Nails Inc Gel Effect...

Nails Inc Gel Effect Polishes // £14

Gel formulas are all the rave at the moment in the world of beauty and Nails Inc finally decided to jump on the bandwagon. 

I received these Nails Inc Gel Effect polishes from my Nana, for my birthday, back in early September and I love them. The colours, although not very autumnal are still ones I have been frequently reaching for and the polishes themselves apply beautifully. They are quite opaque and don't streak; however, they are a little thick so take a little bit longer than a typical polish to dry.

Nails Inc Kensington Passage

'Kensington Passage' is a beautiful coral shade.

Nails Inc Downton 

'Downtown' is a gorgeous vibrant hot pink. 

Nails Inc Mayfair Lane

'Mayfair Lane' is a simple but stunning nude - perfect for pairing with the other polishes.

Nails Inc Soho Place

'Soho Place' is an aquatic blue.

Nails Inc Regents Place
'Regents Place' is a lovely powder blue.

Have you tried the Nails Inc gels? What do you think of them?
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QVC // DEBENHAMS // NAILS INC

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A/W Boots...

When the warm, summery nights come to an end and the dark nights creep up on us, it's pretty obligatory to start hunting for the perfect pair of A/W boots that will be on the soles of your feet pretty much all season. Below I have put together so of my favourites from the local high street stores.

1. New Look Black High Vamp Peeptoe Cut Out Heeled Boots // £24.99

2. Topshop MINE Leather Buckled Ankle Boots // £80

3. Topshop BOBBY Chelsea Boots // £39 

4. H&M Knee High Boots // £34.99

5. H&M Knee High Suede Boots // £69.99

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My go-to Polishes for A/W...

Despite the cold weather and rain, Autumn/Winter is my favourite time of year. I love it when the nights start to get darker and it becomes appropriate to start and burn autumnal and Christmassy candles. As well as all of that A/W colours are my absolute favourite especially in-terms of nail polishes and I believe you can't go wrong with a burgundy, purple or red during this time of year.

Leighton Denny 'Sugar Babe' // £11

I love wearing a burgundy shade on my nails during A/W and adore this one from Leighton Denny as it has a slight metallic sheen to it. Leighton Denny are without a doubt my favourite higher end nail polish brand as I find the consistency of them to be perfect which allows an easy application. 

OPI 'Vant to Bite My Neck' // From Euro Centrale Collection

Another favourite of mine at this time of year is a deep, dark purple and this one from OPI's 'Euro Centrale Collection' is stunning and exactly what I look for in a purple shade. 

Nails Inc 'King Edward Street' // From the QVC 7 Piece Statement Collection

My final go-to shade for A/W is a vibrant, classic red and this one from Nails Inc, which was created exclusively for QVC, is stunning and a shade everyone should have in their collection. 

What are your favourite shades and polishes for A/W?

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Review: L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privee Lipsticks...

Granted I'm a little bit late to the bandwagon but after seeing countless bloggers rave about this collection of nude lipsticks from L'Oreal, I finally decided to pick some up. 

As a person who has unfortunately been blessed with barely any lips, I'm very concerned about what lipsticks I wear as bold, in-your-face colours just don't look right on me therefore, I often opt for nudes or pink/peach tones. When designing this collection, L'Oreal asked 6 of their celebrity ambassadors to design their perfect nude shade ensuring their was one tailored for each different skin tones.

After lots of swatching, I finally decided to pick up Barely Griege by Jennifer Lopez and Barely Peach by Julianne Moore and I've been opting to wear these ever since! As these are the first lipsticks I've tried from L'Oreal, I can't compare them to others in their collections but what I can say is these lipsticks are beautiful. The formula is lovely and creamy leaving your lips feeling very smooth and hydrated which is most probably down to the ingredients Lanolin Oil and Sesame Seed Oil, and they are exceptionally pigmented and buildable. 

Barely Griege by Jennifer Lopez 

This lipstick is described by L'oreal as a "subtly gray pink nuance that discreetly enhances the beauty of greige based complexions" or to put it more simply "for brunettes with fair complexions" which pretty much sums me up. I adore this nude lipstick and it has fast become my go to lipstick as I find it so easy to wear and it's super flattering with my skin tone. 

Barely Peach by Julianne Moore

L'Oreal state that this "sensual and delicate lipstick enhances the radiance of pale complexions and endows them with elegance and sophistication" and I couldn't agree more. Like Julianne, I have quite pale skin and since purchasing this lipstick I have found it perfect for giving me a natural pinky-peach lip which has so far, complimented many of my make-up looks. 

Other colours available in the collection are Doutzen's Nude (Barely Pink), Eva's Nude (Barely Golden), Frieda's Nude (Barely Parma) and Liya's Nude (Barely Moka). Although I may not have the same skin tones as these women, I will definitely be picking up a few more from the collection (Doutzen's is top of my list!) because, although not a perfect match, they will most definitely be wearable and I am in love with the formulation of these lipsticks. 

I love the fact L'Oreal have taken into consideration the vast amounts of hair and skin colours when designing this collection so a huge well done to L'Oreal!

Verdict

Statistics

Shades: 6  

Application: Smooth & Hydrating

Coverage: Even & Buildable

Finish: Slight glossy sheen 

Cost: £8.19 for 5ml

Positives

-Smooth coverage

-Stunning glossy sheen

-Very pigmented 

-Buildable 

-Hyrdating

-Long lasting 

-Lightweight formula

Negatives

-I honestly can't think of one!

What's your favourite nude lipstick from this collection? And if not this collection just your go to nude?

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Christmas Advent Calendars 2014...

It's that time of year again when the Christmas Advent calendars start to arrive in the stores, and I'm not talking about the chocolate ones, I'm talking about the amazing beauty ones! I've compiled together a few of the ones I've got my eye on and I'll definitely be picking up one of them.

Selfridges // £85

This is definitely the most luxurious of the advent calendars I have listed and the most expensive, coming in at £85; now although that sounds like a lot of money for an advent calendar, the Selfridges Beauty Calendar is guaranteed to be jam-packed with lots of fabulous goodies with the likes Urban Decay, Yves Saint Laurent, Kiehl's, Lancome and many more brands being included. If this is the calendar for you, then I'd recommend grabbing yours now as last years was a sell out. 

Available: NOW!

L'Occitane // Around £45

L'Occitane's advent calendar is a little different in the way that it offers 13 gifts rather than the typical 24. Although fewer doors to open, this calendar is still full of wonderful products including fragrance, body care and skincare.

Available: 3rd November

The Body Shop // £50

The Body Shops Beauty Calendar is full of lots of fantastic beauty treats including bestselling body and face care as well as some of their latest additions making the count down to Christmas that little bit more exciting. Also, with every calendar that is sold, the Body Shop are donating to the charity War Child which helps send children, in conflict areas, to school.  

Available: NOW!

Benefit // £60

After the amazing success of their first beauty calendar last year, Benefit are back again this year with another stocked full of many of their bestselling products including POREfessional, High Beam and They're Real! Not only will you be receiving 18 mini's, you will also receive 6 other goodies including Beauty Sticky Notes and a Doodle Pad.  

Available: 16th October

Yankee Advent Calendar // £21.99

Granted this isn't a beauty advent calendar but I absolutely love Yankee Candles so couldn't not include this. This calendar is jam-packed with Christmas scented tea lights including Cranberry Ice and Christmas Cookie. I love the concept of this calendar because the way I look at it is, each day you will be able to burn a tea light as a mark of the Christmas countdown meaning your home can be full of Christmassy goodness right up until the day itself. 

Available: NOW!

Yankee Advent House // £24.99

This year, Yankee have launched not one but TWO advent calendars! This one is also packed full of Christmassy tea lights but in more fragrances.

Available: NOW!

If you'd like to get your hands on one of these calendars you'd better act fast as they're pretty much guaranteed to be a sell out.

Which one do you have your eye on? Or if none of the above which one?

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Making a Statement...

Statement necklaces are everywhere this season and I can't get enough of them! I absolutely love a statement necklace as they can make even the simplest of outfits that little bit more special. The one's below are just a select few of the one's I have my eye on. 

1. Zara Rhinestone Necklace // £29.99

2. River Island Cream Teardrop Gemstone Necklace // £18

3. DollyBowBow Olivia // £16

4. DollyBowBow Grace // £22

5. New Look Shell Pink Gemstone Teardrop Flower Necklace // £17.99

6. New Look Blue Jewelled Chain Necklace // £17.99

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Review: Benefit POREfessional...

Benefit's POREfessional 22ml // £24.50

Benefit's POREfessional has been the top selling primer in the UK for the last 3 years and its not difficult to see why. 

Benefit claim that this primer "quickly minimises the appearance of pores and fine lines for smoother-than-smooth skin" and it certainly achieves this. I've been using this primer on and off for about 2 years now and I always seem to gravitate back to it as it's the only thing that can successfully cover the pores on my t-zone. 

The POREfessional primer is an oil free, translucent formula making it suitable for all skin tones and extremely lightweight when applied to your face. To apply this primer all you need to do it take a small amount onto your fingers and gently smooth it onto your face (I focus most of the product on my t-zone and spread the excess outwards).

After application, my pores are instantly minimised creating a smooth canvas for make-up application and even once my foundation is applied, my pores are still invisible meaning the primer hasn't budged. 

Even after a long day, my make-up is still pretty much intact but if not, what's great about this primer is it can be applied over your make-up to recover any imperfections you wish to disguise. 

A final thing I love about this primer is the fact that on "no make-up days", if I need to pop out, I can apply this and feel comfortable enough to leave the house.

Verdict

Statistics

My Shade: Only 1 available

Application: Fingers

Coverage: Light/Smooth

Finish: Matte 

Cost: £24.50 for 22ml

Positives

-Smooth coverage

-Matte finish, perfect for combination/oily skin

-Only need a small amount for the whole face

-Great at disguising pores.

-Translucent

-Long lasting 

-Lightweight, silky formula

Negatives

-Some people might not like the scent but it doesn't bother me and it's barely 

recognisable.

Have you tried Benefits POREfessional? 

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Recipe: Chocolate Orange Marble Cake...

Browsing through my cookbook I came across another recipe I couldn't wait to try and share with you and this time it was a delicious looking 'Chocolate Orange Marble Cake'. With Chocolate and Orange being two of my favourite flavour combinations, I couldn't wait to get baking!

Ingredients:

250g self-raising flour

250g caster sugar

250g soft butter

4 large eggs

2tsp milk

3tsp cocoa powder

Juice of 1 large orange

Orange flavoured chocolate

Instructions:

Step One // Preheat your oven to Gas mark 4 or 180 C and grease a baking tin.

Step Two // Beat the eggs, butter and sugar together in a bowl with an electric whisk.
Step Three // Gradually fold in the flour using a wooden spoon.
Step Four // Separate your mixture into two bowls trying to make them as equal as possible.

Step Five // Add the milk and cocoa powder to one bowl and then orange juice to the other.

Step Six // Spoon the mixture into the baking tin taking alternate dollops of each mixture and then use a skewer to create a marble pattern.
Step Seven // Place in the oven for 45 minutes and cook until golden and risen and a skewer comes out clean. 

Step Eight // Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Step Nine // For the topping, melt your chocolate orange in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and spread or drizzle onto your cake. 

And there you have my Chocolate Orange Marble Cake.

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Benefit Competition Wins...

Going back a few months now, Benefit Cosmetics ran an amazing competition giving us Benebabes a chance to actually enjoy the World Cup. All you had to do for this competition was create a "Benebeauty Squad" board over on Pinterest relating to the World Cup and submit to them via Twitter. 

For my "Benebeauty Squad" I put together a selection of images relating to football from a girls point of view and made my theme primarily pink - if you would like to see my "Benebeauty Squad" board then click here. And I couldn't believe it when I got a tweet telling me I'd won!

The prize was absolutely amazing and I was so pleased when I was chosen as the winner as I'd thoroughly enjoyed spending time looking for the images I wanted for my board.  

Below is a picture of the fabulous prizes that I received which included £250's worth of Benefit products and a Benefit Football Shirt signed by Kirsty Gallacher:

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