First Impressions: Essence Cuticle Balm, Nail Balm, All Round Talent, Nail Care Pen & Penneys Beeswax Handcream

Phew! That was a mouthful of a title!

So lately I've been trying to look after my nails and hands a bit more. I got a manicure before my holiday to Spain, and I'm convinced the cuticle oil & vitamin D from the sun did them a world of good. I can see the difference in the new nail growing, so I'm trying to keep it up.

I started by getting the Nail Care Pen by Essence seeing as it seems the easiest way to apply all them good oils to the cuticles and nails. I usually do it after I've taken off my nail polish and washed my hands. I haven't used it enough to see too much of a difference but I have noticed my cuticles are a lot softer, and I haven't has any dry/rough skin around the sides of my nails, which I normally do.

It contains: vitamin a & e, gingko extract, jojoba oil, avocado oil and almond oil.

The other Cuticle/Nail item I got was the Nail and Cuticle Butter Stick from Essence. It's very like the oil pen, but this one is more moisturising. You apply it the same as the oil pen, by rubbing it on your cuticles and around the nail area, then gently massage it in. I love the smell of this, it's just like beeswax handcream!

It contains: vitamin e, shea butter, lanolin and beeswax.

I then got the Essence All Round Talent nail polish. This claims to be an "all-in-one base or top coat, ridgefiller, hardener, optical whitener and sealer". I figured why not try it out! I just have to wait until I remove my current nail polish to try it and see if it can live up to its claims. It does have a purple tint to it so I believe it will whiten, but I'll wait and see about the rest... Update: I just tested it on my baby finger and just as I suspected the purple tint to it does lend to the whitening effect BUT I put it over my pink nail polish on my other finger and it altered the colour, only a bit, but still noticeably different to the other nails. (Nail with brightener is more of a lighter pink, the rest are fuschia pink.)

The last things I got are two hand/nail creams. I got a hand, nail and cuticle cream from Essence (I told you I had a think for it haha!) and a beeswax hand cream from Penneys (Primark) for 1,50€! 

The nail cream does the same job as the other two I mentioned before, so I won't go on about it too much. It's a water based cream.

It contains: pro-vitamin B5, natural beeswax and glycerin.

The other hand cream I got from Penneys is a beeswax and jojoba oil cream - it smells amazing. Just sayin'. I got this to try out because I have seen so many people talking about hand creams, and yes I know it's coming up to summer but you have to have pretty hands to show off all the pretty summer manis! And anyway, it's never a bad thing to look after your skin, no matter where.
I got this primarily to keep in my handbag so I would have no excuses for not taking care of my hands, but I definitely am going to get another one, especially seeing as they're so cheap (1,50€). I would recommend everyone to get your hands (pun intended) on some when you're next in there!

It contains: Beeswax, Jojoba oil & Almond oil

That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed! I will definitely keep you all updated on how it goes regarding all my new lotions and potions! Keep an eye out on twitter, instagram and she said beauty for updates!

What have been your recent discoveries? What's your nail care routine? Let me know in the comments!

Ta-ta for now kittens! xo

Favourites: March/April!

Hey guys, I hope I'm not too late with this post! If you haven't seen my Favourites for January/February post, check it out and see what's changed!

Included here are a few new buys that I picked up on my Holiday in Spain, I hope you enjoy!

Here we go...

March/April Favourites with Catrice, Essence, Lioele

NYX Powder Blush in 'Natural' - I mentioned these blushes in my Wishlist: May! post because I'm lusting over more shades of these. They are so pigmented! I wear this shade regularly and even though the shade is called ' Natural' I feel it gives a more pinky blush to my cheeks. It's super soft and easy to blend out tocreate a subtle flush of colour.

Sephora Contour Blush/Bronze Brush - I picked this up in Spain and it's actually becoming my Holy Grail blush brush (do they even exist??). It's really precise when it comes to applying blush/bronzer to the cheeks and blends highly pigmented blushes out really well.

theBalm Lipstick in 'Ima Goodkisser' - theBalm isn't available in Ireland, but I've seen them online, and the packaging is just too quirky to ignore that I had to pick something up. The shade I got is a light, natural looking pink with a hint of peachiness to it. It's really creamy and glides on a dream. Another thing I noticed about it is that it leaves your lips with a cool minty feeling, it didn't mention anything about it on the box but I don't mind!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Addis Ababa' - Ok, this I got for the colour primarily. But it's actually a lovely product. Even though it dries matte, it is in no way drying on your lips. It's very pigmented and you only need a thin layer. It has really good staying power, and is perfect for layering over a lipstick to alter the colour. I've used it several times over my ELF Mineral Lipstick in 'Natural Nymph' for a really soft baby pink look.

No. 7 Extreme Length Mascara - I got this free in boots in a little case with various other No. 7 goodies, I mentioned it in my haul post, but I hadn't used it much then. Now though I can't get enough of it! I only got the travel sized version, but I'm seriously considering buying the full sized version!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 'Beige Clair' - I was in need of a good coverage foundation and saw Hannah from Midnight Violets mention the Healthy Mix Serum So I went to Boots and checked it out. It has really good coverage, but without looking cakey at all.

Lioele Triple the Solution BB Cream - After seeing Shaaanxo use this as a base under her foundation I decided to do some research on Asian bb creams, etc., and thought it looked really good. After getting some samples and trying it on its own and under my regular foundation I decided to bite the bullet and go for it! It's really good and I love the smell (is that weird..?) It has really good coverage on its own, which means I don't have to use as much foundation to get the coverage I want, therefore saving product!

Essence Fix & Matte Loose Setting Powder - I got this aages ago but only really started using it recently. It's so finely milled it's amazing. It makes such a difference to the look of your face. And because it's so finely milled it doesn't appear to 'cling' to the tiny hairs on your face. It's translucent as well, so it doesn't make your makeup look 'heavy' or alter the colour/coverage.

And finally...
Catrice Nail Polishes - All of them! They come in such gorgeous colours, it's so hard to resist. The one I got most recently is 'Genius in a Bottle'. It's a copper/forest green iridescent colour that changes depending on the angle. They are pretty opaque - two coats is plenty. They also have one of those flat brushes for application which I really like, as it makes it a lot easier.


Phew! So those are the products I've been loooving these past months. What have been your favourites lately? Have you got a holy grail brush or other product? Let me know in the comments!!
I hope you enjoyed and come back soon!

Don't forget you can find me on Twitter, Instagram & She Said Beauty - to name a few! My Live Twitter/Instagram feed can be found in the sidebar, along with all my other blogging sites.

Ta-ta for now!  xo