Avon's Stardust Nail Enamel in Teal Glitter

Just in time for the myriad of Christmas events that are beckoning Avon have released a new range of nail enamels. 

As a rep my customers have been loving the magnetic effect polishes this month. 

I have also sold a lot of this Stardust brand. 

On paper they look good. Promising a matte finish with opalescent glitter in different sizes for a unique 3D effect. 

On the nails they look even better. Easy to apply, I've had this colour on for 3 days now and barely a chip in sight. There is a bit of wear of the edge of my ring finger, but that isn't bad - considering I can chip varnish in a matter of minutes of applying it. 

It dries quickly. And I mean really quickly. 

I barely got the chance to smudge it! 

I have also bought the enamel in Radiant Rose which appears to be a bright cerise colour and I have my eye on the Cherry Dazzler for Christmas. 

Radiant Rose

 

Cherry Dazzler

Currently £3. You can buy online here or find your closest representative here. 

Autumn Nail Colours

As the leaves are changing so are the colours of my wardrobe and make up.

First I'm going to look at my nail varnishes.

This one is Wine and Dine from Avon's Gel Finish range.

A dark chianti-kind of colour. 

I have two coats on here and it goes on smoothly. Do make sure that you leave plenty of time for each coat to dry. I have had some smudging issues with this colour in particular for some reason.

As with all the Gel colours I have tried so far from Avon, it lasts well and has a good high shine finish. 

Another favourite is Very Berry, a rich raspberry/plum colour. Another one that I tend to have issues not spreading all over my fingers. That says more about the applicator than the actual product if I'm honest. 

Again it is prudent to leave a good gap between coats for this colour. Something about the plummy colours seem to need that extra layer to make is opaque and get that expensive and luxurious result. 

Now for a slightly brighter shade. Candy Apple. This one reminds me of Hull Fair. Going with Mum to walk around the rides, visiting the coconut shy and getting cinder toffee, toffee apples and the famous Brandy Snaps. Hull Fair is about the Waltzers and the food to my family. 

This is a rather iridescent colour, after the richer opaque colours, but the pop it gives you makes up for that. Wear it with a classic pin up look and you won't go far wrong.

My last favourite from the Avon Gel Finish range is the molten chocolate Mudslide. 

I have issues trying to put into words how much I love this colour. It is looks almost as if I have Galaxy Counters for finger nails. Good enough to eat. Probably not a good idea though. 

From my non Avon collection I have Tanya Burr's Midnight Sparkles. 

I loved the look of this when I ordered it from Superdrug online. It hasn't quite lived up to the promise. 

Again it's a dark plummy purple, more towards the blue side, with a light shimmer of blue, purple and red flecks. When I say light, I mean light. With a name like Midnight Sparkles I expected, well more sparkle. 

If I do away with that, it is a really nice colour. I've not had any issue with it chipping, it did however fade a little on the tips of my fingers. Probably down to the sheer amount of typing that I do, that and I am not precious about my hands. They go from cold to hot water, cook, clean, tinker about in my car, I don't give my nail varnishes an easy time of it. 

Midnight sparkles is another one that need more than one coat to make the most of it. 

Blonde Ambition: Part Two

Earlier this year I began the journey from bright red hair to blonde.

I knew it was going to be a long and windy road heading from this:

To anything anywhere near blonde.

So my first set of highlights brought me to here:

A shade I lovingly named pinge, part pink, part... well I think you get the jist.

So here I am. A good 6 months later, frequently working longer than my contracted hours and without the time to spend the time being pampered at the hairdressers.

I turned to the dye section in my Avon catalogue and chose the lightest Ash Blonde they have. In fact my natural hair colour is a dark ash blonde. That is if you were going to try and find a colour match for it.

I used to dye my hair a lighter blonde during my early twenties, so I'm not a complete novice. Although it was the first time in a very long time that I had lightened my hair myself so I took my 2 boxes of lightest ash blonde (currently £4.50 in campaign 15) into the bathroom.

This kit differs slightly from those that I have used in the past. It is a three part system. 

Part one: a pre-treatment. Almost like a conditioner texture. You add this to the hair that is already coloured (ie not your roots). Massage this is well. 

Part two: the mad chemist bit. You add your tube of colour to the bottle and shake what yo mama gave you. 

I get the wonderful job of doing this bit twice. The joys of having uber long, and extra thick swaths of hair. I used almost a full bottle covering my roots. As directed I left this to cook for 20 mins. 

Then I added the remaining colour to the rest of my hair and made sure that it was well coated. 

I left this bit on for a further 10 mins. I could have gone for longer, but I was against the clock and about to go out for a presentation at the library. 

Part 3: The post dying treatment. What is it about hair dyes? They include the best ever conditioners. After gently wetting the hair, and working it into a lather, rinse until it runs clear. Be patient. If your hair is anything like mine it will take what seems like forever. Then using a wide tooth comb coat your hair in this very thick conditioner and leave for 2-3 minutes and again rinse until clear. 

Then you are done. Style as you see fit. 

I've loved how it hasn't completely lifted the colour on my ends. I'm rather attached to the reddy tinge that is left. There is something about having a bespoke colour going on that I like. I love to be slightly different to the rest of the crowd.

After photo doesn't quite capture the full lightening that happened, the joy of Autumn's changing lights. I've already added another two boxes to my next Avon delivery.

May your day Glitter & Sparkle!

BeeBee

April Favourites

How fast are these months going now?

I have a mixed bag of favourites for April. 

Barely There Gel Finish Nailwear by Avon. This is the perfect nude. It gives a nice sheer cover with just one coat, but add 2 and it is a fabulous opaque colour. Two looks for the price of one. Currently on offer in Avon for £2.50 - which is half of it's RRP. 

Insulated cup and straw - I now have 3 of these. I love them. One at work, 2 at home. They make drinking water so much easier, I really don't like the stuff that much. Also it keeps it cool for longer and cuts down trips to the drinks cooler at work. You can currently buy 2 large ones for £5 at Wilkinsons.

Going hand in hand with the cup and straw is this miniature cordial syrup by Robertsons. I love the orange and peach flavour. 

I got these sunglasses at the start of the month, when the weather was so much brighter and a lot less wet that it has been this week. I got them from ebay, I think they were about £2. I didn't want to spend too much as I wasn't sure if they would suit me. What do you think?

I'm still pretty much obsessed by cheesy puffs for some reason, pretty much eating them daily. 

For lunch at work I've been taking soup, I love these cups by Sistema. I have a couple of their lunch boxes too. I have these in Red and Blue (currently £3 each at Wilkinsons). They can go in the freezer, but normally I split a fresh soup between the two and take them to work over 2 days. 

I eat them with my other obsession, the pumpkin and sunflower seed rolls from the bakery section at Co-op. 46p for 1 or £1 for 4. 

On a night I've been unloading my daily thoughts in a journal over on www.dietingrollercoaster.blogspot.com and watching youtube videos. This month I've been loving: 

Sprinkle of Glitter - she's a mummy blogger, she's so pretty and gorgeous and funny. I love her hair and make up, it's fair to say she is my current girl crush. I want her as my bestest buddy. 

Saccone Jolys - An Irish family. Anna has just given birth to her 2nd child. I love to watch their antics on an evening I go to bed, and now they're moving to the UK!!!

Fun for Louis - Louis has been out of the UK for 6 months most of this month he has been in LA hanging with other youtubers including Cyr and Piddleass. I'm going to miss them in his life. 

and finally for this month

Betty Pamper - I've really been enjoying her look books this month. 

Anti Gravity Mascara

I'd like to introduce you to Avon's latest mascara the Aero Volume Mascara. 

The blurb says that the formula is inspired by aerospace technology, and that the star-shaped brush gives volume without adding bulk. 

They also promise that lashes will stay lifted and volumised all day.  

I've spoken about my lashes before. They are pretty much non-existent and hard to see unless I wear several layers and many types of mascara. On an average day I could wear as many as 3 different mascaras. So I thought I'd give this one a go. 

I found the spooly to be easy to use. It gets right in at the base and grips on to your lashes and gives them an even coats of the formula. Which, as if by magic, begins to curl up your lashes.  

But you don't have to just take my word for it... look at the evidence. 

I used Aero Volume mascara in brown/black. Also available in blackest black. 

Spring Make-Up Look

This is a look I'm loving at the moment, a hint of colour around the eyes, and a pop on the lips.

Now the sun is shining more often, and the sky is blue it's the perfect time to freshen up make-up wise.

On the base I used my usual Avon cream to powder foundation with concealer for the red bits and darker circles.

I used MUA eye shadows on the lid. I started with a sweep of lilac over the lid and accented with a teal/green colour in the crease - both are from the Immaculate Collection, which I then blended out. Instead of eyeliner, I used Penny from the Ever After palette.

The mascara is brown/black Aero Volume by Avon. The blush is a mosaic one by MUA.

On the lips I used Showy Flamboyant by Revlon.

My Nail Woes: Avon Gel Finish Nailwear

So I've not spoken about my nails recently.

Right now they are looking pretty good, even if I do say so myself. (What's the bet that I've just jinxed them right there?)

What have I been doing to them this time? Not much if I'm honest. Increased typing seems to have helped them grow. The constant tapping also appears to have made them that bit stronger too.

I've also been using the new Gel Finish Nailwear by Avon (available from Campaign 8). I've been loving the nude colour of Barely There. It lends to the look of a muted French Manicure which I adore.

I have been lucky enough, as a consultant, to be able to try several of the colours. So far out of the 11 I got to do some Wel Gel events this one is my favourite, and at just £3.50 on it's introductory offer it's a real steal; full price it will be £7 and I believe still worth every penny.

The Barely There is easy to apply, and dries to a high shine with no streaks surprisingly quickly.

The best bit that I have found about these Gel Finish colours is their durability.

I don't particularly look after my manicures after I have done them, I get up to all sorts. However the staying power is astonishing, I've not managed to chip a colour without major effort, in my case it was wrenching go-karts in and out of a lock-up container.

From the other colours I have tried the stand outs have been Candy Apple, an almost transparent neon red, I found this one needed a couple of coats. Red as Roses, Mauvelous and Berrylicous all had great staying power.

I also loved the richness of Mudslide. I hope to try and mix it with Glimmer - a gold colour to see what happens, I have heard mixed reports on this though.

Overall, I'm loving this new product. The one downside... once you take the bottle from the box, there is no name on the bottle to refer back to. So quite a small downside, but noticable - especially if you are planning on going down the party route.

What's In My Bag?

This is my current bag, I'm using it for work and generally live out of it. It is the Storm Cabin Bag in a fantastic teal patent. I love it. It will be available to buy through Avon during Campaign 8. 

I have so much in here, as you are about to find out. 

Microfibre cloth, this is mainly for cleaning my glasses now, it used to be for wiping down the windscreen in my car!

My father-in-law's kindle. It's filled with books, including a pre-release I'm reading for an online book club I work with. 

My purse, I got this for my birthday last year from work. I absolutely love it. 

Giant notepad and pen. I never go anywhere without one. If I don't write my ideas down when I have them, poof they're gone never to be thought of again. 

Body lotion and fragrance spray, in my current favourite Apricot and Shea scent. I love it so much, I've even ordered the shampoo and conditioner now. 

These are my inhalers, got to love being asthmatic. I don't use them often but they need to be there. 

Mini make-up bag, hand sanitiser, tissues and face powder.

Hello Kitty first aid bits, paracetamol, plasters, safety pins. And my favourite perfume.

Apart from 2 loose pennies, that's the main section empty!

Now for the little inside pouch.

Dental floss, fruit knife (me and apples don't get on!), little mirror and my daily vitamins & anti-histamines. Also extra hayfever tablets in case I have an allergic reaction. And a biscuit leftover from a coffee I had last week. 

In the front pocket of the bag I keep my 2 phones. The world's worst Blackberry and a back up android that I use for apps and watching YouTube! A USB charger and some ear buds.

This is my mini manicure set, I picked it up from a poundshop and added in the orange stick - love those for cleaning my nails out on the go, and the tictac box I keep my kirby grips/bobby pins in. Top tip there!

So that is what I have in my bag. 

February Favourites

I can't believe that February has gone already to the big calender in the sky.

This month I have loved so many items it was hard to choose just a couple.

From Avon this month I have been obsessed by the Apricot and Shea products. Fresh and fruity withotu being overpowering. The fragrance spritz and hand & body lotion have been everywhere with me from the sleepover at the Deep to the office.





My candle from Harper's Bizarre has been hit this month.

On a whole I burnt this while reading the Tea Dress Shop series by De-ann Black

Three fantastic novellas, there will be a review coming shortly. 

I loved my night at the Deep too... that one will be difficult to top. 

I also discovered these chocolatey beauties by Cadbury. Basically a Dairy Milk sandwich with either LU biscuits or Ritz crackers.