MY NEW BLOG HAS LAUNCHED!

So, as I promised my new blog has launched today! EKKK! The link is...
Beautyinawhimsicalland.blogspot.ie

I'm sad to be leaving Cecella and I'm so thankful for everyone who has read my blog, enter my contests and helped me with advice and comments! I love each and everyone of you, which is why.. I'm giving EVERYONE who comments (and follows my new blog) on my first post on my new blog a gift bag, its a cute makeup bag from Primark along with some goodies gifted from Rimmel London! Each person gets one bag just email me your details ( Cecebeautyblog@gmail.com ) and it should get to you in less than a week!

I think that this journey threw blogging has been so fun and I hope to continue it in the following years! I hope you all enjoy reading my new blog, and if you have any questions for me or want a shoutout or a FREE ad in my blog then just email me in the following adress.

Thankyou to everyone! If your reading this I LOVE YOU! :)

so, for the last time i will wright,

xoxo,
Cece

BYE BYE
(i use <3 cece on my new blog btw)

PS. This blog will not be taken down you will still be able to read it i just won't be posting.

Bye Bye....

Hello everyone.

I have decided to say bye bye to Cecella... BUT don't worry hold the tears! I'm moving to a new blog beautyinawhimsicalland.blogspot.com the official launch for my new blog will be on Sunday! :]  It will be Beauty with a sprinkle of fashion and Decor! The reason I have chose to part with Cecella is due to
1. Hackers, this year i've been hacked three times!
2. I broke my hand (fell of a wall) thus not being able to type but my cast is off now!
3. change is good!

so, bye bye i hope to see all 1776 of you on Sunday! (thats how many readers i have ekk! i'm so thankful for EVERY ONE OF YOU!} plus some giveaways and surprises too!

xoxo,
Cece

Models Own Splash Collection and Swatches

Another new Models Own nail polish collection just in time for summer! 

The Models Own Splash Collection consists of 5 different coloured flakie nail polishes which are suspended in varying degrees of pigmented nail polishes that give a wash of colour to the nails when worn without a base colour. 

Models Own describe the Splash Collection as 'A completely unique glide-on glitter topcoat in gleaming jewel shades. Inspired by the sea and distant shores, this pretty collection will have you dreaming of summer haze and tropical sun - each polish contains 5 different chunky hand-cut glittery flakes that are guaranteed to glisten, sparkle and refract the light. Revitalise your entire polish collection - wear alone for a wash effect or over your favourite colour polish giving a glistening top coat!'

I personally feel this is the first collection were all the nail polishes are quite similar and would actually suggest that if you do like the look of the collection to only purchase one or two. You can find a detailed explanation of each shade below, along with my own thoughts of the Splash nail polishes...

Golden Shore

This nail polish contains golden flecks/flakes which looks best over an orange base coat (see nail swatch) or black base coat to really show off the flakes... which oddly have a slight green tone to them when applied over a black base. Worn alone the gelly orange can be seen quite well on the nails after 2 or 3 coats and is one of the more pigmented polishes in the collection.

Red Sea

 The flakes in this are a mixture of red and purple which are most noticeable when worn over a black nail polish. This would be the one that could also be worn on naked nails as the red gelly polishes is the most pigmented in the collectio.

Mermaids Tears 

I had the highest hopes for this shade as it looks so pretty in the bottle however sadly the purple gelly that the flakes are suspended in has very little colour pay off. So this would look best when paired with a dark base coat such as a purple or black. The flakes in this are a silvery blue shade.

Aqua Splash

 This over a black base coat really does come to life with it's green/blue/silver flakes and over a white base coat it looks a bit like shards of snowflakes. However over naked nails this is pretty bland.

Pink Paradise 

 Pink Paradise is the only polishes out of the collection that also has a glitter running through it, which is a really nice touch and adds to the finish. This looks best over a pastel pink or neon pink but again can be worn over a black nail polish to how off the blue and pink toned flakes.

Why I'm not in love with this collection...

As I touched on above, this for me is the first collection that I have felt the nail polishes are all quite same-y and Models Own have used the different coloured bases to make them all look unique, were as in reality the only polish that could be used on bare nails would be Red Sea. 

Also I feel the formula of these do let them down. As the flakes are quite large and the formula is quite thick the application isn't that great and it can be hard to place the flakes evenly over each nail. So they aren't quick paint-over-your-nails-and-go polishes and you may also struggle for them to dry if you applied more than two coats.

 

Favourite picks from the Splash Collection...

Having said all of that, these do look great over a black base coat and flakes really do look amazing, my personal favourite would be Aqua Splash for this. However the most interesting polish would be Pink Paradise as it does also contain glitter and Red Sea would be the most versatile as it can be worn on bare nails, over a red or pink and looks great over a black nail polish.

As you can see above when applied over similar base nail polish shades the flakes do blend in and all look fairly similar. Also the amount of flakes that you can get on the nails with one coat can be quite sparse as you can see with the blue and purple nail swatches. If you do love the look of flakie nail polishes I would suggest spending a tiny bit more and purchasing China Glaze Lush & Luxe (£6.95 - Beauty Bay here) which is just out of this world! 

You can find the entire Splash collection on the Models Own website here, at the Models Own Westfield Bottleshop or in select Boots Stores for £5 each.  

I sadly feel a lot of people will purchase these on how they look in the bottle and that really doesn't translate on to the nails which may lead to disappointment! 

As I have mentioned countless times in this post how much better these look over a black nail polish base I think I will post up swatches of the collection over a black, soon. 

xoxo,

Cece!

(sorry this post has taken so long. I just broke my RIGHT hand. Bible! And I havn't been able to log onto my account, my post will be back on track, also later this year i will be starting a youtube channel!!!! plus, stay tuned for an amazing giveaway next week)

Bargain Buy: Real Techniques Brushes!

Hello Beauties!

A super quick post today to let you know of some super cheap Real Techniques brush sets on Amazon UK. Both the Core Collection Kit (here) and the Starter Kit (here) are only £14.66 with free delivery, instead of the normal £21.00! 

I really didn't need any more makeup brushes but decided to pick up the Core Collection as I have heard so many amazing things about the brushes in this set. I cannot wait to try out the buffing brush and contour brush. 

There are also single brushes discounted at the moment which you can find here. 

I can't wait to receive mine now! 
xoxo,
Cece

Nails Inc Spring Ombre Nails!

Hello Beauties,

A super quick mid-week manicure today with some pretty blue nail polishes! 

As the weather was so lovely on Saturday I decided to paint my nails an ombre blue with a mix of some lovelyNails Inc, MUA and Models Own nail polishes.

I actually don't own any Nails Inc nail polishes other than freebies from past fashion magazines however my sister does like the brand a lot so she has quite a few minis, which I have borrowed from her! I love mini nail polishes from higher end brands as it just makes them more affordable and they are great for travelling with. My favourite minis would be from Essie (favourite ever Essie mini set herereviewed) and then OPI (favourite OPI mini set here reviewed) and then Nails Inc I think..

I didn't picture it but for my thumb I used Models Own Blueberry Muffin but applied a white base to make it that touch lighter. Then on my index finger I used MUA Pistachio Ice Cream which Ireally do like (just amazing for £1). For my middle finger I used Nails Inc Royal Botanical Gardens.On my ring finger I used Nails Inc Chelsea Physic Garden and then on my little finger Nails Inc Kensington Park Road. 

I would have to say my favourite out of them all has to be Nails Inc Chelsea Physic Garden as it's such a lovely shade of blue, however I was definitely let down by Nails Inc Kensington Park Road on my pinky... I mean really, new neon shade? there is nothing neon about it! 

I rarely paint my nails in this ombre style however I always love the finished result. So I think I will be remembering to try it out with more shades especially in summer with lovely pastels. 

What have you got on your nails at the moment? 

xoxo.

Cece

5 DIY Makeup Storage Ideas!

Hello everyone,

Today I thought I would do a slightly different post with all the DIY storage ideas that I have been seeing around the internet and ones that I have also thought up. Hope some of you try out these ideas! I would love to try out each and every one! If you try them, take a picture and link in below, I'd love to see!

I love this one, it can easily girl up a boring room, and look adorable! You can find these trays at Primark Home, Ikea or any pound shop! For a mega bargain check some thrift shops, or Car Boot Sales.

What an idea! I really want to try this one out! These you will find at Ikea, a hardware store or pretty much any Home Store such as B&Q, Home Store and More, or even try TJ Maxx! 

This one is my favourtie, so girly and cute yet so usefull! Check the Kitchen Department in all stores listed above for some cute buys!

 

I have always done this little tip and trick! Its so easy and almost free! To keep your brushes standing up fill the cup/class/jar/candle holder with rice, or if you have them beads. Again these are at all stores listed above, or for an easier option try your kitchen!

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I hope you guys enjoyes this post, sorry for the lack of posts latley over easter i was super busy, and to top that off i've had 4 tests this week! I've had to study a lot and have been quite busy, post will be back as normal starting this week!

xoox,

Cece

NYC Nail Polish Wild With Passion!

Hello beauties,
today i am going to be showing you guys one of my favourite nail polishes ever! I love NYC's nail polishes and this one is most deffinently my favourite!
NYC In A New York Minute nail polish in Wild With Passion is one of NYC's 3 new nails polishes and is a perfect shade for autumn with it's purple/berry tone. The nail posts is only £1.79 which I am always impressed by, as every NYC nail polish I have tried is very fast drying and glossy.

I do enjoy wearing berry shades on my nails in autumn/fall however I do find this one really pretty for the spring! This shade is quite light which I really like. The nail swatch here is just two coats and no top coat, and as you can see from the reflects on the nails it is pretty glossy. 

I hope you enjoyed this very short Nail Of The Day post!!. 

What have you got on your nails at the moment? 

Nail Glitter!

Hello Beauties,

Today I have yet another nail art post today as I can't get enough of doing my nails at the moment and I am very much in to easy nail art!  I will admit loose glitter is quite messy to use however these 5 glitters are just amazing and so cheap at only £2.50. 

The nail glitter set it actually from NPW which I know probably no one has heard of but actually on closer inspection of their website you would definitely spot some products you have seen in retail shops such as Topshop & New Look. They do the amazing glittery duck lip balms here which I am sure aren't great quality lip balms but look so cute and they also do lots of unique beauty gifts... and of course their line of nail art pens and glitters! 

These NPW Nail Art Glitters can be found on the NPW website here or the range can be found in selected New Look, Topshop and River Island stores. But if you can't find these specific nail glitters there will be nail art pens or wheels with gems in, that are all just as pretty. I do really wish the fully range was more widely available on line, on say ASOS or in Boots as the products are pretty good! You can find the nail glitters in different colours however on the Topshop website here & here.

 The 5 vials of glitter are designed to be sprinkled, pressed or brush onto semi-wet nails then sealed with a top coat. Meaning the options for different nail art are endless. What I really like about these glitters is that there are sequined shaped pieces of glitter and then fine glitter so it looks lovely on the nails, also the shades of glitter are amazing. Plus I did noticed that the excess glitter can be so easily brushed off  the skin, which believe me is a huge bonus as so many fine glitters get all over the hands then it seems to be impossible to get rid of.

As you can see I tried using the glitters is two different ways. I first decided to just add glitter to the tips of my nails by lightly pressing the glitter on with an eyeshadow brush, which worked really well. Then I went for an accent nails of gold glitter which I just poured onto the nail and then pressed on. 

I do prefer my nude nails the most as I love the colour of the glitter however both nails were so easy to do! 

I really do rate this little set! The glitters are really unique and the bottles remind me of tiny bottle of fairy dust! 

If you do like them as much as I do then make sure to look out for NPW products in the stores I mentioned above. 

xoxo,
Cece

Easy Nail Art With.... A Sharpie?!

When it comes to nail art even for me it can be easy to just stick to using glitter nail polish or a dotting tool. Because lets face it, doing nail art can be fiddly and also someones impossible with your other hand. 

However I have finally discovered the easiest pens to use and they come in 3 lovely metallic shades . Yes, they are just Sharpie fine point markers but they just workperfectly. 

I've tried various Sharpie pens in the past, some have worked and some haven't. I actually like to use an extra fine black Sharpie Marker quite often for nail art. So when I spotted a 3 pack of the new-ish Sharpie Metallic Markers in Tesco I thought I would try them out. Do not worry though you can also find them on eBay for £4.19 with  free p&p - here which is roughly what I paid. The markers come in a set of three consisting of - gold, silver and bronze.

                        

As you can see here I tried out the silver and gold markers with quite good effect. The thing I really like about these pens is that you don't need to shake them and they are opaque meaning you don't need to go over your nail art design at all. 

However there are some things that you have to make sure of. The first one is you need to make sure your nail polish is totally dry before using the markers on the nails or it will just drag the nail polish and look awful. Also you do have to use a top coat to seal in the nail art but this is were you can smudge the design so you need to let the Sharpie Marker dry and then with enough top coat on the brush you need to quickly and lightly apply it to each nail. If you drag the polish over the nail a few times it's more than likely going to smudge. But as you can see by my nails you can definitely apply a top coat without smudging them.

I'm just so pleased with my new discovery and can see myself using the pens quite often to add gold tips to my nails and polka dots. But now I can attempt some more complex nail art as it is just like using a pen as the nib works perfectly on the nails. 

Expect to see more Sharpie Marker nail art is some up coming nail posts as I have a feeling I will be getting obsessed with using these instead of nail polish nail art pens! 

xoxo,
Cece

How I Take Care Of My Nails!

As It is summer i decided to try out a lot more fun bright nail polishes and to change it up very often, which means using nail polish remover on my nails almost everyday, I thought I would write a post on how I look after my nails.

 The main thing is to keep my cuticles from going dry and also keeping my nails from breaking due to using so much nail polish remover. Also with so much nail polish on the nails you can also get ridges in the nails, so I also want to prevent that!

Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream

£5.00/125ml (Boots here)

Using hand cream is a huge part of my nail care routine. I own lots of small hand creams that are dotted around my house but Soap & Glory's Hand Food is the one I apply every day after doing my makeup. Hand sanitiser then Hand Food.

This lovely scented hand cream isn't overly thick and doesn't appear to be that amazing even when applying it. But this is such a good hand cream! It really is food for the hands! 

If you haven't tried this I highly recommend you try the mini size of this, which you can find in travel section of Boots. It also dosen't have a strong smell!

Stylfile S-Nail File

 £3.83 (Amazon here)

For the past year I have been using a free models own multi-buffer/file that came with two nail polishes. But it is looking a little old now so I'm glad I received the Stylfile in last months She Said Beauty Box. It is a lot more sophisticated and is a really nice file. If I do get a small rip in my nails I do actually try to file it out and if my nails are getting too long, again I file them down instead of cutting them. I really find this works for me.

However I am still using the Models Own buffer to buff my nails. I really do rate buffers to remover ridges (you just have to make sure you don't do it too often or it will thin the nails) and also if you don't wear nail polish (for work etc) then using the 4 different buffers will make your nails really smooth and very shiny! I was actually amazed at how using a buffer can make your nails feel, especially when polishing them. 

Also I find just buffing them quicker before applying nail polish can help the nail polish stay on the nails for a bit longer!  

Champneys Cuticle Softening Nail Oil 

£8.50/10ml (Boots here)

Cuticle oil is essential if you use nail polish remover a lot as it will dry out the cuticles if you are not careful. I have many cuticle oils/balms - Ciate, Neom, Sally Hansen, China Glaze and also this one by Champneys. 

I decided to feature this one as it's new and I'm really impressed with the little mechanism at the top. The little button at the top actually fills up the pipette with oil and then every time to press the button it releases enough oil for each nail - how clever! So you just hover over each nail and it applies enough oil for each finger then you can just put the top back on the bottle and massage the oil into each nail/cuticle. This oil really is lovely and makes my cuticles in perfect condition. 

 Let me know what type of file, hand cream and cuticle oil you use!

xoxo,

Cece