My favourite reads

I've always considered myself more as blog reader than an actual blogger. Blog reading is a big deal to me, and checking for new content for my 300+ blogs subscriptions have become part of my daily routine. More than 300 blogs is a lot and I follow each one of them for a unique reason.


There's probably no one quite like Jangsara to blow me away with her make up skills, MakeupbyKaty for her eyebrow transformations, You've got Nail for her amazing photographs and reviews of nails polishes and I could go and on and on.

 

But if I had to narrow it down to just 2 beauty blogs which wow me on every aspect, without the shadow of a doubt, I would say that LIPGLOSSIPING and COSMETIC-CANDY are my ultimate favourite beauty blogs. As if blogging every day was not impressive enough, their posts have an unique style of writing: witty, friendly, humourous, and with a little bit of sarcasm. Their humour is not forced , they are just naturally funny people and it makes it more even more captivating to follow their beauty adventures. And to top it all, they have amazing photography skills.



Outside their blogs, they are a joy to follow on twitter and keep me entertained. I will never forget the day when I first posted about nail polish (I was so shy, I only painted my thumbnail then) and when Lipglossiping.com supported me and commented on my blog. I wanted to frame that comment as the encouragement and boost it gave me has been truly uplifting. I am beyond grateful to the time they spend blogging: it makes me happy.


Outside the realm of beauty blogging, I've been following LUVANDHAT has me in hysteric fits of laughter pretty much every time they post. Luv(e) and Hat(e) follows a very simple yet genius concept. It is a hilarious match of opinions on everyday topics between (mostly) Stuart and Robyn. I am not quite sure when they find the time to blog outside their busy jobs but I am so glad they do as they keep entertained from daily humdrum. If you're new to Luv and Hat, oh boy you're in for a treat. You could start by reading their post on the 'Post Office' and 'Google +'.


For its second year running, Cosmopolitan Magazine wants to celebrate the best of British Blogs and are running their Blog Awards. They are inviting blog readers to nominate their favourite blogs. If you had a minute, I would be so grateful if you could help me support my favourite reads and nominate them to the Cosmo Blog Awards 2011. To do so, it's very easy, go to: http://bit.ly/cosmopoliblog and paste their blog address:

Cosmetic-Candy: http://www.cosmetic-candy.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
Lipglossiping: http://www.lipglossiping.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
LuvandHat:  http://luvandhat.tumblr.com/ (Lifestyle Category)



 

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Free Fluttering Falsies courtesy of Cosmo

Wait, another magazine freebie? What can I say? I like reading magazines. I am massive fan of false eyelashes. One of my favourite brand of eyelashes is Eylure so when the September issue of Cosmopolitan was released with a pair of exclusive lashes, it was a no brainer for me: I just had to buy the magazine. That's right, if you buy the September edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine (£3.50) you can get your hands on a free pair of 115 Eylure lashes.






Straight from the packet, I could see right away that these lashes were the right size for my smalls eyes and wouldn't need any trimming whatsoever. I love it when I don't need to trim the lashes and I can just pop them right on.





They have an invisiband type of lashline which I am not a fan of. I much prefer solid yet thin lashlines, as I do not like the appearance of the little gaps of emptiness.





The little gaps of emptiness, in close up action shot:
They could have done with being applied a smidge closer to the lashline





The Eylure 115 flare on the outside corner. This not my preferred shape of lashes but you might like it. I am paranoid enough about the my droopy lids and I feel that this particular shape doesn't suit my eyes. Ideally, I would have preferred them either straight or the same length as the inner corner.






And with a little bit of eyeliner on. I’ve misplaced my trusty H&M eyeliner, so I had to use my basic 2true eyeliner. Sorry for the wobbly hand and the lack of liner opacity.





And with a bit of slap on:







Final Verdict: These lashes are very good quality, were easy to apply and needed no trimming. However, I am not a fan of the invisiband lashline and the outer flaring shape. The human hair material gives an added natural look to the lashes but they will need plenty of eyeliner to conceal the ‘the little gaps of emptiness’. If you do like the shape of the lashes, they are very good value for money: the vertical curl is superb, the horizontal curve is spot on,  and you won’t be disappointed.


Happy false lashing :) x

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Mushrooms & Berries NOTD and MissFit Take 2.

You know what? Blog comments are like Red Bull, they give you wiiiings. I just posted my first notd attempt (take 2 of Missfit from Missguided at the bottom of this post) yesterday and the comments you left for me were so uplifting that it gave me the confidence to do some more :)

So I would like to share with you 2 other nail polishes: my first Barry M acquisitions which I have been meaning to try for ages:
Barry M Berry Ice Cream (308)  and Barry M Mushroom (033)





I realise the whole world and its missus have already got these shades. If you haven't, here are my 'swatches' Both polishes were an absolute dream to apply and I would totally recommend them for a beginner. I love the brush, the thick but not gloopy formula and the fact that I get coverage in 2 coats. Now that I've been used to this, it's going to be pretty hard to top that.


So first, this is Berry Ice Cream. I love the colour but I don't like the finish. It's pretty on photos, and even in real life, but it's simply not me and it's going straight to my friend's house. I don't like crème finishes really, I personally find them a bit flat on me. I have tried to take photos both indoors with the flash and outside with a real lighting. My goodness we were lucky today, such a lovely sunshine.










Barry M Mushroom feels divine. Although it's also a crème finish, I don't mind it as much because it falls more in the category of natural earthy greige kind of polishes and it feels more acceptable, to have a shimmer or a duo chrome going on. If you like these shades, hand on my heart, you won't be disappointed by the formula and the ease of application and I would wholeheartedly recommend them. Now I am tempted to buy 'vivid purple' by Barry M. Anyone's got it? 






I know, I know. Index finger could do with another coat really. I might have forgotten it. Hopefully the blue sky will detract your attention :)







Oh, I nearly forgot.
This is take 2 of my fotd from yesterday: the absolutely gorgeous MissFit, now on all the fingers hehe. Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and support. <3




 

 

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Free ‘Splash’ Nail Polishes

Online Affordable Fashion Range Missguided.co.uk is now doing beauty stuff and they're launching today 'Splash': a brand new polish collection.





No need to splash out though, because you can get 3 shades (collection has 6 polishes in total) for FREE in the November Issue of Cosmopolitan. The Missguided Splash polishes usually retail at £5.00.




MissFit: Black with a sparkly gold shimmer
MissCellaneous: Nude
MissBehave: Lilac or Pink?

Will you be getting any this week end ;) ? 
I am tempted to … misbehave myself and get my copy of  Scherzinger Cosmopolitan ;)

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