Elegant Touch Nail Polish Remover Pads Review

In one of my Glossyboxes I got these nail polish remover pads by Elegant Touch. I think they cost about £2.50 to buy. I usually just use cotton wool and polish remover but decided I would try these out.

The pads themselves are round, quite small and quite thin and you get 20 in a pack.

when I got the first one out I thought it would probably do just the one nail because of how thin it was, however it did do better than I thought and I was able to do a few nails with the one wipe. I only used them on normal polish, I don't think they would be very good for glitter or textured polish removal.

I don't think these are something I would buy as polish and cotton wool lasts longer for a similar price. I found the remover pads very greasy as you can see in the pic below.

This sort of thing would mainly come in handy for if you were going away and needed nail polish remover to be compact.

Thanks for reading

George

xx

My Stash! - Part Six! (Bloggers do collections better)

This weeks #bloggersdoitbetter challenge is 'collections' so here  is part six of my stash, my Ciate collection....

I love the Ciate nail polishes. They are nice formulas and the bottles are so cute :)

                                

The above four are my most recent Ciate purchases. They are 'Mango Martini' from the Suncatcher Collection, 'Kaftan' from the Bottled Sunshine Collection, 'Show Girl' from the Passionista Collection, and 'Mojito'. I had been eyeing 'Kaftan' up for a while so jumped at the chance to buy it when they were on sale.

The first polish you see above is 'Serendipity' and it was in window 24 of my Ciate mini mani month. It hasn't got a bow on it which I presume is because it was in the calendar. Next to it is 'Shaken Not Stirred' which is a metallic pinky purple colour. 

The next three are 'Unrestricted Glam' which came in a set of three that I won in a Ciate competition, 'Island Hopping' which is from the Bottled Sunshine collection, and 'Cream Soda' from the Spring Sundae collection.

Above are the other two of the polishes which I won along with 'Unrestricted Glam'. They are 'Poppet' (lilac) from the Dolls House Collection and 'Cutie Pie' (pink). I find that some of the Ciate polishes look like they are a gel effect, 'Cutie Pie' is like this but it is quite sheer.

The last three of my full size Ciate polishes are 'Confetti' which a fab silver glitter, 'The Hamptons' which is a teal glitter with gold hexagons in and 'Monte Carlo' which is a mainly blue glitter but it also has pink and silver mixed in. 'The Hamptons' and 'Monte Carlo' are from the Destination Party collection.

Now onto the minis.....

The top two above are 'Pepperminty' (green) and 'Ivory Queen' and the bottom two are ''Sugar Plum' (purple) and 'Members Only'. 'Ivory Queen' and 'Members Only' look very similar in the bottle but they are different when swatched. 'Members Only' is very sheer and 'Ivory Queen' is more creamy. They both have a little shimmer to them.

Most of my Minis I got from the Mini Mani Month 2013 which is an advent calendar. Even though they all came with this some of them are also from other collections. I have three mini caviar beads and two loose glitters as you can see above. The caviars are 'Cloud Nine' which are red and lilac, 'Frost Yourself' which are blue and creme and 'Christmas Tree Caviar' which are red, green and beige. The glitters are 'Jingle Belle' which is the bottom one. This is a fine peach glitter with and iridescent shimmer to it. The other is 'Miss Mistletoe' which is a red and gold sequin glitter.

Above are the two glitter polishes, 'Snow Globe' (clear/iridescent) and ''Party Shoes' (gold). Below them is 'Fit For A Queen' which is a lovely metallic silver and 'Pillow fight' which is a grey colour.

Next up is 'Play Date' (top left) and 'Ferris Wheel' (top right), 'Kiss Chase' (bottom left) and 'Boudoir' (bottom right). Boudoir is a gorgeous bright but deep red.

The last three minis from left to right are 'Hopscotch', 'Amazing Gracie' and 'Encore!'. Even though 'Hopscotch' and 'Encore!' look similar in the picture 'Hopscotch' is alot brighter.

So that's 36 Ciate's in total currently in my collection, I'm sure however that this number will keep growing :)

Thanks for reading

George 

xx

Glossybox June 2014

Sooooo..... this is my last Glossybox for a while! I got this one with my Glossydots and have subscribed to Birchbox instead. To be fair this was quite a good box but it's so hit and miss at the moment that I am going to have a break from it. The one thing that annoys me about Glossybox is that on my beauty profile I state that my most used product is nail polish and yet everytime there is a box with polish in it I never get it!!!

This month's box has a Summer theme. With my box I got a little Thank you note and a small Green & Blacks chocolate as I have been a subscriber for a year. This was quite a nice touch.

The first product I have to show you is the So Susan Universal Blush. I have been looking for a blusher but I didn't know where to start so was happy to get this as it seems a good one to start with. It is a full size product worth £18. This blush is designed to work with your skins natural chemistry so hopefully it will give me a natural glow.

Next up is the QV skin lotion which is an Australian brand. It is an all over moisturiser and can be used to remove make up. This is a 15ml sample but a full one is £6.06 for 250ml.

The third product from my box is the Teeez Trend Cosmetics Flat Stiff Brush. This is obviously a full size item and is worth 19 euros. 

Below is the Got2b Rise 'n Shine Souffle. This is a light weight hair product which says it leaves your hair silky and shiny without weighing it down. I don't use things like this very often but I will try it when I next have a night out :) This is a full size product worth £4.07.

My final product is the Nip + Fab CC Eye Fix. It is an eye cream and concealer in one designed to brighten and lift your eye area. This will come in handy for those bags from late nights :) This is another full size product and is worth £9.95.

A very good value box this month. I will be keeping an eye on the next few boxes and maybe will subscribe again at some point. What did everyone get in their box??

Thanks for reading

George 

xx

Birchbox June 2014

Hello and welcome to this month's Birchbox review :)

This month's Birchbox theme was 'Global Strikers' linking it in with the world cup.

The box itself is the normal colour but the little bag inside is the colours of Brazil.

The only product in my box which I won't be using is the Coola classic face sunscreen. I dont have a picture but you can see it here. It was a sample size that we received in the box.

The product I was most excited about was the mini OPI.

I think this one is called 'What's a Little Rainforest?' and is one of the Brazil Sands. It is a shimmery Teal colour and doesn't seem to match any of the normal Brazil collection. These minis are the cutest bottles ever :)

The Yves Rocher sheer botanical lipstick was another fab product out of this month's box. This is a full size product and they retail at an introductory price of £9.90. I got this in the shade 'Marron Glace'. I really love lipstick but usually find them too dark for my pale skin, these however are perfect, they are sheer so therefore the colour isn't too overpowering and they are also really moisturising.

Above is the original beauty blender. It is an egg shaped beauty sponge to ensure a flawless base. It also comes with a special soap to clean it with. This product is worth £26 which is pretty amazingg considering you pay £12.95 for the whole box!! I have tried this out and I love it, it is so easy to use and gives great results.

The final product in my box was the Claudie divine oil. This can be used on your body and face like a moisturiser and on your hair like Moroccan oil. I am yet to try this but I am looking forward to giving it a whirl.

As well as the beauty products they popped in a cute flip flop keyring which was a nice touch. There are picture of this and all of the other products on their website, www.birchbox.co.uk

Thanks for reading

George 

xx

World Cup Nails 2014

Thought I would join in with world cup fever by doing a world cup mani :)

On my left hand I did Argentina, Japan, England, Italy and another England then on my right hand I did Brazil, France, England, Germany and England. I didn't choose these countries for any particular reason (apart from England and Brazil) other than the fact that they were mani friendly without too many small details.

I used OPI 'Alpine Snow' and 'I Just Can't Cope-acabana'

Color Club black striper

Ciate 'Mojito' and 'Boudoir'

Avon Gel Finish 'Royal Vendetta'

Barry M 'Pale Blue'

LA Colors red striper

and Barry M white nail art pen.

Thanks for reading

George

xx

My Tattoo Diary - The Beginning

Something a little bit different on the blog today. If any of you have seen photos of me then you will know that I have a few tattoos. I often get comments and questions about these (all good) from people when I'm out and about. So I have decided to do a series of posts to show and tell you about my tattoos (if you are interested).

I got my first tattoo on the 21st February 2004. I was 20 years old and remember it like it was yesterday. I had wanted a tattoo for quite a while and had it drew up ready. I have always been nervous of needles and when I arrived at the tattoo shop the sound of the tattoo gun made me feel sick and very nervous.

My friend came with me as she was having her first one done too. I sat with her and she nearly crushed my hand. Then it was my turn. My friend had popped out of the room on the phone so I had nobody to hold onto. Luckily the tattooist was really nice and kept chatting to me.

It didn't take long for my tattoo to be done and I was so happy with it. I had my name on the bottom of my back in Japanese. It is in catacana which is the Japanese translation of an english word (or that is what I am told). It is spelt differently to my name when translated back into English.

My name is the symbols along the bottom. I had the stars added 4 years later in 2008 to make it pretty :) Whereas my name is Georgina the symbols basically translate as Jyo Jii Na. I know that it says the right thing as it was a Japanese lady who wrote it out for me.

Hope these posts will be of some interest to some of you. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading

George 

xx

My Stash! - Part Five!

Welcome to the fifth installment of My Stash!!!
In this post I am going to introduce you all to my Models Own polishes :)

Without realising it I have gotten myself quite the collection....

I can't remember which I bought first but I have a feeling 'Pukka Purple' was one of them :) Next to 'Pukka Purple' there is 'Luis Lemon' and 'Toxic Apple'. 'Pukka Purple' is one of my favourite polishes and it was what I wore on my wedding day (pic below). These are all from the Ice Neons Collection.

Above is 'Bubblegum' and 'Fluro Orange', these aren't neons but they are fairly bright.

Next is 'Tropical Sun' from the Beetlejuice Collection, 'Golden Peach' from the Tropical Collection and 'Tangerine Queen', and I just remembered that 'Golden Peach' was my first one ever! 'Tangerine Queen' is another that's not a neon but is still pretty bright.

I have quite a few neutral Models Own polishes as I bought some in a set from the duty free on an aeroplane. Above is 'Vintage Pink', 'Nude Beige', 'Purple Grey' and 'Aqua Violet'. As you can see 'Aqua Violet' is quite shimmery with hints of blue and purple in it but it's not quite a blurple. It is from the Beetlejuice Collection.

 Above is 'Pinky Brown' (from the Beetlejuice Collection) which is another shimmery one and 'Red Alert' which is a gorgeous red creme. The black glittery one is 'Obsidian' and is from their Velvet Goth Collection, it is a matte glitter and the bottle lid is like a velvet material.

Here is 'Purple Haze' from the Glitter Collection. I really like this purple glitter but I find the colour rubs away quite quickly and leaves it silver. Next to it is one from the Splash Collection 'Golden Shore', which I bought to wear with 'Golden Peach', and 'Boogie Nights' from the Mirror Ball Collection.

The Speckled Eggs Collection (above) is the first collection that I bought in full. From left to right they are 'Dove Pink', 'Swan Lilac', 'Duck Blue', 'Magpie Green' and 'Goose Yellow'. I love these polishes!

Below is the beginning (I say beginning as I expect I will end up buying more) of my Models Own Hyper Gels Collection. My favourite is the first one you see which is 'Blue Glint'. Then from left to right they are 'Cornflower Gleam', 'Red Lustre', 'Naked Glow', 'Cerise Shine' and 'Pink Veneer'.

The last of my Models Own polishes to show you are my Polish For Tans Collection. I only have four at the moment as I couldn't get my hands on the fifth. The ones I have are 'Flip Flop' (green), 'Bikini' (yellow), 'Beach Bag' (peach), and 'Sun Hat' (pink).

A lot of people have been intrigued with the difference between the Ice Neons and Polish For Tans. You can see my review of the yellow shades here!!

Thanks For Reading :)

George xx

My First Ever Birchbox! - May 2014

I have decided to cancel my Glossybox subscription for now and subscribe to Birchbox instead :)

I was lucky to do it in time to be able to receive the May box. I was also lucky to find a code that enabled me to get a few freebies just for joining :)

Below are my freebies, a make up sharpener, a 4-way nail buffer/file and an eye mask.

Now onto my box contents...

First up is Benefit's 'they're real!' mascara. I am liking the rubber brushes opposed to the old style bristle ones. I found that this mascara worked great on my upper lashes but made my lower lashes quite clumpy. I would still recommend it as it did make my lashes look longer. Full size this product costs £19.50 and is about 8.5g, we got a 3g product which I feel is a good size and is worth approximately £6.

Next is the Soigne nail polish. This is a full size item and costs £11. I got it in the colour 'pomegranate' which is a lovely red. The nail polish comes beautifully presented in a simple, classy looking box. I have swatched it on my colour wheel and as expected is a lovely smooth formula.

Below is Aromatherapy Associates revive morning bath and shower gel. This is a blend of pink grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry. Its smells very strong in the bottle but i think it will be less over powering when added to the bath. I am looking forward to trying it. This is a 3ml sample which is enough for one bath or shower, a full size bottle is about £39 for a 55ml bottle.

I was quite surprised to find these vitamin supplements in the box. They are anti-ageing zinc and vitamin C supplements. I already take supplements so I will replace my normal ones with these. It is recommended you take these for around 12 weeks to show an effect. You are supplied with 15 days worth of tablets so I will take these and see how it goes. A pack of 60 tablets is £37.99 and in my box I got a pack of 30 which is a very good sample size.

Next is the Laura Mercier face polish. This is to cleanse and buff away dead skin cells. I'm not sure what the size of a full product is but it would cost around £25.50, this is a 11.3g sample. I have heard lots of good things about this brand.

The last item is the Philip Kingsley one more day dry shampoo. I was happy with this as I find it so handy having dry shampoo in the house and so far all of mine have come in beauty boxes. This will be the third type I have tried and it smells quite nice so looking forward to trying it out. I have a 50ml bottle worth £6 and you can also get a 200ml bottle for £13.50.

With Birchbox you get a card telling you about your products and you also get a little magazine. I never read Glossybox's magazine but this one is much more of an easy read and focuses on the products and brand in that months box.

All in all I am very happy with my first box. Good size samples and great brands. Thumbs up to Birchbox!

Thanks for reading

George xx