Payday Treats! Vol III

Early on Friday morning I dashed out to the shops for a little payday splurge! On Saturday, my mum and I went on another little splurge!! These are the results....

First up, the lip products!

 My first purchase was my very first Soap and Glory purchase! This is the much raved about 'Sexy Mother Pucker" gloss in Peach. I have tried many 'plumping' glosses, but this one is special. If you haven't tried it, you need to (Boots has 1/3 off S&G at the moment!).

I do have a lot of love for Urban Decay 'The Iconic' lipsticks, and this one in the shade Wanted is a welcome addition to my collection. Do not be put off by the extremely dark colour in the bullet, the colour payoff is a mauve-pink.

I picked up this Barry M gloss in Toffee on a whim and I love it, it is the perfect neutral gloss. Most importantly it lives up to its name and is infused with a toffee scent. Yum.

My very first Benefit Eyeshadow!

I picked these up in two shades, Soft Shoulder and Moody.

Cleverly not I have mixed up the swatches, on the left is Moody, a greige colour similar to what has been extremely popular in nail polish lately. Soft Shoulder is a brown with a slightly rusty undertone. It looks gorgeous as an all over lid colour.

A few random bits; Isa Dora bronzer, Stila glitter eyeliner and Sally Hansen blush brush.

 I am unsure if Isa Dora products are available in the UK, it is a drugstore brand in Ireland though. I picked up this bronzer in the shade Terracotta Glow mainly just to experiment with contouring. The swatch is barely visible on my skin tone, but I quite like it.

No idea why I chose this Stila glitter eyeliner.. I do like it, and it is of a reasonable quality. The shade I picked is Sea Green, if you enlarge the photo you can see the swatch more clearly. Any suggestions as to what I could use this for?

Finally... a couple of random purchases!

Do any of you use Radox Shower Smoothies? I absolutey love them however I think the price is quite excessive for a shower gel. This is the second flavour I have tried, and honestly these are good enough to eat! This one was on offer in Boots so I snapped it up. It smells like coconut yum yum!

Finally, a practical purchase. I have been known to lug 400ml cans of Elnett around in my handbag for fear that my hair would fall flat during the day shock! horror! This mini can of Garnier hairspray will now have pride of place in my handbag for those emergency touch ups.

What do you all think? Please let me know :o)

Love H xoxo

3 Barry M Mini Reviews- Blush, Eyeshadow & Eye Crayon

Barry M is definitely my favourite drugstore brand, I love everything about them; the pigmentation, price points and variety to name but a few. So, this review has been a long time overdue! These three products are ones I use every day, and they are a constant feature in my makeup bag :o)

Trio Eyeshadow- Golden Goddess

 The set comes with an almost matte white (highlight), a gorgeous bronze with shimmer (lid) and a matte deep brown (crease).

As you can see, I have already hit pan on the middle shade there, this is because it is my go-to lazy day all over lid colour. The packaging is nice and sturdy, some dislike the design on the packaging however I think it is cute.

Highly pigmented colours as you can see. This is how I use them...

 Would I repurchase? Yes! I am looking for other shades to add to my collection.
Available here for £5.99 or €8.99.

Blush- Pink Orchid

This blush has taken a good battering in my handbag, hence the missing chunk!

Similar packaging to the eyeshadow, I really like it. It came with a little brush (useless) which I threw away. This blush is the brightest pink in the range, so naturally I was attracted to it! This blush is a matte colour with no shimmer which I like. Again, very pigmented as you can see below, although a little goes a long way. They also contain Vitamin E which is nice.. 

Would I repurchase? Yes, a well pigmented and easy to wear colour, gorgeous!

Available here, £4.59 (not sure of € price).

Shimmering Eye and Lip Crayon- Golden Bronze

This basically is a cream eyeshadow in stick form, however as it not dissimilar from my skintone I think it works wonderfully as a base. I am going to put it out there and admit, this is an INCREDIBLE dupe for MAC Rubanesque Paint Pot, it has the gold and pink shimmer and all. Full post on this is coming soon! This does crease after a long day, however it makes the shades in the Eyeshadow Trio pop. This plus the center shade of the Eyeshadow Trio is my go-to everyday neutral eye. 

Not a wonderful swatch, but you get the general idea.

Available here for £4.59 (still don't know the € equivalent)

Would I repurchase? Yes, I am very impressed by the pigmentation and creamy consistency.

Looks like a 10/10 for Barry M this time!

Have you purchased any of these? What do you think?

Love, H xoxo

Stuff I Bought on Saturday

As this Saturday was the first since Christmas I've had off work, it was clearly a cause for celebration. What better way to celebrate than shopping!

First port of call was New Look. Unusually for me, I didn't buy any clothes this time, just some lovely accessories.

TL: I haven't ventured into the scary world of DIY French Manicures for a very long time, however when I spotted this cute little inexpensive kit, I thought I would give it a go, again! I'm thinking French polish with Barry M Pink Iridescent over the top? :o)

TR: 100% plastic and totally tacky, but what can I say, I love! However I didn't realise that the rings had sizes (durrr Hannah!) and I picked up a M/L. It just falls off my finger instantly. I must return it for the smaller size.

BR: Last summer I wore flowers of silly sizes in my hair every day. I somehow remember it all beginning with some this size. Hmm, I should probably keep an eye on the situation! However, they are cute and I love the mint green. Available here.

BL: Lovely little pendant, nice change from the "Love" ones I keep being drawn to inadvertently. Available here.

From Superdrug I bought some body stuff, and some make up stuff too! 

 L: I've been experiencing really bad eczema on my legs lately, hopefully this E45 lotion instead of the moisturizer I am using currently will help clear it up.

R: If you have read my post on Products I Am Using Right Now, you will have noticed my love for the Original Source shower gels. This smells so zingy (best word I could think of to describe it!), it may be enough to wake me up in the mornings! :o) 

 L-R Collection 2000 'Extreme 24 hour Felt tip Liner"- I got this because I need to learn how to do the whole eyeliner-on-upper-lashline thing. This looks the simplest tool to practice with! Available here.

Barry M Kohl Pencil in Navy Blue (4)- This actually came free with two other Barry M purchases at Superdrug. Bargain! Available here.

Barry M Shimmering Eye and Lip Crayon in Golden Bronze (7). I'm a little confused by the name, not sure why you would want this colour on your lips! :o) Lovely on eyes though! Avaliable here.

Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid (1). Pretty pink! Avaliable here.

I will be doing a more thorough review of these make up products very soon! Already I absolutely love the Barry M Eye Crayon.

Let me know what you think, as always I do love a comment! :o)

Hannah

xxx

The Face & The Nails - Arts Ball 2011

As I have never posted a night-time/formal look, I thought what better occasion than last nights Ball! In my University, each major department (Law, Science, Engineering etc.) have their own formal ball. Basically, an excuse to get dolled up to the nines and have a good time!

The Face

 Rimmel Colour Rush Trio Eyeshadow in Twilight

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara (Black)

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eye Liner (100% Black)

Eyelure Girls Aloud Eye Lashes- Cheryl

Of all, I am very impressed with the lashes. For a formal event I would usually pay upwards of €20 for individual false lashes at a salon. However I chose to pick up these from a drugstore for the bargainous price of £5/€7! I am very impressed by the glossiness of these lashes, they were light and comfortable for the night  I love them!

 Sticking to my favourite Barry M products, for lips I used..
Barry M Lip Paint in 153 Pink Ribbon
Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in 5 Bubblegum Pink (Hauled Here)

Other face products used:

No7 Intelligence Balance Mousse Foundation in Tan

MAC powder blush in Fleur Power

MAC Fix +

The Nails

Barry M Nail Paint in Pink Iridescent

 If any of you follow me on Twitter (@hannahbanana661), you will have seen my excitement in finally finding this nail polish shade! It would of course be gorgeous over other colours, but for a more neutral look I just applied this over a clear base coat. This wasn't my greatest idea as you can see the yellow tinged discolouration through the polish (my nails are still recovering from the last set of acrylic falsies :o( ). To get this amount of glitter I have applied around 4 or 5 layers, quite impressed by the formulation, only minimal chipping in 4 days! I'm looking forward to experimenting with different base colours. Any recommendations?

Love as always,
H xxxx

ASOS delivery time!

See, it all started last Monday, I hadn't meant to make a purchase... but when I saw that ASOS was offering free international delivery, well, I cracked. Suddenly, with no due regard to the fact I had places to be, I was scouring through the seventy-odd pages of sale dresses. Lets face it, it'd be rude not to.

One Shoulder Contrast Pencil Dress

Out of everything I purchased, this was the dress I was most excited about. The colour I chose was "berry". I like it, I really do, but I didn't realize that the black trim (ruffle and waistband) would be velvet. I am not sure how I feel about this, yet it's stupid me to blame for not reading the Info and Care properly. However, at €22.30 (£17) reduced from €49, it's quite a bargain! Avaliable here.

Next was a bit of an impulse purchase. See, I really wanted the teal version of this dress but unfortunately they hadn't got my size. So thanks to much deliberation, and the lovely Hayley's input, I decided on the Mocha colour instead.

Satin Bandeau Dress with Embellished Waist

It's a cute dress, and the same shape as the one above although without the shoulder, but I love sweetheart necklines so thats a plus for me!

Here is a close-up of the waistband embellishment...

Avaliable here.

Both dresses are ASOS brand and in a size 10.

Finally, I went for a mooch around the Beauty Shop to source bargains. Well, a bargain I found! If you read my blog at all, you will be familiar with my love of Barry M products- see here. Well, imagine my delight when I saw this fabulous duo for the mere price of €5.38/£4.10.

Lip Gloss Wand in Bubblegum (5)

And swatched...

As you may imagine, the colour is much more sheer when applied to lips. However it is substantial for a colour pop alone, but amazing over a lipstick. And no kidding, this is the most delicious smelling lipgloss I have ever owned. It took me and my friends much deliberation but we concluded that it smells exactly like the little round chewing gums you used to get at the bottom of a Screwball ice cream. Anyone remember those? :o)

Also in the duo is a black eyeliner...

Not super-exciting, I know, but this one is retractable! This excites me because I have a habit of using eyeliners until they get blunt, hurting my eyes on the wooden splinters and then throwing them away. I know, the sensible option would be to just sharpen them, but unfortunately I'm far too lazy for that! So far I am quite impressed by the creamy consistency of the product as well as its staying power. However I pressed down too hard while attempting to swatch this and I broke the nib. Ooops.

Set avaliable here.

Also worth noting, my package included the new ASOS magazine. Just the sheer glossiness of the magazine made me smile! I have only had chance for a quick flick through so far, but some of the products look gorgeous. I can't wait to make more purchases soon!

Oh yes, I also bought the boyfriends Valentines day gift from ASOS, which was a t-shirt in luminous green trust me, he will love it! This is my first ever valentines day with a boyfriend, and I am rather excited! :o)

Have you got your eye on anything from ASOS at the moment? What do you think of my purchases? Please comment below and let me know!

Love, H xxxx

NOTD- The Dark Side

Remember when black nails was the in thing?

I never bought into it. My 16 year old self couldn't comprehend any respectable nail colours to be out of the spectrum of pink, with the occasional venture into the scary world of DIY French manicures.

Fast forward three years on and something changed. I, at the age of 19 went over to the dark side.

Barry M Nail Paint

Indigo

Yes, my love affair with Barry M's nail polish continues.

After two coats, I was left with an inky purple. The verdict is, I love it!

*Note, this picture is with flash, right now indoors it looks slightly darker. The purple is distinctive, though.

It is also worth mentioning that Boots in Ireland are now stocking Barry M products. Long gone are the days of buying in bulk in the UK! Without going into a big rant about the ridiculous and wholly unfair Euro "exchange rate" (hello MAC!), the Barry M products appear to be reasonably priced. The nail polish is £2.99 and I paid €4.50. I can live with that.

On another note, I made a rather extreme yet expensive purchase. And yes, I am sure I am 7 or 8 years behind fashion-wise!

Yep, Ugg boots! I have had the Primark version *shudders* as well as the slightly better River Island ones. But due to my rather substantial paycheck, I felt I deserved them!

Also, I passed all six of my Uni Christmas exams! So no nasty summer repeats, plus €200 fee. That kinda balanced out the price of the boots.... hmm! They are just The Classic Short version in Chestnut (avaliable here), and I purchased them from Schuh (yay for student discount!). I swear they are the softest boots I have ever worn and so far, they are worth every penny.

What do you think?

Loves H xxx

NOTD- Spring!

In my seemingly never-ending mission to get rid of the winter blues, I dug out my favourite polish from last summer. It is a direct dupe for Chanel Jade Green polish, which is unfortunately, at £17.50 is a slightly too much for such an "out there" colour (at least for me!).

Here is the Chanel version...

Enter another fabulous dupe...

Barry M Nail Paint

304 Mint Green

Much more purse-friendly at £2.99!

Two coats gave a perfectly opaque finish, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails used as a base.

<3

Hannah

x

Products I'm Using Right Now...

I spotted this post on LilyLipstick and thought I would give it a go! :o) Another of my guilty blog reading pleasures...

Face
Cleanser: Garnier Skin Naturals Clean Soft Cleansing Milk (For Dry and Sensitive skin- rose extract)
Toner: Garnier Skin Naturals Toner
Cream moisturizer: Garnier's Skin Naturals Essentials Day Moisturizer for dry and sensitive skin (previouly raved about here)
Exfoliator: Garnier Fresh Essentials Scrub
Eye Make up remover: Garnier Skin Naturals Eye Make Up remover.

**You may have noticed a pattern in my skin care routine, I am a huge fan of Garnier Skin Naturals Line. A full review of each product will be posted this week.**

Body
Shower gel: Original source Tea Tree and Lemon shower gel (I love anything "fresh" feeling!)
Body lotion/cream: Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula (the scent is unbeatable, if you put this on before you go to sleep, you will wake up with chocolate-scented pyjamas!)
Hand cream: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream (Thanks to my mum, I am a convert)
Lip Balm: Top Shop balm (mentioned here). Honorable mention to my long term love, Carmex.
Perfume: Difficult question, toss up between Marc Jacobs Daisy and Miss Dior Cherie.

Hair
Shampoo/conditioner: Osmo Silverising Purple Shampoo (Toner) once per week to maintain brightness, Aussie "Take the Heat" shampoo and conditioner.
Protection: Tresseme Heat protection spray
Hair mask: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Colour Deep Treatment, smells like peaches! Yum.

Hair Spray/Mousse: Both Tresseme Salon Finish (pink label)

Electronics: GHD straightener and Babyliss Thermo Ceramic hot rollers.

Make-Up
Primer: Yet to believe in this product as a whole, I need some recommendations. Maybe you could help? Comment away!
Foundation: No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse Foundation
Concealer: No need for it at the moment. I usually double up my foundation if required.
Powder: Just bronzer at the moment, MAC Bronzing powder in Matte Bronze.
Blush/Bronzer: MAC powder blush in Fleur Power or Benefit Posie Tint.
Lipstick: All time favourite has to be Angel by MAC.
Lipgloss: Lancome Juicy Tubes in Fraise.
Eyeshadow: Barry M trio in Golden Goddess- a great every day product.
Eyeliner: Collection 2000 Kohl liner in Black (cheap and cheerful!)
Eyeshadow Primer: See "primer" :o)
Eye lash curler: No idea of the brand! Just a drugstore one, work just fine!
Mascara: L'Oreal Telescopic

Image courtesy of WeHeartIt.com

**Many products here are mentioned in this post, with pictures!**

Just a Note: I have made the decision to change the name of this blog to "Hello Beautiful". I believe it applies more to the type of blog this is. The URL was unavailable so I have added 61 to the end. This coincides with the YouTube user name I have reserved in the event that I decide to start making videos! I hope you like the change as much as I do, however I would love to hear your opinion!

Contact me:

Twitter: @hannahbanana661

Blog: http://hellobeautiful61.blogspot.com

E-Mail: hellobeautiful.gmail.com

Formspring: HelloBeautiful6

Follow my blog with bloglovin

:o)

In and Out #1 + NOTD

The super-laziest type of blog to post, and not entirely fashion/beauty related, but I am always compelled to read them when I see them on other

people's blogs, so here goes...

IN

Shopping my nail polish stash- Ok so the acrylics are off (yet again), a lot more painlessly this time, I must add! Instead of nurturing my poor paper thin nails like last time, I was far too tempted by my all too neglected nail polishes. I

whacked on Barry M Berry Ice Cream nail paint, a creamy lavender, and instantly felt happier! Next up is Mint Green, why not? Spring is a-coming!

The Obligatory January diet- Cut out the bad food, eat the good. Simple? Not so much. Even if I don't buy the "bad" food, I am surrounded by it. Therefore, temptation is inevitable. :o(

Fashionable trainers!- I am so not the type of girl to wear trainers anywhere excepting a gym, but when I came across these cuties I couldn't resist! I like to wear them with my ripped, faded and wholly lived in River Island Boyfriend Jeans and a plain white vest, or cute T-Shirt. I am not a huge fan of the

trainers-and-skinny-jeans trend but I may be a convert now! They are by K Swiss and they are available at Schuh.

Happy Music- Namely Happiness by Alexis Jordan and Let the Sun Shine by Labyrinth. Definitely worth a listen!

The 70's- Huge trend for SS11, loving the chiffon, ruffles and wide sleeves all in ice cream shades. I just cannot wait to buy my very first pair of high waisted jeans! :o)

OUT

Milky Tea- Namely, because to me, milky tea = biscuits. In turn this = Diet Disaster! So, I have started drinking herbal tea. Twinings Fresh and Fruity variety is my favourite, especially the Blackcurrant, Ginseng and Vanilla and Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry. I am also planning to try the soothing Cammomile based teas too!

The first half of my degree- This means that I have a mere 18 months left in Uni before I'm left out in the big bad world. It's a really really scary feeling right now.

The "Preppy" look- I can't help noticing the big trend at the moment of baseball jackets, rugby shirt-type tops and American baseball type tops. I'm not atall sure of where the inspiration for this trend has come from (Glee?), but I really don't think it does the classic preppy look justice. Not for me thanks, I will be sticking to my Hilfiger polo shirt and skinny jeans, thank you very much!

Be sure to comment below or tweet me a link to your IN and Out's, I'd love to read them!

Tweet me @hannahbanana661

Love H xoxo

Green is the new Pink? - 'Barry M Touch of Magic' Review

I am honestly not the type of girl that buys into novelty products, especially of the make up variety, however after reading up on this product I simply couldn't resist!

I first came across this product online, and I was instantly intrigued. It is not, before you start thinking I'm insane, a "green lipstick". It is a Touch of Magic green lipstick! Basically , according to the Barry M website, this is a waterproof formula with added Aloe Vera. The product, when applied, reacts to your lips' alkali level and will turn a shade between a light pink and deep red.

This is how the product turned out on me...

I really like the shade, a "hot" pink with a glossy finish. I can vouch for the fact that the shades differ remarkably. My mum, for example, results in a deeper berry shade. I must also comment on the gloss finish of this lipstick. It is very light in its application and feels very moisturizing, especially for a product that claims extreme longevity (8 hours?!).

My only small piece of advice? Try before you buy! The resulting shade mightn't be for you.

Product avaliable here.

Happy New Year!

Love H xoxo

Acrylic Nails: Are They Worth It?

I ADORE nail varnish. For as long as I can remember I've been stealing my Mum's nail polish and definitely for the past few years I have ALWAYS worn nail varnish of some sort. My preferred brand is Barry M as their colours are always on trend and very inexpensive.
However for a recent wedding I made the decision to treat myself to a set of Acrylic nails. My friends all prefer Gel nails as apparently they're not as bad for your nails. However I figured that your nail being completely covered for 3 weeks plus was not going to be good for them regardless. So, swayed by the promise that they'd last longer than Gel I chose Acrylic.
I found the process not so much painful as aggravating, like the feeling your teeth get when nails are scratched down a blackboard. My nails were buffed to oblivion before the tip was applied, cut down then the acrylic solution was applied.

The manicurist even applied a real dried flower to two nails and I was delighted with the results. A the time of application, I was told the nails would last 3 and a half weeks, as a full set if I was lucky.

However 3 weeks came and went, as did 4 and 5 until my baby fingernail started lifting from the base. I got worried that it would rip off so i put a plaster around it to hold it in until it grew off itself. Well, that was my intention! I took the plaster off to show my friend one day and forgot to replace it. Several hours later I was in my college library and I swung my handbag over my shoulder and caught the nail and it 3/4 ripped off. I just saw blood and the fact that there was a huge rip out of the nail and freaked! I actually didn't look at it properly i just put it back best i could and walked home and replaced the plaster. The next day, though my friend told me the way I had left it meant it was very prone to infection with an open wound so I had to brave it as she cut away at the acrylic nail. Eeeeekk!!!!

Anyway, the exact same thing happened with the other baby nail and eventually the rest of the nails became slightly loose so I figured it was time to remove them. I searched the

net and found the best advice at http://www.ehow.com/how_2003351_remove-acrylic-nails.html. I completed the process to find my original nails, previously long an

d strong, in a state in which I have never found them before. (See before and after above!) :(

I have started using Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polish to help strengthen them and after a week and 2 applications I have noticed a slight difference. However I'm too scared to paint them incase it stains them in the exposed part of the nail bed. My nails look disgusting in the picture all yellowed, ew :(.

I gave myself a Mini Manicure now as my nails have thickened (more or less) using this product as a base .

I'm very happy with the results now and 3 weeks later they're almost back to normal :o)

Any similar experiences?

Thanks for reading :o)

Hannah xxxxx