The Mani | Essie Truth or Flare

Let's face it, when a new Essie collection makes its way into my local Boots it's not long until I'm down there taking my pick. This year I only picked the one up as I was a little meh about the others - don't get me wrong they are beaut - but I thought they just reminded me a lot of other shades they have.

Truth or Flare called to me with its grey blue tones. I love Maximillian Strasse Her (which I believe is from a previous collection) and I think this is a slightly darker toned version. Even though its in their Spring collection I think it's such a versatile shade it can work all year around. It's not your typical spring shade (floral pigments) and I love that about it. For me it's a very sea colour. 

Formula-wise it's your usual Essie goodness or long lasting an chip resistant. No complaints here! This colour does need about three coats as its a touch sheer on first application but it's all good. It ends up as a beautiful blue.

What's your pick from the new Essie collection?

The Top 5 | Spring Nail Colours

I'm incredibly cliched when it comes to spring nail colours - give me pastles any day! I picked out my top five spring colours and as you can see... they are all lovely pastle light colours. Spring is all about pastles for me. Autumn and Winter my nails are usually donned with dark, moody tones - deep greens, navy blues (actually any blues) and blood reds. Spring hits and bam! Out come the pastle and floral tones. This is just a quick sneak peak into some of my favourite Spring colours - some obvious ones (you'll know what I mean) and some newbies...

L - R

Essie Mint Candy Apple: Models Own Banana Split: Barry M Peach Melba: Essie Bikini So Teeny: Essie Tart Deco

 

What are your Spring colours?

Nails | Essie Lux Collection

 

ESSIE WINTER LUX NAIL COLLECTION IN A CUT ABOVE, PURE PEARLFECTION & STROKE OF BRILLIANCE

Happy December everyone! Who can believe we are here already? How quick has 2013 gone? I'm quite excited as I cannot wait to do my 2013 favourites at the end of the month, and I have a few days off over Christmas this year so I cannot wait. Now... back to the post!

For my birthday I was very kindly gifted three gorgeous pieces from the new Essie Lux Collection - a little winter exclusive full of glitter, sequined top coats. Gorgeous and perfect for the Christmas party season. So let's take a look at them in more detail...

A Cut Above ---

A gorgeous metallic pink top coat, filled with different sized glitter that adds a very cute dimension. Perfect over a dark grey for a seriously cute girly look with edge or a deep berry.

Pure Pearlfection ---

I had to pop this over a dark colour to really show you. It's a really pretty iridescent white, pearl colour (hence the name) and is perfect on its own for a touch of sheen or over another colour.

Stroke of Brilliance ---

The same as A Cut Above, but the most perfect beautiful blues, a mix of different sizes adds dimension and I personally love the colours. Perfect over a deep navy blue or a pearly white.

These are definitely my favourites out of the entire collection, there are five in total but these are my picks. As will all Essie nail polishes they are really long lasting and good quality. 

What's your pick from the Lux Collection?

Nails | Autumn Nudes

 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

For me autumns is all about the earth notes. All naturals and definitely full of browns. I'm one of those people that doesn't fine brown earthy tones boring, especially one nails and I full encourage all to embrace the brown and tan! Here is my top 5 autumn nudes from my collection.

1 | L'Oreal Color Riche Nails in Lady Chocolate

I bought this about two years ago on a whim when I decided I wanted chocolate nails. This is a teeny tiny pot of nail varnish, but to be honest when do you ever use up a full post? It's a thicker brush which is easier to apply and really nice, thick and creamy to apply.

2 | Barry M High Shine Gelly in Lychee

I'm a big fan of the Gelly versions of Barry M's nail paints, they are really long lasting and good quality at such a budget price. I love Lychee as it's a lovely caramel colour so a bit more subtle for the nude season and perfect as a base coat for glitter top coats.

3 | Essie in Glamour Purse

Not entierly sure if you can get this in Boots, but one of the older collections I got it off Fragrance Direct a while back now. It's a gorgeous almond type taupe. Unfortunately it has the old thin brush (ick) so not as nice and the newer colours, but still a lovely autumn shade (currently wearing it as I type)

4 | Bourjois Paris 1 Second Nail Varnish in Beige Distinction

More of a pinky nude, it's definitely the more girly of the five and one I really love. Again it's the perfect shade for a base coat for glitter/sequin top coats. These have a large brush so are super super easy to apply and a gel formula so really long lasting.

5 | Bourjois Paris 1 Second Nail Varnish in Taupe Classy

Very similar to the Essie shade it's a almond taupe but a little bit darker, more brown in it I think as well. This is incredibly long lasting. I can't fault these polish's at all. I'm not 100% sure if this shade is still available but there are some similar ones in the collection.

My favourites are probably Glamour Purse and Beige Distinction. Lychee I wear all the time as well as it's very understated so perfect for the work place.

What's your favourite autumn nude?

Nails | Essie Autumn Collection

ESSIE AUTUMN COLLECTION IN CASHMERE BATHRODE & FOR THE TWILL OF IT

So you know me, I can't resist a good Essie collection. If you follow me on instagram (@topazandmay) you will have seen me tweet the advert for the new autumn collection when I first saw it - excitement! Both my Mum and I then proceeded to watch our local Boots for the arrival.

My lovely Mum (see her blog here) decided to treat me to two of the collection, Cashmere Bathrobe, a gorgeous glitter filled slate, and For the Twill of It, a unique tone of green and purple. My personal favourite of the two is definitely Cashmere Bathrobe - I wore it in this outfit post here and it stayed on for around five days before chipping - very impressive. I've yet to wear For the Twill of It, it's such a unique shade I'm saving it for a special occassion - I know exactly what I want to wear it with so we shall have to wait and see!

I definitely have my eye on the gorgeous navy blue in the collection - navy, me? Of course! I'm thinking birthday list...!

What's your favourite from the collection?

Giveaway | September

I wanted to start a new little feature as a thank you to all of you guys. So what I'm going to do, instead of a favourites post at the end of every month, I'm going to do a wee little giveaway to say thanks to you guys for sticking with me. It will only be a small one every month, it will be the top 3 products that I've loved that month. I love my blog, but those days when I'm feeling blue and unloved the fact that you guys are still here and still reading really spurs me on so that's why I want to say a big thanks.

So this month I want to giveaway the following three items - ones that I couldn't have lived without this month and that I've been reaching for continuously.

1. Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch

2. Mac Fix+ 

3. Essie Chubby Cheeks

I've loved these three products this month and I hope you guys will too! So T&C's... You must be a follower of the blog on either here (GFC) or BlogLovin. I will be checking so no cheats please. There are also optional entries as well but that's the one must.

Also, only UK only I am afraid - I just don't have the funds to ship anything abroad atm, hopefully I will do soon so will let you know when that changes.

So! Just fill out the form below, competition will run for one week so get your entries in! Enjoy!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nails | Mini Nail Haul

I went on a little shopping spree with my Mother the other day and somehow came back with four different nail polishes (among some other bits and pieces) so I thought I would pop them on here and show you some of the autumn colours I'll be sporting.

Revlon Moon Candy in Satelitte

I've wanted to try one of these for a while, you get polish one end and a glitter top coat on the other. I chose this shade as it matched a new dress I'd bought and it was also a very autumnal shade. It's not the easiest to apply as it's quite a long tube, but the colour is gorgeous and I love the glitter affect.

Rimmel Salon Pro Lycra in Grape Sorbet

Usually I don't go for an irridescent shade, but I love the colour of this for autumn. It's a gorgeous pink purple that's infused with Rimmel's lycra formula which I find lasts for days without chipping and has a wide brush which makes it super easy to apply.

Essie Chubby Cheeks

I just loved the name of this, so cute. It's the perfect autumn orange as it's not too bright. It's more of a burnt orange which adds that touch of autumn to it, but it's also not an out right red with screams Christmas to me. Not quite there yet! Again has the wide brush for ease of use and the usual fab Essie formula.

Essie Mint Candy Apple

Okay, so not the most Autumny shade, but I really do love this colour. I've been putting off buying it for a while but I couldn't help myself. It could be an autumn shade - it has a gorgeous tone to it that could be worn all year around and really is pretty.

I haven't bought many nails stuff lately as I've been getting gellish from the boy's Mum (she's bought herself a kit) but to be honest, I like to change my nails as much as possible so I'm back to my magical colouring box of nail paints - so be prepared to see more nail posts! Hope you don't mind...

What's your favourite autumn nail colour?

Summer Care | Poolside Pals

As we speak I am by the pool in a villa in the South of France. Last year I didn't go on a summer holiday so I'm mega excited. I flew out on Saturday evening with Adam to join my parents, Uncle and Aunt. Nice. So, I thought I'd pop a little post on my poolside pals - those beauty bits that I'll be wearing by the pool.

Waterproof Mascara

Yes, I am one of those that has we still wear mascara by the pool. So sue me. Anywho, I love L'Oreal Telescopic, however it runs like a mother. So I've popped the waterproof version in my suitcare and this will be gracing my eyelashes every day by the pool. Nothing worse than panda eye by the pool!

Facial SPF

Foundation is far too heavy for the pool. And although there are some fab lightweight foundations now, it's still a tad too heavy so I'm falling in love with BB creams at the moment. I have a couple of favourites such as Dr Jart and Revlon's new PhotoReady BB cream.

Summer Toes

My finger nails are all gellish-ed up at the moment, so it's just my toes that I need to take care of. This Summer Collection from Essie is gorgeous and perfect for the summer. I love Sunday Funday, it's a gorgeous shimmery coral and they are the mini version so perfect for travel and Essie quality - which means long lasting!

Protect Your Lips

I'm completely in love with No7 BB Lips. Yes, a lip gloss and a tad heavy for by the pool, but it contains SPF so it protects your lips so you don't have to worry. Blush Coral is the perfect summer colour and sutble enough to get away with wearing it by the pool. Any lips product with SPF in it is a winner for me, and if it's a gorgeous colour it's even better.

Tweezers

Okay, so not waiting at the poolside with my but I cannot live without my tweezers on holiday. Without much make up on the little whiskers on the face need to be vanquished and any stray hairs from the bikini line need to be gone as well! I love these Tweezerman mini's - portable and o so cute!

What's your poolside pals?

Trends | Top 10 under £10

I got the idea for this from Fleur's channel (video here). I loved the idea of this and considering most of my make up is drugstore this would be fab to try and do. I have tried not to use any of there Top 10 to create a big of variety! I actually found it really really hard to whittle some of these products down. I've tried to use products for every kinda face part as well (if that makes sense...) so let's take a peek!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99

A cult classic really, or it's turned into one anyway. I really love this foundation. It's a medium weight foundation that has fantastic coverage and is really long lasting. For me as well it doesn't clash with my oily skin which is always going to get a thumbs up in my book.

Max Factor Miracle Touch Cream Blush in Soft Pink £4.99

A gorgeous cream blush, incredibly easy and quick to apply. Small packaging so perfect for travelling, yet lasts for a while. Again, really good quality and very long lasting and I love the colour of this. It looks really natural on and as it doesn't go powdery on application it's great for lips as well.

Essie Mini Collections £9.99

Essie polishes are normally £7.99 from Boots, so these mini collections are a great way to nab three of the current collection and work out at around £3.34 each - so not bad at all! Yes they are mini, so not as much product, but they still have the same Essie quality and the ones I have so far are fab.

Bourjois Bronzing Powder £6.99

A bronzer I've had for about a year now and still not touched the pan. It's a gorgeous subtle matte bronze that's perfect for us paler types, but helps to warm up the complexion and is a dab hand for contouring as well. Great price and it smells like chocolate. They know how to market to us girlies!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks £6.29

Probably one of the best quality high street lipsticks I've ever tried. Really pigments, great coverge and good longevity and a wide range of colours. I love these and I'm always reaching for them. A really good price and something I think is quite overlooked in drugstores - needs much more hype then it currently has!

L'Oreal Micellar Water £3.33

A really fab drugstore version that I've been reaching for continually. It's calming on the skin and amazing at removing make up. It's a very watery version compared to Bioderma, but it's such a good price for the quality of product that you get. I've fallen head over heels for it. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Pencil £4.49

I love these crayons. So so easy to use and apply and really long lasting as well. Great product for such a small price, and a fab dupe for the Clinique Chubby Sticks. Not a huge range of colours, but I love the champagne and bronze colours - great for everyday wear. 

Soap & Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter £8.00

My ultimate favourite shower cream/gel/wash ever. It's amazing as a shaving cream - it keeps the legs moisturised instead of dry and flaky and is actually just amazing on the skin. Pricey for a shower product, but definitely worth it for me as I really struggling after shaving.

L'Oreal SuperLiner in Black £6.49

My perfect eyeliner. It's got the easy to use felt tip applicator and fantastic pigmentation. It's really easy to apply over eye shadow and doesn't transfer onto the top of the lid, and is really long lasting. A great price as well for a liquid liner.

No7 BB Lips £8.50

A new addition to my routine but one I absolutely love. They are so comfortable on the lips and also protect really well against the sun. I love the subtly of the colours as they are perfect for everyday wear at work as well and they are just altogether fab to me.

I have literally rewritten this so many times. I did notice that there isn't a lot of skincare on this... Unfortunately I tend to go for the higher end bits for skin care - make up however I have found you can get some amazing bits for a low price. I'm sure I've forgotten something... O well, here is my top 10!

What's your top 10 under £10?

Outfit | A Ditsy Summer

dress: river island | belt: h&M | ring: raspberry grape | bracelet: lola rose | nails: essie maximillian strasse her

I wore this outfit at the weekend, an incredibly sunny weekend, and up to Capital's Summertime Ball at Wembley. It is THE cutest dress and I fell in love with it when I first saw it. First of all it's blue, secondly it's floral. Then we have the cute crossover back. Well, it was cute until I got burnt and now have weird tan lines.

This dress was a steal at £22 as well - so I was really chuffed with it. It's definitely going to be this summers main dress. As you can see I also decided to give above the knuckle rings a go, if I'm honest I'm not 100% sold. I felt a bit like it was going to constantly fall off my finger - but maybe that's just me. I love the design of this one though!

You may have noticed I've also had a new design done on the blog. I did love the old design done by Gillian, but I just wanted something a bit simpler and cleaner - so I went to the gorgeous Steph who redesigned it for me and I couldn't be happier. She was so easy to work with and it was really quick. I'd love to know what you think though!

What do you think of this dress? Do you like the new blog design?

Nails | Essie Virgin Orchid

 ESSIE NAIL LACQUER IN VIRGIN ORCHID £1.99 FROM FRAGRANCE DIRECT

If you haven't been to Fragrance Direct yet, go there now - Essie for £1.99?! Who wouldn't want that! It depends on what stock they currently have as to what you can get, but I very recently bought this gorgeous sheer salmon pink colour, called Virgin Orchid. It has the wide brush which I love and the colour is just gorgeous.

Also, for bridal season it is perfect for that. It's sheer enough to be delicate, yet opaque enough to create a gorgeous colour in just two coats. As will all Essie, it lasts for a good few days without chipping (unless you have to unjam a copier but that's another story).

At the moment (at time of writing) there were around 7 different colours on Fragrance Direct, including Fear or Desire. I would definitely recommend visiting them if your after an Essie bargain.

Have you been to Fragrance Direct? What Essie would you want?

Nails | Top Three Spring Shades

I'm a person who loves it when their nails are all painted, suited and booted. I love new colours and I love different shades. This spring I've been keeping to a fairy pastel based palette and these three are definitely my top three.

Models Own Upotia £5
Thanks to Lily I have hunted this down and finally bought it. It's different to what I thought it would be, its a very pale lilac, paler than the photo lets on, and is a gorgeous subtle shade. Long wearing and great as a base when you want to add a sequin top coat.

Barry M Lychee £3.99
A favourite in the blogging world and has become one of my most worn. A "foundation" shade, if you like, which again is great as a top coat base or just a lazy shade. Really long lasting as part of their gelly range.

Essie Maximillian Strasse Her £7.99
Silly name aside, this is a gorgeous pale duck egg-ish blue that screams IM SO PRETTY I COULD DIE! Definitely my favourite. Again, lasts for ages and honestly I am just in love with this shade. it is one of my absolute faves and I will live and die in it.

Pastels are a great shade for spring and summer, and with "foundation" nails setting the way for the next couple of months, these pale shades are definitely in style. Also - look I have a nail wheel yay! About bloody time and I love it. All swatches are just one coat and are without any top/base coat.

What's your top spring shades?

Nails | Essie Maximillian Strasse Her

ESSIE MAXIMILLIAN STRASSE HER NAIL LACQUER £7.99

This is part of Essie's new Spring/Summer collection, which I've been waiting to see in Boots stores for ages so imagine my excitement when I saw the new collection this weekend! I decided I was only allowed to buy one so make it a special one... Oh this is definitely a special one.

Maximillian Strasse Her is a very dusky, greyish pale blue that is a gorgeous colour for the Spring. The name is a bit random and I don't really understand it but the colour, oh the colour! It has the usual Essie wide brush which makes it easy to apply, dries quickly and is opaque for a pale colour. This image shows two coats and has a fantastic glossy even finish.

I love Essie polishes anyway, but I really do a special place in my heart for this shade. A lot of love.

Which shade do you love from the new collection?

Tart Deco

Essie Tart Deco £7.99

This is so NOT a winter colour. It's definitely one for the summer. However, Santa left this little pot of joy in my stocking so I was determined to try it before the summer. As with the entire Diffusion range (in Boots) it comes with a thicker brush which makes it easier to apply and has less chance of leaking onto the skin. The formula itself is really creamy and doesn't leave brush streaks (score!). I popped two coats of this on top of my Models Own base coat and I was so please with it.

It came out a lot more neon than I was expecting. I thought it would be a really pale coral, put it's quite a bright, loud coral - which was quite a nice surprise! I have wanted this colour forever and it didn't disappoint, however I might have to save it for the summer to pop it on again (maybe...).

It didn't last as long as a couple of other Essie polishes I have (Snap Happy lasted for aaages), it was a couple of days and then I started noticing chips. But when you work in a retail store what do you expect! Overall, big thumbs up from me!

What's you favourite winter Essie?

Essie Winter 2012 Collection

Essie Winter 2012 Collection £9.99

I have fallen completely in love with Essie this year. Rewind one year ago and I didn't have a clue - hadn't heard of Essie, now I own a few too many! This gorgeous set is part of their winter collection and is three of shades from that collection, Leading Lady

My lovely Mum bought me this set when she came in and saw me at work and I was having a "want to kill everyone" day and she knows I'm trying to be good and not buy anything at the moment. So she treated me, what a lovely Mummy I have.

I have wanted Leading Lady for aaaaages. It just looks like Christmas perfection, and yes, I did notice Christmas has gone BUT it still remains one of my favourite nail varnishes now. Its a gorgeous deep red with subtle flecks of glitter. I have two coats on here, but to be honest you probably only need about one for depth of colour. I always do 2 just in case though. It last's really well - in the photo above I'd been wearing it for around 5 days so super super lasting power!

Beyond Crazy is like a super duper glitter polish. As you can see, it is an incredibly glittery polish and doesn't need a colour underneath it. The picture above is just one coat so you can see just how dense the sparkle is. It's a silvery gold, so it will very easily go with everything.

Snap Happy is a kind of orangey red. More red than orange, but it's not like a super dupey "tramp" red (as my old manager used to call it). It's more of a subtle red. You do need a couple of coats with this (I feel you do anyway) just to make sure you get the most out of this gorgeous colour. I think this will be amazing in the summer months as well as a great Christmas colour.

Overall, loving this collection and the polishes. Leading Lady is my favourite, I think it is just a gorgeous polish and I've had so many compliments over the past few days about it, it will definitely be a repurchase when I run out (if they still do it!).

Which do you prefer?