Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat Review

As most of you girlies know we have a ickle obsession when it comes to painting our nails...whether it's classic neutrals, sparkly glitters or rich reds we love how nail polish can bring everything together and finish off a look! 

The only pain we find (as I'm sure most of  you do to) is after carefully filing, buffing and applying two coats of your chosen polish........

 ...waiting for it to dry seems to take an ETERNITY!!!

Well don't you worry Ladies we here at VII have your back....After years of trying to find a fast drying polish/top coat just last week we hit the JACKPOT and found a WINNER!!

The Sally Hansen Insta- Dri Anti chip Top Coat is simply the best nail top coat we have ever...ever come across! 

The Term 'Does exactly what it says on the tin' comes to mind! We used this the other day and our nails where touch dry and ready to go in literally 60seconds!!

Not only that but our nails stayed manicure perfect with NO CHIPS for 5 days....This is actually a miracle as usually we get a chip as soon as we touch ANYTHING!! 
It also gives the nails a super glossy gel-nail like finish!!

We added a bit of Glitter to the Nails to get into the Festive Spirit!

All round Top Marks to Sally for this genius...dare we say it - life changing product!! 

The Sally Hansen Insta- Dri Top coat is available in Boots, priced €7.95. 



Now the only trouble we'll have is choosing a polish!!



VII

xxx

Season Sizzles!!!!

 So.... tis the season to be jolly, and boy are we excited to get our glad rags and and glitter on. 

With metallic shadow being the trend this year, we have decided to dedicate this blog to some futuristic makeup, this festive season. 

We've picked up a few bits and pieces over the past couple of weeks and wanted to share with you some of our favorites from the collection. We'll leave the links below for you guys to check out.

Browsing the shelves of "Marshall's" the equilvelient of "TK Max" back home, we found a few goodies to play with. Being so afordable and cheap we just couldn't resist the temptation..... 

Firstly we found the famous E.L.F products, that all the Youtubers rave about... these are apparently inexpensive and do the trick for a quick fix.... And that's exactly what they've done.

We really we're not impressed with some of the product but there were some items that we would definitely use again. 

We purchased some eye primer which was really beautiful and that's about the only thing that's will be staying in out kit. 

These little primers, available in three shade are just divine under your shadow and definitely make it last the whole night through. They have a shimmer that catches the light in the right spot and when you place the shadow on top it makes the eyes pop!

We really feel that E.L.F products are suitable for teens as the cost is tolerable and the products is decent for what you pay.

The rest of the E.L.F products we tried and tested but we're not so impressed so we decided to leave out of the blog. We only decided to indulge in the products we liked and ones that actually worked!!!

Secondary was the NYX products, one whole set with numberous products. We bought this set as an addition to our kit and once again we were impressed by the bits and bobs available. 

Included in the set was

* Three pencils! black and white eye pencils and one burgundy lip pencil.

* Two lip glosses, pink tones with shimmer

* Three gorgeous metallic shadows, perfect for the dazzling Christmas season that is upon us

* A three shadow mini palette that is labeled "for smokey eyes only" and if that's what it says then that's what is means! Lol

* A shimmer loose powder that's is simply divine, and to share a little secret, take some in the palm of your hands with moisturizer and rub in down the legs for a night out this gives a glowing effect to the shins and it's cheap and cheerful!! 

*And last but not least is the mini pot of pink glitter, not something you would use everyday but you never know when pink glitter might come in handy. 

Now we know this set won't be available to buy online but you can get the individual items on the NYX website. 

We are really falling in love with NYX lately and it's definitely a must of your Santa list.

NYX Cosmetics

Seven 

xxx

Best eyeliners for your eye color

So we have decided to do a blog on the best eyeliner for your eye color and shape. After all, the eyes are the first feature that you notice on someones face and why not enhance those lovely lids. 

Sometimes when you just wear eyeliner and no shadow, this little subtlety goes a long way. And is very appealing :)

We will be recommending the different shades of MAC's eye pencils in this one so check it out below.....

For Brown Eyes: 

Dark Green and Teal is amazing on brown eyes, Because these colours are complimentary on the color wheel to brown, it really makes them pop and brightens them.

MAC Colour Mountain Air

For Amber Eyes:

Gold looks great on amber eyes as it add thats little fleck that shimmers under the light. Just catching a glimpse at the right time could woe that special someone.

MAC Colour Powerline

For Blue Eyes:

Copper always brings out blue eyes and looks great if you are chasing the sultry look. It makes the eyes appear even more blue than normal and again the they are opposites on the colour wheel.

MAC Colour Bronze with Pearl

For Grey Eyes:

Navy eyeliner is the winner for grey eyes, making them appear silver like this one is great to manipulate the eye color

MAC Colour Deep Navy with Pearl

For Green Eyes:

Green eyes look fabulous with Purple and Plum liners, Making the green appear emerald in color.
MAC Colour Designer Purple

For Hazel Eyes:

If you add a little bronze liner to Hazel eyes they appear more golden. Once again if you are trying to give a little hue to your colors try opposites on the colour wheel or one that will slightly sparkle at a glance.
MAC Colour Muted Brown

So don't be afraid to try these little ones out, sometimes less is a little more. :) 

Seven 
xxx

Vegas Goodies....

So as you've ladies have guessed, one half  of the Vii Seven Duo is in Vegas. Doing a "little research" might we say...

We can not get over the amount of MakeUp available and the gorgeous stores that offers a million different brands in one. Well not a million.... but let me tell you, you will NOT leave empty handed!

We've picked up a few bits and bobs along the way as we were dying to try out  what all the YouTubers are raving about! We'll add more to the list for sure as the weeks go on,but here's a few for now.

We will put the links to the products at the bottom just in case any of you ladies are intrigued by what we have to offer and......simply....a girl can never have enough makeup, right??!!!

First off was this beautiful Cream Lip Stain by Sephora, in the color Endless Purple!  We just love how you even say "Cream Lip Stain".. It sounds so yummy. And we are not joking when we say it's endless! We Literally have to exfoliate it off at the end of the night!! We also have this fabulous Lip Stain in the colour Always Red so it had been tried and tested before and we love it!!
We find that this Lippy is a perfect dupe for MAC's Matte lipsticks. And it's still turning out cheaper.

Sephora Link

Secondly is the Anastasia Brow Pencil... As some of you might be aware of this and some are not, this is supposedly the BEST brow pencil going.... 

While we are  fans of powder on the eyebrows, the pencil is gorgeous for a quick fix during the day. We also know that MAC do a great brow pencil too. Available in so many different shades there is one to suit everyone!

Anastasia Link.

And last but not least is the BOSCIA three single peel off masks!!! And wowza, these little babies are yummy!! We can't emphasize how important it is to prepare the skin before applying makeup  so we recommend popping one of these on before a big night out for a fresh, clean glow. 

What we love most about these masks are they are artificial fragrance,color free,gluten free, ethanol free and dermatologist tested. So that was definitely a plus for us. Our skin felt amazing after the mask transformed us. Definitely refreshing after the weekend.

BOSCIA link

We really enjoy our little goodies. And hope you enjoyed our blog too..

All links above. :)

Seven 

xxx

College Fun

Hey there lovely ladies,

So just wanted to do this little blog to show you what went on while  I attended one of the courses available at LA College of Creative Arts.

This course was an eight week course involving Fashion, Bridal, TV , Film and Theatrical MakeUp Artistry. I really annoyed the course and would recommend it if you are trying to start in the MakeUp industry. 

We touched upon many different topics on the course considering it was a short one but definitely felt that this was enough time to enhance our skills and learn great tips. We also got the opportunity to do our very own professional photo shoots, attend fashion shows and even work in the LA Creative Shop doing halloween MakeUp. Which was a lot a fun.

We met lots of fabulous girls and great friends along the way. Ones that will be for life as we are all on the same path.

Hope you enjoy the pics :)

Seven

xxx

VII Best Budget Beauty Buys

Never ones to shy away from a Bargain, this week we are talking Beauty on a Budget!

Of course it's lovely to treat yourself to a new Mac Lipstick or that Dior bronzer but sometimes it's more satisfying to go into Boots or Superdrug with 10 euro in your pocket and come out with some new, inexpensive,  goodies to try...am I right ladies??!

And... on the plus side if they don't suit you, you haven't forked out 40 euro plus on 1 item!!

So with that being said, in this post we will talk you Girlies through some of the amazing, good quality beauty bits we swear by and all coming in under the ten euro mark!! 


First Up....Skin Care

If you want your makeup to look flawless you have to start with looking after your skin and the number 1 rule we go by is ALWAYS...ALWAYS take your makeup off before going to bed!! We love the Superdrug Oval Cotton Wool pads (pictured below) as they are a great size, extremely soft and really inexpensive (usually on offer for 2 packets for €2.95). 

What we use with the pads is the Loreal Skin Perfection Micellar water! 

This is the BEST inexpensive makeup remover which is also extremely kind to your skin! Price around the five euro mark! If you want to know more we have a full post all about this remover which I will link below:

Loreal skin perfection remover review

Last up for Skin Care is a fab face scrub!

It's important to exfoliate the skin once or twice a week and our scrub of choice is St. Ives Apricot Scrub...not only does it smell DIVINE, it leaves the skin super soft and helps with any blemishes or blackheads! It is quite a vigorous scrub so if you have sensitive skin this probably wont be for you!! Price around the 6 euro mark!


Now onto Makeup.....

One of our favourite drugstore brands is Rimmel London...the quality of there products for the price is just amazing!! 

A stand out for us is the Kate Moss lipstick range...Priced at €6.95 these lipsticks give Mac a run for there money! The colour range is amazing with everything from subtle nudes to vibrant pinks and what we are really impressed with is the formula...very rich, pigmented and creamy!!

Our favourites include shade 01 - a glossy deep red and shade 03 - an everyday pinky nude!

Rimmel also do a great range of good quality mascaras. In particular the Extra Super Lash Mascara (image below) is a must have for every makeup bag! Only costing €6.95 it's the blackest of black, extremely buildable and long lasting. 

Another bargain Mascara we can't live without is Maybellines Great Lash! This was the very first mascara we tried back in the day and recently picked one up on offer and fell in love with it all over again! 

The colour again is the blackest black and we find this great for your lower lash line as the brush is nice and small making it easy to get every tiny lash!!

 Price around the €7 mark! 

Next up is the cheapest product we will mention in this post and it's the blushes from MUA!

Available from Superdrug and only costing...wait for it......€1.35 these babies are amazing value...Okay so they aren't on the same level as say the Mac or Inglot blushes but for that price they really are a bargain and great for everyday!

As you can see they are available in a great colour range and are super pigmented!! One word of advice?? If you see them BUY THEM as they are always sold out and we can see why!!

Last up is the amazing Sleek eyeshadow palettes available from CLOUD10BEAUTY! 

You girls are probably sick to death hearing us talking about these but they are just incredible value....Each 12 eyeshadow palette costs just €9.99 and are a must for any makeup lover! 

They also have every colour you would every want, are sooo easy to blend and highly pigmented...literally think between the two of us we have all of them!! 

So that's it for our Top Budget Beauty Picks....Hope you enjoyed this post and will pick up a few bargains!!!

Until next time happy shopping...

Seven

xxx

Red Lipstick for a perfect pout

Hello Ladies! We have decided to do this little blog on how to apply Red lipstick perfectly, so it won't budge for the night. All you will need is a slight top up in the centre and away you go to dance your heart out!!

*****WARNING**** We strongly advise no kissing when rocking this look LOL.

To start off throw a little foundation over the lips, take a lip liner, preferably in the same colour as the lipstick and paint all over, filling them in. This will create longevity and help your lippy stay in place forever! 

To line the lips, start with the cupids bow.

Then line the bottom so you are creating a little frame. 

It is said you should always balance out top and bottom lip as it makes your face look more symmetrical, we agree to a certain point that this looks great but when it comes to concealing the sides of the lips we are not huge fans. This however won't suit everyone's taste but we believe you should always work with what you've got. 

When the lips are all filled in with liner you can go ahead and place the lipstick on top. We love MAC Lip brush no. 316. And  of course the ultimate Lippy has to be RUBY WOO by MAC . Now if you don't have these products, make do with what you have. A classic makeup always looks great when applied properly, no matter what the product is. 

Blot the lip with tissue so you can take access off.   

A LITTLE TIP...choose a colour that will suit your skin tone. RED lipstick is for everyone, there are a million different shades of red and if you haven't found your perfect one, keep looking, it's out there ladies.

Take a look below...

FAIR SKIN- coral reds or dark reds with pink undertones.

MEDIUM TO OLIVE SKIN-pink and cranberry shades and brick reds.

DARK SKIN- red with burgundy or brown tones.

So don't be afraid, BE DARING!!! 

A red lip is so striking, that if you want to stand out, this is perfect! 

Hope this helped and you girls can try it out soon.  GOOD LUCK!

Seven 

xxx

Hair today, gone tomorrow!!

Well hello there lovely ladies...

We are very excited about our latest purchase we just had to share with you guys!!!

We all know your makeup isn't complete unless your locks are looking luscious right??!! So one half of us here at VII has been sporting the "long bob" and needed a change. We wanted to keep is classy as always and find that some extensions and hair pieces can look a little tacky, so we chose wisely!!

Obviously the best extensions to go for are the natural haired ones, but to be honest we are not really fans of that technique so we went for synthetic hair instead.

We went into HAIRSPRAY to check some out. << (click on hairspray) We sat down with the lovely guys and girls and they advised us on what hair colour, length and shape would be best to create the look we wanted. We were very impressed as when we explained what we were on the hunt for they pretty much listened to us and got it right on the first go!! Love when customer service is great, makes you feel better about a product or anything you are buying as a matter of fact!



So we wanted something within budget not too expensive but something with good  quality and  opted for "Hairdo,Hairyouwear" In 20" length. We chose this one so it would blend better with our bob and the curls were pretty damn cute!! Costing €59.95 we also got a spray with it to protect the hair.

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the hair as it is, when we took it out of the packaging. Simply throw half of your own hair up, We suggest you curl it before hand to match the extensions and clip in this little piece underneath!! Then when you are comfortable let it all down. All you'll need to do is tweak it a little until it matches! Very easy to do and so much fun!!!

 

 

Have to say girls we are totally in love with this and the end results was exactly what we wanted!! Big haired bombshell!!! Can't wait for another night out to sport this one again <3

 

 

 

Seven

 

xxx

 

 

SEVENquick easy steps on how to wash your face properly!!!!

 To start off...... SEVEN tips from SEVEN!!!
Girls??!!!.......
Make sure you change your pillow weekly and use a fresh towel daily to avoid contaminating your face!!! Please......

1. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and warm water and pat dry.

2. Apply that toner and wait for it to dry!!  Toner is  great for those with oily skin but benefits to all skin types too!!

3. Apply any special medications or creams that you use for your certain skin type. An example is our spot wand as seen on our previous blog!! This is the best time to squeeze that bit in!! But no squeezing any spots though!!! RULE RIGHT THERE!!!!

4. Apply your eye cream at this stage and wait for it to dry. This will help the eye area to stay bright and fresh... oh and will help with those little crows feet later on  ;)

5. Apply Moisturiser, for obvious reasons!!! Every girls needs it even the ones with oily skin, maybe use a shine control one. No matter what skin you have it's an essential!!

6. Apply that SPF! Unless your moisturiser or makeup has it already within the product then it's all good. Protect your skin, even from the blinding Irish rays !! We mean the sun here not ray himself actually lol!

7.And last but not least a good primer will do the trick to base that foundation! Choose one that smooths out blemishes and the face, to give an even flawless look to your skin.

Tips: Adding moisturiser last, helps lock the ingredients, so it's easier to repair the skin. And make sure to avoid your face when spraying perfume!!!

Seven

xxx

3 for 2 in Boots!!

Hey lovely ladies, Its 3 for 2 again in Boots. We are loving the offers they are fab and we are always on the look out for bargains here at seven, what do you expect!!!

 So we've been really busy doing interviews, starting a new college course and just life in general, sorry for the absence!!! Oh and think we need a ***give away*** soon to make up for it !!! So stay tuned and you might just be the lucky gal or guy?!!

Our skin has been through a little wear and tear these past four weeks!! Everyday we are constantly taking off and re-applying make-up to be a fresh faced model for the next student, so it's no wonder we are breaking out so bad, so here goes.....

The lovely girls and our friends at college suggested we try "Tea Tree" oil!!

We went over to Boots to check it out and to out surprise there were a few offers on the 3 for 2!!! 

We Picked up an ***Exfoliating Face Scrub***  to use in the shower to get rid of all blockage, dirt and to totally cleanse the face!!

We got ***Shine Control Day Moisturiser*** as we have oily skin it's perfect for under our makeup!!

And finally we purchased this little **Spot Wand** !! It has a night and day application stick!! A two in one product that we were very impressed with!!

All of these were boots own brand containing 'Tea Tree" which we are loving and seeing results so quick after using them!!

Oh..... and we just couldn't leave Boots at that!!! We picked up some TRESemme Shampoo and hairspray!! One shampoo for Colour protection because we look after our locks!! And the other for Volume because we definitely need this one on a night out, we are big hair ladies!! LOL!!!! 

loving the 3 for 2 in Boots!!! They never disappoint us!!!!

Pop in and get yours!!!

Seven 

xxxx

Dublin Fashion Festival

So as you know from our pictures we attended Dublin's Fashion Festival, Samsung Awards on Thursday night last. We had a ball meeting lots of people in the fashion/makeup industry and got to witness some fabulous designers strut their pieces on the Catwalk!!!

We had the courtesy of joining our very talented friend Maria Lola Roche to watch her fabulous piece being showcased in the first ever Dublin Fashion Festival!! She was chosen along with eleven other designers and we were very lucky to be able to attend the event!

We chose a simple makeup look for this evening and nothing too fancy to wear as it was relaxed and casual.

For foundation we wore MAC studio fix. Not being much of a fan in the past as we usually applied with brushes we tried this foundation for the first time with the Beauty Blender. And low and behold we loved it. It went on much more smoothly then before and we just recommend this method for studio fix way more then others. You can also get the equivalent of the beauty blender on Cloud 10 Beauty. Real techniques are selling it for €5.99 here which is great value and much more affordable.

For shadow we used MAC Goldenrod, Blush we used Inglot no.67 in the Hawaiian range and lips we used W7 Mega Matte Lips available on EBay.

We didn't use any fake eyelashes this time as we were going for a simple fun look and less was a little bit more in this case.

We had an amazing time and was so much fun mingling with the crowd... Thanks to our Fabulous friend Maria for sticking us on the Guest List :) 

Seven 

xxx

Simple Nail Art

Admittedly we are not the Biggest lovers of nail art here at VII...Although we can appreciate it, we tend to go for more simple, pastel and natural shades on our nails but recently (when we had a bit of time on our hands) we thought we'd be a bit adventurous and give it a go!! 

We put up our finished nail art attempt on our facebook page (see image below) and a lot of you wanted to see how we achieved this look and the products used! You will not believe how simple this is to achieve girls yet it looks so effective and funky!

So first up you want to prep your nails for the polish by removing any existing polish and  filing etc...then apply two coats of your base colour and for this we chose a gorgeous pastel, lilac  from Barry M in the shade 308 Berry. 

Once the two coats have dried then we can start having some fun!! 

We picked up this Maybelline ColorShow Polish a few months ago as we thought it was really pretty and different but never got around to using it!

It's basically a polka dot, confetti type of polish which can be used on it's own, all over the nail (see image below) or as we chose over a different polish! 

Maybelline Colorshow on it's own!

So all we did was layer up two coats of the Maybelline Colorshow just half way down each nail to give a cute scattered effect...You don't have to be too precise with it girls just have fun!

Then we would advise to apply two coats of clear nail polish over the top to seal in the confetti/polka dots and your good to go! 

We used Bourjois 1 seconde gel polish over the top!

Not to complicated huh? All you need is a little time and some imagination...

The Maybelline Colourshow Polka Dots come in a range of different colours and are available from Boots and Superdrug!

Price: €4.65

We will definitely be giving this another go...Will you??

Seven

xxx

Maeve Trend City... Supporting Fabulous Girls everywhere :)

So the lovely Maeve at Trend City has done us the honors by sending us some goodies.
We received a lovely palette and some Royal brushes!
This girl has got her page up and running on Facebook and offers great little bargains throughout the year!!

Lets face it.. Brown Thomas has already begun to set up their Christmas shop, and it really is just around the corner!! So these goodies are ideal for christmas pressies!! Ehhhh.... Are we a tad too early!?
So have any of you begin Christmas shopping or do any of you even start in the sales from the previous year? We are always amazed by people who can do that and would love to know a few! Maybe they could share some tips lol!

So back to Trend City... We had a lot of fun playing around with Maeve's makeup, and we are avid supporters of fabulous girls and guys being productive about what they love. So keep up the good work Maeve. And check her Facebook page out here. Link below :) Have a great day everyone!!!

Maeve Trend City Link

Seven
 xxx

VII Top 3 Real Techniques Brushes

Sam Chapman's Real Techniques brushes are  fast becoming a stable in every makeup lovers collection, constantly flying off the shelves or out of stock online and it's easy to see why!!


Not only are they top quality, cruelty free and wash like a dream (this is a big deal maker in our books) but most importantly...they are extremely affordable - individual brushes start around the €10 mark or sets which include 4 brushes around the €25 mark! 

We reviewed the Duo Fiber set last month which you can read HERE but in this post we will talk you girlies through our Top 3 must haves!! 

So if you are new to Real Techniques or have always wanted to try them out but are unsure on which brushes to go for we suggest you keep on reading.............



1. Expert Face Brush

This has got to be our favourite of all the RT brushes. Ideal for liquid foundation, as it has quite dense, firm hairs which really work the product into the skin! We also love it for cream bronzer as it's an ideal size and shape for contouring under the cheekbones and around the face!! 

This brush gives a really flawless, pro finish and we can't live without it! 

Price: €11.99


2. Blush Brush

The Blush Brush is another staple that we love and use in our everyday makeup routine - but not for Blusher....We just find it a little to big, even for our ample cheeks!! 

What we do use it for is Powder (Our favourite at the mo is Rimmels Stay Matte in case your wondering). 

We don't know if its the synthetic talkon bristles or the fact (like all the RT brushes) it's hand cut, but this brush just picks up the perfect amount of powder needed and blends it into the skin magically! 

We also use this a lot if we want to bronze up the face with a soft contour! 

Price: €11.99


3. Setting Brush 

And finally, it was a tough choice but in the end we chose the RT Setting Brush as our final must have!

We love this little brush as it has a number of uses...............It is fab for controlling the amount of powder you are applying to the face. So is you are prone to an oily t-zone this would be ideal as you don't have to powder the whole face - just wherever you need!

Likewise we love it for setting under eye concealer and also it's great for applying highlighter to the tops of the cheekbones or cupid's bow!

This is a great little addition to anyone's makeup bag!

Price: € 8.50

So that concludes VII Top 3 Real Techniques brushes! 
We highly recommend these and if you need any more info just leave a comment below!



They are available from Boots and Cloud10beauty, links below: 

http://www.boots.ie/

http://www.cloud10beauty.com/



Happy Shopping


Seven xxx