Quick Nail Post

Glitter = Juicy Jules Models Own, Pink = Stawberry Fizz Rimmel, Blue = Feeling Blue Models Own

Painted these nails over Christmas but forgot about them until I found them in an empty purse before going out on saturday. I probably thought it was a wise place to store them when packing. My body clock is currently a little confused, working 6am-2pm then a 2pm-10pm it doesn't know when to sleep. The photo was taken while out so the colours are a little washed out!

Currently a little obsessed with Pinterest - my username is ZoeyCatrin and you can find me here!

Zoey xox

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation

Still on the hunt for the perfect foundation I stumbled accross Vichy Dermablend when watching Lisa Eldridge's youtube video on covering acne.You may have heard of Dermablend after watching the fabulous "Go Beyond the Cover" with the gorgeous Zombie Boy. The Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation promises to give "total coverage" with twice as much coverage as a traditional foundtion. So off I went to Boots and found the foundation amonst the skin care, the lightest shade is "Opal 15" which is a little darker than I usually go for but the model in Lisa Eldridge's video seemed to be of similar shade to my skin so bought it anyway!

 

I have been using Double Wear religiously, it's staying power is unbeatable. It can look a little cakey and of course causes serious Ghost Face. So how does it compare? Well the coverage is the same, you can either apply it as a concealer as in the youtube tutorial, or buff into the skin as with a normal foundation. It blends beautifully into the skin, you don't have to work as fast as you do with Double Wear. You can also build on the coverage easily without it going to cakey. Now the shade is a little darker than I am used to, however I have had more compliments on my skin looking healthier instead of being the same me colour as paper.

It is currently my go to foundation, my skin is worse than in the Blemish Balms post to give you some idea of what it is covering beneath! 

Without flash / With Flash

The flash photograph has no blush on for some reason, I took these photos as I was curling my hair so did my make-up in-between letting the curls set! I am pretty impressed with the foundation, it is aimed at people who feel the need to cover up blemishes / scars and does the job perfectly for me. At £15.50 it is more than your average high street foundation but still cheaper than a high end one. It works with my skin, which is oily in places and dry in others. However the limited choice of shades will put many people off. I do have to be extra careful to blend it into my neck so no clear foundation line, but with my normal pale powder on top it is fine.

Zoey xox

Manchester Love

If you haven't added yourself to Hayley's Blogger map you really should. Feeling a bit lost in my new city (erm yeah, I've been here since October now!) I thought I would have a scout to find some Manchester based bloggers and found some lovely ones! (Some may not be from Manchester anymore, just studied here but felt like including them anyway!)

Beauty Mish Mash, Polly posts wonderful clear reviews of beauty products. Nothing I hate more than a beauty blog that just posts stock photographs and a sentence on how it kind of works. I want detail! She also loves Lush which is of course amazing in my book

Fashion Dotty is the blog of Sarah an International Fashion Marketing Student in Manchester. You only have to walk down Market Street to see that Manc is one thriving stylish place, if you ignore all the girls who think it is fine to be orange and walk around Primark in nothing but Miss Sporty Foundation. Just take a look at her street style post from when the German Markets were around at Christmas. 

 

Sequin This is run by another Sarah, whom I have serious hair envy for. She has an eye for  prints, bows, fancy dress and loves make up. Basically a girl after my own heart. 

Fancied a bit of spreading the love this sunday evening, hope everyone is having a good 2012 so far. My new job is taking all my time, but soon I will be used to it all and will hopefully get something of a life back!

Zoey xox

Instagram alternatives for Android

I love my Samsung Galaxy S2, it is so fast and the camera is amazing. As I did when I had a blackberry I hunted for an Instagram alternative and came up with three options.

Pixlr-o-matic - This has many options to pick frames, photo filters and even light effects like bocea. You can't take a photo through the app, instead you apply the filters after you have taken photograph using the native camera app. This is one of my favourites due to the amount of options available to you. And it is free!

Vignette - This app can be used to take a photograph or edit one after. As well as offering the Vignette filter it does have alot more options but is a faff to use.

Camera Zoom FX - This app replaces the camera that is installed as standard on my phone, adds options like being able to touch the screen to take a photograph rather than just the shutter button at the bottom. You can then add ready made filters, complete with a frame such as the polaroid one or just add an effect such as sepia or black and white to a photograph. Very user friendly. It isn't free, but I did acquire it using 4shared. Ahem

Instagram will apparently come to Android soon, it feels like it is more than a photo editing tool but a small community too that none of these options give you. There are a few "photo share" apps but don't have the same mass appeal as Instagram does!

The beautiful puppy is Al,, oh how I wish he was mine.

Zoey xox

No 7 Beautiful Skin

I ended up in Boots the other day trying to kill some time, was 30 minutes early for work so seemed like a good idea. They had little starter packs for £5 of their new Beautiful Skin range from No7. I picked up the Normal / Oily one which included the Cleansing Water, Day Cream & Night Cream.

I've been using the range for a week now so thought I would give my take on the range, my skin is blemish prone, with an oily t-zone and dry cheeks and nose for reference.

Cleansing Water - I never use makeup remover.. I know I know, a beauty sin. I use skin care wipes and then a foam soap / cleanser. I was horrified to see how much makeup the Cleansing Water actually removed! Would I pay £9 it though? I'm a stingy bugger. But the kit came with a £5 off voucher so if this can be combined with the current 3 for 2 on No7 I will probably pick it up.

Day Cream - I am constantly on the search for a cream that both helps with my dry cheeks but controls my oily forehead. This does both, but could be a little more moisturising on my cheeks but still leaves a lovely base for makeup. My skin is however getting drier by the day due to working in a freezing cold supermarket so might pick up the Normal / Dry Skin Day Cream with the voucher.

Night Cream - Now, I never wear a night cream. Maybe I should start as I am turning 24 this summer so surely I am meant to start tackling wrinkles soon. It is lovely on my forehead and everywhere else I am not prone to spots. It does promise to be a "non pore blocking moisture cream" but it doesn't seem to be doing my acne any favours.

I did however test the No 7 BB Cream which might be amazing, it was pale and went on my skin so nicely.. but as I don't get on with BB Creams I may give that a miss.

A quick catch up

Oh hello there. So I neglected this poor little blog, I quit my call centre job (bye insurance!) and have started work back as a team leader in a supermarket, thank god. I am a retail girl through and through. 

001 Ordered some amazing nails from Dainty Nails when the lovely Charlene was running a buy one get one free offer. Love them, saving them for a night out, no falsies or nail varnish allowed in supermarket land!

002 Had a lovely trip home, my car is broken yet again so it needed some tender loving care. Meant I got to spend the weekend looking after my aunt's lovely puppy, Al. He is a nutter and tiny. The poor thing was stood on by his owners, they took him to my mum's vets but then left him when they found out he would need an operation to fix his broken leg. The Police signed the dog over to my mum as they had also illegally docked his tail so he is now living with my aunt and uncle. He spent the first few weeks with his leg in a cast but it never bothered him! 

003 Other fun things, Lucky Charms for Christmas, old school apps on my phone, found out I don't suit pale pink lipstick, broken laptop and a fun night of pub golf with old uni friends. 

So, time to get a routine back!

Zoey xox