WHERE MONKEYS FLY! GREAT AND WONDERFUL OZ BY OPI TEAMED WITH STRANGER TIDES - DAY 1 OF 10 DAYS OF OPI

Part of the 10 Days of OPI posts I am doing!

As soon as I saw the Oz collection by OPI, I fell in love with the sparkly colours. The OPI collection is inspired by the film The Great And Wonderful Oz, based on the tales of Wizard Of Oz. Other makeup brands have teamed up with Disney to create Oz inspired products such as Urban Decay with the Glinda Palette. Where Monkeys Fly! is a gorgeous glitter coat with large hex gold pieces, and small silver rainbow iridescent sparkles in two small sizes. This is a truly unique glitter and I could not wait to get my hands on it. 

I painted one coat of the glittery coat on top of OPI Stranger Tides from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection. 

I am in love with this top coat and it is by far a statement. I found that the glitters in the whole of the Oz collection weren't as glittery as they appeared. I had to use the brush to pick up bigger pieces of glitter as the the brush didn't seem to pick up much glitter. I also found the same problem with Lights Of Emerald City. Nevertheless, once I had the desired look I could not stop looking at my nails. The glitters in the collection are stunning and I can't wait to show you a few more.

You can grab this stunning shade for £11.50 at your nearest OPI stockist. 

What do you think of this glitter?

Do you like the OZ collection?

Have you bought anything from the collection?

Would love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

MY OPI COLLECTION - WHAT DO YOU WANT SWATCHED NEXT?

I love OPI and been a fan for almost a year now. Bought my first OPI on the 11th of April 2012. My birthday! A year on and I've collected 30 polishes, all in a wide variety. Metallics, shimmers, glitters, naturals  brights and pastels. Below is my collection and I want to know what ones you want swatched next. In the Easter half term, starting from the 30th of March I will be doing 12 days of OPI, where each day I will post a swatch/look on the OPI chosen. Let me know which OPI in the comments below that you want to be featured! I will also have my SLR so the pictures will be the best quality they can be.

Who The Shrek Are You?, Gold Shatter, Mermaid Tears (Used in my Glitter Gradient nails here), Dating A Royal (Briefly used in this post here), Simmer And Shimmer.

My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Over The Taupe, Silver Shatter, Navy Shatter, Divine Swine.

Lemonade Stand By My Man, Lincoln Park After Dark, I Vant To Be A-Lone Star, Stranger Tides, Bright Lights Big Colour (This is shimmery compared to Hot & Spicy, they're not the same!).

Hot & Spicy, Strawberry Margarita, Get Your Number Liquid Sand, Super Base Shatter, When Monkeys Fly!.

Lights Of Emerald City, Servin' Up Sparkle (Used in the Glitter Gradient nails here and in another blog post here), The Living Daylights (Used in a blog post here), Last Friday Night (Used in this post here), Pearl Of Wisdom. 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Swatched already here), Fly (Briefly used here), Happy Anniversary, Meep-Meep-Meep, Grape...Set...Match (Swatched already here).

There's my 30 piece collection!

The Wizard of Oz ones haven't even been used yet,

cannot wait to use them!

Some of them are from discontinued lines, and some that

have only just come out. 

Please let me know what you want swatched for 12 days of OPI!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

RIMMEL MATTE FINISH TOP COAT REVIEW AND LOOK

I was recently on the hunt for a matte top coat. After searching high and low in the beauty shops in Colchester I finally found one. The Rimmel Matte Finish Mattifyng Topcoat was the last one in Superdrug and I couldn't wait to get home at try it.

I used Max Factor's Nail Varnish in Boji as my base colour and then applied two coats of the Matte Finish on top. The clear varnish glides on easily and looks glossy, but quickly turns into a frosted look, and then into a matte finish. I love the effect and how it looks. It gives the colour chosen a soft matte look which looks very sleek and chic but the only bad thing I have to say about this is the texture. It has a rough feel to it that gets on my nerves at times, but then again I am a texture person! The Angelica matte finish varnishes had a gorgeous soft feel on the nails which I much prefer. However I really love the look of this top coat and I cannot wait to use it on more colours! It gives my nails a statement without it being over done. Such a simple and gorgeous look.

This little top coat costs £4.59 from your local Boots or Superdrug. Currently in Boots their Rimmel Lycra polishes are two for £6.

What do you think of this polish?

Do you like matte nails?

I'd love to hear from you and I respond to all comments!

Thanks for reading beautiful!

CLOSED - COUNTER GIRLS BY FELICIA C. YORK - GIVEAWAY

I have teamed up with the beautiful Felicia C. York, the author of Counter Girls to give one lucky winner a digital copy of this amazing book! I downloaded the book recently for my IPad and I cannot put it down. As an aspiring make up artist and beauty lover I can relate to every word in the book.

Delve into the secret world of the makeup artists that work at your favorite brand at the largest department store in NYC. Kelly, Lexie and Pilar are in various stages of their careeer but face a monument of drama in love and lipstick. Sweet Southern belle Kelly tries to live her happily ever after with the love of her life. She believes she has it all together but one mistake unravels the life she's trying to build completely. Was it self-sabotage or just plain circumstance that left her alone picking up the pieces? Liable Lexie always plays by the rules but when she tries for a promotion, she realizes that nice girls finish last and decides to play to win. If she thought climbing the ladder was tough, finding a boyfriend in NYC is even tougher. Once she finds out just how ugly the beauty industry can get, she plays by her own rules to get the job and the man. Poisonous Pilar, the twelve-year veteran, thinks she's the puppetmaster behind the scene. As she faces the fact that she's only getting older and the new artists are only getting younger, she finds herself looking over her life and realizes the pretty wall she's put up around her has cracks in it and eventually comes tumbling down. She must ask herself if she is willing to leave behind the life she has to pursue the life she really wants. Counter Girls reveals the secret life of the women (and men) who work for your favorite makeup brands. Deeply analytical, light-hearted and chock full of makeup tips and tricks; it is a great read for everyone from the cosmetics connoiseur to the person who doesn't know their lipstick from their eyeliner. Root for the underdog, despise the villain and then realize that they may be one in the same.
Follow Counter Girls on Twitter @Counter_Girls

Want to win a copy?

For a chance to win a digital copy of this

great book, perfect for beauty lovers, all you have to do

is comment on this post with your email.
The digital copy will play on Ipads, Kindles,
your computer and most other E-readers.

IT'S THAT SIMPLE!

To find out more about the author or the book

you can visit the website here.

Don't miss this opportunity, this book is perfect.

The lucky winner will be announced on the

30th of March.

Good luck!

ILLAMASQUA POWDER EYE SHADOW IN MOONFLOWER AND BOOMERANG, ELECTRUM LIQUID METAL AND GLISTER PRECISION INK SWATCHES AND REVIEWS.

I was super excited when my loving boyfriend treated me with some bits from Illamasqua. I have another nail varnish to show you in Radium which I am excited for! I picked up two Powder Eye Shadows in Moonflower and Boomerang. I also picked up one of their Liquid Metal shadows in Electrum and one of their Precision Ink in Glister.

I am quite literally in love with how amazing these shadows are. The pigment is incredible and the formula is so smooth and soft with some serious colour pay off. Moonflower is on the left - A gorgeous delicate shimmery white with a slight hint of cream. This is stunning all over the lids or just in the corners. I also noticed that it makes a lovely subtle high lighter if applied softly. We then move onto Boomerang which you can already see its amazing colour. It's so smooth to apply and needs little to achieve good colour. I love this shade of brown and is perfect for a crease colour or because of its matte texture I can apply this to my eyebrows to create a natural look. I am over the moon about these colours and I am so excited to pick up more shades from Illamasqua,

This is the Liquid Metal in Electrum. I was so excited to try this out, and when swatched it has an unbelievable shimmer and colour pay off. It also reflects light so effortlessly and looks gorgeous. Unfortunately that's were the praise ends for me. I was so disappointed as this really looked beautiful in the pot and swatched. Once on the lids it pretty much creased on me straight away. I even tried primer and even setting spray and nothing seemed to help. I was so upset as it looked so lovely and applied so well. I used this product heavily in a recent look which you can find here.

Glister, one of Illamasqua's Precision Ink eyeliners is a pretty nude nude/tanned looking eyeliner with gorgeous small shimmering blue and violet iridescent glitter. I love how different this eyeliner is and I can't wait to incorporate it in some of my looks. It stays put too which is great, and lasts the whole of the day without fading. The applicator is great for creating precise lines.

You can grab these from Debenhams. Precision Ink is £17, Powder Eye Shadows are £15.50 each and Liquid Metal for £17.50. 

What is your favourite Illamasqua product?

What do you think of these?

I'd love to hear from you,

I reply to all comments.

Thanks so much for reading, beautiful!

CLOSED - HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH! - MAC GIVEAWAY

Some of my closer fellow bloggers, readers and Twitter followers may know that it's my birthday very soon, and I want to celebrate it with you! To say thank you to all my lovely beauties I wanted to give away something. I've seen a lot of Mac giveaways recently and I know that people love Mac, so I thought that Mac would be something safe to giveaway! I'll be 20 on the 11th of April and that is when the giveaway will end and the winner will be announced. I am SUPER excited for this, and thank you so much to everyone who entered my first giveaway at my 200 follower milestone. I'd love if you entered and I cannot wait to have a winner!! I'll be doing a runner up prize too, it's nothing big but I thought about having the runner up as my Blogger Of The Month where I'll write about your blog on a post and share it with my lovely readers.

You can win either a MAC Lipstick, Eyeshadow or Nail Varnish,

but it has to be available online. 

- If it's not and it's available in my local Mac store I'd happily post it down 

to you.

So there we go! My Birthday MAC giveaway!

At the moment it is UK only, but working on getting it

international.

Thanks so much if you enter!

Good luck to you all, 

perfect timing for an Easter pick-me-up!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

Hannah

xxx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MUA POPTASTIC EYESHADOW PALETTE SWATCH AND REVIEW

After loving the Heaven and Earth palette, which you can see my review here, I couldn't wait to swatch and show you the Poptastic palette. I love bright colours and these looked right up my street. These are all metallic/shimmery shades, it's a very subtle shimmer so all shades are very wearable. Nothing too in your face or over glittery.

On the top half of the palette we have two blues, two purples and two yellows. From left to right we first have a gorgeous purple. This is one of the more metallic/shimmery shades, but as I said, the shimmer is subtle. This is more of a warm purple which is pretty and looks lovely on the lids. It's not too bright or to garish and I think MUA have done really well with this shade. The next colour is a bright yet pale blue which I am in love with. It almost has a matte look to it, but still has slight shimmer to it. I love how vivid this colour is and has great colour payoff. I'm in love with this colour, and because of my blue eyes it suits me really well. Next we have a pretty shimmery yellow. This delivers more of a sheer colour but is so pretty and so delicate. When used lightly it gives my eyes a subtle, pretty gold wash of colour. We then come to a pretty brighter purple compared to the first one. This one has a blue shimmer to it which would look lovely on paler complexions. This again has more of a subtle colour but is very buildable. We then have a gorgeous gold which I am in love with. It's more of a yellowy gold with a bronze shimmer which I love. It has amazing colour payoff and is my favourite colour of the palette and I can't wait to use it more. Last on this row we have another blue. It's very similar to the second one on this row but is slightly less green toned and has so much shimmer and beautiful colour payoff.

The first on the bottom row is a pretty green with hints of blue. It's not overly shimmery and has nice payoff. It's very similar to MUA's Eye Dust in Shade 3 which I will be swatching fairly soon. The next one is a crazy bright pink which again appears matte but has a slight shimmer to this. I love how bright and pigmented this colour is and I can't wait to apply it to more brighter make up looks. The next colour is another blue, and the colour is very much in between the first blue on this row, and the second colour on the top row. It's slightly more darker than the second colour on the top row and has a slight green tone to it. This again looks matte but has a subtle shimmer to it. The next one along is a bright pink which is slightly whiter than the second colour on this row. It's much more shimmery and has more of a subtle colour which I really like. Next we have a gorgeous blue which I see as a 'normal' blue. It's one of the colours that again looks matte but has a slight shimmer to it. I love the colour of this and it has great pigmentation. The last colour on this row is similar to that one but is more darker and more of a navy but has more shimmer.

So that's the Poptastic Palette in a nut shell! It's got some really love colours and some great colour payoff. Don't be frightened by how bright this is, there's still some really lovely colours in here that are so pretty. This is going to be in some bright make up looks in the near future! Get yours from Superdrug for a very affordable £4!

What do you think of this palette?

Have you ever used it?

What is your facourite MUA palette?

I'd love to hear from you and I reply to all messages.

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

ANGELICA NAIL VARNISH SWATCHES AND REVIEW IN SPRING BREAK, PEPPERMINT, IBIZA SUMMER, AU NATUREL AND BRIT POP.

I was over the moon when I was 1 of 5 winners of the February Blogger Angelica competition. I was excited to see what colours I'd won. I'd only tried one of their polishes, Brit Pop, which I will be showing you in comparison to the new colour Spring Break. Angelica is a UK based nail enamel brand which supply to the high street chain that we all know and love - Primark! You can also get your fix of Angelica Polishes at their online store here. You can find out a bit more about Angelica and their range of gorgeous colours here. The lovely Francesca at Angelica included these 4 gorgeous colours. Ibiza Summer - A bright, gorgeous glossy blue. Au Naturel - A pretty nude colour, perfect for any occasion and any outfit. Spring Break - An amazing glittery combo with pretty bronzes, blues, golds and purples. Peppermint - A yummy creamy pastel mint colour.

This is Ibiza Summer. As you can tell for yourself that this colour has some serious shine. I love the finish of this and have never seen such a glossy colour. I love how bright and electric the blue is also. I was so impressed with how this came out, in just one coat it delivered such shine and colour.  For this photo I applied 2 coats just to show how intense this colour is. The wear on this was really impressive too. I'd worn it for 3 days before I tried another polish and I had no chips at all. Nothing at the tips or base - It still looked perfect! This little baby is going to be part of their Summer 2013 Brights which I am too excited for! The Summer 2013 Brights collection also has some other colours other than this pretty bright which includes a bright glossy pink, a super bright turquoise, a bright purple and a lovely bright coral.

I also applied Spring Break in a sort of gradient way on the tips.

Au Naturel is simply beautiful. This is one of their Soft Satin Matte Effect polishes. I can't get over how pretty these are. And they feel so silky too. I've used a few matte finish nail polishes before and found the feel slightly unpleasant, but these feel so smooth and lovely. This picture is with 2 coats of the creamy formula, and looks so pretty. Nude nails are going to be a hit, and with a twist on the natural nails this polish is perfect for the upcoming trend. This lasted a while on the nails too, which I was so pleased by.

This here is Brit Pop, which wasn't involved with my competition I won, but part of their 2012 Glitter collection. I wanted to show you this in comparison to Spring Break, another glitter shade which I know is going to be a hit. Brit Pop has medium sized hex glitter and small hex glitter in blue, red,  gold, silver, purple and green. This looks so lovely and is a party colour! It's perfect for Christmas time or over the top of your favourite shade. I used Au Naturel as the base coat for these glitters so you can really get the full effect of the pretty glitter.

On the left is Brit Pop, and on the right is Spring Break.

I love Spring Break! I literally did a little squeal when I opened my package purely because of how beautiful this glittery coat is. It's a really unique glitter. it's very similar in the way of Brit Pop because of it's hex glitter. Spring Break has medium hex glitter in teal, gold and bronze. It also has smaller hex glitter in purple, blue and gold. And then tiny specs of purple and blue. I am in love! This goes on the nails so well and lasts ages too before the glitter starts catching. Another point to this shade is how easy it is to remove with nail varnish remover! No scrubbing away to get the glitter of your nails!

Peppermint was last of the 4 colours I was sent, and other than Spring Break this one is my favourite. It was so easy to apply and the creamy varnish glided on the nails. I love the pretty bright, yet pale, mint colour. This again, like Au Naturel has a lovely finish to it as it's part of the Soft Satin Matte Effect polishes which are to be released soon. This photo has 2 coats like the other photos. The Soft Satin Matte Effect collection are due out very soon, which includes Peppermint and Au Naturel, and also includes gorgeous colours in a soft blue, a baby pink and a pretty light orange.

Overall I am in love with Angelica varnishes and I am eager to try out more! Unfortunately I don't have a Primark near me so I will be buying online! I just love how perfect each shade seems to be, and how much variety in colours and textures they have. Angelica will be a well used brand from me, and at a brilliant £2.75* a bottle there's nothing to complain about! Follow Angelica Nails on Twitter or Facebook for latest shades, upcoming colours and competitions. 

Have you tried Angelica before?

What do you think about the colours?

Which one is your favourite?

I'd love to hear from you!

I reply to all comments.

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

L'OREAL INFAILLIBLE/INFALLIBLE COLOUR SWATCHES IN TIME RESIST WHITE, ENDLESS CHOCOLAT, ALL NIGHT BLUE AND FOREVER PINK.

I've got these just before Christmas and never got around to using them. I found these tucked away in one of my make up boxes and couldn't wait to try them out. I've not really used much from L'oreal before - Even though I've been to a studio in Paris - So I was rather excited to how they'd try out. I picked up 4 colours from their ever growing range. Forever Pink, Time Resist White, All Night Blue and Endless Chocolat.

 Time Resist White and Forever Pink

Endless Chocolat and All Time Blue

Forever Pink, Time Resist White, All Time Blue and Endless Chocolat.

Forever Pink is a 'wearable pink'. It's not too bright or too pink that it makes you look like you've been crying all day. It's a subtle, shimmery pink with a soft beige shimmer to it which gives the colour its delicate look on the lids. I am in love with this colour, and it's lovely to find a pretty pink that looks so gorgeous on the eyes. It's super shimmery too and because of it's tones of beige and pink, this gives the eyes depth and could easily be used alone. 

Time Resist White is slowly becoming a new favourite of mine. It's super pigmented and gives a stunning white shimmer which would work so well as a highlighter if used subtly. I was so impressed with its lovely shimmer and pigmentation. The thing I love about this white is that it again has slight tones of a very light beige, so this isn't a bright white. It's a very wearable elegant white. This also makes a perfect inner corner colour and this beauty is so easy to build too, so you can get the intensity that is right for you. 

All Time Blue was a slight let down. After trying out the other two colours first I was expecting this to be as good as the others. In the pot this looks lovely. A bright deep navy with plenty of shimmer and colour. When swatched I noticed that there was a black powdery base to the blue shimmer which meant that the blue didn't show up as much, and I noticed that this had a rather sheer look to the lids when first applied. I had to build up the colour to get a decent pay off which I was slightly disappointed by. However, this colour and Endless Chocolat are the last to fade compared to the white and pink. 

Endless Chocolat is really lovely. This shimmery golden dark brown is stunning and gives my eyes so much colour. Because of how dark the brown is, the golden shimmer looks so pretty in comparison to the darkness so this gives a lot to the eyes. This was so pigmented too, which meant that I had to use little to get good pay off, and again this is so lovely to use as a subtly colour if you use it lightly.

I'm very impressed with these colours and I can't wait to try out some more. They had good wear, but did crease on me at times (But I do have the most crease worthy and oily lids, so I always use a primer), but still looked gorgeous. At £6.99 a pop these aren't the cheapest of shades and could probably find a few dubes among the cheaper branded cosmetics, but these delivered great pigmentation and colour. 

What do you think of these?

Which one would you buy?

And have you used any of these?

I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading beauties! 

MAC ARCHIES GIRLS - RONNIE RED LIPSTICK SWATCH AND REVIEW

When Mac released their Archie's Girls collection I couldnt've been more happier. I looked at Selfridges and wanted everything. It took me a while to select the few I wanted. I didn't purchase any for a while until I walked past my local Mac and saw them putting out the Archie's Girls and ran in at the chance to have my pick of the collection. I came out with one thing, Ronnie Red. I then went back a few days later - After everything was pretty much sold out - and came out with a blusher and a pearlmatte blush which I will review very soon. Ronnie Red is a gorgeous matte red with cool tones. If you compare it to the matte Russian Red you can see the difference between the two and you can see that Ronnie Red has more of a blue tone. I adore this colour and I can't wait to wear it out properly. This had such a long wear too, which I was so pleased with. I have noticed that Mac's matte lipsticks have amazing wear on the lips. I can go the whole day without reapplying if I've not really ate or drank anything, however I do carry it around just in case I need to touch up. I love this shade and I will be wearing this a lot! Because of my pale complexion the blue toned lipstick looks really lovely on my skin. Overall, another winner from Mac - Wish I'd picked up more lipsticks from the collection, but this was by far my favourite. This shade is sold out online but still may be available at your nearest Mac counter for £15.50.

Did you get any lipsticks from this collection?

Did you get anything from this collection?

And did you like Archie's Girls?

What do you think of this colour?

I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

CHINESE DRAGON INSPIRED LOOK

Before we go any further, all photos have been taken with a digital camera or mobile phone, as my SLR is at home - currently away studying. 

I'm a huge fan of anything oriental, so when I decided to do a look inspired by a Chinese Dragon, I couldn't be more excited. Now I'm back at uni I have less time, no SLR camera, less make up and less awakeness, so I had to make do with what I had - And I hope you still enjoy reading just as much.

To create this look I focused on precision of lines and keeping both eyes as symmetrical as I possibly could - Not a strength of mine! Here's the products I used and how I used them.

• Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Electrum  - I used this all over my lids and carried on to create a flick, and then back under my eyes again. I loved using this colour as the gorgeous gold had an amazing colour pay off. Although this creased on me so much, even with a decent primer. Such a shame, as it's so pretty to look at. I also used this on the eyebrows. I then dabbed it in the middle of my lips.
• Topshop Matte Eyeshadow in Painted - I used a wet angled brush to apply this below the eye and slightly at the top of the black winged eyeliner.
• Urban Decay Matte Eyeshadow in Black Out - I used this above the gold on the lid to create more of a comparison, then on the bottom of the eyes to create a line going into two flicks.
• Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner - I used this to go over the 'sharpier' points on the winged liner.
• Mac Russian Red Matte Lipstick - I used this on my lips, then had the Electrum in the middle. I applied the Russian Red very lightly so it was almost a faded red.

So that's the main list of products used and how I went about using them. Again sorry for not using my SLR, I have posts lined up from my SLR, and will be using it again in the next few weeks. 

What do you think of this look?

Inspired you in any way?

I'd love to hear from you, and I reply to all comments!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

BAOBELLA COMPETITION

Recently I entered Baobella's Bloggers Go Pro competition - And it really is a lifetime opportunity. If anyone isn't aware of Baobella, it's a online site specially designed for people with a passion for beauty. You can share make up looks, swatches, products and so much more. I've recently entered my Maleficent Look into the competition to win an amazing prize.

You can find my Baobella account here if you lovelies have it, and you can 'love' my competition entry here. I'm super excited and never wanted anything more in my life!! I've always wanted to go into make up, and this is the most amazing thing I've ever entered! Let me know in the comments if you have Baobella and I'll give you a follow!

Thanks so much beauties!

Hannah x

CHAREE MAG EASTER EGG HUNT

Charee Mag is holding a Easter competition where you can get your hands on £190 worth of amazing beauty prizes. Charee Mag is a online site filled with fashion, beauty, stylist interviews, competitions, guest posts and so much more to inspire all you fashion and beauty lovers. So head on down to Charee Mag for your daily fix of fashion.

Now time for the competition! Every week for a month a blogger will be posting a hint on their blog. Once you've collected all the answers after all 4 hints have been revealed head on down to Charee Mag to enter the competition. It's that simple! I'm really excited to be part of such an inspiring magazine and a great competition. So you want to enter in a chance to win some amazing prizes? Now's your chance.

Good luck all your beauties, and here is the second clue. Note down what you think is the answer and stay tuned for the future clues. To find the first clue head on over to Carousel Diary. 

Good luck!