NOTD: Abstract Green

So these nails are a bit crazy but I think they are super fun! I wanted to do something funky and green for St Patrick's Day but didn't feel like doing the typical shamrock or rainbow and pot of gold nail art. So I came up with this sort of abstract art-esque nail art.

It was super simple to do! First I painted my nails white and then applied a light coat of a green glitter, and then a gold glitter to add some sparkle. Then I used 2 nail art pens in different green shades and swiped these on from the bottom corner of my nail fanning outwards. I then took a more dense green glitter and put a blob at the base of the green, wiped off my brush and then pulled the glitter outwards over the green. I then stuck a green gem in the corner and finished off with a topcoat. Phew that took a while!

(I made a ring out of a real shamrock hehe!)

I thought this look was perfect for St Patrick's day and also the days after as it wasn't something like a shamrock which would only be appropriate on the day.

I hope you enjoyed this quick post!

Helz xo

Christmas Videos!

Aloha lovelies!

Just thought I would update you on all things YouTube related in the world of HoneyLushHelz.

Christmas videos are go!!

To kick things off I uploaded a Christmas Decoration Haul. I love watching decor videos as it gives me ideas to use myself. So hopefully you enjoy this video and find it useful :)

Next I decided to go with another haul, but this time more Wintery themed rather than Christmassy. I shopped online at Boohoo.com and got a bunch of winter items as well as some party items, perfect for all those Christmas parties! Also thrown in there are a bunch of nail polishes I picked up, went a bit crazy oops! Hope you enjoy!

And finally, I decided to have another shot at a makeup tutorial, seeing as I have better lights and camera now! I went for a" night out" look which would be perfect for any Christmas party! If you like this tutorial please let me know by leaving a comment or liking the video, this way I'll know to keep doing makeup tutorials as I don't normally do them.

So that's it for now! Still a whole bunch more Christmas videos to come so keep those eyes peeled!

Much love, Helz xo

I'M BACK! ((Quick Update))

Quick update guys! I have taken a bit of a hiatus from YouTube and blogging lately, but I'M BACK and raring to go! (I've missed it!)

So to kick things off, on YouTube I have a new "Empties" video, basically I show all the beauty products I've used up over the last 6 months (and there's a LOT!!). So if you enjoy those kind of videos then feel free to head on over and have a gander at it! Clicky clicky!

Sticking with YouTube, I have a bunch of Christmas videos to put up throughout December! Makeup tutorials, haul videos, DIY gift ideas and lots more. So if you don't want to miss that then I suggest you subscribe to my channel here! You will not be disappointed :D

On the blogging front, I have a bunch of blog posts lined up ready to go! I plan to keep on top of this blogging malarkey as I've been a bit of a bad blogger since I started..but NO MORE! Get ready for happy fun blog times! :D

Follow me on Twitter: honeylusthelz, to keep up to date with new videos, blog posts and generally what's going on in my little world! :)

Thanks for reading guys! Helz x

Something A Bit Different!

Here's something a bit different for you lovely blog followers of mine! I got together with my friend Steph (OohLaLashes on YouTube) and filmed a little challenge video! It was disgusting and fun and I now feel sorry for babies! So check it out below, the baby food challenge!

Hope you guys enjoy it! Subscribe to my YouTube if you haven't already, I have lots of fun beauty videos coming up in the next few weeks!

Helz xo

Review: Soap&Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks

I picked these two gorgeous gloss sticks up a couple months ago and have been in love ever since! I hadn't really ever tried Soap & Glory's makeup line, but after hearing about the Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks from FleurdeForce I had to try them for myself, and boy was I impressed!

These stick type lip products have been popping up all over the place recently, and until now I hadn't tried any. I wasn't sure how moisturising they would be, but after trying them, all doubts I had instantly vanished! These gloss sticks are super moisturising, even more so than the Revlon Lip Butters (which I love). They really do feel like a gloss, but without being sticky. The pigmentation is great, also. They give enough colour that you wouldn't need (or want) to wear a lipstick underneath. Oh and did I mention, they smell uh-mazing! Just like vanilla! Yum!

(Top: Plum Jam Bottom: Fuchsia-ristic)

The two I picked up are in the colours "Fuchsia-ristic" and Plum Jam". Fuchsia-ristic is a gorgeous coral pink shade, while Plum Jam is a beautiful berry shade. I'm not one for dark lipsticks, so I was a bit wary of Plum Jam as it looks so dark in the stick, but once I tried it I fell in love! This has been basically the only lip product I've been wearing for the past couple of months! There is also a nude colour which I did not pick up as I'm not a fan of nude lips on myself.

(Left to right: Plum Jam, Fuchsia-ristic)

These retail for £8 in Boots in the UK which isn't super cheap, but isn't going to break the bank either. I definitely think they are worth the money and highly recommend you check these out!

Have you tried these? What do you think? Which colour is your favourite?

Review: ImPRESS Nails in Vamp It Up

I'm sure most of you will have heard of ImPRESS Nails by now. They've been raved about throughout the blogging world for quite some time now, so I thought I would give them a go and see if they lived up to all the hype.

A few weeks ago I was going to a local music festival and wanted some funky festival nails, so decided this would be the perfect time to try the ImPRESS Nails. There were loads of designs to choose from. From simple block colours to funky animal print. I decided on Vamp It Up, a neon stripy design with graffiti style hearts on.

(Credit to www.thesundaygirl.com for this photo)

So what did I think of them? The packaging is super cute! They come in a nail polish shaped bottle which I loved! I liked the simplicity of it all. Simply peel the plastic off the self-adhesive nails and press them onto your nails. No fussing about with nail glue and getting your fingers stuck to your nails by accident! I also loved the design! I'm big into nail art and love funky designs, so the choice was pretty awesome in my opinion. They're also super easy to take off, I just peeled mine off.

However, sadly that is where the positives end for me. I felt like there just weren't enough different sizes of nails. I struggled to find ones that fitted perfectly to my nails and often my own nails (which were cut short) were actually longer than the ImPRESS Nails. Due to this I ended up with 3 nails in a row with the same design. I also thought the nails were very chunky, a lot more so than regular false nails. As for the staying power, it wasn't great. I had mine on for 24hours and only one came off, but my friend's all came off within the 24hours at the festival, and it's not like we were doing anything physically demanding on our nails! Also the self-adhesive tends to pick up dirt under the nails, which, let's be honest, isn't very attractive. From afar I think these nails look great, but up close they really don't. They look so obviously fake due to the chunkiness and bad sizing.

(Photo taken at the festival. My hands look weird haha!)

Another slight negative to them is the price, which I believe was around £8 if I remember correctly. For the quality of these nails I really just don't think they're worth the money. I could have created just as funky a design myself for a whole lot cheaper!

I really was hoping to be able to give these nails a good review, as that's all I've read in the blogging world, but I just couldn't, I really was that unimpressed with them. Perhaps they'll work out better for you though, it could have just been down to my own nails that they didn't work for me.

Sorry ImPRESS Nails! :(

My DIY Ombre Hair Experience

I'm sure everyone knows what ombre hair is by now, and if you don't, where have you been for the past couple years? Ombre hair is a graduation from dark to light, or light to dark, whichever floats your boat! The trend first became popular in 2010 and gradually lost it's appeal over the following year or so, but now, in spring/summer 2012, it is coming back! And it's not just hair, ombre make-up and clothing has become very popular lately too, and in my opinion I think it's great! So great that I thought I would embrace the trend and have a go at ombre-ing my hair!

I have bleached my hair in the past, but usually it was just highlights or all over, never had I ever tried to create a gradient effect. To be honest I was pretty scared! But it turned out great and I am super happy with it! The picture below is when I just did it (3weeks ago). I have been using purple shampoo ever since and the blonde has become a lot more blonde.

If you would like to see how I created the ombre effect in my hair, I filmed the whole process, so you can check out my video below.

Helz xo

Graze Box ~ Yummy Treats Delivered To Your Door

So, recently I came across a rather nifty little box, and it is the Graze Box. You can visit their website here.

The Graze Box is a subscription box, similar to all the beauty boxes out there, but for food. You receive 4 different snacks in each box.

In my first box I received:

Summer berry flapjacks

These were really tasty! I'm a sucker for flapjacks, so I knew these would be a winner for me.

Strawberry Milkshake (strawberries, banana and white chocolate buttons)

This was pretty good, the strawberries were juicy and I love white chocolate. The bananas were okay, kind of chewy and tasted a bit weird.

The Herb Garden (herb and onion peanuts, oregano rice crackers and baked herb bites)

This was probably my favourite thing in the box. I love savoury bite style things like this, and these were delicious!

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake (Hazelnuts, raspberry infused cranberries and white chocolate buttons)

This was pretty good. I liked the raspberry infused cranberries and of course I love white chocolate, but I'm not a huge fan of nuts. However, I found when the hazelnuts were eaten with a few cranberries they were nicer.

Overall, I think I got a pretty good box. With each box comes a little card giving you all the nutritional information for the four products. I wasn't expecting this and it was a good thing to have included.

There are over 100 different snacks available, from rustic breads to fruit and nuts to chocolatey goodness. There are two types of box to choose from: the Nibble Box, which I got, and the Nutrition Box. The Nibble Box includes four treats from the full range of products, whereas the Nutrition Box includes products which are nutritionally beneficial for you (so no chocolate!). On the website you are able to rate each food based on whether you like it or not, and these ratings are used to help the Graze team choose the products for your box. 

This box only costs £3.79 per box and is sent out weekly. You can choose to have a box delivered once a week or multiple times a week, so it is very flexible.

For more details about the Graze Box check out my video here.

If you like the sound of this little box of yummyness and would like to try it for yourself, click here to order your first box FREE.

Enjoy! x

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

The Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters were finally released in the UK this month and so I had to pick up more than a few of them! Basically, I am obsessed with them! For a full review on these amazing products check out my video here. Below are swatches of the shades I picked up.

Left to right: Peach Parfait, Tutti Frutti, Candy Apple, Macaroon

Left to right: Cupcake, Sweet Tart, Raspberry Pie, Lollipop, Berry Smoothie

The UK did not receive all shades released in the US. 

The shade list for the UK is as follows:

Berry Smoothie

Candy Apple

Cotton Candy

Creme Brulee

Cupcake

Lollipop

Macaroon

Peach Parfait

Pink Truffle

Raspberry Pie

Strawberry Shortcake

Sugar Frosting

Sweet Tart

Tutti Frutti

Which colour is your favourite? Personally I love Sweet Tart!

Review: Lush Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar

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Happy Valentines Day everyone! Being the singleton that I am I decided, instead of getting all down on this loved up day, I would have a bit of a pamper session. 

I recently ordered a bunch of products from Lush (See what I got HERE!), one of which was the Valentines Day limited edition Magic Mushroom bubble bar.

Aside from being super cute, this bubble bar also smells pretty scrumptious! Its bright red top smells of vanilla, while its white stem smells of strawberries (I had expected it to be the other way round!), giving your bath a delicious strawberries and cream scent that isn't overpowering.

This bubble bar is easy to crumble and just a small portion gives lots of lovely bubbles. It also leaves your bath a rather pleasant rosy red colour. Although it doesn't boast of any skin moisturising ingredients, I found this bubble bar to leave my skin feeling very soft and nourished.

The Magic Mushroom retails for £2.45 and is only available for a few more days, so be quick if you want to snap this little beauty up!

Review: NYX Slide On Eye Pencils

I had heard a lot about these eye-liners, so when I came across them at IMATS London I just had to give them a go! I swatched them then and there and was amazed at how smoothly they glide on! These liners are highly pigmented, little or no pressure is needed to achieve a super intense colour. They are waterproof and don't smear or smudge, perfect for the waterline. They are very comparable to the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye-liners but a lot more affordable, retailing at £6.50 in the UK and £8 in the US.

I purchased two of these fabulous liners at IMATS in the colours Gunmetal and Glitzy Gold. I had been wanting a gold liner for ages and this one was perfect. I could not find the black liner so opted for Gunmetal and am glad I did, it's not as harsh as pure black.

I have been using Gunmetal in my waterline everyday since I got it (hence the stubby end) and it stays all day, even through those long busy work days! I had such a problem with my previous pencil liner wearing away throughout the day but this is just perfect! They are also so easy to apply to the upper and lower lash lines and look great!

I will definitely be purchasing more of these liners as they are absolutely fabulous! I can't believe I didn't try them sooner! This is a big fat recommendation from me! :D

Helz xo

L'Oreal Lash Architect 4D Mascara Review and Giveaway!

So, I've tried a lot of mascaras in my time on this planet but this one is by far my fave! If you haven't already picked up from the title, it is the L'Oreal Lash Architect 4D Mascara. This mascara claims to enhance your lashes in 4 ways to achieve that much sought after false lash effect. Using the power of sculpting fibres, it lengthens, volumizes, texturizes and curves the lashes! I've been using this mascara for the past few months and really do believe it's claims to be true! It really does give that false lash effect! I love it so much I bought it for my mum for Christmas!

It comes in a gorgeous sculpted, mirrored tube, which I think makes it look a lot more expensive than it actually is. Retailing for under £10 this mascara really is a steal!

The brush is a standard bristle brush with a slightly narrower tip, perfect for coating those tiny inner and outer lashes. Personally, I prefer this type of brush to the rubber bristles or combs, as I find it really coats my lashes easily root to tip.

For this mascara to be truly breathtaking I find two coats are needed. One coat is perfect for every day wear, it leaves the lashes perfectly defined but not overly dramatic. For the evening, two coats is a must! This is when the false lash effect really comes into view! You will not believe the transformation in your lashes!

If you would like to see a demo of this mascara, I did a review over on my YouTube channel and the video will be linked below. I am also giving away a tube of this mascara through that video so if you would like to try this mascara for yourself, then head on over to my channel and enter via that video.

Thanks for reading! Helz xo

Zooey Deschanel Inspired Tuxedo Nails

So, Zooey's nails have been the talk of the web ever since she tweeted a picture of them at the Golden Globes saying “I am wearing a gown but my nails are wearing tuxedos!!!”. I absolutely loved the super cute nails, so had to give them a try myself!

I started by applying a base coat followed by a white polish

Next I used a black polish with a really skinny brush to paint the black tips

This same black polish also had a pen applicator, so I used this to draw the cute little bow-ties (this step is harder than you'd think!). Using a dotting tool I got from eBay I dotted three little buttons down the centre of each nail

Finally I applied my favourite Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat and voilà I have cute tuxedo nails just like Zooey!

Not as good as Zooey's, but I think I did a pretty good job! Drawing on the bow-ties was the hardest bit and they're far from perfect (steady hands are a must!). What did you think of Zooey's cute tuxedo nails? Have you tried this look? Show me! :)

Sorry!!

So it appears I have been neglecting my poor blog, no posts in around 3 months! :O BUT I am here to tell you all that I am super sorry and I plan to post at least once a week from now on! So stay tuned for upcoming blogs of awesomeness! :D

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Year! Let's make 2012 a good one!

Helz x

Affordable Gel Eye Liner!

So I'd been wanting to try a gel eye liner for a while, but hadn't gotten around to picking one up. I'd heard great things about gel liners and after trying my friend's Stila Smudgepot last week I decided I had to get one! So I went shopping for a Smudgepot, but my friend suggested I try the Maybelline Lasting Drama gel eye liner. It was £5 cheaper than the Stila liner so I picked it up.

I have to say I am very impressed with this gel eye liner! It is just as good as the Stila Smudgepots and a lot cheaper! It also came with a brush which was a major bonus as I didn't have to spend more money on a liner brush! I got mine in the colour black and it is very pigmented which I am really happy about.

It is super easy to apply (thanks to the brush it came with) and it lasts all day! It doesn't smudge or flake, just stays put right where you left it! The below photo was taken after 7hours of wear!

Overall I am very happy with this eye liner! If you would like to see a more in-depth review of this product you can check out my video below :)

My First OPI Nail Polish!

OPI is probably the most raved about nail polish brand and obviously I wanted to try it. However, for the most part, it only retails in the US which was a major disappointment for me as I live in the UK! I could order online but due to high shipping costs from the states it just didn't seem worth it. OPI is pretty expensive as it is and adding shipping on top of that was a no go!

So I thought that was the end of that and I would never be able to own any OPI polishes, without paying silly prices. But nooo no no yesterday my friend told me that a shop in our city sold OPI! Obviously I was shocked and amazed! I had to go there and pick one up!

So I got to the store and sure enough they did sell OPI (and China Glaze too, which I didn't think was sold here). The range wasn't massive, none of the newer collections. But still a lot to choose from. So I took my time deciding which colour to get and finally settled on Sweet Heart. It's a very pale pink, almost white. A colour I've been interested in obtaining for a while.

I absolutely love it and plan to purchase many more OPI polishes in the future!

My First Ever Glossy Box!

Hey guys!

So I got home form work today and waiting for me was my highly anticipated Glossy Box! If you don't know what Glossy Box is you can check out there website for more details here. In a nutshell it's a monthly subscription website where each month you're sent 5 high end luxury samples, and sometimes one is a full size product! I came across this website through searching for a UK version of Birch Box which is only available in the US and essentially the same as Glossy Box. Glossy Box is a great and affordable way to try out lots of high end products and if you like the products you can purchase full size ones from the product websites which are included in the box.

So go check it out! I'm super happy with mine! And if you want to see what I got then check out the video below! :)

Helz xo

e.l.f. haul!

Hey guys!

So my e.l.f. order finally arrived! It was waiting for me when I got home from work! I was so excited that I just had to do a haul right there and then! So if you want to see how much I got for only £35 then check out my video below! And don't forget to check out the e.l.f. website! Also e.l.f. have just launched a 50% off sale to celebrate 250,000 facebook "likes" which will end at 2am 12/9/11 (UK), so check that out here!

Helz xo

Juicy Couture!

Hey guys!

Just a quick update as I'm super excited for what just arrived in the post! A few days ago I ordered a gorgeous Juicy Couture bracelet off eBay and it just arrived! I got it off eBay as I couldn't find it sold anywhere else online. Although I know in the US it is/was sold in Nordstrom. I first saw this bracelet in a YouTube video by FleurDeForce where she did a swap with MissGlamorazzi and this was one of the items sent to her by MissGlamorazzi. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and knew I had to have it. So I searched and finally came across it on eBay and once I had enough money I bought it! It comes in lots of different colours, but I got mine in black as it will go with everything. It also came in a really cute pink pouch (pictured below) which I loved! If you want to purchase one for yourself on eBay just search "Juicy Couture multi strand charm bracelet" and it should pop up. I love it and I hope you do do! :D

Helz xo

Sparkly Autumn Nails!

Hey everyone!

Summer is sadly over (not that it ever really began here in the UK) and autumn is here! So I decided to go with the season and do a really cute autumn inspired nail tutorial. With autumn comes all the deep reds and purples so this is a nail look using both of these colours! Check out my video below to see how you can create this look yourself! :)

Helz xo