Rimmel London vs Miss Sporty

Heellloooo!

I'm doing my first vs/dupe post! Are you excited? I'm excited! 

I'm loving all this metallic colour changing nail varnish thats popping up all over the place, its like a mix of science and magic (two of my favourite things) but picking one was no easy task, there are so many to choose and it seems like every brand has their own version. I finally settled on the green-purple one but the two below looked exactly the same, the only difference seemed to be the price.

In the left corner we have Miss Sporty Metal flip in Aurora Borealis weighing in a £1.99 (also on special offer at superdrug 2 for £2.99) and in the right corner we have Rimmel London Metal Rush in 60 Royal blue weighing in at £3.99.

Here are my opinions on them:

Rimmel London's Royal blue.

Firstly I'm not a huge fan of the packaging, its quite a heavy bottle as the glass base is so thick and my handbag definitely doesn't need any extra weight. I take the nail polish I'm wearing that day out with me in case of major chips! Also it says on the lid "flip your colour".....no..... I don't want to do any "flipping", I just want to paint my nails! Then underneath that it says couleur changeante...and me thinking it was english, asked the shop assistant what it said to which she replied "sorry I can't read french"... Thanks for that Rimmel...I have now found out that it means 'changing colour'...

Ok so on to the actual product.

The nail polish is very thick and only one or two coats are needed to get a really deep colour, however it did take about 5 minutes to be 100% dry which if your like me and totally impatient then that's just too long. Once it's on your nails and dry then it looks awesome and it really does completely change colour from dark green to purple at different angles...magic!  

The finish was flawless for about 20 minutes, then came the bubbles. I guess this (when tiny bubbles appear in the polish after it dries) was bound to happen quite easily as it is such a thick liquid but for me i think it's one of the most infuriating things ever!! I removed the nail varnish and tried again four times, taking all the steps to prevent bubbling..but it still happened every fudging time even when when applying just one coat. I will end on a good note and say that it does somewhat redeem itself with its chip resisting power, I have been actively trying to chip it for two days now with no success. Gotta give it some respect for that. 

Ok now we have Miss sporty's Metal flip in Aurora Borealis.

Firstly what's with all this 'flip'? I don't want to flipping flip anything! and you don't have to 'flip' your nails/hands all over the place to make it change colour, you just slightly rotate them.. 

I love the Miss Sporty nail varnish packaging (I like round things..) and you can see the colour better through the glass as there isn't a sticker covering it like there is on the Rimmel one. They both have pretty much exactly the same brush which is a really good shape and size, it's slightly rounded at the tip which makes application quicker and less messy. 

The polish is much thinner than the Rimmel one which gives you much more choice in how dark you want it, when I applied only one coat it was a lovely silvery colour with a hint of green and purple.

You do have to apply about four or five coats to get the same dark colour as one coat of the Rimmel one but it does dry much faster so having to apply lots of coats if you want a deep colour isn't so time consuming. Miss Sportys has much more of a hazy 'cosmic' 'galaxy' look to it whereas Rimmels is very 'solid' green then purple with no inbetween shade. 

Two coats, hint hint

Three coats, peek a boo I see you!

Four to five coats, BOOM in yo face! 

(Sorry that in all the pictures of it on my nails it just looks green, the purple just wouldn't show up in pictures...possibly something to do with vampires?)

The only thing that isn't great about this one is that it does chip quite easily if you don't apply a top coat. 

The fact that this one (in my opinion) has a much smoother finish than Rimmels, with no bubbles, it's so versatile because its buildable and you can get two for less than the price of one Rimmels one so that makes Miss Sporty the winner for me. 

So hopefully this will help you decide which to buy. If you have tried either of these then I'd love to read your opinions on them in the comments below. Let me know if you want more posts like this or if you want me to try out a specific product :)

I have loads more product reviews coming up so please check back soon for those!

Byyyeeee 

Jazz 

xx

Fresh air and photos

Heeelllloooo

If you read my last post then you will know that I made a vow to try my best to exercise more and I'm very happy to report that today was another fitness success! Me, my nana and my dog pebbles all went down to the woods (with a sharp eye out for picnicking bears) for some fresh air and frolicking....more like falling...many times...

We walked for two hours! Two whole hours of nature, chatting and cake aftermath burning!
As well as getting out of breath and severe stitches I also snapped a few pictures along the way. I guess I could share some with you :)

 I'm not posing! This is how I always sit...

He's such a poser!...I don't know where he gets it from? 

 Fairy cave 

 Resting with nature 

 Heeelllllooooo, anybody home?

Lucky number 8...Is this a sigh? from aliens?

So I hope your eyes enjoyed these photos. If they did and they want more then check out my 'photography' website! http://lookagain.zenfolio.com

Byeeeee

Jazz
xx
P.s Theres a new video on my youtube channel. Go check that out too! http://www.youtube.com/allthatJazzBeauty

Well hello exercise, long time no see!

Heellloooo

This post will be in more of a diary format than my other blog posts but hopefully you will still enjoy reading it. It is a little 'heavy' at first but it does get happier, I promise :)

 I dragged myself out of bed at 10am feeling bloody miserable which is not unusual for me as I am not a morning person but today I felt much more sullen than usual. I felt no enthusiasm for the day nor did I have any desire to do anything other than huddle on the sofa and daydream the day away listening to 'Life of Pi' (my favourite book ever!) on audiobook. This is what I did for most of the day, I sat and wallowed in an emotion which I find hard to describe, the nearest thing I can compare it to is a mixture of panic, loneliness and frustration.

I have suffered with varying degrees of depression and anxiety for most of my life, they come and go very unpredictably and will haunt me until I find the strength to confront them. I refer to my depression as an it, almost as a person because to me, it feels as real, powerful and influential as a human being.

Most of the time when I feel it tighten it's grip around me, I can usually shake it off and get on with my life but if I'm feeling ill or tired it takes advantage of that and kicks me whilst I'm down. This has been the case over the last few days, my health is not great and I've been in and out of the doctors surgery and the hospital which isn't really how I like to spend my time. Also since I've had to take a break from college I've been quite isolated from my friends so depression, instead of thinking "oh I best leave Jazz alone, she clearly has enough to deal with at the moment" decides that what I really need right now is it's dark menacing shadow looming over me...your right thats just what I needed! Thanks, thanks a fudging lot!
Anxiety is like depressions evil child prodigy, it will hide behind depression then creeps up on me when I'm least expecting it, it will play tricks on me, make me scared of everything, make me doubt myself and everyone around me then when I try to get rid of it, it simply laughs in my face and runs to hide behind depression again, leaving my heart pounding and my body shaking.

By three pm I'd accomplished nothing other than eating a bowl of porridge and talking to my nana and grandad but at half past three my nana asked me to take my dog pebbles for a walk with her and I reluctantly agreed. I grudgingly changed out of my beloved pyjamas into some warm walking clothes, grabbed my camera knowing that as always, taking some photos would cheer me up. As I walked the breeze slowly dissipated the dark cloud above my head and my mood started lifted.
I live in such a beautiful area which I often forget or take for granted but as me and my nana strolled along in the lovely afternoon sun, chatting and laughing with pebbles in toe, it reminded me that maybe life isn't so crap after all and that if I can still enjoy something as simple as a walk in the country, snapping the occasional picture then all hope for future happiness is not lost.

When we finally got home, I felt a lot times better than when I'd left the house after just an hour of walking and I realised that its the first proper exercise I've done in a long time so I've concluded that I really should do more exercise...
I vow to try my best to exercise for at least 20 minuets, four or five times a week and not sit on my arse feeling sorry for myself....I can tell already that this is going to be hard...

As I was in such a good mood, me and my nana prepared a healthy vegetable soup from scratch which made me feel productive and useful for the first time this week. I'm now huddled on the sofa watching saturday night TV and wallowing in contentment.

Here are some of the more humorous photos that I took on my walk, I thought you might enjoy them.

It's a bit early/late for halloween decorations? or maybe your just kinda creepy...

I actually have halloween decoration up in my room because I'm kind of creepy.... 

 These marks can only have been made by a bear or a werewolf  

 This hole can only have been made by the asteroid the other day and tripped in it...

 The sun brighting up my dark day.

 My dog pooping in what he thought was a bush.....he's so special...

 Spring has sprung! Oh joy! 

Can you see the heart! Your too late whoever made this for me, valentines day was two days ago!...This was clearly made by aliens...

 My homemade soup, look at all the different colours! I always try and eat a rainbow..

Well I hope you enjoyed reading about my slightly bipolar day. Do you ever have bipolar days?

Byyyeeeeee

Jazz
xx  
   
P.s I do have a proper photography website with more professional photographs if you want to have a nosey - http://lookagain.zenfolio.com

Avon products review!

Heellllooo! 

I'll start by telling you about my day because it's been very productive! I got up at 9:45, showered and tried to calm myself because I had to go and have blood taken at 1pm...oh joy... I've had a lot of blood tests over the years but I never seem to get used to them...my mum still comes with me to hold my hand.
My various anxiety disorders don't help, I really work myself up to the point of a major panic attack which always leaves me exhausted and shaken but today, other than feeling a little nauseous and the occasional thought such as "what if the needle goes in wrong and I bleed to death" I was calm and panic attack free. I walked out of the hospital with the usual cotton wool ball taped over but with an unusual sensation of strength. Then instead of going straight home to hide under my lovely safe duvet, I did some grocery shopping, helped my mum pick some new bedding for her bed, got some foundation samples from my nearest channel counter (conquering my fear of counter ladies), perused through all the sale racks in Debenhams and exchanged my faulty hair curlers for new ones at Argos...so productive!

Ok so on with the reviews!

In general I'm a big fan of Avon and I do have quite a big collection of their products, mostly because my nana's neighbour/friend is an Avon representative so my nana feels it's "only right" that she orders something each time we get the catalogue (every 3 weeks). If it wasn't for my nana insisting that I order something when she doesn't want anything, I can't say I would have tried any Avon products. 
I have found that I either love or really dislike each product, how about you?  

I'm going to review the good, the bad and the just plain ugly of my Avon products but I will start with my two most recent purchases. 

First is an Avon Perfect Kiss Lipstick in 'Deep Orchid'.

At the moment these lipsticks are £4.99 down from £8.50 and on having tried one, I would say that this is a total bargain! 

I'm a sucker for packaging and this alone can often sway me to buy a product. I absolutely love the look of these lipsticks, they are so swish and James bond-esk. I have to resist urge to point it at someone and shout freeze or I'll wipe your memory!...They really do it for me on the packaging front. 

 Now for the important bit...the actual product. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting big things from a 'cheap' (cheap as in price not quality) Avon lipstick but oh boy was I shocked when I tried it! 

The colour payoff was really phenomenal, even on a light swipe. I can't say this for all of this collection but this particular colour is so wonderfully pigmented and the colour is so deep and rich. The nice thing is you can 'adjust' the intensity of the colour by how many layers you apply.

(far left swatch is three layers, middle is two layers and the far right is just one light layer)

It does have a slight shine but it is not heavy or 'slimy'. The shine does stay and it doesn't turn matte which I don't mind but if your looking for a matte lipstick then this one isn't for you....sorry about that. 

It does have surprisingly good staying power (it still looked acceptable even after I'd eaten a mcflurry!) but it does stain your lips and after a while it does dry out my lips a little out so I would definitely use a balm before applying it. Oh and speaking of applying it, unsurprisingly because of the colour, it can be a little 'messy' so I highly recommend applying it with a lip brush...unless your going for the abstract look? Also it does feather (right up to your nostrils!) after a few hours unless you use a lip liner.         

It smells really yummy too which is always a big plus for me, I hate lip products that smell or taste like chemicals...uughh nasty! but at the same time if they smell and taste too good then I will just eat them which can't be healthy? Anyway this one smells like baking cookies but thankfully has no taste...yes I did check :) 

Overall I bloody love this lipstick and I will definitely be buying more colours!

Below are some of my favourites! 

Natural Glow

Peach PeckLovey Dovey Pink

Loving LilacCaressing CoralRed Embrace 

 (More on http://avonshop.co.uk/product/make-up/lips/avon-perfect-kiss-lipstick.html)

Ok so the next product is a glimmerstick lip liner in 'red brick' which actually came free with the lipstick as part of a deal. I was really excited to try this but disappointingly, in this case the saying "you get what you pay for" was very true.  

 It is a very nice colour but this is the only compliment I can really come up with for this product.

I was immediately disappointed by the 'nib', its one of those twistable ones which can't be sharpened and the product is very 'soft' so as soon as I pressed it to my skin it went flat which created a really thick line which was hard to control. Not what you want from a lip liner!   

It also smudged very easily and didn't seem to stop the lipstick from escaping aaallll over my face. I looked like I'd been punched in the mouth!...Not exactly the look I was going for...

Sorry Avon but this I did not like!

I'd love to know your favourite and not so favourite Avon products or some suggestions of what to try next, comment below :) 
  
Thanks for reading and check back soon for new posts!

Byyyeee

Jazz 
xxx 

Pepperoni pancakes!

Heellllloooo

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

I am not in any way religious but I do celebrate pancake day because am I really going to pass up a day were it's perfectly acceptable to eat pancakes for every meal?! Absolutely not!
Pancake Tuesday is traditionally known as 'Shrove Tuesday'. The word shrove comes from the word shrive which means "confess"...fun fact for you there!.. Now I do confess that I wont be giving anything up for lent and I am going to continue to indulge in all the things I love...because I'm not religious :)

My pancake day in pictures...

 Most years I make my own pancake mix but this year I completely forgot about it until last night, luckily there was a ready made mix lurking in the back of the cupboard.

 Sprinkle sprinkle 

Mix mix

Funny story about mixing...last pancake day me and my nana spent most of the morning cleaning batter off nearly every visible surface in the kitchen after a little electric mixer mishap...

 Drip drip

 sizzle sizzle 

ohh the glorious smell of cooking pancakes..

The next picture should be one of my nana flipping a pancake whilst running round the whole house...she didn't drop it once!....she's a really good tosser.....

 Dust dust

I'm an traditional gal when it comes to sweet pancakes, a dusting of sugar will do for me.  

 Roll roll

 Yum yuuummm 

That's my breakfast/dinner sorted :) 

Now for tea!

I absolutely love savoury pancakes. Every year I try something new and this year I went for a 'pizza' style pancake! 

I used sweet chilli Philadelphia because 90% of my food has to be spicy or I loose interest in it and because I'm not a fan of most 'hard' cheeses. The 'pepperoni' slices were a recent discovery and I am in love with them! They are made by Quorn so they are 100% vegetarian, they are so versatile and at 55 calories for a quarter of a pack (around 7 slices) a small homemade pizza could fit into my diet!

I've been having these 'pepperoni' slices with a little Philadelphia on ryvita thins for lunch pretty much every day for last 2 weeks and I can't wait to try more recipes with them. I will definitely do a blog post dedicated to them because they are just so bloody good!      

Did you take advantage of being allowed to pause your diet for a day? What did you have on your pancakes?

Anyway by for now but thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for a post about my latest Avon purchases and their reviews.

Byyyeeee

Jazz
xxx

p.s 100 points if you noticed that my blog has had a little redecorating done :)