've seen a lot of people just use two coats, though. So, even though the formula isn't outstanding, I'm pretty smitten with the shade. It's a pastel, yet vibrant, aqua that can appear mint green in certain lights. I have nothing like it in my collection. It's actually very similar to my bedroom walls, so no wonder I was drawn to it! I only wanted this shade from the new Spring Gelly collection, so ordered from ASOS because of the student discount and free delivery, but if you want more than one, they're currently 2 for £6 in Superdrug (and online, with free delivery on orders over £10). I believe the same deal is happening in Tesco, too, and there's a 3 for 2 deal on in Boots. Like always, I haven't tested, or mentioned, wear time because everyone's hands go through different tasks. Most polishes last around 4/5 days on me before showing signs of wear, whereas they may last for 2 days on another, so it really does depend on the person.

Have you bought, or will you be buying, Sugar Apple, Huckleberry, and/or Rose Hip?

Barry M Matte Crush

No flash, flash

After trying Barry M's Matte Vanilla Nail Paint last month (see here), I was surprised at how much I liked the effect, so wanted to get my hands on Crush, this deep, wine red. For some reason, though, I didn't, but then Christmas day rolled around, and I found a bottle in my stocking from my sister! After not painting my nails in over a month, I thought it was about time I did. I don't feel like Crush is a true matte, but rather a satin, because it still has some shine to it. I'm wearing two coats here, and it didn't brutally highlight any imperfections I have on my nails, so the formula gets a thumbs up from me. I'm not going to test, or comment, on wear time because everyone is different and does different things throughout their days. For me, personally, most polishes last around a week before any major chipping occurs. I found Vanilla to last 4-5 days, if I remember correctly, which isn't too bad. I'm still tempted to apply a topcoat to this to prolong the application, though. I think it'd look great with a high shine.

What do you think of matte nails, and this shade?

Recent Purchases from Boots, Superdrug, and Primark

I was ahead of schedule for one of my assignments last week, so decided to do a spot of shopping! 

From Boots, I picked up a couple tubes of Naked Conditioner because they were on offer for £2.79 each (normally £4.19). I highly rate their conditioners; they make my hair as soft as intensive ones do. 

I then bought the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel for £2.99. In the last year, I've developed the habit of pulling out the hairs of my eyebrows when I'm stressed or in deep concentration, and this sometimes leads to the shape of my arch disappearing, so wanted a pencil to recreate this. I'll still be filling in most of my eyebrows with a powder, but wanted this for definition. Hazel looks like a light-mid brown in the pencil, but I've found that it transfers to a very warm tone. I have auburn hair so this isn't a problem for me, but I'm not sure if it will suit some brunettes (many seem to love it, though). The L'Oreal blonde one looks like a similar shade, but cooler in tone, so I may try that next.

I didn't own a silver glitter, and wanted one to apply over lilacs, so bought Barry M's Diamond Glitter Nail Polish for £2.99.

Because of the 3 for 2 offer, I then got Sinful Colours' Nail Polish in Easy Going for free! I've already swatched and talked about it here.

From Superdrug, I just had to buy 2True's Nail Polish in 17 for £1.99. I can't resist bright, peachy shades! I haven't used this yet, so am not sure what the quality is like, but I'll be testing and blogging about it next week.

I bought the Elegant Touch Kaleidoscope Nail Wraps last month, but they're still available in my local Superdrug, so thought I'd include them in this post. They were £2.50 down from £6, and I think they're so pretty. I'm going to use them for accent nails.

From Primark, my sister bought me this lamb dressing gown/nightie thing as an early Christmas present, and it cost £10. It's so soft and comfortable! I want to get the teddy one next.

I bought my sister the penguin throw for Christmas last month, and it was only £5! I thought I'd include it in this post as well because it's still available to buy.

I also ordered a knitted jumper from Boohoo for £15 last week, and it's okay, but nothing special. It's the kind of knitted jumper that goes fluffy straight away, and not in a good way.

Other purchases include two pairs of jeans and a satchel from ASOS, and a satchel from Accessorize. The jeans are standard, and I'll probably write a separate post on the satchels!

What have you been buying recently?

Barry M Matte Vanilla

I've worn neon nail polishes that dry to a satin finish before, but Barry M's Matte Vanilla is my first 'proper' matte. I'm surprised at how much I like the matte effect, actually, because I hate every other texture that's not shiny or glitter! Fluff and sand are the ones I really can't stand. I think Vanilla is a great nude for my skin tone. I'd describe it as a muted nude that looks grey in certain lights, and it even has some lilac tones in there at times. I'd heard a few people say that the first coat kind of separates and looks oily, but a second evens everything out. I didn't experience this at all, and could have left a few nails with just one coat on. I ended up applying two on all of them so they looked the same shade, though. It dried very quickly, and was one of the easiest polishes I've applied recently. Matte polishes are known to accentuate any flaws you have on your nails, so I gave them a good buff beforehand, and that seemed to do the job.

I'm surprised at how much I like this polish, and want to get Crush and Espresso next! What do you think? Are you a fan of matte nails? If not, you can always apply a topcoat over them!

Decluttering my Makeup Basket

I have this basket on top of my beauty chest of drawers, and it's supposed to hold my most used makeup (with the rest going in the top drawer). This just makes things easier to find and saves time in the morning. However, over time, more and more products are added to it, making it a cluttered mess! If I buy a new product, it'll end up in the basket. If I take something out of the top drawer, it'll end up in the basket. And yes, even hair ties end up in the basket.  So, after being strict with myself and having a good sort out, what has made the cut? 

No lip products have because they live in a lipstick container next to the basket. 

My MUA Cover & Conceal Concealer has, as well as a tube of Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer for blemishes. On a side note, how rubbish is the packaging of this? It's a new tube, and yet the black writing has already rubbed off! 

My chosen powder is The Body Shop's All-in-One Face Base in 02 because it gives a little coverage and a silky, matte finish. 

Moving on to cheek products (I'm going through this in the order I do my makeup!). I've decided to have NYX's Cream Blush in Natural in there, as well as two Dainty Doll Powder Blushes in You Are My Sunshine and Money Talks. You Are My Sunshine is a pinky peach with golden shimmer (it looks nothing like it does in the photo), and Money Talks is a cool toned brown. It's shimmery, so I don't use it as a bronzer, but it's a nice alternative shade for blush. 

ELF's Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light has also made the cut, which is no surprise! It's all I use on my brows. 

For lining my lower lash line, I've chosen a few products. NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha is very well loved, as you can see! And I've also chosen Maybelline's Colour Tattoos in On & On Bronze and Permanent Taupe. Permanent Taupe is matte, so I use this when I'm not in the mood for shimmer. 

I've chosen Rimmel's Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude for when I wish to line my waterline. I don't do this every day because it hasn't lasted well the last few times I've used it, but it's supposed to make your eyes appear bigger and brighter, and I'm all for that! 

Then, when I have the patience, I'll use L'Oreal's Perfect Slim Super Liner. I'm too lazy to use it on a day to day basis, though! 

Lastly, Maybelline's The Rocket Mascara is my current everyday mascara. I think I ended up with 6 in my basket! And although I used them all, I've decided to use one up at a time.

Do you keep your everyday makeup separate from the rest? If so, do you slowly add other products to the mix so it gradually becomes cluttered like mine?

Current Nail Polish Phase

Essie Go Ginza, Models Own Utopia, Barry M Matte Vanilla

These are the last three polishes I've purchased, and I can't help but notice a theme! Light, muted, muddy tones of lilac (especially the last two). I just think they're understated, feminine, chic, and make great bases for nail art or glitter. These opinions are relatively new, though. I would have stayed far away from the likes of Utopia and Vanilla before this month. I actually remember thinking Utopia looked a little like cement a year or two ago. You see, I normally prefer shades that fit nicely into a colour category, instead of in between, can't-quite-describe shades like the above. I liked lilacs, and I liked nudes, but would never have bought these shades. I've already swatched Go Ginza here, and will be painting my nails with either Utopia or Vanilla this weekend. 

Do you go through nail polish phases? I was all about different shades of red not long back, be it corals or berries. I'm really liking the feminine, off white shades at the moment, though, and am desperate to get my hands on Sinful Colours' Easy Going!

Trying out Nail Tattoos/Transfers/Decals/whatever you want to call them

I hadn't thought about using nail tattoos or stickers since I was a child, but found myself doing just that the other night. So I hopped on over to eBay and started searching for nail art stickers. Something I could layer over my polish to look like I'd spent ages making my nails look pretty. This then led me to look at nail wraps, and then nail tattoos. I came across these for £1.99, and thought I'd give them a go. The printing quality could be better, but I only bought them to have a play around with. The instructions say to paint your nail with a white base coat (the white on the design is actually clear and you're just seeing the white of the paper behind), cut the transfer to size, place in water for 30 seconds, slide the transfer off the paper, and place onto your nail. Then hold it onto your nail with a cotton pad and then apply a top coat. However, you don't need to slide the transfer off and place it onto your nail. You can just put the whole thing straight onto your nail with the paper facing up, wet and press with a tissue or cotton pad, and then remove the paper (like you would with a fake tattoo). This saves you a step. How did I get on? It was more tricky than I thought it'd be, especially cutting the transfers to size. You can tidy and shape polish after applying, but you can't with these. I also had trouble keeping the design in place before applying a top coat. I do like the result, though! I'd love to try nail art stickers next, especially white designs. At least they don't cover your entire nail, so you don't have to worry about the shape around your cuticles.

Do you like nail art tattoos/transfers/decals/stickers/wraps? The ones above have made me realise that I don't own a light blue! I have sky blues, but no pastel varieties. Madness. Also, if you're wondering what nail polishes I'm wearing on the other nails, they're Grapefruit, Blueberry, and Greenberry from the Barry M Gelly range.

Barry M Limited Edition Yellow

Barry M has recently brought out some Limited Edition shades, with a pink and green exclusive to Superdrug, and a (different) pink and yellow exclusive to Boots. They all have patterned lids and are priced at £3.99. Of course, I just had to get the yellow! On its own, it takes 2-3 coats (some nails only took 3, though, because of my application), and with a white base coat, 1-2 coats. I'm wearing Barry M's Matt White underneath this manicure, and even though it means I'm wearing just as many coats, it made the application of the yellow a lot easier. It should hopefully help with any staining, too! On my ring finger, I used Barry M's Nail Art Pens in Black and White to do an aztec design. No where near perfect, but if you don't look closely, it looks pretty cool! To seal this, I used Barry M's All in One Basecoat, Topcoat & Nail Hardener. It's all about Barry M this week!

Have you picked up any of the Limited Edition Barry M shades?

Recent Purchases - Republic, Primark, Bourjois and More

I went in town yesterday, ice packs in hand (literally), and bought a few bits that I thought I'd show you!

I bought this top from Republic for £5, down from £18. I'd seen it in there a few times, but could never be bothered to try it on, then decided to just do so yesterday. It's such a pretty top, but it's difficult to get on, and impossible to get off by yourself. I had to get my sister to pull it off over my head! If she wasn't there, I'd have been stuck. Still, for £5, I think it's worth it. I'm going to take the white vest top from underneath out and wear my own because it's a bit baggy, but I'm very happy with the overlay.

The weather must have been affecting my choices in Primark! I bought two more vest tops for £2.50 each. I have a load of these, and wear them under most of my tops to avoid displaying my bra. I also bought some sunglasses for £2.50. This purchase is a big deal for me because I think I look stupid in sunglasses. These, however, don't look too bad! I then bought two pairs of shorts for £4 each. I'm planning to wear these to the beach because I like to keep my bottom and crotch covered!

Boots currently have a 'buy one get one half price' offer going on, and this happened...

I picked up one of the new Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayons in Peach on the Beach for £7.99. It's a beautiful shade! Similar to MUA's Justify. Justify looks like a shocking orange in the packaging, but on the lips it's a pinky peachy shade. I tried taking photos of them together, but they look very different on camera (natural or flash!). I then picked up Sinful Colours' Hottie, which is just stunning. It's a dense, blue based holographic glitter. One coat over a blue polish looks amazing! This is originally £1.99. I also bought the Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint in Yellow for £3.99. I'd been searching for this for a while, but my local Boots messed up and had the limited edition green shade instead, which is meant to be exclusive to Superdrug. I've been loving yellows lately, so can't wait to wear this! Lastly, I bought Seventeen's Pink Lemonade nail polish (originally £2.99). I've been meaning to pick this up for years, but never did for some reason! It's a nice pinky, slightly peach, shade.

Last night I also bought some items from a blog sale, and can't wait for them to arrive! I bought China Glaze's Tinsel Town for £1, Essie's Where's My Chauffeur for £2.50, and Sleek's Life's A Peach blush for £1.

I'm also waiting on Ciate and Accessorize sale orders, so expect to see them soon!

Favourite Nail Polishes - Glitters

Choosing just 16 favourite nail polishes in my Favourite Nail Polishes - Rainbow Edition post was incredibly hard, so I bring you part 2: Glitters! I used to dislike glitters, but have come to love them. Fine ones look pretty over every nail, and chunkier ones look great on an accent.

My first favourite glitter is Illamasqua's Creator; a black base with silver glitter. I bought this on ASOS with a £10 voucher, and I'm glad I did, but wouldn't pay the full £14.50. As much as I love bright nail polishes, I also love shades like this.

Sally Hansen's Oxide is more of a shimmer than glitter, but it didn't fit into my Rainbow Edition post! This is similar to Creator, but it's more of a gunmetal shade, and the glitter is much finer.

Models Own Ibiza Mix is a mix of green, blue, purple, gold and bronze glitter. Very unique, in my opinion. I used to hate chunkier glitters, thinking they looked tacky, but this looks very pretty on my ring fingers.

Models Own Party Pieces (exclusive to ASOS) is a mix of larger and smaller glitter chunks, and the colours include red, blue, green, purple, gold and silver. It's very fun and goes with most colour nail polishes.

Barry M's Amethyst Glitter is densely packed with blue, purple, pink and gold glitter pieces. I love this with darker blues!

Barry M's Pink Silver Glitter is so, so pretty. The glitter is very fine, so I don't mind wearing this on every nail. Glitter can be very bold, so I love that the colour is subtle to even this out.

Essie's Beyond Cozy is another fine glitter that I like wearing on every nail. Normally, the combination of gold and glitter screams tacky, but this colour is very cool toned, and can sometimes look silver, so I think it works. I wore this for Christmas 2012, and will probably wear it for Christmas 2013, too!

I also love my flakies nail polishes (Nubar 2010 and Gosh Rainbow), but haven't included them in the photo. They're so beautiful, with the flakes changing colour in the light. They look incredible over dark polishes!

What are your favourite glitter nail polishes? Are there any I absolutely have to have?