Eight Most Worn Things | Tag

The lovely Hollie from missjammyxo tagged me to do this so I thought I would give it a whirl!

1. Most Worn Lipstick/ Lip Gloss:

 It has to be MAC's 'Girl About Town.' I don't wear lipstick much, because I find it to be a hassle, but the long wear time and beautiful colour of this mean it's a product I reach for this a hell of a lot over other products. I can eat meals and drink drinks and this will still be on my lips! If I can't be bothered to do anything with my eyes, I just slap this on.

2. Most Worn Earrings:

Like lipstick, I don't wear earrings much. I always plan to get into wearing them more, but it's just too much for me to remember. But these have been worn quite a bit by me. They were from Topshop about six months ago.

3. Most Worn Top

I bought this three of four years ago in Urban Outfitters and have worn it consistently ever since.

4. Most worn nail polish:

I'm cheating here. But Essie's 'Fiji' and Deborah Lippmann's 'I love the Nightlife' are soo different. I use them in different ways. Essie is a summery colours while 'I Love the Nightlife' is perfect in the winter over the top of a dark grey nail polish.

5. Most worn shoes:

Converse High tops in cream. I've been living in these shoes since I was eleven (not this actual pair, multiple pairs throughout the years). They're so easy to wear every day. I envy girls who can trot around heels every day because that is never, ever going to be me :(

6. Most worn hair product:

This one was easy because it's the only product I use on my hair other than oils. It gives volume and stops your hair going greasy as quickly, but leaves your hair feeling HORRIBLE.

7. Most worn perfume:

I got this over a year ago and still love it. It's sweet, which is what I like. But I think you either love this perfume or hate it.

8. Most worn bag:

I got this in TKMAXX and it ticked all of the boxes for my requirements in a bag. I love the gold hardware, the style of the leather, and the little phone holder on the inside!

I Tag you all to do this :D

How much does your face cost?

[Incase you care: Long time, no post. Sorry, I'm a week or so into a month of holidaying and have been pretty rubbish and getting onto here. I have a couple of posts written up so will be trying to post them at least once a week]


I remember reading a few of these posts perhaps a year or so ago and thought they were interesting. Now that I am into this whole blogging thing, I thought I'd give it a whirl...


Makeup:
Face:
-Primer: Benefit Porefessional: £2*
-Foundation: Revlon Photoready, £12.99
-Concealer: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer: £4.29
-Bronzer/highlighter: Sleek Contour Kit: £6.49
-Blush: Nars Gaiety £21.00
-Powder: Natural Collection Pressed Powder: £1.99
-Lipstick: Topshop Lipstick in Crystal: £9


Eyes:
-Primer: MUA Eyelid primer: £2.50
-Eyeshadows: Naked Palette and Naked 2:  £35 & £36: £71
-Eyebrows: Illamasqua Brow Cake: £14
-Eyeliner: Maybelline Gel Liner: £7.99
-Eyeliner: Look Beauty Eye Brightener: £2
-Mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama: £12.95**
-Mascara 2: Bourjois Coup de Theatre: £9.49
Total: £177.69


Brushes:


-Real Techniques Buffing, Concealer and Contour brush from the Core Collection: £21.99
-MAC 239: £19
-MAC 217: £16
-MAC 210: £16
-No. 7 Concealer Brush: £7.25
-Eco Tools Powder Brush & Angled Liner Brush (from set) : £15.99
-No. 7 Smokey Eye Brush: £7
-No. 7 Brow Brush: £1.50***
Total: £104.73
Combined total: £282.42


I can't say I'm surprised by this number because I do sometimes get the nagging feeling that I've spent a sickening amount of money on makeup. It's also worrying that this is a small percentage of the makeup I own. However, I don't think it's TOO terrible. The brushes will last me years, and I see them as investments. Some of the makeup products, like the Naked palettes will also last me a long time. My Illamasqua Brow Cake doesn't look like it's been touched and I've been using it everyday for six months, so it's with me for the long haul! Some of these items will last me years, and some a couple of months. So I'll do some random maths in my head and say that this £280= a year's worth of makeup. £280 seems like a reasonable (low) amount to spend on makeup in a year. HAS MY MIND BEEN WARPED? In a dream world, I would cut down my makeup to maybe twenty essential items. But that's not going to happen. 


How much does your 'face' cost?


*Free in Glamour magazine
**Sample in Glossybox, this is the price I paid for the box
***Bought from the reduced section in Boots, I think it may be discontinued or different now as I cannot find it online

Make Your Own Hair Mask

Hair masks and treatments are very popular products. They can cost as little as a couple of pounds, rising up to over forty pounds, and maybe beyond that. I've never been completely sold on the fact that they do more for your hair than normal conditioners, but I have a cupboard full of them anyway and love using them.

If you're buying these masks on the high street, or even from salons, chances are they've got a bunch of horrible chemicals in that can damage your hair. I'm not saying you should avoid all of these chemicals on a daily basis because, honestly, who can do that? But I thought I'd share with you a mask I make at home which is free of these chemicals, and contains a lot more nutritious qualities to boot. AND IT'S CHEAP (free if you can take it from your parents' cupboard)!

Egg, Honey and Olive Oil Mask

You will need: One egg, some Olive Oil, some Honey.

Instructions (ha): Crack an egg, maybe avoid getting the shell in, or not.. crunchy hair mask anyone? Pour in some Olive Oil and Honey (preferably the runny kind.. the solid stuff may make life difficult) and stir together. Ta da, you are done. This was obviously super challenging so you should now take a break and relax :)

After that relaxing break, apply it to your hair. I tend to avoid my roots if I've added olive oil because I don't want to risk my hair being greasy after I've washed it. I just dip my hair in the bowl of it, run it through with my fingers a bit and then tie it up. Then continue to relax. Now would not be a good time to leave the house and do things in public, the egg might smell. Keep social interaction to a minimum at this point. 

I do one of these once a week or so and leave it on my hair for twenty minutes to an hour. The longer it's on your hair the more good stuff it can do to it I suppose?

Then wash it out with shampoo and condition as normal. Simple stuff.

What do these ingredients do for your hair?

Egg: Full of protein and nutrients, both of which your hair needs and likes. Keep the yolk in as that has fats and more protein and nutrients in, meaning more benefit for your hair. Warning: When using egg, try to use very cool water to wash it out of your hair, warm water will cook the egg (GROSS!) and you'll be left with white bits of egg. I know this from experience but it was pretty easy to wash out of my hair. But still, avoid cooking egg in your hair! Leave it for the frying pan.

Honey: Adds shine to your hair! Honey has been used to treat wounds by different groups of people, and some people think it can also help repair hair. I definitely notice a lot of shine when I put honey on my hair.. well, once I've washed it out.

Olive Oil: According to LiveStrong, Olive Oil has many benefits for your hair- from adding softness and shine, increasing manageability to preventing split ends. Wonderful stuff!

These are just the three ingredients I use on a regular basis because they're easily accessibly in my cupboard, but you could use just one or two of these or add other things like avocado, yogurt or lemon juice.

So if you're bored, your hair is feeling dull, you can't afford a hair treatment or mask, or maybe if you just feel like throwing together different ingredients and shoving them on your head instead of eating them, this could be the solution to your problems.

Do you ever make your own beauty treatments at home? Let me know. I love trying out new things that I can make at home!

No 7 Nail Varnish in 'Stand Back' | Review

Unfortunately, for my pocket and my nails, this is not going to be a positive review. It's obviously nice to write about things you love. But my hatred/disgust for this is compelling me to write. Of course, it's also useful for people who are considering buying this. All I will say is 'DO NOT.' Barry M do a dupe called 'Cyan Blue' (see swatches here), so if you want the colour, but not the horrible formulation, opt for that.

But why the hate?..

First off, the application is horrible. It is thick and somehow feels dry. It drags when you try to paint your nail. Horrible.

But.. it does dry quickly.

The bottle is also a nuisance. If this was a good product, I wouldn't care so much,  but it isn't. The bottle has a long neck, so each time I dipped the brush back in the bottle, it came out with no product on. I kept underestimating the length of the neck which had no product in. Not a major thing, but I'm adding it to my campaign of hate!

So, once you've struggled to get the product on the brush, and ensured you have enough of it, to prevent that horrible 'dragging' feeling, you are then left with a pretty uneven coverage. Two more coats later, you think you're safe.. but you're not. The NEXT DAY, I went to add a top coat. My nails had dried over night, yet when I applied the top coat, the nail varnish stained the brush and it went all streaky. I have never had this happen to me before.

STREAKS

And honestly, this wasn't the worst of it. In the following 24 hours, SIX of my nails some how peeled off and were I was left with bare, ugly nails.

I used a base and to coat and this still happened in 24 hours. In those 24 hours, I was not working on a farm or any other form of manual labour.. so WHY? :'(

I am SO disappointed in this product. The actual price of this nail varnish is £7, which is perhaps why my hopes were high. For that price I could get two Barry M Nail Paints and something from MUA. Obviously I only paid £2 with a No. 7 voucher, but even that feels like daylight robbery. In the past I've been a big fan of the Collection 2000 nail polishes as they have a great colour selection and I really like the formula. They cost £1.99. If Collection 2000 can make a decent product for £1.99, why can't No. 7 for £7?

There is, perhaps, a silver lining. I read a blog post about this polish which said the quality did not compare to other No. 7 polishes. I hope this is true. So I'm not going to say "DO NOT BUY ANY NO. 7 NAIL POLISHES. EVER!!!" but "DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!!"

Or, maybe you've tried it and really liked it?