5th April, 2013
A few weeks (months?) ago I noticed MUA was having an amazing 50% off sale and free shipping deal for all their customers. They’re a very affordable UK make-up brand with awesome products. Their prices are already very low so with a 50% off deal you can imagine things went a little crazy during the sale! Their server couldn’t handle all the make-up addicts grabbing anything they could get their hands on. In the end I managed to grab all the items I wanted despite some issues with payment and shipping.
One of the items I was dying to get were the Lip Booms. Created in collaboration with singer Alexandra Burke, these Lip Booms are amazing double-sided matte lipsticks/glittery lipgloss. When deciding which shades I wanted, I came to the conclusion I simply wanted them all! 
These are all 8 shades of Lip Booms. From left to right: OK.COM, OMG, Cheeky, Vibe, Doin’ Good, Bring It, It’s A Situation, LMK.
When you open up the ferrel it reveals the matte lipstick. On the opposite end you can screw it open to reveal the lipgloss with wand applicator. I really love the range of colours! Going from nudes to coral to reds. Every single shade is one I’d love to wear! Admittedly, the darkest one was a gamble, but it looks pretty amazing on the lips. Yay!
F.L.T.R: OK.COM, OMG, Cheeky, Vibe, Doin’ Good, Bring It, It’s A Situation, LMK.
These are all the lipsticks swatched on my arm. I added the lipgloss over the bottom half of each shade. As you can see the gloss is very glittery and shiny. It really plumps up the lips and makes them look nice and full! I hugely love matte finish lipsticks. They can be quite drying, however but I didn’t notice any major issues with these. They felt nice on the lips and the colour payoff was pretty great, as you can see!
You can find these Lip Booms on the MUA website for just £3 a piece. They’re also available at Superdrug in the UK. Have you tried MUA products? Which of these lipstick shades would you wear? Let me know in the comments!
14th February, 2013
I’ve barely found the time to blog this week, I’ve just been so busy! However, I do have some pretty exciting posts to share on here soon, so make sure to watch this space. In the meantime, here’s a recap of a few things I shared on Instagram the past few weeks. There’s also a question for YOU at the bottom of this post. So make sure to leave me your feedback, I’d love to hear your suggestions!
Follow me on Instagram: veryemily.
Left: When I saw this heart at Action for under $2 I simply had to buy it. It was being sold as a display for greeting cards, but in my head I immediately saw my necklaces dangling from the beautiful little hearts. I’m so glad I picked this up! It’s definitely one of my new favourite items in my room. Score!
Right: It’s been a few years since I bought a new duvet cover and I figured it was time for a change. I’ve wanted a Union Jack duvet cover for a while and when I was googling I found that 3SUISSES had the perfect one. I picked this up during their sale, it came in at around $50 including the four pillow covers. I love how it has a different design on the inside!
On 28 January, I had the most epic nail mail day ever! One of my bestest friends Alex (aka Algae Veronica! Please check out her blog, she’s an amazing nail artist) absolutely spoiled me with the most amazing package filled with goodies. I wish I knew what I did to deserve such kindness! My new piCture pOlish shades for my weekly swatchathon also arrived that day. I was, and still am, overwhelmed with all the beautiful polishes I was blessed with that day!
On 1 February my boyfriend and I celebrated our four year anniversary. I’m so blessed to have such an amazing, supportive and awesome boyfriend. I wouldn’t know what to do without him!
MUA Cosmetics was having a sale on their website not too long ago. All of their products were 50% off, and they were having a free international shipping deal. Given their products are so cheap already, this definitely was too good to pass up! So these are the goodies I picked up during the sale. Would anyone like to see reviews on some of these items? Let me know in the comments!
Left: Last weekend I had a haul at Action and Kruidvat. Action is quickly becoming one of my favourite stores, it’s basically like a Poundland or a Dollar Store. Everything is so cheap and the items they sell are awesome! They have a lot of great make-up products and cosmetics too. As you can tell from the duplicates, these goodies are not all for me! I also picked up some items for a few dear friends of mine.
Right: This is the Essence Popul-Art blush from the Vintage District limited edition. It’s so beautiful! I almost don’t want to use it. The gold is an overspray so I haven’t touched it yet. The effect is too pretty to ruin!
Meet my first ever decoden iPhone case! I got it at Born Pretty Store, it comes in a set with a clear iPhone case, large decoden pieces, rhinestones and pearls, glue and a nifty pencil for picking up rhinestones. I also used some other rhinestones I had lying around. I definitely went a bit overboard with the bling. I love it so much though! Especially the little nail polish charm. It’s just the cutest!
Left: Behold my very own OPI Euro Centrale display! When I saw the first previews of Euro Centrale I knew I had to have the full collection. I’ve never bought a full collection before but I simply had to have it, the shades were SO me! My friend Alex was able to hook me up with this, so a huge thanks to her.
Right: A little sneaky peek of my three favourite shades from the Euro Centrale collection. But more on that in my swatch post which should be going up this week or early next week!
And finally, here’s the new Born Pretty Store glitter polishes! I will be swatching these on my blog very soon! But this is where you come in… As they are mostly layering glitters I’ve been debating which colours I should layer them over. As there’s so many, I will only be able to show one layering combination. Either I can use the same colour for all glitters (white or black?) or I can pick a shade that I think works best with each shade. Please let me know what you’d prefer and what you would like to see me do with these!
Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for watching and reading!
14th January, 2012
One of the things I love most about Born Pretty Store (apart from their amazing items and free shipping) is their points system. If you’ve purchased items you can add a review and pictures to their site to collect points. If you share reviews via the Extended Affiliate program you can earn up to 100 points per review. ($1=100 points)
I always share my pictures and text reviews on their site and since I purchase with them regularly it’s very easy to gather up points. You can redeem $10 worth of points per order so this time I just placed a $10 order of free items! I picked a few accessories for myself and a gift for my mother. There’s loads of things you can buy at their store for under $10 since everything is so cheap. Anyway, take a look at what I purchased with my BPS points.
I simply *HAD* to have this when I saw it. It’s a new item they added to their store only very recently. A cute owl necklace! I think I once came a cross an image on Tumblr that featured this owl and I fell in love with it then, so I was over the moon when I saw this in the Born Pretty “What’s New“-page. It was just $2.83. An absolute bargain!
I absolutely adore feathers in anything and I fell in love with these. I bought feather earrings at Born Pretty a while ago and since I was very happy with the quality I bought these as well, I currently have my eye on a black pair too, whoops! I’m not hugely in love with the pearl that sits above the feathers so I replaced it with a chain instead. Very easy and quick job if you have jewellery pliers. This pair is just $2.50.
This I bought as a gift for my mother. She loves LED lamps and stuff like that so I immediately had to think of her when I saw this in the store. I knew she’d love it! It changes colour if you turn on the switch at the bottom. The batteries come included with the lamp and should last 15 hrs according to the website. This was $4.22 and can be found on the site here.
Thanks to my boyfriend for hand-modelling! This is what it looks like when it turns to red, it also changes to green, yellow, white, blue and purple.
I wanted to share this image as well, my little owl simply loves the camera! ♥
12th January, 2012
I always buy my nail polish remover at Kruidvat. I usually get a big bottle of their non-acetone formula for nail tips and a regular bottle with acetone for normal use. When it was time to buy some new bottles I saw this bottle of remover with a pump. I bought an almost identical bottle a while ago but it was really flimsy and the pump leaked so it ended up at the back of my Helmer drawer. I was really sad it didn’t work any more because, while it did work, I was absolutely in love with it! I decided to give this one a go as well, I really didn’t want to give up on remover pump bottles!
This pump definitely seems a lot better in quality than the previous one I tried. It feels a lot less flimsy and the cap closes properly unlike the other one I have. I’ve tried it several times and it works really great! You simply grab a cotton pad and push down on the pump which then releases the perfect amount of polish remover onto your pad. Easy!
However, the non-acetone remover that’s inside the bottle is very heavily scented with what I can only describe as headache-in-a-bottle . It’s a really strong perfume that is just really not my cup of tea. The formula itself I have no issues with, it removes polish like other non-acetone remover I tried but it left my nails reeking of perfume for hours. Even after washing my hands and generously smearing lotion on them. I really cannot use it… What a waste!
When I let my mum smell my fingers she absolutely loved the perfume! What?! Just goes to show how personal tastes are. I like my remover to have a subtle scent that isn’t too overpowering which I think this is. I’m going to pour the remover in a different bottle for my mum to use, wash it out and refill with something I do like. Saved by my mother!
The bottle is quite pricey compared to their other removers since you mainly pay for packaging. It was €2,99 I believe for a bottle of 175ml.
What sort of remover do you like to use? Do you get acetone or non-acetone formula? Do you go for the cheapest remover you can find or don’t you mind paying a bit more? Let me know!
9th November, 2011
Another post about Born Pretty Store today! Hope you’re not growing tired of reading about them. This time I purchased a few items I have been eyeing up for ages and I bought a few gifts as well since the holidays are coming up. I really have to urge myself not to order with them every week, there’s just so much awesome stuff! Must own it all! Anyway, this is a picture heavy post so get ready!
Here’s a list of what I got:
- 10 Empty Nail Wheel Boxes – $9,76
- Half Pearls Pinks/Purples – $3,55
- Half Pearls Yellows/Greens – $3,55
- Elliptic Shaped Rhinestones – $2,92
- Coloured Steel Balls – $3,33
- 12 Different Coloured Mylar Sheets – $6,48
- 4 Nail Art Brushes – $3,51
- Cuticle Pusher – $1,89
- Hair Bumpits – $3,10
- Feather Earrings – $2,02
- Bow Hairpin – $2,09
- Peacock Hairpin – $5,09
- Antique Look Hairpin – $4,50
- Black Hairpin – $5,59
I purchased 100 fimo canes from Born Pretty a while ago and that set came with 2 wheels. Not nearly enough to have all my fimo canes sliced up and on display so I purchased these. Now I can continue slicing up my fimo canes and store them in these wheels. I have my work cut out for me! Pun intended!
Two wheels with 2mm half pearls. In one wheel I have purple, pink, blue and white and in the other there’s yellow, orange, pink, green and white. I love using these, they’re really pretty and easy to use. I already had a half pearl wheel with 3 different sizes but they’re all white so I’m glad to add some coloured half pearls to my collection!
These are steel balls. I have these in gold and silver from Born Pretty too, I thought these would be the same size but they are definitely smaller. They are so tiny they got stuck inbetween the wheel itself and they got mixed up a little bit too. They definitely seem harder to work with than the other steel balls I have. Haven’t tried yet but we’ll see!
These are elliptic shaped rhinestones. I loved the other rhinestones I got from Born Pretty and since I didn’t have this shape yet I thought I’d get them too since they were such a bargain. They are very pretty and I honestly can’t wait to use them!
A cuticle pusher and a set of 4 nail art brushes. Close-ups below!
These are the brushes. They come in size 0#, 00#, 000# and 0000#. I purchased a set of nail art brushes on eBay last year and the thin brushes weren’t great quality. These are so much better! I can honestly recommend them if you need new nail art brushes. They are really thin and are so easy to work with! These made my life so much easier and they were less than $1 a piece. Amazing!
Close-up of the cuticle pusher. One side you have the cuticle pusher itself, the other is used to clean and remove excess skin. I read a review on this over at Cosmetic Cupcake (check her blog out she’s awesome!) and she stated it didn’t work for her because the pusher wasn’t curved enough for her nails. I have to say I didn’t experience this issue, fortunately for me it worked!
Set of 12 mylar sheets. These jars make me so happy! I love looking at all the colours. I’m not sure what I’m going to use them for exactly but I cannot wait to try them. I was thinking franken topcoat? Who knows!
These are called bumpits. You can create a hairbump with these, either at the back of your head or at the front. I’ve not been able to try this yet but they look like they could work well. I also absolutely loved the plastic bag it came in! Isn’t it cute?
I thought these feather earrings were really cute and cheap so I couldn’t resist. They sell them in many colours but I chose brown/orange since they would blend with my hair. They look really cute on!
Isn’t this hairpin the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? I cannot get over it honestly! Unfortunately it will only be in my possession for a few more weeks because this is a New Years gift for my grandmother. We share the same favourite animals, owls and peacocks! I’m sure she will treasure and love this as much as I do.
This pin is also a gift for my grandmother. I have to say the quality of these pins is astonishing. They are heavy and really well made. They have this pin in different colours. You just state which one you want in the order comments when checking out. I am slightly disappointed the larger rhinestones are plastic instead of clear orange as the picture on the website but it looks nice nonetheless.
This is a gift for my mum. Even though it’s a hairpin she will probably use this to pin her scarf together or to wear it as a brooch. She’s absolutely in love with it so mission accomplished!
This was a gift to myself! I got all these hair accessories on sale a few weeks ago and this beautiful little thing was half off at $1!!! I don’t wear hairpins often but I simply couldn’t resist when I saw this cute little bow. Only downside is you can see the pin itself if you don’t tuck it under your hair properly.
Lastly these were two gifts they added to my order! I suspect because I ordered my items during their one year anniversary celebration! The keychain light is really awesome and it’s super bright! The lace nail stickers are very cute as well. Thanks so much Born Pretty!
I’m honestly very happy with all my items. I had a feeling things would go wrong with this order but all the items arrived in perfect order. I did experience some difficulty with shipping, it took a month to get here whereas the previous times I receive my item within 2 weeks. They lost my $3 tracking number due to computer error so they offered to refund it. I e-mailed with Sophia from Customer Service and she was very helpful and friendly so that’s definitely worth mentioning I think. 
If you would like to place an order with Born Pretty Store don’t forget to use my coupon codes to receive a discount! You can either use the code EMILYJ61 to receive 10% off your entire order or EMILYL73 to receive $4 off if your order $30 or more.
14th October, 2011
I hauled these polishes a few weeks ago but never got around to posting them. Most of them are part of the new core range of Essence and Catrice.
From left to right and top to bottom:
- Essence Nail Art Cracking Top Coat in Crack Me Blue
- Essence Colour & Go in Be Optimistic
- Essence Colour & Go in Make It Golden
- Essence Colour & Go in Blue Addicted
- Catrice in After Eight
- Catrice in Marilyn & Me
- Catrice in Rusty But Sexy
- Catrice in Bye, Bye Birdy
- Catrice in Jade Is Not My Name
- Catrice in It’s Rambo No.5
From left to right: Marilyn & me, Be Optimistic, Rusty But Sexy, Make It Golden, Bye Bye Birdy, It’s Rambo No.5, Jade Is Not My Name, After Eight, Blue Addicted and Crack Me Blue over Gosh Lavender Love.
I love the combination of Gosh Lavender Love and the Essence Crack Me Blue crackle. Even though I’m not hugely excited by crackle polishes I really like how these two look together. Essence Blue Addicted is really nice as well, it’s a close dupe of Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe. I accidentally bought two very similar colours, the rusty oranges. Neither of them look good on me so they were definitely a fail! I think Catrice Marilyn & Me might be based on China Glaze Ruby Pumps, I’m not sure it’s a dupe but in the bottle it looked similar. Overall really nice colours, I love Catrice Jade Is Not My Name but I wish they wouldn’t have replaced it with my all time favourite, Sold Out For Ever. Sad times! 
Did you buy anything from the new colours? Let me know in the comments below!
28th September, 2011
Yes you read that right, this is a USA haul! No I haven’t visited the United States – wouldn’t that be awesome! What I have done though is sent a little shopping list to Alexandra, a relative of mine who lives in the US and she’s brought them back for me! I’m so excited! Since I live in Europe but read American blogs I always get so envious when they’re showing products I can’t get. We only have a tiny handful of nice brands here but most of the better ones we do have (like OPI and Essie) cost more than twice what they do in America! Ouch.
So yeah after months and months of longing for these brands I’ve finally managed to get my hands on a few of them. All thanks to Alexandra! Thank you so much for doing this, I’m forever grateful!
Here’s what I got:
- China Glaze in: Flip Flop Fantasy, Re-Fresh Mint, Peachy Keen, Frostbite and Strong Adhesion Base Coat
- OPI in: Coney Island Cotton Candy, Bubble Bath and Tickle My France-y
- Sinful Colours in: Rise And Shine, Mint Apple and Unicorn
- Revlon Scented in: Grape Icy, Gum Drop, Peach Smoothie, Beach and Ocean Breeze
- Claire’s Mood Polish in: Confident/Peaceful, Earthy/Happy, Bored/Excited, Funky/Fabulous, Loved/Lonely and Relaxed/Hyper
- Orly – Galaxy Girl
- Essie – Van D’Go
- Sally Girl mini glitters
- Select-a-Style fimo wheels
- Nail Art steel balls
- EOS lipbalm in: Sweet Mint, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Lemon Drop
From left to right: Strong Adhesion Base Coat, Peachy Keen, Flip Flop Fantasy, Re-Fresh Mint, Frostbite
Ahhh Finally more polishes from the Up and Away collection! I still wish I had all of them but these two (Peachy Keen & Re-Fresh Mint) were my favourites. I’m rocking Re-Fresh Mint on my toes, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Flip Flop Fantasy is so pretty too, yay for neons! I asked for the Fast Forward Top Coat but Alexandra got me the Base Coat by accident. Not that big of an issue since I needed a new base coat anyway and I’ve read some rave reviews on this. Still on my wish list is For Audrey! One day…
From left to right: Tickle My France-y, Bubble Bath and Coney Island Cotton Candy
My first ever OPI’s! Can you believe it? I felt like such an inadequate blogger for not having OPI in my stash. Now I do! My favourite by far is Tickle My France-y. It’s such a gorgeous shade, not quite nude and not quite greige either. I love the finish of it, it’s super shiny. The other two are a bit on the sheer side, though still pretty. The OPI brush is a little too big for me, maybe because I’m not used to it but I prefer a slimmer brush. I know many people love it though!
From left to right: Peach Smoothie, Grape Icy, Gum Drop, Ocean Breeze and Beach
Since I didn’t own any scented polishes I was quite keen to try these. I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately so I haven’t exactly been excited about the smells of these but maybe once I feel better I might like them more. Some of the shades are extremely sheer which is a little disappointing. I thought Revlon polishes would be a lot better formulated!* My favourite so far is Peach Smoothie and my mum is head over heels in love with Ocean Breeze and Beach which I mostly got for her so that’s good!
*edit: someone kindly informed me the sheer formula is not the case with the rest of their polishes like their Fast Dry line. That’s a relief!
From left to right: Rise And Shine, Mint Apple and Unicorn
Sinful Colours is a brand we do get in Belgium albeit very scarcely. They are sold for €6 which is about 8 US dollar, they are 2 dollars or less in the United States. How criminal is that? Makes me so angry since these are great polishes! I know many bloggers love these since their range is good and they’re cheap but still good quality. They’re really nice and pigmented, I wish I had more of these! I really like the bottles too.
From left to right: Relaxed/Hyper, Loved/Lonely, Confident/Peaceful, Happy/Earthy, Bored/Excited and Funky/Fabulous
I was most looking forward to these, they’re called mood polishes. They change colour by temperature! So when you put your hands in either cold or hot water they will look different accordingly. The effect is strongest with the green polish, Happy/Earthy. The rest of them are very subtle and some don’t have any effect whatsoever (Loved/Lonely). Regardless of this effect all the colours are very pretty!
From left to right: Sally Girl Minis, Orly Galaxy Girl, Essie Van D’Go
In my list were the Jewel FX by Milani. I think she got the Sally Girls instead, they’re pretty (and so adorable!) but unfortunately the glitter effect is not the same. I’m really glad I finally own an Orly, and Galaxy Girl at that! It’s absolutely gorgeous! So is the Essie but I haven’t tried it yet so can’t comment any further.
Finally finally finally I own a nail polish thinner! I’ve been longing to try this for ages since I own many polishes that are too thick and goopy to work with. This is my holy grail seriously. I cannot live without it now! It’s honestly saved many polishes already. If you can get your hands on a nail polish thinner go buy it, it’s a must-have!
Since I sent my list before I knew Born Pretty Store I included fimo slices and steel balls. I now own both already but this wasn’t an issue since I don’t have many fruit fimo slices and she got me an entire wheel full of fruits! They’re very pretty so I’m really chuffed. Also I go through a ton of steel balls so these will be put to good use!
These will look familiar if you read blogs or watch youtube hauls. They’re the much raved about lip balms by EOS. I asked for three and I got Lemon Drop, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Sweet Mint. My favourite is Lemon Drop! I really like the packaging, it’s fun but a bit bulky so they don’t really fit that well in a small purse. Also the Sweet Mint burns your lips! It’s really strong, I can’t imagine there’s people that actually like this sensation. It’s definitely too strong for me though it smells really nice!
All in all I’m extremely pleased with my USA haul and I’m so grateful to Alexandra for going through all the trouble! Thank you so much!
Also I am happy to say I have found a new theme, I’m currently in the process of editing it to suit this blog, there will be a few elements you will recognize so it will feel familiar but be completely new as well! The pictures will be bigger (finally!) so once the new theme goes up it might take some time before all the old posts and pictures will be the appropriate size.
22nd September, 2011
This time not a review but a haul from my favourite nail supply, Born Pretty Store! I actually purchased most of these items with the points I collected on their site! If you purchase with them and add a text review or images to their site you receive discount points you can then later on use to purchase items. A really great service!
Here’s what I got!
First up are the nail tips! They range in size from 0 to 9 so you get 10 different sizes. In each bag there’s 50 tips so in total you get 500 pieces. The quality of these is very good! I’m extremely pleased with them, I’ve had an absolute blast using them. At the bottom of this post you can see a nail set I created with these tips.
This is a cutter specially used to cut the nail tips down to size. Using a regular clipper is fiddly so I got this with my order. It works very good and I love the pink latex handle!
These are nail tabs you use to attach nail tips to your natural nails. You take them off the strip, place them on your nails and remove the brown paper. You’re left with a clear adhesive which is very strong and doesn’t damage your nails. I prefer to use this to nail glue since it’s less harsh on your nails and you can re-use your tips afterwards. With glue you’re more likely to damage your natural nail and the nail tips themselves. I thought the nail tabs would last two days tops since you’re meant to soak them off in hot water. I thought after a bath my nails would be gone! I’m glad to say this is not the case. These last more than a week on me, maybe even around 2 weeks!
These look pretty creepy right? That’s what my boyfriend thought at least! The left nail finger is used to insert nail tips into (I’ve put a clear nail tip inside so you can see) and the other already has a nail. I thought these might be useful for nail tutorials, I’m not sure yet! We’ll see. I thought they were fun so that’s why I got them.
This is what I created with the nail tips! You can hardly see they’re not my natural nails, even in person when you look up close it’s hard to tell. Wearing them is very comfortable, they feel like my own nails! Polishes I used were: American Apparel Office, China Glaze Sunset Sail, Barry M Mushroom and a black striper.
If you would like to place an order with Born Pretty Store too don’t forget to use my coupon codes to receive a discount! You can either use the code EMILYJ61 to receive 10% OFF your entire order or EMILYL73 to receive $4 off if your order $30 or more.
15th August, 2011
It’s been a while since I posted a haul. Mainly since I don’t haul a lot any more. I already have most of the stuff I need, definitely where nail polish is concerned anyway. That’s why I tend to not go wild in the nail polish isle anymore. Though lately there’s been a few interesting limited editions going on and a lot of Essence’s and Catrice’s products are being removed from the core line at 50% off so I saw my chance to grab some items!
I don’t remember the exact prices of all the items, most of them were between €0,90 and €3,45.
Essence Studio Nails remover – Kruidvat Nail Polish Remover – Essence 6 in 1 buffer file – Essence Dotting Tool – Catrice Crystal Clear Glossy Stick in Bird of Paradise (from the Papagena LE)
How awesome is that lipstick! It’s actually a lipbalm in the shape of a lipstick, it looks really pretty so I couldn’t pass it up.
Essence Studio Nails Base Sealer – Essence Studio Nails Top Sealer – Essence Grand-Plié in Black (from the Ballerina Backstage LE) – Essence Do A Floating Pirouette (from the Ballerina Backstage LE) – Essence Magic Wand – Essence Hex Hex
I highly recommend the Essence studio nails top sealer. It’s similar to Seche Vite since it also eliminates bumps and gives a glossy shine. It’s not exactly the same but definitely one of the best drugstore topcoats I have tried.
The Essence Ballerina Backstage polishes were so cute! The black has orange shimmer in it which is really unique, the raspberry shade is less unique but I just loved the lace print bottles. I also got the lace hair band but forgot to include it in my pictures.
Essence Spicy – Essence Absolutely Stylish – Catrice Welcome To The Jungle (from the Papagena LE) – Catrice Enter The Undergrowth (from the Papagena LE) – Catrice Sold Out Forever
They are removing Sold Out Forever from the core line! I’m very disappointed since it’s my favourite Catrice shade. It seems that it really WILL be sold out forever. Sad times! Spicy and Absolutely Stylish are very similar which I only saw when I got home. Oops! Though Absolutely Stylish does have some hidden turquoise shimmer which is very pretty.
The Catrice Papagena LE was very nice I thought. I loved the blush sticks as well but colour pay-off was very bad so I decided to leave them. The new Modern Muse collection isn’t my cup of tea at all so I didn’t get any of that.
Gosh Lavender Love – Essence Blue Ray (from the Holografics LE) – Essence Cool And The Gang – Essence Mystic Mermaid – Essence White Crackle
I usually don’t buy Gosh since I find them way too pricey (€6,99) but this one was 50% off. I really hate the “special edition” lettering at the front but the cap is gorgeous. The Essence Holografics collection was a bit of a joke since the polishes were all duochrome and not holographic at all. The shade I picked up was the only one worth the while, it looks quite pretty in the bottle but is somewhat unremarkable on the nails. I also managed to find the white crackle which I was very excited about.
These are four Essence S.O.S. Nail Glue bottles I found in the discount basket. I already bought a back-up of this in Rotterdam but since I won’t ever be able to buy this again I stocked up and grabbed all the ones I could find. It’s my favourite glue for just about anything. It’s primary use is fixing broken nails and I have to say it does that incredibly well. It’s also great for sticking on rhinestones, glitter and beads.
Did you get any of the clearance items or items from the new limited editions? Let me know in the comments below!
6th April, 2011
Finally after many weeks of searching I found a Kruidvat store that had the new Catrice polishes! When I was visiting my boyfriend in Leuven I tried all three Kruidvat stores and the one in the Diestsestraat had the new Catrice and Essence collections. They unfortunately didn’t have the nail art rack so I’m still waiting until I find a store that has them. Sadly a lot of the colours on my wishlist were out of stock but here’s what I was able to pick up so far:
From left to right: Apropos Apricot, Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, You Belong To Me, Blue Cara Ciao, Pool Party At Night, Sir! Yes Sir!, I Wear My Sunglasses At Night.
In the same order as mentioned above. I’m really pleased with all the colours I was able to get so far. As was mentioned in the comments by Barby, Apropos Apricot is very sheer. It definitely needs one or two extra coats than the other ones which is somewhat disappointing. Despite that it’s a very cute colour. Though my favourite so far is You Belong To Me, it’s the only Essence polish that jumped out at me and to my own surprise it’s very opaque. Thumbs up to Essence! Highly recommend it.
I also really love Blue Cara Ciao and Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy. I thought I was going to love Sir! Yes Sir! but it’s more brown than I thought it was going to be, I was expecting a khaki green along the lines of Chanel Khaki Vert.
The last colour, I Wear My Sunglasses At Night, looks very different than what the press images suggested. The glitters are hardly visible in person which is very sad because they are so beautiful! I took a special close-up image for you guys so you could see. I don’t have a macro lens so I applied the reverse lens technique. I was very surprised when I saw this image on my computer in full size. Looking at my bottle up close I only saw green and pink glitters but as you can see it’s a lot more complex, the glitters are all different sizes too.
Still on my wishlist are:
- Catrice Am I Blue Or Green?
- Catrice Up In The Air
- Essence Bella
- Essence Edward
- Essence Blair
- Essence White Crackle
- Essence Circus Confetti
- Essence Iced Mint Frappé
- Essence Hello Holo
Did you see any of the new Catrice and Essence polishes yet? If so which ones did you buy?
Also, you can expect a huge Catrice post coming up soon once I get the remaining colours on my wishlist. I plan on doing a huge swatch post with all the Catrice polishes in my collection!
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