NOTD: Week with Konad: day 4: lilac and purple

Another Konad manicure and three more to go :) I mentioned my extremely dry cuticles... here they are... I am very confused, I moisturise them at least five times a day with cuticle creams and butters, I use hand creams and oils. Two  minutes after using anything, they are back to being really dry. I hope  it is just temporary and they will be back to normal soon. It could be the change in my diet that's causing it and I already know that I need to drink more water.

For the manicure I used Barry M in Berry Ice Cream as a base with a matte top coat, Essence in True Love for stamping and a clear glitter top coat on top of the pattern to make it stand out more.

Nourish skincare: Radiance and Balance range review

I absolutely love natural and organic skincare and I am always excited to try out new products and add them to my routine. In this case I changed my whole routine and started using Nourish products from the Radiance range for normal skin and the Balance range for combination skin.

As soon as I received the package I fell in love with the beautiful apple scent of the Balance range. I think I actually tweeted that I am taking my make up off to try Nourish products, because I couldn't resist it :) Honestly... the apple scent is heavenly!

 

Radiance Purifying Cleanser* 100ml £9.95 link

"Blend of soft emollients and foxberry to help brighten the skin. Recommended for normal skin to maintain a healthy and youthful glow. 97% Organic."  

 I really like cream cleansers for removing makeup and to start my cleansing process at night and this one is perfect. I use it after removing my eye makeup and follow with a gel cleanser. 

It is very gentle, leaves my face soft and keeps the moisture in my skin.

If you don't wear make up, or wear a small amount it will be perfect to use on it's own.

I always double cleanse my face to make sure it is 100% clean.

Radiance Refreshing Toning Mist* 100ml £8.95 link

"Blend of soothing botanical extracts. Perfect hydrator to help refresh the skin. Recommended for normal skin to maintain a healthy and youthful luminosity. 97% Organic."

Toner is an essential part of any skincare routine. I am still shocked when I hear some bloggers saying that they don't use a toner. What? Using a toner helps to restore the pH balance of the skin after cleansing, shrinks pores, protects, moisturizes and prepares the skin to absorb goodness of your serums and creams. This toner smells lovely and feels very refreshing on the skin. I always use toners on a cotton wool pad after cleansing, but sometimes I like to spray it directly onto my face , to cool it down.

Balance Nutritious Peptide Serum* 30ml £16.95 link

"With a unique blend of vitamins and minerals, this peptide serum is a refreshing, light textured and effective hydrator that leaves skin visibly healthy and well balanced. Recommended for combination skin, it helps to renew the skin’s natural surface revealing a richer and harmonised look. 80% Organic."

I started using serums about 5 years ago when  found out that they exist. They are packed with goodness and usually sink into the skin right away. This one is amazing- it smells like fresh apples, absorbs quickly and I only need half a pump to massage it onto my face and neck. 

The serum is a generous size and the bottle should last for about 6 months, or longer. 

Combined with the Balance Essential moisturser it hydrates my skin and keeps the sebum under control. I really enjoy using it every day and it is my favourite product from the full range.

I find most pump dispensers too generous with the amount of product that comes out with each pump, but that's something all brands should consider and improve. 

  

Balance Essential Moisturiser* 50ml £14.95 link

"This unique cream complex contains a superior selection of vitamins and minerals to stimulate the skin to create a healthy equilibrium. With properties to control sebum and restore the skin's natural barrier. 89% organic"

I am very impressed with this face cream. It is amazing at keeping my face oil free. If I use it in the morning, I don't need to worry about my face being oily, or shiny. It keeps my T-zone perfectly matte all day! It absorbs instantly and smells heavenly! It is definitely something everyone with oily skin should try, because it does an amazing job at keeping my skin balanced, hydratetd and soft.

 Argan Skin Rescue Treatment* 15ml £18.95 link

"Natural collagen enhancer to help protect from signs of ageing and restore skin when in distress. Its active ingredients combat the formation of wrinkles by strengthening the protein bonding structures. It neutralises harmful free radicals and reduces the blotchiness and scarring associated with injury, acne, eczema and psoriasis. It inhibits dehydration and simultaneously brings the skin back to equilibrium. Easily absorbed 90% Organic."

Everybody likes a bit of luxury in their skincare routine. If  want to indulge my skin, I use facial oils and treatments to give it an extra boost of radiance and hydration. This treatment does everything I expected from it and more. It leaves my skin really soft and supple and helps to reduce the appearance of discoloration marks and redness. The effect it has on my skin is comparable to the effects of more expensive treatments I used, so I am very impressed. I love using it at the weekend, when I have more time to pamper my skin and I can see and feel the effects the morning after.

NOTD: Week with Konad: day3: Yellow and neon pink leopard print

Hi everyone. I posted a picture of this manicure on instagram last night and I got asked to do a tutorial. Well... I did it the exact same way as the previous manicure, I just used different colours. 

I used Ciate Big Yellow Taxi as a base and a cheap scented nail polish in neon pink for stamping. The cheap nail varnish was a bit gloopy and it actually worked much better than any other one I've tried before. I am still loving neon colours and as you can see I got more neon rings  from asos :) haha

link to the stamping tutorial: here

link to the haul post with the rings I am wearing: here

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB cream review

Hi everyone.

I am sure this isn't the first time you will hear about the Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream. It is one of the most hyped about products in the blogosphere :) I received mine two weeks ago and I can't stop using it since.

Ginvera is a brand I wasn't familiar with, until I heard about this miracle BB cream. All Ginvera products are distributed in UK by a company called Janiro and you can get them here.

 

GINVERA Green Tea Nude Cover BB CREAM*  25ml £20.00 link

Konad nail stamping tutorial

Here is a quick Konad nail stamping tutorial with step by step guide and pictures. It takes a little bit of practice and you need to be really fast when you stamp each nail, but I will explain it under each photo. I hope you like it :) The design I picked today is a mixture of nude and floral and I love it. It looks really nice on short nails and has got a vintage feel to it :)

NOTD: Week with Konad, Day 1- geometric print in blue

If you follow me on twitter you might have read my tweet about a full week of Konad stamping starting on the blog today. I haven't done it in ages, but I know that it used to be the most popular type of post on my blog. It is so easy and fun that I think everybody should try it. I could do a step by step tutorial if you are interested? Let me know.

Today I used Essie Mint Candy Apple as a base colour (with a matte top coat) and Essence Denim Wanted for the geometric print. I was going to use fake nails for this, but it is hard to stamp them to be honest. I think that I will do the full konad week on my short natural nails.

PS. I don't understand why my cuticles are so dry!!! I use a cuticle oil a couple of times a day, hand creams and ointments!!! Any advice?

Bourjois Liner Pinceau 16h in Black

Bourjois Liner Pinceau in Black £6.99 

I have been repurchasing this liner for over 6 years and it is the best one available on the market in my opinion. Nothing compares to it! I think I went through 20 already!!! I don't use mascaras and eyeliner for longer than 6 months so even when it isn't empty I buy a new one. If I use it every day it lasts for 5-6 months anyway.

The quality of this products is amazing! The colour is jet black and it stays on all day without smudging. The flexible brush makes the application very easy and I can create a perfect flick every single time. I hate when an eyeliner brush is hard, I want the liner to glide onto the eyelid not to scratch my eyeballs! If there was one product I couldn't live without it must be this little liner! It is a must have for me. If Bourjois discontinues it I will be making a trip to their HQ to beg for a lifetime supply :) haha

Please excuse the state of the packaging :) I use it constantly and the writing rubbed off. I can highly recommend this liquid liner and I really hope you will love it s much as I do. It is an absolute bargain, retailing for only £6.99. Bargain! It also comes in brown and gold.

Urban Decay NAKED palette and the ebay fake - comparison

Hi everyone,

This post has been highly requested, so I finally got my act together and I am writing it :) the picture quality isn't amazing, I took the photos when I first bought the palettes and my DSLR wasn't working so I used my digital camera. Anyway... Here is the story.

I am a big fan of Urban Decay and own 20 single UD eye shadows and one Book of Shadows, so I was holding off with buying Naked and Naked2. After months of thinking about it I finally ordered Naked off ebay from a seller who seemed genuine and had really good feedback. When the palette finally arrived, I knew that it was fake as soon as I opened it. I was soooo disappointed! The seller argued with me via ebay messages, saying that it is a real UD Naked, so after a couple of days, I gave up and thought... whatever, I will just keep the palette and do a comparison post showing you the fake one and the real one I bought from House Of Fraser. Here are the differences I noticed:

-The difference in the outer packaging is very noticeable. The real thing comes in a purple case with a clear lid and the Primer Potion on the side, the fake one comes in a cardboard box.

-When you take them out of the packaging they look similar, but the colour and the size of the velvet case is slightly different. (On all the pictures the real palette is on the top, the fake one is on the bottom. You will be able to tell the difference anyway).

-The difference in the quality of the palettes is shocking. The real one is well made, all the shadows are the same size and depth. The fake one looks cheap and nasty and the shadows are different sizes, some of them half empty!!!

-The real one is much heavier than the fake one and feels more sturdy.

-On the original Naked palette you will find a serial number on the side and the label at the back is a sticker, the writing on the fake one is embossed and there is no serial number.

-The writing on the front and on the inside of the real one is perfect, on the fake one it looks dodgy and flakes off easily.

-The quality of the eyeshadows in the real palette is amazing, they are creamy and apply beautifully, stay on all day, even without the primer. The fake ones are surprisingly good too, but I haven't used the shadows on my eyes (because I was scared) but on my arm they look very pigmented. There is more fallout though and the difference in the colours is noticeable, especially when you look at shades like Half Baked, Naked or Dark Horse. I was very surprised to see the dark shades from the fake one being much darker and more pigmented than the genuine shades. I must admit, whoever made the fake eye shadows done quite a good job, but we don't know what they used to  make them... Ingredients found in fake makeup are usually toxic, tested on animals. There are no regulations for fake makeup, because it is ILLEGAL to make and sell it!

-The brushes are different too, the real one is a bit longer and feels heavier than the fake one. The writing on the genuine one doesn't rub off, the writing on the fake one started to come off right away.

What are your thoughts on fake makeup or "no name" make up? I absolutely hate fake beauty products and wouldn't use them. Since I got 5 fakes on ebay I stopped buying makeup and skincare from unauthorized sellers. If it looks too good to be true, it will more than likely be a fake. I do not trust ebay anymore and I don't want to put my health at risk by using fake makeup. The fakes I came across are: Benefit, Mac, Urban Decay and Schwarzkopf.

I forgot to mention the prices. The real one was £36 the fake £20.00.

EDIT: The reason why I am writing this post is to warn you about fake makeup available on ebay and to show you how to spot the difference, once you get your palette. I have been getting comments on this post saying that people are happy with their fake makeup, they will use it forever and always buy it, because it is cheaper. WHAT IS THE POINT??? Honestly... If you can't afford  Urban Decay, buy MUA or other cheap brands. Don't risk your health just to save a couple of pounds. You can even end up losing your eyesight! Is it really worth the risk? I personally wouldn't use anything like it near my face. I think it is very irresponsible, silly and childish.

If you don't believe me, read this post written by lovely Sarah from Pretty In Pink.

top- real Naked, bottom- ebay fake

top- real Naked, bottom- ebay fake