My Mascara Stash

Hi everyone,

Today's post is about my mascara stash, inspired by this post by Sandra at Beauty Balm.

Now I do have to admit to having a bit of a mascara problem, I can't resist trying out new ones just incase it's the perfect one for transforming my rubbish short lashes into beautiful, long, voluminous lashes.

Here's how I store my mascaras...

This is just a metal storage container from Tesco, I love the strawberry picture on it and I got it when it was reduced to 25p!  :D

I currently have 16 mascaras on the go, which I know is a little crazy.

So the first four mascaras I own are all the same....I'm not entirely sure how this happened but anyways this is Boots No7 Intense Volume Mascara. I really like this mascara, it gives me a soft voluminous look.

Cargo Lash Activator Extreme

This is a recent purchase and I've only used it a couple of times but I feel that primer helped give my lashes some more volume.

No.7 Fanomenal Lashes

This is also a recent purchase, I kind of like this but I'm not sure that I love it. The brush is very weird but does work pretty well. I'm not that keen on the formula though, it's kind of gunky and weird once you put it on the lashes.

17 Va Va Voom 

I like this mascara but the brush is really big so I find it hard to apply to my stumpy lashes.

 Collection 2000 Supersize Fat Lash

This mascara is pretty good to be honest, it does make my lashes look fuller, the only thing is that it is prone to smudging a little.

Natural Collection Lash Build and Lash Define

I use these mascaras together, I use the lash build one first for some volume and then apply the lash define to separate the lashes and add some length. Not bad for £1.99 each.

Jemma Kidd I-Glamour Volume 

I got this free with Red magazine, I quite like it but its a little too prone to clumping for my liking.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator

I love this mascara! I love the brush, it's really small so easy to get to all my lashes and the formula is nice and wet but not too wet. :D

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast

I got this free with Elle magazine, I liked it at first but when it started to dry up a bit I found it really hard to apply. 

MUA Clear Mascara

This is great for only £1, I only use it for my brows but it's awesome. :)

Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express

I like this mascara but it smells really weird!

Benefit Bad Gal Lash

I got this mini mascara in Glamour magazine, I'm really not a fan. The brush is too big and it didn't really build any volume or length, for me anyway. :)

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

Giveaway Time! Mac and British Drugstore Items! (CLOSED!!)

Hi everyone!

It's giveaway time!

I was going to wait to do this giveaway until I got 50 followers but I've bought all the stuff now and I couldn't wait! :D

So here's what you can win...

- Soap and Glory Flake Away Travel Size

- 17 Eye Dazzle Pigment in Lucky Clover

- Miss Sporty Eyeshadow in Sense

- MUA Lipgloss in Shade 3

- Barry M Nail Paint in Pink Silver Glitter

- Barry M Nail Paint in Retro Pink

- Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and on Bronze

- GOSH Pigment in White Diamond

- MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Creme Cup

How to enter!

- Follow this blog on GFC

- Leave me a comment telling me that you're following me.

- Leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.

To earn three extra entries...

- Follow me on Hello Cotton

- Link my giveaway in a blog post

- Tell me which of the products I'm giving away you like the most.(This is just because I'm nosey!)

If you do enter in any of the optional ways, let me know in your comment. :)

This giveaway is open internationally and I will post it to anywhere as long as your  country accepts packages from the UK.

The winner will be picked at random and I will be announcing the winner on 5th July.

Good Luck! 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

My Nail Polish Collection - 2true and Collection 2000

Hi everyone,

Today I'm going to show you the nail polishes I have from 2true and Collection 2000, and show you swatches of them. :)

(From L-R 2true Shade 3, Shade 6, Shade 5, Collection 2000 Minx, Collection 2000 Shimmy Shake)

Here are the swatches...

(From L-R 2true Shade 3, Shade 6, Shade 5, Collection 2000 Minx, Collection 2000 Shimmy Shake)

I find that all these polishes apply really nicely, Shimmy Shake is a little sheer so needs a good couple of coats, but they're all lovely to use.

I really like how shade 5 and 6 from 2true are kind of duo chrome.

All these polishes are also really cheap! The Collection 2000 ones retail for £1.79 each and the 2true ones cost £1.99 each or 3 for £5.

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

My Nail Polish Collection - Sally Hansen

Hi everyone,

Here's the first instalment of my nail polish collection posts.

I'm going to start with the Sally Hansen polishes that I own.

Before buying these I'd only ever bought Sally Hansen topcoats so I was really interested to try some of their colour polishes. These polishes are sold in Boots for £6.99 but I bought mine from Poundland for £1 each. Such a bargain!

(From L-R Model Behaviour, Strike a Pose, Paparazzi, Runway Red-y, First Kiss)

I really like the names of this polishes, I'm sucker for a cute name.

So here are the swatches...

(From L-R Model Behaviour, Strike a Pose, Paparazzi, Runway Red-y, First Kiss)

I do like these nail polishes and would love to get a few more colours but I'm not sure I'd pay £6.99 for one. If I ever see them in Poundland again I will be grabbing a few more!

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

My Nail Polish Collection and Storage

Hi everyone,

I'm going to share with you my nail polish collection today.

:)

This is how I store my polishes....in cake tins.

I bought these two cake tins in Tesco, I think I paid around £4 for the pair.

In the top tin I keep all my mini OPI polishes.

And I keep all my others in the bottom tin.

I have quite a good selection of brands but I'm fairly predictable with what kinds of colours I buy. 

So I'm going to show you my nail polish collection bit by bit so it doesn't end up being a stupidly long post. I'm going to split them up into brands and do a post with swatches for each brand. 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

NOTD - Claire's Chunky Glitter Polish

Hi everyone,

Just a quick NOTD post as one of my lovely followers requested a swatch of a new nail polish I recently hauled. 

It's a polish by Claire's Accessories, I paid £1.75 for it as I bought it from an outlet store. Unfortunately the polish doesn't have a name.

It's super glittery and a gorgeous colour. :)

I'm definitely going to buying some more of Claire's polishes.

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

June Empties

Hi everyone,

So here's my empties post for June. :)

VO5 Nourish Me Truly Shampoo - 250ml - £1.99

This smells lovely and in conjunction with the conditioner I found this really worked for my hair.

VO5 Nourish Me Truly and Give Me Moisture Conditioners - 250ml each - £1.99 each

I love these conditioners, they really seemed to tame my hair. I already have repurchased. :)

Colgate Plax Multi Protection Mouthwash in Soft Mint - 500ml - £3.40

This tasted lovely, not too strong but still nice and fresh. I would probably repurchase.

Soap and Glory Clean On Me Shower Gel - 500ml - £5.50

I love this! I use it most days, it smells amazing, is lovely and creamy. This really lathers up   well. I already have back ups of this. :D

Dove Beauty Cream Bar - 100g - 70p

This is the soap we've been using for handwashing at the moment, I'd forgotten how nice it is. I'll be buying this in the future.

Sally Hansen Double Duty Base Coat - 13.3ml - £5.25

This isn't exactly empty but it's dried up so much and I can't use it anymore. It's an ok base coat but I've just bought a Rimmel base coat so I won't be repurchasing. 

Soap and Glory For Daily Youth 6 in 1 Moisture Lotion - 50ml - £12.00

I love this moisturiser! I was so sad when I finished it. It smells great and really made my skin smooth and dewy. I'm definitely going to repurchase.

Nivea Energy Fresh Deodorant  - 150ml - £1.49

My favourite Nivea deodorant, I'm going to repurchase. :)

T-Zone 6 Clear Out Nose Pore Strips - 6 Strips - £1.49

I'd never used pore strips before I tried these and I liked them, they cleared out my pores pretty well I thought :) I think I'll try out another brand of these before I repurchase these.

Spa Sensitive Facial Cleansing Wipes - 25 - 59p

These are a daily staple that I'll be repurchasing. 

Garnier BB Cream in Light - 1.5ml Sample

I reallly hated this! It took so much effort to get a decent coverage, it just felt like it was sitting on top of my skin. To add to that, about half way through the morning my eyes became really irritated by the fragrance. I definitely wouldn't repurchase! 

Thank you for reading,

Jess

xxx

Haul - A Girly Weekend Away!(Mini Reviews)

Hi everyone!

Sorry I havn't posted in almost a week!

My internet broke and Sky didn't send us new router until Friday, and on Friday morning I went away for the weekend :)

I went for a girly weekend in Chester and indulged in some shopping!

So here's what I bought...

Sorry the picture's not great! :D

So let's start off with the most exciting bit! The MAC make up! My first MAC purchases :)

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle

I've wanted this for ages! It's so pretty and I loved wearing it on a night out in Chester.

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Speed Dial

This is a nice creamy pink that I think flatters my skin tone pretty well. I love the scent of this lipstick!

MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flower Fantasy

I picked this up from a discount cosmetics shop in Cheshire Oaks, It only cost about £15.  :)

I also picked up something lovely from MAC to include in my upcoming giveaway :)

Frontcover Palette and 4 Single Eyeshadows

This was such a bargain! I got an empty palette with a brush, reduced down to £1.25 and then four single shadows for £1 each. I got the shades 'Black Ink', 'Pale Gold', 'Sunray' and 'Powder Puff'. The shadows are really nice and pretty pigmented, my favourite one is Powder Puff, it's a shimmery champagne colour.

MUA Lipsticks in Shades 3 and 4

These lipsticks are great, especially for a quid! Shade 4 is sheer, bubblegummy pink which is super moisturising. Shade 3 is a deep berry pink and is really pigmented, it's also nice and creamy.

Claire's Cosmetics Nail Varnish

This nail varnish has no name :( But it's gorgeous! It has chunky pink and blue glitter in it with fine specks of purple glitter. I loves it :D

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Turquoise Forever

This is an amazing bright turquoise colour! I'm thinking of using this as a liner on my lower lash line, with the bronze colour tattoo on my lid.

L'oreal Colour Infaillible Eyeshadow in Time Resist White

I already have two of these colour infaillible shadows and they're really great so I thought I'd pick up this white shadow for highlighting my inner eye corner. This is so soft and pigmented.

L'oreal Caresse in Sweet Berry

I've wanted this for weeks but have never been able to find this colour in stock, its a soft, subtle berry colour which is a really wearable everyday colour for me.

No7 Concealer Brush

I bought this using a No7 voucher and it is so soft! It retails for £8 but I got it for £3, as the name suggests it is fantastic for blending concealer and I'd definitely purchase another, even at full price.

Cargo Double Ended Primer Mascara Lash Activator Extreme

This mascara retails for £23 but Boots had it for 75% off, so I decided to give it a go. I've only used it once, but I feel like the primer did make quite a difference to my lashes.

YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation Sample

I was colour matched as the shade B50, I've not tried it out yet but I thought it was lovely to get a free 7 day trial of this new foundation. :)

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom Perfume and Body Lotion

This is a lovely fresh, summery floral scent. Perfect for summer!

Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum

I've been using this for a few days and so far I love it, it's really made my skin feel a lot smoother.

Boots Botanics Night Shift Moisture Cream

This was reduced down to £2.49 in my local Boots, It's really nice and hydrating. I'm really enjoying this so far.

 Sorry for such a long post! I've been missing blogging this week :)

I hope these mini reviews will help some of you out if you're looking into buying any of these things.

If you've got a No7 Voucher hanging around, give the concealer brush a go, for £3 it won't dissapoint. :D

Thanks for reading!

Jess

xxxx

My Top 5...Glitter Topcoats

Hi everyone,

I'm going to hopefully be starting a little series on this blog called 'My Top 5...', this is pretty selfexplanitory, I'm just going to do little posts about my top 5 products all from one brand, or of the same type of product e.g. top 5 eyeliners.

So here we go, I looove glittery nail varnish, especially glittery topcoats. I love anything that sparkles and I love the way a glittery top coat can completely transform a regular nail varnish into something extra special.

Oooh prettty :D

Here they are on my nails...

I know the pictures arn't that great so I've done some swatches on some good old paper :)

(From L-R, Claire's Accesories Slice of Shine, BarryM's Pink Iridescent, BarryM's Silver Glitter, Rimmel's Disco Ball, Opi's I Lily Love You)

Claire's Accesories Slice of Shine

This is a gorgeous chunky glitter topcoat it has hexoganol mint green and baby pink glitter and also some fine silver glitter. I think it's great that it has some fine glitter in too, it helps with getting better coverage.

BarryM's Pink Iridescent

This is so girly and beautiful! There is a hint of very pale pink in the actual nail varnish and then the glitter that's suspended in it shines all sorts of lovely colours. This polish provides pretty good coverage in a couple of coats and really looks amazing over so many everyday polishes.

BarryM's Silver Glitter

This polish is packed with glitter! It looks stunning on its own in just a couple of coats. The glitter in this is pretty fine and looks really cool over Collection 2000's 'Shimmy Shake' nail varnish.

Rimmel's Disco Ball

The silver and blue glitters in this polish are really pretty and the blue glitter really stands out. I love layering this over creamy dark purple polishes.

OPI's I Lily Love You

This is a mini, from the 'Nice Stems' collection, its a see-through hot pink base with irregular shaped holographic glitter. It's so pretty and is particularly pretty over OPI's Be A Dahlia Won't You.

Anyways,

Please let me know if you like ths type of post or if I should scrap the idea. :)

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Meow Monday

Some more Kitty pictures. :)

Fred

Tiddles

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Sunday Night Make Up Shake Up #1

Hi Everyone,

So I've decided to try and switch up my make up products every Sunday for the coming week, for a bit of a change and to make sure I get some use out of my lesser used products. Phew! Long intro :)

Urban Decay Primer Potion

I depottted this a few weeks ago and really want to use it up!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

I've only had this foundation for a few days but I already love it! So I'm choosing it over my Bourjois 123 Perfect this week.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

I really like this stuff and I have a few blemishes at the moment so I feel like I could do with it this week.

MUA Blush in Shade 2

This is a really pretty colour, but I don't use it much so I'm sticking it in my make up bag this week.

Sleek Oh So Special Eyeshadow Palette

This is a gorgeous palette, some lovely shimmery warm shades and some great mattes. This palette has a nice shade to fill in my brows, I really want to use this palette this week to experiment with the matte colours.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara in Black

I love this mascara, this one's running out but I'm determined to finish it all up!

Collection 2000 Supersize Fat Lash Mascara in Black

I've had this hanging around for a while and not used it much so I'm giving it a shot this week.

BarryM Eyeshadow Pencil in GoldCream

This product is great for using in the inner corner but I want to try it this week as a eyeshadow base.

Rimmel Vinyl Stars Lipgloss in Glimmer

I've not really used this since I got it so I'm going to try and use it a few times this week.

No7 Liplicious Lipgloss in Marshmallow

This is a wearable soft pink lipgloss that's comfortable on the lips.

L'oreal Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlett

This will be really nice for a pop of colour if I want a change from the lipglosses.

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



I Won Confessions Of A Big Girl's Summer Giveaway!

Hi everyone,

I've been very lucky these past few weeks, I've won two giveaways!

Im sooo happy with everything I won, Jen has amazing taste!

Here's what I won:
- Claire's Nail Varnish - with chunky mint and pink glitter
- OPI Mini Nail Varnish - Not sure what the name is but it's a very pale milky pink
- Benefit Gilded Tangerine Gold Highlighter Pencil
- Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige - This is the perfect colour for me :D
- MAC Dazzleglass in Like Venus - A lovely berry colour :)
- Katy Perry False Lashes in Sweetie Pie
- A pretty white and hot pink scarf with a scull and star design.

I'm so happy and greatful for my prizes! :D I love everything but I think my favourite item is the foundation as I'd been wanting to buy it for ages.
Also thank you Jen for the cute little card you sent me :)

Here is a link to Jen's blog.

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

50 Follower Giveaway

Hi everyone,

So I know the title of this post is a little misleading as I havn't reached 50 followers  therefore I don't have a giveaway for you yet!

But! I just wanted to ask, when I reach 50 followers and do a giveaway, what type of prize would my lovely followers like?

My ideas are:

- Make up brushes

or

- An item of MAC make up

or 

- A few items of drugstore make up that I love

or 

- Some skincare/bodycare products?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and if you did a little sharing of my blog *hinthint* ;) my giveaway will happen quicker. :D

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

(hehe just a fun picture to brighten up the post!) 

Wednesday Wishlist - Soap and Glory

Soap and Glory Original Pink Perfume - £16.50 for 50ml - Boots

I love S&G's 'Pink' scent and would love to have it in perfume form!

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub - £8 for 300ml - Boots

I love every S&G body scrub that I'd tried and I've heard that this one smells amazing!

Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser - £10 for 100ml - Boots

I've heard this is better than Liz Earle's cleanse and polish!

Soap and Glory For Daily Youth 6 in 1 Superboost Moisture Lotion - £12 for 50ml - Boots

This is an item that I really want to repurchase, it's amazing! It's just the perfect base for my foundation. I loves it! It's £12 though :(, which is worth it! I'm just skint at the moment. :D

Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Super Serum - £20 for 30ml - Boots

I've never tried a facial serum, so I think S&G would be a good place to start. I want to see if it would make a positive change to my skin.

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Tasty Tuesday - Strawberry Pavlova

Hi everyone,

This is an easy recipe for a yummy fruity summer treat.

Pavlova is a simple combination of a meringue base, whipped cream and fresh fruit.

To make my pavlova a little different I made a fruit coulis and folded some into the whipped cream and drizzled some on the top.

Ingredients

For the Meringue

- 4 Egg Whites

- 250g Caster Sugar

- 2 Teaspoons Malt Vinegar

- 2 Tablespoons Cornflour

- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For the Coulis

- 150g Frozen Mixed Berries

- Icing Sugar, to taste(About a couple of tablespoons)

For the Top

- 300ml Whipping Cream, whipped

- Punnet of Strawberries

Method

- Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

- Then add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is very stiff.

- Whisk in the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla. 

- Line a baking sheet with silicone paper.

- Pile the meringue mixture into the centre and spread into a 23cm(9 inch) circle(roughly!).

- Hollow out a small dip in the centre of the meringue.

- Bake in an oven that's preheated to 150 degrees. 

- Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

- Once cooked leave to cool completely.

- While the meringue is baking/cooling, make the fruit coulis.

- Using a stick blender, blitz the fruit into a sauce. (I put my fruit in a large pyrex jug while blending)

- Put a metal sieve over a bowl and push the fruit sauce through to get rid of the seeds.

- Stir the icing sugar into the sieved sauce, taste to check if it's sweet enough.

- Once the meringue is cool, fold half of the sauce through the whipped cream. 

- Pile the cream onto the meringue.

- Decorate the top with halved strawberries and drizzle with the remaining coulis.

- I then added edible glitter, but you don't have to :D

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

Meow Monday

Just a couple of pics of my kitty cats :)

Fred

Tiddles

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

NOTD - 2true Crystal Nail Polish

Hi everyone, 

Here's a NOTD featuring my new nail polish which is a crystal polish from 2true and it's called 'Shade6' - Woo exciting name! :)

To be honest my pictures are a bit rubbish and on't do the colour of this polish any justice! What this colour actually looks like is a hot pink/orangey gold duo chrome. It's so different to any other polishes that I own and I think it's a pretty unique colour. 

This is 3 coats!

But there you go, I think it's a pretty cool colour, it only costs £1.99 and it's nice and bright for summer.

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx