September Glossybox Review

It's fair to say i was a little excited about this months Glossybox, as much as a hate spoilers i just couldn't seem to avoid them. The first spoiler was the box design, isn't it beautiful, plus it was designed by Karen Millen which makes it that little bit more special. Glossy also tempted me into peeking at two of this months featured products, naughty naughty.

Nivea Sensitive 3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Water

This is the biggest item in my box, the Nivea sensitive 3 in 1 micellar cleansing water. It was just typical i would receive this product after buying a shed load of Murad products to try and fix my skin. This is probably one of the largest products i have seen in a Glossybox, its useful and affordable as well as actually working. The product didn't cause my skin any irritation plus its convenient as it doesn't need rinsing off after use. This nice big 200ml product costs £4.07

L'Oreal Proffessional Mythic Oil

Everyone and there dog knows that i am not the biggest fan of L'Oreal, so when i saw this in my box you can only imagine my disappointment. None the less i still felt the need to try it out, i'm not one for wasting a product unless i feel it's going to effect me negatively. I hate to say this but it's actually a great product, it smells wonderful and has a similar effect to Argan Oil which i have always loved. I found this convenient to use, it also made my hair look extra healthy and shiny. Whilst i wouldn't purchase this product i would certainly recommend it to others. The product came in a 45ml sample size, i feel this is a generous amount which will last a long time. The full size 125ml product costs £15.95, i believe it is only available at particular salons. £5.74

Nails inc Matte Topcoat

This roused my interest greatly, i have never owned a matte topcoat and i'm a serious nail polish junkie. Nails inc are probably among my top 5 favourite polish companies which made my opinion of this months box shoot up in praise. I tested the polish out with both dark and light shades as well as block colours, glitters and shimmers to see all possible effects. By far the best looking nails were block colours particularly bright pastel shades. The polish gives a rubbery looking texture, what i would have expected their latex shades to look like (major disappointment with those). It also looks great when added to a dark solid colour to create matte textured tips. This is a full size bottle which retails at £12

Modelco More Brows in Light to Medium

Ok so it's taken me long enough but i'v finally started perfecting my brows. I am cursed with light patchy shapeless eyebrows that need a lot of product to fix. I loved the Modelco More Brows, the brush is much smaller than other brown mascaras i have used, making is far more precise. The colour is also a good match for my brows (although i'm sometimes inclined to shade them pink to match my hair). I can't really fault this product, it gives volume which is great for any thin patches i have plus the gel keeps them in shape all day. This is full size tube, although small in size it retails at £14.95

Skinpep Brightening Enzyme & Acid Peel and Dark Circle Eraser

No Glossybox, just no. I'v never liked the idea of including samples for something that is so expensive that it would put you into your overdraft. I'm also not crazy about samples as most of them require you to use the product for a number of weeks before any results are visible. The dark circle eraser wasn't bad, it very slightly lightened my circles however i could get better results using high street brand products and makeup to cover them up. As for the acid peel, theres no way i would put that on my face, i have sensitive skin and some of the ingredients are incredibly acidic. Sorry Glossybox, I'm just not impressed with these expensive samples. The Enzyme peel sachets (2ml) cost £3.05 each or £89.99 for a 180ml tube, the eyecream costs a whopping £6.49 for 2ml or £44.99 for 15ml, ouch!

This months box has a grand total of £49.35 worth of products inside. I would purchase the Nails inc topcoat as well as the More Brows and Nivea cleanser. The cost for these three products is more than the box cost me so i'm more than happy with it. Next months box is an Andy Warhol inspired pop art box which will be available in four different colours, does this mean 4 different variety's of products too? I look forward to receiving it.

Skull and Kisses

Luna x

Mani Monday: Ciat'e Corrupted Neon Manicure

You can always trust Ciat'e to bring out new unusual nail polish designs. The corrupted manicure takes the ever popular neon manicure to the next level by adding glitter and an uv top coat. The ultra violet topcoat adds a florescent glow once under a black light which is perfect for any ladies who love to go to nightclubs. Would you take a look at the creative packaging, holographic showing a neon face in normal light and then under a black light. The glitter and polish combination look beautiful in the daylight too, perfect for those summer beach days, or for jazzing up a christmas nail look. 

 

Would you take a look at the creative packaging, holographic showing a neon face in normal light and then under a black light. The now discontinued set retails at around £10 and includes a beautiful lagoon blue polish called "Boom Box", a neon glitter "Foam Party" and a mini black light top coat.

Nails Of The Day: Ciate Mini Caviar Mani (Frost Yourself and Ferris Wheel

I recently picked up this months Marie Claire which came with a set of Ciat'e Caviar Nails. I have previously used other nail caviar's/ pearls but this is my first time trying the Ciat'e version. The set contains a gorgeous pastel candy coloured pale blue named "Ferris Wheel" and "Frost Yourself" which is a mixture of blue, silver and pearlescent beads.

The consistency of Ferris Wheel was quite thick and gloopy, i think the bottle may have been a dud as i have never had any Ciat'e polishes like this before. The consistency made it quite difficult to get a really smooth looking nail, i think i just about managed it. Texture aside, i absolutely adore the colour, it is just perfect for a spring/summer pastel look. A then applied the beads to a wet nail as instructed. Warning this can get pretty messy, i used a small tray to catch the beads and they still ended up everywhere. I added a topcoat to preserve the beads a little longer which ended disastrously, the blue beads bled colour and my whole nail ended up an inky dark blue. 

I'm happy with the finished look, i really can't get enough of that Ferris Wheel blue though, just beautiful. A couple of handy tips are to use a thin layer of beads as they look best and stick better, also pat down the beads as they are drying to get them to stick well. 

I couldn't finish this post without talking about the new Dior Addict It Collection featured in this months Marie Claire. Dior have created a range of high impact coloured mascaras and liners (exactly what i have been craving lately), the pink liner is absolutely stunning. It retails for £24.50 which is a little steep but i think this is one that will be worth my money.

Skulls and Kisses

Luna x

Revlon Parfumerie

Nailgasm! I'v never had much of an interest in Revlon makeup until now, they have brought out a range of scented polishes! Revlon Parfumerie have combined two of my biggest loves (beautiful nails and fine fragrance) to create a gorgeous range of shades. They have created 20 scents (24 in the US) which like perfumes are divided into catagories; fresh scents, fruit and florals and sweets and spices. The bottles would certainly look at home on my dressing table among my perfume bottles, although i'm unsure if the spherical stoppers will affect application. I love the idea of trying different scents as well as the variety of shades, i'm really looking forward to testing them out for myself. These retail at £6.49 although they are often included in 3 for 2 offers at Boots. Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting review.

Skulls & Kisses

Luna x

Sweet & Spicy

 Autumn Spice

Bordeaux

Chocolate Truffle

Espresso

Italian Leather

Moonlit Woods

Spun Sugar

Fruit & Floral

African Tea Rose

Apricot Nectar

China Flower

Ginger Melon

Lime Basil

Orange Blossom

Pink Pineapple

Wild Violets

 Fresh

Beachy

Fresh Linen

Lavender Soap

Surf Spray

Wintermint

Chanel: #483 Vendetta

Vendetta is by far my favourite designer product i have ever splurged out on. The shade to me is pure perfection black and purple duo chrome with little flecks of purple shimmer, its not hard to see why i love it so much. Unlike many other designer product it is actually worth the hefty price tag, the durability and dry time are both insane. Love Love Love!

Nails Of The Day~ Chanel in Vendetta and C&E in Mica

I got a little adventurous with today's design going for a two tone split nail. I achieved this by using some masking tape, i have previously tried to stripe directly onto the nail but it always ends in slanted lines. I used two of my favourite colours; the first is Chanels Le Vernis in shade 483 vendetta. Vendetta is the most perfect shade i could dream of, in normal light it looks black but when bright light hits it is transformed into a shimmery purple with blue undertones. The second polish is Crabtree and Evelyn in the shade Mica, Mica is a stunning silver grey shimmer which is perfect for adding class to any outfit.

Crabtree & Evelyn

I had no idea C&E made cosmetics, as far as i was concerned they sold overpriced hand creams and biscuits. I was pleased with the quality that they supplied for £6 (outlet price) and  the beautiful shimmers and effects of each polish on display. I wouldn't say this is prone to chipping but rubs of like more thick and gloopy nail colours often do.

Chanel

Usually when you purchase designer cosmetics you really are paying extra for the brand name rather than quality, i am so happy this isn't the case with vendetta. It dries super quickly and i have yet to have it chip on me (and i have been wearing this shade to death). Vendetta and other pretty shades are available for £18 in selected Boots and Debenhams stores. 

Topshop Mini Makeup Haul/Review

Hello my lovely viewers, today i'm giving you my thoughts and feelings on a couple of item's from Topshop's makeup range. I am a total Topshop makeup virgin so i figured it was time for me to give in to temptation and pick up a few goodies.

The first thing that caught my eye was this gorgeous eye shadow compact in the shade Nebula. I wear a combination of blacks and silvers as part of my every day look and have been after a small compact to pop in my handbag, the packaging is pretty unusual, the compact itself has a rubbery feel which i really love. Nebula contains a beautiful trio of shimmery black, smokey grey and a cool gold shade. After testing this out i can say i am seriously impressed, even after hearing good reviews i am still surprised at just how good this is. I have tried every black eye shadow under the sun and most of them don't meet my standards, this one is actually black, not some dark grey or deep brown, but a deep dark BLACK! The silver is actually much darker and more pigmented than i expected so it blends perfectly with the black but still has enough shimmer to lighten the inner corners of your eyes. I used black on my eyelids and the gold to highlight my brow bones. Nebula set me back £12 and was worth every penny and more.

Topshop have the most gorgeous array of nail polishes i have seen in a long time, Barry M comes a close second. I seriously had to restrain myself and bought just two of them (i will be back for more of course). The first one i picked was Plume, this gorgeous purple, blue shimmery beauty. I tried it on my nails and found that its more of a tinted glitter polish than a strong solid colour unless you really layer it up. I wore it as a top coat over the my favourite Barry M nail polish (Vivid Purple) and the combination of the two are stunning, and definitely eye catching. Plume is available for £6 online and in store

I also picked up Gypsy Night because it's made up of my two favourite things; the colour black and glamorous sparkles. This polish is perfectly named it really is like looking at the night sky, unlike Plume i found i needed less coats of this to get a beautiful solid colour. I also applied it over a tarnished gold polish and it looked even better. The drying times of these polishes are about average but on the plus side they are far less gloopy and tacky than other high street varnishes. Gypsy Night also costs £6

Finally i picked up a lipgloss in the shade Surf Luxe, I never wear lip gloss especially not this time of year (sticky hair lips is never a good look) but it was free when you spent £15 on cosmetics. There were a good range of shades but i stuck to a fairly neutral tone (how dull of me). The product has no scent or flavour which is a little disappointing but the formulation feels nice on the lip, not sticky at all. I can't say i would recommend this product but that's more to do with personal preference. I would choose a tinted balm or lipstick over gloss any day, although i wouldn't mind trying the purple one. This gloss and other shades are available for £4 

I have to say i am really happy with the makeup that i got, i would 100% recommend purchasing the compacts because the pigmentation really is fab. I love the polishes too but i would suggest pairing the shimmer and glitter shades with some of the block colours in their range. I will be re-visiting Topshop to splurge on some more varnishes and possibly some other bits.

(Nebula Smokey eye)

                                                As always thanks for reading my ramblings,
                                                                           Luna x

Myleene Klass Nails

I finally have enough time off work to review some nail products (10 days, lucky me). The last time I had a week off I tested out a pack of Sleek nail stickers and I LOVED! them. The only downside was the price, £10 was a little costly for me. This time I have picked up these Myleene Klass Nails at the bargain price of £2.99. These come in a small range of basic designs, I chose the black and white polka dot wraps. In case you didn't know nail wraps are long slightly rubbery stickers that are smoothed over the nails. the ends are then filed off (most packs have a small nail file) and shaped to fit the nail. So i have to say considering the price i was pretty pleased with these. The only noticeable difference between these and the Sleek sticks are the texture, the Sleeks are a little more rubbery which makes them slightly easier to apply. They both took me about the same time to apply and have a good overall appearance. The Myleene nails look slightly rugged at the edges after application but it's hardly noticeable. After one day a sticker came off, the other ones stayed put for the next five days. So overall these are a total bargain especially if you are looking for some simple nail designs for a weekend or few days. If you plan on getting some long lasting wraps i would recommend using a topcoat or purchasing the sleek sticks instead.