80's Nails.

 Hello!

 A couple of days ago I decided that I wanted to have some lighter colours on my nails. I think it might just be because I'm a sucker for pastel colours/ spring shades.

My inspiration for colour choice came from.....

The 80's shell suits!I love the colour combos and the green I am using especially feels quite 80's!

I apologise for the blurry photos, I took them at night and I might wasn't playing ball.

Barry M are my 'go to' nail varnishes, I especially like their gelly range. On the left of this picture is Barry M gelly nail paint in 'Greenberry.' On the right is a Barry M normal nail polish in 'Berry Ice.'

With the bad camera work this looks like a pastel green/blue, which in the bottle it does look paler than it is. however I assure you it's not pastel!

I love Berry Ice, I like having lilac colours on my nails but for some reason I don't wear it that often. Although I was looking at my nail polish collection the other day and realised I am seriously lacking in the purple colour department, which is odd because purple is an old favourite colour for me.

I am hoping the colour difference shows up on the nail. It was just a cute simple manicure, Green Berry on all fingers apart from my ring which I made an accent nail.

I love this but I just got two new Models Own colours (which I will review) so I am itching to have a colour change!

What colours have you been painting your nails? Do you take inspiration from certain periods in time?

x

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Reckless and Funk.

Hello!

It seems as if every beauty blog on the web is full of reviews about this product and it really is no surprise! Every time I popped into Superdrug they were out of stock! I decided to buy then online, they had been sitting in the virtual basket for over a week because every time I went to the checkout one would be out of stock!

Make Up Academy (MUA) are a brand that have been around for a while now, I don't know where else stocks their products, but you can find a lot of them in Superdrug. I have a couple of makeup items by MUA including an eyeshadow pallette which I love! So when I heard about these I knew I would need them in my lfe!

The lip lacquers come in cute black cardboard containers with gold writing. The hole in the packages allow you to see the product inside, always important especially with makeup I find! These look high end but they only cost £3 each which is a bargain!

The back of the packaging contains the usual information you would expect, ingredients/sell by date etc. It also says 'Get the ultimate velvet-matte pout with this richly pigmented,silky smooth lip lacquer. The quick dry formula glides on effortlessly to leave a gorgeous matte finish, that is smudge-proof & long-lasting.' Lets see how true this is!

L-R Funk & Reckless.

Out of the box these lacquers come in plastic tubes with a black screw top. The frosted look of these make them look high end and also make it look like it's made of glass which I think is a really good touch. I hate it when cheaper make up looks cheap!

Funk.

Funk is a beautiful in your face pink colour. It is quite a dark pink, verging on hot pink. It is a bold statement colour which I really like!

Reckless.

Reckless is a dark red, much more in my comfort zone! It seems blue based and is a very rich red colour, slightly darker than I was expecting but I'm not complaining.

 

Both have their shade names clearly printed on the bottom, I can see them rubbing off if I keep one in my bag but I don't think you would get these two easily confused so it isn't much of a big deal.

Both have a normal doe foot application, its a bit longer than I'm used to but I found it easy to work with.

I apologise for the awful lighting on this picture, winter sun was not playing well! At the bottom is funk and the top is reckless. As you can see Funk is definitely a lot pinker than Reckless.

First off I need to apologise for the awful skin pics! I have had a breakout of spots and I am trying not to make it worse by covering myself in makeup when possible.

 On the lips reckless is a beautiful deep red colour. I find it glides on easily, although it can be slightly annoying waiting for it to dry!

Funk is a wonderful pink colour, you can tell that this is matte finish a lot more easily than reckless, I think the colour changes more here.

The only issues I found with this is that they both show up every little mistake made during application! Also I find that it wears off the inside of my lips pretty easily. I found Funk stayed on for hours with barely any wearing away, but Reckless started coming off in flakes after about an hour which was slightly off putting!

However both of these are beautiful colours, have a lovely matte finish and for £3 each are definitely worth the price tag.

What do you think about this lacquers? What colours do you have?

Village Life.

Hello!

I have lived in the same little village for my whole life, although I lived in another house when I was first born. My sister and I were well known because there had been very few sets of twins in our village, I think we were in the local newspaper! (This tells you how small it is/was.)

I live in a little village called Aylesford in Kent. There is the 'old village' where I live, it has less than 100 homes in it, we have 2 pubs, a corner shop, a hairdressers and a beauticians, that's it! There is a bus out of our village once an hour if you're lucky!

A couple of years ago I went to live in London for university. I didn't live in central London, but it was close enough! I hate the busyness of the city, not a fan of the rushing around or the pollution and noise! London is fabulous, its got a million and one things to do. My family originally come from Hackney in East London so I have spent a lot of time there, but I could honestly never live there permanently.

Since moving back to the countryside I have tried to make an effort to make the most of it, although I have some anxiety issues about the outside world :p I try my best though!

This was taken from the top of a hill near a church, it overlooks the village towards the river, I love all the different chimney tops!

Arty tree with sunlight :p

This was taken from scaffolding outside my house,there was a fire at our local homebase! But it also gives a pretty awesome view of my road. I live on a one way road next door to a primary school, it means my 3 cats can wander relatively safely.

What's village life without some horses in a field?! My sister took this picture, apparently the horses came for a stroke too. I'm scared of horses so I think I would stay clear!

What a lovely clear winters day, because there is a massive hill in our village there are some stunning views.


So there we go, a little snapshot of my countryside life!

Where do you live?Do you dream of moving to the city or out to the countryside?

Marc Jacobs Perfumes.

Hello!

I used to be one of those ladies that had a million different perfumes. I hated the idea of having a signature scent, why would I only want to smell like one thing?! However I have significantly lowered my number of perfumes over the years, partly due to my tastes changing and partly to do with the fact perfume is so expensive these days that I couldn't keep it up.

These days I have three perfumes, one is an everday perfume and two are my 'special occasion perfumes.' Amor Amor is my everyday perfume, I will do a review about it at some point but its a beautiful smelling perfume, I love it!

My two special occasion perfumes are Dot and Honey by Marc Jacobs.

On the left is Honey and right is Dot.

 Both of these perfumes come in the most fabulous bottles! Although I wouldn't judge a perfume by its bottle, if I were these two would be high on my list to buy.

Both of these perfumes contain 50 ml of perfume, you can get Dot and Honey in 30,50 and 100 ml. I have found that because I use these occasionally they are both going to last me a long time! I have had Dot for a year and have used less than half a bottle.

Both of these perfumes have their names stamped on the front on a gold label as well as the brand, the pictures are not the best because they give off a reflection!

Each bottle has a pop off cap (I don't even think that's the right terminology!) They look like its a screw top but I think that's just for show. The lids make a click when pushed down so you know your perfume isn't going to leak!

They both also have a regular push down spray pump. It gives off quite a big burst of perfume so I tend not to squeeze right to the bottom.

Onto the individual perfumes!

 DOT.

Dot comes in an absolutely gorgeous bottle, inspired by Marc Jacobs love of polka dots. The bottle has two small butterflies on the bottle with fake pearl bodies. 

The lid on Dot is absolutely huge! It has a gigantic pair of wings welded onto a round polka dot lid. 

I apologise for the dirty lid, it has been sitting on my shelf!

Dot is described as 'a delectable blend of red berries, succulent dragon fruit and sweet honeysuckle. The floral heart of the fragrance blooms with addictive jasmine and notes of coconut water and orange blossom. The base of the fragrance is a feminine mix of creamy vanilla, driftwood and sensual musks. A lush, juicy floral that comes full circle with a balance of modern whimsy and classic elegance.'

I never take much stock in the smells that are described in perfume, for a start I cannot smell any coconut at all and I think perfume smells different to everyone. However I will describe what I think it smells like although I don't claim to have any expertise!

To me Dot when first sprayed has a mixture of light floral as well as a masculine edge, which I think comes from the driftwood. Dot settles down quickly on the skin and has a mixture of berry and citrus. It does smell quite fruity, but if you get close to the skin the citrus comes through. Dot has a long lasting smell, if I wear it on a night out I can still smell it on my clothes the next day! Once worn for two or three hours Dot becomes quite floral and musky which I prefer to the citrus. It is quite a 'grown up' fragrance and although light to start with becomes more complex with wear. If you wear your perfumes seasonally I would wear Dot in the Autumn/Winter time.

Lets move on.

HONEY.

Do we see a reoccurring theme here?! Honey comes in a very sweet little bottle, because the lid is so petite it looks small compared to Dot but I can assure you they are the same size! This reminds me of lemons rather than honey as the colour of the lid is a bright yellow. The bottle itself has one little bee attached to it and one is attached to the lid. They are very secure so there is no danger of them falling off unless you handled the bottle really roughly!

Honey is described as medley of pear and juicy mandarin. A sultry white floral heart of orange blossom and honeysuckle is brightened with luscious peach and apricot, before a melting honey, golden vanilla and smooth woods dry down mesmerises with blissful warmth.

I love these descriptions! I don't know anyone who really pays attention to them.

To me Honey smells light and zesty. It does have tones of pear and a slight orangey hint. I can't smell peach or apricot or vanilla and Honey is a very girly perfume. What I love about it is that although it settles it doesn't go musky and keeps its fruity smell with a hint of honey sweetness. This smell is slightly less complex that Dot however it smells beautiful and I dont think its a bad thing that it has fewer dimensions. Again if I were to give this a seasonal wear I would say spring and perhaps some summer although I can see it being too much when its boiling outside.


Dot recently won an award at the Beauty Club Awards which it run by Debenhams in conjunction with Glamour Magazine. I am not at all surprised that it won as it really is a beautiful perfume.


Dot and Honey will both set you back a fair amount of money, although if you shop around you can get some good deals, or watch for them in the sales. At Debenhams for 50ml each perfume will cost £50, in other shops it is around the same price.

I hope you enjoyed this review. What are your favourite perfumes?What do you think of Dot and Honey?

Grid nails.

I don't claim to have the best nails in the world. I hate having long nails, just the feel makes me cringe! Plus I can't abide the thought of there being dirt under my nails. So I cut them super short and usually file them so they're neat. I have tried to grow them but then one breaks and I just find it annoying so I stopped!

Today I decided to do a simple manicure, my nails were plain peach last week and I had been looking online for what spring nails will be like. I saw that white nails are going to be big, they're something I have been doing for a while, but I decided to play around with a nail art pen too!

My nails without varnish, as you can see...very short nails! I also have the smallest hands ever, my nails are tiny which makes them hard to work with, my toes are even smaller!

I used Models Own clear varnish for the base coat, it can be used as a topcoat too which I find handy. Nothing to really write home about apart from the fact it dries so quickly!

I used Attitude Professional Nail Laquer in 'Vanilla Cream.' The texture is quite thick, although it might be because I have had it while. I don't know if you can buy it in 'normal' drugstores, I bought mine from a wholesale beauty place.

I decided I wanted to do a design on some of the nails, I received a Barry M art pen in black so I gave that a try! As I mentioned my finger nails are tiny so its really difficult to do designs on my nails, as well as the fact I cannot be steady with my left hand!

These are my nails completed. Not an awfully exciting manicure, but I like it! I am a big fan of pale colours on my nails, I find it makes my hands look slightly more tanned which I really enjoy.

Simple Saturday nails! What have you been doing to your nails this weekend?
x

Hair care.

As a loosely based follow on topic to my hair post yesterday, I thought I would talk about the products I use on my hair.

I have A LOT of hair products/tools that I use on a pretty regular basis. Although if Im at home I usually have my hair in a top knot, sometimes with a bandana.

I keep my electrical stuff in a storage box, along with hair dye, hair dye accessories, towels etc! My dry shampoo is in there too, although that's not its usual place!

 In my drawer I have all the other stuff, usually things that I use everyday, so hair spray, bobby pins etc. It looks really messy, but that's because it's so full of stuff at the moment!

 I have quite a lot of electrical equipment, last christmas my parents made me a 'hair hamper' and bought me all new equipment, it was my favourite present!
    The curling iron produces tight ringlet curls, it clamps your hair and although it gets hot it hasn't got a temperature gauge. The Remmington curling tong is interesting because you twist you hair around the tong and have to hold it in place with your hand. It comes with a heat proof glove, although I have lost mine! This produces loose curls for a less dressed up look.I think everyone is aware of what straighteners and a hair dryer do so I won't go into that!

From L-R is my Babyliss curling iron,a Remmington curling tong, a Nicky Clarke set of hair straighteners and a Babyliss hairdryer!

                                      
When I dry my hair I have to separate my hair into sections as its long and there is a lot of it! I use head jog butterfly clips to hold my hair as no others seem to hold my hair in place. I also use L'Oreal fixing spray and VO5 amplifying volume spray. I don't find the volume spray does much with my hair, but it does have a heat protection ingredient in it so that's why I keep using it.

It wont let me rotate this photo, however I think everything can be seen from this angle. This is what I use for basic styling. As I like to have 50's hair styles bobby pins are an absolute must. I buy them in bulk as I lose them a lot! I recently bought Fat Hair '0 Calorie Amplifying' hair spray. It smells really nice, sort of fruity and holds my hair very well without leaving it too crispy! I have a lot of black hair ties as they are nearest to my hair colour and because my hair is so long I keep it tied up quite a lot! 

These beauties are amazing! You can't really see them properly, I apologise for that!  They are basically see through elastic bands, they are quite small in size and are perfect ties for if you do a braid in your hair. They do snap quite easily but they were cheap to buy so it's not much of a big deal.

I know it's probably a bit weird to have 3 different hair brushes, but I use them all for different things!

The first on the left is a 'Tangle Teezer' this is superb, I love it! The clue to what it does is in the name, basically its a bit like a horses brush, it helps get out tangles, I'm not sure how but it works like magic! Also it comes in lots of cute colours, you can't see on mine but its blue with silver glitter! My large flat hair brush is mostly for brushing out my hair at night time, it also gets used for back coming the back half of my hair as the wide surface means its more even. The comb is used for if I do a front roll or a victory roll, the backcombing is more concentrated. My last brush is in between the flat brush and a comb, I use this for when I'm combing through wet hair.  

One of my favourite products is Batiste dry shampoo! I use it all the time because I can be too lazy to wash my hair and it smells like cherries. I find it helps with volumising my hair too, although if my cat is in the room he hates the sound of sprays and I don't want him to inhale the fumes so I sometimes have to fix my hair in the hallway :p I have used other brands but I always come crawling back to Batiste!

Last but not least is Moroccan Argan Oil. I used to be really skeptical about hair oil but this works really well. My hair is naturally smooth and silky but it definitely helped to fix it after I had bleached my hair to death! I use it probably twice a month as otherwise I find it can clog up my hair and make it feel greasy.

Well....that's it! I have a lot of hair stuff, but I use it all on a regular basis. I don't mind spending money on things that I actually use and although I'm not at all vain I am proud of my hair!

What hair products can't you live without?

All about the hair.

**Advanced warning, this post contains a lot of pictures of my face,I get a bit snap happy when Im happy with my hair ;) **

I'm a gal who loves her hair! I try my best to take care of it, although we have had a few moments where I thought it would be ruined forever. My hair is black and dead straight, if you curl it it will fall out within 20 minutes, even with a good hair spray! I used to hate that but I have come to terms with it now and force it to play nice!

At the moment my hair is halfway down my back in length, I don't have a fringe which is unusual for me, but more about why in a minute. It is also dip dyed purple, although that has faded to a sort of pinky gingery colour. I am thinking about dying it again but I think I would have to bleach the ends which I'm slightly apprehensive about.

My hair on a normal day:

My most recent hair colour:

When I was younger I had short hair:

I think I was about 20 in this photo, so almost 7 years ago! When I was even younger my hair was very short at the back, you could spike it.

Then as I got older I didn't have enough money for haircuts anymore, well I did but I have other stuff to spend it on, hence why my hair went from above to what it's like now! But I'm happy I did it because it looks much better longer!

Last year I decided to bleach the underside of my hair, I also bleached one side of the underneath nearly up to my scalp. I hope I explained it right! I think decided to dye it a greeny/blue colour.

This was the result:

I looooved this colour so much, it looked awesome because I could have my hair down and you wouldnt see the green but when it was up you could see the colour. My family HATED it! I got some really bad comments from people at uni too (although they didn't say it to my face!) But I also got a lot of compliments about it and I loved it so there!

When the green had been washed out I then decided to dye it pink on the underside, people seemed to like this a lot better :p

In this picture my hair is curled, its one of the only times I wore it down whilst curled because they dropped out before I arrived at where I was going!

Why don't I have a fringe? I used to have one all the time, but I love doing a quiff/roll with the front of my hair and I found a fringe limited my styles. However I plan on cutting one back in in the future.
I'm a big bandana lover.....I love retro hair so much and you will usually see me with victory rolls, a big quiff and a bandana. I also love a high bun, I have a sponge donut thing that is a life saver, because my hair is fine it takes a lot to get it volume so I have to back comb it to death, the donut helps a lot!

I dressed up as a sugar skull for Halloween and decided to wear my hair down but have a big roll at the front and a fabric flower. I love the way it looks, it's one my favourite photos ever. I managed to get my hair looking just the way I wanted it to and it held for hours.

 This last photo probably shows off my hair the best out of any other, it was taken as I was looking out to sea and I think it's a pretty awesome photo ^_^

I hope you enjoyed learning all about my hair journeys! I plan to do some hair tutorials, if you have one you would like to see done or tell me about your hair do's and disasters, post in the comments!