Twenty

If you follow me on Twitter you will know that It was my 20th birthday on Sunday! (I kind of like to make it a big deal :o) )

So, if you're interested here is a little account of how my day was spent!

In the morning I had to work. I had booked the day off but unfortunately there was no one to cover me :o( It was only four hours though, in the morning so I didn't mind!

After work my parents and brother met me in the town I work to bring me out for a birthday lunch. In the car my brother gave me my birthday present from him...

How cute is that? I LOVE Hello Kitty! Excuse the goofy smile, I really was THAT giddy!

After dinner (bit of a disaster, we tried three restaurants before settling on a chinese take away!) we headed home and I got my cake :D 

On the day, I treated myself to new shoes too!

I love nude shoes! These were from New Look, available here!

Thanks so much for all of the lovely 'Happy Birthday' messages on Twitter, I love you guys!

Thanks so much! :o)

xxxx

Big Hair, Skinny Face

So, when I was getting ready for a night out this week, I came to the realization of how much I *love* contouring. As a round-faced gal, this little technique gives me cheekbones that I never thought were possible!  Anyway, here is my FOTN...  

No7 Intelligence Balance Mousse Foundation 'Tan' / Isa Dora Bronzer 'Golden Bronze' / Highlight: Benefit '10' / NARS Blusher 'Orgasm / MAC Lipstick 'Candy Yum Yum'

MAC 'Mythology' all over lid & 'Swiss Chocolate' in crease and outer third.

I used some false eyelashes last night too, I have used the Girls Aloud ones in the past and I have been impressed with them. I used the 'Kimberley' ones this time...

I wore my old dependable outfit that I always wear if in doubt, a navy play suit that I got from New Look. It is a lovely cotton material and has pretty cream detail around the neckline. 

I accessorised it with a skinny woven belt and a mix of gold bangles! Sorry, I am the most awkward poser ever!

Except here, pose-a-rama! But come ON! I am too delighted that I learned how to CONTOUR! 

What was the best beauty lesson that you ever learnt? :o)

Hannah xxx

Can I get a drum roll please...?

source

The winners of my OPI 200 Follower Giveaway are as follows..

1st Prize- Two OPI Nail polishes...

Louise

2nd Prize- An OPI Nail Polish

Beauty By Rosh

3rd Prize- A set of mini OPI Polishes

Jen

Congrats you guys! I would really appreciate it if you could reply to the email that I have sent the winners ASAP so I can get the prizes sorted out!

Also huge thanks to everyone who has entered, there will definitely be another giveaway SOON! :o)

Love to you all,

H xxx

Hair-spiration? Please!?

As part of Aussies Lusciously Lighter Style challenge, I am off to the hairdressers on Monday to have a style overhaul! To prepare me for this, the lovely Aussie people have sent me a few wigs to help me 'break out of my comfort zone' and try something different!

Here are a few ideas...

Dolly Parton/ Sandy from 'Grease'

??? I look like my auntie here!

The 'Pob'!

So there you have it! Three completely different looks, but I am only having one makeover!

What do you all think?

Brunette? Stay blonde? Something else?

Long? Short? Somewhere in between?

I reaaaally need your help as my appointment is on Monday and I don't know what I want to do with my hair!

This is me with my real hair, if you forgot what I look like! 'Hello Roots!'

I have added a poll to the top right-hand side, so vote!!

All opinions are welcome, I would love to know what you guys think will Lighten Up My Style!

Thanks again guys!

H xoxox

Lipstick Lover Review: ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick 'Strawberry'

You might not consider this to be a lipstick, but since the word "lipstick" is included in the product name, it is worthy of a Lipstick Lover review! :o)

Colour/Scent? You will know my opinion on the colour of this if you check out the post in which this was hauled, you will see the ridiculous swatch of this on the ELF website. I didn't think I was getting a red lip colour in the slightest! ELF says that the scent is 'Vanilla Mint', I suppose that could be correct. The scent is just pleasant but not of anything in particular.

Consistency? That of a lipgloss, no more, no less. 

Longevity? Again, that of a lipgloss!

Pigmentation? As you can see in the above photo, which is of around three layers of this I still couldn't get it to even slight opacity. I took about four photos of this and this was the best of the lot. 

Packaging? Cute! Just like the ELF glosses, or the Stila twist-up ones, but with a type of 'pad' applicator which you twist up for the product to appear.

Price? This has to be the best thing about this! These retail at £1.50 or €1.70, an absolute bargain.

Other shades available? 11 altogether! (before ordering online though, I would recommend that you research swatches on other blogs before ordering!! Do not trust the website swatches!)

Available from? ELF's website

The verdict... Maybe I was incorrect in considering this to be a lip stick, in liquid form, although as far as I am concerned this is what the name and website description suggests. Although in saying that I do have more pigmented glosses. I would never give this a bad review due to the price, nice packaging etc, but I think I am just left bitter about this because of the terrible online swatch and the average pigmentation. 

Have you tried these? I would really love to know what you think!

H xoxo

PS. Just realized I have posted two Lipstick Lover reviews in a row, I hope this is OK! :o) 

Lipstick Lover Review: Dior Addict 'Basic'

There has been so much hype surrounding the new Dior Addict lipsticks, and the gorgeous Kate Moss advertisements. Most reviews that I have seen of this have been the 'Kate Moss shade', which I may have chosen myself. My mum bought this for me on her recent holiday to Grand Canaria (hauled here) and I am so glad as I absolutely love it! :o)

Colour/Scent? This shade is the most subtle of the collection a soft rose pink with silver shimmer. I cannot detect any scent whatsoever!

Consistency? Sheer, almost comparable to that of a highly pigmented balm. According to Dior, they have a new 'mirror jelly' formula, designed to 'bring shine, volume and hydration to the lips'

Longevity? Due to the light feel of these, you would think it wouldn't last long at all, however they definitely last 1hr+.

Pigmentation? Not huge, however in one swipe (see above swatch) you can see the shimmer. In the lips shot below, I have layered this lipstick twice, maybe three times.

Packaging? Stunning! This is without a doubt the most luxe looking lippie I own/have ever seen! The casing looks clear to begin with, but in daylight as above it has this gorgeous rainbow effect.

Price? £22 / €28

Other shades available? 44 in all! This even shocked me :o)

Available from? Debenhams, with 10% off at the moment!

The Verdict... I love it! To be honest, I am not going to reach this for a colour pop. However I think this is the closest to a 'nude' that I will be comfortable wearing so it is ideal for when I decide to wear striking eye make up. It may be the photo, however I think this looks totally comparable to MAC Angel, what do you think? I would love to say that I will be buying more of the gorgeous shades available, but they are too pricey to collect them all!

Let me know your thoughts, I would love to hear them! <3

Love H xoxo

Sunglasses..... dupe?

So, we all love dupes right? How about a sunglasses dupe?

Fabulous SS11 Chanel bow sunglasses, retail at £250 source

Enter these babies.... 

Uncanny huh?!

And for the not so grand price of.... 

WOW?! Although this probably does slightly hint at my too much of a dupe to be ok theory, especially as the name includes 'Coco'. But who honestly can complain?

Chanel sunnies available here

New Look version available here

What do you think?

H xoxo

PS. I posted a new YouTube video, 50 random questions! Check it out if you like and let me know what you think. :o) 

The A-Z of me!

Sooo.... I spotted this over at Charli.... 's blog, and thought I would steal it :D

Enjoy....

Age: I will turn 20 on the 29th... eeek!

Bed Size: Double!

Chore you Hate: All of them :o)

Dogs: My own! Oscar-Posker

Essential start of your day: Cheerios and orange juice

Favourite Colour: Pink

Gold or Silver: Gold for costume jewellery, If i was getting a wedding/engagement ring though, I'd probs pick silver!

Height: I have no idea!! I think 5"7?

Instruments I play: Zero. Sob.

Job Title: Sales Advisor

Kids: None! I'm only 19!!... nearly 20! I am old :o(

Live: Ireland

Mum's name: Brenda

Nickname: H, Hannah Banana, Hannah Montana

Pet Peeve: People saying I am moody/angry when I am not... It makes me moody/angry/BOTH

Quote from a movie: "Never underestimate a woman with a French Manicure and a Harvard Law degree"

Right or left handed: Righty

Siblings: (Not so) little brother, Mike

Time you wake up: I have a general "Get Up! You are wasting your day away!!" alarm at 10am, but I usually wake up around 8.30/9 ish!

Underwear: ASDA's finest, only place that does my size without costing the earth!

Vegetables you dislike: sprouts.. I've never tasted them but I know they are VOM

What makes you run late: If I am on time I will delay myself (I am a bit of an  idiot really...) then I will be late.. so ya....

X-rays you've had done: None *touches wood*

Yummy food you make: Toast! Marmite too, if you are lucky!

Zoo animal: Pengy penguin!!

This was fun! I wanna see you all do this post! Link me if you do :o)

Love H xoxox

THIS WILL BE ME ONE DAY!! <3 source

Exciting Giveaway Update!

So, I hinted on twitter that if i hit 300 followers before my 200 followers giveaway finished, there would be a third prize. Lo and behold, my GFC is currently standing at 301 and to thank you all I am adding a third prize!

Keeping with the theme of OPI, Prize number 3 will be something along the lines of one of these....

A mini set of OPI polishes!

Obviously not all of these choices will be available when I go to buy them for you, but this is a general idea for you all :o)

Don't worry, you need not enter again, if you have already entered your details on the giveaway post you are automatically in the running to win this!

If you haven't, click here to go enter! What are you waiting for?

Love H xoxo

Smiley Stuff from Lately

 When my lovely blogger pal Hayley nominated me on Twitter for the Witch Friday Flawless Follower, and won I got to pick a little prize from their website. I picked the Blemish pen (currently under review), so a big THANK YOU to Witch for the lovely treat. However it was the name on the envelope that actually made my day... :o)

My parents went on holiday to Gran Canaria and arrived home last week with two lovely presents for me.

The first is this gorgeous mirrored mirror (eh?) with Hello Kitty engraved on, and my name! It came in a lovely black velvet pouch too, so it is ideal to bring everywhere with me. 

Also, I was super giddy to try out the new Dior lipstick that my Mum picked out for me, she has good taste!

It is in the shade Basic, a gorgeous pastel pink. The packaging is so luxe, I love it! Expect a review coming your way soon. 

Also, I was super kindly invited to a Xen-Tan event yesterday in Dublin! I met some lovely girls, Karen, Dee and Sinead and I was lucky enough to be given a sample to try out. Expect a thorough review on this very soon :o) Big thanks to Xen Tan for holding this event!

So, after my lovely weekend off I am unfortunately back to my desk for more studying today. Oh well, summer is just around the corner and I cannot wait!

Love H xoxo

Two New OPI's

So I picked up a couple of new OPI polishes to add to my collection :o)

This is 'La Paz-itively Hot', a HOT pink fuchsia. Honestly I took quite a few pics of this, but I just couldn't capture the blue/violet shimmer through it. In all, I am pretty sure this is my favourite polish EVER (please do not quote me on this, it is 100% subject to change :o) ). It is a perfect barbie pink and rest assured it will be featuring on my fingernails A LOT this summer! 

The second is a red polish and I had to get one by OPI for my collection. I don't particularly love red nails but I think it is perfect on toenails as it complements pretty much any neutral sandal. So, here is OPI's 'The Thrill of Brazil' as modeled with my lovely New Look sandals (flats, for when my favourite wedges in the whole wide world need a break).

So, there you go! Another couple to add to my growing collection...

If you like these, you could win them (or in fact any OPI you may fancy) in my 200 Follower OPI Giveaway!

Be sure to enter, you will not regret it :o)

Love H xoxo

Payday Treats Vol IV & YOUTUBE!!

Since I have been shopping like a crazy lady since I got paid on Friday I had far too many new items to show you all in a blog post as it would be so picture heavy and take forever for you guys to read! 

I took this opportunity to jump into YouTube, honestly I thought this day would never come. :o) So here you have it, my very first YouTube video... enjoy!

If you like what you see, don't forget to 'like' it and of course subscribe! I am hoping to keep making videos as well as my blog, so all constructive criticism and video requests are more than welcome in the comments below.

Thank you :o)

H xoxo

*CLOSED* 200 Follower OPI Giveaway!

Yay! I am super excited to open my very first giveaway!

As you can probably tell, I love OPI nail polishes. I love the formulation, pigmentation...everything! I fully believe the every girl should have at least one or add to their collection!

The Prize

1st Prize: Two OPI nail polishes of your choice

2nd Prize: One OPI nail polish of your choice

(NOTE: There are zillions of OPI polishes and obviously not all of them will be available for me to buy for your prize. However I will do my very best to accommodate your choice!)

How to enter:

To qualify for entry you must be a public follower of my blog via GFC

Then, you need to write a comment below with your GFC follower name and an email address or twitter name I can contact you with to let you know if you have won...
AND let me know what your favourite nail polish of all time is! :o)

To qualify for extra entries:

Follow me on Twitter @hannahbanana661 +1 entry

Tweet " OPI giveaway @hannahbanana661 blog! http://hellobeautiful61.blogspot.com " +2 entries

Subscribe to my (soon to be active) YouTube account HelloBeautiful61 +3 entries

Write a blog post about this giveaway (including a link to this post!) +5 entries

Put the image above in your sidebar with a link to this post +5 entries

This giveaway opens on May 2nd 2011 and will end on Monday May 23rd at 7pm (UK time)

This is open to anyone and everyone worldwide!

The winner will be by random selection via random.org

GOOD LUCK!

PS. Don't forget, what is your favourite nail polish ever?? :o)

Project Monthly MAC: April

If you are unfamiliar with this post why not check out last months Project Monthly MAC?

Basically though, once per month I will go to MAC and pick up a few well thought out items then blog about them and ask you all for advice for next months purchases.

Here is what I bought this month...

So, I decided to try MAC eyeshadows for the first time. I have been in my lipstick/gloss/blush comfort zone for too long and I needed to start experimenting more! I decided to get them in pan form and purchase a palette as I am back and forth between home and uni so much, I think the portability will be great. 

 Here are the pretties... I wanted a bronze lid colour and a nice brown crease to start me off. 

Then I picked up a lipstick, I had my eye on this shade for quite a while.

It is the perfect hybrid of Pinky red and coral (honest, I can see it!)

What do you think of this month's purchases?

Expect a FOTD using these soon :o)

NEXT MONTH: I want to buy...

Three eyeshadows that will make a black/grey smokey eye (black, silver/grey, highlight)

A pretty lipgloss (something coral maybe?)

A mid pink everyday blush

Any suggestions? I would love to hear them!

Love H xoxox

EDIT: Forgot to let you know! My 200 follower giveaway is starting tomorrow :o)