Allow me to re-introduce myself...

Hey guys!

Long time no blog! I believe it's been almost 2 years since I uploaded my last post! The last 2 years have been one of the most stressful times of my life. I was in my final year of university and then had a year of on the job training but I'm happy to say it's all over and with great success!!!!

I've missed blogging and have lots to blog about. I'm planning to revamp my blog as it's well overdue and I feel as I move onto a new stage of life, my blog should reflect this. The main revamp will be regarding the type of posts. This blog started as a place for me to display my love of nail art but I haven't painted my nails since last year for my graduation! Sadly, due to my type of work, I can't wear nail varnish so I only really can paint my nails when I'm on annual leave which would mean very few blog posts. Therefore, I'm planning to write more lifestyle posts and expand my beauty related posts.


 

I've been doing a lot of shopping (nothing new) so expect many reviews and hauls. I'm also going off to Italy soon so I'll hopefully be blogging my trip. If you have any suggestions make sure to leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

I hope you guys can forgive me for the 2 year hiatus and will stick around for the new and upgraded blog! :)

x x

Blue Mani

Hey guys

This week's mani has been created with 2 shades of blue. I created this mani using polishes from my recent haul.

As I've been having less me time when it comes to my nails I've really been loving simple designs. My nails have been growing to a decent length again which also helps spruce up the design.

 

I've been really impressed with these polishes. Despite no top coat ( I ran out of both my top coats) they remained chip free for a good 4 days which I honestly can't remember the last time a nail polish had achieved that!

Thanks for reading!

TK Maxx beauty haul

Hey guys

It's been ages since I've done a haul (and not because I haven't been shopping...) so I thought it's about time I did one!

Recently I visited TK Maxx and managed to find some good deals. I know people often rave about the bargains they've bought from TK Maxx but I must admit I'm not really one for TK Maxx. A shop where everything is technically all on sale should be my idea of heaven but I have to be in a particular mood for TK Maxx and even then I normally just make it as far as the beauty and accessories section and then I'm done.

My first buy was a 7 piece bamboo brush set by Japonesque for £12.99. I've never tried this range or heard of it so it's a bit of a risk but I have previously used bamboo brushes and have found them to be good and super soft so I'm hoping these are too. This set contains a powder brush, foundation brush, eye shadow brush, concealer brush, angled liner brush, eye shadow crease brush and a lash & brow comb.

The rest of my buys were (predictably) for my nails. I must admit they aren't really autumn shades but when I was buying them I was in denial. (Yes I'm a beauty blogger who hasn't been excitedly waiting for autumn).

I picked 3 Revlon nail polishes and a Nails Inc polish. 

 These were £2.99 each.

The Revlon polish was £3.99 and the Nails Inc polish was £4.99.

I also then picked up a glossy top coat and a matte top coat. I have heard good things about Orly topcoats but didn't fancy paying £11.50 each for them so when I saw that these were £3.99 each I quickly picked them up. And conveniently, I had run out of both type of topcoats so for once I bought things I actually needed!

I hope you've enjoyed reading my haul. If you've recently splurged as well do let me know! I need people to make me feel less guilty about my buys... haha

Thanks for reading!

MoYou Manicure Monday

Hey guys!

I apologise for the lack of posts (again). I've been trying to prepare a lot of stuff for my final year at university so have barely had any time to blog. 

Some of you may have read my previous post on MoYou's stamping kit and this manicure has been created using their kit.

I must admit, I barely do stamping nail art but I'm not quite sure why as they are a super easy way to get beautiful and intricate designs.

I recently received 2 new stamping plates and a nail polish and thought it would be a good opportunity to to try another stamping design.

Normally the kit would contain a scraper and stamp but since I have previously received them, this package came without.

As purple is my favourite colour, I'm a sucker for purple packaging and totally love the envelope in which the stamping plates were enclosed in. 

They also enclosed their most recent catalogue which features all their products and the range of stamping plates available. I've already seen a few that I'm tempted to treat myself to.

As I mentioned, I love the colour purple and oddly enough I don't own a dark purple nail polish so I obviously had to choose the Royal Purple* shade.

I chose these two plates (number 124 and 120). Plate 124* would create such a feminine, beautiful design. Plate 120* would be great for Christmas manicures!

 

This manicure was created using Plate 124. I used the MoYou polish as the base and then used a nude nail polish on the plate to create the design.

I'm loving the nail polish as it doesn't chip easily (I haven't used a top coat) and it also has a matte finish to it so I didn't need to use my top coat.

Overall, I'm loving this. I have tried other stamping kits which have sucked, which I think is one of the main reasons why I don't do stamping designs often but I have no complaints with this one.

I highly recommend it to create affordable, easy, beautiful and fun manicures. Make sure to check out their website.

If you have any stamping designs do leave your link below as I'd love to check them out!

Thanks for reading! x x

Marbled Nails + Mini Update

Hey guys!

Firstly, I must apologise for the 2 month hiatus my blog surprisingly took. It wasn't planned at all but I ended up having a super busy summer and I didn't have time to blog but now I'm back and hopefully will be getting up posts regularly! 

To get myself back into a blogging routine I've decided to do a nail art post (of course). I'm super happy to do this as the places I've been working do not allow nail polish so it has been a hard and sad time for a nail polish addict like me. But to be honest, it's getting me used to life post university as my desired career unfortunately won't allow me to wear nail polish anyway.

I've always wanted to try water marbled nails but it looks like it needs quite a bit of patience which I don't really have time for at the moment so I found a sort of cheat way to get marbled nails. 

 These are the polishes I used to create this effect. I painted my nails half and half with each colour and then used a match (because I had no cocktail sticks at home) and to create the spiral effect.

This has got to be one of the easiest nail art designs I have done and I love the result It also has a kind of metallic finish to it but that might just be due to the colour combo. I then used my matte top coat to finish off the design.

If you would like a tutorial for this design do let me know. You can tweet me or leave a comment below.

If you have any marbled designs of your own (water or non-water) do leave the link below as I would love some inspiration as I seem to be loving marbled designs at the moment! 

Thanks for reading!!!

Courting Trouble*

Hey guys

I apologise for the lack of regular posts. I've been very busy with work and life and just haven't had the time to sit down and blog but I'm back this week with a book review.

I came across Courting Trouble by Kathy Lette whilst browsing NetGalley and was received approval for a copy.

 Description

Tilly has the day from hell when she's sacked from her barristers' chambers in the morning, then finds her husband in bed with her former best friend in the afternoon. She escapes to her mother, Roxy - a sassy solicitor whose outrageous take on men, work and family life is the despair of her more conventional daughter. Roxy comes up with a radical plan for their future - they'll set up an all-female law firm which will only champion women who have been cheated, put upon, attacked, ripped off or ruined by the men in their lives.

In court, Tilly finds herself up against Jack Cassidy, the smooth-talking, politically incorrect, legal love god who broke her heart at law school. Jack is fluent in three languages – English, sarcasm and flirtation… but if he's so loathsome, then why is she committing Acute Lust in the 3rd degree?

When a case lands on the doorstep that threatens to change all their lives, Tilly finds herself dangerously close to taking the law into her own hands… Will Jack's cunning ways and expertise in emotional break and enter derail her quest for justice? Or will the women take on the boys… and win?

Thoughts

When I read the description I wasn't quite sure how I would find this book as it's quite different to what I usually read (it's more of what I would watch) but since I'm trying to read different type of books I decided to try it. And I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. This is the first book I've read of Kathy Lette and it probably won't be my last. She has a hilarious, sarcastic, witty way of writing which is just my kind of humour.

Another reason why I liked this book is that it's taken an important, relevant topic about women equality and made it relatable. This is a must read especially if you're all for feminism and women equality!

You can find this book at Amazon and is available to pre-order.

Sweet Manicure

Hey guys

Today's manicure has got to be one of my recent favourite. It isn't particularly difficult but I just love the classic-ness (not a word) of it.

It's just a simple nude polish with a hint of white.

The colour combo reminds me of one of the sweets you can get in dolly mixtures and I actually craved them after doing this manicure but still sadly haven't had any. I wish I could say it's because of my health eating plan but it's mainly due to my laziness and not being bothered to go to the shops.

I used one of the nude polishes from Maybelline's color show range and added a bit of white at the bottom.

I also used my matte top coat that I'm totally obsessed with that I mentioned in my recent Superdrug haul to finish off the mani.

It did annoyingly chip slightly quite quickly (which explains my thumb) but apart from that I was quite pleased with the result. 

What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading!