Essie: Pink Diamond

After hearing such good things about the nail polish brand Essie and it's availability increasing due to now being stocked in most Boots and Superdrugs I was slightly worried that if I bought it with such high hopes that it wouldn't live up to the hype. 

Yesterday evening there was a student shopping night in Canterbury where all students had to do was show their student card and could get a variety of discounts in shops that don't normally offer it OR they were offering more discount than normal.  With the likes of H+M, River Island and Topshop tempting students with 20% off EVERYTHING you can imagine how busy it was! As soon as I saw that Boots were offering 10% off I knew I had to go in to spend a lot of money and have a look around. After spending a very long time at the Essie stand I eventually chose 'Pink Diamond' as I was drawn to it's delicate shade and the slight shimmer it has. With most of my shades I already own being deeper pinks/reds I knew this would get used and I could team it with my Holy Grail of nail varnishes- the glittery Topshop nail varnish in 'Ice Crush' (see post here) to make it even more girly. 

I think this is the perfect shade for not wanting to have bare nails but also not wanting to be too 'out there' with a bold colour, especially if your already wearing statement colours on your outfit! 

source: here

So was I impressed or disappointed with the quality? I can gladly say this has an amazing consistency, slightly more liquidy than other brands, but not in a bad way. It's really nice to see the colour becoming stronger as you apply more layers, I found 3 was the perfect amount!

What is your favourite Essie shade? I think I'm going to have to start collecting!

A little beauty splurge

I'm definitely no beauty and make-up expert, but seeing all the hype surrounding Benefit's 'They're Real!' mascara with lots of positive reviews in the Blog-o-sphere and with Benefit's ambitious claims including "One sold every 20 seconds" and "94% of customers asked said they saw dramatic length and volume" I couldn't help but want to know more about this holy grail of mascaras. Luckily there was no Benefit rep at the stand whilst I was looking at the products when I was in Boots yesterday (not too keen on their 'friendly' help and feeling like you have to buy something).

Anyway, despite the pretty hefty price tag (£18.50) I decided to give Benefit a go as I've never used any of their other mascaras whilst thinking of the beauty blogger mantra- you ultimately get the quality that you pay for! I was really excited to get home and test it out and I'm really pleased to say I wasn't disappointed!

The brush is quite thin and has tiny bristles- Benefit say to get the best result to "Postition the wand horizontally and wiggle from side to side from the base to tip...layer generously as desired" this technique worked really well and I didn't need to apply another coat! With not a dreaded clump in sight....phew!

Now for the serious question-

Is it worth £18.50? 

In my opinion I think this is definitely worth that little bit more money than you would pay for the usual drug-store make-up brands such as Rimmel or Maybelline which normally won't set you back anything more than £10. This has clearly had the research put into it to make a mascara that isn't prone to smudge and does what women really want from a mascara- length and definition.

Whilst I was in Boots I also had a browse over the 'UNE' make-up stand which is one I haven't ever given much notice to at all, I bought the 'Blush Grand Air' in the 'Breezy Cheeks' shade. This is a creamy blusher with the appearance of being a powder yet goes creamy to the touch and applies excellently. I also bought their 'Blush Brush' which they recommended to apply the blush with, it's a tiny little thing but does just the job!

Have any of you got the Benefit 'They're Real!' mascara and are now a convert like me?

What UNE products do you have?