NOTD | THE BEST BARGAIN NAIL VARNISH

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since either of us have posted anything on here, as we've both been so busy with work etc. However, after painting my nails the other day, I just knew I had found something that had to be shared with you all! 

The MUA (Make Up Academy), nail varnishes must be the number 1, bargain buy that quality wise should cost so much more! We purchased quite a few of the colours when MUA had their 50% off offer as this meant that the varnishes only cost 50p!!!! Which is so insane, considering their quality. 

Since buying our nail varnishes, MUA have changed the packaging, resulting in them resembling something very, very similar to Essie's nail varnishes. However, most of the colours still seem to be the same luckily! 

The reason why I'm so impressed with MUA's nail varnishes is firstly because they're so cheap and really great quality; not just for being £1, but in general they are of a really high quality. They have a lovely consistency and therefore apply really easily. I've seen some people moan about the brush, however, I don't have a problem with it at all. It does look of lower quality than other brushes, however, I wouldn't say it affects the application at all, especially as the consistency is so smooth. 

Furthermore, the finish feels so professional; it's so smooth to touch and really shiny, even without a top coat. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the staying power is amazing! The nail varnish lasts on your nails for at least 5 days without chipping,  and maintains the colour and shine (w/o a top coat). 

The colour on my nails is 'Stormy Skies' which is  a dark grey, almost black colour and has a pretty gold shimmer to it. We both love dark colours, like black on the nails, however 'Stormy Skies' is a great alternative if you find black too harsh. I've added Barry M's (NP351)

Jewel Glitter Nail Paint – Yellow Topaz to the top of the ring finger on both hands, just because I fancied some glitter. 

There is quite a variety of colours so, I'm sure that there would be a colour or two... or as we are beauty lovers... five or so colours that would be of everyone's taste. I've used quite a few of the colours that we bought and they are all really great colours and all appear to be of equally good quality. 

I have absolutely nothing bad to say of these nail varnishes and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone; there clearly is no need to spend loads on nail varnish. 

You can purchase the nail varnishes on the MUA website or in Superdrug stores.

Have you tried any of the MUA nail varnishes? 

HANNAH'S JULY FAVORITES

Here are just seven of the products I have fallen in love with this summer month;

Rimmel Natural Bronzer

Rimmel's Natural Bronzer comes in a wide range of colours which makes it great for a wide range of skin tones and seasons, which comes in handy for me considering my skin has pretty dramatic shade changes from winter to summer! It has great pigmentation and the matte finish means that its multi-purpose; I use the bronzer to contour and add warmth to the skin which previously I may have bought two separate products for. 

L'oreal Falsh Lash Flutter

Without being too enthusiastic and out of my character, this may be the best mascara I've ever owned! Both Georgia and I have been a fan of Loreal's mascaras, and this has just become the best one yet. Ignoring the cute name and style, this product also gives great length and volume in the first application, which means that your lashes look brilliant even if you're in a rush and only have time to put one layer on, similarly if you're feeling more patient the lashes can take on a false lash effect with multiple application. The wand has a longer edge which is ideal to ensure all lashes are coated with the remainder of the wand creating the volume. 

Garnier Summer Body

I have been using Garnier's Summer Body for the past two summers, and I am yet to find a better product at a similar price. I find with one application my skin is transformed to a much 'healthier glow', and I only need to use the light shade for immediate results. I only need to apply the product twice a week to maintain the tan which also moisturises the skin each time you use it. Additionally, it doesn't take long to apply or to absorb which means it can be applied in the morning or evening. The only downfall in my opinion is the smell; which isn't bad, however, for the first day after you have applied it the smell is a bit of a give away that you are wearing fake tan and the natural looking brown can be questioned! But for the price, ease and results I would and have recommended this to many as it's perfect for summer. 

Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser

Nivea's in shower body moisturiser has quickly became a favourite of mine  for reasons not as closely linked to how effective the product is. Although I'm worryingly addicted to Body Shops Body Butters, it is rare that I will moisturise  my entire body ever day, and I am more prone to only applying them to my legs after shaving.  Therefore, this in shower moisturiser is perfect for me because it makes it easy; your hair is wet and so completely out of the way and you are left with an immediate soft skin effect without having to wait for the absorption. So overall I love this more due to my laziness than anything else but the idea is great and leaves your skin feeling super soft. I would however, only buy the dry skin version, even though I don't have particularly  dry skin I wouldn't want any less moisture than this gives.  

Bourjois Health Mix 

This Bourjois foundation may be 'the one' for me; it gives the skin such a radiant appearance and has a high coverage which means you can use less of the product resulting in it lasting longer. Even after 9 hour shifts at work it is still going strong which in my opinion is the true test of how long lasting a piece of make up can be! It is also a thick texture, which I prefer in a foundation as I feel it is easier to apply and doesn't risk me spilling it over myself, which actually has happened check out my Revlon Photoready review!

Barry M High Shine Gelly - Passionfruit

Finally, Barry M's Passion Fruit gelly nail varnish has been on my nails almost every other week; when choosing which colour I just can't resist it! Not only does the colour make a good tan look great the gelly collection have such a glossy finish. 

REVIEW: REVLON PHOTOREADY COLLECTION

 The sleek and bold appearance of Revlon's Photoready collection caught my eye immediately and I finally purchased them while Superdrug had a 3 for 2 offer on, you may see a pattern emerging in my spending habits! I love the appearance and the 'photoready' concept, which I was drawn to, especially due to the fact I've not always loved having my picture taken therefore make up has always helped me feel confident, so this felt like an ideal product. 

Sadly, the foundation didn't live up to my expectations; I've found that when applying it the texture is very runny which did lead to a few marks on my shorts! Obviously this could be avoided but if like me you're very clumsy I would steer clear for the sake of your clothes! On top of this, I found it became cakey on the skin, therefore, close up I felt my skin looked tired and worn, although from a distance it didn't look as bad. The foundation also seemed to have really poor longevity as it  wore away around my nose a few hours after applying it. I tried applying a primer before this foundation and it did sit slightly better on the skin, however, I never normally use primers and I've never felt like I've had to before this foundation. As it really didn't live up to my expectations and just made my face look horrible, I gave the foundation to Georgia who has actually rated it higher than I have and actually really likes it. 

 I feel bad giving another disappointing bit of feedback but here goes. Once again it looks great and has a high end look with the lack of  colour and just sticking with black and silver. However, considering it claims to give 3D volume, I didn't see the results even after applying a few coats. I look for mascaras that offer a lot of volume, as my lashes are naturally long, so I only really need the added volume from mascara, so this mascara really disappointed me. Another issue with this mascara is the wand. The wand is very rigid and a little too spikey to be used so close to the eye. I also didn't feel like a lot of mascara came off the wand and instead just stuck to the tip of the wand, which didn't help at all when trying to build volume.  It did last well on the lashes, however, since it's main and only claim is '3D volume,'  which it didn't give, I don't think the other factors are too important. 

Overall I was excited to try these out, but was extremely disappointed due to the advertisement of them as well as the price!

Have you tried either of these and actually had any luck?

FOTD | DARK COPPER BROWN/BLACK SMOKY EYE

Although this post has been titled as a day make-up look, as I wore it in the day, it's probably better suited as a night look, unless like me, you like to always be wearing a lot of make-up. As I love to do make-up and experiment with new looks, I always make an effort with my make-up and like to look made up, so I don't mind waking up a little, well a lot earlier than perhaps necessary, so that I have time to do my make-up nicely. 

 I really liked this look and enjoyed wearing it. It has a nice amount of darkness and definition, without being too heavy or dark; as the black shadow has only gone along the lash line and then been smudged out and also doesn't go too far up the eye lid. The brown and copper shades are taken up into the crease to add to the smoky look. The brown shades make the eye look smoky without being too intense and heavy, as all black would. It makes the look more natural looking and easier to wear for more occasions. 

As the eye is quite dark I wanted to add a lot of high light under the brow bone and in the inner eye corner to brighten the eye and add a good contrast between the shadow and the highlight. I also wanted to contour the cheek bones and add a highlighter there to sculpt the face better. As the eyes are dark and the cheeks are contoured, I chose a light pink nude lip, to keep the look more wearable and to not take the main attention away from the eyes. My boyfriend even commented that he liked the 'nude lip,' in his exact words. I'm not sure how he knew what to call this but I guess after 4 1/2 years you start to wear off on one another. 

If I wanted to wear this look for a night out, I would add some false lashes and maybe a bit more black around the eye. You could also wear a bright pink or coral lipstick with this look, if you wanted a really made up look. 

Do you like this make-up look? What's your favourite looks at the moment? 

Products used:

Face: 
MUA Matte Perfect Primer
Revlong Photo Ready Foundation
Bourjois Bronzing Primer
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
Sleek Contour kit light
Mac Give Me Sun MSF
Benefit Dallas Blush
Rimmel 050 Live Pink blush

Lips: 
Top Shop Pillow Talk lipstick
Revlon Creme Brulee Lip Butter
Benefit Life On The A List Lip Gloss 


Eyes:
 MUA Brow kit
Rimmel Gel Eyeliner
Benefit They're Real Mascara
Sleek Ultra Mattes Eye Palette 
(All of the neutral shades)
MUA Undress Me Too Palette 
(Shades, Shy and Fiery).
MUA Shade 24 Pearl

DISAPPOINTING PRODUCTS #1

 We've been a little too positive on this blog so far, so, we thought it was about time that we bring some negativity to 'Sisters Who Shop'! *evil laugh* 

These are products that we both either, didn't like, didn't think worked as well as they should have, weren't worth the money... etc, you get the gist!  

V05 Ultimate Hold Hairspray

This hairspray just doesn't feel like it does anything. Firstly, it has a really strong scent which is horrible and very musky. It doesn't seem to hold your hair at all and feels as if you haven't even put any hair spray into your hair. Although, that could be a good thing, however, only if it actually was doing some good for your hair. I'm mostly disappointed by this product as it promises so much on the can and doesn't seem to do anything at all. We both also have really thin hair, so you would imagine that it should be able to hold thinner hair easier. 

 Garnier Daily Energising Gel Scrub

We both have this product as we were drawn in by the gorgeous smell and just the pretty cute packaging in general. It sounded good, and suited our skin type, as it's for combination/oily, prone to imperfections. We have combination skin with an oily T-zone and we both get the odd spots, usually in exactly the same place as each other... proud achievement? It promised to unclog, visibly tighten pores and give a radiant glow to the skin. Neither of us have noticed any improvement in our pores at all. The scrub does do a fairly good job at exfoliating, however it doesn't seem to do much else. It didn't even leave either of our faces feeling refreshed at all, which you would assume would happen with a product containing, grapefruit and pomegranate extracts.

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Mascara 

This mascara has a great wand shape and is really great at adding volume, however, it flakes off of the lashes way too easily and dried out so quickly, which makes it really unwearable  It looks good when you first put it on but by the time I got to uni (2 hour car journey), I had lots of little black mascara dots around my eyes, which doesn't happen with any other mascara that I've ever worn.

Models Own Pro Nail Varnish

I spoke about the problems with these on a previous post (here). My main issue with these  nail varnishes is that they are £8 and for that price the quality is really bad. The colours are lovely and they apply well, they just chip really easily, which I wouldn't expect from the price. I've tried so many cheaper nail varnishes and they have lasted a lot better than the Models Own Pro range. 

Rimmel Gel Waterproof Eyeliner

Okay, this is a controversial one. We both actually have and quite like this product and use it whenever we're using black gel eyeliner as it's the only one we both have, in black. However, Hannah has the Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in brown and Tanya Burr and many others rave about the eyeliner in black. In comparison to the Maybelline eyeliner the Rimmel one isn't as great. It's apparently waterproof, however, neither of us would totally agree with this. My eye was quite watery, due to hayfever and the eyeliner completely wore off where my eye had watered. It's also not a very strong black; you have to apply it to the eye and then let it dry before you build it up, otherwise it just comes off as you try to apply more. However, on a good point, the eyeliner does last quite well all day on the eye, just not as jet black as others seem to. So, we're trying to say we do like this, but we have included it as it's slightly disappointing as it's not as good as we would have hoped or as good as the Maybelline gel eyeliner seems to be, which we will be buying instead of the Rimmel one next time!

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer

This may be good for those with dry skin as it feels just like a moisturiser when you apply it, however it was no good for either of our combination/oily skin. It claims to do so much, which is kind of why it's even more of a disappointment. It probably does smooth the skin, however it definitely didn't 'resurface' it or brighten, mattify, or protect. Neither of us felt that it made our foundation stay on any longer too. 

Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil

This product has a little brow brush on one end and the pencil on the other. I like the brush and the design. However, it's a really tiny pencil and I needed to sharpen the pencil after just the first use, so I can't imagine it lasting very long at all. It also doesn't really seem to go on nicely. It's very waxy, which is good for controlling the brows but I can't seem to get much colour out of it and when I do it doesn't apply smoothly. 

Vaseline Lip Therapy

We both got given a set of 4 vaseline tins for christmas and although Vaseline is really raved about as the classic lip and body care product, neither of us like these at all. We both do not think they do anything to your lips. They seem to just sit on top of the lip and do not work into the lips.

So, they are all the products that we haven't been impressed with lately. 

What products have disappointed you? 

WELCOME TO OUR NEW ADDITION!

Awwww... isn't he cute?!?! 

Now, this is definitely the king of impulse buys- he wasn't planned. 

This is Isaac and he's now 5 months old. Not the most conventional cat name but our other cat is called Aragon, (we did have Aragon & Arwen (LOTR), but Arwen died), so cat names like fluffy or paws were just out of the question. 

We were just out with our nan and grandad for the day and my nan told me that the pet shop that she gets all of her pet supplies from had some new kittens. I've always loved cats in general and obviously kittens are just so cute, so, I didn't turn down the offer to go and look. As I've said, we were only planning on looking, but honestly once  you see kittens, their cuteness level just takes over all of your strong will and sensible thinking and volaah, you've got yourself a kitten. 

We were in the shop for over an hour just staring and cooing over the kittens and debating whether or not to get one. There were three ginger kittens all together and I just couldn't bare to separate them. The kitten I bought was on his own as he was the last of his litter to go,  I kind of felt sorry for him, so I just had to have him. 

As my other cat is 9 years old, I had definitely forgotten what looking after kittens was like. He was quite hard work to start off with as we had to constantly watch him, play with him, clear up after him and he would cry if you didn't show him enough attention. He's now settled in more so he isn't as much work and both cats tolerate each other pretty well. But, it is hard separating them at meal times, as they both have different food specially for them and they insist on sharing all of the time! I guess that shows good intentions... 

He spends his days either sleeping, annoying our other cat or just running around the house like a lunatic. He likes to play with everything and anything and goes wherever he pleases, now that he has mastered the stair case. He's still so small, even though he doesn't really look it in the photos. He also reminds us of the 'grumpy cat' photos that people make and we're pretty sure he'll grow up to look like that so we're enjoying his cuteness while it lasts! 

 Do you have any tips for entertaining kittens at all, or anything else? 

BRIDAL WEDDING MAKE-UP

I've been meaning to post this post for what feels like ages now! I had to wait until the photographers photos were done and then my laptop decided to get really sick and had to go to laptop hospital for a few days, costing me a sickening amount! It now seems fine and I've stolen the photographs from my boyfriend's mum (the bride), so I can finally get on with this post!

So here goes.

At the beginning of July, my boyfriend's mum got married and she asked me to do her make-up, which was an amazing offer, as I'm not a professional make-up artist at all yet! At first I thought it would be easy; I'm constantly watching wedding tutorials and I enjoy doing make-up so how hard could it be? It then hit me how stressful this could actually be. EVERYONE would be looking at the bride and examining her every detail; how her dress looks, how her hair looks, how her make-up looks... I started to worry how the make-up would look on the photographers camera, what if the bride doesn't like it??  Anyway, I calmed down and we did a test run and it turned out really well. As soon as I started I completely relaxed and just got on with what I love to do. It helped my nerves having my boyfriend and his now step brother messing around in the same room, making myself and the bride to be, laugh, yeah, not the best when you're trying to do make-up but it was funny. 

On the day of the wedding I was even happier with how the make-up turned out. I had researched more and practised techniques on myself and it all went really smoothly, despite being pretty rushed. I also had to do the two bridesmaids make-up in record time as I it wasn't actually planned that I would be doing theirs too, so luckily Hannah came with me and was able to help out too. Unfortunately, as it was such a rush we weren't able to get any good close up photographs of the make-up, especially the eyes which is a shame, so the one above is the best we have. 

Products used:

Primer: MUA Undress Your Skin
Foudation: Mac Studio Fix Fluid NW25
Concealer: Mac Pro Longwear NW25
Bronzer: Bourjois Bronzing Primer & 'Mac Give Me Sun' Mineral Skin Finish
Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent 
Eye shadow: Sleek Ultra Mattes Palette & Benefit Creaseless Cream Eye shadow  RSVP
Eye Liner: Benefit Bad Gal Waterproof Eye liner  Brown
Mascara: Rimmel Max Bold Curves
Blusher: Benefit Hervana
Highlighter & Contour: Sleek Face Form Light & Benefit Sun beam 
Brows: MUA Brow Kit 
Lips: MUA Power Pout Irreplaceable
Fixing Spray: MUA Fixing Spray