NOTD: Essie Fear or Desire

 

In this instalment of NOTD, I've been clinging onto the last of the warmer months with this gorgeous bright and vibrant orange Essie nail polish in Fear or Desire.

 

This is definitely one of the better Essie formulas I have tried, as it gives you a good few solid days of wear before any chips start to appear.

My favourite thing about this polish is the wide brush which makes application incredibly easy with just one swoop! Two coats of this polish give great coverage and look super bright and cheerful, enough to brighten up anyone's day. This nail polish is easily one of my favourite Fragrance Direct purchases, and for just £2 (I think it's now at £2.50 I feel like you can't go wrong!

Hello Birchbox!!!

 

After months and months of lusting after subscription beauty boxes I finally decided that the beautiful Birchbox was going to be 'the one' and signed up for a 6-month subscription, eagerly awaiting for my first box to arrive.

 

 

Here's what arrived in my August 2014 Birchbox, which was 'Away We Go' themed:

 

 

Number 4 Super Comb Prep and Protect conditioning spray, Chella Highlighter pencil, Nude Progenius Omega Treatment Oil, Vasanti Brightenup! Enzymatic face rejuvenator, Supergoop! Daily Correct CC Cream, with an additional Lifestyle treat - the first chapter of The Proposal by Tasmina Perry.

 

 

 

Thoughts - very pleased all in all! This box was all about newbies, as I wasn't familiar with any of the brands in questions, so I'm very keen to play around and get a feel for these new products. The only thing I found a little annoying is that there were two tubes of the CC cream. Even though they are only small, I am not a massive fan of BB/CC creams so didn't need more than one, but I'm hoping this one will help sway my current opinion.

 

 

Completely behind on this next one, but seeing it was my first ever Birchbox, the July 2014 box absolutely deserved a mention! As you all probably know July's theme was 'Sun, Sea and Sand ' and my beautiful box came stocked with:

 

 

 

 

Compagnie De Provence mediterranean sea handcream, Balance Me wonder eye cream, Laqa & Co Sheer Lip Lube Pencil in Bees Knees, Benefit - The Porefessional, Soigne Nail Lacquer and finally a Lifestyle treat - The Chia Co Shots, super healthy stuff to add to your daily diet.

 

 

First impressions - very exciting! Although I'd seen many reviews and videos it was a hell of a lot more exciting opening up your own box for the first time! I was pleased to find a mixture of brands I already new and ones that I'd never even heard of, as this for me, was exactly what I was hoping to get out of the Birchbox experience.

Reviews coming up when everything has been tried and tested :)

 

 

 

Festival FOTD

 

With Autumn officially upon us and the festival season almost drawn to a close apart from the lucky ones still partying away at Bestival and Outlook over the next few days it seems the ideal time to reminisce about my festical experience this year. Camping at festivals isn't usually my thing, largely due to the ever-so reliable British weather, but this year I finally gave in and joined my friends at Creamfields... and oh boy was it amazing!!. I'm so terrible at taking selfies but managed to actually get few and thought I would share my festival face of the day with you guys.

 

 

My festival face basics included: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation, Benefit Boi-ing Concealer, Garnier Eye Roll-on, the original Naked Palette, Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze, Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara, Bourjois Liquid liner and when it came to lips I alternated between a Calvin Klein Lipstick in Ethereal and a Rimmel Lip Lacquer in Luna. Other items I used to jazz things up included a Wet 'n' Wild white glitter pot, Body Shop shimmer diffuser, Startgazer neon paints in pink and orange (not pictured), a Hair FX Hair Chalk in Pink and Ardell lashes in 105 (applied after the photo was taken).

 

 

And here is the finished product:

 

 

We enjoyed the festival so much that we've already got tickets for Creamfields 2015, keen much?!? Although a whole year away I am already very excited :)

Which festivals did you go to this year? Would love to know what you thought!

 

 

NOTD // Models Own Hyper Gel

 

This has been my absolute go to nail polish for the majority of the summer. Having mixed feelings about previous Models Own nail polishes, I was only too keen to try out this HyperGel gel effect formula hoping this would be the one to win me over. For a very modest price tag of £5 I was very impressed! An absolute sucker for a gorgeous pink polish I did my best to restrain myself and branch out to a lovely mint green shade in Turquoise Gloss.

 The formula was of a good consistency, much thicker than the Barry M Gelly polishes, which I much preferred. It was easy to apply and it gave great coverage after just one coat (I applied two coats). The polish lasted around 4/5 days before any chips appeared, which for me, seemed like magic! To top it off, the finish is gorgeous and shiny as though a high shine top coat has been applied (not very visible in the photo unfortunately). I would love to stock up on these and try out a few more, however the colour selection doesn't seem to be particularly amazing so I am not sure which of the others I would go for. Extremely happy with this product, in fact I would probably have to say it is one of the best polishes I've purchased in a long time!

 

Have you tried any of the Hyper Gel polishes? Would love to hear some recommendations on which one I should get next!

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday!

 

So here comes round the month of August and my blog's first birthday! I can't believe it has been a year since I started blogging! With this, comes a little name change as it's something I've been considering for a while and a monumental event like this seemed ideal. Welcome to Lana Loves ...! Not the most frequent of bloggers, I am trying to set aside more time to write reviews as well general ramblings about what's caught my eye in the beauty world and hopefully become much better at this. Thank you soooooo much to all of you who have been with me throughout this journey! I appreciate your comments so much and absolute love the flash of excitement when you see a 'new comment' email come through.

 

 

(image from awallpapersonline.com)

 

So here's to another successful year and I hope you keep popping back for a read now and then and make me extremely happy! Lots of love!

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I'm looking to spruce up my blog with a cute new layout, so if anyone can recommend a blog designer or website please let me know! Thanks! xx

NOTD // Tanya Burr Nail Polish

 

Ahh I was so excited when the wonderful Tanya Burr brought out her Lips and Nails collection, jut couldn't wait to get my hands on a few bits! With so many gorgeous colours on offer it was hard to pick a favourite but I finally settled for the fantastic Be Bright, Be Happy, Be you.

 

 

 

 

Not sure what to expect, I was extremely pleased with how well this polish lasted! Even without top coat I can get around 3 days wear prior to the appearance of any chips. The colour is really bright with a lovely shiny finish. The only issue I found was the consistency of the formula. It was quite runny and difficult for me to work with, especially when applying the first coat. The second is usually easier to apply but still not a particularly easy process, but definitely worth it when you have this gorgeous shade as the finished effect!

 

Have you tried any of the Tanya Burr collection polishes? Which one's your favourite?

 

 

 

Where Have I Been?

Oh my god it has been nearly 2 months since I last posted!! I am so sorry! I am back now and promise never to hide away from blogging for such a ridiculously long time!

The past 6 weeks or so have been a very busy and hectic time for me. I quit my job, found a new one, packed up my room and moved back to my beloved Manchester which was my home through the Uni years. Settled into my new home, it was time to jet off to Majorca for a week to catch some rays. I ended up catching the rays a little too much and brought back some sunburn as a personal souvenir. The holiday provided a great opportunity to have (a subtle) raid of the duty and pick a few discounted bits!

Back to the beauty side of things, I've got a combined haul coming up for your guys, bits that I picked up from the airport, drugstore and my first Cosmetics Fairy order. This week I have also signed up to a 6 month subscription of BirchBox! I am superrrr excited as it's been a very long time coming, watching too many reviews and so many other bloggers unwrapping their exciting little parcels each month, I couldn't resist any longer! I think the website said your first box can take around 3 business days to arrive so I'm sitting here waiting very impatiently to join in the fun of discovering 5 new products every month.

Thanks for being so patient with me! Lots of love!