Essie Mint Candy Apple

Essie Super Bossa Nova vs. Rimmel Shocker

I'm quite fussy about the colours I like on my toes, I like brights and mostly pinks or coral, having said that, I very rarely deviate from my favourite ever toe nail colour which is Rimmel 270 Shocker, I have been painting my nails with this vibrant blue toned shimmery pink for about 6 years, and I never ever intend on giving it up.  I have repurchased this colour numerous times, but occassionally I've found that it just hasn't been stocked - not that it has sold out, but there just wasn't a space for it.  This gave me palpitations, because a life without Shocker would be a sad life indeed.  I hope the day will never come that Rimmel takes my beloved colour off the shelves, but if it does happen I feel I need to be prepared so my search for a dupe began.  So when I was going a little bit wild for Essie colours I spotted this, Super Bossa Nova, and I couldn't believe my luck - it looks exactly like Shocker! Without so much as a backwards glance I made my purchase and couldn't wait to try it out.

Current Loves...

Book  White Wedding by Milly Johnson.  This woman writes the literary equivalent to chocolate, you just want to gobble them up and they make you feel soooo good (I think they're a smooth Galaxy...mmm Galaxy).  If you haven't read anything by her, you are missing out.  I read the whole book in a couple of days and then feel bereft once I've finished! 

Hand Product  Phenomen Oil by Jessica.  I love massaging this into my cuticles before I go to sleep so it can work its magic overnight.


Nail Varnish Essie Cute as a Button, it's just a gorgeous summery coral that lets me believe that it's June despite the torrential rain outside! Check out this post to see this nail varnish for more detail.

Face Product  Honey by Bees! Refer to this post if you want to know what I'm talking about!


Lip Product  Blistex Lip Massage This stuff smells absolutely divine and because it's Blistex you know it is doing you some good! I'm not sure that the 'massage' actually elevates the cracked and flakiness of my skin but for the smell I really do not care!

Hair Product Schwarzkopf got2b guardian angel 220C heat protection  it makes your hair feel so silky, and it sprays in a fine mist which is nice.

Food  Percy Pigs from M&S.  Enough said.

Website  YouTube  I spend hours watching beauty video after beauty video and never get bored! and Blogger.com of course, because I am officially addicted! 

Music  The Lateness of the Hour by Alex Clare this album is just amazing and has got to be played loud! Check out the YouTube video below! 

What are your current favourite things? 

x

My first try of O.P.I

So as you may know if you read (this post), I recently made my first OPI Nail Polish purchases! I have always been put off by the extremely high price, and the fact that I haven't found many places that stock it, so I have been left to lust over it via the internet (wow that sounds so wrong!).  This all changed when I went to Sally's which is a trade only beauty supplier...you have to take proof of your college course and ID and all sorts, it feels a bit like getting into MI5 rather than a shop!

These pretty awful pictures are of I Eat Mainely Lobster which a a gorgeous bright orangey coral with a gold shimmer.  I've got to admit that the shimmer is more visible in the bottle than it is on the actual nails but hey ho, you can't have it all! I always think a good way to test a nail varnish (or any beauty product for that matter) is to see if anyone comments on it, so I was thrilled when the lady at Boots told me she loved my nail varnish - it was an automatic winner in my eyes!

I have to admit that it did take three coats to reach a full opacity and even then I'm not sure if that there were no 'dark patches' (do you know what I mean, when it looks a little thinner in places), but overall I loved the finish, and I felt like I was walking around with a little bit of summer attached to my nails.

I love the packaging of O.P.I nail varnishes, they just look so luxurious because I associate them with beauty salons, so it feels like a real treat to have some of these bottles nestled among my collection of pretty regular varnishes.

What do you think of O.P.I? Are there any colours that I really ought to get my hands on?

x

Proud new owner of...

I am now the proud owner of three beautiful shades from O.P.I (well two really, and Alpine Snow to do french tips with).  I am so excited to finally have got my hands on some, because I have been lusting over them for literally years.  I have never been able to bring myself to part with the money that O.P.I ask for their polishes but now I can buy from trade suppliers (because nail painting is now my profession) I can get them...and this makes me ridiculously happy. I do believe that you'll be seeing  a lot more of these as I don't think I'll be able to hold myself back! 

The colours I went for are: Left - Dutch Tulips which is a deep pinky red. Middle - I Eat Mainely Lobster which is a really bright orangey coral pink with a hint of shimmer. Right - Alpine Snow which is a pristine white which I'll probably mostly use for French Manicures and to do nail art.

What do you think of O.P.I? Are they worth the money? And do you own any?

x

Essie: Cute As A Button

I am utterly obsessed with corals and pinky peachy tones at the minute; I think they just capture summer on your nails! This has lead me to own quite an excessive number of aforementioned polishes so I'm slowly trying to work my way through them and do a bit of a comparison. 

This is my first try of Essie nail varnish, and I was so excited to try it after reading so much on beauty blogs and hearing my idols such as Tanya Burr and Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter rave about them! Tanya inspired me to go for Cute As A Button as it just looks so gorgeous on her! 

As you can see from the pictures I went a little bit overboard on the coral yesterday, but Cute As A Button matched my skirt PERFECTLY so it had to be done! 

I used Sally Hansen Double Duty as my base coat and top coat (available at boots) because  I think a base coat is essential when you paint your nails regularly and with bright or dark colours...nobody wants to look like they've been smoking 40 a day! I applied two coats to my toe nails and didn't bother with a top coat (I rarely do on my toes) and the result is a gorgeous milky peach tone which I adore.  The addition of a third coat and a top coat added extra vibrancy and depth and the result is lovely.  I did wake up with sheet marks on my nails this morning though which is very irritating as I painted my nails hours before bed, but maybe I rushed into putting the top coat on?! 

I think the photos make it seem more orangey/red than it does in real life, but the photos were taken on my iPhone I'm afraid so not a lot I can do.

The consistency of this nail varnish is lovely, and I am really looking forward to trying out some other shades from Essie. 

Essie is now available from Boots and Superdrug and I would highly recommend Essie as a brand if the other shades are as luxurious as Cute As A Button.

I think that this polish is pretty comparable to Pink Flamingo (blog post about it here) from Barry M, and at £2.99 a pop it is a cheaper alternative (Essie is retailing at £7.99). 

Have you tried out any Essie polishes? Which is your favourite shade? And what is your all time favourite coral?

I hope you're all having a great day

xxx

the maxi skirt is from Fat Face, and I love it! 

Make Do and Mend - Revamped Nail of the Day!

My Nails Inc. New York hot pink manicure (blog post on it here) was looking a bit tired the other day, but I really couldn't be bothered to take it all off, then repaint them so I decided to just do a bit of a make do and mend jobby instead! I simply slapped another coat of New York over the top to cover any chips (my nails are seriously weak so my nail varnish chips after a day or two regardless of the quality!) and I then got a pin and my trusty Revlon White on White and simply blobbed four or five white dots diagonally over my nail...simples!! When I do things with my right hand (my wrong hand if you get me) I'm a bit like an infant troll might be with regard to my command over objects - such as pins with white paint -  but I was surprisingly impressed with my attempt! I then popped a slick of top coat to seal the deal and hey presto they looked good as new (but better!) and provided me with a couple of days of fun nail art!!   Simple but very effective! I think I might start doing this more often as it is so much easier than starting all over again, and I am so up for the simple life! 

What do you do to get the most out of your manicure? Or are you just not as lazy as me?

xxx

NOTD: New York

This is a beautiful vibrant and opaque fuchsia/hot pink nail varnish by Nails Inc. it is the shade 150 New York and I adore it. It isn't shimmery but the high shine makes it look bright and really 'polished'.  I got this nail varnish two years ago during the time Nails Inc and Diet Coke hooked up, and despite being well loved in that time the consistency has not changed and it is still a joy to use. I find it wears well and looks so smooth and luscious on my nails, it also dries pretty quickly which I think is really important in a nail varnish because who has time to sit around for hours?! 

I get a lot of compliments on this colour, which nail varnish gets you the most attention? 

xxx

What I'm loving...

Don't get me wrong I love make up and products of all kinds but to be honest, sometimes writing about them takes more effort than my brain is willing to cough up (taking and uploading photos, trying to construct sentences that are remotely understandable etc) so today I thought I'd give my brain a break and just fill you in on bits and bobs.  


So without further ado, what I'm loving at the moment:


- Song -  Sail by Awolnation my brother kept playing this a couple of weeks ago and I simply got hooked, so I like to listen to it often.  The louder the better! 


- Drink - Aero Hot Chocolate, I know it's naughty but boy oh boy this stuff if gooooood! So so creamy and delicious! 


- Food - The Good - Pink Grapefruit, I love them, so sour but yet so sweet and a wonderful way to wake me up when I feel like a zombie (and they taste better when someone else cuts around the segments for you - fact!)
           - The Bad - doughnuts I am in serious danger of getting some form of restraining order dished out by bakeries nation wide...I just can't control myself!


- Nail Varnish - Barry M Berry Ice Cream see my blog post on it here

- Moisturiser - Body Shop Body Butter in Raspberry it truly is the stuff dreams are made of, and I'm going to have to do a separate blog post on it! 


- Random thing - Ice - I am addicted to ice, which might seem like the craziest thing to be addicted to, but I really am.  Like properly addicted (I will eat the ice left at the bottom of my friend's drinks, and I once just started eating the snow on top of a hedge when walking to uni with my friend (rightly so, she slapped me, called me a freak and then walked 10 paces in front of me)) Oh, this really has made me sound like a right mentalist, I'm not always like this I promise.


Anyway thanks for reading my random post, I hope it was interesting (and if not interesting then console yourself with the fact you're probably a lot more sane than I am!)




xxxx

Pink Flamingo

I am officially addicted to nail varnish. I will willingly admit that I have far too many shades of pink that are not different enough to warrant having so many of them, know this as I might it doesn't seem to stop me from wanting (and buying) more more more!!  I literally think I have a problem, sometimes I wont even look as I pick them up and throw them in my basket like a crazed nail polish junkie! 


Funnily enough though, since I started doing manicures in my course and therefore have to practice, I don't really like painting my nails any more.  I used to paint my nails all the time and now I really have to force myself! It's a bit like when I did English A Level I guess and I suddenly seemed to lose the ability to read even though the books were novels I would have ordinarily wanted to read!


I love this Barry M shade, 305 Pink Flamingo, it's just really fun, bright and girly.  I love it in summer and I think it really enhances your tan and even though I only have a tiny bit of colour at the moment (it's only April I guess!) it made my tan seem nicer somehow! 

Listening to - Under The Driftwood Tree, If Only If 

Reading - The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley