Spotlight On... John Frieda Glossing Mist

So it's rare that I'm not raving about some amazing new products I find. I've never really done a negative review on any product... until now.

Okay, so my first impressions of the John Frieda Glossing Mist were pretty bad. It smells like cheap hairspray and at first I though it made my hair look really greasy. This product claims to provide 100% shine and 100% brilliance. Not impressed so far. As you can see in the two pictures below, my one-day-old hair is looking pretty gross after using this. And my god, the chemical list! Cyclopentasiloxane, Bis-phenylpropyl Dimethicone... I say no more!

 The product itself it very easy to use, simply spray 20-30cm away from the head onto dry hair. Roughly 10 minutes after applying the greasiness seemed to die down (phew) but I don't feel like I was left with a massive amount of shine, no more so than usual anyway. I was expecting super glossy Kate Middleton-esque hair, but no such luck with this product.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a shine serum or spray? I'd love to know in the comments below.

May Favourites

Phew, I made it just in time! I've made a short May favourites video featuring some pretty damn good budget items. Check it out below.

30 Day Snap

Okay, so I have decided to take part in the 30 Day Snap, as proposed by the glorious Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter. The idea is that I will take a photo every single day throughout June and post it up here.

I'm really looking forward to this because its going to encourage me to look for beautiful things every single day and stretch my creativity. For the life of me I have no idea what I am going to take photos of, but hopefully I'll find some lovely interesting things for you. Please don't hate me if I get stuck and resign to taking photos of my garden/bedsheets/dinner though!

Who's up for the challenge?

My Birthday Wishlist

As you may know I am turning 25 in July and there's a few things I really, really want which may ease the pain of my quarter life crisis. I may just forward this link to all my family members...

First up are these beautiful strappy shoes from Zara which I fell in love with at first sight. I don't actually own any shoes from Zara so I am really coveting these. Next are the Real Techniques Core Collection and Real Techniques Starter Set, both of which I can't quite believe I don't own yet. I own the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and I adore it. I would also really like a new bottle of my favourite perfume, Oh Lola! by Marc Jacobs. I can't get enough of this perfume and the bottle is just so pretty. Next up is a little Chanel number I've had my eye on which is the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder. I saw this reviewed on milkteef and fell in love. After that comes the much-loved Bourjois Cream Blush. I really want this in 03. I've never been a fan of cream blush but after its rave reviews I really want to give it a go. Last in the beauty items is MAC lipstick in Shy Girl. This look like the most beautiful, wearable pink shade and I so want it. Last but not least is a rather random item - Les Miserables. I saw this in the cinema and I LOVE it. I'm constantly annoying my boyfriend by singing 'On My Own', 'I Dreamed a Dream' and 'One Day More'. That's perhaps why he hasn't bought me it yet!

There we have it, not a huge birthday wish list but it still adds up to over £200. A girl can dream!

Colours of the Rainbow Tag

After seeing this tag on A Yellow Brick Road I thought it looked pretty fun so thought I'd give it a go! The idea is to feature beauty products for each colour of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Just because I wanted to I've also added pink. Now the actual products don't have to be the colour, just the packaging. I mean, who really owns a blue lipstick..?

As a random afterthought, does anybody else remember the colour order by Richard of York gained battle in vain?

Red

Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter 

This is a lifetime favourite of mine and a product I reach for every single day. I've been a fan of this for as long as I can remember, my sister once bought me a gift set for Christmas and it was love at first smell. It smells absolutely divine and the product itself is so thick and nourishing for my skin.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Laquer in Stellar

A couple of months ago I jumped on the blogger bandwagon and picked up a few of the Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers. They're super pigmented and Stellar is an extremely bright orange-based red. You really have to have the confidence to pull this off. I've swatched the colour in a previous blog post.

Orange

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 103 True Ivory

Another one which I've previously blogged about but this is my daily go-to foundation. It has a gorgeous citrus scent and light reflecting particles in the foundation which really do brighten your skin and give it a healthy glow. It is light-medium coverage but it is buildable.

Essie Nail Polish in Tart Deco

I'm including this nail polish in the orange category when actually it's a pinky-orangey-salmony colour, but what you gonna do about it? I'm a huge fan of Essie nail polishes (as are most bloggers) and recently picked up this gorgeous colour after seeing it featured in Boots magazine. It's the most perfect shade for Spring/Summer and I'm really looking forward to wearing it on holiday. I've borrowed some random picture of it on the nails from another blog (I'm so sorry, I didn't actually take note of what blog it was) but I wanted you all to see what it looks like on the nail.

Yellow

Garnier Dark Spot Corrector Daily Illuminating Moisturiser
I didn't buy this product because I have dark spots (I don't) but because of its vitamin C content. Coming up 25 I am getting really paranoid about wrinkles and fine lines and so I researched which products increase collagen production in the skin. I found that vitamin C is great for this and so short of rubbing orange peel on my face I purchased this product from Garnier. The review on Boots were really good and for only £9.99 I didn't think I could go wrong. The moisturiser really does brighten my skin and has a beautiful citrus scent. It's a fairly light moisturiser and so is fine for morning and night.

Eco Tools Bamboo Blush Brush
This brush is ridiculously soft. Seriously, it feels like a puppy is kissing my face! This is advertised a blusher brush but I use it for powder as it is quite big and fluffy. The Eco Tools brushes are made from natural and recycled materials, so my conscience is semi-clear when using this. The brush is synthetic but it really does not feel like it.

Green

Montagne Jeunesse Green Tea Peel Off Detox & Pore Cleansing Masque

This product is the cheapest of the cheap but I still find it so effective. Whenever I'm in Home Bargains I pick up a handful of these. Looking at the ingredient, the majority of them are natural (lemon, green tea extract, aloe vera, ginseng, evening primrose, ginger and seaweed). I apply this face mask, leave it for 20 minutes until it's completely dry and peel off. You really can see all the impurities being stripped away with the peel off mask.

Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

I'm extremely lucky with my skin as it is completely normal. It's not remotely oily and I rarely get dry skin on my face. That means I can get away with using light moisturisers such as this little beauty from Simple. It contains Vitamin E and Pro-Vitamin B5 which really help to nourish my skin. It's also free from perfumes and colourings so its great for sensitive skin. 

Blue

Freederm

Not the most stylish of products but on the rare occasion I get a spot this little beauty works wonders for me. It claims to visibly reduce spot size and redness quickly and I have to say it does a pretty damn good job of it. I usually apply at night and by the morning - voila - nasty pimple is no more!

Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser

Another favourite moisturiser of mine, this is great for when my legs get a little dry. It really does a fab job of nourishing my skin when its feeling a little dehydrated and smells lovely too. It takes a while for this moisturiser to sink on so I tend to use it at night but I just feel like that means it doing a super job of hydrating my skin. It also contains Almond Oil which is a good source of vitamin E.

Indigo

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

As you can see, this is a very well-used product. I didn't want to show you the bottle because it is literally covered in makeup. One flaw with this product is the packaging. There's no dispenser on the bottle so it can get a little messy. This foundation is high coverage and boy, does it do a good job! I only tend to wear this on nights out and I find it does clog my pores if I wear it daily but my skin looks beautiful when wearing this. It does provide a very matte finish so it's great for those with oily skin. For a little more glow I mix this with my Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation.

Violet

Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara

I'm a big fan of the Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara and I use it all the time. But for the life of me I have no idea what the difference is with the Fusion version! Can anybody enlighten me? Anyway, I've used the False Lash Effect mascara for as long as I can remember and I always go back to this one. It has a lovely fat brush on it which deposits just the right amount of product and doesn't clump. I have pretty long eyelashes anyway but this makes them look pretty magnificent!

Pink

Soap & Glory Hand Food

Now surely everyone has heard of, if not used, this product! It smells unbelievable and really does nourish my hands. I do get pretty dry skin on my hands so I always keep some hand cream handy. 

Oh, Lola! by Marc Jacobs Sheer Body Lotion

I've always been in love with the Oh, Lola! perfume by Marc Jacobs and a little while ago I was browsing duty free at Manchester Airport and thought I'd give the body lotion a go. This smells just like the perfume, which is divine. It doesn't nourish skin so well but frankly that's not the purpose of it. The purpose is to smell gorgeous and look pretty in my bedroom.

So there we have it, my colours of the rainbow tag. I've used quite a random selection of products but mostly skin care as opposed to makeup. Have you used any of these products?

Giveaway - Babyliss Big Hair

I am going to be giving away a Babyliss Big Hair Rotating Styler (RRP £45) to one lucky person. The Big Hair styler is used (but only twice) and comes boxed. All you have to do is the following:

Mandatory entries - you must do these to enter!
1. follow my blog on bloglovin' here and GFC 
2. follow my twitter here 

Additional entries - for more change of winning!
1. subscribe to my youtube here - 1 extra entry
2. follow me on instagram at nicolab267 - 1 extra entry
3. mention my giveaway on instagram with a picture + link to my instagram - 1 extra entry
4. tweet about the giveaway with: ''check out @stylishbutskint giveaway to win babyliss big hair: http://www.stylishbutskint.co.uk/2013/05/giveaway-babyliss-big-hair.html #bbloggers" - 1 extra entry
5. mention this giveaway in a blog post - 3 extra entries

What I need to know (post this in comments):
twitter name:
contact email:
Did you mention me on instagram?
tweet URL:
blog post URL:

This giveaway will run until 30th June 2013 and is unfortunately only open to UK.

New video: My Hair Tools Collection

Hey everyone, I've recently uploaded my latest YouTube video and it's just a little run through of all the hair tool products I own. I haven't provided any in-depth tutorials on the tools but on some of them I have quickly mentioned how I use them. Enjoy!

Along Came Betty All Concealed & Starlight Shine

During my weekly Tesco food shop a couple of weeks ago my eyes were drawn to some very Soap & Glory-esque packaging in the beauty aisle. Along Came Betty is a relatively new beauty product line to be introduced in Tesco and seeing as I'm a magpie for pretty things, I just had to pick a couple of items up.

First up is the All Concealed concealer kit, which I bought in Fair/Medium. This nifty little product comes with two concealers (one of a thicker consistency for hiding blemishes and another, creamier concealer for under eye circles) and also a little pot of eye brightening powder. Being somebody who despises my dark circles I just had to buy this.

This is a pretty good concealer and I'm quite impressed with the coverage it gives on my under eye circles. The concealer is very creamy and can feel a little greasy when you put it on, but the coverage is buildable. However, when you apply the brightening powder (which I apply with a powder brush) the concealer is instantly set and feels smooth to the touch. Below are before and after pictures so you can see the coverage for yourself.

 Before

After

 I also picked up the Starlight Shine highlighter, which comes in a chunky stick. The consistency feels very smooth and the colour is lovely, more of a golden shimmer.

This doesn't add a huge amount of shimmer which is a good thing. Again, it is buildable. On the skin this perhaps feel a tiny with waxy, but looks okay and doesn't cake at all. Hopefully you can see in the below photo the nice amount of highlight it gives to me cheekbones.

Have you used any of the Along Came Betty products? 

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipsticks

After stumbling across Frangrance Direct a couple of weeks ago I discovered they sold Rimmel Kate lipsticks for only £1.99 and it would have been rude not to have purchased one or two... or eight! And now I have finally found the time to swatch them all for you.

I bought the following colours; 03, 05, 06, 07, 09, 10, 12 and 19. All in all, I'm happy with the colours I bought and I'm pretty sure I'll wear all of them. They glide on so smoothly and they really do last a long time (proven by the fact I still have faint swatch marks on my arm). Here are the colour swatches below.

But I mean, who really wears lipstick on their arm? So I thought I'd treat you lovely people to some real life picture of me wearing aforementioned lipstick colour so you can see what they really do look like on. I'll also tell you a little bit about the colours.

03

My go-to shade is 03 which is just absolutely beautiful. It's an everyday shade that can be worn to work, shopping, drinks... whatever! I just love my lips in this shade.

05

One of my many favourites from this range, 05 is a gorgeous pink-ruby colour which just looks amazing. In love.

06

I think I may have finally found my perfect bright lipstick shade, 06. I'm really looking forward to wearing this in Summer. 

07

Another wearable nude shade, but the 07 has just a little more colour to it. Gorgeous and girly.

09

Vampy and sexy, the 09 is a deep, sophisticated red which would look stunning for evening cocktails.

10

I do have a slight fear of resembling Ronald McDonald in this shade, but hopefully Ill be able to pull it off better once I have a summer tan.

12

Another shade I'm going to be wearing a lot in the summer months. 12 is a gorgeous orange based lip colour which is just adorable.

19

Last but not least, 19 which is another wearable lipstick with just the right amount of colour. Another favourite.

So there we have it, the eight Rimmel Kate lipsticks in my collection. I would definitely recommend these lipstick and especially at the bargainous price of £1.99 each!

Which is your favourite colour?

The Influences of the Internet Tag

I came across this tag on youralmostalice and thought I'd give it a pop!

Did other blogs convince you to start up your own?
Actually no, other blogs didn't convince me to start up my own. I started this blog in 2008 purely because I wanted to express my opinion on designer fashion. However, other blogs did convince me to continue blogging regularly (after only blogging once a year if lucky)

Have you joined a site because someone else in the blogosphere did?
Yeah, bloglovin. It's a great site to catch up with all your favourite bloggers on one site.

Is there a tip/regime you've got from the Internet that you use now?
I've learned so many tips from the internet, especially with hair tools such as Enrapture Totem Styler. I don't think there are any beauty regimes I now commit to as a result.

If your favourite Youtuber/blogger likes a product, will that make you buy it?
It certainly makes me research the product a little more. Recently I bought Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation and Rimmel Apolocalips off the back off blogger recommendations.

What do you look for in a blog that makes you want to follow?
Ooh, lots of thing! If they have a pretty blog, if they feature the types of products I can afford (not all high end stuff), if I like they're writing style. But more importantly... if they have nice hair!

Have you ever been deceived by a product that you ordered online? (e.g you thought it would be pink but it was coral)
I'm sure I have plenty of times but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Have promo pictures and press releases given you the impression that a product will be better than it is?
Oh all the time! That's what advertising is for. I recently bought Garnier Perfect Blur primer and it sounded amazing. But I am very disappointed.

Is there a product you could give a 'cult' status for being so good that you discovered through the internet?
They're pretty new but the Rimmel Apocalips are on their way to legend status.

Is there a product you've tried and hated but others have loved?
I wouldn't go as far as 'hate', but there have been some I'm not too impressed with such as Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and Benefit Erase Paste.

Is there a blogger/Youtuber who influences your fashion style? If so, who?
I don't think I've ever gone out and bought an item of clothing influenced by another blogger, but I really do admire dizzybrunette3's style.

Is there a blogger/Youtuber who influences your attitude each day/lifestyle?
Hmm, I think I'll have to go with Zoella on this one... just because she's so damn hilarious!

How much time do you spend on the Internet daily?
Probably more than I think I do... dangers of having an iPhone!


So I hope that helped you guys learn a little more about me. Do you like these kinds of post? Let me know.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers #2

Bonjour!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the Apocolips Lip Lacquers in Celestial, Apocaliptic and Stellar. Well only a couple of days after that post I purchased three new colours; Galaxy, Nova and Luna, but I just haven't had time to post swatches! So here they are (please accept my apologies for my unforgivably pale complexion):

Galaxy

Luna

Nova

As mentioned in my previous post, the lip lacquers are very pigmented but are still incredibly easy to wear. I'm kind of in love with every colour but out of these three I think I'd have to choose Nova, it's such a cute, girly pink which will look amazing in Summer! Don't forget to check out all 6 colours mentioned in my April Favourites video!