NOTD: Coralicious Fairy Dust

Products Used

Rimmel Nail Rescue (as base and top coat)

Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in 430 Coralicious

ELF Fairy Dust Polish

I'm not really one for repurchasing the same colour of a nail polish but I couldn't not replace my favourite uber bright coral when I saw the brand had a 3 for 2 offer a couple of weeks ago. 

I was also on the lookout for a new topcoat and a friend recommended Nail Rescue. It's not specifically a base or top coat, more of a standalone product but she mentioned how good it was so I picked it up. I'm so glad I did. Not only is it strengthening my nails, its protecting them from staining and provides a chip free, glossy finish with a marvellous longevity. 10 days without chipping? Yes please!

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Have you found any nail polish gems on the high street lately?

Guest Post: Jayde Rose

Today's guest post is from fellow lipstick lover and polish-a-holic, Jayde from Bad Romance Jayde.

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I don't know about you girls, but sometimes I want a night off from taking my makeup off. But we all know this is really bad. So I seem to have developed a routine that enables me to get rid of all makeup quickly and easily. Don't get me wrong, I'm still all over heated face masks, foaming face washes, and all the other skincare products stashed in my bathroom/ dressing table... but this is what I use when I'm feeling lazy.

Baby Wipes - a bit of a controversial one I know, as some girls keep it simple and just use these if they don't wear a lot of cosmetics. However others don't like the idea of them and think they're harsh or abrasive. But they really do get the job done with minimal effort and they're always on offer, so thumb's up from me!

Nivea Extra Gentle eye make up remover - I usually just squirt a bit of this onto a cotton pad, then wipe off. Nothing fancy, again minimal effort and it does a decent job. (Although it does leave a bit of a sticky residue)

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - I know everyone and their mum has reviewed and raved about this so I won't rehash apart from to say it is the ultimate lazy girls dream product. It takes off everything including waterproof mascara with absolutely no fuss at all, leaving more time for catching up on your favorite blogs!

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - Finally I just dab some of this on a cotton pad and wipe all over my face. It leaves my skin feeling soft and supple and really clean, in seconds! Job done. What are your must have "lazy" products?

Blog: Bad Romance Jayde | Twitter: @jayde_

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Thank you to Jayde Rose for a lovely post! Let us know which products you swear by for removing your makeup :)

If you'd like to guest post for Kimtopia, please drop me an email

NOTD: Dance Baby Bling

Products Used:

OPI Original Nail Envy

China Glaze Dance Baby

Look Beauty Nail Pop in Bling

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I love glitter accent nail manis, I think they're a great way to add a splash of sparkle without the fuss of removal. Do you love accent manis?

Guest Post: Fashion Galaxies

Time for another guest post, and taking the reigns today is London fashion blogger Thalia. With a flair for putting fab outfits together and a passion for polish, today Thalia is showing us how to achieve the au naturale look!

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Heya guys,

I'm Thalia, a fifteen year old fashion and beauty blogger from London. Kim's kindly let me raid her blog (temporarily, of course) so I thought I'd show you my favourite make up look...au natural. Not only does this look literally take only five minutes or so to master, it's perfect for lazier days or when you just want to look clean and fresh.

Benefit Porefessional Primer

This product is huge in the blogging world, one of Benefit's bestsellers and I understand why. It has a somewhat peculiar texture, like whipped serum that glides on the skin giving it a smooth and plump texture. It smells decent and primes the skin well, holding onto my foundation for hours. I got the sample from a magazine last year as I can't afford to spend £22 on a primer (as much as I may want to) but the tiny sample has lasted me a while. Thumbs up.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation

What can I say, I freaking love this stuff. It has a lightweight texture, very tinted moisturiser-like and isn't too heavy on the skin, which is what I love. I'm really not a huge fan of the way foundation feels on the skin, but this does the job of concealing redness whilst giving a rather pleasant finish. It also smells lovely too, I notice how Bourjois really do put effort into making sure the scents of their products are good. This one doesn't disappoint, being fruity and all.

MUA Professional Eye Primer

This definitely wins a bargain award. This tube costs a mere £2.50, which is great if like me you may want to grab the latest beauty fix, yet whilst still on a budget. By no means is it the greatest eyeshadow primer out there..I've heard amazing things about UD's primer potion but for now, this will suit me fine.

No7 Shadow Palette in Good Earth

This trio is perfect for the very subtle smoky eye! I used the palest shade as a highlight and began my eyeshadow using the middle, slightly metallic colour. I find like many brows it suits blue eyes, however neutral colours are universal and would suit any colour of eyes out there.

Revlon Quad in Decandent

I forced kindly asked my Mum to kindly pick this up for me when she went to America last October. I know they sell them here in the UK, but being me I couldn't pay £8 for a tiny quad, when I believe that you can buy much more for a smaller price *cough cough* - MUA palettes. I love them. I topped up my look using the golden colour and patting it on with a flat brush, then blending it with the darker brown from No7 for my crease.

Bourjois Liner

I'm not someone that's incredibly into eyeliner, I find liquid eyeliner to be more appealing however I am so bad at application that I tend to edge away from it. I love the subtle colours this liner provides, a gentle bronze and a darker brown that once again would suit a plethora of eye colours. The consistency is somewhat smooth and soft, so doesn't tug when applying.

Avon SuperCurl Mascara

As someone who doesn't really understand the hype of mascara (crazy, I know), I rarely find a mascara that seriously impresses me. I got this as a freebie from a magazine last year, and I adore it. It really does curl my eyelashes, separating them and removing clumps and holding in place for hours.

Nivea Milk & Honey Lip Balm

This is my all time favourite lip balm, which is quite frankly a huge statement. As much as I enjoy devouring my time smelling fruity and tinted lip conditioners, this one is ideal for everyday with it's clear colouring. It smells absolutely gorgeous and does give a milky moisturising texture. I think I have about three of these in my house alone; I've converted my Mum too. Massive approval.

Sleek's Face Contour Kit in Light

I don't see why you'd want to use anything else for contouring. The bronzed colour is not orange, like many other drugstore bronzers. Alternatively, it is slightly darker but when applied with a light hand can look really lovely. I personally avoided using the highlighter for this look, as I was pining for ~natural chic~ but on fancier occasions my cheekbones glow with the stuff. Seriously.

Benefit Posietint

Once again, a magazine sample from Benefit. I've had this quite a while now, and I use it when wanting pink stained lips, but without the texture of a lipstick. I love how this doesn't need top-ups, and has wicked staying power. I wish I could afford the full-size, but alas at around the £20 mark I'll just have to keep my sample size safe and sound. I think it's brilliant for a casual, natural look like this one; a sort of lips-but-amplified effect.

I've talked about this nail polish on my blog recently; I've been really loving grey as a nail colour for this never-ending Winter season. On the chipping front it's not extraordinary, but this doesn't bother me as due to school restrictions I can only wear nail varnish on the weekends. Anyone else have a similar problem?

So there it is, all of the products used and in order of usage. I hope this may have convinced you to nip over to Boots and make any sneaky purchases (Bourjois foundation, I'm looking at you...) I also hope you've enjoyed my look-come-review post, and I'd love to see you over at my blog. Cheers to Kim for letting my write to you all!

Thalia

Blog: fashion galaxies xo | Twitter: @thalialucyf

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Thank you to Thalia for a lovely post! Don't forget to check out her blog :)

If you'd like to guest post for Kimtopia, please drop me an email

Treat time: Elf Haul

True to form, I've broken a New Year's beauty resolution. I bought makeup I didn't need. I have no willpower. But why don't you sit back and look at the pretties?

Its been quite a while since I ordered from elf (eyeslipsface.co.uk) but I received an email telling me about their new Studio products, hot from across the pond. So I had a little looksie and well, you can see what I got! I've always been a big fan of the elf Studio line - they're products are excellent considering their budget price point. Two things I ordered weren't from the Studio line but from the regular line of products and they were the Blending Eye Brush and a Nail Polish in Fairy Dust. I've lost count of the number of the brushes I own. I love them. And they're only £1.50. I also have quite a few elf polishes and this is a new flakie that I don't own yet and I'm all over stuff like this.

After spending ages trawling Google Image search for swatches of elf products, I added the Studio Lip Stain in First Date to my basket. Unfortunately I was quite disappointed with this. Whilst the colour is lovely, the product has quite a chemical scent. It dries a little too quickly for my liking on the lips to give a matte finish and the gloss, while not stick, washes out the colour.

I was quite excited hearing that elf had launched a range of HD blushes to their Studio line. The packaging is incredibly similar to the Make Up For Ever HD blushes but at a snippet of the price. These are £3.75 a pop and there are currently 5 colours in the range. I picked up three - Headliner, Superstar and Diva. You only need the *teeniest* bit of product in order to build up a lovely wash of colour and I found it to be long-lasting on my skin.

I'm not really sure why I bought these products. I think I got suckered in by the prettiness and the 'baked' thing. However these really are rather lovely. I picked up Studio Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky (left) and Studio Baked Bronzer in St. Lucia (right). Peachy Cheeky reminds me a little of Sleek's infamous Rose Gold blush. St. Lucia isn't deep enough to be a contour colour on me but I think it'll be great for warming up my complexion when the sun makes an appearance.

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Have you tried any of the new elf products? Are you tempted? And has anyone else broken their self-imposed spending ban?!

Pürminerals - No mess, no stress!

Today I wanted to let you know about US brand Pürminerals who have recently launched into the UK beauty market. Stocked exclusively at Marks & Spencers Your Beauty, Pürminerals promise groundbreaking products that improve skins appearance thanks to their combination of fine ingredients and latest skincare technology which helps to correct, prevent and interrupt common concerns for radiant results that they boldly claim can be seen even after makeup is removed.

I was certainly intrigued when I heard about the launch of a new brand dubbed 'The Complexion Authority™' and I was kindly given the opportunity to try the Pürminerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup Compact in Porcelain*, which incidentally appears to be the lightest shade available.

The compact contains pure mineral pigments and the breakthrough Ceretin Complex (makeup's first proven anti-ageing technology). Well prevention is better than cure, right girls? The powder helps to smooth away the look of lines and wrinkles whilst plumping, lifting and firming the skin's appearance and also balances uneven skin tone.

I haven't used mineral powder foundation since I last used the Max Factor Natural Minerals foundation (which was loose powder and a bit of a mess) a few years ago so I was keen to give this new 'no mess, no stress' pressed compact a whirl.

Usually I'll test a new foundation safe in the confines of my own home, but I decided to wear this to work and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was to apply, the great colour match and how great the finish looked. Not to mention the longevity, which to give the product its due was pretty surprising.

I applied the product after using a small amount of the Una Brennan Superfacialist Tea Flower Anti-Shine Pore Minimiser. Using the Pürminerals Chisel Makeup Brush* in circular motions across my face and neck, I found the product was buildable without looking heavy or cakey and it didn't settle beneath my eyes or around my nose, and it didn't oxidise at all.

I can get a good 8-9 hours wear out of this but I did find I had to touch up my nose and around my chin during the afternoon. If you don't have an oily t-zone I'd imagine you'd get a better wear out of it.

Overall I think this is a good light coverage product that feels lightweight and leaves skin looking natural yet radiant, and for me will be a product that is reserved for good skin days.

Pürminerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup Compact retails at £24.00 for 8g of product, and is stocked online and in store at Marks & Spencers.

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Have you tried Pürminerals? Are you a fan of mineral makeup?

Guest Post: Best Budget Beauty Buys

Oh Winter you do treat us well. Cold weather, an absolute age until pay day, and a credit card bill as long as your arm. Today's guest post is a bit of a lifesaver. Roxanne from Love Vintage is going to show us her best budget beauty buys so we can still look fab on the few remaining pounds in our purses. Perfect!

Many of us probably like to over-indulge every-so often by buying things that are quite expensive, but total luxury. Although high-end products are an expense worth making, there are also many bargains to be had on the Great British high street. You can often find good quality and affordable items in Boots and Superdrug and they are usually around a 1/3 of the price! I am here to show you what I would regard as 10 of the best!

1. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

This foundation is one of the best I have ever used. It offers a medium coverage, lasts all day and gives you that dewy, healthy finish that everyone is after. It really is one of the best on the highstreet and is an absolute bargain at around £8.99! A must have in any make-up fanatics collection!



2. Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil

There is nothing I like more after a long day, than stepping out the shower and using this body oil to give my skin some nourishment. It leaves skin feeling SO soft and the best thing is it absorbs really quickly, so your not left with that damp feeling as if you can't get changed. The smell is also not as strong as all the other Palmers products which is actually something I really like as I find the typical scent a bit sickly!

3. Real Techniques Buffing Brush

This brush is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It is super soft and blends foundation in an instant without worrying about streaky patches or tide lines. It is honestly one of the best items I have in my make-up collection and I don't know what I'd do without it. I know it is not that cheap as you have to buy it in the Core Collection which retails at around £21, but in all honesty it is fantastic and is just a staple to have that will last you a long time.

4. Sleek Brow Kit

This little beauty is a fantastic dupe for the Benefit Brow-Zings, and in my opinion, just as good. It comes with a powder and a wax, and together they make the perfect brow combo!

5. Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipsticks

I adore these lipsticks! In my opinion they are some of the best from the drugstore. They are so pigmented and feel wonderful on the lips. I have four of them, one from each of the collections and 2 from the matte collection and I love them all. They are such a bargain at only £5.49!

6. MUA Blush

The MUA £1 blushes are probably one of my best discoveries. They are ridiculously pigmented that you literally only have to hover your brush in them and you have more than enough to use. They also come in really wearable shades-and all this for just £1. It's a no brainer really- buy one!

7. Nivea Essentials Lip Balm

This lip-balm is so moisturising, smells delicious and is so cheap. I love to apply it before I put my make-up on as it just makes my lips feel super soft. It is also very glossy so can be worn by itself as a type of clear gloss.

8. Topshop Cream Blushes

I LOVE these blushes. They are a cream to powder formula so don't feel all sticky and horrid on the face. They also come in a beautiful range of colours and are only £6! I do wish they lasted a bit longer on the cheeks though!

9. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

There is so much hype around this product and it totally deserves all the praise it gets. It covers everything in sight and is so affordable compared to many other good quality concealers on the market.

10. MUA Undressed Pallet

This bad boy is incredible for the price. It has so many different shades of wearable colours that all look amazing together. It is meant to be a dupe for the UD Naked Pallet but if you're on a budget this would do amazingly!

I'd just like to thank Kim for allowing me to Guest-Post on her wonderful blog! 

What are your best drugstore finds?

Blog: Love Vintage | Twitter: LoveVintage1

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Thank you to Roxanne for a lovely post! For all things fashion, beauty and vintage, pop over to her blog :)

If you'd like to guest post for Kimtopia, please drop me an email