Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts

Saturday, 22 November 2014

New skincare products!


Hi everyone!

Something a little different on the blog today - some new handmade skincare items. I am not a big skincare buff, but I do love to take care of my hands and have a million and one hand creams, cuticle balms etc. I also love lip balms, so I have one of those to show you today as well! 

My newest love is the handcare range from Lovely Cosmetics. Lovely Cosmetics is a natural skincare company based in the UK (Sheffield). I ordered and received my items within 5 working days and they came wrapped in a recycled pink box with eco-friendly recycled packaging inside (and sweets!)







All their products are handmade and are packaged beautifully in little glass pots / jars etc as you can see in the photos below. So cute! (I am a sucker for packaging!). LC make a wide range of products for face, hair, lips, hands and feet, so be sure to check them out online. You can also find them in quite a few local stockists in Sheffield but also Makers Emporium (Rotherham), Fabrication (Leeds) and Libby's (Chesterfield).  All their products are cruelty free and ingredients are locally sourced, such as Honey from the Sheffield Honey Company and lavender oil from Yorkshire.

Anyway, onto the review!

I bought the Hand Butter, Hand Scrub and Cuticle Salve bundle and the Vanilla Honey lip balm which came to a respectable £21. They aren't the cheapest products, but neither are they expensive considering the quality of ingredients. I also received a free mint chocolate sugar scrub either by mistake or for free (if it was free then thank you very much!) and would also like to mention the generous portions which I will come to a bit later.



So the first thing I tried was the cuticle salve. These come in cute 15ml glass pots (HUGE!) and cost £6 alone. If you buy as part of the bundle you save £5 so definitely worth getting the extras. 



It has a dark greenish colour in the pot, and to look at has a dryish consistency with a light, lemony scent. I was concerned it might be grainy and hard to apply but it melts quickly when you rub it and soaks into the skin well without leaving any colour. It is made fully from unrefined avocado oil, shea butter, British beeswax and lemon essential oils. I have carried this with me every day and applied once and on the odd occasion twice a day for the past week or so and my cuticles are in the best condition theyve been in for ages. My hands really suffer in winter so I am over the moon with how good this is.

       

My second favourite product is the lip balm which is priced at a reasonable £5. If this was edible, I'd have eaten it with a spoon - it smells divine. (It actually does tastes really nice as well!) In the tub it doesn't smell the same (odd - maybe its just me?) but when you apply it to your lips it smells like vanilla ice cream. The good quality creamy kind, not the cheap stuff. It is softer than any other lip balms I have used, a milky white colour and has a grainy texture when you take it from the pot. Again, I was concerned about the graininess, but it breaks down really smoothly when you apply to your lips.  With the weather, I have been applying two to three times a day as I have felt is necessary and I have hardly made a dint in the tub. Again, its supposedly 15ml but the tub is huge and will last me for ages. Ingredients wise, this one is made up from vanilla infused sweet almond oil, shea butter, honey, beeswax and vitamin e oil.



Next up is the hand scrub which comes in a 55ml tub and is priced at £7.50.



 It is made from demerara sugar, sweet almond and coconut oil, honey, ground almonds and beeswax. I have used hand scrubs on occasion, but I am more of a moisturize and go sort of person, so I don't have a huge experience of using these often. I have used this twice so far - just once a week but I can say that my hands do feel lovely and soft afterwards.


One little confusion I had was that the instructions say to rub into wet hands and then rinse away, followed by a moisturiser. I was surprised to see the ingredients include sweet almond oil and coconut oil, so it was a little difficult to rinse away afterwards (I wasnt sure how much to use, so I would say I used around a heaped teaspoon (by heaped, I mean a very big heap), so maybe I used a bit much. But I rinsed as best I could and patted my hands dry both times and they do feel lovely. I didn't follow the instruction to moisturise as well because my hands were already left well moisturised afterwards.

The last thing I have to share is the hand butter.



 This is also a 55ml tub and also priced at £7.50 if you buy separately. It has a clear lavender smell, but rather than a butter consistency I would describe it as more mousse-like.



 It is light and bubbly to touch and when applied it melts to a more oily consistency. You only need a tiny amount as it does leave your hands oily, so I would recommend this as a night time hand cream rather than for general use during the day.

Overall I am really pleased with these. I am all for supporting local and small businesses, especially UK ones so its nice to have a new company to shop with. I also really like the ecofriendly outlook they have so I know my money has really gone to a good place.  

Company Information:

Lovely Cosmetics

Please let me know if you have any questions / comments - I love hearing from you! Have you heard of Lovely Cosmetics? Tried anything of theirs? 

Rachael xxx

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

For the love of... dots! #4 - Taras Talons

Good morning all!

Another dot filled mani today, this time from the lovely Tara from Tara's Talons. This is called Princess of Darkness. I can't remember how or when I came to get this polish as I have quite a Tara collection now, but I am sure it didn't take much thinking to press the confirm button on my order when I saw the circles in this.



I have this swatched over two polishes. I actually didn't realise until I took photos, but I sleep painted my base colour and I have an OPI shade on my pinky, and Sally Hansen - Dorien Grey on my other nails. I love the mix in here of different shapes. Pink (especially neon) and black is just an unreal combo, never gets old. The silver circles just complement that really nicely.


You can find Tara here:


What do you think?

Rachael xxx

Sunday, 23 February 2014

For the love of... dots! #3 - Nail Lacquer UK

Hey again!

Another dot filled post for you this morning - today is a share of my very first circle glitter polish, which I got from Nail Lacquer UK.

Unfortunately she is not selling anymore, so I am coveting my polishes from AJ as I love them all! This is my absolute favourite, but I will have some more to share with you in the future.

Here is Heart or Love over black.




What do you think? 

Rachael xxx

Friday, 21 February 2014

For the love of... dots! #2 - Chubby Owl Polish

Good morning!

I am back again with another dot installment - this time from the lovely Chubby Owl Polish.

This is my first polish from Jemma - and definitely not my last! I picked this up from her sale and my goodness it is just beautiful.


I wasn't sure about the star element - I am pinickity about shapes. I have decided I like diamonds, squares and circles. Hearts are acceptable in the right polish. This is the first polish where I have okayed stars. They just work wonderfully with the colours in the mix. Metallic pink dots, royal blue small glitters and small silver stars. Such a simple combination but they just look beautiful on my nails. I can't stop looking at them!


You can find Jemma and Chubby Owl Polish at the following places:


What do you think? Do you have any favourite CO polishes? 

Rachael xxx



Wednesday, 19 February 2014

For the love of... dots! #1 - Indy's Indies

Hey all!

I have been fairly quiet so far this year - its busy busy as always and blogging has had to take a backseat sort of, to all the new things cropping up!

I do love blogging however, and I want to stay in love with it - hence I will be keeping up my posting of between 1 and 3 posts a week, depending on how busy I get. It's nice to know that even a few people read my blog or check out my pictures - I'm not bothered about having loads of followers etc, I am happy with what I have - so if you're reading this, thank you!

Anyway, I thought I would share my latest loves with you - dots. Dots and indies. So I have a series of posts for you over the next week or so to showcase some of my absolute favourite indie dots from the very talented UK indie scene. 

So here are the first two - I grouped these together because they are from the same brand - Indy's Indies. You can find II at the following places:


The first I have for you is Balloon House, inspired by the film UP! I love the film, and I love the polish - it is jam packed with a rainbow of small matte dots all in one size, in a clear base. It is unique in my collection and was actually an impulse buy - when I was waiting for it to arrive I was almost regretting buying it, but now I have it I am just totally in love with it. The smaller circles are fairly easy to get out of the bottle with them being small aswell which is great.





The second I have for you is Baubles. This was a Xmas polish, but Danielle made me one up on request (how lovely is she?!) again, this is a rainbow of colours but in a variety of sizes and all metallic. I wore this just for an afternoon out shopping in Durham and I got so many compliments, and I also spent a fair amount of time wiggling my nails about and staring at them shining in the light. Gorgeous! 






Indy's Indies may be shutting down for awhile, so if you want anything - make sure you get in there quick! 

What do you think of these two polishes? Do you have a favourite? Are there any other II polishes that you love?

Rachael xxx

Saturday, 28 December 2013

My favourite hand and nail care products

Hey all!

It was decided way back (or at least I thought it was) that the British Nail Bloggers would do a colab post on our favourite hand and nail care products. Turns out, its for favourite base and top coats, so look out for that in the near future. Here is my post on hand and nail care products now that I've actually written it haha!

I don't think I have an absolute favourite, I do tend to swap quite a lot! But one thing does stay the same and thats my love of OPI Nail Envy.


When I first started nail blogging, I'd given up REAL nail biting for around 2 years. I had never painted my nails before this time and I regularly broke my nails and ended up occasionally chewing them back in stress - simply because my nails were weak, soft and bendy and I didn't look after them at all. Therefore it was much easier to bite them back, pull at them and generally try and ignore the fact they were attached to the end of my fingers! After following a number of blogs I discovered OPI Nail Envy and since then I have never looked back - and neither have my nails! I always wear one coat as a base, or two if I know my polish will be a stainer. My nails are much stronger, healthier and over the course of the year I have been blogging I have managed to lengthen my nail beds as well. Win win!

I won't lie, my cuticle routine could be better. I was once told I should cut my cuticles - this was definitely a mistake and I now have ridiculously fast growing ones. I do push them back, but not as regularly as I should - but I do try and keep them well nourished.  I have a few favourite cuticle products for this:


OPI Avoplex Oil - I have a bottle of this that I picked up from TK Maxx for £4.99 - bargain! It usually retails around £9-10. It's not really handy for carrying about, so I use this when I remove my polish and after I've done a new mani.


My own cuticle balm - these are surprisingly easy to make - this recipe (left) I made for carrying around, its great now the weather is taking its toll on my hands and I can apply when I like!

Sunny's Miracle Balms - where I got ideas for my own balm. Mine is nowhere near as refined, but it'll do until her samplers are back in stock.

The Nail Junkie Cutie Balm - a totally different texture of cuticle care - this has boat loads of Avocado oil and is wonderfully rich and oily. I apply this before bed usually as it takes its time to sink in and can leave your fingers quite greasy, but you can't deny the good it does for your hands!

Hand creams galore! I love hand creams - I don't think I've ever finished a bottle - but here are the ones currently in my handbag (yes, my handbag is bigger than Mary Poppin's!)


Boots Royal Jelly Pure Honey Hand and Nail Cream - I got this in a Royal Jelly set for Xmas. I've always associated Royal Jelly with old people.. but this is really lovely. Soft, silky, nicely scented but not overpowering, soaks in quickly and leaves your hands soft but not sticky or oily. It's a good price as well if you want to buy it on its own - only £2.09


Burts Bees Hand Salve - picked this up just before Xmas - it came in a pack with a beeswax lip balm. It's supposed to be peppermint scented, but it reminds me of disinfectant - not sure why. Its not overly strong though, and it has a nice texture. Its oily, but not overly so - its easy to apply and soaks in super fast. The weather has been viciously cold and icy the past few days and I've been turning to this more and more while I've been out. You can buy it on its own here or in many bigger cosmetics retailers.


Body Shop hand creams - I picked up 3 different ones in their sale - Cranberry Joy, Ginger Sparkle and Vanilla Bliss. All three are really nice - 30ml fits perfectly in my handbag and also in my going out bags, and they have a really thick texture and uplifting scents. Even though the texture is thick, its lovely to apply and sinks in dead easily - leaving your hands feeling soft and fresh. I am never sure whether I like vanilla scented things - sometimes its nice, sometimes its sickly sweet.. but its not a very strong scent in this hand cream anyway. If you like Body Shop products, these were only £2 each online and definitely worth the price!


Another Body Shop product I love is their Absinthe purifying hand cream. This comes in a metallic tube and you can buy in the much bigger 100ml tubes. I got mine as a miniature set with a matching nail file and I love it. It's meant to protect your hands and it does just that - my hands see bowl after bowl of washing up without gloves and this cream keeps them soft and moisturised. I've used this cream on and off for a long time - I used it when I used to work in the food industry and it transformed my hands from sore and chapped to beautifully soft. When I ran out, I didn't buy another as at the time I didn't look after my hands - I really wish I had! Glad I take the time to do so now! This retails at £5 for 30ml and £10 for 100ml. You can buy it in store or online.


And the one I am hovering for - hoping it will go on sale - I LOVE this hand cream - the texture is just unreal and it smells gorgeous. It has oatmeal in it. I discovered my work colleague has a massive bottle of it, so I've been sneaking a bit here and there when shes not about haha! Aveeno Emolient Hand Cream. It's pretty pricey for £5.45, so I'm still hovering for an offer in the future - currently living off the samples I got free in a magazine!

Friday, 27 December 2013

What's on my nails? #2

Hey all!

Well Xmas is over for another year, but I'm still enjoying the sparkly nails. I have another two prototypes to show you from R&R Lacquers.

#3 - this is what I am currently sporting. It's a lovely understated glittery-ness. One coat over black.



#4 - a bit more rainbow and sparkly! Again, one coat over black.




Go give the brand some love:


They'll be launching properly sometime in January - keep an eye out as I have some more swatches etc to come! I will be swatching these over other colours as well.

What do you think? 

And if you haven't seen - check out the other two I have swatched here

Rachael xxx

Saturday, 21 December 2013

What's on my nails?

Just a quick post today - to show you whats been on my nails recently. Two unnamed prototypes for R&R Lacquers, a new UK indie brand opening in 2014!

#1



#2



What do you think?

Rachael xxx

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Nelly Polish - Swatches and Review of Jonah's Green and Freckled Primrose

Hey all! Happy 1st October!

First of all.. what do you think of my swanky new header? I am really not talented with these things, but my wonderful friend Becca whipped this up for me. Thanks Becca <3 LOVE YOU LOTS! :)

Today I have two more beautiful colours from Nelly Polish.

After having the opportunity to review 2 of her first collection, I jumped at buying a few more colours. I really enjoyed making them up and now have biceps of STEEL from shaking them about so much!

The first I tried was Jonah's Green. I ADORE this colour. 



This is everything that Essie Naughty Nautical promised to be but wasnt. A gorgeous deep teal green with a sprinkling of small gold hex glitters peeking out at you on occasion. I just love it.



 It was really easy to mix (I did need a small amount of help from Becca's OH to get one tiny corner of dry pigment mixed) and the finished formula was lovely - much thinner and easier to work with than a lot of indie polishes I have had recently. It has lovely coverage as it is so pigmented - I used two coats here with my usual Rimmel Stronger basecoat and SV top coat.


Freckled Primrose was much more difficult to photograph. Firstly, I lost daylight as I was painting my nails and secondly, it was just a pig to photo. I ended up waiting until the morning to rephoto them. Even so, for a yellow I REALLY loved it (I have well over 500 polishes and I now own a grand total of 3 yellows including Freckled Primrose) and autumn be damned, I will be wearing this again soon! 



As per all yellows, it needed extra coats for full coverage and to level out - 3 in total. I used OPI topcoat to mix this one (lucky polish!) and I was interested to see if there was any difference in the suspension and mixing. Although it looked completely mixed (I sat shaking for a good 5-10 minutes) the pigment in this didnt mix quite as easily as Jonah's Green and when I applied it to the nail I was concerned that I could still see specks of pigment that wouldnt dissolve properly. However, once each coat dried you couldnt see them at all, so I wasnt bothered really as it didnt affect my finish. This mix has a gorgeous holo lavender hex mixed into it, so once dry you can see specks of lavender sparkling out at you. Such an unusual but really very pretty mix - I love it!


Both polishes dried super fast - much faster than any other indies I own. They dry matted, so you will need to add topcoat, especially if you're a matte hater like me. It will also help you protect your beautiful new Nelly'd nails for longer.

So, what do you think? Do you like either of these? Have any of them? Want any? I am sure in the coming weeks I will see some more that I want.. I just love playing mini polish maker!

Rachael xxx

Sunday, 22 September 2013

Swatched: Taras Talons - The Best Things in Life are Polishes!

Hey all! Got another one of my TT beauties today to share - nabbed this awhile back as I love circle glitters, and I am pleasantly surprised which how much I love this!


The Best Things in Life are Polishes (TBTINAP) is a very pale mint-leaning off white crelly with a fine sprinkling of small gold circle glitters and large blue/teal holo circles. I impulse bought this for the circles, without thinking about whether the colour would suit me, but as it isnt stark white, I really like how it looks.

It is very thin in consistency, and this was 4 coats to build full opacity. Because of the small amount of glitters in the polish, I think it would be best as a topper to make sure every mani gets a fair share of glitters. I did have to fish for the circles but it wasnt a massive effort, I just wanted big circle glitters on every nail (have to be even!).


This had a beautifully soft look to it - I had loads of compliments while I wore it for work.

What do you think? Is it something you would consider buying? Are you a lover or a non lover of circle glitters and/or crelly polishes? 

Rachael xxx
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