NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils

I love an eyeshadow pencil as they are so easy to apply on a night out. NYX cosmetics have been making the rounds on YouTube and Blogging websites, and the bug hit me, I wanted to try some of these and so I grabbed some of the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils to see what all the fuss is all about.

The ones I have are:

• Rust
• French Fries
• Dark Brown
• Sparkle Green
• Cashmere
• Horseradish
• Cobalt
• Bronze

Sparkle Green
Is a lovely christmassy green colour, I wore this colour during December for a christmassy look, but during the day I used a lighter eyeshadow over the top just to lighten the colour up. This is perfect when you want to create a dark, and dramatic look.

French Fries
This is a lovely gold type of colour with a lovely shimmer running through it, I do wear this one quite a lot as it's lovely for a daytime look, it's a very subtle colour.

Dark Brown
This is another colour that is good for a night time look especially when doing a smoky eye look.

Bronze
This is a lovely metallic shade, a shade that is good for a night out by adding some bling to your eyes.

Cashmere
Cashmere is a lovely light gold colour, good for during the day.

Cobalt
This is a lovely blue colour (I'm in a blue colour phase at the moment), and perfect for a night time look, or a smokey eye.

Rust
This is another colour I wore during December as it has a reddish undertone, I wore this to my Christmas party and paired it up with the NYX Shimmer Roll On in Platinum to add a bit of sparkle to my look.

Horseradish
This is a mint green colour, good for a subtle day time look


I love these pencils, they are so easy to use and they come in such a great colour range (32 shades overall), and they can be used as an eyeliner to add a bit of drama to a look.

These can be found on the NYX website or at your local Next.

thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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Zoya Remove+ Nail Polish Remover

I saw this product in a blog post by Vivianna Does Makeup, and really liked the idea of the easy to use pump action for getting out your nail polish remover and it dispensing the ideal amount. I bought mine from Amazon for £10.

I will admit I had to find a YouTube video to figure out how to open it as the pump locks so none of the product is lost in transit.

The pump dispenses a good amount of the polish onto the cotton wool and removes the polish off of the nail quite quickly, it even made light work of the toughest of glitter nail polish. The smell of the product isn't as bad as other polish removers (which have quite a chemical scent), and it does remove non glitter nail polish really quickly.

I agree with Anna that the price is a biggy (£10) but I have to admit that I would still repurchase it again even at it's price because it is just that good. The pro's way, way, way, outweigh the cons of the product.

I will also be recycling the packaging and putting some of the cheap polish remover in there once I've used up the product.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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Superdrug Style Expertise Anti Frizz Serum 30ml

I bought this serum during skint week, the nozzle had broken on my John Frieda anti-frizz serum and it was just making a mess everywhere, so to save money I bought this to give it a try and at only £2.99 the price was quite reasonable.

You only need a small amount to rub onto your hands and then just run it through your damp hair (I use this as soon as I've come out of the shower/ bath)

This is quite a good product and I will be repurchasing again, to me it was a absolute dupe for the Frizz Ease serum and at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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Absinthe - Models Own

I have another entry from Models Own Velvet Goth collection - Absinthe.

This is a Dark Green glitter based in a green jelly polish, the colour looks fantastic for Christmas. On my pictures you can't really see how green the polish is.

On the 1st coat onto the nail it goes a light green/turquoise colour, but on the 2nd coat it becomes darker and more opaque.

The polish is quite gloopy, and thick (this is probably because of the amount of glitter that has been packed in there).

The polish once on the nail looks brilliant, and a gorgeous colour for Christmas 2014.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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Favourites: December 2013

Products noted with * were a gift (I would have still purchased these even if I hadn't received them as a gift.

December Favourites 2013

1. Passion Fruit Body Butter (The Body Shop) - I have had this body butter in the bathroom cupboard for ages and thought that I would use this once I finished up my chocomania body butter, and it smells lovely, and the scent stays on the skin for ages.
2. Deeply in Love (Nicole by O.P.I) - I bought this for my works Christmas Party, and it was so easy to apply with a thick brush and very pigmented.
3. Chocomania Eau De Toilette (The Body Shop)* - I love the chocomania range at The Body Shop and have been wanting this for ages, so when I received it for Christmas I was over the moon. It smells gorgeous and I have been wearing it non stop.
4. Baby Lips Hydrate (Maybelline) - I love the range of lip balms from the Baby Lips range, and hydrate goes in my bag, and really keeps my lips moisturised.
5. Mega Plush Volume Mascara (Maybelline) - I was very surprised how brilliant this was, the brush is quite plush, and the mascara clings to the lashes, it lengthened and they didn't clump.
6. Style Expertise Anti-Frizz Serum (Superdrug) - I was looking for a cheap alternative to the Frizz-ease anti serum and I found this from Superdrug, and really did work well on my hair.
7. 3-in-1 Formula Remove+ (Zoya) - This I found in a blog post by Vivianna Does Makeup, and thought the bottle looked fantastic and thought I would try the remover out see what it was like. This is fantastic works really well on glitter polish, removes it quite easily with only a tiny bit of work, I will re-use the bottle but I will also repurchase the remover again.
8. Bedazzled Anti Humidity Spray (Mark Hill) - I use this once I have straightened my hair just to keep the style in and so my hair doesn't frizz.
9. Matte Nail Effects (No7) - I have been looking for a matte top coat for a while and while I was in Boots, I saw this from their No7 range. I have tried it and I love it, it makes any nail polish look as if it was matte.
10. Honeymania Eau De Toilette (The Body Shop)* - This is a gorgeous scent, and one of my favourites so far of this year (I have been wanting this for ages) it smells so lovely and fresh like summer in a bottle.
11. Ginger Sparkle Body Polish (The Body Shop)* - This was a gift off of my partner but I love the Body Shop's Christmas ranges, and this body polish was fantastic, gave my skin a nice smooth feeling and gave of a fabulous smell of Ginger, very christmassy.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma

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Empties: December 2013

* denotes gift, ^ bought with points.

Welcome to another edition of my monthly empties.

As you know I was trying a use-up month in December and I did really well, so let's get on with the empties, I know I am also late with my empties, my favourites will be posted tomorrow.

1. Chocomania Body Butter (The Body Shop) - I absolutely love this range, this body butter is just gorgeous, keeps my skin all lovely and smooth. I haven't repurchased as I'm using some others up at the moment.
2. Nivea Invisible for Black and White Deodorant - This deodorant is suppose to go on clear and not transfer white patches onto black clothing or turn white clothing yellow. To be honest I didn't really notice if it did or not, I probably won't repurchase as again I have a load of deodorants flying around that need to be used up.
3. 3 in 1 Cleansing Wipes (Co-Op) - These were good for the price but they did feel quite rough on my skin so won't be repurchasing again.
4. Cosmetic Brush Cleaner (Strictly Professional) - This is a favourite for cleaning my brushes, and the price is really reasonable, and I will be repurchasing this again.
5. Strengthening Nail Polish Remover (Sally Hansen) - This wasn't a bad nail polish remover, removed all my polish and it did leave my nails feeling quite nice and smooth.
6. Round Cotton Wool Pads x200 (Asda Skin System) - These I did find quite rough on my skin so I mostly used them for removing my nail polish but for the price (£1) they weren't bad and I would repurchase.
7. Square Cotton Wool Pads x50 (Bodycare) - These I absolutely loved, they were so soft, and they were brilliant for spot cleaning my brushes, I will be repurchasing this again.
8. Herbal Essences Fresh Balance Clarifying Shampoo -  This was flying around my bathroom for ages and I finally managed to finish it, it had a lovely smell and it did leave my hair feeling lovely and soft.
9. Chocomainia Body Scrub (The Body Shop)* - This was part of a gift set that I got for Christmas 2012 and only just got round to using, and I am now wondering why it took me so long as this stuff was fantastic and smelt lovely.
10. Cleansing Wipes (Boots)^ - These were a repurchase after finishing the co-op wipes, and one I will repurchase again
11. Oval Cotton Wool Pads (Superdrug) - I initially didn't like these pads because they felt quite rough on my skin but they were great for cleaning my brushes.
12. Maybelline SuperStay 24Hr Foundation: Light Beige - This was a fantastic foundation and one I will repurchase again in the near future. Had very good coverage and was very lightweight on the skin, and the colour match was brilliant too.
13. Rimmel Exaggerate Shadow Primer - This was a good primer, and I might repurchase but at the moment am using my avon lid primer.
14. Batiste Dry Shampoo: Floral - This was a travel size that I have had for ages and just managed to use it up.
15. Cotton Wool Buds x2 (Superdrug) - These are my favourite cotton buds for cleaning up my nails after a messy mani, think I have 5 tubs of these and have just purchased another.
16. Johnsons Baby Shampoo - I use this just to clean my brushes when doing a deep clean just to wash out the brush cleanser so there's nothing left behind on the brushes.
17. B. Pure Micellar Water - This I was not impressed with, I couldn't take my eye makeup off with it because it stung my eyes something rotten. Won't be repurchasing again.
18. Chocomaina Beautifying Oil (The Body Shop) - I like a body oil for when I come out of the shower/bath and this one was fantastic (if you notice the bottle got a bit battered from being in the shower - oopsie). The price of £9 is reasonable but I haven't repurchased as I am trying out cheaper alternatives (watch out for a post on one I'm trying at the moment)

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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My Vampire is Buff - O.P.I

DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own and product has been bought with my own money.

My Vampire is Buff - O.P.I

This is a lovely light beige creme colour from O.P.I's Euro Centrale collection, I wouldn't of naturally assumed this as an autumnal colour but it actually is a really nice colour or autumn (I put this on originally as it matched a top I was wearing for a night out). I think this colour brings a bit of light to the season but still being part of the seasonal colours.

The first coat when it goes onto the nail is quite streaky, on the second coat you can still see some bleed through of the nail, so three coats was best to make the polish fully opaque.

The polish is quite thin (hence the three coats) but it does look good on the nail once all coats have been added. This is a polish I will be wearing again.

thanks for tuning in

Gemma
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