Harajuku Lovers G of the Sea Perfume

This is the new summer fragrance from Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Lovers range. As far as I'm aware Gwen is the only member of the gang who has grown a tail.

I love the under water themed packaging for this. It comes in quite a big box and would make a great gift for someone. I bought mine in Boots for £20 but I just checked on www.boots.com and they currently have a offer on where if you spend £19 or more on Harajuku Lovers fragrances you get a free Gwen doll. The doll is the original Gwen shape but its white and the doll comes with pens to colour it however you like. How cool is that!

Now onto the actual fragrance. I was really, really hoping this was going to be a similar coconuty smell to G from last years Summer Cuties. I have repurchased that perfume over and over and its my favourite ever summer perfume, in fact it could be my favourite all time perfume as I am rather partial to a bit (I mean a lot) of coconut smelling goodness.

Alas there is nothing coconutty about G of the Sea. I don't know if its just my extreme disappointment about the lack of coconut but I am really struggling to describe this. I think this is going to be a grower, its just a disappointment when I loved Summer Cuties so much.

The official description for this scent is "A fresh aquatic sent with a dry down of sun drenched woods"

It definitely smells like a summer perfume and the more I smell it the more it grows on me. I know its ridiculous but the only thing that comes to mind when I smell it is The Sun! Also make sure you spray it on you as it smells different on the skin.

A plus side to this fragrance is that you get 30ml compared to the pitiful 10ml with last years summer cuties.

MAC Surf Baby Hibiscus Lipstick

MAC's latest collection "Surf Baby" was released in UK stores last week. I had looked at various swatches from the collection online and I knew the only things I was interested in were 'Saffron" eyeshadow and "Hibiscus" lipstick. I decided to skip on "Saffron" as it just underwhelmed me when I swatched it. So this is the only thing I picked up from the collection.

Hibiscus is a bright coraly/red colour with a creamsheen finish

Personally I'm not a big fan of the Surf Baby packaging. I like the white but really not a fan of the drab coloured stripes. But of course its all about whats inside! This is not a colour for the faint hearted. I personally love any coral coloured lipstick so there was no way I could pass this one up but I definitely feel like I need to be more tanned to wear this.

There are 2 MAC colours that I would compare Hibiscus too and they are Toxic Tale which was released with the Venomous Villains collection and Viva Glam Cyndi.

From left to right: Toxic Tale, Hibiscus and Viva Glam Cyndi

Toxic Tale is more orange and matte then Hibiscus and Cyndi has more red tones but they are definitely similar.

Now I just need to work on that tan.....

Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air

I finally got my hands on my first Deborah Lippmann nail varnish! If you have not heard of Deborah Lippmann before she is an American celebrity manicurist. Her nail varnishes were impossible to find in the UK until House of Fraser recently started stocking them in their Apothecary. You can find them on the House of Fraser website and in store.

I originally heard about Deborah Lippmann after Lady Gaga appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. She is wearing a Deborah Lippmann colour called "Waking Up in Vegas".

I lusted after this colour for ages but it was impossible to get in the UK, even on eBay. Then by the time House of Fraser started stocking the brand my original lust had worn off! Does anyone else get that or just me? So i picked Glitter in the Air.

Have to admit half of what attracted me to this nail varnish is the name! It reminded me of the P!nk song of the same name and apparently Deborah created this colour with P!nks performance of that song in mind.

Its a milky blue colour with hexagon shaped blue and pink glitter pieces with small silver flecks.

I used 3 coats with a top coat of seche vite. I love this colour its completely unique, I have seen a colour like this and its a more grown up way to wear a glitter varnish.

The downside is the price. Deborah Lippmann colours range from £14 - £16 available from House of Fraser. I actually purchased mine from eBay, it came from America so it only cost me just under £10 including delivery. Obviously you have to wait longer, but if you are on a budget I would recommend checking eBay first.

Katy Perry O.P.I Collection Not Like The Movies & Teenage Dream

I love Katy Perry, I love a bit of tackiness and I love O.P.I so I knew I had to buy something from this collection! There are 4 shades in the collection and one black "Shatter Polish".

I picked up 2 colours from the collection. Not Like The Movies and Teenage Dream. You will have to excuse the state of my nails at the moment!

Not Like The Movies is the first colour I bought and the only one I planned on getting, but then I heard everyone and his mother raving about Teenage Dream.

I wanted NLTM as its a duochrome and since the release of the nail varnishes in the MAC Venomous Villains collection, I can't get enough duochrome in my life! I would describe it as a lighter version of Mean and Green from Venomous Villains. Depending on the light you get grey, silver, pink, purple and green flashes with tiny bits of shimmer in this beautiful nail varnish. I really love it as I don't have any other colours like this, it really is quite unique.

Teenage Dream, a baby pink glitter seems to have been the most popular colour from the collection. It really is a pretty colour, the glitter comes out very opaque on the nails so unlike other glitter nail polishes, you really can get away with 2-3 coats. I also like that there are some bigger chunks of glitter mixed in, it makes the polish that bit different and it also comes up really sparkly on the nails.

This collection is limited edition and all 4 shades are available on ASOS.com now for £10.50

MAC Wonder Woman (Restrained!) Haul

When I first heard about the MAC Wonder Woman collection I was really excited. Like Venomous Villains, these are the collections I love from MAC. Personally I love love love the packaging, its fun and completely different. So I was really looking forward to the release of Wonder Woman but after seeing the actual products and reviews on Temptalia (www.temptalia.com) I felt disappointed.

The collection was smaller then I thought and nothing stood out to me. I wish there had been some individual eyeshadows in this collection, paint pots or fluid lines, or just better colours but alas it was not to be.

Wonder Woman is due to be released in the UK in March as far as I'm aware and February in the US. As I mentioned in my previous post I have just come back from New York and before I went I was gutted to hear that the collection wouldn't be launched in the US until the 10th February...I came back on the 9th!

So imagine my joy when on my first day in the Big Apple (February 4th) I see this.....

Ahhhhhh! I still don't know the reason for the early release but I don't care! Now I don't know the exact date it came out but it must have been out for at least a day as one shade of the mineralize skin finish had already sold out (typically it was the one I wanted!)

The only thing I really wanted was the lipstick in "Marquise D'" which I got, I also wanted the Wonder Woman mirror but I was told this was an online exclusive (bummer) so I decided to get a blusher instead as these have a mirror and I thought it would be a cool compact for my bag. I would have got the mineralize skin finish instead of the blush but as I said, the one I wanted had already sold out :(

Mighty Aphrodite is a peachy coral blush split in 2 with a darker pinkier half. Its nothing remarkable and quite dupe-able but none the less a pretty, wearable colour which I will get a lot of use out of. I was lucky and picked up the last one in the store! I'm sure this will be one of the first things to sell out, so grab it while you can.

Marquise D' is a lovely colour. Its one of those lipsticks that you can chuck in your bag and apply it anytime throughout the day with no mirror. Its pretty sheer and one of those your lips but better colours. I would really recommend this. I think out of all the lipsticks this is the shade that's most highly coveted so grab it ASAP.

So I only grabbed 2 things from the collection and I'm happy with my purchases, when the collection is released over here in March I think I will order the mirror online and maybe one other thing. If you do not like the packaging though i would say you could very easily skip this collection.

Word of warning - Based on my experience in the US Pink Power Mineralize Skin Finish, Mighty Aphrodite Blush and Marquise D' Lipstick will be the first to sell out. So if you want these, get them straight away :)

New York City Sephora Haul

So I have just got back from an awesome holiday in New York with my 3 best friends and I have the post holiday blues :( I love New York and this was my 5th visit! I had a huge list of make up I wanted to buy in Sephora but had to restrain myself! Anyway here's what I got :)

1. Make Up For Ever HD Foundation "115" - This was not on my list to buy, I was actually planning on getting Nars Sheer Glow but when I swatched Sheer Glow it came up very yellow on my skin and I was put off. This was a bit of a last minute ahh go on then throw it in the basket purchase! I justified it as MUFE is hard to get in the UK. When I tested this it blended into my skin perfectly and was not heavy at all which is what I want in a foundation. I don't have perfect skin but I hate heavy foundations. My MAC Face and Body is almost out and when it is I will be moving onto this bad boy.

2. Lorac Perfectly Lit Spotlight Powder "Luminous" - This was a product I had planned on getting after hearing it raved about by several US YouTubers including one of my favourites LisaLisaD1. This is a highlight powder and I can totally understand the hype, it really gives the skin a beautiful sheen without being glittery, its very smooth not gritty at all. Love this :)

3. Bare Minerals Mineral Veil "Hydrating" - I'm not a big powder fan and I normally don't even use powder but when I heard Fleur De Force raving about this powder I decided to give it a go. When I opened it, I was surprised as it was more glittery then I thought but it doesn't show up as much on the skin which is a good thing. This is a really nice powder for giving your skin that glow, whereas I find powder tends to dull down your skin, this does the opposite. I have only used this once so will let you know how I get on with it.

4. Urban Decay Afterglow Glide On Cheek Tint "Quickie" - Urban Decay seem to be releasing impressive new products all the time! They really are on a roll, I am particularly loving the new packaging designs and it seems I want every new release which is not a good thing! I had seen these glide on cheek tints online and lusted after them, being a huge cream blush fan! They are not available in the UK yet so I was so excited to see these in Sephora. All the colours are gorgeous but "Quickie" stood out the most to me. Its a bright neon pink with a hint of peach and I love it. I also love the consistency of these, really easy to blend unlike the MAC cream blushes. I was also hoping to get the new Urban Decay highlighters because I love the skull packaging but they didn't have them in Sephora :(

5. Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer "Light" - I was most excited to try Kat Von D's range, what I love about it is the effort she has obviously put in with the design and art work. I cannot understand celebrities who are given the opportunity to release a perfume or make up range and the packaging is a piece of shit! If I was ever given an opportunity like that, god I would work my arse off to make it perfect! Anyway I got the concealer after hearing a lot of good things, I haven't had the opportunity to properly try it yet but this stuff is heavy duty and you only need the tiniest bit.

6. Kat Von D Lipstick "Backstage Bambi" - I love this colour its the perfect bright pink but surprisingly wearable! I will definitely post some pictures of this colour as its my new favourite!

7. Kat Von D Perfume Purser Spray "Saint" - Purely bought for packaging reasons!

8. Kat Von D Perfume Purser Spray "Sinner" - See above!

9. Kat Von D Perfume Roller ball "Adora" - Oooh this one was bought based on smell! And we don't have roller ball perfumes in the UK like in the US

10. Sally Hansen HD Nail Varnish "DVD" - Love this colour its that kind of duo chrome I have been obsessed with lately. Swatches will follow shortly. I bought this in Duane Reed.

11. O.P.I Nail Varnish "Yoga-Ta Get This Blue!" - Just liked the colour! Another Duane Reed purchase.

12. Anastasia Brow Gel "Espresso" - I'm lazy when it comes to my brows and I never like how they look when they are filled in, so I thought a tinted brow gel would be a happy medium. I do really like how easy this is and it gives that groomed look, my only complaint would be that the brush is quite big and I have got blobs of brown on my head!

13. MAC Wonder Woman Lipstick "Marquise D'" - I'll do a separate post on this....:)

14. MAC Wonder Woman Blush "Mighty Aphrodite" - Same here :)

Oh and I also bought one of those EOS lip balms in mint......not that impressed! They are just weird!

Nail Rock Designer Nail Wraps

I have been wanting to try these nail wraps by Nail Rocks for ages, so I was chuffed to get these pink velvet leopard skin ones for my birthday. Sadly the love affair is over.

First of all these are a right pain in the arse to apply! If you have no patience and get bored simply waiting for your nails to dry, then run away in horror now!

There are step by step instructions on the back of the pack, which I would recommend strictly following if you are to stand any hope!

First you have to file and shape your nails. You will also need to push any excess cuticle back.

Then you have to buff the nail to remove any shine, in order for the wraps to stick.

Remove the wraps and place on your nail, heat the wrap with a hairdryer and push firmly down on one side, apply heat again and press firmly down on the other side, apply heat again and press firmly down on the whole nail. This needs to be repeated for each nail.....that's right x10!

For the excess wrap at the end of your nail, the instructions tell you to simply file this away in a downward motion. THIS DOES NOT WORK ARGH! The nail wrap is too thick and impossible to file. I ended up just cutting the ends off with scissors. I then tried to file again just to shape, but this just created ugly tear marks.

Mmmm pretty! Also as you can see in this picture, there are areas where the wrap has not stuck. There is only so much heat your fingers can withstand!

I could tell straight away that these, were not going to last long. The edges were peeling and were so rough it was uncomfortable. After a few hours I couldn't bear it anymore and peeled them all off.

I am so disappointed by these, for the time and effort you put in the result is utterly crap! Its such a shame as well. From a distance they actually look really nice and they have a lovely shine to them, but as soon as you get up close you see all is not well!

Now you might be thinking maybe its just me, but my best friend bought these nail wraps before me and had exactly the same problem and hers only lasted a day. I have also read some reviews and these have not fared well. My recommendation would be to try the cheaper version nail wraps as they are thinner so will adhere to the nail easier and be easier to file down.

But as far as Nail Rock goes....don't waste your money!

Availability: Topshop, ASOS and various other online stores

Price: Varies roughly £6.50

Repurchase? NO