Sensationails Gel Starter Kit Review

Despite Gel nails being a huge beauty trend, I've never had mine professionally done. I've always thought of it as too expensive and I don't particularly enjoy visiting salons! I'm much more of a 'do it yourself' kinda girl when it comes to most beauty related things. If you are too, you're going to love what I have to show you today.

Sensationails is a gel nail kit you can do in the comfort of your own home. The kit comes complete with everything you need to create super glossy and durable gel nails. I found the instructions that came with the kit were really easy to follow. The process can be a little time consuming but when you think the results last around 2 weeks I don't mind spending 30 minutes doing my nails! 

I love the shade 'Raspberry Wine' which has some subtle shimmer to it and looks gorgeous on nails. 14 days after application, they are still going strong as promised. There is a slight chip on my thumb but overall I'm really impressed with the longevity of Sensationails. 

The price tag sounds a little scary (£69.99) but it's reasonable when you think how much you would pay each time at a salon for gel nails. The kit allows for 10 applications so you can assure you'll get your moneys worth. After 10 uses you can purchases an Essentials Kit (£25.00) which contains all the products you'll need,minus the LED LAMP, to create 20 more perfectly polished manicures. 

The only downside to Sensationails is the removal process. Even after following the instructions and leaving them to soak in acetone for 15 minutes, they were still a struggle to get off. It can be a bit damaging on nails so I tend to use this kit every other month or for special occasions and holidays. 

Overall, this kit is a must have if you normally get gel nails done professionally or you're just simply sick of chipped nails. This kit is well worth the price tag plus it's on offer at the minute, hooray! With most things, this does take practise so don't worry if it takes a few goes.

The Sensationails Starter Kit* retails for £69.99 but is currently of offer for £45.00 at Boots here. Let me know if you have any questions at all about this! 

Natural Spring Makeup Look

Spring; the beauty season of lighter bases, pastel shades and sheer lip colours. I love seeing what new product launches come out this time of year and 2014 did not disappoint. I've particularly been impressed with Rimmel, No7 and Maybelline. Today's post is a make up medley perfect for Spring.

No7 Lovely Lashes Mascara £12.95 

The latest mascara from No7 is enriched with Argan oil to help nourish lashes. Argan oil is in pretty much everything now so why not make up! The formula is very glossy making it impossible to get clumpy lashes. The soft bristle brush creates natural looking lashes whilst conditioning. 

Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation £9.99

A lighter base is perfect for spring and they don't come much lighted then this whipped creme from Max Factor. This is like a new and improved version of those mousse foundation we all used to own. The product itself feels amazing on skin, the super soft formula blends seamless and creates a natural semi-matte complexion. 

LOLA makeup Eyeshadow 019* £10.00

Part of Lola's new 'Spirited Away' collection for S/S 14 which is influenced by the mesmerising tones and shades that continually roll across desert skies and sun baked vistas. The eye make up for this spring look is all about echoing shades naturally found on lids. This eyeshadow is the perfect natural shade, it helps to hide redness and brighten the eye area. The soft, blendable formula makes this a joy to use.

Bourjois Effect 3D Max Lip Gloss in Corail Idyllic £7.99

The hottest colours for lips this season is orange. I've gone with a subtle shade for any orange lip newbies out there. I'm not really a fan of lip gloss but this doesn't feel tacky or sticky at all. The ultra-shiny formula also helps to keep lips hydrated - bonus!

No7 Blush Palette £12.00

A gorgeous blend of pinks, reds and white to create a gentle flush of colour. The palette also has a very subtle shimmer which gives cheek a radiant glow. Swirl your brush around to get a pretty mix of all the shades or use each section individually. This is hypo-allergenic making it suitable for those with sensitive skin. 

What's in my Mum's MakeUp Bag

I wanted to write a Mother's Day post this year but still keeping with the beauty theme. My first experience with makeup was secretly trying out my mum's red lipstick on myself then crying when I couldn't get it off. Eight years later my intrigue had grown stronger and I began to ask Mum for beauty advice. She introduced me to my first fragrance (Versace Red Jeans), told me about white eyeliner and allowed me to experiment with beauty. The later wasn't always for the best; hello fake tan disaster and dodgy hair cut.

Nevertheless, my Mum has been such an influential women to me especially when it comes to all things beauty related. I'm taking a peek inside her daily make up bag to share with you her beauty favourites. Take note - Mum knows best.

"I wear make up most days. For foundation I like Revlon Colourstay  because the colour stays (laughs). If I didn't use this foundation I'd  end up with it around my collar. I've resigned that I've got really bad baggy eyes so I have to wear concealer. I use Collection Lasting Perfection because you told me to .I don't wear blusher because I don't know how to and don't want to end up looking like aunt sally!"

"The No7 Sensitive mascara is my favourite, I prefer the plastic bristle brushes on mascaras - I'm not one for clumps! When it comes to eye shadow I tend to stick to neutral brown shades. No pearls, no shimmer just mattes as I don't want anything to accentuate my wrinkles. I'm getting into those crayons (Max Factor Eye Shadow Sticks), but they are very hard to use. Asda's Liquid black eyeliner is my favourite, it's like £1.50 and it lasts for ages."

"I do like a nice lipstick. Anything creamy, matte and neutral. My most worn lipstick is MAC Blankety or No7 Moisture Drench in 'Rumour' which is now discontinued. Or I'll go for an 80's pink. I have to wear lip balm every single day."

"At the minute I'm loving oils - facial oils and body oils. I'm in love with geranium oil for my face, that feels really good on my skin, it just drinks it up." 

"If I could invent any kind of make up I would invent leopard print eye shadow." And I think that's where we should end the interview...

Thanks Mum for letting me delve into your make up bag. I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post. How are you spending this Mother's Day? I'm just off to my Nana's for a roast!

Dove Purely Pampering Blogger Event

Cocktails, pampering and macaroons equals blogger heaven.

This Thursday I was invited to London to attend a Dove blogger event. The event itself took place in a rather swanky St. Martins Lane Hotel. My nose lead me to an apartment suite decked out with Dove products. I brought my Mum along with me, it was her first event and as she's already a huge Dove fan I thought a pampering session would fit in perfectly with Mother's Day this Sunday. 

We were introduced to Dove's new Pistachio and Magnolia Purely Pampering range. The silky formulations, edible fragrances and rich essential oil ingredients make these new products perfect for a daily pamper. The collection consists of a body wash and body lotion, both of which are available now.

Dove always produce something special scent-wise each year. There latest offering to the Purely Pampering range did not disappoint. The new collection is based around indulging in some me-time and treating your skin with delicious ingredients every day. I had the chance to chat with the lovely ladies who had created the new fragrance for Dove. They had flown in specially from Paris and spoke with knowledge, love and passion for their newest creation. What I really took from the event was just how much research, testing and time goes into creating and developing new products. It's truly impressive how they manage to sell such high quality products at affordable prices. 

My pick out of the new scents has to be Pistachio Cream, a delicately sweet fragrance with a floral scent and the pistachio blend makes this even more delicious.

After dousing myself in the body wash last night, I'm pleased to report back the experience of showering with Dove is a luxurious one. The thick, silky formula leaves skin nourished and smelling amazing. The body washes are blended with Dove's unique NutriumMoisture which contains a blend of skin-natural moisturiser. This helps to leave skin feeling hydrated and not tight unlike most shower gels. 

After taking it all in, I left in a Dove daze. I even Secretly hoped the tube home would be packed so communities would have to inhale and appreciate my Pistachio and Magnolia aroma.

A review of the new products will be up shortly. Dove are also launching some exciting new products later on in the year which I can't wait to share with you! 

Veil Cover Cream Review

This isn't my first delve into camouflage make up, I've previously tried Keromask and Dermablend. Veil Cover Cream is designed to cover things such as blemishes, dark circles, tattoos, acne, rosacea plus much more.

The main reason I wanted to try this was to see if it would help hide my hereditary dark circles. I've mentioned about my battle with this before on here. Highstreet concealers do cover them slightly but not as much as I'd like. I even recently invested in Benefit's 'industrial strength' Bo-ing concealer which was nothing special! I've been testing this out for two weeks now and here's how I got on..

The Veil Cover Cream Demonstration Kit* comes with 20 cream colours and a setting powder. Each shade is extremely pigmented and long-wearing. They are also supposed to be waterproof but I'm yet to test this out. The creamy formula makes these easy to blend without looking cakey. I do find you have to set it with a powder to keep it in place. The folder the cover creams come in isn't very compact. If I'm on the go and I don't want to take all the shades with me I can't really. I'd prefer it if the creams were attached with Velcro so they could be removed easily.

I've been using the shades 'Peach' and 'Natural' mostly to cover my under eye dark circles and they really do conceal them well. I wouldn't purchase this kit again but I would buy the individual cover cream pots. If you have any questions about this product, do not hesitate to ask!

The Veil Cover Cream Demonstration Kit* retails for £40.64 and is available from the Veil website here.