Bourjois Texture Silicone Gel ♥

I think I have discovered my favourite beauty item of this year! I absolutely love having polished nails, and love having a good manicure. I'm particularly a fan of shellac nails because it's a gel like polish that lasts for weeks and looks immaculate. Well, I seem to have found a cheap and amazing way of achieving this look at home with Bourjois Texture Silicone Gel. I cannot believe I have never heard of this product before!

I love a red polish, and the gel makes the colour look amazing on my nails. I always think red polish makes my nails look very tidy and well groomed, if that makes sense! I used 17 Knockout Red, which is a lovely, bright red. 

 The gel is red but applies and dries transparent. Bourjois claim that it takes a second to dry but I'd say it takes a good minute, which is still pretty impressive. The application brush is large and in width and lengh which makes applying the gel really easy. The results are amazing!  

BEFORE

My nails before applying the gel polish.

AFTER

 I think they look amazing, and have a real professional finish. So any people keep asking me if I've had my nails done, which is a sign that they are looking good! The gel also manages to increase the time it takes for  my nails to chip. It has been around 5 days, and I've only just started to notice a few minor chips, which is pretty good seeming as I've had such a busy week. 

I really can't recommend this product enough! I really think it's amazing, and it actually makes me wonder what I did before I bought it.

What do you think?

Top 5 Summer Nail Varnishes ♥

Summer is finally here it seems! The sun is shining, my sunnies are on, and for once I can leave the house without wearing thick tights! My make up always reflects the seasons, particularly my lip sticks and nail varnishes. My nail varnishes in the summer are always in candy colours or soft pinks.
                                        These are my top 5 nail varnishes for this Summer.....

 From left: Ciate Piant pot in Purple Sherbet, Rimmel I love Fruities 025  Strawberry Fizz, 17 Supreme Shine in Simply Pink,Rimmel Pro in 500 Peppermint and Rimmel 60 Seconds 405 Rose Libertine.

 My current favourite summer nail varnish- Rimmel Pro in 500 Peppermint.

1. Rimmel Pro in 500 Peppermint- I love this nail varnish. It is such a gorgeous colour and perfect shade for Summer. It doesn't chip either, which is a massive bonus. There's nothing more I hate then having the perfect nails and then them chipping straight away. The only negative is that the varnish is quite watery, therefore it takes around three coats for the varnish to have such a "popping" colour. It dries quickly though, so this isn't such a problem. 

2. Rimmel 60 Seconds 405 Rose Libertine- Such a beautiful colour. I'm a massive fan of Rimmel nail varnishes. I think the quality is amazing, and I'm so impressed with the finish of my nails when I use them. This nail varnish dries so quickly, applies beautifully and just looks stunning. A real pretty, Summer pink.

3. 17 Supreme Shine Simply Pink- This shade looks even more amazing on the nails then in the bottle. I actually picked this shade after I saw my flat mates nails. They looked so pretty, neat and pearly that I just had to know what she had on her nails. I wasn't disappointed...the shade is gorgeous and so pretty when it hits the sun. I love 17 products- Good quality and great prices. 

4. Ciate Paint Pots in Purple Sherbet- This was a magazine freebie and there were three shades to choose form, however I just thought this was the perfect Summer shade. The only thing I dislike about Ciate products is that they chip so easily. I always think the finish looks amazing and really professional, but my nails literally chip within an hour. It's a shame because I love this colour so much. It's the perfect on trend candy colour.

5. Rimmel I Love Fruities 025 Strawberry Fizz- This polish looks as gorgeous as it smells. I love these scented Rimmel nail varnishes. Not only is the shade the most gorgeous, eye catching pink, but it smells so sweet and sugary like cherries. 

What's your favourite colour from the selection?

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17 Hide Away Concealer Review ♥

I can't live without concealer. I think everybody needs a bit of concealer- it covers my horrendous eye bags and makes me look a little more awake! I'm yet to find a better concealer than L'oreal's Lumi Magique concealer (better than YSL), but in terms of a great budget buy concealer, then 17's Hide Away Concealer is pretty impressive. Unlike L'oreal's that is dispensed through a tube, 17's comes in your typical concealer crayon. I always think this makes it easy to blend, and Hide and Away is lovely and soft and blends and settles into the skin really well.

 The concealer is available in four shades, but it's always best to select your concealer in a lighter shade, so I've been using Fair. The shade matches my skin tone really well, and blends beautifully with my foundation. It's quite thick, which makes it great for covering blemishes or dark circles- I wouldn't recommend this product if you want a light concealer to also use on your brow bones and cheek bones. It is definitely a perfect product for covering any nasty spots, so it's definitely a staple product for the beauty bag.

 It's quite oily, but I think this makes the product easy to blend and look even on the skin. At £3.89 at all Boots stores, I am so impressed. It lasts for most of the day, and I find that I only need to reapply after a long day at work- I do wear a primer to seal my make up however.

This is such a fantastic product. It is definitely my must go to product whenever I have terrible blemishes.

Have you tried this concealer? Do you have a favourite?

Valentines Day Nails

 Look created with Leighton Denny in BabyDoll, 17 Nail Xtras Glitter Top Coat, and Models Own nail art pen.

 Have a fabulous Valentines day everybody!

17 Wild Metalics Eyes

I'm quite into my usual eye shadow creme (Estee Lauder, Ivory Lace) which I use everyday, and absolutely love. I rarely change this product...but then I heard quite a few good things about the 17 creme based eye shadows, and I thought that it needed checking out! I like quite neutral colours on my eyes, so lots of creamy colours....so 17's Wild Nude was just perfect! I really think it is a wild nude too....quite a neutral colour with a slight shimmer to it.

The texture of the eye shadow is so lovely. It's quite creamy and soft and glides really well a long the eye lid. What I also like, is that you have to build up the creme for it to become the copperish colour that it appears in the pot. Some may find this annoying, but I was actually really happy as the first swatch is lovely- nice and natural, with a subtle shine. The only down side, as with most drug store make-up, is that it doesn't always last as long as high end  beauty products. The creme seems to last around three hours before it creases, which is more apparent if you apply lots of layers of the eye shadow.

 

The pot is lovely and light, so perfect to pop in your hand bag when you need to reapply. There are other colours available, but this colour appeared to be the only one that was quite neutral, but if you love something a little more bright and sparkly, then they definitely have some lovely shades.

Sorry for the massive makeup review overload this week! As you know, I'm on placement, so I haven't been or seen anything interesting this week, but I'm more than excited for weekend sale shopping...again!

I hate not being a student anymore...I now completely understand when working people say that they live for the weekend!

I've gone and got magnetized!

Everybody seems to be going wild for the magnetic nail varnishes which are currently everywhere! Well, now affordable brand 17 have brought out their own range of magnetic nail varnishes in four lovely colours. They retail at £5.99, but Boots are currently offering £2 off, so  I jumped at the chance!

 

It was easy to apply, and the consistency of the nail varnish is really good, so just one coat looks lovely, but I applied two as I wanted them super green! When the nails are wet, you hover the magnet over the nail. The magnet is attached to the lid of the nail varnish, and within seconds, your nails have an amazing magnetic effect!

 Although I think they look great, I don't think they're really my style. I like a neutral, matte looking nail varnish, but I'm glad I tried it anyway! I think they make you look twice, so if you're into kooky nails, then go ahead definitely!

What do you think of the new, magnetic nail varnishes? Which ones have you tried?

Love, Sophie Olivia x x