NOTD - Purple Dream

I've been sporting this look on my nails for the last few days and can honestly say I think its such a pretty combination that pushes it to the top of my favourites list.

This photo doesn't do them justice. I love the hot pink and teal glitter against the purple nail polish, it reminds me a little of Models Own Disco Mix.

For this look I used ELF's 'purple dream' and an inexpensive but super cute polish I picked up a few weeks ago from LA Colours.

                                                                                  

If you love a bit of glitter like I do, then keep your eyes peeled, I have a festive glitter series coming up v.soon to help create that perfect Christmas outfit!



If you still haven't entered my competition, where have you been?! Enter here, only 1 day left to get your entries in. Competition closes tomorrow at midnight GMT time.

November's GlossyBox - Controversy!

I'm a bit annoyed with the whole GlossyBox 'thing' this month. And before you start thinking, the majority of this has nothing to do with the contents of the box, because I know they've had some slating.
A week before our boxes were due to be dispatched I received an email stating that GB is having problems with the transfer of money from my account to theirs. They stated it could be one of 3 things; insufficient funds in my account, the wrong billing address or my card details have changed. It was none of those. I emailed them and she told me to re-subscribe. I emailed her back, and she didn't return my email. 1 brownie point down for poor communication. I was then 5 days late receiving my box. 5 days doesn't seem a lot, but when you start seeing reviews and slatings all over facebook and blogger, the days just ticked by and my box just wasnt appearing but more and more slatings were! I finally received my box (although no-one was in so I had to go collect it, don't you just hate that?).

After all that, I was then faced with the thought of a poor box after all the negatives I had read. However, I was quite surprised. I wasn't overly happy with the items, but then I wasn't as disappointed as much as some are.
Firstly, GB claim November's box is 'The Christmas Gift-Guide: Part 1' - Nothing in the box is very festive in my eyes? If you stuck a glitter nail polish or some shimmer eyeshadow or a red lipstick in, then I could see he festiveness, however all the products are commonly used all year round. They also stated on their intro card '5 products to try before you buy (whether for yourself or others)' - point out the obvious! This is what GB is all about all year round, not just for Christmas. I know they were trying to give us ideas for Christmas gifts but come on, you can come up with better than that!
Yes, we did receive the Dead Sea salts a few boxes ago, although this is a larger packet and was the winning beauty product of 2011, so it can't be all bad? The moisturiser I haven't tried yet, but no one can say no to a moisturiser, we all need them. This was full size which alone is worth £16.25.
The Illasmasqua perfume sample I think has created the most controversy. People stating that we can get free perfume samples from over the counter, and that we've had them one too many times now. However I read somewhere that Illamasqua don't give perfume samples away. Either way, I was quite surprised with this perfume. Knowing the age bracket this brand is aimed at, I thought the perfume was more a smell for the mature lady (as always with GB!). Shame.
The hand cream is nice and rich and is a great size to sling in your handbag or take away on holiday. I am always using hand cream, especially now it's colder, so this will definitely come in handy.
The nail wraps - this was again, something we received a few months ago. I do have a better design this time, however I still don't think I will use them so they will just join my other pack at the back of the drawer.

I noticed some people received an elasticizer for the hair, which I wish I had received, but we can't have it all!

I will agree with other's that GB is beginning to get a little repetitive with the product types, however the whole curiousity keeps me wanting more. I will maybe re-assess things in the new year and maybe change my box to another company?

How many of you are on the brink of unsubscribing from GB?

Only 3 days left till my competition ends! Get entering now if you haven't already!

Weekend fun!

These weekend photos mostly portray relaxtion and stuffing my face. I am innocent. Partially.

Clockwise from Left -
*McDonalds are currently giving out Coca Cola glasses reflecting designs from the past 100yrs. I haven't had a McDonalds in almost 2 months since I've been trying to be good, so this was a nice start to my weekend on Friday night (and we got free McFlurry's 'cos we were waiting a while for our order, bonus!).
*My 16month old niece visiting me, can you see what kind of auntie I'm gonna be? ;-)
*A nice beefy vanilla candle that I bought today from Homebase for £3.29, reduced from £5. 90hrs of burning time. Smells like one of my mums Xmas Yankess Candles but I can't remember which one. I am obsessed with candles but I refuse to spend tonnes on them so this was ideal. It's gonna sit in our living room but I'm not burning it till Dec 1st :-)
*Phish Food! Need I say more? This was on offer whilst do our weekly shop, so I had to treat myself. Indulged whilst watching X Factor, and will continue on it tonight for the 2nd lap ;-)

On top of all that, me and my boyfriend continued on with the painting this afternoon in the conservatory. One more session and it should be done thank god! Also took a trip to my mums for a quick visit.

Sorted out the 'junk cupboard'. Does everyone have one of these? A cupboard/drawer that everything gets stuffed in? With ours its mostly mail, and since we've only been in our house 5 months, we're still getting the previous occupants mail, in fact they get more than us! So I've sorted it all out, re-addressed it and have a massive pile that I have to put back in the post box. Something that I've been meaning to do for a few months now. Oopsy!

I'm about to round my Sunday off with a lovely chicken chasseur that is currently being cooked by my boyfriend. A lap of X Factor, followed by a bit of I'm a celeb (I only watch the bush tucker trial part), then I'm gonna have a nice hot shower possibly followed by a film in bed.

What did you all get up to this weekend?

Only a few more days till my competition ends! Spread the word to whoever you think will be interested!

Festive fun

I know many of you have already started your christmas shopping, finished your christmas shopping, and wrapped up your christmas shopping, however I still feel like the 'big' day is far far away in the distance. I'm not sure if its because of the weather, and the fact that some days I can still get away with just wearing a big chunky cardigan instead of a coat as well. As opposed to this time last year where we were knee deep crunching our way through snow. Or maybe its the fact I'm no longer a student ok, so I haven't been a student for over 3 years now and christmas holidays don't exist anymore except for a couple of measley days off, so the build up isn't as effective cos you've still gotta work right up to Christmas eve, boooo. Or maybe, just maybe its the fact that I'm yet another year older and Christmas just doesn't feel how it used to be *cue nostalgic sigh*

This is mine & my boyfriend's first christmas in our new home, which brings with it a lot of new things; first christmas of waking up somewhere different instead of at my mums. First christmas of being in charge of what decorations go on the tree! First christmas of being in charge of what christmas food we buy! (although that could be a bad thing!).

I've got a lot of festive blogs lined up to get me into the spirit. However, I thought about doing a guest blog swap for a day with anyone that is interested (although the theme has to be Christmas!). I thought it would be a great way for us to get introduced to new blogs and also get our blog out there (I know how much hard work it can be, I used to film for YT!). So if anyone is interested in joining in, then pop me an email, it'd be great to hear from you!

Please don't forget to check out my beauty competition, less than 1 week left!

Heel Accessory?

Now if I'm a bit behind with the times and these have been out for a long time, then I do apologise. I've only just stumbled on them whilst browsing ASOS for shoes..

Heel accessories.. I don't know what to make of them.. I think they are super pretty to look at and are a great way of adding a little detail and sparkle to plain heels, but for the amount of money, I'd be a little scared of them falling off whilst I'm dancing away! Plus, I think you'd have to chose the right occasion to wear these to. An average night on the town and I don't think many people would spot them sparkling on the back of your shoe...

They have a silicon backing which attach to the inside of the shoe (where your heel sits), then the accessory itself falls over the heel of your shoe and sits at the back for the world to see.

Prices start from £13.99 and can be purchased from ASOS.
For more designs see here.

Would you buy an accessory for your fave set of heels?

Get creative!

As I've previously mentioned, I've become addicted beyond belief with all things nail related - nail polishes, nail art, fimo, jewels, stamping kits, I've been purchasing nail accessories like there's no tomorrow. So when I saw that Model's Own was releasing their famous Nail Art pen in white I was super excited! I think just about every blogger whose into nail art owns the black one, but I think owning a white pen is a must. It's a very eye-catching colour on top of any base colour, and would be perfect in the summer over pastel colours.

Priced at just £6 I'll definitely be purchasing this when I'm next in Boots.

Hope everyone's had a good weekend!? Mine has been somewhat productive but not as glamourous as I'd have liked! It has consisted of lots of house/car errands that needed doing. I knew there was a disadvantage of moving out of my mums!

My competition closes in 10 days so get your entries in now!

N Spa Bubbles

Now the colder months are here, I'm beginning to have a few more baths. I've always been a shower girl  but I forgot how relaxing a bath can be. I had one for the first time in our new home the other night. I lit candles and added a drop of N Spa (Nirvana Spa) bubble bath that I purchased from ASDA a few weeks ago that everyone has been raving about. The flavours sounded so yummy I could have purchased (and ate) them all. However we all know Christmas is fastly approaching, and as some of you may know, I'm on a bit of a saving scheme (see my 10 pan project idea here). However at £2 a pop for 500ml, I really struggled to pick just one, so I settled on Blueberry Cream Pie and Lemon Souffle'. They smell delish! There were various other flavours as well such as Apple & Mint, Coconut Icecream and Pomegranate and buttermilk to name a few (How refreshing do they sound?!).

The consistency of the bubble bath was thick and creamy. I was impressed with how much bubbles they created. A nice big fluffy cloud of them to soak into.
The smell on the other hand wasn't as strong as I'd have hoped, I love to get a whiff of my bath products as I walk past the bathroom after I've finished, but with this one I never. Nor did it seem to linger on my skin, which is unfortunate, but nevertheless, the flavours and price alone will make me come back for more!

N Spa do various other bath and shower products such as body creams and bath fizzers, as well as more upmarket products such as indulgement spa home treatments and skincare products. They also do Spa memberships and pamper days (which we all love!).

See here for more N Spa products that ASDA offer.

Go check them out! N Spa

On a side note - Less than 2 weeks till my competition ends, go check it out here.

Disclaimer - I was not paid nor sponsored to write this blog. All items were purchased with my own money and all opinions are honest as always.

Effective skincare products for problematic skin

It's no secret, I haven't got the best skin. In fact sometimes I look like I've got the face of some spotty 16 year old. Add 10 years and you get my real age. Not good.
I wouldn't say I have acne. Or never have had acne, for that matter. But for the past few years I've had blemishes. Some small that will disappear within a day or two, some tender that lie under the skin for what feels like forever. Either way, for as long as I remember, its very rare that you'd find me without a pimple. Lucky for me I'm pretty good at knowing how to cover them correctly with make-up (or so my boyfriend says). Although at times we are all adament that a certain spot is the size of our fist, and the whole world and his dog can see it. Yep, even from a mile away. In reality, it's never really that bad, but of course we won't be told will we? We are girls and our appearance means a lot to us.

Cut a long story short, I'm one of those lovely ladies that have been feeding the skincare industry with heaps of my money over the years, trying all different products that claim to reduce and remove spots. We've heard it all a million times before. Get excited and run home with the newest spot removing cream in our hand, knowing that in approx 2 weeks our face will be transformed. Forever! For the majority of us, finding a product that *really* does work would be a miracle.

I've tried everything from drugstore brand names to splashing the cash on dermalogica products (may I just add that out of everything, I spent the most amount of money on Dermalogica, resulting in me laying in bed the next day with a wet flannel over my face, unable to even touch it or go out, typical!). Nothing, and I mean nothing has ever worked.

Back to my trusty tea tree wipes till I find something else.

Rewind 3 weeks ago and I was browsing the beauty aisle in Asda when I came across Clean & Clear products on offer. I've tried Clean & Clear before, but only ever 1 product at a time. This time I bought 4 products, if I want to knock this stupid skin problem on the head, I wasn't going to do it half-heartedly. The best thing about these is that they are oil free, which is perfect for me as my skin gets very oily during the day.

In order of use:

Morning Routine - I use the 'morning energy' gentle exfoliator in a morning (obv!). This comes out in a bright green gel-like formula with small blue beads that burst as you massage into skin. I then apply the deep cleaning lotion to a cotton wool pad and clean my face. This can be used alone or after washing to tighten pores. I then apply a little moisturiser, apply make-up then I'm good to go!

Night routine - Remove make-up with T-Zone tea tree facial wipe (purchased from Bodycare, 2 packs for £1.99). Remove eye make-up with No7 eye make-up remover. (Please do not touch eye area with tea-tree products!) I then massage the cream wash into my skin, followed by the deep cleansing lotion again. Due to my skin being very oily, I am not currently using a night moisturiser.

Why do I like these products?

• I love the tingly sensation the products create. This tells me it's really getting in those pores and doing its job!
• How efficient it is. Once you get used to the products, you can be in and out the bathroom within minutes (always a bonus when you're running late!). Also, if you've just come in from a late night, the last thing you want to do is take your make-up off. But we all know you must! The good thing about this routine is you can bypass the cream wash at night and go straight to the deep cleanser and bam, you're ready for bed. Even if you're drunk this is hard to get wrong!
• How affordable and easily accessible the products are. All of the products above were purchased for £2 each and always seem to be on offer in one store or another.  
• My shiny oily face can now last a full 8hrs before it starts to appear (as opposed to 3hrs before!)
• How soft and silky smooth my skin feels afterwards (I can never stop touching it!)
• The results! (read on to find out more!)

The Results

 Because I've tried so many products, I was beginning to lose all hope in finding that miracle blemish remover. These products combined have achieved the best results I have ever seen from any skincare product I have used. I have been using them religiously for approx 3 weeks now and can honestly say my confidence has improved dramatically when it comes to my skin and talking to people, and not having to think 'yes, I can see your staring at that spot, don't you worry!'. I'm not going to lie, yes the odd spot or 2 has reared its ugly head since, but no way near as many as I would have had a month ago. I tend to get spots along my jawline, and some are still there, but they have changed to flat red marks as opposed to bulbous ones that pertrude half a mile off your face! (Eurgh, that just sounds gross!) The red marks needs a little foundation and no one would know, my skin still looks flawless.

I do tend to lean my chin/jaw area into my hands a lot at work when I'm at my desk, which obviously wont help the jawline situation. I really must stop doing this!

I'm more careful with my pillow case, and rotate them every day or two so I'm not sleeping on the same side for too long.

So, after that essay type blog (sorry!), if any of you do suffer from problematic skin and havent tried the above products, I really do recommend them. I don't know if it would be as effective if only a couple of the products were used, but its worth a try. If you do try them, let me know, I'd be intrigued to know if anyone else gets positive effects from these.

I'm waiting for the day till my skin gets used to these products and stops working altogether. Hopefully this will never happen but for now I'm quite happy and settled with my new skincare routine. I'm still open to try new things, but can't see me changing anytime soon.

NOTD - Chrome Vs Gloss

Just a quick and easy nail of the day for you which is really simple to achieve. Forgotten how much I love the silver chrome, very noticeable indeedy!

Polishes used - Barry M 'Bright Purple' 303 & a cheap one that was actually from New Look out of a nail gift set (that i bought as part of a present for my friend years ago but ended up keeping). You probably won't be able to get your hands on this now but there are plenty of replica's out there.

Would you like to see more nail art from me?

Hope your Monday wasn't too bad! (I know most of us suffer from the Monday blues, although the Christmas Holidays are keeping me motivated!).

Jumping on the band wagon..

I've had a nice 3 days off work this week, although I haven't completed my to-do list which I'm kinda annoyed with. My boyfriends' been in bed with a bad back for the past 2 weeks, so my days off didn't really go to plan! Instead of enjoying days out together, I've been running round like a headless chicken, doing all house chores, painting the conservatory and spending way too much time online (although I'm not really complaining about the latter!)

Speaking of the conservatory, since my dressing room tour, would any of you guys like to see 'before & after' photo's of our house? I personally love looking at interior design photos and how people style their home. I have all these ideas in my head for the conservatory which I'm hoping will be done for Christmas, so if any of you are interested then give me a shout! In fact either way, I'll probably put them up at some point anywsy!

Before I forget, I've joined the world of twitter! I've tried once before and didn't get it at all. All these @ and # and RT confused the hell out of me! Since then I've had another go and kinda understand it a little more, although I'll still be referring to my dummies guide (What would we do without dummy guides? The other day I had to pull one out for 'how to make an Omelette', I kid you not, I actually forgot). Either way, come follow me @KateLou11. (Hopefully I've referred to myself correctly with the right codes!)

Hope everyone's had a fab weekend! (Yay for Amelia Lily!) Ok, so only X Factor fans will understand that. (Small text overload in this blog, do apologise for those partially sighted, I'll be needing to dig my own glasses out in a minute!).

PS - Don't forget to check out my beauty competition here, only 2 weeks left to enter! Prizes inc Sleek and BarryM + more!



My shabby chic dressing room & storage ideas!

 

I’ve had a love for shabby chic for around 2 years now. Living at home with my mum in a tiny bedroom, the closest thing I got to exploring the French elegant style boudoir was by looking at photos on websites and dreaming, but I knew one day I would definitely turn those dreams into a reality.

Fast forward 2 years and I find myself moving into my own house with my boyfriend (this July). I definitely made sure it had 3 bedrooms; one for us, one for him and his toys (i.e. PS3!) and one for me and my shabby chic-ness!

On the run up to moving house, I thought about ways of storing make-up and hair products, and began collecting little things on a weekly basis. There are  lots of different types of shabby chic styles.. I decided to go for white furniture with a hint of pastel colours to add a pop of colour to the room but still keeping within the theme.

Here is my little parlour..

The make-up brush holder that you can see on the left of my dressing table is actually a metal cutlery caddy that I bought from Wilkinsons for a mere £2. I was lucky enough for my mum to give me the dressing table, however they can still be found on ebay here.

What sits on my chest of drawers?

 I thought this was a perfect way to store nail varnishes… in a glass fish bowl type vase! They are inexpensive to buy (a mere £2), can store lots of varnishes (I have 50+ in here).

I found this in TKMaxx. Ok it’s not exactly shabby chic, but the pastel blue matched my room! It’s a metal mesh type drawer set that was found in the stationery section. It cost me £4.99 and is now home to most of my hair accessories – hair grips, hair bobbles, headbands etc. I’m not a massive hair person so they all fit in here nicely. For those that were wondering, on top is a giant rose scented candle that was purchased from Matalan a few months ago for £6.

By the side of my drawers I have this little metal cake stand. Again, sticking with the whole shabby chic theme, I thought it was a different way to store my products. It can surprisingly fit quite a lot on!

This drawer tower matches the dressing table. Unfortunately I can’t find it on eBay right now, but this is what I store my make-up in. On top I have a shabby chic floral tray which holds my perfumes, and the taller object behind that is a slim vase that holds all my chunky bangles. I find that thick costume bangles consume a lot of space so stacking them is perfect, and you can see them all.

The majority of you will recognise the smaller boxes, yep, that’s right, good ol’ Glossy Box! I do have a lot more of these boxes but they are home to other things in cupboards around my house! I think they are a great idea to keep to store things in, and they match with my room which is a bonus! I keep things such as camera leads/chargers and sample/travel beauty products in them.

This is my jewellery corner. I have stacks of costume jewellery but keep my most used items on these. The earrings are pierced through a canvass board. I got the idea from Youtube, however I think I am changing this soon because once you’ve pierced the earring through, getting them back in the same hole and making them stay there is another matter! Either way, a canvass can be picked up from most stationery stores for a few quid. My necklace holder I think is super cute. I bought it from BHS for £4, reduced from £12, I love a bargain! It is metal so strong enough to hold a fair few of my heavy duty necklaces ;-)

Below my jewellery stands this 4 tower wicker drawer set. This was actually purchased from Argos in the bathroom section to, yeah, you’ve guessed it, be used in our bathroom! However we had more storage than we thought, so it made itself at home in my room instead! This holds a lot of hair products and deodorants. Although the size of the drawers are not great, so only smaller products can be kept in these.

So, that is my little make-up room that I get ready in every morning!

It’s not exactly how I’d like it (I did want the carpet ripping up and the floorboards painting white, and the walls to be painted white, but I got a bit lazy/impatient!).

Have you got any unusual make-up or jewellery storage tips?

10 Pan Project

Hands up who has an over-flowing stash of make-up, some of which have barely been touched and yet you still get sucked in when you walk past any shop selling cosmetics?
It's amazing what powers make-up have over us isn't it?! Kinda scary in a way.. but nonetheless, we keep going back for more!

On the run up to Christmas we all are a bit more careful with our pennies because of obvious reasons, so I thought this was the perfect time to start the 10 pan project!

For those that have never heard of this before, it basically means you have to hit the pan and use up any 10 products in your collection before you go out and buy more. For example, if a lipstick was in your 10 pan project - no lipstick buying still that one has vanished. Although if a foundation for example isn't being challenged in the project, and you happen to run out, run to the shop! (I don't want you becoming a hermit! ;-)). Key is to chose items that you have a large variety of, or duplicates, or just products that you struggle to use up but don't want to throw away!

It feels so good when I'm actually throwing away any empties. For some it would be sad to see products go, and would only mean one thing; more money to replace it. But for me I love it because like many of you out there, I am a pain for not finishing something, giving it a home at the back of my drawer, then replacing it with a new one. Foundations are my weakness. I moved house in July, and I remember counting 10 bottles of foundation that were all unfinished. TEN?! Some foundations I had stopped using due to the colour either being too dark or light for me but refused to throw the bottles away because I'd barely touched them. The beauty of this project is it forces you into using them up, and if you can't use them up for whatever reason, start thinking outside of the box. For example, with my dilemma (above) I mixed both foundations together which ironically resulted in the best colour ever! Or if a lipstick is part of the project but you dislike the colour, could it double up as a creme blush?
You'll be surprised at things you re-discover that maybe you didn't like the first time round, but actually love now. Shopping after the 10-pan project shouldn't feel as guilty either!

And lastly, think of the space you'll create!

Here are my 10 products that I am currently using in hope of throwing them away sometime very soon!
If you notice, 3 of the products are either foundations or powders. Out of every drawer I have, the foundation/powder one is over-flowing the most, so that is priority with this project!

Clockwise - Mini Benefit eyeshadow/lip palette. I have had this a few years now and there is still over 3/4 of product left. I'm not a big fan of lip palettes, however these are such pretty colours they could now double up as a cheek tint.

Elf Blusher 'Fucshia Fusion'. As you can see from the photo below, I have hit pan on this. I still love this product, such a gorgeous pigmented colour. I think I only stopped using this since the purchase of my sleek contour kit. I've been using a lot of bronzers instead lately, maybe for a more autumnal look? Either way, it won't take me long to use this beauty up.

Loreal Matte Morphose. Now this is one that I try going back to every few months but then hate. Its the same as Maybellines Dream matte mousse. This clings to dry skin like there's no tomorrow. I love the velvety texture, I just hate how it sits on my skin. However I will use it up if it kills me! I'm going to have a major exfoliating session beforehand and possibly try mixing it with something (although I can't see this working!)

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. I have lots of powders in my drawer that are so close to finishing but I decided to pick on this one!

Collection 2000 Mosaic Shimmering Glow Powder. I've had this about a year now and have used it several times as a bronzer. I do love my bronzers, however as I previously mentioned, my Sleek contour kit has taken lead over all my bronzers, so I need to let a few more back in my life!

Nivea Milk and Honey Lip Balm. This will be easy to use. I've been using it almost every day for the past month or so. I only picked this because I have a lot of lip balms but this was closest to the finishing line!

Collection 2000 Sky Scraper Mascara. I remember buying this after watching Fleur's Youtube Channel. She raved about this, so I thought if it was good enough for her, it will be good enough for me! Still love this, and it can't be far from the finishing line because I used it non stop for about 2 months, before I gave in and began to think it was a never-ending mascara! (How often are mascara's really meant to last if you use them daily?!)

Maybelline 'The Colossal' Mascara. Another mascara that I've had ages (stuff the 3 month rule! If they're good enough to wear then who cares?!). I wore it constantly for months on end. Recently went back to it after a long break, and have been using it ever since. Hopefully the end is somewhere in sight now!

Loreal True Match Foundation. I always used to wear these foundations at one point in my life. Although it baffles me how i've got a wrong shade in my collection if I was forever repurchasing this? Maybe I sent someone out to get one for me? Who knows. Anyway! This is one of those that is way too light for my skin, and makes me look like a ghost, so I've been mixing it with the next product which is....

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. Which was coincidentally too dark for me. I swatched it under those bright lights in boots and it looked perfect. Got it home and it made me look a tad orange. Does that ever happen to anyone else? Anyhow, mix the above together and I have my perfect match made in heaven! Been using these for the past few weeks now so it won't be long before they see the bin!

Benefit Palette & Elf blush

Loreal Matte Morphose, Colletion 2000 Mosaic shimmering powder & Maybelline Dream Matte powder

So they are my products that I want to see the back of! Hopefully at least half of those would be gone by Christmas, ready to make room for some more make-up! 

Will you be participating in the 10 pan project with me? I'd love to hear from you!

Dupe for OPI Rainbow Connection?

I've always been a nail-varnish wearer for as long as I can remember. However the last few months I've become even more obsessed with nail varnish and all things nail art, and have been trying out a fair few designs.

When I read Danielle's blog on a recent nail art design she featured that included some cute little fimo bows from Bodycare, it was something that I definitely intended on checking out next time I was shopping.
Fast forward 24hrs and I'm in Bodycare browsing the nail section - I find the fimo nail arts (however not the design she used, but nonetheless, I ended up with some cute heart designs instead). I also quickly scanned my eyes across the nail polish shelf and my eyes landed on this little beauty by Technic, which instantly reminded me of OPI's rainbow collection which is part of their newest range, the muppet collection. This seems to be a mega popular varnish with nail addicts at the moment, and I heard that they've already sold out.

I really want all of the latest collection (c'mon, how could you refuse such pretty colours?!) but for now I think I'm quite happy with this for a snippet (and a very large snippet!) of the price at a bargain £1.25 (I'm sure my bank will love me that little bit more with it being so close to Christmas too!)



Left - Technic 'Carnival'. Right - OPI 'Rainbow Connection'

Left: Technic 'Carnival' Right - OPI 'Rainbow Collection'



My photo isn't the best (I really need a better focused camera!) but they both seem to have the same coloured glitter in them. The only difference is the OPI one appears to have various sizes of glitter 'chunks' whereas the Technic one appears to have 2 sizes. I did 3 coats to achieve the above look. I think 1/2 more would create a better effect. I was really impressed with the drying speed as well.

Fantastic for those upcoming Christmas parties!

What do you think? Would you try this in replace of OPI?

Graze (+ free code!)

So after reading someones blog regarding graze, I was intrigued. I'm going to be honest, the free box swung it for me, so I checked out the website and have received my first little free box through the post today and can honestly say, I'm pretty impressed.

I can hear you all asking 'what the hell is Graze?' Graze is all about eating foods that are packed with essential nutrients from natural foods that our body will love. Anything thats meant to be good to the body is worth a try, right?

What's fantastic about Graze is that you can choose the day that you'd like your box to arrive at your door. You can choose how frequently you receive this box. You can go through the list of foods that you could potentially receive and 'bin' the ones you know you're definitely not going to like (for me it's olives!), and Graze guarantee's that you will never receive these through the post, so no throwing anything away! You can also show a love for certain foods (for me it'll probably be flapjack!) and these you are likely to receive more often (but in different flavours). They offer a variety of different food products, from nuts, to flapjack, to bread, to dippers etc. What made me sign up to this (besides the freebie!) was the amazing flavours. They all sound SO yummy!
Each box contains 4 little pots which are the perfect size to sling in your handbag for an on-the-go snack. You also receive a handy nutrition card explaining all fat/calorie contents of each punnet, which is ideal for you calorie counters!

Just to give you a little example, in my box today I received:
* Cherry Tomato, basil and pesto focaccia (which I do apologise, I ate before I took the photo!)
* 'Jaffa Cake' which is a combination of Belgain dark chocolate buttons, orange sultana's and roasted hazelnuts (and they all really do have that jaffa-cake tinge!)
* 'Black Pepperdoms' - Fruity mango chutney with black pepper crackers
* Orange and Ginger Flapjack

I've only tried the top 2 so far (I'm going out for lunch soon so don't want to spoil that!) but can't wait to try the others out later!

Graze is a great way to sample foods that you may not come across in average supermarkets.

You can receive all this through your door on a weekly basis (or more frequently if you prefer) for £3.49. However to sample first, use the code L67LXFFD to receive your free box!

Go check them out - Graze.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!