Rimmel Colour Rush Trio Eye Shadow 760 Elements

Hi there! Today’s post is about Rimmel Colour Rush Trio Eye Shadows 760 Elements. This product was in the half price bin at my local Poundworld store – so it was 50p only! This eyeshadow trio is a leftover item from a discontinued range, but it was sealed, so I was happy to pick it up. But – there’s a but…

I’ve now tried the product, and I’m pretty much underwhelmed. I’m sure you see why when you look at the swatches above. The eyeshadows felt soft and silky, but they weren’t very pigmented. They came out really pale and lacklustre. I think this would explain why this pretty-looking neutral eyeshadow trio ended up in a discount store.

I will definitely use these three eyeshadows, but since they’re so pale, I can only use them as highlighter (shade 1) or blending shades (shades 2 and 3). Anyway, I hope my other recent beauty bargains will not let me down.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Colourful Nails & Stamping With Pueen 63

Hi there! Today’s post concludes nail week. I hope you like that I saved the best for last. 🙂

I never really knew what to do with Pueen’s 63 plate from their Stamping Buffet collection. I thought I’d just paint all my nails in a different colour and give this stamping plate a try.

I used: Boots 17 Pretty In Peach (pinky), Rimmel Salon Pro 500 Peppermint (ring), Astor Fashion Studio 137 (middle), NYC In A Minute 264 Lincoln Square Lavender (index).

If you wonder about the thumbs – I used Orly Snow Cone (light blue). Too bad I didn’t capture that one! And the black ‘stamping polish’ is Revlon Colorstay Stiletto.

I love how this mani turned out! I love the colours and the different images – and now I think Pueen’s 63 plate is a total gem! Feel free to let me know what you think. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Nails Inc. Baker Stret & Claire’s All Sorts

Hi there! Since I’ve done two nail posts since Monday, I decided this week would be nail week. 🙂 And I hope you’re enjoying nail week as much as I do!

So for this mani I dug out one of the more interesting glitter toppers I have. But let’s start from the beginning.

At first I painted my nails with Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (2 coats), a beautiful medium blue that really pops.

Then I painted on one coat of glitter topper. This one’s called All Sorts and it’s from Claire’s Accessories. This glitter topper features lime green, yellow and pink glitter in different shapes and sizes. Btw, I love the yellow squares the most!

I think this mani came out wonderful. The colours pop and it looks fun. If I were a rock star, this is the kind of mani I’d wear all the time! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – NYC In A Minute 296 Water Street Blue, Sally Hansen HD 03 Pixel Pretty & Stamping

Hi there! A couple of months ago I did this super cute floral mani which drew lots of compliments. And now that my nails look alright again, I thought I’d try the same mani – in reverse. 🙂

So instead of painting my nails white and stamping on blue flowers, this time I did it the other way around. I painted my nails with NYC In A Minute 296 Water Street Blue (2 coats), a medium blue with a creamy finish.

Then I added 1 coat of Sally Hansen’s HD 03 Pixel Pretty, a shimmery turquoise which adds a lot of sparkle!

And then I stamped on a few different floral images from different stamping plates – using the fabulous white Essence Nail Art Stampy Polish.

How do you like this mani? And which one do you like better – the original blue on white mani or this one? Feel free to comment and thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Rimmel Lycra Pro 313 Cocktail Passion & Stamping With Pueen 51

Hi there! I haven’t done a nail post in a while. A few weeks ago I broke two nails (one on each hand), and then I made the mistake of trying out false nail tips (Never again!) which made it even worse.

So I’ve been patient, and now I’m happy to show you this cute mani from last week. I painted my nails with Rimmel Lycra Pro 313 Cocktail Passion, a bright and gorgeous orangey-pinkish coral shade.

I then stamped on a floral image – with the help of my trusted favourite black polish – Revlon Colorstay 270 Stiletto.

The floral image is from Pueen’s 51 plate. This plate is available as part of Pueen’s beautiful Stamping Buffet collection.

I really liked this mani. I love the Rimmel polish and Pueen’s 51 plate is just so pretty! 🙂 Feel free to comment and thanks for stopping by.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Poundland Allura Make-Up Brushes

Hi there! I’ve wanted to review Poundland’s own brand make-up brushes for quite some time – because I’ve been using them for ages and I’m very happy with them. Allura is Poundland’s old own brand. They do all kinds of different brushes – kabuki, foundation, blush, powder and eyeshadow brushes. And I’ve got them all.

I’ve only taken pictures of the double-ended angled eyeshadow brush, the kabuki brush and the angled blush brush – that’s because these were the only unused back-up brushes I could find right now. I also want to apologise for the poor photo quality. Due to the lighting it was impossible to take better pics of the brushes in their original packaging. But back to the brushes!

What I like about Poundland’s make-up brushes is that they’re synthetic. If you’ve got trouble with brushes with natural (= animal hair) bristles, you’ll be fine when you use these brushes because the bristles are 100% synthetic.

I also love the quality of Allura’s make-up brushes. I’ve been using some of their brushes for well over a year – and they still look pretty good. I clean my eyeshadow brushes after each use, so I’m not easy on them!

The design of these brushes is also quite pretty. I really like the black / white / hot pink colour combo. I think these brushes look girly, but they don’t look as cheap as they are. 🙂

I’m very happy with my Poundland make-up brushes and I can only recommend them. I also think these would be great for someone who’s just starting to get into make-up, but who likes to experiment. A collection of all of Poundland’s make-up brushes would make a great gift for a young lady!

Poundand’s Allura make-up brushes are £1 each. But Poundland is currently giving some of its own brand stuff a make-over. And these pretty brushes are being replaced with simple black & white ones under their Make-Up Gallery brand. If you’d rather have these girly ones, you need to be quick! And if you’re a nail nut, check out Poundland’s nail art brushes, too!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Wash, Body Butter, Body Scrub

Hi there! On Boxing Day I picked up quite a few half price gift sets. And now I’ve finally tried Boots’ Christmas-themed offerings. So today we’re looking at Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Wash, Body Scrub and Body Butter.

Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Wash lathers up nicely. The body wash isn’t too drying and the apple scent is intense and really festive. Nice one!

Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Scrub is not that great. Whilst the scent is lovely, the scrub doesn’t contain many scrubby bits. It does make my skin feel much softer, but this scrub is too gentle for my taste.

Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Butter is just as fantastic as all the other Extracts body butters I’ve tried. It’s not too thick and not too thin, and I found it super easy to massage it into my skin. This body butter is very moisturising, but it’s not sticky at all. And it smells wonderfully natural of apples with a touch of cinnamon. 10 stars!

These three products were part of a large “For All Seasons” themed set containing products from four different Boots Extracts products lines. The total for these three travel size products (75ml Body Wash and Scrub, 50ml Body Butter) works out as £2.50.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Manhattan Only Button Baby Eyeshadow

Hi there! And look what I found at Poundworld! I picked up this cute eye palette for £1 only. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was so cheap. But I thought I’d just give it a try. This palette’s name is Manhattan Only Button Baby, and it contains four eyeshadows and a small sponge applicator. Let’s take a closer look!

I’m not a fan of sponge applicators, so I won’t be using this one on my eyes. But I don’t throw sponge applicators out. I always keep them for future nail art projects!

But let’s look at the eyeshadows. The first shade is a gorgeous pearly beige. It’s buttery soft and highly pigmented. Great stuff! The second shade is a bright matte orange. The eyeshadow feels a bit chalky, but it’s really highly pigmented. And this colour really pops!

Shade 3 is matte light brown with greyish undertones. It’s not as pigmented as the other shades, but it’s not bad at all. And the shade is quite pretty. Shade 4 is another matte brown. It’s darker and a bit warmer than shade 3. It’s a really lovely shade.

I think this eyeshadow palette is really good! I didn’t think I could be friends with the orange shade, but I actually like it. In terms of quality, I’m happy with this palette. Fallout isn’t a problem, and the eyeshadows stay put for almost an entire day.

I’m currently using this palette along with what’s left of my Sleek Au Naturel palette – which works out very well because of the obvious neutral theme of both palettes.

I would totally recommend this eye palette for £1! I know Poundworld does a few different shades / types, so I think I’ll go back and have a closer look at the other palettes. If you picked up any of the other Manhattan Only palettes recently, please tell me if you liked them!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Restore Your Old, Thick, Gloopy Nail Polish – With Nail Polish Thinner

Hi there! If you have lost count of how many nail polishes you’ve got, chances are you also have a few gloopy polishes. But you don’t have to throw them out! You can restore them!

I’m currently using Pretty’s Nail Varnish Thinner to bring some of my old polishes back to their former glory. It’s super easy. All you need to do is add two to three drops of thinner to your nail polish – and shake it. That’s it. If the polish needs a little more thinner, repeat the procedure.

The Pretty thinner is just under £2 for a 15 ml bottle which is enough to bring dozens of thick polishes back to life. I’ve previously had a ‘professional’ polish thinner – but you don’t have to splurge. That’s because all polish thinners work the same way and they contain the same ingredients: Ethyl Acetate and Butyl Acetate – a.k.a. solvents!

You’ll find the very same solvents in most of your nail polishes anyway. These solvents keep your polish liquid in the bottle. And when these solvents evaporate, your polish dries. So when you add thinner to your nail polish, all you really do is replenish the solvents. It’s that simple. 🙂

So if you don’t want to give up on an old favourite polish that’s gone gloopy, just get yourself some thinner! As long as the polish is only gloopy (but not dry, hard or otherwise ‘gone’), you should be able to restore it. Good luck!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Alberto Balsam Mandarin and Papaya Shampoo and Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about Alberto Balsam’s Mandarin and Papaya shampoo and conditioner. These two products are aimed at people with normal or dry hair. I’d like to think of my hair as normal, so I thought these products would be perfect for me to try. And I’m not disappointed at all. Here’s why.

The shampoo is great. It smells fresh and fruity and it cleanses my hair and my scalp nicely. The shampoo is powerful, but gentle. Great stuff! The conditioner is just as nice. It detangles my long curls without any problems and without weighing my hair down. And it makes my hair feel super soft and silky. I love it!

I think this shampoo / conditioner combo is much better than some of the branded stuff out there. It’s not as good as Herbal Essences’ originals line, but it’s definitely better than most of Garnier’s offerings.

Alberto Balsam has recently revamped its entire line. And apparently they ‘improved’ the formulas. So I will have to check what exactly they’ve changed and if the new formulas are as good as the ‘old’ ones. If they are, Alberto Balsam’s Mandarin and Papaya shampoo and conditioner will become beauty staples!

Alberto Balsam’s shampoos and conditioners are available for £1 each. The old bottles are 400ml, and the new ones are 350ml – but that’s still great value.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde