Nail Varnish Challenge #18

I'm nearly finished my Nail Varnish Challenge!  There's only about 3 or 4 left in my box, yay!  This is The Serpentine from Nails Inc which described as a "muted navy slate" on their website, which I think is a perfect description.  Although this is isn't a colour I'd normally wear - it's a bit dark - I do quite like it.  However I found it shrunk quite a lot with Seche Vite and chipped even more quickly than normal on my nails!  Despite this unfortunate occurrence, I think I'll hold onto this one, I do have one other navy but it's more shimmery so this is a bit different.

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Summer Wedding

On the 20th July one of my close friends got married!  I absolutely love weddings and was so excited for it.  I hadn't actually started looking for a dress yet when I came across this one - I just saw it in work one day and fell in love!  When I first saw it I wasn't sure if it was actually nice or if I was just being crazy, but after seeing it a few times I knew I had to get it.  I first saw it on a Thursday and by the Saturday the 8 had sold out!  I tried on the 10 (which was enormous, usually it would be fine but oh god, it drowned me!) just to see if I liked how it looked on me before starting to search for it.  I had said the the Coast manager that I was wanting it and to let me know if anything came in, then a couple of weeks later the she came over to let me know one 8 had just became available online, so I just bought it there and then (I was still working, shh!).  

My next concern was that it would be too big as well, some Coast dresses come in a size 6 but this one didn't, and I've got a size 8 in a different style which is a tiny bit big - it's strapless so not much to hold it up!  However when it arrived it fitted, albeit a bit tight round the middle (what?!), so I was delighted!  

Usually I get wedding guest dresses in the sale - cheap, yes - so it was a bit of a shock for me having to pay full price but it was definitely worth it!  It was also a bargain (considering it's Coast!) at only £95, and then I got staff discount.

The final issue was what to wear with it!  You can't see it too much but there's black tubing around the neck and arms which was annoying...  It was quite good in the end as the only thing I had to buy accessories wise were the shoes which were only about £16 from New Look, everything else I already owned.  It was so hot that day as well, so glad I didn't wear a blazer or something!

I kept my make up very simple with neutrals and then liquid liner, and used a pinky/nude lipstick.  For my hair, I just tonged it the night before and went over any straighter bits in the morning, then pinned the front sections back.

Dress - Coast

Pashmina - Debenhams

Bag - ASOS

Shoes - New Look

The beautiful bride and her husband!

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Room Tour!

A tour of my slightly messy bedroom...

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Empties #11

Here we are again with another set of 5 items I've used up recently.  It feels so strange not to be going back to some sort of education this year... Not sure how I feel about it!  I've given up looking for a graduate job in the meantime, trying to find one when you don't have first class honours just feels like a waste of time...

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm

Thoughts: I really liked this cleanser!  I mentioned it in more depth in this post about my night time skincare routine.  Basically it just feels amazing and I would buy it again!  It's £37 though so I am going to try a different one now, I'm thinking the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter one!  £37/50g here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

Herve Leger Femme Perfume

Thoughts: I got this from Avon years ago.  It does smell really nice but obviously Avon are not cruelty free, I'm sure it was limited edition anyway.  I've also got the summer version which I am using at the moment.

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Liz Earle Brow Pencil in Dark

Thoughts: You can read my full review here but in short I really like this and it's now my go-to brow product.  £11 here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes, already have!

The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel

Thoughts: I took this travelling with me as it was a good size for hand luggage.  It smelled good, I would buy the bigger version.  £2/60ml here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

O.P.I Nail Lacquer in Fiercely Fiona 

Thoughts: I got this in the Shrek Forever After collection.  I liked the colour, it's a nice semi-pastel yellow which you can see swatched here.  It ended up getting really gloopy and the brush wasn't long enough so in the end I had to pour it onto a piece of card so I could paint my nails with it!

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

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NOTD: Speckles!

This week I took another break from my Nail Varnish Challenge and tried out this little Illamasqua number I've had lying around for months!  I think I got this back in May when they did one of their amazing promotions.  I ended up getting it for just under £6!!!  In general I think Illamasqua are a little bit overpriced but they certainly make up for it by doing 50% off promotions and having really good sales!

I'm so pleased I got this.  I don't really like any of the other colours from the I'mPerfection collection, but this one is lovely.  I've used 2 coats and got an opaque finish.  I was worried the sequinny bits might be hard to spread evenly but they weren't too bad.  I have a couple of more 'bald' areas (see ring finger) but I guess that's part of the charm as well!

I've just had a look on Illamasqua's website and this shade has been discontinued!! :(

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: What's In My Bag?

An updated video on what's in my bag!  You can see my old one here.

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Thoughts on Superdrug + Mini Haul

So ages ago I wrote this post about why I avoid Superdrug...  Incase you've not read it and can't be bothered, it's basically about how Superdrug give money to Cancer Research UK, who test on animals.  I know that animal testing for medical reasons is a whole different kettle of fish but I just think that it's a bit sneaky of them since a lot of vegans can shop there quite happily now, without realising they're contributing to this.  I know generally this won't bother most people but being cruelty free, I wasn't too pleased about it!  Since finding this out I have tried to avoid Superdrug but I haven't boycotted them completely. 

However, since discovering that Boots own brands aren't cruelty free I've struggled to find the cosmetic basics such as nail varnish remover, hair removal, hair dye etc.  So I've decided to go back to Superdrug for the time being and make use of their BUAV Approved own brands.  Obviously I'm still not loving the whole donating to charity part but never mind.  

Another reason is my deodorant dilemma!  Trying to find a cruelty free anti-perspirant that actually works is a bloody nightmare.  There are so many deodorants out there but they don't actually keep you dry, just make you smell nice instead...  I don't particularly want to go back to high street ones but if I need to I will.  I'm hoping that Superdrug can help me out with this!  I just wish they did stick deos though, those are my favourite!

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On my most recent trip to Superdrug I bought a big can of deodorant for 99p - super cheap compared to Sure and the likes; some hair removal cream (£1.99) and some cheap wee body sprays (2 for 99p).  I'm sure you'll see all of these in my Empties posts at some point in the future, but if you would like me to review one or more in particular then just let me know!

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: The Movies Tag

The Movies Tag, questions in the down bar.

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