Back to uni NOTD

I decided to paint my nails last night, which is actually pretty unusual for me! Once you see the picture you'll understand that I don't really have nails and my hands are a state... but I gave it a go anyway. I should have been getting my sleep but instead on a whim I picked out some suitably 'back to school' colours. Here in all their fluorescent and highlighter-esque glory are the shades I chose. At least my nails will coordinate with my notes!

Yes I did have a faff with the colours in that photo, but only because my hands were so damn pink. 

The colours I used were MUA shade 16, Collection 2000 shade 30 'Sherbert Lemon' 

and Barry M 'Mint Green.'

I used these with my steadfast No 7 base and top coats which were a gift quite a while back. Overall I found the coverage on the MUA polish a little thin but easy to apply in 2 coats. The Barry M polish is quite ancient but apart from being a little thicker than it was, is still totally wearable. Finally I've always had a bit of trouble getting application on the yellow right as it's pretty thin and patchy but it's a fun shade. This combination has actually held really well so far!

Summer look #1 FOTD

Well I promised way back in my Collection 2000 lipstick review that I'd be showing you all some of the summer looks I'll be trying this year. So, here is my first FOTD incorporating a few summer brights!

On my lips you can see the 'bubblegum' Collection 2000 shade sealed with a little powder in all its matte glory. I can't resist a sweep of eyeliner and I think with my 'tousled' (that's the polite word) bun I wore my hair in today this look is almost 1960s in inspiration. However I couldn't resist making the most of that pastel lip and paired it with the mint green from my Accessorize palette. For a finishing touch I added some MUA shade 1 blusher just to add a slight pink flush to my face.

Products used on my face were L'oreal Paris 16 hour foundation in porcelain, Collection 2000 cover up stick in light translucent, Collection 2000 pressed powder in ivory and MUA blusher in shade 1. On my brows I used MUA brow pencil in blonde and their mascara in shade 5. On my eyes I wore the palest shade and the mint green from my Accessorize eye wardrobe palette along with Rimmel Glam eyes lash flirt mascara and Collection 2000 fast stroke eyeliner in black. Finally, on my lips I wore Collection 2000 colour intense lipstick in bubblegum with a dusting of powder! 

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour lipsticks

To inject a little oomph into your makeup bag this season, I suggest you look no further than the Collection 2000’s Lasting Colour lipstick range. Apparently released with an eye on the summer trends of last year, these daring shades can provide a serious colour injection for a low price-tag!

Last year my personal mission was to find a brilliant budget orange lipstick. This year it was to find a cool-toned but vivid baby pink. Ideally I was looking for something highly pigmented but affordable, and both times I swatched around and came back to this range.

I own ‘Orange punch’ and ‘Bubblegum’ and the names really speak for themselves here. And while matte and highly pigmented shades such as these are often seen as high-maintenance and thus impractical – this range has a few key plus points.

('Bubblegum' and 'Orange punch' in natural light)

('Bubblegum' and 'Orange punch' with flash)

When I say the pigmentation in these shades is strong I mean it, but this makes them wearable in numerous ways. ‘Orange punch’ often stains my lips but that just means I use it smudged under some neutral gloss to give a pleasant tint. While ‘Bubblegum’ is creamier and doesn’t seem to benefit much from any of my glosses, it works well when topped with another lipstick. Once again it offers a way of giving another dimension to previously neutral lip looks.

Of course I still sometimes wear these as the mattes that Collection 2000 recommend them as, my point is just that I do actually find them quite versatile. They were even released as Collection 2000’s first lipsticks with SPF15 which just makes them that little bit more practical for summer!

At £2.99 each I know that these lipsticks come in considerably cheaper than many of the other brands out there. However, the range is limited to just 11 shades which means that brands like Barry M and Stargazer will probably always be the go-to for most people when they want to experiment with something a bit braver.

Apologies for the limited photographs on these but I’ll definitely be featuring these products in an upcoming post of summer makeup looks. Think bold paintbox lips combined with chalky and vivid eyeshadows. Stay tuned!