Wednesday Wishlist ★ ☆

Hey and welcome to my new readers / followers!

I haven't blogged for 2 days, life got in the way as it can sometimes, so I would like to apologise for that. I'm back now though!
I have decided to commit myself to a weekly Wednesday Wishlist (now there's a tongue twister in the making!). It will include products that I am loving at the moment & would be my next purchases if I had a never-ending supply of money.

First on my list is:

White Nail Polish

I don't even have a preference over brand for this, I just don't own any plain white polish as the one I had went bad. While its not something I would wear on its own, its great to use as a base to make colours more vibrant.

 Biker Jacket

I really want a leather biker jacket and this one has the added bonus of a heart pattern on the back. The Heartbreaker Jacket costs £180 from TopShop.

Hair Straighteners

Again, I don't have a preference over brand, but these BaByliss 2098U Elegance Metallic Purple Straighteners have REALLY good reviews on Amazon. I have learned the hard way not to just buy any old straighteners and they are definitely one item I like to be picky about. My last ones were GHD's (which went "walkies") and they will take some beating. To be honest I haven't had a very good history with BaByliss so I'm a bit wary whether these will be any different. There is also a newer model out which doesn't have as high a rating so I am really confused over which ones to get.

Thats pretty much it at the moment! I would really appreciate it if you could recommend some products to me that fit my wishlist.

Mighty Rockstar Glittery Liquid Eyeliner

5 posts on 5 days in a row? Well aren't I being a good girl? I would also like to say a quick welcome to my new followers, I will be stalking  checking out your lovely blogs and responding to comments I have not yet replied to in due course.

I have another review for you today, on a collection of glitter liquid eyeliners. These are Mighty Rockstar Glittery Liquid Eyeliner from Fraulein 3°8 (it took me ages to find the symbol for degrees haha!) Anyway.. there are 8 in the collection each containing 5g of product.

8 bottles of shiny-ness

A view of the packaging

Firstly, the packaging is cute and the product isn't bad either:

Swatches!

We have black, pink, white, purple, silver, bronze, gold and green. The eyeliner contains metallic pigment along with glitter and dries to a smooth metallic glitter finish unlike other glitter eyeliners I have used in the past. I couldn't quite capture the glitter properly on camera but it is there I promise! It stays on really well and the brush is nice and thin and didn't shed any hairs. There is no smell to the product either.

Wait, there's more! The BEST thing about this is... the price!
It costs  €10.99 which at the time of writing is £9.33.. thats for all 8 of them! Thats £1.16 per eyeliner! What a steal! You can purchase these eyeliners here.


DISCLAIMER: I got a 50% discount on this product but that does not affect my opinion in any way & I did not recieve any kind of further reward for writing this post.

Veil Cover Cream

Happy Saturday!
I had a nice surprise this morning when this landed on my doorstep:

Its the Veil Cover Cream sample I got for free by filling out a survey a while back. I was expecting a tiny sachet of a "natural" too dark for me shade but instead I was amazed by the sample kit that arrived, including a massive 20 shades along with a little pot of Transluscent setting powder!

Mine was the light/medium kit but it seems more like a general mix of all the shades as some are far too dark to be considered medium. After looking through the website, they do have 40 shades available.

According to the website, it can be used to cover up birthmarks, Vitiligo, Rosacea, Acne, Scars, Veins, Dark circles, Bruising, Age Spots and Tattoos.




I still didn't find an exact shade match for my skin, but there are other shades available so I think there would be one to suit me better. I had to blend some colours together to make look right on me, and even though it looked OK on camera after blending, it looked like a had some kind of weird bruise on my hand in the daylight.

Swatches of White, Natural, Suede & Medium

Blended in

The coverage is very heavy and thick, as you would expect for this kind of product. You should use it on clean, dry skin so moisturise at night, not in the morning especially if using this on the face. You use this as you would a concealer, then use the powder to set it and then a water-based foundation over the top.
This product would be amazing for someone who would like to disguise a difference in skin tone on their body / face.

Personally, I wouldn't like to use this on my face every day, I would give my skin time to breathe between uses but that is because of how my skin behaves rather than because of the product.

A little goes a very long way so even though I have swatched and played around with these a lot, I still have loads left.

Unfortunately, because of the fact I would need to buy 2 or 3 different shades, the full size pots are wayyy out of my price range, as a 19g will set you back £23 (for 3, that's £69! Ouch!)  and the Translucent Finishing Powder is £24.50 but there is a more affordable alternative, in the form of kits you can buy, which are absolutely ideal for make up artists aswell.

A Demonstration Kit  costs £40.64 , A Tattoo Camouflage Kit in  light to medium or medium to dark costs £26.50 and a Cover Cream Sample Kit (which is what I have) which is available in light/medium and medium/dark costs £6.50 . Now that's more like it! Visit http://www.veilcovercream.com for more info!

DISCLAIMER: This was a free sample & I have not been paid or otherwise rewarded for this post.

5 Jewellery Trends of Spring 2012

I am loving jewellery at the moment so I am going to share with you a selection of affordable items that have caught my eye recently. It brings extremely good news for DIYers as the handmade look is well and truly in right now!

Tribal.
Think bangles, skulls, wood, spikes, cuffs, elephants, feathers, dreamcatchers and big earrings. Here are some more widely available creations but you should definitely check New Age shops (the ones where they sell incense, crystals, tarot cards etc.)  as they will stock more authentic pieces.

 1. Lime Bangle Pack - Next - £14

 2. Pink Chain Feather Hoop Earrings - Miss Selfridge - £9.37
 3. Tribal Bead Plate Necklace - Chelsea Doll - £13
 4. Brown Wooden Spike And Diamante Necklace - River Island - £18
 5.  Bright Multi Aztec Popper Wrist Wear - Matalan - £4
 6. Skull and Tusk Ear Cuff - Topshop - £7.50

 7. Filigree Elephant Pendant Necklace - New Look £5.99 ( and jewellery is BOGOF at the mo!)

 8. Set of 10 Rings - H&M - £2.99

 9. Coral Statement Snap Cuff - Next - £14

10. Skull Horn Cluster Necklace - Topshop -£12.50

Religious.

As you might expect, this one features crosses and biblical imagery...

 1. Jesus Necklace - Attitude Clothing - £5.99

 2. Double Row Cross Charm Necklace  - ASOS - £4.50
 3. Religious Image Studs - Miss Selfridge - £3
 4. Silver Cross Stretch Armcuff - Miss Selfridge - £3
 5.  Black Bead And Cross Rosary - River Island - £8
 6. Cross Centre Chandelier Earrings - Topshop - £10

 7. Brown Wood And Gold Effect Cross Pendant - Matalan - £7

 8. Coral Wood Bead Religious Icons Stretch Wristwear - Matalan - £4

 9. Cross Ring to Wrist Wear - Topshop - £7.50

Nautical.
Ahoy sailors! Nautical is back for Spring, bringing anchors and stripes in navy, white and red with it!

1.  Anchor Circle Ring - Topshop - £8.50
2.  Hello Sailor Necklace - Topshop - £7.50
3.  Nautical Anchor Bobble - Matalan - £2.50
4.  Nautical Charm Bracelet - Lipsy - £8
5.  Anchor & Rose Necklace - Chelsea Doll - £12
6.  Nautical Knot Earrings - Accessorize - £3
7.  Set of 3 Stud Earrings - Claire's - £4.50
8.  Anchor Ear Cuff - ASOS - £8
9. Marble Stone Bracelet - New Look - £5.99

Fruity.
Lots of colourful, juicy, YUMMY tutti frutti!

1. 2 x Fruit Bowl Rings - CharlieCarter @ Etsy - £11.71
2. Watermelon Slice Necklace - New Look - £3.99
3. Fruit Bowl Charm Necklace - Chelsea Doll - £13
4. Strawberry & Fondue Ring - lepetitebonbon @ Etsy - £6.51
5. 6 Pairs of Earrings - H&M - £2.99
6. Delicious Apple Ring - Accessorize - £6
7. To The Core Necklace - Claire's - £5.50
8. Quirky Cherry Charm Bracelet - QuirkyBoutique @ Etsy £6.51
9. Gold Tone Cherry Necklace - River Island - £4

Gumball.

Whether you call it kitsch, junk, kawaii, kandi or any other name, gumball charm jewellery is hot. You should definitely try to buy handmade to get the highest quality and most unique or have a go at making your own.
Here is a selection of whats available on the high street:

1. 6 x Friendship Bracelets - Accessorize - £4
2. Woven Bracelets - River Island - £6
3. Caught In The Stars Necklace - Claire's - £4
4. Leopard Heart Ring - Store Twenty One - £2.99
5. Everything Under The Sun Charm Necklace - Claire's - £5.50
6. Sand Bottle Pendant Necklace - Topshop - £8.50
7. Totes Amaze Bracelet - Miss Selfridge - £3
8. Got Any Gum Drops? - Claire's - £4.50


And this is what you can get if you opt for handmade instead (these ones are all from different designers on Etsy):

1. Turtle In Dome Ring - isewcute @ Etsy - £18.11
2. Gumball Charm Bracelet - Kerry Callaghan @ Etsy - £14.87
3. Pair of Gummy Bear Earrings - MauveMagpie @ Etsy - £2.50
4. Beach In A Bottle Necklace - MadiiExodus @ Etsy - £3.23
5. 1 x Kandi Bracelet - StephanieMalesic @ Etsy - 32p
6. Wonder Woman Pendant - IncrediblyHip @ Etsy - £3.88
7. Exes & Ohs - EssemDesign @ Etsy - £6.47
8. Marmite Ring - NeatEats @ Etsy - £10.99




Are you going to follow any of these trends or are you already? Which is your favourite?

Another Nail Polish Post ....... with a twist!

Howdy!
I have been messing around with nail polishes AGAIN! Here are some of the ones I used:

The difference this time is that I didn't paint my nails with them. I actually painted these:

These glass pebbles were from Wilko, and the whole bag only cost £1. They also sell a similar bag at Asda, also priced at £1.

To start with, I gave all of the stones a little clean and painted the flat side with one coat of top coat (the kind usually used on your nails). This has to be totally dry before you can continue. Then I started painting designs on them with nail polish. You can layer in the same way you would on your nails but you have to apply the colours in the opposite order you would normally, so if you are using crackle polish, you put that first, before the colour you want to show through underneath. It is really important to make sure the nail polish is totally dry between coats or it will smudge / stay tacky. I then finished off with a black nail polish to cover up the bottom and make the colours "pop".

Here are my results:

I also did some that glow in UV light:

You can make these into jewellery if you have the thingys  findings to glue onto them, use them to decorate a box or photo frame with or just leave them as they are. I am waiting for my jewellery findings to arrive so I will do an update when they are here. I love the idea of making them into rings because then you can match them with your manicure. Like this:

I had to just balance the pebble on my finger like how a ring would sit but you get the idea hehe.

So what do you think? Is this something you will be trying?

DISCLAIMER: All products used here were bought by myself with my own money.

I'm on a quest to find make-up for pale skin!

If you are a bronzed beauty, sorry but this post won't really apply to you, but for people with extremely pale skin, finding foundation, concealer, & blushers can be an absolute nightmare!

There are probably companies that cater for porcelain pretties online, but I would much rather visit an actual store for face make-up products, even if only to get a shade match. If I am going to part with my cash, I want to be sure that I have the right shade before I buy.

Quite often, I try the lightest shade of a make-up range ans still I end up looking like this:

I have had this issue for years now and now I have come to realise that I'm not the only one. Now, I am not sure if it's the beauty companies not making enough shades or if the stores are simply not stocking them, but it is my aim to find out.

I will be putting together a list of some form that contains all of the products that suits pale skin tones in the hope that it will save someone else the trouble!

I really need people to get involved with this project so if you have any suggestions please comment here or on twitter @minkey_vee

❤ ❤ Peace, Love & Lush Products! ❤ ❤

You may of noticed a new picture on my sidebar today which means that this blog is taking part in the "peace, love & lush products" campaign, which was started by Beabarella after she got some unnecessary comments on her Youtube video.

This has been a tough week in the beauty blogging world and the nail polish scene too, so this couldn't come at a better time. The behaviour that I have seen goes against everything that blogging is about.
Cyber bullying (even though it takes place behind a keyboard and computer screen, it IS a form of bullying) is a very real issue and it has been given a lot of media attention too. If you have ever had a nasty comment directed at you either online or in person, you will understand how low they can make you feel.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect everyone to agree 100% of the time but there is a way of explaining your opinion or being constructively critical without being rude. Sometimes its just that the people behind the comments haven't thought about what they are writing so if you are commenting on someone's video, blog, tweet, status, forum post or whatever just read back through it after you've typed it as context really doesn't come over through a keyboard. Us women always read what's said and then what's between the lines too so if you wouldn't like to receive your own comment, don't send it.

There are also people out there called internet trolls too who make a habit of commenting on things just to get a reaction. They are the type of people behind those shocking Facebook groups that pop up on your newsfeed to report them every so often. In this case they are best ignored/deleted/blocked.

I personally haven't had anything said to me but my partner is VERY unsupportive of my blog, which hurts just as much.

It is important not to let these comments bring us down, but to move on, find something positive from it and bring the blogging community back together as a group to support each other. That's where the peace, love & lush products campaign comes in.

Want to get involved? Add the picture to your sidebar and spread the love in a blog post!

You can read Beabarella's original post here, and I joined the campaign from Carlotta's Beauty Spot.

Adele Inspired Nails!

Well hello there! A couple of days ago I did a post on Adele's Grammy Awards style and those awesome nails she had. Well... now I have created my own version of them! I noticed a lot of people commenting on Adele's manicure elsewhere on the net, and they were saying how it must be so difficult to get the brush behind the nail to paint it.

The answer is simple. You don't have to! Well if you have short natural nails anyway that is. If you use fake nails, you can paint the back of the nail before you glue it on.
I used short, European, full coverage nails in a natural finish. Here is the finished look:

Please excuse the ill-fitting nails, and the fact that you can see my natural nails at the back. I glued them on with PVA glue just to take the photo then peeled them straight off. If I was actually going to wear these nails for longer than 5 mins, I would trim my natural nails back, file the false nails to a better shape and use proper nail glue!

This was quite simple to make.

1.  I used Catherine Arley Holographic Nail Polish in shade 667, I used 2 coats.
2. Then, I painted the back of the nail from the tip to just under halfway down in MUA shade 15 (the one from my secret valentine) I would advise using some of those white guide stickers if you have some. I couldn't find mine as you can see by the messy painting but you get the idea.  
3. Then, I added some holographic glitter from my nail art pen haul  to the front of the nail where the pink was showing through. 
4. Finally, I added some MUA clear polish (shade 17) on top of the glitter to make it extra sparkly. I didn't apply this to the whole nail as holographic polish is best left as it is. 

In this case, I wanted the pink to show through slightly at the front but if you didn't want this to happen, you would either use a completely opaque colour or paint the front of the nail white as a base. If you do acrylic or gel nails, you could just use coloured tips and then completely paint the front of the nail for the same effect.

. It is very difficult to photograph holo polishes / glitters so in real life this looks absolutely stunning and so sparkly, much better than in the photos. I hope you enjoyed this post, here is another photo to finish off with that really shows off the holographic polish as much as I could get it to:

When I come to actually wear these, I will probably do a follow-up.

DISCLAIMER: All products used here were bought by me :-) 

My Secret Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Today I can finally share my Secret Valentine parcel with you. I have been dying to open it for a few weeks now but I decided to be a good girl and wait until Feb 14th. ❤

Here's what I got:

I can't believe someone went out of their way to put this together for me, isn't it lovely? I can't wait to try these out. I have already started on the chocs and they are yummy.

1. MUA Limited Edition Nail Polish Set - shade 12 & 15
2. Heart-shaped Bath Gel x2
3. Superdrug Seduction Body Spray
4. Hand Therapy 2 in 1 Hand & Nail Cream
5. MUA Lip Gloss - shade 5
6. Make-up shaped Choccies!
I got this because I took part in the Secret Valentine swap over at Beauty Box Swaps on Facebook. We had a £5 budget and each got given a different person to send a gift parcel to. I sent one out too but I can't say who to incase she sees this blog post - it would kinda defy the whole point of it. There will be more swaps going on throughout the year (there is already an Easter one lined up) so although you might of missed the Valentine's one, you can easily get involved with the next. The actual purpose of the group is to swap unused or swatched beauty products , especially the ones you get in monthly beauty boxes. The 2 girls that run the group are lovely so you should definitely pop over there and say hi!

I have no idea who sent me my gift but I wanna say a massive thank you, whoever you are. I love it!
It was especially thoughtful how she added a little handwritten note for me ❤❤

If you took part in this or something like it, I would love to see what you got so feel free to send me a link and I'll check it out!  

Adele at the Grammy Awards!

I am just here for a flying visit today but as soon as I saw the pictures I knew I had to post about her.

What an inspiration this lady is! She totally stole the show in more ways than one. She did her first performance since she had throat surgery, she won a whopping SIX awards, she looked absolutely stunning in a sparky Giorgio Armani dress and in great shape and then there were her double sided nails (which also matched her Christian Louboutin Fifi shoes:

Mmm shoe porn! 

See? Silvery and glittery on top and red underneath. I want NEED these in my life! With a price tag of $ 3,395 , which at the time of writing is £2,160.54, I can only dream. Looks like I will have to settle for the manicure instead!

The top side is a silvery and glittery polish, not just any glitter either, it full of holographic goodness. And the underside is bright red polish. Both polishes are from Ciate and the look was created by Mike Pocock.

Left: Ciate - Jewel  / Right: Ciate - Mistress

Jewel is painted on top of the nail and Mistress is painted on the back. Each polish retails for £9 on the Ciate website. 


I hope you enjoyed this post and if you would like to stay up to date with my blog, please click the follow button.

Top 10 EXTREME nails!

Hiya everyone! Today I have gone for a bit of a different type of post: my top 10 favourite extreme nails. I find nail art very addictive and once you have done one design its all about going bigger and better. Since my Nail Art Pen Haul, I was scouring the internet for inspiration. I decided to include 10 of my favourites in a post for all to see. So without further ado, at No. 10...

Monopoly Nails! I love these! They are definitely different.

No. 9

No nail art list would be complete with some Hello Kitty!

No. 8

This googly bug design is from Katrina's Nail Blog. She has loads more on her blog too so you should take a look. I would actually wear this myself.

No. 7

Yes, they are REAL sprinkles!! They are actually Katy Perry's nails. She wore them for one of her shows and had to have the gel done extra thick to prevent chipping it while she played guitar. She posted this photo on her Twitter account.

No. 6

Now I'm not sure I could pull this off, I like kawaii and I like decoden but this is a little too extreme for me.

No. 5

Stilletto Nails! These ones look like painted icicles to me haha but I like them.

No. 4

These really are mini works of art. Amazing!

No.3

Some more amazing brush skills here with these yummy Cadbury's nails.

No. 2

Woah. I don't even know what these are supposed to be but you have to admire the talent and creativity that has gone into making them. I don't think they would be very practical to have for everyday use! This was a competition entry  for the Fantasy category at London's Nailympics. (Yes, you read that right, Nailympics!)
This was by Italy's Lorena Amici and she won 1st place in her division.


And the winner in first place is....

Au Naturel!  This is Christine Walton, Guinness World Record holder for having the longest nails. She has 10ft 2in (309.8cm) of nail-age on her left hand and 9ft 7in (292.1cm) on her right hand. My first thoughts when I saw the photo was that I am pretty sure I have seen a lady with longer nails than this. So after a bit of googling I found Lee Redmond:

The thing with this type of record is that you have to actually still have the long nails to keep the title, so when Lee Redmond tragically lost her nails after a car accident in 2009, she also lost her record holder status.  She does still hold a Guiness World Record for longest fingernails (female) ever though. I really don't understand how you can do anything when your nails are that long, imagine how long it would take to paint them!?

So that completes today's post, it was a lot of fun to write and I hope it was also fun to read, please let me know what you think.