♥ How I store my: Nail varnishes

How I store my: Nail varnishes

I just wanted to share with you how I store my nail varnishes. I know the acrylic clear nail varnishes boxes are really popular, but I quite like this way. The clear crystal bowl is something I got from a family member who was going to chuck it away- I love crystal stuff like this! Clearly all my nail varnishes don't fit in there, but I think it makes a really nice decoration as well.

For the nail varnishes that do not fit in to that, I just store them in this basket thing which I believe is from IKEA.

What do you think of my nail varnish storage?

 & how do you store yours?

xx

See how I store my makeup & other interior posts here

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♥ NOTD: Metallic Green Bad Apple

NOTD: Metallic Green Bad Apple

So you might have noticed less and less NOTD's in my blog. Ever since I started it a little over a year ago, I have posted loads of notd's. Anyway, I have had a little "pause" from painting my nails as this is the only way they seem to get stronger.

Today I am trying out this Bad Apple nail varnish that was in the #bbloggersxmas goodie bag.

As you can see it is a green/blue metallic shade, nothing special really as there are loads of other similar ones.

The formula is really good, full coverage after two coats, although one definitely was not enough. It is slightly streaky as with all metallic but definitely not too bad!

I decided to top it off with my LA Colours Turquoise glitter, I love it!

 The brush is really slim but that wasn't really an issue. I would have still preferred a wider brush though.

What do you think of this shade?

& watch out for my "how I store my nail varnishes" post tonight

xx

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♥ Etat Pur Biomimetique/Biomimetic Radiant Complexion Care

Etat Pur Biomimetique/Biomimetic Radiant Complexion Care

This is definitely one of my favourites from the #bbloggersxmas goodie bag. A full sized, natural slightly tinted face moisturiser.
 On the bottle, it promises to: "Even out skin texture to give face a healthy glow. It reduces early wrinkles and signs of fatigue. Skin is revitalised and visibly brighter."


As you can see, it is apricot tinted and I really think this helps evening out your skin- don't worry if it's not your shade, it adapts to your skin tone. The most impressive thing to me is that it really gives glowing skin which can help dull looking skin. To be sure of this, After I took these swatches and had worked the product into the side of my hand, I let it properly get absorbed. After that, I compared it to the other side of my hand- and the one with that product definitely had a glow to it!

Ingredient check:

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (/)
• Parabens (/)
• Butylene/Propylene Glycol (/)

It contains a lot of nice ingredients such as Rice Brain Oil, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Oil and Radish Root. 


You might like this: You prefer natural ingredients and you love the dewy look. You don't wear foundation daily and wan't something that will really enhance your own skin by giving it a healthy glow. You might also like it if you have dry, dull looking skin.

You might not like this: You want some coverage daily and this doesn't give you enough coverage. You prefer an unscented product, this smells quite strongly but the smell is very subtle. It doesn't contain SPF is quite expensive at £12.60.

Have you tried this?

& How did you like it?

xx

The price is £12.60 for 40ml, as it says here on the website. Please note that this has an expire date of 6M only which is quite unusual but good, it means it isn't packed with harsh preservatives. 

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♥ 5 Strange Beauty Remedies

5 Strange Beauty Remedies. When I was on the bus, I randomly thought of this post. There are so many DIY beauty treatments and remedies out there, some stranger than the other. Although I have tried quite a lot of them- there are a few I've heard of but I will probably not try. I tried to come up with some more, but these are the 5 strange beauty remedies I could think of.

1. Oil Pulling: Oil pulling means gargling oil instead of your usual mouthwash. This is meant to draw wash out any dirt in your mouth as well as promoting healthy gums and dental health. You are meant to do this before brushing your teeth and for up to 20 minutes before spitting it out.
Will I try this? Probably

2. Banana Peel for white teeth: The banana peels contains potassium and other healthy minerals which are supposed to whiten your teeth. Rubbing the peel on to your teeth is suppose to make them whiter.
Will I try this? Maybe

3. Vaginal/Fungal Cream For Hair Growth: Now this is something a lot of people might have heard of. Personally, I think this is taking it a step to far. Especially after reading about side effects such as severe headaches. It is meant to work due to the active ingredient 'Miconazole Nitrate' which is anti fungal, and as it fights or bacteria in your scalp it is meant to promote maximum growth.
Will I try this? Not unless I am really desperate, balding or something*

4. Dry Brushing your skin: Brushing your skin with a skin brush when it is dry is meant to give super smooth and healthy skin. The brushing will stimulate blood flow and can help cellulites and tightening the skin. I am sure this will at least give soft skin, but why it is in this 'weird remedies' post is because the thought of brushing your skin dry makes me think dry, white flaky skin lol!
Will I try this? Working on it, been meaning to try it since I was about 13 and first heard of it (I am 19 now)

5. Beer for healthy strong hair: To me, this is the weirdest of them all. It is said to strengthen, moisturise and make your hair shiny- all due to the protein rich malt which is one of the main ingredients of beer.
Will I try this: Don't think so

Had you heard of all of these?

Which ones have you tried/will try?

xx

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*Not saying your desperate if you do chose to try it, or have tried it. It's just that I personally would have to be really desperate to try something that might give me headaches, since I really hate them

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♥ Plum & Bright Purple EOTD

Plum & Bright Purple EOTD

Today's EOTD is a look  I created using MUA Shade 9 'Pearl' and Sleek 'Festive'. MUA pearl is a really bright and colourful purple which can look blue in some lights. Sleek festive is more of a soft plummy shade, and I thought these two really different shades of purple could work well together.

It is a really easy look to do using only two main shadows. MUA Shade 9 'Pearl' on the lid, Sleek 'Festive' in the crease, Sleek black 'Starry Night' for definition and INGLOT beige matte eyeshadow as a transitioning colour and brow bone highlight.

In my last EOTD which was the smokey, sharp Black & Yellow eye makeup look, I asked if you wanted to see a picture of what I used as opposed to a list. The feedback I got was that you'd rather see a pic, so here you go!

What do you think of this eye makeup?

xx

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♥ Argan Oil, what are the benefits?

The Benefits and Uses of Pure Moroccan Argan Oil

I am sure everyone knows of Argan Oil by now, after the hype of the Moroccan Oil hair products.          I have tried similar hair serums to that one, but it wasn't until recently that I actually purchases pure Argan Oil, as it is very expensive!

So what are the benefits & uses of Argan Oil?

• It contains a lot of Vitamin E, and also Vitamin F (source)

• The Vitamin E in Argan Oil can help stretch marks  scars and wrinkles (read my post on Vitamin E oil here)

• Contains 0.8% unsaponifiables/sterloins which are anti inflammatory and can improve skin metabolism (source)

• Use on your nails as the high contents of Vitamin E will prevent splitting nails

• Use in your hair to nourish scalp or split ends

• It is a very light oil, and gets absorbed very quickly, this makes it a perfect face oil (see DIY)

I bought my Argan Oil from Holland & Barett for £12.99 (Just checked the price online, so expensive. I thought I bought it for maximum £8).

Read my other posts on oils and butters here!

Have you tried pure Argan Oil?

What uses do you recommend?

xx

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♥ Twisted Sista Lychees & Argan Oil

Twisted Sista Lychees & Argan Oil Review

This is another products which was in the massive goodie bag from the #bbloggersxmas event a few weeks ago. First though are wow, this smells amazing. It sort of smells like sweets, it is possible it is actually meant to smells like lychees. It is the kind of smell that you notice even after you're finished using it in your hair, yummy!

I personally hadn't tried Twisted Sista products before, I've seen them and I think I saw that they contain mineral oil and never looked at them again. From quickly researching other reviews showing the ingredient list, I noticed that there is another version of this exact product, containing both Petroleum and Mineral Oil- so my guess is that this is an updated version! Great.

Ingredient Check:

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (√)
• Parabens (/)

How I've used this product?

Even though it is not a butter, the consistency is quite thick so I did not use it as it says above on the directions. I used this when I plaited my fringe (to make it curly, as in this FOTD) after making it damp by applying Aloe Vera gel in it. It definitely gives great definition, but the only problem I have with it (I'm assuming it's due to the silicones) that I noticed after two days of using it, it created build up in my hair. Now I have a thing for that, I wan't my have to be clean- no build up, no greasiness!

  See the whole FOTD and hair do here

Oh, and I thought I should mentioned that these are my first pictures edited solely on my iPad mini! If you follow me on Instagram (Yolandaas) you would know that I finally purchased my iPad mini roughly a week ago. Anyway the editing I've done using my iPad is: Rounded and cropped the picture, made it sharper, changed temperature, changed contrast and brightness. This saves me so much time instead of having to open photoshop when I'm at home and on my laptop, I just edited around 30 pictures when I was on the bus on the way to work. Anyway, enough on that.

Have you tried this product or this brand?

xx

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♥ Black & Yellow, Black & Yellow..

Black & Yellow, Black & Yellow.. 

Here is a EOTD I did last night. Initially I was going to do some kind of green/yellow & black smokey eye using my Sleek Sparkle 2 palette but it didn't turn out that way.

It is a really easy look to do, by placing some cello tape at the side of your eye, your creating that sharp line where the black eyeshadow is. I applied liquid eyeliner at my top lash line as usual and then applied some in the inner corner of my eye, and some at the outer corner. The middle section I filled in using a eyeliner pencil from INIKA (organic). The white pencil eyeliner I used is super pigmented and very affordable, from NYC. See below what I used in the picture.

Here is everything I used. Do you prefer me taking pictures of what I used, or listing it, or both?

The yellow matte INGLOT shadow is really pigmented and is what I used on my lid, I topped it with some of the shimmery yellow shadow below from the Sleek Palette.

What do you think of this look?

xx

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♥ The Body Shop Love Gloss

The Body Shop Love Gloss Shade 01

Described on the Body Shop website: "This high-shine lip gloss comes with a heart-shaped wand for precise application- High gloss, Moisturising and Precision applicator"

Here is another everyday super yummy lip gloss from the Body Shop. It's called "Love Gloss", hence the cute heart shaped wand. I've got the shade 01 natural and I would say that it's clear, but as you can see it's light red/pink. 

The ingredients are great, actually slightly better than their other lip glosses with Sunflower Oil, Castor Oil & Coca Butter at the top of the list. See the whole list here

As you can see the lip gloss comes out clear so I would say it's a great every day lippy, or paired on top of your favourite lip stick. Also, it's smells very very sweet!

What do you think of this?

Have you tried the Body Shop Love Glosses?

xx

(*) From #bbloggersxmas event

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♥ FOTD: Pink, Turquoise and Flat twist

FOTD: Pink, Turquoise and Flat twist

Here is today's FOTD. I am wearing my NYC pink lipstick, Forever 21 earrings from this haul and my usual curly fringe. However, this time my hair in the back is not in a bun it's flat twisted. You can view the picture below to see my first ever flat twist lol.

I've desperately wanted to learn how to flat twist because it looks like such a quick and easy way to get your hair out of your face, which is perfect for me as a transitioning hair style when I want to wear my curly fringe out. I watched a really great youtube tutorial on it, and here is my second try. Don't worry I will keep practising! Also, for my plaited fringe I used the Twisted Sista Curl Activator, from my #bbloggersxmas goodie bag.

On my lids I am wearing two mattes from this INGLOT Freedom palette. I am so happy with that palette and I use it daily!

The winged liner is my COMPANY liquid liner, see review here.

What do you think of this look? :)

Any transitioning hair style tips for me? 

xx

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♥ Celebrity Big Brother Launch Party

Big Brother Launch Party

On Wednesday I was invited by lovely Annie from EpiphannieA to come with her to the Celebrity Big Brother Launch party, well to go to the launch of the 2013 series. It was outside London, in Borehamwood which was a lot closer to London than we both though, well it was in zone 6.

I've actually gone to two other tv shows to be in the audience, X Factor & Britain's got Talent. Both with my sweet Granny who invites me to those kind of things. Anyway, as we got there we didn't have to line up, but were welcomed to the Channel 5/Very.co.uk people's (I think) room were we got complimentary Champagne and were offered a LOT of nibbles (by a lot I mean the waitress started to realise I kept saying yes to food- and thereby kept coming back to offer me more).

As we arrived we got to wait in this cozy warm room, with glowing square stools and a pink throne :) 

As we were told beforehand, it was freezing outside in the audience but it was still good fun, especially during the breaks when the hosts turned the whole thing into a little dance session, lol!

Do you watch Big Brother,

& have you been in the audience of any TV show?

Xx

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♥ Tom Ford Violet Fatale

Tom Ford Lip Color 17 Violet Fatale 

I am so excited to share today's review of this gorgeous Tom Ford lipstick. I got it a bit over a month ago and I now feel that I have worn it enough to give you guys a good review. It is £36 from the Harrod's website  (direct link) and the delivery was really quick. 

See the other Tom Ford products they have.

As you can see, the packaging looks so amazing. The case is pretty heavy and made of a glass like material. The colour of the case is black but is slightly transparent and gives a hint of a burgundy shade in certain lights.

I was definitely excited about this particular shade, a gorgeous purple/plum autumn colour! However I have to say that the actual colour when swatching or wearing it is slightly different being lighter, and slightly more fuchsia rather than purple- it is still a gorgeous shade! The staying power is very good with about 3-4 hours and longer if you don't eat or drink anything. When the shade starts to wear off there will still be some colour on your lips, sort of like a lip stain.

These particular lip sticks come in 20 shades in total, so there are 19 other shades to chose from with many pinks, nudes and reds. See all the shades here. 

 Now to the most important part (at least according to me). Amazing ingredient list. Well, it is really long but from what I can tell it's filled with quite a few great ingredients. Castor Oil is at the very top and in the middle after the waxes there are loads of nourishing oils, extracts and butters such as Soja Bean extract, Camomile flower oil and Shea Butter.

Ingredients Check NO= (/), YES= (√) :

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (/)
• Parabens (/)

I absolutely love this guys- everything from the packaging to the creamy formula.

Has anyone tried this, and what do you think of the shade?

xx

(*)

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♥ CLARINS Extra Firming Body Cream

CLARINS Extra Firming Body Cream Review/Overview

Described on Clarin's website as "A rich, velvety cream to pamper the body. A formula rich in eight regenerating and firming plant extracts which help restore the skin's youthful density and elasticity. Moisturising and nourishing, this comforting body cream instantly smoothes away lines, leaving skin soft, satin-smooth and supple."

This cream is meant so smooth and firm your skin by using six active ingredients. They describe this on the Clarin's website as:

"- Lemon thyme extract: protects elastic fibres for more supple skin.
- Extracts of bocoa, centella asiatica and lemon thyme: encourage the synthesis of collagen fibres for increased skin resistance.
- Shea butter and jojoba oil: moisturise and nourish the skin."

When I took these pictures I didn't have the box it came in and there is no ingredient list on the jar itself. I also could not find it online, the closest I got to finding it, was finding the Clarins Extra Firming Body Lotion, which I am assuming is a lighter version of the butter. Find that here. So looking at that list, I will do the usual ingredient check.

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (√)
• Parabens (/)
• Butylene/Propylene Glycol (√)

I used this last time I was in Sweden for three weeks but I didn't use it long enough to say if it actually made my skin more firm. But it is a fairly thick and nourishing butter (think body shop butters) and one of the top ingredients is Shea Butter so it will definitely keep your skin feeling nice.

Has anyone tried this?

xx

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♥ Colourful and Smokey Defined Crease NYE Look

Colourful and Smokey NYE Look

Here comes another NYE look for you! I did my first one a few days ago and it seemed very appreciated, see it here. That one was very a very basic smokey eye working with only 2-3 eyeshadows so for this look I wanted a bit more going on.

Base:

• Maybelline 24hr foundation
• Laura Mercier Concealer

Eyes:

• MUA Eyeshadow Primer
• INGLOT Turquoise Eyeshadow all over lid as base
• Sleek "Blue Spruce" over the INGLOT shade
• A harsh line of Inika organic black eyeliner on crease, or slightly above crease
• Sleek "Starry night" black eyeshadow above crease
• INGLOT beige shade below eyebrow and as transitioning shade
• Sleek purple shade "festive" lightly swept along the outer sides of the black crease shadow
• MUA single purple/blue eyeshadow shade 9 "pearl" on lower lash line
• Inika organic eyeliner under eye, on waterline & tight line 
• Company Liquid Eyeliner
• On top of Company black eyeliner I used NYC purple glitter eyeliner

Face:

• Dark bronzer for contouring, from my ELF palette
• Highlighting bronzer, from ELF palette

On my lips I am wearing my all time favourite Sleek Pout Paint in the shade Mauve Over.

< | With Flash || Without Flash | >

What do you think of this NYE look?

xx

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♥ 8 Months Post Natural!!

My hair favourites and staples

Today I am officially 8 months post relaxer, this is probably the longest I've gone since I was a child and I can't wait to see more of my natural hair texture. What would have been appropriate would have been a curly length check, showing my new growth, but since I did that quite recently (see here) I will share my natural/transitioning hair staples instead.

1. The Conditioner

My staple conditioner is the Tresemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner. It is silicone, paraben and mineral oil free and has amaaazing slip. That means that it makes detangling super easy which is essential when dealing with thick afro hair. See review on this here.

2. The Cleansing Cream

A creamy sulfate free shampoo- Curls Cleansing Cream. As with every product from Curls it smells amazing of caramel/vanilla. It makes your hair clean without stripping it, and also strengthens and smooths as it contains silk amino acids. See here.

3. The Clarifying Silicone Free Shampoo

Even though I don't wash weekly with a sulfate shampoo- I always need to have one in case I've for some reason used a product containing silicones, or if I just feel like clarifying my hair. This one from V05 has an amazing ingredient list with oils like Argan Oil in it, and is not very drying for a sulfate shampoo. See it here.

4. The Sulfate Free Shampoo

Loreal EverSleek Smoothing hair system, A great bargain Sulfate free shampoo. Ingredients are not natural, nor great but it doesn't contain sulfates and the consistency is not creamy- more like the consistency of a normal conditioner. This is affordable and readily available. See it here.

5. The Butter

You can either use a butter or oil to seal your hair, during the winter when it's really humid and cold, I like spreading some Shea Butter in my hair after moisturising. I also use it when I slick my hair in a bun. This one is from Amina and is extremely soft, see review here.

6. The Oil

Castor oil- The oil to use for scalp/hot oil treatments. Before every wash I apply this, mixed with any other oil and apply to my scalp to aid growth and strengthen hair and edges.

7. The Scalp Oil

As most of you probably know Coconut Oil is one of the few (Jojoba oil being the other) oils that actually moisturise hair on its own, and get's easily absorbed by scalp. To prevent an itchy or flaky scalp I massage this into my scalp a few times per week.

8. The Detangler/Moisturiser

Jamaican Lime & Mango No More Relaxer Cream, this is great for detangling my new curly growth. The second ingredient is Shea Butter and it contains loads of fruit extracts such as Kiwi, oh and it smells lovely (mango/peach scent)! It is very thick and could leave some residue if used too often. For only £3.99 it's a bargain and definitely my staple detangler. Despite the majority of this brand's product containing tons of mineral oil, this one contains no mineral oil, petroleum or silicones. See it here.

9. The Leave-in Conditioner

Curls Whipped Moisturiser. I've definitely got a love/hate relationship to this one, only because it's so damn expensive and when I use it, I use it daily and it's finished within weeks. I pay £9.99 for this one. Again, this smells of vanilla and carmel and contains organic and loads of natural ingredients. None of their products contain mineral oil, silicones or parabens. See it here.

Do you have any staple hair products? Which ones and why do you like them so much?

xx

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♥ Santa's Sack Bubble Bar from Lush

Santa's Sack Bubble Bar from Lush

I got this bubble bath bar from the bbloggersxmas event, and yesterday I decided to try it. I don't usually do bubble baths because I feel like normal bubble bath soaps are just really harsh. As you can see, this is a solid Bubble Bar which means you have to break a piece of and crumble it under the tap- also, it doesn't contain any preservatives.

Described on LUSH's website: "We’ve all been good enough to deserve a festive bath of softening bubbles with the scent of fizzy drinks. With tonka, neroli and tagetes this bubble bar is kind to the skin and a gift to the nose."

I have mixed feelings about Lush, I feel like they wan't to come across as a natural brand, or that people confuse "hand made" with natural. So I wasn't surprised to see that this contains sulfates. However I have to say this really did not feel like the usual bubble bath- it felt pretty moisturising. From using it I could really feel that it contained at least one oil because the water felt really nice and non drying while using this.

Overall I think this is a great alternative to your usual foam baths since it contains no preservatives and contains a few nourishing oils. £4.15 is a bit steep considering they are saying that this is enough for only 3 uses. Not sure why three exactly as you can obviously choose how much to put in your bath, and it will still foam up even though you don't use a lot.


Ingredient check (see all ingredients here):

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (/)
• Sulfates (√)

Has anyone tried these?

xx

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♥ NYE Easy-To-Do Smokey Eye Tutorial

NYE Easy-To-Do Smokey Eye

With New Years coming up I decide to share this super easy to do New Years make up. All you need is two (or three) different eyeshadows. Preferably sparkly ones like MUA Glitterbomb or Sleek Sparkle 2, to suit the occasion.

How to do this?

• Apply a dark shade (I used Sleek Sparkle 2 Glitz and Glamour which is a soft black/dark grey shade) all over your lid.
• Using a blending brush (I use N7 Blending brush), blend the edges until they look soft.
• Using Real Techniques shading brush (a smaller, dense eyeshadow brush), apply the dark blue shimmery shadow on to your crease, going all the way to the inner corner of your eye.
• Using N7 blending brush, blend the edges of the blue shadow.
• For more definition, add a pitch black eyeshadow into the outer corner/V of your eye (it shows more in the picture below). Blend it out slightly.
• To clean up: Add a transitioning colour (one of your skin tone) above the crease colour and all the way up to your eyebrow. Apply concealer under your eyes and tidy up any fall out.
• Add a highlighter under yours eyebrows and fill them in.

What did I use?

• Sleek Sparkle 2 palette shade Glitz and Glamour (the black/grey one), Sleek Twinkle (dark blue) and Sleek Tinsel (silver) in my tear duct. 
• The dark black in the outer corner of my eye is from MUA Glitterbomb.
• Nude transitioning shadow, from my ELF palette.
• Company Magazine liquid eyeliner
• Loreal Telescopic Mascara
• Collection 2000 concealer

Will you be trying something similar?

If not, what look will you be going for on NYE?

xx

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Update, I have since made a youtube tutorial of this look:

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