China Glaze Sunsational Collection and my new favourite site!

Although I haven't been blogging much recently, its not that I haven't wanted to I just havent had the time! But I plan on making time as I have had so many things flying around in my head that I want to share with you all!!

To begin with, I want to tell you about an awesome website I have found recently. It sells nail polish, in the hundreds!! I have always wanted to try all the big named brands in nail polish but can never decide on what shades to pick and where to buy from, well now that has all changed.  The website I am talking about is www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk and is a great source for China Glaze, OPI, Barry M, Essie, Jessica, Leighton Denny, Models Own and many other brands all at very reasonable prices. On top of the large collection of polishes they hold, they also offer free delivery on order over £10 which I think is great and very rare to find here in the UK, and they ship to Europe too.

So after finding this amazing website, it took me a few days searching through their collections to finally decide on what colours to pick. It was a tough job as there are so many amazing colours to choose from, but finally I placed my order and it has arrived today!!!

I decided to give the China Glaze On The Shore Sunsational Collection a try as they have some lovely bright colours for the summer.  There are 12 shades to choose from and they have a mixture of cream and 'Jelly' shades.

Here are the colours available in the collection. Image from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk

From what I can tell from the other reviews I have read on other blogs have said that they 'Jelly' shades are very thin and 'jelly-like' which doesn't sound like an easy formula to work with. As I am still a bit of a beginner when it comes to nails, I like to keep it quite simple, so I decided on three of the creme shades in Too Yacht to Handle, Thats Shore Bright and Bottoms Up.

From left to right, Too Yacht to Handle, Thats Shore Bright and Bottoms Up

Too Yacht to Handle

Thats Shore Bright

Bottoms Up

I absolutely love these colours, they are so bright and fresh and just the thing you need during the current heat wave we're having here in the UK.  These three shades are from the cream part of the collection, they apply smooth but can be quite streaky so you need to take care when applying.  With a steady hand you can get away with one coat, but two coats will be plenty for a good coverage.

Once dry, the cream formula leaves an almost matte-like finish that is soft and smooth to the touch.  The only down side to these polishes is that they do chip easily and quickly, I found that within 24 hours chips would start to show around the tips of the nails so make sure you apply a top coat to help them last for as long as possible.

Have you tried any of the other shades from the China Glaze Collection?

Long time no see!! Google Friend Connect is moving!

Hello all you lovely people!!

I cannot apologise enough for my lack of posts in the last few months, truth is I have been working on a TV production called 'Yonderland' and now that filming has finished I finally have some spare time to get back to the things I love and blogging is one of them!  And it couldn't have come at a better time as I know that Google Reader and Google Friend Connect is closing and leaving us all!

As I have been out of the loop for a while, I feel like I'm jumping on the bandwaggon a bit late and want to give you all a helping hand to do what needs to be done.

When it comes to your google reader, I have chosen to move my information to Feedly, this is a great site and they have a mobile apps that makes it all easy to use, with this site you can also read your blogs through an app called Newsify!  If you haven't got these apps already, I would suggest you take a look as these are great ways to keep up to date on the go.

When it comes to following blogs publicly, I have been told that Bloglovin is the way to go! I haven't had much of a chance to do everything yet, but there are some great blog posts that help explain it all better than I can, so here are the ones I have found helpful!!

Replacing Google Friend Connect with Bloglovin
Bye Bye Google Reader, Hello Bloglovin’
My new favorite reader: a Bloglovin’ tutorial

I hope this helps and I will follow up with some great new posts shortly!!

Product Rave: Archie's Girls Nail Lacquer

I want to give a shout out to my new favourite nail colour, MAC's Pep Pep Pep from new Archie's Girls collection.

I love this colour, it's a lovely, peachy nude nail colour and is great for an every day nail.

With two coats, this nail polish leaves a strong, bold coverage that looks feminine and beautiful. 

Have you tried any of the Archie's Girls products?

Product Rave: Shadowbase from FrontCover Cosmetics

Hi guys,

Long time no speak I know, but I have been so busy and plan to make it up to you with lots of new posts!

To begin with I just want to do a quick rave about a product I was sent to try by FrontCover Cosmetics, it is their Shadowbase. Retailing at £8 this product is a creamy eyeshadow in a stick applicator.

"What's so great about a cream eyeshadow?" I hear you say, we'll this product is made for so much more!

When wearing this product on its own, it is a creamy formula that glides on to leave a shimmery nude even layer of color which dries quickly and doesn't crease,so it is a great product for a quick application when you're in a rush. Plus, because it is in a lipstick style stick there's no need to get your fingers dirty when applying.

But if you want to use this product to the best of its ability, then apply it as a base/primer for your other eyeshadows or pigments. This product creates a creamy base for any other colors to adhere to for a long lasting, bolder application.  To help explain more please check out my photos below:

On the left, MAC's Nylon eyeshadow on its own. On the right, MAC's Nylon on top of FrontCover Cosmetics  Shadowbase.

On the left is MAC's Tall, Dark & Handsome, on the right is MAC's Tall, Dark & Handsome on top of FrontCover Cosmetics Shadowbase.



On the left is MAC's Paradisco, on the right is MAC's Paradisco on top of FrontCover Cosmetics Shadowbase.

You can instantly see the difference in colour when using the Shadowbase, it enhances the strength of the pigment creating a new, bolder colour.

Also, what I love is that you can still blend your colours together, even though you have the base for the products to stick to. This product really reminds me of the MAC Paint pot in Bare study, which I usually use as an eye primer and it does the same job.

In addition to its regular day job, you could also use it as a highlighter across the tops of your cheeks, brow bone and even on the cupids bow. Because of the light golden shimmer it gives, it is a handy multi-tasking product.

I would definitely recommend this product and for £8, it is a bargain as it will last for ages and will help your eyeshadows to stay put and not need re-applying.

For more information and products from FrontCover Cosmetics, take a look at their website here

Exclusive Bridal Event at Bicester Bridal

I am very excited to announce an exclusive evening at the wonderful Bicester Bridal on Thursday 14th March 2013 from 7pm to 9pm.

 

I am very excited to be demonstrating at this wonderful evening, so if you are a bride to be and want to speak to speak to someone about planning your big day or just to see what is available out there for you please reserve a place at our event.

Places are limited, so reserve an appointment by contacting bicesterbridal@btconnect.com

Hope to see you there!

xxxxxx

Product Review: MUA Pro-Brow Kit

Hello beautiful followers

I wanted to tell you about this brow kit from MUA:Makeup Academy as I think it is a great buy, especially for those who want to try defining their eyebrows but don't want to spend a lot of money experimenting.

The small, black compact holds a collection of 3 matte powders, 1 fixing gel, a mini angled brush (2 sided) and mini tweezers. What else could you possibly need? oh a mirror and it has that too!

I really like this product as I prefer to use powder when defining my brows. It is less harsh than a pencil and is definitely the way to go if you are just starting out or want a natural brow look.

The three matte shades provided in the palette include a light natural creamy shade, a natural light brown shade and a darker, stronger brown shade. Personall I love the darkey shade as it allows me to flick through my quite bushy eyebrows, defining the shape and allowing them to stand out a bit more. The lighter brown shade is great for a more natural finish and for those with lighter brows (it's also best to start with this one and build the colour if you are new to brow tending). I'm not quite sure why there is a light creamy coloured shade in this palette as it's not really the right colour for lighter brow hairs, but perhaps it's there to help define the shape by highlighting under the brow itself. I could be wrong but I'd have preferred to have a third shade of brown here.

When applying the shadows, you can use your own brush or use the one supplied. The bristles on the brush provided are nice and stiff so you can use it to create the shape you want and to get a sharp line if thats what you need. The gel is also handy to keep those stray hairs in place.

The packaging is nice and sleek, in a shiny black compact. The only negative thing I have to say about the packaging, is that the label on the front of the compact has rubbed off quite quickly since I have put it in my make-up bag, which is a shame as it doesn't stand out from my other compacts as much as I'd like, but its barely anything and wouldn't stop me from buying this product again.

There is only one option for this palette, so if the colours don't suit you here then I'm afraid that's it and you will have to shop elsewhere, which is a shame. But the two brow colours that are in the palette do seem to be quite universal so they should suit most people.

Overall, I do like this product and I would recommend it. I also have a HD Brow palette that I used non-stop when I got it, but it has now been replaced with this one due to the colour options. For £3.50 I don't think you can really go wrong here and there is loads of product in this palette so it will last for ages.

What are your favourite products for your brows?

MUA Fur Effect Nails Taster

Hello lovely people,

I went shopping the other day and managed to pick up some of the Fur Effect Nail pots from MUA: Make up Academy and wanted to sure with you my first attempt photos!

This was very exciting to try out although I think it takes a few try's to get the hang of completely!

Here are my first images, I will be trying then out again and will follow up with a review!

Being lame...

Hello beauties!

I just wanna check in and say hello to you lovelies! I want to apologise for being lame recently and being slack on my posts but I have to be honest and own up! I've been lacking inspiration! So many things have been rushing through my head, so much to do and so little time that the inspiration for my posts seems to have hit a road block and everything I've been working on hasn't come out very well!

But after having put a few things in line and getting some of my ducks in a row I will be back on form and will be getting back into a productive flow and more posts will follow.

I also want to take this time to thank all of my followers, I love you all and love to hear what you think of my posts.

Take care everyone and stay productive!

My Home-Made Roasties

Hello lovely people,

So one of my New Year's resolutions was to cook more and this weekend I decided to put that into action by making a lovely home-made roast dinner! Not a typical roast dinner with yorkshire pudding etc. but I cooked a lovely pork joint and decided to make some roast potatoes and roasted carrots to go with it.

I was very impressed with how they turned out and I wanted to share them with you.  I always thought it was easier to throw a bag of Aunt Bessie's roast potatoes in the oven to cook, but it was so easy and they were so tasty, I couldn't believe it!

For the carrots, peel them, wash them and cut them into bite-sized pieces.  Put them on a baking tray (I drizzled some olive oil onto the baking tray before putting the carrots on), to try and reduce the amount of calories I was adding, I sprayed Fry Light (1kcal cooking spray) on top of the carrots, you can use olive oil if you want but I used this and it tasted great. I then sprinkled some Thyme on top and they were ready for the oven.  

I put the carrots in the over at 180 C for about 40 mins

For the Potatoes, I peeled, wash and cut them into quarters. I then part boiled the potatoes for 10-15 minutes. Once drained, I carried out the same steps as with the carrots and drizzled olive oil on the pan, then added the potatoes, sprayed with Fry Light 1kcal spray and sprinkled with Thyme.  These then went into the oven with the carrots for approximately 40 minutes.

Obviously, this timing is an estimate so if you are trying this yourself make sure you keep an eye on them and make sure you check them regularly. Now I wouldn't ever say I have good skills in the kitchen but I have to say these tasted great, the roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Do you have any good tricks to make great roast potatoes?

Model Own Beetlejuice Collection in Pinky Brown

Hey beauties,

I just had to share with you my new favourite nail varnish colour, this is part of the Models Own Beetlejuice Collection and is the colour Pinky Brown. 

I love this colour, it is dark enough to be great for the winter months but has a splash of colour which makes it fun and playful.

The polish has a mainly red colour to it but has splashes of pink, brown, gold and purple. Here I have applied two coats and it gives a really good coverage. 

I just love Models Own nail varnishes and I love this colour and the Beetlejuice Collection.

Looking back on Christmas

Hello lovelies,

I can't believe its the second week of January already! It seems like only yesterday I was wrapping Christmas presents and now its all over and its back to the real world!

My family have a great tradition, where we rent a cottage somewhere and pack everything up for a week and spend the whole of Christmas together, which is so nice as we get to spend quality time together and my nan gets to look after us all! The only down side this year, was that there was no wifi! It felt like we were cut off from the world as there was very little phone signal too, which is why my blogging schedule has gone awry. But its back to normality now and I'm trying to get things back on track.

It's crazy how quickly the holidays come and go so quickly, I hope you all had as a great a time as I did! 

My Aunt just sent me a copy of the photo she took of me while I was stuffing the turkey! So I thought I would share it with you. This was my first time cooking a bird or anything like that so its quite nice to have a photo to document it!

My Beauty Fix: Flaky Lips

Hi guys,

So for the next problem for My Beauty Fix, I wanted to tackle flaky lips. Now I'm sure we've all had this at some time or another, but if you are anything like me then as soon as the weather changes and it gets cold, your lips just act like a snake and want to shed, shed, shed! Gross I know but it's just natural and means that you have to take care of your lips more.

Did you know, your lips contain very few oil glands and no sweat glands which means they don't produce the natural oils the rest of your skin does. Your lips lose moisture 3 times faster than the skin on your cheeks. This is why it is very important to take care of your lips.

Fix 1: To tackle dry, flaky lips you can use products like Mary Kay's Satin Lips set (which is an exfoliating mask and balm set) or Lush's Lip Scrubs which contain exfoliating beads that gently buff away the dead skin cells leaving you with smooth, soft lips.  These can be used daily, weekly, or monthly depending on how flaky your lips get, just make sure you don't over exfoliate!

Fix 2: if you don't like the idea of using these sort of products on your lips, then that's ok you can try using a clean toothbrush to gently rub along the lips (try to use upward, circular motions) and this will help buff away the dead skin cells. Just be sure to clean the brush afterwards and keep it separate from your normal toothbrushes so they don't get mixed up.

Fix 3: (or perhaps this should be 1.2) if you don't want to buy new products to exfoliate your lips, then you can try these homemade options I found on Pinterest,

Homemade Lip Scrub Recipes
DIY Lip Scrub
DIY: Grapefruit sugar lip scrub

Once you have chosen your fix and you now have silky smooth lips, just remember to keep your lips moisturised and protected from the cold. For an everyday lip balm, I really recommend Blistex's Daily Lip Conditioner, Carmex Lip Balm or The Burts Bee's range. For really chapped and suffering lips, try Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour cream (the original one, which I keep by my bed as its great for so many things) or they do a specific 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant.  

If you would like to see more on Mary Kay's Satin Lips set, take a peek at my how-to video,

Thank you for stopping by for My Beauty Fix, if you are having any problems with your beauty regime that you think I may be able to help with then please leave me a comment with your problem or email me at dani@daniduffymakeup.co.uk quoting 'Beauty Fix' in the subject and I will do everything I can to find you a solution!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! Welcome to 2013 and I can feel that it is going to be a great year!

First of all I would like to wish everyone all the health and happiness possible for 2013 and to say thank you to all of my lovely followers for sticking with me. It feels as though 2012 has been a tough year for many (myself included) but I see a lot of positivity surrounding the start of this year and I know it is going to be a good one.

I'm going to try not to make this a soppy post, but I have had such an amazing response to my blog over the last few months that am I really starting to feel at home with my writing and I absolutely adore the community aspect of blogging that gives me such a smile every time I see a commented posted on my blog or read the amazing posts written by others and I just can't wait for that to grow throughout 2013!

Now as its the start of a new year, the first question you're usually asked is of you have any resolutions? I usually give myself lots of resolutions but never follow them through, but this time I am going to try and make a change!

So what are my resolutions you ask? Well it starts with the usual eat and drink less, exercise more, lose weight and get fit an healthy (but no matter how many times I take up this resolution it's always the hardest one to stick to). My main ones I desperately will work to keep are to remain positive and work harder than ever (if so I'm sure good things will follow), in the past year I have felt like I'm stuck out in the ocean all by my self, trying to hold on but I know that will change this year. To put lots of effort in for true friends, I have met some amazing people in the past year that are so important to me that I want to build those friendships web more. Be creative, even if it doesn't work it's always good to try new things and to be happy! My life feels so fluid (not sure if its the right word, but it feels right) at the moment and nothing stands still so I want to do and feel as much as I possibly can to keep my life happy and moving forward!

Now that I have told you all this, I have to stick to it or ill have you all to answer to!

Happy New Year to all and I can't wait to get to know you better!

What are your New Year resolutions?