MUA Nail Polish

I've been trying a few nail polishes from two of MUA's ranges, the normal £1 range and also their Love Hearts range.

MUA Polishes Shade 1 and 'All Nude'

From their £1 range I've been trying and absolutely loving shade 1. It's a bluey-purpley-black with little tiny bits of glitter which make it lovely and shimmery. If this shade was to have a name rather than a number its perfect name would be starry night as it literally just reminds me of space and galaxies and things like that! It took a couple of coats to be opaque but I just love the effect it gives. I wore this with an O.P.I. topcoat and it lasted a good few days without chipping before I had to take it off for work. I haven't actually worn shade 'All Nude' as it is just a plain white polish which isn't something I would usually want to wear, but there have been a few times where I've wished I had a white polish so for £1 I thought I'd pick this up just so I have it. This also took 2/3 coats to be opaque but for a white polish that's what I'd expect. Both shades definitely worth their £1 price tag!

 MUA Love Hearts Polishes 'U R FAB' and 'U ROK'

MUA's Love Hearts range is a collection of nail polishes and also lip balms, consisting of very girly colours ranging from pastels to brights. Shade 'U ROK' is a really nice pastel purple colour and 'U R FAB' is my favourite - I'd say it was a deep berry pink which I just think is gorgeous and really stands out. 'U ROK' took two coats for an opaque coverage and 'U R FAB' was fine with one coat but I applied two just out of habit if anything! Again I wore both of these with an O.P.I. topcoat and they both lasted for days without chipping. I was quite disappointed with the brushes on these, I don't know if I just got some dud bottles but the brushes were both really 'sticky-outy' and not sleek at all. One of them looked as if it had been put into the bottle awkwardly and so a part of the brush kind of sticks out where its moulded into that position. However they were still usable and for their £2.00 price tag it doesn't spoil it too much - it was just a little annoying.

O.P.I. Let's Seal the Deal - Nail Envy and RapiDry Top Coat

O.P.I. Let's Seal the Deal - O.P.I. Nail Envy and O.P.I. RapiDry Top Coat

My nails are really horrible. It's my fault - I don't look after them and yes.. I bite them! So when I heard about this miracle nail product (Nail Envy) that strengthened even the most brittle and flakey of nails I obviously thought.. I must have this! That being said the £18 price tag put a dampener on things to say the least and so it was decided I would go without.

Until the day I wondered into John Lewis, innocently I might add, and spotted this. A set where you were effectively buying the Nail Envy and receiving the RapiDry Top Coat for free! I like to look at it more as I bought each bottle for £9 each - this makes me feel better about it somehow. But seeing as the RapiDry retails for about £13 anyway it really was an offer too good to miss out on - and let's face it.. waiting for nail varnish to dry really is the most annoying and slowest 10 minutes of life wasted! Unfortunately, I can't seem to see this on their website but it's worth checking in store.

O.P.I. Nail Envy is a nail strengthener which claims to 'transform and protect even the most damaged nails'. It supposedly stops nails splitting and peeling and also increases growth rate. Now I don't feel like I can comment on the growth rate due to my already mentioned nasty habit (that I will stop one day!!) but I have definitely noticed an improvement in the 'quality' of my nails. They do not split at all - which does actually decrease the urge I have to bite them as they don't develop horrible flakey bits and I'm not as afraid of them snapping. I use it alone when I'm not allowed painted nails for work or as a base coat. It's also really quick to dry which means I am much more likely to use it often - I actually usually apply in when I'm on my weekly train journey from Liverpool to Wales.

I am also mega impressed with the RapiDry Top Coat. I'm sure I'm not alone in my loathing of those all important 10/15 minutes after applying nail varnish where you are rendered incapable of completing even the simplest task of changing the channel with the remote. If you actually are able to get to the properly dry stage without having smudged your little finger on the side of the sofa or your thumb on your mobile phone then seriously.. Wow. Luckily, this little bottle of glory has put an end to all that! You literally just paint over a thin layer of this stuff over the colour on your nails wait a couple of minutes at the most and you're free to be a normal person again. ALL HAIL RAPIDRY!!!

Unnecessary Essentials

Sorry about the crappy picture!

So today I might have got a bit bored of doing work and might have accidentally stumbled into town and accidentally broke my 'no spending on beauty products' rule... but I had a £20 off a £40 spend in Body Shop voucher (from vouchercodes.co.uk) and I just could not resist!

I picked up...

The Body Shop Mini Brush Kit - I have recently noticed a severe lack of make up brushes in my possession and thought it would be nice to give these a try. They're teenie-tiny but I think I'll get a lot of use out of them.

The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask - I've been on the look out for a facial mask to try for a while. I have never tried anything like this before but have quite high hopes!

The Body Shop Aloe Lip Care - My lips are horrible in the winter. They get so chapped and can become really quite painful so I picked up this lip treatment in the hope that it will help keep my lips soft and moisturised.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver - I think this works kind of like a primer - it says to apply after moisturiser but before make up. I've tried it on the back of my hand and it has quite a weird consistancy. It actually feels similar to Benefit's Porefessional. It made my skin feel really smooth. I'll see how it compares as Porefessional is a staple in my make up bag! This also smells lovely - like oranges!

OPI 'Let's Seal the Deal' - I might also have stumbled across to John Lewis with no real intentions in mind until I saw this OPI set for £18.55. Basically you buy the OPI Nail Envy and get the OPI Rapidry Top Coat free, which as I had been thinking about purchasing Nail Envy anyway was too good a deal to miss out on! I've used both already tonight and will report back soon. 

Batiste Dry Shampoo - I don't really know why I have included this, it's nothing exciting but an essential in my mind - I really do miss it when I run out unprepared!

You can expect reviews on these products soon! I have been trying my best to blog every day as that is what I LOVE and look for in blogs that I choose to follow. While that's not always possible due to uni/work/sleep/life it's really motivating to have started to receive comments and new followers. At this stage in a blogs life it's really exciting and sometimes I just wish I could blog all day long!

My name's Maggie and I have an addiction...

Ok.... here goes.... I have a problem. A nail polish problem. I just can't seem to stop. It's one of those things that I find 100% necessary to make myself feel like I've made an effort. I used to spend hours trying to perfect nail art, stamping and sticking things on! Now, I have converted to a more simple style and approach. I love a simple block colour nail, and if I'm feeling adventurous then a sparkly glitter on top or an accent nail. Anyway, here are a few polishes I've picked up in the last couple of weeks.

I got this Barry M glitter polish in 'Rose Quartz Glitter' as part of the Superdrug 3 for 2 offer. I own a few glitter polishes but none in this pinky-gold colour. I love it and could not wait to pair it with my Models Own 'Utopia' which is a very pale pinky purple.

I got these two as free gifts in a November edition of 'More!' magazine. Usually at £5 a bottle paying £1.50 for the magazine was a great deal! The two shades I got were 'Nude Beige' which is the browny colour and 'Raspberry Crush' which is the red. Models Own is probably my favourite nail polish brand, usually one or two coat opaque and fast drying. Perfect!

This was another free gift in Decembers edition of 'Glamour' magazine (I'm clearly a sucker for a free gift!). I think these usually retail for around £8 and I only paid £2 for the magazine so again, an amazing deal! The shade is 'Motcomb Street' and I have high hopes that this will be a really opaque true black, as I'm yet to discover the perfect black polish! This does look a little bluey though, I shall report back on this one!

I bought these three products from the MUA website recently when they were holding a 35% off offer. I bought these along with a few other make-up bits - some of which I'm loving and will review soon! I'm not usually a fan of metallic nail polish but the colours of these two look so pretty! The gold colour is 'Glitter Wings' and the pinky-purple colour is 'Purple Mist'. At £2.50 these are not bad at all. I can see these being used on their own or even as an accent nail.
I also bought this Nail Constellation in Gemini. I haven't given this a go yet but the whole caviar nail thing interests me and this costs only £3 so a nice way to try it out!

I have to apologise for the photo quality, I'm trying my best with my iPhone! I am also struggling to find the time to blog during these last few weeks of term before Christmas but I'm planning to get stuck in during the Christmas holidays, when I should hopefully get lots of new things off my friends and family to review too *hint hint*!