Sunday 5 October 2014

Essence Effect Eye Pencils Long-Lasting (Shades 1-6)


You may know by now I absolutely love bright coloured products that can just give you that extra oomph when it comes to make-up. Although for some it may not be wearable makeup I do find that for Clubbing, Halloween, and Festivals bright eyeliners look awesome!!
I'm sorry this looks so bad!!! On the links there are better photos! Sorry!!

And here I have all 6 Shades from Essence to review and swatch for you! These retail for £2 each so very cheap. As you can see the packaging is very reflective and so was a pain to photograph! But I do like how reflective and neon the packaging is as it makes it even more appropriate for festivals and party goers!!

Please excuse how terrible the pencils look. It's just that I got too excited and started using them before I realised that I hadn't taken a picture of it yet! :(


Aptly named the Silver Surfer this shade is a very bold silver colour and can really draw the attention to your eyes and brings out the colour of your eyes. Now for all of you wanting to try something new I would definitely suggest trying this shade; and although it may not seem wearable, it truly is! My sister rocks silver eyeliner all the time and she really pulls it off. So I’m going to be passing this one on to her.



Now this Gold was so disappointing for me! I wanted to be one of those Golden Goddesses and unfortunately I think colour pay-off wasn’t exactly the best. Now I don’t know if this is just the way it looks on me but I find that it doesn’t suit me as much as I’d want it to. It blends in better into my skin and doesn’t stand out. This is probably due to the fact that my skin tone is a warm olive.

I would recommend this shade to darker skin tones and if you have cooler undertones to your skin as I feel it will stand out more.



This blue is my second favourite shade out of the whole collection as it is such a brilliant electric blue, it really does follow suit to its name. Honestly it is fantastic. It applies evenly throughout the entire eye and it brings out brown eyes beautifully.
I don’t know how this will look on blue eyes but I imagine it depends on the shade of blue your eyes are.. I really think this will go perfectly for all skin types and am honestly in love with it.
 


Is definitely a strong bold green that definitely catches your eyes! I absolutely love this shade too. The application was really simple and the colour pay-off was just instant. I think this would look great on all skin tones! From the picture you can see that I should have gone over it a little more so that the middle of my eyelid had full colour but…..I was too excited, sorry!
 


Now for my Favourite shade. This was a very misleading shade as I had initially thought from the packaging just like the others that this was going to be a bright pink however I was pleasantly surprised as  it was a much more flattering shade. A PURPLE!! This is fantastic news for me as I was worried I was going to look like I had an irritated eye.
This appears a lot darker in person than it does on camera but I like both regardless. I think it is one of the most wearable shades in the collection and would loo amazing with a dark smoky eye or on its own too!
(!!This shade contains CARMINE!!)
 
 

This shade is definitely the most wearable shade in the whole collection as it is a black. However it isn’t a true black. More like a very very very dark grey which is always good to have. I feel that this would be best used for that smudged eye makeup look. As you can see it applies fantastically well, and will suit absolutely everyone.

Overall thoughts are that my absolute favourites are definitely METAL-PHANTOM and STEEL-SMURF. As they are probably the most fun and best pigmented out of the lot. Of course the textures of these eyeliner are very creamy and of course therefore have the tendency to move around. Also it can imprint an incredibly light amount of product onto the top of your eyelids but of course that depends on your eyeshade as those with mono-lids don’t have to worry about this.

Regardless I do recommend this for everyone as these will be an awesome addition to any makeup! Plus if you are going to try branching into coloured eyeliner these are inexpensive so you won’t be wasting your money.
So let me know what you think? Which will you try and what's your favourite?

L.F.A. Xx
 
*These were given to me during an event however I always give my full and honest opinion*
 

Thursday 25 September 2014

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Moisturising Shampoo & Conditioner


As a brunette and curly haired women (both those combos are deadly) I find that my hair is usually very dry and a little bit dull, unless of course I add oils, serum or my hair is dirty. You may remember a while back I posted a huge John Frieda Haul and from that I got this the: Brilliant Brunette Moisturising Shampoo & Conditioner.

So as you can see it comes in an appropriately brown bottle and it at the back is says:
"With crushed pearls and sweet almond oil, moisturising formula rehydrates*, protects and preserves brunette colour as it dehydrated and replenishes dry, colour treated hair for a satin feel*.
NON-COLOURING DEPOSITING."
 *The words that are underlined were added from conditioner bottle.*
 
I obviously used a lot more product than this on my hair!
 
Now I don't have dyed hair and as its not colour depositing I knew the colour of my hair wasn't going to be changed however since its moisturising  and for colour treated hair I figured that it was going to be nice and delicate for my hair.
Both of these smell of almonds; usually I dislike nutty scents, however this was not overpowering at all and actually smelled really nice. What I will say is that the consistency of the Shampoo is very runny and the conditioner isn't very thick either which is disappointing but I understand that its not a mask.

Overall my hair was left soft and moisturised but nothing significant/life changing. This is a lovey Shampoo and Conditioner and if it is on offer again I may repurchase it but for now I am still trying other hair care products. So have you tried these? What were your thoughts?

 You can get these from:
Superdrug -
SHAMPOO 250ml - £5.50
CONDITIONER 250ml - £5.50

 Boots -
SHAMPOO 250ml - £5.59
CONDITIONER 250ml - £5.59

L.F.A. Xx

Wednesday 3 September 2014

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint - Blueberry 5

 
Sometimes you just want to try something before committing yourself to buy it which is why Summer from Beauty on a Budget and I did a little nail polish swap! (Guys she could probably open a salon/shop will all the different nail polishes she's got!....which is heaven for me)
Anyway therefore I am trying a couple of polishes and this is one of them!

 
This BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine Polish in the shade 05 - Blueberry is just one of the loveliest cloudy bluey shade. I don't know why but it reminds me of a cloudy blue sky and a calm-like afternoon (hence my description of the shade.)

This is a very universal shade in my opinion and it does dry reasonably quickly and the best of all is it  will only require 2 coats for full colour payoff, which is brilliant if you have an event to go to, and you happen to be doing your nails last minute!
 
Rings From H&M - £1.99

The thing I like the most from this shade is that I think it's the perfect understated hint of colour. If you want to add colour to your nails that won't be in your face or look sickly pale or be too dark. Its honestly the perfect shade! I find that this also is very complimentary to many outfits, so you wont feel as if your clashing!

I absolutely plan on buying this next time I go Nail Polish hunting!

You can get this from:
Superdrug: Blueberry - £3.99

L.F.A. Xx
*Borrowed from Summer's Beauty on a Budget! Xx*

Sunday 31 August 2014

Essence Colour Flash Volume Mascara (All Shades 1 - 5)



Every summer we see bright coloured make up ranges coming out and in particular coloured mascara! But at prices like £14 from Ciaté for coloured mascara which is a risqué product... I think cheaper alternatives are a must! I love a pop of colour and the concept of coloured mascaras amazes me and luckily these were given to me at the Essence Event so here is a complete range of coloured mascaras from Essence which you can get in Wilkinson  for £3 each.


There are 5 Shades available and they are, Petrol (02), Bright Blue (04), Emerald Green (01), Purple (05) and Pink (03). I've written them in the order of the photo so that there is no confusion! I know you are probably thinking that these are not wearable, however I believe you can wear it on just your bottom lashes to bring attention to the eyes or if your brave just full on colour! The darkest blue is probably your best bet!

So here i'll show you swatches of each shade but in numerical order! These are my natural lashes and I have NOT used an eyelash curler as a fair test to all my mascara reviews.
 (Please Excuse my Eyebrows!!)



 This Emerald Green shade is not what I saw the mascara. I was expecting a sort of a green turquoise just from looking at the bottle, however I am pleasantly surprised! I actually think despite how shocking this may look I actually think this may be very wearable. Maybe I'm insane but I really do love this and I think this may even be a dupe of the Ciaté - Nymph Mascara which retails for £14. No word of a lie I desperately wanted it because I hadn't seen that shade of coloured mascara done before! You can't imagine how glad I am that I didn't have to fork out £14!

 
 
This Dark Blue/ Navy shade called Petrol is the most wearable shade in the whole collection. And the shade that you can wear all year round, especially as we are going into the A/W Season this mascara would fit right in! I personally love this shade as it looks almost (well)  and I think it makes brown eyes look amazing! My sister who mind you is older than me bought one of her own after seeing it and incorporated it into her makeup bag. So I've seen first hand that it lasts all day and does not flake so for £3 it is a huge bargain!!

 
 
This is probably the least wearable shade in the whole range as I find that I like/hate it. I think this would only be great as costume/festival makeup for someone with maybe green or blue eyes or maybe even a darker skin tone. But personally I find that I look like I have an eye infection or as if my eyes have been irritated. I think this is just going to be used as costume makeup for me or on my hair.
(!!This shade contains CARMINE!!)



 This lovely appropriately named Bright Blue Shade is a shocking electric looking colour. Personally I fond it most wearable on the bottom lashes and I really like it because as a glasses user I find that it helps my eyes stand out behind my glasses. Again I find that this shade helps brunette eyes stand out on a beautiful way and I will probably be using this frequently when I feel like I want a strong flash of colour!



 Now this is another extremely un-wearable shade if not worse than the Pink, but yet I absolutely love it. I know I'm insane but I just love how frosty it looks! I feel like this would be amazing for Halloween or a festival! Or even an extreme winter look, or a harujuku style.... okay I'm not sure how you could wear this and not look a bit strange. But the most wearable way would be on the ends of your eyelashes as if snowflakes had fallen on them! Another reason why I like this is because I actually haven't seen this colour mascara before. EVER. So I can't wait to experiment and see if I can try and make this as wearable as possible!

 (!!This shade contains CARMINE!!)
 
 
Overall I am a big fan of this range due to the two extra colours that aren't usually available by budget brands and I find that compared to the MUA Coloured Mascaras (which I've reviewed before) paying £2 more does make a difference as I found that my eyelashes were more spread out (not as clumpy). What I will say is it dries quickly so you do have to be a bit quick when applying them. Again like any other mascara as I have Dark Brown/Black Eyelashes I did need to add a couple of coats for maximum colour, but it does not flake at all which I LOVE. 
 
So are there any here you would use? What other brands would you recommend?
 
 
L.F.A. Xx
 
*These were given to me during an event however I always give my full and honest opinion*

Friday 29 August 2014

#BBloggersLDN Meet


On Saturday (I know, I know! I'm sorry for posting so late!) I and Summer's Beauty on a Budget attended the #BBloggersLDN Meet in Hyde Park. It was at 10.30am so it was definitely an early start, which is painful for a weekend but it was definitely worth it!


So when we arrived, there were a number of bloggers there already and we got to speak with them all, introduce ourselves and generally network! I was so glad to see a familiar face too, as Olivia (Beauty from the Fjord) whom I met previously at another event. And loved meeting new people like Naomi (Throw Me Something Beautiful).


We were given our goodie bags in a very cute shopper tote bag and then we all made our way to Westfield White City for a spot of lunch and shopping! We decided on Gourmet Burger Kitchen and I got the delicious Chicken Grilled Burger and Lemonade (you best believe I enjoyed it (^.-)
Whilst in Westfield I treated myself to a little bit of Lush!


As you can see we were so incredibly lucky as the goodie bag is just amazing! As you can see we got products from Cocoa Brown, Face the Future, Scent City, Time Bomb Timeless Truth, Yves Roche (super excited), Rio Nails (can't wait to start using!!) and IS Clinical. And the lovely Vicky (Being Tilly's Mummy) was sweet enough to donate some products from Superdrug! Thank you!!

And a really big thank you to Becky (Candy Floss Cloud) for organising the event, which was just so much fun and so relaxed and I wish her the best of luck for the next event she is planning!

 You can get yourself tickets here for the BBloggers Winter Event! Details are on the website!
So have you guys tried any other products from the named brands?

L.F.A. Xx










Tuesday 26 August 2014

KIKO Ultra Long Nail Post Stress Treatment Base Coat


This is lovely gem is from KIKO's  Nail Care Section and at the time I had very short sad looking nails, so I thought it'd be perfect to try it out as I had never tried any of their Nail Care Products before, and was quite frankly fed up with having short nails.

You can see that the colour is a nice clear natural pink which is nice as on it's own it gives my nail a very healthy looking glow and natural shine. You could get away with wearing this to work on its own and your nails looking nice!
This also dries remarkably quickly and since it has a fat brush it is easy to apply and quickly covers the whole nail in one go. (I'm usually not a fan of fat brushes but I didn't find it that annoying! Maybe I'm getting used to them?)

According to the description given by KIKO on their website, this nail treatment comes with:
"Vitamin E - An Antioxidant and Moisturizer,
Vitamin A - Helps form Keratin (Protein that makes up the structure of the nail)
Vitamin C - Fights free radicals and helps maintain youthful looking nails. "
 
Which are all fantastic things to hear about a nail polish, and to even convince you further to try these is that this polish is a 5-Free Nail Polish which, means it does not include ingredients like:
Camphor,
DBP (Dibutyl Phthalate)
Formaldehyde Resin,"
Which are all considered to be not particularly good for you in their own respective ways. Especially if your using a treatment nail polish which is meant to benefit you not the opposite. For some I have added links so that you may quickly read more about it or you can Google it too!
This information of course made me even more eager to try this to see if it worked because it seemed like it would be perfect!
 

Now as a Base Coat itself I didn't find that it prolonged the duration of my nail polish. In fact I found that my nail polishes lasted about the same as if I hadn't used one, but it does serve its purpose of protecting the nail from getting stained too.

As a Nail Treatment I believe IT DOES WORK 100% as my nails are significantly longer than when they first started, and the look better, haven't become brittle or prone to shedding and are honestly much stronger. But I would say is this treatment isn't one that is absorbed like the Mavala Nail Strengthen (which I've used in the past) where you would see it is be absorbed by the nail. This sits on top of the nail as a base coat would but it does work! And of course it does take some time, because obviously your nail does need time to grow too!

Personally I loved this and will be 100% repurchasing this and adding it to my staple favourites.
 What about you? Have you tried it? Or will you?

You can get this In-store or Online for:
£3.50 (SALE) - £4.90 (RRP)

 
L.F.A. Xx

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Recent Buys (Primark, H&M, &OtherStories)


There are a couple of things that I think you all should really get! Plus they are cheap and will help you with your summer wardrobe!
So firstly I got another & Other Stories - Body Scrub - Méditerranéen for £7 which smells amazing and I needed it so...hehehe.
From Primark I got a White Tank Dress for £3.50, A Crop Halter Cami for £2.50, a Turqoise Sheer Vest for £4 (I have been using this non stop!) and Polka Dot Red Flipflops for £1.
 
And from my faveourite store H&M I got 3 (although I there's only two here as I got it afterwards) Crop Cami Tops for just £1.99 each! I got one in Grey, Black and White. Although I recommend you get 2 sizes down (I got a Small and am usually a Large). 
Lastly some Jewellery of course! I actually got this set of stackable Aztec/Tribal looking rings for £3.99 and another for £1.99 (which like the Cami Top I got afterwards but just keep your eyes out for nail posts as I know I'll be wearing it a lot!

What have you gotten recently?


L.F.A. Xx

Friday 15 August 2014

Sanctuary Spa Relax Cocooning Body Butter

"Blended with essential oils to help relax &calm the mind, providing a gentle unwind to a stressful day."

You may remember for Christmas I got one of the Sanctuary Spa Body Butter Gift Set with 3 of their body butters (Cocooning, Mandel Lular and their Original Body Butter). Today I will be reviewing their Cocooning Body Butter 100ml!
I had never tried any of Sanctuary Spa Products before so I was looking forward to it, especially as I heard that they were very good.

This particular one is meant to help calm and unwind after a long stressful as it contains:
"Vetivert - Helps to calm the mind,
Cederwood - Helps promote clarity, 
Labdanunm - Helps to provide relaxation "
 
It also contains Shea, illipe (a butter pressed from tree nuts) and sacred lotus so its meant to be incredibly moisturising and perfect for dry skin. As you can tell from the ingredients (illipe and sacred lotus) are considered mainly Asian (Malaysian and Chinese) so it is expected that the overall fragrance is very Oriental and deep. This is further reinforced as you see a Koi Fish shadow on the packaging which I thought was a cute touch.



However contrary to what its meant to do I did not find this relaxing at all, which was very disappointing to me as it states its meant to relax. The scent wasn't overly strong which I like, but it want exactly phenomenal either. It was intriguing though as its a very deep unusual scent, that honestly I can't place! (sorry I suck at describing scents!)
Now the consistency is lovely! Its nice and thick but not so stiff that its hard to use. So it's perfectly easy to massage it into the skin! It is actually very moisturising and leaves the skin feeling nice and soft.

Overall this is a lovely body cream but I don't think I'd be repurchasing this for myself as the scent just didn't quite match with me. I do recommend you try it as it is cheaper then other brands (i.e. Body Shops 200ml for £13). Lastly if you don't like strong scents this might just be perfect for you as it is very understated and muted scent.

You can get this from:
Sanctuary Spa: £9.50 for 200ml
 
L.F.A. Xx

Monday 11 August 2014

Lush Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb


Its been a while since I treated myself to a good long relaxing bath, and so I thought I should try the Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb.
As you can see this lovely bath bomb has been shaped into a lovely heart shape with Rose Buds Embedded into it (7 of them) which float on the bath once the bath bomb dissolves. According to Lush's website  some of the main ingredients are:
"Citric Acid (Lemon),
Rose Oil (Lifts your spirits),
Geranium Oil (Toning and Balancing effect),
Jasmine Absolute (Oil that's a beauty tonic and perfume)"

These all contribute to the overall floral and relaxing scent. Especially if you break apart the rose buds that come embedded, the scent really is much more powerful. It also dissolves into the bath leaving a clear-whitish colour and lovely rosebuds floating on top. My skin was left feeling smooth and lovely also!
My only complain would be the size. For the same price I could a much larger bath bomb, however those baths don't have such luxurious ingredients like Real Rose buds, so in a way you do get what you pay for.

I would really recommend this if your feeling down or need a lovely luxurious bath! So have you tried it and what were your thoughts??

You can get this at Lush for £3.25

L.F.A. Xx

Friday 8 August 2014

Allura Foundation Brush (Poundland)


As someone who only recently started using brushes in my makeup routine (I know....don't kill me for it!) I know that there are soooo many different types of foundation brushes from, Stippling to Flat, and different price ranges going from £1 to £50+! So I just wanted something simple and cheap to try so that I would find out if I should just stick to using my fingers instead. Therefore while shopping in Poundland I got myself the lovely Allura Foundation Brush! (£1)

 
As you can see this fits the bill for the usual flat foundation brush and this comes with synthetic brushes that are white with a pink end. (Very cute as it goes with the case colour scheme it comes in!) But obviously as it is stark white, due to the foundation it has actually stained which is a same, however I was expecting it to.
It's also quite soft (or at least a lot softer than what I was expecting) and I do like the sleek black handle has it makes it look very chiq. It doesn't go with my EcoTools Brushes however it does go with some brushes from Essence that I will review once I use them!


Please excuse my terrible streaky nails!!!

As I had never used brushes before I did have to practice a while till I fully got the hang of it! At first I'd find that my makeup was streaky, however once I did I found that it did the job marvellously! My makeup looks amazing, not streaky at all and I find that it helps me get an even coverage (compared to when I used my hands...)
Of course I have never tried any other foundation brushes so I have nothing to compare it to, but I actually love it and have not stopped using it! Also although it's a flat brush it does fan out a little but not so much as to damage the brush!

So if your looking for a foundation brush on the cheap! Definitely try this!

L.F.A. Xx

Thursday 31 July 2014

World Cup Nails - Team Germany (The Winners)


First of all I must say congratulations to Team Germany on their success in winning the World Cup especially as they're the first European country to win a World Cup in Las Americas!!
As I have watched almost every game it was much deserved, even though I was rooting for any South American country....(apart from Brazil since they took out Colombia!) So of course I was ecstatic they beat they were beat by 7.1 !!!

Anyway enough of the footie and on to the beauty. I decided even though it is over to at least award them with their own set of nail art!
 
So for these nail polishes I used for this design: Masglo - Amarillo, White - Boots, Essence - Back to Black, SEVENTEEN - Knockout Red and of course my nail art brushes!

So once you have your polishes ready, follow these instructions:
 
Here are a little tips and tricks to help you perfect this design:
Have PATIENCE and make sure your in the right mood (aka CALM mood) so you can try these!
Make sure the base colours are completely dry before drawing any art on top.

RING FINGER
  • Masking Tape I would suggest adding a corner of a piece of masking tape, draw the lines then remove masking tape and fill in white.
OR
  •  Paint the entire nail white, draw an upside down triangle in a light colour. Then draw the stripes up to the triangle.

INDEX FINGER - (click --> here <-- for details to help you achieve this.

THUMB
  1. Paint Base Coat. (Please wait till 100% dry!!) 
  2. Draw a cross with raised up arms down the middle of your nail.
  3. Then from a little above where the lines cross draw an upside down triangle  and a filled in semi-circle so it can look like a bird. 
  4. From the bottom of the triangle draw two lines (arrow pointing upwards shape)
  5. Draw two semi-circles, but add a small downward flick at the end of the bottom one.
  6. Then draw 4 lines coming down from the arms to create the wings (make them smaller as they go in)
  7. Fill in the wings and try and make the top part thicker.
  8. With a Red add the claws to the arrow pointing upwards shape and the beak. Make sure the top beak has a downward flick.
  9. Add the finishing touches with a white to make the eye, and with the black flatten the head with a flick at the end and add 3 muscle like shapes to the top of the wings!

So let me know what you think guys! Would you like to see other countries even though it's no longer the World Cup?
If you try these or have you own tag me on Twitter or Instagram @lovefromangelic so I can see!!

L.F.A. Xx

Tuesday 1 July 2014

World Cup Nails - Argentina

 

If your are keeping up with the World Cup we now know all the groups that have qualified for the next round and Argentina is one of them, going to the quarter finals!!!
So if you want to support this Team why not give yourself this Team Argentina mani!
 

Now I will admit all of the nails are relatively simple but the Thumb. So if you want to have a crack at all of them kudos to you if not you can always repeat and change it up a little!
The polishes I used were, Masglo - Amarillo, Essence - Once Upon a Time... and Black is Back, Nails Inc. - Queen Victoria Street, BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine - Blueberry, and Boots - White.
Initially I wasn't entirely convinced that Blueberry was the exact shade if blue for the Argentinian flag however after much deliberation I think this is as close as I could possibly get so don't kill me if it's bit off!!!

So to recreate these nails follow these instruction:


Of course here are some tips and tricks for you to be able to achieve this easier!
  • These took me a good 20-30mins to create because of the thumb, so I suggest you be PATIENT and are in a  calm or creative mood!
  • For clearer tips on how to create the index read the 4th Bullet point --> here<--
  • Make sure you base colours are completely dry before attempting any  

THUMB 
  1. First of all try and draw a circle onto the nail as a guide for the entire shape. 
  2. Then draw 4 long triangles pointing outwards. (Horizontal and Vertical)
  3. Draw another 4 Triangles pointing outwards. (In between each horizontal and vertices triangle)
  4. On either side of each point draw a squiggle (almost like a stretched out/elongated "S") Try and make it that all are facing the same way but if you can't that's fine. 
  5. Now with a darker colour preferably a brown/bronze draw a thin outline for each sun ray. (I only had a metallic bronze and to be honest I think it makes it looks much better since the sun is meant to be bright and shinning) TIP - it may be easier to start the line from the point down back to the centre.
  6. Now with the same colour outline the circle to define the centre/face of the sun.
  7. OPTIONAL - Finally only if you really feel up to the task and confident you can attempt to draw in some eyes, nose and mouth. (Because in the Argentinian flag the sun has a face)
  • TIP - try and make your brush as flat as possible by taking off any excess and leaving the lowest amount of product possible, and when re-dipping try to only get nail polish onto the tip of the brush.

So guys let me know what other countries you want to see and if you try these please tag me @lovefromangelic on Twitter or Instagram as would love to see how your supporting your country and of course Team Argentina!




L.F.A. Xx

Tuesday 24 June 2014

World Cup Nails - Team Colombia


As a Colombian (that's in South America in case any of you don't know where it it. No I'm not demeaning your intellect but I've been asked way to many tomes where it is.) I'm incredibly proud by how far we've gotten especially as Radamel Falcao our key star player was left out of the World Cup! Bit thankfully we pulled through and have presented some amazing goals!


Anyway as an homage to my glorious birth country I have designed these nails in case any of you are Team Colombia!! These are relatively easy so any of you guys could try these too!
The nail polishes I used were the Masglo - Amarillo (from Colombia!), 17 (SEVENTEEN) - Midnight Sapphire and Knockout Red, Essence Black is Back and Boots White, and y nail brush from eBay.


So again like last time here are some tips and tricks so that your can achieve the same look!
  • This nail design took me about 10-15 minutes so not particularly long but you will need to have PATIENCE and be CALM.
  • Make sure each coat is completely dry so that no bleeding or changing colour occurs.
  • MIDDLE FINGER- I shortened Colombia to COL as my nail isn't long enough!
  • INÐEX FINGER - (Bullet Point 4 for extra detail.) 
  • THUMB - If you look up "Colombia Coat of Arms" for a clearer view of what your drawing but your basically drawing to wings with the Colombian flag with the yellow outwards. And then finish off with a thin black line on the inside and on the put of the yellow.

I hope you guys try this nail design! Remember send me or tag me on Instagram or Twitter @lovefromangelic with your Team Colombia Nail Designs or any other team as I love nail art!

L.F.A. Xx

Friday 20 June 2014

World Cup Nails - Team England

To say I'm devastated that England didn't make it through is an understatement, but there is still one game left and hopefully England will go out with a Bang! And you can try and sport these nails for the match.

These are relatively easy apart from the Index Finger and the Thumb. The thumb in particular sports on the iconic Lions on the England shirt but is incredibly difficult to do and requires a lot of patience and adjustment depending on the size of your nail.
Again like the last nail design I drew the instructional plans afterwards as its trial and error when I do it as I'm not always sure whether I'll be happy with the end result.

The colours I used for these designs were the: MaxFactor Glossfinity - Colbat Blue, 17 (SEVENTEEN) - Midnight Sapphire and Knockout Red, Essence- Black is Back, and Boots - White. And the nail brush is from my eBay haul but the paint rubbed off. However I will explain all that in a different post.

So now to create these nails follow these instructions:
As you can see the lion has changed many shapes numerous times hehehe sorry I can't always make it identical!

 Here are a couple of tips to help you, and I will do numerical instructions for the thumb so that you may fully get the help you need!
  • Make sure you are CALM and have PATIENCE as this should take you about 25-30 minutes to do this (of course it can be quicker or slower depending on you)
  • INDEX FINGER (See 3rd Bullet Point -->here<--)
Now for the Thumb:
  1. Paint your white base coat and make sure it completely dries.
  2. With either your Nail Art Brush or (my 17 - Midnight Sapphire nail polish already comes with an nail art thin brush) draw the lions arm, main body and tail. Its easier if you keep it all in one line and make sure you make the underbelly closer to the arm than the tail. And Fill in.
  3. Draw in both of the legs and fill in.
  4. Add in a couple of lines for fur on the arm, claws on the leg, and a couple of spikes on the heel of the backlog and on the tail.
  5. Pick up excess nail polish let it drip to the bottom of the brush to form a small circle and place it above of the arm. 
  6. While wet drag the brush from the centre to the outside to form the lions mane. And on the arm draw tiny semi circles for emphasis on the main.
  7. Now with a nail art brush or white add eyes, nose and mouth. And with a red draw a small diagonal above the main body.
  8. Add a dot to the centre of the diamond. Wait until everything is dry and top of with a top coat!

I really recommend you look up and refer back to picture so you can see why you need all those little touches, and so you get a better picture, of how it should look.

So let me know if you guys try it! Tag me or send me photos of your own Team England Nails to @lovefromangelic on both twitter and Instagram! And send me some suggestions for other team nails!
 

L.F.A. Xx

Wednesday 18 June 2014

World Cup Nails - Team Brazil

Please Excuse the messy nails and bad quality photo!
 The World Cup isn't just for the Lads! Us girls can also love it (probably the only time I fully commit to watching football) and of course we can support all the while having a good manicure!
So if your Team Brazil why not try these beautiful nails! Now these do require some patience and a level of "nail art talent?" But there is a design for every level of artistry! So mix and match or try one of these out!
 
 
As you can see I chose an array of nail polishes and brushes to complete this design. They are: Nails Inc. - Queen Victoria Street, Essence - Black is Back, 17 (SEVENTEEN) - Midnight Sapphire and Mini Skirt, and last but not least a Latin American Brand (Aunt brought me them from Colombia) Masglo - Amarillo (Yellow). And the brushes I got from eBay!

Now as you can see I have drawn a step by step guide to how you can do these yourselves. So girls why not follow these instruction:

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of me doing them at the same time because quite frankly I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out and waste planning on doing a post but since they came out nicely I changed my mind so you guys could do it too! here are some tips so you can achieve this:

  • This will take time so have PATIENCE, be CALM and you will see that your hand becomes steadier.
  • Okay when you are going to do the circle for the Brazilian flag you can use a nail dotter if you have one (it would be easier but I don't have one) or don't clean your brush around the edges and you will see that the excess nail polish will begin to drip down to the end of a brush forming a ball like shape so all you need to do is place it on the centre of the 'Yellow Diamond'
  • You can leave the 'Brasil' on its own but I decided to just add a couple of leaves as rainforest inspiration.
  • Lastly for the football do a 'Pentagon Shape' and for each corner draw another pentagon with a little space between.

Guys if you try any of these please send me a photo! Tag me on Instagram or on Twitter with @lovefromangelic as I really want to see you guys try these!!
If you have any questions ask away and I will bet back to you asap!

 L.F.A. Xx

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Essence Blogger Event



Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Blogger Event for Essence's UK Launch. Initially I hadn't heard of this brand till last October when Summer asked me to look for them whilst on holiday in Europe as they're Europe's #1 Brand....unfortunately I didn't, but I had the opportunity to see their range in this event!

The event was held in the most amazingly beautiful venue in Ladbroke Grove and we were welcomed in and presented with a lovely set up of tables with products ranging from Face, Eyes, Nails and More, which we could tryout and investigate. We were also given lovely drinks and food/lunch was also available! plus a lovely lounge where they even had phone chargers for us to use!!

When everyone arrived we were then given a presentation where they explained that all of their money goes into product development and that the reason why they are so cheap is because they don't focus or overcharge for packaging which is lovely! 
Also we were told that they follow the strict GMP (Goods Manufacturing Practice), that they have a Negative List of Products that they don't use either because they're harmful or unnecessary, and most important aspect is that they do NO ANIMAL TESTING!
 

There was also an area where we could go and take photographs with perfect lighting and of course there was an example of the stands they would be having at wilkinson stores and were told to help ourselves.

I, of course am an Nail Art, Nail Care..basically all Nails fanatic do when I met Laure the product developer for all/most of their nail products and when she told me about one of the products she developed the At Home Gell Nail Kit, she proceeded to show us how it worked! I will do a post on this separately as it is quite frankly amazing! There was a nail artist there but I got so caught up in the fun of doing my own that....I didn't get a chance to get them done T.T

Of course afterwards I looked over to other sections and also spoke to the eye product developer called Patricia (I believe) absolutely lovely and explained and showed us some of her "babies" and told us which products were the most popular in Germany and Europe, and explained a very interesting looking mascara, so expect a future post!
 

I also got my makeup done by the fabulous Nadira V Persaud, who told me off as I always touch my face (unnecessarily) which of course is not helping with my acne! And she did an amazing job as she covered all of my acne scars!!! and used coloured mascara  on my bottom lashes for an extra summer pop! Very wearable. I have no eyeshadow or brow product on. So very summer!
 

We were then wished away to Westfield White City (the one in west london) to see their cute little store! It's in the centre of the shopping centre so easily accessible for all you makeup fans! And it is currently open for you all to go and have a snoop around, although it will be more accessible to get as in July it will be available in Wilkinson!
 

And of course we got a fantastic packed goody bag that was filled with so many of their lovely products that I can't wait to play around with some of them!
One thing I absolutely love about this whole event was how nice, welcoming and proud they were of their products! They explained everything in detail and were super friendly and usually at the events I've been to it has been very serious almost awkward whereas this atmosphere was just so relaxing.

Honestly it's one of the best events that I've ever been to! And if you have the chance to get to or go to the Manchester Blogger Event on the 22nd June!

P.S. Please excuse my low quality photos!! I forgot my camera! T.T

L.F.A. Xx