There's nothing prettier than a well-maintained manicure and to be honest I love seasonal nail polish even though I barely have to time to do my nails. I am a big fan of reds and darker colours for this time of the years and obviously, Christmas screams red and Christmas will soon be around the corner.

Nowadays, there are many brands that have great quality nail polishes for little money, which is great for those of us who like a more extended nail polish collection (you didn't see me saying that). Essence and Rimmel have really inexpensive nail polishes for very nice quality, as well as, MUA and Tanya Burr Cosmetics.

Essence The Gel Nail Polish in Love Me Like You Do
This is one of my most recent purchases and I have been obsessed with this colour. It's a very muted colour - almost brown but with a hint of pink - making it a perfect shade for Autumn. It's still a colour suited for this time of the year but suitable for those who don't like red nails as much. The nail polishes from Essence are amazing quality and very inexpensive. They apply easily and dry quickly and more important than that - they last for a few days without chipping.

Rimmel 60 Seconds Super Shine Nail Polish in Berries and Cream
This nail polish has a much thinner consistency and it's a lot more aqueous, which means it dries even quicker than the Essence ones but it also means it doesn't last for as many days. Apart from that, I really love this colour and I love how easy it is to apply and go.

Essence The Gel Nail Polish in Red Carpet
This is the typical shade for Autumn and Winter and also one of the go-to shades for Christmas evening! It's a beautiful pure red that makes everything look more amazing and classic. The formula is the exact same as the shade I've mentioned above and I've noticed that the quality of these nail polishes doesn't vary according to shades, which happens with some others brands.

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Makeup is a form of art. I think we all agree on that but when it comes to do it at 6am in a rush so that I won’t be late all I do is slap some products on my face & hope for the best. Minimal makeup is my best friend these days and the quicker the better.

I think it’s fair to say I found this gem totally at random. I added it to my basket while doing some online shopping by mistake & once it got to my apartment I realised I had just bought one of the best makeup removers I’ve ever tried – the Garnier Pure Active Make-up Remover Purifying Wash.

I won’t say I don’t enjoy trying new products and having a little fun but for most days I like to play safe and choose the products I know will work for me. When having no time for experiments, it’s almost too satisfying to know that you have those few products that work on your skin and do what you need.

I love the beauty world since I was little. I remember being a kid and thinking that blue eyeshadow was killing it, who didn’t love blue eyeshadow? Ugh, those times. I started using makeup (if you can call it makeup) by the age of 12/13 and I’m not at a place where I don’t care about it as much.

If there’s something that makes me miss the colder months, it’s the comfortable and warm clothes and the bolder makeup shades you find everywhere. Everyone that knows me knows for a fact that I love bold lipstick, is there anything better than that? I don’t think so.

“How long can you go without washing your hair?” People always pull their surprise face when I say I can go 4-5 days without washing my hair. Then comes the following question “How do you do it?”

Packing for holiday can be a nightmare for those who wish they could carry their entire house with them (me?). This year I decided I’ll try to pack the least amount of things I can & makeup is no exception.

Long-time no speak. March was the last month that I showed you my beauty favourites but today I’m back with July Beauty Favourites. July was a pretty special month (“5 Happy Things in July”) and I even got to try a few new products.

Spring has been around for almost two months so it’s time to put aside all the heavy and Winter-y makeup and start thinking about the glow and lighter colours Spring has to offer. Today I wanted to show you some of my favourite products for this season! For when it’s actually Spring…

When doing my makeup there are always steps or products I skip if I’m on a rush or if I just don’t feel like spending a lot of time doing it but there are a few products that I never skip. Today I’m sharing with you 5 Must Have Makeup Items in my Routine.

March is always a long but special month for me because it's many people birthday including mine! I really did have one of the most amazing birthdays ever and I'm very thankful that I have some awesome, genuine and lovely people in my life. With so much going on I didn't have much time to try new products but I did got a very expecting new one!

Whenever Spring comes around my eyeliner and smokey-ish eyes go away. I feel like Spring is the time for simple and fresh makeup with bright colours on the lips or a classic nude. You can never go wrong!

Finding a good drugstore foundation can be frustrating sometimes: not matte enough, too drying, doesn’t last, looks cakey and we could be here until tomorrow explaining why a certain foundation isn’t the right one. After trying a few foundations that weren’t right for me, I finally found one that I love that I have been using for months: Catrice All Matt Plus Foundation.

In two days I'll be nineteen! How crazy is that? It seems it was yesterday I was writing down a blogpost about being the birthday girl on my old blog but that was almost a year ago! Today I wanted to show you my possible makeup look for my birthday using only affordable products.

Can you believe it’s already March? How that even happened so quickly? Pretty sure I haven’t done as many productive things as I wish I had. In February I didn’t try many new products and I've stuck to a similar routine for the entire month. However, I discovered and rediscovered some products I’m totally loving at the moment.

Who isn't happy when they get their hands on new products? I for sure am and I have been loving some of my recent discoveries. I've already tried all of these products and I was really surprised with some of them negatively and positively.

The interest on cruelty free makeup brands has been growing a lot recently and it seems that people are more and more aware of the risks of testing on animals but at the same I ask the question “If one of my ultimate favourite makeup products was tested on animals, would I stop buying it?” and would you?

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for those who are dating someone. It’s supposed to be fun day to celebrate love and friendship and it doesn’t really matter if you’re having a romantic dinner with your loved one, a fun night with your best friends or a night in eating pizza. As long as you’re doing something that makes you feel happy, it’s fine. For this Valentine’s Day I wanted to create a simple cute and yet edgy (at my own way) look using only affordable products.

For the base I did something very simple and very similar to what I usually do. I applied a little bit more of blush and highlighter to give it another glow. I used the Catrice All Matte Plus Shine Control Foundation in 010 Light Beige and the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer in Light. To set my under eye area I used the Essence All About Matt Fixing Compact Powder and the Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in 10 Light Beige around my face. To bronze up my face I used the Essence Bronzing Compact Powder (discontinued) and I picked a pink blush as it’s Valentine’s Day to give a flush of colour to my cheeks: the Catrice Multi Matt Blush in 010 Love, Rosie!

For the eyes I only used eyeshadows from the Makeup Revolution 32 Shade Eyeshadow Palette in Flawless. To create a light base I applied Uncover (2nd on the 2nd row) all over the lid and then Gold Digger (6th on the 2nd row) on top. To give some definition to my eyes, I applied Copper Shimmer (4th on the 3rd row) on the very outer corner of my eyes. Underneath my bottom waterline, I applied Red Night (3rd on the 4th row) which is probably my favourite shade of the palette. I also used Highlite (4th on the 1st row) to highlight my cheekbones and I loved the final result (even though you can’t even see it in the photos).

I used the Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara* for my bottom lashes and the Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara on my top lashes. For my eyebrows I used my trusty Seventeen Brow’s That Brow Kit*. On my lips I used the Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Barely There and topped that with a light pink lipstick from a Portuguese beauty store but you can use any light pink lipstick if you want to recreate this look.

Will you be doing anything special this Valentine’s Day?

Love, Rita