Lancome Vernis in Love Nail Polish: 179M Madame Tulipe

Sorry for the lack of posts this week (All last weekends were scheduled!), I had an exam yesterday morning that required some serious last minute cramming.. Right up to 5AM yesterday morning. Stress like that requires a treat, right? So enter my first high-end polish - Lancome's Vernis in Love. 

The bottle is sturdy, with a nice glass bottle & glossy black lid, and the Lancome rose printed on the bottle. I spent ages looking through the colours - When a nail polish is €18, you want to love it! I'm lacking in red polishes, so this deep red stood out to me. 

No joke, one coat is all it took for some serious colour & shine. I was impressed! I ended up adding a second coat though, just for longevity. The colour didn't change at all, so if you're in a rush, you can definitely do a quick coat & run. Sounds all good, right? It was.. Until the next day. Forget the extra coat for longevity, you'd need Superglue to keep this on your nails. In fairness, I can't be bothered with a topcoat because I'm always changing my nail polish, but I still don't expect massive chips the next day.

I won't lie, the chipping after paying that price puts me off buying another shade. I do still love the colour, & ended up taking it off to re-apply it, but it's not something I'm going to turn to when I'm rowing or in work.. My nails would be bare after 10 minutes. However I've just picked up a top coat (first time for everything) so hopefully that'll help, seeing as I've bought it.

In general though, I'd sadly avoid Lancome's nail polish. I'd rather just pay €2 or less for an Essence polish! Does this mean I can buy something else as an exam treat...?

Have you tried any Lancome polishes? Or have there been any other brands that have really disappointed you?

Chloe x

Lancome Alber Elbaz Drama Eyes Palette

Hello there from The Worst Blogger Ever. I've used up my I had no laptop/ I lost my camera excuses, so today's excuse is: I have zero time. Like, so little time that I barely wear make up. So I was ridiculously excited to even do my make up to take blog pictures.

I picked up the Drama Eyes eyeshadow palette from Lancome's Alber Elbaz collection two weeks ago, & after two weeks of occasional use (i.e. when I had a spare two minutes in the morning), I'm going to tell you all about it.

In love with the packaging

First up: Packaging is stunning. Even the exterior cardboard box is just lovely, covered in doodles of eyes (not in a creepy way.) The Drama Eyes palette is covered with pretty little polka dots, is quite sturdy, & clicks shut securely. It houses a mirror in the lid and also contains two brushes. So far, so good.

In the pan, the shadows are beautiful - I've really grown attached to pink eyeshadows, and since I'm a glittery eyeshadow kinda girl, the slight shimmer in the shades appeals to me. Here, there's a mid grey with shimmer, a pale shimmery pink, a sparkly pale silver, a glittery deep grey, and a matte black. Basically, all the essentials for a smoky eye!

Pan - Mid grey, pink, dark grey, black, silver

I won't lie - The pigmentation could definitely be better. But the shadows are easily built up, and intensify once used over primer. This obviously has both advantages & disadvantages - They can be used during the day & not look too over-the-top, but can still pack a punch later on. I've mostly been using the pink/ mid-grey shade all over, with a bit of dark grey in the crease, for work, but also loved doing a smoky eye.

Staying power is fabulous - They've been lasting all day, even when applied at 6:30AM, they last through work & 3 hours of training. I'm definitely liking coming home at 11PM to perfect eye make up! They do cause a bit of fall out though, especially the two darker shades, so be careful if you do want to touch them up.

Using all the shadows for a light smoky eye (majorly sorry about the awful application.. Cringe.)

In summary, big thumbs up from me, & I'd love another - If I had a spare €49.00 (Thank God for vouchers!). It is expensive, but considering a single eyeshadow is €25, it balances out & is a nice bit of luxury. It can be picked up in Boots, Debenhams, Sam McCauley & many other stockists!

What do you think of the Alber Elbaz collection?
Chloe x

June Favourites

This is my first ever favourites post - These are all the products I've been loving recently!

Cocoa Brown Night & Day Tan
I put off trying this out, because I just loved Cocoa Brown's One Hour Tan, & figured I wouldn't prefer this. But um.. I love them both equally now. I promise to fully review this, but for now - Favourite instant tan.

MUFE HD Foundation 
This is 100% my 'going out' foundation. It matches my tan & makes my skin look flawless. My only regret is that I don't have it in a colour that matches my skin, because it's deadly.

Lancome La Vie Est Belle
I got this perfume at Christmas & wore it daily. After moving back home, it ended up in a box, & only came back out last week. Four people asked me in one day what I was wearing. I love it.

MUFE Lift Concealer
Lots of work, late nights & early mornings = Horrible dark shadows under my eyes. This covers them better than any other concealer, but doesn't look fake. It's nice, natural, & it works.

Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara
When I get up early, I find it really hard to do a full face of make up, so once my eyes are defined, I'm happy. All I need is a quick brush through my lashes, & my eyes are so much bigger.

ELF Studio Powder Brush
I have at least six foundation brushes. But it's this (very cheap) one that I keep coming back to, when I went a beautiful finish. It buffs foundation in to give an air-brushed look (especially when combined with my MUFE foundation!)

Have you used any of these? What are your recent favourites?

Chloe x

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Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Hello girls!

Just wanted to pop by & wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day. Last night I shared a picture of what I thought I'd do with my make up so I thought I'd pop up what I actually did on the day. (I love doing my make up to sit at home in front of the fire watching Catfish.. It's pouring rain so I opted out of the parade!)

I used MUA Pearl Eyeshadows in Shades 5 & 6 as my green shades, 

& Barry M Dazzle Dust 100 for the gold. 

Barry M 289 Gold, topped with Barry M Copper, 

Model's Own Toxic Apple topped with Louise Gray for Topshop Hat Trick

Face

Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Ivory

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

Benefit Boo-ing Concealer in 001

MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Light

Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in Quickie 

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Lancome Highlighter in Moonlight Rose

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MUA Pearl Eyeshadow Shades 5&6

Barry M Dazzle Dust 100

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Stage Dive

Naked Palette in Virgin

Benefit They're Real

Loreal Super Liner Gel

Collection Eyebrow Definer in Blonde

Lips

Elemis Lip Balm

Essence Stay With Me Lipgloss in Candy Bar

Did you do anything for the day? Or change your nails/ make up in honour of it? Leave a link if so!
Chloe x

What I got for Christmas

Hello lovelies,

Christmas may be well and truly over (We took down the decorations yesterday - Sob!) but I thought I'd do a little post on what I got from friends & Santy (Yes, the big man still delivers my presents. I'm a believer.)

I've seen a few posts with disclaimers on them, reminding their readers that they are not bragging about their gifts. I simply love these type of posts, as it appeals to my inner curiosity, so I wanted to share my presents just in case any one has run out of other posts to nose through!

My presents.

I was incredibly lucky in what I received. Probably enough bath & body sets to last til next Christmas - A ready made excuse to chill out in a bath sometime soon. 

My main present was an Android tablet, which I requested for travelling, because my laptop was giving me awful back pains & I felt 19 going on 90... Coupled with my lovely new diary, I will try to be a tad more organised this year! 

Lancome La Vie Est Belle is a perfume I've been lusting after for a while, so when I saw a set in the Christmas sales, I picked it up for myself. I also picked up a new purse a few months back, and kept it until Christmas. I gave it to my parents, to give back to me as a present! I appreciate it more like that.

Beauty & nail-related bits & bobs.

I should also have enough make up to last me for a very, very long time.. But I can't say no. YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat is my new favourite thing, followed closely by the Real Techniques Expert Face brush. Lots of new nail polishes, a few nail wraps to experiment with, & Benefit's Sexy Little Stowaways kit, and I'm a happy bunny.

So, that's Christmas & the season of good-will gone for another year. I'll try get up a post on the few things I picked up in the sales, but there may be a spending ban on the way!

If you did a post on your Christmas gifts, feel free to leave a link in the comments so I can re-live the joy of gifts all over again!

Chloe x

Lancome Hypnose Drama in 01 Black

Hello!

Again, I have no laptop, so posting has been rather non-existent. However hopefully my laptop will be back to me within a fortnight, so until then, I'll just borrow one sporadically.

Today I'm bringing you one of my favourite products - mascara. I have teeny eyes, albino eyelashes and feel naked without eye make-up, especially when I'm wearing contacts. I have a major collection, but Lancome Hypnose Drama is one of my favourites.

The curved brush & packaging.

Lancome promise 'Instant full-body lash volume. Exceptional immediate volume.' & declare that this is 'A must have mascara for a sensual, incredible and extreme volume look.' Well, honestly, I agree. While it does lengthen, volume is this mascara's forte, and it does it well. The extreme black colour adds to this illusion, but with just a quick zig-zag in the roots of your eyelashes, they will already look bigger and bolder.

If you're in a rush, a few quick strokes will define your lashes and brighten up your eyes considerably - One coat is all that's needed. But, two coats can be built up for more volume, without clumping. However, as a warning, I do find that the brush is overloaded sometimes, which leads to a bit of a gloopy mess, but as long as you check the brush before application, you shouldn't have any problems. The brush iteslf is curved, so it fits into your lashes comfortably.

Bare lashes.

One coat.

Two coats.

Now, the bad news. The price. Of course, Lancome is a higher end brand, so you could probably pick up three high-street mascaras for Hypnose Drama's price tag of E25.92 in Debenhams. I have lots of cheaper mascaras that deliver similar results to this - But for a bit of luxury, the sleek black packaging with minimal gold writing is sophisticated and classic. I won't call this a must-have product but for girls whom love their mascaras, I don't think you'd regret having this in your collection!

Have you tried this mascara? What did you think?
Chloe x