Lifestyle - Instagram it! August Week 1

Some of you may remember reading that I have decided to photograph each day of my life in August. We're currently on day 9 and so far, so good! I'm quite enjoying doing it, some days you'll notice a little dip in the 'excitement' of the photograph, so it doesn't take a genius to know that those were work days were I never really get up to a lot! If all else fails, I turn to food for my photograph option, always a winner, haha.

Started the month with a glitter mani! I love this polish from BarryM, the colours are so pretty, its a shame the flash bleaches them out.
Aug 2nd - My mum moved house, which was a little sad but exciting. She's been in her previous house since I was 18, so 10 yrs now, so I've got a lot of good memories there - however this is her new front garden. I love the white dove box you can seem amongst the conifers, I think it's pretty!
Aug 3rd - Me and my boyfriend took an evening stroll down the seafront and stopped off at this rock shop for some sweeties!
Aug 4th - We took a drive to the Nottingham/Mansfield area and visited Newstead Abbey - I'd never been here before and it was our first 'proper' day out this summer, so was nice. We set up a picnic in the gorgeous grounds and also had a tour of the abbey, learning about Lord Byron (who I studied at Uni so was reminiscing a little!)

 



Aug 5th - Our Jimmy Carr tickets arrived through the post! (Which is part of my boyfriends 30th present from me). I'm a little apprehensive about this because I've only just started to like Jimmy Carr, simply because I'm not usually fast enough to get his jokes, I don't understand what's changed!

Aug 6th - I was craving cake just a little, so after browsing round Morrisons, I saw too many packs of cakes on offer, so I went for mini Victoria sponges and viennese whirls (one of my faves!). This was my first cup of tea in a few months too, so it went down a treat!

Aug 7th - I was feeling a little overwhelmed today because I've been really busy at work these past 2 weeks, and I had too many notebooks on the go, at both home and work, so I thought I'd take a photo of them all, because I love my stationary! The book on top is my most recent buy, I found it in Sainsbury's on offer - I love the fact that it says 'You are my sunshine' on the cover - my mum used to sing this song to me as a baby/young girl so its always been close to my heart.

How's your August going?!

I can't wait what the rest of the month has to bring!

Easter NOTD

I hope everyone's having a lovely bank holiday weekend, the one time of the year that you have a slight excuse to live eat and sleep chocolate!

I have had quite a peaceful one (infact a little too peaceful!), the boyfriend has been working all bank holiday weekend (apart from today). I've been keeping myself busy with house chores and my little 18mnth old niece.

It's finally April, which only means one thing; all my pastel nail varnishes get the pleasure in seeing the light of day again, yay! And because I was so spoilt for choice, I decided to sport all 3 colours... I've decided, I need to invest in a lemon to make my spring collection complete. I don't own (and never have owned) a yellow nail polish, not really my kinda colour, but comes in handy for nail art if nothing else!

Polishes used - 'Berry Icecream', 'Blueberry Icecream' and 'Strawberry Icecream' all by BarryM.

On a side note, I use picnik for editing my photo's, but that is unfortunately closing down real soon, so I'm on the hunt for recommendations for dummies. I've tried photoshop and picasa but they don't float my boat. Any more out there, preferably free? Throw your ideas my way!

Now to indulge in my tray of Ferrero Rocher's! My treat from my boyfriend for Easter!

Valentine's Day NOTD

Valentine's day has been quite low-key for us this year. As I mentioned in a previous post we have always splashed out on presents, nights away in hotels or meals out. This year we both agreed not to go OTT so we ruled out presents, and just exchanged cards instead. He brought me breakfast in bed (for the first time ever in 4yrs and may I add it was a weird experience - a strange concoction of foods, majority non-breakfast related, bless him, can tell he's never done that before!).

Tonight we are going to our favourite Indian which I am looking forward to!

Just having a mini pampering sesh so thought I'd leave you with a NOTD, or should I said NOTN... sorry about the shadow - my camera casts a shadow over everything I photograph at night and I'm not very techy so unaware how to avoid this annoying problemo!

Polish used - Barry M 302 Fuchsia. Fimo hearts from eBay - they are actually white with pink edging but the flash has bleached them white...

I'm going to find something pink in my wardrobe to match my nails.. it has to be done tonight! Possible OOTN coming!

What are your plans tonight?

NOTD - Midnight sky

When I'm not feeling very inspirational, this is one design I always resort back to because its so simple and quick to do. The white polka dots on the navy nail reminded me of a snowy midnight sky (hence the name!). I am sporting a navy lace jumper today which match perfectly with my nails.

I used an old collection 2000 polish (that old that I couldn't track the name down because the label had faded, however they have what looks like an identical one in their new range called 'blue my mind' which you can see here). For the polka dots I used NYC 'Pinstripe White' with one of many dotting tools that I own.

I really can't wait to dive back into my pastel colours. The majority of my collection consists of bright summery colours, however the English weather has recently took a nose dive so I'd feel a little out of place in this dark and dreary weather if I delved into them right now. Maybe in another month? Although I did purchase a No7 polish today which could be worn at any time of the year, so hopefully that will keep me quiet till then? Keep your eyes peeled for it's debut blog in the next few days!

Review: Deborah Lippmann - Nail Polish Remover Mitt

I received this exciting sachet with my December Glossy Box (which you can see here).
I've never seen anything like this before, so being someone who constantly has polish on her nails, I was super excited to try this out!

This mitt claims to 'remove all traces of polish for all 10 nails in an instant'. (Source)

I waited till I had the dreaded glitter polish to remove so I could really put it to the test. Ready to remove the exact polish that accompanied this mitt (Deborah Lippmann 'Razzle Dazzle') I followed the instructions (which were to place the mitt over the index finger and sweep over the rest of your nails).



Placing over the thumb as opposed to index finger was for photography purposes only!

First thoughts? A small cute but simple mitt that would be perfect for travelling.
I swept gently over my fingers like it stated. Not a great deal happened. I added pressure, a little more polish was removed but not to the extent I was expecting. Within minutes the remover that was readily absorbed into the mitt had dried up so my only option was to resort back to my own nail polish remover and scrubbing just as hard as I did with the mitt in order to remove the glitter polish.

Opinions? A big thumbs down for this product. To state that it would remove all traces of polish within an instant, I think, is over-exaggerated to say the least. And for the mitt to dry out within 2 minutes of using it isn't very ideal either.
Also for £14 a pop for a pack of 6 mitts is a little steep. I'd rather buy £14's worth of bottles of remover that would last me approx 4 yrs than splash out on 6 mitts that would remove just 6 days's worth of polish!

I have yet to read other's views on this product but I am intrigued, so if you have tried this mitt out, what did you think?!

Such a shame because Deborah Lippmann has some lovely products, go check out her nail polishes, they are super pretty!

NYE NOTN: Emerald Jewel

Together with my emerald green dress that I wore for NYE (which you can see a tiny snipet of here) I dug out one of my oldest nail varnishes in my collection that matched perfectly. I remember this was the first drugstore brand polish I'd ever bought. At 16 the most my money stretched to was the cheap crap on the local market, so it felt really good to have a Maybelline one in my Constance Carroll collection (haha, who remembers those?!).

Anyway! Seeing as thought it was NYE, I wanted a little sparkle on my nail. I was going to go for a full accent nail of jewels, but knowing they are a pain to remove, I decided on the nail tip instead.

Here's the mother of all my other polishes, a grand age of 10yrs old, and still going strong! There's still a few dotted online but their presence in the shops is long gone! This gorgeous mermaid green is called 'jelly bean' (for those that are curious!).

On a side note, I'm doing project 365. For those that haven't heard of this, you simply take a photo every day for 1 year. I think its a great way to capture memories and recall what you did, who you met and what you learned. It's also a great way to bond with a new camera! I received one for Christmas so this project is perfect for me! I'm excited seeing them all together at the end of the year!

Hope everyones' keeping to their new years resolutions! ;-)

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.

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!

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!).

Models Own: Beatlejuice collection

Are these adorable or are these adorable? Model's own are releasing this beatlejuice collection early November on their website (lets hope they make the shops too!). These gorgeous multi-tonal shades with a chrome finish are a must for any nail polish addict!

From L-R - Golden Green, Pinky Brown, Purple Blue, Aqua Violet and Emerald Black.

RRP £5.

My favourite is Aqua Violet. Whats yours?

Have a fab weekend!

Yet another No7 boots voucher...

So the title says it all... for a limited time (which seems to happen quite often in Boots), every time you make a purchase over £5, they give you a £5 off No7 voucher. I had one a few weeks ago that was due to run out, so I rushed into boots, clearly feeling the urge to waste yet more money, just to use my voucher! Does anyone else do that?! Then I get to the till for the woman to then hand me yet another new voucher over, this time a double one with £5 off No7 and £5 off all perfumes. Argh. I've never been one to buy No7 products, so I began searching for the cheapest product available, which was the nail polishes... none of the colours really stood out to me (that I hadn't already got with previous vouchers..). However! I think they must have released their winter collection of varnishes because there's a few new colours in there...

I clapped eyes on this little beauty...

Now I have over 50 nail varnishes, and not one of them is orange. I've never been an orange kinda girl... but..maybe I was feeling brave that day? I know the whole rusty colours are huge this season, the burnt oranges and reds, the mustards and the browns, so I figured this would be a good way to incorporate those colours into my 'wardrobe' without 'wearing' them as such. The picture doesn't do it justice, it is a lovely tangy (hence the name) orange colour and would also look great with a tan.. (not that we're about to embark on tanning season though!)

I can't wait to find an outfit that would go with this nail varnish!

What have you bought with your No7 voucher?!

1st ever China Glaze purchase...

So, when I came home from work today I had a nice surprise waiting for me at my front door.

I've always been into nail polishes but just recently more than ever. I've got a huge glass bowl full of varnishes, but nothing really high end except a mini OPI that came with my monthly Glossybox subscription. I've seen loads of reviews on OPI and China Glaze, and the colour and finish always looks so gorgeous that I could eat it! (ok, not quite..), however, I begrudge paying £15+ for a bottle of nail varnish, after all, money doesn't grow on tree's. So I searched ebay for some and I managed to win this bottle, No 859 'Good witch'

Upon opening it, I was a little disappointed because the colour looked a little brighter, and a little 'pinker' on the internet, but then thats the risk we all take I suppose when buying off here. Nonetheless I thought I'd give it a whirl...

This was with 2 coats of polish. Opinions? Not really impressed and nails feel so rough to touch! I know this is because of the glitter particles but I've had cheaper glitter varnishes and they are a lot smoother to feel than this! Bad first choice by me! I will purchase another by China Glaze but will make sure it is a gloss varnish with no glitter! (I think I secretly hate it more because I've just spilt some on my white duvet cover too, grrr!)

What are your favourites nail polishes?