Bend the Line with Lancôme Grandiose Liner

Eyeliner has been a staple part of my  make up routine since the my early teenage days of lining my water line with Chanel kohl noir. I dabbled with liquid eyeliner but had no idea what to do with it. It quickly became apparent that it wouldn't work on my water line so I gave up after coming to the conclusion that I must have weird watery eyes or something.  I graduated to MAC Fluidline when I left home at 18 and after being utterly frustrated with how quickly the expensive gel liner dried out I thought it was time I gave liquid eyeliner another go. I'd pretty much nailed the everyday cat eye flick using a MAC 209 brush with gel and after a bit of practise I was able to recreate the look using the felt tip-esque nib of a liquid liner.

I was so pleased to have the opportunity to try the Lancôme Grandiôse Eyeliner*, I love the mascara and I just so happen to be on the hunt for the Holy Grail liquid eyeliner after falling out of love with the Soap & Glory Supercat. The Grandiose Liner is ultra matte and really long lasting, it didn't crack after more than 16 hours wear and came off a dream with my usual eye make up remover (Bioderma Micellar Water).

I do usually have a preference for the pen style of liquid eyeliner, just because I feel there is something more substantial for me to hold on to. The Lancôme Grandiôse Liner has a solid, and long enough 'handle' that I've had no trouble using it. The flexible lid is ingenious and means I can bend the brush nib to the perfect angle to create my look. If you are used to using a brush, like the Nanshy Precise Bent Eyeliner brush, this is the eyeliner for you. The tip is superb, it doesn't get overloaded with product and its fine enough to create an intricate shape without being too fiddly and enabled me to get right up in the lash line without a problem. It is available in 3 shades, Noir Mirifique, Saphir Mirifique and Brun Mirifique. I think it is easy enough to use for a beginner and will not fail to impress the fussiest of liner aficionados.

I have to comment on the packaging, it is so luxe and dainty! I give the Lancôme Grandiôse Liner a 10/10 for longevity, pigmentation, packaging and ease of use. If you'd like to see how it works for you it is available here for £23.

How do you #BendTheLine?

Nail Art Week | Elegant Touch Stylist Range

I've always been obsessed with painting my nails, right from a young age. I think it stems from when I was around 10, and my dad wouldn't let me wear makeup, so nail polish was really the only thing I could play around with. Of course, back then I had cheapo stuff from claire's accessories and got it absolutely everywhere, but hey, we've got to learn somehow!

Since then, my ability to stay within the lines has improved and my collection has somewhat grown...

Since a massive craze a couple years ago started which saw every girl from ages 12 to 25 decorating their nails with all sorts of funky patterns, hand drawn images, gems, foils, designs etc. You name it, I had it all. I loved coming up with new ideas every day and never wore the same colour more than 2 days running. This is where I got a little obsessive. I would youtube how to do all these different marbled effects and gradients and it always kept me occupied.

Elegant Touch have fairly recently released this super exciting range of nail art bits 'n' bobs and I couldn't wait to have a play!  Their Stylist range* is packed full of fun stencils, stickers, gems and tape to get your nails festival ready. They also have some pretty nifty tools so you've got everything you need to decorate your nails and rock a creative nail art design of your own making!

There's heaps of different types of nail art accessories to choose from, and from as little as £2.95 and sold exclusively at Superdrug, I just had to have them all.

If you think your nails are too short, not to worry, they also have two great sets of barely there and clear false nails to make sure your nails look amazing.

To celebrate Nail Art Week, Elegant Touch is even giving you 25% off any nail art accessories/tools and Totally Bare and Totally Clear false nail sets. Use code NAILART to get yours before July 1st!

Do you like Nail Art? What's your favourite nail accessory?

13lbs in 13 Weeks | Results With Lucy Review | AFTER

For the past 13 weeks, I've been eating healthy and exercising 4 times a week. In this time, I've lost a total of 13lbs (5.8kg).. that's almost a stone!

Check out my progress at just 6 weeks, where I'd lost 7lbs!

The final few weeks were a lot more demanding and really made me feel like I was completing a hardcore workout at the gym. I still wasn't too keen on the dancy videos, as I realised I have 0 co-ordination and just could not follow the steps! Although, I spent a long time frantically trying to catch up with them, so it was good cardio at least!

As mentioned in my 6 week progress post, I was really bad and didn't follow the plan all the way through to the letter, as I missed a couple days then had to catch up and even took the plan on holiday! As all the videos and food suggestions are online, you can pretty much access them everywhere and anywhere, including in Algarve, where I was for 2 weeks recently. Yoga on the beach and Pilates by the poolside, you have access to your online personal trainer wherever you are, meaning there is no excuse to be lazy!

That's the thing I like most about Results with Lucy, is that you can do it whenever you want, which usually for me, is at 10pm in the evening. As I get home quite late from work, by the time I've sorted things out, eaten and let my food go down, it's quite late, so going to the gym is restricted to weekends or days off. 10pm is my only free hour before bed, and before you ask, I'm usually knackered by the end of it and sleep like a baby whilst burning off the calories in my sleep. 

Talking about my weight has always been so weird for me, I've never really felt comfortable revealing my weight, but as I've worked damn hard at this, I have no shame in admitting it now.. so long as the numbers are going down and not up! I started at 12st 7lbs, and am now at 11st 8lbs and falling! I'm much more confident than I was and fit into more of my 'thin clothes' that were stashed in a suitcase in the cupboard. But most importantly, I had a lot better time on holiday in bikinis and not feel overly self conscious. I'm a lot closer to my pre-relationship, pre-university weight than I was before and progress really is the best motivator. 

Ideally, I would like to lose another stone, and then see where I am with my body shape and clothes size, and see if I feel more comfortable in my self. Initially I wanted to get down to 9st 7lbs, but I don't know if that will feel like me.. if that make sense. I just want to look and feel amazing for my wedding next June.

L-R: Week 1, Week 6, Week 13.

Here's my final measurements:

Chest - 91cm (9cm loss)

Waist - 69cm (11cm loss)

Stomach - 79cm (11cm loss)

Hips - 85cm (8cm loss)

Bum - 100cm (15cm loss)

Thigh - 63cm (7cm loss)

Arm - 29 (4cm loss)

Fitness Test 2:

Press Ups - 22 (knees) (1 more)

Squats - 38 (full) ( 5 more)

Plank - 1 minute (full) 

Jacks - 62 (full) (6 more)

I can't wait to try the next stage; Wobble to Model, which is an Intermediate level 6 week programme to tighten, tone and define. With my holiday out the way, and summer weather on the horizon, I can't wait to get some more wear out of my summer clothes! Check back for my continuing progress! 

Have you tried Results with Lucy? What're your weight loss goals?

Vegan & Cruelty Free Makeup Tools | Brushes for Eyes

Winning Editor's Choice at the Beauty Shortlist Awards 2016, Nanshy have created several ranges of pretty special makeup brushes. From simple and understated, to pearlescent, curvaceous and beautiful, their brush sets are super easy to handle, apply product amazingly well and have crazy soft bristles packed densely into the brush head. 

These bristles are 100% synthetic so absolutely no animal hair is used in Nanshy products. The best part is, these antibacterial synthetic hairs are flexible, durable and aren't as hard to clean as 'natural' bristles made from animal hair and never lose their colour. Nanshy have been endorsed by PETA as being 100% Vegan and completely cruelty free, so you can use them totally guilt free. 

They come in various sets or you can purchase them individually from £5.95 right up to £49.95 for a full set of 12.  In this beautiful little Eye Brush Set, you get 7 super soft, lightweight brushes for blending, buffing, lining and shading your eyes.

Meet the brushes:

Angled Detailer Brush
Thanks to the closely compacted bristles and thin, angled design, you can use this brush to get right into the corner of the eye. This can also be used on the lips!

Flat Definer Brush
You can use this for your brows and lips. Works with creams, powders and liquids, you can also use this to create thicker lower lash shadow lines.

Precise Bent Eyeliner Brush
If you're looking for the easiest eyeliner brush to use, look no further. Due to its bent shape, its easier than ever to get in the lash line. Can be used with cream, gel or liquid eyeliner to get the thinest, most precise line possible.

Blending Eyeshadow Brush
Perfect for blending and shading with eyeshadows, its' perfect dome shape allows flawless blending on your lids and in the crease. Can be used with either wet or dry formulas.

Tapered Crease Brush
Designed specially for your crease to enhance your shadows and make your eyes pop. Great for blending and even adding shadow to the lower lash line.

Eye Crease Brush
This brush is perfect for blending in the crease shadows to add depth and fade your look to help blend beautifully.

Large Shader Brush
This is the perfect brush for packing on the colour. It's round shape is perfect for distributing colour generously and evenly across the eyelid.

After just a few uses, these have fast become my absolute favourite set.

For under £25, you can grab yourself a set too and it also comes in black!

What's your favourite brush brand? Stay tuned for our favourite face brush set.

Get the Look for £5 or Less | Christian Dior Dupe

I've never strayed too far from my obsession with aviators, they suit my face shape the best and they're just so simple. Whether they're mirrored or tinted, coloured or black, most of my sunglasses collection are of this style.

After seeing these beaut sunnies on Skin Face Beauty's blog, I just HAD to grab myself a pair. eBay is a great place to find hidden gems such as this, hey, you can buy pretty much anything on there! These are no exception, with the choice of 6 different colours and tints; Silver, Black, Gold, Black with Red lenses, Rose Gold and Gold with Silver lenses. All are more than covetable.

I went for the classic Black frames and black lenses, and the B-E-A-utiful Rose Gold pair.  The frames, considering they are cheap and cheerful, are surprisingly sturdy and not at all flimsy as I expected.
Similar to the coveted Christian Dior Technologic style, these thin metal frames, cat eye design and metal cross lens design, these are my new favourite pairs and feel strong, rigid and have that Luxury feel you'd expect from the real thing. Even the nose pads feel durable and luxe, I mean look at them, they're gold! 

Either spend £350 on the real deal Dior Technologics or £3.43 for these dupes! I know what I'd do!

I can't wait for there to be a summery sunny day so I can crack these babies out.

Have you found some amazing dupes? Let us know in the comments below.

BARCELONA | CITY SNAPS

Back in April I took a little trip to Barcelona for the weekend to destress in the run up to my dissertation deadline (and procrastinate in the best way, obviously). I went with a friend for a long weekend and spent a lovely few days eating delicious food and seeing the sights. Barcelona has been on my bucket list for ages and it would be rude not to take advantage of the cheap flights and Lastminute's secret hotel deals, which by the way, I am completely obsessed with. My travel companion was sort of incapacitated after a ski accident meaning we had to stick to activities that didn't involve too much any walking and took taxis rather than getting to grips with the local public transport. This was totally at odds to what I am used to on city trips but it was fun to play the tourist, and although a bus tour is something I would absolutely avoid, it was a great way to cram in all the must-see sights. 

In hindsight, April probably wasn't the best time of year to experience the Catalan city, it was very windy and I stupidly didn't bring any jumpers or coats. We did get a bit of sun though, which gave us the perfect opportunity to sit and sip cocktails. The highlight of the trip was probably the time we spent at the W hotel, but I'm going to write a separate post so this doesn't get too pic heavy. I'll also do a write up of my recommendations for food in Barcelona, because we ate a lot of it and there are some really great places I'd like to share with you all. 

These are a few snaps I took over the three days we spent there. 

isn't the scaffolding pretty? 

Have you been to Barcelona?

Elegant Touch | Nail Apothecary

My entire adult life I have gone through phases of having good healthy nails, brittle nails that always snap and then a period where I give up on natural nails and go for acrylics or gels. It's a vicious cycle.  I have tried taking supplements in case it's a vitamin deficiency causing the problem but I'm terrible at remembering to take them every day. Elegant Touch recently added some new products to their Nail Apothecary range, they have been developed to strengthen, protect, repair and hydrate nails. I think I have all of these problems because my nails look dry, are very prone to breakage and seem to take forever to grow. 

I tried these 3 beauties, the nail growth, nail armour and nail quencher formulas*. They are designed to be combined to create  a sort of nail prescription, this seemed like quite a novel idea and it's logical if you have more than one issue with your nails!

05 Nail Quencher is for dry and brittle nails. It promises to restore and soothe dehydrated nails and promote nail growth. It is slightly tinted which makes nails look ever so slightly pinkish and a bit healthier. 

07 Nail Armour contains collagen and keratin and aims to strengthen and harden thin nails. I found this especially good because the combination of weak nails and over zealous buffering means my nails can be tissue thin at their weakest points. This is a great formula for getting nails back to good health after acrylics have decimated them because it prevents nails peeling, cracking and splitting and is supposed to harden them over time. 

08 Nail Growth This is a salon strength formula that forms a barrier over your nails to protect them whilst 'boosting protein synthesis'. Elegant Touch recommend this baby for rebuilding nails after salon manicures!

They are £7.95 each and are available at Boots and from Elegant Touch online. Take a look at the rest of the range on our blog!

I've tried so many different nail care products that promised to harden and promote nail growth but I have always been left a little disappointed, especially if I have shelled out close to £20 for the privilege. These are an absolute bargain and so far I have been very impressed. The packing is simple and cute and I like that the key benefits and use instructions are on a little card that you can keep.

What do you do to keep your nails in shape?

Oval Face Brushes | Review of Artis Dupes

I recently splurged and treated myself to the 5 Artis Elite Mirrored brush set as a post exam present (full review coming soon). I have been using a couple of oval brushes for a while but I thought it would be worth reviewing a couple of dupes for the Artis Oval 6 brush, because it costs £44 if bought alone! These toothbrush shaped tools are fast becoming a staple for me and I don't know how I ever managed with a traditional foundation brush!

I ordered one from eBay about 6 weeks ago, and it took forever to arrive from China. It is also clearly a MAC rip off, which i'm not really okay with (the black brush on the bottom). If you are going to make a brush, make it as a stand alone product- why does it need to look branded? Surely no one thinks they are getting the real Mccoy for less than £2? I have the MAC oval 3 but I haven't included it in the review because it is too small to be practical for applying foundation. The third brush in the running is the Etude House Secret Brush that was around £9. 

I wasn't expecting the Artis brush to be as nice as it is, I have read an awful lot of hype from bloggers who have been paid to say nice things so I had an open mind. It is dream-soft and is literally perfect for applying liquid foundation. I'm really happy with it and much prefer it to using a beauty blender! If you want to get hold of one, SpaceNK sell them here. The bristles are perfect, the handle is perfectly ergonomic and sturdy enough so that I don't worry about snapping it during over enthusiastic blending. 

I've been using the Etude House brush for a few months now and was getting along quite nicely with it. The brush bristles are slightly too deep and not really dense enough so at times it felt like I was smearing foundation over my face but once I got to grips with it, it slipped into my routine well. The head is actually detachable, which makes it easier to clean and it comes with an alternative sponge head. The sponge is horrible and latex-y like a fake beauty blender so I stuck with the brush head. If the Artis brush is a 10/10, this is probably a solid 5. The handle feels cheap and is a lot flimsier than it's luxury counterpart.  This is the eBay seller I bought mine from. 

The black brush is possibly the worst tool I have ever used to apply make up. it is terrible, the handle feels like it's going to break if you apply any pressure to your face, the bristles feel nasty and it left application marks all over my face. I give it 0/10 but if you want to waste £1.27, I bought mine here. 

If you're in the market for an oval brush but don't fancy spending £34 on the MAC or £44 on Artis, I do recommend you try the Etude House Secret Brush to get to grips with oval brush application. It's cheap and cheerful and pretty easy to use. 

Have you tried any oval brushes?

Kat Von D | Everlasting Liquid Lipstick Review & Swatches

I've heard good things about Kat Von D, and everlasting liquid lipsticks in particular. I am going through a bit of a pink phase and Berlin looks like the perfect pink, not too bright or girly. It looks sophisticated and will hopefully look nice when I've got my summer tan! I like to keep my stash of dark vampy brown-reds well stocked and I thought, based entirely on swatches I saw online, that Vampira would make a good addition to my collection. Sephora describes Berlin as a warm rose and Vampira as a deep reddish burgundy. 

They are a bit flimsier than I thought they would be; they aren't poor quality but i'm so obsessed with packaging that these were a bit of a let down. The tubes are skinny which makes the suspicious me feel as if I'm getting less product for my money although I don't think this is actually the case, and they match the whole Kat Von D range very nicely! 

Berlin on the Left and Vampira on the Right. As per usual I haven't waited long enough for the swatches to dry, but they do have a matte finish. Unlike the ABH liquid lipsticks, these everlasting liquid lipsticks live up to their name and don't fade, or crumble after just a few hours wear. The formula didn't dry my lips out and they have managed to survive an evening of food-grazing and wine drinking. I'm not as happy with Vampira, it isn't opaque with one application and required a fair bit of going over to get it to a satisfactory shade. 

The detailing is pretty cute, and I actually prefer this to the likes of Gerard Cosmetics and ABH, I just wish the plastic felt a bit more heavy and solid. 

All in all, I like these. They tick the boxes for longevity and the colours are truly beautiful. I'm just too shallow and put too much stock on how the product looks, rather than just the quality. The price is reasonable, but I'd be happier (obviously) if they were ever so slightly cheaper! If you are in the US you can buy them here from Sephora for $20 each. 

What do you think of Kat Von D?