Nail Polish of the Week, and Some New Purchases!

Hello! So firstly - sorry for my absence. I've been pretty busy, having a work experience placement and then visiting my boyfriend. To make up for it, this post is practically two posts in one!

I wanted to share with you all the nail polish I've had on for the past week while I was at my boyfriend's. I don't think I've expressed my love for nail polish yet, but basically I own way too many (though thankfully I've been able to restrain myself from buying more for a while now.)

I wanted to share what I think is probably my all time favourite nail polish - Oh Cabana Boy by Orly.

This is the first and only polish I've tried from Orly but I'm in love with it.

I first heard about this when Fleur de Force raved about it on her blog here back in January 2012, and I bought it shortly after. So I've had this polish for three years now and have used it maybe five or six times, so I doubt I'll ever use up this huge bottle!

In fact, has anyone ever used up a nail polish? I feel like it's pretty unlikely, unless you love it and it's not too big! At 18ml, mine is a bit too big really, hence I've linked to the 5ml one!

Unfortunately, the little lid symbol with the number in (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check the packaging of your beauty products, they should have a lid symbol telling you how long it's good for, so mascara for example is good for 6 months and then you should chuck it) tells me this product stays good for 36 months, or three years. When I applied it I didn't notice that it had gone gloopy at all, and I hope it stays good for as long as possible!

Anyway, I absolutely love this colour. It is a bit like MAC Show Orchid Lipstick in nail polish form, as both are bright blue-toned fuchsia pinks, but I think Show Orchid is darker. It's unashamedly bright, definitely quite a 'night out' polish, and probably not ideal for work or school unfortunately.

This polish is slightly sheer in the first coat so 2-3 coats are needed to make it opaque. It applies nicely as the brush is fairly large and good for applying quickly.

It began to chip around the tips of my nails after 3 days of wear, so I topped it up but it then chipped more on day 5 or 6, so it's not the longest lasting polish, but it wasn't too bad either.

Also, this is a bit random but I do like the 'award winning' gripper cap. It feels safer and nicer than ordinary nail polish caps.

Moving on to new purchases, and I spotted Superdrug's own brand 'Simply Pure' range, aimed at sensitive skin, which basically contains none of the usual culprits that are considered harsh or irritating for the skin.

I'm not sure how new this range is but as it was very affordable on offer (a third off, so I paid £1.72 for each product instead of the usual £2.62) so I decided to give a few products a go. I was tempted by the face mask but in the end I bought the Light Moisturiser and the Smoothing Face Scrub.

As you can see, both products say on the front that they are:

• Fragrance free
• Paraben free
• Hypoallergenic
• Dermatologically approved

Looking at the ingredients I can see that the moisturiser actually contains Cetearyl Alcohol, so I'm not sure what to make of that!

As mentioned before I have oily skin but I've heard that you should treat your oily skin as sensitive, and I've also noticed that my skin doesn't get along with any fragrance-heavy products, especially if it's something that stays on the skin like a moisturiser.

I've only used these products for about a week and a half but so far I'm definitely liking the scrub more than the moisturiser. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad per se about the moisturiser - it does the job and makes my skin feel soft and moisturised, but it also seems too rich and therefore too heavy for my skin. So I probably wouldn't recommend this moisturiser for oily sensitive skin, but it might be a good choice if you have dry sensitive skin.

Moving on to the face scrub, and I don't know about you but I think face scrubs can be quite hit and miss - some of them, especially ones aimed at fighting breakouts/blackheads, can be too harsh on the skin and make my skin feel dried out and a bit irritated.

This one however is extremely gentle - the beads are just the right size and the scrub leaves my skin feeling very clean and soft. I'm not sure that most people with sensitive skin are very keen to use face scrubs but this one is great - although I do somewhat wish it foamed up! I just personally prefer cleansers and scrubs which foam up.

Both products are slightly medicinal in terms of packaging, consistency, and smell (although it is fragrance free.)

Top: Light Moisturiser
Below: Smoothing Face Scrub

Trying out both on my hand as above, it didn't irritate the skin on my Eczema-prone hand at all.

This is unrelated, but I was having a good look at MAC products at a counter in London the other day (I don't live near a MAC counter so I love getting the chance to look at the products in the flesh, and you can guess how long I took!) and was talking to a sales assistant about MAC products for oily skin and their foundations. She said she really liked Studio Fix Fluid Foundation but it broke her out, and when I swatched it on my hand (the Eczema prone one again) it actually stung my skin a little bit - not a good sign! So I don't think I'll be trying that one any time soon, MAC's Face and Body Foundation looks good though.

You have no idea how tempted I was to buy something from MAC but I decided not to for the moment, however I got a few samples, one of MAC's Strobe Cream which is a highlighter/skincare product, and one of their Oil Control Lotion - looking on Makeupalley it only gets 3.2 out of 5 lippies, but reading the reviews someone pointed out that this product is not meant to replace your moisturiser and they were advised in store to apply it and then follow with your normal moisturiser, so yesterday I did just that and was quite impressed with how it got rid of the shine I tend to get on my forehead/in-between my eyebrows. So I'll let you know how I get on with using the rest of that sample and decide whether or not to purchase it!

Have you tried any of the products mentioned? What's your favourite nail polish in your collection?

Thanks for reading!
Sabrina xx