Saturday 30 August 2014

Pink pyramids

I had seen a design similar to this and have been wanting to try it out forever. However, I now can't find the blogger that I recreated - if anyone recognises the design let me now who's it is! 
Using: OPI - natural base, Sally Hansen - White on, Jessica - pink explosion and Kiko - top coat. 
I love this design but hate my clean up on this! 
I did not get great pictures of it, such a bummer when that happens. The camera doesn't capture how neon these really are. 
I am in love with neons at the moment so was loving the bold nails. 
Definitely going to do another neon design this week.
Getting those last summer nails in! 
Happy weekend blogging world.
xox



Wednesday 27 August 2014

Pathetic fallacy

I haven't done a simple swatch in a while so here is OPI - Emotions, it is part of the Liquid Sand collection that I am obsessed with.
It was a dull, rainy day and I had recently got this for £3 at TKMaxx so thought what better time to try it out. I used one coat and wasn't too impressed with the texture and the coverage but with another coat it looked great. 
This is one of my favourite colours from the collection, it seems to change in every light. It also looks quite smart without the boring classic black colour. 
It is a fine base coat for more nail art - which I did on top. 
This polish didn't seem to be a nightmare to get off cuticles - or take off all together. I didn't stain which you would expect so that was a nice surprise! 
Basically, I love it you should buy it. (But not full price - we all know the bargain are out there) 
xox



Tuesday 26 August 2014

POTW - Dramatically amazing moisturising lotion

POTW returns again. 
This time it's Clinique's - Dramatically different moisturizing lotion. 
I have dry/very dry combination skin - my cheeks are always extremely dry. I have tried so many moisturisers before splashing a bit of cash and going brand. I now don't know what I would do without with amazing product. It is about £15 however, I get it from an outlet store so it comes without a pump and is much cheaper. It is worth every penny of full price though, a little goes a long way and the bottle is pretty big. 
I use this every evening and sometimes in the morning if my skin feels particularly dry. However, when I use lots at night my skin still feels great and moisturised in the morning. Unlike other products I've tried that make my skin feel just as dry in the morning as it did at night. 
In terms of using this product with make up - I wear it under my foundation (if I choose to wear foundation, which is rarely) I use Estee Lauder double wear foundation (amazing product) and the moisturiser works great with it, doesn't make it look oily and doesn't give me spots. 
I also use Smashbox CC cream when I don't want such a heavy foundation - I mix the moisturiser with this and it makes the CC cream so much lighter, whilst still giving great coverage.
The moisturiser doesn't give me spots, even when I apply a thick layer if my skin is horribly dry at the time. I never want to over moisturise incase it makes my skin oily - Clinique have this spot on, no oiliness at all! 
I highly recommend this product for those suffering with super dry skin - it has worked so many wonders with mine. I have already stocked up on more bottles for the future. I am keen to try out more of their products because it has worked so well.
Any products that anyone recommends? 
xox



Monday 18 August 2014

Inspired by my best friend

I decided it was time to share my beautiful furry friend with the blogging world, so I did a simple mani inspired by Daisy my gorgeous 10 year old dog. 
For this mani I used: OPI - natural base coat, ELF - Desert haze and Sally Hansen - White on. 
I'm not going to lie this took me forever because it kept going wrong! I hate it when the most simple mani is sometimes the most frustrating because we want perfection. 
I have no idea why they all kind of look different colours - I think I may have done more coats on a few - oops. 
I went for half moon nails because Daisy is a cross between a Whippet, Yorkshire Terrier and a Jack Russell - quite a mix. I liked the colours together and it is like the colouring of her fur. She is the most adorable, cuddly, happy dog and brings so much happiness to my family. I couldn't help but share a few pictures. 
xox




POTW

YAY! POTW (product of the week) is back. Here to inform and review on a monday evening. 
So, I've seen many bloggers trying and saying great things about the Garnier Micellar cleansing water. Cleansing water is taking the world by storm - I have read that some brands are being sold worldwide around every 6 seconds! That's good enough for me to give it a go.
This was on offer when I got it - bonus at £4 and with over 200 uses for one bottle it was such a great price.
For anyone who doesn't know what Micellar cleansing water is - it contains surfactants which can be found in shampoo and soaps. The surfactants make water and oils interact with each other - thus, ensuring make up is removed effectively. 
The micellar water is basically just soapy water but without irritating the skin.
I have often been pretty lazy with make up removal (especially in the winter months) and just use a make up wipe then some cleanser and moisturiser, but obviously this gave me pretty bad skin. During the summer I don't wear any foundation and only a little mascara so it's great for giving my skin a breather. This water is so gentle on the skin - it irritates my skin less than water does.
It gives a great, smooth finish and my skin doesn't feel tight as it would with most cleansers. 
Because of the soapy consistency it removes eye make up without smudging at all - I hate this with other brands. I always squeeze out more than I need so I tend to get it in my eyes which is a painful process every night. This water doesn't hurt my eyes at all which I absolutely love about it.
It is great at taking general dirt off the face too, I feel like it gets deep into the pores and shifts all the nastiness away!
I highly recommend the Garnier Micellar cleansing water, it is such an affordable price, so easy to use and leaves a lovely clean feeling on the skin.
I cannot think of any negative comments about this product! 
I'm going to get another bottle so they don't sell out on me.
xox
(I didn't really do great with the editing - my grass looks a little bit on the brown side!)




Thursday 14 August 2014

A little boxed miracle

I have seen so many bloggers talking about the Orly nail rescue and I'm not going to lie... I break my nails often so I was eager to see what it had to offer. 
First thing I noticed is how easy it is to use. The steps are super simple and quick.


Here is my tragedy but all shall be fixed in a minute. 
 After removing any base coat. I applied the orly nail glue to the broken area. It didn't stink like most nail glues which was a big plus for me - I hate the smell. It didn't stick to the side of my skin when I went over my nails. This annoys me so much with normal glue so this was also a bonus. 
 I then dip the glue into the powder immediately and let it dry. Also, this pot will last a life time - barely any comes off on the nails. 
 At first I filed off the glue too quickly and it sort of smudged off. So, wait a few minutes until it dries then file really lightly just to get off any excess glue or smooth out any bumps. It does not give a completely smooth finish so if that's what you are looking for with this product you will need to use a buffer of your own. This didn't bother me much because I used liquid sand over the top. 
 Tadaaaaah! All fixed for now. I love how it worked out so far, I've only had it on a day but it is looking good! I would recommend this product for people who have regular breaks to their nails and are looking for a quick fix when fed up of using up all their tea bags! If you have really weak nails this could be a good way to strengthen them up a bit, preventing breaks.  
I hope this was of a little help and I am loving the product so far!
xox


Wednesday 13 August 2014

A sandy chevron

Another chevron design... I'm a little obsessed. Hopefully this passes soon and I can start creating different designs! 
However, I wanted to use as many new polishes as I could get in one mani.
Using: OPI - Natural base coat, OPI liquid sand - Solitaire, Sally Hansen - White on, Sally Hansen - Lacey lilac and Kiko - Top coat. 
I did use Sally Hansen - Big matte top coat but it did not look as good as I had envisioned, so shiny top coat went on top.
First things first, if you do not own an OPI liquid sand - find a clearance and get one! It is just the coolest polish I own and I am in love! 
As for the rest of the mani - I like the idea of my design but I'm not loving it as much as I would hope! 
Nevertheless it is a simple and pretty quick mid week mani.
Check out my Orly review which will be up tomorrow.
xox



Sunday 10 August 2014

Massive American Haul

Some of you may know that I've been in America the past few weeks - the reason behind my lack of posting. However, I did not come home empty handed so this post will be showing off my new purchases.
I cannot believe how cheap everything is in the US, every year I go back and forget! You American blogging lot get it so cheap. 
These products are from; Victoria's Secret, Sally's, Walgreens, Target,  Tjmaxx and dollar tree. All of the polishes I got were on offer - there is no other way to buy polish in my opinion. 
I had saved a long time to get all these products and stuck to the list I made very well (surprisingly)
Leaving polishes last (from left to right) the other products I got were;
Dermalogica, Dry skin kit - absolutely amazing stuff. The only products that got rid (and kept away) my teenage spots. It is ridiculously expensive in the UK but I picked this up for around $35. 
Naked Palette 3 - been on my list for months. Only used it once but am loving the fact all the colour work together. 
Orly nails rescue - heard great things about this so couldn't resist, can't wait to see how it works. 
Orly spritz away - I needed a new polish dryer and it looked pretty good.
Orly nail lacquer thinner - I was fed up of putting polish remover in my polishes to make them thinner I wasn't sure if I was making them better or worse. So it was time for some proper thinner. 
Victoria's Secret - Passion struck, Sheer love and Amber romance. Adore these my fave is Amber Romance! 
Lastly at the front - Maybelline - colour show fashion prints, Essie - sleek stickers (love love love the print on these) and some simple dotting tools. 


Onto polishes and names! 
Sinful colours - we no longer get this in the UK we had it for a few weeks and then it vanishes. So upsetting so I got some basic colours of theirs. 
Jolly, Dream on, Teal the end, High strung and 24/7. 
Sally Hansen - Big Matte Top coat (want this for so so long!) Colour foil - Titanium flush and Leaden Lilac. I had no idea these existed until I found the clearance section in Target. They look amazing in the bottle! Xtreme wear - White on and Lacey Lilac. Finally, Lady lavender. I went a bit lilac crazy with the Sally's polishes. 
Orly - Retro red and Live wire. 
Essie - Come here - looks a beautiful deep pink. 
OPI liquid sand - Pussy Galore (what a name) and Solitaire. I am so in love with liquid sand and both at only $8 it was an absolute dream. I cannot wait to try them but want my nails to grow a little longer first.
Finally onto the massive ELF collection I acquired. So the deal was 15 polishes for $6 I just couldn't not. I have never tried ELF polishes so they could be really bad or really good. Left to right the names are; Gold star, Mango Madness, Wedding bells, Desert haze, Nude, Blush, Raspberry sorbet, Gina girl, Purple dream, Purple pleaser, Sea escape, Love me, Smoking hot and High tide. 
So, that's my BIG American haul, I am so happy with all these products and cannot wait to try them out.
Some stamping on its way in the coming weeks too.
I'm happy to be back.
Have a great relaxed Sunday nail peeps. 
xox 

Monday 4 August 2014

Salon nubs

Today's post I did not do myself!
I am still in America so don't have my polishes with me to create a design of my own (however I do now own so much more polish, post coming up) So, here are the nails I got done at a salon. 
Following a tragic bowling session causing literally all my nails to break, I decided it was time to start fresh so I actually allowed them to file my nails right down. I forgot how easy they are to manage when short! 
Because they are so short I decided to go with a light colour, I think it looks best on nubs! 
The polishes used were; Essie - Marshmallow and OPI - Happy Anniversary. 
I couldn't get a great pictures of these but the OPI sparkle is so nice. It looks different in every light. 
I was a little annoyed that they cut my cuticles really poorly, They are now splitting and tearing but that will repair pretty quickly.
A post coming up soon about all the nail goodies I've bought. 
Thanks for sticking around even with a lack of posts.
xox