MUA Haul

Hi Beauties!

I have been absolutely swamped with college work for the past two weeks (why do they set all the assignments at once?) which left me way too exhausted to even think about blogging, so I'm really sorry I've been absent! Remember I mentioned a MUA order I made way back before Christmas? Well it finally turned up 8 days after I was told it would, and almost 3 weeks after payment, so having paid £2.95 for First Class postage, I am not at all happy with their website. I was also really surprised that they did not contact me at all, not even sending an order confirmation message, which is strange, as they had sent me 4 e-mails about my previous order.


Anyway, rant over. I will be buying their products again as they are fantastic value, but not through the website! I thought I'd show you what I bought displayed on my essay chair, as that's where I've been spending most of my time recently!

 It's a lovely little Victorian or Georgian nursery chair, so comfortable, and luckily, the fabric almost perfectly matches the gold toned eyeshadow I bought!

Pearl eyeshadow in Shade 29 (£1)

 No flash on the left, with flash on the right (throughout the post)

I can see this becoming my go to product for nights out, as I love rocking a golden eye. The glitter is intense, and although there is a bit of fall out, it's to be expected at this price.

Glitter Eyeliner in Shade 2 (£1)

This was a lot less full than I was expecting it to be: you only get half a tube. I think that's a bit cheeky, even at this price. It is so pretty though! I saw it on Rebecca's blog, in a Christmas eyes post and couldn't resist, seeing as Chanel is a bit out of my price range at the moment!

Swatches:

These were so difficult to take pictures of! I mean, I know I only use an iPhone camera, but the glitter just throws light all over the place.  The liner is towards the bottom of the photo, with the eyeshadow at the top.

Lipsticks - Bare Shade 14 and Shade 3 (£1 each)

 Shade 3 is on the left, Bare Shade 14 on the right

These shades are so natural I'm sure I'll be wearing them every day. They're also really moisturising, which is fantastic as Barry M lipsticks, which I posted about here, can be a bit hit and miss. However, they are very sheer, especially Shade 3. Here are the swatches:

I had to swipe several times to build up the colour, but I think the result is worth it :)

Out There Plumping Lipglosses  - Candy Pink and Peach Shimmer (£2 each)

 Peach Shimmer is on the left and Candy Pink is on the right

It has to be said that I don't really see any major plumping effects after applying this, despite an almost spicy tingling sensation. The colour payoff is good though, and leaves lips shiny but not sticky. You can see in the swatches that they're both blue based, ideal for my horrendously pale complexion!

If you are mathematically inclined, you may notice that the little lot above adds up to £8 exactly, which meant I received a free Immaculate palette! As I already have one, I'm going to leave this new one in immaculate condition (sorry, couldn't resist :p) to include in a giveaway at some point.

Anyone still reading? Bit of a long post, I know... Anyway, I have many more lined up, so I won't leave it so long next time! Please comment below, feedback is alwasy welcome :)

Lots of Love,
Krystyna x

NOTD: Rainbow Connection

Hi Beauties!

Happy Tuesday!

OPI Muppets Rainbow Connection, stage by stage application:

First Coat

Second Coat

Thid Coat (without flash so the colours show up better)

Lots of Love,

Krystyna x

Things We Do For Beauty...

Happy Monday Beauties!

Ok, call me crazy, but I had to share this with you as the results were so amazing: basically, I slept with a plastic bag on my head last night. No, not just for kicks! It was there to cover up the hair mask I had on of course :)

So, being the lazy lump I am, I hadn't washed my hair at all at the weekend, and it looked baaaaad. Come Sunday night, I felt disgusting and just had to hop in the shower, where I was faced with a dilemma (my life is so hard right? :p). I usually wash my hair every day because it gets so greasy and knew that if I washed my hair then, I'd still have to do it the next morning in order to not scare the whole college witless! But washing it twice so quickly would surely be bad for it? That left my other option of just giving it a good rinse, which I didn't want to do because it might still smell and I'd just changed my bed sheets :(

Then, a revelation; I spotted out of the corner of my eye a shiny orange tub full of promises (and a gorgeously scented treatment).

Herbal Essences Smooth & Soft Intensive Mask

£3.99 for 200ml from Sainsburys

I usually use the Beautiful Ends Mask from the same range, or Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Luscious Long Deep Treatment, but I'd bought this when they were on offer in Sainsburys and felt that now was the time to break it out. Opening it, I was immediately in love with the citrus scent, so scooped up a handful of coral goo to massage into my poor hair. It's not too runny, as some conditioners can be, but it isn't as stiff as Aussie's treatment either, and really did feel like liquid satin once applied.

Normally, I'd leave a mask on for a bit before rinsing it off well with cold water, but last night I wanted some major pampering and left it on for the night. I thought this would be quite simple: apply shower cap et voila! Then the elastic in the shower cap broke. What was I meant to do??? I had a flash of inspiration and grabbed the cling film. Which turned out to be rubbish.

Rubbish cling film.

It would not stick at all to my slimy head! The day was saved by my ingenious mother, who tied a plastic bag on my head (just around the hairline, not the neck lol) which I secured with clips and left well alone for the night.

Snooze :)

Next morning, I rinsed out the mask really thoroughly, then used a little shampoo to make sure there was no residue, a little of my normal conditioner on the ends, and finished with my trusty TommyGuns Weather Protect Dew Drops (£7.00 from Waitrose, but well worth it). I never blow dry or straighten my hair so it was left to its own devices while I went to college, until I noticed the smell! It was like I'd just stepped out of the salon, and I have literally not stopped touching my hair all day! This mask really does work, and I will definitely be using this technique again - maybe with a better shower cap next time :).

Some photos of the results:

What are your go to hair savers? Would also love to hear some feedback on my new posts.

Lots of Love,

Krystyna x

Eyelashes

Evening Beauties!

Two posts in one day, what's going on? Well I just wanted to show off these gorgeous Shu Uemera eyelashes, as they don't get out enough, and it's such a shame to keep them shut away in a drawer!

 

 Here they are close-up :) On the left here is one of the Goldglam Leaf Lashes which were part of a collection last year and cost something ridiculous like £70! Not for me though... I snatched this pair up on eBay, complete with glue for £18 (I think. It was a while ago). I last wore them as part of my Hallowe'en make-up, where I did a peacock effect on one eye - details on that when I have a spare few hours :p.

These are the Dazzling Black Diamante eyelashes, which are currently available to buy at £18.50, the same price as the pair below. Again, I cheated by buying them on eBay, and managed to get both pairs for £25 (not including p+p). As I haven't worn them yet, I'm definitely glad I didn't pay full price! I'm sure I will very soon, as the black diamante detail across the lash band is so pretty.

I've seen these Black Velvet Feather lashes a lot on other blogs, and I'm so glad I bought them as they're sooooooo soft. Seriously think that if I wear them I'll just have my eyes shut for the whole time, or do something weird like stroke my face up against other people just so they can feel it too (sharing is caring). Ahem.


So anyway, this is my lash collection, but I hardly ever wear them! I need more opportunities to show them off. I know that eyelashes can be fiendishly difficult to put on properly without practice, which can put some people off - until now.

Picture from e.l.f. website

This is the Hollywood lash kit from e.l.f., which I saw on Lauren's blog originally, and fell for completely! Seriously, a work of genius. It contains a pair of lashes, an applicator, lash glue and a lash stand, all for just £3.50, and is definitely on my wish list.

What's the best beauty buy you've made on eBay?

Lots of Love,

Krystyna x

Multitude of Muppets - Return to blogging!

Hi Beauties!

I have been severely neglecting this blog recently, but I do have reasons!

1. No camera! I managed to drop my iPhone in the bath. It was not happy :(
2. College work - just given in my first batch of assignments, which all had to be in within the same week. Major panic!
3. Personal life: I got one. True to my blog name, I was well and truly lead astray by something new and shiny -  a relationship :s Sadly it turned out that this 'man' was actually a pig. Still, no harm done!

So, with the help of my early Christmas pressie (iPhone 4S - love you Daddy!), I am back, (hopefully) better than ever, but definitely better illustrated :p. Prepare yourselves for A LOT of photos, starting with...

The Long-Promised OPI Muppets Glitter Collection Photos!

Without flash

From left to right (all photos in post): Rainbow Connection, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Gone Gonzo!, Divine Swine, Excuse Moi! and Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

With flash

I have just taken soooo many photos of this collection, managing to finish just as the light was fading (wtf? it's 2:30!), and there are examples with and without flash, giving you lucky lucky readers the chance to see exactly what they're like, and whether you think they're worth the OPI price tag. I have also used my eBay nail art wheels to show you what they look like on the nail, and I think they show the coverage really well.

Without flash                                               With flash

I used these wheels to show how the colour changes with layers, and how they work as a top coat. First up, a single coat on bare nails:

Without flash

With flash

You can see from these photos that one coat really doesn't offer much coverage, with the strongest being Gone Gonzo!.

Without flash

With flash - have no idea what these shadow lines are, sorry!

 These are two coats of glitter on a colour base coat:

 Rainbow Connection with Rimmel London French Manicure in Shade 442 - French Rose

Fresh Frog of Bel Air with Barry M Nail Paint 284

Gone Gonzo! with Barry M Nail Paint 306 - Blueberry Ice Cream

Divine Swine with Revlon Nail Enamel in Shade 792 - Plum Attraction 

Excuse Moi! with Chanel Le Vernis in Shade 217 - Splendeur

Gettin' Miss Piggy With It with Nails Inc Shade 408 - Tate

I think some colours work really well with the base coats, whereas others are strongest on their own but layered up, as in the next photos, which have three coats of colour:

Without flash

With flash

 As you may remember from my first post, I was really disappointed with Rainbow Connection when I first tried it, but now I take it all back! It's quite versatile (well, as versatile as multi-coloured glitter can be) and does work really well layered up on its own. Other than that, I can't pick a favourite! I am less fond of Gettin' Miss Piggy With It though... I think red glitter is most effective without any other colours mixed in, so it can act as a substitute for ruby slippers!

To end this massive post, here are more photos, of the colours in their bottles.

Individual shots, left side is without flash, right is with:

 Rainbow Connection

 Fresh Frog of Bel Air (shaky hand!)

 Gone Gonzo!

 Divine Swine

 Excuse Moi! I'm not sure why this looks so orange. It's really not, but came out the same when I tried to take another pic

 Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Phew! Congrats to those of you who managed to stay with me to the end! I felt I should put up plenty of photos as these polishes are much-talked about at the moment, and quite an investment if you buy the whole set, so hopefully I've managed to inform you! Right, time for a hot chocolate :)

Lots of Love,

Krystyna x