My unsteady stumble into the world of nail polish

One Sunday I was all like,

I'M GONNA GET INTO PAINTING MY NAILS AND NAIL ART AND STUFF

which was weird since I've never shown a hint of interest in it before.

But since that day, my nail polish collection has grown from 2 to.. around 42.

Yeah, I know I'm sad :')

So, here is my nail polish collection :D

GOSH polishes best polishes <3 From L to R; Magic Star, Miss Minty, Rainbow, Blue Monday

Nameless Claire's polishes!

Barry M! From L to R; Black Shatter, Bright Pink, Matt White, Cyan Blue, Berry Ice Cream, Hologram Hexograms, Topcoat

Miss Sporty! Inexpensive and overlooked polishes. From L to R; Hypnotic Turquoise, China Glaze, Pop Fiction



Bourjois! From L to R; Bleu model, orange création, rouge casino, Paillettes disco



Rimmel; Mover, Lemon Drop. Wet n' Wild; Wild Shine

New York Color! I love the names of their polishes :) From L to R; City Blackout, Lights Camera Glitter

China Glaze; Pelican Grey. Canmake; Colorful Nails #29: Hawaiian Blue. OPI; Fiercely Fiona (slowly building my OPI collection... Very sloooooowly.)

OMG, I love Andrea Fulerton polishes. Stripe & Sparkle doesn't really count as a polish but.. meh! From L to R; Stripe & Sparkle, Kylie, Joanna, Eliza, Rainfall



Hope you enjoyed perusing my little polish collection ;) Let me know if you want to see swatches of any of the polishes and I'll be happy to write a post about them. Just leave a comment below :)

Coming up next I'll show you my journey into the world of nail art and all my self-designed manicures.. Most of them being fabulously terrible. It'll be LOL-worthy!

Review: The Face Shop Lovely Me:ex BB Cream

AKA long blog post title

Anyway, I'm back and I'm reviewing my favourite bb cream! <3 Seriously, got so much love for this product.

If you don't know what bb cream is, I'll let Wikipedia explain..

BB cream, also known as Blemish Balm, Blemish Base or Beblesh Balm, is a cosmetic item sold mainly in East and Southeast Asia. Originally formulated in Germany, it was initially used by dermatologists to help laser surgery patients protect, soothe and refine highly sensitive skin while providing light coverage for post-laser scars, acne and other blemishes.
BB creams come in a variety of different formulations. Some are said to have skin whitening or brightening properties, others are anti-acne, some are anti-wrinkle, some are intended to even out skin tone, and yet others to lighten blemish scars. BB creams are sometimes used like a primer under foundation, and if tinted may even replace foundation and some newer ones will have functions of primer, foundation, moisturizer, sun block, pore minimization and skin refining together which can save time and money in make-up.

In a short time, I've collected many a bb cream and will probably collect a lot more in the future but my absolute favourite cream is The Face Shop's Lovely Me:ex cream.



 

Pucca! Limited edition packaging, don't cha know?



Bad quality but here's how it looks on my skin. I'm naturally very fair skinned and I find this bb cream matches my tone perfectly :)




The cream isn't as grey toned as I've found quite a lot of creams to be. I know bb creams are mainly targeted at Asian women (specifically, Korean women) but I would definitely recommend this for fair Caucasian skin as well.

Blendededededed. You probably can't see much difference because SO BAD QUALITY EH. Sorry.. :D

No Photoshop yay! In natural light. I applied the cream to all trouble areas on my face and blended with a make-up sponge. The cream blends perfectly into my skin, giving light to medium coverage. Woo!

With flash in artificial light. The cream makes your skin look so glowy for hours.. Seriously, it lasts for so long.. Less touch-ups, yay! Ignore my creepy face and freckles. YES, THOSE ARE FRECKLES.

What I love about this product is that it actually does fulfil its promise to even out skin tone. Being really super pale, my skin can look patchy and the tone can look a little purple-y (mmm..). This cream not only gives me a glowy finish, but it evens out my tone and gives me a bit of colour. YAY KOREAN COSMETICS!

The product also provides SPF20 protection with a strength of PA++ (recommended for spring, autumn and winter protection) so it's like having a foundation-sunblock! YAY KOREAN COSMETICS!

BB creams in general also claim to improve skin with regular usage.. I originally dismissed this as bull but, saying that, my skin has been looking better recently. Bonus!

In conclusion..

• Do I need to say I love this any more?
• Evens out skin tone
• Feels light on skin
• Ideal for pale skin tones 
• Provides sun protection
• Doesn't cause breakouts
• Good value - 40ml can be bought on eBay for anything from £4 - £9. It's worth it.
• A good starter for any budding bb cream lover
• Great lasting power - stays on for aaaaaaaaages
• Settles and blends into skin nicely
• Pleasant, fresh scent
• Has to be ordered online if you don't live in any countries that sell it in stores );
• Most of the packaging is in Korean
• This cream apparently has whitening properties so steer clear if you're pale enough! (saying that, I've been using this cream daily and I haven't noticed anything but a more even skin tone. YAY!)
• There's only one shade available in this cream
• Not suitable for darker skin tones ):
• Risk of fakes on internet

5/5

(I've been so nice recently...)



  

Review: Etude House Missing U Lipbalm

So Korean cosmetics brand Etude House recently snared me with the newest addition to their Missing U collection - SUPAH CUTE LIPBALMS! If you didn't already know, the lipbalms are a follow-on to the brand's series of SUPAH CUTE!! hand creams, each representing an endangered animal species and each bearing a different scent.

BUT ENOUGH WITH THE HAND CREAMS, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE LIPBALMS.

Four were released, each cute animal face staring into your very soul and begging you to 'HUG ME!'. However, these balms were released only in Asia, or at least definitely not in the U.K.

'Okay', I said. Challenge accepted. And so the hunt began.

I eventually found the balms on yesstyle (a site I highly recommend or, if you want an alternative site for your Asian cosmetics quest, eBay) and had then the hard part came: choosing which one I wanted!

The balms come in four varieties; apple (penguin), orange/grapefruit?? (seal), cherry (dolphin) and peach (panda).

I eventually settled on the penguin.. LOOK SO SUPER MEGA CUTE.

The tins could be used for keeping small trinkets in long after you're done with the balm :)

The flavour is one of the things I love about this lipbalm. Unlike the sort of half-hearted flavourings of many common lipbalms, the flavours of these balms just pop! The apple flavour is really sweet but not overbearingly so and they smell delicious.

AND, round of applause please, they're actually REALLY FRIGGIN' GOOD LIPBALMS! The balm isn't sticky at all and really moisturises your lips, while the scent is just.. so.. good. It looks pretty glossy on, so it doubles as both a cute lipgloss with all the benefits of a lipbalm. I'd definitely recommend these balms to people with chapped, dry lips. ..Or just anyone who likes cute, nice stuff.

In conclusion...

• Hella good balms! I would definitely recommend these.
• Great for those with dry, chapped lips
• Hydrating
• Cute scent/look
• Perfect as gifts or treats for those who love 'kawaii' things :)
• Tins can be used long after the balm is used up
• Glossy, not sticky
• Light taste, not sickly sweet
• Have to be ordered online if you don't live in Korea/other parts of Asia
• Possibility of large prices online
• Those who don't like potted balms should steer clear! :)

5/5

A little introduction

So, hi! I'm Betty and this is my blog where I'll be reviewing beauty products and especially nail polishes (eg. justifying the amount I spend on makeup lololol)

My friend Hannah also set up a blog (a 'rivalling' blog ohohoho) so check her out here http://champagnetastesbeerpockets.blogspot.com/ ;)

I'll mostly be posting about Asian cosmetics (expecting an Etude House haul in a few weeks hopefully!) and nail polish so, if that interests ya, stick around!

I'm a sweetheart so you won't regret it. Probably.