GIVEAWAY - 10 NYC Nail Polishes!

NYC sent along a bunch of polishes from their most recent collections and they're all yours. Or could be...if you enter to win them!

Check out all of those lovely colours! Included in this giveaway are...

Three new Spring shades in 'Raindrop', 'Spring Tulip' and 'Blue Sky'.

Gold foil polish and a smoky topcoat.

The whole 'Foil Explosion' collection - super '90s!
To enter, do any of the following: 1. Comment with your email address or twitter name. 2. Tweet 'I've entered @beautysbadhabit @NewYorkColor nail polish giveaway - have you? http://bit.ly/10sWf49' 3. 'Share' the post on facebook from my page and tell me in the comments here, with either your email address or twitter name.
Sorry, but this is open to UK residents only due to customs restrictions. 
Entries will close Friday 31st May - good luck!
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Three Random EOTDs

Sometimes I'll start playing around with make-up late at night, when the only lighting is the horrific yellow glow from my ceiling lamp and the flash of a camera. Needless to say - you never get very flattering full face pictures in those conditions! So, my friends, the eyes will have to do!
 

I  wore this to uni since I got bored of my usual black flick.

I USED - TFSI, Sleek dark brown, Little Mouse Ears 'How Much for the Ape?', Sugarpill 'Lumi', Sleek navy blue eyeliner, mascara.

With this I decided to try and use Fyrinnae 'Mephisto', since it irks me that you can't blend it. The coppery overlay buffs away, leaving behind patches of dark blue which doesn't exactly look pretty. I figured if I patted it on over a navy and blended the edges, any patchiness would be invisible - and it worked!

I USED - TFSI, Sleek navy blue, Fyrinnae 'Mephisto', mascara.
 

  Following that success, I thought I'd try my hand at green since I don't think it suits me, generally. 

I USED - TFSI, Sleek dark brown, Sleek dark green, Barry M gold glitter, Darling Girl 'Scarab', MUA liquid eyeliner, mascara.

I've brought a whole heap of eyeshadows back home with me for over Summer break, so hopefully there will be a few more FOTDs on the blog in the next few months!

Do you wear eye make-up daily? What's your favourite kind of look?

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REVIEW - The Body Shop 'Indian Night Jasmine' Fragrance Mist

Ever on the look out for cheap but cheerful scents, I couldn't pass by on one of the Body Shop's fragrance mists during their last 40% off sale. Already super affordable at £7.50 for 100ml, the discount took it down to just £4.50 - bargain or what?!

Part of the 'Scents of the World' collection, 'Indian Night Jasmine' was apparently inspired by a moonlit night in a Munghal garden. The inspiration filters across to the label, which displays an Indian palace and jasmine flowers. Overall, the packaging is a bit 'meh' and wouldn't jump out at me in store, but heck, it's fit for purpose.

'Indian Night Jasmine' is a warm, comforting, almost powdery, slightly sweet floral scent. I find it smells like it rests on a base of amber, though apparently it's sandalwood - both warm scents so I guess it's an easy mistake to make. Light and feminine enough for daytime wear, but I've a feeling the same scent in a stronger form (eau de toilette, perhaps?) would be beautiful for balmy Summer evenings.

A few sprays lasts well on both clothing and skin. I've already sprayed quite a bit and barely made a dent in the product, so I figure it will be a while before I'll be needing to repurchase. I'll be snapping up the body lotion and eau de toilette in the next sale!

RRP £7.50 for 100ml, available both in store and online at The Body Shop.

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Yet ANOTHER Darling Girl Cosmetics Haul Plus Swatches

We all know there's nothing more I like to indulge in than a little Darling Girl, right? Well, it's true! And here's the last lot of epic eyeshadows which made their way into my swatch stained hands...

Now, I've actually had these since the start of October yet somehow never got around to taking pictures. As you can see, I was going through a little bit of a red phase back then...

DARK EMBER - A gloriously rich, decadent, deep shade of metallic red which buffs down to an orangey copper (you can see it peaking through just about). I bought this after seeing Pixiwoo wearing MAC 'Cranberry' and falling a little in love - 'Dark Ember' is a fair 'Cranberry' dupe, perhaps a touch less pink and way richer.

INFERNO ROOM - A luxurious, coppery, orange toned red which an unapologetic amount of gold sparkle. A sticky base is definitely in need for this beaut'.

RUBY SOHO - Destination uuuuuuunknown, ruby, ruby, ruby, ruby soho! Um. What I mean by that is - 'Ruby Soho' is a highly pink toned red with a crazy amount of violet sparkle, very unique.

SCARAB - Warm toned brown with a strong golden green duochrome. It reminds me an awful lot of MAC 'Old Gold', but obviously with a brown base as opposed to gold. If you're after something more exciting than taupe to wear at the office, or a more fun eyeliner shade than black, 'Scarab' might just be what you're after.

LONDON CALLING - A bit of a strange one, red copper on a base of dark blue. The copper and blue merge to give an overall impression of purple, but the colour shift is evident in different lights. Indie lovers will be quick to liken this to Fyrinnae 'Mephisto' - however, it's not as bold as 'Mephisto' and it's far easier to blend without making it patchy.

MILES FROM NOWHERE - A light silvery gold with baby pink sparkle, this would make a beautiful 'one colour wash'.

MISS ARGENTINA - I absolutely HAD TO have this as soon as I saw it - one of my favourite colour combos (pink and turquoise), inspired by my favourite character in one of my favourite films?! HELL YES. I even wore this when I dressed up as Miss Argentina herself :)

RECENTLY DECEASED - An unexpected favourite in this particular bunch, dirty brown toned plum with gold sparkle. This would make a killer smokey eye, a fantastic eyeliner shade and it's fab for darkening the crease.

ROOTS RADICAL - I wore this last November when I saw Rancid for the second time (supported by NOFX - those guys give an awesome show!) A happy, spring green with golden shimmer.

UNICORN - Magical by name, magical by nature, 'Unicorn' seems to shift from blue-white, to silver-white, to pink-white, to purple-white every time you look at it! If you like using a spangly, light shade around the inner eye, you'll love this. Unfortunately I couldn't capture it very well in the swatch pics :(

 

 MERMAID - Cosmetic grade glitter in a mix of aqua, emerald and silver. These glitters are super fine and look amazing patted over eyeshadows. I use Darling Girl glitter glue to hold glitter firmly in place.

Overall - more amazing colour from an amazing company who never fail to impress. If you're thinking about venturing into the world of indie cosmetics or you're bored of drugstore brands, I'd highly recommend Darling Girl as your first port of call :)

$2.50 for a 'petit' pot (what I order).

$5.90 for a full sized pot.

Sample packs available at $4 for 5 samples.

Are you a Darling Girl fan? Thinking of placing an order?

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REVIEW: Aldi Carino Professional Miracle Oil

Hair oils have become such a staple in many people's haircare routine in the last couple of years, with their popularity absolutely booming. Naturally, every haircare company and their nan has released a hair oil to get a little of the action - even some brands you wouldn't associate with beauty are getting in on it...Enter, Aldi's 'Carino Professional Miracle Oil'.

 'Miracle Oil' promises to strengthen, smooth and seal shine into hair - improving your hair's condition with continued use. Not only that, but it's a bit of a multi-tasker - 'Miracle Oil' can be used as a leave in conditioner, finishing product or as an over night treatment.

I quite like the almost medical feel to the bottle paired with the bright labelling (inspired by a big player in the hair oil game, clearly!) The little plastic stopper means that you don't end up wasting product by sloshing out too much to use in one go - ideal.

Those of you with an eye for ingredients will notice two silicones right at the start of the list - don't panic. Yes, silicones smooth hair and give the impression of your hair's condition improving. Yes some silicones can cause build up - however, cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone when used in conjunction do not build up in the hair. Silicones aren't half as awful as you're made to believe once you look into them properly!

I've been using 'Miracle Oil' both as a leave in conditioner and a finishing product and to say I'm impressed would be an understatement. The oil leaves absolutely no residue, has a light fruity scent, smooths frizz well, improves the look of split ends, adds a healthy shine and makes my hair feel super soft. So fair, 'Miracle Oil' is my favourite oil to date - I'll be stocking up!
Priced at £3.99 for 50ml, it's definitely one to try - hurry though, this stuff sells out fast.
Product received for review consideration. Opinions 100% my own and 100% honest - as always!
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REVIEW - NYC 'Big and Bold' Bronzing Powder

In school, the post-P.E makeover was something I watched with a mix of curiosity and sheer terror. Girls would cram around the one full length mirror in the changing room, slapping on foundation, powder and dark bronzer all over their face with huge brushes caked in whatever make-up they'd used over the last year. I never understood the appeal of those huge bronzers until I got into make-up myself, and even then I steered clear, remembering the terracotta orange faces of those poor, misinformed school girls. So when NYC's 'Big and Bold' bronzing powders arrived through my letter box, I felt curious and terrified all over again!

 The bronzers themselves are rather large, designed to be big enough to swirl big body brushes around in ready to top up tans with an instant hit of colour.  The clear lids make it easy to spot which shade is which amid a hectic make-up drawer.

'ManhaTan' is the paler of the two - a medium, warm bronze toned brown with subtle blue and pink shimmer. It's a touch more brown than this image shows (my camera loves warm tones and brings them out in a few products).

'MetropoliTan' is the darker shade, a slightly more red toned, bronze brown (more and darker than this image - again, red biased camera) which would be amazing on medium-dark skin. 'MetropoliTan' also contains shimmer, though it seems less apparent in the pan than that in 'ManhaTan'.

'ManhaTan' suits my pale-medium yellow toned skin pretty well, but in my opinion both are too warm to give a truly natural tanned look. They are, however, excellent for warming the complexion and give a glowing, healthy finish. I applied mine underneath translucent powder to knock back the shimmer a touch (which mostly buffs away during blending) and make it sit a little more naturally in my make-up.

I think these would be awesome for taking on holiday and faking a sun kissed glow if fake tan or the rather unhealthy natural tanning just isn't your thing. They'd also do a lovely job of perking up a tan on nights out or reviving tired looking fake tan. Pigmentation is surprisingly high, so use a light hand and a fluffy brush to avoid tell tale streaks of colour!

If you have medium to dark skin and fancy something warming and glowy, you can't go far wrong with these two big and bold bronzers. Paler folk...steer clear unless you like the orange look (sorry, guys!) 

Available from Superdrug priced at £3.99 each for 17g of product.

Product received for review consideration. All opinions 100% my own, and 100% honest - as always!

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REVIEW - Rimmel 'Kate Moss' Lipsticks in '05' and '08'

Fragrance Direct seem to be ON IT lately in the 'beauty bargains' world - super cheap Dainty Doll and now Rimmel lippies for £1.99, yes please. Not just any Rimmel lippies either, the Kate Moss Rimmel lippies. Shall I say it again? YES PLEASE.

I was mega restrained and only purchased two shades - mainly because I'm a massive lipstick whore and most of the other colours are similar to some I already have. I googled around for swatches and settled on number 05 (a slightly orange toned, cheery, clean pink) and 08, a pinky nude which doesn't wander into 'corpse lips' territory.

05 looks a tad plum toned on me thanks to my lips natural colouring, if your lips are less pigmented it would be truer to the bullet shade. I think this is a great pink for those of us with strong yellow undertones who fancy something fairly bright without being garish.

08 is rather 'my lips but better', and I think it would work for anyone up to the medium skin-tone bracket. If you're a fan of shades like MAC 'Blankety' but would like something a bit less nude, 08 is well worth checking out.

Both are creamy, really well pigmented and glide onto the lips without dragging. I don't find them drying at all, which is rare for me as I usually slather some Darling Girl lipbalm under EVERY lipstick I have!

Check out the range available from Fragrance Direct to grab yourself a few gorgeous shades for the tiny price of £1.99 each.

 Do you own any Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks? Do you plan on buying any? 

 

Now I'm off to sit in the garden and eat Twister lollies - can't miss out on this gorgeous sunshine!

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