Ahem. I MAY have been shopping today...

• Leighton Denny Polish in Stunning - one of my beauty staples, in my opinion it's the perfect formulation and the perfect everyday pink
• Nutrisummer Face and Nutrisummer Mist - Nutrisummer is my favourite gradual tan so when I found out they did a mist and face tan I had to try (especially since I tend to breakout if I use body tan on my face...a beauty no-no there y'all)
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - my DiorSkin Nude ran out so since I've heard such great things about it I thought I'd give it a go (apparently it's the beauty industrys best selling foundation)
• 17 Glitter Topcoat - I'm a magpie, what can I say? If it sparkles, I'll take it.
• Random fabric trimmings and cheap brushes from Bodycare - for some Valentines themed nail art I'm planning...keep your eyes peeled!

As soon as I've tried them, I'll do some reviews. I also managed to resist a Nails Inc set of 4 full sized polishes (nice colours too) for £10 in Debenhams, which I think shows EXTREME self control on my part.

In non-beauty news, I also bought milk, sushi, a smoothie, 2 pairs of work shoes and my ASOS order arrived (some of it isn't great, some of it is).

Dermalogica Favorites Holiday Kit

I love Dermalogica, I already use their cleanser and masque (see below), and if I ever get a facial, I make sure it's a Dermalogica one - they do face-mapping and recommend products for you, guaranteeing they'll work to try and sort any skin problems you may have if specifically recommended.

But, the products are pretty expensive (especially when you want EVERYTHING), so before I committed to spending money extending my collection, I thought I'd buy some minis, so the Favorites Holiday Kit it was:

It contains: Precleanse (0.5 fl oz), Gentle Cream Exfoliant (0.3 fl oz), Daily Microfoliant (0.45 oz), Skin Hydrating Booster (0.25 fl oz) - so, they are all pretty small but my word, good things do come in small packages! My skin feels amazing, the Precleanse and Daily Microfoliant will be bought in full when these minis run out...

InStyle 100 Best Beauty Buys 2010

I bought InStyle for the first time today, predominantly because of the 20% off ASOS code within - but I'm actually really pleased as it also came with a booklet about the 100 Best Beauty Buys of 2010, definately worth a read!

I decided to do a quick run through of what I agree with, disagree with and want to try on the list. I had originally planned to copy the list out but decided on giving my opinions instead.

Products I agree with:

• Best facial exfoliator - Dermalogica Daily Microfiliant - exfoliating particles in this are so fine, you can use it every day without damaging your skin...plus it actually works!
• Best long-lasting lip colour -Max Factor Lipfinity - I'm something of a long lasting lip connoisseur and this is by far the best I've use
• Best self tan for the body - St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse - the mousse formula is really easy to apply and gives a nice coloured tan (I also like the Fake Bake spray too)
• Best base coat - CND Stickey - I've blogged about this before!

Products I disagree with:

• Best moisturiser for normal to oily skin - Creme De La Mer -I hate this moisturiser, it looks and smells cheap, contains lots of thickening agents, doesn't do anything for your skin that Nivea or similar wouldn't and I've recently been told that it allegedly costs £6 to make (don't know how true that is though!)
• Best moisturiser with self tan - Johnson's Holiday Skin Body Lotion - PAH! The best is Loreal Nutrisummer in my opinion

Products I want to try:

• Best mask for congested skin - Eve Lom Rescue Mask - sadly with a £46.98 price tag, trying is unlikely!
• Best spot treatment - Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel
• Best wash-off cleanser - Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils
• Best compact foundation - Chanel Teint Innocence Compact
• Best stick foundation - Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick
• Best top coat - Seche Vite

Best get saving up really!

Backcombing/teasing brush - it works!

Last time I was getting my hair done, I mentioned to my hairdresser that I like a lot of volume at my roots and that I was partial to a bit of backcombing. She tottered off and came back with one of these:It's a backcombing/teasing brush! She suggested if I went to Sally's I'd be able to get one cheaply, sadly I can't drive to get to Sallys so I headed to the trusty internet and found the brush above, which arrived today.

It works! It backcombs effectively and feels a lot less harsh on my hair than my usual methods of backcombing, there is a worrying sound of static when doing it and I think the plastic bristles aren't dissimilar to cheap hairbrushes you can get from the £1 shop, but I'm pleased with it! I did take some pics of the effects on my hair but my roots are so bad lately I was too ashamed to post them, damn the recession.

Shiseido The Mascara Base (Lash Primer)

Since Clinique discontinued the lash primer I used to use by them, I had to search for another one, because my lil lashes are, well, little. After a bit of research I found a lot of recommendations for this product - Shiseido The Mascara Base.

I had never used anything by Shiseido previously but thought I'd give it a go! And I'm glad I did - this product actually makes a difference to my lashes, a more noticeable difference than Clinique ever did. It actually made enough of a difference that my boyfriend (who I could come and meet with pink hair, and he wouldn't notice) commented how long my lashes were looking, woooo. Probably still not long enough to be classed as "long" or for me to hang up my false lashes just yet but at least you can actually see them above my liquid liner line now!

The only criticism I have of this product is that it's HARD WORK to remove, because it's sort of a greyish colour as well, it's kind of hard to tell if it's all off or not until you touch your lashes and realise they're still loaded with product.

Katy Perry Crystal Nails DIY Tutorial...bling bling!

I know this is a bit late (Katy Perry tweeted the above pic like 2 months ago...) but I still love it, finally got round to doing it (whilst I had short nails) and thought I’d tell you how I did it!

It’s really easy, though somewhat time consuming.

Tools:
CND Super Stickey

OPI polish in Glamour Game
Elegant Touch Brush On Nail Glue
Blu-Tack
Orange stick
Crystals (I bought 10,000 from Ebay)
CND Super Shiney

How to:
1. Basecoat
2. Polish
3. Attach the Blu-Tack to the end of your orange stick
4. Use the Blu-Tack/orange stick tool to pick up a crystal by gently pressing the Blu-Tack onto the top of the crystals (so the sparkly bit is stuck in the Blu-Tack)
5. Paint nail with nail glue in a stripe across the nail where you’re first going to attach the crystals
6. Press the rhinestones onto your nails by placing them onto your nails via the Blu-Tack and pressing lightly
7. Repeat in rows until the nail is covered
8. Wait for the nail glue on the whole thing to have dried properly
9. Cover with (good) topcoat

Voila......................................

...............................................Bling bling!

I think this would work amazingly well in acrylic rather than just with polishes too. I’d also recommend getting larger crystals that the ones I used, daaaaaaaaaaamn they were small.
It looked really nice when I started at the top, almost like a french mani but with crystals rather than white tips, and I think that overall that's a more wearable look.

Lord knows how long it’ll last but I’ll keep you updated………………….