Favourite drugstore highlight shades

Ever since I saw a makeover on tv where the makeup artist used a highlight colour I've done the same thing pretty much every day. I couldn't believe one little dab of colour below the eyebrows and in the inner corner of the eyes could make such a massive difference to the face! It's one of those nice little tricks that can make such a big difference, esp if I haven't slept well

Depending on the actual eye shadow colours I'm opting for my highlight colour usually veers from irridescent white to er, off-white and all the glorious (yet similar) shades inbetween :) These are the 3 that I opt for most days cos they work brilliantly and are cheap as chips

NYC Eye Cube in Tony

MUA single shadow in shade 2 (pearl)

Mini Bourjois shadow in shade 46

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss To Go

I literally can't remember ever finishing a lip gloss. I like trying new brands and shades all the time so there's almost no chance of me wearing one lip gloss enough to get through the whole tube! Which is why I like these ickle ones by Estee Lauder…

One of the things I like best about these is that the tubes are small-ish so I can pick n choose a different shade each day without feeling bad about never getting to the bottom of them. Also, I find small versions of regular products so adorable! Might seem weird but I reckon the little travel size bottles of Soap & Glory, Pantene and Original Sourse goodies are seriously cute
Know what would totally rule? If you could buy lip glosses in half-sizes for half the price. I'd probably end up with every single Juicy Tube and YSL available and wouldn't even feel a tinge of guilt :)

Barry M Nail Paint

When I first spotted the Barry M nail paints I was convinced the quality would be, well, non-existent and I pictured colours that, when applied to my nails, would look like watered-down, streaky, unpleasant versions of what you could see in the bottle

Perhaps it's because the colours are so bright and almost too pretty but I just didn't have very high hopes for the polish - this in spite of the fact that I own dozens of other fantastic Barry M goodies! But when Boots had a buy 2 get one free offer a while back I figured it'd be a crime not to try them and I fell in love with them pretty much straight away…

Barry M Nail Paint in 024

For some reason the term "nail paint" conjured images of a horrible, thick, matte paint (like those massive plastic squeezy bottles we used in primary school) so I was very impressed to see the gleaming, smooth, shiny finish I could achieve easily with just two coats

My nails are ridiculously short and scraggy thanks to helping Adryen with his packing (Who knew you could have so much stuff squeezed into one house?!?!) The short nails look dreadful cos my hands aren't feminine enough to pull them off - in the same way that I could never pull off a short hair cut like gorgeous Audrey Hepburn or Natalie Portman - so I went for a nice bright purple-y/pink-y Barry M paint and was fairly pleased with the results...My hands and cuticles might look a right mess but at least my nails are a nice colour! :)

Grossest nail polish colour ever?

Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in Beech (310)

I saw this polish and figured it could actually be really nice on. I know the colour is a bit, er, unusual? But I reckoned it could look pretty cool and eye catching when it was applied. Which is the wrongest (that is so a word! :p) I’ve been in a long time…

I’m not sure what I dislike most; the awful finish, cheap perfume scent it leaves behind – supposedly a selling point of this – or the colour. After much consideration I think the award goes to the colour for being so revolting that it reminds me of the pee of someone who is seriously dehydrated. Bleurgh! Ick! and EEEWWWW!! In equal measures :)

Fantastic Shimmer Brick

Sue Moxley Famous Shimmer Brick in Pink

Every time I see a new brand of cosmetics when I’m out shopping I feel obliged to try a product or two… I mean who knows what I’ll come across; there could be some undiscovered gems! I’ve recently got some bits n pieces from the Sue Moxley range at Superdrug and so far I’ve been seriously impressed. My new favourite face product is this little shimmer brick which has 5 stripes of stunningly beautiful colours that give a really subtle pretty glow to the face
I think the top colour makes a great highlight shade and the brown in the centre looks great as an eyeshadow for a simple day time look. As far as I’m concerned a little shimmer brick like this that can be used on eyes and cheeks for only £6.50 is a must-have for summer

At first glance it looks extremely similar to my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick (I use Pink Quartz) which cost me about 30 quid, but I haven't compared them side by side yet :)

Epic Fail

Hope you’ve had a fantastic (not to mention extra long!) weekend! ♥

I didn’t get up to much even though I had 4 days off – did a little shopping, took my nephew swimming, read a lot, went for a run and generally relaxed and enjoyed the good weather. It was bliss :)
Talking of shopping I picked up a few gorgeous Accessorize goodies and figured I’d paint my nails this evening cos I wanted to try out the pretty-enough-to-eat sky blue shade from the range. It's actually called Mint Whisper but definitely looks more like a blue than a mint green to me!
The pink one is an old favourite from the brand called Paradise Pink

I opened the bottle and the whole glass rim was all smashed up :( Some of the glass was being held onto the bottle and inside the lid by chunks of dried nail polish. I know it’s probably just a one off (I’ve used the nail polishes before and the quality was fab) but it was totally disappointing… Instead of nice pale blue nails I ended up with a teensy hideous slice on my knuckle. Grrr! Don’t you just hate when stuff like that happens?!

My favourite April goodies

A few bits n pieces that I’ve really enjoyed using this month. Thanks to the fantastically gorgeous weather we’ve been having I’ve been using my Sheer Gold Shimmer by Liz Earle; I have 4 little bottles of this but because it’s always so gray and miserable here in Belfast I haven’t had the opportunity to use it much… till now. Woo!! Hope the weather is as lovely in your corner of the world and you get to make the most of the bank holiday :)

From left to right: Barry M 304, Eyeko Vintage Polish and Barry M 294

NYC skin matching foundation in light (686)

Boots Natural Collection vanilla body spray

Sheer Gold Shimmer by Liz Earle

L'Occitane ultra moisturizing fluid SPF 20

Natural Collection loose powder in neutral translucent

AVON Foot Works gel sole cushions