Collection Lasting Gel Color | Review

I bought these during my Boots Haul last week. They were on offer - 2 for €6.50 or €3.99 each, so obviously I had to buy the two. I love gel effect nails so I was excited to try these, I had tried the Models Own Hypergel polish and wasn’t impressed at all so the fact that these where much cheaper than the Models Own I my expectations weren’t too high but still optimistic at the same time.

Vixen Red

Raspberry

I love the brush, it’s wide and gets the full nail pretty much on one swipe a bit like the Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish or the YSL polishes, I hate really thin brushes they never work the way I want them too.

Firstly as a beauty blogger I want to try everything at once and as I’ve had Shellac on for so long I couldn’t wait to get my nails painted and polished again so I put one colour on each hand.

On my left hand I tried Vixen Red, from the bottle it looks like a deep burgundy red but when applied it has more of a plum hew to it. With the application I applied two coats to get a full colour, one coat was too thin. With this hand I applied a top coat when I was finished and the drying time was very short, it almost instantly dried to touch but it needed a short few minutes before it was fully dry. I love these kinds of colours especially for the autumn.

After over a week’s wear the red had hardly chipped other than looking a bit dull around the tip of the nail.

No chips after a full week of wear

On my right hand I had the colour Raspberry, it’s like a hot pink but a little darker another one of my favourite colours but this one is more suited for the summer. On this hand I didn’t put any top coat on just to see if it made any difference having it with or without it. Again after a week there is literally just one obvious chip and a little dulling around the tip of the nails.

 

The application on the colour was much better than the Vixen Red, the colour is thick enough and only needed one coat but I put two on just for luck.

Only one obvious chip after a full week

I’m so impressed by these polishes, they have a high shine that has stayed for the week, no chipping with or without a top coat and they are a bargain at only €3.99. They look more like a normal polish on the nails rather than having gel on the nail but I’ll let that slide as the overall quality is really good.

Thanks for reading J

Love Sarah xoxo

Karmisa Jewellery Offer

Hey guys I’ve gotten some great news for you all.

After my Statement Jewellery Obsession post last week the lovely guys over at Karmisa have given us a coupon code of 25% off at check out. All you have to do is shop till you drop on their website and at the checkout enter your coupon code and VOILA!! you have lovely jewellery on its way to without any of that shopper’s guilt!!

The best thing is that you don’t have to live in Ireland to avail of the offer as they ship worldwide and for free so along with the coupon code you’re getting extra bang for your buck!

All you have to do is enter “karmisasarah” at check out and you’ll receive the 25% discount off at final payment.

If you haven’t already run over to the website then take a look at some of my favourite pieces that have caught my eye.

Flower Statment Earrings €14

Vintage Inspired Pastel Statement Bracelet €15

Berry Pink Cluster Statement Necklace €26

 

The Luxury Statement Necklace €26

Karmisa can be found at www.karmisa.com

Thanks for reading and happy shopping.

Love Sarah xoxo

Out of My Comfort Zone - Laughter Yoga

Yesterday I went to Laughter Yoga with two of my friends. Karen of Bright With Delight had asked us to go and I just thought to myself sure feck it you really do only live once, what’s the worst that could happen. It is really out of my comfort zone but I was really happy to do it.

I didn’t know what to expect but seeing as I was with the girls I didn’t feel that awkward. When we got there we sat around in a circle and it was explained to us that we would be doing 20 exercises all containing a bit of laughter.

It was all a bit awkward as we had to laugh out loud and make a lot of eye contact with people, but after a while it all felt a little normal. At some points we had to pretend we were animals, hug people, shake hands, pretend we were dinosaurs and all different degrees of laughter was involved but it was literally such a laugh. If anyone walked in from the street it probably looked like we were let loose from an insane asylum but it all felt normal to us.

I love yoga and my favourite is Bikram, I just think it is so much better than the normal yoga and it’s still my favourite even after the class last night, but I do think I would do the laughter yoga again. It felt great just to let everything go and feel free from what everyone thinks about you. I think people take life too seriously these days and the idea that you can go to this class and let your inhibitions go and not care what people think of you is just a great feeling.

There’s so many benefits of the class to your health and as the saying goes, “laughter is the best medicine”. You feel so content and relaxed after the class, if you’re in anyway feeling low or in a rut I would recommend this class it will do wonders for you.

I’m so happy Karen introduced me to the laughter yoga, she’s one of the most positive people I know and the class embodied her personality so much, we’ve even said that we should do random classes like this every few weeks and I hope that we do as it’s such a great night out and we get to bond that little bit more.

Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas of what class we should next just leave a comment below.

Have a great day guys!

Love Sarah xoxo

July Favourites

Looking back on July I seemed to have fit in a lot in such a short few weeks!

It started off with my birthday on the second and it was the start on a week of busy concerts. The night of my birthday I went to Kanye West and I was so pleased to say that I got ID'd and seeing as I had turned 26 that day and I was feeling like an oul one this made me extremely happy. Then on the Friday I went to see The Kings of Leon which was just the best concert I think I've been to, at least top ten, mainly because it had fireworks at the end which I don’t think I’ve ever seen at the end of concert.

On both occasions I wore what are my new favourite wellies. They are €20 from Dunnes Stores, I’m not sure if they still have them or not. They look like biker boots and only go have way up the calf which is far cooler to me than looking like you've just come back from milking a herd of cows.

Penneys/Primark also have a similar pair for €18.00.

Ice Cold Baby!

On these long hot summer days and being stuck in the office while it seems that everyone and their mother are out sunning themselves there was nothing more I want after work was a drink and a laugh and for a few days during the summer I got to get my lips around some cocktails and my favourite has to be a strawberry daiquiri. They are so refreshing and cooling and sometimes just a little too easy to drink (Remember kids always drink responsibly).

I’ve also discovered Iced Caramel Macchiatos and Butlers do the absolute best ones. I’m trying not to have them all the time but they are so addictive. If you haven’t tried them yet then you’re missing out.

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde mascara

I’ve been loving this mascara in July. I’ve played around with a few this month but I’ve seemed to always come back to it. It’s so black and long wearing and instantly volumises your lashes. I’ve written a post already about it so check it out here.

Crown Brush UK Metal Madness palette

Another I’ve written a post about (click here). I picked this palette up at the Crown Brush UK stand at IMATS London. I instantly fell in love with it, the colour pay off and pigmentation is crazy and used with MAC Fix+ makes the colours pop even more. I’ve used the palette a good few times this month for day and night looks, it’s was easily one of the best buys from the many things I bought at IMATS.

Fix+ MAC

This has been my saviour this month, not only does it make my eye shadows from my new Metal Madness palette pop but it cools and sets my makeup. It’s been so hot this July that as soon as I’ve stepped out of the shower I’ve been in near collapse with the heat so I’ve reached for my bottle of Fix+ and sprayed it all over my face and it instantly cooled me down. It was great for setting my makeup too, it seemed pointless in doing a full face of makeup only to have it half melted down my face by the time I’ve reached the house door, so a couple spritz of this and I was flying.

Victoria Secret Bombshell

Every time I go to the States or to London I always find myself in a Victoria Secrets store and I’m a sucker for their fragrances. My absolute favourite is Bombshell, I always get it in the spray rather than the perfume as its way cheaper. I think I have about 2-3 bottles floating about my room. I hadn’t worn it in a good few weeks and when I came across it I fell in love all over again. To me it smells like a man’s after shave but in a good way, along the lines of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce but more girly. I just love it.

I’m sure I have more favourites but these are the ones that have really been my obsession all month. I’m sure I’ll have a good few favourites next month as I’ve been trying not to spend much this month but until then have a great Saturday and thanks for reading. If you have any comments just pop them below.

Love Sarah xoxo

DIY Shellac Removal in 5 Easy Steps

So about 6 weeks ago I went and got my nails done. It was my first time getting Shellac done as I usually get gel nails applied.

I’ve been trying to save super hard the last few weeks for Florida and I’m just a little bit lazy so I didn’t want to spend any more money getting them off or going back to the salon to get them off, so after a good few long weeks and a dozen chips on my nails I decided to do it myself and it’s a lot easier than I thought it would be!

Firstly you need 3 main things: Acetone, cotton pads/buds, and tin foil.

The acetone I bought in Hairspray and cost about €8-9, but if you don’t have one near you any pharmacy should sell removers just make sure that you get one with acetone in it. You need the acetone in the remover as this is the only thing to melt off the shellac.  The other items everyone should have about the house, I also used a small dish to put the acetone into, just so not to make a mess as the acetone can melt off varnish and stain some furniture, so if you’re like me and you don’t want your mother giving out that you’ve ruined her table then put a board or a cloth in the area you’ll be working on.

Step One: Preparation

I’m not the most organised person but when doing things like this I think you need to be. I cut the tinfoil into 10 squares, cut the cotton pads in half (if you have cotton buds you don’t need to do this) and I poured the acetone into the little bowl. Finally I laid the rest of the things on the table.

Step Two: Application

Now we get down to business, make sure everything is at hand as it will make everything that but easier for you. I dipped the cotton pad into the bowl of acetone and rinsed some excess off, I then wrapped it around the nail. I also taped it so it would flap back up. I then got my foil and wrapped it around the cotton pad (think burrito for this step). With a full sized cotton pad I wrapped it round the foil and squeezed it tight (I used the cotton pad as some acetone squeezes out).

Step Three: The Waiting Game

Once all the fingers have been covered you need to leave them for ten minutes to soak, squeezing the nail every now and again.

Step Four: Removal

After the ten minutes you’ll want to take of each foil one at a time, if you take them off altogether the soaked nail will dry very quickly. When removing, rub the nail with the foiled cotton pad like you would when taking polish off, this will remove any excess gel on the nails. If there is any leftover gel just scrape it off with your nail or an orange stick and it should come of very easily.

Step Five: Manicure

When all the gel is taken off each nail they will look very dry and ragged, you’ll need to buff and file each nail and then apply some cuticle oil and some clear polish and that’s it you should have lovely clean nails that look brand new.

 

Tips:

·         Doing one hand at a time is a bit easier than doing the two together

·         If you have more than 2 layers of Shellac on the nails it might take a bit longer than 10 minutes.

·         Having the foils bended over will make it a little easier when wrapping them up

·         This method can be used on any other 2-3 week manicure gels and on glitter polishes

Now that you know how to remove your gels there is no point in going to the salon and spending any more money then you have to and it’s not as hard you might think it is, as long as you have the right tools you’ll be flying.

Before

After

Thanks for reading!

Love Sarah xoxo

My Statement Jewellery Obsession

In the last month I’ve been having a bit of a major online shopping addiction and for the most part it has been for statement jewellery. There has been 3 companies that I’ve been loving ordering from, Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop, The Button and Bow Factory and Karmisa and all 3 are Irish companies.

Statement jewellery has been everywhere recently on and off the catwalks, they can brighten up and completely change an outfit. I don’t really have a preference to what style of necklace I like but as long as it catches my eye then it’s in the shopping basket and on its way in the post to my house. I’ve also bought a couple of earrings and a ring too but the main thing I was interested in were the necklaces.

To start we have the Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop, run by Lisa of Pink Sugar Sparkles blog. It is a new site only set up in the last few months and has been a hit especially with some Irish Showbiz figures, I even got my friend to buy some pieces from the website and if I’m honest I preferred hers to my delivery. I chose The Pearl (€15) and Is It a Bird (€26). I wasn’t too impressed with The Pearl if I’m honest and I didn’t love the Is it A Bird when I first got it but after a few times of wearing it I love it. Check Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop on Facebook and Twitter as they have discount codes and offers every now and then.

The Button and Bow Factory are a well-established Irish company but if I’m honest I only came across them when I was going through my online craze. Most of the items I bought from the site where on their sale section so I didn’t feel to bad but I probably bought more because of it. I got the Tamara Necklace for €8, Pretty in Pink Necklace for €4, Marie Long Necklace €2, Rose Gold Sparrow Ring €4. As you can see I did by a load but because they were in the sale it’s not too bad although I don’t think my boyfriend would understand that logic.

Finally we have Karimsa, they are another new company that started this year. I got a few things from them but my favourite necklace and my favourite out of all 3 companies has to be their White Cluster Statement Necklace (€24). It’s such a classy piece and can really dress up an outfit and also comes in different colours. They have some gorgeous pieces on the online store and once my bank balance starts to look a bit more positive I’ll be back on it and picking up a few more pieces.

With all 3 of the sites there are some overlap in the products so I would shop around as prices can vary with each company. Some necklaces can seem quite expensive so if you want to try this trend but don’t want to spend the money on a trend that you think might not suit you then Penny’s has some gorgeous statement pieces that are very affordable.

Thanks for reading!

Love Sarah xoxo

Review | Lime Crime Opaque Lipstick

Here’s another goodie that I bought at IMATS London a few weeks ago.

I had my eye on Lime Crime from watching YouTube beauty videos and just became obsessed with getting my hands on their products, and because they don’t sell in Ireland I knew IMATS was the way to go. By the time I got to the stand there weren’t that many colours left but this gorgeous red caught my eye.

 

Firstly can we talk about the packaging; it’s just so pretty, sparkly, pink and Hello!! It has a UNICORN on it!! Even if I found out that I didn’t like it it’s still a lipstick I knew I’d want in my collection. Luckily though it is a good lippy!

It’s not a red that I usually would go for, I much prefer darker plumy reds but this colour in Retrofuturist just screamed to me when I saw it.

 

I’m not sure how this colour would look on darker skin but on paler skin like mine it really pops. It reminds me of that perfect classic red that you see in that old Hollywood era.

It’s also a blue toned red, which means it should make your teeth whiter which is always a plus!

 

To get a proper full red lip you need to apply two generous coats, I’ve tried it with a thin single coat just to brighten up my lips and it just made them that little bit perkier and didn’t give that in your face red but almost a subtle pinkie red. It doesn’t last for too long after eating and drinking but it does stain your lips so if it does wear off at least it doesn’t completely go.

 

I waited to get this in IMATS as I knew it would be slightly cheaper than paying for it online, I think it cost about £10.50 but you can buy it on Love Beauty for £12.50.

I’ll be showing a few more bits that I got from IMATS London over the next few weeks I’m still trying to get around testing the different products that I bought.

Happy Tuesday!!

Love Sarah xoxo