Ramblings of a Beauty Blogger

Wooaahh, where did March go? I sat down with my laptop today and headed over to my blog, now I knew I hadn't blogged for a while but I didn't realise I hadn't blogged once in the month of March, oh my! I thought I would get back into the swing of things with this little chatty post.

February Favourites

Last month I didn't do a Favourites post as I had been using things from previous favourites or that I had already posted about and thought it would be a bit repetitive but some of the purchases I made at the end of last month have quickly become products that I reach for on a regular basis so I thought I would share those with you today.

Manicure Tip

Following on from yesterdays Manicure Routine post I thought I would share with you a little tip that I find invaluable to getting the perfect finish. There's nothing worse than painting your nails and you get some on your skin or cuticle (how annoying) and when you try to remove it with a cotton pad you manage to destroy the paint work you just put all your effort in to applying. Well have no fear this little tip will help you to achieve perfection. For this tip you will simply need nail varnish remover, a cotton wool pad and an orange wood stick.

Firstly take the orange wood stick and dip the slanted end into your nail varnish remover.

Take a cotton wool pad and split it apart, I normally just peel it half way back as this is more than enough and you can then reuse the cotton pad.

Twist the orange wood stick (slanted end) in the loose fluffiness of the split cotton wool pad. Dipping the orange wood stick into your nail varnish remover makes the cotton wool grip onto the stick, if its dry it wont pick up any of the cotton wool.

When you have enough cotton wool on the stick just pull it away from the cotton pad and you should have something that kind of resembles candy floss.

Smooth this down by twisting the fluffy cotton wool in one direction between your fingers, keep doing this until it is smooth and nicely wrapped around around the orange wood stick.

Now you have a nice neat tool to help you remove unwanted nail varnish accurately. All you have to do is dip the cotton wool end into your nail varnish remover and then use this to wipe away any mistakes you may have made without ruining the polish on your actual nail. 

Voila the perfect paint that looks like you just took a trip to the salon, don't worry your secrets safe with me ;)

Something a little different but I hope you find this tip helpful, I use this each time I paint my nails. Just make sure you prepare this before you begin painting other wise it could get a little messy, cotton wool and wet nails are not best friends.

Kayla xx

My Manicure Routine

A few years ago (many more than I care to admit) I was taken in by the hype of acrylic nails and committed the ultimate nail crime of heading to cheap, fast paced, no appointment necessary nail bars that were popping up in abundance around town. Now while these nails looked great at the time the techniques and tools used were not doing my natural nails any favours, so when I got bored of the expense and maintenance of these nails I had them taken off once and for all. Having had the acrylic removed the poor condition of my natural was revealed and I decided then it was time to take action, look after my own nails so that I could grow them and then there would be no need for me to have acrylic or any other kind of nails done. So from that point once a week I give myself a manicure at home and I often receive compliments on my nails and how they look. Here is my little routine and the tools and products I use.

Beauty Haul - Feb

So I kinda, maybe tripped up, fell into boots and found myself at the till making a few cheeky purchases. I didn't really need anything but it is impossible to peruse the goodies perched on the shelves of Boots and come out empty handed. I swear my purchases were just screaming out and begging to come home with me, it would have been rude to ignore them.... right?

Glossybox: February

Now I know your probably thinking that in my last Glossybox post I decided that the Birchbox won and I was going to cancel my Glossybox subscription, this was my intention. I logged on to the Glossybox site purely to go and cancel my subscription but then on my dashboard it had my Glossydots total and I noticed that I had enough to get a few free boxes, so that is my plan, after all I have earned the Glossydots so might as well use them.

Birchbox - February

My Birchbox has been delivered and its time to open up this little box of beauty goodness and see what's in store for me this month....

#NOTW

Hey guys, I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for the lack of posts this last week but I've been feeling a bit under the weather with a stinking cold, there's nothing like a fuzzy head to put you off writing blog posts. I'm starting to feel a bit better now hopefully there will be no sign of this cold in a day or 2.

There is something about painting my nails that always perks me up when I'm not feeling great or if I'm a little low, so I decided that was exactly what I was going to do this week. It was the perfect chance to try out the newest edition to my Essie collection and another chance to road test  my Seche Vite top coat.

The day I bought "Chinchilly" I must have been influenced by the weather outside as it was a freaky weather day, very grey and one minute it was raining, then hailing and snowing the next all kinds of weirdness was going on. Both the name Chinchilly and the colour of this polish remind me of that day but it is much more delightful on my nails. I'm not the best when it comes to decribing colours but I would say that Chinchilly is a mushroomy, brown/grey tone that is effortless to wear and is a nice understated chic colour. When applying this colour I found I got the best results by applying to layers, I finished off the paint work with a coating of Seche Vite top coat this is great at making your manicure last longer and it also make your nail varnish dry in no time at all.

That's the look I'm sporting on my nails this week, how about you? Do you have a favourite nail varnish brand? I LOVE Essie's nail polishes they are long lasting, totally reliable with a fab range of oclours, I'm not sure I'll ever get bored of Essie!

Kayla xx 

Make Up Wishlist

Make Up Wish List by curiouslykayla featuring a travel kit

Well its no wonder that after getting through the dull month of January a wish list has been formed. We all have to make cut backs after Christmas and my shopping habit is always first in the firing line when it comes to trying to save money so I have reigned it in but that not mean the lusting has stopped!

Here we have a list of products I would love to own but for the time being I will just have to admire from afar.... I'm hoping there is truth in "good things come to those that wait"

First up we have the Palettes. Smashbox Full Exposure palette makes me want to spend the day creating various eye shadow looks. I like that this palette comes with a good size mirror and brush that actually seems to be half decent. Im a huge fan of neutral eyeshadows for day time wear and smokey eyes for evenings and the Full Exposure palette would allow both looks to be created from the one palette. The same can be said for the NARSissist but I like that this palette has the addition of pinky/purpley shades too.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to get excited by Bobbi Brown's Uber Pink Collection, in particular the illuminating bronzer has caught my attention even if the name baffles me! Pink Peony looks like it would give your cheeks a subtle flush of pink which I think is a great look all year round. Within the Uber Pink collection I also like the look of the lipstick in Pink Kiss, this looks like the perfect everyday lip colour or great for a subtle lip if your rocking a dramatic eye.

Essie is the love of my life when it comes to nail polishes and I'm drawn to the shade Chinchilly, this maybe be because of the grey British weather that we are dealing with at the moment (and lets face it probably for most of the year) but it is more likely to be the fact that I love the colour grey and really enjoy wearing it. I really like that Chinchilly is a greyish/brown tone that reminds me a bit of mushrooms, with this it has warmth and is not your typical cool grey tone but still looks very chic.

Mascara is a vital element of my make up bag, without it would look half asleep all of the time! although Lancome's Hypnose Star is not new on the mascara scene it is one that I am yet to try out. This is mainly because I like to use up current mascaras before I buy new ones but on a plus side the one I'm currently using is a sample size so a new one will be required in the not to distant future.

I have read a lot about Soap and Glorys Kick Ass concealer and everyone seems to have really positive opinions of this. In general I really like the Soap and Glory range and with all the glowing reviews I would definitely like to give this a try.

I'm always a sucker for make up bags but mind could do with replacing as its getting a bit tatty now, an immediate purchase is not necessary but a couple have caught my eye. I really like the Zebra inspired (although the website states its leopard *confused face* print) design from Oasis, I think the faux hair combined with leather is a great look. The kisses design by Charlotte Tilbury is absolutely adorable and as much as I would love to own this I don't think this is available any more :(

That concludes my wish list! do you have any of the items on there? do you have your own wish list?  I would love to have a read or hear your reviews and opinions :)

Kayla xx

#Haul - Non Beauty

I have finally spent the last of my Christmas vouchers and I know a clothing haul is a little out of the ordinary - and totally out of my comfort zone, but I was so excited about some of these purchases I decided to put together this little haul for you all to enjoy.

The Body Shop Haul

Oh no! The Body Shop only went and had a sale and a few items may have slipped into my basket and were delivered to my door! I haven't tried many things from the body shop so what better time to try things out than when there's a sale on!

Happy Birthday L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Cream!

How cute are these samples? Thanks to Ceri from Curly Wurly Blog I managed to get my hands on this little bundle of free samples from L'Occitane. To celebrate their Shea Butter hand cream turning 20 these samples could be collected by entering your details via Facebook and taking the confirmation email to a L'Occitane store.

Recent Purchases

January, its not the most lavish month of the year is it! I'm sure along with many others I have been reigning in my spending this month but I have made a few cheeky purchases that I am very excited about.

No7 Skin Care Review

Last year I never really had a skin care routine per se, I just used to grab what ever was to hand to take my make up off and clean my face. However this year, I have decided, is going to be a good skin year and I'm going to invest more time into taking care of my combination skin. You maybe remember that I picked up the No7 skin care set in the sales after Christmas, for about the past 4 weeks I have been using these products twice daily and I feel that is long enough for me to now share my thoughts and opinions of these products with you.

The set that I bought contained Beautiful Skin eye make up remover 30ml, Beautiful Skin hot cloth cleanser 50ml, Protect & Perfect day cream & night cream both 25ml. 

The eye make up remover is probably my least favourite out of the set. I mainly used this in the evenings to remove my eye make up but I found it took quiet a lot of product to get it all off especially mascara and I don't even use waterproof mascara. I also found the make up remover to be quiet greasy and due to this I no longer use it.

No7's Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser is my first taste of the hot cloth world. I found it bizarre rubbing a cream onto dry skin to clean my face but to be honest its quiet relaxing and then when I put the muslin cloth on my face I feel like the cleanser is really working its magic. The cleanser isn't harsh and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight afterwards and I really like the way the cloth is like a gentle exfoliator and gets rid of any dead skin cells. My face definitely feels super cleansed after using this hot cloth cleanser and I really like the pump dispenser as it means that you get to use all of the product and it doesn't get left around the sides of the container. You can probably tell by the fact it is nearly finished that I have enjoyed using this.

As you can imagine having not had a real skin care routine before I haven't really used separate moisturisers for day and night before but I'm certainly getting more into it. Both of these moisturisers have a good consistency, they are not so thin they don't feel like they are doing anything but nor are they too thick either, and they both sink nicely into my skin and leave my face feeling lovely and soft. With the night cream I have noticed that in the mornings my face does look rather greasy but having not used a specific night cream before I have nothing to compare it too and don't know if this is what I should expect from a night cream.

This set has been great for getting me started in the world of skin care but as these products are for all skin types I think I need to invest in products that are specific to my skin type. I have also found that whilst using these products I have come out in a few spots and break outs are not something I have ever suffered with other than the odd one at that time of the month, but I'm not sure if this could be because my skin is not used to having this kind of cleansing routine. 

My journey into the skin care world has begun, this set is great for getting started and as I bought it in the sale it was also excellent value. I'm on the look out for new skin care products to try so let me know your skin care recommendations for hydrating skin and banishing the shine, I'm sure with your help I'll have a suitable skin care routine nailed in no time at all.

Kayla xx

Glossybox: January

It's beauty box time and subsequently decision time! If you are a regular reader of my blog you will already be aware of this, but for a any new readers out there *waves at you* I'll explain. I currently have 2 beauty box subscriptions, Birchbox and Glossybox, this month I need to decide which one I am going to keep and which one to cancel as one subscription is more than enough and also I'll save some pennies. I have already posted about this month Birch box, you can check that out here if you haven't already. Now onto January's Glossybox.

Review: My Beauty Compare

Do you ever have those moments where you make a purchase that your all excited about and when you tell your friend you find out that she got it cheaper some where else? Well to help us all avoid this problem and to save us endless hours of searching various websites to get the best deal on our beauty addiction there is a new solution to help us save time and be price savvy...

Intuition, A Close Shave?

When woman was created who on earth thought that what we would most like is to have hair growing on our legs? Being female comes with additional tasks and attention to details that males do not have to think of, most of these are enjoyable and can even be relaxing, maintaining/painting nails, applying make up, playing around with hairstyles I could do these all day long, no problem (if I didn't have a full time job and a house to run of course) and then there is the removal of unwanted hair, urgh what a chore! and the fact that the soft silky legs results last merely a day just adds to my loathing of this task!

#NOTW - Adding Some Glitz To An Old Favourite

Its time for another nail look and this week I have gone for an old Favourite and given it a new twist. It will probably come as no surprise but here I give you another Essie offering and a power couple in the world nail polish. 

Birchbox - January

It's beauty box time, the first one of 2014 and I'm still battling over which subscription to keep and the January box's are the decider so once I receive my other beauty box I will make a decision. But for now here is January's Birchbox offering.

Mini Sales Haul

After the excitement of Christmas comes the hustle and bustle of the January sales. This year I was very good and only made a few purchases but that was mainly down to a) my purse feeling the pinch after Christmas and b) I was given vouchers for our local shopping centre for Christmas so I could only really shop in the stores rather than on-line. I wasn't overly impressed with the sales this year but that could be because I like to enjoy the festive period with my family and didn't rush out on Boxing day and join in the chaos searching for a bargain (I couldn't think of anything worse, hats off to you that faced those crazy crowds), if I did maybe I would have found more but any way here are the few purchases I made. 

#DIY - Make Up Brush Holder

Today I have for you a different kind of post, it's a #DIY post that I have been meaning to do for a while but just never got round to so today I'm finally going to share it with you. Now up-cycling and getting crafty with everyday objects, giving them a new lease of life and another use is not something I generally do so simplicity was the key for me and definitely what you can expect from this post. Here goes....

#NOTW - The First Of The Year

Happy New Year, I hope you all had a fab time celebrating! Welcome to my first post and nail colour of 2014! I love painting my nails and trying out new polishes so as "#Nail Of The Week" is likely to be a regular feature I decided it needed a title pic, my camera and laptop collided and the above was created (I hope you like it, I know its nothing special but hey I'm giving it a go and learning along the way). Any way lets get back to the important matter of what is gracing my nails for the first week of the year.

Now first off please excuse the dry skin and awful cuticles, this is on the top of my to-do list and I'll get it sorted ASAP. Now you will probably recognise these two lil beauties from my last post, I have been desperate to try these out since I opened them on Christmas Day but what better time to try this look than New Years Eve. So as we were having a cosy night in I decided I would glam up my nails whilst watching New Years Eve TV and apply a little Essie glitz to my finger tips. 

I'm going to start with the main colour in the look which is Fiji, this is an absolutely adorable baby pink colour which will be perfect for spring or when ever your having a pastel kind of day! If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have a whole lotta love for Essie polishes and while I do love this look it took a bit more effort to create than some of the other colours I have. 

Fiji is definitely not a 1 coat polish but once you figure out how to achieve the look you want it takes no time at all. I discovered the following method achieved the opaque, streak free finish that I was after. I applied a thin first coat to my nails, this was very streaky and totally see through and left me very worried as to what the end result would be. I let the first coat dry for a few mins and then went in with the second coat. Now this one is the important one, you need to have enough product on the brush to ensure you can cover your nail in a generous (but not too thick) layer in one go (I found going back to the bottle for more product resulted in an uneven finish) this covered up any streaks from the first coat and ensured a consistent colour all over the nail. Perfect!

Now to add a touch of glitz I used the top coat that came as a set with Fiji, this is one of Essie's Multi Dimension top coats in the shade A Cut Above. This is a clear top coat that has specks of lovely, rosy pink glitter within it. I chose to use this for an accent nail and applied it to the finger nail next to my little finger on both hands (I used a standard top coat on the rest of my nails). As far as application goes I started by brushing this on as you normally would with top coat and then if I felt an area was sparse I made sure I had glitter on the end of the brush and dabbed it where I wanted more glitter. I was concerned that the glitter top coat would be a rough finish and would snag on clothing etc. and potentially not last very long but I was wrong, the finish is a little rough but there are no sharp edges so it is smoothish at the same time (well that made sense in my head, here's hoping it translates ok) and doesn't catch or snag on anything. I have been sporting this look for 5 days now and it still looks fab!

I love this look, Essie never fails to impress me and the glitter means you can add a touch of sparkle for a special occasion or just because... Lets face it there is no excuse required for a bit of sparkle in your life! Have you tried Essie's glittery top coats? What is you favourite nail brand? Which shade were you rocking to see the new year in?

Kayla xx