Cheap Nail Polish!

Please excuse my (extremely) poor attempt at a manicure. I have a rather slap-dash approach to nail polish, and these pictures have really made me think maybe I should spend longer than 5 minutes doing it! #theshame.

Anyway. The real reason I'm even posting this is to demonstrate the colour and quality (or lack thereof) of some cheap nail polishes I've treated myself to recently. Firstly, Primark's attempt at a crackle polish. I know that the crackle coat trend has come and gone, but I never really appreciated the look enough to spend even a few pound on Barry M's bottle. It just never appealed. Yet, drawn in by a bargain, I purchased Primark's very reasonable version.

 

Primark nails! Pictures taken in direct daylight.

Verdict? Rather impressed! The crackle coat itself was better than I expected- it dried quickly, and achieved a pretty good quality 'crackle' pattern (that said, my pinky was left looking very splotchy- I guess it all depends on how heavy handed you are with the brush!). I actually quite liked the look- although it's possible thats just because I never do anything particularly interesting with my nails, and the crackle is a bit of a novelty! Regardless, the set was £3 for three bottles, and rather good value for the quality of the product. The top coat in particular makes this set a pretty good purchase. (obviously I didn't use the gold in these pictures! Its over a very pretty nude pink by 17 cosmetics).

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 ELF Cranberry: The picture on the left was taken at night without flash, and on the right, with flash.

Secondly, with my first ever ELF order last week, I bought for the princely sum of £1 a polish called 'Cranberry'- basically, a staple shiny, cherry red colour. Now, my ELF order was rather hit and miss (word of warning- the brushes are made with animal hair, so they really are too good to be true at such a low price. And the face mist smells absolutely disgusting- like sick!) I have to say, I was very impressed with this...

One coat!!! That's only one coat of Cranberry! Its almost perfectly opaque, and its such a pretty colour! For £1 this was definitely the best of the ELF products I ordered, and as red is pretty much my go-too nail shade, I can see myself using a lot of this.

xxx

A lot of drinks...

Still feeling a little 'off' lately, hopefully this mood passes! It has to- I've got a trip to Berlin in two weeks to think about! Drinking hot chocolates and cocktails with my nearest and dearest has been perking me up slightly, though...

xx

Well...

 

 ...I've actually had quite a pleasant few days. Thursday was spent partaking in some rather drunken revelry with my workmates. My lettuce ketchup burger was beautiful! Feeling a little down lately, however, so I'm going to keep it short before I start moaning about something!

xxx

Today was a good day...

...for cheap makeup! Now, in my (rather feeble, it must be said) attempt to save a bit of money, I've decided that the amount I spend on make-up is absolutely ridiculous. My staples are YSL mascara, MAC Studio Fix foundation and cream blush, Urban Decay eyeshadows and MAC lipsticks. I'm also partial to the odd nice face cream, or hair mask. This is all well and good, until I run out (and don't you find you always run out of EVERYTHING at the same time?!), and I have to spend a chunk of hard earned money on refills.

So no more! I've been trawlings blogs and forums to find the makeup and beauty products with the highest recommendations. And I think I've done pretty well today!

Picked up these beauties at Poundland (!) L-r Revlon Creme Gloss lipgloss in Raisin' The Roof,
Rimmel eyeshadow quad in Smoky Brun, and eyeshadow mono in Spicy Bronze.

Now, I get that Poundland do receive shipments of brand name products when they are about to be discontinued and the brand wants to get rid of them. However, the Rimmel products I bought today are still on Boots website- even the colours I picked up! The quad retails at around £6.50, and the mono about £4. This is  all a little suspicious- back of a van, anyone? Rimmel eyeshadows are usually decent enough quality, and the little quad is perfect to pop in a handbag for touchups. The Revlon lipgloss is almost certainly discontinued (its on Amazon retailing about £3), but the colour is lovely and the brush is pretty damn good, too. Poundland also had a little selection of Rimmel nailpolishes, and Maybelline false lash effects mascara (!) which I used to wear but can't anymore because alas, most high street mascaras are just not suitable for my delicate post-laser surgery eyes.

When I got home, my ELF delivery had arrived! I've  never ordered from Eyes.Lips.Face before, but read about the products in quite a few magazines and blogs- particularly their make-up brushes, which seem to have a pretty stellar reputation considering the cost(I got a foundation brush and a blending brush, each £1.50) My delivery arrived a mere two days after I ordered it, and was packaged very nicely. A+ for delivery, Elf!

 Top to bottom: All over Color stick in Persimmon, Matte lip color crayon in Praline,
Nail polish in Cranberry, Tame & Treat eyebrows in Medium, Makeup Mist and Set, and
Foundation Brush in 1801, and blending brush in 1803.

I meant to go on just recommendations, but ended up going a bit mad because they've got a sale on (cheap stuff, even cheaper!) From the sale I ordered the Studio Mist make-up spray (half price at £2.45) and a dark red nail polish called Cranberry for just £1. I can't ever pass the opportunity to buy lipstick of any type or colour, so picked up the matte crayon lipstick in praline (£2.45 on sale). Its a lovely nude colour, I have pretty high hopes!

I never fill my eyebrows- I have light brown hair and my eyebrows are nearly blonde, but I always think they look odd drawn in! I know that brow gels have been pretty big news but I don't want to spend upwards of £15 when I'm not sure I'll appreciate the look- ELF however, has a Treat&Tame (treat??!) eyebrow shaper for £3.50...my expectations are a bit low, but it'll be interesting to try out.

Lastly, I purchased one of the all over face sticks in Persimmon (It took awhile to decide on a colour- the website stock pictures aren't the greatest) as it reminded me a little of Nars face sticks! In reality the colour is really, really nice- I'm very pale and it looks just like a subtle peach shimmer. If its not a perfect match for my skin, I can see myself using it as an eyeshadow base, as I usually wear gold and bronze shadows anyway.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchases! I'm sure some will be better than others, but considering the combined total of everything I've pictured is under £20(!!!), I can't complain too much!

xxx

Hello!

My name is Nicole, and I currently live in Glasgow, Scotland. I'm the owner of the fluffiest and noisiest terrier the world has ever known and is likely to ever know. I buy far too much stuff and waste far too much time. Hopefully this blog can help me utilize both of these skills!

xxx