Jubilee Nails!

A quick mobile post of mum's Jubilee nails for our picnic in the park later.

Island Girl Neon

The weather has been amazing over the weekend so I thought to fit in nicely with the summery theme I would do my nails in neon pink, the colour I chose is by Island Girl and is a colour changing polish, my nails are so short at the moment that you never really see the colour change but I love the bright neon pop of colour anyway.

No7 Nail Glitter Top Coats

Yesterday, again thanks to the Boots No7 £5 vouchers, I picked up the two new glitter top coats from No7.  They're part of the new, limited edition summer collection for 2012.

I'm looking forward to trying these two out, I think they'll be perfect for jelly sandwiches!

They seem to have the new version of the No7 brush which is good, it's thicker than the old version and I find it great for coverage on my nails.



No7 Temptress with Barry M Gold Foil stamping

Ginvera Marvel Gel (Zero Blackhead Gel)

I'd read a few reviews of Ginvera Marvel Gel (Zero Blackhead Gel) online so I thought I would give it a go, any product which claims all this is definitely worth a shot in my books: 

10 Amazing Efficacies

1) Removes blackheads painlessly
2) Softens the cornified layer and gently removes dead skin cells
3) Refines pores and reveals finer, smoother skin
4) Fades pigmentation spots and acne scars
5) Removes oil seeds around eye area
6) Regulates and balances oil secretion, prevent pimples
7) Evens out skin tone to give skin clarity
8) Dull and rough skin becomes smoother and fairer
9) Stimulates skin metabolism, skin becomes younger
10) Allows rapid and instant penetration of skincare products applied subsequently

Whether it lives up to all these claims remains to be seen, I'm not sure I even want to think about having a cornified layer on my face!

It comes with these directions:

Before cleansing, squeeze an adequate amount and apply onto dry face and neck, focusing more on the T-zone area. Gently massage in circular motions until small flakes appear which is the dead skin cells and dirt from the skin. After massaging, wet your fingers and gently massage again, and wash off with water afterwards.

 I gave it a try on my hand and these are the results, firstly the gel:

Now the flakes appearing, whether they're dead skin cells or just the product pilling up is hard to tell:

And then my skin afterwards, it definitely looks clear and smooth and possibly a little better but it's very hard to tell:

I've now tried the product on my face a few times and it definitely does seem to be removing something, there is quite a lot of flaking and pilling as you massage it into your face, again, I am sceptical as to how much of this is actual dead skin and nasty stuff but I'm sure in time the results will speak for themselves.

My skin is looking a little clearer but I have had some blemishes spring up, whether this is just my skin behaving naturally or due to the product I don't know, it does feel nice and smooth after I've used the gel so for now I am happy to continue and see how I get on as I've had no adverse reastions to the product and it seems gentle enough on my skin.

And finally, here's a shot of the back of the box with even more of their claims:

BeauBelle Snail Cream

Recently I have been reading a few bits and pieces online about how snail cream is good for your skin, particularly for treating acne and red marks, even the Daily Mail have cottoned on, so I thought I would give it a try, especially since I am on the look out for something to help with the scarring and red marks on my face.  

I didn't really fancy shelling out £30 for one of the brands mentioned (cheap, I know) so I decided to give BeauBelle's version a go, it makes some rather big claims online:

Beaubelle Highly concentrated Snail cream (it contains 80% of snail extract)

The most powerful snail gel on market, diminishes wrinkles, vanishes spots.

Due to its regenerative action, helps to diminish keloid scars, firming and anti-sagging action on skin.

Dermatologically tested. Results can be seen since the first application.

I ordered from eBay where the seller also had more praise for the cream:

My packaged arrived within a few days, although sadly the box wasn't in the best condition.

The bottle inside the box wasn't really what I expected either, it looked a bit cheap and homemade, possibly to be expected when buying a cheaper version though.  

It remains to be seen whether trying out the bargain version of snail cream from eBay was in fact a massive mistake, sometimes spending that extra £10 or £12 can make all the difference, one day I might learn.  Although, I've had some great beauty bargains when hunting down cheaper dupes of top end products so I doubt the bargain hunter in me will be put off just yet. 

On the skin the cream is definitely more of a lotion, and does look a bit like snail slime...

It feels like a very lightweight lotion and not at all slimey when applied to the skin though, after rubbing it in my skin felt quite soft and relatively well moisturised but there was no dramatic difference in either look or texture.

I've only tried it on my face once so far and although felt relatively nice and didn't have any immediate adverse effect on the skin it didn't seem like a wonder product either.  I also found that I needed a moisturiser over the top as my skin felt slightly tight after application. 

So, overall, I'm happy to keep trying it out (and will report back) but no snail slime miracles so far and the packaging leaves a lot to be desired!

Kiko 296 with Barry M Silver Foil Stamping

No7 Poppy King Lip Crayon - Raindrops Collection (Smiling & Skipping)

As suspected, the lure of a 3 for 2 and the No7 £5 off voucher was too much, I had to go back for the other 2 Crayons in the Raindrops collection.  You can see my first post on them here.

This time I picked up Smiling and Skipping; a bright, blue based red and a very sheer berry colour. Skipping is definitely the least pigmented from the collection and leaves just a hint of subtle colour on the lips whereas Smiling is as punchy and bright as the previous 3 I've tried.

Not much more to say on these other than to echo what I said in my last post about them.  I really like the texture and wear of the Crayons and after having tried them out some more over the weekend I am really pleased with them, they're very wearable colours, look great on the lips and last surprisingly well for this sort of product.

Finally, here are a couple of swatches of my two newest editions:

Zoya Adina, Kiko 347 & Barry M Silver Foil Stamping

Over the weekend I decided to try out Zoya Adina, it's a polish I have had for a while but only worn once so I thought I should give it an outing. 

After I applied it I decided it was a bit dull and I wasn't overly impressed with it on it's own on my newly short nails so I thought I would stamp over the top with Kiko 347.

Unfortunately, my stamping skills were clearly not up to par yesterday and it all looked a bit smudged, patchy and messy. 

Rather than take it all off and start a again I decided to try and save it by stamping again over the top with Barry M Nail Foil in Silver.

 

 

While it's still not perfect, and a bit of an odd combination, I do think the stars make the whole design look a bit more cohesive, and more the the point you can't tell that I smudged the zebra print underneath quite so badly.

I do like the double stamp look so that's something I will definitely be doing again, as for the colour combination, probably not.

New Stamping Plate Collections - Bundle Monster & Cheeky

Both Cheeky & Bundle Monster have recently announced a new collection of plates to be release late May / early June this year.  I'm currently trying to decide which I need to purchase, although I suspect the answer might be both.

Both companies have been revealing previews of some of the new plates on their Facebook pages, here are the designs they've shown so far.

CHEEKY:

BUNDLE MONSTER: