My London Haul

Here is a comprehensive view of the massive shopping I did while I was in London. I hope you enjoy as this post will be picture heavy.

First I will re-visit my Illamasqua Flagship store haul. I could have lived in this store.  The sales girl that was helping me was c'est magnifique!! I can describe this store in one word: Incredible!

Illamasqua Haul

Freak Perfume Deluxe Gift Set 

Pure Pigment Loose Eye Shadows  Clockwise from top: Queen of the Night, Zeitgeist,  Beguile and Berber.

Nail Varnish Boosh and Spartan (came as a set)

Nail Varnish Ruthless and Untold (came as a set)

Nail Varnish Elope

Nail Varnish Hemlock (came with Freak Perfume)

Powder Blusher in Beg

Pressed Powder in 135

Skin Base Foundation in No. 04

 I couldn't believe I found the OPI Muppet collection in London rather than here at home! I bought all but one of the glitters.

OPI Nail Lacquer Muppet Collection Glitters Left-Right: Fresh Frog of Bel-Air, Divine Swine, Rainbow Connection,  Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, Gone Gonzo

Next up is the haul from the nails, inc flagship store. This store was kinda small but with polish everywhere.  The lovely sales girl willingly helped me with my extensive list! But unfortunately, the three colors at the top of the list were unavailable! :(

nails, inc haul

Left to right: Glastonbury, Reading, Victoria & Albert, Union Street, Gatwick and Heathrow

Left to right: Hatton Garden, London Bridge and Chelsea Embankment

Left to right: Downing Street, Old Park Lane and Regent Street

Left to right: Kensington Caviar hand lotion, Lowndes Square, Lennox Square,  Berkley Square  and a glass file (this was my gift with purchase)

 Next is a few items I found at Boots and Superdrug near my hotel. I was super excited to find the Gosh polishes.

Barry M nail paint in Red Glitter and Blue Glitter, Gosh Nail Lacquer in Gasoline and Purple Heart and Rimmel London eye shadow in True Union Jack

 I kind of stumbled across a Lush store at Liverpool Street train station. So I decided to try a couple items. Needless to say, I will definitely be buying more Lush products in the very near future (even if I have to order online since there is no Lush store where I live).

Lush Bubblegum lip scrub and Lemony Flutter cuticle butter

And I have to say, my favorite London experience was meeting Adina of a-england! She and her darling kitty Tristam are as sweet as they can be! And I can say that the upcoming line is a must have! These upcoming shades are amazing! These two polishes were a belated birthday gift from Adina. <3

a-england Morgan Le Fay and Galahad

A non-polish stop was Fortum & Mason recommended to me by Sara of The Daily Nail This store was absolutely incredible. Thank you Sara!!!

Fortum & Mason haul

Jubilee Blend Tea

Jubilee Biscuits

Jubilee marmalade and strawberry conserve

Fortnum & Mason Countess Grey and Earl Grey Classic Teas

On my last day in London, I came out of the Kensington Palace gift shop to this view of a post rain shower rainbow! It was stunningly gorgeous!

Rainbow in London 

Upon arrival home I had this awesome nail mail from Cult Nails. I love you Unicorn Puke!!! <3

Cult Nails Iconic, Hypnotize Me, and Unicorn Puke x2

I hope you enjoyed my London shopping hauls as much as I enjoyed doing them! I had a blast in London and I can't wait to go back!!! Thank for looking. xx

I am on Vacation!

I am in London on a bit of a vacation! I start my new job on Halloween and I will be back to blogging now that I am done with the crappy job.  So be on the look out for fabulous London shopping finds in the coming weeks! :)

butter London A/W 2011

I was lucky enough to find on my last trip to Ulta the Autumn/Winter butter London collection in it's entirety! I was so excited I bought all five shades. My wallet was not as excited as I was! :/

L-R: Toff, Wallis, No More Waity, Katie, Knees Up and Bluey

First off I started with Bluey. A gorgeous shade of a medium to dark shimmery teal. Below is the label and bottle. I absolutely love these bottles. They are so cute. Bluey went on like dream and I had complete coverage with 2 coats. Bluey is one of my favorites!

Bluey Label

Bluey Bottle

Next is Knees Up, this is a gorgeous shimmery red! I absolutely love this shade of red. I used to be a huge red fan but lately not so much! This red is incredible. Again, went on like a dream and full coverage with two coats.

Then we have my major lemming! I had been wanting this one for a long time! No More Waity, Katie is an awesome color. I would describe it as a glitter filled lavender. I absolutely love this one! My only qualm about this one was it was a little difficult application but nothing that couldn't be managed. Still love it. Full coverage with 3 coats.

Next up is Wallis this was a color I was not sure about. Wow, am I glad I bought it! I have one word for this color-Wowzers!! I love it! I would best describe this awesome color as a metallic olive gold green. It is amazing! Went on like butter and full coverage with 2 coats.

Last I have the color I only bought because it was part of the A/W line. I really was not impressed with it that much in the bottle. I liked it after I put it on but only as a work appropriate mauvy-pink. The main feeling I got from this was it seemed like a shade my mom would have worn. It really is not me. Once again went on like butter and full coverage with 2 coats.

In summary, I think that this is a great line with a little something for everyone (including mom). My favorites are No More Waity, Katie, Bluey and Wallis. butter London retails for $14 a bottle but well worth the price in my opinion. I will definitely be buying more colors from this great brand. butter London can be purchased at butter London online, Ulta, Nordstrom, Drugstore.com and Amazon to name a few. I hope you enjoyed this review and love these shades as much as I do!

Pumpkin Spice Layering

I have been in a ready for fall mood for the past few weeks so today I am posting the fall manicure I have been wearing the past week. I just love it and I am finding it very hard to take off. It is another layering. I started with China Glaze Midtown Magic as my base. Midtown Magic is a gorgeous dark purplish brown with what looks like a gold shimmer.

China Glaze Midtown Magic

China Glaze Midtown Magic Label

Beautiful on its own but incredible when paired with Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice. Pumpkin Spice is a sheer blackened brown base with orange glitter shattered throughout.

Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice

Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice Label

The end result is so utterly delicious. (Please excuse my terrible cuticles!) If it wasn't so hot here I would think it was already fall. These colors make yearn for the cooler weather. I so can't wait for that first delicious piece of Pumpkin pie! Nom nom nom! :)

Pumpkin Spice and Midtown Magic

So what do you think of this layering? Are you ready for fall? Have you already had a taste of cooler weather?

a-england Free Worldwide Shipping Press Release

Announcing a-england free worldwide shipping on all orders.  Now the greatest nail polish is available with free shipping! Go to a-england to order your polishes you will not be disappointed.

a-england Tristam & Lady of the Lake (Picture Heavy)

I ordered these two incredible polishes that I have been lemming for a terribly long time from a-england.  And I must say that I am incredibly impressed by the product that I received and the short period of time that it took to receive them from London.  I took these lovelies out of the bubble envelope and each was individually wrapped in it's own mini bubble insert.  Talk about lovingly packaged!  Once I removed them from their protective packaging I was in complete awe of their gorgeousness!

Tristam and Lady of the Lake along with the lovely note from Adina that I received with my order.


Business card note was written on.


Tristam Label

Tristam Bottle

Tristam Bottle close-up

I proceeded to immediately remove what ever polish I had on and apply Tristam in all its glorious beauty.  I am especially attracted to blues (it is my favorite color!).  I was absolutely amazed by the incredible pigments and the scattered holographic pigment.  Not to mention it went on like butter.  I probably could have gotten away with one coat but I added a second coat just because I always use two coats.  I wore Tristam for a week (a record for me but I couldn't bear to remove) with very little tip wear and it was a breeze to remove and left zero staining which is rare for me with blue polishes.

Tristam applied with one coat Zoya Anchor base coat, two coats of Tristam and one coat of Seche Vite Top Coat in the sun.

More Tristam in direct sunlight.

I just can't get enough of Tristam.

And Tristam!

Next up is Lady of the Lake.  This one is a gorgeous purple that is just as filled with scattered holographic pigment as Tristam.  Lady of the Lady was incredibly difficult to capture its true color.  My pictures do not do it justice!  I wore this with one coat of Zoya Anchor base coat, two coats of Lady of the Lake and one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Lady of the Lake Label

Lady of the Lake Bottle

Lady of the Lake in direct sunlight.

And another Lady of the Lake in sunlight.

In summary, I will definitely be buying more a-england polishes to add to my collection.  I couldn't have had a better shopping experience with this line.  Website is easy to use and well designed.  The only method of payment is via paypal currently.  Each bottle costs £ 9.00 (approx. $14.29).  Shipping is currently free.  Tristam is definitely my new favorite nail polish! <3

I hope you enjoyed my post.  What are your thoughts?  Do you own ay a-england polishes?  If so, what are your favorite shades?  What colors from a-england would you like to see next on my blog?