NOTD: Shellac nails

Hi! Just thought I'd share my new nails with you all. I get gel overlays every 3-4 weeks and always swap the colour. Today I went for a nice autumny plum shade in a special nail varnish called shellac. With this type of varnish a UV light is used to set the formula. They come out lovely and shiny and they are instantly dry. It also doesn't chip like regular polish. 

I had the same polish applied to my toes. I love the shellac because as I say it lasts ages. The last time I changed my toes was 6 weeks ago and the shellac I had before was still perfect apart from the nail growth! :)

Gel overlays, shellac nails and shellac toenails cost me £50 altogether. Not cheap exactly but they are so worth it! I'd recommend this polish to anyone. 

X

My new business venture!

Hi everyone! So I've not mentioned anything about my new business venture until now. I figured I'd see how it goes for a bit before I announce it! However I'm really passionate about it and my products, and it's going well so I thought now was the time to tell you all! :)

So what is it? ...It's called Forever Living (you may have heard of it?) and it's in the health and nutrition sector, although it can wear many hats as the products also involve beauty, cosmetics, animal care and more!

Why do it? There's so many reasons people opt to join the business and I won't go into them all but for me I'm doing it primarily for a second income. Having now used the products, I've also fallen in love with the business and I'm my own best customer as it were! 

Like I say, there are tons of products and I'm yet to meet a person who doesn't want to try at least one of them. There really is something to appeal to everyone.

You can check out my online store here if you'd like to have a browse and can buy directly from there too. However I will quickly show you my top 5 products I've been enjoying recently. 

1. The Clean9 cleanse pack. You may have seen my recent posts about this detox and it's all thanks to this pack- vanilla or chocolate. If you'd like to hear what the plan entails then please read my posts (found under the #clean9 header or watch my youtube video for a day-to-day account). I cannot tell you how worthwhile I found doing this was. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

2. The Heat Lotion. I'd never used a product like this before but for those of you that are familiar with deep heat then it's used for a similar purpose but does a much better job! This is great for relaxing those tensions. Particularly effective after a stressful day at work. I like to apply some onto my shoulders and I feel the stress melt away! Also HEADACHE RELIEF! It's amazing at getting rid of tension headaches. I apply a tiny bit to my temples and TA DAH! It's like magic! Cannot live without it now.

3. The Forever Lite Ultra (Vanilla) (Chocolate available). Think of this as a milkshake. I began drinking this whilst on the Clean9 Detox and I enjoyed it that much that I've continued having it! I use this as a meal replacement. 300ml of soya milk and a scoop of this and I have breakfast on the go! I'm not a fan of lots of food in the morning and often run out of time so this is perfect for me and it's really filling! It's also great to take before or after workouts!

4. The Aloe Drinking Gels. The first one (yellow) is the Aloe Vera Gel. This is basically full of goodness and helps promote a healthy immune system and give your body the nutrients it craves. I shot 45ml of this every morning. It's not known for its pleasant taste though so I find holding the nose works a treat! It also features heavily in the Clean9 Detox...you get used to it though!

The second drinking gel is the Aloe Berry Nectar. This works similarly to the Aloe Vera Gel but has a blend of apple and cranberry making it sweeter and generally a bit nicer tasting! It is also recommended for people who suffer with urinary tract infections. Again I've been 'shotting' about 45ml in the morning. 

5. It was really hard to stop at just 5 products as there's so many more I love...but this one most definitely had to feature! It's the Aloe Deodorant Stick. Up until recently I used the typical spray deodrants: Dove, Sure etc and whilst I thought they were doing a good job I would still get BO when sweating, especially after heavy workouts. But not anymore! I've been using this for a good few weeks now and I no longer get BO. Full stop. Yes I still sweat, but there's no smelly odor attached. This deodorant allows your pores to breathe without clogging them, hence goodbye nasty smells. Honestly, if nothing else I'd say give this a try!

PLEASE NOTE: All of the Forever products come with a 60-day-money-back-guarantee! So, if you aren't impressed you can get a refund within 60 days of your purchase!

I'm really excited about my business! Wish me luck ;) && please visit my business page https://www.facebook.com/elliesforever

Thanks!

x

OPI's Manicurist of Seville

Hello! I thought I'd do a quick post showing you my latest nail choice. Since September I've been having my nails done regularly with gel overlay to ensure my nails stay strong whilst I'm working in the classroom. 

Towards the end of the school year the underneath of my nails were pretty gross and stained from face paint! Joys of teaching lol. So I had my nails cut off and had tips applied instead- so no, I can't claim these to be my own nails!

Prior to this I had a bright lime colour (for the purpose of matching my super bright bikini). So I opted for a nice change with Opi's manicurist of Seville polish. 

I love the deep plum shading and with some clear varnish on top, my nails are really shiny. 

I've had several compliments on my nails already, and whilst I feel this would properly be a better winter colour I think it's nice regardless! :)

What do you think? 

Disappointing Products!

Hello beauties :)

This week is half term in Nottingham, so I left my uni abode and came back to home comforts for a bit! 

And, upon opening up my make-up storage (currently a weird shelved wardrobe thingy magig) I was surprised at how many products I'd left behind, like the 'Renford rejects'...Give me a comment if you remember this classic 90's kid programme! :P

But on closer inspection I realised why they'd been forgotten and thought about how disappointing each of them had been. So, maybe in an attempt to prevent others from suffering the same disappointment I thought I'd share what they were and tell you why I don't like them, or why they aren't worth the money. Of course, it's only my opinions so you can take my advice as you will. With a pinch of salt if you wish? :P

If you'd rather watch me talk about these products click above! But if you fancy a read...scroll on down :)

First up, MAC's Cleanse Off Oil. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of you might love it, but for me I just can't get on with it! Agreed it does literally 'melt off' your make-up without any effort, but for me it also finds a way into my eyes and temporarily blinds me! No matter how carefully I try to remove my eye make-up, it seeps in somehow. Give me Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish any day thanks!

Goodbye cellulite?! Hmmm. I'm afraid it's true...I fell for the gimmick. I mean as if there's a product to essentially disguise fat cells?! Sure it gives a nice cooling sensation, application is pleasant, and I suppose it helps to moisturise your skin but hard work and exercise is the only thing I've found works in regards to cellulite. Don't fall for the nice idea like me!

Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Mascara. To be fair I think Rimmel are actually doing a fab job at the moment and are definitely in the running for the best high street/drug store brand imo. But, I guess there's always the odd anomaly or 'blip'. The brush is far too big for my liking and this makes application really difficult and darn right fiddly. I'm not a big fan of the formula either which seems to take ages to dry, but perhaps that's to do with the many a clumps this attracts?! It's cheap and cheerful at £6.99 but nope, it's not for me!

Avon's Colour Trend...eye shadow/liner stick? Had this one a while and only used it once...says a lot really! The quality of the cream shadow and crayon liner just isn't great. It blends...with effort, but there's nothing that nice about it. Just a big thumbs down to be honest!

Nicola Robert's Dainty Doll WHITE Foundation by Jelly Pong Pong. Yep, I guess the shade is enough to put you off, unless of sure you're Snow White. But I thought maybe the idea behind this would be to mix it with those foundations that are perhaps a little too dark for you? Waste not want not and all that. Wrong. In fact this questionable foundation contains serious sparkle! I mean I like a bit of shimmer and all that but not over my entire face! It's just odd. Enough said. 

Laura Mercier's eye lash curlers. I'd say be aware of these. Sure the design is really cool and you think 'ahh they're so compact and nifty', but they over-curl like a bi-atch. They don't fit my eyes particularly well either and I remember them to be fairly pricey. I'll stick to my bog-standard cheap curlers for now I think!

Lip stains/ lip pen markers. I guess this isn't all that personal to Maybelline's Color Sensational and Max factor's Lipfinity versions, but they dry out so quick! I mean under the month mark. And then you get that scratchy feeling when trying to apply them. I don't think I can warrant the money for just a few week's worth of use. However, I must say the Maybelline one smells absolutely delicious...like summer fruit berries! Yum.  

Max factor's Lipfinity two step duo. I really like the concept of this, with the glossy texture drying quickly. Application is fairly easy and it leaves a nice finish. It seems to withstand perhaps more than many lip products but it's staying power starts to crumble after an hour or two...literally crumble. You're left with a flaky peeling effect that looks to me like you either haven't applied your lipstick well or indeed you have the driest lips ever known...I mean seriously grab yourself a Carmex quick! These aren't personally looks I like to go for, so I'll pass on this. 

And that's a wrap...some of my most disppointing purchases!