Bargain Gift!

Okay, so a slightly different type of post, but I couldn't not give this a mention! If you've got a man in your life, whether that be a brother, father, boyfriend or partner, and you struggle with what to buy them for their birthday, or dare I say it, Christmas, this is a must-purchase!

For just £19, the No7 Men Grooming Collection has all the basic toiletries a guy needs, with nothing too fancy. All full-size products, as well as being hypo-allergenic and designed for everyday use, means it's great for any age. The set, from left to right, compromises of:

• Energising Face Wash
  
• Energising Hair and Body Wash
  
• Energising Face Scrub
  
• Energising Supercharge
• Energising Moisturiser
  

If bought separately, the items would cost £44.75 altogether, with the set usually retailing at £40, this is a huge saving! The offer finishes on Thursday, and is available at larger Boots stores and at boots.com. Hence, I had to buy this set, especially as my boyfriend has a birthday coming up, as well as Christmas, of course! 

Have you spotted any bargains recently? Have you started your Christmas shopping?

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lipgloss

To be honest, I'm not usually a fan of lipgloss, I much prefer the depth of colour, comfort and wear of a lipstick. However, as soon as I saw the Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lip Gloss in Intriguing Violet from their Untold Color Collection. I knew I just had to have it, so I picked it up as part of my payday haul a while back. At work, our No7 counter is right next to the Elizabeth Arden counter, so it's no wonder this lipgloss caught my eye, as it was so different to anything I had seen before: an almost neon violet-purple colour with flecks of glitter that captures and reflects the light beautifully.

I'm slightly gutted that there's no limited edition packaging for this range, however the classic gold and silver packaging you can't go too far wrong with, as it keeps the premium feel. And don't you just love the small peep-window to the product, teasing you with the wonderful violet flash of colour?! Just a quick note, that no matter how many pictures I can take of this lipgloss, it cannot capture the same magic is has in reality.

I love the big size of this doe applicator, as it means you don't have to swipe it over your lips numerous times to get the gloss on. Instead, it's a lovely thick formula that glides on easily, without having too much of a heavy, sticky feel to it, yet it's nice and moisturising too. And I just love the handy mirror on the side, why don't all lip products do this? 

OH MY GOD the glitter pigment is just OUT OF THIS WORLD, it runs through the entirety of this gloss, there is no let-go whatsoever, and on its own the violet shade of this product is actually stronger than I thought it would be. The glitter shines all colours from blue to purple to gold to silver, and like I mentioned before, my camera just can't capture the beauty of this lipgloss in its entirety. 

I thought I'd slick this gloss over the top of one of my favourite Match Made lipsticks, the shade 255 Raspberry Silk from the Stay Perfect range. Although the reformulated Stay Perfect range have a high moisture content to them, they are matte in their finish so some can find it slightly drying and heavy on the lips, so a slick of gloss can do a world of favours. I adore how the gloss adds such definition to the lipstick without altering the colour, LOOK AT ALL THAT GLITTER AND SHINE. Intriguing Violet certainly keeps me intrigued, that's for sure.

Okay, so for £17 it is a bit on the pricey side for a lipgloss, but I'm seriously impressed by this offering from Elizabeth Arden. Especially with all the current trends to be rather flat colours in lipglosses, it is great to see an offering with such a strong glitter that can be worn on its own or over the top of another colour. Not to mention that for a lipgloss it's not too bad on the wear: okay, so the gloss wears off after about an hour or so, but the glitter somehow stays put, and has little effect on wear on top of another colour. I can't wait to wear this during party season, I think it's just perfect for it if you don't want to go with a heavy glitter on the eyes.

I just need a purple lipstick/lipliner that will compliment this lipgloss perfectly, any suggestions out there?

#NOTW - Week 2

Now that autumn has well and truly made itself known, with the shift in season comes a shift in colours, and not just where clothing and eye makeup are concerned. I've been really bad recently after I grew my nails to a decent length, I gave them a good nibble and they're back down to a fairly short length, boo. So, it's back to square one and painting my nails to stop me biting them more, it's the perfect excuse to wear a mix of autumnal colours. 

I like to wear a nude colour on my nails when they're quite short as I think it distracts from their actual length. But I also like to mix it up a little bit and add a couple of accent nails: I love painting the ring finger, but I tend to throw the same colour onto my thumbnails too, I think it gives a more uniform look, if that makes sense! I think No7 banged the nail on the head when it came to this Deep Wine shade from the Gel Look Shine range. It's a perfect deep, rich wine colour, with notes of burgundy and plum, although the camera certainly picks up more of the burgundy than the plum. This makes for a perfect pairing with the Practically Perfect shade from the Stay Perfect range, the perfect nude for my pale skin.

This is three coats with the Practically Perfect shade to get it to be opaque; even with my short nails, two coats still shows the white tips. I personally don't mind using three coats to get the desired look as the coats are fast drying with this formula, and I've never actually got through a full bottle of nail varnish before, so this could be the first! The Deep Wine shade is with just one coat as this colour is so heavily pigmented, but for wear I have added another coat to ensure it will last, and keep its high shine finish.

A change from my usual bright colours I love to wear on my nails, but this is certainly weather appropriate right now in Britain, and I love the simplicity of the combination in the colours. The No7 vouchers are back in Boots again, so when you spend £4 in store you'll receive a set of vouchers which will get you £5 off the No7 skincare range and £3 off the No7 cosmetics range, and I would certainly recommend you pick up the Deep Wine shade, it's the perfect addition to anyone's range, especially for just £4 with a voucher.

What's on your nails right now? What colours are you loving?