Maybelline Color Show Crystallize Nail Polish: Rose Chic

I don't normally go in for textured nail polishes. I like them to look smooth and glossy. But my colleague at work came in one wearing one of these Maybelline Color Show Crystallize nail polishes and it caught my eye.

The Crystallize polishes come in 6 colours Light Up (silver), Rose Chic (nude), Silver Touch (lilac), Green Depth (green), Red Excess (deep red that looks bronze on the nails) and Nearly Black (black with pink & blue glitter). I chose the shade Rose Chic which is a pretty nude with rose-gold glitter.

MAC Monday: MAC On Hold Lipstick

I bought MAC On Hold when I visited the MAC store in Birmingham recently. I'm always a sucker for a new MAC lipstick and I'm starting to exhaust the usual colours I would choose. Slowly I'm being more adventurous with colour and I think this is what lead me to buy On Hold.

On Hold is a Cremesheen finish so it is opaque and creamy. It lasts quite well - not as long as a matte but longer than a glossy lipstick. The lipstick is packaged in the usual MAC black plastic bullet and like all MAC lipsticks has that lovely vanilla scent.

MAC On Hold - has a golden shimmer to it

On Hold is quite a bright colour on me. It is a pinky red or coral with a slight gold shimmer to it. Looking at swatches and photos of it on other people it can look quite subtle, but on me I think it looks quite bright red. Although if you are a regular My Beautopia reader you will know that I always panic about a bright lip! Perhaps I wouldn't pull it off as a daytime shade but it would be perfect for the evening.

Holiday essentials: Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser

If you are going on holiday this summer then you must try this!

Nivea first released their In-Shower Body Moisturiser in the UK last year. I picked it up as I read about it on British Beauty Blogger and I wanted to give it a try. I ending up liking it so much that I hailed it the best after sun I have ever used!

The basic premise is that you shower as normal and then at the end you wash yourself with the In-Shower Moisturiser and rinse it off... I know - I was sceptical too at first. But it works!

I was surprised that my skin really did feel moisturised afterwards, even though I had washed the product off. It looks like a creamy shower gel and has a really nice fresh fragrance. When you use it in the shower you need to stand out of the water flow for a few seconds whilst you apply it, so it has contact with your skin. But I didn't need to hang around waiting for it to soak in - I just washed it straight off and was good to go!

If you are anything like me on holiday then you will be very familiar with the post pool or beach shower, followed by the endless application of thick greasy aftersun. Then follows 30 minutes or so of 'soaking in' time whilst you lie around in a damp towel, before you can get yourself ready for the evening out. But you feel greasy and shiny all evening and any silky clothes just stick to you...

MAC Monday: MAC Woodwinked Eye Shadow

In my opinion, MAC eye shadows are the best out there. This perhaps goes some way to explain why I have so many of them! So this week's MAC Monday is dedicated to an eye shadow I have been wearing a lot recently - MAC Woodwinked.

I bought Woodwinked a year ago when I passing through an airport. I normally buy MAC eye shadows in the pro palette format - they are slightly cheaper and fit into my big palette. But in the airport they only had the single eyeshadow pots. I must admit that when I returned from that holiday the single pot got lost somewhere amidst the chaos of my make up collection. It was a case of out of sight out of mind for a while, until someone mentioned it online and I had to dig it out!

Woodwinked is a veluxe pearl finish eye shadow, so it has some shimmer to it - but not chunky glitter. It is very soft and easily blendable. Colour wise it is an antique gold colour with hints of a yellow toned bronze. It really brings out the blue of my eyes but would also look good with brown or green eyes.

Review: L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Gel

I have been raving about micellar water as a fantastic make up remover for months. It started when I discovered the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Water. I reviewed it fully HERE but I was really impressed with how it removed even waterproof eye make up without scrubbing. So when I saw the new L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Gel in the supermarket last week, I bought it straight away!

Seeing as I rely on my micellar water to remove eye make up I really liked the idea of gel rather than the water solution. I have always been an advocate of how effective micellar water is at removing make up without scrubbing at your eyes with cotton wool. But I will admit that as a force of habit I do tend to wipe at my eyes with the cotton wool pad - I know I shouldn't but it just happens! I thought that gel was a great idea because it would really coat my lashes and dissolve mascara and eye liner.

Sure enough - I was right! It feels gentle and cooling on my eyes too and because I can feel the gel on my eyes it stops that urge to wipe and pull at the skin around my eyes in the process. So far so good, but unfortunately it isn't without some issues.

MAC Monday: MAC Ravishing Lipstick

After my recent foray into the limited edition MAC Osbournes collection, I have returned to the permanent range for this week's MAC Monday. Lipsticks are always my weakness, because I am always searching for the absolute perfect specimen which works for all occasions (mind you I came pretty close with this one but I keep on looking just in case...). So in my most recent MAC visit I couldn't help but pick up Ravishing as a perfect summer colour.

Ravishing is a pale peachy coral colour with an undertone of warm pink. It is a really wearable colour for day or night. The colour is buildable so you can wear it a little bolder with a couple of coats or blot it for something more natural. It is not as orange or bright as Vegas Volt, not as coral as Costa Chic, but brighter than Shy Girl. At this time of year I love the orange and coral colours for lipsticks. I don't really wear anything too bold, so something like Ravishing is a great choice for me.

MAC Monday: Sharon Osbourne Collection part 4 - Peaches & Cream Powder Blush

This week's MAC Monday post is dedicated to my final purchase from the recent Sharon Osbourne collection. It is the much hyped Powder Blush in Peaches & Cream. When I read some pre-release posts about this collection it was this blusher that everyone was getting excited about. I will admit that I was so keen to get my hands on this collection that I gave into the hype and added it to my online shopping basket without much thought.

I think the name is a little misleading as this is a rose blush rather than a peach one. I assume the name references the idea of creating a 'peaches & cream complexion' - with a natural rosy tone. On me it is quite close to the colour that I turn when I blush. A make up artist once told me this is the shade of blusher you should aim for. (I will admit that I'm not sure about that seeing as I am prone to blushing and don't really want to emphasise it). However it is a pretty shade.