Monster High Monday: School's Out Lagoona

Another MHM and quite a fresh and bright one this week. Lagoona is one of, if not my favourite MH characters, I think she's adorable. This doll was the 2nd wave, sometimes called 'School's Out' and I was lucky enough to find her when she was re-released after passing on her when she first came out.
Lagoona isn't too pigeon-holed colour wise and often gets a crazy assortment of patterns, textures and colours per outfit. Her makeup kinda stays the same though, she usually has pinks and turquoises on the eyes and pink lips, being a pretty sea-monster. So if you see another similar Monster High Monday in the future, it will be a different doll!
I had a panic once I uploaded the photos as her lips looked peachy in the pics yet pink in real life. I had found the perfect lip dupe and thought you would all be thinking I was losing it, choosing pink when you can see her lips are peach. However when I got to the photos of me, the lips were exactly the same, peach! So at least we still look identical even if the colour is off (more on that later).
So I started mixing Pout 'Love Glow' Illuminator with YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat in BR10. I wanted to create a luminous, sheer finish (my spotty skin wasn't entirely in agreement with that approach!). I used Dainty Doll powder blush in 002 My Girl even although Lagoona wears none and finished with Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in Translucent.
On the eyes, I applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance and the white highlighter shade from Hard Candy Eyeshadow Quartet in Pixie, under the brow. It was a great dupe for the sheer sheen Lagoona has, although mine had glitter pieces which the doll doesn't have. Urban Decay matte eyeshadow in Narcotic was the perfect shade for the turquoise bit and I blended this into and above the crease and also along the lower lashline.
 
For the pink, I really struggled to find a matte matching the shade within my collection. All my pinks are shimmery or frost finishes and lighter or darker than this. In the end I picked Collection 2000 eye palette in The Poptastic Collection which has a bright almost neon looking pink in it. When applied lightly it had nearly the right tone. I rubbed a little of the cream shade from the Hard Candy palette over the top to dull it down that little bit and it looked close enough. Lagoona has a very thin line across the crease of her eye, so I applied 17/Eley Kishimoto solo eyeshadow in Damnson with a tiny brush, which is a deep pink. I finished with YSL Waterproof eye pencil and Lancome ArtLiner for the big flicks, with Rimmel Lash Accelerator on my lashes.
So for the lips, I was looking for a deepish, warm pink. Lagoona has a frost type finish, like a sheer silvery sheen over the pink.
I grabbed the first lipstick I could think of and luckily it was perfect! Like I said earlier in the post, my camera hasn't photographed it true to colour, but you can see how in the light it looks silver...
but pink when turned away from the light.
The lipstick is Lancome Color Fever in 312 Pink In The Limo and I wore V-Sculpt (Victoria Beckham) Lipliner in 702 Cool underneath.
So that's it for another week. It was quite simple and minus the matte pink eyeshadow, I was lucky to find lots of dupes within my collection. I'm sad I had to fiddle around to get green eyes like Lagoona this week, my real eyes have changed colour from green to brownish recently-I'm very disturbed by it!  You can see my outfit etc over on The Shoe Girl Diaries right now.  How do you think I did this week?

Halloween Nails

Happy Halloween! 'Tis a very important day for my kind (!) I actually very nearly cast a spell on a delivery man today, who had the audacity to take the mickey out of my hair, for the second time (kinda creepy that he remembered me from last time). I gave him the 'Gemma death stare' instead which we all know is far superior to any wicked spell as it's been used for at least 20 years and most definitely puts the fear in any man! Haha! Or muahahaha, I should say! Anyway, he brought me sparkly shoes, so I'll let it go this time. What are you all doing for Halloween? I don't have any parties (not because of my death stare), but I wanted to get into the spirit (haha) with some fun, freaky nail art.

I sat during X-Factor on Saturday with a pile of different colours and nail pens and just did it all free-hand. I wasn't even particularly sure of what I was going to do, but it all worked out wonderfully in the end. I was really impressed that I managed to do my right hand using my left, because normally I fail at that big-time! I did get my sister to do the spider because I wasn't sure I could do a circle! She was crapping herself she'd ruin it, after me making a good job of the other nails, poor wee thing!

At the bottom of the post there's a list of products I used for this.  I also took close-ups of each nail for you to see the detail and I mostly used either the nib or brush of the nail pens for the designs/small details with the exception of the green tips on the pumpkins and white eyes on Frankenstein where I just used a tiny bit of nail polish. The only nail I wasn't keen on was the jewelled thumb. I think I got distracted and forgot that webs taper in towards the centre and I'd already drawn my lines equally spaced (silly me!). I added a little shimmering stripe over the web using the thin brush on the Andrea Fulerton sparkly bottle you see above and stuck some nail gems (from the NPW pen) on using clear polish.

and right hand...

The goo-blob nail wasn't perfect either come to think of it, it kinda didn't work out like I'd hoped.  I love all the rest though, the skull was supposed to have quite splodgy looking eyes, but he turned out much cuter than anticipated.  Frankenstein worked brilliantly as did the pumpkins (I added little silver stripes to make it look more authentic) and I thought the mummy-zombie would be a disaster but I really like it with the flash of neon eyes.  My pinky finger ghost is providing lots of entertainment as I keep sticking it in my sisters face and saying 'wasssssuuuuppp'!  Hard to believe we're both over 30, I know!  I've generally been a little uninspired when it comes to nails and haven't had the notion to do anything fancy lately, but I admit I really enjoyed doing this and it's given me a little confidence to try funky things again.  I will say I'm impressed at the lasting power, it's Wednesday and I forgot to put top coat on and not a single nail has chipped, even with me parcelling up lots of eBay sales over the past couple of days.  So are you going to try a subtle Halloween look or go the whole hog? Pity it's a rainy day for guising.

Rings: 
Spider The Jewellery Box, bug H&M
Nails: 
Barry M Nail Paint 'NP66 Matt White'
17 Lasting Fix 'Tropical Island'
W7 Nail Polish '08 Green Dazzle'
Collection 2000 Hot Looks '36 Ninja'
and
Models Own Nail Art Pen 'Black'
Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick pens in 'Domi' and 'Ruth'
Andrea Fulerton Stripe & Sparkle 'Brooke'
NPW 3 in 1 Nail Art Pen (used for jewels only) 'Love'

Some Shopping Goodies

It's not often I sit back and bite my tongue but boy did I need to all day today, I'm so proud of myself! I needed to go shopping (not 'want' actually 'need'); I haven't been out of this street for 2 months other than Sunday night to see my new nephew and I had nothing to take to him because I haven't been shopping in so long and I didn't know if he was going to be a boy or girl! I had a pile of stuff I needed from Boots that my sister couldn't get in our local and I was on the hunt to sniff the new Harajuku Lovers fragrance, Super G! Usually Mum and I pop through to Dundee every couple of weeks, but lately we've just not had time between waiting for this baby and selling my Granny's house etc. Also I've had a few bad runs in Primark and that's kinda put me off shopping altogether as it's the only place I can rely on to find clothes that fit. Plus-size shopping on the high-street is not full of options let me tell you! Anyway, Mum couldn't take me today because she's really hurt her arm and can't push the wheelchair, so...Dad came with us to help. Jeez, have you ever been shopping with both parents? (Fyi being 5 years old doesn't count). The thing is my Dad actually likes shopping (for himself), but pushing me in the wheelchair is a whole other situation and let's just say it took hours to get anything done, I was permanently forced in the wrong direction, couldn't point anything out to Mum because she couldn't keep up beside me and there's possibly several people missing chunks out of their heels (soz peeps, not my fault)! I'd already been pre-warned not to yell at Dad because I pretty much do so every day anyway, so I just stayed calm and shut up! You do clench your toes to avoid crashes every so often-I don't know why as I wasn't in control, so couldn't do anything to prevent it even if I wanted to, but I didn't shout at him once.

However I got what I needed in Boots; more Soap & Glory skincare stuff. I really have to slap myself for not reviewing their stuff enough. I'm honestly one of their biggest fans and have bought gazillions of their products ever since they first launched. I practically (actually 'do') only use their products when it comes to bodycare and they've pretty much taken over my skincare regime too, with the exception of a few Lancome products. So, I'm really going to try and review their stuff more often, because I love them, enough said.
The stuff I bought today (all 3 for 2) include my third jar of Night In Shining Armour Cream, second Wish Upon A Jar and Catch A Wrinkle In Time, then some things I haven't tried before; No Clogs Allowed deep pore detox mask (soooo excited to try this) and new For Daily Youth 6 in 1 superboost moisturiser. I also wanted to smell the newer fragrance Eau De Soap & Glory Original Pink because I was so disappointed that their first scent didn't smell the same as their products. It was far too strong and just not at all what I expected, so I was chuffed to bits that they released this fragrance which smells exactly like their body lotions and shower gel etc. Well, I just had to guess and hope actually because my local store didn't have a tester and today I found two which were both empty!
Also I was super chuffed to see a Stila stand in Boots, whoot!! I know Stila have just relaunched in the UK, but I really didn't expect to see it instore, as I've never ever seen Stila anywhere other than online. To celebrate such a joyous occasion I bought this little palette, cute as.
I also picked up these Collection 2000 Lock N Hold lipglosses, which were 2 for £5 in Beat Box and Twisted Disco (I'm guessing from online swatches on the Boots website actually because I haven't even looked at the names)! I then made a hasty retreat because I don't think Mum or Dad could suffer much more swatching!!
On the baby front, boys clothes suck. Seriously suck. Ok, so there's the odd cute-ish thing, but nothing overly fabulous and I always like to give presents that have a bit of my personality too. That's what's lacking from boys clothes, personality. I spotted endless little girls things that oozed character, but it was one striped thing after another for boys. I got this little monkey top (his legs flap about) which I thought was really cute and settled with another top and little stripy suit. I wished I'd bought two of all the Cath Kidston stuff I'd got for my friends little boy, that would've been perfect and my sister would've loved it, but they're all out of stock now.
Oh and after 4 different shops I finally found some little Super G cards. My sis and I love collecting these. Super G smells pretty yummy, like J20 juice or something, but I resisted buying as I'm waiting for a GWP.
Oh another thing, I managed to get my sister three dolls she was after. Monster High 'Dead Tired' Draculaura. I can't believe I exclaimed that my MH wishlist was complete a few months ago...there are sooo many new releases I'm after now!
When it comes to Bratz, she loves Jade, so I had my orders to get her and either Cloe or Yasmin from the Slumber Party collection, I got the latter. Dolls in jammies, pretty cute! I did get some stuff in Primark, but haven't tried any of it on yet, so I'm not sure what I'm keeping. I'm guessing I'll have to embrace this rust colour next season as it's extremely prominent in every single shop!

New Barry M Nail Paints

Barry M have done it again! Welcome Mushroom 310, the newest addition to the already fabulous line of nail colours. I've been eagerly awaiting the drugstore version of Chanel Particuliere and I knew Barry M would come up trumps (Chanel Jade vs Barry M Mint Green anyone?). I spotted it on the Barry M site but haven't been to Boots this week, so don't know if it's available in the shops yet. As you know I just ordered Topshop Nails in Big Smoke, so I'll be keen to see if I need Mushroom as well.
Last week I took advantage of the 2 for £5 offer in Boots on Barry M Nail Paints and bought Racing Green 299 which I've been meaning to buy for ages and the newer Blueberry Ice Cream 306. You know my nail polish collection is rather large, but actually I don't own a vast amount of Barry M, although I adore the few I do have. So I've taken pictures of them all and also compared some similar shades.
My Barry M collection also includes; Shocking Pink 272, my favourite ever bright pink-although it's a little camera shy I'm afraid! Grey 293, this is a dark industrial type grey, Vivid Purple 161, slight shimmer in this one like Racing Green and finally Mint Green 304 the shade to be seen in last summer.
Comparisons with 17 Lasting Fix in Mint Choc Chip, a bluey mint and Collection 2000 Hot Looks in 33 Button Moon a turquoise mint, whereas Barry M Mint Green is more green. I've also taken pics of Lasting Fix in Sherbet Lemon by 17 which I bought along with MCC the other week, but haven't got around to showing you yet (told you I was behind on blogging!). I wore it on my nails last week. They can be quite streaky until you apply the final coat, but you really need 2 or 3 coats. I'm wearing MCC on my toes this week and it looks really great on there and didn't come out so streaky.

Haul Pics C2000, GOSH, NYC

Here are the last of my haul pics from last week. I did indeed forget to photograph Lancome La Base Pro that I bought. It's not very interesting to look at anyway. A glass bottle (sure it would've been cheaper had that been plastic). Anyway it's £24.50 and I used my Advantage Card points, so technically it was free (yay).
Collection 2000 Hot Looks nail polishes were 2 for £2.99 in Superdrug and 2 for £3 in Boots (or that could be the other way around). These little babies were the main point of my shopping trip. Superdrug only had 2 colours left, so I got them both. Boots had loads, so I swithered between them all, then bought another 4. I wanted to compare the mint green one to Barry M, but they were out of stock of that and I had a funny feeling they were very similar. When I got them home, I was right, there isn't a huge difference. C2000 is perhaps more bluey, of course they may look different on the nail. The greys on the other hand, C2000 is much lighter (which I thought instore, hence why I bought it). Phew! They have the cutest names (30 Sherbet Lemons, 36 Ninja, 33 Button Moon, 27 Wham, 32 BMX Bandit and 35 Dynasty), currently I'm wearing BMX Bandit, which is a most unusual bluey purpley shade. I was pretty pissed when I painted my nails on Friday night then woke up on Saturday to have a shower and notice that every nail on my right hand was chipped! I didn't use top-coat but wouldn't expect it to chip overnight, in my bed! Other than that it does go on very well, I actually could've gotten away with one coat. Anyway let's sing 'we're off to Button Moon...'C2000 Glam Crystals, I think these were 'save 50p' in Boots. As I previously explained I didn't buy the new purple one as I found it very dry. 10 Pow! is the blue one with multi coloured glitter and 12 Spandex is green with green and gold glitter.This was my third and free item I think from GOSH (3 for 2). I can't tell you how many times I've tried this eyeliner instore and never bought it. Word of warning though, don't play around with it on your hand during your lunch break, it does not come off with soap and water. No, not even scrubbing. This stuff is the baddest non-mover you've ever seen (I know, I still have the swatch I took this morning!). This is a pretty shimmering, metallic green, not blue or turquoise like in the pictures. My camera did this the other day with my No7 and 17 green metallic eyeliners which I was comparing (before I'd bought this one, which will now have to be compared too!). All the pics came out blue rather than green, even in the tube. Take my word for it, it's a mermaid green, shimmering, beautiful! (swatches left to right, NYC lipstick (see below), C2000 Glam Crystals in Pow! and Spandex, GOSH Extreme Art Eye Liner in 11)

Finally the NYC lippie I forgot to photograph, Ultra Moist Lip wear in 412B Mauve Gold. I told you this was really different in the tube to swatched and it is. It's a run-of-the-mill bronzey brown, which comes out a beautiful glossy, sheer pinky brown with the cutest subtle shimmer throughout. This is a litle gem and I think it was a ridiculous £1.95 or something. (The pics of it in the tube aren't that good, but the swatch is spot-on).Sorry the pics are kinda crappy and I can't seem to stop talking!