NOTD: Trustafarian

I haven't worn nail varnish in such a long time let along blogged about it!  Is it possible to be to busy to even apply nail varnish?!  My nails were getting too long and I was going to cut them so I thought I may as well take advantage of them being long and paint them first.  I'm tempted to shape them into that stiletto style actually, it's grown on me! 

This is Butter London's Trustafarian which is a pale green with a sparkly golden holograph through it.  The holo is fairly subtle but catches the light beautifully - the photos don't do it justice!  I applied 3 coats although 2 would probably be fine.

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NOTD: Tippex Fingers

Since the trend of having white nails started sometime last year, I'd been tempted to try it out after deciding that it did actually look quite cool.  At first it just reminded me of painting my nails with Tippex when I was in primary school!

However I didn't get round to actually picking one up until recently.  I came across this one in the Topshop sale for £3 and it's more of an off-white which I feel is a good way to get me used to having white nails!  It's more warm and creamy so it isn't as harsh as plain white.  I think it will be good as a base for other nail polishes as well which will be handy.

This shade is called Blank but it may be discontinued seeing as it was in the reduced section.

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January Shopping Purchases!

Due to work, seeing family and generally just wanting to avoid January sales chaos, I didn't go shopping until the 9th of January.  I'm not a big fan of sales and would quite happily just look at all the new things instead of trying to hunt down a bargain.  However I do work in a shop which makes it much easier to pick out bargains and the first few two are as such!

I needed a new lunch bag to take to work as I'd had my other one for years and it was getting really tatty.  This is one of Ted Baker's mini shoppers which are £29 RRP but I ended up getting it for about £15 due to various discounts.  £15 is still a ridiculous amount to pay for a lunch bag but I really like it and it's very sturdy so it should last a long time hopefully!

I'm long overdue sorting out all my jewellery and having a big clear out so I bought some Stackers which are really handy jewellery boxes.  They come in different layouts so you just buy whatever you need.  These 3 would have cost £52 but in the sale with discounts it was only about £18!  As you can see I've already started sorting my earrings in the 2nd section, I can't wait to have everything organised.

These items I got using various gift cards I'd accumulated since my birthday and Christmas:

New Look - £12.99

New Look - £9.99 (edit: I actually had to return this as the back isn't lined!)

Topshop Joni Jeans - £36

New Look Necklace - sale £4

Topshop Nail Varnish in Venus Flytrap - £5

Topshop Nail Varnish in Blank - sale £3

I love La Senza pants but I only buy them in sale when they go down to £2, such a bargain!  Although they had a pretty rubbish selection this time sadly :(

I also went into Lush because between my boyfriend and his dad I have £30 to spend in there!  I'm hoping to make it last as long as possible!  I got 2 new items I've never tried before.  They are both vegan.

Blackberry Bath Bomb - £2.95

Figs and Leaves Soap - £3.40/100g

Finally I went into Paperchase as I was really needing a new diary and picked up this cute little one for £5 which I think is pretty good!

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Collection: Neon Nail Varnishes

Summer might well be over but who says you need to start wearing darker colours on your nails?!  I'm not really one for following seasonal nail colour trends, especially as I don't like having my nails very dark.  I will maybe have a couple of shades which would be particularly suited to that season but other than that I just go for whatever I feel like at the time.

Over the past year I have become a big neon fan and built up quite a nice wee collection!  I'll go through the colours I've got and add in any comments and full posts if available.

From left to right:

Nina Ultra Pro in Punki Pink - probably not CF.

Models Own Bubblegum - loved this in the summer!

Models Own Hedonist - at first I wasn't sure about this colour but saw it on someone's nails and loved it!

China Glaze Orange Knockout - I found the China Glaze ones didn't have as nice a finish as Models Own ones.

Models Own Beach Party - the brush came off so they sent me a new one which is actually darker, how odd!  My dad fixed the brush for me so now I have two...  I wonder if they look different colours on the nail?

Models Own Luis Lemon - love this, but haven't actually worn it yet...

China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise - An unusual neon, you don't often see turquoise.

Neons are notoriously difficult to try photograph but I've tried my best!  Swatched in the same order as above.

What are your favourite neon polishes?

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Nail Varnish Challenge #17

Here we go again! I'm actually nearly finished the Nail Varnish Challenge, yayy!  This is a nail varnish that I've had floating around my collection for a very long time now, but I don't think I've ever actually used it.

It doesn't even seem to have a shade on the bottle, and the brand is Babes...  erm?!  Is it from Claire's?  Anyway, it's a sort of smokey grey colour with some silver shimmer through it.  It is quite pretty but I don't see myself reaching for it again anytime soon so it's going in the out pile.

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Summer Favourites

Some of the items I've been loving this summer!

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Illamasqua Nail Varnish 'Haul' with Swatches

So remember I said I wasn't going to buy any more nail varnishes until I completed my nail varnish challenge?  Well, I lied.  It was an offer I couldn't resist!!

 

In case you hadn't noticed, over the Easter Weekend, Illamasqua carried out an 'Easter Hunt' game on their website where each day certain colours would be up to 50% off.  I really wanted them to do blushers but unfortunately they only did eyeshadows, nail varnish, pure pigments and lipsticks.  I took advantage of the nail varnish and pigment offers getting Hemlock (shown above) and Beguile.  I also really wanted (full price of course!) Pink Raindrops so I stuck that in the basket too!  Luckily I get student discount so I didn't pay full price for any items and paid just over £25 for the 3 bits - with free delivery.

I've never tried nail varnishes from Illamasqua before so I wasn't sure what they would be like.  I still haven't tried them on my nails yet but below are swatches of them both on a nail wheel.  I was a bit disappointed by Pink Raindrops to be honest, but maybe the sparkles will come to life with a top coat.  Hemlock is really pretty but obviously very sheer - I used two coats for each colour.  After first use I decided I hate the packaging!!  When I tighten up the square lids, they don't sit on straight and it makes me irrationally angry!  I love the Butter London packaging cos the lid comes off and there's a separate one underneath so the square lid always sits neatly - I think Illamasqua should consider that idea!

Just for fun I picked out a few colours I thought might look good with Hemlock on top, and I also put it over some of the ones which were already on the wheel so have a look below for those:

Nail Varnishes used in the first post were:

Nails Inc - The Southbank
Topshop - Hidden Treasure
Barry M - Silvery Lilac
Ciate - Skinny Jeans
Nails Inc - Haymarket

The other colours are from the neon Clubworks set I got for christmas.

I think it looks nice over the Ciate one, and the greens, orange and pink neon colours!  It adds an extra depth to the colour.

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Nail Varnish Challenge

I have so many nail varnishes that I haven't worn in years, and some I've bought and just haven't ever worn!  So I have decided to make an effort to wear these ones then I can decide whether I actually want to keep them or not.  I've dug this little pile out of my collection and put them aside.

I also think I have a couple from the mini sets that I've not worn and the other colours from this set:

 

I will try to avoid buying any nail varnishes until I've worn all of these - not sure how well I'll do in this but I'll have a go!

Wish me luck! Also feel free to join me in this challenge and if you do, leave a link below as I'd love to read it :)

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NOTD: The One That Got Away

Today I'm wearing The One That Got Away from the O.P.I. Katy Perry Collection (not CF).  It's a deep pink with similar coloured shimmer in it.  I probably wouldn't have picked out this one if it hadn't been in the mini set I got as it is quite generic pinky colour which I'd usually avoid.  However I do quite like it for a change, it's nice and shiny with a subtle shimmer!

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Clubworks: Got It Nailed Nail Decoration Set

I've mentioned this little set in a few posts.  I received this (along with another 2 sets) from my Secret Santa at work which is amazing because they are BUAV Approved so either it was lucky or they know me quite well!  As far as I can tell Clubworks is a Superdrug brand, although I have never actually seen it in store.  I think that it is a limited edition brand they bring out every Christmas, so apologies if you like the look of this and can't find it - you never know, it might be lurking around in a sale corner somewhere!

I have already worn the green on the far left which you can see here.  These colours are lovely and bright; this is with two coats, no topcoat.  They apply very well considering their price (the Secret Santa budget was £10).  My only complaint is with the two purpley shades, I think instead of the middle pink, they should have included a more neon pink to create more of a difference between the two.

Has anyone heard of this brand, or tried anything from them?

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Christmas Giveaway! [CLOSED]

The last giveaway I did was when I hit 100 followers on GFC and as I've not done one since I though it would be nice to do a Christmas one!!  Unfortunately this one is just going to be UK only as I think it will be heavy to post and also as it's close to Christmas the post gets rather manic!  Items included:

- Lindt Santas Sleigh

- Candy Cane

- Models Own Jack Frost nail varnish

- Linea Christmas Berry candle

- Lush North Pole soap

- Lush Northern Lights soap

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!!

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Recent Buys | Topshop & The Body Shop

I had been wanting a few bits so once I got birthday money I went on a wee shopping spree!  There are other things I bought too which I didn't think would be appropriate to include such as a wok (£5.99 from TK Maxx, what a bargain!) and a set of underwear (from the Rosie Huntington-Whiteley collection in M&S, so pretty!).

Firstly I went into Topshop as I was planning on getting some lipstick but I changed my mind and instead got 3 nail varnishes.  If you saw my previous post though you'll know how only 2 made it home safely :( The two which survived are Milkshake and Hat Trick!

Two coats on nail wheel

Then I placed an online order on The Body Shop website because they had 35% off all items and free P&P!  The main item I wanted was the Shimmer Waves blush/highlighter because it's the closest thing I've found to the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick!  I've only tried it once and it didn't blow me away but we'll see...

I decided to try one of the scrubs as I'm not a huge fan of body butter or anything but I do enjoy a good scrub!  I chose Mango and it smells amazing!!

They had lots of these lip balm things where each fruit had a different colour (similar to the Korres ones) and they were only £3 and the packaging is very cute!!  The one I got is Pomegranate and smells yummy!

Lastly I needed a new White Musk perfume.  This is my 3rd bottle!  They've changed the lid and it looks rather classy now.  They also sent me a sample of tree tree oil - is this for spots??

Another thing I got which is totally separate is some studs from eBay.  I got mine from here and they are the silver 12mm ones, only 99p for 100pcs!  They are actually perfect for what I wanted them for - I added them to the shoulders of my faux leather jacket as it was looking rather plain and boring haha!

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