NOTD - Essie & OPI Combo

Hello everyone! Two days off work so I've got the nail varnish out, woohoo. It was a hard decision trying to choose which nail polish to wear (white girl problems), but eventually I decided upon a two brand combo.

Firstly I applied my Essie Off The Shoulder on all of my nails which is a lovely hot pink which I love and have mentioned on the blog before. I applied two coats of this polish as I thought it looked best. Next I applied one of my favourite polishes, OPI's Teenage Dream which is from the Katy Perry collection and again, is a polish I've mentioned before.

Absolutely love this combination and think its perfect for summer. Also, pink is my favourite colour when it comes to beauty products and I love adding glitter to the top of my polishes at any given opportunity.

What are you wearing on your nails today?

NOTD - Essie's Miami Nice

Little nails of the day for you all. I love nail polish so much and I never get to wear it. I think I need a job where it's a requirement to have nice nails all the time so I can do whatever I want!

Today I'm wearing Essie's Miami Nice on my nails, and it was actually by accident. I have all my Essie polishes in a box and I meant to lift out Super Bossa instead as I haven't actually got to use it yet. I was painting them while watching YouTube videos and didn't even notice until I'd already done the first coat! 

Anyway, I still love this colour (I didn't actually know I owned it but sure). It's a lovely hot pink with blue undertones as is perfect for summer. A big pro with this polish was also the fact that it dried a lot quicker than I expected it too. 

What colour are you wearing on your nails today?

Nails Of The Day - Essie's Bikini So Teeny

 

Here it is, my favourite nail varnish for this Summer! I know, it came out in Essie's Summer collection last year but I have only managed to get it this year, and I absolutely love it.

I managed to pick up a really good deal with this and actually got it for only £1.99 on Fragrance Direct along with a few other polishes by the same brand. 

 

The colour you are looking at is Essie's Bikini So Teeny. It is a gorgeous sky blue colour and is even nicer in person than in the photos. I'm not a big fan of super bright colours (unless they're pink), but I thought this was really nice and could really brighten up any outfit. 

 

The consistency of the polish is also really smooth and it can be applied really easy. It's one of those polishes that I never make a mistake with, which is a big plus in my books. It also stayed on very well, and didn't really chip. The main photograph of me holding the polish shows my nails 2 days after applying the polish, and as you can see, there's only a few little chips, but its pretty perfect otherwise.

 

I highly recommend anyone to try this nail polish if they see it, and also to check out Fragrance Direct for Essie nail polishes as they are super cheap! They also ship worldwide so this isn't just for my UK readers!

 

What are you wearing on your nails this summer?

May Favourites

 

This is my first favourites post in months, and it's a bit late, but here it is! It's been hard trying to figure out what my favourites where during the month of may and what is going to be part of my June favourites, but this is what I remember.

 

 

Firstly, I'll start with my eye favourites of the month. I'm still using my beloved Make Up For Ever smoky lash mascara, so I haven't included it as I've mentioned it before. It'll have ran out soon though, so maybe a new one will make an appearance! The Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo's  have been a firm favourite with me throughout May and I literally used these two every single day. The first one I got in Superdrug and it is called Pink Gold, I'm not completely sure what it's named in the US but it's a lovely rose gold shadow. The second is one I picked up last year when I was in California and is called Pomegranate Punk. I've never seen this one in any of my shops so unfortunately I don't think it's available to anyone in the UK, which is such a shame as it's a gorgeous dark red/purple shadow.

 

 

Next is my lip favourites, and lip products are my ultimate favourite! I picked up this MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner last year in Petting Pink, used it only a few times, and then forgot about it for a while. After my Baby Lips lip balm got ran over by a car a few months ago, I needed to find a replacement, and this has been it! It's been amazing at keeping my lips soft and moisturised, and I also love the little bit of pink colour it gives. Second, is another product from the same brand, and is the MAC Daddy's Little Girl lipstick from the Archie's Girls collection. I've done a separate post on this if you'd like to take a look by clicking here.

 

My nail polish favourite for the month has been Essie's Bikini So Teeny which I'm sure plenty of you know all about. It is a bright sky blue nail polish and is perfect for Summer. My favourite scent has been Victoria's Secret Such A Flirt, and I'm almost finished this bottle. It contains starfruit and white orchid if you'd like to imagine how it smells, as I doubt I'll be able to explain! My final favourite for make up is again, another MAC product, and is the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish. I've never been one to use powder, but for all of May, and now again in June I've added it to my daily make up routine and have found it really helps in keeping my make up on throughout the day. My shade is light if you're interested.

 

Finally, a random favourite, and is one I've never been able to find in the UK! It's a Luna bar, and my favourite has been White Chocolate Macadamia. I bought these last year while I was away, and loved them, so of course I had to buy a few more while I was in Ohio, and I still love them!

 

What have your favourites been in May? Have you done a post? If so, let me know so I can read it!

Nails Of The Day - Essie's Off The Shoulder

Finally, I've been able to wear my new nail polish! I recently bought this and have been dying to try it as pink in any shade is my favourite choice of nail colour, and I absolutely love this one.

I was going out for my friends birthday last night and decided to try out this shade of Essie called Off The Shoulder. I've used lots of Essie polishes before, but I really like this one. This didn't chip all night and stayed perfect all today until I had to wash my hair.

It goes on so easily and for once I made absolutely no mistakes so it gains points with me.

It looks best with two coats, but if you're in a rush one coat would still look fine.

What's your favourite nail colour at the moment?

Nails Of The Day - OPI Teenage Dream

Time to change up my nails! I had a hard time deciding what colour to paint my nails last night (#whitegirlproblems) and rediscovered OPI's Teenage Dream. I bought this last Summer and absolutely loved it, and somehow managed to forget about it. I had originally painted one hand yellow, but then I decided it was much too bright and would be more suitable for Summer so I took it off again.

I first applied Essie's Sugar Daddy which is a super pale pink, which would be perfect if you want to do a french manicure. I only applied one coat of this as it isn't that noticeable anyway but I just like how it looks underneath.

Next, the main attration! Teenage Dream is a lovely pale pink polish with glitter speckled through it, and I absolutely love it. It makes me feel like I have princess nails. I applied only one coat of this last night as I didn't want it to be noticeable, but I've decided I'm going to apply another coat tonight because I want it super glittery.

Teenage Dream is from OPI's Katy Perry collection and I wish I'd had a chance to look at more of the polishes, as this is such a pretty polish and the photographs don't do it justice!

What's currently on your nails? Hope you're all having a great day!

The Best Of 2012

Finally, it's here! My beauty favourites of 2012. I attempted to upload this post yesterday but blogger and I were having issues adding my photographs, and we all know a post isn't as fun without something nice to look at!

I'll start with my hair favourites first. I've been loving this for a few years now, so it's definitely making an appearance. It's the Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush. I do like some of the other scents, and I usually stand and sniff them all to see which one I fancy, but recently I've always been going for this scent. I'd really like to try a few other brands of dry shampoo this year, just so I can see which is best, so I'd love for you all to let me know which is your favourite!

Next is another firm favourite in the beauty world, Moroccan Oil. I purchased this from BuyaPowa during the Summer and have used it every single time I've washed my hair and I love it. It makes my hair so silky smooth  and it smells delicious.

Although not featured in my photograph, you're all probably wondering where my Lush shampoo is. That's because I currently have no shampoo bars as I'm using my bottle of Fair Trade Honey from Lush. It's another shampoo I love, but the solid shampoo bars are my favourite, and it's a toss up between Karma and Jumping Juniper.

Shock horror! It's Urban Decay's Naked Palette. I absolutely adore this and I think I'll probably repurchase it once I finish up my favourite colours. I used this every day for months, and it's worked it's way back into my daily routine again.

Urban Decay's Ink For Eyes has been my favourite eyeliner for the year, and I don't actually think they sell it anymore as I haven't seen it in a while. This is a gel eyeliner which comes with a little brush to apply it to your eyes, and it's literally lasted me all year.

This mascara has it's own post because I love it so much, and you can read it by clicking here. FAIRYDROPS has been my favourite mascara since I got the little trial size version in my LashStash collection from Sephora last Christmas. It makes my short, invisible eyelashes super long and it's perfect for me.

One of my absolute favourites of the whole year has been my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer. I thought I'd already written a review on this, but a quick skim through my blog suggests otherwise. I will definitely put one of these up! I'm currently on my third bottle of this since discovering it during the Summer. It gives excellent coverage and I almost use it as a foundation.

Speaking of foundation, after trying a few throughout the year, my favourite has been Chanel's Perfection Lumiere. I had been wanting to try one of the Chanel foundations for months before I finally decided to give it a chance and this is my second bottle. It's the exact same colour as my skin and gives great buildable coverage. If anyone wants a review on this, just let me know!

I literally finished this last week and loved it. It's my Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. I got this as a present during the Summer and have used it every day, and it lasted me such a long time for such a small bottle. This helped smooth my skin before applying my foundation and after using it once, I couldn't go back to applying make up without it.

Another item I loved so much, it got it's own review which you can read here. I don't know how I ever applied my make up without my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. I really could never go back to not using it as it applies my foundation so well and leaves such a nice finish.

I was very careful to keep my lip favourites down, as I could really go overboard with this.

Firstly is my Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub. I think I'm currently on my third tub of this, and I love it so much that sometimes I just like to eat it. Obviously it has it's own blog post if you want a proper review. Click here!

The Revlon Lip Butter's where a huge hit this year, and I got my hands on quite a few, especially with numerous visits into Boots waiting patiently for them to appear on the shelves. I love all of them, but my favourite has to be Berry Smoothie. They're super moisturising and come in some lovely colours.

This was a hard choice with the EOS lipbalms giving some stiff competition, but I decided that the Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm's where my favourite lip balms of the year. Pictured is a brand new one which I haven't tried yet, but I'm currently on my third one and I still can't decide which colour I like best.

For lipstick, I'm choosing Mac Creme Cup which is another product I've reviewed separately. You can read that by clicking here. It's such a nice nude/peachy pink colour and it's also quite moisturising too which is a big bonus!

None of you will be surprised when you see my top three choices in nail polishes, and of course they're American brands.

Firstly is my Jag-u-are nail polish from Essie. This was used largely in the winter months, and you'll have seen it in a few of my Nail of the Day posts around Christmas time.

Another Essie polish, and this time it's Fun in the Gondola. I think I would choose this as my number one nail polish for the year, and I actually have it on my nails right now. It's the exact same colour in the bottle as my Creme Cup lipstick!

Finally, it's Rainbow in the S-Kylie from OPI's Kardashian Collection. I bought this at the start of last year and ended up buying a second bottle during the year just in case I ran out because I loved it that much. I said in a previous post I loved it that much I would give it it's own post, and that is still to come!

That's it for my 2012 favourites, 21 days late, but it's finally up! I'm so excited to try lots of new products throughout this year so if you have any recommendations for me please, please let me know!

New Years Nails

To start with, Happy New Year everyone! Thank you to everyone who's followed me throughout this year. I love seeing the follower count go up and getting notifications of your comments.

Last night I went out with my boyfriend and friends to celebrate, and of course I wanted to do some themed nails for the occasion.

I started with Essie's Fiji, which I've been wanting for ages (thank you Abbie). It doesn't really come up as well in the photographs, but its a really nice shade of pale pink. I applied only one coat of this since I was layering a different polish over the top.

Next, I used my OPI Rainbow In The S-Kylie from the Kardashian collection, which is one of my very favourite glitter polishes. I love how easy it is to apply because you can literally put it on any direction you choose. I may actually just do a separate post on it, I love it that much!

Then that's it finished! I didn't want to do what I've seen others doing and write 2013 on my nails, I just wanted something more simple. Even though glitter isn't exactly simple... But I love it!

How did you all celebrate for New Years?

Blogmas Day 24 - Christmas/Holiday Inspired Nails

I debated what to do with my nails for a while. I knew I wanted to have something quite festive, but really couldn't decide what. I also didn't want too much detail in it, and wanted something fairly simple. I had originally thought of doing my nails either red or green doing little holiday bobbles across them, but in the end, I decided upon candy canes.

Very easy to do. I applied just one layer of  Essie's Jag-u-are nail polish, one of my favourites. I then let this dry and took my white Sally Hansen  nail polish that I have from a french manicure set. I started from the bottom of my ring finger nail and very carefully done a thin diagonal stripe. I then repeated this another two times on that nail, and moved to the same finger on the other hand.

I wasn't sure whether to do only the one nail, or do the rest the same, but in a different direction, but I loved how simple and clean this looked so I decided to leave it as it is.

Have you done any holiday inspired nails? If so, link me to your blog and let me see!

Blogmas Day 8 - Nails of the Day

Thought I would do a little nail post for you all since I mentioned how I've been wearing my Essie jag-u-are nail polish everyday. I decided to make it extra festive today, however.

I touched up my Essie polish and then done my own variation of a French manicure by adding some of my new gold nail polish from Avon along the top.

Nice and sparkly!

Blogmas Day 6 - The Winterlicious Tag

I'm so excited to get to do this tag, as I love tags, especially anything that's themed with the holidays and Christmas. I was tagged to do this by Jessica at The Mod Mermaid so you should go and check out her answers too! Now, on to the questions...

1) Favourite Winter nail polish?

As mentioned in my November Favoruties post, my favourite nail polish for Winter is this one here, which is Jag-u-are by Essie. It is a beautiful sparkly red nail polish which is perfecct for the holiday season.

2) Favourite Winter lip product?

Since my lips are always so dry when it gets in the colder months I need to constantly apply some form of lip balm to my lips and for the past few months this has been my Baby Lips Lipbalms by Maybelline.

4) Most worn Winter clothing piece?

I bought this coat last year from H&M and it's my favourite coat when it's cold outside. I had wanted it the year before that but it sold out very quickly so I was so happy when I saw it again for sale last year. It's a parka style coat with a fluffy hood on the inside so it's super warm and cosy and I wear it almost time I go out anywhere. Also, the Wildfox Couture jumper is another thing which has become very common in my daily clothing.

5) Most worn Winter accessory?

Another piece I bought last year. This is from Forever 21 and I picked it up last year whilst I was in LA because it was starting to get a bit colder at night and I didn't bring enough clothing for that type of weather. I'm so glad I bought it because this is my favourite, favourite scarf, ever and I wear it so much, even if it doesn't really go with the rest of my outfit, although I think it goes with everything anyway.

6) Favourite Winter beverage?

I don't have a photograph for this as I have quite a few at the minute. Whenever I go to Starbucks I like to get either the Toffee Nut Latte from their Christmas menu, or else the Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Although over the past week I've realised how much I love the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate, with cream and cinnamon. So, so good.

7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie?

This was quite a hard decision for me to make as I love Christmas movies so much, and have at least 20 in my collection. I think if I could only watch one though it would have to be The Grinch. It's such a hilarious movie and I think I know every single line from it, it's such a quotable film! If I could choose another one I would also go with Elf as well for the same reason. I know every line from it as well and it's so quotable. My Facebook timeline is always filled with quotes from it whenever it's on TV.

8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song?

I'm choosing this song because it was literally the theme tune for my NYC trip with my friend, who I'm sure will be reading this at some point. It kept getting stuck in our heads the whole trip and we kept singing it randomly, except we didn't sing actual words, and I kept changing the end of it.

9) Favourite holiday food/treat?

Quite a hard one as I do love lots of holiday food and treats, but I bought some of this earlier today so I'm going to choose this as I actually love shortbread, especially when it has chocolate chips in it. This is star shaped so it's nice and festive!

10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year?

I have a lot of Christmas decorations but one of my friends got me this last year and it never got a chance to go on my tree so this was it's first year. It's so cute so I love it, but it's made of glass so I have to be careful with it incase my cat attacks the tree and breaks it (which he loves to do a lot).

11) What's at the top of your Christmas list this year?

I don't really have anything in particular that I want as I choose most of my presents so I already know everything I'm getting. I'll just say some good films and some nice smelling things from Lush. Or a keurig if anyone wants to get me one of those and ship it over since we don't sell them. I want one so bad!

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?

The same as every year, do the rounds of the family's houses and get lots of nice food. Family, friends and food are the best things for this time of year. Also, my annual Christmas party should be fun too! I love  making some nice food for that. FOOD!

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this post as I much as I enjoyed writing it for you all. I'm going to tag everyone in this post because I love to hear/read about anything Christmas/holiday themed so the more people who do it, the better! I particularly would like to hear from the following three people though....

Rebekah at Second Hand News

Christina at Starry Night

Claire at J'adore.

Blogmas Day 5 - MAC Creme Cup Lipstick Review

As mentioned in my November Favourites post, MAC's Creme Cup has been my favourite lip colour recently. I bought this during the Summer and used it a few times then, but I've been using it a lot more now. It's not the most Autumn/Wintery lip colour, but I love it. I also love that it's the exact same shade as the nail colour I'm wearing in this photograph, which is Fun in the Gondola by Essie.

It's a lovely nude/pink colour which is only just a bit lighter than my natural colour, so it's nice and subtle to wear on a daily basis.

If you're interested in this product, you can buy it for £14.00 by clicking here.

Blogmas Day 4 - November Favourites

That time again, my favourites of the month. I feel like I've used quite a few different things than what I'm used to this month because of the weather changing.

I got a new eyeliner this month since I started doing the Avon. I got one of their eyeliners as I had always used one of their glimmersticks back when I was in high school. It's called SuperShock and it's very, very black, exactly what I want in my eyeliner. For lip colour, again, it's my MAC Creme Cup which I've mentioned before. I've wore this pretty much everyday in November and it's looking to be the same in December. Another lip product I've been loving is my Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub. My lips are always super dry and they've got even worse in the cold weather so I've tried to use this at night before I go to bed. For nail colour, a nice festive colour, it's Jag-u-are by Essie, again. I've literally been wearing this colour for about 2 weeks solid now, and I just keep repainting it every time it chips.

Another favourite from Avon, and it's their Senses Sparkling 'Celebrate Me' shower gel. It's said to smell like Cassis, Rose and Amber. I don't know what that smells like, but I do know that it smells really good. I've been using this a good few times in the shower during the month of November, as well as my Lush products. For scents, my favourite has been one a fragrance mist from Victoria's Secret, called With A Kiss. I tried to repurchase this during my trip in New York but they don't seem to sell it anymore and I loved it. I'm so glad I kept around half the bottle from last year as it now reminds me of the holiday season. It smells like sparkling berries and magnolia flower if that helps anyone who hasn't smelt it before.

My food favourite for the month has been these Belgian Chocolate Flaked Truffles from Asda. Another one that I was obsessed with last year and I'm so glad they came back in this year, so good!

What were your favourites from the month of November? Any recommendations of anything new I should try?