Rimmel Matte Finish Nail Polish

Rimmel Matte Finish: ★★★★★


Rimmel Matte Finish Nail Polish turns your nails from this...

To this..!

 

I absolutely love the effect of the matte top coat. I first discovered this top coat on www.thecraftyninja.com where it was used on black with a polka dot pattern. See below... looks quality don't you think?!

www.thecraftyninja.com

Then Rimmel bought out an affordable version (which by the way Tesco have on sale at the mo for £2.29) so I bought it. Definitely worth a purchase for all you nail geeks out there!

Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Tint

 Rimmel 1000 Kisses: ★★★★

Recently I won a competition to be a beauty panelist for the "Beauty at Tesco" Facebook page. Tesco have sent me four lip products and my job is to review them. Here is the first product I tried - Rimmel's 1000 Kisses in 100 Endless Blossom.

One end of the product contains the tint. It is like a felt tip and feels like you are drawing on your lips with a colouring pen when you apply it. The other end is a waxy balm to coat over the top of the tint that provides a glossy shine. 

When I first applied the product my initial concern was that the product comes out darker than it appears on the packaging. However, after a couple of wears the colour has really grown on me, although I think if I were to incorporate it in to my daily look I'd need to come away from the smokey brown eyes that I normally wear. I think the same rule applies with makeup and it does clothes, you know the one about either legs or cleavage but not both? Best to focus on either lips or eyes but not both.










You can wear just the tint, or you can apply the balm to make it glossy. The tint on its own lasts really well, however, when you apply the balm it makes the colour easier to rub off and I doubt it would last for 1000 kisses!

Overall the product is enjoyable to use, I really like the felt tip which gives a good application and even coverage and the fact that the tint tastes subtly fruity. With the balm on too, your lips feel pleasantly moisturised.The only thing to improve for me would be to make the balm not soak the colour up so that it could transfer on to your man should you give him 1000 kisses.

I think I would buy this product, but maybe the nude shade would be better suited to my colouring and go better with the colours I normally wear.

Making high heels comfortable - Insolia vs. Airplus Save My Soles

Insolia: ★★★★★
Airplus Save my Soles: ★★★

I love a pair of high heels as much as the next women. I don't know if it's just me, but have you noticed that in the past year or so all of the decent high heels are higher than ever?!

A couple of months ago I bought a gorgeous pair of shoes from Miss Selfridge to wear to a wedding. I had to have this pair as not only were they sooo nice but they were the perfect colour to go with my dress. The heels on them were ridiculously high though. I've used Scholl Party Feet before numerous times and have never felt that they make any noticeable difference. So I took to the Internet to try and find a way to help my poor feet stand this height (haha) for the duration of the wedding. After all, other girls seem to manage, so why can't I? What is their secret?!

The first product I came across was "Insolia". They are an insert that claim to transfer your weight from the ball of your foot to the heel making you able to wear your high heels for 3 times longer. They are not full length inserts, they only go about half the length of your shoe and you actually stick them on the heel end rather than the front. Also another point to note is that it's not a one size fits all, you need to buy them for your shoes size.

I put my shoes on at around mid-day and the inserts must have worked as I managed to wear them until about 8pm when I switched to my flat sandals after spending a while on the dance floor.I was pretty happy with that result. However, I did still have sore feet the next day, so thought I'd try something different for my next pair of heels.

Another new pair of heels arrived in my life that I had to have, again rather high! This time I ordered Airplus Save My Soles. These are one size fits all and they are an insert that goes the length of your shoe. They claim to provide "extra cushioning at heel and ball-of-foot for targeted relief".

These do make your shoes feel more comfortable on first impressions. However, due to the fact that they go the full length of your shoe I found that they made my court shoes really tight around the toe end and ended up causing slight blisters. I certainly wouldn't have been able to wear my shoes all day at a wedding using these. Bare in mind, these were new court shoes, so probably slightly tight anyway, so I'll wear them in a bit more and then maybe update the rating if I change my opinion on them at all.

For me the winner is Insolia!

Chevron/fishtail nails

I came across this nail technique on Robin Sparkles blog and thought it looked really effective, so here is my attempt!

The good thing about this technique is that it is pretty easy to do with your wrong hand as well. So both hands end up looking decent.

I used Rimmel nail varnish in 702 Marshmallow Heaven, 703 Peardrop and 239 Your Majesty.

The bun ring hair-do

Ease of use: ★★★★
End result: ★★★★★

My sister introduced me to the idea of bun rings a while ago now and lately I've seen more and more appear in the accessories area of clothes shops. So yesterday I bit the bullet and got one! (£1 in Primark UK readers)


Steps:

1. You tie your hair up in a pony tail then slip the ring on

2. Lean your head forward and try to spread your hair evenly around the ring

3. Once you've done this slip another hair band over the top to hold the hair in place















4. Finally wrap the stray hair round the perimeter of the bun and secure in place with another hair band and/or kirby grips.
















And voila! Ballerina style bun.

Tresemmé Split Remedy

Tresemmé Split Remedy ★★★★★

With my latest ASOS purchase came some free samples of the new TRESemmé Split Remedy range. I got the shampoo, conditioner and some of the leave in treatment.

My hair is long overdue a trim and therefore I have plenty of split ends that need help.

The first thing I noticed on opening is the scent, it smells delicious. I'm a big fan of Herbal Essences for that reason and this product range certainly ticks that box.

When applying the shampoo I noticed straight away that it lathered really well. Then the conditioner made my hair tangle free. After my shower, before drying my hair, I used the leave-in treatment in place of where I'd normally use serum. It actually went on a lot better than serum, and made my hair feel even more smooth and tangle free.

Couple of hours on and my hair has been dried as straightened. Even after this one application it does feel a lot smoother and although the split ends are still there (it can't work complete miracles) I can hardly see any of the white ends; the ones where it's about to split. My hair looks less dry ad a lot more silky, without looking greasy.

TRESemmé Split Remedy

It's now that day after and my hair is still feeling smooth and still looks fresh. I will definitely be buying the full sized versions of this product range when I next head to the shops!

Fishtail braid nails

I came across fishtail braid nails on Twitter a few days ago and it was love at first sight! They look so effective, especially if you get the colour balance right. I had to try this method straight away...

www.lucysstash.com

I bought some Rimmel nail polish at the weekend thanks to a nice little offer in Boots, so thought the fishtail manicure would be the perfect way to try it out. I used Rimmel Lasting Finish in 702 Marshmallow Heaven, 703 Peardrop and 025 Strawberry Fizz.

As this was just a first attempt practice type thing I only did the full fishtail on my thumbs, on the other fingers I did two diagonal swipes on the tips.

Also I must mention that I did this freehand-it's bloody hard! With hindsight, maybe tape would have helped.

However, I'm pretty happy with the result even if it's a bit on the scruffy side at close inspection.


What do you think?!