Thursday, 21 July 2011

Cath Kidston inspired nails...

I don't think I've written a nail-related blogpost before, but I've received so many compliments on my nails today that I thought I'd share this look with you all.

The inspiration behind my current nail polish combo came - believe it or not - from my Cath Kidston shopping bag!  I love all things Kidston and so although the look may not be entirely office appropriate (or to everyone's taste), I love it nevertheless.

What do you think?

Please excuse the polka dots - I've lost my dotting tool so I created
these dots using a cocktail stick!

Base: Two coats of Barry M Nail Paint in Blue Moon (317)
Polka dots: Barry M Nail Paint in Matt White (66)
Topcoat: Barry M 3-in-1 Basecoat, Topcoat and Nail Hardener (54)

I have quite a collection of the Barry M Nail Paints now. I love their colour range and often treat myself to a couple of bottles (especially when they're on offer in Superdrug!). As ever, the quality of my most recent addition, Blue Moon, is right up there with the rest of them. 

The original inspiration - I think the colours I used are spot-on (groan!):

(Without flash)
(With flash)

I hope you liked it!

I've also worn a "beach hut" inspired look using these colours but didn't think to take any photos. 

I painted alternate nails with two coats of Blue Moon. I left them to dry and then drew a few thin vertical Matt White stripes over the top.

I then painted my remaining nails with two coats of Matt White and then drew the stripes in Blue Moon. I completed the look with a topcoat of the clear 3-in-1 and it was done. Easy to do and oh-so-summery!

xx

Saturday, 9 July 2011

Summer Favourites

I've never done a "Favourites" type post before, but as I love seeing "favourites" videos on good old YouTube and similar blogposts I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon too - as with everything blog-related I am way behind the times!

As much as I'd like to, I'm not going to be silly and promise a monthly favourites post - firstly, because sadly I don't have enough disposal income to be able to regularly buy lots of different beauty products to try, and secondly because I am boring a creature of habit and tend to repurchase the same products if they work for me!

I think I'll just call this a seasonal post ;)

Apologies in advance for the questionable picture quality - I think it's because I uploaded via Picasa.
Nivea After Sun - unfortunately a necessity as I managed to burn myself to a crisp last weekend... a classic case of "wind burn"! This doesn't really count as a regular favourite, but I've included it because I've used it so much lately.

No.7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes - I always stock up on these when Boots are running their No.7 £5.00 discount voucher promotion. These are hands-down the best wipes that I've tried and they don't leave my skin feeling tight afterwards. I'm not sure whether I would pay the full-price of £7.00 for them though.

No.7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser - I love, love, love this stuff! I'd been lemming after the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish for ages, and then I saw this No.7 version for a fraction of the price so thought I'd give it a try. It leaves my dry and sensitive skin feeling hydrated and amazingly soft. I use this around three times per week and it hasn't irritated my skin at all.

I still haven't tried the Liz Earle range so cannot compare the two, but I'm really happy with the No.7 cleanser. This is the second bottle that I've purchased. If I had to find a negative it would be that it only comes with one muslin cloth, but I buy extra muslin cloths from the baby aisle in Tesco to go with it (or you could use a normal flannel).

Shower stuff - The last bottle of my beloved Snow Fairy is almost gone so I'm currently using The Body Shop's Dewberry Bath & Shower Gel. I remember this scent from the 90's (showing my age here!) and it's light and fruity for summer.

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette - Since buying this a couple of months ago I've been using it pretty much every day for work (the middle row mainly).  I was lucky enough to be able to get hold of UD's Naked Palette when it was first released last year and I've used it to death. The Too Faced palette makes a nice change and I'd say that the quality is on a par with UD too.

No.7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturiser (Shade: Light) - Another repurchase. I always turn to this once the weather turns warmer and only wear my usual Revlon Colorstay when I go out for the evening. The only negative I've found with the tinted moisturiser is that I look somewhat orange if I apply too much, but it's fine as long as I use it with a light hand.

Soap & Glory Hand Food - I always carry this (travel size version) in my bag. I love the scent and it moisurises my hands nicely. Job done.

Missoni Acqua - my current summer perfume of choice. I alternate between this and Clinique's Happy, which I much prefer, but as I'm running out of Happy I'm using this every day. I'm rubbish at describing scents (so I won't bother trying) but something of Acqua reminds me of Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport For Women perfume.

To borrow Missoni's description of Acqua:  
Missoni Aqua is a fragrance of 'the beach, water and sunny summer of Sardinia'. The beginning is fresh and juicy with citrusy notes of bergamot and grape, united with melon and narcissus. The floral heart combines violet, peony, blue freesia, and lily of the valley. The base notes are iris, jasmine, and 'the sunlight which is sparkling on the surface of the open sea'.

Umm... yes.

 
Tigi Bed Head "Small Talk" - Forget mousse! This is the only thing that gives my limp, flat, flyaway hair some serious oomph! I use around half a pump on the midlengths through to the ends when my hair is wet, then blowdry and style.

Small Talk is supposed to smell of blueberries, but I smell bubblegum and actually I really like it!

A bottle of this stuff will seriously last you forever.

BaByliss Waving Wand - I also have the red BaByliss Conical Wand, which I adored until I got this. I find the Waving Wand MUCH quicker and easier to use as my long hair doesn't keep sliding down the barrel and overlapping like it does when I use the Conical Wand.

I'm really, really crap at doing hair but this makes glamorous hair a doddle (if I can master it anyone can!) and it's given me a lot more confidence when it comes to styling my hair. Overall, the Waving Wand gives a more natural look compared to the spiral curls that you get using the Conical Wand.

Adding some other things into the mix... I'm currently loving these too:
The Family (series 1) DVD - I missed this series of Channel 4's The Family when it was shown on TV, but my lovely friend Gemma (she tweets here) raved about it. I saw the DVD online recently and thought I'd give it a home! Oh my goodness I've been obsessed! IMO the Hughes family are definitely the best family to be featured so far (and I love their house too!). I'd love to see a catch-up episode to find out what they're all up to now.     Did any of you guys watch this? 

"I Heart Hollywood" by Lindsey Kelk - The second in the series of the "I Heart" series. I really enjoyed the first New York book (possibly because I'd been to NYC and was obsessed with the place!) and it made me desperate to return. So far this instalment is a good read and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out - I have the third "I Heart Paris" book ready and waiting!

Yankee Candle in "Creamy Caramel" - If you're a long-term reader of my blog you may remember this post from last summer - and I'm still loving Yankee Candles! I love anything toffee/fudge/banoffee related and this candle truly smells good enough to eat. I will definitely repurchase this again! 
Strawberries and Raspberries - Since starting WeightWatchers I've eaten more fruit than ever before (which is all good!). These are two of my favourite fruits and I have been buying punnet upon punnet of these lately - may as well make the most of them while they're in season :)

For an extra yummy treat I add a spoonful (or two) of Nutella. Oh so good!

I hope you enjoyed this post - something a little different from me!

Have you blogged or YouTube'd about your summer favourites? If so please leave me your links so I can have a nosey :)

Thank you for reading, have a good weekend xx

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

This is me, now (the return to blogging instalment)

Hello!

I hope that you are all well? Soo, here I am again! I've taken a very long break from blogging but have decided to take the plunge and write here again. I feel like "the new girl". Eeek!

I've still been reading blogs and honestly never intended on being away for so long... I'm astounded that I still have followers so a huge THANK YOU for sticking around :)

This used to be my regular "monthly round-up" post so I thought that I would start again with the old faithful to get me back into the swing of things. I hope you will excuse my lack of originality!  
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Listening... I still love 21 by Adele even though it's been out for ages. I like to really belt out the songs whilst driving home from work as it's a great way to de-stress! And I've just downloaded my first audiobook via Audible - and for my first book I chose "The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography" by Stephen Fry. I think he's great. I'd love to chat to him for hours.... well, in all honesty I'd probably stand there like an idiot hanging onto his every word and wondering if I dare join in the conversation, but you get the picture :) 

Reading... mostly blogs, lately. I've realised just how much I've missed writing down my musings on my little internet space!

Watching... aside from good old EastEnders, I've been absolutely ADDICTED to one particular YouTube vlog channel - LeFloofTV featuring the gorgeous Anna Saccone from The Style Diet, her fiance Jonathan Joly and their cute doggies, Sina and Albi. It used to be all about the Shaytards with me (and I still love watching them), but I find that I can relate to the LeFloofTV daily vlogs far better, as they live closer to home, in Ireland. Love that they vlog whilst grocery shopping in Tesco!

Buying... I finally have the Nikon D3000 DSLR that I've had my eye on for... ooh..two years? now. It was a complete impulse buy after seeing it massively discounted on Amazon recently - they had a promotion on lots of cameras and accessories, and I couldn't bear to miss out again. They had a similar offer last summer, and I'd kicked myself ever since for not getting it then. The price has increased again now, so I'm glad I went for it this time!

I just have to work out how to use it.... any advice welcome!

Wanting... - lame answer, because I can't think of anything else - to update this blog layout I think. It must have been a year since I last gave it a bit of a facelift.

Trying... to get back into my WeightWatchers programme. I started the ProPoints plan mid-March and have lost a stone and a half so far (21 lbs). I am now at my original goal weight, but would like to lose another half stone. I've had the last couple of weeks off WW due to going on holiday so I need to focus and get back into it!

Loving... the warm weather (but not the sunburn), the light evenings, the company of good friends, finally feeling somewhat content in my own skin.

Planning... my outfit for my friend Amy's wedding in a couple of weeks. Maxi dress shopping is not going too well so far. I also need to update my wardrobe, which is something that I've been putting off. This sounds weird, but it's strange being slimmer and not really knowing what size I am any more. I also have this fear of buying lots of new clothes only to regain the weight again. I can't carry on counting WW points and tracking what I eat forever. I know it's all about eating sensibly and learning to gradually "let go" of WW guidance but I'm really scared that I'll slip straight back into my old habits (if any of you have been in a similar situation, I'd love to hear how you felt towards the end of your weight-loss programme - any tips?)

Writing... a blogpost, finally - amazingly!

Cooking... I haven't baked a thing since I started WeightWatchers - too much temptation! I wish I could say that I've been really adventurous and have experimented cooking lots of different healthy meals... but I haven't, really. I completely fail at "proper" cooking. Yummy desserts are definitely where my (limited) cooking skills choose to appear!

Inspired by... catching up with blogs, amazing photography on Flickr, and my Aunty Sue who sees the good in every day despite living through the worst year of her life.

xx