bloomzy /

Giveaway: Valentine’s Day Nude Eye Look

I hate to get involved in the Valentine’s Day hype, but I love any excuse to get dolled up! I wanted to share that fun a little bit and so I thought it might be nice to do a giveaway. The MUA Ever After Matte Eyeshadow Palette is great because you can create a simple nude eye, or a sultry smokey eye. Of course you have to have long luscious lashes to complete the look so I’ve also included Elf’s wonderful 3-in-1 Mascara. I hope everyone can feel good about themselves, and look good this Valentine’s Day whether you’ll be spending it with your partner, friends or with a yummy tub of ice cream!
What can you win?
MUA Matte Nude Palette & ELF 3-in-1 Mascara
 
How to enter:
+ Be a follower of ‘Bloomzy’ via Bloglovin
+ Earn extra entries on Twitter, Facebook etc.
– This giveaway is open to UK participants only!
– Entrants who do not follow the rules will be disqualified.
– Twitter accounts created purely for giveaways will be disqualified.
The giveaway is open for 11 days (ending 8th Feb at 12am).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!

 

bloomzy /

5 Nail Art Instagrams You Should Be Following

Do you remember the ‘Instagram 5 Series‘ I started last year. Well it’s back and I thought we’d start with one of my favourite topics – nail art. I’ve picked out 5 of my favourite Instagram accounts where you can find amazing nail art inspiration.
Who? @nancy_mc
Why? Before we became friends and worked together I loved Nancy’s nail art. I followed her on Tumblr & Instagram, so it seemed only fitting that she should be part of this line up. She is an amazing nail artist who is always coming up with fun, cute and sassy designs – they’re honestly some of the best I’ve seen. I think she has a real signature design to her work too. You know when you spot some Nancy Mc nails!
 
Who? @nailyuu
Why? Luna-che is a Japanese nail salon that really stands out to me. In a country where nail art is so good, it takes a lot for a particular salon, or in this case salon’s Instagram to stand out! I think the more personal aspect to this account is why I like it. Not only do you see the designs created for customers, but you see what Luna Che’s nail artist Yuu (et al) is up to – and it’s always something fabulous. It’s nice to have that personality.
 
Who? @glossin
Why? I’ve been lucky enough to have my nails done by Jessica and she is a great nail artist. Her designs are absolutely gorgeous and always on-trend. She has a lot of experience and has now started her own company – it’s great to see her share her designs and creations through her Instagram. I always end up pressing ‘like’ when I see one of her photos pop up on my feed.
 
Why? DIY Nails is a nail art Instagram with a difference. The brand, started by the lovely Tammy, is all about making nail art easier and more accessible for everyone. It features Tammy’s designs and the DIY Nails products, namely their nail transfers (which are now stocked in Urban Outfitters). The account is full of fun designs, customer photos and the gorgeous Betty (Tammy’s French Bulldog).
 
Why? Of course it wouldn’t be fitting not to include The Illustrated Nail in my line up. Fans of nail art and nail artists alike will have seen or heard of The Illustrated Nail somewhere down the line, and if you haven’t, then what have you been doing all this time? I love that she includes mini-tutorials from time to time, so you can diy it. From creating original designs for celebrities, to designs for Dior, this is one nail artists who has earnt her stripes.
I often post photos of my nails, and you can follow me @bloomzy

Source: Please see individual Instagram accounts listed above.
bloomzy /

My Visit To The Cheeky Parlour

Just before Christmas I treated my friend Anna to a trip to the Cheeky parlour. I had heard of the mini beauty salon in Shoreditch and was dying to visit with a friend. Located on Redchurch St, above Aubin & Wills, the salon fits into Shoreditch perfectly. The idea behind the parlour is brilliant, offering walk-in manicures, blow outs and food. You’re handed a small paper card when you enter, and this is filled in throughout your visit. Whether you have a manicure & coffee, or a hair style & cake, it is jotted down onto your card. Now this may seem dangerous to a beauty addict, but with such great prices it’s not scary at all.

We had a manicure (only £10!), with nail art (£1.50 per nail). Now the amazing thing is, every manicure comes with a free polish! Yep, you get a 10ml pot of nail polish, in the shade you choose for your manicure. If that isn’t a bargain then I don’t know what is. So my whole manicure, with nail art, cost only £13. We ordered a couple of coffees and they were brought to us as we chatted and relaxed at the nail bar. Afterwards we retired to a comfy sofa and waited for our nails to dry, whilst we browsed the menu. I was pretty impressed with the food on offer, all of it sounded delicious and reasonably priced. We had mini red velvet cakes and chilled out, whilst drinking in our surroundings. Finally we checked out all the Cheeky products on offer, before paying.

The concept behind the Cheeky Parlour is any beauty lovers fantasy. Prices are reasonable, and the treatments offered are perfectly executed. The parlour is perfectly Shoreditch, on-trend and great for visiting with friends. All-in-all I will definitely be going again, and taking friends & family with me. I may even go for a hairstyle next time, if I have the occasion to.

You can find Cheeky Parlour on Redchurch St, Shoreditch.

bloomzy /

October ‘Dark Romance’ Glossybox 2013 & Why I Will Be Cancelling My Subscription

October ‘Dark Romance’ Glossybox 2013

My never ending inner battle with Glossybox continues. I haven’t ordered one since May 2012 after I ended my subscription. Why? I was unimpressed with the products, boxes and lack of personalisation. So why buy another one? Good question! Well I liked, no loved, the sound of ‘Dark Romance’. I wear red lips everyday and love a ‘gothic’ vibe to my make-up so I re-subscribed for it. Glossybox promised “gothic beauty, sensual scents, blood red lips and smokey eyes”. Hmm well I don’t know about you but I’m not feeling that from the box above.

What was wrong with the box?
+ The MeMeMe Cheek & Lip Tint, is the only plus about this box, and it’s full size too.
– However those PRESS ON nails? They’re more beauty pageant than gothic Princess, don’t you think?
you could get for free just by asking at any perfume counter.
– The primer isn’t so bad, but I don’t use them really and I don’t see the link to the theme.
– Finally the smoothing skin serum – again, not connected to the theme at all.

Why am I cancelling my subscription?
Glossybox just haven’t improved over the years unfortunately.

If you’re going to do a theme, do it justice, don’t do it halfheartedly. And that’s what this box is, it’s a very vague halfhearted attempt at ‘Dark Romance’. They’ve also been promising from the beginning that boxes would end up being personalised. The whole point is to receive a box of products/samples tailored to your loves, likes and dislikes. Yet they still haven’t listened or improved on the never ending complaints about them not using it. You only need to visit the Glossybox Facebook page to see ‘fans’ saying they’re cancelling their subscription. I also had problems with their customer service team not replying to my emails, which is a bit of a let down. This is really sad and I don’t want to start a boycott of Glossybox or anything but I feel it needs to be said. The company hasn’t improved from what I’ve received myself and have seen others receiving. Nor does it seem to be learning from it’s past mistakes, which everyone knows is vital. I was really hoping to be impressed and fall back in love with this box/Glossybox. I guess that didn’t happen though.

bloomzy /

Review: OCC Lip Tar Harlot & Super NSFW

OCC Lip Tar samples in Harlot & Super NSFW

I think it’s common knowledge by now that I’m a red lipstick addict.
So it seemed that it was time to finally try one of the most hyped lip products out there.
OCC (short for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) are highly renowned for their pigmented lip tars.
I had heard great things myself so I decided to try them out and finally see what all the fuss is really about.
I always like to test a lip product before buying, but as far as I know OCC is only sold in Selfridges in the UK.
This obviously left me with a dilemma, that is until I found Retro Wombat’s Beauty Store.
She sells sample pots of various OCC Lip Tars, so I grabbed a couple.

OCC are a wonderful brand that are vegan friendly and don’t test on animals.
Their Lip Tars are a liquid matte formula which are ridiculously well pigmented.
They are known for their colour and long-lasting wear.


Swatch: Harlot on the left, Super NSFW on right

Pros:
+ Long lasting
+ Applies well
+ Highly pigmented

Cons:
– Stains slightly
– Kept coming off onto my teeth (ahhh!)
– Lips need to be moisturised and primed

Notes:
I loved that a small OCC brush was included with this as I wasn’t expecting it.
You definitely need a brush to apply these, which is very useful as you don’t need to use much at all.
The claims are true, these lip tars are amazingly pigmented, the coverage is great and a little goes a very long way. These sample sizes were perfect for me to tell whether I would want to buy a full size version – I like to road test products before I buy a full size version, if I have the chance. I found that the Lip Tars were very long lasting, and some was even left on my lips afterwards. This is great as I like to drink plenty throughout the day, and it can be annoying having to re-apply a lipstick. There were a few downsides though; your lips do need to be moisturised (or these will dry them out) and primed (for better coverage) beforehand. I didn’t find that I necessarily needed primer although it was helpful, but my lips did dry out without moisturising them. I also kept finding some of the product on my teeth and it even got onto my tongue once (eurgh), even after doing a tissue press on my lips. I don’t know if this is because I failed at applying them properly, but it doesn’t happen with my other lipsticks. These do stain your skin if you happen to get it on you, but if you use the brush and have a steady hand you should be ok. I really liked these but the bleeding put me off slightly, although I will continue to try the samples in the hopes that I have better luck next time.

You can buy OCC Lip Tars in Selfridges or grab a sample from Retro Wombat’s Beauty Store.

bloomzy /

Haul: ASOS & Maybelline Baby Lips

Shoes, Anatomicals: Sleep Balm & Eye Patches, OPI Matte Top Coat, Maybelline Baby Lips

A couple of Friday’s ago I won an ASOS voucher. I wasn’t after anything particular (that they had) so I saved it. I knew I needed a pair of plain black sneakers (for this & that) but knew they would be cheap. So after choosing those and seeing that I had a considerable amount left I headed to the beauty section. I am seriously impressed with the selection of products that ASOS carry on there! They have such a great variety and some really good deals.

Since I wasn’t spending my own money I bought things I’ve wanted to try for a while but wasn’t too sure about wasting money on. Anatomicals is a brand that I have seen a lot of and wanted to investigate further, especially the sleep balm – so I picked that up and paired it with some eye patches (for to an upcoming post). Then I headed to the nail varnish section. Honestly I have so many polishes it’s hard to find a shade I don’t already have by another brand, so I was looking for something different. That’s where OPI’s Matte Top Coat came into play. I am so excited to try this and play around with it, I feel like it’s Christmas already! I knew I had picked the right products as I was really looking forward to receiving them and was still happy when I ripped open the parcel – that’s always a good sign for me.

As for the Maybelline Baby Lips, they kind of tagged along in this post. I have been searching for them for a couple of weeks now and had no luck until last Friday. I managed to finally find all of them in Superdrug, but was actually left feeling a bit uninspired. I picked up ‘Cherry Me’ though as I knew it was a shade I would use often.

You can find links to all of the products under the photo at the top of the post.

bloomzy /

Review: Avène D-Pigment Light Dark Spot Lightener

Avène D-Pigment Light Dark Spot Lightener*

Avène is my favourite beauty brand by far! It might seem a bit odd to start with such an exclamation but I trust the brand. It’s products are specifically for people with sensitive skin, but that doesn’t mean that it only sells a few products. However the brand actually has over 20 ranges, all suited for various purposes. The Avène D-Pigment Light Dark Spot Lightener is part of the D-Pigment range. This range is specifically for targeting brown spots and evening out skin tone.

Notes:
First off I would just like to say that there won’t be any pros/cons on this review. I was confused to start with and thought this might help me with the marks left behind by spots and my uneven skin tone. Now I realise that this product was not suited to me or my skin problems – I don’t have any brown spots, I do have an uneven skin tone but that is due to redness however. I don’t want to say that this product was terrible and didn’t work because I believe it purely just wasn’t suited to me. I did see a slight lightening of marks left by spots, and the product was very lightweight and gentle, so it was worth trying. I just think it would be better suited to someone with brown spots who is looking to even out their complexion. If this isn’t you and you’re more like me, then it might be worth trying a product from their Antirougeurs range.

You can purchase Avène products in Boots stores, and online here.