THE HUNT FOR A PEEL-OFF BASE COAT

feat. Maybelline Color Show Latte - one of my fave "barely there" shades

Once you've experienced the convenience and satisfaction of peeling off your nail varnish you'll never want to go back to a bottle of remover and a pile of cotton wool. I have been using the nailgirls 3-in-1 Base/Top Coat for a good year and although it is not marketed as a peel-off base coat, it does exactly that. It dries down quickly, lasts for a good few days, and then simply peels off when you want to get rid. Although it wasn't without flaw - it can a little gloopy, it sometimes flakes rather than peels, and it probably isn't the best for weak nails, I was content. I first received a bottle in a beauty box, then I trolled ebay for a second but have now not been able to get my hands on another. So, the search for a replacement has begun...

After a few half-hearted attempts to look up potential peel-off base coats on google, I finally gave in and just decided to pick up something from my local drugstore to try. With no particular plan in mind for what I wanted to purchase, an offering from Maybelline caught my eye.

I thought that at £2.99, this was worth a try. I've tried it a couple of times now and first off, this stuff is thick. It also requires a bit of drying time. The first time I used it, I tried to go straight on with a coat of colour and it did not go well. The thick and quite gloopy formula mixed in with my first coat of colour and became a bit of a stringy mess. I would recommend wiping off about 90% of the product which comes out on the brush and attempt the thinnest layer you can on each nail and then stick on a bit of Netflix while you wait for it to dry.

If you manage a thin enough layer you can probably go in with your next coat after a couple of minutes. I have to say I'm a three coat kind of girl so I layer up my polish and then top it off, of course, with some Seche Vite.

The second time I tried this, things actually seemed to turn out pretty well on the surface. I was off to sleep (I always paint my nails before bed) and they still looked good in the morning. Unfortunately, halfway through my day I looked down at my nails and one was completely bare with no polish to be seen. It does what it says on the bottle - it peels off... a bit too easily. It peeled off when I wasn't even looking - hence the bare thumb nail in the picture above.

I think I'd suggest you give this one a miss. I might give it one more try but if my polish can't even last 24 hours then the peel off perk might not be worth it in this case!

Please leave any base coat recommendations in the comments... it looks like the search will continue.

AUTUMN BERRIES FROM THE DRUGSTORE

When it comes to Autumn, I'm all about the berry lips. I went through my collection and picked out five of my favourites which in all honesty, are fairly similar in shade but vary in application and finish. You may not need all of these, but I would definitely recommend at least one.

• Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in Berry Much (£4.99) - I reviewed this little pencil when I first purchased it here and not much has changed. I'm still loving how easy it is to apply. I thought that a chubby pencil may be more difficult to get a perfect lip outline but it's actually quick and easy. The formula is so soft and creamy and there's no tugging on the lips. I don't often wear this alone but it works perfectly as a base for pretty much any of the other lip products in this post.
• Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 30 (£5.49) - This was a recent Essiebutton inspired purchase, and it is essentially a non-matte version of the 107 classic with maybe a tiny bit more purple. The Lasting Finish formula is gorgeous - I pretty much love every Rimmel lip formula. This one is quick and easy to apply.
• No7 High Shine Lipgloss in Plum Blush (£9) - I thought I'd include a glossy option which is slightly more sheer and perfect if you want to effortlessly transition back into darker lips. This is a little less in your face but still has those gorgeous berry tones that encapsulate every thing autumn. It has a slightly tacky finish but isn't sticky. They're giving out the £3 off coupons at the moment, so now would be a perfect time to grab this for £6!
• Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 (£5.49)  - the classic. I love how affordable Rimmel lipsticks are and this is one of the best. I did a little review here. This was the original lipstick which made me fall in love with the darker wine berry shade and pretty led me to every other purchase here.
• Rimmel Apocalips Matte Lip Velvet in Meteoric Matte (£6.49) - As I wasn't a fan of the original Apocalips lip lacquers, it was surprising to me how much I loved this. I already wrote a review here, and I'm still enjoying using this. I'm not sure about the "matte" title as this never fully dries down to be matte and is prone to transferring (so, be careful!), but I actually really love the slightly glossy finish and the fullness effect it gives to my lips. 

You can probably tell from this post that I found the tone of darker lips that works for me and I just ran with it. I would recommend any of these lippies and they'll definitely be the ones I'll be reaching for most in the next few months. I chose the No7 gloss today - transitioning and all that.

Hope you enjoyed this! What's your autumn lip go-to? 

Tina xx

MAYBELLINE COLOUR DRAMA INTENSE VELVET LIP PENCILS #30LIPSIN30

I've been trying out the new Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils and after a few weeks, I think I've finally gathered some thoughts to share. I've never really tried out another product like this for the lips but they are out there, with NARS coming to mind first. I picked up two colours Nude Perfection and Berry Much (I love the shade names!) which I'm in love with. I, of course, had to get the nude but I also really like the berry shade which is perfect for the time of year and things starting to cool down. 

Being in a pencil form, application is quick and easy with a fairly creamy formula and a semi-matte finish. These pencils are a great alternative to a matte lipstick with great colour pay-off. I would say that they fade a little in the centre of the lip so make sure you keep an eye on them after a few hours and reapply. For their price, I would recommend giving them a go - definitely one of my favourite matte lip products I've tried from the drugstore!

Have you seen these in store yet? Will you be picking any up? Let me know!

Tina xx

MAYBELLINE COLOUR WHISPER - LUST FOR BLUSH #30LipsIn30

Today's lip colour is a US blog sale purchase that I am obsessed with. Seriously, why have they not brought the Maybelline Colour Whispers over here yet?! They are gorgeous. I picked up four in my blog sale haul and Lust for Blush is the one that jumped out at me straight away. A pinky-mauve lip balm?! It literally has my name written all over it. It was love at first swatch, and I haven't gone back since. In all my attempts to branch out in terms of lip colour, I just can't get away from how simple and gorgeous this shade looks, For more of a lip balm than lipstick, the pigmentation is great as well as a moisturising and comfortable formula.

I like it so much you're even getting two selfies today (lucky you) ... and my winged liner game was on point so I had to show that off somehow - ha. This is really an easy to apply lip product that is more than affordable; if you're in the US that is.

Has anyone started some sort of petition to get the colour whispers over here? If not, consider this the start of one... Which US product are you just dying to have over here in the UK?

Here's to a successful (I think) week full of #30LipsIn30 posts... and three more weeks to come! I'm enjoying it so far (even if double the amount of blog posts is slightly draining)... I promise some more bold colours are coming up next week. I just find it so hard to break out of my nude lip bubble that I love so much... let me know if you'd like to see anything specific.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday :)

Tina xx

MAYBELLINE COLOUR ELIXIRS - UK LAUNCH!

They're here!!! The Maybelline Colour Elixirs have finally launched in the UK. After hearing about the launch today I had to go and pick some up - I panicked when I couldn't find them in Boots but managed to find them in Superdrug. I checked the Maybelline stand first, and they had the teeny, tiniest section dedicated to them with literally only one of each shade left - and only five shades to choose from. I had a little swatch and play, and ended up grabbing two. I browsed a little more around the shop and then found another stand with an extra shade and tons more unopened glosses.

(Sorry for the slightly grainy shots, these were taken on my phone)

I ended up picking up the light pink - Petal Plush and the nude - Nude Illusion. I swatched some of the brighter ones, and they looked really nice but I purchased the two shades I knew I'd wear the most. The packaging is gorgeous - really simple and sleek although the silver tops are prone to fingerprint marks and seem like they'd scratch quite easily.

The formula is very moisturising with no stickiness; I'm on the fence about the spongey applicator and only one coat can look a little streaky so you're going to need to build it up. They have a slightly oily feeling formula; they remind me of the L'Oreal Coloriche Extraordinaires and are very similar, but I think I slightly prefer the Maybelline glosses on first try.

Petal Plush is a light baby pink and Nude Illusion is a medium-toned brown nude. I'm definitely going to get a lot of use out of these two. They've already launched on the Boots website and you can find them for £6.99, with a 3 for 2 offer on all Maybelline products. There's a total of eleven shades online which is way more than I found in store. They were also on offer in Superdrug: 2 for £10.

I'm enjoying them so far. It's not quite a rave review like I was expecting; they're not the best glosses I've ever tried, but they're far from the worst. There was a whole lot of hype surrounding these Maybelline glosses and I'm not sure they've quite lived up to it. Are you going to purchase any? Or have you tried them already? Let me know what you think!

Maybelline Colour Elixirs here, £6.99

FOTD: BROW POWDER FOR EYESHADOW?

Today's look is a pretty simple one. I started off by priming with Dr Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner and Maybelline Dream Smooth Primer. These two are going to get a lot of love in the next month if I'm going to complete my Over by October challenge. I'm still holding on to the last few drops of my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 53 Light Beige. I am amazed that there is any product left. I have run this bottle dry. My concealers of choice were Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 2 just in the places where I needed some extra coverage and then Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 to brighten under the eyes.

To set everything I used my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Silky Beige. A new favourite of mine; the Bourjois Délice de Poudre Bronzing and Highlighter Duo was used to warm up the face and add a subtle highlight to the high points. I then added a little natural flush with Essence Silky Touch Blush in 4 Natural Beauty. 

For the eyes I did something a little different using my Sigma brow powders sample I received as a free gift. I previously have only been using one powder in my brows but thought I would give the others a try as an eyeshadow. The warmer powder in the Auburn duo is a gorgeous warm brown that is perfect for the crease when blended out. Another free gift was put to use, as I took a shadow from my Estee Lauder quad in Tempting Mocha which is a gorgeous bronze shade perfect for sweeping across the lid. The usual liners and mascaras were used: Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black, Urban Decay in Demolition, Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara and No7 Stay Perfect Mascara.

Finally for my lips I went with my new MakeUp Revolution The One Lipstick topped with Maybelline Colorsensational Gloss in Cashmere Rose.

FOTD: UNDER-EYE HIGHLIGHT

The Kim Kardashian look is one that is difficult to transition onto an average person. The average person in question today is none other than myself. I've watched probably hundreds of videos and read umpteen blog posts on highlighting and contouring. There's always a huge emphasis on getting the right shade of bronzer/contour but not so much on the highlighting part.

Today's face of the day is one I'm quite fond of because of that bright under-eye highlight. It's taken me a while to practise getting the under-eye area highlighted enough to be noticeable but not too much that it's stark white and painfully obvious. A little mixing and matching and it's all gone a bit right today.

Base: Benefit Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer; I have a small sample of this and I've really been loving it. I've never found a primer that I've loved before but I think this may be my favourite I've tried. Works best if your skin is on the oilier side of the spectrum.
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 53 Light Beige; It's on its last legs but I haven't given up on the bottle yet. Love this stuff.

Concealer: MAC Prolongwear in NC20; you can't go wrong with this stuff. It's my favourite concealer for the lasting power alone; not even mentioning the coverage.
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly; I mixed in a dab of this and I mean a dab. This is the lightest shade and it is light. I bought this when the shade I wanted was out of stock and it is a bit much alone but mixed in with the prolongwear it proved to be a winning combination. Really good for those of us with pale skin.

Powders: NYX HD Studio Finishing Powder; A touch of this powder and you have a flawless finish. It's a staple of mine.
NARS Laguna; another favourite; perfect for bronzing up the skin in no time.
Sleek Face Form Palette in Fair; used the contour shade in this to, well, contour. Just a little.
Milani Blush in Luminoso; adds a little peachy-pink sheen to the cheeks.

Eyes: NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base; an eyeshadow primer is essential for my oily lids.
Rimmel Eyeshadow Paint in Rich Russet; I kept things simple with this long lasting liquid eyeshadow all over the lid.
Make-Up Revolution Iconic 1 Palette; I added a touch of the darker matte brown in this palette through the crease just for some added definition.
L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim; this is my favourite liquid liner in pen form that I've tried. It's very easy to use as it's flexible enough, but not too flexible that it's uncontrollable. I only took this about halfway onto my lid for a subtle wing.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero & Demolition; Zero to tightline and Demoltion for the waterline. They do not budge.
Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara + Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara; one layer of The Rocket makes sure my curl holds all day and then the Estee Lauder mascara adds some extra volume.

Lips: MAC Viva Glam V Lipstick; I picked up a couple of new MAC lipsticks recently and this is the perfect everyday shade.

THE MAKEUP TIMER TEST TAG

As soon as I saw this over on Lily Pebbles' blog, I knew I had to do it. The tag involves timing yourself putting on your make-up and I took Lily's advice to not feel rushed and took my time (ha). My time ended up being quite a bit longer than hers. I did however include the time it took to choose a product, and then the time added on when I changed my mind.

I'm a bit of a professional when it comes to fairly natural looks using about a gazillon products. Just the average day in my world of make-up. Here's what I used:

Primer/Foundation: No7 Beautifully Matte Make Up Base / Benefit the Porefessional / Rimmel Match Perfection in Ivory & Soft Beige
Concealer: Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 2 / MAC Prolongwear in NC20
Bronzer/Blush: Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer / Sleek Face and Contour Kit in Fair / Rimmel Powder Blush in Santa Rose
Brows/Eyes: Rimmel Brow Pencil in Black/Brown / Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette / Cargo Vintage Escape Palette / Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara / Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara / Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal in Black & Brown / No7 Stay Perfect Mascara
Lips: Modelco Lipstick in Get Naked / NARS Pirée Lipgloss

Just a few bits then. Part of me wants to see how quickly I could do a full face of make-up if I tried. Maybe another day. Clearly, I take my eyeshadow blending oh so very seriously. I feel like I should throw in a few disclaimers for certain times but I'll just leave that to your imagination (aren't you lucky?).

Have you tried this tag? I tag you if you haven't done it yet!

MY HOLY GRAIL MASCARA

Mascara is one of those make-up products that I haven't always gotten along with. Throughout my teenage years I pretty much dubbed it useless when used on my short straight Asian lashes. I didn't bother with it on a daily basis, and the only thing it added was time; the extra time it took to remove my make-up.

When I discovered the world of make-up and beauty videos on YouTube about 2 years ago, I started trying out mascaras again and, just the same as last time they didn't really do anything for me. But this time, I persevered. Throw in my discovery of the lash curler and things started to change. I think I tried the infamous "The Falsies" before this one, and even partially convinced myself that I liked it after rave reviews from every YouTuber I watched, but again it was pretty much a waste of time. I have a mix of Ingrid (missglamorazzi) and Megan (from Megan and Liz) for introducing me to this beauty.

Maybelline The Rocket Volume Express Waterproof Mascara.

This definitely comes under the "game changer" title. I dabble with other mascaras pretty frequently (and have even included some in previous monthly favourites) in the hope that something will challenge, but I have never found another mascara that holds a candle to this one; and that's including high end. The waterproof formula is a godsend. I was always in denial about the difference waterproof formulas make until fairly recently, but not anymore. Now I can say that the extra time it takes to remove is worth it.

This is the only mascara I have ever used that gives me so much control. It lengthens, separates, adds volume, never clumps and most importantly creates and holds a curl. The brush seems a little strange at first but the small spikes help to make sure every lash is coated.

For my lashes, this is the best in the business. I will be repurchasing and repurchasing. It's gotten to the point that I try out other mascaras and when they don't work I just layer them over this one to use them up. This epitomises the idea of holy grail for me. It's the best. Good thing it's only £7.99.

Do you have a favourite mascara? If so, what is it and why do you love it so much?

Maybelline The Rocket Volume Express Waterproof Mascara here, £7.99 

FOTD: A NATURAL LOOK USING FAR TOO MANY PRODUCTS

I can admit that I'm often guilty of going overboard on my make-up when occasion doesn't call for it. A quick week day lunchtime catch-up with a friend probably doesn't lend to a dark smokey eye but sometimes I can get a tad carried away.

Today I found myself on the other end of the scale, with a very natural look. And when I say natural, I really mean it. But I stayed true to myself, and the list of products used is just as long as usual. This is a look I don't wear often, but probably should. I've kept the eyes very simple leaving the lower lashline completely bare (previously unheard of in my case!) and went for a slight flush in the cheeks and a berry-toned lip.

I started off with my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 53 Light Beige blended out with my beautyblender. This is really the only base I've been consistently grabbing for over a month now. It's a nice light-medium coverage and leaves a dewy finish on the skin; so it's perfect for summer. There was a slight peak in the product count due to the number of concealers used. I had a pesky blemish that just wouldn't play nice so I ended up layering my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 3 Warm Medium and my Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach. I got there in the end. I used my ever faithful MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NC20 under the eyes and a touch down the centre of the face for a slight highlighting effect. I set everything with a light dusting of my Maybelline Fit Me Powder in 120 Classic Ivory which is one step I maybe could have skipped. The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 03 Medium Matte and my Natural Collection Blush in Peach Melba were my choices to bring some colour back to the face.

For the eyes it really was simple. I primed with my NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base (skip if your eyes don't crease everything that touches them after 10 seconds), and then just dusted a bit of the Maybelline powder over the top to even things out and give more of a polished look. One layer of L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Extra Black on the top lashes and the eyes are done!

I almost forgot my brows (it happens quite a lot) but ended up just putting a touch of powder from my Whitening Lightning Brow Bar to Go through them and was happy.

Finally, for the lips, I dabbed on a fairly new purchase of MAC Syrup.

What products have you been using recently to create your every day natural make-up look? Leave them below...