My 1st Blog Birthday

Hello my Beauties. I hope you are all fine and dandy. I am writing this post later than I wanted to today, but I couldn't miss out on showing my Mum around my new abode after work. 


This post is a very brief one simply to say thank you. I appreciate every single one of you that take the time to read my blog posts and write comments. It still warms my heart to know that someone out there gets something out of me rambling on. Of course I love what I write about, but I am still learning and hopefully improving as I blog more and more. 


I have been to my first two PR events in the last couple of weeks and met some lovely people. As much as I enjoy playing about taking photos at home and tapping away on my keyboard writing posts it's great to meet the people behind the product, camera lense or computer screen. If you see me about in the street or at an event please say Hi. I am on Twitter too if you fancy a natter, @vickyayles.


I do always have ideas floating around my head of what to write about, but as my blog baby has become a year old I really want your input on how you would like to see it grow. If there are particular blog posts that you would like me to write about please let me know and I will of course consider them. I want to keep my blog fresh and up to date so your thoughts are important to me.


Once I have moved into my house (hopefully some time in June) and I have had at least a month to settle in I am thinking of making YouTube videos. please let me know if this is something that you would like to see and if the answer is yes what kind of videos you would like so I can consider those also. All video editing, uploading and any other tips are welcome.


So that's it Sweethearts. I hope this wasn't too boring as there aren't any colourful photos in this post, but you lovelies put the rainbow in my day.




Love to you all

 

Speed Beauty Event

Hi All. The weather has been glorious and I love it. I am going to get straight into my post today as I picked up the keys to the house I have bought with my fella on Friday so we are all over the place getting ready to move in while still going to work. 



On Thursday I attended the Speed Event at the Haymarket Hotel to peruse products from rapidlash.com, RapidBrow, modelcocosmetics.com, ardelllashes.com, No. 4711 and ecotools.com.

























The Double Up is latest style from Ardell




















My Champers :)












Coooooeeee :)




















I think it's great that EcoTools recycle. Their make-up brushes feel amazingly soft.




















I was a bit wary of trying this heated lash curler out as I didn't want to damage my lashes, but I loved the results. I curled my lashes with my mascara that I had already applied on. It's the Turbo Lashwand and retails at £22.00, Link :)












Both eyes styled with the Turbo Lashwand. The eye on the left with Fibre Lash added, £35.00








Both eyes with Fibre Lash added








Only the top lashes have been styled with the products mentioned above. I like how the Fibre Lash gives you fuller looking lashes, but it makes your lashes look a bit clumpy and I like mine full yet separated.
































I was told that this is a unisex fragrance, but to me it smells more masculine and I think the packaging is too.




Now on to my Goody Bag of free products ....








The RapidBrow & RapidLash products I will save for a time when I need them as my brows and lashes are quite full at the moment. I am looking forward to trying out these Ardell lashes as false lashes are something I really want to master.








I hope this make-up brush from EcoTools works well as it was mentioned a lot in discussions. The tanning products I will of course try as with this gorgeous sunshine I don't want to show off pasty white legs. The fragrance I will probably pass on to my boyfriend. The memory stick is handy.




Thank you so much to Kilpatrick PR for inviting me to this event. It was great to discover more about a few brands at one event. I also met some lovely people which I hope to catch up with again soon.




Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts on them?





Love to you all

NOTD: Jubilee Inspired

Hi there you gorgeous lot. I hope you are all loving life at the moment. I am a busy little bee right now (you might actually hear me buzzing), but in a good way. Today I wanted to share a post with you on my current nails.








I started with applying one coat of my usual Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of the A.K.A Cosmetics Nail Polish shown above, Red Peck. This is a very true red. I think this would suit everyone. It applies very easily with a good size brush. You could apply this with just one coat really and it would still look amazing. I was given this for free at the A.K.A Cosmetics launch. You can see that post here. You can purchase this product for £5.00 from akacosmetics.com.








I then applied just one coat of my O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade Blue Shatter to alternate nails. I only applied one coat as I still wanted the red polish show through. This is such a beautiful blue and a great quick and easy way to do nail art on the go. You can purchase this product from amazon.com for $4.30 and lenawhite.co.uk where it is currently reduced from £11.00 to £5.50. 








I then used the striper part of my StarGazer Nail Art Pen in White to draw stripes. I applied two coats of this to make sure the white stood out as it comes out a bit wishy-washy over the top of the other shades otherwise. You can purchase this Nail Art Pen at stargazer-products.com for £3.00, naildelights.com for £3.00 or you can pick a set like I did from naildelights.com containing 8 shades for £19.99. I also have the UV kit for £19.99 as well.








Left Hand








Right Hand




So that's the finished look. Not my best nail art ever, but I just wanted to try out a few products and these shades seemed appropriate for the Jubilee.




Have you designed any Jubilee nail art? What are your favourite nail art products?





Love to you all

FOTD: Featuring A.K.A Cosmetics

Hello Darlings. I have a wee FOTD post for you today as promised so I will get straight into it :)




























Products Used



Rose & Co Apothecary Rose Petal Salve

Max Factor Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 Foundation + Serum (Light Ivory 40) SPF15

Eyeko Tinted Cream

 Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Ultimate 16 Hour Wear Concealer (Light 2)

 E.L.F. Studio Translucent Matte Powder

NYX Cosmetics 5 Color Shadow (The Caribbean Collection - I Dream Of ST. Kitt) - The Three Lightest Shades

  17 Clear Definition Mascara

 MUA Eye Liner (Snow White)

A.K.A Cosmetics Mascara (Brown)*

 W7 Honolulu Bronzer

A.K.A Cosmetics Blusher (Terracotta Hint)**

BellaPierre Cosmetics Mineral Shimmer Powder (Champagne)

 A.K.A Cosmetics Lip Stick (Harlot)***

A.K.A Cosmetics Lip Gloss (Bloody Mary)****




*
**
***
****
All four of these products were given to me for free at the A.K.A Cosmetics launch last week.





You can find my original post where I attended the launch here. Below is a brief review of each of the A.K.A Cosmetics products that I used in this FOTD.






A.K.A Cosmetics Mascara (Brown) ~ £7.00

This mascara is quite nice to use. It's a darker brown than other brown mascaras I have tried before which is nice as I don't feel like I usually get enough definition with brown mascaras. The formula is a little wet on application. I managed to get some on my under eye when applying to one eyes bottom lashes. The mascara lasts well throughout the day.



A.K.A Cosmetics Blusher (Terracotta Hint) ~ £7.00

This blusher is quite subtle. Nice for an everyday hint of flush to the cheeks. This is one I would advise more for fairer skin tones. It's buildable so you can make it more or less obvious on the cheeks.



A.K.A Cosmetics Lip Stick (Harlot) ~ £7.50

I loooooooooooove this lip stick. It has a very buttery, creamy formula that almost feels like it's melting. The pigment is very high with this shade. It lasted so well throughout the day. We ran out of washing up liquid at work and this sucker wasn't coming off my mug (drinking vessel, not my face) let me tell you. It did remove easily from my lips when I used my face wash and face wipe later on in the day. I would highly recommend this lip stick. I'm not sure if I have a dud one though as mine won't wind back down. 



A.K.A Cosmetics Lip Gloss (Bloody Mary) ~ £7.00

This was actually a nice contrasting shade over the top of the lip stick. It felt quite silky on application.





The A.K.A Cosmetics website is now live so check out the above links for the products mentioned.





I hope this post was helpful. Do you like the look of any of these A.K.A Cosmetics products?





Love to you all

 

Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2012 With Next

Hey Everyone. I have had quite a busy yet productive week. Satisfying, but tiring. I think weekends should start on Wednesdays. That would be cool right? Anyway on to today's post.









You have probably noticed the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2012 with Next mentioned on a lot of blogs. I appreciate the readers that visit my blog and love writing about my passions for beauty, make-up, nails and the odd bit of fashion. I still get excited when I see a comment pop up when I have written a post. I still really like discovering fabulous blogs so link me up in the comments below if you want to share yours. My blog birthday is coming up on the 29th May 2012. I can't believe I have been blogging for almost a whole year. I won't ramble any longer than to say if you wish to vote for me in this years Cosmopolitan Blog Awards then you can do so by clicking on the logo at the top left of my blog at any time or on this link if you wish to do so now.




Good luck to everyone for the Awards. Happy Blogging :)




Love to you all

 

A.K.A Cosmetics Launch Event

Hello my little cherubs. I am in a good mood today as I have some exciting products to show you from a new cosmetic brand to the UK, A.K.A Cosmetics. I was invited to attend the launch evening last night in London at the Vanilla bar and restaurant. I had a lot of fun and met some lovely people.









The waterfall effect lighting at Vanilla






The seating was comfortable yet chic






Guests sipping drinks and munching on canapes while having their nails and make-up done. I didn't actually get to have my make-up done, but I will show you the products later in this post that I am going to have a little play around with. There was a really relaxed vibe here.






The lovely Anna who painted my nails on arrival. It calmed me down as I had trouble finding Vanilla. I am someone who hates being late for anything. I left my phone at home so I was a lost little kitten in London, ha ha. I did arrive on time though.









The Nail Polishes come in 12 shades. They are 14ml each. They claim to be long lasting. I like the look of shades Silky Claret, Perfect Sky, Red Peck, Risky, Candy Floss, Bare All, Heavens Cloud, Mocha, Soft Mink, Tarnish and Hidden Secret.






The nail shade I chose is Silky Claret






This is a very rich, deep mauve shade






 Drinks were served to guests. I had the fruity one of these and my first Cosmopolitan a bit later :)






The area I was facing when I was interviewed by the very sweet cameraman Hugh






That's Hugh on the left















The Liquid Eye Liners come in 3 shades of Black, Blue and Brown. They are 10g each. I swatched one of these at the launch. It had just the right sized applicator giving a smooth, even line and was very pigmented. These are fragrance free.



The Mascaras come in 3 shades of Black, Brown and Brown/Black. I think these are staple shades of mascara that every make-up brand should have. I would have liked to have seen a navy blue in there though. These are fragrance free with pro vitamin B5. They are 12g each.












The Lip Pencils come in 3 shades of Red, Nude and Pink. All of these I think would be nice to try. They are 0.4g each.



The Eye Pencils come in 3 shades of Black, Brown and Grey. They are 0.4g each. I have used this twist up design of eye pencil before and I really like it. I swatched one of these at the launch and it felt very smooth gliding onto the skin nicely.








The Blushers come in 6 shades as above. They are 3.1g each. I love the look of Pink Kiss, Natural Glow, Terracotta Hint & Embarressed Glow. These are a satin formula that is fragrance free.








The Eye Shadow Duos come in the 6 palettes as named above. I particularly like the look of Black Russian, Blue Hawaii and Cafe Latte. I swatched the right hand shade of Blue Hawaii. It's deep purple blue that seemed quite buildable. Great for a smokey eye. I also swatched the left hand shade of Cafe Latte which is a very sparkly grey brown shade. These are fragrance free. There is 2.8g in each duo.








The Quad Shadow Sets come in 3 palettes as above. They have 4.8g in each quad. I really like the look of all of these. I think that the colours are well put together in each palette as you can create subtle or more dramatic looks with any or all of the shades. For a weekend away you could take just one with you.








There are 6 Lip Gloss shades. They are 10g each. The Pink Cadillac, Ecstasy and Sumptuous shades appeal to me the most.








There are 12 Lip Sticks in this range all of which I would like to try. They are 3.2g each. Vamp is the only shade I think I would not wear as often as the others because it has a more moody, vampish side to it. It is a deep purple shade.








The A.K.A Catalogues, Business Cards and Goody Bags








The lovely Sacha making a speech about A.K.A Cosmetics. We spoke earlier in the evening and he answered lots of my questions.




The morning after the night before .....








My Goody Bag








My A.K.A Catalogue and a the business card I picked up when I left the launch event. The catalogue includes details about the brand and of course the range itself. I also received a letter in my bag introducing the brand. It says that A.K.A stands for 'Also Known As' and that the brand is a cutting edge, modern collection of make-up products to awaken the 'other you'. The brand was created with the concept of achieving three defining and contrasting looks:

  • Demure (pretty and classic)
  • Smokey (sexy and sultry)
  • Carnival (outrageous and fierce)

A.K.A is a British brand created by a collective of make-up/cosmetic professionals who pooled years of research and experience into the mix and the knowledge of what is desired in a cosmetic brand.








The free products I received in my bag. I couldn't wait to see which ones were inside, but I did wait until today to open them and take photos. I really like the packaging. It's simple yet it has a professional appearance. I do like the fun slogan print across the white background.








Left To Right: Terracotta Hint Blusher, Bloody Mary Lip Gloss, Harlot Lip Stick, Red Peck Nail Polish, Brown Mascara & Milk Chocolate Bar.








Left To Right: Terracotta Hint Blusher, Bloody Mary Lip Gloss, Harlot Lip Stick & Brown Mascara.



Terracotta Hint Blusher

This is a very subtle terracotta shade. I thought I might like this for contouring, but I think I would use it as more of an everyday blush. This one I think is better for fairer skin tones as it probably won't show up on darker skin. The blusher has not fallen out of the palette, but I worry that it will as when I swatched it it moves away from the edges of the packaging as if it might.








Now I know that usually great quality make-up brushes do not come with make-up palettes, but this one I have to give a big thumbs down. The quality is poor as it has a bit of a rough texture and is not a great shape. I could have forgiven this had it not been for the wooden splint I am showing you in the above photo. If I had swept this across my face and scratched myself I would not have been impressed at all. Make note of this A.K.A Cosmetics!




Bloody Mary Lip Gloss

This is an orange red shade with gold shimmer. It's quite sheer. I expected it to be more opaque, but it's still a nice lip gloss. It has a doe foot applicator.




Harlot Lip Stick

I love, love, love this lip stick. It has really great pigmentation. This shade is a creamy hot pink with a gorgeously glossy sheen. It's quite a buttery formula so one to keep in a cool, dry place I think. My only fault with this product is that I can't twist the lip stick back down. I'm not sure if it's just the one I have or if this is just the way the lip sticks work?




Red Peck Nail Polish

This shade is right up my street. This is a true classic red. I will be using this in my NOTD next week.




Brown Mascara

It's always good to try different mascaras so I will give this a go. I usually wear black, but I like stepping away from my comforts once in a while. This has a large classically shaped wand.




Milk Chocolate Bar

This was a fab touch. I munched on this today and it was very nice :) 








I took another photo of my nails today as I thought the colour would show up better in this lighting. This is again the shade Silky Claret.




So let me tell you a little information I found out from Sacha about A.K.A Cosmetics. The website should go live between 18th and 19th May 2012. The products may be available to buy in stores at some point in the future, but this is still in discussion. The prices of the products range between approximately £5 to £9.50 each depending on the product. I can not give you exact prices as the website is not yet live.




Here is a link that will hopefully be updated soon to akacosmetics.com




Even with the negatives about the blusher and the lip stick I am still a fan of A.K.A Cosmetics and will be visiting their website once it launches. I think that the majority of the products in this range have quite high or very buildable pigmentation and quality. The packaging really appeals to me. I like the way the palettes are displayed because you can see the shades through the lid. This is something I think I would like to have seen transfer onto other products such as the Lip Sticks and Liquid Eye Liners. These things are very handy for goddesses with busy lives :) The price range is definitely one I like the sound of. These products are very affordable for the average customer. I will be using the products I received and showing them to you in a FOTD next week.




I would like to say a massive thank you to Touch Media for inviting me to my first Blogging/PR event. I had such a great time. Kat and Katie you are both gorgeous and lovely. Alex you are a true beauty also.




You can find A.K.A Cosmetics on Twitter, @AKACosmetics.



Vanilla bar and restaurant you can find at vanillalondon.co.uk and on Twitter, @vanillalondon.




If I have any names wrong in this post I deeply apologise.




If any of you have written a post yourselves on the brand please let me know by adding a link in the comments. If you attended the launch last night what did you think of the products?




Love to you all