Nail Bits and Bobs

I went through a period of dry, peeling nails but I've finally gotten them back to normal so I thought I'd talk you through how I take care of them!

I'm a huge fan of Essie (can you tell?) and I really really like their base coats and treatments. I went through an entire bottle of the Grow Stronger Base Coat and recently finished up the Millionails Treatment. I don't know if you've ever looked at your nails head on, but if they are fairly flat then they are quite weak. Mine were flat at flimsy, but I used the Grow Stronger Base Coat every time I painted my nails and could actually feel them getting stronger. I used this about a year ago, and then switched to a regular base coat and my nails definitely got weak again. I decided to try the Millionails Treatment this time around and it worked wonders. Rather than being peely my nails had been splitting, and this is supposed to really help with that. It contains Kevlar (yes, bullet proof vest kevlar, crazy!), iron, and amino acids to help strengthen. Now that my nails are healthy, I've been using the Fill the Gap Base Coat because it provides a super-smooth finish. I also LOVE that this dries matte. I'm not a huge fan of wearing nail treatments alone when they are shiny, but because this is matte it looks great!

Right, now onto actual manicure products! I'm kind of insane about my cuticles looking nice as they grow so fast! I am always cutting them back. A lot of people say to not cut your cuticles, but I just cut the excess growth rather than cutting all the way to my nail beds. The Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover is a product I've been using for years. It's super easy to remove excess skin and doesn't dry out my nails. I tend to buy cuticle clippers at Marshall's or TJ Maxx because they are cheap and I replace them super often so that they stay sharp. Keeping your nail beds hydrated is also super important for healthy nails (and avoiding awful hangnails), I'm always rubbing oils into them. I really love the Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil, but recently I've been obsessed with the Butter London Handbag Holiday Cuticle Oil (which it seems you can't buy in the US anymore?). I found mine at TJ Maxx for a bargain! I also stock up on glass or crystal files here as they are much finer and better for your nails! Those rough grit emory boards can actually separate the layers of the nail plate and cause cracking or splitting.

As far as actual polishes go, I have a million different brands but definitely a few favourites. I love Essie's polishes along with their treatments as I find the formula really fluid and easy to use. The brush is also perfect. I like Formula X's colour range, and Monumental is my perfect nude. I will say that these ones get thick and gloopy kind of quickly which is quite annoying for the price. Barry M are some of my favourites and super inexpensive! For topcoat I usually stick to the Sally Hansen Mega Shine and I always use my trusty OPI Drying Drops.

Phew! That was a long one! What nail products do you guys use?
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The Easy Eyeshadow Edit

I've been quite lazy with my eyeshadow recently and focusing more on my base, so I thought I'd show you my favourite 'one-sweep' eyeshadows (calling all lazy girls!). As you can tell I stick mostly to the taupey-bronzey variety, so prepare yourself for me attempting to describe them differently.

Recently I've been swiping the NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow in Stud (post here) all over my lids because it's just so damn beautiful. Sephora describes this as a 'soft pewter bronze', but I definitely think it's more pewter than bronze. Either way, it's absolutely gorg! More on the actually bronzey side is Bobbi Brown's Burnt Sugar Eyeshadow. I don't think Bobbi's eyeshadows get enough credit. Not only are they beautifully formulated, you also get huge .09oz pans that can be (VERY easily) switched around and put it different palettes. I LOVE. Anyway, Burnt Sugar is a 'deep golden brown' that can be quite pigmented and intense, but a light wash looks really lovely. Another favourite from Bobbi is Malted, which is apparently no longer available (I almost cried). I think the most similar from Bobbi is Antique Rose or Cement, but it's quite similar to Urban Decay's Naked.

MAC's Tempting Eyeshadow is fairly similar to Burnt Sugar, but it pulls a bit more gold on me. This one is a lustre, so it's a wee bit difficult to work with but I love it just blended out over the lids rather than packed on. Cream shadows are the best for lazy girls, and elf's Smudge Pot in Cruisin' Chic is one of the easiest. These are a gel based formula so they glide right over the eyes and are a dream to blend out. I've only tried this taupey colour but for $3, I'm eyeing up some other shades. If you have super oily lids I would definitely use a primer and maybe set with a translucent powder, these are super creamy. I've talked about H&M's Shiitake Eyeshadow multiple times before, but it really is the perfect easy shadow. It can be packed on for a metallic finish or swept on with a MAC 217 for a bit of sparkle.

I generally use MAC's Pro Longwear Paint Pots as eyeshadow primers, but if I'm feeling really lazy I'll just swipe one of these all over my lids and call it a day. I do own several of the more 'colourful' aka bronze and shimmery shades, but these two are my favourite as they're similar to my skin tone. I use Soft Ochre the most by far as my skin is quite yellow, but if you have more neutral or pink undertones you'll love Painterly.

What shadows do you guys love for lazy days? Let me know so I can add to my collection, hehe
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Makeup Medley No. 01

Recently I've been reaching for the same products every day and doing quite a quick makeup, so I thought I would show you what I'm into at the minute. I think because I've been so into skincare, I've been quite lazy with my makeup and focusing on making my skin look nice than hassling with eyeshadow, etc.

I bought the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint back in February (?) on the day it released and did like it, but then I sort of forgot about it. My skin was a bit dry back then and I think I wasn't in love with how it made my skin look. Recently, I've been using it with the Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer (which I'm about to run out of, sad) and I am in LOVE. Despite being a 'skin tint' this is more of a foundation product, but I've been applying it with a brush on top of my super hydrated skin and it's gone on super smoothly whilst still looking like skin. I think previously I was using a beautyblender, and maybe I'll try it again, but I find smoothing it on with a kabuki brush leaves a gorgeous finish.

Since the skin tint is sort of a satiny finish, I've been leaving it mostly un-powdered. But to combat a bit of oil, I've been back into the classic MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural brushed over my t-zone, pressed around my nose, and used to set my undereye concealer. This leaves my skin looking natural (obvs) but not overly oily. Dreamy! Speaking of dreamy, when we got the Tom Ford Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in at work I think I actually drooled. The contains two beautiful highlighters, and I've actually been mostly using the bottom rose-gold colour to add a bit of a bronzey glow to my face. I generally stick to those icy white or gold highlighters, so this has been a nice change. Also, the formula of the bottom shade is absolutely gorgeous! The top shade is slightly harder and a wee bit less pigmented for some reason, but Temptalia says if you use it wet you can get a more metallic finish so I will have to try that.

To finish off the skin I've been wearing blush. Shock, horror! I literally never ever wear blush. My coworker (and bff) Janay put some on the other day at work and I got jealous and started wearing it too. I forgot how much a little bit of blush really makes you look alive, and considering I have a ridiculously full drawer of the stuff I've been wearing it again! This Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Oasis is absolutely beautiful (how many times can I say that in one post?). I'm super bummed because it apparently only comes in the skin squad set (which is an awesome deal anyway), but it's quite similar to the shade Exposed as far as I can tell! For eyes I'm being super lazy and just dabbing a bit of either of the NARS Kalahari shades on my lids. They're both some of my favourite shadows ever, and so multi-dimensional it looks like I made an effort!

What products have you been reaching for recently?
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Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque

I've been having fairly problem skin recently, which is pretty unusual for me. I'm hoping it's the dreaded "purge" that comes from starting and sticking to a proper skincare routine (and using a Clarisonic). But, I went on a hunt to find something that would help me clear up my skin. I've been really into Kiehl's as an entire brand, especially recently, and I've heard some great reviews about the Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque so I picked it up.

The Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque ($28) is a clay cleansing mask meant to 'purify skin' and 'visibly minimize pores.' I've never really spent a lot of money on face masks (except for the GlamGlow one I got at work) because I feel like I go through them so quickly. This guy, however, comes in a whopping 5oz tub so you're definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck. I've been applying a thin layer of this all of my face after cleansing, leaving it on until it's dry (but not too dry) and then rinsing it off or using a warm wash cloth to remove. I was a little shocked the first time I used this, as it really does clean out your pores. I've tried countless black head removal strips, etc. but nothing made my poor nose look as clean as this does. My skin looks very fresh and glowy immediately after use, instead of red and irritated. It's also one of the only clay masks I've used that doesn't make my skin feel dry after using! I've definitely noticed that my breakouts are going away faster and my pores look less obvious. Emphasis on the look, because as I've said before, pore size is genetically determined and nothing will actually minimize them.

Overall, I'm really loving how clean my skin looks and feels after using this. I've been using it around twice a week with no irritation, but if you have sensitive skin I'd probably only use it once a week. I've also read some reviews saying it's great to use as an overnight spot treatment, so I will be trying that next!

Have you guys tried this yet? What's your favourite Kiehl's product?
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