Ciaté Mini Mani Month

I've finally got round to doing the Ciaté Mini Mani Month review! Yaaaaay! Sorry about the huge delay with this post, it was originally due to be published on Christmas Eve, but I’ve been so disgustingly ill over the last month or so that I’ve been struggling to get myself dressed let alone write such a lengthy post! I’m currently taking antibiotics for a throat infection so all should be well, and posts back to normal, this week!

So if you haven’t seen my original post about the Ciaté calendar you can view it HERE, but I’ll still give a brief description of the products mentioned in that post, in this one as well. I’ve tried to break the varnishes up into sections (top coats, pastels, nail effects etc.) to try and break the post down a bit because there is a lot to get through!

Starting with the third image down, we have the sparkly top coats that came in the Mini Mani calendar. From left to right they are: Meet Me in Mayfair which is a black and white confetti style top coat with splashes of silver and pastel colour mixed in, next is Tinsel Town which is a peachy pink glitter with a bit of green and blue thrown in, the final glitter top coat shown in the picture is Glitterball, this is possibly one of my favourite mini manis as it’s just pure pink glitter! The glitter size ranges from quite a large, sequin glitter to a super small shimmer and looks fab over a nude varnish! 

There was also another glitter top coat called Confetti which is a hologram, silver glitter. For some reason I decided not to photograph this one but you can see it in the original post HERE.

Underneath we have the pastel varnishes. From left to right they are Pillow Fight – a lilac/grey colour, Amazing Gracie – a super pastel pink, Pepperminty – yep you guessed it, it’s a peppermint colour! Followed by Raincoat – think Burberry Mac colour, Sugar Plum – a fairy princess purple and finally there’s Members Only which a nude pink with a little shimmer to it.

Next are the nail effects, to use these you paint a coat of varnish on your nail and sprinkle some of these effects on top, alternatively you can pour some onto a piece of paper and roll your wet nail into it gently. Left to right: we have Jingle Belle which is a sparkly pink fairy dust, Ring Master – multi-coloured sequins, Christmas Tree – is a multi-coloured nail caviar and finally Miss Mistletoe is a mix of sunset coloured sequins!

Below them we have the cool shades. First up is Boom Box – a really bright electric blue, in the middle is Fit for a Queen – a solid, silver shimmer varnish and on the right is Power Dressing – a deep royal blue shade.

Next there are the warm colours, of which there are many, yay! From left to right: Access all Areas – a matte varnish in a bright highlighter orange shade, Boudoir – think Mac ‘Russian Red’ lippy colour, Encore – a burnt orange, Big Yellow Taxi – guess what that’s the colour of? And finally we have Hopscotch – a similar colour to Access all Areas, but slightly darker and not matte.

Last but certainly not least are the essential top coats! I would always suggest using base and top coats whenever painting your nail, it makes varnish removal easier, helps you avoid nail staining and is also a lot better for your nails and the surrounding skin. Ciaté’s top and base coats are definitely worth investing in as they are a really good quality, help make your nail varnish last and the actual bottles themselves last you quite a while! 

In the mini mani calendar I got the Suspension Top Coat – good for mixing nail affects into to create a textured look. There was also the Speed Coat which will help any slow drying nail varnish to solidify in just 60 seconds – what’s not to love!?

I’m absolutely over the moon with all the fab little varnishes I got in the Ciate Mini Mani calendar and can’t believe how much of a bargain it was! I hope you enjoy this post even though it was more of a list than an actual review! I hope it’s given you some nailspiration regardless!

Which is your favourite varnish from the Mini Mani collection? Did you get any unusual advent calendars? Let me know in a comment below!

Golden Wonder

So I thought I’d do a super quick post on the amazing Lush Golden Wonder bath bomb I mentioned in my festive Lush Haul! This is obviously a Christmas special and is available at Lush for a limited amount of time, so if you do want to get one for yourself or a loved one follow this link HERE.

This beautiful bath bomb exceeded expectations, when you first drop it in the water it lets out a shimmering gold effect and then explodes into a blue fizz with little gold stars as it spreads through the water.

Lush say: “Shake it! You'll hear hidden contents as this present-shaped fizzer reveals glittering golden lustre and a sparkling turquoise explosion. Zesty lime oil and tangy sweet orange start a party of mood-brightening scents. This is one treat you don't have to wait until Christmas morning to unwrap.”

The smell really was a beautiful citrus mix and left me feeling really relaxed after using the bath bomb. The only downside some people might find is you will sparkle like Tinkerbell for the next week after bathing in this product, I showered every day and still found sparkly bits all over my body! I liked it to be honest, nothing wrong with a bit of glitter! However I can see why some would find it annoying!

So yeah, like I said, a very quick post! Hope you’re all enjoying the build up to Christmas and are enjoying any time off you have (if any at all). I’ve just finished work until after Christmas so you can follow my adventures on Twitter or Instagram by following ‘alicelouisealk’.

Have you ever used the Golden Wonder? What’s your favourite Lush product? Let me know in a comment below!

December Birch Box

It’s Birch Box time again!! It’s actually quite sad how excited I get over the arrival of my Birch Box each month, but it’s like a little gift from me, to me that I get to look forward to every four weeks or so! This month’s was an amazing edition and a big improvement on last month’s, which I know a lot of people were disappointed in due to a lack of interesting samples and products.

The December Birch Box however left no room for disappointment! It arrived in a beautiful clutch bag, perfect for Christmas parties, and was jam packed with mini essentials to see you through the festive season, including: Benefit’s They’re Real Push-Up Eyeliner and their Puff-Off eye formula, a Model Co lipstick, a Ciaté nail polish, the Embryolisse skin hydrator (which also doubles as a primer), a Skin & Co body gel and the bonus gift of a mini Catherine Malandrino perfume!

First up we have The Ultimate Party Kit from Benefit which consists of a mini They’re Real Push-Up eye liner and a mini Puff-Off eye soother. The eye liner is a product that I class as an essential part of my make up kit, it’s a really dark, solid black gel liner and the unique applicator style makes it super easy to swish a line on! You can get it HERE for £18.50.

The Benefit Puff Off isn’t a product I’d ever used before but after trying it I’ll definitely be re-purchasing! The day after a night out, after you cleanse away the left over make up you apply a small amount of this product to the underneath of your eyes to soothe away puffy-ness and reduce bags – to help you look like you haven’t had two hours sleep after necking a few too many tequilas, perfect for the day after your works Christmas do! Shop HERE for £22.50.

Next we have the Model Co Ultra Long-Lasting Lipstick in shade Stiletto. There’s nothing worse than perfecting your party pout only to spend the whole night checking for smudges! Luckily this hydrating, semi-matte, formula has you covered! It provides nourishment and long lasting colour so you don’t have to worry! I wore it for my staff party last week and can testify to it lasting a while, it still hadn’t come off after I’d slept in my make-up all night – go Model Co! You can get a set of three colours, including Stiletto, HERE for just £15.50 – top bargain.

As you all know, I am a HUGE fan of Ciaté London nail polishes and was so excited to find a beautiful sparkling edition in this month’s Birch Bag. They came in assorted colours, mine came in shade Star Struck, which is a beautiful blue and hologrammy silver, glitter top coat – very Frozen-esque. Ciate nail polishes are a little pricey, this one is £9 full price, but I do think you get what you pay for when it comes to nail products. If you get a Poundland polish it’s likely to peel off or chip before the end of the day, but if you splash out a little more on a decent brand polish then you’ll get a longer lasting nail colour and you’ll get more use out of the same sized bottle as you’ll require fewer coats to get a solid colour. Shop Ciaté HERE.

Next up we have the Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrate. This is a really interesting product as it’s a moisturiser which also doubles as a primer, which in books is a win-win situation! I’m always very sceptical of products that have more than one use though, I feel like a moisturiser is only good at being a moisturiser and a primer is only good as a primer and an aspect of each would be lost if you mixed them. However my scepticism was unjustified as this product is awesome! It’s rich without weighing the skin down, packs a hydrating punch thanks to shea butter and aloe vera and leaves your complexion feeling silky-soft! You can get your own full sized version HERE for £12.99.

The Skin & Co Sicilian Body Gel is probably the least exciting of all of this month’s Birch goodies. It’s a very nice shower gel type product, boasting ingredients all the way from Italy, including Sicilian orange and olive extracts. However it was just a citrus-scented body wash and I felt slightly over-priced at £15 for a full sized bottle. But if you do want to wash your skin with some Italian fruit smell then you can shop the Body Gel HERE.

The little Beauty Bonus in this month’s Birch Bag was a miniature perfume from Catherine Malandrino. The Style de Paris Eau de Parfum is the new fragrance from fashion designer Malandrino and is a sophisticated, but fruity scent. It’s a combination of mandarin, red grapefruit and pear and will leave you smelling good enough to eat! The perfume starts at £50 for a bottle, a standard price for most designer perfumes, and has definitely been added to my Christmas list! You can get your very own bottle HERE – you can also get it in a gift set, which will make a perfect prezzie for a loved one this Christmas!

Finally we have the beautiful Birch Bag itself. As far as I know this exclusive clutch bag is not available to buy on the site and is just part of the monthly box service so if you want it you’ll have to pay £10 for the December Birch Box – which in all honesty is a total bargain considering you get the bag, plus all the above goodies for just a tenner! It’s a lovely jade velvet, black leather look and gold glitter mix bag which went perfectly with my jade green dress for a Christmas party last week and is large enough to fit in all your night out essentials! You can find out more about ordering your December Birch Bag HERE.

Has anyone else signed up for a Birch Box, or a similar product, recently? What did you think of the December products? Let me know in a comment below!

Primark beauty basics

As you know I always try and centre my posts around ‘life on a budget’. After struggling through uni with zero money and then working three jobs to try and get rid of my loans and overdraft – whilst also paying my normal bills, I understand what it’s like to live life on a VERY strict budget.

That’s why I’m always really happy when I can find new ways to cut costs and help my readers save a little bit of money! Today’s money saving tactics are on beauty tools!

These days judging looks are thrown when you say "Uhm my hands?" when answering the question, "So how do you apply your foundation?" Make-up brushes are in every drug store, make up shop and even most clothing stores sell their own range these days, but although they aren't hard to get your hands on, they’re not exactly cheap.

Averaging at around £7 a brush from most high street stores beauty brushes aren't pocket money spends, but they do come with a range of benefits. Applying products like concealer and foundation with a brush, will help give you a smoother application and will stop you from caking as much on as you would with your hands.

A major downside to applying base products with your hands is the fact that most of the product ends up being rubbed into pores rather than sitting atop your skin like it’s meant to. Using proper brushes for eye make-up also offers a better, more professional looking application.

So what’s a skint gal to do eh? We don’t want to look like basic make-up bitches but we have an extremely basic bitch budget…..never fear! Auntie Alice has the perfect solution.

Primark now has its own full beauty tool range. Everything from eyelash curlers, to make-up brushes, to removal wipes and each piece costs around £1.50 at the most!

My three favourite pieces of the range were the cosmetic sharpener, the foundation blending brush and the egg make-up sponge.

I’d just bought a cosmetic sharpener for just under £5 from Superdrug when I saw the £1 version in Primark. Needless to say I was a bit annoyed, I mean they all do the same job, why does a Superdrug basics sharpener cost so much? Who does it think it is exactly!? I bought two of the Primark version (just in case) and returned the Superdrug one immediately!

The foundation blending brush is another really cool tool, this is great for smoothing over lines or creases after you've applied your foundation with a brush. Its pointed shape is great as it fits under your eyes to smooth make-up under any bag blemishes and curves well round the other lumps and bumps of the face. It’s also great for blending contouring – everyone loves a multi-tool! For just £1.50 how could I say no?

The egg is a product I adore and have been using the Lottie London version until I discovered the Primark alternative. I use the egg to put my foundation on – after putting liquid foundation on my hand or face I dip the sponge into it and dab all across my face until I have an even coverage on. This allows the liquid foundation to sit on top of your skin instead of sinking into pores and causing spots. For just £1.50 I’d say this product is a 100% essential piece for every make-up bag!

As well as the brushes I got some cotton pads for £1, a tub of cotton buds for £1 and four packs of exfoliating make-up wipes which were £1.50 for two if I remember rightly.

You can get your full basic make-up application brush set for under £15 at Primark and every other beauty tool you could wish for so I suggest getting yourself to your nearest store and stocking up instead of wasting money on bigger brands – they all do the same job at the end of the day and are all of a similar quality!

Have you ever tried any of Primark’s beauty accessories? What did you think of my picks? Let me know in a comment below!